You are not being controlled.
I am not being controlled.
Joe Sixpack is being controlled.
In the OLD net, there was no Joe Sixpack. You and I surfed the web, went where we chose, found cool sites by crackpots and had a laugh or two.
NOW, Joe Sixpack may get wired, and go on the net. He's not going to find the crackpot sites. He has virtually no chance to. He uses the ISP's search engine, which directs him to the highest bidder.
You may think that's the crackpot's problem. And also Joe Sixpack's problem. Not yours. Not mine.
AOL doesn't rule you? I hope you don't use Netscape. Microsoft doesn't rule you? I hope you don't use MSN. You use Opera? I guess you're okay then. Until Microsoft buys Opera. Microsoft sure as hell CAN and WILL make changes to IE - someday, mark my words, that will make it impossible to view certain pages. AOL will do the same. Eventually, this trend will split the net.
You'll see situations like last year, when cable networks on the west coast were shut out from providing Disney content - because Disney was "playing hardball" with contract negotiations - but in reality, they were de-valuing Time Warner's Cable assets. But it was the consumer who was caught in the middle - locked into a service - PAYING for that service, but unable to get content. Not due to technical reasons, but due to corporate tussling which has nothing to do with them.
The same thing will be played out on the internet - soon enough. The players are already in place (forgive the pun, because the "players" are Quicktime, Real, and WIMP).
Dear Mr. Sheep,
The Wolves have sat down and discussed matters, and we have finally decided on what to have at our dinner party next Friday. All the details have been conveniently taken care of, so you have nothing to concern yourself with. All you need to do is show up at 5:30pm sharp.
Ironically, I got a letter yesterday from PacBell thanking me for being such a wonderful DSL customer for the past year, and that my bill is being raised by $10 a month so that they could provide "exiting new services" which seems to consist only of a redesigned home-page.
I also received, last week, an email from Earthlink, thanking me for signing up for their DSL service, but they regret to inform me that DSL is not available in my area. This is the same automated email I've been getting every 3 months for the past year and a half (since I first asked them if they could provide DSL for me) - despite my asking to be removed from their mailing list, despite telling their product manager that their information was wrong, that I was happily getting PacBell DSL service, etc. etc.
and now we know why that ivory tower wasn't all that bad a thing.
I've got news for you mr artiste. A commercial internet isn't going to promote equality, it's going to promote homogenization. And eventually, when it's ruled by monopolies or oligopolies, and there are no alternatives. . . well, just make sure if you're the last one out to turn off the lights.
Universal, Sony, and Virgin do not write and perform the songs (although they DO finance the engineering).
However. It's been shown that most recording artists could probably do an acceptable job of studio engineering.
That would be equivalent to the 8 year old indonesian kids designing shoes.
If you consider Linux's usability by non technical people to be a bug - then you see a bug that would otherwise be hugely widespread, and in a corporation that relied on marketshare - this bug would be the FIRST thing that got addressed.
You're not going to see widespread use of Linux (and you're not going to discover the other bugs) until this very crucial "bug" is fixed.
Ironically, what you're calling marketing is actually more done by a group called "Product Management" - who does the scientific "Market Research" to find out what features are needed, how the product is doing in the field, etc.
I suspect the reason why what is now called Marketing is called Marketing, is because "Advertising" is considered a dirty word in comparison.
What happens if the LCD screen blanks out? The astronaut will not be able to see through the screen, NOR will he or she be able to remove the glasses from his or her face.
We better hope this is NOT run by WIndows, otherwise some poor astronaut is going to float off into space and suffocate with only a BSOD filling his field of view.
Yes, but it's not Napster's fault, nor is it the fans' fault, nor even is it the fault of the US Public at large who's Fair Use rights are being threatened that a member of Metallica's recording studio leaked a pre-production recording of a new song.
If their data security is full of holes then it's THEIR fault their song got released to the public in a manner they didn't like. The release was done by them - the distribution was done later by Napster. Their beef should be with the moron who released the tape. Not with Napster, NOT with the fans who loved and appreciated their music, finished or not, and NOT with the US Public who are now a tad less free than they were at the passing of the 1992 American Home Recording Act.
Look at the term "critical mass". It's when you've got enough market penetration, that the word-of-mouth makes your marketshare self-perpetuating. It doesn't matter HOW you got the market penetration, or how much money you made. Once you have that "critical mass" - it's self-sustaining, and you can sit back and rake in the bucks.
It's how Microsoft got to be in the position they're in. They sat back and let the pirates distribute their software for them, and didn't do much serious effort into copy protection, while their competitors DID.
I've never heard of Nickelback or Left Front Tire. And if they don't get a good recording deal, I likely never will.
Unless a friend of mine contacts me and says, "hey, check out this band, they're great", and one way or another, he violates the copyright by either letting me listen to his CD, or cutting me an MP3. Etc. Try before you buy. It's that piracy that gives the band that crucial exposure.
The guys who GOT their crucial exposure by exploiting the RIAA's marketing machine now have it in their best interest to prevent new up and coming artists from getting widespread distribution.
As you can see - sitting back and looking the other way while piracy happens is very similar to distributing your product for free (otherwise known as DUMPING) - only you can't be prosecuted in an antitrust trial for being easy on the pirates. Microsoft should have done what Netscape did. Charge for IE, but make it easily piratable. Other than corporate site licenses, who actually PAID for Netscape? Nobody I know of.
you forgot Special Unit 2!
(and please, don't even include that crap show "Charmed" - I'm too busy attending Opera performances, reading Dostyevsky, and climbing Mt. McKinley to care about that damned piece of shit!)
hell, to this DAY, I have never seen a picture of Dave Matthews. I don't even know if he's white or black. (not that it matters - and my point is, it doesn't!)
While I agree that Hush was a great episode, and I think it should have won that emmy - I think that the series has gone down hill from approximately that point on. I dont like any of the new characters since Angel left the show.
I didn't think that the musical episode was all that original.
For instance, it was done before - in Xena.
And Lucy Lawless has a MUCH better singing voice than SMG.
And nicer boobs.
I'm not quite sure who would win in a fight though. Lucy Lawless is quite butch as Xena, but Buffy has super-powers, while Xena is just well-trained.
Right now, Angel is the show I prefer of the two. Dark Angel's pretty good too.
there is a "code review" process that can and does take place in some large software companies.
Generally done AFTER the stringent release deadline was met. Engineers will review eachother's codes looking for problems.
But sometimes this process is abbreviated to fix bugs, or move on to the next release to add features so they can compete in the "checkbox war".
It's certainly far from foolproof.
I would also say that in general terms, there is a philosophical engineering difference between a company that has an "engineering focus" and a company that has a "marketing focus" (do the execs come from an engineering background? or do they have MBAs?). Since the company I'm familliar with was a merger of two companies of different "type", I see teams with lineage from one or the other orginal company, and years later, they retain their original philosophical alignment.
Microsoft is a strongly "marketing focussed" company. I wouldn't count too strongly on a rigorous code-review process going on there.
I'm a Dish customer. I simply could not get Tivo to work at all with my Dish receiver, two years ago. Their IR-blaster thingie just didn't work right.
So I got the DishPlayer system, and PQ is great. Unfortunately, the box is unreliable shit. It crashes often, I've had 3 RMA's. Sometimes, for no reason, it just doesn't record what you tell it to record. Other times, you get up in the morning to turn on the news and the fucker is hung solid, requiring a hard reset. And, of course, "WebTV" advertising on every screen.
But the 30-sec skip-forward button makes it all worthwhile.
Collateral Damage is the direct result of an enemy colocating their troops with civilian population.
When Hussein parked his Republican Guard around the perimeter of Baghdad, he had troops lined up and camped out on residential streets. It's a wonder and a miracle that MANY more civilians weren't killed.
When a leader tries to hide his military equipment among his people, he's not trying to protect his people, he's trying to protect his military equipment, and thus, his own ass.
Slashdot Mirror
You are not being controlled.
I am not being controlled.
Joe Sixpack is being controlled.
In the OLD net, there was no Joe Sixpack. You and I surfed the web, went where we chose, found cool sites by crackpots and had a laugh or two.
NOW, Joe Sixpack may get wired, and go on the net. He's not going to find the crackpot sites. He has virtually no chance to. He uses the ISP's search engine, which directs him to the highest bidder.
You may think that's the crackpot's problem. And also Joe Sixpack's problem. Not yours. Not mine.
AOL doesn't rule you? I hope you don't use Netscape. Microsoft doesn't rule you? I hope you don't use MSN. You use Opera? I guess you're okay then. Until Microsoft buys Opera. Microsoft sure as hell CAN and WILL make changes to IE - someday, mark my words, that will make it impossible to view certain pages. AOL will do the same. Eventually, this trend will split the net.
You'll see situations like last year, when cable networks on the west coast were shut out from providing Disney content - because Disney was "playing hardball" with contract negotiations - but in reality, they were de-valuing Time Warner's Cable assets. But it was the consumer who was caught in the middle - locked into a service - PAYING for that service, but unable to get content. Not due to technical reasons, but due to corporate tussling which has nothing to do with them.
The same thing will be played out on the internet - soon enough. The players are already in place (forgive the pun, because the "players" are Quicktime, Real, and WIMP).
Dear Mr. Sheep,
The Wolves have sat down and discussed matters, and we have finally decided on what to have at our dinner party next Friday. All the details have been conveniently taken care of, so you have nothing to concern yourself with. All you need to do is show up at 5:30pm sharp.
Regards,
Uncle Sam
Ironically, I got a letter yesterday from PacBell thanking me for being such a wonderful DSL customer for the past year, and that my bill is being raised by $10 a month so that they could provide "exiting new services" which seems to consist only of a redesigned home-page.
I also received, last week, an email from Earthlink, thanking me for signing up for their DSL service, but they regret to inform me that DSL is not available in my area. This is the same automated email I've been getting every 3 months for the past year and a half (since I first asked them if they could provide DSL for me) - despite my asking to be removed from their mailing list, despite telling their product manager that their information was wrong, that I was happily getting PacBell DSL service, etc. etc.
Whatever.
and now we know why that ivory tower wasn't all that bad a thing.
I've got news for you mr artiste. A commercial internet isn't going to promote equality, it's going to promote homogenization. And eventually, when it's ruled by monopolies or oligopolies, and there are no alternatives. . . well, just make sure if you're the last one out to turn off the lights.
Thank you.
Nike does the R&D and engineering of the shoes.
Universal, Sony, and Virgin do not write and perform the songs (although they DO finance the engineering).
However. It's been shown that most recording artists could probably do an acceptable job of studio engineering.
That would be equivalent to the 8 year old indonesian kids designing shoes.
it also depends on what you classify as a "bug".
If you consider Linux's usability by non technical people to be a bug - then you see a bug that would otherwise be hugely widespread, and in a corporation that relied on marketshare - this bug would be the FIRST thing that got addressed.
You're not going to see widespread use of Linux (and you're not going to discover the other bugs) until this very crucial "bug" is fixed.
Ironically, what you're calling marketing is actually more done by a group called "Product Management" - who does the scientific "Market Research" to find out what features are needed, how the product is doing in the field, etc.
I suspect the reason why what is now called Marketing is called Marketing, is because "Advertising" is considered a dirty word in comparison.
What happens if the LCD screen blanks out? The astronaut will not be able to see through the screen, NOR will he or she be able to remove the glasses from his or her face.
We better hope this is NOT run by WIndows, otherwise some poor astronaut is going to float off into space and suffocate with only a BSOD filling his field of view.
Micropayments will NEVER happen.
Nobody wants to be on the receiving end of Micropayments. They want to be on the receiving end of Macropayments. Simple as that.
Yes, but it's not Napster's fault, nor is it the fans' fault, nor even is it the fault of the US Public at large who's Fair Use rights are being threatened that a member of Metallica's recording studio leaked a pre-production recording of a new song.
If their data security is full of holes then it's THEIR fault their song got released to the public in a manner they didn't like. The release was done by them - the distribution was done later by Napster. Their beef should be with the moron who released the tape. Not with Napster, NOT with the fans who loved and appreciated their music, finished or not, and NOT with the US Public who are now a tad less free than they were at the passing of the 1992 American Home Recording Act.
The nobodies actually benefit from piracy.
Look at the term "critical mass". It's when you've got enough market penetration, that the word-of-mouth makes your marketshare self-perpetuating. It doesn't matter HOW you got the market penetration, or how much money you made. Once you have that "critical mass" - it's self-sustaining, and you can sit back and rake in the bucks.
It's how Microsoft got to be in the position they're in. They sat back and let the pirates distribute their software for them, and didn't do much serious effort into copy protection, while their competitors DID.
I've never heard of Nickelback or Left Front Tire. And if they don't get a good recording deal, I likely never will.
Unless a friend of mine contacts me and says, "hey, check out this band, they're great", and one way or another, he violates the copyright by either letting me listen to his CD, or cutting me an MP3. Etc. Try before you buy. It's that piracy that gives the band that crucial exposure.
The guys who GOT their crucial exposure by exploiting the RIAA's marketing machine now have it in their best interest to prevent new up and coming artists from getting widespread distribution.
As you can see - sitting back and looking the other way while piracy happens is very similar to distributing your product for free (otherwise known as DUMPING) - only you can't be prosecuted in an antitrust trial for being easy on the pirates. Microsoft should have done what Netscape did. Charge for IE, but make it easily piratable. Other than corporate site licenses, who actually PAID for Netscape? Nobody I know of.
you forgot Special Unit 2!
(and please, don't even include that crap show "Charmed" - I'm too busy attending Opera performances, reading Dostyevsky, and climbing Mt. McKinley to care about that damned piece of shit!)
hell, to this DAY, I have never seen a picture of Dave Matthews. I don't even know if he's white or black. (not that it matters - and my point is, it doesn't!)
No. It was Saruman who kicked Sauron's ass out of Mirkwood.
naw - let's do it in ASCII-art!
How about Pixar? Monsters Inc. was pretty convincing. I even felt like I had to pee when the little girl did the potty dance.
While I agree that Hush was a great episode, and I think it should have won that emmy - I think that the series has gone down hill from approximately that point on. I dont like any of the new characters since Angel left the show.
I didn't think that the musical episode was all that original.
For instance, it was done before - in Xena.
And Lucy Lawless has a MUCH better singing voice than SMG.
And nicer boobs.
I'm not quite sure who would win in a fight though. Lucy Lawless is quite butch as Xena, but Buffy has super-powers, while Xena is just well-trained.
Right now, Angel is the show I prefer of the two. Dark Angel's pretty good too.
Now, I'm a totally straight guy.
but lately, I don't know if it's her acting, or what, but SMG's make-out scenes have been really, well, un-sexy lately.
I guess you never read the book "Firefly".
kde vs. gnome didn't confuse me. It just frustrated, then bored me, then drove me to Mac OS X.
there is a "code review" process that can and does take place in some large software companies.
Generally done AFTER the stringent release deadline was met. Engineers will review eachother's codes looking for problems.
But sometimes this process is abbreviated to fix bugs, or move on to the next release to add features so they can compete in the "checkbox war".
It's certainly far from foolproof.
I would also say that in general terms, there is a philosophical engineering difference between a company that has an "engineering focus" and a company that has a "marketing focus" (do the execs come from an engineering background? or do they have MBAs?). Since the company I'm familliar with was a merger of two companies of different "type", I see teams with lineage from one or the other orginal company, and years later, they retain their original philosophical alignment.
Microsoft is a strongly "marketing focussed" company. I wouldn't count too strongly on a rigorous code-review process going on there.
I'm a Dish customer. I simply could not get Tivo to work at all with my Dish receiver, two years ago. Their IR-blaster thingie just didn't work right.
So I got the DishPlayer system, and PQ is great. Unfortunately, the box is unreliable shit. It crashes often, I've had 3 RMA's. Sometimes, for no reason, it just doesn't record what you tell it to record. Other times, you get up in the morning to turn on the news and the fucker is hung solid, requiring a hard reset. And, of course, "WebTV" advertising on every screen.
But the 30-sec skip-forward button makes it all worthwhile.
Collateral Damage is the direct result of an enemy colocating their troops with civilian population.
When Hussein parked his Republican Guard around the perimeter of Baghdad, he had troops lined up and camped out on residential streets. It's a wonder and a miracle that MANY more civilians weren't killed.
When a leader tries to hide his military equipment among his people, he's not trying to protect his people, he's trying to protect his military equipment, and thus, his own ass.
irony: having to comment AppleScript code. . . :)
No, I heard on the news about a B-1 crew that was rescued after having to eject. The problems were "not a result of enemy fire".