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Comment Re:The only question that counts: (Score 1) 238

Off the top of my head, ArmA with TrackIR already implements a control scheme like this.

Operation Flashpoint already featured a control scheme that allowed the player to detach look control from gun-pointing and walking-direction control, and that carried over to ArmA. Of course, without an additional input device, it's somewhat useless, as you have to give up control of your gun to gain control of your character's head. So that's where a bunch of markers attached to the player's head come in. Even without that, it's still useful to be able to quickly glance around while in full sprint - something possible in real life, but impossible in most FPSes, where your camera/character's head is fixed rigidly to his body at all times.

Comment The only solution (Score 4, Funny) 224

I recommend that at install time, the user is presented with a window containing randomly ordered buttons for 6 of the top web search engines on the market today. By selecting one of the buttons, the user makes that search engine the default. This should keep everything fair and everyone happy.

(now we just need to find 6 search engines that people actually use)

Security

Submission + - ATMs Armed with Pepper Spray (wired.com)

fysdt writes: A South African bank has outfitted its ATMs with pepper spray to prevent criminals from bombing or tampering with the machines. But the system still has some bugs: One of the machines released its stinging payload on three maintenance workers last week.
The Almighty Buck

Submission + - Sotomayor's position on copyright damages (wired.com) 1

Too Lazy to Login writes: Wired reports that Sonia Sotomayor will likely affirm high (read: RIAA excessive) damages in cases where copyright claims are in issue. Good thing I'm not a betting man, because I'd have guessed the exact opposite.
Software

Submission + - What data recovery tools do the pros use? 2

Life2Death writes: "I've been working with computers for a long time, and every once and a while someone close to me has a drive go belly up on them. I know there are big, expensive recovery houses that specialize in mission-critical data recovery, like if your house blew up and you have millions of files you need or something, but for the local IT group, what do you guys use? Given that most people are on NTFS (Windows XP) by the numbers, what would you use? I found a ton of tools when I googled, and everyone and their brother suggests something else, so I want to know what software "just works" on most recoveries of bad, but partially working hard drives. Free software always has a warm spot in my heart."
Media

Submission + - Open Video Standard gets push w/Firefox 3.5 beta

bmullan writes: "Today Dailymotion, one of the world's largest video sites, announced support for Open Video.
They've put out a press release, a blog post on the new Open Video site as well as an HTML 5 demo site where you can see some of the things that you can do with open video and Firefox 3.5 (you can get the Firefox 3.5 beta here.
They are automatically transcoding all of the content that their Motion MakersOfficial Users create and expect to have around 300,000 videos transcoded into the open Ogg Theora and Vorbis formats. You can view the site they have up at openvideo.dailymotion.com."

Feed Techdirt: AT&T Says Its Network Can't Keep Up With All The Cool Stuff You Can Do With (techdirt.com)

ATT caught a lot of flak at the beginning of April, when it updated the terms of service for its mobile data network, banning all sorts of activities on it. ATT later said the changes had been made in "error" and removed the new language, though it later reinserted language banning "redirecting television signals for viewing on Personal Computers" -- a ban apparently aimed directly at the forthcoming SlingPlayer application for the iPhone, which lets users watch TV from their Slingbox at home on their mobile device. The app has now been released, but it only works over WiFi, not the 3G mobile connection, because ATT says, in a nutshell, that its mobile network doesn't have enough capacity to support streaming-video services if they take off. So all those cool data applications Apple and ATT tout for the iPhone or other smartphones sold by the operator? Just remember they exist only at the behest of the carrier; if they threaten to expose its network's shortcomings, they'll get blocked.

Carlo Longino is an expert at the Insight Community. To get insight and analysis from Carlo Longino and other experts on challenges your company faces, click here.



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Microsoft

Submission + - Windows 7 RCs to shut off to force upgrades (itpro.co.uk)

nk497 writes: "The release candidate for Microsoft Windows 7 will expire June 2010, and the software giant will let users know they need to pay to upgrade by shutting down the system every two hours for three months. According to Microsoft: "The RC will expire on June 1, 2010. Starting on March 1, 2010, your PC will begin shutting down every two hours. Windows will notify you two weeks before the bi-hourly shutdowns start. To avoid interruption, you'll need to install a non-expired version of Windows before March 1, 2010. You'll also need to install the programs and data that you want to use.""
Google

Submission + - Top 10 features you'll love about Android 1.5 1

An anonymous reader writes: Last month, Google has officially announced Android 1.5 update, dubbed "cupcake." The new software is apparently ready to roll on Android-powered devices. Make no mistake, Android 1.5 is a major upgrade. The software brings a host of new capabilities, some of which can't be found on rival mobile platforms.
Patents

Submission + - Vonage III: The Bloodletting (reuters.com)

kickabear writes: "AT&T have filed a lawsuit against popular target Vonage, claiming patent infringement. This is the third major lawsuit to have been brought against Vonage by a major phone company. Vonage lost the previous two lawsuits, brought by Sprint-Nextel and Verizon. How much more money can Vonage afford to give away? How can Vonage educate a jury on prior art?"
Television

Submission + - Mythbusters to test cockroaches radiation myth (tri-cityherald.com)

redwoodtree writes: "As the article quotes so perfectly "Contrary to popular belief, not a significant amount of research goes into cockroach radiation" so the Mythbusters are going out to Hanford Site where plutonium was manufactured for the first nuclear bomb. It's the single most polluted nuclear waste site in the U.S. The Mythbusters are going to take cockroaches and other insects and apply successively higher doses of radiation in a controlled setting. One group of insects will not be exposed to any radiation of course. It turns out that the facility is used to test radiation on electronic equipment, power lines and so forth. It's comforting that all the nuclear waste is being put to some good use before it all washes down into the Columbia river."

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