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User: taustin

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  1. Re:No, not "uncertain"...quite certain, actually. on Net Neutrality Bill Sails Through the House But Faces an Uncertain Political Future (washingtonpost.com) · · Score: 1

    Indeed. There was never any intention for this to pass. The people who wrote it knew it had no chance in hell of ever even coming to a vote in the Senate.

    And they don't care. This is not, and never was, about net neutrality. It's about extracting money out of their base for the next election cycle.

    Just like everything that both parties do.

    If they actually solved any problems, then they couldn't solicit donations from their base to try to solve it next election.

  2. Even then, they rarely waive the penalties. And good luck getting it in writing in the first place.

  3. You'd think that, but you'd think they'd be responsible for the accuracy of information they give out on their advice line, too. And they're not.

    Plus, of course, if they were exactly as liable for bad software as, say, Microsoft, or Apple, they'd be . . . not liable at all.

  4. California did that for a few years on state taxes. It was convenient. No idea why they stopped, but it likely wasn't because of any security concerns. (The state government here is too stupid to be able to spell "security concerns.")

  5. Re:Wait a minute, I just filed for free online on Congress is About To Ban the Government From Offering Free Online Tax Filing (propublica.org) · · Score: 4, Informative

    They're talking about the IRS creating tax filing software themselves, which the IRS has never done. Any free filing systems that you have used have all be created and run by third parties.

  6. given how often the IRS gives bad advice on taxes, and the fact that they're not responsible for errors, I really don't have a problem with this. Nobody in their right mind would use any software made by the IRS anyway.

  7. Typical outrage monkey poo flinging on Why Airlines Make Flights Longer On Purpose (bbc.com) · · Score: 1

    "On average, over 30% of all flights arrive more than 15 minutes late every day despite padding,"

    The figure used to be 40% but padding . . . boosted on-time arrival rates.

    "By padding, airlines are gaming the system to fool you."

    Er, no, it sounds like by padding, airlines are giving more accurate information on flight times.

    Which was the intent behind the regulations that require compensation when flights don't go on time.

    You're complaining about something that was an improvement, brought about by deliberate action.

  8. Re:Slap on the wrist on Former Senate Staffer Admits To Doxxing Five Senators On Wikipedia (theverge.com) · · Score: 2

    That does seem likely. But the way things look right now, with a 57 month sentence, he'll have been about at 20 years before the Democrats regain the White House. Maybe 200 years.

  9. Re:Well actually that is correct on The US Just Had the Most Q1 Layoffs in a Decade (axios.com) · · Score: 1

    You can certainly look at a tiny piece of data in isolation from the rest. What you can't do is derive meaningful policy out of it.

    February's new jobs number was really, really low. And the unemployment rate dropped at the same time, and remains at a historic low. Claims for unemployment are down, too.

    So yeah, more people were laid off than in a long time. But they apparently all got new jobs immediately. Ergo, Trump is Hitler and Hillary Clinton is automatically now President.

  10. This is kinda the final last straw -- why take peoples' email passwords?

    So that they can scan through your emails on an constant, ongoing basis, and use that for data mining for more precisely targeted advertising to sell.

    The same way Google does with Gmail, and always has.

  11. Re: This is amazingly retarded on Facebook is Demanding Some Users Share the Password For Their Outside Email Account (thedailybeast.com) · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I declined and won't ever give them money.

    ITYM "I won't ever give them my money." Every time you use FB, you give them money from the advertisers.

    Remember, you're not the customer, you're the product. Which is why they want to scan through your private email, so they can target their ads more precisely (or at least claim they do).

    You know, the same way Google does with Gmail.

  12. Re:Google has damaged its reputation. on Android Users' Security and Privacy At Risk From Shadowy Ecosystem of Pre-Installed Software, Study Warns (techcrunch.com) · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Since when does Google have a good enough reputation to be damaged by association with malware?

  13. The only thing that people who show up in the news media are expert at is scaremongering to make money.

    Anybody who believes anything they see in mainstream news deserves the misery they're covered in.

  14. Re:Dietary Studies are NOT Advice!!! on Three or More Eggs a Week Increase Your Risk of Heart Disease and Early Death, Study Says (cnn.com) · · Score: 1

    It covered the amount of cholesterol in egg yolks, but did it also cover the amount of lecithin in egg yolks? The stuff that lowers bad cholesterol and increases good cholesterol, for which egg yolks are a commercial source?

    This is just more scare mongering. I wouldn't be surprised if whoever is behind it has been short selling stock in poultry farms.

  15. Re:hmm on Facebook Sues Over 'Data-Grabbing' Quizzes (bbc.com) · · Score: 1

    I don't think their complaint is scraping the info so much as not paying Facebook for it.

  16. Re:Does Facebook scan conversations? on Mark Zuckerberg Says Facebook Will Shift To Emphasize Encrypted Ephemeral Messages (theverge.com) · · Score: 1

    #2 and #3 are the same thing, because if the company can read it, the government can put a gun to their head and make them read it to the government.

  17. Re:Does Facebook scan conversations? on Mark Zuckerberg Says Facebook Will Shift To Emphasize Encrypted Ephemeral Messages (theverge.com) · · Score: 1

    You're assuming that by "emphasize," he means emphasizing encryption that Facebook can't decrypt, rather than emphasizing being able to read them anyway.

  18. The guy's 18, Facebook has only existed for 15 years, and vaccinations start well before age 3.

    His mother's been an idiot longer than Facebook has existed.

  19. Re:This is a self-correcting problem on Teen Who Defied Anti-Vax Mom Says She Got False Information From One Source: Facebook (washingtonpost.com) · · Score: 2

    That "incredibly small number" includes all children under ab out a year old, where measles is concerned. It also includes pretty much everybody over a certain age, too.

  20. They're pretty much the definition of shills.

  21. When has anybody who isn't obviously a shill ever claimed otherwise?

  22. Some consider "where it was shown" to be a property of "the field." And that is, in fact, how the rules for Oscar eligibility work now, and why Roma had a very limited theatrical release, specially to make it eligible.

  23. Re:AV on TV on Samsung is Loading McAfee Antivirus Software On Smart TVs (techspot.com) · · Score: 2

    If it affects the TV operation the way it does a PC, consumers will care. They'll have to run the TV on fast forward all the time to compensate for the slow-down, and fast forward usually disables the sound.

  24. Re:Physical money will never go away on Elon Musk: Bitcoin Structure is Brilliant, But Has Its Cons; Paper Money is Going Away (ark-invest.com) · · Score: 1

    You're really obsessed with my ass, there, son. Kind of perverted, you are.

  25. A fumigator can take care of that for you. Bedbugs are an increasing problem in many areas.