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Posts by GeraldP

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  • Apple applies for patent to kill jailbroken devices

    08/24/2010 8:10:39 AM PDT · 44 of 57
    GeraldP to Erik Latranyi

    There is quite a bit of unwarranted extrapolation in this article; probably a result of the writer’s own bias and his desire to elicit an emotional response.

    Here is the one fact I read in the article: Apple is using their device’s hardware and software to come up with ways of protecting that device from unauthorized use.
    Here is the writer’s spin: Apple is trying to flag down jailbreakers and brick their iDevices. Apple is trying to be Big Brother.

    Personally, I don’t see that the latter follows from the former. This need not be anything other than an extension of their “locate my phone” feature, which has enabled some to recover their stolen iPhones. Note that this feature is optional with a mobileme subscription (I don’t have it). There is absolutely no reason to believe that the “unauthorized user” feature would be the mandatory and pernicious program this writer is making it out to be. Chances are if I want to jailbreak my future iPhone, I will be able to do so and not subscribe to the ‘unauthorized user” feature. On the other hand, I can see where corporate users might be want to be able to promptly locate and recover a stolen device, and to make sure it is not accessed by someone else. I wouldn’t be surprised if Gray Powell had something to do with this patent.

    I do agree that this needs to be raised as an issue and I’m sure it will be if Apple does include this patent in a future iOS update. However, the leap made here, that the patent means Apple is going after jailbreakers, is not warranted by the patent.

  • FIFA World Cup 2010 South Africa - Day 14 - Live Thread

    06/24/2010 8:23:06 AM PDT · 51 of 124
    GeraldP to dfwgator

    That may be a trip worth making. Need a little excitement between the World Cup and SEC football (Geaux Tigers!).

  • FIFA World Cup 2010 South Africa - Day 14 - Live Thread

    06/24/2010 8:15:38 AM PDT · 48 of 124
    GeraldP to dfwgator

    Inter is my second favorite club team, but as you pointed out they really were very inter-national. Euro2008, Confederations Cup and so far this World Cup, Italy has played terrible.

  • FIFA World Cup 2010 South Africa - Day 14 - Live Thread

    06/24/2010 8:08:43 AM PDT · 45 of 124
    GeraldP to dfwgator

    Italian calcio seems to be in a bit of a slump at the moment.

  • FIFA World Cup 2010 South Africa - Day 14 - Live Thread

    06/24/2010 7:54:43 AM PDT · 39 of 124
    GeraldP to darkside321

    Not looking good at the moment. As a Juve fan, I had a bad feeling about this team, but I hoped they would pull it together in the Azzurri uniform.
    Forza Italia!

  • Why dolphins are the best calamari chefs in the ocean

    01/30/2009 12:46:45 PM PST · 14 of 14
    GeraldP to Lorianne

    So long and thanks for all the calamari
    So sad that it should come to this
    We tried to warn you all but oh dear?

    You may not share our intellect
    Which might explain your disrespect
    For all the natural wonders that
    grow around you

    So long, so long and thanks
    for all the calamari

    The world’s about to be destroyed
    There’s no point getting all annoyed
    Lie back and let the planet dissolve

    Despite those nets of tuna fleets
    We thought that most of you were sweet
    Especially tiny tots and your
    pregnant women

    So long, so long, so long, so long, so long
    So long, so long, so long, so long, so long

    So long, so long and thanks
    for all the calamari

  • 11 Billion Year-Old Massive Gamma Ray Burst Recorded (2 to 3 times older than our planet)

    01/13/2009 2:32:01 PM PST · 37 of 43
    GeraldP to adorno

    >>>and the average lifespan of a star is something between 4 and 8 years (like our sun)...

    Our sun is considered a small star, whereas gamma-ray-bursts are mostly result from the collapse of a much more massive star. Such a massive star has an accelerated life cycle when compared with a sun-mass star. A sun-like star’s life is measured in billions of years, but a massive star’s (the type that would emit GRBs) is measured in millions of years.

  • USC Ya Later”: What’s Next for College Football?

    09/27/2008 12:33:38 PM PDT · 79 of 82
    GeraldP to Positive

    >>>So I’ll say it...the best team I’ve seen play so far this season was the one who scored the most points in the second half against Auburn last weekend.

    I don’t know about you, but that’s the way I prefer it. Let the Purple-and-Gold be overlooked by the Gameday talking heads until all the USCs and the OUs have fallen. If the Jarret Lee we saw in the 2nd half of the Auburn game is the one to take over, LSU has a great chance for an SEC championship and then the other game.

  • JPMorgan Chase Acquires Banking Operations of Washington Mutual

    09/25/2008 7:52:49 PM PDT · 14 of 35
    GeraldP to snarks_when_bored

    >>> For most of the day, the bid size was significantly larger than the ask size, sometimes as much as 10 times larger

    I am not going to say that there is not some degree of manipulation to the PPS at any given time. What I do want to point out though, is that when you are looking at the Bid/Ask board, what you see is the limit orders that have been placed. Those trades will not be executed unless someone decides to buy at the ask limit or sell at the bid limit. So... while the number of bid orders may be much higher than ask orders, the bids may very well be much more resolute about the price they’re looking for. So it is not so much supply and demand as the price the balance of the orders is willing to settle upon at any given time.

    The price jumped at the outset of the news break because people did not fully read the release and assumed it was the buyout they were waiting for.

  • 20 Greatest Sci-Fi TV Shows

    09/12/2008 11:27:19 AM PDT · 25 of 215
    GeraldP to Borges

    What about the longest-running sci-fi show... Stargate SG-1. I cannot believe it didn’t even make the top 20. And Lost.. come on it’s a great show, but how can you put it in the top 10 of the sci-fi genre?

  • (Vanity) 18 Questions on The Civil War

    07/18/2008 9:09:17 AM PDT · 120 of 134
    GeraldP

    I am just finishing Harry Turtledove’s “Settling Accounts: In at the Death”, which is the 11th and (presumably) final book in his “Timeline-191” ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline-191 ) series. The series starts with the fictional “Second Spanish War”, which is a second war between the states over the Confederate States’ aqcuisition of Mexican states Chihuahua and Sonora. The series then goes through World War I (the Great War series), the intra-war period (the American Empire series), and World War II (the Settling Accounts series).

    It is, of course, a work of fiction, but the historical nuances thrown in make it absolutely fascinating. It can be a bit slow at times, but I highly recommend it to anyone that has even a slight curiosity about the Civil War and interested in what-might-have-beens.

  • Official Euro 2008 Thread

    06/06/2008 12:32:09 PM PDT · 8 of 35
    GeraldP to dfwgator

    Forza Azzuri!!

  • Apple iPhone SDK downloads surpass 100,000 in first four days

    03/13/2008 6:08:58 AM PDT · 9 of 10
    GeraldP to Swordmaker

    I have a feeling the final SDK along with the plethora of apps that will follow, will have an even more profound effect than even Apple had imagined.

    For one thing, this could be the “Open Sesame” of gaming as far as Apple goes. A lot of people have been clamoring for Apple to be more open to gaming. You saw at the SDK roadmap event and even further, with game developers in this last week, that there is great anticipation for this new platform. And where there is a platform there will be an ecosystem. An ecosystem of new apps, and games, and lots of new adopters.

    Oh yeah, you also need a Mac to develop for the iPhone. How many developers will buy a Mac, just to develop for the iPhone? Having invested in a Mac, and having become familiar with Xcode and Cocoa development, how many of those developers will become osX developers and users?

    Perhaps this will be nothing, but perhaps it could really be something.

  • **THE Official FR College Football Live Thread Week 10**

    11/04/2007 5:45:56 PM PST · 249 of 254
    GeraldP to Positive

    >>> Of course the Ohio State Stinking Fruits have to beat Illinois and Michigan....

    That’s hilarious... until now I had never taken the time to find out what a Buckeye actually was.

    Wouldn’t it perfectly epitomize this season though... if Michigan were to hand OSU its first loss?

  • **THE Official FR College Football Live Thread Week 10**

    11/04/2007 3:47:05 PM PST · 247 of 254
    GeraldP to Positive

    >>> BCS rankings offically out...LSU #2, control their destiny I think.

    I would like to think so also. But... if Kansas goes undefeated and beats #6 Mizzou and then #5 Oklahoma, the possibility exists they would jump us. I find this unlikely, they’re undefeated because they haven’t played anybody.

    As for Arkansas, I certainly hope we get that W... I already got my tickets for ATL.

  • **THE Official FR College Football Live Thread Week 10**

    11/04/2007 12:15:47 PM PST · 243 of 254
    GeraldP to Positive

    Ahhh... please, please you’re being way too negative Positive! Don’t question the mad genius of Les. Actually, I called him and asked him to do that, I married into a die-hard Bama family, and my father-in-law was threatening to withdraw his blessing if LSU embarrased the Tide too badly.

    Jokes aside, I do not seriously believe -130 yds in penalties is excused by anything. We need to thank our lucky stars, and hope team discipline makes a comeback. LSU has everything it needs for another NC, if it gets its act together. A good whipping of LaTech might be just what they need to realize they don’t have to keep fighting uphill battles.

  • **THE Official FR College Football Live Thread Week 10**

    11/04/2007 11:28:24 AM PST · 241 of 254
    GeraldP to Positive

    >>>I’m a big LSU fan, and if they ever played a mistake free game I don’t think anybody can beat them.

    It’s a secret masterplan by mad genius Les Miles. By making our opponents look good, we allow them to hang on to their rankings (Alabama dropped 1 to #18 today). Also, it weeds out the weak among the LSU fan base, those whose hearts can’t handle all the adrenaline pumped into their systems in the 4th quarter of LSU games.

  • **THE Official FR College Football Live Thread Week 10**

    11/04/2007 10:56:23 AM PST · 239 of 254
    GeraldP to dfwgator

    Good point... if we assume all wins for the three #2-contenders and OSU, it is quite possible Kansas could edge LSU edging Oregon. On the other hand, Kansas has not had any real tests so far and is more likely to falter.

  • **THE Official FR College Football Live Thread Week 10**

    11/04/2007 10:47:10 AM PST · 237 of 254
    GeraldP

    The USAToday computer preview has Kansas at No.2, with LSU at 3 and Oregon at 4.
    http://www.usatoday.com/sports/sagarin/fbt07.htm

    The USAToday and AP polls just released, have LSU at 2 with a very narrow margin on Oregon and Kansas at 4. Methinks the BCS rankings will have LSU, Oregon, and Kansas all within a game’s reach of each other. LSU should win out, especially if they play Georgia for the SEC championship (thus avoiding the pesky “double win” factor). Doesn’t look like Oregon has anybody left to play that could propel them forward, while Kansas at #9 Missouri could push them ahead of Oregon, but probably not LSU. Sheesh... this is all too much for my brain on a Sunday afternoon.

  • Vandalism investigated at Tupac Shakur site

    10/25/2007 7:45:43 AM PDT · 10 of 10
    GeraldP to dr.zaeus
    >>>Vandalism investigated at Tupac Shakur site

    Hmmmm.... but where was the vandalism committed?