Oh, people need to quit being so paranoid. If I worked at Microsoft, that's what I would write most about as well, since there's such a strong viewpoint in the geek community that they are evil. Conversely, if I were writing an article about Google, I would write most about the things that aren't all fun and candy.
There's no point in telling people what they already know, of course the longest part of an article is going to be clearing up misconceptions.
This is a very, very bad idea. GPS systems aren't perfect, and attempting this would be pretty dangerous. Occasionally my GPS likes to think it's on the small road parallel to the highway. Can you imagine if the car decided "oh, I'm speeding!" and braked from 70 to 30 on the highway?
So you believe you're a better driver than the computer. But are you willing to bet the lives of your passengers, or the lives of other people on the road, that you're a better driver than the computer? More importantly, if I'm driving behind or beside your car in bad weather, am I willing to bet you're a better driver than a computer? I think not.
Yes, I do believe that I'm a better driver than the computer. I know exactly what's surrounding my car at any moment, and the computer does not. I know exactly what I need the car to do, and the computer can only say, "I should probably stop now." It just has a few sensors. If the computer was a better driver than me, it would be driving the car and I would just be a passenger.
I drive a car with traction and stability control. I leave it on in the rain or snow, as it honestly helps in those conditions. However, when I want to go out for a spirited drive on a nice day (in a place where there is no threat to others, mind you), I don't want my car to second guess my intentions. Breaking traction is not always bad.
I'm willing to bet that car enthusiasts who regularly push their cars are some of the best drivers on the road. They know the limits of their cars, they know what to do when something goes wrong, and they're constantly paying attention to what's going on around them. The skills and reflexes I now have because of learning how to control my cars have prevented me from getting into accidents more than a couple times. I'm a safer driver because of it.
The REAL danger on the road is the soccer mom in her 3-ton SUV who has no idea how to handle it, doesn't know how to control a skid, and isn't paying attention to the road anyway. These are the types of people who cause the majority of accidents.
That's why I said "no easy way". That's not exactly something I want to go through in order to turn it off, and it sure as hell isn't something I can do halfway through driving.
Playing with the car is how you learn to handle not only the easy driving but the hard driving as well.
Exactly! I've driven RWD vehicles my whole life. On empty roads when it was rainy/snowy, I'd give it extra gas around corners so the end would break loose. I believe that now I know how to control my car in a skid better than most people, since I've had so much extra experience controlling them. It's a reflex to me now.
People who never push their car don't have that experience, so they won't react as quickly (or even at all).
Maybe they've changed it, I admit that I haven't really been keeping up on things.
On some models of the IS, for instance, you have to start the car with the parking brake on, then tap the foot brake twice, then the parking brake repeatedly in order to turn it off. You're SOL if you want to do it in the middle of driving.
This technology is great, but for the love of god, please let me be able to turn it off when I want to! If I want to give the car some extra gas through a corner and kick the back end out, don't interfere with me. Safety is a great goal, but I want to tell the car what to do - I don't want the car telling me what I can do. There are times when traction control gets completely in the way of non-spirited driving, too (like going up a snow-covered driveway).
Toyota/Lexus is horrible about this. They include intrusive control systems and don't give you any easy way to turn it off.
What you're saying is like saying that cable thievery is justified, because the cable company is stealing from people by charging for their service.
So who's the thief, here, again? The government providing services and charging for them, or the person taking advantage of the country while not contributing? If they don't want to pay taxes, then they can move somewhere they don't have to pay taxes. If they want to stay here and take advantage of what the country offers, then they need to realize that they have a responsibility as a citizen to pay the taxes.
If you correctly declared the Paypal money, then the IRS already knows the money is there. Is it a privacy risk anymore if now Paypal tells them this as well?
Here's the problem with your argument: The government is spending this money. They're most likely going to spend this money whether we like it or not. Yes, they should spend less. Yes, they are screwing me out of money.
However.
People who don't pay what they owe are ALSO screwing me out of money. Whether they like it or not, they have a tax responsibility. If they do not pay their share, then that share must be made up by the other taxpayers. Whether the total amount of taxes collected is $400 thousand or $400 trillion, people who don't pay their share are still screwing me out of money.
The solution is BOTH to cut spending AND for people to step up to their responsibilities. Even if the government did cut spending, tax evaders would STILL be screwing me out of my money, just not to the same degree as they are now.
Listen, I hate it as well, and yes, I want the government to stop wasting so much money. I don't agree with a LOT of the things our government spends my money on, and I am of the opinion that they spend far too much even on the things that I agree with. It's gotten so bad that I'm seriously considering leaving the country once I'm ready to buy a house and settle down.
That said, however, none of this changes the fact that people who cheat on their taxes are directly screwing me out of my money.
The privacy of our customers' information is something we take really seriously.
Unfortunately, the article cut out the rest of what was said. The full quote is as follows:
The privacy of our customers' information is something we take really seriously. This is so we can give them the illusion of actually caring while we continue to fleece them. Fools!
Sorry, but I have to side with the IRS here. Everyone who isn't paying the taxes they're supposed to be deserves to be found out. People who cheat on their taxes just make the rest of us pay more. In 2001, there was a discrepency of $311 billion between what was owed and what people paid. $311 billion! If half the people in the US pay taxes (I have no idea the true ratio), then that's $2000 less on average per taxpayer that would need to be paid (and actually, even more than that for the honest taxpayers, as the dishonest ones would be paying more). Alternatively, that's a good portion of the budget deficit.
Privacy is necessary, but honestly, screw tax evaders.
"Quality", however, is very subjective, as the mass market on a whole likes derivative products. This is why "Bad Boys 2" can rake in $130m in the box office while tons of more original and far better quality movies would be lucky to see half that.
People in general don't like to try new things, which is why Generic FPS #12736 will sell better than Katamari Damacy.
I don't think anyone's arguing that the amount of creative people needed to program and flesh out those games isn't higher than in more simple games, but as far as the general concept of the game goes, it's better to have one guy with an extremely solid vision than a bunch of people with no or conflicting visions.
The parents still make the rules, and likely pay for the consoles and video equipment - make sure the game consoles are in a common area of the house. That way, you can always see what your kids are playing.
If the child is old enough where thy buy their own console and TV and stick it in their room, then they're likely old enough to be playing Mature games anyway.
Is there anywhere on Slashdot that is free of this anti-Microsoft bullshit?
In no way is this Microsoft's fault. Spyware can be installed on ANY machine that is not completely locked down. Keep in mind that most spyware is installed alongside other programs during "legitimate" installations (or even part of the program itself, see Gator / Bonzi Buddy). If you give the users the ability to install any program they want, then they can also install spyware. This could happen on a Mac. This could happen on a Linux box. This could happen on ANY COMPUTER that can have programs installed on it.
Slashdot Mirror
I hereby volunteer for any future tongue-based research.
Yeah, getting one of those new Core Duo macs will certainly show Intel who's boss.
Oh, people need to quit being so paranoid. If I worked at Microsoft, that's what I would write most about as well, since there's such a strong viewpoint in the geek community that they are evil. Conversely, if I were writing an article about Google, I would write most about the things that aren't all fun and candy.
There's no point in telling people what they already know, of course the longest part of an article is going to be clearing up misconceptions.
In Soviet Russia, the masses fuck you.
So, uh, anyone know a good set of tapes to learn Russian from?
This is a very, very bad idea. GPS systems aren't perfect, and attempting this would be pretty dangerous. Occasionally my GPS likes to think it's on the small road parallel to the highway. Can you imagine if the car decided "oh, I'm speeding!" and braked from 70 to 30 on the highway?
the one resource available everywhere
You've never lived in Seattle, have you?
So you believe you're a better driver than the computer. But are you willing to bet the lives of your passengers, or the lives of other people on the road, that you're a better driver than the computer? More importantly, if I'm driving behind or beside your car in bad weather, am I willing to bet you're a better driver than a computer? I think not.
Yes, I do believe that I'm a better driver than the computer. I know exactly what's surrounding my car at any moment, and the computer does not. I know exactly what I need the car to do, and the computer can only say, "I should probably stop now." It just has a few sensors. If the computer was a better driver than me, it would be driving the car and I would just be a passenger.
I drive a car with traction and stability control. I leave it on in the rain or snow, as it honestly helps in those conditions. However, when I want to go out for a spirited drive on a nice day (in a place where there is no threat to others, mind you), I don't want my car to second guess my intentions. Breaking traction is not always bad.
I'm willing to bet that car enthusiasts who regularly push their cars are some of the best drivers on the road. They know the limits of their cars, they know what to do when something goes wrong, and they're constantly paying attention to what's going on around them. The skills and reflexes I now have because of learning how to control my cars have prevented me from getting into accidents more than a couple times. I'm a safer driver because of it.
The REAL danger on the road is the soccer mom in her 3-ton SUV who has no idea how to handle it, doesn't know how to control a skid, and isn't paying attention to the road anyway. These are the types of people who cause the majority of accidents.
That's why I said "no easy way". That's not exactly something I want to go through in order to turn it off, and it sure as hell isn't something I can do halfway through driving.
Playing with the car is how you learn to handle not only the easy driving but the hard driving as well.
Exactly! I've driven RWD vehicles my whole life. On empty roads when it was rainy/snowy, I'd give it extra gas around corners so the end would break loose. I believe that now I know how to control my car in a skid better than most people, since I've had so much extra experience controlling them. It's a reflex to me now.
People who never push their car don't have that experience, so they won't react as quickly (or even at all).
Maybe they've changed it, I admit that I haven't really been keeping up on things.
On some models of the IS, for instance, you have to start the car with the parking brake on, then tap the foot brake twice, then the parking brake repeatedly in order to turn it off. You're SOL if you want to do it in the middle of driving.
This technology is great, but for the love of god, please let me be able to turn it off when I want to! If I want to give the car some extra gas through a corner and kick the back end out, don't interfere with me. Safety is a great goal, but I want to tell the car what to do - I don't want the car telling me what I can do. There are times when traction control gets completely in the way of non-spirited driving, too (like going up a snow-covered driveway).
Toyota/Lexus is horrible about this. They include intrusive control systems and don't give you any easy way to turn it off.
What you're saying is like saying that cable thievery is justified, because the cable company is stealing from people by charging for their service.
So who's the thief, here, again? The government providing services and charging for them, or the person taking advantage of the country while not contributing? If they don't want to pay taxes, then they can move somewhere they don't have to pay taxes. If they want to stay here and take advantage of what the country offers, then they need to realize that they have a responsibility as a citizen to pay the taxes.
If you correctly declared the Paypal money, then the IRS already knows the money is there. Is it a privacy risk anymore if now Paypal tells them this as well?
Here's the problem with your argument: The government is spending this money. They're most likely going to spend this money whether we like it or not. Yes, they should spend less. Yes, they are screwing me out of money.
However.
People who don't pay what they owe are ALSO screwing me out of money. Whether they like it or not, they have a tax responsibility. If they do not pay their share, then that share must be made up by the other taxpayers. Whether the total amount of taxes collected is $400 thousand or $400 trillion, people who don't pay their share are still screwing me out of money.
The solution is BOTH to cut spending AND for people to step up to their responsibilities. Even if the government did cut spending, tax evaders would STILL be screwing me out of my money, just not to the same degree as they are now.
Listen, I hate it as well, and yes, I want the government to stop wasting so much money. I don't agree with a LOT of the things our government spends my money on, and I am of the opinion that they spend far too much even on the things that I agree with. It's gotten so bad that I'm seriously considering leaving the country once I'm ready to buy a house and settle down.
That said, however, none of this changes the fact that people who cheat on their taxes are directly screwing me out of my money.
The privacy of our customers' information is something we take really seriously.
Unfortunately, the article cut out the rest of what was said. The full quote is as follows:
The privacy of our customers' information is something we take really seriously. This is so we can give them the illusion of actually caring while we continue to fleece them. Fools!
Sorry, but I have to side with the IRS here. Everyone who isn't paying the taxes they're supposed to be deserves to be found out. People who cheat on their taxes just make the rest of us pay more. In 2001, there was a discrepency of $311 billion between what was owed and what people paid. $311 billion! If half the people in the US pay taxes (I have no idea the true ratio), then that's $2000 less on average per taxpayer that would need to be paid (and actually, even more than that for the honest taxpayers, as the dishonest ones would be paying more). Alternatively, that's a good portion of the budget deficit.
Privacy is necessary, but honestly, screw tax evaders.
"Quality", however, is very subjective, as the mass market on a whole likes derivative products. This is why "Bad Boys 2" can rake in $130m in the box office while tons of more original and far better quality movies would be lucky to see half that.
People in general don't like to try new things, which is why Generic FPS #12736 will sell better than Katamari Damacy.
I don't think anyone's arguing that the amount of creative people needed to program and flesh out those games isn't higher than in more simple games, but as far as the general concept of the game goes, it's better to have one guy with an extremely solid vision than a bunch of people with no or conflicting visions.
It would be nice to have just one version in stores, but have a patch available online to add in the other content.
Oh, wait, that didn't work out too well before...
HEY YOU!
Yes, you.
In these parts we don't let things like "facts" or "research" get in the way of our arguments. Go away!
3) Set up a toll booth on the road. Profit.
The parents still make the rules, and likely pay for the consoles and video equipment - make sure the game consoles are in a common area of the house. That way, you can always see what your kids are playing.
If the child is old enough where thy buy their own console and TV and stick it in their room, then they're likely old enough to be playing Mature games anyway.
Is there anywhere on Slashdot that is free of this anti-Microsoft bullshit?
In no way is this Microsoft's fault. Spyware can be installed on ANY machine that is not completely locked down. Keep in mind that most spyware is installed alongside other programs during "legitimate" installations (or even part of the program itself, see Gator / Bonzi Buddy). If you give the users the ability to install any program they want, then they can also install spyware. This could happen on a Mac. This could happen on a Linux box. This could happen on ANY COMPUTER that can have programs installed on it.
The real importance of this case isn't to get money back - it's to prevent other companies from using Starforce in the future.
I think you're looking for the Japanese one - "The nail that sticks out will be struck down."