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User: thomasa

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Comments · 254

  1. Re:"Censorship" on Delayed Outrage Over A Censored Site; What's a Better Way To Spread News? · · Score: 2

    Are you a state university paid for by taxes? Private corporations can do what they want - unfortunately.

  2. name for this on Sperm Could Power Nanobots · · Score: 1

    Perhaps could be called

    Onanbots or Onannites?

  3. so-called "Intellectual Property" on Report Says 36.4% of World's Computers Infringe on IP · · Score: 1

    Nice Article about "Intellectual Property"

    http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/not-ipr.html

  4. bought a 360 instead on Wii Shortages Costing Nintendo 'A Billion' In Sales · · Score: 1

    back in January you could not get any so I bought a 360 instead.

  5. maths == terrorism on Cryptography Expert Sounds Alarm At Possible Math Hack · · Score: 1

    I have thought about this a lot. Perhaps mathematicians should be locked up as terrorists. They would not be able to get out unless the can factor rsa120 in their head. Clearly math is a subversive activity. It leads to all sorts of hack attacks on computers and computer communications. It leads to dangerous things like atomic bombs and bridges that collapse under heavy winds. It leads to wet naked men running down the street yelling Eureka. (A small city in California - how did he know about Eureka? Was he a mole planted by the Romans?)

  6. Re:not quite... on Time Running Out for Public Key Encryption · · Score: 1

    I do not believe that quantum computing breaks
    symmetric key encryption algorithms like AES either.

  7. Re:Jobs for the elite - none for the rest - job op on Believe the Occupational Outlook Handbook? · · Score: 1

    By Elite do you mean those who are willing to work 60 hour weeks consistenly?

  8. Re:anarsist on 1935 Meccano "Dam Busters" Computer Restored · · Score: 1

    That'd be nice to see. Analog Linux. The input
    device would be two potentiometers. The GUI would
    be a voltmeter.

    I remember playing with a (I believe) Systron Donner Analog
    computer several years ago. For what they do they are very
    fast.

  9. Re:Original AusCERT on Dangerous Java Flaw Threatens 'Virtually Everything' · · Score: 1

    No problem, we always try to run the latest update. Update 12 is
    being installed now. Shouldn't they be concerned with the latest
    release? I know there is a lot of concern about changing releases
    but earlier versions had lots of holes too. I expect someone will
    find something in update 12 soon as well.

    Sun Java Runtime Environment (JRE) 5.0 Update 10 and prior

  10. Enterprise license on Vista is Watching You · · Score: 1


    Any idea how this works with a Microsoft Enterprise license? Will half the Internet
    traffic be Microsoft computers calling home?

  11. why do that? on Scientists Claim Major Leap in Engine Design · · Score: 1

    Why bother? Harbor Freight says you will get
    11.6% average highway fuel savings (whatever that is) with their
    fuel line gadget. Maybe you could put on 4 and get 46.4%
    average highway fuel savings. Put on 8 and you'd practically
    be driving free.

    See:
    http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem. taf?Itemnumber=36098

    quote:
    Save Fuel and Money. Simply strap to your fuel line to save gas and increase engine efficiency. FuelMaster's magnetic field breaks up clusters of hydrocarbon for more complete burning. Prevents build-up of dirt in engine injectors. Gives you 11.6% average highway fuel savings as tested by an EPA accepted laboratory. Use it on four cylinder cars and trucks.

  12. Re:jeez on Webcomic Author Deemed a Terrorist Threat · · Score: 1

    Someone posted the below web site somewhere:

    "REVISED: If the United States Were A Free Country"

    http://mycaseagainstgod.blogspot.com/

    I thought it was pretty good.

  13. Re:jeez on Webcomic Author Deemed a Terrorist Threat · · Score: 1

    Got it backwards. It was the
    communists that got him fired.

  14. Re:hardware debugger on Breakpoints have now been patented · · Score: 1

    correcting myself, it was actually about the mid 70s

  15. Re:hardware debugger on Breakpoints have now been patented · · Score: 2, Informative

    I worked on a hardware debugger back in the early 80s working
    on 8080 based software. Intel hardware debugger. You could
    set break points in hardware. It would continually check the
    address bus when it saw the address of the breakpoint, it would
    interrupt the execution. It had 8 inch floppy disks too.

  16. Re:Understood... on Student Arrested for Making Videogame Map of School · · Score: 2, Interesting

    The hammer was probably unlicensed too. Read about the danger at:

    http://www.allmax.com/MILT/

  17. what a terrible idea on Why Apple Should Acquire AMD · · Score: 1

    Keeping the chip makers independent from the software
    vendors/computer makers keeps them honest. I imagine
    that Apple would try to foist their requirements onto
    AMD and that might well destroy AMD or at least subvert
    it so much that there is no longer any competition between
    Intel and AMD. This would be to the detriment of everyone.

    I would imagine that itunes would be embedded into silicon
    so you could never get rid of it.

  18. did this long time ago - got the company to pay on Using Two Monitors Makes You More Productive? · · Score: 1

    I justified our developers doing this a long time ago. Having to open many windows and switch between them is a time consuming thing with one monitor. Having two is a great thing. Larger monitors are too expensive. Two are cost effective.

  19. Window 2003? on Microsoft Quietly Releases Windows 2003 SP2 · · Score: 0

    Oh, you mean Windows Server 2003. I was confused. Did you mean XP? No there already
    is a SP2 for that.

  20. Why fear when you can enlist their help. on IT Departments Fear Growing Expertise of Users · · Score: 2, Insightful

    When I come across someone who I find reasonably able to fix problems, I sometimes
    enlist their help on assisting their computer neighbors. I also find that people
    who think they know a lot quite often mess up their computer even more and consequently
    require my help more - That is okay, it keeps me employed. It is changing though
    with users losing admin rights. They really cannot do anything as a standard user.
    On UNIX computers, The users tend to be more technical (I find) but still require
    assistance sometimes. Especially when they do not have root.

  21. Huh, disagree on IT Departments Fear Growing Expertise of Users · · Score: 1

    QUOTE: It just might persuade some desperate CIO somewhere not to embark on a career-limiting path of decreeing against gmail and IM. UNQUOTE

    Sorry, that is not the case. Where I work, the word "email" is not even allowed in a URL anywhere. They block it period. Career-limiting my foot. I am sure any company with more then a couple of hundred people tends to be the same.

  22. Yeah but on Sun Is Giving Away Solaris 10 DVDs · · Score: 1, Informative

    Now they are charging you for the patches. Try getting the
    Solaris 10 recommended patches without a contract.

  23. Re:catch up on Global Warming Only a Theory, Says School Board · · Score: 1

    The "Christians" don't want it to be right. They believe
    the end of the world is near, they are going to heaven and
    damn the rest of the world. The trouble is they have absolutely
    no historical sense and do not realize that people have been
    predicting the end of the world for thousands of years and it
    yet has come to come about. Most preachers and pastors probably
    realize that it is not going to occur but they make money off
    of duping their flock.

  24. Re:Old News on How To Adopt 10 'Good' Unix Habits · · Score: 1

    While it is not the same, it is the best thing on Windows that is close to UNIX.

  25. tar comment on How To Adopt 10 'Good' Unix Habits · · Score: 2, Informative

    In their example with tar they did

    tar xvf

    without the dash. (E.g., tar -xvf)

    While that does work, I prefer to add
    the dash as it makes it more consistent
    with the other commands. So I consider
    that a bad example. tar is one of the
    older commands like dd that have weird
    command line syntax.