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User: brantondaveperson

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  1. Re:So everything is protected by a 4 digit passcod on Apple Will No Longer Unlock Most iPhones, iPads For Police · · Score: 4, Informative

    FOR GOD'S SAKE.

    I know you guys hate Apple, and that's fine. But do try to use your brain a little bit. Do you honestly believe that the flash storage is encrypted with a 4-digit numeric key? Of course it isn't, it's encrypted with a 256-bit AES key that's generated using a per-device hardware key and the passcode (which can be much longer than a 4-digit pin if you can be bothered to type it in every time you use the phone). If you pull the hardware out of the phone, then this is the key you're going to be cracking.

    Good luck with that.

  2. Re:I know! on What To Expect With Windows 9 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I presume you installed a 10+ year old Linux version so that it would be a fair comparison with XP?

  3. Re:911 was down for us Friday night on Apple Outrages Users By Automatically Installing U2's Album On Their Devices · · Score: 1

    Not that I disagree completely, I'd personally love to see an sd card slot on a ipad, but there are reasons other than 'fleecing people out of money'. There's software reasons (how does the software handle the sdcard being removed / inserted. Do I provide UI to format the SD card? What data should I store on there? Should it appear as a separate storage area, or be seamlessly integrated with the rest of the storage?). There's hardware reasons (where does the slot go? Should it have a cover? Board space etc etc).

    And people 'fall for it' because they want a straightforwards user experience, not one that involves plugging little fiddly things into little fiddly slots, and having to worry about how to copy all their data to their new larger sdcard (for instance). None of the nexus line of tablets have sdcard slots, for instance.

    Remember that all of the internal storage of an ipad is encrypted, so even if they did have an sdcard slot you wouldn't be able to use it to transfer files. I'd love to see expandable storage on an ipad, my kids are always running out of room on theirs (although it does give me a good excuse to delete their games to make room for their schoolwork :) ).

  4. Re:One Sure Way on California Tells Businesses: Stop Trying To Ban Consumer Reviews · · Score: 1

    From the video, they were 5GBP, or 9AUD (8USD). I don't know, it seems pretty cheap to me. In the photo there's a charger with four separate USB outlets, which was going for $25AUD (23USD). I guess the point it though that when it comes to those tiny phone chargers, I'm going for the legit ones and hang the cost.

    Also you're comparing US prices to Australian prices, and I'm pretty sure that consumer electronics stuff is alot cheaper generally in the US (for whatever reason).

  5. Re:One Sure Way on California Tells Businesses: Stop Trying To Ban Consumer Reviews · · Score: 1

    If I'm going to plug something into the mains, and then hold it in my hand, I'm damn well going to spend some cash on it:

    http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/warn...

  6. Re:Can we please cann these companies what they ar on California Declares Carpooling Via Ride-Share Services Illegal · · Score: 2, Insightful

    No - in reality if regulation of cabs is removed, the worst of them will dominate in the short term ($5 cheaper you say! I'm in!) - until their unmaintained and dangerous vehicles cause a serious accident. And then the regulation will be re-introduced amidst a public outcry, and we'll be back where we started from.

    Would you deregulate the airline industry too?

  7. Re: Can we please cann these companies what they a on California Declares Carpooling Via Ride-Share Services Illegal · · Score: 2

    Almost all of law is based on the 'why'. If you kill someone, it starts to really matter 'why'. On purpose? By accident? For profit? All very different scenarios, and treated differently under the law.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M...

    Right - guilty mind. "Why" matters.

    Giving your friend a lift is different from organising a car pooling system at work, which is different again from creating a business around sharing rides. All the same 'X', but different 'why's'.

    Let's say you have kids, and they misbehave - or fight - or get out of bed wailing in the middle of the night. The 'Why' really matters, doesn't it?

  8. Re:Very skeptical on Ask Slashdot: What Smartwatch Apps Could You See Yourself Using? · · Score: 1

    Bookmarking both of these posts, coming back in a couple of years. Time well tell, but the GP is probably right.

  9. Re: Talk is cheap. on John Romero On Reinventing the Shooter · · Score: 2

    Pretty sure there isn't a "whole market just waiting for" Nerf Deathmatch.

    Actually, there very probably is. Deathmatch without the completely-unnecassary-anyway blood splatters. Fun weapons that cover you in goo, or shrink you to a tiny size, or whatever. Stuff you can play with your kids without the whole simulated murder thing going on. And yes I know we should all be outside climbing trees and/or inside singing songs around the piano, but video games can be quite fun.

  10. Re:well... on Protesters Blockade Microsoft's Seattle Headquarters Over Tax Breaks · · Score: 2

    Fair is for 5-year olds.

    Why?

  11. Re:wrong problem... on MetaFilter Founder Says Vacation Firm Forged Court Docs To Scotch Review · · Score: 2

    Well, there are anti-libel and slander laws which could legitimately be brought to bare on one company speaking untruthfully about another.

    FTFY

  12. Re:Ineffective advertising on Dell's New Alienware Case Goes to Extremes To Prevent Overheating · · Score: 1

    If the PSU is wasting more power than the rest of the system is actually using, then you've got bigger problems.

    The PSU should be >90% efficient, which means it's producing 10% of the total heat output of the system.

  13. Re:They won't on Microsoft Dumps 1,500 Apps From Its Windows Store · · Score: 1

    Sensible a rational comment - what are you doing on slashdot?

    Another thing worth noting about apple's DRM is that it's possible to authorize a device for multiple apple IDs without (so far as I've been able to tell) any restrictions around the number of accounts of a given device, or the number of devices against a specific account.

    Regarding their video DRM, it's certain that this is the decision of the movie studio rather than Apple - and it's quite possible that one day Apple may be able to move the world to DRM free video as they once did for DRM free music downloads.

  14. Re:Here we go again on Anita Sarkeesian, Creator of "Tropes vs. Women," Driven From Home By Trolls · · Score: 1

    Ok - so Meg Lanker-SImmons fabricated a death threat against herself and this means...? What exactly. That Anita must have too? And so have all the other women (and there are very very many) have fabricated theirs also? And no-one ever makes foul and inexcusable death and rape threats against women on the internet?

    I think there's just one AC on this thread, and it's you, and you should probably take a good hard look at yourself and quit posting lies and half-truths. Or at least get an account and stand behind what you say.

  15. Re:*Dons asbestos suit* on Anita Sarkeesian, Creator of "Tropes vs. Women," Driven From Home By Trolls · · Score: 1

    These two videos are about Lego:

    http://www.feministfrequency.c...
    http://www.feministfrequency.c...

    This video is about movies:

    http://www.feministfrequency.c...

    Funny, you don't get a massive backlash against those ones. Gamers seem to be quite touchy on the subject, which suggests that she's hit a bit of a nerve. Methinks the industry doth complain too much...

  16. Re:*Dons asbestos suit* on Anita Sarkeesian, Creator of "Tropes vs. Women," Driven From Home By Trolls · · Score: 1

    And this is acceptable because...?

  17. Re:*Dons asbestos suit* on Anita Sarkeesian, Creator of "Tropes vs. Women," Driven From Home By Trolls · · Score: 1

    Actually the evidence that she does not play video games - to the extent that it's even a relevant question - is a lecture she gave in 2010 during which she says "I am not a gamer". Now, not being a 'gamer' does not mean that one does not play video games. The term gamer can mean a little more than that, to say one is 'not a gamer' might actually mean that one does not sit indoors all day playing video games. My kids aren't 'gamers' either, but they sure play alot of video games.

    The lecture clip is also given without any context, so it's really impossible to say what she intended her statement to mean.

    In addition, some guy on youtube - who rather creepily uses a synthesized voice to narrate his videos, but whatever, maybe he's mute - has put together a whole series of videos which attack her statement that she plays videogames. This guy has apparently read every tweet she's written, and every facebook update she's made - which is a bit obsessive but again whatever, maybe he's got plenty of spare time - and claims that her lack of videogame-related social media output is evidence that she doesn't play videogames. During the time that I had a facebook account, I also didn't made any video-game related comments. But I sure played alot of video games. And I would also have said of myself that I was "not a gamer".

    All this seems typical of the response to her position - as far as I can tell no-one has actually engaged with her points. It's all been "she's an attention-whore" or "she's professionally offended" or whatever. No-one seems to try to intelligently counter her points, they just attempt to discredit her character.

  18. So she's removed your well-formed and thoughtful comments has she? Perhaps you could post them here where they will not be removed. And then we can have a well-formed and thoughtful discussion about your position.

  19. Re: Her work on Anita Sarkeesian, Creator of "Tropes vs. Women," Driven From Home By Trolls · · Score: 1

    And that is untrue, mr AC. Let's see your source before you continue to spam this thread with slander.

  20. That makes no sense. A death threat isn't a threat any longer once an attempt has been made. It's become an attempted murder.

    A credible death threat would be a matter of opinion to some extent - but there are plenty of crazy people out there, and judging by many of the comments on this thread, there's a extremely disturbing undercurrent of anti-women sentiment going on. I mean all this woman has done is made a series of videos that suggest that strong and harmful gender stereotypes exist in the videogame world. I thought that this was pretty much the accepted wisdom, but apparently not only am I wrong, but to claim so would make me an 'attention-whore'.

    And what's that about a 'price on someone's head'. What governments do that? I don't understand that at all.

  21. Er. She's using words. There are now threats of force. You appear confused.

  22. self-contradictory bitching and bullshit accusations

    Please - stand up behind your accusations and show us all which parts of her videos are self-contradictory. Because I've watched them, and found her position to be extremely considered, consistent, and much more intelligent than I was expecting.

    And I really don't understand your complaint about how she spent the kickstarter money. She asked for donations to make a series of videos, alot of people donated with the understanding that she would make the video series, she made the video series. Are you suggesting that she should have taken that money and done something else with it? Wouldn't that be borderline fraud? Would you do that?

    The "liar" part is trivially proven

    Actually, from what I've read on this thread, no-one has 'trivially proven' this. If she'd made the a game instead of the videos, that would have made her a liar. But she didn't, she stuck to what she said she was going to do. So again, please, back up your idle accusations with quotes from her (helpfully transcribed) videos.

  23. In a well-ordered world she would be getting a PhD for work of this depth and quality

    Hear hear.

    I don't particularly agree with a goodly chunk of her theoretical frame

    Which parts? I couldn't fault it myself.

  24. What I am saying is that the world is controlled right now by politically correct, professionally offended people.

    What a completely extraordinary thing to imagine. If this were the case, there wouldn't be any gender stereotyping in video games and Lego and all the rest of it. But there is - the medium is awash with it even though in your imagination it's all run by politically correct and professionally offended people.

    Wut?

  25. She is not professionally offended. She doesn't receive money for the videos, except as donations, there are no advertisements on her page. So she's not 'professional'. And she is not 'offended' either - she is very intelligently pointing out very real gender stereotypes in a series of extremely articulate videos. Watch the one that other guy linked, the one about Lego. It's so on the money that it's not even funny.

    Put more simply. She is right.