Little Jimmy turns in Bob as a depressed psycho. Jimmy gets a cap, and Bob is suddenly put through six weeks of couseling. Bob was depressed because his cat was run over that morning, but would've gotten over it in a few days. Now he's been told he 'hates his father for killing the cat, and secretly wants to run over his father just to revenge the cat.'
Now Bob didn't want his head messed with, but NOW he is REALLY confused and upset. He sees Jimmy at the local arcade, where Jimmy is wearing his 'Snitch on the Sick' cap. Bob didn't know that Jimmy really was the person that turned him in, but decides to beat poor Jimmy into a bloody mess for all the shit he's had to go through.
Bob would've been fine, but because of kids thinking they're now able to diagnose psycological problems, Bob has become noted as a 'dangerous individual'. First depressed and now violent.
Where was the original problem? People are too damned paranoid! Granted, this would be a worse-case senario, but it's not by any stretch out of line. I know too many instances where similar things have happened. No identifying marks for the snitch.. it'll cost him/her too much.
Actually, it was the microphone he traded the Bluesmobile in for.
Re:What's wrong with giving TM holders first dibs?
on
Master Of Your Domain
·
· Score: 1
I also agree. If I had a commercial product out there that I was selling (call it a 'widget'), and I owned widgets.com, I wouldn't want someone to be able to register the.net,.org,.web,.biz, etc. before I had a chance to. The businesses are right about what they are wanting to push. I think the biggest thing, however, is which TLD's to release? Here's my suggestions:
.web - web only related businesses .xxx - adult only sites (This would make things like 'Cybernanny' MUCH easier) .home - personal home pages (families and such) .oss - Open Source projects (There are enough out there to find this reasonable) .club - Clubs around the world
Now, I already know some of you will say "But the last 3 are what.org is for!" Well, not really. Non-profit organizations are one thing, but Bobby Jones's family isn't quite what I'd call a organization. The endings are simple enough that they should be pronouncable by most languages. I'm not saying that they'll do this, but it's what I'd suggest.
I saw the release this morning earlier and I checked ye olde' changelog. Still there's no real fix for the uncountable java problems that I have with Netscape under Linux. In fact, this morning I just went and grabbed the latest Milestone of Mozilla. It's usable, but still buggy. (For instance, the area around this reply textbox is totally black). I'd just as soon contend with this since Netscape just hasn't really fixed the bugs it needs to IMHO.
If you're wondering which java problem I'm referring to, some of the banners on Freshmeat will crash Netscape. Most evil!
One of the few things I've wanted for Linux has been the ability to make use of hardware MPEG-2 decoders. Most video cards produced in the past couple of years (that I've seen) have had some sort of Mpeg acceleration built in. What I hadn't seen is software that took advantage of it under Linux. Kudos once again to ATI!
One thing that does concern me is the DVD playback features in the devel kit. Does this mean that ATI is standing behind the Linux side of DeCSS? Or do they have a builtin decoding key for playing DVD's? Considering most people these days just want to be able to watch the Matrix and such on their computers like all the WinX users out there, I think either way ATI's definatly hit on something.
They mention in the article that 'well known software developers' will be privy to their SDK, but what about the rest of us? I'd like to see it turn into a set of kernel or X hooks myself to support both ATI and other video card producers (Matrox, CL, etc.)
Ex-employees from 2 companies who really know what 'Ease of Use' really is are now working on a project to help Linux out! Perfect.. This is preciesly what it needs. Geeks are usually great coders, but typical fall short of the "What's easy for Mom to use" area. It's okay. We like things more complex than most.
I'm really looking forward to seeing how they produce. If it was in Florida, I'd be working over there tomorrow!
Frankly this guy has a good point. And I'm surprised I haven't seen Jon Katz write an article on the psycology of 'kiddies' online that rant, rave, flame, etc. anything that says "Maybe Linux needs work."
I get contacted quite a bit to fix problems in software, and design/implementation of server environments where possible. I can tell you from experience, that while Linux is definately great, there are areas that just really need work. I for one need a fully Word9x compatible word processor. I'm hoping to devote some time working on Abiword, but currently StarOffice just doesn't cut it. Simple things like anti-aliasing fonts (or the lack thereof) is one thing that will keep WinX on my systems at work and at home. Games are fine, cause I can play under Linux, Win, MacOS, N64, Dreamcast, or whatever. Gaming platforms for me is just whatever is available at the moment. But I digress...
The fact that someone would stoop to finding this guy's boss is not only pointless, but I hope this person can get some counseling. This is a serious malfunction in thought processes and needs to find out why time was wasted in the manner and not constructively like debunking whatever was disagreeable in a forum such as Slashdot. (Hint, it's why we can all post here...)
I can say it, but the words tend to fall on deaf ears. "If you can't say or do something constructive, keep your trap shut." It only makes you look worse, and frankly no one takes you seriously anyhow when garbage falls out.
I don't particularly care for M$, and would be more than happy to see them produce only Office and wheelie mice (Intellimouse). I thoroughly use both products regularly, and until an alternative that I like just as well pops up, I'll keep using them.
Now for the new users mentioned in the article. I agree that the OS should be as friendly as possible, but people are not alone on the basics. My neighbors are all testiments to that. Unless you live in the hills of Kentuky where there's no one for miles, people have plenty of contacts where they work and where they live that can and do answer such questions like:
"How do I get the CD back out of the drive?" "What's a 'Dial-up adapter'?" "I can't get my printer to work. Do you know how?"
The difference at the moment is that your neighbors and co-workers have already learned a lot of these beginners problems under 95, and very few of them have used Linux yet. In 10 years that may very well change, but as it stands, people WILL have to learn some new ways of doing what they consider 'really easy' right now. That's the hold back. All we can do is continue development like we have and hope that as companies produce shoddy software, Linux will be a brighter alternative for us all.
Well. I'm no great fan of M$, but I will acknowledge good work when I see it. There are two items of M$'s that I actually hope they continue to produce, as I like the both very much: The Intellimouse and Office. Yes, Office. It's been very stable for me in the past, and frankly is the only one that does everything I want it to. When I get some projects out of the way, I'll be contributing much code to AbiWord to extend the functionality greatly as I'd like to see something with as many options, etc. as Word has. Excel is most spiffy althought Powerpoint can take a hike. (Not configurable enough).
I know it sounds like I'm advocating M$, but I'm trying to make a point. Of all the media-players available, I end up using M$'s product as well. It's cleaner and clearer than RealPlayer, and RP only works about half the time under Linux anyhow. I'd really like to see M$ contribute some to Linux anyhow. It'd be a first step in the company growing up and being a player in the IT arena, not a bully.
That's about the best word I can think to describe that article. I knew that there were still issues with the way that Linux handle threads, but didn't really know much beyond. I was very surprised, though, to see that the 2.3.X kernel was slower than the 2.2.X. That's actually a little backwards from what I'm used to. Of course in some of the post 2.3.28 kernels, there are probably some scheduler changes that I'm not aware of.
I say "Hat's Off" to IBM for providing the community with all their work and research. I'm sure that Linus will find some way to use and improve upon their patches to make it all even faster. As I'm beginning to have to work with Java more and more, I'm all for speed increases!
Very good point. Gov't standards on encrypt can get considerably stupid. It is important to some (including myself) that I can send info without someone being able to break the encryption. I'm not a normal privacy nut, as I prefer to have some symbolance of authority looking out for John Q. Public. Hell, it's what they're really out there for. But you have to make sure that if you're going to look out for people, do both ways. Both in their favor and in yours.
Even though the methods taken to learn how to decrypt the DVD's were less than honest, the reasoning behind it was quite evident. Even with HD's being as cheap as they are, it's just not sensible to copy DVD's right now. Down the road when removable storage is much larger and cheaper it could be a problem, but then haven't you heard of 90 minute cassettes and EP/SLP recording on VCR's?
Honestly, my largest complaint about DVD's was simply WHO was out there to pay the licensing fees for a player on an operating system known for contributed code? Someone MIGHT have done it and put together a shoddy player, but then if the quality was bad, what would be the point of playing the DVD in the first place. I'd just go out and snag a VHS tape and forget about it.
Now that the decryption has been discovered to be pretty pathetic to begin with, the companies just need to roll with it and not worry. Like someone wouldn't figure out how to copy a DVD for 'backup/archival purposes' anyhow.
The point that needs to be made was that a format that was handed to the general public, due to it's nature, would have been restricted to WindowsX and MacOS, with no possiblity to port to Linux without being charged.
If they had offered binary libraries for *nix users, BeOS, Amiga, etc. it wouldn't have been so bad. I just don't want to have software out there that is platform specific, which is why I love the OSS movement so much.
Well, frankly, the flash player they have out now for Linux isn't really all that bad. I'm not real sure what the limitations are on the thing, but at least now maybe we'll have a fully functional player that's in line with newer players. I know currently that some sites still don't recognize the current Linux flash player including www.shockrave.com. (At least mine doesn't that I d/led from Macromedia) My thing is when are they going to put together a player for Shockwave stuff? The director plugin's need to happen fairly soon along with a GLIBC port of the RealPlayer G2. This libc5 stuff just don't cut it under RH, and I've not been able to find the newest versions/fixes of libc5 lately to upgrade RH's 5.2.18 (or something like that).
Still, it's just one more step towards better software! I just wish M$ would Open up their file formats for.doc,.xls, etc. (If they have, please someone point me in that direction! I could really use them to work on some other projects at the moment!)
Congrats once again, Miguel! I'm happy to see someone who has worked so hard get their recognition. I've truly enjoyed Gnome, and hope to watch it evolve even more in the future. Keep up the good work.
Or does the wearable stuff just not seem anywhere close to really functional. I mean, the map-necklace was interesting, but I don't think I want to be staring through the little hole while doing 65 on the interstate. It's not that it's a bad idea at all, but still I believe that technology is just frankly too big right now to make workable wearables. The stuff that's out there is still questionable, and I sure wouldn't want to wear it for 6-8 hours straight. Give me a wearable (The glasstron glasses are getting there) that I can walk up with negligible weight attached, and serial into a box so I can admin it with little effort. Xterm in a set of glasses and a Palm Pilot. I'd consider that really useful. It's not that I don't like new tech, but I just have to like really swift tech. Still looks like people carrying around rocks and boulders. Just my $.02
Now, I'm apt to buying into a lot of stuff, but this one does take the cake. First-off, Microsoft should have sent a representative off to the person's house to explain the mixup and traded ON THE SPOT with a new WebTV unit (Which are next to worthless.. I've used one, and hate 'em)
Why the police were even involved, I'll never know, but I do believe the city of New York can prosecute Microsoft on the grounds of mis-appropriation of some sort or another. That kind of tactic is totally wrong. Of course, the article didn't mention that the home was possibly in the middle of Harlem.
Absolutely. I originally worked with someone else and eBay to create a search engine specifically for Auction sites. Unfortunatly, it never got very far off the ground, and work caused me to have to drop the project. But at the time, they were fine with it. I just can't understand why they'd gripe about someone index their items along with other sites to find people the best prices available. It really does seem to bite eBay in the rear if they're saying 'Come to our site, or don't look at us at all!'
I don't know about the rest of the world, but I'm not real happy with this act.
I think it's a good idea to a point
on
Planet Gattaca
·
· Score: 1
I believe that following this line should be continued. For one, they may be able to decode the RNA strands that make up various Virii that cause everything from the simple cold, to HIV. To use the human genome to help mankind fight disease is an excellent thing, and I fully support it. Being able to create organs from a persons genetic code would be terrific, and there are so many other things that could benefit humanity including curing some birth defects before the child is born.
I say go for it. I believe at some point people will probably start cloning themselves, but the better something is, the fact that someone will twist it around for 'evil' (so to speak) is inevitable. We, as a society, should simply try to keep a hold on such things.
As for religious implications, I've studied Christian theology, and I find nothing about this a problem in a religious sense.
I think Jon may have rambled a bit here and skewed from his original point, but it definatly gives us something to think about. Good one Jon.
Slashdot Mirror
Yeah, the Sun way of counting, like Solaris 2.7 followed by Solaris 8.
No.. like Solaris 2.51, Solaris 2.6, Solaris 7, Solaris 8.
It's now up to SunOS 5.8 if I'm remembering my Sun versioning...
Maybe we need to send some Sun Marketing types back to kindergarden to learn to count!
Ok.. caps and shirts... BAD idea! Why?
Little Jimmy turns in Bob as a depressed psycho. Jimmy gets a cap, and Bob is suddenly put through six weeks of couseling. Bob was depressed because his cat was run over that morning, but would've gotten over it in a few days. Now he's been told he 'hates his father for killing the cat, and secretly wants to run over his father just to revenge the cat.'
Now Bob didn't want his head messed with, but NOW he is REALLY confused and upset. He sees Jimmy at the local arcade, where Jimmy is wearing his 'Snitch on the Sick' cap. Bob didn't know that Jimmy really was the person that turned him in, but decides to beat poor Jimmy into a bloody mess for all the shit he's had to go through.
Bob would've been fine, but because of kids thinking they're now able to diagnose psycological problems, Bob has become noted as a 'dangerous individual'. First depressed and now violent.
Where was the original problem? People are too damned paranoid! Granted, this would be a worse-case senario, but it's not by any stretch out of line. I know too many instances where similar things have happened. No identifying marks for the snitch.. it'll cost him/her too much.
Actually, it was the microphone he traded the Bluesmobile in for.
I also agree. If I had a commercial product out there that I was selling (call it a 'widget'), and I owned widgets.com, I wouldn't want someone to be able to register the .net, .org, .web, .biz, etc. before I had a chance to. The businesses are right about what they are wanting to push. I think the biggest thing, however, is which TLD's to release? Here's my suggestions:
.org is for!"
.web - web only related businesses
.xxx - adult only sites (This would make things like 'Cybernanny' MUCH easier)
.home - personal home pages (families and such)
.oss - Open Source projects (There are enough out there to find this reasonable)
.club - Clubs around the world
Now, I already know some of you will say "But the last 3 are what
Well, not really. Non-profit organizations are one thing, but Bobby Jones's family isn't quite what I'd call a organization. The endings are simple enough that they should be pronouncable by most languages. I'm not saying that they'll do this, but it's what I'd suggest.
I saw the release this morning earlier and I checked ye olde' changelog. Still there's no real fix for the uncountable java problems that I have with Netscape under Linux. In fact, this morning I just went and grabbed the latest Milestone of Mozilla. It's usable, but still buggy. (For instance, the area around this reply textbox is totally black). I'd just as soon contend with this since Netscape just hasn't really fixed the bugs it needs to IMHO.
If you're wondering which java problem I'm referring to, some of the banners on Freshmeat will crash Netscape. Most evil!
One of the few things I've wanted for Linux has been the ability to make use of hardware MPEG-2 decoders. Most video cards produced in the past couple of years (that I've seen) have had some sort of Mpeg acceleration built in. What I hadn't seen is software that took advantage of it under Linux. Kudos once again to ATI!
One thing that does concern me is the DVD playback features in the devel kit. Does this mean that ATI is standing behind the Linux side of DeCSS? Or do they have a builtin decoding key for playing DVD's? Considering most people these days just want to be able to watch the Matrix and such on their computers like all the WinX users out there, I think either way ATI's definatly hit on something.
They mention in the article that 'well known software developers' will be privy to their SDK, but what about the rest of us? I'd like to see it turn into a set of kernel or X hooks myself to support both ATI and other video card producers (Matrox, CL, etc.)
-Dysan2k
Ex-employees from 2 companies who really know what 'Ease of Use' really is are now working on a project to help Linux out! Perfect.. This is preciesly what it needs. Geeks are usually great coders, but typical fall short of the "What's easy for Mom to use" area. It's okay. We like things more complex than most.
I'm really looking forward to seeing how they produce. If it was in Florida, I'd be working over there tomorrow!
Frankly this guy has a good point. And I'm surprised I haven't seen Jon Katz write an article on the psycology of 'kiddies' online that rant, rave, flame, etc. anything that says "Maybe Linux needs work."
I get contacted quite a bit to fix problems in software, and design/implementation of server environments where possible. I can tell you from experience, that while Linux is definately great, there are areas that just really need work. I for one need a fully Word9x compatible word processor. I'm hoping to devote some time working on Abiword, but currently StarOffice just doesn't cut it. Simple things like anti-aliasing fonts (or the lack thereof) is one thing that will keep WinX on my systems at work and at home. Games are fine, cause I can play under Linux, Win, MacOS, N64, Dreamcast, or whatever. Gaming platforms for me is just whatever is available at the moment. But I digress...
The fact that someone would stoop to finding this guy's boss is not only pointless, but I hope this person can get some counseling. This is a serious malfunction in thought processes and needs to find out why time was wasted in the manner and not constructively like debunking whatever was disagreeable in a forum such as Slashdot. (Hint, it's why we can all post here...)
I can say it, but the words tend to fall on deaf ears. "If you can't say or do something constructive, keep your trap shut." It only makes you look worse, and frankly no one takes you seriously anyhow when garbage falls out.
I don't particularly care for M$, and would be more than happy to see them produce only Office and wheelie mice (Intellimouse). I thoroughly use both products regularly, and until an alternative that I like just as well pops up, I'll keep using them.
Now for the new users mentioned in the article. I agree that the OS should be as friendly as possible, but people are not alone on the basics. My neighbors are all testiments to that. Unless you live in the hills of Kentuky where there's no one for miles, people have plenty of contacts where they work and where they live that can and do answer such questions like:
"How do I get the CD back out of the drive?"
"What's a 'Dial-up adapter'?"
"I can't get my printer to work. Do you know how?"
The difference at the moment is that your neighbors and co-workers have already learned a lot of these beginners problems under 95, and very few of them have used Linux yet. In 10 years that may very well change, but as it stands, people WILL have to learn some new ways of doing what they consider 'really easy' right now. That's the hold back. All we can do is continue development like we have and hope that as companies produce shoddy software, Linux will be a brighter alternative for us all.
Well. I'm no great fan of M$, but I will acknowledge good work when I see it. There are two items of M$'s that I actually hope they continue to produce, as I like the both very much: The Intellimouse and Office. Yes, Office. It's been very stable for me in the past, and frankly is the only one that does everything I want it to. When I get some projects out of the way, I'll be contributing much code to AbiWord to extend the functionality greatly as I'd like to see something with as many options, etc. as Word has. Excel is most spiffy althought Powerpoint can take a hike. (Not configurable enough).
I know it sounds like I'm advocating M$, but I'm trying to make a point. Of all the media-players available, I end up using M$'s product as well. It's cleaner and clearer than RealPlayer, and RP only works about half the time under Linux anyhow. I'd really like to see M$ contribute some to Linux anyhow. It'd be a first step in the company growing up and being a player in the IT arena, not a bully.
That's about the best word I can think to describe that article. I knew that there were still issues with the way that Linux handle threads, but didn't really know much beyond. I was very surprised, though, to see that the 2.3.X kernel was slower than the 2.2.X. That's actually a little backwards from what I'm used to. Of course in some of the post 2.3.28 kernels, there are probably some scheduler changes that I'm not aware of.
I say "Hat's Off" to IBM for providing the community with all their work and research. I'm sure that Linus will find some way to use and improve upon their patches to make it all even faster. As I'm beginning to have to work with Java more and more, I'm all for speed increases!
Very good point. Gov't standards on encrypt can get considerably stupid. It is important to some (including myself) that I can send info without someone being able to break the encryption. I'm not a normal privacy nut, as I prefer to have some symbolance of authority looking out for John Q. Public. Hell, it's what they're really out there for. But you have to make sure that if you're going to look out for people, do both ways. Both in their favor and in yours.
Even though the methods taken to learn how to decrypt the DVD's were less than honest, the reasoning behind it was quite evident. Even with HD's being as cheap as they are, it's just not sensible to copy DVD's right now. Down the road when removable storage is much larger and cheaper it could be a problem, but then haven't you heard of 90 minute cassettes and EP/SLP recording on VCR's?
Honestly, my largest complaint about DVD's was simply WHO was out there to pay the licensing fees for a player on an operating system known for contributed code? Someone MIGHT have done it and put together a shoddy player, but then if the quality was bad, what would be the point of playing the DVD in the first place. I'd just go out and snag a VHS tape and forget about it.
Now that the decryption has been discovered to be pretty pathetic to begin with, the companies just need to roll with it and not worry. Like someone wouldn't figure out how to copy a DVD for 'backup/archival purposes' anyhow.
The point that needs to be made was that a format that was handed to the general public, due to it's nature, would have been restricted to WindowsX and MacOS, with no possiblity to port to Linux without being charged.
If they had offered binary libraries for *nix users, BeOS, Amiga, etc. it wouldn't have been so bad. I just don't want to have software out there that is platform specific, which is why I love the OSS movement so much.
Keep the faith. I'm pulling for you guys!
Well, frankly, the flash player they have out now for Linux isn't really all that bad. I'm not real sure what the limitations are on the thing, but at least now maybe we'll have a fully functional player that's in line with newer players. I know currently that some sites still don't recognize the current Linux flash player including www.shockrave.com. (At least mine doesn't that I d/led from Macromedia) My thing is when are they going to put together a player for Shockwave stuff? The director plugin's need to happen fairly soon along with a GLIBC port of the RealPlayer G2. This libc5 stuff just don't cut it under RH, and I've not been able to find the newest versions/fixes of libc5 lately to upgrade RH's 5.2.18 (or something like that).
.doc, .xls, etc. (If they have, please someone point me in that direction! I could really use them to work on some other projects at the moment!)
Still, it's just one more step towards better software! I just wish M$ would Open up their file formats for
Congrats once again, Miguel! I'm happy to see someone who has worked so hard get their recognition. I've truly enjoyed Gnome, and hope to watch it evolve even more in the future. Keep up the good work.
Or does the wearable stuff just not seem anywhere close to really functional. I mean, the map-necklace was interesting, but I don't think I want to be staring through the little hole while doing 65 on the interstate. It's not that it's a bad idea at all, but still I believe that technology is just frankly too big right now to make workable wearables. The stuff that's out there is still questionable, and I sure wouldn't want to wear it for 6-8 hours straight. Give me a wearable (The glasstron glasses are getting there) that I can walk up with negligible weight attached, and serial into a box so I can admin it with little effort. Xterm in a set of glasses and a Palm Pilot. I'd consider that really useful. It's not that I don't like new tech, but I just have to like really swift tech. Still looks like people carrying around rocks and boulders. Just my $.02
Now, I'm apt to buying into a lot of stuff, but this one does take the cake. First-off, Microsoft should have sent a representative off to the person's house to explain the mixup and traded ON THE SPOT with a new WebTV unit (Which are next to worthless.. I've used one, and hate 'em)
Why the police were even involved, I'll never know, but I do believe the city of New York can prosecute Microsoft on the grounds of mis-appropriation of some sort or another. That kind of tactic is totally wrong. Of course, the article didn't mention that the home was possibly in the middle of Harlem.
My 2 bits...
Absolutely. I originally worked with someone else and eBay to create a search engine specifically for Auction sites. Unfortunatly, it never got very far off the ground, and work caused me to have to drop the project. But at the time, they were fine with it. I just can't understand why they'd gripe about someone index their items along with other sites to find people the best prices available. It really does seem to bite eBay in the rear if they're saying 'Come to our site, or don't look at us at all!'
I don't know about the rest of the world, but I'm not real happy with this act.
I believe that following this line should be continued. For one, they may be able to decode the RNA strands that make up various Virii that cause everything from the simple cold, to HIV. To use the human genome to help mankind fight disease is an excellent thing, and I fully support it. Being able to create organs from a persons genetic code would be terrific, and there are so many other things that could benefit humanity including curing some birth defects before the child is born.
I say go for it. I believe at some point people will probably start cloning themselves, but the better something is, the fact that someone will twist it around for 'evil' (so to speak) is inevitable. We, as a society, should simply try to keep a hold on such things.
As for religious implications, I've studied Christian theology, and I find nothing about this a problem in a religious sense.
I think Jon may have rambled a bit here and skewed from his original point, but it definatly gives us something to think about. Good one Jon.