Slashdot Mirror


User: robbak

robbak's activity in the archive.

Stories
0
Comments
633
First seen
Last seen
Profile
(view on slashdot.org)

Comments · 633

  1. Yeah, timber is strange. on Petition For Metric In US Halfway To Requiring Response From the White House · · Score: 1

    For those others who don't know, the lumber is cut into even inch measurements. But it is then dried, where it shrinks, and then is planed smooth, or 'dressed', which takes more off. So a 2x4 is 40mmx90mm, and, indeed, in metric countries, is generally sold as such!

  2. If you know what Roundup is, why did you post this on Anti-GMO Activist Recants · · Score: 1

    Roundup, the plant growth hormone that messes up the plants growth regulation to the point that they die, and is then quickly destroyed by soil bacteria.

    It is hard to find a completely natural substance more benign, unless you happen to be the plant sprayed with it. ( I will refrain from making statements involving the word "vegetable".)

    If you are going to complain about chemicals, find something that is worth complaining about.

  3. If he tells you to jump, then ask on Text Message Spammer Wants FCC To Declare Spam Filters Illegal · · Score: 1

    you ask if you need to use blue, nails, screws or bolts to secure your feet to the floor.

    You can tell the worth of an argument by the one arguing it. In this case, it is clear evidence that spam filters should b mandatory.

  4. Separate in name, yes.... on Australian Police Warn That Apple Maps Could Get Someone Killed · · Score: 1

    They might be separate cities, but there is very little not-a-city between them.

  5. OK, 'Easier to trade' might make more sense. on Bitcoins Join Global Bank Network · · Score: 1

    Yeah, that's probably my point. But, also, yes, I may have it wrong. Maybe if I explain it, it will get clear in my mind.
    At the moment, it is hard to get funds into the bitcoin economy, but relatively easy to sell out. So available cash to buy coin is scarce. Therefore cash is currently expensive, so flipping it around, according to this reasoning, coins are currently undervalued.
    So, yes, I'm wrong, and it should rise, all things being equal and predictable. Mea Culpa.

  6. My thought on value movements: on Bitcoins Join Global Bank Network · · Score: 1

    I would expect that it will rise on the news - it usually does - but this story broke a few days ago, and, yes, now I remember it, it did rise.

    Medium term, though, it may well push it back down. Part of the price at the moment is because they are difficult to buy, so there is a premium. If it becomes easier, then the price may fall.

    So, I predict temporary instability, on top of the usual long term instability. And yet I still think it, or a tweaked successor, will succeed. Am I not loopy?

  7. Re:Great idea..real money saver... on Is It Time For the US To Ditch the Dollar Bill? · · Score: 1

    We did it, here in Australia. It required spending one of the new dollar coins on a piece of plastic to convert the dollar note slot into two coin containers. If you had an old register, it already had a couple of empty coin containers that used to hold 1 and 2 cent coins.
    Ditch the penny, and 5c (nickel?), get yourself a few shiny new $1 and $2 coins, and join the sane world, peoples!

  8. Same as always for big water projects: on Seas Rising Faster Than Projected · · Score: 1

    Water is really heavy and really expensive to move large distances, or lift up relatively small amounts.

    I'm sure most people look at a map and say "Lakes at the top, river at the bottom, water flows from top to bottom, so no problem." Here in Australia, people are always nattering on about moving water from the tropical north to the termperate south as if it is all so very easy and cheap!

  9. None at all. on Seas Rising Faster Than Projected · · Score: 4, Insightful

    All we are going to do about it is shoot the climate scientists for not doing enough to warn us.

  10. Should be stated in the 'on hold' message. on Ask Slashdot: Troubling Trend For Open Source Company · · Score: 2

    "Welcome to the paid technical support line for the WizardWidget project. This services support fees will support the development of this project."

    Then go on to point the caller to the free support options: the project's community forums, mailing lists or irc channels. Then try to sell your paid support.

  11. All it has to be is printed in landscape on Confidential Police Documents Found In Confetti At Macy's Parade · · Score: 1

    If you put a page printed in fine print in landscape, then a lot of text would be legible if put through a strip shredder. Even a cross cut shredder might not be enough to prevent the release of useable data in that case.

    So the problem is a cheap strip shredder somewhere in a police station, and someone treating the shredded paper thoughtlessly.
    (Not that this story might not be false, but it also could be true.)

  12. Me Too. on Total Solar Eclipse Bedazzles Northern Australians · · Score: 1

    Traveled to 12km west of Mt Carbine. No cloud problems - a very small, light cloud moved across the face of the during totality, just to made things interesting. Not many pictures, as I was more interested in seeing it.

    You've got to see it.

  13. Not this one. on Sony DVR Useless After Rovi Stops TV Guide OnScreen · · Score: 5, Informative

    From what I read, Sony decided to save pennies by not having a rtc, and relying on the ota signals. So no ota clock signals, no clock, no work.

  14. Yeah, we remember the Zune. on Craig Mundie Blames Microsoft's Product Delays On Cybercrime · · Score: 1

    The reason for MS's failure in that field was clear to all. Even it the poor company it shared, it still stood out as a crock.

  15. The Comments of the Ars article are worth reading. on CyanogenMod Android ROMs Accidentally Logged Screen Unlock Patterns · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Basically, the story is that:
    It is debugging code left in a development build, that happens to be used by many persons as nightlies.
    It does not write to a file. It is debug information written to a ring buffer in RAM. You would need to have an app installed with permission on the logs, or connect a cable in debug mode and trace the log to even get these messages.
    It was found in a code review, and removed.

    So much a non-issue that it is a wonder that Ars even reported it. Seems Ars misread a mailing list heads-up. We are waiting for Ars to publish the correction to their article.

  16. It's the ink soaking through the paper. on 17th Century Microscope Book Is Now Freely Readable · · Score: 1

    Apart from hand-editing every page, or or just normalizing the life out of them, there is no way. If you had the paper before you, it would look like that. No amount of lighting will remove what is on the page.
    And you can't simply subtract the back of the page from the front. The amount of soak-through is dependant on the fibres of the paper!

  17. It's called print-through! on 17th Century Microscope Book Is Now Freely Readable · · Score: 3, Interesting

    What you are calling back-scan is print-through, partially related to the book being 350 years old, and the ink bleeding through the paper over the centuries.
    You can be sure that they have done everything they could to reduce it, but that is what the pages look like now.

    What annoys me, however, is that they have not opened up and scanned all the folded-over plates. The signature image, that of the flea, is only visible in the shadow of that print-through!
    Unless I am missing something in the google books interface!

  18. Re:iFixit on Foxconn Thinks the iPhone 5 Is a Pain · · Score: 3, Informative

    iFixit's rating was because the screen came off easily after removing a couple of screws, and that provided easy access to the battery. After that, the rest of the phone was tightly packed, and fiddly to get apart, and they did say that re-aligning it to factory specs would be hard to impossible.

  19. Re:He didn't disclose what he wasn't asked on Unredacted Filings Reveal Claims of Juror Misconduct in Apple vs Samsung Trial · · Score: 4, Informative

    The '10 years' comment comes from an interview that the juror gave. The transcript does not back up his statement. He may have misunderstood, or maybe the transcript was wrong (I'd think unlikely). But that's the story.

  20. Re:Apple may have a problem, Houston... on Apple Wants Another $707 Million From Samsung · · Score: 1

    I don't think so.

    1) Samsung engaged in misconduct during discovery.

    This has been dealt with. Samsung started preserving evidence before Apple did.

    2) Samsung was unable to provide a sound basis for the drastic shifts in their design approach after the iPhone was released

    When you include all the phones, not just Apple's selection Samsung's 'before' and 'after' ranges are all rather similar.

    3) Some of the elements of copying, like icon styling are rather clear and none have been conceded to, which is likely what led the jury to draw the conclusion of intent. This happens all the time, X lies about his minor part in the crime so the jury decides to believe he's lying because he was a primary.

    Well, the icon stylings are standard things that all existed before Apple 'stole' them from previous designs.

    That being said I agree with Samsung the punishments effectively allowed Apple to misrepresent the evidence in their presentation. I'd like to see those things tossed.

    No real arguments there.
    Oh, look I've done the 'quote and deny' thing that generally tells me that a conversation is no longer worth reading Oh well.

  21. It's the 'preserving evidence' sideshow. on Apple Wants Another $707 Million From Samsung · · Score: 3, Interesting

    He's referring to the side show where Apple claimed that Samsung should have guessed earlier than they did that Apple was going to take them to court, and begun preserving evidence. This is contradicted in that Apple also did not begin preserving evidence until after Samsung did. If Apple did not feel that it might take action, how was Samsung to guess? Crystal ball? Examining sheep's livers?
    As I said, a sideshow. Apple backed off as soon as the judge started making noises that Apple should be punished as well.

  22. The real news is Samsung's motion on Apple Wants Another $707 Million From Samsung · · Score: 5, Informative

    http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20120922171505170

    The real news is Samsung's motion for JMOL or a new trial. This verdict is hopelessly inconsistent and compromised - the statements made by the jury foreman are hard to believe! - that there is no chance of it standing. If sane, Apple would admit that, argue that the verdict should be tossed in it's entirety, so the important points in Samsung's favor are lost as well, and keep it's powder dry for round 2. I'm not holding my breath for that, as they have shown a willingness to argue that the sky is green from day 1.

  23. Because this power source is in Antartica on A Modest Proposal For Sequestration of CO2 In the Antarctic · · Score: 4, Insightful

    A big point of this proposal is the strong, constant katabatic wind currents around Antarctica, which make the generation of large amounts of power feasible. But that power is in Antarctica, not New York, so you can't do much with it.

    And, yes, you can extract much more CO2 from the air with a unit of power than is produced generating that power, even from Coal.

  24. Well, it'll make for one very interesting iceburg on A Modest Proposal For Sequestration of CO2 In the Antarctic · · Score: 1

    ...In a few million years

  25. No, because I don't see them as a security. on Hacked BitCoin Exchange Sued By Customers · · Score: 1

    And if the SEC did, I don't see the Internet taking much notice of them!