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User: darkmeridian

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  1. Re:One can only hope... on Linux Journal On Linux's Adoption In U.S. Courts · · Score: 4, Interesting

    WordPerfect dominates the legal field partially because it counts footnotes and such in its word count feature. Court documents done with Word sometimes go over the limit and get bounced back from the courts summarily. This is bad. In fact, Judge Posner wrote an article warning against this troubling aspect of Microsoft Word.

  2. Sell the CDs. on RIAA Dumps Unsold Inventory to Settle Anti-Trust Case · · Score: 5, Insightful

    No, that is not exactly what RIAA had in mind. The school districts do not *have* to expose children to these CDs. The RIAA intended no such thing; they were just grudgingly complying with a court settlement. What use could the district have for those CDs? Well, they could sell them on eBay and then use the profits for books, couldn't they?

  3. Re:100.. 160 inches? on Sony Projector Gets Bright Images From Black Screen · · Score: 0

    We all know you're kidding. If you really had a 24 inch penis, you'd be too busy for Slashdot.

  4. Re:Arnie.. on U.S. Navy to Deploy Rail Guns by 2011 · · Score: 1

    What??!? Arnold works for Computer Associates?!?!?!

    I'm selling my stocks.

  5. Re:Tactical Flexibility on U.S. Navy to Deploy Rail Guns by 2011 · · Score: 1

    That's going to be likely for all weapons. The US military needs such a weapon that fits on a small frigate-type ship. Using Tomahawks and stuff also introduces graft. So things aren't affected that much, I think.

  6. Re:US Navy to Deploy Rail Guns by 2011 on U.S. Navy to Deploy Rail Guns by 2011 · · Score: 1

    The rounds will be GPS guided. It's kind of like using the "Lazy Boy" aiming system in "Scorched Earth". Now that was a good game.

    Yeah. The Aegis cruiser's radar system is essentially wallhacking radar vision, along with the AWACS they have floating around.

    If you have fight, be American. It's the best clan.

  7. Re:Mozilla Messenger / Thunderbird Performance? on Spamassassin Beats CRM-114 In Anti-Spam Shootout · · Score: 1

    I used Thunderbird and the SpamBayes proxy concurrently for a while. SB kicks the crap out of the Thunderbird.

    Just one example. I get spam from VIPClubber. I don't know why and I'm afraid to click the "Cancel Me" link because I didn't sign up for anything. Anyway, they don't spoof their headers. Everything from VIPClubber.com is spam. Thunderbird, after ~30 from VIPClubber, still lets some through. SB does not.

    Perhaps the TB should integrate SB. This demonstrates the power of open-source software. Just imagine.

  8. Re:MS & Google on Hotmail Blocks Gmail Emails (and Invites) · · Score: 2, Interesting

    A third-party analyzed the spam-filter in Outlook 2003. He reverse-engineered the table of weights in the spam-filter engine by matching hashes of a standard English dictionary to values in the file. E-mails containing "Linux" was being marked as spam. I don't know about you, but I haven't gotten much spam pushing Linux porn or Linux enhancement lately. Perhaps the people at MS Outlook Central have a weird fetish?

  9. Re:Stunning on Hotmail Blocks Gmail Emails (and Invites) · · Score: 0, Troll

    The end HTML tag for your signature is wrong. It should be "voice=mr.burns" instead of "voice=normal". This is slashdot! HTML must be W3C compliant here! (Oh, wait.)

    Hey! I've created a successor to the spelling/grammar Nazi trolls: the HTML tag troll! Do I get a medal for this?

  10. Re:I want to join the fun on Lauren Weinstein: If MTV Calls, Hang Up · · Score: 3, Informative
    You know what always cracks me up about these assertions that people "aren't allowed to talk" about certain things? It's this: if these assertions were true, then people would be put in jail for making them. Whenever you hear someone spout off about how freedom of speech is being suppressed, or how it's a fascist state, or how Bush = Hitler, ask yourself why that person isn't rotting behind bars or in an unmarked mass grave... and then ask yourself if it's just possible that that person might be full of shit and not worth your time and attention.
    Perhaps people are being put in jail for saying "bad" things. No one would know because the USA PATRIOT Act allows the government to hold anyone for indefinite periods of time for any reason without outside contact. US citizens suspected of a crime can be held as a enemy combatant due no Constitutional protections. US citizens suspected of a crime can be held as a enemy combatant due no Constitutional protections. Or if you say something the Administration doesn't like, such as the fact that their claims about the Iraqi war was based on falsified documentation, then they simply out your wife as an undercover CIA operative. And what about being just plain old being censored? The Dixie Chicks, Bill Maher, and Helen Thomas all faced some sort of retribution because of their viewpoints. Agree with them or not, democracy is founded on two-sided debate; a one-sided debate is called totalitarianism. And the Bush Administration isn't exactly in a rush to disabuse Americans of their erroneous belief that Iraq had something to do with 9/11. Shouldn't a President trust the American people as well as his own policies enough to provide all the relevant information about something as important as a war? Or maybe it's just me.
  11. Re:Why Not Just Encrypt? on RF-Blocking Wallpaper · · Score: 1

    The article says that this treatment can be effectively applied to windows as well.

  12. Factoring With Shor's on Baby Steps Toward Quantum Computers · · Score: 1

    But we are still safe - so far nobody built a working quantum computer that would carry on simple calculations like factorizing the number 15.

    This has already been done quite some time ago.

    http://www.research.ibm.com/resources/news/20011 21 9_quantum.shtml

  13. Re:Malicious site for Mozilla users on Less is More: Thunderbird 0.7 Review · · Score: 1

    Duh. This contains a link to pornography. Stupid me opened it at work. That was embarassing.

  14. Grand Juries on Bioterrorism Charges Brought Against Professor · · Score: 2, Informative

    The fact that he's being questioned by a grand jury is not alarming... if he's charged then we're all going to deserve to see more proof as to why, but so far I see nothing wrong with trying to find out if there's a link to the suspect materials that we just haven't discovered yet.

    Getting questioned by a grand jury is pretty alarming because it means someone is seeking an indictment against you for a crime. Prosecutors get indictments at a high rate because the defendant does not have a chance to present evidence or cross-examine witnesses. It's all the prosecutor's show at that point.

    So yeah, getting indicted for a crime such as murder is a bad thing. You get arrested and as such. It's more than the police or DA asking you questions or holding you as a witness.

  15. Linux Wireless Driver Wrappers on Open Source Hotspots · · Score: 1

    For those of you who need a way to use your wireless card with Linux, check out the ndiswrapper project at sourceforge. It wraps the Windows binary drivers into a Linux kernel module that supports the hardware. It has decent support. Check it out for your hardware. It is 2.6 compatible.

  16. Re:One way street... on Army Plans Overhaul of Infantry Gear · · Score: 1

    So why are guerilla tactics used by an opposing force often decried as unfair or underhanded? The side at a disadvantage uses any and all means at their disposal to help make the fight more "fair". This fellow seems to back that up, unless having a lopsided fight is only sporting when it's his team doing the slaughtering.

    Some fights are unfair because one side has more money and technology. Other fights are unfair because one side commits war crimes. In urban combat situations, guerrilla forces normally wear plain clothes and intentionally mingle in civilian population.They hide behind religious areas anad schools. They shoot medics. These actions are all violations of the Geneva Convention.

    For example, in "Black Hawk Down", there is a scene where a Somali shoots at American forces with a woman at each side and a child literally sitting on his head. Such guerrilla tactics make the fight unfair, but most would say in a way different from US superiority in smart bombs.

  17. Re:Blame Public Education (not funding) on US Losing its Scientific Dominance · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Is this actually true? I'm from the UK, and there is a stereotype of the American geek as small, weak, beaten up, no girlfriend etc, but I've wondered if this is accurate.

    I can tell you from personal experience that this is accurate, at least in high school. But then you grow up and then people realize that nerdiness is a good thing. You get stuff women really want: earning potential and stability.

    In exactly that order.

    Ahem.

  18. Re:Corrected version - Re:I have seen the light on How Many Google Machines, Really? · · Score: 3, Funny

    I'm not a grammer/spelling nazi.

    Obviously.

    I'm not a grammer/spelling Nazi.

    Obviously.

  19. Re:Google hosting on How Many Google Machines, Really? · · Score: 1

    Why would this be bad? It would raise the bar for it's competitors. Yes, Google would have a huge lead, but it's not like MS where it could actively leverage that lead to exclude others. Another guy could come along a create a better Google and then people will flock to him for searching and Google for the other stuff.

  20. Re:what about the yellow pages on AXA sues Google over AdWords · · Score: 1

    People reading a phone book know its a phonebook full of ads. The people on the Internet might not. Google might say more than theirs ads being ads. They should say, for example, that the ads are not necessarily connected with the company you searched for.

  21. Basis of the Suit on AXA sues Google over AdWords · · Score: 4, Informative

    They said that Google is diluting the copyright because customers might mistaken the adverstised services as being associated with AXA. (Yes, it's in an ad box and labeled as such, but that makes sense and has no place in the law.) People have sued pop-ups on the same grounds; an ad that popped up upon a visit to a website might seem connected to that website even though it is not. Therefore, this claim is not stupid outright but in this case it seems a little weak.

  22. Apaches Already Have This on Laser Vision Offers New Insights · · Score: 2, Informative

    This technology is pretty well-established in the military. Information is painted directly onto the retina for pilots of the Apache helicopter. This data doesn't get faded out and you don't have to look down. Pilots can keep focused on their targets, etc. It's perfectly safe.

  23. Re:Mirrors? on Factory Testing of Airborne Laser Cannon Completed · · Score: 3, Informative

    That's what many people think. However, the laser kills targets not by vaporizing the entire thing, but rather by converting a small percentage of the target into plasma that expands and then the rapid expansion slaps the target to death. The mirror would have to be perfect. The smallest deviation or imperfection would capture energy and then turn into plasma. This would deflect the target at the very least.

  24. Re:Oh no... on Smart Cars to Save Stupid Drivers? · · Score: 1

    But what if turning the wheel that fast will cause your SUV to flip over? Or the system may just be set to eliminate the slight back and forth swerving? (Perhaps the system will learn how your drive? Not in this iteration, I guess.)

  25. The Library: Ultimate Piracy on New Tool Cracks Apple's FairPlay DRM · · Score: 1

    I live close to the Central Library for my borough. It has a lot of the most recent CDs and a very thorough collection of music. I go there sometimes with my laptop and just take out CDs and rip 'em. This is illegal, surely, but I don't think MPAA will ever catch me. The library's DVD collection isn't that good, so I don't do that yet, but I encode all the videos I borrow from Blockbuster for their "Rent all you can in 30 Days" deal.

    Loser.