I know this is marked "Funny," and it may even be a troll, but I think I should weigh in on why he might (if not "should") care:
I have also been in a position where I was one of the first in an organization to "get it" and be qualified to make serious changes to the way a place operates. For five years or so, I and one of my close friends, worked at refining the way the place worked. New cables, new systems, new protocols, all manner of stuff. And, true, he was even more influential than I was. But this place is no longer one where anybody can walk in and feel at ease. It's a professional atmosphere now.
So, why should we care if and when we both walk away for good? Precisely because of those years we spent building the place up. I wouldn't feel happy at all knowing that all our hard work went to shit in far less time than it took to make it right.
So, that's why you should care about who takes over for you - especially if you give a damn about what you do in the first place.
I think there's a difference between designing a building and a program. There's also a difference in research that goes into the two. Yes, "software" has only been around for 50 years (well, discounting the pioneers, I suppose). But, the rate at which we learn/innovate/redesign is a bit quicker than it was when engineering was being born.
I suppose I do agree with the fragmentation argument. But again, software design isn't engineering.
i think i'll stop rambling now. i just ran out of ideas....
I read this article, really - I did - and I am not certain at all what Lanier said about software "sucking." At least, not in the sense that we all know about (bloat, fixes, patches, rush jobs, M$ in general, etc)
what i got out of this was that Lanier thinks we are stuck in some tech-limbo, one where neither the software nor the laws governing the use of software are very useful. well, that and UNIX is old and ugly. Big deal, people still use it, and that doesn't automatically mean that it sucks.
And his comments about "humanity" not knowing how to make software, or even what software is, were just plain over-dramatic, hippified philosobabble. After all, why is he discussing it then? Is he not a part of humanity? Or, is he better than us mere mortals?
Plenty of people know what software is and how to make it. The focus is to make it more intuitive, faster, and less prone to Bad Design.
I noticed last night on my dialup account that clicking on search results from alltheweb.com first sends an http:// request back to that server, before connecting to the server that has the hit you want to see.
Also, alltheweb doesn't seem to have any privacy statement on the site at all....
Now, I am not naive enough to have an expectation of privacy online, and i don't think that anyone else should, either. And, I know that - legally, at any rate - there isn't much that a company has to tell us about what they do. So, where does that leave us? If you have concerns about your privacy then you should either get and stay offline or collaborate with others to identify and combat the worst offenders.
....why not just buy a lot of scotch tape? Wouldn't that be even cheaper than getting a DV Cam?
On the up side, this would be a nifty hack, if it will work. Now, the only remaining thing to do is to get that there mp3 player thingee to read these cards.
I did the obligatory DNS lookup and got this info:
Registrant:
ecommerce inc
5773 Woodway #304
houston, tx 77057
US
Domain Name: gamedvdplayer.com
Administrative Contact:
roberts, scott carolbowman25@hotmail.com
5773 Woodway #304
houston, tx 77057
US
713-785-1636
Technical Contact:
roberts, scott carolbowman25@hotmail.com
5773 Woodway #304
houston, tx 77057
US
713-785-1636
Billing Contact:
roberts, scott carolbowman25@hotmail.com
5773 Woodway #304
houston, tx 77057
US
713-785-1636
Record last updated on 30-Nov-2000.
Record expires on 08-Nov-2001.
Record Created on 08-Nov-2000.
Domain servers in listed order:
NS1.SOG.NET 208.195.144.4
So, what's wrong with this picture? It's registered to "ecommerce, inc," and the contact info lists a name and an e-mail addy that don't match up in even the vaguest sense. So, while this would be a truly sweet deal, it seems quite fishy. Even I don't feel great about it, and I don't give a toss if the Sega stuff is licensed or not....
Which brings up another point. Surely Sega *knows* about this, right? Where's the lawsuit? The cease and desist orders? I also find that sketchy....
I'll second this. The calendar features are top-notch, and there's a feature that even searches for time that's available, in common, between a group of users. Plus, there's the option of doing a web-based system that keeps a good bit of the original's functionality.
The problems with the mailer include: Odd bugs that insist that you begin to compose a message before going to the address book; forwards are not sent inline with your message added, but are sent as attatched mails that open in a new window (ack); replying to mail does not add any markings to the message you are replying to, meaning that if you reply to several points in a message, you will have to add something ('>' or '--') yourself; and other little inconsistencies along those lines.
Also, if you tell Groupwise to remember your password, then change your Windows password, you will have to resync those two. It's odd, but at least somewhat reassuring that it cares about that.
First off, I should state that I read the unabridged version of Stranger about ten years ago, when it was first published. I "grokked" it well enough, and even thought that it was a decent book. I didn't move on to other books by Heinlein, and I am glad I didn't...
You see, he suffers from the same problems that so many other authors of his time did. They were all very nuts, and right-wing nuts at that. Almost to a man they supported Vietnam, guns, and other very un-HUMAN things (since that seems to be the theme of lots of these posts, the humanity of science-fiction).
Science fiction, and much fantasy, hinges on the notion that the future is a utopia because we overcame war and famine and all that. Of course, it was replaced by a society dependent on machines, and with a highly centralized government. I'm sure that most of us would love to be on a starship, based on Star Trek, but Kirk's bravado was, after all, the exception and not the norm. All other Captains were good little soldiers.
Sorry to rant here, but after reading Michael Moorcock's brilliant essay, Starship Stormtroopers, I just can't look at most sci-fi/fantasy in the same way. Be warned that while I encourage all of you to read this article, Moorcock spares no one, going after not just Heinlein, but also Asimov and Tolkein.
I don't understand why these sites are a problem. Certainly Congress operates on a very similar principle, only in Congress the votes traded aren't ones on the same issue. Reps and senators often make deals that mean that Congressman A votes yea on Congressman B's pet bill in return for B's vote on A's bill. So why not let that happen across state lines in a national election?
Of course, were that logic applied, then the voteselling sites might also be legit, since we all know Congress does that as well.
There are agendas, and there are agendas. And I don't see the rational agenda being pushed through the system right now with regard to anything, from drugs to war to kids who kill kids. Point me to these titles, published by a major house. Point me to their first edition numbers. Then let me see the numbers for the latest pulp from John Grisham, or the latest babblings of a pseudo-pysch like Dr. Laura Schlesinger. There is a disparity in the views presented by major media.
Show me a breakdown of these 500,000 titles in print. Who printed them? Are you including South End Press? Common Courage? Penguin? Random House? Who is in that list?
And now, for the worst part. Why would you class this as "Computer Culture?" A book like this belongs in Current Events, Sociology, or maybe just plain old Non-Fiction, but NOT in the Computer Culture section where, once again, it would only be noticed by people with similar opinions, and therefore never noticed.
I think this might be the time to focus a little on why most of you seem to think J Katz is the spawn of satan, or some similar demon/demagogue.
Most of us are reading his posts from the point of view of, "Yea, so what? I already knew this. He's not so smart. I could've done that/written that. He's redundant and a wanker and no one cares...."
Well, maybe you should try something. Step outside your peer group for 15 minutes. Go talk to some parents, or some students - and not ones you *know* agree with you or ones that you think "get it." You might be surprised how many people don't ever get an opinion like Katz's regarding the Columbine incident. You might even be surprised that these people don't mind cops in schools, and that they really do think the Internet is the Devil Incarnate.
What is considered common knowledge and passe is really only based on what you and your peers value. Have you ever seen any commentary like this in the mainstream television/radio/print media?
Stating these things might not be stating the obvious to most people out there. Keep that in mind before you flame in here about how terrible this idea is.
So, before you all go crucifying a well-meaning messenger, look around you to identify the people who mean only to do harm. Deal with them first.
even though this set of stories is what "launched" Katz here on slashdot (for better or worse), and marks some of the first stuff I read here as well, (for better or worse), i think you guys are going to need a lot of luck getting this into print.
I could be wrong, you might have a publisher lined up. But the media (and this includes the print people, who are NO better than their TV counterparts) aren't through putting kids through hell. The stories will continue coming, and it will be quite some time before the backlash starts. Hellmouth might even be the start of that backlash, with comments about needing counselors and not cops in schools. That's some FUCKING DEAD ON assessments of what is wrong with this country....
But, as I said, unless you have a publisher lined up, it's gonna be hard. Hard, because while a smaller press could get this out (and I can think of several that might really like to handle this book), they don't have the reach of, say, Random House or one of the other larger pubs.
So, in the meantime, why not release this on a website of its own? I think that would provide a fresh perspective on the whole thing. (ie, people scared of slashdot won't have to come here to read it).
...scientists lost their research when the hard drive it was on was reported missing.
"Well, this guy in overalls showed up and said he needed to take the drive out to be cleaned. I'm a scientist, for Christ's sake, not a technician. How was I supposed to know," one scientist, who spoke to us on condition of anonymity told us.
Officials at Los Alamos are confident that, by following the lead of the State Department and offering a $25,000 reward, they will soon recover their lost data.
"Otherwise," said the scientist, "we are, like, so totally fucked. I mean, this project has been hell! Sixty-hour weeks for six months is harsh!"
As for a small group turning the screws on everyone else...you're wrong on that too. There is one party that at least
isn't trying to do that: Libertarian.
No, the Libs just want to remove gov't restrictions on Big Business turning the screws on people. Sorry, I won't have that.
I do agree with your second point (I am so happy that the/. crowd is *so* damn sharp this morning). But my self-interest simply cannot be served by anyone running on a national platform. You want to know my agenda? Localized, free association is a good start. As it is, though, I don't feel motivated to get into electoral politics....
The President is NOT the end-all/be-all of "power" in the US. In fact, s/he may always be the most tied up of any figure. Congress wields a good deal of influence over your life, true, but Congress is a different beast altogeter, as those people are people you might actually know.
Then, even more important is your state government. And then, even more so, the local gov't. Those of you who might scold me, remember these two things. Cities and towns can prevent businesses from moving in (and possibly even revoke corporate charters), and they can enact their own minimum wage laws (Santa Cruz, anyone?)
The power of the people is local, not vested in two Corporate Clones...
I mean, isn't it? Katz has written us another long piece on how the electoral process is flawed (no kidding) and how we need to change our political process (uh-huh) and how not-voting may not really be about apathy after all (well, that's what i got out of it, and what I believe).
I'm not voting. I can't, as a matter of conscience, participate in such a charade. Even voting for Nader/Browne/Buchannan/Haeglin is out of the question (and where's the SP-USA this year?)
My main grief with politics this year is how amazingly selfish everyone is. "Well, we need to vote so that we get to keep gun/abortion/speech/hacking/music/sexual/gender rights the way we want them!" It doesn't matter who it is, everyone has only one thing they care about. How can one of two (or ten) men or women hope to represent the views of 300 million Americans? (I am, of course, rounding up). You can put whoever you want in office, and the net result is going to be the same - a small group of people slowly turning the screws on the rest of us.
This probably won't get noticed much, way down here in the 400+ posts, but it's an idea if you get bored and want to fuck with the phone people....
One summer, my mom decided to be very helpful to the phone people. When MCI called and asked if she wanted to switch, and get $50 in free calls, she said yes. When AT&T called a couple of weeks later and asked if she wanted to switch back and get $50 in free calls, she said yes. And so it continued.
All summer long, my mom's phone bill was paid for by switching long distance providers. For all I know, she's still doing it.
Surely there are local businesses in your area that have websites...
And surely those businesses would *love* some attention from people who browse through your site...
And surely, if you have the numbers available, it wouldn't be too hard to convince them to pay you for the adspace...
There's no need for tracking software or any of that crap. No other medium uses that, yet advertisers pay big bucks to radio and tv. Why? Because they know that ads work. Besides, you can always have them run one of those "Mention this ad and get 10% off" deals. That would certainly let them know how much market penetration they are getting....
If you'll excuse me, I have to go shower. I feel dirty from talking like this......
The power system is in place. The party system is in place. There will be
no revolutions, merely evolutions.
May I remind you that the far less powerful British monarchy was firmly in place for well over a thousand years before the American War for Independence? Just a thought....
...but why will Mozilla 0.9 come off of the PR3 branch? It looks like the "trunk" (which I assume will be the code that is being worked on under the auspice of mozilla.org) will get different changes made to it than the NS branch. Does this mean NS features will end up in Moz 1?
Slashdot Mirror
Too bad they killed Presidential Line Item Veto, although I seriously doubt that Clinton would've done a thing on this one...
Say goodbye to your rights, kids. It's gonna be a new Dark Ages for those of us here in the States....
I have also been in a position where I was one of the first in an organization to "get it" and be qualified to make serious changes to the way a place operates. For five years or so, I and one of my close friends, worked at refining the way the place worked. New cables, new systems, new protocols, all manner of stuff. And, true, he was even more influential than I was. But this place is no longer one where anybody can walk in and feel at ease. It's a professional atmosphere now.
So, why should we care if and when we both walk away for good? Precisely because of those years we spent building the place up. I wouldn't feel happy at all knowing that all our hard work went to shit in far less time than it took to make it right.
So, that's why you should care about who takes over for you - especially if you give a damn about what you do in the first place.
I suppose I do agree with the fragmentation argument. But again, software design isn't engineering.
i think i'll stop rambling now. i just ran out of ideas....
what i got out of this was that Lanier thinks we are stuck in some tech-limbo, one where neither the software nor the laws governing the use of software are very useful. well, that and UNIX is old and ugly. Big deal, people still use it, and that doesn't automatically mean that it sucks.
And his comments about "humanity" not knowing how to make software, or even what software is, were just plain over-dramatic, hippified philosobabble. After all, why is he discussing it then? Is he not a part of humanity? Or, is he better than us mere mortals?
Plenty of people know what software is and how to make it. The focus is to make it more intuitive, faster, and less prone to Bad Design.
Also, alltheweb doesn't seem to have any privacy statement on the site at all....
Now, I am not naive enough to have an expectation of privacy online, and i don't think that anyone else should, either. And, I know that - legally, at any rate - there isn't much that a company has to tell us about what they do. So, where does that leave us? If you have concerns about your privacy then you should either get and stay offline or collaborate with others to identify and combat the worst offenders.
Rant off.
On the up side, this would be a nifty hack, if it will work. Now, the only remaining thing to do is to get that there mp3 player thingee to read these cards.
and yes, i know it was just a joke, son.
the writers showed up at the Blue Front Door Of Death, only to discover that not even the Ctrl-Alt-Doorbell was working.
so they left....
Registrant:
So, what's wrong with this picture? It's registered to "ecommerce, inc," and the contact info lists a name and an e-mail addy that don't match up in even the vaguest sense. So, while this would be a truly sweet deal, it seems quite fishy. Even I don't feel great about it, and I don't give a toss if the Sega stuff is licensed or not....ecommerce inc
5773 Woodway #304
houston, tx 77057
US
Domain Name: gamedvdplayer.com
Administrative Contact:
roberts, scott carolbowman25@hotmail.com
5773 Woodway #304
houston, tx 77057
US
713-785-1636
Technical Contact:
roberts, scott carolbowman25@hotmail.com
5773 Woodway #304
houston, tx 77057
US
713-785-1636
Billing Contact:
roberts, scott carolbowman25@hotmail.com
5773 Woodway #304
houston, tx 77057
US
713-785-1636
Record last updated on 30-Nov-2000.
Record expires on 08-Nov-2001.
Record Created on 08-Nov-2000.
Domain servers in listed order:
NS1.SOG.NET 208.195.144.4
Which brings up another point. Surely Sega *knows* about this, right? Where's the lawsuit? The cease and desist orders? I also find that sketchy....
The problems with the mailer include: Odd bugs that insist that you begin to compose a message before going to the address book; forwards are not sent inline with your message added, but are sent as attatched mails that open in a new window (ack); replying to mail does not add any markings to the message you are replying to, meaning that if you reply to several points in a message, you will have to add something ('>' or '--') yourself; and other little inconsistencies along those lines.
Also, if you tell Groupwise to remember your password, then change your Windows password, you will have to resync those two. It's odd, but at least somewhat reassuring that it cares about that.
You see, he suffers from the same problems that so many other authors of his time did. They were all very nuts, and right-wing nuts at that. Almost to a man they supported Vietnam, guns, and other very un-HUMAN things (since that seems to be the theme of lots of these posts, the humanity of science-fiction).
Science fiction, and much fantasy, hinges on the notion that the future is a utopia because we overcame war and famine and all that. Of course, it was replaced by a society dependent on machines, and with a highly centralized government. I'm sure that most of us would love to be on a starship, based on Star Trek, but Kirk's bravado was, after all, the exception and not the norm. All other Captains were good little soldiers.
Sorry to rant here, but after reading Michael Moorcock's brilliant essay, Starship Stormtroopers, I just can't look at most sci-fi/fantasy in the same way. Be warned that while I encourage all of you to read this article, Moorcock spares no one, going after not just Heinlein, but also Asimov and Tolkein.
that was my two cents, and you owe me change....
Of course, were that logic applied, then the voteselling sites might also be legit, since we all know Congress does that as well.
Show me a breakdown of these 500,000 titles in print. Who printed them? Are you including South End Press? Common Courage? Penguin? Random House? Who is in that list?
And now, for the worst part. Why would you class this as "Computer Culture?" A book like this belongs in Current Events, Sociology, or maybe just plain old Non-Fiction, but NOT in the Computer Culture section where, once again, it would only be noticed by people with similar opinions, and therefore never noticed.
Most of us are reading his posts from the point of view of, "Yea, so what? I already knew this. He's not so smart. I could've done that/written that. He's redundant and a wanker and no one cares...."
Well, maybe you should try something. Step outside your peer group for 15 minutes. Go talk to some parents, or some students - and not ones you *know* agree with you or ones that you think "get it." You might be surprised how many people don't ever get an opinion like Katz's regarding the Columbine incident. You might even be surprised that these people don't mind cops in schools, and that they really do think the Internet is the Devil Incarnate.
What is considered common knowledge and passe is really only based on what you and your peers value. Have you ever seen any commentary like this in the mainstream television/radio/print media?
Stating these things might not be stating the obvious to most people out there. Keep that in mind before you flame in here about how terrible this idea is.
So, before you all go crucifying a well-meaning messenger, look around you to identify the people who mean only to do harm. Deal with them first.
I could be wrong, you might have a publisher lined up. But the media (and this includes the print people, who are NO better than their TV counterparts) aren't through putting kids through hell. The stories will continue coming, and it will be quite some time before the backlash starts. Hellmouth might even be the start of that backlash, with comments about needing counselors and not cops in schools. That's some FUCKING DEAD ON assessments of what is wrong with this country....
But, as I said, unless you have a publisher lined up, it's gonna be hard. Hard, because while a smaller press could get this out (and I can think of several that might really like to handle this book), they don't have the reach of, say, Random House or one of the other larger pubs.
So, in the meantime, why not release this on a website of its own? I think that would provide a fresh perspective on the whole thing. (ie, people scared of slashdot won't have to come here to read it).
"Well, this guy in overalls showed up and said he needed to take the drive out to be cleaned. I'm a scientist, for Christ's sake, not a technician. How was I supposed to know," one scientist, who spoke to us on condition of anonymity told us.
Officials at Los Alamos are confident that, by following the lead of the State Department and offering a $25,000 reward, they will soon recover their lost data.
"Otherwise," said the scientist, "we are, like, so totally fucked. I mean, this project has been hell! Sixty-hour weeks for six months is harsh!"
No, the Libs just want to remove gov't restrictions on Big Business turning the screws on people. Sorry, I won't have that.
I do agree with your second point (I am so happy that the /. crowd is *so* damn sharp this morning). But my self-interest simply cannot be served by anyone running on a national platform. You want to know my agenda? Localized, free association is a good start. As it is, though, I don't feel motivated to get into electoral politics....
The President is NOT the end-all/be-all of "power" in the US. In fact, s/he may always be the most tied up of any figure. Congress wields a good deal of influence over your life, true, but Congress is a different beast altogeter, as those people are people you might actually know.
Then, even more important is your state government. And then, even more so, the local gov't. Those of you who might scold me, remember these two things. Cities and towns can prevent businesses from moving in (and possibly even revoke corporate charters), and they can enact their own minimum wage laws (Santa Cruz, anyone?)
The power of the people is local, not vested in two Corporate Clones...
I'm not voting. I can't, as a matter of conscience, participate in such a charade. Even voting for Nader/Browne/Buchannan/Haeglin is out of the question (and where's the SP-USA this year?)
My main grief with politics this year is how amazingly selfish everyone is. "Well, we need to vote so that we get to keep gun/abortion/speech/hacking/music/sexual/gender rights the way we want them!" It doesn't matter who it is, everyone has only one thing they care about. How can one of two (or ten) men or women hope to represent the views of 300 million Americans? (I am, of course, rounding up). You can put whoever you want in office, and the net result is going to be the same - a small group of people slowly turning the screws on the rest of us.
puhleez... :P
One summer, my mom decided to be very helpful to the phone people. When MCI called and asked if she wanted to switch, and get $50 in free calls, she said yes. When AT&T called a couple of weeks later and asked if she wanted to switch back and get $50 in free calls, she said yes. And so it continued.
All summer long, my mom's phone bill was paid for by switching long distance providers. For all I know, she's still doing it.
And surely those businesses would *love* some attention from people who browse through your site...
And surely, if you have the numbers available, it wouldn't be too hard to convince them to pay you for the adspace...
There's no need for tracking software or any of that crap. No other medium uses that, yet advertisers pay big bucks to radio and tv. Why? Because they know that ads work. Besides, you can always have them run one of those "Mention this ad and get 10% off" deals. That would certainly let them know how much market penetration they are getting....
If you'll excuse me, I have to go shower. I feel dirty from talking like this......
...but why will Mozilla 0.9 come off of the PR3 branch? It looks like the "trunk" (which I assume will be the code that is being worked on under the auspice of mozilla.org) will get different changes made to it than the NS branch. Does this mean NS features will end up in Moz 1?