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  1. Re:Fun prank of the week! on US Carriers Finally Doing Something About Cellphone Theft · · Score: 1

    It might originate from GSM but isn't unique to GSM.

    The International Mobile Equipment Identity or IMEI (/ami/) is a number, usually unique,[1][2] to identify GSM, WCDMA, and iDEN mobile phones, as well as some satellite phones.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Mobile_Equipment_Identity

  2. Re:I would like to insist... on Army Reviews Controversial Drug After Afghan Massacre · · Score: 1

    Its efficacy is a good reason not to use it as a prophylactic. The more it is used, the sooner you get resistant strains.

    Yes and it has been known to cause hallucinations since it came out. A family friend had out of body experiences in the early 90s from taking it.

  3. Re:Denmark, you must be kidding on Nordic Nations Pitch For US Data Centers · · Score: 2

    LOL, pretty interesting. So much for the common Nordic electricity market. How can Denmark have electricity twice the price of Finland?

  4. Yup on Nordic Nations Pitch For US Data Centers · · Score: 5, Informative

    As mentioned, the Swedes have declared all data passing through it free game for its security apparatus. Great for hosting your sensitive data.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_surveillance#Sweden

  5. Re:The climate change issue is a waste of time on Is Climate Change the New Evolution? · · Score: 1

    Correction: You Americans won't. The rest of the industrialized countries certainly are already taking some pain.

  6. Missed the juicy part of the article on Afghanistan Biometric Data Given To US · · Score: 4, Informative

    A reporter from The New York Times, an American of Norwegian rather than Afghan extraction, voluntarily submitted to a test screening with the B.A.T. system. After his fingerprints and iris scans were entered into the B.A.T.’s armored laptop, an unexpected “hit” popped up on the screen, along with the photograph of a heavily bearded Afghan.

    The “hit” identified the reporter as “Haji Daro Shar Mohammed,” who is on terrorist Watch List 4, with this note: “Deny Access, Do Not Hire, Subject Poses a Threat.”

  7. Re:What percentage of those infected... on Measles Resurgent Due To Fear of Vaccination · · Score: 1

    lol, the fact that many diseases were eradicated is a fraud?

  8. Re:Biggest shock in this story ... on RealNetworks Sues Dutch Webmaster Over Hyperlink To Freeware · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Yup. The "real" funny part is that Real killed themselves by turning their product into a PC-suffocating piece of bloatware. Real Alternative was a direct response to that exact bloat. I'd be laughing if it weren't so sad for the defendant.

    It's sad how failed companies refuse to go down quietly, instead they go legal supernova.

  9. Re:Carpentry on Why Does the US Cling To Imperial Measurements? · · Score: 1

    How contrived can you make your arguments? What's a ninth of a mile? In Furlongs. It appears to be a common calculation you need to make.

    How about something more mundane? The safety information on a lift says its maximum capacity is two tons. Each of your anglo-american group of passengers tells you their weight in a combination of stones and pounds. Enjoy calculating whether you've exceeded the capacity.

    I also am "perfectly comfortable" with both systems, knowing that I can drive 60 km/h or 304.8 feet/minute (what?!)

  10. Paging Dr. Freeze on A Closer Look At Immersion Cooling For the Data Center · · Score: 5, Informative

    1999 Have I been reading Slashdot that long?

  11. Ultima III on Garry's Mod Catches Pirates the Fun Way · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Ultima III wouldn't let you interact with NPCs - they'd say "Honesty is a virtue, I will not help you" or something to the effect.

    Personal experience. As a teenager I bought Ultima III (I think) for the Amiga for $many_weeks_allowance. The original floppy was corrupt, and being an expat in a remote country meant I couldn't get it replaced. A buddy mailed me a pirated copy to replace it. A "fun way" to catch pirates for sure, but there I was with a box, shiny cloth map and a game that would tell me I'm dishonest. Never got to play it. Guess whether this experience motivated me to (a) buy more games or (b) pirate games instead.

    </childhood_trauma>

    I understand the rationale behind copy protection and DRM, but they can make life hard for legitimate users and end up counterproductive.

  12. Re:Constitutional? I doubt it. on Lawmaker Reintroduces WikiLeaks Prosecution Bill · · Score: 1

    Sure, you've lost 100,000+ young men in golfing accidents around the world.

    http://americanveterans.homestead.com/links.html
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_history_of_the_United_States

    Looking at those I noticed more civilians have now died in Iraq than you lost soldiers in WWII. Nice.

    Each time a new president is elected in the US, I ask myself which part of the world will get a taste of American exports this time. I'm certain I will not see a single presidential term during which Americans aren't involved in a military conflict somewhere. It's remarkable how you manage to keep the population motivated.

    I found the recent US political debate following the Giffords shooting quite remarkable, journalists exhorting how Democrats and Republicans should recognize each other as humans and should try to settle differences in a civil manner. The rest of the world will have to wait to get the same recognition, it seems.

  13. Re:Outing criminals is one thing . . . . on Wikileaks To Name Swiss Bank Tax Evaders · · Score: 1

    This really takes the cake. How about you stop "stealing" the use of all the public services being paid for by all other hard working people?

  14. Re:poor title on Wikileaks To Name Swiss Bank Tax Evaders · · Score: 1

    Haha, true. There's a high probability that having a Swiss bank account correlates to being Swiss yourself.

    However, It looks like this isn't just a list of bank accounts: the documents "detail attempts by wealthy business leaders and lawmakers to evade tax payments."

  15. Re:Media whore on Wikileaks To Name Swiss Bank Tax Evaders · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I don't care if he's a monkey and likes to play a recorder with his butt.

    It's a Good Thing (tm) this information is being made public.

    These negative responses are almost as juicy as the leaks themselves. You've left us wondering whether you're a tax evader, a Freedom Fry? Or maybe it's just jealousy or a secret crush... not trying hard enough to be an astroturfer.

  16. Re:Pretty much completely infeasible. on YouTube Legally Considered a TV Station In Italy · · Score: 1

    I've never understood how Italians accept this, and many other things. It's an embarrassment to Europe.

  17. Re:rtfl on Cooks Source Magazine Apologizes — Sort Of · · Score: 1

    Absolutely. And she still doesn't understand copyright. *rolleyes*

    "I got lazy and went to the www and "found" something. Bleary-eyed I didnt notice it was copy written and reordered some of it."

  18. Re:Chinese Control on China To Build Its Own Large Jetliner · · Score: 1

    I remember the same, but IIRC the companies involved were fatalistic about it - they knew the score but again "could not afford to miss out". The problem is, the same technology will later appear in your own market in much cheaper Chinese products.

    It happens in other sectors as well.

    Worthwhile reading for tech companies planning to "partner" with Chinese businesses:

    http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1955426,00.html

  19. Did you read the summary? on Where Do I Go Now That Oracle Owns OpenOffice.org? · · Score: 1

    "Has anyone used LibreOffice (it's installing as I type this) extensively?"

  20. This story is almost a month old on Pirated Software Could Bring Down Predator Drones · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    I know, it's Slashdot. But still ..

  21. Excuse me? on Norwegian Day Traders Convicted For Manipulating Computer Trading System · · Score: 1

    Am I the only one to see something wrong with this argument? Yes it's in "cyberspace" (ugh) but that's exactly why it's not wrong.

    Price is not the same as value. If I go to the open market shouting "I'll buy all your eggs at $10 each" and you go scrambling to buy them at $11, you're the stupid one.

    If you blindly accept that the *value* of X is whatever the highest bidder says it is, you're pretty dumb. If you now set up an automated system that buys X at that price, you're even more stupid and deserve to be out of money. If you have an entire trading system that works on that premise, it's a total scam.

    So, this is NOT the same as infecting people's computers, in fact it's the reverse. These idiotic machines are used to exploit the market system.

  22. Re:What OS? And how annoying? on Simple Virus For Teaching? · · Score: 1

    A bat script is not a virus. I take it he wants a virus or a worm; something that infects a machine, not something he installs.

  23. Re:Obligatory on Simple Virus For Teaching? · · Score: 1

    Not a virus.

  24. Learn to use the mouse with your left hand on Best Mobile Computing Options For People With RSI? · · Score: 1

    I started having problems with my right hand from using a mouse years ago. I've learned to use the mouse with both hands and will swap it over when necessary. It took a while to get used to, but now my left hand is almost as good as my right.

    This obviously doesn't help if keyboard usage is as bad for you.

  25. Re:Either way... on Selling Incandescent Light Bulbs As Heating Devices · · Score: 1

    While it's not a perpetual motion machine I get 5kWh of energy for every 1kWh of energy I put into my heater - see COP