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Comment Yes, "nG" is just a marketing term. (Score 2) 81

I was under the impression that - "nG" was originally just an arbitrary marketing term, approximating "Our company's Nth generation of equipment, better than our (n-1)G service".

Correct. The nG is, conveniently, comparable to WiFi versions and names. Unsurprisingly, after 3G became well known, it was decided that since a year or so had gone by, 4G needed to come into existence. This is closely related to marketing, of course.. So, because mobile phone "G" wasn't something that was integrated into mobile phone towers annually like the next year of fashion, carriers decided to use a 4, then some used the acronym LTE, etc.
When a large number of antennas are upgraded, that must also include testing and adjusting settings due to differing land (and buliding) structure, altitude, composition, and weather in unique areas, across the country. Design and testing for this of course can't be done annually.

"nG", and other things involving mobile phones, are not technical/proper versions. Go to a phone store and ask a technical question; you'll receive a marketed response.

Security

Amazon Is Cutting Prices at Whole Foods Again (cnn.com) 122

An anonymous reader shares a report: Amazon is giving Whole Foods shoppers an early gift for the holidays. The grocer announced Wednesday it's slashing prices again, this time on several "holiday staples," including sweet potatoes, canned pumpkin and turkey. If you're an Amazon Prime member, you'll pay even less for turkey: Whole Foods slashed turkey prices to $1.99 per pound (compared to $2.49 for non-Prime members), or $2.99 per pound for an organic turkey ($3.49 for non-Prime members).

Comment Re:Twenty Years (Score 2) 7

Thank you all for joining the party tonight! I was very happy to see fellow Slashdot fans brave the weather to attend the gathering and celebrate a fun evening out. It was very nice to meet you; I hope you enjoyed yourselves as much as I did.

In case you'd like to reconvene in the future, we have a standing reservation at BridgePort Brewpub every Thursday at 8 p.m. (If you'd like to attend, please reply to this thread so I know you're coming.) Hope to see you there!

Comment Re:Twenty Years (Score 1) 7

Welcome to the Portland area! It's nice to have you here. We had 18 RSVPs for the 15th anniversary party, and about a dozen actually attended. This time, the gathering will likely be smaller, based on response count to date.

I hope you and your wife make it out on Friday. It would be fun to meet you and talk tech. And if you've got questions about PDX, I've been here a while and would be happy to chat.

Comment Twenty Years (Score 2) 7

BridgePort Brewpub has hosted Slashdot's 10th, 15th, and now 20th anniversary parties. Come out this Friday, October 20 to celebrate two decades of a one-of-a-kind site. Friends, food, and discussions about news for nerds and stuff that matters will fill the evening. Don't miss it!

Comment Re:"Edge" (Score 1) 140

Then that is a fail right there. They wanted to change the name from IE because of its bad reputation but if they still want people to relate back to the icon it's not going to get them very far.

They only want people who are at least slightly tech-savvy to think it's a totally new browser. They want stupid people who don't know anything to think it's the same old browser they're already familiar with. Changing the name while keeping the icon seems like a good way to accomplish these goals.

United States

NSA's Former General Council Talks Privacy, Security, and Snowden's 'Betrayal' 212

blottsie writes: In his first interview since retiring as general council to the NSA, Rajesh De offers detailed insights into the spy agency's efforts to find balance between security and privacy, why the NSA often has trouble defending itself in public, the culture of "No Such Agency," and what it was like on the inside when the Snowden bombshell went off. He describes the mood after the leaks: "My sense of it was that there were two overriding emotions among the workforce. The first was a deep, deep [feeling] of betrayal. Someone who was sitting next to them—being part of the team helping keep people safe, which is really what people at the agency think they are doing—could turn around and do something so self-aggrandizing and reckless. There was also a deep sense of hurt that a lot of what was in the media was not entirely accurate. Questioning the motives and legality of what NSA employees were being asked to do to keep Americans safe—all within the legal policy construct that we've been given—that was difficult for the NSA workforce."

Comment Keywords: Assistive Technology (AT) (Score 2) 100

There are many vendors who sell these devices, such as here: http://enablingdevices.com/cat...

For the specific need you mention, here's a start:
http://www.traxsys.com/Assisti...

My wife has Cerebral Palsy, with very poor fine motor control of her hands. She has two of these joysticks, both paid for with grants found for her from our local United Cerebral Palsy center (http://www.ucpsdtechcenter.org/).

It is an analog joystick - the same type used on power wheelchairs: the further you push the stick, the faster the cursor travels in that direction. It has buttons dedicated to single-click, double-click, and drag. It has an axis lock-out button which toggles cursor movement between horizontal-only, vertical-only, and any direction. It has a button which toggles cursor speed from very, very slow to very fast. All these functions are independent of PC hardware and drivers. It also comes with a selection of handles: large rubber ball, T-handle, and small knob.

There is also a trackball version with the same features, other than a very large ball intead of the stick.

It's USB and works with any OS. She has used it with Windows (3.11 - Win7), OS/2, OSX, and currently Linux (Fedora) without need of any device-specific drivers.

We also have a couple of USB and PS2 keyboards with keyguards which were also paid for with grant money.

When looking for assistive tech (AT) for the PC, you can pretty much ignore anything mainstream-PC-ish. There is a huge industry dedicated to AT for most all types of computer and communication devices for the disabled.

[Note: the following assumes you are in the USA. Other countries may have similar programs]

While much of it is pretty expensive, some of it is covered by health insurance. And as I noted above, there is often grant money available from many philanthropic entities (e.g. MDA, UCP, Easter Seals, Rotary Club, Big Brothers, etc.). Funding may also be available from various government programs for the disabled (e.g. Regional Center for the Developmentally Disabled, state Disabled Services, Dept. of Rehab, the VA, etc.). Also try checking your local colleges and universities for resources and referrals. Many of them have a Disabled Services office on campus.

Comment Twilight Struggle is too much (Score 1) 155

I enjoy euro board games, and strategy video games, but Twilight Struggle was just too much. You spend hours figuring out all the rules, then hours to play a game that never gets exciting. I'm sure after memorizing the hundreds of rules, cards, actions, etc you can come up with some strategy but until then there is too much chance limiting your possible strategies. I'm truly baffled at how this is the highest rated game on BGG.

Comment It's more than that (Score 5, Insightful) 158

Positive people are dangerous. Because they assume everything is going to be fine, they fail to plan for things to go wrong, and then after you're stuck cleaning up the mess they caused, they sweep it all under the rug and act like everything went smoothly - so not only do you get no recognition for your heroic efforts to fix everything, but they're fully confident in their ability to handle the next situation just as well as the last.

But nobody wants to listen to the pessimists, because they're so negative.

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