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Comment Re:Liability is the problem. (Score 1) 251

by lightblade (#25118675) Attached to: Mythic GM Talks <em>Warhammer</em> Launch, Banning Gold Sellers
That's what the EULA is for...most MMOs state that either ingame items are property of the company or have no cash value or both. If someone tries to sue them due to data loss they can just turn around and point to the EULA. The customer agrees to it when they install (or every time they play in some cases). If they have a problem with it then they shouldn't have clicked the 'accept' button.
Hardware Hacking

Submission + - Linux computer in USB key form-factor (linuxdevices.com)

Submitted by PMBjornerud
PMBjornerud writes: A start-up located in the French Alps near Grenoble is readying a tiny ARM-based Linux single-board computer (SBC) in a USB key form-factor.

Calao's USB-9260 USB key-sized SBC measures 3.3 x 1.4 inches (85 x 36 mm). It is based on an Atmel AT91SAM9260 processor, an SoC (system-on-chip) powered by an ARM926EJ-S core clocked at 190MHz. The SoC targets "advanced applications such as GPS application processors," according to Atmel.

Spec sheet (PDF) here.

With a 10/100 Ethernet port, firewall usage springs to mind. Other interfaces are 2 USB host ports and room for an expansion card. Which should allow some creative uses. Anyone dreaming of a cute little linux-server to carry around and power from a USB slot? Does it come in penguin shape?
Biotech

Submission + - Scientific Study of Coffee Bean Aroma

Submitted by CupOJoe
CupOJoe writes: Chemists from the University of Munich have performed a detailed analysis of green coffee beans. Using Gas Chromatography and GC-Mass Spectrometry, they concluded that after nine months of storage in tropical conditions, the coffee would take on an increased apple, clove, and smoky aroma. The smoky chemical had never been observed in coffee before, but has previously been observed in marijuana. Apparently, it is a very good indicator that the beans have spoiled. Their advice is to keep coffee cool and dry during storage.
Communications

First Nations Want Cellphone Revenue 513

Posted by samzenpus from the the-great-spirit-wants-his-cut dept.
Peacenik45 writes "The CBC is reporting that First Nations in Manitoba want compensation for every cell phone signal that passes through their land because it violates their airspace. The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs recently resolved to negotiate revenue sharing with Manitoba Telecom Services. Ovide Mercredi of the Grand Rapids First Nations says "When it comes to using airspace, it's like using our water and simply because there's no precedent doesn't mean that it's not the right thing to do." This move may inspire First Nations in other provinces to follow suit."

Feed 10 MPH: Coast to Coast on a Segway in 100 days (and 3 years) (engadget.com)

From feed by engfeed

Filed under: Transportation

There's nothing like heading out coast-to-coast. Beat, and otherwise anti-establishment poets have glamorized the open road for years. In fact, the idea has inspired rollerbladers, runners, lawn mowers (really, look it up), and now... a Segway. 10 MPH is dubbed a "comical documentary" following two dudes who quit their jobs to Segway (is that a verb?) from Seattle to Boston in 100 days. 100 days you say? The project was launched almost 3 years ago! Although we typical avoid any films which rely on the use of "zany" in the promotional materials, this films won the Best Documentary prize at the auspicious East Lansing Film Festival. So really, how bad could it be?

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!
PC Games (Games)

Steam Reaches 13 Million Users 72

Posted by Zonk from the lot-of-hot-air-out-there dept.
Gamasutra is reporting that Valve's PC game download service Steam has reached 13 million users. The company's offering has 150 movies and games on offer. "Looking further at its stats, Valve says Steam sees over 7 billion player minutes a month, and has served over 2,500 updates to its titles since its first release. Valve also says that summer will see new announcements from more publishers bringing their games to Steam ... Said Valve president Gabe Newell, 'We've approached the development of Steam the same way we treat our online games; we release something we've tested, we internalize the feedback, and then we release new features and functionality based upon the feedback received. In the past year, we've added over 100 new titles from third parties ... This growth has taught us a lot and inspired many additional features and services that we'll be releasing later this year.'"
User Journal

Journal Journal: Indian-American Mathematician wins Abel

Journal by kisak
The prestigious Abel Prize has been awarded to Professor S. R. Srinivasa Varadhan. Prof. Varadhan receives the prize "for his fundamental contributions to probability theory and in particular for creating a unified theory of large deviation". Varadhan's theory of large deviations provides a unified method to deal with complex stochastic systems, in fields as diverse as quantum field theory, sta
Wii

Wii, PS3 Sell Big In First Week 306

Posted by Zonk from the lots-of-waggling dept.
Wowzer writes "Nintendo today announced the Wii sold through more than 600,000 units in the Americas in just its first eight days of availability. That's a rate of nearly one per second continuously since the November 19 launch!" From the article: "The company noted that, when taking into account first-party software and accessory sales, Wii sales have thus far amounted to an impressive $190 million. Nintendo also added that sales of the Wii's highly anticipated launch title, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, has already has achieved sales of more than 454,000 units in the Americas, a figure which it notes represents in excess of of 75 percent of all hardware purchasers." I couldn't find any sales figures for the PS3, just word that the company has sold all the units it shipped. Gamasutra is also reporting sales figures via Ebay for the two consoles. 15,000 PS3s were sold, while the Wii cracked 27,000 via the popular online auction site.

Purdue Streams a Movie At 7.5Gb/sec 117

Posted by kdawson from the fat-pipe dept.
the_psilo writes, "My friend just got back from the Supercomputing conference in Tampa, FL where she and the rest of the Purdue Envision Center rocked the High Performance Computing Bandwidth Challenge by streaming a 2-minute-long, 125-GB movie over a 10-Gb link at 7.5 Gb/sec. They used 6 Apple Xserve RAIDs connected to 12 clients projecting onto their tiled wall (that's 12 streams in all). Lots of accolades from the people who set up the challenge. More links to articles and reviews can be found at the Envision Center Bandwidth Challenge FAQ page." The two-minute video is a scientific visualization of a cell structure from a bacterium. The Envision Center site hosts a reduced version of the video.

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