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User: TMacPhail

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Comments · 83

  1. Re:How DARE they invade our privacy! on RFID License Plates in the UK · · Score: 1

    To build the database you would need to install tag readers throughout the city first. Just puting tags in the plates doesnt imply they will be doing that.
    It would be the same as setting up cameras everwhere to OCR the plates. And in some cities there already are plenty of cameras for you to go back to worrying about.

  2. Re:A bit hard to follow...... but funny.... on P-P-P-PowerBook for a S-S-S-Scammer... · · Score: 4, Informative

    As one of 33000 members of the SA forums I'll tell you that what goes on in those forums isnt organized by Lowtax or the other admins/mods. It's just people posting in a forum that just happens to generate lots of content from time to time that actually is worth encouraging people to "check this out"

  3. Not even a cubicle to call my own on The Absolute Worst Working Environment? · · Score: 1

    I'm sitting in the middle of a printing area without even a cubicle to call my own. There is one cubicle wall behind my desk but no side walls. To either side of me are two noisy printers and on the other side of the cubicle wall is a noisy photocopier. Behind me is a row of semi-public computers (for other employees to use when they need windows rather than linux or if they dont have a computer at their desk). I feel like I am in the middle of a hallway with so many people walking to/from the printers. My computer is a Dual P3-450 with a 21" CRT running red hat 6.2 that is doubling as a webserver in adition to the (not web related) work I have to do on it.

  4. Re:Check the fine print on How Much Broadband Usage is Too Much? · · Score: 1

    A couple years ago I got an AUP violation and they claimed they have no limits but as a guideline you should stay below the business packages which at the time were 8down/1up. I got another violation a few months later and they almost cut me off for a week. Now I regularly go above this, even above 60gb somtimes and havent heard anything from them for some time.

  5. Re:3 cheers for monolithic kernals on Linux Kernel Back-Door Hack Attempt Discovered · · Score: 2, Informative
    Monolithic, in this sense refers to the design of the kernel. It basicaly means that there is no set structure. Any procedure can call any other procedure in the kernel.

    It doesnt have to do with the development process.

    Besides, the linux kernel is considered to be a monolithic kernel as well.

  6. Lacks the right feel on Mozilla Firebird 0.7.1 Released For Mac OS X · · Score: 1

    It is cool and all since it IS mozilla which is the browser I use exclusively anywhere else. But it doesnt have the right feel compared to safari. Not being brushed metal is part of that of course.

  7. Re:Silly Apple stores... on Panther Released into the Wild · · Score: 2, Insightful

    It was better if you ordered it online anyways. I got mine by noon friday even without expidited shipping. And I'm in Canada too.

  8. Re:This makes me angry on Big Company on Campus · · Score: 1

    My university has an old system that uses some sort of ugly backdoor hack into the telephone registration system. If the phone reg system is swamped then there is almost no chance of doing so online. I've also heard that the security is rather pathetic as well.

  9. Re:Geez, what a two-sided statement... on Microsoft Code at Fault for Half of all Windows Crashes · · Score: 1
    I'm all for MS bashing, but your conclusion is clearly wrong.

    Actually, it is close in fact. If half of all crashes are because of third party code then who is responsible for the other half of the crashes? Obviously Microsoft code is the other half since by definition if it isnt Microsoft code it is third party code. The difference from the previous conclusion is that Microsoft code is not limited to the OS.

    The blame still stands at microsoft being to blame for half of the crashes on their own operating system.

  10. Simulator? on Obtaining Mainframe Experience w/o a Mainframe? · · Score: 0

    You wish to simulate a mainframe on a home pc do you? Good luck with that. I think you just might take a severe hit in performance compared to a real mainframe.

  11. Mine was cheaper on Apple Cuts Prices for Educational Customers · · Score: 1

    I still had a better deal than that about 5 weeks ago. Got mine for $1999CDN while the current canadian educational price on apple's website is $2125. I dont think the canadian educational price dropped at all recently though.

  12. Re:Buy a math book on First Test of New Canadian Privacy Act · · Score: 1

    Some of your statistics are a little off however. The total population of canada is estimated to be roughly 31 million. Not 200 million. In addition to that, Telus only serves British Columbia(4m), Alberta(3m), and Ontario(11.7m). A total of 18.7 million people in those provinces combined. And lets not forget that not every one of those people has a phone line. Sure, some have several (work, cell...) but there are others who have none or have one shared amongst several people (ie. a family).

  13. Tetris on 3D "Crystal Ball" Monitors · · Score: 1

    That is the most expensive (US$39,995) hardware for playing tetris that I have ever seen. But, oh I wish I could try it out. I think I'll take a look at the software anyways...

  14. Re:Ooo... A whole two (canadian) dollars on First Test of New Canadian Privacy Act · · Score: 1

    That wouldnt be effective. You arent the source of the number being public. You are just one in many that could run across it when it is public.

  15. Ooo... A whole two (canadian) dollars on First Test of New Canadian Privacy Act · · Score: 1, Troll
    It is a service that they are doing for him to keep his number unlisted by not giving it out to the phone book publishers. Companies always charge for services. Nothing new there. So why should it be any different?

    Besides, $2 CDN is really not that much. Something around $1.40 US? Even $2 US is not much.

  16. WICS @ SFU on Calling All Computer Science Women? · · Score: 2, Insightful

    http://wics.cs.sfu.ca/ I'm male but I know about this because I am in cs at sfu and know several of the females who started this group.

  17. Re:I'm working on something like that on Building a Better 'Mobile $HOME'? · · Score: 1

    Watch out that some of the mozilla configuration in one operating system is sometimes incompatible with the mozilla configuration with another operating system. All the data files for e-mail, bookmarks, and such are all compatible though.

  18. Re:network fs homedirs only 99% good on Building a Better 'Mobile $HOME'? · · Score: 1
    even more so if whatever way you use to "mount" this network home directory blocks when the network/server is inaccessable.

    I've had this problem before. One night my ISP changed all my IP addresses (I use their dhcp) and in the morning everything had locked up on nfs read requests to the file server.

  19. Re:Simple but effective on The Ultimate Computer Desk? · · Score: 1

    It probably wouldnt be a great idea to put any type of monitor other than a flat panel on one of those desks though.

  20. Re:"Backwards Apostrophe"? on Keyboard Layouts for the 21st Century? · · Score: 1

    I've got all sorts of things on that key such as switching desktops, switching viewports, draging windows between desktops/viewports. I can do all these different things by adding one or two extra keys into the combination along with the arrow keys to indicate direction.

    The key I dont use however, is the stupid drop down menu key. In windows it is supposed to be the equivalent of pressing the right mouse button. Why have a key for that? What a stupid concept... you already have your hand on the mouse so use it. I havent thought of what to use it for in linux yet.

  21. Exactly what I've learned on What Math do You Use? · · Score: 1

    My university offers exactly what you described should be taught in two lower level, required courses. MACM 101 (approximately the first half of your list) and MACM 201(what is left). MACM is a Math/Computing Science course. Other required math courses are the first year calculus courses and numerical analysis (another MACM course).

  22. Re:smb bug? or maybe i'm an idiot on Silly Kernel Panic in Mac OS X 10.2.2 · · Score: 1

    Better yet... If samba has shared user directories try this: Mount username's samba share (ie home directory) in ~/mnt/username/ Now try to cd ~/mnt/username/mnt/username/mnt/username Make sure you use some tab completions as well. At some point you will no longer be able to continue typing the command. ^C wont stop it either. Ok, so you now want to unmount it to try and stop it from happening again. Good luck. umount ~/mnt/username will end up locking up as well. Yet again ^C wont stop it.

  23. Re:Second post and... on How Looks Your Geekroom? · · Score: 1

    Neither my cats nor my dog fetch. Pathetic really... He is a flat coated retriever but is obviously not living up to that name. The cats are new though. Give them time and I'll see what I can do...

  24. Re:LOTR topic on /. on Article about The Lord of the Rings MASSIVE Crowd · · Score: 1

    Is there any doubt in your mind that LOTR is going to succeed?

  25. Re:So how is the story unfair? on BBC Hails "fair" Microsoft XP SP1 · · Score: 1

    I am using XP without SP1 and have mozilla as my default browser. IE doesnt complain when I launch it that it wants to be default because I disabled that. Aside from the continued visible existence of IE on my computer I dont need SP1 to use another browser.