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January's Toast to Tech Evil

comforteagle writes "In this month's mocking toast To Evil! Danny O'Brien laments the holiday habit of trying to hide one's evilness from Father Christmas, but finds those evil tech companies can't help being who they are. 'I'm really hoping that in their next batch of cinema adverts, the MPAA addresses this, and shows a grumbling adware developer instead of a Hollywood set-painter. The piracy issue, it affects us all: the construction guy, the lighting guy. And me, the guy who installed all that crap on your mum's computer. And also an awful lot of Los Angeles-based cocaine dealers. Why doesn't anyone think of them?'"

82 comments

  1. Danny and Conan... by mirko · · Score: 2, Funny

    this month's mocking toast To Evil! Danny O'Brien...

    I understood that Conan O'Brien (not sure if it's spelled this way) had some fun about another Evil in Las Vegas last week...
    Might be some family vendetta against evil.

    --
    Trolling using another account since 2005.
  2. Spyware! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Santa uses spyware! I always knew using Windows was dangerous.

    /me draws the curtains

    1. Re:Spyware! by Dougie+Cool · · Score: 1

      Goddammit, do I look like I signed out? NO!

      --
      ~~Every few years or so I'm accidentally fashionable!
  3. the construction guy, the lighting guy... by The+Grassy+Knoll · · Score: 5, Funny

    And don't forget the motorcycle cop and the red indian. They were my favourites.

    .

    --
    They will never know the simple pleasure of a monkey knife fight
  4. santa claus by ikkibr · · Score: 1

    at least they didn't kill him

  5. Re:New /. outcry... by grasshoppa · · Score: 5, Funny

    Say what you will about drug dealers, they are about the most honest "professional" people I've ever met. you tell them what you want when you want it, and they tell you whether they can do it or not. None of this, "I gotta talk to ...x" or "Let me check with my vendor" crap.

    I tell ya, they are a breath of fresh air to an IT manager-type.

    --
    Mod me down with all of your hatred and your journey towards the dark side will be complete!
  6. No icon in ther header by Airline_Sickness_Bag · · Score: 2, Funny

    This thread doesn't have an icon. You need to get an "evil" icon for topics like these. Until then, just use the Microsoft or SCO icon.

    1. Re:No icon in ther header by AndroidCat · · Score: 3, Funny

      They set the evil bit. Doesn't your software handle that? Mine plays creepy pipe organ music, which has always been an icon of evil.

      --
      One line blog. I hear that they're called Twitters now.
    2. Re:No icon in ther header by EvilTwinSkippy · · Score: 1

      SCO, perhaps, belongs in the Evil catagory. But Microsoft is really in the category with Comcast, Lockheed Martin, and Verizon. They should get a Roman legion standard. Better living through conquest. (As opposed to innovation.)

      --
      "Learning is not compulsory... neither is survival."
      --Dr.W.Edwards Deming
    3. Re:No icon in ther header by Beyond_GoodandEvil · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Lockheed Martin not known for innovation? Perhaps you should google skunkworks.

      --
      I laughed at the weak who considered themselves good because they lacked claws.
    4. Re:No icon in ther header by EvilTwinSkippy · · Score: 1

      And IBM was once known for typewriters. What is your point?

      --
      "Learning is not compulsory... neither is survival."
      --Dr.W.Edwards Deming
  7. How's about a nice cup of double evil? by cmdrwhitewolf · · Score: 1

    I can just see MPAA's line of thinking - "Let's all conspire to change the dreaded '666' to a '999' in everyone's minds, just for a laugh..."

    --
    [Now, I'm off to lift my le... Um, visit... at another place.]
    1. Re:How's about a nice cup of double evil? by achowe · · Score: 1

      Yes of Mistress of Satan. Please whip me once more. Oh Yes! I will buy Longghorn! Please Mistress give me more.

    2. Re:How's about a nice cup of double evil? by EvilTwinSkippy · · Score: 1
      Actually 777 is the true number of evil.

      /Unix Admin

      --
      "Learning is not compulsory... neither is survival."
      --Dr.W.Edwards Deming
    3. Re:How's about a nice cup of double evil? by MrWarMage · · Score: 1

      ...and in the Satanic Bible, 9 is the true number of the devil...

  8. Don't do drugs. by garcia · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Overpeer is a company known to be paid by the MPAA and RIAA member companies to upload corrupted files onto the networks.

    Now it appears to be setting up a side-line, generating ad revenue by tricking gullible users to download its faux warez.


    It's like calling the cops to tell them that you were robbed while buying drugs. Yeah it sucks that you got 0wn3d while downloading warez but who the hell are you going to complain to and have anything done about it?

    If you tattle you both get in trouble. You might get in more trouble than they will. Sad but true. Remember who has the better lawyers and the political backing...

    1. Re:Don't do drugs. by me+at+werk · · Score: 1, Informative

      Read the rest of TFA?

      It's kind of intriguing, isn't it, when the MPAA and RIAA is to scaring us into believing that the world of unauthorized copying is filled of dodgy-dealers stuffing the files with all kinds of polluted malware and pop-ups, that they're also paying the people who do the stuffing?

      I think that's where the "evil" part comes from.

      --
      For context, click Parent.
    2. Re:Don't do drugs. by NetNifty · · Score: 2, Interesting

      "If you tattle you both get in trouble. You might get in more trouble than they will."

      Not if they infect something which is public domain (didn't some of Elvis' music just become public domain in the uk?) in another country and hence legal to download, but illegal to run unauthorised software on someone else's computer (like in the UK under the computer misuse act ?).

    3. Re:Don't do drugs. by IndiJ · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Two wrongs do not a right make. EVERY crime has a victim - most have many. In this example:

      ...robbed while buying drugs...

      it depends on what was stolen (do insurance companies come into it? do they have to pay out?), if the buyer was hurt in the theft (health insurance now, plus one less spot available in over-busy hospitals), etc. etc.

      Posting corrupted/nonsense files disguised as copyrighted media wastes bandwidth that we all share, and makes it that much more difficult for the authorities to track down the real pirates. Posting spyware-infected media files does all of the above, plus provides examples of how to do it to more vicious crackers.

      The logic of Overpeer - "we'll hurt them cause they're hurting us, and maybe if they're hurt enough they'll stop" - is the same ass-idiot logic that justifies all retributive crimes, from the genocides in Rwanda, to the violence in Iseal, to the terrorist attacks on the US (depending on whether you believe that religion is the source of the hate or just a convenient way to recruit dumbfucks ready to kill themselves). It didn't stop the killing in Rwanda (which is now spilling into the Congo), it didn't end the violence in Isreal (which has finally petered out only because of a natural-selection "regime change"), and there are more terrorists now than ever (and the body count climbs and climbs). It will not stop pirates. Overpeer is not part of any solution, they are simply sanctioned criminals.

      Yeah it sucks that you got 0wn3d while downloading warez but who the hell are you going to complain to and have anything done about it?

      Who to complain to? Your congressman would be a nice start. The FBI would be another interesting choice. You don't need to incriminate yourself to report a crime. If the FBI asks how you got an Overpeer-infected file by doing something legal, just tell them that you were doing their damn job - as they seem too busy, you did your patriotic duty to collect evidence for them. The fifth is your friend.

      --
      It's hard to soar like an eagle when you're surrounded by turkeys.
    4. Re:Don't do drugs. by AmberBlackCat · · Score: 1

      I thought it was illegal to create software with the intent of damaging people's computer systems. Maybe that only applies to non-corporations.

    5. Re:Don't do drugs. by 2nd+Post! · · Score: 1

      Wait.

      So Overpeer is being paid to upload corrupted files on the networks. Why is it illegal to download those files? Aren't they implicitly giving you copyright access to those files by uploading them?

      The only reason it was illegal was because they own the copyright.

      So it's not like being robbed buying drugs, at all. It's like... downloading a copy of Spider-Man 2 from an MPAA affiliate site!

  9. /. special gourmet quality fodder by tomstdenis · · Score: 1, Insightful

    I stopped reading at "RIAA suing BitTorrent Trackers" [sic] ...

    Last I checked despite your opposition to a law you can't simply "ignore it" when it doesn't suit you. Otherwise I totally call dibs on everything in your home. Cuz like "property laws" don't appeal to me.

    Yet another knee-jerk fodder-podder for /.

    Fuck humanity!

    --
    Someday, I'll have a real sig.
    1. Re:/. special gourmet quality fodder by saintp · · Score: 1
      I stopped reading at "RIAA suing BitTorrent Trackers" [sic] ...
      It shows. TFA never said the RIAA shouldn't sue the trackers, it said they were. Period. Fact.

      What's more, the article isn't even about the RIAA's lawsuits. The author mentions that in order to talk about Travis Kalanick.

      It's obvious to me that the knee-jerkery is firmly on you, who started to RTFA and then quit because it pushed one of your buttons, so you ran back to /. and threw up an off-topic post with your rant-du-jour.

      I know I can't expect /.ers to RTFA, but I should at least be able to expect those who do to exhibit a minimum of comprehension.

    2. Re:/. special gourmet quality fodder by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      yet another moron that is certianly not smart enough to understand the difference between COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT and THEFT.

      i suggest you actually go to school and learn something, barring your abilities to do that meybe get someone to live with you that has an IQ higher than 86 like yours that can explain these things in a way that a preschooler can understand.

      because even a kindergarden student understands the difference... you obviousally do not.

    3. Re:/. special gourmet quality fodder by tomstdenis · · Score: 1

      This is a post about "evil behaviour" that then mentions the MPAA suit against bittorrents [and yes I typo'ed and meant MPAA in my original post, sorry about that].

      Point is it's just another stupid irrelevent story. Just because somebody had a thought and posted it to a website doesn't mean it's worthy of being news.

      Tom

      --
      Someday, I'll have a real sig.
    4. Re:/. special gourmet quality fodder by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Just because somebody had a thought and posted it to a website doesn't mean it's worthy

      prime example? all of your posts.

      i suggest you get a clue and learn how to discuss things like an adult.

      you twit.

    5. Re:/. special gourmet quality fodder by tomstdenis · · Score: 0, Flamebait

      You can just not reply to my posts if they bother you. /. gave me an account here therefore I assume I'm welcomed to post as I see fit. If some admin told me "shut up and get lost" I'd do just that.

      Just because you want so desperately to be a cool hacker l33t defcon fanboi extraordinaire doesn't mean that every time someone bitches about "the man" it's a valid bitch.

      Personally I still maintain that 99% of the crap the MPAA/RIAA puts out isn't worthy of disk space. That's why I store gigs and gigs of techno/eurodance. At least it's spaces my mind ON PURPOSE and not just by the fact the "artists" are 16 yr old little kids without much life experience or brains to share between themselves.

      But of course, you must both hate the industry than crave all it produces. That makes you l33t and worthy of flaming other people.

      Tom

      --
      Someday, I'll have a real sig.
    6. Re:/. special gourmet quality fodder by JonnyCalcutta · · Score: 2, Informative
      Last I checked despite your opposition to a law you can't simply "ignore it" when it doesn't suit you. Otherwise I totally call dibs on everything in your home.

      Of course you can. That's what freedom is all about. That's what Mel Gibson died to tell you. "You can take our lives, but you'll never take our freedom" - get it?

      Naturally you have to accept the consequences of your choices; which might inlude a court date with the RIAA, having your entrails cut out or my fist in your face if you come round my house. On the other hand I might let you take some stuff I don't need anymore, you never know unless you try.

    7. Re:/. special gourmet quality fodder by Apatharch · · Score: 1

      You totally failed to see the point I was making...

      You can't simply "pirate" media because you feel "it should be free" was my point. The people hosting torrents are just as responsible for the pirating action as the person providing the file.

      My example was "just because I don't like property laws doesn't mean I can steal from you"

      as in "just because you don't like IP laws doesn't mean you can violate them".

      You also seem to be missing a point: property theft and copyright infringement are not the same thing. While the latter may indirectly diminish the value of the copyrighted work in question, the owner still remains in possession of it. It is this distinction which means there are far more people opposed to copyright law than are opposed to anti-theft law.

      And passing a law prohibiting an activity does not prevent anyone from engaging in that activity; it just means that someone caught doing so faces the associated punishment. To many people, especially copyright violators, this risk is not sufficient to discourage them from breaking a law they don't like.

      Fuck tard. I hope you die in a violent car fire with your entire family. You are the scum of the universe and the quicker people like you are shuffled off this existence the better.

      It's heartening to see the principle of polite, reasoned discussion being upheld.


      [OT: what's with all the 503s?]

    8. Re:/. special gourmet quality fodder by saintp · · Score: 2, Informative
      Actually, the MPAA lawsuits weren't an example of evilness. Travis Kalanick (whose last name sounds suspiciously like "colonic") is a turncoat, and that's what was evil:
      In March, Kalanick...was far more conciliatory to the competing technology.... "I don't want to fight BitTorrent," he said....

      A few months on, and Kalanick's opinion has apparently modified very slightly. Choosing to speak on the MPAA's behest at the very event where they decided to take on BitTorrent, his new take appeared to be: I don't *want* to fight BitTorrent, but if publicizing my product involves cutting a deal with some guys who'd want to kill it, shave it, and parade it naked through the village - well okay then.

      I'd suggest you go back and read the whole article. It mentions the MPAA lawsuit, but not as its point, rather as a supporting point about Kalanick's evilness. I know you want to see /.ers as a bunch of morons who can't see past the constant hum of anti-*AA dogma, but this is not an example of that. It's becoming instead an example of the many /.ers who, at every conceivable opportunity, uncork a trite, moderately off-topic, well-rehearsed rant about their favorite topic, be it the fabled /. hatred of Microsoft or the applicability of the law, or any other of a dozen favorite topics.
    9. Re:/. special gourmet quality fodder by clean_stoner · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Yes, but when you feel that a law is not morally justified, civil disobedience is and has been in the past a legitimately recognized way of protesting it. Sure you run the risk of getting in trouble with the proper authorities if caught, but private citizens have no right attacking you. If I park my car in the middle of the road the police can arrest me or tow my car, but random guy X who's inconvenienced by being late to work doesn't have the right to get out of his car and start defacing mine. This is what Overpeer is doing with their malware bundled with the music files (I don't have a problem with bad music files, it's the malware that bothers me).

      --

      Sigs are for the weak.

    10. Re:/. special gourmet quality fodder by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So, if a law is passed making it illegal to own property, to marry out-of-your-ethnic-group and compulsorarily deporting people to death camps...we should all just kowtow like little serfs....BECAUSE IT'S THE LAW ?

      It's a woefully common progression, seen in many places and times, for acceptance of small "bad" laws to make it easier to swallow the larger ones described above.

      It's also woefully common that people love the "argument from authority" and see powerful, monied interests proclaiming things and take it as fact...becuase they wouldn't be rich & powerful otherwise, right?

    11. Re:/. special gourmet quality fodder by tomstdenis · · Score: 1

      copyright law is not new.

      Tom

      --
      Someday, I'll have a real sig.
    12. Re:/. special gourmet quality fodder by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      while the latter may indirectly diminish the value of the copyrighted work in question, the owner still remains in possession of it. It is this distinction which means there are far more people opposed to copyright law than are opposed to anti-theft law.
      If more people owned copyrighted material then more people would care... but most people are just not talented enough to produce quality work worhty of being copyrighted and so the majority of people don't care and are willing to break the law!!! ~Jack ~Jack

    13. Re:/. special gourmet quality fodder by BlueCodeWarrior · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Using it to exploit people is.

    14. Re:/. special gourmet quality fodder by tomstdenis · · Score: 0, Troll

      How is that exploiting people?

      The MPAA was very clear about the fact they only want torrents of MPAA member media pulled. They never said you can't have torrents of other stuff up. Stupid /. zealots only concluded that because they assume

      Linux live cd == MPAA latest hit

      for some reason.

      Tom

      --
      Someday, I'll have a real sig.
    15. Re:/. special gourmet quality fodder by BlueCodeWarrior · · Score: 1

      I'm using it to refer to how they utilize copyright as a way to lock out independent music from the radio. Payola. Price fixing. Screwing over the artists. Brainwashing the populace by a massive FUD campaign. Our founding fathers weren't thinking of that.

    16. Re:/. special gourmet quality fodder by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      Dear Tom,

      Shut up and get lost.

      Love,
      some admin

    17. Re:/. special gourmet quality fodder by tomstdenis · · Score: 1

      They don't lock anyone out of anything. If people just stopped buying into it the alternative would stand a better chance.

      Put it another way. If a million people would pay 20$ each to hear me sing [which would be awful I can assure you] I am dead seriously sure that the RIAA would cut me a cheque for a couple million for my trouble.

      That's exactly the problem though. They [stupid teenagers] see the quick rag-to-riches that the average pop "star" takes and assumes they can related to it, that it's something to admire and that's why they buy into it.

      Just like the lotto for adults. You will end up with more money at the end of the day by not buying that 2$ ticket then you would buy trying [since your expected earnings are very low]. Yet people still buy lotto tickets [I'll admit I've bought a couple since I turned 18 five years ago].

      The problem is not enough people feel the way that I do [and probably you as well] about the low quality of modern music to actually put their money in action.

      It's the same thing with "outsourcing to lower payed employees". You know what the solution for that is? Buy expensive stuff and demand satisfaction with your warranty.

      Sounds crazy right? I mean I can get a mp3 gizmo from noname for 10$ why would I buy a sony for 50$?

      But that's eactly why outsourcing exists. The market for robust [and expensive] gizmos is lacking and the demand for warranty expectations is rather low. Most people [below say 50$] would rather either deal with the loss or buy a replacement then hassle after getting a warranty.

      But I can assure you if everyone who bought a cheaper gizmo either demanded warranty replacement when it fucks up and/or bought higher quality brands you wouldn't see out sourcing being so viable.

      Outsourcing is a result of following the money. People want cheap gizmos. They don't want quality or standards anymore.

      Tom

      --
      Someday, I'll have a real sig.
    18. Re:/. special gourmet quality fodder by stor · · Score: 1

      If more people owned copyrighted material then more people would care... but most people are just not talented enough to produce quality work worhty of being copyrighted and so the majority of people don't care and are willing to break the law!!! ~Jack ~Jack

      True. We can't all be as talented as Britney Spears and SCO.

      Cheers
      Stor

      --
      "Yeah well there's a lot of stuff that should be, but isn't"
    19. Re:/. special gourmet quality fodder by ScrewMaster · · Score: 1

      It seems to me that Overpeer and the entertainment industry have crossed the line from the defensive posture of seeding defective files to outright vigilantism. This is perilously close to what Orrin Hatch was proposing a couple of years ago, that anyone possessing illegally copied materials should have their computers destroyed. Overpeer is the kind of arrogant outfit that could easily step further over that line and embed a nastier payload into those files. Or if not them, someone else in the **AA's employ. Funny ... were so worried about some kind of cyberterror attack from some Middle Eastern group that we've forgotten all about our own homegrown terrorist organizations.

      --
      The higher the technology, the sharper that two-edged sword.
    20. Re:/. special gourmet quality fodder by DA-MAN · · Score: 1

      Of course you can. That's what freedom is all about. That's what Mel Gibson died to tell you. "You can take our lives, but you'll never take our freedom" - get it?

      I'm pretty sure he said "they may take our wives, but they'll never take our freedom".

      It seems to go along with the whole nobleman sleeping with every married woman thing. Don't know much about English history, but I remember the movie pretty clearly . . .

      --
      Can I get an eye poke?
      Dog House Forum
    21. Re:/. special gourmet quality fodder by jaelle · · Score: 1

      I suspect the RIAA and MPAA's real agenda is to suppress alternative methods of distribution.

      Musicians are making hay on filesharing out there, without going through the 'establishment.' That's the only real threat to the RIAA, considering since music is selling like hotcakes now because of filesharing.

      --
      You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say will be misquoted, then used against you.
  10. Re:New /. outcry... by DrinkingIllini · · Score: 1

    This reminds me of a comic I saw in the paper down here mocking those anti-drug ads. "It's okay. Just tell your dealer he can't pay his rent, 'cause you quit smoking weed."

  11. Hall of Evil by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    Perhaps have a Karma system for companies:

    .

    Every time a positve or negative story appears add or subtract 1 point.

    Then there is evidence to support the scoring and people can't click a company to oblivion.

    Perhaps the board could automatically place a scoring behind a company name when it appears in a summary.

    "Today it was announced by Evil corp (1pos, 113neg) everyone should pay them more."

    1. Re:Hall of Evil by AndroidCat · · Score: 2, Funny

      Start a site damnedcompany.com (available) to list the companies that are completely damned by their evil actions to eternity in hell.

      --
      One line blog. I hear that they're called Twitters now.
    2. Re:Hall of Evil by mutterc · · Score: 1
      Too easy... the answer is all of them that have more than a small integer number (perhaps 1) of investors.

      Get enough investors involved, and the company will of necessity turn evil.

    3. Re:Hall of Evil by AndroidCat · · Score: 1

      Well, damnedcompany.com would be a list of companies irredeemably damned to eternal HELL for evil actions. (For stupid actions, they can go to DUH.) And once they're on the list, there would be the chore of rating and placing them. Most evil companies might only get a one circle rating. I guess SCO would get at least five circles.

      --
      One line blog. I hear that they're called Twitters now.
  12. Re:New /. outcry... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    grasshoppa has NEVER bought drugs around where I live...

  13. Alls fair in love and... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    copywrite infringement.

    I dislike huge media companies as much as the next communist, but as somebody who pays for games, films and music rather than downloading them I get a warm feeling inside from the thought of someone downloading the lastest generic R&B album only to be owned by ads. Perfectly legitimate tactic in my opinion, and the joy the company seems to take in this persuit is a pleasure to behold.

    However, the statement "turning illegitimate downloads into legitimate sales" strikes me as slightly odd. Surely any ad displayed in this way is unlikely to result in a sale since the dl jockey viewing it would be immensely pissed off. Not a very positive product image.

    1. Re:Alls fair in love and... by Xugumad · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Personally, I feel like cheering. Overpeer are doing more for killing the WMA (and probably WMV) formats, and their DRM, than anyone else. Also, for a site that can be really harsh on people who get their PCs infected with viruses/adware because they did something dumb, /. seems remarkably forgiving of "I downloaded this illegal WMA file from some random guy on the Internet and played it".

    2. Re:Alls fair in love and... by zotz · · Score: 1

      Wow, who would have thought of that? They must be running ads for their competitors.

      Or do they know we will think that and are they running their own ads to double trick us?

      ~;-)

      --
      FreeMusicPush If you want to see more Free Music made, listen to Free
    3. Re:Alls fair in love and... by ScrewMaster · · Score: 1

      I agree, and that's a good thing. I have a fair collection of media but there's not a single WMx file in it. But I'll bet that Microsoft's legal team has already taken note of Overpeer, and that some action will be taken. If nothing else, any profit these jerks are making will be sucked out in legal fees.

      To the earlier poster that was getting the warm fuzzies thinking about those evil downloaders getting zapped, enjoy the glow while it lasts. If this kind of corporate misbehavior gets popular, you can bet your bottom dollar you'll get hit eventually. Regardless of one's position on the subject of copyright infringement, a corporation that stoops to the level of vigilantism needs an attitude readjustment.

      --
      The higher the technology, the sharper that two-edged sword.
    4. Re:Alls fair in love and... by stor · · Score: 1

      I dunno man, spamming a network with not only useless but destructive data/programs seems:

      1. Amoral
      2. Assinine
      3. Waste of Bandwidth/Resources/Time
      4. Illegal

      Am *I* legally entitled to penetrate Overpeer and destroy their network if I find an employee littering or jaywalking?

      These guys are bottom-feeders.

      Cheers
      Stor

      --
      "Yeah well there's a lot of stuff that should be, but isn't"
  14. Great idea by AtariAmarok · · Score: 5, Funny
    "Perhaps have a Karma system for companies: Every time a positve or negative story appears add or subtract 1 point."

    Great idea. The business news could give daily "Slashdaq" index reports:

    "In today's Slashdaq, Microsoft fell to a record low -11,454 points. Apple's rating is still at a steady 323 despite a loss of 13 points after reports of them sueing "ThinkSecret"."

    --
    Don't blame Durga. I voted for Centauri.
    1. Re:Great idea by Da+Twink+Daddy · · Score: 1

      YASD PDA BTW TMI FWIW RTFA:
      Yet another software development
      project decidedly acceptable,
      but the want
      to make it
      free will independently waste
      real time found absent.

      In order words: Sounds fun but I don't have the time to program and promote it, seeing as I'd like it to be software libre.

      Made with 95% recycled acronyms

    2. Re:Great idea by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'm all for it. Couldn't be that tough to do, right? Get a list of tech companies (expand to others if needed), plop them onto mySQL (or postgres if you're into that) and do a +- rating thing on it. The fun part is making it like a /. poll where you can keep track of which IP voted for the day already. That and ban a list of proxy servers or do some sort of reverse whateverthehell.

      Or maybe it could be a game like that lemonade stand thing. You're a company that has to balance product quality, marketing, FUD, and labor costs. You're then rated for profit and given Slasdaq points. EA, MS, and SCO start with -points while IBM and Novell get +points.

  15. Unfair comparison by akaina · · Score: 1

    The problem, it transpired, was a 16-bit signed integer in a proprietary application written fifteen years ago by SBS International.

    Ah, the devilish temptation of premature memory optimization! Not something to which we in the free software world would *ever* fall victim. No, no, no. Well, maybe. Anyway, we'd certainly be able to manage a timely upgrade to cope with this problem. Well, maybe.


    I'm going to take a wild leap off a cliff here and venture that HAD the flight software been reviewed by thousands of eyes, the mistaked would have been avoided. But how can it be maintained if it's been locked up for 15 years?

    To compare this bug with one found in a Linux distro is completely unfair. That flight software was written back when the maintainer of said distro was probably still in highschool.

    --
    Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose.
    1. Re:Unfair comparison by arkanes · · Score: 2, Insightful

      OSS wouldn't have fixed this, as I understand it. The 16 bit limit was a known and documented limitation of the system. There was even an upgrade path in place. It wasn't premature optimization - when written, saving those bits made a huge difference. They got bit by a combination of organizational inertia and bad luck more than anything.

    2. Re:Unfair comparison by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      To be honest, the limit they picked of 32K changes for this particular thing should have been enough and was pretty good as arbitrary limits go.

      When you code something, you usually have to pick some sort of limit for your variable size for the sake of practicality - In this case they thought the number they picked was so high they never thought it would be overflowed.

      The fact that it was overflowed was down to really really bad luck - I mean, what were the chances of having 32K crew reassignments in a day?!
      (1:1 as it turned out, but I digress... ;))

      The only things I can fault them for are a) Not using an Unsigned Int (How can you have a negative no. of crew reassignments?!), and b) Not being paranoid enough - They should have coded some check in case this ridiculously high number was overrun.

      But, it's easy to criticise in hindsight...

  16. Evil? by EvilTwinSkippy · · Score: 1
    There is but power, and those who chose to use it.

    (clickity clickity clickity)

    --
    "Learning is not compulsory... neither is survival."
    --Dr.W.Edwards Deming
    1. Re:Evil? by mink · · Score: 1

      "But Power" is this some new affirmation for overweight people?

      --
      Well I've wrestled with reality for thirty five years doctor, and I'm happy to say I finally won out over it.
    2. Re:Evil? by EvilTwinSkippy · · Score: 1

      (clickty CLICKITY clickity)

      --
      "Learning is not compulsory... neither is survival."
      --Dr.W.Edwards Deming
  17. Zip it! by operagost · · Score: 2

    Everyone raise your right pinky in celebration! Mu ha ha ... ha ha ha ... HA HA HA HA HA!

    --

    Gamingmuseum.com: Give your 3D accelerator a rest.
    1. Re:Zip it! by The_Whole_Fn_Show · · Score: 1

      I've been a frickin' evil doctor for 30 frickin' years.

  18. I'm evil by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    As a guy that's worked with overpeer, I don't know if I should laugh or cry :\

    -- RIAA code monkey

  19. Steve Mallet is a fool by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    comfort eagle steve mallet has done a fine PR job of pumping his little website here hasn't he?

  20. Re:New /. outcry... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I know what you mean. Kind of sad really when you think anout it: our most honest capitalist are drug dealers. (btw, I'm very pro-capitalist)

  21. What about the 'Other' movie industry'? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I'm planning on doing an MPAA parody featuring a fluffer.

  22. It wouldn't represent the public's opinion then by Blitzenn · · Score: 1

    News stories are ALWAYS written in the lite as to how it will effect distribution of the publication. The major complain heard for decades from the public has been that the vast majority of the news out there is 'bad' aka is a story about something/someone/somewhere bad. The 'bad' news is what sells. The big players in the economy are always going to get more bad news than smaller players because the news agency knows people will recognize the names better and therefore more sales of their news product. The smaller company, although they may be 'badder' or is that more bad, will always get less press because of name recognition.

    In short, all a karma system based on the criteria you site is going to do is measure how much name recognition a company has and provide alternative method of tracking news sales. It will do nothing to measure 'how bad' or good a company really is.

    Troll me for this, but I feel the suggestion of such a system displays a complete lack of knowledge about the media industry and that you have an inappropriate amount of investment in the context of news articles. Ever heard the old saying, "don't believe everything you read"? There is a basis in fact in that statement that you need to apply common sense and vigor in determining how much of the truth is being told to you. No necessarily whether it is a lie or not, but how much truth is included. News agencies will always leave facts out of a story if they don't fit the slant or spin they are trying to provide. It is your duty to put the facts back together and take the spin part as an editorial opinion. Discard it or stand by it, it's up to you. But placing blind trust in everything that is written in the news as a clear representation of the truth is a poor poor way to measure anything.

  23. Re:New /. outcry... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    > None of this, "I gotta talk to ...x" or "Let me check with my vendor" crap.

    You're kidding, right? You can buy $20 of weed off a dude without him having to call someone, who has to call someone else, and maybe you'll get a call back, but maybe not. And when they do get it, it may or may not be as much as you expect, or as good as you expect. Oh, and that $20? Turn out that was negotiable. This is the kindbud (honest) so it's $25. Sure, some drug dealers are extremely profesional, very easy to work with, just trying their best to provide honest customer service and product quality. But most are flaky, greedy, and stoned.

  24. Original software by phorm · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I download warez all the time. CD ISO's, and sometimes movies etc.

    It's not illegal (not here), because I have the originals. The software I've yet to find a program for that will successfully rip an ISO mountable with daemontools (most ones I download don't work either, but eventually I usually get lucky). Movies I've just not the time to rip-and-reencode. But it's much nicer to have a bunch of 600MB DivX files so I can fit multiple movies onto a DVD (for travelling with my laptop) or CD-images so I don't need to constantly disc-swap.

    And whose fault is it I'm downloading? The MPAA/Software venders, because they've installed anti-piracy measures that suck against piracy but restrict my legitimate imaging/etc. Is my downloading hurting anyone... no, but if the MPAA/RIAA seeds a network with virii it certainly could hurt my computer.

  25. Danny O'Brien by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I used to know a guy named "Danny O'Brien". That guy caused a lot of problems for a lot of people. So, I've learned to stay clear of anyone with that name. Danny, sorry if this isn't you, but someone with your name screwed a LOT of people back in 1981 or '82. It's him you should be pissed at. But if this is you - how's the Menengitis? acting up? Good. you deserve pain and suffering. Or, perhaps the guy I knew ended up in levenworth for a long time. You don't rape your roommate's girlfriend on a millitary base and get a slap on the wrist. I do inderstand there are supposed to be a LOT of Danny O'Briens,. but it's been over 20 years since I saw that name.

  26. Is it just me or... by niteice · · Score: 1

    when you read the title, did you think something about toastytech and his IE is evil page?

    --
    ROMANES EUNT DOMUS
  27. I nominate ITAA by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Their lies about H-1B's and "labor shortages" are manipulative squared. The ITAA is a lobbying shill for big companies that want cheap and docile educated labor. They will say anything and do anything.

  28. But the ads work! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Just the other day my friend was at a movie and , during the 30 minute "captive audience" advertising segment the stuntman ad came on. Up until then he had never even considered downloading movies but the ad made him realize that instead of paying $15 to see a half hour of ads or spending about $6 to rent a video which may or may not suck (and would still include the ads), he could just download the movies ad-free in the comfort of his own home for pennies (about $1 for each movie he decides to keep). He even devised a lovely USB storage solution for his new homebrew DVD jukebox.

  29. Re:the construction guy, the lighting guy (Truth) by IBitOBear · · Score: 1

    Yes, lets all remember that the construction guy and lighting guy, who have no equity stake in the music/video/movie etc [e.g. no front-end or back-end points] and who were paid before the production was even complete, are harmed immensly by the fact that you watched the movie/viedo or listend to the music TAHT YOU WEREN'T GOING TO BUY ANYWAY for free.

    Their unionized jobs are threatened, threatend I tell you, by the possibility that the people that _do_ have the equity stake may consider that $100 million dollars is too little money for the effort, and will quit their industry to go on to a more rewarding job in the quick-serve food service industry.

    The coke dealers, and those trendy pubs that have the Crystal opened and waiting for some extravagent personality to show up, are about the only secondary victims of a aught-point-nothing decrease in Britny's sales due to P2P software...

    Yea, not funny, but it bears repeating.

    --
    Innocent people shouldn't be forced to pay for inferior software development.
    --"Code Complete" Microsoft Press