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User: Fred+Ferrigno

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  1. You left out the pro-market spin on Dvorak Layout Claimed Not Superior To QWERTY · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The author ties it all into a criticism of path dependence, the fairly obvious idea that once a particular option becomes entrenched, it can keep superior options from replacing it. To do that, he cites studies that found retraining existing QWERTY typers in Dvorak wasn't cost effective compared to additional training in QWERTY.

    Well, duh. That's almost what it means to be an entrenched option. We've reached a local maxima; movement to the global maxima would be costly. Whether or not Dvorak is superior, it is highly unlikely that QWERTY is the perfectly optimal layout, so there's probably some better layout. Yet we're stuck with QWERTY for the conceivable future because QWERTY came first. That is path dependence in action.

  2. Re:Let's take that seriously for a moment on Methane On Mars May Indicate Living Planet · · Score: 1

    Almost everywhere we look on the planet - water, air, surface, crevices in rocks - we find lots of living things and the remains of even more.

    It's very likely that all of those organisms can trace their heredity back to earlier forms that arose in much different conditions. That modern evolved Earth life could survive on Mars is largely irrelevant to the question of whether or not life could have originated on Mars. We don't really know what conditions are necessary for life to originate. We only have Earth life to go off of and we're not really sure how that got started.

  3. Yes, it's legal on Tricked Into Buying OpenOffice.org? · · Score: 2, Insightful

    It's legal anywhere the GPL is recognized, including the US. The GPL explicitly allows you to charge a fee for distributing copies to users:

    You may charge any price or no price for each copy that you convey, and you may offer support or warranty protection for a fee.

    Distribution is never completely free and in some rare cases can be quite expensive, so the GPL allows you to recoup your costs without attempting to dictate a fixed price. The idea is that since anyone can be a distributor, commodity pricing will be the norm even when distribution is expensive.

    The problem comes when individuals have incomplete information about the going rate for distribution, but that's a general problem of market systems. This woman could have just as easily overpaid for a car or home repairs or any number of other things.

  4. Re:You mean Juniper should be worried on Google Router Rumors · · Score: 1

    The profit Juniper would make would be reinvested in products that directly compete with Cisco. The money Google saves (likely less than Juniper's profit) will go toward many different products, only a small fraction of which actually compete with Cisco.

    Sure, they'd prefer to get the profit themselves, but if they weren't going to get it anyway, it's better that it doesn't go to their competitor.

  5. You mean Juniper should be worried on Google Router Rumors · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Just like with the 10G switches, this has all the earmarks of something for purely internal use rather than something they're planning to sell. That means their current vendor, which is Juniper according to TFA, loses Google as a customer, but that's about it.

    If anything, Cisco should be happy that their competitor is losing business.

  6. Re:Interesting... on Microsoft Rushes Internet Explorer Patch · · Score: 1

    I can think of three areas off hand where it is woefully deficient compared to Linux package management. Whether or not you consider them to be issues of "scope", they significantly limit the utility of Windows Update.

    1. It's almost exclusively oriented around updates. There's no mechanism to search for and install non-standard packages equivalent to "apt-get install foobar".
    2. It doesn't even cover other Microsoft software. Office has a parallel but essentially identical Office Update, but I doubt many users know about it or use it. There's really no reason to have two different update mechanisms for Windows and Office. Support software for Microsoft hardware, like IntelliPoint for Microsoft mice, does not get updated through Windows Update.
    3. No third party repositories. Practically every Windows application these days has its own update client. It's inconsistent, redundant, annoying, and potentially insecure. Many of them think they need to run continuously in the background, too.

  7. Re:I hate to be an ass... on Does Obama Have a Problem At NASA? · · Score: 1

    So many people have put so many hopes, aspirations, and dreams upon Obama and how different of a President he would be. I could not bear to watch what would happen to the people around me if he turned out to be politics as usual. :-(

    Believe it or not, but most of the people who voted for Obama don't think he's the messiah and aren't tying their self worth to the success of his presidency.

    Claims that Obama is pulling some sort of bait and switch are, at a minimum, premature since he hasn't even taken office yet. Plus, it's predicated on the notion that Obama has some sort of secret agenda, one that only the conservative talk shows seem to know about. Yet they can't seem to decide if the secret agenda is more centrist (take that, liberals!) or more liberal (told you so, moderates!), they just know Obama has to be lying about something.

  8. Re:Outlaw encryption on UK Cops Want "Breathalyzers" For PCs · · Score: 1

    My understanding (I don't actually use TrueCrypt) is that you install an OS to the hidden partition and only ever access the partition through that OS. That way everything the OS does is encrypted and hidden too.

  9. Re:Yes, it is on Japanese Scientists Claim To Reconstruct Images From Brain Data · · Score: 1

    IE "this part of the brain lights up when they see a face. In blind studies, that part of the brain lit up, so they must have seen a face."

    I think the Japanese are doing basically the same thing, only with 100 "images" or individual pixels at once. This part of the brain lights up when (1,2) is white. This part of the brain lights up when (2,3) is white. The brain scan looks like the superposition of the (1,2) part and the (2,3) part, so they must be seeing an image with white pixels at (1,2) and (2,3).

    Of course, I'm sure the details of it are much more complicated.

  10. Re:Outlaw encryption on UK Cops Want "Breathalyzers" For PCs · · Score: 1

    The feature works by embedding an encrypted partition inside another encrypted partition. You put mildly sensitive data (porn, taxes) in the outer partition and the really important stuff in the hidden partition. That way, you have a plausible explanation for why you installed TrueCrypt if you're forced to give up the key. There's no way for them to prove that you used TrueCrypt for anything more than that.

  11. IOS has nothing to do with this on FSF Files Suit Against Cisco For GPL Violations · · Score: 1

    The reason why this will be unsettling to Cisco is because some of the products have integrated key IOS files in order to retain backwards compatibility.

    IOS isn't even mentioned in the complaint. All of the products involved are Linksys products, which don't run IOS.

  12. Re:I just don't get it!! on FSF Files Suit Against Cisco For GPL Violations · · Score: 1

    I'm sure Linksys was aware of their responsibilities and always intended to release the source. Reading the actual complaint, the problem appears to be that Linksys didn't release the exact source corresponding to the released versions, didn't release everything needed to compile the source, or didn't release updated source to go along with new versions. It just sounds like stuff that got overlooked in the rush to get the software out.

    To correct that, the FSF wants Linksys to appoint a Free Software Compliance Officer to make sure the source is always available.

  13. It's not one issue that took 5 years on FSF Files Suit Against Cisco For GPL Violations · · Score: 1

    The complaint is that there were multiple violations, most of which were resolved eventually, but the problem is that they keep happening and they take too long to resolve. The FSF wants Linksys to appoint a Free Software Compliance Officer to be more proactive about providing source.

    Also, note that this is all about Linksys-branded products, not Cisco-branded ones. IIRC, Linksys mostly operates independently from the rest of Cisco.

  14. Not exactly either on FSF Files Suit Against Cisco For GPL Violations · · Score: 3, Informative

    If you mean that Linksys/Cisco could have avoided this at any time in the past five years by releasing the code, you are probably right.

    If you read the complaint, the FSF acknowledges that Linksys* has already released most of the code they are required to release. The big problem is that Linksys has a habit of releasing the binary versions first, then neglecting to release the source until the FSF complains and dragging their feet even then.

    The bottom line is that the FSF wants Linksys to be more proactive about releasing source files (by appointing a Free Software Compliance Officer) and to pay them for past abuse.

    * The complaint specifically and exclusively references Linksys products. It says nothing about IOS or any Cisco-branded products.

  15. Windows isn't that different on Apple Says Macs Are Safe, No Antivirus Needed · · Score: 1

    There are malicious bits out there that will damage your system if you do something stupid, like install a Trojan or run an untrusted Office macro.

    Saying they require the user to do something stupid doesn't mean much because users do stupid things all the time. If you've ever tried to clean up someone's malware-laden Windows PC, you can usually track it down to something they did. Systems that were actually remotely exploited with no user interaction are rare in my experience.

  16. Re:Who really cares? on Google Chrome Tops Browser Speed Tests · · Score: 1

    People just want their web apps as snappy as their local applications.

    Correction: Developers don't want to have to worry about making their web apps snappy. This push for faster Javascript is not coming from users.

  17. Re:Evil power switch on NRDC Rates Energy Efficiency of Video Game Consoles · · Score: 1

    Well of course conservation only works en masse, but you could save magnitudes more energy if people, en masse, paid more attention to the big consumers of energy in their household. I relate it to Amdahl's law. If you improve the efficiency of your DVR by 1%, the overall effect on your entire energy consumption is limited because your DVR is just a small part. If you improve the efficiency of your water heater by 1%, that has a much greater overall effect.

  18. Re:Evil power switch on NRDC Rates Energy Efficiency of Video Game Consoles · · Score: 1

    This "vampire" device thing is way overblown. The energy used is minuscule compared to other things in the home. Most people don't put in the same level of effort to make sure their air conditioner, dishwasher, dryer, water heater, etc. are operating efficiently. If they would, they'd save much more energy than what it takes to light a couple LEDs.

  19. Re:pointless on Ray Kurzweil Wonders, Can Machines Ever Have Souls? · · Score: 1

    You, I generously assume, are aware of the self object, and can imaginatively project that object into possible future states. You can then choose among those states in order to guide your actions, with the unshakeable goal of continued access to pleasure. That is sentience.

    You're assuming that all sentient creatures have souls, which is not at all proven. Or at least I think you are. You never actually used the word "soul" in your post.

  20. Re:What's a soul? on Ray Kurzweil Wonders, Can Machines Ever Have Souls? · · Score: 1

    By the original line of reasoning, that means rocks could have reasonable vision too, which is clearly not the case.

    Drill out the center and glue a webcam in there. Sure, it's a bit ridiculous, but the point is that a soul (if it exists) is no more a human than a webcam is a computer.

  21. Re:I'm amazed on Ted Stevens Loses Senate Re-Election Bid · · Score: 1

    Argh. Obviously I meant "and not appointed".

  22. Re:I'm amazed on Ted Stevens Loses Senate Re-Election Bid · · Score: 4, Interesting

    If he was forced out of office in disgrace he would be replaced by another less obviously disgraceful Republican. At least I hope that's what happened, although after seeing who they elected Governor I could be giving Alaskan's too much credit.

    Funny you should mention that. Even though his replacement would be chosen by special election and appointed, the consensus in the punditocracy was that Palin would run for the seat and probably win.

  23. Treat them like off campus students on New TN Law Forces Universities To Patrol For Copyright Violations · · Score: 1

    When I was in college, nearly everything was accessible from the public internet because of all the off campus students. (It was all password protected and SSL encrypted, of course.) For the very few things that weren't online, you were expected to haul your butt to the lab or library.

    I'm not sure that there there are many services that are both so sensitive they can't be put on the public internet and also so commonly used that it would be unreasonable to expect students to go to a lab somewhere.

  24. Re:Thats too bad. on New TN Law Forces Universities To Patrol For Copyright Violations · · Score: 1

    It just seems like the population doesn't get to participate in democracy anymore.

    The United States is a republic, not a democracy. The people participated by electing these numbnuts to the Tennessee legislature.

  25. Re:Can science find God? on Science's Alternative To an Intelligent Creator · · Score: 1

    Guesswork is the basis of our understanding of how the Universe came into being, the nature of black holes, and the composition of extra-solar atmospheres.

    That isn't even close to being true. Science is based on evidence, repeatable, verifiable observations of the world. That evidence is an external source of information for which religion has no counterpart. You may come up with an idea by guessing, but that idea must ultimately be checked with the answer sheet. If it doesn't match up, it's not science.

    We have rational, logical and internally consistent rules for explaining the origin of the Universe, which we call science. We have something similar, if not exactly the same, with regards to religion.

    The Lord of the Rings books are based on rational, logical and internally consistent rules, too. (To a much greater degree than most religions, by the way.) That does not put them on anything close to an equal footing with science.

    Neither have explained everything fully, but that doesn't make either one less valuable.

    One of them hasn't really explained much of anything. What it has attempted to explain falls generation into two categories: claims which have already been proven wrong and claims which cannot yet be proven wrong. The NOMA folks are happy to give religion a free pass on all of the claims which are obviously wrong, even though they were historically presented as literal truth and many adherents still hold them to be literal truth.

    The unverifiable claims, by their nature, have no predictive value. If they could be used to predict an outcome, then we could use that outcome as an effective test of the claim, which it would likely fail. (Out of all the possible explanations for something, it would be quite the stroke of luck for a nomadic tribesman thousands of years ago to come up with the correct one.)

    On top of that, NOMA is based on the idea that these unverifiable claims will remain unverifiable forever, a rather poor bet given the historical trend. Every wrong claim started out as an unverifiable claim, since few people could have predicted we would ever be in a position to come up with the right answer.

    The realm of science is always expanding, answering questions we never thought we could answer. On the other hand, the realm of religion continues to give up ground to contradictory evidence. It has already been downgraded from a comprehensive worldview to a branch of philosophy. As we acquire more real knowledge about ourselves and the world we find ourselves in, religion will become increasingly irrelevant as science becomes more and more useful.