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User: skywiseguy

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  1. Re:Expect drama on Stolen Patreon User Data Dumped On Internet · · Score: 1

    I suppose, then, that from this video we can only assume that "JustAnotherOldGuy" **also** said "EVERYTHING is sexist, EVERYTHING is racist, EVERYTHING is homophobic, and you have to point it all out." I mean, if we can just ignore context for the sake of scoring political points against those with whom we disagree, then everything and anything is fair game.

  2. Re:I think you can dial back the drama on Ask Slashdot: At What Point Has a Kickstarter Project Failed? · · Score: 1

    Consider that they have refused to communicate with backers for many months before these updates happened. And the latest update is to say how they're in the design stage, when the project was supposed to actually *build* something, and was handsomely funded to do so to the tune of over 6x their initial estimate. And that product was supposed to ship a full year before this latest update says they can ship the newly designed products. Excuse me if there isn't some cynicism on my part. I read this project as a "How to piss people off to the point they will sue you into poverty" primer.

  3. Re:Contractual obligations on Ask Slashdot: At What Point Has a Kickstarter Project Failed? · · Score: 1

    if they have posted every couple weeks, it has only been to say "Thanks for all the positive comments" in a form letter. It is quite clear from the comments that none of them are in any way positive. Plus there is the fact that they asked for $50,000 and got $340,000+ and are only now beginning design and saying they don't have enough money to build what they promised in the first place. The latest update says they expect to ship in 30 weeks, but they've already missed two other ship dates since the project was funded. There are lots of flags all over if you delve into the comment history and see how these people have mishandled communication with their backers.

  4. Re:Bad investment on Ask Slashdot: At What Point Has a Kickstarter Project Failed? · · Score: 1

    It's more a matter of wanting to be a part of something that could be "the next big thing" while it is still trying to get off the ground. I am very cautious about how I would like to invest my money, but I still like the idea of helping bring something innovative to the market. In the end, it comes down to the fact I have little faith that kickstarter will have anyone's interests but their own when it comes to scammers. KS's attitude seems to be "we got our money, too bad about yours" and that does not seem fair to me, as a backer of KS projects.

  5. Re:Failure depends on your personal definition on Ask Slashdot: At What Point Has a Kickstarter Project Failed? · · Score: 1

    I honestly have no problem funding something from a reputable source. The only project I've participated in was a very reputable project. But when I read through the comments of the Eyez backers, and KS is telling them that their hands are tied and KS can do nothing whatsoever other than ask the project to update their backers, it makes me wonder how projects are vetted to be funded, if at all. if any Joe Sixpack can just put up a site with a flashy demo then flee the country once the money comes in, I don't see how KS can prevent this from becoming more and more frequent without a major revision to their TOS.

  6. Re:The real problem on Ask Slashdot: At What Point Has a Kickstarter Project Failed? · · Score: 1

    I am continually getting the impression that the only difference between Kickstarter and a Nigerian 419 scam is that you have a chance of getting your money back if the project does not meet its funding goal. it would be nice if they could do something to assure backers that projects won't just take all the money and never show up again, although i'm not sure how that could be accomplished right now...

  7. Re:You're not the only one still on XP .... on Windows Vista Enters Extended Support · · Score: 1

    Have you tried using Print Manager in Windows 7 to install your plotter drivers? I've found it to be very versatile when dealing with random print drivers that won't install the usual way.

  8. Re:A little unclear on the concept... on Ask Slashdot: How To Inform a Non-Techie About Proposed Copyright Laws · · Score: 1

    except his position is that if the laws were adequate, a site like MegaUpload would not have been able to flourish as well as it did.

  9. Re:You may not be able to convince him on Ask Slashdot: How To Inform a Non-Techie About Proposed Copyright Laws · · Score: 1

    actually, he complains all the time that the opponents of SOPA tell him the sky is falling when he does not think it is. so unbiased means something that does not resort to hyperbole to make the point. i'm pretty sure he will not be convinced, he actually said he'd like to see something *like* the DMCA but not like the DMCA to replace what has become of SOPA. but at least i want to make him understand the issue, as he does not seem to get it at all right now.

  10. Re:Who decided? on Newly-Discovered Arm of Milky Way Gives Warped Structure · · Score: 1

    Maybe what we call arms are really the Milky Way's hair. If that were the case it might just throw all of our understanding of cosmology out the proverbial window.

    no, you're thinking of cosmetology....

  11. Re:Bravo Japan! on Japan Says No To PlayStation Network Restart · · Score: 2

    wow, someone read bruce schneier's interview on kotaku about the PSN outage!

  12. Re:Prevent the TSA? on US Congress Tries To Cut Body Scanner Funding · · Score: 1

    except that the TSA does nothing but grope babies and keep you from taking toothpaste and contact lens fluid on a plane. i have personally lost two of those TSA "master lock" luggage locks because they either took them off and kept them, or cut them off and threw them away. either way, the TSA needs to go no matter who the government invents as the next boogeyman to frighten us all in our sleep.

  13. Re:Blog comments on Playstation To Restore Services This Week · · Score: 1

    sony did this once before, with a fake movie reviewer: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/4741259.stm

  14. Re:Fake Dogs?!? on Forging a Head: The Upside of Scientific Hoaxes · · Score: 1

    Seriously. Labs and Poodles should never be in the same room together, let alone mated.

    black labs will pretty much mate with anything that goes on four legs, and some that walk on two

  15. Re:Yay on Sweden May Mandate Opt-in For Cookie Transfer · · Score: 1

    it would be nice if browsers did this on their own without the need for plugins...

  16. Re:Potentially game-changer? on Robo-Gunsight System Makes Sniper's Life Easier · · Score: 1

    doesn't this sort of defeat the purpose of a sniper to begin with?

  17. Re:Same legal protections? on EFF Advocates Leaving Wireless Routers Open · · Score: 1

    this is why you politely ask your neighbor to chip in for the connection. if they're willing to split the bill, they should be willing to pay a bit extra when they want more bandwidth. i always share my wifi with neighbors if they're willing to pay for their share...

  18. there are other websites, espn360 is not unique on Disney Strikes Against Net Neutrality · · Score: 1

    there are other websites out there that stream live sports, it's not like espn360 is unique in the content they deliver. this is just extortion at its base level, from a company that has the legal muscle to do pretty much whatever they feel like doing. if you want to watch a live baseball game, MLB has a pay per view site. if you want to watch tennis, there's a pay per view site for that too. in addition to at least one free site that i've used for all sports, www.myp2p.eu

  19. Re:Spam vs. unwanted e-mail on Opting Out Increases Spam? · · Score: 1

    better yet, if you get email from a marketing place that you would rather not receive, just flag it as spam and eventually you'll stop receiving those emails without having to confirm your own email to the return server

  20. Re:Enter the Physics vs. Math Holy War. on Good Physics Books For a Math PhD Student? · · Score: 1

    Hey, I'm a computer scientist (well, at the moment I'm a writer, but my PhD is in computer science). Over here we stick to rational numbers - none of that wooly irrational or (worse) imaginary stuff!

    as a double major in physics and computer science with a minor in math, i have to disagree with comp sci not having imaginary stuff. didn't you have to take the theory of computation? if ever there was a case for imaginary topics in comp sci, that would be the one.

  21. Re:PDEs now? on Good Physics Books For a Math PhD Student? · · Score: 1

    when i took PDE's as an undergrad in my physics major, we didn't really learn anything except how to regurgitate solutions to standard forms. i *wish* i could have studied how to actually solve those things, but instead i ended up with an open book/open notes final exam where the prof's "review" consisted of giving us the answers to every question he was going to ask on the exam....

  22. match made in heaven on Philosophy and Computer Science Revisited · · Score: 1

    as someone who suffered through two semesters of computational theory i have to say that philosophy and computer science are made for each other.

  23. Re:possibly gaming the system? on Project Turns GPS Phones Into Traffic Reporters · · Score: 1

    it's as dangerous as the driver who does it. i won't do it if traffic is going faster than about 40 mph, but you see guys doing at at 90+ mph, and *that* is definitely suicide, imho

  24. possibly gaming the system? on Project Turns GPS Phones Into Traffic Reporters · · Score: 1

    as a biker, i have to think that i and my fellow bikers would be reporting incorrect traffic data to the server since we are allowed to split the lanes in california. at this point there are probably not enough bikes on the road to make a serious dent in a normal use of the apps, but if all of us used it and very few cars did, would it not report incorrect traffic flow?

  25. Re:Faster than Vista! on Ubuntu 8.10 Outperforms Windows Vista · · Score: 1

    good point. although in the last job i had, we made sure that the software we required our users to have didn't bloat the system to unusability. that included turning off all of the "phone home" features and any unnecessary system tray programs. but YMMV as the saying goes...