Follow Slashdot stories on Twitter

 


Forgot your password?
Close
typodupeerror
×

Comment Re:I never thought I'd live to see the day... (Score 1) 386

by coinreturn (#46834937) Attached to: iPad Fever Is Officially Cooling

Agreed. I have an iPad and an Android smartphone, and I am thinking of dumping the smartphone for the dumbest of dumb phones, which can only make phone calls and send SMS - and only needs to be charged once a week. I already have one of those as a travel emergency phone; I may switch my main number to it.

That's what I have. Oh, but good luck finding a phone without a camera. I don't think they exist anymore.
Android

OnePlus One Revealed: a CyanogenMod Smartphone 196

Posted by Soulskill from the new-kit-on-the-block dept.
An anonymous reader writes "Spec-wise, OnePlus One will go toe-to-toe with the latest flagship phones like the Galaxy S5, HTC One (M8), and Sony Xperia Z2. In some areas, it even surpasses them, and at a price point of $300. The One has the same 2.5 GHz Snapdragon 801 MSM8974AC SoC as the Samsung Galaxy S5, build quality similar to the HTC One (M8), and the large 3000+ mAh battery and Sony camera of the Xperia Z2. It also runs CyanogenMod 11S, which is based on Android 4.4."

Comment Re:Fuck Obamacare (Score 1) 723

by coinreturn (#46825761) Attached to: Can the ObamaCare Enrollment Numbers Be Believed?

They also said that the 2nd amendment guaranteed the right of private citizen's to own and carry firearms. That good enough for you that you will demand that your politicians stop trying to pass laws contrary to that opinion?

First, it is arms, not firearms. It does not specify or limit types of arms. However, the constitution does specify a framework for laws and judicial review. Therefore it is reasonable to allow laws to specify or limit types of arms (unless you think your next door neighbor has a right to have nuclear bombs).

Comment Re:Think it through. (Score 1) 467

by coinreturn (#46822685) Attached to: Survey: 56 Percent of US Developers Expect To Become Millionaires

Only a fool would count on it being there in another 25-30 years. Its already seeing the force of the boomer generation hit it. If you've got a million+ in capital at retirement I wouldn't be surprised that your social security will be stripped to zilch. I can hear the politicians bleating now... "we're paying middle class millionaires social security...is that worth a tax increase?"

That's what they were saying in the seventies and here it is 40 years later and still around. Seniors vote. Seriously, they vote.

Comment Re:Holy shit (Score 1) 467

by coinreturn (#46822585) Attached to: Survey: 56 Percent of US Developers Expect To Become Millionaires

The IRS max annual contribution to a 401(k) is $17,500. So unless you are getting a really tremendous return on your investments it may take a little longer than you think. Of course you can save in other retirement vehicles...

Um, no. The max pre-tax amount is $17,500. The max contribution from all sources (pre-tax, employer match, and post-tax) is $52,000. And if you're over 50, you can add another $5K.
The Courts

Supreme Court OKs Stop and Search Based On Anonymous 911 Tips 461

Posted by Unknown Lamer from the someone-said-you-were-a-sinner dept.
An anonymous reader writes "On Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that police officers are legally allowed to stop and search vehicles based solely on anonymous 911 tips. Justice Clarence Thomas, writing for the majority opinion, reasoned that 'a 911 call has some features that allow for identifying and tracking callers' as well as for recording their calls, both of which he believed gave anonymous callers enough reliability for police officers to act on their tips with reasonable suspicion against the people being reported.

The specific case before them involved an anonymous woman who called 911 to report a driver who forced her off the road. She gave the driver's license plate number and the make and model of his car as well as the location of the incident in question. Police officers later found him, pulled him over, smelled marijuana, and searched his car. They found 30 pounds of weed and subsequently arrested the driver. The driver later challenged the constitutionality of the arrest, claiming that a tip from an anonymous source was unreliable and therefore failed to meet the criteria of reasonable suspicion, which would have justified the stop and search. Five of the nine justices disagreed with him." The ruling itself (PDF).
Education

Supreme Court Upholds Michigan's Ban On Affirmative Action In College Admissions 410

Posted by Soulskill from the sensitive-subjects dept.
Hugh Pickens DOT Com writes: "The Supreme Court, by a vote of 6 — 2, has upheld a Michigan law banning the use of racial criteria in college admissions, finding that a lower court did not have the authority to set aside the measure approved in a 2006 referendum supported by 58% of voters. 'This case is not about how the debate about racial preferences should be resolved. It is about who may resolve it,' wrote Justice Anthony Kennedy. 'Michigan voters used the initiative system to bypass public officials who were deemed not responsive to the concerns of a majority of the voters with respect to a policy of granting race-based preferences that raises difficult and delicate issues.' Kennedy's core opinion in the Michigan case seems to exalt referenda as a kind of direct democracy that the courts should be particularly reluctant to disturb. This might be a problem for same-sex marriage opponents if a future Supreme Court challenge involves a state law or constitutional amendment enacted by voters.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor reacted sharply in disagreeing with the decision in a 58 page dissent. 'For members of historically marginalized groups, which rely on the federal courts to protect their constitutional rights, the decision can hardly bolster hope for a vision of democracy (PDF) that preserves for all the right to participate meaningfully and equally in self-government.' The decision was the latest step in a legal and political battle over whether state colleges can use race and gender as a factor in choosing what students to admit. Michigan has said minority enrollment at its flagship university, the University of Michigan, has not gone down since the measure was passed. Civil rights groups dispute those figures and say other states have seen fewer African-American and Hispanic students attending highly competitive schools, especially in graduate level fields like law, medicine, and science."
Cellphones

Google's Project Ara Could Bring PC-Like Hardware Ecosystem To Phones 139

Posted by Soulskill from the without-the-liquid-cooling-i-hope dept.
An anonymous reader writes "Now that Google's modular phone effort, Project Ara, looks a bit less like vaporware, people are starting to figure out its implications for the future of cellphones. One fascinating possibility is that it could transform the cellphone purchasing process into something resembling desktop computer purchasing. Enthusiasts could search out the individual parts they like the best and assemble them into cellphone Voltron. People who just want a decent phone with no hassle could look at pre-built offerings — and not just from Apple, Samsung, and the like. It could open up a whole new group of phone 'manufacturers.' Of course, this comes with drawbacks, too — if you think fragmentation is bad now, imagine trying to support thousands of different hardware combinations."
United States

The US Public's Erratic Acceptance of Science 600

Posted by Soulskill from the pi-is-exactly-3 dept.
An anonymous reader writes "The U.S. general population is often the butt of jokes with regard to their understanding of science. A survey by the Associated Press now shows just how arbitrary and erratic the public's dissent can be. 'The good news is that more than 80 percent of those surveyed are strongly confident that smoking causes cancer; only four percent doubt it. Roughly 70 percent accepted that we have a genome and that mental illness is seated in the brain; about 20 percent were uncertain on these subjects, and the doubters were few. But things go downhill from there. Only about half of the people accepted that vaccines are safe and effective, with 15 percent doubting. And that's one of the controversial topics where the public did well. As for humanity's role in climate change, 33 percent accepted, 28 percent were unsure, and 37 percent fell in the doubter category. For a 4.5-billion-year-old Earth and a 13.8-billion-year-old Big Bang, acceptance was below 30 percent. Fully half of the public doubted the Big Bang (PDF).'"

Slashdot Top Deals

Say "twenty-three-skiddoo" to logout.

Close