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User: Art+Challenor

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  1. Re:Wow on Ask Slashdot: What To Do After Digitizing VHS Tapes? · · Score: 4, Funny

    Whodathunkit?

    A link to Slashdot Beta the new goatse.cx?

  2. Re:Solitaire on Ask Slashdot: What Are the Best Games To Have In Your Collection? · · Score: 0

    Seems everyone I know over the age of 76 plays Solitaire. Almost exclusively.

    Roger Moore plays Solitaire as 007 in Dr. No and it's the only game he plays. He's 86, so your comment is validated...

  3. Re:I couldn't go to a war zone... on Swedish Dad Takes Gamer Kids To Warzone · · Score: 1

    Maybe you could have just taken a road trip to Ferguson, Missouri where the cops have more body armor and weaponry than almost any troops in a war zone.

    https://storify.com/AthertonKD...

    The snippers (atop amoured personnel carriers) are there to help them win the respect of the local citizens. Arresting journalists just give added authenticity.

  4. Re:Very typical of them on Comcast Customer Service Rep Just Won't Take No For an Answer · · Score: 0

    Ah yes, the "Invisible Hand", and appealing, and also completely wrong theory. What market strategy gave the world Comcast and similar monoplies in the first place? Contrast this with the heavily regulated and much superior services in most of Western Europe.

  5. Re:say it isn't so! on The Last Three Months Were the Hottest Quarter On Record · · Score: 1

    I understand the goal perfectly and agree with it. The current implementation moves money from useful organizations, power generation, manufacturing, etc. - the sector that produces jobs, growth, etc. in general money - to the sector that, primarily, leeches off those useful organizations.

    If the implementation were the that the funds from the carbon tax were going directly to promoting renewables (another source of jobs and productive economic activity) then we'd have something worthwhile.

  6. Re:say it isn't so! on The Last Three Months Were the Hottest Quarter On Record · · Score: 1

    What's surprising is that the financial industry really stand to gain BIG from the carbon "tax" and so you would expect the Heartland Institute to be promoting their best interest.

    The scam works about like this. Anyone wanting to generate CO2 would have to buy carbon credits, imaginary items which are sold and speculated on by big finance. As CO2 limits decrease price increases = big profit.

    It's like a tax, except the revenues go directly to the banks, bypassing the government entirely.

  7. It's NOT the release that was the problem... on Chinese State Media Declares iPhone a Threat To National Security · · Score: 1

    "When NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden came forth last year with U.S. government spying secrets, it didn't take long to realize that some of the behavior of the U.S. government revealed could bring on serious repercussions"

  8. Re:Technically, it's not a "draft notice" on Today In Year-based Computer Errors: Draft Notices Sent To Men Born In the 1800s · · Score: 1

    I think that you're missing the point of Selective Service Registration. They already know who you are, your age and where you live (they sent you the notice). In principle, you get to choose which service you would like to be drafted into, but in practice the major demand is for "cannon fodder" - so your choice would be irrlevant.

    Once you eliminate all the stated reasons, all that is left, and so the true purpose of the Selective Service registration, is to attempt to be a nucleus for protest. Those who chose to protest the military-industrial complex in the US by failing to register can all be rounded up and eliminated. Or, the next best thing, eliminate them from all federal programs, which, unless they are massively independently wealthy will prevent them from ever being in a position where their views will be heard.

  9. Re:Solaris not well supported by OSS toolchain on Ask Slashdot: Best Dedicated Low Power Embedded Dev System Choice? · · Score: 1

    Actually the question is really freaking stupid. If you're serious about embedded development you cross-compile on the fastest computer you can find and then deploy to the target board. If the question had been "what's a good embedded target" it would have made marginally more sense, except that parameters there are how much i/o volume/cost, performance, etc.

  10. Re:"Thus ends "Climategate." Hopefully." on Climate Change Skeptic Group Must Pay Damages To UVA, Michael Mann · · Score: 1

    I'd recommend against using those and use ones that don't have such a large carbon footprint. For example:

    http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-sco...

    or solar:

    http://www.reuters.com/article...

    so long as you realize that the myth that solar panels generate more CO2 lifetime than say coal (or even natural gas) has long ago been de-bunked. (max 72g vs 1.68lbs or 2lbs for coal) (http://www.edfenergy.com/energyfuture/energy-gap-climate-change/solar-and-the-energy-gap-climate-change and http://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/...)

  11. Re:"Thus ends "Climategate." Hopefully." on Climate Change Skeptic Group Must Pay Damages To UVA, Michael Mann · · Score: 1

    Given that there's remarkably little proof that this is not caused by humans, wouldn't it be better to follow the path that would avoid a catastrophe in the event that the models are close and it is human caused.

    I'd rather look around in the future and curse the scientist for being wrong than acknowledge that they were right, but that it's now too late to do anything.

    There's a path forward that does not carry huge economic damage, indeed may help the economy. The problem is that this is at the expense of the oil and coal companies. Organizations not noted for doing the right thing but for protecting their limited interests with large campaign contributions and educational trips for politicians (not to be confused with bribes).

  12. Re:funny on Swedish Farmers Have Doubts About Climatologists and Climate Change · · Score: 1

    You've posted another opinion, unsupported by ANYTHING as if it were FACTS. Have newer data that disproves mine - post it. Have citations that support you positions - post them. Until you do, you're just making it up...

  13. Re:funny on Swedish Farmers Have Doubts About Climatologists and Climate Change · · Score: 1

    As I mentioned, you are entitled to your opinions, but you are NOT entitled to your own facts. Coal usage in the EU is decreasing, renewable use (not fossil fuel generation) is increasing:
    http://theenergycollective.com...
    http://www.renewableenergyworl...
    (older data) http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-...
    While the price per kWh in Germany is high, it's not even the highest in the EU and certainly not the highest in the world. That statement is just plain WRONG. The price in Germany is not even that far out of line with the rest of the EU where prices are generally at least double the US rates:
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E...

  14. Re:funny on Swedish Farmers Have Doubts About Climatologists and Climate Change · · Score: 1

    Wow, one comment that Obama is a socialist and one that the Christian Democrats in Germany are a facist dictatorship.

    These must be comments from the US, the home of the NSA and the largest domestic spying program in the world.

    In the US, as in Germany, you are entitled to your own opinion, however only in the US is there a clear belief that ignorance makes your opinion more worthwhile. Here's a clue, it doesn't. Study some facts, get information from places other than FOX news and come back when you actually know something about, well, anything really, but you could start with geography and the poltics of countries in Europe. Here's a hint, Ted Cruz is not electable (even on the crackpot fringe) and Obama is center-right anywhere outside the US.

  15. Re:funny on Swedish Farmers Have Doubts About Climatologists and Climate Change · · Score: 1

    Yep, just like Germany which, one day last month generated 50% of their electrical power from solar and is planning to phase out all coal-burning generation (they've already eliminated nuclear after Fukushima). Oh, wait, they have one of the strongest industrial economies in the world. Or Estonia with close to 100% Internet connectivity and a network of EV charging stations nationwide.

  16. Re:funny on Swedish Farmers Have Doubts About Climatologists and Climate Change · · Score: 5, Insightful

    But, but, but...

    What happens if we clean up the environment and it not the cause of global warming. All we'd have then is no smog, non-polluting power and clean water.

  17. Re:I beg to differ. on Pedophile Asks To Be Deleted From Google Search After European Court Ruling · · Score: 1

    Yet, when the MPAA/RIAA come to the door, they figure out a whole scheme that goes beyond the DCMA to block, or put ads on, material that their secret algorithm finds to be infringing on copyright.

    So, they've already demonstrated that they CAN filter content. I see lots of repercussions to this ruling, but I'm not at all sympathetic to Google's plight - they already demonstrated that they have the technology and have used it for evil purposes.

  18. Re:Last three months on Comcast Predicts Usage Cap Within 5 Years · · Score: 1

    You have to be kidding. Are you seriously suggesting that Internet usage in Europe is significantly different from patterns in the US? Just becuase the US services are missing doesn't mean less streaming. One obvious one is the BBC in the UK, I'm sure most other language groups have similar.

    I think that the difference is that, just like the US, they dumped money into expanding broadband, but, unlike the US, they got value from it instead of companies like Verizon saying "thanks for the cash, BTW how about if we just provide wireless, and then only if people pay and we'll just pocket the money instead of doing what we said we'd do".

  19. Re:Last three months on Comcast Predicts Usage Cap Within 5 Years · · Score: 1

    The only problem with that theory is that most Europeans have faster, uncapped service at a lower price.

  20. Re:WordStar on Game of Thrones Author George R R Martin Writes with WordStar on DOS · · Score: 1

    WordStar and Lotus 123 were the killer apps of DOS until Windows reared it's head.

    That just means that you never used PC Write. No one went back to WordStar after using PC Write. No one. There was even a way to get it to pause (now I've long forgotten how) so you could change the daisy wheel to get symbols.

    IIRC the story is that Bob Wallace (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Wallace) would always carry the one-and-only source code floppy with him at all times. He kept it on the passenger seat when driving. Supposedly at some point the floppy failed and he wrote the code to read/write raw floppy disk sectors to recover the source code. That feature was subsequently a part of PC Write.

  21. WordStar on Game of Thrones Author George R R Martin Writes with WordStar on DOS · · Score: 1

    You've got to be kidding me, WordStar. PC Write (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PC-Write) is MUCH better even if you don't ever want to edit disk sectors directly.

  22. 1999? on Sand in the Brain: A Fundamental Theory To Model the Mind · · Score: 0

    From 1999? Is this a new low in late new on /.? If there's reason to believe that there's an advance that makes it relevant in 2014 it's not obvious from the summary. May I'll wait another 15 years and then read the article.

  23. Re:Change? In the web? Not really. on Ask Slashdot: Modern Web Development Applied Science Associates Degree? · · Score: 1

    Maybe, but most of the applications, as many others have pointed out in this thread, are of the "take this data from the database and show it on a web page". Just because specialized applications do exist doesn't mean that there isn't value in a pool of people who can create the simple, repetitive and more common applications - especailly applications that have been spec'd and architected by others.

  24. Re:Change? In the web? Not really. on Ask Slashdot: Modern Web Development Applied Science Associates Degree? · · Score: 1

    You don't need to understand the significance of the data to plot it on a chart with the right axes names.

    That must be the misperception that causes everyone to make just about every application that displays a chart pretty much useless by extrapolating or connecting dots or applying smoothing when they shouldn't, failing to use appropriate compression functions on axes scales, and not providing widgets appropriate to the tasks in which the data is needed.

    I think that comes under the category of "requirements capture". Unless you're an expert in every possible field, the person who generated the data will need significant input into how that data is displayed.

  25. Re:Change? In the web? Not really. on Ask Slashdot: Modern Web Development Applied Science Associates Degree? · · Score: 1

    What? No. The front-end displays the calculations that the back-end has calculated. Presumably the back-end is engineered by engineers, mathematicians or statistician, not web-designers. You don't need to understand the significance of the data to plot it on a chart with the right axes names. While a grounding in math, statistics, etc. etc. is not wasted, experts in these fields would not be my first choice of UI designers.