No kidding. It was impossible for our band to get some demo CDs pressed without paying BUMA/STEMRA (Dutch MAFIAA) rights, even though they were our own works and the CDs weren't commercial. We were told that we could claim when the CDs were sold - which we never did because they were free demos. Even if we would have sold them, there was no way we could get any money back because we wouldn't have reached the threshold. So basically, smaller bands are paying for the MAFIAA and the bigger artists. I say, screw them in every way you can.
Well, far less... Not for people like me. For me, most movies are not worth it to watch a second time, let alone buy a dvd. Instead, I'll just watch what's on tv, borrow some dvds or pirate it.
Except that here in the Netherlands we don't have a liberal democracy, we have a constitutional parliamentary monarchy. In theory the side with most people wins, but in practice it's always a coalition between parties and no single party gets the power.
It's not really more work, it's just a matter of choosing between proprietary features and standards, and using abstraction layers which also tend to make things easier. It's more work if you develop for one browser, and then try to make it work on other browsers. But you could also just develop cross browser from the start.
Right. When all else fails, call them a World War II name.
When what fails? My attempts at world domination? If you read my post, I never said the US are fascist. I did point out that they meet every single criterion of fascism. I didn't invent the term fascism or those criteria.
It seems that historical reality is beyond the capacity of your imagination.
Of course it is. Confusing reality and imagination is a classic sign of schizophrenia.
Now, instead of getting angry with me for pointing out that the US meet all criteria, why don't you read the checklist and check them yourself? I'm not the one to blame, the US government is. In short, "don't shoot the messenger".
Let's say I want to buy your house. You decline, because you like living there, it is almost paid for and I'm not offering enough.
Now I pay off whatever is left of the mortgage so the house is yours and you can live in it for free for the rest of your life. By your logic, if you continue living in it, you're now a thief and I can report you to the police.
Supremacy of the Military - Even when there are widespread domestic problems, the military is given a disproportionate amount of government funding, and the domestic agenda is neglected. Soldiers and military service are glamorized.
As for "controlled mass media," well, you're posting on Slashdot, aren't you? And isn't the article two back titled "Millions of Subscribers Leaving Cable TV for Streaming Services"?
Again from the checklist:
Controlled Mass Media - Sometimes to media is directly controlled by the government, but in other cases, the media is indirectly controlled by government regulation, or sympathetic media spokespeople and executives. Censorship, especially in war time, is very common.
I agreed to everything you said until you mentioned fascism. I thought, things are bad in the US, but surely they can't be that bad, the US are nothing like Nazi Germany, right? So I googled for a fascism checklist and found this: The 14 defining characteristics of fascism:
Powerful and Continuing Nationalism - check
Disdain for the Recognition of Human Rights - check
Identification of Enemies/Scapegoats as a Unifying Cause - check
Let me get this right. They're using a simulated drone flying in simulated air over a simulated ocean to develop algorithms to look for simulated debris? I can see this work within the limits of the software models, but I don't think the real world cares about those limits.
Assuming you refer to the VOIP, Whatsapp, ping etc. blocking, I honestly don't know. I haven't heard of it since, and I'm having trouble finding anything about it. I know Whatsapp isn't blocked (KPN is my provider and it works). I don't know about Skype since I never use it.
Yes, this is exactly why. Here in The Netherlands pretty much all operators have stopped offering unlimited plans though. Also, it's against the TOS to use VOIP, at least with my operator. I wouldn't be surprised if some operators block VOIP here too.
There's a difference between fault and responsibility. If your kid breaks something, it's not your fault but it is your responsibility. Likewise, you have a moral responsibility for the actions of your great, great, great, great, great grandfather, especially if to this day it's a great contribution to your wealth and the other's poorness. It's easy to say "Whatever, not my fault". You'd of course be right, but would it be fair?
Hate to Godwin this, but do you also think it's ok for the grandchildren of a Nazi to keep the gold their grandfather stole from Jews in WWII?
By "we" I mean "we, the first world countries". Yes, that includes the US too. And yes, I will give you slavery. A car analogy: if you pay a thief to steal a car for you, does that make you innocent?
But I will give you more than slavery: how about other resources, like diamonds, gold, oil and rubber? Africa is still being exploited by first world countries for their natural resources, and that includes the US.
... Africa is not ours to fix.We could build them roads, but how do we get our money back, tolls?
If you're going down that road, how do they get back what we stole from them in the last couple of centuries? I'd argue it is ours to fix. We broke it, we fix it.
This is a trick question, there are too few variables to answer it. The "flips the switch [...] for 8 hours" is easily mistaken for "switches it on and leaves it on for 8 hours". What's the age of the bulb? What is the flipping frequency? If it's too high and/or the bulb is too old, the bulb will die before the 8 hours are over and will not use any more power. What is the on/off ratio? Is it on for 1 minute, then off for 7 hours 59 minutes? What is the initial state? With low frequencies there will be huge differences between initially on and initially off. Is the bulb working? And finally, is the power working?:-)
Slashdot Mirror
No kidding. It was impossible for our band to get some demo CDs pressed without paying BUMA/STEMRA (Dutch MAFIAA) rights, even though they were our own works and the CDs weren't commercial. We were told that we could claim when the CDs were sold - which we never did because they were free demos. Even if we would have sold them, there was no way we could get any money back because we wouldn't have reached the threshold. So basically, smaller bands are paying for the MAFIAA and the bigger artists. I say, screw them in every way you can.
Well, far less... Not for people like me. For me, most movies are not worth it to watch a second time, let alone buy a dvd. Instead, I'll just watch what's on tv, borrow some dvds or pirate it.
What, you mean all those duckfaces are MEN?!
Except that here in the Netherlands we don't have a liberal democracy, we have a constitutional parliamentary monarchy. In theory the side with most people wins, but in practice it's always a coalition between parties and no single party gets the power.
It's the logical thing to do when the pirates are moving their servers into the sky
That's easy, just have your cake for breakfast.
Yes, I know. It was a response to TFA's question :)
Finally proper unicode support.
It's not really more work, it's just a matter of choosing between proprietary features and standards, and using abstraction layers which also tend to make things easier. It's more work if you develop for one browser, and then try to make it work on other browsers. But you could also just develop cross browser from the start.
No, that is not what I meant to say.
Right. When all else fails, call them a World War II name.
When what fails? My attempts at world domination? If you read my post, I never said the US are fascist. I did point out that they meet every single criterion of fascism. I didn't invent the term fascism or those criteria.
It seems that historical reality is beyond the capacity of your imagination.
Of course it is. Confusing reality and imagination is a classic sign of schizophrenia.
Now, instead of getting angry with me for pointing out that the US meet all criteria, why don't you read the checklist and check them yourself? I'm not the one to blame, the US government is. In short, "don't shoot the messenger".
Let's say I want to buy your house. You decline, because you like living there, it is almost paid for and I'm not offering enough. Now I pay off whatever is left of the mortgage so the house is yours and you can live in it for free for the rest of your life. By your logic, if you continue living in it, you're now a thief and I can report you to the police.
Supremacy of the Military - Even when there are widespread domestic problems, the military is given a disproportionate amount of government funding, and the domestic agenda is neglected. Soldiers and military service are glamorized.
The US are top spenders on military(#1 (43%) world share, #2 by GDP)
As for "controlled mass media," well, you're posting on Slashdot, aren't you? And isn't the article two back titled "Millions of Subscribers Leaving Cable TV for Streaming Services"?
Again from the checklist:
Controlled Mass Media - Sometimes to media is directly controlled by the government, but in other cases, the media is indirectly controlled by government regulation, or sympathetic media spokespeople and executives. Censorship, especially in war time, is very common.
Why do you think they're pushing PIPA and SOPA?
I agreed to everything you said until you mentioned fascism. I thought, things are bad in the US, but surely they can't be that bad, the US are nothing like Nazi Germany, right? So I googled for a fascism checklist and found this: The 14 defining characteristics of fascism:
This is scary.
If you accidentally use your pet cock's ring, it says: Warning, furry beaver.
Let me get this right. They're using a simulated drone flying in simulated air over a simulated ocean to develop algorithms to look for simulated debris? I can see this work within the limits of the software models, but I don't think the real world cares about those limits.
I bet they have negative weight.
Assuming you refer to the VOIP, Whatsapp, ping etc. blocking, I honestly don't know. I haven't heard of it since, and I'm having trouble finding anything about it. I know Whatsapp isn't blocked (KPN is my provider and it works). I don't know about Skype since I never use it.
Yes, this is exactly why. Here in The Netherlands pretty much all operators have stopped offering unlimited plans though. Also, it's against the TOS to use VOIP, at least with my operator. I wouldn't be surprised if some operators block VOIP here too.
Already there.
"Some fruit? Some minerals?" Are you serious or just trolling? Here, have some reading or google it yourself
There's a difference between fault and responsibility. If your kid breaks something, it's not your fault but it is your responsibility. Likewise, you have a moral responsibility for the actions of your great, great, great, great, great grandfather, especially if to this day it's a great contribution to your wealth and the other's poorness. It's easy to say "Whatever, not my fault". You'd of course be right, but would it be fair? Hate to Godwin this, but do you also think it's ok for the grandchildren of a Nazi to keep the gold their grandfather stole from Jews in WWII?
By "we" I mean "we, the first world countries". Yes, that includes the US too. And yes, I will give you slavery. A car analogy: if you pay a thief to steal a car for you, does that make you innocent?
But I will give you more than slavery: how about other resources, like diamonds, gold, oil and rubber? Africa is still being exploited by first world countries for their natural resources, and that includes the US.
... Africa is not ours to fix.We could build them roads, but how do we get our money back, tolls?
If you're going down that road, how do they get back what we stole from them in the last couple of centuries? I'd argue it is ours to fix. We broke it, we fix it.
If this were on my exam, my answer would be:
This is a trick question, there are too few variables to answer it. The "flips the switch [...] for 8 hours" is easily mistaken for "switches it on and leaves it on for 8 hours". What's the age of the bulb? What is the flipping frequency? If it's too high and/or the bulb is too old, the bulb will die before the 8 hours are over and will not use any more power. What is the on/off ratio? Is it on for 1 minute, then off for 7 hours 59 minutes? What is the initial state? With low frequencies there will be huge differences between initially on and initially off. Is the bulb working? And finally, is the power working? :-)