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User: Nivag064

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  1. Re:Media Distortion on Memo To Parents and Society: Teen Social Media "Addiction" Is Your Fault · · Score: 1

    About 55 years ago in England, I walked to and from school when I was 5 years old - even if it rained.

    I now live in New Zealand, all my children walked to & from school. My youngest is now 16, he walks to & from school, takes him under 20 minutes. He has a lot more freedom to stay back to do things at school, or to get there early for meetings. It must be very stressful & time consuming when a parent has to drive children to & from school - and very limiting when children have to rely on public transport.

  2. Re:Command line is more error-prone on How Ya Gonna Get 'Em Down On the UNIX Farm? · · Score: 1

    Selecting the wrong menu option, or not clicking the right check boxes in a GUI, can stuff you up big time!

    I use Eclipse which is a GUI IDE for Java development. I also use the command line and a simple text editor like pluma to create scripts to run on the command line. For running SQL then a command line tool like psql (PostgreSQL) beats any GUI. I am learning to use git, so I use the command line commands, as they are a lot easier to document & I have far more control over what happens.

    Fortunately, I use Linux and the Mate Desktop Environment. I have 35 virtual desktops, about 2/3 in use. Some of my terminals have multiple tabs, as do some of my directory windows.

    To be a good developer, it is essential to know how to use both command line and GUI tools.

  3. Re:Stop trying on How Ya Gonna Get 'Em Down On the UNIX Farm? · · Score: 1

    If you have command line tools, then you can write a script to document and automate the process. You can not do this with GUI tools!

    If you have a sequence of instructions in a script, it is easy to debug, and once you've got it right you simply execute the script. With a GUI you have to remember to do the actions correctly and in the appropriate order each & every time, and you have a far higher chance of making a mistake.

    I have a bash script (I wrote the first version over 10 years ago) that installs the Wildfly Java Enterprise Application Server in the directory of my choice and converts it from using an in memory database to using PostgreSQL (amongst several other actions). The script runs in a second or so, to do this manually would take me several minutes with several different GUI tools. The script locates all the files that need changing, and locates & changes the relevant text in each such file. Over the last few months I've sometimes ran this script several times a day.

    Command line tools are also easier to document that GUI tools.

  4. Re:Enough on Snowden Gives Alternative Christmas Message On Channel 4 · · Score: 1

    Snowden exists and is still alive, while the Jesus of the Christian Bible is a myth.

    Crucifixion was a horribly real and painful way to die.

    Snowden tells us about dire events that are happening now, the Christian Bible has vague prophesies.

  5. Re:wouldn't it be better if the industry agreed on on Rise of the Super-High-Res Notebook Display · · Score: 1

    You've given way too much spurious precision!

    I doubt if the value is even accurate to 4 significant figures: in which case your value of "11.811023622" would be "11.81". Though I think for practical purposes, "11.8 pixels per mm" is a better way of representing it to the general public. Remember most people use metric, the USA is one of the last countries to cling to the archaic Imperial system - even England has changed to using metric!

    Using integers would make more sense, so if they made the screen 12 pixels per mm, it would make little difference to the size of the device, but make the ratio of pixels to mm a lot more convenient and understandable!

    Note I was born and raised in Great Britain, so I was brought up using the Imperial system of measurements, I find metric measurements to be far more useful for doing calculations. What is 2 3/4" + 6 5/16"? What is the ratio of 6 pounds 3 ounces to 10 stone 7 pounds? You say a truck is 15 tons, is that short or long tons???

  6. Re:780-pound module.... on Smooth, 6.5 Hour Spacewalk To Fix ISS Ammonia Pump · · Score: 1

    Using the tidal force was an idea for stabilizing satellites I read about 45 years ago. I don't recall the time periods, but I suspect that it would be significantly less than a year. The longer the 'rod' the more pronounced the effect.

    I suspect that they found using gyroscopes gave faster stabilization and a lot more control, while have a 'keel' would have a higher mass penalty and be far less effective than using gyroscopes!

  7. Re:780-pound module.... on Smooth, 6.5 Hour Spacewalk To Fix ISS Ammonia Pump · · Score: 1

    There is still the tidal effect.

    If you have a non-conducting rod in orbit, it will try and align itself pointing towards the Earth's gravitational centre - so long as other forces do not prevent that.

    But the key thing is, is not to propagate the myth that gravity does not apply in orbit - I know what _YOU_ mean (but, did you forget the tidal effect still applies?), but lay people will tend to take what you say at face value, hence my strenuous objection!

  8. Re:780-pound module.... on Smooth, 6.5 Hour Spacewalk To Fix ISS Ammonia Pump · · Score: 1

    also when NZ went metric, and at least a couple of years AFTER the inch was legally define as 25.4mm, cardboard converters were given out stating that an inch = 25.3999997 mm (don't remember the exact number of 9's!)!!!!!

  9. Re:780-pound module.... on Smooth, 6.5 Hour Spacewalk To Fix ISS Ammonia Pump · · Score: 1

    yes "kilogram-force" is ugh!

    Many years ago in NZ there where some US warplanes, and I saw the abomination 'Kg/cm^2" (the 2 was actually a superscript) - arghhhh!

  10. Re:780-pound module.... on Smooth, 6.5 Hour Spacewalk To Fix ISS Ammonia Pump · · Score: 1

    Very definitely they are affected by gravity, or they would not stay in orbit but go off independently of Earth!

  11. Re:780-pound module.... on Smooth, 6.5 Hour Spacewalk To Fix ISS Ammonia Pump · · Score: 1

    Stick to metric, it is much easier, a Kilogram is a unit of mass, and a Newton is a unit of force.

    F = Ma
    g = about 9.8 m/s^2
    so if gravity is 88% of Earth sea level, then the force on a 1Kg mass is equal to 1 * 9.8 * 0.88 Newtons, which is about 8.6 Newtons. The imperial system is way to complicated to be useful!

  12. Re:In other news on Microsoft Security Essentials Misses 39% of Malware · · Score: 1

    Sounds like Microsoft software!

  13. Re:It is... on Enormous Tunneling Machine 'Bertha' Blocked By 'The Object' · · Score: 1

    No, no,...

    It's most likely to be clutch of Weeping Angels..

  14. Re:What they've found on Enormous Tunneling Machine 'Bertha' Blocked By 'The Object' · · Score: 1

    Except that the government of the USA has been out of control for many years!

  15. Re:Unmovable object on Enormous Tunneling Machine 'Bertha' Blocked By 'The Object' · · Score: 1

    It was declared private, so they are not allowed to access it!

  16. Re:A sad day on Enormous Tunneling Machine 'Bertha' Blocked By 'The Object' · · Score: 1

    I told you Mildred, these object oriented programmers are being objectionable, again!!!

  17. Re:How do you test a meter? on Scientists Extract RSA Key From GnuPG Using Sound of CPU · · Score: 1

    Perhaps they should have said four metres (using the correct spelling)!

  18. Re:classroom tools on Datawind Not Blowing Smoke: $38 Tablet Coming To the US · · Score: 1

    You never heard of Linux?

  19. Re:What they didn't say... on Next-Gen Windshield Wipers To Be Based On Jet Fighter "Forcefield" Tech · · Score: 2

    Not only that but jets can land and take off below sea level.

  20. Re:xenon not so noble either on No Longer "Noble"; Argon Compound Found In Space · · Score: 1

    I got a shock 50 years ago, when I read an article about xenon compounds when I was 13. My background reading had given me the impression that the 'noble' elements did not form compounds.

    Note, once (same school year) I was meant to have read a chapter on Calcium for Chemistry homework, which I didn't read - but my background reading was sufficient, so that everybody implicitly assumed that I had read that chapter very well!

  21. Re:6.4 percent on Investor Lawsuit Blames NSA For $12B Loss In IBM Value · · Score: 1

    Which year?

  22. Re:6.4 percent on Investor Lawsuit Blames NSA For $12B Loss In IBM Value · · Score: 1

    "only 6.4 percent"

    That is significant, more so as this is a start of a long term downward trend!

  23. Re:GNOME? on SteamOS Will Be Available For Download On December 13 · · Score: 1

    Hopefully they will be using Mate, which started as a fork of GNOME 2 with some discarded useful features added back in!

    GNOME 3 is a Triumph of Fashion over Functionality...

  24. Re:Demand for Microsoft Skills Declining? on Ask Slashdot: Why So Hard Landing Interviews In Seattle Versus SoCal? · · Score: 1, Informative

    Unless it has changed in the last few years: I recall people where advised to just have one major application per Microsoft box, whereas running multiple apps on Linux was much more common, also Linux tends to have better performance in general and superior security. Plus Microsoft boxen tend to need more work.

    So you generally need more Microsoft boxen to handle a given workload than when using
    Linux. As more companies wake up to that, Linux market share will gain even more.

    I know that a lot of decisions to go with Microsoft are done out of political considerations (I had a friend working at the New Zealand Tax department, who could testify to that!), and ignorance. Changing to Linux for political reasons, or because it is 'fashionable', is a recipe for disaster - Linux is no panacea, one still needs to be competent and have sufficient budget (even if the Linux solution is cheaper than the Microsoft one, as is usually the case) .

    Note that Linux & Unix totally dominate supercomputers. Stock exchange rely on Linux boxen to handle trading, Microsoft boxen simply aren't up to handle the load reliably at the performance levels required.

    I remember a very slick presentation/debate between a Microsoft guy pushing NT and someone representing
    Unix. In terms of presentation, the Microsoft guy won hands down - but NT had a notable limitation of only being able to support 32 concurrent users, whereas Unix boxen had no problems supporting hundreds of users.

    However, as Linux servers increase their market share, there will be added pressure on the Microsoft job market.

    Google is extremely cost conscious, so if Microsoft did really have a far better ROI on Linux, than Google would be using mostly Microsoft boxen.

    I have 35 virtual desktops on my main development box (32GB RAM), currently using a bit over half of them - I've never seen this facility on a Microsoft box. I have 2 highly customised panels that autohide using the Mate Desktop Environment Manager - the Microsoft Desktop Environment Managers are far less customisable. As for Microsoft's Window 8, that is worse than GNOME 3, and is demonstration of leading innovation at pissing off both users and developers.

    When I use a Microsoft box, I feel like I'm flying blind without adequate instrumentation.

    It is easier for teenagers to get in depth experience of Linux, compared to Microsoft. Any one can download the Linux source code and compile it legally, this is generally not possible with Microsoft. So even before the Raspberry Pie, far more younger people were training themselves in Linux than Microsoft. So it is far easier to hire new people with in depth Linux skills, than Microsoft skills. Plus Linux runs on a wider variety of hardware than does Microsoft. So it is not surprising that the overall market share of Linux is already dominating all other operating systems put together!

    So the medium to long term trend on servers, definitely favours Linux.

  25. Re:Demand for Microsoft Skills Declining? on Ask Slashdot: Why So Hard Landing Interviews In Seattle Versus SoCal? · · Score: 1, Interesting

    I am now a Java developer. I started with FORTRAN on mini-computers in the 1970's, and later COBOL on mainframes. Now I'm implementing a Java Enterprise (JEE7) application that will use a browser front end and having to come up to speed in JavaScript and associated frameworks like AngularJS.

    Actually one lunch time in the early 1980's I helped someone write a screen saver in VB, it was the first time I'd seen VB. Probably convinced my colleague that I knew a lot more than I did!

    I may be 'forced' into programming an Android tablet for a contract coming up. But if I was targeting mobile phones I would go to Android, Microsoft is way behind Apple, and Apple is way behind Android.

    I have been tracking Linux since the early 1990's. Got heavily into Unix when I went back to university to do a DippAppSci (about half the value of an M.Sc.) in 1991. Taught C to experienced programmers to make a bit of money on the side.

    The future for Microsoft is fairly bleak, in the medium to long term. If you intend still programming in 5 years time, then you should definitely develop your Linux skills.

    I am keeping an eye on Ceylon (http://ceylon-lang.org) as an alternative for Java, as I'm concerned about Oracle's ethics. Ceylon will not only run in a JVM, but also in a JavaScript engine.

    I have a friend who has been developing and supporting software in the Microsoft environment for over 20 years, he only uses Linux at home. He would switch to Linux at work if he saw the opportunity.

    I definite would not advise anyone to go into VB or .Net now.