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User: ArmenTanzarian

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  1. Re:A story about nothing on Splinternet, Or How We Broke the Good Old Web · · Score: 1

    Self-promotion is being too generous, this is unpaid advertising with points that are basically gibberish.

  2. umm... non-issue? on Obama's MySpace Drama · · Score: 1

    1. I make a site psuedo-pretending to be Bob Dylan.
    2. Bob likes what I've done, but won't pay what I ask for it.
    3. Bob makes his own site, because I'm not Bob Dylan.
    4. I get sued.

    If Bob's not running for President, this isn't national news.

    And what MySpace page is worth $49k? Seriously...

  3. then what? on Homeland Security says 'Patch Windows Now' · · Score: 0, Redundant

    then the terrorists win...

  4. source? on Scientists Respond to Gore on Global Warming · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    I have to doubt any source that has ads for Matt Furey Combat Conditioning and big TAKE THIS SURVEY popups.
    When did Slashdot turn into a Fark flamewar?

  5. come on, it's obvious on Jack Thompson's Game Bill Moves Forward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Clearly, Louisiana has no bigger problem than this.

  6. be able to kill your students? on Wisdom From The Last Ninja · · Score: 1

    Wouldn't that suggest an ever-declining quality of ninja? Perhaps that's why he's the last, either that or pirates...

  7. addiction? on Pr0n's Effect On Society · · Score: 1

    emptiness? or something like this...

  8. Re:Simple Reason on Security's Shaky State · · Score: 1

    I love these discussions (I work at a company that sells a database encryption solution). I also think this is the first time I've been actually qualified to make a comment on slashdot that wasn't a joke!

    The difficulties of PCI are in the:
    A. Interpretation - Many companies have been passing audits with "compensating controls," which has meant stricter perimeters, intrusion detection, app firewalls, etc. The auditors are saying this won't fly anymore, but we haven't seen a full realization of that in the market.

    I believe the PCI regulation for key rotation is that "keys should be short-lived, rather than long-lived." Well, turtles and elephants are long lived... Key rotation is pretty critical and non-trivial across an enterprise (and a big selling point for data security solutions), but obviously widely open for interpretation.

    B. Tiering - The tier system lays out the deadline for holding card data and doesn't seem to be based in reality. There are guidelines, but they're bent more often than I feel comfortable with as a consumer. Further, the card companies are attacking areas selectively, bullying the little guys before they go after the bigger fish. And the bigger guys can afford to pay monthly fines of $10-20k after the deadline anyway.

    The real juice is in those California SB1386, the disclosure law. SB1386 doesn't reach far into my territory, but the rumblings about similar laws at the national level have put the fear of God into a number of companies around here. Companies don't actually care about losing your data if you would never hear about it, but if they have to tell you, then they're getting into some ugly territory. No lawsuits have been handed down yet for negligent data management, but they will.

    Other miscellaneous drivers out there: Sarbanes-Oxley, HIPAA, and Gramm-Leach-Bliley. Auditors tell us that these don't shout "encrypt" at this point, but that they'll be getting stricter.

  9. Re:Sorry to be offtopic... on Firefly Movie Using Viral Marketing? · · Score: 1

    Thanks for the overwhelming response everyone, guess I should check it out!

  10. Sorry to be offtopic... on Firefly Movie Using Viral Marketing? · · Score: 3, Interesting

    But I'm interested in the obsession with Firefly, but don't feel like plunking down money for the DVD's unless I know I'm buying something good (and my patience for torrents are roughly three hours).

    So here's my question, are there Firefly fans out there who didn't watch Buffy or Angel, etc.? Because I really really didn't like those shows and if such an intersection of Buffy non-fans and Firefly fans exists, I'd like to hear from their opinions on Firefly.

    If you could wait until I get a response or two before modding me offtopic, I'd appreciate it.

  11. Re:This Just In! on 'Transformers' Live Action Movie from DreamWorks? · · Score: 1

    Well personally, I think everything he's done since El Mariachi is devoid of art, but I realize that's not necessarily a popular opinion here.

  12. Robert Rodriguez, king of overrated on 'Transformers' Live Action Movie from DreamWorks? · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I'm sorry, his treatment of Sin City may be nice, but it's because Miller already did the storyboards for him. Anyone who sat through all three Spy Kids movies in the theatres (with my nephew) can give you about 5000 reasons to distrust his direction.

  13. I'm sorry... on Record Low Turnout in Debian Leadership Election · · Score: 2, Funny

    I, for the 199 voters, welcome our Debian Project Leader.

  14. Re:Fantasy and reality on Senator Clinton Slams GTA · · Score: 1

    ...by beating him to the brink of death.

    That was pretty much the implication of the study. That the researcher was intimidated into reinstating their old TV programming schedule.

  15. Re:Fantasy and reality on Senator Clinton Slams GTA · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I imagine the studies on this are like the studies on TV violence. The results are so varied and diametrically opposed to one another that each side can use the same study to prove their point.

    The end result, to any person who doesn't read the reports with an agenda, is that the studies are skewed based on the method of measurement. There's something akin to Heisenberg in Sociology (another guy with an 'H' name): that the results are changed by the observation and the phrasing of the survey question or definition of metrics.

    One funny case was in a home for violent boys. One set of boys got to watch gorey, violent TV and movies and the other set only PBS and screened shows. The boys who were forced to watch only non-violent TV ended up being so upset and violent that they finally forced the researcher to let them watch the shows they enjoyed again.

  16. Shh... on Senator Clinton Slams GTA · · Score: 1

    if it's not made by Rockstar, they just might let it go...

    Just don't tell anyone about God of War, because that game is hilariously violent/sexual and ridiculously fun to plan.

  17. Microsoft has owned... on Microsoft to Acquire Groove Networks · · Score: 4, Informative

    30% of the company for some time. Developers from Groove sit in Redmond and developers from Microsoft sit in Beverly Mass. Groove has time and again scooped features Microsoft has envisioned but been unable to rollout in basic OS functionality (just too much to code, inject, test with X set of features, make work on an ancient machine).

    I'm a long-time Groove user and have dabbled in component development for a little over a year. Until recently, Groove had a .NET API for injecting tools directly into the platform. They discontinued it recently in favor of a web service interface however.

    I think the product could use a bit more maturity, but I think it's got some great potential. Ownership by Microsoft, I believe, will just strengthen their marketshare. Hopefully they won't lose any of their good points.

  18. Re:insider job? on Identity Theft of Many SAIC Employees · · Score: 1

    There are also cameras in that lab. The company generally doesn't believe in covert cameras, so an employee would know. The theives are on tape.

  19. Re:insider job? on Identity Theft of Many SAIC Employees · · Score: 1

    Their own probably wouldn't smash windows.

  20. SAIC on Identity Theft of Many SAIC Employees · · Score: 4, Informative

    The company has actually been very responsive to this. They sent out a mass email immediately and created a site of what happened and what to do on the company intranet two days later. They have issued updates, police reports, etc. nearly every day since.

    I've occaisionally had issue with the company's size keeping it from being responsive, but this is one thing that got picked up very quickly.

  21. Good Lord on 6 Firms Form Holographic Versatile Disc Alliance · · Score: 4, Funny

    If they made the LOTR chronicles 1TB long, I think I'd have to get another job just to be bored enough to watch them.

  22. Re:This IS entertaining on Microsoft in 2008 · · Score: 2, Funny

    if Bill asked me to infect the mothership, I'd probably sue him for sexual harassment.

  23. Re:iPod = Messenger Bag = Pro SUV on Is iPod the Razor or the Blade? · · Score: 1

    In the same vein, the old school SUV's were made for scientists and soldiers. Range Rover, Humvee come to mind, but they're probably not the first. Then soccer moms realized that they looked cooler than minivans and the gas guzzling began.

    I would never buy an SUV, I think they're a black mark on our society. My '98 Honda Accord will last me until the prices on hybrids come down (mmm... hybrid Accord).

    I held out against the messenger bag fad as long as I could, but it's just more practical for my 17" laptop than a regular backpack (sorry, actual messengers who do more work than me).

    I was powerless to resist the iPod and all associated iGadgets...

  24. Re:A Better Analogy: iPod=Messenger Bag on Is iPod the Razor or the Blade? · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I also heard an analysis of messenger bags (and SUV's) for professionals, saying that people get them when they have the realization that the delivery guy is the only one in their office who does any real work.

    I definitely agree with the added "coolness" factor of the iPod, but I think mp3 players were generally acceptable beforehand (it sucks to walk/jog with a cd player). It was really a blitz on both coolness and technical merit. The coolness pushed the iPod from gadget to accessory at the same time the technical specs pushed it for us geeks. The end result is that I carry around the same piece of hardware as a 19 year old sorority girl.

    It's hard to think of anything else that's that ubiquitous. Perhaps computers and cell phones, but there's no "it" cell phone or computer that balances the two perspectives.

  25. oh... on Samsung's Linux-based Diskless Camcorder · · Score: 3, Funny

    I thought ARM-no-MMU was like handsfree, but without arms...