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User: echusarcana

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Comments · 105

  1. Re:Linux... on International Space Station Infected With Malware Carried By Russian Astronauts · · Score: 5, Informative
    This story is factually incorrect and refers to an incident a number of years ago. At the time of the infection, the system was running Windows XP.

    http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/155392-international-space-station-switches-from-windows-to-linux-for-improved-reliability

  2. Neutrino Detection Isn't new on Thanks to Neutrino Detector, We Might Get a Good Look At the Next Supernova · · Score: 2

    The article is technically accurate but this isn't anything new. And yes, neutrinos will arrive before the light from an exploding supernova. There is already a large detector filled with heavy water that can do this in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada. It has been around for a decade. And this is one of the things it is advertised to do.

    http://www.snolab.ca/
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sudbury_Neutrino_Observatory

  3. Not HP, whatever you do on Ask Slashdot: Best SOHO Printer Choices? · · Score: 1

    Been through three HP printers. First one worked pretty well, but wasn't cheap. The second I had to return to the store as there as there was no way to setup the WIFI from Linux without WPS (not supported as being a security threat). Reliability on the most recent one has been very poor - the contacts on the print cartridges seem to fail regularly. Very disappointed in HP. I've had success with a older Brother laser. Nothing recent.

  4. Re:If you don't like it on Bell Canada To Collect User Data For Advertising · · Score: 1

    In 6 or 7 years, I've never had a Teksavvy outage. If people have outages, regardless of your company, Bell's incompetance is probably a more likely reason than malice.

  5. Re:Tiniest violin on OCZ May Be On Its Last Legs · · Score: 1

    Agreed. I've had two OCZ products fail immediately - the one I bought and the replacement they sent me. That was a few years ago, when USB drives were still new and expensive, but I remember that buying experience and have avoided the brand ever since.

  6. WANO SOER on New Threat To Seaside Nuclear Plants, Datacenters: Jellyfish · · Score: 1

    This was already the subject of a WANO (World Association of Nuclear Operators) Significant Operating Event Report a few years ago - something to do with loss of heat sink. All nuclear stations worldwide will have a credible and audited plan to deal with this by now. Jellyfish does make a good headline, though,

  7. High end a bit too much on Tiny $45 Cubic Mini-PC Supports Android and Linux · · Score: 2

    I like the idea, but at the high end with shipping you are almost up into the Celeron price range. This would be for a 14W motherboard/cpu combo which should outperform this and would be a much more flexible system.

  8. What Happens When Google Play Services is Buggy? on Google Play Services Supplants Android As Google's "Platform" · · Score: 4, Informative

    A quick check on XDA Developers suggests that many ROMs are having problems with Google Play Services right now: excessive battery usage, high data usage. It is hard to tell because the simple monitoring tools don't break down what this mysterious piece of software is doing. It might be some subtle version incompatibility.
    So what happens when a monolithic chunk of software has a *really* bad release? Putting all your eggs in one basket is a serious risk.

  9. SVN simpler than GIT on Subversion 1.8 Released But Will You Still Use Git? · · Score: 1

    The concepts behind good old CVS were easy to understand. Subversion inherits this legacy while GIT can be conceptual shift for developers. Developers should be wrapping their heads around their code, not trying to understand the abstractions of source control. This is why I like SVN better.

  10. Write!! on Ask Slashdot: What To Do With New Free Time? · · Score: 1

    Write the book you picture in your head. That one you always wanted to read but no one has written yet. Once you get into it, it is very engaging.

  11. Ban it, But Who Will Care? on Another Study Confirms Hands-Free Texting While Driving Is Unsafe · · Score: 1
    It is pretty obvious to any user that hands-free is no safer. If anything, it is less safe as the hands-free controls are supremely flakey.

    However, here in Ontario, the existing hands-free law is a totally ignored law, arbitrarily and rarely enforced. There is no point in passing any law that society has no interest in following or enforcing. Virtually every day I see people texting on the freeway. I'm not entirely happy about it, but that is the new normal.

  12. Wrote My Own on Slashdot Asks: How Will You Replace Google Reader? · · Score: 1

    Really wasn't that hard to replace iGoogle + GReader.

  13. Cultists or Corporations? on The Amish Are Getting Fracked · · Score: 1

    I don't have much sympathy for repressive religious cultists that reject the common conventions of our society.

  14. 1 Sv = 100 Rem.... BFD? on Mars Explorers Face Huge Radiation Problem · · Score: 1

    This is silly. 100 Rem over a year mission is no big deal. The health risks of the radiation are pretty trivial compared to the greater risks of SMASHING INTO THE PLANET AT A FEW THOUSAND MILES AN HOUR. A little perspective might be useful.

  15. Hugely Biased Article on The Canadian Government's War On Science · · Score: 1
    Of couse some "scientist" is going to be whiny when their pet project is cut by government. Many of these research areas (e.g. climate science) are politically loaded topics anyway... why should a government support them? (side note: we're Canadians, climate change is an good thing... more would be a nice). The article largely reflects a left-wing viewpoint which by American standards would be extreme left-wing.

    The AECL/SNC-Lavalin point mentioned above is quite a good one however: not mentioned by the author. This was technology that actually made money. Lots and lots of money, just not for the government. But was blundered away largely through govenrnment incompentence at running a business.

  16. He's Right on Ad Exec: Learn To Code Or You're Dead To Me · · Score: 2, Insightful
    The guy is completely correct.

    The situation: You've got a thousand applicants. You've got one or two job openings.

    If you don't have the slightest idea what makes the internet and the information age run, you probably don't deserve the job. But the converse is also true: programmers should learn something of art, literature, and history. Too many software people don't even know anything about science. A person that can't think broadly in a well-rounded way is useless.

  17. Carrot and Stick on Ask Slashdot: How Do You Deal With Programmers Who Have Not Stayed Current? · · Score: 1

    A lot of programmers fall into this track because they have not been given the opporunity to develop or learn new skills. If the company only expects this person to keep grinding out the same old Fortran/Cobol/VisualBasic code and never gives them chances at learning, then the company gets what it deserves: a problem employee.
    My suggestion: give the person opportunities and work time to develop. An employee is a long-term investment - if this works, you'll get a better employee. Remember that this person has lots of business knowledge that they bring to the table and some sort of track record better than a new hire.
    What if it doesn't work? The dude isn't interested in learning anything new. Well, what you describe is potentially a problem employee. The type of employee that insists on using stinky old technology without justifying it with any sort of valid analysis. The sort of employee that says "If it isn't written in VisualBasic, you'll have to find someone else to run the project." The answer to this is REMOVAL FROM ROLE. If you can't fire them send them off to some dead-end part of the company where they can do less harm: you know, Human Resources, Facilities, Projects...

  18. Dear Americans: Use a Pen! on Why Does a Voting Machine Need Calibration? · · Score: 2
    We have this old fashioned technology in Canada called a paper and pen that works just fine. It doesn't need calibration. It leaves an un-arguable record: no hanging chads. Any uneducated person can use the technology. And at most polls you can count the ballots in about 35 minutes: I've done it.

    Why do you have machines??

  19. Re:Took you long enough, Slashdot on 26 Nuclear Power Plants In Hurricane Sandy's Path · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I'm getting tired of all the anti-nuclear stuff on Slashdot as well. Enough of this. If you are some sort of anti-science luddite go comment on Mother Jones or somewhere like that. A nuclear station is built to withstand a hurricane with ease, including, loss of off-site power. There are multiple backups. End of story.

  20. Re:Old and tired. on Ask Slashdot: Why Does Wireless Gear Degrade Over Time? · · Score: 1

    So I think you are absolutely correct, combined with heat effects this explains it. The rising noise floor would equally effect a new router. I've observed that cable modems, in particular, seem to fail over time. Radio performance can have nothing to do with their failure. Sadly, we live in a disposable society where both companies and consumers will accept flaky products.

  21. A bit expensive? on New Arduino Due Brings More Power To the Table · · Score: 3, Informative

    It is a great learning tool, but the Arduino always seemed a little overpriced: especially the Mega 2560 version. On the Uno you inevitably run out of I/O pins when you are building anything remotely useful. I've switched over to the Teensy for my projects. A much better value: http://www.pjrc.com/teensy/

  22. Being Canadian, I am surprised prostitution is actually a crime in the United States. Strictly speaking, it isn't here.
    Seems kind of parochial, just sayin'.

  23. Re:Is "The Road" sci-fi? on Ask Slashdot: What's the Most Depressing Sci-fi You've Ever Read? · · Score: 2

    The Road is sci-fi, certainly. And it definitely is an order of magnitude more depressing than most things mentioned here.

  24. Re:Silent Running on Ask Slashdot: What's the Most Depressing Sci-fi You've Ever Read? · · Score: 1

    Yes! And it earns bonus points for having Bruce Dern spouting environmentalist drivel.

  25. Re:Asimov on Ask Slashdot: What's the Most Depressing Sci-fi You've Ever Read? · · Score: 1

    While I don't agree that the Foundation books are depressing, your comments are very insightful. I never noticed the way Asimov writes before.