Man, this is just sad. Over a year after the internet was set ablaze with rage after seeing Monster’s HDMI cable scam, we’ve just been notified that the tactic is still being used in at least one Fry’s Electronics store. For those unaware, the rig works as such: two TVs are set beside each other along with a sign that says “See the Monster HDMI…
On Friday evening, Battlestar Galactica ended its four-season run as one of the most popular science fiction shows in recent history. 2.4 million people tuned in for the finale, and reactions to the ending — positive, negative, and often a mix of both — are springing up all over the internet, as are tributes and retrospectives. Producers Ron Moore and David Eick held a Q&A session after the finale to discuss certain aspects of the story and spell out the final status of several plot lines. Fans of the show will have a chance to see the Cylon side of the story this fall in a two-hour TV movie titled “The Plan,” and we’ve previously discussed the spin-off prequel series, Caprica, the pilot for which will come out on April 21st. Be warned: these links and the following discussion will contain spoilers.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
narramissic writes “Researchers with security consultancy IOActive have created a worm that could quickly spread among Smart Grid devices, small computers connected to the power grid that give customers and power companies better control over the electricity they use. ‘[The worm] spread from one meter to another and then it changed the text in the LCD screen to say “pwned,”‘ said Travis Goodspeed, an independent security consultant who worked with the IOActive team. In the hands of a malicious hacker, this code could be used to cut power to Smart Grid devices that use a feature called ‘remote disconnect,’ which allows power companies to cut a customer’s power via the network. The robustness of US power networks has been a hot-button issue after a technical glitch in 2003 caused a cascading power failure in the eastern United States and Canada that affected 55 million people.”
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Facebook unveiled their new design last week, and guess what: it sucks. It seems like every time they tweak their design, they end up making it more confusing and lame. So, we looked into our crystal ball to see what Facebook will probably look like in a few years. And this is what we saw
Houston 2600 sends along an Ars Technica writeup on the continuing downward trend in the traditional music business: NPD’s annual survey found that 17 million CD customers dropped out last year. Among the good news is that streaming services such as Pandora are growing fast. “While overall music sales were up 10 percent in 2008, the year saw a drop not only in CD sales, but also in the number of customers actually purchasing music. But according to a new report, the act of listening to music is actually on the rise. … NPD’s annual Digital Music Study found that there were 17 million fewer CD customers in 2008 than in past years. CD sales have been dropping for quite some time, and while 1.5 billion songs were sold digitally last year, the number of Internet users paying for digital music only increased by 8 million in 2008.”
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
snahgle writes “Mathematicians John Conway (inventor of the Game of Life) and Simon Kochen of Princeton University have proven that if human experimenters demonstrate ‘free will’ in choosing what measurements to take on a particle, then the axioms of quantum mechanics require that the free will property be available to the particles measured, or to the universe as a whole. Conway is giving a series of lectures on the ‘Free Will Theorem’ and its ramifications over the next month at Princeton. A followup article strengthening the theory (PDF) was published last month in Notices of the AMS.” Update: 03/19 14:20 GMT by KD : jamie points out that we discussed this theorem last year, before the paper had been published.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
thefickler writes “Shell has decided to end its investment in wind, solar and hydro projects because the company does not believe they are financially sound investments. Instead Shell is going to focus on carbon sequestration technologies and biofuels. Not surprisingly, and perhaps unfairly, bloggers have been quick to savage the company: “Between Shell’s decisions to stop its clean energy investments and to increase its debt load to pay for dividends, the company is solidifying an image of corporate greed over corporate responsibility.” Is Shell short sighted, or is it just a company trying to makes its way in an uncertain world?”
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
From watching videos on your tv to controlling your ipod through your voice. These ten gadgets can redefine the way you use your ipod.
The modern day pirate doesn’t sport a patch or walk with a limp. His weapon of choice is an unassuming pizza-sized satellite dish that can literally harpoon signals from space – and provide lucrative and illicit profit.
narramissic writes “According to a TV Week article, NBC Universal has decided to change the name of their Sci Fi Channel to Syfy. Why? To pull in a more ‘mainstream’ audience. If you’re unclear what ‘more mainstream’ means, TV Historian Tim Brooks spells it out for you: ‘The name Sci Fi has been associated with geeks and dysfunctional, antisocial boys in their basements with video games and stuff like that, as opposed to the general public and the female audience in particular.’ Yes, we should probably all be offended. And telling us that a crack marketing team came up with the name because that’s how tech-savvy 18-to-34 year-olds would text it really doesn’t help.”
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
