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User: jellomizer

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  1. Re:No, they haven't on Has Apple Made Programmers Cool? · · Score: 1

    I wouldn't say it made programmers cool, every person has to do that on their own. What Apple did was to make technology cooler.

    I always liked technology. the 80's and early 90's was the period of the NERD stereotype was in full force Revenge of the Nerds, Doogie Houser, Screecher, Steve Urkel... Key to the stereotype was good with computers. So I got used to being classified as a Nerd or a Geek. By the late 90's during the .COM boom tech became popular and at around the same time I got comfortable with the idea that I am not popular, I and many of my fellow Geeks have gotten more popular, as people were doing and enjoying what a few years ago was a Geek only domain. Email, Chat Rooms, BBS. And using the computer is able to get out of that stereotype.

    Then by 2003 or so the .COM boom busted and technology between 2003-2008 really stagnated. And Apple was the only large company who was making innovations. Giving them some strong footholds in the market and now 2011 Apple is the leader and technology is cool and fun again so the popularity rises.

  2. Re:Congress, our representatives? on SOPA Hearings Stacked In Favor of Pro-SOPA Lobby · · Score: 5, Insightful

    You are implying that there is corruption going on, while there is a more plausible, legal forces that explains why the business get the political ear.

    Big Business hires a lot of people who pay a lot of taxes. If they are not happy in your City/State/Country they have the resources to leave and leave a lot of people without jobs and unable to pay for taxes.
    The problem will exasperated if business need to pay far more tax. Now a lot of business may be willing to do this without moving or laying off people but what it does is centralize the money flow even further so the business will get more political pull because that is more tax revenue that could leave.

    So a Mayor, Senator, Representative, Judge, Governor or President really cannot just ignore what a big business is saying and will need to hear out some of their issues.

    Now that the businesses have these peoples ears they can explain things to them so they understand their point of view much better making the decisions much more complex.

    Then finally these people contributed to their campaign so they cannot just ignore the business as they owe them a favor.

    The core of the problem is that businesses have gotten too big. This is the economical/political version of the Irish Potato famine. Where business diversity has been replaced a small group of large companies. Just like how the Irish were planting very few species of Potato so when a plague that infected the potatoes there wan't enough diversity to handle the loss.
    American have gotten wimpy.
    In school we are afraid to study Math and Science and all those courses where you cannot BS your way threw, because we are afraid that B in math with hurt you A average, and you will not get into Harvard, or if you are in college you GPA will suffer.
    We are afraid to start our own business.
    We are afraid to make something new.

    In general we are afraid of a lot of things, things that are not really as scary as we make them out to be. But they do take risk and we have became Risk Averse. Thus we go the safest path.
    Take those classes that you can get an easy A.
    Get a low level job in a big company. Keep quite and out of trouble that way you don't get in trouble.
    Buy products from those big name stores because those little shops seem to sketchy.
    Complain and moan about a products rise in costs but do not cancel the service. (This part is getting better)

  3. Can I make up my own acronyms too? on SOPA Hearings Stacked In Favor of Pro-SOPA Lobby · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I am sorry if I am unable to keep up with all the acronyms, but really is it too much to at least spell them out fully one just so we can get a gist?

    Heck I get confused with BSA (Business Software Alliance) with BSA (Boy Scouts of America) and BoA (Bank of America)
    SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) looks a lot like SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol).

    If you just write out the Acronym just once you help clarify things much easier.

  4. Re:Old School on Ask Slashdot: What's a Good Tablet/App Combination For Note-Taking? · · Score: 1

    For some people. It never worked for me. I learned much better if I don't take notes and just focus on the lecture.
    I tried to take notes and what happens is the info goes to my ears to the paper and I am not thinking about what is being said.

  5. Re:Waste of Time on NYPD Dismantling Occupy Wall Street Encampment · · Score: 2

    No it is very difficult to have exactly below average intelligence.
    Lets use a small scale example of 10 people.
    IQ
    108,102,103,101,97,99,98,95,99,98
    So 40% of them have an above average IQ and 60% have below average IQ none of them have average.
    Now as you add more data points you will see the numbers approaching 50% but unless you are really lucky I doubt you reach it.

     

  6. Re:Something not quite right on NYPD Dismantling Occupy Wall Street Encampment · · Score: 1

    They know what they are angry about. They don't know why they are angry about it, or solutions that should help it. I have sympathy for the OWS people however they are just being stupid in their approach they need direction and leadership which they are not forming.

    Are you going to allow the press to be in the middle of a bomb test site?

    Free Press is still in place they are able to report on what is happening. I am not seeing any crack down on this, they just cannot go to that area.
    It is like someone running into the oval office and not getting kicked out just because they are part of the press.

  7. Re:Cue Kurzweil... on Intel's 4004 Microprocessor Turns 40 · · Score: 1

    Laughing at pictures with people who are using the huge bulky iPhones. Or... Huddled around the fire trying to keep warm.

  8. Re:Waste of Time on NYPD Dismantling Occupy Wall Street Encampment · · Score: 4, Interesting

    "Americans are completely and utterly blind to the mis-deeds of their politicians as well as the abuse of their rights by said politiciams."(sic)
    Yes that is why the new coverage is filled about protesters on both sides Tea Party and Occupy Wall Street. And whenever a politician is caught breaking the law it is posted everywhere.

    Ever sense the Nixon Administration the Americans have became obsesses with the mis-deeds of their politicians. Just check out a liberal news source and a conservative new source and you get a good portion of the misdeeds that are done.

    The problem isn't as much that we are blind, we are just overexposed and have a hard time really knowing the difference between a president having an extra marital affair or authorizing an illegal wiretap.

    The problem is about 50% of the population has below average intelligence, and they are getting more and more information crammed into their heads and a lot of people cannot or don't want to stop the see the big picture and hop onto a small number of sources as the absolute truth while the rest if gives a conflicting message is seen as an utter lie. Debating a middle ground will often get you places as being one of those nazi right winger conservative bible thumping republicans, or those communist left wingers liberal hippy democrats. Just because they will not open their minds to understand both view points and really step back and see their good points and their bad ones.

  9. Re:Something not quite right on NYPD Dismantling Occupy Wall Street Encampment · · Score: 1

    I think a big part of this is general health and safety concern. A lot of people living in an area with a lot of trash build up. And who knows what else that can be bad for protesters health. The area does need to be cleaned up. The problem with these Occupy hipsters because they have no freaken clue what they are debating against they are going to be there for a long time, and their only goal is to protest against...Something... So whatever the police/government does it will just look poorly on them. If they didn't push the people out and let them live in their own filth for the rest of the protest it will look like they are not doing their job to keep the protesters safe, if they kick them out it looks like they are violating their freedom to protest.
    No one can bring about change because they don't have a guidelines to define progress.

    Now the press tends to get sensitive whenever they are barred from anywhere and tend to make a big deal out of it. It could just be the case they only want authorized personal who is part of the cleanup in the area. The press will only get in their way of doing their job. The press could also twist this against the OWS groups by showing the filth these people live in, and how they are not courteous enough to keep the area clean. But I expect they just want to clean the area up.
    And I am willing to expect they will come back to a clean and safe protest spot.

  10. Re:Celebrity tax return snooping on GAO Criticizes IRS Over Serious IT Deficiencies · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The key issue is with IT workers we work at a level that is behind the software audits. And really how much is the right balance of using our tax money to make the IRS more secure?

    You can go all out spend billions of dollars for massive audits and an infrastructure that can handle everything to make sure nothings slips by the cracks. Or spend millions of dollars to make sure the common stuff doesn't get by and only a few slip by.

    You can just do nothing and figure we have invested enough already.

    We have this strange notion that the government needs to be infallible in everything, then we complain that they are not spending their money wisely.
    Most of the government waste goes to "Covering their asses" Not so much in corruption where we are spending money to help hide a political figure from his mistakes but in a process that tries to make sure there are no mistakes where everything needs to go up and down the entire chain before it gets approved.

    We have all heard of the $900 toilet seat. It isn't the fact the vendor was selling the seat for $900 but because Maintenance Worker A see a seat that needs to be replaced. Spend 15 minutes writing a form to request it, his manager has to read it look at the seat verify that it needs to be replaced, then approves the form brings it further up Where people look at the seat try to find the most cost effective vendor for the seat, debate whether they should just get a cheap $5.00 one that will last 5 months or a nice one that will last for years. After all this and a month later the seat comes it. Why all this for a $20 medium quality seat. Because if they found out the Maintenance Guy A has been spending government money to buy $30 seats where they could have gotten one for $20 would cause an issue where either the Maintenance Man would get fired or his direct boss or further up, depending who is the best at pointing fingers.

  11. Re:You still need iPhone 4S on Siri Protocol Cracked · · Score: 2

    Does anyone with and iPhone 4S really use Siri that much to make it a killer feature?

    I am just asking... I have and iPhone 4(normal... With the Phillips head screws) and I don't see Siri as that big of a deal. It seems like something that will be mildly useful 4 times a year, I will have a little fun with it when I first get it. Then it will just kinda be one of those features on the phone I really don't use much. Like the Compass app.

  12. Re:You still need iPhone 4S on Siri Protocol Cracked · · Score: 2

    While cracking the code is fine for hackers to see how it works. It isn't going to viable to clones or competing products.
    We went threw this route and this behavior of hacking Apples products to make a clone tends to kill the brand.
    It must be too long ago to remember the days of WebOS when it was owned by Palm.
    What killed WebOS, (or at least put it in the category were there is a small vocal group of geeks saying it isn't really that dead, perhaps if they join forces with the BeOS and Amiga people they can become a small minority) the fact that they made their OS to mimic an iPod to allow it to connect to iTunes. So what did that do. It made apple to upgrade their iTunes to block out the WebOS device. Then Palm needed to make a new hack to get it to work again... In the mean time WebOS customers have a device that isn't fully working.
    So now if you start hacking into Siri to release an Android device that uses it. Apple will patch it, go the next step push out an upgrade then the Android device will loose that feature for a few weeks then by the time it gets release it will work for a week then get broken again. Pissing off customers, and not really helping anyone.

  13. Stupid Media. on Did Fracking Cause Recent Oklahoma Earthquakes? · · Score: 2

    Conservative Media: Fracking is perfectly safe, everyone should allow this in their back yard, if you don't have it in your back yard then you are letting the terrorist win.
    Liberal Media: Fracking is horrible, it pollutes all your drinking water, causes earthquakes, and eats puppies.

    Like all forms of energy extraction there are economic trade-offs that must happen. Fracking a newer technology is much cleaner then other methods but it isn't 100% clean or safe. Yes it could cause issues with underground wells, but it doesn't always. It is one of those things you need to monitor while you are doing it. And make sure if it does pollute your drinking water the Fracking company has insurances that will provide the residence with clean water for as long as their water tables are polluted.

    Heck when I was growing up. They built a housing development with a huge water tower. And what happened after they started drilling our own water became much heavier and contained more surfer. Yes there is an impact. But compared to the alternatives it is better the other ones are.

  14. Re:I wonder... on Scientists Develop Super-Slippery Material · · Score: 1

    The same thing when the Juggernaut goes against the Blob?

  15. Re:Toothpaste is where it's at on Scientists Develop Super-Slippery Material · · Score: 1

    Bah, Just cover our teeth and gums with this stuff. We wont need toothpaste any more.

  16. Re:Simpler approach on Scientists Develop Super-Slippery Material · · Score: 1

    They have been in the States for over a decade now. We are not that far behind.
    I think the key was making a top that would keep the liquid in after mutable uses.

  17. Re:Recycling on Scientists Develop Super-Slippery Material · · Score: 1

    Well it may solve some of the problems with old-timy recycling. Like with Glass Milk bottles where people use to get them refilled... This was stopped because the bottles would collect too much bacteria so it was better to have plastic bottles that can be tossed away.

    You have a glass or good quality plastic jar, you can go to the store and get it refilled vs. tossing it to the recycle bin, where such glass jar will be shipped to a recycling area, crushed in to a little bits and pieces then under high head reformed and molded to a new product. This can save you money on the product as it doesn't need to packaged itself just in bulk storage containers.

  18. Re:Practical application... on Scientists Develop Super-Slippery Material · · Score: 1

    Like all things that are found in nature are healthy for us?

    It reminds me of one time looking at a book cataloging different types of fungi. Part of each description is their edibility.
    Highly Editable, Editable but with ill effects, Poisonous, highly poisonous, Unknown (It looked to gross for anyone to ever test)

  19. Re:Solar Panels??? on Scientists Develop Super-Slippery Material · · Score: 1

    Well I could see a lot of good uses. Put them on the body of cars (not the tires) to reduce wind resistance and keep you car clean and resist salt and other stuff that can ware down your car.

    Put them on the roof of your house to keep the snow from building up.

    High performance bathing suits.

    Put them in the shoelace loops in your shoes so when you tighten you laces it tightens all the way down.

    Smug free screens on multi-touch displays.

    If they are non-toxic cover medicine pills so they swallow easier.

    Ink for you ball point pen.

    Raiser blades.

  20. Re:Underpants? on Scientists Develop Super-Slippery Material · · Score: 1

    True your underwear will stay clean... However the job of underwear is to get dirty so the rest of your clothing doesn't.

  21. Re:Not for cooking sadly on Scientists Develop Super-Slippery Material · · Score: 1

    Unless you have 15 beers.

  22. Re:Surprise on Reviews of Kindle Fire Are a Mixed Bag · · Score: 1

    Apples products are always too expensive.
    When a cheaper alternative comes around reviews says it doesn't perform as well.

    If you want good performance you need to pay more. If you pay less... Don't expect as much.

    I think we all got spoiled during the Dot Com boom of the 1990's where companies thought they can sell below cost and make it up on volume. Now we are expecting cheap high quality goods. This doesn't happen for too long. Most products/services needs at least 20% markup to actually truly break even, so as we know that bubble popped. And now customers are feeling ripped off because they need to pay the normal price for goods.

  23. Isn't economics requires? on How Litigation Only Spurred On P2P File Sharing · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Doesn't anyone take economics anymore?
    Every product has a price that is based on supply and demand.
    Digital media once created has a verry high supply ability. Thus it's cost is lowered. Digital content providers are charging more then what supply and demand curve intercection states. And legal controls that are trying to maintain this off balance. So... Blackmarkets are naturally formed to provide goods at their actual costs.

    This is the same thing with drugs, unpasturized milk, under the counter workers...

  24. Re:how do you stop it? on Heavy Duty Electric Unicycle Maker Takes On Segway · · Score: 1

    Computer control to tilt you back.

  25. Re:Does it come with airbags? on Heavy Duty Electric Unicycle Maker Takes On Segway · · Score: 1

    In general it is taking the space of a single person. Allows this to be rode where people are normally walking. as TFA points out its key advantage over the Segway is that you can sit down on it so it can be drove longer.