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User: Jeff+DeMaagd

Jeff+DeMaagd's activity in the archive.

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  1. Re:Are they actually binding? on Cory Doctorow on Shrinkwrap Licenses · · Score: 1

    Basically right. I've read a few EULAs and frankly, they can have onerous terms but no one

    Oops.

    I basically meant to say that no one really cares. I wonder if the companies really don't want people to read them. It's unfortunate that plain-english agreements don't fly because reading legalese is boring. I don't expect lawyers to understand an electronic data sheet, so why should a lawyer expect me to read legalese to understand what I'm agreeing to.

  2. Re:Are they actually binding? on Cory Doctorow on Shrinkwrap Licenses · · Score: 1

    Basically right. I've read a few EULAs and frankly, they can have onerous terms but no one

    I don't think a EULA has held up in court, or had serious scrutiny. I think a court did find that you cannot have a EULA that the customer couldn't read before buying software, but the current lazy workaround was a sticker on the shrinkwrap pointing to the URL of a EULA. As if anyone would go to a computer terminal and read it.

  3. Re:No more lazy man's BitTorrent on Viacom Demands YouTube Remove Videos · · Score: 1

    Only people who take a picture of themselves everyday for years will be permitted to post content. Until the RIAA/MPAA copyrights their faces

    To be fair, videos of treadmill-dancing, mock solo light saber fights and soda fountain videos will also be allowed so long as the music is licenced for redistribution like that. Those people can use podsafe or creative commons music for that end anyways.

  4. Re:No more greedy man's BitTorrent on Viacom Demands YouTube Remove Videos · · Score: 1

    If they want content that bad, then they should host it on their own servers.

    I think many of them are doing that just now. A month ago, I've heard of an open source video site system that does much of what YouTube does. I'm sure many people are using such software to their own copyright infringing desires.

  5. Re:Is Gates wrong, or lying? on Bill Gates Brags About Vista, Reacts to Apple's Latest Ads · · Score: 1

    Apple might not have had DLL hell, but they had an extension hell with pre-OS X that, according to Mac people that used it that long ago, was a pain. This was fixed with OS X.

    One problem that I run into is that I can't just give people a "normal" user account because software doesn't work. Requiring Power User or Administrator is what gave XP and previous a lot of security problems. I don't have Vista, but supposedly it improves the situation, though I would be skeptical that it is completely fixed simply because Vista has to run legacy software to be accepted.

  6. Re:under the table? on Dell's Intel Bias Caused By Under the Table Cash? · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I don't understand why "under the table" cash is even necessary. Why do that if they can just get a discount? Do public filings even show which company is getting Dell's money? I don't think they are broken down that far.

  7. Re:Stroboscopic effect - LEDs even worse on California Proposes to Ban Incandescent Lightbulbs · · Score: 1

    The LED flicker can usually be fixed with a small amount of electronics. It just needs to be set to a few kilohertz. LED can be made to work with video equipment, witness the Lite Panels.

  8. Re:CFLs not always a good choice (enclosed fixture on California Proposes to Ban Incandescent Lightbulbs · · Score: 1

    It is not a problem.

    I say this because I do machine work every day at my job and for my small business. All of our lights are fluorescent and I've never seen this happen with the fixtures that I use. Even if you match the RPM exactly, the drill will still look blurred because the "pulse" of a fluorescent is long and blurred, and the motor is still making noise.

    If you can point me to an peer-reviewed report or OSHA mandate that says otherwise, then maybe I'm wrong. But most machine shops are using fluorescent lights that I've seen.

  9. Re:"Much like Linux"?? on Microsoft Applies To Patent DRM'ed OS Modules · · Score: 1

    I think the point was that the driver system was more modular, but I thought the idea of kernel modularity preceded Windows and Linux by a fair decade or so.

    Windows had a modular driver system since NT 3.1, at least for the NT lineage, which I suppose goes up to Vista now. I think NT 3.1 might have predated a modular Linux kernel.

  10. Re:As I've said before... on Microsoft Applies To Patent DRM'ed OS Modules · · Score: 1

    And those who don't run one get to deal with a gap in functionality.

    I don't believe this is so much of a gap in functionality but a gap in usability or look and feel in many cases. You can find software for non-commercial OSs that can fit pretty much any particular need but it might not be as nice as a commercial program on a commercial operating system.

    I don't even understand why people say that GIMPshop behaves just like Photoshop. It's getting closer but I don't think anyone that's at all experienced with Photoshop would be slightly confused.

  11. Re:As I've said before... on Microsoft Applies To Patent DRM'ed OS Modules · · Score: 1

    The first time I can install HW under Linux that doesn't run in Windows, I'll know that it's the beginning of the end for MS.

    It's been done. There was an HD tuner card that only ran under Linux, and was available as a commercial device, albiet directly through them, not through retail. I never checked to see how long that group stayed afloat, I don't remember the name of the company.

    Others are out there, but I think they are mostly hobbyist or research projects.

  12. Re:So? on Flickr To Abandon Early Adopters · · Score: 1

    While there is some work in uploading photos, I would hope that Flckr users aren't keeping their only copy up.

    How did you not get the [site name] brackets telling which site the link goes?

  13. Re:Sounds like sour grapes on Defused Googlebombs May Backfire · · Score: 1

    So if they didn't allow it in the first place, that's OK, but they did allow it but later fixed it to not allow it, it's bad?

    I don't think it matters if the spamming was relevant, I'd prefer an indexing system that discourages spamming. Usually the products or brands being spammed aren't as good anyway.

  14. Re:Atmel AVR. No contest. on What Micro-Controller Would You Use to Teach With? · · Score: 1

    Regarding the documentation, I suggest starting a wiki to record all the typical gotchas, and maybe make a third party data sheet system. That would help cut out the verbose cruft that most CPU data sheets seem to have.

    It sounds like an interesting chip family. As I use a compiler, I don't have to deal with the memory banks, which was the PIC's biggest issue. Everything else is great, I think, the documentation and sample code was clear and easy, in my opinion, and the book Easy PIC'n was a good start. I can generally implement major new features from zero to fully functional in a couple hours without prior experience with that type of feature.

    At any rate, I suggest that someone make a starter project book for the AVRs.

  15. Re:Avoid PICs at all costs on What Micro-Controller Would You Use to Teach With? · · Score: 1

    The main problem is the memory banks, and that's about it, I think.

    I just use a C compiler with my PICs and it's fine because I don't have to deal with that at all. It's very easy to program, pin-addressable and so on. I have no problem using the special function units or interrupts either.

  16. Parallax? on What Micro-Controller Would You Use to Teach With? · · Score: 1

    Parallax sells these simple microcontroller devel systems with mini breadboards and a circuit project book. I've seen one for $60 or $80 at Radio Shack. I'm way beyond that though, so I have not really tried them. The big downside is it's probably programmed in BASIC.

  17. Re:Stop spending millions on them then... on Innovative, Original Games Have No Chance · · Score: 1

    I'd think that the free software people would want to make more games.

    Making immersive games takes a lot of work, though I think most of the work is in the design such as textures, models and audio.

  18. Re:State of our Country on Aqua Teen Hunger Force Brings Boston to a Halt · · Score: 1

    For most people, they aren't everyday things. Few people know what a bomb looks like, but a lite-brite where it shouldn't be is likely to cause concern, justified or not.

  19. Re:Apple ads on Interview With "Switcher Girl" Ellen Feiss · · Score: 1

    Your points are more or less what I try to explain to Apple fans. I happen to use Windows and OS X, and OS X is clearly superior, especially on OS/software maintainability, IMO. The people that have never used OS X rarely see or understand why. It's still a hard sell when it's an unfamiliar system and it costs more just to get into one. I'm not totally dumping Windows because I don't want to restrict myself to only the software available on one platform. Both platforms have strong apps that I'd hate to do without Windows or without OS X, to me, that seems short-sighted.

    I don't like the arguments put forth by Mac fans that Macs are cheaper when you compare like-for-like and feature-for-feature, because Apple doesn't try selling similar computers, I called them novelty form factors, particularly the mini and iMac. I think that sort of argument that Macs are cheaper for the same type of device is a bit of a smoke screen. Most of the other computers that mimic the current iMac or mini form factors are more expensive, probably only because of economies of scale. Apple sells very few models of computers, about six, where much smaller computer makers have dozens of models, reducing those economies of scale for the competitors that also make novelty computers.

    I also don't like it when PC/Windows fans just don't figure into the value the software. The argument on the PC side is that a computer is just a pile of parts, ignoring the software part of the equation. There's also the time taken to remove all the worthless load-on-start stuff and worthless trial software cruft from the bargain computers often have that only hurts the performance of the computer, and Macs don't have that.

  20. Re:Apple ads on Interview With "Switcher Girl" Ellen Feiss · · Score: 1

    I don't remember an Apple ad saying that Mac software never has problems or an Apple ad saying that PCs can't handle photos or videos. Can you please link me to the ad that says this? I get the feeling that your entire rant is about what you are reading too much into the ads, not what the Mac ad is actually saying.

  21. Re:It's not gunna happen.. on Net Neutrality Act On the Agenda Again · · Score: 1

    The problem is that many areas have a monopoly or duopoly, and if there are any choices, they are between evil and retarded.

    Even the mobile phone market is pretty bad, those providers call the shots, you buy their service and their restricted phone with an overly long contract and they charge you about $200 to end the contract.

    I think the ISPs are well aware of this.

  22. Re:New comers on Next-Gen N-Gage Getting Ready to Go · · Score: 2

    That was very dumb. The Nokia fanboy suck-up explaination I've heard for having to remove the battery to get to the game was to keep the machine from being on while running the game. That was an incredibly dumb idea. Anyone that's seen an original game boy would know that its power switch has a tab lock that prevents the game from being removed. If Nokia can't learn lessons from existing systems then they just stepped into the wrong market.

  23. Re:1998 on Farewell To the Floppy Disk · · Score: 1

    That machine didn't even include a writer of any kind for three years. This was before USB flash drives were realistically priced. Third parties ended up selling USB floppy drives and most of the early iMacs that I've seen had a USB floppy drive next to it, occasionally they were the LS120 or Zip variety, and those weren't much better.

  24. Re:BIOS Upgrades... on Farewell To the Floppy Disk · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I have a four year old Compaq notebook that didn't need any bootable medium to update the firmware. The notebook did not include a floppy, it was just an option. The upgrade process went remarkably well. I'm wondering what happened to that idea.

  25. Re:...has yet to succeed... on Bosworth On Why AJAX Failed, Then Succeeded · · Score: 1

    AJAX has yet to succeed? It seems to be succeeding, with numerous small to massive sites using it.

    Maybe the browser was never originally intended for this use, but PCs were probably never originally intended for any of the stuff that's being done with it.

    There may be better ideas out there, what it takes is someone to figure out how to make them worthwhile.