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When it comes to the government the answer is more often than not, a resounding no. With respect to the presidency and vice presidency, the relevant law is the Presidential Records Act. You must preserve all records, and can only destroy them after consultation with the Archivist of the United States.

These emails are of evidentiary value, and therefore should have been preserved. Destruction of these records is a federal crime. Not only is it obviously a violation of the PRA, but there is strong evidence that this is destruction of evidence and obstruction of justice. Furthermore, things like this don't happen by rouge low level staffers. Decisions to destroy vital records comes from the highest levels.

People go to jail for these crimes all the time. Will these people? Hell know, the dems are too spineless to actually bring indictments and begin impeachment proceedings, and so everyone will get off scott free.

As the saying goes, "In a democracy, you get the government you deserve."

Um, I Mr. Johnny Lee is a master hacker. In context, I will humbly mention my own effort in this area, using a simple webcam and projector (no Wiimote). I have a hand-tracking version too, but this video shows a table interface controlled by an LED or candle (light source). http://algomantra.blogspot.com/2007/11/parab0xx-light-controlled-musical.html

From Data Center Knowledge:

Some cloud-based services could become so vital that they become candidates for government regulation, according to panelists at the event ... "Everyone who is trying to get into utility computing is getting big fast," said Jesse Robbins (of O"Reilly Radar). "They're all trying to get as big as they can as fast as they can to win the platform play, and this is going to create lock-in. The big companies are going to be viewed as either monopolies or utilities, both of which are regulated."

From Data Center Links:

Princeton's Ed Felten: "Possession of data implies control, and control implies power. Whomever owns the systems on which data resides has the ultimate control of how that data is retained and who has access."

Yes the title is wrong. And the article is wrong in about 10 other ways. But there is a class action pending. No class has been certified yet.

And so let me go back to the initial point. What does the Pope have to do or say in a university? He certainly should not try to impose in an authoritarian manner his faith on others, which can only be freely offered. Beyond his ministry as Pastor of the Church and on the basis of the intrinsic nature of this pastoral ministry, it is his task to keep alive man's responsiveness to the truth. Similarly he must again and always invite reason to seek out truth, goodness and God, and on this path urge it to see the useful lights that emerged during the history of the Christian faith and perceive Jesus Christ as the light that illuminates history and helps find the way towards the future.

...they've just changed Office to an unintelligible XML format that's defective by design.

What about all those people God murdered (directly or sanctioned) back in the old testament? Remember the whole thing that happened over and over, with the slaughter of babies and animals and women (but save the virgins) and men and all that? Are you counting those?

http://dwindlinginunbelief.blogspot.com/2007/01/how-many-has-god-killed-complete-list.html

As one of the people involved in this, I think I should take a minute to set the record straight.

Sexzilla was once one of the largest porn spammers on usenet. I wrote about them on my web site. The owner, Jerry Reynolds, sued me for defamation. I asked the other spam-fighters for whatever they had on Sexzilla so I could defend myself.

David Ritz responded with something along the lines of "Oh, it's true alright, here's the dns zone information that proves it." He also published his results on-line.

Reynolds then sued David for an "unauthorized zone transfer".

That zone transfer is the entirety of Reynolds' case against David. The rest of the stuff in the judge's decision was all a bunch of bullshit spoon-fed to the judge by Reynolds. Most of it has nothing to do with the case at hand, and most of it is either untrue or gross distortions of the truth. For example, the "hijacked" computer was an open relay that Ritz used to send one message to Verizon security, proving to them that they had an open relay.

You can read the whole sorry saga here.

Are PC games in trouble yet again? It seems like no one has written a "PC Gaming is dead" piece in a few months, and while I don't think the industry is dying (yet), there are some awfully worrying signs on the horizon. A few days ago Robert Bowling, community relations manager for Infinity Ward, posted a few thoughts on his blog under the despairing title "They Wonder Why People Don't Make PC Games Any More."

"On another PC related note, we pulled some disturbing numbers this past week about the amount of PC players currently playing Multiplayer (which was fantastic). What wasn't fantastic was the percentage of those numbers who were playing on stolen copies of the game on stolen / cracked CD keys of pirated copies (and that was only people playing online)," Bowling wrote. "The amount of people who pirate PC games is astounding. It blows me away at the amount of people willing to steal games (or anything) simply because it's not physical or it's on the safety of the internet to do."

While Call of Duty 4 was a sales success, most of the units moved were on consoles. Other big-name titles haven't been so lucky: both Unreal Tournament 3 and Crysis crashed and burned at retail, although Unreal Tournament 3 will see a boost from the PS3 and Xbox 360 sales of the game.

The PC is still fertile ground for gaming, and certainly MMO fans wouldn't dream of going anyplace else, but it has to hurt to see PC-only releases do so poorly, and then sit down and see your own PC efforts get pirated in what sounds like large numbers. Developing games is a for-profit venture; with these kinds of numbers and an alternative (consoles), the days of PC-only releases may come rather quickly to an end.

I kid you not. The Judge ruled that "In all intended uses of a zone transfer, the secondary server is operated by the same party that operates the primary server." The original complaint is here.

Ritz was a thorn in Reynolds' side during the years when Ritz was trying to get the Netzilla/Sexzilla porn spam operation to stop spamming. Reynolds has been quite aggressive in trying to get his past erased from the net (including forged cancel posts). The North Dakota Judge also awarded attorneys fee which could theoretically make the total bill over $500k for doing a domain zone transfer. (I believe they had claimed $250k in attorney fees in their failed suit against Ed Falk) Reynolds also filed a criminal complaint against Ritz which was on hold pending resolution of this trial.

Here is a literal worst-case scenario of what can happen when a court fails miserably to understand technology. The judge ruled:

The scary sounding port scanning/hijacking computers is posting a test message through one of Verizon's machines to prove to Verizon they had an open relay --i.e. posting to 0.verizon.security via the relay a note to Verizon's security saying "What's it going to take to get you to secure this gaping hole in what you call your network," or words to that effect. Verizon apparently had no problem with the demo post and closed the relay.

Take note, for those anti-spammers out there, this Judge is ruling that if you post the whois record for a spammer's domain your are doing a malicious, tortious act. If you telnet to a spammer's mail server and type HELO or VRFY you're illegally impersonating a mail server.

It seems clear that the Judge for whatever reason really, really, really didn't like the Defendant Ritz. But the Judge seems to want no sunshine on her trial because she ordered the entire affair sealed, except of course for her judgments of "facts."

There is a legal defense fund that was set up for his case. I believe he does not have the resources to appeal and this would be a very bad precedent to stand.

Here's the code the _civil_ lawsuit is based on:

2. A person commits computer crime by intentionally and either in excess of authorization given or without authorization gaining or attempting to gain access to, altering, damaging, modifying, copying, disclosing, taking possession of, introducing a computer contaminant into, destroying, or preventing the authorized use of any computer, computer system, or computer network, or any computer software, program, or data contained in the computer, computer system, or computer network. A person who commits computer crime is guilty of a class A misdemeanor.

Given the choice between concluding that the judge was an idiot, or the plaintiff lied, or Dave Ritz lied, I'd say that it was more likely that the judge and/or plaintiff were in error than that Dave Ritz lied. He's not a liar by nature. He could have been mistaken on something (so many spammers, it's hard to tell them apart sometimes), but I do not believe it likely that he intentionally lied.

This is an exceedingly bad ruling.

Some background reading:

http://thespamdiaries.blogspot.com/2007/10/help-fight-spammer-slapp-suit-donate-to.html
http://www.spamsuite.com/node/351

And, of course, the legal defense fund, desperately needed for an appeal:

http://sfldf.org/

It's interesting how thought recognition is merging with machines. As mentioned earlier, a monkey's leg movement brain signals control a robot across the planet, http://www.google.com/search?num=100&hl=en&safe=off&q=monkey+legs+%22brain+signals%22+control+robot&btnG=Search and another monkey mentally controls a robotic arm to feed itself. http://www.google.com/search?num=100&hl=en&q=monkey+mentally+controls+a+robotic+arm+to+feed+itself+&btnG=Search Meanwhile, Eric Ramsay, completely conscious but paralyzed and only able to move his eyes Since 1999 is using a new computer/ brain interface to reads his brain signals. As he thinks about vocal sounds, they are translated in real time. The goal is conversation, by making it possible for him to literally think out loud. http://simplyted.blogspot.com/2007/11/as-speech-recognition-software-morphs.htm He may one day be searching Google, surfing the web, texting his friends, making new friends and maybe show up on Facebook. But as electrodes give way to a skull cap, things like wireless searching, texting, messaging, http://www.google.com/search?num=100&hl=en&safe=off&q=%22Twitter+is%22&btnG=Search Twitter, Facebook etc., could become a thumbless, mental exchange. I can hardly wait for the Blue-Toothers' http://www.google.com/search?num=100&hl=en&safe=off&q='BlueToothers'+&btnG=Search to discover this. I mean it's freaky to watch someone striding down a street, or sitting alone at a table having a conversation with the ether. (Chuckle at this short video.) http://www.google.com/search?num=100&hl=en&safe=off&q=%22Finally%2C+I+know+exactly+how+to+deal+with+bluetoothers%22&btnG=Search Simultaneously, some powerful new exoskeletons are about to overflow from military applications to consumer products. http://video.google.com/videosearch?num=100&so=4&hl=en&q=robotic+Exoskeleton+duration%3Ashort&start=0 My favorite is Sarcos exoskeleton. http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Sarcos+Exoskeleton&search=Search No need for a joystick or hand controls. You just wear it, and it mirrors your actions. You can pump a couple hundred pounds, run, box, dance and carry heavy loads up stairs. It doubles as an autonomous robot. Soon they'll park in the garage next to the car or maybe take up a corner in the living room waiting for intruders. This technology is primed to make the link between thought and superhuman abilities as extensions of our bodies. Follow news on thought controlled exoskeletons here. http://www.google.com/search?num=100&hl=en&q=thought+controlled+exoskeleton&btnG=Search

For example: oh, he's so tired of all these silly internet amateurs, just imagine what the rest of the election process is going to be like! And: all these guys are just trying to make a name for themselves. (They're not, for example, nervously checking to see if there's any hope that the American Republic is intact.)

He informs us that he doesn't think there was any election fraud here, but doesn't bother to enlighten us as to why (his reasons are "too vague").

One of the links he points to is particularly funny: Robert Hansen. Here Robert Hansen is plugging through the statistical analysis, turning up a significant correlation on the counting technique and not on the other possible variables, but he remains convinced that this must be wrong... and is in the process of actively looking for "sources of error" to fix the results.

Anyway: if you're interested in this subject, I suggest keeping an eye on Brad Friedman's bradblog.

(By the way: why are people assuming this would have to be Hillary's fault? A "republican dirty trick" theory would seem a little more likely to me: kill the momentum of the front-runner, sew dissention in the ranks, maybe steer the primary toward a more defeatable candidate... why not?)

Apparently CoD4 works pretty well already. I tried searching for spore and wine, but I just got a bunch of hits about yeast.

Certainly at some point in the past Google DID use for AdWords which suggests money might have been involved. What they are using now I do not know - you will need to find an appropriate current employee of Google to tell you.

More than just calling back after 10 years, but: Calling back at 11 PM, responding to a ticket on software that should no longer be supported, and so forth. He never talked to the people on the other end of the phone. He doesn't tell the phone number, he doesn't provide any details of the voicemail.

There's also this follow up to "prove" this happened: http://bicbickers.blogspot.com/2008/01/msy2k-follow-up-proof.html

The proof? He can't find any Discover card charges to Microsoft, and the bill that would show a purchase from CDNow in 1996 is missing. What that proves I have no idea. That he lost 12 year old credit card records, I guess.

I think your point about continued use of batteries after they are no longer transportation grade is very important. This model is already being commercialized using Tesla Motors' batteries. I estimate here that these used batteries would provide storage of about a half a day's worth of our total generation if our transporation sector were converted to plug in hybrids. With a 45% wind, 45% solar and 10% hydro grid, this would be most or all of the storage we would need. This would allow us to concentrate on the power sources with the highest EROEI and thus increase prosperity as oil depletes.

I think your point about continued use of batteries after they are no longer transportation grade is very important. This model is already being commercialized using Tesla Motors' batteries. I estimate here that these used batteries would provide storage of about a half a day's worth of our total generation if our transporation sector were converted to plug in hybrids. With a 45% wind, 45% solar and 10% hydro grid, this would be most or all of the storage we would need. This would allow us to concentrate on the power sources with the highest EROEI and thus increase prosperity as oil depletes.

My boss's main work computer is a D420 running Gutsy. I built it for him and I have to say it is the best non-Apple laptop I have used. However, he has been waiting for one of these, and now that it is out, he is switching.

Well, according to a blog post of one of the authors, "Burton group won't spam you":
http://pbokelly.blogspot.com/2008/01/burton-group-whats-up-doc-odf-ooxml-and.html

Is anyone out there making amateur films that don't take place in the Star Trek, Star Wars, Babylon 5, Matrix, or other insanely-overdone-fan-universe? Does it always have to be SciFi?! Fer cryin' out loud, is there anyone out there with any originality?!

Make up your own characters, plots, universes, and situations, and I will have far more respect for your craft. Rip off an existing universe, and you're just another fan, no matter how high quality your film is.

I've seen a few out there. I've checked vuzu and found a few dramas (short films) and other p2p web sites where fans have made their own films. It's a growing part of our culture which I'm excited to see. Even in YouTube, there are films there made by amateurs and some are quite good.

In fact just messing around I made one last night. I've been receiving a bunch of Concast advertisements the last week and considering how horrible they treated my family after they turned off our Internet account, we decided to make a fun little video about it :-)

I'll be posting it on youtube soon under the U235Sentinel name :-)

And of course I had to post my blog address at the end of the video. People might want to see what a lousy company with no competition will do to you.

Yep.

It's pretty sad.

Hmmm... maybe this?

    http://stampact.blogspot.com/2008/01/obamapaul-ticket.html

OK so where is the ADL saying that his Zionist conspiracy drivel is not anti-semitic or John Aravosis saying that the homophobic drivel is not gay baiting?

We kinda discovered that people looking into other people's souls and pronouncing them pure is not an effective means of quality control on politicians. Didn't work when Bush tried it with Putin.

Don't look at the man, look at what he says and does, in particular look at what he supports and who he seeks support from.

Ron Paul published racist screeds for decades. He might as well have joined the Klan. He want's to be President. That means that the bar is rather higher than 'not proven to have racist beliefs'

You americans are so tediously moralistic, the French have their guy on an 'incentive' program. The more manifesto promises he makes, the more 'rewards'. Mitterand had four mistresses.

I don't qualify under current law, but the first thing I would do is to look at how to make the current US problem in Iraq someone else's problem. Over the past five years Iraq has all but destroyed the US army. Whose army do we most want to destroy most (or care least about)? That would be Iran. So the US says to Iran 'your problem now', withdraw to Kuwait, see whether Iran prefers to have a festering civil war on its border or gets sucked in.

Second foreign policy position: Cuba. Eliminate all sanctions with immediate effect. They have not worked in 40 years and it is obvious that they never will. It is equally obvious that the Cuban political system can hardly survive if there is a massive influx of capitalist spending. Close Gitmo while we are at it and sign a retroactive extradition treaty. Let those who committed torture face a criminal system that is no worse than the one they created themselves.

Third position: Al Zawahiri and Bin Laden get a slotting. The US needs to withdraw from lost and irrelevant conflicts to concentrate resources on the conflicts that matter. Al Zawahiri has now had a major role in the murder of two US-friendly world leaders (Sadat, Bhutto). He cannot be allowed to survive. These problems cannot be dealt with by simply creating a bigger military, do that and some idiot neocons will come along and decide to use it for their own pet purposes.

Fourth: halt the deficit spending program. Congress will not lower spending, under the GOP earmarks and spending exploded under the Democrats the difference is that spending is rising less quickly. The deficits are causing interest rates to soar, they are tipping the country into recession. The only way to reduce the deficit is for the country to live within its means and raise revenues. So unless you believe in the tax fairy the choice is between raising taxes and crashing the economy. Don't wait for the Bush tax cuts to expire, repeal them immediately and institute a 2% war tax. Time to remind people that deficit spending is merely a deferred tax rise.

Fifth: comprehensive review of earmark projects, no-bid contracts and other potential graft. It appears that Haliburton and Blackwater owe the government rather a lot of money, we would like it back. Also Alaska can whistle if they think they are getting the idiot Stephens bridge to nowhere.

Sixth: Implement measures to protect the Internet economy against Internet crime and the risk that terrorists use the Internet for fundraising. (Full program described in The dotCrime Manifesto.

Seventh: New Orleans, remember?

Eighth: Healthcare.

Nuclear actually has a pretty poor energy return on energy invested. I think we can point more towards oil and hydro as boosting available energy in the last century. One is renewable and one will run out. Fortunately, wind and solar power can scale and not be a drag the way nuclear power is. With these high quality energy sources, meeting our irreducible needs for liquid fuels should be fairly easy.

Nuclear actually has a pretty poor energy return on energy invested. I think we can point more towards oil and hydro as boosting available energy in the last century. One is renewable and one will run out. Fortunately, wind and solar power can scale and not be a drag the way nuclear power is. With these high quality energy sources, meeting our irreducible needs for liquid fuels should be fairly easy.

On the subject of pilots keeping their cool under stress, I came across this blog entry

http://urbanparamedic.blogspot.com/search?q=helipad/

RP poses for pictures with anyone who asks for one. That nazi isn't wearing a swastika in that shot, is he? I find it rather unlikely, to say the least, that the guy said "Hi, I'm a nazi, how about a picture?"

Somehow, I find this man rather more credible on the subject of Ron's attitude towards racism than Charles Johnson and everyone in his echo chamber.

Then of course, there is what the man says himself.

Not to mention the fact Ron has published hundreds of essays and speeches, none of which are consistent with the views expressed in some of those newsletters.

Now, the main thing that convinces me that the man isn't a racist, is the fact that he's the only candidate in either of the major parties who has committed to ending the single government policy that does the most damage to minorities in this country. That is, the War on Drugs, which is a very handy tool for any actual racists who want to lock up blacks, hispanics, or anyone else they find offensive.

-jcr

So 100k guys told their wives that they were going to the CES and went to the Porn Awards. The other 44k didn't know about them until the last day of CES.

Guess that means that my idea for a commercial product might face some price pressure.

Must spend less time working and more time reading Slashdot.

I am aware of the 'controversy' but I disagree with you. You might want to read Wired.com's well researched discussion or my statement that Mr. Fisher was right and the Washington Post "correction" was wrong.

I am aware of the 'controversy' but I disagree with you. You might want to read Wired.com's well researched discussion or my statement that Mr. Fisher was right and the Washington Post "correction" was wrong.

There will be no real change in Washington until citizens demand a chance in the way we finance elections. Our system is currently institutionalized bribery. So only special interests, multinational corporations, labor unions, tax attorneys, auto makers, and oil and insurance and drug companies are really running the country.
The FCC is simply acting in its own way like congress does, favoring the biggest corporations at the expense of the taxpayers and smaller competing business firms.
An investigation by congress of the FCC would be welcome. But it is only window dressing.
We have the best government money can buy and all that implies.
http://ncstockguy.blogspot.com/

Yeah, actually, I am presenting that. SPEECH doesn't develop at two months either -- what kind of moron are you? Are you suggesting that symptoms of autism should manifest before the capacity to exhibit those symptoms has?

No, I'm simply pointing out that major symptoms of autism frequently develop a bit after the time that children receive their MMR booster, and this is really the only basis for blaming vaccinations for autism. But in fact, autism tends to develop around that time even in kids who don't get the vaccination.

Needless to say, the fact that autism symptoms generally do not become evident after earlier vaccinations cannot be offered in favor of the autism hypothesis.

On the other hand, the brain's development is certainly ongoing at that time, and if mercury in vaccines is interfering with that development [you do know that mercury prevents neural tubulin from maintaining its structure, right?] such that the connections to allow proper sensory integration just don't happen, then the subsequent ability to demonstrate the abilities required of those connections would never manifest.

Yes, mercury is a neurotoxin. But the symptoms of mercury neurotoxicity do not resemble autism. And the experience of multiple countries showing that elimination of mercury from vaccines does not affect the incidence of autism clearly eliminates mercury as a causative factor.

You didn't even read the Rolling Stone article, did you?

Yes, nor was this the first time I've seen it. I thought that it was pretty stupid and dishonest when it was published, but to bring it up now, when the evidence against the mercury hypothesis is much stronger, is amazingly stupid.

No, your links DO NOT refute the article in Rolling Stone.

The do. They link to the full transcript (large pdf) of the conference, which proves that the Rolling Stone article is not merely wrong, but dishonest.

The simple fact is that the CDC had already DETERMINED that there was a link between mercury in vaccines and the rise (RISE -- how many "genetic disorders" ever have a rise in their rates of appearance?) of autism.

This is a lie, as documented here and in the meeting transcript. The CDC has determined no such thing. And in fact, it is unclear whether there is in fact a rise in the rate of autism, as there is evidence that much, perhaps all, of the increase is due to changes in diagnosis, such that many children who would previously be diagnosed as "retarded" are now being diagnosed as autistic. But even if the rise is real, that is not evidence for mercury, or vaccination, being a cause. Genetic disorders can be triggered by an environmental cause; for example, brain damage resulting from the genetic disorder PKU is triggered by a ubiquitous amino acid present in many foods, as well as artificial sweeteners, which is harmless to children without the defect. So even if there is an environmental trigger for autism, it doesn't have to be a neurotoxin--it could be a normal foodstuff, or a virus that is harmless to people without the defect.

Does Mercury cause autism in children? Hmmm... If you wanted to study whether or not something caused cancer, what would you do? Maybe... subject the cells to the substance in question and see whether or not any of them turn cancerous?

I've done lots of cell culture, and I can tell you that this is doubtless the single most unreliable method of determining whether

There was another issue, where someone argued that pirating stuff prevents the global warming by decreasing the production of CDs, DVDs, plastic boxes etc., which I confused FSM with. Clearly, you haven't seen that before.

"But the fact remains that being fat will kill you early,"
No, it's not. In fact a recent study showed that fat people lived longer;which is counter intuitive to the fact that they do have issues.
It is very interesting, but in the last 4 year some really good studies have been done that have lead to some seriously counter intuitive results.

here is a nice summary of the study I mentioned:

http://junkfoodscience.blogspot.com/2007/11/fat-and-long-life-obesity-crisis-is.html

TWENTY, not 25. did you actually bother to research it? The reasoning was also NOT "that the people who created the stuff would be encouraged to create more" but that "the people who created in the 1950s are about to run out of royalties". That includes Cliff Rochard. Oh look, I did cover this in detail in the past too...

http://neuron2neuron.blogspot.com/2006/04/royalty-deadlines-told-to-move-it.html first and then http://torrentfreak.com/uk-conservatives-plan-to-extend-copyright/

Since then, Cliff Richard has trialed a pay-by-demand system for his last album, back in November. Please, do try and keep up

Ben Jones
http://torrentfreak.com/author/bjones/
http://neuron2neuron.blogspot.com/
http://www.piracyisnotacrime.com/

TWENTY, not 25. did you actually bother to research it? The reasoning was also NOT "that the people who created the stuff would be encouraged to create more" but that "the people who created in the 1950s are about to run out of royalties". That includes Cliff Rochard. Oh look, I did cover this in detail in the past too...

http://neuron2neuron.blogspot.com/2006/04/royalty-deadlines-told-to-move-it.html first and then http://torrentfreak.com/uk-conservatives-plan-to-extend-copyright/

Since then, Cliff Richard has trialed a pay-by-demand system for his last album, back in November. Please, do try and keep up

Ben Jones
http://torrentfreak.com/author/bjones/
http://neuron2neuron.blogspot.com/
http://www.piracyisnotacrime.com/

Imagine what chaos aspiring electronics buffs will be able to create with Wii controllers!

Fortunately more useful things like an interactive whiteboard for $40. The only problem I've had is trying to get my hand on a Wii Remote to try it out but the idea is brilliant...at least if you are a professor: I can teach them physics at the same time as using physics to teach!

I'd still like there to be an option for there to be a simple ye olde style menu as well.

Lots of people do. Aaron Seigo had code for it but refused to commit it because he thought people were being mean. Quote:

i have two directories on my devel system here, one containing the start of a menu oriented display of the data models in kickoff, another which is a straight port of the kicker kmenu code.

however, in line with my recently adopted "i don't reward negative behaviour" position, due to the completely out of line missives i've received on this issue, capped by yours, it is now officially off my table. so if you want a "traditional" menu, then you make one.

It was just yesterday that Bill went off to war.

Yeah, KDE4 is definitely being developed according to the "release early, release often" philosophy here. For months now the word has been that KDE 4.0 will not completely realise all of the hopes for KDE4 as a long-term project, rather it is targeted towards enthusiasts and developers. I think it's a fairly good idea, because the ball needs to get rolling in order to build activity and interest around the new platform. Aaron Seigo, a high-profile KDE developer made this blog post which clears up a lot of the confusion around this 4.0 release.

As I've mentioned elsewhere, KDE4 is still making rapid progress, and in the mean time KDE3 is still a great desktop. When KDE4 is ready for mass consumption (hopefully 4.1 will be better in this regard, scheduled for 6 months or so), the Linux distributors will pick it up and start delivering it as a supported option. Until then, this first release still shows a great deal of progress, and I think the developers can definitely justify a bit of self-satisfaction!

http://robertghansen.blogspot.com/2008/01/new-hampshire-machine-count-bias.html
[note, I'm related to Robert Hansen...]