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I so had that coming. *sigh*

In my defense, dictionary.com lists that variant of the word. But I'll grant that it's an unconventional spelling (i.e. wrong).

No, I'm pretty sure that sevenfold just means multiplied by seven.

http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=sevenfold

Same reason a trifold wallet has three sections, not four.

Please tell me how having a closed source driver destroys the core value of linux. But, in doing so, you must explain how not having this driver at all (which is the only other alternative in todays society) would be a better option.

Because it takes away incentive for people to get involved in the free projects. Not only that, but the people who do get involved are constantly bombarded with fanboys telling them how their work is useless because the proprietary drivers are superior. Of course they are, they're the only ones who know how the damn cards work. In the past we saw great contributions from 3rd parties like when The Weather Channel paid out of their own pocket to port the Radeon driver to the 8500 cards. This kind of thing is much less likely today.

Thats enough of the Z word too. The community is zealous. Thats a big part of what makes it so much fun. There's nothing wrong with being excited about free software at all. Don't tell people they should be ashamed of it.

In the United States this term is often synonymous with "republic.
Republic n 1: a political system in which the supreme power lies in a body of citizens who can elect people to represent them [syn: democracy, commonwealth]

The bit about indirect elections is NOT included in the definition of the word. In fact so many countries are calling themselves "republic" that the word has almost lost its meaning.

I think the main difference between those two is that one originates from latin, the other from greek :p.

http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=cracker

cracker Audio pronunciation of "cracker" ( P ) Pronunciation Key (krkr)
n.

1. A thin crisp wafer or biscuit, usually made of unsweetened dough.
2. One that cracks, especially:
1. A firecracker.
2. A small cardboard cylinder covered with decorative paper that holds candy or a party favor and pops when a paper strip is pulled at one or both ends and torn.
3. The apparatus used in the cracking of petroleum.
4. One who makes unauthorized use of a computer, especially to tamper with data or programs.
3. Offensive.
1. Used as a disparaging term for a poor white person of the rural, especially southeast United States.
2. Used as a disparaging term for a white person.

__Important difference__:
Cracker == person doing destructive computer activities only.
Hacker == person gaining non destructive(although illegal in parts of the world) access to a computer network of file.

By using cracker here you avoid wrongly confusing and assosiating the word hacker with illegal or destructive activities.

rampage
n.

A course of violent, frenzied behavior or action.

hacker Audio pronunciation of "hacker" ( P ) Pronunciation Key (hkr)
n. Informal

1. One who is proficient at using or programming a computer; a computer buff.
2. One who uses programming skills to gain illegal access to a computer network or file.
3. One who enthusiastically pursues a game or sport: a weekend tennis hacker.

In the evolving English language, words can have two different meanings. I encourage you to read the second definition as listed above and stop your wishful thinking that English is going to somehow become a dead and non-evolving language like some other European languages.

I think you mean hooey
Signed,
The Grammar Conservative

"Yeah, I think the big problem here is that the government has really learned how to exploit fear to gain support for these "safety" measures."

Gee, what word does that remind you of?

I find it truly surprising that not one single Microsoft Engineer could take it upon himself to discover these flaws beforehand. And that they were surprised by these results.

That tells me a lot about the Engineering talent. Hopefully some small change has been made in the mindset there. It would at least be a good small start; because one key thing about improving security is the mindset.

Agreed, however it's been my experience that programmers at most large software companies have an inflated view of their own abilities. They are are in an insulated environment, tell each other they are wonderful, and just like academia don't realise there's a sharp edge out there.

This is particularly true in software security where by-the-book standard protocols are broken and misdirected in bizarre ways to get protocol failures and breakin opportunities.

---

zealotry n : excessive intolerance of opposing views.

Knowing that the Ruby on Rails community has been chomping at the bit

Ya don't chomp at bits, u fuckr, u champ at them.

Can't...resist...trollbaiting!

If my life ever becomes so sad that I not only perch myself on my keyboard all day long...

Looks like you're there, sporto. Sucks to be you.

but actually PAY to subscribe to an online forum

Oh yeah...without that $5.00, I'll never make the house payment! Woe is me!

so I can be the first karma-whoring poster to every article

Well, my posts may be on-topic and thoughtful (translation for you: karma-whoring), but they beat the hell out of your GNAA bullshit, don't they?

Yes.
Yes, they do.

samzenpus :
"For example, ne of the criteria that they use"

Do you see something strange in this statement? nothing? really? no?

Well, here are some meanings:
ne

Ok ok... I agree that spelling errors like excellent or somthing can be missed but what does NE means??

Editors? Pleaaaasee pleaaaase.

Note: I am not a spell nazi (in fact English is not my mother tongue but for the love of god... even I noticed that... and... They are supposed to be EDITORS!! [i.e. that is their work])

I said 'I'm interested in seeing more "noneuclidean" geometry - which is like saying "more nontriangle shapes"', which makes an analogy between euclidean geometry and triangles, to point out that considering "euclidean" as an all-exclusive norm in geometry is like considering triangles as an all-exclusive norm in shapes.

Prehaps if you had matched up the quotation marks equivalently on both sides of the analogy, the original statement would have come closer to how you just explained it. (That is, you compared the adjective "noneuclidean" with the noun "shapes")

But even re-organized, it remains a bizarrely non-informative analogy- an analogy of another analogy, and relying on esoteric knowledge of non-mainstream math to grasp at the point.

Or bother to rephrase this post to use other words than "I said", when more precisely "I wrote".

Say, verb: to express in words

I realize you were trolling and all, but it's completely obvious.

No, not trolling... providing a sardonic commentary. I don't feel there's any place for the bat suit on howstuffworks.com. It doesn't work, it's not real. End of Story.
--
Don't fight Firefox! Let FireFox fight YOU!

This is not a patch as the normal dictionary word define it, software patches are used to modify the behaviour of the software. It is like when you changed the breaks from your bycicle from the pedal brake to the hands brake.

errrrrrrr no.

From http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=patch :

Computer Science. A piece of code added to software in order to fix a bug, especially as a temporary correction between two releases.

Thats one of the many things it says, but I patch my jeans up if they get ripped, or I apply a patch to my sons inner tube on his bike, I use a small piece of something to repair another.
A patch is used to repair broken functionality.

It most certainly doesn't imply adding new functionality.

A body of practices, procedures, and rules used by those who work in a discipline or engage in an inquiry; a set of working methods

rending

Tagging and graffiti aren't necessarily the same thing. Tagging generally refers to a form of graffiti used to mark one's territory with a name or alias. I don't "run" with a graffiti artist, but I do have artist friends who have done some gorgeous work that would be classified as graffiti, without attaching any form of name or alias.

It doesn't follow that an individual expressing their message is a separation of church and state UNLESS that individual is a state official and speaking AS a state official. If a representitive wants to preach to people, then fine. He can do that in his own time. But he can't use his office as a stepping stone to promote his religious beliefs. I don't think that's exceedingly restrictive.

I wasn't under the impression that Environmentalism, PETA, moral relativists or advocates of diversity were rooted in faith of a divine being. That's kind of the accepted definition of religion, so I'm not sure your argument holds all that much water - though I wouldn't want to write off the "moral relativists" part - they could well be metaphysical enough that they cross that line (though I wouldn't know, as I have never heard of that phrase before).

Is Maxim Magazine porn? I personally think it is. (defined: "Sexually explicit pictures, writing, or other material whose primary purpose is to cause sexual arousal.") Should Maxim have a plastic cover just because I think it's porn? Should we force Maxim Online to .xxx? Most of TV fits that definition too -- www.fox.xxx has a nice ring to it. (It really does. They should buy it just because.)

I'm serious here. I'm not just playing the devil's advocate. I honestly believe Maxim is porn. I know there are lots of people who disagree with me, notably the people who subscribe to or work for Maxim. I just don't see why my point of view, or anyone else's, has any business being enshrined in the law or forced upon others.

Anyway, Disney lost its soul a long time ago, with it watered-down adaptations of children's literature and corny, shallow cartoons. Consider their biggest contribution to the English language: Mickey Mouse. Nobody who has seen the castrated satyrs in Fantasia can truely believe that Disney has a soul.

Wrong.

Flack

As it's not spelled very often, but instead used vocally, flack is supposed to be flak .

By the same token, someone will pique your curiousity, not peak it.

_____________________________
(A public service in the interest of keeping IT people looking better when they aren't with other IT people. "I'm a geek so it doesn't matter" isn't an excuse)

As it's not spelled very often, but instead used vocally, flack is supposed to be flak .

By the same token, someone will pique your curiousity, not peak it.

_____________________________
(A public service in the interest of keeping IT people looking better when they aren't with other IT people. "I'm a geek so it doesn't matter" isn't an excuse)

I didn't ask for your list of good FPSs, I asked for ungeneric FPSs. All of the ones you named were good, but generic.

Actually, Goldeneye, Doom/Wolfenstein, and the first FPS to support Multiplayer Online Gameplay were all quite innovative in their own ways. Unlike you, I have the balls to think outside the box, Mr. Coward.

That's your opinion. You are entitled to it, and I am entitled to disagree with your opinion. I'll leave it at that.

Ok. Maybe I was out of line with the complete and utter Halo 2 bash. I apologize... but its still a shitacular game.

Doom ran on my DOS box. In fact... Doom ran pretty well. In fact... technically speaking, you can run some fancy 3D games on a DOS machine, assuming someone were to actually take the time and write the code to utilize the new 3D graphics processors on the old software. Still not something you need Windows to do. See, my good Anonymous Friend, there are these things called hardware drivers that are used to seperate the basic operating system from the hardware. This allows me to use the same graphics card on ... Windows 98 or Windows XP. I can also use this same graphics card on Linux (or Mac, if the hardware is compatible). On top of the drivers, the OS usually has some sort of API. For those who don't know what that means, it stands for "application program interface". Using an API (Direct X for example), programmers can write a game that is (theoretically) Operating System and Hardware agnostic (since I'm using large words, I've conveniently listed links for you, Mr. Coward).

Finally, Mr. Coward, please realize that there are help for people like you. I mean, I think most of us realized that the "Weirdo Text" in the Matrix was just another Hollywood special effect.

;)

There has been much speculation (see References) that the US military will begin to weaponize space.

Who is behind this and what is their motivations? What will they do with the ideas submitted in this contest? In a day of professional computer hackers, this is not a contest to have.

Dicionary.com describes simulacrum as,

1. An image; a representation.
2. An insubstantial, superficial, or vague likeness or semblance.

So, Mr Simulacrum25 (if that is indeed your real name!), care to tell us why you're so scared of other people looking in to ways of secretly concealing information in otherwise innocent looking image files?

Whether or not Easter originated with Constantine may be debatable, but your implication that Easter was did not have an origin outside of Christianity is dubious at best.

Quote: "Passover" and "Easter" are the same word in the Greek Bible.

I've done full-text searches for the word "Easter" in 20 different translations of the Bible, but only three of them produced the word. One of these matched due to the phrase "...a wind of hurricane force, called the north-easter..." (Acts 27:14, NIV UK) The two that did match with that meaning were the King James and the 21st Century King James, both for Acts 12:4. Vine's Expository Dictionary of Old & New Testament Words notes on this translation specifically. Under the heading of Easter, we read:

PASCHA, mistranslated "Easter" in Acts 12:4 A.V. [Authorized/King James Version], denotes the Passover (R.V.). The phrase "after the Passover" signifies after the whole festival was at an end. The term Easter is not of Christian origin. It is another form of Astarte, one of the titles of the Chaldean goddess, the queen of heaven. The festival of Pasch held by Christians in post-apostolic times was a continuation of the Jewish feast, but was not instituted by Christ, nor was it connected with Lent. From the pasch the Pagan festival of Easter was quite distinct and was introduced into apostate Western religion, as part of the attempt to adapt Pagan festivals to Christianity.

Now consider this: Jesus and his apostles were celebrating Passover the night before he died. Both his death and the Passover landed on the Jewish date of Nisan 14 (since days begin and end at sundown in the Jewish calendar). Jesus' resurrection, which Easter claims to celebrate, came on the "third day" (Nisan 16). Why would the same word be used for a celebration that happened two days apart from that event? Obviously the Bible writers were not referring to Easter in this passage. One edition of The Encyclopedia Britannica stated the following:

There is no indication of the obeservance of the Easter festival in the New Testament, or in the writings of the apostolic Fathers. The sanctity of special times was an idea absent from the minds of the first Christians.

Quote: There's no credible cultural or etymological link between "Ishtar" (whom Constantine did not worship at any point in his life) and "Easter".

What about the paralellism between Easter customs and Babylonian worship? The Two Babylons stated:

What means the term Easter itself? It is not a Christian name. It bears Chaldean origin on its very forehead. Easter is nothing else than Astarte, whose name, [...] as found by Layard on the Assyrian monuments, is Ishtar. [...] Such is the history of Easter. The popular observances that still attend the period of its celebration amply confirm the testimony of history as to its Babylonian character. The hot cross buns of Good Friday, and the dyed eggs of Pasch or Easter Sunday, figured in the Chaldean rites just as they do now.

Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary states:

originally a Saxon word (Eostre), denoting a goddess of the Saxons, in honour of whom sacrifices were offered about the time of the Passover. Hence the name came to be given to the festival of the Resurrection of Christ, which occured at the time of the Passover. In the early English versions this word was frequently used as the translation of the Greek pascha (the Passover). When the Authorized Version (1611) was formed, the word "passover" was used in all passages in which this word pascha occurred, except in Act 12:4. In the Revised Version the proper word, "passover," is

Vader = Invader
Sidious = Insidious
Maul = Maul
Tyranus = Tyranny

Each one is really pretty appropriate for their respective characters if you think about it, although "Vader" probably is the farthest stretch out of the four.

Vader = Invader
Sidious = Insidious
Maul = Maul
Tyranus = Tyranny

Each one is really pretty appropriate for their respective characters if you think about it, although "Vader" probably is the farthest stretch out of the four.

Vader = Invader
Sidious = Insidious
Maul = Maul
Tyranus = Tyranny

Each one is really pretty appropriate for their respective characters if you think about it, although "Vader" probably is the farthest stretch out of the four.

Vader = Invader
Sidious = Insidious
Maul = Maul
Tyranus = Tyranny

Each one is really pretty appropriate for their respective characters if you think about it, although "Vader" probably is the farthest stretch out of the four.

Is public domain software with source code 'free'? I certainly think so. Otherwise 'they' are redefining the term free! Actually, the term freedom can't be applied to software without making a new definition for it.

http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=innovate

Why not give us a choice... Define: kickback

Sorry dude, but like "irregardless" (Arg) the use of the word nauseous to indicate nauseated is being dictated by common usage. Dictionaries reflect speech, not the other way around. If something is said "incorrectly" by enough people for enough time, then the rules change. :-/

See the process in action.

I have a wonderful visual image of a band of swedish chefs rising up and saying "De hurdy gurdy patriot acten is badden-flaggen" ...

Or did you mean "kooks"? http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=kooks

Not that anybody on slashdot cares about things like this, but the correct spelling is Guatemalan

Yes because he has money coming out the Wazoo.

GTA is about completing missions that usually involve committing crimes. Anything more antisocial or psychopathic than that is up to the player.

It's no more likely than a kid watching Pirates of the Caribbean and deciding to become a pirate.

Even in warrior cultures or among terrorists, there's a distinction drawn between killing "us" and killing "them". That distinction occurs in our own culture too; we just have a different definition of "them".

GTA is about completing missions that usually involve committing crimes. Anything more antisocial or psychopathic than that is up to the player.

It's no more likely than a kid watching Pirates of the Caribbean and deciding to become a pirate.

Even in warrior cultures or among terrorists, there's a distinction drawn between killing "us" and killing "them". That distinction occurs in our own culture too; we just have a different definition of "them".

perhaps we might revisit the meaning of the word 'handicapped'?

despite a tendency for it to be taken the wrong way, due to long periods of misuse, and misapplication. it is still just a synonym for 'disabled' or 'given assistance.' the thing is, I have met people with physical... 'inhibitions(?)' on both sides of the argument. some who get really ticked off at "handicapped" and some who get ticked off at anything else.

I think I'm too much of a language pedant to keep reading here... (or perhaps not enough...(I'm too wishy-washy...))

Now we have a generation of kids that can't do basic math, can't spell, and don't know grammer.

Please do not disparage crackers. Upstanding crackers don't want no part of 'puters.

is a politically motivated tecnilogical statement. (Say that ten times real fast;-)

Or spell that ten times fast ;-) Technological

Sorry, I don't usually like being nitpicky, but this time I just couldn't resist!

...BTW, I agree with you completely.

Posthumous, not post humorous.

But it is grammatically valid.

"What you don't know about testing, would float a battleship."

"What you don't know about testing, would float a battleship."