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User: TranceThrust

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Comments · 66

  1. Exaggerated much? on Students Failing Because of Poor Grammar · · Score: 1

    While I definitely agree there is a problem with people not caring about proper writing (this is also the case with my native language, Dutch); I would say that "Academic papers are riddled with 'cuz'..." is a definite exaggeration. Never have I encountered such an article. I've seen some really badly written articles while still being reviewed (they didn't get accepted), and even those did not contain abbreviations such as 'cuz'.

  2. Logic and reason superior? on Why Programmers Need To Learn Statistics · · Score: 1

    Those two things is what statistics is based in the first place as well. Evidence etcetera comes second. If you can't blow logical counterarguments away you're probably wrong and you're indeed lacking in understanding.

  3. He just proved them right. on Austin Police Want Identities of Online Critics · · Score: 1, Insightful

    A police chief who wants to use the law to shut up those who criticize him. If this doesn't ring "police-state" alarm bells then I don't know what will. This chief should go.

  4. So what have we learned? on Spyware Prank Exposes Hospital Medical Records · · Score: 1

    Build-in a kill switch for when your spyware hits the wrong machines.

  5. Anonymous trial? on Model Drops Lawsuit After Outing Anonymous Blogger · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Following through after 'outing' seems a non-solution; you could still start cases you know you have a small (if any) chance of winning to 'out' someone.

    My initial reaction actually was people cannot and should not expect anonymity on the internet, unless extreme measures are taken which often still do not guarantee anonymity 100%. Furthermore, it is not something people should want; if crimes are committed via internet or with assistance of it, then through proper procedures law-enforcement should be able to track culprits.

    This however was not the case here, and so far I can see the only 'solution' would be to keep the identity of the accused anonymous during the trial and make it known only after a guilty verdict. This won't work, however, since often the daily life of the accused is relevant to the court proceedings; the accusing party has a right to be able to research what more the accused has been up to.
    Perhaps an anonymous trial is only feasible for a small subset of charges. Don't see it happening though, this is probably just a necessary evil.

    On a sidenote, if the charges are too ridiculous, any court would just dismiss the charges entirely without anyone being drawn out.

  6. Re:Self-incrimination becoming mandatory on In UK, Two Convicted of Refusing To Decrypt Data · · Score: 1

    That was my first thought too. In that light, can (couldn't) they still appeal, perhaps at an international court?

  7. Re:Yawn on XHTML 2 Cancelled · · Score: 1

    Best standard to date, no?

  8. Re:Single card, Dual GPU on SLI On Life Support For the AMD Platform · · Score: 1

    Two dual GPUs in SLI/Crossfire? Maybe?

  9. Re:Can you spell "MapReduce" Microsoft? on Microsoft Files For 3 Parallel Processing Patents · · Score: 1

    Not only MapReduce; the global description of the patent (input, partition, repartition, output) seems just to be a prehistoric version of partitioners like MeTiS, parkway, Mondriaan, Zoltan, etc. Prior art in abondance.

  10. Re:Uhuh on Microsoft Update Quietly Installs Firefox Extension · · Score: 1

    Agree, but perhaps keeping track of user-accepted plugins in a (weakly) encoded file, would make bypassing an illegal act?

  11. WebDAV used much? on Microsoft Downplays IIS Bug Threat · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Is Microsoft 'correct' in downplaying, in the sense that the particular vulnerable configuration mentioned is not used by many?

  12. Re:Don't use them on Study Shows "Secret Questions" Are Too Easily Guessed · · Score: 1

    The alternative of answering those questions truthfully and thus keeping this facility useless, would render password-protected access useless; pick your poison.

  13. Re:Overblown and then some on AP Suspends DoD Over Altered US Army Photo · · Score: 1

    I'm really going through some trouble trying *not* to quote FPS Doug here...

  14. Re:I hate string theory on Science's Alternative To an Intelligent Creator · · Score: 2, Insightful

    They aren't afraid. That's why if they encounter some new observation, they update theories to allow for those observations. If this is not reasonably possible, the theory goes down the toilet. In other words: theories, including string theory, are indeed based off of our observations, and not the other way around.

  15. Re:Don't install Lenny! on Debian Lenny Installer RC1 Arrives · · Score: 1

    That was Larry, not Lenny!

  16. Re:Here's a quick experiment on Resisting the PGP Whole Disk Encryption Craze · · Score: 2, Interesting

    It's not just 'a lot', it's unacceptable. HPC usually is about real-time performance or doing huge jobs as fast as possible. In the latter case; imagine waiting 3 years instead of 2 for a calculation to finish. Regarding real-time work, 30% cpu loss may very well be the difference between possible and impossible.