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User: karnal

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  1. Re:This is stupid ... on You Can Look Forward To 8 More Years of Leap Second Problems (cio.com) · · Score: 2

    What if the jitter routine has a bug in it? Is it then a jitter bug?

  2. Re:How is it a problem? on You Can Look Forward To 8 More Years of Leap Second Problems (cio.com) · · Score: 1

    You can still query an NTP server and set your timezone (if needed) to a fixed rather than a DST value. For instance, UTC-5 instead of "New York". No need to switch.

  3. Re:classes on Ask Slashdot: Worthwhile Security Training Courses? · · Score: 1

    Maybe they're trying to be offensive.

  4. Re:Hipsters fight over limited supplies of juice on Charge Rage: Electric Cars Are Making People Meaner In California · · Score: 1

    Running wire is cheap, sure. Designing and building an infrastructure for 20, 50 or 100 cars is not.

  5. Re:Are they actually powered down? on Some Apple iPhone 6s and 6s Plus Smartphones Mysteriously Powering Down · · Score: 1

    I'm going to use "occasional pantshitting" at work, that's classic.

  6. Re:Lowest upfront price leads to higher repair / c on WSJ: We Need the Right To Repair Our Gadgets · · Score: 1

    The bigger question here is why is the fuse blowing? If the fuse is blowing under normal operation, then it's either improperly sized or the design requirements were misinterpreted (drawing more than originally spec'd out, etc.)

    Granted, you're being safe by putting the exact type fuse back in (rating and what not) but if it were me, I'd either try to figure out what was blowing said fuse - or I'd put one in with a slightly higher rating. Slightly being 10% or so, just enough to give headroom but not enough to burn the house down (i.e. putting a penny in or some such....)

  7. Re:Full Price Smartphones on Verizon Ends Smartphone Subsidies · · Score: 1

    This is already the case. Look at some of the pay as you go phones for cheap - you can get an android device that is absolutely solid for $10 on sale. The LG Optimus Fuel, which is $10 at Kroger stores around the US right now has 512MB RAM, dual core processor and almost 2GB of onboard - plus a 4GB Microsd card included. Runs KitKat.

  8. Re:... no one is paying for that on In Windows 10, Ad-Free Solitaire Will Cost You $10 -- Every Year · · Score: 1

    Exactly.

    Where's that hosts file guy when you need him....?

  9. Re:My ancient i7-2700 on 10 Years of Intel Processors Compared · · Score: 2

    Right with you on a C2Q-6600 that's been running at 3ghz since the day it was first booted. You and I also share the same reason for upgrading - virtualization; although mine isn't as much for performance as it is for memory. I can only buy 8GB of ram for my current machine (DDR2) and would like more.

  10. Re:Shut up.. on Scientists Develop Nutritious Seaweed That Tastes Like Bacon · · Score: 1

    They now have bacon patches?

  11. Re:well then on Samsung Nanotech Breakthrough Nearly Doubles Li-Ion Battery Capacity · · Score: 1

    But at least it was sorry for trying to murder you.

  12. Re:Old Wives' Tales on Tesla To Announce Battery-Based Energy Storage For Homes · · Score: 1

    Also, the higher up (assuming you're mounting this at ground level + 1.5ft - a garage, say - and not in a basement) you mount, the less chance of water getting up to the point of shorting out the packs.

  13. Re:Fixed vs mobile longevity? on Tesla To Announce Battery-Based Energy Storage For Homes · · Score: 1

    Typical sealed lead acid batteries in my UPS devices last at most 5 years. That's with minimal use (one large outage a year, drained at most 50%, smaller minute-based outages) and no vibration to contend with for the plates within. I've seen cars and motorcycles last 7-8 years before failing. Of course, the car doesn't tell you the battery is failing until you either notice the starter moving slower under load or the car just doesn't start. UPS devices (good ones) will test the battery at least once a week to ensure fail-resistant use.

    Given that these probably aren't SLA batteries, they could last much much longer depending on depth of discharge allowed. li-ion, for example does remarkably better (2000 more cycles) at only taking the depth of charge down to 75% as opposed to 30% or lower.

  14. Re:Color means many things on Is That Dress White and Gold Or Blue and Black? · · Score: 1

    That's my thinking exactly. Who gives a shit what the color of the dress actually is; it's obvious from the image displayed that you're not really going to "see" the correct colors anyways.

  15. Re:And how does it compare to gas engines? on The Best, and Worst, Places To Drive Your Electric Car · · Score: 1

    Don't forget the fun that is "winter gasoline". The change in formula to bring about easier winter starting and combustion scrapes some number of MPG off the chart (10%? I'll admit I don't know, but that seems right.)

  16. Re:Do they work? Usually, but the writer got it ri on Smart Homes Often Dumb, Never Simple · · Score: 1

    "There's no apparent reliable activity confirmation set up in the protocols from what I can tell, so the software never knows if a device is on or off."

    So what you're saying is that the devices should probably be renamed UDP Connected.

  17. Re:A smart phone is rarely convenient on Smart Homes Often Dumb, Never Simple · · Score: 1

    I've thought for a while that this would be a very neat, extendable thermostat controller for the house based on a cell phone. Instead of paying hundreds to get a device that does it for you, you can pick up a pre-paid phone and wire it up. The only thing I don't know about is the controlling functionality - perhaps if you're not so savvy, base it off of wireless and control something arduino based off of the furnace - or find some way to directly have the phone interact with the existing wires coming up from the furnace... would be an interesting hack.

  18. Re:A smart phone is rarely convenient on Smart Homes Often Dumb, Never Simple · · Score: 1

    There's a fairly extensible app called llama for android that could be integrated into this. You can set up triggers - at least for things on the phone - so that if your cell phone sees certain cell towers/wifi, it knows where you are - you could get more advanced and also program in time of day for triggers (i.e. if I hit the cell towers 5 minutes from home and it's > 3:00pm, turn up the heat/AC so it's ready when I get home.)

    I don't know about the back end integration with a thermostat, but I'm making an assumption that this could be done based on it's triggering mechanism for apps etc.

  19. Re:But surely... on Samsung SmartTV Customers Warned Personal Conversations May Be Recorded · · Score: 1
  20. Re:Regulation Strikes again on Farmers Struggling With High-Tech Farm Equipment · · Score: 1

    Some cars with keyless ignition do have column locks. My 2008 Lexus ES350 auto-locks the column:
    1. if I shut down the car before opening the door, the act of opening the door locks the column.
    2. if I shut down the car after opening the door, the car dings at me with the seatbelt chime, warning me that the column is unlocked. Upon shutting the door after exiting the car, the column locks.

  21. Haven't gone thru comments yet on Ask Slashdot: Is There a Modern IP Webcam That Lets the User Control the Output? · · Score: 1

    What about something that I've thought about? Using a cheapie Android phone (i.e. pay as you go, can get an LG Fuel - rootable - for $10 on sale from time to time). Obviously only if you're really into digging into coding if you want absolute security, but I'm sure there's something out there perhaps pre-packaged in an app to do what you want. I've thought of this as a sort of hacked-together security system for home just to upload video of anyone coming and going from the house. And yes, I know it's not really security - but honestly, I'll defer to a monitored service if I want the "security" portion.

  22. Re:Anyone know how Zotac cards hold up? on GeForce GTX 980 and 970 Cards From MSI, EVGA, and Zotac Reviewed · · Score: 1

    I've had late 90s motherboards (think AMD Athlon xxxxXP chip timeframes) from asus with bad caps; had a customer who loved to keep equipment well past serviceable date blow a few up. Since then, Gigabyte boards with solid caps - haven't had a bad board since, even though I've read reviews of others on newegg/amazon with some DOA concerns.

    Ditto with EVGA; bought 2 cards direct, no issues - however if I have a choice at the time of build, I'll usually go with something with a quieter than stock aftermarket cooler attached. EVGA has (had?) a trade up program, but I upgrade so rarely that I've never taken them up on it.

  23. Re:What about those of us who like quiet cars on Fake Engine Noise Is the Auto Industry's Dirty Little Secret · · Score: 1

    Agreed; I recently started wearing earplugs on my fairly silent bike due to wind noise. Very shocked with just how fatigued my ears would get on a 3+ hour ride prior.

  24. Re:What about those of us who like quiet cars on Fake Engine Noise Is the Auto Industry's Dirty Little Secret · · Score: 1

    Motorcycles don't inherently have to be noisy. In fact, from the dealer floor - most harleys are pretty tame. (note: not a harley rider, and I detest anyone who thinks loud pipes save lives. No. No they don't.)

  25. Re:Just give the option to turn it off... on Fake Engine Noise Is the Auto Industry's Dirty Little Secret · · Score: 1

    What's done in some instances is that they'll make a "sport shifting" mode that is selectable and it forces the CVT into locked gear ratios like a normal transmission.

    My wife and I have had a Ford Freestyle for quite some time now, and it is slightly different from a normal auto... in fact her drive in the car on the way home she was doing 80mph on the freeway because she wasn't used to the sound yet!