Slashdot Mirror


User: SuperBanana

SuperBanana's activity in the archive.

Stories
0
Comments
3,212
First seen
Last seen
Profile
(view on slashdot.org)

Comments · 3,212

  1. sensationalistic use of terminology on Voyage To Sequence DNA From the World's Oceans · · Score: 1, Informative
    "In the Sargasso Sea alone, Venter's team discovered at least 1,800 new species"

    Bullwhoey. What's the criteria for determining they're different species? Because it sounds a lot like it's "run it through the genetic analysis machine and if it's different, Bingo! New Species!" Or maybe, "does it look different from anything else we've seen thus far?"

    That's like stopping 500 people on the sidewalks of NYC and declaring there are 500 species, simply because they all have differing eye/skin/hair color, they're different heights/builds, they speak different languages with different accents, and they came from different places.

    Furthermore, some of the little buggers are SO plentiful and reproduce so fast, they could all be of the same species but have rather varying genetic makeups. They're not necessarily all different species.

  2. iPods already have PDA-like functionality on Second Post-Apple Newton Life? · · Score: 2, Informative
    But if they can create such a buzz with the iPod couldn't they ride the buzz with a hip pocket organizer or even a program that syncs with the iPod combining all the third party news grab and weather grab apps into something that the iPod user could use to sync with other information.

    iSync already synchronizes contacts and appointments to an iPod. Further, you can put text files into a root-level folder on the iPod called "Notes", and they appear under Extras->Notes(you can put notes on the root level menu if you want).

    I believe there's also some sort of way to do rich-text documents, and rudimentary databases, but I'm not sure.

    I do the text file bit all the time for driving directions- the only irritation is that the iPod jumps back to the whatever's-playing screen rather quickly. In fact, with the text-clipping functionality in OS X, I just drag the selected text to the iPod icon, it spring-boards open, then drop it on Notes. Done!

  3. Re:110/230V AC on Integrated Reflector Could Lead to Ubiquitous LEDs · · Score: 3, Informative
    It's madness that each lightbulb will have to contain it's own little transformer - it'll make the bulbs vastly more expensive and wasteful.

    If you have 2v LEDs, you only need wire about 60 of them in series and you've taken care of the voltage problem. Well, except they'll blink at 60hz, quite strongly...and if one failed, they'd all go out. But in any case, it's hardly rocket science to make use of the higher voltage level, especially since LEDs will tolerate A/C. Incidentally, look at a screw-in fluorescent bulb some time- they've gotten the whole thing down to $10 or so, and that includes a transformer and electronics to raise the voltage. Transformers etc are very cheap.

    However, there's an increasing number of appliances in a modern household that would be much better served by a 12V DC supply. How long do you think it'll be before we start changing over?

    Never. The whole point behind A/C is that it is very easy to step up/down, and as a result, you can use a higher voltage for transmission and distribution. Higher voltages mean less current flow for the same amount of energy, which means reasonably sized wiring and such.

    Even in the short distances involved in a house, losses from wiring can be substantial at such a low voltages as 12v. 48v might be a better choice, but I can't see it ever taking off.

  4. Rotaries in the US on Traffic Control of the Future · · Score: 1
    we have a less sophisticated system for letting multiple streams of traffic enter an intersection with minimal delay; It's called a roundabout, and we use them everywhere

    We have the same thing in the US, and they're particularly heavily used in Massachusetts; for example, a number of exits on 128 are exits with rotaries(which is what we call them)

    The busy ones in Boston are a source of great stress for everyone, because enough people don't quite know how to use it; often times the rotaries are so large, nobody realizes it really IS a rotary, where incoming traffic yields to rotary traffic- so you'll have people stop IN the rotary because they think they're merging onto the main road, even though they have no yield sighn. Worse, some of the rotaries(like the route 2 rotary) are TWO LANES and some people just do NOT understand that you shouldn't be in the outside lane if you're not going to make the next exit, and you should NOT be the inside lane if you are.

    All of this is made worse by a lack of state-controlled signage; local towns are responsible for deciding, save on state routes, what signage to put up, and both towns and states are quite bad about putting up "reminder" signs. In their minds, there's a)speed limit signs, b)street signs c)stop signs. d)sometimes Yield signs. That's pretty much it.

  5. somebody needs to read his software license on The Future of the Software Industry · · Score: 2, Informative

    From the Guardian article:

    Oh, and while we are at it I want a tiny payment for myself for having to pay for a second suite of Office for my own (non-Microsoft) computer even though I already had it installed on my office laptop. Or at least count it as an offset against all those statistics about counterfeit downloads.

    Maybe he should have actually read his software license, because if Office is installed on a business system, one copy is allowed to be installed on a home system for the purposes of allowing that employee to work on Office documents at home.

    Just goes to show you how incredibly ignorant some technology reporters are. Oh, and he could have downloaded StarOffice or OpenOffice...

  6. and how is there any net difference? on Just Add, Umm, Water · · Score: 1, Interesting
    Yes, and by using the clean water you have for drinking instead of for rehydrating field rations, it lasts that much longer, and therefore, you do too.

    Would you mind explaining to me, Private Genius, how there's a net difference in water intake between those two scenarios? If you pour a cup of water to rehydrate your meal, you're also drinking it.

    I agree with other posters- this invention is the stupidest thing I've ever heard of and a colossal waste of money.

  7. um, save it? on Experiences with Laser Eye Surgery? · · Score: 1
    I am working on my list of ways to make it an ex-lump of cash

    I know this concept is completely foreign to most of my fellow Americans- we have record levels of personal debt- but what about saving it?

    How about a CD(no, not the shiny round thing- I'm talking about a Certificate of Deposit), treasury note, or put it into a Money Market account? Or, GASP, put it into an IRA? You DO have an IRA, right?

    Or you can put it into a separate account and use it to reduce bank fees(or get more bank services) by having a larger combined balance- but it'll be somewhat out of sight so you won't be as likely to increase your MPC(Marginal Propensity to Consume). Many banks allow you to do so with a savings account(which won't make money because of inflation), or sometimes even a money market account(which will beat inflation and thus make money).

    Making it slightly less accessible but not restricted(ie like a CD or IRA) will also be handy for emergencies or unforseen expenses. If you are more financially secure, a more restricted investment with better returns would be better.

  8. yet another misleading slashdot article on Martian Racetracks · · Score: 3, Interesting

    ...and the Astrobiology Magazine writeup wasn't any better. Siiigh. If you were expecting ovals or road course, I hate to disappoint.

    The images show nothing more than long straight canyons/valleys, all running in the same direction because the wind blows that way for long periods of time.

    The image of the little blue-suited astronaut inspecting the curious tracks is also grossly out of scale. They're the size of large hills, not a few inches wide:

    This image was taken during orbit 143 with a resolution of 20 meters per pixel.

  9. Whoa, where'd that icon come from, and what's CDA? on Copyright Bill could Stifle Innovation · · Score: 1

    Where's that icon come from? I don't think I've seen it in months, if not years. I give up- I spent 5 minutes, even looking through the page source, trying to figure out what the hell "CDA" means. Constitutional Delinquents of America?

    In any case, I for one welcome our constitutional overlords.

  10. I care about closures, rights, financial losses on Democratic Convention Computer Security Threat? · · Score: 2, Informative

    I don't give a hoot about their wireless network. What I care about are the massive road closures. Virtually every major route in and out of Boston, and several arteries, will be either completely or effectively closed down, starting as early as 3pm.

    I-93 is being completely shut down through Boston, despite being a major interstate. The secret service is to blame for inventing imaginary truck bombs and placing the possible risks to security of the privileged few over the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people- workers in Boston were essentially told to fuck off and take a vacation during the convention. Menino and the DNC are to blame for ignoring obvious potential "security considerations" inherent in the Fleet Center; the new convention center would have done nicely, except it wouldn't have gotten the delegates their precious stadium seating, nor would it have given the press their precious skyboxes. Oh, and it would have meant a longer cab drive to the hotel. Boo hoo, poor rich politicians.

    I can't see Kerry doing very well at all in working-class neighborhoods in eastern MA. In fact, I'd be willing to bet he'll loose them in a landslide. Virtually everyone I've met who has to commute into boston is unbelievably -PISSED- at the convention.

    Oh, and then there are the random package searches on the MBTA, the closing of North Station (which is IN the Fleet Center), the mandatory searches on the Orange Line...what else? Oh, the Boston Patrollman's Association is going to be picketing ALL the DNC parties, which has hurt the few local businesses which were lucky enough to get some DNC business; losses were estimated at $80M statewide, but will most likely be higher thanks to BPA.

    Let's see, what else? Ah, yes. The "internment camp", oops, I mean, "free speech zone", which is a fenced-in pen topped with barbed wire. Yeah, great idea- let's put right-wing nutjobs(Christian Coalition) in with extreme left fruitcakes into a TINY little box, with ONE entrance and ONE exit. Nah, they won't fight with each other!

  11. Yes, he's a technology writer for the Globe... on Democratic Convention Computer Security Threat? · · Score: 1

    ...and of(I believe, hard to judge from the one photo I've seen of him) of African decent, so stop trolling.

    Oh, and he has posted both stories and comments before on slashdot, and written articles for the globe on topics slashdot has brought attention to.

    I think he dumbs down his articles too much for the Globe(or it would be nice to see some high-level articles, not just simple stuff), given that the Boston area is the technology center of the east coast- but otherwise, I like what he does.

    I have zero respect for reporters who simply watch the wire and rewrite AP/Reuters articles, and I've seen some pretty bad(ie, barely qualifies as a "rewrite") articles from tech reporters.

  12. photography on Apollo 11 Photographs Unfrozen · · Score: 1
    moon-hoax crap

    Okay, I don't think the moon landing is a hoax, but this image, as a photographer, bothers me, because it just doesn't look right:

    http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/alsj/a 11/as11-40-5903.jpg

    It is STRONGLY backlit. That's obvious from the body shadow. So why is the astronaut almost perfectly lit all-around? The folds in the suit, for example, just don't have any shadows. It's the kind of lighting you get from really smooth studio lighting- maybe the surface of the moon is providing the frontlight? It happens- sunlight on a white wall will get the same effect.

    NASA's great at enhancing images, so I suspect the answer is also in the scanning technique; drum scanners also often have amazing dynamic range which will help.

    Still, my current-day canon 10D captures in 12 bit in RAW mode, and I can manipulate the exposure up to about 2-3 stops; blending two differently "processed" copies of the same image isn't that tough, I've done it before- but whoever processed the image did a truly excellent job.

    It is a shame they're not available in higher resolution. Then the little green man in the left corner could be more clearly identified.

  13. what about the wap54g? on Is Sveasoft Violating the GPL? · · Score: 1
    I run wifibox instead of Sveasoft

    Okay, now that works for the WRT54G, the router version. What about the access point, are there any choices for that?

  14. "it's the connection overhead, stupid" on When RSS Traffic Looks Like a DDoS · · Score: 4, Informative

    ...is what one would say to the designers of RSS.

    Mainly, IF your client is smart enough to communicate that it only needs part of the page, guess what? The pages, especially after gzip compression(which, including with mod_gzip, can be done ahead of time)...the real overhead is all the nonsense, both on a protocol level and for the server in terms of CPU time, of opening+closing a TCP connection.

    It's also the fault of the designers for not including strict rules as part of the standard for how frequently the client is allowed to check back, and, duh, the client shouldn't be user-configured to check at common times, like on the hour.

    Bram figured this out with BitTorrent- the server can instruct the client on when it should next check back.

  15. the best laid plans... on Duke University Giving iPods To 1650 Freshmen · · Score: 5, Funny
    The iPods will have audio and text on them including special university content such as "faculty-provided course content, including language lessons, music, recorded lectures and audio books."

    Yup, until Johnny Freshman doesn't have room for the latest Avril song.

    Hmm. Delete Linkin Park song, or some professor yacking about french. Hmmmm.

  16. our daily allowance of Timothy, in disguise. on RIAA Co-Opts More Universities · · Score: 2, Insightful
    While you have many honest people who simply want to defend their Fair Use rights, you also have a loud, vocal "I want I want I want" community who simply believes that it is eeeee-vil that they should ever have to pay for goods (cds) or services

    You forgot the side that endlessly whines about the music industry. Folks, if you don't like the music industry, don't support it, but for fuck's sake, STOP WHINING ABOUT IT. This isn't "News for Music Buyers", and RIAA shit certainly is not "my rights online", or anyone else's.

    I care about the fact that I'm unemployed, that my taxes are sky-high(I made below the poverty line a year or two ago, but because I was self-employed, the government wanted HALF of that) and currently funding a war I don't support. To be honest, I don't give a fucking rat's ass about the music industry, and I don't think anyone else here really does either, save the people who post "but if they just did THIS..." Like the rest of the media industry, slashdot greatly overstates the importance of the music industry. If some colleges are too stupid to sue the shit out of the RIAA for racketeering, I couldn't care less. Nevermind it's pure conjecture on both the part of the slash submitter and the register- which is why there hasn't been a lawsuit. Duh.

    I had to double-check to see if the article wasn't really posted by Timothy, because it smacked of his boy-who-cried-wolf-about-our-rights-but-it-was-jus t-the-music-industry bullshit. Wake me up when there's a legitimate threat to my rights, or real technology news. Not teenage "I wanna swap music" teenage angst.

  17. Not any time soon... on Verizon Announces FTTP Prices · · Score: 5, Interesting
    Either way, I am looking forward to it.

    Don't get too excited. It's only coming to one town in Texas, then California, then Florida- and "2005" was in there somewhere- and rarely do those dates, especially when given that vaguely- mean anything. It most likely won't hit most major population centers until several years later, if at all; fiber gear is even more expensive than DSL gear, and with the US's low population density, even less likely to be profitable.

    This is what I like to call a Trophy Rollout. DSL was the same way for me; I live about 25 minutes west of Boston, next to one of the richest communities in the state(thanks to all the execs, doctors, lawyers etc from Boston living there), but because AT&T Cable is in town, Verizon didn't want to compete against them, or they had a gentleman's agreement- but our CO has been wired for at least 4 years for DSL. We also don't have a choice in cable companies- it's cable, or satellite.

    Within the last year or two, Verizon is finally offering service- but ONE plan, and no other ISPs save Verizon are offering service. 1.2Mbps/128kBit. Yes, 128kBit upload. Ie, useless for "sharing photos" or "sending files to work" etc. All this costs MORE than 3Mbit/384kBit offered by AT&T, which Verizon makes up for by marketing as "a line you don't share with all your neighbors." Sorry, but AT&T actually has plenty of capacity now, and I routinely get things like OS X software updates -at- 3Mbit/sec, on the dot(a friend and I theorize they set the cap a teensy bit over 3Mbit to account for protocol overhead). Yay, wonderful- except AT&T is draconian with their acceptable use policy, and can't keep their mail servers up worth a damn.

    If I lived ONE town over, Framingham, for example- I could have my choice among about 5 different major providers/subproviders, including Speakeasy, Covad, Megapath, and a couple of Worcester based ISPs..and about 10 different residential and business rates.

    How sad is it that I live right next door to the technology center of the east, but I have next to no choice in high speed internet access?

  18. Hear hear on Dell CEO Tells All · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Did you know that corporations pay less than 5% of tax revenue?

    Used to be about 50%. In the last half-decade, it's shifted almost entirely onto the shoulders of the individual, because corporations have become experts at paying the least amount of taxes possible. Yay corporations!

  19. SOMEbody's bitter! on Dell CEO Tells All · · Score: 5, Funny
    "They still have a great, profitable printer business. ... Their profits are 70 to 80 percent from the printer business. So that's the area where the profit pool still lives. It's where it lived before. It's where it still is now. So I just ask, what's changed?"

    Executranslator output:

    "HP had a great printer business, and especially when we saw Queen Fiorina doing the merger dance, we thought, 'Hey. We're Dell, we rule, dude! We can make printers, kill cHomPaq's profit center, and then TAKE OVER THE WORLD!' But even after their sucky merger, they still make awesome printers, everyone still buys 'em, and we can't sell our printers. I hate her. Damn you, Carly! Oh, and our pothead spokesteen who got arrested for dealing pot, I hate him too."

    It's even more fun if you picture him half-drunk at a bar, 10 o'clock shadow, disheveled suit- telling all this to another drunk guy at the bar.

  20. RTFA on Remixing News Video On The Fly · · Score: 4, Informative
    This has already been done a lot in music. A lot of /.'ers might remember the DJ Dangermouse "Grey Album", which mashed Jay-Z's Black Album with The Beatles White Album.

    RTFA. The site doesn't have the clips, it has metainfo files which contain references to audio and video segments.

    If Dangermouse had simply provided a script for an audio mixing program, he wouldn't have gotten in the least bit of trouble. Furthermore, Dangermouse's Grey album became the online equivalent of a best-seller, skyrocketing in popularity when people found out the music companies were dead against it and trying to remove it.

  21. No credit to the Gaim team, in the slightest on PhoneGaim Brings Phone Calling To IM Users · · Score: 4, Insightful

    As usual, Lindows seems to be cruisin' for a bruisin':

    PhoneGaim (pronounced "Phone Game") is an Open Source project started by Lindows, Inc.

    I believe that should read, "PhoneGaim is an open-source project, using open-source code from Gaim with SIP technology added by Lindows, Inc."

    Also, the main page is bullshit:

    Available immediately, and exclusively for Linspire

    Uh, try, "source is available on the downloads page", not "you must be running Linspire". Then again, they could have crippled it so badly that it will only compile on Linspire...

  22. ignorance on Language Tempest At Orkut · · Score: 1
    UUism is a group of different religions that share one house

    No, it's not. It is a religion built upon a recognition for the need for spiritualism and that faith is a deeply personal affair. Technically is it the merging of the Unitarian and Universalist churches, which both have their roots in very early medieval europe. Unitarians are actually one of the oldest derivatives of Christianity. Universalism followed a few hundred years later.

    However, it, in and of itself, is no more a religion than "paganism" is.

    Funny, because my minister graduated from Harvard Divinity School (which recognizes Unitarian Universalism, and just happens to be one of the oldest and most respected theological school in the country), and UU ministers are recognized across the world and in every single state.

    The view that Unitarian Universalism is not a "true" religion is rather old- it has long since been accepted as a religion by the majority of theologians.

    Feel free to be insulted if you wish, but if your religion doesn't share its teachings

    UUs certainly share their teachings- but they do not force it upon others because they have neither the desire for global domination that other religions do, nor do they chase away their base- mainly because they celebrate spirituality, instead of instilling fear and guilt like most other religions.

    doesn't take positions, lets democracy rather than reason and relevation determine dogma

    Substantial reason goes into UUA policymaking, which is usually administrative only. At no time during General Assembly (the yearly convention) is dogma discussed, and the UUA does not consider it appropriate to tell others what is right and wrong. Each church is free to practice their form of UUism how they see fit.

    and generally doesn't say much more than "we should all get along", then it's not a frigging religion.

    Characterizing the Principles and Purposes of the UUA as "we should all ge along" is akin to characterizing pagans as a bunch of goat-slaughtering freaks, or Catholics as a bunch of child-molesting, subservient, permanently-guilt-tripped, mindless idiots.

    Incidentally, the religious freedom you enjoy today if you're in America is due almost entirely in part to the beliefs of Unitarians such as Ben Franklin; Unitarians made history in the 16th century by convinc

  23. an insult to Unitarian Universalism on Language Tempest At Orkut · · Score: 1
    I guess we could all switch to Esperanto, the Unitarian Univeralist of languages.

    The Unitarian Universalist religion is nothing like esperanto, and I consider that comparison an insult to my religion.

    Like the ethnic background of the United States(commonly called the Cultural Melting Pot), UUism draws all the good bits from many of the world's religions. Esperanto was developed by one nutjob who took some bits of latin and mixed it with the world's languages.

    The similarities end there. The UUA is governed mostly by democracy, whereas Esperanto has been mostly the vision of one man. Unitarian Universalism is practiced by millions; Esperanto is spoken by maybe a couple thousand people. Unitarian Universalism embraces other religions (save the parts which interfere with the UU principles and purposes- mainly, stuff like "all non-believers are heathens" and such). Esperanto is based around the assumption that your language isn't good enough, you need to be speaking Esperanto. Lastly, UU's don't go around preaching about their religion very much, which is why most people don't know of it, or don't understand it; there are no UU advocates, much less missionaries; the UUA rarely even takes positions, it's so unimposing. Esperanto advocates, meanwhile, just can't shut up about how good Esperanto is, and are constantly trying to force it on people.

  24. Red Dwarf Does Maven on Apache Maven 1.0 Released · · Score: 2, Funny

    Cat: "What is it?"
    Cryten: "a project-management and project-comprehension software tool that uses a Project Object Model with XML storage"

    (blank, smiling stare)

    Cat: "What is it?"
    Cryten: "a project management tool that increases developer productivity when working on Java projects."

    (blank, smiling stare)

    Cat:"What is it?"
    Holly: "a computer thingy"
    Cat: "Aaaaaah. Now why didn't you say that in the first place?"

    (everything I needed to know, I learned watching Red Dwarf!)

  25. Link, and mixed success on Upgrade Doubles +R Speed For Some Lite-On Drives · · Score: 1
    The TiG4 Powerbooks had the same type of firmware 'fix'. I can't find the link to the upgradable firmware, but it doubled the speed of the MATSHITA DVD-R UJ-815A

    Here is the page you're looking for. Interstingly I just noticed there's some firmware from the 816 which is a few months old and might be useable by 815 people, I'll have to look more carefully. As for the old stuff he had back in 2003...works? Yes and no. I had some minor problems- for example, the Finder no longer remembered that I wanted it to ignore blank CD/DVD media(it asks you, and you have the option of always sticking to that option, and it can be changed later in the Control Panels) and would ask me -every time-, which got to be annoying.

    Second, it didn't really seem to double anything. Burn times with CDROMs didn't change at all, despite a supposed move from 8x to 16x, and Toast's time estimation was all messed up; it would be grossly optimistic, which was very suspicious. Further- the drive would change speeds, seemed like it was writing at constant-disk-surface-speed(I forget the abbreviation), not constant disk RPMs...and maybe even switching between 8x and 16x.

    These experiences were with a rev 1 17" TiBook. Yes, the mechanism is supposedly the same, yes the firmware "worked", but to be honest, I don't think it provided anywhere near the doubling of write speeds that were promised. Since you can flash the firmware back and forth, I may do some more "time trials", since yes- burning at 1x for a DVD is PAINFULLY slow.