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User: RManning

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Comments · 93

  1. Re:Nanny State on Soda Ban May Hit the Big Apple · · Score: 1

    A question to you is, if you could live to be 100 as opposed to 80, but someone got to tell you what you could and could not do, would that be worth it?

    It's been a long time since I've commented here, but since I have personal experience...

    I used to be a 1-pack-a-day smoker. Here in Minneapolis, they banned smoking pretty much everywhere except in private residences and sidewalks as long as you stayed away from doors. It became a bother to smoke, and it was a nudge for me to stop. And I stopped. And my life is better for it. Now, is it right that the government could stop me completely from doing something which only or mostly effects only me? Probably not. Is it a net-positive for the government to make it inconvenient to do things damaging to your health? I think you could make a solid argument either way. My personal opinion is that things like this are fine. Yeah, there's a slippery slope in there somewhere, but we live on that slope already - always have and always will.

  2. Re:Windows ME? on Can Microsoft Afford To Lose With Windows 8? · · Score: 1

    I would have agreed with you 5 years ago. But I can't think of a single person I know who bought a Windows box for themselves in the last few years. Even my completely technolgoy-clueless family members (my parents, at least a half-dozen aunts/uncles, all my siblings) have all bought iMacs for their homes. These are the people who say "what's slashdot". I work in startup land, so all I ever see is MBPs and Airs. I've got to think the only market for Microsoft now is large enterprises. That won't last long, though, as the executive/decision makers realize how much their work Windows box is than their home Mac.

  3. Flip That on Nokia Exec: Young People Fed Up With iPhone and Android · · Score: 1

    I don't think young people are fed up with Android and iPhone. I think most young people might say: "What's Nokia?". :)

  4. Re:Nobody does that because everyone does that on Nokia Exec: Young People Fed Up With iPhone and Android · · Score: 1

    If using an iPhone or Android felt anything like sex, we wouldn't be having this conversation. :)

  5. Re:They cancel products left and right on Google To Shutter Knol, Wave, Gears · · Score: 3, Informative

    I agree completely.

    We had a production issue one day, and the team was spread all over the country at the time. We decided Wave would be perfect for collaboration. Signing up was easy enough, but every conversation got threaded in weird ways, we couldn't figure out how to tell what had been read or not. It was a total mess. After an hour or so we gave up and just used a chat room.

    I'm not saying it wouldn't have worked for us, but we could not figure it out.

  6. Windows? on What's Keeping You On Windows? · · Score: 1

    I have a 5 year old company. We run OSX. I work in an giant shared space with a bunch of other startups in varying states. It is so rare to see Windows around here that it's almost novel. I would bet it's at least 90% OSX, 5% Windows, and 5% some flavor of Linux around here. For home/personal computers, I'd say the percentages are about the same for people I know. That said, I have Parallels running Windows for the sole purpose of testing IE. I think that's fairly common. I have friends who work as programmers in companies of varying sizes and ages, and almost all of them use OSX at work. The sole exceptions are giant old companies (banking, manufacturing, etc). I think Windows must still have a stronghold in those types of companies because they still apparently have a pretty good market share. So, what's keeping people on Windows? I'd guess outdated corporate policies must account for most of it, at least from what I've witnessed.

  7. But, but, but... on Study Finds No Link Between Mobile Phones and Cancer (Again) · · Score: 2

    But I heard that almost everyone who is getting brain cancer now is a mobile phone user. How can that be?

  8. Re:Not much else to say. on Terry Pratchett Considers Assisted Suicide · · Score: 0
  9. Re:Great...? on Foxconn International Removed From Hang Seng Index · · Score: 1

    The second is the more important part. Foxconn uses China as a source for cheap labour, but focusses on exporting their products. The fact that this is a failing business model is interesting, since it shows that China needs the west a lot less than you might have thought - companies that make things in China and sell in the USA are failing relative to companies that make things in China and sell them in China.

    Or it could be because of a thousand other reasons, or more likely a combination of a lot of factors.

  10. Mac Version? on Microsoft Releases Internet Explorer 9 RC · · Score: 2

    I know I'm being overly optimistic, but wouldn't it be nice if we could get an OSX version if IE9? I have to run XP in Parallels just to test in IE. Dropping Windows for good would be so nice. :)

  11. App vs. Program on App — the Most Abused Word In Tech? · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I had a meeting with the owner of the printshop my company uses. He's a gadget guy, so we eventually started talking about all the cool stuff our phones can do now. He kept talking about how much more he liked "apps" than "programs". It took me a few minutes to realize that he understood "app" to mean the stuff he installs and runs on his phone, and "program" to mean the stuff the installs and runs on his computer. It was obvious from our conversation that these meanings were distinct in his mind and commonly used. It was new to me.

  12. Re:This is slashdot? on Slashdot Launches Re-Design · · Score: 1

    Works great in Chrome on OSX too.

  13. Boo on Microsoft Lays Claim To Patent On 'Fans' · · Score: 1

    That's it, I'm going to go unfan Microsoft in Facebook.

  14. Re:Facebook is a horrible media business on Facebook's Revenues Leaked · · Score: 1

    There are some fundamental problems with Facebook that would prevent major-brand advertisements from purchasing ads there, namely, that it's a viewer-driven site - content comes from the viewers, which is a big no-no among advertisers.

    Why would a major advertiser, like Calvin Klein, place their high-end ad right next to some picture of a college kids barf? They would much rather have their ads placed next to a picture of Lara Stone.

    THIS is why Facebook only pulls in a few cents CPM, whereas an ad in Vogue goes for $150 CPM.

    The more democratic you get, the less interesting you are to advertisers.

    My wife is an internet advertising buyer for a very large advertising company (you'd have heard of it). She buys ad space for very, very large clients (think global brands). I know that she buys a lot of ad space from Facebook. Heck, I've been out to dinner with their ad sales people. Companies buy ad space where their demographic's eyes are. It's really that simple.

  15. Re:Screw the gym facilities on Google Preparing To Launch G-Town · · Score: 1

    My advice: start your own company. I started my own a few years ago and I can and do bring my dogs to work. This the great secret that employers don't want you to know: no corporate perk comes anywhere close being your own boss! :)

  16. Re:Wish Apple put some work on OSX on The Hackintosh Guide · · Score: 1

    Oops, I forgot to mention that. I also run XP in Parallels pretty much all the time too so I can test in IE6.

  17. Re:Wish Apple put some work on OSX on The Hackintosh Guide · · Score: 3, Informative

    From experience OS/X guzzle memory like no other OS I know. I use two boxes at work, a Linux HP PC with 4GB of RAM that never ever swaps, and a MBP laptop with 4GB of RAM that becomes slow as molasses after a week of use due to memory issues.

    I have an entirely different experience. I code on my MBP 10 - 15 hours every single day and I'll go many weeks between reboots. I have 4GB of memory and it's running just fine. I nornally run Eclipse, Tomcat, Postgres, Photoshop, a couple terminal windows, and Open Office all the time.

  18. Re:That's why they don't call them laptops. on Laptop Heat May Cause 'Toasted Skin Syndrome' · · Score: 1

    I'm sure this is a case of YMMV. I have a year old 15" MacBook Pro and it's only ever been uncomfortably warm a few times. I write software on it at least 10 to 15 hours a day, so it's not for lack of use.

  19. Re:IDK on T-Mobile To Begin HTC G2 Preorders · · Score: 1

    It depends a lot on the display. I have a Nexus One which has an OMLED screen and the display uses around 10% of the power for my normal usage. Of course I use it more for phone, texting, and email than display-heavy stuff like games.

  20. Re:Outing the update on Apple Outs Anti-Jailbreak Update · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    Not sure if you're aware of this, but being gay means having sex with someone of your same gender. The rest of your points could describe anyone, most of my heterosexual friends included.

  21. Re:facebook no more on Facebook Usage Hits 16 Billion Minutes a Day · · Score: 2, Informative

    I have a Facebook account only to be in touch with some friends of mine......and the only "activity" that i see on my page is some smallville, zoo-ville or whatever-ville game post/request. Thank you, but no thank you. I am considering closing my account sooner than later, and i suppose there are a lot other people intending to do same.

    All those game updates were driving me nuts too, until I found out you can hide them. When you see those, click on the "Hide" button and then choose to hide all posts from that app. It'll make your Facebook experience much less crapy.

  22. Re:And? on Bionic Cat Gets World's First Implant Paws · · Score: 1

    He used to have four paws. Now he has fore paws and faux paws.

    Holy crap. That's like a pun wrapped in a pun. Freaking hilarious! Nice work. You win.

  23. Re:That's certainly... on Convert a SIM To a MicroSIM, With a Meat Cleaver · · Score: 4, Informative

    I have an Andoid phone, and no, they don't add any advertising to any email.

  24. Re:Protein? on Sweet, Sour, Salty, Bitter, Protein ... and Now Fat · · Score: 2, Interesting

    That kind of confused me, the umami taste is caused by glutamates which are sometimes found in protein heavy foods but also come from such random places as tomatoes, seaweed or a number of fermented sauces. Protein doesn't really have anything to do with it.

    Actually, it does. All those "random places" you list contain protein. Don't mistake protein and meat.

  25. Re:There's something else on Sweet, Sour, Salty, Bitter, Protein ... and Now Fat · · Score: 3, Insightful

    As someone who has gone from obese to quite trim, I can tell you that in my experience obesity is caused by taking in more energy than you burn, period! I cut the amount of calories i take in, and I lose weight. I add calories, I gain. I was never a carb eater, just a "too much" eater. Of course, carbs are really high calorie, so generally cutting calories mean cutting carbs. But, I'm not convinced the type of food is nearly that important.

    That's my long winded way of saying: citation needed. :)