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User: geoff+lane

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  1. serious failure of imagination here on Space Elevator An Impossible Dream? · · Score: 1

    All we need is a material that is very much lighter than the vaccum. Then you attach boyancy pods along the entire cable and it will just float there...

  2. dont really understand the problem. on Overconfidence in SSH Protection · · Score: 4, Insightful
    If you gain access to a system within the DMZ you've already broken in ... ssh has nothing to do with it.

    Any sysadmin who configures sshd to allow direct access to a root account is incompetent and deserves to clean up the resulting mess when they are cracked.

    So what should we worry about again?

  3. Re:"high-performance" Java? on Oracle Unveils New Open Source BerkeleyDB Release · · Score: 2, Insightful

    OK Java isn't slow. But some Java programmers are terrible and write bloated and slow programs.

  4. So now you know... on Microsoft Introduces Pay-as-You-Go Computing · · Score: 5, Insightful

    ...why Microsoft is so dismissive of the $100 PC.

  5. Way too many buttons and controls. on Pepper Pad, an Open Alternative to MS Origami · · Score: 1

    Each button, wheel etc adds cost to the construction and increases the size of the box and reduces the size of the possible screen. Get rid of all the buttons and use a proper virtual keyboard on a touch sensitive screen. You can get rid of the scrool wheel as well. Does there really need to be speakers? Tiny speakers take space, power and almost always sound terrible.

    OTOH, it's good to see more of this style of device. One day someone will get it right.

  6. At some point... on Microsoft Unveils Online Advertising Service · · Score: 1

    ... the interests of the advert part of MS and the OS part of MS will clash. Wonder which will win?

  7. Re:Could you even shoot a computer screen? on More Than 20 Years of the Web on the Big Screen · · Score: 1

    Yes.

  8. gorrilla voice on Software Lets Programmers Code Hands-free · · Score: 1

    I wonder if the developers have ever spoken for 8 hours straight?

  9. Re:Coming from a country with a national ID card.. on Are National ID Cards a Good Idea? · · Score: 1

    There is a huge and important difference between unofficial ID cards such as driving licenses and real ID cards....

    Nobody knocks on your door at 4AM to arrest you when you cutup and throw away your driving license (assuming your are not so stupid as to continue driving :-))

  10. $400 million is not that much on $400 Million IP Experiment Making Some Nervous · · Score: 1

    So far The SCO Group has spend $50 million losing a case against IBM.

  11. It's really quite simple... on The Challenges of A DVR Service · · Score: 1

    ..don't expect me to watch crap adverts.

    Blaming the recorder for the fact I've got zero interest in the crap adverts isn't rational.

  12. Why would anybody.... on Run Windows Applications Natively in OS X? · · Score: 0, Troll
    ...buy Apple hardware to run Windows? Apple h/w is more expensive and doesn't appear to provide any better performance for the additional cost.

    Now running OSX (or some replacement ) on a standard PC has some merit, but why would Apple chose to lose revenue by not selling the hardware?

    Microsoft does have some apps that people (for some bizzare reason) seem to like so running some kind of emulation may make sense. But far more interesting is for Apple to start using a fully virtualised x86-like CPU and run both OSX and Windows on top of a Hypervisor.

  13. A half baked idea... on New Internet Regulation Proposed · · Score: 1

    As not even the US Supremes have provided us with a definition of pornography that is usable in the real world, it's obvious that to ensure you cannot be affected by this daft law (which would never survive a "free speach" challenge) all you need do to label all web pages with "hard core porn" tags.

  14. Why? on Oracle Looks At Buying Novell · · Score: 3, Interesting
    Why would Oracle want Novell? A company like Oracle could knock up a Linux distro in a short time but why bother when they could just cross-license for a fraction of the cost. Do they want the residual Novell netware customers? Unlikely. Is it just a case of "because we can"?

    But when Novell and IBM have finally kicked The SCO Groups butt, Novell ends up with a clear legal right to Unix. A paranoid person might wonder if Oracle is after Unix for some reason.

  15. Re:Not at all like used anything else on Microsoft Software for Sale, Slightly Used · · Score: 1
    Perhaps the EULA does but when MS/FAST/BSA/RIAA etc talk in public they rarely make a distinction. In fact they seem to go out of their way to give the impression that the customer has no legal rights at all. The MS Windows EULA says that if you don't agree you can get a refund, but MS says "not from us, talk to who ever sold the computer." Dell etc say the software EULA belongs to MS so don't expect a refund from us. So who and what exactly is the EULA protecting?

    Most EULAs have yet to be tested in court. It would be interesting to see a definitive view on their legality.

  16. featurecide is easy! on Should Companies Delay Products for More Features? · · Score: 4, Funny

    You can always make your product better by killing one feature.

    This rule is recursive.

  17. It really doesn't matter... on Free Net TV Threatens Telecoms · · Score: 1

    ...how the data is delivered, unless they come up with something worth watching it won't mean a damn.

    We see how the broadcast stations are trying to maintain revenue by just redoubling their efforts to do all the kind of stuff that drives away audiences (longer, more frequent ad break, screen covered with DOGs, truncated credits, entire storylines cut out of programs to force them into ever shorter time slots.)

    Treat the audience with some respect.

  18. who do you want to sue today? on Microsoft Launches Linux Labs Website · · Score: 3, Interesting

    MS admits that staff inspect and use open source.

    How do they ensure that none of that source doesn't leak into MS products?

    It would be interesting to discover the facts, we've shown you ours, how about you show us yours?

  19. secure is not a synonym for safe on Let Goofy Track Your Children · · Score: 1

    Why all these wimpy half solutions?

    Children should be chained down in the basement until the age of 25.

    Only by serious security can one protect offspring from the EVIL world.

  20. be secure or BE secure? on Anti-malware Vendors Stare Down Microsoft Threat · · Score: 3, Insightful

    If Vista is as secure as we are being told by MS, why would it need anti-virus code from any source?

  21. Re:Microsoft insiders are probably just annoyed... on Microsoft's Not So Happy Family · · Score: 2, Insightful

    There is something SERIOUSLY wrong with the development process within MS that it has taken this long to discover that there are problems. It's difficult to know what has gone wrong, but it wouldn't be a surprise to discover that management infighting was the cause.

  22. easy solution... on Professor Bans Laptops from the Classroom · · Score: 1

    microphone + laptop + speach to text software

  23. Re:hmm on DoJ Following Porn Blocker Advances? · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I'm stunned that a bit of software can both read and understand the law and interpret it exactly as a real judge would.

    Why isn't this amazing AI advance being reported?

  24. There is a saying... on Peter Naur Wins 2005 Turing Award · · Score: 3, Funny

    ..."Algol 60 is a great improvement on all its successors"

    Nice to see Peter getting some recognition.

  25. Re:Now all that's missing on Skype 5-way Calling Limit Cracked · · Score: 1

    Well AMD could justifiably ask why there are no checks for multi-core AMD CPUs.

    If the only reason why the limit exists is that on less powerful systems the performance of > 5 members is poor, then surely a better set of checks would allow a better service on a wider number of platforms.