The problem, in my honest opinion, is that free software is quite often used by computer enthusiasts - programmers, that is.
We - and that goes not only for programmers, but for nearly all people visiting./ - do not see a great problem in using a command line and fixing things using/bin/sh. Free software is often extremely powerful, and that almost automatically means that it gets complicated. For that reason, many average users - and I'm talking about the guy who does some writing and sometimes plays a game on his Windows box - are to some extend "frightened" of FOSS, thus not using it, which again results in mostly developers using FOSS. And now we have a vicious circle...
You know, I read the book in German and I thought that it was funny. Now I read more and more excerpts on./ and you know what? It's even more funny... =)
Timosch is away (Reason: Buying Cryptonomicon in Englisch)
A week or so ago I used an ATM to get some Euros from my account. Directly after the transaction, the ATM crashed and I saw a Windows XP desktop in front of me, and I could use the ATM keys to navigate around (and that was one of those new ATMs where you can also do transfers etc. so it had a tab key!)...
The point is that paper voting is at least partially transparent. I can become a polling clerk or so and I can hence see that noone is putting ballots into the trash bin. Of course I do not know what happens to the ballots after they've left, but at least I have *some* control.
On the other hand, the huge problem with voting machines for example is that
1.) their implementation is kept secret - "security by obscurity" at its best
2.) I therefore do not know if the voting machine company can influence the result
3.) I cannot recount the ballots
Same goes for internet voting.
IMHO the big problem is not e-voting itself, but the lack of safety in the implementation. And as long as this is not guaranteed, I consider e-voting a threat to democracy. C'mon, is it so hard to walk some metres (or maybe kilometres) to a polling station?
"It would indeed be ironic if, in the name of national defense, we would sanction the subversion of one of those liberties which makes the defense of our nation worthwhile." - Earl Warren
Excellent comment. If you ever come to Southern germany, I'll invite you for a beer.
Good question. IMHO it is not hypocritical to propose gun control. There is a significant difference between the right to stand up and state your opinion and the right to own a gun. Any anarchists around here? No? So all of you believe that rights have their limits as far as others' rights are concerned. We just disagree about the limits. I do not support banning private gun ownership, but I think it is really hard to understand the enthusiasm many Americans have about guns. Sure, it's down to history, I know...
I for one could hardly live without freedom of speech, but I have no problem to live without a gun.
DNS? C'mon, that's for little girls! Real men use HOSTS.
No, just kidding. But now seriously, in case my provider's DNS server cracks down, I will replace my HOSTS file with one I made myself. It contains approximately 500 IP addresses for the most important websites.
The H-bomb was never dropped on Hiroshima. Little Boy and Fat Man were both normal atomic bombs, not H-bombs. SCNR
Anyway, I totally agree. This "IQ test" is crap. I'm from (continental) Europe, so in contrast to an American or Englishman, I have now idea how much 2.34 (or whatever) feet is... These questions test your common knowledge, not your IQ, and they are not language- or culture-independent.
Plus even under new laws, they only have to store the data, but may not access it without the permission of a judge, and only in cases of danger to life or the constitution (as to an injunction by the Federal Constitutional Court, the trial about the constitutionality of this law is still pending...)
Slashdot Mirror
"Daddy, when I'm an adult I wanna chop trees in the rain forest..."
The problem, in my honest opinion, is that free software is quite often used by computer enthusiasts - programmers, that is. ./ - do not see a great problem in using a command line and fixing things using /bin/sh. Free software is often extremely powerful, and that almost automatically means that it gets complicated. For that reason, many average users - and I'm talking about the guy who does some writing and sometimes plays a game on his Windows box - are to some extend "frightened" of FOSS, thus not using it, which again results in mostly developers using FOSS. And now we have a vicious circle...
We - and that goes not only for programmers, but for nearly all people visiting
Propably Microsoft Black Ops. Every User Friendly reader knows that they're evil...
"filling its pixelated cups with water instead"
Scandal! It could be Vodka!
In Soviet Russia, Google is searching YOU. Well, only in Soviet Russia...?
You know, I read the book in German and I thought that it was funny. Now I read more and more excerpts on ./ and you know what? It's even more funny... =)
Timosch is away (Reason: Buying Cryptonomicon in Englisch)
Hell to freeze over...
Duke Nukem Forever to be released...
Under which license is the crack redistributed? Does it allow including it in a closed-source project?
A week or so ago I used an ATM to get some Euros from my account. Directly after the transaction, the ATM crashed and I saw a Windows XP desktop in front of me, and I could use the ATM keys to navigate around (and that was one of those new ATMs where you can also do transfers etc. so it had a tab key!)...
Nothing is unbreakable. Except One Time Pad, if used correctly.
The point is that paper voting is at least partially transparent. I can become a polling clerk or so and I can hence see that noone is putting ballots into the trash bin. Of course I do not know what happens to the ballots after they've left, but at least I have *some* control. On the other hand, the huge problem with voting machines for example is that
1.) their implementation is kept secret - "security by obscurity" at its best
2.) I therefore do not know if the voting machine company can influence the result
3.) I cannot recount the ballots
Same goes for internet voting.
IMHO the big problem is not e-voting itself, but the lack of safety in the implementation. And as long as this is not guaranteed, I consider e-voting a threat to democracy. C'mon, is it so hard to walk some metres (or maybe kilometres) to a polling station?
C'mon, lynx is boring! Real men use telnet to browse the web...
C'mon man, I wanted to say that too...
Hell to freeze over...
And what if the stormtroopers that are knocking at your door are in fact U.S. citizens that have gone crazy with their guns?
"It would indeed be ironic if, in the name of national defense, we would sanction the subversion of one of those liberties which makes the defense of our nation worthwhile." - Earl Warren
Excellent comment. If you ever come to Southern germany, I'll invite you for a beer.
Good question. IMHO it is not hypocritical to propose gun control. There is a significant difference between the right to stand up and state your opinion and the right to own a gun. Any anarchists around here? No? So all of you believe that rights have their limits as far as others' rights are concerned. We just disagree about the limits. I do not support banning private gun ownership, but I think it is really hard to understand the enthusiasm many Americans have about guns. Sure, it's down to history, I know... I for one could hardly live without freedom of speech, but I have no problem to live without a gun.
DNS? C'mon, that's for little girls! Real men use HOSTS. No, just kidding. But now seriously, in case my provider's DNS server cracks down, I will replace my HOSTS file with one I made myself. It contains approximately 500 IP addresses for the most important websites.
is it considered blasphemy to register .heaven? And if not, what about www.god.heaven?
That's it! I'm gonna sell letters of indulgence!
...and sell it to the Chinese government. The answer to all their desires... No, just kidding.
Same thought from my side...
The H-bomb was never dropped on Hiroshima. Little Boy and Fat Man were both normal atomic bombs, not H-bombs. SCNR Anyway, I totally agree. This "IQ test" is crap. I'm from (continental) Europe, so in contrast to an American or Englishman, I have now idea how much 2.34 (or whatever) feet is... These questions test your common knowledge, not your IQ, and they are not language- or culture-independent.
Plus even under new laws, they only have to store the data, but may not access it without the permission of a judge, and only in cases of danger to life or the constitution (as to an injunction by the Federal Constitutional Court, the trial about the constitutionality of this law is still pending...)
Remember Space Quest 2, anyone? Oh, and I still have some kind of 3D-Tetris for DOS...
So why don't we just paint them? SCNR...