Comment I love my job (Score 1) 311
I can work as long as I need to because I love my job and never get tired of it. To me it's just more fun to be had.
Comment Re:Faith is always present... (Score 0) 1293
Belief in a diety IS mutually exclusive with any kind of scientific integrity. You cannot believe in science and also believe in a diety, because belief in a diety requires abandoning the scientific process.
Comment Re:Young Earth Creationism Considered Harmful (Score 1) 1293
I don't see how you expect to be taken seriously when you openly admit being delusional.
To Boldly Go Nowhere, For Now 308
An anonymous reader writes "A recent Slate article makes the argument that manned space exploration is not useful and we should concentrate on Robots. The article makes the claim that manned space exploration was never popular and by diverting money to robotic space exploration we can get more bang for the buck. From the article: 'Most of the arguments in favor of manned space exploration boil down to the following: a) We need to explore space using people since keeping the entire human race on a single piece of rock is a bad strategy, and even if we send robots first, people would have to make the journey eventually; and b) humans can explore much better than robots. Both these arguments are very near-sighted—in large part because they assume that robots aren’t going to get any better. They also fail to recognize that technology may radically change humans in the next century or so.'"
Comment Re:Brazil always answers to USA (Score 1) 285
I also go there frequently, but I used a service to get my visa, and it was effortless. I just had to FedEx my passport to New York, and they had it turned around in a week or so.
Comment Re:Brazil always answers to USA (Score 1) 285
First, they don't care if they change it or not. The US can change it or not, and Brazil will maintain reciprocity. Reciprocity is about fairness, not about forcing change.
Second, it does not reduce the number of Americans traveling to Brazil because, believe it or don't, most Americans who have the means to travel don't have trouble meeting the financial criteria to get a visa to the US (which is the chief problem poor foreigners run into when trying to come here).
Comment I don't like it (Score 4, Insightful) 230
With this move, they are now beholden to shareholders (i.e. the Venture Capitalists) and profit is the #1 priority, despite the flowery, rainbow-colored unicorn fantasy they are promoting.
I'd bet dollars to donuts that CM is going to become payware and possibly even supported by ads integrated directly into the O/S, with underlying information snooping software that gives them your private info so they can sell it to marketing firms.
So, no, I don't like it one bit.
Comment Re:Brazil always answers to USA (Score 4, Interesting) 285
Brazil has a policy of absolute reciprocity when it comes to immigration. Brazil requires the same of US Residents applying for a Brazilian visa as the US requires of Brazilian Residents applying for a US Visa.
Any requirement imposed upon Brazilian citizens by any other country is reciprocated toward that country's citizens. It makes perfect sense to do it that way.
Comment Re:Are they manufacturing their own hardware, too? (Score 1) 285
Yes, in fact, they are. Brazil has enormous import duties and generally it is not profitable or feasible to manufacture goods outside of Brazil for sale in Brazil.
Comment Re:Carriers are already required to unlock phones (Score 1) 378
The guy at the store said it stopped being Verizon's company policy back in May.
Comment Re:Carriers are already required to unlock phones (Score 1) 378
I did this just this week with a new Lenovo laptop I bought. I took it to the Verizon store and they put a Verizon SIM card in it for their LTE data network and added it to my account, no problem.
Comment How many fingernails does he have left? (Score 1) 349
Does anyone know?
Comment Re:Obama and the FCC dont get cell phone tech (Score 3, Interesting) 378
You can't have that many antennas in the phone without it being too big. There are half a dozen frequency bands ranging from 700Mhz all the way up to 2100MHz, and one antenna will not do it all.
Sure, it's easy enough to have a software defined radio like they do, but the amplifiers, LNAs, matching networks, and antennas are all cut for one or maybe two bands.
Comment Re:Doesn't matter (Score 2) 378
Nobody is holding a gun to your head and making you sign that contract. All of the carriers will give you a no-contract plan or sell you an unsubsidized, unlocked phone.
Arrested Chinese Blogger "Confesses" On State TV, Praises Censorship 349
Koreantoast writes "As part of a broader, chilling Chinese crackdown on Internet dissent, Chinese blogger Charles Xue appeared on Chinese state television in handcuffs on Sunday, denouncing his blog and praising government censorship. He 'confessed' to becoming drunk on the accumulated power of his Weibo blog, which peaked at 12 million followers, and confessed to recklessly spreading unverified rumors and slander, disrupting social harmony and becoming a vent of negative emotion on mainstream society. He also praised new government legislation cracking down on Internet freedom, stating how dangerous the Internet would be if left uncontrolled by the government. Xue was arrested on prostitution solicitation charges though his television confession did not discuss that. His arrest was also suspiciously around the same time as a broader government sweep that picked up other Chinese Internet activists."
