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Comment Drop Comic Sans in favor of what? (Score 1) 387

I've always hated cursive. It's always sloppy, impossible to read, and for the last 30 years has done nothing but piss me off. I'm glad to see it dead.

Unless you speak Arabic, in which case you even have to type in cursive.

Next up, comic sans.

If not Comic Sans, then which font to simulate neat manuscript writing would you recommend? Is Comic Neue fine?

Comment Updates (Score 1) 119

Barring a standard port like a cablecard slot that lets me plug an embedded computer into my TV

There is a standard port. It's called MHL.

You can build a SFF PC for under $100 that will play 1080p video just fine. Why would you ever buy a smart TV?

If you build a PC, you have the maintenance headache of keeping the PC's operating system and applications up to date. And in case you figure that out, which parts do you use for a $100 SFF PC so that I can recommend them to others?

Comment Re:Shifted to PVR or just not watching (Score 1) 224

The change was I switched from downloading TV shows after they have aired to PVR'ing every series I might want to watch.

PVR works so long as what you want to watch is shown on TV. But there are a lot of movies and TV series that aren't shown on TV, DVD, or streaming. How is one supposed to lawfully watch the film Song of the South, the film Pinocchio and the Emperor of the Night, or the TV series Spartakus and the Sun Beneath the Sea?

Comment Pub + 50 vs. life + 50 (Score 1) 224

The Berne Convention treaty requires a minimum of 50 years.

No, it requires a minimum of life + 50 years.

You're both right. Most motion pictures are works made for hire. Berne defines "life of the author" as zero years when determining the copyright term for a work made for hire. US law defines it as 25 years after publication or 50 years after creation, whichever is sooner.

Comment Trademark dilution; nominative fair use (Score 2) 81

Since trademarks don't apply outside the market the trademark is for

Unless the mark is "famous". Then a separate cause of action called "trademark dilution" comes into play.

Since trademarks don't apply to use of the mark to denote the product.

This is what U.S. trademark case law calls "nominative fair use". But the applicability of this defense varies from country to country. In Germany, for example, I've read that comparative advertising is prohibited. The BBC operates in Great Britain; does it recognize nominative fair use?

Since trademarks are to stop people confusing products that "are similar" and nobody will mistake a BBC documentary for an interactive computer game.

The confusion would be between a computer game and an authorized film adaptation of said game.

Comment Inconsistency among states is the problem (Score 1) 837

In my state, if a traffic signal is not working it is to be treated as a 4-way stop. For all intents and purposes, a dead red is not a working traffic signal

You don't decide what "is not a working traffic signal". A judge does, based on whatever traffic statutes are in effect for a particular jurisdiction. For example, I've read that in Great Britain, a cyclist or motorist at a stuck signal is expected to make a U-turn and find another route, or call the police and wait for whatever they call police officers there to flag the road user through the intersection. I don't claim to be an expert on traffic signal laws in all fifty U.S. states, but I am not aware of anything prohibiting a U.S. state from adopting a hard-line approach like that of Great Britain. This article lists sixteen states that allow cyclists to proceed with caution against an overly long red light; I presume the others do not. So unless and until there comes to be more agreement among states on the conditions under which a signal is legally "in a state of malfunction", such as inclusion of guidance in a revision to the Uniform Vehicle Code, this will cause cyclists who cross state lines to inadvertently commit crimes.

Comment Fighter pilots (Score 1, Informative) 50

But I don't think people with normal abilities will be trading in their limbs just to be able walk a little longer, run a little faster, or carry more weight.

You might see fighter pilots getting this done in order to avoid blacking out at high g-forces when the blood drains out into the legs. Examples include Sir Douglas Bader, who rejoined the RAF after losing his legs in an accident, and Super NES-era Fox McCloud, who is depicted in an illustration on the cover of Nintendo Power as having metal legs.

Comment Lighter socket in a positive-ground vehicle (Score 1) 837

My car doesn't have a 12V outlet, you insensitive clod (and if it did, the polaritity would be reversed) -- car built in '57, with positive ground wiring.

Then reverse the wires going to the receptacle. An ANSI/SAE J563 receptacle in a positive-ground vehicle would have -12 to -15 V on the can and ground on the tip.

Comment Signals, zoning, and subsidizing transit (Score 1) 837

They can bike or walk or take the bus.

That depends on 1. signal sets that can detect bicycles rather than leaving them at a dead red, 2. zoning policies that encourage pedestrianism, and 3. paying bus drivers for a minimal level of service even during low-ridership periods, such as nights, Sundays, and holidays. Is Oregon willing to invest in all three of these?

a battery pack is heavier

True, a 500 kg Tesla model S battery is heavier than the 30 kg of gasoline in a 40 L tank. But is an electric motor and drivetrain also heavier than a gasoline engine and drivetrain?

Comment Fourth power rule of thumb (Score 5, Informative) 837

Road wear is often estimated as the fourth power of axle weight. So I imagine the final regulation will include road wear as a factor. Incidentally, this rule of thumb is sometimes cited as why cyclists aren't taxed. A 200 pound* bicycle causes one ten-thousandth of the wear that a 2000 pound car causes, which means cyclists' contribution to road wear would likely be too small to collect.

* Occupied weight

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