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User: JimFive

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Comments · 639

  1. Re:I smell a rat. on Use of Encryption Foiled the Cops a Record 9 Times In 2013 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    You forgot:

    5) Most crimes leave evidence that is not on the criminal's computer.

  2. Re:The US Government can overrule anything on The Government Can No Longer Track Your Cell Phone Without a Warrant · · Score: 1

    You do realize that the President is the Chief Executive, the head of the Executive branch of government. That is the president's primary role, even before that of Commander in Chief. While it is true that he cannot "control what everyone in the Executive Branch does" it is his job to set and communicate the guidelines for how they do their job.
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    JimFive

  3. Re:Unfortunate realities on Google Engineer: We Need More Web Programming Languages · · Score: 1

    There is no reason that a single /language/ could not support efficient hardware manipulation and also run in a sandbox (with C-like efficiency).

    Sure there is. For one thing, a sandbox by its very nature must always impose some overhead, which is anathema to systems programmers. Another paradox is that when you're building the layers in your system, something has to be at the bottom, and that can't be sandboxed.

    You're conflating the language with the runtime environment. There is nothing that prevents you from compiling C code to target Machine Language, or JVM Bytecode, or .Net bytecode.
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    JimFive

  4. Re:I get enough flying priuses already. on Toyota Investigating Hovercars · · Score: 4, Informative

    Better yet, try driving in the left lane on a road that isnt limited access, a speed limit something around 35mph, and see how many people completely lose their minds despite the fact that what youre doing is entirely legal.

    No, it isn't legal. Look up Impeding Traffic. You aren't allowed to impede the normal flow of traffic, even if that traffic is violating the law.
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    JimFive

  5. Re:Below 500'? on For the First Time Ever, the FAA Is Trying To Fine a Drone Hobbyist · · Score: 1

    You are confusing "Controlled Airspace" with FAA jurisdiction. Unless otherwise classified (by the FAA) airspace below (I think) 700 feet above ground level is uncontrolled (Class G) airspace. Each airspace classification has specific rules for its use. The FAA still has jurisdiction even the airspace is uncontrolled.
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    JimFive

  6. Re:I went back to corporate America because Obamac on White House: Get ACA Insurance Coverage, Launch Start-Ups · · Score: 1

    First: 240/mo is pretty close to 3K/yr so the premiums are about the same. 3K deductible seems pretty high, but in the individual market is probably fairly normal. You might note that there are certain things (annual wellness visit, etc) that are covered even before the deductible is met.

    As for "Why not remove so many of the minimums...(...I don't need prenatal coverage)" The answer is: The exchanges are an attempt to bring the benefits of group rating as enjoyed by employer sponsored insurance to the individual market. Those benefits include preexisting condition coverage and overall lower premiums. The cost of those benefits is that everyone in the group gets the same coverage. So, while you, personally, may not need prenatal coverage, people in your group that are helping to keep your insurance rates more stable and (hopefully) lower than they otherwise would be will need that coverage. Likewise, coverage of contraception keeps rates lower because pregnancy is expensive.

    Now, are there going to be people for whom the new system is worse than the old one? Sure. And if you're one of them it kind of sucks. But the expectation is that the people who are harmed will have enough options to be able to deal with that harm while those who are being helped did not have any options without the implementation of this law.
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    JimFive

  7. Re:Let's call a spade a spade on How St. Louis Is Bootstrapping Hundreds of Programmers · · Score: 1

    Interesting, but since Aristotle was Greek what word did he use where we use spade (and what did/does it mean)? A (very) cursory google didn't come up with anything.

  8. Re: riiiight on Killing Net Neutrality Could Be Good For You · · Score: 1

    why can't a provider pay for a similar "bigger pipe" TO the ISP?

    Well they could, but the provider doesn't have a pipe to the ISP, the provider has a pipe to their own ISP (Let's call it BackBone) and the consumer ISP also has a pipe to BackBone. The provider and the consumer ISP are both paying for their own pipe and the Customer is is paying the consumer ISP for access to that pipe. In this diagram there is no business relationship between e.g. NetFlix and Comcast and any effort by Comcast to get NetFlix to pay is basically extortion (nice user base you got there, be a pity if something happened to it). It might also be fraud as the Comcast customers are paying for a connection to the broader internet, not just those entities that Comcast "likes".

    If NetFlix wants a faster pipe to Comcast customers they could certainly negotiate with Comcast to by a direct connection into the Comcast network and cut out BackBone.

    None of this is meant to imply that Comcast can't do traffic shaping on their network, but that shaping should be part of improving the customer experience, not blackmailing content providers.
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    JimFive

  9. Re:You have no idea... on US Treasury Completes Bailout of General Motors · · Score: 1

    more and more people will realize they don't need to own a car when they can just as easily rent one on demand just by pulling out a smartphone

    And then they realize that everyone needs cars at the same time. Rush hour doesn't go away just because cars are autonomous.

    Autonomous rental cars are going to need to be cleaned, or at least inspected, after every use because no one wants a car that smells like someone else's cigarettes--or vomit.

    There are reasons that owning a car is cheaper than renting a car for most people. Those reasons don't disappear with autonomous cars. The cost discrepancy might go down, but if I have to rent a car to and from work every day and to the store once a week and on the weekends to visit the parents or go to the beach, I might as well buy a car.

    What autonomous cars might do is decrease the need for every household to have 2 or more cars.
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    JimFive

  10. Re:Siri doesn't have free will on Physicist Unveils a 'Turing Test' For Free Will · · Score: 1

    If we had no free will we would have no need for Governments, armies, laws, etc.. The people in power positions would simply change reality so that we did their bidding without any manipulations.

    No, they wouldn't because they wouldn't have free will either. If we have no free will then the world that we see is exactly the world that would exist because this is what we have in that deterministic universe. You can never say "If we had no free will then <something would be different>". If the world is deterministic then this is the world that is determined.
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    JimFive

  11. Re:Remember all those times Bush blocked... on German NSA Critic Denied Entry To the US · · Score: 1

    Correct me if I'm wrong but doesn't the whole FREEDOM thing pertain to the citizens specifically?

    Ok, you're wrong. The mentions of citizen in the constitution revolve around jurisdiction of the courts and eligibility for office. The Bill of Rights doesn't mention citizens at all and the mentions of citizens in the remaining amendments are related to voting rights. Even the 14th amendment says

    "No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws." [emphasis added]

    Which makes it clear that the word person is not limited to citizens. In addition, as others have mentioned, the constitution enumerates (an incomplete list of) rights but does not grant them.
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    JimFive

  12. Re: What do you mean by "can"? on How To Foil NSA Sabotage: Use a Dead Man's Switch · · Score: 1

    Nothing. When is the last time that protests actually caused a policy shift in the US? 1776? Protests in the 1930's didn't, protests over Vietnam, Occupy? Nothing. The civil rights protests of the 1960's is the only thing that comes to mind and I'm not sure about those.
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    JimFive

  13. Re:One limit per insured on Medical Costs Bankrupt Patients; It's the Computer's Fault · · Score: 1

    As I understand it, the actual problem is with group plans in which different aspects of insurance are managed by different entities, e.g. your medical insurance is Blue Cross, your dental is Delta, and your prescriptions are Caremark. The ACA says the individual annual out of pocket maximum is ~$6000, however, Blue Cross, Spectera and Aetna don't know how much the member has paid the other companies because they don't talk to each other. The problem isn't actually technical so much as bureaucratic.
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    JimFive

  14. Now these new companies are coming in and saying essentially, "The rules don't apply to us because we're special.

    I think it is important to emphasize this. And also to recognize that these are NOT "ride-sharing services", they are taxis. Ride Sharing would not have dedicated drivers taking people places, it would have people going places offering space in a car.
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    JimFive

  15. Re:return on Supreme Court Overturns Defense of Marriage Act · · Score: 1

    Why don't we just get the govt (state and feds) OUT of the marriage business?
    Marriage is a religious thing.

    Well, no, marriage has been about property rights and inheritance for a lot longer than it has been religious.

    And IMHO, why should someone get a tax break if they are married or in some type of civil union?

    Because along with the benefits of marriage come the responsibilities of marriage. You are agreeing to support the other person for, ideally, the rest of your lives. You are easing the burden on society and society rewards that by giving you a tax break.

    By the way, the tax break for being married really only occurs when one person makes a decent amount of money and the other person earns very little. In that case, you are (basically) taxed as if you each made the average which generally puts you into a lower tax bracket. If you both make the same amount of money, or both make a lot of money (even if disparate) then their is no benefit and sometimes a increase in taxes (due to deduction limits) over begin single.
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    JimFive

  16. Re:reclaim their original battery? on Tesla To Build Its Own Battery-Swap Stations · · Score: 1

    Did you see the story about the Boston parking auction where 2 spaces went for ~$600,000?
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    JimFive

  17. Re:I've been trying feedly on Slashdot Asks: How Will You Replace Google Reader? · · Score: 1

    I actually like the integrated browser that allows me to swipe to the next feedly story after looking at the website. What I don't like is how slow/laggy the interface is trying to get into the first story.
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    JimFive

  18. Re:Retarded... on Hospital Resorts To Cameras To Ensure Employees Wash Hands · · Score: 1

    I may not be understanding your suggestion, but I'm not so sure this would work in an environment that has 1500 practically identical rooms each of which have an identical sink and where leaning forward to look down at and manipulate things (such as a patient) is common.
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    JimFive

  19. Re:Could you automate this further? on Hospital Resorts To Cameras To Ensure Employees Wash Hands · · Score: 1

    Removing the gloves (potentially) contaminates the hands, thus you must wash your hands after removing the gloves. (Or, at least, that's the policy at my local hospital)
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    JimFive

  20. Re:Let me be the first to say... on Hospital Resorts To Cameras To Ensure Employees Wash Hands · · Score: 1

    You go to Patient-A's room. You wash your hands. After dealing with the patient, you wash your hands again when you leave.
    You go to Patient-B's room. You wash your hands. Even when you don't do anything, you have to wash your hands again when you leave.
    You go to Patient-C's room. Again, you wash your hands before and after you leave.

    I just wanted to expand on this a little bit. You enter A's room, wash hands, deal with patient, wash hands to prevent contaminating the door handle with whatever you just picked up from A.
    You enter B's room, wash hands to wash off whatever was on the door handle of the last two doors you went through etc...

    Instead of washing hands, a lot of nurses would just use a glove instead. Wear a new glove into a patient's room, and then throw the glove away when they leave.

    Policy at our local hospital is to wash hands whenever you remove gloves so this wouldn't really help.

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    JimFive

  21. Re:Measurement error on Physicists Create Quantum Link Between Photons That Don't Exist At the Same Time · · Score: 1

    The problem is that entanglement doesn't actually allow you to send information anywhere using it.

    Doesn't it let you send the one bit of information "I have broken the entanglement"? If so, then that would send information faster than light.
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    JimFive

  22. Re:revenue starts in the house? on US Senate Passes Internet Tax Bill 69 To 27 · · Score: 1

    This isn't a revenue generating bill. It is not a federal tax being imposed. It is a law requiring businesses engaged in interstate commerce to collect sales taxes for the state of the purchaser.
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    JimFive

  23. Re:ulimately this will erase barriers on US Senate Passes Internet Tax Bill 69 To 27 · · Score: 1

    A single professional earning ~$100,000 with a modest house and no student loans (basically unable to itemize deductions) will pay a combined federal tax (income + SS + Medicare) of right around 30%.
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    JimFive

  24. Re:Programmer Error Or Programmer Intent? on Video Poker Firmware Bug Yields Big Money, Federal Charges · · Score: 1

    No, it doesn't work that way. What matters is if the player is playing the game as intended by the owner of the game, not the programmer. The player is committing a crime as soon as he intentionally takes advantage of the fact that the machine is not playing by the stated rules. Note the key words, intentionally takes advantage. The first time the player accidentally mashes all the buttons and the machine pays out extra he didn't commit a crime. When he does it again just to see if it happens again then he might have committed a crime. When he tells his friends and they use the trick to beat the machine then they have all committed a crime.
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    JimFive

  25. Re:First clue on Creationist Bets $10k In Proposed Literal Interpretation of Genesis Debate · · Score: 1

    I just wanted to point out that Kinesiology is not the same as the quackery that is called Applied Kinesiology.
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    JimFive