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User: keithjr

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  1. Polished? on Eben Moglen Explains Freedom and Free Software in Two Video Interviews · · Score: 1

    Prof. Moglen is also one of the most polished speakers anywhere, on any topic, ever.

    Except when he's straight up yelling at interviewers?

  2. Re:no substitute for the real thing on Ask Slashdot: DOSBox, or DOS Box? · · Score: 2

    There's a cross-platform port for duke3d. You don't need an emulator.

  3. Re:Is the Engine ported at least? on Unreal Tournament 3 For Linux Is Officially Dead · · Score: 1

    That depends. If I recall correctly, the port was originally being held up by legal issues surrounding the PhysX engine. Technically, the port could have been fairly simple.

  4. Re:Proprietary Software on Stallman Worried About Chrome OS · · Score: 1

    What's interesting is that this angle of cloud computing has already been covered a couple years ago when RMS first raised these concerns. The answer is still the same: "cloud" does not necessarily mean "non-free."

  5. Re:What's Leahy's deal? on Senate Panel Approves Website Shut-Down Bill · · Score: 1

    I'd say probably opportunism. They come to him with donations, big ones. Then he goes back to them when relevant laws come up, to get their preferred stance. Then he gets more donations for his next campaign. It is odd, I will admit, that Big Content has that much stake in VT. But if he's on the committee, then it's not too shocking that they would seek him out.

  6. Re:This shouldn't be looked upon as a 'bad thing'. on Security Concerns Paramount After Early Reviews of Diaspora Code · · Score: 1

    Facebook was made by people still in college. I'm and sure it wasn't highly secure, and probably still isn't. But we'll never know will we?

  7. Re:But what if I liked the application on Google Remotely Nukes Apps From Android Phones · · Score: 2, Informative

    I'm not an expert on the Android platform, but here's my take. Apps downloaded via the Android Market are tied to your Google account. That way, you can move between devices and not have to re-purchase any paid ones, or have to deal with the headaches of re-downloading freebies. So, in that way, you could say that Android has a backdoor to Google.

    That said, you can install apps from non-Market sources by simply checking a box in the Settings. Install the app from any other avenue besides the Market, and Google can do naught. The issue about this app is that it was distributed through the Market, which is its own trusted source.

  8. Re:I must be new here on Symantec Finds Server Containing 44 Million Stolen Gaming Credentials · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Is the buyer really going to come back and demand a refund when it doesn't work?

    Probably not, but reputation must be worth something in criminal enterprises. Giving out a bunch of bogus products kills the word-of-mouth.

    And what real benefit are these, anyway? Well, all the criminal has to do is sell off the account for less than the game costs up-front. They make pure profit and people willing to buy stolen games get a discount. Steam accounts could probably be quite lucrative, for instance.

  9. Re:Oh i get it. on Germany Demands Google Forfeit Citizens' Wi-Fi Data · · Score: 1

    Google collected broadcast data by accident, but as yet has not violated my privacy.

    Says who? Google?

  10. Re:A few things. on Germany Demands Google Forfeit Citizens' Wi-Fi Data · · Score: 1

    It all revolves around the question: how much do you trust Google? If one is operating on the assumptions that a) this isn't the end-all of Google's illicit data-mining, and b) that not all (if any) of it is accidental, there's a strong precedent to be set here. At least, in the public's hands, an independent audit is possible.

    I'd say we should be more concerned about the crap private companies can pull (a problem we can't solve) with the crap that governments pull (a problem we can solve, in theory).

  11. Re:So... on Armstrong, Cernan Testify Against Obama Space Plan · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Everything in your list can be accomplished by unmanned exploration, except for the effects of microgravity and astronaut jobs. We'd generate even more (useful) jobs if we focused an R&D effort on replacing our archaic technology.

  12. Re:So... on Armstrong, Cernan Testify Against Obama Space Plan · · Score: 4, Insightful

    What do we gain from manned space flight that we wouldn't gain, in a far cheaper way, from unmanned missions?

  13. Re:This is Not all Bad News on 3rd-Grader Busted For Jolly Rancher Possession · · Score: 1

    Meh, not really. If something comes from both sides, saying it comes from "the left" is still a true statement. Just an incomplete picture.

  14. Re:This is Not all Bad News on 3rd-Grader Busted For Jolly Rancher Possession · · Score: 3, Informative

    Errr, refresh my memory, when did small town Texas become a left-wing haven?

    Trying to make a partisan issue out of a nonpartisan one only muddies the water.

  15. Re:Yes, but on MechWarrior 4 Free Release Now Available · · Score: 1

    Sounds like a Trial of Grievance is due...

  16. Re:Someone explain this to me. on Why IE9 Will Not Support Codecs Other Than H.264 · · Score: 1

    Beyond the engineering effort to make wider support happen, there's the question of what HTML5 will use as its VIDEO element. If nobody claims support for Theora, it won't wind up being the standard. So, it's not a bad thing, but this is MS trying to exert its influence over the debate.

  17. Re:Especially since someone has implemented it.... on MATLAB Can't Manipulate 64-Bit Integers · · Score: 1

    There's also the point that supporting a 64-bit OS means that MATLAB should be able to support data structures larger than 4GB in size. It's simply a question of whether users needed to deal with large operands or large amounts of data. With high-speed data and image acquisition tools, I'd wager the latter is a higher priority.

  18. Re:Linux ? on StarCraft II Mac Client Beta Available · · Score: 1

    Current the SC2 beta has a Gold rating on the Wine AppDB. It requires a custom compile with a patch, and a little config hacking, to work. I followed these instructions myself borrowing a friend's account, and could play the game. However, compared to my Windows XP install on the same PC, performance is horrid on Linux via Wine.

    I'm hoping OpenGL support means better Wine performance. I'm sure with such a large community, Linux gamers will be able to play this game one way or another.

  19. Re:Get it Back on After DNA Misuse, Researchers Banished From Havasupai Reservation · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Can they also get back the research that was done, now likely digitally archived? That's the more creepy precedent set by DNA misuse. Heck, why would the university want it after it's been sequenced?

  20. Re:Be very afraid. on Apple To Buy ARM? · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Although I'm not 100% in on your rhetoric, I think we agree, this would be terrible for the topology of the tech industry.

    To say that ARM makes smartphone processors is touching just the tip of the iceberg of ARM's influence: ARM is the embedded processor maker. They also don't make processors; they license IP, including to other chip companies like Intel. Apple acquiring ARM just to get better control over mobile hardware would send shockwaves into one of the most dynamic sectors of the tech industry today.

  21. Re:Degradation of Freedom on New Litigation Targets 20,000 BitTorrent-Using Downloaders · · Score: 1

    I'd relax, at least in this case. I don't really see how downloader lawsuits have much to do with individual freedoms. You could make the case that the limitless extension of copyright terms erodes the public domain, but making the leap from that to destruction of civil liberties is a bit of a stretch. Let's be honest here, movie piracy isn't a fundamental right of man. It exists because in an information age, the cost of information can become trivially low, unless it is artificially raised.

    I do not mean to trivialize the problem you see, as it is indeed quite dire on other fronts. But this particular story is just an example of a dinosaur industry thrashing about in a series of increasingly violent death throws. Nothing more, nothing less. This sign of desperation should give you hope, friend.

  22. Re:Can we bill them for the court's time? on New Litigation Targets 20,000 BitTorrent-Using Downloaders · · Score: 1

    Since the overwhelming majority of defendants will simply settle out-of-court, it's unlikely there'll be a whole lot of time wasted in court. That's how it works. Most people can't possibly afford to fight a case, especially if they lose. So filing the lawsuit itself is usually enough to ensure revenue, via a crooked protection racket.

  23. Implications on Computer Vision Tech Grabs Humans In Real-Time 3D · · Score: 1

    I hate to be a downer, as I'm often fascinated by computer vision technology, but aren't there some very negative potential applications here? The UK is basically coated in CCTV cameras at this point, and our phones can broadcast GPS data to telcos (whom we KNOW are happy to hand over data to the NSA if they ask kindly). Isn't fully-automated human tracking the third element of the surveillance state trifecta?

  24. Re:100 million lines? Sure, we will get right on i on NHTSA Has No Software Engineers To Analyze Toyota · · Score: 1

    Who's going to identify the write said reports, and identify the risks? Are you trusting Toyota to do this in-house? Because the article shows the NHTSA has zero qualifications do any diligence on its own.

    A line-by-line audit is silly, and nobody is suggesting this. However, I can't see why the department that oversees embedded systems (automobiles) has no electrical engineering talent on hand.

  25. DRM? on BioShock 2 Released · · Score: 3, Insightful

    What's the story with DRM on this game?