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User: stoanhart

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Comments · 126

  1. Re:I for one... on Team Use Stem Cells to Restore Mobility in Paralyzed Monkey · · Score: 0

    There should be a "Delete Account" mod option, which kicks in if every moderator selects it. It would be great for tired old jokes that just won't die!.

  2. Re:Odd. on People With University Degree Fear Death Less · · Score: 1

    I don't think fearing death and not wanting to die are the same thing. I certainly don't want to die either, but if I were to be diagnosed with a terminal disease, I don't think I'd be afraid of the actual event. I'm reasonably certain it will involve going into a sleeplike state, some vivid dreams, and then nothing. No biggie.

  3. Re:double rainbows on Intel Launches Atom CPU With Integrated FPGA · · Score: 1

    The FPGA's I've worked with lose their programming when the power goes out, and are reflashed by software on every boot.

  4. Re:This has all happened before. on BSG Prequel Series Caprica Canceled · · Score: 1

    Personally, I don't care whether the writers have the whole series planned out or are improvising, so long as the result is good. Of course, shows are usually better when they are planned out, but BSG worked out very well, in my opinion.

  5. Re:Superb !! on Adobe Releases Its Own HTML5 Video Player · · Score: 4, Informative

    It's not a browser plug-in. It's HTML/Javascript code that you place in your page where you want the video to appear. It will try to use HTML5 first, and then use Flash if it fails.

  6. Re:ridiculous story on Are Consumer Hard Drives Headed Into History? · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I was under the impression that with the wear leveling algorithms these drives use, and the higher quality chips used for SSDs, the lifetime under typical laptop usage is expected to far exceed a spinning platter drive.

    Makes sense, really. Most disk access is reading (booting the OS, opening applications, loading libraries, viewing images/videos, listening to music), and this doesn't wear out the memory cells. Unless you're doing heavy disk work like video editing or serious photography, or running some sort of highly accessed write intensive database, I'd bet on SSDs to outlast HDDs. After all, an HDD is usually spinning and thus being worn out, even when no files are accessed.

  7. Re:Audio Pipeline API!! on Details of Android 3.0, SIP, Video Chat · · Score: 1

    I'm pretty sure a few months ago at some conference, the Android team did Q&A with the audience and this came up. They explicitly said that this is a feature they are working on.

  8. Re:It all depends on detection... on How To Deflect an Asteroid With Today's Technology · · Score: 1

    Then again, when we're talking at the "survival of the human race" level, city busting asteroids aren't really that big of a concern. Most likely, it would hit an ocean, or some piece of rural land with limited population. Even if it hit a city, humanity would go on. Of course it would be preferable to deflect it, but I think efforts should be directed at detecting and diverting extinction scale asteroids.

  9. Re:If Google wants to retain loyal customers on Devs Grapple With 100+ Versions of Android · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Even with some manufacturers locking down their phones (in futility), your analogy still seems backwards. Even on a locked Android phone, you have the ability to install any app from any source, which alone makes it more open by orders of magnitude compared to the iPhone. If you really care about a phone which you can flash with your own ROM, there is always a set of phones that are capable of that right out of the box; just buy one of those. If anything, iOS is the WW2 concentration camp, and *some* Android hardware is the poorly guarded jail.

  10. Re:Browsers? on Mozilla Releases Firefox 4 Beta For Android, Maemo · · Score: 2, Informative

    Good thing they can't, then, since all Sync data is very strongly encrypted, and only you get a copy of the encryption key.

  11. Re:Who watches TV anyway? on Google TV Details Revealed · · Score: 1

    The modern day Newtons and Einsteins aren't spending their time vegging out on the couch, don't worry. I'm sure they can't even conceive of why anyone would want to. The people who are vegging out now (ie: most people) are the ones who would have spent the evening drinking at the local pub back then. Nothing has changed.

  12. Re:Why not boycott PS3s on PS3 Hacked Using Official Controller · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I would argue that Sony did bring all this hacking on themselves. Sure, the first PS3 hack made use of OtherOS, but it was very impractical and required hardware modification. Very few people would ever have done it, but Sony overreacted and took away OtherOS. That pissed off a lot of people and suddenly there was intense motivation to hack the console properly. Lo and behold, there are now two separate ways to bust the console wide open and piracy is practical for all users. Good job Sony.

  13. Re:Google / Verizon's Wireless Internet Disclosure on Verizon Confirms Plan To Switch Away From Unlimited Data Plans · · Score: 1

    Data caps have nothing to do with net neutrality as long all data within that cap is treated equally, whether it's torrents, VoIP, websites, or streaming radio.

  14. Re:White? on FCC White Space Rules Favor Tech Industry · · Score: 1

    Hahaha!

    Oh, wait, that was the lamest joke I've ever heard.

  15. Re:Google / Verizon's Wireless Internet Disclosure on Verizon Confirms Plan To Switch Away From Unlimited Data Plans · · Score: 1

    This has what to do with network neutrality?

    People need to stop confusing the issues.

  16. Re:Display on Hands-on With the iPad Alternatives On Display At IFA · · Score: 2, Insightful

    No, I love them. In fact, after having a Vibrant, I intend not to buy any more displays unless they are AMOLED. I just love the deep black levels.

  17. Re:Possible GPS navigation? on Samsung Galaxy Tablet Coming In September · · Score: 4, Informative

    It's really not that bad. I have a Vibrant, and the GPS issue is the only downside to the phone. Otherwise, it's a phenomenal piece of hardware. Also, it's been confirmed that the GPS issue is a software bug, and will be fixed in the Froyo update in September. Since this pad device will be running Froyo to start with, I think it's safe to assume the GPS will work just fine.

  18. Re:It gets sillier all the time. on Look For AI, Not Aliens · · Score: 1

    why is it supposed that machines can be made sentient?

    Why should we suppose that they can't be made sentient? A brain is nothing but a physical system; a bunch of nodes communicating via electrical and chemical signals in some logical arrangement. The existence of the brain proves that sentience can emerge from a properly ordered circuit, and as such it proves that we can also build sentience.

  19. Re:Running out? on Why the World Is Running Out of Helium · · Score: 4, Informative

    Helium doesn't stay in the atmosphere, it is released into space. So yes, it is lost, since it takes hundreds of millions of years to regenerate via radioactive decay underground.

  20. Re:javascript speed? on Firefox 4 Will Be One Generation Ahead · · Score: 1

    Fast JavaScript is necessary to move the web forward to advanced, desktop-like web apps. Also, Firefox uses less memory than Chrome, due to Chrome's one process per tab model. The reason people go to Chrome, IMHO, is the minimal interface and fast JavaScript.

  21. Interesting Paper on Incorporating Swarm Intelligence Into Computer AI · · Score: 3, Informative

    I just covered Ant-based load balancing on communications networks in a distributed systems class. Here's the paper we read. It's an easy read, and quite interesting.

    http://www.hpl.hp.com/techreports/96/HPL-96-76.pdf

  22. Re:Building up Android on Google Adds Licensing Server DRM To Android Market · · Score: 1

    You're right, this is a good thing.

    Why is Steam so good? Because developers feel secure in the DRM, but it's not obtrusive so users don't mind it.

  23. Re:The Chevy Volt is a series-hybrid? on Chevy Volt Not Green Enough For California · · Score: 1

    Yes, it is a series hybrid. Have you been under a rock for the last two years?

  24. Re:Duh... on Murdoch's UK Paywall a Miserable Failure · · Score: 1

    They do make an audio edition. All subscribers have access to it. If you are a member of certain private sites, they are promptly uploaded weekly. Excellent paper.

  25. Re:What If I never click adverts anyway? on ScienceBlogs.com Deals With Community Backlash Over PepsiCo Column · · Score: 1

    Well, I read reviews. If product B offers 85% of the features of product A, but at half the price, I will choose product B, as it offers more value for my money. In almost every major purchase I've ever made, I found that there is always one or two such product Bs on the market. You just have to find them.