Comment Re:Call me old fashion (Score 1) 156
Ok, you're old fashioned.
This was a thing, yes, but only for that brief period when you actually got your slashdot id. Since then? Not so much
--Q
Comment Andy Grove (Score 1) 103
> Arthur Rock, Mike Markkula and Andy Grove put up plenty of money to fund Apple Computer
I'd never heard that Andy Grove had funded Apple. Markkula sure.
Is this true? I can't find it mentioned elsewhere. Interesting tidbit if true.
--Q
Comment Re:Supreme Court = High Court (Score 1) 129
The Mother Country. Most Commonwealth countries traditionally could appeal back to "the Queen in Council" to have decisions settled by the highest Court in "the land" as it were.
See:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judicial_Committee_of_the_Privy_Council
--Q
Comment Re:Supreme Court = High Court (Score 1) 129
You're wrong, sorry to say
Yes, in 1912 it did - but until the Statute of Westminster we were essentially not independent and cases this far back on these issues have little relevance today. By pre-dating the Australia Acts I meant the Privy Council (Limitation of Appeals) Act 1968 & the Privy Council (Appeals from the High Court) Act 1975 - which closed it off as an avenue from the High Court (except in a particular circumstance that the UK Parliament closed off when they passed their own Australia Act stopping the States going to the Privy Council).
The legislative effect of these was that you must have a certificate of the High Court to go to the Privy Council and the High Court will not grant one. s74 may as well be void.
--Q
Comment Re:Supreme Court = High Court (Score 3, Informative) 129
No, there isn't.
The Australia Acts (Federal and State) removed appeal to the Privy Council in the 80s for Australians.
The High Court doesn't and can't grant an appeal to the Privy Council (and this predates even the Australia Acts).
--Q
Comment Re:Good.... (Score 4, Informative) 129
Just to be more of a pedant, Supreme Courts aren't really below the Federal Court. You can't appeal a decision of a Supreme Court to the Federal Court. They're different jurisdictions.
--Q
Comment Re:Good.... (Score 3, Interesting) 129
> The supreme court is the highest court in each state
This is only sort of true (at least in NSW, but I assume elsewhere too?).
You can appeal a decision of the NSW Supreme Court to the NSW Court of Appeal. However, the Court of Appeal is a branch of the Supreme Court in the they're established.
Many corporate issues, trade practices and IR cases are also heard in State courts. It depends on the case in point
--Q
Comment Supreme Court = High Court (Score 5, Informative) 129
Apple have sought leave to appeal to the High Court of Australia, Australia's highest court. So it's like the Supreme Court in the US - there are no appeals beyond that, and they get to pick and choose what cases they take, so there is little certainty Apple will get anywhere appealing now.
(The Supreme Court usage in the summary is misleading to Australians because Supreme Courts here are State-based courts.)
This is a good ruling I think. You could readily buy the 10.1 here online (ebay etc) and have it shipped to you - cheaper than you'd pay a local retailer too. If there is merit to Apple's case they'll be able to get damages down the line for the patent infringement.
--Q
Comment Re:Maths from Islam (Score 1) 254
Doh. Login fail
--Q
Submission + - Software Controlling Humans - Freelancer.com API (newscientist.com)
An anonymous reader writes: IF YOU'VE ever joked about your boss being a robot, stop laughing, they soon could be. A web service has launched that allows software algorithms to automatically recruit, hire and pay workers to do a wide variety of tasks.
"For the last 60 years, humans have controlled software — now we're getting to the stage where software can control humans," says Matt Barrie of Australian website Freelancer.com.
The website normally provides a forum for companies wanting to outsource their work. Now it has been upgraded so that developers can write software to post job adverts on the site, take on respondents and pay them for the results without human input.
For example, a program written for a store with a large inventory could automatically recruit salespeople to sell its products and send more work the way of people that do the best job.
Because the software is doing the commissioning and assessing the results, it avoids the need for a company to hire other people to rate the work that was done.
Barrie says there are enough programmers on the site's books for it to be possible to write software that can even improve itself, by recruiting people to improve its own code.
"For the last 60 years, humans have controlled software — now we're getting to the stage where software can control humans," says Matt Barrie of Australian website Freelancer.com.
The website normally provides a forum for companies wanting to outsource their work. Now it has been upgraded so that developers can write software to post job adverts on the site, take on respondents and pay them for the results without human input.
For example, a program written for a store with a large inventory could automatically recruit salespeople to sell its products and send more work the way of people that do the best job.
Because the software is doing the commissioning and assessing the results, it avoids the need for a company to hire other people to rate the work that was done.
Barrie says there are enough programmers on the site's books for it to be possible to write software that can even improve itself, by recruiting people to improve its own code.
Comment Lol? Sif it will happen. (Score 4, Insightful) 280
Politics might be stupid in Australia, like lots of places. But no, it won't go the same was as China.
We have transparency and rule of law.
However fucked out Communications Minister might be.
--Q
Comment Re:err, why? (Score 1) 376
Ironically the same cannot be said fro blackberry, which is only available from Telstra.
I've had a blackberry (well, various handsets) for many years through Optus. They're also at least available through Vodafone.
Agreed on our iphone though. Not only can get them from any of the carriers, you can also just buy them outright and unlocked from Apple.
--Q
Hacker Jeff Moss Sworn Into Homeland Security Advisory Council 139
Wolfgang Kandek writes "Hacker Jeff Moss, founder of computer security conferences DEFCON and Black Hat, has been sworn in as one of the new members of the Homeland Security Advisory Council (HSAC) of the DHS. Moss, who goes by the handle 'the Dark Tangent' says he was surprised to be asked to join the council and that he was nominated to bring an 'outside perspective' to its meetings. He said, 'I know there is a new-found emphasis on cybersecurity, and they're looking to diversify the members and to have alternative viewpoints. I think they needed a skeptical outsider's view because that has been missing.'"
Comment Re:Fucking Morons (Score 1) 254
FUCK 'EM IF THEY CAN'T TAKE A FUCKING JOKE!
If you can't take a joke from Brad Templeton you've definitely got issues
rhf - the net's oldest blog (at least if you buy into Brad's theory
--Q
Comment Re:The real article, and what it does and doesn't (Score 3, Insightful) 509
> That leaves me thinking: what does this article tell us that we couldn't find out ourselves by ripping through some prime numbers?
Nothing?
The important thing is that they ripped through some prime numbers and did notice, and they were the first to publish what they noticed.
The world moves forward in tiny steps like this. Maybe the next mathematician gets his 'Ahuh' moment on the back of an insight like this and bang modern crypto is fucked. He might even be able to prove it for you.
--Q
