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Comment No option for Azad? (Score 1) 274

If I had the time to learn it to a decent level, go/weiqi/baduk. (Or play on kgs frequently enough that I could maintain a free account). As it is, and from these options, I'd pick chess. Although I've played more FTL: Faster Than Light recently, and with more success than on FICS.

Submission + - Peter Capaldi Unveiled As The New Star of "Doctor Who" (bbc.co.uk)

Dave Knott writes: After months of speculation since Matt Smith announced that he was exiting the long-running British SF show "Doctor Who", the BBC has announced the latest actor who will be taking on the titular role. In a live television announcement, with several previous stars on hand, it was revealed that Peter Capaldi will be portraying the newest incarnation of The Doctor. Capaldi is 55 years old, ending a recent trend towards younger Doctors, and had been flagged by bookmakers as the odd-on favourite in recent days, to the extent that they had suspended betting on the issue. He is best known for his role as the foul-mouthed government bureaucrat Malcolm Tucker on the "The Thick Of It" and has in fact showed up on Doctor Who previously as a guest star. But now Capaldi is set to take his place in the iconic lead role.
Wikipedia

Submission + - Let The Campaign Edit Wars Begin

Hugh Pickens writes writes: "Megan Garber writes that in high school, Paul Ryan's classmates voted him as his class's "biggest brown noser," a juicy tidbit that is a source of delight for his political opponents but considered an irrelevant piece of youthful trivia to his supporters. "But it's also a tension that will play out, repeatedly, in the most comprehensive narrative we have about Paul Ryan as a person and a politician and a policy-maker: his Wikipedia page," writes Garber. Late last night, just as news of the Ryan choice leaked in the political press — the first substantial edit to that page removed the "brown noser" mention which had been on the page since June 16. The Wikipedia deletion has given rise to a whole discussion of whether the mention is a partisan attack, whether "brown noser" is a pejorative, and whether an old high school opinion survey is notable or relevant. As of this writing, "brown noser" stands as does a maybe-mitigating piece of Ryan-as-high-schooler trivia: that he was also voted prom king. But that equilibrium could change, again, in an instant. "Today is the glory day for the Paul Ryan Wikipedia page," writes Garber. "Yesterday, it saw just 10 [edits]. Today, however — early on a Saturday morning, East Coast time — it's already received hundreds of revisions. And the official news of the Ryan selection, of course, is just over an hour old." Now Ryan's page is ready to host debates about biographical details and their epistemological relevance. "Like so many before it, will be a place of debate and dissent and derision. But it will also be a place where people can come together to discuss information and policy and the intersection between the two — a town square for the digital age.""
Piracy

Submission + - UK's 'Three Strikes' Piracy Measures Published (techweekeurope.co.uk)

judgecorp writes: "The UK regulator Ofcom, has published details of plans to disconnect illegal file-sharers. It is the "three strikes" policy which ISPs unsuccessfully appealed against, and requires ISPs to keep a list of persistent copyright infringers (identified as usual by their IP address...). ISPs will have to send monthly warning letters to those who infringe above a certain threshold. If a user gets three letters within a single year, the ISP must hand anonymised details to the copyright owner, who can apply for a court order to obtain the infringer's identity (or at least, an identity associated with that IP address)."
Science

Submission + - Sexy Female Scientist Video Draws Fire (sciencemag.org)

sciencehabit writes: A new video released by the The European Commission--ostensibly aimed at getting girls interested in science--is drawing widespred condemnation from around the web for its depiction of female scientists as sexy models strutting into the frame in high heels and short skirts. A male scientist watching them from behind his microscope doesn't seem to mind that none of them are wearing safe lab attire—he just pops his glasses on for a better look. The rest of the video is a mish-mash of heels, nail polish, lipstick, and sexily smoldering Erlenmeyer flasks, arbitrarily punctuated by girly giggles.
 

The Internet

Submission + - Sociologists Rule Wikipedia a "War Zone" not a collaborative Project (msn.com) 1

horselight writes: "A new study by sociologists studying social networking have determined that Wikipedia is not an intellectual project based on mutual collaboration, but a war zone. The study finds that although the content does end up being accurate as a rule, it's anything but neutral or unbiased. The study includes extensive data on access and editing patterns of users related to major events, such as the death of Michael Jackson and the edit storms that ensued."
Microsoft

Submission + - Microsoft stops shipping Office Starter with new PCs (pcpro.co.uk)

nk497 writes: "Microsoft has killed off Office 2010 Starter edition, ahead of the arrival of Windows 8. Office Starter was included in the OEM pre-installation kit (OPK) of software sent to manufacturers, and included ad-supported versions of Word and Excel, but not Outlook or PowerPoint. That will be replaced with an Office 2010 Transition OPK, which will instead push users to download a trial of the Office suite and offer a link to buy the full version. The free Office Web Apps will also be available for users not wanting the full version."

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