I feel it's legitimate to complain to a vendor of a good or service that the enjoyment of their service is detracted from by the excess of ads. Passive billboards in a game like BF2142 aren't a big deal to me...but when they interfere with the entertainment that I paid / am paying for (for you poor saps addicted to Warcrack), I get a little miffed. Especially in the case of BF2142, which is an enjoyable game, albeit i've only tried it at a friend's house against bots.
But I guess that's why I buy the DVD sets of the few television shows I like, to have them all at once and not deal w/ commercials...but what angers me even MORE is when DVDs, by default, show previews for movies or other ads...every damn time you watch them, even after the movies are long out. Some are obnoxious like this, some are not...I haven't figured out the pattern, but it's probably related to publisher or movie studio.
But you are right, they do have the right to package their product or service with as much of that crap as they want...and I have the right to bitch about it. Hopefully they change their mind, but that would probably mean less revenue for them. So it depends on if they are focused on customer satisfaction or shareholder satisfaction. With most large US companies, it's the latter, and understandably so in our society.
Am I the only one who is sick of: a) being advertised at during things I ALREADY FUCKING PAID OUT THE NOSE FOR?!?! (Movies, games, etc) b) yet more additions to the Patent Minefield. I seriously fear that if I ever try to be innovative, I'm going to wake up in the (proverbial) hospital with my (proverbial) bits and legs blown off and a couple million dollars in "doctor's" fees.
Seriously. MAFIAA to the max. What about "pirate" discs from non-RIAA labels or even their overseas affiliates? And I can envision plenty of false charges, considering how frivolous RIAA has been as long as I can remember.
Anyways, this is so fucking stupid I can't believe it...the US has more of its own people (not to mention foreigners) in prison than any other country in the damn world!!! I now realize that we are indeed well on our way to a legalistic society, and I for one, DO NOT welcome our IP-holding, lawbook toting, shadowy corporate elite advocacy group overlords and their big dumb attack dog, DHS!
Hell, why don't we just issue guns to the RIAA so they can go summarily execute SUSPECTED copyright violators, with none of the risk or inconvenience of a court trial. These cold hearted pirates will be brought to justice...Co-W-boy style.
Well, most CCW permits have provisions for such things. Here in Colorado, a permit does NOT allow you to carry a gun into any building where they screen for weapons or have a sign which says "no firearms" (unless you had some kind of special, explicit permission from the owner). I'll be getting a permit shortly, but I do agree that courthouses should be off limits, since there is an on-site security detail (bailiffs, cops, etc). But there isn't an omnipresent security force in public (and if there were, I'd be more afraid of them than of (other) criminals), hence concealed carry being a necessity. If you think cops count, try to call one while being mugged or otherwise assaulted, and see how quickly they show up assuming you have time to dial. Some people would say you are simply calling for a person with a gun who has a vested interest in your safety...so eliminate the middleman and do-it-yourself.
As mentioned, the mental dregs of society can still do a multitude of dangerous things (drink, drive, buy materials for making meth labs and other explosive devices, vote, etc.), so this is probably one of those instances that Jefferson was talking about with favoring "dangerous liberty over peaceful slavery." Ultimately, it comes down to either: an acceptable substitute is provided in cases where concealed carry is not in the interest of the operators of a building (such as a court house, which has plentiful security to mitigate risk of assassination and keep the onsite criminals under control) OR the building operators are exercising their rights to (stupidly, I would say) prohibit possession of weapons by people who have no will to use them on that premises, with force of criminal trespass charges behind them. Which certainly has prevented a slew of robberies...or not, as someone intending to commit robbery doesn't give half a damn if the owner prohibits guns in their home or place of business.
Are there a few bad apples with CCW permits? Absolutely, but they are few and far between. Let's not forget that the police mistakenly shoot more innocents than CCW permit holders do, and generally with poorer accuracy...and there are more permit holders than cops in any given state, I am willing to venture (well, except states where there are no permits). I don't mean to disparage the police (too much), but having a badge does not automatically make one the best shot...one still has to practice. And I know they are "looking for trouble" with the intent of stopping it, but still, you'd think they'd shoot fewer innocent people than those "crazy gun toting cowboy hick vigilante wannabees with itchy trigger fingers" (that job is reserved to the President). So, as with anything (cars coming to mind with drunk drivers), you have to let the idiots do it too until they screw up and lose their privileges. I prefer liberty over legalism, and that I might be self-reliant for the most part, including protection of myself from the ill-willed or utterly foolish.
I'd help you out with the president, but my guns all have Digital Rifle Management.
Note to DoD, DHS, etc: the above statement is a joke. I do not intend to shoot the president and do not condone criminal behavior. Your Mooninite Scare lawsuits will not touch me.
Well, if you look at the rest of the verbs there, they're all ones that'd be done by a "pirate". The manufacturer or distributor of an IP can't really "bypass, remove, deactivate, or impair a technological measure" they don't even put in. I think avoid is more in the sense of: if you rip a DVD bitwise without decrypting it...that's avoiding a copy protection while still copying it.
Yeah, it's like trying to charge someone with hotwiring a keyless, push-button start car...there is nothing to be "circumvented" in the first place.
Maybe they should sue homeowners who don't have burglar alarms, cuz, you know, locks-only = invite to thieves, which means you're an accessory to burglary of your own house.
Reminds me of Goebbels/Hitler's "Big Lie". I honestly get infuriated with how greedy these people are...but there's a striking parallel with the rebuttal piece concerning OSS and copyright support or opposition...the rebuttal author feared the day when "our culture is put into a vending machine and sold back to us dollar by dollar." A legitimate fear, and, under pain of copyright infringement tort law, might I say that it's "just another brick in the wall."
Far be it from me to promote illegal activity, but people need to break the bad laws...en masse, until Congress can be convinced to decriminalize a large segment of the population for something that used to be illegal. Prohibition is a poor analogy, but is something I find equally infuriating.
Well, this has to do more with IP law than a physical crime such as murder or minor in possession, which can transcend borders. That being said, you'd have a hell of a time trying to get Vietnam or the Philippines to extradite someone to the US for copyright violation, which is, I would say, FAR more common in those two countries. Even our neighbor Mexico has tons of hardcopy, street vendor piracy.
But I agree wholeheartedly with you that the only reason this is happening is because Australians (or John Howard and Co.) are too willing to roll over for US government and corporate interests. I believe the Brits have an expression for situations like this: "Fuck off!"
You don't see Italy or Germany extraditing CIA agents (or asking for it) for the illegal shit they've done with "rendition"...because they know the US has a monopoly on that.
Well, I guess that is the difference between looking cool and feeling cool (if non-Neal cowboys can be called cool...). Hence the adjective "tacticool" in regards to civilian "assault" guns with tons of SWAT-looking crap on them (lasers, flashlights, front grips, folding stocks, etc).
Plus, a secret agent who discloses that he is a secret agent isn't very secret, now is he? Hehehe. Actually, you might be onto something there: Bond's PPK is far easier to conceal than Dirty Harry's.44 Magnum. And secret agents are way cooler than cowboys.
Concealed carry is for keeping hoplophobic assholes from freaking out when they see somebody with a gun. Police can and do arrest people for "disorderly conduct" if someone is "alarmed" at seeing them carry a gun...even if the gun carrier is minding their own business and not doing anything particularly threatening (such as shopping for groceries).
If people don't know you're carrying, they aren't going to flip out and get you busted for exercising your rights. I don't want it to be a big deal if I am carrying a gun...kinda like diabetics who get those little pager-mimicking blood monitors: discreet.
And even for the same reason you mentioned: most people DON'T want to look like a trigger happy cowboy itching to sling some guns. They just want to go about their business just like everyone else. While having that gun visible is a great deterrent, it's a greater liability. Having it hidden means it can come out only when it's needed.
I'd go more with "robber baron". At least feudal lords are, to some degree, obligated to protect their serfs. Robber barons are no more than highway thugs with a nice house by their pillaging spot.
Then again, my experience with government contracted work (esp in IT) is that it's shoddy, inflexible, and completely unreasonable. I mean, if you have the authority of The Man behind you and a steady government check, there isn't really any reason to do a good job when a half-assed one will do, and that those who must use said system are tasked (at their expense) with compliance..
Situational ethics and "Do No Evil" are incompatible. It may be pragmatic to quash the proposal, but you've got to draw a line somewhere...making good on the "do no evil" part. Otherwise it's about as not-evil as the USA-PATRIOT Act is patriotic.
But I guess that is where capitalism IS compatible with something not laissez-faire: fascist control of information.
Ha, I didn't mean to imply there are not coders here in the states who fit the same description, because there certainly are. But accountability is much easier when you have face-to-face on a daily basis...and you don't have to rely on third world telecomm.
At a previous dev job, my team lead was from Mumbai, and he's probably one of the smartest, most skilled people I know. And he had good business sense (and spectacular English), which is the major downfall of outsourcing...the off-shore people might be programming gods, but if they don't understand lingually or business-wise what you need, they are useless.
Outsourcing has killed outsourcing, hehe...spot on, sir.
Even outsourced Americans...everyone in our IT department hates dealing with our off-shore coders not because they can't speak English (they can, kinda), but they're idiots (at least, the American guy that is in charge over there is...) and are completely out of touch with our business needs. I'm the on-site developer / DBA...I end up troubleshooting the errors they push out that are "good" versions and cleaning up the messes they make. Their code is overly complicated (and in C#, but that might not bother some of you guys). I'm sick of it after only 6 months, but fortunately, this trend has a foothold in my company...I'm hoping the big boss decides to replace them with one more local developer for the same cost and get better output...
What if were parallel development? What if Wilcox throws together a crap version of what Gray is working on and gets the patent first for his ripoff?
"Submarine patent" seems unethical to me...there are ways for the person "without any resources" to get them...venture capitalism, anyone? This isn't to say that an innovator shouldn't be compensated for his work, but really, as we all know, the patent office is almost as guilty as congress of not reading the crap they push through.
A well placed shot to the head or torso. If someone recognized the sounds as gunshots and happened to be violating university policy in their better interest. For example watch Penn & Teller: Bullshit episode "Gun Control" (it was on YouTube last time I checked), and see what Rep. Suzanna Hupp says...her parents were murdered at Luby's Massacre, which was previously the most deadly shooting spree in the US. She left her gun in the car because it was illegal to carry it concealed at the time. She said it was "an incredibly stupid decision" to obey the law, because "it was a bad law."
Having a gun doesn't guarantee your safety, but it's a pretty damn good chance at defending your life, and a whole lot better than being at the whim of a murderous sociopath.
How about I change my name to John Micheal Dave Smith and then publicly donate $1 to al-Qaeda to get into OFAC? Then I will be forever known as the man who destroyed teh economy. Pwned.
Honestly, that was the catalyst for me to buy two seasons of Penn & Teller: Bullshit! on DVD. I am ignorant and don't know if HBO is under Viacom, but hey, either way, it's a proof of concept.
And I don't really have room to vindicate him, as my year of birth is Orwellian. A good deal of the bands I listen to started before I was born (and most of them are still active...Laibach, KMFDM, Ministry, Skinny Puppy, Megadeth, Sodom, Slayer, Ozzy, etc). The rest (mostly) are obscure industrial bands you've probably not heard of...except perhaps a couple of 'em. But it says a lot when they still kick ass after 20 years (notable exception: Metallica).
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I feel it's legitimate to complain to a vendor of a good or service that the enjoyment of their service is detracted from by the excess of ads. Passive billboards in a game like BF2142 aren't a big deal to me...but when they interfere with the entertainment that I paid / am paying for (for you poor saps addicted to Warcrack), I get a little miffed. Especially in the case of BF2142, which is an enjoyable game, albeit i've only tried it at a friend's house against bots.
But I guess that's why I buy the DVD sets of the few television shows I like, to have them all at once and not deal w/ commercials...but what angers me even MORE is when DVDs, by default, show previews for movies or other ads...every damn time you watch them, even after the movies are long out. Some are obnoxious like this, some are not...I haven't figured out the pattern, but it's probably related to publisher or movie studio.
But you are right, they do have the right to package their product or service with as much of that crap as they want...and I have the right to bitch about it. Hopefully they change their mind, but that would probably mean less revenue for them. So it depends on if they are focused on customer satisfaction or shareholder satisfaction. With most large US companies, it's the latter, and understandably so in our society.
Am I the only one who is sick of:
a) being advertised at during things I ALREADY FUCKING PAID OUT THE NOSE FOR?!?! (Movies, games, etc)
b) yet more additions to the Patent Minefield. I seriously fear that if I ever try to be innovative, I'm going to wake up in the (proverbial) hospital with my (proverbial) bits and legs blown off and a couple million dollars in "doctor's" fees.
Seriously. MAFIAA to the max. What about "pirate" discs from non-RIAA labels or even their overseas affiliates? And I can envision plenty of false charges, considering how frivolous RIAA has been as long as I can remember.
Anyways, this is so fucking stupid I can't believe it...the US has more of its own people (not to mention foreigners) in prison than any other country in the damn world!!! I now realize that we are indeed well on our way to a legalistic society, and I for one, DO NOT welcome our IP-holding, lawbook toting, shadowy corporate elite advocacy group overlords and their big dumb attack dog, DHS!
Hell, why don't we just issue guns to the RIAA so they can go summarily execute SUSPECTED copyright violators, with none of the risk or inconvenience of a court trial. These cold hearted pirates will be brought to justice...Co-W-boy style.
Well, most CCW permits have provisions for such things. Here in Colorado, a permit does NOT allow you to carry a gun into any building where they screen for weapons or have a sign which says "no firearms" (unless you had some kind of special, explicit permission from the owner). I'll be getting a permit shortly, but I do agree that courthouses should be off limits, since there is an on-site security detail (bailiffs, cops, etc). But there isn't an omnipresent security force in public (and if there were, I'd be more afraid of them than of (other) criminals), hence concealed carry being a necessity. If you think cops count, try to call one while being mugged or otherwise assaulted, and see how quickly they show up assuming you have time to dial. Some people would say you are simply calling for a person with a gun who has a vested interest in your safety...so eliminate the middleman and do-it-yourself.
As mentioned, the mental dregs of society can still do a multitude of dangerous things (drink, drive, buy materials for making meth labs and other explosive devices, vote, etc.), so this is probably one of those instances that Jefferson was talking about with favoring "dangerous liberty over peaceful slavery." Ultimately, it comes down to either: an acceptable substitute is provided in cases where concealed carry is not in the interest of the operators of a building (such as a court house, which has plentiful security to mitigate risk of assassination and keep the onsite criminals under control) OR the building operators are exercising their rights to (stupidly, I would say) prohibit possession of weapons by people who have no will to use them on that premises, with force of criminal trespass charges behind them. Which certainly has prevented a slew of robberies...or not, as someone intending to commit robbery doesn't give half a damn if the owner prohibits guns in their home or place of business.
Are there a few bad apples with CCW permits? Absolutely, but they are few and far between. Let's not forget that the police mistakenly shoot more innocents than CCW permit holders do, and generally with poorer accuracy...and there are more permit holders than cops in any given state, I am willing to venture (well, except states where there are no permits). I don't mean to disparage the police (too much), but having a badge does not automatically make one the best shot...one still has to practice. And I know they are "looking for trouble" with the intent of stopping it, but still, you'd think they'd shoot fewer innocent people than those "crazy gun toting cowboy hick vigilante wannabees with itchy trigger fingers" (that job is reserved to the President). So, as with anything (cars coming to mind with drunk drivers), you have to let the idiots do it too until they screw up and lose their privileges. I prefer liberty over legalism, and that I might be self-reliant for the most part, including protection of myself from the ill-willed or utterly foolish.
I think they should have them if they can pass a background check.
I'd help you out with the president, but my guns all have Digital Rifle Management.
Note to DoD, DHS, etc: the above statement is a joke. I do not intend to shoot the president and do not condone criminal behavior. Your Mooninite Scare lawsuits will not touch me.
Well, if you look at the rest of the verbs there, they're all ones that'd be done by a "pirate". The manufacturer or distributor of an IP can't really "bypass, remove, deactivate, or impair a technological measure" they don't even put in. I think avoid is more in the sense of: if you rip a DVD bitwise without decrypting it...that's avoiding a copy protection while still copying it.
Yeah, it's like trying to charge someone with hotwiring a keyless, push-button start car...there is nothing to be "circumvented" in the first place.
Maybe they should sue homeowners who don't have burglar alarms, cuz, you know, locks-only = invite to thieves, which means you're an accessory to burglary of your own house.
Yeah...it kinda makes you feel insignificant, which is nice, in a way.
Reminds me of Goebbels/Hitler's "Big Lie". I honestly get infuriated with how greedy these people are...but there's a striking parallel with the rebuttal piece concerning OSS and copyright support or opposition...the rebuttal author feared the day when "our culture is put into a vending machine and sold back to us dollar by dollar." A legitimate fear, and, under pain of copyright infringement tort law, might I say that it's "just another brick in the wall."
Far be it from me to promote illegal activity, but people need to break the bad laws...en masse , until Congress can be convinced to decriminalize a large segment of the population for something that used to be illegal. Prohibition is a poor analogy, but is something I find equally infuriating.
Kinda makes the Tsar Bomba look like chump change.
Well, this has to do more with IP law than a physical crime such as murder or minor in possession, which can transcend borders. That being said, you'd have a hell of a time trying to get Vietnam or the Philippines to extradite someone to the US for copyright violation, which is, I would say, FAR more common in those two countries. Even our neighbor Mexico has tons of hardcopy, street vendor piracy.
But I agree wholeheartedly with you that the only reason this is happening is because Australians (or John Howard and Co.) are too willing to roll over for US government and corporate interests. I believe the Brits have an expression for situations like this: "Fuck off!"
You don't see Italy or Germany extraditing CIA agents (or asking for it) for the illegal shit they've done with "rendition"...because they know the US has a monopoly on that.
Well, I guess that is the difference between looking cool and feeling cool (if non-Neal cowboys can be called cool...). Hence the adjective "tacticool" in regards to civilian "assault" guns with tons of SWAT-looking crap on them (lasers, flashlights, front grips, folding stocks, etc).
.44 Magnum. And secret agents are way cooler than cowboys.
Plus, a secret agent who discloses that he is a secret agent isn't very secret, now is he? Hehehe.
Actually, you might be onto something there: Bond's PPK is far easier to conceal than Dirty Harry's
Concealed carry is for keeping hoplophobic assholes from freaking out when they see somebody with a gun. Police can and do arrest people for "disorderly conduct" if someone is "alarmed" at seeing them carry a gun...even if the gun carrier is minding their own business and not doing anything particularly threatening (such as shopping for groceries).
If people don't know you're carrying, they aren't going to flip out and get you busted for exercising your rights. I don't want it to be a big deal if I am carrying a gun...kinda like diabetics who get those little pager-mimicking blood monitors: discreet.
And even for the same reason you mentioned: most people DON'T want to look like a trigger happy cowboy itching to sling some guns. They just want to go about their business just like everyone else. While having that gun visible is a great deterrent, it's a greater liability. Having it hidden means it can come out only when it's needed.
I'd go more with "robber baron". At least feudal lords are, to some degree, obligated to protect their serfs. Robber barons are no more than highway thugs with a nice house by their pillaging spot.
Then again, my experience with government contracted work (esp in IT) is that it's shoddy, inflexible, and completely unreasonable. I mean, if you have the authority of The Man behind you and a steady government check, there isn't really any reason to do a good job when a half-assed one will do, and that those who must use said system are tasked (at their expense) with compliance..
Situational ethics and "Do No Evil" are incompatible. It may be pragmatic to quash the proposal, but you've got to draw a line somewhere...making good on the "do no evil" part. Otherwise it's about as not-evil as the USA-PATRIOT Act is patriotic.
But I guess that is where capitalism IS compatible with something not laissez-faire: fascist control of information.
***Resisting urge to obey Godwin's Law***
Ha, I didn't mean to imply there are not coders here in the states who fit the same description, because there certainly are. But accountability is much easier when you have face-to-face on a daily basis...and you don't have to rely on third world telecomm.
At a previous dev job, my team lead was from Mumbai, and he's probably one of the smartest, most skilled people I know. And he had good business sense (and spectacular English), which is the major downfall of outsourcing...the off-shore people might be programming gods, but if they don't understand lingually or business-wise what you need, they are useless.
Outsourcing has killed outsourcing, hehe...spot on, sir.
Even outsourced Americans...everyone in our IT department hates dealing with our off-shore coders not because they can't speak English (they can, kinda), but they're idiots (at least, the American guy that is in charge over there is...) and are completely out of touch with our business needs. I'm the on-site developer / DBA...I end up troubleshooting the errors they push out that are "good" versions and cleaning up the messes they make. Their code is overly complicated (and in C#, but that might not bother some of you guys). I'm sick of it after only 6 months, but fortunately, this trend has a foothold in my company...I'm hoping the big boss decides to replace them with one more local developer for the same cost and get better output...
In any event, I feel your pain.
What if were parallel development? What if Wilcox throws together a crap version of what Gray is working on and gets the patent first for his ripoff?
"Submarine patent" seems unethical to me...there are ways for the person "without any resources" to get them...venture capitalism, anyone? This isn't to say that an innovator shouldn't be compensated for his work, but really, as we all know, the patent office is almost as guilty as congress of not reading the crap they push through.
A well placed shot to the head or torso. If someone recognized the sounds as gunshots and happened to be violating university policy in their better interest. For example watch Penn & Teller: Bullshit episode "Gun Control" (it was on YouTube last time I checked), and see what Rep. Suzanna Hupp says...her parents were murdered at Luby's Massacre, which was previously the most deadly shooting spree in the US. She left her gun in the car because it was illegal to carry it concealed at the time. She said it was "an incredibly stupid decision" to obey the law, because "it was a bad law."
Having a gun doesn't guarantee your safety, but it's a pretty damn good chance at defending your life, and a whole lot better than being at the whim of a murderous sociopath.
If Google couldn't beat them, News Corp sure as hell won't be able to.
How about I change my name to John Micheal Dave Smith and then publicly donate $1 to al-Qaeda to get into OFAC? Then I will be forever known as the man who destroyed teh economy. Pwned.
Honestly, that was the catalyst for me to buy two seasons of Penn & Teller: Bullshit! on DVD. I am ignorant and don't know if HBO is under Viacom, but hey, either way, it's a proof of concept.
Just being a smart-ass ;)
And I don't really have room to vindicate him, as my year of birth is Orwellian. A good deal of the bands I listen to started before I was born (and most of them are still active...Laibach, KMFDM, Ministry, Skinny Puppy, Megadeth, Sodom, Slayer, Ozzy, etc). The rest (mostly) are obscure industrial bands you've probably not heard of...except perhaps a couple of 'em. But it says a lot when they still kick ass after 20 years (notable exception: Metallica).