* Posts by Justin

12 publicly visible posts • joined 2 Sep 2008

Google debuts JavaScript playground

Justin
Stop

I suppose...

It's too late to ask web designers to stop bogging their pages down in horrid, bloated crap?

New java engines that don't gag (yet) are an encouragement they clearly don't need

'Infinitesimal magnetic tornadoes' set to ravage computing

Justin
Boffin

Things That Are Round

Ok, so the real science is a little interesting, but it still sounds played-up.

"We stuck a plastic plate to a magnetic one and it allowed us to control the field states better."

"We now have 4 possible states per storage cell, but because it's so tiny and fiddly it'll still be 1 bit, with protection against data corruption."

"We know it's less of a 'tornado' and more of a 'donut', but the marketing guys really wanted to name the next storage line Tornado so here we are."

Microsoft's Windows Vista 'Capable' bill could hit $8.5bn

Justin
Jobs Halo

Home Basic is Vista, innit?

Meh, I'll side with Microsoft on this one. Ultimate does not equate itself fully as the "true" Vista, it just allows you to experience the full range of bells & whistles & bugs & segfaults. Or, you can disable all that junk and bemoan the $150 difference spent.

You don't go to the bookstore and complain that their bargain bin is full off softcovers when a hardbacked book is the "true" version. You got the product, the content looks a little different but it's there.

Windows 7 public beta end date named

Justin
Boffin

Maybe a longer beta period is needed after all

...if MS is working on "simplifying interface and navigation"?

Oh yeah. That's the complaint I always hear about Vista, its interface is too complex!

Not the utter bone-stupidity of using Windows Search as a basic navigation tool, hogging more hardware than a retired carpenter, or having charming "features" like a filesystem that could damage itself so badly that reformatting under XP was the only fix.

Virgin puts 'legal P2P' plans on ice

Justin
Pirate

"A service never previously legally available"

It's not *that* revolutionary. I had subscribed to Rhapsody in the past, and thought it was a decent compromise but I don't listen to enough music to keep paying for it. Of course, some RIAA labels didn't offer their catalogs to Real so the selection was somewhat limited.

The big dilemma I see with P2P subs is that it can still be abused. Users can sign up for a single month, download everything in the world, and then cancel. ISPs get hit with huge random traffic spikes as groups of users activate the service and start pulling, but they don't get paid enough and the demand isn't consistent enough to inspire them to upgrade infrastructure. Announcing a P2P service that's throttled would help but user overreaction would be incredible.

Facebook breastfeeding pic takedown gets backs up

Justin

A valuable lesson

Moral outage aside, what's the problem with... y'know.. following the rules? Are these supposed to be "instructional" photos? What the hell is so bad about keeping (unpaid) pictures of your jugs off the internet? Okay, you're breastfeeding your uterine parasite, good for you. But if you are in fact posting pictures of your boobs, then you're breaking the rules.

Sheesh, by those standards I could take full-frontal pics of myself taking a leak as long as I plunk an infant down there in the pisser to share the photo-op. Imagine *that* uproar.

Microsoft plague threatens 30GB Zune extinction

Justin

Don't laugh. Murphy bites.

This is almost too terrifying to see as a joke. If MS can screw up a calendar rollover, how many *other* simple/stupid/trivial-but-vital things are going to break down today/tomorrow?

Maybe they'll get better tomorrow, but I'm putting my money on "permanently bricked".

9 hilarious election tweets worth remembering

Justin
Heart

What the?

"Blogulations"?

Oh, come ON. Is "E-jaculation" too much of a stretch?

Scientology critics fight YouTube takedown notices

Justin

Re: is Selfosophy a religion or a cult?

AFAIK, Scientology only classifies itself as a religion because it wants to be protected like one. They say that they are not mutually exclusive with existing religions, you don't need to drop it to accept their 'help'. At best, they are simply a self-help business.

Which can also coexist with their rabidly aggressive legal defenders, merciless harassment of anyone labeled an enemy, and extortionist financial tactics that make Multi-Level Marketing scams look like a street busker.

Academic wants to 'free up' English spelling

Justin
Coat

Academics r smrt

"It's time to remove the fetish that says that correct spelling is a principal (principle?) mark of being educated."

Uh. How about removing the dismally retarded situation that correct spelling is all it takes to appear educated? Yes, English is a huge tentacled beast of a language, but spelling is NOT that difficult.

Also- Professor of Phonetics? What the hell kind of ultra-niche field is that and why allow such a vague generalist to speak toward English specifically? Sounds an awful lot like a Professor of Cybernetics trying to give electrical engineers 'professional advice', pathetically hoping their legitimate study can prop up his self-congratulatory field.

*getting my lab coat, wearing it means I'm almost like a real doctor!*

Columbia set to resurrect Ghostbusters

Justin

Who ya gonna call?

Aw, come on! It would be *simple* to both update it for the modern-day world, and still hit the most profitable range of moviegoer demographic.

Ghostbusters goes incorporated, and follows the natural conclusion for a modern business: Offshore outsourcing!

The Google-isation of all the net's access points

Justin
Thumb Up

Why tabs?

What, you don't like the idea of closing a browser session (or crashing), and then going back to the exact same open pages when you restart the browser?

I mean, IE7 provided nothing to like, but Opera's always done it right, and Firefox is catching on.