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User: xtermin8

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Comments · 455

  1. Edward G. Robinson on Microsoft Sees IBM as Biggest Threat · · Score: 3, Informative

    Ed G Robinson was the classic gangster voice of the movies. Cagney did a gangster in "White Heat" (Look ma...Top of the world) But Robinson was the one imitated in Bugs Bunny cartoons that most people are familiar with.
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_G_Robinson

  2. WRONG on Paul Allen the 'Accidental Zillionaire' · · Score: 1

    In 1983, with the next generation of PC from IBM, the XT, the BIOS received a real boost in its firmware (nonvolatile software). It could now recognize the drives and video cards, but it could still not control them. Compaq and other OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers) managed to "reverse engineer" IBM's little "black box" and created proprietary devices. This, in turn, led to compatibility problems with things like memory and peripherals. You had to go back to the OEM to upgrade. Just a year later, in 1984, Phoenix Technologies and AMI (American Megatrends Incorporated) came on the scene with commercially available BIOS. http://www.maconusersgroup.org/BiosBoot.html

  3. Re:Kildall did make a key difference on Paul Allen the 'Accidental Zillionaire' · · Score: 1

    No, Microsoft was the premier provider of BASIC for a variety of platforms, including BASIC for CP/M (and Apple II series and many others.) If they weren't already important in languages, they would have never got a chance to produce an OS. Kildall did produce CP/M for the original PC, and it was available as soon as the PC was introduced. IBM just chose to offer it as an expensive extra instead of the free, default, pre-installed OS.

  4. Don't confirm without evidence on Paul Allen the 'Accidental Zillionaire' · · Score: 1

    I thought Compaq reversed engineered the BIOS independently, and later started using Phoenix Technologies. If you had a link to a hisotry I'd love to click on it, but you seem to be intent on just being the previous poster's bitch

  5. The Secret life of machines (.com) on The Mythbusters Answer Your Questions · · Score: 1

    http://www.secretlifeofmachines.com/ No explanation necessary

  6. a Medium as powerful as TV on The Mythbusters Answer Your Questions · · Score: 1

    Myth: the kind of programming that is on public access stations, which is...limiting and a bit of a waste for a medium that is as powerful as TV "The Secret Life of Machines" was a good show. I don't know about Mythbusters, never wasted my time watching it. http://www.secretlifeofmachines.com/

  7. a waste for a medium on The Mythbusters Answer Your Questions · · Score: 0, Troll

    I've never watched Mythbusters. Probably because they're not on a public access station! ;) Actually HBO, Showtime, and of course PBS have some good shows on. Guess what- TV has by definition been a "waste of a medium." He and his sponsors can go screw themselves.

  8. Films make money in first weekend on Whedon Calls Death Knell For Firefly · · Score: 1

    Hollywood films generally make the majority of their money in the first weekend, so that overlong and indulgent films do not lose out (Think "Titanic") I have a suspicion that there's more money to be made in the King Kong video game(s) therefore the long action scenes are appropriate as a vehicle for selling merchandise. I suspect you know less about Hollywood than you think.

  9. Re:Obscure Reference Nabokov and X-files on Journey Towards The Center of the Earth · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    I recognized the X-files reference, but googled to confirm it and found: Lord Kinbote is a reference to Nabokov's Pale Fire, specifically the character, Charles Kinbote. http://web.ics.purdue.edu/~felluga/sf/pop/PrimerJo seChung.html Obscure reference upon obscure reference. Very Geeky.

  10. Posters with no sense of humor on Caffeine Prevents Liver Disease · · Score: 1

    Since I found out that heroin burns fat, I've been shooting up daily!!! People start and continue bad habits (and good habits) because of culture, tradition, and pleasure. If they aren't provided with a rationalization in one study, they'll find it somewhere else. Behavior Change is Extremely difficult and complicated, and slashdot "factoids" are pretty harmless. Now excuse me while I save Social Security by smoking myself to an early grave. (look it up, early death by smokings saves health costs!)

  11. Nope on Linux Desktop Deployment Postmortems? · · Score: -1, Troll

    no answers yet, not a good sign!

  12. Tell him to stick it! on Recruiting IT Students? · · Score: 2, Funny

    Been there. Done that. Didn't work out. I'm going to teach English as a Second language and outsource myself! Seriously, if I'm going to be broke I might as well be broke in new and exotic lands! Bon Voyage!

  13. Recent History on Recruiting IT Students? · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I think too many qualified people found out there's not very much job security, esp. after all the demands made on them for qualifications. If you're not able to train from within, then chances are you will drop these "qualified" people at the drop of a hat. Good advice for college students is to stay the hell out of this field, or at least aim for management as soon as you get a foot in. You're pretending recent history hasn't taken place, and some of us remember all to well what's happened, and aren't eager to relive it. 6 figures? How about just 6 fuckin' years!

  14. Roasting decreases caffeine on Drink Decaf and Die · · Score: 4, Informative

    It is a common misconception that darker, stronger coffees have more caffeine. Actually the lightest roast coffees have the most caffeine. In fact espresso roast, pound for pound, has less caffeine than regular coffees. It is only the brewing process that makes the drink more caffeinated than regular coffee. This fact doesn't contradict you're theory, but you might find decaf roasted dark for reasons other than flavour

  15. Starbucks is good coffee on Drink Decaf and Die · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I beleive Starbucks was one of the first chains to insist on only selling Arabica beans. Its decaf coffees have always been made with Arabica beans. Basically Starbucks was a leading voice in the trade for discouraging the use of Robusta. You may not like Starbucks, but to criticize their large selection of various coffees as being second rate is barking up the wrong tree.

  16. All your base belong to us!!! on Loyalists Preserve Past Through Text-Only Games · · Score: 1

    What's AYBBTU in Japanese? ;)

  17. Re:Love text adventures on Loyalists Preserve Past Through Text-Only Games · · Score: 1

    I suppose you could do the same with a computer language, no? As someone learning language now,(Spanish) I can't really imagine doing much beyond memorizing simple vocabulary words, though. For instance, using different verb tenses other than the present would be difficult to implement. Maybe a quick course for travellers/tourists could be done through this method.

  18. Summary: Gosh! Wow! on Preview Of The $100 Laptop · · Score: 2, Funny

    Have we not learned from Steve Jobs review of the Segway? Cheap micro computers will be used for porn and Solitaire. Period. Nothing to See Here.

  19. MOD UP INSIGHTFUL on Apple - What A Difference Eight Years Can Make · · Score: 1

    To ask Mike Dell about Apple seems to me to have been purely an invitation to publically "flame" a competitor. What would you expect Karl Rove to say if asked,"what would you do if you were working for the Democratic party?" What I want to know is, What Would the Flying Spagetti Monster Do?

  20. Game Cheaters are human beings too! on Blizzard's Warden Thwarted by Sony's DRM Rootkit · · Score: 1, Interesting

    ...well, maybe they're not human in the gameworld. ;) WoW uses a rather invasive technique for scanning Gameplayers whether they cheat or not. Sony's DRM scheme also inteferes with the ability for people to make backups of they're own property. In fact, the only interesting thing about this story is these two issues have collided in an unexpected way at a moment in time.

  21. Re:I think /. is pretty scary right now on Best Science News Podcasts? · · Score: 1

    The people who can find the best news probably aren't looking on Slashdot anymore, anyways

  22. Christian Science is a denomination on Best Science News Podcasts? · · Score: 1

    These are the guys who believe in healing with only prayer. (curiously, they make an exception for dentists). They also forbid alcohol, smoking and even coffee. Mark Twain did a famous investigation in which he concluded that the healthy lifestyle and avoidance of quackery kept them as healthy as average doctor-visiting person.

  23. Your monitor has glass on the side? on From TR-1 to iPod mini · · Score: 1

    I don't understand how your monitor got glass on the side. I mean, this is news. Is it a monitor screen with a 90 degree bend? Why has Dell kept quiet about this? BTW Have you tried an aquarium screensaver? It has increased my productivity 100%!

  24. Psychics, Above Average Intelligence and Connectio on From TR-1 to iPod mini · · Score: 1

    You would think that psychics, tarot card readers and shows like Sci-fi Channel's "Crossing Over with Jonathan Edwards" would prey on those with less intelligence. Actually individuals who are not clever will often be very concrete and literal in their thinking, while more intelligent, creative people will make unexpected connections. "I don't know an Alan, but my recently dead uncle used to look like Alan Alda!" I think an intelligent person, or group of people, saw the resemblance here, when it is really just a coincidence. On the bright side, you can congradulate yourself for being a creative thinker if you saw some mysterious connection between the nano and the radio! Suckers.;-)

  25. Attempt at humor on XBox 360 Launching Nov 22 · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Flamebait? Wow, I was going for Funny guys! Challenging someones masculinity is a long, if not honorable, tradition! Fortunately I am justified by the fact that Anyone feels the need to get defensive. It goes to show there's a little discomfort about how foolish one seems, dancing in a strange environment. Tongue was firmly in cheek!