Comment Re:It's like this. (Score 1) 878
Thanks. I saw it months ago on Facebook somewhere and didn't have the reference handy.
Comment Re:It's like this. (Score 4, Insightful) 878
Yes, punctuation may also convey meaning , but has a much shallower effect than grammar.
I beg to differ. Something as small as a comma can make a huge difference in the meaning of what is written. For example:
- — Stop clubbing baby seals: Cease beating baby seals with a club!
- — Stop clubbing baby, seals: Hey you seals! Stop beating that baby with a club!
- — Stop clubbing, baby seals: hey you baby seals! Stop going out dancing!
I'm not sure I would call that shallow. It may be a silly example, but it applies to real-life sentences as well.
Comment Quote (Score 1) 5
Slightly off-topic... but I find it amusing that the quote at the bottom of this page when I loaded it is: "Everyone was born right-handed. Only the greatest overcome it." My dad would have wholeheartedly agreed. Interesting topic, though. I'd never though about handedness in various countries... but then why would I... being a rightie.
Comment Let me finish that sentence for you (Score 1) 1127
...because if you don't have anything to hide... then you won't mind somebody watching your every move and posting it on YouTube.
Submission + - Crucial M4 SSDs fail after 5200 powered on hours (crucial.com)
An anonymous reader writes: FYI, after losing several of these in the past two days I figured it would be helpful for others to realize that this bug may be causing problems.
Crucial M4 drives will just "go away" after their internal SMART counter hits 5200 hours, after a reboot they will function for about one hour before going away again.
They claim to have firmware in the pipeline but that will do little for you until they release it in the next few weeks.
Crucial M4 drives will just "go away" after their internal SMART counter hits 5200 hours, after a reboot they will function for about one hour before going away again.
They claim to have firmware in the pipeline but that will do little for you until they release it in the next few weeks.
Submission + - Learn to code, it's fun and easy! (cnn.com)
Doofus writes: In another of an increasing number of opinion pieces I've seen in many places, an author is citing Bloomberg's promise to "learn to code" as a reason why everyone and his or her sibling should learn to write software.
Anyone else afraid of the rush of the unskilled masses into the coding trenches? Anyone else remember the flood of wanna-bes several years ago who were incapable of doing real programming but wanted the $ real coders were making?
Anyone else afraid of the rush of the unskilled masses into the coding trenches? Anyone else remember the flood of wanna-bes several years ago who were incapable of doing real programming but wanted the $ real coders were making?
Submission + - Shazam Player iPhone Apps Brings Lyrics Support (ihelplounge.com)
An anonymous reader writes: Shazam Player iPhone Apps Brings Lyrics Support. Shazam already well known among iPhone owners and iPod touch now offers Shazam Player (available on the U.S. store)
Submission + - 'Saturn on Steroids' Exoplanet Discovered? (discovery.com)
astroengine writes: "By analyzing the silhouette of an exoplanet passing in front of its parent star 420 light-years away, astronomers have discovered what may be a large gas giant world sporting a ring system. Could it be Saturn's twin? Possibly.
"When I first saw the light curve, I knew we had found a very weird and unique object," said University of Rochester astronomer Eric Mamajek. "After we ruled out the eclipse being due to a spherical star or a circumstellar disk passing in front of the star, I realized that the only plausible explanation was some sort of dust ring system orbiting a smaller companion — basically a 'Saturn on steroids.'""
"When I first saw the light curve, I knew we had found a very weird and unique object," said University of Rochester astronomer Eric Mamajek. "After we ruled out the eclipse being due to a spherical star or a circumstellar disk passing in front of the star, I realized that the only plausible explanation was some sort of dust ring system orbiting a smaller companion — basically a 'Saturn on steroids.'""
Submission + - IBM Shrinks Bit Size to 12 Atoms (computerworld.com)
Lucas123 writes: IBM researchers say they've been able to shrink the number of iron atoms it takes to store a bit of data from about one million to 12, which could pave the way for storage devices with capacities that are orders of magnitude greater than today's devices. Andreas Heinrich, who lead the IBM Research team on the project for five years, said the team used the tip of scanning tunneling microscope and unconventional antiferromagnetism to change the bits from zeros to ones. By combining 96 of the atoms, the researchers were able to create bytes — spelling out the word THINK. That solved a theoretical problem of how few atoms it could take to store a bit; now comes the engineering challenge: how to make a mass storage device perform the same feat as scanning tunneling microscope.
Submission + - New at CES: Augmented Reality Sunglasses by Vuzix (ecouterre.com)
fangmcgee writes: Augmented reality—the ability to superimpose virtual data onto real-world environments—is appealing in theory, but typical head-mounted displays have the subtlety of a sledgehammer to your forehead. Vusix, a video-eyewear company from Rochester, NY, has invented an electronic headset that looks—and works—like a pair of designer sunglasses. Unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week, the Internet-connected “Smart” device uses holographic film to serve interactive content right before your eyes. Besides changing the way you work and play, not to mention interact with your assorted gadgets, the Smart also has potential applications in military ops, emergency response, and disaster management.
Submission + - Is the number of Slashdotters on a steady decline? 1
An anonymous reader writes: If we look at some Google's stats on Google Trends and on Doubleclick, it looks like the number of Slashdotters has been dropping quite substantially for a while. What's happening?
Comment Re:If you cannot beat them (Score 1) 362
Not in this case. I prefer to consume the vegetarians a little lower on the food chain.
Comment Re:If you cannot beat them (Score 1) 362
Most of my favorite foods are vegetarians. :)
Comment Re:Missing TFP (Score 1) 1486
The first definition of faith at dictionary.com: confidence or trust in a person or thing. You're arguing that two synonyms don't mean the same thing. You can "disagree" all you want and make up your own meaning for words... but that doesn't change the facts.
Comment Re:No. (Score 1) 1486
So while you need to defer to other people in almost every part of your life, I don't think this qualifies as "faith". Do you "believe" in your CPA, or do you trust him enough to let him do your taxes for you because of his track record and reputation? Do you "believe" in your auto mechanic, or do you just trust that he won't screw up your brakes because of his track record and reputation? IMHO there is a big difference.
First definition of faith (from dictionary.com): n. confidence or trust in a person or thing.
As far as I can tell, you're arguing that two synonyms don't mean the same thing. Unless you are an expert in every possible area of study and accomplishment in the world... you have to believe/trust/have faith that other people know what they're doing and talking about... because you can't specialize in everything on earth.
