Comment The extortionists could easily track who paid (Score 2) 52
Simply by asking them to pay different, specific amounts. That amount clears? Check off the company who was "charged" that much.
Comment Re:Thankfully (Score 5, Funny) 137
" Thankfully, the company has large stockpiles of the material, and once that runs out they will source it from elsewhere."
Thankfully, in 20 years we'll have rich trust-fund hipster-kids developing on film "before it was cool."
-- Ethanol-fueled
Thankfully, today's economy should result in fewer trust-fund-hipster-douche-bags.
Comment The Startup Hero (Score 2) 735
I went to an event called StartupWeekend back on '08. I had a great time working with like-minded people building something over the course of a weekend. I've been back to two additional events since then and left after the opening night both times.
The shift at these events has been away from the hacker culture and towards the entrepreneur; hours of pitches by people who "have retail experience and know the space, but just need a programmer". It's disheartening. The idea is some of the work, and most times (but not necessarily) comes first. Sometimes, you work on something cool and it turns out other people want it. That's great too. But never has the world clamored or shouted for joy for some guy's concept of a real estate site. People love redfin and zillow, but until you can touch it, it's nothing. It's not even worth talking about.
Learn to build a prototype. It should be a requirement for filing a patent.
Comment As a mad, sweaty, bald man once screamed on stage (Score 2, Funny) 307
This is about developers. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zEQhhaJsU4
Comment Don't be a dick? (Score 1) 842
A lot of people have made the obvious comments about not being a know-it-all and about having good hygiene, but this all leads from the golden rule of "Don't be a dick." Accept help where you can get it, give help where you can get it, and in general, do your job well.
Comment BaseWars (Score 1) 1120
One of the classic games of my childhood, teams of robotic baseball players face off against eachother. When there's a close call at the bases, they battle to the death! Throughout the season, you earn cash based on your wins and losses, and can upgrade the weapons/defenses of your team.
As awesome as it was back in the 90's, it was basically baseball + 2D fighter. We've come a long way in both, and I'd love to see a reboot!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Base_Wars
Comment Re:Not Comcast (Score 1) 281
I have AT&T DSL, (which sucks for more reasons than there are tiles on the floor of a wal mart) and they definitely filter outbound port 25. What was really interesting is that they had a form on their web site that allowed you to opt out, should you so choose. It took me a while to find, but from the moment I realized that I was being filtered to the moment I was sending viagra ads was only a timespan of about 2 hours. And it took me 1:56 to find that stupid page.....
Submission + - Linux Gains Completely Fair Scheduler (kerneltrap.org)
SchedFred writes: KernelTrap is reporting that Ingo Molnar's Completely Fair Scheduler, or CFS, was just merged into the Linux Kernel. The new CPU scheduler includes a pluggable framework that completely replaces Molnar's earlier O(1) scheduler, and is described to "model an 'ideal, precise multi-tasking CPU' on real hardware. CFS tries to run the task with the 'gravest need' for more CPU time. So CFS always tries to split up CPU time between runnable tasks as close to 'ideal multitasking hardware' as possible." The new CPU scheduler should improve the desktop Linux experience, and will be part of the upcoming 2.6.23 kernel.
Privacy and the "Nothing To Hide" Argument 728
privacyprof writes "One of the most common responses of those unconcerned about government surveillance or privacy invasions is 'I've got nothing to hide.' According to the 'nothing to hide' argument, there is no threat to privacy unless the government uncovers unlawful activity, in which case a person has no legitimate justification to claim that it remain private. The 'nothing to hide' argument is quite prevalent. Is there a way to respond to this argument that would really register with people in the general public? In a short essay, 'I've Got Nothing to Hide' and Other Misunderstandings of Privacy, Professor Daniel Solove takes on the 'nothing to hide' argument and exposes its faulty underpinnings." At the base of the fallacy, as Bruce Schneier has noted, is the "faulty premise that privacy is about hiding a wrong."
