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MPAA Asks If ACTA Can Be Used To Block Wikileaks 322

An anonymous reader writes "With the entertainment industry already getting laws to block certain sites, it appears they're interested in expanding that even further. The latest is that at a meeting with ACTA negotiators in Mexico, an MPAA representative apparently asked if ACTA rules could be used to force ISPs to block 'dangerous sites' like Wikileaks. It makes you wonder why the MPAA wants to censor Wikileaks (and why it wants to use ACTA to do so). But, the guess is that if it can use Wikileaks as a proxy for including rules to block websites, how long will it be until other 'dangerous' sites, such as Torrent search engines, are included." Note: TechDirt typically has insightful commentary, but make of the original (Spanish) twiiter message what you will.

Comment Video of those who know her (Score 1) 527

Sorry to hear on your wife's condition.

A year ago, a co-worker was given his last diagnosis after a year of chemo that just didnt work. His insides were just torn by cancer and he was given a few weeks left to live. A friend of his organized a campaign for anyone who worked with him, who knew him to make a video directed at him and at the 2 young daughters (2 and 4 year olds) and wife he was leaving behind. We all got together, had a private place to record and recorded some thoughts on him. The resulting video was given to him and his family. I dont know if he watched it but for my part I tried to give an impression of who this man I knew was and his influence on me.

It's not easy to ask people to sit down and do this but knowing the kind of people your wife had an influence on and capturing those memories may be another good way to preserve the essence of who she is.

Comment iAds for iTunes Store/Apple TV iOS? (Score 5, Insightful) 416

I don't think this would be something implemented system wide, more than likely it could be iAds framework that developers could use when releasing free Mac Apps. Apple spends considerable time looking into user experience so something that would drive people away in droves is not likely to make it into OS X. Could also be a misleading patent that's really for iOS for Apple TV (which makes more sense to me). Something like free Movie/Music/Otherwise Paid content delivered via iTunes on Apple TV with need to watch the ads in order to keep viewing it, or pay up to download and have full access to that content. The same concept could apply to iTunes Store on Mac OS X.

Comment Re:Trains him to become a better leader? (Score 1) 272

You obviously never played World of Warcraft 6-7 hours a week is what is called "casual" play. Excessive amount of online game time in a game like WoW is 30-40+ hours a week. Serious raiding starts at 10 hours per week with a highly organized group (which is rare), 20+ with a poorly to mid organized one. And that's not even counting off-raiding time which Blizzard makes sure you put in unless you are really good at playing the Auction House or pay gold farmers for gold.

Cyberwarrior Shortage Threatens US Security 394


High Fructose Corn Syrup Causes Bigger Weight Gain In Rats 542


Comment Ease the strain if you have discomfort (Score 1) 425

Several years ago I misused my hands to the point that it was painful to type for any period of time. I switched to dvorak to ease things on me. And although it was a relief, it was mostly due to slowing down and being careful in my movements. It became specially a problem when having to move back to someone else's computer to help. So dvorak helped a bit but it was clear there were other issues.

So still with my problem, I spent time researching and found the very good Cornell Ergonomics site http://ergo.human.cornell.edu/

The two biggest problems I had were my pinky and thumb hurting from trying to use them. In the end, instead of stretching them out like some typists recommend (they seem to forget that stressing weak muscles regularly can cause issues), I adjusted and moved my arm (big strong mucles there) with my hand so my finger would hit the key, avoided twisting my wrist, or used another finger while those two fingers recuperated. Checked my posture frequently and looked at hand strengthening exercises.

This book was actually also a great resource: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1572240393/qid=1055745052/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_1/002-9180898-5704857?v=glance&s=books&n=507846

I know this is probably no quite what you asked but if you feel awkward about your typing technique it's definitely worth identifying potential problems and solving them before they become a bigger problem.

In any case if you are at the point of discomfort you should definitely see a doctor.

Also slow down, there's rarely any reason to type so fast that you strain your hands to the point of discomfort/pain/awkwardness. And listen to your body, with the need for deadlines, busy life, etc, we often ignore the little signs of warnings of "don't keep doing that". If you can learn to listen to the signs early you can make adjustments sooner.

Comment Southwest Airlines "Customer of Size" Q&A (Score 5, Informative) 940

According to http://www.southwest.com/travel_center/cos_qa.html

It sounds like the determination is made if you can not fit within the confines of a standard seat with the arm rests down on both sides. I wonder if they don't have a test airplane seat you can sit in before hand at the terminal before trying to board or set of measurements you can take at home before buying your ticket/boarding to reduce the potential for embarrassment of being forced off the plane once you try to seat onboard.

From the link above:
"I am a large person and use a seatbelt extension, but I fit in one aircraft seat. Do I have to purchase two seats? Our policy does not focus on weight, and the seatbelt extension is not the determining factor. We use the ability to lower the armrests as the gauge, as the armrests are truly the definitive boundary between each seat."

Another interesting tidibt from the link:
Are all overweight people subject to the policy?
Many Americans are "overweight" or "clinically obese." A number of overweight or obese people occupy only one seat. In fact, many Customers may use a seatbelt extension but occupy only one seat, and these Customers would not be asked to reserve a second seat. If a Customer cannot lower the armrest (and is unable to comfortably travel with it in the down position), he/she is required to pay for the additional seat occupied. Again, we will offer a refund if the flight does not oversell.

Comment short hand + paper/pen notetaking (Score 3, Interesting) 569

I've been out of a college class for a few years, but I simply would and still prefer paper/pen. It's not about being old school, but I am extremely picky about what I want technology doing for me. I tend to be uncompromising and really think out what some input device will do for me. I want technology that works the way I do, not me having to compromise heavily in order to use it. I have yet to see something that fits the flexibility of pen/paper while giving me the advantage of a digital device thought those electronic note taking pens are probably close.

I can tell you me typing for an hour on a netbook would lead to uncomfortable typing, as netbooks have too small a size. I could probably swing a regular sized laptop like my 15" Macbook Pro, or other similar full size key laptop.

I also have my own short hand method of note taking, coupled with identifying things that I don't need to memorize and things that have to be written down. Also I tend to circle important bits of information and tie them together with arrows pointing to what they relate to creating a type of cluster diagram meshed in with regular note taking. I don't see how any laptop software out there can compare there.

I am hopeful that a well thought out, well implemented tablet PC comes along that gives me good flexibility.

That said I can imagine taking my ipod touch or other such small form tablet device and scribble or look up some info on it while I take notes with pen/paper. As I was thinking about this I considered an iPhone or other similar device being indispensable, since you can take a photo of the board if there is a complex diagram, and simply drop a note on paper (see iPhone pict for blah diagram). ;-)


$4,400/Yr. Coders May Work On Dept. of Labor Project 418

theodp writes "To power the Tools for America's Job Seekers Challenge, the US Department of Labor tapped IdeaScale, a subsidiary of Survey Analytics, which is headquartered in Seattle with satellite offices in Nasik, India and Auckland, NZ (PDF). According to the Federal Register (PDF), an Emergency OMB Review was requested to launch the joint initiative of the DOL, White House, and IdeaScale to help out unemployed US workers. A cached Monster.com ad seeks candidates to work on the development and maintenance of ideascale.com, but in India at an annual salary of Rs. 200,000 to 300,000 ($4,4000 to $6,600 US). BTW, an earlier White House-sponsored, IdeaScale-powered Open Government Brainstorm identified legalizing marijuana as one of the best ways to 'strengthen our democracy and promote efficiency and effectiveness.'" There's no guarantee that Indian workers recruited by that Monster.com ad would work on US Department of Labor projects.

Respected Developers Begin Fleeing the App Store 485

wiedzmin writes "Facebook's Joe Hewitt, Second Gear's Justin Williams, the long-time Mac software developer known as 'Rogue Amoeba' and other respected App Store developers have recently decided to discontinue their work on the platform, citing their frustration with Apple's opaque approval process. Continued issues with erroneous and snap rejections of applications and APIs are prompting more and more developers to shun the platform entirely. Though there are tens of thousands of other developers who have pumped out over 100,000 apps for the platform, continued migration away from iPhone development will most likely result in lower quality software."
