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User: Plunky

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Comments · 513

  1. Re:Will This Fight Ever End? on How Tesla Batteries Will Force Home Wiring To Go Low Voltage · · Score: 4, Informative

    Well, that doesn't seem to be completely true

    1999 Darwin Awards - Resistance is Futile

    and that was only a 9v battery.

  2. Re:No one promises pork on How the Pentagon Wasted $10 Billion On Military Projects · · Score: 2

    I'm not from the USA, but politicians everywhere are known for promising their electors that they will "increase employment" and other such claims.. Employment for the locals such as this, is pork. The politician doesn't care if its worthwhile or not, just that their electors are enriched.

  3. Re:No they don't on Chinese Scientists Plan Solar Power Station In Space · · Score: 1

    Yes, yes... But is it usable as a weapon?

    They are peaceful vegetarians, they don't even have any weapons!

  4. Re:No time zones, no DST, centons on Daylight Saving Time Change On Sunday For N. America · · Score: 2

    since your boss lives in the same locality as you, why don't you just talk to your boss about everybody starting work about an hour after dawn? I'm sure everybody would appreciate waking up with the birds..

  5. Re:Oh God No... on Harrison Ford To Return In Blade Runner Sequel · · Score: 5, Insightful

    And, unless they somehow account for how Deckard the replicant has grown old ... I just don't see how they get there at all. He's not just a hunter of them, he is one.

    So either they start this one in which Deckard isn't a replicant, and they'll piss off the fans of the movie. Or they'll have to treat very carefully to explain it.

    Of course, there is an easy way around this.. just because it is now 30+ years after the release of Blade Runner, doesn't mean that this amount of time has passed in that world. Deckard could only be 3 years older, and be deteriorating rapidly.

  6. Re:It isn't fundamental. on In Florida, Secrecy Around Stingray Leads To Plea Bargain For a Robber · · Score: 1

    I recommend you do something rather unreasonable. That thing is to learn about what you're talking about.

    mmm

    I'll also bring up that the UK has a horrible problem with violent crime in areas other than gun violence.

    Hi. I'm in the UK and I don't think this is actually true. Also, I'm not the only one to think that way. The Guardian, The BBC and The Office for National Statistics all think violent crime is lower than ever:

  7. Re:Intriguing, but landing at launch site? on SpaceX Signs Lease Agreement With Air Force For Landing Pad · · Score: 1

    I'm pretty sure they have done all the sums, but I'm wondering, since it has not been explained exactly.. 16 miles isn't very far, but what is the horizontal velocity at that point? Because they do have to stop that, then reverse it, which surely means that this point is not going to be the furthest away.. and considering that if allowed to continue its path, it would splash down 500 miles away, I'm guessing the velocity is ... considerable.

  8. The little known fact is that socks are actually the larval form of hangars, which makes perfect sense, you always find socks missing but check your closet.. and you find that you have many more hangars than you accounted for. Mystery was solved back in 09.

    More like 99. Thats from Lord Demon, by Roger Zelazny.

  9. Re:shouldn't this apply to software too? on Economist: US Congress Should Hack Digital Millennium Copyright Act · · Score: 1

    If the software is copyrighted, you can't make a derivative work without permission, and that's what modifying it is doing. It seems silly to say that a modified program you use only on your own computer is any more a "derivative work" than clipping photos out of newspapers is, but the EULA typically specifies conditions you must agree to in order to use the software, and you don't really get a say. All the rights are with the creator.

    This is not correct. The copyright only restricts distribution. As in, you are not allowed to distribute a derivative work without permission. You certainly are allowed to create derivative works for your own usage. Also, clipping photos out of a newspaper is not creating a derivative work anyway, it depends what you do with them. I suppose if you clip a photo, trace some outlines and colour it in with crayon.. that would be a derivative work, depending on how closely it resembles the original. If significantly different it might be considered a new work.

  10. Re:What about other devices? on Windows Tax Shot Down In Italy · · Score: 4, Informative

    As far as I can tell Android appears to be FOSS. You might need a version without Googles logos for it to be legal to use without paying them though?

    here you go: Cyanogenmod Downloads

  11. Re:And this is the same for copyrights. on Patents That Kill · · Score: 1

    why does it have to continue on after the creator dies?
    why not just a straight up fixed term, like 10 years?

    This.

    In fact, I'd say that a fixed term is so overwhelmingly easier to participate in that it should unquestionably be the case. When you see the phrase "Copyright (c) 2001 John Thomas" then you can know that after N years, then the work is available for you to reproduce.. you don't have to track down all the possible John Thomases who claimed the copyright and find out if they are still alive or if they died in obscure circumstances some years ago, or if they were a corporation and the copyright term is a different beast. Although I agree that a short fixed term

    like 10 years?

    is actually reasonable, I would certainly support simplifying the laws to use a longer fixed one.. and I'm also sure that the copyright cartels are completely comfortable with the current state of affairs which are vague and in their favour and would fight tooth and nail to prevent such a change

  12. Re:Remote Kill Switch. on The First Person Ever To Die In a Tesla Is a Guy Who Stole One · · Score: 1

    what about for the owner, who presumably knew that it had been stolen by this time..?b

  13. Re:This decision comes as... on Theater Chain Bans Google Glass · · Score: 2

    Do you work for the MPAA? If not you should consider applying because that sounds a lot like their level of stupid... The video quality is awful the sound quality is awful. No-one in their right minds would attempt to record a film like this.

    No, I don't work for them and neither do I have any desire to do so (and I doubt they would be interested in me, since I am not currently permitted to work in the USA) In fact, there was nothing stupid about my message.. The previous commenter said "The two big issues are" and listed two. I merely pointed out that the second one was not an issue at all

    Regarding the issue you are focused on (the poor video and audio quality), well of course technology improves at a rapid rate. If a device such as this was not available with better recording capabilities within a few years, I would be very surprised.. The other poster mentioned that a head mounted cam is likely to be jittery.. thats true also, but software and hardware solutions exist to remove jitter already.

    I'm not saying, that this theatre banning such a device is a great idea. I think that it is a futile idea! Miniscule devices capable of streaming high definition video to external storage are going to be ubiquitous in a few years. If you want to oppose banning them then you really need to start thinking about non-technical reasons for that. If you base your entire argument on the fact that they are rubbish, then when they get better as they inexorably will.. your argument collapses!

  14. Re:This decision comes as... on Theater Chain Bans Google Glass · · Score: 1

    currently Glass has a 30 minute battery life while recording video. Realistically you would need to see a 6-8X improvement in battery life to record a video. Batteries are not improving at anywhere near that rate

    So apparently it charges with a micro-usb cable. I can fully imagine somebody having a small 12v battery pack and a car charger in their bag, or pocket.. just wait until the lights dim, plug cable in and off you go..

  15. Re:Human's a very good at not dying on Botched Executions Put Lethal Injections Under New Scrutiny · · Score: 3, Insightful

    How many young women and girls were kidnapped, raped, tortured, and eventually killed by Ted Bundy after the state of Florida lit him up like a Christmas tree?

    That's what I thought. It seems he was pretty thoroughly deterred.

    Except, that is not what a deterrent is.

    The question is, how many young women and girls did Ted Bundy not kidnap, rape, torture or kill because he was worried about being executed? I'd say none, but its difficult to say for sure..

    Then, you can ask how many young women and girls were not kidnapped, raped, tortured or killed by other people because of the fear that they would be executed for this, as Ted Bundy was, rather than just being imprisoned for life, or a long time.. this one is harder, but I'd say that people who are prone to kidnapping, raping, torturing and killing young women and girls are not really the kind of people who care about the consequences of their actions, or they think they won't get caught anyway.

  16. Re:The Harsh Light of Day on Google Aids Scientology-Linked Group CCHR With Pay-Per-Click Ads · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The more these beliefs...

    beliefs, you say? I don't believe that anybody actually believes all that claptrap about Xenu.. L Ron Hubbard made it all up to bilk money out of desparate people, and plenty of other folk are happy to continue the premise and keep the money flowing.. but does anybody actually believe it? I doubt it..

  17. Re:Left-Wing Propoganda on Criminals Using Drones To Find Cannabis Farms and Steal Crops · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Colorado is (narrowly) governed by the Democrats, not right wing

    Hello America!

    I think you will find that both the Democrats and the Republicans are firmly right wing.

    Sincerely,
    The Rest of the World

  18. Re: Flight recorder on How Satellite Company Inmarsat Tracked Down MH370 · · Score: 1

    Looking at the specs on the flight recorder, the 'crush force' is 5000lbs. Can anybody translate this to a depth?

    Sure. 1 bar pressure is 14psi, so this is 5000/14 = 357bar. One bar is equivalent to about 10m depth of water, so the stated crush depth would be 3.5km give or take..

  19. There are always outliers where this is going to be the case, but llikely the vast majority of school buses in urban areas could be replaced by something like this with lower running costs.

    Now, you didn't say where you lived or if you had done a proper analysis of how they were collecting students.. but considering the cost of driving a bus such a distance, might it not be cheaper to collect the more distant students in a smaller vehicle?

  20. Re:US on A Corporate War Against a Scientist, and How He Fought Back · · Score: 1

    and yet, corporations can be owned by people, and other corporations.

    actually, I think it is the latter, that engenders a whole lot of mischief and should be disallowed.

  21. Re:the moral of the story on Developer Loses Single-Letter Twitter Handle Through Extortion · · Score: 1

    What I don't understand is, that .. yes, the extortionist stole the twitter handle. but wait, if it is stolen property he can't actually use it or sell it without falling foul of the law, can he? Also, that handle is in a known position and it is under the control of a known entity who can be compelled by a court order to return its control to the genuine owner.

    or do twitter not care?

  22. Re: Lesson from this story...don't be a glass hole on AMC Theaters Allegedly Calls FBI to Interrogate a Google Glass Wearer · · Score: 1

    In fact, we only need to look marginally further into the future to see a point where the functionality of something like Glass will be *undetectable* by bystanders *by design*. What then? Do you ban people? Good luck with trying to stop the march of technology because everyone in history who's tried has failed miserably.

  23. Re:That doesn't seem right. on 200 Dolphins Await Slaughter In Japan's Taiji Cove · · Score: 1

    Chimpanzees can out perform humans on tasks such as recognizing and remembering a larger number of items in a very short period of time. There was a story about that here a few months ago, but I don't know if that indicates intelligence.

  24. Re:Show time on Google: Our Robot Cars Are Better Drivers Than You · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Which us why self driving cars are better for all road users.... They won't drive at triple the speed limit.

    I don't get why people think they wouldn't do that

    In fact, in a world of self driving cars, I don't see why we would need a speed limit. The car can be trusted to drive within its own limits..

    And if your dad had a self driving car, your brother could have helped your dad to the car and told the car to drive to the hospital.

    and his brother could have told the car that it was an emergency (destination: emergency unit of hospital) and the car could have decided to drive at its maximum speed, broadcasting to other vehicles that it was doing so.

    A journey such as this might attract some official attention, but assuming that the hospital corroborates the story of an emergency, then I don't see why there would be any charges..

  25. Re:So what'll we do with half a trillion dollars? on Autonomous Cars Will Save Money and Lives · · Score: 2

    This is not a lifestyle I want to live. I can't imagine a future population truly being happy with this either.

    I can imagine being very happy that I don't have to own a car, or drive it around.
    I can imagine that I will be very happy to just summon a car and tell it where I want to go, to be taken there quickly and dropped off and being able to walk away, not have to worry about parking that car, or maintaining it.
    I can imagine being very happy that when I want to use my bicycle instead, I won't be cut up because some ignorant driver doesn't think I ought to be on the road.
    I can imagine being very happy that when I want to walk somewhere I can cross the roadway safely wherever and whenever I want because the cars will flow around me.
    I can imagine being very happy that when I get over the age that it is really safe for me to drive, I will still be able to get around just as well as I always have been able to.
    I can imagine that a future population would think it strange that people like you wanted them to suffer with traffic jams and having to sit focused and barely moving while driving, and being penalised for letting their attention wander at the wrong time.