Personally (and there are plenty of people who disagree with me, that's why they buy products like thys), I don't think there's much left on TV that's worth recording anymore. Instead of watching "When Animals Attck VIII", maybe this will get people to read more or do other stuff that's more educational or socially significant, like taking interest in children's education (and having kids focus more on their education because they're not watching as much tv). There are some quality shows, but commercialization and voyerism and other junk have really made network television really aweful.
Then again, I guess the next step would be to copy protect books. Maybe they'll burst into flames if they detect a sufficiently bright light, such as used in copy machines.
... but here's something u might not have heard was that we killed more people in the fire bombings of Tokyo than the nuclear explosions did.
Any technology is dangerous when in the wrong hands. I agree that nuclear technology does prevent a unique threat because it kills so many in such a small amount of time, but because of the spread of nuclear technology, a sufficient deterent has been created.
I bet people where saying the same thing when the cannon ball and cannon was invented. TNT could kill a lot now.
We better keep inventing. If we don't continue to advance, people who evil intentions will advance and use their advances to do great harm. If we continue to advance, we can control discovered technologies and hopefully be able to keep dangerous uses in check.
the same was said for nuclear technology, how it's only purpose is destructive (although it's medical and power usefuls are quite helpful). any technology can be used negatively, it's only a matter if we create safe gaurds against abuse. i could see these becoming very useful for fire fighters running into burning buildings (or collapsing trade centers for that matter).
your logic for why web polls are bad doesn't hold in this case. don't mind the all lowercase, my shift key is broken. the main argument against web polls is that they aren't a random sample of the target population, but in this case it is. a good counterpoint is, though, that some people may be more inclined to vote than others, so that could skew votes one way or the other, and usually those who vote will have axes to grind.
so in short, i have changed my mind by the end of my post and now agree with you.
I find myself humming or whistling a song from FF2, FF3, or Chrono Trigger when I walk to class. I make bad jokes referencing role playing games with my friends... too bad most of them don't know what an rpg is. I play RPG's like I use to read books - they are the only intellectually stimulating games I find anymore (ever?). But when you're out jogging and the music is going off in your head almost ten years after you first played it, you know it's had a big effect on your life.
And think of the life lessons! I know now that if I kill a young girls mother and destroy her town, she'll trust me if I promise to protect her (valuable lesson from FF2).
Comparing shoplifting to software piracy is equally bad in comparison. Shoplifting is harder to cover up than privacy, for one thing, and people are more likely to steal if they don't think they are being watched by a camera. Also, stores have detectors as you leave to check for unpurchased items; copy-protection isn't nearly as effective. Additionally, most items stolen are low price items (I'm pretty sure on this), while piracy usually happens to hundred dollar plus software titles. Maybe if there wasn't so much piracy, software prices would actually go down.
"If I had more time, I would have written a shorter book."
Short is definetly good, for any type of artistic piece. The idea is almost always to get across the most meaning in the least amount of time. Readers (or viewer) are inherently lazy and don't have the longest attention spans. That doesn't mean all movies and books should be made shorter, as sometimes that could be the intent of the author as the length of the book could be a metaphor for something happening in the story or parallels something about the characters, but I'd prefer not to see overly long movies and read overly long books (stupid Dickens being paid by the word;))
Here's a little description I found online:
The Lanham Act defines the statutory and common law boundaries to trademarks and service marks. Trademarks (and service marks) are words or designs used in the advertising of goods and services. Rights to use a trademark are defined by the class(es) for which the trademark is used. Therefore, it is possible for different parties to use the same trademark in different classes. The Lanham Act defines the scope of a trademark, the process by which a federal registration can be obtained from the Patent and Trademark Office for a trademark, and penalties for trademark infringement. The Legal Information Institute provides Title 15 of the US Code, which encompasses the Lanham Act.
It sounds like this act has to deal with advertising... so is Apple saying that MacFixIt should take down their post because it advertises away to get a full version of commercial product that costs $129 for $19?
I don't think this should be that big of a deal - they'll probably just stop making the update CD, and most people who bought one already owned a copy of OS X anyway.
1000 songs in my pocket (not just my hand) plus an external bootable firewire hardrive with an easy interface and a cool look. drool. Geek gadgets need to be more than one trick horses, and this one definetly has a lot of tricks (even Breakout!). Apple has replaced the limited, undependable floppy drive with the iPod. Brilliant!
Now if only my parents could scrape up the $399 to get me one, and I'd be set.
If I'm reading you correctly, you're arguing aganst user friendlyness. Like my grandma should be able to open up a terminal and start making some bash scripts. There's a lot of people who have tons of problems with a GUI metahpor, let alone the scary commandline.
I think this is more Linux's problem than Apple's and Microsoft's (although Linus would probably argue that this isn't a problem at all, because, atleast this is what I've been hearing, he's not interested in taking down microsoft and colonizing home computers with linux for every day Joe's).
I'm going to guess that it's because this is much more than a VCR, it is a means for avoiding the one thing that makes network television profitable: commercials.
What I'm curious about is whether the networks would claim it is illegal for me to tape an episode of the X-files, hitting stop and record around the commercials. All this does is automate the process. I understand why the networks would really hate this device (lost revenue speak loudly), but I don't know if they'll be able to win in light of precedence.
We could call it the sex license (SL). You can do whatever you want, as long as you play by the rules. Of course, you don't know the rules are, and you'll probably get screwed over in court anyway (as opposed to where you would prefer to get screwed over).
I mean, isn't that what you want a system that's malfunctioning to do, shut down? If it didn't shut down, then it would continue to heat up and roast your cat which was using your tower as a space heater.
Oh kay, so a bill that gave the government unlimited power to control my life wouldn't matter if the gov't promised to play nice? Potential abuse is by far the best standard to evaluating rights, especially those such as privacy rights. They are usually encroached covertly, and so I could never point to any evidence that the gov't was violating my privacy rights, but that doesn't mean there shouldn't be restrictions on gov't power.
They were designed to move as slow as molasses; that way redical policy shifts don't happen to quickly. If Congress could act quickly they could do a lot of good, but they also could do a lot of bad.
Yeah, and there aren't any people who are against the terrorist attacks and against violations of civil liberties; those two things sound mutually exlusive to me (roll eyes).
Well, yes, Micrsoft does make service packs available online... but not 500Mb ones. Also, downloading it would require people to burn a bootable X CD, which I had a whole lot of trouble doing successfully with Toast 4.1 (needed 5). I would have liked to get it sooner, but I think they probably made the right decision considering the circumstances.
If you read your quote, you'll notice that civil liberties were not mentioned aka civil liberties are not endowed. Life, liberty, and the pursuit of hapiness are the only endowed ones. They were envisioned to protect the people from the government, but now a lot of people fear that a greater threat comes from terrorists than from the gov't. The reasoning is not all that bad: if we can't protected against terrorists, is there any point in protected citizens from the big bad gov't?
I just hope we can find a better way than trouncing civil libertiesl
If you build a house, I want to know who you are. Otherwise you might be able to combine different household chemicals to create chemical weapons that could wipe out the world.
If you have privacy, I want to know who you are. Anytime the government does not have complete control over what you are doing is a security risk. We cannot not let petty issues like "freedom" stand in the way of protecting American ideals.
Slashdot Mirror
Personally (and there are plenty of people who disagree with me, that's why they buy products like thys), I don't think there's much left on TV that's worth recording anymore. Instead of watching "When Animals Attck VIII", maybe this will get people to read more or do other stuff that's more educational or socially significant, like taking interest in children's education (and having kids focus more on their education because they're not watching as much tv). There are some quality shows, but commercialization and voyerism and other junk have really made network television really aweful.
Then again, I guess the next step would be to copy protect books. Maybe they'll burst into flames if they detect a sufficiently bright light, such as used in copy machines.
F-bacher
... but here's something u might not have heard was that we killed more people in the fire bombings of Tokyo than the nuclear explosions did.
Any technology is dangerous when in the wrong hands. I agree that nuclear technology does prevent a unique threat because it kills so many in such a small amount of time, but because of the spread of nuclear technology, a sufficient deterent has been created.
I bet people where saying the same thing when the cannon ball and cannon was invented. TNT could kill a lot now.
We better keep inventing. If we don't continue to advance, people who evil intentions will advance and use their advances to do great harm. If we continue to advance, we can control discovered technologies and hopefully be able to keep dangerous uses in check.
F-bacher
the same was said for nuclear technology, how it's only purpose is destructive (although it's medical and power usefuls are quite helpful). any technology can be used negatively, it's only a matter if we create safe gaurds against abuse. i could see these becoming very useful for fire fighters running into burning buildings (or collapsing trade centers for that matter).
F-bacher
your logic for why web polls are bad doesn't hold in this case. don't mind the all lowercase, my shift key is broken. the main argument against web polls is that they aren't a random sample of the target population, but in this case it is. a good counterpoint is, though, that some people may be more inclined to vote than others, so that could skew votes one way or the other, and usually those who vote will have axes to grind.
so in short, i have changed my mind by the end of my post and now agree with you.
I find myself humming or whistling a song from FF2, FF3, or Chrono Trigger when I walk to class. I make bad jokes referencing role playing games with my friends... too bad most of them don't know what an rpg is. I play RPG's like I use to read books - they are the only intellectually stimulating games I find anymore (ever?). But when you're out jogging and the music is going off in your head almost ten years after you first played it, you know it's had a big effect on your life.
And think of the life lessons! I know now that if I kill a young girls mother and destroy her town, she'll trust me if I promise to protect her (valuable lesson from FF2).
F-bacher
robotstreetgang.com aisn't coming up for me at all. This has to be a new world record! Does slashdot get an award or something?
F-bacher
Comparing shoplifting to software piracy is equally bad in comparison. Shoplifting is harder to cover up than privacy, for one thing, and people are more likely to steal if they don't think they are being watched by a camera. Also, stores have detectors as you leave to check for unpurchased items; copy-protection isn't nearly as effective. Additionally, most items stolen are low price items (I'm pretty sure on this), while piracy usually happens to hundred dollar plus software titles. Maybe if there wasn't so much piracy, software prices would actually go down.
F-bacher
"If I had more time, I would have written a shorter book."
;))
Short is definetly good, for any type of artistic piece. The idea is almost always to get across the most meaning in the least amount of time. Readers (or viewer) are inherently lazy and don't have the longest attention spans. That doesn't mean all movies and books should be made shorter, as sometimes that could be the intent of the author as the length of the book could be a metaphor for something happening in the story or parallels something about the characters, but I'd prefer not to see overly long movies and read overly long books (stupid Dickens being paid by the word
F-bacher
Here's a link to it: Lanham Act.
Here's a little description I found online:
The Lanham Act defines the statutory and common law boundaries to trademarks and service marks. Trademarks (and service marks) are words or designs used in the advertising of goods and services. Rights to use a trademark are defined by the class(es) for which the trademark is used. Therefore, it is possible for different parties to use the same trademark in different classes. The Lanham Act defines the scope of a trademark, the process by which a federal registration can be obtained from the Patent and Trademark Office for a trademark, and penalties for trademark infringement. The Legal Information Institute provides Title 15 of the US Code, which encompasses the Lanham Act.
It sounds like this act has to deal with advertising... so is Apple saying that MacFixIt should take down their post because it advertises away to get a full version of commercial product that costs $129 for $19?
I don't think this should be that big of a deal - they'll probably just stop making the update CD, and most people who bought one already owned a copy of OS X anyway.
F-bacher
The first time I read your post I thought you said: "all geeks want hoes." Which makes sense; when's the last time you saw a nerdy pimp? ;)
F-bacher
1000 songs in my pocket (not just my hand) plus an external bootable firewire hardrive with an easy interface and a cool look. drool. Geek gadgets need to be more than one trick horses, and this one definetly has a lot of tricks (even Breakout!). Apple has replaced the limited, undependable floppy drive with the iPod. Brilliant!
Now if only my parents could scrape up the $399 to get me one, and I'd be set.
F-bacher
Part 1 and
Part 2.
In summary: Unix + lazy installers = bad
F-bacher
Me thinks that if you dislike your work, your more readily wanting to make fun of your work (or have someone else do it for you).
F-bacher
The macnn forums are down every other week. Hmmm... I wonder if they run linux or OS X server?
F-bacher
If I'm reading you correctly, you're arguing aganst user friendlyness. Like my grandma should be able to open up a terminal and start making some bash scripts. There's a lot of people who have tons of problems with a GUI metahpor, let alone the scary commandline.
I think this is more Linux's problem than Apple's and Microsoft's (although Linus would probably argue that this isn't a problem at all, because, atleast this is what I've been hearing, he's not interested in taking down microsoft and colonizing home computers with linux for every day Joe's).
F-bacher
I'm going to guess that it's because this is much more than a VCR, it is a means for avoiding the one thing that makes network television profitable: commercials.
What I'm curious about is whether the networks would claim it is illegal for me to tape an episode of the X-files, hitting stop and record around the commercials. All this does is automate the process. I understand why the networks would really hate this device (lost revenue speak loudly), but I don't know if they'll be able to win in light of precedence.
F-bacher
We could call it the sex license (SL). You can do whatever you want, as long as you play by the rules. Of course, you don't know the rules are, and you'll probably get screwed over in court anyway (as opposed to where you would prefer to get screwed over).
F-bacher
I mean, isn't that what you want a system that's malfunctioning to do, shut down? If it didn't shut down, then it would continue to heat up and roast your cat which was using your tower as a space heater.
Maybe I'm missing the point...
F-bacher
Oh kay, so a bill that gave the government unlimited power to control my life wouldn't matter if the gov't promised to play nice? Potential abuse is by far the best standard to evaluating rights, especially those such as privacy rights. They are usually encroached covertly, and so I could never point to any evidence that the gov't was violating my privacy rights, but that doesn't mean there shouldn't be restrictions on gov't power.
F-bacher
They were designed to move as slow as molasses; that way redical policy shifts don't happen to quickly. If Congress could act quickly they could do a lot of good, but they also could do a lot of bad.
Yeah, and there aren't any people who are against the terrorist attacks and against violations of civil liberties; those two things sound mutually exlusive to me (roll eyes).
Hopefully you are being sarcastic.
F-bacher
Well, yes, Micrsoft does make service packs available online... but not 500Mb ones. Also, downloading it would require people to burn a bootable X CD, which I had a whole lot of trouble doing successfully with Toast 4.1 (needed 5). I would have liked to get it sooner, but I think they probably made the right decision considering the circumstances.
F-bacher
75. One to open it, and the 74 others to look at the porn and contract anthrax. Hey, they're only human, even if some of their superiors aren't.
F-bacher
That 75 Microsoft employees came in contact with the envelope... which contained porn ;)
F-bacher
If you read your quote, you'll notice that civil liberties were not mentioned aka civil liberties are not endowed. Life, liberty, and the pursuit of hapiness are the only endowed ones. They were envisioned to protect the people from the government, but now a lot of people fear that a greater threat comes from terrorists than from the gov't. The reasoning is not all that bad: if we can't protected against terrorists, is there any point in protected citizens from the big bad gov't?
I just hope we can find a better way than trouncing civil libertiesl
F-bacher
If you build a house, I want to know who you are. Otherwise you might be able to combine different household chemicals to create chemical weapons that could wipe out the world.
If you have privacy, I want to know who you are. Anytime the government does not have complete control over what you are doing is a security risk. We cannot not let petty issues like "freedom" stand in the way of protecting American ideals.
F-bacher