Thanks for the input (if you're still listening). Too often/. is clogged with know-nothings, especially on "culture" issues. It's nice to have an expert opinion, and it's nice to know that good cultural critics, writers, and thinkers don't abandon this site due to its constant infighting.
Actually, the Onion is a good example of some of the differences between online newspapers and print newspapers.
For example, in the print version of the Onion, every week there is an article tucked somewhere in the middle that claims to be continued from page 4 (or something) and is continued again on page 43. The article is nothing but the sentence "Passersby were amazed by unusually large amounts of blood." repeated over and over again formatted to fit the column width and including a pull quote in the middle of the article that says something unrelated like "We had no idea that Regis Philbin lived in the building."
This kind of parody news article shows one of the limitations of newspapers in print. Often readers are unwilling to read the rest of an article that is continued in later pages, so they fail to grasp the full story. Online, a click is much easier, so people have less of a barrier to read an entire story. Leave it to the Onion to subtly point out the strangeness of newspaper formatting and reporting.
In general, I don't subscribe to a newspaper unless I feel like I'll want it around for a while (like the Onion or the Funny Times). For most of my news, I rely on NPR, CNN, and Slashdot. Newspapers just pile up so quickly, and there's so much in them that I don't care about. When you have a couple of week's worth clogging up the recycling bin, print newspapers seem so wasteful. Digital news is always made from 100% recycled electrons. (I stole that from some/. reader's sig.)
Newspapers are good for local stuff and they're good when you're travelling, but otherwise, they are becoming quickly obsolete.
simple, when a janitor goes home, the work stays at work
Actually, when a janitor, or any physical laborer, goes home, he (or she) brings the work home in the form of backaches, callouses, and the smell of the greasepit that takes days to get out of your nose. As a young man, I worked a standard 40 hour week humping boxes. For me, at age 20, it wasn't so bad, but for the 40-year-old guys, the work took a permanent toll on their bodies and minds. As soon as they got off work, they had to start drinking to numb themselves. Some life.
It's a convenience of the service worker to even think about separating "work" and "life." For much of the world, life is work; even surviving takes effort.
Don't get me wrong, tech workers are being duped into working more hours than they should have to, but let's not feel too sorry for ourselves. After all, we make a choice to work the hours we do, and many people don't have that choice at all.
So I guess I don't understand. What just happened to the currents.net article? Is it the target of a DOS attack, or has it been hit with some other kind of problem?
Is it possible to initiate a DOS attack in 15 minutes?
Do you feel that many people with technical abilities lack the necessary communication skills and patience to discuss technical issues with a non-technical audience?
Do you see your role on/. to act as a communication intermediary between the/. users and the world at large?
Maybe it's just a bunch of red herrings, like the Beatles' "Paul is dead" stuff, but it seems to me that there have been a lot of signs that this is the final year of the Simpsons. In one recent episode, Homer, about to die says "Meh, I had a good run."
Many other such examples have come out this year. I'm very worried about what I'll do with my pathetic life once this show finally does call it quits. Sunday night will no longer mean the funniest half-hour of TV, instead it'll simply mean the end of the weekend.
Thanks to/. for a great interview. Thanks to Rich for asking Dr. Lederman about IMSA.
I'm glad to see a spirited debate about experimental education, but I wish it wasn't always about what kind of jobs our kids could get with better education, but instead what kind of people they could become with better education.
I think most people will agree that an institution like IMSA can be a great place to foster technological expertise, but it's not the best way to raise your kids.
Copyright law in the U.S. is established "To promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries."
It really does seem like a stretch for big media corporations to say that preventing the copying of a Backstreet Boys mp3 file will "promote the progress of science and the useful arts."
I went to IMSA, as well, the first year it existed (1986). I became disillusioned with the academy because it promised more than it could deliver. I find myself similarly disillusioned with science in general when it promises advancements that will improve human life, and it turns out so many projects that merely improve corporate profits. What can we do to combat this disillusionment? What can we do to make science more than a servant to big business?
Slashdot Mirror
Please post again when you get the inclination!
For example, in the print version of the Onion, every week there is an article tucked somewhere in the middle that claims to be continued from page 4 (or something) and is continued again on page 43. The article is nothing but the sentence "Passersby were amazed by unusually large amounts of blood." repeated over and over again formatted to fit the column width and including a pull quote in the middle of the article that says something unrelated like "We had no idea that Regis Philbin lived in the building."
This kind of parody news article shows one of the limitations of newspapers in print. Often readers are unwilling to read the rest of an article that is continued in later pages, so they fail to grasp the full story. Online, a click is much easier, so people have less of a barrier to read an entire story. Leave it to the Onion to subtly point out the strangeness of newspaper formatting and reporting.
In general, I don't subscribe to a newspaper unless I feel like I'll want it around for a while (like the Onion or the Funny Times). For most of my news, I rely on NPR, CNN, and Slashdot. Newspapers just pile up so quickly, and there's so much in them that I don't care about. When you have a couple of week's worth clogging up the recycling bin, print newspapers seem so wasteful. Digital news is always made from 100% recycled electrons. (I stole that from some /. reader's sig.)
Newspapers are good for local stuff and they're good when you're travelling, but otherwise, they are becoming quickly obsolete.
Actually, when a janitor, or any physical laborer, goes home, he (or she) brings the work home in the form of backaches, callouses, and the smell of the greasepit that takes days to get out of your nose. As a young man, I worked a standard 40 hour week humping boxes. For me, at age 20, it wasn't so bad, but for the 40-year-old guys, the work took a permanent toll on their bodies and minds. As soon as they got off work, they had to start drinking to numb themselves. Some life.
It's a convenience of the service worker to even think about separating "work" and "life." For much of the world, life is work; even surviving takes effort.
Don't get me wrong, tech workers are being duped into working more hours than they should have to, but let's not feel too sorry for ourselves. After all, we make a choice to work the hours we do, and many people don't have that choice at all.
Is it possible to initiate a DOS attack in 15 minutes?
Do you feel that many people with technical abilities lack the necessary communication skills and patience to discuss technical issues with a non-technical audience?
Do you see your role on /. to act as a communication intermediary between the /. users and the world at large?
As in "Ship Ahoy"
or Chips Ahoy
Many other such examples have come out this year. I'm very worried about what I'll do with my pathetic life once this show finally does call it quits. Sunday night will no longer mean the funniest half-hour of TV, instead it'll simply mean the end of the weekend.
I'm glad to see a spirited debate about experimental education, but I wish it wasn't always about what kind of jobs our kids could get with better education, but instead what kind of people they could become with better education.
I think most people will agree that an institution like IMSA can be a great place to foster technological expertise, but it's not the best way to raise your kids.
It really does seem like a stretch for big media corporations to say that preventing the copying of a Backstreet Boys mp3 file will "promote the progress of science and the useful arts."
I went to IMSA, as well, the first year it existed (1986). I became disillusioned with the academy because it promised more than it could deliver. I find myself similarly disillusioned with science in general when it promises advancements that will improve human life, and it turns out so many projects that merely improve corporate profits. What can we do to combat this disillusionment? What can we do to make science more than a servant to big business?