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Comment Huh? They already have it running (Score 1) 42

I used a couple of pop songs in my yearly video _last_ year, and it found and removed my post within minutes (it wasn't even public - just for friends).

I had to resort to embedding youtube video, that happily shows ads and allows you to buy these songs - I really wish Facebook had same, since watching youtube video on mobile in facebook client is suboptimal...

Comment MS Research did some more useful research here (Score 1) 140

http://channel9.msdn.com/Blogs/TheChannel9Team/Kevin-Schofield-Tour-of-Microsoft-Research-Part-II-machine-learning
http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/um/people/horvitz/interrupt.htm - this is his stuff about email/IM interruptions
for example this one http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/um/people/horvitz/learninterrupt.htm

I have only really watched the video myself, it's an interesting idea - using webcam, microphone and your calendar, try to estimate how much is your time worth (in dollars) at any particular point of time. I guess the guy was so annoyed with IM that he decided to dedicate his research to it :)

Comment Alcohol test for soviet pilots (Score 3, Interesting) 140

I remember hearing a story that this system was used to determine the state of mind for soviet military pilots.
You type a control paragraph of text, and then you have to type the same thing again before each flight. The computer just measures the pattern of how you type, and sinc ethere's substantial amount of text (not just shorter password) I guess it could work.

Of course this was easy to bypass if you just typed initial control text already drunk. :) Just make sure you are drunk for each flight afterwards.

BTW, I have also heard a lecture in my uni 15 years ago from a guy that was trying to develop the system to also determine general mood of the person by the way they typed. Not sure how far that went.

Comment H1B is actually dual intent visa (Score 1) 654

It doesn't allow you to stay permanently, but it does allow you to change your mind and apply permanently.
This is unlike other temporary visas, that specifically say that you have to return. If you break that promise, they may not let you in again on a temporary visa.

This distinction is a huge deal if you want to get a visa into US. To get temporary visa, you have to have some reason to return. Education, relatives, business, work, property etc. If you are an unemployed young person, you are not getting a visa. If you are in the last year of school, it's a high probability too (YMMV of course).

So... you failed to mention that you can in fact apply for green card just after being on H1-B for 6 years. You don't have to be in a special category. 5 more years to get a citizenship. From entering USA as H1-B worker to becoming a citizen you need a minimum of 11 years.

Mars

Mars Lander Sees Falling Snow 118

Riding with Robots writes "NASA reports that the Phoenix Mars Lander has detected snow falling from Martian clouds. According to the Canadian team running a weather experiment, a laser instrument designed to study how the atmosphere and surface interact on Mars has detected snow from clouds about 4 kilometers above the landing site. Data shows the snow vaporizing before reaching the surface, but one of the mission scientists said, 'We'll be looking for signs that the snow may even reach the ground.' Spacecraft soil experiments have also provided evidence of past interaction between minerals and liquid water."

Comment Re:Fascinating... (Score 1) 398

why not just plop in a keylogger, or set up a hidden webcam to shoulder-surf

hm... well, there are many scenarios (in Russia for example) when TrueCrypt is used in gray accounting operations. in this case, the authorities only get once chance to grab the hardware, assuming nobody EMP'ed the computer :) (the hardware for that is available too... for real, with a remote control)

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