Hmm. One of the biggest problems with USENET is that the gems are really rare. There simply is far too much crap on USENET making the signal/noise ratio really low.
Deja probably can't keep everything that is on USENET (anyone have any idea the total number of newsgroups there are?) and for them to make any money, the ability to search an increasingly large archive becomes unfeasable.
I used to love USENET, but now it's nothing more than a tool for the would be marketers to send unsolicited e-mail and to shameless promote crap. It basically has lost a lot of its appeal lately.
One good way to get by the search problem is to distribute the content of USENET to separate archives based upon their hiearchy, so that comp.os.linux gets archived by VALinux (or similar) and that all you need is a client tool that would search the indexes of these separate archives.
Unfortunately, it is somewhat late to actually implement this. If only this was a requirement far earlier in the process of creating newsgroups...
Well, I don't agree with Hatch's view that the DMCA would encourage the proliferation of material on the Net. Seriously, the DMCA is nothing more than a shackle to fair-use, where you're wrong first should the copyright holder wish to sue under the DMCA.
However, forcing the licensing of music on the Net might be a good thing. In the strictest economic sense, a prolonged court battle between Napster and the RIAA would tie up the courts, and cost the American taxpayers millions. If the RIAA would win, they'd probably end up in court again on antitrust violations. If the RIAA lost, the industry they represent would fall apart at the seams.
So, Senator Hatch has put the situation in the clear. The DMCA was supposed to be a good way for the music industry to go online. However, the RIAA did nothing. They wasted the protection that the government had given them by doing nothing.
Now Hatch is basically saying that the government paved the road for them. Starting walking down it before we have to push you down it.
The only thing left is that the RIAA has to "get the hint". Fortunately for them, Hatch is spelling out the potential consequences for the RIAA before taking action if they do not open up some form of digital music distribution online.
If Rob Pike's measure of innovation is how much an operating system changes, then he is probably right. Microsoft has innovated the most simply because everything in the Windows operating system is a part of the core (which is why we always call it bloatware, right?), and the core of the system has had the most change brought to it. If you look at UNIX, its stood on a good foundation for years, so why reinvent the wheel?
I have to agree with the fact that academia is doing really poorly in terms of systems research. Basically, any kind of reseach requires funding. Nearly every company now does its own research internally, rather than partner with academia. And what we end up with is better "marketable" technology.
What people mistaken believe is that innovation must equal improvement. That is hardly the case. Nor does innovation = implementation either. So, if you can understand these two concepts, Microsoft's innovativeness is far less threatening that it [Microsoft] would have you believe.
After all, doesn't the NSI contract now state that they own all domain names registered under them? And since you wouldn't be the official owner of the property, you should (in theory) not be liable for infringing on a trademark...
Oh well, it probably wouldn't work anyway. It would just be fun to see these two fight over it.:)
I usually wouldn't recommend this as the first thing to see. I suppose some stuff gets better depending on one's tastes du jour.
Bastard! is a fantasy/comedy/parody blend which fits together rather nicely. The comedy is of the rebellious satirical genre ("This guy REALLY IS a bastard...") and the series makes use of heavy metal music throughout the series. It also parodies the heavy metal music industry. The use of names for places, people, and spells adds a nice touch.
And unlike most other fantasy genres, the main character, Dark Schneider, is a women-crazed, insult-flinging magic-user who eventually reforms from his evil ways without him sacrificing his unique style.
I wouldn't recommend it for anyone under 16, because of the nature of the comedy. But for everyone else, I'd give it a fair shake, especially if you're into parodies and heavy metal/alternative music.
It is distrubed in North America by Pioneer Animation. I managed to catch a fan-subtitled version of the 6 OVAs, so I don't know what alterations Pioneer may have done to it. And unfortunately, the production company only managed to make 6 OVAs, so you have to catch the rest of the story in the manga...
"Like I said, my goal is to destroy all the world's gorilla-faced monkeys like you!" - Dark Schneider.
We take our craft -- whether it be the music, the lyrics, or the photos and artwork -- very seriously, as do most artists. It is therefore sickening to know that our art is being traded like a commodity rather than the art that it is.
Uhh, didn't you just commoditize your art when you signed a recording contract in the first place? And making millions by giving the record companies the rights to copy your art to make it a commodity?
I don't advocate the use of Napster to trade copies of illegally copied music. But there are mp3s that are LEGAL to copy (probably because the RIAA and record labels haven't polluted the minds of the artists yet...)
Maybe our friend Lars Ulrich should look up the definition of commodity. After all, it sickens me for artists to claim that they feel that their art is being traded as a commodity when that is exactly what is happening by their own hand (and signature on a contract)...
So, to the self-righteous artists out there... Stop the bullshit and claim it's because you care about the money... After all, the record labels sorely need to get those billions of dollars from the sales in order to give you artists the small portion of money they do to turn your art into a commodity...
The view of this situation is very simple. Pinkerton wants to remain in favor of their customer (ie. the State of North Carolina), so they chose to accept the contract. Jon may have a better time lobbying the state than Pinkerton Corp., but then politics never really get affected by outside sources other than by public opinion and campaign contributions...
On the lighter side of things...
Maybe WAVE America won't get the exposure that the state expects. After all, if they legislate that all public access computers have censorware installed, and that censorware looks for specific words that may be contained on WAVE America, some kids might not even be able to get to the site...
Well, at least we can hope that one government initiative helps to squash another one. I'm doubting that nothing short of a far-reaching public outcry will stop the WAVE America site from coming online...
Those are pretty good choices, except for DBZ. It's not bad, but when a battle is dragged on for more than 3 episodes, it starts getting a little bit hoohum!
A small and rather unknown gem is Fairy Princess Ren (released as Elf Princess Rane by AnimeWorks in the US). The subtitled version will show you the true power of Feng Sui...
It's too bad the production company only made two episodes. It actually had some potential...
GATCHABAGOOSE!
Don't expect this to be the only case involving M$
on
Microsoft Loses
·
· Score: 1
The only wrong doings that Microsoft has been found of is tying their browser to their OS. They were found innocent of practicing exclusionary deals.
In a civil case, I doubt that the DOJ has any jurisdiction to go after Microsoft because Microsoft bullied other companies into deals to exclude their (Microsoft's) competition.
In view of the context of the case, the only anti-trust issue directly related to the consumers (which the DOJ is assigned to protect) has to do with the illegal inclusion of IE into Windows. MS was never found innocent or guilty of practicing exclusionary deals because this case is not meant to argue those points.
It would be up to the individual companies to file lawsuits, and this latest judgement by Judge Jackson just paves the way for the next string of civil suits. They are just waiting to see what this landmark case will bring before they pull the millions to send their lawyers a knocking on Microsoft's perverbial door.
So Microsoft's legal battles are not yet over and they may not be for a very long time, especially if Jackson's decision survives all the appeals. The findings of fact issued at the end of last year have already given the necessary ammunition for Netscape et al. to go after MS.
But in reality, going after Microsoft on such a big issue is extremely expensive. So why bother starting a lawsuit when the DOJ is spending the money to find out how the decisions may go?
I figure that if the DOJ ultimately wins this battle, Microsoft should invest in building a comfortable court house. They'll probably be stuck in it for a very long time...
Hopefully this countersuit by mp3.com will bring out all the rhetoric in the RIAA's holy war to protect copyrights.
Mp3.com should seriously look into involving some of the artists in this debate. From all the news I have heard about digital music alternatives, and mp3s in particular, some artists endorse the format. I have never heard of an artist engaged in the campaign to stop the digital distribution of music. That reign so far belongs only to the RIAA and the record labels.
So, if the RIAA's argument behind this rhetoric is to protect the copyrights of the artists, why haven't the artists themselves put up an effort to protect their rights in their own name? Remember folks that the RIAA is an acronym for the Recording Industry Association of America. They don't directly represent the interests of the artist. They represent the interests of the recording industry, pure and simple.
An excellent analogy to the RIAA situation would be that of the tobacco companies. The RIAA and the tobacco companies benefit from producing a product that consumers enjoy. But the industry eventually damages or even kills off that which is most important. In the case of the tobacco companies, it is the smoker's health. In the case of the RIAA, the artists are bullied around to the whim of the record labels.
So, this battle will be decided on which party shows a better interest in both the consumer and the artist. And for the Recording Industry Association of America, only bribes and sympathy will win you that honor.
Microsoft just reported their last quarter profits at $2.4 billon US. Just imagine how much higher that number would be if they didn't spend money on FUD about their competitors.
Geez, let's get serious. I doubt there are few if any direct Microsoft competitors that can claim those profits in a whole year!
Really, Microsoft probably believes that a monopoly requires 100% control of the market. The real argument is what consitutes a monopoly: what percentage of control of a market? 50%? 75%? 90%? That's a question that the judgement in this case will answer in the end.
Trust me, this is only the beginning. If they actually manage to sell these, I can see the next set of M$ action figure dolls.
MS Legal Department Action Figures --------------------------------------
Over 160 to collect. One for each litigation involving Microsoft. Some of them include...
- Gui Appleton - Cal D. Erasmus - Don O. Jasper
and many more to come. And remember kids: "Gotta litigate them all!"
Interesting question...
on
Sex in Space
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· Score: 2
If ever you have the chance to read "Exit Earth" by Martin Caidin, it has a scene dealing specifically with zero-g sex. It's by no means a literary masterpiece, so I wouldn't go read it just to find out what he wrote about zero-g sex.
That now begs for further questions. How fast would one be propelled forward if they were to "cut the cheese"? Or how much fun would it be to race in the space station while holding onto a vaccuum?
London is a prime example of a city under the watchful eye of the police. I remember watching a documentary on high tech policing. They claimed that over 95% of downtown London is monitored by one or more cameras. The reason: it was viewed as their best defence against IRA terrorist bombings.
The system was well explained in the documentary. It also included a photo recognition system that could pick you out from a large crowd, so if they wanted to specifically track one person, they could do so.
While it is interesting in terms of technology, they also brought up the issues on (the lack of) privacy. The notion that "you should not feel uncomfortable if your not a criminal" is somewhat intrusive to say the least.
The documentary was aired on The Learning Channel earlier this year. I don't remember the exact date...
Mergers are never pretty, especially for the employees of the company being bought out. AOL really bought Netscape only for their prized possessions, and their fuzzy alliance with Sun was to reap as much as they could between the two companies.
Unfortunately, AOL was too fast to try an assimilate Netscape into its own corporate family. From experience, that is a trying time for any employee. Priorities change, the work environment changes and there is always the threat that you might become a statistic in the merger ("here is your pink slip").
It remains to been seen if AOL's approach in acquiring Netscape will hurt AOL in the long run.
By far, the printing technology alone has a lot do with the increasing trend to print out the document. I've managed to observe this simply at work.
I actually bothered to take these statistics down from my workplace. In each case, these stats were taken over three normal work weeks.
When our best printer at the workplace could do barely 3 pages per minute, the average amount of jobs sent to the company's printers (a company of 20 employees and 3 printers) showed an average of 47 print jobs per day with an average print job size of 4.3 pages.
When we replaced one of the printers with a machine that could run nearly 15 pages per minute, the stats jumped to an average of 62.8 print jobs per day with an average print job size of 7.2 pages. The single faster printer accounted for about 250 pages of printing more per day alone. Most of this increase was being attributed to larger documents taking less time to print and thus requiring less wait for a user to ready a hard copy than consult an electronic version.
But what is more staggering is that the fast printer was in heavy use during bigger projects with tighter deadlines. The fast printer could easily spit out 750-1000 pages per day.
I can understand to a certain extent that this really popular fad can be disruptive for certain kids. I have a nephew who loves Pokemon cards, and I know he does. I am his "favorite uncle" to him simply because I can get the cards like if they were water. But compared to other kids his age (he is 7 years old), he isn't engulfed into these so called addictions that others his age are.
Seriously, I think it is because it is up to the parents to exert some distractions from the fad. Kids that age will feed on candy until either an adult stops them or they get sick. In this case, the addiction simply comes from parents who simply don't encourage their kids from being fixated on one thing.
In my area, some school principals are returning kids home if they show up at school with the cards. They claim that the cards are disruptive. While that might work in the short term, the next big fad will just come, meaning principals will have to ban the "Next Big Thing".
It is really the company's fault that the kids are addicted to the cards. I think that Nintendo has really hit the mark with their marketing strategy, but they are not solely to blame for the addictions. If parents showed more concern in their kids and would have a better solution than "buy what the kid wants so he'll/she'll shut up", the kids would benefit in the long run.
Transmeta's up to something big. I just hope that their big thing doesn't flop before it has a chance to go to market.
I admit, I like the comment about the web page. But seriously, at least they admit they don't have a web page yet. If I wanted to be more secretive, I just would have set the web server to return a permission denied error instead to at least leave some possibility that some IP addresses might actually have access to some goodies on the web site.
"Sometimes the words you are looking for are right on the tip of your tongue. Unfortunately, most people can't see the tip of their tongue." -- Anonymous
We all know Microsoft's strategy. Take a standard, extend the functionality of it so that it becomes incompatible with other systems, then claim "Buy Windows, we've got better technology"...
I don't remember the last time they extended a standard technology and not have some bug of any kind (security, functionality, etc.)
Get with it, Microsoft. You'll never win by going this route. Save yourself the embarrassment of having a security hole large enough to fit a fleet of transport trucks in your extended and innovative technology.
Well. This is a troubling issue since you can't blame CyberPatrol (because you are not using it) nor will blaming the ISP do you any good (since they can claim that their service contract doesn't cover informing clients if some half broken software has blocked the ISP's content out).
I would suggest write a polite complaint to both your ISP and CyberPatrol. Explain the situation and indicate how dissatisfied you are about both parties.
At least, it will make them both aware of the problems that have occured. The complaint will be on the record. Maybe they'll even try to find a way to resolve this.
If your complaint falls on deaf ears, I would try to arrange a reliable method to make your resume available (e-mail perhaps). Push your complaint forward and contact the highest manager you can of the parties involved. If you dog them enough, they should come to some sort of resolution...
Well, I have to think that this little bit of satire has no taste whatsoever, and I don't say that because I support RMS or Tom for that matter.
While not everyone can agree/disagree on the stance that RMS has taken, I have to look at the track record (ie. the accomplishments). If everyone were to say that software is terrible just because the author doesn't agree with their ideals, it would be a very sad day indeed.
From what I can see, the "free" camp and the "open" camp are taking stances akin to a "holy war". The only way to really win a holy war is to completely eliminate the other side. Don't think about doing this!
So, let us put our political stances aside and work to make the best software there is.
I think it can be resolved fairly quickly, if the Commerce departement (who got NSI to where it is now) were to simply yank the carpet from underneath them. As long as NSI sits on its proverbial high horse, they will fight ICANN to their last breath. Every day that NSI stalls the process, they put more and more money into their coffers.
If the Commerce Departement were to give NSI an ultimatum to come to an agreement with ICANN, this bickering would stop and the process could continue. I think NSI would be motivated to come to an agreement if they were fined X amount of dollars for every day they stall the process.
If I sound like I don't have any compassion for NSI or the Commerce Department, I don't. Their past decisions have created this mess.
I find this view to be completely false. First, it would imply that software developers write software because they have no need to write software (hence no value). And it also implies that no one else needs the software either. It implies that a developer writes software with the single intent to make money.
I don't think that the driving force to write software is to sell it. Software is written to provide functionality that someone needs. Software has value because it can fulfill that need. How developers fulfill the need to continue developing software is up to them. Some choose to fulfill that need in ways other than selling the software.
To imply that free software has no value also implies (for example) that Internet Explorer has no value to Microsoft. But we all know by now that the value for Microsoft to develop IE was to kill an "unnamed" competitor's market share.
I am not against the notion of buying/selling software. I am just against the notion of buying/selling bad software that creates problems when in fact the consumer bought it to solve a problem.
Well, there is no doubt why NT has better support for quad SMP systems with memory beyond all recognition.
Simply put, NT on a Pentium 200 with 64MB performs horrendously compared to Linux. Computer manufacturers realized this a long time ago, which is why quad-Xeon systems are being pushed like wildfire for any serious applications.
So, just in sheer man-hours of development, I bet that NT has more than 4 times the amount of work invested in the required support than Linux does. We can't really blame Linux for this one. I'm quite sure that if the [Linux] developers could all afford quad-Xeons like Microsoft can, the race would be much different.
Put simply, I'm not at all suprised about these test results. If Mindcraft had any serious grasp of Linux, they would have known that it was at a disadvantage before the tests were run.
Funny that they didn't do the "Bang for the Buck" comparison. A quad-processor NT Server license ain't cheap.
Slashdot Mirror
Deja probably can't keep everything that is on USENET (anyone have any idea the total number of newsgroups there are?) and for them to make any money, the ability to search an increasingly large archive becomes unfeasable.
I used to love USENET, but now it's nothing more than a tool for the would be marketers to send unsolicited e-mail and to shameless promote crap. It basically has lost a lot of its appeal lately.
One good way to get by the search problem is to distribute the content of USENET to separate archives based upon their hiearchy, so that comp.os.linux gets archived by VALinux (or similar) and that all you need is a client tool that would search the indexes of these separate archives.
Unfortunately, it is somewhat late to actually implement this. If only this was a requirement far earlier in the process of creating newsgroups...
However, forcing the licensing of music on the Net might be a good thing. In the strictest economic sense, a prolonged court battle between Napster and the RIAA would tie up the courts, and cost the American taxpayers millions. If the RIAA would win, they'd probably end up in court again on antitrust violations. If the RIAA lost, the industry they represent would fall apart at the seams.
So, Senator Hatch has put the situation in the clear. The DMCA was supposed to be a good way for the music industry to go online. However, the RIAA did nothing. They wasted the protection that the government had given them by doing nothing.
Now Hatch is basically saying that the government paved the road for them. Starting walking down it before we have to push you down it.
The only thing left is that the RIAA has to "get the hint". Fortunately for them, Hatch is spelling out the potential consequences for the RIAA before taking action if they do not open up some form of digital music distribution online.
If Rob Pike's measure of innovation is how much an operating system changes, then he is probably right. Microsoft has innovated the most simply because everything in the Windows operating system is a part of the core (which is why we always call it bloatware, right?), and the core of the system has had the most change brought to it. If you look at UNIX, its stood on a good foundation for years, so why reinvent the wheel?
I have to agree with the fact that academia is doing really poorly in terms of systems research. Basically, any kind of reseach requires funding. Nearly every company now does its own research internally, rather than partner with academia. And what we end up with is better "marketable" technology.
What people mistaken believe is that innovation must equal improvement. That is hardly the case. Nor does innovation = implementation either. So, if you can understand these two concepts, Microsoft's innovativeness is far less threatening that it [Microsoft] would have you believe.
After all, doesn't the NSI contract now state that they own all domain names registered under them? And since you wouldn't be the official owner of the property, you should (in theory) not be liable for infringing on a trademark...
:)
Oh well, it probably wouldn't work anyway. It would just be fun to see these two fight over it.
Bastard! is a fantasy/comedy/parody blend which fits together rather nicely. The comedy is of the rebellious satirical genre ("This guy REALLY IS a bastard...") and the series makes use of heavy metal music throughout the series. It also parodies the heavy metal music industry. The use of names for places, people, and spells adds a nice touch.
And unlike most other fantasy genres, the main character, Dark Schneider, is a women-crazed, insult-flinging magic-user who eventually reforms from his evil ways without him sacrificing his unique style.
I wouldn't recommend it for anyone under 16, because of the nature of the comedy. But for everyone else, I'd give it a fair shake, especially if you're into parodies and heavy metal/alternative music.
It is distrubed in North America by Pioneer Animation. I managed to catch a fan-subtitled version of the 6 OVAs, so I don't know what alterations Pioneer may have done to it. And unfortunately, the production company only managed to make 6 OVAs, so you have to catch the rest of the story in the manga...
"Like I said, my goal is to destroy all the world's gorilla-faced monkeys like you!" - Dark Schneider.
We take our craft -- whether it be the music, the lyrics, or the photos and artwork -- very seriously, as do most artists. It is therefore sickening to know that our art is being traded like a commodity rather than the art that it is.
Uhh, didn't you just commoditize your art when you signed a recording contract in the first place? And making millions by giving the record companies the rights to copy your art to make it a commodity?
I don't advocate the use of Napster to trade copies of illegally copied music. But there are mp3s that are LEGAL to copy (probably because the RIAA and record labels haven't polluted the minds of the artists yet...)
Maybe our friend Lars Ulrich should look up the definition of commodity. After all, it sickens me for artists to claim that they feel that their art is being traded as a commodity when that is exactly what is happening by their own hand (and signature on a contract)...
So, to the self-righteous artists out there... Stop the bullshit and claim it's because you care about the money... After all, the record labels sorely need to get those billions of dollars from the sales in order to give you artists the small portion of money they do to turn your art into a commodity...
Hmm...
The view of this situation is very simple. Pinkerton wants to remain in favor of their customer (ie. the State of North Carolina), so they chose to accept the contract. Jon may have a better time lobbying the state than Pinkerton Corp., but then politics never really get affected by outside sources other than by public opinion and campaign contributions...
On the lighter side of things...
Maybe WAVE America won't get the exposure that the state expects. After all, if they legislate that all public access computers have censorware installed, and that censorware looks for specific words that may be contained on WAVE America, some kids might not even be able to get to the site...
Well, at least we can hope that one government initiative helps to squash another one. I'm doubting that nothing short of a far-reaching public outcry will stop the WAVE America site from coming online...
Those are pretty good choices, except for DBZ. It's not bad, but when a battle is dragged on for more than 3 episodes, it starts getting a little bit hoohum!
A small and rather unknown gem is Fairy Princess Ren (released as Elf Princess Rane by AnimeWorks in the US). The subtitled version will show you the true power of Feng Sui...
<FENG SUI>
yrT gnihctaw siht ta rouf ni eht gninrom! ll'uoY yllaicepse ekil gnidaer seltitbus nettirw siht yaw nehw amukaT sekam sih owt etunim hceeps...
</FENG SUI>
It's too bad the production company only made two episodes. It actually had some potential...
GATCHABAGOOSE!
In a civil case, I doubt that the DOJ has any jurisdiction to go after Microsoft because Microsoft bullied other companies into deals to exclude their (Microsoft's) competition.
In view of the context of the case, the only anti-trust issue directly related to the consumers (which the DOJ is assigned to protect) has to do with the illegal inclusion of IE into Windows. MS was never found innocent or guilty of practicing exclusionary deals because this case is not meant to argue those points.
It would be up to the individual companies to file lawsuits, and this latest judgement by Judge Jackson just paves the way for the next string of civil suits. They are just waiting to see what this landmark case will bring before they pull the millions to send their lawyers a knocking on Microsoft's perverbial door.
So Microsoft's legal battles are not yet over and they may not be for a very long time, especially if Jackson's decision survives all the appeals. The findings of fact issued at the end of last year have already given the necessary ammunition for Netscape et al. to go after MS.
But in reality, going after Microsoft on such a big issue is extremely expensive. So why bother starting a lawsuit when the DOJ is spending the money to find out how the decisions may go?
I figure that if the DOJ ultimately wins this battle, Microsoft should invest in building a comfortable court house. They'll probably be stuck in it for a very long time...
Hopefully this countersuit by mp3.com will bring out all the rhetoric in the RIAA's holy war to protect copyrights.
Mp3.com should seriously look into involving some of the artists in this debate. From all the news I have heard about digital music alternatives, and mp3s in particular, some artists endorse the format. I have never heard of an artist engaged in the campaign to stop the digital distribution of music. That reign so far belongs only to the RIAA and the record labels.
So, if the RIAA's argument behind this rhetoric is to protect the copyrights of the artists, why haven't the artists themselves put up an effort to protect their rights in their own name? Remember folks that the RIAA is an acronym for the Recording Industry Association of America. They don't directly represent the interests of the artist. They represent the interests of the recording industry, pure and simple.
An excellent analogy to the RIAA situation would be that of the tobacco companies. The RIAA and the tobacco companies benefit from producing a product that consumers enjoy. But the industry eventually damages or even kills off that which is most important. In the case of the tobacco companies, it is the smoker's health. In the case of the RIAA, the artists are bullied around to the whim of the record labels.
So, this battle will be decided on which party shows a better interest in both the consumer and the artist. And for the Recording Industry Association of America, only bribes and sympathy will win you that honor.
Microsoft just reported their last quarter profits at $2.4 billon US. Just imagine how much higher that number would be if they didn't spend money on FUD about their competitors.
Geez, let's get serious. I doubt there are few if any direct Microsoft competitors that can claim those profits in a whole year!
Really, Microsoft probably believes that a monopoly requires 100% control of the market. The real argument is what consitutes a monopoly: what percentage of control of a market? 50%? 75%? 90%? That's a question that the judgement in this case will answer in the end.
Trust me, this is only the beginning. If they actually manage to sell these, I can see the next set of M$ action figure dolls.
MS Legal Department Action Figures
--------------------------------------
Over 160 to collect. One for each litigation involving Microsoft. Some of them include...
- Gui Appleton
- Cal D. Erasmus
- Don O. Jasper
and many more to come. And remember kids: "Gotta litigate them all!"
If ever you have the chance to read "Exit Earth" by Martin Caidin, it has a scene dealing specifically with zero-g sex. It's by no means a literary masterpiece, so I wouldn't go read it just to find out what he wrote about zero-g sex.
That now begs for further questions. How fast would one be propelled forward if they were to "cut the cheese"? Or how much fun would it be to race in the space station while holding onto a vaccuum?
Actually, a much better poll idea would be:
What is the longest period of time you have to wait for NSI to process simple requests?
a) ~1 day
b) ~1 week
c) ~1 month
d) ~1 year
e) ~1 eon
f) ad infinitum
g) all of the above combined...
My answer would be g. Service is just no longer in NSI's vocabulary anymore...
London is a prime example of a city under the watchful eye of the police. I remember watching a documentary on high tech policing. They claimed that over 95% of downtown London is monitored by one or more cameras. The reason: it was viewed as their best defence against IRA terrorist bombings.
The system was well explained in the documentary. It also included a photo recognition system that could pick you out from a large crowd, so if they wanted to specifically track one person, they could do so.
While it is interesting in terms of technology, they also brought up the issues on (the lack of) privacy. The notion that "you should not feel uncomfortable if your not a criminal" is somewhat intrusive to say the least.
The documentary was aired on The Learning Channel earlier this year. I don't remember the exact date...
Mergers are never pretty, especially for the employees of the company being bought out. AOL really bought Netscape only for their prized possessions, and their fuzzy alliance with Sun was to reap as much as they could between the two companies.
Unfortunately, AOL was too fast to try an assimilate Netscape into its own corporate family. From experience, that is a trying time for any employee. Priorities change, the work environment changes and there is always the threat that you might become a statistic in the merger ("here is your pink slip").
It remains to been seen if AOL's approach in acquiring Netscape will hurt AOL in the long run.
By far, the printing technology alone has a lot do with the increasing trend to print out the document. I've managed to observe this simply at work.
I actually bothered to take these statistics down from my workplace. In each case, these stats were taken over three normal work weeks.
When our best printer at the workplace could do barely 3 pages per minute, the average amount of jobs sent to the company's printers (a company of 20 employees and 3 printers) showed an average of 47 print jobs per day with an average print job size of 4.3 pages.
When we replaced one of the printers with a machine that could run nearly 15 pages per minute, the stats jumped to an average of 62.8 print jobs per day with an average print job size of 7.2 pages. The single faster printer accounted for about 250 pages of printing more per day alone. Most of this increase was being attributed to larger documents taking less time to print and thus requiring less wait for a user to ready a hard copy than consult an electronic version.
But what is more staggering is that the fast printer was in heavy use during bigger projects with tighter deadlines. The fast printer could easily spit out 750-1000 pages per day.
Seriously, I think it is because it is up to the parents to exert some distractions from the fad. Kids that age will feed on candy until either an adult stops them or they get sick. In this case, the addiction simply comes from parents who simply don't encourage their kids from being fixated on one thing.
In my area, some school principals are returning kids home if they show up at school with the cards. They claim that the cards are disruptive. While that might work in the short term, the next big fad will just come, meaning principals will have to ban the "Next Big Thing".
It is really the company's fault that the kids are addicted to the cards. I think that Nintendo has really hit the mark with their marketing strategy, but they are not solely to blame for the addictions. If parents showed more concern in their kids and would have a better solution than "buy what the kid wants so he'll/she'll shut up", the kids would benefit in the long run.
I admit, I like the comment about the web page. But seriously, at least they admit they don't have a web page yet. If I wanted to be more secretive, I just would have set the web server to return a permission denied error instead to at least leave some possibility that some IP addresses might actually have access to some goodies on the web site.
"Sometimes the words you are looking for are right on the tip of your tongue. Unfortunately, most people can't see the tip of their tongue." -- Anonymous
We all know Microsoft's strategy. Take a standard, extend the functionality of it so that it becomes incompatible with other systems, then claim "Buy Windows, we've got better technology"...
I don't remember the last time they extended a standard technology and not have some bug of any kind (security, functionality, etc.)
Get with it, Microsoft. You'll never win by going this route. Save yourself the embarrassment of having a security hole large enough to fit a fleet of transport trucks in your extended and innovative technology.
Well. This is a troubling issue since you can't blame CyberPatrol (because you are not using it) nor will blaming the ISP do you any good (since they can claim that their service contract doesn't cover informing clients if some half broken software has blocked the ISP's content out).
I would suggest write a polite complaint to both your ISP and CyberPatrol. Explain the situation and indicate how dissatisfied you are about both parties.
At least, it will make them both aware of the problems that have occured. The complaint will be on the record. Maybe they'll even try to find a way to resolve this.
If your complaint falls on deaf ears, I would try to arrange a reliable method to make your resume available (e-mail perhaps). Push your complaint forward and contact the highest manager you can of the parties involved. If you dog them enough, they should come to some sort of resolution...
Well, I have to think that this little bit of satire has no taste whatsoever, and I don't say that because I support RMS or Tom for that matter.
While not everyone can agree/disagree on the stance that RMS has taken, I have to look at the track record (ie. the accomplishments). If everyone were to say that software is terrible just because the author doesn't agree with their ideals, it would be a very sad day indeed.
From what I can see, the "free" camp and the "open" camp are taking stances akin to a "holy war". The only way to really win a holy war is to completely eliminate the other side. Don't think about doing this!
So, let us put our political stances aside and work to make the best software there is.
I think it can be resolved fairly quickly, if the Commerce departement (who got NSI to where it is now) were to simply yank the carpet from underneath them. As long as NSI sits on its proverbial high horse, they will fight ICANN to their last breath. Every day that NSI stalls the process, they put more and more money into their coffers.
If the Commerce Departement were to give NSI an ultimatum to come to an agreement with ICANN, this bickering would stop and the process could continue. I think NSI would be motivated to come to an agreement if they were fined X amount of dollars for every day they stall the process.
If I sound like I don't have any compassion for NSI or the Commerce Department, I don't. Their past decisions have created this mess.
I find this view to be completely false. First, it would imply that software developers write software because they have no need to write software (hence no value). And it also implies that no one else needs the software either. It implies that a developer writes software with the single intent to make money.
I don't think that the driving force to write software is to sell it. Software is written to provide functionality that someone needs. Software has value because it can fulfill that need. How developers fulfill the need to continue developing software is up to them. Some choose to fulfill that need in ways other than selling the software.
To imply that free software has no value also implies (for example) that Internet Explorer has no value to Microsoft. But we all know by now that the value for Microsoft to develop IE was to kill an "unnamed" competitor's market share.
I am not against the notion of buying/selling software. I am just against the notion of buying/selling bad software that creates problems when in fact the consumer bought it to solve a problem.
Well, there is no doubt why NT has better support for quad SMP systems with memory beyond all recognition.
Simply put, NT on a Pentium 200 with 64MB performs horrendously compared to Linux. Computer manufacturers realized this a long time ago, which is why quad-Xeon systems are being pushed like wildfire for any serious applications.
So, just in sheer man-hours of development, I bet that NT has more than 4 times the amount of work invested in the required support than Linux does. We can't really blame Linux for this one. I'm quite sure that if the [Linux] developers could all afford quad-Xeons like Microsoft can, the race would be much different.
Put simply, I'm not at all suprised about these test results. If Mindcraft had any serious grasp of Linux, they would have known that it was at a disadvantage before the tests were run.
Funny that they didn't do the "Bang for the Buck" comparison. A quad-processor NT Server license ain't cheap.