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User: StikyPad

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  1. Re:Light is more natural than sound? on REMzen Claims They Can Help You Sleep Better (Video) · · Score: 1

    And sound. It's not an either/or proposition -- when it gets light out, the world gets noisier, from both human and animal activity. Gradually brightening light with gradually louder sound would be the most realistic scenario.

  2. Re:Makes me think about North/South Korea border on Drone Drops Drugs Onto Ohio Prison Yard · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I wonder how long it will be before drones are more heavily regulated than firearms.

  3. Re:Does anyone remember... on Why Bill Gates Is Dumping Another $1 Billion Into Clean Energy · · Score: 1

    remember that in American law, anything that is not explicitly forbidden is allowed.

    That's not strictly true. There are lots of catch-all laws, like "wanton and reckless conduct," where an act is not explicitly forbidden, but is deemed illegal nonetheless, and they're upheld by the courts all the time.

  4. Re:Two months ago. on Why Bill Gates Is Dumping Another $1 Billion Into Clean Energy · · Score: 2

    If he's taking money earned from fossil fuels and putting it toward renewable energy R&D, then that's a net gain. Besides, if they sold the stock, it would just create a buying opportunity for someone else; someone who wouldn't necessarily use any profits for altruistic efforts.

  5. The correct approach is to use the government for defensive cyber capabilities. The NSA (and others) are focused almost entirely on offensive capabilities and weaponizing exploits that they discover. Instead, they should be reporting, patching, and/or issuing reports on their discoveries. There's no point in protecting 'Murican data if there's nothing left to protect because we're ignoring defense.

    As far as their spying -- sorry, "collection" -- mission, they can still hack existing systems without using software exploits.

  6. Simple explanation on Researchers: The Thermostat In Your Office May Be Sexist · · Score: 1

    Men get warmer because we're doing all of the work.

    =)

  7. Re:Really? on New Telemetry Suggests Shot-Down Drone Was Higher Than Alleged · · Score: 1

    Altimeters also show feet above sea level. Altitude above ground is a calculated value derived from altitude above sea level minus altitude of terrain. We could make a bunch of assumptions to show that it's unlikely the drone is calculating its height above terrain, but fortunately we don't have to make any:

    In this case, as per the manual, the height is determined by making an altimeter reading when the drone is turned on, and height values are relative to *that* altitude. If you fly uphill, you may show a value of, say, 200ft, while only being 3 feet above the actual terrain. On the other hand, if you flew downhill, you should see a negative height value, but that doesn't mean you're underground.

  8. Re:quickly to be followed by self-driving cars on Are We Reaching the Electric Car Tipping Point? · · Score: 1

    Right, you can't save money on interest if you're not paying it to begin with.

    I agree that houses (and cars, these days) are sold on a monthly payment rather than total cost. But if you buy *less* than the most expensive payment you can afford, then you have other money to enjoy. Many people buy the biggest they can afford, though, and then are house-poor.

  9. Re:quickly to be followed by self-driving cars on Are We Reaching the Electric Car Tipping Point? · · Score: 1

    WTF is a seed change?

    GP was right, at least in his word choice. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

  10. Re:quickly to be followed by self-driving cars on Are We Reaching the Electric Car Tipping Point? · · Score: 1

    Looks pretty fun to me!

    https://youtu.be/e90x4R88Ag0?t...

  11. Re:quickly to be followed by self-driving cars on Are We Reaching the Electric Car Tipping Point? · · Score: 1

    Fuel economy is directly proportional to emissions.

  12. Re:quickly to be followed by self-driving cars on Are We Reaching the Electric Car Tipping Point? · · Score: 1

    Part of the value of a new vehicle is the low maintenance costs, helped by the warranty. My GF has a 7 year-old car, and it's absolutely falling apart. Transmission is dying, suspension is shot, and the AC compressor is frozen. It is, essentially, totaled, in that it would cost more than half the value of the car to fix it.

    Also it's easy to find 0% financing, which is better than paying cash, thanks to the time value of money.

  13. Re:quickly to be followed by self-driving cars on Are We Reaching the Electric Car Tipping Point? · · Score: 1

    Vehicle non-ownership is only cost effective in urban cores.

    Even then, it's questionable. I have some vehicle-ownership-eschewing friends, but they're compensated by their employer, who spends a minimum of $20/day, or $400/mo, just for their commute. You can easily pay for a decent vehicle -- including fuel and maintenance -- for that much, let alone when you factor in the extra $100 to $200 they're paying for personal Uber rides and weekend car rentals so they can actually leave the city.

    Self driving cars should make on-demand car renting far cheaper, and make non-ownership a viable option for far more people.

    It will only be cheaper if those savings are actually passed along to the consumer rather than gobbled up as profit. I predict that a driverless taxi will be cheap for just long enough to make taxi driving obsolete, and then once that happens, prices will rebound to just below the cost of owning a seldom-used vehicle.

    And there are some parts of vehicle ownership that are difficult to reproduce. Instant availability with no wait-time, a somewhat reasonable assurance that you're not sitting in or touching the remnants of someone else's bodily fluids, and a low penalty for forgetting your wallet or phone in your own car. The value of those features is, of course, subjective.

  14. Re:If you think Windows is bad on Mozilla CEO: Windows 10 Strips User Choice For Browsers and Other Software · · Score: 0

    From a UX standpoint, Android is a completely different animal from any Linux distro out there. And for that matter, the kernel is modified as well.

    I mean, we can have a nice long philosophical "Ship of Theseus" debate, but if it rings like a smartphone...

  15. Re:Really? on A Naysayer's Take On Windows 10: Potential Privacy Mess, and Worse · · Score: 1

    You make some great points. My problem isn't with the potential downsides of Windows 10, but the lack of upsides.

    What do I get out of it that I don't have in 7? A new interface with some random change-for-the-sake-of-change differences? I've upgraded every version of Windows since 3.1, except Me, and maybe I'm turning into a curmudgeon, but I feel like Windows 7 is the "finished" version of Windows. It's done. Make some minor changes as hardware improves, but there's really no need to keep reinventing the wheel.

    Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go make sure there are no kids on my lawn.

  16. Re:If you think Windows is bad on Mozilla CEO: Windows 10 Strips User Choice For Browsers and Other Software · · Score: 1

    Android is to Linux what OS X is to BSD.

  17. This is a non-issue for several reasons, among them:

    1) Covert officers travel under diplomatic cover, and most diplomats have security clearances. This will not stand out.
    2) It's already trivial for a nation-state to identify spies under diplomatic cover. We know who theirs are, and they know who ours are. Diplomatic cover is not about cover; it's about *diplomatic immunity*, so if they get pissed at our spies, all they can do is kick them out, and vice versa.
    3) Non-official cover employees are harder to detect, but they generally only hide their present employment, not their past employment, and usually have cover stories, not cover identities/jobs. See: Valerie Plame. At best, you can use fingerprints to confirm that they are who they say they are, which they're not lying about anyway, so...

    The real danger is blackmail. The employer already knows what infractions are listed on the SF86, of course, but the general public may not. Affairs, drug usage, and to a lesser degree, expunged criminal history, arrest record, financial issues, etc. Just download an SF86 and look it over. Depending on the individual, it could be a scandal that they'd rather avoid, and/or that the employer would rather avoid. e.g., "Why would you hire someone who smoked crack?"

  18. Re:Missed opportunity on Kentucky Man Arrested After Shooting Down Drone · · Score: 1

    If you outlaw drones, only outlaws will have drones.

  19. Re:Attack vector? on Maliciously Crafted MKV Video Files Can Be Used To Crash Android Phones · · Score: 1

    Possibly. Any time you have a buffer overflow, there's a possibility that you can write to the stack and execute arbitrary code.

  20. Re:Why do you hate America? on Kentucky Man Arrested After Shooting Down Drone · · Score: 1

    Guns don't kill people; people kill people.

  21. Re:Misleading headline on Kentucky Man Arrested After Shooting Down Drone · · Score: 2

    he was charged to discharging a gun within city limits

    No he wasn't.

    "Long story short, after that, they took me to jail for wanton endangerment first degree and criminal mischief...because I fired the shotgun into the air."

    Hillview Police detective Charles McWhirter of says you can't fire your gun in the city.

    "Well, we do have a city ordinance against discharging firearms in the city, but the officer made an arrest for a Kentucky Revised Statute violation," he said. (Emphasis mine.)

    These are basically catchalls:

    508.060 Wanton endangerment in the first degree.
    (1) A person is guilty of wanton endangerment in the first degree when, under
    circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to the value of human life, he
    wantonly engages in conduct which creates a substantial danger of death or serious
    physical injury to another person.
    (2) Wanton endangerment in the first degree is a Class D felony.

    512.020 Criminal mischief in the first degree.
    (1) A person is guilty of criminal mischief in the first degree when, having no right to
    do so or any reasonable ground to believe that he has such right, he intentionally or
    wantonly defaces, destroys or damages any property causing pecuniary loss of
    $1,000 or more.
    (2) Criminal mischief in the first degree is a Class D felony.

    I suspect he will be able to argue a) that he did not create a substantial danger, and b) that he had a reasonable ground to believe he had a right to destroy the drone. In fact, his testimony stated as much, so I would bet the criminal mischief charge will probably be dropped.

  22. Re:Why do you hate America? on Kentucky Man Arrested After Shooting Down Drone · · Score: 1

    When seconds count, police are only minutes away.

  23. Re:"...the same as trespassing." on Kentucky Man Arrested After Shooting Down Drone · · Score: 3, Funny

    They have cities in Kentucky?

  24. Re:Everybody List What You Think Went Wrong on DHI Group Inc. Announces Plans to Sell Slashdot Media · · Score: 1

    I'm so productive that I have lots of extra time to spend on Slashdot.

  25. Re:Eventuality? on DHI Group Inc. Announces Plans to Sell Slashdot Media · · Score: 1

    The Register has articles on topics I find interesting, but the "whimsical" British styling tests my patience. I don't want to see the word "boffin" in every other headline (or any headline, for that matter), or a CAPITALIZED word for emphasis. The site is too loud, gaudy, and grating for prolonged viewing.