Windows 8 Users, Help Me Understand Something
October 31st, 2012Windows 8 is meant to be used with a touchscreen. I haven’t seen any reviews that recommend Windows 8 for non-touchscreen users. The overwhelming opinion is that Windows 8 might be usable on traditional display, keyboard and mouse systems, given enough practice, but you’d be in for a shock if you think that your experience is going to be improved by doing this.
But, say, for example, that someone had a large touchscreen sitting on their desk in front of them. Is that person meant to extend their arms and touch the screen, Minority Report style, to control the computer?
Minority Report
Update: Where’s the Explanation from the ‘No’ Voters
Not one person who has voted ‘No’ in this poll has posted a comment or sent me an email to explain how Microsoft expects people with large screens to use Windows 8.
Update / Related: An Analysis of the Car-Crash Windows 8 Desktop/Metro Interface
More Large Media Consolidation
October 31st, 2012Random House and Penguin Merge:
Britain’s Pearson and Germany’s Bertelsmann plan to merge their publishers Penguin and Random House, aiming to gain the upper hand in their relationship with Amazon and Apple, the leaders in the ebook revolution.
The Walt Disney Co. Acquires Lucasfilm:
The Walt Disney Co. announced today that it’s agreed to acquire Lucasfilm for $4.05 billion, and word quickly followed that there are plans in place for not one but three new “Star Wars” movies, the first of which will arrive in theaters in 2015. Lucas, however, will only serve as a “creative consultant” and will not write or direct.
Unprecedented Damage to New York Subway System
October 30th, 2012Via: MTA:
The New York City subway system is 108 years old, but it has never faced a disaster as devastating as what we experienced last night. Hurricane Sandy wreaked havoc on our entire transportation system, in every borough and county of the region. It has brought down trees, ripped out power and inundated tunnels, rail yards and bus depots.
As of last night, seven subway tunnels under the East River flooded. Metro-North Railroad lost power from 59th Street to Croton-Harmon on the Hudson Line and to New Haven on the New Haven Line. The Long Island Rail Road evacuated its West Side Yards and suffered flooding in one East River tunnel. The Hugh L. Carey Tunnel is flooded from end to end and the Queens Midtown Tunnel also took on water and was closed. Six bus garages were disabled by high water. We are assessing the extent of the damage and beginning the process of recovery. Our employees have shown remarkable dedication over the past few days, and I thank them on behalf of every New Yorker. In 108 years, our employees have never faced a challenge like the one that confronts us now. All of us at the MTA are committed to restoring the system as quickly as we can to help bring New York back to normal.
Poland Found Explosives on Wreckage of President’s Plane
October 30th, 2012Via: Reuters:
Polish investigators found traces of explosives on the wreckage of the government jet that crashed in Russia two years ago, killing Poland’s president and 95 others, daily Rzeczpospolita reported on Tuesday.
Without citing sources, the newspaper said prosecutors and explosive experts who examined the remains of the plane in Russia found signs of TNT and nitroglycerin on the wings and in the cabin, including on 30 seats.
Traces of explosives were also found in the area where the Tu-154 crashed during its approach to a small airport near the Russian city of Smolensk on April 10, 2010, the daily reported.
Research Credit: HPLovecraft666
Me and My Censor
October 30th, 2012Via: Foreign Policy:
Every legally registered publication in China is subject to review by a censor, sometimes several. Some expat publications have entire teams of censors scouring their otherwise innocuous restaurant reviews and bar write-ups for, depending on one’s opinion of foreigners, accidental or coded allusions to sensitive topics. For example, That’s Shanghai magazine once had to strike the number 64 from a short, unrelated article because their censors believed it might be read as an oblique reference to June 4, 1989, when the Chinese government bloodily suppressed a pro-democracy movement in Tiananmen Square. Many Chinese-run publications have no censor at all, but their editors are relied upon to know where the line falls — i.e., to self-censor.
Our censor, an employee of MOFCOMM, was a nervous, flighty woman in her forties with long, frizzy hair and a high, childlike voice, whose name was Snow. (Snow requested I only use her English name for this article.) In late September of this year, I learned that Snow left the magazine, enabling me to finally write this story without fear that it would affect her job.
Most U.S. Drones Openly Broadcast Secret Video Feeds
October 30th, 2012Via: Wired:
Four years after discovering that militants were tapping into drone video feeds, the U.S. military still hasn’t secured the transmissions of more than half of its fleet of Predator and Reaper drones, Danger Room has learned. The majority of the aircraft still broadcast their classified video streams “in the clear” — without encryption. With a minimal amount of equipment and know-how, militants can see what America’s drones see.
Moscow Police Discover Brothel on Monastery Premises
October 30th, 2012Via: Telegraph:
Moscow police have discovered a brothel on the premises of a monastery whose abbot is thought to be President Vladimir Putin’s spiritual adviser.
Two women were arrested on suspicion of prostitution after seven rooms were found in a building close to Sretensky Monastery where sexual services were offered from 1,750 roubles (£35) per hour.
Father Tikhon, the abbot of the monastery, is said to be a religious counsellor to Mr Putin, who is a confirmed Russian Orthodox believer.
Barclays Libor Case to Go to Trial
October 30th, 2012Via: Reuters:
Barclays became the first bank to be ordered to stand trial in a British court over damages stemming from manipulation of the Libor interest rate after a High Court ruling on Monday.
Guardian Care Homes, a residential care home operator based in Wolverhampton, is suing Barclays for up to 37 million pounds ($59 million) over the alleged mis-selling of interest rate hedging products known as swaps.
“Today is a huge milestone with a trial now going forward to determine whether these financial products should be declared void,” Guardian Care Homes’ chief executive Gary Hartland said after the ruling.
The case could also lead to new revelations about the Libor scandal after Guardian Care Homes asked for documents relating to the affair to be disclosed.
Research Credit: almaverdad2
Asiastralia
October 30th, 2012Via: Telegraph:
All Australian schoolchildren will be able to learn an Asian language under an ambitious plan by Prime Minister Julia Gillard to prepare the nation for the “Asian Century”.
Ms Gillard has committed to 25 far-reaching goals over the next 13 years designed to tighten links with Asia and ensure that Australians are able to exploit the region’s “staggering” growth.
The measures, outlined in a report by a government-appointed taskforce, include offering thousands of scholarships to Asian students, new diplomatic posts across the region and requiring that a third of all company directors and senior civil servants have a “deep knowledge” of Asia. In addition, every schoolchild will be able to learn one of four “priority” languages: Chinese, Hindi, Japanese and Indonesian.
Ms Gillard said the “unstoppable” rise of Asia and its massive new urban middle class was “a transformation as profound as any that have defined Australia throughout our history”.
“This is good news for Australia and it should drive a profound change in our thinking about our economic relationship with Asia,” she said.
Under the long-awaited plan all schools will be partnered with schools in Asia and television stations will be encouraged to present more Asian news and programs. “Children in kindergarten now will graduate from high school with a sound working knowledge of Asia,” Ms Gillard said.
Sandy: At Least 16 Deaths, 6.2 Million Without Power
October 30th, 2012Via: Chicago Tribune:
Superstorm Sandy slammed into the New Jersey coastline with 80 mph winds Monday night and hurled an unprecedented 13-foot surge of seawater at New York City, flooding its tunnels, subway stations and the electrical system that powers Wall Street.
At least 16 U.S. deaths were blamed on the storm, which brought the presidential campaign to a halt a week before Election Da. Sandy also killed 66 people in the Caribbean.
For New York City at least, Sandy was not the days-long onslaught many had feared, and the wind and rain that sent water sloshing into Manhattan from three sides began dying down within hours.
Still, the power was out for hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers and an estimated 6.2 million people altogether across the East. The full extent of the storm’s damage across the region was unclear, and unlikely to be known until daybreak.
