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Comment Re:worse than crapware (Score 1) 427

As with so many other things in life, there are degrees involve.

Not everyone who "doesn't want to be tracked" wishes to live in a log cabin in the forest. The fact that I have a smart phone doesn't imply permission to follow me around with a camera-equipped drone all day. And I might sometimes leave my phone at home when I go out, too.

Comment Re:Disabled (Score 1) 427

Indeed. I've "disabled" Flipboard on my Galaxy S3 several times, but it keeps on getting updated and showing up again.

What in the blue schmoo is Flipboard and why would I want it on my phone anyway? It seems like one of those things that I would install myself if I wanted it; since I didn't, I don't.

Submission + - 2015 Corvette Valet Mode Recorder illegal in some states (corvetteblogger.com)

innocent_white_lamb writes: The 2015 Corvette has a Valet Mode that records audio and video when someone other than the owner is driving the car. Activating the Valet Mode allows you to record front-facing video as well as capture audio from within the car so you can help keep your Corvette safe when itâ(TM)s in the hands of others.

Well it turns out that recording audio from within the car may be considered a felony in some states that require notice and consent to individuals that they are being recorded and now GM is sending notices out to dealerships and customers alerting them to this fact as well as promising a future update to the PDR system.

Comment Perhaps you got the wrong degree (Score 1) 1

There is a popular misconception that computer science == computer programming, and that is not the case.

It sounds like you got a degree in computer science but are looking for a job as a programmer. When you state your work was on a technical topic with little practical application... you have put your finger on the problem.

Comment Shades of the 1960's CIA "Acoustic kitty" (Score 5, Interesting) 110

Over $25 million dollars was spent to install a battery, transmitter and microphone into a cat, with an antenna in its tail.

They dropped the cat off to eavesdrop on two men in a park near the Soviet Embassy in Washington DC. The cat was hit and killed by a taxi while walking across the road.

The project was expensive, gruesome, and a failure. It was abandoned in 1967.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A...

http://mentalfloss.com/article...

Comment Re:Cash Needs To Go Away (Score 5, Informative) 753

"Cashless" is also a giant vacuum sucking service fees back to the banks and so on. Retailers pay a certain amount per transaction to a payment processor, even if you the customer don't pay directly. Think that doesn't come out of your pocket in the end through higher prices?

Just imagine how much money you would have if you got a penny for every transaction conducted in every North American Wal-mart for just one day -- you could retire several times over and still afford fuel for your yachts!

Are we really in that much of a hurry to keep giving more money to the banks?

Comment Re:Administrators (Score 4, Insightful) 538

I beg to disagree.

The largest collection of human knowledge ever assembled is right here on your desktop, and mine. I live in a rural area, and I can immediately look up pretty much anything that I'm interested in finding out, and get more information about it in more formats than were ever available to ANYONE in the 20th century or before, regardless of whether they were at a university or not.

There is absolutely no need to run to a library or purchase a book that may already be out of date.

Earlier today I watched a video demonstrating how a synchro-mesh transmission works. Never knew that before; never knew how a transmission worked at all, in fact. Now I do. Does that change my world view? Is it an earth-shattering accomplishment? No.

However, what I learn by reading and viewing thing online do enrich my life to a huge extent. How to write a computer program. How to waterproof a basement. When I'm reading a book (ebook) and come across a reference to Hadrian's Wall, I can immediately look it up and read more about that if I'm interested. And so on.

When provided with this huge pool of available knowledge, some folks use it to read about Brittany Spears. But that's not the only thing it's good for.

It's never been easier, cheaper and simpler to be an autodidact than it is today. You don't have to walk past your front door, unless you want to.

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It's a naive, domestic operating system without any breeding, but I think you'll be amused by its presumption.

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