Slashdot Mirror

I created an online petition to try and get the RIAA to allow selling the music as MP3's. Pleas sign it!! http://www.petitiononline.com/riaamp3/petition.htm l Buying DRM music is like paying somebody to paint their fence. If you do it you support microsoft locking you into windows or apple locking you into iPod. After all this it isn't your fence.

* Farming 6% of the continental U.S. acreage with biomass crops (Hemp) would provide all of America's Energy needs.
* Biomass can be converted into methane, methanol, or gasoline (which could eliminate our ties with the Middle East) at a cost comparable to petroleum and hemp is much better for the environment.
* Hemp fuel burns clean. Petroleum causes acid rain due to sulfur pollution.
* One acre of hemp can produce as much usable fiber as 4 acres of trees or two acres of cotton.
* Trees cut down take 50-500 years to grow, while hemp can be cultivated in as little as 100 days and can yield 4 times more paper over a 20 year period.

There are many interesting facts about hemp such as Van Gogh and Rembrandt painting on hemp canvasses, and also painting with hemp paints. Benjamin Franklin used hemp in the first paper mill, and Henry Ford thought methane, not gasoline, should be used to fuel cars. Biomass can be converted to methane (ethanol) at a fraction of the costs of oil, coal, or nuclear energy. (Imagine world politics if oil was off the table?) Wretchedly, the world swathed its destructive path, cutting down trees for paper, when hemp could have been harvested every three or four months, and, by using petro-chemicals instead of methane, at untold costs to our planet.

There is a petition against WGA at http://www.petitiononline.com/nowga/petition.html Would be interesting to see how many signatories it gets

partnering between fisherman and wild dolphins.

this is just too perverse...

Washington residents please add your signature

The most devoted Thief fans and fan mission creators are hoping to get the original Dark engine that T1 and T2 uses open sourced so that we could improve it and run it on other operating systems. Most fan mission creators still create missions for T2 rather than T3 since it's so much better and we hope to improve it further, so please sign this: http://www.petitiononline.com/TDPT2/petition.html

Stallman's answer in 1985 was to create F/OSS software, not to outlaw proprietary software, nor to use unlawfully copied proprietary software. F/OSS was and is able to compete in the marketplace.

Hmmmmn, good point - my analogy was flawed.

Now let's look at DRM. DRM is a flawed, ultimately unworkable attempt to control copying of "content" files. If the FSF had a workable alternative to DRM, then they should put it forth and let it compete for our hearts and minds and dollars.

DRM can be used to protect any digital file - including software. It affects the FSF directly (DRM measures can remove some freedoms granted by the GPL) and is a legal and social problem, there is no technical solution.

Better yet, if they want to work a political angle, why not work on/against legislation such as the DMCA? Why waste the effort on DRM, which in my estimation is going to turn out to be one of the big non-issues of the century.

I take your point that the DMCA is the whip that enforces DRM, but the FSF is going working on the DMCA, not too mention even more dangerous items, like the wipo netcast treaty, and software patents.

Just 'cause they're attacking DRM doesn't mean they've forgotten everything else!

I even made one for everyone! http://www.petitiononline.com/vgvilpet/petition.ht ml please, I know these things dont do much, but every bit helps.

Go and sign the petition to bring back Blue Security and its fight against spammers:

http://www.petitiononline.com/bbbsp101/petition.ht ml/

To: The former Blue Security group.

Dear Blue Security,

We, the computer users who will always see you as idols in the struggle against spam, wish that you would come back and continue to fight back against spammers by our sides.

If that is not possible, please help us create an open source version of Blue Frog so that we may create a distributed network of spam resistance founded on the principles you have set.

We understand that you were digitally attacked a brainless tool with at least enough of an adolescent taste to take the handle "Pharmamaster" and matching stupidity to make a website in his name, and we sympathize. In fact, we respect you immensely for not deciding for us whether we would be your troops in a war against these rabid dogs who relish and profit in their own filth (spammers) and the tails that get wagged by them (black hats like "PharmaMaster").

Indeed, it is the mindfulness and benevolence you have shown that cements Blue Security's desirable place in digital history no matter what happens now.

Again though, we are coming to you requesting that you raise high the Blue Frog flag or make it possible to honor your legacy by creating an open source distributed network of spam resistance.

Sincerely,

The Undersigned

...Captain Barrett Coldyron, in charge of the R.O.T.O.R. taskforce.

"Who are we who create such a thing?" he asks. "Heroes and villains?"

Visit the community website for further information on the ocean out fall project in Christchrch, New Zealand. If you would prefer that this effluent is not piped into the ocean, then sign the partiton against ocean outfall

Visit the community website for further information on the ocean out fall project in Christchrch, New Zealand. If you would prefer that this effluent is not piped into the ocean, then sign the partiton against ocean outfall

I've made a petition in the hope that they will make a good game. Go sign it: "Don't make the Wii Jedi Knight game suck!" http://www.petitiononline.com/jedi_wii/

While I agree that the jokes may die down across the internet eventually, that doesn't mean they and the name that spurned them won't create a lasting reaction that will hurt non-fanboy sales immensely. Nintendo already has to play a bit of catch up after this past generation, and they don't need to have more reasons for people to ignore their products. So I created a petition here http://www.petitiononline.com/revnowii/petition.ht ml to ask Nintendo to change the name, if not to Revolution, to something besides "Wii." Please check it out, and if you agree, sign it and tell your friends about it. Also, the petition suggests that everybody continue to call the system the "Revolution" instead of the "Wii," both to support the petition and to nip the bad jokes in the bud. Please help me out with this!!!

While I agree that the jokes may die down across the internet eventually, that doesn't mean they and the name that spurned them won't create a lasting reaction that will hurt non-fanboy sales immensely. Nintendo already has to play a bit of catch up after this past generation, and they don't need to have more reasons for people to ignore their products. So I created a petition here http://www.petitiononline.com/revnowii/petition.ht ml to ask Nintendo to change the name, if not to Revolution, to something besides "Wii." Please check it out, and if you agree, sign it and tell your friends about it. Also, the petition suggests that everybody continue to call the system the "Revolution" instead of the "Wii," both to support the petition and to nip the bad jokes in the bud. Please help me out with this!!!

Why doesn't someone who can speak more eloquent than I start up a petition?

oh yeah? then let's make it official: i hereby call on you, the slashdot.org member, to say no to computers/cars analogies!

You mean like when "Dual USB" iBooks started dying, getting new motherboards almost every month, how Apple just LEAP up and took care of the problem?

Apple certainly did not "take care of it without hesitation"; they wouldn't admit any faults (just kept "servicing" the units until they went out of warranty- often times breaking unrelated components, loosing computers altogether, taking weeks to do the repairs, somehow not doing the repair at all, etc.) and only after (among other things) a petition with 3800 signatures did Apple extend the warranty, but not for all the models affected nor all the problems people are having. In short- Apple's reaction was purely token.

Nice revisionism there, chief.

Support standpoint, we at the ubuntuforums find the support of ATI cards to be very frustrating. Their drivers dont work , and when they do, its spotchy at best.

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=148531
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=122094
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=148415
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=141090
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=137343
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=76147
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=75001

This is probably the largest complaint we get on the Ubuntu Forums and the UDSF(http://doc.gwos.org/ in the way of graphics cards. I think I even remember being told at one point that ATI is so driven on DirectX development that they likely dont care much about developing Open Source Drivers, or even a decent working Proprietary driver.

There have been a few Petitions to do so
http://www.petitiononline.com/atipet/petition.html
http://www.petitiononline.com/ati3/petition.html

And countless others. The community asks, almost begs, and all ATI does it laugh.

Its sad, really sad.

http://wiki.cchtml.com/index.php/Main_Page

Support standpoint, we at the ubuntuforums find the support of ATI cards to be very frustrating. Their drivers dont work , and when they do, its spotchy at best.

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=148531
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=122094
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=148415
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=141090
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=137343
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=76147
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=75001

This is probably the largest complaint we get on the Ubuntu Forums and the UDSF(http://doc.gwos.org/ in the way of graphics cards. I think I even remember being told at one point that ATI is so driven on DirectX development that they likely dont care much about developing Open Source Drivers, or even a decent working Proprietary driver.

There have been a few Petitions to do so
http://www.petitiononline.com/atipet/petition.html
http://www.petitiononline.com/ati3/petition.html

And countless others. The community asks, almost begs, and all ATI does it laugh.

Its sad, really sad.

http://wiki.cchtml.com/index.php/Main_Page

True dat! Slightly off-topic, but I do have a point I'd like to stress.

I've DL'd all of my music, although I don't really listen to much of todays music, to be honest (Pink Floyd and Jefferson Airplane mostly. Oddly enough, I'm only 26). Now, the last really good album I have found (read: opinion) was, don't laugh... Christina Aguilera's "Stripped". Not a trend whore in the least, mind you, so when I came to the conclusion that it was worth my money, I went and bought it (February 2005, I believe I picked it up). Doesn't make me a hero, in the least. But, I'd probably have bought it sooner had I gone Apple sooner. If I had even pirated it at all. My point is; iTunes/iPod are some of the most realistic options in the modern age, and it's quite fair.

Let's say , hypothetically, that I liked that song "My Humps" by the Black Eyed Peas, it's crazy I know. But, "What If". ;) Now, I might not want to purchase the whole album, the other songs might not be all that great. Or, maybe, I don't think it worth my time going out of my way to pick up the single (this geek hates to shop). I'd pirate it, outright, 100% of the time, if I dug it. Now, enter Apple and iTunes. They have given me a better option, which is quite reasonable. It might be that the cash flow in my world has gotten stronger (read: disposable income). Or, maybe it's because I am geting older, I don't know. But, piracy, as easy as it is (IRC, BT, IM, PG2, etc.) is not as sexy an option for me as it once was (lawsuits, fear of the financial downfall the RIAA will bring upon me).

Now, I do occasionally like the random "it" song I hear on the radio (see: above). But, I don't think that one song is worth $13, I don't care how big her tits are. Apple/iTunes/iPod are damned near a perfect blend, and it's the only one I'd personally go with. Tax time is coming up, I might get back some quid and I have been seriously considering such an investment.

However, the final hurdle for me at this point is lossless audio (I use FLAC, but I'd accept a DRM'd Apple Lossless file) and gapless playback. But, that won't happen anytime soon. It's far too fringe, I guess. On the plus side; I only use FLAC for full albums and OGG Vorbis for the Decade by Decade randomness. So, iTunes CAN work for me, to an extent, without the lossless audio option. But, gapless is a must, if I am to buy all my music diretly from Apple. It's an Audiophile thing.

My $0.02 USD*

PS: I am NOT trying to defend my pirating music, in any way. I also took up Linux recently, and am learning Japanese to boot... no, I am not trying to skip town, and I chose Linux for the beer, man... I'm just going through a small, personal, cultural revolution type deal. And, I know a few Dazed and Confused types who went the high road, recently, as well. Something in the water, me thinks! Now would be the time to snag someone like me. Apple, I meant, not you.

* "opinion" for non USians

I can tell you that most political websites, right or left, are blocked

Also, many felt that KOTOR2 was so rushed that the storyline suffered as a result. In fact, a petition was raised surrounding that very point.

I have to agree, longer dev times can only help a game's success. I personally would rather have a functional game with cool features and better story than an early release for a poorer product.

the idea that something free can be sold perplexes me.

Air is free, and yet businesses spend big bucks buying it in compressed form. Same with oxygen, hydrogen, and dihydrous monoxide (also called dihydrogen monoxide).

Heck, dihydrous monoxide literally "falls from the skies", and yet companies sell millions of dollars of this chemical every year.

More info on dihydrous monoxide

petition to ban it

yup...ltsp rocks. i'm an admin in a small school in maine, and we have a decent sized diskless lab. ltsp really does work great...especially with machines that would now be considered junk. the first real problem that i've had with the lab happened not that long ago, when a group of faculty needed to use a site that used shockwave. its too bad, but i had to point them to the windows lab. petition adobe/macromedia: http://www.petitiononline.com/linuxswp/petition.ht ml

Why I am RedHot Mad at DirecTV

DirecTV used to be my favorite Satellite provider. When they launched TiVo service I got even more excited. However, it looks as if DirecTV has gotten "too big for their britches". In my opinion their parent company Murdoch's News Corp. is a bunch rich bastards who couldn't care less about their customers. News Corp. also owns NDS which is a competing DVR company. Naturally, not caring about the wants or needs of their customers they are trying to force NDS down our throats and drop TiVo as an offering. In order to make it "seem" like they are making things better for us they have stopped all software updates for the DirecTV versions of the TiVo that add new features. That way, they can make their offering look better. In reality, their product is weak at best and they have purposely made our TiVo machines limited in functionality. I find this tactic to be monopolistic at least and in my opinion it is fraudulent. Unfortunately for me, I just bought a DirecTV HD-TiVo and signed a year long contract. I can assure you that if they don't get their act together, I will no longer be a customer the day my contract expires. New smaller companies who care about their customers and who are willing to offer the customer the services they want will soon be nipping at the heels of DirecTV. I'll be looking for that company and they will get my money. I am also encouraging all of my friends and family to drop DirecTV and move to someone else when their contracts are up. I feel like on-line petitions are worthless, but if you haven't already signed it, please sign the following petition: DirecTV TiVo Petition. While signing this might help, the only effective way to get companies like this to wake up is to hit them in their pocket books. It's sad, because DirecTV used to be small and care what customers wanted.

Honestly, it's stupid that us North and South Americans and Europeans are getting second guessed and left out in the sun and not being allowed to enjoy such things without import. http://www.petitiononline.com/q19512/petition.html A petition has been created (if one has not been created already) to petition Nintendo and Opera to release it in all the areas that they conduct buisness in.

http://www.petitiononline.com/7292442/petition-sig n.html?/

maybe, just maybe.

Slightly offtopic, but you might find it interesting nevertheless.
The Motorola RAZR V3X sports a nVidia Goforce 3D 4800 WMP, but for some strange reason it's not used by the KVM. In other words games using the Java 3D API will have the same sucky performance as phones with no hardware acceleration. Some guy even started a petition to get Motorola to change it (http://www.petitiononline.com/v3xpet/petition.htm l)

(mod parent funny...)

But the grandparent isn't alone.

Count me in too, I'm not buying until they fix this. I listen to a lot of mix albums and long classical pieces, which demand this.

Online Petition for Mark Shuttleworth, so we all can enjoy, port and improve the Borland programming tools

It'll run NetBSD first :-)

Has anyone tried running Darwin / FreeBSD?


--
Please sign the native Flash player for FreeBSD petition:
http://www.petitiononline.com/flash4me/petition.ht ml

Please sign the petition at http://www.petitiononline.com/SGTA/petition.html.

It only takes a minute of your time and it's definately worth a shot to try and persuade the people who decided to cancel it.

Here in the UK we're getting the second game in the series next month. Can't understand why they won't release the first one though...

Scorpions are cold blooded animals that can survive being frozen.
http://www.museums.org.za/bio/scorpions/biology.ht m

--
Please sign the native Flash player for FreeBSD petition:
http://www.petitiononline.com/flash4me/petition.ht ml

A merger or buyout between SUN and Apple would end up like HP/Compaq. I think a better fit would be a merger between SUN and AMD. AMD has always wanted into the server market. Sun would have more chip fabs and engineers for the Sparc line. And the two of them together would have the IP for three major processor architectures, Alpha being the 3rd chip.

---
Sign my petition to get a native Flash player for FreeBSD!

If yes sign here http://www.petitiononline.com/oftsucks/ It's time to take the gloves off!

So this is why they bought Macromedia! Web development software is not one of Adobe's primary markets. Apple caught them off guard with Aperture, Macromedia's Lightroom now fills this gap. So theirs still hope Adobe will kill off Flash by replacing it with SVG!... or opening the Flash spec, like pdf's.

---
Sign my petition to get a native Flash player for FreeBSD!

I am pretty sure the answer is no for gapless playback. From what I understand, the standard mp3 codec doesn't support it, but AAC can. Apple doesn't support it, the iRiver does, IIRC, and some guys have a hacked up mp3 codec/firmware that supports it. Also, Sony players will do it if you use ATRAC...So as you see this gapless playback seems to have been not a big priority for many companies, and I personally haven't heard many people complaining. ;)

ReplayGain, no. It is a proposed standard. If I understand the concept, the iPod, as well as iTunes uses something equivalent called "Soundcheck"

Along with the demand to drop the felony charges, the petition also calls for the resignation or termination of the prosecutor, Mr. Frank Forchione.

People, charging an 18yo kid with a felony for posting a "call to action" on a blog is criminal in and of itself. Telling people to "hit F5" and refresh a site's content is by no means a DoS, or an attempted DoS. It's stupid, and at the absolute most harassment. Anyone who thinks that this kid's actions constitute an attempted DoS obviously doesn't have a clue what a DoS is or how it works. As usual, there are opinions on both sides. However in this case, the opinion that this was an attempted DoS is technically and factually incorrect.

The bottom line is that Michael Stone is facing the possibility of wearing the badge of "Convicted Felon" for the rest of his life because he told readers of his blog to "hit F5" and reload the school's web page. And despite the ludicrous statements made by the prosecutor and the blatantly false "technical" information broadcast by the top-notch local news team, Michael didn't cause any damage to any hardware, software, or service. If a bunch of kids refreshing the web site was enough to slow it down, maybe the school should consider upgrading from their 56K dial-up connection. In the end, I think we all know that the intent of the prosecutor was to teach Michael a lesson and send a message to the vicious hacker underworld that has overrun the quaint lil' town of Canton. And if that's the case - that the prosecutor's plan was to give Mike a felony scare and accept a plea to a lesser charge, then that is nothing short of reckless and malicious prosecution which calls for the termination of Canton's tough-as-nails prosecutor.

I ask that you all consider the lunacy and malice of the prosecution's case and add your name to the petition at http://www.petitiononline.com/mwstone/petition.htm l.

Along with the demand to drop the felony charges, the petition also calls for the resignation or termination of the prosecutor, Mr. Frank Forchione.

People, charging an 18yo kid with a felony for posting a "call to action" on a blog is criminal in and of itself. Telling people to "hit F5" and refresh a site's content is by no means a DoS, or an attempted DoS. It's stupid, and at the absolute most harassment. Anyone who thinks that this kid's actions constitute an attempted DoS obviously doesn't have a clue what a DoS is or how it works. As usual, there are opinions on both sides. However in this case, the opinion that this was an attempted DoS is technically and factually incorrect.

The bottom line is that Michael Stone is facing the possibility of wearing the badge of "Convicted Felon" for the rest of his life because he told readers of his blog to "hit F5" and reload the school's web page. And despite the ludicrous statements made by the prosecutor and the blatantly false "technical" information broadcast by the top-notch local news team, Michael didn't cause any damage to any hardware, software, or service. If a bunch of kids refreshing the web site was enough to slow it down, maybe the school should consider upgrading from their 56K dial-up connection. In the end, I think we all know that the intent of the prosecutor was to teach Michael a lesson and send a message to the vicious hacker underworld that has overrun the quaint lil' town of Canton. And if that's the case - that the prosecutor's plan was to give Mike a felony scare and accept a plea to a lesser charge, then that is nothing short of reckless and malicious prosecution which calls for the termination of Canton's tough-as-nails prosecutor.

I ask that you all consider the lunacy and malice of the prosecution's case and add your name to the petition at http://www.petitiononline.com/mwstone/petition.htm l.

"Arrested Development", From S0303:
Tobias - "I'll have you remember I was a 'professional' two times over. Both an analyst AND a therapist, an analrapist."
Lindsy - "Yeah, and the business cards almost got you arrested."
Tobias - "I did NOT quit my job because of the police inquiry but because I wanted to help raise my daughter."

This is just a glimpse into the writing in this show, which has social commentary on par with South Park: George, seeing a military humvee and a pope mobile decides to escape in the pope mobile as it has "actual armour".

It has EVERYTHING. And it does it all well. The show is just as good if not better than The Simpsons, Family Guy, American Dad. Like those, it tries to capture the essence of American life in a humorous light. The problem is that unlike those shows, it has a bit of sexual innuendo humour. In fact, a big theme of the show is repressed sexuality, which is a perfect allegory for the American way of life. Violence is primetime viewing and a nipple is a national scandel. Sad. But a reason to cancel a great show?

Please, go to http://www.mininova.org/search/?search=arrested+de velopment
If you already have bittorrent running, a single show is like an hour dl. Any of the third season is a good intro to the show, especially 3, 6, or 7. Or watch it Mondays at 8pm on Fox.

Also, if you like the show, sign the petitions:
http://www.getarrested.com/
http://www.petitiononline.com/Arrested/petition.ht ml
http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/arresteddev

Sorry, I did repost this in the main thread to get those petition links out there.

From S0303:
Tobias - "I'll have you remember I was a 'professional' two times over. Both an analyst AND a therapist, an analrapist."
Lindsy - "Yeah, and the business cards almost got you arrested."
Tobias - "I did NOT quit my job because of the police inquiry but because I wanted to help raise my daughter."

This is just a glimpse into the writing in this show, which, for example, has social commentary on par with South Park: George, seeing a military humvee and a pope mobile decides to escape in the pope mobile as it has "actual armour".

It has EVERYTHING. And it does it all well. The show is just as good if not better than The Simpsons, Family Guy, American Dad. Like those, it tries to capture the essence of American life in a humorous light. The problem is that unlike those shows, it has a bit of sexual innuendo humour. In fact, a big theme of the show is repressed sexuality, which is a perfect allegory for the American way of life. Violence is primetime viewing and a nipple is a national scandel. Sad. But a reason to cancel a great show?

Please, go to http://www.mininova.org/search/?search=arrested+de velopment
If you already have bittorrent running, a single show is like an hour dl. Any of the third season is a good intro to the show, especially 3, 6, or 7. Or watch it Mondays at 8pm on Fox.

Also, if you like the show, sign the petitions:
http://www.getarrested.com/
http://www.petitiononline.com/Arrested/petition.ht ml
http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/arresteddev

http://www.petitiononline.com/bcsony/petition.html

Fans pissed off at the merchanise type people put up a petition at http://www.petitiononline.com/. Theirs is one of the largest petitions on the site.

Recently Archive.org was asked to pull recordings of the Grateful dead they had been hosting - all fan recordings.

Archive.org was allowed to resume hosting microphone recordings for shows - but the soundboard recordings (which were all made by fans, not the Dead) are now only allowed to be streamed.

This implies then that if you are sharing soundboard recordings you are doing so against the wishes of the Dead.

Read the spirited comments on the matter here. Some fans are thankful that they are allowed partial freedoms, others upset that all the effort that went into fan soundboard recordings is being withheld form the people that made it.

There is also a petition to sign here to let the band know how you feel about them going back on thier principals.

Do we really want this mess to become our standards ?

*shrug*, call me a flaimbaiter - but whatever happened to clear and simple ?

--
Petition for iPod to support .ogg

Hmmmm...maybe this is a good time for an off topic link for the petition to get revised "Donner" version of Superman II released.

http://new.petitiononline.com/safeipod/petition.ht ml

I know this may frustrate many of the posters here, but I believe that if anyone, Robert "CmdrWaco" Malda and his friends know the damage that pornography and open source addiction can cause to yourself and your friends and family as you drown in what became a "once in awhile" activity to something that happens every day. You may not be able to keep yourself from looking at smut and tinkering with Linux, but you can save others from your hellish fate! A signature against Apple is a signature for America's moral purity!

http://new.petitiononline.com/safeipod/petition.ht ml

When I first heard of the iPod digital media player, I thought little of it; it was surely only another plaything of an elite group of tinkerers from MIT. Imagine my suprise when, hardly a year later the iPod was not used only by tech junkies, but also by young professionals, teenagers and even parents such as myself. Tired of lugging around a large case of CDs with me whenever I went out, I gave in an purchased an iPod. Little did I know what I was getting myself into.

My high school aged son, John, became very interested in my iPod and helped me configure my settings. He seemed to want one, too, so I bought him one for his birthday. I bought a modest 10 gigabyte iPod with a black and white display, but since John was turning sixteen I decided to treat him to the best iPod out there. His came with 40 gigabyte of memory and a crystal clear video display which he could use to watch videos of his favorite Contemporary Christian bands. I had put parental controls on our only computer, so I didn't worry about John downloading sinful music produced by the likes of the Beatles or Simon and Garfunkel, both music groups which glorified drug use and promiscuity. I was safe that my son's constant adjustments and late night projects on his iPod were nothing but wholesome. My husband had told me that me that as long as John did not use any hacking programs such as Linux or BSD he wouldn't be able to do anything but fill his iPod with a library full of Christian music. John continued his little technological projects throughout the summer. Fall arrived, and I sent him off to enjoy another year of wholesome education at the local Catholic high school. His iPod was stowed in his bag along with a boxlike device I had been assured was extra memory. The months went on without anything of notice, until mid-November when I was interrupted during my ladies' Bible study at my home by the school. The caller ID showed me the school was calling, but what for? Had John been hurt? Was the school evacuated? The principal was on the line, but he didn't tell me anything except it would be best I came to the school right away for him to explain the situation. I rushed out the door and sped down the road.

What the principal told me nearly sent me into shock. While I had thought that my John was the most Catholic son on the planet, it was revealed to me that he had been trading pornography in school. Not just magazines furtively thrust into each other's lockers, but using his video iPod, a present for his sixteenth birthday, to trade pornographic images with other iPod users. His constant tinkering, he confessed to me, has not been to streamline his technology, but rather to facilitate the storage and exchange of this foul smut. The "extra memory" was nothing more than a device running a Linux program called "WINE" to expedite the smut exchanges. The school took swift and proper action and promptly expelled all of the children trading pornography. However, this was not punishment enough. I slapped a chastity belt right on my sinful son and made him destroy his pornography archive himself. I thought I had raised my child well, but apparently the mental illness of lust could not be controlled by a schedule filled to overflowing with Mass, youth group and Bible study. After conferring with my husband, we decided it was best to hospitalize John. We pray that the wisdom of the Catholic psychologists will be able to cure John of his sinful lust for unclothed girlflesh.

However, the temptations and ruin that the Macintosh corporation is peddling to America's children does not have to end like it did with John. I am asking that parents sign the petition here () to ask that Macintosh place a warning label on their iPod products warning parents that the iPo