The value of anonymity is in the ability to express ideas that are not necessarily socially acceptable, but are contributions to our ongoing resolution of social questions.
When Google starts trying to "civilize" the internet by requiring real names, it's forcing us to associate our free speech with our jobs, families and others who may face retaliation if our ideas are not socially acceptable.
Anonymity is currently only by obfuscation beyond what joe public cares about. Technically it's feasible to find out who most (not all) of these Anonymous Cowards really are with enough digging. They just want to believe they are anonymous (for most purposes they are).
I changed mine to deleted after they started wanting your real name on youtube too. (Which was quite a while after they supposedly gave up their real name stance.)
Wanting or requiring? As far as the reminders to me, they only suggest it, not require it. If I require you to post your real name here will you stop visiting the site?
I know exactly when we can expect that to happen. Windows XP is the last supported Windows OS whose IE can't be upgraded past 8. Once Windows XP dies in April 2014, we can assume Windows Vista and Windows 7 users are on at least IE 9.
While still over a year away, my large (75k) international technical company still uses XP on all laptops and just recently started a program to upgrade to Win7 and Office 2007 which will take until 4/14 to complete. It was just last month I suggested to an engineer/pm that they upgrade their IE6 to something a little more recent.
We've used XP since around the time I started (a little Win2000 overlap I think) years ago and we will likely not move past Win7 till after my retirement even longer in the future. OS's have matured and there's not much reason to upgrade anymore for. Reassess in 10-15 years and a few MS OS iterations./anecdotal side note on slow moving large businesses
the majority of the blame goes to the Republicans for ignoring what the MAJORITY of voters want to do.
Sorry but representatives from other states have no business trying to represent me or my neighbor. Representatives are there by definition of their title, regardless of what the overall US majority thinks. My representative had better represent his state's voting base and their interests or he is not doing his job and will be out of one at the next election cycle.
The post-process effects and a generall lack of resolution of sharpness in combination with wrong colors make games look so cartoonish. When I look around on a sunny day I see:
1. sharp objects even far away (in other words, depth of field != blurriness at a distance),
2. *everything* is crystal sharp (even at high resolution game graphics tend to be too blurry due to AA and if you switch minimal AA off you get shimmering artefacts)
3. no matter what people claim, my vision does *not* blur when I turn my head - at least not in the way that "motion blur" effects do,
4.same for objects at high speed, they don't appear to be blurred to me - never ever
Perhaps a lot of these issues are due to the fact they are simulating a 3D world on a 2D plane? It would likely be different if there was good, glass-less 3D available (at least for DOF issues). The cartoonish quality is still due to lack of processing power and physical models that can be modeled in real time on a single tower.
Argo is offensive (to Canadians) because almost every plot point in the movie is utter fiction and the true story is a Canadian one, not CIA. Just for example, CIA Agent Mendez was in Iran for less than 36 hours. "Argo" wasn't his idea, it was a Canadian's. Research this all on the Internet for yourself. You'll see.
Argo should be offensive to all filmgoers because it's fiction being sold as truth. Affleck said the story was tweaked just a bit to maintain audience interest--and that's another lie on top of the lies.
Many movies that state "based upon a true story" are just that, not complete truth. Take for example the Oscar won with Charlize Theron's 2003 Monster about a prostitue that becomes a serial killer. Numerous reports at the time showed the events in the movie to not portray what really happened (ala Argo) yet she still won the Oscar due to her performance, not the accuracy of the story.
On a side note it really makes me wonder at how history will be influenced by the movies made as their inaccuracies get put into the public conscience in an effort to make a more interesting story for the medium.
Let me get this straight: I can't drive 65 or turn up the heat without having to worry about getting stranded? It takes an hour to refill the thing, and I have to do it three times to drive 600 miles?
Why the fuck would I ever want to buy one of these cars?
Because round trips for most people are far less than a single charge? Because highway driving at avg 60, that is around 10 hours of continuous driving to get 600 miles which most people will maybe do a handful of times in their lifetime? Because it's not a one size fit all vehicle?
I'll just keep building my own computers out of parts, like I've been doing for the last 30 years or so, and I can build several computers for what Apple would have me pay for a single one of theirs.
And more power to you, but for many, cost is not the sole deciding factor./not a Mac owner
Do tablets really count as a "PC"? If that's the case we might as well start considering smart phones PCs, since a modern tablet is basically just a scaled up smart phone.
Does the Windows 8 tablet count as a PC? If it does, then why not other tablets.
I've been thinking a lot about Straight Talk but heard there were some cons like no visual voicemail. Are there any other downsides to using them that I can weigh against the savings over AT&T?
Life is so much easier if your phone number and address book can be moved to a new device in a bout a minute.
Life is easier still, esp if phone is lost/stolen, if you don't tie your SIM card to your address book (sync contacts with online service) or phone number (something like Google Voice) .
The one thing I can think of that would be useful is a shopping list- scan a bar code when you use up an item, have it synch to the cloud, and be able to see the list on your phone when you shop. Or a reverse shopping list- a list of items you have. I'm always wondering if I already have spice/seasoning X when I'm at the store.
But other than that I don't really see much I want automated. I don't want automatic purchasing, I don't use enough food being single. Maybe preheat the over for me as I drive home? But chances are I don't want to cook as soon as I walk in the door anyway. What else is there?
There are numerous apps out there that do this. A popular one we use is GroceryIQ. It's on both our phones and syncs great so I always know what to get. There are likely other apps that have inventories as well.
Connectivity is great but I want automation. I want to be able to wake up to a couple perfectly fried eggs and some bacon next to buttered toast. Thanks science.
You mean something like this? Now these aren't fried eggs but likely poached. I'm sure there are other machines out there that would do it or you could just set a timer on the power cord.
But as with all "automatic" devices like your morning coffee, you still have to make it the night before or in the case of capsules, press a button (make sure the capsule is filled right, make sure theirs water and a cup waiting, etc). What I really want is full automation. Pod/capsule coffee machines have just about reached that. These things save time in the morning but not really any thing else as the time is still used setting it up the night before.
I didn't know I really, really wanted an iPod until I saw one. Same with a cell phone, GPS, digital cameras, and palm pilots. It wasn't a stretch to imagine a device that integrated them all, but that took about another 7 years.
What it will take to break the duopoly is someone bringing me a new capability on the order of the iPod, cell phone, GPS, digital camera, or Palm Pilot. And , of course, it needs to be integrated with the phone. Just giving me a new user interface, or a way to stir facebook, twitter, and the rest of that crap together won't do it. NFC payment systems are trying to be this, but don't make it. Whatever it is will be a whole new class of feature.
All of those functions were, at the time, handled by individual devices or analog usually. We knew about all the things that were being done with those services, before those devices came and the devices made it better. So the question is, what possibly else could a mini computer do for you that it doesn't already do? All the sensory and location recording and communication is pretty mature now. The only possible thing I can see, mainstream, is some type of medical monitoring through sensors on the skin or swallowed pills. So unless someone can come up with some type of computer driven telepathy/brain interraction, I don't see any big jumps down the line. Though probably just my lack of imagination.
It's simply not physically possible for the world's human population to continue growing in numbers, affluence, and energy consumption without trashing the planet.
According to the TED video by Han Rosling, the population will level out at 10B persons. That is the number to plan for, we have reached peak childbirth at 2.
http://www.ted.com/talks/hans_rosling_religions_and_babies.html, whether current energy consumption of non-renewables can be sustained with that many more people though is highly unlikely and we'll likely move by necessity to energy sources that we have hundreds if not thousands of years of (nuclear fission but hopefully fusion).
I wonder how difficult it would be to upload copyrighted content and then file a complaint about it...
Should have seen that coming and had a statement on the upload area to the effect that "any content uploaded to this site found to be from copyright holders, organizations or employees of those, relinquish any copyrights on said material in perpetuity."
I've had a BlackBerry since 2005 and I don't recall any 4-day outages. In fact, on the 2 or 3 occasions that it was out for a day or so I was only down for an hour or two, and if you read their press releases this makes sense as the outages rarely affect everyone. Similar things have happened with Apple, as I recall.
I'm curious as to what you referring to. Apple (and Android mfg's) sells the hardware and doesn't provide the telecom service so I have no idea what kind of "outage" Apple could be responsible for like RIM is famous for.
I very much want BB to succeed and provide some more competition/innovation into the marketplace. But, I just can't shake the feeling that this is equivalent to what the Palm Pre was, a nice capable device with a good OS that got a lot of attention but should have been released earlier.
I would use Office at home if my work got a site license or discount, it is polished and smooth. As is, I simply cannot justify the high cost when I have free options like LibreOffice and GoogleDocs so readily available for simple word processing and spreadsheets or even powerpoint. If I really need it to be in a certain format or am getting conversion errors, I'll just use my work computer.
What everyones real question is, can I download Hollywood stuff legally from Antigua servers. I don't bittorrent any shows or movies but if it was cheap enough I'd do this (if it was legal).
Does having your pictures backed up to Google+ / Picasa count as being an active user? Cause if so, they've got a heavy skew in their numbers. The unlimited space for Picasa users is why I signed up. Now all my pics and home movies are backed up but I don't use any of the "social networking" part of it.
What would be great for the/. clout or any enterprising business looking to get good PR (and the possible follow up stories) is to actually send a helpful fax to those that are open, start with the first page, with instructions how to "fix" it and why it needs to be done and a contact email. Alas, I am not that versed in any related field but would be surprised if a security company didn't take advantage of it.
Slashdot Mirror
The value of anonymity is in the ability to express ideas that are not necessarily socially acceptable, but are contributions to our ongoing resolution of social questions.
When Google starts trying to "civilize" the internet by requiring real names, it's forcing us to associate our free speech with our jobs, families and others who may face retaliation if our ideas are not socially acceptable.
Anonymity is currently only by obfuscation beyond what joe public cares about. Technically it's feasible to find out who most (not all) of these Anonymous Cowards really are with enough digging. They just want to believe they are anonymous (for most purposes they are).
I changed mine to deleted after they started wanting your real name on youtube too. (Which was quite a while after they supposedly gave up their real name stance.)
Wanting or requiring? As far as the reminders to me, they only suggest it, not require it. If I require you to post your real name here will you stop visiting the site?
I know exactly when we can expect that to happen. Windows XP is the last supported Windows OS whose IE can't be upgraded past 8. Once Windows XP dies in April 2014, we can assume Windows Vista and Windows 7 users are on at least IE 9.
While still over a year away, my large (75k) international technical company still uses XP on all laptops and just recently started a program to upgrade to Win7 and Office 2007 which will take until 4/14 to complete. It was just last month I suggested to an engineer/pm that they upgrade their IE6 to something a little more recent.
/anecdotal side note on slow moving large businesses
We've used XP since around the time I started (a little Win2000 overlap I think) years ago and we will likely not move past Win7 till after my retirement even longer in the future. OS's have matured and there's not much reason to upgrade anymore for. Reassess in 10-15 years and a few MS OS iterations.
the majority of the blame goes to the Republicans for ignoring what the MAJORITY of voters want to do.
Sorry but representatives from other states have no business trying to represent me or my neighbor. Representatives are there by definition of their title, regardless of what the overall US majority thinks. My representative had better represent his state's voting base and their interests or he is not doing his job and will be out of one at the next election cycle.
The post-process effects and a generall lack of resolution of sharpness in combination with wrong colors make games look so cartoonish. When I look around on a sunny day I see:
1. sharp objects even far away (in other words, depth of field != blurriness at a distance),
2. *everything* is crystal sharp (even at high resolution game graphics tend to be too blurry due to AA and if you switch minimal AA off you get shimmering artefacts)
3. no matter what people claim, my vision does *not* blur when I turn my head - at least not in the way that "motion blur" effects do,
4.same for objects at high speed, they don't appear to be blurred to me - never ever
Perhaps a lot of these issues are due to the fact they are simulating a 3D world on a 2D plane? It would likely be different if there was good, glass-less 3D available (at least for DOF issues). The cartoonish quality is still due to lack of processing power and physical models that can be modeled in real time on a single tower.
Argo is offensive (to Canadians) because almost every plot point in the movie is utter fiction and the true story is a Canadian one, not CIA. Just for example, CIA Agent Mendez was in Iran for less than 36 hours. "Argo" wasn't his idea, it was a Canadian's. Research this all on the Internet for yourself. You'll see. Argo should be offensive to all filmgoers because it's fiction being sold as truth. Affleck said the story was tweaked just a bit to maintain audience interest--and that's another lie on top of the lies.
Many movies that state "based upon a true story" are just that, not complete truth. Take for example the Oscar won with Charlize Theron's 2003 Monster about a prostitue that becomes a serial killer. Numerous reports at the time showed the events in the movie to not portray what really happened (ala Argo) yet she still won the Oscar due to her performance, not the accuracy of the story.
On a side note it really makes me wonder at how history will be influenced by the movies made as their inaccuracies get put into the public conscience in an effort to make a more interesting story for the medium.
Let me get this straight: I can't drive 65 or turn up the heat without having to worry about getting stranded? It takes an hour to refill the thing, and I have to do it three times to drive 600 miles?
Why the fuck would I ever want to buy one of these cars?
Because round trips for most people are far less than a single charge? Because highway driving at avg 60, that is around 10 hours of continuous driving to get 600 miles which most people will maybe do a handful of times in their lifetime? Because it's not a one size fit all vehicle?
I'll just keep building my own computers out of parts, like I've been doing for the last 30 years or so, and I can build several computers for what Apple would have me pay for a single one of theirs.
And more power to you, but for many, cost is not the sole deciding factor. /not a Mac owner
Do tablets really count as a "PC"? If that's the case we might as well start considering smart phones PCs, since a modern tablet is basically just a scaled up smart phone.
Does the Windows 8 tablet count as a PC? If it does, then why not other tablets.
Too late is right, this is Palm Pre all over again and the eventual end of the company.
I've been thinking a lot about Straight Talk but heard there were some cons like no visual voicemail. Are there any other downsides to using them that I can weigh against the savings over AT&T?
Life is so much easier if your phone number and address book can be moved to a new device in a bout a minute.
Life is easier still, esp if phone is lost/stolen, if you don't tie your SIM card to your address book (sync contacts with online service) or phone number (something like Google Voice) .
The one thing I can think of that would be useful is a shopping list- scan a bar code when you use up an item, have it synch to the cloud, and be able to see the list on your phone when you shop. Or a reverse shopping list- a list of items you have. I'm always wondering if I already have spice/seasoning X when I'm at the store.
But other than that I don't really see much I want automated. I don't want automatic purchasing, I don't use enough food being single. Maybe preheat the over for me as I drive home? But chances are I don't want to cook as soon as I walk in the door anyway. What else is there?
There are numerous apps out there that do this. A popular one we use is GroceryIQ. It's on both our phones and syncs great so I always know what to get. There are likely other apps that have inventories as well.
Connectivity is great but I want automation. I want to be able to wake up to a couple perfectly fried eggs and some bacon next to buttered toast. Thanks science.
You mean something like this? Now these aren't fried eggs but likely poached. I'm sure there are other machines out there that would do it or you could just set a timer on the power cord.
But as with all "automatic" devices like your morning coffee, you still have to make it the night before or in the case of capsules, press a button (make sure the capsule is filled right, make sure theirs water and a cup waiting, etc). What I really want is full automation. Pod/capsule coffee machines have just about reached that. These things save time in the morning but not really any thing else as the time is still used setting it up the night before.
why can't you people just pay for a proper free health service
I think you broke reality with that statement.
I didn't know I really, really wanted an iPod until I saw one. Same with a cell phone, GPS, digital cameras, and palm pilots. It wasn't a stretch to imagine a device that integrated them all, but that took about another 7 years. What it will take to break the duopoly is someone bringing me a new capability on the order of the iPod, cell phone, GPS, digital camera, or Palm Pilot. And , of course, it needs to be integrated with the phone. Just giving me a new user interface, or a way to stir facebook, twitter, and the rest of that crap together won't do it. NFC payment systems are trying to be this, but don't make it. Whatever it is will be a whole new class of feature.
All of those functions were, at the time, handled by individual devices or analog usually. We knew about all the things that were being done with those services, before those devices came and the devices made it better. So the question is, what possibly else could a mini computer do for you that it doesn't already do? All the sensory and location recording and communication is pretty mature now. The only possible thing I can see, mainstream, is some type of medical monitoring through sensors on the skin or swallowed pills. So unless someone can come up with some type of computer driven telepathy/brain interraction, I don't see any big jumps down the line. Though probably just my lack of imagination.
It's simply not physically possible for the world's human population to continue growing in numbers, affluence, and energy consumption without trashing the planet.
According to the TED video by Han Rosling, the population will level out at 10B persons. That is the number to plan for, we have reached peak childbirth at 2. http://www.ted.com/talks/hans_rosling_religions_and_babies.html, whether current energy consumption of non-renewables can be sustained with that many more people though is highly unlikely and we'll likely move by necessity to energy sources that we have hundreds if not thousands of years of (nuclear fission but hopefully fusion).
I wonder how difficult it would be to upload copyrighted content and then file a complaint about it...
Should have seen that coming and had a statement on the upload area to the effect that "any content uploaded to this site found to be from copyright holders, organizations or employees of those, relinquish any copyrights on said material in perpetuity."
I've had a BlackBerry since 2005 and I don't recall any 4-day outages. In fact, on the 2 or 3 occasions that it was out for a day or so I was only down for an hour or two, and if you read their press releases this makes sense as the outages rarely affect everyone. Similar things have happened with Apple, as I recall.
I'm curious as to what you referring to. Apple (and Android mfg's) sells the hardware and doesn't provide the telecom service so I have no idea what kind of "outage" Apple could be responsible for like RIM is famous for.
I very much want BB to succeed and provide some more competition/innovation into the marketplace. But, I just can't shake the feeling that this is equivalent to what the Palm Pre was, a nice capable device with a good OS that got a lot of attention but should have been released earlier.
I would use Office at home if my work got a site license or discount, it is polished and smooth. As is, I simply cannot justify the high cost when I have free options like LibreOffice and GoogleDocs so readily available for simple word processing and spreadsheets or even powerpoint. If I really need it to be in a certain format or am getting conversion errors, I'll just use my work computer.
What everyones real question is, can I download Hollywood stuff legally from Antigua servers. I don't bittorrent any shows or movies but if it was cheap enough I'd do this (if it was legal).
Does having your pictures backed up to Google+ / Picasa count as being an active user? Cause if so, they've got a heavy skew in their numbers. The unlimited space for Picasa users is why I signed up. Now all my pics and home movies are backed up but I don't use any of the "social networking" part of it.
Is this really worthy of a front page article? Who is running this site anymore? Here's a hint, don't try to be Gizmodo or Engadget, be Slashdot.
What would be great for the /. clout or any enterprising business looking to get good PR (and the possible follow up stories) is to actually send a helpful fax to those that are open, start with the first page, with instructions how to "fix" it and why it needs to be done and a contact email. Alas, I am not that versed in any related field but would be surprised if a security company didn't take advantage of it.