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Comment What would happen if we switch roles? (Score 1) 409

What if arab countries start seeking extradition of US citizens for women who don't cover their faces in public, or because they didn't do certain things (like traveling) with their husband's written permission?

What about european countries seeking extradition of US citizens for carrying guns in public?

I'm sure there are _many_ things which are done every day by US citizens but are illegal in other countries, perhaps some of which do have extradition treaties!

PD: I realize most US citizens think this is ridiculous, too. I'm not confronting them, just making the same statement with switched roles.

Comment It's not the apps, it's the OS (Score 5, Insightful) 431

Most apps run well on every android version thanks to the design of API cross-compatibility (I have experienced this myself, being an early android developer).

However, I don't think you can avoid the fact that the OS itself is fragmented when your OS takes 6 months to a full year to be available on the majority of android handsets.

In addition, has Mr. Schmid had a look at this chart, put up by google themselves?
http://developer.android.com/resources/dashboard/platform-versions.html
It reads OS fragmentation all over it! And this is PRECISELY what pisses many (geek) users off, that they can't get the latest and greatest or that new phones come to market being outdated!

Comment Re:What will happen to radioactive waste? (Score 1) 229

That's very informative, thank you.

However, AFAIK Fukushima already *has* rendered a considerable zone inhabitable (just like Chernobyl). A quick google search reveals this: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/22/world/asia/22japan.html?_r=1 , which among other things states:

"While it is unclear if the government would specify how long these living restrictions would remain in place, news reports indicated it could be decades. That has been the case for areas around the Chernobyl plant in Ukraine after its 1986 accident." - is that also FUD? Considering the consequences of disasters not nearly as bad as Chernobyl, which also had terrible consequences (i.e. death), I would say the risk of rendering areas inhabitable for decades or centuries is still very real. Maybe the reactors were a bit outdated, but how many other outdated reactors - such as the ones from Japan certainly were, as they have rendered a big area inhabitable for decades - are in operation throughout the world?

Comment Re:What will happen to radioactive waste? (Score 1) 229

I was trying to put what I thought was an interesting, provocative yet reasoned argument which questions the effectiveness of the nuclear energy "path". Looks like someone got irritated and can't discuss "like adults do".

Back to my point, if you will, leaving zones of the planet inhabitable for centuries is a very high prize many aren't willing to pay. Who says deaths/twh is the correct metric? Oh, maybe that is one of the reasons this news: they would like to find a better energy source!
BTW, color me suspicious about that article, which says: "a death at one of the japanese nuclear plants following the 8.9 earthquake". *A* DEATH? If you didn't know, radioactivity doesn't instantly kill you. How many were killed or damaged the *instant* the explosion occurred at Chernobyl? Exactly. That article was written March 13, 2011.
Also, how about taking into account thousands of homeless, costs of recovery, environmental costs of radioactive leaks, environmental costs of radioactive wastes, etc etc etc and you end up with one Fing big disaster, which is what Fukushima is any way you want to look at it.
Of course, one could argue that this was due to the earthquake, which was followed by a tsunami, which was followed by the Fukushima incident. But it is about the risk. A very high risk, judging by the unfortunate results of Fukushima. Shit DOES happen, as everybody can see.

Now, I'm not saying they should magically stop being dependent on 40% (or 80% or whatever it is for every country) of a country's energy source, like many politicians claim, because it is unreasonable. But one must take into account the costs, the consequences, and ask: is it worth it? Should we move away or further invest in nuclear energy?

I think it is a question worth asking, discussing and worth thinking about. So I won't shut up, mind you.

Comment The sad irony in this matter.. (Score 5, Interesting) 508

Actually, thanks to Wikileaks we now know that the head of PROMUSICAE (the RIAA-equivalent in Spain), Guisasola, secretly pushed for having Spain included in the infamous 301 List. http://cablesearch.org/cable/view.php?id=10MADRID179
After Spain was finally included in that list, he claimed that being included in that list was "a national dishonor", and used this argument in order to push for Ley Sinde, the aforementioned SOPA-like law.

Only a few days ago, this law was finally passed. Most Internet users are against this law because it does not change which sites become illegal - it merely changes the *referee*. As a result, judges have been replaced by a commission whose members are privately selected by private lobbying parties (aka spain's RIAA). This might sound like something outrageous, but sadly this is exactly what has happened.
If this was not bad enough, keep in mind that this occurs right after *years* of judges ruling *in favor* of those websites that they want to take down (no hosting sites, just linking sites)

Comment Evidence shows another thing? (Score 1) 191

Last time I checked, WebOS was really snappy and smooth, and provided a great user experience. Maybe games were hard to code, but the apps I tried out when the first WebOS phone came out felt MUCH smoother than my Android phone.

There are probably many reasons why WebOS failed, but I am very confused by this statement given how well WebOS felt (And I have read the same from many many users in the Internet). The complaints about WebOS were never that it felt like a web app, too limited or that it felt too sluggish, but rather the lack of apps and devices.

Am I missing something here?

Comment From the website that looks like this (Score 4, Insightful) 228

Techradar wants to talk and judge usability of the all-time favourite linux desktops, and yet their own website looks like THIS: http://i.imgur.com/IOyKu.png

I know other browsers render it centered, but that's not the (only) point, it's that their web looks awful: about 1/4 is margins, which is OK, and of those 3/4 1/4 is the content, which is split into 7 tiny sections (just give me the whole article and don't make me page every 3 paragraphs, it's almost 2012, for christ sakes!), tiny text, tiny images, and 3/4 of crap (related content, ads, menus, more related content, more related content).

It's not like they can't provide a very valid examination of linux desktops, but their site does not inspire very much credibility when they themselves get it so wrong, IMHO.

Comment Re:As terrible as it sounds... (Score 4, Insightful) 68

What makes you think Amazon will not be suing others for ridiculous and non-innovative technology such as buying items with 1 click? Oh wait, they already did AFAIK :)

Still, I feel Apple is more of a patent troll and more of a control freak, so I kinda still agree that they are worse, but that doesn't mean its good, and comparing to Apple would be pointless.

Comment missing link to actual users, dynamic IPs, etc (Score 1) 340

"When you visit, it automatically checks and lets you know if your Internet address is in the database."

Except most people don't have a fixed IP reserved for them. Does that mean I'm going to get the "warning" because someone else on my ISP downloaded content? (Yes.)

Nevertheless, it's an interesting tool, but this information is probably useless since you still need to contact the ISP in order to know who actually was using that IP in that given time frame.
Also, keep in mind that this site currently only displays a time frame accurate to a MONTH (e.g. Dec, 2011) as far as I can see.

If they were trying to scare pirates off, well: Avast, thar! I be not scared!

Comment Re:Is it because— (Score 2) 226

You missed the point, this is not about getting a new update nor not, which is another matter entirely (although not any less important).

This is about why it takes so long for updates that *are* happening to reach users. Keep in mind that even though ICS was just released, there are phones that are only now getting Gingerbread, the last major Android version. It is sad and it is a rather difficult problem to solve.

Comment Re:Cheaper (Score 5, Insightful) 471

Absolutely. I doubt they can't find a model with such a body; sure they can. It's about making the process much shorter and cheaper.

I don't see anyone complaining for the mannequins not being human beings and being too idealistic. Also, keep in mind that this was done for both women and men, and yet protests are raised only for the aesthetic demands placed on female bodies.

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