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User: RackinFrackin

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Comments · 276

  1. Re:I must be confused....the 4 color theorem.... on The End of Mathematical Proofs by Humans? · · Score: 1

    You are confusing chromatic number and chromatic index.

    The chromatic number of a graph is the minimum number of colours required to colour the vertices such that no two adjacent vertices have the same colour.

    The chromatic index or edge-chromatic number is the miniumum number of colours required to colour the edges of a graph such each vertex is incident with at most one edge of each colour.

  2. Re:Dang it... on iPodlounge Releases 2005 iPod Guide · · Score: 1

    and it duped me into googling for it.

    Doh!

  3. Re:Dang it... on iPodlounge Releases 2005 iPod Guide · · Score: 1

    You're selling your '1337 hax0r m4d ski11z short here. A 747 cruises at closer to 550mph than 200mph.

  4. Re:Oh I See! on Professor Finds Fault with MS Grammar Checker · · Score: 1
  5. Re:It's a pyramid scheme on Inside the Free iPod Offer · · Score: 1

    Order of operations is important.

    1+5*5^2*5^3=156

    1+5*5^2*5^3=15626

    1+4*4^2*4^3=85

    1+4*4^2*4^3=4097

  6. Re:Science's dependence on MS Office on In Which OS Do You Feel More Productive? · · Score: 1

    If there's a certain type of document that you need to produce, you can probably collect a few sample documents, make templates out of them, and fill them in.

    I mainly use LaTeX to write math tests, lecture notes, and research papers. When I first started, I got a few sample tests from friends, which had all the necessary header information, and plently of sample problems that showed how do to things like fractions, subscripts, matrices, radicals, etc. Occasionally I run into things that I don't know how to do, but google usually turns up the needed information, and quite often turns up sample code that I just cut and paste.

    After you use LaTeX for a while, the commands almost become natural. Quite often you can get the symbol you need by using a slash followed by the way the symbol is read ( \times for the multiplication symbol, \in for the set inclusion symbol).

    Every time I've needed to produce a new class of document (presentation, business letter, etc.) I've been able to find good template on the web.

  7. Re:Mouse or Paddles? on Atari 2600 Mac Mod · · Score: 1

    Thanks for appreciating my joke. Nice to find another old-school Commodore geek.

    On that note, SYS 64738

  8. Re:The Bible Tells Us So on Random Number Generator That Sees Into the Future · · Score: 1

    To be fair, Jonah was going on more information than just the lots that were cast. He knew that the the foul weather was being brought upon them because he was fleeing his responsibilities.

  9. Re:Mouse or Paddles? on Atari 2600 Mac Mod · · Score: 2, Informative

    Yes, it came with two joysticks and a pair of paddles. Actually, the paddles were cool in that both plugged into the same port, so you could connect four to the console. The 2600 doesn't get enough credit for being an early four-player console.

  10. Mouse or Paddles? on Atari 2600 Mac Mod · · Score: 5, Funny

    Does it have a mouse, or do you move the pointer using one paddle for x and the other for y? That might suck, but you'd have two mouse buttons!

    Disclaimer: I didn't read the article.

  11. Re:Eh on Apple Updates PowerBooks · · Score: 1

    Not the 12 inch. All ports on the 12 inch are on the left.

  12. Re:A Better Analogy: iPod=Messenger Bag on Is iPod the Razor or the Blade? · · Score: 1

    The statement "you don't have an iPod if you're not cool" is not the converse of the original statement--it is the inverse. The converse is "you have an ipod if you are cool".

    Your argument is completely correct, though, and applied to both the converse and inverse.

  13. Re:How far is your blockbuster? on Mac mini All About Movies? · · Score: 1

    no problem.

  14. Re:How far is your blockbuster? on Mac mini All About Movies? · · Score: 1

    But not as cold as minus 36 degrees Fahrenheit.

  15. Re:Something to think about... on Escape from the Universe · · Score: 1

    You don't seem to know what indeterminate means. Differences of the form (a-b), where a and b are infinite limits, are indeterminate for the reason you mentioned three levels up. By carefully selecting a and b, you can produce a difference having any possible value.

  16. Re:Something to think about... on Escape from the Universe · · Score: 1

    "half of infinity still infinity" is a dumb way of putting it. It's possible to concieve of some infinite values subtracting and leaving what most consider finite values, zero, or other infinite values that are still *less* than the original.

    These are two different operations. The grandparent is talking about dividing an infinite number by a finite nonzero number -- this always gives an infinite number. You are talking about taking the difference of two infinite numbers, which is indeterminate.

  17. Re:Try this on Spam and Spyware Too Much for Some Users · · Score: 1

    If Mac OS or any of the POSIX OS's had the market share, then there would be just as many problems.

    Yeah. This would be an issue with pretty much any OS ran by the majority of machines, and that is the problem. If ninety-something percent of home machines didn't run the same OS, then malware wouldn't be nearly as effective. If the market were shared more equitably by n OSs, then viruses wouldn't spread as quickly and the malware development costs would be driven up n-fold.

    Switching to a different OS is the immediate solution for the induividual user and is a small movement away from the near-monoculture that makes writing highly effective malware such a lucrative practice.

  18. Re:Legos: a closed, proprietary system on Build Your Own Lego Computer Case · · Score: 1

    Maybe an urban myth though.

    It's definitely not correct, at least not now. Lego sells green bricks in many of their sets, and in bulk.

  19. Re:-1, Troll on Think Secret Predicts Sub-$500 Headless Mac · · Score: 1

    Fast user switching is a poor substitute for virtual desktops.

    You can't just run the mouse off a side of the screen to get to a different desktop.

    You can't move a window from one desktop to another.

    You have to type a password each time you switch users.

    Each time you switch your iChat session logs out and in.

    These are just the problems that spring immediately to mind--I'm sure there are many more. Programs like Desktop Manager solve most of them, but integrated virtual desktops would be better.

  20. Computer Chronicles on Inside TechTV/G4 · · Score: 1

    I remember religously watching Computer Chronicles ...

    I just took a look at the Computer Chronices entry on the IMDB. The recommendations seem a bit, well, strange. If you like Computer Chronicles, they also recommend

    A Garfield Christmas Special (1987) (TV)
    The New Adventures of Pippi Longstocking (1988)
    American Bandstand's 30th Anniversary Special (1981) (TV)
    "Password Plus" (1979)
    "Square Pegs" (1982)
    "Let's Make a Deal" (1980)
    "The New Yankee Workshop" (1988)
    "Makin' It" (1979)
    "Family Ties" (1982)
    Norman Rockwell: An American Portrait (1987) (TV)

  21. Re:Sounds like a nut. on New Calendar Proposal · · Score: 1

    They want to say "I had tea and crumpets at 4 in the afternoon" and have everyone understand what time that refers to.

    This particular one probably wouldn't be an issue. Aren't most people who have tea and crumpets already on GMT? :)

  22. Re:That ol' integral joke on Mathematics and Sex · · Score: 1

    In LaTeX that would be

    $\int e^x = f(u_n)$

    That joke always bugged be because it lacks a differential after the integrand. However, it reminds me of a shirt I saw at Dragon*Con. Plain black with

    $\int_{10}^{13} 2x dx$ ?

    on the front in white.

  23. Re:nothing new on Network Scheduling to Mess with Tivo · · Score: 1

    I figure that TBS started their programs at 5 and 35 after the hour back in the 80s for two reasons: to keep the viewer on TBS, and cause them to miss the beginning of shows on other networks, and also so that the programs would usually appear alone in that timeslot in the (non-grid) TV listings.

    The motives of the networks are different now -- they want to prevent users from recording programs that conflict with their shows. Why else would they start programs one minute early? It's not like that's going to keep a viewer on the channel.

  24. Re:Become a diamond on Things To Do Before You Die · · Score: 1

    Actually, I came up with this line last weekend during a dinner conversation. I had not seen the comment to which you linked.

  25. Re:Become a diamond on Things To Do Before You Die · · Score: 5, Funny

    A LifeGem is a certified, high quality diamond created from the carbon of your loved one

    I can see this now. A guy proposing to his girl:

    Guy: I want to to have this. (Slips ring on her finger.) It was my grandmother.

    Girl: You mean it was your grandmother's ring?

    Guy: Ummm. No.....