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User: Barbarian

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  1. How does he tell if the problem is his or Comcast' on How the Raspberry Pi Can Automatically Tweet Complaints About Your Slow Internet (ibtimes.co.uk) · · Score: 1

    Having had two consumer WiFi routers crap out in the last 4 years (start dropping packets like crazy), I wonder how he differentiates with issues on his network or on Comcast's when running this speed test. Even something as simple as the cat yanking on the network cable could affect the results.

  2. Re:Snapple on Apple Developing Wireless Charging For Mobile Devices (thestack.com) · · Score: 3, Funny

    It will be incompatible with everything else on the market and the drones will hail Apple as the first one to bring it to market, oh and it will be inefficient as fark and make peoples metal dental work buzz.

    It will be 5% efficient, the other 95% will be lost to the reality distortion field.

  3. 1995 all over on GNU Hurd Begins Supporting Sound, Still Working On 64-bit & USB Support (phoronix.com) · · Score: 4, Funny

    I do recall, in the early days of slashdot that the GNU/Hurd enthusiasts were proclaiming how silly people were to be wasting time on Linux, when Hurd was just around the corner. I was in high school then. It's great to hear that audio works, maybe one of my grandchildren one day will be able to actually use it for video.

  4. Re:For kill switch ONLY if activated by owner on Smartphone Kill Switch, Consumer Boon Or Way For Government To Brick Your Phone? · · Score: 1

    You know that's not why they are mandating it, right?

    Never stopped them before.

  5. Re:new dmca brickdown request... on Smartphone Kill Switch, Consumer Boon Or Way For Government To Brick Your Phone? · · Score: 1

    Yes...this will be the best way to stop criminals...especially IP thieves and copyright violators. Just brick everyone in the bit torrent swarm by court order. The next step is to extend this to all computing devices...AMD and Intel and homeland security can come up with a bricking standard that runs in like ring negative three :)

    Hey once the ability is there, why not?

  6. Re:Qualifications: thinker and visionary on Scott Adams's Plan For Building Giant Energy-Generating Pyramids · · Score: 1

    It was 10 years-from-now technology in 1995, and it's still 10-years-from-now tech. I imagine that in 1000 years it will still be just 10 years away.

    Hint: Investors aren't going to go for an outlandish idea if it won't pay back in their lifetimes or a reasonable period.. So the maximum window stated is always 10 years,

  7. nail stuff down on Ask Slashdot: Anti-Theft Products For the Over-Equipped Household? · · Score: 1

    You know how they sometimes say burglars took everything that wasn't nailed down? Well, nail stuff down. Make it harder for the thief. For example, use laptop security cables on computers and monitors. Most TVs can be mounted to their stand for child safety ( anti-tip), so screw them to the stand. Got a pricey DSLR? Keep it out of sight, maybe put it in a locked drawer. But don't only lock one drawer...

    There are devices like make soup cans you hide jewelry in.. Don't use them. Every thief knows you don't keep your soup on the bedroom.

  8. Re:Specific use cases on For US Customers, Text Access To 911 Slowly Rolls Out · · Score: 3, Informative

    Maybe I've seen too many TV shows but if you have a pre-recorded text for 911, something like seven key strokes can send it silently whereas the standard voice call risks the attacker hearing you.

    I wasn't impressed with the article. At a higher level there has to be some coding you can send that says "can't speak, puts my life in danger". I don'tr know what that would be, but it rises above the article's cheap promotion of voice calls.

    Not only that, most phones emit a very load beep when making an emergency call.

  9. IRS...late? on IRS Misses XP Deadline, Pays Microsoft Millions For Patches · · Score: 1

    Microsoft should charge them triple, and propose confiscating all assets for such a mistake. After all, that's what the IRS would do.

  10. impartial accident assessment on Can You Buy a License To Speed In California? · · Score: 2

    I'm not too concerned about getting away with minor speeding. I'm more concerned about impartiality in accident reports, and excusing criminally negligent behavior. Is this happening? If so the solution, unfortunately, is 100% recording of traffic from the police vehicle point of view, and removal of all officer discretion.

  11. tip of the iceberg on Nest Halts Sales of Smart Fire Alarm After Discovering Dangerous Flaw · · Score: 2

    I'm sure we will see more problems with the internet of things. Just wait until lulz kids figure out how to make smart smoke alarms beep continuously., so people disable the power, or turn the heat up to 100 and then down to 10 ( Fahrenheit). There's not shortage of psychos who like to screw with people (see: webcam hacks and 'slaves'). So it's a matter of time.

    Critical life safety devices like Smoke detectors should be a local loop only. You can interconnect, but don't connect to the internet or phones.
    If you want a smart one, make it redundant and in addition to the local only alarms. Hook it up to something outside or your alarm company.This is to call the fire department when no one is home. I.e. this is for saving your property.
    And control devices like your thermostat should have a local override switch that disables, in hardware, all smart features and turns it into a dumb device

  12. Re:I've implemented something similar on MIT Researchers Create Platform To Build Secure Web Apps That Never Leak Data · · Score: 1

    There's another side to this too. You won't see this scheme implemented because encrypted data can not be de-duplicated, and can not be compressed. Effectively your solution increases the cost of doing business, both in terms of bandwidth and in infrastructure.

    Encrypted data can be compressed...just you have to compress before encrypting.

  13. chromebook too on Google Now Arrives In Chrome For Windows and Mac · · Score: 1
  14. software faults, real world consquences on Oops: Security Holes In Belkin Home Automation Gear · · Score: 1

    Any automated control should have a local override to disconnected it from the control loop. This is normal practice in process plants. That way when a hacker takes over your thermostat, you put it in override until the access problem is fixed.

    Second, fires by software should not be possible. Protections should be baked into the hardware for home control things that can have e consequences to people.

  15. Syncme Wireless on Ask Slashdot: Local Sync Options For Android Mobile To PC? · · Score: 1

    I have had good success with Syncme Wireless. Only works with smb shares, but does the job well.

  16. Re:Procurement inertia on Do Hypersonic Missiles Make Defense Systems Obsolete? · · Score: 1

    Carriers are not for fighting a major power, they are for keeping the provinces in line.

  17. Impossible, audio systems and flight systems never interfere with each other. Any argument the other way is just from a bunch of technophobes. --- summarized from the cell phones on air planes threads.

  18. Re:Obvious answer on Why Does Facebook Need To Read My Text Messages? · · Score: 0

    Replying to undo accidental moderation.

  19. Re:Black light? on CES: Laser Headlights Edge Closer To Real-World Highways · · Score: 1

    As a potential solution to road blindness caused by oncoming (or tailgating) headlights, why not have the headlights emit mostly black light, and coat the road surface with a material which will cause it to fluoresce by the black light.

    This way we might even be able to have the headlights on full beam instead of dipped (making the cats eyes like much clearer and nicer too).

    Headlights would be a dim blue as a result.

    Are you going to coat pedestrias, wildlife at the same time?

  20. Re:Windows 8 on The Year's Dumbest Moments in Tech · · Score: 1

    The other bad part with this crappy OS is losing your locense to the previous version when you do an upgrade.

  21. Citrix on Surviving the Internet On Low Speed DSL · · Score: 1

    Try having to run a program over Citrix on a laggy and slow connection.

  22. military applications on MIT Develops "Kinect of the Future" · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I am sure if you can easily pinpoint humans through a wall with 10 cm accuracy, you will see this funded and developed by your favourite defense contractors. Sniper rifle with wallhack, anyone?

  23. double versus long double on Same Programs + Different Computers = Different Weather Forecasts · · Score: 2

    The x86 architecture, since the 8081, has double precision 64 bit floats, and a special 80 bit float--some compilers call this long double and use 128 bits to store this. How does this compare to other architectures?

  24. too many jerks here today on Ask Slashdot: Does LED Backlight PWM Drive You Crazy? · · Score: 1

    Just because you've never had a problem doesn't make it non existent. No one is going to take away your new shiny monitor.

    Most companies run infrastructure to failure. That means fluorescent lights with magnetic ballast that flicker at 60 Hz x 2. Previously, an old CRT with worn out phosphors running at a close frequency would have very noticeable flicker. The beat frequency (difference or lack of sync between two rapidly flickering sources) is what matters. Personally I could see some flicker with a monitor under fluorescent lights up to 70 Hz. Some coworkers always left their CRTs at 60 (where flickering was most noticeable) and we're never bothered. LCDs with CFL backlights generally don't have Mich of an issue (high frequency driver due to size).

    I can see how an LED backlight with faulty circuitry could become an issue, especially if it has a flicker close to powerlines frequency. Again it would not be noticeable to everyone. That doesn't make it psychosomatic. Just means the guy who sees it has a slightly different visual cortex in hos brain from you (faster clock speed)? Stop throwing around this nonsense and accusing the OP of being allergic to WiFi too.

    By the way, if you ever work in a large company or government, you often will be stuck with degrading equipment for quite some time. Especially outside of IT.... I feel sorry for the OP if this is the case as if his boss can't see it, he's stuck with it until it breaks or he quits.

    Also someone mentioned LED lights on cats. Cars run off of DC, but voltage regulators and alternator can add a pulsation to any lighting.

  25. Re:No. Just No. on Nissan Develops Emergency Auto-Steering System · · Score: 1

    The less involved the drivers are the safer the system is. The system is safest when the driver cannot control the car at all.

    The Airbus school of thought.

    You can excees the design of the engines ib a Boeing aircraft in reverse thrust to stop it from overrruning the runway in emegency conditions. The engines will be damaged and need overhaul but you can avoid becoming a giant fireball. In an Airbus, you cannot.

    "If only the crew kept their sinning hands off of the controls"