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Comment Re:We don't need meat-eating microbes on Mars... (Score 1) 78

by Crypto Gnome (#42408761) Attached to: Mars-Like Conditions Sufficient to Sustain Earth-Bound Microbes

We need oxygen-producing bacteria, like cyanobacteria.

We don't need meat-eating microbes on Mars. Good to see they found out this before-hand. Hmmm... Or did they? How do we know the little rover bugger wasn't filled with them?! Maybe it is already too late!

And remember, folks, You Are Made of Meat!

Comment There's a perfectly good reason for that (Score 1) 217

by Crypto Gnome (#42408745) Attached to: 'Connected' TVs Mostly Used Just Like the Unconnected Kind
Every "connected tv" I've ever used had a cheap-n-nasty user-interface, was PAINFULLY slow to do even the most basic operations, and more often than not had surprisingly LIMITED "applications".

Fugly, slow, and limited functionality spells "nobody will ever use this" in every language.

What's up with these companies, do they hire retarded baboons to develop their products?

Comment Re:Mass-Media Report (Score 1) 470

by Crypto Gnome (#42372217) Attached to: Specific Gut Bacteria May Account For Much Obesity
Here's an example, apparently the power-plant inside all our cells was once a separate living organism, and one day squillions of years ago one cell absorbed another without digesting it and through a magic more powerful than mere symbiosis Two Became One and the resulting biology was *significantly* more energy efficient.

It's entirely plausible that it's simply a case of whatever bacteria processing our gut contents significantly more efficiently and producing something useful to us as their waste product.

Remember folks, all that poop you produce actually contains a significant amount of unused/unprocessed energy - once it exits your body all them bacteria would die almost immediately if it didn't.

Comment You might not want to start scoffing at this yet (Score 2) 470

by Crypto Gnome (#42372147) Attached to: Specific Gut Bacteria May Account For Much Obesity
This study is not an isolated case regarding the issue of bacterium-mediated weight gain.

There have been several studies which clearly indicate that there appears to be a case for "(at least some) people have excess weight due to 'which bacteria inhabit their gut' " or something approximating that.

Yes folks, I said DUE TO, ie caused by the bacteria not the other way around (in at least one case, administering a certain bacteria caused not just scientifically significant but visibly large weight gain on the exact same diet, at least in rats).

As yet there's no conclusive proof (ie several repeated tests independently verified) with hard science numbers (not to mention something of an explanation why/how this works) and, and no magic cure for fatness, but science is nowhere near laughing this off as 'mere crackpottery'.

There's VERY OBVIOUSLY something going on here with certain bacteria and (at least) some overweight people, and scientists (all over the world, not "just someone I've never heard of in China") are turning up results from a variety of research projects (all with slightly different angles) all pointing in the direction of "this is starting to smell just like That Stomach Ulcer Thing".

Comment YAWN! (Score 1) 96

by Crypto Gnome (#42367339) Attached to: EU Charges Samsung With Abusing Vital Telecoms Patent
This article was brought to you by The Department Of The Blindingly Obvious!

Those of us who have been paying attention know PERFECTLY WELL that this is what patents are for (ie in practice, not "in theory").

More often that not a patent is put to one of three uses:

(1) None at all
(2) Used to Bludgeon competitors
(3) Saved for a rainy-day then sold to the highest bidder (who immediately implement Option #2)

Pretty much NOBODY uses a patent by developing a product using such technicalities and should a competitor wish to use the same merely requiring a license at Fair And Reasonable terms.

Comment Re:Human cloning is a gimmick. (Score 1) 233

You may be able to recreate a human with the exact same genetic material as its source, but that doesn't mean creating another you. The butterfly effect applies in the womb (or whatever replacement they will be using for it) - the brain will develop slightly differently in individuals, even if genetic material is 100% identical. Thus, identical twins may well have slightly different characters (one good, one evil). Also, this clone of yours will never have had the exact set of experiences that you did, and therefore will develop differently.

Also, I may be biased but I think the old fashioned way of creating humans is more fun.

Absolutely!

It's been conclusively proven that "who you are" is almost as much your genes as it is your mothers genes (ie gestating parent) as well as what she ate and all the other aspects of her life (eg emotional/mental stress) at the time.

WHO YOU ARE is 50% genetic and 50% all the other aspects of ALL of your environment from the moment of conception.

Cloning a human being will produce something close to genetic identity, but it WILL (probably) NEVER produce "the same person".

Comment I've said it before, and I'll say it again (Score 1) 151

by Crypto Gnome (#42363841) Attached to: Net Neutrality Bill Aimed At ISP Data Caps Introduced In US Senate
This is retarded, it's based on a complete lack of understanding of the practicalities of running an ISP.

While I'm sure some service providers are royally screwing their customers, this approach WILL NOT BE PRACTICAL.

I'm not sure about excess usage charges in the US of A, but here in Down Undah Land 2x or 3x is fairly typical. The idea being that if you often go into excess you *really* should be buying a larger amount of included usage.

BY FAR the BIGGEST issue in the US of A is NOT data-caps (and the pricing thereof) but rather the lack of competition, many people HAVE NO CHOICE of provider, and it is THIS which then leads to customer-getting-screwed.

Comment Vote With Your Feet, People (Score 1) 1110

by Crypto Gnome (#42355773) Attached to: 30 Days Is Too Long: Animated Rant About Windows 8
For more years than I can remember I've been A Windows User, pretty much since Microsoft HAD Windows.

Don't blame me, I worked for Companies and Companies used Windows Desktop Computers.

But suffice to say that Using Windows had become an ingrained habit.

The one day I found myself the excited owner of a MacPRO desktop Personal Computer.

Despite the many and various differences, I found almost everything intuitive, almost everything was pretty obvious, and the not immediately obvious things were not hard to find.

Since then I've become a very happy MacOS user.

Any new OS I have the opportunity to explore now has an extremely high standard to live up to, because quite frankly if it's even slightly more difficult to 'learn' than my experience migrating to MacOS was I'm going to give up in frustration.

IMMEDIATELY.

Yes I have become a SPOILED CHILD as a result, but let me be very clear about this I'M A VERY HAPPY SPOILED CHILD - you WILL NOT gain my business by FRUSTRATING THE LIFE OUT OF ME.

I DO NOT and NEVER WILL care that your shiny-new is "better" or "faster" (unless it's measurably orders of magnitude faster), if it is NOT significantly "easier" you have an extremely hard sell in front of you.

Comment Re:Amnesia as you go through a doorway (Score 4, Insightful) 1110

by Crypto Gnome (#42355685) Attached to: 30 Days Is Too Long: Animated Rant About Windows 8

How are users who have been opening the Start menu with the mouse for a decade and a half expected to discover the Windows key?

They're not. They're expected to move their mouse to the corner where they remember having it, and clicking there, which brings up the Start screen. Furthermore, when they first log into the OS, it plays a short video that urges them to do just that.

Erm, you mean they're supposed to INTUITIVELY know to move their mouse to some point on the screen WHERE THERE IS NOTHING and CLICK THE NOTHING?

Sounds like a perfect description of COMPLETE UI FAILURE to me.

Comment Welcome to Politics (Score 2) 163

by Crypto Gnome (#42351937) Attached to: UK Government Changes Tack and Demands Default Porn Block
Irrespective of what is good for whom, PoliticianA agrees to support some policy of PoliticianB in return for vice-versa and suddenly legislation is passed.

A sudden reversal of announced policy within a week is absolutely someone whoring out their principles to get what they want elsewhere.

Most (but not all) Politicians have the morals, ethics, and integrity of pondscum.

Comment Re:lemme guess (Score 1) 530

by Crypto Gnome (#42343215) Attached to: IQ 'a Myth,' Study Says

The whole notion of IQ has been discussed ad nauseam here on the boards. We all know it's bullshit, so there's really no point in discussing it further.

Lemme Guess, you're new here?

Slashdot: violently rehashing everything for nerds.

Comment A voyage of discovery (Score 1) 269

by Crypto Gnome (#42340879) Attached to: Property Rights In Space?
Y'all seem to have forgotten your history.

A long time ago people ventured out to discover new land with the intention of CLAIMING said land.

Once claimed (for the country, usually) the land could be developed under the laws of said country.

While I understand and agree with the proposition that it'd be unfair (or at least, unreasonable) for any country to claim an entire planet (at least, any planet in this system) but Asteroids and Various Other Miscellaneous Bodies should quite literally be UP FOR GRABS.

Of course you'd have to land on it, stake your claim, and maintain a permanent facility there. This can all be done with robots/remote-landers but it IS entirely achievable.

Comment Re:Much ado about a single tweet (Score 1) 230

by Crypto Gnome (#42335269) Attached to: Carmack: Next-Gen Console Games Will Still Aim For 30fps
Also: for those with excessively large Slashdot IDs:

Oh! (OH!)
Yo! Pretty ladies around the world,
Got a weird thing to show you, so tell all the boys and girls.
Tell your brother, your sister, and your ma-mma too,
'Cause we're about to throw down and you'll know just what to do.
Wave your hands in the air like you don't care.
Glide by the people as they start to look and stare.
Do your dance, do your dance, do your dance quick,
Ma-mma, c'mon baby, tell me what's the word?

Ah word up!

Everybody say,
When you hear the call,
You've got to get it underway.

Word up!


It's the code word,
No matter where you say it, you'll know that you'll be heard.

WordUP!

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