At the rate my friends and colleagues change their e-mail addresses, I'd die from exhaustion maintaining two address books -- mine, and the one stored on the remote site.
> The job posting to find the person who will replace me.
I concur. I quit a govt job recently after several years, having been the first person to occupy my position. My job changed top down at least three times during my tenure and no one person understood all of my duties. It is sweet justice to see them advertising a mangled description and now slowly beginning to realize how many responsibilities they didn't account for. My position will end up being handled by three people and at least one committee.
Silly? It's ILLEGAL in many (if not all) states. What I do in my personal time has NOTHING to do with my performance on the job. Personal information is routinely used to DISCRIMINATE against potential hires, everything from not hiring a person who may be having a child to not hiring a person because you disapprove of his social status or personal activities. I knew one person who discriminated based on the type of car the applicant drove, making a point at the end of the interview to walk the person to the parking lot to find out.
You obviously haven't faced much discrimination in your life.
>"...why they have to be embraced to stay competitive."
During a job interview I would never mention my hobbies, my family or any of my personal or recreational activities. In fact, in most states it's illegal for an employer to ask such questions because the answers are not germane to employment -- you put yourself at risk of discrimination.
Sure, a personal site could be an asset in some situations, but it's ALWAYS an employability risk. I'd rather not take that gamble.
A minor drawback to online sales is that there will never be surplus discounts. If I can pay 50 cents a song, great, it won't matter. If not, well, I'm accustomed to paying $10 for a CD in the bargain barrel (and liking most of the songs) or $5 at a used CD shop. There is no need or cause for liquidation sales online and no way (?) to sell used electronic music without causing a big flap.
Digital is not a long-term solution. The software, storage formats, DRM and laws change. I can buy a couple cassette recorders today and know I'll be using them 10 years from now. Computers will be so different in a decade that I doubt I'll retain and maintain an entire computer to handle my music.
> What kind of cheap ass CD player are you buying?
I've had players from a number of major brands -- handheld, home stereos, alarm clocks and in desktop computers. I'm guessing each developed problems with laser alignment. For my alarm clock I'm now using a plain radio clock I got in (guessing) sixth grade that retailed for maybe $20. It still works. If I spend $50 on a CD alarm clock today, I want it to last more than one or two years. I've experienced the same unreliability with DVD players.
This news comes as fresh amusement because I am on the verge of converting my CD collection to cassette tape. Cassettes are cheaper media, devoid of DRM, and my car came with a cassette player by default.
I don't dislike CDs, but every CD player I've owned has eventually broken, while my portable cassette players from the '80s are still rollin'.
I'm pretty darn sure that whatever The Corporation decides will be The Next Best Thing, I will still be able to dub it to tape.
The answer, should you care to pay attention: Linux is not ready for prime time. My mother is a complete dolt and she can do a full Windows install. Linux is fine for nerds, but is years away from being ready for the masses. What do I want? I want my mother to install and understand Linux without a six week workshop. That's what I want. Go on believing Linux is God and ignoring the world around you. You are a funny little man.
The DNS redirect is a function of the router. The DVD advertisement is a direction function of the DVD disc. Just as my web browser is not to blame, my DVD player is not to blame.
The fact that you dislike this particular function of the router is beside the point.
I don't need to argue this point. Anyone whose life isn't engulfed by linux knows linux is far, far away from being ready for market. Spare me the commentary of my saying "market." You know what I mean. Not ready for prime time. Everyone and their second cousin has already said this. Shout into the wind all you want.
You are the underdog. The operating system must be fitted to the audience if you want any chance of adoption.
Whining about monopolies is academic. I would gladly switch my home computers and convert my entire office to Linux if it were a good move. Linux has not matured. My heart wants Linux, but my brain tells me to endure slavery because it's better in the long run. For millions, freedom will remain a dream.
> whats your beef with linux ? what cant > it do that you need it to ?
The average consumer cannot install it or configure it or get it to do what they want with a reasonable measure of training. Disagree? The statistics are on my side. MS is almost universally hated, and yet Linux sits idle because it's not easy.
> So why do you assume "the web" is in any > way involved in my network environment?
Uh, because the web is part of 99.99% of network environments. And, uh, if the web isn't, then your 'great inconvenience' is seeing a DNS error once in a blue moon. Seeing as I've never seen a blue moon, I could care less.
Well, duh. If you ignore the prompt, yes, you will get prompted again.
The device does not "malfunction." As per the advert instructions you were presented during installation, if you ignore the prompt, you will get prompted again. I remember reading that I was going to see this page again if I didn't tell Belkin I wasn't interested. I had plenty of time to return the product to the retailer I purchased it from. But telling Belkin to nix the prompt was far easier than returning the product. It annoyed me about as much as any software's mandatory product registration.
>If a car were to stop running every 8 miles > and ask you if you'd like Onstar, you'd sue!
I wouldn't sue. That's absurd. It's not even an apples to apples comparison. An appropriate comparison would be that when I try to use Onstar is connects me to a representative (as usual) and that rep pitches me a sales message. I tell the person I'm not interested and Onstar never pitches me again. Simple.
(Anyone reading this threat out of order should note that we're talking a hypothetical. I've never heard of Onstar doing this.)
You know, this reminds me of DVDs. I don't see people up in arms that DVDs have mandatory FBI warnings, copyright warnings, corporate logo intros and disclaimers that are forced upon the home viewer each and every time a DVD is played. In the case of the logo, it's a clear case of hijacking my DVD player to show me a corporate advertisement.
> We dare not allow vendors to go down this > path, or information flow will be > overwhelmed with unwanted messages.
Too late. Every business I purchase from online sends me unwanted e-mail. Experts now recommend that the average joe use a second, separate e-mail address just to communicate with companies.
>We need to stand up and say, "I'm mad as hell, > and I'm not gonna take it anymore!"
That's nice sentiment, but not practical in the real world. I'm mad as hell with Microsoft, but am locked into using Windows (don't even try to say Linux is ready for general consumer use). I'm mad as hell with the MPAA, but I still watch movies because indy movies are hard to find and most suck. The only thing that slogan works for me with is the RIAA. I only buy music direct from the artist now, purely local bands.
>The problem is, you do accept it so willingly. > You shouldn't have to deal with this. Nobody > should have to.
And yet that's the evil world we live in. I never vote democrat or republican so as to not prolong our torture, that's an easy choice. But with products there's no way to tell which corporation will annoy me until after I've bought and used the product. I've never seen a "crap free" sticker on any product.
Slashdot Mirror
At the rate my friends and colleagues change their e-mail addresses, I'd die from exhaustion maintaining two address books -- mine, and the one stored on the remote site.
What guarantee do I have that the bulk e-mail to my friends and family won't be snagged by spam filters? That would be the final insult.
> The job posting to find the person who will replace me.
I concur. I quit a govt job recently after several years, having been the first person to occupy my position. My job changed top down at least three times during my tenure and no one person understood all of my duties. It is sweet justice to see them advertising a mangled description and now slowly beginning to realize how many responsibilities they didn't account for. My position will end up being handled by three people and at least one committee.
Silly? It's ILLEGAL in many (if not all) states. What I do in my personal time has NOTHING to do with my performance on the job. Personal information is routinely used to DISCRIMINATE against potential hires, everything from not hiring a person who may be having a child to not hiring a person because you disapprove of his social status or personal activities. I knew one person who discriminated based on the type of car the applicant drove, making a point at the end of the interview to walk the person to the parking lot to find out.
You obviously haven't faced much discrimination in your life.
>"...why they have to be embraced to stay competitive."
During a job interview I would never mention my hobbies, my family or any of my personal or recreational activities. In fact, in most states it's illegal for an employer to ask such questions because the answers are not germane to employment -- you put yourself at risk of discrimination.
Sure, a personal site could be an asset in some situations, but it's ALWAYS an employability risk. I'd rather not take that gamble.
A minor drawback to online sales is that there will never be surplus discounts. If I can pay 50 cents a song, great, it won't matter. If not, well, I'm accustomed to paying $10 for a CD in the bargain barrel (and liking most of the songs) or $5 at a used CD shop. There is no need or cause for liquidation sales online and no way (?) to sell used electronic music without causing a big flap.
Digital is not a long-term solution. The software, storage formats, DRM and laws change. I can buy a couple cassette recorders today and know I'll be using them 10 years from now. Computers will be so different in a decade that I doubt I'll retain and maintain an entire computer to handle my music.
> What kind of cheap ass CD player are you buying?
I've had players from a number of major brands -- handheld, home stereos, alarm clocks and in desktop computers. I'm guessing each developed problems with laser alignment. For my alarm clock I'm now using a plain radio clock I got in (guessing) sixth grade that retailed for maybe $20. It still works. If I spend $50 on a CD alarm clock today, I want it to last more than one or two years. I've experienced the same unreliability with DVD players.
This news comes as fresh amusement because I am on the verge of converting my CD collection to cassette tape. Cassettes are cheaper media, devoid of DRM, and my car came with a cassette player by default.
I don't dislike CDs, but every CD player I've owned has eventually broken, while my portable cassette players from the '80s are still rollin'.
I'm pretty darn sure that whatever The Corporation decides will be The Next Best Thing, I will still be able to dub it to tape.
The answer, should you care to pay attention: Linux is not ready for prime time. My mother is a complete dolt and she can do a full Windows install. Linux is fine for nerds, but is years away from being ready for the masses. What do I want? I want my mother to install and understand Linux without a six week workshop. That's what I want. Go on believing Linux is God and ignoring the world around you. You are a funny little man.
My mother can install Windows and she's a dolt. "Just hit the 'next' button mom. When it says 'OK' click that too."
My analogy is correct.
The DNS redirect is a function of the router. The DVD advertisement is a direction function of the DVD disc. Just as my web browser is not to blame, my DVD player is not to blame.
The fact that you dislike this particular function of the router is beside the point.
I've seen it to be true and so has virtually everyone else. To go along with your analogy, you are the one insisting the earth is flat.
> I'd say that a new user with a *current*
> distribution goes through less pain
> to install Linux than Windows
My mother can install Windows if she can click the "next" button. Is Linux that easy?
I don't need to argue this point. Anyone whose life isn't engulfed by linux knows linux is far, far away from being ready for market. Spare me the commentary of my saying "market." You know what I mean. Not ready for prime time. Everyone and their second cousin has already said this. Shout into the wind all you want.
You are the underdog. The operating system must be fitted to the audience if you want any chance of adoption.
Whining about monopolies is academic. I would gladly switch my home computers and convert my entire office to Linux if it were a good move. Linux has not matured. My heart wants Linux, but my brain tells me to endure slavery because it's better in the long run. For millions, freedom will remain a dream.
> whats your beef with linux ? what cant
> it do that you need it to ?
The average consumer cannot install it or configure it or get it to do what they want with a reasonable measure of training. Disagree? The statistics are on my side. MS is almost universally hated, and yet Linux sits idle because it's not easy.
> So why do you assume "the web" is in any
> way involved in my network environment?
Uh, because the web is part of 99.99% of network environments. And, uh, if the web isn't, then your 'great inconvenience' is seeing a DNS error once in a blue moon. Seeing as I've never seen a blue moon, I could care less.
Well, duh. If you ignore the prompt, yes, you will get prompted again.
The device does not "malfunction." As per the advert instructions you were presented during installation, if you ignore the prompt, you will get prompted again. I remember reading that I was going to see this page again if I didn't tell Belkin I wasn't interested. I had plenty of time to return the product to the retailer I purchased it from. But telling Belkin to nix the prompt was far easier than returning the product. It annoyed me about as much as any software's mandatory product registration.
It's no different than a mandatory product registration. Actually, it's better because you can ignore the thing if you really want to.
>If a car were to stop running every 8 miles
> and ask you if you'd like Onstar, you'd sue!
I wouldn't sue. That's absurd. It's not even an apples to apples comparison. An appropriate comparison would be that when I try to use Onstar is connects me to a representative (as usual) and that rep pitches me a sales message. I tell the person I'm not interested and Onstar never pitches me again. Simple.
(Anyone reading this threat out of order should note that we're talking a hypothetical. I've never heard of Onstar doing this.)
You know, this reminds me of DVDs. I don't see people up in arms that DVDs have mandatory FBI warnings, copyright warnings, corporate logo intros and disclaimers that are forced upon the home viewer each and every time a DVD is played. In the case of the logo, it's a clear case of hijacking my DVD player to show me a corporate advertisement.
> We dare not allow vendors to go down this
> path, or information flow will be
> overwhelmed with unwanted messages.
Too late. Every business I purchase from online sends me unwanted e-mail. Experts now recommend that the average joe use a second, separate e-mail address just to communicate with companies.
>We need to stand up and say, "I'm mad as hell,
> and I'm not gonna take it anymore!"
That's nice sentiment, but not practical in the real world. I'm mad as hell with Microsoft, but am locked into using Windows (don't even try to say Linux is ready for general consumer use). I'm mad as hell with the MPAA, but I still watch movies because indy movies are hard to find and most suck. The only thing that slogan works for me with is the RIAA. I only buy music direct from the artist now, purely local bands.
>The problem is, you do accept it so willingly.
> You shouldn't have to deal with this. Nobody
> should have to.
And yet that's the evil world we live in. I never vote democrat or republican so as to not prolong our torture, that's an easy choice. But with products there's no way to tell which corporation will annoy me until after I've bought and used the product. I've never seen a "crap free" sticker on any product.