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User: Midnight+Thunder

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  1. Re:Floppy drives anyone? on The Surprising Statistics Behind Flash and Apple · · Score: 1

    Um, Floppies disapeared on the PC due to USB sticks, not because of Steve Jobs.

    The Mac was the first main stream computer to use the 3.5" disk, as opposed to the 5.25" disk.
    The Mac was the first main stream computer to drop the floppy and also have USB as the only device connector. At the time the iMac came out most USB devices were Mac centric.

    There are many things that Apple didn't get right (such as the Pippin), but there are things it did get right and things it partially got right, but needed to evolve first (ADB and NUBUS).

  2. Painted ransparent planes on Airbus Planning Transparent Planes · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Everyone here seems to be seeing only the increased view a transparent fuselage would provide. There may be another benefit: less weak points. Every time you make a hole in your fuselage, such as for a window, you are increasing the number of potential weak points. Imagine now the whole fuselage being one transparent piece, you reduce this problem. Anywhere you don't want people seeing out can simply be painted over.

  3. The danger of Google on The Case For Oracle · · Score: 1, Insightful

    While I like to feel that Google is somehow better than Microsoft in all ways, I know this is clearly not true. The problem I do have with Google and their Java VM is that they aren't really contributing back to the core Java platform, and their choice of a different VM byte code makes me think of some of the things that hurt Smalltalk. In the case of Smalltalk none of the differing VM implementations were compatible, so it meant the you lost of the ability of 'compile once, run everywhere'. In many way what Oracle should be pushing for is:

      - getting Google to use the standard Java byte code
      - working with Oracle to contribute their work back to the core

    J2ME is in many ways a dead platform, for GUI based devices, (at least, I am not aware of places proudly taking it forward), and Android is the best chance for seeing Java on low resource mobile platforms.

    If Google does end up taking the same road as Microsoft with J++, then is could hurt very much what makes the Java appealing and even hurt the long term viability of Java as a cross-plaform language.

  4. Its a Trap? on UK ISP To Prioritize Gaming Traffic · · Score: 1

    While this may sound like a tempting proposition, this sounds like a trap. If people sign up for this, then what is stopping the ISP from wanting to do this with other packages and then showing this to the government as a reason against net neutrality.

  5. Why is it not working? on Why You Shouldn't Worry About IPv6 Just Yet · · Score: 1

    Turning IPv6 off is the easy solution, though the real question you should be asking is what is causing these IPv6 issues. As an IT professional I believe it is important to understand how IPv6 works and fits into the infrastructure, so when it comes time switch IPv6 support back on you understand all the important factors.

  6. Sounds about right on Why Software Patents Are a Joke — Literally · · Score: 1

    These companies have a team of on-staff lawyers, who are probably just looking to spend their legal budget.

    I really didn't appreciate Oracle much before, but I am starting to rank them lower than Microsoft and possibly even SCO. Maybe the next big database I will recommend will be Sybase or DB2. As for Java, and as a Java developer, I really feel torn. Oracle: stop hurting my former best friend.

  7. Fuel prices aren't static on Just One Out of 16 Hybrids Pays Back In Gas Savings · · Score: 1

    Fuel prices aren't static and are likely to go up. Then again, considering the length of ownership, the increase may not make a difference.

    The truth is you should not be buying a car on any "gimmicks", but rather on figures that match your driving pattern. For example some cars probably do better doing long distance, while others are better in the city. While manufacturer's figures aren't always accurate, they are probably accurate enough to decide whether you are making a energy consumption saving, no matter the energy source. The only question, beyond dollar cost, how can you establish which vehicle is more economical in terms of impact to the environment when they may use different fuel types (electricity, LPG, diesel, petrol, etc).

    Note, that I consider a hybrid engine a gimmick, if it is not actually achieving what it is was marketed to do.

  8. Re:Look, ma! No legs! on Discovery Threatens Fan Site It Also Promotes · · Score: 1

    Is it legal to put a defence to tender? Basically post a request for defence and see if anyone is willing to defend the entity out principle, rather than a need for cash? I just want to believe that there is a solution to defending the little entity when faced with a jugnaught.

  9. Re:Oh well on Flash Ported To iOS and iPhone 4 · · Score: 1

    Surely you exaggerate? I've seen more shit web design in plain old HTML than everything else combined. Your UID suggests you're old enough to remember Geocities and Angelfire.

    I may exaggerate (heck rants are for that :), but then again my expectations have gone up too. The idea of having a Core 2 Duo PC brought to it knees by Flash ads is not something that should be accepted. There are plenty of nicely designed Flash sites (though a pure HTML approach would be nice), but should we accept a Flash application max out a CPU, especially when it does seemingly nothing, when the same thing of a stand-alone application would be reason enough to junk it?

    I must admit while there were plenty of badly done web pages in Geocities, they were mostly static, so at least that was the only thing to put up with. Also, many of them weren't done by self professed 'web designers' either.

  10. Where to, how? on Abandon Earth Or Die, Warns Hawking · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Okay, I'm quite happy to go find a new home amongst the stars, but at this point the only way that is going to happen is if the earth explodes and my ashes get distributed through space.

    If our future is on worlds beyond earth, then we need to start with a space transportation, of the form of a single stage vehicle that can at least go to the moon and back repeatedly, with a turn around time of less than two days. Additionally the vehicle needs to be able to return from the moon without having to depend on an already established infrastructure.

    I am a big fan of travelling to Mars and beyond, but the truth is we should establish a solid space flight foundation first. At the moment the technology we have is expensive and suitable in most cases only for one-way flights and of a crew of no more than seven people. Once we resolve the transportation issue, then we the Moon and Mars suddenly become relatively easy. One way flights are great for automated payloads, but for anything intended to transport humans, then we still have a ways to go.

    I really believe that we need an x-prize designed for a single stage reusable space vehicle. The aim: launch into orbit with a single stage, do a full orbit, return to earth and do the same thing a second time within two days. The x-prize would be split into two parts: unmanned for the first offering and manned for the second offering.

  11. Solutions for PIN based time allocations? on Some LA Coffee Shops Are Taking Wi-Fi Off the Menu · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I think this is a fair compromise.

    Another solution I had once considered was having times when you could use wi-fi freely and others when there are more customers you have to chip in either by buying a coffee or paying for the connection. It may work, but some people I have spoken too worry that this may end up being too confusing to actually work.

    On the subject of PIN based wireless internet, with time limitations, are there any solutions out there that are either available off the shelf or via something like OpenWRT?

  12. Oh well on Flash Ported To iOS and iPhone 4 · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Kudos for the achievement, but I am not going to clap too hard.

    [rant]
    I am not a big fan of Flash at the best of times. I have seen more cases of sloppy web design, UI design and lack of CPU optimisations in Flash than in other things I have used. Some of this can be attributed to people developing the Flash applications and some of this can be attributed to Adobe, but in the end we all suffer. If some of these issues were addressed I might change my mind about Flash, but at this point I have Flash block on my PC and I am not really missing it on my hand-held devices. Also, the lack of evidence that Adobe is actually trying to address these concerns is not helping. As for web sites using it as their only UI: sorry I'll find out what you were trying to sell when you use web standards.
    [/rant]

  13. Mini ITX? on Data Storage Capacity Mostly Wasted In Data Center · · Score: 1

    Instead of a medium number of large systems, I wonder whether it would make more sense to have a larger number of mini-itx type units that could be:
      - easily replaced
      - put in stand-by when no access - smart load balancer would decide when to wake up sleeping units.
      - simplified cooling?

    It would also be nice for a universal back-plane design to support plugging in boards from any company, with minimal or zero cabling.
     

  14. Re:Lies. on StarCraft II Cost $100 Million To Develop · · Score: 1

    10 years * ~12 developers at $80 000 each gets you close to the figure. Sure the salaries are probably a bit more varied, but there are most probably other costs involved.

  15. Re:and still on StarCraft II Cost $100 Million To Develop · · Score: 5, Informative

    I can think of plenty of situations:
      - LAN party in a plane
      - LAN party while camping
      - LAN party in a moving vehicle, other than a plane
      - LAN party while on military deployment
      - others

    Why should you limit you gaming to the presence of an internet connection?

  16. Coounter-labelling on Avoiding GM Foods? Monsanto Says You're Overly Fussy · · Score: 2, Informative

    Very true. Monsanto and friends have bought off the political side [guardian.co.uk] and continue to lobby heavily so that clear labels on GM food are not required [google.com] - preventing consumers from making an informed choice in the free market. Now as part of this broader campaign of voter/consumer deception, they just need to convince all the consumers that are not paying attention that their products are all A-Ok for consumption - so they trot out people like this Jonathan Jones so called "professor" to use his credentials to sway public opinion.

    Given this climate, the alternative approach is for companies using non-OGM food sources to label their foods as such.

    I did a bit of searching to see what there was in this way and came up with the following links:
      - http://www.non-gmoreport.com/FDA_disallows_GMO-free_label.php
      - http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/europe-says-gmfree-food-labels-need-not-tell-truth-737880.html

    The only thing I couldn't seem to find is some form of accepted label or logo to indicate GM free food.

  17. Einstein on Quantum Physics For Everybody · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I will add to this one of the greatest physicists around, Albert Einstein, did not know the necessary maths when he wrote his first theory. The maths was done for him, though he did later learn to do mathematics.

    Science as we know it is not about the maths, but being able to produce a solid theory that stands up under scrutiny. Using scientific process helps add weight and often mathematics can provide a calculable way of showing numerical relationships, but if the reasoning for the theory is sound then these are just bonuses, IMHO.

  18. Re:he did it because on Grigory Perelman Turns Down $1M Millennium Prize · · Score: 1

    he thinks he doesn't deserve the lion's share of the prize because there were others who contributed to his (their) achievement

    Fair enough. Maybe everyone who has worked with him in some way should get together and agree that they would like him to take the prize, even if it is simply to help out his mother.

    There is another view point, that the best work sometimes comes from lack of resources, not with the abundance of.

  19. Appleinsider on the Nokia and its documentation on Apple To Issue a 'Fix' For iPhone 4 Reception Perception · · Score: 2, Informative
  20. Significant closed formats? on EU Plans To Make Apple, Adobe and Others Open Up · · Score: 1

    It is nice to see this many open formats from Apple. At the same time I would be curious to know which other formats or protocols, used by Apple in public products, need to be opened up. I am more curious as to data formats that could be cause for lock-in. I would also be interested in having such formats from other companies being listed.

  21. Back to the stone age? on Mozilla Updates Firefox To Appease FarmVille Users · · Score: 1

    Or more accurately: centuries of technological advances has brought us full cycle, except this time we are growing food we can't eat!?

  22. Browser Security Acid Test? on Chase Bank May Drop Support of Chrome, Opera · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Basically, when there's a fairly significant liability there, years of experience and large corporate backing do matter. They maybe shouldn't, but they do.

    Sure, but if they can't provide concrete data for choosing one browser over another, then how can you be sure they are making the right choice. I understand their argument, but I have no evidence that they proved these browsers to be unreliable.

    What we need is a security acid test, akin to the CSS3 acid test, that is recognized by security and financial institutions, that can be run by browser developers to see whether they meet the mark. If there is one already, was it used and where are the results? If there isn't one, then how can we be sure browsers are being audited in an equal manner? For me the test should be something that any capable security expert could feel comfortable with and include minimum requirements for passing and also "nice to have features" that can give the browser bonus marks.

  23. Re:Awesome.. on ASCAP Declares War On Free Culture, EFF · · Score: 1

    I suspect that ASCAP is not going to ask congress to stop people giving away their work with no restrictions (hence allowjng other "artists" to make money from it), rather they will ask the lawmakers to remove copyright protection from works that people want to release under a Creative Commons or similar license.

    In other words, it is an attack on the GPL and similar licenses.

    The GPL and Creative commons both respect copyright law, they just tell you in advance under what conditions you may use said work. Copyright is about ownership and deciding who may use your work and under what conditions. While money is part of the reason copyright was put in place, there is nothing stating that it is the only reason for it to exist. I think its time people started writing to the congress representative and put a stop to ASCAP's nonsense.

    This is likely to be a matter of gun meet foot.

  24. 100 years in what conditions? on SanDisk WORM SD Card Can Store Data For 100 Years · · Score: 4, Insightful

    So they state 100 years, based on tests at room temperature. Can we assume that the media will always be stored at room temperature in 100 year period? My experience generally shows this is wishful thinking, because air conditioning breaks down, heating fails, the room is not always dark, can have direct sunlight etc. Provide me something that can last a 100 years in conditions of, at least, 30 degree centigrade variation, and then it might be interesting. Certainly I won't be around to appreciate the end results, but for archival this is a requirement, IMHO.

  25. Re:WebM will probably fail on IE9 Preview Touts Cross Browser Compatibility · · Score: 1

    The enterprise cap on H.264 royalties is $5 million/year.

    That is still a hell of a lot of money. You can charge me a one off distribution fee (even that is OTT), but taking a slice of my distribution costs, especially for content I am not charging for is ridiculous. Is a site simply showing holiday videos or product samples meant to be pay every time it is shown?