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User: Bovarchist

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Comments · 55

  1. Re:The system clearly isn't working. on Jammie Thomas Hit With $1.5 Million Verdict · · Score: 1

    A judge has to decide if a lawsuit settlement can be dropped in a bankruptcy. Typically, they are not as far as I understand, so bankruptcy is not really a viable alternative.

  2. Re:Uh, what? on Defending Self In a Case of On-Line Identity Theft? · · Score: 1

    Just register a similar typo-squatting type domain in the name of the 3rd party service and bring that to your employer's attention.

  3. Re:Obivous Answer on "Logan's Run" Syndrome In Programming · · Score: 1

    Or they renew on Carousel.

  4. Re:COM Automation = ActiveX on New Microsoft Silverlight Features Have Windows Bias · · Score: 1

    I'm fairly certain they did this to allow more Office interoperability, since Office still uses quite a bit of COM crap. As for it being a Windows bias, I don't really think that has any meaning since COM doesn't exist on the other platforms (not that I'm aware of, anyway). Besides, COM Interop is a nightmare to work with and I've only ever seen developers use it when they had no other choice (i.e. the PHB has to have his automated data dump of a 4-column table in a perfectly formatted Excel 2003 file rather than a .csv)

  5. Re:claims on Microsoft Patents Sudo's Behavior · · Score: 1

    I agree that it is a bad patent just because it is an obvious thing to do. However, I think comparing it to sudo is a bit of a stretch. Maybe I'm running the wrong version of Linux, but I've never had sudo pop up and tell me that I don't have permission to do something and would I please provide the password to an account that does have said permission. Is "Permission denied" a sudo prompt that I have been hitherto unaware?

  6. Re:Steering wheel spike on FCC/DOT Want High-Tech Cure For Distracted Driving · · Score: 1

    I really don't think you could pull that off in a car without power steering. Unless maybe you've got really muscular legs and are wearing really sticky kneepads...

  7. Re:Autodesk will lose on Company Uses DMCA To Take Down Second-Hand Software · · Score: 1

    The judge agreed with you. Looks like CW ran an old story, or they are talking about an appeal and forgot to mention it. http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2008/05/court-smacks-autodesk-affirms-right-to-sell-used-software.ars

  8. Re:Eyecandy in cost of usability on Firefox To Replace Menus With Office Ribbon · · Score: 5, Informative

    The screenshot in TFA would seem to indicate that what they are calling a "ribbon" is simply the same interface that Chrome and Safari are already using.

  9. Re:A true innovator on Guitar, Studio Wizard Les Paul Dies At 94 · · Score: 1

    This may be true, but Les Paul actually created multi-track recordings with records in the 30's. Go check out "Lover" from 1938. Sure, it wasn't on tape, but it was still multi-track in the sense that he created a single recording with himself playing all the parts.

  10. Re:Tax Exempt? on US Colleges Say Hiring US Students a Bad Deal · · Score: 1

    I have kids and I DO want a simplified tax code. In fact, I would prefer a sales-tax only model. And since I'm wishing, I would like to see the federal government abandon all activities that don't involve national or inter-state relations.

  11. Re:More hair-brained ideas for "Global Warming" on DoE Considers Artificial Trees To Remove CO2 · · Score: 2, Informative

    Actually, I do hook tuna to the electrical wiring in the childrens' bedrooms. That soft sashimi glow is the perfect night light.

  12. Re:I dunno? on WHO Raises Swine Flu Threat Level · · Score: 1

    I just thought that Pete Townsend had gained an unprecedented level of global policy control.

  13. Re:I'm actually convinced that the broken model is on Paid Online News Venture Fails To Get Subscribers · · Score: 1

    I think in addition to a shakeout in advertising prices, no one has really figured out how to make good internet advertising. Companies have become so infatuated with motion and interactivity that they have abandoned the principles that drove good advertising in the past. They resort to cheap gimicks to try to grab your attention rather than focusing on the quality of the content.

  14. Re:DRM by any other name still smells of stale egg on Stardock, Microsoft Unveil Their Own New Anti-Piracy Methods · · Score: 3, Interesting

    According to TFA, the authentication mechanism is supposed to be open so that any non-Stardock server can support it. I'm assuming that setting up a new server would require some type of permission from the publisher, but there weren't many details about how that would work.

  15. Re:"The only fireproof way of safeguarding your da on "Smash Your Hard Drive" To Fight Identity Theft · · Score: 1

    Only the One Drive reveals its data when exposed to fire, but even then, it's just some crappy poem about Western Digital, Morder, and the Read Heads of Doom.

  16. Re:The Doomsday Machine - Star Trek - missing one on The Best Fictional Doomsday Devices · · Score: 2, Informative

    Peter David wrote a novel called "Vendetta" that expanded on the Doomsday Machine story. His idea was that the one encountered by the Enterprise was just a prototype for a machine to destroy the Borg. Picard and crew find the real machine which is much, much bigger and nastier but was never activated. Not the greatest book in the world, but an interesting extension to the story.

  17. Re:MST - Killed because people can't handle the tr on Mystery Science Theater Turns 20 · · Score: 1

    BBI is the production company started by Jim and Joel and has nothing to do with the Sci-Fi channel. I would agree that the Sci-Fi channel had a hand in killing MST3K, but they did not sue Mr. Sinus.

  18. Re:Only for the rich... on Beating the College Bubble · · Score: 1

    All of that may be true, but I think a more important difference is that the rich person recognizes that the hard work of collecting cans isn't going to pay off as well as something else. They stop picking up cans and try something different. I think mostly, people will work to achieve a lifestyle that is acceptable to them. Only a few are driven enough to do what is necessary to become "rich." For example, I have the means to own my own business and be my own boss, but I choose to work for someone else, because I mainly just like programming and don't want to do all the other stuff a business entails.

  19. Re:Scary on Microsoft Adding jQuery To Visual Studio · · Score: 1

    I'm glad I'm not the only one that was pissed to find out that the viewstate is still getting passed around with ASP.NET AJAX. I understand why they did it, but it's annoying and pointless. If you want to write a lean web application in ASP.NET you have to throw out all of MS's web controls and code straight HTML and http handlers.

  20. Let me be the first to say... on Ancient Yeast Used To Brew Modern Beer · · Score: 1

    EPIC ALE!

  21. Re:MS Dev on Best Reference Site For Each Programming Language? · · Score: 1

    What really bugs me about MSDN is that it's never quite all there. If I'm working with relatively new stuff, I often find the keyword or class I'm looking for, but then it won't have the information I need. Or it will only have an incomplete method or property reference to go with it. Last week I was looking up the new spatial methods in SQL 2008 and discovered an entry with the wrong example. I've complained about this to MS for years, but perhaps I'm the only one complaining. I can always find what I need with google, but I've found that having a complete reference in front of me (like the one php.net provides) can be more rewarding.

  22. Re:AT&T on AT&T Buries ToS Changes In 2500-Page Guide · · Score: 1

    If I remember my business law correctly, it is legal for a contract to waive the right to sue in civil court in favor of binding arbitration. The arbitration process is similar to a court suit but the person bringing the suit has to foot the bill up front - around $10,000 USD is what we were told in class 10 years ago. This is a standard part of nearly all construction and new car sale contracts. IANAL, so I may definitely have some details wrong here, but that is the gist of it.

  23. Re:No, it is not reasonable. on Testing IT Professionals On Job Interviews? · · Score: 4, Insightful

    It's also an easy way to filter out the bullshitters. About nine years ago I had to help hire for an entry level web programming job. Every asswipe that could spell HTML had 4 years of it on his resume. A test might have saved everyone some pain.

    And you don't have to look at testing as a punishment. It's just another way to show off your skills. And it can be a valuable insight into the company - a stupid test may warn of PHBs in your future.

    Besides, I think we would all be better off if all professionals (especially CIOs) were given tests prior employment.

  24. Re:And they say ... on Home Science Under Attack In Massachusetts · · Score: 3, Informative

    If you read TFA, you will note that the they did not "choose" to raid the home. Firemen were called to put out a fire in an air conditioning unit. While there, they noticed the lab and called the authorities. Granted, they probably over-reacted, but to the un-trained eyes of a fireman, the lab probably looked pretty scary. After the investigation, officials noted that Mr. Deeb had violated zoning laws and some other minor regulations, but that he had been very cooperative and they were not planning on citing him for any crime.

  25. Re:build quality on Lenovo Intros the Monstrous ThinkPad W700 · · Score: 3, Funny

    Yeah, but can you bulls-eye womp rats in your T61?