Forgot your password?

Comment: Why not patent compression algorithm? (Score 1, Insightful) 263

by Pulzar (#47284995) Attached to: The Supreme Court Doesn't Understand Software

If somebody comes up with a novel patent compression algorithm, why shouldn't they be able to patent it? I read the argument about math not being patentable, but I don't really understand why. A new data compression algorithm that is truly novel seems like it should deserve some protection so that the inventor can get rewarded for her work. No?

Comment: Re:Annoying. (Score 2) 347

If you are correct that taxes collect themselves, then why couldn't billing use the same technology?

I think the point is that there is a tax collection system in place already. Adding a line item on the form to cover water is not going to increase the cost and complexity of the system.

Comment: Re:So when will the taxi drivers start protesting? (Score 1) 583

by Pulzar (#47143291) Attached to: Google Unveils Self-Driving Car With No Steering Wheel

Or a road has a new road layout. The lanes have moved around. Perhaps a two way street has become a one way street. This is clearly signposted. Can your car read these signs? Will it just dumbly drive up the street the wrong way until someone thinks to update the map?

Why do you have the impression that computers these days can still only do the same things they did in the 90s?

Yes, the car can read the signs, easily. It's trivial for it to see the sign that says "one way, do not enter" and to recalculate its route. It's also easy for the first car that spots the sign that doesn't match its map to update other cars and let them know what's going on.

And, why wouldn't it have a special bus queue length algorithm, if that was important to know? How hard of an algorithm would it be? It could even query the average wait time for a particular bus stop and adjust to be even more precise. I bet it could predict the waiting time better than you would.

Comment: Of course every new industry that is on the cusp o (Score 1) 695

by rimcrazy (#46333623) Attached to: Mt. Gox Gone? Apparent Theft Shakes Bitcoin World

.... why I was just talking to my friends that work at DEC and Control Data. Ooops oh darn, yea, those companies got crushed by the PC market's rise to power

It's the nature of the beast. This won't be the last although it's arguably the most dramatic of the firsts. In the end it will be one of the better things that happen to crypto currencies as the weak and crooked will fall by the wayside but it's not for the feint of heart as things transition.

Comment: Re:Another type that is interesting... (Score 1) 717

by Pulzar (#46258147) Attached to: Your 60-Hour Work Week Is Not a Badge of Honor

For the next month, I arrived at my desk at 0800, took a 15 minute break at ten and 2, left at 12 for exactly 1 hour, and left at exactly 5 p.m. Even though they got the message very clearly after the first week.

Wow, you worked regular work hours and coworkers could find you during the day... you really showed them.

If you're going to be working odd hours and come and go whenever you want, then that should be a "work from home" job. But, since somebody complained that they couldn't find you at 10am, it sounds like it wasn't that kind of a job.

Believe me, 9 out of 10 companies would prefer you to work 40 hours a week and during regular hours than this "I stay very late" BS.

Comment: Re:Price has NOT remained the same (Score 1) 298

by Pulzar (#46129263) Attached to: Price of Amazon Prime May Jump To $119 a Year

I guess it's all about managing your toothpaste shopping habits. I can always easily find $25+ worth of things that I need for the house that are cheaper or same price as my local grocery store, so I just buy a bunch of things I need altogether.

Toothpaste, paper towels, garbage bags, coffee, cat litter... those are things you always need in regular intervals. Just get them together in appropriate quantities.

Comment: Re:Why Prime? (Score 2) 298

by Pulzar (#46129245) Attached to: Price of Amazon Prime May Jump To $119 a Year

I figured that, like most people on /., I'm not in the target demographic.

I don't think you figured "like most people on /." part right. At least in my experience, just about every computer geek I know has Prime.

Screw the delayed gratification. When I go to store to buy something, I get it right then and there. Online was always a pain because of the delay... Prime makes the delay very manageable.

Comment: Re:if "alot" doesnt matter why correct it? (Score 1) 253

by Pulzar (#45578789) Attached to: Research Suggests One To Three Men Fathered Most Western Europeans

and actually you as well have taken the time to type out a response to something you think is "irrelevant"

You missed my point. You made "alot" the subject at hand, and the actual point you were trying to make on the topic became irrelevant. We're all talking about your spelling instead of whatever you were trying to say in the discussion.

If your desire is only to get noticed and get replies correcting your spelling, then saying "alot" a lot :) is a successful way of doing it. But if your desire is to get a good discussion on relevant topic going, as you say it is, then this isn't very good.

Comment: Re:thanks for the feedback (Score 3, Interesting) 253

by Pulzar (#45571073) Attached to: Research Suggests One To Three Men Fathered Most Western Europeans

I make my words a bit grating precisely for that reason. I *want* people to pay attention...I am not making the same point everyone else has made. I **DO** believe we can all agree and move forward and I have had some very interesting conversations this way.

That doesn't make any sense. The conversation ended up being about spelling instead of your point, which is completely opposite from what you wanted it to be.

You don't make your words "grating" by misspelling them, you make them irrelevant... unfortunately.

Following that up with an argument that you did it on purpose certainly doesn't help your cause. It only leads it us even further astray from the topic.

Comment: Re: That's a shame (Score 1) 332

by Pulzar (#45453875) Attached to: Skydiving Accident Leaves Security Guru Cedric 'Sid' Blancher Dead At 37

You are ignoring the reality that people drive far more often than they skydive.

I was not ignoring it, I was addressing it head on. I believe that if it takes 100+ times of doing one thing vs. once of another thing to bring them into comparable death probabilities, then the thing you can do 100+ times is clearly safer.
