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  1. Re:Lives be damned on Recent Paper Shows Fracking Chemicals In Drinking Water, Industry Attacks It · · Score: 1

    Profits above all else.

    From the Better Off Ted episode Racial Sensitivity :

    Veronica: "Money before people," that's the company motto. Engraved on the lobby floor. It just looks more heroic in Latin.

  2. Re:I thought office 365 was going to be the last o on Microsoft Office 2016 Public Preview Released · · Score: 1

    You know software as a service and all that?

    It was only good for 365 days - right there in the name...

  3. Native? on Recruiters Use 'Digital Native' As Code For 'No Old Folks' · · Score: 1

    Native? As in the ones who were here first or showed up later? The older folks who actually created the systems and infrastructure everyone uses and now takes for granted, or the youngsters who just use those systems and infrastructure, but have little/no idea how anything actually works? I'm not sure who to thank most, the people who created Ethernet or Angry Birds.

  4. Did you try to set fire to your schools property because of a bad grade?

    According to TFS he set fire to the computer because he was , "mad and frustrated because he could not hack into the system." I'm not condoning his actions, but who amongst us hasn't, at least, entertained the idea of destroying a computer after simply trying to *use* it? I have bad thoughts about my Windows 7 desktop at work all... the... time. And to quote the movie "Office Space," "PC LOAD LETTER!!? What the fuck does that mean?" - didn't work out so well for that printer, did it?

  5. Re:This is Boeing Tech Support on Long Uptime Makes Boeing 787 Lose Electrical Power · · Score: 1

    "have you tried turning it off and then back on?"

    • Customer: How do I do that?
    • Tech Support: Use the big red switch at the back of the fuselage, just under the elevator. Flip it to 0/Off, count to 10 and flip it back to 1/On.

    True story: Back in the early 1980s, I actually had a long-distance phone call with someone in which I was the "tech support" part of the above conversation. ... Me: "Are you sitting in front of the PC? Lean to your right... See that big red switch at the back of the case? ..."

  6. Re:Struggle on Tattoos Found To Interfere With Apple Watch Sensors · · Score: 1, Funny

    Honestly though, if HP released web cameras which couldn't see black folks, I find this strangely unsurprising.

    Apparently people who build these things assume everyone is the same shade of pasty white.

    The show Better Off Ted addressed something like this in their episode Racial Sensitivity when Veridian Dynamics installs new security sensors in the building, which detect employees based on the light reflecting off their skin and they can't detect black people. Veronica assures Ted that the company cares about the issue:

    Ted: The system doesn't see black people?
    Veronica: I know. Weird, huh?
    Ted: That's more than weird, Veronica. That's basically, well... racist.
    Veronica: The company's position is that it's actually the opposite of racist, because it's not targeting black people. It's just ignoring them. They insist the worst people can call it is "indifferent."
    Ted: Well, they know it has to be fixed, right? Please... at least say they know that.
    Veronica: Of course they do, and they're working on it. In the meantime they'd like everyone to celebrate the fact that it sees Hispanics, Asians, Pacific Islanders, and Jews.

    Though, as true for most corporations, only cares just so much...

    Veronica: "Money before people," that's the company motto. Engraved on the lobby floor. It just looks more heroic in Latin.

  7. Re:Why the surprise? on When Enthusiasm For Free Software Turns Ugly · · Score: 1

    So if I drive a Ford and it catches on fire when someone rear-ends me at low speed and I narrowly escape burning alive, all because of a faulty design, it's "childish" for me to continue holding a grudge against Ford?

    (Note: I haven't had any such problems with Ubuntu (nor have I ever used mainline Ubuntu, only derivatives), so note I'm just making a point here, not bashing Ubuntu for any reliability problems.)

    But I'm guessing no one has yet rear-ended your Linux system, so you don't actually know if it will catch on fire and you'll narrowly escape burning alive. Or did I misread things?

  8. Re:Why the surprise? on When Enthusiasm For Free Software Turns Ugly · · Score: 0

    This is what happens when the users have NO WAY to influence direction, you get [stuff] like Pulse and Systemd rammed down your throats.

    I've been pondering the creation of a corollary to Godwin's Law that'is specially formulated for Slashdot. Just substitute "systemd" for "Hitler."

    (Oops, looks like I just invoked both Godwin's Law and its new corollary - all in a single sentence!)

    I think the actual issue/problem goes beyond the words "systemd" and "pulseaudio" back to the word "Poettering". You know, root causes and all that...

  9. Re:Wow ... on Crashing iPad App Grounds Dozens of American Airline Flights · · Score: 1

    eFlight books were switched to to save millions of dollars in fuel costs every year. They're that heavy.

    They're 16kg (35lb) (from TFS) - hardly "that heavy". One drink cart weighs more than that - empty.

  10. Re:Why even have a class ? on University Overrules Professor Who Failed Entire Management Class · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Why bother with classes? Just give everybody a passing grade.

    Isn't that all the entitled youngsters care about anyway - good grades, not actually learning anything?

  11. Re:Terms and Conditions. on ESPN Sues Verizon To Stop New Sports-Free TV Bundles · · Score: 1

    Verizon entered this contract with ESPN to be able to sell ESPN content ...

    Typically, these contracts are of the sort where Disney says if Verizon wants to carry the Disney channel, they must also carry all the ESPN channels @ a certain rate etc ... basically saying that if they want the more desirable channels Verizon must carry the less desirable channels - because Disney has sunk a fuck-ton of money into ESPN ...

    I also don't see your analogy as being the same. Customers pay Verizon for the bandwidth and Verizon is a customer paying Disney for Disney, ABC, ABC Family and ESPN* but with the added bonus of being required to buy them all to get the ones Verizon and its customers actually want.

    You're correct in that it's a contract dispute between Verizon and Disney, but w/o actually seeing the contract we don't actually know who's in the right. My guess is that Verizon found a loophole and Disney isn't happy about it.

  12. Terms and Conditions. on ESPN Sues Verizon To Stop New Sports-Free TV Bundles · · Score: 3, Informative

    "We simply ask that Verizon abide by the terms of our contracts."

    Translation: And force people to pay for stuff they don't want.

    Personally, I've *never* (ever) watched any of the ESPN channels and am annoyed at having to pay for them. Sure, I understand that a-la-carte programming *may* be expensive - at the moment - but I imagine business models and revenue streams will adapt as time goes on. In the mean time, Disney can kiss my shiny metal ass.

  13. Re:Since when on Pepsi To Stop Using Aspartame · · Score: 1

    All good points, though Aspartame has a pretty distinctive taste, especially in contrast to sugar. Perhaps I shouldn't have lead with the phrase "idiot" as I didn't mean it in the intellectual sense. I have known a few people to exaggerate or get a little too hyperbolic about a (sometimes supposed) food allergy or sensitivity. Like a woman I know who says she's allergic to chocolate (which is actually *super* rare) when I know she's in fact not, but just wants to avoid eating it because it's her "crack" - which is fine, but it would be better if she'd just own up to her chocolate addiction than claiming a medical condition.

  14. Re:Won't be drinking it on Pepsi To Stop Using Aspartame · · Score: 1

    You might be interested in this video lecture Sugar: The Bitter Truth by Robert H. Lustig, MD, UCSF Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Endocrinology.

  15. Re:Since when on Pepsi To Stop Using Aspartame · · Score: 2

    When he ordered a drink, he specifically said "NOT diet, I can't have phenylalanine". They brought him Diet Coke. He drank enough that some time (maybe twenty minutes) later, ...

    Not to throw soda on your story or that person, but, if true, he's obviously an idiot. I don't know *anyone* that cannot tell the difference between regular and diet soda with one sip. In addition, according to the Wikipedia page you referenced, people with that affliction, at least if severe enough to cause the kind of reaction that guy mentioned, would be on a severely restricted diet and restaurant dining would be problematic:

    The diet requires severely restricting or eliminating foods high in Phe, such as meat, chicken, fish, eggs, nuts, legumes, cheese, milk and other dairy products. Starchy foods, such as potatoes and corn are generally acceptable in controlled amounts,

    Lastly, there's nothing to indicate that a trip to the hospital would be warranted, especially for such a small amount ingested:

    PKU is not a food allergy or a digestive problem. Eating "forbidden" foods does not cause an immediate reaction. The phenylalanine from that food remains in the person's system, however, and as Phe accumulates over time they may experience concentration and mood problems, as well as eczema and other symptoms

    I'm not saying your story or his reaction is BS, but I'm a little dubious.

  16. Re:danger vs taste on Pepsi To Stop Using Aspartame · · Score: 1

    The article you referenced mentions:

    It’s another example of how the microbiome — the population of microbes living in and on our bodies — can have huge effects on health.

    Better the microbiome be out of whack than the macrobiome.
    (see the Alt-Text for the less pleasant gut fauna transfer method)

  17. Location, location, location. on Giant Survival Ball Will Help Explorer Survive a Year On an Iceberg · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Bellini will spend almost all of his time in the capsule with the hatch closed, ...

    So, the iceberg part is actually irrelevant. The ball could be anywhere.

  18. Re:Unity next on Ubuntu 15.04 Released, First Version To Feature systemd · · Score: 1

    Comment needs funny+insightful, slashidiots give troll...

    Thanks. Seems "troll" is sometimes used when someone simply doesn't like what you say (or doesn't under stand it). I don't know whether to be sad or annoyed in those situations. In *this* case "off topic" might have been appropriate, as I was intending it as a funny comment to something in anther post, but not related to the main story, though people sometimes use that mod because they, apparently, simply have a stick up their ass.

    In any case, I wasn't slamming systemd, even though I'm pretty sure it's a bad idea or, at least, a bad implementation - hmm, Lennart wrote it, so probably both. (see, that's a slam) :-)

  19. Re:Unity next on Ubuntu 15.04 Released, First Version To Feature systemd · · Score: 4, Funny

    With the muscle memory in place it has worked very well.

    The same can be said about masturbation. Doesn't mean it's better than actual sex w/someone else.

  20. Re:Women CEO's. on Yahoo Called Its Layoffs a "Remix." Don't Do That. · · Score: 3, Insightful

    A company's one thing. Just be thankful there's no chance of one running the country.

    Hang on a minute...

    No, hang on another minute...

    Shit, gimme a beer.

    So far, the alternatives are a garden gnome from Canada, I mean, Texas, an ophthalmologist that can't spell "education" from Kentucky, or a really thirsty Floridian.

    (That beer is looking mighty refreshing...)

  21. Re:True on Protein Converts Pancreatic Cancer Cells Back Into Healthy Cells · · Score: 2

    While I doubt that's the exact medical terminology used, it's quite correct. The five year survival rate is only 6% although it apparently can get up to ~20% in limited circumstances. If this works as well hoped, it would be a rather big deal because right now it's practically a death sentence.

    Although, for some perspective, from Wikipedia for Glioblastoma multiforme (brain tumor):

    GBM is a rare disease, with an incidence of 2–3 cases per 100,000 person life-years in Europe and North America ... Median survival with standard-of-care radiation and chemotherapy with temozolomide is 15 months. Median survival without treatment is 4½ months.

    Sure, it's *way* more rare, but treatment options suck. My wife Sue died of this in early 2006, just 7 weeks after diagnosis - her only complaint was a persistent headache and mild disorientation. Remember Sue...

  22. Re:HTTPS Everywhere - 3rd Party Certs? on Chrome 43 Should Help Batten Down HTTPS Sites · · Score: 3, Interesting

    "Does it really matter...." is an intellectually lazy argument. Yes it matters.

    No it doesn't not for everything or even most things. You're over-thinking things and conflating the important with the unimportant, the big things with the little. Stop sweating the little things.

    I used to get more worked up about things, like you apparently are, but then in late 2005, after 20 years together, my wife was diagnosed with a brain tumor and died, literally in my arms, just 7 weeks later. I heard her last breath, felt her last heartbeat and learned what the word "forever" means.

    So, having my NYT or /. connection encrypted isn't really that important - my banking connection, yes, but I try to keep everything in perspective. The scenarios you've described lack some of that.

    I'm not "intellectually lazy" I just know what is and is not important - for me anyway.

    Also, entities like Google are not encrypting their connection to protect your privacy, it's to protect their revenue stream, so third-parties cannot skim ad/search information w/o paying Google for it.

  23. Complex numbers IRL. on Mandelbrot Zooms Now Surpass the Scale of the Observable Universe · · Score: 1

    There are also complex numbers, which are numbers that have a real part and also an imaginary part.

    The movie and recording industries use those for accounting purposes.

  24. Re:HTTPS Everywhere - 3rd Party Certs? on Chrome 43 Should Help Batten Down HTTPS Sites · · Score: 2

    Ahem.. https://www.eff.org/HTTPS-EVER...

    The HTTPS Everywhere is a great idea, but how great when so many use self signed certs. This just gives the illusion of security. One of the biggest problems here is that browsers don't recognize legit free third party cert authorities like CAcert.

    I disagree that Everywhere is a great idea. Seriously, does it really matter if an NYT article or /. is delivered securely, or 99.9% of search queries?

  25. Re:privacy? on Ask Slashdot: What Features Would You Like In a Search Engine? · · Score: 4, Informative

    Try google verbatim. Saves having to put quotes on every word.

    What was wrong with '+' as an operator, anyway?

    According to Google Drops Plus Sign from Search Operators

    It has to do with limiting confusion about the search engine’s social network, Google+.

    To Baio, “it seems obvious that they’re paving the way for Google+ profile searches. When Google+ launched ... they coined their own format for mentioning people – adding a plus to the beginning of a name... The fate of the ‘+’ symbol was clear: protect a 12-year-old convention loved by power users, or bring Google+ profile searching to the mainstream? It was doomed from the start.”