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User: Idou

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  1. Re:Make mining useful on Surge In Litecoin Mining Leads To Graphics Card Shortage · · Score: 1

    Looks like there are some non-trivial challenges to doing this:

  2. That's no Exoplanet! on Massive Exoplanet Discovered, Challenges Established Planet Formation Theories · · Score: 1

    Just kidding . . . but, seriously, I am really not looking forward to when they actually do discover a death star . . .

  3. This explains a lot . . . on Climatologist James Hansen Defends Nuclear Energy · · Score: 1

    I always thought Kermit was more of a "Cerenkov" green than a "frog" green. . .

  4. Re:OSS - with 100% less big brother then commercia on French Police To Switch 72,000 Desktop PCs To Linux · · Score: 1

    Having the source is not perfect, but it is infinitely better than not having the source when it comes to security.

  5. Re:Best of both worlds with Crouton on Here Come the Chromebooks, As Google and Intel Cozy-Up On Haswell · · Score: 1

    Agreed, but I rarely have to reboot. Even when the battery is very low and I am away from a plug, sleep mode has been sufficient. This must be due to the Arm chip. It is surprising that we don't see more Arm chip laptops (Haswell will be interesting, but it faces a high bar in the chromebook space).

  6. Re:Best of both worlds with Crouton on Here Come the Chromebooks, As Google and Intel Cozy-Up On Haswell · · Score: 1

    On the Samsung Arm Chromebook (that I am using right now) I am able to use Netflix in ChromeOS and Crouton, without issue. I do have to be in developer mode, and the only setback to this is that the boot takes longer because of a warning screen (and two annoying beeps), but I do not reboot often. Maybe you are using a different type of Chromebook?

  7. Re:Best of both worlds with Crouton on Here Come the Chromebooks, As Google and Intel Cozy-Up On Haswell · · Score: 1

    Interesting. Personally, I would consider someone with physical access to my machine to have access to all the data on the device, since I am too lazy to encrypt. However, knowing that, I tend to avoid putting very important data on this device. More important projects I have usually go on a separate machine that I only access by ssh (which can only be accessed through my local network . . . I know . . . maybe Google has installed a key-logger on this device and will tunnel through it to get to my server . . . but I think my "black box" router is a bigger threat at this point, so . . .).

    I would be interested to know what kind of data Crouton sends to Google. But I think that risk also would apply to using any binary code (e.g. router), which can be quite difficult to avoid, at least all the time. I think it is a balance of practicality vs idealism. Personally, I believe open will win in the end as technology and human culture advance. But I still really want to use a cellphone, even though I know it is closed and extremely insecure.

  8. Best of both worlds with Crouton on Here Come the Chromebooks, As Google and Intel Cozy-Up On Haswell · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I installed Crouton on a Samsung Arm Chromebook, and it has since become my main computer. Basically, it is the best of both worlds, in my book. Hassle free web experience (including Netflix), and I can flip any time to a "real" computing environment (there must be limitations with chroot. . . just have not found any for my use yet. mplayer over sshfs would have been a deal breaker, but it works perfectly fine . . .).

    I am very content, but the price was so cheap there is nothing stopping me from trying out a Chromebook with Haswell or whatever comes down the pipe. Good times.

  9. Re:Rude? Yes on The Average Movie Theater Has Hundreds of Screens · · Score: 1

    "I prefer to buy groceries at the store so I can see what I'm actually getting."
    Use self checkout, then.

    "you are not securely holding the steering wheel and watching the road."
    Fine, still the same solution applies. You may need a smart-phone with a very good camera to see that the person is texting, but it still is possible with today's technology (personally, I would focus on capturing the poor driving, irregardless of what the stupid person is doing).

    "if I record them in the movie theater, I *am* part of the problem."
    Since you wait for the DVDs, I guess the solution is that movie theaters will eventually cease to exist. Problem solved.

    Technology. . . the cause and solution to all of life's problems.

  10. Re:Rude? Yes on The Average Movie Theater Has Hundreds of Screens · · Score: 1

    Look, personally, I understand because I am also an old-fart, like you. However, I can see also see how this is a technology problem easily solved with technology. So, I see you a gripe and raise you four:

    -Why are you watching movies in the dark with total strangers, WHEN YOU NO LONGER HAVE TO? Home theaters are cheap these days, thanks to technology. Take advantage of it.
    -Why are you still paying a cashier? You should be paying ONLINE. You are old. You have less time remaining than everyone else, and your bones are brittle. When you go outside, make sure it is for a reason that is important and not a result of being "stuck in your ways."
    -There are plenty of idiots on the road. How do you know that the texting is making them any stupider? It could be making them drive better, for all you know. They are idiots, nonetheless, irregardless of their texting habits. Get a dashboard mount for your cellphone, install Daily Roads, record evidence that they are too mentally slow to drive, and forward said evidence to the local authorities. Make the world a safer place.
    -Use your smart phone to record people being "rude" on their's. Upload to Youtube. Tweet it. Make it go viral. Hurt them where it counts. Just beware of old-farts mistaking you for "part of the problem."

  11. Re:Rude? Yes on The Average Movie Theater Has Hundreds of Screens · · Score: 1

    Yes, of course. . . you and I, through years of life experiences, know this to be true . . .

    However, when you and I are long dead, and today's teens are the old-farts, such behavior will no longer be rude (though, I am sure they will be complaining about some other "rude" behavior that the teens of that time will be doing . . .).

    Admit it . . . you are old. Just buy a nice home theater with your social security money and get over it. : )

  12. Re:Rude? Yes on The Average Movie Theater Has Hundreds of Screens · · Score: 1

    "One of the main reasons people go to a movie theater and pay the extra money is to experience a high-quality sound and visual experience on a large screen."
    According to the MPAA, the "Age Group" with the highest propensity for movie going are teenagers (12~17). I seriously doubt that the above is their main reason for going to see a movie. . . It is probably to get away from their parents so that they can text in peace. . . : )

  13. Re:Rude? Yes on The Average Movie Theater Has Hundreds of Screens · · Score: 1

    "And the younger the generation, the more rude."
    More rude, or just practicing a different set of values than you? Remember what the old folks used to say about Rock-n-Roll? Now WE are those old folks . . .

  14. Re:Only ethical option: Embrace it on Ask Slashdot: Explaining Cloud Privacy Risks To K-12 Teachers? · · Score: 1

    Perhaps that argument held true . . . before gadgets that could take pictures and videos of blackboards became ubiquitous . . .

  15. Only ethical option: Embrace it on Ask Slashdot: Explaining Cloud Privacy Risks To K-12 Teachers? · · Score: 1

    Should we get rid of blackboards, too, because anyone can read what a student writes on it? This is the current reality. You cannot protect students from this type of technology. However, you can prepare them for it.

    Create a policy to let students know that everything they do on their account should be assumed to be readable by anyone, so treat it as if you are writing on the classroom blackboard.

    In that proper context, it is still a wonderful tool, if used properly. I am sure any school would also support such a policy to avoid unwanted incidents.

  16. Re:Someone please create an App on Automated Plate Readers Let Police Collect Millions of Records On Drivers · · Score: 1

    I use it, too (on a Galaxy S4). It is the best App I have come across so far.

    All they need to do is add license plate recognition and automatic forwarding, and I think the world's public roads would get a lot safer, quick.

  17. Re:Someone please create an App on Automated Plate Readers Let Police Collect Millions of Records On Drivers · · Score: 1

    Russia is probably not safer because the bad drivers are not getting enough negative feedback, quickly enough. That is why I am wanting that App.

  18. Re:Someone please create an App on Automated Plate Readers Let Police Collect Millions of Records On Drivers · · Score: 1

    Notice my use of the word "potential." Yeah, take it to the "peeping Tom" extreme and no one will disagree with having legal restrictions.

    However, public roadways are the other extreme. 30K people die a year in the U.S. from accidents. If you are driving on a public road, I am not sure if we, as a community, need to be prioritizing your privacy over the safety of the public (especially if you are driving like a moron).

  19. Re:Someone please create an App on Automated Plate Readers Let Police Collect Millions of Records On Drivers · · Score: 1

    Yes, and only the most extreme cases make it to Youtube. Is Russia a much safer place to drive because of Youtube?

    The barrier to provide negative feedback to the bad drivers needs to be significantly lowered before we will start seeing significant improvements in roadside deaths. . .

  20. Someone please create an App on Automated Plate Readers Let Police Collect Millions of Records On Drivers · · Score: 1

    That allows me to press a button that:
    -Saves to a file the last minute of video recorded from my cellphone mounted to my dashboard.
    -Recognizes the license plate number of the idiot that just almost killed my family with their piece of shit pick-up truck.
    -Forwards both file and license plate number to the local authorities, who can then apply the appropriate penalty.

    Centrally controlled surveillance is dangerous, expensive, and inefficient. It must be limited in a democratic society. Decentralized, community based surveillance has great potential to improve overall quality of life, especially on public roads, where every idiot has a license to kill with their own stupidity.

  21. Bad IT departments are like the Mafia . . . on Ask Slashdot: How Do You Prove an IT Manager Is Incompetent? · · Score: 1

    You will probably have to use some kind of technicality to get rid of the IT manager. For my company, it was a combination of things, including the HR manager noticing that the IT manager was only coming into work like 4 hours a day on average (which was used with other circumstantial evidence). However, even after we got rid of that manager, we are still in the process of "hitting rock bottom" as we try to fix years of managing the department like a nation of fiefdoms . . . it is amazing how much damage one incompetent high level manager can do . . .

    This is really why IT needs to establish some kind of professional certification like doctors, lawyers, and accountants. It is not so much that you will prevent the incompetent from getting certified (though, certainly, hard testing does help prevent that). However, the main thing is that it creates an incentive for any certificate holder to try to keep their certification (our fired IT manager actually brags about how little work he was doing) and provides employers some leverage ("please help us with a smooth transition or we will report you to your professional organization . . ."). Until then, things will continue to be the wild west, so good luck trying to replace the old sheriff in town . . .

  22. Lemonade from lemons . . . on Atomic Bombs Help Solve Brain Mystery · · Score: 2

    But I really think we could have done this more cheaply, more ethically, and more humanely through a controlled experiment. Call me jaded, but I have absolutely no romantic feelings of nostalgia towards the cold war. It was a time when the timeless "mine is bigger than yours" human defect almost destroyed human civilization.

  23. Re:Yeah... there's problem in the summary on Robots Help Manufacturing Recover Without Adding Jobs · · Score: 2

    >you have PhDs mopping floors for a living

    Actually, I think there already is a robot for that . . .

  24. Posting to undo accidental moderation . . . on Japanese Police Urge ISPs To Block Tor · · Score: 1

    Looking forward to when there is a better way to undo accidental mods . . .

  25. Re:The same reason there no more anti-war protests on Why Do Pathogen Researchers Face Less Scrutiny Than Nuclear Scientists? · · Score: 2

    >For partisan political advantage. Really? Had nothing to do with a very possible nuclear war apocalypse (which almost happened, from my knowledge, at least once . . .).

    >Pathogen research offered no such advantage. Maybe if a version of the Nagasaki or Hiroshima bombings were to occur with pathogen research, you would start to see some more protests. Humans are not very good at understanding risks, such that it can take seeing cities of people perish in unimaginable hell before they actually care enough to get involved.

    The rest of your post gives examples that basically do not even come close to a "global apocalypse." In fact, your post seems more politically motivated than the protests against nuclear war. If nuclear science was also a target, I would consider it as just a casualty of being too closely associated with the very real threat of nuclear war apocalypse at the time. Seems some of the blame for nuclear science getting a bad wrap should go to weaponization and use against large numbers of civilians.