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User: AdamsGuitar

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  1. Re:Headers on Ask Slashdot: AT&T's Data Usage Definition Proprietary? · · Score: 1

    Possible, but AFAIK the use of 1000 as a multiplier vs. 1024 is only used by drive manufacturers and has no place in networking.

  2. Re:Headers on Ask Slashdot: AT&T's Data Usage Definition Proprietary? · · Score: 1

    Because that's how it works when you make use of a shared resource? Just like you get to pay for roads you may not drive on so that we also build the ones that you do, or how your insurance is going to go up if people start getting sick more often (or with conditions more expensive to treat). Your opinions and concerns are not the only ones that matter; if you want them to be, you're obviously free to establish your own connection to a backbone provider.

  3. Re:If he succeeds, good news for NASA on Supersonic Skydive Attempt Delayed 24 Hours · · Score: 4, Informative

    Something along the lines of 360km, I'd imagine.

  4. Re:Who didn't see this coming?? on Zediva Shut Down By Federal Judge, MPAA Parties! · · Score: 1

    *slap* I misread your comment; I read it as saying that renting a movie was an exception to the first sale doctrine. Mea culpa!

  5. Re:Who didn't see this coming?? on Zediva Shut Down By Federal Judge, MPAA Parties! · · Score: 1

    Er, no. The First Sale Doctrine is a limitation on the rights of the content producer. The idea is that the content producer loses control over how and to whom a particular (legal/licensed) copy of its work is sold after the first sale. In other words, you have the right to sell or give your own copy of a copyrighted work to anyone you please so long as what you're selling or giving is a legitimate, non-infringing copy. Unfortunately for us in the digital age, this is based upon a scarce resource economy, where the work is transferred as a physical object that is (by natural law) no longer in the possession of the seller once it's been given to the recipient. Since online distribution involves multiple "copies" (if it can be called that) as the network stream flows from device to device across the web, it's much more difficult to wrestle.

  6. Re:Who didn't see this coming?? on Zediva Shut Down By Federal Judge, MPAA Parties! · · Score: 1

    No, Zediva's business model was that they would only stream on a 1:1 basis. According to their claims, every stream to every customer was directly from a DVD player reading its own disc. The differentiating issue is that Red Box's strategy involves a physical limitation, whereas there's too much "trust" in Zediva's approach. Not that this makes it right, but that's my understanding.

  7. Re:Why are Libs so enamored with taxes? on Amazon Drops California Associates to Avoid Sales Tax · · Score: 1

    Of course Amazon sells it using the DARPA developed internet

    For which, I assume, they pay money to access just like you do.

    and ships it on public roads

    No, Amazon uses a carrier (as you state in your next phrase). This carrier uses public roads, I would assume. This carrier also, I assume, pays for the fuel used to power its fleet of vehicles, as well as any tolls that might be encountered. These pay for the roads.

    often using the US Postal Service

    And? I would assume that they pay for postage, just like anyone else who wants to ship a package.

    They hire programmers who were educated in public schools and at public universities.

    Some (probably most) were, certainly; but what does this have to do with anything? This is true of every business. Should a company in Montana pay taxes to California because one of its employees was educated at UCLA?

    When they're worried about competition, they sue their competitors in Federal Court, often over patents issued by the USPTO. Their facilities are protected from crime by publicly funded police and from foreign invaders by the US military. If one of their buildings catches fire, it will be put out by publicly funded fire fighters. That's a developed world lifestyle, and it's made possible by the continuous effort of a capable government.

    I'm not going to address the rest of the points directly, simply because I don't want to repeat myself. Local businesses collect sales taxes because the state, county, city, or other regional authority imposes them for services provided by that authority. The things you mention like firefighting would be carried out by the authority in whatever location that Amazon has a physical presence, where they already collect sales taxes. The rest of the services are federal, for which Amazon pays corporate income taxes, as do the customers who purchase items from Amazon. Amazon does not make use of any local services in areas where it does not have a physical presence, so there's no justification for making them collect the taxes.

    Note that sales tax is a tax on the consumer, not on the business. The only distinction here is that businesses with a physical presence are required to collect and pay the sales tax on behalf of the customer, whereas other businesses are not; in these cases, the customer is legally required to report and pay this sales tax as part of their ordinary taxes. No, nobody does that, but that's the way it works.

  8. Re:SSL certs are both over-trusted and under-trust on SSL Cert Weaknesses Exposed By Comodo Breach · · Score: 1

    HTTPS is vulnerable to MITM when using a self-signed certificate, but not eavesdropping. The encryption used for the key exchange (RSA) is not made any more or less secure by the CA that issued the certificate; CA's are there to prevent MITM by establishing trust.

  9. Re:Total energy on DIY Laser Pistol Shoot 1MW Blasts · · Score: 1

    What about lifting 100g of paper? How high would it go?

  10. Huge Shift in Policy on NFL Teams Considering IPads To Replace Playbooks · · Score: 1

    This would be a major shift in NFL policy if this is allowed. Speaking as a former software developer for an NFL team, the NFL is very *very* strict about what coaches can use on the sideline. While coaches and coordinators in the booths are allowed significantly more freedom, the coaches on the field have thus far been limited to paper printouts. There was some effort a few years ago for the NFL to move to a custom device for viewing sideline photos of the game (developed in coordination with Motorola to go along with the phone carts that they developed for the NFL a couple of years ago), but I'm not certain if that device took off. However, if they were to open the coaches to using an iPad, that would be a HUGE change in policy. The sideline viewer mentioned above was a custom device that could, by design, only view the still photos received from the sideline cameras. No video or game analysis applications. However, with an iPad, the technical options are limitless. The NFL already has individuals that sit in the press box of every game and enter play information into laptops that are connected via VPN back to the NFL offices in New York, and this play data is sent down with the video to the teams the following week. However, there would be no technical reason that this play information couldn't be captured live and entered into one of the game analysis packages out there (a couple of teams develop their own in-house packages--we were one of those teams--both all of the others use one of two packages: XOS or DVSport), and, assuming that that package has an iPad-compatible version, allowing the coaches to view play breakdown and video live on the field. I'm not sure that such information would be helpful, but the very fact that the technical limitations against it might be removed is a very, very big deal.

  11. Re:Hmmm .... on Mystery Missile Launched Near LA · · Score: 1

    While my original comment was somewhat tongue-in-cheek, I wouldn't suppose to know *what* mechanism might be employed.

  12. Re:Hmmm .... on Mystery Missile Launched Near LA · · Score: 1

    Unless, of course, the point of the launch was to test some kind of covert launching mechanism that simply didn't work.

  13. Re:Secure login on Firesheep Countermeasure Tool BlackSheep · · Score: 3, Informative

    The issue with Firesheep is session hijacking, not theft of login and password information.

  14. Even so on Chip Allows Blind People To See · · Score: 1

    While this is certainly true, it's only meaningful for a single generation of people after its widespread acceptance. Once the procedure becomes commonplace, there would be no reason (barring either financial or barriers or the occasional oddball religious objection to medical care) to wait until someone is an adult to perform this.

  15. Re:Future steps on 8pen Reinvents the Keyboard For Mobile Devices · · Score: 1

    You're really advocating handwriting recognition (or, God forbid, Graffiti) as a suitable replacement to the keyboard for input? Yeah, that's definitely the way to go.

  16. A shit... on Physicists Discover Universal "Wet-Dog Shake" Rule · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Who gives one?

  17. Re:I need glasses on MGM and Warner Near On Deal For Hobbit Films · · Score: 1

    You aren't the only one that saw that. Took me three times to see "Unions"

  18. Re:Punish results, not behavior on Could Anti-Texting Laws Make Roads More Dangerous? · · Score: 1

    And your alternative is...what, again? Life is risky. This is *exactly* the sort of strategy that should be adopted. Current texting laws are essentially slaps on the wrist, and there's too much leeway to get around them (for good reason, as I should not have to disclose the contents of my cell phone when I've done nothing wrong that you can prove). If, however, the individual DOES do something wrong (hitting a pedestrian, if found to be at fault in an accident, runs off the road, etc.), then I have no problem with allowing evidence to be introduced as to their behavior. The law already makes a distinction about your thoughts and motives when committing a crime, even when the actions themselves are not crimes. Acting in a thoroughly reckless manner that results in someone's death (driving down the interstate at 150mph and hitting another vehicle, for example) can up the charge from manslaugter to murder simply because you were acting with such a willful disregard for the safety of others (in fact, in most states it's referred to as something along the lines of "depraved indifference murder"). While I don't know that I feel that texting while driving should (or shouldn't) rise to that level, I don't take issue with adjusting the charge or punishment based upon the fact that you were engaging in an activity that is known to raise the danger level substantially.

  19. Re:Punish results, not behavior on Could Anti-Texting Laws Make Roads More Dangerous? · · Score: 1

    The problem with this is that it will only have a substantial impact on wealthy enough individuals. While I have no problem with making the individuals responsible for their behavior, we mandate liability insurance to ensure that the VICTIM is not left stranded. If the perpetrator is destitute, then they're not going to be able to pay (see: blood from turnips). What might be a better idea would be to require the individual to repay the insurance company whatever they paid the victim. In this way, the victim still gets their money, and the insurance company might be able to recover at least SOME of what was paid out, which they would not have before.

  20. Edible Computer Chips on Woman Trademarks Name and Threatens Sites Using It · · Score: 1

    Has anyone else noticed that at the end of the meta keywords for her page is "Edible Computer Chips"?

  21. Re:Econ 101 on BSA's Latest Piracy Claims 'Shockingly Misleading,' Says Geist · · Score: 1

    Wrong. There is a finite amount of VALUE. Monetary denominations are not limited.

  22. Re:Traditionalists shouldn't panic anyways on eBook Sales Outpace Hardbacks · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Or, of course, the fact that some people like the way a book *feels*. The way a page feels when you turn it. While simulated page turns are nice eye candy, an e reader doesn't provide the tactile feedback of a physical object.

  23. Re:Or do not have variable delays at all on OAuth, OpenID Password Crack Could Affect Millions · · Score: 1

    The point is that *both* paths are sleeping, it's just varying the amount. Any modern processor has sub-millisecond timing measurement facilities, so it's trivial enough to time how long the actual "work" takes, then sleep for the difference up to your maximum amount (that's the point of padding an operation that takes a maximum of, say, 100ms to 150ms). Because you're *never* going to take exactly 150ms, it would be virtually impossible (if not outright impossible) to detect the difference.

  24. Re:No on 7Gbps Wi-Fi Networking Kit Could Launch In 2010 · · Score: 1

    I live in a faraday cage, you insensitive clod!