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User: Supercooldude

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Comments · 39

  1. Why do so many tech companies insist on locating themselves in neighborhoods where a modest house costs $3 million? There are countless cities with reasonable costs of living, surely they could still attract lots of qualified people there?

  2. Creeps spur innovation on Online Creeps Inspire a Dating App That Hides Women's Pictures · · Score: 1

    So you're saying being a creep helps drive technological innovation? You're welcome!

  3. What is a creationist? on UK Government Mandates the Teaching of Evolution As Scientific Fact · · Score: 1

    I'm a bit confused about the definition of "creationist" and "evolutionist" (these are American definitions that aren't used in the country I grew up in). Is a creationist merely someone who believes in God, or only someone who believes in a literal interpretation of the Bible (ie that the Earth is 6 literal days old)? I've done some googling and I can't seem to grasp the difference between what Americans call an "old-earth creationist" and someone who is simply an evolutionist but believes in God. Or does being an evolutionist mandate believing that no higher power exists and/or no higher power interfered in any way during the forming of the world/humanity?

  4. No need to distinguish between online and offline on Former Australian Cop Wants Jail For Internet Trolls · · Score: 1

    Comments made online should be treated the same way as comments made face to face. Would saying something hateful to someone IRL result in jail time? In most cases no, at least not in the US. The Westboro Baptist Church's picketing of dead American soldiers comes to mind. I don't think there's anything a troll can say online that matches that. But most other countries don't put the same importance on freedom of speech. How do we address hateful comments made online by, say, an American to a Brit?

  5. Re:The best candidate city ... on High Tech Companies Becoming Fools For the City · · Score: 1

    And an average house price of $961,000, or about 12x the average income. No thanks.

  6. Re:I wish they'd cut it out on High Tech Companies Becoming Fools For the City · · Score: 1

    The problem is that even the suburbs around any large city with lots of tech jobs are still insanely expensive. A detached house in the burbs in the greater Toronto area is still 700k, and try buying one on a property big enough so that you can't hear your neighbor fart in his living room from your living room, it'll cost you well over a million. What I would like to see is companies relocate to other smaller cities where the cost of living is reasonable. Or at least become more tolerant of telecommuting.

  7. Re:Other places on Ask Slashdot: What's the Best Place To Relocate? · · Score: 1

    It's worth noting that the average price of a detached house in Vancouver is $961,000 while the average family income is $67k/yr. I would recommend against Vancouver if you expect to retire before 80. Toronto isn't much better but at least it has a real economy.

  8. Android TV Stick on Ask Slashdot: Best Way To Watch TV In 2012? · · Score: 1

    I'm surprised no one mentioned one of those TV sticks that have been selling on all the Chinese electronics sites lately. Just google "android tv stick". I'm not recommending for or against them, just thought someone should bring them up in case you haven't heard of them as they tend to be cheaper than apple tv or roku.

  9. Re:Tesla is revered as god here... on Disentangling Facts From Fantasy In the World of Edison and Tesla · · Score: 1

    That's due to the fact that Tesla is much more significant to the Serbs than for example Edison to the Americans or Hertz to the Germans, because he's the only Serb who is known globally for his inventions. Compare this to the US or Germany or Russia or France which can claim dozens or even hundreds of world-famous inventors. And actually I believe the US can claim Tesla as American since most of his inventions were produced while he was working in the US.

  10. Re:No offense but sick of hearing this on Getting an Independent Project Started? · · Score: 1

    If everyone thought like you we'd still be swinging from trees flinging our crap at each other.

  11. A good idea is the first step on Getting an Independent Project Started? · · Score: 1

    I have the opposite problem. I want to create an app and market it in order to earn some extra cash, but I can't think of what to design that hasn't already been done a thousand times. I am confident in my coding skills and know that I could overcome almost any technical challenge, but I just don't have any ideas.

  12. Re:What of Corvettes? on Auto Mileage Standards Raised to 35 mpg · · Score: 1

    They can still build Corvettes with bad fuel economy, as long as the average of their entire lineup is 35 mpg. The Corvette has been around for 5 decades and it's not going away. I think it's the midrange cars (family sedans, minivans, and SUVs) that will be affected by this new regulation.

  13. Re:What better way than this... on Chinese Sub Pops Up Amid US Navy Exercise · · Score: 1

    That is true, the fact that this sub was quiet by no means necessitates that it was advanced. You can take a Whiskey-class sub (a 1950s Soviet design) and turn off the engine and manage to sneak up on the most advanced ship in the world without being detected. Sounds to me like some Americans are exaggerating the level of Chinese technology in order to scare congress into divving up more billions for r&d.

  14. EEEPC vs Ipaq on Review of Asus Linux-Based Eee PC 701 · · Score: 1

    What advantage would this have over a high-end Ipaq or Blackberry, which also have wifi and can run Firefox and surf the web like a normal PC, but are small enough to fit in your pocket?

  15. Go Japan! on Japanese Stealth Fighter Announced as 'Return of the Zero' · · Score: 2, Interesting

    It's about time Japan got back into the jet fighter game, considering they haven't built an all-indigenous fighter since the Mitsubish F-1 (a relatively unimpressive fighter in the class of such technological heavyweights as the J-22 Orao and the Nanchang Q-5). The Mitsubishi F-2 was just a copy of the F-16 airframe with Japanese avionics.

  16. Lucky bastards on Nokia Buys Navteq for $8.1 Billion · · Score: 1

    Stories like this always make my skin tingle because one of my goals in life is to start a software company and get bought out by some giant. You'll never get rich by working for someone else. I'd be happy with 8.1 million.

  17. Re:Because a majority of US citizens are poor? on Why Is US Grad School Mainly Non-US Students? · · Score: 1

    People have been saying that for as long as I can remember, but the US is still here and our living standards are still as good as ever.

  18. Re:European salaries != US salaries on Annual IT Salary Survey Finds Dissatisfaction · · Score: 1

    I for one find this $86k figure for a median salary very difficult to believe. Most of my coworkers make half that, only senior developers make that much. Must be all the people in places like Silicon Valley and Manhattan skewing the statistics (but their living costs are astronomical) because those of us living in normal towns sure don't make anywhere close to that.

  19. Re:Mod parent up Plz on MS Moves R&D To Canada Due To Immigration Problem · · Score: 1

    As someone who has worked in both the US and Canada, I couldn't disagree with you more. The fact is that Americans have more purchasing power because things are simply cheaper in the US (with the exception of housing in certain areas). For example, my car (Infiniti G35) has a base price of 33k USD brand new in the US. The exact same car has a base price of 45k CDN in Canada. But 33 USD is only around 36 CDN. This is before you even account for the fact that taxes in Canada are higher. This is why the majority of cars on Canadian roads are compacts, whereas in the US only a minority are compacts. When you consider the fact that American salaries for programmers tend to be higher, the difference in purchasing power is significant. An American programmer making 55k/yr can easily afford to buy or finance a 33k car. A Canadian programmer making 45k/yr would probably not be wise to finance a 45k (+ 14% tax) car. And it's not just cars. TVs, food, clothes, almost everything is cheaper in the US.

  20. Re:I thought this car was a joke... on Smart Car Coming To the US In Jan. 2008 · · Score: 1

    I agree with you 100%, and it's a shame that some loser modded you flamebait just because he couldn't deal with the truth. The Smart car will not be that smart or a choice until its price gets lower than all other economy cars, and its fuel economy at least doubles.

  21. $14,000?! on Smart Car Coming To the US In Jan. 2008 · · Score: 1

    I wonder why small cars are so expensive in the US? In Europe they have several economy class models for around $6000 (The Dacia Logan, the Zastava 10, and at least 3 Russian models).

  22. Re:Does the ethnicity matter? on ISS Computer Failure · · Score: 1

    Of course western sources are going to emphasize the fact that the failing computer is Russian, they want to portray Russian technology as inferior. If the computer had done some amazing feat, they wouldn't be emphasizing its Russianness.

  23. Re:Isn't this a good thing? on Intel Laptop Competes With One Laptop Per Child · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    A computing model that teaches kids to create and modify software, rather than just consume it Is that a good thing for us programmers? If the entire third world start producing software, that will drive all of us American programmers out of business. Isn't that something we should be worried about? From my perspective as someone who develops software for a living, the less people who know how to program, the better.

  24. What about pottery? on Music Decoded From 600-Year-Old Carvings · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Wouldn't it be cool if this method could be used to decode sounds recorded tens of thousands of years ago? A caveman is sitting in a cave making some pottery, probably by running some kind of copper tool along it to make patterns on the pottery. As he's talking with other cavemen, the sound from their voices is making the copper tool vibrate along the pottery. Using lasers we can analyze the microscopic indentations caused by the tool and convert them into sound and hear what an ancient language sounded like. We could create recordings of ancient Greek, Proto-Indo-European, etc.

  25. Re:This is VERY significant on 'Kryptonite' Discovered in Serbian Mine · · Score: 1

    I couldn't possibly care less.