I'm going to go off-topic just for fun about the birthers.
Their claim: almost 50 years ago, an American woman and a Kenyan man had a son. Although he was a US citizen by birth, regardless of where he was born, because his mother was born and raised American, they smuggled him to Hawaii, obtained a certificate of live birth, and put notices in the two local papers about his birth, and why? So that he could be a "natural-born" citizen. The only difference being that this half-black individual could be president one day, and this all happened only a few years after he wouldn't have been forced to sit at the back of the bus, or use a different bathroom or water fountain.
Yeah, seems completely plausible to me. And besides, how could you not reward all of that foresight?
The how about we don't spend as much as "the AGWers" demand? How about we look for other solutions?
I haven't seen any proof that removing as much CO2 from the atmosphere as possible will have any effect, and while it wouldn't hurt to do so, there are probably better things to do.
What percentage of the population, do you think, live in coastal areas? More than 15%? You know, those coastal areas that are prone to flooding, and hurricanes, and massive storms that kill people? And then what about all those people that live in dry, arid areas, without much water? Higher temperatures can't be good for droughts, could it?
Why do you assume I suggested something to spend the money on? I said we do what we can.
Maybe we get the coal plants to stop polluting as much. Maybe we find ways to remove methane from the atmosphere, and prevent more of it from being released to begin with. I don't really have the all the solutions, and never said I did. But instead of fighting over whether Global Warming is happening, or whether it's mostly man-made causes, or only 20%, we do what we can.
Is the only way you can try to win an argument by changing what I said? Seeing as how you did it multiple times, I'm guessing yes.
Bigger Catastrophes, hmm, let's see . . . More and bigger hurricanes? More flooding like what is going on in Brazil and Australia, and what happened in China last year. Even more massive amounts of snow dropped on Atlanta, New York, Washington D.C., until people are buried alive in it? Yeah, more of those.
O rly? Paraphrased: It doesn't matter what is happening or why, we just have to stop it.
Where did I say it doesn't matter what is happening, and I never said we have to stop it. It doesn't matter as much what is causing the Earth to warm up, but we need to do something about it. Should that "something" be move all coastal areas further inland, evacuate all islands smaller than Ireland, and find a better way to deal with all the floods and hurricanes that will continue to increase? I'm guessing there might be better solutions, including ones that don't involve ONLY reducing CO2.
The problem is complicated: For one, the world getting hotter _isn't_ a problem; it's the effects of it that are.
So we should treat the symptoms, and ignore the cause?
And then, you have to evaluate the effectiveness of your solution.
I never suggested a solution, I'm saying we look for some solutions and implement them, instead of fighting over whether it's happening or not.
And this is why I have global warming: There is no real analysis. It's just this "don't ask why, but if you don't agree with me billions will die" crap over and over. And every time I look at the figures, even the worst case ones (though based in reality), I just can't help but find it to be anything but a minor detail that can be solved in due time.
I don't know why you have global warming. But since climate change is gradual, how long do you think countermeasures will take? And as to it being a "minor detail" that can be solved in due time, it's much more difficult to solve a problem if people say it doesn't exist, and therefore fight all measures to counteract it.
I'm not endorsing anything except that action needs to be taken. But if you look at the reasons why people don't want to take ANY action, it mostly comes down to having to spend more money (better filtration systems, less air/water pollution, cleaner but more expensive power plants, etc.)
So, are you saying the polar ice caps aren't melting? And how do reporting stations matter when satellites are measuring the temperature? Earth gets warmer, ice caps melt, coastal areas flood. After this does it matter what caused it? Or should we maybe worry about what can be done about it?
Whether it's our fault or not, greenhouse-gas caused or not, doesn't matter as much. The more important question is, can we do something about it before even bigger catastrophes occur?
When people say, "global warming is a myth", they can't prove it with any certainty, but they would still choose to do nothing. If they're wrong, Millions or Billions of people die.
If we choose to do what we can to try and keep it from getting worse, and in the end all the climate scientists were wrong, what are the consequences? We spent more money than we had to?
To me it's kind of like car insurance, you pay money and hope the worst doesn't happen.
No, you're a racist because if he was a white guy born in Hawaii, nobody would be questioning it. If his father was a white British guy, then it's all good, right? Of course you'll say it wouldn't be, now, but we all know that's not the truth . . .
This begs the question, why should he have to provide more information? Did McCain? George W? Clinton? George H.W.? Reagan? Carter? Ford? Nixon? Were they asked repeatedly and exhaustively to prove to every citizen in this country that they are, in fact, naturally born citizens?
You're saying he has to provide more information because his dad was a black foreigner? That makes you racist.
Also, to follow the conspiracy, his mother would have had to give birth to him in Kenya, then real quick smuggle him into Hawaii, but why would she do that? He was already a US citizen because his mother was born and raised in the US. So why fake the "naturally born" part? Believing they did all this over 40 years ago so that the son of a black man and white woman could run for president? This just a few years after black people didn't have to ride in the back of the bus anymore, and could share drinking fountains with white folk? That's far more of a stretch than anything else.
You say it's simple for him to provide the "other" birth certificate, but why should he have to? Besides, you've already proven above that even if that were to be provided, you wouldn't believe it, or say it's fake, etc. . . so what's the point?
Finally, as far as the "redacted" serial number, it's clearly visible in those links, as well as posted in the comments closer to the top. So, you're either inept, lazy, or just saying stupid stuff to be a jerk because you have nothing better to do. In any case, you are no longer worth arguing with.
I don't think we should dumb things down for the lowest common denominator of intelligence out there. TV and Movies already do that way too much of the time.
What does that say about Windows then? They are only on Version 7, although I hear they used to have a 95 and a 2000 . . . So is IE8 more advanced than Windows 7? And is Windows 7 less advanced than Windows 95? After all, 95 is a bigger number.
I personally love how you can buy a DVD player at Best Buy for under $100, and then when you need a HDMI cable to hook it up? Over $100. Why does the cable that just sits there cost more than the DVD player it connects, when the DVD player has moving parts, a laser, and a remote control?
It was for about 1000 employees, so SnapShot was right on target.
We had the Urns as well, 3 per kitchen area (regular, decaf and other -> flavored, or extra strong, or just another regular pot). Now we have the flavia machines for 50 - 75 cents a cup.
They also cut down and made everybody (even VPs we were told) use Economy class for flights. The price difference here worked out to about 7 Economy fares for 1 business class ticket, and before this, Everybody was allowed Business Class (~$1300 for Economy to ~$9500 for Business for the most common destination).
At the company where I work, they cut off the free coffee last summer, for a cost savings of $80,000 a year. Not exactly a tiny expense, basically one engineer's job.
Now if we can just get that one engineer whose job it saved to get everybody coffee . . .
However, this is a good response to Google's stance on privacy issues that "if you're doing something on the internet you don't want anyone to know about, maybe you shouldn't be doing it."
I don't see how renting whatever mainstream movies she wanted and wanting to keep her orientation a private matter equates to "something she shouldn't be doing."
Was it necessary to release the birth date of the users? As if the day of the month you were born in would matter in which movies you liked? No more than month and year should have been included, probably no more than the year.
The problem is most people don't think, and those that do, don't think about what they're doing from a security standpoint. "Will this work?" or "Will this be safe?" is vastly different from "Can this be abused?" or even "Is all of this really necessary?"
This is already happening anywhere you get a bunch of them in the same area, like a stadium or arena. At the University stadium here, a connection with an iPhone during the game was just about impossible, and they blamed it on the fact that they didn't know so many students would bring iPhones to school with them ?!
But they just put up a new tower about 5-6 miles away, so that should help . ..
I also see this issue when just changing channels. Some channels (mostly HD) are simply louder than the others. So I often have to adjust the volume depending on which channel I'm watching.
Why not just pick a standard volume, and have the shows start there with their opening dialog, credits, theme, etc? Then make the commercials match that volume. You don't need the average for the entire show or anything else, because it's not like shows get gradually louder as they progress.
This is one of the top reasons I can't stand to watch TV anymore without a DVR, if a commercial is too loud, and I'm watching live TV, I'll just pause the show and sit there and wait instead of changing the volume for every ad that comes up.
Some advertisers can't seem to understand that while there are some ads people love to watch (and will even look up and watch online), pissing me off with their loud_volume_so_I_can't_ignore_it approach just negatively reinforces their product and I'll avoid them on purpose. They would literally be better off not running any commercials.
Bonus Question: How long will it be before someone files a lawsuit because a too-loud commercial damages their hearing, children's hearing, etc.?
Sony also says it could have a number of applications, such as a digital sign, a digital frame, a medical display, or a virtual pet. Looking at the product image, who else wants to bet on the latter?)
Latter refers to the second of two choices or things mentioned, not the last in a list of things, and I have no idea why there is a close parenthesis at the end of the summary, when there is no corresponding open parenthesis.
This is not random company X selling their own products, it's a retailer selling other companies goods. And by removing negative reviews, the website is implying that everybody that purchased Item A liked the product, and there weren't any complaints.
It's fraud, plain and simple. Whether or not it's illegal, I'm not sure, but I am sure that it is unethical, misleading and dishonest.
We're not talking about the manufacturer describing their own product, same goes for people describing themselves for online dating, job interviews, etc. That's why you sometimes need references . ..
But to solicit reviews, and then delete the negative ones is completely different. You find this in book and movie reviews, book jackets, etc., but then you can also look at who gave that review, what paper they work for, and then decide their credibility.
What is the actual difference between what this site is doing and astroturfing? Putting up fake good reviews, or deleting bad reviews?
I wouldn't shop there, I would let others know to avoid the site, and then forward their actions to the FTC.
It's not a "Cheaper Bedazzler", it's a cheaper "Dazzler", nicknamed Bedazzler. This is just another misleading headline. The hardware hackers were modding the "Dazzler", but almost nobody knows what that is, and a misleading headline that references '80s annoying tech is sure to draw more attention.
Look for future headlines that include the terms Lite-Brite and Flowbee.
Shoulder surfing isn't really much of a problem in the work place.
When was the last time someone stood close enough to read your password and you didn't know they where there?
Shoulder surfing is just an excuse to implement a half brained feel good 'security' measure.
. . . except when someone is at your computer because you need to show them something, and they have to wait while you type in the password -- I'm sure you can just ask them to look away then or something.
Plus, as a bonus, if we turn off password masking, key loggers won't be nearly as necessary, and screen shot grabbers could be used much more effectively . ..
Call me old-fashioned, or paranoid, or someone who likes to keep his privacy, but my passwords aren't written down ANYWHERE. That includes post-it notes and saved files. And I'd like to keep them off the screen as well.
To me this just sounds like more of the same complaints, which keep getting louder: "I don't understand this computer stuff. Make it easier for me so I don't have to think, and so I can click on every email attachment and never have to login because that takes too long, and blah blah blah."
After RTFA, this is a cranky old guy that can't use mobile phone keyboards, is always sitting alone in his office, can't avoid accidentally pressing the reset button if it's on the page, and also can't type fast enough to prevent someone from watching all the keys he presses when he types anyway.
Slashdot Mirror
I'm going to go off-topic just for fun about the birthers.
Their claim: almost 50 years ago, an American woman and a Kenyan man had a son. Although he was a US citizen by birth, regardless of where he was born, because his mother was born and raised American, they smuggled him to Hawaii, obtained a certificate of live birth, and put notices in the two local papers about his birth, and why? So that he could be a "natural-born" citizen. The only difference being that this half-black individual could be president one day, and this all happened only a few years after he wouldn't have been forced to sit at the back of the bus, or use a different bathroom or water fountain.
Yeah, seems completely plausible to me. And besides, how could you not reward all of that foresight?
The how about we don't spend as much as "the AGWers" demand? How about we look for other solutions?
I haven't seen any proof that removing as much CO2 from the atmosphere as possible will have any effect, and while it wouldn't hurt to do so, there are probably better things to do.
What percentage of the population, do you think, live in coastal areas? More than 15%? You know, those coastal areas that are prone to flooding, and hurricanes, and massive storms that kill people? And then what about all those people that live in dry, arid areas, without much water? Higher temperatures can't be good for droughts, could it?
Why do you assume I suggested something to spend the money on? I said we do what we can.
Maybe we get the coal plants to stop polluting as much. Maybe we find ways to remove methane from the atmosphere, and prevent more of it from being released to begin with. I don't really have the all the solutions, and never said I did. But instead of fighting over whether Global Warming is happening, or whether it's mostly man-made causes, or only 20%, we do what we can.
Bigger Catastrophes, hmm, let's see . . . More and bigger hurricanes? More flooding like what is going on in Brazil and Australia, and what happened in China last year. Even more massive amounts of snow dropped on Atlanta, New York, Washington D.C., until people are buried alive in it? Yeah, more of those.
O rly? Paraphrased: It doesn't matter what is happening or why, we just have to stop it.
Where did I say it doesn't matter what is happening, and I never said we have to stop it. It doesn't matter as much what is causing the Earth to warm up, but we need to do something about it. Should that "something" be move all coastal areas further inland, evacuate all islands smaller than Ireland, and find a better way to deal with all the floods and hurricanes that will continue to increase? I'm guessing there might be better solutions, including ones that don't involve ONLY reducing CO2.
The problem is complicated: For one, the world getting hotter _isn't_ a problem; it's the effects of it that are.
So we should treat the symptoms, and ignore the cause?
And then, you have to evaluate the effectiveness of your solution.
I never suggested a solution, I'm saying we look for some solutions and implement them, instead of fighting over whether it's happening or not.
And this is why I have global warming: There is no real analysis. It's just this "don't ask why, but if you don't agree with me billions will die" crap over and over. And every time I look at the figures, even the worst case ones (though based in reality), I just can't help but find it to be anything but a minor detail that can be solved in due time.
I don't know why you have global warming. But since climate change is gradual, how long do you think countermeasures will take? And as to it being a "minor detail" that can be solved in due time, it's much more difficult to solve a problem if people say it doesn't exist, and therefore fight all measures to counteract it.
So, are you just being stupid, or a jackass?
I'm not endorsing anything except that action needs to be taken. But if you look at the reasons why people don't want to take ANY action, it mostly comes down to having to spend more money (better filtration systems, less air/water pollution, cleaner but more expensive power plants, etc.)
So, are you saying the polar ice caps aren't melting? And how do reporting stations matter when satellites are measuring the temperature? Earth gets warmer, ice caps melt, coastal areas flood. After this does it matter what caused it? Or should we maybe worry about what can be done about it?
Whether it's our fault or not, greenhouse-gas caused or not, doesn't matter as much. The more important question is, can we do something about it before even bigger catastrophes occur?
When people say, "global warming is a myth", they can't prove it with any certainty, but they would still choose to do nothing. If they're wrong, Millions or Billions of people die.
If we choose to do what we can to try and keep it from getting worse, and in the end all the climate scientists were wrong, what are the consequences? We spent more money than we had to?
To me it's kind of like car insurance, you pay money and hope the worst doesn't happen.
No, you're a racist because if he was a white guy born in Hawaii, nobody would be questioning it. If his father was a white British guy, then it's all good, right? Of course you'll say it wouldn't be, now, but we all know that's not the truth . . .
This begs the question, why should he have to provide more information? Did McCain? George W? Clinton? George H.W.? Reagan? Carter? Ford? Nixon? Were they asked repeatedly and exhaustively to prove to every citizen in this country that they are, in fact, naturally born citizens?
You're saying he has to provide more information because his dad was a black foreigner? That makes you racist.
Also, to follow the conspiracy, his mother would have had to give birth to him in Kenya, then real quick smuggle him into Hawaii, but why would she do that? He was already a US citizen because his mother was born and raised in the US. So why fake the "naturally born" part? Believing they did all this over 40 years ago so that the son of a black man and white woman could run for president? This just a few years after black people didn't have to ride in the back of the bus anymore, and could share drinking fountains with white folk? That's far more of a stretch than anything else.
You say it's simple for him to provide the "other" birth certificate, but why should he have to? Besides, you've already proven above that even if that were to be provided, you wouldn't believe it, or say it's fake, etc. . . so what's the point?
Finally, as far as the "redacted" serial number, it's clearly visible in those links, as well as posted in the comments closer to the top. So, you're either inept, lazy, or just saying stupid stuff to be a jerk because you have nothing better to do. In any case, you are no longer worth arguing with.
Some of the new imagery, at least the imagery around Ann Arbor, Mich. were done this summer, sometime around April-June 2010.
Isn't it possible to just check flight plans around some of these cities?
I don't think we should dumb things down for the lowest common denominator of intelligence out there. TV and Movies already do that way too much of the time.
What does that say about Windows then? They are only on Version 7, although I hear they used to have a 95 and a 2000 . . . So is IE8 more advanced than Windows 7? And is Windows 7 less advanced than Windows 95? After all, 95 is a bigger number.
I personally love how you can buy a DVD player at Best Buy for under $100, and then when you need a HDMI cable to hook it up? Over $100. Why does the cable that just sits there cost more than the DVD player it connects, when the DVD player has moving parts, a laser, and a remote control?
It was for about 1000 employees, so SnapShot was right on target.
We had the Urns as well, 3 per kitchen area (regular, decaf and other -> flavored, or extra strong, or just another regular pot). Now we have the flavia machines for 50 - 75 cents a cup.
They also cut down and made everybody (even VPs we were told) use Economy class for flights. The price difference here worked out to about 7 Economy fares for 1 business class ticket, and before this, Everybody was allowed Business Class (~$1300 for Economy to ~$9500 for Business for the most common destination).
At the company where I work, they cut off the free coffee last summer, for a cost savings of $80,000 a year. Not exactly a tiny expense, basically one engineer's job.
Now if we can just get that one engineer whose job it saved to get everybody coffee . . .
However, this is a good response to Google's stance on privacy issues that "if you're doing something on the internet you don't want anyone to know about, maybe you shouldn't be doing it."
I don't see how renting whatever mainstream movies she wanted and wanting to keep her orientation a private matter equates to "something she shouldn't be doing."
Was it necessary to release the birth date of the users? As if the day of the month you were born in would matter in which movies you liked? No more than month and year should have been included, probably no more than the year.
The problem is most people don't think, and those that do, don't think about what they're doing from a security standpoint. "Will this work?" or "Will this be safe?" is vastly different from "Can this be abused?" or even "Is all of this really necessary?"
This is already happening anywhere you get a bunch of them in the same area, like a stadium or arena. At the University stadium here, a connection with an iPhone during the game was just about impossible, and they blamed it on the fact that they didn't know so many students would bring iPhones to school with them ?!
.
But they just put up a new tower about 5-6 miles away, so that should help . .
I'm so glad I bought a g1 instead.
I also see this issue when just changing channels. Some channels (mostly HD) are simply louder than the others. So I often have to adjust the volume depending on which channel I'm watching.
Why not just pick a standard volume, and have the shows start there with their opening dialog, credits, theme, etc? Then make the commercials match that volume. You don't need the average for the entire show or anything else, because it's not like shows get gradually louder as they progress.
This is one of the top reasons I can't stand to watch TV anymore without a DVR, if a commercial is too loud, and I'm watching live TV, I'll just pause the show and sit there and wait instead of changing the volume for every ad that comes up.
Some advertisers can't seem to understand that while there are some ads people love to watch (and will even look up and watch online), pissing me off with their loud_volume_so_I_can't_ignore_it approach just negatively reinforces their product and I'll avoid them on purpose. They would literally be better off not running any commercials.
Bonus Question: How long will it be before someone files a lawsuit because a too-loud commercial damages their hearing, children's hearing, etc.?
The older users had more than 4x the friends each, on average, than the young.
It's like older users know more people than younger users, and that's just not possible. Kids know everything, just ask them.
Sony also says it could have a number of applications, such as a digital sign, a digital frame, a medical display, or a virtual pet. Looking at the product image, who else wants to bet on the latter?)
Latter refers to the second of two choices or things mentioned, not the last in a list of things, and I have no idea why there is a close parenthesis at the end of the summary, when there is no corresponding open parenthesis.
This is not random company X selling their own products, it's a retailer selling other companies goods. And by removing negative reviews, the website is implying that everybody that purchased Item A liked the product, and there weren't any complaints.
It's fraud, plain and simple. Whether or not it's illegal, I'm not sure, but I am sure that it is unethical, misleading and dishonest.
We're not talking about the manufacturer describing their own product, same goes for people describing themselves for online dating, job interviews, etc. That's why you sometimes need references . . .
But to solicit reviews, and then delete the negative ones is completely different. You find this in book and movie reviews, book jackets, etc., but then you can also look at who gave that review, what paper they work for, and then decide their credibility.
What is the actual difference between what this site is doing and astroturfing? Putting up fake good reviews, or deleting bad reviews?
I wouldn't shop there, I would let others know to avoid the site, and then forward their actions to the FTC.
It's not a "Cheaper Bedazzler", it's a cheaper "Dazzler", nicknamed Bedazzler. This is just another misleading headline. The hardware hackers were modding the "Dazzler", but almost nobody knows what that is, and a misleading headline that references '80s annoying tech is sure to draw more attention.
Look for future headlines that include the terms Lite-Brite and Flowbee.
I'm sorry, I must be an idiot. I RTFA, but I must have missed the part where someone is selling something?
Shoulder surfing isn't really much of a problem in the work place. When was the last time someone stood close enough to read your password and you didn't know they where there?
Shoulder surfing is just an excuse to implement a half brained feel good 'security' measure.
. . . except when someone is at your computer because you need to show them something, and they have to wait while you type in the password -- I'm sure you can just ask them to look away then or something.
.
Plus, as a bonus, if we turn off password masking, key loggers won't be nearly as necessary, and screen shot grabbers could be used much more effectively . .
Call me old-fashioned, or paranoid, or someone who likes to keep his privacy, but my passwords aren't written down ANYWHERE. That includes post-it notes and saved files. And I'd like to keep them off the screen as well.
To me this just sounds like more of the same complaints, which keep getting louder:
"I don't understand this computer stuff. Make it easier for me so I don't have to think, and so I can click on every email attachment and never have to login because that takes too long, and blah blah blah."
After RTFA, this is a cranky old guy that can't use mobile phone keyboards, is always sitting alone in his office, can't avoid accidentally pressing the reset button if it's on the page, and also can't type fast enough to prevent someone from watching all the keys he presses when he types anyway.
I'd just like to say to him, "Get off my lawn."