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Stories and comments across the archive that link to amazon.com.

Comments · 40,271

  1. There's a gadget that might help... by DrVomact · · Score: 1 · on New Gadget Blocks 'Spam' Phone Calls

    Back before the national Do Not Call law went through, I used to have a little device that plugged into my phone line between the phone and the line out. Apparently, it was able to tell the difference between a manually dialed call and an auto-dialer; as I recall, it did a good job of weeding out most junk calls. It was called a "Tele-Zapper". After the DNC law passed, I got rid of it, because I figured I'd never need it again. Well, I'm getting more and more junk calls again, so I think I'm going to have to get a new one. I notice Amazon sells them: http://www.amazon.com/Privacy-Technologies-TZ-900-TeleZapper-900/dp/B00006881R/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top. (This is not an endorsement, and I don't work for them...I can only say that I recall the device worked well for me.)

  2. Re:It was Global COOLING in the 70s. by theaveng · · Score: 1 · on Geoengineering To Cool the Earth Becoming Thinkable

    Science also once thought flies spontaneous-generated from rotting meat. That light traveled through an invisible fluid in space. That planets moved in perfect circles (because God is perfect, and his creation is perfect).

    The point I was making is that scientific beliefs (yes that's the correct word) change from generation-to-generation. Wait another twenty years, and don't be surprised if scientists have an entirely different explanation for why the earth warmed-up. Ever heard the phrase "paradigm shift"? If not read this: http://www.amazon.com/Structure-Scientific-Revolutions-Thomas-Kuhn/dp/0226458083

  3. Like something out of Robinson's work by CRCulver · · Score: 4, Interesting · on Geoengineering To Cool the Earth Becoming Thinkable

    It's cool to see some of the speculation about the terraforming of other planets now applied to Earth. I fondly recall how one of the strategies used to warm Mars in Kim Stanley Robinson's trilogy beginning with Red Mars was spreading black dust to absorb sunlight.

  4. Re:I Love Linux, but... by MightyDrunken · · Score: 1 · on Linux Ecosystem Is Worth $25 Billion
    Not to try to stop a good argument but..

    just because Linux foundation says the Linux footprint is worth $25 Billion, is a fallicy because nobody can purchase it.

    Oh really?.

  5. Re:Carefully protected? by SatanicPuppy · · Score: 1 · on Why RAID 5 Stops Working In 2009

    Sure, if you only need 16gb of info, then almost any backup solution will meet your needs. Sign up for a couple of gmail accounts, and mail it to yourself. Pay Amazon 2 bucks a month to store it in S3...Hell, if you trust Amazon not to lose your data (debatable) they'd only charge 1,843.20 cents a month to store your 12TB (not counting the 1,228.80 they'd charge you when you uploaded it).

    It's a problem of scale. 1gb is trivial. 1,024GB is difficult. 12,288GB is obscenely difficult. Reliable, redundant, offsite storage is nearly impossible for that quantity of data for anyone except a decent sized corporation. If you put together the amount of storage I deal with at work, its between 10-20TB, but the amount we back up in the hardcore offsite manner is under 100gigs.

  6. Re:Free != Piracy by CSMatt · · Score: 1 · on Learning To Profit From Piracy

    Is the Kindle version DRM'd enough for you?

  7. Public-key crypto by CRCulver · · Score: 2, Informative · on Soaring, Cryptography, and Nuclear Weapons

    Hellman is best known as co-inventor (with Diffie and Merkle) of public key cryptography

    FWIW, the British secret service discovered public-cryptography several years before. Hellman et al just introduced it to the public. See Schneier's Applied Cryptography .

  8. Re:That's a shame by pete-classic · · Score: 1 · on Lawsuit Between Apple and Psystar Moves Toward Settlement

    Dude, what the fuck are you talking about? There are zero controls on purchasing OS X. Look.

    They didn't sell Intel Tiger at retail because every compatible machine came with it. What possible reason would they have for selling it at retail?

    -Peter

  9. It's normal and healthy for startups to get help. by RustinHWright · · Score: 1 · on "Roadable Aircraft" Moving Towards Launch

    Yeah, the intent *is* to make a business. What's your point? Do you have any idea how many startups get helped out in one way or another by folks not expecting to buy the product or become stockholders? Whether it's the retail outlet that gets cut a more payable price because the landlord likes their concept or the software company that gets shipped a free SDK because the vendor would like to see their software on his or her platform, it's entirely normal for people to offer a company a helping hand simply to help strengthen the ecosystem their products sell into or simply because they feel like it.

    Frankly, after all these years, I'm getting a bit tired of the fantasyland that so many /.ers seem to live in of "pure" capitalist successes and the omnicient and infallable Force Of The Market. Those of us who actually work in startups know better. I wish that you guys would go out and read Accidental Empires or The Eudaemonic Pie or any of the other many books on how companies actually get started and grow. It's messy, it's difficult, and it's rarely doable without plenty of assists from plenty of people. All that I'm suggesting is that we take a thing that's already normal and add /. to the equation in a more straightforward and effective way.

  10. Re:Peer review helps by theMatrix777 · · Score: 1 · on Why Most Published Research Findings Are False

    Peer review no doubt helps to limit people who intentionally want to cause problems. Sokal's bullshit paper on quantum gravity (see The Sokal Hoax ) made it into print only through a non-peer-reviewed journal. While it is disturbing to think much published scholarship is unreliable, at least it isn't necessarily malicious.

    While we can each "assume", no one knows what the intention was; malicious or not.

    Personally, I think it was done intentionally and with malice.

    And this post just proves it. It's causing problems......

  11. Where to find them? by CRCulver · · Score: 4, Interesting · on Number of ET Civilizations In Our Galaxy Is 37,964

    I'd be interested to know where the best place to look for ET civilizations is. A common science fiction theme, found in plausible for in Niven's Known Space universe and Vinge's rather implausible A Fire Upon the Deep has civilizations getting out of the core as fast as possible, settling the fringes of the galaxy. The increased speed of stellar activity in the core would make for a risky place to build lasting civilizations. Would everyone better than us be at the outskirts?

  12. Re:Cell phones and terrorists by qbzzt · · Score: 1 · on Passport Required To Buy Mobile Phones In the UK

    No, but I read Empires of Trust.

  13. Peer review helps by CRCulver · · Score: 4, Interesting · on Why Most Published Research Findings Are False

    Peer review no doubt helps to limit people who intentionally want to cause problems. Sokal's bullshit paper on quantum gravity (see The Sokal Hoax ) made it into print only through a non-peer-reviewed journal. While it is disturbing to think much published scholarship is unreliable, at least it isn't necessarily malicious.

  14. Will we ever see Parrot? by CRCulver · · Score: 4, Informative · on Generic VMs Key To Future of Coding

    I remember some years ago the elation people felt when Parrot was announced. At last, we could leverage the strengths of either Python or Perl--or whatever other interpreted languages--but work with a common interpreter. But then the hype started to die down, and the last edition of O'Reilly's book on the subject appeared over four years ago. Within the Python community, interest in Parrot seems completely dead. Are the Perl folks going it alone, and when might we see the project reach a successful deployment?

  15. Re:Schneier bothers me by CRCulver · · Score: 3, Insightful · on Schneier, Journalist Poke Holes In TSA Policies

    I agree. I miss the Schneier who was the author of Applied Cryptography , an icon for the cypherpunks who seemed to foretell a coming golden age of privacy, where the average man would sock it to the Man with strong crypto. I understand his view that crypto isn't everything anymore, but he has gone from being an inspiring figure to a guy who seems like he just wants to look sagely and get lots of clients for his consulting business.

  16. Some context by Estanislao+Mart�nez · · Score: 1 · on LittleBigPlanet Delayed Due To Qur'an-Sampling Audio

    Another look at the meaning is clearly only stating the obvious: Just as every life has a beginning it also too must have an end. It does not say that everyone must perish in a cruel, agonizing, bloody death. Even the bible has some pretty dark lines surpassing this one.

    I have the album that song comes from. If I remember correctly (from the liner notes), the song is an hommage to the singer's late brother.

    The musicians are mostly from Mali, but the singer is from Senegal, and this one song is primarily in Wolof. Nearly all of the musicians are in the record are Muslims, so they'd indeed be familiar with koranic language. And clearly, they don't seem to think that it's objectionable for Muslims to use Koranic quotations in music.

  17. Re:Embarrassed? by Danse · · Score: 1 · on Stardock Evaluates DRM Complaints, Updates Gamer's Bill of Rights

    I doubt you bought your house in some random shop in a small box, or got it shipped by post.

    Buying a house is a bit more sophisticated than buying a game... and the authorities (which will print you your new deed) know about it, which I doubt as far as your game is concerned.

    Then again, getting a new copy of that deed isn't going to be free either - it'll probably cost more than the 9.99 USD you pay for a brand spanking new copy of UT2004...

    np: Venetian Snares - Masodik Galamb (Rossz Csillag Allat Szuletett)

    All they have to do is get me a new key. I'm not even asking for anything physical. I've even still got the box and manual for it, along with the original discs. But because I don't have whatever extra piece of paper they threw in with a cd key on it, I'm screwed.

    10 bucks is fine when we're talking about over 100K for a house, and the fact that they have to create and send a new physical document. It seems ridiculous that I'd have to pay 20 percent of the original price (or the full, depreciated price if we look at it that way) just to play again.

  18. Re:Embarrassed? by Briareos · · Score: 1 · on Stardock Evaluates DRM Complaints, Updates Gamer's Bill of Rights

    I doubt you bought your house in some random shop in a small box, or got it shipped by post.

    Buying a house is a bit more sophisticated than buying a game... and the authorities (which will print you your new deed) know about it, which I doubt as far as your game is concerned.

    Then again, getting a new copy of that deed isn't going to be free either - it'll probably cost more than the 9.99 USD you pay for a brand spanking new copy of UT2004...

    np: Venetian Snares - Masodik Galamb (Rossz Csillag Allat Szuletett)

  19. Re:Could this be dumber? by Paradoks · · Score: 1 · on Researchers Claim To Be Able To Determine Political Leaning By How Messy You Are

    Having actually read the researcher's book(Snoop, and that is not an affiliate link, so click away.), I'd like to point out a thing or two that make me think this area of study is worthwhile:

    Say you're interviewing someone. You'd like to know if the person would make a good employee or not, or at the very least try to figure out what sort of employee you could expect. So, these researchers studied interviews by having interviewers rate people based on what they saw. Interviewees who spent more time talking, who gestured a lot, and who dressed more formally were judged to be higher on both social skills and work motivation.

    However, when they looked at what these people were actually like, talking, gesturing, and dress were indeed valid cues for social skills, but only the formality of dress predicted the applicant's work motivation.

    Most of that was from pages 169 and 170 in the book.

    Now, if you're interviewing for a position, wouldn't it be nice to have some sort of guide as to where our senses tend to be accurate, and where they tend to lead us astray? As an interviewee, wouldn't it be nice to know how people are likely to respond to you if you act in a certain way? Is it really better to assume that, since we'll never be 100% certain about what one thing or another means, we shouldn't study it at all?

    Seeing sports posters up on the wall, or an American flag in a certain area can lead you to ask certain questions that you might not think to ask otherwise. It's not an open invitation to pigeon-hole and dismiss a person.

  20. What a guy by CRCulver · · Score: 5, Informative · on E17, Slimmed Down For Cell Phones

    Raster has always seemed to me one of the unsung heroes of the open source world. Richard Stallman has his following and has even seen a biography published by O'Reilly, and Eric S. Raymond's witty sayings have often been chronicled here and on other tech sites, but Raster just doesn't get the attention he deserves for his elegant technical solutions--even coverage on Enlightenment here is more about eye candy than superb architecture.

  21. Re:I was going to ask by DaveAtFraud · · Score: 1 · on Do Software Versions Really Matter?

    Are you sure you aren't a salesdrooid? Very convincing.

    Recommended reading for recognizing and discounting spin, marketing hype and general bull shit.

    Cheers,
    Dave

  22. Re:Your logic is wrong by AKAImBatman · · Score: 1 · on 99.8% of Gamers Don't Care About DRM, Says EA

    So for the record, how many examples of people having difficulties with Spore in particular have your personally encountered?

    Interestingly, I do not know anyone who has purchased Spore in particular. Despite the media blitz, there is very little interest among the gamers I know. (Many of whom are far more "hard core" than myself.) The problems I have seen are indeed past problems, but they deal with the SecuROM software. SecuROM has been around for some time now, and is nothing new with the release of Spore.

    If we follow your logic of incidents to date with Spore based on support calls, then you may be correct. However, that number is meaningless. EA has already lost customers due to DRM problems and will likely lose more. Singling out the statistics for Spore is exactly the type of statistical abuse I was railing against in my post. It's like saying, "For the 20% of people who have not been previously burned by SecuROM or StarForce, 99.8% don't have any problems." Which means (in effect) that 99.8% of the customers happen to be the people that the game works for.

    The messed up part is that in the original Gamasutra interview, he claimed that about half of that 0.2% were pirates and that the other half were innocent folks caught up in an anti-marketing blitz! Never mind that (according to the Telegraph and other news sources) the pirated versions of the game are available without DRM. Why would pirates complain when they have such an easy time cracking these titles?

    The truth is that the DRM is ineffective and punishes legitimate users. Take one example from the Amazon reviews of Spore. A serviceman obtained the game without realizing that it required Internet activation. He is unable to activate it and is thus not able to play the game. Another user got burned by the downloads. Both these examples are outside the canvasing of Amazon, yet they have been punished by EA's heavy handed tactics.

    The end result of all this is that EA is implementing DRM because they believe that PC gaming sales are down because of piracy. Yet piracy continues unabated while EA exasperates the very issue they were trying to solve!

  23. Re:Your logic is wrong by AKAImBatman · · Score: 1 · on 99.8% of Gamers Don't Care About DRM, Says EA

    So for the record, how many examples of people having difficulties with Spore in particular have your personally encountered?

    Interestingly, I do not know anyone who has purchased Spore in particular. Despite the media blitz, there is very little interest among the gamers I know. (Many of whom are far more "hard core" than myself.) The problems I have seen are indeed past problems, but they deal with the SecuROM software. SecuROM has been around for some time now, and is nothing new with the release of Spore.

    If we follow your logic of incidents to date with Spore based on support calls, then you may be correct. However, that number is meaningless. EA has already lost customers due to DRM problems and will likely lose more. Singling out the statistics for Spore is exactly the type of statistical abuse I was railing against in my post. It's like saying, "For the 20% of people who have not been previously burned by SecuROM or StarForce, 99.8% don't have any problems." Which means (in effect) that 99.8% of the customers happen to be the people that the game works for.

    The messed up part is that in the original Gamasutra interview, he claimed that about half of that 0.2% were pirates and that the other half were innocent folks caught up in an anti-marketing blitz! Never mind that (according to the Telegraph and other news sources) the pirated versions of the game are available without DRM. Why would pirates complain when they have such an easy time cracking these titles?

    The truth is that the DRM is ineffective and punishes legitimate users. Take one example from the Amazon reviews of Spore. A serviceman obtained the game without realizing that it required Internet activation. He is unable to activate it and is thus not able to play the game. Another user got burned by the downloads. Both these examples are outside the canvasing of Amazon, yet they have been punished by EA's heavy handed tactics.

    The end result of all this is that EA is implementing DRM because they believe that PC gaming sales are down because of piracy. Yet piracy continues unabated while EA exasperates the very issue they were trying to solve!

  24. Re:i am voting for barack obama by fluxrad · · Score: 1 · on Internet Co-inventor Vint Cerf Endorses Obama

    I have a couple of books you should read.

    Voting is a consumption good. You vote because it makes you feel good about yourself, not because it actually makes a difference.

  25. Re:i am voting for barack obama by fluxrad · · Score: 1 · on Internet Co-inventor Vint Cerf Endorses Obama

    I have a couple of books you should read.

    Voting is a consumption good. You vote because it makes you feel good about yourself, not because it actually makes a difference.

  26. Keep hammering! by snarfies · · Score: 5, Informative · on 99.8% of Gamers Don't Care About DRM, Says EA

    Sounds like they're getting nervous, keep the 1-star reviews coming!

    Red Alert 3 (upcoming):
    http://www.amazon.com/Command-Conquer-Red-Alert-Premier-Pc/dp/B001F6HJIY/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1224087512&sr=8-2
    http://www.amazon.com/Command-Conquer-Red-Alert-3-Pc/dp/B0016BVY7U/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1224087512&sr=8-1

    Far Cry 2 (upcoming):
    http://www.amazon.com/Far-Cry-2-Pc/dp/B000X9FV5M/ref=pd_bbs_2?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1224087659&sr=8-2

    Spore:
    http://www.amazon.com/Spore-Mac/dp/B000FKBCX4/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1224087603&sr=8-1
    http://www.amazon.com/Spore-Galactic-Pc/dp/B001AYEGXM/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2?ie=UTF8&s=software&qid=1224087603&sr=8-2

    Crysis Warhead:
    http://www.amazon.com/Crysis-Warhead-Pc/dp/B001ATHKVC/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1224087659&sr=8-1

  27. Keep hammering! by snarfies · · Score: 5, Informative · on 99.8% of Gamers Don't Care About DRM, Says EA

    Sounds like they're getting nervous, keep the 1-star reviews coming!

    Red Alert 3 (upcoming):
    http://www.amazon.com/Command-Conquer-Red-Alert-Premier-Pc/dp/B001F6HJIY/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1224087512&sr=8-2
    http://www.amazon.com/Command-Conquer-Red-Alert-3-Pc/dp/B0016BVY7U/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1224087512&sr=8-1

    Far Cry 2 (upcoming):
    http://www.amazon.com/Far-Cry-2-Pc/dp/B000X9FV5M/ref=pd_bbs_2?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1224087659&sr=8-2

    Spore:
    http://www.amazon.com/Spore-Mac/dp/B000FKBCX4/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1224087603&sr=8-1
    http://www.amazon.com/Spore-Galactic-Pc/dp/B001AYEGXM/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2?ie=UTF8&s=software&qid=1224087603&sr=8-2

    Crysis Warhead:
    http://www.amazon.com/Crysis-Warhead-Pc/dp/B001ATHKVC/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1224087659&sr=8-1

  28. Keep hammering! by snarfies · · Score: 5, Informative · on 99.8% of Gamers Don't Care About DRM, Says EA

    Sounds like they're getting nervous, keep the 1-star reviews coming!

    Red Alert 3 (upcoming):
    http://www.amazon.com/Command-Conquer-Red-Alert-Premier-Pc/dp/B001F6HJIY/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1224087512&sr=8-2
    http://www.amazon.com/Command-Conquer-Red-Alert-3-Pc/dp/B0016BVY7U/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1224087512&sr=8-1

    Far Cry 2 (upcoming):
    http://www.amazon.com/Far-Cry-2-Pc/dp/B000X9FV5M/ref=pd_bbs_2?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1224087659&sr=8-2

    Spore:
    http://www.amazon.com/Spore-Mac/dp/B000FKBCX4/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1224087603&sr=8-1
    http://www.amazon.com/Spore-Galactic-Pc/dp/B001AYEGXM/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2?ie=UTF8&s=software&qid=1224087603&sr=8-2

    Crysis Warhead:
    http://www.amazon.com/Crysis-Warhead-Pc/dp/B001ATHKVC/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1224087659&sr=8-1

  29. Keep hammering! by snarfies · · Score: 5, Informative · on 99.8% of Gamers Don't Care About DRM, Says EA

    Sounds like they're getting nervous, keep the 1-star reviews coming!

    Red Alert 3 (upcoming):
    http://www.amazon.com/Command-Conquer-Red-Alert-Premier-Pc/dp/B001F6HJIY/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1224087512&sr=8-2
    http://www.amazon.com/Command-Conquer-Red-Alert-3-Pc/dp/B0016BVY7U/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1224087512&sr=8-1

    Far Cry 2 (upcoming):
    http://www.amazon.com/Far-Cry-2-Pc/dp/B000X9FV5M/ref=pd_bbs_2?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1224087659&sr=8-2

    Spore:
    http://www.amazon.com/Spore-Mac/dp/B000FKBCX4/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1224087603&sr=8-1
    http://www.amazon.com/Spore-Galactic-Pc/dp/B001AYEGXM/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2?ie=UTF8&s=software&qid=1224087603&sr=8-2

    Crysis Warhead:
    http://www.amazon.com/Crysis-Warhead-Pc/dp/B001ATHKVC/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1224087659&sr=8-1

  30. Keep hammering! by snarfies · · Score: 5, Informative · on 99.8% of Gamers Don't Care About DRM, Says EA

    Sounds like they're getting nervous, keep the 1-star reviews coming!

    Red Alert 3 (upcoming):
    http://www.amazon.com/Command-Conquer-Red-Alert-Premier-Pc/dp/B001F6HJIY/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1224087512&sr=8-2
    http://www.amazon.com/Command-Conquer-Red-Alert-3-Pc/dp/B0016BVY7U/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1224087512&sr=8-1

    Far Cry 2 (upcoming):
    http://www.amazon.com/Far-Cry-2-Pc/dp/B000X9FV5M/ref=pd_bbs_2?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1224087659&sr=8-2

    Spore:
    http://www.amazon.com/Spore-Mac/dp/B000FKBCX4/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1224087603&sr=8-1
    http://www.amazon.com/Spore-Galactic-Pc/dp/B001AYEGXM/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2?ie=UTF8&s=software&qid=1224087603&sr=8-2

    Crysis Warhead:
    http://www.amazon.com/Crysis-Warhead-Pc/dp/B001ATHKVC/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1224087659&sr=8-1

  31. Keep hammering! by snarfies · · Score: 5, Informative · on 99.8% of Gamers Don't Care About DRM, Says EA

    Sounds like they're getting nervous, keep the 1-star reviews coming!

    Red Alert 3 (upcoming):
    http://www.amazon.com/Command-Conquer-Red-Alert-Premier-Pc/dp/B001F6HJIY/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1224087512&sr=8-2
    http://www.amazon.com/Command-Conquer-Red-Alert-3-Pc/dp/B0016BVY7U/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1224087512&sr=8-1

    Far Cry 2 (upcoming):
    http://www.amazon.com/Far-Cry-2-Pc/dp/B000X9FV5M/ref=pd_bbs_2?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1224087659&sr=8-2

    Spore:
    http://www.amazon.com/Spore-Mac/dp/B000FKBCX4/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1224087603&sr=8-1
    http://www.amazon.com/Spore-Galactic-Pc/dp/B001AYEGXM/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2?ie=UTF8&s=software&qid=1224087603&sr=8-2

    Crysis Warhead:
    http://www.amazon.com/Crysis-Warhead-Pc/dp/B001ATHKVC/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1224087659&sr=8-1

  32. Re:dupe by Hognoxious · · Score: 1 · on Report Indicates Widespread H-1B Visa Fraud

    I like your ideas. I'd be tempted to throw trick questions in too, like asking about things that don't exist. I've certainly heard of the practices you describe.

    Don't know about other areas, but for SAP there are books to help clueless candidates [not a referral] bullshit their way through interviews. Personally, I think the authors are accessories to fraud and ought to be tarred and feathered.

    What happens when equally clueless interviewers are taking their questions from the same books is left as an exercise for the student...

  33. Re:Obama by rolfwind · · Score: 1 · on Internet Co-inventor Vint Cerf Endorses Obama

    his economic plan makes more sense to me.

    Neither candidate's economic plan makes sense. Sooner or later this country will fall, because of entitlement spending and the baby boomers retiring. Obama is out there promising all sorts of things he ultimately CAN'T and WON'T deliver on. Have fun. Don't believe me.

    Read Peter Schiff's book (written 2006, published 2007) "Crash Proof : How to Profit from the Coming Economic Collapse":
    http://www.amazon.com/Crash-Proof-Economic-Collapse-Sonberg/dp/0470043601

    OTOH, if you need a blessed authority figure to tell you these things, try David Walker, he was the Comptroller General from 1998-2008, appointed by Clinton to that post, previously appointed by Reagan and Bush 41 to others. He was head of the GAO (General Accountability Office) and basically the top accountant of the land:
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_M._Walker_(U.S._Comptroller_General)

    He made these videos as Comptroller General:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIgrxpp97OQ (Part 1)
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXr_Ga_n0pY (Part 2)

    Interviewed on 60 minutes:
    http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7461407498377956300

    Interviewed by Glenn Beck:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-16u9x3tfE

    The fact that either candidate backed the bailouts and ARE PROMISING you MORE benefits are both irresponsible. Bush should have asked us to cut back after 9/11 on our consumerism, but encouraged the opposite. The issues you mention such as abortion are wedge issues, should be handled by the states per the 10th amendment, and are probably actually meaningless to most people's lives unlike the Constitution and the overall economic conditions.

    They say insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. That's how I feel about people voting in republicrats and democans and expecting CHANGE in Washington.

  34. Re:Is this possible? by Colonel+Korn · · Score: 2, Interesting · on Google Demands Higher Chip Temps From Intel

    Wouldn't Intel run into physical limitations that simply don't allow chips to run at that low a temperature? I'm surprised Google isn't considering moving some of its data centres to Arctic locations where you get cool temperatures year-round. We've seen reports of appealing places like that on Slashdot before. (Of course, that would just be a short-term fix before we move the Earth to a farther orbit around the sun to avoid suffocating in our own waste heat like the Puppeteers in Niven's Ringworld ).

    I doubt anything physical is being done. Intel is very conservative in setting maximum operating temperatures. They're probably just promising Google that they'll cover those operated 5 C hotter under their warranty. If anything is actually being done to the hardware it's probably just altering the temp at which throttling occurs.

  35. Is this possible? by CRCulver · · Score: 3, Insightful · on Google Demands Higher Chip Temps From Intel

    Wouldn't Intel run into physical limitations that simply don't allow chips to run at that low a temperature? I'm surprised Google isn't considering moving some of its data centres to Arctic locations where you get cool temperatures year-round. We've seen reports of appealing places like that on Slashdot before. (Of course, that would just be a short-term fix before we move the Earth to a farther orbit around the sun to avoid suffocating in our own waste heat like the Puppeteers in Niven's Ringworld ).

  36. Re:Well this is stupid if you don't RTFA by Thelasko · · Score: 1 · on Software Holds Cell Phone Calls While Driving

    I don't think they thought this through at all.

    Yeah, I mean, how is software supposed to hold a cell phone. You would think that would be something only hardware can do.

  37. Re:Questions: by TomSawyer · · Score: 3, Informative · on Computer Error Caused Qantas Jet Mishap

    When their A320 debuted at the French airshow, the computer got very confused at take off and simply refused to allow the pilot to pull up more than 20-30 feet off the ground, causing the a/c to crash into the forest at the end of the runway.

    I remember reading about that in high school. It's one of the "cautionary tales" in The Day the Phones Stopped Ringing. While the computers were initially blamed, the final conclusion was human error caused by a misplaced confidence in technology. It wasn't that the computers wouldn't let them pull up. The plane was physically incapable of pulling up when the pilots tried to. The pilots were maneuvering to give the crowd a good look and they believed the computers wouldn't let them do so if the plane couldn't handle it.

  38. Re:It could have been worse by osu-neko · · Score: 1 · on Banjo Used In Brain Surgery

    Oliver Sacks has anecdotes in his book Musicophilia about patients that have lost all interest in music, or even consider it irksome noise.

    Hmm, that pretty much describes how I felt about music during the 90's. Whenever I heard the term "alternative music", I assumed they'd accidently left out the "to".

  39. Re:The other side..... by rohan972 · · Score: 1 · on Paul Krugman Awarded Nobel Prize For Economics

    In general The Left tend to be castigated for believing that societies can benefit broadly by providing a helping hand to their less fortunate members.

    No, the left is castigated for believing that charity is best done by compulsion. Implying that conservatives are less inclined to help the unfortunate is manifestly false, but it's a quite common view so I'll assume you held it sincerely.
    http://www.amazon.com/Who-Really-Cares-Compassionate-Conservatism/dp/B000WCTRPA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1224047886&sr=8-1
    "We all know we should give to charity, but who really does? Approximately three-quarters of Americans give their time and money to various charities, churches, and causes; the other quarter of the population does not. Why has America split into two nations: givers and non-givers? Arthur Brooks, a top scholar of economics and public policy, has spent years researching this trend, and even he was surprised by what he found. In Who Really Cares, he demonstrates conclusively that conservatives really are compassionate-far more compassionate than their liberal foes. Strong families, church attendance, earned income (as opposed to state-subsidized income), and the belief that individuals, not government, offer the best solution to social ills-all of these factors determine how likely one is to give."

  40. Re:Glossy only? by garote · · Score: 1 · on Apple Announces New MacBook, Pro, Air

    Just out of curiosity, how would you feel working on a modern plasma HDTV? For example, this one? Assuming you slap a color calibration tool onto it and get a proper display profile, would you consider this good enough for your work? Or barring that, good enough to retouch a photo?

  41. It could have been worse by CRCulver · · Score: 4, Interesting · on Banjo Used In Brain Surgery

    Oliver Sacks has anecdotes in his book Musicophilia about patients that have lost all interest in music, or even consider it irksome noise. Things could have been worse after brain surgery than just losing the ability to play the banjo. It's crazy to think how malleable our interest in or capability for music could be.

  42. Re:CAPTCHAs kick-start Singularity by CRCulver · · Score: 2, Interesting · on Now Even Photo CAPTCHAs Have Been Cracked

    I too can't exactly recall who thought that up, but there are other references to the spam wars in general leading to the singularity. A few years ago Tim Boucher wrote a blog post jokingly asking if through spam the Internet was trying to communicate with us.

    On the other hand, Venor Vinge sees spam as a sign we're not anywhere close to the glorious singularities that he conjured up in novels like A Fire Upon the Deep .

  43. You are Exactly Right by ryanchappell · · Score: 1 · on Getting Hired As an Entry-Level Programmer?

    The jobs actually say "Entry Level. Must have 2 years experience in .Net, C, etc." I have been working in IT for 6 years with servers, and now as a DBA, but know my future is in programming. First does programming match your personality? I recommend working through K&R on your own: http://www.amazon.com/Programming-Language-Prentice-Hall-Software/dp/0131103628/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1223994909&sr=8-1 and finding a job that uses programming. There will come a time when programmers are needed so badly that they will accept less experience.

  44. Re:Turn down the volume by Missing_dc · · Score: 1 · on Study Links Personal Music Players To Hearing Loss

    There are options for far less than $50 that have reasonable sound quality and good isolation.
    For instance, if you peel the paper filter off, http://www.amazon.com/JVC-HAFX33A-Marshmallow-Stereo-Headphones/dp/B000IS1ZYY is quite good for under $10 shipped.

    I have these in green and got a pink pair for my wife. I love them. Cost about $8 each. Exceptional bass. I listen to electonic and industrial music and have a hard time finding headphones that sound good with it (and no it is not a limitation inherant to the music itself.) These sound so good that I would gladly sport the hot-pink pair in public to not have to return to the crappy OEM headphones that come with most MP3 players.

  45. Re:Turn down the volume by ameyer17 · · Score: 1 · on Study Links Personal Music Players To Hearing Loss

    Yes, $50-100 is a fair amount of money, but what exactly is the monetary value of not losing ones hearing prematurely?

    That's not entirely necessary. There are options for far less than $50 that have reasonable sound quality and good isolation.
    For instance, if you peel the paper filter off, http://www.amazon.com/JVC-HAFX33A-Marshmallow-Stereo-Headphones/dp/B000IS1ZYY is quite good for under $10 shipped.

  46. Re:The creation and transfer of funny money by dubl-u · · Score: 1 · on The Rise of the (Financial) Machines

    I know you Ayn Rand fanboys like the idea of a gold standard, but sorry it is just a really bad idea.

    Ain't that the truth.

    I feel for them in some ways; if you think about it too long, it gets a little spooky. To get past that requires a taste for subtlety.

    If you're not good at subtlety then fleeing back to something apparently solid like gold is awfully appealing. Kinda like how they have trouble getting how functioning social organizations work, and so flee back to selfishness.

    For those who find the Randites kinda annoying, I suggest checking out Matt Ruff's satiric novel Sewer Gas & Electric. I thought it was hilarious.

  47. Another Tabula Rasa... by i · · Score: 1 · on Soyuz With Richard Garriott Successfully Launched

    ..By Arvo Pärt, I recommend:

    http://www.amazon.com/Tabula-Rasa/dp/B0000262K7

    http://www.lastfm.se/music/Arvo+P%C3%A4rt/Tabula+Rasa

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EnZGt5eapFc

    http://ridunkulousexperiences.wordpress.com/2007/08/26/arvo-part-tabula-rasa/

  48. One of Taleb's Black Swans by littlewink · · Score: 1 · on The Rise of the (Financial) Machines

    Taleb saw Fannie Mae as about to blow up. Page 255 footnote from Taleb's "The Black Swan" (published in 2007):

    Likewise, the government-sponsored institution Fanny Mae, when I look at their risks, seems to be sitting on a barrel of dynamite, vulnerable to the slightest hiccup. But not to worry: their large staff of scientists deemed these events "unlikely."

    Taleb's book The Black Swan discusses how statistics are (incorrectly) used to predict financial markets. Unfortunately the markets don't fit the assumptions of the statistics and sh** happens that is unpredictable with the statistical models. Taleb has much to say and contribute about finance (he was a trader and quant for years) and also about science.

  49. Tabula Rasa by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting · on Soyuz With Richard Garriott Successfully Launched

    If you haven't seen it yet, I'd recommend checking out Tabula Rasa . It's one of the better RPGs set in space, and I like how it has adopted ideas from science fiction writers like Vinge. Going into space seems a great way to support it, but it's a pity that the mass media now considers human spaceflight so meh that even a freakin' computer game legend going into orbit won't win too much attention for the game.

  50. Re:Answer: Money by blahplusplus · · Score: 1 · on How US Schools' Culture Stifles Math Achievement

    "As I tell students on the first day of the course, there are no promises that they will fall in love with math, but they may be able to glimpse a life where they do not have to hate it. Math is unlike many other subjects in that one failure may cause a lifelong disbelief in one's mathematical skills. But it doesn't always have to be that way. It took me a long time to learn what a joy this discipline can be."

    The real problem though is the way math is expressed and approached, I take the geometric approach to mathematical concepts and principles. I've been doing research into numerals and how numbers are expressed, and expressing 5 or 7 as a geometric shape enhances understanding a lot of the time when doing basic calculations since you can see the parts of the number itself in the shape at a glance. Arabic numerals tend to mask a lot of hidden mathematical relationships. Not only that our current system of math is merely one way to express math, there are other more enightening systems that I've been looking into and plan to write about when I get the time.

    Math unfortunately has expressed in a such a jargonistic fashion when it doesn't have to be, math can be taught in many ways in terms of other things, like music, art and color, geometry, etc... it doesn't have to be taught in the way it is mostly taught from textbooks and curricula today, even though their are pockets of lucky schools and teachers that realize this.

    (books)
    http://www.amazon.com/Where-Mathematics-Comes-Embodied-Brings/dp/0465037712/

    http://www.amazon.com/Molecule-Metaphor-Neural-Language-Bradford/dp/0262562359/

    http://www.amazon.com/Metaphors-We-Live-George-Lakoff/dp/0226468011/