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User: gzunk

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Comments · 194

  1. Re:Biomechanical reason??? on Why Are We Losing Vertical Pixels? · · Score: 1

    Human eyes aren't placed like that for a greater horizontal viewing angle. We've only got about 120 degrees horizontal, compared with say, a pigeon that has about 340 degrees horizontal. We've got eyes placed like that so that we have stereoscopic vision - which covers about 100 horizontal degrees in front of us.

    Vertically, we've got about 90 degrees - so the actual "good area" of stereoscopic vision where we can easily focus is a slightly vertically squashed ellipse. So 4:3 is actually a better match than either 16:10 or 16:9.

  2. Re:Just dump Windows and goto DOS on 'Retro Programming' Teaches Using 1980s Machines · · Score: 1

    The Spectrum had a Z80A in it.

  3. Re:politely kicking in your teeth on Why Video Calling Is a Wasted Feature In the UK · · Score: 1

    I tried really hard to come up with a witty riposte indicating that we just did it for the fun of it, but I failed miserably. I must be a Canadian.

  4. Misleading on White House Issues New Gas Mileage Standards · · Score: 1

    The 16 ships quote is misleading. The linked site specifically attributes the pollutant as Sulpher Dioxide, and contains no figures as to other pollutants such as Carbon Dioxide.

    Sure those 16 ships spew out more Sulpher Dioxide than all the worlds cars, but I find it extremely improbable that they spew out less Carbon Dioxide.

  5. Re:Doubly unreliable on iPhone's Liquid Sensors Can Be Triggered By Wintertime Use · · Score: 1

    I agree with your point, but surely the word you were looking for was egregious - i.e. blatantly bad, rather than gregarious - happy and sociable.

  6. Will be watching Dark Star again on Alien Screenwriter Dan O'Bannon, Dead At 63 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I shall watch Dark Star again today, one of my favourite films, in his memory.

  7. Some facts you don't have... on BBC Lowers HDTV Bitrate; Users Notice · · Score: 1

    The BBC do not use MPEG-2 for HD transmission. BBC HD is only available via Satellite and Cable, not OTA, and is encoded using H264.

    The reason it's not available OTA is because the DVB-T standard uses MPEG2, which is unsuitable for HD, at least at the bitrate that is available in OTA transmissions.

  8. Not For Long on UK Wants To Phase Out Checks By 2018 · · Score: 1

    It won't be free for long.

    If the banks are forced to re-organize their charging regimes (i.e. not charging people with unauthorised overdrafts through the nose) then be prepared for the rest of us to make up the shortfall, i.e. no free inter bank transfers, a monthly charge for having an account etc etc etc.

    Not all banks subscribe to Faster Payments, and not all accounts are enabled. My business account with the Abbey certainly isn't.

    The banks don't hold the large companies details, they licence a product called Biller Wizard from Eiger systems that does.

    All of these things cost money, which the banks will be unwilling to swallow if they don't have to, so therefore charging for them is going to happen, sooner or later.

  9. Re:Oh rats on Intel Kills Consumer Larrabee Plans · · Score: 1

    The GTS250 is a rebranded 9800GTX+. Which itself was a die shrink of the 8800GTS, with higher clocks. So the design goes back to 2006 with the G80, through to the G92 in late 2007.

  10. Re:UK citizen? on Hacker McKinnon To Be Extradited To US · · Score: 1

    I suppose because the UK laws are quite proportionate - i.e. 3 to 5 years in Jail for what he did, however because he embaressed the US authorities they're threatening 25 years to life.

    What he did was illegal in the UK, so what should happen is that he's prosecuted in the UK (since he did the crime here, he just modified US servers through "indirect action" of electrons...)

    But that's not what the US wants, and we all know, what the US wants, the US gets.

  11. Re:No, most powerful state wins.... on Hacker McKinnon To Be Extradited To US · · Score: 2, Insightful

    And I don't care if I lose karma over this, but that stinks to high heaven.

    Oh, and the United States NEVER extradites its citizens. Big Bully Rules OK.

  12. Re:On SATA? on Colossus 3.5-in SSD Combines Quad Controllers · · Score: 3, Informative

    An SDD attached to a PCI express slot could indeed beat an on-board SATA contoller. On my motherboard, the PCI express slots are linked to the motherboard via a 6.4GT/s QPI link, whereas the onboard SATA controllers have to go through the ICH10R and then via a x4 PCIe link (ESI) link to get to the 6.4GT/s link.

    So, PCIe card could be up to 4 times faster than onboard...

  13. Re:US vs UK... on Plug vs. Plug — Which Nation's Socket Is Best? · · Score: 1

    Lights dimming? Not going to happen unless it's a lamp plugged into a socket as well. The lighting circuit in UK houses is separate from the outlet circuit. Dunno if it's the same in the states.

  14. Re:US vs UK... on Plug vs. Plug — Which Nation's Socket Is Best? · · Score: 1

    Rubbish, I've been shocked numerous times by 240v, and while it's unpleasant it's not as big a deal as you make it out to be.

  15. Re:Um... on Mac OS X 10.6.2 Will Block Atom Processors · · Score: 1

    I was right with you until the bit about Nintendo losing money. That's false, therefore I don't know what other parts of your comment are also false, and I'm simply too uninformed to know.

  16. Re:Murder By X-Ray on CT Scan "Reset Error" Gives 206 Patients Radiation Overdose · · Score: 1

    Umm, you've obviously not heard of the Alexander Litvinenko case: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Litvinenko_poisoning in which an ex KGB agent living in London was mysteriously killed using Polonium-210 after writing two books indicating that the Russian secret service were involved in some nasty shenanigans.

  17. Re:Why on earth going propietary? Oh, it's Apple.. on Apple Behind Intel's USB Competitor? · · Score: 1

    Umm, you can run 10 gig ethernet over normal cat 6 cables up to 55 meters. Also the bandwidth requirement of HDMI 1.3 and HDMI 1.4 (the stuff of the future! not used now!) is 10.2 Gbps, just over what 10 gig ethernet gives you, so it's two wires max, The HDMI stuff you see now only needs 5 Gbps, easily obtainable from a single "cheap ethernet patch cable", so maybe not a cheap $1 cable, but a $2 or $3 cable could do it.

    So really, it costs more only because of licensing, the funny connector, and because they can.

  18. Re:Makes Sense on Major New Function Discovered For the Spleen · · Score: 1

    Yeah, I had my gall bladder removed a couple of years ago. I have to remember to be careful when I fart...

  19. Re:Games are a reflection of their creators on Games Fail To Portray Gender and Ethnic Diversity · · Score: 1

    I disagree. "Games portray the gender and ethnicity of their consumers". You write what sells.

    There are male "Mills and Boon" authors writing bodice ripper romances to pay the bills.

  20. Crysis Warhead with a British protagonist? on Games Fail To Portray Gender and Ethnic Diversity · · Score: 1

    So question for you - were Americans upset when Crysis warhead had a British protagonist?

  21. actually... on Games Fail To Portray Gender and Ethnic Diversity · · Score: 1

    Help, Help, I'm being repressed!

  22. Re:Well yeah on Games Fail To Portray Gender and Ethnic Diversity · · Score: 1

    Yeah, my wife keeps complaining about the use of huge breasts when advertisting games, so when I found the Fallout 3 Nude Mod with A cup breasts I couldn't wait to show her that not everyone was infatuated with huge breasts.

    I don't know why, but she seemed even less impressed with me after I had shown her than before...

  23. Re:I have my doubts. on Games Fail To Portray Gender and Ethnic Diversity · · Score: 1

    That would require some extreme gaming skill to win, and could prove to be a winner - have you patented it?

  24. Re:Why does this matter? on Games Fail To Portray Gender and Ethnic Diversity · · Score: 1

    It's important to state that the people who care are predominantly USA consumers.

    Let me generalize, Americans don't buy games that don't have Americans in them, preferably as the "hero" character. So, to maximise your sales, you make that kind of game.

    I would love to see games with a Scottish hero, kicking alien ass, but it's not going to happen unless I write it.

  25. Re:Why does this matter? on Games Fail To Portray Gender and Ethnic Diversity · · Score: 1

    So, Eminem hasn't influenced young white kids? Agreed he's not a criminal, but not entirely a role model either.