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Comment 1* reviews serve several purposes (Score 2) 162

1) I read the bad reviews first to see how many of the bad reviews are idiots. For example, I purchased a product that adapted VGA to video. There was a switch on the side of the box for NTSC/PAL. A number of N. American consumers indicated the box didn't work and that the picture was monochrome (black & white). Well, those folks obviously didn't flip the switch from PAL (as shipped) to NTSC because monochrome is a symptom of video format mismatch (simplying a bit to illustrate the point). So, I discount the 1* reviews with that reasoning that tells me they used the product incorrectly. 2) I look for the proportion of 5* and 1* reviews. If they're about equal, that's a danger sign. If they trail off in a nice log power type curve, so much the better. Those who mention IMDB being seeded with a lot of 10% reviews, beware because the studios know how much word of mouth matters today so they plant reviews that make Baywatch sound like The Godfather. Any "reviewer" who only gives 1 or 10* reviews is suspect in my book. 3) I look for reviews that closely match my use case. 4) I look for reviews that are clearly fake. 5) Any review that is 1* due to price I completely ignore (prices fluctuate and my price point may be very different than yours. Review the actual product, not the price. *I* decide whether the price is worth it. Unfortunately, Google Play's app store doesn't allow one to look at the negative reviews only. Very annoying. Maybe Google should look at this research and understand that low * reviews serve a purpose.

Comment Re:Am I Asking Too Much? (Score 1) 479

My number two wish is a switch that says:
Anything pasted into this document will adopt the formatting of the line into which it is being pasted.
I cannot think of a single instance, ever, when I wanted the formatting from some web page to be carried over into my document.

In Word 2010, try File | Options | Advanced | Cut, copy, and paste | Pasting from other programs: Keep Text Only

If you are using styles, your pasted text will adopt the style of the surrounding paragraph. There are also options for handling pasting within the same document, pasting between documents, and pasting between documents when the style definitions conflict.

Comment Re:Well, no (Score 1) 170

I've seen the show twice. The non-Trek-interested friends didn't get it, but the Trek-enabled did. We also had tickets for this year, but the show was cancelled due to the blizzard. The show is understandable (from a what-is-happening plot point of view) without knowing "Star Trek" or Klingon culture since there are supertitles and a small bit of narration in Federation Standard (English). However, it is not nearly as funny if you don't understand the Trek references.
Moon

LRO Photographs Soviet Lunar Landers From the '70s 24

braindrainbahrain writes "Photographs of the Sea of Crises on the Moon taken by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter show the Soviet lunar landers Luna 20, Luna 23 and Luna 24, which landed on the Moon in the 1970s. In addition to the landers, it is possible to see the tracks made by the Lunokhod lunar rover! The Soviet Lunokhod lunar rover predates the first successful Mars Rover by some 30 years. (Note: Very cool old-style artists' drawings of the Soviet craft at the Wikipedia links above.)"
Censorship

Modern Warfare 2 Not Recalled In Russia After All 94

thief21 writes "After claims that console versions Modern Warfare 2 had been recalled in Russia due to complaints from politicians and the gaming public over the infamous airport slaughter scene, it turns out the stories were completely untrue. Activision never released a console version of the game in Russia." Instead, they simply edited the notorious scene out of the PC version. They did this of their own volition, since Russia doesn't have a formal ratings committee.
Communications

Navigating a Geek Marriage? 1146

JoeLinux writes "I am soon to marry my true love (a girl! yes! they do exist!). She is a literary geek, whereas I am a gaming/Linux geek. Being the RTFM-style geeks that we are, we have been reading up on marriage, making things work, etc. Unfortunately, all of the references seem to be based around an alpha-male jock and a submissive cheerleader-style wife. A lot of the references to incompatibility in the books don't apply to us (neglect due to interest in sports, etc.). What are some of the pitfalls and successes learned in the course of a more geek-oriented marriage?"

Comment William Shatner's Shoot or Be Shot (Score 1) 1675

For my first post-divorce birthday, my friends took me to a "double feature" of "Shoot or Be Shot" (2002) starring William Shatner and "Kung Pow: Enter the Fist" (2002).

Three of the eight people in the theatre walked out muttering "This is the worst movie ever made". I can't believe anybody, anywhere, liked that movie. Kung Pow was just barely bad enough to get us to avoid nightmares after seeing "Shoot or Be Shot"

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