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User: MBGMorden

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  1. Re:Not really HTML5 on Netflix Ditches Silverlight With HTML5 Support In IE11 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    In my minds of the corporate overlords these days, what's good for the goose is good for the goose and the gander can take it or leave it.

  2. Re:Could we achieve 1G of thust. on NASA's NEXT Ion Thruster Runs Five and a Half Years Nonstop To Set New Record · · Score: 2

    Without relativistic effects about a year but, as noted by the sibling poster, relativity gets in the way from the outside observers point of view. And what good is next day delivery if the goods are 1 day old and the recipient's great, great, great, great, great granddaughter has to sign for the package?

    As a method of delivery its worthless, but as a method of colonization its pretty neat. If by some stretch of the imagination we could identify a planet as definitely habitable from here we send off a crew at some significant fraction of the speed of light. I'm sure the people actually travelling there care a lot more about the passage of time than those of us back on Earth (they'd have to be specially selected with the idea that everyone back on Earth that they knew would be dead by the time they arrived - for settling one could take their family with them or just select people without any existing family).

    Once they get there they could setup a base of operations/colony and begin communicating back with Earth (I assume that the project itself would still be up and running).

    Ideally if we could work out communications via quantum entanglement they could have take a quantum entangled particle with them to make communications faster back to Earth. Perhaps even build some sort of router to hook the computer LAN on that side back to the internet on this side. Probably would be low-bandwidth but latency would be tolerable.

  3. Re:Exploits that will never be patched on Ouya Android Game Console Launches, Quickly Sells Out · · Score: 1

    Windows XP came out in 2001. So ending support in 2014 gives it a 13 year supported run. That doesn't work well to support the argument that computers break and need upgrading every year.

    That's also beside the point that the point wasn't solely aimed at computers or digital devices. It could be microwave ovens, waffle makers, alarm clocks, or fishing reels. Not everything goes out of date very quickly, but the buying public seems hell bent on buying the cheapest item on the shelf. Doesn't matter that they keep REBUYING it over and over as the previous one breaks. As a nation we're obsessed with buying junk.

    There is a saying that used to be more common when it came to buying quality stuff: "Buy once, cry once.". Yes, you might have to pay a little extra for a quality item (hence the "cry" part), but if you pay that extra and get a quality item you'll likely not need to replace it anytime soon.

  4. Re:Good ... on Supreme Court Overturns Defense of Marriage Act · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Enumerated - but not granted. Its much akin to how a map lists and acknowledges places, but it doesn't create them.

  5. Re:Good ... on Supreme Court Overturns Defense of Marriage Act · · Score: 2

    I for one want the government out of marriage. Let the churches deal with "marriage"

    Marriage isn't a solely religious concept. Atheists marry. As a matter of fact in the early days of the Church the Church didn't even want to perform marriages but they finally relented.

    Saying that marriage should be "dealt with" by the churches is to try to force religion into areas where it need not exist.

  6. Re:Expectations lowered by all the crap out there on Ouya Android Game Console Launches, Quickly Sells Out · · Score: 1

    What sucks is that it really doesn't cost THAT much more to make a good product.

    We live in a world that is not only incredibly stupid, but wasteful. They'd rather buy a $99 widget that they replace every single year than a $140 one that will last a decade.

    "Hey, it's cheaper" has become the rallying cry of or society with not even the slightest bit of attention focused on actual quality.

  7. Re:Xbox One on Ouya Android Game Console Launches, Quickly Sells Out · · Score: 1

    Why get this when you can soon get Xbox One? An honest question.

    Why does anyone buy a Hyundai when they can just buy a Lexus? An honest question.

  8. Re: The Point on ITIF Senior Fellow Claims "America's Broadband Networks Lead the World" · · Score: 1

    Probably not a wise idea to start a family while on minimum wage. Condoms are cheaper than kids.

    Realistically MINIMUM wage shouldn't be enough to support a family on. Its the federally mandated lowest wage possible. Its what high school kids are being payed to work the register at a fast food place or wave those stupid "Get you taxes done here!" signs. Those jobs aren't worth paying enough to support an entire family off of but the minimum wage structure has to accommodate those types of jobs.

    At one time I worked a minimum wage job myself (for 3 years in high school stocking the shelves and drink boxes at a gas station). It was a nice way to keep a couple dollars of spending money in my pocket. Then I went to college and got an education so I wouldn't be stuck there forever. Most of that education was paid for using loans which I actually just got finished paying back.

    The world doesn't OWE you anything. About all minimum wage should allow is for you - only you - to have a place to sleep and enough food to stay alive. If you want to support anyone else (spouse, children, etc) and provide a quality of life above eating, sleeping, and going to work, then get a better job.

  9. Re:Fonts on Red Hat Confirms GNOME Classic Mode For RHEL 7 · · Score: 2

    Arial? Man - that's bad for a UI. Even Microsoft doesn't use Arial for their UI. They used Tahoma up through XP and then Segoe starting in Vista.

    Truthfully, I don't find Ubuntu's interface font that bad, but I usually switch my interface to use Google'd freely available "Droid" font which is pretty decent.

    Also, after much experimenting with the awful looking out of the box Linux GUI's, I actually found that the #1 actual problem with the font setup is mostly just that by default they're too damned big. 10, 11, or even 12px for the normal interface font. I found that if I dropped the standard font size down to 8 or 9px - even with an ugly font - things looked a LOT better.

  10. Re:Doesn't matter on Bill Regulating 3D Printed Guns Announced In NYC · · Score: 1

    The average person is incapable of this though. You have to understand that most people are incapable of operating even the simplest construction tools. While a small percentage might be able to assemble something like a slam-fire shotgun, machining a working semi-auto out of blocks of metal is something only someone with at least a working knowledge as a machinist is going to be able to achieve.

    3D printing aims to reduce it down to clicking a button.

    Even comparing it to movie and music piracy - as simple as it is most people can't figure out how to rip a CD or a DVD. Even with all software and the exact tools you need being available for free (as compared to makeshift ones for machining, as most people don't happen to have a CNC Mill and lathe sitting in their garage), most people can't do it. That said, they can very easily download and use the other files other people make. That's what 3D printing is hoping to achieve. Download, click, print.

  11. Doesn't matter on Bill Regulating 3D Printed Guns Announced In NYC · · Score: 4, Interesting

    The point of 3D printed guns is to be able to ignore such legislation if need be. In general, such laws could be anticipated, but are known to be mostly irrelevant.

    To put this into another perspective - its currently illegal to download pirated music and movies off the internet. Not proposed legislation, not "we're thinking about it" - it's already 100% against the law. How effective is that?

    Another example: its current illegal in nearly every state to possess, grow, or smoke marijuana - yet a significant chunk of the population ends up trying it at some point because when you get right down to it, the shit grows out of the fucking dirt.

    3D printed guns are much the same. They're there not just to make it easy to make a gun, but to make laws against it ineffective. The government and politicians can stamp their feet, pound their gavel, and pass whatever laws they way - but if We The People still want a gun, we'll have them - and there's nothing they can do about it.

  12. Re:Genius judge on Federal Judge Says Interns Should Be Paid · · Score: 1

    But what if their work is not realistically worth even the minimum wage to the employer?

    Then don't create the position in the first place. Minimum wage is set for a reason. The stipulation is that if you are going to have a person show up and work for you, then its worth at least that much money. Increase their workload until its worth minimum wage or just don't expect the position to be filled. If its truly not worth it, then it won't really hurt your company not having them around.

  13. Re:Genius judge on Federal Judge Says Interns Should Be Paid · · Score: 1

    Interns aren't allowed to walk away from a company that mistreats them? Modern slave owners are allowed to whip and kill their interns?

    I did not know that.

    Slavery doesn't necessarily mean you're free to treat them how you wish. Its the idea that people are property and their work is yours without monetary compesation.

    Think of it this way: animals can be property. In effect - slaves. You don't pay your horse and he works for you free for the most part - and that's accepted. HOWEVER, you still aren't free to do just anything you want to with that horse. There are laws governing the treatment of animals that say what you can and can't do to them.

    Don't think that because you can't chain them to a post and whip them that people still can't effectively be slaves.

  14. Re:Theft of Service! on Sharing HBO Go Accounts Could Result In Prison · · Score: 1

    See, this is why the consumer mindset is breaking down here.

    "IP" was kept straight to some degree with books because the cost to produce the copy was still significant. I still don't own the words in the book, but when I bought a physical copy there was an association that the paper and printing costed money and had value, so it was "mine".

    The ONLY different between the book and an electronic copy of information though is the cost of reproduction. You can check out virtually any book you want to from a local library for free and read it. That's been the case for a long time, but publishers didn't complain mostly because that was a hassle. Digital transfer and sharing of goods represents virtually the exact same thing (and the consumers realize that), but since its convenient the publishers want to squash it.

  15. Re:Yes they can on Can Microsoft Survive If Windows Doesn't Dominate? · · Score: 3, Interesting

    The Linux running on portable devices is kinda irrelevant though. Right now the only two tablet OS's worth developing for are iOS and Android. Nothing else really matters, and though TECHNICALLY Android runs on a Linux kernel, its not "Linux" as we know it on the desktop side of things. Developing for the Linux desktop basically puts you in no better position for an Android port than porting for anything else.

  16. Re:Provisional Title... on World of Warcraft Film Shooting Begins Early 2014 · · Score: 1

    As bad as the three D&D movies have been, I don't know if I want them to venture there :).

  17. Barely any on Ask Slashdot: How Important Is Advanced Math In a CS Degree? · · Score: 1

    As a Computer Science graduate who sucked at college math - it's largely irrelevant unless you're going into a niche field that uses it (ie, if you're writing scientific software or the like).

    CS largely boils down to Algebra and Discrete Math. You'll need a very good handle on those, but Calculus, Trig, etc? Mostly irrelevant. Though I did pretty well in high school I'll admit that college level advanced math was difficult for me to wrap my head around. My last Calculus class I had to take three times and even then still only managed low B on my third attempt. My actual CS courses though I think during my entire term in school I only made 2 B's and everything else was A's.

    Nothing CS coursework nor in my life afterwards that has required advanced math. Honestly having been graduated and programming for 10 years now I don't even remember how to even do an integral or a derivative.

  18. Re:If you don't like metro... on First Looks At Windows 8.1, Complete With 'Start' Button · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Except that this new "Start" menu takes you into the Metro start screen.

    Staying out of Metro would be a lot easier if Microsoft gave us back the ACTUAL start menu.

  19. Re:Ambivalent on Mayor Bloomberg Battles Fleet Owners Over NYC 'Taxi of Tomorrow' · · Score: 3, Informative

    On thing to keep in mind when comparing miles per "gallon" - the UK when it used gallons used the Imperial gallon, which is larger than the US gallon (4.55L vs 3.78L, respectively). A car that gets 24 miles per US gallon would get nearly 29 miles per Imperial gallon.

  20. Re:Start here on White House: Use Metric If You Want, We Don't Care · · Score: 1

    Out of interest, how would Americans react to a dual system on packaging, like 1lb / 454g?

    Virtually all food packaging in the US lists both imperial and metric units.

    For the most part though, nobody cares about the metric ones. An exception seems to be bottles of soda. Large bottles are typically sold in the 2 liter size (when I was a kid 3 liters were also common but you don't see them as much anymore).

    That's pretty close to a half-gallon so if they'd wanted a similar sized container marked in imperial units they could have done so, but for whatever reason big soda bottles come as a 2 liter (and people know it as that). Individual sizes USUALLY come in bottles measured in ounces (12oz cans, 20oz plastic bottles, or 8oz glass bottles), though I have seen some "half liter" bottles sold lately.

  21. Re:Well then on Intel Claims Haswell Architecture Offers 50% Longer Battery Life vs. Ivy Bridge · · Score: 1, Funny

    If you're watching 3-hours of porn in a single sitting you're doing it wrong.

  22. Re:like Windows? on Ask Slashdot: When Is the User Experience Too Good? · · Score: 1

    No it doesn't. It still asks Yes/No - it just deletes the file without sending it to the Recycle Bin.

  23. Re:Sounds reasonable to me. on FiOS User Finds Limit of 'Unlimited' Data Plan: 77 TB/Month · · Score: 5, Insightful

    OTOH, if Verizon advertised it as unlimited, they (barring any fine print) do have to shut up and provide it

    The fine print isn't about the bandwidth amount - its what he's doing to generate it. He openly admitted he was running servers on it. That doesn't work with the residential terms of service.

    Now, that's something that they probably wouldn't nitpick on if the bandwidth usage wasn't so extreme, but you have to expect when you get that specific on the letter of the contract ("This is my bandwidth and I'm gonna use it!") then they're going to in turn do the same. Running servers means he's out.

  24. Re:HELP!!! on French Police End Missing Persons Searches, Suggest Using Facebook · · Score: 4, Insightful

    His children example was used for shockvalue, but the point is still the same - for the most part, if someone dissappears without a trace, foul play is involved. They MIGHT have just decided to skip town, but most people don't. Lets say its not your 9 year old daughter. Lets say your 23 year old daughter never comes home from work. I'd like to hear something besides "Check Facebook" from the local authorities.

  25. Re:Need Clarity on Debian GNU/Hurd 2013 Released · · Score: 2

    I think you parsed my intent incorrectly. I wasn't stating the Linux is the kernel and THUS the OS, I was stating that Linux is the kernel AND the OS.