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With that logic, everyone and their brother will be creating knock-offs of offline games and expect to be bought out by the owners.

Instead of Monopoly, I think I'll create Oligopoly, or add some political overtones and call it Plutocracy.

How long do you think you'd hold out in court with a product called "Video Basic" or "Visually Basic"?

With that logic, everyone and their brother will be creating knock-offs of offline games and expect to be bought out by the owners.

Instead of Monopoly, I think I'll create Oligopoly, or add some political overtones and call it Plutocracy.

How long do you think you'd hold out in court with a product called "Video Basic" or "Visually Basic"?

Its not an undisputed source of all knowledge. It just happens to be a convient reference.

Feel free to check Merriam-Webster or Dictionary. As you'll see both have similar definitions and neither list violence as a requisite.

Have to post anon since I've moderated in this area... A signature may be a written form of one's name, but it can also be defined a somewhat unique identifier given in written or even audible/etc format. Therefore, so long as a signature complies to a unique format, why not?

I'm thinking that perhaps I'll start signing my name and embed the date in every signature. Or perhaps the day of week. Then if somebody ever does try to fraud my card with a faked signature, I can say "it wasn't mine, because my signature is to sign my name with the current day of week"

(or is it fora?)

Yes.

(Although forums is also valid, as a Latin geek I prefer to use those plurals. :)

Happens to me, too. I have a so far unshakable faith in God. Yet when I express my views that don't play well with the predominant Southern Baptist fudamentalism of the region or the "Born Again"s, I get called an atheist or agnostic. And, I get treated like I'm half acceptable, but still damned, and mostly ignored like a biblical temptation. Seriously...

None of the programs compared is free

Grammar fascist checking in. You're wrong, and it sounds like you're a "'none' is singular" nazi.

Click here.

Both "none is" and "none are" are correct, but "none is" sounds so awkward in this context (coming almost right after "programs") that choosing "none are" is much better.

YOU should learn correct use of the ENGLISH language. Virii is the CORRECT plural form of virus. It is a VERY common misconception that the plural is "viruses", which is AWFUL English.

You are wrong.

To summarise, "virii" isn't the plural of "virus" because "vir" has nothing to do with "virus". Or, even more bluntly, "virii" simply isn't a valid word.

I don't know about "Unixii", but truely, [...]

(The irony here is almost palpable).

[...] it seems like the best way to speak of multiple Unix environments with one word.

Maybe if you want to pretend you know Latin it does, but *correct English speakers* will use the term "unixes".

Look it up, there are quite a few words that use "i" or "ii" at the end to make them plural.

Indeed, there are. But neither "virus" nor "unix" is one of them.

First things first: hooked on phonics is a nice catchphrase and all but it will only allow you to gain the skills needed to function in the very lowest sphere of society. Here's a hint.

Next thing up: as I've grown older and lost a lot of free time, video games have sunk in priority. Therefore, the whole notion of a pre-order is of no value to me. I operate on a much slower cycle for video games and the new games in my collection are almost always last year's hits. The only recent exception being the latest GTA, which I got right around the day it was released - first week, I believe. But I still did not preorder. I simply found a copy in Best Buy that had been misplaced or hidden by someone within the horror DVDs.

the defintion of being a nerd is that you don't know much outside of your area of exertise. For most nerds, that means missing out on updates to popular culture -- which is what podcasting is. Unless you were intersted in podcasting from a technical standpoint, why would you know about it before it had any good content?

Well, you certainly live up to your name. (second definition)

The word is spelled, "segue", but phonetically pronounced the way you wrote it.

This is getting childish guys. It was an analogy, it was even in quotes ("copyright terrorist"). Going into detailed semantics on strict definitions misses the point of an analogy. The point is that Senator Hatch is using extreme tactics, including the use of fear, to force people to conform to an ideal that they disagree with but that he believes in strongly. There is an analogy to terrorism in there, but of course it does not fit a strict definition of the meaning. Just like the Monte Carlo method has nothing to do with the city, a seahorse is not related to a horse, and neural networks don't actually use neurons.

This is getting childish guys. It was an analogy, it was even in quotes ("copyright terrorist"). Going into detailed semantics on strict definitions misses the point of an analogy. The point is that Senator Hatch is using extreme tactics, including the use of fear, to force people to conform to an ideal that they disagree with but that he believes in strongly. There is an analogy to terrorism in there, but of course it does not fit a strict definition of the meaning. Just like the Monte Carlo method has nothing to do with the city, a seahorse is not related to a horse, and neural networks don't actually use neurons.

* And my rhetorics is way more convincing than yours, so i win.

* And my rhetorics is way more convincing than yours, so i win.

Obviously, you don't know who or what a terrorist is.

Terrorism: "A radical who employs terror as a political weapon"

For example, someone who tells you that if we don't give the government the sweeping powers they demand that bad people will destroy our way of life.

Really, it is corporate socialism--socialism for the big corporations and their billionaires;

Corporate socialism? Isn't that just a silly way of saying fascism?

Paragraphs are your friend. Use them.

This is shamelessly copy/pasted directly from dictionary.com. Mind the history:
ain't Audio pronunciation of "ain't" ( P ) Pronunciation Key (nt)
Nonstandard

1. Contraction of am not.
2. Used also as a contraction for are not, is not, has not, and have not.

Usage Note: Ain't has a long history of controversy. It first appeared in 1778, evolving from an earlier an't, which arose almost a century earlier as a contraction of are not and am not. In fact, ain't arose at the tail end of an era that saw the introduction of a number of our most common contractions, including don't and won't. But while don't and won't eventually became accepted at all levels of speech and writing, ain't was to receive a barrage of criticism in the 19th century for having no set sequence of words from which it can be contracted and for being a "vulgarism," that is, a term used by the lower classes, although an't at least had been originally used by the upper classes as well. At the same time ain't's uses were multiplying to include has not, have not, and is not, by influence of forms like ha'n't and i'n't. It may be that these extended uses helped fuel the negative reaction. Whatever the case, criticism of ain't by usage commentators and teachers has not subsided, and the use of ain't is often regarded as a sign of ignorance. But despite all the attempts to ban it, ain't continues to enjoy extensive use in speech. Even educated and upper-class speakers see no substitute in folksy expressions such as Say it ain't so and You ain't seen nothin' yet. The stigmatization of ain't leaves us with no happy alternative for use in first-person questions. The widely used aren't I? though illogical, was found acceptable for use in speech by a majority of the Usage Panel in an earlier survey, but in writing there is no acceptable substitute for the stilted am I not?

Bzzt.

I ain't sure if you're joking, but Check here just in case.

However, their was a mistake in the grandparent, in the spelling of "sentence." So it goes.

Wouldn't it be ironic

No. That would not be ironic.

http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=rape/
3. Abusive or improper treatment; violation: a rape of justice
No, I think he's got it right...

Are you sure?

I'm sorry, but how is Steve Jobs not a megalomaniac ?

The results of the studies corroborate those of previous driving simulator and closed-course tests by indicating that THC in inhaled doses up to 300 g/kg has significant, yet not dramatic, dose-related impairing effects on driving performance (cf. Smiley, 1986). Standard deviation of lateral position in the road-tracking test was the most sensitive measure for revealing THC's adverse effects.

The GPL doesn't have to be agreed to in order to obtain content licensed under the GPL. If you don't, you don't have the right to redistribute copies of the software you received. But you still have fair use rights.

The iTMS system, on the other hand, requires you agree to the ToS just to obtain the music, and that ToS does remove certain rights you'd otherwise have.

So, to me, the GPL is a fair legal document to agree to. The iTMS isn't. If the entire world goes GPL or uses the same principles, no harm is done. If the entire world goes iTMS and uses the same principles, the world will be a worse place and people, in the end, will end up with less rights.

I don't think you should be obliged to agree to a contract or license simply to listen to music you choose and have copies yourself. This is not to suggest that (a) I think that if you've agreed then you should violate that contract - at least, not for music or (b) there shouldn't be some framework that requires people who listen to music produced on the assumption that the legal framework of copyright that exists today can ensure the artists can compell listeners to contribute to the costs in some way shouldn't contribute to the costs in some way (geez, is that a fucking awful sentence or what?) I have no time for pirates (first entry, sub-definition 3).

Apple's Fairplay may not be the worst DRM in the world, but it exists, and it does hamper legitimate usage of music. Rather than employ the hacks DVD Jon is proposing in this article though, I'd rather people simply avoid the store.

I read an article about women who cook and eat the placebo after they give birth. Very, very gross.

...it's for you.

Yet you call it insecure while admitting you have no idea what it is. Chalk up another slashdot geek speaking out of his arse.

The venom over me not knowing what it was is incredible. I put that in there as a qualifier. Only one person actually offered to let me know what WS-Security was and they even did it with some venom. Even now that I know what it is, I don't trust MS to a) implement it correctly b) take the security aspect seriously. c) sandbox it at all

Better to talk out of it than be it completely I guess.

Is the poster trying to prove Opera 8.0B3 (The B stands for 'Beta') isn't compliant?

I think that's very much the point. Otherwise known as the pot calling the kettle black.

forfend

Charm is a poor substitute for being right, which is why I don't generally need it.

"charlatan"! Good! That's a wonderful word, even if you're using it out of context. You'll get it right eventually!

Second link is screwed up. This is where I intended it to go. And this, children, is why you preview your post. :)

As much as I hate making this reference...

> iconoclastic

You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.

*shudders*

And to answer your question? Babylon 5 sucks, H2G2 is funny until you realize that you're now in the 42 Masturbation Klub, and X-Files has aliens and a token hot member of each gender.

And Star Trek is one of those things that you have to had been there.

As much as I hate making this reference...

> iconoclastic

You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.

*shudders*

And to answer your question? Babylon 5 sucks, H2G2 is funny until you realize that you're now in the 42 Masturbation Klub, and X-Files has aliens and a token hot member of each gender.

And Star Trek is one of those things that you have to had been there.

Then what about prostheletyzation? Your summary point is in contrast to the fundamental difference between western (Christianity, Judaism, Islam) faiths and eastern ones... if you want to play along, why do you seek to "convert" those who "do not believe"? That's not quite "playing nice".

The only problem with common sense is it is normally wrong.

The best way to understand common sense is to to realize what it is as opposed to what it is defined as.

Common sense is defined as Sound judgment not based on specialized knowledge; native good judgment. Think of the contradiction in that definition alone. Sound judgement based on a lack of knowledge. The term worked hundreds of years ago because there was very little if any specialized knowledge. Most *knowledge* were really beliefs (still have a lot of that today). Now, we do have many specialists. As we go forward, specialization will become more and more the only way to qualify for work or to understand what is understood about something as the amoun of knowledge we aquire grows. It will be the only way people will be acepted for what they know. Common sense is on the way out as people realize that common sense really is the same as common ignorance.

How many of you would hire someone to render advice on orthodontics that fits this definition (common sense) with regards to teeth? True, our hero in the story is not a dentist. He is a thinker he has a hunger to understand and aquire information about many things seemingly unrelated to what he does (write books on computer technology). How is that different from the billions of *normal* people who can spew all kinds of totally useless stats about sports and entertainment figure from around the world? It is a mind set. That is why you need to hire people for how they think as much as if not more so than what they currently know. So, this gentleman focuses on knowing things, on thinking about how things are done. As opposed to other people who focus on sports scores and, pop entertainment and what else?

A common person has very little knowledge about much of anything (hence the term commoner is not a good thing Unrefined or coarse in manner; vulgar: behavior that branded him as common ). Some things in the realm of common sense are quite obvious (gravity), but still, it took until Sir Isaac Newton to *discover* gravity. Common sense was, the world had edges (four corners), the Earth was the center of the universe, leeching will cure disease, disease is spread via foul odor (vapor), and many more. Common sense is merely what people in general tend to agree upon. Later they will shown to be idiots. The trully smart people just tend to show them as idiots before they are ready to be shown as idiots.

If brushing our teeth correclty is something not to be thought about, and something that we do right the way we do it, then why do we need dentists and regular checkups? Because the way we brush our teeth is nowhere near *good enough*.

Most of us are idiots about most things and we cling to our idiot thoughts and beliefs as a comfortable chair on a sinking cruise liner. It is far more comforting to believe the ship you are on is not sinking then to be looking frantically for a patch for the large hole we call common sense. Of course, once the water is at your feet, it is too late (stock market crashes, WWI and WWII, VietNam, Oil, Environment, SETI, Education, Debt, Health, Profiteering, Corporations, ...)

InnerWeb

The only problem with common sense is it is normally wrong.

The best way to understand common sense is to to realize what it is as opposed to what it is defined as.

Common sense is defined as Sound judgment not based on specialized knowledge; native good judgment. Think of the contradiction in that definition alone. Sound judgement based on a lack of knowledge. The term worked hundreds of years ago because there was very little if any specialized knowledge. Most *knowledge* were really beliefs (still have a lot of that today). Now, we do have many specialists. As we go forward, specialization will become more and more the only way to qualify for work or to understand what is understood about something as the amoun of knowledge we aquire grows. It will be the only way people will be acepted for what they know. Common sense is on the way out as people realize that common sense really is the same as common ignorance.

How many of you would hire someone to render advice on orthodontics that fits this definition (common sense) with regards to teeth? True, our hero in the story is not a dentist. He is a thinker he has a hunger to understand and aquire information about many things seemingly unrelated to what he does (write books on computer technology). How is that different from the billions of *normal* people who can spew all kinds of totally useless stats about sports and entertainment figure from around the world? It is a mind set. That is why you need to hire people for how they think as much as if not more so than what they currently know. So, this gentleman focuses on knowing things, on thinking about how things are done. As opposed to other people who focus on sports scores and, pop entertainment and what else?

A common person has very little knowledge about much of anything (hence the term commoner is not a good thing Unrefined or coarse in manner; vulgar: behavior that branded him as common ). Some things in the realm of common sense are quite obvious (gravity), but still, it took until Sir Isaac Newton to *discover* gravity. Common sense was, the world had edges (four corners), the Earth was the center of the universe, leeching will cure disease, disease is spread via foul odor (vapor), and many more. Common sense is merely what people in general tend to agree upon. Later they will shown to be idiots. The trully smart people just tend to show them as idiots before they are ready to be shown as idiots.

If brushing our teeth correclty is something not to be thought about, and something that we do right the way we do it, then why do we need dentists and regular checkups? Because the way we brush our teeth is nowhere near *good enough*.

Most of us are idiots about most things and we cling to our idiot thoughts and beliefs as a comfortable chair on a sinking cruise liner. It is far more comforting to believe the ship you are on is not sinking then to be looking frantically for a patch for the large hole we call common sense. Of course, once the water is at your feet, it is too late (stock market crashes, WWI and WWII, VietNam, Oil, Environment, SETI, Education, Debt, Health, Profiteering, Corporations, ...)

InnerWeb

actually, whinge is a perfectly cromulent word, which is different from whine (although they have similar meanings)...

m-w.com entry

dictionary.com entry

(Hint: it's whine)

Oh. Yet another ignorant person whinging incorrectly about language usage.

Try checking your facts properly first.

whinge

It might be a cleaner interface but it doesn't seem to be near as comprehensive. For example, I looked up the word "roynish" earlier today. Google drew a blank. Dictionary.com had it. This isn't the first time this has happened, although I don't recall the other words off the top of my head.

I have said: "Individual human life."
The meaning of Individual here is "distinct" or "separate". It is meaning #2 specified here, and I have used it as an adjective that qualifies "human life".

A baby is an individual human life - plain and simple.

Quoting your first response:

> Without a sense of self I can't really be an individual
> human bieng can I? I was rather more of a parasite than
> anything else.

Since psychologists say young babies have no sense of self, this would permit killing of babies. As the other poster also pointed out, an unborn child is not any different from a baby.

Jesus Christ said "Do to others as you would have them do to you"

Remember you yourself have no sense of self when unconscious.

You, a baby, a fetus, an embryo -- all deserve the same protection by the virtue of being an "individual human life". NOT due to "sense of self" - a fluffy, ill-defined concept.

Listen to your God-given conscience.

AC: I'd say mathmatics, physics, biology, etc. are all things that would exist without humanity. Seriously, if we weren't here, wouldn't f still equal m a, or wouldn't 2 of one thing added to 2 of another thing still equal 4 total?

It's a matter of sematics, but by definition, a "concept" exists in the mind of an intelligent being. It usually has been inferred by looking at external reality, but "concepts" only come into being when someone thinks of the idea.

"- in people's minds. And it's about scaring the hell out of those who do that so that they stop."

Isn't that how terrorism is defined?
Dictionary.com.

I guess that makes the authoraties terrorists.
Ive always said that the RIAA/BSA/MPAA are terrorist groups.

Irony.

http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=joke

Oh, and another thing: I never see any similar initiatives to get more men into... say... nursing, or even regular biology.

For nursing, I think the reason has to due with the word itself. Ask anybody out of the blue to draw what a nurse looks like and I doubt you'd find anybody who would draw a male nurse. It's similar to how people thought of doctors decades ago. To me (I'm a guy in case it's not obvious) the word nurse has a similar connotation to the word maid. Sure, you could have a man who comes around and cleans your house and folds your laundry, but what's the word for that?

If society really wants men to enter the nursing profession, I think a new word is required. Otherwise, it will be many decades before the stigma of being called a "nurse" reduces to a level acceptable for the average male ego.

You're right about people's insensitivity when making mean jokes about others' misfortunes. But realize that "gallows humor" can target anyone's misfortune:

"Humorous treatment of a grave or dire situation".

BTW, Americans are far from unique in our double standard of insensitivity.

""Tragedy is when I cut my finger. Comedy is when you walk into an open sewer and die." - Mel Brooks

And then there's the German "schadenfreude": delight in another person's misfortune.

Unfortunately for human harmony, insensitive self-centered ignorant pricks are often funny - if not to the victim.

the RIAA is to the American music afficinado

[Probably blend of irrespective, and regardless.]

Usage Note: Irregardless is a word that many mistakenly believe to be correct usage in formal style, when in fact it is used chiefly in nonstandard speech or casual writing. Coined in the United States in the early 20th century, it has met with a blizzard of condemnation for being an improper yoking of irrespective and regardless and for the logical absurdity of combining the negative ir- prefix and -less suffix in a single term. Although one might reasonably argue that it is no different from words with redundant affixes like debone and unravel, it has been considered a blunder for decades and will probably continue to be so.

adv : regardless; a combination of irrespective and regardless sometimes used humorously