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User: jdavidb

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Comments · 2,374

  1. Re:Fuckbeta on Slashdot Tries Something New; Audience Responds! · · Score: 1

    Wait, what the heck ... ? Six digit ID's are low now? I'm getting so old....

  2. Re:Ken Ham does not speak for all creationists on Watch Bill Nye and Ken Ham Clash Over Creationism Live · · Score: 1

    Just wanted to chime in to say you may be a minority, but you are not alone. These days I'm less interested in a debate on origins and more interested in whether or not people should be creating a compulsory one-size-fits-all educational system, so I don't chime up as much on such topics as I used to. But - still here, still believe in the Bible, still doing engineering/sciency stuff somehow despite my backwardness, and I still see no reason for people to try to force each other to change. I don't know a whole lot about Ken Ham, although there's a chance we might swing through that area this year and take a look.

  3. Dmitry Sklyarov on Adobe's New Ebook DRM Will Leave Existing Users Out In the Cold Come July · · Score: 1

    we've all read numerous stories about companies using DRM in stupid ways that harm their customers, and now we can add Adobe to the list

    Only now? Adobe was using DRM to harm Dmitry Sklyarov over a decade ago. And in harming one of us, they harmed all of us.

  4. Re:The Problem on Marc Andreessen On Why Bitcoin Matters (And A Critique) · · Score: 1

    The Bitcoin FAQ explains why this is not seen as a problem by Bitcoin supporters. But of course this is Slashdot, so I assume nobody has read that.

  5. Re:First major retailer to accept Bitcoin on Bitcoin Payments Go Live At Overstock — Two Quarters Early · · Score: 1

    It was BTC's "dirty little secret" that as long as you could buy drugs with it, it had value. Losing SR caused panic on the BTC market for exactly that reason.

    The shuttering of silk road caused panic for only a few hours. The value was recovered in less than 1/4 of a day. But for weeks afterward there were misleading headlines about how Bitcoin had lost half its value. Yes, it did lose its value - for a very short while.

    Personally, I was very surprised that the value didn't go farther down and stay there much longer.

  6. Re:Breaking News! on Google Glass User Fights Speeding Ticket, Saying She's Defending the Future · · Score: 1

    Person who didn't actually harm anyone is prosecuted anyway, news at 11.

  7. Re:Where do I begin? on Why Charles Stross Wants Bitcoin To Die In a Fire · · Score: 1

    when you will always benefit from some regulations and services.

    Like you said, saying something doesn't make it so.

    If your goal is to persuade me to willingly give my allegiance to your system, you're failing.

  8. Re:Where do I begin? on Why Charles Stross Wants Bitcoin To Die In a Fire · · Score: 1

    You exercise that right by choosing where to live

    That's just a personal opinion, not something you have the right to enforce on people.

  9. Re:Where do I begin? on Why Charles Stross Wants Bitcoin To Die In a Fire · · Score: 1

    I am fully ready to secede from all of the services you have mentioned as soon as that right is recognized for everybody so that we can work together on a voluntary basis to create our own solutions.

    I am not a member of the U.S. Libertarian political Party, but their past platform put it well:

    Secession The Issue: People are forced to be subject to governments and to participate in their programs, usually as providers of financial support, regardless of their wishes to the contrary. The Principle: As all political association must be voluntary, we recognize the right to political secession. This includes the right to secession by political entities, private groups or individuals. Exercise of this right, like the exercise of all other rights, does not remove legal and moral obligations not to violate the rights of others. Solutions: We support the right of political entities, private groups and individuals to renounce their affiliation with any government, and to be exempt from the obligations imposed by those governments, while in turn accepting no support from the government from which they seceded. Transitional Action: As a transition step, we support the right of political entities, private groups and individuals to renounce their participation in any government program, and to be exempt from the obligations imposed by that program, while in turn accepting no benefit from the program from which they seceded.

  10. Where do I begin? on Why Charles Stross Wants Bitcoin To Die In a Fire · · Score: 1

    There's a whole lot in the summary that is just wrong or out of date. First off, the energy consumption for bitcoin mining is becoming more and more efficient, especially this year thanks to the addition of ASIC circuits for the job. Also there are several alternative currencies that are trying to address this with alternatives, including Peercoin and Primecoin.

    Next, the news of malware for mining Bitcoin is not new at all - it's been happening for well more than a year. And the defense is the same as always. Really this is an issue of malware, not an issue of Bitcoin. There is also malware out there to steal credit card numbers and bank account information - that's not a strike against credit cards or bank accounts.

    Finally a lot of this is a matter of opinion. The author thinks a deflationary system would be terrible - many of us think it would be wonderful. This is actually addressed in the Bitcoin FAQ with a link to a real article on the theory so you can consider it and make up your mind rather than starting with a preconception off the bat. If you conclude that a deflationary currency is bad, don't use it - meanwhile let the rest of us use what we think would be best. If you like the cryptocoin concept but don't like deflationary currencies, there are altcoins that do not have a capped supply.

    As for other points of the libertarian agenda - again, if you don't like it, don't use it. I support your right to pick the system you think would work best, and I think I should be allowed to do the same. "it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness"

  11. Re:This isn't money transmitting how? on Bitcoin Token Maker Suspends Operation After Hearing From Federal Gov't · · Score: 1

    Isn't it weird how on Slashdot some guys will go ape over the government wiretapping the general public without a warrant, then turn around and defend the need to have the government monitor everybody's economic transactions without probably cause?

  12. Re:Aluminium on Wikipedia's Lamest Edit Wars · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I will never forget the edit war over "yogurt"/"yoghurt." The ridiculousness was only eclipsed by the fact that the "yoghurt" guy won for years because everybody else realized it was ridiculous and didn't have the persistence to stay with it. IMO the system is broken when that kind of issue is settled by someone's personal passion and obsession.

  13. Re:Easy to ACTUALLY solve on EU Plastic Bag Debate Highlights a Wider Global Problem · · Score: 1

    Or better yet, just put it in landfills! That would be easier!

  14. Trademark law education on EFF Says Mark Shuttleworth Is Wrong About Trademark · · Score: 1

    That response from the EFF was very educational and worth reading among all the other links in this article. I learned that companies don't really have to go around and actively defend their trademark in court or risk losing it. And I also confirmed my suspicion that no company needs to be ensuring that every time somebody uses their name ("mark") that they have permission.

    Here's the link again in case you can't tell which one I'm referring to.

  15. Re:Just ignore it. on The State of ReactOS's Crazy Open Source Windows Replacement · · Score: 1

    I think it's cool and I still care, even if everybody else wants to ignore it. It may never get anywhere, but I like to know that it's going on and hear the status twice a year or so. Same for GNU Hurd, although I don't think I've heard much about them in at least five years.

    Also, while I'm sure Android is challenging Windows' dominance overall, it doesn't seem to be doing so on desktop machines in my office, so it's still a reality for me. I doubt ReactOS will be done in time to change that during my career, but it's nice to know it's out there.

  16. Way outdated on AMD's Radeon R9 290 Delivers 290X Performance For $150 Less · · Score: 0

    I can get a lot more megahashes/second on ASIC hardware for the same money.

  17. Grain of truth on Twitter Marks Clean Sites As Harmful, Breaks Links · · Score: 3, Interesting

    If the warnings are incorrect, how does Twitter justify this libel?

    Probably the same way you justify your hyperbole: with the basic fact that people are entitled to their own opinions, even if others disagree. Using big dramatic legal sounding words to try to bludgeon others over their opinions is actually harmful to society, in my opinion.

  18. It's the Singularity! on CAPTCHA Busted? Company Claims To Have Broken Protection System · · Score: 0

    Artificial Intelligence now exceeds human capability.

  19. Editors on Would-Be Tesla Owners Jump Through Hoops To Skirt Wacky Texas Rules · · Score: 1

    I live in Texas and I oppose all laws on personal freedom including all laws interfering with the private relationship between company and customer. Would it be too much to ask the editors to identify what a Tesla is so I can know what this story is about? I'm pretty sure my high school physics teacher had a Tesla, but it sounds like that was something different. Please take pity on us poor oppressed Texans and enlighten us.

  20. Re:Python on Ask Slashdot: Best Language To Learn For Scientific Computing? · · Score: 1

    Debugger versus printf debugging is a false dichotomy. Better to have a nice logging system that is implemented in both languages. (But my coworkers think I'm irrational for favoring logging over debuggers, so probably noone will agree.)

  21. Re:Toooootally Didn't See That Coming on Maryland Indictment Says Silk Road Founder Tried To Arrange Murder of Employee · · Score: 1

    But what is far worse is those people using force against those who disagree with them.

  22. Re:Toooootally Didn't See That Coming on Maryland Indictment Says Silk Road Founder Tried To Arrange Murder of Employee · · Score: 2

    Right - keep blacks away from the white drinking fountain!

  23. Re:Toooootally Didn't See That Coming on Maryland Indictment Says Silk Road Founder Tried To Arrange Murder of Employee · · Score: 2

    And it's wrong to enforce wrong laws.

  24. Re:Toooootally Didn't See That Coming on Maryland Indictment Says Silk Road Founder Tried To Arrange Murder of Employee · · Score: 2

    If it is not wrong, then try to get the law changed

    Snort! Thank you for making me spew coffee all over my monitor!

    Since it is "contraband", it is by definition wrong to sell it.

    No, right and wrong aren't determined by legislators or voting or kings or any of those other silly games.

  25. Re:Toooootally Didn't See That Coming on Maryland Indictment Says Silk Road Founder Tried To Arrange Murder of Employee · · Score: 1

    Okay, but the crime in that case is being committed by those who would enact violence against the bar owner.