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Submission + - Poll: Which 3-letter organization would you LEAST want a visit from?

Submitted by CyberSlugGump
CyberSlugGump writes: Idea for a poll: Which 3-letter organization would you LEAST want a visit from?

BSA (the software one)
CDC (the disease one)
CIA (the inelligence one)
DEA (the drug one)
EPA (the environment one)
FBI (the bureau one)
IRS (the revenue one)
NSA (S != Snowden one)
LDS (the saints one)
SEC (the exchange one)

Comment Re:So... (Score 2) 172

by CyberSlugGump (#43797053) Attached to: German IT Firm Seeks Autistic Workers
Autism or Asperger’s syndrome? I guess the distinction is moot now with the very recent release of the Fifth Edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders eliminating Asperger Disorder in favor of Autism Spectrum Disorder

Also, remember person-first language: "workers with autism" instead of "autistic workers"

Submission + - 'CodeSpells' video game teaches children Java programming (blogspot.com)

Submitted by CyberSlugGump
CyberSlugGump writes: Computer scientists at UC San Diego have developed a 3D first-person video game designed to teach young students Java programming. In CodeSpells a wizard must help a land of gnomes by writing spells in Java. Simple quests teach main Java components such as conditional and loop statements. Research presented March 8 at the 2013 SIGCSE Technical Symposium indicate that a test group of 40 girls aged 10-12 mastered many programming concepts in just one hour of playing.

Comment Re:Why do ISPs even provide email? (Score 4, Insightful) 96

by CyberSlugGump (#43212327) Attached to: Telstra Bigpond To Use Outlook.com As Email Handler

Why do ISPs still provide email? There are lots of free and pay for email servers available. I say reduce my bill $1/year and get rid of it.

I've always thought that using an ISP-provided email address is a form of vendor lock-in. Want to change ISPs? Then you will lose the email address you've had for so many years.

Comment SuRun (Score 1) 418

by CyberSlugGump (#43083851) Attached to: Ask Slashdot: How Best To Set Up a Parent's PC?
SuRun is a program that brings UAC to Windows XP, but with a lot more granular control. I still run XP at home, and SuRun allows me to run as a limited user. It works quite well, and you can customize rules to always run specified programs with admin privs. It can also automatically prompt for credentials when required. The only main problems I've encountered as a regular user account is with Adobe's Flash Updater failing and when installing certain software--I had to log in as a true admin to install Acronis True Image. If I re-run the Flash updater with SuRun, it works fine. Windows Update works fine if set to automatically install critical/security updates; but if I manually want to install optional updates, then I have to log in with an admin account. SuRun site translated into English

Comment Re:Last Digit? (Score 1) 299

by CyberSlugGump (#33609652) Attached to: Nicholas Sze of Yahoo Finds Two-Quadrillionth Digit of Pi

So why don't they just use their formula to compute the last digit of Pi already? That would be the rational approach. Who cares about the two quadrillionth digit??

If trailing zeros after a decimal point (e.g., 3.500 = 3.5) are not significant digits, then I believe the last digit of pi in binary notation have to be 1. Therefore, pi = 11.00100100 ... 1 where filling in the "..." is left as an exercise for the reader :-)

Submission + - What to do with old 802.11b equipment? 2

Submitted by CyberSlugGump
CyberSlugGump writes: I am trying to declutter, and I have come across my cheap, off-brand, consumer-grade 802.11b wireless routers, PCMCIA cards, and USB adapters. The routers would still be good as 4-port 100Mb switches, and the other devices have at least 32-bit Windows XP drivers available. However, lack of security beyond WEP and the age of the equipment makes me wonder if it is worth any time putting it to use.
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Girl Claims Price Scanner Gave Her Tourette's Syndrome 558

Posted by samzenpus from the it's-$4.99-you-f*#@ing-co^&%#@!er dept.
Attorneys for Dominica Juliano claim that she was burned and developed psychological problems after a store clerk aimed a hand-held price scanner at her face. Store attorneys say their scanners uses a harmless LED light and that the girl had serious health problems before she was scanned. From the article: "Dominica Juliano was 12 when she and her grandmother entered the Country Fair store in Erie in June 2004. A clerk allegedly called the girl 'grumpy' before flashing his hand-held bar code scanner over her face and telling her to smile. Attorneys for Ms. Juliano and her guardian say the girl was sensitive to light and burned, and later developed post-traumatic stress and Tourette's syndrome."
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Officers Lose 243 Homeland Security Guns 125

Posted by samzenpus from the they-were-right-here-a-second-ago dept.
In a screw up so big it could only be brought to you by the government or a famous athlete, 243 guns were lost by Homeland Security agencies between 2006 and 2008. 179 guns, were lost "because officers did not properly secure them," an inspector general report said. One of the worst examples of carelessness cites a customs officer who left a firearm in an idling vehicle in the parking lot of a convenience store. The vehicle was stolen while the officer was inside. "A local law enforcement officer later recovered the firearm from a suspected gang member and drug smuggler," the report said.

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