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User: zippthorne

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  1. Re:Ok, what are you smoking on Is AMD Dead Yet? · · Score: 1

    Well, supposing their budget was $800, did you explain to them that for the same $800 they could buy a $400 machine right now, and in 18 months buy another $400 machine that exceeds the capability of the $800-today-machine, and come out even more ahead by having TWO computers?

    Or they could sell the first computer and end up having simply spent quite a bit less than $800.

    Or they could, (handwaving) buy a $530 machine, and in 18 months sell it for $260, and apply that and the original $270 saved to buy another $530 machine which is also superior to the originally proposed $800 machine?

    Having a computer with "impressive spec numbers" isn't a one-time fee. It's a lifetime commitment, as the impressiveness of the numbers declines quite rapidly.

  2. Re:Depends on the GPS you buy on Open US GPS Data? · · Score: 3, Funny

    Reading the post he's clearly from UK. Over in Europe, everything's better than in the US, even the problems.

  3. Re:Frustrating on Open US GPS Data? · · Score: 1

    Well that is a significant obstacle to overcome before we can bring fully-automated driving on line. I wish I could think of a better way to do it though. Cartography is all up-front costs that need to be recouped. And I don't think having only a single, municipal map source is the best way to handle that.

  4. Re:Sounds like a movie trailer on Google Buys a Piece of a Cable To Japan · · Score: 1

    Meh, the only difference I can see between that and socialism is that under the "huge corporation" scenario doesn't pretend to preclude high executive salaries.

  5. Re:Ok, what are you smoking on Is AMD Dead Yet? · · Score: 1

    Conversely, If you're not using 3D, what are you buying the $500--$800 PC for? You certainly don't need an ultra-fast CPU to run Quicken, and if your intent is to do a lot of video transcoding, you should be drooling over as yet unavailable GPU solutions in that arena.* IOW, "real soon now" it'll still be worthwhile to save on the CPU to get a better graphics card.

    *because in the $500--$800 range, you're not going to be anywhere near acceptably fast enough with either CPU to be satisfying for more than about two weeks of half-arsed dabbling.

  6. Re:Interesting variety of uses on Researchers Develop Self-Cleaning Clothes · · Score: 1

    If by "dyes" you mean, "ordinary white house paint" then, yes, it is used in dyes. It's used to dye PEG white!

  7. Re:out is i? on Judge Makes Lawyers Pay For Frivolous Patent Suit · · Score: 1

    Almost, if not all, people will find at least one thing in that list which they don't think people should be allowed to own or possess. But those are all things which could be inferred to be protected if one wasn't utilizing enough common sense.


    The wording is quite clear. All of those things are supposed to be protected. If you think the state of arms has advanced to the point that people should be restricted from some of them, the process for amending the Constitution is also quite clearly outlined. In fact, must of the 2nd Amendment boosters (like the NRA) would probably agree that we should amend so as to be able to outlaw things like anthrax (but carefully word it so we don't accidentally ban home-canning). I would suggest wording to the effect of allowing regulation in the specific case of weapons which both have large effect and are not conspicuous until deployed.

    Since the main purposes of that amendment were to distribute the tools of protecting the nation efficiently and ubiquitously and to engender a healthy fear in the hearts of would-be tyrants, and privately owned canons were part of the list of arms which were usefully employed in the revolutionary war, It is important to preserve the spirit of the amendment and the right to own capital weapons, even as you restrict weapons of great terrorizing potential.

    When you start splitting hairs over how to interpret rights away instead of voluntary ceding of rights by constitutional convention, you open up a whole can of contemptuous worms. What about Free Speech? Surely the founders didn't intend media advertisements for or against incumbent politicians around election time. Or the right to be secure in your papers? Surely they didn't mean that you could travel without being searched. Right?

    If you let the government do something without explicitly allowing it to do that thing and only that thing, you open a window by which the government can do anything.
  8. Re:MS selling hardware? on "Vista Capable" Lawsuit Is Now a Class Action · · Score: 1

    1. Remote desktop
                See my other reply. It's useful, but not a home user feature. And it doesn't even accomplish what the people using it really want, anyway.
          2. Multi-processor (2) support
                  At the time XP came out, and for about half of its life cycle, multi-core processors weren't even available to home users, and multiple processor mainboards were squarely in the realm of professionals and enthusiasts. Still, for the other half of its life cycle multi-cores were starting to trickle down to the home-market, so I'll have to concede that you've found the one thing I've asked for. I still think home is a bargain compared to Pro though, for the intended users. I'm not sure it's worth more than $60, especially if being purchased for a system with on-board sound and a $20 graphics card, but it's certainly not cheap in terms of quality, compared to Pro.
          3. IIS web server
                  home users?? see 6.
          4. File-level access controls
                  The same home users who can't be arsed to run as anything but admin? Home users are people who, when asking for help with their computers say things like, "I just wanna do X." (often without any thought as to whether X is the best way to accomplish what they're really trying to do) If they're asking questions like, "Is Y possible, What do I need to do to make it work, or is there a better way" they're either enthusiasts or professionals.
          5. Multi-language support
                  Home users.. by definition would only be interested in one language, their own.
          6. Various networking features (granted, in 2001 these wouldn't have been very popular at home)
                  It has windows networking for file and printer sharing. Are you suggesting that home users would be interested in network booting, or authentication? (and btw, windows networking can accomplish something very much like a quick-and-dirty intranet web server simply by sharing a directory with html files in it as read-only.

  9. Re:remote desktop on "Vista Capable" Lawsuit Is Now a Class Action · · Score: 1

    That's hardly worth doubling the price. Especially as VNC or VNC+SSH (tightVNC & PuTTY are nice, free options) does the job more securely anyway.

    It's neither an option that home users are going to be interested in, nor is it an option that they are particularly excluded from. The "remote assistance" feature has nearly the same functionality, though it's a little harder to initiate. Furthermore, if you've ever run remote desktop sessions (like, say, remote X) you'd know that "on the road" really isn't a viable option, anyway, due to latency and bandwidth limitations.

    I submit that what "significant numbers of people" would really like to do is work on the road without buying extra licenses for the software tools, and rsync when it's convenient. Which at the moment is only emulable in windows' world using remote desktop. Which is unfortunate, since you're not going to be able to run photoshop or powerpoint to a thin client over a hotel WiFi connection to your home computer 1,000 miles away and get much done, ever. The internet just doesn't work that way.

  10. Re:MS selling hardware? on "Vista Capable" Lawsuit Is Now a Class Action · · Score: 1

    "Cheap XP home"?

    Name one thing XP pro can do that XP home cannot that home users would be interested in.

  11. Re:What serious evidence is there against him? on Hans Reiser and the "Geek Defense" Strategy · · Score: 1

    Why would they have to drop the charges against Hans just to also investigate the other loon?

  12. Re:All geeks are the same on Hans Reiser and the "Geek Defense" Strategy · · Score: 1

    Wait, since you've taken a law class, what is the standard of proof in criminal cases? I had always thought it was "beyond a reasonable doubt" and for civil cases it was "preponderance of evidence." But my knowledge of those terms is mostly through comments regarding a certain famous movie star / football player

  13. Re:Wait.. how long? on Nanotechnology-Powered Wiper-Less Windshield · · Score: 1

    Used to be that insurance didn't cover things you could avoid by not being a dumbass. And paying for a replacement windshield if your wiper comes unseated due to not securing it properly, then insisting on running the wipers ANYWAY (you ARE looking through the window they're clearing, right?) for the length of time it would take to actually cause noticeable scratches was a perfectly reasonable "dumbass" tax.

  14. Re:Who cares on Toshiba Paid Off To Drop HD-DVD? · · Score: 2, Insightful

    "And not just the last mile, the entire internet isn't set up for it."

    The internet is up for it. It's only the last mile that matters. There is more than enough regular bandwidth to serve all the popular movies and music (and approaching all the digitally encoded movies and music...) if you posit multicast and ISP caching.

  15. Brings back memories. on Netscape Finally Put Down · · Score: 5, Funny

    This reminds me, I wonder what Lycos is doing these days.

  16. Wait.. how long? on Nanotechnology-Powered Wiper-Less Windshield · · Score: 2, Insightful

    15 minutes??

    It only takes 15 minutes if you count the time it takes to drive to Autozone, which should really be amortized over the other items you're also purchasing. Or you're an auto mechanic working for a dealership doing an inspection and "saving time" by doing that wiper replacement for someone without calling first.

        Of the remaining 5 minutes, maybe a minute in total is spent actually removing the assemblies (my wiper arms don't go full up like a normal car, so for me there's a trick to it, but it doesn't take longer than a minute) and the rest is walking into the store and waiting for an employee to get freed up. They have an odd* policy whereby they only have complete assemblies on the floor, the replacement blades are behind the counter for some reason. The employee does thread the refill for ya, though.

    This costs between $6 and $10 for a pair of blades, meaning that if your blades are differently sized, you have to keep an extra refill around and do it yourself next time. I don't see why you'd pay for full assemblies every time when the only thing that wears out is the rubber.

    *not really that odd when you think about it. They're obviously trying to foster the either the idea that replacing the entire assembly every time is "just how it's done" or that "just the blades" aren't even sold separately.

  17. Re:Well duh on IPv4 Address Crunch In 2 Years, IPv6 Not Ready · · Score: 1

    Besides, they needed that money for rocks that ward off tigers.

  18. Re:Wasn't that the whole point on US Claims Satellite Shoot-Down Success · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Mostly correct, and congratulations on your independent discovery of some important bits of orbital mechanics through simulation, btw, that's pretty neat.

    To be more specific: the transfer orbit is an ellipse (as are all orbits. Circles are just ellipses with an eccentricity of 0), which is similar to an egg, but more symmetric.

    And you are completely correct about the important bit: Any delta-v burn performed as an impulse (as in, short duration, like an OMS burn or an explosion. Electric propulsion has more complicated rules) will change the orbit, and the new orbit always* passes through the point at which the burn was performed.

    *except escape trajectories or certain (N>2)-body problems, but neither of those are really orbits, and they're not particularly relevant in the case under discussion.

  19. Re:Missing option: holes. on The Century's Top Engineering Challenges · · Score: 4, Interesting

    It's not drilling the hole that's the problem. It's holding back the walls against hydrostatic pressure, while still having a usefully open space to pipe water down to be turned to steam. The places where we already have geothermal aren't drilling all the way down to the mantel. They're drilling down to a convenient pocket of magma close to the surface. There are many places with magma-resources that are yet to be tapped, but it is by no means practical for any arbitrary point on the earth's surface to simply keep drilling until they reach magma.

    The necessary advance isn't a "hole drilling robot." It's incredibly strong, heat-resistant pipes, and some kind of trick for installing them while drilling without affecting the bore diameter or preventing bit replacement.

  20. Re:How about on Airport Security Prize Announced · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Back oh about 7 years ago, and for the previous half-century, the airlines were responsible for what happened on their flights. As a result, they chose to set their terms of doing business: they demanded that passengers agree not to carry weapons and submit to a search to prove they are not carrying weapons.

    This was perfectly acceptable, as, as private entities, they are well within their rights to set whatever terms of doing business they wish, with very few exceptions. I.e., some requirements that are to onerous, or unreasonable disclaimers of liability are not enforceable, but the particular terms they chose don't fall under that category.

    You still had your second amendment right, but you agreed to refrain from exercising it as part of the terms of the ticket.

    Following September 11, 2001, Federal agencies took over the rule-making and enforcing, and were able to violate constitutionally protected rights because travelers had gotten used to the restrictions when they were made by an organization that actually had the authority to request them. That's why the second amendment stops at the airport gates.

    Fortunately, you don't actually have to cross the airport gates to travel by air. Private charters, buddies, etc, can all fly without ever connecting to a terminal. You can, of course, take whatever you want with you on those flights (as long as the charter company or your friend don't object) GA, the best kept secret of the aviation industry.

  21. Re:This is not a troll: GIMP is hard for newbies on Google Funds Work for Photoshop on Linux · · Score: 1

    You can, but about half to two thirds of them are photoshop tutorials, which is fine if you're aware of gimp's capabilities and know what gimp features can be used in place of the photoshop features outlined, but if you're at the point where you're asking questions like, "How do I draw a straight line between two points"* You're not ready to attempt tutorial translation.

    *It's either click, shift-click or click, ctrl-click, I can never remember. Fortunately there is a dialog bar that lets you know what ctrl, alt, and shift do for the current tool when you press them, and ctrl-z does what you'd expect it to if you're NOT a console guru.

  22. Re:Navigating by compass is obsolete? on Obsolete Technical Skills · · Score: 1

    ahem: Gyrocompass, as in gyroscope, which is all it is. And you still need a magnetic compass to set it, because it will drift, nutate, and precess. And, in an airplane, you can get gimbal-lock, too. (well, a ship that crosses the globe could have gimbal lock, as well, but they'd probably travel through a number of ports so they'd have ample opportunity to keep the gyros updated)

  23. Re:As opposed to? on NASA Plans Lunar Mobile Phone Network · · Score: 1

    I think that the problem is that reading comprehension is no longer being taught. But I did put the key point in bold, for the products of the current educational system:

    I'm claiming that a problem prior to the tests was that some students (and a disturbingly high percentage: double-digits) didn't even learn to pass the test and also nothing else. The testing doesn't actually do anything except reveal the extent to which even the minimal standard of "exactly what's on the test and nothing more" wasn't being taught.

    The testing also reveals the relative efficacy of the schools and teachers, so you can see why the unions themselves would be opposed to it.

  24. It gets worse. on Gravity Lamp Grabs Green Prize · · Score: 1

    An ideal green source at 100% efficiency, according to wikipedia, comes in at 685 lumens/watt. Which works out to 550 lbs for a four-hour burn (at 40W equivalent, which they're claiming). That's the design limit: you can't get better than 100% efficiency, and you really don't want your light source to be a delta function, anyway.

    So if they've got 4hrs of 50 lbs @ 40W equivalent, they've got some kind of over-unity LEDs in there. Put those side-by-side with normal, high-efficiency photovoltaics in an optoisolator and connect the leads the way you're not supposed to and you don't even need the weight!

  25. Re:As opposed to? on NASA Plans Lunar Mobile Phone Network · · Score: 1

    There may be some flaws with NCLB, but for the most part all I've heard so far since it's inception is AFT/NEA whining that the universally administered, standardized tests are somehow bad, with no alternate suggestion as to how to evaluate schools' and teachers' performance, and more importantly as to how to encourage good performance.

    Claims that teachers are neglecting other areas and "teaching to the test" are bandied about, failing to consider (or deliberately glossing over) that the problem the testing is supposed to solve is that there were teachers who were not even "teaching to the test."