I agree completely with the points he makes. I've been saying for some time now that the Linux community, as a whole, needs to embrace the newbies, and drop the eliteist attitude that seems very prevalent these days.
Something he didn't say, though, that I think is important is this: There is no One-Best-Operating-System. The best operating system is the one that works best for you. I have friends who just want to play games, so they use Windows, since it has the most titles available. I have other friends who are art students, so they use Macs. I have other friends, who for some reason, think the Amiga is still going to have a comeback...;) My point is, Linux is a great OS. I love it. But when I was learning it, it was the most frustrating thing I've ever gone through. I had minimal help, and nearly gave up numerous times...I think the only reason I stayed with it was because it became a "thing" for me to conquer.
My point is, if we linux users would, as a whole, stop acting like we all have some secret handshake that windows users and AOLers can never learn, maybe someday we'll hear people say "Yeah, back in the 90s I used Windows too...until my teenage son taught me Linux...I wonder what ever happened to Bill Gates?"
> I encourage anyone living in those states to make their voice known. Every person who speaks up DOES count in issues like this.
We who are informed about the TRUE (read: not mainstream, 'hyped-up') nature of computers have an obligation to speak up about this. If you've heard about this, and have gotten angry, or felt shocked that anyone could even CONSIDER the ideas set forth in UCITA, it is your responsibility not just to write to the appropriate legislators, but also to write to newspapers, and magazines. Inform your friends and co-workers about this! Encourage them to read Stallman's article @ Linuxtoday.com
We must increase the public's knowledge of this issue. We MUST take a stand now.
I, for one, am very glad to see this. As someone who is just plain sick and tired of The Borg, anything that raises the general public's understanding of Linux is a very, very good thing.
I just wish there were more Linux-related events, especially ones geared towards educating the newbies.
My (appropriately geeky) hat is off to the organizers of this, and all other Linux conferences.
It seems that every science or science fiction-oriented show seems to have that beautiful, 23-year old nuclear physicist who doesn't act or sound like a scientist, who is put in just so she can be seduced by the male protagonist, the tough, working-class, cerebrally-challenged all-American guy.
The reason they do this is because major networks are interested primarliy in ratings, because ratings allow them to charge their advertisers higher rates. Somewhere, some network pollster figured out that the primary audience for SF shows is males, ages 18-30, who,/surprise/ like to look at beautiful 23-year-old nuclear physicists. So the networks know that if they add a beautiful woman to the mix, more people will watch, and they can get higher ratings. (Besides, it's a FOX show...I think having beautiful people who don't do much more than look beautiful is part of their charter.)
This is the same mode of thinking that has, IMNSHO, taken good, "pure" SF right out of our movie theatres, and replaced it with what the studios call "Sci-Fi-Action!" or "Sci-Fi-Horror!". It's too bad that we'll probably never see Ringworld or Foundation made in our lifetimes...which may be a blessing...I mean who wants to see Arkady played by Julia Roberts anyways?
Also not entirely related, but still interesting for X-Philes: Dean Haglund often performs improv in and around Los Angeles, California. I have seen him at the ACME Comedy Theatre on Friday nights a few times. He is very funny, and it's always nice to see actors who are locked into a series do something other than the character's we've gotten used to.
FBI CIA NSA IRS ATF BATF DOD WACO RUBY RIDGE OKC OKLAHOMA CITY MILITIA GUN HANDGUN MILGOV ASSAULT RIFLE TERRORISM BOMB DRUG HORIUCHI KORESH DAVIDIAN KAHL POSSE COMITATUS RANDY WEAVER VICKIE WEAVER SPECIAL FORCES LINDA THOMPSON SPECIAL OPERATIONS GROUP SOG SOF DELTA FORCE CONSTITUTION BILL OF RIGHTS WHITEWATER POM PARK ON METER ARKANSIDE IRAN CONTRAS OLIVER NORTH VINCE FOSTER PROMIS MOSSAD NASA MI5 ONI CID AK47 M16 C4 MALCOLM X REVOLUTION CHEROKEE HILLARY BILL CLINTON GORE GEORGE BUSH WACKENHUT TERRORIST TASK FORCE 160 SPECIAL OPS 12TH GROUP 5TH GROUP SF
The Establishment seems very intent on policing and regulating the Internet.
I think a big part of this is they are afraid of the paradigm shift the Internet has brought to the current generation. We are able to freely discuss ideas and share information in a way that circumvents the "controls" put into place by the generations that preceeded us...if I want to get a story out and discuss its implications, I can put it on my website, post it here or on UseNet. I think this frightens those in the establishment who rely on FUD to maintain the status quo.
Mandating "filtered" Internet access in colleges is censorship at best, and facism at worst.
The Establishment seems very intent on policing and regulating the Internet.
I think a big part of this is they are arfaid of the paradigm shift the Internet has brought to the current generation. We are able to freely discuss ideas and share information in a way that circumvents the "controls" put into place by the generations that preceeded us...if I want to get a story out and discuss its implications, I can put it on my website, post it here or on UseNet. I think this frightens those in the establishment who rely on FUD to maintain the status quo.
Mandating "filtered" Internet access in colleges is censorship at best, and facism at worst.
If you click on the Signup Page, and look at the "small sponsor-oriented navigation bar", you can see that in order to keep your connection alive, you have to click on an ad to refill your "health meter"!
I think this is only a good idea if you have one of those novelty, drinking birds that Homer used when he worked from home to keep clicking it for you.
He isn't very well going to crack the cash register at the Kwik-E-Mart...
There's an idea for employment! Kevin could work at the Kwik-E-Mart! Apu would just have him change the expiration dates on the lunch meats, and let Sonji run the register! Kevin gets to work, and the world is safe from his evil, dangerous, unrepentant, threat-to-the-American-way-of-life computer hacking! It's win-win!
1. Never play the same song more than once within a 3 hour period.
You know, I've been wondering why the major "alternative" rock station here in Los Angeles (KROQ) played the same 16-20 songs over and over...armed with this the above information, I did some math, and came up with this:
There are 60 minutes in an hour...there are about 10 minutes of commercials at the end of an hour, and about 10 minutes of other DJ chatter, promos, etc. That leaves about 40 minutes for music. Let's assume the average "alterna-pop" song is about 2.5 minutes long...40/2.5=16! Allow them to play the occasional "flashback" song, and there you have the approx. 16-20 songs on the playlist.
Wow...I can't believe I actually used long division in real life...I guess they were telling the truth in High School..now I wish I'd paid attention to the other stuff too.
Slashdot Mirror
Something he didn't say, though, that I think is important is this: There is no One-Best-Operating-System. The best operating system is the one that works best for you. I have friends who just want to play games, so they use Windows, since it has the most titles available. I have other friends who are art students, so they use Macs. I have other friends, who for some reason, think the Amiga is still going to have a comeback... ;) My point is, Linux is a great OS. I love it. But when I was learning it, it was the most frustrating thing I've ever gone through. I had minimal help, and nearly gave up numerous times...I think the only reason I stayed with it was because it became a "thing" for me to conquer.
My point is, if we linux users would, as a whole, stop acting like we all have some secret handshake that windows users and AOLers can never learn, maybe someday we'll hear people say "Yeah, back in the 90s I used Windows too...until my teenage son taught me Linux...I wonder what ever happened to Bill Gates?"
We who are informed about the TRUE (read: not mainstream, 'hyped-up') nature of computers have an obligation to speak up about this. If you've heard about this, and have gotten angry, or felt shocked that anyone could even CONSIDER the ideas set forth in UCITA, it is your responsibility not just to write to the appropriate legislators, but also to write to newspapers, and magazines. Inform your friends and co-workers about this! Encourage them to read Stallman's article @ Linuxtoday.com
We must increase the public's knowledge of this issue. We MUST take a stand now.
I just wish there were more Linux-related events, especially ones geared towards educating the newbies.
My (appropriately geeky) hat is off to the organizers of this, and all other Linux conferences.
The reason they do this is because major networks are interested primarliy in ratings, because ratings allow them to charge their advertisers higher rates. Somewhere, some network pollster figured out that the primary audience for SF shows is males, ages 18-30, who, /surprise/ like to look at beautiful 23-year-old nuclear physicists. So the networks know that if they add a beautiful woman to the mix, more people will watch, and they can get higher ratings. (Besides, it's a FOX show...I think having beautiful people who don't do much more than look beautiful is part of their charter.)
This is the same mode of thinking that has, IMNSHO, taken good, "pure" SF right out of our movie theatres, and replaced it with what the studios call "Sci-Fi-Action!" or "Sci-Fi-Horror!". It's too bad that we'll probably never see Ringworld or Foundation made in our lifetimes...which may be a blessing...I mean who wants to see Arkady played by Julia Roberts anyways?
T.J. Hooker being the notable exception.
FBI CIA NSA IRS ATF BATF DOD WACO RUBY RIDGE OKC OKLAHOMA CITY MILITIA GUN HANDGUN MILGOV ASSAULT RIFLE TERRORISM BOMB DRUG HORIUCHI KORESH DAVIDIAN KAHL POSSE COMITATUS RANDY WEAVER VICKIE WEAVER SPECIAL FORCES LINDA THOMPSON SPECIAL OPERATIONS GROUP SOG SOF DELTA FORCE CONSTITUTION BILL OF RIGHTS WHITEWATER POM PARK ON METER ARKANSIDE IRAN CONTRAS OLIVER NORTH VINCE FOSTER PROMIS MOSSAD NASA MI5 ONI CID AK47 M16 C4 MALCOLM X REVOLUTION CHEROKEE HILLARY BILL CLINTON GORE GEORGE BUSH WACKENHUT TERRORIST TASK FORCE 160 SPECIAL OPS 12TH GROUP 5TH GROUP SF
I think a big part of this is they are afraid of the paradigm shift the Internet has brought to the current generation. We are able to freely discuss ideas and share information in a way that circumvents the "controls" put into place by the generations that preceeded us...if I want to get a story out and discuss its implications, I can put it on my website, post it here or on UseNet. I think this frightens those in the establishment who rely on FUD to maintain the status quo.
Mandating "filtered" Internet access in colleges is censorship at best, and facism at worst.
I think a big part of this is they are arfaid of the paradigm shift the Internet has brought to the current generation. We are able to freely discuss ideas and share information in a way that circumvents the "controls" put into place by the generations that preceeded us...if I want to get a story out and discuss its implications, I can put it on my website, post it here or on UseNet. I think this frightens those in the establishment who rely on FUD to maintain the status quo.
Mandating "filtered" Internet access in colleges is censorship at best, and facism at worst.
Of course, as soon as they're out of college, they still can't get married...
If anyone is interested in learning the truth about the of Cult^h^h^hhurch of Scientology, go here.
I think this is only a good idea if you have one of those novelty, drinking birds that Homer used when he worked from home to keep clicking it for you.
I link a bunch of them together, and wear them on my head...it keeps the voices out.
There's an idea for employment! Kevin could work at the Kwik-E-Mart! Apu would just have him change the expiration dates on the lunch meats, and let Sonji run the register! Kevin gets to work, and the world is safe from his evil, dangerous, unrepentant, threat-to-the-American-way-of-life computer hacking! It's win-win!
You know, I've been wondering why the major "alternative" rock station here in Los Angeles (KROQ) played the same 16-20 songs over and over...armed with this the above information, I did some math, and came up with this:
There are 60 minutes in an hour...there are about 10 minutes of commercials at the end of an hour, and about 10 minutes of other DJ chatter, promos, etc. That leaves about 40 minutes for music. Let's assume the average "alterna-pop" song is about 2.5 minutes long...40/2.5=16! Allow them to play the occasional "flashback" song, and there you have the approx. 16-20 songs on the playlist.
Wow...I can't believe I actually used long division in real life...I guess they were telling the truth in High School..now I wish I'd paid attention to the other stuff too.