In a matter of THIS nature, there is a stack of caselaw about 1.5 inches high that I will assure you any lawyer who has passed the Bar Exam is VERY familiar with, and ALL of those cases say that parody falls within the realm of free speech.
Really? They don't have parody doctrine on the bar in my state, and I can't think of many law schools which require a First Amendment course.
Anybody with anything better than cheapo computer speakers or $5 headphones they got for free in a box of Cracker Jacks is able to hear an enormous difference. It is especially bad if you have high fidelity audiophile gear. For example, the vibration dampers and $1000 cables I bought for my Bose speakers aren't going to help that much when the source material is total shit.
If you have that much money to throw into listening to music, then Apple's download service is not for you, because you a) probably enjoy going to the music store rather than downloading music and b) can afford to buy an entire album at a time in case you happen to like it.
I thought we had decided that Apple wasn't going to do DRM? It sure looked like it, but then here we are, looking at Apple supporting and using DRM in one of its premiere applications. Do you feel betrayed yet?
You formed this idea in your mind that Apple wasn't going to get involved in DRM, and then "felt betrayed" by Apple when your fantasy didn't come true? Can't help you there, Sparky.
The only way that Apple could even begin to make this all acceptable would be to offer the music for $0.25US/track at 320kbps quality. Sure, it still won't really approach CD quality, but at least you won't be charged an arm and a leg for substandard music.
If you don't like it, don't buy it. You make it sound like Apple bought out and closed down all the record stores.
Apple has released a service for people who like downloading single MP3 tracks to listen to on their computer. There's no point in banging on your high chair like Apple just took away your zweiback. You're not the target customer, so just keep doing whatever you're doing now and don't worry about Apple.
Time to call a spade a fucking shovel. We were the good guys, they were the bad guys, they lost, end of story.
No kidding. Did anyone else catch the irony in the poster's writeup?
"Central Europe Review is running an article on a gulag-condemned Soviet scientist whose contribution to the first computer is virtually unknown because of the Cold War mentality that infected much of society on both sides of the Iron Curtain.
Sheesh. We apparently had a shameful "Cold War mentality", although the other side was condemning scientists to the gulag - and to obscurity!
Why don't you have your attorney sue the proprietors of the 'extreme rape' sites, as well as parties unknown who act as their mass-mailing advertisers?
Then, you can force the site admins to turn over their records during discovery, find out who exactly the spammers are, and go after them directly as well.
The lack of colonialism is the root of the problem. Once upon a time, the government actually built power plants, railroads, and telephone networks.
Then everyone asked the government to leave. Fine.
Blaming Africa's problems on anybody but the Africans is ridiculous. You're on your own now. Good luck and have fun.
Go on, tell me how the average resident of a sub-Saharan African country was worse off back when a colonial British or French government was building infrastructure, administering courts, and suppressing tribal warfare and sharia.
wonder what the math is on the idea of lowering advertising costs to bring down end price of the product which might increase sales, balanced against the decreased exposure which might decrease sales.
They don't advertise for fun, you know. Obviously the increased sales from advertising must offset the necessary increase in price and resulting loss of sales.
They're the ones who renounced the superstitious and hysterical belief in the Users, and thus were eligible to join the Elite of the MCP.
Everyone else who continued to profess this belief received the standard substandard training, which resulted in their eventual elimination in the big dotcom crash.
How can we make any claim that we live in a democracy?
The fact that Americans voted for the relevant President, Vice-President, and Congress. Do you have some other definition of "democracy"?
And, more specifically, nobody claims that the United States is a democracy - it's a representative republic, and in representative republics important decisions tend to be made by the eponymous representatives.
Yup... pretty sweet that someone is finally doing it. Now wait 10 years for the result of the lawsuit... pfft... am I the only one who feels that something is wrong with this system?
Is it that you're happy that people can bring all kinds of lawsuits, so that the EULA issue will get litigated...
... or is it that you're annoyed that people can bring all kinds of lawsuits, so that the courts are overworked?
The voting age is 18 now in the United States and has been since 26th amendment was enacted in 1971 or 1972. Thank goodness since I've been registered since I was 17.5 years old. Recently in California there was a poposition that would allow for election-day voter registration. Too bad it didn't pass... I voted for it.
1971. Interestingly, there's nothing to prevent states from lowering the voting age to 5, if they really wanted to.
Election-day voter registration is not a very good idea- it presents enormous opportunities for voter fraud.
Take a math or science class sometimes, especially one with some probability.
In mathematics they have a thing called "integers". Integers are whole numbers.
Let us imagine a hypothetical election between candidates Smith and Jones.
The number of votes received by candidate Smith can be indicated by an integer. This is because whole votes are cast, and a finite votes are cast.
The number of votes received by candidate Jones can be indicated by an integer. This is because whole votes are cast, and a finite votes are cast.
In this election, Smith would win if the integer representing the number of votes he received was greater in value than the integer representing the number of votes with Jones received. Interestingly enough, the reverse is also true.
Now this is the tricky part. You see, ballots don't exist in a probabilistic state. Any given ballot is cast for one candidate or another - not 70% for Smith, or 98% for Jones.
The nice thing about ballots, consequently, is that you don't need to try to "predict" the value of one - you just read it. You cannot predict the force of an object to 100% certainty, but you can predict the value of a ballot to 100% certainty. If you can't, then it's unreadable - and thus uncountable.
Feel free to check with your local board of elections if the concept needs further clarification.
Wrong. It was a TIE. The number of votes one candidate got was WAY WAY below the margin of error, especially for a punch-card system. Unfortunately, the current election system had no way to deal with ties. So the result of the election was essentially random.
A 'tie' is where two people get exactly the same number of votes. Voting systems aren't interested in statistical margins of error. They're interested in numbers of votes. If one candidate received more votes than another, it wasn't a tie. If it's difficult to determine which one received more, that means you need to count more carefully, not that you need to come up with an algorithm to guess who ought to win.
Sorry, I didn't really answer your question. Bush is an evil fucker, because he is stirring up war in a previously stable, if not actually peaceful, part of the world. All he wants out of Iraq is cheap oil. The North Koreans are a far bigger threat than the Iraqis, but there's no sign of troops going in there - why? Because you got your arses handed to you last time?
In the rest of the world, we watch America with a growing sense of morbid curiosity. What stupid law will you pass today, to restrict your own freedom with no positive side? Which terrorist are you going to arm now, since the IRA has quietened down? There's actually a bookmaker in the UK who has opened a book on what Bush will fuck up next. Kyoto's dead, and killing a huge amount of American teenagers by sending them to the Gulf has pretty short odds...
And... and... the Zionist Masters and the Gnomes of Zurich are going to call upon Cthulu, Gamera, and Tinkerbell to bring on the End Times...
Wow. And you wonder why the US government doesn't really care what you think.
Uhm, isn't that discrimination? Criminals are citizens, too, with the same rights and duties as other citizens (at least one may think).
If that were true, would the state restrict their movements and activities for a proscribed period?
Criminals, in the United States, are those who have forfeited specific civil rights for a period prescribed by law. These civil rights include the ability to live and move where they choose, as well as other odds and ends (they can be forced into servitude, for instance).
The rights forfeited do not include the right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment, and various litigation over the years has ironed out ad hoc rules as to what that entails.
Many states have decided that one of the rights which felons forfeit is the franchise, and that permanently.
Saying that this is 'discrimination' is meaningless. States also inflict voting discrimination on non-citizens, the deceased (except Illinois), and those under the age of 21.
As we speak, I have a terrible sense of foreboding, because last weekend a stunning omen occurred in this country. Anyone who thinks symbolically had to be shocked by the explosion of the Columbia shuttle, disintegrating in the air and strewing its parts and human remains over Texas -- the president's home state!
Mehercule! And Texas is a tiny place, too, far outside the space shuttle flight path! What were the odds!
If there was ever a sign for a president and his administration to rethink what they're doing, this was it.
Yep, you've pegged it. Jove is angry at the Bush Administration. The proper rite of opening the Doors of Janus was doubtless not properly followed. I suggest a propitial lectisternia.
Maybe the reason isn't obvious, but here it is: Basically, the Russians are the only link between the space station and the world (NASA won't be flying any missions anytime soon). Also, Russia doesn't have reusable spacecrafts (they have one time use capsules - the space shuttle's brilliance was the fact that it was reusable), and they only have a limited supply of them. With a two year build time on their spacecraft, they don't want to "waste them" on anything other than what is purely necessary. Vyacheslav Mikhailichenko said, "Space tourism is not a priority. State interests must come first, then commercial interests."
Russia never has, and never intended to, launch a Soyuz expressly for space tourism purposes. Tito and Shuttleworth were sold permission to sit in the third cosmonaut's seat on ISS resupply missions.
As I noted in my original post, it seems likely that Russia now feels that they need the extra cargo room that would be freed up by not carrying a third human.
Russia is suspending its space tourist program, for fairly obvious reasons.
It's not really obvious why they're doing it. The article implies, but doesn't state, that it's because they now need to put cargo where the third, "passenger" seat would go on a Soyuz capsule.
Some people have suggested they're doing it because "space is now unsafe", which makes absolutely no sense.
Don't get me wrong while manga is not really a style I enjoy, some of it is quite good in terms of stories and in artwork, but Douglas Adams was perhaps one of the greatest writers in our time, comparing him to manga is like comparing Archie to Shakesphere.
Look, I like Douglas Adams as much as the next man. I've got everything from a hardback of _Last Chance to See_ to a DVD of The Pirate Planet.
Yes, he was well-educated. Yes, he was a clever writer.
But if Douglas Adams was one of the greatest writers of our time, that says a lot more about our time than it does about Douglas Adams.
And I'm fast starting to believe that the only thing Americans are any good at these days is stealing other people's ideas and claiming them as their own. Bill Gates is of course the first name that comes to mind; esr's rant [tuxedo.org] ends up with a list of every major 'innovation' from MS, and who it was bought or stolen from.
Anti-American rants are of course terribly fashionable, but that's a weird example to give. Most of Gates' nonnovations were stolen from other American companies.
Slashdot Mirror
In a matter of THIS nature, there is a stack of caselaw about 1.5 inches high that I will assure you any lawyer who has passed the Bar Exam is VERY familiar with, and ALL of those cases say that parody falls within the realm of free speech.
Really? They don't have parody doctrine on the bar in my state, and I can't think of many law schools which require a First Amendment course.
Anybody with anything better than cheapo computer speakers or $5 headphones they got for free in a box of Cracker Jacks is able to hear an enormous difference. It is especially bad if you have high fidelity audiophile gear. For example, the vibration dampers and $1000 cables I bought for my Bose speakers aren't going to help that much when the source material is total shit.
If you have that much money to throw into listening to music, then Apple's download service is not for you, because you a) probably enjoy going to the music store rather than downloading music and b) can afford to buy an entire album at a time in case you happen to like it.
I thought we had decided that Apple wasn't going to do DRM? It sure looked like it, but then here we are, looking at Apple supporting and using DRM in one of its premiere applications. Do you feel betrayed yet?
You formed this idea in your mind that Apple wasn't going to get involved in DRM, and then "felt betrayed" by Apple when your fantasy didn't come true? Can't help you there, Sparky.
The only way that Apple could even begin to make this all acceptable would be to offer the music for $0.25US/track at 320kbps quality. Sure, it still won't really approach CD quality, but at least you won't be charged an arm and a leg for substandard music.
If you don't like it, don't buy it. You make it sound like Apple bought out and closed down all the record stores.
Apple has released a service for people who like downloading single MP3 tracks to listen to on their computer. There's no point in banging on your high chair like Apple just took away your zweiback. You're not the target customer, so just keep doing whatever you're doing now and don't worry about Apple.
ASA
Time to call a spade a fucking shovel. We were the good guys, they were the bad guys, they lost, end of story.
No kidding. Did anyone else catch the irony in the poster's writeup?
"Central Europe Review is running an article on a gulag-condemned Soviet scientist whose contribution to the first computer is virtually unknown because of the Cold War mentality that infected much of society on both sides of the Iron Curtain.
Sheesh. We apparently had a shameful "Cold War mentality", although the other side was condemning scientists to the gulag - and to obscurity!
ABW
Why don't you have your attorney sue the proprietors of the 'extreme rape' sites, as well as parties unknown who act as their mass-mailing advertisers?
Then, you can force the site admins to turn over their records during discovery, find out who exactly the spammers are, and go after them directly as well.
ABW
The lack of colonialism is the root of the problem. Once upon a time, the government actually built power plants, railroads, and telephone networks.
Then everyone asked the government to leave. Fine.
Blaming Africa's problems on anybody but the Africans is ridiculous. You're on your own now. Good luck and have fun.
Go on, tell me how the average resident of a sub-Saharan African country was worse off back when a colonial British or French government was building infrastructure, administering courts, and suppressing tribal warfare and sharia.
Awesome, awesome reference.
"I heard a cry."
wonder what the math is on the idea of lowering advertising costs to bring down end price of the product which might increase sales, balanced against the decreased exposure which might decrease sales.
They don't advertise for fun, you know. Obviously the increased sales from advertising must offset the necessary increase in price and resulting loss of sales.
Imagine the look on your face when your european allies say "this is not our war".
Europe unwilling to defend civilization? Well, the look on my face certainly wouldn't be surprise...
ASA
They're the ones who renounced the superstitious and hysterical belief in the Users, and thus were eligible to join the Elite of the MCP.
Everyone else who continued to profess this belief received the standard substandard training, which resulted in their eventual elimination in the big dotcom crash.
ASA
That's Pulitzer, moron
I am frankly astounded that you couldn't recognize that as a joke.
How can we make any claim that we live in a democracy?
The fact that Americans voted for the relevant President, Vice-President, and Congress. Do you have some other definition of "democracy"?
And, more specifically, nobody claims that the United States is a democracy - it's a representative republic, and in representative republics important decisions tend to be made by the eponymous representatives.
Is it that you're happy that people can bring all kinds of lawsuits, so that the EULA issue will get litigated...
ASA
The voting age is 18 now in the United States and has been since 26th amendment was enacted in 1971 or 1972. Thank goodness since I've been registered since I was 17.5 years old. Recently in California there was a poposition that would allow for election-day voter registration. Too bad it didn't pass... I voted for it.
1971. Interestingly, there's nothing to prevent states from lowering the voting age to 5, if they really wanted to.
Election-day voter registration is not a very good idea- it presents enormous opportunities for voter fraud.
In mathematics they have a thing called "integers". Integers are whole numbers.
Let us imagine a hypothetical election between candidates Smith and Jones.
The number of votes received by candidate Smith can be indicated by an integer. This is because whole votes are cast, and a finite votes are cast.
The number of votes received by candidate Jones can be indicated by an integer. This is because whole votes are cast, and a finite votes are cast.
In this election, Smith would win if the integer representing the number of votes he received was greater in value than the integer representing the number of votes with Jones received. Interestingly enough, the reverse is also true.
Now this is the tricky part. You see, ballots don't exist in a probabilistic state. Any given ballot is cast for one candidate or another - not 70% for Smith, or 98% for Jones.
The nice thing about ballots, consequently, is that you don't need to try to "predict" the value of one - you just read it. You cannot predict the force of an object to 100% certainty, but you can predict the value of a ballot to 100% certainty. If you can't, then it's unreadable - and thus uncountable.
Feel free to check with your local board of elections if the concept needs further clarification.
Wrong. It was a TIE. The number of votes one candidate got was WAY WAY below the margin of error, especially for a punch-card system. Unfortunately, the current election system had no way to deal with ties. So the result of the election was essentially random.
A 'tie' is where two people get exactly the same number of votes. Voting systems aren't interested in statistical margins of error. They're interested in numbers of votes. If one candidate received more votes than another, it wasn't a tie. If it's difficult to determine which one received more, that means you need to count more carefully, not that you need to come up with an algorithm to guess who ought to win.
Sorry, I didn't really answer your question. Bush is an evil fucker, because he is stirring up war in a previously stable, if not actually peaceful, part of the world. All he wants out of Iraq is cheap oil. The North Koreans are a far bigger threat than the Iraqis, but there's no sign of troops going in there - why? Because you got your arses handed to you last time?
In the rest of the world, we watch America with a growing sense of morbid curiosity. What stupid law will you pass today, to restrict your own freedom with no positive side? Which terrorist are you going to arm now, since the IRA has quietened down? There's actually a bookmaker in the UK who has opened a book on what Bush will fuck up next. Kyoto's dead, and killing a huge amount of American teenagers by sending them to the Gulf has pretty short odds...
And... and... the Zionist Masters and the Gnomes of Zurich are going to call upon Cthulu, Gamera, and Tinkerbell to bring on the End Times...
Wow. And you wonder why the US government doesn't really care what you think.
Uhm, isn't that discrimination? Criminals are citizens, too, with the same rights and duties as other citizens (at least one may think).
If that were true, would the state restrict their movements and activities for a proscribed period?
Criminals, in the United States, are those who have forfeited specific civil rights for a period prescribed by law. These civil rights include the ability to live and move where they choose, as well as other odds and ends (they can be forced into servitude, for instance).
The rights forfeited do not include the right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment, and various litigation over the years has ironed out ad hoc rules as to what that entails.
Many states have decided that one of the rights which felons forfeit is the franchise, and that permanently.
Saying that this is 'discrimination' is meaningless. States also inflict voting discrimination on non-citizens, the deceased (except Illinois), and those under the age of 21.
Mehercule! And Texas is a tiny place, too, far outside the space shuttle flight path! What were the odds!
If there was ever a sign for a president and his administration to rethink what they're doing, this was it.
Yep, you've pegged it. Jove is angry at the Bush Administration. The proper rite of opening the Doors of Janus was doubtless not properly followed. I suggest a propitial lectisternia.
Russia never has, and never intended to, launch a Soyuz expressly for space tourism purposes. Tito and Shuttleworth were sold permission to sit in the third cosmonaut's seat on ISS resupply missions.
As I noted in my original post, it seems likely that Russia now feels that they need the extra cargo room that would be freed up by not carrying a third human.
It's not really obvious why they're doing it. The article implies, but doesn't state, that it's because they now need to put cargo where the third, "passenger" seat would go on a Soyuz capsule.
Some people have suggested they're doing it because "space is now unsafe", which makes absolutely no sense.
Look, I like Douglas Adams as much as the next man. I've got everything from a hardback of _Last Chance to See_ to a DVD of The Pirate Planet.
Yes, he was well-educated. Yes, he was a clever writer.
But if Douglas Adams was one of the greatest writers of our time, that says a lot more about our time than it does about Douglas Adams.
Or could it have been Connor Mcleod of the clan Mcleod?
Here We Are STOP Born To Be Kings STOP Are Princes Of Universe FULL STOP
Anti-American rants are of course terribly fashionable, but that's a weird example to give. Most of Gates' nonnovations were stolen from other American companies.
Columbus was a Spaniard
Columbus was Genovese! He was only working for the Spanish.
Some would doubt whether or not the US actually landed there, but that's another story altogether.
There was a great disturbance in the Force, as if your credibility suddenly cried out in terror and was gone.