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User: The+Davii

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  1. 1* reviews serve several purposes on People Are Complete Suckers For Online Reviews (nypost.com) · · Score: 2

    1) I read the bad reviews first to see how many of the bad reviews are idiots. For example, I purchased a product that adapted VGA to video. There was a switch on the side of the box for NTSC/PAL. A number of N. American consumers indicated the box didn't work and that the picture was monochrome (black & white). Well, those folks obviously didn't flip the switch from PAL (as shipped) to NTSC because monochrome is a symptom of video format mismatch (simplying a bit to illustrate the point). So, I discount the 1* reviews with that reasoning that tells me they used the product incorrectly. 2) I look for the proportion of 5* and 1* reviews. If they're about equal, that's a danger sign. If they trail off in a nice log power type curve, so much the better. Those who mention IMDB being seeded with a lot of 10% reviews, beware because the studios know how much word of mouth matters today so they plant reviews that make Baywatch sound like The Godfather. Any "reviewer" who only gives 1 or 10* reviews is suspect in my book. 3) I look for reviews that closely match my use case. 4) I look for reviews that are clearly fake. 5) Any review that is 1* due to price I completely ignore (prices fluctuate and my price point may be very different than yours. Review the actual product, not the price. *I* decide whether the price is worth it. Unfortunately, Google Play's app store doesn't allow one to look at the negative reviews only. Very annoying. Maybe Google should look at this research and understand that low * reviews serve a purpose.

  2. Re:Institutionalized Prejudice on WA Bill Takes Aim at Boys' Dominance In Computer Classes · · Score: 1

    Perhaps the real goal is more subversive. Since women are often willing to work for less, perhaps this effort is to depress wages? The sham of the H1-b visas exposed, they need some other way to reduce the cost of wages.

  3. Where is the Cinnamon desktop? on Fedora 21 Released · · Score: 1

    Even with the new changes to GNOME, I still can't stand it. Where is the Cinnamon desktop spin?

  4. Re:Am I Asking Too Much? on Charlie Stross: Why Microsoft Word Must Die · · Score: 1

    My number two wish is a switch that says:
    Anything pasted into this document will adopt the formatting of the line into which it is being pasted.
    I cannot think of a single instance, ever, when I wanted the formatting from some web page to be carried over into my document.

    In Word 2010, try File | Options | Advanced | Cut, copy, and paste | Pasting from other programs: Keep Text Only

    If you are using styles, your pasted text will adopt the style of the surrounding paragraph. There are also options for handling pasting within the same document, pasting between documents, and pasting between documents when the style definitions conflict.

  5. Re:Do you want a university or a trade school? on CS Profs Debate Role of Math In CS Education · · Score: 1

    However, Calculus is the basis for Numerical Analysis, which should be in every Computer Science education. Numerical Analysis is necessary for understanding how computers calculate numbers that aren't integers (floating point, fixed point, real, imaginary).

  6. Re:Well, no on A Klingon Christmas Carol · · Score: 1

    I've seen the show twice. The non-Trek-interested friends didn't get it, but the Trek-enabled did. We also had tickets for this year, but the show was cancelled due to the blizzard. The show is understandable (from a what-is-happening plot point of view) without knowing "Star Trek" or Klingon culture since there are supertitles and a small bit of narration in Federation Standard (English). However, it is not nearly as funny if you don't understand the Trek references.

  7. William Shatner's Shoot or Be Shot on What's the Worst Movie You've Ever Seen? · · Score: 1

    For my first post-divorce birthday, my friends took me to a "double feature" of "Shoot or Be Shot" (2002) starring William Shatner and "Kung Pow: Enter the Fist" (2002).

    Three of the eight people in the theatre walked out muttering "This is the worst movie ever made". I can't believe anybody, anywhere, liked that movie. Kung Pow was just barely bad enough to get us to avoid nightmares after seeing "Shoot or Be Shot"

  8. Re:DVD's? on What's Wrong with the Open Source Community? · · Score: 1

    Can *any* version of Windows (including XP) play encrypted DVDs out of the box?

    No.

    You either buy a system that comes with manufacturer (non-free) supplied DVD software, buy a component (video card, DVD-ROM, etc.) that comes with (non-free) DVD software, or buy (non-free) the software separately.

    So why is it "Linux's fault" that it doesn't play DVDs in the OOBE when "Windows" doesn't either?