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Comment Re:Right, that's the only reason (Score 1) 467

The President has not said nothing...

http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/The-President-on-Iran-The-World-is-Watching/
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/The-President-Meets-with-Prime-Minister-Berlusconi-Comments-on-Iran/

He is basically saying that if the US gets involved it no longer becomes about the Iranian people. And he is right.

Hardware Hacking

Making a Child Locating System 1092

celtic_hackr writes "Well, I never thought I'd be an advocate for placing GPS devices on people. However, since it took less than three days for my local school district to misplace my daughter, I have decided that something needs to be done. By the school district's own admission it has a recurring problem of placing children on the wrong buses. Fortunately, my daughter was located, with no thanks to the local school district. Therefore, I would like input on a way to be able to keep track of my child. I know there are personal tracking devices out there. I have nothing against these systems. But I want more than this. My specification are: 1) a small unobtrusive device I can place on my daughter, 2) an application to pull up on any computer, a map with a dot indicating the real-time position of my child, 3) a handheld device with the equivalent information, 4) [optional] a secure web application/plug-in I can install on my own domain allowing me to track her from anyplace in the world, 5) a means of turning it all off, 6) a Linux based solution of the above. I believe all the pieces for making such a system are out there. Has anyone built anything like this? Is there an open source solution? How would I go about building my own? Has anyone hacked any of these personal trackers before, to serve their own purposes? How does a tinfoil hat wearer engineer such a device to make sure Big-Brother isn't watching too? Can these devices be locked down so only certain devices can pick up the GPS location of an individual locator? What other recommendations do you have?"

Comment Re:When you call them (Score 1) 876

But this is reasonable. The user is telling the technician what they are experiencing, and expecting that the technician is expected to translate the symptom into what is wrong.

However, when it comes to computers, they are making a judgement of what the problem is, usually with incorrect vocabulary that tells you exactly their ability.

Please people, don't correct anyone on "The hard drive." It's not that big of deal, and it is a good canary for telling you how much you should listen to them.

Comment Re:orly? (Score 2, Interesting) 194

Point #1 is false.

Microsoft alternates paid updates to Office between years for Macintosh and Windows. There are features in each version that may not be in the other, so the statement that the Mac version is delayed is false. The Mac version lags behind the Windows one year, then the same happens to the Windows version behind the Mac the next.

Also, how is reason 3 justifiable based on 1 and 2? I would see this as the other way around (if point 1 were true.) Reason 3 dictates that Windows gets precedence, which would make sense for Microsoft to do, considering that it is their OS.

Comment Re:Baby crying (Score 4, Funny) 348

Umm, those of you without children probably think that a cry is some generic thing. It's not. I can tell my daughter's cry from other babies, and putting some pre-recorded sounds will probably not do anything other than have me pull out a yagi and hunt your ass down.

I'll play some pre-recorded crying to you when I find you. (after I make you cry.)

Comment Re:I'll stick to my r/c radio, thanks (Score 1) 105

I've landed R/C planes on fences when I thought I was coming down the runway because humans don't have depth perception after 20 or so feet, and rely on visual cues that don't exist in the air. (I've since learned to check the shadow of the plane.) I've also rebuilt the plane and flown it again. I know how tough a R/C landing is, and restate my point above...

Learn to land.

Comment Re:Just curious... (Score 1) 368

I had a run of fiber spliced at work last summer (we got rid of a trailer that had a patch panel in it.)

- First, they prep the cable by putting a case around the area to be spliced.
- Next they splice it, although it can't be a windy day because the splicer will not have consistent temps.

The machine heats up the ends, pushes them together, then pulls them back apart just enough that there is no bulge, but not enough that there is a thin spot either. It then tests the splice to make sure it is a good one. Finally the operator slides the sleeve over the splice and the machine heats it to shrink it in place.

- The operator then places the strand into the carrier within the case and does the next one.
- When all of the strands are done, he torques all of the seals on the case and fills it with nitrogen. It can then be buried.

Comment Re:Why our infrastructure is vulnerable (Score 1) 368

I know it's insensitive, but I have this running through my head as I read this...

Dr Ray Stantz: Fire and brimstone coming down from the skies! Rivers and seas boiling!
Dr. Egon Spengler: Forty years of darkness! Earthquakes, volcanoes...
Winston Zeddemore: The dead rising from the grave!
Dr. Peter Venkman: Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together... mass hysteria!

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