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User: munitor

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Comments · 18

  1. Why is this BS even up here? on FCC Silenced Puerto Rico Radio Station's Boosters In March 2017 · · Score: 1

    Seriously.

  2. Beetlejuice! Beetlejuice!! BEETLEJUICE! on Rethinking the Wetsuit · · Score: 1

    ...says the shark!

  3. Where did they get 700 years of weather data? on Hurricane Sandy a 1-in-700-Year Event Says NASA Study · · Score: 2

    I would like to point out that NASA considers a quantitative risk assessment to be a +/- order of magnitude tool. So if the actual frequency turns out to be within 70-7000 years, the QRA is as acceptable.

  4. If you don't like it, change on Xbox One Used Game Policy Leaks: Publishers Get a Cut of Sale · · Score: 1

    A lot of folks are looking at the details instead of asking the bigger question: where's the open source alternative? Supported by the indie community and users, who provide server capacity. As long as we're talking proprietary business models, companies will try to take every advantage they can. That's the reality of competition.

  5. Re:That doesn't mean it wasnt jammed on Boston Officials Did Not Shut Down Cell Network After Marathon Bombing · · Score: 1

    I was in the pre and post-Katrina aftermath for quite a bit and can assure you that cell networks will instantly fail for voice calls in a widespread emergency. SMS, OTOH, will get through surprisingly often and usually with reasonable speed.

  6. Re:Uh oh. on Juror's Tweets Overturn Trial Verdict · · Score: 1

    Jury nullification is a myth. The practice became widespread during Prohibition. When it saw a resurgence during the War On Drugs, judges quickly clamped down. It doesn't exist.

  7. ...and it could be from a natural seep on New Oil Slick In Gulf Waters Linked To BP Well · · Score: 1

    The floor of the Gulf of Mexico has numerous chemosynthetic communities that live off methate hydrates, oil seeps, and even pockets of salt saturated water where salt domes are exposed. Oil seeps are prevalent throughout the region. Likely the only reason people noticed this one is they were out there doing research.

  8. Re:Do you want computer science, or engineering? on CS Profs Debate Role of Math In CS Education · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I'm a Mechanical Engineer with 30 years experience and for a BSME from a fully accredited major school, my math requirements were only Calculus 1-3 and ODEs (loads of application, of course). In my career I've only used the calculus a few times (e.g. passing the EIT exam). I did do some graphics programming, FEM, etc. in school, but at the end of the day, what maths you needed really depended on the direction of your career. What few bits of software I've written that get used needed just bitwise operations and logic. You don't need much math for that.

  9. Re:Biofuels are bad mmmkay on Oil Companies Patent Trolling Biofuel Production · · Score: 1

    Good link and I don't at all disagree, but that's current algae technology vs the bioengineering that is the subject of the OP. And of course the link didn't take into account the energy needed to produce the cells and the algae pipe in the first place. I think if you look at that, there's a heck of a lot of initial energy in making a big PV cell. But if the CalTech cell can be mass produced, with over 80% efficiency, it will be a game changer.

  10. Re:Biofuels are bad mmmkay on Oil Companies Patent Trolling Biofuel Production · · Score: 1

    No, biofuels can be the most efficient around if it goes straight from solar to chemical, such as algae in a space efficient layout. Classic silicon solar panels are the most inefficient around.

  11. Oil companies not always the bad guy... on Oil Companies Patent Trolling Biofuel Production · · Score: 2

    Energy is a hugely capital intensive sector, and investors rightly expect return on investment. Exxon and Shell spent more money developing natural gas reserves on Sakhalin island than the US spent developing the space shuttle. If BP is expected to pump billions into developing advanced biofuels, I would expect them to protect their patents. Don't forget that BP was the oil company that helped support the radical new solar cells announced last year at CalTech. Protecting a properly granted patent is not technology suppression. And no, I don't work for BP.

  12. Re:Did Slashdot go retarded today? on Pirated App Sold On Mac App Store · · Score: 1

    Props for trying to educate trolls. If they are retarded, then props for trying to educate the uninformed. Tough work, though.

  13. Re:How did we survive back then on Leaders Aren't Being Made At Tech Firms · · Score: 3, Insightful

    What you describe is the difference between leadership and management. You can teach people to manage projects, meet regulations, take care of HR housekeeping, etc., but it's hard to teach leadership (building a shared vision, developing people, personal effectiveness, etc.) unless the student already has the capacity and the drive.

  14. Re:"Digital property" on Tensions Rise Between Gamers and Game Companies Over DRM · · Score: 1

    But if your car has OnStar, and you are the registered owner, you can have it remotely shut down. You may still not get it back or want it because it could get chopped or trashed, but that isn't a problem for game keys. Digital copies are cheap and identical. Have OnStar email you a new car, and away you go. If game keys were managed properly by a custodian, like domain names are, you could transfer them to others. Think two key system, public key and private key, and when you transfer the public one you transferred won't work anymore with any key but the new owner's.

  15. A failure to exploit piracy... on Has Any Creative Work Failed Because of Piracy? · · Score: 1

    In the late 80's I wrote a piece of software that drove a certain company's printer sharing hardware (back when that was how it was done). I released as shareware, but only made a few cents per hour and gave up on it. A few years later, I found out from an ex-employee of that company that the company's tech support people were sending out my software when customers called to complain about the crappy OEM software. He told me that the company never told people it was shareware and most thought it was company written. Had I known, I might have been able to make some money off of it. So yes, the work was a financial failure due to piracy, and I also quit writing commercial software at that time because it was a failure, so it impacted future work, too.

  16. old news on Military Develops "Green" Cleaners For Terrorist Attack Sites · · Score: 1

    Decon Green has been around since 2003. It's just hydrogen peroxide, soap, propylene glycol and baking soda. It's for decontaminating surfaces, like equipment, suits, etc.

  17. What if Tanenbaum hadn't written MINIX? on Happy Birthday, Linus · · Score: 1

    That's the real question. But today is about Happy Birthday to Linus!

  18. Re:Subsidize paper chauvinism now! on Journalists Looking For Government Money · · Score: 1

    Amen. Their business model is shite and unsupportable, that's their problem. Look at broadcast television, which carries both national scope ads as well as slots for local ads. It's just gotten to the point where you can't support such an expensive medium when the web ads are a micro fraction of the price per reader. The papers just need to broaden their advertiser base to include more big national brands, subscribe to cheap wire service for any national/international news, and focus on local stories to get local readers.