Want to read Slashdot from your mobile device? Point it at m.slashdot.org and keep reading!

 



Forgot your password?
typodupeerror
×

Comment Re:What do you bet... (Score 1) 509

Yep, you summed it up just right.

NORMAL human beings will not let petty arguments escalate.
MOST people have the self control not to pull out a gun.

The problem is there are over 300 Million people in the U.S. (If that's where you are from). Give guns to most people and that small percentage of people that WOULD let things get out of control WILL NOW have an easy time taking it to that level.

I am not a gun control advocate. I'm just pointing out that if you take all of the times that people get heated and out of control in the entire U.S. in a single day, or lets say in a week, think about adding a gun to that equation. You don't think the percentage of shootings would be higher?

Again, that's not a reason to ban guns, I was just making a point. If you want to fight for less gun laws, you shouldn't just completely ignore or refute the point I'm making, but find a way to reduce the number of shootings/killings that occur.

Comment Re:What do you bet... (Score 1) 509

Your comparisons are not accurate. How many times do the police shoot someone because they mistakenly think a person is about to shoot them? They are trained for those instances so how do you think an angry person is going to react when the person they are arguing with starts to pull out their gun? It quickly becomes a life or death situation that comes down to who can pull out their gun faster and shoot, regardless of whether or not the person who first went for their gun intended to use it.

Having a gun right by your side that you can quickly pull out and use is different than looking for a big rock, picking it up, walking back to the person, and beating them to death with it. Running someone down with a car is also not a good comparison (see above paragraph).

Comment Re:What do you bet... (Score 1) 509

I don't agree at all. How many times do people argue and physically fight? It's very difficult to kill someone with your bear hands, unless you really want to. It may not be so hard to get so pissed off you pull out your gun and start shooting before you have time to think about what you're doing.

Think about all the fights you see in HS, College, Bars, Sports events! Try giving all those people guns and then see what happens.

Data Storage

Windows 7 Hard Drive and SSD Performance Analyzed 248

bigwophh writes "Despite the fact that Windows 7 is based on many of the same core elements as Vista, Microsoft claims it is a different sort of animal and that it should be looked at in a fresh, new light, especially in terms of performance. With that in mind, this article looks at how various types of disks perform under Windows 7, both the traditional platter-based variety and newer solid state disks. Disk performance between Vista and Win7 is compared using a hard drive and an SSD. SSD performance with and without TRIM enabled is tested. Application performance is also tested on a variety of drives. Looking at the performance data, it seems MS has succeeded in improving Windows 7 disk performance, particularly with regard to solid state drives."
Space

Submission + - Active glacier found on Mars (bbc.co.uk) 1

FireFury03 writes: "The European Space Agency's Mars Express spacecraft has spotted an icy feature which appears to be a young active glacier. Dr Gerhard Neukum (what a cool name :), chief scientist on the spacecraft's High Resolution Stereo Camera said "We have not yet been able to see the spectral signature of water. But we will fly over it in the coming months and take measurements. On the glacial ridges we can see white tips, which can only be freshly exposed ice". Estimates place the glacier at 10,000 — 100,000 years old."
Wireless Networking

Submission + - Unlimited gall to cost Verizon $1 million (networkworld.com)

netbuzz writes: Unlimited really means unlimited, even in advertising. So says the New York State Attorney General's Office in squeezing a $1 million settlement out of Verizon Wireless for disconnecting 13,000 of its customers who had the temerity to believe that the unlimited service they were promised came with unlimited service. Verizon's statement explaining the settlement is a gem, too.

http://www.networkworld.com/community/node/20981

Media

Submission + - Radiohead Made $6-$10 Million on Album (wired.com)

mytrip writes: "Thom Yorke's representative told me that the band have "decided not to give out any figures" for sales of Radiohead's In Rainbows album, but that isn't stopping people from making their best guesses based on what little information is available.

The Seminal estimates that Radiohead sold about $10 million-worth of albums as of 10/12, assuming that their source was correct that approximately 1.2 million people downloaded the album from the site, and that the average price paid per album was $8 (we heard that number too, but also heard that a later, more accurate average was $5, which would result in $6 million in revenue instead)."

Media

Submission + - NYT and LAT talk up 'crowdsourcing'

netbuzz writes: "Suddenly "crowdsourcing" is a hot mainstream media topic. The NY Times profiles Assignment Zero, an "experimental" journalism site launched by NYU professor Jay Rosen and Wired magazine. Meanwhile, the left-coast Times shines a spotlight on a band of blogger/journalists for which crowdsourcing has long been simply a tool in the belt. TalkingPointsMemo has used the technique to break news in the ongoing scandal over unjustified firings of U.S. Attorneys, as well as to help bring down a Senate leader and stave off ill-conceived Social Security reform. TalkingPointsMemo has shown this works. It will be interesting to see if the technique scales.

http://www.networkworld.com/community/?q=node/1263 0"
Math

Submission + - Mathematicians finally map 57-dimensional shape

Matthew Sparkes writes: "A team has mapped a 57-dimensional structure called E8 and the results take up 60 gigabytes of data. The shape, called E8 (pronounced E-eight), is a Lie group. A Norwegian mathematician invented Lie groups in the 19th century to study symmetry. A Lie group underlies objects like balls, cylinders or cones that are symmetrical when rotated by small amounts. The team solved the problem in a four-year project using a supercomputer at the University of Washington in Seattle."

Slashdot Top Deals

The rule on staying alive as a program manager is to give 'em a number or give 'em a date, but never give 'em both at once.

Working...