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User: PinchDuck

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Comments · 315

  1. I'm an Open Source bigot. No question about it. on WePad Tablet Will Use Linux To Rival the iPad · · Score: 1

    I have Linux on my laptop, and run XP virtually if I need to do Windows development. My server is running Linux. I own (though no longer use) the Sharp Zaurus. The thing that nearly has me shelling out dough for the iPad, though, is the 10 hour battery life. Users are actually reporting longer life than that, which is amazing. It beats the nearest competitor by almost 5 hours. Until someone comes out with a product that can compete at that level, with that form factor (I like the larger size) and a similar feature set, I will have this in my sights. I'm not going to purchase one for about a year, though, so maybe something just as good or better will come out by the time I'm ready to buy something.

  2. Re:The comparison to the Apple II era again... on WePad Tablet Will Use Linux To Rival the iPad · · Score: 1

    CP/M had Wordstar, a true 80 column word processor. For the longest time, you either had AppleWriter, which wasn't 80 column, or Magic Window, which featured a virtual scrolling area. Neither one was as good as WordStar. CP/M was basically a necessity for any real work involving word processing.

  3. Looking at Senator Obama's record... on Obama Faces Major Online Privacy Test · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Particularly at his FISA vote, I'm guessing he will go with guidelines that strengthen privacy of individuals wrt companies, but will go for even more of a Federal power grab. Governments hate privacy and love power. Given any opportunity, they will weaken one and strengthen the other.

  4. Flash is what, 10 years old? HTML 5 is barely out on A Skeptical Comparison of HTML5 Video Playback To Flash · · Score: 1

    So of course Flash will do some things better. HTML5 will come along very quickly, however, because of the number of people (consumers and companies) that hate Flash. Adobe dug this hole for themselves with their arrogant attitudes and sky-high pricing. Now that the rest of the industry has an alternative to rally around, it will soon be a new world. It won't be flash-free, but Adobe will have to clean up it's act to compete.

  5. Put the Toyota engineers in charge on LHC Will Be Shut Down In 2011 Because of "Mistake" · · Score: 5, Funny

    Then it will never stop.

  6. SoftCard, CP/M, Decathlon... on The Secret Origin of Windows · · Score: 1

    All legal drugs. Well, the packaging was. Open that binder and get a whiff of vinyl that would have you dizzy for several minutes. Is it Mr. Trower that I have to thank for all my pre-teen buzzes?

  7. The country that walked on the Moon... on The Upside of the NASA Budget · · Score: 1

    is now out of the business of manned spaceflight. Yeah, that's just fucking great.

  8. Finally, Non-nutritive food shellac on Spray-On Liquid Glass · · Score: 1

    Somewhere, Clark Griswold is smiling.

  9. Good. on Students Failing Because of Poor Grammar · · Score: 1

    That means the system is working. Re-take the classes until you learn to communicate properly.

  10. Efficient manufacturing economy is efficient on China Is Winning Global Race To Make Clean Energy · · Score: 1

    Nothing to see here.

  11. Gimp + HP 2500 already does it... on New Touchscreen Technology Like Writing On Paper · · Score: 1

    Unless I'm missing something, I can already do that with the Gimp on my laptablet. Laptoblet? Tablaptoplet? Taplaptoblet? You get the idea.

  12. Like mullets and backtalk... on Darwinian Evolution Considered As a Phase · · Score: 1

    You'll grow out of it.

  13. That whole "Free flow of information" thing on China Will Lead World Scientific Research By 2020 · · Score: 1

    might just trip them up. Either the people will get used to it, which will undermine and eventually topple the central government, or the politicians will crack down to save their own hides, and the output will diminish. I'm hoping for a completely free and democratic China, personally.

  14. Cool... on PS3 Hacked? · · Score: 2, Interesting

    It will be very cool to have full system access to the resources of the PS3. Also, I know that the Cell itself has security baked into it. Does this imply that the cell itself has been compromised? I know that the two events are unrelated, but shame on you Sony for removing the Other OS option from the Slim. Why take away the coolest part of the system?

  15. Haze's cover killed it for me. on Failed Games That Damaged Or Killed Their Companies · · Score: 1

    I thought 'Why does that guy have egg on his face?". Then I put down the box and bought Fall of Man, instead. That game cover had a skull in an army helmet with fangs. I found that intriguing. I enjoy the game. My character doesn't have to wear an egg.

  16. Change and Hope, Hope and Change on US Blocking Costa Rican Sugar Trade To Force IP Laws · · Score: 1

    Do it my way or I'll bash in your brains.

  17. I'll admit it, I like the pretty pictures. on Bing Gaining Market Share Faster · · Score: 1

    and the info-boxes inside them.
    An interesting co-trend: Firefox market share is increasing. So we should have a tiny overlap and have an increasing number of firefox users switching to Bing.

  18. Conversation with the company's head IT admin on Do Your Developers Have Local Admin Rights? · · Score: 2, Insightful

    "You know the company policy, but now I will ask you directly: Do you have any software on your computer that I have not personally reviewed?"
    Yes
    "WHY?!?!"
    Because I write it. It's my job, and I don't have time to submit every program I write to you for approval before I install it on my machine to test it.
    Admin Draws deep breath...
    "AND...that makes sense. OK, you can have admin privileges on this machine".

    I know places that don't give their devs admin privileges. It makes their jobs much harder. Security has to make sense to keep a corporate network safe, not to inconvenience everyone or make their jobs harder.

  19. Re:Oh Come On on Charities Upset Over Chase Facebook Contest · · Score: 1

    LOL!
    I must take time from posting my pro-life responses to congratulate you on a wonderful troll. Well done, sir!

  20. Re:Pro-"Choice" on Charities Upset Over Chase Facebook Contest · · Score: 1

    a) "leave that as a mess for someone else to clean up"
    You mean parenting? Or giving the child up for adoption?
    b) You've polled pro-life groups to find out which ones are affiliated with _real_charities, like soup kitchens and social services? You found that none of them have any other adjunct charities? That's big news. I think that it's wrong. *hint* ever been to a hospital that starts with St.? It is probably affiliated with a religious organization that also runs other charities and may very well be pro-life.

    Doing a quick search on Margaret Sanger Hospital, I find one clinic that deals with "Reproductive Health and STD's." Do a search on St. Joeseph hospital, and there are hundreds across the nation. It seems that for the general health care of the people, the Christians (who don't care about people, according to you) have far more hospitals. It seems to me like you have your thesis backwards. When I see a Planned Parenthood urgent care clinic for general health, or a cancer center, or a burn center, maybe I'll believe you. Until then, you're just wrong.

    ps: Do a search on Margaret Sanger racism if you want to find out the core goal of Planned Parenthood. It isn't about women's rights or reproductive freedom, it's all about slow-motion genocide. Because yeah, planned parenthood cares for people.

  21. Can I watch Sunday Night Football yet? on Microsoft Promises Not To Sue Moonlight 2.0 Users · · Score: 1

    That is the only site that I care about that uses Silverlight. If I can, great. But I tried it last Sunday, with the latest update from the Ubuntu repositories, and I was instructed to install Silverlight. I feel much better that they won't sue me for using their bitch-slap technology to be prevented from watching content, though. I had been losing sleep over that.

  22. I've crossed that border many times on Sci-Fi Author Peter Watts Beaten, Charged During Border Crossing · · Score: 0

    with no trouble. People there are not randomly stopped and beaten. If the border patrol told him to get back into his car and he didn't, he was disobeying a direct order by someone in a situation where he has very few rights. That's right, kids, you have very few rights at the border. The constitution takes effect inside the border, not at it. I'm not saying that the border officer was correct or right, but you always obey them, it's always "yes sir/no sir", and you just sit through the search until you're released. Getting out to show them who is in charge and demanding information is the incorrect action to take. I think that there is more to this story then he is reporting. I will be crossing that exact border twice again in January. My fears of getting hauled away and beaten? Zero. I want to hear the border patrol's side of the story.

  23. Re:You can't say NO on Saying No To Promotions Away From Tech? · · Score: 1

    What he is saying is true. Companies that do it are just being short sighted and stupid. The advice, basically, is: don't be short sighted and stupid.

  24. I'll third it on Saying No To Promotions Away From Tech? · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I hated management, and was bad at it. The people under me suffered. Not because I was a mean person, or power hungry, just because I was bad at it. I moved jobs to a technical role and love my job again. If I were you, I would start looking immediately. Good luck.

  25. False premise... on Harvard Says Computers Don't Save Hospitals Money · · Score: 1

    in the title. I've been around Hospital IT quite a bit in my career, and have never seen a system sold on saving money. They're sold on getting clinical data to the physician as soon as possible. A computer system and network costs far more money than a slip of paper, but I still want my lab results stored and transmitted electronically because it is faster and more efficient, both in a particular moment and over the span of various visits.