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User: cdrudge

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Comments · 3,205

  1. Re:how much it took on Laser Takes Out Truck Engine From a Mile Away · · Score: 1

    If lasers can be improved to parity in damage, they will be immeasurably more useful when attached to something a like a naval nuke.

    Finally naval warships will be able to attack and defend itself from the armadas of pickup trucks that might attack it on the high seas...

  2. Re:Comcast are blocking HBO Go on House Republicans Roll Out Legislation To Overturn New Net Neutrality Rules · · Score: 1

    I don't think net neutrality is the issue with PS4 clients being locked out. The data can get from HBO to the customer's PS4. The PS4 can't authenticate that the customer is a subscriber of Comcast. Unless Comcast and HBO have terms as part of their agreement that say that Comcast needs to provide a mechanism for HBO to authenticate their PS4 customers, then it is a business decision between HBO and Comcast (and maybe possibly Sony a bit) to hammer out. Why should Comcast bend over backwards to the business needs of any and all of it's channel suppliers for any and every device that may want to be compatible without compensation...especially since there are clearly other ways to get HBO Go on Comcast's network (at least their portal and Ruku).

  3. Re:DOA on House Republicans Roll Out Legislation To Overturn New Net Neutrality Rules · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I agree it likely wouldn't make it out of Congress let alone past the President, but how do you figure it won't make it to the floor of at least the House?

  4. Re:basically how the UAE works on Facebook Rant Lands US Man In UAE Jail · · Score: 2

    I think you might be thinking of Qatar where it's been in the news more recently regarding domestic slaves er I mean workers. Employers confiscate the passports, overwork, beat, and or assault the workers, don't pay them, and when they become a issue turn them over to the government to deport. If they try to leave on their own, guess what...they don't have any paperwork so they are just as screwed as if they remained.

    http://www.theguardian.com/glo...

  5. Re: Have Settled Charges? on FTC Targets Group That Made Billions of Robocalls · · Score: 2

    Maybe. Are you such that the chances that the government would ever get the £60 minimal? The IRS for instance has settled back taxes, fines, and other penalties for a fraction of what was owed because they realize something is better than nothing. Other civil settlements are similar. Heck, even early release/parole/suspended sentences for criminal convictions can be viewed as paying a fraction of what is actually owed.

  6. Re:Better get the service manual, then on Mars Curiosity Rover Experiences Short Circuit, Will Be Stationary For Days · · Score: 5, Funny

    I definitely wouldn't get the Haynes manual. It covers 16 model years and it's just going to be very generic drawings of the circuits that are pretty obvious anyways. Plus half the photos are just going to be stock photos that may or may not have come from an actual rover tear down. Some may be from a lunar rover...a few probably will be from Voyager or Pioneer too. The spark plug diagnosis photos though will be useful in determining if it's running rich or improperly gapped or physically damaged. Or completely missing.

  7. Re:Secure is now illegal on Police Could Charge Data Center Operators In the Largest Child Porn Bust Ever · · Score: 1

    Even then, if your evidence of intent is too deeply technical, you conviction is at risk, because a jury absolutely hates any deep technical discussions (they are not, in general, technically-minded people).

    I'm not sure a persons want to risk their freedom if they were to ever to be accused of something and was relying on technical details as a defense. I think for the average jury all the prosecution would have to do is say "We found this horrible image of a child on their computer" and instantly they are branded a monster no matter how innocent they may really be.

  8. Re:doesn't DNA age or lose fidelity ? on Doomsday Vault: First Tree Samples Arrive At Underground Seed Store · · Score: 3, Interesting

    They will still age and degrade, but the cold temperatures and lack of oxygen due to their packaging prolong the process. It's kind of like a sealed or open package in your fridge and freezer. The better sealed and the colder stored, the longer whatever it is will last...but only up to a point.

    Depending on the seed type it may only be a relatively short time, say a dozen or two years, or it may be decades or much much longer for a more hardy seed. Whatever that time limit is, seeds can be rotated out, planted, and hopefully new generations grown to be refrozen perpetuating the cycle.

  9. Re:file transfer on Ask Slashdot: Old PC File Transfer Problem · · Score: 1

    The new machines lack LPT ports? WTF kind of machine did you buy without an LPT port? A laptop, sure, a desktop? You have to look hard, even today to find a machine that doesn't have a printer port.

    You haven't bought a computer recently, have you? A quick check of the top 10 motherboards sold by Amazon shows that not a single one has a parallel port (or serial port for that matter).

  10. Re:Wrong kind of metric... on Drones Cost $28,000 Per Arrest, On Average · · Score: 4, Funny

    The important numbers would be ...the percent of trespassers missed

    I wish my performance review would have a category of percent of undiscovered bugs.

  11. Re: expression of a political preference on FedEx Won't Ship DIY Gunsmithing Machine · · Score: 1

    Is it a local/state officer or a federal agent?

  12. Re:IRS + medical on 800,000 Using HealthCare.gov Were Sent Incorrect Tax Data · · Score: 1

    Because you get tax credits based on your income level and healthcare situation. That's how the whole "government subsidizing the poor's healthcare" happens.

  13. Re:Hmm? on TrueCrypt Audit Back On Track After Silence and Uncertainty · · Score: 5, Funny

    Are these auditors trustworthy?

    They are the most trustworthy auditors the NSA, CIA, FBI, and the PTA could find.

  14. Re:The lesson here on Lenovo To Wipe Superfish Off PCs · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I think it is just that OEMs have become dependent on the revenue stream...

    They aren't dependent on it, they just don't want to leave a revenue stream untapped.

  15. Re:Audiophile Alert on Sony Offers a "Premium Sound" SD Card For a Premium Price · · Score: 1

    I suggest using a red magic marker for the eyes. It will give a warmer appearance to your audio listening activities.

  16. Re:All the more reason... on Lenovo Allegedly Installing "Superfish" Proxy Adware On New Computers · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Why ditch Windows when it's allegedly Lenovo that did the dirty work. If Lenovo shipped a laptop with Linux installed on it with a similar piece of malware, would you be saying ditch Linux too?

  17. Re:Ten times stronger? on Nanotech Makes Steel 10x Stronger · · Score: 1

    That's the awesome thing about saying something is stronger. Without qualifying that as what type of "strong" they are talking about, it can be anything! Tensile strength? Yield strength? Sheer strength? Ductility? Wear resistance? Corrosion resistance? It's all covered!

  18. Re:Is This a Pump And Dump Press Release? on Cellphone Start-Ups Handle Calls With Wi-Fi · · Score: 1

    It counts against your minutes if you are on a pay-as-you-go non-unlimited plan. For unlimited pre-paid and postpaid plans, they are not counted for billing purposes.

  19. Re:37 Years??? on EFF: Hundreds of S. Carolina Prisoners Sent To Solitary For Social Media Use · · Score: 1

    no one should be in solitary for 37 years.

    Everyone knows that solitary confinement is the quickest way out of prison. There are many documentary movies from Hollywood that prove it: Count of Monte Cristo, Shawshank Redemption, Felon, Escape Plan, Law Abiding Citizen,.... and those are just the ones I've seen recently.

  20. Wrong therapists on Autism: Are Social Skills Groups and Social Communication Therapy Worthwhile? · · Score: 1

    If you're going to special education teachers, speech therapists, and OT/PT therapists, you're going to the wrong people. Those people may be able to help in a limited role, but a ABA therapists is more what you're looking for to work on all-the-above.

    With a son with Aspergers, I would call around to ABA therapy centers and see if they have peer groups. It sounds like that is exactly what you are looking for. When my wife worked at a local center as an office admin, my son with Aspergers went as a "client", and my middle son went as a volunteer peer. Sometimes my son would be paired up with another individual on the spectrum, other times a volunteer. It all depended on what aspect of communication they were going to work on.

  21. Re: google translate on Paramedics Use Google Translate While Delivering Baby · · Score: 3, Funny

    The trick is that you give her an answer but not an answer to specifically her question, and then shift it to a different conversation. For instance:

    Wife: Honey, do I look ok in this dress?
    Husband: Babe, you look great in everything but even better out of it.

    If you follow it up with trying to get her out of it, and do it enough times, eventually she'll start to ask you less. Or at least that is what I hope will someday happen with my wife.

  22. Re:Maybe not the power supply? on Xenon Flashes Can Make New Raspberry Pi 2 Freeze and Reboot · · Score: 1

    I don't know about cleaner sound, but if you use a red sharpie the sound will be warmer.

    I can't seem to find it now, but I remember seeing a product review I think on Amazon that was exclaiming how awesome some ridiculously priced optical cable was for a audio system because the fiber optic cable had a red tint to it imparting a warmer sound for the listener.

  23. Re:Thunderbird? on Firefox Succeeded In Its Goal -- But What's Next? · · Score: 1

    I think the SMTP protocol is relatively fine. I'd love to see some semblance of standardization for HTML layout in email messages. I understand how and why we are where we are today, but it's ridiculous how many hoops you have to jump through just to get a decent email to render correctly across all major email platforms.

  24. Re:Regulation Strikes again on Farmers Struggling With High-Tech Farm Equipment · · Score: 5, Informative

    (Bluetooth) dongles are widely available, just as software to read the data (Free, open and closed) for all major OS.

    Dongles are cheap. The information they give you is fairly useless in diagnosing specific hardware faults, sensor codes, etc unless you have the factory proprietary software.

    Want to modulate the ABS module to purge air and replace the brake fluid? Sorry.

    Want to see which wheel is giving you the TPMS low pressure error even though they are all properly inflated? Sorry.

    Want to see specifically why a code is being thrown that disengages the AWD? Sorry.

    Well, sorry for me unless I get a Tech2 scanner maybe for $1500 used, or $4000 new off fleabay.

  25. Re:Plural of LEGO is NOT LEGOs! on LEGO Contraption Allows Scientists To Safely Handle Insects · · Score: 1

    By the way, Band Aid is a genericised trademark (meaning they can't really sue you for using it, fallout from Johnson & Johnson vs. Geldof et. al which set precedent in that names that have fallen into everyday vernacular aren't really defensible

    Do you have anything that supports that position?

    Trademarks have always applied to a particular field. McDonalds Heating and Air Conditioning isn't going to cross over into McDonalds the fast food restaurant's turf and it's very unlikely the two would be confused for one another. Band-aids are often used generically, but the trademark hasn't been legally genericized like aspirin, heroin, or cellophane have.

    It's in the same category as Kleenex, Xerox, and Popsicle that are still legally held trademarks and will be defended if someone in that field attempts to use that name, but get used in common culture as if they were generic.