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User: CastrTroy

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  1. Re:But what if Microsoft offered it all together? on Windows vs Mac Security · · Score: 1

    However, the fact that up until vista (which isn't even released yet, so we won't go into how it's going to work) the user was almost always running as admin, and is required to, even to do everyday tasks, means that your system is open to many more vulnerabilities. Things like boot sector viruses wouldn't happen if you didn't have rights to write to the boot sector, same with anything that installs itself in the system folders, and takes over the entire operating system. You would still get users wiping out their personal files, which is still a big problem, but it's a lot easier to fix stuff when you do have a problem.

  2. Re:But what if Microsoft offered it all together? on Windows vs Mac Security · · Score: 5, Interesting

    It depends on how they offered it. If they made it impossible to uninstall, then yes, we would yell monopoly. However, if they made these features able to be uninstalled (or never installed in the first place) and easily replaced by third party tools, then I don't think we would have anything to complain about. I don't have any problems with MS including IE with the operating system, I just wish it could be removed from the system.

  3. Re:What is the right browsing? on Unlock Internet or Risk Losing Staff? · · Score: 1

    I've known programmers who worked for organizations who very much restricted their internet access, down to a few sites. The result was that it was impossible to get anything done. You couldn't do simple search on the internet to find out how to solve everyday problems that can be solved in 30 seconds with a search to Google Groups. I think that many people don't need unrestricted access, but it's important for management to realize when somebody most likely does need it, and supply them with it.

  4. Re:You learn through mistakes on Teen Creates Device to Track Speeding · · Score: 2, Interesting

    It's only unsafe when lowering the speed limit, because nobody listens, and nobody enforces it. Then you when you get somebody who actually obeys the limit, it causes chaos. Just an example. I live in Canada, and many of the 4 lane roads (not highways) that commuters take to work have a 50 km/h speed limit. Nobody obeys the limit, and everybody drives around 70 km/h. Nobody get's ticketed for driving 70 km/h. Now, because everybody is driving 70, it's very easy for the cops to find a person driving 80, and give them a ticket for going 30 over the limit. Really he isn't going that much faster than everyone else, but he is going significantly over the "limit". I think it's completely crazy that drivers put up with this kind of situation, where they set the limits too low, and can basically give you a ticket whenever they want. The province even states that you can get a ticket for travelling 16 km/h over the limit, and get 3 demerit points.

  5. Re:Your keyspace wouldn't be that much bigger on Debunking a Bogus Encryption Statement? · · Score: 1

    I'm pretty sure that every encryption algorithm requires a checksum or hash of the data to ensure that the correct key was provided. Otherwise, you'd have a huge usability problem. Accidentally using the wrong key would still lead to data, but the user would have to identify why the data was not what they expected. Was it the wrong key? Was the file corrupted? Is there bad memory on the system, causing data to get corrupted?

  6. Re:Why wouldn't it? on Zelda on the Wii To Include Sword Swinging · · Score: 1

    How is that any different from somebody buying a rapidfire controller and holding the button down for the entire game? sure, you may be able to get them from behind, but if they spin around at the same time, they would probably be able to accomplish the same thing. Besides, most of the difficult characters in Zelda shoot at you from afar, and doesn't help to flail around like mad.

  7. Re:Americans traveling to other countries. on E-Passport In the Works · · Score: 1

    That's the exact opposite of how it's supposed to work. I live and work in Ontario. And have been for the last 10 years. If any employer was doing that, then they were screwing you over, or just completely unaware of how the system is supposed to work.

  8. Re:Bushido Blade... on Peter Molyneux Talks Next-Gen Combat and Wii · · Score: 1

    Sounds a lot better than the "Press the buttons as fast as possible" or "Memorize 16 button combos" type fighting games we are used to. It would be nice to have a different kind of fighting game.

  9. Re:Americans traveling to other countries. on E-Passport In the Works · · Score: 1

    I'm unsure of how it works in the US, but in Canada, they can either give you the money when you take the time off, or give you an 4% on every pay cheque, and not pay you when you take the time off. They may also decide to give you the 4% at any time throughout the year in 1 lump sum, regardless of whether or not you are taking vacation. You may never actually take vacation, especially with part time jobs, because you may not feel you need it, but you should still be getting paid for it.

  10. Re:Americans traveling to other countries. on E-Passport In the Works · · Score: 1

    I think that what he is referring to, is that the minimum allowed that your employer is allowed to give you is 2 weeks, wheras in Europe (or parts of Europe), it's 6 weeks. Of course in the US, if you have a good high status job, you can get more holidays, although I'm sure in Europe you can too. I know someone from Germany who gets 3 months off per year. And they don't work at a school.

  11. Re:Hysterical over nothing, data doesn't leave car on Car Owners to be Notified of Blackboxes in Vehicle · · Score: 1

    On the other hand, some insurance companies are using tracking devices for good. I read a story about some systems that monitor your driving, and then you hook it up to the computer at the end of every month, and it gives you a discount based on your good driving. If you don't get a discount, because of bad driving, you don't have to submit the information. I think it's great that some insurance companies are rewarding good drivers, so that we don't have to pay for everyone else who is a bad driver.

  12. Re:Hysterical over nothing, data doesn't leave car on Car Owners to be Notified of Blackboxes in Vehicle · · Score: 1

    It really depends on where you live. In the UK, there's laws that are being put in place, saying you have to hand over your encryption keys if you are arrested. However, that's basically the same as testifying against yourself if you have any information you want to hide on your computer. I wonder how long before the US starts making laws like this, that conflict with your rights. You have the right to remain silent, except when we ask for your decryption keys.

  13. Re:Nothing new here on Algorithmic Investors on Wallstreet · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Yes, but if you could mostly automate it, you could do the trading a lot cheaper. Instead of paying highly qualified people hundreds of thousands of dollars per year, you could hire someone for $10 an hour to click on a sell/don't sell dialog box on a computer all day. The computer would be the one making the decisions, but the person would be giving the final order, making it not completely automated. Of course, the person would only ever click on sell, and the computer would only ever present an option which was a good idea to sell. However, the person would just be there to be the human loop in the process, and to ensure that there wasn't something extremely fishy going on with the trading.

  14. Re:Delayed rollout on MA To Adopt Short-Term Plug-in Strategy for ODF · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I wonder how long it will take for those functions to become a part of the open source office suites out there?

    I wonder how long it will take for them to come out with specialized office suites for those with disabilities instead of bolt on solutions to existing office suites. An application with a GUI doesn't make much sense for someone who is blind. Creating a new office suite specifically for use by those with disabilities would make a lot more sense then trying to bolt on something to existing office suites.

  15. Re:Doesnt matter in the long run. on MA To Adopt Short-Term Plug-in Strategy for ODF · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I was under the impression that screen magnifiers magnified the screen regardless of which application was being shown on the screen. I also thought that screen readers read text on the screen, regardless of the application displaying the text. If they are application specific, I have been very misinformed. I also think that if this is the case, these applications (screen readers and magnifiers) are complete crap, and not worth a cent, and we should abolish them all, and start over with some tools that provide accessibility for all applications.

  16. Re:Not an issue... on Biofuel Production to Cause Water Shortages? · · Score: 2, Insightful

    If all the breakwaters and other things we have put into the ocean haven't made a difference yet, then I don't think there's a problem. The ocean contains massive amounts of energy. And it is huge. I'm pretty sure that even if we bordered every mile of every every shoreline in the world with tidal power generators, we would still not have a noticeable affect on the planet.

  17. Re:Well, assuming that's true. on Biofuel Production to Cause Water Shortages? · · Score: 1

    This is the part that still makes no sense to me. It may be zero sum, but that doesn't mean it's zero pollution. If you take all the trees in the world, burn them in the middle of NYC, then you get a lot of pollution, and a big smoke cloud in the city. If however, you leave them where they are, and let them grow and die and decay naturally, you get a lot less pollution, and the CO2 is released over a much slower period of time. The end result may be zero extra carbon dioxide on the entire planet from using biofuels, but you still don't solve the problem of too much pollution in the large cities.

  18. Re:SBS made me quit my job... on Microsoft Recalls Small Business Server · · Score: 1

    Well, wikipedia defines a small business as a business with less than 100 employees, although i've seen other definitions which state up to 500 employees. If you're actually running a real small business, say under 20 people, then I don't think you even have a need for a server such as this. If you're over 50 people, then it's probably well worth your money to buy a real server box, or 2 or 3, and hire a real IT guy/girl.

  19. Re:Non-final? on Microsoft Recalls Small Business Server · · Score: 1, Interesting

    Maybe they released it and then realized that one of the components contained GPL'd code. They couldn't very well issue a patch to get rid of it, because, if you didn't patch, then you would still be running the code. Also MS could be held accountable for releasing the code whether or not they issued a patch or not.

  20. Re:Video Games on Are Plasma TVs the Next BetaMax? · · Score: 1

    This is why I stick with CRT. Most people can't afford a nice size LCD, so they end with a 23 inch LCD. When, for the same price, they could have a 32 inch CRT.

  21. Re:Format? on Downloadable Movies from Amazon? · · Score: 1

    This is my biggest problem with iTunes. I have an ipod, but refuse to buy iTunes. The reason? You can often get the CD for the same price, or $1 or $2 more. Plus you get a real physical copy that can be used in any player out there (with a little conversion to mp3 required for some). With iTunes, you get lower quality music, that you can't play in another MP3 player without burning to CD and then reencoding it, which loses more quality. I find I get much better value for my money with buying the CD. There are many times when the CD is actually cheaper, because iTunes only has 1 price for all music. If the downloads were $.25 I would probably see it as worth it, But I don't feel that paying the same amount for an inferior product is worth it.

  22. Re:encryption vs security on Locking Up Linux, Creating a Cryptobook · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Well, I'm running an encrypted swap partition, and frankly, I haven't noticed any slow down. Granted, I have 1 gig of RAM, so I don't go into swap too often, but I find that it doesn't actually slow down your computer too much. You might notice if you don't have enough RAM, or if you encrypt your home partition, and then try to use if for video editing and other hard storage usage applications. However, if your using it on your laptop for business, you probably won't notice much of a difference.

  23. Re:Cut. Try another scene. on Teens Don't Think CD Copying is a Crime · · Score: 1

    I don't doubt it. I was in Vancouver, which is very close to Seattle, home of Starbucks. There was more than 1 intersection with 3 out of 4 corners (or sometimes 4 out of 4) having a Starbucks. I do go there myself, but never understood why they needed so many. Really it's not that expensive, if you just buy the regular coffee. It's the same price as Tim Horton's, but it's the cost of the specialty drinks that will get you.

  24. Re:Format? on Downloadable Movies from Amazon? · · Score: 1

    So what. With DVDs and esp. CDs, only one person has to buy it, and then they can share it with everybody in the world also. The fact that the product already comes as computer files doesn't really change much. I don't know why all the media companies are going crazy trying to DRM the hell out of downloadable media when the two main sources of media in the world have virtually no protection against copying. I realize that DVDs once had protection, but it's been rendered useless.

  25. Re:Dusty interior? on Computer Voodoo? · · Score: 1

    Well, from what I remember, it was a Compaq, but probably an older model. AMD K-500 or something if I remember correctly.