What stuffed shirt made this point? A SOX auditor? Most likely. That's the sort of thing a SOX auditor would notice. Notice, I didn't say "stupid SOX auditor". That would have been redundant.
More than 5 years ago Circuit City was selling a DVD format called DVIX, as I recall. I remember when I was looking for my first DVD player how hard the salesdrone tried to get me to buy a DVIX player. As I recall the "movies" were as little as $4 but could only be played on a DVIX player which had to be hooked up to a phone so the player could dial home and validate the disk. I looked at the restrictions and figured out that the system was an ugly grab for my wallet. It relied on a supposedly free system which would fail because it could not support itself. I didn't care for the idea that I could buy a movie and not be able to take it to my friends house to watch it together. DVD's were, I decided, a much better deal.
Long and short... DVIX and all it stood for died. Died hard. Died ugly. Died and left customers holding useless garbage that, AFAIK, they can no longer play. So much for trust. This is a very abbreviated description of DVIX I know; however, I believe I have the essential points more or less correct. To this day I have never bought anything in a Circuit City store. To me DVIX, it's completely dishonest representation of value and functionality, and Circuit City are irrevocably maligned together. And I didn't even get burned by them.
My son just learned that he cannot play Windows Media Player files on his new iPod. Some time ago I'd tried to him into ripping his CDs to MP3 using CDex. However, Microsoft made Windows Media Player so EASY to use. So my lazy, instant gratification, boy learned a hard lesson about DRM and industry standards. CDs, $85. Refurbished iPod, $200. Look on his face when he tried to rip the newest DRM protected Foo Fighters album he'd bought. Priceless!
So, what about the new methods of DRM? I believe everyone needs to take a deep breath. Step back. Relax. With DVIX, DRM was relatively new. It is not as new any more. The only hope for DRM in the entertainment industry is for Congress, et al in other countries, to enact laws requiring it. On the other hand I think the only hope for Congress is that they don't. The people are actually fairly slow to learn collectively and the world does seem to be changing pretty fast these days. However, collectively, given time, a majority of people will come to realize that they are being lied to and will assert their rights. And when they do? I believe all hell will break loose and both Congress and the entertainment industry will fall victim to an electoral enema.
The wonderful thing about life is that it goes on. Miro made a mistake and corrected it. Everyone who has never made a mistake please take a step forward.
When they did this promo release in July I was tantalized enough to immediately download it. It was visual tripe. Fast paced clips, 1sec each, with nothing that even begins to suggest what the program is about. Completely void of any value.
The reviewer failed to mention player based boycotts of Electronic Arts. Also there was no serious discussions of the flaws of the game. I know of one serious boycott of their already announced (follow the money!) expansion pack until Electronic Arts fixed the heinous flaws in BF2.
In-game BF2 is tolerably good though you do need a considerable system to play it. However, everything external to the game is horrible. Mostly the problems result from a completely obvious money grab by Electronic Arts. Follow the money!
The ranking system is designed to make money ONLY FOR Electronic Arts. It is NOT an anti-hacking system as EA claims. That is the purest form of sophist marketing tripe. It will take me, and I play 2-3 hours a day, probably 2 years to make 1st Lieutenant. I only have about 2000 game points. Yet, there are already people with over 300,000 points. Eh? We all got it at the same time! The ONLY reason for the ranking system is so that EA can require a fee to run a ranked server. Between $4-$8 per player per month. $250 per month for 1 server. Follow the money!
Once you register you CANNOT change your nick without going through gyrations that would make a die-hard Rube Goldberg fan flinch. In game I'm R2N2. Out of the game, everywhere else Battlefield, I am PoW_Njall. I made a simple mistake with the demo and I'm hosed. Why? Follow the money!
No one I know, and I play A LOT of BF2 and BF1942 uses GameSpy. Yet registration with GameSpy is required? Why? Follow the money!
Electronic Arts says that modifying a Python configuration file is "hacking" and users caught "hacking" will be banned. Servers are not allowed to turn on all weapons thereby requiring players to play on "ranked" server in order to gain in-game access to upgrade weapons. Even if the players on the servers don't want to play for ranks. EA Games will "de-list" any server which opens the weapons. Why? Follow the money!
Had I written the game server browser I would hide myself in absolute shame about how poor it is. It is slow, inaccurate, and without features. Yet, EA prevents other game browsers from working with BF2. Why? Follow the money!
There is a LARGE list of problems that should have been found in testing. Why weren't they found? Follow the money!
If you want to get a clear idea of what to expect in Battlefield 2 from people who LIKE Battlefield 2 check out http://www.totalbf2.com/
Pay attention now. Dvorak may NOT be the most affable of commentators; nevertheless his articles, this one included, often serve to bring attention to an otherwise ignored topic. His comment might be looked upon as the pin prick to get your attention. "Do you feel this?" Or, "Look here."
Reasonably intelligent public discussion about Creative Commons licensing is FAR superior to completely reasonable public ignorance. Be honest, he got you to look didn't he?
I expect once the new keyboard smell is gone users of this keyboard will come to realize a major problem... keeping it clean. No matter how fastidious one is the keyboard will get dirty with the normal detritus of human use. I fear it won't be easy, possible?, to clean. Then the luster will be gone for sure.
Good design encompasses all facets of use. Including the more pedestrian issues. All that glitters is not gold.
These days when I use Linux, which is altogether too seldom, I use Ubuntu. I fell in love with it's over all simplicity to install and the support community. Generally speaking there is nothing about Ubuntu which I have asked that was not answered simply and eloquently by a simple search through the Ubuntu Forums. It instantly recognized my ATI 9600 Pro video card and QED allowed me to set up my Canon BJ240 printer. It is clean.
Is it better than this or that Linux Distro? Yes and No. Linux is the engine that gets you there regardless of distribution. I come pretty close to believing that the rest is just religion.
OMG! I have to re-learn Emacs?!?!?
on
Advocating Dvorak
·
· Score: 1
I can't go to a Dvorak layout! Do you know HOW MANY YEARS it took me to learn all those key sequences in EMACS?! If I went Dvorak the only option would be management! The dark side!
Several years ago I came to realize that one can either work with human nature and win; or work against it and lose. In the arena of passwords anyone who recommends NOT WRITING passwords down is declaring themselves against human nature. I tell users, "By all means write your password(s) down. However, treat that piece of paper like it were a $1000 bill. You wouldn't put a $1000 bill in your desk or under your keyboard. Don't do it with a password." It isn't the written password that is the problem. It's the casual treatment of something valuable.
Furthermore, I recommend that complicated passwords be allowed a lifetime of at least one year in all but the most sensitive areas. Ergo, a general user should usually be able to keep one for a minimum of a year. The systems administrator on the other hand, shouldn't keep a password longer than 60-90 days. That limited amount of time because most system administrators administrate multiple machines making their password very important.
I have, unfortunately, a fairly major problem with using Microsoft Word templates with OO. However, I can use it; albeit somewhat painfully. Fortunately for me I don't have to use the templates very often.
Candy costs about 55 cents a bar now, when it used to be about 33 cents when I was a kid. Does this mean if I were to shoplift a candy bar, it's the store's fault? Or the candy manufacturer?
That's a valid point. However, I would also point out that it is priced at 55 cents. And that price reflects what the market will pay not what the candy manufacturer has to charge because of costs to produce. Cost and Price of a product are related only in whether the manufacturer can "stay in business" at that Price.
Uh, why should I worry about whether or not one of the "preferentially treated subjects" leaks the information? That is as likely to be helpful to me as not. As for the "couple of bucks" buying the vulnerability information, I cannot help but think that reinforces my original point. You get what you pay for.
I find the overall slant of the topic to be disingenuous. Why shouldn't PAYING customers, you know those who pay the bills, get "preferential" treatment? If you don't like eating table scraps then pull a chair up to the table and pay for a meal. Being a 'nerd' doesn't mean one has to be a socialist. The same thought applies to Open Source Software. Those who contribute (you know time, money, sex) generally get more attention than those who don't.
It isn't unfair. It's life. Whether it's Micro$oft, CERT, or OSF, those who help keep the lights on generally get to see what's happening first.
Funny, I also have Adelphia Cable internet access... and I specifically DO NOT have their cable service. Like you I've had quite enough experience with their low quality cable TV. So far, 1+ years, their internet access has been quite acceptable.
Regards bundling cable and internet access, I recommend you call the FCC, FTC, and your local utilities commission and ask if such is legal.
Hate to be a troll; but apparently one isn't thinking! And your ignorance of HAM Radio is resplendent. Many, if not perhaps most, communications advancements in the last 100 years have been invented/distributed/tested by HAM Radio first. That cell-phone in your pocket is but one ubiquitous example.
One of the reasons I became an Associate member of FSF is to help the piper. Put your money where your popcorn is going and become a producer of the show!
It would be sweet if they did. Sooner or later it would come out what they did and at that moment a large chuck if not all of the Windows source code would fall under the auspices of the GPL. The difference between SCO and Open Software would be that Open Software would demand that all the code thereafter be made public. That would be a very interesting test of the GPL.
It is bound to happen that the format we receive our music in will change. There are several factors which WILL greatly affect what the new format is.
First and foremost the new format MUST make absolute sense from the human engineering point of view. It can't be too small to see | find | use. Doesn't matter if a 12 year old can use it, if mom and dad have trouble with it don't bet on success. Think fat fingers and keeping track of it.
Furthermore, the implementation of the new format will have to take into account the human nature. I personally have over 300 CDs I've purchased. I am unlikely to want to 're-buy' even a fraction of that music. Furthermore, I will not accept any robber-baron attempt to restrict where or when I can play/listen to it. And I'm just one person. Imagine the wants, desires, demands of the other 5+ billion of us!
This report is interesting. Gets me thinking. I doubt the CD will be "dead" in 5 years. I do expect a major change of the RIAA well before the demise of the music CD.
The facilities to do this are already available in the better email programs. I regularly filter out spam by simply moving all messages from unknown email addresses to a 'Junque' folder. Since I am also use Thunderbird (i.e. Mozilla Mail on steroids) I can use the JUNK controls too.
Slashdot Mirror
What stuffed shirt made this point? A SOX auditor? Most likely. That's the sort of thing a SOX auditor would notice. Notice, I didn't say "stupid SOX auditor". That would have been redundant.
More than 5 years ago Circuit City was selling a DVD format called DVIX, as I recall. I remember when I was looking for my first DVD player how hard the salesdrone tried to get me to buy a DVIX player. As I recall the "movies" were as little as $4 but could only be played on a DVIX player which had to be hooked up to a phone so the player could dial home and validate the disk. I looked at the restrictions and figured out that the system was an ugly grab for my wallet. It relied on a supposedly free system which would fail because it could not support itself. I didn't care for the idea that I could buy a movie and not be able to take it to my friends house to watch it together. DVD's were, I decided, a much better deal.
Long and short... DVIX and all it stood for died. Died hard. Died ugly. Died and left customers holding useless garbage that, AFAIK, they can no longer play. So much for trust. This is a very abbreviated description of DVIX I know; however, I believe I have the essential points more or less correct. To this day I have never bought anything in a Circuit City store. To me DVIX, it's completely dishonest representation of value and functionality, and Circuit City are irrevocably maligned together. And I didn't even get burned by them.
My son just learned that he cannot play Windows Media Player files on his new iPod. Some time ago I'd tried to him into ripping his CDs to MP3 using CDex. However, Microsoft made Windows Media Player so EASY to use. So my lazy, instant gratification, boy learned a hard lesson about DRM and industry standards. CDs, $85. Refurbished iPod, $200. Look on his face when he tried to rip the newest DRM protected Foo Fighters album he'd bought. Priceless!
So, what about the new methods of DRM? I believe everyone needs to take a deep breath. Step back. Relax. With DVIX, DRM was relatively new. It is not as new any more. The only hope for DRM in the entertainment industry is for Congress, et al in other countries, to enact laws requiring it. On the other hand I think the only hope for Congress is that they don't. The people are actually fairly slow to learn collectively and the world does seem to be changing pretty fast these days. However, collectively, given time, a majority of people will come to realize that they are being lied to and will assert their rights. And when they do? I believe all hell will break loose and both Congress and the entertainment industry will fall victim to an electoral enema.
The wonderful thing about life is that it goes on. Miro made a mistake and corrected it. Everyone who has never made a mistake please take a step forward.
When they did this promo release in July I was tantalized enough to immediately download it. It was visual tripe. Fast paced clips, 1sec each, with nothing that even begins to suggest what the program is about. Completely void of any value.
Not worth, IMHO, the time it took to delete it.
The reviewer failed to mention player based boycotts of Electronic Arts. Also there was no serious discussions of the flaws of the game. I know of one serious boycott of their already announced (follow the money!) expansion pack until Electronic Arts fixed the heinous flaws in BF2.
In-game BF2 is tolerably good though you do need a considerable system to play it. However, everything external to the game is horrible. Mostly the problems result from a completely obvious money grab by Electronic Arts. Follow the money!
The ranking system is designed to make money ONLY FOR Electronic Arts. It is NOT an anti-hacking system as EA claims. That is the purest form of sophist marketing tripe. It will take me, and I play 2-3 hours a day, probably 2 years to make 1st Lieutenant. I only have about 2000 game points. Yet, there are already people with over 300,000 points. Eh? We all got it at the same time! The ONLY reason for the ranking system is so that EA can require a fee to run a ranked server. Between $4-$8 per player per month. $250 per month for 1 server. Follow the money!
Once you register you CANNOT change your nick without going through gyrations that would make a die-hard Rube Goldberg fan flinch. In game I'm R2N2. Out of the game, everywhere else Battlefield, I am PoW_Njall. I made a simple mistake with the demo and I'm hosed. Why? Follow the money!
No one I know, and I play A LOT of BF2 and BF1942 uses GameSpy. Yet registration with GameSpy is required? Why? Follow the money!
Electronic Arts says that modifying a Python configuration file is "hacking" and users caught "hacking" will be banned. Servers are not allowed to turn on all weapons thereby requiring players to play on "ranked" server in order to gain in-game access to upgrade weapons. Even if the players on the servers don't want to play for ranks. EA Games will "de-list" any server which opens the weapons. Why? Follow the money!
Had I written the game server browser I would hide myself in absolute shame about how poor it is. It is slow, inaccurate, and without features. Yet, EA prevents other game browsers from working with BF2. Why? Follow the money!
There is a LARGE list of problems that should have been found in testing. Why weren't they found? Follow the money!
If you want to get a clear idea of what to expect in Battlefield 2 from people who LIKE Battlefield 2 check out http://www.totalbf2.com/
Pay attention now. Dvorak may NOT be the most affable of commentators; nevertheless his articles, this one included, often serve to bring attention to an otherwise ignored topic. His comment might be looked upon as the pin prick to get your attention. "Do you feel this?" Or, "Look here."
Reasonably intelligent public discussion about Creative Commons licensing is FAR superior to completely reasonable public ignorance. Be honest, he got you to look didn't he?
I expect once the new keyboard smell is gone users of this keyboard will come to realize a major problem... keeping it clean. No matter how fastidious one is the keyboard will get dirty with the normal detritus of human use. I fear it won't be easy, possible?, to clean. Then the luster will be gone for sure.
Good design encompasses all facets of use. Including the more pedestrian issues. All that glitters is not gold.
These days when I use Linux, which is altogether too seldom, I use Ubuntu. I fell in love with it's over all simplicity to install and the support community. Generally speaking there is nothing about Ubuntu which I have asked that was not answered simply and eloquently by a simple search through the Ubuntu Forums. It instantly recognized my ATI 9600 Pro video card and QED allowed me to set up my Canon BJ240 printer. It is clean.
Is it better than this or that Linux Distro? Yes and No. Linux is the engine that gets you there regardless of distribution. I come pretty close to believing that the rest is just religion.
I can't go to a Dvorak layout! Do you know HOW MANY YEARS it took me to learn all those key sequences in EMACS?! If I went Dvorak the only option would be management! The dark side!
Several years ago I came to realize that one can either work with human nature and win; or work against it and lose. In the arena of passwords anyone who recommends NOT WRITING passwords down is declaring themselves against human nature. I tell users, "By all means write your password(s) down. However, treat that piece of paper like it were a $1000 bill. You wouldn't put a $1000 bill in your desk or under your keyboard. Don't do it with a password." It isn't the written password that is the problem. It's the casual treatment of something valuable.
Furthermore, I recommend that complicated passwords be allowed a lifetime of at least one year in all but the most sensitive areas. Ergo, a general user should usually be able to keep one for a minimum of a year. The systems administrator on the other hand, shouldn't keep a password longer than 60-90 days. That limited amount of time because most system administrators administrate multiple machines making their password very important.
I have, unfortunately, a fairly major problem with using Microsoft Word templates with OO. However, I can use it; albeit somewhat painfully. Fortunately for me I don't have to use the templates very often.
The hell you say!
Candy costs about 55 cents a bar now, when it used to be about 33 cents when I was a kid. Does this mean if I were to shoplift a candy bar, it's the store's fault? Or the candy manufacturer?
That's a valid point. However, I would also point out that it is priced at 55 cents. And that price reflects what the market will pay not what the candy manufacturer has to charge because of costs to produce. Cost and Price of a product are related only in whether the manufacturer can "stay in business" at that Price.
There are still AOL users who need an OS to run their software on. Duh!
May the Scwartz be with you!
How much liberty is security worth?
Uh, why should I worry about whether or not one of the "preferentially treated subjects" leaks the information? That is as likely to be helpful to me as not. As for the "couple of bucks" buying the vulnerability information, I cannot help but think that reinforces my original point. You get what you pay for.
I find the overall slant of the topic to be disingenuous. Why shouldn't PAYING customers, you know those who pay the bills, get "preferential" treatment? If you don't like eating table scraps then pull a chair up to the table and pay for a meal. Being a 'nerd' doesn't mean one has to be a socialist. The same thought applies to Open Source Software. Those who contribute (you know time, money, sex) generally get more attention than those who don't.
It isn't unfair. It's life. Whether it's Micro$oft, CERT, or OSF, those who help keep the lights on generally get to see what's happening first.
Funny, I also have Adelphia Cable internet access... and I specifically DO NOT have their cable service. Like you I've had quite enough experience with their low quality cable TV. So far, 1+ years, their internet access has been quite acceptable.
Regards bundling cable and internet access, I recommend you call the FCC, FTC, and your local utilities commission and ask if such is legal.
Hate to be a troll; but apparently one isn't thinking! And your ignorance of HAM Radio is resplendent. Many, if not perhaps most, communications advancements in the last 100 years have been invented/distributed/tested by HAM Radio first. That cell-phone in your pocket is but one ubiquitous example.
One of the reasons I became an Associate member of FSF is to help the piper. Put your money where your popcorn is going and become a producer of the show!
Just remember the following information:
Those who can, DO. Those who can't TEACH. The rest work in HR!
It would be sweet if they did. Sooner or later it would come out what they did and at that moment a large chuck if not all of the Windows source code would fall under the auspices of the GPL. The difference between SCO and Open Software would be that Open Software would demand that all the code thereafter be made public. That would be a very interesting test of the GPL.
It is bound to happen that the format we receive our music in will change. There are several factors which WILL greatly affect what the new format is.
First and foremost the new format MUST make absolute sense from the human engineering point of view. It can't be too small to see | find | use. Doesn't matter if a 12 year old can use it, if mom and dad have trouble with it don't bet on success. Think fat fingers and keeping track of it.
Furthermore, the implementation of the new format will have to take into account the human nature. I personally have over 300 CDs I've purchased. I am unlikely to want to 're-buy' even a fraction of that music. Furthermore, I will not accept any robber-baron attempt to restrict where or when I can play/listen to it. And I'm just one person. Imagine the wants, desires, demands of the other 5+ billion of us!
This report is interesting. Gets me thinking. I doubt the CD will be "dead" in 5 years. I do expect a major change of the RIAA well before the demise of the music CD.
The facilities to do this are already available in the better email programs. I regularly filter out spam by simply moving all messages from unknown email addresses to a 'Junque' folder. Since I am also use Thunderbird (i.e. Mozilla Mail on steroids) I can use the JUNK controls too.