Comment Re:Hahaha (Score 4, Funny) 180
Can I get an invite? From someone? Please? I've been wanting to try out gmail for so long. You can contact me through my blog on Blogger...
Comment Making it easy on purpose? (Score 1) 303
There is a possibility that people choose questions and answers that their nearest kin or friends could actually guess. In case of emergency or in the event of my death, there is the possibility that I would want my family to be able to access my main email.
Not all of my email, but definitely my main one...
Comment like, whatever (Score 2, Interesting) 311
One day I said to my 16-year-old daughter, "Hey, cute bracelet" and she says, "It's my flash drive."
I remember being amazed and a bit amused when you could get a Swiss Army knife with a USB drive. That was cool. But it's hard, and kind of interesting in weird sort of way, to see tech relegated to the fashion accessory of a teen girl.
Comment What if he hadn't purchased it on Ebay? (Score 1) 665
What if someone bought it from the company and gave it to him as gift? Is he still under the same burden to prove it was purchased legally?
IMHO, I feel the company is being ridiculous. Refusing to sell people spare parts and accusing them of being a thief is, at worst, stupid and insulting and at best bound to lose them a customer.
Comment Re:Public education... (Score 1) 1322
Building a case for dismissal is so time-consuming, costly and draining for principals and administrators that many say they don't make the effort except in the most egregious cases. The vast majority of firings stem from blatant misconduct, including sexual abuse, other immoral or illegal behavior, insubordination or repeated violation of rules such as showing up on time.
Either the journalist is a product of the LA school system or the LA school system mandates that teachers show up late.
Oh what nitpicking.
The predicate of this fragment refers to the rule, ie., "showing up on time". The subject refers to violation of said rule. The way you would have phrased it, it would have actually read that the rule was showing up late.
This is not subjective. Your way would have been wrong and the journalist is correct.
Comment Re:Difficult to Define a "Good" Teacher (Score 1) 1322
If you took those well-off Asian-Americans and put them in the same situation as the perpetually poor in the U.S., the majority of them would eventually rise out of that level again.
How can you not see that ingrained stereotypes like this would foster them being able to rise out of that poverty faster?
Fighting overt racism is easy. Fighting BS like this is so much harder.
Comment Re:Difficult to Define a "Good" Teacher (Score 1) 1322
I cannot believe that this bigoted claptrap was modded insightful.
Saying that all of African American culture "rejects learning -- and rejects Western culture in general" is ridiculously false and insulting.
Where do you people get this stuff? Rush Limbaugh? Get a clue. There are far too many factors that influence whether or not people take advantage of being able to get an education. At best, race is a very poor determinant of those factors - at worst, your limited view paints a very wide & racist brush over people you obviously know nothing about.
Comment Re:Did you even read the summary? (Score 1) 740
Summary says: "...to hunt down uninsured motorists"
I've got no sympathy at all for uninsured motorists.
OK. I don't have car insurance.
This is not some slashdot hypothetical. I truly don't have car insurance and I honestly cannot afford it. My paycheck just covers basic needs. Groceries, utilities and yes, gas because I have to get to work and truly the bus system won't do.
Some people are poor. Very poor. Work their asses off and still poor. And you can blame it on life choices or whatever the hell but you can still do your best and still be broke by the American Dream standard or even half that.
Now OP and his cosigners with their self-righteous indignation - "I don't have sympathy for uninsured drivers" - cuz...what? They're the scum of the Earth? Or they simply can't afford what has become a ridiculous racket enforced by the government? Just like traffic fines these amount to a regressive tax on people who simply do not maintain the same standard of living you do.
Really want to post this as anon but can't bring myself to do that so wtf. Tired of the ridiculous notion that cuz I don't have the same ends as other people I should be ashamed.
Comment Re:i like the idea of the kindle (Score 1) 398
You know, I never really wanted or cared much about a Kindle Reader til I just read your post.
As an, ahem, older returning student, I picked up my third term books the other day. They handed me the first book and I was fine. Books two and three I felt a twinge. By the time I was holding books four - six as well, my back was went completely "out" - I was unable to walk or move without severe pain.
This has never happened to me before and I've since invested in one of those annoying little roller bags but having all my books on a card seems quite an attractive option to spending two days incapacitated.
Comment Re:Curious to see where this one goes... (Score 2, Interesting) 219
Okay, so I get a $20 coupon. The 8600GT in my MacBook Pro failed this week in a way which is strongly consistent with the other reports.
The laptop is 3 months out of warranty so it's going to cost me around $1200 to get it fixed, when this appears to be a result of a manufacturing defect.
You desktop jockeys might just be able to slot in a new card and write it down to experience, but laptops are affected too. It appears my options are limited to:
- Hoping Apple's "legendary" customer service comes through and they agree to repay the cost of replacing the motherboard, graphics chip and all
- Er.
- Loss?
Sony Thinks Blu-ray Will Sell Like DVDs by Year End 434
An anonymous reader writes "Sony CEO Ryoji Chubachi knows something we don't. At a press conference, he announced Sony's plan to increase Blu-ray market share to 50% of all movie discs by the end of the year. 'DVD and BD currently account for about 80% and 20%, respectively, of global demand for movie discs, Chubachi indicated. The new BD devices to be offered by Sony include models integrating an HD LCD TV with BD recording functionality, Chubachi pointed out. Sony has relied mainly on the PlayStation 3 (PS3) to promote BD, and sales of the game console will increase along with the offering by top Hollywood studios of new BD movies, Chubachi noted. However, Sony will extend its BD promotion from the current focus on the PS3 and BD players/recorders to IT devices, Chubachi pointed out.'"
British Village Requests Removal From GPS Maps 539
longacre writes "The tiny village of Barrow Gurney, England, has asked GPS map publisher Tele Atlas to remove them from the company's maps. The reason: truck drivers using GPS navigation devices are being directed to drive through the town despite the roads being too narrow for sidewalks, which has led to numerous accidents. At the root of the problem lies the fact that the navigation maps used by trucks are the same as those used by passenger cars, and they don't contain data on road width or no-truck zones. Tele Atlas says they will release truck-appropriate databases at some point, but until then they advise local governments to make use of a technology dating back to the Romans: road signs."
Super-Magnet Sheds Light on Semiconductors 64
Stony Stevenson writes "A group of researchers at Florida state have demonstrated a magnet design that could shed new light on nanoscience and semiconductor research. 'The Split Florida Helix magnet can direct and scatter laser light at a sample down the centre of the magnet and from four ports on the sides. Due to become fully operational in 2010, the device can generate fields above 25 tesla. The highest-field split magnet in the world currently attains 18 tesla ... The scientists will be able to expand the scope of their experimental approach, learning more about the intrinsic properties of materials by shining light on crystals from angles not previously available in such high magnetic fields.'"
Submission + - Imprisonment without trial proposed in UK (bbc.co.uk)
An anonymous reader writes: According to a BBC article, the head of the UK Association of Chief Police Officers has asked for terrorism suspects to be held "for as long as it takes" to finish an investigation, without being charged, without being given a trial, and with no upper limit to the time this could go on for. I, for one, would be more afraid of the police than of the terrorists if they were given this power.
Submission + - Is Your Printer Spying on You?
gnujoshua writes: "In 2005, the EFF alerted the world to how laser printers are spying their users by providing tracking information in the form of a unique smattering of barely detectable yellow dots that appear on every printout. Revitalizing this issue, the Computing Counter Culture Group at the MIT Media Labs has launched Seeing Yellow. They provide instructions to see the tracking dots, as well as provide you with a list of clever questions, and appropriate contact information so that you can confront your laser printer manufacturer. Let's act before this issue slips through the cracks again and send the message that manufacturers' must respect our privacy and our right to anonymous free speech."
