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User: bigspring

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Comments · 31

  1. Easy Fix on Preventing Cheating At Hackathons · · Score: 0

    I think when this sort of event is for pride, then whatever, but when cash prizes get involved I can see why the people giving the prizes would want the rules followed. I feel like the obvious way to do this is to have each participant use software that does regular screen captures that can be reviewed by judges if they feel like there was anything goofy going on. I know that privacy is a concern, but in that case participants could feel free to turn it off while not working or at least commit to not producing any work in other screens.

  2. Re:Libertarians != Republicans on Small Devs Attacked Over In-App Purchase Button Patent · · Score: -1

    Barry Goldwater, what a guy, they don't make them like him anymore. It's such a damned shame that politicians these days aren't more interested in promoting racism between attempts at killing everyone on the planet in a fiery nuclear apocalypse. We miss you, Barry.

  3. Re:In Soviet Russia... on Moscow Has Eyes On WikiLeaks, Too · · Score: -1, Redundant

    At least you got a reason for the down votes. I guess there just isn't a "not that funny" category for me.

  4. Re:Assange on Moscow Has Eyes On WikiLeaks, Too · · Score: 0

    I'm not sure why you got down-voted for trolling. You bring up an excellent point.

  5. In Soviet Russia... on Moscow Has Eyes On WikiLeaks, Too · · Score: 4, Insightful

    ... Wiki leaks you. I guess?

  6. Re:No. on Pluto Might Be Bigger Than Eris · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I wasn't arguing how arbitrary it was. I was arguing that the people who created the definition were smart enough to define it in such a way that the classification can be determined on a case-by-case basis. A basis that won't be substantively changed by comparative measurements. Discovering anything about any new planetary body will not change Pluto's classification because the discoveries will not be about Pluto.

  7. No. on Pluto Might Be Bigger Than Eris · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    The argument for calling Pluto a Dwarf planet is on perfectly firm ground. It had nothing to do with size. Do some research before you ask stupid questions, please.

  8. *gasp* on Serious Security Bugs Found In Android Kernel · · Score: 1

    This number clearly differs from that of equivalent closed source systems! It's a shame that there's no current method for the community at large to help address these issues!

  9. Re:get a lawsuit on Careful What You Post, the FBI Has More of These · · Score: 1

    Nah, just use it against them. If it's legal for them to place the bug on your car with no legal processes, it's also legal for you to take it and put it on someone else's. Slap it on a shipping truck or a train, or hell, a boat heading to international waters. After burning hundreds of thousands of dollars chasing nothing watch them make it illegal.

  10. Tsk tsk! on Hawking: No 'Theory of Everything' · · Score: 1, Funny

    What a flip-flopper! This guy would make an awful president. Bush/Cheney 2004!

  11. Re:Alright! on Motorcyclist Wins Taping Case Against State Police · · Score: 2, Informative

    Agreed. If you carefully read the Maryland laws in question (which my IRC channel did, accompanied with a good deal of argument) it becomes clear that this the correct decision. It could only have been considered interception ("wiretapping") if the person recording the interaction was not a participant and did not have the consent of either of the parties to distribute the recording. Since Garber was the one who had the gun pulled on him and he was also the one who willingly posted the video, he is not in violation of the laws in question.

  12. Re:Maybe you should have held a 'conscience vote' on Conroy Still Hell-Bent On Internet Filter · · Score: 1

    Machine guns, repeating rifles, giant mortars, spotting aircraft, submarines, armored warships, siege warfare, total war, concentration camps for prisoners, the Civil War had it all.

    Wait... what?

  13. By a Large Margin on 25 Years of Super Mario Bros. · · Score: 1

    The answer to your question is: Wii Sports.

  14. Hrm on The Map of Critical Thinking and Modern Science · · Score: 1

    While I'm sure it was difficult to compile and put this together, I find some of the very basic omissions of this work surprising. Einstein wasn't a major contributor to astronomy? Really?

  15. Re:This question on How Much Smaller Can Chips Go? · · Score: 1

    I have a fairly solid physics background and I understand that there is a physical limit for a reliable transistor. The problem is that it's not the same thing as the theoretical limit we currently have, nor is it the same as the physical limit for the size of a usable transistor. Our understanding of the science continues to progress and as we learn more and more about the principles we discover reasons why the the theory is wrong. Additionally, there are some very clever engineers working on the project who prove over and over again that they can improve on their current techniques, fabrication tools, and materials to push the theoretical limit. Then, where these things fail, there are even more folks standing by with ever more sophisticated error correction techniques to efficiently and consistently use transistors that are not physically reliable. Don't get me wrong, there will be a time when the our current transistor model will stop advancing. What I'm saying is that until the point where advances have actually ground to a halt, or hell, markedly slowed down, I don't want science and tech writers cramming stories down my throat about how we'll never see another significant advance in computing power.

  16. This question on How Much Smaller Can Chips Go? · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I think there has been a major article asking this question every six months for the last decade. Then: surprise surprise, there's a new tech development that improves the technology. We've been "almost at the physical limit" for transistor size since the birth of the computer, why will it be any different this time?

  17. Re:5 years? on Just One Out of 16 Hybrids Pays Back In Gas Savings · · Score: 0

    The standard hybrid components warranty is 8 years/100k mile(160k km) from most OEMs.

  18. Poorly chosen time parameter on Just One Out of 16 Hybrids Pays Back In Gas Savings · · Score: 0

    Why would they choose 5 years when the standard warranty length for hybrid components from most OEMs is eight years?

  19. Re:Costs for what? on Internal Costs Per Gigabyte — What Do You Pay? · · Score: 0

    You've sussed out 1/3 of one month's costs. Now... where does the other 3.5 million dollars a year go?

  20. Well... on Industrial Marijuana Farming Approved In Oakland · · Score: 3, Funny

    You know how those wacky developers are with their marijuana!

  21. Re:not pay-per-view journalism to blame... on Pay-Per-View Journalism Is Burning Out Reporters Young · · Score: 0

    the problem is, at 10%+ unemployment, what else are the people going to do?

    Not quit their jobs?

  22. Re:The fact is, US is just as bad as China on US Gov't Orders 73,000 Private Websites Offline · · Score: 1, Informative

    There's a big difference between them sometimes requesting sites be taken down and trying to strictly control the flow of all information to their populace. Putting the US government's infractions against its people on the same level as China's is just plain incorrect.

  23. Re:Worst idea ever? on Should Cities Install Moving Sidewalks? · · Score: 0

    Well, first off, my experience with public transit is that the reduction of capacity to meet "demand" is one of the contributing factors to decreases in demand. However, that aside, I'm more curious as to whether the reduced amount of time the train operates makes up for the fact that it has to drag around an enormous amount of mass (though I could also see the argument that the material of the sidewalk is equally as massive). As to the energy that could be used elsewhere: if a substantial amount of the energy running the sidewalk were to be provided by integrated solar cells (I'm envisioning the sidewalk being in an enclosed tube out of necessity to protect it from the elements), then at least during daylight hours you aren't using very much energy that would otherwise be used elsewhere.

  24. Worst idea ever? on Should Cities Install Moving Sidewalks? · · Score: 0

    When stated as an urban walkway, it's a fairly awful idea. The reduction in physical activity coupled with the amount of effort that would go into keeping these things working (people complain about road construction)! However, this could work if used on a larger scale. Moving sidewalks constructed with heavy duty materials between urban area could be powered in part by solar panels. The amount of energy savings for getting people from place to place without the use of cars would be remarkable. The entry/exit method would need some engineering, but imagine it: a train that runs on almost no energy that you can hop on any time you want. Wow.

  25. Duh? on Hemisphere Games Reveals Osmos Linux Sales Numbers · · Score: 1, Interesting

    Linux geeks like video games, but have barely any available natively. They'll pay to encourage others to be ported in the future. It's a pretty simple idea. I find it fairly remarkable that people are just figuring this out.