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User: ZackSchil

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  1. Literally the only thing Mark Zuckerberg could do to convince me that Facebook has changed is shut down the entire enterprise, shred all the data they've collected, and donate every last scrap of technology they've developed to an open source foundation like Mozilla to build a new social network on the ashes.

  2. Copies all the way down on New Windows Search Interface Borrows Heavily From MacOS (arstechnica.com) · · Score: 3, Interesting

    It's worth noting that Apple copied Spotlight's current interface from an app called Quicksilver. Sherlock, Apple's previous search interface (also cribbed by Windows), was taken from an app called Watson. While I'm at it, don't forget that iBooks was copied from Delicious Library and then later reproduced across with Windows ecosystem.

    It's the circle of life.

  3. If you wanna rant about how people don't understand tax law, be my guest. But I'm pretty sure that "tax deductible" was mentioned because it's the criterion for something being a charitable donation vs say, a donation to a for profit university or to a private individual, which are not.

  4. Translation to Partially Valid English on Ask Slashdot: How Do You Read Code? · · Score: 2

    I typically only read code aloud in two cases. The first is is there's a really stubborn logical bug and it's just not popping out at me. The translation into english often helps point out where I've gone wrong. The second is when coding with someone, it's nice to say code aloud just for communication.

    I tend to read code in a way that sticks to the ordering of the code, but makes its meaning more clear with the insertion and substitution of words.

    "char* example;" becomes "define a character array called example"

    "for (size_t i = 0; i itemList.size(); ++i)" becomes: for i equals zero, while i is less than the size of item list, pre-increment i.

    && is just 'and', || is just 'or'. & and | are "bitwise ___".

    "cout str endl" becomes "send to see out, 'str', followed by an endline.

    I try to keep the order of the code mostly in tact, and keep the keywords without changing them, but I like to make sure everything turns into an english sentence that kinda makes sense even if you're not super familiar with the language. Obviously, if I have to get into gritty syntax, I'll character by character recite, using words when possible, but that's rarely necessary.

    Saying stuff like "char star example semicolon" is just kinda incompatible with the way my brain works. It would like if you had spoken to me by spelling out each word in the sentence you wanted to say. I'll get it but it'll take me a second.

  5. What is modularity, exactly? on Modularity Finally Approved For Java 9 (infoworld.com) · · Score: 5, Informative

    I am a professional programmer but I don't work with java, so I was confused about what, exactly, "modularity" means in this context. I clicked through a few links and found the info and figured I'd share here for anyone else in my position.

    Java, as it stands, has no real mechanism for managing program dependencies (think, dynamic link libraries). Either a JAR file embeds all of the classes it uses or it loads external classes using something called the "class path system", where there is a programmatically accessible path where java code can look for class files to link in at runtime. This system is very simple, and lacks built-in versioning or encapsulation features. It's up to developers to build in their own versioning into the file structure. As you could guess, it's generally very brittle.

    The new system replaces that with a concept of "modules". These are collections of classes with strong names, cryptographic signatures, version numbers, and members that are either public and advertised to code the imports the module, or private and for internal module use only. This is a huge step up from the idea of just going and loading class files out of some path. I'm actually astonished Java made it this far without such a feature!

    You can find more info about the new module system here: http://openjdk.java.net/projec...

  6. Re: Google does Zero Rating on FCC Calls Out AT&T, Verizon For 'Zero Rating' Their Own Video Apps (zdnet.com) · · Score: 1

    This makes no sense. If I use Netflix over AT&T's network then netflix makes the money I paid them to serve the video over the internet and AT&T makes the money I paid them to give me internet access. If AT&T offers a video streaming service that doesn't count towards your data cap, then they've just rolled the data costs into the cost of the streaming service. And when they do this, they do so at a much lower rate than normal users pay, which is anticompetitive. Your post doesn't make sense.

  7. Russia wants to get away from foreign mobile operating systems but Sailfish is maintained by a Finnish company. If I were Finland, I'd be a little worried right now!

  8. Not very useful on Company Extends Alkaline Battery Life With Voltage Booster · · Score: 2

    There aren't many devices that are both low power and require a steady 1.5V operating voltage. Most will tolerate 0.8-1.2V as their low end. In a high drain device, the number of watts left in the cell when the voltage drops below that low end is minuscule, so this sleeve will only buy you a few more minutes of use. In a low drain device, it can give you a significant amount of time but most low-drain devices that would benefit already have a similar circuit built-in. Logitech's wireless mice and keyboards that use alkalines and last months, for example, have this voltage boosting circuitry already, and tuned to the minimum voltage the mouse requires to reduce conversion loss.

  9. Re:I was just there, can verify this is the case. on China Cuts Off Some VPNs · · Score: 1

    What the heck? Trolling or astroturfing? Misplaced patriotism?

    In any case, weird.

  10. I was just there, can verify this is the case. on China Cuts Off Some VPNs · · Score: 4, Informative

    I was just in China a few days ago. Was there for 3 weeks prior to that. I have a VPN setup in my apartment back in the US and I typically dial in to it. It was great for the first two weeks and a half weeks. After that, it would fail to authenticate or work really slowly, randomly drop traffic, then disconnect after a minute. I was using a relatively insecure PPTP system with 128 bit encryption. I wasn't worried about getting spied on, I just wanted news, youtube, and social media unblocked.

    Frustrated, I had a friend set up a PPTP link at his apartment, using different keys and a different IP. That worked perfectly for the last few days I was in the country. So they're definitely doing some kind of long-term traffic analysis over many days, and then blocking close to real time after that (30-60 seconds).

    Basically I got to witness the blockage go into effect. Yes it's real. Yes it's general purpose, not a high level block on specific free websites. Yes it was a huge pain the the ass.

  11. Re: brown fat cells on "Fat-Burning Pill" Inches Closer To Reality · · Score: 5, Funny

    In this context, the brown fat cells are the good ones. Some of my best friends are brown fat cells.

  12. Re:Here's an idea! on Nintendo Posts Yet Another Loss, Despite Mario Kart 8 · · Score: 1

    Heh, because so many AAA system sellers are deterred by the closed platform and DRM features. Slashdot readers are pretty out of touch I guess.

    Opening the platform would keep it alive and pretty much just move low margin hardware without any software volume. If investors saw nintendo heading in that direction, they'd jump ship faster than they already are. If it even worked to keep the platform alive, it would be a pyrrhic victory at best.

  13. Re:I don't understand big cities - off topic on In SF: an App For Auctioning Off Your Public Parking Spot · · Score: 2

    Massive cities are, by all measures, more efficient than suburban life or rural life. Distribution of resources scales very, very well with population density. Trucking in and out food is orders of magnitude greener than producers sending out 1000 smaller trucks much farther across sprawling rural areas, then everyone trucking themselves around to the grocery store 10-20 minutes away. Wiring power to a 30 floor apartment building is much more efficient than stringing copper to an equal number of suburban homes. Heating a large building with a huge steam boiler, when divided out, is much more efficient than heating the equivalent in suburban homes with electricity, gas, or any theoretical technology! Thermodynamics are just plain working against you!

    You seem to just be trolling for replies early in the article so I'm not going to waste time pulling up links. I'm sure others in the community have plenty handy. But if you are being earnest, just think about it for half a second. You might find the way of life unpleasant. That's ok. Many people do. It falls in and out of style over time. But come on, man.

  14. Re:Familiarity counts? on 30 Minutes Inside Valve's Prototype Virtual Reality Headset · · Score: 1

    Hasn't every major entertainment medium ever raised this concern? It hasn't happened yet and I doubt it ever will. I'm sure that people will not have any trouble separating reality from VR fantasy.

  15. CLA on Linus Torvalds: Any CLA Is Fundamentally Broken · · Score: 5, Funny

    Yes of course, the CLA. I have long hated CLAs. CLAs are a problem and someone should do something about the CLAs.

  16. Re:ditch windows? on Torvalds: SteamOS Will 'Really Help' Linux On the Desktop · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Why not? Increasingly games are using standard APIs and getting multi-platform releases. They're not tied to an OS anymore. A Windows license is a huge, unnecessary expense for PC gamers. Gamers worship hardware and entertainment software, not operating systems. They're going to go with whatever has support for the hardware they have and the games they want to play. With Valve pushing Linux and GPU makers joining them, all the pieces are in place to dethrone Windows or at the very least drum up some competition.

  17. Furiously scribbling notes on Zynga Sues EA For 'Anti-competitive' Practices · · Score: 1

    Ripping off games: BAAAAAAD
    Ripping off trade dress: GOOOOOOOOD... WELL NOOOOOTTT GOOOOOOOD BUUUUTT OOOOOKKKAAAAY WHHHAAATTTEEEVVVVVERR FUUUCKKK APPPPLEEE

    Just taking down some notes here for the zombie slashdot poster bot I've been writing.

  18. Oh no. Please. Not Google+. on Google Wants You to Use Your Real Name on YouTube · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Is Google seriously trying to use the power of Google+ to twist people's arms on a real name policy? Google, you can't do that until the service is actually popular! My Google+ profile is just some bullshit I made to check out the service. I can delete it or fill it with fake info any time I want. It means nothing to me. If you insist on linking it to services I don't want it linked to, I'll just stop using the service I like less. Which is gonna be Google+!

  19. Re:So it tracks the person looking at it on MIT Develops Holographic, Glasses-Free 3D TV · · Score: 2

    That's what this is.

  20. Re:That's nice and all... on Microsoft Using Linux To Optimize Skype Traffic · · Score: 1

    The Mac OS X client has no compact view, no option to turn off the home screen, and there are ads that pop up from time to time. Lots of them are for Skype subscriptions but some are not. The main screen keeps trying to get me to link my Facebook account, I assume so it can spam my friends too. No thanks!

  21. That's nice and all... on Microsoft Using Linux To Optimize Skype Traffic · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Good to hear that Skype will be a bit less fly-by-night and will have better call performance. But for two years now, the interface has been getting progressively worse and Skype credits have been exchanging for fewer and fewer minutes. The current version has no compact buddy list, requires a subscription for multiparty video, has giant ads on a useless "home" screen, and wants me to issue facebook updates of some shit. I have never uninstalled anything so fast in my life.

    Balance the traffic all you want, Microsoft. Skype is a sinking ship if you don't make it lighter, prettier, and cheaper.

  22. Re:Common knowledge? on Documentation As a Bug-Finding Tool · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Just as often, while writing documentation on code I just wrote, I've thrown up my hands, and thought "this is so ridiculous and embarrassing that I can't be associated with it", and I went back and re-wrote it to do it the right way. The act of documenting it revealed you left too much undone, or too many situations un-handled.

    This is by far more common for me as well. I'll find myself describing some really brittle setup process or some common operation that seems to take a thousand steps, get embarrassed over how bad it is, and then go fix the code. More than once, I've written sophisticated automatic parameter selection code because it was easier than finishing the documentation I had started explaining to the user how to set up parameters properly.

  23. Re:Scare quotes on TSA Shuts Down Airport, Detains 11 After "Science Project" Found · · Score: 1

    Have you considered that they might be regular quotes? Like the kind we used to use to indicate that the words enclosed were a precise transcription from another source?

  24. Re:This on Bring Back the 40-Hour Work Week · · Score: 1

    I got my numbers from wikipedia, but I mixed up nominal and PPP of a few, sorry.

  25. Re:This on Bring Back the 40-Hour Work Week · · Score: 0

    Per Capita GDP of...

    Finland: $34,585
    Denmark: $37,585
    Sweden: $47,934

    Norway: $84,443