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User: jafuser

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  1. Re:This is getting ridiculous on FCC to Rule on Request to Limit Recording From TV · · Score: 1
    Why not send e-mails to everyone, and make them digitally sign and return the e-mail as proof that they won't record, rebroadcast, or distribute a show, and that they will watch all the advertising like the good little sheep they are?

    If they were going to send everyone an email, they would probably not expect a response from the recipients, but instead they'd send an email containing a phrase like "By reading this message, you agree to ... If you do not agree, click here.". The "click here" would link the recipient to a CGI which harvested their email address, so that the MPAA can keep a watch on them.

    It would be about as legally sound as getting people to accept an agreement through email, but this sounds much more like a scam they'd pull.

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  2. DeCSS in picture form on Slashback: Titanium, Art, Israel · · Score: 1
    I have a picture of DeCSS source code in PNG format, but it's hardly what I would call art; It's just a bunch of screen grabs stitched together. But I wonder how many different forms source code can take... T-Shirts, boxers, posters, napkins, billboards are just a few that are possible :)

    Wouldn't it be awesome to post DeCSS on a billboard in a large downtown area?

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  3. Re:Disappointing on HP Print Server Uses Linux, But Doesn't Support It? · · Score: 1
    I have a similiar complaint..

    Some companies really have their heads up their rears when it comes to drivers. I've got a SpeedStream 3600 ADSL card in my Win98 machine because there's no drivers for Linux, so I'm forced to use Win98 with Internet Connection Sharing as my home network's gateway to the 'net. This irritates me to no end because it is exactly what linux would be good at, but I'm forced to do it this way because there's no drivers for the SpeedStream 3600 on linux.

    Why can't these companies see that the ratio of linux to windows users using higher bandwidth connections is going to be much more significant than with regular old dial-up POTS? Therefore, a linux driver would not be so out of the question due to that ratio?

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  4. Re:Isn't recording-off-air FAIR USE ? on Napster Court Date Set For October 2 · · Score: 2
    It's no longer "fair use" becuase by using a VCR, you're circumventing their NTSC-encoded signal for the purposes of making an illegal copy that you might watch again and again without paying additional licensing fees.

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  5. ~10 exabytes on Can Ten Billion Gigs Fit In A Test Tube? · · Score: 4
    10,000,000,000 gigabytes is approximately 10 'exabytes'. 1,073,741,824 gigabytes = 1 exabyte, which is 1,152,921,504,606,846,976 bytes or 9,223,372,036,854,775,808 bits.

    There's more interesting information about the binary powers here

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  6. Re:unpossible on Groening Says The Simpsons Movie Planned · · Score: 2
    That is unpossible!

    Actually, from the actual show, the quote should contain a contraction: "That's unpossible!".

    Me fail english? That's unpossible!

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  7. Re:Mech/electronic future for humans unavoidable on Intelligence In The Cosmos: Flesh or Machine? · · Score: 2
    Except maybe for those who want to be mere biological retro pets in the menagerie of machine intelligences.

    You know what, I envy housecats.

  8. The evolution of our species into technology on Intelligence In The Cosmos: Flesh or Machine? · · Score: 3
    We differentiate between organic life forms and technology, but let's keep in mind that organic life is really just a highly sophisticated, self-replicating form of technology which (arguably) was created by a genetic algorithm of chemistry, either accidently or possibly deliberately by some unknown force (insert your own religion here).

    When we create a technology advanced enough to fit the definition of a life form, it will be the first time that life on our planet evolved by our own design, rather than by chance or by external design. This life form will be more flexible in terms of it's environmental requirements, and will eventually be able to be modified to be self-sustaining even in the vacuum of space. This species that we create will be able to explore space far more efficiently than we can, and if it is conscious, who's to say that it can't enjoy it's existence there. We should be fortunate to be the creators or "parents" of this species, and although we can't experience it's degree of freedom in space exploration, we can benefit by knowing that a piece of us lives on, as our ecosystem expands outside our planet, ensuring that our present existence still has an impact on the universe even billions of years from now.

    It's somewhat frightening to think that a species could be more evolved than us, but it is inevitable if we don't nuke ourselves first, and it should be exciting that we will be the creators of the next level of our evolution instead of leaving it to chance.

    For those sentient technological beings which decended from our creation, who are now looking back on this Slashdot discussion in some ancient archive, I extend my greetings!

  9. Re:Worried. on Sony Announces Transmeta Notebook · · Score: 1
    I'd rather IBM or someone more dependable.

    If you read the article, you'll find that IBM may introduce a notebook in the fourth quarter using the Crusoe.

  10. Re:Representation, labelling, and what a geek is on Anime And The Tech Lifestyle · · Score: 2
    we are all unique

    I'm not.

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    Moderators who have not seen "Life of Brian" please ignore this message.

  11. Re:Censorship on Publius on AT&T Labs Backs Publius, A Freenet-Like System · · Score: 1

    How do they manage the storage, especially removing fragments which belong to an author who lost the URL? They will need some way to clean off disk space for obsolete or lost data.

  12. Re:bah, nonsense on Linux on a Wrist Watch? · · Score: 1
    They should open source the design of the watch (and the kernel as well, which would already be required under the GPL)

    Isn't that true only if they make a commercial version for sale? (In case you didn't read the article OR the parent post that you replied to, IBM doesn't plan to manufacture these watches)

    If that were the case, then my personal tinkering around with GPL'ed source code would constantly require me to distribute the source to my work, even if I never give the program to anyone else...

  13. Re:Double Standards on Windows ME - The End Of UMSDOS And BeOSfs Over Vfat? · · Score: 1

    There's always VMWare...

  14. Re:Control on "If You Can Put It On A T-Shirt, It's Speech" · · Score: 1
    I've had a Copyleft anti-DVD/CCA T-shirt for months now, and I'm still waiting on my Anti-MPAA T-Shirt to arrive.

    Pick one (or both) up, it'll help support these companies, and It'll be a historically-significant item decades from now.

  15. Re:I use it on Suck Says Mozilla Is Dead · · Score: 1
    And for Tru64

    You mean NT for Alpha, not Tru64 Unix.

  16. Re:DeCSS and the net on NYT On DeCSS Case · · Score: 5
    It's true that most people will not watch net-copied movies on their computers, or go through the effort to have their computer project the movie into their home entertainment system. But that's just because these things haven't gotten easy yet. Eventually our computers will be connected to our home entertainment systems to do this easily, and many people will have internet connections which are fast enough that it takes less time to download the movie than to play it.

    This is what worries the MPAA - not that people are doing it now, but that *lots* of people will be doing it later if it is left unchecked. And what they are worried about most is not the piracy itself, but their loss of their control. They have spent a considerable amount of time (perhaps decades) refining their marketing and distribution techniques to maximize their income. They can predict fairly well how much money they will make if they create a movie, put it in theatres, then wait x number of months and sell the videos for y number of dollars. They have mastered their marketing art into a finely-tuned equation of x's, y's, and dozens of other variables to make the maximum profit possible.

    If the free excahnge of movies hits the mass public, they will have to change their method of distribution. Suddenly, their established marketing equations will not work anymore. There will be hundreds of variables instead of dozens.

    If or when this happens, they will still make enormous profits. People will still go to theatres, people will still buy the videos. If the movie companies keep their present set of distribution restrictions without any flexability, then the pirates (most of which are fans) will continue to be large in numbers. Since these fans they can't put their money down for what they want *right now*, they will take time to find "alternate sources". To minimize the piracy, the movie companies will have to make all of their material available in as many formats as possible as soon as possible after the movie is released. They won't be able to place as many of their profit-motivated restrictions on their content. No more "waiting six months" for the christmas season to release videos.

    But they don't know what will happen if they switch to this system, so it's just best for them to just stomp out anything else which threatens their legacy. It always comes down to companies losing a small amount of control when the 'net clashes with these companies. Aged businesses are afraid of losing their long-running legacy of marketing and distribution, which they have embraced for so long that they just can't imagine risking themselves to something completely different; so in the end, they wind up fighting and winning batters while losing the war, rather than embracing the internet and putting the pirates out of a job.

  17. Re:Still it is hard because on Force Fields And Plasma Shields Get Closer · · Score: 1

    Yeah, but lead in and of itself does not possess a magical property to stop radiation. It's because lead is a cheap and highly dense metal. High density is sort of the opposite of what an aerogel is.

  18. Re:Ray guns on Plastic Lasers · · Score: 1
    Those already exist, if you look at the bottom of this page.

    Pulsed high power laser system is hand held and battery operated. Device is labelled as a class 4 laser product and meets all NCDRH requirements. It uses a 3"x1/4" Nd:Glass rod with integral mirrors as the lasing medium. Design is intended as an advanced science project or serious laser demonstration product.

    Output is 1 to 3 joules at a 500 usec pulse width equating out to a 6000 watt pulse! This is sufficient to blast small holes in the hardest of metals once the beam is properly focused.

  19. Re:Implications on Peeking At The Future: "Perfect Mirror" Cables · · Score: 1

    Wouldn't you also now be able to use the polarization as a data carrier as well?

  20. Re:Still it is hard because on Force Fields And Plasma Shields Get Closer · · Score: 1
    Maybe mixing some lead into the gel would help stop radiation?

    Isn't that about as absurd as lubricating your brake pads?

  21. Re:So that's what all those hang ups have been for on ABC Ads Target Answering Machines? · · Score: 1
    I've had the same situation. It has just started about a month ago. I get about 6-7 calls from "Out of Area" every single weekday. When I have managed to answer them, I randomly either get a telemarketer or a dead signal.

    What's going on? Why is this suddenly *really* bad (as of about a month ago)? I never had such a flood of telemarketing calls before...

    Did some sleazy bastard sell his tech stocks and start up a company, and hire a few thousand cheap low-lifes that will annoy anyone for any tiny cost?

  22. Re:All the more reason for a message like this... on ABC Ads Target Answering Machines? · · Score: 1
    That's because there's a 2-3 second delay between the time you say "hello" and the operator actually comes on the line. If you don't have caller-id you can usually figure out a telemarketer by saying "hello", waiting about 1 second, say hello again, and if there's not an instant reponse, hang up.

    I did this before I got CallerID and it seemd to work. Everyone I know will usually acknowledge your "hello" within a second or two if they are a friend or relative. If not, then they will call back again and you can assume that it's someone you know. A telemarketer will usually not re-call again right away, and if they do then you definitely need to flame them...

  23. Re:Isn't this illegal in some states? on ABC Ads Target Answering Machines? · · Score: 1
    Coincidence that this topic came up today. I just purchased a service called "Privacy Director" from Bellsouth earlier today because these damn "Out of Area" calls keep calling me at home every freakin' hour from 9am to 6pm. I sleep until 11am every morning, and it seems like I am always getting woke up just to get a dead connection (they hang up on me because they don't have anyone to talk to me). Then they call again an hour later. I can't take this $#!+ anymore... I would just love to go completely postal on these @$$holes... No jury would convict me... mu hu hah hahahAhaHahAHHDH83DH*A

    *ahem*

    Anyway, it's really getting out of hand and we need to do some legislation to make these calls much more scarce.

  24. Re:Give me a break on Apple Punishes ATI For Leaking The Cube? · · Score: 1
    The Cube has NO FANS. The Radeon DOES. The Cube was built to dissapate heat using convection and this requires using COOL components

    If you read the last paragraph on Sharky Extreme's review of the Radeon card, it mentions that "the Radeon's PCB gets no hotter than 116.6F (47C)", due to the .18 micron process the chip is made on.

  25. Re:Corporations and The Space Program on Pizza Hut's Space Program: First Launch · · Score: 1
    Can you imagine if MicroSoft had participated in space technology? Yes, you would only be able to use on kind of software to pilot your space ship, but maybe you would be able to take it to mars.

    I can't imagine Microsoft's software being responsible for the life support system let alone the navigation or communication systems in a mars-bound ship.