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User: Shivetya

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Comments · 3,267

  1. Lies, Lies, Lies, and more Lies. on E-voting Patches Skew Election? · · Score: 2, Insightful

    But then again you need them to make your argument.

    List all the elections won where they were clearly losing in the polls. Come on, do it. Just like the bald faced lie in this Wire article you point to no major poll (by link please) the backs your claim.

    I live in Georgia, Barnes was out because the teachers wanted him out. North Georgia wanted him out - as he was trying to show an unpopular road project down the necks of many people. It was going to be close, and polls showed that. Why do you think Republicans made such a big last month push here? Cleland (D. Senator) was such a flop he didn't have a chance and polls showed that).

    What burned the Georgia elections were the obvious attempts by the Democrats playing race politics and such here. The good-old boy network got shown for what it was.

    Alabama was close for the same reasons. People are waking up, unfortunately just as they are the Democrats and Republicans start looking too much alike.

    Back the article, its all innuendo. "I can't prove it, but I can make it sound plausible thereby making someone else prove me wrong" Sorry, that kind of logic belongs on a play ground.

    (fwiw, I vote Libetarian, and no, GW doesn't get my vote in 04 either)

  2. Sorry, but the polls were close to results. on E-voting Patches Skew Election? · · Score: 1

    It was a 50-50 shot at Perdue winning the Governorship, the Senate race was never close.

    Its tripe like that comment that makes mountains out of molehills.

    If anything they are less prone to fraud as the dead cannot cast an eletronic ballot. That is a big change in Georgia where more than one township has had more votes than people before.

    Face it, the people who cheat/steal elections using the old tech want to prevent their loss of power. They don't want something they don't have established means of cheating with.

  3. got to love the one MS is being sued for... on Microsoft Patents Your Local Weather Report · · Score: 1

    http://news.com.com/2100-1027-5090679.html

    That story details a patent which is far worse. I see the patent presented by Microsoft as simply another protection mechanism.

    Yeah it looks silly when you do the 2 minute analysis. Yet, when looking down into the history of patents and litigation it just becomes insulation.

    Typically you get these nice little lawsuits, counter lawsuits, and then everyone settles confidentially with swapping of related patents and such.

    If anything, I would not be mad a MS for getting the patent, its far better they got it than some corporation/person/other with pent up ego/idealogical issues using it as a sledge hammer to make news/money for themselves. Sure MS will probably beat someone with patents, but big corps do seem more logical about their application of them.

  4. Ignoring the fact that 38m is PROJECT cost. on Dell $38m Supercomputer [not] More Costly than VT's G5s · · Score: 1

    Whereas the previous quoted 5M cost of the BIG MAC is hardware. Unless given the breakout of the costs on the Austin machine I doubt any fair comparison can be made.

  5. Arrogant users are worse. on Using Macs In The Work Place · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Arrogant users are far worse than ignorant IT staff.

    Sorry, but it is the businesses network, their site, hence it is their rules.

    If you want a laptop where I work you get a nice shiny new laptop - of the companies choosing.

    Why do IT departs demand and are right in declaring what is and is not permitted?

    Support.
    Licensing.
    Security.

    Those are the big 3.

    I don't care if someone things product A sucks, hell I might agree. However as soon as exceptions are made to the rule for one person it starts a downhill slide into support hell.

    So, grats to this guy getting his stuff to work. It would never happen where I am at simply because it would never be a question. If the standards provide the return the business desires then that is what will be adhered to.

  6. Totally useless poll. on MS Dissatisfaction High, Users Consider Switching · · Score: 1

    It is not scientific, so why bother to post it?

    Regardless of that little issue above, a majority still plans to hold on to their Microsoft software.

    Meaning, most of them don't see ANY viable alternative. If people using the web don't see an alternative how would anyone thing Mr. and Mrs. John Q. Public see the situation?

  7. A good article to show complexity on How a Computer Case Is Built · · Score: 1

    Its a good article in that is shows that even the simplest parts of our computers have a lot of time invested in their design and manufacturer. Too many people see some elements of their PCs are "overpriced" when compared to others. As in "why should this piece cost so much when it doesn't do as much as this other one"

    There are some interesting points in the article, provided you ignore the overbearing emphasis on quality assurances. I think the heavy focus on QA in this article is an attempt to show the readers that they //China// do take manufacturing seriously. It is only logical for them to invest in QA as it is will provide the basis for a lasting economy. You can go only so far many "cheap third world" items, and China obviously has ambitions beyond that status.

    At least they were upfront about the fact that windowed cases can't pass an RF test. Sometimes this had side effects the buyers don't realize, to include inteference of cordless phones, radios, tvs, cell phones, monitors, and even dsl modems. Let alone what all that RF does to you (would be interesting to see how much exposure does do to some of these users - I have seen cases right on desktop with the windowed side facing the owner)

    Informercial aspects aside its still interesting. I have 3 cases here, and its evident which ones are produced with more care. That care isn't done for just our benefit, it does come back to their bottom line.

  8. there is value here, Sun does have problems on Merrill Lynch Rips Sun · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Mainly in that their recently announce hardware and software solutions don't exist in the physical form.

    So they are selling what? A roadmap to the future? Software and hardware vaporware?

  9. What is unreasonable about their prices? on Lawsuit Against Microsoft Over Insecure Software · · Score: 1

    comparing a software product's price to the hardware it runs on isn't logical. Should we compare the costs of graphics programs to video cards? how about games?

    Microsoft's OS is still not nearly as costly as some of the products that run on it. Their Office suite looks expensive, but price all the pieces out separately and see what you have. Don't even go looking at prices on graphics software, web software, and the like, some of it is unbelievable.

    Lastly, poor little Apple ain't cheap with their OS either - and you really have less choice on that platform.

  10. There are far worse expenditures. on Turn Your New Opteron Into A One-Game Console · · Score: 1

    First, this game does a reasonable job of showing that it isn't all glory, you survive the hits, and there is death. These "games" can also be used internally to evaluate tactics and such. It also advertises the Army to people, and much of it without silly preconceptions (as in its Gomer Pyle like)

    to the point of "many soldiers" ... its not many, its FEW. As a percentage is wasn't meaningful.

    As for this leading to "Columbine" situations, I think that is very far fetched. This game does nothing to dilute someone's morals, knowledge of right and wrong, or inhibition to break the law. That is societal, and it comes from parents, peers, and the rest of the people met. If anything TV is more damning than any game.

    Lastly, if you want real wastes of money perhaps you should start bitching a EIC, pork-barrel politics, and government employee pensions systems. If you want to worry about your rights being trampled then I suggest you wake up and look at all the property seizures going on daily by governments across the country. If you want to see a big waste of money go ask your school board why they have such high adminstrator to student ratios (or worse, admin to teaher)

  11. No, because Democracies are blind.. on VeriSign and Secure Internet Voting · · Score: 1

    and the will of the majority tends to trample that which it can. We are republic for that very reason, to prevent majorities from taking away the rights of the non-majority.

  12. and if they steal it? on China Prepares To Examine MS Windows Code · · Score: 1, Informative

    or use parts of it to make similar products who is going to stop them?

    I don't have a problem with countries being allowed to inspect the code of software being used by their government agencies, I do have a problem when it is done by a government that has not proven it can be trusted with another's IP... or worse, one with nearly no respect for another's IP.

    This is not very different from certain South American and African countries that demanded and received the formulae to certain drugs and then turned around and started making their own.

    If the review is benign then great, but honestly, I wouldn't trust China with anything of value.

    * of course letting them incorporate windows into their system might be some ultra-right wing conservative plot to topple them :)

  13. Who can afford, YOU will. on Build Your Own Segway · · Score: 2

    Simple, as with the Segway, the iBot, is a neat idea, but with little commercial application.

    UNLESS.

    Unless you can count on the government buying them. That is the key to either one's long term success. Honestly, the Segway is neat, and interesting, but as an alternative transportation method it sucks.

    It does work well for getting approved under all sorts of government programs, let alone it could eventually get forced upon insurance companies via the ADA.

    On topic, what makes this guy's idea better is that it gives us, the tax payers, a cheaper way out should the need arise. If the iBot or Segway gain large acceptance on the government front;(hauling around all those lard asses - it was so bizarre to see the Atlanta demonstrations - all were over weight!); then a cheaper alternative could save us money.

    Real innovation in transportation is creating something people will use, not something that looks neat.

  14. You expect more from a Government agency??? on Sequence of Events During Columbia Mission · · Score: 1

    Get real.

    Government employees and Government Unioned Employees are rarely touchable and THEY KNOW IT. It is a seniority based system that does not support any contrary opinion from within or from without. It is rarely accountable, and actively hostile to such attempts. It takes a huge flaming unignorable disaster before something does happen (no offense intended). Even then you usually end up with the very same people in nearly identical, if not just renamed positions causing the very same situations to arise all over again.

    Face it, NASA will never improve until nearly everyone above "flunkie" is thrown out.

    You cannot throw money at this system and expect it to fix. We have been doing that everyday with the school system and it has the same result. The administrators act like an aristocracy, have laws to protect them, and force by indirect means to enforce their will.

    The really sad part is how much money you and I will pay so these lard asses can retire, and usually at levels unheard of in the private sector. Hell some will probably get fame from it.

    Throw them out, and if found to have willfully impeded an investigation that might have revealed the danger put them in JAIL.

  15. Trial lawyers see otherwise. on Recall of Segway Announced by CPSC · · Score: 1

    Ever buy baby toys and furniture? I guarantee the warnings are a result of lawsuits. My favorites are warnings to not disassemble while the the baby is in the chair, do not use the rocker on stairs and etc.

    In this litigous society you not only have to compensate for possible accidents but also for intentional incidents that resemble accidents.

    Hell, how many years have their been warnings on cigarrettes? The only dumbasses are Americans for putting up with this litigous abuse.

  16. ION engines not really valid for short missions. on European Moon Mission Ready for Launch · · Score: 4, Insightful

    While it is nice to see ION engines gain more momentum in the industry do they really have a place in short duration/distance missions?

    If its passed off a as a proof of concept it would make more sense but the article doesn't imply that.

    Considering the limited distance it would probably been more efficient to use an established propulsion system and get the scientific results sooner. Now, because of their choice any findings are unnecessarily delayed.

    On a high note, its good to see they are not replicating the work done by the previous NASA probe - seems scienctists are much better at getting along than their governments.

  17. and you would be wrong. on California Protects Black-Box Data Privacy · · Score: 1

    By your assumptions we should also be free from being required to have insurance.

    Sorry, you have NO RIGHT to drive on the public roads. You are privledged to do so, PROVIDED you obey the laws - which includes maintaining your vehicle, obeying signals, and keep yourself insured.

    Their is no basis for your self assumed right. Using the excuse that "everyone needs to" or "every does it already" is invalid. Your rights granted under the Constitution are no way infringed if the state decides you cannot drive.

    Hence, do not assume a right. Your type is the same who assumes entitlement, and that current attitude is quickly sinking this country.

  18. Thou shall not spam, unless a politician. on California Tries Spam Ban · · Score: 1

    As with any such law what I find distressing is that people fail to realize that businesses are being held to a higher standard than politicians.

    Sorry, but with the amounts of money involved politicians are commercial operations. They excused themselves from the no-call law as well.

    This might ditch a certain type of spam, but I would prefer to see it thrown out of the grounds that only equal application and enforcement be legal. Its either all SPAM or none at all.

    We need not except exceptions for politicians, their PACs, and anything else they deem appropriate (ie other suddenly non-commercial groups)

    Lastly, isn't it just like Gray to be kissing so much ass when his own is on the line?

  19. error rate on OCR is higher. on Touch Screen Voting Industry Circling Wagons · · Score: 1

    Sorry, but a recent study showed that OCR ain't all that great either. The machines that read are prone to error.

  20. No truth in it. on Ward Hunt Ice Shelf Breaks In Two · · Score: 3, Interesting

    We still don't know all of the sources of CO2 on this planet. Everything these scientists believe they have all climate affecting variables nailed down another pops up.

    Just recently they found that the AMAZON RIVER dumps more CO2 into the air than all the surrounding region. Go figure.

    In our egotistical view we give ourselves too much credit over the influence of the weather. Sorry, but we ain't that "good" yet.

  21. They are criminals, so how is this abuse? on RFID Hell · · Score: 1, Troll

    The already abused their rights by violating someone elses. Worse was the nature of their crimes. So, I am supposed to feel scared because the government is employing know technology to keep an eye on these "people"?

    This also looks like a mechanism to get some people out of incarceration earlier - albeit with a leash. It has been show that sex offenders are notorious for lapseing back, so why not "just check"?

    Frankly, these perverts are lucky they have any freedom. No society can exist where people like this can prey on the young with impunity.

    What is more disgusting is the so called "civil liberty" groups who try to make out these law breakers as the victim. This is a big problem in the states and obviously its elsewhere.

    Concern about well being of a fellow human is fine, allowing it to cloud your judgement isn't.

    PS: There ain't jack about RFIDs in this story.

  22. Bush & Congress deficit. on House Passes Internet Tax Ban · · Score: 1

    Realize that it takes two to tango. The big spending Democrats are probably secretly happy with Bush. He doesn't seem to veto any spending bill.

    As for the deficit, amazing how tax cuts contribute to it but increased spending doesn't? The key to the deficit is to take it into perspective of its percentage of the GNP. At this time even this high dollar deficit is not the largest, and that margin of difference is pretty high.

    What one cannot tax one can still slap fees and other sundry items upon to make up for it. In other words, what you don't pay for in tax directly they will get from you indirectly.

    Tell me this, which is more desirable, paying taxes on what you use or paying taxes for what other people are using? Guess which one you are choosing when you support this ban.

  23. Invented victim status. on Californians Can Get Free MS-Settlement PCs · · Score: 1

    Most of these so called victims of Microsoft here are imaginary. Their use is to, a:inflate the payment to the legal firm who is the true beneficiary, or b:give money to California by means other than direct tax.

    Sorry, but I doubt you can come up with more legitimate "victims" here than non legitimate. This is a simple "soak the deep pocket corporation" lawsuiit. These work wonders when there is benefit to the government.

    Desktop usage of Linux variants in no way can justify the numbers that this lawsuit covers. Face it, it was not done for the consumers benefit.

    Yes Microsoft is a damnable corporation at times, but these types of lawsuits are far worse than anything they have done. This type of suit closely mimics government taking of land for private developers. They are deciding through a court what you or a corporation is permitted to charge. If you do not understand that issue then I cannot help you.

  24. Because it sets a bad precedent. on Californians Can Get Free MS-Settlement PCs · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Allowing courts and governments to determine pricing is bad precedent.

    Californian's wonder why businesses are leaving in droves will soon see other effects. You cannot have predatory governments and courts and expect your economy to thrive.

    Right now the cost of doing business is not high enough to force everyone out, but inch by inch they leave. (iow, we know Ms will never leave, but there are smaller companies who other effects of the abuse of government and courts there)

    Don't cheer crap like this.

  25. Which is a major reason for our deficits. on Microsoft Money Leads To Street-Legal Porsche 959s · · Score: 1

    Tagging is a major cause of pork barrel spending. It also is an avenue for some stupid laws to get into effect. Many times Congressmen will effectively kill bills by attaching riders, akin to poison pills.

    The true value of the article is that is shows the layman just how convoluted, and corrupt, the process really is. There is really no doubt that Congress, and the Government itself, has no other interest other than its own. This type of system lends itself to the abuse of those in power and those with influence over those in that power.