Slashdot Mirror


User: wastedlife

wastedlife's activity in the archive.

Stories
0
Comments
730
First seen
Last seen
Profile
(view on slashdot.org)

Comments · 730

  1. Re:May I be the first to say on Astonishing Speedup In Solving Linear SDD Systems · · Score: 1

    New brooms sweep clear. Two wrongs don't make a right. A penny saved is a penny earned.
    Interpretation: A flawed article will require a lot of effort to work with Loose lips sink
    ships.
    Yogi Berra Variant: It's not over till it's over. Common sense to a limit is Natural; But
    more of it is Genius The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.
    --Mahatma Gandhi
    All frills and no knickers. As good as Greg. Theakston me, but Theakston my brother and
    you'll have God to answer to First deserve then desire.
    There shallow Draughts intoxicate the Brain, If the dog hadn't stopped to take a #### in
    the woods, he would have caught the rabbit. Never shove your Granny when she's shaving.
    Blood will out. An apple a day keeps the doctor away. Going the whole nine yards.
    Different sores must have different salves. Don't make a mountain out of a molehill. If
    you practice wrong you will always do it wrong No crows, no cares.
    The beauty of things lies in the mind that contemplates it Possible Interpretation: Women
    do not like the nice guys. Hair of the dog that bit you. While there's life, there's hope.
    It's better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.

    Hello my friend!

    I am ready to kill myself and eat my dog, if medicine prices here (http://slashdot.org) are bad.

    Look, the site and call me 1-800 if its wrong..

    My dog and I are still alive :)

  2. Re:I hadn't heard about these. on Austria's 'Bionic Man' Dies In Car Crash · · Score: 1

    From Slashdot's FAQ:

    Slashdot seems to be very U.S.-centric. Do you have any plans to be more international in your scope?

    Slashdot is U.S.-centric. We readily admit this, and really don't see it as a problem. Slashdot is run by Americans, after all, and the vast majority of our readership is in the U.S. We're certainly not opposed to doing more international stories, but we don't have any formal plans for making that happen. All we can really tell you is that if you're outside the U.S. and you have news, submit it, and if it looks interesting, we'll post it.

    It is worth noting that there is a Japanese Slashdot run by VA Japan. While we helped them a little in their early days, they essentially run their own content without any real involvement from us... none of us can read Kanji! There are currently no plans to do other language or nation specific Slashdot sites.

    Answered by: CmdrTaco
    Last Modified: 10/3/04

    There it is, straight from the horse's mouth. Slashdot is a U.S. site, so expect all kinds of backwards things from us hicks. Expect Fahrenheit for temperatures, and the Imperial system for most measurements. When you visit a site run by a different culture, you should expect that they will use systems they are familiar with and use regularly. When I visit a British site, for example, I expect temperatures in Celsius and measurements in Metric. I also expect to see a lot of superfluous letters in words like color (colour) and aluminum (aluminium).

    Also, as sumdumass stated, when measuring temperature in an inhabitable region of Earth, Fahrenheit is the only system that makes sense with a at a temperature of 70. So, if you feel the need to ask, then you are either mentally retarded or being pedantic.

  3. Re:May I be the first to say on Astonishing Speedup In Solving Linear SDD Systems · · Score: 1

    Developers out there who maintain matrix packages and linear algebra tools might want to take a peak at the paper.

    Nevermind, I see now what ghostweed was talking about. Would help if he quoted that and made a new thread instead of replying to a random thread with seemingly random babble that makes Spamland seem coherent.

  4. Re:May I be the first to say on Astonishing Speedup In Solving Linear SDD Systems · · Score: 1

    Huh??

  5. Re:Pay attention class... on Canada Says Google Wi-Fi Sniffing Collected Personal Data · · Score: 1

    If its an automated download of everything that is available, sort of like a wget, then you can argue the stuff should have been secured.

    From what I understand, this is the case. Google's intent was to record locations of open access points in order to use as either coarse location(for Android or maybe ChromeOS, or even to compete against a similar service that I can't recall the name of) or a public WiFi database. The implementation was to have it sniff out unencrypted packets and record it to later strip out the SSID information. What they didn't consider was the ignorant masses broadcasting private information over open WiFi and the implications of recording it. If they had put a little more effort into the implementation to strip it down to just the SSID information before recording it to disk they would have needed less disk space on these computers and would have saved themselves from this headache.

    Much of this is as stated by Google, so should be taken with a grain of salt. I personally find it to be the more likely cause, and also have no sympathy for those that do not encrypt their wireless connection or at least the private data they are transmitting. Open WiFi is just that, open. It is the equivalent of yelling through windows to your neighbor across the street instead of calling them. Anyone can overhear everything you say in this manner. Encrypted wifi is still yelling across the street, but at least you are using your secret decoder rings to keep prying ears from understanding it, even if they overhear it.

  6. Re:7.0? Really? on Google Rolls Out Chrome 7 · · Score: 1

    The base for Chrome, chromium, is open source. I'm not sure how much, if any, code is proprietary in the Google Chrome binaries, but from using builds based on the open-source code there does not seem to be much difference. Opera, AFIAK, is mostly, if not completely, closed-source. Firefox is open-source, but Mozilla has strict rules on branding of builds not compiled by them (the reason for "IceWeasel" in Debian).

    The difference between Microsoft calling NT 6.1 "seven" is that it is pure marketing. The version number that the kernel announces is 6.1.XXXX and this is for compatibility reasons. Microsoft tells developers that point releases should not break compatibility or at least have a very small impact. Software written for Windows 2000 (NT 5.0) generally works with XP (NT 5.1) and 2003 (NT 5.2). However, there is a good chance it will face compatibility issues with Vista/2008 (NT 6.0) or 7/2008 R2 (NT 6.1). Firefox has a similar versioning system related partly to extension compatibility. They do a X.Y.Z version, with changes to Z having nearly no impact to extensions, changes to Y having possible impact, and changes to X potentially completely disrupting compatibility. Unless Google has a stated policy for versioning, they can call it Chrome 6000.50 and it really won't matter.

  7. Re:Dead? on Benoit Mandelbrot Dies At 85 · · Score: 1
  8. Re:Dead? on Benoit Mandelbrot Dies At 85 · · Score: 1

    "Mandelbrot's in Heaven.
    At least, he is now that he's dead.
    When I first wrote this song, he was teaching math at Yale."

    Could probably be cleaned up to be more respectful but this gets the point across and fits the beat of the song.

  9. Re:AT&T and Blackberry Maps on G2 Detects When Rooted and Reinstalls Stock OS · · Score: 1

    IANAL, but as I understand it, you own a subsidized purchase, but can be liable for breach of contract if you do not follow the stipulations. Usually this pertains to keeping your account in good standing and keeping service for x number of years. Also, normally in the case of subsidized phones, the penalty for breaching the contract is the ETF and the amount is agreed upon in the contract. I'd recommend checking the contract and seeing if they stipulate that they can remotely disable software. I doubt they do, but it is certainly possible. If they do not stipulate this in the contract, you may be able to use it as an excuse to break the contract and end service without incurring the ETF.

  10. Re:AT&T and Blackberry Maps on G2 Detects When Rooted and Reinstalls Stock OS · · Score: 1

    Nook disabling/erasing itself when it detects that it is in a different region is quite a bit different from AT&T deleting software from another party installed on the phone. To make a car analogy, coats's situation would be like the dealership remotely disabling the replacement stereo you installed, while yours is like the onboard navigation disabling itself when being driven in a different country.

  11. Re:Original Source and Actual Paper on Linux May Need a Rewrite Beyond 48 Cores · · Score: 2, Informative

    While NT was originally supposed to be called OS/2 3.0, it was a new OS developed by Cutler and some other devs from DEC, not continued development of the OS/2 code.

  12. Re:Not as Sharp on Google Releases New Image Format Called WebP · · Score: 1

    Say they use this for google image search. To simplify the math, if they serve 100 images at 100 kilobytes each to 10000000 users, thats 100000000000 KB of data or about 93 terabytes. 39% of that is about 36 terabytes of data they do not need to serve. While the 39 KB is chump change to each computer, it adds up when you scale to a huge operation like google.

  13. Re:Original Source and Actual Paper on Linux May Need a Rewrite Beyond 48 Cores · · Score: 1

    While I understand why they kept the version number at 6.1(the changes were definitely not as drastic as 5.2->6.0), I have trouble believing thats why it was named "7". Windows NT hasn't been referred to by its version number since 4.0. Why start now? And then why do something confusing like not naming after the actual version number? Then again, they started NT off with 3.1, with no 1.0 or 2.0 preceding it... This is one of many reasons why Marketing should not dictate version numbers.

  14. Re:No hardware? on HDCP Encryption/Decryption Code Released · · Score: 1

    HDMI capture cards exist right now but they aren't HDCP compliant. All a company has to do is produce an HDMI capture card which is no compliant but "just so happens" can be easily flashed to be HDCP compliant w/ a random valid HDCP key.

    They could accomplish this by selling hardware-identical HDCP and non-HDCP compliant devices. That way if they are questioned on why it is able to be flashed to contain a key, they can say it is to cut costs by having only one hardware revision.

  15. Re:Only Linux? on Linux May Need a Rewrite Beyond 48 Cores · · Score: 2, Informative

    They did not "rewrite the kernel" for 7. They updated the code, just like every other piece of software normally does when it moves from version to version. Rewriting the kernel implies that they tore it down and started over, which is most certainly not true. Vista/2008 is NT version 6.0, 7/2008 R2 is NT version 6.1, not a rewrite.

  16. Re:Original Source and Actual Paper on Linux May Need a Rewrite Beyond 48 Cores · · Score: 1, Redundant

    You've been misinformed, the NT executive is still alive and kicking:

    MinWin is not, in and of itself a kernel, but rather a set of components that includes both the Windows NT Executive and several other components that Russinovich has described as "Cutler's NT".[16]

    It's all still NT, Windows 7 is just NT version 6.1. I guess "6.1" doesn't have the same ring to it as a whole number. Will Windows 8 be NT 6.2, or will they move the version up to NT 7.0?

  17. Re:No hardware? on HDCP Encryption/Decryption Code Released · · Score: 1

    If part of the compression scheme trims inaudible sound ranges (I think MP3 does this), it could remove the watermark.

  18. Re:No hardware? on HDCP Encryption/Decryption Code Released · · Score: 1

    Good point. Just curious, is it known how the watermark is implanted into the video? Is it something that later versions of AnyDVD could detect and remove?

  19. Re:No hardware? on HDCP Encryption/Decryption Code Released · · Score: 1

    Thanks again! Is there anywhere you would recommend reading up on so I can educate myself on this further? Wikipedia's HDMI entry lacks much information on how this all works in hardware, although it does have information on CEC which I should have read before asking about how the devices control each other bidirectionally.

  20. Re:No hardware? on HDCP Encryption/Decryption Code Released · · Score: 1

    What? My point was that at the very least, the drivers would need to be heavily altered or replaced to use the GPU to receive through HDMI instead of send. The AC later went on to explain why that is not possible or at least is incredibly unlikely that there is receive-capable HDMI hardware in the video card. None of this had anything to do with Linux vs. Windows and I have no idea what gave you that impression.

  21. Re:No hardware? on HDCP Encryption/Decryption Code Released · · Score: 1

    Bluray itself has long been cracked, it would be far simpler to just strip the DRM from the data on the disc than to try to capture the playing video in real-time. HDCP being cracked has far more implications for recording broadcast media instead of fixed media like bluray. It does reopen the "analog hole" for newer formats until they are broken though. However, there are no HDMI input devices for computers that I have seen.

  22. Re:No hardware? on HDCP Encryption/Decryption Code Released · · Score: 1

    Thanks for clarifying, I had been told at some point that they were identical and that communication was done as equal peers, similar to Firewire. Is this at least partly true? For example, a PS3 (normally the output device), can receive commands from a Sony TV (normally the input device) over the HDMI connection. Or is this a case of Sony using chips that can switch between source and sink in both devices? Thank you again for correcting me, and I apologize that we got off on the wrong foot.

  23. Re:No hardware? on HDCP Encryption/Decryption Code Released · · Score: 1

    Hardware-wise, HDMI receivers and transmitters are identical. Now, for a GPU to utilize the HDMI as input, if possible, would at least require significant changes to the drivers and possibly firmware of the unit. I should have stressed that I meant that specialized drivers would be the bare-minimum of changes that would need to take place. You cannot just use a piece of software to start recording from HDMI.

  24. Re:No hardware? on HDCP Encryption/Decryption Code Released · · Score: 1

    Okay, show me a white paper or proof of concept or anything where this has been done, or even where someone with expertise on this talks about how it could be done. Hell, even an argument on why you think I am wrong would be something. A one-word AC response is, frankly, bullshit.

  25. Re:It's all in the name on OpenOffice.org Declares Independence From Oracle, Becomes LibreOffice · · Score: 1

    Sorry, I meant print to screen, doesn't need to readable, just let it scroll quickly. Not sure how fast that would go, but I imagine modern processors could go faster than 1000 lines per second. Also, I was hoping someone would figure out what the number is, it is the maximum number of an unsigned longint plus 1.