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User: emurphy42

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  1. Re:Relating the conceivable to the perceivable on White House: Use Metric If You Want, We Don't Care · · Score: 1

    Officially, the United States and some other countries have defined non-metric units in terms of metric units for over 50 years.

    Unofficially: The metric system has some units that you can directly perceive and understand: a meter is a little bigger than a yard, a liter is a little bigger than a quart, a kilogram is a little bigger than two pounds. ("Related to some portion of the body" is, AFAIK, specific to feet.) I'd argue that the big mental block is that you can "see" and are accustomed to multiple base points for the same type of unit (e.g. inch, foot, yard). Also, you can sort of "see" miles as its own base point, roughly equivalent to "minutes driving at highway speed" (at least in the absence of congested traffic).

  2. Re:Dumb Question: on Green Meteorite Found In Morocco May Be From Mercury · · Score: 5, Informative
    From TFA:

    NWA 7325 has a lower magnetic intensity — the magnetism passed from a cosmic body's magnetic field into a rock — than any other rock yet found, Irving said. Data sent back from NASA's Messenger spacecraft currently in orbit around Mercury shows that the planet's low magnetism closely resembles that found in NWA 7325, Irving said.

    Messenger's observations also provided Irving with further evidence that could support his hypothesis. Scientists familiar with Mercury's geological and chemical composition think that the planet's surface is very low in iron. The meteorite is also low in iron, suggesting that wherever the rock came from, its parent body resembles Mercury.

  3. Re:I don't use QR codes on Malicious QR Codes Posted Where There's Lots of Foot Traffic · · Score: 1
  4. Re:I don't use QR codes on Malicious QR Codes Posted Where There's Lots of Foot Traffic · · Score: 3

    I love how those two things are like equally heinous in your book. :)

    I scan 'em once in a blue moon, but my phone app shows you the URL and asks confirmation, so at least there's that.

  5. Re:Pay the $3.99 on Ask Slashdot: Where Do You Draw the Line On GPL V2 Derived Works and Fees? · · Score: 5, Insightful

    If you have to pay $3.99 to get the DOSBox Turbo binary, and then you get the source free along with it, then that's definitely not a violation of the license. (If you don't give someone the binary, then you don't have to give them the source either.) It's also definitely open to someone following the AC's suggestion.

  6. Don't believe the lie on Biogas To Power Experimental Microsoft Data Center · · Score: 1

    You've gotta tell 'em! BIOGAS IS PEOPLE! We gotta stop them! Somehow! Listen! Listen to me, PLEASE!

  7. Re:And why weren't the Whigs represented?!? on Democracy Now Asks Third Party Candidates Questions From Last Night's Debate · · Score: 1
  8. Re:Which Gnome? on GNOMEbuntu Set To Arrive In October · · Score: 0

    From TFA: "Unity won’t be included"

  9. From TFA, explaining *how* this would work on Content-Centric Networking & the Next Internet · · Score: 1

    Similarly, in a content-centric network, if you want to watch a video, you don’t have to go all the way back to the source, Lunt says. “I only have to go as far as the nearest router that has cached the content, which might be somebody in the neighborhood or somebody near me on an airplane or maybe my husband’s iPad.”

    Of course, caching data at different points in the network is exactly what content distribution networks (CDNs) like Akamai do for their high-end corporate clients, so that Internet videos will start playing faster, for example. But in a content-centric world, Lunt says, the whole Internet would be a CDN. “Caching becomes part of the model as opposed to something you have to glue onto the side.”

    I suppose it makes sense. The smarter the intermediate nodes are about deciding what to cache (based on popularity, size, speed of original request, who's nearby and what they have cached), the better this would work.

  10. This story sponsored by the Zik-Zak Corporation on Software Emulates Organism's Entire Lifespan · · Score: 1

    So how much extra data do we need for a parrot?

  11. Re:obligatory on CERN Announcing New LHC Results July 4th · · Score: 1

    European agency, American holiday, so obviously I'ma quote a Canadian show: "It blowed up real good!"

  12. Re:We didn't "imagine" anything about 3 Laws on Eben Moglen: Time To Apply Asimov's First Law of Robotics To Smartphones · · Score: 1

    There's a big jump from special-purpose AI (your software) to general-purpose AI (Asimovian robots). That said, you can jump in the other direction (Asimovian robots : First Law :: your software : ???) and then consider whether the result is still reasonable in its new context.

  13. Re:Thumbnail Results Are Useless on Axis, Yahoo's New Browser · · Score: 1

    (Proofreading fail. Largish < and > buttons, I meant.)

  14. Re:Thumbnail Results Are Useless on Axis, Yahoo's New Browser · · Score: 1

    I actually tried it (for all of 2 minutes). First, it does show the page title overlaid on the bottom of each thumbnail, which makes them far less annoying than I expected them to be. Second, they do potentially convey "hey, this page looks like ass, I'm not even gonna bother".

    What did annoy me right quick:

    • My home page is a local HTML file with a bunch of text links. Axis's thing-at-the-bottom does not show up, and AFAICT the only way to make it show up is to navigate to a non-local page. (Okay, this probably doesn't affect 99.44% of you. I don't think it shows up on an about:blank tab either, but I forgot to specifically test that.)
    • Thumbnail loading is sluggish. Slide up/down effects are sluggish. Only slightly in both cases, but I'm on a reasonably fast corporate laptop with a reasonably fast net connection; I don't want to futz with "slightly".
    • I already accomplish "keep the search results hanging around" via alt-click (open in background tab) and alt-PgUp/Dn (switch tabs; control-Tab / control-shift-Tab are equivalent, if you prefer those).
    • It adds largish "" buttons to the middle left/right of the page, which take you to the next/previous pages in your navigation-history-that-Axis-is-aware-of, or something. Which is potentially useful functionality, but I'd prefer them in the toolbar.
    • Have I mentioned there's no sign of an options panel anywhere?
  15. Re:Wrong on Company Accidentally Fires Entire Staff Via Email · · Score: 1

    firing people via e-mail using a form letter

    I didn't see anything explicitly claiming that the person was fired solely by e-mail (as opposed to being fired in person and getting the e-mail as an addendum), nor that the e-mail was a form letter.

    A high turnover rate is an unambiguous indicator of bad management.

    I work for the software division of a CPA firm, and I'm told the CPA side routinely has a certain proportion of junior employees stick around for a few years to get experience and then leave to go independent, while others stay longer and move up the ladder. It didn't sound particularly high, though, nor is it turnover-by-firing (firings have happened but are pretty uncommon).

  16. Re:Wrong on Matt Groening Reveals Springfield Is In His Home State of Oregon · · Score: 2, Informative
    From TFA:

    Springfield was named after Springfield, Oregon. ...
    You’ve never said it was named after Springfield, Oregon, before, have you?
    I don’t want to ruin it for people, you know? Whenever people say it’s Springfield, Ohio, or Springfield, Massachusetts, or Springfield, wherever, I always go, "Yup, that’s right."

  17. Re:Reinserts itself on After 60 Years, Tape Reinserts Itself · · Score: 5, Funny

    Only if you get the Mobius tape, which costs extra.

  18. Re:Free? As in Freedom? on Open Source Payday · · Score: 1

    Here's how it works under the GPL: FAQ - Does the GPL allow me to sell copies of the program for money? Most of the info is behind the "right to sell copies" link. tl;dr: you can sell the binary for whatever price you want, but (1) you have to also provide the source at no additional cost (except reasonable shipping fees if you send physical media) and (2) the user can turn right around and sell the software for whatever price they want. AFAIK this is exactly what happens with Red Hat Enterprise Linux vs. CentOS, for instance; Red Hat doesn't charge for the software itself, only for support contracts (and I think some branded images/names/etc. which the CentOS team can swap out).

  19. I'm happy with VirtuaWin + two extensions on Ask Slashdot: Which Multiple Desktop Tool For Windows 7? · · Score: 4, Insightful

    ...those extensions being KvasdoPager (preview widget in taskbar, supports drag+drop) and SwitchDesk (separate wallpaper per virtual desktop).

    Sysinternals Desktops mentions some limitations up front. I don't remember whether I've tried any of the others.

  20. Re:Google's payment options on Google To Devs: Use Our Payment System Or Be Dropped · · Score: 1

    According to TFA, it's because "how do you want to pay for this?" is one more opportunity for the user to stop and think "meh, I don't, really". (But this could be mitigated by letting you set up a default method.)

  21. Re:Bugs? on Server Names For a New Generation · · Score: 5, Funny

    from the tempting-fate dept.

  22. Re:ISO Mounting on Windows 8 Features With Linux Antecedents · · Score: 1

    Not that you're necessarily wrong, but VirtuaWin works well and has for a while. Add the KvasdoPager plug-in to get a preview widget within the taskbar.

  23. The dev team thinks of everything on Details Emerge About Spark Linux-Based Tablet · · Score: 4, Funny
    From TFA:

    Seigo also noted that the tablet will indeed blend, although that would void the warranty.

  24. Re:SPACEBALLS? on NASA To Investigate Mysterious 'Space Ball' · · Score: 4, Funny

    Oh, shit. There goes the planet.

  25. Re:For two months? on Ready For Your Payroll Software Update? · · Score: 1

    As I understand it:

    • Rule #1 is the current system (6.2% on income up to $110,100)
    • Rule #2a is the Democrats' short-term goal and the primary subject of TFA (4.2% on income up to $18,350, 6.2% on remaining income up to $110,100, then revert to rule #1 after February)
    • Rule #2b is a hypothetical case (4.2% on income up to $110,100, then revert to rule #1 after February)
    • Rule #3 is the Democrats' long-term goal (4.2% on income up to $110,100, lasts through December)

    Consider Alice (annual income $24K), Bob (annual income $72K), Charlie (annual income $120K), and Dave (annual income $1.2M):

    • Rule #1 - Alice pays $124/month, Bob pays $372/month; Charlie pays $620/month through November and $6.20 in December; Dave pays $6200 in January and $626.20 in February)
    • Rule #2a - Alice saves $40 + $40 = $80, Bob saves $120 + $120 = $240, Charlie saves $200 + $167 = $367, Dave saves $367 + $0 = $367
    • Rule #2b - Alice saves $40 + $40 = $80, Bob saves $120 + $120 = $240, Charlie saves $200 + $200 = $400, Dave saves $2000 + $202 = $2202
    • Rule #3 - Alice saves $40 * 12 = $480, Bob saves $120 * 12 = $1440, Charlie saves $200 * 11 + $2 = $2202, Dave saves $2000 + $202 = $2202

    So the purpose of #2a is as a stepping stone to #3, and the purpose of #2a instead of #2b is a hedge in case they don't get #3; Dave doesn't get his bigger savings unless Alice also gets hers.