Wow, that bulldozer guy was just so groovy! Too bad he became stuck.

Actually, it shouldn't be capitalized with that usage. I wouldn't capitalize "the Greek gods" or "the Greek god Zeus", and I expect you wouldn't either.

The point of the article is not to accuse Microsoft of wrongdoing. It's to use a highly visible example -- a screen that will be presented to every Windows user in Europe! -- to teach a computer science lesson to programmers.

Sorry but I need to throw in my two cents: as a college student I started to miscarry my baby, so I showed up at the local hospital in Berkeley. I wasn't even allowed in to see a doctor to be stabilized or sent by ambulance to the county hospital in Oakland. They literally couldn't hurry me off their property fast enough. I had to have someone drive me the half hour to Highland. It was shocking and awful.

Knuth is for computer scientists. Not everybody who writes code meets that definition. A lot of us (and I include myself) don't even qualify as "engineers".

For most programmers, the best way to write good "select random x from 1..n is not to brush up on our algorithmics. That's like fabricating a car part instead of going to the auto supply. (Hey, there's a good reason the car analogy keeps popping up!) You need to rely on standard, well-tested libraries. Josh Bloch even refers to this use case as an example of why you should rely on library code.

An appeals court is not allowed to reach an issue that was not argued in the court below. The defendant failed to raise that argument in the district court. The 5th Circuit specifically noted that the issue of excessiveness of damages under due process standards was simply not before them, since it had not been preserved for appeal.

36,000 physicists are worried.

What is that, proof by red herring ghost reference? That has absolutely nothing to do with the topic at hand (the 2035 glacier-typo). Secondly, the IOP isn't 36,000 physicists; it has 36,000 members, but only a fraction of those are physicists: "Our diverse membership ranges from university students through qualified professionals employed in all sectors of the economy to the retired community.". Third, physicists != climate scientists. Fourth, 1 != many dozens. Fifth, thank god that the UN is investigating these ridiculous denier claims, because most of them are patent nonsense. Despite you citing the UN now, in a couple months, I fully expect to hear you saying, "Who cares what the UN has to say; they're just trying to clear their name" or something of that nature.

In the offshore industry you still have those panels....

They are called "CAP" or "Critical Action Panel" and are connected directly to the low level controllers in the process and safety system bypassing all HMI.

Sometimes you want a hardwired connection to the device responsible for releasing a deluge valve. Gas-producing rigs in the north sea would be one such place *grin*

While an amusing joke, they still exist to some degree!

Yeah... but they have to make the turtleneck themselves.

Stop idiots from blasting satellites in space an creating even more debris. Stop other idiots from giving the first group of idiots a reason to blow up satellites.

Anyone remember roguetrader.com? That's basically this thing from 12 years ago. I made a fortune off of Art Bell XD

should make a law where any patent has to be developed for actual use by the patenter or official licensee within one year of being granted, otherwise it's revoked, but this is the least of what's wrong with the stupid over-litigated patent system in this idiotic fucking country

Thank you for adding a lol to that sentence, it shows how childish you are.

It's not that I do not agree with the content. Italy is the most corrupt state, the less free for speech and criticism, probably the less technologically advanced and by far one of the worst economies in Europe. I will expatriate the day I finish my phd.

But you can easily step down from your pedestal and shove your derision up your ignorant ass.

For example, here in Italy the government has absolutely no control over the courts. There is not political statement in justice. They follow the law by principle and this is likely a case where the judges asked the parliament for modernizing the law. For example they have issued a very short conviction (under two years convictions are not served if you are uncensored).

The fact that you (and many others) think Berlusconi has anything to do with this shows how ignorant you are. Berlusconi fucking hates judges. They are constantly prosecuting him for corruption. For this he is trying to put them under the control of the government. It is hilarious that for definitely killing justice and protecting corruption he is trying to implement the kind of system you have in mind (and probably in your country)... Maybe he should just rename corruption to lobbying and be done, like in the US.

... is not to play.

And how will this be determined?

If it's the state government's decision, I highly doubt they'd overturn anything since they're likely as corrupt as Washington (note: I might have a skewed view of state politics since I'm from Illinois - here's hoping our next elected Governor isn't arrested).

If it's based on a public ballot, I don't have faith in the general populace to be skeptical enough of any laws passed, and will likely be pushed through as "the Government would do wrong."