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User: Divide+By+Zero

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Comments · 235

  1. Re:Patent office should have to pay legal fees on Newegg Defeats Alcatel-Lucent in Third Patent Win This Year · · Score: 1
    And reduce the funding to pay for more patent examiners? So the worse they do, the worse they get. Beatings will continue until morale improves.

    Some internal controls are warranted. (If n of your patents gets invalidated, you're canned and we hire somebody better to take your place.) Taking money from the gatekeeper so that he can guard the gates better isn't the way.

  2. Re:That explains everything on D&D Monster Study Proves Eyes Have It · · Score: 2

    Having been in IT support in a healthcare environment, we had a term for that: Cranial-rectal colocation. It comes in two kinds, acute (for short periods) or chronic (seemingly all the time). Our group had diagnosed several cases of CCRC before I left for greener pastures, but I still use the term today.

  3. Re:Worth trying on The Programmers Go Coding Two-by-Two — Hurrah? · · Score: 1

    Your design documents specify which control structures you should use?? I want to come work with YOU. Additionally, I was in college when I was pair programming. Of COURSE I was doing it incorrectly.

  4. Worth trying on The Programmers Go Coding Two-by-Two — Hurrah? · · Score: 5, Interesting
    Everybody poo-poos it, I'm a better coder on my own, the other guy's wasting time, etc. But I tried it and I was never a better coder than when I was working in a pair. You'd get all the "missing semicolon" stuff that everybody talks about, which isn't exactly a waste, but you also have two brains deeply enmeshed in the code and data structures, so you can blend the best of two styles of programming. Sometimes I'd write a braindead construct and the other guy would simplify it, and sometimes he'd create this god-awful structure and I'd clean it up. But you can bounce ideas off another programmer without having to explain the function, show him the code, let him get his head wrapped around it, all that. It's not all grunting and pointing, sometimes it's, "Dude, use a switch/case" or "Just use the library function."

    It's not for everybody - nothing is - but it's definitely worth trying with an honest effort.

  5. Re:My choices.... on Dot-Word Bidders In Last Minute Dash · · Score: 1

    h-t-t-p-colon-slash-slash-slashdot-dot-slash-slash-colon-h-t-t-p You know they'd do it, too.

  6. Re:Obama SIGNED ACTA... WTF? on Rep. Darrell Issa Requests Public Comments On ACTA · · Score: 1

    If you think Romney or Gingrich wouldn't have, you should absolutely vote for them.

  7. Re:The Last Starfighter on Pentagon To Crowdsource Weapons Software Testing · · Score: 1
    Greetings, Warfighter!

    You have been recruited by the United States of America to defend the frontier against Iran and the Middle East Armada.

  8. Re:notepad++ dude. on Ask Slashdot: Best Open Source Answer to Dreamweaver? · · Score: 5, Insightful
    Way to really not even try to be helpful.

    WYSIWYG editors are wildly helpful when it comes to saving time and opportunities to typo your code. If you can put together an error-free 7x9 table in Notepad++ in five seconds, get off Slashdot and get back to your hyperproductive life. (Also, I call BS.) If time and accuracy are no object, it's a hobby or you're learning. In those cases, by all means, use a straight up text editor, because you're writing web pages for the joy of doing it, or you need to do it more to practice and get better at it.

    For the rest of us, who do this sort of thing for a living, or as a time-sensitive project, we need pages coded quickly and accurately, which is why we (convince our employers to) pay hundreds or thousands of dollars for products like Dreamweaver. The split view in Dreamweaver is really useful for doing tricky layouts. Let the program do the heavy lifting by dropping in whatever blocks/tables/whatever that you need, tweak the code as necessary to get the desired result, push the changes up to pre-production, and get on to the next thing that needs to be done ALL WITHOUT SWITCHING WINDOWS. It doesn't leave out tags, it doesn't typo parameters, it doesn't forget the name of that one variable you need to change to get what you're looking for.

    If you're shunning tools to make you more productive in the name of intellectual purity, you're just being difficult and spiteful to yourself, your boss, your employer, your client, or any number of other stakeholders, people who need to see the work done for a reason other than to demonstrate you can do it.

    tl;dr: No.

  9. Re:In Russia,,, on Publicly Available Russian Election Results Hint At Fraud · · Score: 2, Funny

    Ballot stuffs YOU in box!

  10. More update than addition on US Senator Proposes Bill To Eliminate Overtime For IT Workers · · Score: 4, Informative
    This isn't entirely new. They're basically expanding "Computer systems analyst, programmer, software engineer" to "anyone working in a computer or IT related occupation". Analysts, designers, coders, testers of software were out before. Looks like they're expanding it to DBAs, IT managers, sysadmins and other IT gigs. IANALegislator, so your read is as good as mine, or better. Presented below for your reference:

    CURRENT LAW:
    (17) any employee who is a computer systems analyst, computer programmer, software engineer, or other similarly skilled worker, whose primary duty is—
    (A) the application of systems analysis techniques and procedures, including consulting with users, to determine hardware, software, or system functional specifications;
    (B) the design, development, documentation, analysis, creation, testing, or modification of computer systems or programs, including prototypes, based on and related to user or system design specifications;
    (C) the design, documentation, testing, creation, or modification of computer programs related to machine operating systems; or
    (D) a combination of duties described in subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C) the performance of which requires the same level of skills, and who, in the case of an employee who is compensated on an hourly basis, is compensated at a rate of not less than $27.63 an hour.

    NEW BILL:
    (17) any employee working in a computer or information technology occupation (including, but not limited to, work related to computers, information systems, components, networks, software, hardware, databases, security, internet, intranet, or websites) as an analyst, programmer, engineer, designer, developer, administrator, or other similarly skilled worker, whose primary duty is--
    ‘(A) the application of systems, network or database analysis techniques and procedures, including consulting with users, to determine or modify hardware, software, network, database, or system functional specifications;
    ‘(B) the design, development, documentation, analysis, creation, testing, securing, configuration, integration, debugging, modification of computer or information technology, or enabling continuity of systems and applications;
    ‘(C) directing the work of individuals performing duties described in subparagraph (A) or (B), including training such individuals or leading teams performing such duties; or
    ‘(D) a combination of duties described in subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C), the performance of which requires the same level of skill;
    who is compensated at an hourly rate of not less than $27.63 an hour or who is paid on a salary basis at a salary level as set forth by the Department of Labor in part 541 of title 29, Code of Federal Regulations. An employee described in this paragraph shall be considered an employee in a professional capacity pursuant to paragraph (1).’.

  11. Re:Enough on DOJ: Violating a Site's ToS Is a Crime · · Score: 1

    For the record, I've had my current signature since before the last presidential election.

  12. Re:Congratulations, GAO! on GAO Criticizes IRS Over Serious IT Deficiencies · · Score: 1

    Considering how few federal taxes the Legislative Branch pays, I doubt this will be a concern for them.

  13. Where to ask on Ask Slashdot: What To Do In SW:TOR For Just 3 Days? · · Score: 3, Informative

    While you're downloading the mammoth client, ask this question in the Beta Tester forums on Bioware's SWTOR site. There, people who have been in the test for a long time can give you tips without fear of violating NDA.

  14. Re:I don't work in the public sector. on US Gov't Pays IT Contractors Twice As Much As Its Own IT Workers · · Score: 1
    Having worked both public and private sector IT, I'm interested in your perception of "zillions of perks".

    Health insurance: Provided at a discounted rate to public sector employees as well as private. Working public sector, I have the local BC/BS HMO, for which I pay out of my paycheck. Working public sector, same thing. I paid part, my employer paid part. I see no difference.

    Unions: I've never been a member of a union, public or private. No difference there.

    More holiday time: Two weeks a year time off both ways. Private sector, I had the day after Thanksgiving and the day before Christmas off. Public, I get Columbus Day and Washington's Birthday off. On balance, not much of a difference, if any.

    Guaranteed pay raises: I don't know if you remember, but federal employees' pay rates were frozen last year. Now I have guaranteed NO pay raises for a few years. I imagine private employees don't have legislation prohibiting them from getting cost-of-living increases. There's a difference, but not the one you'd expect.

    Are there more, or are we taking four as being equivalent to "zillions", and "roughly equivalent compensation" for "perks"?

  15. It's all been done. on The Science of Human-Robot Love · · Score: 2
  16. Re:An explanation on Passcodes Prove Predictable · · Score: 1

    Can we extrapolate and conclude that PINs starting with zero are over half the PINs out there?

  17. Titan May Have Core Made of Marshmallow Fluff on Titan May Have an Ocean · · Score: 2
    Granted, this is unlikely, but it's consistent with the article summary.

    No, I didn't RTFA - why do you ask?

  18. Re:Recursion alert! on The Quake Through Eyes of Slashdot Japan · · Score: 1
  19. Re:Recursion alert! on The Quake Through Eyes of Slashdot Japan · · Score: 1

    Dammit, I hate getting blamed for everything. NaN's, black holes, and now this. Where does it end?

  20. Re:Gambling on FTC To Examine Microtransactions In Free-To-Play Games and Apps · · Score: 3, Informative
    I'd +1 Interesting if I had any points, but since I don't, I'll offer this:

    Even if you can buy "gold" for money, can you sell "gold" and get dollars/euros/etc. back out? I think the problem with the gambling laws is getting cash money for winning the game of chance - if it all stays in the game ecosystem, I don't think it counts. I know Entropia has this mechanic, and they seem to have skirted the law, but I don't know how. If you can sell EQ2 in-game money for real money, this is the first I've heard of it.

  21. Re:Black hat not White on The Inner World of Gov-Sponsored White-Hat Hacking · · Score: 5, Insightful
    It's nothing to do with "good" or "evil", it's what you do with the results. If you hack, say, Hamas, and then use that information to your advantage, you are Black Hat. If you hack Hamas, then walk in through their front door with a report of how you owned them (pwned, pwnz0red, whatever) and how they can fix their systems, you are White Hat.

    White Hat can be "evil", Black Hat can be "good". Value judgments are independent of the definition - are you there to improve bad security or exploit it?

  22. Re:Pre-Order on Duke Nukem Forever Release Date Revealed · · Score: 1

    I hope so. I gave the guy at Babbage's in the mall ten bucks to hold a copy for me. I'll let you know.

  23. Re:Silly title on Sony Closing 18M CD/Month Plant · · Score: 1

    Dimensional Analysis for Nerds. Stuff that Matters. (I noticed the same thing.)

  24. Re:Ministry of Truth? on The Continued Censorship of Huckleberry Finn · · Score: 1

    Tagged this story "memoryhole".

  25. Re:Again?! on APB To Close Mere Months After Launch · · Score: 1

    Nonono, Bioware is a panacaea for problems related to RPGs. Drs. Muzyka and Zeschuk are the cure for what ails Star Wars MMOs.