Like most sane people, I hold wealthy corporations such as RIAA members to a higher fiscal standard than individual borrowers. Furthermore, I do not claim to be protecting the rights of my lending institution while simultaneously ripping them off.
This article is indeed sobering news! I'm going to immediately cut a check-- Wait a minute...this ad at the top of Slashdot's page is telling me that Linux isn't worth a hill of beans compared to Windows anyway, so why should I pay SCO a dime when I can just ditch linux and go MS?
I've heard about this "TCO" thing once or twice and-- Holy crap, the graph in that ad moves!
Ahh yes, the classic CYA. As I remember it, PC Mag was even printing letters every other month from people asking where the OS/2 coverage was and replying with "Gee, there isn't any news to report" while doing reviews of every worthless little shareware Windows 3.1 applet available.
This was when PC Magazine ditched all pretense of being about the PC as a platform.
Since you're such a ZD expert maybe you can explain why PC Magazine buried and ignored OS/2 back in the early 90's when it actually had a shot at beating Win 3.1.
The only way to break apart an illegal MLM is to find the organizing agents of each illegal MLM, and pound them into the dirt legally.
Not the only way (as I pointed out above) but it can be very effective (as well as very time consuming and expensive). See The Reed Slatkin Media Resource.
We have a average 5.7% unemployement rate. Basicly that's as good as it gets.
At one time in the US the unemployment rate was calculated using on the number of people without jobs. These days "unemployment rate" is calculated using the number of people getting checks from the government for being unemployed. If you aren't getting a check because you couldn't find a job in the allotted time you no longer exist as part of the newspeak definition of "unemployment rate".
Are we to assume that anyone who can't find a job in the allotted time struck it rich playing the lotto?
No, that happens because the mirrors are often overloaded.
This bug occurs randomly. You could be loading an enormous Flash-heavy mammoth, page six of some Google search results or 2k of static HTML with no graphics from the web server in the next room. In any case it's time to get coffee because your computer is going to be busy for a while.
When I get to work I launch Mozilla. When I leave work I close Mozilla. In between Mozilla stays open. No reason for separate components because I use both e-mail and web browser frequently throughout the day.
Mozilla is also an excellent drop-in upgrade/replacement for Communicator 4.x. This is incredibly useful when your employer, your customers and some of your affiliates have standardized on Communicator 4.x in the past.
I really hope they finally squashed the "Mozilla freezes and utilizes all available CPU cycles for 30 seconds to a minute randomly when loading a page" bug.
What would Real Networks have to do to regain my trust? First of all, they need to stop talking about how they're going to regain my trust and start doing it. Talk is cheap.
Secondly they need to start distributing either a codec-only version of their software or include something entirely benign (like Media Player Classic) if they must include a player. This needs to be their PRIMARY distribution -- not something buried deep in the bowels of their site.
Third, their software needs to:
1. Assume that users ONLY want to play Real files with the included benign player and associate ONLY those extensions with said player.
2. Have no "registration" features what-so-fucking-ever.
3. Never, ever phone home.
4. Never, ever ask users if they want to upgrade or buy anything. This wouldn't be a problem with most software, but Real Networks has shown that they can't behave responsibly so I have zero tolerance for them now.
5. Always assume that the user does NOT want ANY part of it in memory unless they have manually started the program.
6. Always unload all components from memory when the user closes it. Yes, this means staying the hell out of the system tray.
7. Not include anything that could even remotely be considered advertising. For Real Networks, AOL or anything else. Again, not something that would be a big deal with most software but most software doesn't behave like RealPlayer has in the past.
All I'm asking for is a little respect -- something that MOST software gives me. Real needs to remember that their software is a guest on my hardware. They need to start ensuring that it behaves like a guest and not a fucking home invader.
I'd really love to use your bloated, ugly player. Unfortunately I don't support spammers. Especially ones that distribute malware that not only takes over a user's media file associations without their consent but constantly phones home and nags them about upgrading.
No, I think I'll stick with Real Alternative should I ever need to play a file that some misguided fool has encoded using your POS codec.
Thanks for the info, however I have to disagree: Plug-in toggling belongs in the browser as much as Java and JavaScript toggling (if not more so, these days).
It seems that browser plug-ins are all developed with the assumption that the user will always want to have them fully enabled. Considering the annoyances they can cause (and I'm not just talking about ads) this is an unfortunate assumption that should be correctable at the browser level.
Furthermore, the average user is lucky if he can get his e-mail. I wouldn't worry about him being confused by the interface for this because he'll never find it.
I just hope that they're really going for scorched earth here. It's too bad that the "YOU CAN SPAM" act doesn't have any provisions for Mitnick-style sentencing ("no computer use for X years") because I'm not entirely sure that monetary damages are going to cut it when you're dealing with assmasters like Richter.
Please elaborate on how the plot of GitS is "confused".
I used to have an opinion along these lines, however after watching the movie several times I've found the plot to not only make sense but often do it in suprisingly subtle and intricate ways.
Kind of rhetorical, but how is it that something like that can go so wrong but something like this can go so right? I mean, if I had to put money on one or the other just when they were in the planning stages I certainly wouldn't go with the GMG, but there it is performing (by all accounts) just fine...
Best: "Hello?... Wow, hold on a second, I have to get a piece of paper and a pencil!... Okay, now could you repeat that last part?... That sounds like exactly what I need! Could you give me some more details?... Sorry, I'm not interested. Please put me on your 'do not call' list. I'm hanging up now!"
Of course make the pauses appropriately long to give them a chance to read as much of their script as possible.
If jackbooted MS thugs were to break down my door and force me into a life of using a keyboard with Windows keys on it I would certainly remove them at the first opportunity.
I doubt I would survive the ensuing beating, but while they can take my life they can never take my FREEDOOOOOOOOOM!
(Seriously though: Ever hit one of those while you were in the middle of a game and have it minimize? I haven't because I don't own a keyboard with said keys, but a friend of mine removed his for that very reason.)
You might as well be using his biorhythms, blood type or horoscope to get information about his personality. Mormons are a widespread and diverse bunch of people. Don't forget that the only person who knows how devout Darl McBride really is would be the man himself. For all anyone else knows he may have mentally scrapped his religious beliefs long ago (assuming he ever had them) and now just goes through the motions to appear respectable, keep favor with powerful people in Utah and/or for personal reasons (such as family pressure).
The bottom line is that it doesn't matter if Darl McBride buys his own FUD or not. The only thing that matters is what can be proven in court about his beliefs. You can bet that Mr. McBride is keenly aware of this and is conducting himself accordingly in public (true believer or not).
These anti-spam lists were notorious for ruining the good names of ISP's who went thru the trouble of eliminating spammers from their ranks only to continue to be listed on these lists.
You mean they went through the trouble of DOING THEIR JOBS?!
Holy shit! Somebody call a waaaaaaah-mbulance!
Seriously, how long were most of these fabled ISP's allowing their customers to spam before going to all the trouble of cleaning up their acts?
Slashdot Mirror
Like most sane people, I hold wealthy corporations such as RIAA members to a higher fiscal standard than individual borrowers. Furthermore, I do not claim to be protecting the rights of my lending institution while simultaneously ripping them off.
I have every right to criticize the RIAA.
If they're going to go after someone in the Detroit area why not Alan Ralsky?
It was my understanding that the OS itself can't use more than 256, however applications can.
I've heard about this "TCO" thing once or twice and-- Holy crap, the graph in that ad moves!
This was when PC Magazine ditched all pretense of being about the PC as a platform.
Since you're such a ZD expert maybe you can explain why PC Magazine buried and ignored OS/2 back in the early 90's when it actually had a shot at beating Win 3.1.
I have a strong suspicion that most of the little-guy spam email factories are really just suckered in
A few of them are, yes. One good way of dealing with them is education. See The Club Built on Spam for a good example.
It starts with shit-on-a-stick advertising.
...Which is actually illegal in most places. See Citizens Against Ugly Street Spam.
The only way to break apart an illegal MLM is to find the organizing agents of each illegal MLM, and pound them into the dirt legally.
Not the only way (as I pointed out above) but it can be very effective (as well as very time consuming and expensive). See The Reed Slatkin Media Resource.
We have a average 5.7% unemployement rate. Basicly that's as good as it gets.
At one time in the US the unemployment rate was calculated using on the number of people without jobs. These days "unemployment rate" is calculated using the number of people getting checks from the government for being unemployed. If you aren't getting a check because you couldn't find a job in the allotted time you no longer exist as part of the newspeak definition of "unemployment rate".
Are we to assume that anyone who can't find a job in the allotted time struck it rich playing the lotto?
No, that happens because the mirrors are often overloaded.
This bug occurs randomly. You could be loading an enormous Flash-heavy mammoth, page six of some Google search results or 2k of static HTML with no graphics from the web server in the next room. In any case it's time to get coffee because your computer is going to be busy for a while.
When I get to work I launch Mozilla. When I leave work I close Mozilla. In between Mozilla stays open. No reason for separate components because I use both e-mail and web browser frequently throughout the day.
Mozilla is also an excellent drop-in upgrade/replacement for Communicator 4.x. This is incredibly useful when your employer, your customers and some of your affiliates have standardized on Communicator 4.x in the past.
I really hope they finally squashed the "Mozilla freezes and utilizes all available CPU cycles for 30 seconds to a minute randomly when loading a page" bug.
Yeah, but since I later "destroyed" whatever it was that I took from them it's A-OK, right?
What would Real Networks have to do to regain my trust? First of all, they need to stop talking about how they're going to regain my trust and start doing it. Talk is cheap.
Secondly they need to start distributing either a codec-only version of their software or include something entirely benign (like Media Player Classic) if they must include a player. This needs to be their PRIMARY distribution -- not something buried deep in the bowels of their site.
Third, their software needs to:
1. Assume that users ONLY want to play Real files with the included benign player and associate ONLY those extensions with said player.
2. Have no "registration" features what-so-fucking-ever.
3. Never, ever phone home.
4. Never, ever ask users if they want to upgrade or buy anything. This wouldn't be a problem with most software, but Real Networks has shown that they can't behave responsibly so I have zero tolerance for them now.
5. Always assume that the user does NOT want ANY part of it in memory unless they have manually started the program.
6. Always unload all components from memory when the user closes it. Yes, this means staying the hell out of the system tray.
7. Not include anything that could even remotely be considered advertising. For Real Networks, AOL or anything else. Again, not something that would be a big deal with most software but most software doesn't behave like RealPlayer has in the past.
All I'm asking for is a little respect -- something that MOST software gives me. Real needs to remember that their software is a guest on my hardware. They need to start ensuring that it behaves like a guest and not a fucking home invader.
"Well sure, the last twelve times they sold me a bridge it turned out to be a scam. But I'm sure this time they're telling the truth!"
Dear Real Networks,
I'd really love to use your bloated, ugly player. Unfortunately I don't support spammers. Especially ones that distribute malware that not only takes over a user's media file associations without their consent but constantly phones home and nags them about upgrading.
No, I think I'll stick with Real Alternative should I ever need to play a file that some misguided fool has encoded using your POS codec.
Thanks for the info, however I have to disagree: Plug-in toggling belongs in the browser as much as Java and JavaScript toggling (if not more so, these days).
It seems that browser plug-ins are all developed with the assumption that the user will always want to have them fully enabled. Considering the annoyances they can cause (and I'm not just talking about ads) this is an unfortunate assumption that should be correctable at the browser level.
Furthermore, the average user is lucky if he can get his e-mail. I wouldn't worry about him being confused by the interface for this because he'll never find it.
I just hope that they're really going for scorched earth here. It's too bad that the "YOU CAN SPAM" act doesn't have any provisions for Mitnick-style sentencing ("no computer use for X years") because I'm not entirely sure that monetary damages are going to cut it when you're dealing with assmasters like Richter.
You must be thinking of "Leech Zmodem".
Please elaborate on how the plot of GitS is "confused".
I used to have an opinion along these lines, however after watching the movie several times I've found the plot to not only make sense but often do it in suprisingly subtle and intricate ways.
Kind of rhetorical, but how is it that something like that can go so wrong but something like this can go so right? I mean, if I had to put money on one or the other just when they were in the planning stages I certainly wouldn't go with the GMG, but there it is performing (by all accounts) just fine...
Anyone I disagree with is a terrorist or has the potential to become a terrorist.
Best: "Hello? ... Wow, hold on a second, I have to get a piece of paper and a pencil! ... Okay, now could you repeat that last part? ... That sounds like exactly what I need! Could you give me some more details? ... Sorry, I'm not interested. Please put me on your 'do not call' list. I'm hanging up now!"
Of course make the pauses appropriately long to give them a chance to read as much of their script as possible.
If jackbooted MS thugs were to break down my door and force me into a life of using a keyboard with Windows keys on it I would certainly remove them at the first opportunity.
I doubt I would survive the ensuing beating, but while they can take my life they can never take my FREEDOOOOOOOOOM!
(Seriously though: Ever hit one of those while you were in the middle of a game and have it minimize? I haven't because I don't own a keyboard with said keys, but a friend of mine removed his for that very reason.)
You might as well be using his biorhythms, blood type or horoscope to get information about his personality. Mormons are a widespread and diverse bunch of people. Don't forget that the only person who knows how devout Darl McBride really is would be the man himself. For all anyone else knows he may have mentally scrapped his religious beliefs long ago (assuming he ever had them) and now just goes through the motions to appear respectable, keep favor with powerful people in Utah and/or for personal reasons (such as family pressure).
The bottom line is that it doesn't matter if Darl McBride buys his own FUD or not. The only thing that matters is what can be proven in court about his beliefs. You can bet that Mr. McBride is keenly aware of this and is conducting himself accordingly in public (true believer or not).
These anti-spam lists were notorious for ruining the good names of ISP's who went thru the trouble of eliminating spammers from their ranks only to continue to be listed on these lists.
You mean they went through the trouble of DOING THEIR JOBS?!
Holy shit! Somebody call a waaaaaaah-mbulance!
Seriously, how long were most of these fabled ISP's allowing their customers to spam before going to all the trouble of cleaning up their acts?
Immerse your computer in mineral oil.
It's the only way to be sure.