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User: arielCo

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  1. Re: Tiny Island on Cuba Says the Internet Now a Priority · · Score: 1
  2. I present you... on "Team America" Gets Post-Hack Yanking At Alamo Drafthouse, Too · · Score: 2
  3. Well, duh on The Shale Boom Won't Stop Climate Change; It Could Make It Worse · · Score: 1

    "Breaking news: An oil glut won't make fossil fuel consumption go down - it might even increase."

  4. Re: The best gift? on 2014 Geek Gift Guide · · Score: 1

    His links (Amazon or otherwise) don't seem to have referral IDs. Just saying, criticize him over the right things (like verbosity and being wrong).

  5. Re:The best gift? on 2014 Geek Gift Guide · · Score: 1

    I hovered over a few links (including some at Amazon) and there's no referrer ID. Since he doesn't send you to his personal blog either (remember Ronald Piquepaille?), it's not even clickbait.

    I agree that most of his content is too fluffy, and I usually stop reading way before the middle.

  6. Re:I smell something ... on "Fat-Burning Pill" Inches Closer To Reality · · Score: 2

    Whenever something sounds too good to be true, it usually isn't. I'll put some cash on this being in the Ig-Nobles in a year or two.

    Since you like truisms, here's another: conventional wisdom is not at all.

    Back to 'Eat less and exercise', everyone. That's probably safer, anyhow.

    Depends. If you're so overweight that you risk joint damage or increased wear, or a heart attack from overexertion, a pill to give you a leg-up is a godsend.
      Plus, not everybody will lose weight just eating "less" and working out; I know because I'm insulin resistant with a bum thyroid to boot; diet and exercise are only part of the solution.

  7. Re:Magic pill developers = REALLY rich people on "Fat-Burning Pill" Inches Closer To Reality · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Lots of cases are self-reinforced - insulin resistance improves when one loses weight, and sometimes one's too fat to exercise effectively and/or safely. So, it's not a given that you'll depend on the wonder pill for the rest of your life.

  8. Re:Have Both on The Case For Flipping Your Monitor From Landscape to Portrait · · Score: 1

    No, but if you listen closely you can hear the electrons going "Wheeeee!".

  9. Re: Entrapment is lazy policing on Man Caught Trying To Sell Plans For New Aircraft Carrier · · Score: 1

    All three want the info as end users, although for different reasons. ISIL would love to reenact the USS Cole bombing, China is in desperate need of new tech for their catch up efforts (though I doubt mechanical drawings will provide that), and for Russia it's just common sense strategically.

  10. Re:You have it backwards on Man Caught Trying To Sell Plans For New Aircraft Carrier · · Score: 1

    The documents do not describe why Awwad was targeted.

    There's still a possibility that Awwad expressed his intent, even if through a pseudonym. I wouldn't presume that the feds make random cold calls to see who bites - the targets would gossip about it before long.

  11. Re: Egyptians? on Man Caught Trying To Sell Plans For New Aircraft Carrier · · Score: 1

    But contacting a third party who's not an arch-enemy, but would be VERY interested in selling this info to bigger people, might not, or so this idiot may have thought.

  12. Re: What in the hell was he thinking? on Man Caught Trying To Sell Plans For New Aircraft Carrier · · Score: 2

    Last few words in my comment:

    ... to buy the info presumably to trade it to Russia or China for a profit or favors.

    In other words, Omar al-Kebab may have no interest in bombing the new boat, but ISIS sure might, and China would love to do a bit of the old catch-up, and the Russians definitely see the strategic value. So Omar will pay nicely, hoping to make a profit.

  13. Re: Egyptians? on Man Caught Trying To Sell Plans For New Aircraft Carrier · · Score: 2

    And contacting any of those countries in his position would trigger a lot of alarms. But contacting a third party who's not an arch-enemy might, but would be VERY interested in selling this info to bigger people might not, or so this idiot may have thought.

  14. Re: Entrapment is lazy policing on Man Caught Trying To Sell Plans For New Aircraft Carrier · · Score: 1

    You don't need to build a carrier (assuming you're even able to replicate the bleeding edge of U.S. naval tech with just blueprints), or even have plans to sabotage one, to benefit; you can simply trade with those who can (Russia? China? ISIL?) for profit or favors.

    This bozo knew better than to contact the Russians or the Chinese in his position, but figured he wouldn't raise any flags by going with a third, "neutral" party.

  15. Re:What in the hell was he thinking? on Man Caught Trying To Sell Plans For New Aircraft Carrier · · Score: 2

    He doesn't care who wants to build (or sabotage) the ship - only who would pay for that information. In his position, traveling to Russia or China would've raised a dozen flags; likely he expected a third party, not exactly pro-US but less than an arch-nemesis, to buy the info presumably to trade it to Russia or China for a profit or favors.

  16. Re: quick notes? on Finland Dumps Handwriting In Favor of Typing · · Score: 1

    You seem to be talking about handwriting in general, which neither TFA nor I have a problem with and won't go away anytime soon precisely for the reasons you mention. Cursive (glyphs drawn without lifting the pen, the opposite of block letters) is what Finland is dropping and is well on the way of the dodo, and most people can't do it legibly anyway.

  17. Re:Just cursive, or all writing? on Finland Dumps Handwriting In Favor of Typing · · Score: 1

    Cursive. From TFA (more of a blog post):

    So what about a world where cursive writing is forgotten?

    What do you do when your computer is dead and you need to leave a note? The death of cursive script probably isn't the death of handwriting but the death of doing it quickly and with style. Some no doubt will want to master it just for the sake of it - like driving a stick shift.

    And signatures? A poor authentication system at the best of times - good riddance.

  18. Re:quick notes? on Finland Dumps Handwriting In Favor of Typing · · Score: 1

    They're not dropping handwriting altogether; that wouldn't be practical. Even TFS says it's cursive script that they're dropping. From TFA (more of a blog post):

    So what about a world where cursive writing is forgotten?

    What do you do when your computer is dead and you need to leave a note? The death of cursive script probably isn't the death of handwriting but the death of doing it quickly and with style. Some no doubt will want to master it just for the sake of it - like driving a stick shift.

    And signatures? A poor authentication system at the best of times - good riddance.

    What do we get in return for dropping the writing system that we have used for centuries?

    (Emphasis mine)

    Cursive is an art form, best left to those who have a reason to become competent at it (calligraphists). Rest of the world, please write clearly.

  19. Careful there... on NASA Remasters 20-Year-Old Galileo Photographs of Jupiter's Moon, Europa · · Score: 3

    In addition to the newly processed image, a new video details why this likely ocean world is a high priority for future exploration.

    ALL THESE WORLDS ARE YOURS EXCEPT EUROPA. ATTEMPT NO LANDINGS THERE.

  20. Serious != smart on Blame America For Everything You Hate About "Internet Culture" · · Score: 1

    Do I want to read political rants and endless arguments filled with fallacies, bigotry and name-calling?

    I'll have the vapid pictures of pets and hot chicks, please.

  21. No "observer effect" here on Why the Time Is Always Set To 9:41 In Apple Ads · · Score: 1

    If you have looked carefully, the clock has traditionally been always set to 9:42 in Apple advertisements.

    And if you haven't looked, carefully or not, it still has.

  22. So I asked my Russian buddy: LADEE? on NASA Spacecraft Images Crash Site of Retired LADEE Probe · · Score: 1

    "Da"

  23. A little perspective on 16-Teraflops, £97m Cray To Replace IBM At UK Meteorological Office · · Score: 1

    97 million pounds is a pittance in a 731 billion budget. An Eurofighter Typhoon costs 110 million (marginal cost, not factoring R&D in).

  24. TL;DR on Can Ello Legally Promise To Remain Ad-Free? · · Score: 1

    [Ello's] charter can be modified, or the PBC status nullified, or the company bought out by another entity not bound by the original charter, with the approval of a 2/3 supermajority of shareholders.

    What if they had said, "To each user signing up, we promise that if we ever start running ads or selling user-specific data or otherwise violating this charter, we will pay $1,000 to each affected user." Now that's no longer merely a "charter" but is now an actual obligation to an outside party.

    [...] another potential loophole is that the charter contains no formal definition of what constitutes "charging for advertising" [...] conceivably they could add paid features which essentially amount to the ability to advertise to other users.

    (That was easy)

  25. Fanless PC on Ask Slashdot: How Do I Make a High-Spec PC Waterproof? · · Score: 1

    * A rugged box shouldn't be hard to find - look at weatherized enclosures for radio equipment or, failing that, an AC mains box made for outdoors.

    * A modern CPU and a high end GPU in an airtight box won't be easy to cool. Since your only means of heat dissipation is the surface of said enclosure, it'd better be all-metal.

    * Your next challenge is to convey heat from the CPU + GPU to the box - sounds like a job for watercooling, with regular blocks for the CPU and GPU and a third, possibly custom block attached to the enclosure wall instead of the usual radiator (which requires moving air). Overclocking forums may offer some ideas; also the "silent PC" forums since some are into fan-less designs.