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User: bdcrazy

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  1. Subdivision plats and utility maps on Ask Slashdot: Resources For Identifying Telecom Right-of-Way Locations? · · Score: 1

    Unfortunately getting that info is hard enough for contractors to obtain, even those working on the utilities. Some would say its a security issue, another because they may or may not be accurate (A fair amount of the time it is the later). They are a part of the public record. Subdivision plats usually show where they were supposed to go. County records departments usually have this info as well.
    Crowd sourcing would work, but again accuracy is a MAJOR issue. Having a utility company come out and mark where their utilities are is your best bet (doesn't scale though) and again, may be wrong. Just note that almost every house usually has water/sewer/power/cable/telephone lines and expand that to block, city, state and you'll get the idea across.

  2. Re:FUD on An Android Tablet Victory May Be Problematic For Free Software · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Why is I measured diagonally? Why are hard drives measured in 1,000,000s? Because the number is bigger. For 8.5x11, you can truthfully say the max size available on the screen is 13.9". If higher numbers don't mean better, we wouldn't have this problem.

  3. Re:"Concerns about a closed model".. on Valve Boss Expects Apple To Challenge Game Consoles · · Score: 1

    Apple iTheater. Its a imac, but with a 50" widescreen panel. No wires, no ports, all wireless. Done.

  4. Re:8-tracks on Rhapsody To Acquire Napster · · Score: 1

    I'm almost positive I heard of a plugin that does this...

  5. Re:Safer alternative designs? on German Parliament Backs Nuclear Exit By 2022 · · Score: 2

    Fast neutrons don't initiate fission as well as slowed neutrons. Removing the slow ones limit the reaction rates.

  6. Re:Good on Facebook Plans To Show Ads On Websites · · Score: 2

    I had a similar thing to the calls about not having activated onstar in my car i bought used. But what if you are in an accident and can't call for help? I either get outside help or i die. The person on the other end of the phone let out a gasp. Somehow unable to comprehend not spending money to get onstar setup/monthly fees. I also had a revelation that just because i have a phone with me all the time doesn't mean you can get a hold of me at any second either. Kinda strange stuff these days apparently.

  7. Re:Get rid of the artifact? on US Objects To the Kilogram · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I just love ideal physics land. Unfortunately the real world doesn't work that way.

  8. Re:it's like doping in sports on Plagiarism Inc. · · Score: 2, Informative

    why do people want to go to university? There were told the piece of paper that is a diploma is worth lots of money. That is the only reason.

  9. Re:Why cut prices? on Sony Finally Turning a Profit On PS3s · · Score: 1

    I always assumed the downloading for every new game you insert was the xbox downloading code to sign the executable to your system. Maybe I'm just being paranoid. I just find it really odd that after you download an arcade game, it has to download MORE data. Couldn't it have done it all at once? Or fix the original download?

  10. Re:Groovy on The Struggle To Keep Java Relevant · · Score: 1

    Years and Decades old Already Built Optimized and tested C-Libraries that you use python to glue together to rapidly solve real world problems. Hybrid programming is like lego, take the nice building blocks and put them together.

  11. Re:a true geek ... on Pen vs. Keyboard vs. Touch vs. Everything Else · · Score: 1

    And then spend the rest of their life in frustration when every other computer they touch doesn't work right or having to reconfigure them back and forth if that is even possible.

  12. Re:Neptune - Uranus shuffle on How Earth Avoided a Fiery Premature Death · · Score: 1

    You may want to contact the manufacturer of your targeting system. It appears the target selection queue order has been accidentally reversed. Hopefully they have an update and you can finally get your kaboom.

  13. Re:Just like California on Legislator Wants Cancer Warnings For Cell Phones · · Score: 1

    I think the big thing is that 'cancer' is now the boogieman. We're slowly getting rid of all sorts of things that used to kill us. We're living longer and healthier, yet cancer can kill anybody at anytime. So once you start getting rid of everything else, cancer is one of the few left. Sure heart disease is a big deal, but cancer, that is EVIL. My warning is thus: No matter what you do, you're gonna die. As a parting shot for the paranoid, staying in your house is hazardous because your roof COULD COLLAPSE!

  14. Re:And it's got Turbo Boost on Asus Demos First Intel P55 · · Score: 1

    Back when I had a 286, the turbo button was turned OFF so the games would play. A lot of time based games from those days and other interactive games were based off the system clock. Turning the turbo on boosted clockspeed high enough to make those games unplayable.

  15. Re:If you give up the inch, they'll take the mile on NASA Sticking To Imperial Units For Shuttle Replacement · · Score: 1

    From what I've seen, it is not so much reluctance or inability as it is bureaucracy and lowest common denominator arbiter. IDOT (Illinois DOT) requires files submitted in feet so that the smallest and most outdated contractors can bid on contracts and are actually giving the ability to reproduce the plans as a finished product. Non PC, but in my experience pretty accurate for a small portion of the contractor population, that this usually involves contractors who hire people who aren't as fluent in english or engineering and thus have lower aptitude for SI units but can at least read a ruler or tape measure.

    Before someone says you can change the tape measure, it has happened, only it is of the form of 1.45 feet, or 2.3 inches, as opposed to x.yz meters. Attempt to change or eliminate this requirement and lobby groups and others will protest and engage lawsuits over the change saying it blocks them from bidding. If you can eliminate all lawsuits and ignore peoples desire for non-change, sure we can do it.

    The above mentioned things are the major stumbling blocks that I see. Not to mention that several people I know don't want to change to SI because WEB/b> are American and can do whatever we want.

  16. Re:I have an iDea on Using the iPhone As a Pointing Device For the Real World · · Score: 1

    The most likely problem in a large building in a city is the shear number of phones served by one tower. Your phone may have very high signal strength, but it is trying to communicate in a very noisy environment competing with lots of other signals.

  17. Re:Can lithium really power all cars? on Bolivia Is the Saudi Arabia of Lithium · · Score: 1

    I sometimes wonder when concentrations of specific elements will be higher in landfills than they are in "natural" deposits and we start mining landfills.

  18. Re:Bastards! on 10 OSes We Left Behind · · Score: 1

    And why have library files if you don't need them? Your point is relying on programs to accurately put files in a shared folder. About as useful as relying on programs to put directories in a database. I personally find the registry to be way more useful than dozens of dot files or a library folder. I personally have never seen a registry issue, not that I support too many computers (Probably about 20 computers concurrently over the past 10 years). I've seen people delete dozens of files and folders because they didn't know what they were. People don't know about the registry so its much more fool proof for the ordinary person.

  19. Re:Bastards! on 10 OSes We Left Behind · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Anybody else find the following funny? No damn Registry [...] Delete the folder and a few library files ... Same problem as everything else.

  20. Re:Oh hey on Do We Need a New Internet? · · Score: 3, Insightful

    There are a lot of people with money and power who would like to make more money and get more power by controlling the flow of information.

  21. Re:Next up: on Companies Using MS Word "Out of Habit," Says Forrester · · Score: 1

    The thinking of them as data types. It is all data to the people who need access to it. It should all be treated the same way and easily accessible however you want. From what I've seen, we're not there yet. I feel the separation of the data into spreadsheet/webpage/document/etc is keeping us in the dark ages of computing. When web browsers went to style sheets that separated data from layout was a good day indeed. Now we need the same for other uses of data.

  22. Re:PEBKAC on How Do You Stay Upbeat Amidst the Idiocy? · · Score: 1

    Most non Microsoft apps don't handle font scaling well. Increasing the system font dpi causes pop up windows to be missing buttons, text wrapping out of the window, etc. I haven't used windows in a while, so not sure if they fixed these issues yet.

  23. Re:i am afraid on 2,100-Year-Old Antikythera Device Recreated In Working Form · · Score: 1

    I have no powers! I need no powers! I am RUNAWAYFROMDANGERMAN! If you see me running, try and keep up...

  24. Re:Size on Obama Wants Broadband, Computers Part of Stimulus · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Not sure about trains outfitted with automatic fiber laying machinery, but I know about specially made train cars that lay fiber. The nice thing about railroads and fiber is that at the turn of last century, railroads were giving large swaths of right of way for running tracks from town to town. So the railroads usually connect towns together, the same towns that are perhaps wanting digital connectivity. Also, many lines used to have multi track routes, and these have been reduced to reduce maintenane and then you have wide areas where you can lay fiber without much fear of running into many obstacles. This allows easier connections of towns by running cables along the railroad right of way.

  25. Re:Soooo on IRS Looking at Google/Mozilla Relationship · · Score: 1

    The thing about OEM Windows licenses is that the OEM agrees to provide all support for that install. If you purchase an OEM machine, you can't call up Microsoft support. If you purchase a retail version, you can (though the difference is really minimal in most user cases and usually only involves a few calls).