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User: jddj

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  1. Re:RS-232 WattsUp, Humidity Sensor, RPi 1, WiFi, G on Ask Slashdot: Your Most Unusual Hardware Hack? · · Score: 2

    YOU'RE NOT MY REAL FATHER!!!

  2. Re:RS-232 WattsUp, Humidity Sensor, RPi 1, WiFi, G on Ask Slashdot: Your Most Unusual Hardware Hack? · · Score: 1

    Well, both, really.

    I guess I should say accuracy, or repeatability or noise floor of the humidity sensor - since I originally thought I was seeing some capacitive artifact. It actually does a pretty good job.

  3. RS-232 WattsUp, Humidity Sensor, RPi 1, WiFi, GPIO on Ask Slashdot: Your Most Unusual Hardware Hack? · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Put it all together for near-real-time track of how much it costs to keep my basement at a given humidity.

    The Raspberry Pi caches readings in a local database in case it can't connect to the web, then stores in a database on my web server. The database ingestion also keeps a 2-hour running average to smooth things out a bit.

    When I set it up, I thought it wasn't working right - I saw sawtooth-like patterns in the humidity data. Turned out, it was working perfectly: the resolution of the humidity sensor was good enough that I could watch the humidity in the room rise until the dehumidifier kicked on!

  4. If you're able to by real Sudafed... on Obama Asks Congress To Renew 'Patriot Act' Snooping · · Score: 1

    The Terrorists Win!!!!!

  5. All those batteries.... on FTC Recommends Conditions For Sale of RadioShack Customer Data · · Score: 2, Funny

    ...all those Goddamned batteries...

  6. Re:why not a web page? on Has the Native Vs. HTML5 Mobile Debate Changed? · · Score: 1

    IMEI. Definitively identify a device, without even requiring an account sign-up. There's a bunch more.

  7. Re:why not a web page? on Has the Native Vs. HTML5 Mobile Debate Changed? · · Score: 3, Interesting

    It's important to understand that the context of use for a mobile web page is different from that of a successful mobile app.

    There are a bunch of dumb apps developed for online news sites - as though I'd ever want to go to just one news site, vs. have the mobile web spread out before me.

    OTOH, good mobile apps do things that the mobile web doesn't or can't. Perform read/write operations on local data. Use local processing power - as much as is available. Access local sensors not available to mobile web. Aggregate data from multiple sources - perhaps blending web and local data.

    Even apps that do nothing more than provide deep search - if the vertical market for the app is well defined (Movie geeks: IMDB, small investors: finance apps...), it's possible for a mobile app to excel over a web site by providing native gadgets and a platform native UI that doesn't have to leave room for the (admittedly minimal) mobile browser UI.

    Finally, mobile apps can scrape a bunch more information from the user's device than can mobile web. Definitely a help in monetizing a popular vertical, if you roll that way.

  8. Re:Least common denominator on Has the Native Vs. HTML5 Mobile Debate Changed? · · Score: 1

    Disagree with your comments on CG UI.

    I used Lightwave 3D for quite a while. It's built with one of these cross-platform Frankenstein UIs, and frankly, that part sucks.

    I want an app to behave on a Mac like a Mac app, on a Windows PC like a Windows app, and on a Linux box with whatever feeble attempt at consistency it can muster.

    Ditto goes for iOS and Android. Can't stand seeing the iOS "BACK" button on an Android screen. Dumb, dumb, dumb.

  9. QNAP TS-something-something with Linux on Ask Slashdot: Building a Home Media Center/Small Server In a Crawlspace? · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I'm using a TS-119+ with a 2TB disk inside. It's sitting in my wiring closet.

    It's running MythTV for my TV/UPnP server, MythWeb for programming, Mediatomb to serve photos/videos via UPnP, and mt-daapd as an iTunes Music Server. I use PS/3s for the TV front-ends, and Roku Soundbridge 500s, 1000s, and 2000s for the music players.

    It's about as close to silent as you get - I think it's fanless (you can see I'm not concerned enough about noise to find out). And it uses about 6w when it's idling.

    I got into NAS solutions after I figured out running my MythTV system 24x7 was like leaving a 100 watt lightbulb on all the time, even when I didn't need it. I measured my old beige-box PC with a watt meter: a continuous 95 watts. And loud fans.

    The QNAP delights me. All I could ask for that it doesn't do well is transcoding. There's just not enough CPU for it. But that'll come in time with some other NAS unit, or with offloading it via scripting to a full PC or Mac, when I get around to it.

  10. Better way to do this... on Energy-Generating Fabric Set To Power Battery-Free Wearables · · Score: 1

    Corduroy Pants and thigh-mounted thermocouples. Could maybe power a Peltier Chiller all up in there...

  11. There's a diff between "Blocking" and "Refusing" on Anthem Blocking Federal Auditor From Doing Vulnerability Scans · · Score: 3, Interesting

    If they can actually block the scans, that'd be... well...more secure than their track record indicates.

  12. This guy's wearing a pair! on AVG Announces Invisibility Glasses · · Score: 1

    Looks very chic!

  13. They ALREADY figured out why - it's in TFA on 20-Year-Old Military Weather Satellite Explodes In Orbit · · Score: 2

    From TFA:

    "The 'catastrophic event' produced 43 pieces of space debris, according to Air Force Space Command, which disclosed the loss of the satellite Feb. 27 in response to questions from SpaceNews."

    Just what kind of questions was SpaceNews asking, that the satellite would explode in response? They should STFU pretty quick, before we lose everything in LEO!

  14. Re: Mural.ly on Ask Slashdot: Whiteboard Substitutes For Distributed Teams? · · Score: 1

    Yeah, Mural.ly is great, but more of a sketchboarding solution (like BoardThing) than a shared whiteboard.

    Would gladly use mural.ly if the team would adopt it.

  15. This is really hard. As in "middle-east peace" har on Ask Slashdot: Whiteboard Substitutes For Distributed Teams? · · Score: 1

    I reviewed 30 offerings for my office. None pleased everyone or most. If you have just a few office locations, Smart makes great connected whiteboards. It's hard to find better. If you have work-from-home or people want to use iPads and whiteboards at the same time, or you've got paper-only constituents, it's a complete mess. Might look at Groupboard or Board thing.

  16. Chase happiness, not money on Ask Slashdot: Terminally Ill - What Wisdom Should I Pass On To My Geek Daughter? · · Score: 1

    Find a way to do the work that you love most, not necessarily the work that pays you most. If you're good, and the work's important, the money will follow.

    A close second would be: treasure your time. You can buy almost anything else, but not a second more.

    Another close second: Love yourself first. That's the way to healthy relationships with others. (That's not to say "be a selfish narcissist", but instead to understand that you have to be whole and strong if you're not to fall into relationships where you're not an equal partner).

    A third: Invest while you're young. (See the one about not being able to buy the time back above).

  17. Re: Mod Parent Up on UK Scientists Claim 1Tbps Data Speed Via Experimental 5G Technology · · Score: 0

    Well, if I understand GB Ethernet (with which I've wired my home, to ease passing MPEG-2 OTA TV streams around), it moves from one twisted pair to four, at the 100Mbit clock rate, and so approximates 1Gbps, though doesn't quite equal it.

    So not a like-for-like comparison. While the summary doesn't say much, the other provided explanation (multiple spatial paths) seems something like GB EN, in that there are multiple channels in which the information is transmitted.

    Hard for me to see how you cram a Terabit down a 100MHz single channel, but perhaps that's not what's being attempted.

  18. Mod Parent Up on UK Scientists Claim 1Tbps Data Speed Via Experimental 5G Technology · · Score: 1

    I think this busts the physics, unless I misunderstand completely. Paging Dr. Shannon...

  19. Re: Why won't some American $Baire buy it? on RadioShack Near Deal To Sell Half of Its Stores, Close the Rest · · Score: 1

    Plus, when they check out, they'll have to give their name and address and take eleventh billion shitty carbon-zinc batteries.

  20. Re: Please not PDF. A picture's not good either. on Ask Slashdot: Is There a Modern IP Webcam That Lets the User Control the Output? · · Score: 1

    Somebody likely typed the menu.

    Strikes me that a quick web form to copy I paste the text is a lot less elaborate than maintaining a webcam for the purpose. But that's just me.

    Good usability pros don't "ride off into the sunset" before testing to make sure the solution works well for all stakeholders, including those who must maintain the content without help.

  21. Please not PDF. A picture's not good either. on Ask Slashdot: Is There a Modern IP Webcam That Lets the User Control the Output? · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Restaurant sites are what usability pros show onscreen when they want to get a belly laugh from the audience.

    The reason is that restaurants are focused on looks before usability. This leads them to use pictures of text, PDFs, and the hated Flash.

    Those technologies range from poor to complete fail when it comes to searchability, mobile adaptability, accessibility, and ability to select and copy/paste text.

    Please, use HTML text instead. It's not hard to format it beautifully with CSS, and you'll be helping patrons find you, paste the address into their contacts or GPS, share favorite stuff with friends, and get a dollar out of their hands and into yours.

  22. Look at lightup.io on Ask Slashdot: How Do I Engage 5th-8th Graders In Computing? · · Score: 1

    Circuits that stick together with magnets, interesting sensors, Arduino-compatible controller, web-browser-integrated programing environment, sample projects and code sharing.

    The hello world starts with blinking the lights on the controller board. Get the bigger kit (the "Tesla", I think).

  23. Re:Urban legend? on Plan C: The Cold War Plan Which Would Have Brought the US Under Martial Law · · Score: 2

    Can't comment on exactly _this_ plan for doomsday, but my Dad was a highly-placed official in the Post Office Department/Postal Service during the 60s-80s, and there was a CoG (Continuity of Government) plan, at least for leadership.

    Don't ask me who they thought was going to deliver the mail.

    Dad was supposed to abandon the family and head for a specific place in the mountains 90 or so miles west of the city. (There was plenty DC traffic in the '60s, but it wasn't anything like it is today - and the exurbs weren't crowded with townhomes, Costcos and Ferrari dealers).

    Dad had his instructions, and while he was a good soldier, I seem to recall he told me he couldn't have left us. Knowing the man, I think that's right.

    Besides, the plan was destined for obsolescence once MIRVs and multiple H-Bomb city-busters were developed. There's just no way to survive something like that and have remaining anything like the civilization we enjoy.

  24. Damn... on Steam For Linux Bug Wipes Out All of a User's Files · · Score: 1, Funny

    GAME OVER

  25. Hope they didn't type that letter... on AI Experts Sign Open Letter Pledging To Protect Mankind From Machines · · Score: 2

    on a MACHINE!!!!!