News Stories

[chikorita157]

Originally Posted by Harufox

I think that's another issue I have with the iPod touch/iPhone/iPad, is that "closed-garden" approach. I think if you pay through the nose for one of these, then you are entitled to do whatever you want with it, it doesn't make sense to me why Apple would continue putting a chokehold on what goes onto products they have already sold. Similar systems have existed in other devices (Symbian S60 3rd edition's mandatory code signing is one of them), but I cannot understand why? When it comes to operator control, a SIM lock is pretty much the only thing I can think of that would make sense (as you obtain the phone on a contract for $0 upfront, or you pay a fraction of the retail price for a pre-paid one).

AT&T's Android devices also another example where the search engine is set to Yahoo, AT&T junk installed on it and no ability to install unsigned or non-AT&T Android apps. This is a main reason I can't switch to Android since the AT&T Android devices are wel... another closed garden and buying a unlocked device costs way too much money since like Nexus One and the Motorola Milestone, two nice devices that would work on AT&T, but they cost too much and I can't afford it since I'm only a college student.

Windows Phone 7 uses the same exact closed garden approach as Apple... I guess Microsoft wants a tight control of the device just like Apples... I dunno... but as long AT&T continues to cripple the Android devices, there is no appealing reason to switch and the Jailbreak at the moment is the only thing possible to make the iPhone a usable device. Can't be any worse than Sony, who took away my OtherOS feature on my fat Playstation 3.

[Joojoobees]

I'm not a big fan of the "closed garden", but the iPhone/iPad seems a bit more open than the Wii. From what I understand, you can't even get a Wii developer's kit unless Nintendo approves your IDEA. With the iPad, you can get a dev membership cheap or free and create what you want, test it on a virtual iPad, and even download it to an iPad locally. The wall is really around the App Store garden.

Also, the truly open platform is cloud-hosted through a browser. You can do that as much as you want without Apple's permission.

[Haruka_Kitten]

Originally Posted by Joojoobees

The wall is really around the App Store garden.

And that's where the closed-wall encompasses the iPhone and it's derivatives, as the App Store is the only way to get native, non web-based, applications onto an iPhone, and is the only place that iPhone users can get applications. Apple also have this habit of rewriting the iPod music library database format with every major release of iTunes, breaking compatibility with 3rd party managers. I still cannot use the latest version of Floola to sync my iPod nano, without having to plug it into iTunes afterwards so it can rewrite my database.

[SaintessHeart]

Originally Posted by chikorita157

They just sold 600,000+ of them on the first day... I wouldn't say it's a failure just yet... just give it some time...

I'm planning to get one on the future to try and bypass those expensive college textbooks (and iPad has access to iBooks, Kindle and B&N ebooks store, which the current ereaders lack at the moment as they are locked to one store and a color display)... and other stuff.

I would certainly buy it if I had the money : I just started school today and got 3 sets of notes taking up half the space in my bag. And I haven't bought my textbooks yet.

[Nosauz]

I just can't stand the media circus surrounding the damn thing. The iPad is not breaking news, it does not deserve 30 min plus coverage every hour in a 24 hour newscycle, there is more pertinent news occuring across the globe, or even in our back yards. I swear journalism has gone to a place of no return, a place filled with vapid non news, only there to shill the next consumer good, or peddling the next fear inducing story. So much for staying informed with the "news".

[Anh_Minh]

Gone? Meh. I don't see how the iPad buzz is any different from the host of things that by all rights shouldn't interest us, but do. News have always been filled with them. Sports results, happenings in the private lives of various celebrities, missing white girls...

[Nosauz]

Originally Posted by Anh_Minh

Gone? Meh. I don't see how the iPad buzz is any different from the host of things that by all rights shouldn't interest us, but do. News have always been filled with them. Sports results, happenings in the private lives of various celebrities, missing white girls...

No but when you have iPad news topping all the news shows, as if it's some revolution of the computing world it just seems farfetched to give some much attention to something so trivial, so commonplace. It really doesn't deserve the coverage it gets on television, but then again going to cable news to get informed about the actual news is pretty trivial too.

[SaintessHeart]

Originally Posted by Anh_Minh

Gone? Meh. I don't see how the iPad buzz is any different from the host of things that by all rights shouldn't interest us, but do. News have always been filled with them. Sports results, happenings in the private lives of various celebrities, missing white girls...

Sports news are interesting! Only during the Euro Cup and World Cup though.

So what kind of news would interest you? Japan changing her currency from Yen to Moe? Scientists starting to breed catgirls?

[MrTerrorist]

Hotel star ratings: To infinity and beyond

[chikorita157]

Found something rather interesting... Well, extremist goes rogue and send ultimatums to governors to resign.

FBI probes 'resign' ultimatum sent to governors
(AFP) – 2 days ago
WASHINGTON — The FBI and the Homeland Security Department launched an investigation into letters an anti-government group sent to over 30 governors demanding they resign within three days.
The letters sent by Guardians of the Free Republics do not threaten violence but warned recipients they would be removed from office if they did not resign by the deadline, law enforcement and state officials said.
Virginia's Republican Governor Robert McDonnell and Arkansas's Democratic Governor Mike Beebe were among those who received the letters. They came on the heels of vandalism and harassment -- including death threats -- against lawmakers.
Investigators worried the letters could unleash more violent behavior, according to US media.
The Homeland Security Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation said they were aware of the letters.
"While there does not appear to be credible or immediate threats of violence attached to the letters, we are working with state and local authorities and continue to assess the matter," they said in a joint statement.
Guardians of the Free Republics claims on its website that it seeks to restore US institutions by peacefully dismantling and rebuilding parts of government.
"The Restore America Plan is a bold achievable strategy for behind-the-scenes peaceful reconstruction of the de jure institutions of government without controversy, violence or civil war," the website says.
Beebe's spokesman Matt DeCample said the federal probe was likely launched because the group stipulated a timeline for governors to vacate their office.
"The general idea called on the governor to resign from his office and then this group wanted to put into place its own articles of law and if the governor would agree to that they would then reappoint him as governor," DeCample told AFP.
According to The Washington Post, the FBI expects all 50 governors to eventually receive the letters.
Other recipients so far cited by US media include Iowa's Democratic Governor Chet Culver, Michigan's Democratic Governor Jennifer Granholm, Oklahoma's Democratic Governor Brad Henry, Louisiana's Republican Governor Bobby Jindal, Minnesota's Republican Governor Tim Pawlenty and South Dakota's Republican Governor Mike Rounds.

Source

[SeijiSensei]

Originally Posted by TinyRedLeaf

I'd recommend Alejandro Amenabar's Agora as well. It may not be a documentary like Jesus Camp, but it provides food for thought all the same. After all, the clash between reason and faith is as old as civilisation.

I'd love to see this film, but prospects for it arriving in the US so far seem bleak. Reports surfaced last fall that it was licensed by an American distributor, but there's no evidence of that on the IMDB list of release dates.

While this film clearly doesn't seem destined for "boffo" returns in the US market, I wonder if its celebration of an atheist in conflict with early Christians gives a bit of scare to the folks in the executive suites.

Originally Posted by karthak

Read on the bbc that one of the women suspected of being one of the bombers was the widow of a militant who got killed by the russian military. Seems like she wanted payback.

"Black widows," as they are known in Chechnya, are the female relatives of men killed by Russian forces in that land. There's an excellent discussion of them in this contribution to the NY Times.

In total, 24 Chechen females ranging in age from 15 to 37 have carried out suicide attacks, including the most deadly — the coordinated bombings of two passenger flights in August 2004 that caused 90 deaths and (according to Russian authorities) the subway blasts on Monday that killed nearly 40.

Those 24 women represent fully forty percent of Chechen suicide bombers.

Originally Posted by FDW

I think [the iPad] will succeed, at least at first. Though I can see apple eventually loosing ground like it did back the late 80's for the same reasons: it's competitors will put up something similar that is far more open to third-party development than the iPad is.

NPR's story on the iPad today suggests that Apple's "walled garden" approach makes its products much more appealing in a world awash with viruses and other malware. It would be ironic indeed if Microsoft's long-time foot-dragging on security issues leads ultimately to Apple's success. While I personally favor open systems, I can understand how they might have much less appeal to people who want computers to work like appliances.

[aohige]

Originally Posted by Anh_Minh

"Why can they export it to the culturally different US?" or "Why does anyone care?".

Except it was never exported out.
Some people used amazon to purchase it, that's why it got attention.
However, the company never intended the product to be sold outside of Japan, and never exported it anywhere.

Basically people are up in arms about a product that they were not supposed to be able to purchase anyways.
*shurg* you can't talk sense into nutcases though.

[Terrestrial Dream]

http://english.chosun.com/site/data/...033100398.html

Tokyo Approves Textbooks That Make Dokdo Japanese

Japan's Education and Science Ministry on Tuesday approved five elementary school textbooks that represent Korea's easternmost islets of Dokdo as Japanese territory. Three of them already made the attribution, but the other two added it only recently. That means all elementary schoolchildren will now be taught that Dokdo belongs to Japan.

The two new textbooks do not go into details but contain maps where they are labeled "Takeshima," the Japanese name. The new texts also show a boundary line between Dokdo and Ulleung Island, making it look as though Dokdo is part of Japan.

Korean Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan on Tuesday summoned Japanese Ambassador Toshinori Shigeie to lodge an official complaint. "Our government strongly protests against the passage of elementary school textbooks that contain Japan's wrongful claim to Dokdo, which historically, geographically and by international law is our territory, and urges it to take fundamental steps to correct the error," Yu said.

Well there goes the chance of friendly relationship between the two countries.

[SaintessHeart]

Asian Oil Stocks Rally

Asian markets traded mostly higher Tuesday with the Australian market reaching an 18-month high. Resources and oil plays were leading gains. The Nikkei fell 0.4%.

Investor confidence got a big boost after the Dow Jones Industrial Average hit an 18-month high Monday. "The rest of the world is recovering and that adds some gas to Asia's fire, both in terms of fundamental demand and improving confidence," said David Carbon at DBS Group Research in Singapore.

Japan's Nikkei 225 was down 0.4% while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was 1.0% higher and South Korea's Kospi Composite was off 0.1%.

Taiwan's main index was up 1.2%, Singapore's Straits Times Index rose 0.2%, and the Shanghai Composite was 0.2% higher. DJIA futures were flat in screen trade. Markets in Hong Kong and Thailand were shut for holidays.

The Australian share market rose on optimism surrounding recent U.S. economic data, but trade was subdued ahead of the results of the Reserve Bank of Australia's policy rate-setting meeting later in the session.

"Overall it's been a relatively subdued start to the week," said James Foulsham, head of dealing at CMC Markets. "There's still a lot of uncertainty about what's going to happen (with the RBA)."

Resources plays led gains, with upbeat U.S. economic data spurring buying in commodity sectors on expectations the global recovery is proceeding apace. BHP Billiton added 1.9% and Rio Tinto rose 1.5%.

Oil shares around the region advanced after crude futures added to last week's rally Monday, as the U.S. market opened for the first time since Friday's report of the biggest increase in U.S. employment in three years.

Australia's Woodside Petroleum gained 2.1%, New Zealand Oil and Gas advanced 3.2%, Japan's Inpex rose 0.6% and South Korea's SK Energy was up 0.3%.

Shares in Japan hurt by profit-taking after recent gains; "It's not surprising that the Tokyo market may see some correction," especially among exporters' stocks as they have been higher on the weak yen trend, said Shinichiro Matsushita, market analyst at Daiwa Securities. Panasonic was down 1.0% and Sharp was down 1.3%.

Toyota Motor was down 0.9%, following U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood's comments that the U.S. plans to seek a $16.4 million fine against the company, saying it "knowingly hid" safety problems from regulators.

The proposed fine, the maximum allowed under law against a car maker and far exceeding the previous $1 million record, is the first linked to Toyota's recall of more than eight million cars globally for gas-pedal and sudden-acceleration problems.

Nissan Motor added 0.8%. A person familiar with the matter said Nissan and its alliance partner France's Renault SA as well as German auto maker Daimler AG are expected to announce an alliance as soon as Wednesday that involves cooperation on small cars and cross-shareholdings among the three companies.

Coal plays were leading gains in China. Traders said Friday's better-than-expected U.S. nonfarm payrolls data increased investors' appetite for riskier holdings. Shanxi Xishan Coal & Electricity Power rose 4.4% and China Shenhua Energy gained 2.2%.

In Seoul, Korea Exchange Bank rose 1.1% after Yonhap News Agency reported, citing unnamed officials at the country's financial regulator, that Lone Star Funds had resumed its efforts to sell a controlling stake in the lender by sending teaser letters last week to 50 domestic and overseas investors.

Samsung Electronics shed 0.1% despite providing first-quarter earnings guidance that beat analysts' expectations slightly, as the stock had risen 6.4% since the start of April.

"The strong first-quarter earnings forecasts are already reflected in the stock and some investors are now taking profits, but the stock won't fall sharply due to the company's strong fundamentals," said Lee Kyoung-min at Woori Investment & Securities.

Elsewhere in the region, Malaysian shares gained 0.3%, India's Sensex was off 0.1% and New Zealand's NZX-50 was 1.0% higher.

In foreign exchange markets, the euro was weaker against the greenback after Reuters said, citing Market News International, that Greece wants to amend its aid deal with the European Union, bypassing the International Monetary Fund to avoid the lender's tough conditions. The euro was trading at $1.3428 compared with $1.3484 late Monday in New York, and buying ¥126.40 from ¥127.17. The dollar was at ¥94.14, compared with ¥94.31.

"The report was a surprise because investors have recently been optimistic that Greece will be saved. The report prompted investors to cut their exposure to euro-denominated assets as there could be some confusion in the Greece deal ahead," said Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ senior dealer Mitsuru Sahara.

The Australian dollar slipped ahead of the results of the Reserve Bank of Australia's policy rate-setting meeting. The Australian dollar was buying US$0.9174, off the day's high of US$0.9213.

Economists were split over whether RBA would hike or not, with a slim majority expecting a 25-basis-point hike to 4.25%, according to a Dow Jones poll.

"We suspect that a RBA rate hike today would likely push Aussie dollar/U.S. dollar through the 0.9240-0.9250 level which capped gains in March. Conversely, no RBA hike could see (the pair) ... under pressure given large long speculative positions, with 0.9130 likely to be tested, with the 100-day moving average at 0.9056 key support," said NAB Forex strategist John Kyriakopoulos.

The yield on 10-year Japanese government bonds rose 2.0 basis points to 1.400%, with the lead June JGB futures contract down 0.19 at 138.26 points.

Spot gold was at $1,128.10 per troy ounce, down $2.70 from the New York close.

Nymex May crude oil was down 10 cents at $86.52 per barrel on Globex.

So, who's ready for the Great Depression 2 : Part II? After this 18 month high surely people are going to start calling shorts.

[Reckoner]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/0..._n_526972.html

US Court Rules AGAINST FCC On Net Neutrality In Big Win For Comcast

WASHINGTON — A federal court threw the future of Internet regulations and U.S. broadband expansion plans into doubt Tuesday with a far-reaching decision that went against the Federal Communications Commission.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled that the FCC lacks the authority to require broadband providers to give equal treatment to all Internet traffic flowing over their networks. That was a big victory for Comcast Corp., the nation's largest cable company, which had challenged the FCC's authority to impose such "Net neutrality" obligations on broadband providers.

The ruling marks a serious setback for the FCC, which is trying to adopt official net neutrality regulations. FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, a Democrat, argues that such rules are needed to prevent phone and cable companies from using their control over Internet access to favor some online content and services over others.

The decision also has serious implications for the massive national broadband plan released by the FCC last month. The FCC needs clear authority to regulate broadband in order to push ahead with some its key recommendations, including a proposal to expand broadband by tapping the federal fund that subsidizes telephone service in poor and rural communities.

Comcast and the FCC had no immediate comment.

The court case centered on Comcast's challenge of a 2008 FCC order banning the company from blocking its broadband subscribers from using an online file-sharing technology known as BitTorrent. The commission, at the time headed by Republican Kevin Martin, based its order on a set of Net-neutrality principles it adopted in 2005 to prevent broadband providers from becoming online gatekeepers. Those principles have guided the FCC's enforcement of communications laws on a case-by-case basis.

But Comcast had argued that the FCC order was illegal because the agency was seeking to enforce mere policy principles, which don't have the force of regulations or law. That is one reason that Genachowski is now trying to formalize those rules.

The cable company had also argued that the FCC lacks authority to mandate Net neutrality because it deregulated broadband in a decision upheld by the Supreme Court in 2005.

The FCC now defines broadband as a lightly regulated information service. That means it is not subject to the obligations traditional telecommunications services have to share their networks with competitors and treat all traffic equally. But the agency argues that existing law gives it authority to set rules for information services, including Net neutrality rules.

Story continues below

Tuesday's court decision rejected that reasoning, concluding that Congress has not given the FCC "untrammeled freedom to regulate activities over which the statute fails to confer ... commission authority."

With so much at stake, the FCC now has several options. It could ask Congress to give it explicit authority to regulate broadband. Or it could appeal Tuesday's decision to the Supreme Court.

But both of those steps could take too long because the agency "has too many important things they have to do right away," said Ben Scott, policy director for the public interest group Free Press. Free Press was among the groups that alerted the FCC to Comcast's behavior after The Associated Press ran tests and reported that the cable company was interfering with attempts by some subscribers to share files online.

The more likely scenario, Scott believes, is that the agency will simply reclassify broadband as a more heavily regulated telecommuniciations service. And that, ironically, could be the worst-case outcome from the perspective of the phone and cable companies, he noted.

"Comcast swung an ax at the FCC to protest the BitTorrent order," Scott said. "And they sliced right through the FCC's arm and plunged the ax into their own back."

The battle over the FCC's legal jurisdiction comes amid a larger policy dispute over the merits of Net neutrality. Backed by Internet companies such as Google Inc. and the online calling service Skype, the FCC says rules are needed to prevent phone and cable companies from degrading or blocking cheaper Internet calling services or online video sites that compete with their core businesses. Indeed, BitTorrent can be used to transfer large files such as online video, which could threaten Comcast's cable TV business.

But broadband providers such as Comcast, AT&T Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc. argue that after spending billions of dollars on their networks, they should be able to manage their systems so that high-bandwidth applications such as BitTorrent don't hog capacity and slow the network for everyone else.

This scares me. I hope it goes to a higher court and gets overturned.

[Jinto]

But broadband providers such as Comcast, AT&T Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc. argue that after spending billions of dollars on their networks, they should be able to manage their systems so that high-bandwidth applications such as BitTorrent don't hog capacity and slow the network for everyone else.

They are basically selling bandwidth that they do not have... and complain if their stupid business model doesn't work, because people have the nerves to actually use the bandwidth that was assured to them in their contracts. Now that is a prime example of a twisted understanding of liability/justice.

[Nosauz]

Originally Posted by Jinto

They are basically selling bandwidth that they do not have... and complain if their stupid business model doesn't work, because people have the nerves to actually use the bandwidth that was assured to them in their contracts. Now that is a prime example of a twisted understanding of liability/justice.

man I should go buy some comcast/timewarner stock asap, end of net neutrality=big profits for these "content distributors" but don't tell the FCC that they actually also produce content that they distribute on this platform. WINK!

[mg1942]

Originally Posted by Reckoner

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/0..._n_526972.html



This scares me. I hope it goes to a higher court and gets overturned.

From what I understand of this Ruling, it's not really about Net Neutrality, it's about Government Agencies making and enforcing policies all willy nilly with no Law or Resolution passed legalizing the specific policy.


I look for this to affect the EPA as well.

[SaintessHeart]

Police or Samurai? Knife Maniac Taken Down in “Swordfight”
(TL Courtesy of Sankaku)

I think they are doing this all for recruitment's sake. Either that or there ARE otaku in the police force too.

Wish my local policemen do that too.

[Joojoobees]

New Japanese Political Party to 'Stand Up for Japan'

Article about the party's values

A new political party being formed by former Cabinet ministers Kaoru Yosano and Takeo Hiranuma will build its policy on "esteem for Japanese tradition, culture and history," and has pledged to raise the consumption tax if voted into power.

Article about the party's name

A new political party to be launched Saturday will be named "Tachiagare Nippon" (Stand Up, Japan)

In some countries "standing up" for "tradition" is code for extreme right wing politics (for example Italy's Alleanza Nazionale). Anybody who knows more about the primary actors able to comment?