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User: alteran

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  1. âoeIn the past year or so, the engagement has been combative, with abrupt, disruptive policy changes that are being held without consultation, and, unusually, with absolutely no room for negotiation...â

    I wonder where they learned that?

  2. Re:what about an real clock not this stoppage time on Has Video Refereeing Ruined The World Cup? (npr.org) · · Score: 1

    I seriously do not get this at all. It's s no longer the 1800s, we can put up a clock that everyone can see that stops and starts when the ref hits the button. I mean, come on.

  3. The Future is Rent-Charges on BMW's Apple CarPlay Annual Fee is Next-level Gouging (cnet.com) · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Rents are the future of innovation.

    Taste the Freedum!

  4. Re:Idiots! on Why You Shouldn't Stifle Your Sneeze (theguardian.com) · · Score: 1

    Or don't breath in before the sneeze.

    No air, no sneeze.

  5. I Still Hate ... on Slashdot's Interview With Swift Creator Chris Lattner · · Score: 1

    I still hate Christian Lattn-- wait a second.

  6. Re:About as far as you can throw a strawman on Judge: Defendant 'Had a Right' To Shoot Down Drone (wdrb.com) · · Score: 2

    Saying we "care more about criminals than we do for victims" because someone thinks you should NOT be allowed to shoot someone who MAY be a Peeping Tom is just silly.

    Is this an ironic post?

  7. Free credit reports for 6 years on Experian Breached, 15 Million T-Mobile Customer's Data Exposed · · Score: 1

    It's now been 6 years since I've had to pay for credit reports because of all the breaches my data has been involved in.

  8. Re:Why Not Flywheels? on Battery Advance Could Lead To a Cleaner Way To Store Energy · · Score: 1

    Thanks for the info.
    Regarding your last comment, I wasn't talking about why the article or folks here didn't mention flywheels. Just wondering if someone had some perspective on why flywheels are never mentioned for solving the intermittent generation problems of wind and solar.

  9. Why Not Flywheels? on Battery Advance Could Lead To a Cleaner Way To Store Energy · · Score: 2

    I never see flywheels discussed in this context. I don't understand why not, though.

    No need for exotic compounds, sky-high efficiency. They don't have to be replaced every three years.

    There must be a reason people keep dismissing them out of hand...does here anyone know what the reason is?

  10. Re:Is quantum mechanics a theory? on 'Ingenious' Experiment Closes Loopholes In Quantum Theory · · Score: 1

    Gravity is not just an explanation-- it's the LAW.

  11. But the whole point was Victoria's firing on "We Screwed Up," Says Reddit CEO In Formal Apology · · Score: 1

    It's not a bad apology I guess, but it still seems to ignore the main reason for all the trouble-- the firing of Victoria. I'm not sure whose anger she thinks she's answering.

  12. Re: TNSTAAFL on Sprint Begins Punishing Customers For FCC's Net Neutrality Rules · · Score: 2

    Private schools do an excellent job of dumping high cost students (ADHD, special needs, etc) on the public schools, and then babbling about how they're more cost-efficient.
    Show me ONE private school that matches the public school's mandate to accept all "last resort" students, and then we'll compare efficiency. Good luck finding one.
    Until then, it's just comparing apples to lying assholes.

  13. Re:Real men on Ask Slashdot: What To Do About the Sorry State of FOSS Documentation? · · Score: 1

    Agreed.

    The reason documentation sucks in Linux is because programmers are writing it. It's not because of the myth that programmers can't write, it's because writing is not really their passion-- creating the programs is. I mean, give me a choice between fixing/improving my code and documenting it, and the choice is pretty damn obvious.

    One thing I learned in my tech writing days-- programming ALWAYS outpaces code. ALWAYS. A business can keep that in check (or not, which is frequently and increasingly the case), but in FOSS the programmers are just going to run away with their passions (and rightfully so) while the documentation lags. Someone might try to write some documentation for software they love after the fact, but the FOSS release cycle is such that the documentation will be outdated before it's completed. Very unsatisfying.

    Bad documentation is the price we pay for FOSS. Generally, I think FOSS is worth it.

    If I had money lying around, I'd try to setup a clearinghouse for web boards dedicated to answering questions as they come up, and create the best damn search interface I could. In short, a better system of what we kinda of have now.

  14. Re:Fuck Obamacare on Can the ObamaCare Enrollment Numbers Be Believed? · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Pre-tax deductions have not changed. I don't know what wacko changes have changed your taxes, but it ain't ACA.

  15. Re:What is the point on Samsung And Docomo Reportedly Working on Tizen Phone · · Score: 1

    There's not a lot in it for the consumer. Surprise!

    For Samsung, however, moving away from Android likely gets them out of an expensive and pointless proxy war with Apple. That's a big deal for Samsung.

    Apple's Android vendetta has been about Holy Vengeance Upon Google from the beginning, not really about Samsung. If Samsung could gain a platform that they won't be sued over for including basic functions, Samsung could get back to the business of making smartphones, rather than being a professional defendant.

    Making smartphones is actually something Samsung does phenomenally well. Also, Tizen is targeted at other gadgets (read: tablets and smart TVs), other areas of Samsung strength.

    The downside for Samsung is that Tizen does not yet have an app-building community like iOS or Android, and it would take years to build one. This looks like Samsung testing waters to me.

  16. Re:Real Time Protocol on Lenovo Building Manufacturing Plant in North Carolina · · Score: 1

    Also, the "stone's throw" is like about an hour at highway speeds. Some throw. ;-)

  17. Re:Android is Open... on Google Accused of Interfering With South Korean FTC Investigation · · Score: 1

    Although the source code is open, part of the value proposition is to access the Android store. Google, by tying together search and access to the android store, is doing "bundling". Since they are probably a monopoly, this bundling of services may be illegal as is reduces competition (in search and in store services).

    There's nothing that forces the device to use Android Market. Cell companies can and do provide alternatives, sometimes making them the dominant app store or eliminating the Android Market entirely.

  18. Re:Just another... on Feature Phones Make Java ME, Not Android, the #2 Mobile Internet OS · · Score: 1

    Where does it say this is about web site views?

    And the answer is "Where it says it's about measured browser usage data in the first line of the summary".

    Or if you actually read the article (yeah. right - you couldn't even read the first line of the summary), click on any of the links in the table and select by browser.

    (Sigh).

    Does it really have to be this way?

    Despite your mean-spirited assertion, clicking the link DOES NOT provide any information about whether this is market share by: total browser views, unique browser, etc. It just asserts the nebulous term "market share" without any real explanation of what that meant or how it's calculated. When you click on the table link as you suggest, it just shows a breakdown by month. Click on the browser type, and it just shows the first table again, except only for whatever browser you chose. It doesn't answer my question at all.

    Kind of like you.

    Obviously, the Slashdot summary doesn't seem backed up by the document linked. You'd think you'd have noticed this since you read so diligently, but maybe flaming is more important to you.

    The only thing dumber than a stupid RTFA flame is a RTFA flame where the flamer didn't really read the article or bother to understand the post. Grow up.

  19. Re:Android tablets too on Feature Phones Make Java ME, Not Android, the #2 Mobile Internet OS · · Score: 1

    If they're talking about traffic VOLUME, how can you possibly compare internet access by Android when all those iPads are being lumped in here with the mobile phones?

    Why wouldn't Archos, Acer Iconia, ASUS Eee Pad, Motorola Xoom, B&N Nook Color, Amazon Kindle Fire, and other tablets running Android be lumped in with Android traffic volume?

    They would be. Do you think the numbers of Android tabs versus iOS tabs are so close as to be a wash?

  20. Re:Just another... on Feature Phones Make Java ME, Not Android, the #2 Mobile Internet OS · · Score: 1

    This is not about installations, this is about web site views.

    Where does it say this is about web site views?

  21. Re:Just another... on Feature Phones Make Java ME, Not Android, the #2 Mobile Internet OS · · Score: 1

    Six months now.

    With these statistics, it's just damn clear that the average Android user isn't using their phones for anything but "dumb phone with nice screen+keyboard" activities.

    I'm not sure how you get that conclusion based on this. This metric appears to be saying nothing about how much devices are being used to do specific stuff, but we just don't know.

    The metric here is, "Mobile/Tablet Top Operating System Share Trend", which is a pretty nebulous title. Share of what? Market share? How was it determined -- sales? Web access traffic at specific websites? IP traffic through certain ISPs? Which ones?

    If they're talking about traffic VOLUME, how can you possibly compare internet access by Android when all those iPads are being lumped in here with the mobile phones? Surely iPad internet use-- streaming, for example, absolutely crushes internet use on smartphones.

    I find it disappointing that NetMarketShare doesn't explain what it is they are measuring. If we knew what they were REALLY measuring, these numbers would provide some insight. But without knowing what these numbers are actually based on, it's just an excuse for everybody to just repeat what they always say anyway about iOS / Android / whatever.

  22. Re:Why would Apple need something like this... on Carrier IQ Software May Be in iOS, Too · · Score: 1

    This is flamebait but the parent isn't? Give me a break.

    The above post made a legitimate point-- Apple is ALONE among the handset manufacturers in putting this crapware on their phone. We know this for many reasons, not least because Apple explicitly says they don't allow carriers to mitigate the Apple experience. It's possible some of the other manufacturers have done this, but since the carriers have the ability to do this themselves on the other platforms, it makes a lot of sense that they put this on when they put all their other junk on.

    On the flip side, CIQ appears less nefarious on iOS and is certainly easier to disable. I can't believe I've got to root and mod my Samsung Vibrant to get this crapware off it.

  23. Re:Great on Mystery of Vanishing iTunes Credit Shows No Sign of Fading · · Score: 1

    I don't get why you're complaining. It's clear that the users were holding their iTunes accounts wrong.

  24. Re:It is jut fun to see that on Analysis of Google's Motorola Acquisition · · Score: 1

    >Apple and Microsoft pundits worry about this deal more than Google analytics. I'm not
    >saying that Google did it with ease in heart, but more or less they outplayed Billy and Jobs.

    Billy is semi-retired. Google outplayed The Steves.

  25. Re:The danger of having too much cash on Analysis of Google's Motorola Acquisition · · Score: 1

    > For a tiny fraction of what they spent to buy MM they could have designed a new
    > mobile OS from the ground up and gotten some great press.

    And what would have stopped AppleSoft from suing this NEW phone OS into oblivion using the same BS patents? Anyone? Buehler?

    You can't engineer around patents that cover obvious functions. Apple has made it, uhm, patently clear they were going to destroy Android with BS patent litigation. Now that Google has tons of mobile patents-- some of the earliest and most basic in the business-- destroying Android via litigation just went from foregone conclusion to longshot.

    Was it worth 12.5 billion to save a whole ecosystem? Now that's a reasonable debate. With so many enemies teaming up against Google to beat them by any means necessary, I say yes. Google needed weapons in the patent war. Badly. Now they've got them.