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Comment I think I can contribute to making LA even safer (Score 1) 160

I think I'll form a corporation to tender a proposal to the authorities to provide my world-famous crime-prevention rocks.

It's pretty obvious how effective they are. Neither I nor anyone else who has one of these has ever been victimized by crime. Hell, as far as I know, we've never even seen a criminal. Clearly, ne'er-do-wells and nefarious malcontents are strongly repelled by the magnetic forces projected by these stones. (I think it's magnetic, anyway. Who knows how that works? You just can't explain that.)

Anyway, I figure a modest delivery and support contract is an extremely cost-effective alternative to the clearly supersticious voodoo of these magic "helicopter" crime preventers. (Who the hell believes in that kind of woo, anyway? "Flying machines?" Feh.)

Comment Re:It's a model (Score 1) 230

Alas, this is Slashdot. Not only does the readership not read TFA, they generally don't read TFS, so if the title lacks succinct and complete literal accuracy, it runs the risk of telling a story completely counter to the real story.

The only ones who do read TFS are generally looking to karma-whore pedantic moderation points by manufacturing 3d-printed recreational outrage, so I guess it works out for someone.

At the end of the day, it's the soi-disant editors' fault. As usual.

(Yes, I note that the original submission had the same regrettable discrepancy between summary and title. Too bad the editors didn't do any actual editing when they had the opportunity.)

Comment Re:Innovation vs. Commodity (Score 1) 392

You disagree with the OED here. The OED says that making changes to an established product is innovation.

Is it accidental that you truncate your quote by leaving off the actual innovation?: "Make changes in something established, especially by introducing new methods, ideas, or products". And your second point clearly proves you didn't actually read the OED dictionary entry in its context. If you look at it (go ahead, I won't tell), you'll find that the phrase you're latching on to is actually an example of the use of the word in an external context, not part of the definition. The OED call this an "illustrative quotation". Whomever OED is quoting is using the second phrase in contrast to the first, which uses "innovate" in its correct literal meaning.

The grievous deficiencies in Slashdot's ability to cleanly transfer markup in quoted material is largely to blame. Also to blame is my desire to preserve all info rather than editing to prove my point (something evidently not everyone shares), and a foolish hope that people would study source material for themselves.

Innovation requires actual novelty. Anything else is hype and hucksterism.

Comment Re:Innovation vs. Commodity (Score 1) 392

Here's a definition from an actual dictionary, not something drafted by an Apple apologist:

1. Make changes in something established, especially by introducing new methods, ideas, or products: the company's failure to diversify and innovate competitively

1.1 [with object] Introduce (something new, especially a product): innovating new products, developing existing ones

(BTW, that's Oxford. As in, Oxford English Dictionary. If your definition disagrees with OED, that's because your definition is objectively wrong.)

"New", for-real-new, not "pretend it's new", not "new because the actual innovator doesn't count", not "new to us and our spellbound customer base and captive press".

Actual creation is not negotiable. It's an absolute unavoidable criterion of "innovate". "Creating novel things" is the only definition of innovation. And also something conspicuously absent from Apple engineering. About the only thing I can see Apple innovating in is marketing.

Communications

Wikimedia Foundation Files Suit Against NSA and DOJ 103

jrepin sends along the news (excerpted from the Wikimedia Foundation's blog) that Today, the Wikimedia Foundation is filing suit against the National Security Agency (NSA) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) of the United States. The lawsuit challenges the NSA's mass surveillance program, and specifically its large-scale search and seizure of internet communications — frequently referred to as "upstream" surveillance. Our aim in filing this suit is to end this mass surveillance program in order to protect the rights of our users around the world. We are joined by eight other organizations and represented by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

Comment Re:A Fantastic target for state-sponsored hackers! (Score 3, Funny) 107

General Jack D. Ripper :
Mandrake, do you recall what Clemenceau once said about war?

Group Capt. Lionel Mandrake :
No, I don't think I do, sir, no.

General Jack D. Ripper :
He said war was too important to be left to the generals. When he said that, 50 years ago, he might have been right. But today, war is too important to be left to politicians. They have neither the time, the training, nor the inclination for strategic thought. I can no longer sit back and allow Communist infiltration, Communist indoctrination, Communist subversion and the international Communist conspiracy to sap and impurify all of our precious bodily fluids.

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