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User: JBMcB

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  1. CKermit on Ask Slashdot: Old PC File Transfer Problem · · Score: 1

    Zip everything. Null modem serial cable, CKermit on both ends. Done.

  2. Nexus on Who's Afraid of Android Fragmentation? · · Score: 0

    I'm going to take a wild guess and state the reason it took three months before my GOOGLE BRANDED DEVICE (Nexus 7 2013) got Lollipop after it went GA is issues with fragmentation. It seems like nearly every device had severe and differing issues with the original builds and the update kept getting pulled and pushed back. It works pretty well now, except wifi is unstable and it has a memory leak that forces a reboot every couple of days.

      When iOS 8 went GA I got it the next day on my iPad Air. No serious issues.

  3. If only... on Lawmakers Seek Information On Funding For Climate Change Critics · · Score: 2

    If only there was some way of detaching politics from science.... Hm....

  4. Re:Registration on Uber Offers Free Rides To Koreans, Hopes They Won't Report Illegal Drivers · · Score: 3, Informative

    Keeping prices high keeps taxis available.

    Try to get a taxi at 6th and 44th in Manhattan at 5PM. Taxis are pretty damn expensive in NYC, and pretty much impossible to find when demand is high. Know what is available at 5PM? Uber cars.

  5. Registration on Uber Offers Free Rides To Koreans, Hopes They Won't Report Illegal Drivers · · Score: 2, Informative

    Why? The main use of registration is to keep the number of cabs low and the prices high.

  6. We already have them (kinda) on Only Twice Have Nations Banned a Weapon Before It Was Used; They May Do It Again · · Score: 2

    The Phalanx system on US navy ships is, once activated, pretty much automatic. Anything within it's radar envelope automatically gets a dose of 20mm cannon fire. It's designed to take down anti-ship missiles, but will engage pretty much anything moving towards the boat that it's radar can pick up.

  7. Re:Says Howie. on Bill Nye Disses "Regular" Software Writers' Science Knowledge · · Score: 1

    Technically, an engineering degree is a "Degree in Science in Engineering." So there.

  8. Re:Good grief... on Bill Nye Disses "Regular" Software Writers' Science Knowledge · · Score: 4, Funny

    Of course Nye is a Cornell University guy, so, you know, everyone not of the Ivy League is suspect.

    I'd like to introduce him to my Uncle - doctorate in chemistry from Cornell, literally hundreds of publications and citations, and thinks global warming is bunk. Hee hee.

  9. Re:Taxation on Will Greek Finance Minister Varoufakis Support Cryptocurrency In Greece? · · Score: 3, Interesting

    My favorite story about Greece's problems:

    In the 90's a governmental committee was formed for the sole purpose to close a particular dam. After a decade, the dam was closed and demolished. That committee still exists. They don't go around closing other dams, they, I assume, just make sure the dam is still closed.

    Source: Planet Money

  10. Re:Shallow and ignorant on Why Sony Should Ditch Everything But the PlayStation · · Score: 1

    You're right. Everyone knows Sony makes most of it's money selling insurance.

    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05...

  11. Two words: Swimming Pools on 1950s Toy That Included Actual Uranium Ore Goes On Display At Museum · · Score: 1

    Swimming pools kill more kids every year than just about anything else.

  12. Wilderness State Park on New Map Shows USA's Quietest Places · · Score: 5, Interesting

    The quietest place I've ever been is Wilderness State Park in Michigan in the fall. No wildlife, an extremely quiet white noise coming from the lake - it was strange. Bryce Canyon was pretty quiet, too, but Wilderness is strikingly quiet. It's also a "dark sky park" so the stars at night are phenomenal.

  13. Re:Climate models on NASA: Increasing Carbon Emissions Risk Megadroughts · · Score: 1
  14. Re:Climate models on NASA: Increasing Carbon Emissions Risk Megadroughts · · Score: 2

    I thought there was a paper out late last year saying they didn't find any heat reservoirs in the oceans - at least none that could account for the predicted increase in surface temperatures. I heard someone speculating that the reservoirs could be deep in the ocean, which would be really weird since warmer water generally stays near the top.

  15. Re:Some clarification for the recently arrived. on Is Modern Linux Becoming Too Complex? · · Score: 1

    Gentoo? Oh, please, bitch. Gentoo is for ricers. Period.

    And NASDAQ.

    I have better things to do with my time than to compile every single shitty utility on my system.

    emerge pciutils

    Whoo boy what a pain.

    Gentoo can be systemd'ed as well

    But it doesn't have to be. Your choice. Or do you run Linux so the distro can tell you how your system is to be run?

    Arch is the Gentoo of the 2000s.

    You mean 2010s?

  16. Re:The problem isn't science on Science's Biggest Failure: Everything About Diet and Fitness · · Score: 1

    Need to do the LED mod for the front panel blinkenlights. The tiny incandescent bulbs are getting harder and harder to find.

  17. The problem isn't science on Science's Biggest Failure: Everything About Diet and Fitness · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The problem isn't science. The problem is science reporting. A study making come claim makes for a catchy headline. Problem is, it's just one study, usually calling for more studies with guidance at the end. That's the bit that's usually left out.

    A few years ago a European health organization did a huge study of cell phone safety. Thousands of trials across dozens of countries over the course of a decade. Of the thousands of trials - ONE showed a *possible* correlation between one form of cancer and cell phone usage. What was the headline? Study shows that cell phones cause cancer! What was the official conclusion of the study? Cell phones probably don't cause cancer, but the one trial should probably be re-run just to make sure.

  18. Re:Farewell, TRS-80 on RadioShack Near Deal To Sell Half of Its Stores, Close the Rest · · Score: 2

    I always thought Heathkit was more futuristic than Radio Shack. In the late 80's the one by me had multiple Hero robots roaming around the store greeting people, all those weird H-80 machines hooked up to stacks of packet radio gear (connect to other computers wirelessly!) Home automation equipment. And, in the early 90's when they started carrying Apple gear, they had a fully decked-out Mac II with every peripherial you could buy for the thing - external hard drives, tape drive, CD-ROM, stereo speakers, color screen, graphics tablet, LaserWriter AND Imagewriter on a network. Probably $20,000 worth of gear back then.

  19. Re:Are there any brick and mortar parts stores lef on RadioShack Near Deal To Sell Half of Its Stores, Close the Rest · · Score: 1

    There are loads of independent parts stores around me, but I live in job-shop-land (small companies that do short production runs of industrial control panels / tools / etc...) There's a store, still in business, where I grew up that still has a tube-tester. They're more like the REALLY old-school Radio Shack. There's one on the other side of the city that carries nearly every component you could want.

  20. Discount-o-rama! on RadioShack Near Deal To Sell Half of Its Stores, Close the Rest · · Score: 1

    The store by me turned into a "clearance" center, which means they are closing I guess. Got an Arduino Yun + LCD touch shield for close to 50% off. Gonna go back for more...

  21. Ephemerides on State Television Says Iran Launches New Satellite Into Space · · Score: 1

    Ephemeris table or it didn't happen.

  22. Re:Still ARM11, still a crappy CPU on New Multi-Core Raspberry Pi 2 Launches · · Score: 1

    The manufacturer of that phone buys parts by the millions. They probably have a blanket order for them. You get a pretty steep discount at those volumes. The R.P.F. probably buys a few tens of thousands at a time - maybe.

  23. Re:its a tough subject on Should Disney Require Its Employees To Be Vaccinated? · · Score: 1

    I'm sure there is an equal, 50/50 balance of power between the multibillion-dollar corporation on the one side, and the individual who needs employment on the other side.

    There is, as according to the census bureau, there are roughly 860,000 other places to work in California alone, including a few dozen other amusement parks. You can also work for yourself. Crazy concept, I know, but you can make up your own conditions for employment.

  24. Re:Quick history lesson on New Advance Confines GMOs To the Lab Instead of Living In the Wild · · Score: 1

    You're right - all those researchers are like "I'm not going to run this experiment with this deadly bacteria in a hermetically sealed safety chamber because I'll make so much more money if I don't use one..."

    I work with companies that do these sorts of experiments - every last one of them is PARANOID about safety.

  25. Re:They said the same thing about in Jurassic Park on New Advance Confines GMOs To the Lab Instead of Living In the Wild · · Score: 1

    "Life found a way."

    Well that sounds science-y enough to be plausible!