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User: markdavis

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  1. It hurts! on Random Generator Parodies Vapid Startup Websites · · Score: 4, Funny

    OK, I am in pain from laughing so hard!

    Some of my favs include:

    * Effortify! "Share your favorite efforts and discover new ones." http://tiffzhang.com/startup/?...

    * Sprayit! "Spray like never before." http://tiffzhang.com/startup/?...

    and

    * Insectify! "The evolution of the insect" http://tiffzhang.com/startup/?...

  2. Re:Feminism ruins society again... on LAUSD OKs Girls-Only STEM School, Plans Boys-Only English Language Arts School · · Score: 1

    >"Why would view a program intended to help girls as a put-down on men?"

    And here is your answer:

    We are in a class and I am a teacher. I give candy to all the girls, not because they did anything good. But give nothing to the boys, and not because they did anything bad. Have I rewarded the girls, or have I punished the boys?

    Substitute any other situation or groups into that situation and ask the same question.

  3. Re:Tax clause on Senate Draft of No Child Left Behind Act Draft Makes CS a 'Core' Subject · · Score: 1

    >"How does helping the several states fund public education not "provide for the [...] general Welfare"?"

    Using that logic, the Federal Government can do pretty much *anything* it wants. I don't think that is/was the intent.

  4. Re:Constitution on Senate Draft of No Child Left Behind Act Draft Makes CS a 'Core' Subject · · Score: 1

    Indeed. But the Fed has no right to do that. Education funding with or even without stings attached is still contrary to the Constitution. The States should collect the money they need for education and then it remains in their respective States.

    Medicare and Social Security also have no basis in the Constitution, either and should be State programs (if they must exist).

    Interstate roads is a bit different, since they really are between states and really are commerce.

  5. Constitution on Senate Draft of No Child Left Behind Act Draft Makes CS a 'Core' Subject · · Score: 2

    Please show me in the Constitution where the Federal government has the power to impose laws about education.

    Oh yeah, there is this:

    "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."

  6. A little is a lot when it is from YOUR POCKETS on How the Pentagon Wasted $10 Billion On Military Projects · · Score: 1

    >"In the past decade, the Pentagon's Missile Defense Agency has wasted $10 billion on defense projects that were either impractical and impossible."

    And to put that in perspective, this "tiny" example of federal waste in a never ending huge bucket of waste is probably over $800 for every active taxpayer (depending on how many or few Americans are actually paying meaningful taxes)... not counting the compounded interest on the debt it, no-doubt, incurred.

  7. RE 2) Apple uses a proprietary cable/disc with magnetic device to inductively charge. Meanwhile, the 360 uses standard, multi-vendor QI wireless inductive charging. So, yes my original posting point 2 was flawed. Sorry. It is still nothing new or innovative- just proprietary and likely more expensive.

  8. >Exactly what do Android devices do with you Liver to Notify you?

    LOL! *haptic* feedback, I think I cut and pasted his spelling by accident :)

  9. Many good points.

    RE 2) Apple uses a proprietary cable/disc with magnetic device to inductively charge. Meanwhile, the 360 uses standard, multi-vendor QI wireless inductive charging. So, yes my original posting point 2 was flawed. Sorry. It is still nothing new or innovative- just proprietary and likely more expensive.

    3) The 360 is a premium device- the lowest cost one still comes with a high-quality leather strap, not rubber. And if you don't think 60% less is a lot less, then I have some stuff to sell ya :)

    4) The 360 is not "enormous"... have you seen one in person, for real? I get compliments all the time and not a single person has said they thought it was too large. You do realize the 360 case is 45mm diameter, right? That is only 3mm larger than the full sized Apple watch and yet the 360 has s smaller bezel.

  10. >"Don't forget the "Taptic Engine" a haptic feedback mechanism

    I didn't miss it, Android wear devices have hepatic feedback also (vibration). I don't see much difference between vibe and "tap". I have been silently notified of alerts since the day I put the 360 on my wrist.

  11. 1) ?
    2) It uses a proprietary cable with magnetic device to charge. Meanwhile, the 360 uses standard QI wireless inductive charging. So, whether it is actually "wireless" nor not, it is still more like wired and certainly not standard.
    3) You are full of it. I am on a national forum of people that talk about the 360 every day, very, very few people are unhappy with it
    4) Yep... and isn't that what Apple products are supposed to be all about?
    5) One vendor with 3 models is a far cry from a dozen vendors with dozens of models. One represents no choice, the other lots of choice.

  12. Yawn on Apple Posts Guided Tours of the Features and Functions of the Apple Watch · · Score: 4, Informative

    Yawn- so looking through the info, it doesn't really do much more than my Moto 360 can do, yet the Moto 360:

    1) Has been available already for 7 months.
    2) Has inductive charging and the Apple watch doesn't.
    3) Is far less expensive.
    4) Is arguably much better looking (for those who want round).
    5) Works with many different phones, not just a few iPhone models.

    So what is so innovative and impressive? A button on the side? The 360 has a button. It is not a scroll wheel, but despite what Apple's video claims, I have absolutely no problems using the touchscreen to pinch zoom, swipe, or scroll and it doesn't hurt my experience and is far more intuitive.

    The ONLY two things I saw of interest were variable touch sensitivity... which is certainly not a new technology, but it novel on a watch. And having a speaker, which I certainly have not missed.

    I mean, it looks like a great device, but I fail to understand why people think it is some brilliant new idea or super fantastic breakthrough.

  13. Sorry, impossible. on DHS Wants Access To License-plate Tracking System, Again · · Score: 1

    >"officials said they had determined they could address concerns raised by civil liberties advocates"

    Sorry, that is impossible, unless by "address" they mean "dismiss". If the government (and also private industry) in any way collects the information, it will be abused. Period. Regardless of what they say they will do, they will store the info for extended times, share it with all the black-ops agencies, index and associate it with all kinds of other databases, and search it at will, without a warrant, with impunity and without even audits.

    Anyone that thinks otherwise is just totally naive and living in some fantasy world. The only safe data is the data not collected in the first place. Wake up people- the only real way to ensure data privacy is to prevent its collection in the first place.

  14. Re:Primary desktop environment? on GNOME 3.16 Released · · Score: 1

    Exactly. I was about to post the same thing. I am responsible for no less than 160 Linux desktops, laptops, and servers at work, home, family, etc.. Not a SINGLE one of them is using Gnome desktop. And based on a rough estimate at our Linux/Unix user's group, I would say perhaps less than 10% use Gnome on any of their machine.

    Now, if they said "popular" desktop or something, fine. But "primary"??? Give me a break.

  15. More free mindshare on Is the Apple Watch a Useful Medical Device? (Video) · · Score: 1

    >" And the Apple watch is not the only device mentioned in this video (or transcript, if you prefer reading to listening)."

    Then why is the title of the summary just "Apple Watch" instead of "Smart Watch"? Especially when there are already lots of non-Apple smart watches with motion sensing, heart rate monitoring, step counters, etc, already on peoples' wrists and have been for coming up on a year....

    smart phone, not iphone
    smart watch, not apple watch
    tablet, not ipad
    mp3 player, not ipod

  16. Re:So Red Hat and Ubuntu offer signed binaries on OEMs Allowed To Lock Secure Boot In Windows 10 Computers · · Score: 1

    >" Plus BIOS passwords can be worked around, jumpers, batteries, etc."

    If designed properly, they would be no easier to work around than secureboot, itself. And still give control to the owner, not the OEM and not Microsoft.

  17. Re:OEMs probably open to other OS vendors ... on OEMs Allowed To Lock Secure Boot In Windows 10 Computers · · Score: 1

    >"The owner may not want to spend the time setting the password"

    Freedom has a cost. It is not free, and it is not necessarily convenient.

  18. Re:So Red Hat and Ubuntu offer signed binaries on OEMs Allowed To Lock Secure Boot In Windows 10 Computers · · Score: 1

    >"One counterexample: The user of a computer is not necessarily the owner of a computer. For example a business may not want to allow an employee to disable secureboot."

    Then the owner places a password protection on the BIOS and that prevents disabling secureboot, if that is their desire. I have no problem with password protection of the BIOS being strong. As long as the fate of the computer and its settings are in the hands of the owner.

  19. Re:OEMs probably open to other OS vendors ... on OEMs Allowed To Lock Secure Boot In Windows 10 Computers · · Score: 1

    >"And consider that the owner is not necessarily the user. In a business environment the company may not want users to disable secureboot."

    That is easy to consider. The business can then lock the BIOS with a password to prevent the user from changing the secureboot status. And I have absolutely no problem with the BIOS password failure by the user doing nasty things like semi-bricking it until the OWNER unlocks it, or some other suitably difficult-to-circumvent design (like slicking the drives, or calling for help, or whatever).

    The difference is that the OWNER is in control of the options set and used, not the OEM, not Microsoft.

  20. Re:So Red Hat and Ubuntu offer signed binaries on OEMs Allowed To Lock Secure Boot In Windows 10 Computers · · Score: 1

    >"Then buy a machine that was not built to be a dedicated Windows box. Motherboard vendors will continue to make boards where secureboot is absent or configurable. They already cater to the build-your-own and tweaking segments."

    Are there boxes NOT built to be dedicated MS-Windows machines? How many are there? How about laptops? Last time I checked stores, there were exactly zero non-Apple machines that were sold that came without MS-Windows installed.

    Consumers should not be be relegated to a very, very, very few models of computers, sold only online, and often without the features they want, just because they want the ability to turn off a simple feature in the BIOS that a convicted monopoly developed and wants to force down everyone's throats. There is absolutely no good reason secure boot should be locked on.

  21. Re:Completely bad idea on Obama: Maybe It's Time For Mandatory Voting In US · · Score: 1

    > Do you believe that jury duty also "goes against freedom"?

    Right now, yes. But for a completely different reason... it is *NOT* mandatory for all citizens. It is only mandatory for those who are registered voters. And that is incredibly unfair.

  22. Re:The linpocalypse is not upon us on OEMs Allowed To Lock Secure Boot In Windows 10 Computers · · Score: 1

    >"No. The "solution" is to give all buyers the option of buying a machine with or without secureboot locked down. There is nothing wrong with a buyer preferring to get a factory locked down box if they so choose."

    Yes there is. It doesn't make sense to offer a forced secureboot machine. Highly improbably any OEM is going to offer two of the same model. Either it will be unlocked or locked and not offered both ways (almost guarantee it). And if it is locked- it is "defective by design".

    Plus most consumers don't know and won't know what secure boot is until it is too late. And they won't be told it anyway, and can't find out even if they want to know... it won't be on the box, or in manuals, or on the website or even with customer support. They might decide they need to run a utility or a different OS 6 months later and they are just screwed.

  23. Re:So Red Hat and Ubuntu offer signed binaries on OEMs Allowed To Lock Secure Boot In Windows 10 Computers · · Score: 5, Insightful

    >"So Red Hat and Ubuntu establish relations with consumer hardware vendors and offer factory signed binaries. Linux is not doomed. Linux kernel developers need to be careful about their motherboards but the vast majority of Linux uses would be just fine."

    And what about Mageia?
    And what about FreeBSD?
    And what about FreeDOS?
    And what about VMWare VSX?
    And what about that hard drive diagnostic disc?
    And what about that RAID controller utility?
    And what about any number of many dozens of OSes, utilities, and distros?

    The "solution" is not to try and get everyone to play by the stupid secureboot "rules" that MS is trying to force on everyone. The solution is to have ALL machines give the owner of the machine the CHOICE to decide if they want secureboot on or off.

    Microsoft saying it is "optional" means it absolutely won't be optional when they start putting behind-the-scenes (and probably illegal) pressure on the OEM's to start the lockdown.

  24. Re:OEMs probably open to other OS vendors ... on OEMs Allowed To Lock Secure Boot In Windows 10 Computers · · Score: 4, Insightful

    This is still the wrong approach. The owner of the hardware should have the right to turn it off if they so choose. It should not be up to Microsoft. And it should not be up to the OEM. And it should not be up to carriers. And it should not be up to the government, either (might as well keep extending out the doom-and-gloom possibilities).

    OEM's should listen to their customers and not Microsoft. Locking the bootloader is extremely anti-consumer and anti-competitive. The time to find out your machine is a paperweight should not be after you spent your hard-earned money buying a machine. When this whole fiasco started, there was ZERO transparency from the OEM's. You could not call Dell and ask if machine X had a locked secureboot, because the idiot support and sales people don't know. And it is not listed on the websites, the manuals, or the boxes.

  25. Gimped on GoDaddy Accounts Vulnerable To Social Engineering (and Photoshop) · · Score: 0

    >"gained control over Steve's account just by speaking to customer support and submitting a Photoshopped ID."

    Are you sure it wasn't a "Gimped ID" or any number of other programs? Yeesh.

    Hint: "photoedited" ID.