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User: Smallpond

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  1. Programming Tests on Why We Need More Programming Languages · · Score: 1

    Who else skimmed the article and went for the programming tests?

    #1 was not really much about programming and I did horribly on it (13/20)

    #2 was mostly programming and I did well (19/20) Another energy drinks question?

  2. Re:Pffft. on Why We Need More Programming Languages · · Score: 3, Insightful

    This is not exactly true. Many programs acquire bugs as they age. The original developers are gone, and the new maintainers less knowledgeable, less proficient and less enthusiastic.

  3. They have it backwards on Bloggers Not Journalists, Federal Judge Rules · · Score: 5, Informative

    Journalists don't have more rights than anyone else. Freedom of the press means that all people are allowed to publish their opinions. Thomas Paine was a blogger, not a journalist.

  4. Re:so what will this achieve for the enduser? on OpenDNS Releases DNS Encryption Tool · · Score: 3, Interesting

    The purpose isn't to hide your DNS requests from your ISP, its to prevent some of the known attacks that spoof a DNS reply. That's easy to do if they are sent in the clear and have no signatures.

  5. Re:Maybe I'm dense on OpenDNS Releases DNS Encryption Tool · · Score: 1

    SSL requires a connection. DNS is (normally) connectionless.

  6. Re:Not Odd on OpenDNS Releases DNS Encryption Tool · · Score: 1

    Because the danger isn't poisoning the cache of an end user. The trouble comes when a site's DNS cache is poisoned, affecting hundreds or thousands of users.

    Most of these DNS caches are run on a UNIX derivative.

    The problem with Windows clients is that they all believe they should be allowed to update DNS.

  7. Re:Fuck the BSA on Kaspersky Quits BSA Over SOPA Support · · Score: 1

    Even small IT shops have gotten serious about software inventory. File and track licenses centrally and don't give users who don't need it admin privilege. I seldom log in as Administrator on my Windows PC. It not only protects you from audits, but also saves you from buying software that you don't need or already have a site license to.

  8. Re:Fuck the BSA on Kaspersky Quits BSA Over SOPA Support · · Score: 1

    Posted anonymously because I don't want the BSA on me. The BSA is a pack of lawyers who exploit vague legal definitions to extort people out of money. They destroy small businesses reguardless of weather or not they actually bough the software and they run some of the dirtiest campaigns I've ever seen. Just look up "BSA Rat out your boss"... Seriously? Anybody who destroys some company because they have a chip on their shoulder and are greedy should be blacklisted - if you don't like where you work you should quit not destroy someones dream and leave all your coworkers jobless.

    Fuck the BSA and anyone who ever took their side, Kapersky included.

    Wow. How many extra copies of Office did you install?

  9. Re:Duh on Ask Slashdot: One Framework To Rule Them All? · · Score: 5, Funny

    The questioner asked for the "best" framework without defining what best meant, so we can pick whatever criteria we want.

    Assembly is best if you want highest speed and smallest memory size but don't care about development time.

    Personally I would write everything in Perl, because my criterion would be highest job security.

  10. Re:Edison reaching out from beyond the grave on Are Data Centers Finally Ready For DC Power? · · Score: 1

    n/m I'm totally wrong.

  11. Re:Edison reaching out from beyond the grave on Are Data Centers Finally Ready For DC Power? · · Score: 1

    This is not true. Loss is Watts = I * R where I is the current and R is the resistance of the conductor. If I cut the supply voltage in half, I need twice the current to supply the same power to the device. To keep losses constant I therefore need half the resistance. Since R is proportional to the area of the conductor, I need twice the area which means twice the copper. There is no squared term.

  12. Re:Edison reaching out from beyond the grave on Are Data Centers Finally Ready For DC Power? · · Score: 1

    Arcing is a big problem. AC goes through 0 volts twice each cycle, so arcs die quickly. A faulted DC switch contact can just sit there and arc until the human in the circuit stops conducting.

  13. Re:Yeah, we could do that, or... on How Tiny Worms Could Help Humans Colonize Mars · · Score: 1

    Can't we just... you know... measure the radiation levels and then use what we already know about the effects of radiation?

    What do we know about long-term effects of interplanetary radiation on humans?

  14. Re:Are the passwords plaintext, or hashes? on Attackers Leak UN Usernames and Passwords · · Score: 1

    Actually, it is pretty clear they are plaintext since the file is linked to the article.

  15. Re:Question: on Earthscraper Takes Sustainable Design Underground · · Score: 1

    Value of antenna 3900 m in the ground?
    Value of antenna 830 m in the air?

    Hey! This is fun.

  16. Re:It'd better happen quick then on Is the Time Finally Right For Hybrid Hard Drives? · · Score: 1

    I'll seriously invest in SSDs when they consistently surpass 1 or 2 million write-cycles per block (not just per cell). Until then, they might be great for caching but I'm not seeing the reliability I want.

    (P.S. Please don't lecture me about wear-leveling, etc. I know how they work.)

    Let's compare 1 million seeks on SSD - whoa, seek is a no-op! Nothing has to move.
    Now do 1 million full-stroke seeks on a HDD. That sound? Its the disk head wearing out and crashing on the platter. You do any mechanical motion 1 million times it causes wear.

  17. Re:floodings... on Earthscraper Takes Sustainable Design Underground · · Score: 1

    Think of the fact that Mexico City is built on a lake.

  18. Re:Question: on Earthscraper Takes Sustainable Design Underground · · Score: 4, Insightful

    World's tallest building: 830 m
    World's deepest mine: 3900 m

  19. Re:The key to achieving high uptime ... on Can Maintenance Make Data Centers Less Reliable? · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Which means for every online server you need an offline test machine -- and a way to simulate the operating environment in order to test. Not many companies have the skill of cash to do that.

  20. Re:Maintenance and prevention are not always the s on Can Maintenance Make Data Centers Less Reliable? · · Score: 1

    Internal monitoring of components is a lot better now than it used to be. We used to go around and check all of the supply fans once a month because it was the highest failure rate component on the desktops we were using and there was no indication until the machine started crashing from overheating.

  21. Re:I'm confused on US Gov't Seizes 130+ More Domains In Crackdown · · Score: 3, Insightful

    According to the ICE website, they seize domains after they have collected evidence and obtained a warrant, the same way they seize things in any other crime.
    I don't expect you to read it yourself, but its right here"

    http://www.iprcenter.gov/reports/fact-sheets/operation-in-our-sites/view

    Now go back to your spittle-flecked rant.

  22. Re:docking planes on Rethinking Rail Travel: Boarding a Moving Train · · Score: 1

    For air travel, the long distance craft never needs to set down at all, so make it an airship. Transport passengers up and down using catapult-launched gliders. No airplanes needed at all. What could possibly go wrong?

    The gliders sound superfluous as well. Just use catapults aiming for nets on the airships.

    What could possibly go wrong?

    I was thinking you needed the gliders for the passengers who are getting off, but you're right. Wing suits would be fine for them. What could possibly go wrong?

  23. Re:Why? on Rethinking Rail Travel: Boarding a Moving Train · · Score: 2

    In the US, the government pays for all air traffic control, air security and frequently contributes to funding airport construction and improvements. Railroads are private companies which pay for all of their own equipment and management. Government funding is pretty much limited to road crossings. Amtrak is a joke because Congress won't cut unprofitable passenger service in their districts.

  24. Re:docking planes on Rethinking Rail Travel: Boarding a Moving Train · · Score: 1

    For air travel, the long distance craft never needs to set down at all, so make it an airship. Transport passengers up and down using catapult-launched gliders. No airplanes needed at all. What could possibly go wrong?

  25. This makes no sense on Electronic Contact Lens Displays Pixels On the Eye · · Score: 0, Redundant

    You can't focus on anything that close to the lens.