I think that it is safe to say, if Google went out of business tomorrow, I could still search the intartubez, without relying on Microsoft. I can avoid Bing, MSN search, Yahoo, and anything else that is in "partnership" with Microsoft. All those search engines work in the USA. I suspect that they all work anywhere in the world. I haven't even done much of a search for other search providers. I'll bet there are one or two in the Pacific, another in Australia, a handful in Asia, if I'm willing to learn Chinese. And, Russia. It's probably safe to bet that Russia has a couple, and the old East European socialist states probably have one or more.
The ONLY reason I would ever have for using Bing, is to help Microsoft lose money even faster. And, that idea isn't appealing enough to permit Microsoft even a snippet of my personal data.
Awesome. Truly awesome. Now, Microsoft and MS phanbois are openly admitting that they want to emulate Google. That's is almost certainly the most awesome thing I'll read in the next several months.
On another forum, few years ago, some dude got all spiritual, telling us that he felt so close to God and nature, and yada yada yada, because he hadn't eaten meat in a long long time.
I replied in the same vein. I, however, felt all spiritual, and close to God and nature and yada yada yada because I had harvested my own meat, directly from the bounty of nature. That kinda ruined his holier-than-thou post. I felt soooooo bad about it - NOT!
As for those bacteria - fek 'em. If they don't want to be prey in the next lifetime, they better be really good prey in this lifetime. When they get enough karma, then they can go around eating the crabs, or whatever it is they would like to eat.
(Now, I'm wondering. Maybe that's why we have so many karma whores in slashdot? They hope to come back to eat - someone - in the next life?)
How about, instead of just a tip, he collect a small amount of incriminating information? He sends that data, along with the emails and such that he has already exchanged with the company.
The fact that he has already exchanged mails with the company says that he is no longer anonymous, and has zero hope of staying clear of the fallout. To late for anonymity!
So, what's your problem here? You want to lock up the source? First, you can't. Anyone who wants the source can go upstream for it, even if you don't provide it. Second, if you could lock up the source, you would be in court really quick. You can't take away from the public what the public owns. DUHHH. Next, you'll be trying to sell land located in a national forest!
"However, were you even alive in the days when there really was a record store culture?"
I'm 55, and only vaguely recall the record stores. As you say, the chain retailers took over. I was in junior high school when the "Town Mall" was built, complete with a music outlet. That business was so profitable, that the town soon had several stores competing, only to see them all snowballed by the larger retailers. At that time, it wasn't WalMart, but K-Mart. Then it was "Adios, record stores!"
If it cost a penny to see a nickelback performance, I'd want a nickel back. I hear them on the radio from time to time. I can't help thinking that they have a sound that COULD be worth a lot. But - it just isn't worth much. Like MightyMartian, I find it difficult to differentiate between one nickelback title and another. They are a cut above rap, but only a cut.
Go ahead. Steal you a copy of Ubuntu. Wrap it up in whatever dressing you care to. Lot's of people have already done so, and given it names like Mint. Knock yourself out. As for the "proprietary" bit - better cover all your bases. The minute you begin SELLING your version of Ubuntu, the entire world is going to take notice.
Maybe that's where you're confused. People who "steal" soundtracks, then resell them for profit are an entirely different breed, apart from the common "pirate" who downloads some music for personal use.
I'm not even "certain I'd disagree with them". I WILL disagree with them, on principal. The idea of a One World Government gives the term "Devil's Advocate" a whole new meaning. I hope there are millions of ballsy little sumbitches like myself who will argue against the government, even when the government is right. Or, ESPECIALLY when the government is right!
I can't even imagine a billion people without one dissenting voice. Drugged up, brainwashed, and braindead, such people should be laying in graves.
Ditto, here. My Firefox is at 11.0a1 (2011-11-23). My updates come from the Ubuntu repositories - maybe if I downloaded them directly, I'd be a build ahead.
There are differences between all the browsers, but I really can't tell that either Chrome or Firefox is "better" than the other. What was it that Shakey guy said? "Much ado about nothing", I believe. I DO NOT like IE, but Chrome, Firefox, Opera, and Safari all get the job done for me. I don't pay much mind to the metrics, to be honest.
Although, I do look forward to the day that IE falls to 2nd, then 3rd, and then to 4th place. Just doesn't matter who is in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd!
Yeah, pretty much what you say. But, what's amusing is, tea didn't come in bags when the original Tea Partiers were partying. Even today, it's rather unusual to find tea in bags, unless you've only been exposed to orange pekoe and black pekoe. I love Black Russian, and Caravan teas. No bags! Jasmine tea is good when I want something fruity and sweet, no sugar needed. Real green tea is alright, now and then. Tea. No bags, thank you. That bagged tea is only good for flavoring ice water during the summer months. Cheap, plentiful, quick and easy to brew - just put some bags into a glass 1 gallon jug of water, and leave it sit in the sun all day while you're at work. Bring it indoors, and refrigerate it when you get home.
Alright, I know - off topic, right? Whatever. I'm still amused at "teabaggers".
How in hell do you equate real, physical, real world goods with bits and bytes? I can author a story, or anything else on my computer, and it sits there forever. When someone "steals" it from my computer, I've really lost nothing, except maybe a little privacy. Now, if they steal my computer, that is a real world asset, which can only be replace by purchasing another computer.
Physical assets and imaginary property are not equal.
Internet privacy isn't exactly dead, but it's very close to it. Privacy, to a degree, is available for those who do a bit of work to preserve their privacy. Of course, some people think I'm crazy for going to the effort.
" (incorrectly stated as News Corp in the article above) "
There is a lot of that. The Murdoch Empire (probably the most correct name possible) moved quickly to attach the stigma of "hacking" to those few select managers at one specific newspaper, then closed that one newspaper. The naive are supposed to conclude that those few select managers were rogues, and that they were punished by the Murdoch Empire. And, the naive have mostly come to that conclusion. Amazing, that Rupert is so good at manipulating the gullible masses.
One thing that can't be dismissed, is that Rupert personally paid multiple settlements, out of pocket, long before the scandal really broke. Many people overlook it, but no one can dismiss that fact. Rupert Murdoch was intimately familiar with the details of this hacking operation. Rupert Murdoch personally approved of the operations, or they would have been shut down to prevent the necessity of paying out more settlements.
I can't fault you for naming names in the manner you used. But, I insist that "Murdoch Empire" is most appropriate, and that the Emperor is entirely responsible for all misconduct. This particular emperor seems to hate delegating any authority, to anyone.
Oh, I didn't mean to limit it. I just threw out the example that should be easiest for everyone to understand. Many people have never been in business, or even been in management, so they may not understand exactly what "yes men" are.;^)
First part? I agree. I even have to plead guilty. I've modded people up or down, whom I may not have modded if the mod would carry my signature.
Second part? I'm not at all sure that banning AC would improve things, overall. Sure, AC posts some meaningless drivel. Maybe 90%, maybe 95%. But, AC also posts some gems, on occasion.
Uhhhhh - it's called "idiotic groupthink" because it is exactly that. The group decides what is good, and everyone conforms, or else. Kinda like in high school, where the most popular kid's ideas were always right, and the least popular kid's ideas were always wrong, no matter what the actual merits of the ideas.
Your a) is my thought. I like slashdot the way it is. Let's suppose that, ohhhh, about 30 people had uber moderator powers. And, of those 30, 17 of them were real fans of Microsoft, 1 was an Apple Phanboi, 1 was a Luser, and the remaining character just didn't give a rat's ass what operating system was in use. So, 17 uber mods nominate Microsoft phanbois, 1 nominates Apple phanbois, the Luser nominates other Lusers, and the odd man out nominates people with sexy names, that he hopes to meet some day.
Actually - things wouldn't change much, would they? ROFLMAO
My history with the Baen books is quite different from your own. But, I've been an avid reader, all my life. I exhausted my elementary school's library, then my junior high school's library, and then got a library card at the city library. It took years, but I finally read everything there, that I wanted to read. In the meantime, I read everything in my high school's library.
When I couldn't find FREE reading material, quite naturally I started BUYING books. Of course, a number of trilogies and anthologies were missing parts in the various libraries, so I had already bought those. Most of which, I donated to the city library when I was finished with them!
Yes, the model works.
If an author wants to be read, he must have an audience which loves to read. You can't capture an audience if you are not willing to give them good introductory material. The average school kid can't afford to buy books, and when he can afford to buy a book, he isn't going to UNLESS you've already taught him the value of reading.
Authors should look at Bill Gates for inspiration. Gates put his operating system within reach of every school kid in America for FREE. That is exactly why Microsoft has a monopoly today!
I don't want to jump to conclusions, but you sound as if you might have a handicap. If you browse around the Baen site a little bit, you'll find that Baen will GIVE ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING to you, as a handicapped person. I'm getting ready for work, and don't have time to find the direct link for you.
I post this link at every opportunity. All authors and publishers should read this, and give it serious thought. DRM is the stupidest thing since the square wheel!
Slashdot Mirror
ask.com
alltheweb.com
aolsearch.aol.com
hotbot.com
altavista.com
looksmart.com
lycos.com
search.netscape.com
dmoz.org
duckduckgo.com
dogpile.com
I think that it is safe to say, if Google went out of business tomorrow, I could still search the intartubez, without relying on Microsoft. I can avoid Bing, MSN search, Yahoo, and anything else that is in "partnership" with Microsoft. All those search engines work in the USA. I suspect that they all work anywhere in the world. I haven't even done much of a search for other search providers. I'll bet there are one or two in the Pacific, another in Australia, a handful in Asia, if I'm willing to learn Chinese. And, Russia. It's probably safe to bet that Russia has a couple, and the old East European socialist states probably have one or more.
The ONLY reason I would ever have for using Bing, is to help Microsoft lose money even faster. And, that idea isn't appealing enough to permit Microsoft even a snippet of my personal data.
"just like Google did"
Awesome. Truly awesome. Now, Microsoft and MS phanbois are openly admitting that they want to emulate Google. That's is almost certainly the most awesome thing I'll read in the next several months.
ROFLMAO
On another forum, few years ago, some dude got all spiritual, telling us that he felt so close to God and nature, and yada yada yada, because he hadn't eaten meat in a long long time.
I replied in the same vein. I, however, felt all spiritual, and close to God and nature and yada yada yada because I had harvested my own meat, directly from the bounty of nature. That kinda ruined his holier-than-thou post. I felt soooooo bad about it - NOT!
As for those bacteria - fek 'em. If they don't want to be prey in the next lifetime, they better be really good prey in this lifetime. When they get enough karma, then they can go around eating the crabs, or whatever it is they would like to eat.
(Now, I'm wondering. Maybe that's why we have so many karma whores in slashdot? They hope to come back to eat - someone - in the next life?)
How about, instead of just a tip, he collect a small amount of incriminating information? He sends that data, along with the emails and such that he has already exchanged with the company.
The fact that he has already exchanged mails with the company says that he is no longer anonymous, and has zero hope of staying clear of the fallout. To late for anonymity!
So, what's your problem here? You want to lock up the source? First, you can't. Anyone who wants the source can go upstream for it, even if you don't provide it. Second, if you could lock up the source, you would be in court really quick. You can't take away from the public what the public owns. DUHHH. Next, you'll be trying to sell land located in a national forest!
"However, were you even alive in the days when there really was a record store culture?"
I'm 55, and only vaguely recall the record stores. As you say, the chain retailers took over. I was in junior high school when the "Town Mall" was built, complete with a music outlet. That business was so profitable, that the town soon had several stores competing, only to see them all snowballed by the larger retailers. At that time, it wasn't WalMart, but K-Mart. Then it was "Adios, record stores!"
To a weed dealer, EVERYONE is a "friend". Unless that someone is a cop, a narc, or has no money.
If it cost a penny to see a nickelback performance, I'd want a nickel back. I hear them on the radio from time to time. I can't help thinking that they have a sound that COULD be worth a lot. But - it just isn't worth much. Like MightyMartian, I find it difficult to differentiate between one nickelback title and another. They are a cut above rap, but only a cut.
Go ahead. Steal you a copy of Ubuntu. Wrap it up in whatever dressing you care to. Lot's of people have already done so, and given it names like Mint. Knock yourself out. As for the "proprietary" bit - better cover all your bases. The minute you begin SELLING your version of Ubuntu, the entire world is going to take notice.
Maybe that's where you're confused. People who "steal" soundtracks, then resell them for profit are an entirely different breed, apart from the common "pirate" who downloads some music for personal use.
I'm not even "certain I'd disagree with them". I WILL disagree with them, on principal. The idea of a One World Government gives the term "Devil's Advocate" a whole new meaning. I hope there are millions of ballsy little sumbitches like myself who will argue against the government, even when the government is right. Or, ESPECIALLY when the government is right!
I can't even imagine a billion people without one dissenting voice. Drugged up, brainwashed, and braindead, such people should be laying in graves.
Ditto, here. My Firefox is at 11.0a1 (2011-11-23). My updates come from the Ubuntu repositories - maybe if I downloaded them directly, I'd be a build ahead.
There are differences between all the browsers, but I really can't tell that either Chrome or Firefox is "better" than the other. What was it that Shakey guy said? "Much ado about nothing", I believe. I DO NOT like IE, but Chrome, Firefox, Opera, and Safari all get the job done for me. I don't pay much mind to the metrics, to be honest.
Although, I do look forward to the day that IE falls to 2nd, then 3rd, and then to 4th place. Just doesn't matter who is in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd!
Yeah, pretty much what you say. But, what's amusing is, tea didn't come in bags when the original Tea Partiers were partying. Even today, it's rather unusual to find tea in bags, unless you've only been exposed to orange pekoe and black pekoe. I love Black Russian, and Caravan teas. No bags! Jasmine tea is good when I want something fruity and sweet, no sugar needed. Real green tea is alright, now and then. Tea. No bags, thank you. That bagged tea is only good for flavoring ice water during the summer months. Cheap, plentiful, quick and easy to brew - just put some bags into a glass 1 gallon jug of water, and leave it sit in the sun all day while you're at work. Bring it indoors, and refrigerate it when you get home.
Alright, I know - off topic, right? Whatever. I'm still amused at "teabaggers".
How in hell do you equate real, physical, real world goods with bits and bytes? I can author a story, or anything else on my computer, and it sits there forever. When someone "steals" it from my computer, I've really lost nothing, except maybe a little privacy. Now, if they steal my computer, that is a real world asset, which can only be replace by purchasing another computer.
Physical assets and imaginary property are not equal.
Internet privacy isn't exactly dead, but it's very close to it. Privacy, to a degree, is available for those who do a bit of work to preserve their privacy. Of course, some people think I'm crazy for going to the effort.
http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=2547796&cid=38194774
" (incorrectly stated as News Corp in the article above) "
There is a lot of that. The Murdoch Empire (probably the most correct name possible) moved quickly to attach the stigma of "hacking" to those few select managers at one specific newspaper, then closed that one newspaper. The naive are supposed to conclude that those few select managers were rogues, and that they were punished by the Murdoch Empire. And, the naive have mostly come to that conclusion. Amazing, that Rupert is so good at manipulating the gullible masses.
One thing that can't be dismissed, is that Rupert personally paid multiple settlements, out of pocket, long before the scandal really broke. Many people overlook it, but no one can dismiss that fact. Rupert Murdoch was intimately familiar with the details of this hacking operation. Rupert Murdoch personally approved of the operations, or they would have been shut down to prevent the necessity of paying out more settlements.
I can't fault you for naming names in the manner you used. But, I insist that "Murdoch Empire" is most appropriate, and that the Emperor is entirely responsible for all misconduct. This particular emperor seems to hate delegating any authority, to anyone.
Oh, I didn't mean to limit it. I just threw out the example that should be easiest for everyone to understand. Many people have never been in business, or even been in management, so they may not understand exactly what "yes men" are. ;^)
First part? I agree. I even have to plead guilty. I've modded people up or down, whom I may not have modded if the mod would carry my signature.
Second part? I'm not at all sure that banning AC would improve things, overall. Sure, AC posts some meaningless drivel. Maybe 90%, maybe 95%. But, AC also posts some gems, on occasion.
Doubledoublepluswhoosh.
Uhhhhh - it's called "idiotic groupthink" because it is exactly that. The group decides what is good, and everyone conforms, or else. Kinda like in high school, where the most popular kid's ideas were always right, and the least popular kid's ideas were always wrong, no matter what the actual merits of the ideas.
Damn, my math really sucks to day. Did I think that my numbers added up to 30, or did I just type 20 wrong? Fek me . . .
Your a) is my thought. I like slashdot the way it is. Let's suppose that, ohhhh, about 30 people had uber moderator powers. And, of those 30, 17 of them were real fans of Microsoft, 1 was an Apple Phanboi, 1 was a Luser, and the remaining character just didn't give a rat's ass what operating system was in use. So, 17 uber mods nominate Microsoft phanbois, 1 nominates Apple phanbois, the Luser nominates other Lusers, and the odd man out nominates people with sexy names, that he hopes to meet some day.
Actually - things wouldn't change much, would they? ROFLMAO
Ditto! Calibre is sweet!
WHOOT!! The model works.
My history with the Baen books is quite different from your own. But, I've been an avid reader, all my life. I exhausted my elementary school's library, then my junior high school's library, and then got a library card at the city library. It took years, but I finally read everything there, that I wanted to read. In the meantime, I read everything in my high school's library.
When I couldn't find FREE reading material, quite naturally I started BUYING books. Of course, a number of trilogies and anthologies were missing parts in the various libraries, so I had already bought those. Most of which, I donated to the city library when I was finished with them!
Yes, the model works.
If an author wants to be read, he must have an audience which loves to read. You can't capture an audience if you are not willing to give them good introductory material. The average school kid can't afford to buy books, and when he can afford to buy a book, he isn't going to UNLESS you've already taught him the value of reading.
Authors should look at Bill Gates for inspiration. Gates put his operating system within reach of every school kid in America for FREE. That is exactly why Microsoft has a monopoly today!
I don't want to jump to conclusions, but you sound as if you might have a handicap. If you browse around the Baen site a little bit, you'll find that Baen will GIVE ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING to you, as a handicapped person. I'm getting ready for work, and don't have time to find the direct link for you.
What more could you possibly want?
I post this link at every opportunity. All authors and publishers should read this, and give it serious thought. DRM is the stupidest thing since the square wheel!
http://www.baen.com/library/default.asp