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User: pwizard2

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  1. Re:Geek funeral? on A Geek Funeral · · Score: 3, Informative

    What about the ice crystals destroying all your cell walls?

    Plants have cell walls. (it's what allows them to stand up) Animals, including homo sapiens, have cell membranes only.

  2. Re:Do Naps Count? on Alzheimer's Disease Possibly Linked To Sleep Deprivation · · Score: 1

    People with certain neurological conditions (like myself) need more sleep than the average person because we have to work harder to do the same physical/mental tasks as everyone else. Many people can function just fine on a regular basis with just 6 hours of sleep but I need at least 8 per night or my ability is impaired even more. Fortunately, I work at home and can take a nap or just rest for a little while anytime I need to.

  3. Re:Transcript on Forkable Linux Radio Ad Now On the Air In Texas · · Score: 1

    Ditto. I had some bad RAM once too. Windows would crash immediately after logging in in most cases whereas I could usually get a few hours (and often a few days) of uptime out of Linux before the faulty hardware took the system down.

  4. Re:Yes! on "Right To Repair" Bill Advances In Massachusetts · · Score: 1

    I had a 98 Contour

    I have one too, same year and model. From my experience, they aren't made very well.

    Are your plastic headlight lenses fogged up? I've seen lots of contours with that problem, (including mine) and I think there's something faulty in the plastic formula they used for the headlight lenses. (probably reacted with UV or something) My particular car is literally falling apart after about 10 years of life, and i've actually taken good care of it; the driver's seat frame broke recently and I had to build a wooden frame out of 2x4s to hold the back of the seat up. (The good news is that it made my car basically theft-proof; even the most desperate thieves would see that and probably keep walking--- I doubt even a chop shop would want it) The LCD on the clock broke and the interior carpet is peeling loose. Other cars could go for 15-20 years before stuff like that happens if they are properly cared for. I don't think I'll buy another Ford.

  5. Glad these things are gone on Maori Legend of Man-Eating Birds is True · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Some species of Terror Bird would chase down their prey and literally peck it to death. They had an interesting feature about these things on Discovery last night; with this story it just seemed appropriate to mention it.

  6. Re:Stability on Why Users Drop Open Source Apps For Proprietary Alternatives · · Score: 3, Insightful

    That is why GUIs in Linux are horrible. Not just bad, but horrible. The rare GUI that is easy to use is a pleasant surprise.

    What exactly are you talking about?

    If you want to talk about appearance, Desktop environments/window managers like GNOME and KDE are comparable to what you can find on Windows or Mac, unless you're talking about really old stuff like twm. Compiz Fusion gives Linux compositing that is just as good as (if not better than) Aero. Furthermore, Windows still doesn't have multiple virtual desktops like Linux has had for decades. I've come to rely on that feature for day-to-day use, and using Windows is downright painful for me these days. Sure, there is software that can add that functionality to some extent in Windows (and Mac OSX, I presume) but that isn't the same as having it available out of the box and having a compositing engine that can integrate well with it.

    I've used OS X quite a bit and I still don't see what everyone in in awe about. It does what its supposed to, but there isn't really anything that special or unique about its interface these days.

  7. radioactive bacteria on Bacteria Used To Make Radioactive Metals Inert · · Score: 4, Funny

    What happens when the radiation mutates the bacteria? Single-celled organisms mutate very easily, and we could easily have a serious problem on our hands if the bacteria turn into something that is dangerous to us and then multiply out of control.

  8. Re:Browser use isn't exclusive on The Real-World State of Windows Use · · Score: 1

    How well does IE run under wine these days? I haven't tested it in awhile, but it didn't work well at all the last time I did. (several months ago) If you can get IE running reasonably well under wine, then you can probably watch netflix on Linux.

  9. Re:Nope, this is very 2000s on Microsoft Aims To Cure Server-Hugging Engineers · · Score: 1

    They do need the work just as much (or well, probably a lot more) than we do.

    But that doesn't mean that they should steal our jobs to get it. No reason why they can't develop things in their own country instead of taking our stuff. (how many Americans go and take stuff from India?) Mod me down if you wish, but the truth is that outsourcing only benefits shareholders and upper management. How long do you will it be until the Indian workers who got our jobs get cast aside by the same companies when someone cheaper comes along?

  10. Re:OK, you've asked Slashdot... on Bootstrapping a New Technology? · · Score: 2, Funny

    Step 4 is coming down with carpal tunnel syndrome from all the meta and control key usage involved in doing Step 2.

  11. Re:Trivial. on Password Hackers Do Big Business With Ex-Lovers · · Score: 1

    Heh, it looks like these guys don't even know enough to use captchas. I wonder how many spam requests they get through their order form.

  12. Re:I don't get why this is a problem on Lawsuit Claims WGA Is Spyware · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I see this as a necessary evil that Microsoft has to perform

    No evil is necessary if it affects me. I personally have no interest in helping Microsoft protect their profit margins, so why should I (or anyone else who doesn't work for them) care if they lose money through piracy? It really isn't my problem. If they want me to care, they have to offer me something in return. I'm all for charity for people who deserve it, but those feelings don't apply to corporations who exist solely to make a profit have used methods of questionable legality to get where they are today. I don't partake in piracy, (My versions of Windows are legit OEM copies even though I barely use them anymore) but it's not my responsibility or in my best interests to help Microsoft (or any other company) stop the people who do.

  13. Re:Nothing will happen on Lawsuit Claims WGA Is Spyware · · Score: 1

    "Jail" for a corporation should mean that all assets are frozen and all business activities are forced to halt for the same number of days that a real person would have been incarcerated.

    The problem with that is that means that employees (most of whom have little to do with what the company does as far as business is concerned) don't get paid since all assets are frozen and might even get cut as the corp tries to stave off bankruptcy during the punishment period. Essentially, the corporation gets shut down, but the innocent employees are the ones who get punished.

    You can't unfreeze assets just to pay workers in this scenario because little would stop some execs from looting the company and skipping town in such a situation.

  14. Re:You get what you pay for on All-You-Can-Eat College For $99-a-Month · · Score: 1

    If you are a high school or early-undergrad who is reading this, please take my advice on this: DON'T major in English, or any of the humanities, unless you want to be a teacher.

    I can see where you are coming from, but that is not universally true. Many useful studies fall under the English banner, and some of them have real-world applications. Back in my college days, I was training to be a technical writer/journalist and all that fell under an English major. I took many classes that provided useful skills like manual writing, grant writing, etc. Today, I use those skills as a freelancer.

  15. something that should be learned in school on Crime Expert Backs Call For "License To Compute" · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I can understand where they are coming from, but they are going to implement it wrong. (with the heavy-handed license approach) Rather, I think that computer literacy should be something that should be taught in school along with reading and math, since computer skills essential in this day and age. The class shouldn't be about how to use popular software, (although covering operating systems besides Windows would be a plus) but should cover basic skills instead. People need to learn why they shouldn't click the "greetingcard.exe" attachment in their email inbox or why it is a bad idea to share too much personal information online. People don't always pick on stuff like that by themselves, so it has to be taught.

  16. Re:Fooled again? on Emergency Government Control of the Internet? · · Score: 1

    Honestly, we need more congress-people who pay less attention to party directives and think for themselves

    While I agree that they should not listen to the party line as much, I think the last thing we need is for them to think for themselves. Rather, they should be listening to the electorate, especially in times like this. The more I see politicians pushing their own agenda through against the wishes of the people, (I've written senators lots of times and have gotten politely-worded "go to hell" replies each time) the more I wish there was a way to force them to be be little more than delegates.

  17. Re:Penalities on FTC Rules Outlawing Robocalls Go Into Effect Next Week · · Score: 1

    So that's $16k more worth of FTCish activities they can do.

    Except there's no way to be sure of that. Knowing the government, The money would probably be skimmed off someplace else. It still doesn't do me any good.

  18. Re:Penalities on FTC Rules Outlawing Robocalls Go Into Effect Next Week · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Yes, but that's $16k you don't have to pay in taxes.

    Yes, but the FTC is already funded with tax money as part of the budget. The 16K is just free money to them. Do you really think they should get a $16k bonus per incident to do what they should be doing anyway? Robocallers have gotten more and more prevalent in recent years and no one does anything until it becomes a huge problem. It's not like they are funded entirely by penalties... if they were, they would come down hard on every robocaller they could find and there likely wouldn't be any robocallers left to bother anyone.

  19. Penalities on FTC Rules Outlawing Robocalls Go Into Effect Next Week · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I wouldn't consider paying a fine (in this case, $16K/incident) to be much of a punishment. Sure, the robocaller stops bothering me, but once the robocaller is fined the government keeps it all. Every time a robocaller calls me, I'm the one who is inconvenienced, so why don't I get anything for helping to bring one of these guys down? It seems to me that if I report the number and it gets successfully prosecuted, I should get a cut of the reward. You can take the $16K fine and split it up equally among the people who reported that same number, and everyone wins.

    It will never happen that way, though.

  20. Re:Wa wa what? on Behind the 4GB Memory Limit In 32-Bit Windows · · Score: 1

    If you have an AGP video card you will not be able to access all the memory. AGP video is memory mapped just below the 4GB mark.

    AGP is practically obsolete these days, so I doubt that would be an issue for most people. All computers I've seen within the last 4 years or so have not had AGP ports in them but use PCI express. (My oldest machine from 2003 has AGP but I only use that for low-end server purposes and there is no card in there right now anyway)

  21. Re:power saving tip: disable the optical drive on Why Is Linux Notebook Battery Life Still Poor? · · Score: 1

    Furthermore, has anyone ever been prosecuted for doing it?

    Clarification: I meant to say has everyone been prosecuted for just ripping a DVD? (but not sharing it) Sorry for the double post.

  22. Re:power saving tip: disable the optical drive on Why Is Linux Notebook Battery Life Still Poor? · · Score: 1

    Because ripping your legally owned DVDs is illegal in some counties!

    True, but its essentially unenforcable. Furthermore, has anyone ever been prosecuted for doing it?

  23. Re:Too bad on Linux Port For id's Tech 5 Graphics Engine Unlikely · · Score: 1

    Doom3 works fine with the Nvidia blob the last time I checked. (at least on Ubuntu) I was able to get adequate performance on low quality out of a chipset, of all things.

  24. Re:Too bad on Linux Port For id's Tech 5 Graphics Engine Unlikely · · Score: 1

    I know you're being satirical, but I think there is too much blind zealotry in the open source community. While I admit that RMS has made a lot of difference in the open software world (I put a section on that into my upcoming book) that doesn't mean that I have to agree with everything he says. I like being able to choose between both worlds; to me, that is freedom.

  25. Too bad on Linux Port For id's Tech 5 Graphics Engine Unlikely · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I've come to count on id porting their games, so I'm disappointed over this bit of news.

    I use the proprietary Nvidia blob (version 180) for my Nvidia 8400 and I have no qualms about it. Windows users use proprietary drivers for practically every card that I've seen over the years, so how is it any different in principle if you replace Windows with Linux? While I take open stuff when I can get it, I would rather have a video card and wireless device that works on Linux. Not every Linux user sees things the same way that RMS does by insisting on a 100% FOSS operating system. While you can have that if you want it, I prefer the freedom of being able to mix and match as I see fit.