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User: SirGeek

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  1. Re:Buying music? on Canadian Music Industry Calls For Internet Regulation, Website Blocking · · Score: 2

    Sorry, but your argument is wrong.

    Most "Owned" Bands (i.e. on a Major Record Label) do NOT make their money on the CD Sales. They make a pittance. They make most (if not ALL their money) on tours.The reason we have things like JB, is they sell their souls to the music industry and allow them to be totally manipulated and peroform cookie cutter music that you can't tell from the other 20 performers of that style of music.

    As for the "ugly" comment, You're telling me that a performer like Ted Nutgent.. I mean Nugent can't sell tickets ? Sadly he does.

    If you want REAL musicians, Look up an Indie artist. There are a bunch. And some are even geeky. You have Marian Call, The Double Clicks, Molly Lewis, Jonathan Coulton, Paul and Storm, and others.... Support them and support their music.

  2. Re:Pass the cost to the end user on US Internet Service In 2014: Net Neutrality Challenges and High-Speed Build-Outs · · Score: 1

    Not "quite". Places are allowed to say "Price: X.XX, Cash Discount of $ Y.YY"

    I've seen a few gas stations saying this. And doing this (offering a cash discount) is perfectly legal.

    I would just like to see more places that do debit and credit (that don't charge more) asking people to use their debit cards (AS debit cards) whenever possible because it saves them CC Transaction fees - and thus saves THEM money because they don't need to raise their prices to pay for the fees).

  3. Re:You answered yourself. on Ask Slashdot: Communication Skills For Programmers? · · Score: 1
    It isn't necessarily the "what you said", its the "how you say it".
    1. If you need to email someone, don't forget to be pleasant (it actually can make a huge difference - saying something as simple as "Hi Jim, I wanted to let you know that there may be a problem with your spec. I believe it should be .... Thanks Mike."
    2. If you're replaying to an email/communication with lots of people, be specific in whom you respond to (i.e. the "Hi Jim" comment above). It makes you come across as much less "curt" or blunt.
    3. Ask the more senior programmers for advice there. They will know the 'political landscape' too.

    As for keeping the team informed, ASK THEM WHAT THEY WANT :-\

    It may be as simple as telling them "I've met milestone 20131112, I'm moving on to the next task unless someone needs me to work on something else."

  4. Re:I think he's ready on Former Student Gets Year In Prison For College President Election Fraud · · Score: 1

    I think this kid's ready for the big time! Future statesman, you heard about him first on Slashdot!

    I'm not sure mentioned on slashdot is any kind of endorsement. You don't see Wil Wheaton in the DC, do you?

    Nope. Because Wil Wheaton :

    1. Is NOT a lawyer (and he doesn't play one on TV either)
    2. He HAS A SOUL
  5. Re:Carpetbombing Philosophy on Dr. Dobb's Calls BS On Obsession With Simple Code · · Score: 1

    You mean an MBA ?

  6. Re:So the news is... on Dr. Dobb's Calls BS On Obsession With Simple Code · · Score: 2

    The people who I think need to be berated are the folks who write the obfuscated code or do things like overload operators not because they need to, but because they can.

    I think you mean beheaded. And their heads mounted on the wall above the server room :)

  7. Re:Paranoia on Automated Plate Readers Let Police Collect Millions of Records On Drivers · · Score: 1

    Ok. How's this for a very "possible" scenario.

    You're driving a different route (due to road construction/etc.) And your car goes past a house that is under surveillance for some crime (Say prostitution or drugs).

    Your car's plate gets "snapped" in front of the house. They don't CARE that you're just driving by, You're driving past a crime scene. They get your data, and then they check your plate and find you had unpaid parking tickets. Then they visit you at your place of employment or better yet your home. They ask for you in regards to a crime at house where Prostitution/Drugs are used.

    Does it MATTER to the police that you were just driving by the hose ? Nope. They can use it as an excuse for harassing you.

    Does it matter they already knew your plate # ? Nope. They can use the cameras to determine ANYTHING they want:

    "Gee. You drive from Camera A to Camera B, a distance of 1 mile. You drove it in 45 seconds, It should have taken you a full minute @ 30MPH. So you're speeding - DING ! Ticket issued. Camera B to Camera C, another Mile. Another 45 seconds, DING Another ticket.

    Is that OK with you now ?

  8. Re:What point does public discussion serve? on Nationwide Snooping System Launched In India · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Having the public outraged against war is what got the soldiers OUT of Viet Nam before they were all massacred. People can do something, the problem is that too many people are currently more concerned with who won American Idol, or the next episodes of Big Brother, etc.

    People need to stop the "I'm not doing something wrong so who cares" attitude. The point is what happens if a wrong number calls you and They ARE doing something bad, you're now "Associated" with that person so they're going go through you you wouldn't believe. And for what ? Receiving a call from a WRONG NUMBER ?

    THATs the problem. They can do what they want, to whomever they wish, for any reason (or no reason other than "Your name looks funny, You must be doing something wrong."

  9. Re:first on Linus Torvalds Promises Profanity Over Linux 3.10-rc5 · · Score: 1

    I'm SO with you. My 1st "full time" programming job was for embedded systems where throwing "more RAM" at a problem wasn't an option. It was programmed with ASM (including a Custom Macro ASM language for the company's own CPUs).

    There is ways to be efficient and there are ways to be lazy and there is some happy medium. My biggest gripe is that too many people rely on:

    • Their IDE to tell them all the syntax, etc. instead of having to know when its right.
    • Their IDE to do everything "under the hood" so they don't have to.

    I didn't use an IDE for almost 20 years of my career (and I'm only using one now because of all the "young" programmers that can't even write a hello world program without one). While I'm no longer doing ASM programming, I still try to do things as efficiently as possible (code reuse, static libraries when possible, etc.)

  10. Re:The ONLY Way this should work is... on Watching the Police: Will Two-Way Surveillance Reduce Crime? · · Score: 1

    No. That's a bit "harsh", I'd say they're removed from their job and forbidden from ever working in a Public Service or Police position ever again.

  11. Then you've got companies abusing the FDA process. on New Drugs Trail Many Old Ones In Effectiveness Against Disease · · Score: 1

    A perfect example of this is when Colcrys was approved. It was a "tweaked" version of the drug Colchicine which was grandfathered (i.e. no patent).

    They patented Colcrys and killed Colchicine. The new drug was "purer" than Colchicine but it didn't work for many people. And the price went from $0.09 to $4.85 per tablet. The old drug was also used for treating joint issues (but the new version didn't work).

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colchicine

  12. Re:The ONLY Way this should work is... on Watching the Police: Will Two-Way Surveillance Reduce Crime? · · Score: 1

    You are correct. My bad. I thought that it was not the right acronym. But I flaked !

  13. The ONLY Way this should work is... on Watching the Police: Will Two-Way Surveillance Reduce Crime? · · Score: 5, Insightful

    if 100% of the footage is uploaded/published on a regular basis.

    Remove the ability of a department to "lose" the info. Perhaps even send the raw footage to the AFL-CIO

  14. Re:And yet.. on Aaron Swartz Prosecution Team Claims Online Harassment · · Score: 4, Informative

    True (to some extent), but they could have just said "Plead Guilty to this misdemeanor and pay 1,000 in fines."

    Instead they chose to prosecute him for EVERYTHING they could (with potentially 30+ years in prison). That, they didn't have to do.

    They wanted to make an example of him. PERIOD.

  15. Re:They were just doing their jobs.... on Aaron Swartz Prosecution Team Claims Online Harassment · · Score: 4, Insightful

    That didn't fly for people working in the concentration camps, it doesn't fly here.

    If something doesn't pass even the basic sniff test, then you need to say NO.

  16. Look at it historically... on Is Daylight Saving Time Worth Saving? · · Score: 1

    If I remember correctly from history classes, the original purpose of it was to preserve daylight for farming. Think about how light it is during the summer time (at night).

    However in the current "Non Agrarian" society we live in, it make no sense. Having a 23 hour day and a 25 hour day makes certain companies have a nightmare for their computer systems. Was that hour ending 02 the first or second hour ending 02 (on the 25 hour day) or "what happened to 02 on 03/10/2013 ? Oh yeah DST.."

    It really doesn't help ANYONE at this time.

  17. Re:Translation: We Don't Have Gigabit Fiber on Time Warner Cable: No Consumer Demand For Gigabit Internet · · Score: 1

    To be fair, I am one of those who have no desire for gigabit internet... largely because my home network is still throttled at 10/100 speeds and even if every machine was sucking at that internet teat there is no way I could use all that speed.

    What about 10 machines (PCs, Wireless Phones, Pads, Game Consoles) All trying to use the full bandwidth ?

    Even while each "system" is capped at 10/100 speeds, through switching EACH one can have access to the gigabit speed/throughput.

  18. In the words of South Park on Finnish Anti-Piracy Site Pirates Thepiratebay Content · · Score: 4, Funny

    "They are ABOVE the law !"

  19. Re:What a quitter! on Pope To Resign Citing Advanced Age · · Score: 0

    Except back then , a year was only 100 days.

  20. Re: So Proud of Gun Ownership on New York Paper Uses Public Records To Publish Gun-Owner Map · · Score: 1

    Dude. Did you even read the wiki you posted? Americans are not required to have a social security number! Sure if you desire tax credits but that's not a requirement.

    Try obtaining a job without having a social security number ? Try obtaining identification without one. No above board company can hire you without an SSN. They wouldn't be able to withhold your federal or state taxes (and they ARE required to do it).

  21. Re:So Proud of Gun Ownership on New York Paper Uses Public Records To Publish Gun-Owner Map · · Score: 1

    No. This would be akin to requesting who is a licensed fisherman, hunter, driver. If you have to obtain a "state" permit of some sort, the data should be public. To me this isn't any worse than them publishing the names of "John's" arrested in prostitution busts (I still think that they shouldn't be able to print the names until conviction). The information above is not "public" information.

  22. Re:Stupid on EU Charges Samsung With Abusing Vital Telecoms Patent · · Score: 1, Insightful

    Yet you don't see the apple fans talking about THAT now, Do you ?

  23. Get a finding against them in a local court. on Ask Slashdot: How To Collect Payments From a Multinational Company? · · Score: 1

    Then give them 30 days to send payment. If they don't show up with a sherrif and basically claim their property in the office ( It worked against Bank of America)

  24. Re:hunting? on Activists' Drone Shot Out of the Sky For Fourth Time · · Score: 1

    A Dove IS a Pidgen with a good press agent.

  25. Re:Objectionable on Would You Put a Tracking Device On Your Child? · · Score: 1

    When my 3 older brothers were small, my mom used leashes on them. (Ages 4, 3 and 2). They weren't traumatized by it either.