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User: rickb928

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  1. Easily fixed on Feds Bust a Dark-Web Counterfeit Coupon Kingpin · · Score: 1

    0. Along with all the other tracking data, log coupons and reference either loyalty membership or credit/debit card tokens.
    1. When take coupon is detected upon redemption to the manufacturer, score the shopper up for coupon fraud.
    2. Score reaches threshold, shopper is first denied any coupons (this takes a slight change in rules).
    3. Also deny discounts based on loyalty programs (rules changed here).
    4. Shoppers find no value in fake coupons, stop going to sites that peddle fakes.

  2. Re:Not pool as we know it on Black Hole Plays Pool With Plasma · · Score: 1

    Thinking this through:

    - Straight shots are 2D. No english, just shots.

    - English introduces the third dimension? Fine. Using a little english, for example hitting the cue to the side of the rail to spin the object ball toward the rail improves your shot, but the balls are still on the table... 3D? Not really.

    - Hopping the ball, however, is one way to get to the object ball you need when it is blocked (the old behind the 8-ball problem). This becomes 4D?

    Wow. Pool is more fun than I knew. Shame it's work.

  3. Re: instead of space race on Neil DeGrasse Tyson Urges America To Challenge China To a Space Race · · Score: 3, Insightful

    China's leaders are not 'bat-shit crazy'. They want to rule. They have different limits on rule than you and I might think are appropriate or reasonable or fair, and we may consider these limits dangerous to us, but they intend to rule.

    Mr. Tyson thinks we should challenge China to a space race? They have already challenged us. Did he miss that by as much as it appears?

  4. Re:Save in conversion, pay for copper on How Tesla Batteries Will Force Home Wiring To Go Low Voltage · · Score: 1

    My vacuum cleaner draws max 13 amps. I don't mind the overrating. Better safe than sorry.

  5. Re:Current? Fat cables? on How Tesla Batteries Will Force Home Wiring To Go Low Voltage · · Score: 1

    The example you were looking for was car-jumper-cable-sized...

    Thick Ethernet has a big jacket, but inside is that tiny little center conductor. I thought that was a lousy analogy, but few people know what's going on inside coaxial cable, so what the heck.

  6. Re:Current? Fat cables? on How Tesla Batteries Will Force Home Wiring To Go Low Voltage · · Score: 1

    "We just have a split-phase system to provide it for the few special cases (dryers and ovens) that benefit from it."

    My 1HP pool pump motor can be wired for 110v or 220v, depending on the circumstances. Since it is about 60 ft from the service, it's wired for 220v to better accommodate the length of the wiring. Ranges and dryers in the US are rarely wired for 100v due to the current needs.

    Surprisingly, US electrical design is not entirely illogical or dysfunctional. Different choices.

  7. Re:20-40%? Rubbish! on How Tesla Batteries Will Force Home Wiring To Go Low Voltage · · Score: 1

    Does a good inverter hit 97% efficiency when it's delivering 10% of rated load?

  8. Re:Low voltage? on How Tesla Batteries Will Force Home Wiring To Go Low Voltage · · Score: 1

    Virtually every kitchen in the US should have a 220 outlet for the range.

    If you're hoping to use your overseas-purchased appliances, consider the difference in frequency. Some may not like 60Hz, preferring the 50Hz they were designed for.

    Or not. But I'm betting yeah.

  9. Re:Important Question: WHICH DC? on How Tesla Batteries Will Force Home Wiring To Go Low Voltage · · Score: 1

    Like my car. Oh, wait...

    Oh, like my, um, USB chargers. None of which deliver more than 36W.

    If this is your justification, consider delivering 10-20X the current. It all changes, as numerous posters have already pointed out.

    The Tesla batteries are intended to be storage devices, not an endorsement of the superiority of DC power for the home. When you get AC batteries, this becomes moot.

    And no, I am not expecting AC batteries ever, but it's fun to drive the engineers crazy for a moment. Easy, but fun.

  10. Re: E-mail client? on Attackers Use Email Spam To Infect Point-of-Sale Terminals · · Score: 1

    0. Square qualifies as a POS system. It requires a browser. I'm not claiming this is good or secure, just that it is.

    1. Small businesses multitask at everything.

    2. You seem to misunderstand the small business employee mindset, especially in retail. Seems like you would be a lot of fun to work for.

  11. Re: *shrug* on 25 Years Today - Windows 3.0 · · Score: 1

    My first NetWare service call was to upgrade a DCB from 2x40mb drives to 2x80mb drives. That very server went to 4x2gb internal drives and from thinnet to gigabit Ethernet over the years before they finally tried it. 2.15c was a robust OS. Linking nic drivers was a chore. Mapping drive parameters to fit the limits of the OS took me a whole morning once, they would load and then fail creating volumes.

    Fun times.

  12. Re: Not the Issue on 'Prisonized' Neighborhoods Make Recidivism More Likely · · Score: 1

    Amen. I rent apartments and regularly rent to men who are non-violent felons. They can't find rents in complexes where credit checks and references are expected.

    I have had no troubles, save for one out of 12 over 9 years.

    Many were found guilty of some form of violating a restraining order, repeat offenders, and in some states that gets you a felony.

    They have a hard time finding work, but seem to keep jobs and pay their bills. For these at least, this is better than prison.

  13. Re: *shrug* on 25 Years Today - Windows 3.0 · · Score: 1

    The company was called Novell. They certainly proved the network business was real enough for Microsoft and others to fight for it. I made a living installing NetWare 2.15 servers in banks using token-ring with Windows 3.x or DOS and WordPerfect. When NetWare 3 came out we could route to Ethernet and leave the token network with the IBM hardware these banks were stuck with.

    But I first used Windows at v1. something to play Balance of Power. Terrible, but I always wanted Windows after that.

  14. Re: Proving you understand spheres on The Brainteaser Elon Musk Asks New SpaceX Engineers · · Score: 1

    The question 'where are you?' Have me the option of finding my one location. I didn't past that, just to avoid making the interview more complex that it needed to be.

    Had they asked for the available options, I would have had to think through the others. Would I get extra points for considering 2-d options?

  15. Proving you understand spheres on The Brainteaser Elon Musk Asks New SpaceX Engineers · · Score: 1

    Glad I figured it out in about 8 seconds, including 5 seconds to check my work.

    And I'm still unqualified to wok for SpaceX, which is a mild disappointment.

  16. Re:"Logjam"? Seriously? on How 1990s Encryption Backdoors Put Today's Internet In Jeopardy · · Score: 1, Troll

    It's not all about the gays. Your objection is noted, and filed under 'why should I care' or 'irrelevant' for the overwhelming majority of us.

    More proof San Francisco is culturally irrelevant.

    The SJWs had their day with systemd. Go away. Now. And stay anonymous.

  17. Re: It's not a networking issue. on Ask Slashdot: Best Way To Solve a Unique Networking Issue? · · Score: 1

    WiFi sure makes it easier for me to me around in there...

    Cable is more secure, if done even marginally well.

  18. Re: It's not a networking issue. on Ask Slashdot: Best Way To Solve a Unique Networking Issue? · · Score: 1

    They already have cable runs for data, control, power. This is not a big issue.

  19. Re: It's not a networking issue. on Ask Slashdot: Best Way To Solve a Unique Networking Issue? · · Score: 1

    Yup, simple.

    Might want to find out if the update software runs on Linux first, though.

  20. Re: It's not a networking issue. on Ask Slashdot: Best Way To Solve a Unique Networking Issue? · · Score: 1

    I worked in field service for 25 years. Never was I not checked up on. Before cell phones it was pagers, and I called in after every call, usually from the desk I was at.

    If for no other than to send out the police to find my vehicle lest I die in it, off road in winter.

  21. Re: It's not a networking issue. on Ask Slashdot: Best Way To Solve a Unique Networking Issue? · · Score: 2

    Professional Engineers do indeed have a code of ethics. Ask the NSPE.

    But there are few network engineers that qualify as Professional Engineers. A P.E. is licensed and/or registered, and mostly a graduate of an engineering school.

    Cisco certifications are demanding, but I doubt they qualify anyone as a P.E.

  22. Nothing special on Ask Slashdot: What's On Your Keychain? · · Score: 1

    My keychain (Nite Ize S-biner) gets either one set of car keys or the other, most of the time. Rarely both. Also on it are the house keys, mailbox key, and two loyalty tags, for the supermarket and the auto parts store.

    Most always with me:

    Front pocket wallet with the minimum cards.
    Leatherman Micra that needs to be sharpened.
    Motorola Elite Flip headset.

    My phone, the HTC One M8, is always with me.

    Plantronics Backbeat Fit headset (fabulous).

    And a pedometer while I choose a fitness gizmo.

    Not much.

    On my work bag are the office keys and hard token, and snapped on is the keychain and other car keys, just in case.

    No watch. Never again.

  23. Re: It can run Doom on MenuetOS, an Operating System Written Entirely In Assembly, Hits 1.0 · · Score: 1

    Really? I was reaching fast web sites in 1995.

  24. Re: 100% Naval grade coffee on Here Comes the Keurig of Everything · · Score: 4, Funny

    If you're not brewing your coffee specifically to strip paint and refinish your concrete, you're wasting your time and coffee.

    If your community isn't collecting your grounds to pave the local highways, you're not doing it right.

    If you bother to stir your coffee and get the spoon back, you're not trying hard enough.

    If adding sugar doesn't cause a violent reaction requiring evacuation, you're not doing it right.

    Coffee is intended to be a test of endurance and strength. C'mon, man...

  25. Streaming is my only hope on What Happens To Our Musical Taste As We Age? · · Score: 1

    For new music, I get every single free song or album I can from every source I can. Google Play is a gold mine of free music.

    I've stopped getting "Explicit" music, I'm just not into sucka noiz any more.

    But I hear very little I want more of. I'm rediscovering the 60s-70s again.