Slashdot Mirror


User: shimage

shimage's activity in the archive.

Stories
0
Comments
275
First seen
Last seen
Profile
(view on slashdot.org)

Comments · 275

  1. Re:If it doesn't even play homemade ogg/mp3 files on Google Chromecast Reviewed; Google Nixes Netflix Discount · · Score: 4, Funny

    Perhaps I am in the minority here, but "anything I can code" is the same as "nothing".

  2. Re:No expectation on IRS Can Read Your Email Without Warrant · · Score: 1

    I know there are anonymous cowards that have pointed this out already, but the linked comic has nothing to do with email. Can you point us to something relevant?

  3. Re:BB with good intent on Teachers Know If You've Been E-Reading · · Score: 1

    Maybe you are underestimating how troublesome "helicopter parents" can be. At a research institution, the path of least resistance (particularly for assistant professors) often involves simply pleasing all the students regardless of how stupid/lazy they may be. Incidentally, I learned this because I tried (as a TA) to fail students that had cheated on their term paper. None of them faced any negative consequences for their academic dishonesty. I cannot think of a good solution to the problem, but maybe you can.

  4. Re:Make him CEO, fire him, rehire him. on What Should Start-Ups Do With the Brilliant Jerk? · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Except that in that case the brilliant jerk was the business person. Woz was the brilliant nice guy who created the technology during the startup phase.

  5. eh on Ask Slashdot: What Distros Have You Used, In What Order? · · Score: 1

    Madrake --> Xandros --> Libranet --> Debian --> Gentoo --> Arch I didn't care for Mandrake, and in fact stopped using Linux after trying it out for a few monhts. A year later I tried some Debian derivatives before settling on vanilla Debian. I used Gentoo and Arch for several years each; only a few years with Debian. I've sampled variations of Ubuntu on occasion (usually when I get a new laptop), but it's never stuck more than a day.

  6. Re:love Arch on Arch Linux For Newbies? Manjaro Is Here! · · Score: 1

    I know why arch doesn't include an aur helper in any of their repos. If you don't want to check your pkgbuilds before using them, that's on you. And I don't really care what other people use. I just said that this is what I use and it works for me. If you like something else that's fine with me too. There are so many aur helpers these days, just pick one that suits you.

  7. Re:love Arch on Arch Linux For Newbies? Manjaro Is Here! · · Score: 3, Informative

    Hmm. I use yaourt. "yaourt -S package_name" and it just installs what you want, period. "yaourt -Syua" updates everything, including your aur packages. I have something like 50 packages from aur installed, and I don't have any problems. Day-to-day, it has taken almost no effort on my part for the last 5 years. There were some big updates that took some care to do correctly (udev and filesystem come to mind), but most distros have things like that and arch's documentation is always great.

  8. I thought Arch was already pretty user friendly? on Arch Linux For Newbies? Manjaro Is Here! · · Score: 1

    But I was running Gentoo before I switched to Arch, so maybe my perspective is just skewed. Also, it's been several years since my last OS install; my memory of it may be a bit fuzzy by now.

  9. Re:Appearance versus function. on Don't Super-Size My Smartphone! · · Score: 1

    Does not change my point that the size of the phone has an effect on its usefulness, and that is a functional problem. I have a hiking backpack I have used for a long time and if the phone doesn't fit where I want it to I don't want that phone. I also don't like a phone (or anything, really) that prints in my pants, whether or not it technically fits in my pockets because I don't like the way it pulls on the fabric when I walk and sit. It has nothing to do with appearance. My wife has a hard enough time finding clothes that fit at all to bother limiting herself to pants with pockets big enough for her giant phone. Besides, even if the goal isn't to "get laid" at the anonymous coward suggests, appearance is still a functional part of the lives of the majority of adults. Not all of us can show up for work in cargo pants and a T-shirt.

  10. Re:Appearance versus function. on Don't Super-Size My Smartphone! · · Score: 2

    It's not really as simple as "appearance vs function". Size is part of the function of any portable device. If the phone is big enough that you have to make concessions to accomodate it, then that's a problem. There is always give and take between portability and usability. As photographers like to say, the best camera for the shot is the one you have with you. And my dislike of holsters is not simply due to my (non-existant) fashion sense.

  11. Re:Big Phones? No. Small Computers on Don't Super-Size My Smartphone! · · Score: 1

    I guess my hands are just on the small side (although I wear medium size gloves) because a 4.5" screen is too big for me. I have a difficult time swyping one-handed on my wife's Galaxy SII. The same task is considerably easier on my Bravo, which even has a higher resolution screen than the SII. Personally, I find having to hold the phone with both hands to be an annoyance, but maybe that's just me.

  12. Re:I took his AI class on Online Courses and the $100 Graduate Degree · · Score: 1

    No point in testing their lab skills, if they haven't spent any time in a lab. Not sure how you can spend time in a lab online, but maybe someone clever will figure it out.

  13. Re:...however, on Online Courses and the $100 Graduate Degree · · Score: 2

    One of my degrees is a non-thesis master's and I always thought a degree like that (without any lab experience) basically just a pretty piece of paper. More or less everything useful I learned in grad school, I either learned in the lab or from the people I met at conferences.

  14. Re:Camera front elements on MIT Researchers Invent 'Super Glass' · · Score: 4, Informative

    Wavefronts will reflect off of any surface where there is a change in wave speed. If the lens works as a lens, then it's hard to remove the reflections. Coatings work by reflecting the light back through the lens element (in a manner of speaking), so it still works well. If I understand the article correctly, some lab at MIT came up with a surface texture that causes water to bead. Probably the fact that it is very finely textured is the reason that reflections aren't a big problem. That is fine in the same way that matte screens are fine, but this isn't going to work if you want clear pictures. It might be ok on consumer lenses, though.

  15. Re:Because it's easy on Why the NTSB Is Wrong About Cellphones · · Score: 1

    I not convinced that increased testing would do anything about the problem. I doubt people would drive in tests the way they drive normally. They'd have to be retarded not to.

  16. meh on Hands-On Account of Amazon's Upcoming Color Kindle · · Score: 1

    Considering that I have no interest in using any of Amazon's cloud services, I'm not sure why I would choose this over a Nook Color. Maybe I'm just weird.

  17. Re:Double standards and people on Interview With 'Idiot' Behind Key Software Patent · · Score: 1

    I got the impression from reading TFA that 1) he does not think his patent was "junk", 2) he does not agree with the reasoning behind the invalidation of his patent, and 3) he does not think software should be unpatentable, only that the patent system needs to be reformed. I'm not sure where your interpretation of events fits in to all of this.

  18. Re:Doubling the value! on Netflix Announces Streaming Only Plans and Higher Prices for DVDs · · Score: 1

    In the absence of the old plan ($10/month for unlimited streaming + 1DVD), I wouldn't say the new one is "pretty darn cheap"; more like "acceptable". And that being the case, they are encouraging long-time (formerly) satisfied customers to investigate their alternatives (eg, redbox). They must be supremely confident in their superior selection if they think people won't switch from $8/month to $1/movie.

  19. Re:CFL are no savings on Congress Voting To Repeal Incandescent Bulb Ban · · Score: 1

    I guess I am strange. The main reason I buy CFLs almost exclusively is so that I can stick a 21W CFL into a space designed for a 60W incandescent. I like having a lot of light. And in the 7-10 years I have been doing this, I think I had one bulb go bad (I get whatever cheap brand it is they sell at Costco), which I then disposed of at a place that handles electronics recycling. Usually they charge a recycling fee, but I guess they didn't see the point when all I had was a single CFL.

  20. Re:jumpy scrolling on Google's New Design · · Score: 1

    Maybe not, but it's easier to use http://google.com/pda/ instead.

  21. Re:jumpy scrolling on Google's New Design · · Score: 1

    Setting is stored in a cookie, so I (and anyone else that clears cookies on browser exit, for example) have to do this every time I start up my browser. It gets old pretty quickly.

  22. Re:How about Google Classic on Google's New Design · · Score: 1

    Thank you!

  23. Re:How about Google Classic on Google's New Design · · Score: 3, Interesting

    The main google page isn't the problem. It's still very simple. It's after I get the results that's a pain. l have to deal with crap like their interface stealing my arrow key inputs. And then if I want to edit my search terms (instead of starting a new search), I have to deal with instant search constantly pulling up nonsense and slowing things down every time I make a type (and then again when I fix the typo). I'm a bit slow (ie, stupid), so my brain can't handle looking at the results as I'm typing (I can't even type without making typos, after all), so it really serves no purpose to me. I know I can turn all this crap off, but those settings aren't tied to my Google account, so I need to set them every time I start up my browser (I like to clear the cookies on exit). I used to like google's search and layout, but now I'm wondering if there's something that doesn't suck as much.

  24. wifi is fine on The Tablet Debate: 3G Or Wi-Fi? · · Score: 1

    I'd never pay for a 3G connection for a tablet, so I'm never going to pay a premium for a 3G enabled tablet. I also don't ever see myself tethering a tablet to my phone; I'd be more likely to just use the phone itself. I can't see myself ever using a tablet where I didn't have a wifi connection. Of course, when it comes to tablets, I am definitely not in the "early adopter" demographic.

  25. Re:I'd feel safer... on Bruce Schneier vs. the TSA · · Score: 1

    Are you being facetious?