Slashback: Drives, Errors, Copyright

Slashback brings you updates tonight on book reviews past, intentionally defective CDs, failing disk drives, and joining the HURD. Enjoy!

Spin control for some IBM drives? If you are one ofthe people who have the same results with IBM 75GXP hard drives that Sean Kelly did when he posed a recent Ask Slashdot, you may be interested in this report from legLess, who writes: "Pair Networks is swapping out every IBM 75GXP hard drive they have "[b]ased on an amazingly high failure rate." Pair is a big host: 114,000 sites all running on FreeBSD 4.1.1, including cdrom.com and Tom's Hardware. "We currently use and recommend Maxtor drives" they say. Big black eye for IBM."

GNU isn't Linux, either. Amid the stream of recent and upcoming software releases (Suse 7.3, Red Hat 7.2, Qt 3.0), it's sometimes easy for projects with smaller followings or more esoteric goals to get lost. BorrisYeltsin writes: "The Debian HURD iso images are now available from your local ftp.gnu.org mirror. There are 3 iso's available, so get downloading now!" (And read through the recent months' on the HURD Kernel Cousin too.)

Update: 10/16 14:20 GMT by T : Please note that the GNU Project maintains a list of ftp mirrors -- look for one local to you for best results all around :)

Placing warning signs along the road to consumerism brigc writes: "Good interview in the Chronicle of Higher Education with Jessica Litman about changes in the copyright arena since the publication of her book.

For those who were asleep, Litman's book 'Digital Copyright' does a good job of discussing why the copyright process got handed over to the industry and Congress has failed to protect the rights of the public."

Litman's book got a rave review from Michael a few months back; I suggest you check it out, and better yet ask you local library to put it up on display. Libraries have a strong vested interest in not ceding all control to copyright holders forever and ever amen.

It might pay to have a big fat mouth and ask for a refund on defective merchandise, too. anonicon writes: "Here's a heads up to the web site I'm running at http://www.fatchucks.com. I've started both a Corrupt CDs list for people who wish to report 'copy-protected' CDs or find out which ones they are, and an Indie Rec for people who want to recommend independent artists to the public. Thank you."

Comments

Re:Copy protection is the wrong way to stop piracy

[Jaysyn]

Haven't you posted almost the exact same thing on another discussion?

Jaysyn

Re:What should I do?

[Zeinfeld]

What reason could you possibly have had for modding me down? If I squint really hard I can maybe make out a reason for modding me offtopic... but troll? Isn't this a legitimate question?

Change your .sig to something that doesn't make you appear to be a demented psycho. If my mod points hadn't expired a few hours ago I'd have modded you down as well.

OT: war-related funnies

[Dr. Awktagon]

Okay this is totally off topic but what the hell: comics

Re:What should I do?

[shepd]

I just spent 20 minutes finding where they moved the disable sigs option to turn it off again.

Your sig is quite offensive. Not telling you to delete it, just telling you that now I have my sigs turned on I will never take you seriously again (that is unless you apologize for your mistaken view of what is acceptable on slashdot). People I don't take seriously usually get -1 (unless their obvious intent is to be so -- such as in a joke).

That's not fascist at all, since I'm not limiting your freedom of speech. That's called being selective about who you like and dislike. I also don't take anything a Nazi says seriously and would always inform them of their comments unacceptability in a computer forum by -1ing them all the time. Your sig is actually more offensive to me -- what the heck does your sadistic relationship with women have to do with computing?

If you want to use that sig, I think you should post on alt.sadism or somewhere else that your sig is ontopic. The free world has created special areas for people with mental problems such as yours in the interest of both protecting your free speech and ensuring us "normals" aren't forced to hear it all the time.

And unlike a fascist state, your discussion "area" isn't limited in public exposure in any way whatsoever. Anyone can walk into a public library and visit a newsgroup where your sig would be ontopic right now. The difference is they have the right to choose to view your disturbed ideas, just as you have the right to say them.

Feel free to spread your dystopian views -- just don't expect people to support you for them.

Re:What should I do?

[Zeinfeld]

If he had something insightfull to add, on topic, modding him down because you dont like his sig is small and misguided, also its abuse of the mod system.

The guy asked why folk were modding him down, the post didn't appear to be the reason, the flamebait .sig did. Hey the guy asked why people were modding him down, I thought I would give him a clue.

Sounds like whoever moderated made a reasonable use of the mod system to me. The .sig makes him sound like some sort of psycho-rapist.

Odd ting about people who rail against 'PC' thought is how often they turn out to really be out an out racists or chauvanist pigs whose real complaint is that society today considers their ideas to be repulsive. If you have to have a sig that appears to promote rape then expect to get modded down plenty.

Re:What should I do?

[entrigant]

that's being stereotypical. for some people it has nothign to do with "values" and everything to do with "you're not human you sick fuck." It's a bad image and demented.

Re:OT: Your sig

[DGolden]

I suggest you get a better dictionary, your neo-feudalist corporate overlords have been brainwashing you. It's funny actually - when a european says "socialism" it has quite different connotations to an American saying it:

I looked up Socialism in American and British dictionaries. It's funny how the slants on the two entries, are so different:

American (dictionary.com):
Any of various theories or systems of social organization in which the means of producing and distributing goods is owned collectively or by a centralized government that often plans and controls the economy. The stage in Marxist-Leninist theory intermediate between capitalism and communism, in which collective ownership of the economy under the dictatorship of the proletariat has not yet been successfully achieved.

Manages to make it sound all "evil commie", while still retaining the european understanding of meaning in the first phrase - Anyone care to guess why didn't they leave it at "Any of various theories or systems of social organization in which the means of producing and distributing goods is owned collectively" ? Hmm...

British (Chambers 20th century):
The theory, principle, or scheme of social organisation which places means of production and distribution in the hands of the community.

No hint of planned economy, dictatorship, or even big government. Hardly conflicting with Libertarianism - in fact, phrased that way, it sounds like they're a good match, given that a community is just a semi-organised bunch of citizens!

Just goes to show, eh? The gulf of understanding between America and Europe grows ever wider...

Re:OT: Your sig

[wunderhorn1]

The differences in definitions could be due to the fact that we Americans have watched you Europeans fuck things up so many times.

The gulf between the apparent simplicity of the British definition and the harsh reality of the American one could be an indication of how flawed the idea actually is.

I mean, Sure, the means of production should be in the hands of the community. That guy who founded your company, he's not a part of the community, he's a fat, evil, cigar-chomping capitalist trying to keep you down, so there's no way you could actually start your own business, you are stuck as a tool of the system.

Oh by the way, the entire community can't actually be in charge of all the means of production, so we need to set up an authoritarian central government, which will be led by me, since I'm the smart one with all the bright ideas. You will give everything you produce to me, meaning the government, meaning you, so that it can be fairly redistributed to those who need. You will continue working on your farms and at your factories, but now instead of working to feed your family, you are working for the glory of the state! You are now happy and free! Free from the being tools of The Man!

Hooray!

Re:What should I do?

[Zeinfeld]

It's lyrics from a song for chrissakes (Cannibal Corpse-Fucked with a Knife on 'The Bleeding' album)... it's a fucking JOKE.

If you think rape is a joke then expect to get modded down.

I think you are unlikely to be quite so clueless. More likely you are trolling.

The mod system is not censorship, it is an evaluation system. The readers of slashdot are telling you that they consider your opinions to be worthless. They are not stopping you airing them.

If I saw someone post something with a sig like "fuck all niggers... hang a nigger from a tree for me" I would most likely interpret it as a joke or whatever...

The vast majority of people posting such views do not consider them to be a joke, they believe in racism, they just don't want to be bothered to defend their views so they call them 'jokes' when it suits.