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User: pwizard2

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  1. Re:25% improvement in space ... on Seagate's Shingled Magnetic Recording Tech Boosts HDD Capacities to 5TB and Up · · Score: 1

    How much of a speed reduction are we talking about here? If it's a few seconds slower, I can live with that--I'd rather have more space.

  2. Re:My give-a-darn meter is reading negative GADs on Patent Suit Leads To 500,000 Annoyed Software Users · · Score: 1

    Apple is flush with cash. Why not just buy out the VirnetX (never heard of them until now) patents or just buy the whole company?

  3. Re:And thus the obvious is explained in detail... on The STEM Crisis Is a Myth · · Score: 1

    This should be modded insightful, not funny.

  4. Re:A contradiction in terms? on Write Windows Phone Apps, No Code Required · · Score: 1

    Actually, some WYSIWYG editors like Amaya can produce standards-compliant code these days (since Amaya is the W3C's own tool, I would sure hope it produces compliant code). I use Amaya for creating web-based documentation. I initially code the document template by hand and then use the WYSIWYG tool to add the actual content because doing all that by hand is downright tedious. When I'm writing, I like to focus 100% on content without having to worry about the HTML.

    The only gripe I have with Amaya is that the interface is a bit clunky (even though it still works great) and I just can't make the damn thing work on Linux Mint 15 even with the official deb packages.

  5. Re:CAN you write code for it? on Write Windows Phone Apps, No Code Required · · Score: 2

    Have you ever seen the applications people build around MS Access back in the day? It was, I am not exaggerating, a nightmare. You could really have bad dreams about that sort of thing, because it felt like what getting lost in the woods at night feels like.

    The Visual Basic 6 monstrosities people used to cobble together back in the '90s were just as bad.

  6. Re:Twice as good as 1.4 on Amarok 2.8 "Return To the Origin" Released · · Score: 1

    That article gave me hope for a moment-- until I read TFA I thought they had reverted Amarok to its classic apprearance.

  7. Re:Dear merica, on Medical Costs Bankrupt Patients; It's the Computer's Fault · · Score: 1

    My sentiments exactly. The only reason why we have this dysfunctional for-profit healthcare system is because of Richard Nixon and the deal he cut with Kaiser. People should be lined up for miles to piss on his grave for that--he deserves it!

  8. Re:Software companies can be extremely abusive. on Microsoft Will Squeeze Datacenters On Price of Windows Server · · Score: 1

    Fine. I'll keep using Adobe CS2 indefinitely. CS2 has always met my needs perfectly so I have no reason to ever upgrade--especially since Adobe was kind enough to release an activation-free CS2 installer awhile ago (about the only benevolent thing they've ever done). They had their chance to force people like me to upgrade when they shut the CS2 servers down and they blew it. Thanks, Adobe!

  9. Re:RSA = out of date on Math Advance Suggest RSA Encryption Could Fall Within 5 Years · · Score: 1

    The thing I'm not sure about right now is whether the RSA method itself is becoming insecure or if standard-size keys can simply be brute-forced. If it's a question of key size, then why not use larger keys?

    The last time I checked, it is possible to increase the size of RSA keys quite a bit. Most frontends for PGP/GPG only allow keys up to 4096-bit to be created but several years ago I was able to generate valid key pairs up to 11296-bit. I had to modify the GPG source code and recompile it before it would let me create oversize keys but my 11296-bit key is still compatible with stock GPG.

  10. Re:Down the line... on Court Upholds Ruling On Dish Network's 'Hopper' · · Score: 4, Interesting

    On OTA TV I tolerate advertisement because I can pick up the signal for free. On the other hand, people have to pay for fucking cable/satellite service and they still get ads. Back when I got cable I was upset because I couldn't a-la-carte the channels I really wanted so I was stuck paying for a bunch of shit I had no interest in watching. Broadcasters/channels get no sympathy from me because cable simply isn't worth paying for. I make do with OTA.

  11. Re:"recovered to full employment" on Software Development Employment Rises 45% In 10 Years · · Score: 1

    Big companies hire developers fresh out of college constantly.

    Sadly, it didn't work out that way for me when I got out back in 2008 (right before the economy went bad). I wasn't a seasoned veteran but I wasn't a green developer with no experience either (I even had a small portfolio at the time).

  12. Re:"recovered to full employment" on Software Development Employment Rises 45% In 10 Years · · Score: 1

    Except volunteer experience (seriously, what do you think open source projects are, if not volunteer?) doesn't always translate to work experience (doing dev work for pay). You learn the skills either way and both routes give you equal competence but no one in business seems to care if you do it for free (even if you have something good to show off during an interview). Recruiters are especially bad at this. That's the whole point I'm trying to make.

  13. Re:"recovered to full employment" on Software Development Employment Rises 45% In 10 Years · · Score: 2

    How does somebody get over the arbitrary "5-7 years work experience" hurdle if they are trying to get their first development gig? We all know it's boilerplate horseshit. To the HR zombies, it doesn't matter if you have a stunning portfolio and cut your teeth on open source projects over the years; you aren't getting an interview unless your resume matches all the keywords on their grep list because they have no idea how to qualify what they're looking for.

  14. Re:those horrible prequels on Star Wars City Doomed By Sand Dunes · · Score: 0

    Episode 3 almost made up for the other two (the key word being almost). That said, I watched EPIII again a few days ago after not having seen it for awhile. The reason for Anakin/Vader's fall has always seemed really petty to me. I guess after 20+ years of build-up I expected something more compelling than Anakin's fear of losing Padme because of a few nightmares.

  15. Re:Something wrong with this picture! on Peru To Provide Free Solar Power To Its Poorest Citizens · · Score: 4, Insightful

    It's sad, but that is the prevailing mentality in the USA right wing these days. Helping other people and generally being a decent human being is decried as "OMG SOCIALISM!!!!!11" and is looked down upon because such actions just help a bunch of "lazy moochers". How are the poor supposed to haul themselves up by their bootstraps when they can't even afford shoes? Of course, those poor people have no one but themselves to blame because they weren't born into rich families, right? The rich people who act like that are fucking hypocrites because they often get corporate subsidies and tax breaks the rest of us peons can't exploit--and then they act like they fucking worked for it!

  16. Re:Do Not Track... on W3C Rejects Ad Industry's Do-Not-Track Proposal · · Score: 1

    Is that checkbox even hooked up to any code or is it just there for show?

  17. Re:admitted? on Mastermind of 9/11 Attacks Designs a Secret Vacuum Cleaner · · Score: 2

    This is why I wish at times it were possible to rewrite human nature--essentially strip out the greed, petty cruelty, and shortsighted stupidity and distribute the fix like a software patch. Society would work a lot better if we didn't have these flaws.

  18. Re:Not surprising on PCWorld Magazine Is No More · · Score: 1

    Here's one of mine: http://www.maximumpc.com/article/features/the_complete_beginners_guide_linux I haven't read Computer Power User in a long time so I really don't know if they have a Linux column or not.

  19. Re:Not surprising on PCWorld Magazine Is No More · · Score: 1

    Norman Chan was my supervisor. Things were great until he got reassigned to a different department. The new guy (Alex something or other, I forget his full name after so many years) didn't have much of an interest in open source so the job kind of dried up.

  20. Not surprising on PCWorld Magazine Is No More · · Score: 1

    I used to work for MaximumPC magazine (I wrote Linux columns on their website a few years ago) and I saw the writing on the wall even then. Dead-tree magazines (especially tech-related) have been on their last legs for awile now.

  21. Re:As someone who uses GNOME 3... on Giving GNOME 3 a GNOME 2 Look · · Score: 1

    KDE 4.0 was more of a prototype; it was never meant for production systems. You can't blame the KDE4 team because distro maintainers decided to replace KDE3 before KDE4 was really ready.

  22. Re:Typical government efficiency... on The Pentagon's Seven Million Lines of Cobol · · Score: 4, Insightful

    If we didn't interfere in other countries' business, so many people around the world wouldn't hate us and we would have no use for such a large military.

  23. Re:Weekly/Monthly Salary on Employers Switching From Payroll Checks To Prepaid Cards With Fees · · Score: 1

    My only statement is that the weak need to remember it's a choice for the strong to help them, not a right.

    So you're a social darwinist. So I guess you'd be OK with the poor ganging up on the rich in huge numbers and tearing them to pieces. After all, it's the law of the jungle and there is strength in numbers.

  24. Re:29 years old on Silicon Valley In 2013 Resembles Logan's Run In 2274 · · Score: 1

    Of course, all the 20-somethings who can't find jobs these days are fucked because that's time lost they can never get back.They will have to delay retirement if they can afford to retire at all (or live way below their means).

  25. Re:Text, but why? on Ask Slashdot: Best Way To Store Data In Hard Copy? · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Why not stamp the text into copper or aluminum tablets? Far less breakable than clay or stone. Copper eventually gets that green patina but it should still be readable if you stamp the words deep enough.