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Comment: One-size-fits-all Education in the US (Score 1) 272

by ScottCooperDotNet (#43670053) Attached to: Sleep Deprivation Lowers School Achievement In Children

I was the kid who always had the "can't pay attention" in class. But later, in middle school and beyond, when I wasn't going to bed at 7:30 (it was then more 9-10ish) I got B+ grades without trying.

How much of that "can't pay attention" is due to the one-size-fits-all education levels by age/grade in American education? We have programs for slower students very early on, but gifted students are expected to stay behind and be bored to tears doing lessons and homework for concepts they already grasp. The first time many students are really challenged are high school honors classes.

Comment: Chechens not ethnic Russians (Score 2) 1109

The bombers are Chechens, not ethnic Russians. Chechnya is a part of Russia that is largely Muslum, north of the Middle East. They have been waging an Islamist insurgency intermittently since 1994. Chechens have been responsible for other terror attacks including the Dubrovka Theater attack that killed 130 hostages and the Beslan massacre that killed 334, including 156 children There are claims 100 or more victims of Beslan were burned alive.

Comment: Vigilante Justice or Secondary Terrorism? (Score 5, Informative) 416

by ScottCooperDotNet (#43489583) Attached to: FBI Releases Boston Bombing Suspect Images/Videos

This sort of thing causes secondary terrorism of those falsely accused.

Photos of Salah Eddin Barhoum, 17, and friend Yassine Zaime were posted on websites whose users have been scouring marathon finish line photos for suspects. The two were also on the [New York] Post's front Thursday with the headline: "Bag men: Feds seek these two pictured at Boston Marathon." The Post reported later Thursday that the pair weren't considered suspects. But Barhoum, a track runner at Revere High School, said he is convinced some will blame him for the bombings, no matter what.

He said he was so fearful on Thursday that he ran back to the high school after a track meet when he saw a man in a car staring at him, talking into a phone. He said he won't feel safe until the bombers are caught. "I'm going to be scared going to school," Barhoum said. "Workwise, my family, everything is going to be scary."

Comment: Encryption is Freedom (Score 3, Insightful) 153

by ScottCooperDotNet (#43362449) Attached to: Want to Keep Messages From the Feds? Use iMessage

I know you think you're protecting your rights, but it doesn't mean you aren't facilitating trafficking meth, heroin or the next big thing in soma-jolting chemistry when you advocate for an untappable form of communication.

Or facilitating free speech in places where saying the wrong thing leads to torture and imprisonment or worse. There will always be illegal things, but the greater right to free secure speech, I believe, takes precedence over stopping drugs / child porn / cause of the decade.

Your right to privacy is actually a proscription against unreasonable use of governmental power. It's not absolute, and it's not guaranteed the 'evil corporation' we all like to whine and bitch about shouldn't be subject to compliance for such measures as reasonable surveillance.

You means the government that retroactively gives itself powers to invade our rights? There's not much checks-and-balances going on in America.

I don't like assuming that there's an unfriendly, obtrusive ear, eye or nose pressed to my privates either, but there are bigger evils out there than the DEA.

So you're of the opinion that if one has done nothing wrong, one has nothing to hide. How can you enjoy your bread and circuses when your head is buried in the sand?

Comment: Branding Branding Branding (Score 2) 290

by ScottCooperDotNet (#43345237) Attached to: Falling Windows RT Tablet Prices Signify Slow Adoption

Microsoft seems to be tied to the Windows brand when it is not appropriate and even harmful to the prospects of a product. Would you buy a Microsoft Windows Xbox?

Windows RT brought to mind all the negatives of the Windows brand: viruses, instability, insecurity.
Yet the Windows RT name here, as DigitAl56K noted above, did not include the brand positives: Familiar UI, existing software and games.

Coming up with a new product name is difficult, especially for a global company. Using the existing brand plus two random-to-consumers letters was a wimp-out that added nothing to differentiate this radical departure from the rest of the Windows brand.

Comment: Premium vs Value Marketing (Score 3, Insightful) 271

by ScottCooperDotNet (#43219057) Attached to: Are Lenovo's ThinkPads Getting Worse?

Let's also not forget the bad old days when ThinkPads had twice as many screws and screw lengths as Dell laptops had, making servicing them a major pain. Putting in a too-long screw in the wrong place risked damage to the motherboard.

That being said, PC makers really do a poor job of marketing what their premium offerings are, and what's a value offering. Outside of Apple, which is almost exclusively premium, no one gets this. Dell didn't with Alienware, HP didn't with VoodooPC, and now Lenovo doesn't get it with ThinkPad. While the exact target of each brand is different in these 3 examples, all are upmarket items.

Comment: A Culture of Fear (Score 5, Interesting) 276

by ScottCooperDotNet (#43101101) Attached to: US Attorney General Defends Handling of Aaron Swartz Case

There has been a significant trend in America that punishment is intended not to provide a reasonable deterrent to crime, but to set an example to keep the rest in line. The higher the possible sentence, the more likely it is for the defendant to plead down to something, or be turned against another defendant in exchange for immunity. All of this is intended to save the prosecutor the hassle of making his case in court.

Eric Holder is promoting a legal version of the Tarkin Doctrine.

Try to get all of your posthumous medals in advance.

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