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User: Chas

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  1. Upgrading Daleks? on Doctor Who To Teach Kids To Code · · Score: 1

    Apparently the BBC thinks upgrading psychopathic, racist death machines is a good idea!

    What could possibly go wrong?

  2. Chicago didn't put them up. on Speed Cameras In Chicago Earn $50M Less Than Expected · · Score: 1

    The contractor that Chicago officials were bribed by (Corruption? In Chicago? AW HELL NAW!) put them up.
    Last I checked, the revenue sharing plan was that Chicago was supposed to get about 10% of the total ticket revenue from all cameras.

    The BIG problem is, these cameras are NOT placed in a way that allows them to actually be used for safety checks. They're placed for optimal "surprise" ticket revenue.

    The thing is, people get wise to that over time. While their driving habits around the camera outposts change, marginally, to stay on the side of the angels, their OVERALL driving habits simply DO NOT change. So all this expensive equipment is going up. Then the city (and their contractor isn't recouping the costs.

    And the DUMB thing? Chicago budget morons are GUESSTIMATING potential ticket revenue and spending as if it were money already in hand!

  3. Re:Not Boeing. on Fusion and Fission/LFTR: Let's Do Both, Smartly · · Score: 1

    Thanks.

    Saw that in the article and totally brain-farted while typing.

  4. Is this worse than Win10 Test? on If You're Connected, Apple Collects Your Data · · Score: 2

    Indubitably. Win10 Test is a product demo. So Microsoft is going to monitor it in a way that would be unfeasible for a shipping OS. They're trying to collect user data to make sure people are using Win10 the way they THINK people are going to use it. This is a byproduct of the Windows 8 metro/modern UI fiasco. If they don't disable/remove this level of monitoring when the OS ships, corporate customers will simply opt not to run with the OS...AGAIN.

    Seriously, NO company that's in ANY way serious about security is going to put up with a built in keylogger that's reporting back to MommySoft.

    Apple is doing the same thing with a live, shipping OS. Which is completely fucking heinous.

    Now, will they get away with it?

    Probably, because the rabid, turtleneck-and-jeans brigade of Mac fanatics will buy absolutely ANYTHING from Apple, so long as it has the Apple logo on it.

  5. I agree with this sentiment. on Fusion and Fission/LFTR: Let's Do Both, Smartly · · Score: 3, Interesting

    There's almost zero reason we should put LFTR and Fusion into an adversarial relationship.

    LFTR is closer to market right now, and fuel for it is ridiculously plentiful. It can easily power this planet for hundreds of years.

    At the same time, Fusion is around the corner (though it's been "around the corner" for several decades).

    Still, instead of dealing with:

    * Nasty, polluting fossil fuel generation
    * Solar/Wind/Hydro installs that fuck up the local ecology
    * Dirty, ancient solid-fuel fission tech

    Take the first step forward with LFTR and MSR fission.

    Yes, we'll have waste still. But it's FAR easier to design storage/depletion facilities that last 100-300 years. Current fission plants are producing stuff that'll be hot for tens or hundreds of thousands of years. And, quite simply, we can't guarantee anything we engineer will last that long. The oldest (mostly intact) megastructures on this planet are the Egyptian pyramids. And they're only about 4500 years old. Mostly because they're just a giant pile of stone.

    Still with LFTR/MSR, we can lower emissions and give ourselves time to grow and improve the grid while we get the kinks out of Fusion technology.

    With portable, modular solutions like Boeing's fusion skunkworks project, we can put cheap, safe power generation capacity just about ANYWHERE.
    When more power's needed? Just drop another unit next to the first and keep adding until your requirements are met.
    And when it's time to decommission a unit? Simply truck it away!

    And both of these technologies are engineered, from the get-go, to be inherently safe.

    With LFTR/MSR fission. If power is cut, you don't get a runaway reaction. By design, the reactor dumps the medium into dump tanks, away from the reagent.

    With fusion, you turn off power to a fusion reactor or change the dynamics inside the reactor, and the process shuts down naturally. Snuffed like a blown out candle.

    But, will all the "nuclear = bombs" hysterics ever allow this to go through?

    Hell no!

  6. Basic plan on White House Wants Ideas For "Bootstrapping a Solar System Civilization" · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Step 1: Build permanent habitation in orbit. In a way that can easily be converted to a "space dock".

    Step 2: Use it as a launch pad for permanent habitation on the Moon. Build the infrastructure, build large (mega-engineering projects). Once it's done, THEN move people in permanently. Use this method as the basis for expansion elsewhere in the solar system.

    Step 3: Once permanent habitation has been done within Earth-orbit, send out automated devices to construct a similar space dock in Mars orbit, and possibly one in Venus orbit.

    Step 4: Use the Mars dock as a launch pad for permanent habitation on Mars using the Moon's habitation as a template. Due to Venus' EXTREMELY unfriendly atmosphere, I'd likely say convert the Venus station into a solar power-to-battery facility.

    Step 5: Once the Moon and Mars colonies are firmly established, use the template for occupying the moons of the outer planets.

    Basically the orbital facilities would be staging areas for occupation of the various planets/moons. They serve as fall-back points in case of catastrophe. And, once the colony was safely established, they'd become fuel depots.

    Going with a "launch from orbit" model also saves fuel and wear and tear on interplanetary vehicles.

  7. Whisper's already denied this on The Guardian Reveals That Whisper App Tracks "Anonymous" Users · · Score: 4, Informative

    http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/style-blog/wp/2014/10/16/secret-sharing-app-whisper-to-the-guardian-you-published-a-pack-of-vicious-lies-about-us/

    Whisper, darling child of the online anonymity surge, is going to war with the Guardian over a story saying the app tracks the identities and locations of some users.

    Launched two years ago, Whisper says it’s the “safest place on the internet,” a social networking app that lets people anonymously share short messages — “whispers” — supposedly detached from any identifiable information.

    But in a lengthy takedown published Thursday, the Guardian claims otherwise, saying Whisper uses a handful of tools to subvert its own claims of privacy and anonymity. Whisper, according to the Guardian report, tracks newsworthy users and uses roundabout methods of finding out the locations of users who decline to share it; the company then shares that information with third parties, including the U.S. government, the Guardian reported.

    The outlet also said the app changed its privacy policy after it was made aware that the Guardian’s story would run.

    All of these claims, Whisper officials said, are patently false.

    Whisper’s editor-in-chief, Neetzan Zimmerman, went into attack mode immediately after the story was published, saying it was a “pack of vicious lies” and that “the Guardian made a mistake posting that story and they will regret it.”

    Reached by phone, Zimmerman categorically denied the basis of the story, saying that while certain degrees of tracking (such as a city of location) are possible through simply connecting to the Internet, the methods the Guardian described are “either outright false or misguided or misinformed.”

    “Clearly, their intention was for absolutely no reason to write a hit piece about us and try to scare away our users,” Zimmerman said, sounding irate at times.

    The Guardian story describes techniques that Whisper allegedly uses to find “newsworthy” users, such as those who work at Yahoo and Disney, or on Capitol Hill. It also says there is a technical backdoor that allows Whisper to pinpoint the location of users who have declined to share their location with the app, and that Zimmerman and another executive had requested staff to exploit it.

    But Zimmerman, fuming at the accusations, said such backdoors are “technically impossible.”

    “That is false, that is 100 percent false,” he said. “That was never said by anyone. I have no idea where that quote came from. I have no idea what they’re talking about. I have never, ever, ever asked anybody in my life, and would never ask anybody, for information on a user who opted out of user location. That cannot be overemphasized. That is a 100 percent lie.”

    He added that no change was made to the app’s privacy policy as a response to the Guardian’s story. (Still, my colleague Brian Fung noted that any changes to a privacy policy may invite inquiry from the FTC.)

    Whisper employees can, however, search for keywords (analogous to a Twitter search) to find users and their “whispers” that may be interesting to some of its media partners, including BuzzFeed, which publishes an ongoing series of posts that highlight interesting or newsworthy messages on the service.

    A BuzzFeed spokesman told Valleywag on Thursday: “We’re taking a break from our partnership until Whisper clarifies to us and its users the policy on user location and privacy.”

    Zimmerman also said the Guardian has had a months-long partnership with Whisper that used the very techniques the article decries.

    “There are at least three Guardian stories written off Whisper, and two of which we

  8. Re:(Re:The Children!) Why? I'm not a pedophile! on FBI Director Continues His Campaign Against Encryption · · Score: 1

    What would I punish the guy for?

    Oh. Let me count the ways.

    And seriously. You're allowing him the Nuremburg Defense? ("I was only following orders")

    Sorry, NOT a good reason for violating people's rights.

  9. Re:(Re:The Children!) Why? I'm not a pedophile! on FBI Director Continues His Campaign Against Encryption · · Score: 1

    I, for one, REFUSE to be pre-criminalized...

    Too late... already happened

    Touche.

    The only appropriate answer for this sort of thing is "Fuck you. Get a warrant."

    Enjoy your stay in government housing while we wait...

    If necessary. I will. Part of the reason that the government gets over so much nowadays is that people are TERRIFIED of being seen as a criminal, and they're scared shitless of ANY form of incarceration.

    Jim Comey needs to be told to shut the hell up, do his job *RIGHT* and be a good little soldier.

    Remember who gives the orders. He is a very good little soldier, getting up there and barking like a dog, very well trained. And maybe he too, will write a tell-all confession after he reties, if the right book deal comes along.

    Even the best trained dog gets a rolled up paper across the snout once in a while.
    I have no problem being such. As there's nothing in my life I couldn't stand to lose.

  10. You want evidence? Here it is: on Michigan About To Ban Tesla Sales · · Score: 5, Informative

    So he asks for evidence, you dont provide any, and you get a +5 mod.

    Good work, guys.

    https://www.opensecrets.org/lo...

  11. Re:Windows 7 on Data From Windows 10 Feedback Tool Exposes Problem Areas · · Score: 1

    All the excessive logging in Win10 is due to the fact that it is a TECH PREVIEW.

    Once we get to the RTM, you can be sure things like the click-tracking, key logging, etc are all going to be turned off. Because, were they NOT, Win10 would bounce off enterprise/business customers faster and harder than Windows 8 ever did. NO business is going to put up with their OS vendor keylogging them.

  12. (Re:The Children!) Why? I'm not a pedophile! on FBI Director Continues His Campaign Against Encryption · · Score: 5, Insightful

    It is not our job to make his job easier or effortless.

    Amendment IV

    The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

    Our phones and computers are the modern day equivalent of "papers and effects".

    Encryption affords us the security promised by this amendment.

    Does this make the collection of data by various "letter agency" and police law enforcement departments tougher? YEP!

    Does it raise the possibility of criminals "slipping through the system"? YEP!

    I, for one, REFUSE to be pre-criminalized , simply because I don't choose to automatically drop trou whenever someone demands to see "ze papers". The only appropriate answer for this sort of thing is "Fuck you. Get a warrant."

    I also refuse to abrogate my rights and privileges due to an idiotic appeal to emotion (think of the CHILDREN!)

    *I* am not victimizing children. But, the way law enforcement wants to set things up, EVERYONE gets lumped in as would-be rapists, molesters and murderers.

    Jim Comey needs to be told to shut the hell up, do his job *RIGHT* and be a good little soldier.

  13. Re:Windows 7 on Data From Windows 10 Feedback Tool Exposes Problem Areas · · Score: 1

    Guess no compelling reason the ever upgrade to windows 10. I'm staying at 7...

    Honestly, 8 had some nice little technical improvements under the hood (such as being able to directly mount ISO images as filesystems, etc.
    The big problem with 8 was the forced UI changes.

    Win10 retains all of those little technical improvements and is looking to (at least partially) undo the UI mess that was created in Win8.

    They still have a way to go though. There's a lot of Metro/Modern UI crap that REALLY needs to be cleaned out.

  14. Can the sun realistically power datacenters? on Can the Sun Realistically Power Datacenters? · · Score: 1

    Short answer: No

    Long answer: No. Because the tradeoffs just aren't worth it, considering that you'd have to invest in a solar field nearly 400 times the size of your data center and you'd have to allot still MORE space for a HUMONGOUS unobtainium battery setup to store power in off-production hours.

    Then there's the environmental impact of clearing that much land just to let it like barren and house all those panels.

    We won't even go into the issues of the environmental impact of actually MANUFACTURING that many panels

  15. The app store can be beneficial... on The Subtle Developer Exodus From the Mac App Store · · Score: 0

    This directly contradicts Apple's mission of maximizing shareholder benefit by wringing every last possible cent out of every transaction FOR THEMSELVES and telling everyone else to go pound sand.

  16. They removed ANYONE? on Federal Government Removes 7 Americans From No-Fly List · · Score: 1

    *Drops dead in shock*

  17. Cook, cook, cook the books. Till they say anything on Wind Power Is Cheaper Than Coal, Leaked Report Shows · · Score: 1

    The report demonstrates that if you were to take into account mining, pollution, and adverse health impacts of coal and gas, wind power would be the cheapest source of energy

    Sure! Tack in total costs across progenitor markets, and assume a 100% penetration on pollution and health impact. Ignore things like land use, fines for filling endangered species, costs of NECESSARY storage systems, etc, etc.

    Yes! We too can cook the books!

    Oh yes. And let me know when you have a reliable wind source that blows steadily enough for 24x7 power generation.

  18. Simple solution on The Correct Response To Photo Hack Victim-Blamers · · Score: 1

    If you don't want something potentially blasted out to every other human on the planet, DO NOT PUT IT UP ON THE INTERNET!

    PERIOD!

    If you want to call this "victim blaming", fine.

    I don't use various web services to take/store private pictures of myself.
    Therefore, I do not have naked photos of myself strewn across the web after the inevitable account compromise.

    Anyone trusting an Internet service to keep things "private" for them is a fucking moron.

  19. http://speedify.com/features/ on Ask Slashdot: VPN Setup To Improve Latency Over Multiple Connections? · · Score: 4, Informative

    http://speedify.com/features/

    This kinda sounds like what you're looking for.

  20. "How can WE run the system?" on Glut of Postdoc Researchers Stirs Quiet Crisis In Science · · Score: 1

    You can't?

    EVERYONE wishes they could choose a career that would go out of its way to manufacture a choice and cushy position for them on-demand.

    Reality is, if you choose to go into a field with a glut of participants, jobs are going to be lower paying and few and far between and it becomes a race to the bottom.

    Do like everyone else does when trying to break into a particular career. Get a job.

  21. Lawsuit in 3...2...1... on Complain About Comcast, Get Fired From Your Job · · Score: 1

    If he's telling the truth and wasn't name-dropping, then Comcast has some explaining to do. To a judge and jury.

    Granted, they have deep enough pockets to tie it up for years. But...

  22. Lawsuit in 3...2...1 on Complain About Comcast, Get Fired From Your Job · · Score: 2

    If this person is telling the truth, and they had NOT been name-dropping, he's got a hell of a lawsuit on his hands.

    Granted, Comcast can tie it up in the courts for years...

  23. Re:Systemd on Lennart Poettering: Open Source Community "Quite a Sick Place To Be In" · · Score: 1

    Look at the specifications for modern POSIX compliance and then ask that again.

  24. Re:Just what we need in our server rooms on Why Military Personnel Make the Best IT Pros · · Score: 1

    But is this the fault of the millions of enlisted and commissioned service men and women?

    Does it warrant labeling them, en masse, as murderers?

  25. Re:Just what we need in our server rooms on Why Military Personnel Make the Best IT Pros · · Score: 1

    "Ignorant little leech on the ass of my country?"

    Yeah. That's pretty much what I'd call someone who bitches about things but doesn't even have any ideas about what to do to actually make things "better". Let alone the will to try and be participatory so they can implement such things.

    "Actually, it is not your country."

    Actually yeah it is. Not in the possessive sense as in "I own this". My as in "I choose to associate myself with this".

    And by serving the country I HAVE had a hand in granting (and protecting) people's rights. Maybe not on a firsthand basis, by my service, and the service of the millions of men and women over the last 200+ years have made it possible to claim "your" rights AS "YOUR" RIGHTS.

    Please, TRY to tell me I'm wrong.

    "FUCK OFF. That is what totalitarian countries do. Free people have no reason to serve you or "your" country. They can choose to, or they can freely chose not to. They are free to leave. They are free to stay."

    And they're free to bitch. Something the service of millions has guaranteed. But, I'm also free to tell useless morons like this to, in your words "Fuck off".

    But they're essentially bitching with no real audience. Because they do have any sense of responsibility. And think that this country OWES them in some way and should just spontaneously DO SOMETHING about their unconstructive criticisms. Instead of being constructive and trying to change the world FOR THE BETTER, THEMSELVES.

    "They have no obligation to "serve" you."

    I never said "serve me".

    I said DO something instead of just bitching uselessly. Constructive criticism.

    "Nor does anyone owe you a living, you leech"

    Uh. I think your reading comprehension is flawed. Nowhere did I ever say anyone OWED me a living.

    "Why do you hate the United States of America so much, you would lower "your" country to communism and totalitarianism?"

    Okay, now I *KNOW* your reading comprehension is flawed. This has nothing to do with communism or totalitarianism. The fact that you THINK (and I'm using the term loosely) it does, shows just how far off-base you are. I suggested that some whiny little jackass actually stop bitching about the world being a shitty place and actually DO something with their life to MAKE IT BETTER.

    "Whatever, but you are in the wrong place for that dude."

    If you think I'm writing from Outer Bumfuckistan, yeah. You might be right.

    But I'm writing this from the United States.

    You don't like what I have to say? TOUGH!
    You don't like my ideology? TOUGH!
    You want respect? To NOT be talked down to like the know-nothing piece of crap you are? EARN IT!
    You want the world to be a better place? WORK FOR IT!
    Don't like the fact that you might have to get your hands dirty to make the world a better place? TOUGH!