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User: Sique

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  1. Re:javascriptards on WebODF: JavaScript Open Document Format Editor Deemed Stable · · Score: 1

    Nevertheless, it works[tm]. The good has two arch-enemies, and both are winning almost each battle: the better, and the good enough.

  2. Re:How are they going to get proof? on Seven ISPs Take Legal Action Against GCHQ · · Score: 4, Informative

    No, Belgacom was only the attack vector to get the malware up and running. From there, other providers were attacked under the disguise of Belgacom. For instance, the german exchange points DE-CIX and ECIX were attacked, thus all providers with facilities there are victims to the attack.

  3. Re:Americans on Alleged 'Bigfoot' DNA Samples Sequenced, Turn Out To Be Horses, Dogs, and Bears · · Score: 3, Interesting

    This is just an anecdote, but anyway. When we had our first child, I was in serveral lectures about child upbringing and first aid and similar. One was in Frankfurt(Main), Germany, by a physician who strongly opposed vaccination and had lots of graphs and pictures to support his stance. He didn't mention the vaccination-autism-connection, because that seems to never have caused the big craze in Germany as in the U.S. and U.K.. But the people there didn't seem to be of the religious type (Religion isn't that big in Germany anyway, especially not in large urban regions), but more of the wealthy non-conformist affiliation.

  4. Re:Climate Science on How Often Do Economists Commit Misconduct? · · Score: 1
    Climatology is the same science that gives you your daily weather report. And you can check for yourself, how often the weather prediction is close to reality. We also know the black-body radiation of the Earth and derive the thermal equilibrum, which gives 254 K as the equilibrum temperature, and we can compare it with the temperatures we actually measure, and thus we find out that there is a greenhouse effect on Earth of about 32 K right now. And we can also look which components of the Earth atmosphere contribute to the green house effect, and how the change of the relative occurence of the different components change the greenhouse effect.

    And no, those are no new findings, they go back to Gustav Kirchhoff (1860) and Svante Arrhenius (1905). The qualitative nature of the greenhouse effect is well understood, and we know that methane, water vapor and carbon dioxide are greenhouse gases, because we can exactly measure how much electromagnetic energy they trap and turn into heat at different atmospheric levels. What we didn't have 150 and 100 years ago was a way to quantitatively predict the outcome of certain levels of the greenhouse gases in a highly complex system with many feedback loops. We already know since 100 years, that increased carbon dioxide levels will increase the greenhouse effect. We know that the level of carbondioxide is rising in the atmosphere, from 270 ppm in the 1950ies to 400 ppm today. What we don't know exactly yet is how the additional thermal energy gets distributed and how much of it goes into which result (like raising sea levels, more and stronger storms, increased atmospheric temperatures etc.pp.). And that's where the computer models come in.

    We also know that carbon dioxide is a comparatively weak greenhouse gas. The increase from 270 ppm to 400 ppm, which means about 50% more carbon dioxide than 60 years ago, is predicted to lead to about 3 K of additional greenhouse effect, which is only 10% of the current effect. So it's not the carbon dioxide as such, it's the sheer amount of it we are adding to the atmosphere each year.

  5. Re:California also legalized using polished turds on California Legalizes Bitcoin · · Score: 2
    The main buyers of gold are India and China, they gobble up about 30% of the yearly world production. There it mainly goes into jewelry. Gold has some usage in technology and chemistry, but this is only 15% of the world production. About 5% goes into minting and gold bullions.

    Were it not for the 60% usage in China and India to fulfill their local traditional needs for family treasures, gold would plummet to a third of its current price. The price of gold is very volatile, much more than any currency. You can compare the prices for platinum with the prices for gold for the last 20 years. Both metals are quite similar: Main use is jewelry, with some usage in the electronics or as catalyst, the frequency of occurrence is about the same (0.004 ppm vs. 0.005 ppm in the Earth crust), and still the prices of both metals are not parallel, but swing hugely into both direction (up to three times the price for one vs. the other).

    Taken all things together, gold makes for a horrible currency.

  6. Re:I don't think the device itself would be legal. on Funding for iFind Kickstarter Suspended · · Score: 1

    No. It's any conductor, not just a conductor electically connected to the system. Thus an antenna would fall in to the 248c.

  7. Re:I don't think the device itself would be legal. on Funding for iFind Kickstarter Suspended · · Score: 1
    You are a fucking idiot too. The relevant chapter in German law for instance is Chapter 248c StGB.

    I know an antenna takes the same amount of power than an harvester. But an antenna is (according to German law) "a conductor for the rightful withdrawal of electrical energy", as the intention of the emitter was that the energy is going to an antenna. And yes, I know that any conducting material will "harvest" electrical energy from radiowaves (and mostly turn it into heat). But that's irrelevant for the law, as those aren't put there to withdraw the energy.

  8. I don't think the device itself would be legal. on Funding for iFind Kickstarter Suspended · · Score: 3, Informative

    As far as I know, the device (if it actually could work) would be illegal in most of Europe. Charging a device with the EM waves sent by other devices is considered energy theft and thus forbidden. In the 1960ies, devices charged by radiowaves from a nearby radio tower were a constant theme in the electronic magazines, but later, this was forbidden, as it actually forces the radio tower to increase the emitted amount of energy to compensate for the loss due to the charging device.

  9. Re:Are you getting it yet? on Germany Scores First: Ends Verizon Contract Over NSA Concerns · · Score: 2

    The government network contract was up for bidding, and Verizon won. It's as easy as that. And now, the German government found out that Verizon didn't disclose some very important information in the contract negotiations.

  10. Re: better idea on A Physicist Says He Can Tornado-Proof the Midwest With 1,000-Foot Walls · · Score: 1

    That was never officially stated. Officially the Berlin Wall was supposed to keep foreign agents and provocateurs out.

  11. Re:Your taxes at work on A Physicist Says He Can Tornado-Proof the Midwest With 1,000-Foot Walls · · Score: 1

    Spain has only some dozen kilometers of fence around their enclaves in North Africa. People now use boats to get to Lampedusa, which is in Italy, and being an isle, can't be easily fenced off.

  12. Re:IF.. on Match.com, Mensa Create Dating Site For Geniuses · · Score: 1

    Being fast at 100 m runs demonstrates you are good at doing 100 m runs. Still you will be hailed a talent in Track&Field.

  13. Re:I stopped wearing a watch some years ago. on Ask Slashdot: What Would It Take For You To Buy a Smartwatch? · · Score: 1

    Sorry for not being a native speaker. I will try to change that as soon as possible.

  14. I stopped wearing a watch some years ago. on Ask Slashdot: What Would It Take For You To Buy a Smartwatch? · · Score: 1
    I am working all day with computers, and there I have the time somewhere in a widget or just a command away. The car has a watch. There are watches all over town. Thus, I don't need a wristwatch, and in the few situations where I need to know the time and there is no watch around right now, I still can pull out the mobile and check.

    Thus for me: Currently nothing could convince me to buy a smart watch.

  15. Re:Give me a break. on Supreme Court Upholds Most EPA Rules On Greenhouse Gases · · Score: 1
    This is a huge misunderstanding.

    What I wanted to point out is, that painting regulations as anti-big business without further elaboration is completely misguided, as you can paint anything as anti-big business, even the most pro-business laws. And property laws are the most pro-business laws of all, as they actually create the property you can trade.

  16. Re:Give me a break. on Supreme Court Upholds Most EPA Rules On Greenhouse Gases · · Score: 5, Insightful

    It's just a coincidence that every law is anti-big business. Imagine all the business opportunities, if big business could just hire some gun men and force people out of their houses! Those pesky property laws are so totally anti-big business. It's so anti free market that the people with more and better guns shouldn't be able to expand their market share.

  17. Re:I can see why they didn't investigate on EU High Court To Review US-EU Data Safe Harbor Agreement · · Score: 1

    The GCHQ could claim administrative priviledge (as they actually did, linked PDF), but if the transfer of data itself ist forbidden, they have an administrative priviledge with no one to actually priviledge on.

  18. Re:I can see why they didn't investigate on EU High Court To Review US-EU Data Safe Harbor Agreement · · Score: 3, Interesting

    It could give all the european intelligence agencies cold feet for cooperating with the NSA. It could give all the citizens angry about the constant surveillance and the nonchalance of their politicians about it a boost. It makes everyone liable who gives material support to the NSA from within the E.U., which in turn makes the life miserable for David Cameron and the GCHQ.

  19. Re:At what point on EU High Court To Review US-EU Data Safe Harbor Agreement · · Score: 4, Interesting
    To what end? That means that they can't use the irish tax havens anymore. That means that they have no footing if they want to sue. That means that even mediocre european companies will eat their marketshare because they are present in the E.U.. And if the sales company in the E.U. sues them for falsely representing the actual handling of the data, they aren't off the hook either.

    Yes, an U.S. based company could avoid the fallout. But is it worth it?

  20. Re:favorite toppings? on Hackers Ransom European Domino's Customer Data (including Favourite Toppings) · · Score: 1

    Mozarella, salami, ham, onions, pepperoni.

  21. Re:favorite toppings? on Hackers Ransom European Domino's Customer Data (including Favourite Toppings) · · Score: 1

    Some hypocritical healthy food advocates might be revealed. Think about Jamie Oliver choosing American Style with Extra Cheese.

  22. Re:Other consequences on France Cries Foul At World Cup "Spy Drone" · · Score: 3, Insightful
    There is still the common misconception that having windows in your bedroom allows the guy across the street to record and broadcasting everything happening inside. And there is still the common misconception that me publishing a picture of me allows you to publish all the pictures you have of me.

    This could be called the Facebook fallacy. "Some people publish intime details about themselves on Facebook, thus everyone is allowed to record and publish every intime detail about everyone in the world."

  23. Re:OCA on Judge Orders DOJ To Turn Over FISA Surveillance Documents · · Score: 1

    I will in no way contest the results of the U.S. elections (except for the usual fraud allegations), but I am deeply convinced, that in a democracy, you have the government you deserve.

  24. Re:It's Nissan on BMW, Mazda Keen To Meet With Tesla About Charging Technology · · Score: 1

    Because Tesla cooperating with Tesla would somehow be redundant?

  25. Re:OCA on Judge Orders DOJ To Turn Over FISA Surveillance Documents · · Score: 2

    That's why John Steinbeck got the Nobel Prize for Literature, and I didn't.