Completely side-stepping the science vs religion argument that is waiting to erupt, I feel like the most base morality does have a place in society and is probably biological in origin. For instance, one moral tenet might be "don't be an asshole to other people". The biological programming behind this may simply be that humans have instincts similar to animals that recognize (after millennia of trial and error) that if you intentionally prey upon someone else, you will eventually run into another creature that will fight back (and potentially win). As human beings, since we don't have to naturally prey on each other in terms of eating each others' carcasses for nourishment, other sorts of (morally unnecessary) preying upon humans often will do nothing but cause unneeded conflict in both people's lives.
It seems like a philosophical moral concept (i.e. "the golden rule"), but the reality is that if you're an asshole, you may well get stomped to the curb (or worse). Same goes for other extremely base moral concepts... in fact, trying to vocalize other examples of what is considered moral behavior, I realize that the majority of it boils down to the aforementioned tenet. When not taken to dogmatic extremes, it appears that almost all basic morality illustrates circumstances where if you commit a certain act, you may face uncomfortable repercussions; if you simply treat some situations with restraint and / or respect, you will easily avoid said uncomfortable repercussions.
My grandmother story may have been a bit too "human interest"-ish for the topic, but I think I was more trying to stress that this level of understanding of browsing the web is simply part and parcel of the age of the technology. Driving a car lawfully requires (a modicum) of training and certification. At this stage of the history of cars (~100 years later), it's also almost required in many cities in America to at least be able to drive to function in society. Anybody who is learning to drive now will ultimately be far more skilled than somebody learning to drive in 1919.
It's the same with the internet.
I have no numbers to cite, but I imagine that the vast majority of internet users are either adults who pre-date the (modern, post-2000) internet completely, already having learned their preferred methods of communication and being dragged into new ways without proper education, or their children, who rarely have been taught the base level of functionality on the internet as they would be taught to drive a car (presumably because the aforementioned adults never received the proper education to pass along).
Their children's children, however, are being / will be taught how to use the internet with much more competence than already exists, and as the old numbers die out, the majority will overwhelmingly reach a baseline level of competence and skill with regards to navigating and utilizing the internet... but that time hasn't arrived yet, and that's why I cited my grandmother. She's still alive, oblivious to the internet and modern inventions, and there's no hope for her ever grasping the difference between an address bar and a search box. I just wouldn't say the same thing about some 7 year old kid on the street who, if clearly shown the difference would never mistake them for each other again.
People have already commented on the fact that it's "mindblowing" to them that the average computer user can't differentiate between the address bar and a search box, not to mention that they don't remember or use URLs. I think that's a bit of an elitist, naive view of the overwhelming majority of internet users. Side-stepping the (woefully draining) topic of "why isn't Aunt Ruth more adept at computing?", people googling for yahoo is no different than dialing 411 to get an operator to look up a phone number and make a connection for you. Sometimes it makes sense.
Sometimes you're driving and can't safely get out the yellow pages (or yellowpages.com) to look up a number and call it.
Sometimes you're on a device with limited typing capabilities and can't be bothered to type "http://" with 9 keys.
Sometimes you don't know what "http://" even means, let alone are skilled enough at typing to quickly knock in "http://www.google.com" when "google" is already strenuous enough and all you wanted in the first place.
I know, it's 2007. People should learn and adapt. I get it. That's my gut reaction too, but then again, tell that to my grandma who has never driven a day in her life because back when she could've learned, it wasn't necessary or (apparently) proper for women to have a driver's license or a car. As weird as it seems in today's society, it hasn't stopped her from living a full life.
-Rylfaeth
Re:Examples of horrible MySpace design?
on
Inside MySpace.com
·
· Score: 1
my plasma experience
on
Plasma or LCD?
·
· Score: 2, Informative
I've got a 42" plasma EDTV from Zenith. I've had it for going on 2 years and bought it specifically at the lower resolution based on the fact that I simply wouldn't be using it for any other purpose than hooking it up to a living room PC via DVI connection and playing SD-DVDs or xvid downloads through it, as well as the occasional analog cable broadcast. The display itself is extremely bright and has a wide viewing angle (to the point where nobody notices a "bad viewing angle"), and out-shone all of the other displays at the store when I purchased it. The kid working there actually attempted to talk me out of buying it, insinuating that it's a waste of money compared to full HD displays despite my insistance that a person should buy a screen with features that compliment what they'll be using it to display.
I haven't experienced any long-term burn-in or any problems at all using the device. As long as you turn on the pixel orbiter function, you should be gold. I did notice that after a month or so of watching morning news for traffic reports daily, the station's very bright red watermark logo left a faint burn-in that quickly disappeared after leaving the screen on 'inverse' for a half hour and then turning pixel orbiter on (I thought it shipped with it turned on by default, but didn't).
Honestly, I couldn't be happier. I've got a display that is essentially tailored to the content that I own and consume (since I have no desire to mess around with HD-DVD or Blu-Ray, and I don't game at all). Also, YMMV but in the middle of the day, when the room is very bright, the screen is just as brilliant as it always is, and I can't say the same for LCD panels (albeit smaller, PC-oriented LCD panels) that I've set up next to it for comparison.
A lot of parents that I encounter shouldn't have children in the first place. I realize that the education and access isn't always present to prevent unwanted / unnecessary birth, and abortion / morning-after pill / Plan B aren't socially acceptable / available across the board yet either.. but seriously... A lot of people shouldn't have children in the first place.
They're not toys, they're not accessories and they're not marks of social status. I think our country would be a better place if adults were raised to recognize (and reject) out-moded lifestyles and aesthetics (i.e. "2.5 kids, a dog and a quiet house in a white suburban neighborhood is the American Dream (tm)"), as well as be encouraged to be selfish with regards to their life choices. People who by and far make poor parents truly don't want to be parents in the first place, and had they been encouraged to choose their career (or whatever) over squeezing out a couple of below-average fetuses to keep around the house and malnourish (mentally and physically), it would leave parenting up to the people who truly desire children / have the capacity to raise them effectively, and the world would be better off for it.
When learning foreign languages, I'm still looking for a decent Japanese software title - but most edutainment (is that what they still call it?) sucks.
Check out Rosetta Stone. It's really good software.
-Rylfaeth
...is simply that 9 times out of 10, to make use of something, regardless of quality, the user must possess at least rudimentary programming skills. 50 years from now, the vast majority of computer users will probably be mildly proficient at scripting and things of that nature (similar to how a wide range of the population can understand and perform basic car maintenance)... but that time is not today, nor is it the near future, and that prevents folks from being able to install, maintain and use various open source programs / scripts / etc.
Most of the time it's not even an issue of "can I get this installed" either; there's often an appalling lack of documentation (or readable, organized, aesthetically pleasing documentation) for these projects and you have to sit there either tearing through code or google to figure out how to use the software in the first place. It's very counter-intuitive.
Also, and I don't know about you guys, but almost every time I end up looking for open source software, I'm trying to find out if something exists already to solve a problem I'm currently trying to avoid coding myself.. then when I find the solution, it's either not exactly what I want (and I have to code something for it anyways), or I have to figure out how to write a middle layer (I'm coding again) to integrate it into my solution. Either way, there's extra work involved. It's fine for my purposes, but not for regular users.
I'm a Sidekick user and it's simply way too useful of a device (and too entrenched in my life at this point) to drop T-Mobile as a provider (which btw has been a far better service provider for me than Sprint ever was) due to a single case of some guy trying to sell information. In this day and age, stuff gets cracked, it sucks but it happens and the best you can do is hope you don't personally have to deal with the repercussions of identity theft in your lifetime. -Rylfaeth
I took a metal bat to an old computer (and monitor) that got infected with CIH a handful of years ago... after running tiramisu and many other "recovery" programs I figured why not just fucking ruin the stupid thing and get a little enjoyment out of that? Anyways, despite terribly denting the case and power supply case, and cracking a cheap pci video card in half, the box booted fine. That's when I ripped the hard drive out while it was powered up and threw it down my driveway. A simple reboot fixed the problem, prompting me with the typical "Invalid System Disk" error. I replaced the hard drive and kept the dented behemoth in my closet for a few years afterwards. -Rylfaeth
Honestly? I put a system in my car solely because it sounds WAY better than a handful of pussy factory speakers that'll disintegrate after a few months of bass-heavy music. I like it when I can feel the bass punching the back of my seat or shaking my car like a massage chair at Sharper Image:P
With regards to whether or not people with them are trying to be assholes, I can only speak for myself but I'm not trying to be a hardass or front for the ladies or whatever... if it's 5:15pm and I pull up to a red light where I'm surrounded by clearly-overworked adults (I being a clearly-underworked adult), I turn my stereo down so they don't have to listen to it. It's common courtesy... but the second I roll up next to an Escalade sittin on sprewells that's clearly calling attention to itself for the sake of image alone, I ain't turnin shit down. -Rylfaeth
more often than not, at least in my experience (speaking as somebody who also has a stereo worth 3x the value of his car and can shake fillings out of your teeth), when people roll up next to you and have their systems cranked, their windows tend to be rolled up. All I hear next to them is the bass, which sounds TERRIBLE by itself. As their fellow human being, they should do me the courtesy of at least letting me listen to Petey Pablo with them during the 30 seconds it takes for the light to change from red to green. -Rylfaeth
I'm out of gas and I need directions to the nearest gas station so I can spend $2 a gallon on an antiquated and crude fuel to make my futuristic nanocar run.
Most windows-related "piracy" is done by non-professional home users. For instance, the vast majority of Photoshop users with pirated copies are terrible artists and wouldn't stand to make any income using the software if their lives depended on it. Any legitimate business using the software would be obliged to pay for it, however, because not only is it a tax writeoff, but in a professional capacity, things need to work, always. If something breaks, they have access to technical support. There's simply little to no incentive to pirate anything in the professional world.
The reason I bring this up is because aside from webservers, the majority of professional-grade software that requires either a Windows or Mac operating system to run DO NOT have an open-source / linux equivalent. The Gimp is not an acceptable alternative to Adobe products. Nothing on linux can even begin to replace Cubase, Logic or ProTools. And since businesses buy legit software and support, the "piracy" spoken of simply builds brand loyalty in the event that the user ever enters the professional market.
2 days ago this redneck I know flipped his quad over in a creek and tore his ear off. He called a friend's mom and cussed her out when she didn't believe he was hurt. It took a little while to find out where he was. If only he had had sensors in the trees to track his flowing mullet...
Fact: professional software costs a shitload of money that most home users can't afford.
Fact: using pirated software builds both familiarity and brand loyalty
Fact: most free software cannot hold a candle to the commercial software it attempts to emulate (see GIMP vs Photoshop argument)
Keeping those three points in mind, companies like Microsoft and Adobe secretly don't care that you didn't pay for your copy of Windows or Photoshop.. it's the perfect scenario: Person pirates sofware. Person feels like a rebel and is doubly excited to use it. Person learns software and becomes dependant on it. Person gains employment. Person's employer purchases software for person to do their job. Software company profits. Simple as that. Piracy sucks for game companies, but in my opinion really helps large software powerhouses.
Slashdot Mirror
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2012/dec/28/youtube-video-views-disappear-migrate
Views and videos just got shifted over to VEVO.
Completely side-stepping the science vs religion argument that is waiting to erupt, I feel like the most base morality does have a place in society and is probably biological in origin. For instance, one moral tenet might be "don't be an asshole to other people". The biological programming behind this may simply be that humans have instincts similar to animals that recognize (after millennia of trial and error) that if you intentionally prey upon someone else, you will eventually run into another creature that will fight back (and potentially win). As human beings, since we don't have to naturally prey on each other in terms of eating each others' carcasses for nourishment, other sorts of (morally unnecessary) preying upon humans often will do nothing but cause unneeded conflict in both people's lives.
It seems like a philosophical moral concept (i.e. "the golden rule"), but the reality is that if you're an asshole, you may well get stomped to the curb (or worse). Same goes for other extremely base moral concepts... in fact, trying to vocalize other examples of what is considered moral behavior, I realize that the majority of it boils down to the aforementioned tenet. When not taken to dogmatic extremes, it appears that almost all basic morality illustrates circumstances where if you commit a certain act, you may face uncomfortable repercussions; if you simply treat some situations with restraint and / or respect, you will easily avoid said uncomfortable repercussions.
-Rylfaeth
My grandmother story may have been a bit too "human interest"-ish for the topic, but I think I was more trying to stress that this level of understanding of browsing the web is simply part and parcel of the age of the technology. Driving a car lawfully requires (a modicum) of training and certification. At this stage of the history of cars (~100 years later), it's also almost required in many cities in America to at least be able to drive to function in society. Anybody who is learning to drive now will ultimately be far more skilled than somebody learning to drive in 1919.
It's the same with the internet.
I have no numbers to cite, but I imagine that the vast majority of internet users are either adults who pre-date the (modern, post-2000) internet completely, already having learned their preferred methods of communication and being dragged into new ways without proper education, or their children, who rarely have been taught the base level of functionality on the internet as they would be taught to drive a car (presumably because the aforementioned adults never received the proper education to pass along).
Their children's children, however, are being / will be taught how to use the internet with much more competence than already exists, and as the old numbers die out, the majority will overwhelmingly reach a baseline level of competence and skill with regards to navigating and utilizing the internet... but that time hasn't arrived yet, and that's why I cited my grandmother. She's still alive, oblivious to the internet and modern inventions, and there's no hope for her ever grasping the difference between an address bar and a search box. I just wouldn't say the same thing about some 7 year old kid on the street who, if clearly shown the difference would never mistake them for each other again.
-Rylfaeth
People have already commented on the fact that it's "mindblowing" to them that the average computer user can't differentiate between the address bar and a search box, not to mention that they don't remember or use URLs. I think that's a bit of an elitist, naive view of the overwhelming majority of internet users. Side-stepping the (woefully draining) topic of "why isn't Aunt Ruth more adept at computing?", people googling for yahoo is no different than dialing 411 to get an operator to look up a phone number and make a connection for you. Sometimes it makes sense.
Sometimes you're driving and can't safely get out the yellow pages (or yellowpages.com) to look up a number and call it.
Sometimes you're on a device with limited typing capabilities and can't be bothered to type "http://" with 9 keys.
Sometimes you don't know what "http://" even means, let alone are skilled enough at typing to quickly knock in "http://www.google.com" when "google" is already strenuous enough and all you wanted in the first place.
I know, it's 2007. People should learn and adapt. I get it. That's my gut reaction too, but then again, tell that to my grandma who has never driven a day in her life because back when she could've learned, it wasn't necessary or (apparently) proper for women to have a driver's license or a car. As weird as it seems in today's society, it hasn't stopped her from living a full life.
-Rylfaeth
http://www.myspace.com/evilgoblin666
Where do I collect my prize?
-Rylfaeth
I've got a 42" plasma EDTV from Zenith. I've had it for going on 2 years and bought it specifically at the lower resolution based on the fact that I simply wouldn't be using it for any other purpose than hooking it up to a living room PC via DVI connection and playing SD-DVDs or xvid downloads through it, as well as the occasional analog cable broadcast. The display itself is extremely bright and has a wide viewing angle (to the point where nobody notices a "bad viewing angle"), and out-shone all of the other displays at the store when I purchased it. The kid working there actually attempted to talk me out of buying it, insinuating that it's a waste of money compared to full HD displays despite my insistance that a person should buy a screen with features that compliment what they'll be using it to display.
I haven't experienced any long-term burn-in or any problems at all using the device. As long as you turn on the pixel orbiter function, you should be gold. I did notice that after a month or so of watching morning news for traffic reports daily, the station's very bright red watermark logo left a faint burn-in that quickly disappeared after leaving the screen on 'inverse' for a half hour and then turning pixel orbiter on (I thought it shipped with it turned on by default, but didn't).
Honestly, I couldn't be happier. I've got a display that is essentially tailored to the content that I own and consume (since I have no desire to mess around with HD-DVD or Blu-Ray, and I don't game at all). Also, YMMV but in the middle of the day, when the room is very bright, the screen is just as brilliant as it always is, and I can't say the same for LCD panels (albeit smaller, PC-oriented LCD panels) that I've set up next to it for comparison.
-Rylfaeth
TinyMCE?
lol, reminds me of a previous thread about "futurists" and how their predictions are always nonsense
A lot of parents that I encounter shouldn't have children in the first place. I realize that the education and access isn't always present to prevent unwanted / unnecessary birth, and abortion / morning-after pill / Plan B aren't socially acceptable / available across the board yet either.. but seriously... A lot of people shouldn't have children in the first place.
They're not toys, they're not accessories and they're not marks of social status. I think our country would be a better place if adults were raised to recognize (and reject) out-moded lifestyles and aesthetics (i.e. "2.5 kids, a dog and a quiet house in a white suburban neighborhood is the American Dream (tm)"), as well as be encouraged to be selfish with regards to their life choices. People who by and far make poor parents truly don't want to be parents in the first place, and had they been encouraged to choose their career (or whatever) over squeezing out a couple of below-average fetuses to keep around the house and malnourish (mentally and physically), it would leave parenting up to the people who truly desire children / have the capacity to raise them effectively, and the world would be better off for it.
-Rylfaeth
...is simply that 9 times out of 10, to make use of something, regardless of quality, the user must possess at least rudimentary programming skills. 50 years from now, the vast majority of computer users will probably be mildly proficient at scripting and things of that nature (similar to how a wide range of the population can understand and perform basic car maintenance)... but that time is not today, nor is it the near future, and that prevents folks from being able to install, maintain and use various open source programs / scripts / etc.
Most of the time it's not even an issue of "can I get this installed" either; there's often an appalling lack of documentation (or readable, organized, aesthetically pleasing documentation) for these projects and you have to sit there either tearing through code or google to figure out how to use the software in the first place. It's very counter-intuitive.
Also, and I don't know about you guys, but almost every time I end up looking for open source software, I'm trying to find out if something exists already to solve a problem I'm currently trying to avoid coding myself.. then when I find the solution, it's either not exactly what I want (and I have to code something for it anyways), or I have to figure out how to write a middle layer (I'm coding again) to integrate it into my solution. Either way, there's extra work involved. It's fine for my purposes, but not for regular users.
Shrug, just a couple points to think about.
-Rylfaeth
I'm a Sidekick user and it's simply way too useful of a device (and too entrenched in my life at this point) to drop T-Mobile as a provider (which btw has been a far better service provider for me than Sprint ever was) due to a single case of some guy trying to sell information. In this day and age, stuff gets cracked, it sucks but it happens and the best you can do is hope you don't personally have to deal with the repercussions of identity theft in your lifetime.
-Rylfaeth
or so shouts Admiral Adbar.
-Rylfaeth
I took a metal bat to an old computer (and monitor) that got infected with CIH a handful of years ago ... after running tiramisu and many other "recovery" programs I figured why not just fucking ruin the stupid thing and get a little enjoyment out of that? Anyways, despite terribly denting the case and power supply case, and cracking a cheap pci video card in half, the box booted fine. That's when I ripped the hard drive out while it was powered up and threw it down my driveway. A simple reboot fixed the problem, prompting me with the typical "Invalid System Disk" error. I replaced the hard drive and kept the dented behemoth in my closet for a few years afterwards.
-Rylfaeth
Pete Townshend got pissed and threw his computer out the window! The Sun is there!
-Rylfaeth
Honestly? I put a system in my car solely because it sounds WAY better than a handful of pussy factory speakers that'll disintegrate after a few months of bass-heavy music. I like it when I can feel the bass punching the back of my seat or shaking my car like a massage chair at Sharper Image :P
... if it's 5:15pm and I pull up to a red light where I'm surrounded by clearly-overworked adults (I being a clearly-underworked adult), I turn my stereo down so they don't have to listen to it. It's common courtesy... but the second I roll up next to an Escalade sittin on sprewells that's clearly calling attention to itself for the sake of image alone, I ain't turnin shit down.
With regards to whether or not people with them are trying to be assholes, I can only speak for myself but I'm not trying to be a hardass or front for the ladies or whatever
-Rylfaeth
more often than not, at least in my experience (speaking as somebody who also has a stereo worth 3x the value of his car and can shake fillings out of your teeth), when people roll up next to you and have their systems cranked, their windows tend to be rolled up. All I hear next to them is the bass, which sounds TERRIBLE by itself. As their fellow human being, they should do me the courtesy of at least letting me listen to Petey Pablo with them during the 30 seconds it takes for the light to change from red to green.
-Rylfaeth
I'm out of gas and I need directions to the nearest gas station so I can spend $2 a gallon on an antiquated and crude fuel to make my futuristic nanocar run.
Thanks!
-Rylfaeth
Most windows-related "piracy" is done by non-professional home users. For instance, the vast majority of Photoshop users with pirated copies are terrible artists and wouldn't stand to make any income using the software if their lives depended on it. Any legitimate business using the software would be obliged to pay for it, however, because not only is it a tax writeoff, but in a professional capacity, things need to work, always. If something breaks, they have access to technical support. There's simply little to no incentive to pirate anything in the professional world.
The reason I bring this up is because aside from webservers, the majority of professional-grade software that requires either a Windows or Mac operating system to run DO NOT have an open-source / linux equivalent. The Gimp is not an acceptable alternative to Adobe products. Nothing on linux can even begin to replace Cubase, Logic or ProTools. And since businesses buy legit software and support, the "piracy" spoken of simply builds brand loyalty in the event that the user ever enters the professional market.
-Rylfaeth
Beer snobs should get rotgut and die. It's just as lame an argument as Windows vs Linux.
-Rylfaeth hates all of you
Isn't a merkin a pubic wig? Or is that a merken?
-Rylfaeth
On the contrary, xvid tends to be the choice dujour for almost all of the release groups.
-Rylfaeth
2 days ago this redneck I know flipped his quad over in a creek and tore his ear off. He called a friend's mom and cussed her out when she didn't believe he was hurt. It took a little while to find out where he was. If only he had had sensors in the trees to track his flowing mullet...
-Rylfaeth
Use Linux and free software instead.
Fact: professional software costs a shitload of money that most home users can't afford.
Fact: using pirated software builds both familiarity and brand loyalty
Fact: most free software cannot hold a candle to the commercial software it attempts to emulate (see GIMP vs Photoshop argument)
Keeping those three points in mind, companies like Microsoft and Adobe secretly don't care that you didn't pay for your copy of Windows or Photoshop.. it's the perfect scenario: Person pirates sofware. Person feels like a rebel and is doubly excited to use it. Person learns software and becomes dependant on it. Person gains employment. Person's employer purchases software for person to do their job. Software company profits. Simple as that. Piracy sucks for game companies, but in my opinion really helps large software powerhouses.
-Rylfaeth
It's harder to pirate the fuck out of console CDs
I beg to differ.
-Rylfaeth