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User: Zimluura

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  1. Gaming almost exclusively on What Keeps You On (or Off) Windows in 2013? · · Score: 1

    Games are the best foothold windows has for me.
    the htpc in the living room with the 60 inch tv is for games (movies and music more-so, but linux could handle that easy).
    the linux machine in the office is where i do all work now (programming, 3d modeling, image editing, word processing, etc.).

    i also like to test my c code on windows too to make sure my source stays cross-platform.

  2. Re:Yes, it does. on No, the Tesla Model S Doesn't Pollute More Than an SUV · · Score: 1

    i think the volt is a serial hybrid. the via motors vtrux as well.

  3. market research? on Xbox One Used Game Policy Leaks: Publishers Get a Cut of Sale · · Score: 5, Interesting

    some anon yesterday(i think) suggested that all the info info we're getting about the drm sheme is just ms doing clandestine market research.

    they leak news that makes it sound bearable - people respond positively.
    then they leak news that gives them more control - people respond negatively.
    through enough iterations they may find out the approach that will be most accepted.

    who knows if that's what's really going on; but it sounds plausible.

  4. Re:feasibility on Of 1000 Americans Polled, Most Would Ban Home Printing of Guns · · Score: 1

    that has gotta be the first ever idea i've heard on "how". interesting idea, but you could still print the barrel with a smaller hole then over-bore it manually with a drill.

  5. Re:Machine shop, anyone? on Of 1000 Americans Polled, Most Would Ban Home Printing of Guns · · Score: 2

    Printers are sold with an embedded chip that prevents the printing of currency. From what I understand, the chip is typically buried so deep into the printer that they simply can't operate if you could find it and remove it. We could attempt a similar requirement on a 3D printer.

    I don't think that is even remotely technically feasible. The govs of the world avoid currency duping by making their paper currency designs very specific and difficult to replicate. cotton paper, the internalized vertical stripe, under a magnifing glass there is no dot pattern visible.

    it is even less technically feasible to do with 3d printers for a few reasons
    a) a rediculously large library of illegal shapes would need to be made. sold with every printer, this also won't work because slight deviations would make the shape not match a fingerprint and it would be just as functional.
    b) the kind of people who are interested in 3d printing and home cnc typically reject the idea of unnecesary technical limitations in their tools. they would rip out all the controller circuitry and install their own. or strip the machine for its linear actuator armature and make their own box.

    so basicaly, outside of orwellian home searches...any laws will have no efficacy.

  6. Re:its 2013 on It's 2013, and Windows Activation Is Still Frustrating · · Score: 1

    ...pay the mac store to make the bad time go away...

    an advertisment for cosmetics? just kidding, i'm sure we all know what you mean.

    ...the game argument is practically irrelevant too; we have portal halflife and minecraft to name a few.

    the game argument is still valid, it's certainly the only reason i keep a windows system around. hopefully with more kickstarter games coming out for linux (and drm-free too) i'll be able to ditch windows entirely in the future.

  7. there are some aftermarket huds... on Why Your New Car's Technology Is Four Years Old · · Score: 1

    there are some after market huds available: just go to amazon and search "car hud".

    one kind uses the obd2 port, the other just plugs into a cigarette lighter or usb and uses a gps for speed calculation.
    i haven't tried them yet, but i've been interested for a while.

    i think they all run into some ghosting problems (the front and back of the windshield both reflecting the image), but i'm not really sure how bad those are. an '02 vette i checked out had a hud that was pretty nice with no ghosting, but i read somewhere (a long time ago) that the plastic safety film in the vette's windshield was wedge shape to prevent hud ghosting.

    there's also something reallt cheap to turn a cigarette lighter into some usb ports: the "griffin usb car charger" sits almost flush and gives you two ports.

  8. Re:No call made to abolish on Paul's Call To Abolish the TSA, One Year Later · · Score: 1

    i think you're probably correct in assuming corporations don't care about your rights. i don't know exactly how one would go about becoming un-sueable, though. in any case, criminal charges are a different animal.

    not sure what corporations liking money, or caring about protecting your righs has to do with this. one doesn't have to ask a private company for permission before filing a civil suit against them or informing the local government authorities about their criminal activity.

  9. Re:No call made to abolish on Paul's Call To Abolish the TSA, One Year Later · · Score: 5, Insightful

    iirc he made a call to abolish the tsa and privatize airport security...like how it was before the tsa.

    consider this though: if it were privatized, and their employees did something that violated your rights, you would have some realistic hope of legal recourse.

  10. Re:So the OSS community sucks at writing drivers on AMD's Open Source Linux Driver Trounces NVIDIA's · · Score: 5, Insightful

    wow, what a subject line. for the oss community to be able to get hw acceleration through reverse engineering is impressive!

    this isn't network/disk i/o hardware. opengl is a very complex api. it took nvidia years to get their ogl drivers into stable working order (without reverse engineering).

  11. Re:Wikipedia on Online Hitchhiker's Guide Thriving · · Score: 1

    Can't be worse that what the american b(r)and turned into.

  12. Re:how to ban guns in 4 states on New Smart Gun Company Hopes To Begin Production This Summer · · Score: 1

    You might be missing point. The reason we don't switch our semi-automatics over to select-fire is because doing so would be illegal, and the penalties are very very harsh. It has nothing to do with how difficult it is technically. Though I guess modding this kind of trigger could be easily blamed on defective electronics.

  13. Re:how to ban guns in 4 states on New Smart Gun Company Hopes To Begin Production This Summer · · Score: 1

    Don't forget to give a 30 year prison sentence to anyone who does the (trivial) amount of modding to circumvent the device and lock it into "always fire".

    Man! I didn't even want an e-trigger for my paintball marker, wouldn't even consider putting one on a real gun.

  14. Re:Mickey's copright must be expiring soon. on House Judiciary Chairman Plans Comprehensive Review of US Copyright Law · · Score: 1

    Copying and repurposing. My point was trademark/dress is about PACKAGING. While I know companies try to assert as much control as possible over whatever they feel is their IP, and in the (potential) absence of copyright they will try to use trademark legislation. I'm just not sure the courts will be as flexible in steamrolling free speech over trademarks as they are with copyright.

  15. Re:Mickey's copright must be expiring soon. on House Judiciary Chairman Plans Comprehensive Review of US Copyright Law · · Score: 1

    I'm not entirely sure mickey mouse's character design can be trademarked. I'm sure disney would try to push that he is, but i just don't know how well they could apply his (potentially) public domain use as trademark infringement.

    putting certain, specific images of him, on clothing or other products might be out, if those specific glyphs are trademarked; but releasing an animated version of the godfather with public domain disney characters should be ok (notwithstanding the mario puzo ip).

  16. Re:They could turn things around on ZDNet Proclaims "Windows: It's Over" · · Score: 1

    Good post! But I'd like to add that another thing they (and certain linux distros I'm currently typing on) could do without is the "Gotta change around the UI" mindset.

    I'm all for UI improvements, and even redesigns; I'd even say the last redesign MS & Ubuntu did was not horrible. But "not horrible" isn't what you should ship with. To get something into a release it should at least be as good as the last one.

  17. I think this: on Bin Laden Raid Member To Be WikiLeaks Witness · · Score: 1

    I think this:

    or even to a legitimate member of the press corp. He released it to some foreign website with no press credentials.

    is the bit in your post that _implies_ a registered, official press.

  18. Re:The Question is: on Microsoft Game Director Adam Orth Resigns Following Xbox Comments · · Score: 2

    I think it's more of a "What does MS think they can get away with?" question. If MS does the dreaded online only DRM, then hopefully Sony won't do it and this next fight will play out like ps2 v xbox1.

    Of course, if the two companies have colluded on the matter the console space may get very unpleasant.

  19. Re:no Windows fee, so costs more on Dell Offers Ubuntu Option With Alienware Gaming Desktop · · Score: 1

    maybe they're rolling into the price what they think will be an increased tech support cost. but they probably won't offer tech support for ubuntu anyway. wait a sec, i haven't bought a whole system since 99, is tech support still a thing?

  20. Re:The law is an ass on 9th Circuit Affirms IsoHunt Decision; No DMCA Safe Harbor · · Score: 1

    So laws that govern the IRL effect of internet actions are ok? If someone gets a massive DDOS and the attacker is bragging online about doing it, they should get complete immunity because their actions don't affect the real world? or are you just saying that it should be analogous to harrassment? if that's the case are there any instances where the analogy of internet to real world aren't clear-cut? is a ddos harrassment or if it's a web-store does it count as loitering, or b&e? if it's a hospital system could an up-tight prosecutor try to pass it off as attempted murder, even though the lagged system has nothing to do with the closed circuit ICU machines?

    i'm not advocating for the **AA, anything that hurts them is good for everyone else in the world. but to suggest a completely lawless internet seems kinda naive.

  21. Re:The law is an ass on 9th Circuit Affirms IsoHunt Decision; No DMCA Safe Harbor · · Score: 1

    An internet without any legal enforcement could be a bad thing. I shop on the internet, and I'd really hate it if there were no legal system deterants for people trying to hack amazon to steal my card number (accepting the fact that credit card fraud would still be crime on its own).

    I'm not at all on the side of the **AA though. With the copyright term extensions they've lobbied, they have been actively "stealing" from our public domain for a long time. I feel that, If people knew how the **AA has been (much more apt to the analogy) "stealing" from them, they'd start to see how messed up the system has become. Perhaps there will be a SOPA style call in day to get the next term extension stopped.

  22. Re:Broad Application on Supreme Court Upholds First Sale Doctrine · · Score: 1

    I don't think contract law has quite devolved to the state of "By having read this license agreement you have accepted it". Though with the state of EULAs i can' fault you for assuming it's that bad.

    lets try an experiment though:
    by having read this comment you've agreed to send me 10 dollars.

  23. Re:Broad Application on Supreme Court Upholds First Sale Doctrine · · Score: 1

    I don't think you have to agree to a EULA to play xbox games. At least I never have, also typically when I buy them at a store i get a "sales receipt" these two things together seem like pretty good evidence for me having purchased the software.

    I am still legally bound by copyright laws in my country, but just because your copy of windows tells you it is licensed doesn't mean all software is licensed...not even entirely sure your copy of windows is licensed, because any agreements were made after you legally purchased it (and you do have an invoice or receipt).

  24. blender - Cross-platform, opensource on Ask Slashdot: Best 3-D Design Software? · · Score: 2

    Blender.

    When learning complex and powerful software look for two things: Cross-platform & Open-source.
    Cross-platform code is usually much more stable, having a healthy abstraction layer from the os.
    Open-source: It can never be taken away from you - say you learn autocad, and use 1 feature allot, then there is a new version of windows and it's not compatible with your autocad, so you get new autocad, but that feature isn't there anymore. if it were opensource you could maybe do something about it.

    You put the two of them together and you also get the benefit of possibly flying anywhere in the world, and being able to download powerful software that you already know how to use on whatever computer they have there.

    I started 3d modeling on truespace, and the many hours (and dollars) i spent on that are gone forever now.

  25. Re:No takedowns. No removals. on Defcad.com Wants To Be the Google of 3D-Printable Guns · · Score: 1

    "useful articles" don't get any copyright protection.

    things like this can get patents, but patents don't last as long. the venerable ar-15 has no unexpired patents. that's why there are so many different ar15 designs out there. ar15 manufacturers (like stag, adams arms, zombie defense, dpms, yhm) aren't licensing the design from eugene stoner, armalite, or colt.

    patents related mechanical engineering are also much less consolidated than the copyrights of major record labels and movie studios. so there is less of a coordinated effort (and less money to spend) in pursuit of legal action in the event of patent violation.