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Comment I wouldn't wear Crocs (Score 2) 400

I plan to buy a C/CMYK 3D printer so I can manufacture a custom dashboard for my ZR-1 interior and I am looking for ways to make the printer pay for itself (the price tag on the printer approaches the original MSRP of the car). I would not do shoes though because 3D printed shoes would be much like Crocs. Ick. Friends don't let friends wear crocs.

"That's a nice pair of crocs" said no one, ever.

Comment Holy 2005, Batman! (Score 2) 162

Holy 2005, Batman!

Google has a 9 year lead in this and they've been doing it better than anyone. How does Yahoo expect to compete in this space?

Honestly the one company I'm surprised HASN'T entered this space is Microsoft because their M.O. lately hasn't been to improve their core product offerings and give customers what they want, but to get into market segments where they see OTHERS succeeding, only to fail miserably (see: MP3 players, search engines) - even in cases where they once dominated the market then let it languish without further development because it hadn't hit critical mass yet (see: PDA/multimedia devices and Smartphones).

Comment Re:Use a firewall (Score 1) 423

> A corporate firewall does little to ensure safety of a Windows installation. I've seen users behind a malware scanning firewall, running antivirus software on Win7 *still* manage to get infected by malware.

That is why you run multiple layers of protection; a UTM with antivirus/malware signature update subscriptions plus centrally-administered antivirus/antimalware software and policies covering use of USB devices.

Comment Re:No problem (Score 3, Interesting) 423

FWIW there are print shops with $2mil+ printing presses that still run Windows NT 4.0 on Dec Alpha-based controller PCs (AT motherboard no less - not even ATX!), with no upgrade path offered other than being told by the manufacturer to "buy a new press." WHY buy a new press just because the OS and motherboard are outdated, when it otherwise runs flawlessly?

There are perfectly valid reasons to stick with an EOL OS.

Comment Re:they do not "let" netflix (Score 1) 490

A more complete list of reasons I like the physical media:

* Bonus features (alternate endings, commentaries, deleted scenes, etc.)
* I always have it whether or not the distributor continues to exist or whether or not my internet provider is up
* I can play it anywhere
* I can format shift it to play on my phone, tablet, etc.
* If the movie was released in surround (be it the original Dolby Surround, or 5.1, or 7.1 or 7.2 or 9.1 or 9.2 or 11.1 or 11.2, my system can play it. Streaming, if you're lucky, gives you 5.1, if not, you need to revert to decoding analog surround after it's gone through the first D/A conversion)
* I always get to view it at full resolution, not dependent upon the slowest link between the streaming server and my viewing device

That's not to say I don't use streaming: I have active Netflix and Amazon Prime subscriptions, I have streaming televisions, a Roku 2 XS, a Chromecast, smartphones and laptops and PCs. I use Crackle and Hulu on occasion. Despite that, I still prefer DVD and Blu-Ray for the clarity that comes with the full high-bitrate content, the full surround sound encoding, and the extra features included on many movies and television shows.

Comment they do not "let" netflix (Score 4, Insightful) 490

> Specifically: Why do movie studios allow Netflix to send out DVDs to their subscribers by mail, but not to allow the same option in the form of "virtual DVDs" that you could "check out" through their website, and stream them while they're checked out to you?

They don't "let" Netflix do it. It's netflix's right to do so and the movie studios tried to stop them, just like they tried to stop VHS and Beta rentals when VHS gained traction in the late 70s/early 80s. The reason DVD and Blu-Ray remain so popular is that people want to OWN what they buy - they don't want to "license" it on a per-platform or per-device basis (which is why DIVX died), and they don't want the movie to disappear when the "seller"/"licensor" goes under or simply decides the business isn't profitable off and exits that industry vertical. I'm sure most consumers do not think it through that carefully but have a vague notion of the possibility.

And if they do buy a copy of the movie and want to take it to a friend's house and find that they cannot, then they learn and go back to physical media (or to unencumbered, ad-free "pirate" torrents).

And yes, you do OWN that copy you buy. Even the movie producers acknowledge this in advertising: "Own it on DVD or Blu-Ray today!!" They are very consistent about this, and it's known by them as well as thinking people that you OWN that copy of the movie (or album, or whatever) just as much as you OWN any book you buy- you're just forbidden from violating their exclusive distribution rights granted to them as the copyright holders through copyright law (or by contract with the actual copyright holders again via copyright law).

Comment Re:It's not arrogant, it's correct. (Score 1) 466

> On a road you can charge different rates for different types of vehicles, this is the same situation. An eighteen wheeler can cause more damage to the road that requires more maintenance than a motorcycle, this is the same thing: a movie that needs to be streamed a million times takes up much more capacity and energy and basically uses the system much more than millions of small individual requests do.

It's flawed though. Semipermanent tractor-trailers and other large heavy vehicles destroy the roads while passenger cars introduce near-zero wear. However, a router or switch is worn out solely based on how long the capacitors have been powered up - it doesn't matter if it is at 100% of potential throughput or at .00000001% it is going to die in just about the same timeframe - especially since many switches over around 97% to 99% CPU utilization whether under heavy traffic with QoS, VLan tagging and other traffic shaping features enabled, or near-idle with no advanced features enabled.

Comment Re:Good PR Move (Score 3) 250

I stick with Fluke - or if in a pinch and need to buy locally (i.e., if I left my Fluke DMM and testers behind), Extech, but I try to avoid the Extech stuff at least as primary tools. It (Extech) might be one of the best of the cheap meters, but they are still short of the quality and reliability of Fluke's products.

Comment Re:Stealing? (Score 1) 197

> And when a corporation is founded as a commercial entity, its express purpose is profit.

You are DEAD WRONG.

Go to your state's archives and look up the number of corporations which are created each month (you will be amazed at how many!), with many of them being for example music and movie label companies which are intended to actually LOSE money, acting as tax shelters for the shareholding companies and/or individuals. There are also many corporations set up solely as protective entities (holding companies for properties, etc.), registered as "commercial entities" and yet, they are not, really. They are more often than not liability-limiting creations rather than profit generation entities.

Many corporations are actually created to introduce a net loss in the world of accounting, or to simply limit the liability of incurring financial losses. Also, there are certain relationship types which neocons consider DoublePlusUnGood (for exmple: polygamy/plural marriage, or in some jurisdictions, gay marriages) which are worked around by the "partners" (spouses) creating a legal fiction to act as a holding company, an entity to provide group health benefits, own shared belongings, handle wills, and so on.

Profit is not the only reason one might wish to incorporate.

Comment Re:Did Fluke request this? (Score 1) 653

Comment Re:Did Fluke request this? (Score 1) 653

Sorry you are wrong. I own a couple of fluke multimeters and those cheapies look nothing at all like a fluke meter. Besides, the yellow bit is just a silicone/TPU-like slipover cover. I just looked up a review/teardown of the Fluke 115 on Youtube and it shows the meter with the cover both off and on: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...

There is no way at all anyone would confuse a cheapass meter like that with a Fluke. I fail to see any trademark infringement there.

Comment Re:Had he not waited. . . (Score 1) 129

Again, the lack of well-conducted peer-reviewed scientific studies. . . of course there are contraindications and many may not even be remotely suspected because there haven't been many studies, and a bunch of quacks are recommending all kinds of random herbs and ground animal parts for various ailments (both real and imagined)

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