People need to understand why we do not like censorship.. and the best way to do that is to show them that views they agree with are being censored.
Um, correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't this censorship too? I mean, free speech activists (rightly) get pissed off when companies like Net Nanny or whoever say "we block all these porn sites from your kids" without pointing out that their software will also block many sites about things such as STD's, feminism, as you mentioned, etc.. So, I see a flaw in free speech advocates publishing a list of banned sites, and only including those that are "wrongly" censored. It is doing the exact same thing as censoring software companies do -exxagerating to promote thier cause. To me, it's no different than a drug company producing a new drug (say, for example, a weight loss drug) and advertising that you will lose 10lbs. a month with the drug, without mentioning side effects.
The media has always said: "Be very careful using your credit cards online." That's good advice, but it should have been mentioned that you should be equally careful using it in a resaurant, over the phone, etc.. In the last while in the news some people have gone so far as to say: "Don't use your credti card online." So, now Visa's security has been comprimised. Now what? "Destroy all you credit cards."? Sure, it's clear that now, just as always, we should all be careful with our credit cards. But c'mon, the situation is not THAT dire. I've never seen a newscaster mention to viewers that credit card holders are generally only liable for the first $50 of purchases made, should your card or number be stolen. Perhaps if this were mentioned, the hysteria would calm down somewhat.
So, am I correct in understanding that you are not downloading kerberos because it is a US-based project, and downloading it would break US export restrictions? If it were me in your position, I would say "who cares?" and download it anyways. Would it be illegal? Yes. Would it be immoral? No. Would it be harming anyone, in any way? No. Would it be dangerous to you? No. It's obvious to most people that US crypto export regulations are stupid. So why respect them? From my point of view, it seems much more right to do things based on my morals, not based on what a few people in the government want me to do. Disclaimer: I'm not trying to criticize people for following the law in these cases, it's just my opinion that stupid laws deserve to be broken. In the end, I think all people should do what's right for them, wether that means following the law, or breaking it.
We can see examples of the overuse/misuse of antibiotics best with the new breed of illnesses like "super turburculosis," which is now hardly affected by the antibiotics that created it. However, we run the risk of making relatively harmless organisms suddenly deadly (ok, so it's not a harmless one day, deadly the next scenario, but it's scary nonetheless). I agree with millenium when (s)he says this drug shouldn't be used to prevent colds. That would almost surely eventually create more nasty colds. On a similar note, I am concerned by the recent multitude of advertisements for antibacterial soaps, sprays, etc. They may be needed for some applications, like in hospitals, but I don't think we need them for daily use. I haven't used any sort of antibacterial soap regularly throughout my life, yet I remain healthy. I question the need for such products, especially when the price is much, much higher than advertised.
Fox has a suprisingly good website at thesimpsons.com. It's flash and graphics heavy, so have that high-speed connection ready. However, it has some good information, like upcoming episodes, free @thesimpsons.com email, and even, as the title suggests, a webcast. Apparantly the webcast is of the Simpsons getting a hollywood star (I'm not sure if it's for real or just an animated sequence). I think I also saw something on there about simpson's pez dispensers. Anyways, if you have the bandwidth and are a simpson's fan, it's worth checking out. The episode guide is OK too (check out the very first episode).
CBS is taking a lot of flak for changing/adding advertisements in their newscasts. On the other hand, other networks like NBC and CNN are publicly stating that they do not use such techniques. The fact is, in order to compete, CBS will have to cease using the technology, or its viewers will lose trust in the network. After all, they have proven that they can alter advertisements easily without many people knowing about it (not right away, anyways), so people are asking: when does it stop? exxagerated news? perhaps added hollywood-style flames to a house fire in order to make it more interesting for higher ratings? eventually, stories may be more about eye-candy than honesty. CBS' credibility has suffered due to its use of this image-altering technology, and the only way to recover is to stop using it alltogether. After all, who informs viewers about CBS' doings? NBC does, and they sure as hell aren't going to portray CBS in good light.
I disagree about the reason why linux was made. Sure, inferior MS products provided some motivation, but so did Linus' desire to learn x86 assembly (though afaik the asm code was abandoned to make the source portable), as well as his desire to create a free alternative to commercial unices. So, as I see it, if Bill Gates wasn't around, 2 of 3 reasons to create linux would still be here. I will agree that inferior MS products are one of, if not the major reason why linux has gained so much popularity with programmers and users alike. I agree with the rest of your comment, except the "greatest man" part. Sure, he paved the way for most of the stuff out there, and revolutionized the industry, but he's still a greedy, monopolizing, capitalizing person, so I think that "greatest" is a poor word choice -a better choice might be "most important" or "most influential"
Not exactly true. Although Guinness is brewed under licence around the world (for example, in Canada I think Molson's brews it), and yes, it does taste better than the authentic Dublin variety, it is now possible to buy "the real stuff" in other countries now. I noticed a few weeks ago that here in Canada, that you can now buy cans marked "Dublin." Further inspection reveals that it is, in fact, brewed at St. James's Gate. Of course, it's a little more expensive, but it's obviously worth it. Incidentily, while in Mexico my sister noticed Guinness imported from Ireland that was slightly different than normal -it was 7% alcohol! Also Harp, which was never as popular as Guinness has always been available here as an imported beer.
Now all we need to do is scientifically prove that Guinness is, in fact, good for you, in order to have reason to drink it more often. From the infamous ad campaign of the twenties and thirties: "the seven pints represent the seven beneficial resons for drinking Guinness: 'strenth, nerves, digestion, exhaustion, sleeplessness, its tonic effects, and for the blood.'" So I guess it has been proven -but does that mean that seven pints (a day) are required for optimal effects? I suppose there's only one way to find out, isn't there. I hereby volunteer myself as a test subject.
That's right, they're just trying to minimize the chance of people trying to sue them. Of course children tend to be more prone to injury in many cases, and overprotective parents also tend to be very aggressive when someone or something hurts thier "babies." The "under 15" warning is a way of lessening the chances of a lawsuit without losing many customers (not many 15 year olds will buy this product, I bet).
PS: I think it's: "Hens love roosters Geese love ganders Everyone else loves Ned Flanders"
This is a little offtopic, but still relevant IMO. I haden't heard of Engelbart before, but the bit about "father of the mouse" sparked my curiosity. In case anyone else is interested, here's some more information about him:
Also, once the merchant has your credit card number, it's no more likely that he will steal it than that waiter you gave it to last night to pay for dinner, or the Sear's person you gave it to over the phone. bThat doesn't mean you should trust an online site in all instances, it actually means you should be careful with your credit card regardless of the method in which you use it.
As it is, there are millions of people who will not shop online because the media touts it as a very dangerous proposition (offtopic point: I guess the same people would never hand their credit cards to a waiter at a restaurant or tell the number over the phone -or would they?). There are also countless others who stay clear of the internet alltogether based on the exxagerated horror stories they hear about. Now, this event is going to saturate CNN for days, show up on front pages of newspapers and magazines all over the world, and provoke lengthy discussions at the nations' water coolers. Obviuously, this will not help the current situation of paranoia. I can almost hear the modem squeals being silenced now.
I believe this statement means that you could, with available equipment, easily copy the contents directly from an original dvd to a blank dvd, and be able to use the copy just as if it were the original. This, of course means that decrypting the dvd first is not neccesary in order to play the copy in a standalone dvd player or in your home computer, using one of the many programs available. As I'm sure most people know, the major reason for DeCSS was so that people could (eventually) play thier dvds without having to buy a new OS and program just to do so. In otherwords, decrypting the data first is not even needed to use the contents of the dvd, it is only needed to use the contents of the dvd without the afformentioned supported OS and program.
True, south park has a lot of toilet humour. But it's also true, IMHO, that a great deal of the humour is political. For example, as I see it the show does not make fun of minorities, as it appears at face level, it is pointing out the fact that society does. Similarily, when Kenny dies and noone cares, they are in fact making fun of the fact that in real life, nobody cares if some kid dies. They only care if some celebrity does.
I wholeheartidly agree. Sure, you like linux. Does that mean you can knock some company for not spending its resources to produce code for it? Hell no. Apple's priority is of course to make software for the leading platforms, windows and mac. Does that mean that they are a group of anti-linux nazis? Of course not. I would imagine support for Sorenson to appear eventually -I don't think apple is ignoring the linux community altogether. And one other point: Hemos didn't install linux, download the movie, try and get it working, and discover it won't run on linux. GASP! Do you really think Hemos has the time to do all that, for the sake of a few idiots who want to complain? And if he did, should that fact have stopped him from posting the story? There are plenty of slashdotters who run an OS thats not called "linux", believe it or not, and there's no reason why they should be denied the information.
P.S.: How much did you pay for the slashdot service? How much did you pay to download the movie? How much have you payed to Apple to develop software lately?
I have but one comment for NatePWIII: Considering your karma and post history (several posts with negative scores and a negative karma value), I would be hard pressed to see you as a reliable source of information.
"So, as long as you don't plan on playing any SSE games"
This comment makes it sound as if it would be not worth your time to even try an SSE-enabled game. The truth of the matter is, the celeron would be more than fast enough. Sure, it would not be as fast as a PIII at the same clock speed, but who cares? There's no rule that says you have to beat the reccomended requirements for every game, now is there?
Now, I can't speak for all users of the mp3 format, but I can speak for myself and a handful of others I know. MP3 files, wether they are legal ones or not, can increase the exposure that an artist recieves. When I listen an mp3 file that I like, I think I'm like most people in that I'll go out and find more by the same artist. If it turns out that I like the artist in general I tend to buy two or three cd's by said artist. I fail to see how that hurts the music industry. Once again, I know that not everyone does this (probably only a few do) but it is a positive aspect of MP3 that should be considered by the RIAA, rathar than ignored. Without MP3, there are about 6 or 7 of my favorite bands that I wouldn't even have heard of. By the way, that works out to about 20 cds.
That 2GB limit you speak never actually came into effect. The backlash from it's proposal was so great (I think about a third of the customers responded negatively about it) that it was bumped up to the 10/1 GB limit that is in place now before the 2GB limit was imposed. So, user feedback in this case turned out to have a huge impact on the service. Unfortunatly, some things have changed for the worse. For example, at first, the charges for extra data was much more affordable (something like $5 for an extra 128MB upload or $5 for an extra 512MB download). I guess the moral of the story is that the customer can sometimes win, at least partially in this case. If you make life more difficult for the cable company, chances are they will eventually make life easier for you.
Sure, computer magazines had thier place. But now, besides the fact that it is hard to find an unbiased magazine (that is, one that is not partial to its advertisers' products) magazines are computer simply becoming too slow for the fast paced industry. With a plethora of new products and breaking news coming out every day, a monthly or bi-weekly magazine just doesn't have room to cover everything. It is not feasable to print a bible-sized magazine every two weeks. The internet has become a much more promisinbg medium for this kind of material, because it is instant, meaning you get news now, not in a few weeks when print time comes, and it is much easier to find information that is interesting to you, then ignore anything else. Simply go to a news site, look for headlines that sound interesting, and read the articles. Or, if you like, use a search engine to find information that's relevant to you. No flipping through pages of crap to get to the good stuff, and usually less advertisments to boot. Not to mention that some sites (like slashdot) allow you to discuss the articles and stories with other readers from around the world. Not to mention that most sites don't require you to pay them to read. No, I can't say that I'll be missing computer magazines much.
The average person in America is not aware of the patent office's blatent stupidy in granting patents to nearly anyone (especially technology/computer related ones). Apparantly, even the patent office itself is oblivious to what most slashdot-type people see as a an obvious flaw in how patents are handed out. Anyways, I think a very vocal way to bring this subject out into the general public would be a sort of public disobediance. If everyone with the means (I guess that would mean the ability to cover any costs involved) registered for a rediculous patent, like say "the method of using organic dye and flattened wood pulp to transfer information" then perhaps the surge of bogus patents would bring the subhect to light. Granted, this may not be the most mature method to carry a protest out, but it would probably make fast results. Besides, it'd be fun.
I didn't feel that he came off like that. Besides, although SDMI is a substandard format, and other formats would be a wiser choice, he is at least taking a step in the right direction. Also, I think he realizes that by the distibution of mp3's can do as much to help his career (by exposing his music to all kinds of people) as it can to hurt it (piracy). This is a good thing -as more artists realize that the internet is not hurting the industry as much as record execs want us to believe, then the internet will become a more popular means of distrubting music, legally and otherwise.
Read this excerpt from the interview, and you'll see one more reason why is an all-round cool guy:
Has the so-called "MP3 revolution" had an impact on you?
Not even remotely. Revolution? I don't see it like that. It has been coming for a long time. I had a Rio last year! They've been taking my music and bootlegging my shows for ages. I know all the sites that have my bootlegs and all my MP3s. Actually, I don't give a flying fuck. I like the internet and I like the community. I think, to understand your presence on the net, you have to be a part of it and work within it. I thought it just looked so reactionary, for instance, of someone like Prince to clamp down on everything in terms of the lawsuits. You can't stop the sea from coming forward.
I think it's very cool that he is one (of the few) musicians who can embrace a technology, even though it has the potential to lower his profits (in this case, digital music formats like mp3) and use it to his advantage. I think Bowie is a smart guy, and he knows that one aspect of the music industry in the future is the internet. Instead of trying to delay the internet's role in music like other artists, he advances it's role, even going so far as to let his fans help him write a song. Now that is cool, and I hope that others (artists and labels alike) start to follow suit.
Slashdot Mirror
Um, correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't this censorship too? I mean, free speech activists (rightly) get pissed off when companies like Net Nanny or whoever say "we block all these porn sites from your kids" without pointing out that their software will also block many sites about things such as STD's, feminism, as you mentioned, etc.. So, I see a flaw in free speech advocates publishing a list of banned sites, and only including those that are "wrongly" censored. It is doing the exact same thing as censoring software companies do -exxagerating to promote thier cause. To me, it's no different than a drug company producing a new drug (say, for example, a weight loss drug) and advertising that you will lose 10lbs. a month with the drug, without mentioning side effects.
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PS: I think it's:
"Hens love roosters
Geese love ganders
Everyone else loves Ned Flanders"
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Earlier Slashdot article
Biographical Sketch
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Obviously his opinion of it differed. So what? In the future don't download the next movie he reccomends.
You don't pay Hemos, and you don't pay for slashdot. That makes it a good deal, even if it were complete crap.
It's hard to take an advertisment seriously. That alladvantage stuff doesn't increase credibility, you know.
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P.S.: How much did you pay for the slashdot service? How much did you pay to download the movie? How much have you payed to Apple to develop software lately?
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This comment makes it sound as if it would be not worth your time to even try an SSE-enabled game. The truth of the matter is, the celeron would be more than fast enough. Sure, it would not be as fast as a PIII at the same clock speed, but who cares? There's no rule that says you have to beat the reccomended requirements for every game, now is there?
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Has the so-called "MP3 revolution" had an impact on you?
Not even remotely. Revolution? I don't see it like that. It has been coming for a long time. I had a Rio last year! They've been taking my music and bootlegging my shows for ages. I know all the sites that have my bootlegs and all my MP3s. Actually, I don't give a flying fuck. I like the internet and I like the community. I think, to understand your presence on the net, you have to be a part of it and work within it. I thought it just looked so reactionary, for instance, of someone like Prince to clamp down on everything in terms of the lawsuits. You can't stop the sea from coming forward.
I think it's very cool that he is one (of the few) musicians who can embrace a technology, even though it has the potential to lower his profits (in this case, digital music formats like mp3) and use it to his advantage. I think Bowie is a smart guy, and he knows that one aspect of the music industry in the future is the internet. Instead of trying to delay the internet's role in music like other artists, he advances it's role, even going so far as to let his fans help him write a song. Now that is cool, and I hope that others (artists and labels alike) start to follow suit.
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