As a privacy safeguard, no single person or agency will be able to access all contents of a file. But organizations can raise "red flags" in the dossier to caution other agencies about problems
And so what if one malicious worker has exclusive rights to view several hundred children? It doesn't matter if they have access to the whole database or not, even a "small pecentage" could be several hundred or thousand children. This is a pedaphile's ultimate dream.
I'm sorry, but what has this do with pedophiles? I can not see how this system would be of any interest to them. Even if there is information stored about a child, personal contact is something completely different. Furthermore: as far as I can see no one has exclusive rights to the information.
I still remember that about 10 years ago (before the majority of programs where released on CD-ROM, but I don't know if that has anything to do with it), nobody I knew bought their software. Everybody copied. Nowadays, there is still a lot of copying going on (I have to agree on that), but almost everyone I know has tons of software they actually bought. So I guess that is going in the right direction.
About books, I know some people who downloaded some O'Reilly books from Kazaa but still most people buy their books (me too, because having a book in your hands is a way better feeling than reading it of your computer screen).
About movies, I think some gets lost there, but not a lot. If you have a good broadband connection downloading movies doesn't take a lot of time. After that you can create a VCD and use your DVD player to watch it (or you can watch it on your monitor, which I find not very comfortable, even if you have a 22"). The quality can be very, very good. So you might think a lot of money gets lost there, right? Wrong (I guess;)). People still want to see movies in a theatre. Nothing beats that atmosphere. And if you look at the amounts of money LOTR or Harry Potter raised (which is still way up there with blockbusters from the past), there can not be much loss there. Maybe smaller (cult) movies suffer, but I guess not, because there is (and always has been) a select audience for them who still wants to see them in theatres. Also, more people buy movies nowadays and we have DVD to thank for that.
About music, yes I think money gets lost there. It is really easy to download some MP3's of the Internet and burn them on CD. People will still buy albums, but only the once they really want to have (yes I know there are a lot of people who still buy tons and tons of CDs, but I'm talking about the majority here). So money gets lost. And what does the music industry do? They try to sue people. Wrong, wrong, wrong. They *can't* stop this by trying to scare people. They have to find other ways for people to stop copying and buy their music again (or maybe they have to live with piracy but still find ways to convince people to buy their music). They have to find something that will do for music that DVD does for film. Don't ask me for a solution, but I think legal action is the wrong path.
So, in summary, the only market where money really gets lost is in music (or at least that is what I think).
As stated in a number of other responses, the main reason why there aren't any good (correct me if I'm wrong) flash open source initiatives, is because most people think flash is a sign of bad design.
Anyway, if you insist in using flash and can't afford it, why not ask for sponsoring? If the software you build has any social use, perhaps some government agency wants to sponsor you... or, if a lot of businessmen get to use your software, why not ask for sponsoring from some company? Maybe they will give you money, maybe they don't, but if you haven't asked, you will never find out, do you?
This is exactly what I dislike about the Linux community: the constant whining when something doesn't go "the way it should". When Lindows doesn't want to release the source until they ship the definite version, let them. If they don't want to release the beta version under the GPL let them! This was a beta version! What are we complaining about? What is wrong with not releasing the source right away?
When the definite version is released and then the source doesn't get released, only then you have a (maybe minor, because it's a company's own decision to use the GPL or not) reason to complain. For now, let Lindows work and maybe they get something great done.
I just changed my/etc/apt/sources.list so that it points to testing in stead of stable (woody in sted of potato). After that I did apt-get update && apt-get upgrade. After that I looked at the list of packages, pine4-src (or whatever the name is) isn't there.
Yes ofcourse, but this source package seems to have disappeared also... anyway, I went and compiled and installed pico and pine using the source tarball from the pine site. Worked for me.
*sigh* well, I will download a tarball of pine in that case. Maybe this is one of the disadvantages of Debian (and some other distro's too), developers making the choice which packages to include in their distro and which not, even though some of their users want something else... Maybe there's a RPM available so that I can convert it to a DEB using alien...
Does anybody know what happened to the pine src?
on
Debian 3.0 (Woody) May 1?
·
· Score: 2, Interesting
I did a fresh install of Woody (debian/testing) on one of my machines this morning and it seems the pine and pico sources have disappeared from the packages list. Yes, I do use non-US and non-free packages so that can't be the problem.
For the rest, it runs quite well, but I still prefer debian/unstable because of the more recent packages.
Well, I don't know how it is now, but a couple of years ago, none of the distro's automatically configured USB. Maybe now they do, I don't know.
However, this doesn't alter my opinion that for novice users configuration is easier in windows than in linux.
And about automatically configuring networking, Debian does that. During install you can use DHCP or type in your IP, gateway, subnet, etc. That's exactly the same way it's done in Windows and I doubt it's different in other linux distro's. About soundcards: maybe it doesn't use plug and play but (again) during install you can choose the soundcard you're using.
Right now I'm using Debian/unstable, but when I first start using Debian a couple of years ago, the USB support wasn't compiled into the kernel, so I did it myself. I don't know if it is compiled into the kernel in Debian/stable right now, simply because I have always been using Debian/unstable and building the kernels myself.
Well, I can't deny you're right about that. But still, in my early days I found that the Internet was pretty much bliss if you were having obscure hardware problems and more of that stuff. But I guess your reply will be "but that kind of questions are precisely the ones I would answer".
Hmm, maybe I'm agreeing more with you then I first thought:)
You think? Find me someone who's used neither before, and get them to give you an impartial view of the "control panel" systen. Sure I know much of that inside-out on everything from win3 to 2k and back, but then I also know my way around/etc on more than one distro, and I know which I *prefer*.
Hey, I prefer Linux too. But if I take the average user they rather "click" on things in stead of altering configuration text files.
the real crime here is cluelessness and not *wanting* to learn to use what's in front of you.
Well, isn't the fact that they post a message on usenet a first sign of wanting to learn something? Ofcourse, maybe they should try it for themselves for a bit longer time but still, especially when you first start using Linux (or any other *NIX system, of which, I am happy to so, Linux is the easiest to learn) you can get a bit overwhelmed.
Maybe this elite attitude is precisely what holds Linux from breaking through on major scale."
When you see that bums on seats is no measure of quality (except perhaps to say "we glossed over all the interesting bits to make life easier for the mythical `luser'"), you'll see why I have no problem with this idea at all.
You are right about that quantity is not a measure for quality, and maybe I should have said it in a different way, but still, it is the elite attitude of some Linux users which really offends me. I have encountered lots of the "I do know it, but you, well, find it out for yourself, loser" type of users. Those kind of users are really the rotten apples in the community.
I am sorry to say so, but I don't agree with you. Ofcourse you can run Linux as a desktop system (I do so too). However, in this context "it's got to be accepted by mass corporations" (or the masses) is precisely what we're talking about.
The so-called consumer level users will not turn to Linux because they are used to very simple configuring. I am sorry to say so, but Windows beats the crap out of Linux for easy configuring. Ofcourse, if you have some experience configuring Linux isn't hard, but if you start using it and have no experience at all you can get quite overwhelmed. When you started using Linux, did you understand all the configuring completely? I don't believe so. I am not saying you will understand Windows configuring the first time you use it, but for most users, it's style of configuring is more intuitive (that's not only my opinion, but also of some ergonomists I know). Take for example the configuring of USB devices. In windows you plug it in and in most cases it works (yes, I did say in most cases). In Linux you have to rebuild your kernel first. I can imagine most novice users will be scared of that.
And that's why it is, at least in my mind, stupid to "fight against getting the clueless masses involved in linux". When you started using Linux, weren't you pleased with the help you could get on the Internet (usenet, www, whatever)? I was.
Maybe this elite attitude is precisely what holds Linux from breaking through on major scale.
Yes, I know it has been delayed for a while now. However, if someone comes up to me and says: "After some delays, the game will now be shipped in 3 months" I still get the feeling it will be delayed some more. It is just a gut feeling you develop after spending some time watching the gaming industry.
But, as I already said, if they DO ship it in time I will be delighted.
The 25th of June? I'm sorry to say so, but if the gaming industry has proved one thing, it is that they almost never release games in time. No, this isn't a troll, it's just a fact.
Take for instance the example used in this topic: Duke Nukem Forever. I don't know it exactly but it must be in production for more than FIVE years. And in those five years many release dates (or periods, like the end of 2002) have been set. Although DNF is maybe a bit of an extreme example, I know of almost no games that have been released in time.
Only when release dates are set within a month or so, you can be reasonably sure the game will be released in time. June is (for the gaming industry) still a long time away, my bet is that it will get postponed. I'd be truly suprised (and happy:) ) if that wasn't the case.
Working for a small (about 15 people) software company I found out the best way to take care of documentation is a combination of things.
First off, if you're using java, make sure you use javadoc code for every method and class you write (make sure that this is required by the company, we have code and documentation standards). If you're using any other language, still write comments for every function. Also, every bit of code which isn't very clear should have some comments to shed some light on it. And don't forget to add comments for every bugfix you did (at the start of each sourcefile you could make a small index of all changes that have been made, with the date of the change and the name of the person responsible for it).
Second, make sure that before you start to program, you have a detailed set of requirements and a well written project plan (design). This makes it easier to structure the program in a nice and tidy way which in turn makes it easier to document.
Third, always make a docs directory which includes all standard documentation, the before mentioned requirements and project plan, the notes from every meeting you have had, user manuals, etc.
Fourth, use CVS (or a similar system). This makes it very easy to document changes in your program (and also to find out what other people have been doing). Five, for every project you're in, make sure a seperate mail alias is setup. In that way you can filter every mail from a certain project to a seperate folder, which is a nice way to keep track of things.
Other things you could do (which are not (yet) in use in our company but of which I heard) are setting up news groups for projects, setting up intranet sites for every project, etc.
Ofcourse, the methods I've described above are very effective when you start with a project. If there is a great need for documentation for already finished projects, you've been doing something wrong (one of my first lectures in software engineering was about documentation or, better, the lack there of). However, if you want to document those projects, I recommend you start with documenting the code. This is a hell of a job, but it is VERY useful (think about bug fixes and so forth). After that, try to describe how you've build up the product. Ofcourse, these are only hints, but I've found them to be very effective in our company.
When explorer Christopher Columbus landed in America in 1492, he was 72 years behind a Chinese expeditionary force, which had already made its way to the area.
And although Captain James Cook was credited with discovering Australia for the British Empire in 1770, the Chinese had mapped the island continent 337 years earlier.
Sailing in 1,000-foot-long ships with nine massive junk-style sails, the Chinese also circumnavigated the world a century before explorer Ferdinand Magellan's epic journey, and reached South America.
The reason why Columbus, Cook and Magellan get the credit is because they were Europeans. And, in those days, Europe was the center of the world. Western civilization sprung from Europe so to speak. Think about it: most (both north and south) American citizens have ancestors in Europe, so do the citizens in Australia.
For Europeans, America and Australia didn't exist until Columbus and Cook hit their shores (the Vikings did it before Columbus ofcourse but that was forgotten). After that, lots and lots of Europeans emigrated to America and Australia (most of them for economic reasons ofcourse). Contact between them and the homefront was never lost and therefore Columbus, Cook and Magellan deserve some credit. Maybe not for first discovering the continents but for putting them on the map.
True, but I still think it's quite important. When Amazon confronts another site for using "their" technology, that site can always point out to the Barnes & Noble case, and ask what the conditions where in which they settled. It will continue to have an effect on all sites Amazon will (maybe) confront.
The outcome of the settlement is most certainly very important. If Barnes & Noble licenses Amazons technology or if Barnes & Noble have paid some amount of money, lots and lots of other websites can expect legal action from Amazon. After all, there are tons of sites which use the 1-click technology.
South Korean internet users [receive] average about 1600 pieces of spam annually, summing to around 39 billion pieces of spam per year. According to the same story, Americans receive about 2500 pieces of spam per year.
The average computer user never uses a fake e-mail address (or at least a scrambled one) when they're asked for their email address during registration or similar processes. Furthermore, they forget to point out that they don't want to receive e-mails by the company responsible for the registration (I'm not even talking about companies who sell their customer db's to other companies).
Finally, millions of people have a hotmail account. And there, they forget to point out that they don't want to be listed in the so-called White Pages, a main source for spammers.
Slashdot Mirror
I'm sorry, but what has this do with pedophiles? I can not see how this system would be of any interest to them. Even if there is information stored about a child, personal contact is something completely different. Furthermore: as far as I can see no one has exclusive rights to the information.
Sure:
I still remember that about 10 years ago (before the majority of programs where released on CD-ROM, but I don't know if that has anything to do with it), nobody I knew bought their software. Everybody copied.
;)).
Nowadays, there is still a lot of copying going on (I have to agree on that), but almost everyone I know has tons of software they actually bought. So I guess that is going in the right direction.
About books, I know some people who downloaded some O'Reilly books from Kazaa but still most people buy their books (me too, because having a book in your hands is a way better feeling than reading it of your computer screen).
About movies, I think some gets lost there, but not a lot. If you have a good broadband connection downloading movies doesn't take a lot of time. After that you can create a VCD and use your DVD player to watch it (or you can watch it on your monitor, which I find not very comfortable, even if you have a 22"). The quality can be very, very good. So you might think a lot of money gets lost there, right? Wrong (I guess
People still want to see movies in a theatre. Nothing beats that atmosphere. And if you look at the amounts of money LOTR or Harry Potter raised (which is still way up there with blockbusters from the past), there can not be much loss there.
Maybe smaller (cult) movies suffer, but I guess not, because there is (and always has been) a select audience for them who still wants to see them in theatres.
Also, more people buy movies nowadays and we have DVD to thank for that.
About music, yes I think money gets lost there. It is really easy to download some MP3's of the Internet and burn them on CD. People will still buy albums, but only the once they really want to have (yes I know there are a lot of people who still buy tons and tons of CDs, but I'm talking about the majority here).
So money gets lost. And what does the music industry do? They try to sue people. Wrong, wrong, wrong. They *can't* stop this by trying to scare people. They have to find other ways for people to stop copying and buy their music again (or maybe they have to live with piracy but still find ways to convince people to buy their music). They have to find something that will do for music that DVD does for film. Don't ask me for a solution, but I think legal action is the wrong path.
So, in summary, the only market where money really gets lost is in music (or at least that is what I think).
As stated in a number of other responses, the main reason why there aren't any good (correct me if I'm wrong) flash open source initiatives, is because most people think flash is a sign of bad design.
Anyway, if you insist in using flash and can't afford it, why not ask for sponsoring? If the software you build has any social use, perhaps some government agency wants to sponsor you... or, if a lot of businessmen get to use your software, why not ask for sponsoring from some company? Maybe they will give you money, maybe they don't, but if you haven't asked, you will never find out, do you?
This is exactly what I dislike about the Linux community: the constant whining when something doesn't go "the way it should". When Lindows doesn't want to release the source until they ship the definite version, let them. If they don't want to release the beta version under the GPL let them! This was a beta version! What are we complaining about? What is wrong with not releasing the source right away?
When the definite version is released and then the source doesn't get released, only then you have a (maybe minor, because it's a company's own decision to use the GPL or not) reason to complain. For now, let Lindows work and maybe they get something great done.
I just changed my /etc/apt/sources.list so that it points to testing in stead of stable (woody in sted of potato). After that I did apt-get update && apt-get upgrade. After that I looked at the list of packages, pine4-src (or whatever the name is) isn't there.
Yes ofcourse, but this source package seems to have disappeared also... anyway, I went and compiled and installed pico and pine using the source tarball from the pine site. Worked for me.
*sigh* well, I will download a tarball of pine in that case. Maybe this is one of the disadvantages of Debian (and some other distro's too), developers making the choice which packages to include in their distro and which not, even though some of their users want something else... Maybe there's a RPM available so that I can convert it to a DEB using alien...
I did a fresh install of Woody (debian/testing) on one of my machines this morning and it seems the pine and pico sources have disappeared from the packages list. Yes, I do use non-US and non-free packages so that can't be the problem.
For the rest, it runs quite well, but I still prefer debian/unstable because of the more recent packages.
Well, I don't know how it is now, but a couple of years ago, none of the distro's automatically configured USB. Maybe now they do, I don't know.
However, this doesn't alter my opinion that for novice users configuration is easier in windows than in linux.
And about automatically configuring networking, Debian does that. During install you can use DHCP or type in your IP, gateway, subnet, etc. That's exactly the same way it's done in Windows and I doubt it's different in other linux distro's.
About soundcards: maybe it doesn't use plug and play but (again) during install you can choose the soundcard you're using.
Right now I'm using Debian/unstable, but when I first start using Debian a couple of years ago, the USB support wasn't compiled into the kernel, so I did it myself.
I don't know if it is compiled into the kernel in Debian/stable right now, simply because I have always been using Debian/unstable and building the kernels myself.
Well, I can't deny you're right about that. But still, in my early days I found that the Internet was pretty much bliss if you were having obscure hardware problems and more of that stuff.
:)
But I guess your reply will be "but that kind of questions are precisely the ones I would answer".
Hmm, maybe I'm agreeing more with you then I first thought
You think? Find me someone who's used neither before, and get them to give you an impartial view of the "control panel" systen. Sure I know much of that inside-out on everything from win3 to 2k and back, but then I also know my way around /etc on more than one distro, and I know which I *prefer*.
Hey, I prefer Linux too. But if I take the average user they rather "click" on things in stead of altering configuration text files.
the real crime here is cluelessness and not *wanting* to learn to use what's in front of you.
Well, isn't the fact that they post a message on usenet a first sign of wanting to learn something? Ofcourse, maybe they should try it for themselves for a bit longer time but still, especially when you first start using Linux (or any other *NIX system, of which, I am happy to so, Linux is the easiest to learn) you can get a bit overwhelmed.
Maybe this elite attitude is precisely what holds Linux from breaking through on major scale."
When you see that bums on seats is no measure of quality (except perhaps to say "we glossed over all the interesting bits to make life easier for the mythical `luser'"), you'll see why I have no problem with this idea at all.
You are right about that quantity is not a measure for quality, and maybe I should have said it in a different way, but still, it is the elite attitude of some Linux users which really offends me. I have encountered lots of the "I do know it, but you, well, find it out for yourself, loser" type of users. Those kind of users are really the rotten apples in the community.
I am sorry to say so, but I don't agree with you. Ofcourse you can run Linux as a desktop system (I do so too). However, in this context "it's got to be accepted by mass corporations" (or the masses) is precisely what we're talking about.
The so-called consumer level users will not turn to Linux because they are used to very simple configuring. I am sorry to say so, but Windows beats the crap out of Linux for easy configuring. Ofcourse, if you have some experience configuring Linux isn't hard, but if you start using it and have no experience at all you can get quite overwhelmed. When you started using Linux, did you understand all the configuring completely? I don't believe so. I am not saying you will understand Windows configuring the first time you use it, but for most users, it's style of configuring is more intuitive (that's not only my opinion, but also of some ergonomists I know).
Take for example the configuring of USB devices. In windows you plug it in and in most cases it works (yes, I did say in most cases). In Linux you have to rebuild your kernel first. I can imagine most novice users will be scared of that.
And that's why it is, at least in my mind, stupid to "fight against getting the clueless masses involved in linux". When you started using Linux, weren't you pleased with the help you could get on the Internet (usenet, www, whatever)? I was.
Maybe this elite attitude is precisely what holds Linux from breaking through on major scale.
Yes, I know it has been delayed for a while now. However, if someone comes up to me and says: "After some delays, the game will now be shipped in 3 months" I still get the feeling it will be delayed some more. It is just a gut feeling you develop after spending some time watching the gaming industry.
But, as I already said, if they DO ship it in time I will be delighted.
True. I forgot about that. But that doesn't make up for the fact that the game has been in development for a long (maybe too long) time.
The 25th of June? I'm sorry to say so, but if the gaming industry has proved one thing, it is that they almost never release games in time. No, this isn't a troll, it's just a fact.
:) ) if that wasn't the case.
Take for instance the example used in this topic: Duke Nukem Forever. I don't know it exactly but it must be in production for more than FIVE years. And in those five years many release dates (or periods, like the end of 2002) have been set. Although DNF is maybe a bit of an extreme example, I know of almost no games that have been released in time.
Only when release dates are set within a month or so, you can be reasonably sure the game will be released in time.
June is (for the gaming industry) still a long time away, my bet is that it will get postponed. I'd be truly suprised (and happy
Working for a small (about 15 people) software company I found out the best way to take care of documentation is a combination of things.
First off, if you're using java, make sure you use javadoc code for every method and class you write (make sure that this is required by the company, we have code and documentation standards). If you're using any other language, still write comments for every function. Also, every bit of code which isn't very clear should have some comments to shed some light on it. And don't forget to add comments for every bugfix you did (at the start of each sourcefile you could make a small index of all changes that have been made, with the date of the change and the name of the person responsible for it).
Second, make sure that before you start to program, you have a detailed set of requirements and a well written project plan (design). This makes it easier to structure the program in a nice and tidy way which in turn makes it easier to document.
Third, always make a docs directory which includes all standard documentation, the before mentioned requirements and project plan, the notes from every meeting you have had, user manuals, etc.
Fourth, use CVS (or a similar system). This makes it very easy to document changes in your program (and also to find out what other people have been doing).
Five, for every project you're in, make sure a seperate mail alias is setup. In that way you can filter every mail from a certain project to a seperate folder, which is a nice way to keep track of things.
Other things you could do (which are not (yet) in use in our company but of which I heard) are setting up news groups for projects, setting up intranet sites for every project, etc.
Ofcourse, the methods I've described above are very effective when you start with a project. If there is a great need for documentation for already finished projects, you've been doing something wrong (one of my first lectures in software engineering was about documentation or, better, the lack there of). However, if you want to document those projects, I recommend you start with documenting the code. This is a hell of a job, but it is VERY useful (think about bug fixes and so forth). After that, try to describe how you've build up the product.
Ofcourse, these are only hints, but I've found them to be very effective in our company.
Your absolutely right. I forgot about that (which is quite dumb considering I'm from the Netherlands :) ).
According to the article:
When explorer Christopher Columbus landed in America in 1492, he was 72 years behind a Chinese expeditionary force, which had already made its way to the area.
And although Captain James Cook was credited with discovering Australia for the British Empire in 1770, the Chinese had mapped the island continent 337 years earlier.
Sailing in 1,000-foot-long ships with nine massive junk-style sails, the Chinese also circumnavigated the world a century before explorer Ferdinand Magellan's epic journey, and reached South America.
The reason why Columbus, Cook and Magellan get the credit is because they were Europeans. And, in those days, Europe was the center of the world. Western civilization sprung from Europe so to speak. Think about it: most (both north and south) American citizens have ancestors in Europe, so do the citizens in Australia.
For Europeans, America and Australia didn't exist until Columbus and Cook hit their shores (the Vikings did it before Columbus ofcourse but that was forgotten). After that, lots and lots of Europeans emigrated to America and Australia (most of them for economic reasons ofcourse). Contact between them and the homefront was never lost and therefore Columbus, Cook and Magellan deserve some credit. Maybe not for first discovering the continents but for putting them on the map.
True, but I still think it's quite important. When Amazon confronts another site for using "their" technology, that site can always point out to the Barnes & Noble case, and ask what the conditions where in which they settled. It will continue to have an effect on all sites Amazon will (maybe) confront.
The outcome of the settlement is most certainly very important. If Barnes & Noble licenses Amazons technology or if Barnes & Noble have paid some amount of money, lots and lots of other websites can expect legal action from Amazon. After all, there are tons of sites which use the 1-click technology.
With some uncontrolled overclocking you could probably use it to keep your tea warm, too.
Tea? TEA?
Coffee.
South Korean internet users [receive] average about 1600 pieces of spam annually, summing to around 39 billion pieces of spam per year. According to the same story, Americans receive about 2500 pieces of spam per year.
The average computer user never uses a fake e-mail address (or at least a scrambled one) when they're asked for their email address during registration or similar processes. Furthermore, they forget to point out that they don't want to receive e-mails by the company responsible for the registration (I'm not even talking about companies who sell their customer db's to other companies).
Finally, millions of people have a hotmail account. And there, they forget to point out that they don't want to be listed in the so-called White Pages, a main source for spammers.
November 2001: Microsoft lies about Embedded Linux
Lineo has gone as far to say it flat out lies about Linux.
:)
Lying is just another way of looking at the truth