Comment Re:You cannot fine that which does not have a numb (Score 1) 614
Why can't we have a phone number whitelist just like I have for MAC addresses on my wireless router? Everything else dumps to VM.
Submission + - First evidence of gravity waves (redorbit.com) 1
gewalker writes: "This is supposed to be published soon in "The Astrophysical Journal Letters", but in short researchers claim they have detected gravity waves from the husks of 2 stars 3000 light years away. They are losing energy and circling each other faster over time as the gravity waves remove energy from the orbits of the pair. This energy loss agrees with the prediction of general relativity — not a direct observation of gravity waves."
Submission + - Obama: Web freedom will be part of Democratic platform (cnn.com)
NeverVotedBush writes: On Wednesday, during a visit with some of the most ardent open-Web supporters, President Barack Obama said Democrats will make a free and open Internet part of their party's 2012 platform.
"Internet freedom is something I know you all care passionately about; I do too," Obama wrote during an AMA ("ask me anything") on social-news site Reddit. "We will fight hard to make sure that the Internet remains the open forum for everybody — from those who are expressing an idea to those to want to start a business."
"Internet freedom is something I know you all care passionately about; I do too," Obama wrote during an AMA ("ask me anything") on social-news site Reddit. "We will fight hard to make sure that the Internet remains the open forum for everybody — from those who are expressing an idea to those to want to start a business."
Submission + - Hard drive makers recover, but prices remain high (pcpro.co.uk) 1
nk497 writes: "Hard drive manufacturers have mostly recovered from last year's floods, with production levels back to normal — but prices haven't fallen back to pre-flood levels. Last year, Samsung's Spinpoint F3 1TB drive was £49; when the floods hit it jumped as high as £109. That device is now available for about £65. Analyst Fang Zhang suggested prices might be propped up by consolidation in the market; a pair of big acquisitions last year have left the market with only three major players, Western Digital, Seagate and Toshiba."
Comment Neal Stephenson hits another one (Score 3, Interesting) 115
The Diamond Age begins.
Submission + - Who's Buying Your Congressman? (itworld.com)
itwbennett writes: "A new site called SopaTrack, created by ex-Googler Randy Meech, 'shines the light on whose votes are for sale, and for how much'. Blogger Dan Tynan spent some time poking around SopaTrack and found 'four US Congressfolk have perfect 100 percent records, which means they favor the bills that put more greenbacks in their campaign coffers every single time.'"
Comment Re:The interesting thing (Score 2) 107
Most myths have an element of truth in them.
This is a myth.
Comment Re:So what? (Score 1) 360
Maybe the answer is that the company also can't hire anyone to do your old job for the same six months.
Comment Futurama Reference (Score 1) 38
Oh well, we can always build more Kilobots
Comment Vader? (Score 1) 350
He's more machine than man now
Comment Re:Need more (Score 1) 576
I went to IKEA to outfit my liberry. Billy bookcases don't look bad and there are billions of them so odds are I will be able to find more if I need to expand.
Comment Re:Student Loan Forgiveness Plan (Score 1) 1259
Also go to work for the Federal government. They have loan forgiveness programs.
How do I know? I am one.
Comment Re:credit-unworthy or just greedy? (Score 1) 1259
Charging a higher interest rate for "credit-unworthy" people makes it more likely that they'll default, making it a self-fulfilling prophecy.
This is only true if you assume that people have no choice but to borrow. Young people have a choice. They can decide not to borrow an insane amount of money at an unaffordable interest rate. Higher interest is the market's way of signaling: "Are you SURE you want to borrow?" In most cases, if you can't afford the loan, there's a reason. Going to any college that you want isn't a right.
Comment Like in the Deal (Score 1) 1259
None of this should be a surprise. Part of getting treated like an adult means making rational decisions. I'm frustrated by the high price of higher education, but until people start looking at the pricetag and saying "Jeez, no thanks!" then the demand will be there to drive 10% a year price increases. A lot of people have complained to me about their loans, but no one forced them to make that decision. They apparently thought that going to that expensive school was worth the cost. Instead of complaining about having to pay those debts, they should be thanking their stars that they were able to GO to college (many people don't) and have the opportunities that affords. If they spent 80K$ on an English degree, that implies they thought that they could pay it off with whatever job they could get with that degree. If they made a bad decision, why shouldn't they have to undergo the consequences? Sounds like college is teaching them a lesson even after they graduate.
Comment Where does he get such wonderful toys? (Score 1) 422
I think they took it literally when NASA said they would "Go to bat" for the space program
