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User: LordVader717

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Comments · 2,138

  1. Re:H1b Is a marriage killer in its current form! on Let Spouses of H-1B Visa Holders Work In US, Says White House · · Score: 1

    I think its more about harm minimization and giving people a basic sense of dignity. While there may be opponents, the current consensus seems to be that the visas are beneficial. In that case the people should be welcomed and not have to live with severe restrictions on their lifestyle. I think that's a more worthy cause than the more lofty concept of protecting jobs from being "taken". If we can't do that, then we should probably just give out fewer visas.

  2. Re:i dont understand this on Should Microsoft Give Kids Programmable Versions of Office? · · Score: 2

    Because coding is an incredibly useful skill when you realize how much of the "real world" wastes time on mundane tasks which could be improved or automated. Especially if you're in a non-engineering background even the simplest of coding skills can put you far ahead of your peers.

  3. Re:Python, etc? on Should Microsoft Give Kids Programmable Versions of Office? · · Score: 1

    Formatting is a pretty easy concept for beginners. No more problematic than other formalisms for closing loops, which will equally cause problems.

  4. Re:Python, etc? on Should Microsoft Give Kids Programmable Versions of Office? · · Score: 1

    If email and cut&paste is messing up your indentation then you need to solve that problem first and foremost, not just rely on the fact that the language doesn't care.

  5. Re:The image formation process is still the same on How To Build a Quantum Telescope · · Score: 1

    You're confusing two different problems, namely locating a point source on a dark background, and wide-field imaging. The former can be improved beyond the diffraction limit, while the latter can't.

  6. Re:Already crossed IMO on Game Developers' Quest To Cross the Uncanny Valley · · Score: 1

    You must not have played Oblivion.

    Oblivion was uncanny because Bethesda simply didn't do a very good job. They made everyone look ugly, had very lazy motion and physics, and made talking to these characters with a close up of their face a major feature of the game.
    Look at other games from the era and you'll find much more realistic and convincing characters, and not just because they have lower red textures.

  7. Re:"popular resistance"? on Germany's Renewable Plan Faces Popular Resistance · · Score: 1

    The energiewende is just a euphemism for scrapping nuclear power. No extra commitments to alternative energy were made, and it certainly isn't clear if any projects enjoy widespread support.

  8. Re:Competition is always good on Samsung's First Tizen Smartphone Gets Leaked · · Score: 1

    Maybe you should elaborate your argument instead of being so pretentious.
    The popular GSM phones of the late 90s were candybars with numeric keypads.
    In case you didn't know, you can still buy these phones, ranging from the most basic to relatively sophisticated feature phones. They don't run Smartphone OSs which require large touchscreens.

    Furthermore there have been recent attempts at selling smartphone flip phones and sliders which were popular in the 2000s. The reason you don't see more is because they don't sell so well (probably because they don't make much sense).

    It seems you're either lamenting the fact that they don't make phones that never existed in the first place or you're just clueless about what's out there.

  9. Re:Competition is always good on Samsung's First Tizen Smartphone Gets Leaked · · Score: 1

    'The form factor, for example, has largely standardized on the iPhone +/- some deviation in size."

    That's a bit disingenuous. You have almost every vendor offering tiny 3 inch smartphoned and their range goes all the way up to 5 inches, with 6inch "phablets" filling the gap to tablets.

    I don't see any lack of design variety either. Rounded or square, Metal or plastic, thick or thin, and soon curved screens are all taking part. You also have some very risky type of gimmicks, like waterproof phones and a smart watch.

    And there are certainly quite a few players in the market. The big ones are the likes of Samsung Sony Motorola LG, whilst the Underdogs are the chinese brands like Oppo, Gionee and countless others

  10. Re:Makes crappy game, blames culture. on How Role-Playing Games Arrived In Japan With Black Onyx · · Score: 1

    Grinding and turn based battles are what RPGs were originally all about. It was JRPGs which first pushed towards strong narrative.
    Western developers/publishers almost completely lost interest in RPGs after the early nineties, and only recently have they made a comeback. Even so, the JRPG market is far bigger and more diverse than "Western" RPGs have been at any point in their history.

  11. Re: Lincense wars in... on FSF's Richard Stallman Calls LLVM a 'Terrible Setback' · · Score: 1

    Provided the entirety of the end-user software is licensed freely. If not you may have to develop your own front-end or rely on some dodgy alternatives.

  12. Re: Jobs must be rolling in his grave... on Apple Unveils iPhone 5C, iPhone 5S · · Score: 1

    I find it petty to try and and construe my post as an ad hominem attack when I was simply pointing out that he was not infallible and Apple wouldn't be as successful today if everyone had treated his words as gospel.
    The Cube was different: They tried something new and failed.

  13. Re:What is it with plastic? on Apple Unveils iPhone 5C, iPhone 5S · · Score: 1

    You can also integrate more functions on a plastic component (such as case, cushioning and clips), whereas the equivalent in metal and glass will probably require seperate parts which in turn have to be assembled together.

    From an engineering perspective plastic is such an incredibly useful and durable material. The iPhone is a perfect example of designers forcing metal and glass into something for aesthetic reasons. If you want functionality you go with plastic.

  14. Re:A Sensor to unlock with Fingerprint? on Apple Unveils iPhone 5C, iPhone 5S · · Score: 1

    *If* the NSA is monitoring you. If a government agency were to have access to a hypothetical extensive fingerprint database it may very well *start* monitoring you, based on some fingerprints they found somewhere.

  15. Re:Fingerprint database, anyone? on Apple Unveils iPhone 5C, iPhone 5S · · Score: 1

    Well, technically they only said it wouldn't be uploaded to any *Apple* servers.

  16. Re:Fingerprint database, anyone? on Apple Unveils iPhone 5C, iPhone 5S · · Score: 1

    That's what they claim. But even assuming this makes it secure, given the industry track record as well as recent revelations we have every reason to disbelieve this. The only way to verify the claim would be to review all hardware documentation and source code.

  17. Re:Fingerprint database, anyone? on Apple Unveils iPhone 5C, iPhone 5S · · Score: 1

    If I were to follow you all day I could find out your address, job, what car you drive, likely income, your friends and correspondents, what pills you take as well as your mistress or any other embarrassing secret. Ditto for all your family members.

    The difference with the fingerprint scanning phone is that it uses practically no resources (you're the one paying for the scanner) and can be extended to everyone who ever picks up an iPhone.

  18. Re:Jobs must be rolling in his grave... on Apple Unveils iPhone 5C, iPhone 5S · · Score: 1

    Jobs also opposed arrow keys, the iPod mini, making iPods compatible with Windows as well as third-party apps.

  19. Re:Why is Apple the one being sued? on Apple Sued For Dividing Final Season of Breaking Bad Into Two On iTunes · · Score: 1

    Apple are the vendors. They sold it to him and debited his account. They are his primary contact and ultimately responsible for fulfillment of the contract. The fact that the error happened upstream does not excuse this.

  20. Re:What problem on Bill Gates Seeking Patent To Make Shakespeare Less Boring · · Score: 1

    If it makes them read it slower that's probably a good thing. Shakespeare can be skimmed over really quickly, but almost every line requires some pondering if you really want to appreciate it.
    Your suggestion on the other hand encourages the opposite: Get through the reading requirement as quickly as possible to reap the reward. The parent has managed to transfer his disengagement from the topic to their child. Hardly very useful.

    The more successful parent will try to increase the engagement with the medium, and show an interest in the text themselves. You might get through less volume, but chances are the kid is more likely to look at a few Shakespeare clips when they log on to youtube.

  21. Re:What problem on Bill Gates Seeking Patent To Make Shakespeare Less Boring · · Score: 1

    I suspect by anachronistic he wasn't referring to specific details that have to be identified but rather the character's actions and behavior for the modern reader, as well as the storytelling itself. To deny that the social and literary developments in the last 400 years have had no effect on the perception of Shakespeare is a bit disingenuous.

    As for reading skills you could engage in an endless debate about parents vs. teachers, but at the end of the day you have to question the sense in forcing someone to read something they clearly aren't able to appreciate or gain any value from.

  22. Re:What problem on Bill Gates Seeking Patent To Make Shakespeare Less Boring · · Score: 1

    The formulas that I found easiest to remember were the ones which were placed next to a diagram or picture. It's not the information that's in the image, but the the extra association which makes recollection easier. It's how our brains work.
    I remember seeing an interview with a competitive memory guy and one of his techniques for remembering the order of a pack of cards was to associate each card with an object and make up a story from the sequence. What at first seems completely arbitrary and useless is actually a highly effective memory technique.

  23. Re:Excellent on IAB Urges People To Stop "Mozilla From Hijacking the Internet" · · Score: 1

    The wording was confusing, sorry. I meant the costs for the servers, which usually belonged to a University. In their spare time geeks would write about geeky stuff like TV shows or Bonsai gardening, but as a reliable resource content was pretty scarce. As soon as privately hosted content became common you started to see ads.

  24. Re:Excellent on IAB Urges People To Stop "Mozilla From Hijacking the Internet" · · Score: 1

    To be fair though back in them days people who made websites usually got it paid for by their University or company. They wrote about topics they pursued as a hobby and consequently lacked professionalism.

  25. Re:Idea on Bill Gates Promotes Vaccine Projects, Swipes At Google · · Score: 1

    Considering that most African countries have either English French or Arabic as an official language Internet access would probably not only give them access to lots of information but also facilitate communication with their own officials better.