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User: _merlin

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  1. Re:Republicans Attack the Economy on Torrentz.eu Domain Name Suspended · · Score: 1

    The funny thing is, Jesus was a bit of a socialist and supported paying taxes, and a lot of the Old Testament is more than a little socialist. Conservopedia people would need to rewrite all that out of the Bible if they wanted a book they could truly believe in. TBH I think more of them have probably read Ayn Rand that have read the Bible.

  2. Re:Republicans Attack the Economy on Torrentz.eu Domain Name Suspended · · Score: 2

    It's taken from Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged. The Conservopedia people worship this book.

  3. Re:fondly remembering bullshit on Chelsea Clinton At NCWIT: More PE, Less Zuckerberg · · Score: 1

    I got a second-hand Mac Plus when I was that age, and I'd already tried to learn BASIC on a friend's Apple II.

  4. Re:I had my own problems with Google on On MetaFilter Being Penalized By Google · · Score: 1

    Well I'm really glad I actually get paid to produce stuff, and don't have to rely on advertising revenue.

  5. Re:I had my own problems with Google on On MetaFilter Being Penalized By Google · · Score: 1, Insightful

    Sorry to have to break this to you, but you're a total sell-out. You'd rather remove serious content and treat a topic as taboo than lose your Google ads? Shame on you!

  6. Re:USA, the land of freedom on Why Lavabit Shut Down · · Score: 3, Interesting

    The difference is that only "enlightened western democracies" are so fucking hypocritical about it. The USA is the worst offender in this regard. They keep carrying on about freedom and liberty and other bullshit while implementing things like this, waging illegal wars, and trying to force their ideology onto the world. It's the hypocrisy more than the actual actions.

  7. Re:Interview on Weed?! on FBI Need Potheads To Fight Cybercrime · · Score: 2

    THC accumulates in fat cells. It can be detected up to three months out if you're a regular user. One of my friends, who was fucking smart but also a serious stoner and a bit of a womaniser, stayed of the whacky tobacky for six weeks before trying to get into the Royal Australian Air Force, but still failed the drug test. A few years later he successfully got into the army after not smoking weed for about six months.

  8. Re:Multiplatform? on 30-Day Status Update On LibreSSL · · Score: 4, Informative

    They removed support for OpenVMS, Pyramid, Tandem classic MacOS, and other stuff like that. I don't know if they removed Windows and OSX support, but it'd be pretty silly if they did.

  9. Re:What a monstrosity posing as a webpage on NASA Chief Tells the Critics of Exploration Plan: "Get Over It" · · Score: 1

    lol coming from a guy posting in monospaced font

  10. Re:Test servers your self with PoC on Theo De Raadt's Small Rant On OpenSSL · · Score: 1

    Yes, heartbeats are symmetrical. The malicious server can only read the contents of the browser's memory, but that could have your banking details, your Facebook login cookies, your wife's nude selfies, or God knows what else considering everything done through web web browsers these days.

  11. Re:Test servers your self with PoC on Theo De Raadt's Small Rant On OpenSSL · · Score: 2

    That's not true. A malicious server can exploit a vulnerable client and read the contents of its memory.

  12. Re:But why do we need the internet of things on Vint Cerf: CS Programs Must Change To Adapt To Internet of Things · · Score: 1

    Well of course: everyone knows an Internet of Things would only really be useful for wankers.

  13. Re:It's made better now on The 3D Economy — What Happens When Everyone Prints Their Own Shoes? · · Score: 1

    That tyre is still in prototype stage, and I doubt the specialised materials involved could be 3D printed with current technology anyway. Even if they could, you'd never be able to do it is quickly as you could with moulding techniques.

  14. Re:Let me know when... on Functional 3D-Printed Tape Measure · · Score: 1

    Yo, sup dawg...

  15. Re:With regulations goes... on Singapore To Regulate Virtual Currency Exchanges · · Score: 1

    Then you have the same problem with the encryption keys. Someone will compromise your keys or the encryption and you'll be fucked.

  16. Re:Thoughts on China Deploys Satellites In Search For Missing Malaysia Airlines Flight · · Score: 1

    That still makes no sense. Entering Thai airspace wouldn't be considered a violation for a civilian airliner in distress. Civilian airliners don't have "IFF transponders" either, just the usual aviation transponder. If they suffered loss of pressurisation and were still conscious enough to bring the plane down, the first thing to do would be activate emergency locator beacons, followed by distress call, letting ATC know what you're doing on the usual channel, and making sure your transponder is active.

  17. Re:Thoughts on China Deploys Satellites In Search For Missing Malaysia Airlines Flight · · Score: 1

    First, Civilian radar depends on transponders, a small transmitted signal from the aircraft that is triggered by the Radar signal. This transponder responds with a "squawk code" (a 4 digit number assigned by ATC) along with some other basic information like altitude. Transponders make it unnecessary to get a "primary" return (i.e. they don't have to get the actual radar signal return) for the aircraft to show up. In fact, most civilian radar installations run with primary returns filtered out because they create visual noise for controllers, because weather and other noise shows up.

    That might be relevant if it wasn't in an area heavily monitored by military radar. There is some overlap between where it's expected to be visible on Malaysian and Vietnamese military radar. This does use primary returns, and a B777 is very visible. It must've fallen rather quickly to disappear from military radar so suddenly.

  18. Re:Uh, doesn't every company? on 20 Freescale Semiconductor Employees On Missing Malaysia Airlines Flight · · Score: 1

    Really? A trading company I worked for would routinely have 20-50 employees on the same flight for company-sponsored weekends away.

  19. Re:Much needed on $2,400 'Introduction To Linux' Course Will Be Free and Online This Summer · · Score: 1

    I'm grabbing my barf bag now. Linux isn't magical, it is an operating system.

    I'm sure glad I'm not the only one who reacted that way. In the end, operating systems are tools. I use OSX on this notebook that I use for e-mail, Lightroom and Logic. My work desktop runs Windows. My development system at work is Linux. You choose the tool with the right trade-offs for the task at hand.

  20. Re:Awesome! on Open Source Brings High-End Canon Camera Dynamic Range Closer To Nikon's · · Score: 1

    I'm not being a dick or an elitist. I'm simply trying to point out that firmware replacement won't get you the equivalent of a more expensive camera. The hardware additional features are things that really do matter when you're taking photos in challenging conditions:

    • A pentaprism viewfinder is brighter and easier to focus with in low light than the pentamirrors used in low-end DSLRs
    • Memory card failure happens - having images written to two cards simultaneously can save you
    • Being able to instantly adjust two parameters without going through menus makes life far easier when when shooting things that move
    • Top LCDs show you all the most important settings/stats immediately without the battery drain that having the colour display running would
    • Additional cross-type autofocus sensors work better in low light and with servo/tracking autofocus (e.g. for sports and birds in flight)

    Ultimately "prosumer" is just a label - you should always buy the cheapest body with the functionality - but that aside, it doesn't apply to the Canon Rebel/Kiss line. These are very much mass market consumer cameras, with the trade-offs clearly favouring size/weight/price reduction. This isn't inherently bad, as you get a camera capable of taking pretty decent pictures for a relatively low price. But telling yourself it's a "prosumer" camera just makes you look silly, and if you do need to shoot in more challenging situations, you'll really appreciate the additional functionality that you get with something like a 70D.

  21. Re:The better solution is to buy Nikon on Open Source Brings High-End Canon Camera Dynamic Range Closer To Nikon's · · Score: 1

    Wut? Your EVF/OVF thing alone is all kinds of wrong. EVFs don't even have the dynamic range and resolution to match the sensors in the cameras, let alone a human eye with an optical viewfinder. Then there's the issue of sensor burn from bright sources because the shutter has to be open all the time. Have you ever tried focussing in poor light with an EVF? No fun at all. The noise and update rate suck more and more as the light gets more difficult. Speaking of update rate, try shooting anything that moves with your OM-D: birds of prey, motor sport, any other sport, fashion shows. Oh and stabilised bodies still can't compete with stabilised lenses.

  22. Re:The better solution is to buy Nikon on Open Source Brings High-End Canon Camera Dynamic Range Closer To Nikon's · · Score: 1

    I use FX lenses on DX bodies all the time. When you do, you're using the brightest, sharpest part of the imaging circle. It's awesome. Also, Canon EFS lenses have poor build quality for the most part.

  23. Re:Nikon is still a step ahead! on Open Source Brings High-End Canon Camera Dynamic Range Closer To Nikon's · · Score: 1

    I dunno, I abuse my D90 pretty badly, and it just keeps on working perfectly. Maybe I'm just lucky. Or unlucky - if I could actually break it my wife wouldn't mind me buying a new body.

  24. Re:Awesome! on Open Source Brings High-End Canon Camera Dynamic Range Closer To Nikon's · · Score: 0

    Magic Lantern is fucking awesome. It turned my Rebel T2i (550D) into something that I definitely wouldn't have been able to afford.

    Have you actually used a prosumer or professional camera? Firmware won't turn your pentamirror viewfinder into a pentaprism. It won't give you an extra command dial that really helps when you're using manual exposure and/or flash. It won't give you a top LCD that you can read while you adjust your settings in direct sunlight. It won't give you additional cross-type autofocus sensors. It won't give you dual card slots. The most useful things you get when you pay more for a camera are in the hardware.

  25. Re:What's in car bumpers? on Radar Expert Explains How To Cheaply Add Radar To Your Own Hardware Projects · · Score: 1

    Radar tends to be used for the collision avoidance features rather than the parking assistance stuff.