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User: secretcurse

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  1. Re:Is it really an issue on How To Avoid a Scramble For the Moon and Its Resources · · Score: 1

    Are you arguing that those reasons are sufficient to keep us confined to one planet?

  2. Re:Concerning... on Scientific Data Disappears At Alarming Rate, 80% Lost In Two Decades · · Score: 1

    Why would a cochlear implant ever be considered as barbaric as medieval blood letting? The implants aren't perfect, but they provide a huge increase in the quality of life for a large number of patients. A potential better solution that's decades down the line doesn't make a currently effective treatment barbaric...

  3. Re:Well... on Free Software Foundation Endorses a "Truly Free" Laptop · · Score: 2

    Crap, didn't escape my characters. Search for "script type="text/javascript""

  4. Re:Well... on Free Software Foundation Endorses a "Truly Free" Laptop · · Score: 3, Insightful

    but for the FSF, all JavaScript is snooping, and shouldn't be allowed

    Please point your browser to https://www.fsf.org/ and view the source. Search the page for "" and see if the FSF really believes what you claim.

  5. Re:three responses on Police Pull Over More Drivers For DNA Tests · · Score: 1

    Vocally objecting to a search while staying out of the officer's way is a good way to not get pepper sprayed or tased during the search, and being on record objecting to the search is going to make your defense lawyer very happy.

  6. Re:This oughtta be good for... on Krugman On Bitcoin and the Gold Standard · · Score: 1

    How do you think they count the number of unemployed people for official figures?

  7. Re:Less is sometimes more on Can Minecraft Change the Gaming Industry? · · Score: 1

    I'm fairly certain (and I just checked wiki for what that's worth) that he didn't go to college at all. He just started programming when he was very young and he seems to be a really smart guy. Minecraft is definitely a resource hog, but the performance gets better with just about every release for me. So, that's a great sign since performance is getting better at the same time that more features are being added. To everyone that says the code is crap, write your own well-programmed game that millions of people want to play. I'd rather have a good implementation of a great idea than a great implementation of a good idea...

  8. Re:Why Cheeto-stained? on The Science Behind Fanboyism · · Score: 1

    They've been in my grocery store recently, but they're in the old packaging from the 70s or 80s, so I think it's a temporary novelty thing.

  9. Re:In other news on 34% of iPhone Owners Think the 4 Is 4G · · Score: 1

    The only point it could possibly convey is that some users know more about the internals of their phones than others. That doesn't convey anything about the intelligence of a user.

  10. Re:In other news on 34% of iPhone Owners Think the 4 Is 4G · · Score: 1

    Being ignorant of technology doesn't make a person stupid. Some people just don't care about how gadgets work. I know it's hard for geeks like us to relate, but many smart people don't give a shit about the differences between Atom and A4 processors (and yes, I realize the A4 is based on the Atom).

  11. Re:No rage, just a lost customer. on Netflix Deflects Rage Over Price Increase · · Score: 2

    You're very misinformed. They haven't dropped the X number of DVDs at a time service. They are offering a new $4.99 service that limits the number of DVDs per month to 2 and includes 2 hours of streaming.

  12. Re:No rage, just a lost customer. on Netflix Deflects Rage Over Price Increase · · Score: 1

    Umm, if you don't care about the streaming, the disc-only plans are $2 cheaper. I'm your Netflix polar opposite- I think I've checked out 3 or 4 movies in the 2 years I've been a member, but I stream constantly. So, I dropped the DVD part of the plan and I'm paying $7.99 instead of $9.99.

  13. Re:if he's so concerned on Slate: Amazon's Tax Stance Unfair and Unethical · · Score: 1

    This is also addressed in the article and I disagree with the guy that wrote it. He basically says it's the cost of doing business and that the B&M stores have to keep up with all the laws. I think that argument is crap because the B&M stores have real people working each location, and some manager is responsible for setting the tax rates in the POS software. It would be ridiculous for Amazon to have to keep up with every single special purpose district in the freaking country.

  14. Re:Just that pesky Constitution on Slate: Amazon's Tax Stance Unfair and Unethical · · Score: 1

    While the Declaration of Independence is law, it is not the Constitution. That's the point GP made.

  15. Re:Shysters all on RIAA Math: Sell 1 Million Albums, Still Owe $500k · · Score: 2
    Sure you can. You just have to play an average of 3 or 4 nights a week, every week. You also have to be really, really good and really, really flexible. You have to be literate as a musician, though many people refuse to be. Reading and writing music is absolutely necessary if you want to make a living unless you're extremely lucky. It also helps to live in a metro area of at least 500,000 or so. You need to be good enough that you get called when any show is coming through your town and they need local musicians. You'll probably need to be in a great cover band that has a consistent Wednesday or Thursday night gig at a popular bar. If you or someone in your "main" band is a great songwriter, you might even make a few bucks playing original music. You're going to have to be in several groups and generally refuse to play for free unless it's something you're just dying to do.

    Basically, a musician can make a living, they just have to work their ass off to do it and won't always be playing the music they love, just like any other job.

  16. Re:a shame on Judge OKs Wiretap Lawsuit Over Google Wi-Fi Sniffing · · Score: 3, Insightful

    What did they do that's wrong? The dumbasses without encrypted networks were broadcasting their information out to a public road. The Google vehicles were in public when they received the plaintext information. If the people were outside screaming their online banking credentials out loud and Google happened to be driving a car with microphones recording ambient noise at the time, would that be illegal?

  17. Re:and in other news on Climate Skeptic Funded By Oil and Coal Companies · · Score: 3, Funny

    I agree. We're definitely not spending enough money on our military here in the US...

  18. Re:I don’t buy it on Spamming Becoming Financially Infeasible · · Score: 1

    I'm sure your well-reasoned argument would immediately win over their heart and mind and they would be forever changed.

  19. Re:Only one way to fix this on Yet Another "People Plug In Strange USB Sticks" Story · · Score: 1

    Where I used to work, there was some Windows setting that wouldn't allow USB drives to mount. Keyboards and mice worked fine, and you could plug in your smartphone to charge it, but the drive wouldn't mount. Anytime I plugged in my phone, I'd get a little dialog saying that the OS wasn't going to mount it as a storage volume, but it would still charge. So, it's entirely possible to set up a situation where keyboards and mice work just fine and people can charge their phones and mp3 players without a security risk.

  20. Re:Logic disconnect... on Authorities Closing On LulzSec · · Score: 1

    It's also specific wording from a journalist. For most journalists, running a client on your computer that is taking part in a DDoS attack can only be done by a true computer genius criminal mastermind.

  21. Re:MAKES SENSE !! on HP Sues Oracle For Dropping Itanium Support · · Score: 1
  22. Re:Brilliant... on $500,000 Worth of Bitcoins Stolen · · Score: 1

    If by "cash" you mean American federal reserve notes, you certainly cannot redeem them for gold. You could trade the cash for gold if someone were willing, but you can't empty all of your accounts and go up to Fort Knox demanding your gold anymore.

  23. Re:...really? on Personal Electronics May Indeed Disrupt Avionics · · Score: 1

    I would place the burden of proof on those that say electronics don't harm avionics considering if they're wrong, 300 people die a fiery death unnecessarily.

  24. Re:A-PPolice State. on Apple Bans DUI Checkpoint Apps · · Score: 5, Informative

    Correction. It is a publicly traded business, owned by private citizens and collectives. A municipally held utility would be an example of a publicly owned business.

  25. Re:A-PPolice State. on Apple Bans DUI Checkpoint Apps · · Score: 1

    Apple AppStore doesn't equate to a real store because there is no competition for it, and you can't run apps not from their store on your device short of jail-breaking it.

    So, Android, Blackberry, WebOS, and WinMo phones aren't competition to the iPhone? Sure, the Apple App Store is the only place to (officially) get iPhone software, but you're free to buy competing phones if you are opposed to the restrictions of that store. Since Apple does not have a monopoly on smart phones, it's perfectly legal for them to decide who gets to hang out in their walled garden and who gets the boot using any arbitrary rules they might want to impose.

    Here's my attempt at a bean analogy. I run a store and I sell a magic bowl. The only food you can eat out of this bowl is food from my store. I don't sell beans, so you can't eat beans out of my magic bowl. I also have a history of randomly deciding other types of food aren't allowed in my bowls, and I generally don't care what customers think about it because I think my magic bowl is way easier to use than the competition (and I'm raking in money hand over fist). There are 4 other stores on the block with their own magic bowls and they each offer different combinations of food for their bowl. You're welcome to browse all 5 stores before buying a magic bowl from any of them.