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User: peter303

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  1. I sent my first email in 1974 on Online Services: The Internet Before the Internet · · Score: 2

    To Stanford friends from the MIT A.I. lab.
    My 1976 grad school email address is still active. It used telephone based internet uucp (unix-to-unix communications protocol). And it acquired a domain-name appendx in the mid 1980s.

  2. "Science" said social science not replicated on Majority of Landmark Cancer Studies Cannot Be Replicated · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Two weeks ago said the social science studies are usually not replicated. Either because they are not true or too expensive. They were trying to explain the rise in psychology paper retractions and job firings as poor science.

  3. crappy difference-equation mathematics on MIT Institute's Gloomy Prediction: 'Global Economic Collapse' By 2030 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Forrester model uses difference equations to link economic sectors. The solution to difference equation is an exponential. An exponential goes to zero or infinity given enough time.

    This group was wrong in the 1970s. And is still wrong in the 2010s.

  4. posted two days late :-) on Supreme Court Approves Strip Searches For Any Arrestable Offense · · Score: 1

    Sounds like an April First story.

  5. my living parents should in it on Confidentiality Expires For 1940 Census Records · · Score: 1

    The 1940 census data is organized by city blocks. I am not sure if they remember the streets they lived on that year. People moved a lot during the heard times.

  6. how do they avoid Isaacson material? on Ashton Kutcher To Play Steve Jobs In Upcoming Film · · Score: 1

    Most of the published material on Steve's personal life is from Isaacson's recent bestseller. I dont think a biopic would be that interesting without it.

  7. crowdsourcing = lowest common denominator? on Forensic Experts Say Screams Were Not Zimmerman's · · Score: 1

    Guilty until proven innocent". Crowdsourcing is probably a neutral technology with both good and dumb applications. Despite the fact that financial promoters would claim its the best thing ever invented.

  8. "it looks so 2008!" on Ask Slashdot: Shortcuts To a High Tech House · · Score: 1

    You need the flexibility to swap in new stuff easily, else it would look like a dinosaur.

  9. yawn: "trial by rumor" on Forensic Experts Say Screams Were Not Zimmerman's · · Score: 5, Insightful

    "Trial by social media". "Trial by the self-righteous" Glad we have court systems to sort out all these rumors.

  10. "150 million identities stolen from IRS" on VISA, MasterCard Warn of 'Massive' Breach At Credit Card Processor · · Score: 1

    Is a headline I expect some day due to weak government security. They do protect themselves somewhat by working in COBOL, OS-360 and tape drives. Few hackers are interested in those.

  11. science suffers from publishing too few errors on Scientist Who Oversaw OPERA's Faster-Than-Light Neutrino Study Resigns · · Score: 1

    The problem becomes that new people sometimes repeat those errors without having known they had happened before. I have seen this in my field. Publishing error does not get you tenure.

    Therefore the Opera group should be lauded for publishing theirs. They tried pretty hard to eliminate error.

  12. same thing happened in 1990s on Parlez-vous Python? · · Score: 2

    When "English majors" were turning into web-designers. I wonder how many survived into the 2000s?

  13. places 50 years for 2nd manned visit on James Cameron Begins His Deep-Sea Dive · · Score: 1

    (1) Mariana Trench
    (2) South Pole after the big 1911 race
    (3) The Moon looks like at least 50 years (40 already)

  14. otherwise called the "FACEBOOK" bill on Entrepreneurs Watch As Crowdvesting Bill Stalls In Senate · · Score: 1

    Plenty of small investors were angry they cant invest in Facebook until it is fully public. This bill is a way around that.

  15. investing in a private company is illegal on Entrepreneurs Watch As Crowdvesting Bill Stalls In Senate · · Score: 1

    Not crowdsourcing, Because many startups and private companies do not publish full annual financial reports, the SEC figures you could get screwed by lack of information.

  16. high risk with money you can afford to lose on Entrepreneurs Watch As Crowdvesting Bill Stalls In Senate · · Score: 1

    Prior to this bill you could only invest VC money beyond a million dollars you have saved. It presumed you could afford to lose money over a million dollars.

  17. my nephew at MSFT has every Apple product on Microsoft Barring Certain Staff From Buying Macs, iPads? · · Score: 1

    Hard core fainboy who lines up for that stuff. Pays with his own money, of course.

  18. my bank routinely replaces cards FREE on Will Mobile Wallets Replace Their Traditional Counterparts? · · Score: 1

    Half the time someone else has compromised the number. Half the time I've lost it or was physically stolen.

    Replaced cards show up as "new credit" on a report, with a possible slight degradation of credit score.

    I dont expect this free benefit to last forever.

  19. latimes hard to bypass on New York Times Halves Monthly Free Article Views To Ten · · Score: 1

    I know a way around the WSJ and NYTimes. But not he latimes yet.

    If "everyone" implements strong paywalls, I'll subscribe to the NYTimes because it is the most valuable.

  20. physics community or politicians decide this on Is It Time For the US Government To Back Fusion At NIF Over ITER? · · Score: 1

    The recent Obama budget cut several important programs, in order to better fund other important programs in this era of zero-based budgeting. For example Mars exploration budget was severely cut, perhaps due to the huge cost overruns of the Mars Science lander (now enroute). Perhaps a congressman or two will earmark this money back in. However, the space comunity gets together every decade to prioritize their programs. I'd more trust the space community to allocate their money than politicians.

  21. related to LexisNexis issue? on Liberating the Laws You Must Pay To Read · · Score: 1

    They've copyrighted their method of legal documents indexing and (so-far) staved off any competitors who what to use the index. "If it is not indexed, it is not legal precedent". I am sure the free-form search engines of the world would love to index this material.

  22. Foxconn factories relatively better off on Ask Slashdot: Any Smart Phones Made Under Worker-Friendly Conditions? · · Score: 1

    They may be severe by US labor standards. But in China they are considered among the best by workers. With all the foreign pressures there is some attempt toward safe conditions. They actual pay their workers instead of disappearing some random Sunday. Applicants line up by the thousands for these relatively desirable jobs.

  23. 60 Minutes piece optimistic about SpaceX on SpaceX Gets Astronauts To Try Out Its Dragon Crew Cabin · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Made it sound like they were making good progress on both the commercial cargo and manned launch fronts. Even Obama has visited their facilities.

  24. Why did he "retire" so young? on Wil Wheaton's New Show: Tabletop · · Score: 1

    It seems like Star Trek and teen movies were his last steady job. I know he worked for Lightwave and had some bit parts, but nothing really steady.

  25. similar analysis to count species on Earth on Physicists Discover Evolutionary Laws of Language · · Score: 1

    Where over 90% of vertebrates have probably been discovered and cataloged, only a few percent of insects, worms etc. may have. A combination of statistics and data mining estimates about 7 million total species.