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User: Antony+T+Curtis

Antony+T+Curtis's activity in the archive.

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  1. It seems to create weird artifacts around the edges of hair and ears.

  2. The usual argument against stopping spoofing is that the average person won't answer the calls from a cold caller telemarketers.
    Sadly, organisations like the Direct Marketers Association have more political clout than consumer protection advocates

  3. Sell them as a PC? on Amazon Is Kicking All Unauthorized Apple Refurbishers Off the Site (vice.com) · · Score: 1

    Put an easily removable label over the Apple logo and sell them as a Crabapple PC?

  4. Can they reskin their work to be for Star Wreck?

  5. Does this mean that "git" may be renamed in the near future?

  6. At least someone... on Chinese Companies Are Buying Up Cash-Strapped US Colleges (bloomberg.com) · · Score: 5, Funny

    At least someone is investing in education.

  7. Or the opposite. on AI Could Lead To Third World War, Elon Musk Says (theguardian.com) · · Score: 1

    Consider a handful of the nuclear power leaders: Trump, Putin and Kim.

    I posit an opposite hypothesis that AI would be better at governing humans than the human that humans permit to govern themselves.

  8. This is why my gaming Windows 8.1 PC is set up to check for updates but not to download anything automatically. I can then examine the KB for each download and then block/hide the undesirable updates.

  9. Working as designed? on Microsoft Edge's Private Browsing Mode Isn't Actually Private (betanews.com) · · Score: 2

    Sounds like, from the description, that it is working as designed.

  10. Re: How old are you? on Whistleblowers: How NSA Created the 'Largest Failure' In Its History (zdnet.com) · · Score: 1

    Why should they automatically get a pension? They should pay for their own pension like every other person has so.

  11. Re: Does Excel work yet? on Recalc Or Die: Excel 1.0 Developers Celebrate Their Baby's 30th Birthday · · Score: 1

    I think the instructions to support BCD went the way of the Dodo when AMD created their x86-64 dialect which is the defacto today.

  12. Re: (intentionally blank) on Epson's 'Empty' Professional-Grade Cartridges Can Have 20 Per Cent of Their Ink Remaining · · Score: 1

    I gave up on my multifunction Epson... Especially as it would refuse to scan or send/receive a fax if only one one the cartridges was "empty".
    Solution was simple and obvious.

    I purchased a Brother colour laser printer.
    I purchased a Xerox scanner.
    I purchased an USB fax/modem adaptor.

    Now, no such problems. It all just works with much less headaches.

    Meanwhile, I plan to strip apart the Epson multifunction device for parts - it's not worth selling nor giving away. Inkjet? Never again.

  13. Trumped up charges. on Evidence That H-1B Holders Don't Replace US Workers · · Score: 1

    H-2 visa holders are the ones who are replacing US workers because they need no qualifications.
    H-1B holders are workers who are filling in because there isn't enough qualified workers already in the US.

  14. Re:Drone It on Test Pilot: the F-35 Can't Dogfight · · Score: 1

    Not only that, but no artificial limit to g. No pilot to keep conscious.

    You now need to write a drone AI that you trust with lethal weaponry or a remote control system that's unjammable.

    BAe Systems is looking at developing an autonomous prototype, called Taranis, which uses the SkyNet military communications satellite network to communicate to base. I believe the concept is that it flies by itself and executes orders transmitted to it and sending back surveillance data back.

  15. My 2 cents.. on What AI Experts Think About the Existential Risk of AI · · Score: 1

    In my opinion, a hypothetical super-intelligent AI couldn't possibly do more damage than what our politicians are actually doing now.

  16. The argument for a sentient robot soldier on Only Twice Have Nations Banned a Weapon Before It Was Used; They May Do It Again · · Score: 1

    There is an excellent argument for sentient robot soldiers and that is in the realm of collateral damage.

    Today's "smart bombs" typically have a kill radius of 30m and a maim radius of 50m. This means that for one "surgical kill", dozens of non combatant deaths are likely (and do) occur.

    A smart sentient robot could, instead, enter an area, only killing to gain access, before assassinating the intended target. There may be nearly zero non combatant deaths. There would also be a lot fewer maimed and no unnecessary infrastructure damage.

    Surely, a war with sentient AIs would be more humane than todays so-called precision bombings?

  17. Not all projects have fared badly under Oracle. on VirtualBox Development At a Standstill · · Score: 1

    Some projects, such as MySQL, have improved massively under Oracle's stewardship. Much more progress has occurred during the past year under Oracle than the couple of years under Sun or even the last year that MySQL was independent.

    However, it is sad that VirtualBox's development has slowed. It's suffered from being "good enough".

  18. If I were a Comcast employee... on Comcast's Lobbyists Hand Out VIP Cards To Skip the Customer Service Wait · · Score: 1

    If I were a Comcast or Verizon etc employee, I'd keep the priority cards for myself to use when I have a problem. I doubt they'd give most of their employees enough codes to handle all their comms problems.

  19. Re:Cars got made on DOOM 3DO Source Released On Github · · Score: 2

    GM was bankrupt because of their union pension plans, full stop. The pension plans cost more than all the active union workers. Blame anyone you want to for that, the future of manufacturing is all robots anyhow.

    Not true. They went bankrupt because they sold crappy cars which cost them a fortune in warranty repairs.

    I purchased a GM car in 2005. By the time we got rid of it in 2009, it had received the following repair warranties:
    2 wheel bearings, 3 steering columns, 2 ECUs, 5 replacement door hinges, 2 brake discs, 2 auto transmissions and 1 door window motor.

    In compensation, we were promised a $400 check but we never did receive it and to be honest, I don't care. We don't have the deathtrap anymore.

    With all the billable hours that the vehicle spent in the shop, the vehicle must have been a big fat loss. Given how busy they were fixing up other vehicles, ours wasn't a unique case. This is what made GM go bankrupt.

    I have never had a vehicle which was so unreliable before or since. As a consequence, I shall never buy another GM vehicle.

  20. Meh, I don't care. on Creationism Conference at Michigan State University Stirs Unease · · Score: 1

    I don't care if MSU holds a anti-science conference... It's their freedom of choice in the same way that I have the freedom to be just a little bit prejudiced against any MSU alumni when I am evaluating the resumes/CVs of job candidates.

  21. Re:Coding where? on Microsoft, Facebook Declare European Kids Clueless About Coding, Too · · Score: 1

    In the late 70's and early 80's in the US, you could go into a big box store and buy a computer with BASIC for under $200. Heck, the Sinclair boxes were under a $100. Which computer fits that description today?

    Raspberry Pi. You can get it, plus necessary cables, mouse, keyboard and SDCard for under $100. All you need to bring to the table is a TV.

  22. Material selection on Wheel Damage Adding Up Quickly For Mars Rover Curiosity · · Score: 1

    I am guessing that part of the reason for an all-metal milled wheel is because of the (largely) unshielded RTG power source which Curiosity uses may seriously degrade organic-based materials.

    Could someone with more knowledge of materials near RTG sources comment?

  23. Re:shift of blame. on A 24-Year-Old Scammed Apple 42 Times In 16 Different States · · Score: 1

    It has been around 20 years since I was in a shop environment but I remember that we were explicitly told by the shop's bank that the only valid and acceptable source for authorisation codes was the shop's bank itself and any other number will be invalid because the POS will accept any random number. The phone number to call is the same number as the phone number to call for authorisation when using the old-fashioned card impress when the POS machine was not working.

  24. shift of blame. on A 24-Year-Old Scammed Apple 42 Times In 16 Different States · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Once upon a time, the retailer would have to take the blame for this because it is the retailer who is supposed to make the call to the financial institution on the retailer's own phone line, not using the cardholder's phone or trusting the cardholder's ability to dial the number.

    Unfortunately, the retailers are successfully using the police to cover for the incompetence of their staff.

  25. It is like... on World Health Organization Calls For Decriminalization of Drug Use · · Score: 2

    The WHO recommendation is like a drug cartel/warlord's worst nightmare come true.