Comment Re:On Hybrid Vehicles (Score 1) 594
Um, he means that the low end torque doesn't matter in a hybrid, since the electric motor will be providing that.
Comment Re:Disc Parking (Score 1) 863
Someone's going to have to explain this a little better. I understand how the disc works, I just don't understand how the city gets any money for it. Are they only for free parking zones?
Comment Re:Ridiculous! (Score 1) 863
I think it's the waste of time more so than the actual walking the half block multiple times.
Comment Re:Facepalm. (Score 1) 730
But there are also penny-pinching customers that refuse to replace a 7 year old system, even against all advice. And when that finally crashes, i'm mostly annoyed because disaster recovery isn't exactly the fun part of my job.
My favorite part about the 7 year old system is that I would sometimes even quote a customer for a cheaper system, you know, keep the old monitor, etc. for about $500 or $600. They'd say no, they can't afford it, and then pay me for hours of labor at $115 an hour to make the crappy old system work.
Submission + - Palm Pre reports your location, usage, to Palm (kitenet.net) 1
AceJohnny writes: "Joey Hess found that his Palm Pre was ratting on him. It turns out the Pre periodically uploads detailed information about the user, including installed apps, application usage (and crashes), as well as GPS coordinates to Palm. This, of course, without user consent or control. The only way he found to disable this was to modify system files."
Submission + - DIY CPU thermal grease - using diamond dust! (inventgeek.com)
tygerstripes writes: "The dysfunctor has spotted an impressive project over on InventGeek.com; an innovative chap has developed his own thermal compound for improved CPU cooling, using diamond dust — the best available material for thermal conduction — as the key ingredient.
In spite of the quick-&-dirty DIY nature of the project, the gains in cooling performance are remarkable, especially considering the material cost was only $33. Given the price many enthusiasts will pay for a top-end cooler, it's easy to imagine this product coming to market quite soon."
In spite of the quick-&-dirty DIY nature of the project, the gains in cooling performance are remarkable, especially considering the material cost was only $33. Given the price many enthusiasts will pay for a top-end cooler, it's easy to imagine this product coming to market quite soon."
Submission + - Sticky Tape Found To Emit Terahertz Radiation (newscientist.com)
An anonymous reader writes:
WILL sticky tape ever cease to amaze? Peeling it can generate terahertz radiation, raising the possibility of a cheaper alternative to lasers for medical imaging. Peeling sticky tape has already been shown to produce X-rays, so Joseph Horvat and Roger Lewis of the University of Wollongong in New South Wales, Australia, tried to see if it could create lower-frequency terahertz radiation. "We were rather pleasantly surprised to obtain a clear signal in our first attempt," says Horvat. Strongly adhesive Scotch Magic 810 tape and weakly adhesive electrical tape both yielded strong terahertz signals, ranging from 0.1 to 10 terahertz, but only about a microwatt of power, too little for practical use (Optics Letters, vol 34, p 2195). Horvat says that refinements should increase the power by orders of magnitude.
It may be old news to
Submission + - Goodbye Apple. Hello Music Production on Ubuntu. 1
Adam Wrzeski writes: "Create Digital Music has an interesting article on Kim Cascone's switch from Apple to Linux for audio production:
The computer functioned as both sound design studio and stage instrument. I worked this way for ten years, faithfully following the upgrade path set forth by Apple and the various developers of the software I used. Continually upgrading required a substantial financial commitment on my part.
I loaded up my Dell with all a selection of Linux audio applications and brought it with me on tour as an emergency backup to my tottering PowerBook. The Mini 9 could play back four tracks of 24-bit/96 kHz audio with effects — not bad for a netbook. The solution to my financial constraint became clear, and I bought a refurbished Dell Studio 15, installed Ubuntu on it, and set it up for sound production and business administration. The total cost was around $600 for the laptop plus a donation to a software developer — a far cry from the $3000.00 price tag and weeks of my time it would have cost me to stay locked-in to Apple. After a couple of months of solid use, I have had no problems with my laptop or Ubuntu. Both have performed flawlessly, remaining stable and reliable."
The computer functioned as both sound design studio and stage instrument. I worked this way for ten years, faithfully following the upgrade path set forth by Apple and the various developers of the software I used. Continually upgrading required a substantial financial commitment on my part.
I loaded up my Dell with all a selection of Linux audio applications and brought it with me on tour as an emergency backup to my tottering PowerBook. The Mini 9 could play back four tracks of 24-bit/96 kHz audio with effects — not bad for a netbook. The solution to my financial constraint became clear, and I bought a refurbished Dell Studio 15, installed Ubuntu on it, and set it up for sound production and business administration. The total cost was around $600 for the laptop plus a donation to a software developer — a far cry from the $3000.00 price tag and weeks of my time it would have cost me to stay locked-in to Apple. After a couple of months of solid use, I have had no problems with my laptop or Ubuntu. Both have performed flawlessly, remaining stable and reliable."
Comment Gateway and Acer? (Score 1) 238
I think the biggest problem with this comparison is the brands. I didn't even have to read the article to know that they're both pieces of shit, just from the brand names.
Comment Re:oh sit down and stfu (Score 1) 1251
a very small percentage of "IT" students are there for the love of the subject, but purely because it's thought of as a well paid occupation.
I remember noticing that when I was in college. To this day, when someone asks me if they should study IT, the first think i ask them is "Do you have a true interest in computer related stuff, or do you just want to do it because it pays well?". Because the fact is, all the study in the world will not make you a good IT person. You have to have a true interest in it to be good at it.
Comment Re:Depressing, but not uncommon (Score 1) 1251
4.0 only happens if you're completely fucking insane, get no sleep, and sprinkle riddalin on your cornflakes in the morning to help you focus.
Or if you fellate your professors.
Comment Re:Depressing, but not uncommon (Score 1) 1251
"Bachelor of Business Administration" in "IT"
I have a BSBA, my major is CIS (Computer Info Systems, don't know if anyone calls it that anymore, I got my degree in 98). I could certainly see a clueless journalist type my degree up as "Bachelor of Business Administration" in "IT".
Comment Re:Depressing, but not uncommon (Score 1) 1251
Does the 5 weeks (25 days) include holidays, etc.? I used to hear the 5 weeks off thing from Europeans, and I'd get pissed at my employer for the measly 3 weeks that I would get. Then, I started working for a hospital system that does not automatically give holidays off, since it's a 24-7 shop; we have to use our leave time for holidays (or come in and work). We get 25 days a year when we start, increases over time. So, that's 5 weeks, but if we take all 9 official holidays, it makes it about 3 weeks. So, now I wonder if that means that Europeans get 5 weeks in addition to holidays, or are the holidays part of those 5 weeks?
Comment Re:Weird article. (Score 1) 254
I have an unlimited texting plan (AT&T, USA) and it's... well, I forget how much, but it's not a lot.
Really? The unlimited text plan from AT&T is $20. I think that's fucking ridiculous.
Comment Re:This is a great breakthrough... (Score 2, Insightful) 406
But it's so simple. Only a great fool would reach for the tin foil hat. I am not a great fool, so I can clearly not choose aluminum foil hat. But you must have known I was not a great fool, you would have counted on it, so I can clearly not choose tin foil hat.
So, you're saying that NEITHER tin nor aluminum is effective?!?
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