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User: blackwizard

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  1. Re:Google: Don't Be Evil. on Google Fiber Abandoning Louisville Residents With Two Months Notice (theverge.com) · · Score: 1

    Yes, I realize my initial comment was a stretch, and may come off as insensitive.

    Though I'm not getting my information from TV. I worked with an otherwise very smart software engineer from Kentucky, who happened to also believe that global warming is a lie and evolution isn't a real thing. He was literally taught that in public school. Granted, he didn't grow up in Louisville with fast internet access, so there's that. ;-)

    I recognize it's a double-edged sword. The same internet that keep peoples in political bubbles with their racist 4chan and Gab friends can also offer much more to those with an open mind.

  2. Google: Don't Be Evil. on Google Fiber Abandoning Louisville Residents With Two Months Notice (theverge.com) · · Score: 1

    This move by Google harms the entire country, not just the city of Louisville.

    I understand that In Kentucky, public schools often don't teach evolution. It's "just a theory". What if pervasive internet access could provide better education, and better opportunities to the people?

    I think that without fast internet access, Kentucky's economy will continue to struggle to reach the 21st century, and its people will continue to be subject to the tensions of inequality that are driving authoritarian populism.

    You can do better than this, Google.

  3. Missing the point on Scientists: Electric Vehicles Produce As Many Toxins As Dirty Diesels (dailymail.co.uk) · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Obviously driving has environmental impacts. This is not news. Bringing this up reminds me of this essay:

    http://www.abstractconcretewor...

    But when comparing the two classes of vehicles, the entire supply chain needs to be considered. You can use existing electrical infrastructure (and possibly renewable energy) to charge an electric vehicle. For a traditionally-fueled vehicle, you need to consider exploration, extraction, refinery, transportation, and disaster mitigation.

    I think the lesser of two evils is clear.

  4. Re:Viewing code means nothing; can they build it ? on Microsoft Signs Renewed Cybersecurity Agreement With NATO · · Score: 1

    They don't need to build it. They'll be able to analyze it for security issues and keep the 0-day exploits they find to themselves. And they'll get notified in advance when Microsoft spots the same issue, so they'll have time to switch tactics.

  5. Re:old news from decades ago on Overeager Compilers Can Open Security Holes In Your Code · · Score: 2

    I'm going with old news from decades ago.

  6. How could they enforce this? on The 69 Words GM Employees Can Never Say · · Score: 1

    I'm thinking something like a pre-commit hook, only integrated into Microsoft Office. ;-)

  7. I don't buy the premise of built-in security on TCP/IP Might Have Been Secure From the Start If Not For the NSA · · Score: 1

    It would be one thing to encrypt all traffic end-to-end with a Diffie-Hellman exchange per TCP connection. But it would be quite another thing to prevent active attacks from three-letter agencies. You'd need a way to establish and ensure trust as well. If they can't decrypt the connection itself, they can use an active attack to intercept it and decrypt it. Even if the target is using SSL with PFS, they could always national-security-letter a signed certificate out of a CA in their jurisdiction. It doesn't really matter what security is employed; there will always be a way to defeat it. All we can do is make it harder.

  8. I wonder - was it social engineering? on NSA: Others Implicated in Making Snowden Data Leaks Possible · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I can easily imagine a situation where he calls up someone with access to classified info, and says something like, "this is Snowden from IT; we're having problems restoring the backup of your encrypted data files on such-and-such server; can you loan me your login information so we can properly validate the checksums? You can change your password right afterward."

  9. I don't see this as a critical flaw on Google Store Sends User Information To App Developers · · Score: 2

    If I want support from an app developer, they'll be more likely to listen to me if they know I'm a paid customer. (For those who don't want support, it would be nice for Google to offer anonymous purchases, though.)

  10. Re:Many mobile browsers do this. on Nokia Redirecting Traffic On Some of Its Phones, Including HTTPS · · Score: 1

    Not necessarily. That depends on the network topology and their server setup. The data might be going over an Ethernet connection in the clear at some point. And you wouldn't necessarily need direct access to the private key, either, depending on the setup (though if it was as secure as it could be, you'd need access to the machine the proxy is running on). No one is saying you can waltz into any Nokia office with your laptop and open up Wireshark. It'd have to be an inside job. And it's likely that the insider would get away with it, if they were careful.

  11. Re:Another view; a catch-all inbox on What's In Steve Ballmer's Inbox? · · Score: 1

    Nah. If it was a deliberate ploy they could just strip off the "+whatever" portion and send to your actual gmail account, thus defeating you in a (possibly untraceable, depending on their actions) way.

  12. Re:Oh, one more thing on Physicists Propose "Perpetual Motion" Time Crystals · · Score: 1

    I see. Do you know if there is there a publicly available breakdown of the income and expenses? It would be interesting to know how much money the church receives from various sources, and how it gets spent.

  13. Re:To answer your question on Physicists Propose "Perpetual Motion" Time Crystals · · Score: 1
    Thanks for the response.

    As for "gay rights", the church leadership supports homosexual civil unions, just not calling it marriage. In the same vein, you can believe me or not, but we don't sit around much and talk about gay marriage. A little, but not much.

    I take issue with this. Your church should not be pushing its definition of marriage into law. If a gay couple can't be married at a Mormon church, that's fine with me. They can always leave. But that couple should be able to elope at a local courthouse. Civil unions do not provide the same rights, privileges and responsibilities under current law that marriage does.

  14. Re:Mormons help people who are not mormons on Physicists Propose "Perpetual Motion" Time Crystals · · Score: 1

    I fail to see your point. To me, the church and the government here are doing the exact same thing: taxing people and giving them benefits in return. The "heart of the problem" isn't how people feel about receiving benefits. It's the fact that in our society, some people often get ahead at the expense of others who are left behind. That's called "capitalism". Some people, like the Mormon church, don't think that it's right for the system to leave people behind. So they come up with safety nets. I fail to see anything wrong with that.

  15. Re:Mormons help people who are not mormons on Physicists Propose "Perpetual Motion" Time Crystals · · Score: 1

    Interesting. Have you personally seen non-believers receive assistance? If so, are they expected or encouraged to give back to the church in some way? I personally would feel guilty about receiving assistance from a church. Welfare works because people who aren't actively using it are still paying into the system. I wouldn't feel as guilty about receiving unemployment (for example) since I have paid a lot of money into that system. It's too bad your church spends money on things I don't support, otherwise it might be worth joining just for the safety net. =) Maybe you can come out with a non-believers insurance plan - a mere x% of your income, and you too can have guilt-free access to these excellent benefits! ;-) Just need to hire a good accountant to make sure you aren't spending that on anti gay rights propaganda.

  16. Re:I am a Mormon. You are incorrect on Physicists Propose "Perpetual Motion" Time Crystals · · Score: 2

    OK, just wondering. Is it a members-only charity? Can I walk in [as an atheist] and receive benefits?

  17. Re:Smart people can be dumb on George "geohot" Hotz Arrested In Texas For Posession of Marijuana · · Score: 1
  18. Re:QQ on MySpace Loses Ten Million Users In One Month · · Score: 1

    The interesting part to me, if you browse to qq.com you'll see a logo that was clearly ripped off from the Google Chrome logo.

    My interpretation is that the Chinese government is mocking Google's attempts to scorn them - hence, they are a bunch of whiners - QQ.

  19. Buy HP stock? on Microsoft Buys 666,000 IP Addresses · · Score: 1
    They have two /8s and change. ;-)

    015/8 Hewlett-Packard Company 1994-07 LEGACY
    016/8 Digital Equipment Corporation 1994-11 LEGACY

  20. Re:You make excellent points. on IT Graduates Not "Well-Trained, Ready-To-Go" · · Score: 1

    And don't forget that people who get college degrees have an easier time getting visas to go to other countries. So you get to say "so long suckers!" while your college educated friends have to go to those overseas hot sites. ;-)

  21. Where's your sense of fairness? on NASA Finds Family of Habitable Planets · · Score: 1

    The mormons are only slightly crazier than the average religion. I imagine these guys would be spinning this news like crazy.

  22. Re:Tax Exempt? on US Colleges Say Hiring US Students a Bad Deal · · Score: 2, Insightful

    That makes little sense, but I approve. In fact, as somebody who lives in Europe, I encourage every smart, qualified worker who doesn't feel welcome in the US to come over here. We'll get out of these economic problems by having smart people do innovative things. It doesn't really matter where they were born, but it does matter where they work.

    I wish it were that easy. Where is this elusive "work" you speak of? From where I sit, there is no hiring growth in 1st world countries. Requirement #1 for hiring is "low cost geography".

  23. We need both. on Should the United States' New CTO Really Be a CIO? · · Score: 1

    We need someone who can balance the roles of both a CTO and CIO as described.

    You can't get anything done in this country without compromising. Look at California proposition 1A. We'd finally build a high-speed rail line, but it isn't the most advanced technology - the plan is to use proven technology. If we had planned for a maglev line, it would have given the conservatives too much ammo to shoot it down as a "visionary fantasy".

  24. Not that I think this guy is sane but... on Australian Government Censorship 'Worse Than Iran' · · Score: 1

    ...reading his party's platform I have to wonder if he is really a conservative. I have to say, what they stand for looks far, far preferable to what so-called "conservatives" in the U.S. are pushing for...

  25. You are currently using 225 MB (7%) on Google Vows to Increase Gmail Limit · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I've been using gmail almost since launch and I've been pretty frugal with the space.

    On the other hand, we signed my grandmother up for gmail a year ago. She gets so many forwarded messages and the like that she is using up ALL of the space now. Apparently she really likes receiving them, too...

    And don't get me started on how hard it is to sort through those thousands of messages to pick out the ones that are OK to delete. GMail's "search, not sort" mentality just doesn't work for Grandma. I can't sort by size and delete the top offenders. There's no way to search for large messages that she didn't reply to so I can just get rid of the top ones of those, either. Frustrating.