Because, when you're employed by the government, they're not allowed the same latitude to fire you for expressing opposition to policy, as if they were a private sector employer. Even at the workplace. The First Amendment rights of the employee vs. the needs of the government-as-employer has been the stuff of scrupulous balancing.
And the question of what a government employee's First Amendment rights are, when using an internal online message board, is to the best of my knowledge an open question. The only remaining issue, then, is if there are enough government employees on slashdot to qualify as "your".
Not every YRO story has to be about Pr0n. But if we take her claims at face value, this every bit as much about censorship online.
That what the dongle isn't designed to do is prevent the GP poster from giving OS X to other Mac users. We all agree. Just like if I had that late 80's music notation software, I could share my media with anybody else that paid for a boxed copy of the software and had a dongle.
What the GP is complaining about is that he can't go into Best Buy, buy OS X in a box, and install onto a low-end PC now that Apple has moved to Intel chipsets. The only purpose of the Mac bits of a Mac with an Intel CPU is to give you permission to install and run OS X.
FTA: Few people realize that when they buy software or music or movies, they are actually buying a license to use, watch or listen. That's why it violates copyright laws for people to sell copies of their music collection."
No, no, no, how can the LA Times get something so basic so wrong?
Because they're the L.A. Times. Assuming the writer didn't put a bald assertion into her piece, any lawyer she talked to was probably an entertainment industry hack who -- drinking the Kool Aid -- spun the real law such that any legal layman would have walked away with that impression.
You're mixing your left wing and right wing code-words and conspiracy theories so thoroughally I can't tell which side you're actually on.
Say what you want about the lack of meaningful policy choices between Democrats and Republicans — on IP law reform, for example — but they have very different sets of boogiemen they trot out to scare their supporters to the polls.
I really hate that non-government entities have the power to place massive fines. Really. The ESRB is a voluntary rating system. No game company is required by any law that I'm aware of to submit their games to any ratings system. Ah, but then the game company is given bad public relations if they don't submit because of the likelihood of extremist, "pro-family" organizations and activist lawmakers like Tompson (and possibly the ESRB itself) accusing them of having something to hide even they have nothing to hide but don't want to submit to a rating on principle.
The ESRB is now no different than the MPAA. No legal bindings; a completely voluntary system. But if you don't submit your material for ratings you risk getting banned by the outlets that you would depend on for selling your products. And of course by submitting your material you agree to be subjected to any fines that the ratings boards feels it can place upon you.
If the ESRB were a consumer group instead of a trade group, and somebody misrepresented the content of their games, they'd have to take the software publisher to court on negligent misrepresentation. Despite the name, the fine is really liquidated damages; it says, "your subverting the rating system hurt our public credibility this much, and you agreed in advance to pay us back." The $1M cap means the fines never get so high that a publisher has an incentive to take ESRB to court and risk derailing the entire system one way or another.
And I don't know of anybody (wholesaler, retailer, et c.) who would blackball an entire publisher because they didn't submit one game for ratings. Just like movies, that one edgy title has to find its own way, but the next mainstream release can still be rated and distributed in mainstream channels.
Hey. Don't blame Microsoft for the fact that Oblivion didn't properly implement some sort of ModIsBoobies switch. I mean, before it had to be re-rated, Oblivion pretty much was the 360 killer app.
I don't follow. If Microsoft isn't a corporation, what is it?
The antitrust case against Microsoft went away due to choice lobbying and the White House changing hands to somebody who, ideologically, thought Big Business could do no wrong.
I think if they moved to extorting the government outright (i.e., "Prosecute us and we'll shutdown all your computers,") there'd be an FBI seige at Microsoft headquarters.
About the only thing unlockable content makes sense for is arcade-style games, where the main game takes a discrete form and is of short duration. If I bought a party game or FPS to play split-screen multiplayer, why should I be made to grind through a single-player game multiple times before I can have a decent head-to-head experience?
When I saw "Red Hat" and "Entertainment-centric", I thought they were rolling out a media PC distribution, maybe incorporating an optimized version of MythTV.
From the fact you're asking, I'll presume it's a trick question: How the developers of the $100 Linux laptop plan to enslave the developing world is anybody's guess.
Of course, with a good (and I mean in the good vs. evil sense) DRM system on the drive, when they tried to make that bit-for-bit copy of your hard drive, they'd get gibberish.
Never mind that any commercial DRM would have a backdoor and would be used mainly to lock you out of your own data.
But! But! If we build out our networks, we have to let (all two remaining) CLEC's on at a loss. And where does that put our God-g^H^H^H^H^H Const^H^H^H^H^ right to make monopoly rents?
No, but that's a good way to put a hit on a guy. Sittin' in the middle of Mets territory, then flip his shirt to a Yankees jersey, watch him get beat to death, then collect the money.
I was reading this report on the BBC website earlier today, and I thought then that there is always the possibility that there is a flaw in the study method itself. As the study looks at self-reported health issues, you could also draw the conclusion that people in the US are more aware of health problems than the British.
Which isn't surprising when we have four commercials an hour telling us that if we have some vague, pretty commonplace complaints, we should see our doctor and ask whether some expensive brand-new drug will cure some exotic disease only three people actually have which can cause those symptoms.
Do you have trouble walking? Are you prone to mood swings? Maybe it's not menopause: maybe you're in the early stages of Kuru. See your doctor and ask if Klerhagewa(tm) can help. Early diagnosis is key. While there is no cure for Kuru, and it's only transmitted by eating the flesh of the dead, Klerhagewa(tm) can stave off slurred speech and fecal incontinence in the terminal stage by 300%. That's six more months to live! Yourresultsmayvary. Side-effects include heartburn, ulcers, liver failure and in clinical trials there were reported cases of spontaneous combustion. See our ad in Pharmacology Salesman. Remember Kler-ha-gewa. It puts the "Ha!" back in laughing sickness.
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Because, when you're employed by the government, they're not allowed the same latitude to fire you for expressing opposition to policy, as if they were a private sector employer. Even at the workplace. The First Amendment rights of the employee vs. the needs of the government-as-employer has been the stuff of scrupulous balancing.
And the question of what a government employee's First Amendment rights are, when using an internal online message board, is to the best of my knowledge an open question. The only remaining issue, then, is if there are enough government employees on slashdot to qualify as "your".
Not every YRO story has to be about Pr0n. But if we take her claims at face value, this every bit as much about censorship online.
That what the dongle isn't designed to do is prevent the GP poster from giving OS X to other Mac users. We all agree. Just like if I had that late 80's music notation software, I could share my media with anybody else that paid for a boxed copy of the software and had a dongle.
What the GP is complaining about is that he can't go into Best Buy, buy OS X in a box, and install onto a low-end PC now that Apple has moved to Intel chipsets. The only purpose of the Mac bits of a Mac with an Intel CPU is to give you permission to install and run OS X.
But if Canada doesn't also start horse-tagging its people, you'll still need a bottle of Molson to say "I AM CANADIAN!"
The chips may as well say, "I voted for Kerry."
Because they're the L.A. Times. Assuming the writer didn't put a bald assertion into her piece, any lawyer she talked to was probably an entertainment industry hack who -- drinking the Kool Aid -- spun the real law such that any legal layman would have walked away with that impression.
But then the 13-19 year old set decries it as "t3w ez" or "teh l4m3" and it doesn't get shelf placement.
You're mixing your left wing and right wing code-words and conspiracy theories so thoroughally I can't tell which side you're actually on.
Say what you want about the lack of meaningful policy choices between Democrats and Republicans — on IP law reform, for example — but they have very different sets of boogiemen they trot out to scare their supporters to the polls.
If the ESRB were a consumer group instead of a trade group, and somebody misrepresented the content of their games, they'd have to take the software publisher to court on negligent misrepresentation. Despite the name, the fine is really liquidated damages; it says, "your subverting the rating system hurt our public credibility this much, and you agreed in advance to pay us back." The $1M cap means the fines never get so high that a publisher has an incentive to take ESRB to court and risk derailing the entire system one way or another.
And I don't know of anybody (wholesaler, retailer, et c.) who would blackball an entire publisher because they didn't submit one game for ratings. Just like movies, that one edgy title has to find its own way, but the next mainstream release can still be rated and distributed in mainstream channels.
If your CliffyB is Cliff Bleszinski, he was one of the three primary designers of Unreal back in 1997, and the driving force behind its sequels.
I don't know if that means he's not a new Game God, or whether it means it takes ten years for them to percolate to that status.
Hey. Don't blame Microsoft for the fact that Oblivion didn't properly implement some sort of ModIsBoobies switch. I mean, before it had to be re-rated, Oblivion pretty much was the 360 killer app.
I don't follow. If Microsoft isn't a corporation, what is it?
The antitrust case against Microsoft went away due to choice lobbying and the White House changing hands to somebody who, ideologically, thought Big Business could do no wrong.
I think if they moved to extorting the government outright (i.e., "Prosecute us and we'll shutdown all your computers,") there'd be an FBI seige at Microsoft headquarters.
About the only thing unlockable content makes sense for is arcade-style games, where the main game takes a discrete form and is of short duration. If I bought a party game or FPS to play split-screen multiplayer, why should I be made to grind through a single-player game multiple times before I can have a decent head-to-head experience?
I must comfortably, too. Wihtout verb.
When I saw "Red Hat" and "Entertainment-centric", I thought they were rolling out a media PC distribution, maybe incorporating an optimized version of MythTV.
No?
Did you just compare Linus to Meat Loaf?
And if so, which one were you trying to insult?
If it's coming out this year, wouldn't it be the 0th anniversary?
From the fact you're asking, I'll presume it's a trick question: How the developers of the $100 Linux laptop plan to enslave the developing world is anybody's guess.
Of course, with a good (and I mean in the good vs. evil sense) DRM system on the drive, when they tried to make that bit-for-bit copy of your hard drive, they'd get gibberish.
Never mind that any commercial DRM would have a backdoor and would be used mainly to lock you out of your own data.
But! But! If we build out our networks, we have to let (all two remaining) CLEC's on at a loss. And where does that put our God-g^H^H^H^H^H Const^H^H^H^H^ right to make monopoly rents?
Which one?
I liked it. The B-5 shit was a lot funnier. I don't know why.
No, but that's a good way to put a hit on a guy. Sittin' in the middle of Mets territory, then flip his shirt to a Yankees jersey, watch him get beat to death, then collect the money.
Okay... I give up. Which one of those isn't true?
Eww.
*washes hands*
It's either that, or all modifiable games get an —M— now.
Apparently it seems to matter that there were nipples on the CD. Grumble.
Which isn't surprising when we have four commercials an hour telling us that if we have some vague, pretty commonplace complaints, we should see our doctor and ask whether some expensive brand-new drug will cure some exotic disease only three people actually have which can cause those symptoms.