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User: jedidiah

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  1. Re:Make metal ilegal too... on Australian Police Move To Make 3D Printed Guns Illegal · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Killing stuff is very useful. Chances are you wouldn't be here if not for tools and entire industries dedicated to the task.

    Guns are simply another gadget that allows for self-reliance.

    Most people that like to be hysterical about firearms are insulated from the conditions that make them most dangerous.

  2. Re:Make metal ilegal too... on Australian Police Move To Make 3D Printed Guns Illegal · · Score: 1

    You could just cut out the middleman and just use the nail to kill someone.

    If you wanted to get really fancy, you could use any number of nail guns one of which was featured in a Mel Gibson movie from 30 years ago.

  3. Re:Apache? no. on Why the 'Star Trek Computer' Will Be Open Source and Apache Licensed · · Score: 1

    > Some developers like liberal copyright licenses too.

    Sure. The greedy ones that have a toddler's mindset.

  4. Re:why is this news? on Intel's Linux OpenGL Driver Faster Than Apple's OS X Driver · · Score: 1

    > If OpenGL is important to you,

    Then you avoid Macs entirely so that you can buy a better GPU that won't cost you an arm and a leg.

  5. Re:That's great news! on Intel's Linux OpenGL Driver Faster Than Apple's OS X Driver · · Score: 1

    Apple is the richest company on the planet. They don't need Intel's help. They have the resources to reverse engineer Intel silicon with an electron microscope. They can hire any talent they like in any numbers they like.

    Even if Intel is not cooperating, Apple really doesn't have a good excuse for lagging behind anyone.

  6. Re:That's great news! on Intel's Linux OpenGL Driver Faster Than Apple's OS X Driver · · Score: 2

    Then Jobs declared that Flash was uncool and that his platform wasn't going to support it. The same argument that would have earned derision from the Linux camp was lauded by a loud cabal of fanboys and media shills.

  7. Re:I look forward to hearing about why this will f on Microsoft Unveils Xbox One · · Score: 1

    > I'm speaking globally, not US-centric. And why does it have to be 1080p? Lower resolutions don't exist?

    Lower resolutions and bitrates are certainly less satisfying.

    If you are talking "not US-centric" then you have the problem of alternate language tracks and subtitles. This is an area where streaming services tend to fall down rather badly.

    It's not just the low quality video stream.

  8. Re:I look forward to hearing about why this will f on Microsoft Unveils Xbox One · · Score: 1

    $5? Are you kidding? The retail cost of some BluRays is that low now. Even at $10, you're not leaving a lot of room for other things like retailer markup or the studio actually making some money.

    NOBODY streams nowadays. Despite the hype, the numbers are still pretty low. They just get a lot of attention because most people have no grasp of numbers.

    They have a staggering lack of perspective as well as extreme narcissism and a tendency to think they represent everyone.

  9. Re:A Better Idea on House Bill Would Mandate Smart Gun Tech By U.S. Manufacturers · · Score: 1

    No one hears about the 100 million gun owners that have no problems.

    Every one hears about the 1 gun owner that does have a problem.

  10. Re:But I like guns! on House Bill Would Mandate Smart Gun Tech By U.S. Manufacturers · · Score: 1

    It's like how a dull knife is a dangerous knife. A sophisticated tool needs to be reliable and effective for it's given purpose or it can be a menace to the person using it.

  11. Re:But I like guns! on House Bill Would Mandate Smart Gun Tech By U.S. Manufacturers · · Score: 1

    The dead children are primarily a victim of crime fueled by poverty.

    The guns are just a distraction for clueless suburbanites hiding safely behind walls in gated communities.

    I find the lack of control that most suburbanites have over their large dogs to be far more disturbing. No one bothers to train the things. They seem to view them as fashion accessories rather than living creatures.

  12. Re:Movies are real! on House Bill Would Mandate Smart Gun Tech By U.S. Manufacturers · · Score: 2

    Every time I watch Westworld, the first thing that goes through my mind when seeing that explanation is "richochet".

    The next thing that occurs to me is that bottles, chairs, and windows don't have any of those safeguards built into them. The same probably goes for the swords and lances in Roman and Medieval world.

  13. Re:When people who've never seen it write the rule on House Bill Would Mandate Smart Gun Tech By U.S. Manufacturers · · Score: 0

    The real problem is that Global Climate Change hysterics are ultimately completely irrelevant from a public policy perspective. This is especially true for Republicans that like to wrap themselves in the flag and declare that they are defenders of the Boy Scouts.

    Dogma can be a tricky thing.

  14. Re:Movies are real! on House Bill Would Mandate Smart Gun Tech By U.S. Manufacturers · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Regardless. Any policy driven technology adoption should be first forced upon the police and the military before it's forced on civilians. If a cop wouldn't want this technology then it's not something that anyone else should have forced on them either.

    Mandating that civilians can only own guns that don't work is just a transparent attempt to side step the law.

    Let cops and soldiers adopt this stuff first.

  15. Re:The Human Condition ... on Judges Debate Patents and If New Software Makes a Computer a "New Machine" · · Score: 1

    Clearly you don't know where the term "computer" really originated from.

  16. There should be a formally named principle about how you can't assume that something is said in jest just because we perceive it to be obviously absurd. You are bound to find someone that will take any wild statement seriously at face value.

    You never know when you are dealing with that kind of person.

  17. Re:Bush was a guy you could have a beer with on Medical Firm Sues IRS For 4th Amendment Violation In Records Seizure · · Score: 1

    > Except that he trained and was certified a fighter pilot

    And never left American soil.

    This is in stark contrast to someone from a prominent Democrat family like Kerry or Kennedy. With the GOP, sacrifice is something that the other guy (preferably poor) does.

  18. Re:other than Cheney and Rumsfeld on Medical Firm Sues IRS For 4th Amendment Violation In Records Seizure · · Score: 1

    > It certainly appears that the Obama administration went after political opponents with the IRS.

    No. It appears like the blue part of a red state applied the sort of personal bias you would naturally expect them to have. Once you realize which facility was responsible and where it is, things kind of fall into place.

    No "conspiracy" is required.

    Does bring up the question of oversight thought.

  19. Re:Not actually a bad idea. on Bloomberg To HS Grads: Be a Plumber · · Score: 1

    A big part of any mature engineering disicipline is applying a process that's already well established. You're following a recipe more than learning something new or adapting. The fact that it is an interesting recipe doesn't alter the fact that merely applying the algorithm doesn't demonstrate a great deal of intelligence.

  20. Re:Not actually a bad idea. on Bloomberg To HS Grads: Be a Plumber · · Score: 1

    It really doesn't matter if you are making more money than him or not. If you more content then that also has it's own value.

  21. Re:Not actually a bad idea. on Bloomberg To HS Grads: Be a Plumber · · Score: 1

    > Where did you get that hippie bullshit? It's a job,

    It's not 1870 anymore. There's no need to suffer like a victorian or guilded age factory worker or miner. Your daily grind doesn't have to be pure torture. You can take control of your own destiny. And why do that if it's not to make much of the time you have to live on this earth more pleasant and suitable.

    You don't have to end up like the guy from Office Space or Fight Club.

  22. Re:Had you gone to a real College... on Bloomberg To HS Grads: Be a Plumber · · Score: 1

    If you needed college to teach you those things then you were an idiot and probably still are. So the whole "it teaches you how to learn" idea is highly overrated. If anything, it's really nothing more than an excuse that University staff can use to ignore you and make you fend for yourself.

    You should already know how to think before you even apply to college and things like research and exposure to diverse ideas are things that you can totally do on your own. It was this way even before web and is even more true now.

    Universities have lost touch with their Renaissance roots. Too many people are drinking the kool-aid and believing their own propaganda.

  23. Re:Machine shop, anyone? on Of 1000 Americans Polled, Most Would Ban Home Printing of Guns · · Score: 4, Insightful

    There is a "public interest" in meddling in the affairs of others. Whether or not that is consistent with our founding ideals is another matter entirely.

    Most busybodies are just idiots manipulated by the media to fear the wrong thing and ignore the real problem.

  24. Re:Well... on Of 1000 Americans Polled, Most Would Ban Home Printing of Guns · · Score: 2

    Our prisons are a pretty good demonstration of why attempt to ban the means of making weapons is pretty pointless. It's rather insane actually. We live in a free society with a great degree of technological sophistication.

    The tools that should be available in any high school should be sufficient to make whatever weapons you want.

    That's just a side effect of not being a midieval peasant.

  25. Re:Right of first sale on Nintendo Hijacks Ad Revenue From Fan-Created YouTube Playthroughs · · Score: 1

    No. The smart thing for Nintendo to do is to not act like Monty Burns. Don't be a douche for no good reason. Sooner or later you'll stumble upon something that actually alienates large numbers of your users.