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User: wfstanle

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  1. The people should watch the watchers. on Network Neutrality — Without Regulation · · Score: 1

    That's easy! The people should keep watch on the regulators. If some regulation is wrongly or poorly implemented, then the voters should express their dissatisfaction at the ballot box. (At least in a perfect world.) Yes, sometimes it takes a long time before the voters say "Enough!!!", but eventually they do.

  2. Re:I disagree. on Canadian Fined For Videoing Movie In Theatre · · Score: 1

    Your joking aren't you? The answer is obvious, you can't because the courts are a part of the government!

  3. Right place? on Success Not Just a Matter of Talent · · Score: 1

    Define what you mean by "right place". Often the right place is in some affluent suburb while being in the wrong place is often being in a ghetto. It wasn't always this way but it has been getting worse.

  4. Clamp on ammeters? on Saving Energy Via Webcam-Based Meter Reading? · · Score: 1

    I don't know if it is possible but can a ammeter that just goes around one of the conductors be adapted for this purpose? I used to work in the plating industry and we had something we called tong testers. It measured the amps at various points in the system. The beauty was that there was no physical connection with the conductors (I think it measured the magnetic flux that was created.). It might only work with DC. I am sure that there are some electrical engineers that know about such devices. What say you, could this work?

  5. Re:What's to stop them? on Two New Class-Action Suits Against EA Over DRM · · Score: 5, Informative

    IANAL

    There is a principle in law that a clause in the contract can not invalidate a law. Also, you cannot waive a fundamental right that is granted by the constitution. To give an (absurd) example...

    In a hidden clause of a contract (or EULA) it says that you agree to give up your first born child. If the other party tries to enforce that clause of the contract, the courts would invalidate that clause (and maybe the entire contract).

  6. Monolithic Operating Systems on Windows 7 To Be 256-Core Aware · · Score: 4, Insightful

    There is a problem with your argument. You are thinking in terms of a monolithic operating system. They could keep everything on the installation disks and only install the parts that are desired (like Linux is). If you later on needed another service you could put in in with what is on the installation disk.

  7. Re:It wasn't us! Do your job properly. on Paper Ballots Will Return In MD and VA · · Score: 1

    "Voters don't care how they vote, as long as it's easy and they can have confidence that their vote will be counted."

    You missed something. It doesn't matter if they are counted but are counted incorrectly. Stalin said it best. It goes something like this... He who votes decides nothing, He that counts the votes decides everything.

  8. Re:Just add printers! on Paper Ballots Will Return In MD and VA · · Score: 1

    There also is another advantage... The voters do not get the opportunity to mess with the vote counting machine. You could also enforce valid input i.e. valid ballots only.

  9. Duplicating keys from an X-Ray on Duplicating Your Housekeys, From a Distance · · Score: 3, Interesting

    That's nothing! On the Discovery Health channel there was a story about a man that swallowed his friend's car key. They were too drunk to drive home and he wanted to prevent his friend from driving while drunk. To make a long story short, the spare key was lost and they they were able to make duplicate keys from an X-Ray that clearly showed the key.

  10. Dark Ages anyone? on Researcher Warns of "Digital Dark Age" · · Score: 1

    "And I'm pretty confident that our future cousins will be able to build a current computer with their future technology, as long as they know WHAT they should build."

    I hate to sound pessimistic but it could go the other way. Social and technological progress doesn't always have to go forward. Look at the Dark Ages, civilization both before and after was much more advanced. The way things are going right now we could have another one. Just before the Dark Ages, barbarians were invading Rome. Now we have fundies (Christian, Jewish and Islamic) trying to undo the way things are today. Part of the decline of the Roman Empire was the growing gap between the rich and poor. It's not too different today. There are a lot of depressing parallels between the declining Roman Empire and the times today. I just hope it's just a coincidence.

  11. Changing one's mind on Greenspan Tells Congress Bad Data Hurt Wall Street · · Score: 1

    Since when is changing your mind so bad? When presented with evidence that your original premise is wrong you should change your mind.

  12. My impression after watching C-SPAN. on Greenspan Tells Congress Bad Data Hurt Wall Street · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I listened to part of the congressional hearings on C-SPAN. I got the impression that they were actually blaming the top management at the ratings companies. The upper management applied pressure so what would have been a low rating became a high rating. This was because they regarded the companies selling bad financial instruments as being a customer (kickbacks?). Naturally the underlings, interested in keeping their jobs, either altered the programs or put in bad data. At the root of the ratings mess was top management.

  13. Re:I can confirm from my work. on Voters Swayed By Candidates Who Share Their Looks · · Score: 1

    I has a few friends who worked for EDS. Under Ross Perot, they said that their dress code was so strict that even people that worked in the computer room and never were seen by any customer had to wear a suit and tie. It is now far more relaxed now that he no longer controls EDS.

  14. Re:We used burn them at the stake on Afghan Student Gets 20 Years For Blasphemy · · Score: 3, Informative

    Actually, they were not burned at the stake, they were hanged and one man was pressed to death.

  15. Time to change their mindset. on Afghan Student Gets 20 Years For Blasphemy · · Score: 1

    "It will take, at a minimum, ten years to begin to change the mindset of the people, specifically the warlords and the men, to allow greater freedoms."

    You are very optimistic if you think their mindset will change soon. They have been this way since the times of Alexander the Great. Probably it will take a minimum of 10 generations.

  16. Hanging offense? on Spam Flood Unabated After Bust · · Score: 1

    I doubt it. In old England it was a hanging offense to pickpocket. So what happened? In the crowd gathered to see the hanging of a pickpocket, pickpockets were plying their trade!

  17. Re:My estimate on Number of ET Civilizations In Our Galaxy Is 37,964 · · Score: 1

    Obviously this was a misspelling mistake and I really meant angels. However, before making any estimate you would have to answer 3 questions.

    1. How big is the pin?
    2. How big are the angels?
    3. Do angels exits?

  18. Re:Fermi paradox on Number of ET Civilizations In Our Galaxy Is 37,964 · · Score: 1

    There is another possibility. They could have gone extinct billions of years ago but we have just now heard a signal from them.

  19. Re:My estimate on Number of ET Civilizations In Our Galaxy Is 37,964 · · Score: 1

    I was thinking something along similar lines. In earlier times, they argued about how many angles could dance on the head of a pin. Right now, we do not know enough about astronomy, biology and many other things to make and meaningful guesses. In time, (if humanity survives that long) we might have an intelligent guess. Right now, it borders on the epitome of hubris to say we have any idea.

  20. Address space on Millions of Internet Addresses Are Lying Idle · · Score: 1

    First of all, its not 2^64 addresses, it's 2^128 addresses. To the layman, that is not very much of a difference.

    Do you have ANY idea how large 2^128 is? I have heard estimates that it is larger than the number of atoms on earth! I haven't done the math but it does not seem impossible.

  21. "Disembodied" talking on Software Holds Cell Phone Calls While Driving · · Score: 1

    "I've seen some studies that suggested that "disembodied" talking (where the other person isn't right there) is somewhat worse. "

    It makes sense that "disembodied" talking is more distracting. It you are talking to someone in the car, they can see what is happening around you. In some cases, they will tell you to pay attention to your driving. It's in their self interest because they too can be killed if you get into an accident. If the kids in the back seat are causing a ruckus and you are yelling at them to be quiet, that can be considered to be "disembodied" talking. Why is it that drivers will pull of the road in that case but not to use a cell phone.

  22. The constitution and cell phones. on Software Holds Cell Phone Calls While Driving · · Score: 1

    IANAL. That having been stated, There is a clause in the constitution that states that powers not granted to the federal government are kept by either the states or by individuals. On the other hand the supreme court states that the right to free speech does not mean you can yell "FIRE!" in a crowded theater. There is a public safety element to this and this does complicate the issue.

  23. Cosmic rays? on NASA To Repair Hubble By Remote Control · · Score: 1

    You have to remember that the Hubble Space Telescope has been in orbit for at least 15 years. (I could look up the actual amount of time but it is unimportant.) The probably has been a lot of exposure to cosmic rays that can damage electronics. The damage can be mitigated somewhat by proper shielding. The only disadvantage is that this is heavy so you would want to keep this to a minimum.

  24. Re:They need to be cool like Apple. on Windows 7 To Be Called ... Windows 7 · · Score: 1

    "Apple names their versions after cats and what chases cats?"

    Well it all depends on what type of cat you are talking about. For most of the big cats, nothing except for man.

  25. Re:Fuel economy on Fuel Efficiency and Slow Driving? · · Score: 1

    I wasn't talking about down-shifting on steep grades. Many mountain states have laws requiring you to do this. What I am talking about is down-shifting to save gas. Having to fix your transmission in order to save a little gas is ridiculous.