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  1. Re:Computer Education in India on Indian College Students Face Bleak Prospects · · Score: 1

    I was able to visit the IIT campus in Delhi when I was there and it looked pretty good to me, but of course I never sat in an IIT classroom. I always realized the quality of the students is the best. I've known a few IIT grads here at Arizona State University, and I know the competition to get in is really crazy.

    Aside from the facilities themselves and the resources, and the students... what is the curriculum like? I think that's more what I was asking about originally.

  2. Re:Computer Education in India on Indian College Students Face Bleak Prospects · · Score: 1

    Crap... that sounds pretty bad.

    So would you consider the best IIT colleges to be comparable to the best schools in America? Or is IIT more like an average or slightly above average American college?

  3. Comments on that YouTube page... on iPod Has Nothing To Fear From Slow-Starting Zune · · Score: 1
    BoystownLive (2 months ago)
    Sweet! I want one now!

    MarcNY87 (2 months ago)
    the brown one is gorgeous

    BigTeebo (2 months ago)
    Where's the sound?

    biofusion (2 months ago)
    Wow, count me in. This thing looks amazing!

    muyi (2 months ago)
    sweet!

    hrdknock2 (2 months ago)
    Damn being able to share a song like that is so freakin awesome!!!


    Is it just me or do these comments just STINK of a lame attempt by Microsoft to astroturf?

  4. I blame... on "Revenge of the Nerds" Remake Cancelled · · Score: 3, Insightful

    RO-BOT HOOOOOUSE!!!

  5. Having visited Delhi... on Life Without Traffic Signs · · Score: 1

    I would be REALLY afraid of this idea catching on.

  6. Re:I've never really understood the obsession on Optimus OLED Keyboard Pre-Orders Start Dec. 12 · · Score: 1

    www.pckeyboard.com

    Unicomp makes buckling spring keyboards, they got the tech and rights and what not from Lexmark when they stopped making IBM's keyboards. They're basically the same, except now you can get them with 104-key layouts and USB connectors too. There's quite a few models available, basically all the ones IBM offered, and then some.

    I have an actual IBM as well as a Unicomp, but I use the Unicomp because I need the win key and USB for my Mac. They keys feel and sound exactly the same though.

  7. Re:What key switching tech does it use? on Optimus OLED Keyboard Pre-Orders Start Dec. 12 · · Score: 1

    I suggest going to the surplus warehouse of your local university. I got a black buckling-spring IBM keyboard with built-in trackpoint mouse, in perfect working condition, and clean, for...

    $1.00 incl. tax

    Can't beat that.

  8. Re:I've never really understood the obsession on Optimus OLED Keyboard Pre-Orders Start Dec. 12 · · Score: 1

    I personally like the click of my 104-key Unicomp buckling spring keyboard... it's not too loud at all I think.

    Aside from the feel of the keys, I also like the shape of the keys themselves and the layout... it's just the sort of standard my fingers have gotten used to over the years. Some membrane keyboards are ok, but others have a really mushy feel to them that I hate.

    Also, IBM did make a quiet buckling-spring keyboard as well. I think it was the same buckling spring mechanism but with sort of a vaseline-like substance in the spring cavity to absorb any noise.

  9. What key switching tech does it use? on Optimus OLED Keyboard Pre-Orders Start Dec. 12 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Does anyone know what kind of switches it uses?

    At that price I'd expect buckling spring switches (like the old IBM Model M) or mechanical Alps switches (like the old Apple Extended Keyboard II). Although I think only Unicomp makes buckling spring keyboards anymore.

    I'd be disappointed if keys that look so nice, just have a squishy feel to them like a cheap rubber-dome membrane Dell keyboard.

  10. Re:12 million phones? on Apple Orders 12 Million iPhones · · Score: 2, Insightful

    From the phones I've used, you sure wouldn't *guess* that the current cellphone manufacturers have had years and years to perfect their design and interface.

    I actually would bet Apple does this better on their first try than any of the current manufacturers have been apple to do after over a decade of design.

  11. Re:Japanese version on Justin Long No Longer A Mac · · Score: 1

    Wonder if some poor guy in Japan is getting fired because Justin Long has lost his spark.

  12. What kind of CS program was this? on Software Dev Cycle As Part of CS Curriculum? · · Score: 1

    I'm wondering if their CS program has ABET certification and what not. I find it odd that such a thing was not covered.

    Part of the curriculum at ASU is an Introduction to Software Engineering course (CSE360) where we do nothing but study the design process, and spend the whole semester on a big group project.

    Plus we revisit the concepts over and over in other classes like Software Analysis and Design (CSE460) and Databases (CSE412), which are, admittedly, electives... but the topic still comes up in almost any class that has major projects to do... or with the new CS/CSE curriculums which require capstone projects.

    I learned quite a bit from being in the lab for 12 hours at a time, trying to iron out some requirements we missed in our planning stages.

  13. Counter-example: Diebold on Republican Robocall Pretexting Campaign · · Score: 1

    Well... there's been some problems with Diebold's electronic voting machines where people were trying to vote for the Republican but the machine kept saying they voted for the Democrat. In fact, almost all the errors with electronic voting machines seem to favor the Democrats.

    Oh... wait. My mistake, I got that completely opposite of what's actually been happening.

    Yeah, I can't think of anything off the top of my head. I guess we just can't be as corrupt as the Republicans.

  14. Re:minor-attracted adult? on Has Verizon Forfeited Common Carrier Status? · · Score: 1

    I completely agree with you, on all points.

  15. Re:Like I didn't already know this. on Melting Arctic Ice Has Consequences · · Score: 1

    Nuclear war could certainly have destroyed civilization and was a real threat. Be thankful things turned out for the better, and nuclear tensions aren't so high these days.

    I'm skeptical they said 90's but I'll take your word for it. In any case, we found more oil. But the well-funded science of finding oil has definitely gotten us down to the last reserves, to the point we're willing to sacrifice Alaskan wildlife reserves. I truly hope you don't think oil will last forever.

    AIDS has killed more than 25 million people since it was discovered. So, umm... I guess we were right about that one.

    We do have global warming, we are certainly part of the cause. We won't fix it if we keep the greedy anti-science politicians in power. Don't hate the person who drives the SUV, but feel free to be pissed off that the person is pissing away a limited resource and buying into a wasteful American culture that doesn't need to be. I have a theory that most Hummer drivers who believe global warming will never be a problem are also FOX News viewers who believe we found WMDs in Iraq, and who believe evolution has no place being taught in schools unless creationism is also taught in science classrooms.

  16. Welcome to the world of tomorrow, Fry! on Melting Arctic Ice Has Consequences · · Score: 1
    "polluting industries and President Bush can't run away from this one."

    I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you've been frozen in arctic ice the past 6 years, were recently thawed out as a result of the melting ice, and have no knowledge of Bush's presidency or how powerful corporations are.

    Welcome to the world of 2006!!

  17. Re:Another thing about Taiji, Japan on The Dolphin With Leftover Legs · · Score: 1

    Vegetarians (incl. vegans) aren't such hypocrites.

    I'm a vegetarian because I'm against cruelty. I'm against cruelty to humans and to animals.

    It's cruel to break a dog's leg with your bare hands for fun because the dog feels pain, and panics, and is in terror, and hurts. I think everyone can agree that's cruel.

    I think it's more cruel to hurt a dog than to hurt a spider. I don't kill spiders, but a spider certainly is less intelligent than a dog, and doesn't process information in the same way. It's still cruel to pluck legs off a spider, but it's less cruel than doing that to a dog.

    Now on to plants. It's not cruel. They have no central nervous system, no pain sensors. They are alive, yes, but do they hurt or feel pain? If so... HOW? We pretty much know everything that's inside a plant and there's just no system there for intelligence.

    People will point out how they grow towards light. But that's not some intelligent decision the plant made. The plant can't decide NOT to grow towards light. It's a photoreactive chemical that builds up in the stems on the side that's getting sunlight exposure, and the chemical makes that side contract which causes the stem to bend in that direction (if I recall my high school biology class correctly). The same for the examples you've given: it's just a chemical reaction, not a sign of any intelligence. The plant made no decision to do those things, it has no way to make decisions or process information. It's not cruel to mow your lawn.

    It bothers me so much when people use such ridiculous statements to try and discredit the morals of vegetarians and make them seem inconsistent somehow, when they're actually not.

    Unlike a plant, you DO have a brain, so use it.

  18. Re:Another thing about Taiji, Japan on The Dolphin With Leftover Legs · · Score: 1

    Well... personally, it's stopped me from eating any animals.

    It's too bad it hasn't stopped you from eating them, too.

  19. That's human nature, not east asian culture. on The Dolphin With Leftover Legs · · Score: 1

    Well... I'd say it's not so much a thing about one culture versus another. I'd say it's about human nature.

    There's nothing special about those people versus our people that made them more able to enjoy such a thing. It's just as possible for something like that to catch on here if it ever became a big enough fad. And animal cruelty certainly exists in America. Some teenagers think it's fun to skin stray cats alive, and laugh about it with their friends. People kill deer for "sport". Animal testing labs will slap monkeys and dogs around and cut into their skulls without anesthesia while the animal screams, or let their eyeballs rot out of their heads from cosmetics they rubbed in.

    It's human nature that can be so sick and twisted. And it's not unique to east asian cultures. Examples exist all over the globe, even in countries that generally are the kindest to animals (like India maybe).

  20. George Allen ranked the highest Senator? on Congressmen Rated On Tech-Friendliness · · Score: 1

    I guess he learned a lot from the "macacas" he welcomed to the real word of Virginia.

  21. Re:I could have beaten it on the next turn.... on Carpenter Breaks Previous Scrabble Point Record · · Score: 1

    I realized that but thought my little jest might be funny anyway, heh.

  22. I could have beaten it on the next turn.... on Carpenter Breaks Previous Scrabble Point Record · · Score: 1

    ...by just adding an S.

  23. Re:Dear god Indeed! on Sneak Peak at the Sling Player for Mac OSX · · Score: 1

    Wow. I guess it must be impossible to do a bad summary for Slashdot. Heck, why don't they just submit one-word summaries. Darn lazy people!

    Next on Slashdot: "Something about Windows Vista, Firefox, and bubble gum. Google it!"

  24. Re:Old stereos and keyboards really are better on Will the iPod Ever Die? · · Score: 1

    I have a 104 key buckling spring usb keyboard from Unicomp. It's a little cheaper build than the old actual IBM Model M's, but I need the USB connector and windows key so that I can use it with my Mac (the Win key takes the place of the Mac Command key).

    Also, you can't snap off the keys of the new Unicomp keyboards like you could on the early IBM's. So no rearranging is possible.

    Oddly enough, just Thursday I was at the ASU surplus and found a clicky PS/2 connector black 101-key IBM keyboard, the one with a built-in eraserhead mouse (no removable key caps), and they sold it to me for $1. I think Unicomp sells the same thing for well over $50.

  25. Advice from a professor... on Microsoft or Google? · · Score: 5, Informative

    A professor of mine (who went away and came back to visit) said that if you work at Microsoft you'll have a life outside of work. If you work at Google, then work will be your life. At Google you'll end up being at work all the time, but you'll enjoy it, and you get really good free food. But at Microsoft you can at least go hiking or something on the weekends. They're both pretty demanding though, I take it.

    That's what I've heard as far as corporate culture goes. As far as business practices go and innovation, that's common knowledge.

    And what... no Apple?