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User: bradgoodman

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  1. Already knew that... on Electric Eel Shocks Like a Taser · · Score: 5, Interesting

    They describe this in the signage on the eel tank at the New England Aquarium. They even have a "shock" meter - and they tell you when it is getting ready to shock, you will see some spaced-out low-intensity pulses before "the big one".

  2. Random Number Generation on Nuclear Weapons Create Their Own Security Codes With Radiation · · Score: 1

    So from what I am guessing - they are referring to using the radioactive decay of the materials for true random number generation. This concept isn't new - the unpredictability of radioactive decay has been a know source of "truly random" numbers. The article infers that it could use this to generate a key that could be shared with an external authentication mechanism - but you could do this with any random number source. You'd think they would have mentioned something like "quantum entanglement between the weapon and the president" (which might have been interesting) - but no.

  3. Re:false flag? on US Gov't Issues Alert About iOS "Masque Attack" Threat · · Score: 1

    Mod Up. Exactly what I thought upon reading the OP.

  4. Relay through Comcast on Ask Slashdot: How To Unblock Email From My Comcast-Hosted Server? · · Score: 1
    I had this problem too. I simply use Comcast's SMTP servers to relay my messages from my own SMTP server. You are required to configure SSL-secured transport only, and required to use your Comcast credentials when sending message to the relay. In-turn, when Comcast passes the messages, the services [you mentioned] accept them, but they still are shown as coming from my servers.

    You don't have to "use Comcast's mail service" - they just want to use Comcast as a way of providing some accountability as to where the email is coming from - as a way of limiting spam.

  5. Children on US School Installs 'Shooter Detection' System · · Score: 1

    Won't somebody PLEASE think of the children!!

  6. Re: Devel/Debug on OpenBSD Drops Support For Loadable Kernel Modules · · Score: 1

    But then you'd need to reboot to load it, I'd assume.

  7. Devel/Debug on OpenBSD Drops Support For Loadable Kernel Modules · · Score: 1

    I shutter to think of how this would impact the development/debug cycle of an otherwise simple device driver.

  8. Re:Why do people still care about C++ for kernel d on Object Oriented Linux Kernel With C++ Driver Support · · Score: 1
    >>C++ can't guarantee a binary API from one > to the next

    Oh, you mean like Linux does with Device Drivers...

  9. Re:1.2 Ghz, and again - binary orthogonal to compr on Internet Explorer Implements HTTP/2 Support · · Score: 1

    Compressed is faster on the wire, but takes more CPU time to decompress. If I have a 100GbE network connection coming into a server - my network bandwidth might outpace my compute abilities.

  10. Re:decompression: 800 Mbps on Internet Explorer Implements HTTP/2 Support · · Score: 1

    That doesn't mean anything. Were you running on a 3GHz Ivy Bridge server, or a little PIC IoT device? How much CPU time did it take? How many did your application need/require? Did the net result of header decompression along with the easier parsing of the binary header take more or fewer CPU resources then the older uncompressed, ASCII header? etc..etc..etc..

  11. Facebook: "The Privacy Kings" on Facebook Ready To Get Into Healthcare · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I can't possibly envision ever making Facebook privy to ANY health issues whatsoever. They would gladly shill that information out for profit - undoubtibly why they're doing it. With something such as health issues which are so confidential, making Facebook privy to any of this would be absolutely terrible.

  12. Header Compression + Binary Headers on Internet Explorer Implements HTTP/2 Support · · Score: 1

    Seems like the efficiency you gain parsing the binary header would be lost with the need to first decompress it ;-)

  13. US Government on Why India's Mars Probe Was So Cheap · · Score: 3, Funny

    Are you implying that the US Government overpays, spending money and managing projects in a wasteful or inefficient manner? I say good day to you sir!

  14. Not "sustained" speed on Octopus-Inspired Robot Matches Real Octopus For Speed · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Creatures that use this form of population do it only for "bursts" - like to escape a predator. They cannot sustain this speed. If they used this form of propulsion for a submarine, that would be one hell of a jerky ride.

  15. Re: Apple REULEZ! on Why You Can't Manufacture Like Apple · · Score: 1

    If there is one thing Steve Jobs taught me,is that Apple isn't about "the technology". The view as a "technologist" may not even be germain as you think. He's always been about "usability" - but it's more than just that. Even this article talks about Apple as a battery company, a manufacturing company, a machine tool company, etc. Even the last video saw on the watch made me realize that I was more impressed with it a piece of jewelry than a piece of technology. With Apple,you often have to look at it from a perspective that has nothing to do with "technology" to really understand it.

  16. Biometrics? Over Internet? on DARPA Wants To Kill the Password · · Score: 1
    I concur with the previous post saying you "can't change" biometric stuff if your password is "compromised" - but my further point is that biometrics are "secure" in an "embedded" world when you have a physical scanner attached to a physical device. When you're on the "open internet" - and such biometric data has to be collected and shuttled accross "the 'net" - you now have the same sort of issue as with "traditional" passwords - i.e. someone snarfing and/or "replying" that data.

    So whereas biometrics might replace a traditional "password" - we need more systems which aren't vulnerable to the type of 1.8-billion-password-stealing-Russian-problems we see all over the place. I have been a big fan of much of the two-factor stuff, and some of the hashing schemes out there. It will be interesting to see what kind of other solutions could exist - though I don't think anything "static" like biometrics gets us anywhere.

  17. Google Authenticator on Ask Slashdot: Open Hardware/Software-Based Security Token? · · Score: 1
    Google Authenticator is an open source, RSA-soft-token-like system for two-factor authentication. Free applications exist for iPhone, Android, etc to act as your "key fob", and free, open-source PAM and Apache plug-in modules exist to allow you to require the tokens for SSH or web login.

    I'd include links - but there are a lot of them depending on what you want (Linux, PAM, Apache, Andoird, iOS, etc) - So, "Just Google it!"

  18. Doesn't show anything on Build Your Own Gatling Rubber Band Machine Gun · · Score: 1

    Very poor fast-forwarded, un-narreted video of how to load it. No video of it actually working. I'm assuming it did - but kind if think if it really worked well - they'd show that - or show how to use it. I kind of wonder how it worked - and it if it actually did at all.

  19. Re: I know you're trying to be funny, but... on Linus Torvalds: "GCC 4.9.0 Seems To Be Terminally Broken" · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I've been doing Linux development for about 15 years - including lots of kernel work. I never have, nor ever would posted anything to the kernel mailing lists. With a few exceptions - like when I can hand it off to someone else or go through a third-party - is rather have one of my patches die - than to submit it. Reason? I've seen this kind of attitude and "abuse" and - quite frankly - would never want to subject myself to this kind of abuse should anything I say or submit be erroneous and have to tolerate listening to how "retarded" I or my work is. Personal feelings aside - I wouldn't want such very public commentary about me or my work living in such a perminant and searchable archive - say by some future employeer. I wonder if I'm alone. I wonder if others have the same attitude. I wonder if some of the actual smartest people in the world (not me) might have done some great work - but would be too shy to ever let themselves be noticed.

  20. Which Korea? on Why The Korean Government Could Go Open Source By 2020 · · Score: 2

    Kool Korea, or Krazy Korea?

  21. Re:What is "Dead" on Perl Is Undead · · Score: 1
    lol...interesting point!

    I am very productive with Perl, and I like it. However, with the surge in things using Python, I find myself "needing" to know it. So where I may have a script to write, and I'm more comfortable doing it in Perl, I actually write it in Python just to learn/exercise the (needed) skills. So - even where I'm "productive, comfortable, knowledgeable and not missing features" with Perl, that's why I'd still do it in Python.

    That's why at least for me - it's demise is a self-fulfilling prophecy.

  22. Re:What is "Dead" on Perl Is Undead · · Score: 1
    "What is dead may never die" - Game of Thrones

    (Sorry, had to do it)

  23. What is "Dead" on Perl Is Undead · · Score: 3, Interesting
    Sure - it's way down on the TIOBE index, and Perl 6 has been in production longer than Duke Nukem Forever, and there is a ton of "legacy" code that is written in Perl, so why do we say it's "dead"?

    Because of the lack of new projects being done with it. I can't remember the last time a [major] web site or web framework was done in Perl. It seems like the whole "ruby on rails" fad is over, but even things like Django (Python), .NET, Java, PHP, and even stuff like "Go" have stolen Perl's Thunder on the Web front.

    Well what about as your standard workhorse for script kiddies? Seems like Python has cleaned Perl's clock. For me - I've been a die-hard Perl guy for 10 years. The past couple years, I've worked with many different technologies such as 2d/3d CAD projects, Blender (3d adnimation), Inkscape (2d illustration), GNU Radio, OpenStack (cloud), and even Amazon AWS [libraries]. You know what was the striking commonality to all of these? They were done in Python.

    Tiny exception was in the last case (above - Amazon AWS libraries) had several different language options but had *NO* Perl options whatsoever. So the language that was once so revolutionary because of the abundance of CPAN libraries available for it starts to not have newer libraries built/ported to it. Furthermore, binding stuff to Perl can be difficult. So much so that most modern distros will make their own "Perl library" [RPMs] - and one of the reasons being is that a standard CPAN module installation won't work due to problems linking/binding/building across all these different environments with very different prerequisites. Most third party Python stuff I have acquired is most often "native python", and works across all types of exotic platforms - even on iOS and Google App Engine.

    As for me - I had to switch away from my beloved Perl over to Python for the aforementioned reasons. There are still several things I miss very much - the abilities to so easily spawn and fork "helper" processes, the ease it which it integrates regular expressions, how it can manipulate files, etc. All these things *can* be done with Python, they're just integrated into Perl much better IMHO.

    It seems like Perl 6 was supposed to use something similar to Java's "JVM" microcode interpreter. This could have been a possibility to run Perl in embedded sandbox-type environments (like parking meters and smartphones), but it never happened.

    So, I do believe Perl is dead. I miss it for what it was, what it is, and what might have been!

  24. Applicants on Yahoo's Diversity Record Is Almost As Bad As Google's · · Score: 1
    I've been in the "high tech" industry for over 25 years. Of all the hundreds of candidates I've interviewed, and dozens (or more) I/we have hired, I have never, ever hired a black person.

    Is it because I am racist, or have a toxic environment, or am biased? No. The reality is that in my entire career, I have only received a single black candidate. (That I know of - some may have failed to get past the resume screening, without having known what their race was).

    As for women - we hire them - but a disproportionally smaller percentage of out applicants are women - so that explains the smaller hiring numbers. It's not like we get billions if candidates for the super-skilled positions I hire for. It's not like we have a colossal pool of qualified candidates from which we just pluck-out all the white males. It's a small pool of qualified applicants.

    (BTW That one guy? We made him an offer - but his current employer countered it and we lost him. )

  25. Re: No "Magic" cure on Artificial Pancreas Shows Promise In Diabetes Test · · Score: 1

    I can "input data on upcoming meals" with a current pump. And it's only as good as the data I put in (which may be VERY wrong at times). This is far from the fully-automated "closed loop" systems described as "bionic pancriuses".