Slashdot Mirror


User: OffTheRack

OffTheRack's activity in the archive.

Stories
0
Comments
53
First seen
Last seen
Profile
(view on slashdot.org)

Comments · 53

  1. Re:Explain on Java Desktop System Rivals XP, OSX in Usability · · Score: 1

    People who use XP, absolutly hate XP

    Not me and the people I talk to. Who are these people that use XP and hate it?

  2. Must be flamebait on Blow the Whistle, Lose Your Job? · · Score: 1

    I would think no one coherent enough to write the above comment is brain damaged enough believe it. It must be flaimebait.

    The poster is not only suggesting that the company machines are nobody's business but the users', he is also suggesting that when you see a crime you should not report it!

    This is the kind of person that sees nothing no matter what. The short name for such a person is coward.

  3. Re: Double in 3 years... on Tech Jobs Projected to Double by 2010 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I would not be surprised if programming job opportunities doubled in less than 3 years!

    The catch is, you need to move to a third word country to get one of those new programming jobs, or at least be willing to work at 3rd world rates.

    That is the unintended consequence of connecting everyone everywhere. Now employers can hire anyone from anywhere.

  4. Still have that book too on Portable Pioneer Adam Osborne dead at 64 · · Score: 1

    6502 Assembly Language Programming by Lance Leventhal
    Damn that is a good book. Cannot bring myself to throw it out, although I don't expect to program a 6502 ever again. Glad to see I'm not the only nutty dude keeping one around.

  5. Re:Security through Obscurity on Ask About Proprietary vs. Open Source Code Quality · · Score: 1

    I did not agree with the article. As you noticed, it was short on actual facts. That is the point.

  6. Re:Security through Obscurity on Ask About Proprietary vs. Open Source Code Quality · · Score: 1
  7. Re:my belief (really?) on Do Scripters Suffer Discrimination? · · Score: 1

    Scripting is interfacing, tying things together on a higher level. Programming is functionality, algorithms and such.

    Have you really thought this through or do you believe that assessment of what programming is?

    Coding is either programming or it is slop. In other words, programming has everything to do with how you do it, not why you do it.

  8. DMCA Timer on Gameboy Advance SP Reviewed & Disassembled · · Score: 5, Insightful

    It's nice to see inside of these devices without having the crack open one yourself. How long before DMCA is used by a company to prosecute anyone that shares such photos? Does anyone know if that has already happened?

  9. Forget about the 1KM 802.11b link... on 1KM 802.11b @ 2MB · · Score: 1

    I want to know what kind of server his site is running on. No slashdot slowdown that I can detect!

  10. Mont. County Gyms in Md have them on Games Controlled By An Exercise Bike · · Score: 1

    The gym I go to in Maryland has had 4 exercize bikes with built in video games for a few years. They are all-in-one units with built in monitors and choices of several low-res games. It works.

  11. Not an electric motorscooter on My Segway HT "Month-iversary" · · Score: 1, Insightful
    Lets compare a motor scooter to the Segway:

    Motor Scooter - Cheaper, goofy, kids ride them.

    Segway - Expensive, zero radius turns, better form factor, new innovative control approach, cool, too expensive for kids.

    Okay, the motor scooter is cheaper so it is better.

  12. Re:Gaming standards (p*rn) on GTA and Rating of Video Games · · Score: 1

    Walmart doesn't sell porn videos either for the same reason. You may or may not agree that hyper-violent games are in the same moral category. However, that seems to be how they feel about it. Shades of grey.

  13. upRated on Uprated "10-ton" Ariane 5 Fails · · Score: 1

    Should be upDated.

    If blowing up is good for upping a reliabilty rating, they need to reconsider their metrics.

  14. Well, maybe not a kid... on Bradley Trainer Support in MAME 0.62 · · Score: 3, Informative
  15. Re:DOM not HTML on W3C Releases Drafts For DOM L2 And More · · Score: 1

    DOM is also the term applied to OO instances of XML documents.

  16. kickoff on Dr. Robot Watches Over Home And More · · Score: 2, Funny

    this humanoid robot stands just 60 centimetres tall

    If this thing tries to sneak up on me, it will be uploading footage to the internet of itself flying accross the room after one swift kick.

  17. Re:Have one! Works great! on Floor Vacuum Robot for $200 · · Score: 1

    robotic lawnmower (made by Friendly Robotics) to take care-o-th-lawn. I think I paid about $300

    A guy in my townhome community has one (made by Toro?). These are small lawns and I see that thing crawling around all the time. Something of an eyesore really.

    The big question ... when are bad people going to realize they can just grab them off lawns and walk away?

  18. Re:For those who don't know what a Dark Ride is on Build Your Own Carnival Ride · · Score: 2, Flamebait

    Uhhh, is it just me ... or is going through the same dork ride more than few times A YEAR more than enough? So much work for so little fun.

  19. Re:Very stupid. on IBM Flushes Restroom Patent · · Score: 1

    Forget about the toilet connection. This patent is nothing more than a mathematical formula. Assigning monopoly rights to a formula comes pretty close to charging royalties on thought.

    It is impossible to argue with a straight face that there are any societal benefits for granting patents like this one. IBM made the right call on this one.

  20. IRS Online on A Digital Certificate For Every Canadian · · Score: 2, Informative

    The US already has some IRS services online:

    refund status
    efile

    More things are coming soon. None of it requires a digital certificate. They are going with a "private information" approach. For example, to change your address and things like that in the future you will need to know the exact AGI filed for a given year, etc.

    Not sure if this is better or worse, but that is where it is going in the USA.

  21. Re:GWU P2P Policy better than USC on Open Debate Between RIAA VP And DMCA Critic · · Score: 1

    Wasn't it USC a few weeks ago that outlawed all P2P? In contrast, the GW policy does not seem to have any RIAA fingerprints.

    They have not outlawed any of the P2P apps. They are just letting the students know that "GW network is being overwhelmed by KaZaA v2 traffic" and as a result they are issolating the problem down to the residence hall level. Sounds like they are doing what they can to keep the network usable for everyone.

    Their email is very informative about the P2P realities in general too. No FUD that I could see.

    Kudos to them and their enlightened approach.

  22. Put away the passport... on Russian Snared By The FBI Sentenced To 3 Years · · Score: 1

    U.S. judge found that the FBI wasn't breaking any laws in breaking into a Russian computer system, despite the fact that they were breaking a Russian law doing so. So apparently, it's ok for Americans to break Russian law if they're in the U.S., but not ok for Russians to break U.S. law, even while in Russia

    I would suggest the FBI agents involved not travel anywhere that the Russian government has jurisdiction. I'm sure they have the same standards we have with respect to the sanctity of their systems.

  23. Who runs NASA? on JPL Begins Commercialization · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    At the very top are politicians. Are they all as smart as this guy?

    http://www.cnn.com/2002/US/Central/10/02/candidate .blue.skin.ap/index.html

  24. Re:Not just patents, profitability on Patents Choking Off Medical Research · · Score: 1

    [without patents] no-one is willing to put through the rigorous testing required by the AMA, and FDA because there's NO MONEY IN IT

    Good point. And this is where the public sector (government) comes in for the public good. (In the US, that is pretty much the point of NIH.)

    Let me summarize...
    1. If there is enough money in it, let the private sector push it through the process. The private sector can decide this for itself. The evidence that they want something is that they are doing or not doing it.
    2. If there is not enough money in it then let the health services (e.g., NIH) push candidate treatments and drugs through all the testing hurdles. (They already do some of this.)

  25. Re:2000 more examiners on Patent Office Proposes Reform · · Score: 1

    so what you are saying is that it is ok for someone else to come along, take the ideas of your creative friends

    Yes! Now you get it. Ideas are intangible building blocks that belong to everyone.

    pass them off as their own

    No. That would be lying.

    manufacture a product based off of them thus jepordizing their jobs

    How? By innovating a more efficient manufacturing process or by innovating better quality or by innovating an incrementally better solution? I say kudos to anyone that can do that. Why do we want less?