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User: ozzee

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Comments · 265

  1. Re: The court of public opinion wins.... on Microsoft Attempts To Spin Its Role in Counterfeiting Case (techcrunch.com) · · Score: 1

    My opinion is public and this article is the first I posted on in a long while i think I care that MS makes a mockery of Justice system. Just to point out I care, being public and all.

  2. Re: Are they? on Microsoft Attempts To Spin Its Role in Counterfeiting Case (techcrunch.com) · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Sure, he pleaded guilty to that. That's not the point. The point was that the severity of the sentence was because of Microsoft testimony saying these disks were worth $28 each. That's ehat gave the prosecutor leverage when in fact they are free.

  3. Like MakeXS on Announcing 'build', Auto-Configuration In 1000 Lines Of Makefile (github.com) · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I have a similar make based build system called MakeXS. It's used in the Austria C++ project. It has similar features but my plan was to migrate away from make. Now that Google has released bazel I'm thinking of migrating to it instead.

  4. Re:Interesting story on Software Engineer Detained At JFK, Given Test To Prove He's An Engineer (mashable.com) · · Score: 1

    I doubt very much that I could come up with a function to balance a tree out of the blue with no prep or review

    Really? You just walk the tree, and return false if any leaf is deeper than the others.

    "Deeper"? There are multiple definitions of balanced. The usual meaning of balanced is if the difference in the number of nodes is no more than 1. Depth difference is usually AVL balanced (named after G.M. Adelson-Velsky and E.M. Landis). So, there are an arbitrary set of "balancing" rules. He could have, in theory just returned true. Or false....

  5. Re:"Unconventional" on Google Is Restructuring Under a New Company Called Alphabet · · Score: 4, Insightful

    No, that's pretty conventional nowadays.

  6. Re:Both ways? on Apple, A123 To Settle Lawsuit Over Poached Battery Engineers · · Score: 2

    Being a big company, Apple has many to be careful not to use its size to kill companies. Simply put, if Apple wants A123's tech and it can simply provide key A123 employees an offer they can't refuse, it gives them an unfair advantage and they can do this to any company. A company the size of Apple is able to do this many times over and it simply becomes an unstoppable monopoly which goes against the the whole spirit of capitalism when one company can control everything.

  7. Did I mention ... on Was Linus Torvalds Right About C++ Being So Wrong? · · Score: 1

    ... that I can write bad code in any language?

  8. Re:Since when has stealing been illegal on Wall St on Former Goldman Programmer's Conviction Overturned · · Score: 1

    If they convicted everyone there who was a thief, who would be left?

    It's only illegal if you get caught.

  9. Re:Phone Luddites & Careers on Do You Really Need a Smart Phone? · · Score: 1

    I got my first mobile phone in 1999. It was because the job required it. The very first day I had the phone, my car broke down and I the phone was a rather very convenient device.

    I was a phone luddite. I didn't want to be strung to the rest of the world by the hip. Dude, you can turn the phone off any time. I don't have to use it.

    Now, 11 years on. I have a Galaxy Nexus, I run My Tracks almost every day, I browse web sites, take photos and videos, do navigation and occasionally make a phone call.

    I get to do what I want to do better. Sweet!

  10. Re:Google letting me down on Bing More Effective Than Google? · · Score: 1

    I've noticed lately that google isn't nearly as sharp at finding the results I want. If I search for terms 'x', 'y', and 'z', google will sometimes give me a page with terms 'x' and 'y' but not 'z'. 'z' is on pages that link to the results, but google doesn't tell me this. If there are no pages with 'x', 'y', and 'z' on them then so be it, but don't give me pages that I don't want.

    rant over.

    You can "fix" this. You can type +x +y +z and it will only give results that contain all of x, y and z. There are a few other "operators" you can use.

  11. Re:Ridiculous (Not so) on UK Hacker Ryan Cleary Has Asperger's Syndrome, Court Told · · Score: 1
    My son has Asperger's too. I think you need to read up alot more on the kinds of issues that surround persons with AS. There are a huge number of journal articles you should get familiar with to make sure you keep your son out of trouble. Asperger’s Syndrome in Forensic Settings Is just one of many. A recent one by Ian Freckelton and David List, Asperger’s Disorder, Criminal Responsibility and Criminal Culpability gives a very good summary on the issues an AS sufferer has with the Criminal Justice System.

    If you truly care about your son, you will take the time to get informed as the CJS can screw with an AS sufferer in ways that will make you sick.

  12. Managers playing engineers caused challenger on Challenger 25 Years Later · · Score: 1

    ... But I think I'm a bit wiser today, having maybe learned that the bleeding edge is sometimes literal.

    I'm not exactly sure what you think you maybe learned but both shuttle disasters were caused by management overriding engineers and making engineering decisions.

    It's not uncommon that managers in stressful situations somehow loose faith in engineers and make their own engineering decisions. All too often this happens, perhaps the consequences are often not dire but it regularly causes major issues. There is an endless list of them. Google for "challenger bhopal engineering management" and you will find endless discussions on them. Needless to say the report on the Challenger disaster points its finger directly at the management - alas it did little to remedy the situation having another shuttle disaster happen only a few years later again with management not listening to engineers and overriding their recommendations.

  13. Re:OMG save the children on Autism-Vax Doc Scandal Was Pharma Business Scam · · Score: 0

    ... Easily worth the trade off. ...

    The question is not whether vaccination should be abolished, the question is whether the vaccination regime should be changed to avoid complications.

    Perhaps we can introduce a vaccination regime where we gradually vaccinate for one disease at at time rather than the cocktail done now.

    Perhaps we can wait to vaccinate until signs of autism should be apparent.

    There also seems to be newer tools for diagnosing autism, perhaps we can study these before and after vaccinations.

    I'd like to know if these types of alternatives have been considered rather than this black/white vaccinate/not rant.

  14. Re:The sad part is... on Autism-Vax Doc Scandal Was Pharma Business Scam · · Score: 1

    How many children will die or suffer lifelong complications from preventable diseases because their parents got scared of vaccines by his unethical greed?

    Probably very few if not none.

  15. Re:Microsoft and Google on FTC Ends Probe of Google StreetView Privacy Breach · · Score: 3, Informative
    You are flaming, right? Let me give you the benefit of the doubt. Let's compare the two.
    • Google fesses up to it's mistake, Microsoft fights. If it was not for Google owning up to the error, no-one would have known, while Microsoft tried hard to keep quiet comments like "Knife the Baby".
    • Google made no financial advantage from this while Microsoft made a whole business by killing competitors using it's monopoly advantage.
    • Google did not intend to breach privacy laws, Microsoft knew and were warned on previous occasions that they were to stop the practice.
    • It's not really clear that Google really breached the law, the information they collected was in the clear, i.e. if you go yelling you account numbers and passwords from the rooftops and someone with taking a family video records inadvertently, I suggest that it's hard to prove that the cameraman is at fault. Microsoft was found guilty and convicted of its crime.

    ... just to point out a few, I can go on if you like.

    I think it's important to compare like cases if you don't want to be marked a troll.

  16. Not the first time to happen in Australia on Criminals Steal House Thanks To Hacked Email · · Score: 2, Interesting
    The laws in Australia are ridiculously thin when it comes to dealing with this kind of theft. I dare say that the agent is a tad bit liable for selling the mans house and may want to invoke their liability insurance.

    Real estate agents in Australia are a cowboys compared to the agents I dealt with in the US and yes, I have experience with both.

  17. Re:Ok so they might have a case against google on The Case For Oracle · · Score: 1

    Actually, from what I've heard, this is pretty standard in patent infringement cases. They may not be shooting for it, but they'll use it as a bargaining position.

    That's only copyright cases, not patent cases. Patents are free to be read and researched and in fact it is encouraged. That's the basis of patent law, to promote innovation. Copyright on the other hand is for limiting the right to copy and hence extends to the demand to destroy existing copies. The remedy in patents is usually to prevent from using or selling infringing product.

  18. Yet another person is arrested for police video on Facing 16 Years In Prison For Videotaping Police · · Score: 1

    In a recent article titled "Boynton woman's suit fights to allow videotaping of police", police are alleged to have arrested but charges were not filed.

  19. Why my Google sites page is not found on Bing? on Microsoft Behind Google Complaints To EC · · Score: 1

    Is this the reason why after numerous attempts to have my Google sites page crawled by Bing, I get no results whatsoever from Bing? Is MS not crying fowl on Google when they themselves are to blame?

  20. e44.us runs on Google App Engine on URL Shorteners Get Some Backup · · Score: 2, Interesting
    I've been using e44.us running on Google App Engine. I think it will be around for a while as it custs nothing except registration fees to run atm.

    The source code is available on e44.us/1.

    You can "log in" with your gmail account so one day you can edit your short links.

    Anyhow, it's a simple app for now but if there is interest in a "community" OSS project, we can add cool features like, make personalized forms of the app (urls like e44.us/fred/1) or even your own domain (which you can do now with a Google Apps account), optimize it for mobile phones, validate access to URL's etc etc. If you're interested, let me know.

  21. Re:Template la-la land. on Stroustrup Says New C++ Standard Delayed Until 2010 Or Later · · Score: 1
    I have a very different opinion. I think templates in C++ are very powerful and useful.

    I don't write template code every day, but that's kind of the point. Templates can eliminate most ugly repetitive code and allow you to model it closer to the abstraction you're most comfortable with.

    The project I'm working on at the moment is Java and the generics in Java are so far away from templates and so it limits the usefulness of it dramatically.

    Yes, you need to get into templates to understand them, they are a new programming language, not unlike Prolog in some ways.

  22. Re:SOLAR PANELS ARE CHEAP AND EASY TO REPLACE!! on Switching To Solar Power, One Year Later · · Score: 1

    Other than cost, is there any reason not to just use a really heavy gauge wire for everything and call it good?

    No real reason except perhaps ease of wiring. (i.e. easier to bend and twist a smaller wire.)

  23. Re:SOLAR PANELS ARE CHEAP AND EASY TO REPLACE!! on Switching To Solar Power, One Year Later · · Score: 1
    There is no "positive". There is an "active" and a "neutral".

    Also colours of wires become interesting. Black wire is usually neutral and the red (in AU, white in the US) is active, green is ground (sometimes bare wire in US).

    3 phase is even more interesting... Red, Blue and Yellow are the usual "active" colours in Oz.

    You may have been capable of wiring a light fixture but did you know how load affected the temperature of the wire and how to the length of the wire may require different types of wire?

    It's not very hard to learn this stuff, however if you use words like "positive" when talking about a mains feed, you give yourself away.

  24. Re:"borrowing" wireless on Offline Gmail Launched · · Score: 1

    No, my ISP is the definition of "unreliable or slow" .... :-(

  25. Re:Missing the point on Offline Gmail Launched · · Score: 1

    ... So I'm curious and I genuinely would like to hear your opinion, what is so great about the GMail interface that I am potentially overlooking?

    I thought he did. Anyway, these are some thoughts. It handles large numbers of emails much faster than TB. It puts all emails of a thread into one logical thread no matter what folder they're in so you see the whole context every time. It's search is fast. It has a "label" instead of "folder" model for organizing messages. It does not need "installing" ...