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User: Optic7

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  1. Re:Hands off the wheel for 6 seconds on Tesla Says Autopilot Was Engaged During Fatal Model X Crash (theverge.com) · · Score: 1

    As far as I know, insurance companies also get to see all the evidence of accidents that involve their insureds.

  2. California already piloted a program to address on US Utilities Have Finally Realized Electric Cars May Save Them (qz.com) · · Score: 1

    About a year or so ago California ran a largeish pilot program testing various ways of addressing this coming change to cars that don't use gas and thus don't pay gas taxes.

    I participated in this pilot, and just had to report my mileage periodically by taking a photo of my odometer with a smartphone app. and then pretend to pay a fake bill. They had several other reporting and payment methods available, including GPS devices, bringing your car in to have the odometer read, etc. It's definitely a workable problem.

    You can read the final report, FAQs, etc, of this pilot here: https://www.californiaroadchar...

  3. Re:Let the internet segregate on Reddit and the Struggle To Detoxify the Internet (newyorker.com) · · Score: 1

    Ok, so if it's not illegal to doxx that's fine. However, like I said, no business that wants to stay in business will want to seem complicit in doxxing, because otherwise they may end up liable for someone's injury or death.

  4. Re:Let the internet segregate on Reddit and the Struggle To Detoxify the Internet (newyorker.com) · · Score: 1

    What you say makes some sense, as long as people are only talking smack. The only problem is that TFS says that the pizzagate reddit was banned for repeated doxxing of people. Should that be allowed anywhere, even segregated fringe groups? I would imagine that any US-based business would never allow this, as the potential liability is insane. Refer to the recent mistaken identity SWATting death.

  5. Re:can they repair their state first? on California Becomes 18th State To Consider Right To Repair Legislation (vice.com) · · Score: 1

    Thanks for the additional details on the cake case. I have a feeling that the supreme court will come down on the side of the baker, because of the reasons you stated and because it actually makes sense not to compel the baker's speech. I say that even though I support people's right to same-sex marriage.

    I will definitely read them to learn more. I too wish we had better politicians across the spectrum, and it would be interesting to read about when they were much better.

    You have, and I hope I have done the same. Please feel free to do that on my posts too. I enjoy discussing things with people who are willing to do so in an honest and civil manner, even if we disagree on some values.

    Thanks and good luck too!

  6. Re:can they repair their state first? on California Becomes 18th State To Consider Right To Repair Legislation (vice.com) · · Score: 1

    In some ways I'm sympathetic to libertarian ideas. I tend to score as left libertarian on the politicalcompass.org test. Their test is interesting because they measure two different scales: economic and social.

    I don't feel that Christians are really being forced to participate in activities supporting same-sex marriage. The only case that I'm familiar with that could be described that way is the gay wedding cake case, but that one is a complicated enough case that it has been taken on by the supreme court.

    I'm again sympathetic to the idea that government can be dangerous, but I think whether we need more or less or just different government is another complex philosophical that I have not thought enough about to answer with certainty. I have seen people refer to the Federalist papers before and would like to read them when I have a chance, so I can learn more. Thanks for the suggestion/reminder. There is a whole bunch of political philosophy materials that I really need to read.

  7. Re:"will not be worked on by staff" on Firefox Quantum Leader Takes Over All Mozilla Products (cnet.com) · · Score: 1

    Sorry to hear that, but at least they will accept a patch, according to that page.

  8. Re:All due to market fundamentalism in the US on Researchers Discover Colistin-Heteroresistant Germs In the US (arstechnica.com) · · Score: 1

    I stand by my point. Sure, patients do demand them, and the doctors go along probably for fear of lawsuits, but there is also a heavy profit motive on the other end to not do anything about that detrimental demand.

    If someone is selling a lot of something, there's a profit to be made. Pfizer milked Zithromax (azythromycin) for all it was worth. That antibiotic was extremely popular (wikipedia says it was the most prescribed antibiotic in 2010) and they milked it so much that it's losing its effectiveness (my doctor told me that it's losing it last year, explaining why it's no longer his first choice).

    Also consider the case of Purdue pharma (and likely others), who have made billions and billions and fought tooth and nail and even broken laws to keep the flood of opiate painkillers going despite the absolute carnage that this causing (worse death epidemic than AIDS was). Again according to a brief wikipedia search, a dose of codeine for example costs one dollar. A course of Zithromax, which is like 5 or 6 pills seems to cost over $30. Why would Pfizer not do everything in their power to keep selling as much as they could the same way that Purdue has been, unless someone stopped them?

    Finally, when I said antibiotics, I was including antibiotic ointments. How much profit do you think Johnson & Johnson (previously Pfizer too) makes from selling Neosporin in every drug store, convenience store, and supermarket in the US?

    In the US, the only large market for Neosporin, the ointment may promote the prevalence of MRSA bacteria,[8] specifically the highly lethal ST8:USA300 strain.[9]

  9. naz...guls?

  10. All due to market fundamentalism in the US on Researchers Discover Colistin-Heteroresistant Germs In the US (arstechnica.com) · · Score: 3, Interesting

    The factors that some posters above have mentioned all point back to factors that are in place because of extreme market fundamentalism, (i.e. neoliberalism) in the US:

    1. Slack sterile procedures in hospitals - oh no, we can't force hospitals to fix this because hospital profits.
    2. Vast abuse of antibiotics in animal farming - oh no, we can't force meat producers to fix this because industrial agriculture profits.
    3. Abuse of antibiotics by doctors, patients, and consumers - oh no, we can't force everyone to only use antibiotics when absolutely necessary because pharmaceutical profits.

    In other words, the neoliberal answer to this issue so far has been: we can't fix it because it would affect profits. Just keep on dying.

  11. Re:can they repair their state first? on California Becomes 18th State To Consider Right To Repair Legislation (vice.com) · · Score: 1

    You're welcome, and thank you too for explaining. Here are my thoughts in response:

    First, I think that one of the problems is that labels like progressives, liberals, conservatives, etc. mean different things to different people, and their meaning changes over time and mean different things in different places, even places that use the same language. This ends up causing all kinds of major problems because people end up attacking others just based on labels, and not for actual ideas and actions.

    Second, I feel similarly about intrusion into people's personal lives, but from the other side. I think that you are mistakenly targeting progressives/liberals because conservatives are just as apt to intrude into peoples lives, just for different reasons (sexuality, drugs, abortion, etc). I can understand why someone may think this way though. Unfortunately, much to my chagrin progressives/liberals have been increasingly strident over the decades about moralistic stuff that either doesn't matter or is just counter-productive to much more worthwhile causes.

    Finally, I do have to disagree about government. Yes, there have been some terrible examples, but there have also been great examples. The thing is that there is no viable alternative to government and there never will be. The alternative is being trampled by a different power that you have no control over, every other week. To very remotely paraphrase that famous saying about democracy, government is terrible but it's the best choice we have out of the available options.

  12. Re:Ctrl+Q data loss in Firefox Quantum for GNU/Lin on Firefox Quantum Leader Takes Over All Mozilla Products (cnet.com) · · Score: 1

    I get your frustration with loss of functionality, but that specific example seems like a reason to petition the developers to add this as an option or to fix the bug, not to keep a feature that I understand had adverse security and performance implications.

  13. Re:Old add ons on Firefox Quantum Leader Takes Over All Mozilla Products (cnet.com) · · Score: 1

    I will check them out, thanks!

  14. Re:Old add ons on Firefox Quantum Leader Takes Over All Mozilla Products (cnet.com) · · Score: 1

    Thanks for the reply. I do remember hearing a lot of complaints over the last few years about the direction that the Firefox interface was heading. Fortunately I was personally never too annoyed with the changes, except when it seemed to be copying Chrome too closely, coincidentally.

    I can understand your feelings and reaction, since you had been relying on those features. I've gone through the frustration of having software that I've used for a long time be "sabotaged" in one way or another.

    On the other hand it's a bit funny for me to hear that you thought it was astroturfers touting the new version of Firefox. It may well have been that too, but I think I did post a couple of times defending it here on Slashdot, and I have no financial or other incentive connection to Mozilla whatsoever, other than being a happy user. I should have realized that my comments may have been irritating to people who had the opposite opinion of the changes, but I was just excited to see it become competitive with Chrome again, which seems to be dominating the browser world nowadays. I'm concerned about us returning to a browser mono-culture.

    I'm very concerned about privacy on the internet too and use some add-ons for it as well, but oddly enough I don't feel too strongly about telemetry, especially when there's clear notice and the ability to disable it, because I imagine that as a software developer it probably really helps improve the product. Also especially if I feel that I trust the company or that they have my best interests in mind, or at least some reasonable level of respect for me. It's probably a naive attitude for me to have.

    Anyway, if you don't mind telling me, please let me know if there are any chromium-derived browsers that you recommend on Windows and I will check it out. I would love to have another good alternative to Chrome that I could also use as a second browser.

  15. Re:can they repair their state first? on California Becomes 18th State To Consider Right To Repair Legislation (vice.com) · · Score: 1

    Sigh. Thanks for the off-topic link. None of that applies, and my messages to you have been completely honest.

  16. Re:can they repair their state first? on California Becomes 18th State To Consider Right To Repair Legislation (vice.com) · · Score: 1

    You do yourself a disservice with your insults/snarkiness/anger.

    I voted for and gave his campaign money three times (including the primaries), but I'm glad I haven't felt so injured by some of the opposition's reactionary response that it has made me stoop to their level of discourse. That would only make things worse.

  17. Re:Old add ons on Firefox Quantum Leader Takes Over All Mozilla Products (cnet.com) · · Score: 1

    Hey, first, thanks again for the link on the other thread (geopolitics).

    On the other hand, what is with the harsh responses I've received today on Slashdot? You and PopeRatzo have come out swinging a bit heavy given what I've said. Perhaps I'm not communicating very well today.

    To go point by point:

    Firefox is patently worse than chrome when it comes to website compatibility. To claim otherwise is to boldly lie. You yourself confirm this. As a result, by definition firefox is worse than chromium-based derivatives. Just because you state the reason for it does not change this fact for the end user.

    I never claimed anything regarding website compatibility. Did you perhaps mistake my reply with someone else's? But since you touch on the subject, it's not Firefox' fault that web developers choose not to test against a major browser. Besides, the little incompatibility that may exist is a small factor in how good a browser is.

    Firefox's only advantage over chromium-based derivatives has been customizability via powerful addon API. This has been amputated from the browser with v57, and chromium-like webextensions has been jury-rigged in its place. This effectively amputated the only advantage firefox has over chromium, leaving a crippled browser that is inferior to chromium-based derivatives with no advantages.

    That's not the only advantage. I've stuck with Firefox the whole time despite not running any add-ons that required those powerful API features. That's because I care about being able to configure the browser how I want even without add-ons, support for open standards, and freedom from Google's tracking and other policies/practices/choices of theirs I don't like. And now Quantum is just as fast or faster than Chrome, so I've lost little and gained a lot with the transition to v57. Perhaps that's a big factor in why our perspectives differ so much on this.

    P.S. If your technical knowledge is so shallow that you suggest that there is no easy way to download youtube videos on chromium-based derivatives, then you're not equipped to be having this conversation. Otherwise, you're engaging in massive shifting of goalposts from chromium to chrome, which would indicate malicious intent to stop discussion on the topic.

    You don't know my technical knowledge or intent. I've been in IT for a long time, and what I said is specifically limited to Chrome because I've never seen the need or had the interest to try any alternative chromium-based browsers (frankly, I'm not even familiar with any). I'm not shifting goalposts but just talking about the goalposts that I am familiar with.

  18. Thank you for the link! What you say makes a lot of sense. Thanks again.

  19. That was a super-interesting post to me. Do you have any reading recommendations to learn more about some of the subjects you touched on? Particularly the big picture narrative that you painted, to start with.

  20. Re:can they repair their state first? on California Becomes 18th State To Consider Right To Repair Legislation (vice.com) · · Score: 1

    Ok, I'm a leftist and thus feel a bit put off by your signature (although not entirely since I criticize "liberals" from the left - I would really need to understand what exactly you mean before passing judgement). I also feel that your example of Germans and Nazis is really shaky ground for an example to make an argument out of. Similarly, the gay marriage thing also seems like not the most apt example.

    However, I agree with or at least understand your perspective on much of what you say on this post otherwise. Perhaps consider that your signature makes you come across as less reasonable and nuanced in your thinking than you actually appear to be.

  21. Re:can they repair their state first? on California Becomes 18th State To Consider Right To Repair Legislation (vice.com) · · Score: 1

    Pope, even though I'm a leftist I have to point out that after reading this whole thread I feel that you are being overly uncivil toward Strat.

  22. Re:Old add ons on Firefox Quantum Leader Takes Over All Mozilla Products (cnet.com) · · Score: 1

    But if one has to accept crippling limitations of webextensions, one may as well move to chromium-derivative browsers.

    That's a bit of a non-sequitur. Why, I ask? Firefox Quantum is a better browser than Chrome, at least for my uses (haven't used other chromium derivatives). If both browsers have similar extension limitations, the only reason to move to an inferior browser is out of anger/spite. In my experience the extensions on Chrome actually have more limitations than on Firefox. Example being that Video download helper doesn't work for youtube on Chrome because Google doesn't allow it.

  23. Yes, the concept is dead. Back to local rentals. on New Data Shows Netflix's Number of Movies Has Gone Down By Thousands of Titles Since 2010 (businessinsider.com) · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Netflix initially gave us the dream that we could pay $10, even $20 a month and have access to most (or even just a significant number) of the movies that we would be interested in watching. That has effectively come true for most music, but not for movies. It was unfortunately not to be once the movie content owners decided to hike their licensing prices or outright deny Netflix in favor of starting their own streaming services.

    It's kind of understandable, once everyone realized that Netflix was a threat to the content owners (too much power over them, similar to what iTunes had over music companies back in the day - the movie companies learned their lesson from the music companies). Netflix also realized this and that the content owners were also a threat to them and started investing massively in producing their own exclusive content as a defense.

    The result, at least for us, was our rejoining our local DVD/Bluray rental store. We were very lucky that they were still around and had a great selection of the movies we wanted to watch. The selection of movies is night and day - Netflix has 10% of the movies we want to watch and the local store has maybe 80% or more.

    Before you say that we could also do the Netflix disc rental service, we used to have that but ended up paying through the nose for each individual rental because of how long we kept them. Also, I don't think even Netflix disc rental selection compares to the local store anymore. Besides, it feels better (and it's in our best interest) to support a local small business rather than a multinational corporation.

  24. Re:What tampering? This is about memes on US Charges Russian Social Media Trolls Over Election Tampering (cnet.com) · · Score: 1

    It is, in fact, illegal for non-Americans to directly participate in US Politics, such as:

    - Paying for political advertisements
    - Paying others to troll social media for you
    - Making campaign contributions

    The third item you listed is undisputed (for foreign nationals or organizations, I don't think it applies to foreign-born US residents), and has clearly been an issue discussed in the media I recall at least back to the Clinton administration.

    However, the first item goes directly against a comment that I heard on mainstream non-right wing media recently. Because of this, I would also appreciate links or citations that can be easily found to read about this. The second item probably follows from the first.

  25. Form over function on Apple's New Spaceship Campus Has One Flaw -- and It Hurts (bloomberg.com) · · Score: 2

    Thank you. I've said for a long time now that Apple's design philosophy is mostly driven by form over function. This makes their design pretty terrible functionally, which is diametrically opposed to the popular opinion that their design is great. Sure, aesthetically it is, but the functionality really suffers. The list of their design mistakes due to this wrong-headed design philosophy is long. Just off the top of my head:

    - Flat square keys on keyboards, which makes it impossible for your fingers to center on the keys.
    - Glossy screens which cause all kinds of glare problems.
    - Sharp edges on laptop cases which dig and cut into hands and wrists.
    - Aluminum cases on laptops, which dent easily.
    - Polished metal cases on phones, which scratch incredibly easily.
    - The removal of 3.5mm, 1/8th inch headphone jacks on phones.
    - The removal of Ethernet ports on laptops.

    All those are ridiculous functional design blunders that were made mostly for the aesthetics of their devices. In other words, form over function.