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User: VortexCortex

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Comments · 5,203

  1. Re:Not a troll on Rick Falkvinge On Child Porn and Freedom Of the Press · · Score: 1

    There is no scientifically objective basis for determining "evil". We can say destructive and replace that with "evil" in our discussion if you'd like.

    Just as you can't objectively define "evil" you can also not objectively define "destructive". If I murder serial killers, is my action Destructive or Constructive? The nature of the universe is that order comes from chaos, and some structures feed on other simpler structures (destroying them as they "eat"). Construction and Destruction themselves are arbitrary terms depending on whether you think Chaos is Better that Order. It's all subjective. Once you begin to make definitions about what is beneficial or not, then you can indeed say that something is Constructive vs Destructive, and within the same set of definitions you can also define what is good or evil. At the base level everything is merely a collection of waveforms with no meaning or purpose, yet we can give meaning or purpose to action because we have defined those terms within us.

  2. Don't. on Ask Slashdot: How To Begin Work In IT Freelancing? · · Score: 1, Troll

    Keep on studying and learn to write some damn code.

  3. Re:Boo frickin' Hoo on It's Easy To Steal Identities (Of Corporations) · · Score: 1

    Corporations are NOT people, they can't have their ID stolen.

    What about LLPs (Limited Liability Partnerships)? Are they people? We use a DBA (doing business as ___) so that the three of us can more easily collect earnings via selling a product of our collaboration. (The alternative: Buy our software! Just send three separate payments to three different folks! -- Uh, no.) LLPs help limit the liability from each other, not from the business entity itself (it's purpose is to keep me from being liable for things my colleagues do). A LLP is a legal fiction just like a corporation is; Someday we may incorporate our business; we will still be made of people.

    Our ID (identification) was stolen once. It was used to charge a room at an expensive hotel room in a city we've not been too. Once my own ID was stolen (yes the card itself), and a similar occurrence transpired. I put it to you that a corporation could have the same sort of identification stolen. If your car has been used without your consent what has been done? It's been stolen, yes? If an identification is used without consent what has been done? Ah, might it have been stolen? I think so (per current up to date jargon). Indeed, a corporate or LLP or even a Single Proprietorship or Individual's identity can be "stolen" -- Or, used without permission for fraud (which is a long way to say something just to sate your irrational pedantic tendencies).

    I promise you we've never "raped the public", nor do we have any plans to do so. In fact, I plan to forfeit my source code copyrights and donate to the public domain the works funded by the generous public. Why, you could even see this as "working for the public" directly (as many service industries do) instead of "working for the man". Would you find it difficult to identify with another person who has been wronged? If not, then why would you then find it difficult to identify with a LLP that has been wronged in a way you yourself could be wronged? A Corporation? Is it that much different?

    It's hard to get sympathy from a psychopath, so I get where you're coming from. I just find it odd you find it hard to be sympathetic -- That's the tell tale sign of a psychopath... A trait you would then share with the very Corporations you despise.

  4. Re:Wouldn't that just be corporate fraud? on It's Easy To Steal Identities (Of Corporations) · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Could the lawyers get disbarred?

    Well, if a hacker can go to jail for hacking some online system then disclosing how they did it (to improve security, without even charging service fees), then Lawyers should face the same punishment too.

  5. Ballot Screens. on Microsoft Ready To Address EU Antitrust Concerns · · Score: 2

    Hey! Linux and BSD are Free Operating Systems. If MS is using their dominant OEM installations to leverage IE, then they're doing the same for their OS... So, why not have a ballot when you turn an the PC for the first time that allows you to install a different OS?

    I'll even go one further, why not have MS show a ballot screen that allows you to choose MS Office (trial) or the full versions of Open Office or Libre Office. Instead of PBRUSH.EXE Microsoft should be giving us a ballot box for Gimp, Inkscape, and Photoshop (w/ payment, of course).

    Hey, I know, maybe we can create a repository for all the different software there is and LET THE FUCKING CUSTOMER CHOOSE? Ah, that would be insane! Why, customers couldn't possibly choose what OS they want installed on their systems -- They barely know how to use the damn devices in the first place. I know! Why doesn't someone just take advantage of this fact and leverage it to limit the available software and take a cut of all proceeds via pre-insatalled OS and "App Store" -- OOH! We could even prevent the user booting other OSs in the name of security! You know! Because if something can write to the boot sector, they'd never think of writing to ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING ELSE to infect the system. Why, it'll be the MOST SECURE VERSION of Windows ever released!

    ::sigh:: If only MS were smart enough to do so.

  6. Causation. Learn it. What really causes the crap? on The Struggles of Developing StarCraft · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Thus demonstrating my long-time assertion (ever since my stint in the video game biz) that video game developers are crap programmers.

    Broad Generalisations are almost always wrong. There are some game developers, especially those who have experience in other fields of software, which aren't "crap programmers". Video Games are some of the most hardware intensive programs, utilising every major feature and capability that the system supports. Sometimes it's acceptable to break the 'best practices' rules to get a little performance (if the profiler says it's warranted), but I agree there's no reason to be manually managing linked lists.

    Sometimes a 'Lead' programmer will be the worst of them all, and the others must follow the bad example or be made an example of. Let's not lump all game programmers into the horrible coder pile. As you've pointed out, TDWTF has plenty of examples of nightmares from all sectors, not just video games. That the game developers allow studios to get away with "crunch time" consistently instead of firing the dumbasses in charge who purposefully gork the schedule is both a large source of bugs and proof we need a union or better work conditions at least. I can forgive crunch for one project. Maybe even two in a row... but every single game? Yeah, that's either abuse or incompetence. Either way, it's why I only buy (and work on) indie games now. They tend to have better working conditions, even if some of the beginners in the indie market churn out even worse code -- At least they have an excuse in not knowing any better; What's that say about the "pros"? That they're all crap programmers, or that the programmers are forced to write crap code? I put it to you that it's the latter, not the former.

  7. Re:Brewers don't sue over recipes on Open Source Beer Served Cold, With a Heated Licensing Discussion · · Score: 1

    I'll save you the trouble. Piss is Australian for beer, so is Fosters (piss that is).

  8. Re:"decimates"? on FBI Launches $1 Billion Nationwide Face Recognition System · · Score: 1

    Doesn't that word mean to "remove one-tenth of"?

    decimate - n. : a session lasting only a fraction of the duration a partner typically desires for intercourse.
    "I'm glad it was good for you, but I could use about nine more of those decimates."

  9. Re:Beware the state security apparatus .. on FBI Launches $1 Billion Nationwide Face Recognition System · · Score: 1

    A relevant question to ask is, who is going to protect us from you?

    That's simple, Anyone willing to take a stand and do so (AKA Terrorists).

  10. Re:Well thats a relief. on Poll-Based System Predicts U.S. Election Results For President, Senate · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Instead, consider "wasting" your vote in a different way: By voting for someone who isn't running on a major party ticket.

    Maybe if enough people ... were going to vote for the "lesser of two evils"...

    I think I see where you're going with this.
    C'thulhu 2012 - Why vote for the lesser evil?

  11. Re:Android on Ask Slashdot: How Would You Fix the Linux Desktop? · · Score: 1

    By adopting the Android desktop.

    Here's the download page for the x86 version(s) of Android. Grab a liveCD image and away you go.

  12. Re:It's not broken. on Ask Slashdot: How Would You Fix the Linux Desktop? · · Score: 1

    Why would I want a downward moving "descent" user interface?

    So you wouldn't wear out the scroll wheel as fast.

  13. Re:Ignoring the comments is the wise thing to do. on Comments On Code Comments? · · Score: 1

    Djikstra said, "Always debug the code, not the comments".

    Meh, that's just a subclass of GIGO: "Garbage In, Garbage Out". If you can't rely on the function's comments then the next programmer who comes along to port the code to another language or platform may get things wrong. I write unit tests based on the comments, not the code; Otherwise how can I be sure the function is working as the programmer intended it to work? How about: No comments are better than bad comments.

    I always update my code's comments; They are part of the code to me. When I change the code in a block, function or class my editor flags the related comments (and thus documentation) with a /// @REVIEW meta tag. The job isn't done until the documentation has been reviewed (which is a subclass of, "No job is finished until the paper work is done").

    I get that deadlines cause problems, they always do. If documentation isn't in the budget then you're doing it wrong...
    "I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by."
    - Douglass Adams

  14. Re:Wishlist on Comments On Code Comments? · · Score: 1

    I would like to see is an editor that automagically makes the comments on any given lines a tooltip when you mouse over that line.

    I make editors, but I'm not sure what your feature suggestion is. Do you mean something like this?

    Or perhaps your wish has already been granted via collapsible code & comments? If not, please clarify.

  15. Re:It depends on the comments on Comments On Code Comments? · · Score: 1

    All of the above are useless comments,

    Incorrect. When I write: //TODO: fix I usually include a little bit about what needs fixing, however, even the simple comment allows my code editor to build a "To Do" list automagically that includes the context (file, function, line number, method signature, etc). So, when I write merely: //TODO I get:

    To Do: r-engine.cpp : ParticleSystem.EnsureCapacity( ne_uint32 capacity ) : 445 [visit]

    Within the To Do List I can hover or [context-key] the class, or method name to get the doc comments for them to give me even more context, or visit that line with a single click. That's far from useless. If I include a bit of text like:
    //TODO: Conditionally recycle near death particles if over system limit.
    then that's just icing on the cake.

  16. Re:Doesn't matter in the end on Comments On Code Comments? · · Score: 1

    This is foolish arrogance. In my thirty years in this profession I have worked with many people who thought their code was 'self documenting'; all of them were wrong, and faced with their own code two years later I doubt any of them could immediately follow it.

    I claim my code is Self Documenting, and I can absolutely & immediately catch the past train of thoughts by following tracks of code lain down even a decade ago or longer. Not that I'm saying you're foolish or arrogant yourself (although this may be the case), it's just that what you call 'self documenting code' I call 'self commenting code' -- There is a subtle but significant difference.

    I never liked the term 'self documenting code' meaning expressions that describe themselves implicitly. I always thought 'self documenting code' would be better defined as code with good descriptive comments along with the reasonable symbol names. I consider my comments part of the code when I say that my code is self documenting. I use descriptive doc-comments, as well as code-comments and generate documentation from the code itself with Doxygen. My source code editor understands the comments. When I hover over or [context-key] while on an occurrence of a variable, function, structure, etc I'm shown the remarks for that symbol or its type. This helps considerably increase my productivity; Eg: The order of method parameters and descriptions of data fields can be accessed immediately as I type rather than requiring me research external documentation. Thus, taking the time to write good documentation within the code itself actually pays off by allowing me to write more code faster. Since my source code files are sufficient input for the generation of a fully descriptive HTML (or LaTex, PDF, etc) documentation I assert that my sources are 'self documenting code'. As for merely using symbol names that comment on their purpose: I call this 'self commenting code' instead.

    For my fist games I used ANSI / ASCII art necessarily for "graphics", so naturally I insist my source code editor include line drawing and texel raster tools at the very least in order to make self illustrating comments. It's too bad the text based image formats (like SVG) are so damn verbose, and code editors don't display such as graphics within the source. Addressing this and adding graphical features to my source code editor is on my //TODO list; Now, that would be truly Self Documenting.

    So much to do, so little time.

  17. Re:Ice Tea... on Arctic Sea Ice Hits Record Low · · Score: 1

    So... What happens when we run out of shit to paint white, eh, genius?

  18. Re:Good idea Nokia on Nokia Claims a Memory Card Slot Would Have "Defiled" New Phone · · Score: 1

    The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, Captain.

    Admiral.

    admiral (ad - m'eye - rel) adj. : Notable; Deserved of praise; Of a quality one might admire.
    "His devotion to pedantry was quite admiral."

  19. Re:universal connector on Apple Says "No" To Releasing New Dock Connector Specs · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Typical hipster.

  20. Re:United Suspects of America on TSA Says Screening Drinks Purchased Inside Airport Terminal Is Nothing New · · Score: 2

    Liberty plz.

    I say, "Give me liberty or give me death." Well, we're all out of liberty, so now it's just a matter of time...

  21. Re:This is why we need people in space on Space Station Saved By a Toothbrush? · · Score: 3, Insightful

    True, but not everybody's success rate is the same. One good trick is to start by turning the screw backwards until you feel it click, then start tightening.

    WTF. You mean they WEREN'T doing it this way? I thought everyone did this -- It's how you start a screw.

    Oh to be an alien drifting along that orbit:
    "Look at the silly hairless apes, thwarted by a single simple screw.... Oh my, listen to them all cheering now. Congratulations you primitive little beasties, you've tightened an errant fastener in SPACE! Wow. Let's get out of here, at this rate it'll be centuries before they even discover reusable pop rivets."

  22. Re:Apparently correlation == causation on First Impressions of Windows 8 Powered Nokia Lumia 920 and 820 · · Score: 1

    If someone posted a similar story highlighting all the companies that partnered/used failed Google services it would be downmodded as troll but because it's Microsoft this gets modded up.

    So your point is that correlation == causation?

  23. Not to be confused with the social network? on Battlestar Galactica Community Game Diaspora Has Arrived · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Diaspora (the social network) made the mistake of not knowing how to actually write code (Kickstarter basically funded their learning), then they promised not to be sleazy like Facebook, but used an invite only system, claimed to be decentralised (though invite-only proves this wrong), and proceeded to keep their code closed source until recently, when it became acutely apparent that no one gave a damn. Protip: I still don't give a damn. PHP is horrible, a security nightmare, I will not run that crap on my personal machines to make it into a node.

    Sadly, the game name, "Diaspora: Shattered Armistice", is a confusingly accurate description of the other project as well. I hope the game has better adoption rate than the stillborn social network.

    Seriously, does anyone use search engines before naming their crap? I know I do, hell, I manually search the trademark databases during name selection to save money on attorney fees...

  24. Re:yea but on Behind the Scenes With Samsung's Factory Workers · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I worked on an assembly line in the USA building solid state motor control devices (for 240v loads up to 19000 volt motors, like rock crushers). We took two 15 minutes breaks, and a 30min break for lunch. When we worked 12 hour days we took another 15min break and another 30min off for dinner. We weren't standing on our feet for longer than a few hours at a time. We also were cross trained in different areas so that we didn't have to do the same repetitious task over and over again (so we didn't ruin our hands). Eventually I was cross trained on every part of the lines from cutting holes for displays in enclosures, to painting them, using the programming the CNC machine, mounting parts, wiring and even testing them.

    When another area was too slow or short staffed we could put more folks on that line. There were less problems between divisions than at other companies where everyone was stuck on the same area (even those places had a variety of different tasks for each worker). Folks who knew the whole place could take a prototype from start to finish and document the assembly process to go with the engineering schematics), eventually such people become a managers with desk jobs who actually understood how things work.

    There's no reason to have folks doing the exact same repetitive task day in day out for years, ruining them. We need to make more stuff in the USA. I used to prefer to spend a little more on products with the "Made in the USA" logo because I knew the workers weren't being used up and thrown away, like they do in China. Nowadays I don't buy things with that proud USA logo anymore, but only because they don't exist.

    If we can't get them to manufacture things in the USA, then we need to get the foreign plants to increase their workers rights. Maybe we impose a tariff? I don't know what the answer is. Folks with morals don't have choices anymore. I make money developing software for the devices, so I have to buy them wherever they're made. What's your fucking excuse?

  25. Re:WHAT!? on Microsoft Releases Windows Server 2012 · · Score: 1

    Dammit, VIRTUALIZATION.

    When the hell is Mozilla going to put that in the default en_US dictionary already?

    I dunno (that word "dunno" is in the dictionary), having to add words to the dictionary is a double edged sword: On the one hand, I have to resort to a google search with define: [word] to check the spelling before adding a word. On the other hand it artificially inflates my vocabulary ego.

    You can tell a lot about a person from their personal dictionary (in your profile directory as persdict.dat). Here's a random sampling from mine:

    offline, Ouya, uncorrectably, favorable, strategize, captcha, aggregator, greebles, overridable, Zaphod, fairytales, reimplementations, unpublishing, vortices, public's, transducing, Occam, something's, Youtube, Higgs, loathesome, Transducing, melee, QoS, deduplication, everything's, malware, Centauri, programmatically, automata, reductio, unpatched, apps, Davlik, chronologic, emissive, phishing, Online, contacter, interoperate, patentability, unaffordability, Kinect, discoverability, transdimensional, Orbiter, comedically, indie, stateful, Assange, Ubuntu's, infringers, Compize, templating, aggregators, modders, unsubscribe, C'thulhu, virtualization, cyber, hacktivist, Endorphins, Eldritch, Terabyte, transduced, versioning, exaflop, Hitchhiker's, programming's, Transcoding, burrito, melatonin, Occam's, draggable, rebranding, Caffeinated, Comcast, platformer, miscommunications, destructors, immersive, begets, Modders, caffeinated, dirigible's, explodability, terraforming, Desynchronisation, noninfringing, netizens, all-nighter, microtransaction, transduce, microtransactions, unaffordable, Encephelon, eldritch, Moore's, defacto, endorphin, serivce, Netflix, prococol, Slashdot, Schooler's, vertices, rebranded, dystopian, Theora, leapt, reimplement, signedness, droids, millennia, gameplay, virtualized, exascale, incentivized, duopolies, conflagrate, Beeblebrox, strategizing, Cyberneticists, hitchhiker's, Icarus, debacle, desynchronization, absurdum, Wikipedia, loosers, cyberneticist, machinima, shaders, endorphins, ISP, rebrand, searchable, offline, Virgon, Vertices, Wasabi, Collider, Zombified, voxel, vortices, vertices, renderable, teleport, voxels, creational, Centauri, octupled, programmatically, Modder, admin, immediately, Schrödinger, dreamt, everything's, spelunking, mancubus, modding, Mobius, griefers, modders, Octree's, scriptable, Wolfensein's, Automasanti, versioning, thermite, teleporter, minification, platformer, sexualize, Tourette's, infringers, Automata, theremins, unobtainium, Encephelon, deconstruct, Reznor, modder, Machinima, Renderable, verifiably, online, octree, Torvalds, Octrees, teleportation, programatically, Virtualized, platformers, antumbra, Szechuan, gameplay, antihydrogen, Rijndael, tessellator, Nonillion, teleporters, plugins, tetromino, Cyberneticist