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User: atomicstrawberry

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  1. Re:Actually, this is good news. on Bill Gates To Help China Build Traveling Wave Nuclear Reactor · · Score: 4, Interesting

    There's another reason they don't get used. The 'standard' reactors require enriched fuels. The same companies that sell the reactors also supply the fuels, or the enrichment services. It's basically vendor lock-in.

  2. Re:Darwin on Measles Resurgent Due To Fear of Vaccination · · Score: 2

    Unfortunately that would only be the case if refusing the vaccines removed them from the gene pool, but unfortunately it doesn't. Instead if exposes people who cannot have the vaccine due to allergies, immune system deficiencies etc. Not to mention the increased risk that in an environment where most people are immune to infection but some people are not there can be increased chance of it mutating and becoming more virulent or even potentially being able to work around the existing immunities.

  3. Ulterior motives on Facebook Exec: Online Anonymity Must Go Away · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Company with vested interest in tracking people by their actual names online thinks everyone should use their real names online?

  4. Re:Last Resort on Tasmanian Dept. of Education Wants Anti-Virus for Linux, OS X · · Score: 1

    There's more OSX and Linux malware out there than you might think. Especially OSX. When it comes to Linux I'd imagine that that is mainly for servers, where being able to e.g. natively run a sweep over all those shared directories that your staff are using to cache their files, or scanning incoming mail on your mail server or the like would be advantageous.

  5. Re:Woulda rathered the trail complete ... on Xbox Modding Trial Dismissed · · Score: 4, Insightful

    It's quite likely that the prosecution in this case deliberately torpedoed themselves so that they could have an excuse to dismiss the case and avoid setting exactly this precedent.

  6. Security on Aussie Government Gives PDF the Thumbs Down · · Score: 1

    Possiblly not a bad thing given the vast amount of security flaws and exploits that PDF has been hit with, especially over the last few years.

  7. Re:Opt-out on British MP Calls For Pornography 'Opt-In' · · Score: 1

    I think that's exactly what is being proposed though. ISP offers an optional, opt-in clean feed for families that want it. Don't want it? Don't get it.

  8. Why bother with a robot... on Robot Actress Makes Stage Debut In Japan · · Score: 1

    ... when you can already attend concerts with a singing and dancing virtual pop star that is only about half as creepy?

  9. WPA2 minimum passphrase length... on Sophos Researcher Suggests Password 'Free' to Spur Wi-Fi Encryption · · Score: 5, Insightful

    ... is 8 characters.

  10. "Law Enforcement Agencies" on Australia's Privacy Boss Slams Gov't Data-Retention Scheme · · Score: 2, Interesting

    ... which is to say record labels and motion picture companies.

  11. Re:need to bring back sugar on School Children Are Now Too Fat to Fit In Class Chairs · · Score: 1

    TFA is about Australia, and Australia doesn't use HFCS at all - we use sugar in everything that would have HFCS in the US. And we have the exact same obesity problems as the US does.

    The problem is the prevalance of convenient, high-calorie processed foods, a lack of understanding of correct portion sizes, and lack of exercise.

  12. Re:Where? on Giant Impact Crater Found In Australia · · Score: 3, Funny

    You're looking for a roughly circular feature? I think this is a more likely spot personally:

    http://maps.google.com.au/maps?sll=-28.87835,141.047974&sspn=4.39095,8.453979&ll=-35.310258,149.125156&spn=0.015987,0.033023&t=h&z=16

  13. Re:Hmmm on You Have Taste Receptors In Your Lungs · · Score: 1

    Menthol is the active chemical in vapor rub, amongst other things.

  14. Re:Life imitates Art or Art imitates Life ? on Japan's Latest Rockstar Is a 3D Hologram · · Score: 2, Interesting

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idoru - 1996
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macross_Plus - 1994

    The concept of a computer-generated 'virtual' singer / popstar isn't really something new at all. It's probably an inevitable consequence of the modern music industry and its manufactured pop artists, fake music videos and whatnot. A virtual idol won't need to eat or sleep, they can never be involved in a scandals, they don't do drugs, they'll do exactly what you tell them, they don't get royalties and they never retire.

  15. Adding depth on Star Wars Films In 3D Due In 2012 · · Score: 3, Funny

    I guess Lucas got tired of people saying his films lack depth and are filled with flat, two-dimensional characters.

  16. Classification IS Censorship on Conroy Still Hell-Bent On Internet Filter · · Score: 4, Insightful

    "'I'm not sure that the censorship claim stacks up. This is about classification systems."

    The Australian Classification system is a system of government-run censorship. Media which is refused classification is not allowed to be sold in the country.

    The debate is fundamentally about censorship.

    It is legal to possess and view unclassified and refused-classification material in most of Australia, provided that it is not material which is actually illegal (child porn, for example). What Conroy wants to do is circumvent the ability for adults to decide what they can view. To make it illegal to view online things which are legal to possess in reality. It is censorship. To argue otherwise is completely dishonest.

  17. Re:Pf, Wine on Australia Adopts EU's Geographical Indicator System For Wine · · Score: 1

    The Trappist breweries would probably disagree with you.

  18. Re:PS3 on Video Appliance For a Large Library On a Network? · · Score: 1

    PS3 Media Server's transcoding can be used to correct the framerate too, if you set it up right.

  19. Why target games specifically? on How Will Contemporary War Games Affect Veterans? · · Score: 4, Insightful

    For decades we've had films which are "essentially created as entertainment and to make money" and which depict major conflicts, often with input from people who fought in them. They'll often attack more recent subject matter than games will, too.

  20. Desalinization? on World's First Molten-Salt Solar Plant Opens · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Could this technology be combined with desalinization, i.e. take salt water, pull the salt out to produce potable water, and use the salt to improve the plant's efficiency? Desalinization is a very energy-intensive process but I wonder if a lot of that could be offset using solar and redirecting the waste salt into the energy plant that powers the process in the first place.

  21. Re:PC gaming never went away. on Is PC Gaming Set For a Comeback? · · Score: 1

    That might potentially be true of the PC market, but interestingly the console games market is different - 64% prefer physical media.

    As a games collector, I prefer physical copies, but I also buy my fair share of stuff digitally as well. It really comes down to price and availability a lot of the time.

  22. Re:Let's get this out of the way, shall we? on Apple Quietly Goes After Mac Trojan With Update · · Score: 1

    "Antimalware" generally speaking is the term the industry has come up with to describe solutions that bundle Antivirus and Antispyware into a single package, rather than having them run separately. Generally if you're running an Antimalware product that should be all you need.

  23. Implications for banned materials? on In AU, Court Rules Downloaded Software Is Not "Goods" · · Score: 1

    Technically in Australia it's illegal to import into the country anything that has been refused classification - the situation with our backward laws regarding the lack of an 18+ game rating is well-known. It's legal to possess the material, but technically bringing them into the country is an offense.

    However if downloaded material is not 'goods' then do import restrictions apply? Customs & import laws are only applied to goods, after all.

  24. Re:What do you expect from a union hack? on Australian Gov't Claims Internet Filter Legislation Still In Play · · Score: 1

    The Democrats also oppose it, but they haven't really been a significant political force in quite a while. May not be a wasted vote to try and put them in the senate though.

    I'm not sure if they've been officially registered yet, but the Pirate Party may be somewhat of an option as well, depending on your stance on IP issues in addition to the filtering.

  25. Re:too bad you didn't follow canadian democracy on Australian Gov't Claims Internet Filter Legislation Still In Play · · Score: 1

    They never wanted one because they didn't feel it was necessary. The idea is that if the government infringes on what is seen as our rights, they will to be voted out.

    Of course it's a fairly naive approach since it completely ignores the issue that arises when you have a system dominated by two parties who both have the same policy. You're pretty much screwed if none of the parties represent your opinions, you end up having to pick the least horrible.

    If anything though, I'd say that the reluctance to introduce a bill of rights is related to the condition of aboriginal communities more than it is detaining illegal immigrants.