Slashdot Mirror


User: matzahboy

matzahboy's activity in the archive.

Stories
0
Comments
60
First seen
Last seen
Profile
(view on slashdot.org)

Comments · 60

  1. Re:No, Steve is right and you prove it! on Apple Says Booting OS X Makes an Unauthorized Copy · · Score: 1

    If you compare prices, then yes. You can get much better hardware for a PC than a mac for the same price. But it isn't all about the price. PC's have more programs written for them and have many more games. Macs have few (if any) viruses and are very good at dealing with media (music, video, pictures).

  2. Re:The Worlds Lost Decade on Microsoft's Lost Decade · · Score: 1

    Do you really think that Microsoft is responsible for those viruses? Virus makers target Microsoft products because they have the widest user base and the greatest number of users who aren't computer savy (and are therefore more likely to fall for the tricks).

  3. the idea of disconnected from the internet on 3 Strikes — Denying Physics Won't Save the Video Stars · · Score: 1

    The fact that the government would be able to disconnect you from the internet after "3 strikes" of copyright infringement is very scary. The internet has become the center of communication. Critics of big companies or opposition parties use it to voice their opinions. Although the British current law will not go to the extreme, I fear that if it passes, other countries will begin to pass more extreme laws until the copyright becomes an excuse to completely silence critics.

  4. typo on Mandatory H1N1 Vaccine For NY Health Workers Suspended · · Score: 2, Informative

    Just as an FYI, you have a typo in the title. "Manditory" should be "Mandatory"

  5. Re:Medical applications on iRobot Introduces Morphing Blob Robot · · Score: 1

    It would be easy enough to alter the inflation gas to something more available

  6. Re:Amazing on Sneaky Microsoft Add-On Put Firefox Users At Risk · · Score: 2, Insightful

    The other funny thing is that the firefox plugin was installed without the user's permission. The user has to go to the chrome website and click the button that say "install".

  7. Re:What about the need for uniformity? on EFF Warns TI Not To Harass Calculator Hobbyists · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I wasn't saying that it was against the law. In fact, I disagree with TI's use of DMCA takedown notices. However, I said that I understood why TI wanted to not allow custom OS's. There are certain (though very few) technology devices that can be fundamentally hurt by customization.

  8. Re:What about the need for uniformity? on EFF Warns TI Not To Harass Calculator Hobbyists · · Score: 1

    Maybe, but how many colleges and high schools have the money to buy hundreds of Ti-83's a $100 or so each? I live in a upper middle class neighborhood and they don't even provide tissues!

  9. Re:What about the need for uniformity? on EFF Warns TI Not To Harass Calculator Hobbyists · · Score: 1

    When you take most tests, the test takers take this in to account and force you to reset your calculators, deleting all of your programs that you could have stored your notes in. There is no way to check for a different OS

  10. What about the need for uniformity? on EFF Warns TI Not To Harass Calculator Hobbyists · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Although a Ti-83 can definitely be enhanced by a custom OS, the usefulness of a Ti-83 would greatly decrease for students if custom OS's existed. On many standardized tests, including the SATs and ACTs, the tests specify which calculators are permitted for the test. They have a very specific list, based on which ones they think are not too powerful and would give an unfair advantage to a test taker. All ti-83's are allowed on either test for example. But if the makers of the test knew that people could have ti-83's that had undocumented, unfair functions (such as symbolic algebraic solving as in the ti-89), the test makers would most likely disallow these calculators. Why do you think TI still sells the Ti-83 plus, a calculator created in 1999? Certainly hardware abilities and processor speeds have greatly increased in the last 10 years. The reason is that test makers will not accept calculators with very powerful abilities. They want the student to solve the problem and not the calculator. When browsing calculators at education.ti.com, each calculator has a page called "exam acceptance" (ex. http://education.ti.com/educationportal/sites/US/productDetail/us_ti83p.html?bid=2). That is because TI sells a large number of its calculators to students. The custom OS's could greatly hurt TI's reputation in the eyes of its biggest supporters: the test makers.