Teh interesting tech news stub thread

[Sforza]

Ubisoft DRM servers go down, punishing customers but not pirates

You remember Ubisoft's announcement that they were crippling their new games with a DRM system that would kick players out of their games if they couldn't connect continuously to Ubisoft's DRM servers? Now Ubisoft's servers have started to go down.

Of course, pirates and people who break Ubisoft's DRM can still play. Way to correctly align the incentives, Ubisoft.

http://www.boingboing.net/2010/03/07/ubi...rvers.html
http://kotaku.com/5487918/ubisofts-new-d...-customers

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[Grim]

A star is born! Or will be.

In the next phase of pushing science to previously untried limits, scientists are now trying to create a star. On the surface of the earth!

The world's largest laser will be used to set off a nuclear reaction that could possibly birth a star right here on our planet. If it works, we'll have a potential solution to society's energy bursting needs. If it doesn't, we all might possibly die. Or at least, the state in which this star is created.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/science/04/...tml?hpt=C1

[Fox]

After reading that, all i can think of at the moment is what happened to NERV's Nevada branch after they tried installing an S2 engine inside Unit 04.

[Sforza]

The faint but extremely powerful energy signature may alert alien life to our planet, and we'll all be doomed.

[J.E_Magog]

Oo nga e. just recently
Stephen Hawking: Aliens may not come in peace‎ - http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2010/04...e-in-peace

[Grim]

Computer algorithm made to detect sarcasm, is surprisingly accurate

SASI, a Semi-supervised Algorithm for Sarcasm Identification, can recognize sarcastic sentences in product reviews online with pretty astounding 77 percent precision. To create such an algorithm, the team scanned 66,000 Amazon.com product reviews, with three different human annotators tagging sentences for sarcasm. The team then identified certain sarcastic patterns that emerged in the reviews and created a classification algorithm that puts each statement into a sarcastic class.

http://www.popsci.com/technology/article...soooo-cool

[Twin-Skies]

Computer algorithm made to detect sarcasm, is surprisingly accurate

SASI, a Semi-supervised Algorithm for Sarcasm Identification, can recognize sarcastic sentences in product reviews online with pretty astounding 77 percent precision. To create such an algorithm, the team scanned 66,000 Amazon.com product reviews, with three different human annotators tagging sentences for sarcasm. The team then identified certain sarcastic patterns that emerged in the reviews and created a classification algorithm that puts each statement into a sarcastic class.

http://www.popsci.com/technology/article...soooo-cool

Awesome: That humanity has developed an actual way of detecting sarcasm in writing.

Sad: That humanity NEEDS to develop a fucking app to tell them when an article is being sarcastic or not.

In fact, I thought the whole point of sarcasm is taking a subtle stab at a topic, and letting those who get the joke enjoy the privilege of a good laugh.

What's next, an actual gaydar?

[Grim]

What's next, an actual gaydar?

A nice idea!

[Grim]

"Hey Microsoft, you suck!" -Google

Google Dumps Microsoft Windows Company-Wide -- Blames Windows For China Hacking Attack

Well, Google has taken the next step in its world domination plan, banning Microsoft Windows from internal use.

Employees will be given the choice between Apple's Mac OS and Linux.

Adding insult to injury, Google is also publicly citing Windows security problems for the decision and blaming Windows vulnerabilities for the China hacking incident.

[Grim]

Ever wondered what happens to a YouTube video if you upload it, download it, and then upload it again? Like, say, 1000 times?

http://mashable.com/2010/06/03/youtube-i-am-sitting/

Suffice it to say, this is proof that the Zerg can infest anything.

[Sforza]

HP to spam your web connected printer

HP and Yahoo are teaming up to spam advertisements to your printer -- the next step being behavioral ads based on the traffic it can sniff from your local network

Stupidest marketing ploy ever?

[Sforza]

Really good article on the current state of the internet, the future, and where we all play into it. Yes, it's a bit long, but it's very insightful so it's worth it.

The internet: Everything you ever need to know

In spite of all the answers the internet has given us, its full potential to transform our lives remains the great unknown. Here are the nine key steps to understanding the most powerful tool of our age – and where it's taking us

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/201...ed-to-know

Edit: I liked this phrase.

Many years ago, the cultural critic Neil Postman, one of the 20th century's most perceptive critics of technology, predicted that the insights of two writers would, like a pair of bookends, bracket our future. Aldous Huxley believed that we would be destroyed by the things we love, while George Orwell thought we would be destroyed by the things we fear.

[Grim]

Windows 8 Plans Leaked

Very very interesting set of slides, presumably real, on the next iteration of MS's operating system. IF they are real, see how Microsoft looks to Apple's strategies, take a look at a prototype machine, read about the entrance of a competitor to the App Store, and see the possible exit of the "desktop" as a computer metaphor.

[Twin-Skies]

Harvard develops bionic lungs
http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/28/resea...microchip/

[Hempire]

WOAH. BIONIC EYES PLEASE!!!!