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User: AnotherBlackHat

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Comments · 1,115

  1. Re:Why? on UK's Legalization of CD Ripping Is Unlawful, Court Rules · · Score: 2

    That's only if they were sealed correctly and stored right.

    Sure, and they also have to not be burned in a fire, microwaved, dropped overboard at sea, or run over by a truck.

    I know dozens of people with hundreds of CDs, none of them have ever said "my CD of [band x] doesn't play anymore".

    Thousands of CDs, zero failures, for decades.

    None.

  2. Re:Why? on UK's Legalization of CD Ripping Is Unlawful, Court Rules · · Score: 1

    Optical media has a shelf life after which the decomposition of the material prevents readability.

    Oh please - "Shelf life" means how long something will last even if it's undisturbed, not how long it will last if eaten by mold.

    Pressed CDs won't last forever, but with proper care, they should last hundreds of years. Maybe even thousands.

  3. And the answer is... on World's Rudest Robot Set To Simulate the Fury of Call Center Customers · · Score: 4, Funny

    What makes the callers angriest? Call center employees who act like robots.

  4. Violators. on Judge: Warrantless Airport Seizure of Laptop 'Cannot Be Justified' · · Score: 4, Interesting

    ... agents created an identical image of Kim's entire computer hard drive ...

    So in addition to conducting an illegal search, they also violated several copyrights.

  5. Re:I want this to be true, but... on New Test Supports NASA's Controversial EM Drive · · Score: 1

    What I don't get is why people keep calling it controversial or defying the laws of physics.

    Because (assuming the experiment is correct) the force the EM drive is producing is more than 3 orders of magnitude greater than a photon drive.

    They're claiming 0.4 newtons per kilowatt.
    That's about 9 times the thrust of an Ion drive, without the propellant.

    It could be a hoax, but if so, it's a damn good one.

  6. Re:This never works on Microsoft, Chip Makers Working On Hardware DRM For Windows 10 PCs · · Score: 1

    While I agree with you that 1080p is the way to go, it seems that most people do not.

    Could you point to a specific "nuanced facial expression" that was visible at 1080p, but not at 720p?

  7. Re:This never works on Microsoft, Chip Makers Working On Hardware DRM For Windows 10 PCs · · Score: 1

    Other shows have about the same ratio, though smaller totals.
    We can quibble about why more people download lower res versions, but it's clear that people are.
    1080p is currently losing to 720p is losing to SD across the board.
    Maybe that's because of the file size, but that's just another way of saying 1080p isn't that important to people.
    Personally, with my equipment, I can't see a difference between 720p and 1080p, even up close, so I assume that's the reason (some) people don't bother with 1080p.

  8. Re:This never works on Microsoft, Chip Makers Working On Hardware DRM For Windows 10 PCs · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Just checked a torrent site for Game of Thrones S05E01

    Res:624x352, Size:424 MB, Seeds:8622, Leeches:399
    Res:720p, Size:1013 MB, Seeds:6849, Leeches:643
    Res:1080p, Size:2.66 GB, Seeds:2181, Leeches:171

    So it looks like about 10% want 1080p, 40% want 720p, and the remaining 50% are fine with 352p
    From that, I'd guess 80% of the market can't tell the difference between 720p and 1080p.

    But the main takeaway is that most care more about the story than they do about resolution - the acting isn't any better at 1080p.

  9. ActiveGuard on Microsoft Announces Device Guard For Windows 10 · · Score: 1

    Device Guard; the proven security model of ActiveX.

  10. We don't need more mediocre programmers on Senate Draft of No Child Left Behind Act Draft Makes CS a 'Core' Subject · · Score: 1

    Nobody wants to hire a mediocre programmer.
    Forcing everyone to learn programming in school is going to result in a lot more mediocre programmers, and almost no increase in good programmers.

    You know what would make a difference?
    Getting all the students who have basically no chance of learning to program out of the class, so the rest of us don't have to deal with them.

  11. Re:start at the root, we must have securable hardw on Are Bug Bounties the Right Solution For Improving Security? · · Score: 1

    And 1 percent less sales * 1 billion devices * $100 a board is $1 billion in "lost profit".

    If the jumper costs %0.1 of the profit on the device, then it only needs to improve sales by %0.1.

  12. Re:start at the root, we must have securable hardw on Are Bug Bounties the Right Solution For Improving Security? · · Score: 1

    Adding a write-protect jumper only costs a few cents.
    And if you want to keep the convenience of downloadable upgrades, don't install the jumper.
    Sure, only a few percent of us would buy a motherboard because the BIOS had the option to add a write protect jumper, but that's still a few percent more sales.
    Plus it's a marketable difference - if you've got it and your competitors don't, then you can use scare tactics;
    "Unlike our competitors, we care about your computer's health, that's why all our motherboards have physical protections against viruses."

  13. Re:You really don't on Comcast Planning 2Gbps Service, Starting With Atlanta · · Score: 1

    If you could get 1 Mbps for $10, 5 Mbps for $15, 20 Mbps for $20, 100 Mbps for $40 or 1,000 Mbps for $80, which would you pick?

    Personally, I'd go with the $20 for 20Mbps option. I like speed, but I also like money.

  14. Moore's Law on Ask Slashdot: Who's Going To Win the Malware Arms Race? · · Score: 1

    Computers roughly double in power every two years.
    That means every two years, malware can be twice as destructive.
    Security constantly improves, but it doesn't improve as fast.

    Measured as a percentage, the amount of damage being done will go down.
    Measured as an absolute, the amount of damage will go up.

  15. Re:Cut energy use by WHAT? on Graphene Light Bulbs Coming To Stores Soon · · Score: 1

    Err - no.

    That number on the Digikey page isn't lumens per watt (I've no idea what unit mw/W is supposed to be).

    If you look at the datasheet that LED is a max of 139 lumens with a forward voltage drop of 2.9 at 350 mA, or slightly less than 140 lumens per watt (under ideal conditions).

    By definition there are 683 lumens per watt of radiant power at a wavelength of 555 nm.

    The highest announced efficiency LED to date is "only" 303 lumens per watt - http://cree.com/News-and-Events/Cree-News/Press-Releases/2014/March/300LPW-LED-barrier
    303/683 = 0.44 or 44%

    The best LED I can actually buy is still under 200 lumens per watt, less than 30%

    The 4flow, which is pretty close to the best consumer LED light bulb you can get is only 85 lumens per watt.
    http://www.homedepot.com/p/Cree-60W-Equivalent-Soft-White-2700K-A19-Dimmable-LED-Light-Bulb-with-4Flow-Filament-Design-BA19-08027OMF-12DE26-3U100/205597078

    All much better (efficacy) than a CFL or incandescent, but no where near 48%

  16. How big is it? on Behind the Scenes At a Quantum Dot Factory · · Score: 1

    Anyone know what the maximum size of a quantum dot is?
    Could they make ones that emit microwaves, or even radio?

  17. No choice. on Scientists: It's Time To Resolve the Ethics of Editing Human Genome · · Score: 1

    I couldn't agree more, giving people a choice always ends badly.
    In particular, people should be prevented from saying no just because they find their partner "undesirable".
    Perhaps we can institute a lottery to force people to have sex with "ugly" people.

  18. Why do they want passwords? on NZ Customs Wants Power To Require Passwords · · Score: 1

    What for, exactly?
    I mean, passwords protect data.
    Is customs afraid of data?
    Is there some dangerous piece of information that must be stopped from entering the country?

    If your police force is afraid of people keeping secrets, then your police force needs to be disbanded.

  19. I want secure communications. on NSA Director Wants Legal Right To Snoop On Encrypted Data · · Score: 1

    I want my communications to be as secure as technically feasible.

    If it's a choice between hobbling my security or hobbling the NSA, I pick hobbling the NSA.

  20. Give me less. on Ask Slashdot: Most Useful Browser Extensions? · · Score: 3, Insightful

    By far the most useful extensions are the ones that reduce my "browsing experience"
    Things which prevent things from being pushed at me (NoScript, AdBlock)
    Things which allow me watch videos at my pace and choice of quality instead of "streaming". (youtube downloader)
    And in general things which reduce the number of features I'm forced to contend with.

  21. Re:202,586 on Mars One: Final 100 Candidates Selected · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Lottery tickets are a rip off.
    Fake Lottery tickets are a scam, even if they are half price.

  22. Pirating music is much quicker. on Music Doesn't Feature In the Pirate Bay's Top 100 Biggest Torrents · · Score: 1

    1 compressed movie is about the same space as 200 compressed songs.
    If it takes you about 20 seconds to download a song, then it takes you about 1 hour to download a movie.

    Movies could be an order of magnitude less "popular" than music and still appear an order of magnitude more "often".

  23. Re:More proof on Music Doesn't Feature In the Pirate Bay's Top 100 Biggest Torrents · · Score: 1

    ... YouTube doesn't even qualify as decent audio.

    Picking an arbitrary list of 10 "top of the pop" songs,
    youtube-dl reports that one is "only" 128kbps @ 44,100 Hz, and the other nine are available at 256kbps @ 44,100 Hz.

    You may not accept that as "HD", but it takes a truly warped view of the world to claim it isn't "decent".

    More to the point, the difference in quality between what you get from Youtube and the Pirate Bay is almost nil.
    I.e. it may well be crap, but it isn't youtube's fault that it's crap.

  24. Driverless trucks on The One Mistake Google Keeps Making · · Score: 1

    Truck drivers get over $40k a year, and they don't drive 24/7.
    I'd bet a trucking company would pay a lot for a driver-less truck, even if it could only travel a few routes.

  25. Re:I think its gonna be a long long time on New Proposed Path for Manned Trips to Mars: Let Mars' Gravity Capture Spacecraft · · Score: 2

    Minor quibble - instead of water, you send hydrogen, only takes 1/8 of a tonne.