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User: CapnStank

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  1. Re:Heh on Spoiler Alert: Your TV Will Be Hacked · · Score: 1

    My Samsung *does* have the option to "allow all" I believe. I wouldn't put it past the regular user to use that option the first time they're bothered.

  2. Re:Hopefully on Indian Man Charged With Blasphemy For Exposing "Miracle" · · Score: 1

    Its regarding demographics. The younger culture (Teens -> late 20s) are the dominant presence in online forums such as slashdot or reddit so you'll naturally see a lot more vocal presence in these areas. The same age group happens to be more agnostic or atheist than the older generations. If we had an equal weighting of boomers present you'd see their religious views more frequently.

  3. Re:News to me on Have Bad Cars Gone Extinct? · · Score: 1

    You're somewhat lucky then. My ex-gf had an '06 Cavalier at the same time I was driving a '99 Golf. In the time I had to replace my plugs/wires her electronic cluster had 3 separate, unrelated issues, the muffler's insides fell apart, two issues with the alternator and issues with the fuel injection. Keep in mind I only had my Golf for about 9 months before it got in an accident and totalled. I drove a '99 Acura Integra for 3 years after that with only wear & tear issues the entire time.

  4. Re:When can we get Reddit's moderation system on / on Reddit Turning SOPA "Blackout" Into a "Learn-In" · · Score: 2

    I tend to disagree. Reddit has a strong arm of users who vouch for the "reddiquitte" and defend those who are backing opinion with tangible facts. Its rare that you see a well written post that gets downvoted into hiding so long as it doesn't flame others or use emotionally charged wording. Sure it wont necessarily reach top comment status but it is still visible.

  5. Re:Release Date for PC on Diablo 3 Coming To Consoles · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I don't think its so much of an argument as to whether or not Pandaren were made up on the spot or not but more of an argument about whether that's the best Blizzard has to offer the franchise at this point. The last expansion was rehashing an old raid boss. Before that it was tieing off the ends of an old story arc. Now it seems they're forced to provide content that seems silly by the outside spectators and not those completely engrossed in the lore. I quit WoW shortly after the Lich King became an actual raid boss and I look at what content they've added and feel its become rather silly.

    Blizzard would be better off at this point to cut ties to WoW and help people transition to a new MMO with fresh start instead of attempting patches to WoW to make it flow better and *seem* original.

    Obviously just my opinion. I haven't marketed any multi-million/billion dollar franchises so my view is obviously skewed.

  6. Re:Also on Ebert: I'll Tell You Why Movie Revenue Is Dropping · · Score: 2

    He wasn't saying there was anything wrong. He was describing the theatre and explaining despite its shortcomings of no 3D, no stadium seating it still sells out shows.

  7. Re:Are yellows in Denver really short? on Denver Must Prove Red-Light Cameras Improve Safety · · Score: 3, Informative

    Correct! Most people think its ok to smash into people making an illegal maneuver: a friend of a friend recently lost his car because he was illegally parked and someone smashed into it. He got a parking ticket, they got an at-fault accident, point deductions, hefty fine etc. etc. As a driver it is your responsibility to know where you're going and if you're able to safely proceed, it is NOT your right to randomly punch the gas because someone else is breaking the law.

  8. Re:They don't want to on Congress's Techno-Ignorance No Longer Funny · · Score: 5, Interesting

    You're right. But if in the event that a professional is lacking knowledge in a certain area it is their ethical duty to consult someone who does. In their case they're plugging their ears and whistling tunes while the experts cite facts that go against the opinion of the corporations backing the bill. Its not even fair in this case where the experts are coming forward in droves to lend knowledge to the matter and they're being silenced in favor of half-baked opinions loosely tied to anecdotal events that may or may not be actually true.

  9. Its not just about youtube, it also includes every website on the internet. So what does that mean? It means if I want to start an online business that happens to have a high profile competitor they might not take a liking to me existing and just use SOPA to bring me down. What if I'm an established seller and someone big decides to branch into new markets and doesn't like me. That could be equally detrimental to my livelihood if I am unable to afford a lawyer to fight this frivolous crap coming out of the USA (hint, I'm not American).

  10. Wow on Site Offers History of Torrent Downloads By IP · · Score: 4, Informative

    I sort of tire of the ol' Slashdot jumping to conclusions but here's how it works:

    1. They visit public tracker websites.
    2. They query the tracker for a list of peers given a torrent hash (not difficult)
    3. Dump all data into the database that can be searched through their website

    That means your data is not on there if you're a torrent user because you're using a tracker they aren't indexing or you have a dynamic ip that they haven't categorized yet. In the same way this is why you can get false positives. All this B.S. about honey pots or fear mongering is dumb considering how straight forward this website is.

  11. Wronnggggg on TV Isn't Broken, So Why Fix It? · · Score: 1

    Why is TV Broken to the consumer? Because no one wants to wait for anything. I want to watch show X *now* and I don't want ads. I want to be able to rewind, pause and everything else that comes great with a TV viewing experience. Has PVR solved this? Kind of, but it still is at the mercy of TV where you only get to watch what you've recorded and space can be limited.

    People have realized all these faults. That is why so many people move away from TV now towards over-the-top offerings that have the "on demand" nailed down. How are we going to save TV? By providing features that pre-recorded alternatives can't offer. For the most part that means enhancing Live TV. You want to see sport stats of the player that's up to bat? Good, its right here. Can't decide what to watch? Have your TV remind you when favorite shows are coming on based on your viewing history. Want a little trivia info on the current movie/actor? Bam!

    TV was traditionally passive and it failed. I don't want to watch reruns and I don't want to have to wait 15 minutes for the next episode to start because its borrrinngggg. TV needs work to keep people interested or else they'll go to streaming options. Don't fight it. Don't pretend its not an issue because it is. What makes me think I can speak on the subject? I work for an telecom that has IPTV offerings and spent about a year doing application development and server administration for the IPTV service. A lot of that time was dealing with marketing and understanding the trends in the market to keep my job.

  12. Re:This is why I will never trust cloud services on IT Pros Can't Resist Peeking At Privileged Info · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I disagree.... a person lacking confidence would probably be pissed no matter what and was just looking for validation. My friends and I in the same field openly discuss our wages/benefits only to know what's available out there. Am I getting screwed? Why is my pay lower? Is the grass *really* greener? No one openly gets upset with it.

  13. Re:Can't someone sue the carriers? on Android Dev Demonstrates CarrierIQ Phone Logging Software On Video · · Score: 1

    Depends on where you're from. In parts Canada we have privacy laws that state that if a company is going to receive private information from you they have to explicitly disclose how/where it will be used. Failure to notify the customer when you are about to use the data for an unintended purpose can weigh a hefty fine on the company.

    Where the ambiguity comes in is where we draw the line as "private information". Is your conversation or web history considered private? You'd have to convince the courts should you take it that far.
    Source: Ex-programmer for telecom provider within Canada from the billing and revenue software department. We had privacy laws rammed down our throat due to our access to production databases.

  14. Re:I have an easier idea... on EU Targets Facebook's Ad System · · Score: 1

    Personal rule of thumb: Don't share anything on FB you wouldn't willingly share to a person you got stuck in a broken elevator with.

  15. No shit. on Lying Is More Common When We Email · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Haven't we already learned this from such "discussion mediums" as the Slashdot comment section? Its easier to lie when you don't have to cover your body language, quivers in voice or other "give aways".

  16. Incompitence == Raise! on Debt Reduction Super Committee Fails To Agree · · Score: 1

    Am I the only one who thinks that since they failed to do their mandated job they shouldn't have that job any longer? If I was given an explicit task (and not an overly abstract or vague one at that) and told to complete it by a certain date, I'd be expected to produce something at the very end. If what I provided was a list of places I could point my finger then I'd be out on my ass!

  17. Re:Downtime on A Cognitive Teardown of Angry Birds · · Score: 1

    But why was it "Angry Birds" instead of "Alternative minigame X"? That's the point of writing articles/researching topics like this. What made Angry Birds the winner and not something else? In many cases its simply Marketing or Timing that win the pot but it doesn't mean it can't be fun to investigate deeper reasons.

  18. Re:The inevitable comparison, so let's get it over on Modern Warfare 3 Released · · Score: 1

    You're right... but it doesn't mean he's wrong. I was a "hardcore gamer" in highschool and university (until I took uni seriously). I graduated and have almost everything you list to care for but it doesn't mean I still call myself "hardcore" because I *know* that's a lie. The torch has been passed. These 14 y/o squeeky things I find online are the new hardcores and as much as it pains me to say it... they're better.

    So yeah I'm a casual. Most of my friends are too. We want instant gratification, not 50hrs of learning curve before "enjoyment" starts because 50hrs of play can be upwards of 6 months to a year and by then another game we're interested in has been released.

  19. Shit Summary on Hardware Running Android Fails More Than iPhone, BlackBerry Hardware · · Score: 1

    Yay another flamebait article!

    The article states that since low end "smartphones" are being installed with Android it is costing carriers more in warranty and repair costs. It has nothing to do with the Android platform and is more of a side effect where the cheap manufacturers elected to go with Android over another OS.

  20. Re:hmm on Angry Birds Downloads Pass Half-Billion Mark · · Score: 1

    Consider how much investment you want from a developer to entertain you while you poop? Personally I wouldn't be willing to pay for a game that only gets my attention during that period of the day. So having said that, why should the developer try to create the next big blockbuster with an enormous amount of development time to capture the same market that they'd capture by developing a mini-game?

    If you're getting these free games to occupy an hour or so of your free time and complaining about repetitiveness I think you need to reevaluate what you spend your time with because these games aren't supposed to make you want to book time out of your day to play them like console games with multiplayer and the like are.

  21. Dead Man's Switch on Ask Slashdot: How To Securely Share Passwords? · · Score: 4, Informative

    I've posted this previously but I keep thinking it deserves merit:

    Dead Man's Switch

    Its a project that emails you periodically. If you don't respond it fires off a pre-defined message to a set of individuals you've chosen. Full disclaimer here, I have nothing to do with the project and I have not yet tested it myself but it doesn't seem like a difficult system to set up.... cron job + mail server + port listening app.

  22. Re:What is Spear Phishing ? on Spear Phishing Campaign Hits Dozens of Chemical, Defense Firms · · Score: 1

    Or you know.... google

  23. Re:You think the housing collapse was bad on US Student Loans Exceed $1 Trillion · · Score: 1

    Little Johnny is allowed to refine that vision as he's provided more experience and insight afterall... There's such a thing as getting 1 or 2 years into a degree and going "Maybe this isn't for me" or "I don't think I can do anything with this degree."

  24. Re:All Hell? on Look Ma, I'm Getting Arrested! · · Score: 1

    Check this out: http://beta.deadmansswitch.net/

    Its a service that you register with that periodically sends you emails you must respond to. If you don't respond to the email the service assumes you've passed away and then sends out an email to the people you indicated previously. I haven't given it a try yet but it might be handy to have for when I keel off and business partners need access to my data.

  25. Re:Why don't Valve innovate then? on Valve Boss Expects Apple To Challenge Game Consoles · · Score: 1

    Its simpler than that I think. Apple TV tied into an iPad or iPhone works pretty fluently with the provided apps (not 3rd party). The example I can think of witnessing is the MLB app where you watch the game(s) but your iDevice shows stats that you can browse and interact with relating to the game.

    Extend that idea to an "app" being a game and your iDevice being the controller and Apple TV being this "Mystery Box" and you suddenly have a game console.

    The hardware would need improvement to be a true gaming experience but that's not to say it is a stretch.