Slashdot Mirror


User: mhotchin

mhotchin's activity in the archive.

Stories
0
Comments
271
First seen
Last seen
Profile
(view on slashdot.org)

Comments · 271

  1. Re:WTF on Ultra-Low Power Radio Transceiver Enables Truly Wireless Earbuds · · Score: 2

    No, "auditioned". You can "try" a pair of earbuds by sticking them in your ear. You "Audition" earbuds by ensuring they fit properly, then using them to listen to several pieces of music you are familiar with, and generating a (personal, subjective) rating for them.

    It's the difference between sitting in a car and going for a test-drive.

  2. Re:Does Canada have Constitution? on Canadian Supreme Court Rules Ban On Assisted Suicide Unconstitutional · · Score: 1

    The Head of State of Canada is the Queen of Canada. It just so happens that this office resides in the same person as a bunch of other heads of state, but that does *not* make the British crown our ruler.

    It's a subtle, but *very important* distinction, because the powers of the British crown are *not* the same as the powers of the Canadian crown.

    In fact it is entirely possible for one crown to abdicate one position, but not the others. They are, after all, separate positions.

  3. Re: Suzanne Humphries MD on New Jersey Gov. Christie: Parents Should Have Choice In Vaccinations · · Score: 1

    Nothing fishy at all. Vaccines are not silver bullets, and no vaccine is 100% effective. However, with high coverage, the vaccine is *effective enough* to prevent or greatly reduce an outbreak.
    With a substantial proportion of non-vaccinated people (effectiveness: 0%), then yes, even some vaccinated will be infected. No reputable source ever said otherwise, though.

  4. Re:Choice but with consequences on New Jersey Gov. Christie: Parents Should Have Choice In Vaccinations · · Score: 1

    The reason for this was specifically because vaccines are NOT really profitable. Since one of the major reasons to vaccinate is because the cost to society as a whole is so high when it *doesn't* happen, then it was decided the possible liability costs for the vaccines should also be taken by society, in the form of the NVICP. Without the NVICP, the monetary incentive for the companies is to simply shut down production completely - it's just not worth it.

  5. Re:Kinect on Hands On With Microsoft's Holographic Goggles · · Score: 1

    Fastest selling != most sold.

    Your points, while correct, aren't particularly relevant. 1000 Kinects sold in a month is 'faster selling' than a 10,000 XBoxes sold in a year.

  6. Re:hmm on Pope Francis: There Are Limits To Freedom of Expression · · Score: 1

    You also need to study the follow up rulings. Chaplinksky has been narrowed so much over the years as to be essentially repudiated.
    http://www.langston.com/Fun_Pe...

  7. Re:Pope Francis - fuck your mother on Pope Francis: There Are Limits To Freedom of Expression · · Score: 1

    In the US at least, the 'Fighting Words' doctrine has essentially been entirely repudiated by the Supreme Court.
    http://www.langston.com/Fun_Pe...

  8. Re:Bribocracy on IEEE: New H-1B Bill Will "Help Destroy" US Tech Workforce · · Score: 2

    “Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want and deserve to get it good and hard.”

      H.L. Mencken,

  9. Re:Outside those conditions? on Councilmen Introduce Bills Strongly Regulating UAV Use in NYC · · Score: 1

    I think the construction is correct. The proposed legislation lists conditions under which UAV flight is banned, rather than allowed. So, you need to be outside those conditions to be OK.

  10. Re:Donations... on Anti-Ebola Drug ZMapp Makes Clean Sweep: 18 of 18 Monkeys Survive Infection · · Score: 5, Informative

    Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontiéres (MSF)
    http://www.doctorswithoutborde...

  11. Re:"Vote Selling" Misdirection on Ask Slashdot: Should I Fight Against Online Voting In Our Municipality? · · Score: 1

    One can sell your vote, but there is no way for the *buyer* to validate his purchase with show-up-at-the-polls voting.
    You can sell your vote and vote anyway you like. The whole *point* of anonymous, in person voting is to prevent coercion.

    In contrast to online voting, where your boss says "Login and let me do the voting, or you're fired.".

  12. In the case of a *recount*, hand filled ballots can be (and usually are) hand counted.

    Hand filled ballots can be *audited* against the machine totals.

  13. Re:In other news... on Judge: US Search Warrants Apply To Overseas Computers · · Score: 1

    But who cares? Unless you have an entity in that country that they can issue a court order to, they can blather all they want.

    The US isn't invading the EU and seizing servers. It's compelling a *US* company to turn over data it has control over. It doesn't matter where the data is.

    That the breaks for multi-nationals - if you don't want to deal with conflicting laws, then GTFO one of the jurisdictions. Otherwise, suck it up and accept that you will have legal liability somewhere, and it's just the cost of doing business.

  14. Re:Murica on Judge: US Search Warrants Apply To Overseas Computers · · Score: 1

    Well, *everything*. The US isn't forcing anyone in the EU to do anything - they are forcing a US company to do something, which incidentally involves data stored in the EU.

    If a US company has a subsidiary in Iran, then *of course* that is under the jurisdiction of the Iranian courts, and can be compelled to release any and all data they have access to. The obvious solution is to make sure the subsidiaries don not have access to data that you don't want the foreign Gvt to have.

  15. Re:Murica on Judge: US Search Warrants Apply To Overseas Computers · · Score: 1

    The so-called "fighting words' doctrine has essentially been repudiated by the Supreme court, without being explicitly overruled.

    For-real-and-for-true, the cases involved are now called "The motherfucker trilogy". Seriously.
    http://www.langston.com/Fun_Pe...

  16. Re:A win for freedom on U.S. Supreme Court Upholds Religious Objections To Contraception · · Score: 1

    Certain copper based IUDs also act on the embryo, and can be used 'after the fact'.

  17. Re:Bad media coverage on U.S. Supreme Court Upholds Religious Objections To Contraception · · Score: 1

    Certain copper based UIDs can (and are, but rarely) used after the fact. All the benefits of 'Plan B", but with useful long term effects as well.

  18. Re:Hmm. on "Going Up" At 45 Mph: Hitachi To Deliver World's Fastest Elevator · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Since terminal velocity is a function of air resistance, but the air in the elevator is always moving as fast as the occupant, there's actually no upper limit on the speed of the elevator. It would have to accelerate the entire way.

  19. Re:The CA should not revoke the certificates, on Private Keys Stolen Within Hours From Heartbleed OpenSSL Site · · Score: 4, Informative

    IE 11 (at least) works properly, right out of the box:

    There is a problem with this website’s security certificate.

    This organization's certificate has been revoked.
    Security certificate problems may indicate an attempt to fool you or intercept any data you send to the server.
    We recommend that you close this webpage and do not continue to this website.
    Click here to close this webpage.

  20. Re:Judging Distance on Will Cameras Replace Sideview Mirrors On Cars In 2018? · · Score: 2

    Those mirrors are not flat - wide angle.

    Depth perception works just fine on flat mirrors.

  21. Re:Uhhmm,, replace the case. Destroy bad cases. on $30K Worth of Multimeters Must Be Destroyed Because They're Yellow · · Score: 1

    Too expensive. The meters are held in a bonded warehouse, so nobody at Sparkfun can actually get at them. Even if you can find someone bonded to do the work for you, the labour costs would be prohibitive - on the order of $150/hour/person.

    Also, daily storage costs are eating up the value of the shipment - it's possible that by the time replacement cases arrived, even the storage costs make this a loser.

  22. Re:"I am NOT a child molester!" on Pro-Vaccination Efforts May Be Scaring Wary Parents From Shots · · Score: 1
  23. Re:I'm male but... on Getting Young Women Interested In Open Source · · Score: 1

    Don't be intentionally dense. Nobody is saying women *can't* do these things, only that they may prefer to do *other* things, and that preference may be inate. WWII speaks only to capabilities, which were never in any doubt.

    I hate public speaking, but I'll do it if I have to.

  24. Re:In otherwards on Virtual Boss Keeps Workers On a Short Leash · · Score: 1

    Predicted 20 years ago!
    http://dilbert.com/strips/comi...

  25. Re:Bios code? on Ask Slashdot: What's the Most Often-Run Piece of Code -- Ever? · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Actually, it's likely not executed that many times - the CPU goes into HALT when idle, and wakes up when there's work to do. Gone are the days of endlessly spinning....

    The Idle Process may be more book-keeping artifact than actual code.