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User: bill_mcgonigle

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  1. Re:For free? on WIPO Panel Says Ron Paul Guilty of Reverse Domain Name Hijacking · · Score: 0

    Ron is not using the State to acquire RonPaul.com

    Yeah, he is. He's making the case for an 'Intellectual Property' right to the name. Such ideas are only State-derived.

    What's most sad is that the free market solution is so obvious.

  2. Re:Fear Mongering on Terrorist Murder In London Could Revive Snooper's Charter · · Score: 0

    If it's a violent act against a government actor, it's terrorism, so it deserves your liberties to be eradicated by that government.

    If it were 'just' violence against a little girl, it would be merely a statistic, not nearly as important (according to government actors).

  3. Re:Testing methodology... on Intel's Linux OpenGL Driver Faster Than Apple's OS X Driver · · Score: 2

    But I'm sure it's the driver, and only the driver making the difference here. What a ridiculous comparison.

    If you look at TFA, he's making both a whole-stack comparison and separately a driver version comparison.

    The OSX stack appears to fair worse against most of the linux tests, and the new driver does marginally better than the old driver.

    Thank you, Intel driver folk, for reassuring my purchasing decision (based on linux driver support).

  4. Re:Is it new? on One-Time Pad From Caltech Offers Uncrackable Cryptography · · Score: 1

    POTUS-PRIME

    Great, now I have to imagine Roosevelt with Peter Cullen's voice saying, "Allied Forces, roll out."

  5. Re:The summary makes a bigger deal of this than it on Physicists Create Quantum Link Between Photons That Don't Exist At the Same Time · · Score: 1

    Ah, thanks for this. So, it sounds like it's probably possible to preserve a quantum state over time, which is good for us in the real world where things tend to break and get lost.

    This must've been what Scotty did when he put the pattern buffer into its diagnostic cycle. Except, poor Franklin, in the real world things break and get lost.

  6. Re:Google vs. ST:TNG computer on Why the 'Star Trek Computer' Will Be Open Source and Apache Licensed · · Score: 1

    the ST:TNG computer couldn't even handle Boolean queries

    That, or Troi was too dumb to effectively operate the computer. I've got an opinion on which of those is more likely...

  7. Re:To Pay or Not To Pay, That is the Question on Ask Slashdot: Moving From Contract Developers To Hiring One In-House? · · Score: 1

    Right, this is how grown-ups pay for projects. It sounds like the OP may not have had a grown-up contract with his subs.

  8. Re:Wake up on Ask Slashdot: Moving From Contract Developers To Hiring One In-House? · · Score: 1

    Come to that, you could have a car analogy, but it would have to be a custom car, again built to your drawings. And if you expect that not to have flaws...

    "I want it to go fast and look really nice, and get me to the grocery store, take my family on vacation, win on the race track, and get 60 MPG! Can you get this done in 30 days for $12,000?"

  9. Re:Academic Use on Debian GNU/Hurd 2013 Released · · Score: 1

    Even in terms of microkernel design Hurd is dated

    Well, that would be the place to focus. If Hurd focused on being the best microkernel project (vs. Minix or whatever) then they would attract lots of help from academia. Is there something preventing this?

    I wonder, too, since a (the?) major issue with microkernels is the cost of message passing, if some of the newer/alternative distributed architectures (which have an inherent message passing delay anyway) wouldn't be a better fit for Hurd than x86 hypervisors. It's been a long time since I've done any serious computer architecture work, but even back then people were playing with various weird bits of hardware that were very wide and not very deep, with barely an OS to get to the point of being able to experiment with them.

  10. Proved the Market on Some Scientists Question Whether Quantum Computer Really Is Quantum · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Whether this thing turns out to be the real McCoy (dammit Jim, I'm a quantum annealer) or not, one thing D-Wave has done is proven that there are customers who will pay $10M to be on the cutting edge of quantum computing for a few years. This should help boost investment and entrepreneurship in other companies. Eventually, one of them will revolutionize everything.

  11. Science Goose on Brain Zapping Improves Math Ability · · Score: 1

    There's something cultural going on here too.

    How many of you have experienced a person (in my experience all women, but surely not exclusively) who, when the conversation turns to something they don't understand, always limited to the STEM realms, they make a stupid face, shake/flap their hands in the air, and say something like, "oh, my, tech geek talk. Beep beep, bloop bloop, blah, blah, blah, hahahahahaha"? I've heard them referred to as a "Science Goose" as that's sort of what the behavior looks like, but there's probably a better term. I've seen it parodied on TV too, so it's not a local thing.

    These people seem otherwise sane, but the behavior is something they must feel is acceptable. I'm sure the psychology is straightforward, about making themselves feel better by mocking that which they do not understand, but it's got to have cultural support or more people would just think that they're rude assholes for conducting such displays. Personally, if I don't understand something I find that intriguing and an opportunity to ask questions, and I was reared in the same culture (I think...).

    Hit me with your thoughts, gentle readers.

  12. Re:How to reform patent law? on Patenting Open Source Software · · Score: 1

    software should simply not be patentable. You can copyright it sure, but no patents

    OK, now how do you get that through a corrupt Congress?

    I feel like we need one of those checklists for why a random spam 'solution' won't work.

  13. Re:Publication bias on 97% of Climate Science Papers Agree Global Warming Is Man-made · · Score: 1, Insightful

    That's true, plus being published doesn't mean being truthful.

    Throw in the politicization of science and its funding (i.e. if 97% of funding goes to "pro-agw" scientists, these results would be expected, or vice-versa), and it's hard to draw any real-world conclusions through popular vote of journal-published papers. Add in the asymmetric risk to the wealthiest parts of the world and the politics gets even more dubious.

    Maybe we should stick to actual science and let the chips fall where they may. Phlogiston was once very popular, but so is Relativity. Theories, predictions, observation, refinement - repeat as needed until the theory and observations reach equilibrium. In the meantime, I'll try not to use my TomTom to get to the Anti-Relativity conference.

  14. Re:Well... this is going to be awkward... on Ubuntu Developers Revisit Replacing Firefox With Chromium · · Score: 1

    SessionRestore is reliable...

  15. Re:Hey, Google - FUCK YOU on Google Demands Microsoft Pull YouTube App For WP8 · · Score: 1

    So provide a link in the file description to your website where they can download the file.

    The claim was that YouTube content owners do not want their content shared. Your claim seems to be that if you are a YouTube content owner who wants their content shared (say by selecting the Creative Commons License *that YouTube provides as an option*) then you shouldn't use YouTube.

    That's a separate claim that does not respond to the first one.

  16. Re:Fuck Yeah! on Newegg Defeats Alcatel-Lucent in Third Patent Win This Year · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    Another big PC build order comin' your way! Keep on winning

    I'm so conflicted. Amazon buckled while Newegg funded their lawsuit with the absurd restocking fees I've paid them in the past after they've failed to deliver on time and I got the stuff overnighted for $4 from Amazon instead.

  17. Re:Hey, Google - FUCK YOU on Google Demands Microsoft Pull YouTube App For WP8 · · Score: 1

    You could probably do it without going over your monthly mobile tariff.

    haha, I'll dig out the C=64 to host it.

  18. Re:Scam? on Google and NASA Snap Up D-Wave Quantum Computer · · Score: 1

    and yet some mighty big players are buying these suckers.

    Few people will spend $10M without doing their homework (outside of Congress). Then again, $10M to maintain a competitive advantage over the competition is within many organizations' budgets.

    Did the quantum computing age begin and (almost) nobody noticed?

    TIME Magazine never covered the beginning of anything. But as the Spectrum interview says, they've sold a partnership with these organizations, and that their chips aren't big enough yet to solve their entire problems, yet, but presumably when they get there the early partners will be the market leaders because they started now.

    Curiously absent are the academic institutions - they've certainly spend more than $10M (in inflation adjusted terms, at least) on computers before. To open up an entire new class of computation should justify that level of expense again. The elephant in the room being that most CS departments don't tackle big stuff anymore; they're happy to nibble at the cheap edges.

  19. Re:I have a suggestion on Georgia Tech and Udacity Partner for Online M.S. in Computer Science · · Score: 1

    if we fail to attract the world's best and brightest

    We need to attract them on a permanent basis to make any lasting improvements, not on temporary H1B's. An H1B employer can apply for a green card for its H1B employees, but if their primary motivation is their low cost, then that's not the route they'll chose to go.

    (because they would often stick with paper-based solutions).

    If they persist on such pigheadedness, their more nimble (and smarter) competitors will gradually put them out of business. These better companies will provide lower prices to consumers, better delivery, more efficient processes (which have positive environmental impacts) and will create more overall employment. This model has proven itself throughout every industry that didn't enjoy legal protection for the incumbents.

    The US has a lot of un/un-employed STEM workers, each of which is already a drain on society if they're collecting government benefits. Getting those workers employed in native companies should be the primary goal; taking in foreign workers to make up any additional gaps above and beyond that makes total sense, but that's not the current situation (see a recent review of the numbers here).

  20. Re:Thats why jailbreak always wins on Google Demands Microsoft Pull YouTube App For WP8 · · Score: 1

    screw official apps, I'm tired of commercials, and spam in real life, internet and television, so I've cut cable went 100% pirate and said fuck you to advertisers.

    Is your relationship to the content parasitic on the rest of society?

    when you stamp return to sender the post office will return your spam

    Depending on the class and envelope markings you may just be wasting your time. If your goal is to increase costs for the Post Office, then it may be a valid strategy.

  21. Re:And the day comes when... on Google Demands Microsoft Pull YouTube App For WP8 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I believe 90% of Slashdot is having a 'Christian Scientist with appendicitis' moment.

    There are two levels here. First, did Microsoft develop an app that users will like? Yep, sure, no question (as long as it lasts).

    Second: are these users merely pawns in one battle of Microsoft's War on Google, or has Microsoft turned over a new leaf and embraced openness and Free Culture?

    The answer to the second question gives clues to the motivations for the first. I'll give 9:1 odds that this app was only dreamed up as a negotiating piece for something Microsoft wants from Google. That's only a historical perspective - how I'd love to lose that bet, but I don't expect to.

  22. Re:I can't wait to see this battle on Google Demands Microsoft Pull YouTube App For WP8 · · Score: 1

    The point is that Microsofts application isn't using publicly available API's

    If they were, Google would have a stronger case. Google could provide an API with a payment method (e.g. Google Wallet micropayment). If Microsoft chose to skirt those API's to pull 'free versions' of the data, then Google's case would be very strong indeed. By being so closed, Google is hurting its revenue opportunities and hampering its control mechanisms.

  23. Re:Wait... on Google Demands Microsoft Pull YouTube App For WP8 · · Score: 1

    If only Google's 30,000 PhD's could figure out a revenue stream that wasn't advertising. As it is, though, Google is an advertising company that has some enticing products to get users to view ads.

    The difference here between Microsoft and AdBlock is that Microsoft already has an adversarial relationship with Google (e.g. shaking down its Android partners with patent litigation). One consequence of Microsoft's action, should it ever get to court, is that things like AdBlock could be collateral damage, for the reasons you cite. Absent the State mechanisms at play, this might all just be friendly competition.

  24. Re:Wait... on Google Demands Microsoft Pull YouTube App For WP8 · · Score: 4, Funny

    or 15 seconds intro delays me from watching 1 minute video

    ha, I've got you beat - I got a 1:30 ad in front of an 0:45 video!

    wait, no, I lost.

  25. Re:Hey, Google - FUCK YOU on Google Demands Microsoft Pull YouTube App For WP8 · · Score: 2

    It's not googles decision to block the content, it's the content owners.

    I have content on YouTube. It's even CC licensed (unfortunately with their limited license choice). I want people who did something wrong in their past life and are now forced to use Windows Phone to be able to access my content, and preferably be able to download it too.

    Perhaps Google needs to add another knob.