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User: gknoy

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  1. What does one DO with it? on The Amiga, Circa 2010 — Dead and Loving It · · Score: 1

    I don't mean to be a whippersnapper, but ... why would one install this? What does one do that constitutes "play"? Are there games you're nostalgic for, or is there something useful about it? I can understand running a VM of a current OS for development or sandboxing, but ... there's tasks there that can be made useful by that. What's one do with an Amiga VM?

  2. Re:Raw science IS entertaining on Critics Call For NASA TV To "Liven Up" · · Score: 1

    If an astronaut fumbles something, and says nothing, would he be at the same risk of replacement as someone that fumbled the same thing in the same manner, and then said "Shit!" out loud? I suspect not, though I would hope so.

  3. Re:Yes, let me restate for the hopelessly stupid. on Microbes That Keep Us Healthy Starting To Die Off · · Score: 1

    To be fair, that's a much more reasonable statement than your original "unless I feel I'm at death's door, I do not go" statement. The first thing you wrote could have meant "I treat my ulcers, strange pains, and broken limbs myself, as I don't think they are life-threatening" when said by someone sufficiently eccentric.

  4. Re:Easier to block? on Malware and Botnet Operators Going ISP · · Score: 1

    Thank you! I'll be keeping this in mind when I rebuild my server.

  5. Re:Wake up Australia on Aussie Gov't To Introduce Bill That Would Require ISP-Level Censorship · · Score: 1

    Another possibility is that it was intended somewhat narrowly as a call to arms, but not as a call to arms to risk death to copy a DVD. Also, a lot of people fail to realise that just because one of the founders of America said it, another viewpoint isn't legitimate. I personally rank living and happiness as far more important than freedom; (limited) freedom is simply one (very) important ingredient in happiness, but it can't be seen as an ends in itself.

    This opinion isn't wrong, it's just not a world view that matches that of America's founding fathers. It's quite possible that you are from a different country (with different cultural baggage), or just that you disagree with them.

    I have no understanding of how the "freedom to copy a DVD you own" is essential.

    If I've bought a book/CD/DVD/chair/desk/lawnchair/flag, I should be Free to read, destroy, and make personal backup copies (or media-shifted copies for personal use). If you own it, do what you will. (Note: I am NOT including "make a copy for others" in that list, though some might argue that it should.) When I buy a book in paper form, why should I not be able to make a (personal) PDF copy of it? When I buy a chair, why should I not be able to clone the design with my replicator? When I buy a book, why shouldn't I be able to perform (read) it to my son?

    These things are all Liberty (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberty) in varying forms, and Liberty is one of the "rights" which the United States' founders believed were fundamental to all humans, and worth securing at risk to their lives.

    Freedom to copy your own DVD (or book or chair) seems relatively trivial, but so does the freedom to eat in particular restaurants or sit at the front of the bus. (If you are an American, chances are you know exactly what I'm referring to. For non-USians, I'm referring to Rosa Parks ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosa_Parks ) .)

    You bought the DVD knowing the system that prevailed.

    We rarely have a choice in the matter: we can't get competing media that doesn't have this restriction. Moreover, the technical limitations were known, but the legal ones (e.g. DMCA) were added later to prevent us from circumventing the technical limitations. The difference between "very hard" and "illegal" is a very large one. Moreover, saying "You knew the rules when you started.." is a very poor counterargument when one is arguing that the rules are fundamentally bad.

  6. Re:Easier to block? on Malware and Botnet Operators Going ISP · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Do you have any helpful links to guides that would explain how to do that? I'm sure I am not the only network-care neophyte who would like to have a safe and spam-free system at home, so I'm sure it would get you modded informative.

  7. Re:Wake up Australia on Aussie Gov't To Introduce Bill That Would Require ISP-Level Censorship · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Whoever said "those who would give up an essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety" was obviously crazy and/or making use of hyperbole and/or hadn't thought about his own position.

    Benjamin Franklin, one of the more influential thinkers in the American Revolution, was the one who said that. He was eccentric, but I don't think he was crazy. He certainly was aware of his situation.

    At the time, people living in America had relative safety (individually). The British crown generally tried to protect them, and wasn't out to kill them. However, there were certain injustices that the Crown perpetrated on them -- things like taxing them without letting them have representatives in Parliament, and the British military effectively forcing civilians to quarter (Feed+board) them for indefinite amounts of time. Franklin, and the other revolutionaries who drafted our Declaration of Independence, were very aware that they were making a choice to either revolt (and risk capital punishment should they fail or be caught) or continue sacrificing the Liberties which they felt were absolutely essential.

    Many of these liberties and related concerns are addressed directly in the first 10 amendments to our Constitution: the rights of freedom of religion, speech, a free press, and the right not to have troops quartered in your house are four examples. These are principles which Franklin and the others were absolutely prepared to die for.

    Franklin and his friends knew a lot more about the matter than many of us do. Right now, we live in relative prosperity and comfort, so the risk and "temporary safety" are amplified in our minds. We're not likely to die to disease, cold, or raiding natives, for example. Our populace has basically been seduced by the bread and circuses (so to speak), and has willingly traded away freedoms which some of us consider essential (freedom to copy a DVD you own, freedom to communicate securely, etc) in order to have a more blissful and convenient existence. The security theater we see in American (and other) airports is another example of this: we've pretty much irrevocably squandered our right to not be treated like a herd of potential criminals, in exchange for "safety". This is absolutely the same sort of things over which Franklin and others were willing to shed blood over: tyrrany, however petty.

  8. Re:Not Greed .. on Why Is a Laptop's Battery Dearer Than a Lawnmower's? · · Score: 1, Insightful

    I'd be surprised if engineers for Sony, Dell, or Asus were unable to design a laptop to work with one of a standardized set of batteries, which differ only in form factor and energy/voltage output. They use commoddity hard drives, CD-roms, and memory chips, after all.

    Sure, it's more challenging short term, but being able to buy generic (or brand-name) batteries would be fantastic (for consumers). Laptop vendors would hate it, though, as others have already said.

  9. Re:Don't overthink this on Science Gifts For Kids? · · Score: 1

    I agree. Single locking blade >>> Swiss Army Knife.

    The tools are fun but ultimately nearly useless. Your kid'll be using the knife blade MUCH more. The locking blade is also much safer -- I had my folding knife blade close on my finger once. There are many ways a knife is useful to a kid. (Cutting rope, duct-tape, branches ...)

    Of course, you have to make sure that your community is someplace that won't flip out about kids with knives, and also you have to (these days) instill the fear of Major Punishment if they bring a knife to school. *shudder*. I did that by accident several times in second and third grade, and while that may have been mostly harmless, it's now a gigantic can of Peril for all even tangentially involved.

    Everything in a Swiss Army knife is Less Useful than real tools:
    - scissors
    - pen
    - toothpick
    - pliers
    - saw ... all of those are tools that you likely already have available to them, and are tools which if they really need, are much less frustrating to use than the items in a Swiss Army knife.

  10. Re:perl 5 versus ruby versus perl 6 on The Perl 6 Advent Calendar · · Score: 1

    Exactly.

    If you're coding Lisp in Emacs, it wull automagically indent your code to the Proper Place, and that makes the parentheses much MUCH easier to follow. I wish that other editors (UltraEdit, Notepad++, some IDEs) supported Lisp as well as Emacs does, even if it were only syntax highlighting and auto-indentation. I'm addicted to that, now. I even like it in other languages. (Even if I haven't figured out how to get Emacs to indent my Perl or Java code the way I'd like it to be, it at least is consistent.)

  11. Re:Demolition Man on NASA Tests Flying Airbag · · Score: 1

    Spreading the impact is great for reducing trauma forces on the outside of your body, but doesn't protect your brain from smashing into your skull when the skull (and your body) decelerates quickly.

  12. Re:It looks like crap on D-Link's New Boxee Box Runs Linux, Eyes Netflix · · Score: 1

    It looks "interesting", but also useless. I can't stack anything on top of it, like my remotes, or game controllers, or a stack of DVDs. I'm unlikely to buy one so strange shaped.

  13. Re:Big deal on Sharp Rise In Jailing of Online Journalists; Iran May Just Kill Them · · Score: 1

    That seems somewhat easy to get around:

    Set up a non-profit cooperative, which pays its employees $0.01/year in salary, and publishes Whatever. Power it by donations. Call it the I'm a Journalist Too Foundation, or something. They wouldn't even need to publish everything that's researched/posted (as you're gonna get some whackos). Include an agreement that "employees" can publish their findings elsewhere, as well -- and it sounds to me like one could ensure that anyone wanting to do any sort of investigative journalism could find a way to be technically employed as a journalist.

  14. Re:Yes... on Scientology Charged With Slavery, Human Trafficking · · Score: 4, Informative

    What did the Branch Davidians do that was so much, much worse?

    Er, killed a load of people and set fire to the compound.

    From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waco_Siege :

    Besides allegations of sexual abuse and misconduct, Koresh and his followers were accused of stockpiling illegal weapons....

    It is not known who fired the first shots, but each side later claimed it had been the other.[20] It is reported that the first firing occurred at the double front entry doors. (One door, riddled with bullet holes, was removed and lost very shortly after the siege's end). ATF agents stated they heard shots coming from within the compound, while Branch Davidian survivors claimed that the first shots came from the ATF agents outside...

    The deaths that resulted were because the Davidians thought they were defending themselves from an assault. Several parts of the FBI and ATF forces wanted to negotiate more, but another faction wanted to ramp up the use of force. Tanks and CEVs were brought in. At some point, the compound was heavily tear-gassed.

    After more than six hours no Davidians had left the building, sheltering instead in a cinder block room within the building or using gas masks. The official FBI claim is that CEVs were used to punch large holes in the building to provide exits for those inside. Most Davidians dispute this claim because the "exits" were blocked by debris, structurally unstable, elevated and largely inaccessible due to smoke and large quantities of tear gas.[citation needed] Several Davidians were blocked when a floor above collapsed, and nearly all Davidians said they feared being shot were they to leave.[citation needed]

    At around noon, three fires broke out almost simultaneously in different parts of the building. The government maintains the fires were deliberately started by Davidians.[20][45] Davidian survivors maintain the fires were accidentally or deliberately started by the tank assault.

    I think it's safe to say that it's a tragedy, no matter how you look at it, but I certainly feel that a large portion of the blame for the deaths at the Waco siege were caused by the unwillingness of the ATF/FBI to negotiate, and their eagerness to push with force against a target that they knew would interpret that as requiring self-defense.

    The Davidians' "wrongdoings" were small change compared to what happened there. Koresh was a polygamist, and I certainly don't condone his actions, but I don't think it's fair to blame him and his followers entirely for the deaths during the siege.

  15. I love the kill cam. on Infinity Ward Fights Against Modern Warfare 2 Cheaters · · Score: 1

    I love the kill cam in COD4. As you said, it helps me learn What I Did Wrong: the spots to watch out for, the places people can get to, the need to be wary of pre-emptive grenades, the value of having sights up all the time, as well as the value of a well-timed sprint.

    I understand that many clan servers would turn OFF kill cam to prevent people from spouting intel to teammates over Ventrilo (or the like), and sometimes the mandatory kill cam is annoying in deathmatch, but I frequently get in a rut of "How the hell are they doing that!?", and can't find out because there's no kill cam on the server.

  16. Re:How long until on Australian Govt. Proposes Internet "Panic Button" For Kids · · Score: 1

    "This is the Talk To A Policeman button! They might even like buttons! Remember, you should never press this button, unless you'd really like to talk to a policeman..."

    I suspect that the kids who like cops, or like dolphins, or toddlers who button-mash (like mine), will be the primary users of this button.

  17. Mouse+Keyboard, please. on Intel Says Brain Implants Could Control Computers By 2020 · · Score: 1

    I realize that abstract thought recognition would be great - I think about NASA and get nasa.gov, or something. However, I'd really be thrilled even to have mental controls mapped a keyboard + mouse.

  18. Re:Get your lawyers ready /. on German Killers Sue Wikipedia To Remove Their Names · · Score: 1

    In the grand scheme of thing, every continent has had its share of genocide, or at least widespread killin's in varying degrees. Cortez in the new world, the current mess in Africa, etc. I think it's safe to say that Humanity is pretty non-excellent to one another, on a grand scale. Americans killed millions of each other in our civil war (though one might not call that murder), and systematically set about eradicating the native population in many ways.

    Europe's history of mass killings goes back so far because that's where we have records from. Wars in most any place, throughout history, involved widespread pillaging and raping and murdering. I don't think it's fair to call Europe a bunch of murderers. =)

    I'm not sure I'd call them "more civilized" than us in the States, but in the context of capital punishment, I think it's a fair description. (I'm not keen on their personal and civil liberties stance, but then I did grow up in a country whose founders felt that an armed citizenry was important -- something which is, historically, not the norm for most cultures.)

  19. Re:Another case of bad parenting? on Bernie Madoff's Programmers Arrested · · Score: 1

    So, you're basically suggesting that one should Teach one's child to recognize harmful situations, and avoid them, but not micromanage them so much that they hate you. I agree with the former, and question the latter. Yes, teach your child the dangers of alcohol (and other substances available at parties ...), both medical and legal. Hopefully, your child will respect your wishes and stay away from that.

    On the other hand, peer pressure is strong. If they felt that no one (with power) would know, or that there were no immediate consequences, many children would be tempted. Knowing that you're going to check up on them (whether it's making sure the parents are there, or asking afterwards whether booze/etc was there), helps them know both that you care about their wellbeing, and also are watching to make sure they don't screw up. :)

    Trust, but Verify. They have to see that you trust them to be mature, but that you're also not going to be a complete sucker. ;) It helps if you yourself can set an example for being trustworthy too, of course.

  20. Re:Daytrading is for coked-out 80s rejects on Bernie Madoff's Programmers Arrested · · Score: 1

    If he's able to support his lifestyle by daytrading (which he didn't claim, he just said he made money), then I'd consider that Sustainable Enough, or as much as nearly any other job.

  21. Re:not sure I totally agree with what he says on The Languages of "The Office" · · Score: 1

    I believe that the grandparent is aware of this ... just as he is aware that he has trouble noticing those non-verbal signals and recognizing their meaning.

  22. Re:Correct User Access on Easing the Job of Family Tech Support? · · Score: 1

    I would also suggest that once you've installed the major software that they need, and they've been able to do some initial user preferences configuration, that you use a tool like Ghost to image the drive. This way, if things DO end up getting pooched, you can relatively easily blow away the drive and reinstall. Easily compared to the hassle of finding and configuring all one's drivers, software, tools, and preferences.

  23. Re:Correct User Access on Easing the Job of Family Tech Support? · · Score: 1

    Can you give a brief overview of how to remove write access to particular parts of the registry on a per-user (or per-group) basis?

  24. Re:You don't have to go to the theater, buy blu-ra on Hollywood Backs Swedish Movie Streaming Site · · Score: 1

    My DVD player obeys the requests of many DVDs not to allow skipping to the menu during previews. Often I have to fast-forward play through them, as it won't even let me chapter-skip past them.

  25. Re:Maybe the 15 year old is a momma's boy on Judge Rules Web Commenter Will Be Unmasked To Mom · · Score: 1

    Problem: Dangerous animals roaming about which could attack you
    Solution: Personal protection. Large stick, pistol, etc.

    GREAT point, whoever mentioned that cars > dogs when it comes to danger. Dogs, however, do have the potential to chase you in ways that a car is unlikely to.