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User: bwcbwc

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  1. Can I place my order... on LED's Efficiency Exceeds 100% · · Score: 1

    for a glow-in-the-dark refrigerator now?

    It sounds like it violates the 2nd and 3rd laws of thermodynamics if not the first.

  2. Re:Vorkosigans on Ask Slashdot: Good, Forgotten Fantasy & Science Fiction Novels? · · Score: 1

    I don't think this qualifies as forgotten as she has been continuing the series as recently as 2010. But good reads nonetheless. I'd also recommend her "Paladin of Souls"

  3. Wow, I found one everybody missed: on Ask Slashdot: Good, Forgotten Fantasy & Science Fiction Novels? · · Score: 1

    A College of Magics by Caroline Stevermeyer Magic in a Steampunk setting, back before Steampunk was cool.

  4. Re:Stephen R. Donaldson on Ask Slashdot: Good, Forgotten Fantasy & Science Fiction Novels? · · Score: 1

    If you can't take Covenant as a protagonist, The duology of Mordant's Need is probably a better read. (The Mirror of Her Dreams, A Man Rides Through). Most of the same themes of a lead character out of place, but it just works better.

  5. Re:And so it begins... on Sale Or License? Sister Sledge Sues Over ITunes · · Score: 1

    Yeah they do seem to be trying to grab both slices of the pie.

    Here's hoping the have as much success in that endeavor as SCO had vs. IBM on the one hand, and Novell on the other.

  6. A few more of these... on Texas Jury Strikes Down Man's Claim to Own the Interactive Web · · Score: 1

    And maybe patent trolls will stop trying to find convoluted justifications for filing their suits in East Texas. A nice win in a "troll friendly" district.

  7. Re:Email a trade secret? on Employee-Owned Devices Muddy Data Privacy Rights · · Score: 1

    "Information is not property."

    So you say you run your home network with no firewall? What's the IP address? I want to get in and play, and none of the information there is your property, after all.

  8. Re:Email a trade secret? on Employee-Owned Devices Muddy Data Privacy Rights · · Score: 1

    If it's used to conduct government business, I bet that Blackberry is a "company"-owned device.

    No one is saying no portable devices on the network. THey're saying only devices that are owned by the business and have been validated as a secure configuration with standard methods to re-evaluate the security.

  9. Re:Dear CEO on Employee-Owned Devices Muddy Data Privacy Rights · · Score: 1

    This is true. If company wants you available off-hours, it provides the means to contact you. On the other hand, why the heck do you need a data plan on a cellphone to conduct company business?

  10. And this is why we can't have nice things... on Employee-Owned Devices Muddy Data Privacy Rights · · Score: 1

    Any company concerned about its internal information has to be really cautious, even obstructive, about allowing non-company devices on their network, because of both information protection requirements and malware risks to other devices on the network.

    People complain about the control-freaks in the IT department, but there are very good reasons that they have to exert this type of control. Yes, it's possible to be too paranoid about security (or is it?). But controlling whose devices access the network and what applications and capabilities exist in those devices is not paranoia nor a domination game. It's self-knowledge for the company. Remember, that apart from someone's job role, a large company has no way of distinguishing knowledgeable techies from PEBCAKs would click on every antivirus scam site that displays a popup on their desktop. For those companies, opening BYOD to all employees is equivalent to a home user removing the firewall from their router and just letting all the internet into their home network.

  11. Re:Anonymous Threatened Sony on EA, Nintendo, Sony Quietly Withdraw SOPA Support · · Score: 2

    Their industry trade association, the ESA, still supports SOPA. So YES, all 3 companies are still supporting it "privately"
    http://boingboing.net/2011/12/31/ea-sony-nintendo-pull-suppor.html

  12. "Traffice acquisition costs"... on Did Microsoft Make Google Pay Triple Rate To Mozilla? · · Score: 1

    probably includes the entire operating budget of YouTube, and Google+. And possibly the other "free" services like Google Maps, Google Earth, and Gmail.

    And if their accounting is finer-grained than that, I still bet it includes the revenue-sharing on YouTube.

  13. Misleading headline on Verizon Adds $2 Charge For Paying Your Bill Online · · Score: 1

    The fee is being charged for _credit card_ (and other indirect) forms of payment online. If you authorize a onetime payment from your checking account (ACH) the fee is waived, and you don't incur the worst risks of automated bill pay. Yes, they have your bank account number, but you've only authorized a one-time transaction, so they can be fought if they try to take additional payments out.

    On the other hand, this is a good argument for using a bill-pay service from your bank instead. At least until _they_ start charging a buck or two for each transaction.

  14. Re:Hardly. on Sorry, IT: These 5 Technologies Belong To Users · · Score: 1

    "brings in an infected computer" ... also refers to an unauthorized device.
    The board of directors will be firing Joe Blow shortly, if his actions led to losses of the size you imply.

  15. Re:Sigh on Sorry, IT: These 5 Technologies Belong To Users · · Score: 1

    We went through this already in the 1980's with the PC: PCs were the great liberator from corporate IT. Then the PsBCAK started bringing floppy-borne viruses into the workplace and sharing corrupted files. As the anti-virus movement grew, corporate IT regained control.

    As long as there are bad guys out there trying to infiltrate your network or even just screw with your data, companies have to exercise control over what accesses their sites and their data. The shareholders will demand it, regardless of what the employees want. Yes, this is another example of security requirements driving up costs and destroying efficiency, but it's there, just like TSA at the airport only with (hopefully) less theater.

  16. Don't hack... on Ask Slashdot: To Hack Or Not To Hack? · · Score: 1

    Go to the big name financial backers and the media.

  17. More tech giants! on Why America Doesn't Need More Tech Giants Like Apple · · Score: 1

    (or is that "more cowbell") We may not need more tech giants, but we do need as many companies as possible trying to become tech giants.

  18. Re:Americans on Why America Doesn't Need More Tech Giants Like Apple · · Score: 1

    The same also applies to software engineers, developers, project managers, and eventually lawyers and doctors. It's a race between the robots and the Asians to see who completely decimates the white collar workforce in the US too.

  19. Presumption of guilt... on 88-Year-Old Inventor Hassled By the DEA · · Score: 1

    It's times like these that sorely tempt me to actually vote Libertarian.

  20. Re:99% and the 1% on SOPA Hearings Stacked In Favor of Pro-SOPA Lobby · · Score: 1

    Since the police in various cities are shutting down the Occupy * tent cities, maybe its time for Occupy Washington. If you have to move anyway, might as well all move in the same direction.

  21. About the only consolation... on SOPA Hearings Stacked In Favor of Pro-SOPA Lobby · · Score: 3, Interesting

    in this mess is that if SOPA really ends up being as bad as it is currently, its powerful enough to use AGAINST big media.

    Warner Brothers links to a Youtube video? Google should file a SOPA complaint against them. After a few such episodes, file for a site takedown and payment blocking to shut down WBs internet presence. EIther WB pays a heavy price in the market, or Google gets a court precedent weakening SOPA. Same goes for CNBC CNN, Fox or any of the other big media sites.

    Even better, when the politicians who vote for this farce post infringing material on their own websites or their campaigns' websites, use the same approach. Sue their campaigns out of existence.

  22. Auto-reply and forward... on Ask Slashdot: What To Do With Spammers You Know? · · Score: 1

    to all of the contact emails you have for the company. When they call you to complain, tell them it's their own system.

  23. 'F*****g computers,' ... on No Charges For Child-Whipping Judge Caught On YouTube · · Score: 1

    the judge tells his now ex-wife on the video. 'I told you I didn't want one in the god damn house. See all the problems they cause?'

    If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear.

  24. This ought to be fun to watch... on Anonymous Takes On a Mexican Drug Cartel · · Score: 1

    assuming there isn't too much collateral damage.

    As powerful and fearsome as the Zetas are in Mexico and the surrounding countries, they would have a harder time carrying out revenge operations in, say, Europe or Asia. So there is a decent sized group of Anonymous members that might be willing to take this on.

    And if Anonymous carries out their threat, and the other cartels respond as expected, the Zetas could be seriously weakened.

    What would really screw anonymous is if the cartels decide to collude to wipe them out before they even get the chance to do the data dump.

  25. Re:Support them from your own money on How Can I Justify Using Red Hat When CentOS Exists? · · Score: 1

    Well, if your company is big enough to hire a CIO, it should be big enough to support an internal Linux support person/team. Either that or if you really think you'll need the support put an additional FTE in your project budget for a full-time Linux kernel and administration expert at $100k or so.