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User: Jerslan

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  1. Re:Cultural? on Volkswagen Boss Blames Software Engineers For Scandal (bbc.co.uk) · · Score: 1

    lame arse 100Mhz 16 bit CPU the electrical engineers gave me when the brake guys are telling me I need to react to wheel slip within 100us otherwise I could kill somebody

    From what I've seen of that sort of computing? They were lucky to have that much to work with :P Also, they should have to stick to MISRA standards.

  2. Re:Cultural? on Volkswagen Boss Blames Software Engineers For Scandal (bbc.co.uk) · · Score: 2

    Except that in this case someone had to design in a toggle for it that somehow knew when it was being emissions tested. Also a standard part of any QA process or Software Safety Standard is that no test bypass-type code is left in the final product.

  3. Re: Cultural? on Volkswagen Boss Blames Software Engineers For Scandal (bbc.co.uk) · · Score: 1

    They actually could do it all through software though.

    They could just switch it into "cheat-mode" all the time. That wwould be a huge impact to performance, so they're installing Urea tanks to soak up the extra emissions.

    That's right. Volkswagon fucked up so bad they are almost literally pissing on their customers in order to "fix" the problem...

  4. Re:Cultural? on Volkswagen Boss Blames Software Engineers For Scandal (bbc.co.uk) · · Score: 2

    As a Software Engineer... What possible motivation would they have had? Emissions isn't their problem. It's the Mechanical Engineer's problem. They should be getting requirements for the control interfaces from the Mechanical/Automotive Engineers.

  5. Re: Manipulated by apple on Apple Reveals the Most Common Reasons That It Rejects Apps · · Score: 1

    And when Android copies some new feature the Android fanatics will conveniently start to claim that Apple copied them...

    It's software, mores specifically OS software... Everyone copies everyone from now until forever...

  6. Re:study finds dumbasses who can't pay attention.. on Lectures Aren't Just Boring, They're Ineffective, Too, Study Finds · · Score: 2

    As one of those "nerds" I still had issues with Lecture classes. My university combined Lecture with Recitation sections so that you could get a combo of learning styles (ie: Lecture MWF, Recitation TTh). Lecture's often put me to sleep, and when they didn't it was because the teacher would randomly go off on amusing tangents about the differing smells of white board markers or installing a new screen door the previous weekend. Recitation covered things like going over the homework and such, had smaller class sizes (taught by a TA instead of the professor), and helping people struggling with material.

    It wasn't a perfect system, but it worked well enough. Some classes you just can't avoid the large lecture hall (like Engineering Physics or Calculus).

  7. Re:Recycling on Is Carbon Fiber Going Mainstream? · · Score: 1

    So let me see if I understand your argument... "Western Commies" want people to dump cars for bikes so they'll be more reliant on public transport and more easily controlled? That makes no sense.

    I know people who regularly rode their bikes for a 40 mile round-trip commute. They still owned cars, they just used them less often (saving gas and getting a good cardio workout in the process). Last I checked the idea of not spending money when you don't absolutely have to was very Capitalist.

    Be less of a tool.

  8. Re:Would you do me a favor? on Interviews: Ask J. Michael Straczynski What You Will · · Score: 1

    Star Wars VII plot twist: The Force is powered, not by midiclorians as previously suggested, but by Lens Flares!!! [cue dramatic reveal music]

  9. Re:Forbidden Planet remake/prequel/something on Interviews: Ask J. Michael Straczynski What You Will · · Score: 1

    I just asked the same question. Good to know I wasn't the only one wanting to know what's going on this this.

  10. Forbidden Planet on Interviews: Ask J. Michael Straczynski What You Will · · Score: 1

    I remember hearing your name being attached to a Forbidden Planet remake.

    If this is true, can you talk about the project at all?

    Forbidden Planet is my all-time favorite movie, and I would love to see someone (more specifically you) make a modern version that's true to the original. It was cerebral Sci-Fi at a time when Sci-Fi was mostly for kids. Given how Sci-Fi is enjoying a resurgence in the main-stream, now seems like the perfect time to bring this classic about the dangers of the human subconscious mind back into the public eye.

  11. Re:KODAK is actually a good example. on The Internet's Network Efficiencies Are Destroying the Middle Class · · Score: 2

    You're still limiting yourself to only a single company and a single industry.... Several companies and industries have sprung up or expanded in Kodak's wake.

    Instagram was one small company, and it was ridiculously over-valued for the $1B purchase. It hardly qualifies as a "sole-heir" to the Kodak "kingdom" as the article implies. Google is only a single company. Add up the jobs created by Google, Microsoft, Facebook (not just the 13 from Instagram), Apple, Samsung, Sony, Canon, Nikon, etc... in the wake of Kodak going under.... It will probably exceed the number of people that Kodak employed.

    Look at the LARGER picture. How many Engineering or other such "Skilled" jobs did we have in 1988? Compare that to now? We may have lost manufacturing jobs, but we gained in STEM related jobs during that same time-frame. Kodak's failure was not a consipracy against them. It was typical corporate decay... "Our current products are doing great, why bother putting R&D into this new-fangled stuff" (fast forward 25 years) "Oh shit, that stuff we ignored 25 years ago is huge now... Our bottom line is OK, but lets try to play R&D catch-up..." (fast forward 10 years) "Oh shit, we never caught up... Time to take a 'Golden Parachute' and let the company declare bankruptcy"

    Don't blame the Internet, Social Networks, or any other inanimate object for Kodak's failure. Kodak failed because Kodak made too many crucial mistakes and willingly failed to keep up with market changes.

  12. Re:KODAK is actually a good example. on The Internet's Network Efficiencies Are Destroying the Middle Class · · Score: 1

    Canon & Nikon employ only a few hundred people each? Who knew? Have you counted any of their expansion as a result of Kodak's failure into your equations? Keep in mind that despite being foreign companies, they do have rather expansive US Operations. Also, Kodak may not be what it once was, but it is still around (at least as a brand-name that is plastered on photo-oriented printers and point-and-shoot digital cameras). This entire article could be translated as "OMG!!! THE AUTOMATION IS KILLING JOBS!!! IT MUST STOP EVEN THOUGH I DON'T WANT TO PAY MORE FOR THE LABOR!!! ALSO THAT WAGE SHOULD BE ABLE TO SUPPORT A SINGLE PARENT RAISING 7 KIDS ON THEIR OWN!!!" It's nothing but fear-mongering.

  13. RSA Denial on Reuters: RSA Weakened Encryption For $10M From NSA · · Score: 1
    From TFA:

    RSA and EMC declined to answer questions for this story, but RSA said in a statement: "RSA always acts in the best interest of its customers and under no circumstances does RSA design or enable any back doors in our products. Decisions about the features and functionality of RSA products are our own."

    That is one of the biggest loads of horse shit I have ever heard. If any part of that statement from the RSA were true then the NSA deal would never have happened and the NSA Formula would never even have been an option, much less the default...

  14. Re:Bill Gates reads Reddit? on Bill Gates Plays Secret Santa To Reddit User · · Score: 1

    [sarcasm]Yes, because history shows that people who call people "pieces of shit" are SOOOOO much better... especially when they do so anonymously...[/sarcasm]

  15. Re:Sounds like he visited torproject.org recently. on Harvard Bomb Hoax Perpetrator Caught Despite Tor Use · · Score: 1

    ... and they are not going to use it for this kind of case.

    Bomb threat from unknown source? Boston? Possible foreign connections? The NSA is allegedly supposed to be involved in investigation of terror threats. It's the other stuff they're doing that's got people upset.

    Why would the NSA crack TOR to spy on terrorists and such like they're supposed to when they can be stalking potential love interests and making sure their Significant Others are faithful?

  16. Re:Watched on Happy 50th Doctor Who · · Score: 1

    Or he updates the software, but the old programs are still running? Update doesn't necessarily mean wipe+reinstall.

  17. Hipster Bullshite on Critics Reassess Starship Troopers As a Misunderstood Masterpiece · · Score: 1

    Wow... That read like enough hipster BS to launch 1000 more Starbucks locations.. Oh, wait, Starbucks is too "mainstream" now... How about "enough hipster BS to launch 1000 [obscure regional coffee shop] locations"?

    It was a good, entertaining movie when it came out. It's still a good, entertaining movie today.

    You don't have to justify enjoying it with this much "oh, yeah, I totally see the symbolism in that now" BS...

  18. Re:XBox One, PS4 or Wii U? on A Playstation 4 Teardown · · Score: 1

    I haven't played Progress Quest in years! Good times ;)

  19. Re:UK petitioning USA government? on Linus Responds To RdRand Petition With Scorn · · Score: 1

    change.org is an independent site. It may have a mostly US focus, but it certainly does not serve solely to petition the US Government... Also once you vote for an issue, they spam you with all sorts of stupid crap like "My Sister got fat eating McDonald's Fries and then got diabetes and then lost a foot to neuropathy! We need to do something about this!".... Sure there are good causes out there, but most of them follow a "I want to complain about my own poor life choices or the poor life choices of a loved one! Find me someone to blame who will pay me millions in damages!" trend...

    Maybe you confused it with the White House's "We the People" petition system? The one where the White House has to respond with an official statement (or non-statement) to anything with more than 50,000 unique signatures?

  20. Re:Defendants have the right to testimony on The Reporter's Fifth Amendment Paradox · · Score: 1

    The 5th does apply to 3rd party witnesses, but only in very specific instances. Nobody has argued otherwise... It's just not a catch-all "I don't want to testify at all" move that anyone can use at any time.

  21. Re:Not exactly a right to remain silent... on The Reporter's Fifth Amendment Paradox · · Score: 1

    Fifth Amendment rights only pertain to specific questions. Questions whose answers would lead the witness to incriminate themselves (regardless of whether the crime is relevant to the given trial). If, in that highly unlikely scenario, someone were to successfully plea the 5th for all questions asked of them, then they still told the truth (unless of course there was no actual crime).

  22. Re:Defendants have the right to testimony on The Reporter's Fifth Amendment Paradox · · Score: 1

    If Alice was involved in an entirely unrelated crime, then said crime has no relevance to the case and she can easily plead the 5th... They cannot force her to admit to committing a crime, even if that crime is unrelated to the trial in question. That is actually one of the reasons the 5th Amendment exists.

  23. Re:reality show rejects on The iPhone 5S Hasn't Been Officially Announced, Already Has Line · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Because there was absolutely no press coverage of an impending update and/or new model until just now... They've been speculating wildly about the 6/5S since the 5 came out last year. Even it's release date, which hasn't actually been announced yet, is expected to be later this month. If you bought an iPhone 5 and feel cheated because a new model came out a couple months later? You can really only blame yourself for not doing adequate market research before buying a mobile phone...

  24. Re:Not exactly a right to remain silent... on The Reporter's Fifth Amendment Paradox · · Score: 1

    Since when has "Freedom of expression" especially in regards to non-expression applied to Court Rooms? If it did than all Perjury laws would be in violation, as false testimony to get a conviction could be deemed "Protected Speech".... Worst case: Someone innocent gets put on Death Row because the testimony that could have cleared them wasn't given because a witness exercised "freedom of expression". I'd say this "worst case scenario" would totally undermine the purpose of the criminal justice system.

    So no, you do NOT have the right to remain silent in a courtroom. You must testify, and before you do you must swear a legally binding oath to tell the truth. The issue isn't witness rights, it's defendant and plaintiff rights. Defendants has the right to call witnesses to exonerate themselves. If a defendant isn't particularly popular than witnesses may not tell the whole truth if they had the "freedom of expression" to do so. Plaintiff's have the right to call witnesses to make their case against a Defendant, if the witnesses have "Freedom of Expression" to falsify testimony than a defendant could get away with some crime (ie: vandalism, shoplifting, whatever) just because a witness exercised their "Freedom of Expression".

  25. Re:Defendants have the right to testimony on The Reporter's Fifth Amendment Paradox · · Score: 1

    This. This right here... The whole purpose of the 5th Amendment is that you can't be forced to admit to committing a crime during a trial, especially if that crime is wholly unrelated to the trial. It does apply to witnesses in those cases as well... To use the "Alice & Bob" example from above, if Alice really were an accomplice and not just a witness, she cannot be forced to admit being an accomplice during Bob's trial and can "Plea the 5th".