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User: eldavojohn

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  1. History of the Internet (not even close) on Web Browser Programming Blurring the Lines of MVC · · Score: 5, Insightful

    ... schooled in the old temple and given a proper appreciation of a real language like C++?

    You're going to have to inform us "young'uns" of what is and isn't a "real language." You see, I can't even begin to help you until you concede that if a tool gets the job done, it's a good tool. It might not be the best tool but it's a good tool. Stop making inflammatory statements.

    What you misunderstand about this change of direction is that microarchitectures and new hybrids of old design patterns are arising to meet the needs of web developers.

    where does this attitude that everything has to be crowbar'd into a web interface to be considered modern these days?

    If you write a C++ program and compile it down to one architecture, how many users do you have? If you write a browser, OS, architecture neutral application and make it available to everyone online, your user base skyrockets dramatically.

    I cry for these languages.

    And these languages cry for you and your closed mindedness towards new ideas. Java was a bad idea at first and yet somehow it has found a niche--more than a niche if you ask me.

    I'll meet you half way, I agree C++ is far faster than anything I've been paid to code in. Now you come the other half of the way and maybe we'll have a discussion here where useful information is exchanged.

  2. Rule #34 on Grandma's On the Computer Screen This Thanksgiving · · Score: 4, Funny

    Grandma's On the Computer Screen This Thanksgiving

    Oh she's on the computer screen alright ... but it's not a webcam I'd want to watch.

    *shudders*

    Goddamn rule 34!

  3. Re:Time for Qs to come back on Google Map To Real Piracy · · Score: 0
    Your point is also well taken. I agree some military action must be taken here. I would rather see justice than death in this case though. Have the pirates been killing anyone? Not to my knowledge ....

    As a bonus, you'll start to give the pirates pause ...

    It was my understanding that these pirates are people in desperate times ... which--to some at least--calls for desperate measures. I fear that locally they are viewed as starving people stealing things to buy food or shelter with ... because the state of Somalia is not a healthy one. Warring politicians have left the populace in disrepair with no hope of stability or law enforcement.

    I'm merely saddened your plan doesn't involve fixing any of Somalia's real problems. Just killing offenders.

    It's funny, the shit has been hitting the fan for innocent civilians in Somalia but it only gets real attention (and demand for NATO intervention) when it starts to affect our trade ships ... heaven forbid our trade be interrupted!

  4. Re:Time for Qs to come back on Google Map To Real Piracy · · Score: 5, Informative

    Throw the covers off the guns and blast them into next year.

    Your punishment may be a bit extreme but maybe it's just because I'm the kind of guy that likes fair justice & is concerned that the rest of the world sees my country as one that blindly kills people.

    You are forgetting that these pirates are (aside from being human beings) winning people over by giving them things in a very Robin-Hood-esque type scenario--even if it's only offering the people a paying job as a pirate in an otherwise devastated and unstable economy. You would very quickly fall into disfavor with the locals ... these pirates have even alegedly defended fishing areas for locals. They claim they are more like the coast guard trying to protect the food of hungry people. I think entire cities have bought into their propaganda and are willing to harbor/help them.

    True or not, it's brazen disregard for how other people see things that causes really really bad things for America. Going in there, shooting up criminals & leaving is not going to improve anyone's image. Yes, these people are kidnappers & thieves but I don't think insta-death is a good way to deal with them.

    Not a whole lot in this world is purely black and white.

  5. Re:It doesn't matter... on Groklaw Says Microsoft Patent Portfolio Now Worthless · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I read somewhere it costs $10,000 or so to file a patent.

    I think the costs (depending on if you qualify as a "small entity") vary on filing fees ... you should really point out that the $10k figure comes from patent lawyers you hire to make sure your patent comes through in a timely fashion. If you don't have an army of those, the smallest slip of forgetting to cross reference another patent could cost you decades. Yes, refiling and additional services listed on that page will drive the price up but a timely patent is probably worth much more than what you would save if you didn't have a patent lawyer. If it's a one time thing, I would suggest finding a firm.

    This is chump change to Microsoft.

    If you're applying for 10 or 20 patents a week then this isn't "chump change." It's more than likely several million dollars a year for an entity like Microsoft. I think it's still important to Microsoft because of what investors see a patent portfolio as: pure assets.

  6. Always Jumping to Conclusions on Search For the Tomb of Copernicus Reaches an End · · Score: 4, Interesting

    The sun is the center of the universe? I though the sun orbited the Milky Way Galaxy's central black hole?

    You're right. Copernicus didn't know this at the time (or at least if he did, he didn't tell anyone). He came up with a model that was simply better than the norm. Whether he and he alone did this or not is probably up for debate but he sure stuck his neck out there for it.

    I would posit that I am the center of the universe. No matter where I am, I'm here. As I walk, the world moves beneath my feet.

    And I would simply posit that you are a unique frame of reference. But that would just begin a pedantic physics discussion (more to come!).

    A question for you math geeks: can an object of infinite size even HAVE a center?

    I don't think the universe is an object of infinite size. It's constantly expanding, though ... and if you want to get technical, we can look at the red light shift of things moving away all around us and their velocity. Doing this, we can trace their vectors backwards to an intersection point--the point of the event theorized to be the Big Bang. The true center of the universe.

    I'm going to have to reread Genesis. I don't recall seeing anywhere where it says the earth is the center of anything, let alone the universe.

    Of that whole list you wrote, it sure does concentrate predominately on the earth. If you think about it, there's a whole lot more to talk about than merely the earth ... so in a way, it does give all the attention to the earth. The fact that it was created before the stars just makes it all that much more central. Also, where else would God put beings made in his likeness? If you're going to defend The Bible's creation story, I don't recommend Slashdot.

  7. Well, Not ALL of Them Really on Monty Python Banks On the Long Tail Via YouTube · · Score: 5, Informative

    They are putting all their clips (including snips from their movies) up in a decent resolution ...

    Um, that's kind of misleading. There are 24 clips as of this posting. That's not to say there isn't more to come but the channel description clearly states:

    What's more, we're taking our most viewed clips and uploading brand new HQ versions.

    Their announcement video shows more video clips than they have up right now (man with a recorder up his nose from And Now for Something Completely Different, etc) so hopefully there's more to come. I'm a bit disappointed the general populace doesn't watch The Flying Circus more often ... it's a shame every time I see a banana at a corporate function I have the urge to hand it to someone while instructing them to "come at me with that banana like you really mean it!" And they just continue to treat me like I'm insane.

    And where's The Crimson Permanent Assurance (opening feature to The Meaning of Life)?! That single skit was probably more expensive than all other Python works combined--and a gold mine for office humor to send to your coworkers!

  8. DOES NOT COMPUTE! on Good Deep-Knowledge Analog Design Books? · · Score: 2, Funny

    Good Deep-Knowledge Analog Design Books?

    I'm sorry, please ask your question in the form of: "(Useful) Stupid <topic> Tricks?"

    Until then, I can't help you. Didn't you get the memo?

  9. Laurel & Hardy? on Astronaut Loses Tools While Performing an EVA · · Score: 5, Funny

    As she was cleaning the bag and wiping the tools and equipment inside, the bag floated away. Another bag carrying identical equipment is now being shared by Piper and Bowen.

    Do we have any humorous black & white silent space footage of this skit?

    Seriously, NASA's gotta come up with financing somehow ... add some hokey 1920's ragtime music to the it, speed it up just unnaturally fast and they just might be sitting on a viral video here!

    Come on, it practically writes itself:

    Setting: Exterior of shuttle.
    A lanky beanpole Bowen discovers that grease has been dispensed into her bag. Not wanting to alert the portly Bowen and face his wrath, she quickly empties the contents of the bag to wipe them off. As she cleans each tool, she sets it back down on the shuttle but soon realizes that they merely float back up. She rotates through each tool, setting it back on the shuttle but forgets about the bag! Bowen hears the heavy breathing in his earpiece and turns around in time to see the bag floating away while Piper is pre-occupied with the tools. He scowls and makes a move for the bag but slips on grease and tumbles out into space, tethered only by his life support ...

  10. Re:Spare me on Physicist Admits Sending Space-Related Military Secrets To China · · Score: 4, Funny

    Chinaman is a direct translation of äåoeä. When in "Greater China", I get damned tired of constantly being called å-åoeä and éè±ä".

    I agree, those slurs are tired and racist. Plus, it's also difficult to tell if someone is talking to you or screaming in agony.

  11. Re:Industrial espionage on Physicist Admits Sending Space-Related Military Secrets To China · · Score: 3, Funny

    I find it hard to believe that Chinamen ...

    Also, Ethanol-fueled, 'Chinamen' is not the preferred nomenclature. Asian Americans, please.

  12. Re:another quicktime update on New Star Trek Trailer · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    Could this be available in something other than requiring me a update in software to my machine?

    Yeah, you can find it here with no update required!

  13. Wrong, He Has a Blog Post On It on Mark Cuban Charged With Insider Trading · · Score: 4, Informative

    Something tells me that the billionaire blogger won't be talking about this one publicly any time soon.

    Are you crazy? Do you know how many page hits that would generate?! You don't know Mark Cuban. Of course, from his blog a few hours ago:

    "I am disappointed that the Commission chose to bring this case based upon its Enforcement staff's win-at-any-cost ambitions. The staff's process was result-oriented, facts be damned. The government's claims are false and they will be proven to be so."

    I'm not a lawyer. As for the case, I think this crap happens more often than you would like to think--the rich get richer, the poor get poorer. The fact that this occurred in June of '04 and he's being charged for it now implies that either it takes that long to build up evidence for a case or you don't hear about this until someone slips up. Also, I don't recall hearing the SEC drop charges or lose these cases very often so I'm pretty sure this guy is boned.

  14. The Year Was 2005 ... on The Science of the Lightsaber · · Score: 5, Informative
    Do we really need to do this again? I mean, seriously guys, it's not the same URL but it resolves to the same damn page. Would you like an easy +5 Insightful response? Just point out the lightsaber is casting a shadow!

    On top of that, this has been erroneously filed under "Technology." Let's just pause and let that sink in.

    Now I'll quote the article:
    • # A lightsaber is normally about 30 centimeters long, about the size of a large flashlight.
    • # At one end is the hand grip, belt ring and on/off switch (a.k.a., the Activation Matrix).
    • # At the other end there is the blade arc tip and stabilizing ring.
    • # Somewhere on the case (generally near the blade end of the lightsaber) you find one or two adjusting knobs for blade power and blade length.

    You are putting that into the technology category? Seriously? I am sorry, normally I roll with the it and just play along when this stuff is under Idle on the frontpage but this is ridiculous. I know I'm just one of many Slashdotters in bitchbitchbitch mode but the next time you come across an article like this put it in your damned April Fools folder and don't revisit it until then!

    Next week: The Science of NBC's "Heroes" ... filed under Biotech!

  15. "In the Process?" on 75 Comics That Are Being Made Into Films · · Score: 5, Insightful

    that are in the process of being turned into films

    Keep in mind that the "process of being turned into films" is a long and difficult one where many projects get axed at every stage. And I'm sure <5% of these see theaters--hell look at how long it took The Watchmen (arguably the greatest comic book ever) to get off the ground!

    Although I'm sure with the recent success of movies like X-Men, Spiderman, Fantastic Four, etc that script writers are rushing back to their desks to find any unexploited comic book series that their pen can interpret.

    I cringe at the thought.

    I'm reminded of so many bad action flicks from my youth, so many cheesy war movies of my young adult life, so many bad Uwe Boll video game turned movies and now I've already suffered from Batwoman & Daredevil ... with more to come.

    Seriously, could Hollywood once--just for like a year--come out with only original semi-risky ventures? I mean, can we go one year without another recycled video game, without another tired sequel of an already diluted franchise, without another rehashed Mike Myers persona that's really just Austin Powers, etc. I mean, is that too much to ask?

  16. Filed Under the NYT's "Fashion & Style?" on Mind Control Delusions and the Web · · Score: 5, Insightful
    I mean, I'm not a huge fan of psychology myself but for the New York Times to file this under Fashion & Style gives me the impression that all the cool kids are joining gang stalking support groups ... makes one wonder what will the next fad be?

    The exception accounts for rituals of religious faith, for example.

    Remember, it's fashionable to be a nutcase, to claim people are out to get you, to believe you're being persecuted & suppressed--just look at Tom Cruise.

    It's been pointed out before but the internet is a very real, very powerful, very double-edged communications tool.

  17. No Obligations, Take What You Can Get on How Long Should an Open Source Project Support Users? · · Score: 5, Insightful
    Disclaimer: These are my experiences & opinions only.

    It seems you are looking for a list of cards supported by Ndiswrapper, nothing else? Is the software development not keeping up with cards or something? I'm more concerned that I can no longer access their wiki. I'm not sure how the lack of a database of cards it works with would cause its functionality to "diminish" but you are right that this raises an interesting question.

    Without the database, the software's usability is severely diminished but this raises an interesting question: Is an open source project obliged to provide support for its users? If so, for how long should the support last?

    No. Although from time to time I notice that Maven2's repo1 is sometimes down which irks me a bit when I'm using new packages. And that's why I have a local repository on my list--in case the bandwidth I steal from Jason van Zyl of Codehaus ever dries up. And if it should, I realize there's not a lot I can do about it ... although I can always keep downloading packages (or even building them myself) and installing them on my local network albeit tedious. I am lucky though as Maven2 is well thought out in this respect, always defaulting through a whole list of repos (indeed if repo1 went down, there are others).

    I appreciate Mr. van Zyl's work and efforts but he and I have signed no prior contract guaranteeing the length of time his service should be available to me. And I, of course, expect nothing from him. He's doing me a great service at the moment but the service--though rarely spotty--doesn't have to last past this second.

    Say, where's your local repository of Ndiswrapper's database?

    Web servers cost money, especially for popular sites.

    This is correct. And by that logic, it may benefit you to send the sourceforge developers a simple message asking them if a modest donation of funds could ail this predicament? Every so often I anonymously throw $10-$20 at a project that I use heavily, I really wish others would do the same.

    While developers can sometimes find sponsorship, is it possible to get sponsorship simply for infrastructure and user services?

    I'm really not sure although I do realize that if Ndiswrapper is talking to this database on the backend, there's probably no eyeballs looking at ads to the left and right of this database. Which makes it kind of hard for magical ad revenue to come in (similar to the codehaus repo1 scenario listed above). I think you'd be better off appealing to some distribution that may hinge heavily on Ndiswrapper but I'm pretty sure the developers would have exhausted these resources before letting this site lapse into oblivion.

  18. But Can They Do It Justice? on Multiple Upcoming Games, Movies Based On Jordan's Wheel of Time · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I am surprised as I haven't been following this news since Jordan's death. I will say I am excited as I picked up Eye of the World for a quarter at a used bookstore in high school. I've been a huge fan ever since but have often wondered if there is any possible way a game or movie can do this series justice.

    Wheel of Time has such extensive (sometimes laboriously so) plot lines running in tandem and across multiple characters that may not cross for thousands of pages. Can this be set in film successfully? The introspection of the characters when you're seeing things from their points of view ... the political games ... the extensive dream sequences ... keeping the dream world and waygates straight ... so much they could get wrong!

    In truth, I wondered the same of George R. R. Martin's Song of Fire & Ice series recently licensed by HBO. I guess we'll see if they can do that series justice as well.

    As for the games, I was a bit disappointed with the 1999 version which was basically a Hexen engine playing as an Aes Sedai in one of the Ajahs. A visually pleasing game, though. I certainly hope they do better with The Wheel of Time MMOs & don't dish me another buggy clone like Lord of the Rings or Warhammer.

    Red Eagle & Universal, please don't screw this up! Disclaimer: I am a Perrin fan.

  19. Not Just Spam on Washington Post Blog Shuts Down 75% of Online Spam · · Score: 5, Interesting
    From the article:

    The badness attributed to McColo was not limited to spam. It included child pornography sites; sites that accepted payment for spam and child porn; rogue anti-virus Web sites; and a huge malicious software operation that apparently stole banking and credit card data from more than a half million people worldwide.

    And they operated for how long before they were shut down ... as a United States based hosting provider?

    If they have evidence of these things, I certainly hope that The Washington Post turns any evidence over to the FBI or at the least the local law enforcement where McColo is operating. And I hope a warrant is obtained through the appropriate channels to collect evidence from Hurricane Electric & Global Crossing ... I'm all for user privacy policy from an ISP but obviously these people are criminals.

  20. Re:Commemorative Box Set on Mystery Science Theater Turns 20 · · Score: 1

    I think you mean "Werewelf", yaniglotchy... you know, that which runs about on all fours from place to place? Nothing better than a werewolf movie set in the american southwest where the actors are all from eastern europe.

    The Sci-Fi channel era had a few Joe Estevez gems. In "Soul Taker" he plays an Angel of Death. Dunno if that one is available on video or not.

    Not yet, though I have it on VHS and watch it regularly. It also has Robert Z'Dar (OH Z'NO!) also of Future War fame--you know, the catcher's mitt with eyes? I think I nearly urinated myself 8 times during Soul Taker.

    "You'll never get the smell of Hardee's out of that car."

    "Where does that guy even keep all his acorns?"

  21. Re:My Two Favorites on Mystery Science Theater Turns 20 · · Score: 2, Informative

    "Attack of The Eye Creatures" and the TV premiere of the ninja show "The Master".

    I know Joel got off the ship by stranding Mike, but did Mike ever make it off the satellite of love?

    SPOILER ALERT!

    In Danger:Diabolik, the very last episode, they do make it back to earth in a crash landing. The funniest part is Tom Servo blowing up all the extra Tom Servos they've accumulated over the years. At the end, the three share a one-bedroom apartment and settle into eat popcorn and--you guessed it--riff on a cheesy movie on TV. Speculation: Someone told me that that was the first movie they had ever riffed before but I can't verify it and I don't think that's true with the KTMA episodes.

  22. Commemorative Box Set on Mystery Science Theater Turns 20 · · Score: 5, Informative

    Shout! Factory has come out with a Box Set to mark this occasion, with four new movies and a bunch of extras. I already ordered mine and am thoroughly enjoying Werewolf (1996) complete with Joe Estevez, Emilio's uncle and Martin Sheen's brother. Oh do they rail him for his B-Rated movies in that classic. That DVD alone is worth this box set!

  23. Just One More Way for Them to Stop You on China Defines Internet Addiction · · Score: 5, Funny

    About 10 percent of China's 253 million Internet users exhibit some form of addiction to the medium, and 70 percent of those people are young men, an official Xinhua News Agency report said.

    News Anchor: And in today's news, an unnamed Chinese dissident has been treated in Beijing for <sinister sounding voice>internet addiction</sinister sounding voice>. After monitoring his internet usage and anti-government e-mails through his ISP, the government was able to find the man and get him the help he needs at a special government run institution at a remote location for his own good. Let's hope he has a swift recovery ...

  24. I Think You're Reaching There on Philosophy and Computer Science Revisited · · Score: 4, Insightful
    I'm going to refer back to this comment from that story with this statement:

    Having worked as a developer for 5 years since finishing grad school, I've been discouraged to find that the points of contact between philosophy and CS are VERY few and far between. Studying philosophy will definitely sharpen your reading, writing, and analytical skills, all of which are (or should be, if you're doing your job right) useful for programmers. But those are all general skills; my knowledge of philosophical theories or history or personalities are, frankly, never a part of my work life.

    I think that still holds true in all but rare cases. It's unfortunate but I made a reference to Kant's Critique of Pure Reason a few months ago at work. Someone had just read The Blind Watchmaker by Dawkins and I asked them if he was referring to Kant's "Prime Mover" or "Watch Maker" ... and everyone promptly drew a blank. My actual work is even further from it.

    Although that is primarily the 'classic' idea of philosophy and I'm well aware of increasing fields related to computer science like information law (or whatever they call it) and AI. I became disheartened as I tried implementing some rudimentary NLP/AI programs ... even in C that stuff is resource intensive.

    Is a merger of Philosophy, a discipline steeped in history and intelligent thought, and Computer Science, a discipline that looks to the future, the best of both worlds?

    No offense but you just took two positive sentences about two arbitrary majors and tried to pull them together for reasons unknown to me. The same could probably be said about any two majors:

    Is a merger of Home Economics, a discipline steeped in making home life better and easier, and Mathematics, a discipline of rigorous proofs, the best way to improve the common man's life?

    Yeah, it's romantic. But aside from logic, predicate calculus and the philosophy of mathematics, could you help me out in how this is supposed to meld with my Java monkey job?

    Don't get me wrong, I love to read AI papers on arxiv and tinker with a local copy of Wikipedia at home but ... where has a major application of Philosophy developed in Computer Science in the last 2.5 years?

  25. "Consolidation" is a Scam on Beating the College Bubble · · Score: 5, Interesting

    big college loans are tempting students with too much Comp Lit and Frat Parties. When they graduate, the debt is so hefty that the students are stuck living in their parents' basement for 10 years until they've paid it all off. I can tell you from personal experience that there's some real truth to the hangover.

    Well, here's my anecdote. I didn't rack up $100k worth of loans like my friends. I worked nearly full time through my undergrad and didn't receive a penny from my parents. I came out $20k in debt and had to prove that I actually put a lot of effort into my public college undergrad degree. I graduated in 2004, made my employer pay for my Masters from a private college (which I got in 2007) while, again, working full time. I will be making the final payment next month and be debt free for the first time since I was 17.

    I know a lot about some of my close friends and if I may impart some wisdom (I have no idea if this is covered in the book), do not consolidate your loans. Just don't do it. So many people consolidated their loans after reading a letter from a third party that used words like "at the current federal reserve rate ... " or "if trends continue" followed by "you will save a shit ton of money." I know because I received these offers ... hundreds of them. They all turned out to be variable rate bullshit. I did my homework and only needed minor math skills to figure out the scams. Maybe 5% of the people I know have had loan consolidation work for them (all one of them who graduated years before me). At a Halloween party, one of my friends lamented about trading up 3.5% & 4.5% fixed rate loans worth $80k for a consolidated loan at 3% in 2004. The company now sends her biannual updates informing her that her rates will be going up and she's looking at 7% now. Imagine that. She signed up with a company that doesn't even bother justifying it, she says some of the letters are just one sentence. The sad thing is that she can still afford the monthly payment so apathy wins for the next 10 years.

    I know I am lucky, I was able to sleep 3-5 hours a night with little repurcussions. Most people can't live off of a cup of noodles or day old wheat bread (animal consumption only FTW) for 30 cents from Erberts & Gerberts. Make smart choices, if you aren't good with finances, ask a friend who is ... I've doled out more than my fair share and often call my friend who is now a CPA.

    If you want to pay for a brand name college, I'm not going to stop you. Their are plenty of schools like the University of Minnesota that have great engineering programs and although I can't walk into an interview and drop a name like MIT, I don't mind proving I'm worth what you want to pay.