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User: gilgoomesh

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  1. Re:Don't honk the horn on You're Driving All Wrong, Says NHTSA · · Score: 1

    I completely agree. I almost never use my horn (except when the guy in front has a green light and isn't moving).

    After getting cut off, etc, my wife regularly asks: "Why didn't you honk at that guy?" The answer is always: because I had both hands on the wheel to avoid a potential collision.

  2. Re:LOL! on Tapeheads and the Quiet Return of VHS · · Score: 5, Informative

    As a video software engineer, I know your pain from a slightly different angle.

    Your "waterfall effect" is over quantization of DCT blocks (in rare cases it could also be misuse of the deblocking filters). It's pretty easy to avoid and most encoders can actually give feedback about quantization rates and whether artifacting will be visible in output frames.

    The problem is that people don't know how to use their encoders correctly, use them with completely the wrong settings and then don't inspect the output to see the result.

    The MPEG4 High Profile 4.1 used in BluRay discs is capable of practically flawless encoding at any motion rate if operated with a little care. MPEG4 allows custom and dynamic quantization and a two pass encoder can use the second pass to fix any mistakes by adapting the local bitrate and quantization method.

    I actually suspect though that you're seeing MPEG2 video getting pumped at an MPEG4 bitrate which is causing massive over quantization. This generally happens when studios have MPEG2 encoding hardware but no MPEG4 encoding hardware but they are told "keep your video at X bitrate" – even though this leaves half the disc empty and the video looking like a stream of 8x8 shiny cubes.

    Of course, some decoders don't implement deblocking algorithms correctly and actually *increase* blockiness in some cases. This would be the fault of your BluRay player – you'd need to play on a good software player and compare.

    And don't get me started on interlacing in digital video. It's a "feature" that has only ever made digital video worse and is somehow part of most broadcast standards. Aaarrgh!

  3. Re:I was at the announcement on Apple Unveils Software To Reinvent the Textbook · · Score: 1

    The iBook app lets you take notes and highlight sections right on the page. It's one of its key features as a "student reading app". You can also export the highlighted sections and notes to create separate study notes.

    I don't know how well it would work, of course, but they're trying to capture the same workflow.

  4. Re:Low quality plot too on JRR Tolkien Denied Nobel Due To Low Quality Prose · · Score: 1

    The Eagles couldn't fly while the Nazgul controlled the sky. When the head of the Nazgul was killed by Eowyn, then the Eagles could fly to pick up Frodo and Sam.

  5. Re:They are talking desktop screens on Is Apple Pushing Away Professionals? · · Score: 1

    Glossy is also better brightness since every extra bit of coating (and matte is a coating) reduces the light permittivity. Granted though – brightness changes are not matte's primary effect.

    However with truly bright sources behind you, particularly direct sunlight, matte can reduce contrast so much that you literally can't see anything.

  6. Re:Not boron nitrate. . . on Graphene 'Big Mac' — One Step Closer To Microchips · · Score: 2

    Slashdot correctly quoted the University of Manchester article. It used "boron nitrate" repeatedly and only used "boron nitride" in a quote. I don't know what MagusSlurpy is talking about when he mentions the abstract though it doesn't mention either.

    I'm far more disappointed that nothing mentions why we would expect this to replace silicon as a semiconductor.

  7. This is not the "Australian Censorship Scheme". on Telstra Starts Implementing Australian Censorship Scheme · · Score: 1

    The title and summary are a little misleading. They imply that this is related to the Australian government's proposed mandatory censorship scheme. It is not the same scheme and it is not being done in the same way. If there is any relation, it is that this scheme is intended to pre-empt any effort by the government to pursue mandatory censorship.

    This scheme being implemented by Telstra is the exact same scheme already implemented by UK ISPs BT, O2 and Virgin.

    Unlike the Australian government's mandatory scheme, this is *not* a hidden secret blacklist with no opportunity for objection. Multiple law enforcement bodies must agree before anything is censored. There is an appeal process in place. They are only censoring illegal child pornography and only where the victims are clearly underage (guideline is: under 13 years old).

    In summary: nobody wants censorship but if this optional, industry managed, minimalist effort dissuades the Australian government from introducing a mandatory, heavy-handed, secretive, broader than "illegal", no-appeal censorship scheme, then it might actually be a good thing.

  8. Re:Mixed up priorities on Telstra Starts Implementing Australian Censorship Scheme · · Score: 1

    > How do you let your politicians get this kind of power?

    We haven't let them "get this kind of power". This is being done by an ISP, not the government.

  9. Re:How about glass on Pepsi Moving To Bottles Made of Plant Material · · Score: 2

    No, not all plastics require plasticizers. Many, like PET, are inherently pretty soft.

    You're thinking of PVC (which is a hard plastic) and the plasticizer BPA.

    Don't get me wrong: there's often all kinds of impurities and manufacturing by-products in PET but it's not a plasticizer issue.

  10. Re:OS agnostic on Dragon Age II Released · · Score: 1

    The Cider port of Dragon Age 1 was one of the best ports I've ever played (including native code ports). Honestly: you cannot tell it's a Cider ported game unless you see the "cider" process in the Activity Monitor -- it was exceptional.

  11. Re:Suspicious patent? on Apple Patents Glasses-Free 3D Projector · · Score: 4, Informative

    I haven't owned an Apple product since my Mac 7600.

    The PowerMac 7600? You realize that you gave up on Apple just before they started getting good at making computers again?

  12. Re:Fixed IP addresses? on Dutch ISP Demos Symmetric 100Mbps DOCSIS3 · · Score: 1

    Most ISPs around the world are starting to keep fixed IP addresses as an "added extra". It's nothing to do with cable/DSL/fiber.

    There's two good reasons: people will pay more for fixed IP addresses and IPv4 addresses are starting to get expensive because they're running out (dynamic IP addresses can let you cram 10%--50% more users into the same address space).

    Get a dynamic name instead -- you don't want to enter a number anyway.

  13. Re:Really? on Film Industry Hires Cyber Hitmen To Take Down Pirates · · Score: 1

    I won't believe that until Top Gear stops reporting everything in Miles and Horsepower.

  14. Re:Why so short bursts? on USAF Scramjet Hits Mach 6, Sets Record · · Score: 1

    A Mach 6, wind resistance alone is like detonating explosives in the air intakes. Wear is certainly a serious issue.

    But that's not what they're looking at in this case -- they're looking at getting the combustion to be stable and controlled. Wear and tear is something to sort out once the vehicle is less experimental.

  15. Re:I don't want to feed the trolls but... on Major Snow Leopard Bug Said To Delete User Data · · Score: 5, Informative

    As far as I can tell, from reading this on other sites, the reproduction involves:

    * Machine that was upgraded from Leopard to Snow Leopard
    * Already had the Guest account enabled on Leopard.
    * Logs into Guest account (not a remote login but a local, physical login)
    * Is hard-booted (after crash, power failure, or power button) from Guest account back into Admin account.

    Despite a combination of these steps, people are finding it hard to reproduce. So it's the sort of issue that could fall through the QA cracks.

  16. Re:Authorized replica? on Building an Apple-1 From Scratch — Just Like Woz · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Copyright and trademarks (particularly "Apple" referring to a computer) can last much longer.

    Although in this case, the authorization may just be the annointing from Woz himself.

  17. Clarification of sale details from "krs" on Pirate Bay Announces Sale to Swedish Company For $7.8 Million · · Score: 5, Informative

    The following comment was made by krs on another site

    To clarify a bit..

    TPB has been owned by a company for the last years since the raid so nothing there will really change except the names of the owners. The talk about TPB are going to be a pay site is wrong, the CEO that said that does not know what he is talking about.

    Now, the BIG change is that the tracker is going to be outsourced to a new formed company that wont know what they track, just that they connect peers, and the torrent listings will be handed by an other new company that will have torrents but they will not know either content or who is using the torrents. This setup will be practically impossible to take down or find anyone liable to sue.

    The 3d party company services will have APIs, so you can on your blog or whatever have your own small torrent listings just as you now pull in twitter feeds. remember how the twitter design totally havoced the iranian attempts to block it as ppl just used another side that pulled in the feeds and read it there instead? well that goes for torrents and TPB to.

    All in all, this is not the end of the world as some are seeing it but a rather interesting technical improvement.

    And dont worry, not a dime will go to the media industries spectrial prize money what i know of but a really nice fund for doing cool stuff. /krs - co.founder of TPB and PB, not involved in TPB anymore and have no stake in any cash.

  18. Re:American Imperialsm w/ Entertainment Media? on Senator Applauds Pirate Bay Trial, Chides Canada · · Score: 1

    Corporations are not beholden to anyone other than the stock holders and even then they typically have no moral compass.

    I've always considered this argument to be complete B.S.

    Corporations have the morality of every individual that comprises them. If corporations act immorally, it's because the people that comprise them are immoral.

    People claim: "it was my job" or "everyone else was doing it" or "I had a responsibility to my stock holders". This is just mob-mentality, passing the buck and immoral greed.

    We need to stop claiming that corporations are these artificially intelligent puppet-masters that uncontrollably force their employees to do their evil bidding. It only furthers the mental illness people foster that lets them think their evil actions are not their fault.

  19. Re:Absolutely wonderful on Futurama Rumored To Return On Comedy Central · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I completely agree: Bender's Big Score was fantastic. It was a great, densely written, intricate and heartfelt story. Plus, it came with a dash of Torgo's Executive Powder.

  20. Lotus 1-2-3? on Ten Applications That Changed Computing · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The article gives the nod to Lotus 1-2-3 over VisiCalc? Great -- award the theives and ignore the innovations that *actually* changed the world. Nice job.

  21. Re:wat on Creating a New Yorker Cover On the iPhone · · Score: 1

    Yes. For clarity: capitulate means to give up or surrender. Recapitulate would mean to surrender... again. Not really what the iPhone is doing.

    Words the summary could have used that would have been better:

    - Replay
    - Retell
    - Recount
    - Regurgitate

    Words that would have been worse:

    - Respank
    - Reeviscerate
    - Reejaculate
    - Reconstitutionalizeate

    I look forward to seeing them all used in future summaries.

  22. Re:What about LATENCY!? on On the Feasibility of Single-Server MMOs · · Score: 1

    Australia's WoW servers *are* located on U.S. West Coast. Typical latency is between 200ms and 500ms. You cope.

    Actually, the game lets you press buttons latency*seconds before the action can occur -- so you can adapt your playstyle to cope.

  23. You don't need an agency... on An Australian Space Agency At Last? · · Score: 1

    The money is for a "Space Policy Unit in the Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research". So they're just going to expand an existing department.

    The Australian Government has been funding or co-funding astronomy and satellite development for at least 50 years without needing a dedicated "Australian Space Agency". It doesn't look like they're changing anything here.

  24. Re:Consider the patent... on Apple Patent Claim Threatens To Block Or Delay W3C · · Score: 1

    You're assuming the average Slashdot reader has a clue about how to read a patent. They prefer to look at the title only and then get mad and blame the corporashuns.

  25. Re:and in a manner that is completely transparent on Apple Patent Claim Threatens To Block Or Delay W3C · · Score: 1

    That's not a claim. That's the abstract. The real claim requires many more steps to be explicitly followed.

    I realize most people don't know how to read a patent but steps of the primary claim are actually:

    1. A method for automatically updating software programs on a computer, comprising the steps, of:
    - storing an updated version of a program at a designated location in a remote memory that is accessible to the computer;
    - launching a current version of the program that is stored in memory of the computer, wherein said current version carries out the following steps independent of functions performed by any resource external to said current version:
    - detecting whether a version of the program is stored in the designated location;
    - determining whether a detected version of the program stored at the designated location is more recent than the current version of the program which is running;
    - replacing the current version of the program with a more recent version that is stored at the designated location; and
    - subsequently executing the more recent version of the program on the computer.