Comment Re:You go old timer! (Score 2) 336
When you have all of the schematics it isn't too difficult to support the hardware yourself, assuming you're running one of the older TTL CPUs. That, and/or a huge storeroom of spares, and you're set.
How Colleges Are Pushing Out the Poor To Court the Rich 668
An anonymous reader writes "A change from 'need' based financial aid to a 'merit' based system coupled with a 'high tuition, high aid,' model is making it harder for poor students to afford college. According to The Atlantic: 'Sometimes, colleges (and states) really are just competing to outbid each other on star students. But there are also economic incentives at play, particularly for small, endowment-poor institutions. "After all," Burd writes, "it's more profitable for schools to provide four scholarships of $5,000 each to induce affluent students who will be able to pay the balance than it is to provide a single $20,000 grant to one low-income student." The study notes that, according to the Department of Education's most recent study, 19 percent of undergrads at four-year colleges received merit aid despite scoring under 700 on the SAT. Their only merit, in some cases, might well have been mom and dad's bank account.'"
Comment Re:Grades grammar not content. A.I. not ready yet. (Score 1) 253
The point of that sentence is that it is obviously counterfactual, yet E-Rater gave him a top score for the insightful essay in which it was contained.
J.J. Abrams To Direct Star Wars VII 735
azzkicker writes "It looks like J.J. Abrams will direct Star Wars VII. From the article: 'Sources have confirmed the Star Trek Into Darkness filmmaker will helm the next Star Wars movie, the highly anticipated installment in the landmark franchise scheduled to reach theaters in 2015."
Comment Re:ABS solid doodles are STRONG. (Score 3, Interesting) 70
The general process that includes lost-wax casting is called investment casting, and while it can be done with ABS, it requires the mold to be baked off in a kiln capable of much higher temperatures than with wax. Burning ABS at home probably isn't a good idea either. I'm not sure about how other materials would work.
Comment Re:How to shred (Score 2) 180
You can use your incinerator to run absorption cycle chillers, then.
Comment I've worked in the industry for almost 20 years (Score 1) 239
...and the old saw about racing comes to mind:
How do you make a small fortune in rural broadband?
Start with a large fortune.
Comment Re:AGPL, legally weaker than a EULA. (Score 1) 53
The MAI court held that 17 USC 117(a) wasn't applicable because the end-users were licensees--regardless of Peak's actions as a repair technician. Also see Vernor v. Autodesk for more on the difference between owner and licensee rights.
Comment Re:AGPL, legally weaker than a EULA. (Score 2) 53
IANAL, but I think the AGPL is pretty solid. The Ninth Circuit held in MAI v. Peak that copying software into RAM for execution is indeed copying, and the provisions of 17 USC 117(a) don't apply to mere licensees (as opposed to copyright owners). Being that the AGPL license, which allows you to use, copy, and modify the software, only remains valid if you continue to comply with its terms, you are infringing copyright by continuing to copy the software into RAM for purposes of executing it if you're not abiding by the license. You have no right to copy the software otherwise.
Comment Re:Nice tagline... (Score 1) 407
Then again, without a girl in the picture, you don't much need birth control...
Comment Re:Oracle doesn't care about developer people (Score 1) 336
Or, even worse, the practically impossible combination of FreeBSD, IIS, Sybase and Tcl. Ouch!
Comment Re:Who's this CowboyNeal? (Score 5, Funny) 148
I'm skeptical of low IDs--back in the day, you were distrustful of identifying yourself and all the cool people stayed anonymous.
Chrome Hacked In 5 Minutes At Pwn2Own 169
Skuto writes "After offering a total prize fund of up to $1M for a successful Chrome hack, it seems Google got what it wanted (or not!). No more than 5 minutes into the Pwn2Own cracking contest team Vupen exploited 2 Chrome bugs to demonstrate a total break of Google's browser. They will win at least 60k USD out of Google's prize fund, as well as taking a strong option on winning the overall Pwn2Own prize. It also illustrates that Chrome's much lauded sandboxing is not a silver bullet for browser security."
Congress Voting To Repeal Incandescent Bulb Ban 990
Bob the Super Hamste writes "CNN Money is running as story about a bill Congress is going to vote on today to repeal the 'incandescent light bulb ban' that was put into place during the Bush administration. The bill is supported by Republicans in Congress who are claiming this places unnecessary restrictions on the market. For those of you wondering, it does bring up the standard issues of energy efficiency, mercury (in both the bulbs and that emitted by coal power), and cost of the bulbs. The bill was introduced by Texas Congressman Joe Barton."
Requiring Algebra II In High School Gains Momentum 490
ChadHurley writes with this quote from the Washington Post:
"Of all of the classes offered in high school, Algebra II is the leading predictor of college and work success, according to research that has launched a growing national movement to require it of graduates. In recent years, 20 states and the District have moved to raise graduation requirements to include Algebra II, and its complexities are being demanded of more and more students. The effort has been led by Achieve, a group organized by governors and business leaders and funded by corporations and their foundations, to improve the skills of the workforce. Although US economic strength has been attributed in part to high levels of education, the workforce is lagging in the percentage of younger workers with college degrees, according to the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development."
