Slashdot Mirror


User: fast+turtle

fast+turtle's activity in the archive.

Stories
0
Comments
1,474
First seen
Last seen
Profile
(view on slashdot.org)

Comments · 1,474

  1. Re:Who actually owns a desktop printer these days? on HP To Combine PC, Printer Divisions · · Score: 1

    #1 Print resources for mobile workers? You're lucky and must not live in the States as here, your employer damn near charges you for any printing. Enjoy it while you can.

    #2 I'll give you this one if your looking for a quality print and yes it's actually cheaper but I can do it at the local drugstore/Walmart

    #3 That all depends on whether the sender doesn't need it notarized and didn't use the digital signature feature of Acrobat. If they did, you wont be able to add a signature to the file as their system will say it's been tampered with because the internal digital signature is invalid.

    #4 I don't know where you live but the nearest copy shop -not printer - is 10 miles or 24Km away and they don't accept print jobs via email. The next closest is 15 miles and they also don't accept print jobs via email. The nearest printer is 90 miles away as the last local one closed when the owner retired and the two local copy shops send anything out that can't be done on the copy machine. The only print shop that does accept jobs via email is fedex/kinko's and you need to pre-pay using a charge card and they're 90 miles from me. Sure they'll send em to you but you'll have to pay for the service.

  2. Re:AMD needs to focus on OS on AMD Releases Open-Source Radeon HD 7000 Driver · · Score: 1

    I've been using a 5670 for over 3 years and never had a problem with their drivers in windows as I prefer sticking with the stable version of catalyst. Hell if I could, I'd install the bare driver but that's not the case anylonger and it's catalyst that has given ATI a bad name, not the driver itself. I have never had a driver failure since I installed the card under Vista. Yes Vista. When it was released the driver was stable and never crashed. It wasn't the fastest but then, I'm not a gamer.

    For all the Nvidia fanbois out there, remember the Vista Debacle? It took Nvida almost 18 months before their drivers were stable and how many laptops did they burn up with faulty cards? Another question is what about their segmenting of cards. All those crippled cards sold as mainstream just to get people to upgrade. There were many 6100's availabe that were and are crap. The only reason they outperformed the onboard mobile versions was they had dedicated memory.

    I'm not a gamer or bitcoin miner so I don't give a damn about performance. Instead I buy my cards on the lack of external power connections. In other words they have to work with the power limits of the PCIe bus itself instead of demanding a1Kw PSU just to supplie the card. Yep Power demand is important to me as my current desktop shows (off the shelf HP system from walmart) because it's currently running that Radeon 5670 from the Vista system and doing it on a 250watt PSU. The total system draw even when testing with prime95 is a maximum of 200 watts. I've never seen it draw more and it normally draw more then 130-150 watts with the monitor plugged into the same battery backup (APC XS1300).

  3. Re:Of course on Is It Time For the US Government To Back Fusion At NIF Over ITER? · · Score: 2

    Buzz, it's 2.2 dickwads per metric fuckton. The imperial fuckton is a Longton, thus there are 1.5 metric fucktons per Imperial Fuckton.

  4. Re:What makes Chrome better? on Mozilla To Support H.264 · · Score: 1

    you mean like the 7 google tabs that I have open all the time whenever firefox is started? That's my home page. I've also currently got another 7 open for Stories Online plus another 8 open from SoFurry with another 5 for /. stories/comments and a few odds/ends. This is just my normal daily usage pattern.

    As to shutting down firefox, why in hell should I do that? I've got an always on connection, a battery backup w/30 mins run time and I use the damn thing when ever I feel like it (retired/disabled). The only time I shutdown firefox is when Win Updates forces a system reboot and as to the pages I have open, it's easier to leave them up then wait for them to load.

    On the adserver issue, I've been blocking them in the hosts file since 1996 when I first figured out that doubleclick was the bottleneck when I was on dialup. Figured out that the hosts file was the way to go have been doing that to every adserver I encounter though I now cheat and simply merge a copy of several online hosts files. Much nicer as many of them have comments as to what breaks when you block certain servers.

  5. Re:Context? on Apple to Buy Back $10bn of Its Shares and Pay Dividend · · Score: 2, Informative

    There's an actually simpler reason and it's based upon both the law and Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. The first element is Retained Earnings. The IRS generally allows a maximum of 20 percent retained earnings and it's also codified into the GAAP rules (CPA's follow them). What this means is that about 80 percent of the cash Apple has on hand can be seized as a Tax, which gets the board sued, maybe they end up paying part of that out of their pockets and fired for failing their fidicuary responsibility. How does a company avoid this issue. They either pay a dividend to shareholders (declared is no longer retained earnings) or as buy back their stock, which reduces the cash on hand and as Apple has stated, they'll be doing both.

    What I suspect has happened, is that the IRS basically told Apple the same thing they did MS. Either start paying out a dividend or you will loose 70-80 percent of that money as a special tax and now that Jobs is gone, the RDF is fading, thus Apple has to do something or loose the cash.

    There are a few accepted exceptions to this 80 percent rule and they are as I stated, declared dividends, open negotiations with funds designated (those investments/purchases Apple made) and many others that I don't know of.

    One thing that Apple could be planning is buying back enough stock to delist the company. In other words, they could take it private, which changes the retained earnings rule quite a bit. A good example of this is the Bershire Hathaway Stock. Highly valued but not publically traded nor is the company a public company. Google it.

  6. Re:I hope he realizes he did more harm than good on Foxconn "Glad That Mike Daisey's Lies Were Exposed" · · Score: 1

    and once as an activist they've publically lied, they'll always be branded as a liar and most of what they say will then be discounted or disregarded. The only ones who can publically lie and get away with it are politicians. Hell if they don't lie, they're not likely to be elected in this day and age as we want liars and thiefs to run our country instead of upright and honorable people.

  7. Re:Alchemy? on Scientists Build Graphene From Scratch, Atom By Atom · · Score: 1

    I see two outputs of this research:

    1. Energy requirement to make/break atomic bonds at the elemental level
    2. nano scale construction

    It will take knowledge about the actual energy cost to assemble a material at this level before we can begin production using nano tech be it nanites or other methods.

    Seriously, the main point here is how much energy does it take to just manufacture anything we use today. Call it calories, joules or btu's but it all refers to the same thing. Energy. So how much does it cost it to develop this tech to its full potential and how much energy will be used creating products.

  8. Re:This is not about controlling people on Using Apps To 'Soft Control' People's Movements · · Score: 1

    AFAIK it's impossible to manipulate something that you do not control. So I'd say this is control. Just not in a manner you're used to seeing.

  9. TV Caused my Blindness on Microsoft Patent Monetizes Your TV Remote · · Score: 1

    I still can't get the last thing I saw on tv out of mind. It was such a blinding confusion of color and screeching sound that I'm now permanently blind from it. Can the Queen save God?

    Although we still have a cable box, the only reason the TV is even used is for the local news so we'll be dropping that soon. Hell I don't watch it and haven't really missed it in the last 10 years because there's nothing intligent on and I'd rather read a good book.

  10. Re:ground effects lighting on UK Plan Would Use CCTV To Stop Uninsured Drivers From Refueling · · Score: 1

    Because the Simpler and Easier Solution to Drive Offs is to require them to Prepay. That's how we do it in the United States - very few stations allow you to pump - then pay. Either you have the money for fuel or you don't and if you don't then you wont be running off, having bilked the station for a tank of fuel will you? Another advantage is the government then has to actually catch you violating the laws (yes idiots will and that's what the police are supposed to be doing) instead of letting a camera say you're a bad boy. "Bad Boy! Bad Boy! What you gonna do when they come for you? - Theme from the TV Show Cops) Of course with the effort of the Rich in the U.K. to reverse the Magna Carta (same as is happening in the U.S. with the reversal/ignoring of the Constitution) is just another nail in the coffin of the middle class and the freedoms that people have.

  11. Re:Actually, think of the upsides on Algorithm Finds Thousands of Unknown Drug Interaction Side Effects · · Score: 1

    Whap!! Drink your coffee as he's completely correct. The Medical defination of Side-Effect is negative only as in detrimental. Otherwise it's classified as synergesic if beneficial.

  12. Re:Obligatory xkcd on Multiword Passwords Secure Or Not? · · Score: 1

    which is exactly what the various password safes/generators supposedly do. Keepass is a good example of this.There's a master PW to access all of my saved/created PW's. Those individual PW's are randomly created based on what ever limits are set by the site it's for.

    I've found that this offers the reasonable security and flexibility though anyone successfully breaking the master PW gains access to the entire keyfile.

  13. Re:What??? on Mozilla Debates Supporting H.264 In Firefox Via System Codecs · · Score: 1

    I've never understood why in hell Mozilla couldn't use codecs that are installed on the damn system as it wouldn't be their asses on the line in a lawsuit. Simply put, the browser shouldn't provide any codecs, just a container that uses what's installed on the system itself and it has the benefit of eliminating coding efforts devoted to reinventing the damn wheel. That effort could be better spent fixing bugs and cleaning up their code and for those who don't have a particular codec, that's the price we pay for using FOSS if we're purists. Otherwise install the damn non-free package from Debian and don't worry about it.

  14. Beware of Data Caps on Ask Slashdot: Who Has the Best 3G Coverage In California and Nevada? · · Score: 1

    The best offering between San Francisco, Las Vegas and Los Angeles would be Sprint. Coverage for the region is excellent and the cost is acceptable with no data cap on their mifi unit. I recently read a review of one that PCMag Recently did and I'd say this is probably your best bet though I have no idea how it would work for you.

  15. Re:Cycles on Can Microsoft Afford To Lose With Windows 8? · · Score: 1

    I've got a laptop that came equipped with XP and am going to upgrade it to Win7 because it's actually faster on it. The Xp it came loaded with had SP1 and although fairly stable and usable when bought, after testing, I found that Win7 really did make a big improvement in performance.

  16. Re:Cycles on Can Microsoft Afford To Lose With Windows 8? · · Score: 1

    Answer = Multimedia - Things like over 50 yrs of Photos and Slides with several boxes to still be scanned/digitized. Our Music Collection - Duplicated acros all machines for backup reasons. School Docs that includes the damn research files needed to write those docs. Hell all 4 systems have at least 1TB of storage and the entire family is using less then 50 percent of that capacity.Silly Human: that's what I'm for In regards to the damn images, I'm at 140k+ files and still have boxes to scan into the system. God How I need a good organizer/dupe finder app and no Adobe Lightroom doesn't cut it though it's close. It's main lack is a duplicate finder that works worth a damn. If it had that, I'd get it in a hurry as it would do half the damn work for me but no one makes an app that handles the number of images I've got to scan for dupes.

  17. Win7 still has a decade of Support on Can Microsoft Afford To Lose With Windows 8? · · Score: 1

    This is why MS is able and willing to experiment with the Metro Interface. The entire reason they've thrown it at the wall is to see what sticks and what slides to the floor. Is it a Gamble? Hell No. They're already comitted to providing support for Win7 until at least 2020/22 so it's absolutely not a gamble.

    What people need to consider is that the Win8 Beta is designed to test the acceptance/effectiveness of the Metra UI paradign along with how well devs get a handle on the design of apps.

    Metro isn't anything more exciting then an improved Active Desktop, except you now have actual apps and a coding guide for it. Now the critical element is just how robust the app restrictions will be in Metro? If they're easy to bypass then all that MS will have learned is that Metro is insecure and just another infection vector but if they manage to get it right, then it may offer them hope for creating the Perfect Lock In that Google was trying for with their Chromebooks. How would you like being locked to the MS Cloud because all of your apps reside on their systems and you rent them? That's the goal with Metro!

  18. Re:Wouldn't it be clever if... on DOJ Asks Court To Keep Secret Google / NSA Partnership · · Score: 2

    Thank you for the morning laugh.

    In all seriousness, I would be suprised if the various inteligence agencies are not using Facebook, G+, MySpace and other social networks to track potential criminals. The only problem is the signal to noise ratio and you are correct that both Google and Facebook are self supporting, thus there's no money trail from the government showing. So they throw a few bits of code at them. Hell the NSA threw SELinux at us along with published those pesky docs about securing Windows and *Nix boxes. Now if only MS, Apple and Linux would actually read and understand them.

  19. Re:I don't really agree with Ben here. on Did Benjamin Franklin Invent Daylight Saving Time? · · Score: 1

    I've been advocating switching the entire world over to UTC and dropping time-zones entirely. Our world is running 24/7 and there's absolutely no reason our clock has to have any relationship with seasonal variations in Sun Rise/Set. If everyone was on the same time, it would make it far easier for us to communicate using voice/video as we'd know not to call someone until 1600 because they wont be in the office.

    Another benefit is that we'll have gotten completely used to a single timezone for all of our clocks and seperated ourselves from the link between sun rise/set times. This will be extremely important once we move into space and are living in artificial habitats and such but until we get used to it, it'll be strange and confusing to everyone until at least 1 generation has grown up with the change.

  20. Re:So here we have the real motive on Stratfor Breach Leads To Over $700k In Fraud · · Score: 2

    Well I'll have to correct you about the NRA. It's not a Charity so calling it a controversial charity for a Political Action Organization is like Calling Superman a Wimp.

    AFAIK - Scientology does qualify under the screwy U.S. Rules as a charitable religious organization so I'll let that one slide and no, the purpose wasn't to DoS them. It was to cut off their funding or get them investigated, which for Scientology couldn't happen to a nicer bunch of people.

  21. Re:Google's payment options on Google To Devs: Use Our Payment System Or Be Dropped · · Score: 1

    Why? I don't want to light a fire! I'd much rather be happy and gay all day at the Funny Farm.

  22. Re:Still late to the game on Microsoft To Shut Down App Store For Windows Mobile · · Score: 2

    Don't forget that Win8 has access to the same app store that WP8 uses. From what I've seen Ms is trying to consolidate WiMo/WP7 and all versions into one code base called Windows8 with the metro interface being the default for phones/tablets

  23. Re:Development costs? on 2000x GPU Performance Needed To Reach Anatomical Graphics Limits For Gaming? · · Score: 1

    I can attest to the drop in hardware costs. My current system is an Off the Shelf HP with an Athlon x2 240 Regor. It's certainly not the fastest by far but it does the job quite nicely. System was equiped with 5GB that's now been upgraded to the full 16GB the board supports. Total cost including my 23inch 1080 monitor is $950 and that includes a blasted DVI cable. The only I/O issue I have is the boot drive. It's a 5400, yet it performs adequately for my needs. Where I have the most trouble is my Samsung 7200 1TB drive goes to sleep (spins down) and it takes a moment for the damn thing to spin back up. For the power saving, I'd be better off with one of their 5400 drives as it's used for storage, not gaming.

  24. Re:E. E. Smith and Edmond Hamilton on Ask Slashdot: Good, Forgotten Fantasy & Science Fiction Novels? · · Score: 1

    Being an Avid Reader and a Fan of Doc Smith's Lensman Series, I have to agree with someone that posted earlier. There were 3 books originally based on the feel of the tale.

    1. 1) Triplanetary
    2. 2) Gray Lensman
    3. 3) 2nd Stage Lensman

    The book that seems to be shoehorned in is what's offered as the 2nd - 1st Lensman. From reading it, all I can say is that it really doesn't feel the same as the 3 I've listed while the 5th book of the series kind of wraps up the story line and brings an end to things.

    It's a sad note you provided about Doc Smith's death being in 65. That's they year I was born, so I now have something to make his Lensman Series more important to me. Thank you for that link

  25. Re:Stephen R.Donaldson- Chronicles of Thomas Coven on Ask Slashdot: Good, Forgotten Fantasy & Science Fiction Novels? · · Score: 1

    Oh bullshit. I read the Thomas Covenant Trilogy (yes it's only a trilogy) and understood most of the points being made and I was 12-13 at the time.

    You're doing the same disservice that many others make in the west. That children don't have the smarts to understand something. Let me clue you in a bit. If you treat your kids as responsible adults, they'll do their best to meet that expectation and be mature. Just like if you treat your kids like hooligans and monsters, guess what, that's what you end up with. Irresposible bullies and people who'd sell their own mother just to make a buck (sounds like many of the CEO's now a days doesn't it?).