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Comment Re:inflation embiggens numbers (Score 1) 534

That's hilarious. The "liberal media" in Texas is owned by oil companies. The stories about all the earthquakes around Dallas explain how it's not fracking, and if it were fracking, it's a good thing, as the more common smaller earthquakes release pressure, preventing a larger one later.

And I'm referring to Belo, whose owners have ties to the West Texas oil fields. No, Mobile doesn't own Belo, but the owners of Belo have ties to oil.

Comment Re:No Kidding (Score 1) 220

Indent isn't meaningless. But there's no reason to double-space an indent. It carries a reading meaning, related to nesting of code.

Code "feels" smaller when it's compact. Also, having a single spacing method uniform across everyone makes for easier cut-and paste sharing. Having one person space things differently than another will result in decreased readability.

Comment Re:grandmother reference (Score 1) 468

35 official Ubisoft resellers sold keys. Rather then honoring keys sold through official channels, Ubisoft revoked them, and refunded them. That seems silly.

Also note, the total number of keys purchased fraudulently was not disclosed, nor was the number voided. Apparently, Ubisoft is banning and making people demand a refund to get a refund. Some people may think that they did something wrong, and won't ask for a refund. This will result in theft by Ubisoft. Because anyone who doesn't ask for a refund won't get it.

The "proper" way to handle this is to honor all the keys and try to recover money from the fraudulent distributor.

Comment Re:I prefer a tablet for some things to a smart ph (Score 1) 307

for me.

Yay, you are unique. but that doesn't add anything to the conversation. Most professional photographers will tell you "the best camera there is, is the one you have with you." The camera on the phone is popular because it's always with you. That's the "value" in the phone. It's so small and convenient that you *always* have it with you.

the only thing a tablet is better ar is battery life

You must not have kids. Or friends. Most tablets can survive a drop from 3 feet onto unpadded outdoor carpet (the standard cheap office carpet, glued to hard concrete, with no padding). However, I've never seen a laptop survive that. Maybe the special ruggedized ones could, but they are always much more expensive and much slower.

Comment Re:I prefer a tablet for some things to a smart ph (Score 1) 307

Laptops are also cheaper than smart phones. A low-priced touchscreen laptop will be about half the price of a large-screen phone. A dumb phone and a laptop gives you the most computing and screen size for the $$$. But just because you assert that to be the target doesn't mean anyone else sees it that way. The "real" benefit of the iPad is the walled garden. You can tether one to a desk. Put on a corporate app (perhaps for a reception/guest notification) and it's reasonably durable (vs a PC tablet, few of which will survive a worst-case drop 2-feet onto unpadded carpet), and if you need more, it's easy to get another identical one. Actually working on a phone is hard. Much less so on a screen 4x the size (in area, not diagonal). http://www.computerworld.com/a... about $500 for a "decent" touch-screen laptop.

Comment Re:Bad comparaison (Score 1) 135

Which way? The US app store (locked down to US residents) is global, and the hollywood global receipts are domestic?

Part of the problem is comparing gross Hollywood with net Appstore. And just one appstore at that.

I agree that the comparison is bad, but your implication that it's skewed to make apps look large is the opposite of the actual skew.

Comment Re:In related news (Score 1) 247

If you can't cash something in without crashing it's value it's not a good asset.

Same as having all your 401(k) invested in the company you work for. If it goes under, you have no job and no retirement. But not a "good" asset doesn't make it not an asset.

If an insurance company tried to fund one of their annuity's reserves with company bonds they would slap the cuffs on them. Same should happen to everybody involved with SS.

That would only be the President and Congress. Those are the people that made it what it is. The actual SSA has no power to control where their "surplus" goes. I imagine they'd invest it in the DOW, if they had a free choice.

An insurance company does fund funds with its own funds. It's only cuffable when you under-fund in the first place, and try to fraudulently cover it with fake assets. That's not the case here.

Next you'll tell me you think the Subprime Crisis had anything to do with subprime borrowers, when it was 100% fraud by the banks, unrelated to the borrowers they lent to.

Comment Re:In related news (Score 1) 247

Pretending that a huge block of bonds are an asset is standard answer from the 'SS is healthy liars brigade.'

So all the retirement accounts that count bonds as assets should instead wipe them off the books, showing a massive loss?

Like most companies (see Ireland) you can keep books that have debts and assets from other companies under the same ownership.

The US government doesn't have an asset if it buys its own bonds. But the SS fund most certainly does. The problem is the people who fail basic accounting, asserting their misunderstanding is reality, when reality disagrees.

Comment Re:First Sale (Score 1) 468

But that is irrelevant anyway, unlike the case of Ubisoft revoking keys for games no ECU has a requirement that ties it to an owner but if it did then it would still satisfy the First Sale doctrine because it is not about being able to use the goods after they were sold but to be able to sell the copyrighted goods in the first place.

So if GM remotely disabled your car through OnStar because you bought/sold it used, that's perfectly acceptable, under the law, and by your personal moral code?

Comment Re:First Sale (Score 1) 468

Yes, the "no, you tell me" answer. It's not a phonorecord, but the ECU of my car is copyrighted. Am I allowed to transfer the license to my ECU (and the car along with it)?

My house is copyrighted. It's a "creative work" as are all architectural designs, unless proven otherwise.

But you are asserting that it doesn't apply to those copyrighted items. Why?

Comment Re:First Sale (Score 1) 468

Now if you have educated yourself on this can you see how ridiculous your assertion that this applies to your house or your car is?

My car and house are covered under copyright. The ECU and other things are copyrighted. I have notes in my owner's manual to that effect. The structure of my house is a "creative work" as asserted by all architects everywhere, and thus is also copyrighted.

What's your problem? That you don't know that the software in your car is copyrighted?

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