Comment Re:Yes (Score 1) 1040
Virginia for one. My house is reassessed yearly. In 2012, the assessment dropped 8.2% and since the county has chosen not to increase the mil rate, the property taxes will be going down by the same percentage.
Comment Re:It is the 2nd Moon that we see. (Score 1) 139
Riley Martin, is that you?
Comment Any more invites around? (Score 1) 1223
I'd dig one as well
cushing -at- bitlathe -dot- com
EA Flip-Flops On Battlefield: Heroes Pricing, Fans Angry 221
An anonymous reader writes "Ben Kuchera from Ars Technica is reporting that EA/DICE has substantially changed the game model of Battlefield: Heroes, increasing the cost of weapons in Valor Points (the in-game currency that you earn by playing) to levels that even hardcore players cannot afford, and making them available in BattleFunds (the in-game currency that you buy with real money). Other consumables in the game, such as bandages to heal the players, suffered the same fate, turning the game into a subscription or pay-to-play model if players want to remain competitive. This goes against the creators' earlier stated objectives of not providing combat advantage to paying customers. Ben Cousins, from EA/DICE, argued, 'We also frankly wanted to make buying Battlefunds more appealing. We have wages to pay here in the Heroes team and in order to keep a team large enough to make new free content like maps and other game features we need to increase the amount of BF that people buy. Battlefield Heroes is a business at the end of the day and for a company like EA who recently laid off 16% of their workforce, we need to keep an eye on the accounts and make sure we are doing our bit for the company.' The official forums discussion thread is full of angry responses from upset users, who feel this change is a betrayal of the original stated objectives of the game."
Comment Re:Racketeering (Score 1) 446
The reason that government users would still be allowed to use the BB network is that one of the provisions of a US Patent is that the government automatically gets the right to use the patented invention royalty-free. This right also devolves to government contractors as it pertains to producing goods and services for the government. There was a similar case involving Lucent using a patented method to produce a fiber optic junction for the Navy. When the patent holder tried to get royalties, Lucent told them to go spit.
