A police state isn't erected in one chunk. It is built up brick by brick, and this kind of seizure is one of these bricks.
Yes, as Europeans and Asians should well know. A century ago, Europeans were displaying the same kind of smug superiority towards the US as you are displaying now: European philosophers and social scientists and politicians thought they had it all figured out. A few decades later, Europe lay in ruins: almost every European nation had either turned into a police state or been taken over by one.
People will tell you that you are being alarmist when you raise this sort of thing with them
I don't know what "people" you have been talking to, but Americans take this sort of thing very seriously and there is vigorous political debate about it. That's why you hear about this sort of thing in the first place: because Americans care and worry about it.
You can be sure that almost every dirty thing the US government does, European governments are doing as well; it's just that it gets swept under the rug quietly in Europe and nobody finds out about it.
The US, seeing itself as a high tech economy, is measuring inputs (R&D money) and gross outputs (patents and the money they produce) and patting itself on the back for the resulting 'growth' (innovation)
Sorry, but you're confused. Research output in the US is quantified by many different factors.
despite the fact you are producing little or none.
And how would you know? What quantities do you base that assessment on? And "little" is relative to which other nations?
Being completely unaware of the true state of your economy is a dangerous place to be.
Indeed. Now, which nation do you think is more "aware" of the state of its economy than the US?
Well, this question brings out the whole "environmentally friendly" issue.
I don't see why "biodegradable" or paper is actually good anymore. Apart from the fact that paper manufacturing is anything but environmentally friendly, anything that's biodegradable turns quickly into CO2. Non-degradable plastic bags, instead, sequester carbon into the ground for a long time.
So, do something against global warming: buy and dispose of as many long-lived plastic items as you can.
The notion of a collaborative application that requires a client other than a web browser itself seems outdated, no matter how good the application may be.
It's nice that IBM is aiming for a Microsoft-free desktop. I don't even begrudge them that they are pushing their own proprietary software as part of that. But the Lotus products are simply obsolete...
But the company that is insuring you certainly has a right to know what type of risk they're insuring - and just like auto insurance your cost should reflect it.
I don't think medical insurance companies have a "right" to know the risk at all. Medical insurance rates should be independent of risk; there is no medical, social, or economic purpose being served by letting insurance companies cherry-pick low-risk individuals and leave the high risk patients to the government.
This is why the government is going to have to step into health care in some way.
Yes, like, disallowing insurance companies to take health history into account in setting rates..
I hate government intervention in any market,
Well, then you'll be happy to know that keeping medical histories from insurance companies still permits a free market in insurance to flourish, while at the same time ensuring that everybody can get affordable insurance.
is equivalent to the right to tap any and all international connections
Yes, it is. And you can assume that all international traffic is, in fact, tapped by the US and other nations, including data, voice, SMS, Skype, other VoIP, and FAX.
I think the real question is what kind of legal cases this information can be used in (so far, it appears, none), and which cryptographic protocols have been compromised.
This actually seems like it's good for life. Perchlorate isn't so bad that it kills everything (in fact, it's probably less aggressive than atmospheric oxygen), but it's a ready-made energy source for microbes.
1. Error reporting paths are not reliable (in fact it's notoriously terrible).
Sounds like you're using the wrong OS or bad hardware, or you're simply doing something wrong.
Drive failure prediction is not reliable.
There ain't nothing to "predict": as soon as the first correctable error shows up in syslog, you should consider the disk dead.
2. The data path is not reliable. That includes media, drive controller, firmware, buffers, cabling, controller, host RAM, and other host subsystems. Cosmic rays. Whatever might flip a bit anywhere in your system.
Yes, and for each of those devices, there is an appropriate level of error detection and correction for that kind of device, which is implemented at the level of the controllers and protocols for that device.
Just for the record though, RMS has stated many times that the decision to base GNU on Unix was a technical one, not a preferred one.
One might add to this that before GNU, RMS was working on the Lisp machine and its window system.
The GUI toolkit he had developed was more powerful than Swing, Qt, or Gnome, and easier to program. The object system he was working on put AOP and Groovy to shame.
The fact that this software became proprietary despite his objections was what prompted him to develop GNU. And he based it on UNIX and C because he correctly realized that the world wasn't ready for advanced GUIs or advanced OOP. It's taken 20 years for people simply to accept basic single inheritance systems and garbage collection.
The people behind GNU were technical pioneers; they consciously kept things simple with GNU because they knew they were building software for the unwashed masses of programmers.
Neither the web browser or tabbed browsing originate from open source projects. I'm not saying that Microsoft is right saying that OSS never innovates but if you are going to debunk their claim I suggest sticking to fact.
The facts are a bit more complicated. But if you look at them, you'll find that most of the technologies Microsoft is shipping were developed either by public funding or by companies with basic research labs that didn't make much money from it. Both the web browser itself and tabbed browsing fall into that category.
And that means that Microsoft's notion that they should be able to get a return on the money they spend on R&D is untenable.
So, the OP misspoke when he said that they originated in open source projects, but he still gave valid examples for Microsoft incorrectly claiming other people's innovations as their own.
I'm sorry, but this is stupid. Error correction is done at the level of the disk controller. You gain nothing by re-doing it at the level of the file system. You only get file-system level errors when you don't pay attention to the disk controller telling you that the disk is going bad and wait for the disk to degrade to the point where errors can't be corrected anymore.
Install one of the many utilities that monitor disk health and replace your disk when they tell you there's a problem with your disk.
I can answer that as soon as you can tell me how to fix the poor usability of commercial applications. Windows, OS X, and the application software for those systems have some really serious usability problems as well.
In fact, Gnome and KDE at least have an excuse: many of their usability problems are problems they inherited when cloning Windows and OS X. What excuse do Microsoft and Apple have?
You seem to mistakenly assume that the only hydrocarbons on Titan are methane and ethane. In fact, Titan is covered in heavier hydrocarbons, as are some other solar system bodies.
I read everything I sign, electronically or not, EULAs included. I make informed choices, which is why I am pissed off that no one else seemingly can take responsibility for their own actions - a contract is something you read before you sign it,
Your contract doesn't contain the totality of what you need to know about a product. Your purchase contract does not tell you about the deficiencies or limitations of the iPhone or Macintosh.
so stop crying to your mother when you find out it covers something you don't like.
I'm don't have to cry to anybody: I did look at the iPhone in detail, I did read the restrictions and limitations, and I concluded that it's an overpriced piece of shit. And to save other people the trouble of wasting as much time as I did with doing so, I'm sharing my conclusions.
Sitting presidents have frequently ignored Constitutional limits, and in a number of cases to the great benefit of the nation.
Despite the atrocious abuses by Bush, I am not convinced that it is good the hamstring the president. In the long run, living with presidents like Bush may be the price for getting presidents like Lincoln.
And those that purchase iPhones to "jailbreak" them are just as dumb. If you hate Apple's stifling environment so much, don't buy an iPhone.... and we are going to continue to talk about what Apple's restrictions mean and that many other phones have more capabilities than the iPhone at a lower price.
If Apple were to set the standard for smartphones, with their restrictions, DRM, and stripped down functionality, smartphone users would be in trouble. Let's stop Apple now while there is still time.
You don't like their terms, don't use their product.
Exactly. And in order to ensure that as many people as possible know about Apple's restrictions and the consequences of those restrictions before they get locked into a contract, we keep talking about it.
Incidentally, any of the S60 Nokias, many Palms and many Windows Mobile phones have no restrictions on tethering. They're also cheaper than the iPhone. And the Nokias use the same web browser as the iPhone.
Slashdot Mirror
A police state isn't erected in one chunk. It is built up brick by brick, and this kind of seizure is one of these bricks.
Yes, as Europeans and Asians should well know. A century ago, Europeans were displaying the same kind of smug superiority towards the US as you are displaying now: European philosophers and social scientists and politicians thought they had it all figured out. A few decades later, Europe lay in ruins: almost every European nation had either turned into a police state or been taken over by one.
People will tell you that you are being alarmist when you raise this sort of thing with them
I don't know what "people" you have been talking to, but Americans take this sort of thing very seriously and there is vigorous political debate about it. That's why you hear about this sort of thing in the first place: because Americans care and worry about it.
You can be sure that almost every dirty thing the US government does, European governments are doing as well; it's just that it gets swept under the rug quietly in Europe and nobody finds out about it.
The US, seeing itself as a high tech economy, is measuring inputs (R&D money) and gross outputs (patents and the money they produce) and patting itself on the back for the resulting 'growth' (innovation)
Sorry, but you're confused. Research output in the US is quantified by many different factors.
despite the fact you are producing little or none.
And how would you know? What quantities do you base that assessment on? And "little" is relative to which other nations?
Being completely unaware of the true state of your economy is a dangerous place to be.
Indeed. Now, which nation do you think is more "aware" of the state of its economy than the US?
Well, this question brings out the whole "environmentally friendly" issue.
I don't see why "biodegradable" or paper is actually good anymore. Apart from the fact that paper manufacturing is anything but environmentally friendly, anything that's biodegradable turns quickly into CO2. Non-degradable plastic bags, instead, sequester carbon into the ground for a long time.
So, do something against global warming: buy and dispose of as many long-lived plastic items as you can.
The notion of a collaborative application that requires a client other than a web browser itself seems outdated, no matter how good the application may be.
It's nice that IBM is aiming for a Microsoft-free desktop. I don't even begrudge them that they are pushing their own proprietary software as part of that. But the Lotus products are simply obsolete...
But the company that is insuring you certainly has a right to know what type of risk they're insuring - and just like auto insurance your cost should reflect it.
I don't think medical insurance companies have a "right" to know the risk at all. Medical insurance rates should be independent of risk; there is no medical, social, or economic purpose being served by letting insurance companies cherry-pick low-risk individuals and leave the high risk patients to the government.
This is why the government is going to have to step into health care in some way.
Yes, like, disallowing insurance companies to take health history into account in setting rates..
I hate government intervention in any market,
Well, then you'll be happy to know that keeping medical histories from insurance companies still permits a free market in insurance to flourish, while at the same time ensuring that everybody can get affordable insurance.
is equivalent to the right to tap any and all international connections
Yes, it is. And you can assume that all international traffic is, in fact, tapped by the US and other nations, including data, voice, SMS, Skype, other VoIP, and FAX.
I think the real question is what kind of legal cases this information can be used in (so far, it appears, none), and which cryptographic protocols have been compromised.
This actually seems like it's good for life. Perchlorate isn't so bad that it kills everything (in fact, it's probably less aggressive than atmospheric oxygen), but it's a ready-made energy source for microbes.
1. Error reporting paths are not reliable (in fact it's notoriously terrible).
Sounds like you're using the wrong OS or bad hardware, or you're simply doing something wrong.
Drive failure prediction is not reliable.
There ain't nothing to "predict": as soon as the first correctable error shows up in syslog, you should consider the disk dead.
2. The data path is not reliable. That includes media, drive controller, firmware, buffers, cabling, controller, host RAM, and other host subsystems. Cosmic rays. Whatever might flip a bit anywhere in your system.
Yes, and for each of those devices, there is an appropriate level of error detection and correction for that kind of device, which is implemented at the level of the controllers and protocols for that device.
ZFS is unique in doing that, by design.
ZFS is an idiotic design.
If the gear is consumer-level priced, there is LITTLE/NO error correction.
All modern disks have extensive error correction; they simply wouldn't work without it.
Not even the system RAM is error corrected unless you buy ECC.
RAM is one thing, disks are a completely different thing.
Just for the record though, RMS has stated many times that the decision to base GNU on Unix was a technical one, not a preferred one.
One might add to this that before GNU, RMS was working on the Lisp machine and its window system.
The GUI toolkit he had developed was more powerful than Swing, Qt, or Gnome, and easier to program. The object system he was working on put AOP and Groovy to shame.
The fact that this software became proprietary despite his objections was what prompted him to develop GNU. And he based it on UNIX and C because he correctly realized that the world wasn't ready for advanced GUIs or advanced OOP. It's taken 20 years for people simply to accept basic single inheritance systems and garbage collection.
The people behind GNU were technical pioneers; they consciously kept things simple with GNU because they knew they were building software for the unwashed masses of programmers.
The difference is that open source doesn't have a problem with it and acknowledges it.
Microsoft not only lies about where their ideas and technologies come from, they use those lies to support their anti-competitive arguments.
Neither the web browser or tabbed browsing originate from open source projects. I'm not saying that Microsoft is right saying that OSS never innovates but if you are going to debunk their claim I suggest sticking to fact.
The facts are a bit more complicated. But if you look at them, you'll find that most of the technologies Microsoft is shipping were developed either by public funding or by companies with basic research labs that didn't make much money from it. Both the web browser itself and tabbed browsing fall into that category.
And that means that Microsoft's notion that they should be able to get a return on the money they spend on R&D is untenable.
So, the OP misspoke when he said that they originated in open source projects, but he still gave valid examples for Microsoft incorrectly claiming other people's innovations as their own.
I'm sorry, but this is stupid. Error correction is done at the level of the disk controller. You gain nothing by re-doing it at the level of the file system. You only get file-system level errors when you don't pay attention to the disk controller telling you that the disk is going bad and wait for the disk to degrade to the point where errors can't be corrected anymore.
Install one of the many utilities that monitor disk health and replace your disk when they tell you there's a problem with your disk.
I can answer that as soon as you can tell me how to fix the poor usability of commercial applications. Windows, OS X, and the application software for those systems have some really serious usability problems as well.
In fact, Gnome and KDE at least have an excuse: many of their usability problems are problems they inherited when cloning Windows and OS X. What excuse do Microsoft and Apple have?
Toyota is just trying to cash in on the stunning commercial success of the Segway!
Why stop at 2006?
Because there was a claim of a "dramatic" growth, and that's where the big jump occurred.
You seem to mistakenly assume that the only hydrocarbons on Titan are methane and ethane. In fact, Titan is covered in heavier hydrocarbons, as are some other solar system bodies.
I read everything I sign, electronically or not, EULAs included. I make informed choices, which is why I am pissed off that no one else seemingly can take responsibility for their own actions - a contract is something you read before you sign it,
Your contract doesn't contain the totality of what you need to know about a product. Your purchase contract does not tell you about the deficiencies or limitations of the iPhone or Macintosh.
so stop crying to your mother when you find out it covers something you don't like.
I'm don't have to cry to anybody: I did look at the iPhone in detail, I did read the restrictions and limitations, and I concluded that it's an overpriced piece of shit. And to save other people the trouble of wasting as much time as I did with doing so, I'm sharing my conclusions.
You know, if people just fucking read the shit they sign, you wouldn't have to waste your breath talking about it.
Given that you are an OS X user, there's a good chance that you didn't make an informed decision yourself. So... direct your criticism at yourself.
If there were oil, then that would be definitive proof that Mars once did have organic life.
Titan is covered in oil and natural gas, and there is no indication that that is of organic origin.
Sitting presidents have frequently ignored Constitutional limits, and in a number of cases to the great benefit of the nation.
Despite the atrocious abuses by Bush, I am not convinced that it is good the hamstring the president. In the long run, living with presidents like Bush may be the price for getting presidents like Lincoln.
And those that purchase iPhones to "jailbreak" them are just as dumb. If you hate Apple's stifling environment so much, don't buy an iPhone. ... and we are going to continue to talk about what Apple's restrictions mean and that many other phones have more capabilities than the iPhone at a lower price.
If Apple were to set the standard for smartphones, with their restrictions, DRM, and stripped down functionality, smartphone users would be in trouble. Let's stop Apple now while there is still time.
You don't like their terms, don't use their product.
Exactly. And in order to ensure that as many people as possible know about Apple's restrictions and the consequences of those restrictions before they get locked into a contract, we keep talking about it.
Incidentally, any of the S60 Nokias, many Palms and many Windows Mobile phones have no restrictions on tethering. They're also cheaper than the iPhone. And the Nokias use the same web browser as the iPhone.
Now, what exactly are you trying to say?
Well, geez, we're talking about Netcraft, and it is right there in the Netcraft announcements:
http://news.netcraft.com/archives/2006/06/04/june_2006_web_server_survey.html
And if you Google around (you do know Google?), you'll see that places like GoDaddy are refusing to deny that Microsoft paid them for this.