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User: realityimpaired

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  1. Re:Acoustic Levitation on Bug With "Singing Penis" Is World's Loudest · · Score: 1

    Where on earth did you get the idea that the megaliths and pyramids are beyond modern engineering? They're beyond the engineering that we presumed people in that era had, and they're beyond the engineering we were using until about the renaissance, but we could quite easily build the pyramids or the sphynx or stonehenge again using modern engineering and construction methods.

    A great deal of knowledge was lost when the Roman empire collapsed, but most of it has been rediscovered and surpassed a long time ago. It's a mystery (sort of) how they were built, but the biggest mystery is where the materials came from, not how they were put together, and there are some very plausible explanations for how the ancients managed to move the materials around, either by barge, or cart, or a combination.

  2. Re:Acoustic Levitation on Bug With "Singing Penis" Is World's Loudest · · Score: 1

    Well, I do have all 10 seasons of SG1, as well as both of the movies, and the original movie that launched it all on DVD....

    (which, sadly, is probably proof for some people....)

  3. Re:Queue the puns. on Bug With "Singing Penis" Is World's Loudest · · Score: 1

    Indeed.... because in this case, both cue and queue would be grammatically correct... though usually cue would be the one you'd use, as in it is their cue to begin, rather than they are forming a queue. /pedant off.

  4. Re:Take 'em offline on Massive Botnet "Indestructible," Say Researchers · · Score: 1

    No, I was responding to his question about how they detect this kind of virus in the first place. At that point in time they don't know it's infected, so they watch the traffic from a system that they presume to be clean and not doing any sort of p2p, and when they notice that sort of traffic happening, they know to examine that system to see what got it.

  5. Re:Take 'em offline on Massive Botnet "Indestructible," Say Researchers · · Score: 5, Informative

    Netcat, and watching for traffic from a system that you know for a fact isn't sending that kind of traffic.

    Without your ISP installing some kind of spyware on your computer to determine if you have torrent or other p2p software installed, they have no way of knowing whether that encrypted p2p traffic coming from your system is a virus, or you trying to download a movie. And as for them determining how many systems are infected? That same netcat... once they know the traffic is there, it is fairly easy to find the source of the traffic, and then to analyse said source. Once they find a way into the network, it's fairly trivial to estimate how many clients are connected to it. Taking over the network is another animal entirely, but figuring out how many are connected to it is relatively easy.

  6. Re:Think of it as 4.0.2 on The Enterprise Is Wrong, Not Mozilla · · Score: 1

    Yuk. Apparently you're giving tacit approval to the practice of writing applications meant to run in a web browser. Why? It just makes no sense. We've already seen what happens when the browser, the email app, and office apps all have hooks deep into the system. It opens the doors to multiple mega exploits!

    No thanks, I'll pass. And any corporate IT people with a lick of sense will take a pass as well. Write your app in a real language, not as a half assed addon to a web browser.

    Never worked in an environment where corporate security is paranoid, have you? Corporate security hasn't even approved FF 4 for use on our workstations yet. To have FF5 come out, effectively killing FF4, is bad mojo. And it's got nothing to do with apps being designed to run on specific browsers (we have a couple, which 99% of the company never needs to use, and which only run on IE6, but most of the company is basically browser independant), it's about them wanting to make sure that the browser in question won't cause something to break, or introduce some kind of security hole through a plugin or badly designed API. (and yes, I'm well aware of the irony in that statement immediately following a statement about having some apps that are stuck on IE6).

    Corporates are right to gak at the prospect of FF changing its number so abruptly, especially when there's literally no major update included, and it is just an arbitrary version number change. It's kind of like when Slackware jumped 4 version numbers... there was no reason it had to, they just wanted to look like they're innovating and coming out with updates faster than everybody else.

    Actually, it's worse than when Slackware did that.... Pat's reasons for doing the jump were well documented, and while somewhat asinine, at least it actually *was* a major revision, and he didn't follow it up by jumping 4 version numbers again 3 months later.

  7. Re:Temporary Plan Upgrade on Ask Slashdot: Mobile Data In Canada For a US Citizen? · · Score: 1

    My guess is he's more sane about it... my phone is unlocked. When I go international, I buy a local SIM card, put it in my phone, and hey look, it works and is *way* cheaper than the $450/mo that the Verizon plan multiplies out to. I have SIM cards in Germany, the UK, Netherlands Antilles, Costa Rica, and the US. I would consider the $15 that it cost to unlock my phone to be money well spent.

  8. Re:Should work on Ask Slashdot: Mobile Data In Canada For a US Citizen? · · Score: 1

    Other than that, maybe check coverage maps just in case to see if you have 3G coverage where you will be going. Rogers does not have 3G everywhere and it can fallback to EDGE, Bell and TELUS on the other have only HSPA and CDMA, but no GSM network.

    Not quite true. I have used an unlocked GSM-only phone on Bell's network without any problems. Put my SIM in and it works. Bell and Telus both run quad-band GSM in addition to their HSPA and CDMA networks in most areas.

  9. Re:$30 for 5 GB????? on Ask Slashdot: Mobile Data In Canada For a US Citizen? · · Score: 1

    If it's just data, you can get about that on a tablet plan from Telus.... But yeah, for a decent mobile data cap, the carriers pretty much universally suck in this country, unless you're in Toronto, Ottawa, or Calgary and can get Mobilicity.

  10. Re:Windows? on One Week: No Mouse, Just Keyboard · · Score: 1

    You actually use a wysiwyg editor for posting comments, and not <b>bold</b> tags? I don't use a Mac, so clearly my keyboard shortcuts are faster.

  11. Re:Odd... on Acoustic Stealth Technology Finally Created · · Score: 1

    Never watched Get Smart, did you?

  12. Re:Netbook isn't dead on Who Killed the Netbook? · · Score: 1

    If you truly believe that, I'll happily sell you my old netbook for $100. 64GB SSD, 2GB of RAM, 1.6GHz dual core atom. 9" screen @ 1024x600.

    Why am I getting rid of it? Because I just bought a 13" ultraportable laptop that tips the scales at only about 1lb more than the netbook, and is significantly more usable: higher res screen, bigger screen, and it has a real full size keyboard. Didn't break the bank on that laptop either... it only cost me about $100 more than most netbooks cost.

  13. Re:Obama's too conservative on Politics: Paul-Barney Bill Would Legalize Marijuana Federally · · Score: 1

    Did you read the full article posted? There's links to much more recent supporting studies that confirm the link between marijuana consumption as a youth, and increased likelihood of developping schizophrenia or other mental illnesses. The current thinking is that because the brain doesn't finish developping until you're about 25, consuming a CNS inhibitor like marijuana can interfere with the normal development of neural pathways. Currently, they don't think that it'll actually *cause* schizophrenia, but they do think that if you're otherwise predisposed to it, weed will *significantly* increase the likelihood that it'll manifest. The study quoted says 2x as much, but current studies are showing it's closer to 10x as likely.

    And you'll find links to those studies at the bottom of the article you poo-poo as being too dated. I'm not going to pontificate on whether weed is more dangerous than tobacco or alcohol. Frankly, I don't really care, and I still think that weed should be legalized. I think there's a strong economic and health case to be made for legalizing and taxing its sale, rather than banning it and throwing consumers in jail. But it's downright naive to claim that it's harmless, especially when it has the potential to seriously mess you up.

  14. Re:Easy Solution on Fonolo Lets You Bypass Company Phone Menus · · Score: 1

    Actually, the company I worked for did have such a system. It also had a mean time to answer the phone in queue of less than 2 minutes. If somebody can't wait that, they can bloody well call back when they can.

    There are also other methods to communicate with support, which I have mentionned before. Using a callback system like that blocks other customers. You tell me which is more dickish: assuming you're more important than all of the other customers, or taking action to remind you that you aren't.

  15. Re:Easy Solution on Fonolo Lets You Bypass Company Phone Menus · · Score: 1

    No, I think the time of the people who actually *took* the time to speak to support is more valuable than the people who couldn't be bothered to wait a few minutes. Persumably you're only doing this if there's a queue, and if I have to wait a minute for it to ring back and for you to answer, and that's assuming you actually do answer at that time, it's worse service for everybody else who's waiting in queue. I'm doing a *service* to everybody else if I hang up on a robodialler like that. If your time is so precious that you can't wait on the phone, then send a fucking e-mail, or use chat support online. That's what they're there for. Or here's a thought, if you're *really* that fucking important, have your secretary call in. If you don't have a secretary or PA to call in for you, then you aren't that important.

  16. Re:Easy Solution on Fonolo Lets You Bypass Company Phone Menus · · Score: 1

    And having worked in tech. support, answering the phones, with a queue, if somebody tried that crap with me, I would release the call and take somebody else who actually waited to speak to me. When I actually had to worry about call metrics and such, that kind of call was perfect: no human on the other end of the line, 5 second call to lower my average and let me actually take the time to help people.

  17. Re:Fuck you guys, someone has to say it on Violent Games Credited With Reducing Crime Levels · · Score: 2

    In this case, I'd say there's a strong possibility that it is true, though. There's even a word for why: catharsis. In caveman days, somebody pissed a guy off, he'd go beat the crap out of that person. Testosterone is a fight or flight hormone. Can't really do that today. Beating the crap out of pixels achieves the same release for him. It's the same as taking a weapon to a range and unloading into a target, or going to a gym/dojo and sparring, only less exercise.

    At least that's how I would explain it. Whether that's how anybody else would explain it, I don't know. But I have long suspected that there's a cathartic effect when playing violent video games.

  18. Re:Probably a proxy box on FBI Seizes Servers In Virginia · · Score: 1

    Could do like Yahoo and Google do...

    tara@TweedleDee:~$ host google.ca
    google.ca has address 74.125.226.51
    google.ca has address 74.125.226.49
    google.ca has address 74.125.226.48
    google.ca has address 74.125.226.50
    google.ca has address 74.125.226.52
    google.ca mail is handled by 10 google.com.s9a1.psmtp.com.
    google.ca mail is handled by 10 google.com.s9b2.psmtp.com.
    google.ca mail is handled by 10 google.com.s9b1.psmtp.com.
    google.ca mail is handled by 10 google.com.s9a2.psmtp.com.

    Multiple servers returned by the DNS request. In Google's case, that's probably multiple load balancers, but the principle is basically the same. Set up a cron job on your main server to synchronise with the secondary servers, and have all of the secondary servers listed in the DNS request. Won't do any sort of load balancing, but it will serve as an automatic failover, because any standards-compliant system will automatically jump to another IP address in the DNS entry if the first one it tried fails.

  19. Re:Umm... on Brute-Force Password Cracking With GPUs · · Score: 1

    Yes, it was the Tom's Hardware article... the link was marked as visited and I generally avoid TH....

  20. Re:Typical on Best Buy Flexes Legal Muscles Over "Geek" · · Score: 1

    There's a difference between popular vernacular, and a competitor using the trademarked name. Kimberly-Clark owns the trademark on the name Kleenex, and you can bet that if Johnson & Johnson started marketing their facial tissues using the name Kleenex, they'd be facing a lawsuit.

    Like any sane company, I imagine that Kimberly-Clark sees the fact that everybody calls it a Kleenex as free advertising.

  21. Re:Hundreds of millions of refugees on Bittorrent and uTorrent Sued For Patent Violations · · Score: 2

    Canada probably could. Certainly have the space, the similar climate, the same language, and the food capacity to feed that many refugees.... but you'd have to learn to be polite, and to make fun of Americans for their silly backward laws.

  22. Re:Responsible? on Infertile Daughter To Receive Uterus From Mother · · Score: 1

    mm... you're right. I don't think anybody who is fertile, or who has decided not to have kids will understand. It's why I stopped replying to the other person who's been replying: I just don't think I'll get him to understand at all, no matter how I put it.

    I wish you luck with the program. :) My need to have kids has been somewhat sated, because my partner has kids from her previous relationship, but I can certainly understand where you're coming from. I can't bear to be around my brother and his wife at the moment, because they just had their third... it really hurt every time I saw his wife while she was pregnant. It isn't so bad right now, but because the baby is less than 6 months old, I am staying away from them. It hurt too much while their other two were infants, and I couldn't really stand it until the kids were toddlers. There's a few other factors in my cast that would make me a bad candidate for an experimental procedure (largely scheduling, but some financial), which is the main reason I'm not looking too far into it. I think I may ask my doctor next time I see him, though... :)

    incidentally... nihonjin desuka? atashi wa daigaku de nihongo wo benkyoushita no... :) nihon de eigo wo oshietakatta, demo mada itta koto ga nai. :(

  23. Re:Responsible? on Infertile Daughter To Receive Uterus From Mother · · Score: 1

    It isn't a question of personal satisfaction... there's other forces at play there. Instinct, biological urges, hormones going haywire within peoples' systems, to say nothing of the psychology involved in wanting something you can't have (it would be different if I could, I'm sure), especially when your circle of friends starts settling down and having kids.

    It can be overcome. There's people out there who adopt, or who choose never to have kids. In my case, it's moot, though: I was never given the choice. I'm at peace with that, but it doesn't mean that if I were to wake up tomorrow and have the choice, I wouldn't be happy with it.

  24. Re:I doubt it on Will Capped Data Plans Kill the Cloud? · · Score: 1

    A 250GB cap? Nope. I'd be very surprised if somebody just using Yahoo is going to blow that cap... I am a fairly heavy downloader and use Netflix a fair amount, and I still come in under 300GB/mo most of the time.

    But are you seriously telling me that every plan out there comes with a 250GB cap? I beg to differ. Somebody using just Yahoo, some youtube from time to time, and maybe VOIP/SIP video chat online will easily blow the astonishingly high 2GB/mo cap on that plan.

  25. Re:No. on Will Capped Data Plans Kill the Cloud? · · Score: 1

    Yes, actually. Even in Canada, which is notorious for having hideously overpriced cellular plans, you can get unlimited local talk/text for $25/mo from some of the newer carriers, and $35/mo from the fight brands belonging to major carriers. (Well, Bell hasn't jumped on that bandwagon, but Rogers, and Telus all have $35/mo unlimited talk/text plans on their fight brands Chatr/Fido and Koodo respectively). From some providers, you can even get unlimited data, unlimited long distance and unlimited global text on top of that unlimited local service.

    It's going the same way that pay-per-text plans went (with most providers). An SMS message does not cost the provider anything... your cell is constantly sending pings back and forth from the cell tower, and an SMS message simply uses the unused data in a standard packet during one of these pings. They *literally* cost the carrier no extra bandwidth or tower time than simply leaving the phone on, and yet some carriers still charge per text message. I can remember when I used to get charged $0.45 per text message, and now I am on a plan which includes unlimited global texting. The same applies to voice minutes, and to bandwidth: some carriers are in the stone age and will milk it for every penny they can. Others realize that they can offer you an unlimited service and still turn a profit.

    Sooner or later, Internet connections and cellular data will go the same way that SMS has. Newer plans offering better service for the same or less money will become available, and the market will force the incumbents to either adapt or die.