So that they can be socially inept and only know the information you happen to know and think is what they need to know?
The first part can be solved easily if you live in an area with a lot of other children, but there are teaching certifications for a reason. Yeah, most of the teachers I knew were fucking idiots, but the good ones know more about teaching than you ever will (assuming your regular job isn't being a teacher/prof). Every single person who I have EVER met who was home schooled had serious problems because of it.
> Isn't that one of the arguments used by defendants in the RIAA cases (I paid for the software so why can't I download everthing I want??)
I hope no one is dumb enough to try that. While I have no problem with the *AA being raped out of existence, the overused "hammer analogy" is pretty good here. It's a tool, just like software. "I bought the hammer legitimately, so what if I used it to break a window & steal that dude's TV? I paid for it (the hammer, of course)!"
> I cannot even think of a company anymore to which I can point and say, look, now there's a stand up company who's always done the right thing
I can think of a few, but they are pretty small places. It seems most businesses are started with the right idea, but after a certain point, investing in immorality is a better investment than simply new ideas/technology.
> The trick would be keeping the recipient still...
No, actually I thnk the trick is getting him to fit inside that box. I doubt these things operate with the top open just to avoid things like "Home Tattoo Removal, Inc."
> perhaps some compination of frequencies that when combined produced a visible color?
Obviously, I'm no expert, but when two rays of visible light intersect, they create a visible color (they are visible before intersecting too), but all the photons are only going in one direction (mostly), so you wouldn't be able to see it unless you looked at it from exactly the right angle.
Hype, I agree with. As soon as it started becoming popular, Linux became a new buzzword; popularity breeds popularity.
The License, I'm not so sure about. Yes, GPL is a big deal, but I'm fairly confident that the majority of linux users have never read all of it. Most know what it is from discussions on/., web pages, etc. If it had a license similar to BSD, it might have exactly the same popularity.
Of course, if by "license," you mean the spirit of the license, i.e. free, "Open," software, then yes, you are probably correct. But if you mean the GPL itself, then no.
> Linux is more appealing to people who want to make a political statment
This may be true, but I don't see it; at least not in anyone I have met in person. The reason I started running Linux was because I wanted a UNIX-workalike to teach myself such things. It sure helped that it was free, but if it was not I (to be honest) would have pirated/stolen some real UNIX version. So I was happy to find a free one that I didn't have to search forever to get.
I'm a pretty politically opinionated person, but that has never been an issue in my using Linux. It has been an issue in my supporting the Linux developers/community, most notably against lies & FUD from corporations and crappy legislation, whether it is bought or just arisen through the ignorance of congress.
> Is it just because there are a lot of corporately-overseen distros of linux, while that isn't the case for BSD?
I believe that the distros are in fact why it has become more popular. No one (outside of geeks, of course) knew that Linux existed until well after Red Hat started its distro. Add into that, the fact that there are many more people working on Linux than there are for BSD, so new features can be implemented quicker. AFAIK, Linux has had more supporters than BSD since Red Hat (or whoever was first to make a distro -- not slackware) came along, but I do not know if this is true. Before knowing about Linux, the only BSD version I knew of was BSDi, and I thought that was the only one there was (and I sure as hell couldn't afford it back then).
Nowadays, a lot of Linux attention comes via MS bashing it so much.
> With 128 bits you can afford to embed the MAC address in the IP address, guaranteeing that it is unique.
Just a nitpick here: MAC addresses aren't guaranteed unique. There have been some vendors (notably 3Com) who have reused MACs. They just assumed they would never end up on the same network since they make so many.
> Imagine how impressed bosses/clients would be if they hear about the internet switching over to IPv6
I set up some UNIX boxes I administered to use it, but I stopped working there in Feb. And I never told them I set it up. Maybe their new admin will get a happy surprise in the future. Or a bad one, if I fucked it up, which I suspect. Wasn't exactly able to test it real well, since I only had 2 servers to test it with.
> I'm curious as to how many other/. readers are addicted to their blinkenlights and yet are not really game-addicts.
I'm an uberdork, so I put LEDs on anything that has at least 3V running through it. The only game that I have purchased & played was Starcraft, when it was popular.
> anyone who speaks any dialect of Sql is likely not a troll.
Hmm, doesn't seem too likely to me, as the basics are pretty easy. If he threw a UNION or something fancy in, okay, but if you've taken a single class in Databases or ASP, you know how to use 'SELECT' statement pretty well.
Very soon. Except that the blade is 300 miles long. Powerful, yet "collateral damage" could be pretty bad. Try spinning that puppy around and you take out a town or ten.
> the whole "pinpoint accuracy super weapon" thing is still a propaganda lie
Wow, an insider who knows it doesn't work. Wait... I get it, you have no fucking clue and assume everything the government tells you is a lie. While they aren't always prone to telling the truth, you have no idea and are spreading FUD.
Slashdot Mirror
> corporations should not more influence on children in public school than organized religion
True, it should have the same amount: none. Not sure if that's what you meant (or if you were implying that religion did have some place there).
> that's like, 90 cents? how much are Apple iTunes downloads?
No, check your math... that's like 9 cents. Or 11 students per dollar.
This is MPAA, not RIAA, but I get your point. It is like throwing money into a paper shredder.
Pervert!
> What about blindness and hairy palms?
I don't think the MPAA makes too many of "those" types of films (I could be horribly, horribly wrong, however).
Support small business! Buy lots of pr0n!
> And that, folks, is why I home-school my kids.
So that they can be socially inept and only know the information you happen to know and think is what they need to know?
The first part can be solved easily if you live in an area with a lot of other children, but there are teaching certifications for a reason. Yeah, most of the teachers I knew were fucking idiots, but the good ones know more about teaching than you ever will (assuming your regular job isn't being a teacher/prof). Every single person who I have EVER met who was home schooled had serious problems because of it.
> Isn't that one of the arguments used by defendants in the RIAA cases (I paid for the software so why can't I download everthing I want??)
I hope no one is dumb enough to try that. While I have no problem with the *AA being raped out of existence, the overused "hammer analogy" is pretty good here. It's a tool, just like software. "I bought the hammer legitimately, so what if I used it to break a window & steal that dude's TV? I paid for it (the hammer, of course)!"
> Let the children die, its for the best!
Won't anybody PLEASE think of the poor executives???
> I cannot even think of a company anymore to which I can point and say, look, now there's a stand up company who's always done the right thing
I can think of a few, but they are pretty small places. It seems most businesses are started with the right idea, but after a certain point, investing in immorality is a better investment than simply new ideas/technology.
> how many thought that Wal-mart was behind the 9/11 attacks?
3: Me, you, and some guy in Denver, named Bob.
> until someone comes up with a new killer application for it.
What, burning holes through people not "killer" enough for you?
> when he's out with the ladies
You're talking about dogs... Wasn't that the perfect time to say "out with some bitches?"
> Topical Antistetic with some photoreactive dye a bingo!
You forgot the words "non-toxic" in there. Or maybe you didn't: anyone who gets a tattoo isn't exactly a health nut.
> The trick would be keeping the recipient still...
No, actually I thnk the trick is getting him to fit inside that box. I doubt these things operate with the top open just to avoid things like "Home Tattoo Removal, Inc."
> perhaps some compination of frequencies that when combined produced a visible color?
Obviously, I'm no expert, but when two rays of visible light intersect, they create a visible color (they are visible before intersecting too), but all the photons are only going in one direction (mostly), so you wouldn't be able to see it unless you looked at it from exactly the right angle.
> I think it's the license and the hype
/., web pages, etc. If it had a license similar to BSD, it might have exactly the same popularity.
Hype, I agree with. As soon as it started becoming popular, Linux became a new buzzword; popularity breeds popularity.
The License, I'm not so sure about. Yes, GPL is a big deal, but I'm fairly confident that the majority of linux users have never read all of it. Most know what it is from discussions on
Of course, if by "license," you mean the spirit of the license, i.e. free, "Open," software, then yes, you are probably correct. But if you mean the GPL itself, then no.
> Linux is more appealing to people who want to make a political statment
This may be true, but I don't see it; at least not in anyone I have met in person. The reason I started running Linux was because I wanted a UNIX-workalike to teach myself such things. It sure helped that it was free, but if it was not I (to be honest) would have pirated/stolen some real UNIX version. So I was happy to find a free one that I didn't have to search forever to get.
I'm a pretty politically opinionated person, but that has never been an issue in my using Linux. It has been an issue in my supporting the Linux developers/community, most notably against lies & FUD from corporations and crappy legislation, whether it is bought or just arisen through the ignorance of congress.
> Where is it written that reviews MUST be impartial?
If it's not impartial, it's an advertisement.
> the first showing of the Matrix 3, even though I fully expect it to suck.. no way those guys can nail it 3 times!
Hmmm... Well, considering the quality of the second movie, we just have to hope that they can nail it twice out of three.
> Is it just because there are a lot of corporately-overseen distros of linux, while that isn't the case for BSD?
I believe that the distros are in fact why it has become more popular. No one (outside of geeks, of course) knew that Linux existed until well after Red Hat started its distro. Add into that, the fact that there are many more people working on Linux than there are for BSD, so new features can be implemented quicker. AFAIK, Linux has had more supporters than BSD since Red Hat (or whoever was first to make a distro -- not slackware) came along, but I do not know if this is true. Before knowing about Linux, the only BSD version I knew of was BSDi, and I thought that was the only one there was (and I sure as hell couldn't afford it back then).
Nowadays, a lot of Linux attention comes via MS bashing it so much.
> high on life per say
"per se," you mean.
> With 128 bits you can afford to embed the MAC address in the IP address, guaranteeing that it is unique.
Just a nitpick here: MAC addresses aren't guaranteed unique. There have been some vendors (notably 3Com) who have reused MACs. They just assumed they would never end up on the same network since they make so many.
> Imagine how impressed bosses/clients would be if they hear about the internet switching over to IPv6
I set up some UNIX boxes I administered to use it, but I stopped working there in Feb. And I never told them I set it up. Maybe their new admin will get a happy surprise in the future. Or a bad one, if I fucked it up, which I suspect. Wasn't exactly able to test it real well, since I only had 2 servers to test it with.
> I'm curious as to how many other /. readers are addicted to their blinkenlights and yet are not really game-addicts.
I'm an uberdork, so I put LEDs on anything that has at least 3V running through it. The only game that I have purchased & played was Starcraft, when it was popular.
> anyone who speaks any dialect of Sql is likely not a troll.
Hmm, doesn't seem too likely to me, as the basics are pretty easy. If he threw a UNION or something fancy in, okay, but if you've taken a single class in Databases or ASP, you know how to use 'SELECT' statement pretty well.
> when can I have my light sabre.
Very soon. Except that the blade is 300 miles long. Powerful, yet "collateral damage" could be pretty bad. Try spinning that puppy around and you take out a town or ten.
> the whole "pinpoint accuracy super weapon" thing is still a propaganda lie
Wow, an insider who knows it doesn't work. Wait... I get it, you have no fucking clue and assume everything the government tells you is a lie. While they aren't always prone to telling the truth, you have no idea and are spreading FUD.