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Comment Re:Equal rights (Score 4, Interesting) 832

by thehickcoder (#43613777) Attached to: So What If Yahoo's New Dads Get Less Leave Than Moms?
I like the way my company handles this. One partner (primary caregiver) gets 12 weeks. The other (secondary caregiver) gets 2 weeks. It addresses all the discrimination/same-sex issues, while also handling the "someone who just had another person come out of them should get more time off" common sense. If the mother works, the father is automatically considered to be the secondary caregiver unless he can provide documentation from her employer saying she only was able to get 2 weeks off. I know fathers who have been able to take 12 weeks off because their wife's employer only allowed 2 weeks of maternity leave.

Comment Re:"The flaw" not really much of a flaw (Score 1) 152

by thehickcoder (#41085201) Attached to: T-Mobile Returns To Unlimited Data Plans

2 things:

1. I haven't run into user-agent blocking where I live, maybe it is a regional thing. I have the user-agent on Opera mobile set to use the desktop version without issues. Additionally a few weeks ago my power was out for a couple days and my phone became my primary home internet connection, no browser on 1 windows and 2 linux PCs was blocked.

2. I doubt they would be able to see the TTL. The TTL of the ssh packet would be unchanged, and the TTL of the tunneled packet would be encrypted.

Comment Target Quality Factor (Score 1) 139

by thehickcoder (#35128594) Attached to: New Technique For Making JPEG Images Copy-Evident

Our algorithm works by adding a high-frequency pattern to the image with an amplitude carefully selected to cause maximum quantization error on recompression at a chosen target JPEG quality factor.

The key here is JPEG quality factor. This only works on a specific quality factor. Just pick a different one. I just tried it using their example image. At some quality factors you can see somthing funny going on (spots on image). But, at any factor you would use to actually compress a photo (above 90) the image looks fine.
This could work for the bandwith-saving proxy mentioned in the article since they will have low quality factors. But what would be the point then? Mangling images when viewed on a cellphone?

Comment Re:Why approximate numbers? (Score 2, Insightful) 309

by thehickcoder (#33189872) Attached to: Rubik's Cube Now Solvable in 20 Moves
I believe the article said their solution algorithm did not search for optimal solutions, only for those that are 20 moves or less. (It has already been proven that there exist positions that can not be solved in less than 20 moves)
So, they can probably give an upper bound on the number of positions solvable in 20 moves, but not an exact number.
Government

$2 Billion For Broadband Cut From Stimulus Bill 658

Posted by Soulskill from the down-the-tubes dept.
pdabbadabba points out a CNN report on changes to the planned economic stimulus bill (the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 [PDF]) that will remove the $2 billion allocated to broadband development. The changes also eliminated smaller amounts allocated to NASA, the National Institute for Standards and Technology, and the National Science Foundation. $16 billion in school construction funding was removed, as well as another $3.5 billion for higher education construction. A variety of environmental projects were also cut or reduced (half of the $7 billion set aside for energy-efficient federal buildings, half of the $600 million for hybrid federal vehicles), and over $8 billion in health-related provisions are gone. The bill will likely go to vote in the Senate on Tuesday.

Advanced Excel for Scientific Data Analysis 303

Posted by samzenpus from the read-all-about-it dept.
cgjherr writes "If the recent financial meltdown has left you wondering, 'When does exponential decay function stop?' then I have the book for you. Advanced Excel for Scientific Data Analysis is the kind of book that only comes along every twenty years. A tome so densely packed with scientific and mathematical formulas that it almost dares you to try and understand it all. A "For Dummies" book starts with a gentle introduction to the technology. This is more like a "for Mentats" book. It assumes that you know Excel very well. The first chapter alone will have you in awe as you see the author turn the lowly Excel into something that rivals Mathematica using VBA, brains, and a heaping helping of fortitude." Read on for the rest of Jack's review.
Cellphones

Verizon Wireless To Open Network 286

Posted by kdawson from the bring-your-own dept.
A number of readers are letting us know about Verizon's plans, announced today, to open their nationwide wireless network to devices that they don't sell. A NYTimes blog posting puts VZW's announcement in industry context. From the press release: "In early 2008, the company will publish the technical standards the development community will need to design products to interface with the Verizon Wireless network. Any device that meets the minimum technical standard will be activated on the network. Devices will be tested and approved in a $20 million state-of-the-art testing lab which received an additional investment this year to gear up for the anticipated new demand. Any application the customer chooses will be allowed on these devices."

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