Slashdot Mirror


User: mccoma

mccoma's activity in the archive.

Stories
0
Comments
263
First seen
Last seen
Profile
(view on slashdot.org)

Comments · 263

  1. Re:eBay got a bad deal? on Licensing Dispute Threatens Future of Skype · · Score: 1

    I get the feeling your comment is more "Insightful" then "Funny".

  2. Re:Just replace the code on Licensing Dispute Threatens Future of Skype · · Score: 1

    You must be in management :)

  3. Re:Ethanol is just stupid on The Great Ethanol Scam · · Score: 1
    "The corn used for fuel was grown specifically for fuel, on fields that had been put-aside (pay to not grow type)."

    I would love to see your source on this statement, because I believe it to be false.

    Also, there is plenty of diesel being run in the winter in places like ND, you just use the winter formulation and don't use pure bio-diesel. It does take more battery to start then a regular gas engine. On the other hand, hydrogen has serious problems with cold weather (Honda's engineers pointed this out on one of the weekly news programs).

  4. Re:Just because on Microsoft To Exit the Zune Business? · · Score: 1

    Here is the part I never got. Ok, two people both subscribe to the monthly service. They meet and pass songs back an fourth. Why in the heck did Microsoft / Record Companies limit the number of plays? What is the purpose? If it is tracking, then count the new songs at sync. It just seems like a really stupid way of doing things that misses the possibilities and actually saves Microsoft money on the download.

  5. Re:All well and good, except... on Using Speed Cameras To Send Tickets To Your Enemies · · Score: 1

    Well, it did last 10 years with ~267,000 miles. It wasn't a great car, but it did ok. I learned to hate the dealership enough that I wouldn't buy another car from them, and the four recalls were a little much. Some of the recalls where kinda scary (brake recall - damn anti-locks sounded like a jackhammer).

    I gave it to my uncle who is a good mechanic, so he will probably fix it up and give it to someone to drive another 100,000.

  6. Re:Um no on Is the Yellowstone Supervolcano About To Blow? · · Score: 1

    I am saying most people in the area most likely to be affected will deal with the roof ok, I would be more worried about the other effects of the ash.

  7. Re:Great idea - it can replace the Gas Tax! on Oregon Governor Proposes Vehicle Mileage Tax · · Score: 1
    The basic problem is that a lot of people will take a hard hit at that inspection and it will a financial disaster. Oregon is trying to complicate one of the easiest taxes most people pay with a scheme that will be most painful to the low-income person.

    Look at it this way, suppose no employer took withholding taxes and on April 15, you had to come up with the whole amount. The likely outcome is most people will not have saved enough during the year and cannot make the huge payment. It is much easier for everyone concerned to pay in incremental chunks.

    As a side note, the states that I have lived in (ND, SD, MN) have never had a vehicle inspection on a yearly basis. I would guess that is limited to the coasts.

    Also, the thought that all these people with lower income that would have the biggest problem with a yearly payment should take mass transit, assumes a community has mass transit. This is generally not true of rural areas.

    The other problem with this whole thing is to assume that my small car causes the same wear and tear on the roads as an SUV and should pay the same per-mile tax. The reason a per-gallon gas tax works is that the SUV will be paying more taxes due to worse fuel economy. Making me pay the same as a SUV owner is a joke,

  8. Re:Somebody call Crono! on Is the Yellowstone Supervolcano About To Blow? · · Score: 1

    Wouldn't it be a great feature if you could ask the moderator wtf? Even if it was anonymous, it would be a great insight into how some of this stuff happens. Then again, it might just be like starring into the abyss Cthulhu-style.

  9. Re:Somebody call Crono! on Is the Yellowstone Supervolcano About To Blow? · · Score: 1

    one man's trolling is another man's insight

  10. Re:Um no on Is the Yellowstone Supervolcano About To Blow? · · Score: 1

    "Denver would only get about a foot" - heck - Denver probably got more snow than that this week in one snow storm. I would be more worried about lung / equipment problems than the roof collapsing.

  11. Re:Great idea - it can replace the Gas Tax! on Oregon Governor Proposes Vehicle Mileage Tax · · Score: 1
    This is going to be the fun problem with dealing with a new basic type of motor

    Gas, for all its problems, has an excellent infrastructure. We have created solutions for storing, transporting, and taxing it. The gas tax is probably one of the easiest to pay and doesn't sneak up on you because it is payed in relatively painless small amounts.

    Non-liquid solutions (electricity) are going to be a problem. I would imagine in a sane plan (not Oregon), we would just increase the cost of electricity to account for the roads or mandate that cars have a special plug-in (the paddles for example), and tax that electricity differently. This assumes we improve the power grid so everyone can actually plug-in a vehicle without blowing it up.

    I was hoping bio-diesel (made from non-food crops) would be the energy winner, since so much of the current infrastructure and taxing policies could be reused.

    Oregon's plan is going to be a pain for the people just getting by and it is so wrong headed from a travelers point of view it isn't even funny. The logistics of this system are so out of whack - I can only imagine the coming IT boondoggle.

    Oregon - simple solution - increase your gas tax and use gas and motor licensing fee money only on roads and not your other pet projects.

  12. We are not Japan on Can the Auto Industry Retool Itself To Build Rails? · · Score: 1
    For a great part of the nation, rail is not economical as a means of commuting. A lot of people live in rural areas or places where metros were designed for cars and not rail. Heck, the light rail project in MN should be looked upon as a inefficient use of taxpayer money. It will have trouble expanding due to cost and lack of area to put rails, it goes from the downtown to the Mall of America (read - not a commuter route of any importance).

    Tourists like it though.

  13. Re:All well and good, except... on Using Speed Cameras To Send Tickets To Your Enemies · · Score: 4, Interesting
    Well, I wouldn't be too trusting of those reviews. I was told Illinois also reviews tickets on their toll roads and they made the following errors when trying to ticket me:
    1. Misidentified the state the plate was issued from
    2. vehicle on photo was white, my car is black
    3. vehicle on photo is a semi truck, my car is a chevy cavalier
  14. Re:Lets get it straight here on Does Obama Have a Problem At NASA? · · Score: 3, Insightful

    if your not a staunch advocate, then you are a crazy non-believer
    doesn't seem to be any reasoned middle-ground anymore.

  15. Re:Double standards on Does Obama Have a Problem At NASA? · · Score: 1

    Welcome to America 2XXX,
    It isn't the logic of your argument, it is who's flag you raise saying it.

  16. Re:You're Right, Of Course on Should You Break TOS Because Work Asks You? · · Score: 1

    well, I guess when the "authority" tells you to violate your "moral code" they really cease to be an "authority" worth obeying.

  17. Re:You're Right, Of Course on Should You Break TOS Because Work Asks You? · · Score: 1

    truthfully, this sounds more like a web cache then a scraper. heck, you probably actually save the airline bandwidth costs (and maybe a support e-mail)

  18. Re:Both sides... on Obama & McCain Conflicting On Net Neutrality · · Score: 1

    The FCC has to obey laws. Their mandate can be changed by laws. Bills that Biden backs have shown up on slashdot quite a lot. Check the archives and then look at thomas.gov for the authors and sponsors. I have no doubt Biden will have an influence in this area (as it seems to have already taken place on the Obama website). Congress may pass laws, but the President sends a lot for consideration.

    Also, this myth about big business giving the same to both sides or even treating both sides the same is really sad. It shows a lack of effort at going out and getting the numbers contributed. Also, it ignores things like what DMCA takedown requests are being sent and what is being ignored. Businesses like people have favorites.

  19. Re:Both sides... on Obama & McCain Conflicting On Net Neutrality · · Score: 3, Informative

    The selection of Biden with his Hollywood lobbyists doesn't bode well. Look up the kinds of net / technology bills Binden favors and get a taste of the future.

  20. Re:Linus has a big mouth... on The Future of Subversion · · Score: 1

    QNX?

  21. Re:Bad Childish Design on A New Concept in Supercomputers · · Score: 1

    Google's cluster isn't for number crunching, its all about search. Supercomputer still have a place at the table, just as some groups still need mainframes.

  22. Re:It's an accounting thing on An App Store For iPhone Software · · Score: 1

    Tivo has a continuing revenue scheme (guide) that cover this. AppleTV profit is taken over multiple months, so they can do free functionality enhancements. Please note, security / bug fixes don't fit into this - they can be done at anytime. It is only an accounting problem for enhancements.

  23. Re:Almost anything is better than corn on Switchgrass Makes Better Ethanol Than Corn · · Score: 1
    since the farmers would have had to find new types of work and the land would not be in any condition to start farming again, who exactly is going to restart?

    Infrastructure is not easily replaced when lost.

  24. Re:Minor gripe on Guantanamo Officers Caught Modifying Wikipedia · · Score: 2, Insightful
    Why the hell are we paying for "mass communications officers" in the first place?

    Because the modern military realizes it is not enough to win battles. You must also convince the homefront you are winning battles. Perception is reality and the loudest voice defines the truth.

  25. Re:Woo! on Apple Adds Memory Randomization To Leopard · · Score: 1
    AppleTV essentially won't play content unless it's from the iTunes store (like fan-subbed anime) without hacking it.

    strange, my plays videos not from iTunes Store. Just get it in the right format - plenty of programs for that. No AppleTV chages.