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User: ToreTS

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  1. Re:"renews questioning by some" on Wikipedia Meets $16M Budget Goal · · Score: 1

    Funny that they used that wording in an article on Wikipedia. In their early days, they were known for using a lot of unsubstantiated claims in articles of the form "Some argue that..." They've cracked down on it though, and implemented a "Weasel Word Policy" that prohibits such vague claims.

  2. Re:Bad Maths [citation needed] on Wikipedia Meets $16M Budget Goal · · Score: 2

    Correct understanding of averages, actually.

  3. Re:Good. on UK Banks Attempt To Censor Academic Publication · · Score: 2

    From what I've read, UK banks will say "the correct PIN was used, so you must have been negligent and written it down somehow, the Chip and PIN system itself is unbreakable". Here in Norway we have had a PIN-based system since the 1980s, and in the beginning, Norwegian banks took the same stance (correct PIN used - customer automatically at fault), but time has shown that this is not true, as shown by skimming frauds where criminals read a customer's PIN using stealthily mounted cameras. Another approach is for the criminals to watch people typing in their PINs using binoculars and then pickpocket them. It's clear that stories coming out such as the exploit where a stolen card can be used without knowing the correct PIN must be really bad for the banks, since it breaks their "the system is perfectly secure, it must be your fault" line of argumentation.

  4. Re:Yeah i was thinking about that. on Electric Cars May Be Made Noisier By Law · · Score: 1

    Knowing that you legally had the right of way isn't much of a consolation when you're sitting in a wheelchair.

  5. What will they break this time? on Firefox 4 Beta 8 Up · · Score: 1

    I wonder what part of Firefox's functionality will be arbitrarily changed this time? I always delay upgrading until they cut off security updates for the old version, and every time I finally upgrade there is some part of the application that works differently, and I need to google some arcane config setting to put it back the way I like it.

  6. Re:So where's the "close" button this time? on Ubuntu 10.10 Beta Released · · Score: 1

    Yeah, this is one of my pet peeves with Firefox as well. Everytime I upgrade, some default setting is changed, such as the behaviour of the tab close buttons, the location bar etc., and then I have to spend time tweaking settings in order to get things back the way I want it. It has gone so far that I put off upgrading Firefox until they stop putting out security patches for the old version. It was the same when upgrading to Thunderbird 3, and judging by the Mozilla forums, I'm not the only one experiencing this. Maintaining consistency is definitely important for the "non-geeky" users, and it seems that at least some open-source development teams do not get this.

  7. Return of the Meego on Nokia, Intel Merge Maemo, Moblin Into MeeGo · · Score: 1

    Seriously, "Moblin", "Maemo" and "Meego" sound like characters in some cheesy science fiction or fantasy film.

  8. Re:backslashdot on Tim Berners-Lee Is Sorry About the Slashes · · Score: 1

    What is superfluous with referring to a Domain Name System server?

  9. Re:Theres one technical point on Tim Berners-Lee Is Sorry About the Slashes · · Score: 1

    DOS already used the slash for command line switches (similar to - in Unix), and this was borrowed from CP/M. Since they did not want to break compatibility, they had to find another path separator, and adopted the backslash for this purpose. Modern versions of Windows now accept forward slashes as path separators, but on the command line you will have to enclose a forward-slash-separated path in quotation marks, in order to avoid it being parsed as command-line switches.

  10. Re:Easy on How To Prove Someone Is Female? · · Score: 5, Informative

    Actually, I imagine they would be doing a PCR assay looking for the SRY gene on the Y chromosome, which is what gets things going in the male direction during foetal development. This would have a greater chance of detecting any abnormalities since in some rare cases, the SRY gene can end up on the X chromosome, giving an XX male. This would not be detected by a karyotype, but would show up on a PCR assay. Also, PCR is heavily automatised and probably easier to do than a karyotype, which involves a lot of human work. There are also other conditions that could cause something to go wrong, such as being a XY male with some defect in testosterone synthesis/sensitivity. Anyways, if she has the SRY gene, then that is a pretty strong indicator that her genes intended for her to be a man, but that something happened during foetal development to make things go another way.

  11. Re:Our own fault on The Irksome Cellphone Industry · · Score: 1

    Of course that's one option, a better one would be to enable free competition between cellphone carriers. Here in Europe, if I think I pay too much for text messages, I can change to a provider that charges me less, and keep my number and handset. Apparently, that is not possible in the US due to anticompetitive practices of locking down phones and requiring customers to get a new phone number if they change carriers.

    Of course, it's possible here too to enter a contract where I get a cheap phone in exchange for being locked to that provider for a year, but once the locking period expires I am free to change to another carrier.

    It's interesting that Europe, which is chided as "socialist" by US inhabitants, actually has a more free market in this regard than the US itself.

  12. What about the ponies??? on Some Overheating 3GS iPhones Glow Pink · · Score: 1

    Does it display ponies as well when it glows pink?

  13. Re:Interesting but inherently flawed! on Gold Sold From Vending Machines In Germany · · Score: 1

    And then, since the goldsmith knows that all of his customers won't come and reclaim their gold all at the same time, he can lend out some of the gold in his vault to people who want to buy houses, and earn interest. Profit!

  14. Re:This is an interesting development, but... on Reliable Male Contraceptive In the Works · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Another reason why women will not accept this is that if a couple relies on the woman taking the pill, she is free to surreptitiously stop taking it if she wants a baby and the man does not. Once she is pregnant, the man has no rights whatsoever and will have to pay child support. If many men start using this male contraceptive, women will lose this possibility to become pregnant against the man's consent.

  15. Re:Predictable. on Using Speed Cameras To Send Tickets To Your Enemies · · Score: 1

    Here in Norway, the defendant in a criminal trial is allowed to lie in court, whereas all other witnesses must tell the truth under penalty of perjury. But of course, if it is exposed that the defendant has lied, this will hurt his credibility and the court may then choose to disregard his testimony. How is that in the US? Is the defendant allowed to lie? Or can he just refuse to answer questions?

  16. Re:!Carginogen on California Classes LED Component Gallium Arsenide a Carcinogen · · Score: 1

    It is actually correct. Half a coffeecup of appleseeds will, indeeed, cause the death of an adult human, but that has nothing to do with cancer. The seeds are poisonous, and you will die of the acute poisoning, not an acute cancer. A warning about apple seeds causing cancer is as stupid as a warning on a knife that says "Warning. If you stab yourself in the chest with this knife, you may get an infection if the blade isn't properly disinfected".

  17. Re:still waiting for Men's Studies classes on The Push For Quotas For Women In Science · · Score: 1

    40% of victims are men, so 60% of the victims should be women. Not the best statistic to show that men are targeted more than women.

    The point is that feminists and the government claim that victims of domestic violence are 100% women and 0% men.

  18. Re:One problem with women in chemistry on The Push For Quotas For Women In Science · · Score: 1

    This has been suggested here in Norway also, but women do not want to give away any of their leave to men.

  19. Didn't you know? on How Much Does a New Internet Cost? · · Score: 1

    The Internet costs $9.95 per month from AOL!

  20. Re:This is not good! on Possible Cure For Autism · · Score: 1

    Damn fucking right! Tourette's is a fucking crippling disorder that makes you appear like a dick and shit in public.

    Yeah, that sounds like a terrible disease to have. I mean, appearing like a dick is bad enough, but shitting in public is a severe social handicap!

  21. Re:Astroturf much? on Is Wikipedia Failing? · · Score: 1

    "Some have left Wikipedia for Citizendium"

    Warning : The integrity of the section above may be compromised by weasel words . Please see the discussion on the talk page.

  22. Re:Get out your chemistry set on Cancer Drug May Not Get A Chance Due to Lack of Patent · · Score: 1
    Although it would be cool to be able to stroll down to the "chemistry store" and pick up a couple of ounces of, say, salt's better half.

    Why bother to walk to the "chemistry store" when you can buy it online?

  23. Re:You're confusing "stem cell" and cell division on Stem Cells At The Core of Cancer? · · Score: 1
    Any cell can divide infinitely - not just stem cells.

    No, only cells which express telomerase can divide infinitely. In humans, only stem cells and progenitor cells express telomerase.

  24. Re:This is not new... on Rootkit Could Hide In PCI Cards · · Score: 1

    What is this "virii" you talk about?

  25. Re:blogosphere, blog this, blog that... on When Blog Networks Make News, Silence Abounds · · Score: 1

    Would you like some blogs, blogs, eggs and blogs? That doesn't have that many blogs in it...