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Comment: Hire a lawyer (Score 2) 525

by Mr. Freeman (#43332715) Attached to: Fighting TSA Harassment of Disabled Travelers
Oh look another one of these posts. "Slashdot, I was wronged. The party that wronged me broke several laws and treated me in a degrading way. What should I do?"

The answer is ALWAYS to HIRE A LAWYER!

HIRE A FUCKING LAWYER! Someone broke the law, you need a lawyer if you want to take any action against them. If they're violating deadlines and laws regarding interactions with people with disabilities then you probably have a good legal case lined up. However, if you sit on your ass then your opportunity is going to disappear. You need to hire a lawyer and act fast.

Comment: Re:Why does 3d printing matter (Score 1) 404

by Mr. Freeman (#43241889) Attached to: Digging Into the Legal Status of 3-D Printed Guns
3D printing won't change the situation for at LEAST another decade. Current 3D printers print in plastic and in such a way that it loses most of its strength. They simply cannot make any kind of firearm that's capable of firing a round of ammunition without blowing itself up.

There is ONE technology that can 3D print metal. However, the final part has a very low strength due to how the technology works. A firearm made with this technology would, like the plastic model, destroy itself upon firing even a single low-power round. Also, this machine costs a shitload of money.

The fact is, we simply will not have a 3D printing technology capable of making a working firearm for at least another ten years. The company mentioned in TFA, "defense distributed," consists of several wackjobs with conflicting, often mutually-exclusive, ideals. Their staff, all college students, contains several people that have done software development, an electrical engineering student, a writer, and a self-described "crypto-anarchist". (This is all from the company's "about us" page and TFA). They have no mechanical engineers, no one with experience in the production of firearms, and only a couple members that have even done any shooting. One of their staff members enjoys bitcoin mining as a hobby which should illustrate just how unqualified these people are to be running a business. Their political ideals are all some form of quasi-libertarianism born, I'm fairly sure, out of a mistaken belief that simply because their parents paid for their entire college education that everyone must be able to do the same.

TL;DR: This won't be an issue for at least a decade. Defense Distributed is a company that produces nothing useful and is run by idiots.

Comment: Re:Why are calculators still relevant? (Score 1) 233

by Mr. Freeman (#42960747) Attached to: Full Review of the Color TI-84 Plus
1. Tactile keys are far superior to touchscreens in just about every way. You don't have to hit a key multiple times for it to register, they work with gloves, you don't smudge your screen, they're cheaper, etc.
2. Cost. People balk at the $120 price tag of a calculator and, as you have done, suggest using a smartphone app. Do you have any idea what a smartphone costs? About $600. It's only "cheap" if you also purchase a long contract with the phone which costs even more money. This argument also applies to laptops which, in addition to being more expensive, require the purchase of an operating system and mathematics software such as mathematica. (NOTE: I admit that there may be free alternatives for these.)
3. Durability. Some engineers have to run equations in the field. Laptops aren't durable enough and neither are smartphones. You can drop a calculator onto concrete from waist height and it might have a scratch or two, but it'll work just fine. Try that with a smartphone or laptop and you're liable to destroy the entire unit in spectacular fashion.
4. Battery life. Although the TI-84 COLOR seems to have absolutely shit battery life all other models have very good battery life. The TI-83, TI-84, and TI-89 will all last months of use on a single set of batteries (4 AAA batteries). Furthermore, the batteries are replaceable. You can simply swap them out if they die. Laptops and smartphones require that you sit them down next to an outlet for an hour or more in order to charge them. (Yes, laptops can use interchangeable batteries, but they cost about $80 each.)
5. Ease of use. A calculator requires that you turn it on before you can use it. It never needs updating, it never complains about software problems, it never requires any maintenance. Smartphones require regular software updates. Laptops require lots of software updates and other maintenance.

Note: I didn't mention their use in standardized testing. I find the argument that something is desirable because it's highly limited to be very silly. However, even after discounting this argument I have still provided at least 5 good reasons for calculator use. People who claim that calculators have no advantages other than being highly restricted are simply fooling themselves and ignoring reality. Are calculators good for ALL uses? No, of course not. There are many jobs and situations in which one will always have access to computer software or where one will require the additional power of computer software. It's just silly to claim that calculators are worthless because some people happen to be in the situation of having to use computer software.

Comment: Re:I've used Wifi Analizer (Score 5, Informative) 884

by Mr. Freeman (#42960551) Attached to: Ask Slashdot: Dealing With an Advanced Wi-Fi Leech?
"My guess is that this individual is conducting illegal activities through yours and your neighbor's connections"

This is highly likely. The guy has invested much time and effort in this so they clearly have motives other than saving a few bucks. OP should make attempts to locate this guy and to shut him down. Use laptops or cell phones with wireless monitoring applications to locate the guy's AP. Nothing too fancy, just do a bit of sneaker-netting while watching the signal strength. You don't need to triangulate the location to within a foot, you just need to get a general idea of where this thing is. Once you get close you should be able to tell which building/car it is in. If this yields inconclusive results then contact the local HAM club. They may be able to assist you in locating a rogue AP or wifi leech in exchange for beer and pizza.

Also, OP needs to file a police report. Will the police do anything? No, of course not. However, it will help to shield OP from liability when the FBI comes knocking in regard to whatever illegal activities are being conducted through his internet connection. He'll be able to point to the police reports as evidence that someone else was on the network long before the authorities showed up.

Comment: Re:Why not popular? (Score 1) 245

by Mr. Freeman (#42941573) Attached to: Wirelessly Charged Buses Being Tested Next Year
Exactly. My car broke down last week. What should be a 10 minute drive now takes me the better part of an hour and a half on the bus. You have to wait for the bus because it might be 5 minutes early or up to 20 minutes late, and then the route goes all over the god damn place. Of course, I have to arrive at least 5 minutes before my shift at work to get ready and that means that I have to catch the bus that shows up 30 minutes before my shift. It's ridiculous. I waste several hours per day dealing with the fucking bus. Getting work done on the bus is a laughable proposition. It's hard to work on a bouncy, shifting platform, you might not be able to get a seat, and taking a laptop on board is simply asking to get mugged.

The only people that wonder why public transportation isn't popular are people that don't take public transportation.

Comment: Outdated? (Score 1) 101

by Mr. Freeman (#42678937) Attached to: CES: Another Chording Keyboard Hits the Market (Video)
The guy says that it's silly to be using keyboards because they're so old and that we need new technology. He demonstrates this by making a video. Film was invented a long damn time ago, moving pictures were possible over one hundred years ago, and digital video has been around for more than three decades. Shoes and pants are even older than that but I see that he's wearing clothes. I guess this guy thinks that it's only a bad idea to use old things if he's selling a product to replace one of them.

Comment: Re:So we are to believe (Score 3, Informative) 135

by Mr. Freeman (#42459595) Attached to: Security Firm Predicts "Murder By Internet-Connected Devices"
You should keep in mind that a lot of those are already possible. Lots of medical equipment runs on windows despite the EULA saying "don't use this for life-saving devices". A few years ago a few researchers demonstrated that it was possible to access a car with wifi, disable the brakes, and engage the accelerator.

The idiot engineers that design these things don't bother implementing 1-way data transfer (e.g. allow car to report engine statistics but don't allow reprogramming remotely), encryption, or any security measures at all. They rely entirely on obscurity to prevent these devices being used maliciously.

Until someone dies, it's not a problem. When someone does die, they have enough lawyers to prevent the family that just lost someone from suing them.

Comment: Stop working! (Score 4, Insightful) 341

by Mr. Freeman (#42307937) Attached to: Ask Slashdot: How To Collect Payments From a Multinational Company?
STOP GIVING THEM UNPAID WORK! One of two things has happened here:

1. They can't or won't pay you. By refusing to work anymore you're effectively cutting your losses by not giving them more work that won't be compensated.
2. They have their heads up their ass. They want to pay you, but they can't figure it out. In this case, not working will light a fire under their ass and they'll pay you.

Moving forward, make sure that your contract contains a late payment fee. Also, make sure it specifies who is responsible for paying you and who will be held responsible for non-payment. GET A LAWYER INVOLVED TO DRAFT THIS NEW CONTRACT. Don't try to do it yourself, it won't work.

In any case, if they don't pay you within the month then you need to talk to a lawyer about suing them.

"If you ever want to get anywhere in politics, my boy, you're going to have to get a toehold in the public eye."

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