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User: ChefInnocent

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  1. Re:Premist is flawed on The Odd Variations On 3G Per-Megabyte Pricing · · Score: 1

    Well, if the customer read their contracts, they could get out of it when the company changed it because it is a significant change. That is to say, if a company decides to change the terms of the contract, I don't have to agree and I'm no longer locked into the 2 year agreement. My friend did that last year with Sprint because they were going to charge $0.70/month (or some other bogus amount). He then sold his (subsidized) Palm Pre on eBay and bought a Droid through a different carrier.

  2. Re:PETA on Aquarium Uses Eel Powered Christmas Lights · · Score: 1

    If we could draw power from PETA ("ethical treatment") members, I'm all for it. If it is the "eating tasty animals" people, then of course they are going to have a cow. Beef, it's what's for dinner, but eel is pretty tasty too. You won't see them protesting this event though.

  3. Re:Demotivator on Sarah Palin 'Target WikiLeaks Like Taliban' · · Score: 1

    Well, I think she did realize the money was in being a commentator. That may be the largest reason she gave up the governorship. I'm sure some of her faux pas are legitimate, but I wonder if some are just a type of showmanship. She can run for office, but she won't want to win. If she runs and fails, she may continue to ride the gravy train by showing all the questionable things the winner did. Limbaugh and Beck took years to build their audiences. She was an overnight sensation by running for office and not making it.

  4. Re:Democrats loved the Pentagon Papers on Compiling the WikiLeaks Fallout · · Score: 1

    If people were honest they would have no friends and marriage would never happen.

    If a man were married to a woman for say 5 years, one day she says, "do I look fat in this dress?" No wise man is going to say yes. Is a 10lbs gain over the winter really worth a huge fight and maybe half your bank account? No. Instead, you find a tactful way of avoiding the question (there is none, a pleading of the fifth is admitting the fact in this case), or answering with a lie. Instead, you look at all the surrounding facts, and choose to avoid the argument or set the building aflame. Even in a hell of a marriage, you're probably looking to minimize casualties.

    So, if most people cannot tell their spouse the truth, what makes you think nations can?

  5. Re:Hi Janet Napolitano on Next Step For US Body Scanners Could Be Trains, Metro Systems · · Score: 1

    In approximately half the Presidential elections I have voted, I voted 3rd party. None of those came even close. None of those received more than 5% of the vote. I went so far as to convince others to vote for the same 3rd party candidate (to the best of my limited ability). It made no noticeable impact. I don't like my current governor. During the primaries, I voted for a different party candidate. I found 2 others who voted for every candidate I wrote down, and I spoke to many others about the validity of the chosen gubernatorial candidate. It made no difference. I live in a single party state, and the winning candidate seems to always be known months in advance of any election. I vote every election, but I'm starting to think it's like voting in Iran. Choice is an illusion, everyone can vote for the same illusionary candidate, but the winner is already chosen regardless of the vote.

  6. Re:Of course it's worth the bother! on The DIY Car Computer vs. the iPad · · Score: 1

    As a matter fact, yes. There is a blizzard warning in my area right now. Fortunately (or not), I'm at work instead of on the highway with those semis.

  7. Re:Just give me a couple of powered USB ports on The DIY Car Computer vs. the iPad · · Score: 1

    I don't use the CD Changer. I sing. I don't have a GPS system because I know where I'm at and where I'm going before I leave the house. If I don't know where I'm going, then I don't want to know. I don't watch DVD's while driving, the mountains, stars, and bad drivers are entertaining enough. All this stuff works whether it is my car, a friends car, or a rental car. It also works when I'm not in a car, but I don't get to watch the bad drivers. Why would I want to pay for something like that if it's bolted into a car? I'd be dead since they would likely bolt by larynx first, and I'd bleed to death. So many of the previous generations of entertainment are still viable, but only if your not ADHD.

  8. Re:Of course it's worth the bother! on The DIY Car Computer vs. the iPad · · Score: 1

    And threatening the kids to turn around while eating his Quadruple Whopper during whiteout conditions in a snow storm tailgating a semi looking for the next opportunity to pass.

  9. Re:is it geek chic to appear semi-literate? on Cracking Passwords With Amazon EC2 GPU Instances · · Score: 1

    All those were cause by Slashdot? Wow! I am impressed at the power of Slashdot and its ability to travel backwards through time. Now, that is what we should be calling the Slashdot effect. I could have sworn problems with "loose" and "opps" existed before Slashdot (likely the others as well).

    Are you sure you are not just blaming Slashdot for all the language woes like the sitting President is at fault for all the country's woes? Personally, I think the problem is with the written language and the inconsistency of the rules.

    Go ahead and blame Slashdot; I'm going to blame the nature of language itself. Your Anglo ancestors, Germanic Ancestors, Indo-European Ancestors, and the like would all assure you, that you are a demonstration of the continued degradation of the language. Most of them couldn't understand a word you are saying anymore than they could a "hood-rat".

  10. Re:This explains the political process on The Placebo Effect Not Just On Drugs · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Oh for a mod point. I've come to look at the election process as voting for Coke or Pepsi when all I want is a glass of water. Transparent and no artificial additives.

  11. Data Diode on Evaluating Or Testing Utility SCADA Security? · · Score: 1

    Your internal systems need to be on their own network as others have said. Otherwise, you'll be owned. However, if you have a need to share data "publicly", you can create a data diode to a public server. It involves either a very expensive piece of hardware, or soldering a switch so there is no way to communicate to the main plant computer. Then the plant server communicates to the public server via UDP, and you can use OPC (or whatever you like) to retrieve data. If you have some idiot that wants to control stuff from home, follow the Republican Motto: Just say no.

  12. Re:DRM ebooks I can't loan out or sell back, aweso on Colleges May Start Forcing Switch To eTextbooks · · Score: 1

    Because textbooks can be great outside of the classroom, or supplement the instructors incompetence. Not every instructor is really capable of teaching. Plus, I've used several of my text books well after college. Sometimes as a tool to relearn what I once knew (it's much quicker with material I learned from the first time), sometimes as a tool to teach others with. I've also bought textbooks for classes I never attended, but wanted to learn the information. No, I think textbooks are nice. An e-book would be nice too (provided I could put notes in the margins). The only disadvantage of a textbook is the cost, and the silly rev updates to force students to buy a new copy.

  13. Re:ridiculous story on Are Consumer Hard Drives Headed Into History? · · Score: 1

    Are you sure? Dell, New Egg and many others still seems to sell it. I'm not sure why it isn't dead yet, but it should be. It's like the guy in Monty Python's Holy Grail, "I'm not dead yet."

  14. Re:ridiculous story on Are Consumer Hard Drives Headed Into History? · · Score: 1

    The article isn't asking about full replacement, it is asking about consumer replacement. Technically, tape isn't dead yet, but it is in the eyes of the consumer. I think too many on here look at their usage and generalize to everyone. I know I've done that on occasion. As an example though, I bought a netbook last week as a supplement to my desktop. Years ago, I never would have bought a notebook because they didn't have enough power to do anything, and certainly not everything I wanted them to do. Well, my netbook certainly cannot do everything I need it to do, but it does 80% of my everyday needs, and everything a normal person would do. So, the question becomes, are SSD's sufficient for most people's needs? I think the answer is quickly becoming yes. When there are 256GB SSD's that are near the $100 mark, I'd say most consumers will switch (during their next upgrade cycle) and never look back. They have enough life expectancy for normal users, and they extend battery life which is more important to Joe user anyway.

  15. Re:Can be nice on IT's Last Hope — a Job In the Boonies? · · Score: 1

    I live in Idaho. We'll take your California money as it spends all the same to us, but after you're done touring, please leave. We have enough of you. We like our cows. We like our dust. We don't need to pave it all over and put guardrails everywhere. So, thank you for supporting our economy. Come again, but just don't stay.

  16. Re:Another Nobel Peace Prize dud on China Blanks Nobel Peace Prize Searches · · Score: 1

    Because the illusion of choice is better than no choice? What would the world be like if there were no Pepsi, and only Coke Cola? Everyone must have cola, and you have a choice. Similarly, in the US, we have a Republican and a Democrat to choose from. It doesn't matter if you don't like cola, you'll choose a damned cola and you'll like it.

  17. Re:well maybe on Firefighters Let House Burn Because Owner Didn't Pay Fee · · Score: 1

    Well, that $1000 can be covered by a simple lien. If the owner doesn't pay, then a lien sale happens. It's how many other things happen. You don't pay your property taxes, a lien gets placed. You don't pay the plumber for his services, he can place a lien. Depending on how the state & county laws are written, you get enough liens or the liens go unpaid long enough, the property is seized and sold.

  18. Re:Hasn't it already? on Can Large Scale NAT Save IPv4? · · Score: 1

    Meh. Since the Amiga died, I just haven't seen the need for a new Toaster. Sure, you can get it for the PC, but what's the point?

  19. Re:Only 16 weeks? on British Teen Jailed Over Encryption Password · · Score: 1

    Sure, it can mean forever, but with a good press coverage/lawyer, the judge might be hard pressed to keep someone locked up "forever" over a password. Eventually, even if the guy is a criminal, he might draw enough attention to civil rights like Jose Padilla did. The government took a fair beating over that issue, and it would have been a non-issue had they done the correct thing. So sure, a judge could lock the kid up forever over a password, but it would be much easier to catch him else wise.

  20. Re:First Bid! on SCO Puts Unix Assets On the Block · · Score: 2, Funny

    Maybe, but this isn't Soviet Russia. So instead we will have:

    1. Buy SCO Unix assests.
    2. ???
    3. Profit!!!

  21. Re:my prediction on Duke Nukem Forever Back In Development · · Score: 1

    So it's going to follow the fate of the Amiga. The Amiga is dead, long live the Amiga name.

  22. Re:Typical Dinosaur Mentality on Tech's Dark Secret, It's All About Age · · Score: 1

    Why should he have read the book? Do you know how many books one should read? I've been reading books on the should read list for some time, and I'm still not through a noticeable chunk; about 1000 books. Or are you like many "culturally literate" folks who thinks your list of books is the list everyone should have read? Personally, I didn't know Logan's Run was on the list.

  23. Re:System is rotten on State Senator Admits Cable Industry Helped Write Pro-Industry Legislation · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    I saw a comic the other day I think describes our voting process. There was a cow staring at two corridors. One was to the left, and one was to the right. The caption said, "The illusion of choice". Both corridors when to the slaughterhouse. That's our political system in a nutshell. If you vote Democrat or Republican, you're going to be sent to the slaughterhouse; choice is an illusion.

    As for biting the hand that feeds, that's some of the problem. We pay our President $400,000 + benefits. Pick any large corporation you like, and the salary + benefit package for the CEO is probably much better. Yet, the president has far more burden on his shoulders than any CEO. So, if corporation X comes along and offers him a significant chunk of change redeemable as his leisure, what keeps the President beholden to the voter other than some words? The same could be said of the Congress and comparing them to the board members. What keeps Congress beholden to our interest if we don't pay nearly as well as the lobbyists? Yet every day, we read or hear someone complain about how much such and such official makes. My opinion is that I'd rather pay the government official fair market rate if it keeps him beholden to my interests as a voter. I don't give a damn that I'll never make $10,000,000 in my life time; if that's what it would take to keep the President beholden to the people, then I'd say it's a bargain. I was reading an article the other day demonstrating how companies are paying $10-$100M to lobby for bills, and it's a good deal since they make 10x-100x return for that money. The more we limit the salary of congress, the more they will look for funding elsewhere. I want it to hurt their bottom line if they get kicked out for corruption. So, we should pay like stocks with a system of vesting. When the politicians time is done, a corruption review is done, and if they pass, they get the money. If they don't, their time is done. At the worst, they'd be more subversive about helping out megacorps or in there for only 1 term.

    None of this will pass, so I figure in 50 years we won't pay a penny to those in congress and they'll give no pretense of being beholden to the voter.

  24. Re:A nice advertisement... on Lexmark Sues 24 Companies Over Toner-Cartridge Patents · · Score: 3, Interesting

    This is probably too much work for many people, but I just told the HP software to ignore the cartridge reading and print anyway. I've been running on "low toner" for over a year now.

  25. Tomorrow will be like yesterday on Skills Needed For a Future In IT · · Score: 5, Insightful

    10 years ago when I was in college, I asked what the future of computing was going to be like. I was told that linear algebra would probably become much more important because quantum computing was on the horizon. Quantum computing still hasn't materialized, but linear algebra is looking to be more important anyway. The cool bit about linear algebra: it's always been useful. 10 years ago, we were talking about resource problems. Today those problems still exist. A good algorithm is just as important, and understanding the computability of a problem. 10 years ago, we were talking about the importance of having a deep understanding of the languages, not just knowing "C, C++, or Java". Today, a deep understanding will still help, and knowing only the fad-language-of-the-day will still get you in trouble. 10 years ago we talked about multi-processor programming. Today we talk about mutli-core programming. Multi-threaded applications have been around for a long time. Other issues: security, project management, and software lifecycle. I've yet to see a new issue, just an old one in a different way.

    6 years ago, I wrote a software requirement spec, and software design spec. In it I said the web application had to be able to run efficiently on a 300MHz processor over a 56K modem. I didn't realize that in 6 years, smart phones were going to be so predominant that people would still be using 300MHz processors over 56K connections.

    Today, tomorrow, yesterday; it's all about understanding the fundamentals. The details may change, but the foundation is the same.