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User: cwernli

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  1. ConText on Elastic Tabstops — An End to Tabs vs. Spaces? · · Score: 1

    The wonderfully lean and functional editor ConText uses "smart tabs" - the relevant option is active by default.

    Note two things:
    - it works like Word (i.e. with tabstops defined at certain positions, not with tabs defined as expanding to a certain number of spaces)
    - only fixed-width-fonts are available (which is good, since it's a programmer's editor)

  2. Maybe, but where? WHERE?! on Will World Cup Streaming Cause Internet Meltdown? · · Score: 1

    I for my part would LOVE to participate in the actual meltdown test - unfortunately it looks like I won't be able to: since the rights are handled regionally, and nobody in my region (Italy*) streams it, I'll be left out.

    Snif...

    * That's soccercrazy Italy, for god's sake!!

  3. Civ II on Time-Tested Gaming · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Not an adventure, but IMHO definitely the best game around: Civ II. I don't know how many months (man months, not calendar months) I've spent playing it...

  4. Re:Gwigle on Google: The Missing Manual, Second Edition · · Score: 1

    The painter's name is revealed by searching for "french impressionist painter" - it helps of course to know the general style of the paintings, which cannot be taken for granted.

    The question of the stock price is actually easier: the price displayed is for Friday 4:00 p.m. - that's the closing price, so an appropriate search reveals it quite easily.

  5. Re:that's why on Google Calendar · · Score: 3, Informative

    https://mail.google.com/mail remains https even after login (should work anywhere except in the UK, but maybe even there).

  6. Re:The PHB in question on Misconfigured Webserver, Threats to Call FBI · · Score: 1
  7. Re:overhead on Firefox 3D Canvas FPS Engine · · Score: 1

    > I stayed up all night playing Civilization IV

    That's soooo 21st century - now you can play CivII for free!

  8. No tiger in the tank on Ladies and Gentlemen Allow Me to Introduce the Cat Car · · Score: 1

    As The Register points out, this is theoretically possible, but not planned:

    Dr Christian Koch, 55, from Kleinhartmannsdorf says he doesn't use cats after all, rather spoiling things for punsters hoping to make jokes about putting a tiger in your tank. Any old biomatter will do: old tyres, paper, textiles, plastics weeds and so on.

    It then goes on: The underlying principle is fairly straightfoward: all organic material, animals and vegetables, contains fatty acids, albeit often in large involatile fat molecules. These can be broken down by heat into fatty acids and their derivatives which can in turn be converted into biodiesel.

    So, unfortunately, nothing too spectacular here.

  9. Social consequences on WoW Helping or Hurting the Industry? · · Score: 1

    Might not be the first time that there's a generation clash, but definitely an amusing one - check out postings #3 & #5 to get a good laugh: http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.aspx?fn=w ow-realm-cenarioncircle&t=145812&p=1&tmp=1#post145 812

    Seriously: WoW is currently one of a kind for merging virtual and effective reality; no matter what, this is the stuff the future is made of.

  10. Re:This kind of thing... on American Airlines Information Gathering · · Score: 2, Informative

    What is really insulting is when European hotels "hold" my passport for me. That really pisses me off...

    There's an easy workaround to this: in most European countries it is mandatory to carry an ID _at all times_ (given you are 18 years or older). Simply explain that the passport is your only legally valid document, and leave a (library card|old badge|credit card) with the hotel.

    Also, why did a casino in Monico need a copy of my passport?

    For the same reason that elsewhere your ID can get scanned and stored.

  11. Re:You know you are screwed... on The King William's College 2004 Quiz · · Score: 1

    According to the the guy who's maintaining the quiz it means:

    "To know where to find anything is, after all, the greatest part of education."

    I admit it's similar, but definitely more elegant.

  12. December 16th on WAN/LAN/VoIP Training Other than Cisco? · · Score: 1

    Management wants me to tell them what I want, and tell them soon as in within the week.

    Or should that be December 11th?

    Stay on dude, it's scary: Status bar

  13. Just a matter of procedure on More Fallout From FCC VoIP Decision · · Score: 4, Insightful

    If no taxes can be levvied on POTS anymore for funding emergency services and the like, there will surely be an alternative way of collecting those taxes.

    A flat tax, for example - say $0.50/month per resident. That should cover 911-expenses.

  14. Re:Close, but no cigar. on Siemens Sells Skype Adapters For Wireless Phones · · Score: 1

    Props to Siemens for being the first to jump on this bandwagon

    They're not the first, and not even the best. http://worldcall.brinkster.net/pcphoneline/skype/v ta1000.htm not only supports Skype, but

    • SIP
    • SkypeIN (!)
    • _all_ phones
  15. Favourite article quote on Internet Chess Club Security Defeated · · Score: 1

    "Since rearchitecting the Internet is both infeasible and falls short of a full solution (...)"

    I couldn't agree more.

  16. Luxembourg (Was: Re:Rhyme) on Skype VoIP Software & Service Reviewed · · Score: 1

    It rhymes with 'hype' much better.

    I am a business in the EU and I don't want to pay the VAT?

    Just now, our service is aimed at consumers, and we can't offer this. As soon as we have obtained the necessary approvals for our method of sales, we'll be opening up this facility. In the meantime, we hope our charges are competitive - even with VAT.

    Neal Stephenson would've provided for an explanation on why Luxembourg and not Liechtenstein, or Guernsey for that matter.

    OTOH, sales methods might increase facility competitivness. Whatever that might mean in a Mediterranean context.

  17. Re:Vastly important on Is Typing a Necessary Skill? · · Score: 1

    That could also be because of word processing: there was no copy/paste function on real typewriters, so you had to be damn sure what to write, while a word processor lets you copy out a unsuitable (=crappy) paragraph, and chances are, you'll paste it sometime later (since you've written it already).

    Newspaper articles have shown to be about 30% longer after word processing had been introduced.

  18. Re:To those wondering.. on PhoneGaim Brings Phone Calling To IM Users · · Score: 1

    Note that skype, while a cooky closed-source, non-standard product, does have good support for using it behind NAT, which is harder with SIP.

    This might just be the reason for SIP never taking off - Skype does one thing, and does it really well, so there's no incentive to switch to anything SIP-based.

  19. Re:News coverage... on Apollo 11's 35th Anniversary · · Score: 1

    Its not too bad in the real world either; look at those two excerpts:

    1) Only a truly _responsible_ project manager could make this truly awkward decision:

    Jack was convinced, in a split second, that if the computer wasn't getting to certain computations, such algorithms were not essential and would not materially affect the landing. It was a gutsy call. He was right and the Lunar Exploration Module landed safely.

    2) Tracking back on Moore`s Law they were about 2-tothepowerof-20 times behind us on computing power. But the description is nice:

    The on-board Apollo Guidance Computer (AGC) was about 1 cubic foot with 2K of 16-bit RAM and 36K of hard-wired core-rope memory with copper wires threaded or not threaded through tiny magnetic cores. The 16-bit words were generally 14 bits of data (or two op-codes), 1 sign bit, and 1 parity bit. The cycle time was 11.7 micro-seconds. Programming was done in assembly language and in an interpretive language, in reverse Polish. Scaling was fixed point fractional. An assembly language ADD took about 23.4 micro-seconds. The operating system featured a multi-programmed, priority/event driven asynchronous executive packed into 2K of memory. The Mean Time to Failure (MTBF) of the machine in a space environment was calculated at 50,000 hours -- almost 6 years, and it never failed in flight operations. It was truly a marvel for its time, a tribute to M.I.T.'s designers, and it accomplished a most complex mission.

    But what is "reverse polish" ?

  20. One line, not ten tools on Top Ten Linux Configuration Tools? · · Score: 1

    #!/usr/bin/perl

  21. Freeware on Setting Up Mac OS X for a Teenage Coffeehouse? · · Score: 1, Insightful

    what freeware or shareware applications would be good for such an environment?

    Yellow Dog Linux ?

    /me ducks

  22. Re:(sigh) better go make sure the lawn is mowed. on Camera Vans To Photograph 50 Million Buildings · · Score: 1

    The Gnome Liberation Front would love to know where to get 5000 gnomes very quickly.

    The GLF doesn't want to get but liberate them!

  23. Re:Speed vs. SCO-secure on Linus Adopts Enhanced Tracking Process · · Score: 1

    Who will play Record Keeper with all of these DCOs[..]?

    The next SCO.

    They'll have to deal with all the contributor's legislations in their part of the world. There will be [no more|a lot less] "It's my idea, stupid".

    The question is: will it be maintained in Bitkeeper or Ideamonger(tm) ?

  24. Copying ? on The RIAA's Push for an Audio Broadcast Flag · · Score: 1

    Excuse me for my ignorance, but copying audio streams is, although technically possible, simply not feasible: too much hassle, and I wouldn't know how to achieve it. Is this some kind of a pranksters joke ?

  25. FIFO on Cyber-Soap Returns From The Dead · · Score: 2, Funny

    The Spot was one of the first in and first out of the Dot-com era...

    Must've been exactly that, since I've never heard of it before.

    Then again, I was only a baby then.