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User: msblack

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Comments · 198

  1. What about closed captioning? on New HDMI 2.1 Spec Includes Support For Dynamic HDR, 8K Resolution (techhive.com) · · Score: 1

    But will the standard allow transmission of traditional closed captioning embedded in the video signal? Useful when the source doesn't provide open captioning or uses a crappy font.

  2. What about Col. Jack Ripper? on B-52 Gets First Full IT Upgrade Since 1961 · · Score: 1

    Will they be replacing those CRM-114 discriminators in order to prevent nuclear disaster?

  3. Re:No kidding on 44% of Twitter Users Have Never Tweeted · · Score: 1

    Don't you mean the other 56%?

  4. Count me among the 44% on 44% of Twitter Users Have Never Tweeted · · Score: 1

    I signed up for Twitter as soon as it went public to preserve my name. However, I have yet to issue a single Tweet and only follow less than a handful of people I selected years ago. If I ever see the value of Twitter, I might tweet one day.

  5. Return of the 1970s pyramid games on Virgin Galactic Now Taking Bitcoin For Suborbital Flights · · Score: 2

    BitCoins remind me of those 1970s pyramid parties. At some point, the price will fall out and over half the people will lose nearly their entire investment. Why dally in a virtual currency unless you want to take advantage of others?

  6. What happens when one of these vehicles is involved in a collision? Could be caused by the truck running over a bicycle or another vehicle striking the autonomous vehicle.

  7. Is Google complicit in spam? on A Look At Google's Email Spam Prevention · · Score: 1

    I find it very strange that my Gmail account received so much spam long before I ever started actively using it. It's not like me e-mail address is made up of one or two words. I cannot for the life of me understand how anyone would possibly guess my e-mail address (two letters plus an uncommon word). I'm guessing someone got a hold of their user list. Anyhow, their spam filter is fairly accurate.

  8. I wish I paid on Microsoft Sued Over Vista-To-XP Downgrade Fees · · Score: 1

    When I purchased my Lenovo ThinkPad 51 weeks ago, I sadly opted for Vista Home Premium because it looked like my work was ready to deploy Vista. Looking back, I wish I had paid the extra $18 to get XP Professional. With the sole exception of improved networking features, Vista has been a horrible experience. My decision had nothing to do with money.

  9. Re:Why can't Microsoft ever get this right? on MS Critical Patch Fixes 8 Vulnerabilities · · Score: 1

    They need to isolate those functions away from the MTA agent. MTA should do MTA and punt the rest to a wholly separate program that has to re-establish trust and re-validate the input data.

  10. Why can't Microsoft ever get this right? on MS Critical Patch Fixes 8 Vulnerabilities · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Why in the world would an e-mail delivery system ever consider executing external code? Exchange should simply look at the delivery address. If it is a local address, place the message in the user's mailbox. If an external address, forward to the next hop. What's so difficult with that task?

    CommuniGate Pro has never had this problem. IronPort appliances don't have this problem. Exchange should stick to its sole job as a delivery agent and stop trying to be so smart.

    Can't we live without OLE?

  11. Fuzzy math on Samsung Mass Produces Fast 256GB SSDs · · Score: 4, Interesting

    So it launches applications 10 times faster [sic] (should say in 1/10 the amount of time), but the article only claims speed improvements of about 3.5 to 1. People need to seriously examine how they quote or accept statistics.

    Jim Elliott, vice president of memory marketing at Samsung, said the new 256GB drive can store 25 high-definition movies taking up 10GB of space each in just 21 minutes, which he said is a significant advancement over a 7200rpm hard disk drive, which takes about 70 minutes.

  12. Re:Sadly philanthropy isn't profitable. on Inside Dean Kamen's Seceded Island of Geekery · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Sometimes philanthropy has negative side effects that we didn't expect. In the case of the Gates Foundation, medical professionals in Sub-Saharan Africa are bypassing jobs in the local communities where their help is desperately needed. Instead, they are taking cushy well-paid positions with the GF inoculating children against deadly diseases or treating AIDS patients. The downside is that routine medical care is in short supply as workers flock to the high-paying positions to fight sexy epidemics. The big loser is basic health care.

    More from here.

  13. Re:The obvious question.... on TV Links Raided, Operator Arrested · · Score: 2, Informative
    A genius named King_TJ wrote:

    How is anything this site did remotely "illegal"? The answers to all your questions can be found in the original article.

    A 26-year-old man from Cheltenham was arrested on Thursday in connection with offences relating to the facilitation of copyright infringement on the internet, Fact said. Please note this statement will be subject to legal challenge when the case comes to court. In the meantime, feel free to rant and rave about the big hand of media conglomerates smashing content viewers who wish to avoid paying fees for their activities.

    NOTE: This post does not argue any point of view and merely points out very obvious facts. When it gets modded down as redundant or flamebait or troll, that will speak volumes for the crowd that moderates postings.

  14. suspicous number on Vista Runs Out of Memory While Copying Files · · Score: 0, Redundant

    16400 is supiciously close to 16,384 or 2^14.

  15. Re:Way of life on Replacing a Thinkpad? · · Score: 1

    I've never been inside a WalMart or Sams Club!

    Human rights organizations have been complaining about Myranmar for years

  16. Poorly-worded article summary on Less Than 2 Percent of UK Companies Have Upgraded Windows · · Score: 1

    Rob writes "...and 18% in the next two years. That means that within two years from now, only 56% of survey respondents say they will have upgraded their firm's desktops to Windows Vista." Those two statements seem to contradict each other.
  17. Google doesn't make hardware? on Google's Head of Research — We Don't Do Hardware · · Score: -1, Redundant

    "In a recent, wide-ranging interview Google's Head of Research, Dr Peter Norvig, revealed the firm has no interest in developing its own hardware. (except a phone, apparently.) If Google doesn't make hardware, who makes this?

  18. Since when DOESN'T Google make hardware? on Google's Head of Research — We Don't Do Hardware · · Score: -1, Redundant

    "In a recent, wide-ranging interview Google's Head of Research, Dr Peter Norvig, revealed the firm has no interest in developing its own hardware. (except a phone, apparently.) If Google is NOT in the business of making hardware, who "makes" this:

  19. Existence of g*d cannot be disproven on Why Myths Persist · · Score: 1

    It's a concept called falsifiability. Link provided for those with faith in Wikipedia as a credible source of knowledge. The consensus among scholarly researchers is that good theories must possess the characteristic of falsifiability. If a fact or claim could be untrue, there must be a way to disprove it. Since there is no known way to disprove the existence of g*d, I wouldn't consider it sound reasoning that g*d must exist or the ze doesn't.

  20. war in the name of g*d? on Facebook Exposes Advertisers To Hate Speech · · Score: 1

    For American society to look down upon Islam by claiming that religion promotes violence and war, I find it ironic that we name our weapons using such Christian rhetorical names "Hell Fire" and "The Finger of God."

  21. pink is for boys, blue is for girls on Pink, Blue, and Bad Science · · Score: 1

    Anyone willing to do some basic research and reading (this takes effort!) could easily locate a preponderance of evidence that Gainsborough's famous painting The Blue Boy had significant cultural impact in changing gender color roles. Not too long ago, it was customary for boys to wear pink and girls to wear blue. This isn't bad science, but simply a matter of finding historic cultural references. But in this modern lazy Slashdot society, people want simple answers without having to search and read sources beyond Wikipedia and the World Wide Web. Peer-reviewed journals are by far the most credible source for new theories and research. Research can also go beyond journals by gathering cultural artifacts (a few counter examples does not necessarily disprove any theory) and interviewing individuals.

  22. Re:USA is different... on How Do I Secure An IP, While Leaving Options Open? · · Score: 1

    While the exact duties of a Notary Public vary slightly by state in the US (because you are acting as an officer of the state and regulated by state law, in my case Ohio) we generally have two responsibilities.

    1) Perform signature acknowledgements (verify a document is signed by the person it says it was by requiring the personal appearance of such person with proper ID. A common example of this is real estate mortgages as you alluded.
    2) Administer oaths for sworn statements (jurat/affidavit). A common example of this is sale of a vehicle where you are required to swear that the information on the ownership title is correct.

    Some additional duties can include: administering the oath of office for elected officials, making certified copies of documents that are not subject to public recording, etc. Please MOD parent up to 5 and stop this mindless speculation and posturing over notary duties in most of the US, excepting Louisiana.
  23. Re:what makes this punishment cruel? on Pirate Banned From Using Linux · · Score: 2, Informative
    644bd346996 writes:

    Forcing somebody to pay money to a third party (ie somebody completely unaffiliated with the victim of the crime) sure seems like an unusual punishment to me. It also seems unjustified (unless you count "government laziness" as adequate justification).

    I think (and I expect most libertarians would agree) that the government should never have the power to force a citizen to do business with any corporation, especially when that corporation is an unregulated abusive monopoly. Defendant isn't being FORCED to PERFORM any activity. If defendant wishes to purchase a product, that is voluntary. As a condition of parole defendant is barred from ENGAGING in CERTAIN activity--the use of Linux software. Where did parent get the idea I said anything about unusual? My post asked for an explanation as to how this punishment meets the 8th Amendment definition of cruel.

  24. what makes this punishment cruel? on Pirate Banned From Using Linux · · Score: 0
    dsinc writes:

    So he's been told that he must use Windows for the term of his confinement. Looks like a case of cruel and unusual punishment to me" In absence of a smiley face, I can only read this as an honest assertion. Can someone explain what makes this punishment cruel under the 8th Amendment? You may start your discussion here.
  25. Misuse of term "loudness" on The "Loudness War" and the Future of Music · · Score: 1

    The article summary improperly uses the term "loudness" to refer to the base volume or decible intensity of the stored music. Audiophiles use the term "loudness" when discussing psychological or perception qualities of sound reproduction. That loudness knob on your home amplipher typically drops out the mid-range frequencies to enhance the lows and highs. Wikipedia has a terrible article which doesn't explain loudness very well.