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User: calgar99

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  1. Re:Sierra come to mind way before LucasArt. on Why Are We Still Talking About LucasArts' Old Adventure Games? · · Score: 1

    Sierra is spash screen that come to mind way before LucasArt... LucasArt is burn in my memory because it was the first game (X-Wing) that I saw on a 2X CD-Rom computer in a store... But Sierra is the compagny that made most of the adventure game I played.

    This exactly. X-Wing was a great game (how many 3.5" floppies did it have?). I was also uber impressed by the cut scenes with voiced dialog. And then to hear the soundtrack (with gameplay-matched music) on my friend's PC with wavetable synth... oh, it was glorious! And yet, when I pull out DOSBox, I'm not playing X-Wing (who wants to calibrate an old analog joystick?). I'm playing any of the Sierra quest-series games, or Leisure Suit Larry. (Plug for LSL: Reloaded! I can't wait!)

  2. iLO on Ask Slashdot: How Best To Set Up a Parent's PC? · · Score: 1

    I would be interested in how to manage a PC remotely including remote BIOS and booting remotely into a PBE or utility partition etc. Is there any reasonably priced hardware/device/software that works like HP iLO for servers? Even spiffier would be to boot off a remote USB flash drive or MinWin, etc. Just as OP said, removing viruses remotely when in-session AV fails to do the job is the #1 reason that forces me to do an in home visit. (FWIW, my mother runs as a standard user on her PC, and I use LogMeIn Free to manage it when necessary with my own login. Works reasonably well.)

  3. Re:This isn't a pin vs Start question on Why Microsoft Killed the Windows Start Button · · Score: 1

    Uh, yes you can. Middle click on the taskbar item and a new window opens.

  4. Re:stopped using it? on Why Microsoft Killed the Windows Start Button · · Score: 1

    This. The Start button isn't for opening routine applications anymore. It's there to easily (if not quickly) find those programs you use once in a blue moon.

  5. Purpose? on Ask Slashdot: Best Option For Heavy-Duty, Full-Home Surge Protection? · · Score: 1

    Rather than Google "whole house surge protection" and read through many advertisements masquerading as facts, can someone just tell me the true purpose of whole house surge protection? If you still need local surge protectors, what is the whole house unit doing? Taking more of the blow from large spikes like lightning? Do they help keep a house from exploding? (I'm asking because I don't know. While my post won't help subby, I'm hoping good responses to this question may help lots of people.)

  6. Re:What is the matter with car companies on A Hybrid Car With Detachable Engine Proposed · · Score: 1
    Right, and if you drive 20+ miles gas-free each day, then you're getting more than 375 miles per tank. People forget that 375 is the total of one non-stop drive from fully topped off to fully emptied.

    If you get on the freeway and keep the car going 80+ mph for 20 miles then you will get something less than the EPA estimated 35 miles per charge.

    If you're driving 80 MPH and you drive 80 miles, how long will it take you? (Sorry, had to!)

  7. Volt, w/ smaller engine, bigger battery? on A Hybrid Car With Detachable Engine Proposed · · Score: 1

    I'm not sure if this is what you're describing, but what would happen if you did such a thing to the Volt: put in a tiny little gas/diesel engine instead of its comparatively larger one... and make the battery pack bigger? Have the engine kick in when batteries hit 50%. I'm guessing that if you go too small with the gas engine, your driving would outpace the recoup from the gas engine. But... would that be a big deal? So what, you'd have gas left in your tank and you can't drive... ultimately you'd get less than 375 miles per single road trip... but you'd get a heck of a lot more distance than 35 miles, right? (Anyone good at math able to figure out a sweet spot?)

  8. Re:Don't take the job then. on Senators Ask Feds To Probe Facebook Log-in Requests · · Score: 1

    If you don't want to hand over that information, then don't. If employers hear this enough, then maybe they will start to smarten up.

    Not a fan of this approach. There will always be enough people stupid/desperate enough to do such things. Then it will become standard/mandatory practice.

  9. Possible Limits on Camera Can See Around Corners · · Score: 1

    At least initially, I feel like that won't work unless you already know what the lack-of-object-around-corner returns are. In other words, if you haven't already taken a "picture" of this corner without someone or something in it, it won't do you any good. You won't be able to take a device with you to an unknown location and expect to see what's around the corner. And if you have time to set this up before something goes wrong, why not just put a camera around the corner? :)

  10. Watching Closely on Last Chance To Stop SOPA From Coming To Canada · · Score: 2

    Anyone living just south of Canada... hell, everyone should be watching this closely. Who's to say it won't come to your neck of the woods?

  11. Question Re: 4G on 4G Phones Are Really Fast — At Draining Batteries · · Score: 1

    Without reading TFA, can someone simply tell me whether battery life is poor exclusively because 4G service is spotty, or if "full signal" 4G is still more power hungry than 3G. If it's both (as it probably is), can someone tell me which is the primary reason for 4G battery suckage? One more question... if 4G is actually a bigger drain regardless of coverage, is there anything that can be done with the technology (4G revision 2 phones, a software update, etc.), or will we need to wait for improved battery capacity or 5G before we see the problem resolved?

  12. Re:But will... on Ohm's Law Survives To the Atomic Level · · Score: 1

    More importantly, will it blend?

  13. Re:New Leadership is needed on Netflix Loses 800,000 Subscribers After Qwikster Gaffe · · Score: 1

    Mr. CEO-wannabe, while I appreciate your tongue-in-cheek application, I'd like to know what are your goals and ideas for the company going forward?

  14. Re:Did we not already go through this? on Maine School District Gives iPad To Every Kindergartner · · Score: 2

    I'm curious what the school system did NOT spend money on that they probably should have. We'll never know, but I wonder how many teacher's positions will have to be sacrificed, or how many extra curricular activities were cut to budget this.

  15. Re:Choice of beer on Boost Your Wi-Fi Signal Using Only a Beer Can · · Score: 1

    Having recently gone on an Anheuser-Busch tour, here's the scoop: Anheuser-Busch manufactures and distributes Budweiser. Stella is distributed by InBev. InBev recently bought Anheuser-Busch and operates Anheuser-Busch as a subsidiary. But, true, no matter how you dice it, they're both similar beers on par with each other. I happen to like simple beers, though.

  16. Re:"current computers" on New Research Cracks AES Keys 3-5x Faster · · Score: 1

    You're not doing it right.

  17. Re:Self-Destructing Key on DOJ: We Can Force You To Decrypt That Laptop · · Score: 1

    I agree, that would be cool. Funny, though, that when I mentioned USB key or disk, I was referring to the authentication "key" and not the drive itself. In other words, the drive can forever be in tact (but still encrypted), but the decrypt key can have only xx shelf life (similar to the iron key). I wonder if this already exists...

  18. Re:Self-Destructing Key on DOJ: We Can Force You To Decrypt That Laptop · · Score: 1

    What you describe is not possible in any way.

    An "encrytped hard drive" or an "encrypted file" are both the same thing: a very very large number. When the government took possession of the medium that stores that number, they then permanently know it. It's a series of 1s and 0s, and they have it for sure, definitely, it can never be altered. So whatever procedure you have in mind is like saying, what if the number 8 simply decays in September. It doesn't make any sense.

    Well, yeah, the data will still be in tact for them to begin brute force cracking, but there are still plenty of ways to make "simple" decryption (even by the encrypter) difficult. I think someone above mentioned a USB drive or key that would self-destruct after so much time could be used, or something that without it, you can't decrypt the data easily. Thus, just knowing the password (or having the person type it) won't work.

  19. More Exams? on Could You Pass Harvard's Entrance Exam From 1869? · · Score: 1

    I would LOVE to see the evolution of the Harvard entrance exam. This snapshot in time is still interesting on its own, though.

  20. Re:HD via compent looks terrible anyways... on Goodbye, HD Component Video · · Score: 1

    I doubt you ever watched analog HD and still decided to post this nugget.

  21. Re:Confused on Goodbye, HD Component Video · · Score: 1

    Don't forget that he also not-so-unintentionally tried to make it sound like all pirated movies are of inferior quality.

  22. Re:Hightlight? on Google Patents Browser Highlight All Button · · Score: 1

    It's what you do when you're going gray.

  23. SteadyState on Configuring a Windows PC For a Senior Citizen? · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Try installing Windows SteadyState. A reboot will fix the PC every time. :)

  24. Re:"back charges" on Industry Insider Blasts Comcast · · Score: 1

    I tried that once, the first time services went down. I told someone there my story, and then a month went by without hearing anything back. By then, my services were back on and I thought I was on the way to recovery. Then I got a voicemail out of the blue from someone at the PUC who told me that they reached Comcast, and all Comcast could tell them was that I've been a "delinquent" for months and that my story is all wrong. Perhaps I'll give another call, now that I've got my full documentation and everything. I think it'll still be a he-said, she-said case, because it's my word against theirs about the lack of services at the beginning.

  25. Re:"back charges" on Industry Insider Blasts Comcast · · Score: 1

    I think I have one of the worst experiences with Comcast. Last weekend, my Comcast service was shut off for the fourth time in the 1.5 years I've been with Comcast. What happened was, when I subscribed to Comcast, they started billing me even though they missed installation appointments, so I was charged for services I didn't have. Three missed/failed appointments and one successful one later, I had service and $300 of outstanding charges. Each month I paid the "fair" (new) charges, and ignored the balance plus any late fees. I called Comcast to correct this, and nobody was able to help me. A few months later, my service shut off. I called and complained, and they got my service back on... but the bill was never corrected. Repeat. Repeat again. Repeat a FOURTH time, and here I am without service once again, even though I've paid my $108/month for "Comcast Triple Play" for the entire time I've had service. Keep in mind, this includes phone service, which is now also disconnected (hard disconnect... no dial tone, either!). I'm writing to a couple of computer magazines that I subscribe to... maybe someone can help me.