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User: DaTroof

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Comments · 66

  1. Re:Hang on a sec. on Universal Buys EMI's Recorded Music Unit For $1.9 Billion · · Score: 1

    I imagine that the $1.9B purchase price reflects the value of EMI's recorded music in the current market, not what its value would be if piracy didn't exist. Nonetheless, I don't disagree that the RIAA's figure is grossly exaggerated.

  2. Re:Hang on a sec. on Universal Buys EMI's Recorded Music Unit For $1.9 Billion · · Score: 1

    According to TFA, EMI owns about 9 percent of the recorded music market.

  3. Re:Can't blame them on Bookstores May Boycott New Amazon-Published Books · · Score: 1

    Check if the book's Simultaneous Device Usage says "Unlimited" in the Product Details. If I understand correctly, that means it does not have DRM.

  4. Re:As apprehended.... on 4chan Has Been DDOSed · · Score: 1

    You only need to prove their intentions to the satisfaction of a court of law.

  5. Re:As apprehended.... on 4chan Has Been DDOSed · · Score: 1

    I still see a different intent there. If you send a letter to express a grievance, your correspondence has a legitimate purpose. If you send them junk in a deliberate attempt to disrupt them, you're harassing them. DDoS is more analogous to the latter.

  6. Re:As apprehended.... on 4chan Has Been DDOSed · · Score: 1

    No, not necessarily. Sending a political statement to a congressperson arguably serves a legitimate purpose besides nuisance. I didn't assume that the "you" in the question was a public figure whom civilians might sincerely need to contact in an attempt to participate in the political process.

  7. Re:As apprehended.... on 4chan Has Been DDOSed · · Score: 1

    It's harassment if their intent is to cause nuisance. Asking them to stop helps prove your case, but it's not required for a crime or tort to have been committed against you.

  8. Re:As apprehended.... on 4chan Has Been DDOSed · · Score: 1

    Yes. It's illegal for people to harass you through the mail.

  9. Re:Sounds reasonable on Ray Kurzweil Does Not Understand the Brain · · Score: 1

    I repeat, we do not build airplanes with flapping wings.

    We do, however, build airplanes that rely on the same fundamental aerodynamics as birds. We understand aerodynamics well enough to know that lift and drag do not require wings that flap. We do not have an equivalent understanding of the brain's functionality.

  10. Re:Don't f* with the IT guy like at restaurant you on Child Porn As a Weapon · · Score: 1

    It's a c/p of something Stallman said a few years ago.

  11. Re:Pleasant albeit stressful? on Sex Boosts Brain Growth · · Score: 1

    Things like sprinting a mile or going through a rigorous workout are also stressful, usually in a not-unpleasant manner.

    Good point. I took it to mean psychologically stressful instead of physically strenuous or exertive, but they probably meant something closer to the latter.

    Stress isn't always just an uncomfortable, twitchy, sweaty-palms experience, constantly being nervous about everything. Although I do suppose that could describe some sexual experiences fairly accurately.

    Heheh. Do rats have proms?

  12. Pleasant albeit stressful? on Sex Boosts Brain Growth · · Score: 1

    To see if pleasant albeit stressful experiences could have the opposite effect, researchers studied the effects of sex in rats.

    Are these rats into extreme bondage or something? "Pleasant albeit stressful" is how I might describe a satisfying occupation, not a satisfying sex life.

  13. Re:So... it is really due to CPU's? Re:Wrong tag on Mass SQL Injection Attack Hits Sites Running IIS · · Score: 1

    Agreed, but that's a function of the interface that connects to the database, not the query language itself.

  14. Re:So... it is really due to CPU's? Re:Wrong tag on Mass SQL Injection Attack Hits Sites Running IIS · · Score: 2, Insightful

    How about we try an analogy that's a little closer to the original topic? Let's say the exploit injected system commands instead of SQL commands. The fault wouldn't lie with the operating system, even though that's what was ultimately compromised. It would lie with the script that failed to sanitize input properly.

    Same thing with SQL. The problem isn't the query language itself. The problem is how the script executes queries.

  15. Re:Why? on Battlefield Earth Screenwriter Accepts Razzie · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I don't think he presented it as cut and dried as you infer. According to his own account, he refused the second set of notes, not the first, and there was clearly some discussion about it.

    If the client's new demands threaten to damage the project irreparably, I can understand any craftsman's desire to distance himself from it. Sometimes "Yes, but..." isn't enough. Sometimes you need to say, "This is so unfeasible that I'd rather not take any responsibility for it." Hence my ridiculous example of a papier mache watch. Even though you're giving the client exactly what he wants, the end result makes you look incompetent. You're the clockmaker, not him. You should have known better.

    Granted, there's more objectivity involved in writing an entertaining screenplay than making a functioning clock, but either way, the client is totally free to do what the producers of Battlefield Earth did: ignore the craftsman's advice and let their own vision lead them to colossal failure.

  16. Re:Why? on Battlefield Earth Screenwriter Accepts Razzie · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Isn't that precisely the process that Shapiro described? He agreed to make certain changes, refused to make changes that he considered detrimental to the story, and eventually got fired. "Artistic Purity" aside, an important part of what you buy from a craftsman is an experienced opinion. An honest clockmaker should tell a paying client that it's a bad idea to make a watch out of papier mache.

  17. Re:The Reliably obtuse ACLU on ACLU Sues Over Legality of "Targeted Killing" By Drones · · Score: 1

    Yes, I imagine they have a problem with it. As far as I know, they've never tried to defend anyone's right to blow up a skyscraper full of people.

  18. Re:Targeted killing isnt ok?? on ACLU Sues Over Legality of "Targeted Killing" By Drones · · Score: 2, Insightful

    How did this get modded insightful? It completely misses the point.

    Obviously, the ACLU is not arguing that untargeted killing is preferable. They want to know, among other things, what rules exist for selecting targets and whether the program complies with international law.

  19. Re:Robots.txt on Web Copyright Crackdown On the Way · · Score: 1

    Attributor wouldn't even need to crawl their sites. As I noted above, both Google and Bing provide search APIs.

  20. Re:Robots.txt on Web Copyright Crackdown On the Way · · Score: 2, Informative

    after purchasing a licence to use the search engine's data, naturally :)

    Depending on the search engine and its terms of service, they might not even need to purchase a license. Google, Bing, and Yahoo all provide search APIs for third-party software.

  21. Re:Robots.txt on Web Copyright Crackdown On the Way · · Score: 1

    Then they can be found in the major search engines' indexes, and Attributor doesn't even need to crawl their site.

  22. Re:Robots.txt on Web Copyright Crackdown On the Way · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I can see ways that their service could be effective while respecting robots.txt settings. They'd simply need to crawl the indexes of other search engines. After all, if a violator is not accessible through Google or Bing, it's probably a low priority.

  23. Re:Duh. on NYTimes Confirms It Will Start Charging For Online News In 2011 · · Score: 1

    Instead of articles covering issues with the government we get tiger woods, britney spears smeared all over the front page.

    I wouldn't paint the Times with that brush. In fact, I checked the web site going all the way back to the first of the year, and Tiger Woods wasn't the subject of a single front page article. Today, everything above the fold is about Scott Brown and the impact of his Senate victory.

  24. Re:What comes in front of the @ matters more, IMO on Does a Lame E-Mail Address Really Matter? · · Score: 1

    I'd be even more impressed if it were one of THE four-letter words, but I might not be able to get it past HR.

  25. Re:@AOL = conservative and/or old? on Does a Lame E-Mail Address Really Matter? · · Score: 1

    People railing against this prejudice need to look at it from a different direction. You're likely to be competing against dozens of applicants who not only have a personalized domain, but also have a URL to their resume, an online portfolio, code samples, etc. This is especially true of developers and designers, but it still applies to writers. Instead of expecting a prospective employer to be tolerant of an aol/hotmail/whatever address, they should consider a professional address to be the minimum they need to have a fighting chance.

    In Nancy's case, it might not matter much, since she obviously has years of demonstrable experience. If I were giving advice to a rookie, however, I'd strongly recommend establishing a savvier online presence. Depending on the job, that might not even be enough to make you stand out. It might only be enough to put you a point above the median.