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Comment Re:Japanese company (Score 1) 582

by gentlemen_loser (#37289228) Attached to: Age Bias In IT: the Reality Behind the Rumors

Seems to be. While working for a Japanese customer, they didn't take me serious 'til I brought our utility man along who was close to retirement and told them he's my superior. Everything went fine from that moment onwards. He didn't know anything about the matter at hand, but all he really had to do was to nod from time to time.

The really sad part about this is the fact that the only older person you could muster was the utility guy... Your company has no adult supervision?

Comment Not going to work (Score 4, Insightful) 201

by gentlemen_loser (#36231472) Attached to: Major Release of Miro Aims to Compete With iTunes
Any time any company or organization markets itself as "the [insert adjective] [insert proper noun] alternative for the [insert other proper noun]" the group is destined to failure. The issue is, at its heart, where the company is coming from. Rather than trying to invent a great music/video player, they are trying to invent an iTunes (or anything else) clone. Please STOP! Go invent a great, open source, cross platform music player without looking at iTunes and people will come.

Don't believe me? In the electronic music community, there is a synth called Zebra 2. Its from a company run and developed entirely by one guy who never advertised it. He never pitched it as the "something for the something else alternative." He just made a great fucking synth. After a short amount of time, word got out, all of the music rags covered it, and now it tops all of the "greatest synth" lists.

You will never get anywhere making a clone. You'll always be a step behind.

Comment Just talk to them (Score 3, Informative) 227

by gentlemen_loser (#35119614) Attached to: Are Flickr Images Abused By Foreign Businesses?
Knowing people who work there, I can assure you that this is not a case of an evil corporate monster trying to keep "the man" down and profit for nothing. They review licenses and probably used the image from the OP because it was CC and did not or mistakingly read the fine print. I know for fact that they avoid copyrighted material and email original authors and artists for permission to use materials. This is either an honest mistake or an individuals rushed negligence. Either way, simply email them and ask about it. There is no story here.

Comment Re:11 million years (Score 3, Informative) 306

by gentlemen_loser (#32887768) Attached to: Sun's Dark Companion 'Nemesis' Not So Likely

Well, average life-expectancy of a species is 5-million years. Homo Sapience has already doubled that putting us at the extreme end of the scale that gives this average.

How are you doing your math? The genetic evidence shows that Homo Sapiens can be traced back 200,000 years. Nowhere near the 5 million you are stating as an average for species longevity. If you are counting Australopithecus anamensis, that would get you back to 4 million years, but I would hardly consider it to be the same species as us.

Furthermore, the actual average longevity of a species is 1 million years, not 5 (as evidenced here. Just because 10 million years appears to be an extreme upper limit does not make the average 5 million.

Comment The story of our lives... (Score 1, Interesting) 511

by gentlemen_loser (#32764872) Attached to: Do Scientists Understand the Public?
People with technical or scientific training are always told they have to learn how to communicate with people without that training. This is bullshit.

How about the mouth-breathers actually use the muscle between their ears during high school math and science classes so that they are better equiped to understand what scientists are trying to tell them later in life? Truly, you do not need to be a scientist to understand articles written for general consumption. A basic understanding of high school science (biology, physics, chemistry) and math (algebra and statistics) will get you there. While we are at it, I distinctly recall the steps of the scientific method explained in detail (several times in middle and high school), as were the definitions of "theory", "law", and "hypothesis". Jesus Christ people, use your brains.

Comment Poor Adobe... (Score 3, Insightful) 272

by gentlemen_loser (#32535884) Attached to: Adobe (Temporarily?) Kills 64-Bit Flash For Linux
A few days ago, there was a discussion here about how evil Apple was for trying to kill Flash. I said then, and will repeat here: Fuck you Adobe.

They took their sweet time porting their "cross platform" plugin to Linux, and in the meantime, we were stuck with the barely functioning (although I do not fault them for the effort) GNU implementation. Cross platform to Adobe means: Windows 7, Windows Vitsa, Windows XP, and Mac OS. Personally, I pine for the day that HTML 5 is able to displace Flash, and therefore Adobe, permanently. In my opinion, they have squandered any goodwill towards the open source community. I'll be the first one in line to dance on their grave.

Comment Re:That's very nice of you Adobe (Score 1) 515

by gentlemen_loser (#32335402) Attached to: Adobe Founders On Flash and Internet Standards

If it comes down to Adobe Flash or HTML V5 H.264 I'll take Flash any day and twice on Sundays! At least Adobe doesn't act like douchebags and make you pony up $$$ just to have flash support in Linux distros. And SD Flash plays beautifully on this 1.8Ghz Sempron I use for a low power netbox, and with the latest Flash I can add a $50 AGP card and go full HD. From what I have seen HTML V5 is frankly a dog, and even in a window it runs like a slideshow.

People have VERY short memories. When I read TFA about how Adobe's sob story is that they offer a cross platform standard language that works in all browsers, I laughed so hard I cried.

Adobe took their SWEET time porting Flash to Linux. Getting it to work in different browsers was nearly impossible and the 64-bit version was a day later and a dollar short. The GNU alternative to Flash sucked, resulting in the same issue (things work on some browsers, but not others). Just a few short years ago, I hated Adobe with a passion for their piss poor Linux support.

I did not forget. I hope they die a slow death as more and more companies move toward a real standard (HTML5). In the end, I'll be there to dance on their grave.

Comment Re:No (Score 1) 458

by gentlemen_loser (#32327346) Attached to: Study Shows Standing Up To Bullies Is Good For You

My parents were evangelical nuts. They set me up to go be a victim in public schools, which I was. I have no idea what psychological ramifications that may have for me today...but I DO know that when I started training in martial arts in high school, the bullying stopped, and I never had to hit anyone (which actually kind of disappointed me, because I had a lot of anger I wanted to unleash on the next unsuspecting bully).

Chuck, is that you?

Comment Re:grand experiemnt (Score 1) 1590

by gentlemen_loser (#32018686) Attached to: Arizona "Papers, Please" Law May Hit Tech Workers

Arizona is embarking on a grand experiment, and as a free state it should be allowed to so do. We have heard the hypothesis that undocumented persons cause so much social and financial harm that any measure to thwart such persons from entering the state. Some would go as far as saying that even documented foreigners should be extremely limited as they take our jobs.

Is it accurate to say, then, that you feel that "Dey turk yer jerbs!?!"

Comment Re:Open Source is the real issue (Score 1) 377

by gentlemen_loser (#31455370) Attached to: IBM Stops Disclosing US Headcount Data
I very much disagree. Open source is not the issue. Companies like Apple and Google manage to innovate with it every day (operating systems, servers, programming languages, libraries, etc.) and even manage to contribute back to the the communities that they borrow from. Plain and simply, the issue is corporations and executives not being properly educated with regards to strategy, tactics, and long term planning. The only long term plan that IBM has is to move from country to country like a plague of locusts. Once India's costs are up, the next emerging market will be targeted and India will be left to burn as the US currently is.

Comment Re:What a Tragedy and No Charges? (Score 1) 1343

by gentlemen_loser (#31437860) Attached to: Accidental Wii Suicide
I agree with you that the parents have made an unforgivable mistake. However, the loss of their daughter is punishment enough. Their lives will already never be the same and I suspect that the grief they are dealing with is far worse than any punishment they may receive from a jail sentence. Why break up a family (they have another child) to sate YOUR rage?

Law Enforcement: If You're a Gun Owner, You Have to Be Responsible

Or what? Someone will shake their finger at you?

No. Or your child (or other loved one) may die and you'll have to live with the repercussions for the rest of your life.
Idle

Submission + - Open Letter to DROID (matthewallen.info)

Submitted by gentlemen_loser
gentlemen_loser writes: For the past few weeks, I have endured brag after brag by smug DROID owners. I have finally had enough and composed an open letter to address all of them at once. Consider the topic now closed.

Dear DROID,

Congratulations on getting to the party, two years late. Things are already starting to wind down and walking around telling everyone how cool your baby-blue polyester leisure suit is just makes you look desperate. You should know that even Windows Mobile got here on time. I heard that Blackberry gave you the wrong address, I am supprised that you found the house. And yes, you are the only one who cares that you are here.

I should tell you that my buddy, G1, told me that your girlfriend (Android TM) is sleeping around. A LOT. You are totally going to catch something, dude.

Sincerely,
iPhone, Blackberry, and Windows Mobile users the world over

P.S. No matter how many times you go to the gym, you will never look like iPod does. Just sayin...

Comment Both Microsoft and Apple have introduced, eh? (Score 2, Informative) 255

by gentlemen_loser (#30202996) Attached to: Apple vs. Microsoft Multi-Touch Mouse Comparison
The Microsoft designs are all still prototypes. I would say that one of the two companies have "introduced" a multi-touch mouse. The other is currently researching a way to copy it (as always) and quite possibly playing with themselves. This design makes it look like you are holding a nutsack

On the bright side, I have a magic mouse now and will say that it really is a whole new (awesome) experience.

Comment Re:Bribery (Score 1) 773

by gentlemen_loser (#30129158) Attached to: Mark Cuban's Plan To Kill Google
If I could, I would have modded you up. Instead, I'll add this anecdotal evidence:

Many moons ago (maybe in 2004), I was working on developing customizations to the SAP Enterprise Portal for my employer. We had a set of requirements to theme it to look a certain way (among alot of Java functionality to write). I went through ALL of the documentation and scoured the Internet for anything that I could find. All that I could come up with was how to change colors and the header background image. No information on how to set images (for gradients on menus, etc.). We finally caved and called SAP who very kindly sent us a consultant from Germany for the low low price or $280 per hour. Having spent weeks working with him, I got to know him and we got to talking. They often purposely leave stuff out of the manuals so that you have to call them as a way to drive consulting revenue.

Fucking infuriating.

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