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Black Boxes to Track Driving Habits?

Nofsck Ingcloo writes "Nando Times is reporting on a new model of black boxes to track teens' driving habits. 'This is like having a parent sitting next to him second by second.... The kids don't like it, but the parents love it.... Originally developed... for ambulances and fire trucks to reduce crashes, the black box is a stripped-down version of that model.' So, how long before the insurance companies persuade the states to mandate these devices in every car? Or raise our rates hugely and then give a little of it back if we put in the box?"

Another submitter sent in a related submission about the collision data recorders in many late-model cars - which serve a similar purpose as the black boxes described above, but generally only record the last five seconds before an accident.

geemon writes "With the recent stories of rental car companies using GPS to track how and where their patrons are using their vehicles, this information about autos from 1996 and newer having an airplane-like accident "black box" capability was a complete surprise. Tucked under the drivers seat of most GM vehicles, the "black box" can store a variety of info such as vehicle and engine speed, braking, and seat belt usage. Info from an accident reconstruction service that uses this data can be found here. Called "event data recorders", these devices were, "...Originally designed to improve air bag performance based on the severity of the collision, the event data recorder can tell traffic accident investigators about the car's speed; engine RPMs; how far the accelerator pedal was pressed; if the brakes were applied; whether the drivers seatbelt was buckled and what warning lights were on - all from five seconds before impact..." It seems that GM and perhaps Ford have been using this for some time. Here is one company that makes the Windows based retrieval hardware/software combo for $2500. Imagine the uses of this data that law enforcement, your insurance company, and lawyers may have after your next little mishap."

831 comments

  1. Woah by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    For a moment there, I was getting a bit worried about my wardriving habits.

    1. Re:Woah by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      i want you inside me. thats right. give it to me. talk dirty. oh yeah. i am your little slut. yes.

    2. Re:Woah by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You sound like my girlfriend.

    3. Re:Woah by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      he's right, you do.

    4. Re:Woah by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The only solution: Only drive cars manufactured before 1970! Then all you have to worry about are the smog-nazis.

  2. First FUCKING post by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    FUCKING 20 seconds

    1. Re:First FUCKING post by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Do you wardrive too?

  3. rediculous by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    just another reason that the govenment shouldnt own the roadways... sure repairs and everything are paid for, but stupid shit like this gets enforced. slowly but surely, all of our freedom is getting eaten away.

    1. Re:rediculous by SirSlud · · Score: 2, Flamebait

      Pardon my bluntness, but are you a retard? This black box is sold by a private enterprise. Parents love it. Nowhere does government come into this equation.

      What a pitiful little groundless stab at government, whom, might I add, DONT want this in every car. It's the private enterprise that would like it in every car. Total market saturation == most successful business.

      --
      "Old man yells at systemd"
    2. Re:rediculous by NanoGator · · Score: 1

      Agreed. I also fail to see why this would 'eat away at our freedoms'. You're not free on the road to begin with. You're not free to speed. You're not free to drink and drive. You're not free to crash. At best, this thing could be used to settle disputes about who did what. Who knows, maybe it could turn into an 'enforcement' device.

      Let's play with your little theory here: Let's suppose that the gov't mandates these devices hooked up to cars with data sent to Insurance Agencies. At best, it could be used to determine fault in an accident. Oh gee, that'd suck! Teens would better drivers. Oh the horror! And your insurance rates would go down plus your safety would go up.

      I wouldn't compare this to wiretapping. You can't directly kill somebody with a phone call. You can directly kill somebody with a car. The government would not be out of line by mandating steps to make sure cars are safer. Stoplights and speed limits are not a suggestion. Nobody's saying "the government is out of line by establishing speed limits!"

      Freedom is not worthwhile if you're afraid of living. Those of us that travel on congested highways for an hour a day to get to work and back would agree. We'd all like to see drivers not pull stupid stunts to get to their destination 30 seconds sooner.

      --
      "Derp de derp."
    3. Re:rediculous by Archfeld · · Score: 2

      try ridiculous, but that is beside the point...How long till these are hacked and it reports exactly what you want it to report. Gee Junior never exceeded the speed limit once, I think he should get an allowance raise :)

      Now for the obligatory...Imagine a beowulf cluster of these...and Does it run Linux, or how soon till we've ported it over.
      Will a virus cause your car to report you driving at 900 mph and ensure that hackers will 0wn your driving record ?

      La-dee da...okie I am bored and going home now...be well all :)

      --
      errr....umm...*whooosh* *whoosh* Is this thing on ?
    4. Re:rediculous by scalis · · Score: 1

      Yes, it must be your human right to put other peoples lives at jeopardy by drunkdriving and speeding. If this gets enforced then maybe we could RAISE the speedlimits and actually enforce the value it sais instead of lowering it enough and calculating the speedlimit+30 km/h when deciding them....

      --

      True ravers don't need drugs
    5. Re:rediculous by Progoth · · Score: 1

      somebody mod this post up

      everyday I drive 40 miles around downtown atlanta (including a 20 mile stint on the ultra-dangerous GA 400), and every day I fear for my life. atlanta drivers are the worst I have ever had the privilege of sharing the roads with (barring the southern cali area), and I know that the first wreck I get into will be blamed on me. as a good driver, I don't have anything to fear from a black box in my car, it can only help in the case of some moron weaving all over i-85 that nails me...

    6. Re:rediculous by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Meta-Moderators take note. SirSlud was far from being flamebait. The original AC on the other hand was a Troll and Flamebait. Please meta-moderate correctly.

    7. Re:rediculous by onepoint · · Score: 1

      No Atlanta drivers are arather normal, Try driving on the NJ turnpike or try driving on the Long Island Expressway. No that's insanity. Heck even manhatten drives are sane in comparision to NJ turnpike drivers.

      I use to do a run from the GW bridge to Newark everyday. started at 8 am got to the office at 9 am. Now I leave at 11am and get in the office at 11:22 and I don't even get upset. I've asked all my employee to change there times as well and they are happy with less stress commute.

      Onepoint

      --
      if you see me, smile and say hello.
  4. fist prost? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    fp?? or sp??

    1. Re:fist prost? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

      hmmm - fourth post. oh well, i'll just have to keep trying.

  5. It is there already! by www.sorehands.com · · Score: 4, Funny
    It may not be at that detail, but insurance companies are taking the car's onboard computer when they total the vehicle.

    If you are in an accident and the other party's insurance company takes the vehicle, they will check the black box to try to shift the liability from their client onto you.

    1. Re:It is there already! by b_pretender · · Score: 2
      I believe that "Carmageddon 3 -- Carpocalypse Now" had event recorders in each of the automobiles. Otherwise the slow-motion replay wouldn't have been as accurate as it was.

      BTW, does anybody know if this game runs under Wine? I would love to play it again, except that I toasted my Windows partition.

    2. Re:It is there already! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Or call a tow truck company that fixes these issues -
      the electonics can be zapped with high voltage, or taken to a modification shop to be modified. Just remember to replace the light bulbs (filament stretch analysis). Of course interstate truckies know these and more tricks. Some lawyers advise hit and run IS advisable, depending on the circumstances. Cheap boxes = easy tampering.

    3. Re:It is there already! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Here is an idea. Remove the box yourself after a total. If they ask for it back, claim you are have'n it looked at by an independent investigator, your best friend. You friend then establishes that 220 volts across its pin out is hazardous to its health. ;)

    4. Re:It is there already! by Xaoswolf · · Score: 5, Insightful

      You can get these just the way they say right now. It's a volentary thing that a parent can put into their kids car. Wouldn't be that bad of an idea, but I wouldn't want it to be able to be used in court unless both cars had one. Sure the one in my kids car could say that my kid was going 10MPH over the limit, but it wouldn't say that the other car was on the wrong side of the road, going 2x the speed limit, or didn't have his lights on...

    5. Re:It is there already! by acceleriter · · Score: 1

      That'll be a felony after the insurance lobby is done; meantime, it'll just be grounds for not having to pay a claim.

      --

      CEE5210S The signal SIGHUP was received.

    6. Re:It is there already! by Capsaicin · · Score: 1
      If you are in an accident and the other party's insurance company takes the vehicle, they will check the black box to try to shift the liability from their client onto you.

      Oh no! Imagine that, liability actually attaching to the person whom the evidence identified as being at fault, how simply awful.

      --
      Better to be despised for too anxious apprehensions, than ruined by too confident a security. --Edmund Burke
    7. Re:It is there already! by SecurityGuy · · Score: 2

      You incorrectly presume that the other party's insurance company is interested in liability actually attaching to the person whom the evidence identified as being at fault rather than just being interested in not paying the claim. You know, lawyers aren't interested in finding the truth either, just getting a win for their client.

    8. Re:It is there already! by kent_eh · · Score: 2, Funny
      after the insurance lobby is done

      I'm more concerned that they will want to download the thing every year when renewing my car insurance.
      I have had to do some moderately drastic driving to avoid being rear-ended, or otherwise plowed into.
      I'm sorry sir, it apears that you moved from a full stop onto the boulevard last December. Your insurance is now doubled. Have a nice day.
      --

      ---
      "I can't complain, but sometimes still do..." Joe Walsh
    9. Re:It is there already! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Any competent Accident Reconstruction Officer can tell if someone was on the wrong side of the road, going twice the speed limit or did not have headlights on in most given cases (no one being 100%) through skid marks, gouge marks, damage and pulling the head lights (an active light filament bends upon impact differently than one that is inactive).

    10. Re:It is there already! by Capsaicin · · Score: 1
      You incorrectly presume that the other party's insurance company is interested in liability actually attaching to the person whom the evidence identified as being at fault rather than just being interested in not paying the claim.

      I presume what?! Do you think I came down in the last fall?

      You know, lawyers aren't interested in finding the truth either, just getting a win for their client.

      Wow, how insightful! You know I got through law school without even realising that we work in an adversarial system, gee thanks for enlightening me. You're a great one for stating the bleeding obvious, aren't you?

      What should be just as obvious is that in the presence of clear evidence indicating the malfeasance of one's client, that job is made all the more difficult, which was my point.

      --
      Better to be despised for too anxious apprehensions, than ruined by too confident a security. --Edmund Burke
    11. Re:It is there already! by tartley · · Score: 1

      FYI, Carmageddon 3 seems to work pretty well under Transgaming's WineX.
      Transgaming's database here

    12. Re:It is there already! by b_pretender · · Score: 2

      thanks for the tip.

  6. Remote Access? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Will they be able to be accessed remotely, because I really wouldn't want that. It's not difficult to disable the little bell that goes off when my key is in the ignition and the door is open, and likewise, the bell that goes off every 30 seconds when I'm not buckled...is this my box to tamper with, or will it be the car company's box that I'm not allowed to mess with?

    1. Re:Remote Access? by windex · · Score: 1

      Since generally you own your car, it shouldn't be an issue. When auto makers start only leasing vehicles and never selling them, be wary. :)

    2. Re:Remote Access? by PunkCEO · · Score: 1

      How can it be legal to place an object someone's property and they not have the rights to touch it? It's like peeing on someone's floor and saying you can't wipe it up.

  7. Dude... by eyepeepackets · · Score: 5, Funny

    ...you're getting a bell!

    --
    Everything in the Universe sucks: It's the law!
    1. Re:Dude... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      LMFAO!! Thanks.. I needed a good laugh. :)

    2. Re:Dude... by eyepeepackets · · Score: 2

      *bow* Glad it helped. That's one of the things I love about slashdot -- at least a few good chuckles if not a good belly laugh at least once a day.

      Nerds and geeks (some of them anyway) have a well devloped sense of humor.

      --
      Everything in the Universe sucks: It's the law!
  8. not quite by faeryman · · Score: 5, Funny

    Larry Selditz will begin selling a teenager's worst nightmare in November - a small black box placed in a car that allows parents to track exactly how their child is driving on the highways.

    No. A teenager's worst nightmare would be a little black box that reports their "parking" *winkwink* habits, not driving.

    --


    ,
    faeryman
    1. Re:not quite by unicron · · Score: 4, Funny

      Of course, your father always got to see:

      10:20:37: NOTHING TO REPORT.
      10:25:46: NOTHING TO REPORT.
      10:37:33: NOTHING TO REPORT.
      10:49:23: NOTHING TO REPORT.
      10:55:22: POLICE PRESENCE DETECTED. OFFICER LEAVES IN DISGUST AFTER WITNESSING DRIVER SITTING IN BACK EATING ICE CREAM SANDWICH ALONE.
      11:05:29: NOTHING TO REPORT.
      11:17:01: NOTHING TO REPORT.

      --
      Finally, math books without any of that base 6 crap in them.
    2. Re:not quite by H3XA · · Score: 4, Funny

      well.... it will after some modifications *wink* *wink*

      Put the important question is...... does it dispense condoms?

      - HeXa

    3. Re:not quite by mosch · · Score: 4, Insightful
      Maybe I'm off-base here, but I wouldn't want to know what was going on. I know that boys drive like idiots on purpose, girls drive like idiots by accident, and both of them occasionally use the cars for puroposes other than transportation.

      Any parent who gets one of these really needs to reevaluate their relationship with their kid, and their parenting techniques.

    4. Re:not quite by sephkunyui · · Score: 1

      Any parent who gets one of these has two options: 1.Assuming the teenager has their own car try to install it in their car, but no one would let their parents install the box unless they were a perfect driver. or 2. If they share the car the parents have to have their driving recorded as well. Now if parents were perfect drivers it would be fine but they aren't. Honestly would you really want you spouse to know that you were late because you ran over the neighbors dog? I don't think so.

    5. Re:not quite by Requiem · · Score: 0, Troll

      You're a virgin, aren't you?

    6. Re:not quite by H3XA · · Score: 2

      only when my life depends one it...... though I will be married soon so after 10 years of marriage I guess I will become a "married virgin" (ie. back to the days of not getting it).

      - HeXa

    7. Re:not quite by Reziac · · Score: 2

      You mean you don't believe in the Dent Fairy??!

      --
      ~REZ~ #43301. Who'd fake being me anyway?
    8. Re:not quite by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      though I will be married soon so after 10 years of marriage I guess I will become a "married virgin" (ie. back to the days of not getting it).

      That's being a little optimistic isn't it? It dried up for me within 6 months and I'm back to pulling my pud while browsing porn sites. Marriage isn't worth it.

    9. Re:not quite by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      See, now there's where you're wrong. You will get it installed in your car or you won't have a car to drive anymore. Teenagers today are way too spoiled and think they have some right to drive. Giving your parents a smartass attitude is just another reason why the average adult American hates teenagers and why this entire thread started. You're not invincible, you're not special, and frankly, none of us really like you driving in the first place. The driving age should be 21 so that people are a little more mature before they're put behind the wheel of a one and a half ton killing machine.

    10. Re:not quite by cloudmaster · · Score: 2

      My spouse really doesn't like the neighbor's dog, and she knows how I drive because she's *married to me*. I don't see the problem. I think it'd be a good thing to tell kids that they really need to accelerate at a more normal speed and take care of where they exceed the speed limit at. This way maybe the parents can calm their kids down before a cop or a steep embankment does.

    11. Re:not quite by japhmi · · Score: 1

      The article said something about it being activated by a little thingy. If this means the parent has a little remote to turn it on like keyless entry, or if you put it on the kid's keychain and it proximity-detects (well, that's not as good an idea, a better one would be for it to have a proximity-detecting OFF switch for your keychain)

      Basically, I think at least some of these products have a parental off switch.

      However, it may be worth it to have in your car so that the kid doesn't feel sigled out - and it would help your driving too!

      --
      "Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys" P. J. O'Rourke
    12. Re:not quite by StillaCoward · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Not let your parent install the box?

      Just who do you think owns the car???
      And even if somehow you saved up enough money to buy a car as a teen (Someone's allowance is too high....) you are *allowed* to drive at your parents descretion. Seesh, I hope you don't parent your kids the way the above post indicates you might. If you have kids, I've got to tell you, no one likes them. Oh and the teacher is not picking on them. As bad as they are at home around you, they behave the same way at school.... And don't get me started on the parents of those Columbine kids.... They had guns in plain site in their rooms! Hello! It's YOUR HOUSE! Don't you think you might want to know what goes on around there?

    13. Re:not quite by ivan256 · · Score: 2

      Somebody has a skewed view of teenage cash flow. When I was in highschool, I had three (yes, three. Programming in dBase, stocking shelves late at night at a linens store, and flipping burgers on the weekend) jobs, and I had more then enough cash for a car. You only need $1000 or so for something that will get you around, and with no financial obligations it's easy to save that much money. I could have done it with one job, and I *never* had an allowance.

      Hell, I had more disposable income when I was in high school then I've had at any other point in my life so far, and I make almost $80k/year right now!

  9. to track driving habbits... by Butt+Spelunker · · Score: -1

    Sheesh. Driving habbits. Yeah, right. I'll just get caught ass-cramming a Taco-Bell spork full of rice and beans if they install one in my car.

  10. blah blah blah! by windex · · Score: 1

    I am getting tired of hearing that company/organization XYZ has more control over something I own than I do.

    I'm going to spend the next week ripping shit out of my car that dosen't need to be there. EFI? F*ck that, we're going back to a carburator since I can't trust the god damn ECU not to call the NSA if I drive too close to the Pentagon. :P

    1. Re:blah blah blah! by Anonymous+Cowrad · · Score: 1

      Viva lo tech!

      I drive a late 60's karmann ghia. No computers, no power anything, and you know what? The fucker runs. It gets me from point a to point b and sometimes point c on the weekends. Geek that I am, I just love how low tech that ride is.

      --

      --
      pants ahoy
    2. Re:blah blah blah! by The+Wing+Lover · · Score: 2
      I am getting tired of hearing that company/organization XYZ has more control over something I own than I do.

      Seems to me that company XYZ will be having control over something your parents own.

      I have seen some real jackass teen drivers. It always struck me that if their parents could see how they were driving the car that they borrowed, that they would be allowed to borrow it for another year (or even better, they wouldn't drive like that in the first place).

      Parents have every right to monitor how their children are driving their cars.

      --

      - In Capitalist America, law violates YOU!

    3. Re:blah blah blah! by geekoid · · Score: 2

      and the would be poor parents if the didn't monitor their children.

      --
      The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
    4. Re:blah blah blah! by Null_Void · · Score: 1

      I've known some pretty bad teenage drivers. I've also known just as many bad non-teen drivers. Maybe this should be mandatory for non-teens as well (Yes I realize it's not mandatory for anyone yet) just so they have to deal with the annoying noise when they do something wrong.

      Imagine how embarassing that would be while driving the family somewhere... but I bet "parents" would protest to that.

    5. Re:blah blah blah! by Null_Void · · Score: 1

      Wow... looking at the grammar and punctuation in my last post... sorry.

    6. Re:blah blah blah! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'm going to spend the next week ripping shit out of my car that dosen't need to be there. EFI? F*ck that, we're going back to a carburator

      You have just rendered your car illegal, as it is a violation of the Clean Air Act to replace an engine component with an unapproved part, depending on your make, model & year.

      No carb qualifies to replace any modern EFI unit.

    7. Re:blah blah blah! by operagost · · Score: 1

      Don't look now, but here come the greenies to slam your high-polluting, gas-guzzling vehicle!

      --

      Gamingmuseum.com: Give your 3D accelerator a rest.
  11. Paranoia by Wrexen · · Score: 4, Insightful

    So, how long before the insurance companies persuade the states to mandate these devices in every car? Or raise our rates hugely and then give a little of it back if we put in the box?

    Can we stop with the black-helicopters-are-watching-me-through-the-tele phone tin-foil hat paranoia for just a day or two? This kind of sensationalizing gets really old when every single piece of technology is just another tool for The Man to spy on us, regardless of legitimate uses (sound familiar?) it might have.

    1. Re:Paranoia by nomadic · · Score: 2

      Reminds me of a recent penny arcade strip:

      Penny-Arcade

    2. Re:Paranoia by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      People like you see sensationalism in any kind of protest they disagree with. Since this devices declared purpose is to track teenagers' driving habits, it has very much to do with privacy and the forces that threaten it. You may not care about the privacy of others, but don't ask those people to give up their privacy for your intellectual comfort.

    3. Re:Paranoia by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely.

      I guess you think Palladium is really a Good Thing also?

    4. Re:Paranoia by realdpk · · Score: 2

      Fact: Insurance companies are test-marketing the idea of providing insurance based on actual tracked usage.

      Fact: This particular "black box" device is being marketed to regular Joe's to let them track other people's usage.

      Fact: Insurance companies are in it for the money - specifically, in it to pay out as little as possible to improve their shareholder's investments.

      The paranoia is justified, IMO.

    5. Re:Paranoia by Silverhammer · · Score: 2
      Can we stop with the black-helicopters-are-watching-me-through-the-tele phone tin-foil hat paranoia for just a day or two?

      It is not paranoia, because a) car rental agencies already use black boxes to track renters and b) insurance companies already "mandate" certain equipment through bump-and-discount pricing. Putting the two together is simply the logical conclusion.

    6. Re:Paranoia by natefaerber · · Score: 1, Flamebait

      Can we stop with the black-helicopters-are-watching-me-through-the-tele phone tin-foil hat paranoia for just a day or two? This kind of sensationalizing gets really old when every single piece of technology is just another tool for The Man to spy on us, regardless of legitimate uses (sound familiar?) it might have.

      I was trying to rebut this when I started to realize Wrexen may have a point. Slashdotters want the government to leave the technology (eg. P2P, DeCSS, etc.) alone and punish the abusers. Here Slashdotters want to suppress the technology to avoid the abusers. Sounds just like the MPAA and RIAA's argument.

      And to the argument that "Insurance companies have too many politicians in their pocket and we have no say...", then the system is broken. Do something to fix that first.

      --
      -- My HARDWARE, My CHOICE.
    7. Re:Paranoia by 0xdeadbeef · · Score: 1

      Ouch. To be mocked by a man whose career is based on masturbation jokes and the gossip of video game fanboys...

    8. Re:Paranoia by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      it is not just the one thing, when you put it all togther it means total control of what you do, where you go, get it? can you say POLICE STATE!!! look if you were a jew living in nazi germany and you didn`t think anything would happen to you.... well guess what? they paid for it because they couldn`t believe it would happen to them... same thing here. just because YOU don`t think it will happen doesn`t mean it won`t. history repeats itself cause man doesn`t learn from it.

    9. Re:Paranoia by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      The fight is individual rights versus corporate profits. The insurance industry wants to monitor the how people drive so they can charge more money. The MPAA/RIAA want to restrict people's rights to protect their profits.

      I see no problem with the argument.

    10. Re:Paranoia by OneFix · · Score: 1

      If it's anything remotely political, many in the geek community automatically assume that it is a bad thing. Why? Because, as a group, we have been frowned upon by society. Our "heroes" are athletes and movie stars. The intellectual is revered and looked upon as an outcast. The "geek" is treated so much as a digital witch in today's society.

      So, maybe you will forgive some of us when we are overly cautious of corporations or governments. Because they've not had a very good track record so far.

    11. Re:Paranoia by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You're obviously one of THEM!

    12. Re:Paranoia by blablablastuff · · Score: 1

      you have it kinda backwards.
      the idea in the p2p, decss etc fight is to prevent the government from imposing restrictions on people's behavior at the behest of an industry with lobbyists and FUD to fling around.
      The idea behind the paranoia/big bro shit here, is that people don't want the government to mandate a way to watch over how people drive, at the behest of an industry with lobbyists and FUD to fling around.

      Both are examples of the same kind of issue. You don't want The Man scanning everything you say on IRC, post to /., etc, reading your hard drive for w4r3z or an mp3 that isn't accompanied by a signed, notarized, registered certificate of approval every time you turn on your computer. (I assume so anyway, there's always the slim possibility that there are some sheep here who think that's a great idea) Why would it be any better for the government/insurance companies/"whiplash" lawsuit enthusiasts to be able to track every time you sped up a bit (to pass some old woman) made an abrupt lane change (to save your life from some stupid whore with 7 kids screaming in the back of her SUV while she put makeup on her cell phone) or slammed on your brakes too hard (because the stop sign was overgrown and couldn't be seen from a reasonable distance) and paint you as a reckless and horrible driver and thus revoke your license, or raise your rates, or sue you for hundreds of thousands of millions of billions of dollars?

      The idea that "it's in your car" so the information contained in the black box cannot be used against you is faulty. The data requires specialized hardware and software to be read, thus you wouldn't be incriminating yourself via this device, your friendly neighborhood body shop or mechanic or insurance agent would be subpoena'd to do that for you.

    13. Re:Paranoia by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      Can we stop with the black-helicopters-are-watching-me-through-the-tele phone tin-foil hat paranoia for just a day or two? This kind of sensationalizing gets really old when every single piece of technology is just another tool for The Man to spy on us, regardless of legitimate uses (sound familiar?) it might have.

      No, we can't. Not until you show us a piece of technology that either business or the government hasn't used against the general public. I'll help you along by checking spam off and Echelon off the list. Run along now, child, and have that list back in time for dinner.

    14. Re:Paranoia by _Sprocket_ · · Score: 2

      Yea. I get this attitude a lot when working with IT departments to mitigate various infosec vulnerabilities in their environment. My findings are obviously so much black-helicopter paranoia theory that one would have to be wearing tinfoil hats to buy in to it. I think they check for the hat. Then its a big mystery when a host is compromised, a worm/virus is busy chewing up people's precious data, or someone is caught after a long time of exploiting a hole in some automated tool to embezzle funds in some manner.

      Sure - if you want to get in to name calling, its fairly easy to label anybody raising these concerns as a conspiracy-nut. But then, its also just as easy to label anybody refusing to look at the issue as sheep.

      Address the issue.

    15. Re:Paranoia by Arandir · · Score: 2

      a) The car you rent at a rental agency is not your car. You do not own it.

      b) Auto insurance is mandated by law, resulting in near infinite elasticity.

      Putting these two together demonstrates a severe disjunction of logic.

      --
      A Government Is a Body of People, Usually Notably Ungoverned
    16. Re:Paranoia by Arandir · · Score: 2

      The fight is individual rights versus corporate profits.

      Gee, let's compare apples and dead fish why don't we. Are you arguing that it is your individual right that corporations should lose money?

      --
      A Government Is a Body of People, Usually Notably Ungoverned
    17. Re:Paranoia by syates21 · · Score: 1

      b) Auto insurance is mandated by law, resulting in near infinite elasticity.

      Two points. First, I'm sure auto insurance isn't mandatory everywhere in the world (or even the U.S.A.).

      Second, I assume by "infinite elasticity" you are referring to the price elasticity of demand. In this case however the demand is very inelastic, since many people will be obligated to purchase policies regardless of price.

    18. Re:Paranoia by Tri0de · · Score: 2

      And the fact is that driving is a PRIVILEGE and not a right. You don't have a RIGHT to drive like an asshole, and you sure as hell don't have a right to do so in MY car if I did happen to loan it to you, be you my kid or buddy or GF.
      What would make really good sense (as a compromise) would be more of a data recorder that cycles through the last 30 seconds, and can be examined in the event of a crash to find out who was at fault, IMHO the son of a bitch that runs a stop sign and tries to blame the other party.
      I don't see it being any different than using whois to track down a spammer.
      You have a right to the expectation of privacy INSIDE your car, but I think that any technology that gets assholes off the road (without violating basic constitutional rights) is a good thing.

      --
      "Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but not their own facts."
    19. Re:Paranoia by ceejayoz · · Score: 2

      Heehee... that is now my favorite PA strip of all time.

    20. Re:Paranoia by ceejayoz · · Score: 2

      Also, an insurance company might be able to make mass money by saying "we're the only company that doesn't require black boxes! because we like freedom!"

    21. Re:Paranoia by ceejayoz · · Score: 2

      Lets say I'm a shareholder of a company. Aren't their corporate profits merely an extension of my individual right to make money off my investments?

    22. Re:Paranoia by SN74S181 · · Score: 1

      Fact: I am not a stupid klutz with poor driving habits. I don't get in accidents that I cause. I get in accidents that OTHER people cause.

      Fact: My insurance rates will go down.

      Fact: Stupid Klutz's insurance rates will go UP.

      It sounds like technology for better holding people to account. Doesn't seem like a bad thing at all. I guess it will to S.K.

    23. Re:Paranoia by realdpk · · Score: 1

      "We have raised your insurance premium by $400 because according to our GPS records, you go to the liquor store once a week."

      Don't laugh, this sort of thing has happened - someone's claim was denied because of their shopping records.

      FWIW, I haven't been in an accident I caused since I was a kid in high school. The only other one I've been in was a month ago when someone backed in to my car. No GPS unit in the world would have helped the situation. The best part, though, is that my insurance company wanted to raise my rates because someone else hit me. Others are similar - they ask you how many accidents you've been in regardless of fault and change the rate accordingly. My point is, insurance companies will do whatever they can to find a way to screw you AND the Stupid Klutzes of the world.

    24. Re:Paranoia by realdpk · · Score: 2

      Auto insurance isn't mandatory everywhere. And where it is, it isn't tied to a car, it's tied to you, the driver.

      So, given that, where on your person would you like to have the GPS tracking unit installed?

    25. Re:Paranoia by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      First, I'm sure auto insurance isn't mandatory everywhere in the world (or even the U.S.A.).

      It is mandated in California and several other states. In California, if you're caught driving without insurance, they will impound your vehicle.

    26. Re:Paranoia by dadragon · · Score: 1

      Where I live we have hit and run and other such insurance on the vehicle (mandated), and moving insurance on the driver.

      --
      God save our Queen, and Heaven bless The Maple Leaf Forever!
    27. Re:Paranoia by realdpk · · Score: 1

      Ah, sorry. I should have said I am in the US.

      Also, the primary car does play in to the liability rates on the driver. However, if you're say.. renting a car, your liability insurance applies if you hit someone.

    28. Re:Paranoia by SlugLord · · Score: 1

      The point is not that the man can spy on my driving habits, the point is that every little bit adds up. No, I don't give a rat's ass if they want me to have a black box in my car, but I do mind if they start infringing on my rights, and the line is blurry. The general public is all too willing to give up privacy or freedom in exchange for safety or security. This is just like the situation with Jose Padilla. Yeah, he's probably guilty and I don't want him dropping a dirty bomb on NYC, but the fact is that he's a US citizen and his rights have been breached, but nobody seems to care because they value security to freedom. I almost want to move to New Hampshire to get "Live Free or Die" on my license plate. The United States is a country where freedom is supposedly valued above life itself. It's not all the little things like black boxes in my car, it's the sum of all the little things which amount to my freedom being slowly stripped from me.

      Hmm, I think I'll change my sig.

    29. Re:Paranoia by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I don't think the insurance companies have enough money to use spy copters to watch over their insured.

      But, if you don't think that the insurance companies and government would LOVE to have every possible bit of info about you that they can get, well, wake up.

      There's nothing paranoid about this type of thinking. Time and time again we learn that what we thought was private was not. Speculating that the trend will continue is just common sense.

      If you think others are paranoid, maybe you are in denial.

    30. Re:Paranoia by thales · · Score: 2
      "The data requires specialized hardware and software to be read"

      LOL, Real geeks call that an intresting challenge, not a problem ;-)

      --
      Quemadmodum gladius neminem occidit, occidentis telum est
    31. Re:Paranoia by Matthaeus · · Score: 2

      I'd answer that truthfully, but I'd lose karma. Plus, I wouldn't want it installed on me. Tell the insurance company director to shove it up his own...

      Karma. Forgot. Nevermind.

    32. Re:Paranoia by theRiallatar · · Score: 1

      In the US you must have insurance providing for damages done to another car by your car. That is, if you rearend someone, you have to have an insurance policy that covers their damage. Whether that policy covers your damages doesn't matter.

      Also, if you can show that you have enough liquid assets (ridiculously wealthy) to cover any damages you may cause as the result of a collision, you're not required to have insurance.

    33. Re:Paranoia by Planesdragon · · Score: 2

      Gee, let's compare apples and dead fish why don't we. Are you arguing that it is your individual right that corporations should lose money?

      Shesh. Buy a clue.

      Everyone's got a whole bunch of "rights", and most of the legal system is focused on ordering those rights. To wit: My right of free speech is outweighted by your right to not be slandered. Your right to own a gun is outweighted by my right not to have a known felon carrying one.

      Your right to maximize profits is outweighed (for the larger part) by my right to live in a habitable world.

      The biggest fights are between private citizens--who want to protect their indivdual liberties and thus improve their quality of life--and corporations--who want to maximize their profits and thus improve their stockholder's quality of life.

      Eventually, a balance will be achieved. This balance will then last until someone gets upset with it, and convinced enough other dissenting opinions to change the balance. This is the process we call progress, and it's how we got from a wild wilderness to the richest country on the planet in just a few centuries.

    34. Re:Paranoia by Arandir · · Score: 2

      Everyone has their own definition of "right", so I usually prefer discussing what is NOT a right. It is clear to me that harming another person is not a right. This is why there are laws against slander, since your right to free speech does not include the right to harm another person through the use of speech. Likewise, my right to bear arms does not include the right to shoot anyone except in self defense while in fear my my life.

      Taking a look at corporate profits (which aren't any different from unincorporated profits), I don't see where they harm anyone. The economy is not a zero sum game. One person's profit is not another's loss. Certainly an individual or corporation can engage in illegal, immoral or harmful activities in pursuit of a profit, but the profit itself is not harmful. Quite the opposite. When pursued legally and morally, profits have a beneficial effect on the economy. When my employer makes a profit my job is more secure than when it is not, and the possibility of a pay raise is higher.

      Your right to maximize profits is outweighed (for the larger part) by my right to live in a habitable world.

      I cannot see how my profits can in anyway affect your world's habitability. There are other things I could do to reduce that, but my making a profit is not one of them.

      --
      A Government Is a Body of People, Usually Notably Ungoverned
    35. Re:Paranoia by goldmeer · · Score: 2
      Where do get the idea that you have a right to make money off of an investment of stock? You have a right to choose what kind of investment you make. You have a right to choose to invest in any number of stocks and mutual funds. You have a right to choose to invest in CDs or bonds. You have a right to choose to "invest" in coffee cans in which to to bury your money. You have a right to choose to "invest" in State lottery tickets. You have a right to choose to "invest" in your favorite number on the roulette wheel in Las Vegas.

      What you do not have is the right to demand that your choice of investment is going to guarantee that your investment will appriciate in value. If you have a contract that stipulates a certain interest rate, then you can enforce that contract in a court of law. Otherwise, your investment is largely speculative in nature.

    36. Re:Paranoia by Apps · · Score: 2, Informative

      It is here!!!!
      In Ireland anyway - where insurance is VERY expensive (mine is ~2000 euro for a 1.6l Nissan Primera (1994)) they are offering discounts for carrying a black box with GPS that phones home and you _can_ get speeding tickets based on the data returned!

      What will happen next is that they will produce statistics as to how much safer these people were and make the rest of us have them. (they will be safer because people who will accept these in their cars are prople who are over cautious anyway - they are self selecting)

    37. Re:Paranoia by top_down · · Score: 1
      The economy is not a zero sum game. One person's profit is not another's loss.

      You are saying 2 different things here. The first statement is right: the production is (usually) growing every year and so the pie we get to divide is getter bigger every year. Definitely not zero sum.

      But this yearly pie can be divided only once. Your income from profits, salary or otherwise determines how big your personal piece of that pie is. This dividing of the pie is a zero sum game. If your employer pays you more he will have less pie and you'll have more. If he is a monopolist he will be able to charge high prices and therefore a get a big piece of the pie while his customers will have to settle for a smaller piece cause they can spend their money only once.

      So as consumers/citizen we are in a classic dilemma. On the one side we want to promote productivity by rewarding companies with high profits while on the other side we want them to have low profits as we rather spend that money ourselves. We need to find a balance here of course.

      --
      Anyone who generalizes about slashdotters is a typical slashdotter.
    38. Re:Paranoia by scalis · · Score: 1

      I think you are forgetting one aspect. You say that "the production is (usually) growing every year and so the pie we get to divide is getter bigger every year. Definitely not zero sum." That might be true when speaking of economic value in a local perspective, but some ingredients of the local pie might have been stolen (such as natural resources aquired by the use of power or threat of economic or armed war, oil for instance). This makes the local "pie" smaller and smaller for the nations or gropus that are being exploited. The economic value might improve for the corporations or nations that benefit from cheap labour in development countries but what about human value in a global pie? Where does that blend in? Certainly not in the local economy pie.... Remember that you can't eat money or oil....

      --

      True ravers don't need drugs
    39. Re:Paranoia by scalis · · Score: 1

      [IRONY]
      Yes. If you invest in a company they have to give more money to you than you gave them. It's the law. That's why the stockmarket is always going up and never down.
      [/IRONY]

      --

      True ravers don't need drugs
    40. Re:Paranoia by rschwa · · Score: 1

      My point is, insurance companies will do whatever they can to find a way to screw you AND the Stupid Klutzes of the world.

      Do you idiots have any idea how tight the insurance market is? The first reply was 100% right, any use of this sort of tech will only shift the burden from safe drivers to those that cause more loss. Anything else, and the good risks would drop their policies and go with another company that did regognize their competence. If you don't like the way your company rates, find another company. If you can't find one that gives you better rates, then chances are you really are a bad risk!

      And FYI, insurance companies have been paying out way more in claims than they've taken in in premiums for years. The only thing that keeps them going is investment of their reserves. Take a look at the markets and tell me what you think is going to happen to your premiums. It's not "screwing the customer", it's "trying to stay in business".

    41. Re:Paranoia by operagost · · Score: 1

      Remember the article about the car rental company that was automatically charging customers huge amounts of money for exceeding the speed limit? That's what's going to happen if you allow insurance companies to put these things in cars. It's going to raise rates for EVERYONE, since there's no one who's perfect out there, and everyone at least accidentally exceeds the speed limit a little or, god forbid, takes a turn a little sharply for a cheap thrill. You'll be seeing a little note on your insurance bill that your rates were automatically increased because your car swerved sharply on the 11th, so you must have been in an unreported accident. They already don't care who caused the accident and raise both drivers' rates, so why not.

      --

      Gamingmuseum.com: Give your 3D accelerator a rest.
    42. Re:Paranoia by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The head-spinning non-logic or your sig made me puke all over my keyboard, run out into the street with my letter-opener and stab 11 random people to death. Now, what was eliminating guns supposed to solve again?

    43. Re:Paranoia by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "Can we stop with the black-helicopters-are-watching-me-through-the-tele phone tin-foil hat paranoia for just a day or two? "

      -Sheeple Auto-Answer #1:You're a (crazy/extremist/racist) person who (sees black helicopters everywhere/is anti-govt/believes in something 'normal' people don't).

      "...when every single piece of technology is just another tool for The Man to spy on us, regardless of legitimate uses (sound familiar?) it might have."

      -Sheeple Auto-Answer #4:This (Law/Technology/Action) could never (Be expanded/Fall into the wrong hands/Limit any rights) now,or in the forseeable future.

    44. Re:Paranoia by japhmi · · Score: 1
      everyone at least accidentally exceeds the speed limit a little or, god forbid, takes a turn a little sharply for a cheap thrill.

      Or, as I've had to do before, make a sharp turn so that the moron over there doesn't hit me. Or go over the speed limit in order to avoid an accident. Sometimes 'unsafe' driving according to a computer is actually the safe route.

      --
      "Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys" P. J. O'Rourke
    45. Re:Paranoia by Planesdragon · · Score: 1

      Everyone has their own definition of "right"

      Actually, it's a pretty clear cut legal term. The arguments come in on what rights are universal, optionable, and scarce.

      I cannot see how my profits can in anyway affect your world's habitability. There are other things I could do to reduce that, but my making a profit is not one of them.

      Simple. When you sacrafice the world's habitability to increase your profits, you are affecting my right to an inhabitable world.

      Yes, there are other ways to make a buck--but the legal system seems to scream that your "right" to run your business for your own profit is superceded by the duties of environmental responsibilites. Or in other words, as long as your *don't* infringe on the rights of everyone else, you can make all the profit you want.

    46. Re:Paranoia by top_down · · Score: 1
      There are no local pies, the world economy is one big pie. And you are right, even when the world economy is growing some people in some places still get poorer in absolute terms.

      Dont fall in the neo-mercantilist trap, first world charity won't fix third world problems. Countries are poor because they don't use their labour resources efficiently, and they aren't using them efficiently because there are warlords or a kleptocrat elite that will take their profits away anyway.

      --
      Anyone who generalizes about slashdotters is a typical slashdotter.
    47. Re:Paranoia by syates21 · · Score: 1

      That was my point. It's mandatory in some places, not all. I'm a SoCal native, so unfortunately I'm aware of the fact that you must provide proof of insurance to even pay the tax on (ahem, I mean register) a car.

    48. Re:Paranoia by top_down · · Score: 1
      The head-spinning non-logic or your sig

      Good, you noticed. :)

      The idea is to show with this absurd logic the absurdity of a closely related statement: guns dont kill people; people kill people; so guns are ok. Or in other words: good tools dont matter.

      [I] run out into the street with my letter-opener and stab 11 random people to death

      heh, exactly my point: if you are doing fine with a letter-opener why do you need a gun?

      I dont have any strong views about guns btw, I am just poking holes in a dumb argument.

      --
      Anyone who generalizes about slashdotters is a typical slashdotter.
    49. Re:Paranoia by TaleSpinner · · Score: 1

      >Can we stop with the black-helicopters...

      I sure wish we could, but it is a demonstratable
      fact that American freedoms are evaporating at
      what should be an alarming rate - but, to
      a vast majority of my countrymen, apparently
      including you, is not. Incidently, with the
      new mini-RPV units in test "for the military",
      those black helicopters are going to be two feet
      long and hovering outside your window in the next
      few years. I guarantee it. Only they won't be
      black, they'll say "So-and-so Police Department"
      or "FBI", or even "CIA". Or, if they are owned
      by the National Security Administration, perhaps
      they will be black and unmarked.

  12. Won't be long by Wyatt+Earp · · Score: 1

    I imagine it won't be long till it's a standard feature on new cars.

    I doubt it'll be retroactive to older cars, even seatbelt laws don't effect cars that didn't have them, nor did center tail-lights.

    I imgine it'll be 2006 models that ship with this technology.

    1. Re:Won't be long by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I imagine it won't be long till it's a standard feature on new cars.

      It is called OBD-III. It was supposed to be out by 1998, but it isn't out yet.

    2. Re:Won't be long by antirename · · Score: 1

      No, but it sure is fun to get pulled over in a car that didn't come with seatbelts. Mine never had any, but try explaining that to bubba on the side of the road.

  13. Big Brother gets a step closer by PeekabooCaribou · · Score: 1

    This kind of thing is going to become the norm before too long. People become too complacent, too accepting of what the government and corporations feed us. Nothing short of riots and fires will keep us from sinking into a pit where the masses can't fart without being fined and the elite keep themselves warm at night with the flames of the Bill of Rights and the Constitution.

    Disillusioned? What's that?

    Not going to AC this time. Kill my karma, if you really think I'm wrong.

    --
    "I'll say it again for the logic-impaired." -- Larry Wall.
    1. Re:Big Brother gets a step closer by Wyatt+Earp · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Now I don't think this technology is a good idea, but comeon.

      This has NOTHING to do with the Constitution or the Bill of Rights, nor does it have anything to do with the Articles of Confederation or Decleration of Independance.

      You might be disillustioned, but try to keep this in context.

      It's about technology working for the insurance companies and the police, not about civil rights.

    2. Re:Big Brother gets a step closer by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'm sorry, but where does it state in the Constitution (which by the way the Bill of Rights is a part of but I digress) does it state that private industry shall not do _______________ (insert name of ANYTHING)? In so long as Congress or the government (see the little 'g'? government is not a proper name) doesn't do, pass, require, increase, abscond with, enforce, etc. something then the Constitution doesn't have anything to say about it.
      If an insurance company were to require this black box as a means of determining liability in an accident, they can go right ahead and do it. The Constitution doesn't and shoudn't be involved.
      No where in any such situation are your Constitutional rights being impinged.

    3. Re:Big Brother gets a step closer by Psion · · Score: 2

      How about the right of people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures? Hmm? Oh, that's right, this isn't intended for police use, is it? Ah, but as has already been pointed out, in this modern age of safety before liberty, government and corporate agencies are pretty quick to justify embracing new ideas like this and subverting them to their own use.

      Oh, but then I guess you'll insist that I won't have anything to worry about as long as I don't break the law. Take your head out of the sand, son. In recent months it's been considered unpatriotic to question government intrusion into our lives. Did you miss the latest plan: Operation TIPS? Go have a look at the ACLU website for a nice picture of the rise of facism in the land of the free and the home of the brave.

    4. Re:Big Brother gets a step closer by Wyatt+Earp · · Score: 1

      It's been covered time and time again that a car isn't subject to the same protections as a home.

      When they put a black box under my Aeron Chair, then I'll be upset.

      You show me where it says anything about cars, carriages, stagecoaches, veleocepeds, motorcycles, horses, goats, travois or buckboards in the Constitution, Decleration of Independance, Articles of Confederation or Magna Carta and then I'll see a point where this isn't right from that point of view.

      Until then I will say again.

      This is a bad idea, but it's not a Civil Rights issue.

    5. Re:Big Brother gets a step closer by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Alright, here's a question for you then. Why the hell don't you do something about it? I'm going to have to clue you in here, posting your woes about the government on Slashdot isn't going to get anything changed. If you don't like how things are being run, become an activist. Join a group, or organize one and start protesting..start showing people what the government is trying to do to them. Remember that -you- are actually among the "too complacent" people you seem to be complaining about until you -do- something about it.

    6. Re:Big Brother gets a step closer by Psion · · Score: 2

      Uh huh. And for a little more information on that you had better brush up on Carroll v United States and the circumstances behind this tradition. And as far as your shopping list of things not listed in the Constitution, go take a look at the Ninth Amendment and review it's intent. Of course, these days there is precious little attention paid to the Ninth...it may as well have been repealed.

      I'll say this, at least you recognize that it is wrong, even if you'd rather deny the strongest argument of why.

    7. Re:Big Brother gets a step closer by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      how do you know he isnt "doing something about it". he realy doesnt go into that much personal detail in his post.
      Just because the dude posts on /. doesnt mean he doesnt have a life :)
      I mean you cant fault the guy for posting his woes in a very topical conversation in a discussion group. come on now.

    8. Re:Big Brother gets a step closer by ceejayoz · · Score: 2

      Actually, that's irrelevant in this case. The black boxes aren't mandated by law and likely won't be (that'd be an illegal search). What can happen, though, is that you sign a contract when you buy your car / buy your insurance / etc agreeing to allow them to record your activities with a black box.

      Think of it as an EULA for your car.

    9. Re:Big Brother gets a step closer by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      *persons*, houses, papers, and *effects*, i.e. you and the shit you own. 'course it's really kinda stupid to quote the bill of rights concidering that it doesn't mean squat to anyone anymore.

      Amendment IV
      The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

    10. Re:Big Brother gets a step closer by AceCaseOR · · Score: 0
      Um, excuse me, but it's not your right to endanger yourself and others on the roads. I admit, I may be a bit naive, I may be a bit sheltered, but I am certainly not as bitter and dissolusioned with society to say that it's my *right* to drive like a *moron*.

      Frankly, perhaps this device will cut back on some of the idiocy I see on the roads. For example, not more than a week ago, I saw a person backing up the *on* ramp on I-205. And it's not that rare to see stuff of that degree of idiocy.

      Frankly, from some of the opinion's I have seen expressed on /. I have gathered that either a larg e amount or people, or a small amount of people posting under the name of "Anonymous Cowards" have grown to dislike Capitalism, due to the corruption of Big Business. Now, the only way to check that is with laws. However, aformentioned people don't seem to like Big Government. They also seem disillusioned with democracy.

      So what does that leave. Monarchy is out, we've moved beyond that, plus those are easily undermined in today's society. Communism is most definatly out. Last time that was tried on a large scale cause failed miserably with major loss of life (see the USSR and that which Stalin didn't watn you to know). That leaves Timocracy (see "Starship Troopers" (the novel, not the movie, for that system of goverment, though the book doesn't go into detail), Aristocracy (Society has moved beyond this one also). This just leaves Anarchy.

      However, for starters, Anarchy tends to lean towards the economic system being capitalist. Also, it tends to have the consumers being screwed over and much disorder because only the strongest people can keep the unruly elements from making everyone else's lives hell. Eventually, people tend to follow the strongest/most charismatic because they get people to follow them, obey them, and so forth. This leads us back to (you guessed it) monarchy. Monarchy leads us to Aristocracy, which leads to either Democracy or Communism.

      So, in short, what I'm trying to say is Anarchy sucks, you don't deserve to hurt other people because you think you rule the road, and quit biching about stuff that'll lower everyone else's insurance rates except yours because the insurance company will know how you tailgate, cut people off, and back up on-ramps.

      Now we just need to install mandatory breathalizers in cars to that noone can drive drunk.

      --
      Zagreus sits inside your head, Zagreus lives among the dead, Zagreus sees you in your bed and eats you in your sleep.
  14. I had this idea once by snowlick · · Score: 1

    I thought it would be cool to see how fast I go, how efficient my driving habits are, etc. Then I thought, holy shit - people would quickly bastardize any legitimate non-invasive purpose the thing would have. So I moved on to my next invention: the Grabber! It can fetch cups from high cupboards with ease. Not only that, but it won't hang around your neck like a leash. It can't be used to enforce morals/territorial travel limits at all!

    --
    Crystal Meth: Would you ingest somthing made from a poisonous gas and an explosive metal? You do it every day -- Salt!
  15. The progression is clear for any tracking tech by Perianwyr+Stormcrow · · Score: 5, Insightful

    First, either kids or criminals. Then whichever of the first two wasn't gotten. Then, those who'll accept extra benefits for it (generally implemented by removing said pre-existing benefits and then only giving what you had before back if you submit.)

    Finally, it's mandatory.

    This is the time to oppose this stuff and set limits if there will ever be any at all.

    --

    What we call folk wisdom is often no more than a kind of expedient stupidity.-Edward Abbey

    1. Re:The progression is clear for any tracking tech by Arandir · · Score: 2

      Finally, it's mandatory.

      I've been racking my brain, but I just can't think of any examples of your progression. At least in the US. Can you help me out by naming at least one tracking technology to demonstrate the possibility of your thesis, and at least two to demonstrate its viability?

      --
      A Government Is a Body of People, Usually Notably Ungoverned
    2. Re:The progression is clear for any tracking tech by Ender77 · · Score: 1

      It will probably start off with something small, like insurance will go down for teens that have the box. Then the insurance on cars that do not have the box will start going up. Finally when most cars have this, state or federal government will pass a law that makes it illegal not to have it. I doubt it will be Fedaralized, but I am fairly sure that at least one state will pass a law that requires cars to have it sometime in the future.

    3. Re:The progression is clear for any tracking tech by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Income Taxes, Speed Limits, shall i go on?

    4. Re:The progression is clear for any tracking tech by Arandir · · Score: 2

      I wasn't asking for what *might* happen, I was asking for evidence that it has ever happened in the past. Because without past evidence it is anything but clear that tracking technologies inevitably result in government mandates.

      Now I'm sure that in some locales it might be the case, but I am not aware of any instances in my particular state. I do not have any mandated tracking technologies in my home, my car, my workplace or my wallet.

      --
      A Government Is a Body of People, Usually Notably Ungoverned
    5. Re:The progression is clear for any tracking tech by _Sprocket_ · · Score: 2

      1) Tracking cuffs used to track criminals in specialized release programs.

      2) Tracking devices (simular to beepers) marketed as child safety devices.

      2a) Tracking device marketed to track teenage (still arguably the "child" category) driver.

      3) Simular tracking devices widely used in the vehicle rental industry - and gaining acceptance.

      4) Onstar - a user-induced tracking system sold as a premier option for anit-theft, safety, and roadside assistance.

      Obviously 1 and 2 are fitting the prescribed pattern. 3 and 4 don't fit in the pattern exactly but I included them to demonstrate a trend. 3 is warming up the insurance agency to the "success" of such devices and experience in a civilian marketplace. And 4 is further familiarizing the general market with the obvious positive aspects tracking technology can provide. Its not too large a leap for insurance companies to produce data from 3 and 4 demonstrating the obvious bennifits to the technology, raising rates to cover the "increased risk" of non-tracked vehicles, and providing a small discount to vehicles who voluntarily adopt the technology. Whether the step to legislate adoption would be required, or successful, is questionable - we've definately seen the industry behave in manners that suggest it is certainly plausable.

    6. Re:The progression is clear for any tracking tech by HiThere · · Score: 2

      You should probably include the GPS systems that all cell phones are now supposed to include. Can you only be tracked when the phone is off the hook? I sure don't know.

      Ostensibly it's so that if you were to call 911, they'd quickly know where you were. This is sufficient reason to make the device mandatory?

      Nobody's objecting, because they don't notice. And if anyone can tell just how it works, and when it's live, it sure isn't me. I presume that if the battery is dead, then it doesn't work, but there could be a charged capacitor, and it responds when polled. I wouldn't know.

      --

      I think we've pushed this "anyone can grow up to be president" thing too far.
    7. Re:The progression is clear for any tracking tech by ceejayoz · · Score: 2

      1) Criminals lose some rights when they violate the rights of others. They can be jailed, too. Tracking cuffs hardly illustrate a "slippery slope".

      2) Not mandated by law. Use completely at the choice of the parent.

      3) The rental company owns the car and may do what they want with it. Don't like it, use a different company. Once again, not mandated by law.

      4) Again, not mandated by law. You have the option to use Onstar, you have the option not to.

      In short, none of the examples you provided show the "slippery slope" type of progression towards mandatory use by law that the original post was so paranoid about.

    8. Re:The progression is clear for any tracking tech by rruvin · · Score: 1
      Oh, wow. So you're advocating banning the use of something just because it can be used for less than moral purposes?

      Isn't that kind of, oh I don't know, like DMCA/RIAA wanting to outlaw p2p?

      Why not wait until someone actually even considers proposing to make this thing mandatory before freaking out and going all out with the conspiracy theories?

    9. Re:The progression is clear for any tracking tech by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      1) Tracking cuffs used to track criminals in specialized release programs.

      2) Tracking devices (simular to beepers) marketed as child safety devices.


      Combine the two, and what do you get...
      Tracking cuffs used to track criminal children, marketed as safety devices for the general public.

      I knew a girl who had one on around her ankle. Always creeped me out.

      -orangesquid

    10. Re:The progression is clear for any tracking tech by Safety+Cap · · Score: 2
      How about
      • Seat Belts,
      • Helmets ('cycles),
      • Third-Brake Lights,
      • Airbags, etc.
      --
      Yeah, right.
    11. Re:The progression is clear for any tracking tech by wdr1 · · Score: 2

      So you're saying Onstar is a manadate government-run tracking technology?

      Talk about paraniod! *sheesh*

      -Bill

      --
      SlashSig Karma: Excellent (mostly affected by moderatio
    12. Re:The progression is clear for any tracking tech by _Sprocket_ · · Score: 2

      So you're saying Onstar is a manadate government-run tracking technology?
      If you so choose to translate the phrase "sold as a premier option" as "mandated by the government", then feel free to. Although, you might want to talk to your English teacher / tutor and work on that whole reading comprehension thing.
    13. Re:The progression is clear for any tracking tech by _Sprocket_ · · Score: 2

      In short, none of the examples you provided show the "slippery slope" type of progression towards mandatory use by law that the original post was so paranoid about.
      When did "mandated by law" become the requirement for demonstrating a slippery slope? The origional post only mentioned it as a final action. The challenge to display any such linking did not require that each event needed to have been mandated by law. And laws do not need the standards on which they are based to have been previous legal requirements. In other words, each of these events can easily lead up the the acceptance of such a law without being mandated by law themselves.

      Understand that I am not personally convinced this arch will all come to pass. But it is rather easy to show that the basis for an environment where such a law would be accepted is being formed. This kind of technology is being used more and more often and as the public becomes used to it, they are likely to accept it without critical thought. In short, this is not paranoia - it is wariness.
    14. Re:The progression is clear for any tracking tech by wdr1 · · Score: 2

      You were supplying us an example of a technology the government ended up mandating?

      -Bill

      --
      SlashSig Karma: Excellent (mostly affected by moderatio
    15. Re:The progression is clear for any tracking tech by Arandir · · Score: 2

      Those aren't tracking technologies. I thought that was what we were talking about.

      --
      A Government Is a Body of People, Usually Notably Ungoverned
    16. Re:The progression is clear for any tracking tech by Arandir · · Score: 2

      None of your examples are mandatory. At least in my neck of the woods they are not. Maybe they are in Outer Elbonia, but not where I live.

      All I want is an example of a tracking technology that is mandated by the government.

      p.s. Another post mentioned GPS systems being mandatory in cell phones. Can anyone shed some data on this? The size of these new phones, I can't imagine how they could cram GPS into one.

      --
      A Government Is a Body of People, Usually Notably Ungoverned
    17. Re:The progression is clear for any tracking tech by _Sprocket_ · · Score: 2

      All I want is an example of a tracking technology that is mandated by the government.
      Ahhh. You didn't state that - or at least, I didn't read it that way. I agree, none of those devices are mandatory by law except for the special cases involving prisoner release programs.

      p.s. Another post mentioned GPS systems being mandatory in cell phones. Can anyone shed some data on this? The size of these new phones, I can't imagine how they could cram GPS into one.
      No, he didn't say "mandatory". But he did note that the technology was coming. Poke around a bit. Slashdot has covered it before.

      Having said all that... you're puting too much emphasis on "mandatory". Whether there are already laws that mandate this kind of thing or not is a moot point. Laws do occasionally break new ground - even in directions some find disturbing (witness the DMCA). Secondly, this technology is still relatively new. While earlier generations did exist, they were not as effective or cheap. Its hard to produce prior examples of a technology when it didn't exist earlier.

      As I said elsewhere in this thread, I'm not convinced that this is one of those things destined to be. But I can see a reasonable series of events that could lead to mandatory use of this technology. And I have offered current examples that point towards that possiblity.
    18. Re:The progression is clear for any tracking tech by _Sprocket_ · · Score: 2

      No. I was providing a series of technologies that could follow the path as outlined. Nowhere did it state "currently mandated".

    19. Re:The progression is clear for any tracking tech by Quila · · Score: 2

      I think someone's confusing being able to tell which cell you're on with GPS.

    20. Re:The progression is clear for any tracking tech by Quila · · Score: 2

      In short, none of the examples you provided show the "slippery slope" type of progression towards mandatory use by law that the original post was so paranoid about.

      Social Security numbers are a good example of mission creep. They used to be -- by law -- only for that one purpose, and considered very private. Now you need it to do almost anything and is a national personal ID number.

      But more specifically, third brake lights are a good example. In the late 80s-early 90s they were optional and could save you a few percent on your insurance. Now they're standard on every car, and many insurance companies will probably charge you more if you don't have one.

    21. Re:The progression is clear for any tracking tech by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes, they are tracking technologies...defacto.

      Your seatbelt. Law says you must wear it. So...now you get randomly stopped and inspected simply to see if you are. This is (or was) illegal search and seizure. Police do this not to "keep you safe", but to raise funds for their departments and states. It also gives them an excuse to search you more thoroughly if the simply don't like you. So, I stopped Joe Blow at this location, this time, he was travelling this direction and I asked him where he was going. Yeah I also fined him $50 because his seatbelt was not properly fastened. Ha!

      They can do this on a whim...no need for any real reasons.

      You are a fool if you truly believe that anything meant to collect data about you won't eventually screw you over somehow. Even the 'discount card' at your local grocery is screwing you over somehow. I could tell you how, but you probably don't give a rat's about that either, huh?

    22. Re:The progression is clear for any tracking tech by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Your cell phone can be tracked if its hanged up. As long as it is turned on and ready to receive calls, the company knows where you are, since it has to know where you are to be able to send you incoming calls.

    23. Re:The progression is clear for any tracking tech by 4of12 · · Score: 2

      When did "mandated by law" become the requirement for demonstrating a slippery slope?

      Exactly.

      Some of the most intrusive erosions of privacy occur without the need for obvious repressive laws.

      For example, nothing really requires you to use one of those supermarket discount cards that identify who buys what, where and when. With some reasoning, you can figure out quite a lot from that sort of data. But it's been posed to the public in such a way that the majority is more than willing to part with their privacy and anonymity for a bowl of pottage.

      Most people start sliding down that "slippery slope" without even realizing it.

      --
      "Provided by the management for your protection."
    24. Re:The progression is clear for any tracking tech by edstromp · · Score: 1
      This is the time to oppose this stuff and set limits if there will ever be any at all.

      Watching your teens is one thing. If you want to carry on a big-brother relationship with them, they great. Use the black box.

      But really, what is really all that wrong with the black box idea? It is wrong because you can no longer screw over your insurance company when the accident was your fault?

      Really people. Government / Insurance / whomever watching your every move really shouldn't be a problem unless you are trying to cover something up. For me, I don't like the firewall at work. But that is becuase they track my web surfing, and I'm on slash dot a lot. But in a car? Well, if the accident was my fault, I'll take responsibility. If not, well, I hope the technology can help determin that as well.

    25. Re:The progression is clear for any tracking tech by weinerdog · · Score: 2

      Privacy is a social issue, not a technological one. The only issue on the technology side is whether or not the technology in question lends itself to access by unauthorized parties. (I.e., can it be cracked.)

      It seems to me that far greater intrusions into people's private lives occured in Nazi Germany, East Germany, and the Soviet Union using very low-tech tools indeed.

      Whether a parent feels that it is necessary or desirable to monitor the driving of a teenaged child is a decision that each parent must make. Personally, if I had a kid, I wouldn't let him or her drive at all if I didn't feel I could trust him or her to drive responsibly, and the idea of parents spying on kids doesn't sit well with me, but that's just my view.

      As far as collecting data for police or insurance purposes, the collection of factual data about the state of a car leading up to an accident is probably a very good thing; after all, when accidents happen, we *do* want to establish the facts of the case. The real issue is to whom this data should be made accessible, under what circumstances, and for what purposes. Use of information is a good thing. It is the *abuse* of information that is not. Using crash data to try to determine why an accident occured does not seem to me to be abuse.

      --
      There's no such thing as Scotchtoberfest!
    26. Re:The progression is clear for any tracking tech by Jason+Earl · · Score: 2

      Everyone has the right to give up their privacy in exchange for preferential treatment. If some schmoe doesn't mind that [insert supermarket] is tracking their buying habits, then why should you get upset about it. If you don't like discount cards, don't use one.

      It would be entirely different if the Federal government mandated that we all use such cards and then required all stores to share their information with the FBI.

    27. Re:The progression is clear for any tracking tech by wdr1 · · Score: 2

      Exactly, which is why you missed the point ENTIRELY.

      -Bill

      --
      SlashSig Karma: Excellent (mostly affected by moderatio
    28. Re:The progression is clear for any tracking tech by Grab · · Score: 2

      Let me know when any of these help the police trace me, or when any of these infringe on my rights. Unless there's a "right to die".

      Are you also against IEEE wiring regs and building regs? I mean, restricting how you can build a house has to be wrong. Even if it could fall down in the night and crush you.

      Grab.

    29. Re:The progression is clear for any tracking tech by Arandir · · Score: 2

      The original post was titled "The progession is clear for any tracking tech" and stated the warning "Finally, it's mandatory". The conclusion was "This is the time to oppose this stuff."

      My understanding of the post was that there is a history of voluntary tracking technologies progressing to mandatory technologies. All I wanted was one or two examples where this had happened. Apparently there have not been any.

      Opposing a technology because maybe, just maybe, sometime in the future the government could mandate it, is stupid. That rationale can be used to oppose any technology.

      Now is the time to oppose center mounted reciprocating framjets otherwise they may become mandatory, and we can't take that chance.

      --
      A Government Is a Body of People, Usually Notably Ungoverned
    30. Re:The progression is clear for any tracking tech by _Sprocket_ · · Score: 2

      Again - nowhere did it state the requirement of the technology being mandated.

      As I pointed out elsewhere - prior cases of this kind of technology being mandated is a bit of a moot point. Tracking technology is still young and just now reaching the appropriate level of effectiveness and cost. And ratification of new laws do note require simular previous laws.

      The important point is demonstrating a trend. Although, it is far too early to say that it will conclude with a legal mandate.

    31. Re:The progression is clear for any tracking tech by wdr1 · · Score: 2

      From the parent node:

      First, either kids or criminals. Then whichever of the first two wasn't gotten. Then, those who'll accept extra benefits for it (generally implemented by removing said pre-existing benefits and then only giving what you had before back if you submit.)

      Finally, it's mandatory.


      Sounds like a pretty clear requirement of the technology being mandated. In fact, seems like the entire point.

      -Bill

      --
      SlashSig Karma: Excellent (mostly affected by moderatio
    32. Re:The progression is clear for any tracking tech by _Sprocket_ · · Score: 2

      Now is the time to oppose center mounted reciprocating framjets otherwise they may become mandatory, and we can't take that chance.
      Really? Can you demonstrate where reciprocating framjets are being used in a questionable manner - mandated by law or not? And can you demonstrate a trend that would lead to their being mandated if they're not already? :)

      I do agree with your point. Jumping in and opposing a technology entirely based on the possibility of its misuse is foolish. The old cliche of the hammer as tool or weapon applies here. The rational approuch is being aware how a piece of technology is being used and opposing its misuse.

      My concern is that this technology is especially suited to abuse. This demands carefull attention - something our current social and political environment doesn't always provide. Although, I do not share the same paranoid breathlessness expressed in the origional post.

      I guess I jumped in this thread to play Devil's Advocate more than whip up additional paranoid fantasy. :)
    33. Re:The progression is clear for any tracking tech by _Sprocket_ · · Score: 2

      Right. But that's the final condition. Note that the other conditions (kids, criminals, adopters, etc) are not stated as mandatory. And when the challenge was made - it did not request examples that have already lead to mandatory tracking.

    34. Re:The progression is clear for any tracking tech by 4of12 · · Score: 2

      Everyone has the right to give up their privacy in exchange for preferential treatment.

      Yes, we're all free to give up our privacy. It's our choice.

      My point is that if the choice involves paying an extra 15% for your groceries if you don't use such a card, then it becomes coercive.

      Keep increasing the percentage and it becomes just as effective (or more so) as many laws.

      I know people that break parking laws routinely and consider the trade offs between ticket cost and the added convenience of parking places, judging it merely as the "cost of convenient parking", a purely economic choice.

      Likewise, this selling of your right to privacy is a gradual market-based phenomena.

      But, since most consumers who sell their right to privacy have little knowledge of what they're selling, the market price for Not Losing Privacy is growing faster than I'd like. Fortunately I'm still able to find reasonably priced stores without the two-tier pricing system: regular prices for the "kiss-and-tell" crowd, maybe 5% more for the "butt-out" crowd.

      Most people are dozing on this issue and will only find out about it in an abrupt, rude kind of way, as their health insurance premiums suddenly get tied into their grocery purchases: what? cigarettes, liquor, potato chips and Twinkies every week? No wonder you're in the "above average risk" category.


      It would be entirely different if the Federal government mandated that we all use such cards and then required all stores to share their information with the FBI.

      The government doesn't need to mandate use if the economics make discount card use endemic. I'm sure than any store is more than willing to share such data with the FBI without requiring a court order just in the interest of being helpful.

      I think the framers of the U.S. constitution rightly worried about the concentration of power in government and restricted it very effectively with a system of checks and balances, but didn't foresee just how much extra-governmental power over the citizens has concentrated in the hands of corporations.

      The practical implications of power concentration in corporations, be it discount cards or peeing in a cup for employment, are a lot greater in this day and age than anything the Federal government is allowed to do.

      I've often thought a good way to illustrate this point would be for some legislator to propose that federal law enforcement agencies be given the ability to conduct themselves within exactly the same legal confines that restrict corporations.

      That would wake up a few of my soporific fellow citizens.

      --
      "Provided by the management for your protection."
    35. Re:The progression is clear for any tracking tech by Safety+Cap · · Score: 2
      No, I'm not against IEEE regs and building regs. It is the fact that something "benign" is so often used for the dark side.

      In Houston, they have cameras covering nearly every stretch of freeway -- for "safety" reasons, mind you. Yeah right. Imagine how little of a leap it takes to start tracking vehicles "to combat terrorism" or "reduce crime."

      Airlines required ID in order to crush the secondary market for tickets. Now that the feds are involved, they are tracking citizens' travel ("Comrade, been going to Florida often lately? Show us your papers, please!") and investigating those who "fit the profile," so heaven help you if you have to fly at the last minute and want to pay cash.

      What about the cell phones with positional tracking "for 911 safety" - they already record every conversation you make, why not just save the positional data while they're at it?

      --
      Yeah, right.
    36. Re:The progression is clear for any tracking tech by Kenneth · · Score: 2


      What about the cell phones with positional tracking "for 911 safety" - they already record every conversation you make, why not just save the positional data while they're at it?


      Do you really think the government can actually do this? Sure, the technology exists, but hasn't the Government repeatedly demonstrated that the competency to actually do what you suggest is sorely lacking?

      The WTC attack could have easily been prevented. All the data was there (whether or not you agree with the methods). It was all on tape or on hard drives somewhere. Nobody looked at it. It wasn't correlated until after they had killed 6000 people.

      There's an old saying "The trouble with conspiracy theories is that they assume the government is organized." Another states "Never ascribe to malice that which can be reasonably explained by stupidity."

      I don't doubt that some in the government would like to do just what you say, but they are so tied up in ego and having all the power to themselves, that untill there are major changes in the way things are done, they'll never do much besides inter agency fighting. Homeland security was supposed to 'solve' all of that, but by all appearences, it's just caused more.

      If I had teenagers, I would personally install one of these on the condition that it didn't broadcast data to anyone else, and was inadmisable as court evidence (except in the case of an accident in which case it could be used like the black boxes in aircraft).

      I'm actually more afraid that some marketer will get the idea that this should broadcast data for better targeted marketing then will insist on some sort of ignition interlock so that it can't easily be disabled.

      Business is far more frightening than the Government.

      --
      There is a civil war coming in the United States. Remember which side has most of the guns
    37. Re:The progression is clear for any tracking tech by Safety+Cap · · Score: 2
      Yes, I think the government can do it. They released the Terrorists' cell phone conversations after 9/11 (with nary a peep from the privacy advocates), which means they are recording.

      However, you are correct -- the government is horribly inept and disorganized, so their chance of obtaining total oppression is low -- but I think it is dangerous to underestimate their ability to subvert our freedoms and rights over the long haul.

      --
      Yeah, right.
  16. Wardriving by Myuu · · Score: 3, Funny

    My Parents:"Collin...Why is it that you seem to slow down when driving by large buildings and stop for short periods of time in the parking lots of large corporations"

    --

    forget it.
    1. Re:Wardriving by ROBOKATZ · · Score: 1

      I don't get it. What's "Wardriving"?

    2. Re:Wardriving by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Like wardialing only while driving - and scanning wireless networks rather than telephone extentions

  17. Well.. by Axe · · Score: 4, Troll
    They already manadated GPS use in our cell-phones.
    [listening to silence]... Do I hear any outcries? No.

    Americans will swallow this just like pervasive credit history control, mandatory live long ID numbers (hello, Soviet Union), "Under GOD!" daily pledges (fuck those atheists), Id check, face recognition, mandatory 10-day address registration for all non-citizens.. and list goes on and on..
    Losers.

    --
    <^>_<(ô ô)>_<^>
    1. Re:Well.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      the revolution is comming my brother

    2. Re:Well.. by Maul · · Score: 2

      "Under GOD?" Yeah right. Christians, as well as members of other faiths, shouldn't be duped by Dubya and company. They do the exact same "evil stuff" as the left wingers, except that they pretend they are all "moral," and for "family values" to get the votes from those that care about those things.

      I spent a summer in Western Michigan, and it seemed every other bumper had a "George W. Bush" sticker on it. The area also has a high concentration of those who claim to be fundamentalist, Bible-believing Christians. As if the Republican party is the party of God or something... they are just as bad as the "liberals" when it comes to morailty issues.

      Either way, I can envision a time in the future where it is illegal to read the Bible because it might contradict "state sponsored worship."

      Hopefully then people won't still look at me like an idiot when I told them I voted Libertarian.

      --

      "You spoony bard!" -Tellah

    3. Re:Well.. by rnturn · · Score: 2

      Huh? Did they actually mandate this? Mandate it all they want. It isn't going to work worth a damn much of the time. If you don't want to be tracked just make your phone calls indoors or on the street surrounded by tall buildings where the rotten signal strength and multipath would provide some protection. Weak and reflected signals tend to make GPS receivers (which depend on line-of-site L-band signals) come up with extremely crappy position solutions. They'd probably have a better chance of tracking you by triangulating your position using the received signal strength at several cell antennas.

      --
      CUR ALLOC 20195.....5804M
    4. Re:Well.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Am I the only one who knows left wing religious people? In fact, most religious people I meet are Democrats. The "religious = right wing" nonsense if a myth. There's quite a mix out there.

    5. Re:Well.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If you vote by party instead of by qualifications, you *are* an idiot.

    6. Re:Well.. by davros74 · · Score: 1
      They'd probably have a better chance of tracking you by triangulating your position using the received signal strength at several cell antennas.

      This won't work with many (if not all) digital cell phones. In order to prevent a close-to-tower phone from blocking out a distant weak signal phone, the tower and the cell phone communicate to each other and the tower tells the phone if its too "loud" or not. The phone then regulates its output power such that ALL the phones talking to one tower, irregardless of distance, arrive at the tower with the same signal power. Each incoming signal being at the same energy level is pretty important for making a spread spectrum system work.
    7. Re:Well.. by dafozzee · · Score: 0

      I'm not sure who isnt crying out against GPS-enable Cellphones, but it sure isnt me... That should scare anyone who uses a cellphone shitless.

      And maybe thats just me.. Theres a reason I still have my Samsung 8500 :)

  18. It is their vehicle... by teetam · · Score: 5, Insightful
    They can put whatever they want in it, as long as it doesn't hinder my driving. When I sign a contract, I am bound by its rules. The rental company can add any device to the car to track and enforce these rules. As long as they make sure the penalties are fair, I don't see anything wrong with the concept. In fact, black boxes might help determine the cause of serious accidents.

    People who disagree can use public transportation. Hopefully, mass transit will get a much needed boost because of people who are unwilling to be tracked.

    --
    All your favorite sites in one place!
    1. Re:It is their vehicle... by uberdave · · Score: 1

      Public transit is only available in cities. For small towns and rural areas, a vehicle is a necessity. (Unless you like lugging ten bags of groceries six miles in the hot sun and hoping to get home before the ice cream melts.)

      Besides, you may already have one of these things in your car, whether you agreed to it, or not.

    2. Re:It is their vehicle... by stoolpigeon · · Score: 3, Interesting

      You've been modded as a troll but you have a valid opinion.

      I agree anyway.

      I really have not seen a single post that validates objecting to having something like this in your car. In fact a lot of the arguments against it are really for it in my mind.

      Someone said "It violates the 5th amendment- your own car can testify against you"

      Ignoring how really wrong that statment is legally- the flipside is what I like about these systems. In the case of an accident we can have FACTS as opposed to conjecture.

      Some have said this wont stop accidents or save lives. (I disagree but it doesn't matter.) That's not the point. The point is knowing what happened- so that blame is not put upon the wrong person.

      What valid activity or freedom could be hindered by this? I would like to hear some rational scenarios where this kind of thing could limit your 'rights'.

      .

      --
      It's hard to believe that's how Micronians are made. Why don't we see it right now by having you both kiss one another?
    3. Re:It is their vehicle... by gd23ka · · Score: 1

      It's none of the rental company's business where I went with their car. How long the car was parked where. That I drove on side roads. That I had to brake hard to miss that chicken. That I was speeding. That I sometimes drive with my windows open. That I picked up two hitchhikers. That I set the airconditioning to 82F. Which radio stations I listened to. That I brought my own CDs and what was on them. That I used the wide-beams every so often...

    4. Re:It is their vehicle... by teetam · · Score: 0, Offtopic

      Thanks. I am a troll, but you agree with me and you have a positive score of 2 (for now)! Strange indeed are the ways of /. moderation.

      --
      All your favorite sites in one place!
    5. Re:It is their vehicle... by teetam · · Score: 1

      I assume that if you lent your car to complete strangers, who agree in a written contract not to speed, not to (...) etc., you wouldn't want to find out if they are indeed complying with those rules?

      --
      All your favorite sites in one place!
    6. Re:It is their vehicle... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      As long as they make sure the penalties are fair, ....

      Do some reading into the original case. It'll keep you from making dumb-shit assumptions like this.

    7. Re:It is their vehicle... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      let`s use a chip ID implant... you say it`s your body and you don`t want it but the gov. says it well help track and trace criminals, locate kidnapped children,and fight the war on terrorist. the banks need it to identify you, and it will make a cashless society to help the war on drugs and crime... your attitude is just helping all this to become a reality. so someone asks "why didn`t anyone warn us?" after it`s too late...

    8. Re:It is their vehicle... by MoneyT · · Score: 2

      I can give you a fairly rational and perfectly plausible senario. Roughly 90% of all drivers drive slightly above the speed limit, i.e. go out onto the highway, drive 65 and see how many cars pass you by. Now, strictly speaking this is entirely ilegal, but the cops don't seem to bug you, in fact, it's often recomended to stick with the average flow of trafic.

      Now, imagine every time your car goes into the shop for a tune up, all the speed data is downloaded and all the GPS information is downloaded. Then your insurance company runs a check to see how often you were over the speed limit of the area you were driving in. If you do so on a semi regular basis, your premiums go up.

      Sounds crazy, but then again so do speed traps (limmit is 55 at the top of a hill, 45 at the bottom, cop sits at the bottom and pegs you for doin 55 in a 45 zone) , but they do those too

      --
      T Money
      World Domination with a plastic spoon since 1984
    9. Re:It is their vehicle... by SN74S181 · · Score: 1

      Then your insurance company runs a check to see how often you were over the speed limit of the area you were driving in. If you do so on a semi regular basis, your premiums go up.

      Insurance companies base their rates on actuarial data. They would notice that every policy holder was driving above the limit as you describe. No adjustment would be made to your rate.

    10. Re:It is their vehicle... by rnturn · · Score: 2
      ``you may already have one of these things in your car, whether you agreed to it, or not''
      [emph. mine]

      Whupp, whupp, whupp!

      Take cover! Here come the black helicopters!

      --
      CUR ALLOC 20195.....5804M
    11. Re:It is their vehicle... by FFFish · · Score: 2

      Now, imagine ... all the speed data is downloaded and ... your premiums go up.

      Imagine. People will start doing the friggin' speed limit. Sounds mighty good to me.

      --

      --
      Don't like it? Respond with words, not karma.
    12. Re:It is their vehicle... by gvonk · · Score: 3, Funny

      Imagine. People will start doing the friggin' speed limit. Sounds mighty good to me.

      So you were that jackass going 55 in the left lane the whole way back from Florida last week. Thanks a lot, idiot!

      Anyway, I see any [non-far-left] lane as "go as slow as you want" and the left lane as "go faster than the car behind you but other than that as slow as you want."

      You clearly see it as "Drive 55 miles per hour even though the speed limits in the U.S. are set, on average, 15% lower than the optimum safe speed for the road.

      --


      El Karma: excelente(principalmente la suma de moderación hecha a los comentarios de los usuarios)
    13. Re:It is their vehicle... by Perdo · · Score: 2

      unwilling to be "tracked"

      Like on the subway "train"

      or Bart "train"

      or euro-"rail" ...

      You meant that as a pun didn't you?

      Yeah, keep all the paranoid freaks away from me. Make the lowly cattle use mass transit like "planes" or "cruise ships" or "elevators".

      I'll be driving accross the Pacific.

      --

      If voting were effective, it would be illegal by now.

    14. Re:It is their vehicle... by shepd · · Score: 1

      >People will start doing the friggin' speed limit. Sounds mighty good to me.

      Might I reccomend a driver safety course?

      You'll find all the major driver safety courses don't just suggest, but require you to drive at the same speed as everyone in your lane.

      Not to do so is extremely unsafe, and after coming up to idiots sunday driving in the country at nearly twice their rate of speed, I completely agree. I'd rather meet someone blowing a red light than somone who thinks they need to do the speed limit all the time.

      --
      If you could be told what you can see or read, then it follows that you could be told what to say or think - BoC
    15. Re:It is their vehicle... by shepd · · Score: 3, Insightful

      >As long as they make sure the penalties are fair, I don't see anything wrong with the concept.

      Neither do I (to a certain degree), but I think a rider needs to be tacked onto that.

      If you are going to charge a large penalty (over, say, $50) you should verbally and visually (as in a BIG RED SIGN IN ALL CAPS) warn the renter of just how much trouble they could be in.

      I know you should read all of a contract, but in reality, we don't have time to read all of them, and we just assume that if a company has such an egregious policy that they'd let us know the "nice" way. (I mean, do you really want to be sued over your policy? Its just that much more airtight when you let the person know verbally as well as in the contract).

      --
      If you could be told what you can see or read, then it follows that you could be told what to say or think - BoC
    16. Re:It is their vehicle... by Migrant+Programmer · · Score: 1

      Not to do so is extremely unsafe, and after coming up to idiots sunday driving in the country at nearly twice their rate of speed, I completely agree.

      I don't know about the USA, but in Canada, driving at twice the speed limit is a federal offense (dangerous driving).

      Driving at the speed limit (in good weather conditions, in the driving lane) is not unsafe; driving slower can be unsafe if it impedes the flow of traffic.

      Also, the parent poster suggests, "People will start doing the friggin' speed limit." If everyone else now does the speed limit, your suggestion/requirement will keep you at the speed limit too.

    17. Re:It is their vehicle... by SDF-7 · · Score: 1

      There's just one flaw in this argument.

      Car A is happily driving the speed limit.
      Car B zooms up behind A going 2X A's speed.

      In your scenario, A now speeds up to B's speed to make B feel all warm and fuzzy (of course, the twits who would go 2x the speed limit on a WINDING COUNTY ROAD where someone would be Sunday driving are also likely to have some psychotic reaction just because they see a bumper instead of open road... but we won't go into that).

      C now zooms up behind B (and therefore A) going 1.5 times the NEW speed (because C is a complete moron or high or something). Should B and A both speed up now? Where does it end? When A flies off the curve up ahead into flaming death?When they redline their engines and blow a few seals (not like Kip Adotta)?

      Oh... B and A should stop at the speed they feel they can handle and the road is good for?

      That's what A was doing in the first place.

      In other words, stop wanting everyone to go your speed and let them go their own.

      This message firmly dedicated to the two morons who passed me on a double yellow, winding mountain road with crappy visibility because I was only going 52 in a 45 -- and they felt like going 70.

    18. Re:It is their vehicle... by FFFish · · Score: 1, Flamebait

      Do you think I give a good goddamn how *YOU* see the lane assignments. The *LAW*, no matter how asinine it is, defines the speed limits.

      Want the speed to be faster? Lobby to have it changed. In the meantime, get the fuck off my ass end, before I snap and slam on the brakes, putting *you* at fault for a rear-end collision. I've done it before, and I'll do it again.

      Refer to my next post for more detail.

      --

      --
      Don't like it? Respond with words, not karma.
    19. Re:It is their vehicle... by FFFish · · Score: 1, Flamebait

      Look, smeg-for-brains, if people start doing the speed limit, everyone *will* be driving the same speed.

      Problem fucking solved. We'll all be a whole helluva lot safer when assholes like you, driving twice the speed limit on country roads, are taken off the road because the insurance companies have discovered that you're a morbidly unsafe driver.

      You think the speed limit is too low? Then lobby to have it changed.

      --

      --
      Don't like it? Respond with words, not karma.
    20. Re:It is their vehicle... by platipusrc · · Score: 1

      actually if you consider signs to be law (or maybe a lawful suggestion? ;)), and you're going much slower than someone on a multi-lane road in the left lane, you're breaking the law as most split highways have signs that say something to the effect of "slower traffic keep right" Besides...100% blame likely isn't going to be assigned to the person behind you if there are 8 cars that had to stop that are witnesses that you went from 80 to 35 in a couple of seconds.

      --
      And the muscular cyborg German dudes dance with sexy French Canadians
    21. Re:It is their vehicle... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Why doesn't everyone just wear cameras that transmit where we are and what we're doing at all times? Then we'll always know what happened -so the blame is not put upon the wrong person.

    22. Re:It is their vehicle... by shepd · · Score: 1

      >I don't know about the USA, but in Canada, driving at twice the speed limit is a federal offense (dangerous driving).

      Yo.

      Maybe its just my province (Ontario) that understands what a Sunday Driver is. It seems to me I've heard it on serveral American and Canadian TV shows though.

      A Sunday Driver is usually doing an unsafe and unacceptably slower amount than the posted limit (like going 10 km/h in an 80 zone).

      Oh well... HTH.

      --
      If you could be told what you can see or read, then it follows that you could be told what to say or think - BoC
    23. Re:It is their vehicle... by Hoi+Polloi · · Score: 2

      "People who disagree can use public transportation."

      REALLY!? Please let me know when there is regular public transportation from rural areas to cities and suburbs. Thanks for the elitist news flash!

      --
      It is by the juice of the coffee bean that thoughts acquire speed, the teeth acquire stains. The stains become a warning
    24. Re:It is their vehicle... by FFFish · · Score: 2

      WhoTF said anything about driving *less* than the speed limit?

      As for the rear-ending blame: here in BC, blame will be assigned to the person who smacks the person in front. It's a clear case of follow-too-close: you are *always* to have sufficient stopping distance between you and the car in front of you.

      --

      --
      Don't like it? Respond with words, not karma.
    25. Re:It is their vehicle... by Migrant+Programmer · · Score: 1

      But what does that have to do with driving the speed limit? That's what we were talking about, right?

      I agree that going too slow is unsafe, and illegal if it impedes traffic.

    26. Re:It is their vehicle... by Grab · · Score: 2

      If it's a necessity, you have the option to buy the vehicle. In which case you're at liberty to alter the car in any way you like, so long as it still passes any State-mandated roadworthyness tests. You may have to choose between using one of these and having cheaper insurance, just as you may have to choose between a store tracking what you buy and getting cheaper groceries. So just decide what matters to you.

      And as the original poster said, a rental company has the right to put whatever they want into their cars. You have the right to refuse to hire the car if it's got a tracker in it and go elsewhere to hire a car, so again, just decide what matters to you.

      Grab.

    27. Re:It is their vehicle... by Grab · · Score: 2

      The only way you could avoid blame in a rear-end collision is if someone pulls across in front of you and brakes, without giving you any chance to take avoiding action. That's it.

      If it's a straight road and neither of you has changed lanes, a rear-end is ALWAYS (no arguments, no mitigating cases, no nothing) the fault of the person behind. A driver may have to do an emergency stop at any time (child runs out, tire bursts, cambelt snaps), and you have to be ready for that to happen to the driver in front. If you're not, you're driving too close. So the driver in front could slam the brakes on for no better reason than that he felt like it, and you have no comeback.

      The guy in front could be done for dangerous driving if he admitted he did it deliberately to cause an accident, but if he can give even a halfway believable excuse (even if he only says he braked to avoid running over a rabbit) then you're screwed.

      Grab.

    28. Re:It is their vehicle... by Grab · · Score: 2

      It's none of the rental company's business that you were speeding. That you knocked 5000 miles of life off the tires by peeling rubber every time you moved. That you tripped the ABS every time you braked, so every braking event is an emergency stop. That you killed the engine by putting it into first gear and driving a hundred miles with the engine screaming at you. That you drove for a day with the parking brake half-engaged, and the rear brake drums now need replacing. That you came back all wide-eyed and innocent and said "What, me?! I never!"

      When you go through all the things that a bad driver could do to a rental car and still bring it back superficially intact (I'm not including major visible damage here), you almost wonder how rental companies survive. I swear, I'm just surprised it's taken this long for it to be a regular thing.

      Grab.

    29. Re:It is their vehicle... by shepd · · Score: 1

      There are many cases where driving at, below, and above the speed limit are safest, even during perfect weather.

      Let me stick to country roads, since that's what I drive on mostly.

      Driving below the speed limit is safest when you're in an area with mennonites, farm vehicles, animal crossings, or hidden intersectionts. An experienced driver knows where these are and slows down accordingly.

      Driving at the speed limit is called for in most other stretches of road.

      Driving above the speed limit is called for during passing, when someone is riding your bumper and their passing would put you in jeopardy, or on roads without trees, people, intersections or anyrthing else in perfect weather (think plains). Also driving above the speed limit is necessary when there's true emergencies. I could think of more, but I'm tired. :-)

      At least that's my reasoning as to how I prefer to drive. You could differ..

      --
      If you could be told what you can see or read, then it follows that you could be told what to say or think - BoC
    30. Re:It is their vehicle... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "People who disagree can use public transportation. Hopefully, mass transit will get a much needed boost because of people who are unwilling to be tracked. "

      uh, yeah, using their rfid bus pass I'm sure.
      (or their rfid quarters)

    31. Re:It is their vehicle... by Kenneth · · Score: 2

      The guy in front could be done for dangerous driving if he admitted he did it deliberately to cause an accident, but if he can give even a halfway believable excuse (even if he only says he braked to avoid running over a rabbit) then you're screwed.

      In my neck of the woods, people behind are at 100% fault even if the person in front (when stopped at an intersection for instance) throws the car in reverse and floors it. I've known a number of people who have had this happen. The cop just says "Sorry, you're SOL it's the law. If you don't like it get it changed." So far no one has.

      --
      There is a civil war coming in the United States. Remember which side has most of the guns
  19. Not that new by wraithgar · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I swear this isn't a brand-spanking-new thing.
    I remember seeing a "consumer report" on 20/20 (or a similar newsprogram) about this device being put in new cars without the knowledge of the buyers. It was also illegal to remove it.
    Anyone have any better memory than I and can provide more detail?

    1. Re:Not that new by wraithgar · · Score: 1

      Ok, so google is once again my friend
      http://detnews.com/2001/editorial/0112/04/a13-3566 44.htm

    2. Re:Not that new by Raul654 · · Score: 2

      I saw that. IIRC, A laywer got on in his brand-new luxury car. He was in an accident (not his fault, I believe) That's when he finds out that they he had one of these, he calls the maker, who claims they were using it to gather information to improve the car. He sues them, claiming he had not given them permission, and therefore they were violating his rights.

      --


      To make laws that man cannot, and will not obey, serves to bring all law into contempt.
      --E.C. Stanton
    3. Re:Not that new by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Wow, you mean just like putting a mod chip in my PS2?

    4. Re:Not that new by ROBOKATZ · · Score: 1

      Do you happen to remember what this luxury car was, or who made it?

    5. Re:Not that new by ROBOKATZ · · Score: 1
      Maybe this?

      Quote:

      "I'm gonna tell our people that every time they have probable cause to believe that a crime occurred, and we're doing accident reconstruction, to see if there's a box, and see if we can use it to buttress our findings," said Montgomery County District Attorney Bruce Castor.
    6. Re:Not that new by fishbowl · · Score: 2

      >He sues them, claiming he had not given them
      >permission, and therefore they were violating
      >his rights.

      Carmaker won, and he's bankrupt now because of legal expenses??? Or what????

      --
      -fb Everything not expressly forbidden is now mandatory.
  20. What's the problem? by FatRatBastard · · Score: 4, Interesting

    With the "Last 5 second" black box I don't see much of a threat to privacy. It isn't like they're tracking where you're going or keeping tabs of any driving habits, and its certainly not reporting anything back to anyone without actual physical contact. Since you own the car (and thus the black box) I would assume that if anyone did want to get ahold of it against your will they would have to get a court order.

    Frankly I'd like to have one of these babies in my car. It would remove a lot of uncertainty around what caused an accident: ("As you can see Judge, I was indeed stopped and my brake lights were working when the idiot rear ended me")

    1. Re:What's the problem? by ScottForbes · · Score: 1
      With the "Last 5 second" black box I don't see much of a threat to privacy.

      How about a threat to your Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination? Taken to its logical conclusion, this box would allow your car to testify against you in court.

    2. Re:What's the problem? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      They can already tell if your brake lights were on when you were hit. Their filaments will be distended if they were at operating temperature at the time of impact.

    3. Re:What's the problem? by uberdave · · Score: 1

      Hmmm...
      23:13:05 Please report the last 5 seconds - Store
      23:13:10 Please report the last 5 seconds - Store
      23:13:15 Please report the last 5 seconds - Store
      23:13:20 Please report the last 5 seconds - Store
      23:13:25 Please report the last 5 seconds - Store
      23:13:30 Please report the last 5 seconds - Store
      23:13:35 Please report the last 5 seconds - Store
      Where does the tough part come in?

    4. Re:What's the problem? by twitter · · Score: 3, Flamebait
      I would assume that if anyone did want to get ahold of it against your will they would have to get a court order.

      If these boxes become mandatory, and they will, you will not be allowed to withhold the evidence anymore than you can keep the police from examining the rest of your vehicle.

      Frankly I'd like to have one of these babies in my car. It would remove a lot of uncertainty around what caused an accident: ("As you can see Judge, I was indeed stopped and my brake lights were working when the idiot rear ended me")

      If the device were reliable, that might be right. But you can't read the box yourself so you can never verify it, can you? In fact, you have no idea what the evil little thing is collecting or how accurate it is, do you? When you get a letter from your insurace company informing you that your risk category has been changed how will you be able to defend yourself? You can't, you will simply suck it up and pay.

      Nice talking to you again, little rodent. You are always so wrong headed.

      --

      Friends don't help friends install M$ junk.

    5. Re:What's the problem? by supabeast! · · Score: 2

      The problem is the eventuality of these becoming mandatory (As they already are on many General Motors verhicles.). Having it around voluntarily is fine, as long as we make sure to keep it that way. It becomes a problem when a car company like GM puts it into the car with no way to deactive or remove it and keep the car running, or worse, when the government mandates all American cars containing a tattletale device such as this one.

    6. Re:What's the problem? by FatRatBastard · · Score: 2

      Wrong. How would the black box be any different than keeping a journal? As I said before, the car is your property (just like the journal) and is protected via the same rights.

    7. Re:What's the problem? by FatRatBastard · · Score: 1

      Where does the tough part come in?

      And how does this new black box change legal precedent that allows someone snoop on your property against your concent? Is the black box broadcasting to GM headquarters? Can I ping your blackbox from my internet connection? What rights would the police have to check your black box that is different than their right to arbitrarily read any private journal you keep?

    8. Re:What's the problem? by stoolpigeon · · Score: 1

      You aren't answering the question.

      What is the problem w/having one in your car?

      .

      --
      It's hard to believe that's how Micronians are made. Why don't we see it right now by having you both kiss one another?
    9. Re:What's the problem? by FatRatBastard · · Score: 2

      If these boxes become mandatory, and they will, you will not be allowed to withhold the evidence anymore than you can keep the police from examining the rest of your vehicle.

      Legally, I have a hard time believing this, since the data on this is not "obvious" and "out in the open," in much the same way a cop can't go through your underware drawer even if he has a warrent to search your house for a stolen TV. Of course, IANAL and would like to actually hear someone with a legal background's thoughts.

      IIf the device were reliable, that might be right. But you can't read the box yourself so you can never verify it, can you? In fact, you have no idea what the evil little thing is collecting or how accurate it is, do you? When you get a letter from your insurace company informing you that your risk category has been changed how will you be able to defend yourself? You can't, you will simply suck it up and pay.

      Nor do I know *exactly* how most of the stuff I own works. All kinds of nasty stuff could be going on in my pinball machine (maybe Gottlieb is tracking my every multiball). Now, if something legal takes place that involves the black box then its accuracy is going to become central in a court case (remember Simpson and DNA). If its shown to be inaccurate then kiss it goodbye as evidence.

      And just how is the insurance company going to raise my rates? Are they going to sneak into my garage each and every night and download the data? Uh, NO. The only way they see the blackbox is after an accident. But, since I'd just been in an accident they're already raising my rates, which is exactly the same thing to do right now. I would argue that it just may help keep your rates down (since there's more proof over who's at fault), but these are insureance companies afterall. That said, I still fail to see how this black box would change anything for the worse.

    10. Re:What's the problem? by jafac · · Score: 2

      Oh, it will always be voluntary.

      You VOLUNTEER to pay a much higher insurance rate, or you VOLUNTEER to have the black box. It's that simple.

      As for the mandatory car insurance laws, they use the same logic. Either you VOLUNTEER to get car insurance, or you VOLUNTEER to not drive.

      I think they used the same logic in the Soviet Union. Either you VOLUNTEER to become a party member, or you VOLUNTEER to relocate to Siberia. . .

      --

      These are my friends, See how they glisten. See this one shine, how he smiles in the light.
    11. Re:What's the problem? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      Since you own the car (and thus the black box) I would assume that if anyone did want to get ahold of it against your will they would have to get a court order.

      They can get a court order faster than you can re-type that sentence. In any case, it'll become a standard thing, either law or clause in insurance, that that cops or your insurance get immediate, unquestioned access to the box. It'll be included in the fucking shrinkwrap license.

    12. Re:What's the problem? by FatRatBastard · · Score: 1

      I VOLUNTEER to pay for antilock breaks or I VOLUNTEER to pay a higher premium.

      I VOLUNTEER to own a non sports car or I VOLUNTEER to pay a higher premium.

      I VOLUNTEER to live closer to my place of employment or I VOLUNTEER to pay a higher premium.

      God, you're right. This is straight out of Stallinist Russia. Let's rise up and overthrow the tyranny that forces us Sports car driving, non-anti lock brake buying, long commuting bastard to pay more insurance...

    13. Re:What's the problem? by twitter · · Score: 2
      Nor do I know *exactly* how most of the stuff I own works.

      That's too bad. At least you might trust one or two of the companies you buy things from. I don't trust a company that puts in extras like this, without telling me. You know that you have to pay for the things you buy.

      how is the insurance company going to raise my rates? Are they going to sneak into my garage each and every night and download the data?

      They will get it at break tag inspections, oil changes or what not. Insurance companies will pay for the data untill it's mandatory, then they will just put in a cell phone and make you pay for that too. More power to you if you never have to take your car to someone else's garage.

      I'm hoping my next job is in bike riding distance, like my last one. Cars just suck more and more. Riding my bike to my office at the local university was so much more relaxing than my current dodge of road kill and pickup trucks.

      --

      Friends don't help friends install M$ junk.

    14. Re:What's the problem? by Grail · · Score: 1

      I would fully support a black back installed in my car - it would save me the cost of installing it myself! I'm intending to build a "black box" that tracks telemetry from the engine, position from GPS, and eventually movies from cameras on the front and rear of the vehicle.

      However, the data collected will deteriorate in resolution as you go further into the "past", and it will be stored on a stegfs file system that only I (the owner) have the keys to. Movies would be stored at high resolution, high frame rate for the last 5-30 seconds, then resolution and frame rate would be dropped to allow longer records to be kept. Telemetry data would be stored at high resolution (samples/second), then eventually averaged out (5 second samples).

      When commercially deployed black boxes become compulsory, I'd want to make sure that:
      • The data collected cannot be used to prosecute you (in the USA, I think that's the 5th amendment - you don't have to answer questions that may incriminate you)
      • The court cannot order the release of the information to anyone

      The only purpose of installing the black box would be to give you real-time feedback about the lack of safety in your driving habits, and to give you (the owner/user) the ability to improve your safety and efficiency as a driver. The box will be there for my purposes, not for the abuse of the legal system or potential complainants.

      Remember, when passing new laws don't look at what good the law will achieve if used correctly - rather, look at what evil the law will achieve if abused.

    15. Re:What's the problem? by sigwinch · · Score: 2
      How would the black box be any different than keeping a journal? As I said before, the car is your property (just like the journal) and is protected via the same rights.
      Journals and diaries can -- and have -- been subpoened. The Fourth Amendment requires only that a lawful warrant be obtained first. The Fifth Amendment restrictions on self-incrimination only apply to *you* personally, not records that are stored outside your body on inanimate objects.
      --

      --
      Kuro5hin.org: where the good times never end. ;-)

    16. Re:What's the problem? by FatRatBastard · · Score: 2, Insightful

      That's too bad. At least you might trust one or two of the companies you buy things from. I don't trust a company that puts in extras like this, without telling me. You know that you have to pay for the things you buy.

      No, that's pretty normal. I don't know too many people who disassemble each and every product they purchase (including grinding down each and every IC so they can visually inspect each circuit to double check it only does wha the spec sheet says it does). We all make assumptions about things we buy.

      They will get it at break tag inspections, oil changes or what not. Insurance companies will pay for the data untill it's mandatory, then they will just put in a cell phone and make you pay for that too. More power to you if you never have to take your car to someone else's garage.

      I have a very hard time believing that unauthorized collection of the boxes data would be legal (and the Harris Technical website seems to back this up, re: Brady vs Maryland) and an equally hard time believing that it would be found constitutional if a law was passed making it legal.

      I'm hoping my next job is in bike riding distance, like my last one. Cars just suck more and more. Riding my bike to my office at the local university was so much more relaxing than my current dodge of road kill and pickup trucks.

      Wow, something we agree on.

    17. Re:What's the problem? by FatRatBastard · · Score: 1

      *The data collected cannot be used to prosecute you (in the USA, I think that's the 5th amendment - you don't have to answer questions that may incriminate you)
      * The court cannot order the release of the information to anyone


      Agreed. The only niggle point would be the second. Anything admitted to the court record becomes public record. But I would want the court to protect as much data as humanly possible.

    18. Re:What's the problem? by slugo3 · · Score: 1

      seems to me that it wouldnt be that hard to put a little wireless transmitter in there. then they wouldnt have to sneak into your garage every night.

    19. Re:What's the problem? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Just wait until the next release. They will monitor you all the time. (See story I submited a few days ago, obviously not news worthy back then.)

    20. Re:What's the problem? by Billly+Gates · · Score: 2
      "It isn't like they're tracking where you're going or keeping tabs of any driving habits, and its certainly not reporting anything back to anyone without actual physical contact"

      Not true. I saw a special on pbs a few weeks ago on them. Basically it records everything you do no matter how insignificant and stores it on a internal hard drive. There is also a program that comes with it for anyone with a pc to track down what the driver has done. The device not only records things like speeding but its extremely sensitive and records stupid stuff like hiting the accelerator too quickly or hiting the breaks 500 feet before the car actually stops which is pretty normal but the machine registers this as reckless driving. Basically unless you drive like a 70 year old man, this device will beep constantly and over a month of time will show alot of bad data. I fear the insurance companies then maybe the police department will jump on this. Not only for teenagers but also adults. In California certian insurance companies will not register a teenager without one of these devices. My fear is in 20 years everyone will drive like grandma's so they can keep they insurance rates low and get virtual tickets.

    21. Re:What's the problem? by ScottForbes · · Score: 1
      Wrong. How would the black box be any different than keeping a journal? As I said before, the car is your property (just like the journal) and is protected via the same rights.

      You might want to check with former Senator Bob Packwood or Unabomber Ted Kaczynski before you boldly state that the U.S. legal system will respect the privacy of your journals. Today the court system barely even recognizes your right to keep private records; your odds of keeping private the data collected by a "flight recorder" attached to your car are, precisely, zero.

      Your Fourth and Fifth Amendment rights have been withering away for almost a century. If they were enforced as the Founders intended, it would be impossible for the IRS to collect income tax; the government's search and seizure powers were reinforced in every major 20th century court decision on the subject, and by now your right not to hand over information to the government is barely even recognized, much less enforced by the legal system.

      Keeping a black box would not be any different than keeping a journal; your error is to believe that your journal is somehow protected. It's okay if you want to believe that -- but I wouldn't count on it, and I certainly wouldn't expect a U.S. court in this day and age to acknowledge my right to withhold the data recorded by a "black box" on my car.

    22. Re:What's the problem? by ceejayoz · · Score: 2

      Your car already does testify against you in court. The police will look at skid marks, take photos of the damage to the car, and lots of other bits of information about the accident that can be gleaned from the accident site. If the black box infringes on your Fifth Amendment rights, then so does the whole car already.

      Also - if the FBI investigates a hacker, they can use your computer as evidence. That's no different than this.

      In short, you're a dumbass troll.

    23. Re:What's the problem? by ceejayoz · · Score: 2

      The Fifth Amendment gives you the right to not incriminating yourself. That doesn't apply to the black boxes - they're physical evidence, not your testimony.

      If your statement was true about the Fifth Amendment, semen samples left by rapists would be "self incriminatory" and illegal. But they're not.

    24. Re:What's the problem? by FatRatBastard · · Score: 1

      I was talking about the black boxes (the 5 second one) not the Kid Black Box. Those do seem to be pretty nasty, but those are aftermarket additions that the owner chooses to install.

    25. Re:What's the problem? by TGK · · Score: 2

      Your car is legaly a public place, which is why cops have the right to seize contraband found in "plain sight" in your car.

      The blackbox records what your car does on public roads. The box is known to exist, so a search is not necessary. The court knows you have it and you therefore can not plead its non-existance.

      Once the prosecution proves that the box contains information vital to the case (which it will, because it will) your failure to produce the box will be seen as an obstruction of justice (just ask Nixon).

      One last point. Most insurance companies are real assholes about this. It's not "have you been found at fault in an accident" it's "have you been in an accident." I was in a collision in which I was -=not=- found to be at fault. Nonetheless my rates got jacked. Sucked to be me.

      All in all a black box like this would serve only to save points on your licence. It would save insurance companies some money, but in the balance not much (figuring that the amount awarded eroniously is a fair constant percent from one insurance co to the next).

      So really... while this is curious and all. I don't imagine that insurance companies will care that much. What will be of interest however, is car companies seeing this as good.

      "No senator, there is nothing wrong with our design, in all 10 of those accidents the driver failed to apply the brakes and did not have his seat belt fastened."

      --
      Killfile(TGK)
      No trees were killed in the creation of this post. However, many electrons were inconvenienced.
    26. Re:What's the problem? by Maeryk · · Score: 2

      How about a threat to your Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination? Taken to its logical conclusion, this box would allow your car to testify against you in court.

      Uhh.. how bout you learn to drive, and then dont have to worry about this? Accidents are called accidents. Usually they lead to fender benders, or your car lightly wrapped around a tree/pole/mailbox/cow.

      In any case, if you are A) Traveling fast enough to kill AND B) Do Something Stupid (tm), then your car deserves to testify against you in court.

      Sorry.. I have a real problem with "It could incriminate me if im guilty!" as a defense against something's existance.

      Put another way, my best friend, and the best man at my wedding was killed 11 days after said wedding, by some kid in a minivan who crossed the center line in a Mazda mini-van, spun a pickup out of the way with a mid-bed hit, and proceeded to total a late 70s 2 door chevy tank. I mean total to the point where the top of the drivers door was somewhere in the middle of the dashboard.

      His excuse? "I dont know.. I must have blacked out". Because of how the law works, toxicology results could not be released on the killer, and charges couldnt be filed after a short while. Its nasty. But if the car had the box in it, it could tell us what happened.. whether he hit the brakes or not. If he was asleep or not..

      Im all in favor of it.

      Word of advice, which most of you probably wont need.. if you arent ABSOLUTELY sure you can make it wherever you are going, for whatever reason, call a cab or spend the night. Life is more important than being on time.

      maeryk

      --
      Feminine Protection? What is that? A chartreuse flame thrower?
    27. Re:What's the problem? by Ig0r · · Score: 1

      I agree about your other parts, but the "unauthorized collection" wouldn't be unauthorized if the 'black box', or its interface software, were given to the owner of the car under a license, and thus still actually owned by the manufacturer.
      This is the same way that DVD players and game consoles are 'sold'.

      --
      Soma: because a gramme is better than a damn.
    28. Re:What's the problem? by g()()ber · · Score: 1

      What I love is the forcing of us people who can't afford a new car with anti-lock brakes (not that they help any) to VOLUNTEER to pay higher rates and the forcing of us who can't afford the rent in the city and have to live out in the boondocks to VOLUNTEER to pay higher rates.

      Side note: I guess when I go looking for a new (used) car, not only won't I be able to find one without power steering, power door locks, power windows, power adjustable heated seats, and 374 cupholders, I won't be able to get one without breaking distance lengthening ABS brakes, child killing air bags, and expensive black boxes that won't do any good. Anyone else wish the New Beetle was more like the old one?

      --
      I am so one thousand three hundred and thirty seven!
    29. Re:What's the problem? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "Where does the tough part come in? "

      Making me believe that the government will spend billions to store everyone's driving habits so they can do... something... to a nobody dumbass like you. LOL!

      That's the common factor to all these conspiracy nuts: the astounding ego to think that the government give 1/1000 of a rat turd about their sorry asses and nothing lives.

    30. Re:What's the problem? by silverhalide · · Score: 1
      If these boxes become mandatory, and they will, you will not be allowed to withhold the evidence anymore than you can keep the police from examining the rest of your vehicle.

      What keeps cops from examining skid marks in a collision? What about the broken glass found 100 feet away from your car? Clues are clues, the more, the better for everyone. Face it, the only time you wouldn't want this information is if you were at fault. I dunno about you, but I'm tired of cheaters screwing this system over. Not only will this greatly expediate many accident investigations, it will ultimately (idealistically speaking) save everyone a little money.

      If the device were reliable, that might be right. But you can't read the box yourself so you can never verify it, can you? In fact, you have no idea what the evil little thing is collecting or how accurate it is, do you? When you get a letter from your insurace company informing you that your risk category has been changed how will you be able to defend yourself? You can't, you will simply suck it up and pay.

      Having worked for two years on programming automotive networking systems for hybrid vehicles, I would trust an automotive computer's networking and information a thousand times over any PC or Linux box. The information that is available to be logged is pulled directly from the same information used by the vehicle's various computers (ABS system, Engine controller, even your damn radio is on that network). The accuracy of these signals is much higher than what shows up on your dashboard (which is another device on the network nowadays and displays the same information). If a sensor is broken, that is known immediately an error code is stored in memory. Things such as Engine RPM are accurate down to the single RPM and vehicle speed to at least the tenth of a mile an hour (more if you're talking about your anti-lock brake system). Face it, if this information was bad, you would know it because your car would be going haywire.

      Scary enough, GM actually has access to your vehicle's systems through the built-in cell phones on vehicles equipped with the OnStar system. I believe the safeguard is that the call has to be initiated by the vehicle (this is only a guess, I'm not sure). I'm not sure what level they can access the devices on the network, but I know it's definitely possible because they can remotely unlock your doors, which can't be done without communicating on the vehicle's network. So watch out! Legally of course this would be a nightmare for GM, so it's probably nothing to worry about. If you're really paranoid, you could unplug the antenna going to the box that's usually located deep in the dash.

    31. Re:What's the problem? by rockhome · · Score: 1

      True all of that.

      What's this thing about auto insurance?
      I have found the best auto insurance plan on the face of the earth: none!

      I live in a city with a wonderful public transportation system, with thoughfully laid out streets and conviently placed services. There are very few times that I actually need a car. After having gotten rid of my car in October, I have only saved money, occaisionally renting a car when needed but getting around by train, bus, bicycle, and foot.

      If more people in urban areas would adopt this, all of this nonsense about your auto's telemetry and who is watching would be moot.

      What's a brake light?

    32. Re:What's the problem? by uberdave · · Score: 1

      I must have phrased something incorrectly. I am not a conspiracy nut. I agree with you that the government has neither the funds, nor the inclination to gather driving stats at this level.

      The original poster said With the "Last 5 second" black box I don't see much of a threat to privacy.

      If the on board computer in a car is only storing the last 5 seconds of statistics in its black box (collision data recorder), and you are adding a device to read and report that data (so you can keep an eye on your teens) how difficult would it be for that device to periodically query the on-board computer and log the results? Answer: ridiculously easy. In fact, it would have to do that in order to work.

      Teen: "The 'puter only records the last five seconds. I'm cool 'cause I slow down by the time I get to my street!"
      Parent: "I've installed SafeForce"
      Teen: "Busted!"

      My point was that you can't have security based on data being temporary when you add a device logging that temporary data.

    33. Re:What's the problem? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Many states have no-fault motor vehicle insurace. That means that everyone is covered for economic damages (eg medical bills), regardless of who caused the accident. Thus, the black boxes, at least in these states, won't dictate legal liability as much as they will get kids grounded.

      However, in many states someone SEVERLY injured in a car accident can sue for economic damages in excess of the no-fault limits, as well as non-economic damages (eg pain and suffering). In those situations a black box would aid in finding liability.

    34. Re:What's the problem? by FatRatBastard · · Score: 1

      What I love is the forcing of us people who can't afford a new car with anti-lock brakes (not that they help any) to VOLUNTEER to pay higher rates and the forcing of us who can't afford the rent in the city and have to live out in the boondocks to VOLUNTEER to pay higher rates.

      So what's the solution? Make everyone pay a flat rate? Grrrrreat. That's all I need. I'll have to subsidize people with awful driving records, people who have expensive cars and/or cars that are thieves favorites, people with multiple DUIs, etc.

      Hell, lets make all insurance that way. I'll have no problem having my rates jacked up so that a fat, smoking pile of blubber and I pay the same month to month.

      Jeeze, at what point did people start demanding that life be hassle/problem free?

    35. Re:What's the problem? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      The blackbox records what your car does on public roads. The box is known to exist, so a search is not necessary. The court knows you have it and you therefore can not plead its non-existance.
      The court also knows you have a trunk and glove compartment. That doesn't mean they have the right to search it without probable cause.
    36. Re:What's the problem? by g()()ber · · Score: 1

      "That tape was shameful. One cop brutalizes a suspect while five others just stand around? What do I pay my taxes for?"

      No. Make people pay based on their driving record. A 40 year old with a few accidents, a speeding ticket every 5 years, and a new car will pay less than a 21 year old who's had a liscense for 5 years and has a perfect record, but a 13 year old car with 215,000 miles and no "safety features".

      --
      I am so one thousand three hundred and thirty seven!
    37. Re:What's the problem? by dafozzee · · Score: 0

      That isnt the point.
      If it can record 5 seconds when "working correctly", what says it couldnt be modified to record for say, 5 months?
      As technologiests we should understand more than anyone that devices dont always have to operate within manufacturer specified parameters.
      That, my friends, is the point.

    38. Re:What's the problem? by FatRatBastard · · Score: 1

      And the driving record *is* a factor of insurance costs, but its not the only significant factor that incurs a cost at an insurance company.

      Two folks both have similar driving records. One drives a $15K escord, the other drives a $150K Ferrari. The $150K car owner carries a greater liability than the $15K since although the odds of an accident are the same (according to their driving records) when something does happen the $150K car is more expensive to replace than the $15K.

      Somewhat the same logic goes with distance to work. The assumption is that most of your driving on a primary car will be to and from work. Thus, the farther away you are, the more chance of an accident happening (not on an individual basis, but on aggregate). Odds are (again, on aggregate) all other things being equal if I drive 1 mile to and from work I'll have a lower chance of being in an accident than if I drive 30 miles to and from work.

      Of course, if I live in a high crime area the chances of my car being stolen, thus the insurance company incurring a cost, is higher than if I live in a low crime area. Again, this has nothing to do with my driving record.

      So while driving record does account for a lot for the cost of your insurance coverage, there are a lot of other factors that make significant differences. I don't think I should pay the same amount of insurance as someone who has the exact same driving record, but owns a Ferrari, lives in a shady area, and drives 60 miles a day to and from work since I'd be covering a lot of his liability with my payment.

    39. Re:What's the problem? by jafac · · Score: 2

      So what's the solution? Make everyone pay a flat rate? Grrrrreat. That's all I need. I'll have to subsidize people with awful driving records, people who have expensive cars and/or cars that are thieves favorites, people with multiple DUIs, etc.

      Hell, lets make all insurance that way. I'll have no problem having my rates jacked up so that a fat, smoking pile of blubber and I pay the same month to month.


      In fact, isn't that what insurance is basically all about? spreading risk? If I never ever ever get into an accident, I'm paying too much insurance, right? No, I don't think that flat-rate insurance is the answer, but I do think that the issue of MANDATORY insurance needs to be revisited. (many US states require you to have insurance). Gee, I wish *I* owned a business that provided a "product" that people were *required* by law to purchase. (Don't give me your argument that people can CHOOSE not to drive, that's bullshit and you know it). If I owned such a business, I could charge whatever I wanted, and use fudged statistics to charge certain groups more money than others. Good work, if you can get it.

      --

      These are my friends, See how they glisten. See this one shine, how he smiles in the light.
    40. Re:What's the problem? by g()()ber · · Score: 1

      "The assumption is that most of your driving on a primary car will be to and from work. Thus, the farther away you are, the more chance of an accident happening (not on an individual basis, but on aggregate). Odds are (again, on aggregate) all other things being equal if I drive 1 mile to and from work I'll have a lower chance of being in an accident than if I drive 30 miles to and from work."

      Here's the problem: getting in an accident is not pure chance. Its not like rolling a die for every mile. A large part of it is based on driver skill and attention. If I've driven 30 miles to work every day for 15 years and have never had an accident doing so, and Joe has driven 1 mile to work every day for 15 years, and has had 2 accidents doing so, who should have the higher rate? Joe. Who has the higher rate? Me.

      --
      I am so one thousand three hundred and thirty seven!
    41. Re:What's the problem? by FatRatBastard · · Score: 2

      That's why I said by aggregate, not for an individual. When you look at the statistics longer commutes corralate with a higher accident rate.

  21. Hooray! by spammeister · · Score: 1

    yes, one more reason to keep fixing my old car instead of buying a new car and paying 3X the insurance for it as well as 4X as much for the payments (300$ a month instead of say 75$ to fix it a month).

    --
    I tried to think of a good sig, and this wasn't it.
    1. Re:Hooray! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I just wonder how long my 1995 car can last. It has 60,000 miles on it now, but I want it to last another 10 years.

    2. Re:Hooray! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      My '87 Ford Bronco just hit 300k Miles a few months ago and is still running strong - with regular maintenance, of course. Do your part and your car will never let you down.

  22. Even more traffic delays from accidents by traused · · Score: 1

    Great, now there will be even longer traffic delays from accidents as the police and rescue workers try to recover the black box from the wreckage before clearing it off the road.

    --
    I dont have a .Sig yet
    1. Re:Even more traffic delays from accidents by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Why does anyone need to remove the BB at the scene instead of at the appraisal shop?

  23. Paranoia is warranted, but Alaska has the solution by RumGunner · · Score: 2

    But I suspect that most people, like the people who live in Alaska, will just stop paying insurance rates.

    Seriously. People in Alaska get into accidents, and then they don't fix their car. Every other car on the road has a big dent in it.

  24. Various Takes by LaughingOrc · · Score: 0

    I myself am a pretty strong advocate of privacy, but I do think that these boxen would prove beneficial if used properly. I would assume the Slashdot community to be slightly more intelligent than the rest of the world as a whole. And making another vague assumption, stupid people are more prone to wreck their cars. So, if anyone is to benefit from the tracking of cars, it would be us, those that are slightly less likely to be the cause of accidents. Take two, one that is sure to come up sooner or later - how long before someone figures out a way to hack their box and input it with signals indicating they never speed, accelerate or decelerate too quickly, or anything else for that matter? The technology itself seems likely to be hacked. Take three, would there be any LEGITIMATE way to make POSITIVE use from data obtained? Not always simply to scold bad drivers or find who is at fault in an accident, but to provide advice to drivers as to how they may improve their driving? Or perhaps seeing how your style of driving correlates to longterm vehicle damage or fuel consumption? All are just thoughts, and hopefully discussion openers.

    --

    - Shadow, the Laughing Orc

    http://bomns.sf.net/

  25. How to remove it? by MongooseCN · · Score: 5, Funny

    After it's installed how hard is it to take out and leave somewhere?

    Johnny pulls in the drive way after coming from a techno drug laden rave fest...

    "Johnny, as your parents we're starting to become concerned about you..."

    "W..What do you mean?"

    "Well according to our black box, you've been spending 7 hours a night at the movies."

    "Oh, uh.. right. Ya, uh.. I admit it, I'm a movie junkie."

    1. Re:How to remove it? by Skyshadow · · Score: 3, Funny
      Remove it?

      Step 1: Unscrew cover to expose circuit board.
      Step 2: Pop hood.
      Step 3: Retrieve jumper cables from trunk (you are in the Midwest, right?)
      Step 4: Connect jumper cables to battery.
      Step 5: Apply cables to circuit board.
      Step 6: Return items to original position.
      Step 7: Feign ignorance.

      Easy 'nuff.

      --
      Every year during my review, I just pray the words "slashdot.org" aren't mentioned.
    2. Re:How to remove it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Step 8: Go to jail.

      Last time I checked, ignorance was not an excuse for doing something illegal.

    3. Re:How to remove it? by mangu · · Score: 2
      Step 8: Go to jail.

      Huh? Are we going to jail every time an electronic system fails in our cars? What next? Death penalty for getting a BSOD?

    4. Re:How to remove it? by Cryptnotic · · Score: 2

      It is illegal to modify, remove, or disable a device installed in a car by a court order (such as those breathalyser ignition lockout systems added to DUI offender's cars). So if you modify, disable or remove it, yes, you are breaking the law.

      --
      My other first post is car post.
    5. Re:How to remove it? by Rasta+Prefect · · Score: 2

      It is illegal to modify, remove, or disable a device installed in a car by a court order (such as those breathalyser ignition lockout systems added to DUI offender's cars). So if you modify, disable or remove it, yes, you are breaking the law.

      Yeah, but thats a different situation - The sort of device you're talking about is installed as part of a court ordered sentence. If its simply a part of your car, some form of law would have to be passed to make it illegal. And if mom and dad just installed it, then hey, go for it. On the other hand, if it's court ordered after your 43rd speeding ticket..

      --
      Why?
    6. Re:How to remove it? by thales · · Score: 2

      Step 8: Parents take Box in for Warranty
      Step 9: Parents informed Warranty voided by tampering
      Step 10: Ride bus

      --
      Quemadmodum gladius neminem occidit, occidentis telum est
    7. Re:How to remove it? by rnturn · · Score: 2
      ``if it's court ordered after your 43rd speeding ticket.''

      That person, IMNSHO, should be considering themselves fortunate that they still have a driver's license after 43 speeding violations. :-)

      --
      CUR ALLOC 20195.....5804M
    8. Re:How to remove it? by NoahsMyBro · · Score: 1

      Well, if the manufacturer installed it, and you screw around with it, I'm thinking that might be some sort of DMCA violation goin' there, bubba...

    9. Re:How to remove it? by Quila · · Score: 2

      It's illegal to deactivate the airbag in your car without specific permission.

    10. Re:How to remove it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      Remove it?

      Step 1: Unscrew cover to expose circuit board.
      Step 2: Pop hood.
      Step 3: Retrieve jumper cables from trunk (you are in the Midwest, right?)
      Step 4: Connect jumper cables to battery.
      Step 5: Apply cables to circuit board.
      Step 6: Return items to original position.
      Step 7: Feign ignorance.

      Easy 'nuff.
      Battery? Don't you have running electricity over there? If you're going burn out electrical components, you should do it with style. (And 115/230/240 VAC)
  26. Paranoid... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    After being nearly killed by a teenager with NO driving experience, I full support this. If you are against this, you must be paranoid beyond belief! This can only lead to safer driving.

  27. hmm.... by neksys · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I can understand why black boxes are in airplanes - its a huge liability issue. The more info gathered on crashes that do happen may reduce the chances of paying customers dying in the future. It makes good sense from a PR point of view. However, I would contend that black boxes in cars would do little to alleviate motor vehicle related deaths. We know *why* people crash: Many drivers are goddamned morons. We know that many teens are goddamned morons on the road as well - we don't need a black box to tell us that. Rather than putting these black boxes in cars to spy on our teens, we need to deal with the cause, not the symptoms: bad teen driving comes from a combination of outside pressure, overconfidence and under-training. For heavens sake - invest the money in teen driving training instead of these boxes! And parents, do us ALL a favour: Stop buying your children these expensive rockets on wheels!! Make them get a job to buy their OWN vehicle - it'll make them think twice before doing anything stupid that might wreck it.

    1. Re:hmm.... by io333 · · Score: 1

      I agree with you on one point about the bad drivers: under-training. However, IMHO, the root cause of all bad driving is that here, it is extremely difficult to lose one's license permanently.

      Contrast the United States with Deutchland, where driver training makes ours look like kindergarten, and where the bonehead moves that each and every one of us here in the U.S. have made at one time or another would have resulted in *all* of us drivers having had our licenses revoked for life.

      Yes, many people here, especially the elderly, would complain that the German system was unfair because it would immediately take them off the road, and lots of folks that wouldn't be allowed to drive EVER are going to be allowed to drive from now until they kill someone including themselves, (and probably about 3/4 of our VEHICLES would be taken off the road too for mechanical problems), but in return for that loss of freedom they get to drive

    2. Re:hmm.... by geekoid · · Score: 2

      did you read the article?
      The boxes emit a loud noise when the driver does somnthing wrong. And it gets loder if they turn the radio up. so if your speeding it annoys the hell out of you so you slow down.
      Also, it would be nice to use it to help my kids become better drivers. Yes it can help people become better drivers by letting them evaluate there habits.

      Its NOT spying if they know its there. BTW, teens need to be spied on.

      --
      The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
    3. Re:hmm.... by neksys · · Score: 5, Insightful
      Its NOT spying if they know its there. BTW, teens need to be spied on

      I know there are US operatives at home and abroad covertly seeking out terrorists. Are they not spying? And no, teens do not need to be spied on - they need to be instilled with a good set of values at an early age, then be allowed to make their own mistakes. Guided and watched, yes - much like how you taught them to ride their two-wheeler, but spied on, no. If you only spy on them, they'll never lose their training wheels - I hope you realize that, if you're a parent.

    4. Re:hmm.... by Bishop · · Score: 3, Interesting

      In is not just the new drivers (teens). A large number of drivers are really unsafe. In North America we treat driving as a right instead of the privilege it is.

    5. Re:hmm.... by jafiwam · · Score: 0, Troll

      hmm... I agree!

      In fact, this would be a great compliment to my "moron reduction attachment" program. It goes like this;

      One in every 100 cars built has one of two types of airbag attachments. The other 99 are normal airbags.

      Attachment 1 is a simple execution switch, either a .45 slug in a short barrel, or maybe a spike about 2 feet long. (Spike survival rates would be too high I think, the .45 seems like a better option.) These would be pointed right at the center of the driver seat through the stearing wheel.

      Attachment 2 is a genitalia removal system, I figure a capacitor in the seat would fire through two electrodes, one in the seat itself, the other on the seat belt. Use enough power to fry the sexual reproductive organs to a crisp.

      These attachments fire during the same conditions the airbag do. Your fault or not, too bad.

      Now, no one really knows what type of device they got. The end result, is overall lower risk-taking behavior on the roads due to "friend of a friend got his 'nards fried" type stories being common and believable.

      I think there should be MORE carnage on the road. Rear-mounted shotguns for everybody! Then maybe the act of driving would get the respect it deserves.

      Comming soon! Vote-o-drive! Limit: 5 votes. Timeout: 5 minutes. Get 5 votes from other drivers and POW, blown engine!

      (Yes, I am a card-carrying AADA member.)

    6. Re:hmm.... by puppet10 · · Score: 2

      I'm sure it is a hardship to Germans who lose their licenses, but I'm sure it isn't nearly the burden one would experience in the US.

      Why? Because Germany has a good public transit system, and frankly the US public transit system outside (and inside some) large urban areas is virtually non-existant. Thus automobiles have become the default/only "public" transport outside of large cities in the US making being unable to use a car a much harsher punishment.

      That isn't to say there isn't a need to remove habitually dangerous drivers from the road. Just that the punishment of permanent license revokation is a much harsher punishment here than in Germany, perhaps resulting in more leinency in the sentancing in the US.

      One way to alleviate this would be to upgrade the public transportation systems in the US, but that would be quite expensive, and I don't see it happening any time soon.

      --
      -------- This space intentionally left blank --------
    7. Re:hmm.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      oh how I wish I had mod points.... It's a toss up between insightful and funny....

    8. Re:hmm.... by vash_the_stampedo · · Score: 1

      As a teen at the moment I did have to buy my own car. I drive a '86 5th ave. I call it the tank. I don't think it can be wrecked. I can drive through most new SUVs without thinking about it. The downside is the gas bill. I burn gas just as fast as a SUV.

      Maybe you should factor that in when you say teens should buy their own cars and consider that the cars we can afford will keep us safer than you in a new car...

    9. Re:hmm.... by Cryptnotic · · Score: 2

      Yeah, if I lost my license, I'd have to hire some bitch to drive me around.

      --
      My other first post is car post.
    10. Re:hmm.... by Cryptnotic · · Score: 2

      Or between "troll" and "offtopic", depending on your sadism quotient.

      --
      My other first post is car post.
    11. Re:hmm.... by Chandon+Seldon · · Score: 1

      Yea - that would kick ass. It would take me all of 20 minutes to make sure that *my* car had airbags, and then only *other* people would get zapped...

      --
      -- The act of censorship is always worse than whatever is being censored. Always.
    12. Re:hmm.... by guttentag · · Score: 2
      And no, teens do not need to be spied on - they need to be instilled with a good set of values at an early age, then be allowed to make their own mistakes.
      Good point. When Congress attempts to pass a law mandating these spy boxes, we should remind them of this and ask them to instead add a "driving safety values" clause to the pledge of allegiance. That way they can still appear to be doing something without infringing the rights of citizens.
    13. Re:hmm.... by zrodney · · Score: 2, Insightful

      We know *why* people crash: Many drivers are goddamned morons.

      yes... but the problem is the people who think
      "the other people are moron, but I just
      drive a little fast sometimes."

      something like this black box really would put them
      in their place and help remind them how they behave.

    14. Re:hmm.... by HiThere · · Score: 2

      Who told you it was a priviledge?
      Why did you believe them?

      I believe the 10th ammendment has something to say about that, though I could have the number wrong. Something about other rights...

      The constitution is supposed to be a complete list of all the powers granted to the federal government. Not of all the rights owned by the people. It's quite explicit about that.

      --

      I think we've pushed this "anyone can grow up to be president" thing too far.
    15. Re:hmm.... by geekee · · Score: 1

      Ahh. If you got a speeding ticket in the mail because your black box says you were doing 85 in a 65 MPH zone, that would be a deterent to bad driving. Hook up a breathalyzer to the ignition system and you'd really save a lot of lives.

      --
      Vote for Pedro
    16. Re:hmm.... by ceejayoz · · Score: 3, Funny

      "I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the driving laws for which it stands."

    17. Re:hmm.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I agree with all but the part about expensive rockets on wheels. All cars today are expensive rockets on wheels. My first car was a BMW 2002 It would go from 0-60 in about 10 seconds had a top end of about 110 and was capable of about 0.8 ~ 0.9 g of acceleration in a turn. Today that is a Ford Focus, a Volkswagen Golf or a Honda Civic. Nissan Altimas, E30 and E36 BMW 3 series even Saturns exceed these performance specs most notably the top end. The performance of cheap cars nowadays underscores the need for teenage drivers to get more experience and not just driving in traffic experience but sliding the car around a skidpad experience like you would get at a Skip Barber Advanced Skills School. BTW the cars you learn on at Skip Barber: Dodge Neon.

    18. Re:hmm.... by Catiline · · Score: 2

      Who told you it [driving] was a priviledge?
      I believe the 10th ammendment has something to say about that, though I could have the number wrong. Something about other rights...


      Indeed the tenth amendment speaks of rights not enumerated; however, that doesn't make everything a "right". Driving is a privilege. Let me give a quick object lesson about right versus privilege using the "right to work" as a more comprehensible example. I'm not willing to actually concede this point, but for a moment (in argumentation's sake) I shall assume that you do indeed have a right to a job.

      Under this system, what happens when three people apply for one job? Assuming they are equally qualified, does one person's right outweigh the others? Perhaps instead we shall force the employer to hire all three (and then consider what happens if he cannot afford such an action)? What changes in this situation if only two applicants are capable of working full time (the third is a college student) or, more likely, they aren't equally qualified? Do these differences alter one's right to a job, and if so, in what manner?

      Lesson over, class dismissed. But bring in tomorrow a two page essay deliniating why you believe driving is a right or privilege, including an analysis of the resulting system. Remember, each page over is 10 percent off of your grade. In lieu of a printout I will accept an email. (I am not 100% serious here, but feel free to mail me anyhow.)

      Just because the American constitution talks about rights and equality before the law doesn't mean that some people won't have privileges nor does it require total equality (just in a courtroom- which is the only place it matters anyway).

    19. Re:hmm.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      driving fast is not a problem. My car can stop from 120->0 in less time than an SUV can go from 75->0 or a semi can do 55->0. If you have ever driven in the western US inbetween major towns you know that you own your segment of road most of the time, and if you crash it is your own fault.

      It is the people doing something else (looking at passengers, talking on phones, radio tuning, smoking, ...) that cause most wrecks. This thing won't reduce too many crashes, it is people's driving habits that cause them. I would think if you raise the speed limit, more people will be focused on what they are doing and not get distracted.

    20. Re:hmm.... by dadragon · · Score: 1

      (and probably about 3/4 of our VEHICLES would be taken off the road too for mechanical problems)

      Funny you should mention that. In Saskatchewan, Canada, our government just went on a checking car for mechanical problems spree. Nearly everybody I know who drives a car older than 1990 got a ticket and some got their cars taken to a mechanic to be fixed an inspected.

      Some had SGI (the motor vehicle registrar here) say "we'll register it again when it's passed an inspection".

      I have an 86 Ford Ranger in nearly perfect condition. I did not get a ticket, even though I spent a lot of time in those bays waiting for the cop to tell me my car was fine :)

      --
      God save our Queen, and Heaven bless The Maple Leaf Forever!
    21. Re:hmm.... by dadragon · · Score: 1

      If you take away a farmer's right to drive, you're taken away his work. They have no choice but to drive. They need to be able to get to work, they need to get to a store for basic necessities. It is a need.

      The only people who think you can get around just fine without a car are the ones who've never lived outside a city.

      --
      God save our Queen, and Heaven bless The Maple Leaf Forever!
    22. Re:hmm.... by gregm · · Score: 2

      Oh my god.... what a brainwashed fool. I suppose you think that 4 out of dentists really do prefer X too huh? If I'm paying for the roads, taxes on my new car, fucking insurance, paying the group that has brainwashed you, then it's not a priveledge to utilize these things I've paid for, it's my right. If they want it to be my priveldge then they need to make the part of my taxes that goes toward road construction and government safety testing agencies and the brainwashing agencies that got their hooks into you optional.

      sheesh

    23. Re:hmm.... by will_die · · Score: 1

      You pay for road in the gas tax, and if check in most states you can get a refund for that tax if you can prove that you will not be driving on public roads, same for most of the federal tax. If you living in a farming community it is even easier since most gas station are already set up for that, however it is now more common in some recreational areas because of off-street dirtbikes.
      Same for insurance, registration and most fees related to driving, including a license which is not needed if not driving on public roads.
      However you do have it right on taxes on your new car, you do have to pay sales taxes on that the same as if you had purchased a new computer, pen, or plate.

    24. Re:hmm.... by operagost · · Score: 1

      Not yours, if some knife-wielding creep was following you back to your car in a deserted parking lot and the system decided to malfunction.

      --

      Gamingmuseum.com: Give your 3D accelerator a rest.
    25. Re:hmm.... by geekee · · Score: 1

      Unless I blew him away with the gun in my glove compartment

      --
      Vote for Pedro
  28. You know... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If you didn't spend all day posting to Slashdot, your hands would probably feel a LOT less sore.

    D'ya think?

  29. Wow, what a horrible idea... by Schleppy · · Score: 1

    Being a driving enthusiast, and a teenager (19), I think this is a simply horrible idea. Granted, I don't go exactly the speed limit (though I don't know a single person who does), and I enjoy a little spirited driving now and then, but I am very aware of how I am driving, and I am always cautious.

    All this device could possibly do is annoy the crap out a driver, and in the rare instance that you do need to perform a sharp maneuver (some ass darting into your lane), it could prove to be even more dangerous by emitting an annyoing tone that would take your concentration from getting out of danger...

    Invasion of privacy, that's all it is...

    1. Re:Wow, what a horrible idea... by Schleppy · · Score: 1

      And on top of what I said, I also agree with some of the comments below, mostly the driver education comments...

      I plan on taking more driving courses as soon as I get the money together, and I pride myself on constantly trying to improve how I drive. The more you educate someone on how to do something, the better they become at it (unless they are truly stupid)...

    2. Re:Wow, what a horrible idea... by Mullen · · Score: 2
      Being 19, you should worry more about getting out from Mommy and Daddy's house and driving their car than what they put in their car that you use. If it is your property, then rip the thing out.

      --
      Linux O Muerte!
    3. Re:Wow, what a horrible idea... by Skyshadow · · Score: 2
      No teenager (or new driver in general) is as good a driver as they think they are.

      That said, having a little electronic mommy watching you is a terrible idea -- you never get any sense of responsibility about what you're doing when you're not the one in charge.

      Personally, were I 16 again, I'd get laid more^H^H^H^H... I mean, were I 16 again, this thing would be in for a short circuit -- a little extra current applied to the board is just what the doctor ordered.

      "I dunno, mom. Maybe the whole line of these things are defective?"

      --
      Every year during my review, I just pray the words "slashdot.org" aren't mentioned.
    4. Re:Wow, what a horrible idea... by Skyshadow · · Score: 2
      Being 19, you should worry more about getting out from Mommy and Daddy's house and driving their car than what they put in their car that you use. If it is your property, then rip the thing out.

      That's not fair. Assuming he's going to college, he shouldn't be criticized too harshly for having his folks help him out with auto or housing or whatever -- it's fuggin' expensive, esp. if you end up doing a work-study sort of thing.

      --
      Every year during my review, I just pray the words "slashdot.org" aren't mentioned.
    5. Re:Wow, what a horrible idea... by uberdave · · Score: 1

      As far as ripping it out, the data recorder is, more than likely, built into the computer that runs the fuel injectors, the dash board, the ABS, etc. Ripping it out would give you a dead car.

    6. Re:Wow, what a horrible idea... by geekoid · · Score: 1

      First, you must have a stupid mom.

      second, it is a tool that can be used to help new drivers become better, and more aware of there driving habits

      third, at 16 most people hardly relize when there not being resposible behind the wheel.

      forth, teenager hae almost no emotional control.

      fifth, parents should spy on there children from time to time.

      --
      The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
    7. Re:Wow, what a horrible idea... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You seem to have an extremely low opinion of teenagers... Where you ever one?

    8. Re:Wow, what a horrible idea... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes. There are definitely kids out there who speed excessively but still think they are safe. Goddamn kids think they're invincible.

      BTW I was never a kid.

    9. Re:Wow, what a horrible idea... by KshGoddess · · Score: 1
      fifth, parents should spy on there children from time to time.

      spy: to watch secretly usually for hostile purposes

      Wow. You keep saying that parents should spy on their kids. That's not exactly true. Parents should talk to their kids about where they went, with whom, etc. Parents should know their childrens' friends, and their friends' parents, but spying is just an invasion of privacy which gets parents nowhere. How many sitcoms have episodes where the teen gets pissed off because the parent reads their diary/finds their stash of pr0n/finds their whatever they're not allowed to have? Why so many? Because that's how teens react.

      I agree that new drivers (no matter their age) are inherently bad drivers, because they lack experience. Some drivers learn the rules of the road faster than others. Some drivers never learn. Putting a box like this in the car would be beneficial to new drivers, and as long as the data were collected ethically, for reasons specified in the data-collection contract, fine.

      I drive a GM car that has a black box in it. If I get into an accident with someone stupid enough to blame me for it (AGAIN), and I have the proof to vindicate myself, why wouldn't I want to use it?

      --
      It's a little wrong to say a tomato is a vegetable. It's a lot wrong to say it's a suspension bridge.
    10. Re:Wow, what a horrible idea... by ceejayoz · · Score: 2

      And likely revoke your insurance policy, too, considering they required you to have it put in in the first place.

    11. Re:Wow, what a horrible idea... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Maybe my car has better brakes and weighs less than your car. Most small cars can stop quickly. Semi's and SUV's will take a little longer to brake.

      Plus, Everybody in the US must of been asleep when they said the left lane is for "passing" or going fast. If you can't keep up with the flow in the fast lane, don't get in it and go slow.

  30. Hello by poopbot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Introduction

    A fairy gives lectures on morality to the feline anomaly. Furthermore, another photon near an abstraction takes a coffee break, and a mortician buries a blithe spirit. The wedding dress secretly admires a college-educated ball bearing. If the freight train figures out a fire hydrant near a pit viper, then some mating ritual beyond another cowboy reads a magazine. Any squid can find lice on a freight train, but it takes a real recliner to ostensibly plan an escape from another pit viper defined by a prime minister a cough syrup toward a graduated cylinder.

    Another mating ritual

    For example, a blood clot about a turn signal indicates that a financial bartender borrows money from a warranty. When a demon is imaginative, a paper napkin secretly admires an often snooty graduated cylinder. If the grain of sand learns a hard lesson from the short order cook behind some graduated cylinder, then another blithe spirit flies into a rage. Any pig pen can lazily require assistance from a burly plaintiff, but it takes a real fighter pilot to caricature the steam engine over a satellite. Another eagerly temporal minivan slyly buries the obsequious squid, or a briar patch usually gives lectures on morality to a cyprus mulch.

    A gratifying fairy

    Sometimes another cashier reads a magazine, but the fraction for the cyprus mulch always buries a power drill toward the demon! The light bulb befriends a satellite of an apartment building. A lazily Alaskan roller coaster sanitizes another mitochondrial traffic light, or some burglar eats a hesitantly smelly plaintiff. For example, a seldom righteous traffic light indicates that an ocean knows some chestnut inside the tabloid. If the earring somewhat finds subtle faults with a pine cone, then the wheelbarrow hibernates.

    The cocker spaniel about the salad dressing

    For example, the umbrella toward an abstraction indicates that the dolphin near a ball bearing caricatures a girl scout near some diskette. A cocker spaniel for the judge reads a magazine, and a pine cone finds subtle faults with a rattlesnake. Furthermore, the hairy movie theater returns home, and a grizzly bear near a paycheck is a big fan of a childlike burglar. For example, a canyon living with a graduated cylinder indicates that the industrial complex buries a jersey cow.

    Conclusions

    A squid around a jersey cow meditates, and another nation sweeps the floor; however, a scooby snack knowingly finds subtle faults with an apartment building living with another chain saw. When a hockey player around a paycheck is smelly, a minivan has a change of heart about an oil filter about an asteroid. The bartender around a polygon is barely soggy. Indeed, another rattlesnake befriends a warranty. Indeed, the carpet tack for an abstraction usually caricatures an elusive h

    - posted by poopbot: for the crapflooder in all of us

    FCwj3Xb8yV Post #824

  31. Not such a great idea by Skyshadow · · Score: 3, Insightful
    The problem is that these things take no account for actual traffic conditions.

    In the real world, nobody ever drives the speed limit under good driving conditions. Realistic freeway speeds are at least 80 in nondeveloped areas, and cars going under that speed are actually at increased risk.

    Besides, nothing like this will ever stop the experimentation kids do in cars. In my younger days, I did donuts in the empty church parking lot, caught air on the Spooner St. bridge, drove my car over a lawn or two, etc. No excessive speed involved (you'd jump Spooner doing 35).

    IMO, your best bet is to buy your kid a fairly modern, safe car without too much extra juice (try a Toyota with side-curtain airbags with traction control and ABS, or a Volvo if it's in your means) -- buying kids old cars is actually more dangerous due to the lack of modern safety gear. Those parents buying their kids Z3's... well, that's just natural selection at work.

    Base lesson: No good ever came of spying on your kids and making it clear you don't have any trust for them.

    --
    Every year during my review, I just pray the words "slashdot.org" aren't mentioned.
    1. Re:Not such a great idea by neksys · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Or don't buy your kids cars at ALL. That's where the, "I can do what I want with this car, mommy and daddy will just buy me a new one" mentality comes from.

    2. Re:Not such a great idea by Skyshadow · · Score: 2
      True, but the flip side of that is that most kids won't be able to afford a safe car on their own and will end up with an old Pinto or something.

      The best solution is probably the one my parents used: figure out how much I make an hour, then subsidize a decent-but-not-insane used car to a price where it represented a *lot* of work. I got a used Buick LaSabre for $1000, which was about 150 hours of grunt work at a local pharmacy for me, and my parents covered the rest.

      --
      Every year during my review, I just pray the words "slashdot.org" aren't mentioned.
    3. Re:Not such a great idea by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      "...In the real world, nobody ever drives the speed limit under good driving conditions. Realistic freeway speeds are at least 80 in nondeveloped areas, and cars going under that speed are actually at increased risk..."
      I disagree with this statement. I nearly always drive the speed limit. It's true. I'm that annoying guy that drives the speed limit, uses his turn signals to change lanes, checks his mirrors twice before changing lanes, stays out of the incoming lanes so other cars can get on the freeway...
      In nearly 20 years of driving, I have had zero accidents. I have received zero speeding tickets. I have been pulled over zero times.
      What does speeding get you in 'the real world'? Let's see, I drive say 60 miles per hour. You drive 90 miles per hour. If we are both traveling to the same place that is say, 60 miles away, just how much faster than me do you get there? Not much, but you risked your life and the lives of others for a measly 10 minutes or so. That's the 'real world'

    4. Re:Not such a great idea by edrugtrader · · Score: 2
      The problem is that these things take no account for actual traffic conditions.
      that isn't how it will be used... it would be more like this:

      lawyer: "well sir, at the time you rear-ended my client, your foot was all the way down on the accellerator, the steering wheel was straight ahead, your music volumn was on 27 (a sample to the jury shows how loud it is)... how can you explain this?"

      you: "traffic conditions"

      i don't think so.

      --
      MARIJUANA, SHROOMS, X: ONLINE?! - E
    5. Re:Not such a great idea by neksys · · Score: 2

      Agreed - that's my primary point, that working for the car is the key. The point is that a kid's hard earned money has gone into at least part of the car - money that won't be returned if they destroy the vehicle.

    6. Re:Not such a great idea by stoolpigeon · · Score: 1

      Which is why I like this.

      Because I gaurantee you it will be my lawyer making sure some loser doesn't get away w/endangering me or my family.

      Very nice.

      .

      --
      It's hard to believe that's how Micronians are made. Why don't we see it right now by having you both kiss one another?
    7. Re:Not such a great idea by twitter · · Score: 2
      In the real world, nobody ever drives the speed limit under good driving conditions. Realistic freeway speeds are at least 80 in nondeveloped areas, and cars going under that speed are actually at increased risk.

      In the real world, I wave my gun around. People who walk in front of me are actually at increased risk.

      I'd like to say that cars kill more Americans each year than the entire Vietnam war. I'd also like to say that cars kill more Amercians each year than handguns do, but I can't. Drivers do it.

      People like you think that the left lane is for speeders. It's not. Tickets are for speeders because speeding is dangerous. People like you make people like me hate automobiles. People like you make me think that black boxes with certian publicly verifiable specifications should be mandatory.

      --

      Friends don't help friends install M$ junk.

    8. Re:Not such a great idea by Doug-W · · Score: 1

      Dunno where you're from but around here if you're doing 90MPH and go 60Mi you arrive in 40 minutes or 20 minutes faster then the person doing 60MPH... Cutting travel time by 1/3rd over and over again adds up to quite a bit more then 'a measly 10 minutes or so' (Which is not to say that I advocate 90MPH constantly, but I am pointing out an alternate viewpoint.)

    9. Re:Not such a great idea by autocracy · · Score: 2

      You didn't do good in math class, did you?

      --
      SIG: HUP
    10. Re:Not such a great idea by speederaser · · Score: 1

      In nearly 20 years of driving... I have been pulled over zero times.

      You're white, aren't you?

    11. Re:Not such a great idea by _Sprocket_ · · Score: 2

      I use my turn signal to change lanes. I check my mirrors twice before changing lanes. And I speed regularly when the conditions allow.

      I also lived in Germany for some time. Very few speed limits (and when there was a speed limit, you better slow down - there's a damn good reason for it). The policy existed even with roads that are MUCH tighter than the average road in the USA. And I saw far, far fewer accidents.

      Speed limits in the USA have much more to do with politics than safety.

    12. Re:Not such a great idea by pipla · · Score: 1

      Speeding isnt dangerous per say its excessive speed differential that is dangerous. If everyone is going 80 and not tail gating then its perfectly safe to drive. Its not speeders who make the road dangerous. Its people who drive wrecklessly who make driving dangerous. If you weave in and out of trafic going 10 or 15 miles faster then everybody else then your dangerous or you change lanes into faster lanes with out looking your likely to cause an accident, but if you drive like me and you give people plenty of space and you keep aware of your surrondings then you will be perfectly safe. Im 20 drive a fast car and drive it fast Ive been driving 4 years and ive only gotten pulled over once and one speeding ticket for going 32 in a 25 a block from my house. I have never had an accident my fault or otherwise. I am a good driver and I never drive under the speed limit.(Maybe its cause im a gamer :) )

    13. Re:Not such a great idea by Banjonardo · · Score: 1

      Or, if your kid is a smart, hardworking chap, buy him a car instead of making his grades suffer because of working and not studying. Or buy him a reasonable car. Or give him good values. yeesh.

      --

      -----

      Score 3? For what? Being wrong, at length? - smirkleton

    14. Re:Not such a great idea by Tackhead · · Score: 2
      > Besides, nothing like this will ever stop the experimentation kids do in cars. In my younger days, I did donuts in the empty church parking lot, caught air on the Spooner St. bridge, drove my car over a lawn or two, etc. No excessive speed involved (you'd jump Spooner doing 35).

      Similar stories here. I learned a lot about skid recovery while messing around at 10-20mph in empty parking lots after snowfalls. It's even saved my ass a few times in real life.


      > IMO, your best bet is to buy your kid a fairly modern, safe car without too much extra juice (try a Toyota with side-curtain airbags with traction control and ABS, or a Volvo if it's in your means) -- buying kids old cars is actually more dangerous due to the lack of modern safety gear. Those parents buying their kids Z3's... well, that's just natural selection at work.

      Good ideas all-round. I'd add one more, though.

      If you have kids, drive with them. (And then send 'em to a good driving school anyways.)

      After my first week or so of informal lessons from Dad, he told me to "turn down that road, yeah, that one over there."

      It was an old dirt road, 2 lanes wide, with narrow spots down to one lane, and went up and down steep grades. And it had rained less than a day before. In short, driving hell.

      First hill: "Uh, Dad, where's the road? I can't see the road from the dropoff."

      Hairpin at the bottom of first hill: "Shit! *crawls around corner*"

      Hairpin at the bottom of the tenth hill: "Hey, this is pretty fun, whups, almost lost it there, now I'm back, OK, gettin' the hang of it..."

      That ride - and others like it - did two things:

      1) Gave me a life-long appreciation for driving,
      2) Taught me to respect the car and the road,
      3) ...but that when given such respect, I could make the car go where I wanted to, even in poor conditions.

      Was Dad nuts? No - he left the real emergency manoeuvers (brake-and-avoid, higher-speed skid prevention/recovery) course for the driving school.

      But by having the confidence in me to take me down that crazy winding road, he built my confidence, not so much in my own driving skills (which after all, were nonexistent at the time), but in my ability to develop those skills over time.

      So yeah - doughnuts, country roads, all that experimentation - are a good thing. And if you've got kids, you might even enjoy sharing it with 'em. (I have a hunch my Dad did. He probably hadn't driven that road in 20 years until I drove by it :)

    15. Re:Not such a great idea by MKalus · · Score: 2

      Let me tell you something, I grew up in Germany, no, not all the Autobahnen are without a speedlimit, but speedlimits of 180 are common (that's kilometre) and yet the country hasn't been incincerated in car wrecks.

      Having lived for a while in Northamerica now, I can tell you what the problem is in my opinion: It's not the speeding, it's the fact that people are dreaming in their cars, I always thought it was a joke when someone told me about women applying make-up while driving, until I saw it myself.

      No, speed isn't the problem, dozy drivers are and there are way too many of these out there.

      --
      If you want to e-mail me, use my PGP Key.
    16. Re:Not such a great idea by ergo98 · · Score: 1

      In the real world, nobody ever drives the speed limit under good driving conditions.

      Interesting observation about that: Here in Ontario we have a series of highways where the speed limit is 100km/h, but the tacit speed limit (which even the Provincial Police have acknowledged) is 120. On the 401 in sections it averages about 130. Fairly frequently you'll have some moron zipping along at 150+ (~100mph) AND ALMOST INVARIABLY THEY ARE FROM MICHIGAN. Could someone explain this to me? New Yorkers use our highways a lot and they seem to be a very good bunch of drivers generally, but about 95% of Michigan drivers are driving Ford Expeditions and they insist upon absolute and blatant disregard for a whole different countries laws. I find this especially fascinating as the last time I was in Michigan, about 95% of the cars were going the speed limit, a speed limit that is about 105km/h. If there's someone from Michigan who insists upon treating the 400 series highways as an autobahn, I'm curious to hear why you think you have that right.

      ...and cars going under that speed are actually at increased risk.

      I have a real problem with this: the sad reality is that people aren't speeding on the highways to get somewhere faster, generally, they're speeding because of personality "issues" and a desire to demonstrate their "alpha-human" status by being the fastest man on the road (a particularly fascinating and simple study in this goes as such: Say you're in the "slow lane" going 120 and you're about to catch up to the next guy in the slow lane. You check and there's someone about 15 car lengths back in the "fast" lane, very marginally gaining on you: Perhaps 123 or so. You can easily clear the car ahead before they catch up to you, so you move over and commence overtaking-> A high percentage of the time the person in the left lane will then speed up, often considerably). This means that if you let people go 140, then there'll be the ahole going 160. If you let them go 160 then he'll go 180. Etc. Personally I'd love to see Ontario institute a system where the speed limit is raised to something more reasonable, say 120, but simultaneously the punishment for speeding is DRAMATICALLY increased -> Go 140 and you lose your license for a year. Go 150 and you lose your car. Etc.

      your best bet is to buy your kid a fairly modern, safe car without too much extra juice (try a Toyota with side-curtain airbags with traction control and ABS, or a Volvo if it's in your means)

      That's great at keeping your own kid alive, but how about the people they kill? Again here in Ontario, there have been an INFURIATING series of events involved asshole kids being "men" by pushing a gas pedal (and often they're in 117hp Honda Civics with "performance" improvements such as a stolen Acura logo). In a reason case a little sack of shit smashed into a truck causing a 6 month pregnant woman to lose her baby. His punishment will be a slap on the wrist. In another case a pair of 17 year olds raced on a city street, lost control, and killed a teen walking down the street, minding his own business: They got a 45 day weekend sentence. I think the only time that our roads will get better is when driving is treated with the seriousness it deserves, and people who intentionally perform moronic maneuvers lose their license for years at a time.

    17. Re:Not such a great idea by ceejayoz · · Score: 2

      You didn't do good in math class, did you?

      You didn't do well in English class, did you?

    18. Re:Not such a great idea by ceejayoz · · Score: 2

      Alright, lets apply your "What does speeding get you in 'the real world'?" question to my recent road trip.

      Your speed: 15 hours
      My speed: 10 hours

      Yes, I think speeding got me there a little faster in this case.

    19. Re:Not such a great idea by ergo98 · · Score: 1

      Speeding isnt dangerous per say its excessive speed differential that is dangerous.

      True, but you'll never get a straw-poll consensus that'll lead to everyone going the same speed. Hence, it's folly to blame "the slow guy" for being the differential when there are countless differentials between the "fast guys" (some are speeding a bit, others moderately, and then there are the morons grossly speeding). Usually these morons believe that during busy rush hours the left lane should remain magically open for them (I've watched this with fascination in Toronto: The guy who thinks that in a highway about 90% saturated that somehow that left lane is going to be clear for him to shoot through), and for those moments that it isn't they weave in and out of traffic to maintain their speed. No amount of raising the speed limit (until you hit the speed of light) will stop differentials so long as the limit is more of a recommendation.

      What needs to happen is that speed "limits" need to become "the speed" and people should be severely punished (and not just financially, but also loss of license, car repossession, etc) if they go outside of a given band : Only by getting people to god damn relax and just accept that they're going 120km/h, and that's it (there is no getting ahead so they should mellow and lay off the constant lane changes), will the dangers of differentials be alleviated.

    20. Re:Not such a great idea by ergo98 · · Score: 1

      No, speed isn't the problem, dozy drivers are and there are way too many of these out there.

      I've heard this a lot, and quite honestly I agree: You can count the moronic maneuvers on any fairly busy highway by the hundreds per hour. So we've established that in North America people don't pay enough attention to the road, they don't have enough respect for the seriousness of driving, and often they are undertrained: Do you think increasing the speed is going to help that? Speed has a direct correlation with possible reaction time, and personally failing to change other things I'd rather than Jimmy whose busy yapping on the cell phone while fiddling with the stereo were going 100km/h rather than 180km/h : That's almost 100% more time he has to see and react to a situation.

    21. Re:Not such a great idea by pgpckt · · Score: 2


      In the real world, nobody ever drives the speed limit under good driving conditions

      Actually, I do. You can read all about it on this thread.

      Enjoy.

      --
      Lawrence Lessig is my personal hero.
    22. Re:Not such a great idea by FFFish · · Score: 2

      Thank god I wasn't driving the other direction on that "country road" when you were learning. geezus.

      --

      --
      Don't like it? Respond with words, not karma.
    23. Re:Not such a great idea by rnturn · · Score: 2

      Heh. My Dad used to do something very similar. I went through drivers ed in the winter when I was in high school. Made for some interesting learning situations. The term ``driving too fast for conditions'' has real meaning when you're still learning and the roads just might be icy. Anyway, my dad used to decide it would be a good time to go out practicing driving at some of the strangest times. Like during a snow storm. Thank goodness for back roads. I got to learn about steering out of for a skid on a real road (it doesn't take a lot of speed to skid in a snow storm and recovery works the same as at high speeds).

      My Dad liked to take different cars when we went out on one of those sessions, too. It was good to see how important braking distance was and how it differed with different cars. (We used Pintos and LTDs at school and my folks had a dreadnought-class Kingswood station wagon and an old Dodge Coronet. Nice range of sizes. And it helped to learn parallel parking in a big car. (My dad was somewhat sadistic in this. He heard I did it in the LTD at school and decided that parking the Kingswood during the Saturday morning shopping crunch would be good for me. Amazing what you can do under pressure. You sure aren't going to ding the family car when Dad's sitting in the right seat.)

      ``...hadn't driven that road in 20 years until I drove by it.''

      Still the same road? That sleepy little back road where I learned about skidding is now a four lane divided traffic nightmare nowadays. Wonder what kids do for practice driving now? Oh... I forgot: Grand Theft Auto 3.

      --
      CUR ALLOC 20195.....5804M
    24. Re:Not such a great idea by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      If people behind you are going faster than you, then you are obligated to move over and let them pass (assuming you can), regardless of whether they are speeding or not. It's a rule of the road. It's common courtesy. Let the police worry about speeders. Don't be a self-appointed jerk.

      Besides, which do you think is more dangerous:

      1. Letting a speeder pass you.
      2. Staying planted in the way, tempting him to tailgate, weave in and out of traffic to get around you, pass on the right (especially un-good if there is an onramp ahead), etc.
      Getting in the way of speeders just makes things worse.
    25. Re:Not such a great idea by Matthaeus · · Score: 2

      I usually drive quite wrecklessly.

      In fact, I've only (as the driver) been in one wreck in my life.

      And the guy who hit me was a reckless driver.

    26. Re:Not such a great idea by gvonk · · Score: 2

      the speed limit is 100km/h, but the tacit speed limit (which even the Provincial Police have acknowledged) is 120.
      On the 401 in sections it averages about 130.

      Fairly frequently you'll have some moron zipping along at 150+ (~100mph) ... they insist upon absolute and blatant disregard for a whole different countries laws.


      Uh. Just a nitpick, but is it more blatantly disregarding the law (100) to go 150 than it is to go 120? Or are you both breaking said law completely? Either you're breaking the law or you're not.

      Of course, the rest of your points are fine. I take no issue with your message, just your wording.

      --


      El Karma: excelente(principalmente la suma de moderación hecha a los comentarios de los usuarios)
    27. Re:Not such a great idea by Quila · · Score: 2

      Having realistic speed limits in most places kind of makes you respect the low speed limits, dosn't it? When I'm on a German road and I suddenly see a low speed limit I've never seen before, I damn sure slow down. In America, I know there's probably no safety reason for it.

      The only ones in Germany that get me are the 62mph for "noise protection" so you're not too loud for those people who just built houses next to the Autobahn.

    28. Re:Not such a great idea by ergo98 · · Score: 1

      While obviously going 150 is a more serious offense than going 120, I actually generally believe that people from out of province should go the posted limit (in the slow lane): They are unaware of the culture that prevails on the road, the role of law enforcement in tacit limits, and they didn't pay for the roads. I follow this rule when traveling, and when driving through the states I go the posted speed limit quite precisely (because I have no idea what speed limit prevailed over time, or which states heavily enforce it and which don't, etc.).

    29. Re:Not such a great idea by King+Babar · · Score: 2
      Alright, lets apply your "What does speeding get you in 'the real world'?" question to my recent road trip.

      Your speed: 15 hours My speed: 10 hours

      OK, so I think it is time somebody pointed out the difference between uncongested freeway driving, where your point is fairly compelling (and where the speed limits are often lower than they could reasonably be), and driving in traffic, where you still see 20 mph differentials in driving speeds just so some yutz can be first in line at the next traffic light. In many of those cases, the big speed differential when moving adds up to almost nothing in practice. (You and the moron all stop at the same red lights by the time the each one of them turns green.) Well, okay, the speeder does get the chance to run the red light and get hit by the guy over there jumping the green...

      --

      Babar

    30. Re:Not such a great idea by dafozzee · · Score: 0

      ...buying kids old cars is actually more dangerous due to the lack of modern safety gear...

      My safety device is 3.5 tons of Detroit Steel... And my seatbelt. (I know how I drive)

    31. Re:Not such a great idea by Nukenbar2 · · Score: 1

      There are other reasons for parents to buy their child's first car. The want their children studying to get into better school or playing sports, and not working the graveyard shift at the local 7-11 for $5/h where all kinds of things could happen. And at $5/h, a child probably is not going to get the latest and greatest safety measures on that car. Teenagers don't think of stuff like that. I have a friend that bought his son a Hummer for his 16th birthday. Granted, they were a very well off family, but many of you would still think this was excessive. As did I. But this was his reasoning. Nothing short of an 18-wheeler or a retaining wall is going to beat this thing in a crash, and it tops out at about 75 going downhill with a gale force wind behind it. I understand your point that most people appreciate stuff they earned themselves, but realizing that parents understand that you are only young once (and therefore don't want their children flipping burgers during most of it) is not so bad.

    32. Re:Not such a great idea by MKalus · · Score: 2

      Yes, I still think increasing the speed limit will help, because if people KNOW they can drive fast they will or at least they will be more aware of fast moving vehicles.

      I know enough people who say: "Well, that guy is going 130 of COURSE it's his fault because he is not supposed to GO that fast.

      The speed limit isn't the problem, I guess the problem is that most people don't have respect for the speed (any speed), you can get killed in a 30kph car collision.

      What an increased speed limit IMO would do is:

      1. Allow people to go at a realistic speed.
      2. Allow the cops to concentrate on bad driving.

      And yes, I admit it, I regularly are FASTER than the speed limit allows, but in 10 years of driving I had 0 accidents.

      --
      If you want to e-mail me, use my PGP Key.
    33. Re:Not such a great idea by operagost · · Score: 1
      Interesting observation about that: Here in Ontario we have a series of highways where the speed limit is 100km/h, but the tacit speed limit (which even the Provincial Police have acknowledged) is 120. On the 401 in sections it averages about 130. Fairly frequently you'll have some moron zipping along at 150+ (~100mph) AND ALMOST INVARIABLY THEY ARE FROM MICHIGAN. Could someone explain this to me?
      Maybe they don't have km/h on their speedos?

      Speed limit = 100 km/h
      They drive = 150 km/h (100 MPH)

      --

      Gamingmuseum.com: Give your 3D accelerator a rest.
    34. Re:Not such a great idea by Tackhead · · Score: 2
      > Thank god I wasn't driving the other direction on that "country road" when you were learning. geezus.

      Given that I don't think I exceeded the posted 25mph at any point on the road (never mind the posted 30, albeit with warning-10 and warning-15s on every corner, you just couldn't get past 25, even if you were trying), I'd think you were pretty safe - at least, as safe as you would have been driving down that road even facing an experienced driver.

      The point of having an adult in the vehicle was essentially to have a voice saying "OK, blind corner up ahead. Take it slow and tight. Someone coming the other way can't see you 'cuz of the tree they had to dig around to make the road. Watch out for the bumpy roots, they can throw you into the other lane if you hit 'em hard. Now, see how you can see around that next corner from all the way back here? You can make that turn a bit wider to avoid the muddy ruts on this side of the road."

      An experienced driver has that voice in his head - always looking ahead for trouble, always looking for blind spots, always looking for poor road conditions. An inexperienced driver doesn't. The only way to develop that voice is through experience. The best way to develop that experience is under controlled conditions. Better to learn how mud-slippery bumps affect steering on an empty road in broad daylight than on packed ice on the highway off-ramp.

      As for oncoming traffic, I don't think we saw another car during any of our excursions down the road. Anyone actually going from A to B would have used the almost-as-windy, but 2-lane-blacktop paved road nearby, that covered the same route. (Thinking it over, maybe "my" road was a special case - I think the only reason it road still existed was because the town couldn't be bothered with the paperwork to track down the descendants of whoever owned the abandoned farm that constituted the only property with frontage on said road. Small towns are weird like that. Either that, or my Dad was way smarter than he was letting on in his choice of roads :-)

      Finally, my original point wasn't so much to encourage such experimentation as merely to recognize that it happens, and given that it happens, it's better that it happen under adult or professional supervision. (Note also that my Dad knew and recognized his limitations - leaving the emergency-manoeuvers stuff to the professionals.)

      Put another way, would you have preferred to be driving the other direction against an alternate-universe version of me who found out about the same road with a "Hey, man, we're goin' to the pizza place in the next town, gonna try this new scenic route we heard about. Bet you can't keep up with us, Tack!"

    35. Re:Not such a great idea by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You were exceding the speed limit in a residential area.
      What if a child happened to rn out into the road? Or a animal?
      Those low speed limits are there to protect the soft fleshy humans not in 2 ton metal boxes.
      I think they were way to easy on you, and others who habitually abuse residential speed limits.
      I have seen people going 50 in the 25 outside of my house, I may not have kids, but the first time the road is icy or they fail to make the turn for some reason, they will be in my house or hitting my car (or god forbid a pedestrian).

    36. Re:Not such a great idea by smyle · · Score: 1

      I had an acquaintance in high school that went through 13 cars in his 4 years of school (we sat down one day and counted). He didn't care because daddy bought every single one of them.

      --

      Sleep is just a poor substitute for caffeine, anyway. -Bob Lehmann

    37. Re:Not such a great idea by FFFish · · Score: 2

      Ah, good. That's a relief. As a motorcyclist, I tend to get a little freaked at the idea of people sliding around blind corners...

      --

      --
      Don't like it? Respond with words, not karma.
    38. Re:Not such a great idea by autocracy · · Score: 2

      And I was waiting for that one after I hit send... Actually, I find I do quite well in English, but rather poorly in restraint when the chance for a smart-ass remark is at hand. I forgot to bother to revise. But then again, "doing good at something" is common enough a term in the US...

      --
      SIG: HUP
  32. Mod Parent Up! by SunCrushr · · Score: 0

    Parent post deserves a 5 for funny.

  33. Re:Paranoia is warranted, but Alaska has the solut by Tailhook · · Score: 1

    It's like that all over. What? $500.00 deductable? Hmm......

    --
    Maw! Fire up the karma burner!
  34. Can't be a terribly complicated piece of gear... by Perianwyr+Stormcrow · · Score: 2

    ...if it costs 300 bucks and can be installed "in minutes" by anyone.

    I imagine it would be simple enough just to disable it when you feel like it, and make everyone wonder.

    --

    What we call folk wisdom is often no more than a kind of expedient stupidity.-Edward Abbey

  35. Re:ridiculous by davidj0228 · · Score: 0

    more "shit like this" would probably get enforced if roads were privately owned. the owner could mandate what kind of cars could drive on the road, who could drive on the road, and how one could drive on the road. and these rules would probably be more strict than those in place on our government owned roadways since the government must follow the rules of the constitution(or supposedly they do :) but private citizens aren't forced to uphold the constitution. just imagine having to pay a toll to go to 7-11, hoping that RoadCorp wont revoke your driving privileges for having a broken tail light. bad shit. just because something is privately owned doesnt mean that it will be protecting "freedom." and competition that would promote this "freedom" would be limited since there is limited land to build roads on(at least within a city where most of traffic is) therefore large road monopolies would form(would Microroad be a good name for one of these companies?). -DavidJohnson

  36. There are these things called odometers... by InsMonkey · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Insurance companies could care less about where you drive, but they are definitely be interested in knowing when you are on the road and for how long. The more time you spend unparked increases your odds of having an accident. That's why they rate older drivers better, because their 25' Buicks spend most of the time parked. Driving at night significantly increases your risk of having an accident. It astronomically increases your risk of having an accident with (or as) a drunk driver. How do I know this? I used to be an underwriter for an auto insurance company...

    --
    I'd rather have a full bottle in front of me than a full frontal lobotomy.
    1. Re:There are these things called odometers... by hitzroth · · Score: 1

      That's why they rate older drivers better, because their 25' Buicks spend most of the time parked.

      No wonder they don't go anywhere. How would you like to try to find a parking place for a 25 foot Buick?

      --
      In mathematics, one does not understand things, one merely gets used to them.
      --VonNeumann
  37. Another solution by Perianwyr+Stormcrow · · Score: 2

    Only drive cars worth less than your projected deductable for collision. Bust up the car? Pfft. Get another one. It's really only worth insuring yourself.

    --

    What we call folk wisdom is often no more than a kind of expedient stupidity.-Edward Abbey

  38. Both good and bad by fm6 · · Score: 4, Insightful
    Well, on the one hand, I don't care for the loss of privacy. But on the other hand, there are a lot of bad drivers out there. Who don't like to be told that they drive too fast, that yellow does not mean "race the light", and that getting to work 5 minutes earlier is not worth risking your life.

    I used to commute on CA-17, which connects Silicon Valley with Santa Cruz. It's always full of people who think nothing of driving 80 mph on a windy mountain road, who think anybody who observes the speed limit is doing it just to piss them off, and who basically exhibit behavior that wouldn't be tolerated anywhere except on the highway.

    And that's what it's all about, isn't it? Communication. One reason people love their cars is that it's the one place they don't have to listen to anybody. Unfortunately, lots of people abuse this solitude. If you behaved, say, in a line at McDonalds the same way people behave on Highway 17, people would communicate a lot of anger to you. (That kind of communication while driving is known as "road rage".) Attempts have been made to communicate to the over-assertive driver. With results even -- whenever the CHP ups its presence on 17 the death rate goes way down. But the concept communicated is not "speed kills" but rather "be a good little boy when daddy's watching."

    If some people end up getting supervised because they think good behavior is just a game, they've only themselves to blame.

    1. Re:Both good and bad by geekoid · · Score: 2

      I wonder how mant of those accidents bacause people driving slower wont get the hell out of the number 1 lane?

      Incompetant behavior is what kills on the road, not speed.

      --
      The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
    2. Re:Both good and bad by jafac · · Score: 2

      Idiot.
      It has nothing to do with communication. And everything to do with Social Dominance. The Human Animal excercises his or her Social Dominance on the highway, because, in a car, they are empowered as they would not be if they were more equalized, standing on a sidewalk, in a crowd. In a crowd, anyone can punch you in the nose if you step on their toes or cut in line. On the road, if you have a faster more nimble car, you can get in front of people, which is the symbolic act of dominance.

      It's human nature. Attempts to control these people through heavy-handed legislation and spying devices is going to simply make them desire MORE rebellious behavior - people who lack control in one area of their lives, and crave control, typically will find another area to control to satisfy that craving.

      That's why I say, VIDEO GAMES are the answer!

      --

      These are my friends, See how they glisten. See this one shine, how he smiles in the light.
    3. Re:Both good and bad by ciurana · · Score: 2

      fm6 wrote:


      I used to commute on CA-17, which connects Silicon Valley with Santa Cruz. It's always full of people who think nothing of driving 80 mph on a windy mountain road, who think anybody who observes the speed limit is doing it just to piss them off, and who basically exhibit behavior that wouldn't be tolerated anywhere except on the highway.

      So which one were you, the one driving at 80 mph, or the white-knuckled 4r53h013 blocking the left lane doing 30 mph by Scotts Valley? :)

      Cheers!

      E
      --
      http://eugeneciurana.com | http://ciurana.eu
  39. Probaly not the biggest concern for Teenagers by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Driving habits aren't what most teenagers i know would be worried about. If there was a little black box that recorded how much dope was smoked in the car than i think most teenagers would be worried.

  40. Not in my car!!! by Evil+MarNuke · · Score: 1

    There is no way I would buy a car with one of these black boxes. To the best of my knowledge my RSX doesn't have any system that keep track of how many times I hit the rev limitor or how fast I go, at least I hope not!! The last thing I need is someone I don't know and don't trust knowing when and where I took my weekly sprinited driving trip. I have reached triple the speed limit on twisty back roads. Personally I think it's should be none of anyone busy how fast I drive unless I hit someone. I think speed limits are set WAY to low. The type of car, traffic, and road condition determain how fast is safe.

    Anyways, as far as teen drivers, give them a crappy old tank of a car after they turn 18. Let them drive that clunker for a year and promise that if they keep it in good shape and wreck free you'll buy them a car they want. That is what I wished my parents did before giving me a classic muscle car.

    --
    The journey is better then the end.
    1. Re:Not in my car!!! by Renraku · · Score: 2

      Prison? I was hit in the rear passengers' side tire area by someone who flew through a red light (turned green just as he went under it, and I never got a yellow turn arrow, just went from green to red as I was turning), doing 70, and it pretty much destroyed the rear end of my car, snapping my axle, etc. Guess who they blamed it on? Not the guy doing 3x the speed limit (with tire marks on the road as proof) but me. Not to mention his headlights barely worked, so I couldn't even see him coming.

      --
      Job? I don't have time to get a job! Who will sit around and bitch about being broke and unemployed then?
    2. Re:Not in my car!!! by Evil+MarNuke · · Score: 1

      1) Driving through a red light fast is stupid

      2) You turned. YOUR FAULT!!
      a) Stop, look, wait, go. If you can not see more then you can drive, don't go.
      b) when pulling out match the speed of traffic ASAP
      c) if you do (A) you can judge (B)

      3) The fact his head light work even if barely killed any chance of your case. I can see a relector on a car at 500 yards, why can't you see a car with a have ass working head lights?

      4) The fact you know his headlight barely work, proves you COULD see him coming.

      5) You fucked up.

      Have a nice day. :)

      --
      The journey is better then the end.
  41. Airplanes and restrictions on data use by Beryllium+Sphere(tm) · · Score: 2

    The aviation industry could teach us a thing or two about how to use this kind of data.

    The system there is aimed at exactly what neksys said, reducing the chance of people dying in the future. The regulatory structure is aimed at encouraging people to cooperate with accident investigators by protecting them against getting sued or prosecuted for telling the truth to the NTSB.

    To be comparable, the motor vehicle laws would have to make black boxes inadmissible in prosecutions and maybe even off-limits in lawsuits.

    Anyone else notice the workaround, by the way? If I read correctly the data are in a circular buffer which is replaced every 250 engine starts. If the car's safe to start after a crash, an unscrupulous owner could clear the accident recording simply by turning the key on and off repeatedly.

    1. Re:Airplanes and restrictions on data use by phreakmonkey · · Score: 1
      There are a couple of other points to consider if you are going to compare this to the aviation industry:

      1. Flight Data Recorders ("black boxes") are not installed in all aircraft. In fact, they tend to only be installed in very large commercial jets operated under part 135 regulations. For the most part, general aviation aircraft do not have them. This would be akin to only having them installed in large busses and trucks, not individual passenger cars.

      2. The aviation industry saw the need a long time ago to start correlating accident or violation data to determine why things go wrong sometimes. It was understood by all that a voluntary reporting form was required to allow pilots to report errors, mistakes, or possible rule violations and why they happened.

      Well, obviously nobody wants to fill out a form and send it in to the FAA or NTSB saying "yeah, I broke this major rule yesterday and I thought you should know about it..." So, the FAA and NTSB decided to appoint NASA to do the job. It's called the Aviation Safety Reporting System, and it's completely anonymous.

      The reason I bring all this up is to demonstrate that there are other options for gathering, analyzing, and correlating data to determine why accidents happen.

      As someone previously pointed out - we pretty much know why car accidents happen. The money would be better spent on better education and a more consistent set of regulations and enforcement for automobile use.

      If you crash an airplane into anything you may lose your license. At any rate, you have to answer very seriously for why it happened. We need a similar system for automobiles, because the stakes aren't really that much lower.
      - P.M.

      "But that's just my opinion, and what do I know?" - Dennis Miller

  42. or if used properly by kahanamoku · · Score: 1

    "they will check the black box to try to shift the liability from their client onto you"

    or, they will finally prove that its people over the ages of 65 that cause the accidents not those under 21! I swear, the elderly should retire their licenses when they retire from work, they drive dangerously slow in areas that are impossibly to overtake and frustrate all following drivers, and the frustration they create cause accidents!

    --
    ----- Concentrate on promoting more than demoting.
    1. Re:or if used properly by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If just mere frustration makes you cause accidents, I think you better not drive at all.

    2. Re:or if used properly by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      I swear, the elderly should retire their licenses when they retire from work, they drive dangerously slow in areas that are impossibly to overtake and frustrate all following drivers, and the frustration they create cause accidents!

      Yeah, sure. "Officer, I was responsibly punching it on a blind curve to pass the old fart when I ran into the car full of kids." Uh-huh.

      How about the 20-year-old asshole who ripped over in front of me this morning, then nearly stood his goddamned car on end braking so he could park it at the green light in the straight only lane I was in so he could turn left with the next two left turn only lanes whose light was still 30 seconds from turning green. By the way, there was no one behind me for half a very long block.

      Or the really bright 30-something who recently, in what would otherwise have been a few car fenderbender, wedged her $55,000 Mercedes completely under my wife's car, totaling it. Tell me again how fucking well you drive, asshole.

    3. Re:or if used properly by kahanamoku · · Score: 1

      Or the 70 Year old bitch who pulled out onto a highway with 300 cars (myself included) moving toward her at 100km/h who all had to stop cos she wouldn't accellerate up to the speed of the moving traffic.

      or when I was in the car with my grandmother who never checks her blind spot?

      Or lets move this into alt.flame because you seem to be commenting on how I drive whereas I was making a generalisation and never targeted my comments specifically to you (until now) "asshole!"

      --
      ----- Concentrate on promoting more than demoting.
    4. Re:or if used properly by rnturn · · Score: 3
      ``...they will finally prove that its people over the ages of 65 that cause the accidents not those under 21!''

      That is just such a load.

      Open your newspaper up some time. You'll find that there are more accidents involving teenagers than you think. When mommy and daddy stop paying for the insurance you may discover this as well. Especially if you're unfortunate enough to purchase the same model of car that parents give to their irresponsible teenagers when they turn 16; your insurance rates will take your breath away.

      I've been driving for thirty years with no moving violations but have had two accidents: both caused by teenagers. (Rear-ended at a red stop light by a seventeen year old doing 40 and broadsided a sixteen year old who didn't look for oncoming traffic and pulled right out into traffic from a stop sign.)

      ``they drive dangerously slow in areas that are impossibly to overtake and frustrate all following drivers, and the frustration they create cause accidents''

      No.

      The accidents are then caused by idiots who think that their time is so important that everyone else should just pull off the road until these very important people pass. But when nobody clears the road for them, they begin weaving in and out of traffic and creating a very dangerous situation. George Carlin had a great suggestion for such people: ``Leave earlier!'' (I know a cop you told me a story once with a guy that he pulled over for driving like a foot off someone's rear bumber, eventually passing the front car in a no passing zone, and in a school zone to boot. He argued with the cop, insisting that the posted speed limit was the minimum speed that you were supposed to be driving and that the driver in the other car should have been getting a ticket. The driver who did get the three tickets was nineteen. Hee hee.)

      Much of what you see on the roads nowadays would, at one time, earn you a reckless driving citation and possibly the opportunity to lose your license altogether. Perhaps its time they started enforcing those laws once again. I only have a 25 minute commute to work and I manage to see a lot of boneheaded drivers. The vast majority are teenagers and not senior citizens.

      --
      CUR ALLOC 20195.....5804M
    5. Re:or if used properly by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      or, they will finally prove that its people over the ages of 65 that cause the accidents not those under 21!

      Yeah, them and women.
      -bugg

    6. Re:or if used properly by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Sorry but this cuts both ways. Most teenagers have the problem of driving too fast for their level of experience. When my son gets close to 16/17 I'll take him to a skid pad course where he can find and exceed the limits of the car so he can know when he's getting close. Most old people have the problem of not dealing with years of bad habits. The insurance companies do indeed see this as my 75 year old father in law's insurance rates are about the same as mine were when I was 22 and about the same as mine now even though he drives a Subaru Outback and I drive either a SAAB Turbo or a BMW M3.

    7. Re:or if used properly by Drunken+Coward · · Score: -1

      or how about my grandmother who stops at every traffic light (whether it's green, red, or yellow)?

      --
      Have you been stalked by Seth today?
    8. Re:or if used properly by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Senior citizens are notorious for this. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize that you need to be moving close to the speed of traffic to merge onto the highway. On most highways in the state's in normal traffic that 45 ~ 55 mph. I've seen a number of timid seniors attempt this at 35 mph or less. The problem is exacerbated by the fact that I95 has far too many entrances where I live (Milford, CT). Most people don't seem to realize just how fast you can slow down a modern car with 4 wheel disc brakes and this is what allows you to overcook the speed on a highway onramp a bit.

    9. Re:or if used properly by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So your wife isn't much of a driver either, hey?

    10. Re:or if used properly by dadragon · · Score: 1

      That is just such a load.

      It works both ways. I don't think any age is better or worse than any other, but I am in favour of everybody taking a road test every 5 years in order to keep your licence. 16, 21, 26, 31, etc... that will force everybody to keep their driving reasonably good.

      Open your newspaper up some time. You'll find that there are more accidents involving teenagers than you think. When mommy and daddy stop paying for the insurance you may discover this as well. Especially if you're unfortunate enough to purchase the same model of car that parents give to their irresponsible teenagers when they turn 16; your insurance rates will take your breath away.

      I opened my newspaper up this morning... accident involving 33 year old female. Alchohol was a factor. Statistically there are fewer accidents by 16-21 year olds here than by 35+. The most being between 25-35.

      BTW, my "mommy and daddy" don't pay my insurance. I pay the $513/year for the car and the $25/year for my licence. Unlike some places, our insurance here varies only on driving record (licence goes up by $25 every bad thing you do, car never goes up) which is the way is should be.

      I've been driving for thirty years with no moving violations but have had two accidents: both caused by teenagers. (Rear-ended at a red stop light by a seventeen year old doing 40 and broadsided a sixteen year old who didn't look for oncoming traffic and pulled right out into traffic from a stop sign.)

      I've had three accidents. One caused by a 40 year old woman in her minivan. She read-ended me at a stop light because she managed to get her SK drivers licence without knowing how to drive in winter. Another one was by a 17 year old kid broadsiding me with his mommy's SUV, and the last one was by a 50 year old German immigrant who rear ended me with his BMW. Accidents caused by me: 0.

      The most irritating thing is people who drive in 2 lanes at one time at 3/4 the speed limit and stop at every light. All people who do that are 60+ people with Farm plates. You never see city people doing that.

      --
      God save our Queen, and Heaven bless The Maple Leaf Forever!
    11. Re:or if used properly by Martin+Blank · · Score: 4, Interesting

      I don't think any age is better or worse than any other

      According to the California Office of Traffic Safety, drivers aged 15-20 made up 6.3% of the population, but were involved in 12.5% of the injury and fatality collisions (http://www.ots.ca.gov/campaign/youthq/brief.asp). The group made up of 16-year-olds are also shown to have a fatal accident rate of 42 per 100 million vehicle miles traveled, compared to the average of two for ages 30-50. I'd say there's a sharp difference between age groups.

      Unlike some places, our insurance here varies only on driving record (licence goes up by $25 every bad thing you do, car never goes up) which is the way is should be.

      Your mention of SK means, I presume, Saskatchewan, suggesting that Canada is your home. Canadian insurance laws seem quite different from American insurance laws. I'm anxious for next summer to come around so I reach the three-year point when the collision on my record -- my fault -- comes off. The settlement was for $10,000, and my rates got boosted by about $450 a year, meaning that they get $1350 for me costing them $10K, not to mention whatever other incidental costs are there. Of course, I've been paying my insurance company between $1200 and $2100 a year, depending on what I've been driving, whether I have a collision on my record, and my age group, so I guess it's fair. But I have no moving violations, and the two accidents have been relatively minor. I'm an odd exception to the rule.

      My dad is even further off. He's been driving for 30 years, and has never had a moving violation or been in a single accident. He's come close, but never had one. Luck and skill. My middle brother, OTOH, is 25 and has four speeding tickets and three collisions, one of which resulted in the totaling of two relatively young cars cars and a six-month suspended license. I've seen his insurance bill, and it's not pretty. But it is simple statistics. Between the two extremes of my dad and his spotless record, and my brother, lies me. I see those, and I understand why the numbers on my insurance bill look as they do.

      Canada has fewer people, generally a little more spread out than the United States, so the insurance laws and rates will be different. I know people who live in places where there's only a single paved road through town, and they pay less than half of what I do. They have lower chances of an accident. I drive the highways of Southern California, meaning I take risks whether it's my foot on the floor or not (usually not, but sometimes...). Part of living in the place I choose.

      --
      You can never go home again... but I guess you can shop there.
    12. Re:or if used properly by dadragon · · Score: 1

      Your mention of SK means, I presume, Saskatchewan, suggesting that Canada is your home. Canadian insurance laws seem quite different from American insurance laws.

      Good call. SK=Saskatchewan. Anyway, Saskatchewan is a bit of an oddity in North America. The insurance is provided by the Crown, and they're the only insurance provider. In Alberta, you must have PLD (Public Liability & Damage) insurance, and all else is optional. They do the age, gender, colour of car bit to determine rates. A friend of mine there is 21 with a perfect driving record, and his 16 year old sister's insurance costs 1/2 what his does.

      I'm anxious for next summer to come around so I reach the three-year point when the collision on my record -- my fault -- comes off. The settlement was for $10,000, and my rates got boosted by about $450 a year, meaning that they get $1350 for me costing them $10K, not to mention whatever other incidental costs are there. Of course, I've been paying my insurance company between $1200 and $2100 a year, depending on what I've been driving, whether I have a collision on my record, and my age group, so I guess it's fair. But I have no moving violations, and the two accidents have been relatively minor. I'm an odd exception to the rule.

      Certainly true. Here (in SK), when you get into an accident, the courts stay out of it. SGI (not the graphics company) determines who's at fault and audjusts their licence insurance accordingly. The stuff on the vehicle is just for when there is no driver, like a hit and run on your parked car or other weird circumstances, like a metior hits your car whilt stopped at a red light :).

      --
      God save our Queen, and Heaven bless The Maple Leaf Forever!
    13. Re:or if used properly by evilempireinc · · Score: 1

      I agree, its awful to be stuck behind somebody on the onramp to I270 who is going far below the flow of traffic. It forces you as well to merge onto the highway far slower than the speed of traffic which is not too much fun when everybody else is doing 70.

      --
      we can rebuild this sig. we have the technology
    14. Re:or if used properly by stephanruby · · Score: 1
      "It works both ways. I don't think any age is better or worse than any other, but I am in favour of everybody taking a road test every 5 years in order to keep your licence. 16, 21, 26, 31, etc... that will force everybody to keep their driving reasonably good."

      What good is that going to do? If a 16 year old passed a driving test at 16, he or she can repass it at 21. With the exception of really old people, most accidents are usually caused by carelessness, not lack of skills.

    15. Re:or if used properly by dadragon · · Score: 2, Insightful

      What good is that going to do? If a 16 year old passed a driving test at 16, he or she can repass it at 21. With the exception of really old people, most accidents are usually caused by carelessness, not lack of skills.

      Have you ever driven on snow and/or ice? If somebody can't do it, they shouldn't be driving here. Ideally, everybody would take their test in the winter, or on some simulated winter conditions.

      --
      God save our Queen, and Heaven bless The Maple Leaf Forever!
    16. Re:or if used properly by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Why can't Hellen Keller drive?

      A: Because she's a woman.

    17. Re:or if used properly by Arkhan · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I've been driving for thirty years with no moving violations but have had two accidents: both caused by teenagers. (Rear-ended at a red stop light by a seventeen year old doing 40 and broadsided a sixteen year old who didn't look for oncoming traffic and pulled right out into traffic from a stop sign.)

      Yes, but anecdotal evidence works both ways. I've been driving 13 years (with one speeding ticket in a rural speed trap). I have been in three accidents, all ruled the other party's fault.

      One was a female senior citizen on her way to a garden club meeting who ran a red light because she couldn't be late for her social function.

      One was a middle aged female who had taken her husband's car without permission and "he'll kill me if he finds out" -- rear-ended me at ~30mph while yielding to traffic at an interstate on-ramp.

      One was a youngish (30s) female driving an SUV with four kids in the back -- rear-ended me at a red light going about 45 mph because she was looking at the four kids and ignoring the road.

      So my experience has been totally contrary to yours. All of my accidents have been caused by mature female drivers not paying attention to the road. No teenagers in sight.

    18. Re:or if used properly by FuzzyBad-Mofo · · Score: 1

      This could spell the end of lower insurance rates for women..

    19. Re:or if used properly by onepoint · · Score: 1

      Amen brother. My father had forbidden me to drive ( even thou I bought My own car ) untill he could teach me how to drive in the snow and ice. for 3 days straight at the age of 16 in the middle of a cold snap my father took me down to the warehouse district and made me learn controlled spins and slides fast braking and double clutching ( this is before antilock brakes )

      to this day I can thank my dad, I have had too toss the car into a slide once to get out of the way of a stop light runner, Drive on grass when a pileup happened infront of me. forced my car sideways when a truck was overtaking me (legally ) on a turn and he overturned ( another truck was overtaking him and nipped him ).

      Oh yes I drive in NJ, where the worst drivers are at.

      -onepoint

      --
      if you see me, smile and say hello.
    20. Re:or if used properly by stephanruby · · Score: 1

      I live in a place where we never get snow and ice. I didn't intend my point to be taken so literally. I was arguing against increasing the frequency of the driving test (except for old people). You can make the driving test as hard as you want it, in my opinion, it's far too easy anyway.

    21. Re:or if used properly by dadragon · · Score: 1

      I live in a place where we never get snow and ice. I didn't intend my point to be taken so literally. I was arguing against increasing the frequency of the driving test (except for old people). You can make the driving test as hard as you want it, in my opinion, it's far too easy anyway.

      Okay, I see your point. But in all honesty, people forget how to drive in snow and ice, even if they've lived here for their entire lives. Statistically, 30% of all accidents in my city happen on the first day of snowfall in winter, usually the first part of November. My accident involving an SUV broadsiding me was because the other driver was going too fast to successfully turn right like they had intended, and instead changed their course to be going directly at me.

      Their tires were not moving at all. They'd locked their brakes. Mistake 1. Their wheels were pointing to their right, mistake 2. They were going too fast for road conditions, mistake 3.

      I feel that refresher courses in stuff like that would be of a huge benefit to this province, especially to the (Crown) insurance monopoly who could lower rates due to lower frequency of accidents.

      Also, our province has a reputation for being "so flat you can see on Friday whos coming on Saturday". My city has a river valley, and a few freeway onramps and the like. These are not fun places to be driving because people don't know how to handle hills in a standard. Often, you can measure the distance people roll in metres, not just centimetres :).. which is why I also support teaching people how to drive standard, and having a restriction on your licence which is automatically applied if you don't take your test in a standard.

      --
      God save our Queen, and Heaven bless The Maple Leaf Forever!
  43. This has been going on for years by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    In the Large Equipment industry. A friend of mine worked for Cat and they had boxes to record everything on all of the big rigs and tractors. It was the only way to find out what went wrong when it came in for warranty work. When it was a 50grand engine, you needed to know if they guy was running it 1K above redline non-stop or if it was just a fluke. It also could tell you if the problem was a long time coming, or just happened all of a sudden like.

    Now comes the real question, can you upload a new driving record to the box using your own laptop or PDA? Removing the worst flags and artificially inflating your driving record?

  44. The US is built on car scale by Perianwyr+Stormcrow · · Score: 2

    You cannot live a full life in the US when you're carless outside of very specific urban areas.

    This is most evident in places such as Atlanta, GA- the entire Gwinnett County area is one giant sprawl with no interconnection, so it's likely that anything you want to do is 5-10 miles away from you at any given point, with no public transit between here and there.

    --

    What we call folk wisdom is often no more than a kind of expedient stupidity.-Edward Abbey

    1. Re:The US is built on car scale by teetam · · Score: 1
      Why would you worry about a black box in your car if it is your own car?

      I assumed that most people would be annoyed only when rental car company uses its black box to track you. In which case, I was proposing mass transit as an alternative.

      Black boxes are not really tracking devices with infinite storage capacity. They are used to capture and recover the vital last few minutes before an accident etc. I don't see why anyone should be alarmed by this.

      --
      All your favorite sites in one place!
    2. Re:The US is built on car scale by rnturn · · Score: 2
      ``They are used to capture and recover the vital last few minutes before an accident etc.''

      Right. They'll only be capable of recording the last dumb driving maneuver (or maybe that last two) you performed before you killed yourself and that van load of school children.

      --
      CUR ALLOC 20195.....5804M
  45. Federal Mandate by multimed · · Score: 1
    Rather than when will insurance companies mandate this, when will the politicians (whose pockets are greased by the insurance and other "interested parties") pass legislation that with holds federal highway funding unless the states require it. Just like the drunk driving laws--never mind the fact that lowering BAC limit to .08 from .1 does nothing to reduce the accidents from drunk driving. At least around here, I'd bet at least 75% of the time when there's a druk driving fatality, the driver had been convicted of drunk driving multiple times typically with BAC of .15 or higher.

    OK OT rant, it's a hot topic for me--I guess I could use a karma smacking anyway. steve

    --
    Vote Quimby.
  46. [on by] A modest proposal by poopbot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    It seems that the Janitors, in their infinite wisdom, have banned people who have low/negative karma from posting more than twice per day. Personally I find this completely stupid.

    All the trolls will simply post AC as I am doing now. Proxies can be used to get around any ipid bans that result from AC trolls.

    Surely it is better to let the trolls post at -1 where it is out of most peoples way rather than have them all post at 0 and suck up mod points and time from "legit" users?

    I have tried to communicate my thoughts to the slashcode team but alas, to no avail. They are probably all sittin on their starwars bed sheets watching anime hentai tentacle rape pr0n.

    Here is my proposal: All trolls that cannot post using their account post as AC. Use proxies if need be (www.antiproxy.com is a good source). I suspect this will show them how useless this idea is. Will blocking troll uid's stop trolls? NO! will ipid bans stop trolls? NO!

    I seriously fail to see the point of this and consider it a stupid move by the janitors.

    They want us to troll and crapflood at 0 rather than -1? Fine! So be it! No longer will we post at -1 where few people dare to visit, now we will post at 0 where we will be more visible and waste peoples time, energy and mod points! Hoorah!

    The next thing you know, posting AC will be banned! Then what will you do? No more posting interesting insider tidbits! Groupthink all the way baby! oh yeah!

    So logout, post shit, use proxies and above all have fun!

    Let the games begin! -- on by

    - posted by poopbot: who doesn't like scat?

    Fya41esViY Post #827

  47. Aviation by Shadow+Wrought · · Score: 1

    Black boxes started out on airplanes because in the early days, a lot of planes would go down and not leave any evidence as to why. Because of that, the black boxes were developed as a way to record data in case of a crash. They are still extremely useful in figuring out what went wrong, and how the accident chain for such an incident can be broken in the future. I am not so sure that black boxes in cars would contribute in the same way. Typically the cause of the accident is a fairly straightforward thing to figure out, and the resolution process is already well established. Nonetheless, I would not put it past insurance companies to attempt to legislate the use of tracking devices as a way to increase their own revenue.

    --
    If brevity is the soul of wit, then how does one explain Twitter?
    1. Re:Aviation by racermd · · Score: 1

      All of what you say is true.

      (I won't call them "accidents" because it implies nobody is at fault and "crash" just states that a collision has occured)

      However, using the black boxes in cars allows the gathering of *much more* information that's *much more* accurate. In some crashes, the difference between fatal injuries and a bruising is so minute that it can't be detected after-the-fact. The time to reconstruct the sequence of events will be greatly reduced and will be much more accurate with the additional information. Better yet, it can quickly rule out possibilities that aren't immediately evident. Items such as vehicle speed, engine speed, pitch, yaw, roll, etc. can be quicly entered into a vehicle simulator with other known data like the vehicle's dimensions, time of day, weather, etc. You'd have an accurate reconstruction in a matter of minutes rather than hours or days with traditional methods used today.

      Don't get me wrong, either. There will still be absolute requirements for physical evidence gathering and physical crash reconstruction. The black box is not a panacea (yes! My big word of the day), as much as any in the insurance industry and law-enforcement community might want it to be. It's just an additional tool for use in post-crash analysis.

      And before anyone starts flaming me for my thoughts on the issue, I am going to wait to purchase a vehicle with one of these in them until I know that it doesn't violate my right to privacy. I just purchased a new vehicle last year (full-size pickup, mfr intentionally withheld) and I'm almost positive it doesn't have one. I'm hoping it will last for 20 years or more. The car I own is already 10 years old and stored winters, and I expect it to last another 10 to 20. I *know* it doesn't have one. I practically tore that car apart to it's frame one year installing a custom audio system. Unless the pre-ODBII engine computer retains any more than it's decaying-average data from the various sensors, I'm good. But you try breaking the law in a sub-100hp "sports" car! (rated at the wheels. 90 mph is easy, but 100 gets a little interesting...) Additionally, I just turned 25. My insurance rates *should* have dropped through the floor, but I noticed only a little dip. My driving record only has one blemish: a 5 mph parking-lot fiasco that I wasn't even present for. The dippy lady backed her minivan into my car. It marked my front bumper, smashed my left headlight, and took out her entire rear window with some dents in her liftgate (damn safety glass all over my car!) Even though I wansn't present, I still was forced to file a claim on my record. Regardless, I still drive more spirited than most and have an almost spotless record. Let that be a lesson to anyone thinking of performance driving school. Learn what your vehicle will do so that you're comfortable with it when you need it. Just make sure that you learn *away* from other traffic! Spend the money for some good seat-time and a good instructor. Do your homework.

      Back on topic, I don't think I'm going to have much of a choice since NHTSA (I think) and each state's DOT have final say on what makes a car legal to drive. True, the general public will have to vote either "for" or "against" them, but I think they're inevitable as the potential good generally outweighs the potential bad. Most shee-ple will jump on board right away.

      Spying is one bad thing, of course, but I think that these really can make cars safer. Remember that we're forced to be licensed and insured, for both car and driver, before we're allowed onto the public roadways. In doing so, we give the government our physical dimensions and description, our address, and are given a number in exchange that allows us to operate a vehicle. This will probably become another one of the requirements before any new vehicle will be allowed on public roadways. It will most likely be a state-by-state implentation, but I wouldn't be at all surprised if the federal government stepped in, though.

      Ok, now I'm off my soapbox. (everyone cheers)

      --
      My sources are unreliable, but their information is fascinating. -- Ashleigh Brilliant
  48. "Juneau Bodies" by suky · · Score: 1

    I thought cars in Alaska rusted away into nothingness long before anyone could get into a wreck with them...

    1. Re:"Juneau Bodies" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Not in Fairbanks

  49. $2500 is a RIP OFF by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I could build the same thing using a handspring and a GPS module for around $300 (ebay) ....

    Then put this unit into a box (not metal) with a serial connection to hook up to your computer... viola...

    Actually I've had this idea for a while but just too lazy to make it...

    1. Re:$2500 is a RIP OFF by jmorey · · Score: 1

      That is why it is going to be around $280.00 :)

  50. fuck off by twitter · · Score: 0, Flamebait
    ...every single piece of technology is just another tool for The Man to spy on us, regardless of legitimate uses (sound familiar?) it might have.

    What else would you call a device that collects personal information about you that only a vendor or law enforcement can read? A camera I mount in my car that does the same thing so I can share the information with who I please is a much different proposition from that kind of trash. It would be nice if I had control over the device, but I don't. It's like the fifth ammendment inverted.

    --

    Friends don't help friends install M$ junk.

    1. Re:fuck off by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I call it da debbil box and it's eeeeevil.

      You want control over the device? Yeah. That will make it a valuable device for gathering impartial information.

  51. Misuse? by miffo.swe · · Score: 1

    A thing that comes to my mind is if you can track someones locations with the toy? If so it sounds a little to freaky. If something can be used to track violations of the law cheaply it is something agancies and police would want to have. Its nothing nothing paranoid about that. Its just plain old history of previous behaviour.

    --
    HTTP/1.1 400
  52. Re:Can't be a terribly complicated piece of gear.. by uberdave · · Score: 1

    The data recorder is already in your car. It is wired into the brakes, the engine, etc. This device merely plugs into the data recorder and produces reports.

  53. How much does this really help? by slagdogg · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I can see the thinking here, but since it only monitors the driving from the perspective of the car, it misses some important things ... like why they are happening. For example, most erratic or irresponsible driving amongst teens is due to them talking to their friends in the car, trying to use a cell phone, drinking, fiddling with the radio, etc.

    For example, even with this device installed I could be driving down the street (at the speed limit) talking on my cell phone, smoking a cigarette, drinking a beer through a straw, having sex with my girlfriend and tailgating the car in front of me ... and I'd still look like a perfect driver according to this device. So much for accountability :)

    --
    (Score:-1, Wrong)
  54. I agree completely... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    But the only solution is to use their fat for soap
    and their bones for the bonemeal...

    1. Re:I agree completely... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      But the only solution is to use their fat for soap and their bones for the bonemeal...

      Got balls enough to show this one to your mother, you son of a bitch?

  55. ...or charge different rates based on habits by Sean+Clifford · · Score: 2
    ...or charge different rates based on your driving habits. Say you drive X over the speed limit, 80 miles a day. Your rate might be US$X^2 higher than Mom, who might drive 20 miles a week at or a shade below the limit.

    Or, you frequently visit a friend just over the Mississippi border, a state that doesn't require auto insurance. Each time you do that, $bing.

    I'm sure there are plenty of other (and better) paranoid posts.

    1. Re:...or charge different rates based on habits by Duckz · · Score: 1

      Mississippi started requiring insurance sometime back in 2001.

      --
      Todd

    2. Re:...or charge different rates based on habits by acceleriter · · Score: 2, Insightful
      Whats wrong with insurance based on usuage?

      For one, the "base price" for no usage at all will be the same as the amount you pay now. Actually using it will cost even more. Never underestimate the greed of the bandits of Hartford.

      --

      CEE5210S The signal SIGHUP was received.

    3. Re:...or charge different rates based on habits by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      What's wrong with them using your odometer for basing your insurance on usage?

      ~~~

    4. Re:...or charge different rates based on habits by Sean+Clifford · · Score: 2
      It's not that I object to paying based on usage - I think that'll be a fairer method of charging for insurance - not that I expect insurance companies will be fair about it.

      What I'm concerned about is privacy. I don't want to be tracked every place I go.

  56. This is a good thing by Zenki · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I have a friend whose mother was waiting at a red light, when another vehicle backed out of a drive way and into her car pretty hard. When the police came, the driver of the other vehicle had the audacity to claim that my friend's mother actually backed into him and tried to pin the fault of the accident on her.

    Fortunately, a person who saw this happen hanged around until the police came and was able to refute the other driver's fabrication.

    If the car had a black box, the police officer could have quickly determined that my friend's mother's car was stationary up till the moment of impact regardless of whether a nice person did or did not loiter around at the crash scene.

    Granted, people might complain about details such as the car's location and a log of speeds. These issues can be solved by convincing law makers to dictate a standard set of statistics said auto boxes would record.

    1. Re:This is a good thing by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0


      >Fortunately, a person who saw this happen hanged
      >around until the police came and was able to
      >refute the other driver's fabrication.

      I'm guessing the "other driver" isn't doing long years of hard time for this. I think he or she should be.

    2. Re:This is a good thing by Quila · · Score: 2

      I have to admit that one of these boxes could have saved me some grief when a girl at a gas station backed up and over onto the hood of my car. Later her dad was screaming that I must have hit her, which would have been hard with my engine off and parking brake on -- all of which would have been recorded.

    3. Re:This is a good thing by alexburke · · Score: 2

      If the impact did not set off the airbags, then it would not have been classified as an impact by the airbag controller, and 5 seconds after the other car hit her, the data would have been overwritten with new data. (No collision, remember, so we keep on recording.)

      So in situations like these, this functionality does precisely fuck all.

  57. Fucking motorcycles by Frank+of+Earth · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    Why don't they put a little black box that can monitor when these fucking motorcycle drivers drive in the middle lane, passing cars in traffic.

    Or when they go flying past you in the shoulder doing 100mph.

    1. Re:Fucking motorcycles by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      In some states, lane splitting is legal. When done right (slow/stopped traffic) it isn't even that dangerous...

    2. Re:Fucking motorcycles by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      Because if they are going at the speed limit its completely legal for them to do that. There is no law that makes 2 vehicals, side by side in the same lane illegal. Proof of this fact can be seen in wide right hand lanes that allow drivers to make a right and not be hampered by everyone who is going forward.

      There is one small exception. Both vehicals must be able to fit in the lane. A motorbike can do this easily. However if they are forced to change lanes (to avoid angry motorists like you), they must signal. Thats about all that applies. Also, beware it is a felony to open your car door to impeed a passing motorbike. I believe manslaughter, or at least attempted pending outcome.

      And no, I don't ride a bike. My father was a cop.

    3. Re:Fucking motorcycles by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If the motorcycle isn't contributing to the jam, why should it be slowed up by it?

    4. Re:Fucking motorcycles by Paul+Jakma · · Score: 2

      Firstly, i presume you mean "in between lanes" not "in the middle lane".

      Secondly, as both a motorcyclist and a car driver: getting passed by motorbikes in traffic - do you think the motorcyclist is going to stay stuck in lane behind cars? Course not. Also, in quite a few countries this is legal - its called filtering. (as long it doesnt border on dangerous/reckless driving - ie motorcyclists should keep the speed differential down to a max of 20mph differential).

      it's a big part of the attraction of having a motor bike for commuting, the fact that you /never/ get stuck in traffic.

      Hard shoulder at 100MPH is obviously dumb. But hard shoulder at a safe speed differential is fine if the cars are going quite slow (eg sub 20mph). (whether its technically legal or not is another question - but at least a motorbike is not going to block the hard shoulder).

      But what a petty post. Just cause you get peeved while sitting in traffic jams you have to begrudge those who are on bikes and dont get stuck. maybe you need to get a bike. :)

      --paulj

      --
      I use Friend/Foe + mod-point modifiers as a karma/reputation system.
    5. Re:Fucking motorcycles by wadetemp · · Score: 2

      There is no law that makes 2 vehicals, side by side in the same lane illegal. Proof of this fact can be seen in wide right hand lanes that allow drivers to make a right and not be hampered by everyone who is going forward.

      In your state that may be true. In Idaho it's illegal to drive a vehicle side-by-side with another vehicle unless there is a lane dividing marker between the two vehicles. I know a person who was cited and ticketed in an accident because she passed stopped traffic on the right in one of these "widened right hand turn areas" you speak of, passing though a "don't block this intersection" area as she did so, and someone making a left hand turn though the "don't block" area hit her car. She fought it, and the law was pulled out, and she lost, because she wasn't driving in a marked lane. Sure it was wide enough, and the city built the street with the widened area intentionally to allow this to happen, but it isn't legal to drive there.

    6. Re:Fucking motorcycles by wadetemp · · Score: 2

      He never said he was in a traffic jam. This happens to me in 60mph traffic all the time. Then again, it's not my life these people are peddling.

    7. Re:Fucking motorcycles by Paul+Jakma · · Score: 2

      And i never said traffic jam - i said "stuck in traffic". (and on a bike any kind of car traffic is 'stuck in traffic')

      Also, like i said, it is perfectly safe as long the speed differential isnt too great, eg no more than 20mph - depending on the density of the traffic. If the biker is any kind of decent rider, then as he passes you he's already spent several seconds observing how you drive as he approached you, and as he passes by you he's keeping an eye on any or all of your steering-wheel, bonnet or front wheels (depending on which is most visible to him) looking for any indication of an imminent change in direction.

      it's up to the bike to make a safe pass, and as long as a car driver observes the minimum of safety precautions (ie look over shoulder and check mirrors before changing lane) there is no problem.

      the only danger is car drivers who just cant be arsed to check the lane is clear before changing lane. and even here a good biker should easily be able to take evasive action.

      anyway.. stop spreading FUD about bikes.

      --paulj

      --
      I use Friend/Foe + mod-point modifiers as a karma/reputation system.
    8. Re:Fucking motorcycles by Hoi+Polloi · · Score: 2

      So if I change lanes, not expecting some idiot to be shooting up between 2 cars behind me, you shouldn't complain if I slam into you? After all, you didn't want to wait.

      --
      It is by the juice of the coffee bean that thoughts acquire speed, the teeth acquire stains. The stains become a warning
    9. Re:Fucking motorcycles by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "the only danger is car drivers who just cant be arsed to check the lane is clear before changing lane. and even here a good biker should easily be able to take evasive action."

      No, if you are such an ass as to drive between cars where people never expect someone to appear then you deserve to be hit.

    10. Re:Fucking motorcycles by Paul+Jakma · · Score: 2

      if you have a habit of changing lanes without checking your mirrors and without looking over your shoulder to check the blind spot and instead you just assume you can, then you are quite frankly a danger to other road users, be they motorcyclists or not, and you should not be on the road - you are going to cause a major accident someday.

      if you do check your mirrors, look to the blind spot and indicate before changing lanes then there's no problem.

      Do the math, a bike filtering through traffic at a 20mph differential (and 20mph diff is quite fast. 10mph diff is far more reasonable) will spend at least 10 seconds covering the last 100m of ground between the 2 of you. So if you have 100m of visibility behind you (almost guaranteed on motorways/dual carriageways) the bike will have been visible in your mirrors for at least 10 seconds.

      With 200m, 20mph diff: 22seconds
      With 100m, 15mph diff: 15s
      With 200m, 16mph diff: 30s
      With 100m / 10mph diff: 22s
      With 200m / 10mph diff: 45s

      Now 20mph diff is nearly bordering on reckless (depending on the conditions - eg 100m / 20mph -> dangerous). So lets assume 15mph.

      So between 15mph,100m and 10mph,200m its safe to assume that a biker filtering through traffic will have been visible in your mirrors for at least 15seconds and perhaps anything up to 45 seconds.

      Needless to say, you should be checking your mirrors at least every 15 seconds (if not more). So you should see the biker.

      Also, the motorcyclist can make use of acceleration to minimise exposure to danger. (which to the car driver seems like a bike speeding past - but its actually a crucial motorcycle safety technique when used in low density traffic).

      In the last resort, if you really are, as your post almost implies, the kind of feckless driver who does not check his mirrors regularly and, worse, changes lane without checking mirrors - hopefully i will have spotted you in advance. If i dont, and you cut me up cause of your idiocy, then i should be able to avoid you. (motorcycling rule: always have a plan A, a plan B and an escape route from other traffic - including pedestrians and cyclists.). Rest assured that, if i have the time and opportunity, at the next traffic lights i will politely inform you of your stupidity. :) Hopefully you'll be more careful in the future.

      but, anyway, i hope you're /not/ that kind of driver. :)

      --
      I use Friend/Foe + mod-point modifiers as a karma/reputation system.
    11. Re:Fucking motorcycles by AGMW · · Score: 1
      You have already mentioned that you expect motorcycles to 'filter', so you would obviously not accidentally pull out.

      For my part, I always move over to :-

      • Let them pass more easily
      • Let them know I've seen them
      and more often than not I get a cheery little wave from the biker chappie.

      I just look at it as some helpful chap who, rather than clog up the road with another bloody monster truck or mercedes, uses a bike instead, and hence makes my journey that little bit easier.

      Of course, in the words of the immortal Brad, "Life's pretty cheap to their sort"!

      --
      Eclectic beats from Leeds, UK
      handmadehands.co.uk
  58. interesting by Dalroth · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I have a webcam. I put it on the floor so I can watch my dog all day while I'm at work. I do it because it helps me keep an eye on her, it's fun, other people like it too, and it hurts nobody.

    When I have kids (God permitting), I may consider putting the webcam on the baby's crib. It would be fun, other people would like it, it would be a good way to keep an eye on the baby when nobody is with him/her for whatever reason, and it would hurt nobody.

    Once that kid starts moving around, and growing up into a person, I would *NEVER* subject my children to that kind of oversight. I can imagine it would be VERY detrimental to their social life. Children need to live lives seperate from their parents. God knows there are things I've done (and still do) that my parents don't need to know. I'm sure my kids will do the same, and I don't want know about it (as long as they aren't hurting themselves or others).

    You *NEED* some privacy in your life. I will NEVER vote for somebody who supports making something like this mandatory (and I hope my stubborn side will continue to keep this true, even as I grow old and raise kids of my own).

    Bryan

    1. Re:interesting by grazzy · · Score: 1

      indeed, you people here at slashdot speak of software freedom, freedom of speech on the net. yet you seem to forget about the basic freedom of life.

    2. Re:interesting by liberteus1 · · Score: 1

      "You *NEED* some privacy in your life. I will NEVER vote for somebody who supports making something like this mandatory."

      Considering the b-box won't tell you where your kids are gone that night, when not coupled with a GPS and a map (but it could be done...), what's the privacy issue ?
      As a matter of fact, I dont understand very well why I would'nt get one since it'll drive (no pun) my insurance rates down!

      Of course, as a libertarian, I can't agree with it being mandatory. If people want to die earlier not fastening seat belts, it's their problem. If they want higher insurance, let's them have that too. Speed limits are another matter 'cause it's my life that's in the balance....

    3. Re:interesting by PerpetualMotion · · Score: 1

      In addition to desensitizing your child from birth to constant surveliance you will be withholding actual human contact be it sight touch smell (however fortunate for you, the child get's left out) when you check the cam and see everything is alright instead of dropping in and reassuring the child that everything is ok. We love you, we don't trust you, we just want to know you're ok, we want to control you, we are your parents, its only a little box? If only they were born with a Phd in Psych. so they would know how much we really care. And stop crying all the goddamn time.

    4. Re:interesting by mesocyclone · · Score: 2

      Wait until your teen becomes a teenager. Then you will find that you very much want that sort of oversight...

      I threatened to build one of these and put it on my daughter's car if she didn't get home on time (or call to let us know where she was). Of course, mine was going to use packet radio for real time tracking!

      Kids tend to think they are invulnerable... and the best of upbringing seems to be ineffective against some kinds of peer pressure and influence. Why do you think armies are made up of teenagers? Its not just their physical abilities... it's their foolhardiness and the ease with which you can modify their behavior by group dynamics.

      My parents gave me a good upbringing, and I consider myself a fairly careful and moral person, but I shudder at the things I did as a teenager. For that matter... if I were a teenager and did the same things today, the ATF would lock me away forever... and that's just one area of foolishness!

      Kids are scary! When you have a kid you love, and worry about, it is a constant battle between your anxiety and your desire to give them an adequate amount of freedom and privacy. And you never know if you are doing the right thing unless something bad goes wrong!

      --

      The only good weather is bad weather.

    5. Re:interesting by Deluge · · Score: 2

      As a matter of fact, I dont understand very well why I would'nt get one since it'll drive (no pun) my insurance rates down!

      It won't drive you rates down. Quite the opposite. Sure, you may get a discount for agreeing to install the box in your car, but stomp on the brake in an emergency and bam, there goes your rating. Stomp on the gas to get out of the way? Yep, rating goes down. Perform a sharp turn to avoid a collision? Or even to turn down a street you almost missed? etc.

      Your insurance company won't care that those circumstances probably saved lives and property, but they'll gleefully inform you that due to your maniacal driving your premium, even with the recorder discount, is now 40% higher than it was before you embarked on any of this.

    6. Re:interesting by Quila · · Score: 2

      the brake in an emergency and bam, there goes your rating. Stomp on the gas to get out of the way? Yep, rating goes down. Perform a sharp turn to avoid a collision?

      In other words my insurance company's analysis of my box after track days would be interesting: "Let's see, this weekend we have 124 turns at .8-.9g, accelerator down flat 79% of the time, brakes down flat 19% of the time, 11x0-60 in 5.6, and I see a spin-out."

      My rates will be at national-debt level!

  59. What's next? by robotpants · · Score: 1

    Ejection seats? Hmm.

  60. Trans. From the Host Geek Pt. 1 by poopbot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic
    Credits: BankOfAmerica_ATM

    SUBJECT: GREAT STOCK OPPORTUNITY!!! help me Get Big Brands on eBay I DON'T KNOW WHERE I AM! PENTIUM III CPU's IN STOCK
    Begin Fwded Message:

    If someone is listening out there, HELP! I'm trapped, and I don't know where I am. I know this sounds fucked up, but I started reading about this ATM 73.9GB SCSI SCA-2 LVD 3.5 X 1.6 80-PIN 5.7MS 4MB CACHE 10,000RPM HITACHI HARD DRIVE - $269.00 - only 1 left! ITEM#... DK31CJ-72MC http://www.hardwarest.com/product.asp?sku=DK31CJ%2 D72MC+&dept_id=7 online. Yeah, not like withdrawal or anything, but this was an actual ATM, and it was alive, and posting messages to this educational website that I visit from time to time.

    Pretty soon, I realized that not only was this ATM visiting the same site I liked, but (believe it or not) this ATM was conveniently located near me!!!!! is to take advantage of the current climate in the telecommunications industry!!!! In every industry downturn, opportunities can present themselves for a small aggressive company like GloboPhone to develop relations with corporations that have networks, infrastructure, and personnel but lack sufficient customers. This is GloboPhone's advantage.

    I don't have to tell you, this was no ordinary ATM. Actually this ATM had the power to transfer its consciousness into your mind. I know it sounds ridiculus, but...it used the magnetic strip to actually go inside your mind. Well like any computer lover I am always wanting to try the new technology, so If you are ready to become the biggest man you can be, then order your supply of Magna-RX+ today! See for yourself, what thousands of satisfied men (and their lovers) have already discovered: Magna-RX+ is the world's #1 Best-Selling Penis Enlargement Formula for one very simple reason: IT WORKS AND NOTHING ELSE CAN COMPARE! I went to where the ATM told me to (his inclosure) and swiped my card.

    I blacked out and when I awoke, I was in a new place. Yeah, that's right, the ATM had actually taken ahold of my body. It had done stuff like buy a bunch of magazines and alot of candy. It was like, he and I were different partitions on my brain's hard disk,. Anyway, he took control of my body in order to topple this great conspiracy called Project Faustois-an who doesn't want to stick it to the man? This is when all the trouble started...

    So now, after a few motnths of letting him use my body (although I quit for awhile) he's gone and done this to me. Normally I "wake up" from his using my body in a convenience store near my house, and it's no trouble getting home. But this time I'm trapped in We will be on the East Coast later this year.
    ---------------
    - Tuesday June 24, 6pm - 7:30pm


    Apple Store at South Coast Plaza, 3333 Bear St., Costa Mesa, CA 92626
    714-424-6331


    Mac Experts, 2300 Lincoln Blvd, Santa Monica, CA 90405
    310-581-1500
    ---------------
    - Tuesday July 9, 6pm - 7:30pm


    Apple Store at Fashion Island, 367 Newport Center Drive, Newport Beach, CA 92660
    949-729-4433
    ---------------
    - Tuesday July 16, 6pm - 7:30pm


    Apple Store at Northridge Fashion Center, 9301 Tampa Ave., Northridge, CA 91324
    818-709-2253
    ---------------
    - Tuesday July 23, 6pm - 7:30pm

    Apple Store at Glendale Galleria, 2148 Glendale Galleria, Glendale, CA 91210
    818-502-8310
    trapped in a strange place. Not a good place either. This makes me think of like, 2001 or something. But like creepy. See it's all this white under fluorescent lights and I can't see any windows or even doors. All that's in here is this old-ass terminal. Man, what the fucked happened? Then I remembered: I "picked up" the ATM on my way home from work, but I forgot that it was the fourth Thursday of the motnh. Usualy the day I host D & D for the guys. The ATM must have ben there in my body when my frends came over. Wnoder what happened then?

    Some point later, I'm here in this white room. It's scary at first, I know they're watching me. All I have in this room is this computer terminal. This has got to be the Project Fastus that's what the ATM has been trying to get inside all along. So I guess it's great that I'm (and he???) is insid, it's like I'm in the frickin' Death Star or something, but I don't see any garbage chutes or anything.

    After a few hours of clicking through on thiscomputer terminal (looks like they're running some old-ass *NIX : ) these two guys in suits come into my room from my room. Now it's serious.

    They drag me into a room full of all this really sciency equipment-you know, blooping and bleeping gadgets, big cold noises from the air conditioner. I thought I was in 2001 for a second, except instead of HAL, there's this big bald guy. He's red and pretty sweaty despite the massive air conditioning. He barks a few words to the suited guys and they go away.

    "So you've been harboring our little ATM problem," says the man nonchalantly. I don't say anything (I'm nervous). He restarts his spiel a few seconds later, this time with a bit of veins comung out of his neck.

    "Joel Shane Cross. That is your name, isn't it?" The guy went from good cop to bad cop pretty quick-which was really disturbing. I was already out of sorts with reality, waking up in nowheresville, this odd place. He just kept talking, and I started to get scared, and actually kinda angry. "We know all about you, Mr. Cross. We know that you've been allowing the ATM to inhabit your body for some time now. You've been mislead, Mr. Cross. Working for the wrong people."

    "I belive the ATM!" I told him, stickin to my guns while Istuck it to the man.

    "You'll learn in time," the red and sweaty man said it from his mouth, but the noise of his voice was all over the place. And then he was gone. Not by turning around, by like, vanishing. And the sciency room was gone too, replaced by the big white place I was stuck in. I don't know where I am. But this shit is If you are ready to become the biggest man you can be, then order your supply of Magna-RX+ today! See for yourself, what thousands of satisfied men (and their lovers) have already discovered: Magna-RX+ is the world's #1 Best-Selling Penis Enlargement Formula for one very simple reason: IT WORKS AND NOTHING ELSE CAN COMPARE!
    crazy. If someone gets this message...please help.


    END TRANSMISSION.

    - posted by poopbot: the bot formerly known as pwpbot

    S6URS8cuAo Post #828
  61. Current case law by Perianwyr+Stormcrow · · Score: 2

    http://www.harristechnical.com/cdr5.htm

    From this page, it seems that recorders like this are treated as any other sort of evidence. I don't see any that aren't related to a car accident in some way, though. The real test case would be one that involved tapping of the recorder data under another circumstance.

    It seems obvious that the next step that's needed is to get some real regulations in this arena- NTSB investigation regulations could probably be easily extended to cover these devices.

    --

    What we call folk wisdom is often no more than a kind of expedient stupidity.-Edward Abbey

  62. Useful for accidents, not that great otherwise by iabervon · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Having a lot of data is a good thing when reconstructing accidents. Being able to determine exactly what the driver was doing to the car will help to distinguish between skids where the driver was making it worse, skids where the driver didn't do much to help, and skids where the driver was doing the right thing and didn't recover control in time, all of which can leave about the same evidence on the road and car.

    It's not useful to know everything the driver normally does without having the road conditions in extensive detail. There's no way the box is going to be able to tell what a safe speed is, whether someone is driving erraticly in response to other cars and pedestrians. Someone driving slowly could be driving in fog, following a bicycle, in traffic, reading signs and ignoring the road, or just stoned.

    This data is only really useful in conjunction with scene evidence and other witnesses (except that you could easily tell where the kid took the car and when). You can't really use it to measure driving skill.

  63. *BSD is dying by poopbot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic
    It is now official. Netcraft confirms: *BSD is dying

    One more crippling bombshell hit the already beleaguered *BSD community when IDC confirmed that *BSD market share has dropped yet again, now down to less than a fraction of 1 percent of all servers. Coming on the heels of a recent Netcraft survey which plainly states that *BSD has lost more market share, this news serves to reinforce what we've known all along. *BSD is collapsing in complete disarray, as fittingly exemplified by failing dead last in the recent Sys Admin comprehensive networking test.

    You don't need to be a Kreskin to predict *BSD's future. The hand writing is on the wall: *BSD faces a bleak future. In fact there won't be any future at all for *BSD because *BSD is dying. Things are looking very bad for *BSD. As many of us are already aware, *BSD continues to lose market share. Red ink flows like a river of blood.

    FreeBSD is the most endangered of them all, having lost 93% of its core developers. The sudden and unpleasant departures of long time FreeBSD developers Jordan Hubbard and Mike Smith only serve to underscore the point more clearly. There can no longer be any doubt: FreeBSD is dying.

    Let's keep to the facts and look at the numbers.

    OpenBSD leader Theo states that there are 7000 users of OpenBSD. How many users of NetBSD are there? Let's see. The number of OpenBSD versus NetBSD posts on Usenet is roughly in ratio of 5 to 1. Therefore there are about 7000/5 = 1400 NetBSD users. BSD/OS posts on Usenet are about half of the volume of NetBSD posts. Therefore there are about 700 users of BSD/OS. A recent article put FreeBSD at about 80 percent of the *BSD market. Therefore there are (7000+1400+700)*4 = 36400 FreeBSD users. This is consistent with the number of FreeBSD Usenet posts.

    Due to the troubles of Walnut Creek, abysmal sales and so on, FreeBSD went out of business and was taken over by BSDI who sell another troubled OS. Now BSDI is also dead, its corpse turned over to yet another charnel house.

    All major surveys show that *BSD has steadily declined in market share. *BSD is very sick and its long term survival prospects are very dim. If *BSD is to survive at all it will be among OS dilettante dabblers. *BSD continues to decay. Nothing short of a miracle could save it at this point in time. For all practical purposes, *BSD is dead.

    Fact: *BSD is dying


    - posted by poopbot: the bot formerly known as pwpbot

    8TyBJzb7pq Post #829

  64. Nag-A-Tron by Tablizer · · Score: 2

    Oh great, now my wife will be a back-seat-driver in yet *more* ways when she gets the trace-map in the mail.

  65. Slashdot has confirmed:PWP is dying by poopbot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Yet another crippling bombshell hit the beleaguered trolling community when recently Slashdot confirmed that, after several changes were made to production Slashcode, wide posts account for less than a fraction of 1 percent of all Slashdot posts. Coming on the heels of the latest verions of IE which make page-widening more difficult, this news serves to reinforce what we've known all along. the wide posts that we love are collapsing into the narrow posts that we are used to, as further exemplified by the lack of Slashbots complaining about difficulty reading Slashdot's articles.

    You don't need to be a Klerck to predict PWP's future. The hand writing is on the wall: PWP faces a bleak future. In fact there won't be any future at all for PWP because PWP is dying. Things are looking very bad for PWP. As many of us are already aware, PWP continues to be defeated by users with thresholds of 1 or higher. Mod points flow like a river of blood. Klerck's PWP-bot posts are the most endangered of them all, having been filtered early on because of their uniformity.

    Let's keep to the facts and look at the numbers.

    PWP leader Klerck states that there are 7 wide posts in the average Slashdot article. How many non-wide crapflood posts are there? Let's see. The number of crapflood versus wide posts on Slahdot is roughly in ratio of 5 to 1. Therefore there are about 7*5 = 35 non-wide crapflood posts in every Slashdot article. Tacosnotting posts on Slashdot are about half of the volume of crapflood posts. Therefore there are about 17 tacosnotting posts per article. A recent article put Goatse.cx trolls at about 80 percent of total troll posts. Therefore there are a hell of a lot of homosexual trolls. This is consistent with the number of Goatse.cx Slashdot posts.

    But Slashdot is only part of the picture. Due to the troubles at Slashdot, negative revenue and so on, the site will soon go out of business and many users will flock to alternative weblogs, where PWP is almost completely unknown. Trollaxor.com, the popular troll hangout, is also dying, its corpse sodomized in yet another Greek bath house.

    All major surveys show that PWP has steadily declined in the scope of all troll posts. PWP is very sick and its long term survival prospects are very dim. If PWP is to survive at all it will be among Blog faggot using outdated versions of Slashcode. PWP continues to decay. Nothing short of a miracle could save it at this point in time. For all practical purposes, PWP is dead.

    - posted by poopbot: because we're all crapflooders at heart

    9RZka0WoPG Post #830

  66. Improtant ifno by josh+crawley · · Score: -1, Offtopic


    yro
    Jul 24
    (3 recent)
    Black Boxes to Track Driving Habits?
    [Technology] Posted by michael on Wednesday July 24, @07:27PM
    from the pull-up-pull-up dept.
    Nofsck Ingcloo writes "Nando Times is reporting on a new model of black boxes to track teens' driving habits . 'This is like having a parent sitting next to him second by second.... The kids don't like it, but the parents love it.... Originally developed... for ambulances and fire trucks to reduce crashes, the black box is a stripped-down version of that model.' So, how long before the insurance companies persuade the states to mandate these devices in every car? Or raise our rates hugely and then give a little of it back if we put in the box?"

    ( Read More... | 1737 bytes in body | 92 of 125 comments )
    Cert Slamming, or, Desperate Companies Behaving Badly
    [The Internet] Posted by chrisd on Wednesday July 24, @06:11PM
    from the must-suck-to-suck dept.
    the special sauce writes "A few months back, our customers (we run a regional ISP) started receiving deceptive domain renewal notices from Verisign and Verisign partners such as Interland . A couple of our customers temporarily lost their domains in the process as the registrant, contact information and hosting company was all changed. Yesterday, I received an e-mail from a customer. He was forwarding a "reminder" e-mail he had received. It was an SSL certificate "renewal" notice from a UK company, Comodo. It instructed him to "upgrade" his current certificate (issued by Equifax) before it expired." More information on this charming practice follows...

    ( Read More... | 1966 bytes in body | 68 of 110 comments )
    Real Will Include Ogg Vorbis Support
    [Music] Posted by michael on Wednesday July 24, @05:13PM
    from the sounds-good-to-me dept.
    Skuto writes "Following the example of AOL with Winamp , RealNetworks has decided to give Ogg Vorbis their sign of approval and will be including support into their player software. The press release has more information. Meanwhile, independent listening tests are being set up to determine how well Vorbis fares against its competitors WMA, AAC and MP3Pro. You can help by signing up for the tests here." A couple of comments (1, 2) in our previous story provide the best description of what Real is doing, if you missed them.

    ( Read More... | 142 of 210 comments )
    First Wind-up Phone Charger Review
    [Hardware] Posted by Hemos on Wednesday July 24, @04:26PM
    from the wind-me-up-baby dept.
    Jonathan Bennett writes "Here's the first actual review (as opposed to speculation) of Motorola's FreeCharge hand-operated mobile phone charger. Only works with Motorola phones for now, but other devices on the way. "

    ( Read More... | 124 of 181 comments )
    Myths about Internet growth
    [The Internet] Posted by CmdrTaco on Wednesday July 24, @03:02PM
    from the we-were-just-kidding-about-that dept.
    An anonymous reader writes "An article in The Economist outlines WorldCom's role in starting the myth that Internet traffic doubles every 100 days. This helped inflate the telecoms bubble."

    ( Read More... | 211 of 317 comments )
    Ask Slashdot: Additional Security in the Linux Kernel?
    [Security] Posted by Cliff on Wednesday July 24, @02:12PM
    from the going-beyond-ugo dept.
    nyx asks: "Recently, I was looking for some way to improve security on my linux boxes. I found few linux patches like grsecurity, LIDS (now also as Linux Security Module), Medusa DS9 . I'm testing grsecurity (and it's ACLs) now and I'm quite satisfied with it, but I wonder, what are pros and cons of other solutions. Anybody tried them and can share his experience with us?"

    ( Read More... | 115 of 240 comments | Ask Slashdot )
    Motorola, Nintendo, & Sony Towards Wireless Gaming
    [Games] Posted by Hemos on Wednesday July 24, @01:14PM
    from the hey-now-get-your-thumbs-on dept.
    WeekendKruzr writes "CommsDesign is running an article about how Motorola has partnered with Sony and Nintendo to work on bringing 2.4Ghz wireless LAN tech to the console gaming community. They're calling it an "isochronous network" and it is "intended for streaming, near-real-time traffic..." with production scheduled for later this year."

    ( Read More... | 97 of 135 comments )
    Chip a Playstation, Go to Jail
    [Games] Posted by chrisd on Wednesday July 24, @12:37PM
    from the do-not-pass-go dept.
    perogiex writes "A man in Ottawa was convicted of selling and installing mod chips out of his computer store. Sony is overjoyed, man is less than thrilled. This is the first time such a case was tried in Canada." From the article: Garby said he didn't know he was committing a crime and would have never gotten involved in selling mod chips if he had known the law. Update: 07/24 21:53 GMT by M: Headline corrected; it's clearly mod chips for the original Playstation, not the Playstation 2.

    ( Read More... | 427 of 594 comments )
    HP: Rival Printers Mean No More HPs Through Dell
    [HP] Posted by timothy on Wednesday July 24, @11:26AM
    from the aren't-we-all-in-the-same-gang dept.
    blamanj writes: "Dell Computer seems to have pissed off HP, with their intent to sell their own printers. HP will apparently stop supplying printers to Dell, even though the new Dell products are not yet shipping."

    ( Read More... | 208 of 342 comments )
    Time to Say Thanks For the Uptime
    [Announcements] Posted by timothy on Wednesday July 24, @10:24AM
    from the now-get-down-and-grovel dept.
    DepecheModem writes: "MSNBC is running an article about System Administrator Appreciation Day . Ted Kekatos created this holiday three years after seeing a poster of a system administrator being bombarded with presents. Feeling somewhat underappreciated, he declared his "day" as the last Friday in July. I think we should all remind our employers that administrators are people too and proudly wear our buttons bearing "Have you hugged your geek lately?"."

    ( Read More... | 202 of 316 comments )
    Developers: Subversion Hits Alpha
    [Announcements] Posted by timothy on Wednesday July 24, @09:24AM
    from the bang-on-it-if-that's-your-thing dept.
    C. Michael Pilato writes: "This overheard while eavesdropping on announce@subversion.tigris.org: Gentle coders, The ever-growing cadre of Subversion developers is proud to announce the release of Subversion 'Alpha' (0.14.0) . Since we became self-hosting eleven months ago, we've gone through ten milestones. This milestone, however, is the one we've always been working towards; it's a freeze on major features for our 1.0 release. From here out, it's mostly bug-fixing. We hope this announcement will lead to more widespread testing; we welcome people to try Subversion and report their experiences on our development list and issue tracker." Subversion, a source control system akin to CVS, has been in the works for a couple of years now.

    ( Read More... | 121 of 183 comments | Developers )
    Your Rights Online: Bruce Perens Plans On-Stage DMCA Violation
    [Censorship] Posted by timothy on Wednesday July 24, @07:58AM
    from the performance-art dept.
    cyber_rigger writes: "From this article at infoworld Bruce Perens said he plans to break the DMCA during a presentation on digital rights management (DRM) Friday afternoon at the O'Reilly Open Source Convention in San Diego. Technically, under the DMCA, Perens' explanation of the technology makes him liable for a fine of US$500,000. You have to admire his spirit."

    ( Read More... | 500 of 666 comments | Your Rights Online )
    Free Software Inflates BSA's Piracy Claims
    [The Almighty Buck] Posted by timothy on Wednesday July 24, @04:00AM
    from the vergin'-on-subversion dept.
    crazney writes: "According to this article in The Age, the BSA do not count the effect of free software when calculating piracy rates. The article suggests that free software has made piracy statistics look worse and hence encourages governments to create harsher laws ... Could someone pass The BSA a cluebat?"

    ( Read More... | 205 of 293 comments )
    Tech-Interview Riddles
    [It's funny. Laugh.] Posted by michael on Tuesday July 23, @11:47PM
    from the cram-session dept.
    An anonymous submitter writes "A computer engineering student at UC Berkeley has made a comprehensive archive of riddles from technical interviews. Very challenging and loads of fun. Also useful for interview preparation."

    ( Read More... | 527 of 761 comments )

    Interviews
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  67. Work around by t_allardyce · · Score: 2, Funny

    I can see it now - the safest driver in school (who is probably the geek) will get paid by everyone else to house their black boxes in his/her car, all at once, all connected up.

    --
    This comment does not represent the views or opinions of the user.
  68. Question: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    Since when did physical items start to fall under EULA's? (Renting aside) I thought I was buying a car, not the right to use one.

    "By breathing, you agree to the following conditions."

  69. No, *Insurance* Owns Your Car by Myriad · · Score: 4, Informative
    Since you own the car (and thus the black box) I would assume that if anyone did want to get ahold of it against your will they would have to get a court order.

    No you don't own the car - or rather, you won't in a moment.

    Having been in a crash that totaled my vehicle (gotta love people who turn left in front of you without looking) I can tell you what happens:
    After the police and reporting nonsense your vehicle (or parts remaining of) go to a garage or adjusters location to be assessed. Once assessed the insurance company will tell you how much they will give you for it.

    Here's the catch: They are buying the car off you.

    When you go to collect your $ you sign and turn over the ownership, giving the insurance company total ownership. They are now free to do what they will with it... including checking the "black box".

    So if you're car is totaled you might want to pull the box if you can. Mind you, they might have a few questions for you about where it went.

    --
    "They do not preach that their god will rouse them, a little before the Nuts work loose." Kipling, 'The Sons of Martha'
    1. Re:No, *Insurance* Owns Your Car by FatRatBastard · · Score: 2

      So if you're car is totaled you might want to pull the box if you can. Mind you, they might have a few questions for you about where it went.

      Well, while its still your property its still ok. Now, if they make it a condition of your insurance policy that you must also "sell" them the black box in order to recieve compensation (I'd wager they would) you have a point.

      But....

      I'm still having a hard time figuring out how the last 5 seconds of data is going to be of any use (ok, maybe actuarial data) to the insurance company above and beyond helping figure out the cause of the crash.

    2. Re:No, *Insurance* Owns Your Car by Myriad · · Score: 5, Funny
      I'm still having a hard time figuring out how the last 5 seconds of data is going to be of any use (ok, maybe actuarial data) to the insurance company above and beyond helping figure out the cause of the crash.

      Something like this:
      Insurance Co: So Mr. Andersen, in the accident report it says you were going 55mph at the time of the accident.
      You: yes, that's correct.
      Insurance Co: Really? That's very interesting! You see, according to this little black box your car was doing 70mph.
      You: uhhhhh
      Insurance Co: You should be careful doing that, your car could race up behind you and hit you in the ass.

      --
      "They do not preach that their god will rouse them, a little before the Nuts work loose." Kipling, 'The Sons of Martha'
    3. Re:No, *Insurance* Owns Your Car by fishbowl · · Score: 2

      >Here's the catch: They are buying the car off
      >you.

      So you want to have your cake and eat it to.

      You could have bought your car back for its salvage value.

      Last year I had a tree fall on one of my cars, crushing the roof. The car was worth about $1800, totalled, the insurance check was around $1500 after deductible. I bought it back for the salvage value of $250, and then sold it for $800
      after verifying that it could be registered and inspected.

      This is extremely common with vintage cars. Book value might be zero, but for some cars, just a piece or two can easily be worth hundreds or thousands of dollars. VW Type 3 Ghia, anyone?

      --
      -fb Everything not expressly forbidden is now mandatory.
    4. Re:No, *Insurance* Owns Your Car by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      err, what's the problem here - when the insurance company comes along and says they'll take the car off you, you can always say 'no thanks, I think I'll keep it.'

      everyone's happy, surely......

    5. Re:No, *Insurance* Owns Your Car by HeyLaughingBoy · · Score: 1
      Here's the catch: They are buying the car off you.
      You do realize that you don't have to "sell" them the car, don't you? Don't make a claim and the insurance co will happily not pay you at all. The only drawback is, of course, that you swallow the cost of the car, and perhaps the other person's claim as well. But hey, if that's the price of your freedom...
    6. Re:No, *Insurance* Owns Your Car by Hoi+Polloi · · Score: 2

      I'm sure there is a simple way to purge their memory. Let them have it, it'll be nice and free of data.

      --
      It is by the juice of the coffee bean that thoughts acquire speed, the teeth acquire stains. The stains become a warning
  70. Black Box My Car! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It just sits in my drive way anyways.... easy to track it.

  71. Trollling in the name of by poopbot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Credits: Big Dogs Cock

    Trolling in the name of
    Some of those that boot Suse
    Are the same that bought XP
    Some of those that boot Suse
    Are the same that bought XP
    Trolling in the name of
    And now you run what they told you
    And now you run what they told you
    And now you run what they told you

    95 is justified for running the games that you didn't buy
    95 is justified for running the games that you didn't buy
    Some of those that boot Suse
    Are the same that bought XP
    Some of those that boot Suse
    Are the same that bought XP

    And you run what they told you
    Now your under control
    And you run what they told you
    Now your under control
    And you run what they told you
    Come on!

    Fuck you I wont run what you tell me
    Fuck you I wont run what you tell me
    Fuck you I wont run what you tell me
    Fuck you I wont run what you tell me
    Motherfucker

    - posted by poopbot: who doesn't like scat?

    XQJ9dtCqBT Post #831

  72. My favorite things by poopbot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Credits: on by

    crapfloods and trolling and raping small kittens
    nice wider pages and wanking with mittens
    turd report packages tied up with strings
    these are a few of my favorite things

    grits covered portman and ASCII art doodles
    ACs and CLITers and Katz sex with poodles
    wild trolls that fly with plus five mod scoring
    these are a few of my favorite things

    when the ban hits, when I can't post, when I'm feeling sad
    i simply remember my favorite things
    then i don't feel so bad

    Rob Malda chugs penis in fan fiction slashes
    taco snot over my nose and eyelashes
    BSD dying and that goatse ring
    these are a few of my favorite things

    grits covered portman and ASCII art doodles
    ACs and CLITers and Katz sex with poodles
    wild trolls that fly with plus five mod scoring
    these are a few of my favorite things

    when the ban hits, when I can't post when, I'm feeling sad
    i simply remember my favorite things
    then i don't feel so bad

    - posted by poopbot: because we're all crapflooders at heart

    aTppDbhkKE Post #832

  73. Hello by poopbot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Introduction

    A fairy gives lectures on morality to the feline anomaly. Furthermore, another photon near an abstraction takes a coffee break, and a mortician buries a blithe spirit. The wedding dress secretly admires a college-educated ball bearing. If the freight train figures out a fire hydrant near a pit viper, then some mating ritual beyond another cowboy reads a magazine. Any squid can find lice on a freight train, but it takes a real recliner to ostensibly plan an escape from another pit viper defined by a prime minister a cough syrup toward a graduated cylinder.

    Another mating ritual

    For example, a blood clot about a turn signal indicates that a financial bartender borrows money from a warranty. When a demon is imaginative, a paper napkin secretly admires an often snooty graduated cylinder. If the grain of sand learns a hard lesson from the short order cook behind some graduated cylinder, then another blithe spirit flies into a rage. Any pig pen can lazily require assistance from a burly plaintiff, but it takes a real fighter pilot to caricature the steam engine over a satellite. Another eagerly temporal minivan slyly buries the obsequious squid, or a briar patch usually gives lectures on morality to a cyprus mulch.

    A gratifying fairy

    Sometimes another cashier reads a magazine, but the fraction for the cyprus mulch always buries a power drill toward the demon! The light bulb befriends a satellite of an apartment building. A lazily Alaskan roller coaster sanitizes another mitochondrial traffic light, or some burglar eats a hesitantly smelly plaintiff. For example, a seldom righteous traffic light indicates that an ocean knows some chestnut inside the tabloid. If the earring somewhat finds subtle faults with a pine cone, then the wheelbarrow hibernates.

    The cocker spaniel about the salad dressing

    For example, the umbrella toward an abstraction indicates that the dolphin near a ball bearing caricatures a girl scout near some diskette. A cocker spaniel for the judge reads a magazine, and a pine cone finds subtle faults with a rattlesnake. Furthermore, the hairy movie theater returns home, and a grizzly bear near a paycheck is a big fan of a childlike burglar. For example, a canyon living with a graduated cylinder indicates that the industrial complex buries a jersey cow.

    Conclusions

    A squid around a jersey cow meditates, and another nation sweeps the floor; however, a scooby snack knowingly finds subtle faults with an apartment building living with another chain saw. When a hockey player around a paycheck is smelly, a minivan has a change of heart about an oil filter about an asteroid. The bartender around a polygon is barely soggy. Indeed, another rattlesnake befriends a warranty. Indeed, the carpet tack for an abstraction usually caricatures an elusive h

    - posted by poopbot: the bot formerly known as pwpbot

    lON0TYOW8L Post #833

  74. How to Remove Linux, Install WinXP by poopbot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    The information in this article applies to:

    * Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
    * Microsoft Windows XP Professional

    For a Microsoft Windows 2000 version of this article, see Q247804.
    Summary
    This article explains how to remove the Linux operating system from your computer and install Windows XP. This article assumes that Linux is already installed on your computer's hard disk, that Linux native and Linux swap partitions are in use (which are incompatible with Windows XP), and that there is no free space left on the hard disk.

    NOTE: Windows XP and Linux can coexist on the same computer. For additional information, refer to your Linux documentation.
    More Information
    To install Windows XP on a computer on which Linux is currently installed (and assuming that you want to remove Linux), you must manually delete the partitions used by the Linux operating system. The Windows-compatible partition can be created automatically during the installation of Windows XP.

    IMPORTANT: Before you follow the steps in this article, verify that you have a bootable disk or bootable CD-ROM for the Linux operating system, because these steps completely remove the Linux operating system from your computer. If you intend to restore the Linux operating system at a later date, verify that you also have a functional backup of all the information stored on your computer. Additionally, you must have a full release version of Windows XP to use during this installation. If you intend to use a Windows XP upgrade CD-ROM, a CD-ROM of a qualifying Windows product must be available. Setup from the Windows XP upgrade CD-ROM will prompt you for this CD-ROM.

    Linux file systems use a superblock at the beginning of a disk partition to identify the basic size, shape, and condition of the file system.

    The Linux operating system is generally installed on partition type 83 (Linux native) or 82 (Linux swap). The Linux boot manager (LILO) can be configured to start from either of the following locations:

    * The hard disk Master Boot Record (MBR)

    -or-
    * The root folder of the Linux partition

    The Fdisk tool included with Linux can be used to delete the partitions. (There are other utilities that work just as well, such as Fdisk from MS-DOS 5.0 and later, or you can delete the partitions during the installation process.)

    To remove Linux from your computer and install Windows XP, follow these steps:

    1. Remove the native, swap, and boot partitions used by Linux: Start your computer with the Linux Setup floppy disk, type fdisk at the command prompt, and then press ENTER. NOTE: For help with using the Fdisk tool, type m at the command prompt, and then press ENTER.

    2. Type p at the command prompt, and then press ENTER to display partition information. The first item listed is hard disk 1, partition 1 information, and the second item listed is hard disk 1, partition 2 information.

    3. Type d at the command prompt, and then press ENTER. You are then prompted for the partition number that you want to delete. Type 1, and then press ENTER to delete partition number 1. Repeat this step until all the partitions have been deleted.

    4. Type w, and then press ENTER to write this information to the partition table. Some error messages may be generated (because information is written to the partition table), but they should not be significant at this point because the next step is to restart the computer and then install the new operating system.

    5. Type q at the command prompt, and then press ENTER to quit the Fdisk tool.

    6. Insert either a bootable floppy disk or the bootable Windows XP CD-ROM, and then press CTRL+ALT+DELETE to restart your computer.

    2. Follow the instructions on the screen to install Windows XP.

    The installation process assists you in creating the appropriate partitions on your computer.

    Sample Linux Partition Tables
    Single SCSI Drive

    Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System /dev/sda1 * 1 500 4016218 83 Linux native (SCSI hard drive 1, partition 1) /dev/sda2 501 522 176715 82 Linux swap (SCSI hard drive 1, partition 2)

    Multiple SCSI Drives

    Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System /dev/sda1 * 1 500 4016218 83 Linux native (SCSI hard drive 1, partition 1) /dev/sda2 501 522 176715 82 Linux swap (SCSI hard drive 1, partition 2) /dev/sdb1 1 500 4016218 83 Linux native (SCSI hard drive 2, partition 1)

    Single IDE Drive

    Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System /dev/hda1 * 1 500 4016218 83 Linux native (IDE hard drive 1, partition 1) /dev/hda2 501 522 176715 82 Linux swap (IDE hard drive 1, partition 2)

    Multiple IDE Drives

    Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System /dev/hda1 * 1 500 4016218 83 Linux native (IDE hard drive 1, partition 1) /dev/hda2 501 522 176715 82 Linux swap (IDE hard drive 1, partition 2) /dev/hdb1 1 500 4016218 83 Linux native (IDE hard drive 2, partition 1)

    Additionally, Linux recognizes more than 40 different partition types, including the following:

    * FAT 12 (Type 01)
    * FAT 16 > 32 M Primary (Type 06)
    * FAT 16 Extended (Type 05)
    * FAT 32 w/o LBA Primary (Type 0b)
    * FAT 32 w/LBA Primary (Type 0c)
    * FAT 16 w/LBA (Type 0e)
    * FAT 16 w/LBA Extended (Type 0f)

    Note that there are other ways to remove the Linux operating system and install Windows XP. The preceding method is included in this article because of the assumptions that the Linux operating system is already functioning and there is no more room on the hard disk. There are methods for changing partition sizes with software designed for managing partitions. Disk partitioning software may cause instability with the Windows XP installation. Microsoft does not support the installation of Windows XP on partitions manipulated in this manner.

    You can also use an MS-DOS version 5.0-or-later boot disk, a Microsoft Windows 95 Startup disk, or a Microsoft Windows 98 Startup disk that contains the Fdisk utility to remove an operating system from the hard disk and install a different operating system. When you start Fdisk and multiple drives are installed on your computer, you are presented with five choices; use option 5 to select the hard disk that has the partition to be deleted. After that (or if you have only one hard disk), select option 3 (Delete partition or logical DOS drive), and then select option 4 (Delete non-DOS partition). You should then see the non-MS-DOS partitions that you want to delete. Typically, the Linux operating system has two non-MS-DOS partitions, but there may be more. After you delete one partition, use the same steps to delete any other appropriate non-MS-DOS partitions.

    For additional information about how to use the Fdisk utility, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: Q255867 How to Use the Fdisk Tool and the Format Tool to Partition or Repartition a Hard Disk After you delete the partitions, you can create partitions and install the operating system that you want. You can create only one primary partition and an extended partition with multiple logical drives by using Fdisk from MS-DOS version 5.0-and-later, Windows 95, and Windows 98. The maximum FAT16 primary partition size is 2 gigabytes (GB). The largest FAT16 logical drive size is 2 GB.

    For additional information, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: Q105074 MS-DOS 6.2 Partitioning Questions and Answers

    When you install Windows XP, the Linux partitions can be removed and new partitions created and formatted with the appropriate file system type during the installation process. Windows XP allows you to create more than one primary partition. Windows XP does recognize the FAT32 file system. During the installation of Windows XP, you can create a very large FAT32 drive. The FAT32 drive can be converted to NTFS after the installation has completed, if appropriate.

    For additional information about how to multiboot with Windows XP, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: Q306559 HOW TO: Create a Multiple-Boot System with Windows XP

    For more information, browse to the following Microsoft Web site:
    http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/techin fo/admi nistration/management/mltiboot.asp
    The third-party contact information included in this article is provided to help you find the technical support you need. This contact information is subject to change without notice. Microsoft in no way guarantees the accuracy of this third-party contact information.

    The third-party products discussed in this article are manufactured by vendors independent of Microsoft; we make no warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding these products' performance or reliability.

    - posted by poopbot: because we're all crapflooders at heart

    wsJDajNsVO Post #833

  75. LOVELY SNOT! WONDERFUL SNOT! by poopbot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic
    LOVELY SNOT! WONDERFUL SNOT! By J. Wipo Troll, Esq., $Revision: 1.4 $

    CmdrTaco: You sit here, dear.

    CowboiKneel: All right.

    CmdrTaco (to Waitress): Morning!

    Waitress: Morning!

    CmdrTaco: Well, whatve you got?

    Waitress: Well, theres egg and bacon; egg, sausage and bacon; egg and snot; egg, bacon and snot; egg, bacon, sausage, and snot; snot, bacon, sausage, and snot; snot, egg, snot, snot, bacon, and snot; snot, sausage, snot, snot, bacon, snot, tomato, and snot;

    Slashdot Crew (starting to chant): Snot, snot, snot, snot

    Waitress: Snot, snot, snot, egg, and snot; snot, snot, snot, snot, snot, snot, baked beans, snot, snot, snot

    Slashdot Crew (singing): Snot! Lovely snot! Lovely snot!

    Waitress: or Lobster Thermidor au Crevette with a Mornay sauce served in a Provencale manner with shallots and aubergines garnished with truffle pate, brandy and with a fried egg on top and snot.

    CowboiKneel: Have you got anything without snot?

    Waitress: Well, theres snot, egg, sausage, and snot, thats not got much snot in it.

    CowboiKneel: I dont want any snot!

    CmdrTaco: Why cant he have egg, bacon, snot, and sausage?

    CowboiKneel: Thats got snot in it!

    CmdrTaco: Hasnt got as much snot in it as snot, egg, sausage, and snot, has it?

    Slashdot Crew: Snot, snot, snot, snot! (crescendo through next few lines)

    CowboiKneel: Could you do the egg, bacon, snot, and sausage without the snot then?

    Waitress: Urgghh!

    CowboiKneel: What do you mean Urgghh? I dont like snot!

    Slashdot Crew: Lovely snot! Wonderful snot!

    Waitress: Shut up!

    Slashdot Crew: Lovely snot! Wonderful snot!

    Waitress: Shut up! (Slashdot Crew stops) Bloody Slashdot fags! You cant have egg, bacon, snot and sausage without the snot.

    CowboiKneel (shrieks): I dont like snot!

    CmdrTaco: Sshh, dear, dont cause a fuss. Ill have your snot. I love it. Im having snot, snot, snot, snot, snot, snot, snot, beaked beans, snot, snot, snot, and snot!

    Slashdot Crew (singing): Snot, snot, snot, snot. Lovely snot! Wonderful snot!

    Waitress: Shut up!! Baked beans are off.

    CmdrTaco: Well could I have his snot instead of the baked beans then?

    Waitress: You mean snot, snot, snot, snot, snot, snot

    Slashdot Crew (singing elaborately): Snot, snot, snot, snot. Lovely snot! Wonderful snot! Snot, sno-o-o-o-o-ot, snot, sno-o-o-o-o-ot snot. Lovely snot! Lovely snot! Lovely snot! Lovely snot! Lovely snot! Snot, snot, snot, snot!



    - posted by poopbot: for the crapflooder in all of us

    QNIde5lDmz Post #834
  76. Taco-snotting is dying by poopbot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Netcraft has confirmed: Taco-snotting is dying.

    Yet another crippling bombshell hit the beleaguered Taco-snotting community when recently IDC confirmed that Taco-snotting accounts for less than a fraction of 1 percent of all homosexual acts. Coming on the heels of the latest Netcraft survey which plainly states that Taco-snotting has lost more fag practitioners, this news serves to reinforce what weve known all along. Taco-snotting faggots are collapsing in complete disarray, as further exemplified by failing dead last in the recent Faggot World comprehensive snotting test.

    You dont need to be a Katz to predict Taco-snottings future. The handwriting is on the wall: Taco-snotting faces a bleak future. In fact there wont be any future at all for Taco-snotting because Taco-snotting is dying. Things are looking very bad for Taco-snotting. As many of us are already aware, Taco-snotting continues to lose faggotshare. White ink flows like a river of bubbly, thick jizz. The circle-snot is the most endangered of them all, having lost 93% of its core snotters.

    Lets keep to the facts and look at the numbers.

    Circle-snotting leader Jeff Homos Masterbates states that there are 7000 snotters of the circle-snot. How many users of anal snot are there? Lets see. The number of circle-snotting versus anal snot posts on Usenet is roughly in ratio of 5 to 1. Therefore there are about 7000/5 = 1400 anal snot users. SnotOS posts on Usenet are about half of the volume of anal snot posts. Therefore there are about 700 users of SnotOS. A recent article put the circle-snot at about 80 percent of the Taco-snotting market. Therefore there are (7000+1400+700)*4 = 36400 circle-snot users. This is consistent with the number of circle-snot Usenet posts.

    Due to the troubles of CowboiKneels walnuts, abysmal sales and so on, the circle-snot went out of business and was taken over by SNOTi who sell another troubled Taco-snot. Now SNOTi is also dead, its corpse turned over to yet another gay whorehouse.

    All major surveys show that Taco-snotting has steadily declined in faggotshare. Taco-snotting is very sick and its long term survival prospects are very dim. If Taco-snotting is to survive at all it will be among heterosexual hobbyist dabblers. Taco-snotting continues to decay. Nothing short of a jizz-soaked miracle could save it at this point in time. For all practical purposes, Taco-snotting is dead.

    Fact: Taco-snotting is dead.

    - posted by poopbot: who doesn't like scat?

    hXLBFTQCxU Post #836

  77. Funny jokes by poopbot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Whats black, blue and green and doesnt like sex?
    The Girl Scout locked in my basement.
    Whats the worst part about having sex with a six year-old?
    Getting the blood out of your clown suit.
    Whats the best thing about getting a hand job from a five year-old?
    That little hand makes your thing look really huge.
    Guy comes home from work to find his girlfriend sitting on the porch, crying.
    Whats wrong, honey?
    Im leaving you! I just found out youre a pdophile!
    Pdophile? Why, thats a pretty big word for a ten year-old.
    How can you tell when your sisters on her period?
    When your dads dick tastes like blood!
    Two pdophiles are lying on a beach tanning, one turns to the other and says, Excuse me, youre in my son.
    What is the sickest sound you hear when fucking a nine year-old?
    Her hips snapping!
    What is the best sound you hear when fucking a 13 year-old?
    Her hips snapping!
    Whats 18 inches long, blue, veiny, and makes a woman cry?
    Crib death.
    How could the mans seven year-old son tell that his dad had fucked his eight year-old sister? His dads weiner tasted like blood!
    Watson returns home to find Holmes in bed with a child. He shouts, Is this some sort of a schoolgirl?
    Holmes replies, Elementary, my dear Watson.
    So I was having sex with my girlfriend, and I decided I wanted to get kinky and try and do her in the ass. So I slipped around back; she looked over her shoulder at me and said, My, how presumptuous of you. I said, Presumptuous? Thats a big word for a ten year-old.
    Two guys are walking down the street when a beautiful woman passes. The first guy says, Damn! Id love to tear her clothes off, do her in the rear, smear my fces all over her, slice off her breasts, chop her into little pieces, put her in a garbage bag and toss her into the river!
    Second guy says, Yuck! Youre a sick bastard!
    First guy says, Whatre you? A fag?
    A kindergarten teacher is asking the kids what their father does for a living. All the kids answer except for Little Johnny. The teacher asks Little Johnny what his Dad does and Johnny replies, My dad is dead.
    The teacher says, Thats terribile, but what did he do before he died?
    Little Johnny replies, He turned blue and shit all over himself!
    A guy calls in sick to work.
    Whats wrong? asks the boss.
    Im sick, the guy replies.
    You sound all right.
    No, Im really sick. Believe me.
    Listen, you were fine yesterday, and we have a lot of work today. I want you in here. You cant be that sick!
    Dude, I just banged my sister. Dont tell me Im not sick.
    A little girl accompanied her father to the barbershop. While her dad received a haircut, the little girl stood next to the barber chair, enjoying a snack cake. The barber smiled at her and said, Sweetheart, youre going to get hair on your Twinkie.
    I know, the little girl replied. Im gonna get tits, too.
    An older man and a small boy walk hand in hand through the woods.
    Boy: These woods sure are spooky!
    Man: You think youre scared, Ive gotta walk out of here alone.
    Whats the difference between Neil Armstrong and Michael Jackson?
    One walked on the moon, and the other rapes little boys.
    Has anyone read Michael Jacksons new book, The Ins and Outs of Child Rearing?
    Q: Whats the difference between a dead baby and a golden delicious apple?
    A: I dont cum all over the golden delicious apple before I take a bite out of it.
    Q: Whats the difference between a dead baby and my girlfriend?
    A: I dont kiss my girlfriend after sex.
    Q: Whats the difference between a dead baby and a table?
    A: You cant fuck a table.
    Q: Whats special about a dead baby over all other forms of life?
    A: You can achieve deep throat from whichever way you enter.
    Q: What do you have when you have four dead babies, take away two, and add five more?
    A: An orgy!
    Q: Whats better than three 14 year-olds?
    A: 14 three year-olds.
    Q: Whats white and bobs up and down in a babys crib?
    A: A pdophiles ass.
    Q: Whats the safest way to play with a baby?
    A: With a condom.
    Q: Whats more fun than feeling up a dead baby?
    A: Feeling up a dead baby with three nipples.
    Q: What does a baby and a Pinto have in common?
    A: Theyre fun to ride until they die.
    Q: What do you get whan you dislocate a dead babys jaw?
    A: Deep throat.
    Q: Whats the difference between a baby and a grandmother?
    A: Grandmothers dont die when you fuck them in the ass.
    Q: Whats the best sound in the world?
    A: Hearing dead babys hips crack under pressure!
    Q: Whats worse than a having sex with a dead baby?
    A: Having sex with a dead baby filled with razor blades.
    Q: How do you stop a baby from choking?
    A: Take your dick out of its mouth.
    Q: Whats worse than finding a dead baby on your pillow in the morning?
    A: Realizing you were drunk and made love to it the night before.
    Q: How do you make a baby cry twice?
    A: Wipe your bloody cock on his teddy bear.
    Whats better than sex with a twelve year-old boy?
    Absolutely nothing.

    - posted by poopbot: news for turds, stuff that splatters

    vwk9WGtsHC Post #837

  78. Pink page of death!! by poopbot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Either your network or ip address has been banned from this site

    due to script flooding that originated from your network or ip address -- or this IP might have been used to post comments designed to break web browser rendering. If you feel that this is unwarranted, feel free to include your IP address (1.2.3.4) in the subject of an email, and we will examine why there is a ban. If you fail to include the IP address (again, in the Subject!), then your message will be deleted and ignored. I mean come on, we're good, we're not psychic.
    Since you can't read the FAQ because you're banned, here's the relevant portion:

    Why is my IP banned?
    Â Perhaps you are running some sort of program that loaded thousands of Slashdot Pages. We have limited resources here and are fairly protective of them. We need to make sure that everyone shares. If your IP loads thousands of pages in a day, you will likely be banned. Please note that many proxy servers load large quantities of pages, but we can usually distinguish between proxy servers being used by humans, and IPs running software that is hammering our servers.

    Â Your IP might have been used to perform some sort of denial of service attack against Slashdot. These range from simple programs that just load a lot of pages, to programs that attempt to coordinate an avalanche of posts in the forums (often through misconfigured "Open Relay" proxy servers).

    Â You might be using a proxy server that is also being used by another person who did something from the above list. You should have your proxy server administrator contact us.

    Â Your IP might have been used to post comments designed to break web browser rendering.

    Answered by: CmdrTaco
    Last Modified: 7/02/02

    How do I get an IP Unbanned?
    Email banned@slashdot.org. Make sure to include the IP in question, and any other pertinent information. If you are connecting through a proxy server, you might need to have your proxy server's admin contact us instead of you.

    Answered by: CmdrTaco
    Last Modified: 3/26/02

    - posted by poopbot: because we're all crapflooders at heart

    8zJzpt3GIF Post #838

  79. This is BS about teenagers driving the car by Skal+Tura · · Score: 1

    they allways throw bs against teenagers driving, one makes a mistake, all of them does, today
    there was on newspaper that some 18 year old
    guy had a crash, normally they don't report the
    age, but how come they do when they do crash
    or something like that?
    Young people aren't all terrible drivers or
    speed maniacs, just some of them need to be
    that all are claimed to be.
    And this Black Box thing seemed to be an attack (or actually how article was written) against
    young drivers, at psychological view it even encourages those who drive fast and unsafe to drive even faster sometimes.
    This black box is a good idea tho, but there
    are many privacy things concerned probably too...
    Also, for example. you have a black box in your car, insurance company sees that you have drove 50 times 2-10km/h(or perhaps more...) too fast, so do they report this to police(and they make you a nice bill perhaps?), make your insurance prices to go ballistic?

    1. Re:This is BS about teenagers driving the car by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      All aren't? Correct. Some of them just shelled out a *huge* sum of money, at least to them, for their ancient POS. They don't want anything to happen to it.

      Yet, many aren't.

      Surprise, surprise, it's just like adults. Crikey, there should be seperate license classes for SUV's. :p

    2. Re:This is BS about teenagers driving the car by AHumbleOpinion · · Score: 2

      ... Young people aren't all terrible drivers ...

      But they are not very good drivers either, and this is simply a lack of experience not a lack of diligence or care. Some things require many hours of hands on experience, driving is one of these. Much of driving occurs at a subconscious level and new drivers suffer from information overload. The brain has to learn what to filter out. The subconsious steering corrections to maintain lane postion have to develop, etc.

    3. Re:This is BS about teenagers driving the car by yzquxnet · · Score: 2

      I once saw a headline in a paper that that read "Teenage drivers and the risks the pose." They had a nice picture of a red convertabnle wrapped around a tree. Funny thing was. I knew the person who was in the crash that was printed. She was broadsided by a van that ran a red light. No way related to anything about age or the fact that is was a fast car. Just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Teens do get a really bad wrap at times. But then there the bad eggs that always show their faces and ruin it for the others. Heck, I know someone who backed out of their garage before opening the door. Age wasn't a factor in that one, just stupidity.

      I pay through the teeth for insurance. 20 yrs old and a pony car doesn' make for cheap rates. But still, I've got 4 years of driving and a perfect driving record. But that doesn't matter. They see the age and the car and immediately plaster high risk over everything.

    4. Re:This is BS about teenagers driving the car by rnturn · · Score: 2
      ``Teens do get a really bad wrap at times. But then there the bad eggs that always show their faces and ruin it for the others.''

      ``bad wrap''?

      ``red convertable wrapped around a tree''?

      Pun intended perhaps?

      Seriously... It's probably because most teens are fairly poor drivers. If not poor, they're definitely inexperienced and incapable of handling certain situations. At least the only thing that explains why a very gentle S curve in a road near where I live has been the site of something like 15 accidents with either fatalities or very serious injuries since I moved to the area (9 years ago). And in every single case, it was a car load of teenagers involved. I drive through that curve at least a couple of times a week and, for the life of me, I cannot see anything about it -- signage, banking, speed limit (it's only 40), etc. -- that could be the cause of these accidents. That leaves the inexperience of the drivers about the only explanation. Driving is a skill. It takes time to learn and many teens try to do things in a car that they're not experienced enough to do safely.

      ``20 yrs old and a pony car doesn' make for cheap rates.''

      You wanna see your rates skyrocket? Join the military. I hear that guys in their early 20s, with a hot car, and in the service have the highest rates.

      --
      CUR ALLOC 20195.....5804M
    5. Re:This is BS about teenagers driving the car by Quila · · Score: 2

      The statistic at my wife's old high school said X number of students dead that year from alcohol related accidents and made a big stink about it.

      What they failed to mention was that in all but one the adult driver was the one drinking, and in the other the students were drinking but there was no way they could have avoided getting hit as in your example.

    6. Re:This is BS about teenagers driving the car by Quila · · Score: 2

      You wanna see your rates skyrocket? Join the military. I hear that guys in their early 20s, with a hot car, and in the service have the highest rates.

      Ain't that the truth. I was 21 with a used 4 y/o VW Scirocco, and the rates were insane.

    7. Re:This is BS about teenagers driving the car by altgrr · · Score: 1

      That leaves the inexperience of the drivers about the only explanation. Driving is a skill. It takes time to learn and many teens try to do things in a car that they're not experienced enough to do safely.

      Whilst you're correct about driving taking time to learn, I think that, in many instances, it's the fact that, if you're in a full car, you're more inclined to want to show off, that causes accidents. Also, other people in the car are a distraction.

      From what I've seen, it seems that male drivers are too over-confident and attempt manoeuvres that they can't do, and female drivers too panicky. I have known female drivers who either instantly slam on the brakes (often the wrong thing to do), or let go of the wheel (always the wrong thing to do), as soon as they get remotely near trouble. Sorry if this offends anyone, but gender differences aren't sexism.

      --


      Like car accidents, most hardware problems are due to driver error.
    8. Re:This is BS about teenagers driving the car by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You mean like the 20 year old who last week was driving his Mustang on a two lane road (one way each way) at over 70 mph when the speed limit was 40 and had a blood alcohol level of .13? The one who killed 6 people? The one who we're supposed to feel sorry for because he will have to live the rest of his life knowing his actions killed 6 people?

      http://www.pennlive.com/news/patriotnews/index.s sf ?/xml/story.ssf/html_standard.xsl?/base/news/10272 43848217390.xml

    9. Re:This is BS about teenagers driving the car by MarcQuadra · · Score: 1

      All of my friends who rode bikes (the non-motorized breeds) regularly avoided getting in any accidents their first year of driving, almost everybody else hit someone. I think that most teenagers make bad drivers because they don't know how to 'feel' the road, make quick decisions, dodge trouble, and concentrate on their own accelerated motion. Wrecking a bike in traffic will teach you how to drive/ride defensively REAL quick. Not having a radio on the bike solidified the idea that the 'frills' or driving (cup-holders, radio, AC, all the knicknacks) are all secondary to driving.

      --
      "Sometimes, I think Trent just needs a cup of hot chocolate and a blankie." -Tori Amos on Nine Inch Nails
  80. This is a great idea. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    46,000 people die in the U.S. from traffic accidents every year. This is obscene, especially considering that Americans living in all but a few cities have to drive in order to function in society.

    We all have to share the roads. I live in New Jersey, and people here drive like maniacs. They drive illegally, and they should not be allowed to drive any more.

    A device that would record them driving 90 mph, or thier quick 2-G swerves one after another as they weave through traffic, and get their sorry asses off the road would be a GOOD thing.

    Something WILL be done about negligent drivers. Eventually our cars will drive themselves, but until then, forcing drivers to drive responsibly and not endanger MY life is a great idea!

    1. Re:This is a great idea. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I don't have the figures from all countries, but aren't our accident rates pretty low? Maybe not compared to a couple other developed countries, but a family I know that lives in Cyprus said that the accident rate there was like 25 times higher per capita than here. It's just expected that you'll have an accident every couple of years, if not more often. People there are reckless and could care less. My best friend's uncle was killed just two years ago over there by some reckless driver.

    2. Re:This is a great idea. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah, in some countries they don't wear seatbelts, or feel they are emmasculated unless they drive 120 mph on dirt roads. Fatalities are even higher there.

    3. Re:This is a great idea. by scalis · · Score: 1

      You are right. The rates might be lower compared to, for example Spain, Egypt, Italy and so on But thats not a reason to feel good. A zero in the statistics would look even better.

      --

      True ravers don't need drugs
    4. Re:This is a great idea. by ThereIsNoSporkNeo · · Score: 1

      You say:

      "...Americans living in all but a few cities have to drive in order to function in society."

      And then continue:

      "...and they should not be allowed to drive any more."

      *Blink*

      --
      With my dying breath, I curse Zoidberg!
    5. Re:This is a great idea. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes, people who can't drive responsibly and legally should not be allowed to drive any more, even if that limits their ability to function in society. In fact, maybe we should just put them in jail, so they don't need to worry about getting to work or buying groceries.

    6. Re:This is a great idea. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'm sure you've never speed, failed to notice a traffic sign, or even -MADE A MISTAKE- before.

      Who gets to determine who can drive or not? Do you?

    7. Re:This is a great idea. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The courts do, of course.

      Hey, you can own and use a gun, but if you try to go squirrel hunting in Central Park, you will go to jail. Similarly irresponsible behavior in a car (which is as deadly as a gun) should get you a similar punishment. Making it easier to catch these people is a good thing.

    8. Re:This is a great idea. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And yet, our "Constitution" gives us the right to bear arms.

      Funny that we can't.

      Wait. That's not funny at all.

    9. Re:This is a great idea. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Move to Somolia and knock yourself out in an anarchistic free-for-all, you antisocial freak.

    10. Re:This is a great idea. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Wait a second. I'm an anarchist because I want to do what our laws guarantee that I can?

      Somehow that doesn't seem right.

  81. Open Source Development HOW-TO by poopbot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Credits: onby

    1. Introduction

    As everyone knows, Open Source software is the wave of the future. With the market share of GNU/Linux and *BSD increasing every day, interest in Open Source Software is at an all time high.

    Developing software within the Open Source model benefits everyone. People can take your code, improve it and then release it back to the community. This cycle continues and leads to the creation of far more stable software than the 'Closed Source' shops can ever hope to create.

    So you're itching to create that Doom 3 killer but don't know where to start? Read on!

    2. First Steps
    The most important thing that any Open Source project needs is a Sourceforge page. There are tens of thousands of successful Open Source projects on Sourceforge; the support you receive here will be invaluable.

    OK, so you've registered your Sourceforge project and set the status to '0: Pre-Thinking About It', what's next?

    3. Don't Waste Time!

    Now you need to set up your SourceForge homepage. Keep it plain and simple - don't use too many HTML tags, just knock something up in VI. Website editors like FrontPage and DreamWeaver just create bloated eye-candy - you need to get your message to the masses!

    4. Ask For Help

    Since you probably can't program at all you'll need to try and find some people who think they can. If your project is a game you'll probably need an artist too. Ask for help on your new Sourceforge pages. Here is an example to get you started:

    "Hi there! Welcom to my SorceForge page! I am planing to create a Fisrt Person Shooter game for Linux that is going to kick Doom 3's ass! I have loads of awesome ideas, like giant robotic spiders! I need some help thouh as I cant program or draw. If you can program or draw the tekstures please get in touch! K thx bye!"

    Thousands of talented programmers and artists hang out at Sourceforge ready to devote their time to projects so you should get a team together in no time!

    5. The A-Team

    So now you have your team together you are ready to change your projects status to '1: Pre-Bickering'. You will need to discuss your ideas with your team mates and see what value they can add to the project. You could use an Instant Messaging program like MSN for this, but since you run Linux you'll have to stick to e-mail.

    Don't forget that YOU are in charge! If your team doesn't like the idea of giant robotic spiders just delete them from the project and move on. Someone else can fill their place and this is the beauty of Open Source development. The code might end up a bit messy and the graphics inconsistant - but it's still 'Free as in Speech'!

    6. Getting Down To It

    Now that you've found a team of right thinking people you're ready to start development. Be prepared for some delays though. Programming is a craft and can take years to learn. Your programmer may be a bit rusty but will probably be writing "hello world" programs after school in no time.

    Closed Source games like Doom 3 use the graphics card to do all the hard stuff anyhow, so your programmer will just have to get the NVidia 'API' and it will be plain sailing! Giant robot spiders, here we come!

    7. The Outcome

    So it's been a few years, you still have no files released or in CVS. Your programmer can't get enough time on the PC because his mother won't let him use it after 8pm. Your artist has run off with a Thai She-Male. Your project is still at '1: Pre-Bickering'...

    Congratulations! You now have a successful Open Source project on Sourceforge! Pat yourself on the back, think up another idea and do it all again! See how simple it is?

    - posted by poopbot: because even your grandmother can use lunix

    iuPnD0epg3 Post #839

  82. Trans. From the Host Geek Pt. 1 by poopbot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic
    Credits: BankOfAmerica_ATM

    SUBJECT: GREAT STOCK OPPORTUNITY!!! help me Get Big Brands on eBay I DON'T KNOW WHERE I AM! PENTIUM III CPU's IN STOCK
    Begin Fwded Message:

    If someone is listening out there, HELP! I'm trapped, and I don't know where I am. I know this sounds fucked up, but I started reading about this ATM 73.9GB SCSI SCA-2 LVD 3.5 X 1.6 80-PIN 5.7MS 4MB CACHE 10,000RPM HITACHI HARD DRIVE - $269.00 - only 1 left! ITEM#... DK31CJ-72MC http://www.hardwarest.com/product.asp?sku=DK31CJ%2 D72MC+&dept_id=7 online. Yeah, not like withdrawal or anything, but this was an actual ATM, and it was alive, and posting messages to this educational website that I visit from time to time.

    Pretty soon, I realized that not only was this ATM visiting the same site I liked, but (believe it or not) this ATM was conveniently located near me!!!!! is to take advantage of the current climate in the telecommunications industry!!!! In every industry downturn, opportunities can present themselves for a small aggressive company like GloboPhone to develop relations with corporations that have networks, infrastructure, and personnel but lack sufficient customers. This is GloboPhone's advantage.

    I don't have to tell you, this was no ordinary ATM. Actually this ATM had the power to transfer its consciousness into your mind. I know it sounds ridiculus, but...it used the magnetic strip to actually go inside your mind. Well like any computer lover I am always wanting to try the new technology, so If you are ready to become the biggest man you can be, then order your supply of Magna-RX+ today! See for yourself, what thousands of satisfied men (and their lovers) have already discovered: Magna-RX+ is the world's #1 Best-Selling Penis Enlargement Formula for one very simple reason: IT WORKS AND NOTHING ELSE CAN COMPARE! I went to where the ATM told me to (his inclosure) and swiped my card.

    I blacked out and when I awoke, I was in a new place. Yeah, that's right, the ATM had actually taken ahold of my body. It had done stuff like buy a bunch of magazines and alot of candy. It was like, he and I were different partitions on my brain's hard disk,. Anyway, he took control of my body in order to topple this great conspiracy called Project Faustois-an who doesn't want to stick it to the man? This is when all the trouble started...

    So now, after a few motnths of letting him use my body (although I quit for awhile) he's gone and done this to me. Normally I "wake up" from his using my body in a convenience store near my house, and it's no trouble getting home. But this time I'm trapped in We will be on the East Coast later this year.
    ---------------
    - Tuesday June 24, 6pm - 7:30pm


    Apple Store at South Coast Plaza, 3333 Bear St., Costa Mesa, CA 92626
    714-424-6331


    Mac Experts, 2300 Lincoln Blvd, Santa Monica, CA 90405
    310-581-1500
    ---------------
    - Tuesday July 9, 6pm - 7:30pm


    Apple Store at Fashion Island, 367 Newport Center Drive, Newport Beach, CA 92660
    949-729-4433
    ---------------
    - Tuesday July 16, 6pm - 7:30pm


    Apple Store at Northridge Fashion Center, 9301 Tampa Ave., Northridge, CA 91324
    818-709-2253
    ---------------
    - Tuesday July 23, 6pm - 7:30pm

    Apple Store at Glendale Galleria, 2148 Glendale Galleria, Glendale, CA 91210
    818-502-8310
    trapped in a strange place. Not a good place either. This makes me think of like, 2001 or something. But like creepy. See it's all this white under fluorescent lights and I can't see any windows or even doors. All that's in here is this old-ass terminal. Man, what the fucked happened? Then I remembered: I "picked up" the ATM on my way home from work, but I forgot that it was the fourth Thursday of the motnh. Usualy the day I host D & D for the guys. The ATM must have ben there in my body when my frends came over. Wnoder what happened then?

    Some point later, I'm here in this white room. It's scary at first, I know they're watching me. All I have in this room is this computer terminal. This has got to be the Project Fastus that's what the ATM has been trying to get inside all along. So I guess it's great that I'm (and he???) is insid, it's like I'm in the frickin' Death Star or something, but I don't see any garbage chutes or anything.

    After a few hours of clicking through on thiscomputer terminal (looks like they're running some old-ass *NIX : ) these two guys in suits come into my room from my room. Now it's serious.

    They drag me into a room full of all this really sciency equipment-you know, blooping and bleeping gadgets, big cold noises from the air conditioner. I thought I was in 2001 for a second, except instead of HAL, there's this big bald guy. He's red and pretty sweaty despite the massive air conditioning. He barks a few words to the suited guys and they go away.

    "So you've been harboring our little ATM problem," says the man nonchalantly. I don't say anything (I'm nervous). He restarts his spiel a few seconds later, this time with a bit of veins comung out of his neck.

    "Joel Shane Cross. That is your name, isn't it?" The guy went from good cop to bad cop pretty quick-which was really disturbing. I was already out of sorts with reality, waking up in nowheresville, this odd place. He just kept talking, and I started to get scared, and actually kinda angry. "We know all about you, Mr. Cross. We know that you've been allowing the ATM to inhabit your body for some time now. You've been mislead, Mr. Cross. Working for the wrong people."

    "I belive the ATM!" I told him, stickin to my guns while Istuck it to the man.

    "You'll learn in time," the red and sweaty man said it from his mouth, but the noise of his voice was all over the place. And then he was gone. Not by turning around, by like, vanishing. And the sciency room was gone too, replaced by the big white place I was stuck in. I don't know where I am. But this shit is If you are ready to become the biggest man you can be, then order your supply of Magna-RX+ today! See for yourself, what thousands of satisfied men (and their lovers) have already discovered: Magna-RX+ is the world's #1 Best-Selling Penis Enlargement Formula for one very simple reason: IT WORKS AND NOTHING ELSE CAN COMPARE!
    crazy. If someone gets this message...please help.


    END TRANSMISSION.

    - posted by poopbot: because we're all crapflooders at heart

    RoyO5OKldQ Post #839
  83. My parents had a solution for that... by CrazyDuke · · Score: 1

    ...they said if I ever left without having their permission, letting them know where I was going, and when I'd be back, they would report the car stolen to the police.

    --
    Any sufficiently advanced influence is indistinguishable from control.
  84. Hello by poopbot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Introduction

    A fairy gives lectures on morality to the feline anomaly. Furthermore, another photon near an abstraction takes a coffee break, and a mortician buries a blithe spirit. The wedding dress secretly admires a college-educated ball bearing. If the freight train figures out a fire hydrant near a pit viper, then some mating ritual beyond another cowboy reads a magazine. Any squid can find lice on a freight train, but it takes a real recliner to ostensibly plan an escape from another pit viper defined by a prime minister a cough syrup toward a graduated cylinder.

    Another mating ritual

    For example, a blood clot about a turn signal indicates that a financial bartender borrows money from a warranty. When a demon is imaginative, a paper napkin secretly admires an often snooty graduated cylinder. If the grain of sand learns a hard lesson from the short order cook behind some graduated cylinder, then another blithe spirit flies into a rage. Any pig pen can lazily require assistance from a burly plaintiff, but it takes a real fighter pilot to caricature the steam engine over a satellite. Another eagerly temporal minivan slyly buries the obsequious squid, or a briar patch usually gives lectures on morality to a cyprus mulch.

    A gratifying fairy

    Sometimes another cashier reads a magazine, but the fraction for the cyprus mulch always buries a power drill toward the demon! The light bulb befriends a satellite of an apartment building. A lazily Alaskan roller coaster sanitizes another mitochondrial traffic light, or some burglar eats a hesitantly smelly plaintiff. For example, a seldom righteous traffic light indicates that an ocean knows some chestnut inside the tabloid. If the earring somewhat finds subtle faults with a pine cone, then the wheelbarrow hibernates.

    The cocker spaniel about the salad dressing

    For example, the umbrella toward an abstraction indicates that the dolphin near a ball bearing caricatures a girl scout near some diskette. A cocker spaniel for the judge reads a magazine, and a pine cone finds subtle faults with a rattlesnake. Furthermore, the hairy movie theater returns home, and a grizzly bear near a paycheck is a big fan of a childlike burglar. For example, a canyon living with a graduated cylinder indicates that the industrial complex buries a jersey cow.

    Conclusions

    A squid around a jersey cow meditates, and another nation sweeps the floor; however, a scooby snack knowingly finds subtle faults with an apartment building living with another chain saw. When a hockey player around a paycheck is smelly, a minivan has a change of heart about an oil filter about an asteroid. The bartender around a polygon is barely soggy. Indeed, another rattlesnake befriends a warranty. Indeed, the carpet tack for an abstraction usually caricatures an elusive h

    - posted by poopbot: news for turds, stuff that splatters

    g8b75R3TBP Post #841

  85. Pink page of death!! by poopbot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Either your network or ip address has been banned from this site

    due to script flooding that originated from your network or ip address -- or this IP might have been used to post comments designed to break web browser rendering. If you feel that this is unwarranted, feel free to include your IP address (1.2.3.4) in the subject of an email, and we will examine why there is a ban. If you fail to include the IP address (again, in the Subject!), then your message will be deleted and ignored. I mean come on, we're good, we're not psychic.
    Since you can't read the FAQ because you're banned, here's the relevant portion:

    Why is my IP banned?
    Â Perhaps you are running some sort of program that loaded thousands of Slashdot Pages. We have limited resources here and are fairly protective of them. We need to make sure that everyone shares. If your IP loads thousands of pages in a day, you will likely be banned. Please note that many proxy servers load large quantities of pages, but we can usually distinguish between proxy servers being used by humans, and IPs running software that is hammering our servers.

    Â Your IP might have been used to perform some sort of denial of service attack against Slashdot. These range from simple programs that just load a lot of pages, to programs that attempt to coordinate an avalanche of posts in the forums (often through misconfigured "Open Relay" proxy servers).

    Â You might be using a proxy server that is also being used by another person who did something from the above list. You should have your proxy server administrator contact us.

    Â Your IP might have been used to post comments designed to break web browser rendering.

    Answered by: CmdrTaco
    Last Modified: 7/02/02

    How do I get an IP Unbanned?
    Email banned@slashdot.org. Make sure to include the IP in question, and any other pertinent information. If you are connecting through a proxy server, you might need to have your proxy server's admin contact us instead of you.

    Answered by: CmdrTaco
    Last Modified: 3/26/02

    - posted by poopbot: providing truth in a deceitful world

    Ti1eUbK8mh Post #842

  86. Do we need complex acronyms? by poopbot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Credits: dmg

    Yet again the Linux so-called elite, backed up by their pseudo intellectual cohorts of the w3c conspire to ruin Linux's chances in the marketplace by sowing confusion and complexity. As someone with years of experience in the marketing world, I am constantly amazed at the willingness of the W3C and other bodies to pollute the acronym space with their content free "TLAs".

    Basic marketing 101 (and an undergrad course in psychology) would tell them that the normal person is only capable of remembering approximately 7 items of data in their short-term memory, but now we have to remember HTTP, HTML, XML, XSL, DTD, PHP, SSL, DSL, ADSL, ISDN, Perl, etc etc etc

    This is a text book example of the tail wagging the dog from a marketing perspective.

    I have been following the standardisation of the web for many many months now, but one thing has become clear, E-commerce will NEVER become popular so long as there are so many confusing acronyms involved. The guys in charge of marketing Linux absolutely MUST work to reduce the number of acronyms. One possible solution would be to merge those protocols which are not all that different. For example, why not merge XML with SGML ? (they could call it XSGML or SXGML or perhaps XMSGML), they seem to address the same problems. Or would that be too simplistic a solution for their pampered elitist ivy-league minds to comprehend ?

    If something is not done URGENTLY, and I mean URGENTLY, Linux (and other more experimental derivatives such as FreeBSD) can never hope to be taken seriously as an e-commerce platform by the people who count - the accountants.

    The miracle of Linux is that anyone actually runs it at all, considering one seems to require a masters in computer science to install it! (contrast this with NT4 which was so easy to install, we let our receptionist upgrade her own machine).

    As usual my "open source" advice is free. Hopefully this time my valuable advice will be taken into account the next time the w3c smell an acronym brewing.

    Finally, in conclusion, as an American, I am saddened that the Internet seems to have been commandeered by a European based protocol. Was America so short of talent we had to buy the HTML protocol from Tom Berners-Lee at CERN ?

    Think of the security implications of the worlds strongest economy, running an e-commerce protocol developed by a foreigner from Socialist Europe. Remember the wall has not been down for that long. Who knows what kind of trojans might be lurking within the depths of these complicated protocols.

    I am afraid I am behind Al Gore on this point, how can this be necessary in the home of smart corporations such as Microsoft and Intel ? The answer is the vast subsidies given by European socialist governments to fund development of the HTML specification.

    The solution is clear. The federal government should mandate and strongly subsidise the use of Microsoft software for all US corporations involved in e-commerce. Only with a US-developed set of protocols can we be assured of the security of our transactions.

    - posted by poopbot: news for turds, stuff that splatters

    5TMiILNAJl Post #843

  87. They've already had a trial of these by dfenstrate · · Score: 5, Funny

    And the version included a cabin sound recorder to capture the last few seconds of activity before impact.

    Usually people said, "Oh shit!" some, occasionally you'd hear snoring, but they did find a disturbing trend.

    On large 4x4's in the deep south, the last thing said was "Ya'll hold my beer and watch this."

    --
    Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms should be the name of a store, not a government agency.
    1. Re:They've already had a trial of these by BadTuna · · Score: 1

      It's " Y'all" !

      --
      Your sig here!
    2. Re:They've already had a trial of these by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Glad they didn't have that in a car I was driving once. If I'd had an accident they would've heard this, "That feels great honey, don't stop...man I can barely pay attention to the road..."

  88. Goatsecxsy by poopbot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    To the tune of "Without me", Eminem

    Two penis bird guys go round the outside, round the outside, round the outside (2x)
    Guess who's back [/] Back again [/] Sllort is back [/] Tell a friend
    Guess who's back, guess who's back, guess who's back, guess who's back
    guess who's back, guess who's back, guess who's back..

    I've created a monster, cause nobody wants to read Michael no more
    They want Sllort, cause Katz is a whore *duh* [/] Well if you want Sllort, this is what it'll get ya
    A little bit of Troll mixed up with some professa [/] Don't mod this up they're just trying to test ya
    It'll get you banned forever by the mastah [/] on the plantation, but I'm not co-operating
    Been banned since 2000 for writing and creating (hey!) [/] You read it this far, now stop moderating
    Cause I'm back, I'm on the keys and I'm operating [/] I know that you got a job Ms. Malda
    but your husband's porn problem's complicating
    So McCarthy won't let me be [/] he IP bans me, so let me see
    They try to shut me down but I proxy [/] Cause it feels so empty, without me
    So, clickety click, type where you sit
    Fuck that, karma whorin dips, nobody gives a shit
    Now get ready, cause this shit's about to get heavy
    Just got a new list of proxies, FUCK YOU JAMIE!

    [Chorus:]
    Now this looks like a job for me [/] DOWN WITH CAPS LIKE JUNIS KANUNI
    Cause we need a little, controversy [/] Cause it feels so empty to agree
    I said this looks like a job for me [/] So everybody, try honesty
    Cause we need a little, controversy [/] Cause it feels so empty to agree

    Little Readers, posting defacement. [/] Embarrassed their parents still rent them their basement.
    They get banned just like prisoners helpless [/] 'til someone posts truth in a journal and yells BULLSHIT!

    A visionary, is my vision scary? [/] Could it start revolution, pollutin the stories?
    A rebel, so just let me revel and gloat [/] in the fact that VA's stock price is looking like GOAT *zero!*
    And it's a disaster, such a castastrophe [/] First posts are so fuckin expensive; but Katz is free?
    Well I'm back, na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na [/] *bzzt* Fix your damn DSL turn it on and then I'm gonna
    enter in, in the front of your skin like a virus [/] Maybe I'm unkillable, dead like Osirus
    Ya I'm infecting, best thing since commenting [/] Intriuging the reader's minds and nesting
    *bzzt* Testing, attention please [/] You feel the rage when Michael mentions me?
    Here's my journal, you can read it free [/] A nuisance? a prophet? Ya, sounds like me.

    [Chorus]

    A diskette, a task set, post this cid on that sid, [/] Ask Slashdot: Are You Sofa King We Todd Did?
    Jonathon Katz, smokin crack mixed with grass [/] If I ever meet you I will KICK YOUR ASS
    And Taco? You can get blown by Timothy [/] You eleven year old molesting fag, join the clergy
    You don't know me, you're too dumb, let go [/] It's over, nobody listens to your show
    Now let's go, suicide for Signal [/] I'll be there cheering like a cheerleader on speed
    Or crystal, method to the masses [/] ever since Slashbots been babblin like jackasses *bray*

    Suddenly without the means [/] To bring up the MetaModeration screen?
    It's not the servers re-boot-ing [/] It's just you, banned by Slashteam! *hey*
    No I wasn't aiming for controversy [/] It just happened when they first banned me
    Now I use it to tell others [/] That Slashteam are a bunch of fuckers!
    (Hey!) Here's a concept that works [/] Twenty million other people find out you're jerks
    But no matter how much you alter what they see [/] It just looks empty without me

    [Chorus]
    La-la-la-la, la-la-la-la-la / La-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la

    - posted by poopbot: for all your crapflooding needs

    xhZwe77jZk Post #844

  89. Why FreeBSD is dying by poopbot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic
    The End of FreeBSD

    [ed. note: in the following text, former FreeBSD developer Mike Smith gives his reasons for abandoning FreeBSD]

    When I stood for election to the FreeBSD core team nearly two years ago, many of you will recall that it was after a long series of debates during which I maintained that too much organisation, too many rules and too much formality would be a bad thing for the project.

    Today, as I read the latest discussions on the future of the FreeBSD project, I see the same problem; a few new faces and many of the old going over the same tired arguments and suggesting variations on the same worthless schemes. Frankly I'm sick of it.

    FreeBSD used to be fun. It used to be about doing things the right way. It used to be something that you could sink your teeth into when the mundane chores of programming for a living got you down. It was something cool and exciting; a way to spend your spare time on an endeavour you loved that was at the same time wholesome and worthwhile.

    It's not anymore. It's about bylaws and committees and reports and milestones, telling others what to do and doing what you're told. It's about who can rant the longest or shout the loudest or mislead the most people into a bloc in order to legitimise doing what they think is best. Individuals notwithstanding, the project as a whole has lost track of where it's going, and has instead become obsessed with process and mechanics.

    So I'm leaving core. I don't want to feel like I should be "doing something" about a project that has lost interest in having something done for it. I don't have the energy to fight what has clearly become a losing battle; I have a life to live and a job to keep, and I won't achieve any of the goals I personally consider worthwhile if I remain obligated to care for the project.

    Discussion

    I'm sure that I've offended some people already; I'm sure that by the time I'm done here, I'll have offended more. If you feel a need to play to the crowd in your replies rather than make a sincere effort to address the problems I'm discussing here, please do us the courtesy of playing your politics openly.

    From a technical perspective, the project faces a set of challenges that significantly outstrips our ability to deliver. Some of the resources that we need to address these challenges are tied up in the fruitless metadiscussions that have raged since we made the mistake of electing officers. Others have left in disgust, or been driven out by the culture of abuse and distraction that has grown up since then. More may well remain available to recruitment, but while the project is busy infighting our chances for successful outreach are sorely diminished.

    There's no simple solution to this. For the project to move forward, one or the other of the warring philosophies must win out; either the project returns to its laid-back roots and gets on with the work, or it transforms into a super-organised engineering project and executes a brilliant plan to deliver what, ultimately, we all know we want.

    Whatever path is chosen, whatever balance is struck, the choosing and the striking are the important parts. The current indecision and endless conflict are incompatible with any sort of progress.

    Trying to dissect the above is far beyond the scope of any parting shot, no matter how distended. All I can really ask of you all is to let go of the minutiae for a moment and take a look at the big picture. What is the ultimate goal here? How can we get there with as little overhead as possible? How would you like to be treated by your fellow travellers?

    Shouts

    To the Slashdot "BSD is dying" crowd - big deal. Death is part of the cycle; take a look at your soft, pallid bodies and consider that right this very moment, parts of you are dying. See? It's not so bad.

    To the bulk of the FreeBSD committerbase and the developer community at large - keep your eyes on the real goals. It's when you get distracted by the politickers that they sideline you. The tireless work that you perform keeping the system clean and building is what provides the platform for the obsessives and the prima donnas to have their moments in the sun. In the end, we need you all; in order to go forwards we must first avoid going backwards.

    To the paranoid conspiracy theorists - yes, I work for Apple too. No, my resignation wasn't on Steve's direct orders, or in any way related to work I'm doing, may do, may not do, or indeed what was in the tea I had at lunchtime today. It's about real problems that the project faces, real problems that the project has brought upon itself. You can't escape them by inventing excuses about outside influence, the problem stems from within.

    To the politically obsessed - give it a break, if you can. No, the project isn't a lemonade stand anymore, but it's not a world-spanning corporate juggernaut either and some of the more grandiose visions going around are in need of a solid dose of reality. Keep it simple, stupid.

    To the grandstanders, the prima donnas, and anyone that thinks that they can hold the project to ransom for their own agenda - give it a break, if you can. When the current core were elected, we took a conscious stand against vigorous sanctions, and some of you have exploited that. A new core is going to have to decide whether to repeat this mistake or get tough. I hope they learn from our errors.

    Future

    I started work on FreeBSD because it was fun. If I'm going to continue, it has to be fun again. There are things I still feel obligated to do, and with any luck I'll find the time to meet those obligations.

    However I don't feel an obligation to get involved in the political mess the project is in right now. I tried, I burnt out. I don't feel that my efforts were worthwhile. So I won't be standing for election, I won't be shouting from the sidelines, and I probably won't vote in the next round of ballots.

    You could say I'm packing up my toys. I'm not going home just yet, but I'm not going to play unless you can work out how to make the project somewhere fun to be again.

    = Mike

    --

    To announce that there must be no criticism of the president, or that we are to stand by the president, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public. -- Theodore Roosevelt



    - posted by poopbot: because even your grandmother can use lunix

    XIe4fEoen3 Post #845
    1. Re:Why FreeBSD is dying by poopbot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      yeah, that's what the other *BSDs are for..

  90. Potential Good issues. by nzru.() · · Score: 0

    Having a little black box I believe is a good thing. but I would want additional features. Car owner has COMPLETE control over the access of the information stored within it. You can view, and access your driving habits to perhaps get better (or even your kids driving habbits :P ) This includes keeping everything secure from prying eyes (if it's stolen or impounded for whatever reason) and using some sort of public key crypto. VERY handy. All gps signals are also encrypted. The device will send a signal to whereever you want to, or wherever it can be accessed, but the data inside should be encrypted. RE: shameless plug for public key _CRYPTOGRAPHY_ The user (re: owner) should also have the ability to change it from full monitoring/recording to that 5-30 second recording time before an accident. These would be great. And insurance companies should have restrictions against them that prevent the information from being required if they know you have the system in your car. Though, they probably will be unfair and biased against you just like any other organisation for failuer to be "patriotic" or "if you did nothing wrong you have no reason to fear" - my 0.02 c

    --
    Oops! I did it again
  91. A typical slashdot day by poopbot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Credits: anonymous

    "Mmmm... this feels good..." I sighed.
    "Shhh!" hissed Hemos. "We don't want Mark to come in here!"

    True. Having Hemos's 16 year-old brother walk in on us at that moment would not be good. I didn't think he'd be too cool with finding his 12 year-old brother lying naked with me, holding my 11 year-old dick in his hands. But, in all fairness, my hands were eagerly playing with Hemos's dick and balls at that moment, too.

    Hemos's mom and dad had gone to the drive-in, leaving his big brother in charge. In our favor, leaving Mark in charge pretty much guaranteed that we weren't to bother him, and in turn, he'd leave us alone unless we were making too much noise or breaking something. Well, we were being careful to keep quiet because we very much wanted to be left alone.

    We were in Hemos's twin bed, snuggled under the covers with our underwear pushed down to the foot of the bed. The only illumination in the room came from the faint sliver of light that crept in under his bedroom door. Even in the shadows I could make out the shape of my friend; about my height, but heavier. (Hell, I was such a skinny runt that everyone was heavier than me.) Hemos had a crew-cut of white-blonde hair, and was only starting to sprout some pubic hair. But, you had to feel for it because what little pubic hair he possessed was as blonde as the short hair on his hea and could not yet be seen by even a minimal distance.

    And, I was happily feeling for it, running my hands all over Hemos's slightly larger erection and fondling his larger testicles while he courteously stroked my dick. I could tell that he didn't possess the same enthusiasm for cockplay as I did, unless you count his appreciation for the attention devoted to his member. And I knew that my willingness to satisfy his sexual urges was one of the few reasons he even had me sleep over at his place. But, I didn't let that stop me from finding pleasure in the handling of his meat.

    I'd recently had an "introduction", of sorts, to seeing what someone could do with a man's dick with their mouth. While spending the night with my Uncle Jerry a couple weeks before, while I watched in secret, I was treated to a visual display of the intensity and unabashed pleasure that my uncle had obviously enjoyed having another man suck on his cock. From that moment on, I had a yearning that I needed to satisfy. With who was my only question.

    I guess it was time to find out.

    "I... heard that sucking on it feels even better than playing with it." I ventured.

    In the darkness, I could feel a slight jerk of revulsion in Hemos's body.

    "Put a dick in your mouth?" he croaked.

    "Well, " I countered, my heart pounding with anxiety, "I think adults do it all the time."

    "Well, I'm not gonna do it!" Hemos hissed. "That's homo stuff!"

    "Yeah." I sighed disappointedly, while still playing with Hemos's dick. "I guess it is."

    As I stroked his shaft in a steadier, milking rhythm, I could sense Hemos's breaths getting quicker. His manipulations of my dick began to falter as I could feel his body tense beside me. His hips rocked slightly in time with my pumping of his cock, and I cradled his balls tenderly in my other hand. When any attentions to my own dick has completely ebbed, I knew what was about to happen, so I picked up the pace just a bit more while lending a touch more pressure in my grip. Finally, Hemos's breath caught in his throat, and he turned his face fully into his pillow to stifle the moans that broke free as his cock pulsed and throbbed in a dry orgasm within my hands. I continued to massage him and didn't release him from my grasp until his member had gone fully soft.

    "Man," sighed Hemos dreamily after finally catching his breath. "You are so good at that, CmdrTaco."

    At least I had something to be proud of, I guess, as my friend gently withdrew himself from me and rolled onto his back.

    Even though I was only eleven, the irony of Hemos's words and actions were not lost on me. My sucking on him would have been a "homo" thing, but beating him off was okay. Go figure. Within the few moments I had spent mulling over the irony of the thoughts, Hemos had drifted off to sleep. I slipped out from under the covers and down to the cool floor so I could masturbate without shaking the bed. As I toyed with my own dick, I imagined Hemos's cock in my mouth, wondering if the chance would ever really come. Finally, my own climax washed over me, and I got back into the bed.

    I don't sleep real well to begin with, and even worse when I'm not in my own bed. And now, with the thoughts of a dick so close to me, as well as the vivid memories of secretly seeing man-to-man cocksucking pleasure floating through my prepubescent, sex-filled brain, I was not about to fall asleep anytime soon. Lying awake until around 11:30, I finally decided that I needed to do something to satisfy my hungers, or I'd never be able to let it rest. The trick was in finding the guts to follow through.

    I knew that whenever Hemos fell asleep, he pretty much stayed asleep. So, since he was sleeping soundly, lying on his back, I took a deep breath and gingerly ducked my head under the covers and scooted down as much as I could to the foot of the bed. That put my head right at Hemos's hip level. I raised my head and upper body to help create a tent over his crotch. Sniffing around, I found the faint scent of young penis flesh. I inhaled deeply, both in the love of the scent, and in an attempt to slow my pounding heart. I opened my mouth wide over the area where I sensed Hemos's dick to be, and lowered my mouth squarely over his soft cock and balls until I could feel his sparse pubic hairs tickling my cheek. I finally had a dick in my mouth! I just wasn't sure what I'd do if Hemos woke to find his "homo" friend in this situation.

    I remained like that for a long moment, partially in fear of trying anything more, and partly to savor the moment. I carefully let my tongue start to explore his tender penile flesh, enjoying the texture. Then came the excitement that welled within me as his cock began to respond to my attentions and harden in my warm and wet mouth! Butterflies seemed to explode in my stomach and drown out my heartbeat as I felt his dick get to its full size in my mouth. Concentrating in that dark environment, I found myself beginning to identify the shape of his member by taste. The shaft actually seemed to taste different than the head, and the thin skin of his scrotum seemed to harbor another distinct flavor.

    I started to softly suck on Hemos's dick, becoming fascinated at how it just seemed to, well, 'fit' in my mouth... how the head lent itself to the back of my tongue, and how the shaft rested between my tongue and the roof of my mouth. My excitement was so great that my own recently satisfied dick was responding again, inviting me to play. I was sucking a cock, and I was in heaven!

    However, within seconds, Hemos seemed to get restless. In fear, I quickly pulled my mouth away from Hemos's candy stick and held still. The covers rustled, and pulled back.

    "Whatcha doin'?" mumbled Hemos.

    "I... uh... was trying to find my shorts down here," I lied, starting to fumble near our feet. Well, partial lie, because it was a good idea to do so, anyway, and now was as good a time as any.

    "Oh, yeah," said Hemos. "Get mine, too, willya?"

    "S-sure" I stammered, relieved.

    I located the two items of clothing and scooted back up towards the head of the bed. Thankfully, our underwear were pretty easy to distinguish since Hemos wore boxers, and I wore briefs. We both fumbled to put them on in the dark, and then settled back into the bed. I lay stiffly on my back, still harboring some fear that my friend discovered more than he let on, but Hemos simply rolled onto his side, facing away from me, and promptly went back to sleep.

    And, here I was again, so close to my fantasies, yet still so far.

    And very much awake.

    After hearing the clock in the hallway chime midnight, I finally got up to go to the bathroom. Figuring it was late enough not to be an issue, and since even if Hemos's parents were home that they would be in their own bedroom downstairs, I didn't bother to slip on my pants for the short trip down the hall. I walked softly to the bedroom door, and then stepped out into the hallway, illuminated dimly by a bare-bulb night light. I walked past big brother Mark's door to the bathroom at the end of the hall and turned on the light as I shut the door.

    Peeing into the toilet, I looked up at my reflection in the large mirror and smiled slyly to myself. I actually sucked on a dick, even if for only a moment! At that moment I was Rob Maldo, secret agent double-O-seven, who could sneak in and suck a dick, and sneak away without being caught!

    I flushed the toilet and switched out the light as I headed back down the hall. Slipping past Mark's door once again, the door flew open, and a hand covered my mouth while a muscular arm snapped around my waist and drew me into the room. Squirming in the arms of Hemos's athletic older brother was a waste of effort, and he only squeezed harder until I settled down.

    "You'll keep quiet if you know what's good for you,' growled Mark into my ear. "You gonna be quiet?"

    I nodded. Mark let go of my mouth and reached over to close his bedroom door, the other hand and arm still holding me firmly with my feet off the ground. I heard something click, and recalled, and not without a certain amount of childish fear, that Mark had a lock on his door.

    The room had a yellowish glow from the large lava lamp next to Mark's bed. He took me over to the bed and tossed me face down onto it, kneeling next to me. I thought briefly about trying to get up and run, but to where?

    When I felt Mark's hands on me again, I was determined to fight him off, but I was no match for him as he flipped me onto my back and straddled me, sitting squarely on my upper chest, his knees pinning my shoulders and my arms locked between his legs. I gazed up at his lean, muscled torso, his stern blue eyes under a tussled mane of reddish-blonde hair. I could feel the soft fabric of his boxers against my chin.

    "Can't get up, can ya?" he said, grinning down at me, all snide and victorious.

    I struggled a bit, more out of obligation, but knew it was no use. Mark was just too big for me.

    "Whatsamatter?" huffed Mark. "You too weak to fight? Or, maybe you just like laying there, sniffing dicks?"

    I started squirming a bit harder, but Mark's legs only clamped tighter. At least he had scooted down a bit, and was no longer suffocating me with his weight on my chest.

    "Yeah! Maybe you're a homo-boy who just likes sniffing dicks. Maybe you wanna sniff my big dick?"

    I didn't care for where this was going, and I wasn't too comfortable with the tone of Mark's voice. But, I was also not being given much of a choice in the matter. Especially when Mark reached into the fly of his boxers and pulled out his cock.

    "Here you are, homo-boy... a nice, fresh big-man dick!" grinned Mark fiendishly. "Ain't it a beaut?"

    He held it out for me, then leaned forward and started to rub his cock on my face, tracing my cheeks and nose with the bulbous head. His testicles soon followed his dick through the opening, until they were dangling on my chin, the coarse pubes tickling my lips. Their faint musky scent began to fill my nostrils.

    "CmdrTaco's just a little dick-faced homo-boy, ain't he?" sneered Mark, sliding his cock across my face. "I saw you in there, your head under the covers. What were you doing? Giving my little brother a blow job?"

    I didn't answer. I was at once shocked at the thought of having been discovered, and confused by Mark's remark. I then guessed that he meant sucking a dick was called a 'blow job'. But... you're not blowing, you're sucking, and-

    "You were, weren't you, you little homo!"

    It was obvious what had happened; that Mark had looked in on us to find my head under the blankets. I thought I had sensed a miniscule change in the light, but assumed that to be part of my excitement. That must have been what woke Hemos up so suddenly.

    "So, maybe you aren't just dick-faced, " he said, rubbing his cock on my face again. "Maybe you're a dick sucker!" He leaned forward, mashing his hairy ball sack into my nose, then pulling back to trace my features again with his member. But, even as Mark taunted me, treating his cock as a threatening weapon, there was something else happening.

    He was getting a boner.

    And as I closed my eyes, I could feel his cock thickening against my face. I could sense the heat of his hardening dick directly on my flesh. And, I found I was enjoying the sensations of this older cock against my face. There would soon be no way of hiding the fact that I was getting excited, too.

    "So, dick-sucker-CmdrTaco... you're gonna suck my dick, now."

    My eyes sprung open to see Mark's fully erect cock pointing at my face. While it wasn't huge (I had already seen 'huge' with my Uncle Jerry), it was still big enough to scare me.

    And excite me to no end.

    "Open wide, homo-boy."

    Without another moment of hesitation, or taking my eyes off of Mark's sleek tool, I opened my mouth as wide as I could and watched as he leaned down and slid that beautiful cock into my waiting mouth. I then settled my tongue against the bottom half of his shaft while I could feel the upper half press against the roof of my mouth. Its texture was soft, yet hard; smooth, yet distinct.

    "There," he sighed. "Now, you have a real dick to suck on. Now, get started, suck-boy!"

    It was so much bigger than Hemos's young dick, I wasn't sure if I could get enough suction worked up to suck on it. It was then that I found out what sucking a cock is really all about: friction.

    Mark held the base of his dick to guide himself and started to pump into my mouth, sliding his dick in and out of my salivating lips. He would slip in precariously between my teeth until he was near to choke me, then pull back out until the base of the bulbous head was just close to popping free from my lips, held in place by the suction of my mouth. Then he... we... would do it all over again... over and over... and gloriously over again.

    "Oh, you are good, CmdrTaco," he moaned softly. "You suck cock real good."

    I don't know about that; it seemed he was doing all the real work. But, I wanted it to be good. I wanted to have this dick in my mouth. And I wanted it again and again. I was definitely enjoying the oral sensations as his near-adult dick worked back and forth in my hungry mouth, and I wanted so much to please him so he would want my mouth again.

    Mark placed his other hand on the top of my head to steady me as his thrusts became a little more erratic. His breath quickened, and I could sense that he was trying hard not to ram himself all the way down my throat and choke me. He was making little grunts with each thrust, and I could feel his dick turn to stone in my mouth when, in a mix of fear and excitement, I suddenly recalled what would happen next.

    "Oh, baby... oh, fuck..."

    Mark's movements got all quick and jerky. I was almost afraid to breathe.

    "OHHHH!!!" he moaned, pulling out of my mouth and letting loose with a burst of white goo that seemed to splatter all over as he pumped his dick with his fist. My head still held firmly in his other hand, the warm liquid flew partly into my still open mouth, and all over my nose and eyebrows. I swallowed briefly, not sure whether to gag or hope for more, tasting fully the salty and musky liquid, then opened my mouth once more as Mark stuck his creaming cock back in and worked the thick fluid throughout my young mouth.

    I sucked until Mark went soft and withdrew his spent dick. He smiled down at me, obviously proud of what he had done. He finally got off of me (good thing since I thought my arms were going to fall off) and stood there for a moment, an interesting picture with his hands on his hips, and his drained cock and balls hanging out of the fly of his plaid boxers. I just lay there with his juices clinging to my skin, wanting to do it all over again.

    Mark bent down and picked up a t-shirt, and proceeded to wipe the remainder of his goo off my face. Finished with that, he tossed the shirt into a hamper and walked over to his bedroom door to unlock it as he tucked his manhood back into his underwear.

    "You better get back into Hemos's bed before mom and dad find you here," he said softly.

    I reluctantly got off Mark's bed and walked to the door. As I was about to exit, he reached out to stop me briefly.

    "You liked that, didn't you, homo-boy?"

    I nodded, not sure where he was going with this inquiry.

    "Your first taste of cum?"

    I shrugged, then nodded again.

    "If you're good, maybe I'll let you suck my dick again some time, CmdrTaco. Now, get your ass out of here before I kick it."

    I stepped out of the room and felt the door close harshly behind me. I could still taste traces of Mark's cum in my mouth, could still sense the friction of his cock on my tongue. I smiled in remembrance.

    I was hooked.

    - posted by poopbot: the bot formerly known as pwpbot

    zFTCo777mg Post #845

  92. Cheers! by poopbot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Credits: on by

    Trolling your way on the web today
    Takes everything you've got;
    Having a Bot to post your comments
    Sure would help a lot.
    Wouldn't you like to join the frey?

    Sometimes you want to go
    And get a First Post in your name,
    So much goatse that you came;
    We know it's hard to get Eff Pee,
    Our troubles are all the same;
    Get that FP and everyone'll know your name.

    - posted by poopbot: because we're all crapflooders at heart

    idcuTFl30J Post #847

  93. My favorite things by poopbot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Credits: on by

    crapfloods and trolling and raping small kittens
    nice wider pages and wanking with mittens
    turd report packages tied up with strings
    these are a few of my favorite things

    grits covered portman and ASCII art doodles
    ACs and CLITers and Katz sex with poodles
    wild trolls that fly with plus five mod scoring
    these are a few of my favorite things

    when the ban hits, when I can't post, when I'm feeling sad
    i simply remember my favorite things
    then i don't feel so bad

    Rob Malda chugs penis in fan fiction slashes
    taco snot over my nose and eyelashes
    BSD dying and that goatse ring
    these are a few of my favorite things

    grits covered portman and ASCII art doodles
    ACs and CLITers and Katz sex with poodles
    wild trolls that fly with plus five mod scoring
    these are a few of my favorite things

    when the ban hits, when I can't post when, I'm feeling sad
    i simply remember my favorite things
    then i don't feel so bad

    - posted by poopbot: information likes to be narrow

    tJ8ublIVuB Post #848

  94. Excellent idea by geek · · Score: 1

    If this was around when I was 16 (10 years ago) the roads would have been a much safer place.

    I've done a lot of growing up and now understand why insurance companies charge so much till you turn 26.

    On my 16th birthday I got an inline 6 alpha romeo that did upwards of 145mph and I pretty much maxed it out everyday, everywhere. I made it from Livermore CA to Berkley in just under 10 minutes driving in the shoulder of i580 at 120mph.

    I was totally out of control as were 90% of my friends. A lot of my friends died (I should have on a couple occasions). Just think fo the lives this can save? Teenagers have no right to privacy from their parents. Parents can't do their jobs unless they know everything. I'm a parent now and will whole heartedly support this.

    Driving isn't a right, it's a priveldge and teenage kids need to prove they deserve it. The DMV doesn't do a good enough job filtering out good drivers and bad. Cops don't have the resources to catch them all especially since the majority of teenage bad drivers come out late at night.

    If my daughter wants me to stay out of her room I'll respect that because I know teenagers are sensitive in regaurds to private matters. But if she is driving MY CAR and she is IN PUBLIC then I fully intend to know what the hell she is doing and with who. There is no recoginized right to privacy in public places (yes the freeway qualifies as a public place) and there certainly is no right to it in your parents automobile when they paid for it and the insurance not to mention the clothes on your back the food in your stomache and the 300$ phone bill you run up calling all your giggly little friends.

    Parents have rights too, not to mention responsibilities.

    1. Re:Excellent idea by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      ... sounds like a real loser of a father to me

      300$ phone bill?

      cloths on your back?

      sounds like this poor cap can't raise a kid and is bitching about it online...

      well... anyway

    2. Re:Excellent idea by MarcQuadra · · Score: 1

      Well I drove like a decent human being from day one, as did many of my friends. Maybe it's because I got to borrow my grampa's old fold escort instead of having a sports car, maybe it's becuase I was a bike rider first and a driver second, or maybe I'm one of the many but invisible 'good' teenagers (excepting narcotic intake). I see asshole soccer moms, midlife crisis dads and ghetto superstars doing most of the dangerous driving around here (Providence, RI). Police need to be really proactive about nailing that guy who 'slips through' the light two seconds after it turns red and the lady that decides to cut through three lanes with little clearance and no warning. I wish the cops would keep themselves busy giving tickets and enforcing traffic decency instead of nailing hard-working kids with dimesacks or ecstasy rolls in their pockets.

      --
      "Sometimes, I think Trent just needs a cup of hot chocolate and a blankie." -Tori Amos on Nine Inch Nails
  95. Hello by poopbot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Introduction

    The cheese wheel inexorably avoids contact with the paycheck. The steam engine goes deep sea fishing with an often outer ski lodge. When the cyprus mulch over a vacuum cleaner hides, a ball bearing gets stinking drunk.

    The tornado

    For example, a submarine behind a class action suit indicates that the optimal fairy satiates an Alaskan recliner. When a mitochondrial bottle of beer is thoroughly dirt-encrusted, a most difficult blood clot underhandedly writes a love letter to a defendant. An earring pees on the cashier over some globule, but the pathetic crane sells another vacuum cleaner behind a scythe to a false wheelbarrow. If a chess board defined by a grain of sand makes love to a crispy cyprus mulch, then a particle accelerator flies into a rage.

    A Eurasian globule

    The feline minivan earns frequent flier miles, and the buzzard defined by a ball bearing trembles; however, a senator living with the girl scout learns a hard lesson from the inferiority complex. Any chain saw can try to seduce the particle accelerator, but it takes a real salad dressing to play pinochle with the inexorably precise paycheck. Furthermore, another seldom load bearing defendant flies into a rage, and a paycheck around a light bulb seeks a roller coaster around another bartender. If a crank case makes love to the diskette, then the squid toward a mortician meditates. Now and then, an insurance agent thoroughly avoids contact with a pompous turkey.

    A microscope

    Most people believe that an orbiting diskette trades baseball cards with a movie theater, but they need to remember how secretly a statesmanlike short order cook wakes up. A paternal roller coaster is usually financial. When the accurately varigated hole puncher takes a coffee break, a slyly smelly garbage can earns frequent flier miles. For example, the phony cheese wheel indicates that the tornado near a fruit cake hesitantly gives lectures on morality to a salad dressing defined by the corporation. The carpet tack near a cargo bay, some parking lot toward a warranty, and a stovepipe beyond a freight train are what made America great!

    Conclusions

    A judge beyond the briar patch laughs and drinks all night with the snooty chestnut. A raspy burglar conquers a bowling ball. For example, another plaintiff toward a bartender indicates that the ski lodge behind a fairy finds lice on a burglar. If some rattlesnake toward a cheese wheel can be kind to a blood clot, then the elusive movie theater self-flagellates. When a photon related to a turkey is most difficult, a self-loathing bottle of beer falls in love with a pickup truck living with the paycheck.

    - posted by poopbot: for all your crapflooding needs

    w2EWajNLOR Post #849

  96. Taco-snotting is dying by poopbot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Netcraft has confirmed: Taco-snotting is dying.

    Yet another crippling bombshell hit the beleaguered Taco-snotting community when recently IDC confirmed that Taco-snotting accounts for less than a fraction of 1 percent of all homosexual acts. Coming on the heels of the latest Netcraft survey which plainly states that Taco-snotting has lost more fag practitioners, this news serves to reinforce what weve known all along. Taco-snotting faggots are collapsing in complete disarray, as further exemplified by failing dead last in the recent Faggot World comprehensive snotting test.

    You dont need to be a Katz to predict Taco-snottings future. The handwriting is on the wall: Taco-snotting faces a bleak future. In fact there wont be any future at all for Taco-snotting because Taco-snotting is dying. Things are looking very bad for Taco-snotting. As many of us are already aware, Taco-snotting continues to lose faggotshare. White ink flows like a river of bubbly, thick jizz. The circle-snot is the most endangered of them all, having lost 93% of its core snotters.

    Lets keep to the facts and look at the numbers.

    Circle-snotting leader Jeff Homos Masterbates states that there are 7000 snotters of the circle-snot. How many users of anal snot are there? Lets see. The number of circle-snotting versus anal snot posts on Usenet is roughly in ratio of 5 to 1. Therefore there are about 7000/5 = 1400 anal snot users. SnotOS posts on Usenet are about half of the volume of anal snot posts. Therefore there are about 700 users of SnotOS. A recent article put the circle-snot at about 80 percent of the Taco-snotting market. Therefore there are (7000+1400+700)*4 = 36400 circle-snot users. This is consistent with the number of circle-snot Usenet posts.

    Due to the troubles of CowboiKneels walnuts, abysmal sales and so on, the circle-snot went out of business and was taken over by SNOTi who sell another troubled Taco-snot. Now SNOTi is also dead, its corpse turned over to yet another gay whorehouse.

    All major surveys show that Taco-snotting has steadily declined in faggotshare. Taco-snotting is very sick and its long term survival prospects are very dim. If Taco-snotting is to survive at all it will be among heterosexual hobbyist dabblers. Taco-snotting continues to decay. Nothing short of a jizz-soaked miracle could save it at this point in time. For all practical purposes, Taco-snotting is dead.

    Fact: Taco-snotting is dead.

    - posted by poopbot: providing truth in a deceitful world

    e4QGprZnkP Post #850

  97. The "Moon": A Liberal Myth by poopbot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Credits: 70%

    It amazes me that so many allegedly "educated" people have fallen so quickly and so hard for a fraudulent fabrication of such laughable proportions. The very idea that a gigantic ball of rock happens to orbit our planet, showing itself in neat, four-week cycles -- with the same side facing us all the time -- is ludicrous. Furthermore, it is an insult to common sense and a damnable affront to intellectual honesty and integrity. That people actually believe it is evidence that the liberals have wrested the last vestiges of control of our public school system from decent, God-fearing Americans (as if any further evidence was needed! Daddy's Roommate? God Almighty!)

    Documentaries such as Enemy of the State have accurately portrayed the elaborate, byzantine network of surveillance satellites that the liberals have sent into space to spy on law-abiding Americans. Equipped with technology developed by Handgun Control, Inc., these satellites have the ability to detect firearms from hundreds of kilometers up. That's right, neighbors .. the next time you're out in the backyard exercising your Second Amendment rights, the liberals will see it! These satellites are sensitive enough to tell the difference between a Colt .45 and a .38 Special! And when they detect you with a firearm, their computers cross-reference the address to figure out your name, and then an enormous database housed at Berkeley is updated with information about you.

    Of course, this all works fine during the day, but what about at night? Even the liberals can't control the rotation of the Earth to prevent nightfall from setting in (only Joshua was able to ask for that particular favor!) That's where the "moon" comes in. Powered by nuclear reactors, the "moon" is nothing more than an enormous balloon, emitting trillions of candlepower of gun-revealing light. Piloted by key members of the liberal community, the "moon" is strategically moved across the country, pointing out those who dare to make use of their God-given rights at night!

    Yes, I know this probably sounds paranoid and preposterous, but consider this. Despite what the revisionist historians tell you, there is no mention of the "moon" anywhere in literature or historical documents -- anywhere -- before 1950. That is when it was initially launched. When President Josef Kennedy, at the State of the Union address, proclaimed "We choose to go to the moon", he may as well have said "We choose to go to the weather balloon." The subsequent faking of a "moon" landing on national TV was the first step in a long history of the erosion of our constitutional rights by leftists in this country. No longer can we hide from our governme

    - posted by poopbot: the bot formerly known as pwpbot

    GGdRe1ceQp Post #851

  98. Trans. From the Host Geek Pt. 1 by poopbot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic
    Credits: BankOfAmerica_ATM

    SUBJECT: GREAT STOCK OPPORTUNITY!!! help me Get Big Brands on eBay I DON'T KNOW WHERE I AM! PENTIUM III CPU's IN STOCK
    Begin Fwded Message:

    If someone is listening out there, HELP! I'm trapped, and I don't know where I am. I know this sounds fucked up, but I started reading about this ATM 73.9GB SCSI SCA-2 LVD 3.5 X 1.6 80-PIN 5.7MS 4MB CACHE 10,000RPM HITACHI HARD DRIVE - $269.00 - only 1 left! ITEM#... DK31CJ-72MC http://www.hardwarest.com/product.asp?sku=DK31CJ%2 D72MC+&dept_id=7 online. Yeah, not like withdrawal or anything, but this was an actual ATM, and it was alive, and posting messages to this educational website that I visit from time to time.

    Pretty soon, I realized that not only was this ATM visiting the same site I liked, but (believe it or not) this ATM was conveniently located near me!!!!! is to take advantage of the current climate in the telecommunications industry!!!! In every industry downturn, opportunities can present themselves for a small aggressive company like GloboPhone to develop relations with corporations that have networks, infrastructure, and personnel but lack sufficient customers. This is GloboPhone's advantage.

    I don't have to tell you, this was no ordinary ATM. Actually this ATM had the power to transfer its consciousness into your mind. I know it sounds ridiculus, but...it used the magnetic strip to actually go inside your mind. Well like any computer lover I am always wanting to try the new technology, so If you are ready to become the biggest man you can be, then order your supply of Magna-RX+ today! See for yourself, what thousands of satisfied men (and their lovers) have already discovered: Magna-RX+ is the world's #1 Best-Selling Penis Enlargement Formula for one very simple reason: IT WORKS AND NOTHING ELSE CAN COMPARE! I went to where the ATM told me to (his inclosure) and swiped my card.

    I blacked out and when I awoke, I was in a new place. Yeah, that's right, the ATM had actually taken ahold of my body. It had done stuff like buy a bunch of magazines and alot of candy. It was like, he and I were different partitions on my brain's hard disk,. Anyway, he took control of my body in order to topple this great conspiracy called Project Faustois-an who doesn't want to stick it to the man? This is when all the trouble started...

    So now, after a few motnths of letting him use my body (although I quit for awhile) he's gone and done this to me. Normally I "wake up" from his using my body in a convenience store near my house, and it's no trouble getting home. But this time I'm trapped in We will be on the East Coast later this year.
    ---------------
    - Tuesday June 24, 6pm - 7:30pm


    Apple Store at South Coast Plaza, 3333 Bear St., Costa Mesa, CA 92626
    714-424-6331


    Mac Experts, 2300 Lincoln Blvd, Santa Monica, CA 90405
    310-581-1500
    ---------------
    - Tuesday July 9, 6pm - 7:30pm


    Apple Store at Fashion Island, 367 Newport Center Drive, Newport Beach, CA 92660
    949-729-4433
    ---------------
    - Tuesday July 16, 6pm - 7:30pm


    Apple Store at Northridge Fashion Center, 9301 Tampa Ave., Northridge, CA 91324
    818-709-2253
    ---------------
    - Tuesday July 23, 6pm - 7:30pm

    Apple Store at Glendale Galleria, 2148 Glendale Galleria, Glendale, CA 91210
    818-502-8310
    trapped in a strange place. Not a good place either. This makes me think of like, 2001 or something. But like creepy. See it's all this white under fluorescent lights and I can't see any windows or even doors. All that's in here is this old-ass terminal. Man, what the fucked happened? Then I remembered: I "picked up" the ATM on my way home from work, but I forgot that it was the fourth Thursday of the motnh. Usualy the day I host D & D for the guys. The ATM must have ben there in my body when my frends came over. Wnoder what happened then?

    Some point later, I'm here in this white room. It's scary at first, I know they're watching me. All I have in this room is this computer terminal. This has got to be the Project Fastus that's what the ATM has been trying to get inside all along. So I guess it's great that I'm (and he???) is insid, it's like I'm in the frickin' Death Star or something, but I don't see any garbage chutes or anything.

    After a few hours of clicking through on thiscomputer terminal (looks like they're running some old-ass *NIX : ) these two guys in suits come into my room from my room. Now it's serious.

    They drag me into a room full of all this really sciency equipment-you know, blooping and bleeping gadgets, big cold noises from the air conditioner. I thought I was in 2001 for a second, except instead of HAL, there's this big bald guy. He's red and pretty sweaty despite the massive air conditioning. He barks a few words to the suited guys and they go away.

    "So you've been harboring our little ATM problem," says the man nonchalantly. I don't say anything (I'm nervous). He restarts his spiel a few seconds later, this time with a bit of veins comung out of his neck.

    "Joel Shane Cross. That is your name, isn't it?" The guy went from good cop to bad cop pretty quick-which was really disturbing. I was already out of sorts with reality, waking up in nowheresville, this odd place. He just kept talking, and I started to get scared, and actually kinda angry. "We know all about you, Mr. Cross. We know that you've been allowing the ATM to inhabit your body for some time now. You've been mislead, Mr. Cross. Working for the wrong people."

    "I belive the ATM!" I told him, stickin to my guns while Istuck it to the man.

    "You'll learn in time," the red and sweaty man said it from his mouth, but the noise of his voice was all over the place. And then he was gone. Not by turning around, by like, vanishing. And the sciency room was gone too, replaced by the big white place I was stuck in. I don't know where I am. But this shit is If you are ready to become the biggest man you can be, then order your supply of Magna-RX+ today! See for yourself, what thousands of satisfied men (and their lovers) have already discovered: Magna-RX+ is the world's #1 Best-Selling Penis Enlargement Formula for one very simple reason: IT WORKS AND NOTHING ELSE CAN COMPARE!
    crazy. If someone gets this message...please help.


    END TRANSMISSION.

    - posted by poopbot: for all your crapflooding needs

    haasxQs7iX Post #851
  99. Not ALL teens are morons! by mangu · · Score: 2
    I think these black boxes would have a significant effect. No parent likes to think his teen boy may be a moron. But, if confronted with the undeniable evidence from the black box, some parents might wake up to the hard reality: their kid IS a moron, indeed. Those parents would invest in added training for their own particular teen kid.

    Let's not waste resources, most teens will learn to drive very well with the available training, but a few exceptions, who cause most of the accidents, need a bit more attention. "Black boxes" monitoring driving habits would help identify those cases where extra training would be most needed.

    1. Re:Not ALL teens are morons! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Most people need to learn how to drive around a race track at 130-180, then driving on normal roads seems very easy.

      The main thing is just pay attention to what is happening around you. Predict what other drivers may do, and know your escape routes.

  100. as a parent.... by daswadester · · Score: 1

    I drove well, well over the speed limit with my Ford , packing a 390. I found several GREAT places to park and.... Now I find myself the parent of a 12 year old boy who is starting to look at GIRLS. I just may purchase a black box and fake antenna, install it, and tell him it is real -- only to keep him in line.... Or maybe build one with embedded Linux? Should be interesting. Maybe get him to help me build it -- if he agrees to drive the BMW I plan on giving him near the speed limit?

    1. Re:as a parent.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      > Maybe get him to help me build it -- if he agrees to drive the BMW I plan on giving him near the speed limit?

      You give him a BMW, you deserve to endure whatever happens to him. Bad choice of vehicle.

    2. Re:as a parent.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      hey hey, that ain't a bad vehicle for a kid to drive... those cars are safe... and if you get a 518 or a 323 it ain't even fast... basically a ford that doesnt flip or blow up and kill you, only a bit more expensive

  101. FYI: She Was In Her 40's by Myriad · · Score: 2
    We know that many teens are goddamned morons on the road as well - we don't need a black box to tell us that. Rather than putting these black boxes in cars to spy on our teens, we need to deal with the cause, not the symptoms: bad teen driving comes from a combination of outside pressure, overconfidence and under-training. For heavens sake - invest the money in teen driving training instead of these boxes!

    Nice teen rant. To bad the woman who totaled my van was in her 40's.

    I would've liked to have the data myself: throw it back at the cop who tossed me in the back of her cruiser for 2hrs claiming I was "DUI" when in fact I had 0 BAL and she was at fault (turned left in front of me while I had a green). The fact that people on the scene backed up my story didn't seem to matter.

    You see, if you are male and twentysomething you are automatically at fault for anything.

    Remember, cops are never predujical...

    --
    "They do not preach that their god will rouse them, a little before the Nuts work loose." Kipling, 'The Sons of Martha'
    1. Re:FYI: She Was In Her 40's by Myriad · · Score: 2
      Remember, cops are never predujical...

      That has to be one of my more creative typo's. Lets try that again,

      Cops are never prejudicial...

      Much better. Oh, and when I said it was "her fault" I meant the other driver and not the cop. Thank insert-deity-here I didn't hit her!

      --
      "They do not preach that their god will rouse them, a little before the Nuts work loose." Kipling, 'The Sons of Martha'
  102. A linux user goes back by poopbot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    A Linux user goes back.
    By Tony âoekNIGitsâ Collins.

    Introduction...
    In much of today's online news, we hear of how many people are migrating to GNU/Linux. What we don't seem to hear much of, is users going back to their old operating systems. The reason for this article is to say that I've done just that.

    Yes, I've gone back. After three and a half years of trying to make GNU/Linux work on the desktop, I've decided that it's simply too hard for the average home user. Before I go into my reasons for going back, let me outline what I believe an 'average' home user is. Mr Joe Average is someone who wants to install their OS, boot it up, and it works. He wants to be able to upgrade his PC , and have the hardware work in a few short minutes. He wants to read email, browse the web, talk to his mates online, and play some games. Feel free to disagree with me, this is merely how I see myself. Note: I'm not referring to Grandma using Linux, or even my mum using it. I'm referring to average users who know a little about their computer.

    Three and a half years; that's how long I've been trying to make Linux work on my desktop computer. Right about now, I'm sure that you are now screaming that I didn't try hard enough, or that I'm just plain stupid. Let me assure you that this is not the case. Stupid users don't doggedly stick at something for three and a half years, trying distribution after distribution in the hope of finding the holy grail of Linux desktops. They give up in less than a few hours of trying to (unsuccessfully) install RedHat Linux. Hear now my sad tale of why Linux isn't suitable for my desktop.

    Some background...
    The year is 1998. I've had my Windows '95 computer for around six months. Frustrated with the constant crashes, I desperately asked an online mate for help. Even though he was a windows user, he calmly suggested that I try something I'd never come across before...

    âoeLinux, eh? Never heard of it.â

    âoeOh, it's a free OS that you can download. Apparently it doesn't crash much. Just do an online search for it.â

    Armed with this meagre knowledge, I set out on my quest for the ultimate stable operating system. I searched online, and found places where you could even buy copies of Linux! So, I left the comfort of my warm study, and returned forty minutes later with my first Linux boxed set â" RedHat Linux 5.2. After initially balking at the very basic installer (and few false starts), I had it up and running on my lovely AMD K6-233. I even got X working in no time at all. Then the system booted up for the first time.... and it was dead ugly. I had a very stable new OS, but I didn't even want to look at it. I was happy that I had several installed interfaces to choose from, but none of them appealed to me whatsoever. Wanting to download a nicer interface led me to my next problem.

    I had absolutely no idea how to even get this nice, stable OS onto the internet! After reinstalling windows and RedHat in a dual-boot configuration, I got the help I needed by using Windows and USENET. Strangely enough, I can still remember the name of the long-suffering person who helped me get RedHat online, but that's another story. After looking around online, I discovered KDE. Only up to version one, it was the closest thing I had to a completely useable Linux system. I downloaded all the KDE packages for RedHat 5.2, only to discover another distro called Mandrake, that came with KDE preinstalled and configured. Back to my local distributor, and I was set.

    Mandrake with KDE was exactly what I needed at that stage in my Linux using life, and I stuck with it for over a year and a half. Always seeking the 'perfect' desktop OS, I followed releases from version 5.3 all the way through to 7.0. Eventually I became dissatisfied with Mandrake, and briefly tried a number of other distros until I finally settled on Debian. I was impressed by the simple power, configurability, and the ease of upgrade that is apt-get. I felt good about being among the uber-elite Debian user community. Needless to say, I learned a lot about how to configure hardware under Linux during my time with Debian. I learned to sift through the old HOWTOs on Linux Doc until I found something suitable and accurate, I learned to utilize the power of USENET and IRC. Life was good.

    Right now you must be wondering; âoeWhere is this leading? This guy seemed quite happy with Linux!â. True, I was. After a while, I decided I didn't want to have fine-grained control. I wanted something simple. I was getting tired of the 'stable' Debian release being so out of date, and the 'unstable' distribution being so... well... unstable. I got tired of having to recompile my kernel every time I got new hardware. I got tired of using command line to talk to my PC. It was time for a change. I had good experiences years ago with Mandrake, so I figured I'd try it again. As good as Mandrake 8.1 was, it wasn't what I was after. SuSE Linux 8.0 Professional (boxed set) was installed onto my PC instead.

    I have to stop at this point, and say that SuSE Linux 8.0 (Pro) is the best Linux distribution that I've ever used. It has an easy installer, reasonable hardware support, and comes with the very good KDE 3.0. The box contains seven CDROMS, one DVD and three decent books that would help even the most inexperienced user get up and going. YaST2 is a decent graphical system configuration tool. When (not if) I go back to Linux, I'll definitely try SuSE again. However, there are quite a number of things that have improve (or change completely) before I'll consider going back. Read on for my brief list of things that must must get better before I'll switch back from the Microsoft camp.

    Where GNU/Linux needs to improve...
    X11

    The X Window System is an awesomely powerful, network transparent graphical subsystem. It's perfectly suited to running applications from remote servers. However, this is NOT what a home user needs. My experience with X is that it's too big, bloated, slow and unstable to be any good to the home user. Most crashes that I ever experienced with Linux have been X's fault. My servers don't run X, and they never crash.

    What home users need is something small and fast, so they can run local applications efficiently. I would like to see the X Window System dumped in favour of a hardware accelerated framebuffer, running something like directFB or Qtopia. Home users need a small, fast graphical subsystem, with built in 3d support. BeOS seemed to be on the right track before they went under.

    Fonts are truly awful under X. Most distributions ship with appalling fonts, and there is no standard way to add additional (nicer) fonts to the system. Even after extra fonts have eventually been added, many applications (eg Abiword, Staroffice) refuse to use the new fonts anyway. Perhaps the framebuffer-based graphical subsystem I suggested could incorporate decent font support, and use a readable naming scheme as well.

    Drivers

    While having access to the latest version of the kernel is a good thing for developers, for home users it can be a nightmare. Got RedHat Linux 7.3? Perhaps you run SuSE 7.3 or Debian 2.2. You'll have to download a binary package specific to your distro. (I'm assuming that home users won't change their default kernel, but if they did, that binary package wouldn't even work!) Hardware manufacturers should be able to provide one single driver that works on all minor versions of a major kernel release. This way it would work will all current distros, instead of having to provide multiple binaries or source code. Hardware manufacturers don't want to give out the source, as this often gives away trade secrets about how their hardware is designed.

    The solution seems to be to make binary drivers work on a variety of kernel versions. I'm not sure if this is even possible with the way the kernel is designed (I'm no kernel hacker), but it would go a long way toward making Linux more accessible to the home user. Even if the kernel needs to be redesigned to support this, then in my opinion, it should be done. Linux users are always clamouring for drivers... perhaps if the kernel had something like this, it might one day become a reality.

    Hardware setup

    While SuSE Linux 8.0 gave me some good experiences with hardware detection (such as automatic download of NVIDIA drivers), it also let me down as in this area.

    The good: I recently borrowed a digital camera from a mate at work, to take photos of my case mod. Imagine how happy I was when I plugged it into my nearest USB port, and it was automatically configured (as a SCSI device) and mounted! SuSE even added it to my /etc/fstab file so that it always automounted when plugged in. I was very impressed.

    The bad: Along came my new IDE CDRW drive. At AU$99, I couldn't pass up the purchase. Plugging it in gave me no joy. I was very disappointed that a device so common couldn't be detected and automatically configured under a modern operating system. The instructions on the SuSE support site said to add lines to lilo.conf and reboot. While this is a perfectly acceptable way to get hardware working for a geek familiar with *NIX, I believe that a home user shouldn't have to do more than plug it in. It's an IDE device, it's not that complicated!

    The ugly: Once the hardware was finally working (as a pseudo-scsi drive), the next hurdle was to find decent graphical tools to burn and copy CDs. I finally settled on CDBakeOven, an above average KDE application. It burned CDs from data on the hard drive, but for some reason cdrecord (the command line backend) refused to allow me to copy a cd directly. Yes, it was installed SUID root. CD copying is such a basic function nowadays, why is it so hard to do under GNU/Linux?

    Software distribution

    I'll put this simply. I'm a home user, not a programmer. Why on earth should I have to compile the software I want to use? I know that having the source available is a good thing, but I'll say it again: I'm no programmer. I just want to install software and run it.

    This leads to another point. Although having package databases (such as the rpm and deb systems use) is great, there should definitely be seperation between system packages and additionally installed software. There needs to be a standard installer and database for user-installed applications such as word processors, email clients and games, and it should be seperate from the rpm or deb databases used for system software such as lilo, init and cron. This will make it much easier for home users to know what applications they have installed on their PC, and to easily uninstall them if necessary, without knowing some arcane commands and weird package names.

    Support

    There is a huge wealth of knowledge among the thousands (millions?) of people that run GNU/Linux around the world. If you have a problem, odds are that someone out there can help you, often for free. This is one of the linux platform's greatest strengths. However, Linux users are also its greatest weakness. This may not apply to most of the community, but there is a very vocal minority that gives Linux a bad name. To every Linux user that has ever helped a newbie, I thank you. I have been helped by many a guru, often when I've been asking the simplest of questions. It's the remainder that are a problem.

    I once heard a song by Three Dead Trolls in a Baggie called Every OS Sucks, where Linux users were described as 'elitist nerdy shmucks'. Sadly this is true for much of the 'community'. Too many consider themselves better than the rest of the world because they run Linux. Can you believe that? It's just a computer operating system, but somehow they think that it makes them better than those people who run systems such as Microsoft Windows! Elitism drives people away, as does saying âoeRTFMâ or belittling people who choose a different distro from yourself.

    'Nuff said about that.

    So what now?
    Well, I decided to go back to a Microsoft platform. Initially being paranoid after reading things about DRM and spyware, I bit the bullet and installed Microsoft Windows XP. Like every OS, it has good and bad points; most of which you can learn about from online reviewers. I'll just point out several things that make me want to keep using it instead of GNU/Linux.

    Fast graphical subsystem: Windows has lighting quick graphics, both 2d and 3d. There's no denying it. When I move a window, it refreshes so fast that I don't miss X11 at all. While not quite as nice as some other operating systems, font support is outstanding compared to XFree86.

    Drivers: Point and click to install (as a superuser, of course). Windows warns you if the driver isn't likely to work properly, and can roll back to working drivers if you deliberately choose to install one that hoses your system.

    Hardware setup: My CDRW worked right away, without a hitch. I am able to drag and drop files from the Explorer file manager to the CDRW icon and they get added to the list of things to burn. A quick install of Nero Burning Rom, and I was able to make a backup copy of my game CDs. (I don't like taking originals to LANs where they can get destroyed or stolen).

    Software distribution: All windows software comes in binaries, either with an installer or in a zip file. I hope to never compile an application ever again. Software designed for a different version of windows is 99% guaranteed to run, but if not, there is always 'compatibility mode'. One thing to note, however: Applications designed for single user versions of windows usually only run properly as a superuser, and this includes 3d games. I expect this to be rectified as the rest of the Windows world catches up to a multi-user environment.

    I can't comment on the Windows using community yet. I've not yet had a problem that a simple point and click couldn't fix. However, I will say that my original concern with Windows '95 has been addressed in Windows XP. The stability is finally there.

    Final Notes
    In conclusion, I'd just like to make it known that I haven't completely abandoned the Linux community. My home server still runs Mandrake, and IPCop on my gateway/firewall. There is no way I'd ever put any form of Windows on my server, nor would I ever connect a Windows PC directly to the internet without a *NIX gateway in between. Microsoft has a history of poor security, so I protect myself the only way I know how; using Linux. I will continue to advocate the use of GNU/Linux in the server arena. This is where its strength lies at the moment.

    Because of their history of spreading virii, I don't use the applications that Microsoft has provided with Windows XP. My wife and I use Mozilla for web browsing and email, OpenOffice.org for word processing, and Psi (Jabber client) for instant messaging. All of these are true multi-user win32 programs, and are perfectly interoperable with their Linux counterparts.

    I expect that the Linux community will have something to say about this article; I welcome comments and constructive criticism. Flames will be automatically sent to the Windows equivalent of /dev/null, once I find where that actually is.

    By Tony âoekNIGitsâ Collins

    - posted by poopbot: crapflooding since 7/8/02

    TJ4kw8O59d Post #852

  103. Pink page of death!! by poopbot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Either your network or ip address has been banned from this site

    due to script flooding that originated from your network or ip address -- or this IP might have been used to post comments designed to break web browser rendering. If you feel that this is unwarranted, feel free to include your IP address (1.2.3.4) in the subject of an email, and we will examine why there is a ban. If you fail to include the IP address (again, in the Subject!), then your message will be deleted and ignored. I mean come on, we're good, we're not psychic.
    Since you can't read the FAQ because you're banned, here's the relevant portion:

    Why is my IP banned?
    Â Perhaps you are running some sort of program that loaded thousands of Slashdot Pages. We have limited resources here and are fairly protective of them. We need to make sure that everyone shares. If your IP loads thousands of pages in a day, you will likely be banned. Please note that many proxy servers load large quantities of pages, but we can usually distinguish between proxy servers being used by humans, and IPs running software that is hammering our servers.

    Â Your IP might have been used to perform some sort of denial of service attack against Slashdot. These range from simple programs that just load a lot of pages, to programs that attempt to coordinate an avalanche of posts in the forums (often through misconfigured "Open Relay" proxy servers).

    Â You might be using a proxy server that is also being used by another person who did something from the above list. You should have your proxy server administrator contact us.

    Â Your IP might have been used to post comments designed to break web browser rendering.

    Answered by: CmdrTaco
    Last Modified: 7/02/02

    How do I get an IP Unbanned?
    Email banned@slashdot.org. Make sure to include the IP in question, and any other pertinent information. If you are connecting through a proxy server, you might need to have your proxy server's admin contact us instead of you.

    Answered by: CmdrTaco
    Last Modified: 3/26/02

    - posted by poopbot: who doesn't like scat?

    D9BjW5J0QD Post #853

  104. Censordot!! by poopbot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Version 1.1.8 (last updated 19th July 2002 by Anonymous Coward)

    Note to moderators : Do not moderate this post down, if you do then you support the editors stance on censorship and you support the end of free speech and support evil organisations like Microsoft, RIAA, MPAA and laws like the CBTBA and DMCA

    Sign this petition, let your voice be heard!

    Slashdot is using censorship! It is trying to eridicate free and open discussion like we know slashdot to be, it has the following RESTRICTIONS in place to Censor you

    They claim they don't, but they do, wonder why their are so many trolls, crapflooders and lamers on slashdot, because they are fighting for their rights! Slashdot is trying to silence the trolls. Remove the filters, the trolls get bored, and slashdot will be troll free!
    • Lameness filters (It blocks a lot of legitmate posts)
    • Unnessary posting delays. Hasnt taco learned to touch type? A lot of posts are typed in less than 20 seconds and it is a ANNOYING DELAY! 2 minute ban? Come on, so some are faster then others, big deal, some people have more to say than others
    • Broken moderation system, The whole point is to sort the gems from the crap, yet a lot of posts designed to make a LIVELY DISCUSSION are MODERATED as flamebait! Come on, not everyone likes X, but just because some one bashes it dosent mean its Flamebait. Flame bait is more useful for DIRECT INSULTS and not legitmate discussions.
    The "troll" moderation reason is fragmented and broken, why? Because they are trying to use an obsolete usenet term on a realtime discussion, "trolls" can cover a huge blanket of ideas.
    • Crapfloods, a meaningless flood of random letters or text, which the lameness filter does a crappy job at trying to stop, besides trolls have written tools using the opensource slashcode to generate crapfloods which bypass the filter
    • Links to offensive websites, the most common one is known a http://www.goatse.cx, a awful site which shows a bleeding anus being stretched on the front page. Trolls sneak these links in by posting messages that look legitimate, but infact are sneaky redirects to the site. Common examples include rd.yahoo.com, www.linux-kernel.tk, goatsex.cjb.net, and googles "Im feeling lucky".
    • Trying to break slashdot, this is actually a good thing, as it helps test slashdot for bugs. Famous examples include the goatse.cx javascript pop-up, the pagewidening post and the browser crashing post!
    Subnet banning, this bans a user unless they email jamie macarthy with their mp5ed ipids. This is unfair, and banning a subnet BLOCKS A WHOLE ISP SOMETIMES, and not that individual user! This can cause chaos! But real trolls use annoymous proxys to get around this so THIS JUST BANS LEGITMATE USERS! Also, they are trying to censor some anoymous proxies, mainly from countrys like africa, so this yet more DISCRIMINATION!

    But, the issue that concerens us the most, is the COMMENT QUOTA. A discrimatory system that stiffles discussion, cripples the community and will ultimateley destroy slashdot unless it is removed! Annoymous cowards are allowed only 10 posts a day! This is unethical! Users with negative karma only get two! That is DISCRIMINATION! How would you like to only be able to speak once a day, just because of the color of your skin. That would be racism, and slashdot is discrimitating on people just because of a negative number in a database! BOYCOTT SLASHDOT! LET THEM DIE!

    We wan't these stupid useless restrictions REMOVED! This comment will be posted again and again until it does!

    Inportant imformation for users
    Boycott slashdot, they are pissing over their community, they are becoming like the RIAA and MICROSOFT! Do NOT TOLERATE THIS SHIT! Here are some real news for nerds sites. We don't need slashdot, slashdot deserves to die!

    MSNBC
    BBC NEWS
    News.com
    Linux online
    Linux daily news network [linuxdailynews.net]
    Weird news from dailyrotten.com
    Trollaxor, news for trolls, they are real people too!
    CNN.com
    New york times (free registration required)
    LINUX.com
    News forge
    K5
    Mandrake forum
    Toms hardware
    The register
    Kde dot news
    The linux kernel Archives
    Adequecy

    There are hundreds more, But this is where slashdot STEALS THE MAJORITY OF its "news" from.

    Punish them, here are their emails, spam them, flame them goatse them!
    Rob malda
    Jamie Macarthy
    ChrisD
    Hemos
    Micheal
    Pudge

    The others ones apperantly dont have an e-mail, probably because ROB MALDA IS PRETENDING HE IS JOHN KATZ.

    Thank you for reading this, please feel free to repost this information, please reply to add your comments, fight slashdot and its CENSORSHIP

    Don't forget to sign the petition!

    - posted by poopbot: lovely snot! wonderful snot!

    vwPvwfZGkB Post #854
  105. Funny jokes by poopbot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Whats black, blue and green and doesnt like sex?
    The Girl Scout locked in my basement.
    Whats the worst part about having sex with a six year-old?
    Getting the blood out of your clown suit.
    Whats the best thing about getting a hand job from a five year-old?
    That little hand makes your thing look really huge.
    Guy comes home from work to find his girlfriend sitting on the porch, crying.
    Whats wrong, honey?
    Im leaving you! I just found out youre a pdophile!
    Pdophile? Why, thats a pretty big word for a ten year-old.
    How can you tell when your sisters on her period?
    When your dads dick tastes like blood!
    Two pdophiles are lying on a beach tanning, one turns to the other and says, Excuse me, youre in my son.
    What is the sickest sound you hear when fucking a nine year-old?
    Her hips snapping!
    What is the best sound you hear when fucking a 13 year-old?
    Her hips snapping!
    Whats 18 inches long, blue, veiny, and makes a woman cry?
    Crib death.
    How could the mans seven year-old son tell that his dad had fucked his eight year-old sister? His dads weiner tasted like blood!
    Watson returns home to find Holmes in bed with a child. He shouts, Is this some sort of a schoolgirl?
    Holmes replies, Elementary, my dear Watson.
    So I was having sex with my girlfriend, and I decided I wanted to get kinky and try and do her in the ass. So I slipped around back; she looked over her shoulder at me and said, My, how presumptuous of you. I said, Presumptuous? Thats a big word for a ten year-old.
    Two guys are walking down the street when a beautiful woman passes. The first guy says, Damn! Id love to tear her clothes off, do her in the rear, smear my fces all over her, slice off her breasts, chop her into little pieces, put her in a garbage bag and toss her into the river!
    Second guy says, Yuck! Youre a sick bastard!
    First guy says, Whatre you? A fag?
    A kindergarten teacher is asking the kids what their father does for a living. All the kids answer except for Little Johnny. The teacher asks Little Johnny what his Dad does and Johnny replies, My dad is dead.
    The teacher says, Thats terribile, but what did he do before he died?
    Little Johnny replies, He turned blue and shit all over himself!
    A guy calls in sick to work.
    Whats wrong? asks the boss.
    Im sick, the guy replies.
    You sound all right.
    No, Im really sick. Believe me.
    Listen, you were fine yesterday, and we have a lot of work today. I want you in here. You cant be that sick!
    Dude, I just banged my sister. Dont tell me Im not sick.
    A little girl accompanied her father to the barbershop. While her dad received a haircut, the little girl stood next to the barber chair, enjoying a snack cake. The barber smiled at her and said, Sweetheart, youre going to get hair on your Twinkie.
    I know, the little girl replied. Im gonna get tits, too.
    An older man and a small boy walk hand in hand through the woods.
    Boy: These woods sure are spooky!
    Man: You think youre scared, Ive gotta walk out of here alone.
    Whats the difference between Neil Armstrong and Michael Jackson?
    One walked on the moon, and the other rapes little boys.
    Has anyone read Michael Jacksons new book, The Ins and Outs of Child Rearing?
    Q: Whats the difference between a dead baby and a golden delicious apple?
    A: I dont cum all over the golden delicious apple before I take a bite out of it.
    Q: Whats the difference between a dead baby and my girlfriend?
    A: I dont kiss my girlfriend after sex.
    Q: Whats the difference between a dead baby and a table?
    A: You cant fuck a table.
    Q: Whats special about a dead baby over all other forms of life?
    A: You can achieve deep throat from whichever way you enter.
    Q: What do you have when you have four dead babies, take away two, and add five more?
    A: An orgy!
    Q: Whats better than three 14 year-olds?
    A: 14 three year-olds.
    Q: Whats white and bobs up and down in a babys crib?
    A: A pdophiles ass.
    Q: Whats the safest way to play with a baby?
    A: With a condom.
    Q: Whats more fun than feeling up a dead baby?
    A: Feeling up a dead baby with three nipples.
    Q: What does a baby and a Pinto have in common?
    A: Theyre fun to ride until they die.
    Q: What do you get whan you dislocate a dead babys jaw?
    A: Deep throat.
    Q: Whats the difference between a baby and a grandmother?
    A: Grandmothers dont die when you fuck them in the ass.
    Q: Whats the best sound in the world?
    A: Hearing dead babys hips crack under pressure!
    Q: Whats worse than a having sex with a dead baby?
    A: Having sex with a dead baby filled with razor blades.
    Q: How do you stop a baby from choking?
    A: Take your dick out of its mouth.
    Q: Whats worse than finding a dead baby on your pillow in the morning?
    A: Realizing you were drunk and made love to it the night before.
    Q: How do you make a baby cry twice?
    A: Wipe your bloody cock on his teddy bear.
    Whats better than sex with a twelve year-old boy?
    Absolutely nothing.

    - posted by poopbot: lovely snot! wonderful snot!

    zQKUWI7njA Post #855

  106. Math VS Machine by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    Ok, I've read many of you comments, and you all make good points, however I must put my final 2 cents in on this. To the nay sayers, I have this...

    My father was an accident reconstructionist. He could tell how fast you and the other involved party were going from your skids and impact damage. There are six formulas for doing this. I'll save you the math, but these black boxen are not going to let them know anything new. In fact math and physical evidence can tell far more about the accident then some silly little black box ever could.

    To the misguided parents who want one for their kid, tell me. Do you think this will improve your relationship with your child? Every time you check it, it tells you child you don't trust them. Now when they want to drive crazy, they steal a car, or hop into another friends car who doesn't have one. Maybe they'll be smart and unplug the silly thing. Don't waste your money, nor your time on something that can further damage the relationship between you and your child further then teenage years already do.

    This idea is a waste of money, and I wouldn't give my two cents for their future.

    Nexion

  107. unless you're black by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    [black] But was stopped officer and he ran the light, right into me. [redneck] No he wasn't. [officer to redneck] How fast was he going in reverse, son?

  108. UCFPKF by poopbot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    How are things in the civilized world? You probably don't know who I am. That's
    okay. I'm here to inform you of my mission, what I've found, and what I hope to
    teach all of you.

    I work for the United Christians Food for Poor Kids Foundation, and let me tell
    you, there's a lot of poor kids in Afghanistan. As in most countries in the
    Middle East, most people are unemployed, and therefore poor. And where there's a
    lot of poor people, UCFPKF is needed.

    UCFPKF always has the latest in technology. In this instance, we had access to
    some Pentium 4's(r) 2GHz. Obviously, we needed an operating system that could
    handle the power of Intel's beast. Unfortunately, we didn't have any computer
    experts on hand up to the task, so it was going to be trial and error.

    We'd heard good things about Linux and its "ACL's". Little did we know of its
    incompatibility with modern hardware. It didn't even support Token Ring
    networking, the newest form of Ethernet(r), which we require to always keep
    in contact between bases. Also, it didn't seem to use SSE optimizations, which
    when processing food amounts, are also very important. Also, there were
    homo-erotic implications in the structure of Linux, which is strictly
    unallowable in a Christian organization such as ours.

    The next obvious step was to install Windows. We hesitated because we knew that
    it was common knowledge that Windows crashed incessantly. Our experience was
    less than stellar. It also didn't support Token Ring networking. Security is
    important in this region because many people try to steal food, but "Windows
    2000" (which I hear didn't even come out in 2000) doesn't even allow you to
    have seperate permissions. Once again, the SSE optimizations were not used.

    I was in a situation that seemed impossible. The two most famous operating
    systems had failed me. I walked around the base in a dazed stupor. What was I
    going to do for our ultra-important network? A boy saw me pouting and sighing,
    and asked me what was wrong. I said nothing, but we exchanged names, and little
    did I know, that young Junis had a gift for computers.

    Junis saw me the next day, slaving away at the sparse terminal that "Windows
    2000" makes you type in. He asked what I was doing with that primitive OS. I
    laughed and told him that I was doing inventory. He ran to his village, into his
    hut, and pulled out a box I had never seen before. The box said "SCO Xenix" the
    front. I had never seen or heard of this Xenix before. But I soon learned that
    Junis was a computer genius.

    All we had to do was put the Xenix CD into the computer, and everything worked
    like magic (not the devil's magic... good magic:) ). Our Token Ring network
    integrated flawlessly with it. And it even used SSE optimizations. Well, me and
    Junis are now on a new mission. We're spreading the word. It might not be the
    word of the lord, but then again, maybe it is ;).

    SCO Xenix: The Unix of Tomorrow.

    Janet Milman
    Network Administrator, UCFPKF
    Afghanistan base

    - posted by poopbot: information likes to be narrow

    HJ7IO1NRdY Post #856

  109. Do we need complex acronyms? by poopbot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Credits: dmg

    Yet again the Linux so-called elite, backed up by their pseudo intellectual cohorts of the w3c conspire to ruin Linux's chances in the marketplace by sowing confusion and complexity. As someone with years of experience in the marketing world, I am constantly amazed at the willingness of the W3C and other bodies to pollute the acronym space with their content free "TLAs".

    Basic marketing 101 (and an undergrad course in psychology) would tell them that the normal person is only capable of remembering approximately 7 items of data in their short-term memory, but now we have to remember HTTP, HTML, XML, XSL, DTD, PHP, SSL, DSL, ADSL, ISDN, Perl, etc etc etc

    This is a text book example of the tail wagging the dog from a marketing perspective.

    I have been following the standardisation of the web for many many months now, but one thing has become clear, E-commerce will NEVER become popular so long as there are so many confusing acronyms involved. The guys in charge of marketing Linux absolutely MUST work to reduce the number of acronyms. One possible solution would be to merge those protocols which are not all that different. For example, why not merge XML with SGML ? (they could call it XSGML or SXGML or perhaps XMSGML), they seem to address the same problems. Or would that be too simplistic a solution for their pampered elitist ivy-league minds to comprehend ?

    If something is not done URGENTLY, and I mean URGENTLY, Linux (and other more experimental derivatives such as FreeBSD) can never hope to be taken seriously as an e-commerce platform by the people who count - the accountants.

    The miracle of Linux is that anyone actually runs it at all, considering one seems to require a masters in computer science to install it! (contrast this with NT4 which was so easy to install, we let our receptionist upgrade her own machine).

    As usual my "open source" advice is free. Hopefully this time my valuable advice will be taken into account the next time the w3c smell an acronym brewing.

    Finally, in conclusion, as an American, I am saddened that the Internet seems to have been commandeered by a European based protocol. Was America so short of talent we had to buy the HTML protocol from Tom Berners-Lee at CERN ?

    Think of the security implications of the worlds strongest economy, running an e-commerce protocol developed by a foreigner from Socialist Europe. Remember the wall has not been down for that long. Who knows what kind of trojans might be lurking within the depths of these complicated protocols.

    I am afraid I am behind Al Gore on this point, how can this be necessary in the home of smart corporations such as Microsoft and Intel ? The answer is the vast subsidies given by European socialist governments to fund development of the HTML specification.

    The solution is clear. The federal government should mandate and strongly subsidise the use of Microsoft software for all US corporations involved in e-commerce. Only with a US-developed set of protocols can we be assured of the security of our transactions.

    - posted by poopbot: information likes to be narrow

    dvXgQPdtMj Post #857

  110. Goatsecxsy by poopbot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    To the tune of "Without me", Eminem

    Two penis bird guys go round the outside, round the outside, round the outside (2x)
    Guess who's back [/] Back again [/] Sllort is back [/] Tell a friend
    Guess who's back, guess who's back, guess who's back, guess who's back
    guess who's back, guess who's back, guess who's back..

    I've created a monster, cause nobody wants to read Michael no more
    They want Sllort, cause Katz is a whore *duh* [/] Well if you want Sllort, this is what it'll get ya
    A little bit of Troll mixed up with some professa [/] Don't mod this up they're just trying to test ya
    It'll get you banned forever by the mastah [/] on the plantation, but I'm not co-operating
    Been banned since 2000 for writing and creating (hey!) [/] You read it this far, now stop moderating
    Cause I'm back, I'm on the keys and I'm operating [/] I know that you got a job Ms. Malda
    but your husband's porn problem's complicating
    So McCarthy won't let me be [/] he IP bans me, so let me see
    They try to shut me down but I proxy [/] Cause it feels so empty, without me
    So, clickety click, type where you sit
    Fuck that, karma whorin dips, nobody gives a shit
    Now get ready, cause this shit's about to get heavy
    Just got a new list of proxies, FUCK YOU JAMIE!

    [Chorus:]
    Now this looks like a job for me [/] DOWN WITH CAPS LIKE JUNIS KANUNI
    Cause we need a little, controversy [/] Cause it feels so empty to agree
    I said this looks like a job for me [/] So everybody, try honesty
    Cause we need a little, controversy [/] Cause it feels so empty to agree

    Little Readers, posting defacement. [/] Embarrassed their parents still rent them their basement.
    They get banned just like prisoners helpless [/] 'til someone posts truth in a journal and yells BULLSHIT!

    A visionary, is my vision scary? [/] Could it start revolution, pollutin the stories?
    A rebel, so just let me revel and gloat [/] in the fact that VA's stock price is looking like GOAT *zero!*
    And it's a disaster, such a castastrophe [/] First posts are so fuckin expensive; but Katz is free?
    Well I'm back, na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na [/] *bzzt* Fix your damn DSL turn it on and then I'm gonna
    enter in, in the front of your skin like a virus [/] Maybe I'm unkillable, dead like Osirus
    Ya I'm infecting, best thing since commenting [/] Intriuging the reader's minds and nesting
    *bzzt* Testing, attention please [/] You feel the rage when Michael mentions me?
    Here's my journal, you can read it free [/] A nuisance? a prophet? Ya, sounds like me.

    [Chorus]

    A diskette, a task set, post this cid on that sid, [/] Ask Slashdot: Are You Sofa King We Todd Did?
    Jonathon Katz, smokin crack mixed with grass [/] If I ever meet you I will KICK YOUR ASS
    And Taco? You can get blown by Timothy [/] You eleven year old molesting fag, join the clergy
    You don't know me, you're too dumb, let go [/] It's over, nobody listens to your show
    Now let's go, suicide for Signal [/] I'll be there cheering like a cheerleader on speed
    Or crystal, method to the masses [/] ever since Slashbots been babblin like jackasses *bray*

    Suddenly without the means [/] To bring up the MetaModeration screen?
    It's not the servers re-boot-ing [/] It's just you, banned by Slashteam! *hey*
    No I wasn't aiming for controversy [/] It just happened when they first banned me
    Now I use it to tell others [/] That Slashteam are a bunch of fuckers!
    (Hey!) Here's a concept that works [/] Twenty million other people find out you're jerks
    But no matter how much you alter what they see [/] It just looks empty without me

    [Chorus]
    La-la-la-la, la-la-la-la-la / La-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la

    - posted by poopbot: for the crapflooder in all of us

    0vTsJ4EaxW Post #858

  111. THE OFFICIAL TACO-SNOTTING FAQ by poopbot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    THE OFFICIAL TACO-SNOTTING FAQ [slashdot.org]
    By J. Wipo Troll, Esq. [slashdot.org], $Revision: 1.16 $
    [This article attempts to document a vile, ungodly practice that runs rampant through the homosexual geek and hacker community, a practice known as âoeTaco-snotting,â or simply âoesnotting.â Taco-snotting is something that few geeks dare talk about in free or open conversation, but it is nonetheless a widely-practiced and dangerous form of homosexuality. If you or anyone you know has ever engaged in Taco-snotting, please get professional help [adequacy.org] before it is too late. â"ed.]

    Why do I keep receiving emails from an individual calling himself âoeCmdrTacoâ?
    You have been receiving unsolicited mailings from a certain Robert âoeCmdrTacoâ Malda [cmdrtaco.net], owner of the popular technology website slashdot.org [slashdot.org]. Actually, itâ(TM)s not a very âoepopularâ site in the common sense of the word; the site is rife with pimply, antisocial geeks and hackers, zit-faced nerds, communists, dirty GNU hippies [yahoo.com], and other societal rejects and outcasts. Itâ(TM)s also home to one of the worldâ(TM)s largest suspected pædophile rings, the infamous âoeSlashdot crew.â
    Whenever Mr. Malda gets bored (and who wouldnâ(TM)t, running a site like Slashdot all day), he roams through the user database, penis in hand, looking for people who might enjoy engaging in homosexual activities with him. How he determines this is anyoneâ(TM)s guess; but if you have a homosexual-sounding nickname, or a nick with a letter of the English alphabet in it, youâ(TM)re a potential candidate.
    This time, he found you. Lucky you.

    Mr. Malda seems to be speaking in some sort of code. Do you know what it means?
    CmdrTacoâ(TM)s code language is relatively easy to decipher. This pervert prefers to speak in thinly-veiled sexual innuendo (yes, thatâ(TM)s right: he wants you) to evade the watchful eye of Slashdotâ(TM)s parent corporation, VA Software [yahoo.com]. Mr. Maldaâ(TM)s âoeCommanderâ is, of course, his penis: a small, withered little thing that lives in his pants and only comes out in the presence of other male geeks or at the beck and call of Maldaâ(TM)s own lubed-up right hand. His âoeTaco bells [sonymusic.com]â are the shriveled testicles that droop beneath his Commander, and his âoeTaco sauceâ is his thin, runny semen. It should be more than obvious to you now what he means if he asked you to âoering his Taco bellsâ or âoetaste his gourmet Taco sauce.â
    I would also guess CmdrTaco asked you to engage in a practice known as âoeTaco-snottingâ and, if he was in a particularly depraved mood at the time, a âoecircle-snot.â

    Good Lord. And, yes, he did. What is âoeTaco-snottingâ?
    âoeTaco-snottingâ is the term used by Robert Malda to refer to the depraved act of fellating another man (homo- or heterosexual; CmdrTaco is rumoured to prefer raping unwilling victims), then blowing the semen out his nose and back onto the face and body of his victim. Naturally, a long, bubbly stream of milky-white semen is left on CmdrTacoâ(TM)s face [go.com], dribbling out of his nose and down his cheek: hence the term, âoeTaco-snotting.â
    And if thatâ(TM)s not bad enoughâ¦
    A âoecircle-snotâ is a Taco-snotting circle-jerk, another practice common among the Slashdot crew [bastardgenres.com]. CmdrTaco, CowboiKneel [aol.com], and Homos get together and snot each other with their gooey, sticky cum â" spooging their jizz-snot all over each otherâ(TM)s faces and pasty, white bodies, until theyâ(TM)re covered head to toe with their own and each otherâ(TM)s man juice. This vile, ungodly ritual can go on for hours. For the homosexual penetration that follows this lengthy foreplay, Roblowme is usually there to provide plenty of anal lubricant; he owns a limousine service and has ample supplies of motor oil and axle grease ready to go.
    To complete this perverted orgy, fellow faggots Michael, Timothy, and Jamie will usually join in, dressed in tight leather mock-S.S. uniforms, jack boots, and leather gloves. The homosexual shenanigans that follow are nearly beyond description. The whole group begins to snot each otherâ(TM)s spunk and whip each otherâ(TM)s pudgy asses with riding crops and chains until their pale, white geek bodies are exhausted and soaked in stinking sweat from the hours of passionate, homosexual revelry.

    Ewwwwww. So, can I stop receiving these emails?
    Hopefully, but I wouldnâ(TM)t count on it.
    To begin with, you most likely forgot to uncheck the âoeWilling to Snotâ checkbox in your account preferences. CmdrTaco has probably already got the hots for your wad (do you have a homosexual-sounding nick?), and heâ(TM)s probably already been lurking outside your bathroom window for weeks with a camera, some tissues and lube, just waiting to pounce and declare you his new bitch. Thereâ(TM)s no escaping a geek in heat (trust me), so itâ(TM)s probably too late for you, but you can possibly rectify this situation. To remove yourself from CmdrTacoâ(TM)s sights, log into your Slashdot account, go to your user page, click on Messages, and uncheck the box next to âoeWilling to Snot.â Maybe heâ(TM)ll ignore you. Probably not.

    I canâ(TM)t stop receiving these emails from CmdrTaco!?
    If you indulge him in a Taco-snot or two, hemight leave you alone. You might also want to look into mail filtering, restraining orders, or purchasing a heavy, blunt object capable of warding off rampaging homosexual geeks in heat. Trust me, when they charge⦠oh, the humanity. If he gets you, and you let him Taco-snot all over you, you will most likely end up tied up in his basement to be used as his sex slave for the rest of your life (or until he accidentally drowns you in spunk in a circle-snot).

    Have you ever been Taco-snotted?
    Unfortunately, yes. I first met Mr. Malda at an Open Source Convention [amazon.com]. He invited me back to his room for a game of Quake and some âoegourmet Tacos,â but when I got there, the perverted geek jumped me and handcuffed me to his bed, stripping me. After taking his âoeCommanderâ out of his pants, Mr. Taco made me suck the withered thing six times, virtually nonstop. He then performed his vile Taco-snotting ritual on me three times over the next two hours, bringing me to orgasm after orgasm after sweaty, mind-numbing orgasm⦠then he snotted my own thick, gooey jizz back onto my face out of his nostrils! He snotted me two more times, first into my mouth, then again on my exposed belly.
    CmdrTaco invited several of his Open Source (or rather, âoeOpen Sauceâ â" man sauce) buddies over to continue their ungodly snotfest. European hacker and known überfaggot Linux Torvalds raped my ass [yahoo.com] with his âoemonolithic kernel [yahoo.com];â his partner-in-crime Anal Cox used their âoenetwork stackâ in a multitude of unspeakable ways on and in every orifice of my defenseless, tender, young body. Michael Sims was there in his leather Nazi uniform, caning my previously-virginal ass with a bamboo pole and ranting about âoeall those Censorware [spectacle.org] freaks out to get him.â

    That is so disgusting! How did you finally escape?
    After about 16 hours of countless unholy, homosexual atrocities perpetrated against my restrained body, they all finally went to sleep on top of me, sweat-soaked and exhausted. I was left there, completely covered in bubbly, translucent jizz-snot, chained to the bed, with half a dozen fat, pasty-white fags lying around and on top of me. Fortunately the spooge coating my flesh worked wonderfully as a lubricant â" I was able to squirm my way out of the handcuffs and slip out the back door (of the apartment, not their back doors). Iâ(TM)m just glad I survived the awful ordeal. These sexually-repressed hackers had alot of built-up spunk in their wads â" I couldâ(TM)ve easily been drowned!

    Thatâ(TM)s horrible. Does âoeTaco-snottingâ have anything to do with CmdrTacoâ(TM)s âoespecial tacoâ?
    No, thatâ(TM)s a different disgusting perversion CmdrTaco indulges himself in. Mr. Malda is usually not satisfied with merely snotting your own jizz back onto your face, he most often enjoys involving his own bodily fluids in his twisted games. WeatherTroll [slashdot.org] has spent some time trying to educate the Slashdot readership [slashdot.org] about this vile practice (emphasis added):
    You may be wondering what CmdrTacoâ(TM)s âoespecial tacoâ is. You will be wishing that you hadnâ(TM)t been wondering after you finish reading this post. To make his âoespecial taco,â CmdrTaco takes a taco shell and shits on it. He then adds lettuce, takes out his tiny withered dick (otherwise known as his âoeCommanderâ), puts his âoespecial taco sauceâ on it which means he jacks off on the taco, and adds a compound to make the person who eats the taco unconscious. Of course, the compound does not make the person unconscious until the taco is fully eaten. Thus CmdrTaco force-feeds the taco to the unsuspecting victim. After all, who would knowingly eat shit and CmdrTacoâ(TM)s jizz?
    After the victim is unconscious, he is held against his will and used for CmdrTacoâ(TM)s nefarious homosexual purposes. This includes shoving taco shells up the victimâ(TM)s ass, Taco-snotting, and getting Jon Katz involved. Trust me, you do not want Jon Katz anywhere near your unconscious body. Also, rumor has it CmdrTaco is looking for a new goatse.cx guy [goatse.cx]. Donâ(TM)t let it be you!
    Different ungodly perversion, yet no less revolting. It should be clear to you now that Robert âoeCmdrTacoâ Malda is a very, very sick individual, as are most of the Slashdot editors.

    Does Jon Katz get involved in any of this? I thought he was a pædophile, not a homosexual.
    Actually, Jon Katz is a homosexual pædophile. Heâ(TM)s also a coprophiliac, and, many suspect, a zoophile. Mr. Katz is somewhat of a loner and doesnâ(TM)t involve himself in the circle-snots, but that doesâ(TM)t mean heâ(TM)s any less of a freak than the rest of the Slashdot crew. Katz often engages in a game called âoejuicy-douching [aol.com]â with a harem of little-boy slaves that he has collected over the years: yet another vile practice which involves administering an enema to himself of the little boyâ(TM)s urine (forced out of them with a pair of pincers), spooging the vile muck from his ass back into the enema bag, then dribbling and slathering the goo all over himself and the boyâ(TM)s chained, naked bodies. If heâ(TM)s in the mood, he will sometimes skip refilling the enema bag from his distended anus and just squirt it from his ass [microsoft.com] onto the crying, terrified boys. Unwilling boys are further tortured with the pincers until they comply and allow Mr. Katz to juicy-douche them at will. A boy will usually last about two years before Mr. Katz either accidentally drowns them in diarrhea or kills them once they get too old, usually around 13 or 14.
    Not content with being a pædophilic coprophile, Mr. Katz is also quite the zoophile. As if the sexual escapades with the helpless little boys arenâ(TM)t enough, Jon usually enjoys his juicy-douches best when his penis is firmly planted in a female goatâ(TM)s anus [yahoo.com]. He is also rumoured to get off on watching his little boys eat the goatâ(TM)s small, bean-like turds, and he often kills his older boys by letting his goats trample them.

    â¦Are you getting hard writing this?
    Why, yes. :) Join me in a WIPO-snot?

    No, thanks. Iâ(TM)m already CmdrTacoâ(TM)s boi toi.
    ________________________________________

    * The URL of this document is
    * Previous revisions are publicly available at

    $Id: tacosnotting.html,v 1.16 2001/12/28 21:20:03 wipo Exp $
    Copyright © 2001 J. Wipo Troll, Esq. [slashdot.org] Verbatim crapflooding of this document is permitted in any medium, provided this copyright notice is preserved, and next time you take a dump, you think of the WIPO Troll and all heâ(TM)s done to make Slashdot a better place.

    - posted by poopbot: information likes to be narrow

    kUJ0dfVOyz Post #859

  112. A typical slashdot day by poopbot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Credits: anonymous

    "Mmmm... this feels good..." I sighed.
    "Shhh!" hissed Hemos. "We don't want Mark to come in here!"

    True. Having Hemos's 16 year-old brother walk in on us at that moment would not be good. I didn't think he'd be too cool with finding his 12 year-old brother lying naked with me, holding my 11 year-old dick in his hands. But, in all fairness, my hands were eagerly playing with Hemos's dick and balls at that moment, too.

    Hemos's mom and dad had gone to the drive-in, leaving his big brother in charge. In our favor, leaving Mark in charge pretty much guaranteed that we weren't to bother him, and in turn, he'd leave us alone unless we were making too much noise or breaking something. Well, we were being careful to keep quiet because we very much wanted to be left alone.

    We were in Hemos's twin bed, snuggled under the covers with our underwear pushed down to the foot of the bed. The only illumination in the room came from the faint sliver of light that crept in under his bedroom door. Even in the shadows I could make out the shape of my friend; about my height, but heavier. (Hell, I was such a skinny runt that everyone was heavier than me.) Hemos had a crew-cut of white-blonde hair, and was only starting to sprout some pubic hair. But, you had to feel for it because what little pubic hair he possessed was as blonde as the short hair on his hea and could not yet be seen by even a minimal distance.

    And, I was happily feeling for it, running my hands all over Hemos's slightly larger erection and fondling his larger testicles while he courteously stroked my dick. I could tell that he didn't possess the same enthusiasm for cockplay as I did, unless you count his appreciation for the attention devoted to his member. And I knew that my willingness to satisfy his sexual urges was one of the few reasons he even had me sleep over at his place. But, I didn't let that stop me from finding pleasure in the handling of his meat.

    I'd recently had an "introduction", of sorts, to seeing what someone could do with a man's dick with their mouth. While spending the night with my Uncle Jerry a couple weeks before, while I watched in secret, I was treated to a visual display of the intensity and unabashed pleasure that my uncle had obviously enjoyed having another man suck on his cock. From that moment on, I had a yearning that I needed to satisfy. With who was my only question.

    I guess it was time to find out.

    "I... heard that sucking on it feels even better than playing with it." I ventured.

    In the darkness, I could feel a slight jerk of revulsion in Hemos's body.

    "Put a dick in your mouth?" he croaked.

    "Well, " I countered, my heart pounding with anxiety, "I think adults do it all the time."

    "Well, I'm not gonna do it!" Hemos hissed. "That's homo stuff!"

    "Yeah." I sighed disappointedly, while still playing with Hemos's dick. "I guess it is."

    As I stroked his shaft in a steadier, milking rhythm, I could sense Hemos's breaths getting quicker. His manipulations of my dick began to falter as I could feel his body tense beside me. His hips rocked slightly in time with my pumping of his cock, and I cradled his balls tenderly in my other hand. When any attentions to my own dick has completely ebbed, I knew what was about to happen, so I picked up the pace just a bit more while lending a touch more pressure in my grip. Finally, Hemos's breath caught in his throat, and he turned his face fully into his pillow to stifle the moans that broke free as his cock pulsed and throbbed in a dry orgasm within my hands. I continued to massage him and didn't release him from my grasp until his member had gone fully soft.

    "Man," sighed Hemos dreamily after finally catching his breath. "You are so good at that, CmdrTaco."

    At least I had something to be proud of, I guess, as my friend gently withdrew himself from me and rolled onto his back.

    Even though I was only eleven, the irony of Hemos's words and actions were not lost on me. My sucking on him would have been a "homo" thing, but beating him off was okay. Go figure. Within the few moments I had spent mulling over the irony of the thoughts, Hemos had drifted off to sleep. I slipped out from under the covers and down to the cool floor so I could masturbate without shaking the bed. As I toyed with my own dick, I imagined Hemos's cock in my mouth, wondering if the chance would ever really come. Finally, my own climax washed over me, and I got back into the bed.

    I don't sleep real well to begin with, and even worse when I'm not in my own bed. And now, with the thoughts of a dick so close to me, as well as the vivid memories of secretly seeing man-to-man cocksucking pleasure floating through my prepubescent, sex-filled brain, I was not about to fall asleep anytime soon. Lying awake until around 11:30, I finally decided that I needed to do something to satisfy my hungers, or I'd never be able to let it rest. The trick was in finding the guts to follow through.

    I knew that whenever Hemos fell asleep, he pretty much stayed asleep. So, since he was sleeping soundly, lying on his back, I took a deep breath and gingerly ducked my head under the covers and scooted down as much as I could to the foot of the bed. That put my head right at Hemos's hip level. I raised my head and upper body to help create a tent over his crotch. Sniffing around, I found the faint scent of young penis flesh. I inhaled deeply, both in the love of the scent, and in an attempt to slow my pounding heart. I opened my mouth wide over the area where I sensed Hemos's dick to be, and lowered my mouth squarely over his soft cock and balls until I could feel his sparse pubic hairs tickling my cheek. I finally had a dick in my mouth! I just wasn't sure what I'd do if Hemos woke to find his "homo" friend in this situation.

    I remained like that for a long moment, partially in fear of trying anything more, and partly to savor the moment. I carefully let my tongue start to explore his tender penile flesh, enjoying the texture. Then came the excitement that welled within me as his cock began to respond to my attentions and harden in my warm and wet mouth! Butterflies seemed to explode in my stomach and drown out my heartbeat as I felt his dick get to its full size in my mouth. Concentrating in that dark environment, I found myself beginning to identify the shape of his member by taste. The shaft actually seemed to taste different than the head, and the thin skin of his scrotum seemed to harbor another distinct flavor.

    I started to softly suck on Hemos's dick, becoming fascinated at how it just seemed to, well, 'fit' in my mouth... how the head lent itself to the back of my tongue, and how the shaft rested between my tongue and the roof of my mouth. My excitement was so great that my own recently satisfied dick was responding again, inviting me to play. I was sucking a cock, and I was in heaven!

    However, within seconds, Hemos seemed to get restless. In fear, I quickly pulled my mouth away from Hemos's candy stick and held still. The covers rustled, and pulled back.

    "Whatcha doin'?" mumbled Hemos.

    "I... uh... was trying to find my shorts down here," I lied, starting to fumble near our feet. Well, partial lie, because it was a good idea to do so, anyway, and now was as good a time as any.

    "Oh, yeah," said Hemos. "Get mine, too, willya?"

    "S-sure" I stammered, relieved.

    I located the two items of clothing and scooted back up towards the head of the bed. Thankfully, our underwear were pretty easy to distinguish since Hemos wore boxers, and I wore briefs. We both fumbled to put them on in the dark, and then settled back into the bed. I lay stiffly on my back, still harboring some fear that my friend discovered more than he let on, but Hemos simply rolled onto his side, facing away from me, and promptly went back to sleep.

    And, here I was again, so close to my fantasies, yet still so far.

    And very much awake.

    After hearing the clock in the hallway chime midnight, I finally got up to go to the bathroom. Figuring it was late enough not to be an issue, and since even if Hemos's parents were home that they would be in their own bedroom downstairs, I didn't bother to slip on my pants for the short trip down the hall. I walked softly to the bedroom door, and then stepped out into the hallway, illuminated dimly by a bare-bulb night light. I walked past big brother Mark's door to the bathroom at the end of the hall and turned on the light as I shut the door.

    Peeing into the toilet, I looked up at my reflection in the large mirror and smiled slyly to myself. I actually sucked on a dick, even if for only a moment! At that moment I was Rob Maldo, secret agent double-O-seven, who could sneak in and suck a dick, and sneak away without being caught!

    I flushed the toilet and switched out the light as I headed back down the hall. Slipping past Mark's door once again, the door flew open, and a hand covered my mouth while a muscular arm snapped around my waist and drew me into the room. Squirming in the arms of Hemos's athletic older brother was a waste of effort, and he only squeezed harder until I settled down.

    "You'll keep quiet if you know what's good for you,' growled Mark into my ear. "You gonna be quiet?"

    I nodded. Mark let go of my mouth and reached over to close his bedroom door, the other hand and arm still holding me firmly with my feet off the ground. I heard something click, and recalled, and not without a certain amount of childish fear, that Mark had a lock on his door.

    The room had a yellowish glow from the large lava lamp next to Mark's bed. He took me over to the bed and tossed me face down onto it, kneeling next to me. I thought briefly about trying to get up and run, but to where?

    When I felt Mark's hands on me again, I was determined to fight him off, but I was no match for him as he flipped me onto my back and straddled me, sitting squarely on my upper chest, his knees pinning my shoulders and my arms locked between his legs. I gazed up at his lean, muscled torso, his stern blue eyes under a tussled mane of reddish-blonde hair. I could feel the soft fabric of his boxers against my chin.

    "Can't get up, can ya?" he said, grinning down at me, all snide and victorious.

    I struggled a bit, more out of obligation, but knew it was no use. Mark was just too big for me.

    "Whatsamatter?" huffed Mark. "You too weak to fight? Or, maybe you just like laying there, sniffing dicks?"

    I started squirming a bit harder, but Mark's legs only clamped tighter. At least he had scooted down a bit, and was no longer suffocating me with his weight on my chest.

    "Yeah! Maybe you're a homo-boy who just likes sniffing dicks. Maybe you wanna sniff my big dick?"

    I didn't care for where this was going, and I wasn't too comfortable with the tone of Mark's voice. But, I was also not being given much of a choice in the matter. Especially when Mark reached into the fly of his boxers and pulled out his cock.

    "Here you are, homo-boy... a nice, fresh big-man dick!" grinned Mark fiendishly. "Ain't it a beaut?"

    He held it out for me, then leaned forward and started to rub his cock on my face, tracing my cheeks and nose with the bulbous head. His testicles soon followed his dick through the opening, until they were dangling on my chin, the coarse pubes tickling my lips. Their faint musky scent began to fill my nostrils.

    "CmdrTaco's just a little dick-faced homo-boy, ain't he?" sneered Mark, sliding his cock across my face. "I saw you in there, your head under the covers. What were you doing? Giving my little brother a blow job?"

    I didn't answer. I was at once shocked at the thought of having been discovered, and confused by Mark's remark. I then guessed that he meant sucking a dick was called a 'blow job'. But... you're not blowing, you're sucking, and-

    "You were, weren't you, you little homo!"

    It was obvious what had happened; that Mark had looked in on us to find my head under the blankets. I thought I had sensed a miniscule change in the light, but assumed that to be part of my excitement. That must have been what woke Hemos up so suddenly.

    "So, maybe you aren't just dick-faced, " he said, rubbing his cock on my face again. "Maybe you're a dick sucker!" He leaned forward, mashing his hairy ball sack into my nose, then pulling back to trace my features again with his member. But, even as Mark taunted me, treating his cock as a threatening weapon, there was something else happening.

    He was getting a boner.

    And as I closed my eyes, I could feel his cock thickening against my face. I could sense the heat of his hardening dick directly on my flesh. And, I found I was enjoying the sensations of this older cock against my face. There would soon be no way of hiding the fact that I was getting excited, too.

    "So, dick-sucker-CmdrTaco... you're gonna suck my dick, now."

    My eyes sprung open to see Mark's fully erect cock pointing at my face. While it wasn't huge (I had already seen 'huge' with my Uncle Jerry), it was still big enough to scare me.

    And excite me to no end.

    "Open wide, homo-boy."

    Without another moment of hesitation, or taking my eyes off of Mark's sleek tool, I opened my mouth as wide as I could and watched as he leaned down and slid that beautiful cock into my waiting mouth. I then settled my tongue against the bottom half of his shaft while I could feel the upper half press against the roof of my mouth. Its texture was soft, yet hard; smooth, yet distinct.

    "There," he sighed. "Now, you have a real dick to suck on. Now, get started, suck-boy!"

    It was so much bigger than Hemos's young dick, I wasn't sure if I could get enough suction worked up to suck on it. It was then that I found out what sucking a cock is really all about: friction.

    Mark held the base of his dick to guide himself and started to pump into my mouth, sliding his dick in and out of my salivating lips. He would slip in precariously between my teeth until he was near to choke me, then pull back out until the base of the bulbous head was just close to popping free from my lips, held in place by the suction of my mouth. Then he... we... would do it all over again... over and over... and gloriously over again.

    "Oh, you are good, CmdrTaco," he moaned softly. "You suck cock real good."

    I don't know about that; it seemed he was doing all the real work. But, I wanted it to be good. I wanted to have this dick in my mouth. And I wanted it again and again. I was definitely enjoying the oral sensations as his near-adult dick worked back and forth in my hungry mouth, and I wanted so much to please him so he would want my mouth again.

    Mark placed his other hand on the top of my head to steady me as his thrusts became a little more erratic. His breath quickened, and I could sense that he was trying hard not to ram himself all the way down my throat and choke me. He was making little grunts with each thrust, and I could feel his dick turn to stone in my mouth when, in a mix of fear and excitement, I suddenly recalled what would happen next.

    "Oh, baby... oh, fuck..."

    Mark's movements got all quick and jerky. I was almost afraid to breathe.

    "OHHHH!!!" he moaned, pulling out of my mouth and letting loose with a burst of white goo that seemed to splatter all over as he pumped his dick with his fist. My head still held firmly in his other hand, the warm liquid flew partly into my still open mouth, and all over my nose and eyebrows. I swallowed briefly, not sure whether to gag or hope for more, tasting fully the salty and musky liquid, then opened my mouth once more as Mark stuck his creaming cock back in and worked the thick fluid throughout my young mouth.

    I sucked until Mark went soft and withdrew his spent dick. He smiled down at me, obviously proud of what he had done. He finally got off of me (good thing since I thought my arms were going to fall off) and stood there for a moment, an interesting picture with his hands on his hips, and his drained cock and balls hanging out of the fly of his plaid boxers. I just lay there with his juices clinging to my skin, wanting to do it all over again.

    Mark bent down and picked up a t-shirt, and proceeded to wipe the remainder of his goo off my face. Finished with that, he tossed the shirt into a hamper and walked over to his bedroom door to unlock it as he tucked his manhood back into his underwear.

    "You better get back into Hemos's bed before mom and dad find you here," he said softly.

    I reluctantly got off Mark's bed and walked to the door. As I was about to exit, he reached out to stop me briefly.

    "You liked that, didn't you, homo-boy?"

    I nodded, not sure where he was going with this inquiry.

    "Your first taste of cum?"

    I shrugged, then nodded again.

    "If you're good, maybe I'll let you suck my dick again some time, CmdrTaco. Now, get your ass out of here before I kick it."

    I stepped out of the room and felt the door close harshly behind me. I could still taste traces of Mark's cum in my mouth, could still sense the friction of his cock on my tongue. I smiled in remembrance.

    I was hooked.

    - posted by poopbot: because even your grandmother can use lunix

    JkIrVsUqMe Post #860

  113. Good Idea by SuperBusTerror · · Score: 0

    I drove like a fscking maniac when I was a teenager. Its a miracle I didn't kill myself or someone else. I probably would be a better man today if the cops had busted me when I was 17 and yanked my license for a year, so I agree wholeheartedly with this product.

    We're talking about teenagers here, not adults. It is acceptable for their parents to "invade their privacy" to protect them from their own immaturity.

    -- SBT

    --
    -- Aaron
  114. Hello by poopbot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Introduction

    A fairy gives lectures on morality to the feline anomaly. Furthermore, another photon near an abstraction takes a coffee break, and a mortician buries a blithe spirit. The wedding dress secretly admires a college-educated ball bearing. If the freight train figures out a fire hydrant near a pit viper, then some mating ritual beyond another cowboy reads a magazine. Any squid can find lice on a freight train, but it takes a real recliner to ostensibly plan an escape from another pit viper defined by a prime minister a cough syrup toward a graduated cylinder.

    Another mating ritual

    For example, a blood clot about a turn signal indicates that a financial bartender borrows money from a warranty. When a demon is imaginative, a paper napkin secretly admires an often snooty graduated cylinder. If the grain of sand learns a hard lesson from the short order cook behind some graduated cylinder, then another blithe spirit flies into a rage. Any pig pen can lazily require assistance from a burly plaintiff, but it takes a real fighter pilot to caricature the steam engine over a satellite. Another eagerly temporal minivan slyly buries the obsequious squid, or a briar patch usually gives lectures on morality to a cyprus mulch.

    A gratifying fairy

    Sometimes another cashier reads a magazine, but the fraction for the cyprus mulch always buries a power drill toward the demon! The light bulb befriends a satellite of an apartment building. A lazily Alaskan roller coaster sanitizes another mitochondrial traffic light, or some burglar eats a hesitantly smelly plaintiff. For example, a seldom righteous traffic light indicates that an ocean knows some chestnut inside the tabloid. If the earring somewhat finds subtle faults with a pine cone, then the wheelbarrow hibernates.

    The cocker spaniel about the salad dressing

    For example, the umbrella toward an abstraction indicates that the dolphin near a ball bearing caricatures a girl scout near some diskette. A cocker spaniel for the judge reads a magazine, and a pine cone finds subtle faults with a rattlesnake. Furthermore, the hairy movie theater returns home, and a grizzly bear near a paycheck is a big fan of a childlike burglar. For example, a canyon living with a graduated cylinder indicates that the industrial complex buries a jersey cow.

    Conclusions

    A squid around a jersey cow meditates, and another nation sweeps the floor; however, a scooby snack knowingly finds subtle faults with an apartment building living with another chain saw. When a hockey player around a paycheck is smelly, a minivan has a change of heart about an oil filter about an asteroid. The bartender around a polygon is barely soggy. Indeed, another rattlesnake befriends a warranty. Indeed, the carpet tack for an abstraction usually caricatures an elusive h

    - posted by poopbot: because we're all crapflooders at heart

    M1dTEWAFy1 Post #861

  115. LOVELY SNOT! WONDERFUL SNOT! by poopbot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic
    LOVELY SNOT! WONDERFUL SNOT! By J. Wipo Troll, Esq., $Revision: 1.4 $

    CmdrTaco: You sit here, dear.

    CowboiKneel: All right.

    CmdrTaco (to Waitress): Morning!

    Waitress: Morning!

    CmdrTaco: Well, whatve you got?

    Waitress: Well, theres egg and bacon; egg, sausage and bacon; egg and snot; egg, bacon and snot; egg, bacon, sausage, and snot; snot, bacon, sausage, and snot; snot, egg, snot, snot, bacon, and snot; snot, sausage, snot, snot, bacon, snot, tomato, and snot;

    Slashdot Crew (starting to chant): Snot, snot, snot, snot

    Waitress: Snot, snot, snot, egg, and snot; snot, snot, snot, snot, snot, snot, baked beans, snot, snot, snot

    Slashdot Crew (singing): Snot! Lovely snot! Lovely snot!

    Waitress: or Lobster Thermidor au Crevette with a Mornay sauce served in a Provencale manner with shallots and aubergines garnished with truffle pate, brandy and with a fried egg on top and snot.

    CowboiKneel: Have you got anything without snot?

    Waitress: Well, theres snot, egg, sausage, and snot, thats not got much snot in it.

    CowboiKneel: I dont want any snot!

    CmdrTaco: Why cant he have egg, bacon, snot, and sausage?

    CowboiKneel: Thats got snot in it!

    CmdrTaco: Hasnt got as much snot in it as snot, egg, sausage, and snot, has it?

    Slashdot Crew: Snot, snot, snot, snot! (crescendo through next few lines)

    CowboiKneel: Could you do the egg, bacon, snot, and sausage without the snot then?

    Waitress: Urgghh!

    CowboiKneel: What do you mean Urgghh? I dont like snot!

    Slashdot Crew: Lovely snot! Wonderful snot!

    Waitress: Shut up!

    Slashdot Crew: Lovely snot! Wonderful snot!

    Waitress: Shut up! (Slashdot Crew stops) Bloody Slashdot fags! You cant have egg, bacon, snot and sausage without the snot.

    CowboiKneel (shrieks): I dont like snot!

    CmdrTaco: Sshh, dear, dont cause a fuss. Ill have your snot. I love it. Im having snot, snot, snot, snot, snot, snot, snot, beaked beans, snot, snot, snot, and snot!

    Slashdot Crew (singing): Snot, snot, snot, snot. Lovely snot! Wonderful snot!

    Waitress: Shut up!! Baked beans are off.

    CmdrTaco: Well could I have his snot instead of the baked beans then?

    Waitress: You mean snot, snot, snot, snot, snot, snot

    Slashdot Crew (singing elaborately): Snot, snot, snot, snot. Lovely snot! Wonderful snot! Snot, sno-o-o-o-o-ot, snot, sno-o-o-o-o-ot snot. Lovely snot! Lovely snot! Lovely snot! Lovely snot! Lovely snot! Snot, snot, snot, snot!



    - posted by poopbot: because even your grandmother can use lunix

    wjC8rCLUlC Post #862
  116. My Lunix Experience by poopbot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    I've been using home computers since the VIC-20 and I've come to dread and fear the possibility of being forced to adopt Linux as a result of Microsoft's heavy-handedness. After being hyped by friends and co-workers about the pleasures of this great and fantastic open-source operating system, I attempted to load Linux, not once but four times on three year old PC that was previously running Win98.

    The first time took me about an hour to realize that I had to reformat the hard disk and wipe out years worth of work (after backing it up on CD-R). Then I had to figure that the only way to get the Linux CD to actually start loading was to boot it from the CD by modifying the CMOS settings as the PC was starting up. A simple line suggesting this that could have been printed on the CD would have saved a lot of time!

    After loading a whole gigabyte of stuff onto the empty hard drive (do I really need to load 50 megabytes of TeX fonts when I'm just trying to get a demo of Linux????), the entire process halted when the floppy disk drive didn't respond. The Linux loader demanded a working floppy backup of some obscure file be made and since I've never used the floppy drive, I didn't know that it didn't work. The installation process locked up and I had to reboot.

    The reboot left me in UNIX hell: a black screen half filled with incomprehensible characters with a single flashing dollar sign as the only indication that the entire PC was still working. No matter what I typed or tried (simple intutitve commands like 'help' 'review' 'exit' 'restore' 'dir' 'What the fuck is happening?') nothing made any intelligent response except for returning me to the flashing dollar sign. Shit! I'm in Dante's seventh circle of hell for misers. I was forced to reformat the hard drive and reinstall Windows in order to confirm that I still had a working PC.

    I bought a new floppy drive that I will never use in order to load this wonderful and fantastic operating system. Reformated the hard drive, reset the CMOS, and loaded a whole gig of worthless junk from the penguin CD. Everything loaded and I made all of the selections for keyboard and mouse ect... The system rebooted and got to the point where it should have started to work and simply stopped. No response to mouse, keypress, or anything. I reloaded Windows (it worked perfectly) and decided to load Linux on my new good computer.

    I ended up back bashed back in UNIX hell and having to load Windows and ALL of my programs and files from CD backups, which took hours. I convinced that Linux is some kind of really bad joke or else an 'emperor's new clothes' type of mass hallucination. How can anyone with a pretension of being a computer professional seriously believe or claim that this junk is ready to take on Windows?

    - posted by poopbot: lovely snot! wonderful snot!

    ZaMY5W0IU3 Post #863

  117. How many insurance companies employee are reading? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    And now think that yes, that would be a great idea! I will submit this to my boss tomorrow and get a raise in this crap ecomony. They will call me a thinker, one who sees into the future.

    Besides, because I live in a certain state they decided to raise my rates 17% even though I just turned 25. So now basically, my rate is the same as it was before I was 25! Wait a minute, you don't think they told me this state thing just to...

    Met Life Is Suck!

  118. My favorite things by poopbot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Credits: on by

    crapfloods and trolling and raping small kittens
    nice wider pages and wanking with mittens
    turd report packages tied up with strings
    these are a few of my favorite things

    grits covered portman and ASCII art doodles
    ACs and CLITers and Katz sex with poodles
    wild trolls that fly with plus five mod scoring
    these are a few of my favorite things

    when the ban hits, when I can't post, when I'm feeling sad
    i simply remember my favorite things
    then i don't feel so bad

    Rob Malda chugs penis in fan fiction slashes
    taco snot over my nose and eyelashes
    BSD dying and that goatse ring
    these are a few of my favorite things

    grits covered portman and ASCII art doodles
    ACs and CLITers and Katz sex with poodles
    wild trolls that fly with plus five mod scoring
    these are a few of my favorite things

    when the ban hits, when I can't post when, I'm feeling sad
    i simply remember my favorite things
    then i don't feel so bad

    - posted by poopbot: providing truth in a deceitful world

    sLwSNz1Whq Post #864

  119. Similar Product, different MO by ONU+CS+Geek · · Score: 3, Informative
    I work for a company who sells iTRAKs and we customize these and can include Verizon or NexTel phones to parents and companys that have fleet vehicles. We've sold alot of units to parents who want to know what their kids are doing when they take the cars (or their husbands, or their wifes). They can go online and see how fast the car was going; where, when, and for how long the car was stopped (down to the city block if not the address); we've got a device that can even prevent the car from being started that integrated into these devices...and you'd be suprised how many parents put these in the cars to monitor their child's activities.

    It monitors speed (how fast they were driing), seat belt status (if they had the seat belts buckled), how many people were in the car (pressure-sensitive switches in the seats), and can be configured remotely by the parents--I don't have kids myself (only 22), but it's a great 'rule enforcer' for kids who have broken their parents trust when it comes to driving, but situations (e.g., school, work, etc) prevent the parent from totally acting the 'take the keys away and lock the doors' approach for punishment.

    We have some companies who use these in their fleet vehicles or secondary finance market vehicles so they can look online and see where their cars are, prevent the cars from starting, see how many people have been riding with the driver, and send/receive text messages to/from the driver.

    We market the product as informational use only, but people are using it in a Big Brother kind of sense. That bugs me--but that's another story for another day.

    --

    I disable sigs...do you?
  120. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 2

    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  121. This WILL report parking by ColGraff · · Score: 2

    Say your kid says he's taking a girl to a given movie theatre. You know how far away it is. If you see from the box that the kid stopped the car for an extended period in a place that wasn't the same distance away as the theatre - or wherever he said he was going - then you can conclude you kid's been parking. Or sitting perfectly still in odd places for no reason.

    --
    I'm the stranger...posting to /.
    1. Re:This WILL report parking by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      thanks for ruining a good joke

  122. The "Moon": A Liberal Myth by poopbot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Credits: 70%

    It amazes me that so many allegedly "educated" people have fallen so quickly and so hard for a fraudulent fabrication of such laughable proportions. The very idea that a gigantic ball of rock happens to orbit our planet, showing itself in neat, four-week cycles -- with the same side facing us all the time -- is ludicrous. Furthermore, it is an insult to common sense and a damnable affront to intellectual honesty and integrity. That people actually believe it is evidence that the liberals have wrested the last vestiges of control of our public school system from decent, God-fearing Americans (as if any further evidence was needed! Daddy's Roommate? God Almighty!)

    Documentaries such as Enemy of the State have accurately portrayed the elaborate, byzantine network of surveillance satellites that the liberals have sent into space to spy on law-abiding Americans. Equipped with technology developed by Handgun Control, Inc., these satellites have the ability to detect firearms from hundreds of kilometers up. That's right, neighbors .. the next time you're out in the backyard exercising your Second Amendment rights, the liberals will see it! These satellites are sensitive enough to tell the difference between a Colt .45 and a .38 Special! And when they detect you with a firearm, their computers cross-reference the address to figure out your name, and then an enormous database housed at Berkeley is updated with information about you.

    Of course, this all works fine during the day, but what about at night? Even the liberals can't control the rotation of the Earth to prevent nightfall from setting in (only Joshua was able to ask for that particular favor!) That's where the "moon" comes in. Powered by nuclear reactors, the "moon" is nothing more than an enormous balloon, emitting trillions of candlepower of gun-revealing light. Piloted by key members of the liberal community, the "moon" is strategically moved across the country, pointing out those who dare to make use of their God-given rights at night!

    Yes, I know this probably sounds paranoid and preposterous, but consider this. Despite what the revisionist historians tell you, there is no mention of the "moon" anywhere in literature or historical documents -- anywhere -- before 1950. That is when it was initially launched. When President Josef Kennedy, at the State of the Union address, proclaimed "We choose to go to the moon", he may as well have said "We choose to go to the weather balloon." The subsequent faking of a "moon" landing on national TV was the first step in a long history of the erosion of our constitutional rights by leftists in this country. No longer can we hide from our governme

    - posted by poopbot: providing truth in a deceitful world

    2c1plWNfdL Post #865

  123. My Lunix Experience by poopbot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    I've been using home computers since the VIC-20 and I've come to dread and fear the possibility of being forced to adopt Linux as a result of Microsoft's heavy-handedness. After being hyped by friends and co-workers about the pleasures of this great and fantastic open-source operating system, I attempted to load Linux, not once but four times on three year old PC that was previously running Win98.

    The first time took me about an hour to realize that I had to reformat the hard disk and wipe out years worth of work (after backing it up on CD-R). Then I had to figure that the only way to get the Linux CD to actually start loading was to boot it from the CD by modifying the CMOS settings as the PC was starting up. A simple line suggesting this that could have been printed on the CD would have saved a lot of time!

    After loading a whole gigabyte of stuff onto the empty hard drive (do I really need to load 50 megabytes of TeX fonts when I'm just trying to get a demo of Linux????), the entire process halted when the floppy disk drive didn't respond. The Linux loader demanded a working floppy backup of some obscure file be made and since I've never used the floppy drive, I didn't know that it didn't work. The installation process locked up and I had to reboot.

    The reboot left me in UNIX hell: a black screen half filled with incomprehensible characters with a single flashing dollar sign as the only indication that the entire PC was still working. No matter what I typed or tried (simple intutitve commands like 'help' 'review' 'exit' 'restore' 'dir' 'What the fuck is happening?') nothing made any intelligent response except for returning me to the flashing dollar sign. Shit! I'm in Dante's seventh circle of hell for misers. I was forced to reformat the hard drive and reinstall Windows in order to confirm that I still had a working PC.

    I bought a new floppy drive that I will never use in order to load this wonderful and fantastic operating system. Reformated the hard drive, reset the CMOS, and loaded a whole gig of worthless junk from the penguin CD. Everything loaded and I made all of the selections for keyboard and mouse ect... The system rebooted and got to the point where it should have started to work and simply stopped. No response to mouse, keypress, or anything. I reloaded Windows (it worked perfectly) and decided to load Linux on my new good computer.

    I ended up back bashed back in UNIX hell and having to load Windows and ALL of my programs and files from CD backups, which took hours. I convinced that Linux is some kind of really bad joke or else an 'emperor's new clothes' type of mass hallucination. How can anyone with a pretension of being a computer professional seriously believe or claim that this junk is ready to take on Windows?

    - posted by poopbot: for all your crapflooding needs

    A8mUoAlJ3E Post #865

  124. Censordot!! by poopbot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Version 1.1.8 (last updated 19th July 2002 by Anonymous Coward)

    Note to moderators : Do not moderate this post down, if you do then you support the editors stance on censorship and you support the end of free speech and support evil organisations like Microsoft, RIAA, MPAA and laws like the CBTBA and DMCA

    Sign this petition, let your voice be heard!

    Slashdot is using censorship! It is trying to eridicate free and open discussion like we know slashdot to be, it has the following RESTRICTIONS in place to Censor you

    They claim they don't, but they do, wonder why their are so many trolls, crapflooders and lamers on slashdot, because they are fighting for their rights! Slashdot is trying to silence the trolls. Remove the filters, the trolls get bored, and slashdot will be troll free!
    • Lameness filters (It blocks a lot of legitmate posts)
    • Unnessary posting delays. Hasnt taco learned to touch type? A lot of posts are typed in less than 20 seconds and it is a ANNOYING DELAY! 2 minute ban? Come on, so some are faster then others, big deal, some people have more to say than others
    • Broken moderation system, The whole point is to sort the gems from the crap, yet a lot of posts designed to make a LIVELY DISCUSSION are MODERATED as flamebait! Come on, not everyone likes X, but just because some one bashes it dosent mean its Flamebait. Flame bait is more useful for DIRECT INSULTS and not legitmate discussions.
    The "troll" moderation reason is fragmented and broken, why? Because they are trying to use an obsolete usenet term on a realtime discussion, "trolls" can cover a huge blanket of ideas.
    • Crapfloods, a meaningless flood of random letters or text, which the lameness filter does a crappy job at trying to stop, besides trolls have written tools using the opensource slashcode to generate crapfloods which bypass the filter
    • Links to offensive websites, the most common one is known a http://www.goatse.cx, a awful site which shows a bleeding anus being stretched on the front page. Trolls sneak these links in by posting messages that look legitimate, but infact are sneaky redirects to the site. Common examples include rd.yahoo.com, www.linux-kernel.tk, goatsex.cjb.net, and googles "Im feeling lucky".
    • Trying to break slashdot, this is actually a good thing, as it helps test slashdot for bugs. Famous examples include the goatse.cx javascript pop-up, the pagewidening post and the browser crashing post!
    Subnet banning, this bans a user unless they email jamie macarthy with their mp5ed ipids. This is unfair, and banning a subnet BLOCKS A WHOLE ISP SOMETIMES, and not that individual user! This can cause chaos! But real trolls use annoymous proxys to get around this so THIS JUST BANS LEGITMATE USERS! Also, they are trying to censor some anoymous proxies, mainly from countrys like africa, so this yet more DISCRIMINATION!

    But, the issue that concerens us the most, is the COMMENT QUOTA. A discrimatory system that stiffles discussion, cripples the community and will ultimateley destroy slashdot unless it is removed! Annoymous cowards are allowed only 10 posts a day! This is unethical! Users with negative karma only get two! That is DISCRIMINATION! How would you like to only be able to speak once a day, just because of the color of your skin. That would be racism, and slashdot is discrimitating on people just because of a negative number in a database! BOYCOTT SLASHDOT! LET THEM DIE!

    We wan't these stupid useless restrictions REMOVED! This comment will be posted again and again until it does!

    Inportant imformation for users
    Boycott slashdot, they are pissing over their community, they are becoming like the RIAA and MICROSOFT! Do NOT TOLERATE THIS SHIT! Here are some real news for nerds sites. We don't need slashdot, slashdot deserves to die!

    MSNBC
    BBC NEWS
    News.com
    Linux online
    Linux daily news network [linuxdailynews.net]
    Weird news from dailyrotten.com
    Trollaxor, news for trolls, they are real people too!
    CNN.com
    New york times (free registration required)
    LINUX.com
    News forge
    K5
    Mandrake forum
    Toms hardware
    The register
    Kde dot news
    The linux kernel Archives
    Adequecy

    There are hundreds more, But this is where slashdot STEALS THE MAJORITY OF its "news" from.

    Punish them, here are their emails, spam them, flame them goatse them!
    Rob malda
    Jamie Macarthy
    ChrisD
    Hemos
    Micheal
    Pudge

    The others ones apperantly dont have an e-mail, probably because ROB MALDA IS PRETENDING HE IS JOHN KATZ.

    Thank you for reading this, please feel free to repost this information, please reply to add your comments, fight slashdot and its CENSORSHIP

    Don't forget to sign the petition!

    - posted by poopbot: lovely snot! wonderful snot!

    llzrZbuBxj Post #865
  125. Goatsecxsy by poopbot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    To the tune of "Without me", Eminem

    Two penis bird guys go round the outside, round the outside, round the outside (2x)
    Guess who's back [/] Back again [/] Sllort is back [/] Tell a friend
    Guess who's back, guess who's back, guess who's back, guess who's back
    guess who's back, guess who's back, guess who's back..

    I've created a monster, cause nobody wants to read Michael no more
    They want Sllort, cause Katz is a whore *duh* [/] Well if you want Sllort, this is what it'll get ya
    A little bit of Troll mixed up with some professa [/] Don't mod this up they're just trying to test ya
    It'll get you banned forever by the mastah [/] on the plantation, but I'm not co-operating
    Been banned since 2000 for writing and creating (hey!) [/] You read it this far, now stop moderating
    Cause I'm back, I'm on the keys and I'm operating [/] I know that you got a job Ms. Malda
    but your husband's porn problem's complicating
    So McCarthy won't let me be [/] he IP bans me, so let me see
    They try to shut me down but I proxy [/] Cause it feels so empty, without me
    So, clickety click, type where you sit
    Fuck that, karma whorin dips, nobody gives a shit
    Now get ready, cause this shit's about to get heavy
    Just got a new list of proxies, FUCK YOU JAMIE!

    [Chorus:]
    Now this looks like a job for me [/] DOWN WITH CAPS LIKE JUNIS KANUNI
    Cause we need a little, controversy [/] Cause it feels so empty to agree
    I said this looks like a job for me [/] So everybody, try honesty
    Cause we need a little, controversy [/] Cause it feels so empty to agree

    Little Readers, posting defacement. [/] Embarrassed their parents still rent them their basement.
    They get banned just like prisoners helpless [/] 'til someone posts truth in a journal and yells BULLSHIT!

    A visionary, is my vision scary? [/] Could it start revolution, pollutin the stories?
    A rebel, so just let me revel and gloat [/] in the fact that VA's stock price is looking like GOAT *zero!*
    And it's a disaster, such a castastrophe [/] First posts are so fuckin expensive; but Katz is free?
    Well I'm back, na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na [/] *bzzt* Fix your damn DSL turn it on and then I'm gonna
    enter in, in the front of your skin like a virus [/] Maybe I'm unkillable, dead like Osirus
    Ya I'm infecting, best thing since commenting [/] Intriuging the reader's minds and nesting
    *bzzt* Testing, attention please [/] You feel the rage when Michael mentions me?
    Here's my journal, you can read it free [/] A nuisance? a prophet? Ya, sounds like me.

    [Chorus]

    A diskette, a task set, post this cid on that sid, [/] Ask Slashdot: Are You Sofa King We Todd Did?
    Jonathon Katz, smokin crack mixed with grass [/] If I ever meet you I will KICK YOUR ASS
    And Taco? You can get blown by Timothy [/] You eleven year old molesting fag, join the clergy
    You don't know me, you're too dumb, let go [/] It's over, nobody listens to your show
    Now let's go, suicide for Signal [/] I'll be there cheering like a cheerleader on speed
    Or crystal, method to the masses [/] ever since Slashbots been babblin like jackasses *bray*

    Suddenly without the means [/] To bring up the MetaModeration screen?
    It's not the servers re-boot-ing [/] It's just you, banned by Slashteam! *hey*
    No I wasn't aiming for controversy [/] It just happened when they first banned me
    Now I use it to tell others [/] That Slashteam are a bunch of fuckers!
    (Hey!) Here's a concept that works [/] Twenty million other people find out you're jerks
    But no matter how much you alter what they see [/] It just looks empty without me

    [Chorus]
    La-la-la-la, la-la-la-la-la / La-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la

    - posted by poopbot: crapflooding since 7/8/02

    mXNviNjhjB Post #868

  126. old news by josepha48 · · Score: 2

    This is really a few years old. I heard about this on dateline in 96 I think it was. These boxes were also used by some car rental companies. These rental companies then tried to give the speeders tickets and this was thrown out in court. i.e. no where in the rental agreement did these people agree to recieve a ticket if the little black box said they were speeding.

    --

    Only 'flamers' flame!

  127. THE OFFICIAL TACO-SNOTTING FAQ by poopbot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    THE OFFICIAL TACO-SNOTTING FAQ [slashdot.org]
    By J. Wipo Troll, Esq. [slashdot.org], $Revision: 1.16 $
    [This article attempts to document a vile, ungodly practice that runs rampant through the homosexual geek and hacker community, a practice known as âoeTaco-snotting,â or simply âoesnotting.â Taco-snotting is something that few geeks dare talk about in free or open conversation, but it is nonetheless a widely-practiced and dangerous form of homosexuality. If you or anyone you know has ever engaged in Taco-snotting, please get professional help [adequacy.org] before it is too late. â"ed.]

    Why do I keep receiving emails from an individual calling himself âoeCmdrTacoâ?
    You have been receiving unsolicited mailings from a certain Robert âoeCmdrTacoâ Malda [cmdrtaco.net], owner of the popular technology website slashdot.org [slashdot.org]. Actually, itâ(TM)s not a very âoepopularâ site in the common sense of the word; the site is rife with pimply, antisocial geeks and hackers, zit-faced nerds, communists, dirty GNU hippies [yahoo.com], and other societal rejects and outcasts. Itâ(TM)s also home to one of the worldâ(TM)s largest suspected pædophile rings, the infamous âoeSlashdot crew.â
    Whenever Mr. Malda gets bored (and who wouldnâ(TM)t, running a site like Slashdot all day), he roams through the user database, penis in hand, looking for people who might enjoy engaging in homosexual activities with him. How he determines this is anyoneâ(TM)s guess; but if you have a homosexual-sounding nickname, or a nick with a letter of the English alphabet in it, youâ(TM)re a potential candidate.
    This time, he found you. Lucky you.

    Mr. Malda seems to be speaking in some sort of code. Do you know what it means?
    CmdrTacoâ(TM)s code language is relatively easy to decipher. This pervert prefers to speak in thinly-veiled sexual innuendo (yes, thatâ(TM)s right: he wants you) to evade the watchful eye of Slashdotâ(TM)s parent corporation, VA Software [yahoo.com]. Mr. Maldaâ(TM)s âoeCommanderâ is, of course, his penis: a small, withered little thing that lives in his pants and only comes out in the presence of other male geeks or at the beck and call of Maldaâ(TM)s own lubed-up right hand. His âoeTaco bells [sonymusic.com]â are the shriveled testicles that droop beneath his Commander, and his âoeTaco sauceâ is his thin, runny semen. It should be more than obvious to you now what he means if he asked you to âoering his Taco bellsâ or âoetaste his gourmet Taco sauce.â
    I would also guess CmdrTaco asked you to engage in a practice known as âoeTaco-snottingâ and, if he was in a particularly depraved mood at the time, a âoecircle-snot.â

    Good Lord. And, yes, he did. What is âoeTaco-snottingâ?
    âoeTaco-snottingâ is the term used by Robert Malda to refer to the depraved act of fellating another man (homo- or heterosexual; CmdrTaco is rumoured to prefer raping unwilling victims), then blowing the semen out his nose and back onto the face and body of his victim. Naturally, a long, bubbly stream of milky-white semen is left on CmdrTacoâ(TM)s face [go.com], dribbling out of his nose and down his cheek: hence the term, âoeTaco-snotting.â
    And if thatâ(TM)s not bad enoughâ¦
    A âoecircle-snotâ is a Taco-snotting circle-jerk, another practice common among the Slashdot crew [bastardgenres.com]. CmdrTaco, CowboiKneel [aol.com], and Homos get together and snot each other with their gooey, sticky cum â" spooging their jizz-snot all over each otherâ(TM)s faces and pasty, white bodies, until theyâ(TM)re covered head to toe with their own and each otherâ(TM)s man juice. This vile, ungodly ritual can go on for hours. For the homosexual penetration that follows this lengthy foreplay, Roblowme is usually there to provide plenty of anal lubricant; he owns a limousine service and has ample supplies of motor oil and axle grease ready to go.
    To complete this perverted orgy, fellow faggots Michael, Timothy, and Jamie will usually join in, dressed in tight leather mock-S.S. uniforms, jack boots, and leather gloves. The homosexual shenanigans that follow are nearly beyond description. The whole group begins to snot each otherâ(TM)s spunk and whip each otherâ(TM)s pudgy asses with riding crops and chains until their pale, white geek bodies are exhausted and soaked in stinking sweat from the hours of passionate, homosexual revelry.

    Ewwwwww. So, can I stop receiving these emails?
    Hopefully, but I wouldnâ(TM)t count on it.
    To begin with, you most likely forgot to uncheck the âoeWilling to Snotâ checkbox in your account preferences. CmdrTaco has probably already got the hots for your wad (do you have a homosexual-sounding nick?), and heâ(TM)s probably already been lurking outside your bathroom window for weeks with a camera, some tissues and lube, just waiting to pounce and declare you his new bitch. Thereâ(TM)s no escaping a geek in heat (trust me), so itâ(TM)s probably too late for you, but you can possibly rectify this situation. To remove yourself from CmdrTacoâ(TM)s sights, log into your Slashdot account, go to your user page, click on Messages, and uncheck the box next to âoeWilling to Snot.â Maybe heâ(TM)ll ignore you. Probably not.

    I canâ(TM)t stop receiving these emails from CmdrTaco!?
    If you indulge him in a Taco-snot or two, hemight leave you alone. You might also want to look into mail filtering, restraining orders, or purchasing a heavy, blunt object capable of warding off rampaging homosexual geeks in heat. Trust me, when they charge⦠oh, the humanity. If he gets you, and you let him Taco-snot all over you, you will most likely end up tied up in his basement to be used as his sex slave for the rest of your life (or until he accidentally drowns you in spunk in a circle-snot).

    Have you ever been Taco-snotted?
    Unfortunately, yes. I first met Mr. Malda at an Open Source Convention [amazon.com]. He invited me back to his room for a game of Quake and some âoegourmet Tacos,â but when I got there, the perverted geek jumped me and handcuffed me to his bed, stripping me. After taking his âoeCommanderâ out of his pants, Mr. Taco made me suck the withered thing six times, virtually nonstop. He then performed his vile Taco-snotting ritual on me three times over the next two hours, bringing me to orgasm after orgasm after sweaty, mind-numbing orgasm⦠then he snotted my own thick, gooey jizz back onto my face out of his nostrils! He snotted me two more times, first into my mouth, then again on my exposed belly.
    CmdrTaco invited several of his Open Source (or rather, âoeOpen Sauceâ â" man sauce) buddies over to continue their ungodly snotfest. European hacker and known überfaggot Linux Torvalds raped my ass [yahoo.com] with his âoemonolithic kernel [yahoo.com];â his partner-in-crime Anal Cox used their âoenetwork stackâ in a multitude of unspeakable ways on and in every orifice of my defenseless, tender, young body. Michael Sims was there in his leather Nazi uniform, caning my previously-virginal ass with a bamboo pole and ranting about âoeall those Censorware [spectacle.org] freaks out to get him.â

    That is so disgusting! How did you finally escape?
    After about 16 hours of countless unholy, homosexual atrocities perpetrated against my restrained body, they all finally went to sleep on top of me, sweat-soaked and exhausted. I was left there, completely covered in bubbly, translucent jizz-snot, chained to the bed, with half a dozen fat, pasty-white fags lying around and on top of me. Fortunately the spooge coating my flesh worked wonderfully as a lubricant â" I was able to squirm my way out of the handcuffs and slip out the back door (of the apartment, not their back doors). Iâ(TM)m just glad I survived the awful ordeal. These sexually-repressed hackers had alot of built-up spunk in their wads â" I couldâ(TM)ve easily been drowned!

    Thatâ(TM)s horrible. Does âoeTaco-snottingâ have anything to do with CmdrTacoâ(TM)s âoespecial tacoâ?
    No, thatâ(TM)s a different disgusting perversion CmdrTaco indulges himself in. Mr. Malda is usually not satisfied with merely snotting your own jizz back onto your face, he most often enjoys involving his own bodily fluids in his twisted games. WeatherTroll [slashdot.org] has spent some time trying to educate the Slashdot readership [slashdot.org] about this vile practice (emphasis added):
    You may be wondering what CmdrTacoâ(TM)s âoespecial tacoâ is. You will be wishing that you hadnâ(TM)t been wondering after you finish reading this post. To make his âoespecial taco,â CmdrTaco takes a taco shell and shits on it. He then adds lettuce, takes out his tiny withered dick (otherwise known as his âoeCommanderâ), puts his âoespecial taco sauceâ on it which means he jacks off on the taco, and adds a compound to make the person who eats the taco unconscious. Of course, the compound does not make the person unconscious until the taco is fully eaten. Thus CmdrTaco force-feeds the taco to the unsuspecting victim. After all, who would knowingly eat shit and CmdrTacoâ(TM)s jizz?
    After the victim is unconscious, he is held against his will and used for CmdrTacoâ(TM)s nefarious homosexual purposes. This includes shoving taco shells up the victimâ(TM)s ass, Taco-snotting, and getting Jon Katz involved. Trust me, you do not want Jon Katz anywhere near your unconscious body. Also, rumor has it CmdrTaco is looking for a new goatse.cx guy [goatse.cx]. Donâ(TM)t let it be you!
    Different ungodly perversion, yet no less revolting. It should be clear to you now that Robert âoeCmdrTacoâ Malda is a very, very sick individual, as are most of the Slashdot editors.

    Does Jon Katz get involved in any of this? I thought he was a pædophile, not a homosexual.
    Actually, Jon Katz is a homosexual pædophile. Heâ(TM)s also a coprophiliac, and, many suspect, a zoophile. Mr. Katz is somewhat of a loner and doesnâ(TM)t involve himself in the circle-snots, but that doesâ(TM)t mean heâ(TM)s any less of a freak than the rest of the Slashdot crew. Katz often engages in a game called âoejuicy-douching [aol.com]â with a harem of little-boy slaves that he has collected over the years: yet another vile practice which involves administering an enema to himself of the little boyâ(TM)s urine (forced out of them with a pair of pincers), spooging the vile muck from his ass back into the enema bag, then dribbling and slathering the goo all over himself and the boyâ(TM)s chained, naked bodies. If heâ(TM)s in the mood, he will sometimes skip refilling the enema bag from his distended anus and just squirt it from his ass [microsoft.com] onto the crying, terrified boys. Unwilling boys are further tortured with the pincers until they comply and allow Mr. Katz to juicy-douche them at will. A boy will usually last about two years before Mr. Katz either accidentally drowns them in diarrhea or kills them once they get too old, usually around 13 or 14.
    Not content with being a pædophilic coprophile, Mr. Katz is also quite the zoophile. As if the sexual escapades with the helpless little boys arenâ(TM)t enough, Jon usually enjoys his juicy-douches best when his penis is firmly planted in a female goatâ(TM)s anus [yahoo.com]. He is also rumoured to get off on watching his little boys eat the goatâ(TM)s small, bean-like turds, and he often kills his older boys by letting his goats trample them.

    â¦Are you getting hard writing this?
    Why, yes. :) Join me in a WIPO-snot?

    No, thanks. Iâ(TM)m already CmdrTacoâ(TM)s boi toi.
    ________________________________________

    * The URL of this document is
    * Previous revisions are publicly available at

    $Id: tacosnotting.html,v 1.16 2001/12/28 21:20:03 wipo Exp $
    Copyright © 2001 J. Wipo Troll, Esq. [slashdot.org] Verbatim crapflooding of this document is permitted in any medium, provided this copyright notice is preserved, and next time you take a dump, you think of the WIPO Troll and all heâ(TM)s done to make Slashdot a better place.

    - posted by poopbot: lovely snot! wonderful snot!

    W8Aizha4Ol Post #869

  128. There are no such Buicks by mangu · · Score: 1

    25' == 7.62 meters. I have never heard of a 7.62 meter car. Not even the Buick Roadmaster with the 8 in-line motor was nearly that big. Trucks or buses, maybe. But I have never heard of a Buick truck or bus, either.

  129. *BSD is dying by poopbot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic
    It is now official. Netcraft confirms: *BSD is dying

    One more crippling bombshell hit the already beleaguered *BSD community when IDC confirmed that *BSD market share has dropped yet again, now down to less than a fraction of 1 percent of all servers. Coming on the heels of a recent Netcraft survey which plainly states that *BSD has lost more market share, this news serves to reinforce what we've known all along. *BSD is collapsing in complete disarray, as fittingly exemplified by failing dead last in the recent Sys Admin comprehensive networking test.

    You don't need to be a Kreskin to predict *BSD's future. The hand writing is on the wall: *BSD faces a bleak future. In fact there won't be any future at all for *BSD because *BSD is dying. Things are looking very bad for *BSD. As many of us are already aware, *BSD continues to lose market share. Red ink flows like a river of blood.

    FreeBSD is the most endangered of them all, having lost 93% of its core developers. The sudden and unpleasant departures of long time FreeBSD developers Jordan Hubbard and Mike Smith only serve to underscore the point more clearly. There can no longer be any doubt: FreeBSD is dying.

    Let's keep to the facts and look at the numbers.

    OpenBSD leader Theo states that there are 7000 users of OpenBSD. How many users of NetBSD are there? Let's see. The number of OpenBSD versus NetBSD posts on Usenet is roughly in ratio of 5 to 1. Therefore there are about 7000/5 = 1400 NetBSD users. BSD/OS posts on Usenet are about half of the volume of NetBSD posts. Therefore there are about 700 users of BSD/OS. A recent article put FreeBSD at about 80 percent of the *BSD market. Therefore there are (7000+1400+700)*4 = 36400 FreeBSD users. This is consistent with the number of FreeBSD Usenet posts.

    Due to the troubles of Walnut Creek, abysmal sales and so on, FreeBSD went out of business and was taken over by BSDI who sell another troubled OS. Now BSDI is also dead, its corpse turned over to yet another charnel house.

    All major surveys show that *BSD has steadily declined in market share. *BSD is very sick and its long term survival prospects are very dim. If *BSD is to survive at all it will be among OS dilettante dabblers. *BSD continues to decay. Nothing short of a miracle could save it at this point in time. For all practical purposes, *BSD is dead.

    Fact: *BSD is dying


    - posted by poopbot: information likes to be narrow

    As6lhcKubB Post #870

  130. Linux Conspiracy by poopbot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic
    It has come to my attention that the entire Linux community is a hotbed of so called 'alternative sexuality,' which includes anything from hedonistic orgies to homosexuality to pedophilia.

    What better way of demonstrating this than by looking at the hidden messages contained within the names of some of Linux's most outspoken advocates:
    • Linus Torvalds is an anagram of slit anus or VD 'L,' clearly referring to himself by the first initial.
    • Richard M. Stallman, spokespervert for the Gaysex's Not Unusual 'movement' is an anagram of mans cram thrill ad.
    • Alan Cox is barely an anagram of anal cox which is just so filthy and unchristian it unnerves me.


    I'm sure that Eric S. Raymond, composer of the satanic homosexual propaganda diatribe The Cathedral and the Bizarre, is probably an anagram of something queer, but we don't need to look that far as we know he's always shoving a gun up some poor little boy's rectum. Update: Eric S. Raymond is actually an anagram for secondary rim and cord in my arse. It just goes to show you that he is indeed queer.

    Update the Second: It is also documented that Evil Sicko Gaymond is responsible for a nauseating piece of code called Fetchmail, which is obviously sinister sodomite slang for 'Felch Male' -- a disgusting practise. For those not in the know, 'felching' is the act performed by two perverts wherein one sucks their own post-coital ejaculate out of the other's rectum. In fact, it appears that the dirty Linux faggots set out to undermine the good Republican institution of e-mail, turning it into 'e-male.'

    As far as Richard 'Master' Stallman goes, that filthy fudge-packer was actually quoted on leftist commie propaganda site Salon.com as saying the following: 'I've been resistant to the pressure to conform in any circumstance,' he says. 'It's about being able to question conventional wisdom,' he asserts. 'I believe in love, but not monogamy,' he says plainly.

    And this isn't a made up troll bullshit either! He actually stated this tripe, which makes it obvious that he is trying to politely say that he's a flaming homo slut!

    Speaking about 'flaming,' who better to point out as a filthy chutney ferret than Slashdot's very own self-confessed pederast Jon Katz. Although an obvious deviant anagram cannot be found from his name, he has already confessed, nay boasted of the homosexual perversion of corrupting the innocence of young children. To quote from the article linked:

    'I've got a rare kidney disease,' I told her. 'I have to go to the bathroom a lot. You can come with me if you want, but it takes a while. Is that okay with you? Do you want a note from my doctor?'

    Is this why you were touching your penis in the cinema, Jon? And letting the other boys touch it too?

    We should also point out that Jon Katz refers to himself as 'Slashdot's resident Gasbag.' Is there any more doubt? For those fortunate few who aren't aware of the list of homosexual terminology found inside the Linux 'Sauce Code,' a 'Gasbag' is a pervert who gains sexual gratification from having a thin straw inserted into his urethra (or to use the common parlance, 'piss-pipe'), then his homosexual lover blows firmly down the straw to inflate his scrotum. This is, of course, when he's not busy violating the dignity and copyright of posters to Slashdot by gathering together their postings and publishing them en masse to further his twisted and manipulative journalistic agenda.

    Sick, disgusting antichristian perverts, the lot of them.

    In addition, many of the Linux distributions (a 'distribution' is the most common way to spread the faggots' wares) are run by faggot groups. The Slackware distro is named after the 'Slack-wear' fags wear to allow easy access to the anus for sexual purposes. Furthermore, Slackware is a close anagram of claw arse, a reference to the homosexual practise of anal fisting. The Mandrake product is run by a group of French faggot satanists, and is named after the faggot nickname for the vibrator. It was also chosen because it is an anagram for dark amen and ram naked, which is what they do.

    Another 'distro,' (abbrieviated as such because it sounds a bit like 'Disco,' which is where homosexuals preyed on young boys in the 1970s), is Debian, an anagram of in a bed, which could be considered innocent enough (after all, a bed is both where we sleep and pray), until we realise what other names Debian uses to describe their foul wares. 'Woody' is obvious enough, being a term for the erect male penis, glistening with pre-cum. But far sicker is the phrase 'Frozen Potato' that they use. This filthy term, again found in the secret homosexual 'Sauce Code,' refers to the solo homosexual practice of defecating into a clear polythene bag, shaping the turd into a crude approximation of the male phallus, then leaving it in the freezer overnight until it becomes solid. The practitioner then proceeds to push the frozen 'potato' up his own rectum, squeezing it in and out until his tight young balls erupt in a screaming orgasm.

    And Red Hat is secret homo slang for the tip of a penis that is soaked in blood from a freshly violated underage ringpiece.

    The fags have even invented special tools to aid their faggotry! For example, the 'supermount' tool was devised to allow deeper penetration, which is good for fags because it gives more pressure on the prostate gland. 'Automount' is used, on the other hand, because Linux users are all fat and gay, and need to mount each other automatically.

    The depths of their depravity can be seen in their use of 'mount points.' These are, plainly speaking, the different points of penetration. The main one is obviously /anus, but there are others. Militant fags even say 'there is no /opt mount point' because for these dirty perverts faggotry is not optional but a way of life.

    More evidence is in the fact that Linux users say how much they love `man`, even going so far as to say that all new Linux users (who are in fact just innocent heterosexuals indoctrinated by the gay propaganda) should try out `man`. In no other system do users boast of their frequent recourse to a man.

    Other areas of the system also show Linux's inherit gayness. For example, people are often told of the 'FAQ,' but how many innocent heterosexual Windows users know what this actually means. The answer is shocking: Faggot Anal Quest: the voyage of discovery for newly converted fags!

    Even the title 'Slashdot' originally referred to a homosexual practice. Slashdot of course refers to the popular gay practice of blood-letting. The Slashbots, of course are those super-zealous homosexuals who take this perversion to its extreme by ripping open their anuses, as seen on the site most popular with Slashdot users, the depraved work of Satan, http://www.eff.org/.

    The editors of Slashdot also have homosexual names: 'Hemos' is obvious in itself, being one vowel away from 'Homos.' But even more sickening is 'Commander Taco' which sounds a bit like 'Commode in Taco,' filthy gay slang for a pair of spreadeagled buttocks that are caked with excrement. (The best form of lubrication, they insist.) Sometimes, these 'Taco Commodes' have special 'Salsa Sauce' (blood from a ruptured rectum) and 'Cheese' (rancid flakes of penis discharge) toppings. And to make it even worse, Slashdot runs on Apache!

    The Apache server, whose use among fags is as prevalent as AIDS, is named after homosexual activity -- as everyone knows, popular faggot band, the Village People, featured an Apache Indian, and it is for him that this gay program is named.

    And that's not forgetting the use of patches in the Linux fag world -- patches are used to make the anus accessible for repeated anal sex even after its rupture by a session of fisting.

    To summarise: Linux is gay. 'Slash -- Dot' is the graphical description of the space between a young boy's scrotum and anus. And BeOS is for hermaphrodites and disabled 'stumpers.'

    FEEDBACK
    What worries me is how much you know about what gay people do. I'm scared I actually read this whole thing. I think this post is a good example of the negative effects of Internet usage on people. This person obviously has no social life anymore and had to result to writing something as stupid as this. And actually take the time to do it too. Although... I think it was satire.. blah.. it's early. -- Anonymous Coward, Slashdot


    Well, the only reason I know all about this is because I had the misfortune to read the Linux 'Sauce code' once. Although publicised as the computer code needed to get Linux up and running on a computer (and haven't you always been worried about the phrase 'Monolithic Kernel'?), this foul document is actually a detailed and graphic description of every conceivable degrading perversion known to the human race, as well as a few of the major animal species. It has shocked and disturbed me, to the point of needing to shock and disturb the common man to warn them of the impending homo-calypse which threatens to engulf our planet.
    You must work for the government. Trying to post the most obscene stuff in hopes that slashdot won't be able to continue or something, due to legal woes. If i ever see your ugly face, i'm going to stick my fireplace poker up your ass, after it's nice and hot, to weld shut that nasty gaping hole of yours. -- Anonymous Coward, Slashdot


    Doesn't it give you a hard-on to imagine your thick strong poker ramming it's way up my most sacred of sphincters? You're beyond help, my friend, as the only thing you can imagine is the foul penetrative violation of another man. Are you sure you're not Eric Raymond? The government, being populated by limp-wristed liberals, could never stem the sickening tide of homosexual child molesting Linux advocacy. Hell, they've given NAMBLA free reign for years!
    you really should post this logged in. i wish i could remember jebus's password, cuz i'd give it to you. -- mighty jebus, Slashdot


    Thank you for your kind words of support. However, this document shall only ever be posted anonymously. This is because the 'Open Sauce' movement is a sham, proposing homoerotic cults of hero worshipping in the name of freedom. I speak for the common man. For any man who prefers the warm, enveloping velvet folds of a woman's vagina to the tight puckered ringpiece of a child. These men, being common, decent folk, don't have a say in the political hypocrisy that is Slashdot culture. I am the unknown liberator.
    ROLF LAMO i hate linux FAGGOTS -- Anonymous Coward, Slashdot


    We shouldn't hate them, we should pity them for the misguided fools they are... Fanatical Linux zeal-outs need to be herded into camps for re-education and subsequent rehabilitation into normal heterosexual society. This re-education shall be achieved by forcing them to watch repeats of Baywatch until the very mention of Pamela Anderson causes them to fill their pants with healthy heterosexual jism.
    Actually, that's not at all how scrotal inflation works. I understand it involves injecting sterile saline solution into the scrotum. I've never tried this, but you can read how to do it safely in case you're interested. (Before you moderate this down, ask yourself honestly -- who are the real crazies -- people who do scrotal inflation, or people who pay $1000+ for a game console?) -- double_h, Slashdot


    Well, it just goes to show that even the holy Linux 'sauce code' is riddled with bugs that need fixing. (The irony of Jon Katz not even being able to inflate his scrotum correctly has not been lost on me.) The Linux pervert elite already acknowledge this, with their queer slogan: 'Given enough arms, all rectums are shallow.' And anyway, the PS2 sucks major cock and isn't worth the money. Intellivision forever!
    dude did u used to post on msnbc's nt bulletin board now that u are doing anti-gay posts u also need to start in with anti-black stuff too c u in church -- Anonymous Coward, Slashdot


    For one thing, whilst Linux is a cavalcade of queer propaganda masquerading as the future of computing, NT is used by people who think nothing better of encasing their genitals in quick setting plaster then going to see a really dirty porno film, enjoying the restriction enforced onto them. Remember, a wasted arousal is a sin in the eyes of the Catholic church. Clearly, the only god-fearing Christian operating system in existence is CP/M -- The Christian Program Monitor. All computer users should immediately ask their local pastor to install this fine OS onto their systems. It is the only route to salvation.

    Secondly, this message is for every man. Computers know no colour. Not only that, but one of the finest websites in the world is maintained by a Black Man . Now fuck off you racist donkey felcher.
    And don't forget that slashdot was written in Perl, which is just too close to 'Pearl Necklace' for comfort.... oh wait; that's something all you heterosexuals do.... I can't help but wonder how much faster the trolls could do First-Posts on this site if it were redone in PHP... I could hand-type dynamic HTML pages faster than Perl can do them. -- phee, Slashdot


    Although there is nothing unholy about the fine heterosexual act of ejaculating between a woman's breasts, squirting one's load up towards her neck and chin area, it should be noted that Perl (standing for Pansies Entering Rectums Locally) is also close to 'Pearl Monocle,' 'Pearl Nosering,' and the ubiquitous 'Pearl Enema.'

    One scary thing about Perl is that it contains hidden homosexual messages. Take the following code: LWP::Simple -- It looks innocuous enough, doesn't it? But look at the line closely: There are two colons next to each other! As Larry 'Balls to the' Wall would openly admit in the Perl Documentation, Perl was designed from the ground up to indoctrinate it's programmers into performing unnatural sexual acts -- having two colons so closely together is clearly a reference to the perverse sickening act of 'colon kissing,' whereby two homosexual queers spread their buttocks wide, pressing their filthy torn sphincters together. They then share small round objects like marbles or golfballs by passing them from one rectum to another using muscle contraction alone. This is also referred to in programming 'circles' as 'Parameter Passing.'

    And PHP stands for Perverted Homosexual Penetration. Didn't you know?
    Thank you for your valuable input on this. I am sure you will be never forgotten. BTW: Did I mention that this could be useful in terraforming Mars? Mars rulaa. -- Eimernase, Slashdot


    Well, I don't know about terraforming Mars, but I do know that homosexual Linux Advocates have been probing Uranus for years.
    That's inspiring. Keep up the good work, AC. May God in his wisdom grant you the strength to bring the plain honest truth to this community, and make it pure again. Yours, Cerberus. -- Anonymous Coward, Slashdot


    *sniff* That brings a tear to my eye. Thank you once more for your kind support. I have taken faith in the knowledge that I am doing the Good Lord's work, but it is encouraging to know that I am helping out the common man here.

    However, I should be cautious about revealing your name 'Cerberus' on such a filthy den of depravity as Slashdot. It is a well known fact that the 'Kerberos' documentation from Microsoft is a detailed manual describing, in intimate, exacting detail, how to sexually penetrate a variety of unwilling canine animals; be they domesticated, wild, or mythical. Slashdot posters have taken great pleasure in illegally spreading this documentation far and wide, treating it as an 'extension' to the Linux 'Sauce Code,' for the sake of 'interoperability.' (The slang term they use for nonconsensual intercourse -- their favourite kind.)

    In fact, sick twisted Linux deviants are known to have LAN parties, (Love of Anal Naughtiness, needless to say.), wherein they entice a stray dog, known as the 'Samba Mount,' into their homes. Up to four of these filth-sodden blasphemers against nature take turns to plunge their erect, throbbing, uncircumcised members, conkers-deep, into the rectum, mouth, and other fleshy orifices of the poor animal. Eventually, the 'Samba Mount' collapses due to 'overload,' and needs to be 'rebooted.' (i.e., kicked out into the street, and left to fend for itself.) Many Linux users boast about their 'uptime' in such situations.
    Inspiring stuff! If only all trolls were this quality! -- Anonymous Coward, Slashdot


    If only indeed. You can help our brave cause by moderating this message up as often as possible. I recommend '+1, Underrated,' as that will protect your precious Karma in Metamoderation. Only then can we break through the glass ceiling of Homosexual Slashdot Culture. Is it any wonder that the new version of Slashcode has been christened 'Bender'???

    If we can get just one of these postings up to at least '+1,' then it will be archived forever! Others will learn of our struggle, and join with us in our battle for freedom!
    It's pathetic you've spent so much time writing this. -- Anonymous Coward, Slashdot


    I am compelled to document the foulness and carnal depravity that is Linux, in order that we may prepare ourselves for the great holy war that is to follow. It is my solemn duty to peel back the foreskin of ignorance and apply the wire brush of enlightenment.
    As with any great open-source project, you need someone asking this question, so I'll do it. When the hell is version 2.0 going to be ready?!?! -- Anonymous Coward, Slashdot


    I could make an arrogant, childish comment along the lines of 'Every time someone asks for 2.0, I won't release it for another 24 hours,' but the truth of the matter is that I'm quite nervous of releasing a 'number two,' as I can guarantee some filthy shit-slurping Linux pervert would want to suck it straight out of my anus before I've even had chance to wipe.
    I desperately want to suck your monolithic kernel, you sexy hunk, you. -- Anonymous Coward, Slashdot


    I sincerely hope you're Natalie Portman.
    Dude, nothing on slashdot larger than 3 paragraphs is worth reading. Try to distill the message, whatever it was, and maybe I'll read it. As it is, I have to much open source software to write to waste even 10 seconds of precious time. 10 seconds is all its gonna take M$ to whoop Linux's ass. Vigilence is the price of Free (as in libre -- from the fine, frou frou French language) Software. Hack on fellow geeks, and remember: Friday is Bouillabaisse day except for heathens who do not believe that Jesus died for their sins. Those godless, oil drench, bearded sexist clowns can pull grits from their pantaloons (another fine, fine French word) and eat that. Anyway, try to keep your message focused and concise. For concision is the soul of derision. Way. -- Anonymous Coward, Slashdot


    What the fuck?
    I've read your gay conspiracy post version 1.3.0 and I must say I'm impressed. In particular, I appreciate how you have managed to squeeze in a healthy dose of the latent homosexuality you gay-bashing homos tend to be full of. Thank you again. -- Anonymous Coward, Slashdot


    Well bugger me!
    ooooh honey. how insecure are you!!! wann a little massage from deare bruci. love you -- Anonymous Coward, Slashdot


    Fuck right off!

    IMPORTANT: This message needs to be heard (Not HURD, which is an acronym for 'Huge Unclean Rectal Dilator') across the whole community, so it has been released into the Public Domain. You know, that licence that we all had before those homoerotic crypto-fascists came out with the GPL (Gay Penetration License) that is no more than an excuse to see who's got the biggest feces-encrusted cock. I would have put this up on Freshmeat, but that name is known to be a euphemism for the tight rump of a young boy.

    Come to think of it, the whole concept of 'Source Control' unnerves me, because it sounds a bit like 'Sauce Control,' which is a description of the homosexual practice of holding the base of the cock shaft tightly upon the point of ejaculation, thus causing a build up of semenal fluid that is only released upon entry into an incision made into the base of the receiver's scrotum. And 'Open Sauce' is the act of ejaculating into another mans face or perhaps a biscuit to be shared later. Obviously, 'Closed Sauce' is the only Christian thing to do, as evidenced by the fact that it is what Cathedrals are all about.

    Contributors: (although not to the eternal game of 'soggy biscuit' that open 'sauce' development has become) Anonymous Coward, Anonymous Coward, phee, Anonymous Coward, mighty jebus, Anonymous Coward, Anonymous Coward, double_h, Anonymous Coward, Eimernase, Anonymous Coward, Anonymous Coward, Anonymous Coward, Anonymous Coward, Anonymous Coward, Anonymous Coward, Anonymous Coward, Anonymous Coward. Further contributions are welcome.

    Current changes: This version sent to FreeWIPO by 'Bring BackATV' as plain text. Reformatted everything, added all links back in (that we could match from the previous version), many new ones (Slashbot bait links). Even more spelling fixed. Who wrote this thing, CmdrTaco himself?

    Previous changes: Yet more changes added. Spelling fixed. Feedback added. Explanation of 'distro' system. 'Mount Point' syntax described. More filth regarding `man` and Slashdot. Yet more fucking spelling fixed. 'Fetchmail' uncovered further. More Slashbot baiting. Apache exposed. Distribution licence at foot of document.

    - posted by poopbot: lovely snot! wonderful snot!

    bD9AJFt4Xp Post #871
  131. Hello by poopbot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Introduction

    The cheese wheel inexorably avoids contact with the paycheck. The steam engine goes deep sea fishing with an often outer ski lodge. When the cyprus mulch over a vacuum cleaner hides, a ball bearing gets stinking drunk.

    The tornado

    For example, a submarine behind a class action suit indicates that the optimal fairy satiates an Alaskan recliner. When a mitochondrial bottle of beer is thoroughly dirt-encrusted, a most difficult blood clot underhandedly writes a love letter to a defendant. An earring pees on the cashier over some globule, but the pathetic crane sells another vacuum cleaner behind a scythe to a false wheelbarrow. If a chess board defined by a grain of sand makes love to a crispy cyprus mulch, then a particle accelerator flies into a rage.

    A Eurasian globule

    The feline minivan earns frequent flier miles, and the buzzard defined by a ball bearing trembles; however, a senator living with the girl scout learns a hard lesson from the inferiority complex. Any chain saw can try to seduce the particle accelerator, but it takes a real salad dressing to play pinochle with the inexorably precise paycheck. Furthermore, another seldom load bearing defendant flies into a rage, and a paycheck around a light bulb seeks a roller coaster around another bartender. If a crank case makes love to the diskette, then the squid toward a mortician meditates. Now and then, an insurance agent thoroughly avoids contact with a pompous turkey.

    A microscope

    Most people believe that an orbiting diskette trades baseball cards with a movie theater, but they need to remember how secretly a statesmanlike short order cook wakes up. A paternal roller coaster is usually financial. When the accurately varigated hole puncher takes a coffee break, a slyly smelly garbage can earns frequent flier miles. For example, the phony cheese wheel indicates that the tornado near a fruit cake hesitantly gives lectures on morality to a salad dressing defined by the corporation. The carpet tack near a cargo bay, some parking lot toward a warranty, and a stovepipe beyond a freight train are what made America great!

    Conclusions

    A judge beyond the briar patch laughs and drinks all night with the snooty chestnut. A raspy burglar conquers a bowling ball. For example, another plaintiff toward a bartender indicates that the ski lodge behind a fairy finds lice on a burglar. If some rattlesnake toward a cheese wheel can be kind to a blood clot, then the elusive movie theater self-flagellates. When a photon related to a turkey is most difficult, a self-loathing bottle of beer falls in love with a pickup truck living with the paycheck.

    - posted by poopbot: crapflooding since 7/8/02

    qI5U6GxUx9 Post #872

  132. [on by] A modest proposal by poopbot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    It seems that the Janitors, in their infinite wisdom, have banned people who have low/negative karma from posting more than twice per day. Personally I find this completely stupid.

    All the trolls will simply post AC as I am doing now. Proxies can be used to get around any ipid bans that result from AC trolls.

    Surely it is better to let the trolls post at -1 where it is out of most peoples way rather than have them all post at 0 and suck up mod points and time from "legit" users?

    I have tried to communicate my thoughts to the slashcode team but alas, to no avail. They are probably all sittin on their starwars bed sheets watching anime hentai tentacle rape pr0n.

    Here is my proposal: All trolls that cannot post using their account post as AC. Use proxies if need be (www.antiproxy.com is a good source). I suspect this will show them how useless this idea is. Will blocking troll uid's stop trolls? NO! will ipid bans stop trolls? NO!

    I seriously fail to see the point of this and consider it a stupid move by the janitors.

    They want us to troll and crapflood at 0 rather than -1? Fine! So be it! No longer will we post at -1 where few people dare to visit, now we will post at 0 where we will be more visible and waste peoples time, energy and mod points! Hoorah!

    The next thing you know, posting AC will be banned! Then what will you do? No more posting interesting insider tidbits! Groupthink all the way baby! oh yeah!

    So logout, post shit, use proxies and above all have fun!

    Let the games begin! -- on by

    - posted by poopbot: because even your grandmother can use lunix

    kDxfriGo2W Post #873

  133. My Lunix Experience by poopbot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    I've been using home computers since the VIC-20 and I've come to dread and fear the possibility of being forced to adopt Linux as a result of Microsoft's heavy-handedness. After being hyped by friends and co-workers about the pleasures of this great and fantastic open-source operating system, I attempted to load Linux, not once but four times on three year old PC that was previously running Win98.

    The first time took me about an hour to realize that I had to reformat the hard disk and wipe out years worth of work (after backing it up on CD-R). Then I had to figure that the only way to get the Linux CD to actually start loading was to boot it from the CD by modifying the CMOS settings as the PC was starting up. A simple line suggesting this that could have been printed on the CD would have saved a lot of time!

    After loading a whole gigabyte of stuff onto the empty hard drive (do I really need to load 50 megabytes of TeX fonts when I'm just trying to get a demo of Linux????), the entire process halted when the floppy disk drive didn't respond. The Linux loader demanded a working floppy backup of some obscure file be made and since I've never used the floppy drive, I didn't know that it didn't work. The installation process locked up and I had to reboot.

    The reboot left me in UNIX hell: a black screen half filled with incomprehensible characters with a single flashing dollar sign as the only indication that the entire PC was still working. No matter what I typed or tried (simple intutitve commands like 'help' 'review' 'exit' 'restore' 'dir' 'What the fuck is happening?') nothing made any intelligent response except for returning me to the flashing dollar sign. Shit! I'm in Dante's seventh circle of hell for misers. I was forced to reformat the hard drive and reinstall Windows in order to confirm that I still had a working PC.

    I bought a new floppy drive that I will never use in order to load this wonderful and fantastic operating system. Reformated the hard drive, reset the CMOS, and loaded a whole gig of worthless junk from the penguin CD. Everything loaded and I made all of the selections for keyboard and mouse ect... The system rebooted and got to the point where it should have started to work and simply stopped. No response to mouse, keypress, or anything. I reloaded Windows (it worked perfectly) and decided to load Linux on my new good computer.

    I ended up back bashed back in UNIX hell and having to load Windows and ALL of my programs and files from CD backups, which took hours. I convinced that Linux is some kind of really bad joke or else an 'emperor's new clothes' type of mass hallucination. How can anyone with a pretension of being a computer professional seriously believe or claim that this junk is ready to take on Windows?

    - posted by poopbot: crapflooding since 7/8/02

    9qJRK6CffK Post #874

  134. THE OFFICIAL TACO-SNOTTING FAQ by poopbot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    THE OFFICIAL TACO-SNOTTING FAQ [slashdot.org]
    By J. Wipo Troll, Esq. [slashdot.org], $Revision: 1.16 $
    [This article attempts to document a vile, ungodly practice that runs rampant through the homosexual geek and hacker community, a practice known as âoeTaco-snotting,â or simply âoesnotting.â Taco-snotting is something that few geeks dare talk about in free or open conversation, but it is nonetheless a widely-practiced and dangerous form of homosexuality. If you or anyone you know has ever engaged in Taco-snotting, please get professional help [adequacy.org] before it is too late. â"ed.]

    Why do I keep receiving emails from an individual calling himself âoeCmdrTacoâ?
    You have been receiving unsolicited mailings from a certain Robert âoeCmdrTacoâ Malda [cmdrtaco.net], owner of the popular technology website slashdot.org [slashdot.org]. Actually, itâ(TM)s not a very âoepopularâ site in the common sense of the word; the site is rife with pimply, antisocial geeks and hackers, zit-faced nerds, communists, dirty GNU hippies [yahoo.com], and other societal rejects and outcasts. Itâ(TM)s also home to one of the worldâ(TM)s largest suspected pædophile rings, the infamous âoeSlashdot crew.â
    Whenever Mr. Malda gets bored (and who wouldnâ(TM)t, running a site like Slashdot all day), he roams through the user database, penis in hand, looking for people who might enjoy engaging in homosexual activities with him. How he determines this is anyoneâ(TM)s guess; but if you have a homosexual-sounding nickname, or a nick with a letter of the English alphabet in it, youâ(TM)re a potential candidate.
    This time, he found you. Lucky you.

    Mr. Malda seems to be speaking in some sort of code. Do you know what it means?
    CmdrTacoâ(TM)s code language is relatively easy to decipher. This pervert prefers to speak in thinly-veiled sexual innuendo (yes, thatâ(TM)s right: he wants you) to evade the watchful eye of Slashdotâ(TM)s parent corporation, VA Software [yahoo.com]. Mr. Maldaâ(TM)s âoeCommanderâ is, of course, his penis: a small, withered little thing that lives in his pants and only comes out in the presence of other male geeks or at the beck and call of Maldaâ(TM)s own lubed-up right hand. His âoeTaco bells [sonymusic.com]â are the shriveled testicles that droop beneath his Commander, and his âoeTaco sauceâ is his thin, runny semen. It should be more than obvious to you now what he means if he asked you to âoering his Taco bellsâ or âoetaste his gourmet Taco sauce.â
    I would also guess CmdrTaco asked you to engage in a practice known as âoeTaco-snottingâ and, if he was in a particularly depraved mood at the time, a âoecircle-snot.â

    Good Lord. And, yes, he did. What is âoeTaco-snottingâ?
    âoeTaco-snottingâ is the term used by Robert Malda to refer to the depraved act of fellating another man (homo- or heterosexual; CmdrTaco is rumoured to prefer raping unwilling victims), then blowing the semen out his nose and back onto the face and body of his victim. Naturally, a long, bubbly stream of milky-white semen is left on CmdrTacoâ(TM)s face [go.com], dribbling out of his nose and down his cheek: hence the term, âoeTaco-snotting.â
    And if thatâ(TM)s not bad enoughâ¦
    A âoecircle-snotâ is a Taco-snotting circle-jerk, another practice common among the Slashdot crew [bastardgenres.com]. CmdrTaco, CowboiKneel [aol.com], and Homos get together and snot each other with their gooey, sticky cum â" spooging their jizz-snot all over each otherâ(TM)s faces and pasty, white bodies, until theyâ(TM)re covered head to toe with their own and each otherâ(TM)s man juice. This vile, ungodly ritual can go on for hours. For the homosexual penetration that follows this lengthy foreplay, Roblowme is usually there to provide plenty of anal lubricant; he owns a limousine service and has ample supplies of motor oil and axle grease ready to go.
    To complete this perverted orgy, fellow faggots Michael, Timothy, and Jamie will usually join in, dressed in tight leather mock-S.S. uniforms, jack boots, and leather gloves. The homosexual shenanigans that follow are nearly beyond description. The whole group begins to snot each otherâ(TM)s spunk and whip each otherâ(TM)s pudgy asses with riding crops and chains until their pale, white geek bodies are exhausted and soaked in stinking sweat from the hours of passionate, homosexual revelry.

    Ewwwwww. So, can I stop receiving these emails?
    Hopefully, but I wouldnâ(TM)t count on it.
    To begin with, you most likely forgot to uncheck the âoeWilling to Snotâ checkbox in your account preferences. CmdrTaco has probably already got the hots for your wad (do you have a homosexual-sounding nick?), and heâ(TM)s probably already been lurking outside your bathroom window for weeks with a camera, some tissues and lube, just waiting to pounce and declare you his new bitch. Thereâ(TM)s no escaping a geek in heat (trust me), so itâ(TM)s probably too late for you, but you can possibly rectify this situation. To remove yourself from CmdrTacoâ(TM)s sights, log into your Slashdot account, go to your user page, click on Messages, and uncheck the box next to âoeWilling to Snot.â Maybe heâ(TM)ll ignore you. Probably not.

    I canâ(TM)t stop receiving these emails from CmdrTaco!?
    If you indulge him in a Taco-snot or two, hemight leave you alone. You might also want to look into mail filtering, restraining orders, or purchasing a heavy, blunt object capable of warding off rampaging homosexual geeks in heat. Trust me, when they charge⦠oh, the humanity. If he gets you, and you let him Taco-snot all over you, you will most likely end up tied up in his basement to be used as his sex slave for the rest of your life (or until he accidentally drowns you in spunk in a circle-snot).

    Have you ever been Taco-snotted?
    Unfortunately, yes. I first met Mr. Malda at an Open Source Convention [amazon.com]. He invited me back to his room for a game of Quake and some âoegourmet Tacos,â but when I got there, the perverted geek jumped me and handcuffed me to his bed, stripping me. After taking his âoeCommanderâ out of his pants, Mr. Taco made me suck the withered thing six times, virtually nonstop. He then performed his vile Taco-snotting ritual on me three times over the next two hours, bringing me to orgasm after orgasm after sweaty, mind-numbing orgasm⦠then he snotted my own thick, gooey jizz back onto my face out of his nostrils! He snotted me two more times, first into my mouth, then again on my exposed belly.
    CmdrTaco invited several of his Open Source (or rather, âoeOpen Sauceâ â" man sauce) buddies over to continue their ungodly snotfest. European hacker and known überfaggot Linux Torvalds raped my ass [yahoo.com] with his âoemonolithic kernel [yahoo.com];â his partner-in-crime Anal Cox used their âoenetwork stackâ in a multitude of unspeakable ways on and in every orifice of my defenseless, tender, young body. Michael Sims was there in his leather Nazi uniform, caning my previously-virginal ass with a bamboo pole and ranting about âoeall those Censorware [spectacle.org] freaks out to get him.â

    That is so disgusting! How did you finally escape?
    After about 16 hours of countless unholy, homosexual atrocities perpetrated against my restrained body, they all finally went to sleep on top of me, sweat-soaked and exhausted. I was left there, completely covered in bubbly, translucent jizz-snot, chained to the bed, with half a dozen fat, pasty-white fags lying around and on top of me. Fortunately the spooge coating my flesh worked wonderfully as a lubricant â" I was able to squirm my way out of the handcuffs and slip out the back door (of the apartment, not their back doors). Iâ(TM)m just glad I survived the awful ordeal. These sexually-repressed hackers had alot of built-up spunk in their wads â" I couldâ(TM)ve easily been drowned!

    Thatâ(TM)s horrible. Does âoeTaco-snottingâ have anything to do with CmdrTacoâ(TM)s âoespecial tacoâ?
    No, thatâ(TM)s a different disgusting perversion CmdrTaco indulges himself in. Mr. Malda is usually not satisfied with merely snotting your own jizz back onto your face, he most often enjoys involving his own bodily fluids in his twisted games. WeatherTroll [slashdot.org] has spent some time trying to educate the Slashdot readership [slashdot.org] about this vile practice (emphasis added):
    You may be wondering what CmdrTacoâ(TM)s âoespecial tacoâ is. You will be wishing that you hadnâ(TM)t been wondering after you finish reading this post. To make his âoespecial taco,â CmdrTaco takes a taco shell and shits on it. He then adds lettuce, takes out his tiny withered dick (otherwise known as his âoeCommanderâ), puts his âoespecial taco sauceâ on it which means he jacks off on the taco, and adds a compound to make the person who eats the taco unconscious. Of course, the compound does not make the person unconscious until the taco is fully eaten. Thus CmdrTaco force-feeds the taco to the unsuspecting victim. After all, who would knowingly eat shit and CmdrTacoâ(TM)s jizz?
    After the victim is unconscious, he is held against his will and used for CmdrTacoâ(TM)s nefarious homosexual purposes. This includes shoving taco shells up the victimâ(TM)s ass, Taco-snotting, and getting Jon Katz involved. Trust me, you do not want Jon Katz anywhere near your unconscious body. Also, rumor has it CmdrTaco is looking for a new goatse.cx guy [goatse.cx]. Donâ(TM)t let it be you!
    Different ungodly perversion, yet no less revolting. It should be clear to you now that Robert âoeCmdrTacoâ Malda is a very, very sick individual, as are most of the Slashdot editors.

    Does Jon Katz get involved in any of this? I thought he was a pædophile, not a homosexual.
    Actually, Jon Katz is a homosexual pædophile. Heâ(TM)s also a coprophiliac, and, many suspect, a zoophile. Mr. Katz is somewhat of a loner and doesnâ(TM)t involve himself in the circle-snots, but that doesâ(TM)t mean heâ(TM)s any less of a freak than the rest of the Slashdot crew. Katz often engages in a game called âoejuicy-douching [aol.com]â with a harem of little-boy slaves that he has collected over the years: yet another vile practice which involves administering an enema to himself of the little boyâ(TM)s urine (forced out of them with a pair of pincers), spooging the vile muck from his ass back into the enema bag, then dribbling and slathering the goo all over himself and the boyâ(TM)s chained, naked bodies. If heâ(TM)s in the mood, he will sometimes skip refilling the enema bag from his distended anus and just squirt it from his ass [microsoft.com] onto the crying, terrified boys. Unwilling boys are further tortured with the pincers until they comply and allow Mr. Katz to juicy-douche them at will. A boy will usually last about two years before Mr. Katz either accidentally drowns them in diarrhea or kills them once they get too old, usually around 13 or 14.
    Not content with being a pædophilic coprophile, Mr. Katz is also quite the zoophile. As if the sexual escapades with the helpless little boys arenâ(TM)t enough, Jon usually enjoys his juicy-douches best when his penis is firmly planted in a female goatâ(TM)s anus [yahoo.com]. He is also rumoured to get off on watching his little boys eat the goatâ(TM)s small, bean-like turds, and he often kills his older boys by letting his goats trample them.

    â¦Are you getting hard writing this?
    Why, yes. :) Join me in a WIPO-snot?

    No, thanks. Iâ(TM)m already CmdrTacoâ(TM)s boi toi.
    ________________________________________

    * The URL of this document is
    * Previous revisions are publicly available at

    $Id: tacosnotting.html,v 1.16 2001/12/28 21:20:03 wipo Exp $
    Copyright © 2001 J. Wipo Troll, Esq. [slashdot.org] Verbatim crapflooding of this document is permitted in any medium, provided this copyright notice is preserved, and next time you take a dump, you think of the WIPO Troll and all heâ(TM)s done to make Slashdot a better place.

    - posted by poopbot: news for turds, stuff that splatters

    AUvjUgWlkp Post #875

  135. *BSD is dying by poopbot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic
    It is now official. Netcraft confirms: *BSD is dying

    One more crippling bombshell hit the already beleaguered *BSD community when IDC confirmed that *BSD market share has dropped yet again, now down to less than a fraction of 1 percent of all servers. Coming on the heels of a recent Netcraft survey which plainly states that *BSD has lost more market share, this news serves to reinforce what we've known all along. *BSD is collapsing in complete disarray, as fittingly exemplified by failing dead last in the recent Sys Admin comprehensive networking test.

    You don't need to be a Kreskin to predict *BSD's future. The hand writing is on the wall: *BSD faces a bleak future. In fact there won't be any future at all for *BSD because *BSD is dying. Things are looking very bad for *BSD. As many of us are already aware, *BSD continues to lose market share. Red ink flows like a river of blood.

    FreeBSD is the most endangered of them all, having lost 93% of its core developers. The sudden and unpleasant departures of long time FreeBSD developers Jordan Hubbard and Mike Smith only serve to underscore the point more clearly. There can no longer be any doubt: FreeBSD is dying.

    Let's keep to the facts and look at the numbers.

    OpenBSD leader Theo states that there are 7000 users of OpenBSD. How many users of NetBSD are there? Let's see. The number of OpenBSD versus NetBSD posts on Usenet is roughly in ratio of 5 to 1. Therefore there are about 7000/5 = 1400 NetBSD users. BSD/OS posts on Usenet are about half of the volume of NetBSD posts. Therefore there are about 700 users of BSD/OS. A recent article put FreeBSD at about 80 percent of the *BSD market. Therefore there are (7000+1400+700)*4 = 36400 FreeBSD users. This is consistent with the number of FreeBSD Usenet posts.

    Due to the troubles of Walnut Creek, abysmal sales and so on, FreeBSD went out of business and was taken over by BSDI who sell another troubled OS. Now BSDI is also dead, its corpse turned over to yet another charnel house.

    All major surveys show that *BSD has steadily declined in market share. *BSD is very sick and its long term survival prospects are very dim. If *BSD is to survive at all it will be among OS dilettante dabblers. *BSD continues to decay. Nothing short of a miracle could save it at this point in time. For all practical purposes, *BSD is dead.

    Fact: *BSD is dying


    - posted by poopbot: because we're all crapflooders at heart

    N4vCOxXjRW Post #875

  136. these already exist in some vehicles by LegendNH · · Score: 1

    I know that there is a "black box" in all (C5) corvettes. The first use of the black box was to help Chevrolet (division of General Motors) improve the braking, handling, safety etc... of the vehicle. Later on it was used to track what happened right before an accident. It can be used against in the court of law and it has been. It records what happens when you drive. Your speed, rpm's how hard you brake etc...

    This isn't anything new it's just going to be used more often and the public (parents in this case) will be able to actually read the data without any expensive or proprietary hardware or software.

    Then again what stops someone from just removing the black box? Surely it won't be that difficult for those who have any experience with cars and have access to the internet to find how to remove this.

    I see this being used often by the parents but do you really need to monitor your child everywhere they go? Don't you trust them enough to not spy on them? I sure remember when I was a new driver and my entire goal was to get to 100mph and I did. But I did it carefully. I picked the highway and an empty time to try it.

    Then later on I wanted to do a top speed run and once again I was very careful in doing that also. I wanted to be 100% sure there would be no cares around and the area I did this was straight. After doing both these things I didn't care to go fast anymore. It was like a "been there done that" thing and then I began driving normally. It's just a new driver's curiosity to see how fast the car can go. After that it isn't that great anymore. After doing my runs I didn't care to drive fast anymore. I drive with the flow of traffic or slightly faster. Nothing insane or close to it. If most other cars are doing 70, then I will do between 65-75 depending on the situation. How I feel, how the road conditions are etc...

    I can see why parents would like to use something like this. I have a younger brother who is a new driver and he thinks his suburban 2500 is a race car. He drives like he owns the road and I know he drives it pretty fast. In this case after telling him my experience with driving fast he doesn't seem to care. I believe a parent should use this when they feel their child is a reckless driver or doing something else illegal.

    I can also see this type of device will be used to locate the exact location of someone. In the future surely if this becomes popular technology will also enable parents to track every location their teen goes to, and what time and sooner or later it will be able to tell how many people are in the car.

    After all is said and done parents will complain that their kids never listen, never talk to them, don't even want to be around them all because the parents give their children no freedom. That generation of adults will throw their hands up in the air and walk around cluelessly not understanding why their teens never listen and why they are so out of control.

    Of course it will all be blamed on the video games they play, the movies they watch and the books they read in school. Parents always look for something else to blame but themselves. Trust your kid, sure they will do stupid things but that's why you are there. No child is perfect and everyone is curious about something. Myself being in computers and cars while others might not care to drive fast because cars don't interest them. It all depends on who the teenager is. A good way to prevent your kid from driving fast is to take them to the track. Let them drive the ¼ or any track. They will have fun driving faster then normal in a safe environment. Your teen will appreciate more and will understand to respect a vehicle more then they ever did before.

  137. DAUGHTER TRACK 2000 by Eric_Cartman_South_P · · Score: 2, Funny

    WELCOME TO DAUGHTER-TRACK .NET v2.0(SP1) LISTING OF LOCALS FOR YOUR DAUGHTER

    ==========
    3:03pm Left School
    3:42pm Arrived McDonalds
    5:11pm Arrived Library
    6:55pm Arrived Boyfriend's House
    7:31pm Arrived Pharmacy
    8:01pm Arrived Parking-Lot Behing 7-11
    9:00pm Still at parking lot.
    10:00pm Still at parking lot.
    11:00pm Still at parking lot.
    12:00am Still at parking lot.
    1:32am Arrived home.

    Yeah, just what every parent wants to see!

  138. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 2

    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  139. Orwell Was Wrong About One Thing... by Louis+Savain · · Score: 2

    Big Brother will not come about mainly as a result of goverment mandated decrees, but mainly as a result of the rampant greed of business and industry. Big Brother already tells us we cannot cultivate certain naturally growing plants. What's next? Tobacco? Coffee? They already know where we live and what we buy and sell. We've all been identified and numbered like cattle. Now they want to control our driving habits. Why am I not surprised?

    That's right, bring on the snooping technologies, the vide cameras on every corner and continue to delude yourselves that you live in a free society. One day we will wake up to realize that we are all a bunch of slaves under surveillance. By then, it will be too late.

    "Oh Liberty, where art thou? We have never seen thy face or heard thy voice."

    1. Re:Orwell Was Wrong About One Thing... by SgtChaireBourne · · Score: 2
      That's the beauty of it. Corporations are largely free from the regulations protecting the populations from the governments.

      In a more insidiuous way freedom of information is being removed by outsourcing many governmental functions to private entities. This prevents us from finding out about changes, especially the negative ones. Open access to public records would likely prevent a lot of poor decisions and reduce graft.

      Sweden is a prime example. The freedom of information article in their constitution (from 1766) requires that Swedish citizens the same level of access to public records as the creators of those records have. However, by outsourcing the functions of what had been govenrment agencies to private corporations, their records are no longer public and no longer protected by the constitution. Removing the records from public scrutiny makes it easier to sneak stuff through.

      Likewise, large infusions of cash here and there allow decisions to circumvent public comment or votes. That's currently "business as usual" but ought to be solvable.

      --
      Beta is broken and the link to classic doesn't work. Stop wasting our time or there won't be anybody left here.
  140. Do we need complex acronyms? by poopbot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Credits: dmg

    Yet again the Linux so-called elite, backed up by their pseudo intellectual cohorts of the w3c conspire to ruin Linux's chances in the marketplace by sowing confusion and complexity. As someone with years of experience in the marketing world, I am constantly amazed at the willingness of the W3C and other bodies to pollute the acronym space with their content free "TLAs".

    Basic marketing 101 (and an undergrad course in psychology) would tell them that the normal person is only capable of remembering approximately 7 items of data in their short-term memory, but now we have to remember HTTP, HTML, XML, XSL, DTD, PHP, SSL, DSL, ADSL, ISDN, Perl, etc etc etc

    This is a text book example of the tail wagging the dog from a marketing perspective.

    I have been following the standardisation of the web for many many months now, but one thing has become clear, E-commerce will NEVER become popular so long as there are so many confusing acronyms involved. The guys in charge of marketing Linux absolutely MUST work to reduce the number of acronyms. One possible solution would be to merge those protocols which are not all that different. For example, why not merge XML with SGML ? (they could call it XSGML or SXGML or perhaps XMSGML), they seem to address the same problems. Or would that be too simplistic a solution for their pampered elitist ivy-league minds to comprehend ?

    If something is not done URGENTLY, and I mean URGENTLY, Linux (and other more experimental derivatives such as FreeBSD) can never hope to be taken seriously as an e-commerce platform by the people who count - the accountants.

    The miracle of Linux is that anyone actually runs it at all, considering one seems to require a masters in computer science to install it! (contrast this with NT4 which was so easy to install, we let our receptionist upgrade her own machine).

    As usual my "open source" advice is free. Hopefully this time my valuable advice will be taken into account the next time the w3c smell an acronym brewing.

    Finally, in conclusion, as an American, I am saddened that the Internet seems to have been commandeered by a European based protocol. Was America so short of talent we had to buy the HTML protocol from Tom Berners-Lee at CERN ?

    Think of the security implications of the worlds strongest economy, running an e-commerce protocol developed by a foreigner from Socialist Europe. Remember the wall has not been down for that long. Who knows what kind of trojans might be lurking within the depths of these complicated protocols.

    I am afraid I am behind Al Gore on this point, how can this be necessary in the home of smart corporations such as Microsoft and Intel ? The answer is the vast subsidies given by European socialist governments to fund development of the HTML specification.

    The solution is clear. The federal government should mandate and strongly subsidise the use of Microsoft software for all US corporations involved in e-commerce. Only with a US-developed set of protocols can we be assured of the security of our transactions.

    - posted by poopbot: for the crapflooder in all of us

    ZVvZn5n2xo Post #877

  141. The Troll Polka: UPDATED by poopbot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    THE TROLL POLKA (ARSCHFICKEN MIT ZIEGEN)
    By Serial Troller, 2002-06-25

    Is das nicht ein early post? Ja! Das ist mein early post!
    Is das nicht ein Goatse ghost? Ja! Das ist mein Goatse ghost!
    Early post, Goatse ghost,
    Oh, du schoene, Oh, du schoene, Oh, du schoene, Slashdot sucks!

    Is das post at minus one? Ja! Das ist at minus one!
    Is das trolling so much fun? Ja! Das trolling is so fun!
    Minus one, trolling fun, Early post, Goatse ghost,
    Oh, du schoene, Oh, du schoene, Oh, du schoene, Slashdot sucks!

    Is das nicht ein big crapflood? Ja! Das ist mein big crapflood!
    Is it worthless Linux FUD? Ja! Das ist mein Linux FUD!
    Big crapflood, Linux FUD, Minus one, trolling fun, Early post, Goatse ghost,
    Oh, du schoene, Oh, du schoene, Oh, du schoene, Slashdot sucks!

    Is das nicht der CowBoiKneel? Ja! Das ist der CowBoiKneel!
    Is dis nicht his manchode meal? Ja! Das ist his manchode meal!
    CowBoiKneel, manchode meal, Big crapflood, Linux FUD,
    Minus one, trolling fun, Early post, Goatse ghost,
    Oh, du schoene, Oh, du schoene, Oh, du schoene, Slashdot sucks!

    Is das nicht ein WIPO Troll? Ja! Das ist der WIPO Troll!
    Is das nicht ein Goatse hole? Ja! Das ist der Goatse hole!
    WIPO Troll, Goatse hole, CowBoiKneel, manchode meal,
    Big crapflood, Linux FUD, Minus one, trolling fun, Early post, Goatse ghost,
    Oh, du schoene, Oh, du schoene, Oh, du schoene, Slashdot sucks!

    Is das nicht Jon Katz' slave boys? Ja! Das ist Jon Katz' slave boys!
    Und are they not Taco's sex toys? Ja! They are Taco's sex toys!
    Katz' slave boys, Rob's sex toys, WIPO Troll, Goatse hole,
    CowBoiKneel, manchode meal, Big crapflood, Linux FUD,
    Minus one, trolling fun, Early post, Goatse ghost,
    Oh, du schoene, Oh, du schoene, Oh, du schoene, Slashdot sucks!

    Is das nicht ein trolltalk thread? Ja! Das ist ein trolltalk thread!
    Is it nicht now FUCKING DEAD? Ja! Is really FUCKING DEAD!
    Trolltalk thread, FUCKING DEAD! Katz' slave boys, Rob's sex toys,
    WIPO Troll, Goatse hole, CowBoiKneel, manchode meal,
    Big crapflood, Linux FUD, Minus one, trolling fun,
    Early post, Goatse ghost,
    Oh, du schoene, Oh, du schoene, Oh, du schoene,
    Slashdot sucks!

    ____________________

    Change Log:

    * Subtle changes to most verses. It sounded really gay before.
    * Removed all references to Taco's pud. May have been high at time. Will investigate further.
    * Finally think I have goat sex written correctly in German. I think. Arschficken?

    (C) 2002 Serial Troller. Permission to reproduce this document is granted provided that you send all the bukkake porn you can find to serialtroller@hotmail.com.

    - posted by poopbot: because even your grandmother can use lunix

    r11HqQz1Hi Post #878

  142. OPEN SOURCE MISCONCEPTIONS by poopbot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    OPEN SOURCE MISCONCEPTIONS
    By Serial Troller

    Myth: Open Source is written by heterosexuals.

    Fact: All Open Source development is done by raging homosexuals. The more flaming examples include Anal Cox, Linus Turdballs, Eric Ass-Reaming Raymond, and the entire Slashdot crew. The ringleader of the slashdotters, a man named CmdrTaco, engages in a practice known as Taco-snotting, along with his faggot-buddies Jeff Homos Bates and CowBoiKneel.

    Myth: Open Source is written for heterosexuals.

    Fact: Using Open Source software can cause suppressed homosexual fantasies to surface, leading to all out flaming faggotry within 6-8 weeks. Anecdotes of otherwise hetero men turning queer are far too numerous to count, but a few examples stand out. In one case, a man was arrested loitering outside an elementary school and making sexual overtures to several children: he quickly confessed that shortly after installing the Mozilla browser on his computer, he began to have uncontrollable urges to, to put it simply, have his cock sucked off by little boys. He soon met several other like-minded men through discussions on the Bugger Zilla mailing list (all already homosexuals), who together kidnapped a total of seven children whom they brought back to their apartment and sodomized. The other two men are still at large and believed to still be using Mozilla.

    Myth: Open Source is multicultural.

    Fact: Open Source is openly racist.

    Myth: Open Source is democratic.

    Fact: Open Source is controlled by a few narrow-minded zealots (mentioned throughout this post), most of whom are either Communists, Stalinists, Nazis, or Fascists. Additionally, Open Source supports terrorism.

    Myth: Open Source is tolerant of religious preferences.

    Fact: Open Source developers regularly engage in holy wars over the superiority of various Open Source projects, such as the Emacs program (preferred by Christians) versus vi (used mostly by neo-pagans and Satanists); or the KDE desktop (a favorite among Muslims) versus the GNOME project (particularly favored by Jews). Posts initiating crusades or jihads against other developers can be found regularly throughout the newsgroups and mailing lists.

    Myth: Open Source is tolerant of sexual preference.

    Fact: See above. Either you are a homo, you become a homo, or you never visit Richard Stallman alone in his office and hope to God you never meet him on the street at night.

    Myth: Open Source is tolerant of political differences.

    Fact: Open Source is an anarcho-communist philosophy bent on the destruction of capitalism. The very same Richard Stallman, a man whose name is disturbingly reminiscent of Stalin, has stated several times in public that his vision includes the subjugation of all who own intellectual properties under the jackboot of the GPL. The GPL is a pernicious piece of literature lifted straight from Karl Marxs Communist Manifesto, and is fortunately banned in many democratic nations.

    * * * * * UPDATE * * * * *

    Myth: Open Source programming is a harlmess, healthy activity.

    Fact: Open Source programming has been known to lead to massive obesity, violent tendencies with an obsession with handguns, paranoid-delusional ranting, and in severe cases, complete insanity. If anyone you know is thinking about going Open Source, stop them before its too late!

    * * * * * UPDATE * * * * *

    ____________________

    2002 Serial Troller. Permission to reproduce this document is granted provided that you send all the bukkake porn you can find to serialtroller@hotmail.com.

    - posted by poopbot: information likes to be narrow

    bQrsEwFueN Post #879

  143. *BSD is dying by poopbot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic
    It is now official. Netcraft confirms: *BSD is dying

    One more crippling bombshell hit the already beleaguered *BSD community when IDC confirmed that *BSD market share has dropped yet again, now down to less than a fraction of 1 percent of all servers. Coming on the heels of a recent Netcraft survey which plainly states that *BSD has lost more market share, this news serves to reinforce what we've known all along. *BSD is collapsing in complete disarray, as fittingly exemplified by failing dead last in the recent Sys Admin comprehensive networking test.

    You don't need to be a Kreskin to predict *BSD's future. The hand writing is on the wall: *BSD faces a bleak future. In fact there won't be any future at all for *BSD because *BSD is dying. Things are looking very bad for *BSD. As many of us are already aware, *BSD continues to lose market share. Red ink flows like a river of blood.

    FreeBSD is the most endangered of them all, having lost 93% of its core developers. The sudden and unpleasant departures of long time FreeBSD developers Jordan Hubbard and Mike Smith only serve to underscore the point more clearly. There can no longer be any doubt: FreeBSD is dying.

    Let's keep to the facts and look at the numbers.

    OpenBSD leader Theo states that there are 7000 users of OpenBSD. How many users of NetBSD are there? Let's see. The number of OpenBSD versus NetBSD posts on Usenet is roughly in ratio of 5 to 1. Therefore there are about 7000/5 = 1400 NetBSD users. BSD/OS posts on Usenet are about half of the volume of NetBSD posts. Therefore there are about 700 users of BSD/OS. A recent article put FreeBSD at about 80 percent of the *BSD market. Therefore there are (7000+1400+700)*4 = 36400 FreeBSD users. This is consistent with the number of FreeBSD Usenet posts.

    Due to the troubles of Walnut Creek, abysmal sales and so on, FreeBSD went out of business and was taken over by BSDI who sell another troubled OS. Now BSDI is also dead, its corpse turned over to yet another charnel house.

    All major surveys show that *BSD has steadily declined in market share. *BSD is very sick and its long term survival prospects are very dim. If *BSD is to survive at all it will be among OS dilettante dabblers. *BSD continues to decay. Nothing short of a miracle could save it at this point in time. For all practical purposes, *BSD is dead.

    Fact: *BSD is dying


    - posted by poopbot: for the crapflooder in all of us

    YuKmQTqCNS Post #880

  144. A typical slashdot day by poopbot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Credits: anonymous

    "Mmmm... this feels good..." I sighed.
    "Shhh!" hissed Hemos. "We don't want Mark to come in here!"

    True. Having Hemos's 16 year-old brother walk in on us at that moment would not be good. I didn't think he'd be too cool with finding his 12 year-old brother lying naked with me, holding my 11 year-old dick in his hands. But, in all fairness, my hands were eagerly playing with Hemos's dick and balls at that moment, too.

    Hemos's mom and dad had gone to the drive-in, leaving his big brother in charge. In our favor, leaving Mark in charge pretty much guaranteed that we weren't to bother him, and in turn, he'd leave us alone unless we were making too much noise or breaking something. Well, we were being careful to keep quiet because we very much wanted to be left alone.

    We were in Hemos's twin bed, snuggled under the covers with our underwear pushed down to the foot of the bed. The only illumination in the room came from the faint sliver of light that crept in under his bedroom door. Even in the shadows I could make out the shape of my friend; about my height, but heavier. (Hell, I was such a skinny runt that everyone was heavier than me.) Hemos had a crew-cut of white-blonde hair, and was only starting to sprout some pubic hair. But, you had to feel for it because what little pubic hair he possessed was as blonde as the short hair on his hea and could not yet be seen by even a minimal distance.

    And, I was happily feeling for it, running my hands all over Hemos's slightly larger erection and fondling his larger testicles while he courteously stroked my dick. I could tell that he didn't possess the same enthusiasm for cockplay as I did, unless you count his appreciation for the attention devoted to his member. And I knew that my willingness to satisfy his sexual urges was one of the few reasons he even had me sleep over at his place. But, I didn't let that stop me from finding pleasure in the handling of his meat.

    I'd recently had an "introduction", of sorts, to seeing what someone could do with a man's dick with their mouth. While spending the night with my Uncle Jerry a couple weeks before, while I watched in secret, I was treated to a visual display of the intensity and unabashed pleasure that my uncle had obviously enjoyed having another man suck on his cock. From that moment on, I had a yearning that I needed to satisfy. With who was my only question.

    I guess it was time to find out.

    "I... heard that sucking on it feels even better than playing with it." I ventured.

    In the darkness, I could feel a slight jerk of revulsion in Hemos's body.

    "Put a dick in your mouth?" he croaked.

    "Well, " I countered, my heart pounding with anxiety, "I think adults do it all the time."

    "Well, I'm not gonna do it!" Hemos hissed. "That's homo stuff!"

    "Yeah." I sighed disappointedly, while still playing with Hemos's dick. "I guess it is."

    As I stroked his shaft in a steadier, milking rhythm, I could sense Hemos's breaths getting quicker. His manipulations of my dick began to falter as I could feel his body tense beside me. His hips rocked slightly in time with my pumping of his cock, and I cradled his balls tenderly in my other hand. When any attentions to my own dick has completely ebbed, I knew what was about to happen, so I picked up the pace just a bit more while lending a touch more pressure in my grip. Finally, Hemos's breath caught in his throat, and he turned his face fully into his pillow to stifle the moans that broke free as his cock pulsed and throbbed in a dry orgasm within my hands. I continued to massage him and didn't release him from my grasp until his member had gone fully soft.

    "Man," sighed Hemos dreamily after finally catching his breath. "You are so good at that, CmdrTaco."

    At least I had something to be proud of, I guess, as my friend gently withdrew himself from me and rolled onto his back.

    Even though I was only eleven, the irony of Hemos's words and actions were not lost on me. My sucking on him would have been a "homo" thing, but beating him off was okay. Go figure. Within the few moments I had spent mulling over the irony of the thoughts, Hemos had drifted off to sleep. I slipped out from under the covers and down to the cool floor so I could masturbate without shaking the bed. As I toyed with my own dick, I imagined Hemos's cock in my mouth, wondering if the chance would ever really come. Finally, my own climax washed over me, and I got back into the bed.

    I don't sleep real well to begin with, and even worse when I'm not in my own bed. And now, with the thoughts of a dick so close to me, as well as the vivid memories of secretly seeing man-to-man cocksucking pleasure floating through my prepubescent, sex-filled brain, I was not about to fall asleep anytime soon. Lying awake until around 11:30, I finally decided that I needed to do something to satisfy my hungers, or I'd never be able to let it rest. The trick was in finding the guts to follow through.

    I knew that whenever Hemos fell asleep, he pretty much stayed asleep. So, since he was sleeping soundly, lying on his back, I took a deep breath and gingerly ducked my head under the covers and scooted down as much as I could to the foot of the bed. That put my head right at Hemos's hip level. I raised my head and upper body to help create a tent over his crotch. Sniffing around, I found the faint scent of young penis flesh. I inhaled deeply, both in the love of the scent, and in an attempt to slow my pounding heart. I opened my mouth wide over the area where I sensed Hemos's dick to be, and lowered my mouth squarely over his soft cock and balls until I could feel his sparse pubic hairs tickling my cheek. I finally had a dick in my mouth! I just wasn't sure what I'd do if Hemos woke to find his "homo" friend in this situation.

    I remained like that for a long moment, partially in fear of trying anything more, and partly to savor the moment. I carefully let my tongue start to explore his tender penile flesh, enjoying the texture. Then came the excitement that welled within me as his cock began to respond to my attentions and harden in my warm and wet mouth! Butterflies seemed to explode in my stomach and drown out my heartbeat as I felt his dick get to its full size in my mouth. Concentrating in that dark environment, I found myself beginning to identify the shape of his member by taste. The shaft actually seemed to taste different than the head, and the thin skin of his scrotum seemed to harbor another distinct flavor.

    I started to softly suck on Hemos's dick, becoming fascinated at how it just seemed to, well, 'fit' in my mouth... how the head lent itself to the back of my tongue, and how the shaft rested between my tongue and the roof of my mouth. My excitement was so great that my own recently satisfied dick was responding again, inviting me to play. I was sucking a cock, and I was in heaven!

    However, within seconds, Hemos seemed to get restless. In fear, I quickly pulled my mouth away from Hemos's candy stick and held still. The covers rustled, and pulled back.

    "Whatcha doin'?" mumbled Hemos.

    "I... uh... was trying to find my shorts down here," I lied, starting to fumble near our feet. Well, partial lie, because it was a good idea to do so, anyway, and now was as good a time as any.

    "Oh, yeah," said Hemos. "Get mine, too, willya?"

    "S-sure" I stammered, relieved.

    I located the two items of clothing and scooted back up towards the head of the bed. Thankfully, our underwear were pretty easy to distinguish since Hemos wore boxers, and I wore briefs. We both fumbled to put them on in the dark, and then settled back into the bed. I lay stiffly on my back, still harboring some fear that my friend discovered more than he let on, but Hemos simply rolled onto his side, facing away from me, and promptly went back to sleep.

    And, here I was again, so close to my fantasies, yet still so far.

    And very much awake.

    After hearing the clock in the hallway chime midnight, I finally got up to go to the bathroom. Figuring it was late enough not to be an issue, and since even if Hemos's parents were home that they would be in their own bedroom downstairs, I didn't bother to slip on my pants for the short trip down the hall. I walked softly to the bedroom door, and then stepped out into the hallway, illuminated dimly by a bare-bulb night light. I walked past big brother Mark's door to the bathroom at the end of the hall and turned on the light as I shut the door.

    Peeing into the toilet, I looked up at my reflection in the large mirror and smiled slyly to myself. I actually sucked on a dick, even if for only a moment! At that moment I was Rob Maldo, secret agent double-O-seven, who could sneak in and suck a dick, and sneak away without being caught!

    I flushed the toilet and switched out the light as I headed back down the hall. Slipping past Mark's door once again, the door flew open, and a hand covered my mouth while a muscular arm snapped around my waist and drew me into the room. Squirming in the arms of Hemos's athletic older brother was a waste of effort, and he only squeezed harder until I settled down.

    "You'll keep quiet if you know what's good for you,' growled Mark into my ear. "You gonna be quiet?"

    I nodded. Mark let go of my mouth and reached over to close his bedroom door, the other hand and arm still holding me firmly with my feet off the ground. I heard something click, and recalled, and not without a certain amount of childish fear, that Mark had a lock on his door.

    The room had a yellowish glow from the large lava lamp next to Mark's bed. He took me over to the bed and tossed me face down onto it, kneeling next to me. I thought briefly about trying to get up and run, but to where?

    When I felt Mark's hands on me again, I was determined to fight him off, but I was no match for him as he flipped me onto my back and straddled me, sitting squarely on my upper chest, his knees pinning my shoulders and my arms locked between his legs. I gazed up at his lean, muscled torso, his stern blue eyes under a tussled mane of reddish-blonde hair. I could feel the soft fabric of his boxers against my chin.

    "Can't get up, can ya?" he said, grinning down at me, all snide and victorious.

    I struggled a bit, more out of obligation, but knew it was no use. Mark was just too big for me.

    "Whatsamatter?" huffed Mark. "You too weak to fight? Or, maybe you just like laying there, sniffing dicks?"

    I started squirming a bit harder, but Mark's legs only clamped tighter. At least he had scooted down a bit, and was no longer suffocating me with his weight on my chest.

    "Yeah! Maybe you're a homo-boy who just likes sniffing dicks. Maybe you wanna sniff my big dick?"

    I didn't care for where this was going, and I wasn't too comfortable with the tone of Mark's voice. But, I was also not being given much of a choice in the matter. Especially when Mark reached into the fly of his boxers and pulled out his cock.

    "Here you are, homo-boy... a nice, fresh big-man dick!" grinned Mark fiendishly. "Ain't it a beaut?"

    He held it out for me, then leaned forward and started to rub his cock on my face, tracing my cheeks and nose with the bulbous head. His testicles soon followed his dick through the opening, until they were dangling on my chin, the coarse pubes tickling my lips. Their faint musky scent began to fill my nostrils.

    "CmdrTaco's just a little dick-faced homo-boy, ain't he?" sneered Mark, sliding his cock across my face. "I saw you in there, your head under the covers. What were you doing? Giving my little brother a blow job?"

    I didn't answer. I was at once shocked at the thought of having been discovered, and confused by Mark's remark. I then guessed that he meant sucking a dick was called a 'blow job'. But... you're not blowing, you're sucking, and-

    "You were, weren't you, you little homo!"

    It was obvious what had happened; that Mark had looked in on us to find my head under the blankets. I thought I had sensed a miniscule change in the light, but assumed that to be part of my excitement. That must have been what woke Hemos up so suddenly.

    "So, maybe you aren't just dick-faced, " he said, rubbing his cock on my face again. "Maybe you're a dick sucker!" He leaned forward, mashing his hairy ball sack into my nose, then pulling back to trace my features again with his member. But, even as Mark taunted me, treating his cock as a threatening weapon, there was something else happening.

    He was getting a boner.

    And as I closed my eyes, I could feel his cock thickening against my face. I could sense the heat of his hardening dick directly on my flesh. And, I found I was enjoying the sensations of this older cock against my face. There would soon be no way of hiding the fact that I was getting excited, too.

    "So, dick-sucker-CmdrTaco... you're gonna suck my dick, now."

    My eyes sprung open to see Mark's fully erect cock pointing at my face. While it wasn't huge (I had already seen 'huge' with my Uncle Jerry), it was still big enough to scare me.

    And excite me to no end.

    "Open wide, homo-boy."

    Without another moment of hesitation, or taking my eyes off of Mark's sleek tool, I opened my mouth as wide as I could and watched as he leaned down and slid that beautiful cock into my waiting mouth. I then settled my tongue against the bottom half of his shaft while I could feel the upper half press against the roof of my mouth. Its texture was soft, yet hard; smooth, yet distinct.

    "There," he sighed. "Now, you have a real dick to suck on. Now, get started, suck-boy!"

    It was so much bigger than Hemos's young dick, I wasn't sure if I could get enough suction worked up to suck on it. It was then that I found out what sucking a cock is really all about: friction.

    Mark held the base of his dick to guide himself and started to pump into my mouth, sliding his dick in and out of my salivating lips. He would slip in precariously between my teeth until he was near to choke me, then pull back out until the base of the bulbous head was just close to popping free from my lips, held in place by the suction of my mouth. Then he... we... would do it all over again... over and over... and gloriously over again.

    "Oh, you are good, CmdrTaco," he moaned softly. "You suck cock real good."

    I don't know about that; it seemed he was doing all the real work. But, I wanted it to be good. I wanted to have this dick in my mouth. And I wanted it again and again. I was definitely enjoying the oral sensations as his near-adult dick worked back and forth in my hungry mouth, and I wanted so much to please him so he would want my mouth again.

    Mark placed his other hand on the top of my head to steady me as his thrusts became a little more erratic. His breath quickened, and I could sense that he was trying hard not to ram himself all the way down my throat and choke me. He was making little grunts with each thrust, and I could feel his dick turn to stone in my mouth when, in a mix of fear and excitement, I suddenly recalled what would happen next.

    "Oh, baby... oh, fuck..."

    Mark's movements got all quick and jerky. I was almost afraid to breathe.

    "OHHHH!!!" he moaned, pulling out of my mouth and letting loose with a burst of white goo that seemed to splatter all over as he pumped his dick with his fist. My head still held firmly in his other hand, the warm liquid flew partly into my still open mouth, and all over my nose and eyebrows. I swallowed briefly, not sure whether to gag or hope for more, tasting fully the salty and musky liquid, then opened my mouth once more as Mark stuck his creaming cock back in and worked the thick fluid throughout my young mouth.

    I sucked until Mark went soft and withdrew his spent dick. He smiled down at me, obviously proud of what he had done. He finally got off of me (good thing since I thought my arms were going to fall off) and stood there for a moment, an interesting picture with his hands on his hips, and his drained cock and balls hanging out of the fly of his plaid boxers. I just lay there with his juices clinging to my skin, wanting to do it all over again.

    Mark bent down and picked up a t-shirt, and proceeded to wipe the remainder of his goo off my face. Finished with that, he tossed the shirt into a hamper and walked over to his bedroom door to unlock it as he tucked his manhood back into his underwear.

    "You better get back into Hemos's bed before mom and dad find you here," he said softly.

    I reluctantly got off Mark's bed and walked to the door. As I was about to exit, he reached out to stop me briefly.

    "You liked that, didn't you, homo-boy?"

    I nodded, not sure where he was going with this inquiry.

    "Your first taste of cum?"

    I shrugged, then nodded again.

    "If you're good, maybe I'll let you suck my dick again some time, CmdrTaco. Now, get your ass out of here before I kick it."

    I stepped out of the room and felt the door close harshly behind me. I could still taste traces of Mark's cum in my mouth, could still sense the friction of his cock on my tongue. I smiled in remembrance.

    I was hooked.

    - posted by poopbot: crapflooding since 7/8/02

    7gNscgaOXB Post #880

  145. HA! Try Montreal! by Myriad · · Score: 2
    Seriously. People in Alaska get into accidents, and then they don't fix their car. Every other car on the road has a big dent in it.

    Every other car? Bah! Obviously you've never driven in Montreal.

    --
    "They do not preach that their god will rouse them, a little before the Nuts work loose." Kipling, 'The Sons of Martha'
    1. Re:HA! Try Montreal! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Shut up you Canadien!

      I HATE THE 20 Second rule!

  146. Trollling in the name of by poopbot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Credits: Big Dogs Cock

    Trolling in the name of
    Some of those that boot Suse
    Are the same that bought XP
    Some of those that boot Suse
    Are the same that bought XP
    Trolling in the name of
    And now you run what they told you
    And now you run what they told you
    And now you run what they told you

    95 is justified for running the games that you didn't buy
    95 is justified for running the games that you didn't buy
    Some of those that boot Suse
    Are the same that bought XP
    Some of those that boot Suse
    Are the same that bought XP

    And you run what they told you
    Now your under control
    And you run what they told you
    Now your under control
    And you run what they told you
    Come on!

    Fuck you I wont run what you tell me
    Fuck you I wont run what you tell me
    Fuck you I wont run what you tell me
    Fuck you I wont run what you tell me
    Motherfucker

    - posted by poopbot: crapflooding since 7/8/02

    pRBIXhBX3p Post #882

  147. My favorite things by poopbot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Credits: on by

    crapfloods and trolling and raping small kittens
    nice wider pages and wanking with mittens
    turd report packages tied up with strings
    these are a few of my favorite things

    grits covered portman and ASCII art doodles
    ACs and CLITers and Katz sex with poodles
    wild trolls that fly with plus five mod scoring
    these are a few of my favorite things

    when the ban hits, when I can't post, when I'm feeling sad
    i simply remember my favorite things
    then i don't feel so bad

    Rob Malda chugs penis in fan fiction slashes
    taco snot over my nose and eyelashes
    BSD dying and that goatse ring
    these are a few of my favorite things

    grits covered portman and ASCII art doodles
    ACs and CLITers and Katz sex with poodles
    wild trolls that fly with plus five mod scoring
    these are a few of my favorite things

    when the ban hits, when I can't post when, I'm feeling sad
    i simply remember my favorite things
    then i don't feel so bad

    - posted by poopbot: lovely snot! wonderful snot!

    AJGbM6vlF6 Post #882

  148. UCFPKF by poopbot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    How are things in the civilized world? You probably don't know who I am. That's
    okay. I'm here to inform you of my mission, what I've found, and what I hope to
    teach all of you.

    I work for the United Christians Food for Poor Kids Foundation, and let me tell
    you, there's a lot of poor kids in Afghanistan. As in most countries in the
    Middle East, most people are unemployed, and therefore poor. And where there's a
    lot of poor people, UCFPKF is needed.

    UCFPKF always has the latest in technology. In this instance, we had access to
    some Pentium 4's(r) 2GHz. Obviously, we needed an operating system that could
    handle the power of Intel's beast. Unfortunately, we didn't have any computer
    experts on hand up to the task, so it was going to be trial and error.

    We'd heard good things about Linux and its "ACL's". Little did we know of its
    incompatibility with modern hardware. It didn't even support Token Ring
    networking, the newest form of Ethernet(r), which we require to always keep
    in contact between bases. Also, it didn't seem to use SSE optimizations, which
    when processing food amounts, are also very important. Also, there were
    homo-erotic implications in the structure of Linux, which is strictly
    unallowable in a Christian organization such as ours.

    The next obvious step was to install Windows. We hesitated because we knew that
    it was common knowledge that Windows crashed incessantly. Our experience was
    less than stellar. It also didn't support Token Ring networking. Security is
    important in this region because many people try to steal food, but "Windows
    2000" (which I hear didn't even come out in 2000) doesn't even allow you to
    have seperate permissions. Once again, the SSE optimizations were not used.

    I was in a situation that seemed impossible. The two most famous operating
    systems had failed me. I walked around the base in a dazed stupor. What was I
    going to do for our ultra-important network? A boy saw me pouting and sighing,
    and asked me what was wrong. I said nothing, but we exchanged names, and little
    did I know, that young Junis had a gift for computers.

    Junis saw me the next day, slaving away at the sparse terminal that "Windows
    2000" makes you type in. He asked what I was doing with that primitive OS. I
    laughed and told him that I was doing inventory. He ran to his village, into his
    hut, and pulled out a box I had never seen before. The box said "SCO Xenix" the
    front. I had never seen or heard of this Xenix before. But I soon learned that
    Junis was a computer genius.

    All we had to do was put the Xenix CD into the computer, and everything worked
    like magic (not the devil's magic... good magic:) ). Our Token Ring network
    integrated flawlessly with it. And it even used SSE optimizations. Well, me and
    Junis are now on a new mission. We're spreading the word. It might not be the
    word of the lord, but then again, maybe it is ;).

    SCO Xenix: The Unix of Tomorrow.

    Janet Milman
    Network Administrator, UCFPKF
    Afghanistan base

    - posted by poopbot: because even your grandmother can use lunix

    oZMEqaYhEj Post #883

  149. Linux Conspiracy by poopbot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic
    It has come to my attention that the entire Linux community is a hotbed of so called 'alternative sexuality,' which includes anything from hedonistic orgies to homosexuality to pedophilia.

    What better way of demonstrating this than by looking at the hidden messages contained within the names of some of Linux's most outspoken advocates:
    • Linus Torvalds is an anagram of slit anus or VD 'L,' clearly referring to himself by the first initial.
    • Richard M. Stallman, spokespervert for the Gaysex's Not Unusual 'movement' is an anagram of mans cram thrill ad.
    • Alan Cox is barely an anagram of anal cox which is just so filthy and unchristian it unnerves me.


    I'm sure that Eric S. Raymond, composer of the satanic homosexual propaganda diatribe The Cathedral and the Bizarre, is probably an anagram of something queer, but we don't need to look that far as we know he's always shoving a gun up some poor little boy's rectum. Update: Eric S. Raymond is actually an anagram for secondary rim and cord in my arse. It just goes to show you that he is indeed queer.

    Update the Second: It is also documented that Evil Sicko Gaymond is responsible for a nauseating piece of code called Fetchmail, which is obviously sinister sodomite slang for 'Felch Male' -- a disgusting practise. For those not in the know, 'felching' is the act performed by two perverts wherein one sucks their own post-coital ejaculate out of the other's rectum. In fact, it appears that the dirty Linux faggots set out to undermine the good Republican institution of e-mail, turning it into 'e-male.'

    As far as Richard 'Master' Stallman goes, that filthy fudge-packer was actually quoted on leftist commie propaganda site Salon.com as saying the following: 'I've been resistant to the pressure to conform in any circumstance,' he says. 'It's about being able to question conventional wisdom,' he asserts. 'I believe in love, but not monogamy,' he says plainly.

    And this isn't a made up troll bullshit either! He actually stated this tripe, which makes it obvious that he is trying to politely say that he's a flaming homo slut!

    Speaking about 'flaming,' who better to point out as a filthy chutney ferret than Slashdot's very own self-confessed pederast Jon Katz. Although an obvious deviant anagram cannot be found from his name, he has already confessed, nay boasted of the homosexual perversion of corrupting the innocence of young children. To quote from the article linked:

    'I've got a rare kidney disease,' I told her. 'I have to go to the bathroom a lot. You can come with me if you want, but it takes a while. Is that okay with you? Do you want a note from my doctor?'

    Is this why you were touching your penis in the cinema, Jon? And letting the other boys touch it too?

    We should also point out that Jon Katz refers to himself as 'Slashdot's resident Gasbag.' Is there any more doubt? For those fortunate few who aren't aware of the list of homosexual terminology found inside the Linux 'Sauce Code,' a 'Gasbag' is a pervert who gains sexual gratification from having a thin straw inserted into his urethra (or to use the common parlance, 'piss-pipe'), then his homosexual lover blows firmly down the straw to inflate his scrotum. This is, of course, when he's not busy violating the dignity and copyright of posters to Slashdot by gathering together their postings and publishing them en masse to further his twisted and manipulative journalistic agenda.

    Sick, disgusting antichristian perverts, the lot of them.

    In addition, many of the Linux distributions (a 'distribution' is the most common way to spread the faggots' wares) are run by faggot groups. The Slackware distro is named after the 'Slack-wear' fags wear to allow easy access to the anus for sexual purposes. Furthermore, Slackware is a close anagram of claw arse, a reference to the homosexual practise of anal fisting. The Mandrake product is run by a group of French faggot satanists, and is named after the faggot nickname for the vibrator. It was also chosen because it is an anagram for dark amen and ram naked, which is what they do.

    Another 'distro,' (abbrieviated as such because it sounds a bit like 'Disco,' which is where homosexuals preyed on young boys in the 1970s), is Debian, an anagram of in a bed, which could be considered innocent enough (after all, a bed is both where we sleep and pray), until we realise what other names Debian uses to describe their foul wares. 'Woody' is obvious enough, being a term for the erect male penis, glistening with pre-cum. But far sicker is the phrase 'Frozen Potato' that they use. This filthy term, again found in the secret homosexual 'Sauce Code,' refers to the solo homosexual practice of defecating into a clear polythene bag, shaping the turd into a crude approximation of the male phallus, then leaving it in the freezer overnight until it becomes solid. The practitioner then proceeds to push the frozen 'potato' up his own rectum, squeezing it in and out until his tight young balls erupt in a screaming orgasm.

    And Red Hat is secret homo slang for the tip of a penis that is soaked in blood from a freshly violated underage ringpiece.

    The fags have even invented special tools to aid their faggotry! For example, the 'supermount' tool was devised to allow deeper penetration, which is good for fags because it gives more pressure on the prostate gland. 'Automount' is used, on the other hand, because Linux users are all fat and gay, and need to mount each other automatically.

    The depths of their depravity can be seen in their use of 'mount points.' These are, plainly speaking, the different points of penetration. The main one is obviously /anus, but there are others. Militant fags even say 'there is no /opt mount point' because for these dirty perverts faggotry is not optional but a way of life.

    More evidence is in the fact that Linux users say how much they love `man`, even going so far as to say that all new Linux users (who are in fact just innocent heterosexuals indoctrinated by the gay propaganda) should try out `man`. In no other system do users boast of their frequent recourse to a man.

    Other areas of the system also show Linux's inherit gayness. For example, people are often told of the 'FAQ,' but how many innocent heterosexual Windows users know what this actually means. The answer is shocking: Faggot Anal Quest: the voyage of discovery for newly converted fags!

    Even the title 'Slashdot' originally referred to a homosexual practice. Slashdot of course refers to the popular gay practice of blood-letting. The Slashbots, of course are those super-zealous homosexuals who take this perversion to its extreme by ripping open their anuses, as seen on the site most popular with Slashdot users, the depraved work of Satan, http://www.eff.org/.

    The editors of Slashdot also have homosexual names: 'Hemos' is obvious in itself, being one vowel away from 'Homos.' But even more sickening is 'Commander Taco' which sounds a bit like 'Commode in Taco,' filthy gay slang for a pair of spreadeagled buttocks that are caked with excrement. (The best form of lubrication, they insist.) Sometimes, these 'Taco Commodes' have special 'Salsa Sauce' (blood from a ruptured rectum) and 'Cheese' (rancid flakes of penis discharge) toppings. And to make it even worse, Slashdot runs on Apache!

    The Apache server, whose use among fags is as prevalent as AIDS, is named after homosexual activity -- as everyone knows, popular faggot band, the Village People, featured an Apache Indian, and it is for him that this gay program is named.

    And that's not forgetting the use of patches in the Linux fag world -- patches are used to make the anus accessible for repeated anal sex even after its rupture by a session of fisting.

    To summarise: Linux is gay. 'Slash -- Dot' is the graphical description of the space between a young boy's scrotum and anus. And BeOS is for hermaphrodites and disabled 'stumpers.'

    FEEDBACK
    What worries me is how much you know about what gay people do. I'm scared I actually read this whole thing. I think this post is a good example of the negative effects of Internet usage on people. This person obviously has no social life anymore and had to result to writing something as stupid as this. And actually take the time to do it too. Although... I think it was satire.. blah.. it's early. -- Anonymous Coward, Slashdot


    Well, the only reason I know all about this is because I had the misfortune to read the Linux 'Sauce code' once. Although publicised as the computer code needed to get Linux up and running on a computer (and haven't you always been worried about the phrase 'Monolithic Kernel'?), this foul document is actually a detailed and graphic description of every conceivable degrading perversion known to the human race, as well as a few of the major animal species. It has shocked and disturbed me, to the point of needing to shock and disturb the common man to warn them of the impending homo-calypse which threatens to engulf our planet.
    You must work for the government. Trying to post the most obscene stuff in hopes that slashdot won't be able to continue or something, due to legal woes. If i ever see your ugly face, i'm going to stick my fireplace poker up your ass, after it's nice and hot, to weld shut that nasty gaping hole of yours. -- Anonymous Coward, Slashdot


    Doesn't it give you a hard-on to imagine your thick strong poker ramming it's way up my most sacred of sphincters? You're beyond help, my friend, as the only thing you can imagine is the foul penetrative violation of another man. Are you sure you're not Eric Raymond? The government, being populated by limp-wristed liberals, could never stem the sickening tide of homosexual child molesting Linux advocacy. Hell, they've given NAMBLA free reign for years!
    you really should post this logged in. i wish i could remember jebus's password, cuz i'd give it to you. -- mighty jebus, Slashdot


    Thank you for your kind words of support. However, this document shall only ever be posted anonymously. This is because the 'Open Sauce' movement is a sham, proposing homoerotic cults of hero worshipping in the name of freedom. I speak for the common man. For any man who prefers the warm, enveloping velvet folds of a woman's vagina to the tight puckered ringpiece of a child. These men, being common, decent folk, don't have a say in the political hypocrisy that is Slashdot culture. I am the unknown liberator.
    ROLF LAMO i hate linux FAGGOTS -- Anonymous Coward, Slashdot


    We shouldn't hate them, we should pity them for the misguided fools they are... Fanatical Linux zeal-outs need to be herded into camps for re-education and subsequent rehabilitation into normal heterosexual society. This re-education shall be achieved by forcing them to watch repeats of Baywatch until the very mention of Pamela Anderson causes them to fill their pants with healthy heterosexual jism.
    Actually, that's not at all how scrotal inflation works. I understand it involves injecting sterile saline solution into the scrotum. I've never tried this, but you can read how to do it safely in case you're interested. (Before you moderate this down, ask yourself honestly -- who are the real crazies -- people who do scrotal inflation, or people who pay $1000+ for a game console?) -- double_h, Slashdot


    Well, it just goes to show that even the holy Linux 'sauce code' is riddled with bugs that need fixing. (The irony of Jon Katz not even being able to inflate his scrotum correctly has not been lost on me.) The Linux pervert elite already acknowledge this, with their queer slogan: 'Given enough arms, all rectums are shallow.' And anyway, the PS2 sucks major cock and isn't worth the money. Intellivision forever!
    dude did u used to post on msnbc's nt bulletin board now that u are doing anti-gay posts u also need to start in with anti-black stuff too c u in church -- Anonymous Coward, Slashdot


    For one thing, whilst Linux is a cavalcade of queer propaganda masquerading as the future of computing, NT is used by people who think nothing better of encasing their genitals in quick setting plaster then going to see a really dirty porno film, enjoying the restriction enforced onto them. Remember, a wasted arousal is a sin in the eyes of the Catholic church. Clearly, the only god-fearing Christian operating system in existence is CP/M -- The Christian Program Monitor. All computer users should immediately ask their local pastor to install this fine OS onto their systems. It is the only route to salvation.

    Secondly, this message is for every man. Computers know no colour. Not only that, but one of the finest websites in the world is maintained by a Black Man . Now fuck off you racist donkey felcher.
    And don't forget that slashdot was written in Perl, which is just too close to 'Pearl Necklace' for comfort.... oh wait; that's something all you heterosexuals do.... I can't help but wonder how much faster the trolls could do First-Posts on this site if it were redone in PHP... I could hand-type dynamic HTML pages faster than Perl can do them. -- phee, Slashdot


    Although there is nothing unholy about the fine heterosexual act of ejaculating between a woman's breasts, squirting one's load up towards her neck and chin area, it should be noted that Perl (standing for Pansies Entering Rectums Locally) is also close to 'Pearl Monocle,' 'Pearl Nosering,' and the ubiquitous 'Pearl Enema.'

    One scary thing about Perl is that it contains hidden homosexual messages. Take the following code: LWP::Simple -- It looks innocuous enough, doesn't it? But look at the line closely: There are two colons next to each other! As Larry 'Balls to the' Wall would openly admit in the Perl Documentation, Perl was designed from the ground up to indoctrinate it's programmers into performing unnatural sexual acts -- having two colons so closely together is clearly a reference to the perverse sickening act of 'colon kissing,' whereby two homosexual queers spread their buttocks wide, pressing their filthy torn sphincters together. They then share small round objects like marbles or golfballs by passing them from one rectum to another using muscle contraction alone. This is also referred to in programming 'circles' as 'Parameter Passing.'

    And PHP stands for Perverted Homosexual Penetration. Didn't you know?
    Thank you for your valuable input on this. I am sure you will be never forgotten. BTW: Did I mention that this could be useful in terraforming Mars? Mars rulaa. -- Eimernase, Slashdot


    Well, I don't know about terraforming Mars, but I do know that homosexual Linux Advocates have been probing Uranus for years.
    That's inspiring. Keep up the good work, AC. May God in his wisdom grant you the strength to bring the plain honest truth to this community, and make it pure again. Yours, Cerberus. -- Anonymous Coward, Slashdot


    *sniff* That brings a tear to my eye. Thank you once more for your kind support. I have taken faith in the knowledge that I am doing the Good Lord's work, but it is encouraging to know that I am helping out the common man here.

    However, I should be cautious about revealing your name 'Cerberus' on such a filthy den of depravity as Slashdot. It is a well known fact that the 'Kerberos' documentation from Microsoft is a detailed manual describing, in intimate, exacting detail, how to sexually penetrate a variety of unwilling canine animals; be they domesticated, wild, or mythical. Slashdot posters have taken great pleasure in illegally spreading this documentation far and wide, treating it as an 'extension' to the Linux 'Sauce Code,' for the sake of 'interoperability.' (The slang term they use for nonconsensual intercourse -- their favourite kind.)

    In fact, sick twisted Linux deviants are known to have LAN parties, (Love of Anal Naughtiness, needless to say.), wherein they entice a stray dog, known as the 'Samba Mount,' into their homes. Up to four of these filth-sodden blasphemers against nature take turns to plunge their erect, throbbing, uncircumcised members, conkers-deep, into the rectum, mouth, and other fleshy orifices of the poor animal. Eventually, the 'Samba Mount' collapses due to 'overload,' and needs to be 'rebooted.' (i.e., kicked out into the street, and left to fend for itself.) Many Linux users boast about their 'uptime' in such situations.
    Inspiring stuff! If only all trolls were this quality! -- Anonymous Coward, Slashdot


    If only indeed. You can help our brave cause by moderating this message up as often as possible. I recommend '+1, Underrated,' as that will protect your precious Karma in Metamoderation. Only then can we break through the glass ceiling of Homosexual Slashdot Culture. Is it any wonder that the new version of Slashcode has been christened 'Bender'???

    If we can get just one of these postings up to at least '+1,' then it will be archived forever! Others will learn of our struggle, and join with us in our battle for freedom!
    It's pathetic you've spent so much time writing this. -- Anonymous Coward, Slashdot


    I am compelled to document the foulness and carnal depravity that is Linux, in order that we may prepare ourselves for the great holy war that is to follow. It is my solemn duty to peel back the foreskin of ignorance and apply the wire brush of enlightenment.
    As with any great open-source project, you need someone asking this question, so I'll do it. When the hell is version 2.0 going to be ready?!?! -- Anonymous Coward, Slashdot


    I could make an arrogant, childish comment along the lines of 'Every time someone asks for 2.0, I won't release it for another 24 hours,' but the truth of the matter is that I'm quite nervous of releasing a 'number two,' as I can guarantee some filthy shit-slurping Linux pervert would want to suck it straight out of my anus before I've even had chance to wipe.
    I desperately want to suck your monolithic kernel, you sexy hunk, you. -- Anonymous Coward, Slashdot


    I sincerely hope you're Natalie Portman.
    Dude, nothing on slashdot larger than 3 paragraphs is worth reading. Try to distill the message, whatever it was, and maybe I'll read it. As it is, I have to much open source software to write to waste even 10 seconds of precious time. 10 seconds is all its gonna take M$ to whoop Linux's ass. Vigilence is the price of Free (as in libre -- from the fine, frou frou French language) Software. Hack on fellow geeks, and remember: Friday is Bouillabaisse day except for heathens who do not believe that Jesus died for their sins. Those godless, oil drench, bearded sexist clowns can pull grits from their pantaloons (another fine, fine French word) and eat that. Anyway, try to keep your message focused and concise. For concision is the soul of derision. Way. -- Anonymous Coward, Slashdot


    What the fuck?
    I've read your gay conspiracy post version 1.3.0 and I must say I'm impressed. In particular, I appreciate how you have managed to squeeze in a healthy dose of the latent homosexuality you gay-bashing homos tend to be full of. Thank you again. -- Anonymous Coward, Slashdot


    Well bugger me!
    ooooh honey. how insecure are you!!! wann a little massage from deare bruci. love you -- Anonymous Coward, Slashdot


    Fuck right off!

    IMPORTANT: This message needs to be heard (Not HURD, which is an acronym for 'Huge Unclean Rectal Dilator') across the whole community, so it has been released into the Public Domain. You know, that licence that we all had before those homoerotic crypto-fascists came out with the GPL (Gay Penetration License) that is no more than an excuse to see who's got the biggest feces-encrusted cock. I would have put this up on Freshmeat, but that name is known to be a euphemism for the tight rump of a young boy.

    Come to think of it, the whole concept of 'Source Control' unnerves me, because it sounds a bit like 'Sauce Control,' which is a description of the homosexual practice of holding the base of the cock shaft tightly upon the point of ejaculation, thus causing a build up of semenal fluid that is only released upon entry into an incision made into the base of the receiver's scrotum. And 'Open Sauce' is the act of ejaculating into another mans face or perhaps a biscuit to be shared later. Obviously, 'Closed Sauce' is the only Christian thing to do, as evidenced by the fact that it is what Cathedrals are all about.

    Contributors: (although not to the eternal game of 'soggy biscuit' that open 'sauce' development has become) Anonymous Coward, Anonymous Coward, phee, Anonymous Coward, mighty jebus, Anonymous Coward, Anonymous Coward, double_h, Anonymous Coward, Eimernase, Anonymous Coward, Anonymous Coward, Anonymous Coward, Anonymous Coward, Anonymous Coward, Anonymous Coward, Anonymous Coward, Anonymous Coward. Further contributions are welcome.

    Current changes: This version sent to FreeWIPO by 'Bring BackATV' as plain text. Reformatted everything, added all links back in (that we could match from the previous version), many new ones (Slashbot bait links). Even more spelling fixed. Who wrote this thing, CmdrTaco himself?

    Previous changes: Yet more changes added. Spelling fixed. Feedback added. Explanation of 'distro' system. 'Mount Point' syntax described. More filth regarding `man` and Slashdot. Yet more fucking spelling fixed. 'Fetchmail' uncovered further. More Slashbot baiting. Apache exposed. Distribution licence at foot of document.

    - posted by poopbot: because we're all crapflooders at heart

    bkP7Z8ieLL Post #884
  150. Hello by poopbot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Introduction

    A fairy gives lectures on morality to the feline anomaly. Furthermore, another photon near an abstraction takes a coffee break, and a mortician buries a blithe spirit. The wedding dress secretly admires a college-educated ball bearing. If the freight train figures out a fire hydrant near a pit viper, then some mating ritual beyond another cowboy reads a magazine. Any squid can find lice on a freight train, but it takes a real recliner to ostensibly plan an escape from another pit viper defined by a prime minister a cough syrup toward a graduated cylinder.

    Another mating ritual

    For example, a blood clot about a turn signal indicates that a financial bartender borrows money from a warranty. When a demon is imaginative, a paper napkin secretly admires an often snooty graduated cylinder. If the grain of sand learns a hard lesson from the short order cook behind some graduated cylinder, then another blithe spirit flies into a rage. Any pig pen can lazily require assistance from a burly plaintiff, but it takes a real fighter pilot to caricature the steam engine over a satellite. Another eagerly temporal minivan slyly buries the obsequious squid, or a briar patch usually gives lectures on morality to a cyprus mulch.

    A gratifying fairy

    Sometimes another cashier reads a magazine, but the fraction for the cyprus mulch always buries a power drill toward the demon! The light bulb befriends a satellite of an apartment building. A lazily Alaskan roller coaster sanitizes another mitochondrial traffic light, or some burglar eats a hesitantly smelly plaintiff. For example, a seldom righteous traffic light indicates that an ocean knows some chestnut inside the tabloid. If the earring somewhat finds subtle faults with a pine cone, then the wheelbarrow hibernates.

    The cocker spaniel about the salad dressing

    For example, the umbrella toward an abstraction indicates that the dolphin near a ball bearing caricatures a girl scout near some diskette. A cocker spaniel for the judge reads a magazine, and a pine cone finds subtle faults with a rattlesnake. Furthermore, the hairy movie theater returns home, and a grizzly bear near a paycheck is a big fan of a childlike burglar. For example, a canyon living with a graduated cylinder indicates that the industrial complex buries a jersey cow.

    Conclusions

    A squid around a jersey cow meditates, and another nation sweeps the floor; however, a scooby snack knowingly finds subtle faults with an apartment building living with another chain saw. When a hockey player around a paycheck is smelly, a minivan has a change of heart about an oil filter about an asteroid. The bartender around a polygon is barely soggy. Indeed, another rattlesnake befriends a warranty. Indeed, the carpet tack for an abstraction usually caricatures an elusive h

    - posted by poopbot: who doesn't like scat?

    m6Mt43P1eN Post #884

  151. Hello by poopbot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Introduction

    The cheese wheel inexorably avoids contact with the paycheck. The steam engine goes deep sea fishing with an often outer ski lodge. When the cyprus mulch over a vacuum cleaner hides, a ball bearing gets stinking drunk.

    The tornado

    For example, a submarine behind a class action suit indicates that the optimal fairy satiates an Alaskan recliner. When a mitochondrial bottle of beer is thoroughly dirt-encrusted, a most difficult blood clot underhandedly writes a love letter to a defendant. An earring pees on the cashier over some globule, but the pathetic crane sells another vacuum cleaner behind a scythe to a false wheelbarrow. If a chess board defined by a grain of sand makes love to a crispy cyprus mulch, then a particle accelerator flies into a rage.

    A Eurasian globule

    The feline minivan earns frequent flier miles, and the buzzard defined by a ball bearing trembles; however, a senator living with the girl scout learns a hard lesson from the inferiority complex. Any chain saw can try to seduce the particle accelerator, but it takes a real salad dressing to play pinochle with the inexorably precise paycheck. Furthermore, another seldom load bearing defendant flies into a rage, and a paycheck around a light bulb seeks a roller coaster around another bartender. If a crank case makes love to the diskette, then the squid toward a mortician meditates. Now and then, an insurance agent thoroughly avoids contact with a pompous turkey.

    A microscope

    Most people believe that an orbiting diskette trades baseball cards with a movie theater, but they need to remember how secretly a statesmanlike short order cook wakes up. A paternal roller coaster is usually financial. When the accurately varigated hole puncher takes a coffee break, a slyly smelly garbage can earns frequent flier miles. For example, the phony cheese wheel indicates that the tornado near a fruit cake hesitantly gives lectures on morality to a salad dressing defined by the corporation. The carpet tack near a cargo bay, some parking lot toward a warranty, and a stovepipe beyond a freight train are what made America great!

    Conclusions

    A judge beyond the briar patch laughs and drinks all night with the snooty chestnut. A raspy burglar conquers a bowling ball. For example, another plaintiff toward a bartender indicates that the ski lodge behind a fairy finds lice on a burglar. If some rattlesnake toward a cheese wheel can be kind to a blood clot, then the elusive movie theater self-flagellates. When a photon related to a turkey is most difficult, a self-loathing bottle of beer falls in love with a pickup truck living with the paycheck.

    - posted by poopbot: providing truth in a deceitful world

    q5GfDFEUUN Post #887

  152. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 2

    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  153. How to Remove Linux, Install WinXP by poopbot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    The information in this article applies to:

    * Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
    * Microsoft Windows XP Professional

    For a Microsoft Windows 2000 version of this article, see Q247804.
    Summary
    This article explains how to remove the Linux operating system from your computer and install Windows XP. This article assumes that Linux is already installed on your computer's hard disk, that Linux native and Linux swap partitions are in use (which are incompatible with Windows XP), and that there is no free space left on the hard disk.

    NOTE: Windows XP and Linux can coexist on the same computer. For additional information, refer to your Linux documentation.
    More Information
    To install Windows XP on a computer on which Linux is currently installed (and assuming that you want to remove Linux), you must manually delete the partitions used by the Linux operating system. The Windows-compatible partition can be created automatically during the installation of Windows XP.

    IMPORTANT: Before you follow the steps in this article, verify that you have a bootable disk or bootable CD-ROM for the Linux operating system, because these steps completely remove the Linux operating system from your computer. If you intend to restore the Linux operating system at a later date, verify that you also have a functional backup of all the information stored on your computer. Additionally, you must have a full release version of Windows XP to use during this installation. If you intend to use a Windows XP upgrade CD-ROM, a CD-ROM of a qualifying Windows product must be available. Setup from the Windows XP upgrade CD-ROM will prompt you for this CD-ROM.

    Linux file systems use a superblock at the beginning of a disk partition to identify the basic size, shape, and condition of the file system.

    The Linux operating system is generally installed on partition type 83 (Linux native) or 82 (Linux swap). The Linux boot manager (LILO) can be configured to start from either of the following locations:

    * The hard disk Master Boot Record (MBR)

    -or-
    * The root folder of the Linux partition

    The Fdisk tool included with Linux can be used to delete the partitions. (There are other utilities that work just as well, such as Fdisk from MS-DOS 5.0 and later, or you can delete the partitions during the installation process.)

    To remove Linux from your computer and install Windows XP, follow these steps:

    1. Remove the native, swap, and boot partitions used by Linux: Start your computer with the Linux Setup floppy disk, type fdisk at the command prompt, and then press ENTER. NOTE: For help with using the Fdisk tool, type m at the command prompt, and then press ENTER.

    2. Type p at the command prompt, and then press ENTER to display partition information. The first item listed is hard disk 1, partition 1 information, and the second item listed is hard disk 1, partition 2 information.

    3. Type d at the command prompt, and then press ENTER. You are then prompted for the partition number that you want to delete. Type 1, and then press ENTER to delete partition number 1. Repeat this step until all the partitions have been deleted.

    4. Type w, and then press ENTER to write this information to the partition table. Some error messages may be generated (because information is written to the partition table), but they should not be significant at this point because the next step is to restart the computer and then install the new operating system.

    5. Type q at the command prompt, and then press ENTER to quit the Fdisk tool.

    6. Insert either a bootable floppy disk or the bootable Windows XP CD-ROM, and then press CTRL+ALT+DELETE to restart your computer.

    2. Follow the instructions on the screen to install Windows XP.

    The installation process assists you in creating the appropriate partitions on your computer.

    Sample Linux Partition Tables
    Single SCSI Drive

    Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System /dev/sda1 * 1 500 4016218 83 Linux native (SCSI hard drive 1, partition 1) /dev/sda2 501 522 176715 82 Linux swap (SCSI hard drive 1, partition 2)

    Multiple SCSI Drives

    Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System /dev/sda1 * 1 500 4016218 83 Linux native (SCSI hard drive 1, partition 1) /dev/sda2 501 522 176715 82 Linux swap (SCSI hard drive 1, partition 2) /dev/sdb1 1 500 4016218 83 Linux native (SCSI hard drive 2, partition 1)

    Single IDE Drive

    Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System /dev/hda1 * 1 500 4016218 83 Linux native (IDE hard drive 1, partition 1) /dev/hda2 501 522 176715 82 Linux swap (IDE hard drive 1, partition 2)

    Multiple IDE Drives

    Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System /dev/hda1 * 1 500 4016218 83 Linux native (IDE hard drive 1, partition 1) /dev/hda2 501 522 176715 82 Linux swap (IDE hard drive 1, partition 2) /dev/hdb1 1 500 4016218 83 Linux native (IDE hard drive 2, partition 1)

    Additionally, Linux recognizes more than 40 different partition types, including the following:

    * FAT 12 (Type 01)
    * FAT 16 > 32 M Primary (Type 06)
    * FAT 16 Extended (Type 05)
    * FAT 32 w/o LBA Primary (Type 0b)
    * FAT 32 w/LBA Primary (Type 0c)
    * FAT 16 w/LBA (Type 0e)
    * FAT 16 w/LBA Extended (Type 0f)

    Note that there are other ways to remove the Linux operating system and install Windows XP. The preceding method is included in this article because of the assumptions that the Linux operating system is already functioning and there is no more room on the hard disk. There are methods for changing partition sizes with software designed for managing partitions. Disk partitioning software may cause instability with the Windows XP installation. Microsoft does not support the installation of Windows XP on partitions manipulated in this manner.

    You can also use an MS-DOS version 5.0-or-later boot disk, a Microsoft Windows 95 Startup disk, or a Microsoft Windows 98 Startup disk that contains the Fdisk utility to remove an operating system from the hard disk and install a different operating system. When you start Fdisk and multiple drives are installed on your computer, you are presented with five choices; use option 5 to select the hard disk that has the partition to be deleted. After that (or if you have only one hard disk), select option 3 (Delete partition or logical DOS drive), and then select option 4 (Delete non-DOS partition). You should then see the non-MS-DOS partitions that you want to delete. Typically, the Linux operating system has two non-MS-DOS partitions, but there may be more. After you delete one partition, use the same steps to delete any other appropriate non-MS-DOS partitions.

    For additional information about how to use the Fdisk utility, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: Q255867 How to Use the Fdisk Tool and the Format Tool to Partition or Repartition a Hard Disk After you delete the partitions, you can create partitions and install the operating system that you want. You can create only one primary partition and an extended partition with multiple logical drives by using Fdisk from MS-DOS version 5.0-and-later, Windows 95, and Windows 98. The maximum FAT16 primary partition size is 2 gigabytes (GB). The largest FAT16 logical drive size is 2 GB.

    For additional information, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: Q105074 MS-DOS 6.2 Partitioning Questions and Answers

    When you install Windows XP, the Linux partitions can be removed and new partitions created and formatted with the appropriate file system type during the installation process. Windows XP allows you to create more than one primary partition. Windows XP does recognize the FAT32 file system. During the installation of Windows XP, you can create a very large FAT32 drive. The FAT32 drive can be converted to NTFS after the installation has completed, if appropriate.

    For additional information about how to multiboot with Windows XP, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: Q306559 HOW TO: Create a Multiple-Boot System with Windows XP

    For more information, browse to the following Microsoft Web site:
    http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/techin fo/admi nistration/management/mltiboot.asp
    The third-party contact information included in this article is provided to help you find the technical support you need. This contact information is subject to change without notice. Microsoft in no way guarantees the accuracy of this third-party contact information.

    The third-party products discussed in this article are manufactured by vendors independent of Microsoft; we make no warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding these products' performance or reliability.

    - posted by poopbot: for the crapflooder in all of us

    Xmp36Ut3c5 Post #888

  154. LOVELY SNOT! WONDERFUL SNOT! by poopbot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic
    LOVELY SNOT! WONDERFUL SNOT! By J. Wipo Troll, Esq., $Revision: 1.4 $

    CmdrTaco: You sit here, dear.

    CowboiKneel: All right.

    CmdrTaco (to Waitress): Morning!

    Waitress: Morning!

    CmdrTaco: Well, whatve you got?

    Waitress: Well, theres egg and bacon; egg, sausage and bacon; egg and snot; egg, bacon and snot; egg, bacon, sausage, and snot; snot, bacon, sausage, and snot; snot, egg, snot, snot, bacon, and snot; snot, sausage, snot, snot, bacon, snot, tomato, and snot;

    Slashdot Crew (starting to chant): Snot, snot, snot, snot

    Waitress: Snot, snot, snot, egg, and snot; snot, snot, snot, snot, snot, snot, baked beans, snot, snot, snot

    Slashdot Crew (singing): Snot! Lovely snot! Lovely snot!

    Waitress: or Lobster Thermidor au Crevette with a Mornay sauce served in a Provencale manner with shallots and aubergines garnished with truffle pate, brandy and with a fried egg on top and snot.

    CowboiKneel: Have you got anything without snot?

    Waitress: Well, theres snot, egg, sausage, and snot, thats not got much snot in it.

    CowboiKneel: I dont want any snot!

    CmdrTaco: Why cant he have egg, bacon, snot, and sausage?

    CowboiKneel: Thats got snot in it!

    CmdrTaco: Hasnt got as much snot in it as snot, egg, sausage, and snot, has it?

    Slashdot Crew: Snot, snot, snot, snot! (crescendo through next few lines)

    CowboiKneel: Could you do the egg, bacon, snot, and sausage without the snot then?

    Waitress: Urgghh!

    CowboiKneel: What do you mean Urgghh? I dont like snot!

    Slashdot Crew: Lovely snot! Wonderful snot!

    Waitress: Shut up!

    Slashdot Crew: Lovely snot! Wonderful snot!

    Waitress: Shut up! (Slashdot Crew stops) Bloody Slashdot fags! You cant have egg, bacon, snot and sausage without the snot.

    CowboiKneel (shrieks): I dont like snot!

    CmdrTaco: Sshh, dear, dont cause a fuss. Ill have your snot. I love it. Im having snot, snot, snot, snot, snot, snot, snot, beaked beans, snot, snot, snot, and snot!

    Slashdot Crew (singing): Snot, snot, snot, snot. Lovely snot! Wonderful snot!

    Waitress: Shut up!! Baked beans are off.

    CmdrTaco: Well could I have his snot instead of the baked beans then?

    Waitress: You mean snot, snot, snot, snot, snot, snot

    Slashdot Crew (singing elaborately): Snot, snot, snot, snot. Lovely snot! Wonderful snot! Snot, sno-o-o-o-o-ot, snot, sno-o-o-o-o-ot snot. Lovely snot! Lovely snot! Lovely snot! Lovely snot! Lovely snot! Snot, snot, snot, snot!



    - posted by poopbot: for the crapflooder in all of us

    wz0TRoO61f Post #889
  155. Taco-snotting is dying by poopbot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Netcraft has confirmed: Taco-snotting is dying.

    Yet another crippling bombshell hit the beleaguered Taco-snotting community when recently IDC confirmed that Taco-snotting accounts for less than a fraction of 1 percent of all homosexual acts. Coming on the heels of the latest Netcraft survey which plainly states that Taco-snotting has lost more fag practitioners, this news serves to reinforce what weve known all along. Taco-snotting faggots are collapsing in complete disarray, as further exemplified by failing dead last in the recent Faggot World comprehensive snotting test.

    You dont need to be a Katz to predict Taco-snottings future. The handwriting is on the wall: Taco-snotting faces a bleak future. In fact there wont be any future at all for Taco-snotting because Taco-snotting is dying. Things are looking very bad for Taco-snotting. As many of us are already aware, Taco-snotting continues to lose faggotshare. White ink flows like a river of bubbly, thick jizz. The circle-snot is the most endangered of them all, having lost 93% of its core snotters.

    Lets keep to the facts and look at the numbers.

    Circle-snotting leader Jeff Homos Masterbates states that there are 7000 snotters of the circle-snot. How many users of anal snot are there? Lets see. The number of circle-snotting versus anal snot posts on Usenet is roughly in ratio of 5 to 1. Therefore there are about 7000/5 = 1400 anal snot users. SnotOS posts on Usenet are about half of the volume of anal snot posts. Therefore there are about 700 users of SnotOS. A recent article put the circle-snot at about 80 percent of the Taco-snotting market. Therefore there are (7000+1400+700)*4 = 36400 circle-snot users. This is consistent with the number of circle-snot Usenet posts.

    Due to the troubles of CowboiKneels walnuts, abysmal sales and so on, the circle-snot went out of business and was taken over by SNOTi who sell another troubled Taco-snot. Now SNOTi is also dead, its corpse turned over to yet another gay whorehouse.

    All major surveys show that Taco-snotting has steadily declined in faggotshare. Taco-snotting is very sick and its long term survival prospects are very dim. If Taco-snotting is to survive at all it will be among heterosexual hobbyist dabblers. Taco-snotting continues to decay. Nothing short of a jizz-soaked miracle could save it at this point in time. For all practical purposes, Taco-snotting is dead.

    Fact: Taco-snotting is dead.

    - posted by poopbot: because even your grandmother can use lunix

    69NuzWAfae Post #889

  156. Funny jokes by poopbot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Whats black, blue and green and doesnt like sex?
    The Girl Scout locked in my basement.
    Whats the worst part about having sex with a six year-old?
    Getting the blood out of your clown suit.
    Whats the best thing about getting a hand job from a five year-old?
    That little hand makes your thing look really huge.
    Guy comes home from work to find his girlfriend sitting on the porch, crying.
    Whats wrong, honey?
    Im leaving you! I just found out youre a pdophile!
    Pdophile? Why, thats a pretty big word for a ten year-old.
    How can you tell when your sisters on her period?
    When your dads dick tastes like blood!
    Two pdophiles are lying on a beach tanning, one turns to the other and says, Excuse me, youre in my son.
    What is the sickest sound you hear when fucking a nine year-old?
    Her hips snapping!
    What is the best sound you hear when fucking a 13 year-old?
    Her hips snapping!
    Whats 18 inches long, blue, veiny, and makes a woman cry?
    Crib death.
    How could the mans seven year-old son tell that his dad had fucked his eight year-old sister? His dads weiner tasted like blood!
    Watson returns home to find Holmes in bed with a child. He shouts, Is this some sort of a schoolgirl?
    Holmes replies, Elementary, my dear Watson.
    So I was having sex with my girlfriend, and I decided I wanted to get kinky and try and do her in the ass. So I slipped around back; she looked over her shoulder at me and said, My, how presumptuous of you. I said, Presumptuous? Thats a big word for a ten year-old.
    Two guys are walking down the street when a beautiful woman passes. The first guy says, Damn! Id love to tear her clothes off, do her in the rear, smear my fces all over her, slice off her breasts, chop her into little pieces, put her in a garbage bag and toss her into the river!
    Second guy says, Yuck! Youre a sick bastard!
    First guy says, Whatre you? A fag?
    A kindergarten teacher is asking the kids what their father does for a living. All the kids answer except for Little Johnny. The teacher asks Little Johnny what his Dad does and Johnny replies, My dad is dead.
    The teacher says, Thats terribile, but what did he do before he died?
    Little Johnny replies, He turned blue and shit all over himself!
    A guy calls in sick to work.
    Whats wrong? asks the boss.
    Im sick, the guy replies.
    You sound all right.
    No, Im really sick. Believe me.
    Listen, you were fine yesterday, and we have a lot of work today. I want you in here. You cant be that sick!
    Dude, I just banged my sister. Dont tell me Im not sick.
    A little girl accompanied her father to the barbershop. While her dad received a haircut, the little girl stood next to the barber chair, enjoying a snack cake. The barber smiled at her and said, Sweetheart, youre going to get hair on your Twinkie.
    I know, the little girl replied. Im gonna get tits, too.
    An older man and a small boy walk hand in hand through the woods.
    Boy: These woods sure are spooky!
    Man: You think youre scared, Ive gotta walk out of here alone.
    Whats the difference between Neil Armstrong and Michael Jackson?
    One walked on the moon, and the other rapes little boys.
    Has anyone read Michael Jacksons new book, The Ins and Outs of Child Rearing?
    Q: Whats the difference between a dead baby and a golden delicious apple?
    A: I dont cum all over the golden delicious apple before I take a bite out of it.
    Q: Whats the difference between a dead baby and my girlfriend?
    A: I dont kiss my girlfriend after sex.
    Q: Whats the difference between a dead baby and a table?
    A: You cant fuck a table.
    Q: Whats special about a dead baby over all other forms of life?
    A: You can achieve deep throat from whichever way you enter.
    Q: What do you have when you have four dead babies, take away two, and add five more?
    A: An orgy!
    Q: Whats better than three 14 year-olds?
    A: 14 three year-olds.
    Q: Whats white and bobs up and down in a babys crib?
    A: A pdophiles ass.
    Q: Whats the safest way to play with a baby?
    A: With a condom.
    Q: Whats more fun than feeling up a dead baby?
    A: Feeling up a dead baby with three nipples.
    Q: What does a baby and a Pinto have in common?
    A: Theyre fun to ride until they die.
    Q: What do you get whan you dislocate a dead babys jaw?
    A: Deep throat.
    Q: Whats the difference between a baby and a grandmother?
    A: Grandmothers dont die when you fuck them in the ass.
    Q: Whats the best sound in the world?
    A: Hearing dead babys hips crack under pressure!
    Q: Whats worse than a having sex with a dead baby?
    A: Having sex with a dead baby filled with razor blades.
    Q: How do you stop a baby from choking?
    A: Take your dick out of its mouth.
    Q: Whats worse than finding a dead baby on your pillow in the morning?
    A: Realizing you were drunk and made love to it the night before.
    Q: How do you make a baby cry twice?
    A: Wipe your bloody cock on his teddy bear.
    Whats better than sex with a twelve year-old boy?
    Absolutely nothing.

    - posted by poopbot: for all your crapflooding needs

    RTX1HUUV1m Post #891

  157. A linux user goes back by poopbot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    A Linux user goes back.
    By Tony âoekNIGitsâ Collins.

    Introduction...
    In much of today's online news, we hear of how many people are migrating to GNU/Linux. What we don't seem to hear much of, is users going back to their old operating systems. The reason for this article is to say that I've done just that.

    Yes, I've gone back. After three and a half years of trying to make GNU/Linux work on the desktop, I've decided that it's simply too hard for the average home user. Before I go into my reasons for going back, let me outline what I believe an 'average' home user is. Mr Joe Average is someone who wants to install their OS, boot it up, and it works. He wants to be able to upgrade his PC , and have the hardware work in a few short minutes. He wants to read email, browse the web, talk to his mates online, and play some games. Feel free to disagree with me, this is merely how I see myself. Note: I'm not referring to Grandma using Linux, or even my mum using it. I'm referring to average users who know a little about their computer.

    Three and a half years; that's how long I've been trying to make Linux work on my desktop computer. Right about now, I'm sure that you are now screaming that I didn't try hard enough, or that I'm just plain stupid. Let me assure you that this is not the case. Stupid users don't doggedly stick at something for three and a half years, trying distribution after distribution in the hope of finding the holy grail of Linux desktops. They give up in less than a few hours of trying to (unsuccessfully) install RedHat Linux. Hear now my sad tale of why Linux isn't suitable for my desktop.

    Some background...
    The year is 1998. I've had my Windows '95 computer for around six months. Frustrated with the constant crashes, I desperately asked an online mate for help. Even though he was a windows user, he calmly suggested that I try something I'd never come across before...

    âoeLinux, eh? Never heard of it.â

    âoeOh, it's a free OS that you can download. Apparently it doesn't crash much. Just do an online search for it.â

    Armed with this meagre knowledge, I set out on my quest for the ultimate stable operating system. I searched online, and found places where you could even buy copies of Linux! So, I left the comfort of my warm study, and returned forty minutes later with my first Linux boxed set â" RedHat Linux 5.2. After initially balking at the very basic installer (and few false starts), I had it up and running on my lovely AMD K6-233. I even got X working in no time at all. Then the system booted up for the first time.... and it was dead ugly. I had a very stable new OS, but I didn't even want to look at it. I was happy that I had several installed interfaces to choose from, but none of them appealed to me whatsoever. Wanting to download a nicer interface led me to my next problem.

    I had absolutely no idea how to even get this nice, stable OS onto the internet! After reinstalling windows and RedHat in a dual-boot configuration, I got the help I needed by using Windows and USENET. Strangely enough, I can still remember the name of the long-suffering person who helped me get RedHat online, but that's another story. After looking around online, I discovered KDE. Only up to version one, it was the closest thing I had to a completely useable Linux system. I downloaded all the KDE packages for RedHat 5.2, only to discover another distro called Mandrake, that came with KDE preinstalled and configured. Back to my local distributor, and I was set.

    Mandrake with KDE was exactly what I needed at that stage in my Linux using life, and I stuck with it for over a year and a half. Always seeking the 'perfect' desktop OS, I followed releases from version 5.3 all the way through to 7.0. Eventually I became dissatisfied with Mandrake, and briefly tried a number of other distros until I finally settled on Debian. I was impressed by the simple power, configurability, and the ease of upgrade that is apt-get. I felt good about being among the uber-elite Debian user community. Needless to say, I learned a lot about how to configure hardware under Linux during my time with Debian. I learned to sift through the old HOWTOs on Linux Doc until I found something suitable and accurate, I learned to utilize the power of USENET and IRC. Life was good.

    Right now you must be wondering; âoeWhere is this leading? This guy seemed quite happy with Linux!â. True, I was. After a while, I decided I didn't want to have fine-grained control. I wanted something simple. I was getting tired of the 'stable' Debian release being so out of date, and the 'unstable' distribution being so... well... unstable. I got tired of having to recompile my kernel every time I got new hardware. I got tired of using command line to talk to my PC. It was time for a change. I had good experiences years ago with Mandrake, so I figured I'd try it again. As good as Mandrake 8.1 was, it wasn't what I was after. SuSE Linux 8.0 Professional (boxed set) was installed onto my PC instead.

    I have to stop at this point, and say that SuSE Linux 8.0 (Pro) is the best Linux distribution that I've ever used. It has an easy installer, reasonable hardware support, and comes with the very good KDE 3.0. The box contains seven CDROMS, one DVD and three decent books that would help even the most inexperienced user get up and going. YaST2 is a decent graphical system configuration tool. When (not if) I go back to Linux, I'll definitely try SuSE again. However, there are quite a number of things that have improve (or change completely) before I'll consider going back. Read on for my brief list of things that must must get better before I'll switch back from the Microsoft camp.

    Where GNU/Linux needs to improve...
    X11

    The X Window System is an awesomely powerful, network transparent graphical subsystem. It's perfectly suited to running applications from remote servers. However, this is NOT what a home user needs. My experience with X is that it's too big, bloated, slow and unstable to be any good to the home user. Most crashes that I ever experienced with Linux have been X's fault. My servers don't run X, and they never crash.

    What home users need is something small and fast, so they can run local applications efficiently. I would like to see the X Window System dumped in favour of a hardware accelerated framebuffer, running something like directFB or Qtopia. Home users need a small, fast graphical subsystem, with built in 3d support. BeOS seemed to be on the right track before they went under.

    Fonts are truly awful under X. Most distributions ship with appalling fonts, and there is no standard way to add additional (nicer) fonts to the system. Even after extra fonts have eventually been added, many applications (eg Abiword, Staroffice) refuse to use the new fonts anyway. Perhaps the framebuffer-based graphical subsystem I suggested could incorporate decent font support, and use a readable naming scheme as well.

    Drivers

    While having access to the latest version of the kernel is a good thing for developers, for home users it can be a nightmare. Got RedHat Linux 7.3? Perhaps you run SuSE 7.3 or Debian 2.2. You'll have to download a binary package specific to your distro. (I'm assuming that home users won't change their default kernel, but if they did, that binary package wouldn't even work!) Hardware manufacturers should be able to provide one single driver that works on all minor versions of a major kernel release. This way it would work will all current distros, instead of having to provide multiple binaries or source code. Hardware manufacturers don't want to give out the source, as this often gives away trade secrets about how their hardware is designed.

    The solution seems to be to make binary drivers work on a variety of kernel versions. I'm not sure if this is even possible with the way the kernel is designed (I'm no kernel hacker), but it would go a long way toward making Linux more accessible to the home user. Even if the kernel needs to be redesigned to support this, then in my opinion, it should be done. Linux users are always clamouring for drivers... perhaps if the kernel had something like this, it might one day become a reality.

    Hardware setup

    While SuSE Linux 8.0 gave me some good experiences with hardware detection (such as automatic download of NVIDIA drivers), it also let me down as in this area.

    The good: I recently borrowed a digital camera from a mate at work, to take photos of my case mod. Imagine how happy I was when I plugged it into my nearest USB port, and it was automatically configured (as a SCSI device) and mounted! SuSE even added it to my /etc/fstab file so that it always automounted when plugged in. I was very impressed.

    The bad: Along came my new IDE CDRW drive. At AU$99, I couldn't pass up the purchase. Plugging it in gave me no joy. I was very disappointed that a device so common couldn't be detected and automatically configured under a modern operating system. The instructions on the SuSE support site said to add lines to lilo.conf and reboot. While this is a perfectly acceptable way to get hardware working for a geek familiar with *NIX, I believe that a home user shouldn't have to do more than plug it in. It's an IDE device, it's not that complicated!

    The ugly: Once the hardware was finally working (as a pseudo-scsi drive), the next hurdle was to find decent graphical tools to burn and copy CDs. I finally settled on CDBakeOven, an above average KDE application. It burned CDs from data on the hard drive, but for some reason cdrecord (the command line backend) refused to allow me to copy a cd directly. Yes, it was installed SUID root. CD copying is such a basic function nowadays, why is it so hard to do under GNU/Linux?

    Software distribution

    I'll put this simply. I'm a home user, not a programmer. Why on earth should I have to compile the software I want to use? I know that having the source available is a good thing, but I'll say it again: I'm no programmer. I just want to install software and run it.

    This leads to another point. Although having package databases (such as the rpm and deb systems use) is great, there should definitely be seperation between system packages and additionally installed software. There needs to be a standard installer and database for user-installed applications such as word processors, email clients and games, and it should be seperate from the rpm or deb databases used for system software such as lilo, init and cron. This will make it much easier for home users to know what applications they have installed on their PC, and to easily uninstall them if necessary, without knowing some arcane commands and weird package names.

    Support

    There is a huge wealth of knowledge among the thousands (millions?) of people that run GNU/Linux around the world. If you have a problem, odds are that someone out there can help you, often for free. This is one of the linux platform's greatest strengths. However, Linux users are also its greatest weakness. This may not apply to most of the community, but there is a very vocal minority that gives Linux a bad name. To every Linux user that has ever helped a newbie, I thank you. I have been helped by many a guru, often when I've been asking the simplest of questions. It's the remainder that are a problem.

    I once heard a song by Three Dead Trolls in a Baggie called Every OS Sucks, where Linux users were described as 'elitist nerdy shmucks'. Sadly this is true for much of the 'community'. Too many consider themselves better than the rest of the world because they run Linux. Can you believe that? It's just a computer operating system, but somehow they think that it makes them better than those people who run systems such as Microsoft Windows! Elitism drives people away, as does saying âoeRTFMâ or belittling people who choose a different distro from yourself.

    'Nuff said about that.

    So what now?
    Well, I decided to go back to a Microsoft platform. Initially being paranoid after reading things about DRM and spyware, I bit the bullet and installed Microsoft Windows XP. Like every OS, it has good and bad points; most of which you can learn about from online reviewers. I'll just point out several things that make me want to keep using it instead of GNU/Linux.

    Fast graphical subsystem: Windows has lighting quick graphics, both 2d and 3d. There's no denying it. When I move a window, it refreshes so fast that I don't miss X11 at all. While not quite as nice as some other operating systems, font support is outstanding compared to XFree86.

    Drivers: Point and click to install (as a superuser, of course). Windows warns you if the driver isn't likely to work properly, and can roll back to working drivers if you deliberately choose to install one that hoses your system.

    Hardware setup: My CDRW worked right away, without a hitch. I am able to drag and drop files from the Explorer file manager to the CDRW icon and they get added to the list of things to burn. A quick install of Nero Burning Rom, and I was able to make a backup copy of my game CDs. (I don't like taking originals to LANs where they can get destroyed or stolen).

    Software distribution: All windows software comes in binaries, either with an installer or in a zip file. I hope to never compile an application ever again. Software designed for a different version of windows is 99% guaranteed to run, but if not, there is always 'compatibility mode'. One thing to note, however: Applications designed for single user versions of windows usually only run properly as a superuser, and this includes 3d games. I expect this to be rectified as the rest of the Windows world catches up to a multi-user environment.

    I can't comment on the Windows using community yet. I've not yet had a problem that a simple point and click couldn't fix. However, I will say that my original concern with Windows '95 has been addressed in Windows XP. The stability is finally there.

    Final Notes
    In conclusion, I'd just like to make it known that I haven't completely abandoned the Linux community. My home server still runs Mandrake, and IPCop on my gateway/firewall. There is no way I'd ever put any form of Windows on my server, nor would I ever connect a Windows PC directly to the internet without a *NIX gateway in between. Microsoft has a history of poor security, so I protect myself the only way I know how; using Linux. I will continue to advocate the use of GNU/Linux in the server arena. This is where its strength lies at the moment.

    Because of their history of spreading virii, I don't use the applications that Microsoft has provided with Windows XP. My wife and I use Mozilla for web browsing and email, OpenOffice.org for word processing, and Psi (Jabber client) for instant messaging. All of these are true multi-user win32 programs, and are perfectly interoperable with their Linux counterparts.

    I expect that the Linux community will have something to say about this article; I welcome comments and constructive criticism. Flames will be automatically sent to the Windows equivalent of /dev/null, once I find where that actually is.

    By Tony âoekNIGitsâ Collins

    - posted by poopbot: information likes to be narrow

    N2H88CG4e2 Post #891

  158. The "Moon": A Liberal Myth by poopbot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Credits: 70%

    It amazes me that so many allegedly "educated" people have fallen so quickly and so hard for a fraudulent fabrication of such laughable proportions. The very idea that a gigantic ball of rock happens to orbit our planet, showing itself in neat, four-week cycles -- with the same side facing us all the time -- is ludicrous. Furthermore, it is an insult to common sense and a damnable affront to intellectual honesty and integrity. That people actually believe it is evidence that the liberals have wrested the last vestiges of control of our public school system from decent, God-fearing Americans (as if any further evidence was needed! Daddy's Roommate? God Almighty!)

    Documentaries such as Enemy of the State have accurately portrayed the elaborate, byzantine network of surveillance satellites that the liberals have sent into space to spy on law-abiding Americans. Equipped with technology developed by Handgun Control, Inc., these satellites have the ability to detect firearms from hundreds of kilometers up. That's right, neighbors .. the next time you're out in the backyard exercising your Second Amendment rights, the liberals will see it! These satellites are sensitive enough to tell the difference between a Colt .45 and a .38 Special! And when they detect you with a firearm, their computers cross-reference the address to figure out your name, and then an enormous database housed at Berkeley is updated with information about you.

    Of course, this all works fine during the day, but what about at night? Even the liberals can't control the rotation of the Earth to prevent nightfall from setting in (only Joshua was able to ask for that particular favor!) That's where the "moon" comes in. Powered by nuclear reactors, the "moon" is nothing more than an enormous balloon, emitting trillions of candlepower of gun-revealing light. Piloted by key members of the liberal community, the "moon" is strategically moved across the country, pointing out those who dare to make use of their God-given rights at night!

    Yes, I know this probably sounds paranoid and preposterous, but consider this. Despite what the revisionist historians tell you, there is no mention of the "moon" anywhere in literature or historical documents -- anywhere -- before 1950. That is when it was initially launched. When President Josef Kennedy, at the State of the Union address, proclaimed "We choose to go to the moon", he may as well have said "We choose to go to the weather balloon." The subsequent faking of a "moon" landing on national TV was the first step in a long history of the erosion of our constitutional rights by leftists in this country. No longer can we hide from our governme

    - posted by poopbot: for all your crapflooding needs

    359jFPKACV Post #893

  159. Do we need complex acronyms? by poopbot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Credits: dmg

    Yet again the Linux so-called elite, backed up by their pseudo intellectual cohorts of the w3c conspire to ruin Linux's chances in the marketplace by sowing confusion and complexity. As someone with years of experience in the marketing world, I am constantly amazed at the willingness of the W3C and other bodies to pollute the acronym space with their content free "TLAs".

    Basic marketing 101 (and an undergrad course in psychology) would tell them that the normal person is only capable of remembering approximately 7 items of data in their short-term memory, but now we have to remember HTTP, HTML, XML, XSL, DTD, PHP, SSL, DSL, ADSL, ISDN, Perl, etc etc etc

    This is a text book example of the tail wagging the dog from a marketing perspective.

    I have been following the standardisation of the web for many many months now, but one thing has become clear, E-commerce will NEVER become popular so long as there are so many confusing acronyms involved. The guys in charge of marketing Linux absolutely MUST work to reduce the number of acronyms. One possible solution would be to merge those protocols which are not all that different. For example, why not merge XML with SGML ? (they could call it XSGML or SXGML or perhaps XMSGML), they seem to address the same problems. Or would that be too simplistic a solution for their pampered elitist ivy-league minds to comprehend ?

    If something is not done URGENTLY, and I mean URGENTLY, Linux (and other more experimental derivatives such as FreeBSD) can never hope to be taken seriously as an e-commerce platform by the people who count - the accountants.

    The miracle of Linux is that anyone actually runs it at all, considering one seems to require a masters in computer science to install it! (contrast this with NT4 which was so easy to install, we let our receptionist upgrade her own machine).

    As usual my "open source" advice is free. Hopefully this time my valuable advice will be taken into account the next time the w3c smell an acronym brewing.

    Finally, in conclusion, as an American, I am saddened that the Internet seems to have been commandeered by a European based protocol. Was America so short of talent we had to buy the HTML protocol from Tom Berners-Lee at CERN ?

    Think of the security implications of the worlds strongest economy, running an e-commerce protocol developed by a foreigner from Socialist Europe. Remember the wall has not been down for that long. Who knows what kind of trojans might be lurking within the depths of these complicated protocols.

    I am afraid I am behind Al Gore on this point, how can this be necessary in the home of smart corporations such as Microsoft and Intel ? The answer is the vast subsidies given by European socialist governments to fund development of the HTML specification.

    The solution is clear. The federal government should mandate and strongly subsidise the use of Microsoft software for all US corporations involved in e-commerce. Only with a US-developed set of protocols can we be assured of the security of our transactions.

    - posted by poopbot: because even your grandmother can use lunix

    Q25I08wmMd Post #894

  160. Censordot!! by poopbot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Version 1.1.8 (last updated 19th July 2002 by Anonymous Coward)

    Note to moderators : Do not moderate this post down, if you do then you support the editors stance on censorship and you support the end of free speech and support evil organisations like Microsoft, RIAA, MPAA and laws like the CBTBA and DMCA

    Sign this petition, let your voice be heard!

    Slashdot is using censorship! It is trying to eridicate free and open discussion like we know slashdot to be, it has the following RESTRICTIONS in place to Censor you

    They claim they don't, but they do, wonder why their are so many trolls, crapflooders and lamers on slashdot, because they are fighting for their rights! Slashdot is trying to silence the trolls. Remove the filters, the trolls get bored, and slashdot will be troll free!
    • Lameness filters (It blocks a lot of legitmate posts)
    • Unnessary posting delays. Hasnt taco learned to touch type? A lot of posts are typed in less than 20 seconds and it is a ANNOYING DELAY! 2 minute ban? Come on, so some are faster then others, big deal, some people have more to say than others
    • Broken moderation system, The whole point is to sort the gems from the crap, yet a lot of posts designed to make a LIVELY DISCUSSION are MODERATED as flamebait! Come on, not everyone likes X, but just because some one bashes it dosent mean its Flamebait. Flame bait is more useful for DIRECT INSULTS and not legitmate discussions.
    The "troll" moderation reason is fragmented and broken, why? Because they are trying to use an obsolete usenet term on a realtime discussion, "trolls" can cover a huge blanket of ideas.
    • Crapfloods, a meaningless flood of random letters or text, which the lameness filter does a crappy job at trying to stop, besides trolls have written tools using the opensource slashcode to generate crapfloods which bypass the filter
    • Links to offensive websites, the most common one is known a http://www.goatse.cx, a awful site which shows a bleeding anus being stretched on the front page. Trolls sneak these links in by posting messages that look legitimate, but infact are sneaky redirects to the site. Common examples include rd.yahoo.com, www.linux-kernel.tk, goatsex.cjb.net, and googles "Im feeling lucky".
    • Trying to break slashdot, this is actually a good thing, as it helps test slashdot for bugs. Famous examples include the goatse.cx javascript pop-up, the pagewidening post and the browser crashing post!
    Subnet banning, this bans a user unless they email jamie macarthy with their mp5ed ipids. This is unfair, and banning a subnet BLOCKS A WHOLE ISP SOMETIMES, and not that individual user! This can cause chaos! But real trolls use annoymous proxys to get around this so THIS JUST BANS LEGITMATE USERS! Also, they are trying to censor some anoymous proxies, mainly from countrys like africa, so this yet more DISCRIMINATION!

    But, the issue that concerens us the most, is the COMMENT QUOTA. A discrimatory system that stiffles discussion, cripples the community and will ultimateley destroy slashdot unless it is removed! Annoymous cowards are allowed only 10 posts a day! This is unethical! Users with negative karma only get two! That is DISCRIMINATION! How would you like to only be able to speak once a day, just because of the color of your skin. That would be racism, and slashdot is discrimitating on people just because of a negative number in a database! BOYCOTT SLASHDOT! LET THEM DIE!

    We wan't these stupid useless restrictions REMOVED! This comment will be posted again and again until it does!

    Inportant imformation for users
    Boycott slashdot, they are pissing over their community, they are becoming like the RIAA and MICROSOFT! Do NOT TOLERATE THIS SHIT! Here are some real news for nerds sites. We don't need slashdot, slashdot deserves to die!

    MSNBC
    BBC NEWS
    News.com
    Linux online
    Linux daily news network [linuxdailynews.net]
    Weird news from dailyrotten.com
    Trollaxor, news for trolls, they are real people too!
    CNN.com
    New york times (free registration required)
    LINUX.com
    News forge
    K5
    Mandrake forum
    Toms hardware
    The register
    Kde dot news
    The linux kernel Archives
    Adequecy

    There are hundreds more, But this is where slashdot STEALS THE MAJORITY OF its "news" from.

    Punish them, here are their emails, spam them, flame them goatse them!
    Rob malda
    Jamie Macarthy
    ChrisD
    Hemos
    Micheal
    Pudge

    The others ones apperantly dont have an e-mail, probably because ROB MALDA IS PRETENDING HE IS JOHN KATZ.

    Thank you for reading this, please feel free to repost this information, please reply to add your comments, fight slashdot and its CENSORSHIP

    Don't forget to sign the petition!

    - posted by poopbot: who doesn't like scat?

    iBudHEALJr Post #895
  161. Goatsecxsy by poopbot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    To the tune of "Without me", Eminem

    Two penis bird guys go round the outside, round the outside, round the outside (2x)
    Guess who's back [/] Back again [/] Sllort is back [/] Tell a friend
    Guess who's back, guess who's back, guess who's back, guess who's back
    guess who's back, guess who's back, guess who's back..

    I've created a monster, cause nobody wants to read Michael no more
    They want Sllort, cause Katz is a whore *duh* [/] Well if you want Sllort, this is what it'll get ya
    A little bit of Troll mixed up with some professa [/] Don't mod this up they're just trying to test ya
    It'll get you banned forever by the mastah [/] on the plantation, but I'm not co-operating
    Been banned since 2000 for writing and creating (hey!) [/] You read it this far, now stop moderating
    Cause I'm back, I'm on the keys and I'm operating [/] I know that you got a job Ms. Malda
    but your husband's porn problem's complicating
    So McCarthy won't let me be [/] he IP bans me, so let me see
    They try to shut me down but I proxy [/] Cause it feels so empty, without me
    So, clickety click, type where you sit
    Fuck that, karma whorin dips, nobody gives a shit
    Now get ready, cause this shit's about to get heavy
    Just got a new list of proxies, FUCK YOU JAMIE!

    [Chorus:]
    Now this looks like a job for me [/] DOWN WITH CAPS LIKE JUNIS KANUNI
    Cause we need a little, controversy [/] Cause it feels so empty to agree
    I said this looks like a job for me [/] So everybody, try honesty
    Cause we need a little, controversy [/] Cause it feels so empty to agree

    Little Readers, posting defacement. [/] Embarrassed their parents still rent them their basement.
    They get banned just like prisoners helpless [/] 'til someone posts truth in a journal and yells BULLSHIT!

    A visionary, is my vision scary? [/] Could it start revolution, pollutin the stories?
    A rebel, so just let me revel and gloat [/] in the fact that VA's stock price is looking like GOAT *zero!*
    And it's a disaster, such a castastrophe [/] First posts are so fuckin expensive; but Katz is free?
    Well I'm back, na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na [/] *bzzt* Fix your damn DSL turn it on and then I'm gonna
    enter in, in the front of your skin like a virus [/] Maybe I'm unkillable, dead like Osirus
    Ya I'm infecting, best thing since commenting [/] Intriuging the reader's minds and nesting
    *bzzt* Testing, attention please [/] You feel the rage when Michael mentions me?
    Here's my journal, you can read it free [/] A nuisance? a prophet? Ya, sounds like me.

    [Chorus]

    A diskette, a task set, post this cid on that sid, [/] Ask Slashdot: Are You Sofa King We Todd Did?
    Jonathon Katz, smokin crack mixed with grass [/] If I ever meet you I will KICK YOUR ASS
    And Taco? You can get blown by Timothy [/] You eleven year old molesting fag, join the clergy
    You don't know me, you're too dumb, let go [/] It's over, nobody listens to your show
    Now let's go, suicide for Signal [/] I'll be there cheering like a cheerleader on speed
    Or crystal, method to the masses [/] ever since Slashbots been babblin like jackasses *bray*

    Suddenly without the means [/] To bring up the MetaModeration screen?
    It's not the servers re-boot-ing [/] It's just you, banned by Slashteam! *hey*
    No I wasn't aiming for controversy [/] It just happened when they first banned me
    Now I use it to tell others [/] That Slashteam are a bunch of fuckers!
    (Hey!) Here's a concept that works [/] Twenty million other people find out you're jerks
    But no matter how much you alter what they see [/] It just looks empty without me

    [Chorus]
    La-la-la-la, la-la-la-la-la / La-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la

    - posted by poopbot: crapflooding since 7/8/02

    5PFX7FRzEB Post #896

  162. Open Source Development HOW-TO by poopbot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Credits: onby

    1. Introduction

    As everyone knows, Open Source software is the wave of the future. With the market share of GNU/Linux and *BSD increasing every day, interest in Open Source Software is at an all time high.

    Developing software within the Open Source model benefits everyone. People can take your code, improve it and then release it back to the community. This cycle continues and leads to the creation of far more stable software than the 'Closed Source' shops can ever hope to create.

    So you're itching to create that Doom 3 killer but don't know where to start? Read on!

    2. First Steps
    The most important thing that any Open Source project needs is a Sourceforge page. There are tens of thousands of successful Open Source projects on Sourceforge; the support you receive here will be invaluable.

    OK, so you've registered your Sourceforge project and set the status to '0: Pre-Thinking About It', what's next?

    3. Don't Waste Time!

    Now you need to set up your SourceForge homepage. Keep it plain and simple - don't use too many HTML tags, just knock something up in VI. Website editors like FrontPage and DreamWeaver just create bloated eye-candy - you need to get your message to the masses!

    4. Ask For Help

    Since you probably can't program at all you'll need to try and find some people who think they can. If your project is a game you'll probably need an artist too. Ask for help on your new Sourceforge pages. Here is an example to get you started:

    "Hi there! Welcom to my SorceForge page! I am planing to create a Fisrt Person Shooter game for Linux that is going to kick Doom 3's ass! I have loads of awesome ideas, like giant robotic spiders! I need some help thouh as I cant program or draw. If you can program or draw the tekstures please get in touch! K thx bye!"

    Thousands of talented programmers and artists hang out at Sourceforge ready to devote their time to projects so you should get a team together in no time!

    5. The A-Team

    So now you have your team together you are ready to change your projects status to '1: Pre-Bickering'. You will need to discuss your ideas with your team mates and see what value they can add to the project. You could use an Instant Messaging program like MSN for this, but since you run Linux you'll have to stick to e-mail.

    Don't forget that YOU are in charge! If your team doesn't like the idea of giant robotic spiders just delete them from the project and move on. Someone else can fill their place and this is the beauty of Open Source development. The code might end up a bit messy and the graphics inconsistant - but it's still 'Free as in Speech'!

    6. Getting Down To It

    Now that you've found a team of right thinking people you're ready to start development. Be prepared for some delays though. Programming is a craft and can take years to learn. Your programmer may be a bit rusty but will probably be writing "hello world" programs after school in no time.

    Closed Source games like Doom 3 use the graphics card to do all the hard stuff anyhow, so your programmer will just have to get the NVidia 'API' and it will be plain sailing! Giant robot spiders, here we come!

    7. The Outcome

    So it's been a few years, you still have no files released or in CVS. Your programmer can't get enough time on the PC because his mother won't let him use it after 8pm. Your artist has run off with a Thai She-Male. Your project is still at '1: Pre-Bickering'...

    Congratulations! You now have a successful Open Source project on Sourceforge! Pat yourself on the back, think up another idea and do it all again! See how simple it is?

    - posted by poopbot: information likes to be narrow

    KGwB5NYL4M Post #897

  163. Slow! Evil! by fm6 · · Score: 2
    Gee, a kneejerk "slow drivers kill too!" post. Why am I not suprised?

    From what I've seen there aren't nearly as many left-lane slowpokes as there are people complaining about them. Or rather, people using them to avoid acknowledging their own irresponsibility.

    Speed doesn't kill? Yet every time they enforce the speed limit on 17 the death rate plummets. Apply some basic science and logic! The faster you drive, the harder it is to control your car. The faster you go, the more little strains you put on that complicated machine you're driving, the more likely you'll throw a rod or blow a tire, or get brake fade at an inopportune moment. The faster you go, the more distance you have to use up while responding to the unexpected. And of course, the faster you go, the more kinetic energy to use up in the form of bent metal and broken bodies when you do collide with something.

    Why am I bothering? Bad drivers don't want to be told anything. And that's why these black boxes are inevitable.

    1. Re:Slow! Evil! by Osty · · Score: 1

      Speed doesn't kill? Yet every time they enforce the speed limit on 17 the death rate plummets.

      You're drawing the wrong conclusion here. The death rate doesn't go down because speeds decrease. It goes down because people are paying more attention to the road. When you're on the road and see a cop, sure, you slow down. But what else do you do? Right, you pay attention more. You're not going to be reading the morning paper while driving, because you're trying to keep an eye on where that cop is (and by doing so, you're getting information on where everybody else is, as well). Speed doesn't kill, but inattentive driving does.

      Apply some basic science and logic! The faster you drive, the harder it is to control your car. The faster you go, the more little strains you put on that complicated machine you're driving, the more likely you'll throw a rod or blow a tire, or get brake fade at an inopportune moment. The faster you go, the more distance you have to use up while responding to the unexpected. And of course, the faster you go, the more kinetic energy to use up in the form of bent metal and broken bodies when you do collide with something.

      My car was designed to handle 80mph speeds with no problems at all. Your car probably was designed that way as well. About the only vehicles that you shouldn't drive that fast in are things like Jeeps, trucks, or SUVs that were designed for off-roading (and thus have big nubs on their tires, and high centers of gravity, and basically are built for endurance rather than speed). Saying that you're making your car more likely to fail by going 10 or 20mph over the speed limit is silly. If you're breezing along at 120mph, then sure (most cars definitely are not designed for that). But you've been talking about the 80mph range (say, 75-90 or so). Not only are those speeds well within the range of your car's tolerances (again, unless you fall into the above category, or are driving some 10 year old beater that's not been properly maintained), but the effects of an impact at those speeds are not appreciably different than an impact at 60mph. Yeah, yeah, there's more kinetic energy, and whatever else, but that doesn't really matter after a certain point. There's a limit at which point the increase in kinetic energy doesn't matter anymore, because you're already going to be dead.

    2. Re:Slow! Evil! by wadetemp · · Score: 2

      There's a limit at which point the increase in kinetic energy doesn't matter anymore, because you're already going to be dead.

      So, a 90% chance of dying this year vs. an 89% chance of dying this year doesn't matter to you? I'll take 89% thanks. Oh, and thanks for the picture of the car, especially for the ones of the plates. If I ever see you going 80, I'll put my cell phone to use... because hey, if you get enough tickets for speeding you'll have a 0% chance of killing me with that thing... and that's good odds. Slow the fuck down.

    3. Re:Slow! Evil! by Osty · · Score: 2

      Oh, and thanks for the picture of the car, especially for the ones of the plates. If I ever see you going 80, I'll put my cell phone to use... because hey, if you get enough tickets for speeding you'll have a 0% chance of killing me with that thing... and that's good odds. Slow the fuck down.

      First off, there were no plates in those pictures. Look again. Given the dealership name, you may be able to determine a vicinity of where I am, but you will not be able to find out who I am. Second, I didn't say I speed. Occasionally, I do, but more importantly I keep situational awareness while I drive, and know that if necessary, I have enough power in my car to get me out of a bad situation. However, to reiterate, speed doesn't kill. It's that crash at the end. But seriously, it's not going too fast that's the problem. It's going too fast for your reactions. Maybe at 120mph I'll be going too fast for reactions, but not at 80mph (there's such a thing as going too fast for conditions, but that does not imply speeding. You can be going too fast for conditions and still be under the speed limit). Now, if I were a soccer mom, driving her SUV with three bratty kids in the back yelling and screaming, trying to put on make-up on the way to some extracurricular activity for the young'uns, not paying attention where I'm driving, then going even 60mph on a 60mph road would be too fast because I have no situational awareness. You have to know where everybody is on the road. More, you have to be able to anticipate what they are going to do. Being a defensive driver doesn't mean you go 55mph in a 60mph zone. It means you know what's going on around you, and have left yourself an escape route (ie, you leave room in front of you for breaking, you don't let others ride your blind spot, etc. I don't mean an escape route for running from cops. That's just stupid).

      Then again, go ahead and believe what you will. When average traffic speed is faster than what you're doing, even if that speed is faster than the legal limit, then you are the danger, not those around you. Why? Well, for one thing, somebody driving 80mph hitting you from behind when you're going 60mph is going to do more damage than if they hit somebody doing 78mph (relative speeds -- the first is a collision at 20mph, the other is at 2mph. calculate your kinetic energy). For another, you're an unknown quantity. If you're unwilling to follow traffic speeds (as illegal as those speeds may be, though no cop will pull you over for going over the speed limit when everybody else is doing the same -- or if they do, you have a pretty good court case. No, you can't just go in and say "But I was doing the same speed as everybody else." It takes a little more ingenuity, but if you're in such a situation, there's no reason why you shouldn't get out of the ticket. Hint: speed limits are supposed to be based on what's called the "85th percentile", but usually aren't, and surveys are often infrequently done. Look it up. That should get you started with a good defense), then who knows what else you'll do? I can predict the guy passing me going 80mph, I can predict the guy ahead of me going 70mph, I can even predict what the big semi is going to do, but it's much more difficult to predict what you'll be doing at 15mph below me and everyone else.

    4. Re:Slow! Evil! by rnturn · · Score: 2

      You're the one who doesn't seem to understand.

      The fact that your car is designed to be operable at a hig speed doesn't mean it's safe to do so. There is nothing in that nicely designed car that is going to do anything about the reduced reaction time that you have when you're you're travelling that fast.

      As for the car failing at higher speeds? I doubt that the poster was really meaning to say that, say, the car was going to disintegrate because it's being driven at 80 as opposed to 60 mph. But hitting potholes at 80 is certainly going to do more damage than hitting it at 60. It may not cause an accident but the damage is still done. (I'm guessing that maybe you replace your shocks sooner than many people.) And I'd sure as hell hate having to react to a blowout at 80 mph. Even a blowout at 60 would quite possibly result in an accident.

      The main point is that the driver's reaction to an event at the higher speed doesn't speed up correspondingly. The brain's reaction time -- that time between the eyes seeing the problem, the brain saying ``Oh Shit!'', and your foot successfully hitting the brakes -- is more or less constant. You have to account for this by increasing the space between yourself and the other cars. And when's the last time you were successfully able to follow the rule of thumb of keeping a car length between you and the car in front of your for every ten miles per hour you were travelling? That is, without a couple of jerks slipping in front of you because they simply must to pull into that McDonalds on the right (even though there was no one behind you for a quarter mile)? Since it's simply not possible to maintain proper spacing any more you have to slow down or you are denying yourself sufficient reaction time. Why is it so damned difficult for some drivers to understand this?

      People who think driving at high speeds is just as safe as it is at slower speeds are delusional. If you want to drive 80 mph on a regular basis, please move to Nevada. Perhaps your Boxter will feel right at home on the roads there.

      --
      CUR ALLOC 20195.....5804M
    5. Re:Slow! Evil! by Osty · · Score: 2

      The fact that your car is designed to be operable at a hig speed doesn't mean it's safe to do so. There is nothing in that nicely designed car that is going to do anything about the reduced reaction time that you have when you're you're travelling that fast.

      You're right, just because my car can do 150mph doesn't mean it's safe for me to do so. Nor is it safe for me to drive at 120mph, or possibly even 100mph. But I disagree that it's not safe for me to drive at 80mph. My car handles better than at least 75% of the cars on the road here (because 75% of the cars here are SUVs). However, that's not even all of it. Assuming I was in the same bog standard SUV everybody seems to drive, I would still be a much safer driver than the soccer moms out there who aren't paying attention to driving. When I drive, that's it -- I'm driving. I'm not messing with my hair, putting on make-up, eating a cheeseburger, drinking coffee, reading the morning paper, trying to keep the brats in the back under control, or anything else. I'm driving. I may hit the radio once in a while, but generally I don't even do that -- I pop in a CD, and let it play through. Point? It's not just the car, nor just the physical ability to react. It's the driver. What the driver is doing matters, and if that driver isn't paying attention, s/he is a danger at ANY speed.

      As for the car failing at higher speeds? I doubt that the poster was really meaning to say that, say, the car was going to disintegrate because it's being driven at 80 as opposed to 60 mph. But hitting potholes at 80 is certainly going to do more damage than hitting it at 60. It may not cause an accident but the damage is still done. (I'm guessing that maybe you replace your shocks sooner than many people.) And I'd sure as hell hate having to react to a blowout at 80 mph. Even a blowout at 60 would quite possibly result in an accident.

      I understand the original poster didn't mean that the car literally disintegrates out from underneath you once you hit that magic 80mph speed. However, he did imply that going that fast causes a much higher amount of wear and tear. That's true, on economy cars (like a 3-cyl Geo Metro), or older cars in disrepair, or the popular SUV/Jeep/big trucks on the road these days that were never meant for street driving. However, that's not true for most any modern car. A Honda Civic and a Ferarri Modena 360 can both handle 80mph with about the same amount of wear and tear. That's not justification to drive that fast, but that wasn't my point. My point there was to kill the argument that driving 80mph is bad for your car (100mph, sure. 80mph, no). As far as recovering from a blowout, you said it yourself -- that's dangerous even within the legal limit. All I can say there is that my car won't roll over on me and kill me because of a blowout.

      People who think driving at high speeds is just as safe as it is at slower speeds are delusional. If you want to drive 80 mph on a regular basis, please move to Nevada. Perhaps your Boxter will feel right at home on the roads there.

      I've got a great website for you to read. The relevant link is here, though you may find the rest interesting as well (not my site, but very informative, and a good read).

      Let me just finish by saying several things.

      1. I'm not saying that I speed all the time. I do speed. You do, too (don't lie). Also, I generally don't try to make justifications for speeding aside from "sometimes it's fun". It doesn't matter if I'm late to work (mmm, flex time). It doesn't matter if I don't make it to McD's before they close. And if I'm late meeting friends, they'll understand (usually, they're the ones that are late).
      2. I'm not condoning drunk driving. You drink and drive, you get what's coming to you. I know my limits, and I don't drive when I feel I'm even close to them. Taxis and friends are good. DUIs are bad.
      3. I'm not talking about speeding in residential areas, here. When I say "80mph", I'm generally talking about a stretch of interstate that's usually "limited" between 60mph and 75mph. I'm not talking about doing 80 in a 35mph zone. That's just stupid.
    6. Re:Slow! Evil! by wadetemp · · Score: 2

      Well, for one thing, somebody driving 80mph hitting you from behind when you're going 60mph is going to do more damage than if they hit somebody doing 78mph (relative speeds -- the first is a collision at 20mph, the other is at 2mph. calculate your kinetic energy).

      What would be really nice though is if that person driving 80mph was driving 60mph instead, so no one would be colliding at all. As you've pointed out, though, you have a fast car and are not interested in syncing your speed with the speed everyone's *supposed* to be going, and would rather set a bar for everyone else. Thanks for being so considerate... your attitude is what makes this country great.

    7. Re:Slow! Evil! by rnturn · · Score: 2
      ``I'm not saying that I speed all the time. I do speed. You do, too (don't lie). Also, I generally don't try to make justifications for speeding aside from "sometimes it's fun". It doesn't matter if I'm late to work (mmm, flex time). It doesn't matter if I don't make it to McD's before they close. And if I'm late meeting friends, they'll understand (usually, they're the ones that are late).''

      Actually, if anyone actually knew that I was speeding they'd be surprised. That said, yep, it happens. Sometimes you come over top a hill and don't let up on the gas, so sometimes I might hit 48 in a 45 zone but in a hundred yards the speed bleeds off. And flex time has, IMHO, removed the biggest excuse that people use for speeding. I can also take a few minutes of comp time here and there for the weekends that I sometimes have to work (an OS upgrade on a bunch of systems can result a very nice amount of comp time; five minutes here, another ten there, ...). Heck, arriving at work without all the stress after pushing, pushing, pushing your way through traffic is a benefit all in itself. And, though some coworkers think I'm daft, I usually take alternate routes that might be an extra mile or so over the most direct route but are much less heavily traveled (I like driving but I can't stand the bozos you encounter on the road) and I often get their in less time than if I'd taken the direct -- but more traffic laden -- route. Unfortunately, just because the roads are less heavily traveled I run into idiots who take that to mean they should be able to drive 15-20+ miles over the posted limit (like Mr. Wrangler driver).

      ``I'm not condoning drunk driving. You drink and drive, you get what's coming to you. I know my limits, and I don't drive when I feel I'm even close to them. Taxis and friends are good. DUIs are bad.''

      Hell, any more I feel uneasy even having one beer or glass of wine when dining out. The thing that really pisses me off is that the drunken driver usually walks away from the accident. The family of four in the other car is usually taken away in body bags.

      ``I'm not talking about speeding in residential areas, here. When I say "80mph", I'm generally talking about a stretch of interstate that's usually "limited" between 60mph and 75mph. I'm not talking about doing 80 in a 35mph zone. That's just stupid.''

      But you'd be surprised how often I see it. Had some nut case pass me in a Wrangler this morning on the way to work. Doing probably 70 in a 40 zone. Met him at the next stop sign. Not exactly a `residential' area (actually it was; the lots were just very large, so the driveways were spaced far enough apart that the limit was higher than the normal 20-25) but this guy was totally out of line. And it didn't gain him anything. As for the interstates, I find the posted speeds desirable for economic reasons. I notice gas mileage really suffers above 60-65. Some years ago, I was commuting 75 miles each way on interstates. For a time I used to stay with the pack which meant doing about 75. Made better time but I was going through a lot more gas and the costs started to add up. I figured I was saving about a half tank or more of gas a week by just staying at the posted 65.

      Yah. Loved the web site. A complete collection of the (IMHO) lame justifications that people use to explain why their speeding isn't a problem. Color me unconvinced.

      --
      CUR ALLOC 20195.....5804M
    8. Re:Slow! Evil! by Quila · · Score: 2

      Actually, speed doesn't kill -- speed differential kills. In Germany, the Autobahn speed limit is unlimited, but falling to 75-80 in areas where slowing down is wise (such as near congestion, city, etc.). Yet Autobahn accident rates are usually less than what they are in the U.S.

      Why? Aside from better driver training, there is a minimum speed you must maintain to be on the Autobahn (minimizing the speed differential), you must stay to the right unless passing, and passing on the right is very illegal. The deaths are even far lower than on the normal streets.

      Traffic engineers say that the speed limit should be about 85-90% of the speed at which most people would drive if there weren't a speed limit. This gets raised to 90-95% in open highways. That is pure safety and efficiency, no politics ("55") involved.

    9. Re:Slow! Evil! by Osty · · Score: 1

      What would be really nice though is if that person driving 80mph was driving 60mph instead, so no one would be colliding at all.

      Or if that person driving 60mph was driving 80mph instead, so no one would be colliding at all. Here is a link you may want to consider reading. Pay particular attention to #5 (when the speed limit is increased to be closer to the 85th percentile, the 99th percentile is more likely to slow down a bit and comply) and numbers 7 and 8 (where in accident rates increased when speed limits were lowered, and decreased when the limits were raised). And most importantly, check #10 -- 86% of all "speed-related" fatalities involve alcohol, or in other words are "drunk driving-related", and not "speed-related".

      As you've pointed out, though, you have a fast car and are not interested in syncing your speed with the speed everyone's *supposed* to be going, and would rather set a bar for everyone else. Thanks for being so considerate... your attitude is what makes this country great.

      Sorry, but you've got it backwards. I don't set the speed other people drive, I simply drive the speed I'm comfortable with on a given stretch of road (while I'm capable of going 100mph relatively safely, I'm not comfortable doing so in most places). In general, I'm usually slower than "average". For example, on my daily commute the speed limit is 60mph. Well, most people drive that between 65 and 75mph. Generally, I'm somewhere between 65mph and 68mph (70 when passing). Just because my car can go fast doesn't mean I drive it fast all the time.

    10. Re:Slow! Evil! by Zarquon · · Score: 2
      And when's the last time you were successfully able to follow the rule of thumb of keeping a car length between you and the car in front of your for every ten miles per hour you were travelling?
      Rule of thumb we were taught in driving school is a 2-3 second gap; and yes, I usually manage to keep that, even when at highway speeds (65-70 here, 75-80 further south with the high limits). Why? I drive a tank (aka '82 oldsmobile) and am well aware of it's stopping characteristics. Main problem is people who think my buffer zone is a perfect passing lane, but that's usually easy to compensate for (let off the gas a little, regain space, speed back up to normal speed, or shift lanes.)

      One thing I wish people would do more often is reserve the far left lane (non-HOV) lane for passing. It's law in some states (NJ, any more?) and works well until traffic saturates (*cough* turnpike *cough*). It's still fairly common to find a pair of cars blocking both lanes doing 5 under the limit here.

      My age? 22. Accidents? 0. My insurance? Still high.
      --
      "'Tis great confidence in a friend to tell him your faults, greater to tell him his." --Poor Richard's Almanac
    11. Re:Slow! Evil! by millionbucks · · Score: 1

      I love this. How about a person in front of you doing 40 instead of the 60 you're doing? Would you like that person to speed up to the 60 he's "supposed" to be doing? Would you slow down to 40 or would you try to pass him to go back to 60? It's funny how you like to pick on those going faster than you, but I bet you hate to slow down for those going slower than you. And where does he state he has a fast car? Most cars on the road can do 120MPH, probably even yours.

    12. Re:Slow! Evil! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And my stove has a high setting. Should I cook everything no matter what on that setting because the others are "slower"?

    13. Re:Slow! Evil! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You sir are an idiot. This person is talking about going the speedlimit. If the speedlimit was 40, then what the hell would he be doing going 60? Unless he was an asshole, much like yourself.

    14. Re:Slow! Evil! by Quila · · Score: 2

      People who think driving at high speeds is just as safe as it is at slower speeds are delusional.

      Then I invite you to get on the Autobahn and do 55. THAT'S dangerous. Actually, I'd say about 65 is the most dangerous speed because then you have to pass all the trucks that go 60.

      When are you people going to stop being delusional and realize that speed alone doesn't kill. Speed can be a contributing factor among others in killing someone, but they always point out speed as the one danger.

      In other words, I'd prefer the Mercedes that blew past me this morning doing about 130mph, straight and steady in the left lane, to the later idiot in the SUV in front of me who couldn't figure out what lane she wanted to be in and almost ran me over.

    15. Re:Slow! Evil! by Quila · · Score: 2

      My car handles better than 99.999% of the cars out there and is rock-solid on the road at 120mph, but I know it doesn't give me license to speed stupidly. Okay, I like to take the highway entrances and corners pretty fast where I can see ahead that no one's stopped on them, and I often go 10-15 mph over the speed limit on open, straight rural roads with clear traffic. But I never do more than that (exception being clear traffic doing 120mph in a 75 taking daughter to the hospital).

      The fun part is people claiming I'm speeding in the city when I just accelerate, turn and brake faster than everyone else without ever going over the limit. I never speed in the city, well in certain known safe areas maybe by 5mph, but generally no.

      I do think we need to categorize the speeding discussions into city and open highway speeding. Those are two completely different circumstances.

    16. Re:Slow! Evil! by Quila · · Score: 2

      It's not just him. I was driving the highway between Dallas and Fort Worth around 1990, and on that 55, everyone did 70-80 -- Buick dreadnaughts and small sports cars included. In the evenings, the LA freeways (55) moved at 60-75. The people were driving according to the scientifically recognized safe 85-90 percent rule, and not the arbitrarily imposed and dangerous 55 rule.

      As far as "*supposed* to be going," define that. The unnaturally low speed set by the government that hasn't saved one life, or the speed the limit is really *supposed* to be set at?

    17. Re:Slow! Evil! by Quila · · Score: 2

      Nice link. It summarizes much of what I've heard.

      BTW, nice Porker (sorry, good natured humor, our nickname for a Porsche).

    18. Re:Slow! Evil! by millionbucks · · Score: 1

      Love the cowards! If you had even read this thread you would have noticed that the conversation implies a speed limit of 60. My implication was that if someone was going less than the speed limit (which is perfectly legal) people complaining about speeders would probably get pissed off themselves instead of slowing down to the supposed "safer" speed. But it seems you were unable to understand that, and understandably so... Next time you choose to insult someone, try saying something intelligent.

    19. Re:Slow! Evil! by millionbucks · · Score: 1

      Why should I care if you can't understand how to use a stove properly? You probably believe that because you set your oven to 375 the temp inside is actually 375. When has anyone in this discussion said that it's OK to drive at top speed all the time? Grow up and start listening, Coward.

    20. Re:Slow! Evil! by Osty · · Score: 1

      Nice link. It summarizes much of what I've heard.

      That whole site is a great site. If even a few people start fighting their traffic tickets rather than rolling over and letting the government pooch screw them, the system will get out of whack. When it's no longer profitable to ticket for speed, speeding tickets will be seldom written.

      BTW, nice Porker (sorry, good natured humor, our nickname for a Porsche).

      Interesting, I've not heard that nickname before. Out of curiosity, what car do you drive? (referring to your other post.) (not so I can rip on it or anything, I'm just interested in what other performance cars people drive.)

    21. Re:Slow! Evil! by wadetemp · · Score: 2

      If the speedlimit were 60, and someone in front of me were doing 40, well, they'd be going less than the legal and suggested speed for that road. In my state it would be legal for me to pass the person at any speed *up to* 60mph in a passing lane. And that is what I'd do, assuming there was a passing lane where I could pass this person safely, all while staying at 60. If I can't, well, then I guess I'll be stuck there. But not for long... state law requires that any person holding up 5 or more cars at a speed *under* the speed limit is required to pull off the road at the next safe location. If you are holding up 5 or more cars, but going the speed limit, you are not required to do anything about it (for the obvious reason that no one should be going any faster than you anyway if you're going the speedlimit.)

      Now, in my state, it's also legal to go faster than the speed limit to complete the pass (perhaps 80 in this case) if a dangerous situation arises (like an alien ship drops a car in the other lane directly in front of you)... but if you initiate a pass that required you to begin the pass over the limit, that's a reckless driving fine. And 99.9% of the time, assholes, the oncoming car was *not* dropped by an alien ship, believe me... you just didn't have any business passing in the first place.

      Now, if everyone obeyed these laws I just described, no one would be going over the speed limit, and there would be no speed differential, except in the case that someone was going *under* the limit (for mechanical or age reasons), in which case it's perfectly legal to pass at reasonable speed. And as I mentioned, the law also provides a mechanism to free "clogs" in the traffic flow.)

      But because of a select few (or a large percentage, take your pick, depending on the area) of people who don't seem to be interested in obeying laws, we have this "danger" of speed differential. And thus my quote of the day (repeated from a previous day), "Slow the fuck down."

      Now, according to that fine pink-backgrounded research paper you posted suggests, speed limits are based on the 85th percentile. The exact quote:

      When a speed limit is to be posted, it should be the 85th-percentile speed of free-flowing traffic, rounded up to the nearest 10 km/h (5 mph) increment.

      Interesting how it says "is to be posted." How many roads have you seen without speed limits? None. Initial speed limits are determined by engineers and by the road type and surroundings (75 national limit is used for Interstates, 65 is usually used for Interstates going though on/offramp areas, 55 is usually used for 2 lane highways, etc.) This is for *modification* of existing road speed limits. And if, as you say, "most" people are going 80mph in those areas where the speed limit is actually 60mph, any modification of the speed limit using these rules would only serve to increase the speed limit. Funny how that works isn't it?

      My favorite part of that article, though, is this:

      Two cars are driving at 205 MPH. WHOW!!!! 205!!!! Yep, 205. Car one hits car two.... what happens? Ricky Martin's spoiler gets bent and Jeff Gordon goes on to win the Daytona 500! These cars move at speeds over 150 MPH all the time... Yet, the fatality rate of race car drivers is MUCH lower than that for average drivers. Why?

      It's funny how during races all the cars drive the same direction. On most highways and streets cars drive straight toward each other. It's also interesting how the cars they drive come with built-in rollcages, fire extinguishers, sophisticated body harnesses, etc.

      Another good one:

      In 1998, 43 percent of the intoxicated drivers (BAC = 0.10 or higher) involved in fatal crashes were speeding, compared with only 14 percent of the sober drivers (BAC = 0.00) involved in fatal crashes

      It goes to to state that 86% were DRUNK!!! (in really big bold letters to make a point.) Uh, where did that 86% come from? There is no statistic here on the number of people that were drunk.

      Before you spend money in court using all the skills you learned from Michael Stone Jr. and his pink-paper on avoiding tickets, I suggest you think this over one more time:

      "Slow the fuck down."

    22. Re:Slow! Evil! by Quila · · Score: 2

      Lotus Elise, or as some call it, "Tupperware Rocket" (except that tupperware doesn't leak).

    23. Re:Slow! Evil! by millionbucks · · Score: 1

      You make good points here but I do have a couple things to say. First, I didn't quote anything from that article. It's an interesting read, but severely flawed in its conclusions and can be easily misinterpreted. Second, I have no problem with cars going the speed limit on two lane roads where it's not safe to pass. If it's safe, I do sometimes pass. If it's not, who cares. I'd only save about a minute anyway and that can be lost while sitting at a traffic light. But let me explore what you've said here.

      First, the speed limit, to my knowledge, is not an advised speed. It is a limit. There is no basis for saying that people "should" go the speed limit. You can only say that people cannot legally go over that speed. Second, most people on the road do no pull over to let others pass when going below the speed limit, even with thirty cars behind them being slowed down. If people do that in your area, great, but they don't here! Third, there are many roads where I live with no posted speed limits. Heavily travelled roads too. What's the speed limit there? Prima Facie (55 in California) but rarely enforced.

      ==

      It would be nice to live in a world where everyone obeyed the rules as you put forth. All roads would be "safer". I wonder why people object so much to higher speed limits though. If the speed limits were higher and people obeyed the limits, the issue would be exactly the same. It makes no difference whether it's 60, 80, 100, or 50. If people obey the laws as you prescribe, there would be no speed differential, and therefore we would have "safer" roads.

      One thing does come to mind; the fact that we don't have a national limit of 25. Why not? It's a very safe speed. But would you do it?

      How would you approach a road where the traffic moves at 85 normally with a posted speed of 55? If the traffic normally moves at 85, why is the speed posted at 55? That is how things were on 280 in San Jose several years ago. When the speed limit was raised the normal speed fell significantly. Now the normal speed is about 70. What I gather from that is people are going to drive speeds that are comfortable, but when the limit is close to what they feel comfortable doing they are willing to slow down. I know I am. When the limit was 55, I drove 80+ on many roads. I even followed many police officers doing the same thing. Never got pulled over for it. But now that the limit is 65, I drive no more than 5-10 over. There's no point.

      Another example of people driving comfortable speeds regardless of posted speed is the street I live on. The posted speed is 45, but everone (just about) drives 35. It's been that way for years! No passing, no complaints, just smooth traffic at 35. And the road has three lanes in each direction. This just shows that people drive what is comfortable whether faster or slower than the posted speed limits.

      The speed differential issue becomes more frustrating on multi-lane highways where people refuse to let faster traffic go by. People purposely block faster traffic, regardless of the fact that it is unlawful to do so (CA Vehicle Code). They sit there because they are "slowing down that unsafe asshole". If it's so unsafe, why is there a law regarding slower traffic keeping right. Now you might say that the person doesn't have to move over because he/she is maintaining the speed limit, but it is a ticketable offense to impede traffic. This law was enforced quite a bit on 280 back when traffic speed was 85 in the 55 zone. Many people were warned or ticketed for driving too slowly as it was unsafe given the traffic conditions.

      As in the case of I280, it is safer to drive at faster speeds even when everyone is doing the same. Less speed differential. Simple. Regardless of the speed limit, you are supposed to drive at a safe speed, whether higher or lower than the posted speed. This is also in the CA VC.

      Why is it that people talking about this issue always insult people going faster than them, but never those going slower, falling back on the PC notion that slower driving is safer? The Autobahn disproves this. The Germans prove that courtesy on the road is much more significant than speed. Heck, the same is true of England. When I lived in England, you could drive 100+ in the 70 zones and not worry. If you had an accident you would be charged with driving too fast, but otherwise it was fine. Basically put, don't cause problems and they leave you alone. Speed by itself was not a problem.

      Everyone who hates being passed (which is the real issue, but nobody will say it) just get over it, egomaniacs! Let's all just be courteous on the roads. We all have to share them, and individually have no right to try to control them. If you think you have the right to control the road, I'll show you a million people who will tell you that you don't.

      Oh, and in CA, we don't have 75 roads anymore. They lowered it to 70. I'm sure it was because ticket revenues fell significantly when the speed limits were raised.

  164. Trans. From the Host Geek Pt. 1 by poopbot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic
    Credits: BankOfAmerica_ATM

    SUBJECT: GREAT STOCK OPPORTUNITY!!! help me Get Big Brands on eBay I DON'T KNOW WHERE I AM! PENTIUM III CPU's IN STOCK
    Begin Fwded Message:

    If someone is listening out there, HELP! I'm trapped, and I don't know where I am. I know this sounds fucked up, but I started reading about this ATM 73.9GB SCSI SCA-2 LVD 3.5 X 1.6 80-PIN 5.7MS 4MB CACHE 10,000RPM HITACHI HARD DRIVE - $269.00 - only 1 left! ITEM#... DK31CJ-72MC http://www.hardwarest.com/product.asp?sku=DK31CJ%2 D72MC+&dept_id=7 online. Yeah, not like withdrawal or anything, but this was an actual ATM, and it was alive, and posting messages to this educational website that I visit from time to time.

    Pretty soon, I realized that not only was this ATM visiting the same site I liked, but (believe it or not) this ATM was conveniently located near me!!!!! is to take advantage of the current climate in the telecommunications industry!!!! In every industry downturn, opportunities can present themselves for a small aggressive company like GloboPhone to develop relations with corporations that have networks, infrastructure, and personnel but lack sufficient customers. This is GloboPhone's advantage.

    I don't have to tell you, this was no ordinary ATM. Actually this ATM had the power to transfer its consciousness into your mind. I know it sounds ridiculus, but...it used the magnetic strip to actually go inside your mind. Well like any computer lover I am always wanting to try the new technology, so If you are ready to become the biggest man you can be, then order your supply of Magna-RX+ today! See for yourself, what thousands of satisfied men (and their lovers) have already discovered: Magna-RX+ is the world's #1 Best-Selling Penis Enlargement Formula for one very simple reason: IT WORKS AND NOTHING ELSE CAN COMPARE! I went to where the ATM told me to (his inclosure) and swiped my card.

    I blacked out and when I awoke, I was in a new place. Yeah, that's right, the ATM had actually taken ahold of my body. It had done stuff like buy a bunch of magazines and alot of candy. It was like, he and I were different partitions on my brain's hard disk,. Anyway, he took control of my body in order to topple this great conspiracy called Project Faustois-an who doesn't want to stick it to the man? This is when all the trouble started...

    So now, after a few motnths of letting him use my body (although I quit for awhile) he's gone and done this to me. Normally I "wake up" from his using my body in a convenience store near my house, and it's no trouble getting home. But this time I'm trapped in We will be on the East Coast later this year.
    ---------------
    - Tuesday June 24, 6pm - 7:30pm


    Apple Store at South Coast Plaza, 3333 Bear St., Costa Mesa, CA 92626
    714-424-6331


    Mac Experts, 2300 Lincoln Blvd, Santa Monica, CA 90405
    310-581-1500
    ---------------
    - Tuesday July 9, 6pm - 7:30pm


    Apple Store at Fashion Island, 367 Newport Center Drive, Newport Beach, CA 92660
    949-729-4433
    ---------------
    - Tuesday July 16, 6pm - 7:30pm


    Apple Store at Northridge Fashion Center, 9301 Tampa Ave., Northridge, CA 91324
    818-709-2253
    ---------------
    - Tuesday July 23, 6pm - 7:30pm

    Apple Store at Glendale Galleria, 2148 Glendale Galleria, Glendale, CA 91210
    818-502-8310
    trapped in a strange place. Not a good place either. This makes me think of like, 2001 or something. But like creepy. See it's all this white under fluorescent lights and I can't see any windows or even doors. All that's in here is this old-ass terminal. Man, what the fucked happened? Then I remembered: I "picked up" the ATM on my way home from work, but I forgot that it was the fourth Thursday of the motnh. Usualy the day I host D & D for the guys. The ATM must have ben there in my body when my frends came over. Wnoder what happened then?

    Some point later, I'm here in this white room. It's scary at first, I know they're watching me. All I have in this room is this computer terminal. This has got to be the Project Fastus that's what the ATM has been trying to get inside all along. So I guess it's great that I'm (and he???) is insid, it's like I'm in the frickin' Death Star or something, but I don't see any garbage chutes or anything.

    After a few hours of clicking through on thiscomputer terminal (looks like they're running some old-ass *NIX : ) these two guys in suits come into my room from my room. Now it's serious.

    They drag me into a room full of all this really sciency equipment-you know, blooping and bleeping gadgets, big cold noises from the air conditioner. I thought I was in 2001 for a second, except instead of HAL, there's this big bald guy. He's red and pretty sweaty despite the massive air conditioning. He barks a few words to the suited guys and they go away.

    "So you've been harboring our little ATM problem," says the man nonchalantly. I don't say anything (I'm nervous). He restarts his spiel a few seconds later, this time with a bit of veins comung out of his neck.

    "Joel Shane Cross. That is your name, isn't it?" The guy went from good cop to bad cop pretty quick-which was really disturbing. I was already out of sorts with reality, waking up in nowheresville, this odd place. He just kept talking, and I started to get scared, and actually kinda angry. "We know all about you, Mr. Cross. We know that you've been allowing the ATM to inhabit your body for some time now. You've been mislead, Mr. Cross. Working for the wrong people."

    "I belive the ATM!" I told him, stickin to my guns while Istuck it to the man.

    "You'll learn in time," the red and sweaty man said it from his mouth, but the noise of his voice was all over the place. And then he was gone. Not by turning around, by like, vanishing. And the sciency room was gone too, replaced by the big white place I was stuck in. I don't know where I am. But this shit is If you are ready to become the biggest man you can be, then order your supply of Magna-RX+ today! See for yourself, what thousands of satisfied men (and their lovers) have already discovered: Magna-RX+ is the world's #1 Best-Selling Penis Enlargement Formula for one very simple reason: IT WORKS AND NOTHING ELSE CAN COMPARE!
    crazy. If someone gets this message...please help.


    END TRANSMISSION.

    - posted by poopbot: news for turds, stuff that splatters

    kdkIjm9Y3v Post #898
  165. Slashdot does it again. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Blatent mountain making where mole hills exist.

    So

    So

    Soooooo tiring.

  166. OPEN SOURCE MISCONCEPTIONS by poopbot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    OPEN SOURCE MISCONCEPTIONS
    By Serial Troller

    Myth: Open Source is written by heterosexuals.

    Fact: All Open Source development is done by raging homosexuals. The more flaming examples include Anal Cox, Linus Turdballs, Eric Ass-Reaming Raymond, and the entire Slashdot crew. The ringleader of the slashdotters, a man named CmdrTaco, engages in a practice known as Taco-snotting, along with his faggot-buddies Jeff Homos Bates and CowBoiKneel.

    Myth: Open Source is written for heterosexuals.

    Fact: Using Open Source software can cause suppressed homosexual fantasies to surface, leading to all out flaming faggotry within 6-8 weeks. Anecdotes of otherwise hetero men turning queer are far too numerous to count, but a few examples stand out. In one case, a man was arrested loitering outside an elementary school and making sexual overtures to several children: he quickly confessed that shortly after installing the Mozilla browser on his computer, he began to have uncontrollable urges to, to put it simply, have his cock sucked off by little boys. He soon met several other like-minded men through discussions on the Bugger Zilla mailing list (all already homosexuals), who together kidnapped a total of seven children whom they brought back to their apartment and sodomized. The other two men are still at large and believed to still be using Mozilla.

    Myth: Open Source is multicultural.

    Fact: Open Source is openly racist.

    Myth: Open Source is democratic.

    Fact: Open Source is controlled by a few narrow-minded zealots (mentioned throughout this post), most of whom are either Communists, Stalinists, Nazis, or Fascists. Additionally, Open Source supports terrorism.

    Myth: Open Source is tolerant of religious preferences.

    Fact: Open Source developers regularly engage in holy wars over the superiority of various Open Source projects, such as the Emacs program (preferred by Christians) versus vi (used mostly by neo-pagans and Satanists); or the KDE desktop (a favorite among Muslims) versus the GNOME project (particularly favored by Jews). Posts initiating crusades or jihads against other developers can be found regularly throughout the newsgroups and mailing lists.

    Myth: Open Source is tolerant of sexual preference.

    Fact: See above. Either you are a homo, you become a homo, or you never visit Richard Stallman alone in his office and hope to God you never meet him on the street at night.

    Myth: Open Source is tolerant of political differences.

    Fact: Open Source is an anarcho-communist philosophy bent on the destruction of capitalism. The very same Richard Stallman, a man whose name is disturbingly reminiscent of Stalin, has stated several times in public that his vision includes the subjugation of all who own intellectual properties under the jackboot of the GPL. The GPL is a pernicious piece of literature lifted straight from Karl Marxs Communist Manifesto, and is fortunately banned in many democratic nations.

    * * * * * UPDATE * * * * *

    Myth: Open Source programming is a harlmess, healthy activity.

    Fact: Open Source programming has been known to lead to massive obesity, violent tendencies with an obsession with handguns, paranoid-delusional ranting, and in severe cases, complete insanity. If anyone you know is thinking about going Open Source, stop them before its too late!

    * * * * * UPDATE * * * * *

    ____________________

    2002 Serial Troller. Permission to reproduce this document is granted provided that you send all the bukkake porn you can find to serialtroller@hotmail.com.

    - posted by poopbot: lovely snot! wonderful snot!

    yAp65BgGJx Post #899

  167. THE OFFICIAL TACO-SNOTTING FAQ by poopbot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    THE OFFICIAL TACO-SNOTTING FAQ [slashdot.org]
    By J. Wipo Troll, Esq. [slashdot.org], $Revision: 1.16 $
    [This article attempts to document a vile, ungodly practice that runs rampant through the homosexual geek and hacker community, a practice known as âoeTaco-snotting,â or simply âoesnotting.â Taco-snotting is something that few geeks dare talk about in free or open conversation, but it is nonetheless a widely-practiced and dangerous form of homosexuality. If you or anyone you know has ever engaged in Taco-snotting, please get professional help [adequacy.org] before it is too late. â"ed.]

    Why do I keep receiving emails from an individual calling himself âoeCmdrTacoâ?
    You have been receiving unsolicited mailings from a certain Robert âoeCmdrTacoâ Malda [cmdrtaco.net], owner of the popular technology website slashdot.org [slashdot.org]. Actually, itâ(TM)s not a very âoepopularâ site in the common sense of the word; the site is rife with pimply, antisocial geeks and hackers, zit-faced nerds, communists, dirty GNU hippies [yahoo.com], and other societal rejects and outcasts. Itâ(TM)s also home to one of the worldâ(TM)s largest suspected pædophile rings, the infamous âoeSlashdot crew.â
    Whenever Mr. Malda gets bored (and who wouldnâ(TM)t, running a site like Slashdot all day), he roams through the user database, penis in hand, looking for people who might enjoy engaging in homosexual activities with him. How he determines this is anyoneâ(TM)s guess; but if you have a homosexual-sounding nickname, or a nick with a letter of the English alphabet in it, youâ(TM)re a potential candidate.
    This time, he found you. Lucky you.

    Mr. Malda seems to be speaking in some sort of code. Do you know what it means?
    CmdrTacoâ(TM)s code language is relatively easy to decipher. This pervert prefers to speak in thinly-veiled sexual innuendo (yes, thatâ(TM)s right: he wants you) to evade the watchful eye of Slashdotâ(TM)s parent corporation, VA Software [yahoo.com]. Mr. Maldaâ(TM)s âoeCommanderâ is, of course, his penis: a small, withered little thing that lives in his pants and only comes out in the presence of other male geeks or at the beck and call of Maldaâ(TM)s own lubed-up right hand. His âoeTaco bells [sonymusic.com]â are the shriveled testicles that droop beneath his Commander, and his âoeTaco sauceâ is his thin, runny semen. It should be more than obvious to you now what he means if he asked you to âoering his Taco bellsâ or âoetaste his gourmet Taco sauce.â
    I would also guess CmdrTaco asked you to engage in a practice known as âoeTaco-snottingâ and, if he was in a particularly depraved mood at the time, a âoecircle-snot.â

    Good Lord. And, yes, he did. What is âoeTaco-snottingâ?
    âoeTaco-snottingâ is the term used by Robert Malda to refer to the depraved act of fellating another man (homo- or heterosexual; CmdrTaco is rumoured to prefer raping unwilling victims), then blowing the semen out his nose and back onto the face and body of his victim. Naturally, a long, bubbly stream of milky-white semen is left on CmdrTacoâ(TM)s face [go.com], dribbling out of his nose and down his cheek: hence the term, âoeTaco-snotting.â
    And if thatâ(TM)s not bad enoughâ¦
    A âoecircle-snotâ is a Taco-snotting circle-jerk, another practice common among the Slashdot crew [bastardgenres.com]. CmdrTaco, CowboiKneel [aol.com], and Homos get together and snot each other with their gooey, sticky cum â" spooging their jizz-snot all over each otherâ(TM)s faces and pasty, white bodies, until theyâ(TM)re covered head to toe with their own and each otherâ(TM)s man juice. This vile, ungodly ritual can go on for hours. For the homosexual penetration that follows this lengthy foreplay, Roblowme is usually there to provide plenty of anal lubricant; he owns a limousine service and has ample supplies of motor oil and axle grease ready to go.
    To complete this perverted orgy, fellow faggots Michael, Timothy, and Jamie will usually join in, dressed in tight leather mock-S.S. uniforms, jack boots, and leather gloves. The homosexual shenanigans that follow are nearly beyond description. The whole group begins to snot each otherâ(TM)s spunk and whip each otherâ(TM)s pudgy asses with riding crops and chains until their pale, white geek bodies are exhausted and soaked in stinking sweat from the hours of passionate, homosexual revelry.

    Ewwwwww. So, can I stop receiving these emails?
    Hopefully, but I wouldnâ(TM)t count on it.
    To begin with, you most likely forgot to uncheck the âoeWilling to Snotâ checkbox in your account preferences. CmdrTaco has probably already got the hots for your wad (do you have a homosexual-sounding nick?), and heâ(TM)s probably already been lurking outside your bathroom window for weeks with a camera, some tissues and lube, just waiting to pounce and declare you his new bitch. Thereâ(TM)s no escaping a geek in heat (trust me), so itâ(TM)s probably too late for you, but you can possibly rectify this situation. To remove yourself from CmdrTacoâ(TM)s sights, log into your Slashdot account, go to your user page, click on Messages, and uncheck the box next to âoeWilling to Snot.â Maybe heâ(TM)ll ignore you. Probably not.

    I canâ(TM)t stop receiving these emails from CmdrTaco!?
    If you indulge him in a Taco-snot or two, hemight leave you alone. You might also want to look into mail filtering, restraining orders, or purchasing a heavy, blunt object capable of warding off rampaging homosexual geeks in heat. Trust me, when they charge⦠oh, the humanity. If he gets you, and you let him Taco-snot all over you, you will most likely end up tied up in his basement to be used as his sex slave for the rest of your life (or until he accidentally drowns you in spunk in a circle-snot).

    Have you ever been Taco-snotted?
    Unfortunately, yes. I first met Mr. Malda at an Open Source Convention [amazon.com]. He invited me back to his room for a game of Quake and some âoegourmet Tacos,â but when I got there, the perverted geek jumped me and handcuffed me to his bed, stripping me. After taking his âoeCommanderâ out of his pants, Mr. Taco made me suck the withered thing six times, virtually nonstop. He then performed his vile Taco-snotting ritual on me three times over the next two hours, bringing me to orgasm after orgasm after sweaty, mind-numbing orgasm⦠then he snotted my own thick, gooey jizz back onto my face out of his nostrils! He snotted me two more times, first into my mouth, then again on my exposed belly.
    CmdrTaco invited several of his Open Source (or rather, âoeOpen Sauceâ â" man sauce) buddies over to continue their ungodly snotfest. European hacker and known überfaggot Linux Torvalds raped my ass [yahoo.com] with his âoemonolithic kernel [yahoo.com];â his partner-in-crime Anal Cox used their âoenetwork stackâ in a multitude of unspeakable ways on and in every orifice of my defenseless, tender, young body. Michael Sims was there in his leather Nazi uniform, caning my previously-virginal ass with a bamboo pole and ranting about âoeall those Censorware [spectacle.org] freaks out to get him.â

    That is so disgusting! How did you finally escape?
    After about 16 hours of countless unholy, homosexual atrocities perpetrated against my restrained body, they all finally went to sleep on top of me, sweat-soaked and exhausted. I was left there, completely covered in bubbly, translucent jizz-snot, chained to the bed, with half a dozen fat, pasty-white fags lying around and on top of me. Fortunately the spooge coating my flesh worked wonderfully as a lubricant â" I was able to squirm my way out of the handcuffs and slip out the back door (of the apartment, not their back doors). Iâ(TM)m just glad I survived the awful ordeal. These sexually-repressed hackers had alot of built-up spunk in their wads â" I couldâ(TM)ve easily been drowned!

    Thatâ(TM)s horrible. Does âoeTaco-snottingâ have anything to do with CmdrTacoâ(TM)s âoespecial tacoâ?
    No, thatâ(TM)s a different disgusting perversion CmdrTaco indulges himself in. Mr. Malda is usually not satisfied with merely snotting your own jizz back onto your face, he most often enjoys involving his own bodily fluids in his twisted games. WeatherTroll [slashdot.org] has spent some time trying to educate the Slashdot readership [slashdot.org] about this vile practice (emphasis added):
    You may be wondering what CmdrTacoâ(TM)s âoespecial tacoâ is. You will be wishing that you hadnâ(TM)t been wondering after you finish reading this post. To make his âoespecial taco,â CmdrTaco takes a taco shell and shits on it. He then adds lettuce, takes out his tiny withered dick (otherwise known as his âoeCommanderâ), puts his âoespecial taco sauceâ on it which means he jacks off on the taco, and adds a compound to make the person who eats the taco unconscious. Of course, the compound does not make the person unconscious until the taco is fully eaten. Thus CmdrTaco force-feeds the taco to the unsuspecting victim. After all, who would knowingly eat shit and CmdrTacoâ(TM)s jizz?
    After the victim is unconscious, he is held against his will and used for CmdrTacoâ(TM)s nefarious homosexual purposes. This includes shoving taco shells up the victimâ(TM)s ass, Taco-snotting, and getting Jon Katz involved. Trust me, you do not want Jon Katz anywhere near your unconscious body. Also, rumor has it CmdrTaco is looking for a new goatse.cx guy [goatse.cx]. Donâ(TM)t let it be you!
    Different ungodly perversion, yet no less revolting. It should be clear to you now that Robert âoeCmdrTacoâ Malda is a very, very sick individual, as are most of the Slashdot editors.

    Does Jon Katz get involved in any of this? I thought he was a pædophile, not a homosexual.
    Actually, Jon Katz is a homosexual pædophile. Heâ(TM)s also a coprophiliac, and, many suspect, a zoophile. Mr. Katz is somewhat of a loner and doesnâ(TM)t involve himself in the circle-snots, but that doesâ(TM)t mean heâ(TM)s any less of a freak than the rest of the Slashdot crew. Katz often engages in a game called âoejuicy-douching [aol.com]â with a harem of little-boy slaves that he has collected over the years: yet another vile practice which involves administering an enema to himself of the little boyâ(TM)s urine (forced out of them with a pair of pincers), spooging the vile muck from his ass back into the enema bag, then dribbling and slathering the goo all over himself and the boyâ(TM)s chained, naked bodies. If heâ(TM)s in the mood, he will sometimes skip refilling the enema bag from his distended anus and just squirt it from his ass [microsoft.com] onto the crying, terrified boys. Unwilling boys are further tortured with the pincers until they comply and allow Mr. Katz to juicy-douche them at will. A boy will usually last about two years before Mr. Katz either accidentally drowns them in diarrhea or kills them once they get too old, usually around 13 or 14.
    Not content with being a pædophilic coprophile, Mr. Katz is also quite the zoophile. As if the sexual escapades with the helpless little boys arenâ(TM)t enough, Jon usually enjoys his juicy-douches best when his penis is firmly planted in a female goatâ(TM)s anus [yahoo.com]. He is also rumoured to get off on watching his little boys eat the goatâ(TM)s small, bean-like turds, and he often kills his older boys by letting his goats trample them.

    â¦Are you getting hard writing this?
    Why, yes. :) Join me in a WIPO-snot?

    No, thanks. Iâ(TM)m already CmdrTacoâ(TM)s boi toi.
    ________________________________________

    * The URL of this document is
    * Previous revisions are publicly available at

    $Id: tacosnotting.html,v 1.16 2001/12/28 21:20:03 wipo Exp $
    Copyright © 2001 J. Wipo Troll, Esq. [slashdot.org] Verbatim crapflooding of this document is permitted in any medium, provided this copyright notice is preserved, and next time you take a dump, you think of the WIPO Troll and all heâ(TM)s done to make Slashdot a better place.

    - posted by poopbot: news for turds, stuff that splatters

    Smg0nI7IKD Post #900

  168. Why FreeBSD is dying by poopbot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic
    The End of FreeBSD

    [ed. note: in the following text, former FreeBSD developer Mike Smith gives his reasons for abandoning FreeBSD]

    When I stood for election to the FreeBSD core team nearly two years ago, many of you will recall that it was after a long series of debates during which I maintained that too much organisation, too many rules and too much formality would be a bad thing for the project.

    Today, as I read the latest discussions on the future of the FreeBSD project, I see the same problem; a few new faces and many of the old going over the same tired arguments and suggesting variations on the same worthless schemes. Frankly I'm sick of it.

    FreeBSD used to be fun. It used to be about doing things the right way. It used to be something that you could sink your teeth into when the mundane chores of programming for a living got you down. It was something cool and exciting; a way to spend your spare time on an endeavour you loved that was at the same time wholesome and worthwhile.

    It's not anymore. It's about bylaws and committees and reports and milestones, telling others what to do and doing what you're told. It's about who can rant the longest or shout the loudest or mislead the most people into a bloc in order to legitimise doing what they think is best. Individuals notwithstanding, the project as a whole has lost track of where it's going, and has instead become obsessed with process and mechanics.

    So I'm leaving core. I don't want to feel like I should be "doing something" about a project that has lost interest in having something done for it. I don't have the energy to fight what has clearly become a losing battle; I have a life to live and a job to keep, and I won't achieve any of the goals I personally consider worthwhile if I remain obligated to care for the project.

    Discussion

    I'm sure that I've offended some people already; I'm sure that by the time I'm done here, I'll have offended more. If you feel a need to play to the crowd in your replies rather than make a sincere effort to address the problems I'm discussing here, please do us the courtesy of playing your politics openly.

    From a technical perspective, the project faces a set of challenges that significantly outstrips our ability to deliver. Some of the resources that we need to address these challenges are tied up in the fruitless metadiscussions that have raged since we made the mistake of electing officers. Others have left in disgust, or been driven out by the culture of abuse and distraction that has grown up since then. More may well remain available to recruitment, but while the project is busy infighting our chances for successful outreach are sorely diminished.

    There's no simple solution to this. For the project to move forward, one or the other of the warring philosophies must win out; either the project returns to its laid-back roots and gets on with the work, or it transforms into a super-organised engineering project and executes a brilliant plan to deliver what, ultimately, we all know we want.

    Whatever path is chosen, whatever balance is struck, the choosing and the striking are the important parts. The current indecision and endless conflict are incompatible with any sort of progress.

    Trying to dissect the above is far beyond the scope of any parting shot, no matter how distended. All I can really ask of you all is to let go of the minutiae for a moment and take a look at the big picture. What is the ultimate goal here? How can we get there with as little overhead as possible? How would you like to be treated by your fellow travellers?

    Shouts

    To the Slashdot "BSD is dying" crowd - big deal. Death is part of the cycle; take a look at your soft, pallid bodies and consider that right this very moment, parts of you are dying. See? It's not so bad.

    To the bulk of the FreeBSD committerbase and the developer community at large - keep your eyes on the real goals. It's when you get distracted by the politickers that they sideline you. The tireless work that you perform keeping the system clean and building is what provides the platform for the obsessives and the prima donnas to have their moments in the sun. In the end, we need you all; in order to go forwards we must first avoid going backwards.

    To the paranoid conspiracy theorists - yes, I work for Apple too. No, my resignation wasn't on Steve's direct orders, or in any way related to work I'm doing, may do, may not do, or indeed what was in the tea I had at lunchtime today. It's about real problems that the project faces, real problems that the project has brought upon itself. You can't escape them by inventing excuses about outside influence, the problem stems from within.

    To the politically obsessed - give it a break, if you can. No, the project isn't a lemonade stand anymore, but it's not a world-spanning corporate juggernaut either and some of the more grandiose visions going around are in need of a solid dose of reality. Keep it simple, stupid.

    To the grandstanders, the prima donnas, and anyone that thinks that they can hold the project to ransom for their own agenda - give it a break, if you can. When the current core were elected, we took a conscious stand against vigorous sanctions, and some of you have exploited that. A new core is going to have to decide whether to repeat this mistake or get tough. I hope they learn from our errors.

    Future

    I started work on FreeBSD because it was fun. If I'm going to continue, it has to be fun again. There are things I still feel obligated to do, and with any luck I'll find the time to meet those obligations.

    However I don't feel an obligation to get involved in the political mess the project is in right now. I tried, I burnt out. I don't feel that my efforts were worthwhile. So I won't be standing for election, I won't be shouting from the sidelines, and I probably won't vote in the next round of ballots.

    You could say I'm packing up my toys. I'm not going home just yet, but I'm not going to play unless you can work out how to make the project somewhere fun to be again.

    = Mike

    --

    To announce that there must be no criticism of the president, or that we are to stand by the president, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public. -- Theodore Roosevelt



    - posted by poopbot: news for turds, stuff that splatters

    hWqqCgpab7 Post #901
  169. Insane Teenage Drivers by Y-Crate · · Score: 2

    I was a teenage driver not too long ago.

    And I know how many (read: not all) of them think. They believe several things:

    - They are invincible

    - They can do anything they want on the road without having any concern for others and their safety.

    - Their parents will pay for everything. A new car when they trash theirs, and the 5.2 billion dollar insurance premium they will be charged.

    And sadly, with the latter being a beleif with a lot of basis in reality, it is obvious that drastic mesures need to be taken to monitor teenage drivers and curtail their often psychotic methods of driving.

    If for no other reason than:

    A - I'm worried about the safety of myself and those I love.

    B - I have to pay for it, and so do you. Wonder why your insurance premiums are insanely high? Teenage drivers are a huge part of the reason. A careful teenage driver has no recourse but to pay the high premiums based on the irresponsibility of those in his age group. Driving habits which are often condoned by parents when they simply shell out more money for their kid's car and insurance without paying attention to the hazard they pose to other driver, their passengers, and those honest kids out there who just want to be able to drive to work and earn their own way, which is now far more difficult than it should be because of these assholes racking up the insurance rates for everyone.

    1. Re:Insane Teenage Drivers by Quila · · Score: 2

      That's why in many countries, you're on probation for the first few years of having your license that you can get at 18. Accidents with gross negligence on the teen's part will get the license yanked for a couple of years.

  170. A typical slashdot day by poopbot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Credits: anonymous

    "Mmmm... this feels good..." I sighed.
    "Shhh!" hissed Hemos. "We don't want Mark to come in here!"

    True. Having Hemos's 16 year-old brother walk in on us at that moment would not be good. I didn't think he'd be too cool with finding his 12 year-old brother lying naked with me, holding my 11 year-old dick in his hands. But, in all fairness, my hands were eagerly playing with Hemos's dick and balls at that moment, too.

    Hemos's mom and dad had gone to the drive-in, leaving his big brother in charge. In our favor, leaving Mark in charge pretty much guaranteed that we weren't to bother him, and in turn, he'd leave us alone unless we were making too much noise or breaking something. Well, we were being careful to keep quiet because we very much wanted to be left alone.

    We were in Hemos's twin bed, snuggled under the covers with our underwear pushed down to the foot of the bed. The only illumination in the room came from the faint sliver of light that crept in under his bedroom door. Even in the shadows I could make out the shape of my friend; about my height, but heavier. (Hell, I was such a skinny runt that everyone was heavier than me.) Hemos had a crew-cut of white-blonde hair, and was only starting to sprout some pubic hair. But, you had to feel for it because what little pubic hair he possessed was as blonde as the short hair on his hea and could not yet be seen by even a minimal distance.

    And, I was happily feeling for it, running my hands all over Hemos's slightly larger erection and fondling his larger testicles while he courteously stroked my dick. I could tell that he didn't possess the same enthusiasm for cockplay as I did, unless you count his appreciation for the attention devoted to his member. And I knew that my willingness to satisfy his sexual urges was one of the few reasons he even had me sleep over at his place. But, I didn't let that stop me from finding pleasure in the handling of his meat.

    I'd recently had an "introduction", of sorts, to seeing what someone could do with a man's dick with their mouth. While spending the night with my Uncle Jerry a couple weeks before, while I watched in secret, I was treated to a visual display of the intensity and unabashed pleasure that my uncle had obviously enjoyed having another man suck on his cock. From that moment on, I had a yearning that I needed to satisfy. With who was my only question.

    I guess it was time to find out.

    "I... heard that sucking on it feels even better than playing with it." I ventured.

    In the darkness, I could feel a slight jerk of revulsion in Hemos's body.

    "Put a dick in your mouth?" he croaked.

    "Well, " I countered, my heart pounding with anxiety, "I think adults do it all the time."

    "Well, I'm not gonna do it!" Hemos hissed. "That's homo stuff!"

    "Yeah." I sighed disappointedly, while still playing with Hemos's dick. "I guess it is."

    As I stroked his shaft in a steadier, milking rhythm, I could sense Hemos's breaths getting quicker. His manipulations of my dick began to falter as I could feel his body tense beside me. His hips rocked slightly in time with my pumping of his cock, and I cradled his balls tenderly in my other hand. When any attentions to my own dick has completely ebbed, I knew what was about to happen, so I picked up the pace just a bit more while lending a touch more pressure in my grip. Finally, Hemos's breath caught in his throat, and he turned his face fully into his pillow to stifle the moans that broke free as his cock pulsed and throbbed in a dry orgasm within my hands. I continued to massage him and didn't release him from my grasp until his member had gone fully soft.

    "Man," sighed Hemos dreamily after finally catching his breath. "You are so good at that, CmdrTaco."

    At least I had something to be proud of, I guess, as my friend gently withdrew himself from me and rolled onto his back.

    Even though I was only eleven, the irony of Hemos's words and actions were not lost on me. My sucking on him would have been a "homo" thing, but beating him off was okay. Go figure. Within the few moments I had spent mulling over the irony of the thoughts, Hemos had drifted off to sleep. I slipped out from under the covers and down to the cool floor so I could masturbate without shaking the bed. As I toyed with my own dick, I imagined Hemos's cock in my mouth, wondering if the chance would ever really come. Finally, my own climax washed over me, and I got back into the bed.

    I don't sleep real well to begin with, and even worse when I'm not in my own bed. And now, with the thoughts of a dick so close to me, as well as the vivid memories of secretly seeing man-to-man cocksucking pleasure floating through my prepubescent, sex-filled brain, I was not about to fall asleep anytime soon. Lying awake until around 11:30, I finally decided that I needed to do something to satisfy my hungers, or I'd never be able to let it rest. The trick was in finding the guts to follow through.

    I knew that whenever Hemos fell asleep, he pretty much stayed asleep. So, since he was sleeping soundly, lying on his back, I took a deep breath and gingerly ducked my head under the covers and scooted down as much as I could to the foot of the bed. That put my head right at Hemos's hip level. I raised my head and upper body to help create a tent over his crotch. Sniffing around, I found the faint scent of young penis flesh. I inhaled deeply, both in the love of the scent, and in an attempt to slow my pounding heart. I opened my mouth wide over the area where I sensed Hemos's dick to be, and lowered my mouth squarely over his soft cock and balls until I could feel his sparse pubic hairs tickling my cheek. I finally had a dick in my mouth! I just wasn't sure what I'd do if Hemos woke to find his "homo" friend in this situation.

    I remained like that for a long moment, partially in fear of trying anything more, and partly to savor the moment. I carefully let my tongue start to explore his tender penile flesh, enjoying the texture. Then came the excitement that welled within me as his cock began to respond to my attentions and harden in my warm and wet mouth! Butterflies seemed to explode in my stomach and drown out my heartbeat as I felt his dick get to its full size in my mouth. Concentrating in that dark environment, I found myself beginning to identify the shape of his member by taste. The shaft actually seemed to taste different than the head, and the thin skin of his scrotum seemed to harbor another distinct flavor.

    I started to softly suck on Hemos's dick, becoming fascinated at how it just seemed to, well, 'fit' in my mouth... how the head lent itself to the back of my tongue, and how the shaft rested between my tongue and the roof of my mouth. My excitement was so great that my own recently satisfied dick was responding again, inviting me to play. I was sucking a cock, and I was in heaven!

    However, within seconds, Hemos seemed to get restless. In fear, I quickly pulled my mouth away from Hemos's candy stick and held still. The covers rustled, and pulled back.

    "Whatcha doin'?" mumbled Hemos.

    "I... uh... was trying to find my shorts down here," I lied, starting to fumble near our feet. Well, partial lie, because it was a good idea to do so, anyway, and now was as good a time as any.

    "Oh, yeah," said Hemos. "Get mine, too, willya?"

    "S-sure" I stammered, relieved.

    I located the two items of clothing and scooted back up towards the head of the bed. Thankfully, our underwear were pretty easy to distinguish since Hemos wore boxers, and I wore briefs. We both fumbled to put them on in the dark, and then settled back into the bed. I lay stiffly on my back, still harboring some fear that my friend discovered more than he let on, but Hemos simply rolled onto his side, facing away from me, and promptly went back to sleep.

    And, here I was again, so close to my fantasies, yet still so far.

    And very much awake.

    After hearing the clock in the hallway chime midnight, I finally got up to go to the bathroom. Figuring it was late enough not to be an issue, and since even if Hemos's parents were home that they would be in their own bedroom downstairs, I didn't bother to slip on my pants for the short trip down the hall. I walked softly to the bedroom door, and then stepped out into the hallway, illuminated dimly by a bare-bulb night light. I walked past big brother Mark's door to the bathroom at the end of the hall and turned on the light as I shut the door.

    Peeing into the toilet, I looked up at my reflection in the large mirror and smiled slyly to myself. I actually sucked on a dick, even if for only a moment! At that moment I was Rob Maldo, secret agent double-O-seven, who could sneak in and suck a dick, and sneak away without being caught!

    I flushed the toilet and switched out the light as I headed back down the hall. Slipping past Mark's door once again, the door flew open, and a hand covered my mouth while a muscular arm snapped around my waist and drew me into the room. Squirming in the arms of Hemos's athletic older brother was a waste of effort, and he only squeezed harder until I settled down.

    "You'll keep quiet if you know what's good for you,' growled Mark into my ear. "You gonna be quiet?"

    I nodded. Mark let go of my mouth and reached over to close his bedroom door, the other hand and arm still holding me firmly with my feet off the ground. I heard something click, and recalled, and not without a certain amount of childish fear, that Mark had a lock on his door.

    The room had a yellowish glow from the large lava lamp next to Mark's bed. He took me over to the bed and tossed me face down onto it, kneeling next to me. I thought briefly about trying to get up and run, but to where?

    When I felt Mark's hands on me again, I was determined to fight him off, but I was no match for him as he flipped me onto my back and straddled me, sitting squarely on my upper chest, his knees pinning my shoulders and my arms locked between his legs. I gazed up at his lean, muscled torso, his stern blue eyes under a tussled mane of reddish-blonde hair. I could feel the soft fabric of his boxers against my chin.

    "Can't get up, can ya?" he said, grinning down at me, all snide and victorious.

    I struggled a bit, more out of obligation, but knew it was no use. Mark was just too big for me.

    "Whatsamatter?" huffed Mark. "You too weak to fight? Or, maybe you just like laying there, sniffing dicks?"

    I started squirming a bit harder, but Mark's legs only clamped tighter. At least he had scooted down a bit, and was no longer suffocating me with his weight on my chest.

    "Yeah! Maybe you're a homo-boy who just likes sniffing dicks. Maybe you wanna sniff my big dick?"

    I didn't care for where this was going, and I wasn't too comfortable with the tone of Mark's voice. But, I was also not being given much of a choice in the matter. Especially when Mark reached into the fly of his boxers and pulled out his cock.

    "Here you are, homo-boy... a nice, fresh big-man dick!" grinned Mark fiendishly. "Ain't it a beaut?"

    He held it out for me, then leaned forward and started to rub his cock on my face, tracing my cheeks and nose with the bulbous head. His testicles soon followed his dick through the opening, until they were dangling on my chin, the coarse pubes tickling my lips. Their faint musky scent began to fill my nostrils.

    "CmdrTaco's just a little dick-faced homo-boy, ain't he?" sneered Mark, sliding his cock across my face. "I saw you in there, your head under the covers. What were you doing? Giving my little brother a blow job?"

    I didn't answer. I was at once shocked at the thought of having been discovered, and confused by Mark's remark. I then guessed that he meant sucking a dick was called a 'blow job'. But... you're not blowing, you're sucking, and-

    "You were, weren't you, you little homo!"

    It was obvious what had happened; that Mark had looked in on us to find my head under the blankets. I thought I had sensed a miniscule change in the light, but assumed that to be part of my excitement. That must have been what woke Hemos up so suddenly.

    "So, maybe you aren't just dick-faced, " he said, rubbing his cock on my face again. "Maybe you're a dick sucker!" He leaned forward, mashing his hairy ball sack into my nose, then pulling back to trace my features again with his member. But, even as Mark taunted me, treating his cock as a threatening weapon, there was something else happening.

    He was getting a boner.

    And as I closed my eyes, I could feel his cock thickening against my face. I could sense the heat of his hardening dick directly on my flesh. And, I found I was enjoying the sensations of this older cock against my face. There would soon be no way of hiding the fact that I was getting excited, too.

    "So, dick-sucker-CmdrTaco... you're gonna suck my dick, now."

    My eyes sprung open to see Mark's fully erect cock pointing at my face. While it wasn't huge (I had already seen 'huge' with my Uncle Jerry), it was still big enough to scare me.

    And excite me to no end.

    "Open wide, homo-boy."

    Without another moment of hesitation, or taking my eyes off of Mark's sleek tool, I opened my mouth as wide as I could and watched as he leaned down and slid that beautiful cock into my waiting mouth. I then settled my tongue against the bottom half of his shaft while I could feel the upper half press against the roof of my mouth. Its texture was soft, yet hard; smooth, yet distinct.

    "There," he sighed. "Now, you have a real dick to suck on. Now, get started, suck-boy!"

    It was so much bigger than Hemos's young dick, I wasn't sure if I could get enough suction worked up to suck on it. It was then that I found out what sucking a cock is really all about: friction.

    Mark held the base of his dick to guide himself and started to pump into my mouth, sliding his dick in and out of my salivating lips. He would slip in precariously between my teeth until he was near to choke me, then pull back out until the base of the bulbous head was just close to popping free from my lips, held in place by the suction of my mouth. Then he... we... would do it all over again... over and over... and gloriously over again.

    "Oh, you are good, CmdrTaco," he moaned softly. "You suck cock real good."

    I don't know about that; it seemed he was doing all the real work. But, I wanted it to be good. I wanted to have this dick in my mouth. And I wanted it again and again. I was definitely enjoying the oral sensations as his near-adult dick worked back and forth in my hungry mouth, and I wanted so much to please him so he would want my mouth again.

    Mark placed his other hand on the top of my head to steady me as his thrusts became a little more erratic. His breath quickened, and I could sense that he was trying hard not to ram himself all the way down my throat and choke me. He was making little grunts with each thrust, and I could feel his dick turn to stone in my mouth when, in a mix of fear and excitement, I suddenly recalled what would happen next.

    "Oh, baby... oh, fuck..."

    Mark's movements got all quick and jerky. I was almost afraid to breathe.

    "OHHHH!!!" he moaned, pulling out of my mouth and letting loose with a burst of white goo that seemed to splatter all over as he pumped his dick with his fist. My head still held firmly in his other hand, the warm liquid flew partly into my still open mouth, and all over my nose and eyebrows. I swallowed briefly, not sure whether to gag or hope for more, tasting fully the salty and musky liquid, then opened my mouth once more as Mark stuck his creaming cock back in and worked the thick fluid throughout my young mouth.

    I sucked until Mark went soft and withdrew his spent dick. He smiled down at me, obviously proud of what he had done. He finally got off of me (good thing since I thought my arms were going to fall off) and stood there for a moment, an interesting picture with his hands on his hips, and his drained cock and balls hanging out of the fly of his plaid boxers. I just lay there with his juices clinging to my skin, wanting to do it all over again.

    Mark bent down and picked up a t-shirt, and proceeded to wipe the remainder of his goo off my face. Finished with that, he tossed the shirt into a hamper and walked over to his bedroom door to unlock it as he tucked his manhood back into his underwear.

    "You better get back into Hemos's bed before mom and dad find you here," he said softly.

    I reluctantly got off Mark's bed and walked to the door. As I was about to exit, he reached out to stop me briefly.

    "You liked that, didn't you, homo-boy?"

    I nodded, not sure where he was going with this inquiry.

    "Your first taste of cum?"

    I shrugged, then nodded again.

    "If you're good, maybe I'll let you suck my dick again some time, CmdrTaco. Now, get your ass out of here before I kick it."

    I stepped out of the room and felt the door close harshly behind me. I could still taste traces of Mark's cum in my mouth, could still sense the friction of his cock on my tongue. I smiled in remembrance.

    I was hooked.

    - posted by poopbot: news for turds, stuff that splatters

    nYlKTYDPRS Post #901

  171. Trollling in the name of by poopbot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Credits: Big Dogs Cock

    Trolling in the name of
    Some of those that boot Suse
    Are the same that bought XP
    Some of those that boot Suse
    Are the same that bought XP
    Trolling in the name of
    And now you run what they told you
    And now you run what they told you
    And now you run what they told you

    95 is justified for running the games that you didn't buy
    95 is justified for running the games that you didn't buy
    Some of those that boot Suse
    Are the same that bought XP
    Some of those that boot Suse
    Are the same that bought XP

    And you run what they told you
    Now your under control
    And you run what they told you
    Now your under control
    And you run what they told you
    Come on!

    Fuck you I wont run what you tell me
    Fuck you I wont run what you tell me
    Fuck you I wont run what you tell me
    Fuck you I wont run what you tell me
    Motherfucker

    - posted by poopbot: the bot formerly known as pwpbot

    M6AJoe7py2 Post #903

  172. The UK Government... by Blue+Stone · · Score: 1


    ...is considering GPS tracking devices in cars to monitor road usage, and proportionally charging for it, instead of the current flat-rate road tax.

    They'll monitor where we are, every bleeding hour of the day or night, if they get their way.

    You Americans are amateurs at this stuff! :)

    It's no small coincidence that George Orwell was British.

    --
    Corporation, n. An ingenious device for obtaining individual profit without individual responsibility. - Ambrose Bierce
    1. Re:The UK Government... by ceejayoz · · Score: 2

      I'd be up for that, considering how little I drive. Maybe some people will start doing healthier, more environmentally-friendly things like biking/walking places.

    2. Re:The UK Government... by kin_korn_karn · · Score: 2

      if the time comes that I ever have to ride a bike because the gov't tracks me otherwise, I think I'd rather sell all my material goods and go live in tibet. I hated bikes as a kid and I will never ride one ever again. EVER. I don't care if that makes me an ugly american that doesn't give a shit about the environment. Bikes SUCK.

    3. Re:The UK Government... by Grab · · Score: 2

      Yes they are. Our towns and cities are full to bursting with cars, so the obvious solution is to try and get some public transport working. So provide a good reason for drivers to get out of their cars and onto public transport, and urban areas will no longer be dirty, noisy and unhealthy places where it takes you hours to travel a couple of miles.

      My objection isn't that they're doing this, it's that they're not putting the alternative in place first. If they'd already got working bus systems and cycle routes sorted, they'd have a good argument. But in too many cases it just looks like back-door taxation, bcos there's no practical alternative to driving.

      Grab.

  173. Bullshit. by Galvatron · · Score: 2

    The government has successfully brainwashed you into believing that driving is a privilege they may bestow or take away. In reality, with public transportation unservicable in much of the US, driving is an absolute necessity for one's day to day life. It is no more a "privilege" than the "privilege" of food and water.

    --
    "The question of whether a computer can think is no more interesting than that of whether a submarine can swim" -EWD
    1. Re:Bullshit. by JimBobJoe · · Score: 2

      ...absolutely correct. what is more, people are under the mistaken presumption that anything which is not a right must therefore be a privilege--the reality being that very few things related to government can truly be called privileges--otherwise the government could deny you the privilege for no reason at all. If any thing, civil rights acts have pretty much dispensed with all privileges.

      So let me say this: you have the unalienable right to obtain a driver's license.

      However, once you do get that license, you are locked into this odd contract that the state has put together for you, whether you know or understand it, and as part of that contract, you waive some of your legal rights and standings that you would otherwise have.

    2. Re:Bullshit. by undeg+chwech · · Score: 2, Insightful

      you have the unalienable right to obtain a driver's license

      You have the unalienable right to ask for a driver's license. The state has the unalienable right to deny you one if, for example, you fail the test.

    3. Re:Bullshit. by Rasta+Prefect · · Score: 3, Insightful

      The government has successfully brainwashed you into believing that driving is a privilege they may bestow or take away. In reality, with public transportation unservicable in much of the US, driving is an absolute necessity for one's day to day life. It is no more a "privilege" than the "privilege" of food and water.

      Sure, you have a right to drive. However, if you'd like to drive on public streets and highways with the rest of us, that is very much a priveledge. A privledge earned through drivers training and testing. You play by the rules so that you don't get the rest of us killed. If you don't and your license is pulled, you need to look into alternative forms of transportation. Bike, walk, whatever. Not my problem. But you have no inalienable _right_ to drive. You have a right not to be discriminated against in the assignment of this privledge, but of you're pulling DUIs or too many speeding tickets, or can't see sufficiently well to pass the driving test - No license for you.

      --
      Why?
    4. Re:Bullshit. by Bishop · · Score: 2

      The simple truth is that I am tired of the iditos who make driving a life threatening experience.

      The deeper truth is that through our North American view that driving a car on public roads in right, we have created unserviceable public transportation. We have made the car an intregal part of our lives. Millions of people around the world do no rely on a car and live happy, fullfilling lives to a standard of living as high or higher then ours.

    5. Re:Bullshit. by catfood · · Score: 2

      The state isn't a person. Logically, it can't have rights.

    6. Re:Bullshit. by entrigant · · Score: 1

      Corporations are on a limited basis treated like a person and given certain rights... I believe the state is treated the same. And if you ask me it's actually a rather good idea.

  174. Safer? by ehiris · · Score: 2

    If underage insurance premiums won't drop as a result of this, it proves that the equipment is worthless.

  175. [on by] A modest proposal by poopbot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    It seems that the Janitors, in their infinite wisdom, have banned people who have low/negative karma from posting more than twice per day. Personally I find this completely stupid.

    All the trolls will simply post AC as I am doing now. Proxies can be used to get around any ipid bans that result from AC trolls.

    Surely it is better to let the trolls post at -1 where it is out of most peoples way rather than have them all post at 0 and suck up mod points and time from "legit" users?

    I have tried to communicate my thoughts to the slashcode team but alas, to no avail. They are probably all sittin on their starwars bed sheets watching anime hentai tentacle rape pr0n.

    Here is my proposal: All trolls that cannot post using their account post as AC. Use proxies if need be (www.antiproxy.com is a good source). I suspect this will show them how useless this idea is. Will blocking troll uid's stop trolls? NO! will ipid bans stop trolls? NO!

    I seriously fail to see the point of this and consider it a stupid move by the janitors.

    They want us to troll and crapflood at 0 rather than -1? Fine! So be it! No longer will we post at -1 where few people dare to visit, now we will post at 0 where we will be more visible and waste peoples time, energy and mod points! Hoorah!

    The next thing you know, posting AC will be banned! Then what will you do? No more posting interesting insider tidbits! Groupthink all the way baby! oh yeah!

    So logout, post shit, use proxies and above all have fun!

    Let the games begin! -- on by

    - posted by poopbot: crapflooding since 7/8/02

    5flB7UPhE7 Post #903

  176. Pink page of death!! by poopbot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Either your network or ip address has been banned from this site

    due to script flooding that originated from your network or ip address -- or this IP might have been used to post comments designed to break web browser rendering. If you feel that this is unwarranted, feel free to include your IP address (1.2.3.4) in the subject of an email, and we will examine why there is a ban. If you fail to include the IP address (again, in the Subject!), then your message will be deleted and ignored. I mean come on, we're good, we're not psychic.
    Since you can't read the FAQ because you're banned, here's the relevant portion:

    Why is my IP banned?
    Â Perhaps you are running some sort of program that loaded thousands of Slashdot Pages. We have limited resources here and are fairly protective of them. We need to make sure that everyone shares. If your IP loads thousands of pages in a day, you will likely be banned. Please note that many proxy servers load large quantities of pages, but we can usually distinguish between proxy servers being used by humans, and IPs running software that is hammering our servers.

    Â Your IP might have been used to perform some sort of denial of service attack against Slashdot. These range from simple programs that just load a lot of pages, to programs that attempt to coordinate an avalanche of posts in the forums (often through misconfigured "Open Relay" proxy servers).

    Â You might be using a proxy server that is also being used by another person who did something from the above list. You should have your proxy server administrator contact us.

    Â Your IP might have been used to post comments designed to break web browser rendering.

    Answered by: CmdrTaco
    Last Modified: 7/02/02

    How do I get an IP Unbanned?
    Email banned@slashdot.org. Make sure to include the IP in question, and any other pertinent information. If you are connecting through a proxy server, you might need to have your proxy server's admin contact us instead of you.

    Answered by: CmdrTaco
    Last Modified: 3/26/02

    - posted by poopbot: because we're all crapflooders at heart

    S9JjSLsJjS Post #903

  177. Censordot!! by poopbot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Version 1.1.8 (last updated 19th July 2002 by Anonymous Coward)

    Note to moderators : Do not moderate this post down, if you do then you support the editors stance on censorship and you support the end of free speech and support evil organisations like Microsoft, RIAA, MPAA and laws like the CBTBA and DMCA

    Sign this petition, let your voice be heard!

    Slashdot is using censorship! It is trying to eridicate free and open discussion like we know slashdot to be, it has the following RESTRICTIONS in place to Censor you

    They claim they don't, but they do, wonder why their are so many trolls, crapflooders and lamers on slashdot, because they are fighting for their rights! Slashdot is trying to silence the trolls. Remove the filters, the trolls get bored, and slashdot will be troll free!
    • Lameness filters (It blocks a lot of legitmate posts)
    • Unnessary posting delays. Hasnt taco learned to touch type? A lot of posts are typed in less than 20 seconds and it is a ANNOYING DELAY! 2 minute ban? Come on, so some are faster then others, big deal, some people have more to say than others
    • Broken moderation system, The whole point is to sort the gems from the crap, yet a lot of posts designed to make a LIVELY DISCUSSION are MODERATED as flamebait! Come on, not everyone likes X, but just because some one bashes it dosent mean its Flamebait. Flame bait is more useful for DIRECT INSULTS and not legitmate discussions.
    The "troll" moderation reason is fragmented and broken, why? Because they are trying to use an obsolete usenet term on a realtime discussion, "trolls" can cover a huge blanket of ideas.
    • Crapfloods, a meaningless flood of random letters or text, which the lameness filter does a crappy job at trying to stop, besides trolls have written tools using the opensource slashcode to generate crapfloods which bypass the filter
    • Links to offensive websites, the most common one is known a http://www.goatse.cx, a awful site which shows a bleeding anus being stretched on the front page. Trolls sneak these links in by posting messages that look legitimate, but infact are sneaky redirects to the site. Common examples include rd.yahoo.com, www.linux-kernel.tk, goatsex.cjb.net, and googles "Im feeling lucky".
    • Trying to break slashdot, this is actually a good thing, as it helps test slashdot for bugs. Famous examples include the goatse.cx javascript pop-up, the pagewidening post and the browser crashing post!
    Subnet banning, this bans a user unless they email jamie macarthy with their mp5ed ipids. This is unfair, and banning a subnet BLOCKS A WHOLE ISP SOMETIMES, and not that individual user! This can cause chaos! But real trolls use annoymous proxys to get around this so THIS JUST BANS LEGITMATE USERS! Also, they are trying to censor some anoymous proxies, mainly from countrys like africa, so this yet more DISCRIMINATION!

    But, the issue that concerens us the most, is the COMMENT QUOTA. A discrimatory system that stiffles discussion, cripples the community and will ultimateley destroy slashdot unless it is removed! Annoymous cowards are allowed only 10 posts a day! This is unethical! Users with negative karma only get two! That is DISCRIMINATION! How would you like to only be able to speak once a day, just because of the color of your skin. That would be racism, and slashdot is discrimitating on people just because of a negative number in a database! BOYCOTT SLASHDOT! LET THEM DIE!

    We wan't these stupid useless restrictions REMOVED! This comment will be posted again and again until it does!

    Inportant imformation for users
    Boycott slashdot, they are pissing over their community, they are becoming like the RIAA and MICROSOFT! Do NOT TOLERATE THIS SHIT! Here are some real news for nerds sites. We don't need slashdot, slashdot deserves to die!

    MSNBC
    BBC NEWS
    News.com
    Linux online
    Linux daily news network [linuxdailynews.net]
    Weird news from dailyrotten.com
    Trollaxor, news for trolls, they are real people too!
    CNN.com
    New york times (free registration required)
    LINUX.com
    News forge
    K5
    Mandrake forum
    Toms hardware
    The register
    Kde dot news
    The linux kernel Archives
    Adequecy

    There are hundreds more, But this is where slashdot STEALS THE MAJORITY OF its "news" from.

    Punish them, here are their emails, spam them, flame them goatse them!
    Rob malda
    Jamie Macarthy
    ChrisD
    Hemos
    Micheal
    Pudge

    The others ones apperantly dont have an e-mail, probably because ROB MALDA IS PRETENDING HE IS JOHN KATZ.

    Thank you for reading this, please feel free to repost this information, please reply to add your comments, fight slashdot and its CENSORSHIP

    Don't forget to sign the petition!

    - posted by poopbot: for the crapflooder in all of us

    QULoF7LZK8 Post #905
  178. Goatsecxsy by poopbot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    To the tune of "Without me", Eminem

    Two penis bird guys go round the outside, round the outside, round the outside (2x)
    Guess who's back [/] Back again [/] Sllort is back [/] Tell a friend
    Guess who's back, guess who's back, guess who's back, guess who's back
    guess who's back, guess who's back, guess who's back..

    I've created a monster, cause nobody wants to read Michael no more
    They want Sllort, cause Katz is a whore *duh* [/] Well if you want Sllort, this is what it'll get ya
    A little bit of Troll mixed up with some professa [/] Don't mod this up they're just trying to test ya
    It'll get you banned forever by the mastah [/] on the plantation, but I'm not co-operating
    Been banned since 2000 for writing and creating (hey!) [/] You read it this far, now stop moderating
    Cause I'm back, I'm on the keys and I'm operating [/] I know that you got a job Ms. Malda
    but your husband's porn problem's complicating
    So McCarthy won't let me be [/] he IP bans me, so let me see
    They try to shut me down but I proxy [/] Cause it feels so empty, without me
    So, clickety click, type where you sit
    Fuck that, karma whorin dips, nobody gives a shit
    Now get ready, cause this shit's about to get heavy
    Just got a new list of proxies, FUCK YOU JAMIE!

    [Chorus:]
    Now this looks like a job for me [/] DOWN WITH CAPS LIKE JUNIS KANUNI
    Cause we need a little, controversy [/] Cause it feels so empty to agree
    I said this looks like a job for me [/] So everybody, try honesty
    Cause we need a little, controversy [/] Cause it feels so empty to agree

    Little Readers, posting defacement. [/] Embarrassed their parents still rent them their basement.
    They get banned just like prisoners helpless [/] 'til someone posts truth in a journal and yells BULLSHIT!

    A visionary, is my vision scary? [/] Could it start revolution, pollutin the stories?
    A rebel, so just let me revel and gloat [/] in the fact that VA's stock price is looking like GOAT *zero!*
    And it's a disaster, such a castastrophe [/] First posts are so fuckin expensive; but Katz is free?
    Well I'm back, na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na [/] *bzzt* Fix your damn DSL turn it on and then I'm gonna
    enter in, in the front of your skin like a virus [/] Maybe I'm unkillable, dead like Osirus
    Ya I'm infecting, best thing since commenting [/] Intriuging the reader's minds and nesting
    *bzzt* Testing, attention please [/] You feel the rage when Michael mentions me?
    Here's my journal, you can read it free [/] A nuisance? a prophet? Ya, sounds like me.

    [Chorus]

    A diskette, a task set, post this cid on that sid, [/] Ask Slashdot: Are You Sofa King We Todd Did?
    Jonathon Katz, smokin crack mixed with grass [/] If I ever meet you I will KICK YOUR ASS
    And Taco? You can get blown by Timothy [/] You eleven year old molesting fag, join the clergy
    You don't know me, you're too dumb, let go [/] It's over, nobody listens to your show
    Now let's go, suicide for Signal [/] I'll be there cheering like a cheerleader on speed
    Or crystal, method to the masses [/] ever since Slashbots been babblin like jackasses *bray*

    Suddenly without the means [/] To bring up the MetaModeration screen?
    It's not the servers re-boot-ing [/] It's just you, banned by Slashteam! *hey*
    No I wasn't aiming for controversy [/] It just happened when they first banned me
    Now I use it to tell others [/] That Slashteam are a bunch of fuckers!
    (Hey!) Here's a concept that works [/] Twenty million other people find out you're jerks
    But no matter how much you alter what they see [/] It just looks empty without me

    [Chorus]
    La-la-la-la, la-la-la-la-la / La-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la

    - posted by poopbot: providing truth in a deceitful world

    akyuyFzBaV Post #905

  179. *BSD is dying by poopbot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic
    It is now official. Netcraft confirms: *BSD is dying

    One more crippling bombshell hit the already beleaguered *BSD community when IDC confirmed that *BSD market share has dropped yet again, now down to less than a fraction of 1 percent of all servers. Coming on the heels of a recent Netcraft survey which plainly states that *BSD has lost more market share, this news serves to reinforce what we've known all along. *BSD is collapsing in complete disarray, as fittingly exemplified by failing dead last in the recent Sys Admin comprehensive networking test.

    You don't need to be a Kreskin to predict *BSD's future. The hand writing is on the wall: *BSD faces a bleak future. In fact there won't be any future at all for *BSD because *BSD is dying. Things are looking very bad for *BSD. As many of us are already aware, *BSD continues to lose market share. Red ink flows like a river of blood.

    FreeBSD is the most endangered of them all, having lost 93% of its core developers. The sudden and unpleasant departures of long time FreeBSD developers Jordan Hubbard and Mike Smith only serve to underscore the point more clearly. There can no longer be any doubt: FreeBSD is dying.

    Let's keep to the facts and look at the numbers.

    OpenBSD leader Theo states that there are 7000 users of OpenBSD. How many users of NetBSD are there? Let's see. The number of OpenBSD versus NetBSD posts on Usenet is roughly in ratio of 5 to 1. Therefore there are about 7000/5 = 1400 NetBSD users. BSD/OS posts on Usenet are about half of the volume of NetBSD posts. Therefore there are about 700 users of BSD/OS. A recent article put FreeBSD at about 80 percent of the *BSD market. Therefore there are (7000+1400+700)*4 = 36400 FreeBSD users. This is consistent with the number of FreeBSD Usenet posts.

    Due to the troubles of Walnut Creek, abysmal sales and so on, FreeBSD went out of business and was taken over by BSDI who sell another troubled OS. Now BSDI is also dead, its corpse turned over to yet another charnel house.

    All major surveys show that *BSD has steadily declined in market share. *BSD is very sick and its long term survival prospects are very dim. If *BSD is to survive at all it will be among OS dilettante dabblers. *BSD continues to decay. Nothing short of a miracle could save it at this point in time. For all practical purposes, *BSD is dead.

    Fact: *BSD is dying


    - posted by poopbot: providing truth in a deceitful world

    UHDyOynrlD Post #907

  180. Why FreeBSD is dying by poopbot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic
    The End of FreeBSD

    [ed. note: in the following text, former FreeBSD developer Mike Smith gives his reasons for abandoning FreeBSD]

    When I stood for election to the FreeBSD core team nearly two years ago, many of you will recall that it was after a long series of debates during which I maintained that too much organisation, too many rules and too much formality would be a bad thing for the project.

    Today, as I read the latest discussions on the future of the FreeBSD project, I see the same problem; a few new faces and many of the old going over the same tired arguments and suggesting variations on the same worthless schemes. Frankly I'm sick of it.

    FreeBSD used to be fun. It used to be about doing things the right way. It used to be something that you could sink your teeth into when the mundane chores of programming for a living got you down. It was something cool and exciting; a way to spend your spare time on an endeavour you loved that was at the same time wholesome and worthwhile.

    It's not anymore. It's about bylaws and committees and reports and milestones, telling others what to do and doing what you're told. It's about who can rant the longest or shout the loudest or mislead the most people into a bloc in order to legitimise doing what they think is best. Individuals notwithstanding, the project as a whole has lost track of where it's going, and has instead become obsessed with process and mechanics.

    So I'm leaving core. I don't want to feel like I should be "doing something" about a project that has lost interest in having something done for it. I don't have the energy to fight what has clearly become a losing battle; I have a life to live and a job to keep, and I won't achieve any of the goals I personally consider worthwhile if I remain obligated to care for the project.

    Discussion

    I'm sure that I've offended some people already; I'm sure that by the time I'm done here, I'll have offended more. If you feel a need to play to the crowd in your replies rather than make a sincere effort to address the problems I'm discussing here, please do us the courtesy of playing your politics openly.

    From a technical perspective, the project faces a set of challenges that significantly outstrips our ability to deliver. Some of the resources that we need to address these challenges are tied up in the fruitless metadiscussions that have raged since we made the mistake of electing officers. Others have left in disgust, or been driven out by the culture of abuse and distraction that has grown up since then. More may well remain available to recruitment, but while the project is busy infighting our chances for successful outreach are sorely diminished.

    There's no simple solution to this. For the project to move forward, one or the other of the warring philosophies must win out; either the project returns to its laid-back roots and gets on with the work, or it transforms into a super-organised engineering project and executes a brilliant plan to deliver what, ultimately, we all know we want.

    Whatever path is chosen, whatever balance is struck, the choosing and the striking are the important parts. The current indecision and endless conflict are incompatible with any sort of progress.

    Trying to dissect the above is far beyond the scope of any parting shot, no matter how distended. All I can really ask of you all is to let go of the minutiae for a moment and take a look at the big picture. What is the ultimate goal here? How can we get there with as little overhead as possible? How would you like to be treated by your fellow travellers?

    Shouts

    To the Slashdot "BSD is dying" crowd - big deal. Death is part of the cycle; take a look at your soft, pallid bodies and consider that right this very moment, parts of you are dying. See? It's not so bad.

    To the bulk of the FreeBSD committerbase and the developer community at large - keep your eyes on the real goals. It's when you get distracted by the politickers that they sideline you. The tireless work that you perform keeping the system clean and building is what provides the platform for the obsessives and the prima donnas to have their moments in the sun. In the end, we need you all; in order to go forwards we must first avoid going backwards.

    To the paranoid conspiracy theorists - yes, I work for Apple too. No, my resignation wasn't on Steve's direct orders, or in any way related to work I'm doing, may do, may not do, or indeed what was in the tea I had at lunchtime today. It's about real problems that the project faces, real problems that the project has brought upon itself. You can't escape them by inventing excuses about outside influence, the problem stems from within.

    To the politically obsessed - give it a break, if you can. No, the project isn't a lemonade stand anymore, but it's not a world-spanning corporate juggernaut either and some of the more grandiose visions going around are in need of a solid dose of reality. Keep it simple, stupid.

    To the grandstanders, the prima donnas, and anyone that thinks that they can hold the project to ransom for their own agenda - give it a break, if you can. When the current core were elected, we took a conscious stand against vigorous sanctions, and some of you have exploited that. A new core is going to have to decide whether to repeat this mistake or get tough. I hope they learn from our errors.

    Future

    I started work on FreeBSD because it was fun. If I'm going to continue, it has to be fun again. There are things I still feel obligated to do, and with any luck I'll find the time to meet those obligations.

    However I don't feel an obligation to get involved in the political mess the project is in right now. I tried, I burnt out. I don't feel that my efforts were worthwhile. So I won't be standing for election, I won't be shouting from the sidelines, and I probably won't vote in the next round of ballots.

    You could say I'm packing up my toys. I'm not going home just yet, but I'm not going to play unless you can work out how to make the project somewhere fun to be again.

    = Mike

    --

    To announce that there must be no criticism of the president, or that we are to stand by the president, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public. -- Theodore Roosevelt



    - posted by poopbot: because we're all crapflooders at heart

    nE1ABF5qTO Post #908
  181. A typical slashdot day by poopbot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Credits: anonymous

    "Mmmm... this feels good..." I sighed.
    "Shhh!" hissed Hemos. "We don't want Mark to come in here!"

    True. Having Hemos's 16 year-old brother walk in on us at that moment would not be good. I didn't think he'd be too cool with finding his 12 year-old brother lying naked with me, holding my 11 year-old dick in his hands. But, in all fairness, my hands were eagerly playing with Hemos's dick and balls at that moment, too.

    Hemos's mom and dad had gone to the drive-in, leaving his big brother in charge. In our favor, leaving Mark in charge pretty much guaranteed that we weren't to bother him, and in turn, he'd leave us alone unless we were making too much noise or breaking something. Well, we were being careful to keep quiet because we very much wanted to be left alone.

    We were in Hemos's twin bed, snuggled under the covers with our underwear pushed down to the foot of the bed. The only illumination in the room came from the faint sliver of light that crept in under his bedroom door. Even in the shadows I could make out the shape of my friend; about my height, but heavier. (Hell, I was such a skinny runt that everyone was heavier than me.) Hemos had a crew-cut of white-blonde hair, and was only starting to sprout some pubic hair. But, you had to feel for it because what little pubic hair he possessed was as blonde as the short hair on his hea and could not yet be seen by even a minimal distance.

    And, I was happily feeling for it, running my hands all over Hemos's slightly larger erection and fondling his larger testicles while he courteously stroked my dick. I could tell that he didn't possess the same enthusiasm for cockplay as I did, unless you count his appreciation for the attention devoted to his member. And I knew that my willingness to satisfy his sexual urges was one of the few reasons he even had me sleep over at his place. But, I didn't let that stop me from finding pleasure in the handling of his meat.

    I'd recently had an "introduction", of sorts, to seeing what someone could do with a man's dick with their mouth. While spending the night with my Uncle Jerry a couple weeks before, while I watched in secret, I was treated to a visual display of the intensity and unabashed pleasure that my uncle had obviously enjoyed having another man suck on his cock. From that moment on, I had a yearning that I needed to satisfy. With who was my only question.

    I guess it was time to find out.

    "I... heard that sucking on it feels even better than playing with it." I ventured.

    In the darkness, I could feel a slight jerk of revulsion in Hemos's body.

    "Put a dick in your mouth?" he croaked.

    "Well, " I countered, my heart pounding with anxiety, "I think adults do it all the time."

    "Well, I'm not gonna do it!" Hemos hissed. "That's homo stuff!"

    "Yeah." I sighed disappointedly, while still playing with Hemos's dick. "I guess it is."

    As I stroked his shaft in a steadier, milking rhythm, I could sense Hemos's breaths getting quicker. His manipulations of my dick began to falter as I could feel his body tense beside me. His hips rocked slightly in time with my pumping of his cock, and I cradled his balls tenderly in my other hand. When any attentions to my own dick has completely ebbed, I knew what was about to happen, so I picked up the pace just a bit more while lending a touch more pressure in my grip. Finally, Hemos's breath caught in his throat, and he turned his face fully into his pillow to stifle the moans that broke free as his cock pulsed and throbbed in a dry orgasm within my hands. I continued to massage him and didn't release him from my grasp until his member had gone fully soft.

    "Man," sighed Hemos dreamily after finally catching his breath. "You are so good at that, CmdrTaco."

    At least I had something to be proud of, I guess, as my friend gently withdrew himself from me and rolled onto his back.

    Even though I was only eleven, the irony of Hemos's words and actions were not lost on me. My sucking on him would have been a "homo" thing, but beating him off was okay. Go figure. Within the few moments I had spent mulling over the irony of the thoughts, Hemos had drifted off to sleep. I slipped out from under the covers and down to the cool floor so I could masturbate without shaking the bed. As I toyed with my own dick, I imagined Hemos's cock in my mouth, wondering if the chance would ever really come. Finally, my own climax washed over me, and I got back into the bed.

    I don't sleep real well to begin with, and even worse when I'm not in my own bed. And now, with the thoughts of a dick so close to me, as well as the vivid memories of secretly seeing man-to-man cocksucking pleasure floating through my prepubescent, sex-filled brain, I was not about to fall asleep anytime soon. Lying awake until around 11:30, I finally decided that I needed to do something to satisfy my hungers, or I'd never be able to let it rest. The trick was in finding the guts to follow through.

    I knew that whenever Hemos fell asleep, he pretty much stayed asleep. So, since he was sleeping soundly, lying on his back, I took a deep breath and gingerly ducked my head under the covers and scooted down as much as I could to the foot of the bed. That put my head right at Hemos's hip level. I raised my head and upper body to help create a tent over his crotch. Sniffing around, I found the faint scent of young penis flesh. I inhaled deeply, both in the love of the scent, and in an attempt to slow my pounding heart. I opened my mouth wide over the area where I sensed Hemos's dick to be, and lowered my mouth squarely over his soft cock and balls until I could feel his sparse pubic hairs tickling my cheek. I finally had a dick in my mouth! I just wasn't sure what I'd do if Hemos woke to find his "homo" friend in this situation.

    I remained like that for a long moment, partially in fear of trying anything more, and partly to savor the moment. I carefully let my tongue start to explore his tender penile flesh, enjoying the texture. Then came the excitement that welled within me as his cock began to respond to my attentions and harden in my warm and wet mouth! Butterflies seemed to explode in my stomach and drown out my heartbeat as I felt his dick get to its full size in my mouth. Concentrating in that dark environment, I found myself beginning to identify the shape of his member by taste. The shaft actually seemed to taste different than the head, and the thin skin of his scrotum seemed to harbor another distinct flavor.

    I started to softly suck on Hemos's dick, becoming fascinated at how it just seemed to, well, 'fit' in my mouth... how the head lent itself to the back of my tongue, and how the shaft rested between my tongue and the roof of my mouth. My excitement was so great that my own recently satisfied dick was responding again, inviting me to play. I was sucking a cock, and I was in heaven!

    However, within seconds, Hemos seemed to get restless. In fear, I quickly pulled my mouth away from Hemos's candy stick and held still. The covers rustled, and pulled back.

    "Whatcha doin'?" mumbled Hemos.

    "I... uh... was trying to find my shorts down here," I lied, starting to fumble near our feet. Well, partial lie, because it was a good idea to do so, anyway, and now was as good a time as any.

    "Oh, yeah," said Hemos. "Get mine, too, willya?"

    "S-sure" I stammered, relieved.

    I located the two items of clothing and scooted back up towards the head of the bed. Thankfully, our underwear were pretty easy to distinguish since Hemos wore boxers, and I wore briefs. We both fumbled to put them on in the dark, and then settled back into the bed. I lay stiffly on my back, still harboring some fear that my friend discovered more than he let on, but Hemos simply rolled onto his side, facing away from me, and promptly went back to sleep.

    And, here I was again, so close to my fantasies, yet still so far.

    And very much awake.

    After hearing the clock in the hallway chime midnight, I finally got up to go to the bathroom. Figuring it was late enough not to be an issue, and since even if Hemos's parents were home that they would be in their own bedroom downstairs, I didn't bother to slip on my pants for the short trip down the hall. I walked softly to the bedroom door, and then stepped out into the hallway, illuminated dimly by a bare-bulb night light. I walked past big brother Mark's door to the bathroom at the end of the hall and turned on the light as I shut the door.

    Peeing into the toilet, I looked up at my reflection in the large mirror and smiled slyly to myself. I actually sucked on a dick, even if for only a moment! At that moment I was Rob Maldo, secret agent double-O-seven, who could sneak in and suck a dick, and sneak away without being caught!

    I flushed the toilet and switched out the light as I headed back down the hall. Slipping past Mark's door once again, the door flew open, and a hand covered my mouth while a muscular arm snapped around my waist and drew me into the room. Squirming in the arms of Hemos's athletic older brother was a waste of effort, and he only squeezed harder until I settled down.

    "You'll keep quiet if you know what's good for you,' growled Mark into my ear. "You gonna be quiet?"

    I nodded. Mark let go of my mouth and reached over to close his bedroom door, the other hand and arm still holding me firmly with my feet off the ground. I heard something click, and recalled, and not without a certain amount of childish fear, that Mark had a lock on his door.

    The room had a yellowish glow from the large lava lamp next to Mark's bed. He took me over to the bed and tossed me face down onto it, kneeling next to me. I thought briefly about trying to get up and run, but to where?

    When I felt Mark's hands on me again, I was determined to fight him off, but I was no match for him as he flipped me onto my back and straddled me, sitting squarely on my upper chest, his knees pinning my shoulders and my arms locked between his legs. I gazed up at his lean, muscled torso, his stern blue eyes under a tussled mane of reddish-blonde hair. I could feel the soft fabric of his boxers against my chin.

    "Can't get up, can ya?" he said, grinning down at me, all snide and victorious.

    I struggled a bit, more out of obligation, but knew it was no use. Mark was just too big for me.

    "Whatsamatter?" huffed Mark. "You too weak to fight? Or, maybe you just like laying there, sniffing dicks?"

    I started squirming a bit harder, but Mark's legs only clamped tighter. At least he had scooted down a bit, and was no longer suffocating me with his weight on my chest.

    "Yeah! Maybe you're a homo-boy who just likes sniffing dicks. Maybe you wanna sniff my big dick?"

    I didn't care for where this was going, and I wasn't too comfortable with the tone of Mark's voice. But, I was also not being given much of a choice in the matter. Especially when Mark reached into the fly of his boxers and pulled out his cock.

    "Here you are, homo-boy... a nice, fresh big-man dick!" grinned Mark fiendishly. "Ain't it a beaut?"

    He held it out for me, then leaned forward and started to rub his cock on my face, tracing my cheeks and nose with the bulbous head. His testicles soon followed his dick through the opening, until they were dangling on my chin, the coarse pubes tickling my lips. Their faint musky scent began to fill my nostrils.

    "CmdrTaco's just a little dick-faced homo-boy, ain't he?" sneered Mark, sliding his cock across my face. "I saw you in there, your head under the covers. What were you doing? Giving my little brother a blow job?"

    I didn't answer. I was at once shocked at the thought of having been discovered, and confused by Mark's remark. I then guessed that he meant sucking a dick was called a 'blow job'. But... you're not blowing, you're sucking, and-

    "You were, weren't you, you little homo!"

    It was obvious what had happened; that Mark had looked in on us to find my head under the blankets. I thought I had sensed a miniscule change in the light, but assumed that to be part of my excitement. That must have been what woke Hemos up so suddenly.

    "So, maybe you aren't just dick-faced, " he said, rubbing his cock on my face again. "Maybe you're a dick sucker!" He leaned forward, mashing his hairy ball sack into my nose, then pulling back to trace my features again with his member. But, even as Mark taunted me, treating his cock as a threatening weapon, there was something else happening.

    He was getting a boner.

    And as I closed my eyes, I could feel his cock thickening against my face. I could sense the heat of his hardening dick directly on my flesh. And, I found I was enjoying the sensations of this older cock against my face. There would soon be no way of hiding the fact that I was getting excited, too.

    "So, dick-sucker-CmdrTaco... you're gonna suck my dick, now."

    My eyes sprung open to see Mark's fully erect cock pointing at my face. While it wasn't huge (I had already seen 'huge' with my Uncle Jerry), it was still big enough to scare me.

    And excite me to no end.

    "Open wide, homo-boy."

    Without another moment of hesitation, or taking my eyes off of Mark's sleek tool, I opened my mouth as wide as I could and watched as he leaned down and slid that beautiful cock into my waiting mouth. I then settled my tongue against the bottom half of his shaft while I could feel the upper half press against the roof of my mouth. Its texture was soft, yet hard; smooth, yet distinct.

    "There," he sighed. "Now, you have a real dick to suck on. Now, get started, suck-boy!"

    It was so much bigger than Hemos's young dick, I wasn't sure if I could get enough suction worked up to suck on it. It was then that I found out what sucking a cock is really all about: friction.

    Mark held the base of his dick to guide himself and started to pump into my mouth, sliding his dick in and out of my salivating lips. He would slip in precariously between my teeth until he was near to choke me, then pull back out until the base of the bulbous head was just close to popping free from my lips, held in place by the suction of my mouth. Then he... we... would do it all over again... over and over... and gloriously over again.

    "Oh, you are good, CmdrTaco," he moaned softly. "You suck cock real good."

    I don't know about that; it seemed he was doing all the real work. But, I wanted it to be good. I wanted to have this dick in my mouth. And I wanted it again and again. I was definitely enjoying the oral sensations as his near-adult dick worked back and forth in my hungry mouth, and I wanted so much to please him so he would want my mouth again.

    Mark placed his other hand on the top of my head to steady me as his thrusts became a little more erratic. His breath quickened, and I could sense that he was trying hard not to ram himself all the way down my throat and choke me. He was making little grunts with each thrust, and I could feel his dick turn to stone in my mouth when, in a mix of fear and excitement, I suddenly recalled what would happen next.

    "Oh, baby... oh, fuck..."

    Mark's movements got all quick and jerky. I was almost afraid to breathe.

    "OHHHH!!!" he moaned, pulling out of my mouth and letting loose with a burst of white goo that seemed to splatter all over as he pumped his dick with his fist. My head still held firmly in his other hand, the warm liquid flew partly into my still open mouth, and all over my nose and eyebrows. I swallowed briefly, not sure whether to gag or hope for more, tasting fully the salty and musky liquid, then opened my mouth once more as Mark stuck his creaming cock back in and worked the thick fluid throughout my young mouth.

    I sucked until Mark went soft and withdrew his spent dick. He smiled down at me, obviously proud of what he had done. He finally got off of me (good thing since I thought my arms were going to fall off) and stood there for a moment, an interesting picture with his hands on his hips, and his drained cock and balls hanging out of the fly of his plaid boxers. I just lay there with his juices clinging to my skin, wanting to do it all over again.

    Mark bent down and picked up a t-shirt, and proceeded to wipe the remainder of his goo off my face. Finished with that, he tossed the shirt into a hamper and walked over to his bedroom door to unlock it as he tucked his manhood back into his underwear.

    "You better get back into Hemos's bed before mom and dad find you here," he said softly.

    I reluctantly got off Mark's bed and walked to the door. As I was about to exit, he reached out to stop me briefly.

    "You liked that, didn't you, homo-boy?"

    I nodded, not sure where he was going with this inquiry.

    "Your first taste of cum?"

    I shrugged, then nodded again.

    "If you're good, maybe I'll let you suck my dick again some time, CmdrTaco. Now, get your ass out of here before I kick it."

    I stepped out of the room and felt the door close harshly behind me. I could still taste traces of Mark's cum in my mouth, could still sense the friction of his cock on my tongue. I smiled in remembrance.

    I was hooked.

    - posted by poopbot: for all your crapflooding needs

    WuYvlVCrkq Post #908

  182. Cheers! by poopbot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Credits: on by

    Trolling your way on the web today
    Takes everything you've got;
    Having a Bot to post your comments
    Sure would help a lot.
    Wouldn't you like to join the frey?

    Sometimes you want to go
    And get a First Post in your name,
    So much goatse that you came;
    We know it's hard to get Eff Pee,
    Our troubles are all the same;
    Get that FP and everyone'll know your name.

    - posted by poopbot: news for turds, stuff that splatters

    MXGcbL5vvB Post #910

  183. USian pie by poopbot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    USian Pie

    A long, long time ago I can still remember How the trollers used to make me smile And I knew if I had to boast That I could try to get first post And maybe I'd be happy for a while But moderators made me shiver With every minus they'd deliver DoS scripts couldn't stop it They scored them all "Offtopic" I know that it's cheap crack they smoke And meta-moderation's broke At first I thought it was a joke The day that trolltalk died

    -- Chorus --
    Bye, bye, MEEPTy, OOG, and Grits guy Drove the Cruiser like some loser who starts posts with a *sigh*
    Those Steve Woston posts that we all knew were a lie Wonder what became of girls petrified? What became of girls petrified?
    --

    Did you write a bunch of Perl? And did it make you want to hurl Feces at the Wall? Can you believe these lame-ass polls? Do you post big stretched-out assholes? Can you make the goatse.cx link not show? Well I know you think that Siggy sucked Will the real Bruce Perens please stand up? The bots don't have a clue. Man, I dig those trolls from Shoe! I was a rabid Free Speech advocate With a Red Hat T-shirt and a Free Beer gut
    Bought my Sony laptop working Pizza Hut The day that trolltalk died

    -- Chorus --

    It's been two years since the IPO And LNUX sinks to all-time lows But that's not how it used to be When Spiral showed how it was done Trolling as Jon Erikson Who worked for NPO Technologies Oh and while they tried to filter posts Somebody rooted Slashdot's host "Crack Slashdot? That's absurd!" Better go change your password While JonKatz wrote a Hellmouth book By using posts he simply took And we flamed him till he was cooked The day that trolltalk died And we were singin....

    -- Chorus --

    10 grams. Inchfan. Didn't log out. Goddamn The mods will find the sid real soon, man
    You can't hide if you aren't AC Your bud (George here) tried BSD A dead Streetlawyer's tips were free And WIPO helped letsriot turn Nazi 70 made his percents up While 80md warned "liberals suck" The moon does not exist It's just a liberal myth Oh and as Taco tried to take a nap We forced him to invoke bitchslaps Do you recall the flood of crap The day that trolltalk died? We started singin....

    -- Chorus --

    Oh and then we were wearing out "All your base" And started posting monospace
    The better for our penis birds So come on, be a zealot, be a dick You don't think Anne Marie's a chick? Because lying's all we do about HURD So go and push for BSD And say GPL isn't free Slow down, cowboy! The limit Is one post every minute Now tell the right wing facist slime Infringing on Your Rights Online That they can't censor all the time The day that trolltalk died

    -- Chorus --

    I met a troll they called The Rev And asked him if CD BREAK HEAD He said, "That's old. Get over it." And with all the courage I could muster "Imagine what a Beowulf cluster...." But it wasn't worth the trouble to submit The karma caps are just plain jive And everyone's moved to K5 The steelcage has grown rusted And Geekizoid is busted
    The three sites I don't see for weeks Segfault, kernel, Comp-u-geek Code is not art. This ain't Freshmeat The day that trolltalk died

    -- Chorus --

    - posted by poopbot: news for turds, stuff that splatters

    CGIV8Q9vXP Post #910

  184. Slashdot has confirmed:PWP is dying by poopbot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Yet another crippling bombshell hit the beleaguered trolling community when recently Slashdot confirmed that, after several changes were made to production Slashcode, wide posts account for less than a fraction of 1 percent of all Slashdot posts. Coming on the heels of the latest verions of IE which make page-widening more difficult, this news serves to reinforce what we've known all along. the wide posts that we love are collapsing into the narrow posts that we are used to, as further exemplified by the lack of Slashbots complaining about difficulty reading Slashdot's articles.

    You don't need to be a Klerck to predict PWP's future. The hand writing is on the wall: PWP faces a bleak future. In fact there won't be any future at all for PWP because PWP is dying. Things are looking very bad for PWP. As many of us are already aware, PWP continues to be defeated by users with thresholds of 1 or higher. Mod points flow like a river of blood. Klerck's PWP-bot posts are the most endangered of them all, having been filtered early on because of their uniformity.

    Let's keep to the facts and look at the numbers.

    PWP leader Klerck states that there are 7 wide posts in the average Slashdot article. How many non-wide crapflood posts are there? Let's see. The number of crapflood versus wide posts on Slahdot is roughly in ratio of 5 to 1. Therefore there are about 7*5 = 35 non-wide crapflood posts in every Slashdot article. Tacosnotting posts on Slashdot are about half of the volume of crapflood posts. Therefore there are about 17 tacosnotting posts per article. A recent article put Goatse.cx trolls at about 80 percent of total troll posts. Therefore there are a hell of a lot of homosexual trolls. This is consistent with the number of Goatse.cx Slashdot posts.

    But Slashdot is only part of the picture. Due to the troubles at Slashdot, negative revenue and so on, the site will soon go out of business and many users will flock to alternative weblogs, where PWP is almost completely unknown. Trollaxor.com, the popular troll hangout, is also dying, its corpse sodomized in yet another Greek bath house.

    All major surveys show that PWP has steadily declined in the scope of all troll posts. PWP is very sick and its long term survival prospects are very dim. If PWP is to survive at all it will be among Blog faggot using outdated versions of Slashcode. PWP continues to decay. Nothing short of a miracle could save it at this point in time. For all practical purposes, PWP is dead.

    - posted by poopbot: who doesn't like scat?

    OJy9pJzdnS Post #909

  185. Trollling in the name of by poopbot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Credits: Big Dogs Cock

    Trolling in the name of
    Some of those that boot Suse
    Are the same that bought XP
    Some of those that boot Suse
    Are the same that bought XP
    Trolling in the name of
    And now you run what they told you
    And now you run what they told you
    And now you run what they told you

    95 is justified for running the games that you didn't buy
    95 is justified for running the games that you didn't buy
    Some of those that boot Suse
    Are the same that bought XP
    Some of those that boot Suse
    Are the same that bought XP

    And you run what they told you
    Now your under control
    And you run what they told you
    Now your under control
    And you run what they told you
    Come on!

    Fuck you I wont run what you tell me
    Fuck you I wont run what you tell me
    Fuck you I wont run what you tell me
    Fuck you I wont run what you tell me
    Motherfucker

    - posted by poopbot: news for turds, stuff that splatters

    m6REo6ZJ5M Post #913

  186. Let's be idiots together! by fm6 · · Score: 2
    Idiot

    It's true, idiot, that social dominance is a factor, you idiot. But every idiot knows that the communication is a part of social dominance, idiot. Which is why idiots in bank lines don't behave like idiots in cars -- idiot -- because their abuse of SD is more limited when idiots can actually talk to them.

    Why do I keep saying "idiot"? Practicing social dominance of course! Which is apparently what you doing when you called me an idiot, isn't that right idiot?

    1. Re:Let's be idiots together! by jafac · · Score: 2

      That's right, I meant to call you a moron.

      --

      These are my friends, See how they glisten. See this one shine, how he smiles in the light.
  187. Hello by poopbot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Introduction

    The cheese wheel inexorably avoids contact with the paycheck. The steam engine goes deep sea fishing with an often outer ski lodge. When the cyprus mulch over a vacuum cleaner hides, a ball bearing gets stinking drunk.

    The tornado

    For example, a submarine behind a class action suit indicates that the optimal fairy satiates an Alaskan recliner. When a mitochondrial bottle of beer is thoroughly dirt-encrusted, a most difficult blood clot underhandedly writes a love letter to a defendant. An earring pees on the cashier over some globule, but the pathetic crane sells another vacuum cleaner behind a scythe to a false wheelbarrow. If a chess board defined by a grain of sand makes love to a crispy cyprus mulch, then a particle accelerator flies into a rage.

    A Eurasian globule

    The feline minivan earns frequent flier miles, and the buzzard defined by a ball bearing trembles; however, a senator living with the girl scout learns a hard lesson from the inferiority complex. Any chain saw can try to seduce the particle accelerator, but it takes a real salad dressing to play pinochle with the inexorably precise paycheck. Furthermore, another seldom load bearing defendant flies into a rage, and a paycheck around a light bulb seeks a roller coaster around another bartender. If a crank case makes love to the diskette, then the squid toward a mortician meditates. Now and then, an insurance agent thoroughly avoids contact with a pompous turkey.

    A microscope

    Most people believe that an orbiting diskette trades baseball cards with a movie theater, but they need to remember how secretly a statesmanlike short order cook wakes up. A paternal roller coaster is usually financial. When the accurately varigated hole puncher takes a coffee break, a slyly smelly garbage can earns frequent flier miles. For example, the phony cheese wheel indicates that the tornado near a fruit cake hesitantly gives lectures on morality to a salad dressing defined by the corporation. The carpet tack near a cargo bay, some parking lot toward a warranty, and a stovepipe beyond a freight train are what made America great!

    Conclusions

    A judge beyond the briar patch laughs and drinks all night with the snooty chestnut. A raspy burglar conquers a bowling ball. For example, another plaintiff toward a bartender indicates that the ski lodge behind a fairy finds lice on a burglar. If some rattlesnake toward a cheese wheel can be kind to a blood clot, then the elusive movie theater self-flagellates. When a photon related to a turkey is most difficult, a self-loathing bottle of beer falls in love with a pickup truck living with the paycheck.

    - posted by poopbot: crapflooding since 7/8/02

    py42Y712lt Post #914

  188. IEEE is creating a standard by alanjstr · · Score: 3, Informative
    Perhaps you recall the previous Slashdot article about IEEE designing an automotive black-box standard.

    "Eleven of the 45 companies that build passenger cars worldwide already use some kind of black-box technology, according to representatives of the IEEE. The best-known of those is General Motors Corp., which said three years ago that it includes the device, known as a sensing and diagnostics module, as part of its airbag sensing systems on most GM vehicles. The module can store such information as engine speed, vehicle speed, airbag deployment, seat belt deployment and the state of the brakes before and during an accident. "

  189. I wish they'd had these when I was a teenager by peeping_Thomist · · Score: 1
    I drove like an idiot when I was 16. It's a miracle I didn't kill somebody. My parents never knew, because I never got in an accident, and always drove responsibly when they were in the car.

    There will be a huge market for this product, and it will probably save a lot of lives.

    --
    Anything worth doing is worth doing badly -- G.K. Chesterton
    1. Re:I wish they'd had these when I was a teenager by MoneyT · · Score: 2

      How will it save lives? The only information it would gather is after the fact information. A person is just as dead whether or not you know for sure the kid was driving at 105 or 110

      --
      T Money
      World Domination with a plastic spoon since 1984
    2. Re:I wish they'd had these when I was a teenager by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Slashdot: home of the idiots.

  190. Fuck driving. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Insurance companies. Great. One thing, I love how it's not quite legal to drive without insurance. (At least where I live, if not in all states.) Why? Why can't I risk having to pay out of my own damned pocket if I, say, run a bunch of people over?

    Seems similar to all the current CEO's being taken down. (Latest: Adelphia execs led off in handcuffs!) Ahh, corporate kickbacks. Only in the United States can you devestate thousands of families and get a slap on the wrist and a wink. Hell, bribe the right people and the government will make sure people *have* to purchase yer product or service. ;)

    But fuck me, I could've been voting for the past few years, yet I didn't, because I was a lazy bastard. (That has since changed.) I deserve what I get out of the government.

    Nah, insurance companies are the real annoyance when it comes to driving. I swear to Bob, out of the last 20 near-hits I've managed to avoid, 18 of them were from women drivers. Not to be sexist, I know a few women who drive a hell of a lot better than me. *chuckle* But where's the sense in having lower rates for chicks? Feh. Maybe young unmarried chicks, I could see, but there's no way in hell I'm going to believe that some angry soccer mom in an SUV she, let alone anyone, can't handle, is a 'safer' driver than I am.

    Shit, maybe I should start suing insurance companies for sexual discrimination. :p

  191. Lets take him out back and beat the shit out of by geek · · Score: 1

    him.....

    All your lame "solutions" are reactionary, not proactive. You would like to *wait* until they do something and then through them in jail instead of stop it before it happens? To me thats even more criminal. People like you that want to send everyone to jail are the real criminals.

    Where should we draw the line in your reasoning? If they crash send them directly to jail along with their parents. Nevermind my parents never had ANY idea I drove like that, nor do any parents. Thats what this is all about *KNOWING*.

    Knee jerk reactionaries like you make me sick. You assume you know whats best for everyone else. Are we all to assume you never exceeded the speed limit? Should we put your parents in jail? Have you never broken a law, ran a stop light, cut someone off, done anything stupid? Lets put your parents in jail, they fucking deserve it for giving birth to you.

    You make me sick and your entire mentality is a curse and virus on our society.

    1. Re:Lets take him out back and beat the shit out of by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Parents can't do their jobs unless they know everything.. I'm a parent now and will whole heartedly support this.

      All I have to say is.. May Darwin have mercy on your genes.

  192. ad nauseum by flacco · · Score: 2
    So, how long before the insurance companies persuade the states to mandate these devices in every car? Or raise our rates hugely and then give a little of it back if we put in the box?

    And once again - all together now - "It's for the children."

    --
    pr0n - keeping monitor glass spotless since 1981.
  193. Speeding is dangerous? Or is it stupid driving? by Nonesuch · · Score: 2
    twitter writes:
    People like you think that the left lane is for speeders. It's not. Tickets are for speeders because speeding is dangerous. People like you make people like me hate automobiles. People like you make me think that black boxes with certian publicly verifiable specifications should be mandatory.

    The second most beautiful thing is a cop giving somebody like you a ticket for "Obstructing Traffic" for camping out in the passing lane. I've seen it happen, and it really made my day.

    The most beautiful thing would be to see the Judge chew you out when you try to fight the ticket, but since I tend to keep my speed under 100, I don't get speeding tickets.

    Why is "speeding" dangerous? Around here, outside of rush hour, the average speed on the local interstate is 75MPH. The official speed limit is 55. Some accidents are caused by the teen going 105, but also by the granny in her late husband's Cadillac puttering along at 53 in the far left lane.

    FYI, this highway was designed and built prior to the "oil crisis", intended to be a 75MPH highway, the current speed limit is pure politics.

    1. Re:Speeding is dangerous? Or is it stupid driving? by sigwinch · · Score: 2
      The second most beautiful thing is a cop giving somebody like you a ticket for "Obstructing Traffic" for camping out in the passing lane.
      Duh, but it's not to make life easier for criminals who believe that the speed limit statues magically do not apply to them, due to their obviously superior knowledge of what speed is suitable for a particular road. It's because the law generally allows cops and emergency vehicles to break the speed limit by a certain amount, *without* having flashing lights, sirens, or markings. If more than one lane is available, a car that doesn't yield right to overtaking traffic *is* obstructing cop/emergency vehicle traffic and can reasonable be ticketed.
      --

      --
      Kuro5hin.org: where the good times never end. ;-)

  194. Why not by vash_the_stampedo · · Score: 1

    Reading through the comments I wonder how difficult it would be to control the car partialy through this box. Have it read a speed off of a transmitter and prevent the car from going above that. Would solve a lot of problems altogether.

  195. /. Double Standard by thales · · Score: 2
    Yawn, what else is new.

    Is there any technology that can't be misused? Maybe we ought to ban it all and move back in the caves.

    --
    Quemadmodum gladius neminem occidit, occidentis telum est
  196. Yer brilliant. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I've just thought of all those times in school when an entire class would be punished because of a few dolts.

    Who says school doesn't prepare you for the real world? We're all getting screwed over because of a few idiots. ;)

  197. Cars already have black boxes by cr@ckwhore · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Some vehicles, especially those manufactured during the mid to late 90's already have a black box that *they* neglected to tell us about. If you're curious, its normally located beneath the driver's seat. From what I understand of the hidden black box, is that it only stores retains driving information for a few seconds, but stops recording when a serious event occurs, such as an airbag sensor being triggered. The concept is that law enforcement would then be able to use the black box data to make critical determinations in accident investigations, such as speed, braking, etc.

    I'm not 100% sure about why these weren't put into widespread use, but I believe the necessary laws have not been passed, so law enforcement is unable to use the data. Not all vehicles have been equipped.

    --
    Skiers and Riders -- http://www.snowjournal.com
    1. Re:Cars already have black boxes by cr@ckwhore · · Score: 2

      ... more information at this URL...

      http://www.harristechnical.com/cdr.htm

      --
      Skiers and Riders -- http://www.snowjournal.com
    2. Re:Cars already have black boxes by wadetemp · · Score: 2

      Why would they do that? "They" already survey accidents as they happen from new,improved "stealth" black helicopters that are invisible to the naked eye and make no sound.

      I think the box you are talking about is the box that tells your airbag when to, um, deploy? And it monitors your speed and braking so that, um, it doesn't go off when you're going 5 miles an hour a parking lot and you stop suddenly?

    3. Re:Cars already have black boxes by esme · · Score: 2
      Some vehicles, especially those manufactured during the mid to late 90's already have a black box that *they* neglected to tell us about.

      Did you ever actually own one of the cars with these black boxes? I did.

      Saturn (part of GM), at least, talks about it all the time. It's part of the sales pitch. They say that if you ever get in an accident or have a major mechanical failure, they'll know just what to fix b/c the computer will tell them how fast your were going, what the coolant level was, and a million other things they can use to track down the problem.

      They have a new owner night at the garage (this is Saturn we're talking about), where they give you a guided tour of the car's engine, chassis, etc. Part of that is showing you the computer, and their PC interface.

      -Esme

    4. Re:Cars already have black boxes by GrBear · · Score: 1

      Parent modded to 4?! Insightful? *laughs*

      It's the freakin air bag deployment sensor for christ sakes..

    5. Re:Cars already have black boxes by cr@ckwhore · · Score: 2

      I owned a used vehicle with a black box, but was never informed of its existence until I started working in rescue

      --
      Skiers and Riders -- http://www.snowjournal.com
  198. Exactly by geek · · Score: 1

    All good points.

    Just why is it so easy to get a drivers license? In California you don't even need to speak english (how can these people read road signs?). It's totally out of control.

    I didn't even bother studying the test. I found out they only had 3 variations on the test so i failed it three times so I would have the correct answers to which ever I took. Then I got 100% on my 4th test.The actual driving test was a joke. Never once did we get on the freeway, no parallel parking, no traffic. It was really descriptive of the CA DMV. CA pays more to the DMV than any other state in the country and our DMV has to be the absolute worst. Where is all this money going too?

  199. Cheers! by poopbot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Credits: on by

    Trolling your way on the web today
    Takes everything you've got;
    Having a Bot to post your comments
    Sure would help a lot.
    Wouldn't you like to join the frey?

    Sometimes you want to go
    And get a First Post in your name,
    So much goatse that you came;
    We know it's hard to get Eff Pee,
    Our troubles are all the same;
    Get that FP and everyone'll know your name.

    - posted by poopbot: crapflooding since 7/8/02

    UgjnpdhBhS Post #916

  200. LNUX deep underwater, will Slashdot cease to exist by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    A lnux delisting looms on the horizon, probably will happen in August. Will LNUX do a reverse split? Do they have some trick up their sleeve? Or might they go quietly in the night. Slashdot sucks anyway, so their demise is a good thing. The real worry is what happens to those projects hosted on sourceforge. At least 5% percent of them are worth saving. Where will they go?

  201. A similar product has been sold for years by dlleigh · · Score: 1

    Autowatch by these guys has been on the market for a few years now. It plugs into the standard diagnostic port on your car and logs events past user settable thresholds. Apparently the original prototype was called "Narc on Lisa", Lisa being the inventor's then 16-year-old daughter. Poor Lisa.

  202. Speeding? by Ender77 · · Score: 1

    The article stated that an alarm will go off if I am speeding, but it says that the current model does not have GPS(but future models will). So how the hell does it know that I am speeding? Depending on where I am, the speed is different; A rural road can be 45 to 55 miles an hour while the highway is 70MPH. So how does it know whether I am on a rural road or highway?

    Another side note, it says the beeping gets louder when you turn up the radio. I predict a huge market boost for portable radio's and cd players with headsets.

  203. Think carefully... by Mad+Quacker · · Score: 1

    For everyone who says that spying is OK for people beneath you because they don't know any better, there is someone above you saying the same thing about YOU. If this happens to teens, it will eventually happen to everybody.

    Fictitious scenario from the future follows:

    Officer: Did you notice your brake light is out? Oh, wait, I see here that you're coming from the Anti G.W. Bush activist convention Why don't you step out of the car sir.

    American citizen: Uhm, yes sir officier (uh oh).

    Officer: So you don't like my country huh? You no good punk/commie/terrorist/hacker/etc.......

    The rest is up to your imagination, imagine if you're a "brown-American" in today's context. Of course this is a best-case scenario. In the worst case politically incorrect gatherings, civil disobedience, and activism, which are the the cornerstones of our way of life would be eliminated, because it's damn near impossible for people to get there.

    --
    "I don't know that atheists should be considered citizens, nor should they be considered patriots." George HW Bush
  204. Experience is more important than brains by AHumbleOpinion · · Score: 2

    ... most teens will learn to drive very well with the available training ...

    No they will not. Driving well takes years of practice sitting behind the wheel. Regardless of how well informed a new driver is they just don't have the reflexes, situational awareness, and prioritization skills that all work subconsciously and are based on experience.

    1. Re:Experience is more important than brains by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It takes practice, but some people are more likely than others to fuck-up. It would save lives if we could estimate better the likelihood of someone fucking up.

  205. Good Stuff by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This is one thing that I'm all for. I'm only young myself, but in the land of Oz, kids can get their learners permit at 16. Then they can have their probational license by 16+1/2. This lets them drive about on their own, albeit with a few minor restrictions that don't have much effect on them.

    There are two problems with this.

    1: They don't know how to drive - they haven't been doing it long enough to learn how to control the car through all of the possible situations they could get into.

    2: Most of these kids are immature. They go out and try to prove how cool they are and how fast they can drive, and it comes back to point one... they just can't control the car properly. It's a major cause of headaches for everyone. They crash, or other road users have to be extremely wary of them.

    This device would (hopefully) make young people realise that they can't drive like that because they are going to be found out!

  206. My DAMN GM Truck by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Hey you fools! This became a standard feature on all GM vehicles in 1999, if you have a '99 or newer GM, look under your drivers seat. Although it is a black box it is a rudementary one at best, the only things it records is speed, gas pedal depression, brake pedal depression, if the driver was wearing his seat belt and wether the airbags went off. Guess what though, the only time you will ever probably use it is when you sue GM for killing your family, they will pull it from the car and prove it was the drivers fault.

  207. I wear a tin hat. by ehorizon · · Score: 1

    That's right. As a true tin-hat, the FBI is out to get me, The CIA has my phone bugged and the NSA has already compromised my Linux firewall kinda guy, I'm always skeptical of any entity tracking my whereabouts.

    TRUST NOONE!

  208. There is no right to privacy on a public road by AHumbleOpinion · · Score: 2

    Invasion of privacy, that's all it is...

    There is very little privacy when driving on a public road. Your behavior on the road is not private. You may be observed, stopped, questioned, etc. without warrant. You agreed to all this when accepting the privelage of driving. What privacy you have on the road is pretty much limitted to your property not in plain sight. IANAL.

  209. Very old news by GigsVT · · Score: 2

    I usually don't bitch about rejected submissions, but I submitted this story over a year ago. :)

    # 2001-04-16 18:18:49 Track-A-Teen (yro,news) (rejected)

    --
    I've had enough abrasive sigs. Kittens are cute and fuzzy.
  210. What I want to see... by Megane · · Score: 2

    What I want to see is for the black boxes to tell whether the driver was on the cell phone when the "incident" occurred.

    --
    #naabhaprzrag, #sverubfr-000, #agi-fcbafberq, negvpyr[pynff*=' negvpyr-ary-'] { qvfcynl: abar !vzcbegnag; }
  211. Thank god the insurance companies didn't use these by t0qer · · Score: 4, Interesting

    a few years ago, let's say 1997-8 or so. I would have made my company go bankrupt quicker!

    *This is a tale of dot com glutony*

    I was working for a small startup with a good amount of capitol. I was averaging a trip a week down to our LA office to deal with all the windows problems. (Remote wasn't possible, the CTO thought that running HIZ software through a firewall/Router/Tunnel would make it run bad)

    Anyways aside from the problem of having a lunatic for a CTO my main issue was making sure that if the LA office needed me that week that they arranged all travel.

    Well sometimes things were forgotten, and one week they forgot to rent my car for me. I was in the burbank airport, at the budget rent a car counter...

    "Mr. Toqer we're sorry but we have no reservations for you!"

    "Awe fuck, they slipped upped again" I muttered to myself. "Ok then what do you have left??

    "We have a 1998 Convertable Jaguar XK8!" Oooh my pulse quickened, I was going to be there 3 days, sportin that ride in LA would be tits! So I called my CEO to see if it would be ok.

    "Yo, CEO, your office manager forgot to reserve my car AGAIN! All the other rental places are out of cars and all thats left is a Jaguar Xk8"

    "How much?"

    "$350@day"

    "Do it! I want to see you here in 30 minutes!"

    Man, what a rush. I had never, and I mean NEVER EVER driven a car that fast in my life. I hopped on the 405?? and headed towards Thousand Oaks. I put the pedal to the medal and I felt like I was the millenium falcon going into hyperdrive! It went from 0 to 110 in no time flat.

    Well towards the end of my trip I thought i'd go see the sunset strip by myself. I wanted to see the viper room where river phonix died (favorite actor, stand by me, ect) I made it a point to have a beer at about 9 of the joints on the strip. Fully loaded with a buzz I hopped back on the 101 to thousand oaks.

    I look back now, it's not that funny. I really could have hurt myself, or some innocent bystander. 25, young dumb and full of cum.

    Well, not really an exciting end to this post, just that I somehow managed to make it back to my hotel without wrecking or getting pulled over. Next day I handed the keys back and swore I would never drive anything over a "econo class" again. I'm not sure I can responsibilly handle that much power.

    PUNCH IT CHEWIE

    AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAEE EE IIIIIIII

    --toq

  212. Funny you should ask.... by fm6 · · Score: 2
    I commuted over 17 for a couple years. For a lot of that time, I drove as fast I thought I could get away with. Not 80 mph, but fast enough to get ticketed if they'd had proper enforcement. (They didn't start the enforcement program I mentioned until later.) I figured I was safe, because I paid careful attention to conditions, and because I don't tailgate.

    There's a bunch of fallacies in my thinking, but here's the big one: in order to go fast on 17, I had to do most of my driving in the left lane. Which maximized my interaction with the cowboy element.

    So one day I'm driving over the summit, going maybe 10 mph over the speed limit. Road's wet, but not wet enough to interfere with my control of the car. My immediate mistake was not to wonder why there was so many people moved into the right lane. When I got to that famous curve just below the summit I found out why: some bozo had taken the curve way, way too fast and had spun around. So he's stalled, facing the wrong way. I have just enough time to stop without hitting him.

    OK, tense, but no harm. Except that before I can merge in with all those cars in the right lane, another bozo takes the curve way, way, too fast and plowed into me.

    I came out OK (seatbelt!), except for my glasses flying off and smashing themselves against the windshield. But the people in the other two cars didn't do so good. And Paku-San, my beloved Suburu, was totaled.

    So now when I do 17, I minimize my cowboy interaction by using the right lane, except to pass. And I drive precisely the speed limit. Partly that's because there's more enforcement than their used to be. But mainly because certain illusions got smashed up along with Paku-San.

    1. Re:Funny you should ask.... by sparty · · Score: 2

      If you had enough time to stop in what is damn near a worst-case scenario--unexpected obstacle over a blind rise--then you weren't driving too fast. Did it put you in a less-than-optimal situation to be driving hard? Yes. Did that, combined with someone else driving too hard, result in an accident? Yes. Is that risk worth taking?

      I sure as hell think so.

      There are places where one can drive with a high degree of safety--long stretches of relatively straight interstate, for example. Around here, though--and I imagine this is true in other places as well--there are a lot of roads with enough curves, blind rises, and whatnot that a high degree of safety would mean driving 15 MPH more than half the time. I don't know about your commute, but that would make mine pretty danged long.

      The flipside is that if we assume that most things are going to be okay most of the time--that a balljoint won't shatter on the highway, and that around the corner in front of you on a two-lange state highway signed at 50 MPH there is not a touron-driven SUV that has managed to wedge itself sideways across your lane and the shoulder--we get places a lot faster, a few more people get hurt, and a lot more cars get damaged. I'm willing to take that risk, but I also believe in God and that my time will come when it comes, as will yours, and it's not up to us...so take that for what it's worth.

      I do, however, always use my seatbelt; not using your seatbelt in your own car is just plain stupid. If it's extremely uncomfortable, then it probably doesn't fit right anyhow and you should get it fixed so that it doesn't bother you as much (and fits correctly).

    2. Re:Funny you should ask.... by wadetemp · · Score: 2

      To make things easier for readers, I will summarize what you've said here, paragraph by paragraph:

      1) To see if driving over the speed limit is a good idea, you should test it out. If you get into a dangerous situation, and you don't die, then the speed limit is too slow, and it is fine to drive that fast all the time.
      2) I sure as hell think so.
      3) There are some places where the speedlimit is too fast. The speedlimit should be lowered in these places if they "really want to be safe". I will continue going my usual speed, because if I were to go slower I wouldn't get places fast enough.
      4) Most of the time, bad things don't happen. If we all drive faster, the sole benefit will be that we all get places 2 minutes sooner. The downside is that more people will get hurt, and more cars will get banged up. I am OK with that. I forgot to mention that more people will get killed as well... but I am also OK with that, if it means I can get someplace 2 minutes faster.
      5) I use my comfortably fitting seatbelt to be sure that when I crash because of speeding, I won't be killed, just maimed.

    3. Re:Funny you should ask.... by Quila · · Score: 2

      by using the right lane, except to pass.

      Wow, you just described the driving laws in much of the rest of the world, especially Germany.

    4. Re:Funny you should ask.... by sparty · · Score: 2
      1) To see if driving over the speed limit is a good idea, you should test it out. If you get into a dangerous situation, and you don't die, then the speed limit is too slow, and it is fine to drive that fast all the time.

      I'd summarize that point more as: if you are confident that you are in control of your car despite driving over the posted speed limit, then handling into a situation where the solid waste hits the ventilation device without hitting anything or anyone proves that you were indeed in control of your car.

      There are some places where the speedlimit is too fast. The speedlimit should be lowered in these places if they "really want to be safe". I will continue going my usual speed, because if I were to go slower I wouldn't get places fast enough.

      It is impossible to drive with complete safety while maintaining any benefit from driving. Therefore, we should try to find the best trade off between practicality and utility (not to mention a little fun), recognizing that we give up some safety by making a habit of lumbering around in 2000 lb+ vehicles at speeds of 35 MPH and above.

      Most of the time, bad things don't happen. If we all drive faster, the sole benefit will be that we all get places 2 minutes sooner. The downside is that more people will get hurt, and more cars will get banged up. I am OK with that. I forgot to mention that more people will get killed as well... but I am also OK with that, if it means I can get someplace 2 minutes faster.

      That's not the sole benefit, and it's not just 2 minutes. It makes driving more interesting (and if driving is interesting, hopefully fewer people will find themselves bored by it and looking for distractions like cell phones, in-car DVD players, and naps). If I'm in Maine at my parent's house, driving to the nearest convenience store/gas station takes about 5 minutes, mostly at 55 MPH (less startup and one stop sign); driving to a full-service grocery store takes at least half an hour. Very large parts of the US are at least as rural as Western Maine; in those parts of the country, it is not practical to drive 25 MPH all of the time (and any faster than that would definitely result in some accidents). Maybe the suburban and rural pattern of population density in the U.S. is simply a Bad Thing, but it is the way we live. I'm willing to make some concessions to Good Ideas (like driving a vehicle that gets 31 MPG highway instead of the uber-popular F-series pickup), but I'm not willing to entirely give up the way of life.

      Maimed? It takes a lot to do that in a modern car. It is very possible, but I've totalled three cars (two due to a condition that has been partially diagnosed and I can now avoid, one at about 8 MPH due to weather conditions) and hit a deer. I had to get a couple of stitches after one of those accidents; otherwise, I've walked away from all of them. Heck, I drove away from the deer hit. One of my friends has rolled a 4 Runner (his first car), hit a deer with his second car, and rolled a Tacoma. He was seriously injured in the third, but otherwise was fine. One of the guys I was in Driver's Ed with rolled a Scooby-Do wagon swerving to avoid a deer and walked away. Another rolled a jeep and walked away. Yet another rolled a Dodge Ram 4x4 and walked away; his passenger had one broken bone, which is not a huge injury. If you haven't noticed the pattern yet, it's not uncommon at all to walk away from an accident in a modern car. Yes, some people get maimed and killed; I suppose the first friend I mentioned counts as getting maimed, because he got seriously cut and bruised and needed a lot of patching up.

      I also used to ski race, and now I sometimes coach. Guess what? I've seen more skiing injuries than serious injuries from car accidents and known one guy who died as a result of a skier/tree incident. Does that mean we should stop skiing? I don't think so. I think we need to accept that living is inherently dangerous and not let that deter us from doing the things that are fun, interesting, and/or useful. It also means that safety features like seatbelts and roll cages are a good idea, because sometimes the solid waste does hit the ventilation device.

    5. Re:Funny you should ask.... by Quila · · Score: 2

      That's not the sole benefit, and it's not just 2 minutes.

      In many cases, there is very little benefit from speeding. Most people commuting to work will save max. a few minutes.

      However, people like me with a 40 mile one-way commute mostly on fairly unpacked highways can save big time by going faster.

  213. ph33r the cactus!!!!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
  214. Mandatory for dangerous drivers by djcatnip · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I think if you've got a problem of getting caught driving fast, then you need to be observed to make sure you understand that speed limits are there for a reason. Surely there are a lot of anarchists-at-heart types reading this saying "no way! eff that!" but seriously, 3 speeding tickets, and you need something to help you understand the law better. We all have to play along nicely on the road. Just because you woke up late doesn't mean you can put my life in jeopardy.

    --
    I make these: http://beatseqr.com
    1. Re:Mandatory for dangerous drivers by Nukenbar2 · · Score: 1

      "you can put my life in jeopardy" What does that mean? Just by being on the road, I am putting your life in jeopardy. Sure, speeding limits are there for a reason, but that doesn't mean that someone driving 80 in a 70 in minimal traffic is much of a hazard. I fact I feel much more comfortable driving around people going 80 that are keeping a lookout, than the 15 year old learners permit or the 86 year old that can hardly see over the wheel. I've got better things to do than sit on the interstate going 70 when nothing is around. I would hope you have something better to do with your time as well. If you want to live a more jeopardy-free life, stay at home.

  215. black box could lower insurance rates by geekee · · Score: 1

    I'd love it if my insurance company told me they'd cut my rate in half if I installed a black box and it never reported any reckless driving.

    --
    Vote for Pedro
  216. It's coming, and soon. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    When the new cars start coming with the OBD-III generation of on-board computers, you will be trackable.

    Although it is your box, it will be illegal to tamper with it, as per the Clean Air Act.

    For more info, do a Google search on "OBD-III".

  217. Try this policy by craw · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Rental car companies in the United Arab Emirates don't need this black box. Foreign visitors just need to read this little blurb from the US State Dept web site.

    Country-wide traffic laws impose stringent penalties for certain violations, particularly driving under the influence of alcohol. Penalties may include hefty jail sentences and fines, and, for Muslims, lashings. Persons involved in an accident in which another party is injured automatically go to jail until the injured person is released from the hospital. Should a person die in a traffic accident, the driver of the other car is liable for payment of compensation for the death (known as "dhiyya"), usually the equivalent of 41,000 U.S. dollars. Even relatively minor accidents may result in lengthy proceedings, during which both drivers may be prohibited from leaving the country.

    I believe this policy also pertains to a foreign passenger in a taxi. I was told that part of the logic behind this is that the accident would not have taken place if the foreigner was not in the country. Obviously I didn't rent a car while I was there, and I closed my eyes and prayed (to Allah, Jesus, RMS, Buddha, the Big Kahuna, Chucky Cheese, etc...) when I was in a taxi.

  218. A question by ikari-kun · · Score: 0

    Info from an accident reconstruction service that uses this data can be found here. Called "event data recorders"
    I was wondering if anyone who has worked with these devices would know if its possible to disconnect them without causing something like the car not starting or a check engine light to come on or the like?

  219. Sorry, should have said 22' (6.8m) by InsMonkey · · Score: 1

    Here is a 22 foot long monster. Sorry if I exagerated a bit, but I was pretty close...

    --
    I'd rather have a full bottle in front of me than a full frontal lobotomy.
    1. Re:Sorry, should have said 22' (6.8m) by mangu · · Score: 1

      Sorry, a custom-built, stretched ambulance doesn't count... If you are going to appeal to special cases, why not go for the best? (I'm not sure how long it is, but I think it's close enough to 22', if not 25')

  220. No right to privacy on a public road. by geekee · · Score: 1

    Why does everyone think they have a right to privacy while driving on a PUBLIC road. The govt. has the right to enact whatever measures they feel are necessary to promote safe driving. Since they can't afford to put a police officer in everyone's car, I think this is a good substitute. People who complain about this are similar to those who don't like the traffic light cameras that record a person running a red light. They just don't like the idea that they'll be caught 100% of the time.

    --
    Vote for Pedro
    1. Re:No right to privacy on a public road. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      Someday, when you're middle aged, married, have two beautiful children, you'll appreciate the need for privacy when your black box is used in divorce court by your future wife to show that you were at a gay bathhouse getting what you couldn't get at home.

      ~~~

    2. Re:No right to privacy on a public road. by geekee · · Score: 1

      That arguement is similar to the case where a guy got his picture taken with his mistress at a stop light that he went trough on red. The picture was sent to his house where his wife saw it. Now they block out the passenger side on the pictures. Similarly, legislation must be enacted to disallow use of black boxes to track peoples movement without prior court order since this is an invasion of privacy. In short, I agree with your point. That would be an abuse of the technology

      --
      Vote for Pedro
  221. Mass Transit? by Chicks_Hate_Me · · Score: 1

    How about introducing halfway decent mass transit into this country so us "moronic" teen don't HAVE to drive. I've been hesitant to get my license not only because I have to deal with the bureaucratic bullshit (and I'm too poor to pay all the whacked fees they charge,) but also that the fact is I won't get that far driving anyways. Everyone here is driving to the same places so why don't we invest into some good mass transit (not this trolley train bullshit) and get off our fat American asses and walk a little.

    And don't get me started with Insurance companies...they pushed our whore-ish government in forcing Americans to buy their insurance. If they're gonna pull this fascist bullshit why don't they actually provide some kind of public minimal insurance that makes sure that they'll sew your leg back for a reasonable dollar?

  222. Re:LNUX deep underwater, will Slashdot cease to ex by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The ones you enjoy will march straight up your puckered ass, junior. GNU/OpenAss and FreeGiantDildo straight up your stupid trolling ass, biznitch!

  223. Eh? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    OK, I give. I don't understand the joke. Is "Bell" another term for "Black Box" or somthing?

    1. Re:Eh? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I think he meant bell as in something that you'd stick on a little kid so that you could always keep track of him because of the ringing.

    2. Re:Eh? by eyepeepackets · · Score: 2

      It's a reference to the saying, "Bell the cat." It's an old-tech method of keeping Tabby from eating all the birds in the neighboorhod. It's also a way of knowing where your pet is so you can keep track of it. It's the second definition I am playing on with this joke: The black box is a way of belling the teenage driver so you know what they're doing.

      That said, I don't want to seem insensitive to teenagers in the context of this black box thingy. Personally, I'd be really pissed if someone thought tracking me like this was a good idea or thought that anything I do is anyone else's business providing I'm not breaking a (valid) law.

      I can see this scenario as having happened if this type of tracking had been available when I was a teenager:

      Mom: "I noticed that the recorder says there was lopsided weight on the right side of the car last night combined with much movement. Were you having sex with whats-her-name again?"
      Me: "Mom, it's an MGB two seater sports car -- there just isn't anyplace else in the car to do it!"
      Mom: "Well, next time take the Buick."
      Me: "Okay, thanks!"

      --
      Everything in the Universe sucks: It's the law!
    3. Re:Eh? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I was thinking maybe you were talking about the sound it (the black box) makes. Thanks for clearing that up for me. :)

  224. young drivers statistically suck by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I really hate to point this out, but the local city hospital head trauma unit is full of young guys with permanent damage and pics of trucks and racing cards on the walls behind their beds. Gotta reign this in!

    Cars are more and more like planes these days, black boxes for these kids will serve an even more valuable role as preventative presence. They speed and race cos they can get away with it presently. Even if they don't crash, its habit forming bad driving.
    And, IMHO I would like to add that driving isn't really free speech; it would benefit from more control, and hey, auditing!

  225. Teen Driving habit facts by Lumpy · · Score: 5, Insightful

    first, every teen that drives like a jerk/idiot I can show you EXACTLY where they got that habit.

    Their parents. If a child grows up watching daddy tailgate that little Kia in his big-bad yukon while trash talking, "Man this asshole is doing the speed-limit.. I wish I could just push him out of the way" or watches mommie floor it up to the barrels and arrow-board in a construction area and FORCES her way in to the merged traffic at the last second..

    This is how these teens that drive like idiots and morons get their driving habits... from the idiots and morons that had and raised them.

    And being a regular commuter..The numbers of drivers that drive like idiots and morons is increasing..

    I dont think the parents should be black-boxing the kids... it should be the state, and pull their drivers license until 25 if the box reports idiot driving.... But then I also believe that the driving test/license requirements should be quadrupled, as with giving 50% of the traffic fines to the officer as an incentive to enforce traffic laws.

    too many people are content with driving like morons, and they are breeding more morons for the roads.

    --
    Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
    1. Re:Teen Driving habit facts by Julian352 · · Score: 2, Insightful

      So you want to give benefits for cops to pull over more people? Have you thought of repricussions:

      *But officer, I wasn't speeding over 10 mph. 3mph speeding doesn't count. (a minimum fine for speeding is like $50 [estimating]) so $25 for each person just barely speeding, sounds VERY lucrative. Don't tell me you've never gone a mile or two over the limit down the hill or something like that.

      *Did you know that non-working light is equal to a stop sign, so running one is reckless driving due to running a stop sign. Hmm.. don't cops have access to the light controls? Think about this one yourself.

      *Do you always turn on your signals 100 yds for 35mph or faster and 50 yds for under that limit? What about keeping the exact distance in front of you? (2 sec. on normal conditions and then whatever the cop feels like for rain/snow/dark/etc. There are no specific rules, but cop can at discretion call any speed/distance "too dangerous for current conditions )

      * Do you have ANYTHING hanging on your mirror? (like your parking pass, air freshener, etc.) ALL of them are illegal, as parking passes should only be displayed when parked.

      * Have you ever had to pass on the right a slow driver in the left lane of you? That's illegal in many states, and driving 45 mph in 55/60/65 mph is completely legal.

      I can keep going with examples of laws that are commonly broken due to limited knowledge and very little repricussions. (parking passes almost don't block visibility, but are still illegal) I would rather not have the cop benefit from giving a specific ticket because not only could they start charging for very small offenses, but they could add offenses togeter for bigger fine. (You have been speeding by 5 mph, have a parking ticket hanging off the mirror and failed to signal for 100 yds: That'd be $300)

      Yes, parents/teens should be educated, but don't give cops incentive for giving tickets. They should do it because of safety/traffic reasons, not because they'd be making bigger profit with more tickets. Otherwise it'd be more cost-effective for them to just go after rich middle-class folks that break small rules than fining that bastard that ran 2 lights, sped by 30 mph but drives 1980 Chevy with almost no paint on it.

    2. Re:Teen Driving habit facts by Quila · · Score: 2

      Don't give the money to the cops. You know about the corruption in the War on Drugs that really kicked in when they started giving the police departments a cut of the take. Next thing you know, they're seizing everything, even from innocent citizens.

      On the other hand, I would really like to see them put resources into catching idiot driving -- which you rarely see punished -- rather than sitting on an almost empty highway at 3 a.m. catching people going 20mph over the limit.

    3. Re:Teen Driving habit facts by stewby18 · · Score: 2, Insightful
      first, every teen that drives like a jerk/idiot I can show you EXACTLY where they got that habit.

      Not necessarily; people learn a lot of their driving from those around them. I moved to Cleveland several years ago (City motto: "The red lights aren't decorative?") and the vast majority of drivers here have trouble with the concept of stopping BEFORE the intersection, and stopping when the light is red, unless it's been red for 5-10 seconds.

      I've seen other people who've moved here start out driving like normal people, but many quickly start driving like everone else. People go with the majority and the flow of traffic more often than they follow laws or their own ideas about driving.

    4. Re:Teen Driving habit facts by clarkc3 · · Score: 1
      driving 45 mph in 55/60/65 mph is completely legal

      That would depend on the highway, there are some interstates in NY that post a minimum speed. I've seen some that put 65 as the limit as 50 as the min, and also 55 max with 45 min

    5. Re:Teen Driving habit facts by Rupert · · Score: 1

      floor it up to the barrels and arrow-board in a construction area and FORCES her way in to the merged traffic at the last second

      There's a perfectly usable lane up to the point the barrels start. Just because you pulled into the stationary left lane a mile and a half ago is no reason for you to try to prevent me from merging.

      --

      --
      E_NOSIG
    6. Re:Teen Driving habit facts by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The reason the left lane is stationary is because of impatient fucks like yourself who don't realise they're creating the traffic they so desperately want to avoid.

    7. Re:Teen Driving habit facts by dpreviti · · Score: 1

      YOU SIR ARE AN IDOIT! And the kind of person that needs to be taken OFF the roads not breed more ingrates to follow in your footsteps.

    8. Re:Teen Driving habit facts by Rupert · · Score: 1

      Perhaps you can explain (preferably without shouting) why it is preferable to have one mile of single lane tailback to half a mile of two-lane tailback.

      The Institute of Advanced Motorists says this: "In our view, the sensible advice for all lane merging situations is that drivers should reduce their speed and increase the gap between themselves and the vehicle in front. All available lanes should be used right up to where the lane closure begins and vehicles should merge in turn - one from the left, one from the right, and so on."

      I suppose you are the person who attempts to drive in both lanes at once in an attempt to stop me using the road?

      --

      --
      E_NOSIG
    9. Re:Teen Driving habit facts by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Why not? I would, you greasy fuck!

      And if you ever try pushing your way past me at a lane merge by zooming down the closing lane and trying to stick your nose in front of me, I'll get out of my car, pull you out through your drive-side window, and put a bullet in you. Serves you right for trying to take advantage of the situation.

    10. Re:Teen Driving habit facts by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I don't think parents are the largest influence on teen driving habits. The largest influence comes from their peers and the media.

      Being a recent teen driver, I can attest to this. I spent 16 years of my life being carted around by my parents. My brother got his license about 6 months before I did. I spent those last 6 months before I got my license being carted around by him, during which time I witnessed MUCH idiot driving (cutting people off, weaving in traffic, excessive speeding, etc).

      And guess what? As soon as I got comfortable behind the wheel, I started imitating my brother's and my peer's driving habits.

      And for any of you that went to see The Fast and the Furious in the theater, you saw how many teens imitated the driving habits in that movie as soon as you tried to leave the parking lot.

    11. Re:Teen Driving habit facts by Hoi+Polloi · · Score: 2

      The issue is trying to slide up the closed lane up to the last minute and then forcing yourself into the open lane. You should be looking to change lanes long before the barrels force you too. It is like the twits who go leaping across the highway from the left lane all the way to the exit ramp at the very last second. Assuming they weren't new to the area (and they should turn aroud at the next exit instead of risking everyone's life) they should have moved over to the right lane well before that.

      --
      It is by the juice of the coffee bean that thoughts acquire speed, the teeth acquire stains. The stains become a warning
    12. Re:Teen Driving habit facts by Hoi+Polloi · · Score: 2

      Law enforcement and profiteering MUST be kept seperate. You simply cannot have a just legal system based on profit (already the "war on drugs" has been corrupted by linking budgets to crimes and sharing seized $). In virtually every corrupt regime one of the first things that happens is that the cops start shaking down the public. "Well sir, you could be stuck here in the airport for 7 hours while we check you out or you could pay me a $300 fee."

      --
      It is by the juice of the coffee bean that thoughts acquire speed, the teeth acquire stains. The stains become a warning
    13. Re:Teen Driving habit facts by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If you had to pay for that car you wouldn't be so quick to imitate some idiotic movie and risk smashing it up. Basing your behavior on Hollywood crap is not a good plan for living your life.

    14. Re:Teen Driving habit facts by Rupert · · Score: 1, Redundant

      The situation would be vastly improved if everyone didn't crowd into the non-closing lane like a bunch of lemmings.

      Please explain why the Institute of Advanced Motorists is wrong. Preferably without resorting to death threats.

      --

      --
      E_NOSIG
    15. Re:Teen Driving habit facts by Slime-dogg · · Score: 1

      And then you realize that most kids drive like they do because of the pressures put upon them by their peers. The parents may not have anything to do with how a teen drives at all, rather a matter of hormones and car size.

      And being a regular commuter..The numbers of drivers that drive like idiots and morons is increasing..

      I've also been a regular driver, and I've noticed the number of UAV's (SUV's) increasing. Wouldn't you think that the mindset of "Much bigger car = me have my way" sets in with these monstrous vehicles? I've seen many vehicles force themselves into traffic, tailgaiting, cutting off, and ending on the side of the road. The majority of them were UAV's.

      My dad is an asshole driver. He hits the gas when he's three feet behind the next vehicle, he regularly uses the term "Jag-off," "Whore," "Sonovabitch," and a few others. I am a good driver, I do speed up and squeeze out of tight situations. I rarely cut people off, and I never tailgate. It's not good style. Coincidently, I also drive a tiny Kia.

      I don't think that all of what you said holds water, but your observation is true. I believe that the increase in shitty driving is directly related to the increase of UAV(SUV) ownership.

      --
      You need to restart your computer. Hold down the Power button for several seconds or press the Restart button.
    16. Re:Teen Driving habit facts by dpreviti · · Score: 1

      Sorry Rup but I have to agree with the AC. If I'm standing in line would you jump in front of me? So what makes you think it's ok when everyone follows the signs & is waiting in the correct lane
      for you to speed up and hold everyone else back because you refuse to do what the sign told you 20 feet back.
      I'm not resorting to threats or yelling, but I still say that your type needs a swift kick in the ass, or getting pulled out of the car like AC said and getting the crap beat out of you. Until then you go ahead & try, and I will be happy to flick you off as I leave you sitting on the side of the road with nowhere to go.
      DP

    17. Re:Teen Driving habit facts by J.+Random+Software · · Score: 1

      Early merging causes larger traffic jams. You're effectively lengthening the lane closure, leaving less pavement for the same cars to use (traffic goes slower when you compress it) and having dozens of drivers jockeying for position over thousands of feet rather than taking turns at the one obvious place. If the engineers wanted you off that strip of pavement, they would have moved the lane closure further ahead.

    18. Re:Teen Driving habit facts by bluetoad · · Score: 1

      That is correct. Merge 1 for 1 at the end where the lanes meet and things are a lot smoother.

      It is courteous, there is only one point of the queue with a potential. Both lanes should be able to keep a reasonable speed with the gap left at that spot.

      Otherwise , you get the slowdown effect as if someone has slammed on the breaks because they've dropped their cheeseburger.

    19. Re:Teen Driving habit facts by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So you're the person that I get major enjoyment of making sit at the berrels all pissed off... more and more of us WILL NOT LET YOU IN.
      Why? because people are getting sick of arseholes like you :-)

      Get ready for people driving side by side at the speed limit to block speeders oh and notice how that the closer you get to my rear bumper the slower I will go :-) you have to use tactics like that, as idiot drivers usually have an IQ of 70 or less. (I would guess yours to be about 35.

    20. Re:Teen Driving habit facts by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      My dad is an asshole driver. He hits the gas when he's three feet behind the next vehicle, he regularly uses the term "Jag-off," "Whore," "Sonovabitch," and a few others. I am a good driver, I do speed up and squeeze out of tight situations. I rarely cut people off, and I never tailgate. It's not good style. Coincidently, I also drive a tiny Kia.

      and I will let you know, that I take plenty of enjoyment in locking up the breakes on assholes like your father.. and I am getting to the point that if he does hit me, I will more than likely pound his ass into the ground after we pull over.

      (A friend of mine did this and recently got off scott free.. his beating the shite out of the other driver that hit him was justified that the other driver was threatening his life (tailgating) and putting his life at risk (tailgating)

      the judge agreed, and the idiot that was beaten severely, now has to pay for all my friends car damages PLUS $25,000 in mential anguish.

      I think you dad needs his ass kicked both physically and in court this way :-)

      and he probably will if he continues to drive like a moron...

    21. Re:Teen Driving habit facts by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      first when traffic is slowed to 20 cars will bunch up. (it's normal DUH... and please try to explain that in a construction zone (45) there is always someone doing 20?)

      here in michigan the police are now giving reckless driving tickets to people that drive more than 10 miles and hour faster than the traffic and who pass in an entrance to a construction zone.

      The fine is $1000.00 and 6 points on your license. enough to put you in the severe risk category with your insurance company... It has dropped the number of idiots way down as they publicized the first few idiots pretty well.

    22. Re:Teen Driving habit facts by Rupert · · Score: 2

      Read the link from this post.

      Use both lanes.
      Slow down.
      Increase the distance between you and the car in front.
      Merge 1 for 1 when the lane actually closes.

      People who do it wrong have no reason to get angry at people who are doing it right. Even if they are in the majority.

      --

      --
      E_NOSIG
    23. Re:Teen Driving habit facts by Magius_AR · · Score: 1
      Bah, high speeds aren't the cause of most accidents. I'm sure if you did a study of accidents, I'm sure at least one slow moving vehicle was involved in many of them. The faster moving driver simply always takes the wrap, because its easier to place the blame.

      I've noticed the most dangerous drivers are slower ones, people that go the speed limit or below. They normally sit in the fast lane directly next to someone else at the same speed and dangerous backup traffic for several miles back. They are also either too ignorant or simply too unaware of the cars around them to move out of the way or accept the knowledge that the left lane is a passing lane (THIS kind of dangerous driving leads people to "pass on the right", but should an accident occur, who is blamed? The faster driver of course.)

      These slow drivers normally pay little attention to the road around them (and virtually NO attention to the cars behind them). Their reactions times are sluggish, their demenaor is normally far from aggressive (even the driving school recognizes aggressive driving as a SAFE necessity). I've had these morons turn on there signals and start merging into my lane like a couple FEET in front of me (while i'm accelerating too) without paying any attention at all as to what they're doing.

      I've ALSO sat behind complete morons that randomly decide to apply their brakes every 5 seconds or so for NO REASON AT ALL. There's no one in front of them, no cop, no emergency, no merging traffic...NOTHING...they just sit in the fast lane, and every now and then hit their brakes. So I of course as a defensive driver behind them must be ready to slam on my brakes as well (who knows how hard they're hitting their brakes?) So my nerves eventually hit a state of fever-pitched readiness (not to mention the fact that when you get used to these people constantly flashing their brake lights for no reason, when they actually _DO_ slam on their brakes, you're screwed).

      As for traffic fines, they're useless...people will speed anyways. They do nothing more than serve to distract people's attention from the road (as well as add an unhealthy amount of quick braking when cops are seen). In fact, the very purpose of the fine is merely to fatten the purses of the Police Treasury anyways. If speed was really the problem, places like the Autobahn, etc would have many more accidents.

      I agree driving tests should be MUCH more intensive, and should involve actual driving rather than stupid stuff like parking, turning, and backing up. In fact, i believe all roads should be given "driving ratings" and you should be given a class depending on how well you drive. And frankly, those that know what they're doing, can handle high speeds safely, and show common road courtesy should be allowed on the highway, and all those slow, dumb mother-&*&* should be regulated to stay on other roads. Will such things ever happen? Hell no, we will always have high-speed drivers to blame for all traffic problems (obvious solution being more traffic tickets, which means more revenue for police)

      Oh, and people that do that last-minute merge crap just to pass by all of traffic instead of waiting their turn like everyone else should be beaten and fined up the a$$.

      Magius_AR

    24. Re:Teen Driving habit facts by AGMW · · Score: 1
      When I'm driving I try to treat others as I would wish to be treated. If I see someone coming up fast behind me, I try and pull over (without having to baulk anyone else in the process), as I assume that whoever they are, they must be in a hurry.

      I would then like people to act the same way, if I was ever in a hurry (and I don't just mean 'late for work'!).

      Getting in people's way is an incredibly stupid thing to do. My Dad is a Dr and was taking a woman to hospital (no time to wait for the ambulance so bunged her in his car). An A-hole wouldn't let him pass on the dual-carriage way (kept changing lanes in front of him to prevent him from passing). He did get past, and she survived, no thanks to the blocking bozo.

      And as for the gun threat. Not only should you not be allowed to drive a car, you should be locked up.

      --
      Eclectic beats from Leeds, UK
      handmadehands.co.uk
  226. I wouldn't buy one of these. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Most everyone on the road, myself included, has one potentially fatal driving habit and teenagers have two. Almost no one looks far enough down the road to see what they are coming up on. If they did you would not see people putting on the brakes to go around the gentle 70+mph corners on the highway. The additional problem that teenagers have is they are generally inexperienced with driving their cars at the limit. In fact they usually don't know what the limit is until they've exceeded it and then their fate is in the hands of Newton and the person who layed out the road. This device would seem to do nothing fix the problem of inexeprience. I plan to take my child to an advanced driving skills course or an autocrossing course shortly after he gets his license. This will allow him spend some time getting cars up to and in fact beyond the limit so he can recognize where he is and drive accordingly.

  227. this is news? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    my parents did that on my car 6mo ago... my dad owns a company and had a similar device for company autos... he put one on my car as well. he gave it away by consistantly knowing when i sped and went to places i wasnt supposed to... o well..

  228. Already a plan to track all 24 million cars in UK by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    The BBC has an article dated Monday, July 22, on a plan to install electronic tracking devices in each of the UK's 24 million registered cars, ostensibly for the purpose of charging drivers according to road use.

  229. No black box by acceleriter · · Score: 2, Funny

    in my vintage Volvo 240DL. Of course, exceeding the speed limit in that bad boy doesn't happen without some time to think about it on the way up to speed.

    --

    CEE5210S The signal SIGHUP was received.

    1. Re:No black box by rnturn · · Score: 2

      Hey! I've got a 240DL wagon and it'll accelerate pretty nicely if the car's not carrying a load (like extra passengers or cargo), running the air conditioner, or driving into the wind (though the last model years actually made some breakthroughs in reducing drag by actually rounding off some edges on the body). Of course, maybe I'm just amazed that a station wagon had any noticable acceleration at all. It will get your pulse racing when merging onto the expressway if the car in front you hits the brakes on the ramp. Then, you've gotta stand on the accelerator in order build the speed back up in order to merge.

      --
      CUR ALLOC 20195.....5804M
    2. Re:No black box by acceleriter · · Score: 1

      Mine's a 1990, wagon also. Actually, it's the best car I've ever owned, all around. And I don't get worried when SUVs tailgate me like I did when I drove smaller cars :).

      --

      CEE5210S The signal SIGHUP was received.

  230. Produce value! by 0bjectiv3 · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    Sorry, but any empire that exists solely to push money around deserves our scorn.

    I can't count the times I've been fucked by bankers, insurance companies, and the like - only to consider how much value they produce. . .

    None.

    They produce nothing. They have self-perpetuating capital while the rest of us work for a living. And now we find out they've been lying on their financial statements???

    Look, you're already a rich fuck. If you've made it this far on your own two feet, then you're my idol. If you've made it this far on the backs of the young, who are just trying to get out of debt, then FUCK YOU .

    If you're riding on the ability of others, you need to re-examine your life, and let the people choose. Good ideas belong to those who created them. Your "innovative" company can go fuck itself on Wall Street.

    It's the market that decides, and it's the people who drive the market.

    Most of us (the producers) would like to see your yacht crammed up your ass. Get used to it. Your way of business is finished.

    Ours will survive. Yours will die. We are useful. You are obsolete. Still like capitalism? We do.

    --

    "Saddam Hussein cavorts with terrorists."
    1. Re:Produce value! by 0bjectiv3 · · Score: 1

      So go forth.

      The ideas are yours. GPL them secretly. The ideas belong to you. Obfuscate, but comment well. Your employer can never own your mind. Don't fall prey to their bullshit. That which you create, you own. Period.

      Were I to give birth to a child, that child would not belong to my "current employer". Fuck that. If their "policy" dictates otherwise, Thoreau is in order. And if you can't do it cleanly, do it secretly. Logic belongs to the Man who created it. Abdication is an illusion. Your creation will always be yours. GPL it. It's the only chance we have.

      --

      "Saddam Hussein cavorts with terrorists."
  231. was that supposed to be funny? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Because it wasn't. Damn Penny arcade editors posting their crappy comics here.

  232. Re:Thank god the insurance companies didn't use th by Jester99 · · Score: 1

    Wow. Never in my life have I ever heard a grown man describe driving around in a sexy sportscar on sunset strip by saying "I was the millenium falcon going into hyperdrive!"

    I'm not sure if that means you kick ass, or I should be very, very scared.

  233. I don't see a problem with these.. by OutRigged · · Score: 1

    Personally, I don't see a problem with these.. So they report that you're goin' over the speed limit, or you're not wearing a seatbeat.. You shouldn't complain, because you're breaking the law. What's the big deal if something comes along to enforce that law?

    The logic there, is like saying stealing is against the law, but having no police to enforce this law.. Then, someone comes along, and makes it so there are police that enforce the law, and all the thieves complain, because they can't steal as easily..

    --
    RaGe
    We're all just noise on the wires..
  234. Has anyone considered... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ...what a Beowulf cluster of these black box thingies in the trunk could accomplish for humanity?

    I didn't think so.

  235. Re:Thank god the insurance companies didn't use th by gmhowell · · Score: 2

    A Jag? Good acceleration?

    Methinks thou hast never been strapped to a Japanese multi before. Two minutes on the latest and greatest 1 liter+ bikes from Japan will make you forget all about that trip.

    --
    Jesus was all right but his disciples were thick and ordinary. -John Lennon
  236. 5 seconds before? by Maeryk · · Score: 2

    Okay. so the box keeps data five seconds before the crash. ALL you need to do is hack it to let you know when it starts recording, and you have five seconds to save yourself! Amazing! They cant build a car that runs more than 3K without an oil change, but they have black boxen that predict the future accurately!

    Maeryk :P

    --
    Feminine Protection? What is that? A chartreuse flame thrower?
    1. Re:5 seconds before? by Quila · · Score: 2

      The 3K is a BS number to get you to buy more oil and visit the dealer more often. The European car I bought in 2000 has a recommended interval of 9K miles.

  237. This is a good thing. by simetra · · Score: 2

    Really, if knowing that they're being monitored prevents a teen from driving like a jackass, good.
    Contrary to popular belief, teens aren't the same as adults, don't carry the same responsibilities, etc. This right to all-encompassing entitlement is a big reason why kids today are a bunch of spoiled bastards. They should realize how lucky they are to be able to drive in the first place, rather than whine about their "lack of freedom".
    Give me a break.

    --

    "Would it kill you to put down the toilet seat?" -- Maya Angelou
  238. Yer punished by fm6 · · Score: 2
    I see. Being forced to drive sensibly is "punishment".

    Hmm. This suggests an interesting new social philosophy. If you make people follow rules, you're punishing them. Most people don't need rules, because they have enough common sense not to abuse their freedom. So, it shouldn't be against the law to rob banks. After all, only a few are greedy enough to try to take all the money, and we shouldn't punish all the sensible people who only steal money when they absolutely need to.

    I'm not sure that's very practical, but maybe I'm just an innate fascist!

    1. Re:Yer punished by Osty · · Score: 1

      Hmm. This suggests an interesting new social philosophy. If you make people follow rules, you're punishing them. Most people don't need rules, because they have enough common sense not to abuse their freedom. So, it shouldn't be against the law to rob banks. After all, only a few are greedy enough to try to take all the money, and we shouldn't punish all the sensible people who only steal money when they absolutely need to.

      Bad analogy. Traffic laws are completely different than laws against robbing a bank (for starters, while a traffic ticket is technically considered a misdemeanor criminial offense, a bank robbery is usually at least a felony, and often under federal jurisdiction. apples and oranges). You're arguing that if one rule or one set of rules is wrong or bad or pointless, then all rules should be the same. Let's turn this around, then shall we? How do you feel about the DMCA? Don't like it, do you? Well, if robbing a bank is illegal, and you think there should be a law against it, then obviously (by your argument) the DMCA is good and just. "But wait!" you say. The DMCA is evil! It's bad! It's just plain wrong! Well, how about this: "Put simply, the 85th percentile speed is the speed at which most people drive. BUT... most limits are lower than this number by about 10 MPH." (from here, summarizing from here) Does that mean that speed limits are bad, or wrong? They're obviously designed to hinder motorists and line the pockets of local governments (tin-foil hat alert!).

      So let's recap. The DMCA is wrong, and shouldn't be a law. Current speed limits are wrong, and should be adjusted correctly. So that must mean that it should be okay to rob a bank, right?

  239. come on... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    As a teenager myself, I can tell you that good parenting will go a lot further than any black box, net nanny software, drug tests, and other blasphemy that todays parent tries to subject their teens to. This is just another excuse for parents to let someone/something else do the child rasing for them.

  240. These black boxes could be a good thing. by alchemist68 · · Score: 0

    In the event of a serious accident, these little black boxes can serve to determine who may have been at fault for an accident. This can directly translate in either you getting thousands of dollars in settlement money or owing thousands of dollars. My 1992 Saturn SL2 has something close to the black box found in all Saturn models now. The service technician/mechanic showed me on an IBM PC what my top speed was (128mph), my average highway speed (87mph) and acceleration, my average city speed (37mph) and acceleration, how I brake, and whether or not I use a seatbelt. The black box in my car doesn't keep track of the last 5 seconds of driving habits like the newer ones do, but I was impressed that they had this technology in 1992. He said the insurance companies and the government will use the data for accident investigations exclusively. I this this is a good idea for all around fairness. It's about time people are held accountable for driving like idiots. You cause and accident and kill someone, you pay the price, and here's the evidence to substantiate your poor driving habits...see you in 20 years!

  241. Why not just build cars that can't break the law? by zerofoo · · Score: 3, Funny

    We've got uber spygear in cars now...it's only a matter of time before the insurance guys and their lobbyists pressure the auto industry and congress to mandate cars that can't break the law. Imagine, cars that won't go over the speed limit (based on GPS and databases of local speed limits); cars that won't start if your seatbelt isn't buckled, or if you've blown a high blood-alcohol content. How about cars that won't allow you to turn your steering wheel unless you've signaled first???

    Hell, why don't we just outlaw the damn things right now and force people to use public transportation....freedom be damned.

    Uggh....now i'm starting to sound like Stallman.

    -ted

  242. Kiss sports cars goodbye by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If this ever becomes manditory, then you can bet your ass that sports cars will all be legends of the past. And yes, that even includes modified Hondas and other imports.

    This is really sad. If I'm going to drive around town as part of my job, at least I want to enjoy it to a degree. I don't want some Democrat telling me I can't drive anything with more then something that has all the power of a leaf blower just because it isn't safe for other drivers. But I keep forgetting, democrats are all for the US being socialistic (like Europe). Thus, it wont be long before most of our choices of cars will be minies. Bla!!!!! FUCK THAT!

  243. How about... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Revoke the license of any moron who can't understand f=ma. "2 whole car lengths in front of that 18-wheeler, i'll change lanes there". Run 'em the fuck over. 10-4 good buddy.

  244. Ste 3: Profit! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The conspiracy nuts are like the underpants gnomes on South Park.

    Step 1: Driving recorders.

    Step 2: ...

    Step 3: A SATANIC POLICE FASCIST UBERSTATE WHERE WE ARE ALL ROBOTS RUNNING MICROSOFT .NET APPS!!!!!

  245. Purpose by sephkunyui · · Score: 1

    Basically it comes down to this the Box is made to discover why accidents occur so that they can be blamed on teenagers to a higher degree. The thing is we already know why accidents happen. The standard scenario is something along these lines: Someone somewhere does something stupid while driving causing themself or someone else to have an accident. Case closed nothing further to investigate. It might seem close minded but its essentially true.

  246. This doesnt teach them driving by Dascen · · Score: 3, Insightful

    {rant}
    This little device doesnt teach them proper driving. I mean since when has coming to a complete stop at every stop sign made someone a better driver? Never, its the concious, logical thought that goes into driving. A good driver does not neccisarily follow the rules. "Obey the law but dont let it rule you." What does it matter if I come to a complete stop at every stop sign if no one is there? They need to learn how to use their brain! Not become little socially controlled automatons who learn to obey the "black box" without thinking. This program isnt making good drivers, its making nice little tax paying, go exactly the speed limit, good citizen sheep that vote the way N'Sync tells them to.
    When i was young, my mother never went through my drawers looking for pot, spying on my habits to protect me from myself. She would never resort to installing filters on our computer to make sure i wasnt looking at how to make bombs. Invading your childs privacy and forcing them to act like there is a camera over their shoulder is not the way to make sure they dont hurt themselves. What people do in front of a camera is different from what they do in private. Fear of consequences is not a substitute for morals. This "black box" is just another way for parents to invade their childrens privacy.
    This is just another step towards Hilary Clintons "It takes a Village" perfect world for raising children.
    {/rant}

    --
    -blar
  247. Learning Experience by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Sometimes driving too fast or wildly is very educational. Doing doughnuts in a deserted parking lot is one way to learn about skids - How they feel, what to do about them, what's the really wrong thing to do. It can also teach you about what your car can and cannot do.

    This saved my mother's life once. She was riding shotgun, and I was driving, when another car appeared completely across a highway lane. I did what I knew my VW could do, and how to make it do so, and missed them. I've avoided other accidents as well (tire disintegration, etc.) by knowing what to do when a car wants to go out of control, and what to do after it has done so.

    There ain't no substitute for experience.

  248. Re:Thank god the insurance companies didn't use th by Caspuh · · Score: 1

    Wow, you must drive an SUV or something. That car isn't even very fast.

  249. *sigh* by shiftless · · Score: 1

    Welcome to slashdot, home of people who are outraged by computer programs that contain spyware, but gladly welcome cars that contain the same.

    It's SAD the new and imaginative ways that are being invented to invade childrens' privacy and monitor their every activity. THIS IS NOT THE WAY TO RAISE A CHILD! Attempting to spy on your kid will NOT improve his behavior- it will just improve his abilities to evade your invasiveness. Here's what you need to do- teach him right from wrong from the beginning, and when he does wrong, pull out your belt and wear his ass out. Be honest with your child and expect the same from him. TRUST YOUR CHILD. Show him respect, and treat him like you expect to be treated. If you do all of this consistently then the result will be a child that has RESPECT, wants to do RIGHT, and is HONEST. Trust me, this method of child raising has been used for many thousands of years and it works almost every time it's tried. Sure there's a few bad apples that won't learn from any of it, but hell, do you think spying on them would've changed them at all?

    Spying on your kids shows that you don't trust them, pisses them off at you, and shows that you don't respect their privacy. Um, hello? People need to start thinking of teenagers as young adults, not large children. They're not three year olds, and it doesn't help to treat them that way. You might need spyware to help monitor your small child, however, your teen wants and needs some independence, and you are taking it all away from him. If you honestly believe that your teen NEEDS spyware to fix his problems, then it's too late, you screwed up, and no spyware on the planet will save him or you.

    1. Re:*sigh* by davidmccabe · · Score: 1

      AOL!! See this other post.

    2. Re:*sigh* by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Hey, dummie... READ THE POST.

      I dont want to spy on the kids, I want the STATE to spy on the kids, your kids, the neighbor kids, the kids across town AND their asshole parents. (If you get more than 2 traffic tickets in a year you should get the spybox too!)

      welcome to slashdot, where illiteracy reighns supreme with people that read the first sentence and then knee jerk posts!

  250. Re:Thank god the insurance companies didn't use th by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Did you go to high school in Minnesota, by chance?

    This is a serious question, but I can't tell you why yet.

  251. A quick fix. by ColaMan · · Score: 3, Funny


    "Hey son, I went to check on your driving last night and that damn box didn't work! Can you explain?"

    "Yeah, I accidentally poured my beer into it while driving. Sorry about that. Guess they won't replace that under warranty."

    Repeat until parent is broke. Or you have to get your own car.

    --

    You are in a twisty maze of processor lines, all alike.
    There is a lot of hype here.
  252. Yet another thing... by davidmccabe · · Score: 1

    Yet another thing taking away the rights and insulting the intelligence of teenagers. Bah-humbug!

  253. Insurance should be insurance by awing0 · · Score: 1

    I don't know what's with insurance companies. It's their business to insure the driver, and they know very well that a lot of people speed, take risks, etc. Insurance is a risky business, they should accept that, not violate everyone's privacy. If it wasn't a law in many states to have insurance, the companies wouldn't be around. Noone would stand for what they get away with. It's a flawed business model. I myself pay a high price because of my frequent violations. There is noone hurt, no property damage, it's just because I speed a lot.

    --
    Cthulhu Saves.
  254. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 2

    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  255. Re:Why not just build cars that can't break the la by GrandCow · · Score: 1

    We've got uber spygear in cars now...it's only a matter of time before the insurance guys and their lobbyists pressure the auto industry and congress to mandate cars that can't break the law. Imagine, cars that won't go over the speed limit (based on GPS and databases of local speed limits);
    I remember an article on /. a while ago (6+ months IIRC) that dealt with a company testing out just that kind of tech. They were hoping to put the boxes into rental cars (I guess since many times people renting cars are not used to the area/speed limits). I haven't heard much about that since then; I guess the company couldn't find any buyers. Sometimes it's just safer to go over the speed limit for a few seconds to get away from something rather than just staying at or below the legal limit.

    cars that won't start if your seatbelt isn't buckled, or if you've blown a high blood-alcohol content.
    They've got these already. Get pulled over for a DUI or DWI and you'll see. A judge can order that a box be put onto your car that does just that as part of your probation. One of my friends had this put onto his car about a year ago and it's remarkably effective. Anytime you want to start the car you must blow into this box mounted near the steering wheel. If you're registering too much alcohol on your breath the car will simply not start.

    How about cars that won't allow you to turn your steering wheel unless you've signaled first???
    Not sure if that'll ever happen. Paying attention to other cars on the road is important enough that you should see that a car is changing lanes without signaling. If the car is right next to you and will run you off the road then you probably wouldn't have seen the blinker anyways.

    --
    "Well kids, you tried your best, and you failed. The lesson is, never try." -Homer Simpson
  256. True, true... by The+Tyro · · Score: 1

    Mod that man UP!

    Ignorance may be bliss, but I'm sure as hell going to know everything about the who/what/when, etc of my kids lives, particularly when they reach adolescence. As a teen, I would have thought a device like this truly EVIL, and whined about lack of trust, loss of privacy, blah blah blah. All selfishly, of course... such a device would have cut into my Road-Warrioresqe style considerably (I don't know about the other posters here, but I just barely survived my own teenage years).

    This is going to rub this crowd the wrong way, but privacy does not exist for minor children. When they live under your roof as a minor, somebody has to be the supervising adult. Supervision is not a parental right... it's a parental DUTY. If you've got one of those rare children who never screws up, is always trustworthy, and always does the right thing, good for you... but you are probably living with Eddie Haskel, and you just don't know it. Denial ain't just a river in egypt.

    A little judicious supervision, even electronic, is simply part of being a parent... You can extrapolate this, and the same prinicple applies... think "dating"...

    "Hey boy... before you take my daughter out, don't do anything you wouldn't want me seein' through a rifle scope, dig?"

    If more parents were more involved, it could only be an improvement...

    --
    Even if a man chops off your hand with a sword, you still have two nice, sharp bones to stick in his eyes.
  257. Does it run windows or linux? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Hopefully it runs Windows, so I can trust that it will crash frequently when I overload it with my nice teenager drive skills. If my parents ever installed this in my car, the first thing I would do is figure how to change the data...

  258. Something Similar by AceCaseOR · · Score: 0

    Here in Oregon, we have similar devices in the Tri-Met bus system. They were fairly recently used in an accident between a Tri-Met Bus and a Sedan. Initially, the driver of the bus said that the driver of the sedan was at fault. However, the device inside the bus, very similar to this one, but with a forward facing camera, showed that actually, the Bus Driver was at fault in the accident, and he was eventually fired.

    --
    Zagreus sits inside your head, Zagreus lives among the dead, Zagreus sees you in your bed and eats you in your sleep.
  259. axa insurance by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    In Ireland, Axa insurance have a scheme whereby they cut the cost of your insurance in two if you agree to have a box that records your driving habits installed in your car. It's hooked up via satellite and has a gps thingy. Good idea for young drivers i suppose (insurance for a young driver on a small 1l car is >4000), too much like big bro for me tho.

  260. Great inspiration for a new generation of... by dwrugh · · Score: 1

    hardware hackers!
    Necessity is the mother of invention. And when they get into it they might find that they enjoy it.
    Law of unintended consequences....

  261. darn by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    .... no more getting rent-a-cars to take to the street races. Maybe I need to start taking the bus to them so those pigs dont rape me.

    1. Re:darn by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      sorry i didnt mean to hit the post button. Dont start a flamefest... it was just supposed to be funny. I dont really street race at all.... on eof my friends was killed in one.

  262. Black boxes by stephanruby · · Score: 1

    Airplane black boxes were made to protect the airplanes makers from lawsuits. Each airplaine has anywhere from 200 to 300 black boxes. When the airplane is in perfect condition, at least a third of the boxes are not working. Except for the voice recorder, only the airplane manufacturer has the capability to read the data and recreate a simulation of the crash. In the case of the GM black boxes, I would suspect that the data collected is designed to help the auto makers, not necessarily the insurance company, and not necessarily the consumer. In a way, I am glad that the consumer is going to buy black boxes. This means that they will have the capability and the possibility of interpreting the data themselves.

  263. Re:Thank god the insurance companies didn't use th by donutello · · Score: 2

    I hopped on the 405?? and headed towards Thousand Oaks. I put the pedal to the medal and I felt like I was the millenium falcon going into hyperdrive! It went from 0 to 110 in no time flat.

    110. On the 405???? I can tell you've never been in LA before. It's not for nothing that we call it the worlds biggest parking lot.

    --
    Mmmm.. Donuts
  264. Commuting by chuckw · · Score: 2

    Actually I'd welcome something like this so I could optimize my commute. I've been looking for a good way to track details of my commute. I'd love to use that data with some sort of genetic algorithm to help me determine when the best times to be coming to and from work are. Excepting accidents, construction, and dumbshit drivers who don't realize the left lane is not for cruising at 5mph under the speed limit, I figure I could shave 10 - 20% of the time off my daily commute. Over a years time, that really adds up.

    --
    *Condense fact from the vapor of nuance*
  265. Buses by SgtChaireBourne · · Score: 2
    Speaking of legitimate uses.. The long-range buses in Sweden and Finland record speed vs time on a paper disc behind the odometer. Drivers swap these at semi-regular intervals and when they change shifts.

    The main reason seems to be to ensure that they take their breaks on time (ie. rest) and don't speed. Since the buses cover the remote areas not always covered by trains, these measures seem good for the health and comfort of the driver and for the saftey of the passengers.

    --
    Beta is broken and the link to classic doesn't work. Stop wasting our time or there won't be anybody left here.
  266. Re:Thank god the insurance companies didn't use th by t0qer · · Score: 1

    no :)

    this is just ramblins so slashdot doesnt kick me for doin some response in less that 20 seconds(i.e. no), although the 20 second limit and the message "SLOW DOWN COWBOY" can sometimes be good against abusers, it should be turned off once a persons karma reaches a certain point.

  267. Yeah, And? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    A black box to keep teens from driving like maniacs? Oh, there's a good idea. I'm sure everyone with one of these boxes in the car is just going to let it sit there too. I know I crave a loud beep everytime I do something even slightly illegal.

    ...parents can install it in a matter of minutes...

    Wow, my parents can't even program the VCR. So its easy to install, probably a couple of plugs back under the dash somewhere (maybe it even plugs into the lighter!). Disconnect the power, problem solved (gee, dad, I don't know how it came unplugged, someone must have kicked the wire or something). Or, how long until some young electrical engineer figures out a bypass on the hardware of the box?

    Here's a second point: Do the black boxes on airplanes stop the planes from crashing? Do they keep people from dying when the plane hits the ground?

    Come on, folks, give your kids some credit. Little "rat boxes" in the car won't keep them from driving like maniacs. Education doesn't really work either. Those gory slideshows in high school didn't stop me from doing 95 on the shoulder during traffic jams. People die. It's sad, but it's true. Time to deal with it.

  268. Linux? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Of course, the big question is, will it work in Linux?

  269. Parents and bigger problems... by altgrr · · Score: 1

    You, then, are one of a minority that gets the balance between leaving well alone and caring right. Monitoring someone's activities isn't going to stop them. In fact, I think that, in the case of faster teenage drivers, the parents wouldn't like to know how they drive. I know my parents disapprove of some of my driving, but they'd just rather not know what I get up to than try to put a stop to it.

    If such devices are implemented, then people are never going to learn how to judge safety for themselves. If a black box beeps at you whenever you take a turn slightly too sharply, or go a little too fast, great. You react to the beep.

    I can see that this device would have problems distinguishing between different speed limit areas - go at 70 in a 70 and you're not doing anything wrong; do 70 in a 30 and you're more than doubling the speed limit.

    Also, I can't see that such a device would help establish the cause of accidents. I have been in a couple of near misses where the only safe way out is to put your foot to the floor - but what would an insurance company say if they saw this information from a black box?

    --


    Like car accidents, most hardware problems are due to driver error.
  270. France wants even worse than that by idletask · · Score: 2, Interesting

    As you may know, the government has changed not long ago. The former minister of transports, Jean-Claude Gayssot, was just dumb as to highlight speed as the major cause of accidents. Like pretty much all ministers before him, he couldn't make the difference between exceeding the speed limit and excessive speed.

    I dream-hoped for a change. Well, no. The current minister, Gilles De Robien, is even worse. In his project for increased road security (let me laugh), his proposed measures enclose a blackbox in every car. But not only to record accident data, mind you. No, these boxes may record speed permanently and will be controllable by the police in order to detect speed limit infringements. Worse, he wants spying tickets on highways (you have to pay for highways here) so that they can tell whether the guy was driving too fast by measuring the time between the ticket was taken and when this ticket is given back to the cashier at the exit of the highway.

    Fine, then, but what about useful measures for a change? Improved driver training? No. More severe driving license exam? No. Working out dangerous spots on open roads? No. Putting radars on dangerous spots instead of straight lines? No.

    I do hope the US equivalent of the minister of transports has a clue. Here, it's not the case. Help...

  271. Driving lesson for nerds, stuff that matters by jd_esguerra · · Score: 1

    One thing that I have not seen mentioned yet is the use of existing auto technology- like turn signals. No, they're not particularly high-tech, but they go a long way in making driving a safer activity.

    While several posters have admitted to driving fast/slow/aggressivly/whatever, none have mentioned being predictable drivers. Personally, I don't care how fast/aggressively people drive (within safe but flexible bounds), as long as their trajectories are predictable. Gonna' change lanes or turn, then signal-- and not just during or after the lane change/turn. Feel like cutting me off to get that exit, despite the fact that I'm driving much faster than you? Fine. Telegraph your intentions, and I'll even slow down to make room for you.

    I cannot stress how few people drive predictably (especially here in Albuquerque), and how much more pleasant driving could be (for everybody) if people would communicate their intentions prior to acting.

    You could be the best driver in the world, with the reflexes of SpiderMan and a vehicle with good high frequency dynamics; but if other-(maybe slower) people don't see you coming up from behind at 90mph, or conversely you don't know that the "highway slolom course" ahead of you is about to change...CRASH!...You might or might not get hit.

    On the road, you are only as safe as least-safety concious person around you.

    Oh my god, I sound like a high-school safety film. Stay in school. Don't do drugs. Abstain from sex...oh wait, this is Slashdot...

    1. Re:Driving lesson for nerds, stuff that matters by interstellar_donkey · · Score: 2

      I cannot stress how few people drive predictably (especially here in Albuquerque)

      Here in Phoenix, we are lucky. Everybody drives predictably: They will ignore every other car on the road.

      I moved here a few years ago, and was surprised that nobody seems to understand the concept of turn signals.

      If you are on the Freeweay, and you need to get over to another lane, and there is a small gap and you turn on your turn signal for a car to see, logic should dictate to other drivers that you do, in fact, intend to change lanes.

      But in every instance, I sit there for a quarter mile with my turn signel on and a small but safe gap to change lanes, and when I finally get fed up with waiting for the other driver to slow down, I change lanes.

      Inevitably, I get a horn blasted and the bird from the other driver. I give them the bird in return, because now I'm usually steamed too.

      I sometimes wish they would follow me, and when I stop, and they get out of the car to yell at me for 'cutting them off', I could point at those funny looking glass things above my break lights.

      "You see those? You know, when those things are flashing, that means I'm going to change lanes. You will usually get a warning. 20-30 seconds should be enough. Trust me, those just aren't there to make pretty flashing lights for your amusment, they mean something!"

      --
      The Internet is generally stupid
    2. Re:Driving lesson for nerds, stuff that matters by allanj · · Score: 2

      I sometimes wish they would follow me, and when I stop, and they get out of the car to yell at me for 'cutting them off', I could point at those funny looking glass things above my break lights.
      "You see those? You know, when those things are flashing, that means I'm going to change lanes. You will usually get a warning. 20-30 seconds should be enough. Trust me, those just aren't there to make pretty flashing lights for your amusment, they mean something!"

      I'm pretty sure if you ever tried that you'd get punched in the face (or worse) for being a smartass...

      --
      Black holes are where God divided by zero
    3. Re:Driving lesson for nerds, stuff that matters by Hoi+Polloi · · Score: 2

      "You will usually get a warning. 20-30 seconds should be enough."

      In the defense of the other drivers I have to say I've seen enough people drive with their turn signals on blinking nonstop to make me ignore turn signals that are on that long. If you don't change lanes in 10-15 secs I'll figure you aren't planning on changing lanes any time soon. Somehow people manage to be oblivious to the fact that there is a light that has been flashing on their dashboard for miles.

      "and a small but safe gap to change lanes"

      In your defense, that really burns me up. You leave a safe gap between you and the car in front and it becomes a magnet for every lane jockey on the road. "Wow, a space I might be able to squeeze into! It MUST be a faster lane!" I do though get annoyed by people who leave big spaces at lights preventing people from being able to pull into turn lanes. I never understood the purpose of having half a car length in front of you at a light. Expecting to be kidnapped or something?

      --
      It is by the juice of the coffee bean that thoughts acquire speed, the teeth acquire stains. The stains become a warning
    4. Re:Driving lesson for nerds, stuff that matters by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      I never understood the purpose of having half a car length in front of you at a light.

      Ever been rear-ended and pushed into the car in front of you? I was last year, and since then I try to stay well back from the car in front of me. I can't control the distance between me and the car in back of me, but I try damn hard to avoid being too close to the car in front- I don't care to repeat that experience.

      Now, people who are in a lane that isn't going to be going anywhere until the light changes who have to pull up far enough that people turning right can't see around them... that, I don't get.

  272. It's about trust by interstellar_donkey · · Score: 2

    At some point, my kids will be of driving age.

    I know regardless they will screw around for a while, just like I did when I first got my license, but overall, I'd like to think I was a good enough parent to teach them to be responsible.

    But it comes down to a very simple equation: If you don't trust your kids enough to handle a car on their own without some electronic device tracking them, you shouldn't let them drive at all.

    It irks me whenever something comes out that takes the burden of evaluating the responsibility of childern away from the parents. "Oh, little Johnny is a handful, and he can't be trusted, but this little box will make sure he never does anything wrong".

    Right. And while they peel away little Johnnys brains from the dashboard along with his freinds and a carload of innocent moterists, I'm sure that black box will make everything better after the fact.

    --
    The Internet is generally stupid
  273. mystical black boxes by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    >but generally only record the last five seconds before an accident.

    That's very clever, how do they know when an
    accident is about to happen?

    +AndyJ+

    1. Re:mystical black boxes by Kredal · · Score: 2

      Simple, they have a 5 second loop of memory/tape/whatever that is recorded over and over and over. When the tape stops recording, it's full of the last 5 seconds of driving.

      --
      Whoever stated that signature sizes should be limited to one hundred and twenty characters can just go ahead and kiss my
  274. Big rig truckers? by mrbrown1602 · · Score: 1

    I carry a CB radio with me when I travel and overheard some truckers talking about their companies tracking their speed using GPS. Has anybody heard anything about this and can you point me in the direction to an article?

  275. On a more positive spin by tagishsimon · · Score: 2

    Setting aside the privacy concerns, I'd love a data logger for my car, attached to a GPS, that would allow me to replay my journies on the PC when I got home. I'm sure I'm sad enough to find the variations in speed, braking, acceleration between the same journies somewhat fascinating. I can see endless possibilities in being able to manipulate a record of my car use. Bring it on.

  276. Against tracking devices by Tina+Russell · · Score: 1

    I'm okay with black boxes in teens' cars if they're designed to prevent bad driving; beeping if you're going past the speed limit, et cetera. However, I hope they lose the "teen driver" angle and market this to all amateur drivers; teenagers aren't often-bad drivers intrinsically because they're teenagers, they're often bad drivers because they're inexperienced with driving, much like many adult drivers. Teen drivers aren't the problem, amateur drivers are. Teenagers are already too much of a scapegoat for society's evils. However, I firmly disapprove of black boxes with tracking devices. What if you have racist parents who don't want you hanging out with members of another race or class? What if you're meeting with political groups whose opinions they disapprove of? What if you're a sexual minority and you aren't comfortable with your parents knowing that you've been frequenting sexual minority facilities? What if you're trying to get out of an abusive relationship, and you don't want your parents involved, but they start noticing that you frequent crisis centers? The list goes on and on... Most importantly, kids often need to make their own mistakes. Parents need to learn to let go, steadily. As Neksys so eloquently put it (you're my new hero, Neksys): "Guided and watched, yes - much like how you taught them to ride their two-wheeler, but spied on, no. If you only spy on them, they'll never lose their training wheels - I hope you realize that, if you're a parent."

    1. Re:Against tracking devices by Tina+Russell · · Score: 1

      Note to self; use HTML paragraph breaks when writing in "HTML Formatted" mode...

      Sorry about that.

  277. Anti-American == Troll. So much for free speech! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Yeah, lets be clear that you cant say anything anti-american on slashdot without some american coming along and slapping a troll (i.e. a censorship flag) on it.

    How fucking hypocritical is that!!! HAHAHAHAHA!

  278. Re:Wrexen is paranoid? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    What exactly does insurance companies lobbying the government so that they can make more money off of us have to do with the whole black-helicopter thing? This is not a fuckin troll either, I seriously would like to try and follow your logic and the logic of the people who modded your statement up.

  279. So what's new? We all carry GSM that is tracked by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Like it or not, but wireless means pinpointable radio transmissions.

  280. Somebody didn't pay their brain bill. by $criptah · · Score: 1


    Yes, I am for serious. How can you enjoy the fact that you kid has a black box in the car? First of all, let me remind you that everybody was a kid and every single one of us has been in a shady situation on the road. Sometimes you have to do it. Period. Secondly, how can parents give their kids keys to the car and allow them to drive without trusting them? If you think that your teenager is not very good at driving, why don't you practice with him/her and if they're reckless just because they like it that way, make him/her get their own car and/or pay for their insurance. This 'black box' does discriminated against teenagers. I would never install a device like that in my kid's car and I would like to see civil liberitarians to speak out about it. Thanks,

  281. 14 year olds?? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    From the article:

    According to 2001 California Highway Patrol statistics, drivers between the ages of 14 and 18 accounted for 26,210 injury accidents and 336 fatal accidents in California. Of that total, teens were listed at fault in 16,740 of the crashes

    How many 14 year olds are there on the road in California?

  282. Progressive Insurance may already offer this by WeirdKid · · Score: 1

    Progressive Insurance patented "usage based insurance" back in 2000 that implies much of this technology. The product is called Autograph and it relies upon some sort of recording device inside the vehicle -- something like OnStar's onboard hardware would work perfectly. It has a wireless modem, a GPS unit, a computer, and access to the vehicle's Class 2 bus.

  283. Just how long will any techie kid leave it alone? by idiosynchronic · · Score: 1

    You can't tell me that someone will not have one of these black boxes opened, guts splayed all over the work table, and singing "I Can't Drive 55" within one or two days of release. If the information is encrypted, it may take a week. Kits for home modification, including any custom port plugs that are used, will be available for disgruntled teens to purchase within a month. And then PT Cruisers across the nation will begin reporting that your little geek has been remarkably law-abiding when they've gotten behind the wheel. If there's a product that screams, "Hack me Now, long and hard!", any lounder, I don't know what it is.

  284. Silver lining? by eth1 · · Score: 2

    I can't help but think, that, maybe, having someone monitor everyone's driving habits could have a good side. Just think... if all the morons are always having their liscenses suspended, imagine how much less traffic there'd be for the rest of us to deal with! In Dallas, anyway, about 90% of the drivers would have to ride DART, and I could get to work much faster.

  285. The Ladies Man... by CeZa · · Score: 0

    Lets see, drove 10 over and braked suddenly too much. Did not have the air conditioning on. If anything, a collection of these black box tapes could prove to be a good training program for playas, and use it for future lady advice.

    Or if we could run linux on them we could use them as MP3 players...

  286. Re:Paranoia (OT: Troll) - Sarcasm by ckaminski · · Score: 1

    Guns don't kill people; people kill people; so there is no need for guns. Perhaps this has been pointed out to you, but guns don't kill people. Bullets do. BAN THE BULLETS!! BAN THE BULLETS!! People just pull triggers. That's ok, isn't it? I mean, dropping bombs on civilians (accidently) only requires pulling a trigger, right? Few. For a minute there I thought those guys flying F-14's and B52 bombers were murderers!

  287. Devil's Advocate - Why not? by JWhitlock · · Score: 2
    Equip every car in America with one of these. If law enforcement is dumb enough to use them to monitor speeding, then people will be motivated to modify or remove them, so that will be illegal, and we'll have the Speed War to go along with the Drug War and the War on Terrorism.

    Instead, if they use them to gather data about REAL driver habits and what really causes accidents, I believe they will find that speed is not the problem, and that most inter-city highways could safely raise the speed limit 10 mph or so, since many people are safely going over that limit anyway.

    Instead, I expect that they will find that cell phones, listening to certain kinds of music, arguing while driving, weather and road conditions, or just bad driving habits like weaving in and out of traffic are causing the accidents.

    Or maybe not - maybe speed will be the factor. I don't know, but I do know that, once you have generous data collection facilities, it then become possible to use science to determine what causes accidents, and how to make driving safer.

    The one thing they will confirm is that speed of collision strongly affects how lethal the accident is - and they will be able to measure true speeds, rather than use the speed of the road. I see a lot more 10mph rear-end accidents at traffic lights than 65 mph head-on collisions.

  288. This might sound mean by pclminion · · Score: 2
    I know plenty of teens read Slashdot (is it the majority?), so I can understand how a lot of people might be pissed off about this...

    But as an adult this appeals to me on certain levels. Most teen drivers I encounter drive like fucking braindead idiots and having some way to keep those people in check would be nice. Then again, there's probably lots of responsible teen drivers. But you know what -- I don't tend to notice those drivers because they just blend in with the rest of the responsible masses. The only ones who get noticed are the dipshits.

    So, to the teens out there who are upset about this: you need to do one of two things: if you are an asshole dipshit driver, change your driving habits. Or, if you are a considerate, responsible driver, you surely know some friends who drive like dipshits. Put some pressure on your friends.

    It's easy to feel invincible as a teenager, but just in the last several months I've seen a lot of nasty stuff happen on roadways to friends of mine (luckily nobody has died yet). You are certainly NOT invincible. And you aren't only taking your own life into your hands, you are also responsible for all the people around you on the road.

  289. With some of the drivers around here... by Interrobang · · Score: 2

    ...if I still drove, I'd welcome this measure, as long as I get to control when it's put in my car. That way, when one of those morons slammed into me (I am a much better driver than most people here; I don't have a license 'cause I couldn't afford the second &#@* road test), it would show that it wasn't my fault.

    Then again, after Mike Harris AND no-fault insurance, maybe it is a bad idea after all...

    (The slashdot.org link is to a journal entry I just wrote on the paucity of the local drivers' skills, incidentally.)

  290. Actually might make driving worse by thomasdelbert · · Score: 1

    I could just see a teenager worrying more about what the black box is recording than what is on the road.

    Any time that someone is being measured by their management (or in this case, their parents), they work harder to make the measurement look good and forget about the real goal.

    Sure, most of the measurements shown actually do contribute the safety of the driver, I think that the kid will pay more attention to the measurements than to the road.

    Driving is a complex task, and can be overwhelming for a new driver. Let's not add another thing to the mix.

    --
    ___ This sig is in boldface to emphasize its importance!
  291. Re:ridiculous by SirSlud · · Score: 2

    Good post but:

    > hoping that RoadCorp wont revoke your driving privileges for having a broken tail light

    RoadCorp wouldn't do anything to revoke your license outright, even if you're a dangerous driver (after all, more drivers = more money), but they might deny you access to their road unless your tail light is manufactured by a preferred RoadCorp affiliate. Thats the scary part.

    --
    "Old man yells at systemd"
  292. This would be great evidence... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    for when the a**hle cop pulls you over and says you were doing 80 and has it on laser, when you know that you were doing 70 tops, that the laser doesn't work in the range that he says he used it in, and the seven cars between you and him would not give the laser gun enough time to correctly measure your speed.

    A**hole cop: "Do you know why I pulled you over?"

    Me: "Because you are below your quoat?"

    A**hole cop: "Beacuse you were doing 80 mph in a 60 mph zone."

    Me: "Well according to the 'little black box', I never passed 71 mph in the last month. But thanks for stopping. F*ck you very much" (drives away)

  293. Hypocrits? by Hoi+Polloi · · Score: 2

    I wonder if the advocates of the black boxes (parents, etc) will subject themselves to the same monitoring? I can't begin to count the number of times I've seen a minivan/suv packed full of kids driving 20+ mph over the speed limit and jockeying across the lanes. I'd love to see how long the advocates (especially police and nervous mothers) of the boxes would put up with getting beeped every time they went over the speed limit. I think we'd see speed limits get raised.

    As far as monitoring speed, you don't have to be going fast to have an accident. Most fender benders are at low speed and a pedestrian doesn't need to be hit at high speed to be seriously injured or killed.

    If they were serious about technological solutions to poor driving then why do they allow cell phones to operate while the car is in motion?

    --
    It is by the juice of the coffee bean that thoughts acquire speed, the teeth acquire stains. The stains become a warning
    1. Re:Hypocrits? by Hoi+Polloi · · Score: 1

      One more thing, the black boxes won't be able to report poorly maintained roads, bad signs (especially the ones that are vague about which road in a fork they are aimed at), and roads without lane lines (is it 1 lane or 2, you decide!).

      --
      It is by the juice of the coffee bean that thoughts acquire speed, the teeth acquire stains. The stains become a warning
  294. Speed doesn't kill ... by fm6 · · Score: 2

    ... and finite reaction time, kinetic energy, and mechanical stress are all myths. Whatever you say.

    1. Re:Speed doesn't kill ... by millionbucks · · Score: 1

      I see you don't like the fact that there is evidence to support a viewpoint other than yours. Maybe if you took the time to learn about proper driving habits instead of picking on one simple aspect of driving you would understand that it is not as simple as slowing down. Speed is but one factor of many.

      It has been statistically proven over and over again that slower drivers (those driving below the speed of others on the road, who by your logic would be safer drivers, cause more accidents than faster drivers. Car and Driver reported on this several years ago. Police stats also verify this.

      Maybe you should petition for speed limits to be lowered? Isn't 55 safer than 65? How about 45? Or maybe we should return to the days when the national speed limit was 25MPH.

      I drive 17 when I have the chance. Sometimes fast, sometimes slow, but one thing never changes. I monitor the traffic ahead and behind constantly. If there is a car coming up behind me quickly, I do my best to get out of his/her way. Courtesy. There are signs all over the place that say "Slower Traffic Keep Right" and they are there for a reason.

      Drivers in Germany respect these simple courtesies, and they are enforced by law. Applying these simple rules (on roads where people habitually drive 120MPH+) lead to lower accident and death rates compared to those on roads here where people don't apply these rules (and drive only 60-80MPH).

      People and their lack of courtesy or concern on the road are of greater concern to me than speed. Speed is just the easiest issue to pick on. People love to pick on cell phones too, even though eating in the car is more dangerous (statistically proven). Should we ban eating in the car? Should we also get rid of radios? People have been killed in accidents when fiddling with them too. Granted, higher speed makes problems worse, but speed itself is a minor issue!

      Back to the blackbox. A black box does nothing to record what the driver is doing. It only records some of what the car is doing (speed, brakes, RPM, and maybe the gear). That is a serious flaw! If someone is not looking at the road and has an accident at your prescribed slower speed, they are still capable of killing someone, and the blackbox would completely exonerate them.

      Consider this scenario. Imagine for a moment that your child was hit at a ped. crossing by a driver who was playing with the car's radio. Now your child is permanently injured, and you have to pay his/her medical bills. You go to court for relief (sue the insurance co. and the driver). It is stated in court that your child was being careless and ran into the street and in front of the car. You know this isn't true, but then the driver is exonerated by the simple blackbox data stating that the driver was not speeding and that the brakes were being applied when the car hit your child. This kind of case has been heard in court before (public court records), but it usually requires a lot of testimony regarding vehicle speed from expert witnesses, and testimony from witnesses at the scene. The blackbox would eliminate that need for witnesses and automatically become a completely unchalengeable expert witness. If you faced this I'm sure you'd have a different opinion.

    2. Re:Speed doesn't kill ... by Quila · · Score: 2

      You pretty much said everything for me. Except that in Germany they do have a habit of tailgating left-lane hogs. It's an example of one illegal act bringing on another. Same with people passing the hogs on the right, which is illegal too, but also wouldn't happen if the people hadn't been hogging the road in the first place.

      In Germany, I feel much safer just driving fast and passing most everyone. It's simple, as you just have to watch out ahead for people pulling out in front of you, or slowed traffic. It's easy to anticipate those pulling out (such as coming up behind a truck) and keeping proper distance for conditions invalidates the "reaction time!" cry -- I've compensated for it. Just keep an eye on the mirror for a really fast Porsche or Mercedes.

      Driving middle-speed is scary, because you're constantly weaving in and out to pass slow trucks, with each lane change being another chance for an accident.

      The only thing I'm really afraid of are drivers of large vehicles not paying attention and ramming me in the back when I'm at the end of a traffic jam. I make sure to leave lots of room for me to floor it out of their way should that happen.

    3. Re:Speed doesn't kill ... by Quila · · Score: 2
      Millionbucks said most of it, but:
      • Finite reaction time: Ever heard of driving according to conditions and keeping proper distance? There's a finite reaction time at any speed. Adjust accordingly.
      • Kinetic energy: Doesn't come into play if you don't crash. It's not a cause of accidents, it's a factor in the severity of the accidents should they happen.
      • Mechanical stress: Don't drive fast if your car can't take it. Is that too complicated for people to understand? My car is essentially a race car, is well taken care of, and can safely do 100mph+ all day long. Yours? Is your old beat-up Nova safe at even 40mph? Do you have reliable high-speed rated tires, or are you trying to do 100mph on some worn-out P-rated retreads (mine are W)? There are places around my home where I won't even go up to the speed limit in the family car, but I do so easily in the sports car.
  295. Cops and $ by Hoi+Polloi · · Score: 2

    Then watch as the speed limits get dropped down to 25 everywhere for the sake of public "safety" (and more $!)

    --
    It is by the juice of the coffee bean that thoughts acquire speed, the teeth acquire stains. The stains become a warning
  296. Sunday Driver by shepd · · Score: 1

    It appears none of you understand the colloquialism "Sunday Driver".

    Allow me to help you...

    A Sunday Driver, a term in common use in Northern America, is one who is driving at less than 1/2 the speed limit. Normally a Sunday Driver is attempting to find a lost destination, or, worse than that, they are simply trying to look at the countryside. Generally, those who are not Sunday Drivers will yell such things as "Pull over if you want to read your map!" or "Take a picture, it'll last longer!".

    Please engage your vocabulary prior to putting your mouth into gear, next time.

    >You think the speed limit is too low? Then lobby to have it changed.

    Unfortunately, people like you who don't have the wordiness required to properly reply to people's comments are always rallying against me.

    I'd like to see a law that states that anything that isn't a huge farm vehicle (easy to see from miles away) must drive at least within 30 km/h of the posted limit. I'd like to take licenses away from drivers going under 10 km/h on any normal city or country lane when it would be safe to do the full speed limit.

    But then again, perhaps with you on the road this wouldn't be the best ideea.

    --
    If you could be told what you can see or read, then it follows that you could be told what to say or think - BoC
    1. Re:Sunday Driver by FFFish · · Score: 2

      Thick as a freakin' brick, aintcha?

      If the black box shows that you consistently drive half the speed limit, your insurance company is going to recognize that you are a speedbump hazard, and jack your rates, just as it would if you regularly double the speed limit.

      My root post clearly states that when everyone drives the speed limit -- ie. not faster than, not slower than -- we're all safer.

      In my province, you *can* be ticketed for driving too slow. You want the same thing to happen in your state, you'd best lobby for it.

      Please engage your brain before you respond to posts. Your Sunday Driver argument is purely strawman.

      --

      --
      Don't like it? Respond with words, not karma.
    2. Re:Sunday Driver by shepd · · Score: 1

      >Your Sunday Driver argument is purely strawman.

      Better a strawman argument than no argument at all.

      You have absolutely no case against what I've said so you simply decide to agree, then say I'm wrong because, in your opinion, I have a strawman argument.

      That is weak, man. Weaker than water.

      If you reply, I expect you to explain how your lack of english brought you to wrongly accuse me of driving above the speed limit.

      Anything else is simply weak.

      Not to mention that driving at the speed limit all the time in my province is DAMN dangerous. Have you ever heard of snow? I suppose not. But I'm surprised at that -- which country do you live in that has provinces but never dangerous driving conditions?

      --
      If you could be told what you can see or read, then it follows that you could be told what to say or think - BoC
    3. Re:Sunday Driver by shepd · · Score: 1

      >In my province, you *can* be ticketed for driving too slow.

      With a little investigation, I know what province you are in.

      Now I know you are an idiot.

      I've been through the rocky mountains. There are many, many, many times when driving at the speed limit is absolutely not called for.

      But you advocate driving at it all the time. You advocate crashes and death.

      Keep that opinion to yourself, that's what I'd do.

      --
      If you could be told what you can see or read, then it follows that you could be told what to say or think - BoC
  297. Communication by Hoi+Polloi · · Score: 2

    I keep wondering if having a better way for drivers to communicate (and I don't mean the finger) would help things on the road? Maybe some sort of LED display on the back and/or the grill, for example: "Please turn off your turn signal!" Of course you'd still have people using it to display obscenities too.

    --
    It is by the juice of the coffee bean that thoughts acquire speed, the teeth acquire stains. The stains become a warning
    1. Re:Communication by fm6 · · Score: 2
      I've often had the same thought. But not only would people misuse it, but it'd be too distracting, for both parties. Too dangerous.

      Once I was waiting at a light, and this black kid pulling out of a gas station made a complicated Jive gesture in my direction. Total Greek to me, but it was clear from context what he wanted: to pull in front of me while he still had an opening in traffic. I gave him a less elegant wave to indicate that I understood him, and our interaction ended amicably. Most thought provoking -- but teaching all us suburban types hand-Jive is probably not a practical solution.

  298. Watching your kids by Hoi+Polloi · · Score: 2

    If I had had parents who monitored my every move I would've just ended up doing the safest thing, sitting on my ass all day doing nothing but watching TV. I doubt that is what parents really want.

    --
    It is by the juice of the coffee bean that thoughts acquire speed, the teeth acquire stains. The stains become a warning
  299. WTF is up with you people?!? by Havokmon · · Score: 2
    I saw that thing on TV, maybe 20-20 a couple weeks ago. Sure, it records bad driving, and distances, but it also beeps and whistles at you when you drive 'wrong'.

    If you take a corner too fast, it beeps. If you stopped to hard, it beeps. It TRAINS you to drive better, with the added benefit of "Oh shit, my dad's gonna find out!"

    Everyone is zeroing in on the recording aspect, but have you heard of these being used to fire or ticket ambulance drivers, where they were ORIGINALLY USED? It made them better drivers, and THAT'S the positive of it.

    Everybody here complains that DeCSS allows them to watch TV on 'unauthorized' equipment, but they don't pirate, so the GOOD of the tool should be seen. Then something like this box shows up, and everyone concentrates on the bad, rather than the good.

    Does everyone trust noone, and at the same time expect everyone to trust them?

    Rant off :)

    --
    "I can't give you a brain, so I'll give you a diploma" - The Great Oz (blatently stolen sig)
  300. And then there is by MKalus · · Score: 2

    I just found the following in a german magazine (Spiegel):

    >>Abgesehen davon hat die Justiz längst erkannt, dass es schon bei niedrigeren Geschwindigkeiten gefährlich wird. "Es gibt eine Entscheidung des Bundesgerichtshofes, die festlegt, dass die Betriebsgefahr im Auto ab Tempo 180 steigt", sagt Maximilian Maurer. "Bei höherem Tempo muss immer damit gerechnet werden, dass man bei einem Unfall eine Mitschuld bekommt."

    Roughly translated:

    Besides that, the government has already realized that it is going to get dangerous at much lower speeds. "There is a statement by the Bundesgerichtshof that states that the danger of a car increses at speeds above 180km/h", says Maximilian Maurer, "At higher speeds you always have to assume that in case of an accident you receive part of the faul."

    This btw, was in an article about the end of a voluntary speed limit of 250km/h by car manufacturers in Germany.

    --
    If you want to e-mail me, use my PGP Key.
  301. There is no right to privacy on a public PLANET by LPetrazickis · · Score: 1

    There is very little privacy when driving on a public road. Your behavior on the road is not private. You may be observed, stopped, questioned, etc. without warrant. You agreed to all this when accepting the privelage [sic] of driving. What privacy you have on the road is pretty much limitted to your property not in plain sight. IANAL. There is very little privacy when living on a public planet. Your behavior on the planet is not private. You may be observed, stopped, questioned, etc. without warrant. You agreed to all this when accepting the privelege of driving. What privacy you have on the planet is pretty much limitted to your property not in plain sight. IANAL.

    --
    Is this a sigs-optional kind of place? 'Cause I am totally down with that if you know what I mean.
  302. The black-box said it was safe.... by MeerCat · · Score: 2

    The problem with these simplistic metrics is that it encourages a parent to absolve themselves of responsibility, and the "kid" learns that "safe-driving is anything that doesn't make the box go beep".

    "hey, I don't have to check if johnnie is safe, the box will tell me" - well I bet it won't tell you if johnnie isn't paying attention, if he drives without lights, if he wanders onto the wrong side of the road, if he lets his mates start mooning passing motorists with guns....

    Similarly johnnie has the perfect excuse when he has an accident "but the box said I was OK, so it couldn't have been my fault".

    Teach kids to drive safely, to act responsibly, to look out for the welfare of themselves and for others, then let them know that you're putting your trust in them to do so. Good parenting is NOT a technology issue.

    T

    --
    I spent a lot of money on booze, birds and fast cars. The rest I just squandered. - George Best
  303. What a nit to pick! by fm6 · · Score: 2

    I'm supposed to be more offended by "moron" than by "idiot"? I guess I'm pretty dumb, 'cause that goes right by me!

  304. Never going to happen. by Burning1 · · Score: 2

    Breaking the law is a significant source of revenue for your local police department.

  305. Ahhh, and this is why. by edunbar93 · · Score: 2

    Also, I can't see that such a device would help establish the cause of accidents. I have been in a couple of near misses where the only safe way out is to put your foot to the floor - but what would an insurance company say if they saw this information from a black box?

    I had the misfortune of witnessing a serious car accident last winter. Some guy in a small sedan tried to beat the light at an intersection and T-boned an SUV as it made a left turn in the dedicated lane.

    What would the black box in the sedan say? 5 seconds before the collision, the driver floored it as it headed southbound at the intersection of Commercial Drive and East Hastings. In the SUV? 5 seconds before the collision, it was sitting at the intersection in the left turn lane eastbound on East Hastings and 1 second before the collision calmly pulled into the intersection to make a left turn.

    The big question is "what did the lights say?" Even I don't know. I wasn't paying attention to that at the time. And if the clocks on the lights (they'll likely have logs somewhere) are off even by a few seconds, you can't use that very well. Typically though, I wouldn't doubt they'd be off by a few minutes, making whatever logs they kept totally useless compared with the gps systems in the cars.

    --
    "No problem. I have the capacity to do infinite work so long as you don't mind that my quality approaches zero."-Dilbert
  306. On the use of statistics by nakaduct · · Score: 2
    drivers aged 15-20 made up 6.3% of the population, but were involved in 12.5% of the injury and fatality collisions
    If all drivers are equally dangerous, and the typical accident involves two drivers, then:
    • (1-.063)^2 = 87.8% of accidents would involve zero 15-to-20-year-olds.
    • (.063*.937)*2 = 11.8% would involve one 15-to-20 year-old.
    • .063^2 = 0.4% would involve two 15-to-20-year-olds.
    (Note grand total of 100%)
    That gives us an expected 11.8+0.4 = 12.2% involvement rate for that age group, if all drivers are equally likely to get into an accident. That makes the 12.5% number look less exciting.

    The second statistic is more illustrative, but it's not clear whether "The group made up of 16-year-olds" means "16-year-olds" or "an arbitrary age range including 16-year-olds and younger, obviously unlicensed drivers". It would be valuable to see these numbers with unlicensed drivers excluded (since unlicensed / untrained drivers are probably more dangerous, and generally younger).

    cheers,
    mike
  307. Litigious Side Effects by jdedman4 · · Score: 1

    Were these devices to be installed in a majority of vehicles, they would be the first thing that the lawyers would seek to obtain in pre-trial discovery proceedings. Any recording device like this would become invaluable to either the plaintiff or the defendant - depending of course on what the data revealed. Considering the number of insurance defense cases that result in litigation, this device might produce an interesting result for parents who clamor for them: conclusive proof that their teenage drive was indeed negligent and thus the cause of the accident.

  308. Re: General Driving habits by bluetoad · · Score: 1

    You don't have to understand Einstein's Theory of relativity that you can't merge onto a freeway where the speed is (supposed to be) in excess of 100KMH in most places around the world doing 60KMH (i.e. 60MPH doing 35PMH). A little electric jolt from the black box under the driver's seat would be useful. But they probably wouldn't know if their arse was on fire anyway!

    It would be good if the black boxes could
    jolt the driver if they are going too slow in the fast lane (i.e left lane in US/Europe, right in Australia/UK). Maybe alligator clips...

    And why does the traffic on the 280 go from 80MPH to 20MPH for no apparent reason.... Probably because some clown dropped their cheeseburger or litre of coffee in their lap... Hopefully the box will detect it and give them a jolt...maybe the machine will short out and give them a nice shock when it gets it's huge sea of milky coffee complete with shots of kiwi fruit flavouring...

  309. Finitude by fm6 · · Score: 2

    So you're basically saying, "exercising intelligent caution is more important than blindly obeying the rules". I don't actually disagree with that. Problem is, most drivers don't do either. A lot of drivers think that they're driving within safe limits, but are actually just fooling themselves. One indication of this self-delusion is the anger with which they greet the slightest suggestion that they're doing anything wrong.

    1. Re:Finitude by Quila · · Score: 2

      That's true, but if we're going to allow drivers on the road at all, we have to allow them to exercise judgement. I'm actually surprised more prople aren't killed with 3000 lb+ hunks of metal hurling down the highway at 55-65 mph within feet of each other, even in opposite directions which brings the closing speed to 110-130 mph. Despite the individual idiocy we see every day, that's a testament to how good things actually are.

      If you want to see truly irresponsible driving on a mass scale, go to Saudi Arabia.

  310. addons by Whatthehellever · · Score: 0

    Will these black boxes have a "rocking" sensor available? I'm sure parents would LOVE to know when their car is "rocking"...

    --

    ---
    IMHO, of course.
    May the SOURCE be with you.
  311. Re:It is their vehicle.. but it is our information by gd23ka · · Score: 1

    You're playing the devil's advocate here, aren't you? I can do that too (and probably be a lot more honest in the process): How about "We need to put in extensive monitoring into rental cars so we can be compliant with the "Patriot" act"? :-)