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User: GravityStar

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Comments · 325

  1. Ahaa! Vindication on Long-term Study Finds No Link Between Video Game Violence and Real Violence · · Score: 2

    Take that, Jack Thompson!

  2. Re:Why do people still care about C++ for kernel d on Object Oriented Linux Kernel With C++ Driver Support · · Score: 1

    Compuware APM can enable you to better monitor & diagnose your java processes.

  3. Re:Well DUH on Consumers Not Impressed With 3D Printing · · Score: 1

    It can also be used to recycle, say, lego.

    Barbarian!

  4. Re:Seems overblown issue on FBI: $10,000 Reward For Info On Anyone Who Points a Laser At an Aircraft · · Score: 1
  5. Re:Is this really a problem? on FBI: $10,000 Reward For Info On Anyone Who Points a Laser At an Aircraft · · Score: 1

    Laser pointers have already caused eye-damage. So, yes, they're "actually" harmful.

  6. Re:I imagine it will stay on When Cars Go Driverless, What Happens To the Honking? · · Score: 1

    There are lots of stupid drivers on the road that do not look to see if there is anything behind them while they reverse their vehicle. At least this way pedestrians have a chance to avoid the idiots.

  7. Re:More garbage on Programmer Privilege · · Score: 1

    Again, nobody wants a hobo-looking person on their team. While I think John Maddog Hall cleans up nicely for a meeting, the others, no. I find your suggestion that RMS is a team player particularly vexing.

    Let's look for a random other, well-kown programmer: https://www.google.be/search?q=mark+russinovich&safe=off&espv=210&es_sm=93&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=MYTYUojzCozB7AaNjIDYDw&ved=0CAkQ_AUoAQ&biw=1846&bih=995

  8. Re:Long live TeX and LaTeX on Charlie Stross: Why Microsoft Word Must Die · · Score: 1

    I feel your pain, but you have to admit that trying to creating a Poster in Word is bad idea in any case.
    When we're saying things like 'passable document' and 'basic computer skills' we're really talking about letters, CV's, low volume bills, documentation, etc. Basically; mostly anything with 90% text and 10% images/graphs/other.

    (But let's not talk about all the people that mis-use Word; like people that will insist on sending me a screenshot embedded in a Word file... Can't you just, send me a png, a bmp, I'll even accept jpeg?)

  9. Re:who thinks about their smoke detector? on Nest Protect: Trojan Horse For 'The Internet of Things'? · · Score: 1

    You should install a heat detector instead of a smoke detector in a kitchen: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heat_detector

  10. Re:Only one purpose on Boston Dynamics Wildcat Can Gallop — No Strings Attached · · Score: 1

    To hell with that. If we're remote-controlling horses/donkeys, lets not recreate a human-horse interface. Lets create a machine-horse interface. Maybe something like a headset that gives sound-commands indicating range and direction binaurally. That way the horse can follow along a set of waypoints. Give it a 2-way radio, and we can send updated orders, and can get status updates on progress.

    The whole setup will be quieter and longer-range with a longer possible mission time.

  11. The hyper-principle thing to do is comply with the request (for the SSL keys and the blackbox and ...) AND shutdown the service.

  12. Re:My guess is that MS will compound their error on Windows Blue Is Officially Windows 8.1, Free For Existing Users · · Score: 1

    Let's say I have a few programs open, and I'm in some kind of workflow (for instance; programming with an IDE, an image editor, a browser and a word document). In this case, switching to the Start Screen takes a lot of mental effort: it is a complete context switch on screen (all my programs disappear from view), and somehow triggers a complete context switch in my mind. Even accessing the start screen once feels very tiring and laborious.

  13. Re:Scratch on Localized (Visual) Programming Language For Kids? · · Score: 1

    This. Scratch is already localized in Dutch and Danish. Even the Scratch website is localized in Dutch.

  14. Re:Doesn't have to be over on Windows: Not Doomed Yet · · Score: 1

    10. A public apology by the CEO, and assurance that Metro will never again appear in Windows.

  15. Re:They all suck badly on Another Way Carriers Screw Customers: Premium SMS 'Errors' · · Score: 1

    I know nothing of the USA's mobile carrier market, aside from what I read on Slashdot. But $50/month seems like highway robbery.

  16. Re:Ah, trust on When Will We Trust Robots? · · Score: 1
  17. Re:All direct marketing is spam on Don't Want a Phonebook? Give Up Your Privacy · · Score: 1

    What part?

  18. Re:Faster computer, blank homepage on Ask Slashdot: Software To Help Stay On Task? · · Score: 1

    ...the opportunity cost of having just 2-4 10-minute periods of that same employees' productivity get incinerated every day.

    I wish it was just 2-4 10-minute periods. I have no hard data to back me up, but with my current work-machine it certainly feels like I spend between 60 minutes to 120 minutes each day simply waiting for the computer to respond. Common tasks that my home-machine completes in under a second easily take anywhere between 20-30 seconds on my work-machine.

  19. Re:Testing the waters on Ask Slashdot: I Just Need... Marketing? · · Score: 1

    Cheeky, but clever.

  20. Re:About time... on Estonian Schools To Teach Computer-Based Math · · Score: 1

    School should never devolve into "keeping the children busy during the day". If it does, then yes, either overhaul the curriculum or close the damn schools.

  21. Re:It's very simple... on Adobe and Apple Didn't Unit Test For "Forward Date" Bugs. Do You? · · Score: 2

    Bull, I find bugs all the time *because* dd/mm/yyyy in applications is often stored/operated on with millisecond/second precision.
    Let's see:
    a) the case of the missing midnight: some date or another in the 1920's IIRC that doesn't have a 00:00:00 hour but that day starts at 02:00:00 hour (so, two missing hours). Unable to create or store that date with the time set at midnight.
    b) range 01/01/2012 - 10/12/2012 entered by the user, inclusive. On 10/12/2012 00:00:01 the system determines the current date is no longer in the range. Bug, certainly not what the user intended.
    c) amount of days between 1/1/2012 CET and 1/6/2012 CEST. A naive way to calculate this is is to subtract the two dates (with millisec precision) and divide by 24 hours. That will give the wrong answer though.

    Anyway, I've come to believe that in an application you store/use the date the user typed in, not a derivative with millisecond precision.

    And, also agree with DragonWriter above.

  22. Re:Simple... on Adobe and Apple Didn't Unit Test For "Forward Date" Bugs. Do You? · · Score: 1

    Hmmm. Given a appointment on October 1st, 2014, 22:00. Appointment is in a country that has no summertime/wintertime difference. GMT/UTC offset is say +1:00.

    On February 1st, 2013 the government decides that from September 2013, there will be a summertime/wintertime difference. Wintertime offset will be +2:00.

    When stored in UTC, the appointment is now rendered with a local time of October 1st, 2014, 23:00. IMHO, the timezone, and the timezone offset are not just presentation issues; they are an implicit part of the data the user entered. Although I concede my example is a bit contrived.

  23. Re:Neither did Google on Adobe and Apple Didn't Unit Test For "Forward Date" Bugs. Do You? · · Score: 1

    One example for java (there are others): http://code.google.com/p/windowlicker/

  24. Re:No shit on 30 Days Is Too Long: Animated Rant About Windows 8 · · Score: 1

    The defectiveness of the Start Screen isn't a matter of it "being hard". For me, it disrupts the context information in my brain for the task I'm currently doing. It isn't hard, it's annoying. And, same as with Clippy of days past, it isn't hard to bypass, but it's annoying all the same. It hinders me, it disrupts me from getting things done. And that is all the reason I need to shun it.

    Incidentally, I feel perfectly justified to complain often and loudly about the Start Screen, as this is my only small way of providing feedback to Microsoft. Feedback, that, accumulated with thousands of others, hopefully will result in a change to disable Metro.

  25. Re:This was required by law. Really. on Outrage At Microsoft Offshoring Tax In the UK, Google Caught Avoiding US Taxes · · Score: 1

    free summer stays for its employees

    Renumeration. Taxed as income.

    It buys you a private jet

    Renumeration. Taxed as income.

    It also pays you in cash, but in some tax haven so you don't have to pay US income tax.

    Renumeration. Taxed as income. If there is tax-treaty with that country, tax already payed in foreign country on that income is tax-deductable (or vice versa).

    flat tax rate it wouldn't really help. The people with the most would still pay substantially less than the rate you set.

    And while I'm at it, I'll suggest a _progressive_ tax rate.