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Comment Re:Convert everything you have quick (Score 2, Interesting) 203

I don't know if it's that this took a year+ to break or if it's just that no one actually sat down to try it until a year or so. I'm not sure how great the overlap of e-book users and coding types is compared to, say, dvd viewers or itunes users and coders. Also could take a guess based on torrent activities - presumably there are lots more torrents of movies, tv series, music, etc. than e-books.

Comment Re:Hashing Works (Score 1) 1007

Definitely the way to go - using l33t substitutes in some pattern you've decided also tends to very easily give you the non-alpha uc/lc numeric requirements of most passwords.

Though this doesn't help for when you have reset policies - as you'd have to remember to change all the passwords at once so you don't get horribly confused.

I'm assuming people are using bugmenot/mailinator for non-personally-necessary logins. The only unique accounts and passwords for me are ones for work/school or loans/banking. For online purchases I'd rather not set up an account as it's just one more place that has my stored financial information...

Comment Re:How can that be? (Score 1) 978

I find that cycling keeps me much more occupied than jogging etc. while still being useful and exercise-y. First, I'm moving pretty fast and seeing new scenery (and cars that I need to watch out for) which helps keep my mind occupied, and second, I can justify it as something with purpose (visiting a friend, getting groceries, etc.). I used to jog up to the bank/drug store about a mile away, but it was too annoying to carry anything but the most lightweight stuff home jogging.

Television

Submission + - Building an internet-based home media system

charlener writes: "I've been in Mongolia for over two years and video playback through computers in general has changed quite a bit (what's Hulu and Boxee? MythTV? 1080p?). Since a la carte cable seems unrealistic, what kinds of tips do readers have on building up a media center system from the ground up? What should I look for in terms of hardware, and what software makes sense? Can I somehow get random stations like Al Jazeera English and National Geographic programs on such systems?"
Robotics

Submission + - http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/26/science/26robot.

charlener writes: "Robots are apparently at a "'cockroach' stage of machine intelligence" as they begin to be able to successfully navigate unfamiliar surroundings and are only one degree removed from killing on their own.

Interestingly this was a closed-door meeting, but, you know, what about the future of rogue robot/AI, even if something like Asimov's Three Laws are adopted?"

Computers Key To Air France Crash 911

Michael_Curator writes "It's no secret that commercial airplanes are heavily computerized, but as the mystery of Air France Flight 447 unfolds, we need to come to grips with the fact that in many cases, airline pilots' hands are tied when it comes to responding effectively to an emergency situation. Boeing planes allow pilots to take over from computers during emergency situations, Airbus planes do not. It's not a design flaw — it's a philosophical divide. It's essentially a question of what do you trust most: a human being's ingenuity or a computer's infinitely faster access and reaction to information. It's not surprising that an American company errs on the side of individual freedom while a European company is more inclined to favor an approach that relies on systems. As passengers, we should have the right to ask whether we're putting our lives in the hands of a computer rather than the battle-tested pilot sitting up front, and we should have right to deplane if we don't like the answer."

Comment Re:And.... (Score 1) 1124

I, personally, don't believe health care is a right - it's something you need to earn. And if you don't earn it, then you shouldn't have it.

What criteria are you thinking about re: earning? Being employed? Being healthy? Being educated? Having money to pay for it?

Because now, as it stands, you generally have to have some combination of the above - a decent non-manual labor or service job and possibly the education to get it, or roll your own insurance plan where you have to pay - a quick check on an insurance quote site says a family plan for four with no smoking history is 300-600 USD a month.

When you get down to it, I think people who work "earn" their right to health care. And right now we're violating their rights.

Comment How would you set up Okular on Windows?? (Score 1) 198

While the .org site is nice and enticing, the footnote re: "May need add'l software" plus Okular's site being less than transparent about how to actually go about using it on Windows is a major barrier for, well, just about anyone who's non-techincal. Does anyone know of instructions somewhere re: how to set it up with Windows?

Comment Re:Macros (Score 1) 503

Hence the basic remark :)
I believe about a year back I was getting regular crashes, but this later version has appeared to stay more stable.

And yep, not too much experience in design/print media. Mostly as-needed, which does limit my experience. On the other hand, moving tangentially to one of the previous stories about service and volunteerism, for small non-profits with little money to spend on $800-ish packages (though perhaps there's a nonprofit discount) things like scribus have been usable.

Comment Re:Sorting still lacks... (Score 1) 260

Hmm. It does tend to be nicer if the data source is nice and usable in the first place rather than having to massage it into a better/easier format. Especially if you grab data regularly from a secondary source. Perhaps in that case the SQL-based filtering makes more sense. Can you do that with filters in something like calc, though? Or just in databases?

And while I can setup regexes and filter queries, can the average user? And you have to admit, in the end, I'm not the type that would be doing the data entry if I can write the queries...

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