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Journal: RasPi and other developments

Journal by Sooner Boomer

In a previous entry, I stated that the Pi didn't have "real world" interfacing. It looks like that has changed considerably. And the Pi now has competition. I just bought a BeagleBone Black. It's a small single-board computer similar to the Pi, but with what many consider to be improvements. One is on-board storage. It has 512M of DDR RAM, and 2G of flash memory. It also has a microSD slot. There are linux, android, and other OS's developed specifically for it. My previous entry comm

Comment: Re:Did anybody not see this coming? (Score 1) 236

by Sooner Boomer (#43540541) Attached to: Smartphone Used To Scan Data From Chip-Enabled Credit Cards

It was a 5 minute phone call for me, when I wanted my Visa to send me a new card without RFID. They sent me the card, and added a flag on my account to not automatically "upgrade" me to RFID ever again

It took me less than one minute with a center punch and a hammer, and none of my RFID cards give away my information. Ever.

Comment: Re:Chaos (Score 3, Informative) 277

by Sooner Boomer (#42977675) Attached to: How Sequestration Will Affect Federal Research Agencies

Shame it's not tied into Politicians' pay,

Actually, their pay (Congress/Senate) is supposed to be withheld until the sequestration ends.
If this is the end of the civilized world, as some are fearmongering it, why was Obama out on a golf vacation instead of working on the budget? Does this show how seriously he takes it? Sequestration was his idea after all.

Comment: Might be useful... (Score 1) 192

by Sooner Boomer (#42695461) Attached to: Thousands of Publicly Accessible Printers Searchable On Google

...if these printers were somewhere they could reasonably replace a fax machine. But then, even fax machines are abused/spammed.

And it doesn't have to be deliberate. I supplied the department with a year's worth of scrap paper when I tried to print a postscript file to a laser printer. Something in the Windows-to-Appletalk software got munged and the text of the file got printed instead of the document.

Entertainment

+ - Need E-Reader Recemmendations 1

Submitted by
Sooner Boomer
Sooner Boomer writes "Black Friday is coming on strong. The one thing I'm looking for this year is an e-reader. Actually, it doesn't need to be a dedicated e-reader like a Kindle or Nook, it could be a tablet. The requirements are: it has to read as many formats as possible (.pdf, .lit, .mobi, .txt, .etc). It should play .mp3s (audio books). It should be as inexpensive as possible, yet actually available. I don't mind jail breaking or rooting a device if that will increase the available formats. It would be nice if it had a memory card slot, or would br able to access my home nerwork (smb server). I've got terrible eyes, so it would be nice if it was backlit, but not a requirement. Suggestions?"

+ - Michael O'Hare Dead at 60->

Submitted by
Sooner Boomer
Sooner Boomer writes "'Babylon 5' Star Michael O'Hare Died at 60 from heart attack. O’Hare, who starred as Commander Jeffrey Sinclair on the first season of the sci-fi series Babylon 5, died Friday after suffering a heart attack five days earlier. He was 60.


“This is a terrible loss for all B5 fans, and everyone involved with the show wishes to convey their condolences to the O'Hare family,” series creator J. Michael Straczynski wrote on his Facebook page. “He was an amazing man.”


O'Hare left the show after the first season (Straczynski at the time called it a "mutual, amicable and friendly separation," with the star being ostensibly replaced by Bruce Boxleitner), but the actor came back for an episode in season two and back-to-back installments in season three to wrap up his character's storyline.


More at The Hollywood Reporter and Huffington Post.


I guess this will spark another "Kirk vs. Picard"-style squabble."
Link to Original Source

Comment: Re:What needs reform is.. (Score 4, Interesting) 93

by Sooner Boomer (#41295147) Attached to: The Fight To Reform Forensic Science

Too often the forensic office is friends with and/or pressured by the police or DA to get results.

More likely they are willing to do whatever they can to "fight crime". As an example, I give you the case of Joyce Gilcrist. From the Wilipedia entry

"Joyce Gilchrist is a former forensic chemist who had participated in over 3,000 criminal cases in 21 years while working for the Oklahoma City police department, and who was accused of falsifying evidence. Her evidence led in part to 23 people being sentenced to death, 11 of whom have been executed."

We'll never know how many of those 3000 were actually innocent, while the guilty walked free. She should have been charged with conspiracy to commit murder through depraved indifference, but that's just my opinion.

Comment: The Register says exact opposite (Score 4, Informative) 385

On 30th August 2012 00:44 GMT, there was an article on The Register titled "Customers dumping Samsung phones in wake of Apple suit"

Apple CEO Tim Cook might be pleased with the verdict in his company's recent patent legislation against Samsung, but Samsung customers are definitely not, according to the market watchers at mobile phone trade-in firm Gazelle. "Consumers seem to be jumping ship," Anthony Scarsella, Gazelle's "chief gadget officer," told MarketWatch. "We expect this trend to continue, especially with this latest verdict." Scarsella says his company, which buys used mobile phones from consumers, has seen a 50 per cent increase in the number of customers looking to unload Samsung kit since Monday alone. The sudden upsurge in supply has led Gazelle to drop the prices it pays for Samsung mobiles by 10 per cent.

So which is it? Buying or dumping?

In any world menu, Canada must be considered the vichyssoise of nations -- it's cold, half-French, and difficult to stir. -- Stuart Keate

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