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User: nomadic

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Comments · 9,486

  1. you know on GOG: How an Indie Game Store Took On the Pirates and Won · · Score: 1

    I've been gaming since the mid 80's and I've got to say, a lot of people seem to forget that DRM didn't just coalesce out of evilness; it was instituted because a lot of people over a lot of years never bought games, they just pirated them. If you want to argue that nowadays some situation has changed that makes DRM unnecessary, fine, but don't pretend that piracy hasn't been a problem for a long time; a lot of smaller developers back in the day went out of business because of it.

  2. Re:Addressing only half the battle. on GOG: How an Indie Game Store Took On the Pirates and Won · · Score: 1

    "I like watching Big Bang Theory, and it's one of only two shows that both my wife and I enjoy. We try to be "legit" and watch it on CBS.com, but the commercials are a nightmare! Each commercial break is two and a half minutes long, and you have to sit through four of them per episode."

    Geeze, two and a half minutes? Those kinds of gaps really add up, you might have to spend up to 10 or 15 minutes a night talking to your wife. What a horrible situation.

  3. Re:Hard to know whom to believe on Climate Treaty Negotiators Are Taking the Wrong Approach, Say Game Theorists · · Score: 2

    Only the Daily Mail's article you so desperately want to be a true was, in fact, a lie:

    http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/oct/16/daily-mail-global-warming-stopped-wrong

  4. Re:Look to the military on Airlines Face Acute Pilot Shortage · · Score: 1

    The problem is under current labor law this kind of contract would not be enforced in a lot of state. It's not a bad idea, you just need a federal statute allowing that kind of arrangement, and some kind of oversight system to prevent the airlines from abusing it.

  5. Re:no on Study Claims Human Intelligence Peaked Two To Six Millennia Ago · · Score: 1

    Oh I'm not saying the author is right; in fact, I think he's probably wrong, way too much conjecture there. I just found a lot of the criticisms here didn't make too much sense.

  6. Re:no on Study Claims Human Intelligence Peaked Two To Six Millennia Ago · · Score: 1

    Epigenetics is still driven by natural selection. If you can present evidence that changes in subsistence technology have modified intelligence in sufficient amounts to counter what he's describing I'd love to hear it.

  7. Re:no on Study Claims Human Intelligence Peaked Two To Six Millennia Ago · · Score: 1

    Only to the extent that culture impacts selective pressure.

  8. Re:no on Study Claims Human Intelligence Peaked Two To Six Millennia Ago · · Score: 1

    His theory is based on gene expression and mutation. What on earth does cultural evolution have to do with it?

  9. Re:no on Study Claims Human Intelligence Peaked Two To Six Millennia Ago · · Score: 1

    Yeah that was a weird comment. I'm guessing the guy just barely passed calculus so that's why he thinks it's some great intellectual achievement.

  10. Re:Is this supposed to be humorous? on Review: World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria (video) · · Score: 1

    Thank you! I have been wondering the same thing; I don't play WoW so I could be wrong but I thought its whole aesthetic sense was just stolen from Warhammer, and anthropomorphic pandas seem tremendously silly for a dark fantasy theme.

  11. Re:Rats. on Windows Chief Steven Sinofsky Leaves Microsoft · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Actually you're right, the source I found online said profit, but looks like that was just a mistake. The whole thing is Microsoft can keep trying and failing to be Apple in the consumer sphere because they just have enormous revenue streams from their business and server divisions, and wishful thinking on slashdot won't change that.

  12. Re:Rats. on Windows Chief Steven Sinofsky Leaves Microsoft · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Microsoft's profit was $16 billion first quarter. I wish my ship was sinking like that.

    Shall we compare that to Red Hat? It seems that every time someone leaves Microsoft we get this gleeful rats/ships metaphor on Slashdot going back decades, but Microsoft has been and continues to be a fantastically successful company.

  13. I think this would work great if the STEM shortage wasn't a complete myth. Go chat with people with bachelors in STEM subjects as they're putting foam in your latte and get their perspective. Or with STEM post-docs on year 10 of making 30k a year.

  14. Re:Stupid Idea on Tuition Should Be Lower For Science Majors, Says Florida Task Force · · Score: 3, Insightful

    By that logic you are going to find the most well-educated, hardest-working scientists in states that have been dominated by conservatives. I guess that would explain why Alabama is such a scientific powerhouse.

  15. Re:Tuition should be lower /period/ on Tuition Should Be Lower For Science Majors, Says Florida Task Force · · Score: 1

    "I absolutely disagree. The inevitable result of low tuition is lowering the bar, vastly more students who don't take it seriously, and a drastic educational quality reduction for everyone, diluting all degrees."

    So your hypothesis is students today are far more serious than students from 40 years ago? Well, it's bold, I'll grant you that.

  16. uhh on Nate Silver's Numbers Indicate Probable Obama Win, World Agrees · · Score: 5, Interesting

    The link to FiveThirtyEight says Silver predicts an 86.3% chance of an Obama victory. The "97%" link is to an anonymous python script and output at a different site. Could we get some context here?

  17. Re:Post-truth politics on Nonpartisan Tax Report Removed After Republican Protest · · Score: 3, Insightful

    "don't you find equally mockable all those many deluded leftists who seem to possess nothing but a blind faith in government to solve all their problems?"

    You mean that giant mass of invisible strawmen that don't really exist in real life?

  18. Re:A religion is just a set of beliefs on Shut Up and Play Nice: How the Western World Is Limiting Free Speech · · Score: 1
    Who said it was ok? Your own article shows that it has been loudly and violently opposed in Pakistan.

    Her shooting launched an unprecedented outcry, cross-cutting through Pakistan's complex religious and political lines. Political leaders from all parties, even those with historical ties to the Taliban, have condemned the attack. Pakistan's normally reclusive army chief and the country's prime minister made personal visits to see her in the hospital. "It's united the entire nation," said Farzani Bari, a women's rights activist. "Everybody feels the same way. If you can't protect your own children, then what kind of future is there for this country? Initially, Pakistanis began protesting the attack in small numbers, with sporadic rallies and candlelit vigils attended, in some cases, by just dozens of well-wishers. As news of the attack on her spread, and politicians began making more forceful condemnations, the numbers quickly swelled. Tens of thousands took to the streets Sunday in a political rally in Karachi, Pakistan's largest city. Young children carried placards with Malala's picture, and Altaf Hussain, the leader of Pakistan's Muttahida Qaumi Movement, a key political party in Karachi, referred to her as "the daughter of the nation."

  19. Re:There's a good dog on The Long Reach of US Extradition · · Score: 1

    The corporation head that has exercised the most influence in US government action over the past two decades is Rupert Murdoch. Thanks, Australia.

  20. Re:I hate to admit it, but this is as good as "Sok on Randomly Generated Math Article Accepted By 'Open-Access' Journal · · Score: 1

    "He would sooo be hauled out and crucified if he tried this today and characterized the content "Left-wing"."

    Uhh...by who?

  21. Re:Legal? on Paypal Slips 'No Class Action' Clause Into Policy Update · · Score: 1

    Just a side note, in some types of class actions you really are forced to participate, though I think most class actions against Paypal would not fall under those categories.

  22. Re:Legal? on Paypal Slips 'No Class Action' Clause Into Policy Update · · Score: 1

    Yep, IAAL and I don't go near real estate, too specialized and the body of law is literally medievally complicated. Leave it to specialists. Though I will say the only thing more important than having a real estate lawyer on your side is going with a reputable title insurance company.

  23. Re:Legal? on Paypal Slips 'No Class Action' Clause Into Policy Update · · Score: 1

    "Lawyers actually disbar each other?"

    All the time.

    "Has the Mass bar even begun to investigate Lizzie "Fauxcahontas" Warren practicing law without a license yet?"

    Oh, you're a wingnut. Nevermind.

  24. Re:Why Don't OEMs Get Together and Invest In Linux on Steve Ballmer: We're a Devices and Services Company · · Score: 1

    Apple beat Google to market and still are far behind in market share; there are enough people using Android that users will accept a desktop version. Whether all handset manufacturers are making a profit right now on it isn't especially relevant.

  25. Re:I stopped at water quota. on A Day in Your Life, Fifteen Years From Now · · Score: 1

    Desalinization on a large scale would devastate coastal ecosystems, you have to do something with all that salt or brine.