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  1. ARM and x86 Products are Fundamentally Different on The Ugly State of ARM Support On Linux · · Score: 1

    There are basically three x86 processor manufacturers. The two smaller players work hard to stay compatible because their livelihood depends on it. Most of the interface functionality is off-chip.

    There are many well-known ARM processor licensees. They all strive to differentiate their product offerings. In the majority of cases all of the major peripherals (which are one of the primary opportunities for differentiation) are on-chip.

    As such, where minimizing differences by processor was clean and relatively straightforward for x86, expecting it to continue to work well for ARM is nonsensical. I really think Linus is missing the forest on this one.

  2. Really? on FCC White Space Rules Favor Tech Industry · · Score: 0, Troll

    alternative to developing complex new sensing hardware

    Please expound on "complex new sensing hardware." Like a poorly performing TV tuner? Or a crappy microphone receiver? Which of those strikes you as particularly new or complex?

    You sound like someone who knows too little to be very functional but speaks too much to be easily ignored. Manager, am I right?

  3. Re:Because the Article Breaks Down the Claim Fully on Ray Kurzweil Does Not Understand the Brain · · Score: 1

    It was a simple slip of the tongue. He didn't mean a million lines of code. He meant a million boxes of flow chart. It's a trivial difference.

  4. Re:I wish I saw this earlier on Feds Bust Cable Modem Hacker · · Score: 1

    Generally it isn't illegal to install tint, it is only illegal to operate a vehicle on public property with illegal tint installed.

    As an aside, in Oregon it is only illegal to have windows tinted over 35% if your car could not be reasonably deemed an off-road vehicle, or if does not have off-road equipment. What that means in practice is that if you want to have limo tint on your personal vehicle, all you have to do is buy an SUV. Then you can hide even more people with guns in the backseat than in a conventional vehicle. Perhaps you could even add a winch or bull bar to your Porsche to accomplish the same effect.

    I guess the moral of the story is laws are often bullshit.

  5. Re:Grrr... on US Nuclear Power Industry Poised For a Comeback · · Score: 1
    Let me first disclaim that I understand the offense you've taken with respect to the article, and by and large agree with you.

    Yes, I agree: the fear surrounding Three Mile Island is based more on Hollywood than physics. The article makes at least one other mistake:

    Many scientists and environmentalists still distrust nuclear power in any form, arguing that it can never escape its cost, safety and waste problems.

    How is that a mistake? Let's borrow from m-w.com for a minute, and let's select definition number one.

    it's not true that many scientists oppose nuclear power.

    Now, for the preceding statement to be true, the number of scientists that make up 27% of the population must fall short of the (admittedly loose) definition of many. Assuming the Pew Research Center uses decent polling methods, and pulling our numbers for the number of scientists in the USA (2,157,300) from the National Science Foundation, your statement equates to the following:

    582,471 does not constitute "many."

    Interesting hypothesis.

  6. Re:Ban how to host a murder while you're at it. on On Realism and Virtual Murder · · Score: 1

    So again: when you have something beyond your imagination to support your position, please share it.

    I'll relate an anecdote from Grand Theft Auto.

    I had some free time and set about playing GTA III for three weeks straight, in my apartment, in a vacated college town. Now, that may suggest I am OCD, but little else.

    I drove for the first time in three weeks once college was back in session. I was turning around in a parking lot, and the part of my brain that said "you're probably not going to clear that car" was overridden by the part that said "ah, fuck it, I'll just grab another one." I plowed into the back of the car. Turning around, at a reasonable speed, in a parking lot.

    My point is that certain somewhat realistic gut reactions can be overridden by repeatedly doing so, at least in my case. For me, it was more of a "failure to act" than taking an action. It's not like I had an overwhelming desire to flip my car off a berm or drive into a crowd. It also didn't extend beyond the car simulations, my hypothesis for that being that they better emulate reality.

  7. Re:What's this picture for? on 14-Year-Old Boy Smote By Meteorite · · Score: 1

    I don't want to tear into the kid, but the close up of his hand in this article really looks like the eraser burns that kids occasionally give themselves in middle school.

    My guess is that he saw the meteor hit and thought it would be really cool to say it bounced off him. Then, using a trick he learned from his friends, presto - instant burn mark.

  8. Re:Well on Security Flaw Hits VAserv; Head of LxLabs Found Hanged · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I'd be like Kevin Spacey in American Beauty...

    You did see the entire movie, right?

    Notable characteristics of Kevin Spacey's character: in the middle of a mid-life crisis, hated by his daughter, hates his wife, has sexual contact with a minor. Oh, and he happens to work at a fast food restaurant.

    This is just a friendly suggestion, but before you tell this story to people you actually know, maybe refine your role model selection a little?

  9. Re:Wireless is STILL quite unreliable on Using WiMAX To Replace a Phone? · · Score: 1

    Wireless technologies? Such as those used by the cellular companies?

  10. Re:Wrong tool for the wrong job. on Using WiMAX To Replace a Phone? · · Score: 4, Interesting

    It depends. I live in Portland, Oregon and tried this with Clear, Skype, and call-forwarding.

    For me personally (and I assume at least multiple other people reading this website), I primarily use my cell phone at home and at work. It works reasonably well in this situation assuming you have good coverage at both ends. The battery life is a non-issue because it is primarily plugged in. I don't answer my phone when driving anyway, so most of my friends will leave a voicemail.

    The biggest issue is network latency. It is like having a conversation over (forgive me) NAT-blocked Xbox Live. There is a very noticeable lag in the conversation.

    When going out, I used my cell phone for texts. You can have Skype transcribe your voicemails and SMS you with their contents. Then you can respond via email/SMS.

    All in all it worked decently, although it was fairly involved to set up. I stopped using it in the end because of the lag, the fact that Clear wouldn't support the Nokia n810, and finally I got tired of lugging the netbook around. It was an interesting experiment and you could probably make do with it, but it is not very practical just yet.

  11. Re:Not as bad as it sounds on Smile! Urine Candid Camera! · · Score: 1

    Liar!

  12. Don't count your chickens on Record-Breaking Model Rocket Launch Set For April 25 · · Score: 2, Funny

    I was waiting for an editorial comment to the effect of "knock on wood."

    He could very easily become the person who exploded the largest model rocket before it left the launch pad.

  13. Re:Don't break da lew and you don't worry then on Using Net Proxies Will Lead To Harsher Sentences · · Score: 2, Funny

    I really think the AC was confused and just understandably concerned about toilets continuing to function.

  14. Dear Legislators: on Using Net Proxies Will Lead To Harsher Sentences · · Score: 5, Funny

    We spent millions on our warrantless wiretapping systems installed in telecoms across the nation. Unfortunately, it turns out you can avoid having your data collected by use of a fancy system called a 'proxy' that's been around since the dawn of the Internet. Who knew?

    Please fix this for us.

    Sincerely,
    The NSA

    P.S. We have sexting photos of your wives and daughters. They're not 'sophisticated' but they sure look like fun!

  15. Sweet! on Company Makes Paper Out Of Wombat Poo · · Score: 1

    Finally there is a solution for the worldwide shortage of cellulose.

    Forests and paper mills are so 19th century - bring on the wombat crap farms!

  16. Re:What does this even mean? on The Hairy State of Linux Filesystems · · Score: 2, Informative

    Unfortunately all "speed of growth" is referring to is the rate of increase of the number of filesystem kernel calls of a particular filesystem from version 2.6.11 to 2.6.28 of the Linux kernel.

    Nothing to do with any sort of performance metric.

  17. What? on The Hairy State of Linux Filesystems · · Score: 5, Interesting

    While OSes may be "sliming down" as the article says, what does the removal of standard db packages from Ubuntu have to do with filesystem-related kernel calls?

    The article doesn't seem to mention the possiblity that more functionality may be pushed into the kernel from userspace, which might make sense in other situations, but I don't think that argument would hold up here.

    I am struggling to make the connection between the summary and the so-called article. The fact that they are not stripping/locking fs functionality means that OSes aren't shrinking? That's the hypothesis?

  18. Re:To hell with them! on Author's Guild Says Kindle's Text-To-Speech Software Illegal · · Score: 1

    Nope

    Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.

    I listen to white noise for two hours every night in an effort to purge the all the illegal copyrighted content my brain has duplicated internally over the course of the day.

  19. Re:The new Gates on Bill Gates Unleashes Swarm of Mosquitoes · · Score: 1

    The Gates Foundation only gives away 5% of its value every year. The rest is re-invested to maximise profit.

    God forbid there was a charitable foundation that existed in a sustainable fashion. If the money is invested well he will be able to give the same substantial inflation-adjusted sum every year for eternity. What a selfish, terrible thing to do.

    If this were out of self-interest it would be a lot less trouble to bring up a lobbying firm for political change, and then buy some private jets and sail racing teams. Just look at Larry Ellison.

  20. Re:Don't think your boss is very bright... on When To Consider Taking Shares In an IT Company? · · Score: 1

    I didn't think Anita Roddick was a real name so I had to look it up. Turns out she married into it. She must have one heck of a sense of humor.

    Draw whatever conclusions you'd like about the company I keep, but I am forever suspicious of names that begin with Anita.

  21. Re:What about open source phones? on New Law Will Require Camera Phones To "Click" · · Score: 1

    Luckily for us - er, for perverts - their clicks become smoothed into a nice 30 Hz tone.

    Bring on the cell phone subwoofers.

  22. Re:More mealy-mouthed BS on Tech Publisher O'Reilly Slashes Jobs · · Score: 1
    What are you on about, he said it right there in the quote:

    "The layoffs, which were spread across the company, were ... a response to today's very tough economic climate."

    It's just that the people he interacts with daily are smart enough to figure the rest out without bitching about it.

  23. In other news... on Wireless Internet Access Uses Visible Light, Not Radio Waves · · Score: 1

    In the first trial network installation in Birmingham, Alabama, 665 small Japanese children fell to the floor in convulsions.

  24. Re:Ouch on South Carolina Seeking To Outlaw Profanity · · Score: 4, Funny

    Since he references a law that doesn't exist in his bill, I think there is a strong possibility that many other state Senators would agree with you.

  25. Re:Ouch on South Carolina Seeking To Outlaw Profanity · · Score: 4, Funny

    Well, since you've already broken statute 16-15-250, and are now subject to fines and up to three years of imprisonment, I'd suggest you stay home.

    Oh, and Jesus loves you.