My theory is that Monsanto launched this offensive to knock of balance those who would sue them because Monsanto's GMO crops pollinated and therefor contaminated their crop, be it organic or not. These GMO crops are not popular in other parts of the world, banned in certain parts of Europe--and refused by many others, so Monsanto is on the ropes and swinging wildly for fear that America will ban them as well. The seed business is a nasty one indeed.
Indeed, patents have some how strayed wildly from their intended purpose. For instance, Monsanto is suing farmers who's fields have been pollinated (yes, through wind drift, and birds, and bees) from other neighboring farmers who happen to use their seeds (GMO, patented). This is not what patents are for! Patents are to protect Monsanto against other manufacturers copying their genetic seed developments. Yet Monsanto has successfully crushed farmers whose fields have been pollinated (from wind drift) and who refused to purchase their seeds--all under patent law! Judges have no knowledge of this system, and people cannot defend themselves properly against big business. This is a mess.
It is a royal pain in the ass which requires the attention of a skilled developer and a very knowledgeable system admin. We setup a kiosk at the college using some crap software that basically just flips the registry and policy switches for you and it isn't much help. It sort of works, but all in all was not worth the trouble. VERY unreliable and difficult to use.
You can firewall port 80 and set permissions to prevent changes.
On my first day at community college in Psych 101 the adjunct professor got up int front of the class and said: "We had our meeting and decided how many A' we were going to give out in this class..." This professor gave us all the questions AND the answers for all of the tests. All you had to do was study them and the A was yours. Almost half the class failed. The other half was a smattering of A's B's and C's. I knew there was a problem when I talked to a class mate and found they were struggling. I was shocked. I got an A, but I used my excess time to study the material and learn what I wanted to learn from the class. I basically took notes about AI the whole time.
The people who flock to those degrees would never have been developers. Hell, they aren't even interested in IT that much. I have met a bunch at the college. I met a guy in Computer Arch & Design class, I noticed that he finished his project (single board 8085 trainer, binary assm, etc...) far ahead of everyone so I asked him if he was going into embedded systems or going to play with more low-level stuff and he said: "no...I'm in for networking, I'm a plug n' play guy." This was the most likely of the 20 something people besides myself (a life long programmer, network engineer, admin, etc..) in the class who could actually do anything of significance with what they were learning (or hopefully learning). I studied outside of class and was totally consumed with the project, everyone else just showed up and went through the motions. A lot of them were just clueless, even at the end. I have learned that if you show up and slouch around at school and get C's you really get nothing out of it. School is what YOU make it.
Maybe those people will graduate and compete with you for jobs, but the chances of them building something on their own (becoming a real developer) are nil.
I have run into former machinists at the college where I work and they were all practically forced to "study" computer science. They tried to diverge and were refused funds from the programs they were under. There are certain programs paid for by some companies and the government (can't recall the designations but they were instituted when certain companies relocated over seas), but in my conversations with these people they made it very clear they were forced to pursue a certain line of study or they would have been refused funding for college. They were given a "test" to see what field they would be "good" at and subsequently forced to follow what was dictated by the "results" of the test. I shit you not. As far as I know they could have refused the funding and used Pell Grant and regular student loans but the program ALSO included living pay AND they had nothing to repay afterwards---but to get it they had to finish network tech degrees and such (not really comp sci but that is what most colleges call it).
Bullshit, it works. You can practice your fake smiles. It is called acting. I'm not one for bullshitting and spending energy manipulating people, but I would have to be stupid not to recognize the craft. I see people who do not play because they think they have enough power or ability to overwhelm the need for this dynamic; these people have no idea how lame they are or how much power they negate because of it. Institutional power melded with people skills and genuine concern can do wonders for the world.
communication is very difficult. I have found that people over seas in say, India, may speak English but their level of understanding will vary. You could be trying to communicate something, they acknowledge you, but in reality they do not understand (they may think they do) and only act like they do because it would cause a lot of problems (causing them to lose work) if they admitted that they did not understand. Yes, it is cheaper, but you will have these types of problems. If these problems do not exist, then you will probably not be saving very much money, if any at all. Sorry to break it to you PHB. Software development is all about fine communication of details and efficient collaboration. Business success itself hinges on these circumstances.
Another issue I didn't like, as a software author, is that they make money when people install my software via their download and I get fucking ZERO from it when I was the one adding ALL the value to the transaction.
My website stats have always revealed that a lot of people find software on sites lke CNet and then google the software name to find the author's site. Lots of people are already turned off by these antics and know to save time by going to the source.
http://www.freewarefiles.com/ is also a solid site. I have had some exchanges with the site owners before and they seem to be reputable. They run ads, but other than that there is no funny business. The site has been around for quite a while.
No, they have not always done this. It just started this year. As a software author who publishes on CNet in addition to many other sites and my own, I was horrified to be notified this year that this was going to take place. They completely repackage the software, wrapping it with their adware crap. I immediately fired off a vehement email telling them not to do this with my software, but CNet does what they want to do and getting them to do anything without giving them money is a process that usually takes about 6 to 12 months (they pissed me off years ago and it took FOREVER to get de-listed). They are essentially abusing their power they have over software authors who need to publish on CNet (by far the most high traffic DL site on the net). I don't really need to publish on CNet but it used to be a badge of honor and a sign of credibility to be published there. I don't consider it as such any more.
Indeed, I have found code of mine and said "damn, that isn't right, what the hell was I thinking.....jesus!.....well I'll just fix this right up, make it the way it's supposed to be and...." Two days later (or a month or two later after I actually release the iteration) I get contacted from users asking me why X doesn't work. I then track down those wonderful changes I made ti "fix things" and realize...oh yeah, that six year old working code was like that for a reason! Needless to say, a couple of those inciddents and my documentation has become a lot more prolific, much more to the why scale.
ZOMG, another stupid comment...I look up....and sure as shit, it is BasilBrush again! You are right on this one though, I have trouble finding a drill any more. Damn things are so hard to find....sometimes they can be found on eBay, or so I hear.
Slashdot Mirror
My theory is that Monsanto launched this offensive to knock of balance those who would sue them because Monsanto's GMO crops pollinated and therefor contaminated their crop, be it organic or not. These GMO crops are not popular in other parts of the world, banned in certain parts of Europe--and refused by many others, so Monsanto is on the ropes and swinging wildly for fear that America will ban them as well. The seed business is a nasty one indeed.
Indeed, patents have some how strayed wildly from their intended purpose. For instance, Monsanto is suing farmers who's fields have been pollinated (yes, through wind drift, and birds, and bees) from other neighboring farmers who happen to use their seeds (GMO, patented). This is not what patents are for! Patents are to protect Monsanto against other manufacturers copying their genetic seed developments. Yet Monsanto has successfully crushed farmers whose fields have been pollinated (from wind drift) and who refused to purchase their seeds--all under patent law! Judges have no knowledge of this system, and people cannot defend themselves properly against big business. This is a mess.
It is a royal pain in the ass which requires the attention of a skilled developer and a very knowledgeable system admin. We setup a kiosk at the college using some crap software that basically just flips the registry and policy switches for you and it isn't much help. It sort of works, but all in all was not worth the trouble. VERY unreliable and difficult to use.
You can firewall port 80 and set permissions to prevent changes.
I'm a total /. fanboy and I HATE ask slashdot questions. I have stopped reading them, totally lame.
RMS is single!? WTF is wrong with this world?! I think I just peed myself.
On my first day at community college in Psych 101 the adjunct professor got up int front of the class and said: "We had our meeting and decided how many A' we were going to give out in this class..." This professor gave us all the questions AND the answers for all of the tests. All you had to do was study them and the A was yours. Almost half the class failed. The other half was a smattering of A's B's and C's. I knew there was a problem when I talked to a class mate and found they were struggling. I was shocked. I got an A, but I used my excess time to study the material and learn what I wanted to learn from the class. I basically took notes about AI the whole time.
The people who flock to those degrees would never have been developers. Hell, they aren't even interested in IT that much. I have met a bunch at the college. I met a guy in Computer Arch & Design class, I noticed that he finished his project (single board 8085 trainer, binary assm, etc...) far ahead of everyone so I asked him if he was going into embedded systems or going to play with more low-level stuff and he said: "no...I'm in for networking, I'm a plug n' play guy." This was the most likely of the 20 something people besides myself (a life long programmer, network engineer, admin, etc..) in the class who could actually do anything of significance with what they were learning (or hopefully learning). I studied outside of class and was totally consumed with the project, everyone else just showed up and went through the motions. A lot of them were just clueless, even at the end. I have learned that if you show up and slouch around at school and get C's you really get nothing out of it. School is what YOU make it.
Maybe those people will graduate and compete with you for jobs, but the chances of them building something on their own (becoming a real developer) are nil.
I have run into former machinists at the college where I work and they were all practically forced to "study" computer science. They tried to diverge and were refused funds from the programs they were under. There are certain programs paid for by some companies and the government (can't recall the designations but they were instituted when certain companies relocated over seas), but in my conversations with these people they made it very clear they were forced to pursue a certain line of study or they would have been refused funding for college. They were given a "test" to see what field they would be "good" at and subsequently forced to follow what was dictated by the "results" of the test. I shit you not. As far as I know they could have refused the funding and used Pell Grant and regular student loans but the program ALSO included living pay AND they had nothing to repay afterwards---but to get it they had to finish network tech degrees and such (not really comp sci but that is what most colleges call it).
Bullshit, it works. You can practice your fake smiles. It is called acting. I'm not one for bullshitting and spending energy manipulating people, but I would have to be stupid not to recognize the craft. I see people who do not play because they think they have enough power or ability to overwhelm the need for this dynamic; these people have no idea how lame they are or how much power they negate because of it. Institutional power melded with people skills and genuine concern can do wonders for the world.
Judging from the questions, it seems he needs professional help. Seriously.
communication is very difficult. I have found that people over seas in say, India, may speak English but their level of understanding will vary. You could be trying to communicate something, they acknowledge you, but in reality they do not understand (they may think they do) and only act like they do because it would cause a lot of problems (causing them to lose work) if they admitted that they did not understand. Yes, it is cheaper, but you will have these types of problems. If these problems do not exist, then you will probably not be saving very much money, if any at all. Sorry to break it to you PHB. Software development is all about fine communication of details and efficient collaboration. Business success itself hinges on these circumstances.
It's not as bad as Brothersoft. Now that is a shite hole.
Whoa! AVG?! Talk about a suck fest. 185mb download, several toobars, and a system scan nag from hell!
Tucows is a ghost now.
Wrong. I hosted over 24 TB last month and paid a whopping $7.16 for it. It makes LESS sense these days.
Another issue I didn't like, as a software author, is that they make money when people install my software via their download and I get fucking ZERO from it when I was the one adding ALL the value to the transaction.
They make soooo much money off of accidental ad clicks that it is not going to make a bit of difference if 100k users leave.
Bandwidth used to be an issue, but last month alone (on my HostGator $86 per year account) I generated 24 Terrabytes of traffic on one file alone.
My website stats have always revealed that a lot of people find software on sites lke CNet and then google the software name to find the author's site. Lots of people are already turned off by these antics and know to save time by going to the source.
http://www.freewarefiles.com/ is also a solid site. I have had some exchanges with the site owners before and they seem to be reputable. They run ads, but other than that there is no funny business. The site has been around for quite a while.
Watch the licensing of the ninite installer. It is a paid service.
No, they have not always done this. It just started this year. As a software author who publishes on CNet in addition to many other sites and my own, I was horrified to be notified this year that this was going to take place. They completely repackage the software, wrapping it with their adware crap. I immediately fired off a vehement email telling them not to do this with my software, but CNet does what they want to do and getting them to do anything without giving them money is a process that usually takes about 6 to 12 months (they pissed me off years ago and it took FOREVER to get de-listed). They are essentially abusing their power they have over software authors who need to publish on CNet (by far the most high traffic DL site on the net). I don't really need to publish on CNet but it used to be a badge of honor and a sign of credibility to be published there. I don't consider it as such any more.
I saw proof. Bing did scrape Google search results.
Indeed, I have found code of mine and said "damn, that isn't right, what the hell was I thinking.....jesus!.....well I'll just fix this right up, make it the way it's supposed to be and...." Two days later (or a month or two later after I actually release the iteration) I get contacted from users asking me why X doesn't work. I then track down those wonderful changes I made ti "fix things" and realize...oh yeah, that six year old working code was like that for a reason! Needless to say, a couple of those inciddents and my documentation has become a lot more prolific, much more to the why scale.
ZOMG, another stupid comment...I look up....and sure as shit, it is BasilBrush again! You are right on this one though, I have trouble finding a drill any more. Damn things are so hard to find....sometimes they can be found on eBay, or so I hear.