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User: belg4mit

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Comments · 1,464

  1. Re:Patent on Supreme Court Limits Patents Based On Laws of Nature · · Score: 1

    Yes, because nobody's ever transposed two keys when typing.

  2. Re:Patent on Supreme Court Limits Patents Based On Laws of Nature · · Score: 2

    That's BSAF, not 3M

  3. Re:Tempest in a teapot on Physicists Discover Evolutionary Laws of Language · · Score: 1

    the question they're asking - how do words change over time, in terms of coining, becoming current, and becoming obsolete - really isn't a question historical linguists are that concerned about.

    And why not? It seems a prefectly cromulent topic to explore.

  4. Re:44KHz on Why Distributing Music As 24-bit/192kHz Downloads Is Pointless · · Score: 3, Informative
  5. Re:Firefox 3.6 has lower RAM usage? on Ask Slashdot: Life After Firefox 3.6.x? · · Score: 2

    Cancelling some moderation here, but I finally went for 10 from 3.6 once the ESR was available. It's not been a nightmare, but certainly no picnic. Windows 7 now frequently suggests I close FF to free memory, whereas it never did before. I also get lots of slow script warnings I did not have before. The only pro I've found is that 10 is better at restoring eozens of tabs, as it does not try to load them all at once.

  6. Re:Killer apps? on DNA Nanorobot Halts Growth of Cancer Cells · · Score: 1

    "Written in blood" by Chris Lawson, in Asimov's (1999), "Centaurus: Best Australian Science Fiction", and volume 5 of the excellent "Year's Beat SF" edited by David G Hartwell.

  7. Re:Let's see what this means. on Google To Shutter Knol, Wave, Gears · · Score: 1

    Trends is just that, recent trends in what people search for.
    Timeline is chronological sort of results, allows you to see the rise and fall of a term like jabberwocky, etc.

  8. Fuck google, give me my timeline on Google To Shutter Knol, Wave, Gears · · Score: 1

    It's not even a seprate product, just a useful interface to search (they've since hidden away).
    Very useful to explore news coverage, prevalence of terminology, etc.

    Gears' and Wave are non-news, previously announced... indeed Gears has been death row almost a year now

  9. Re:Recoup the lobby dollars on France To Tax the Internet To Pay For Music · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Where do you pay an explicit "school tax?" It's usually taken out of property taxes and other general funding streams.
    Regardless, educated masses (even only semi-educated ones) are a public good, and you are paying for the benefits
    you reap or, if you wish, you are paying back the cost of your education.

  10. Re:Not flash drives or free software on Ask Slashdot: Good, Useful Free Software For Gifts? · · Score: 2, Insightful

    1) It's the thought and effort that counts
    2) It's a fucking stocking stuffer, not the "big gift from santa"

  11. Re:I gave gifts like this once. Everyone hated the on Ask Slashdot: Good, Useful Free Software For Gifts? · · Score: 1

    It's nothing like your anaology. People could use the software without becoming zealots.
    An office suite is generally useful, and not everybody wants to/can afford to pay Microsoft,
    or feels uncomfortable stealing.

    And in the case of the question at hand, what difference does it make to the brat if nerds
    have more than one reason for liking the games they are being given?

    Another layer of framing that might help a project like this would be to explain that the
    productivity software is "bullet-proofof", but in the event assistance is needed *with it*
    you'd be happy to help. If you're likelyto beroped into providing support anyhow, why
    not make it easy on yourself/

  12. Re:clothing to a business meeting on Microsoft Patent Aims To Curb Obnoxious Employee Behavior · · Score: 1

    Also by preventing plate rebound due to loss of glacial ice as run-off, depending on the locale.

  13. DeduceR or R Commander on Ask Slashdot: Statistical Analysis Packages For Libraries? · · Score: 1

    PSPP is a nice idea, but lacks functionality. SPSS is ridculously priced, even with IBM's "discount" for non-profits.
    DeduceR and R commander give you access to the full power of R under R GUI. DeduceR gives you spreadsheet
    like data entry and basic stats, and then you can load R Commander for a menu driven interface more advanced
    functions.

  14. Re:Not finished on Minecraft Is Finished · · Score: 1

    "It costs as much to bury a woman"

  15. Re:So who is the owner of the system? on Hacked MIT Server Used To Stage Attacks · · Score: 1

    That list would appear to be out of date. I queried the MOIRA database directly,
    and the record for this host (updated 2011-09-22) suggests it belongs to a student
    in civil engineering.

  16. Re:simple fix on Google Tweaks Algorithm As Concern Over Bing Grows · · Score: 1

    Ummm, there's a lab for that. Label/foo/bar gets split on / into sub-folders.

  17. Re:Once and for all on Are Power Users Too Cool For Ubuntu Unity? · · Score: 1

    There *can* be a distinction, my point has been there need not be,
    yet you initially cast upon the OP a distinction that was unnecessary.
    As I later clarified, the OP was likely speaking to form follows function*,
    just as Mr. Fry was.

    * Or in this case, form should follow from function.

  18. Re:Once and for all on Are Power Users Too Cool For Ubuntu Unity? · · Score: 1

    The words you claimed were distinct to make your argument: style and fashion.
    They are synonymous according to WordNet, The American Heritage Dictionary, Moby Thesaurus, etc.

  19. Re:Once and for all on Are Power Users Too Cool For Ubuntu Unity? · · Score: 1

    You & Mr. Fry are arguing about the notion that form follows function;
    and bollocksing up by using synonyms which have different meanings.
    This is different from what the OP said, but is what he was arguing for:
    Design/form/style that suits the purpose/function/substance rather than
    chrome for chrome's sake.

  20. Re:Once and for all on Are Power Users Too Cool For Ubuntu Unity? · · Score: 1

    The problem with those isn't that they are style over substance. The problem with those is that they are bad design. They were ephemeral fashion not style.

    That is an artificial distinction. Those words are synonyms.

  21. Re:Once and for all on Are Power Users Too Cool For Ubuntu Unity? · · Score: 1

    Style over substance: tail fins and portholes on cars.

  22. Re:Or they could do MORE frequent screenings. on Re-evaluating the Benefits of Cancer Screening · · Score: 1

    Thanks for the info, I must have missed the press release that helium-cooled superconductors are free now.

  23. Re:That's a lot of rice. on Human Blood Protein (HSA) From GMO Rice · · Score: 1

    Interesting. It looks like yeast should be up to the job though,
    apparently folks have had it produce ~50 kDa proteins;
    as best as I can tell, android browser won't let me access the other pages of that 4-page chunk.

  24. Re:get your GMO rice at an automated ATM machine on Human Blood Protein (HSA) From GMO Rice · · Score: 1

    Rice is a plant seed and contains an embryo, it satisfies dictionary definitions of organism:

    From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 :

              2. (Biol.) An organized being; a living body, either
                    vegetable or animal, composed of different organs or parts
                    with functions which are separate, but mutually dependent,
                    and essential to the life of the individual.
                    [1913 Webster]

    From WordNet (r) 2.0 :

        organism
                  n 1: a living thing that has (or can develop) the ability to act
                            or function independently

  25. Re:Crunching the numbers on Human Blood Protein (HSA) From GMO Rice · · Score: 1

    Yeah, about an order of magnitude less (~11 megaliters; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_serum_albumin),
    but presumably you can extract other useful factors from that as well. The rice might be suitable for fodder after,
    if we're lucky.

    Rice yield is about 4 tonnes per acre, so this would take 400 km2 to meet current demand.