You can have (consensual) kinky sex, but if you video it, you're a sex offender.
Apparently there is an exception to the violent porn law that you're clearly thinking of to allow being in the film as a defence. You do have to be clearly visible and recognisable however.
Of course, that probably isn't a defence if you give/sell it to your mates, or for them.
It's also a little more targeted than just "kinky", no-one's going to be dragged through court because of a little whipped cream. I deplore this particular law as much as anyone, but overstating its reach like this doesn't help anyone.
Being held 30 days without charge? Not enough! We must change the law to make it 90 days! After all, you wouldn't have been arrested it you weren't guilty!
Again, you're misrepresenting that. I don't agree with it either, but the justification was to give the police/security services time to take action against the rest of the terrorist cell/organisation that you're allegedly part of.
Organise a protest criticising against soldier in Afganistan and Iraq? That'll be declared illegal and you'll be arrested on public decency charges.
Rubbish. The ban on Islam4UK may have been prompted by the public outcry over the planned march, but (assuming you believe the BBC) it was done in order to close a loophole - the group had already been banned under other names. I've also missed reports of people being arrested only for protesting against soldiers, though there have certainly been calls for it from the tabloids.
I would hope that the Conservatives would cancel some of these laws when they're in power but I doubt it. Removing laws is pretty hard and the tabloids would crucify them.
Given the tabloids are either in favour of or actively campaigned for most of the things you talk about, you're right; any government that took a much-needed hatchet to these and similar laws would most likely be out at the following election.
Since when was failing to gain something the same as losing it?
No-one has actually lost $459 million (= had it once, don't have it now), they just haven't gained it. If they've lost anything, it's the opportunity to gain the money, which is a rather different thing...
I clicked on that link, then opened the AdBlock Plus console. One of the blockable items is indeed a script served from one of your servers (r1.tcr60.tynt.com). However I notice that the URL of this page is appended to the URL of the script - the full link is
The same is true of your second link, there's a script referenced in the page with the URL of this page as part of the query string. So you're tracking referrers too. No offence, but this is starting to look shadier and shadier the deeper I dig.
We can never satisfactorily "cure" cancer or any other disease. "Curing" a disease is defined as letting you live long enough to die from a different one.
I know several people who are extremely happy to have been given the chance to die of something other than cancer.
Numbers show that millions of lives have been saved by antibiotics, but have they?
Yes, they have. If without them you would have been dead in days or weeks, but with them you successfully fight off the disease and are no longer in any danger of dying from it, then yes, they did save you. Even if you were hit by a bus and killed on the way home from getting the all-clear, that disease or infection did not kill you, and the antibiotics did save your life.
I agree with the mantra that you should live your life according to the knowledge that it won't last forever, but the rest is needlessly fatalistic imho.
That's not how I read the summary at all - I read that he's told (some) vendors in the past and they have done nothing, so in the future he's not going to inform any vendors at all.
"Pay me money or I'll tell the world things you'd rather I didn't" is definitely either blackmail or extortion, depending on the details and local laws.
Netscape Communicator (or simply "Netscape") was Internet Explorer's main (only?) competition in the late 90s. It was a web browser developed and released by Netscape which at one time was dominant, but has since been relegated to history.
There are two main reasons for its demise:
1) Microsoft finally woke up and realised that the Internet (and specifically the World Wide Web) was important, and developed IE, finally bundling it as part of Windows
2) Netscape decided to make version 5 a complete rewrite from scratch, which gave MS all the time they needed to improve IE to the point that it made Netscape look like a bad joke.
To my mind, 2) is what really killed it; Netscape 4 was buggy and slow, and while it was definitely comparable to IE4, IE5 was superior (and I say that as someone who went from Netscape 4 to Mozilla - I have never used IE as my primary browser, and most likely never will). Netscape did release versions 6 and 7, based on Gecko and the Mozilla code base, but by then it was far too late. (They also sucked compared to Mozilla/Firefox and IE).
I'll go with the writing please, preferably implemented in such a way that resting my hand/wrist on the screen isn't interpreted as a big smudge.
Note that I didn't say "I'll go with handwriting recognition" - that would be nice and very useful if accurate, but is certainly not required for my intended use of such a device. Note-taking in meetings, impromptu design sessions, etc would all be good enough just having things down in electronic format; taking photos of whiteboards and/or scanning in notebook pages is a little strange in 2010...
Personally I have no hang-ups about nudity, but I still don't want to be forced to allow random strangers to see me naked. It's about personal choice - and before you say it, yes, I am choosing not to fly. At least until my employers force me to do so...
No, all criminal cases are "The Crown vs", not the Queen - the distinction I think is that it is the abstract office, not the person currently holding that office.
London had 300 knife incidents on the Underground in a week.
Given I've used the Tube nearly every day for the best part of 15 years at all hours of the day and have never seen a single incident, knife-related or not, you are going to have to back that claim up.
I'm not saying London is crime free, far from it, but I've lived here for 16 years and can count the number of things I've seen or even heard of affecting my friends on my fingers.
I don't know about now, but when I was there in the 90s Imperial College in London had a nuclear reactor on a different site, and a z-pinch machine in the basement of the Physics building on the main campus (which is next door to the Science Museum in central London). So, I have no trouble believing that the OP's uni had a reactor.
Heh, my card was eaten by an ATM a few months ago. Let me assure you that standing in line in the bank to withdraw cash over the counter is definitely *not* slightly slower than using an ATM, and that's when you're probably the only one doing it. When everyone has to, it's going to take a long time. (Especially if people who don't have the correct ID start to argue with the tellers...)
How about a mode where I can hit Ctrl-Alt-Del and hit Enter, and have it lock my screen, without having to wait in the middle for Windows to mode-switch to a different video screen, complete with fancy graphics, to ask me the same thing a simple dialog box asks me?
Winkey-L locks your screen, no waiting, no confirmations.
Whats up with this whole "Library" thing? What is wrong with "My Documents"
Libraries allow you to add other folders (e.g. public photo or music folders) and have their contents appear alongside that of any others (e.g. your "My Pictures" or "My Music" folder)
is user crap still sprinkled around in c:\program files\blah ?
You'll be wanting to talk to your software vendors about that - that's been against recommended practice since at least Windows 2000 (or Win XP if you want to take it from when the DOS-based home OS line finally died; but even that's now 9 years ago)
The argument will be that while 07 & 08 are no longer worth supporting, they contain code and other technologies used in 10, and so being forced to release that code will be detrimental to them.
I'm not saying I agree, in fact I agree with you in spirit at least - anything that is discontinued and no longer available, I think, really should pass into the public domain. I just don't think it's as clear-cut in this case as you'd like it to be.
Slashdot Mirror
Not to mention the ability to travel in time.
Yes.
See how much correct, clear use of language matters, and how much incorrect and/or unclear use of language impedes constructive debate?
If the developers arrangement is so cluttered that they can't be bothered to keep the old releases available
That's just it - surely deleting the old version takes more effort than simply leaving it there, and adding a link to the latest version?
You can have (consensual) kinky sex, but if you video it, you're a sex offender.
Apparently there is an exception to the violent porn law that you're clearly thinking of to allow being in the film as a defence. You do have to be clearly visible and recognisable however.
Of course, that probably isn't a defence if you give/sell it to your mates, or for them.
It's also a little more targeted than just "kinky", no-one's going to be dragged through court because of a little whipped cream. I deplore this particular law as much as anyone, but overstating its reach like this doesn't help anyone.
Being held 30 days without charge? Not enough! We must change the law to make it 90 days! After all, you wouldn't have been arrested it you weren't guilty!
Again, you're misrepresenting that. I don't agree with it either, but the justification was to give the police/security services time to take action against the rest of the terrorist cell/organisation that you're allegedly part of.
Organise a protest criticising against soldier in Afganistan and Iraq? That'll be declared illegal and you'll be arrested on public decency charges.
Rubbish. The ban on Islam4UK may have been prompted by the public outcry over the planned march, but (assuming you believe the BBC) it was done in order to close a loophole - the group had already been banned under other names. I've also missed reports of people being arrested only for protesting against soldiers, though there have certainly been calls for it from the tabloids.
I would hope that the Conservatives would cancel some of these laws when they're in power but I doubt it. Removing laws is pretty hard and the tabloids would crucify them.
Given the tabloids are either in favour of or actively campaigned for most of the things you talk about, you're right; any government that took a much-needed hatchet to these and similar laws would most likely be out at the following election.
If this scavenger hunt is illegal, it would also be illegal for me to offer $10k to anyone who brings me the top-secret Microsoft Phone.
The phone itself? That would probably be theft...
Since when was failing to gain something the same as losing it?
No-one has actually lost $459 million (= had it once, don't have it now), they just haven't gained it. If they've lost anything, it's the opportunity to gain the money, which is a rather different thing...
These seem to be serious allegations. I hope there's action taken this time.
You mean you hope there's action taken if they are proven to be true, right?
Due process applies to everyone, not just the people we like.
That merely shows that Nokia's phone-based income most likely dwarfs Apple's phone-based income, which was exactly the point that was being debated.
i.e. the opt out for the SF Gate is here: http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/faq.shtml#faq1.5%23ixzz0bxLIAbL7
I clicked on that link, then opened the AdBlock Plus console. One of the blockable items is indeed a script served from one of your servers (r1.tcr60.tynt.com). However I notice that the URL of this page is appended to the URL of the script - the full link is
http://r1.tcr60.tynt.com/a/v/0bxLIAbL7?site=ad1_AICmWr3PaXab7jrHtB&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sfgate.com%2Fchronicle%2Ffaq.shtml%23faq1.5%2523ixzz0bxLIAbL7&referrer=http%3A%2F%2Fyro.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F10%2F01%2F14%2F1818222%2FTynt-Insight-Is-Watching-You-Cut-and-Paste%3Fart_pos%3D16
The same is true of your second link, there's a script referenced in the page with the URL of this page as part of the query string. So you're tracking referrers too. No offence, but this is starting to look shadier and shadier the deeper I dig.
Why not an opt in?
Because nobody would, obviously.
We can never satisfactorily "cure" cancer or any other disease. "Curing" a disease is defined as letting you live long enough to die from a different one.
I know several people who are extremely happy to have been given the chance to die of something other than cancer.
Numbers show that millions of lives have been saved by antibiotics, but have they?
Yes, they have. If without them you would have been dead in days or weeks, but with them you successfully fight off the disease and are no longer in any danger of dying from it, then yes, they did save you. Even if you were hit by a bus and killed on the way home from getting the all-clear, that disease or infection did not kill you, and the antibiotics did save your life.
I agree with the mantra that you should live your life according to the knowledge that it won't last forever, but the rest is needlessly fatalistic imho.
That's not how I read the summary at all - I read that he's told (some) vendors in the past and they have done nothing, so in the future he's not going to inform any vendors at all.
"Pay me money or I'll tell the world things you'd rather I didn't" is definitely either blackmail or extortion, depending on the details and local laws.
Netscape Communicator (or simply "Netscape") was Internet Explorer's main (only?) competition in the late 90s. It was a web browser developed and released by Netscape which at one time was dominant, but has since been relegated to history.
There are two main reasons for its demise:
1) Microsoft finally woke up and realised that the Internet (and specifically the World Wide Web) was important, and developed IE, finally bundling it as part of Windows
2) Netscape decided to make version 5 a complete rewrite from scratch, which gave MS all the time they needed to improve IE to the point that it made Netscape look like a bad joke.
To my mind, 2) is what really killed it; Netscape 4 was buggy and slow, and while it was definitely comparable to IE4, IE5 was superior (and I say that as someone who went from Netscape 4 to Mozilla - I have never used IE as my primary browser, and most likely never will). Netscape did release versions 6 and 7, based on Gecko and the Mozilla code base, but by then it was far too late. (They also sucked compared to Mozilla/Firefox and IE).
On screen keyboard instead please.
I'll go with the writing please, preferably implemented in such a way that resting my hand/wrist on the screen isn't interpreted as a big smudge.
Note that I didn't say "I'll go with handwriting recognition" - that would be nice and very useful if accurate, but is certainly not required for my intended use of such a device. Note-taking in meetings, impromptu design sessions, etc would all be good enough just having things down in electronic format; taking photos of whiteboards and/or scanning in notebook pages is a little strange in 2010...
"Kindle" means "to start a fire burning by lighting paper, wood, etc"
I assume that it was chosen to conjure images of sparking off or kindling an e-book revolution.
More people die on Britain's roads each YEAR than have died as a result of terrorism in TOTAL.
Wrong: stats for annual British road deaths; according to wikipedia, just under 3000 people died during the September 11th attacks. That puts the 2007 road death figure in line with that single attack.
I agree that this is an overreaction, but if you're going to draw a comparison to prove a point, make sure it actually does prove your point.
Personally I have no hang-ups about nudity, but I still don't want to be forced to allow random strangers to see me naked. It's about personal choice - and before you say it, yes, I am choosing not to fly. At least until my employers force me to do so...
No, all criminal cases are "The Crown vs", not the Queen - the distinction I think is that it is the abstract office, not the person currently holding that office.
Besides, there is precedent that the monarch is not above the law.
London had 300 knife incidents on the Underground in a week.
Given I've used the Tube nearly every day for the best part of 15 years at all hours of the day and have never seen a single incident, knife-related or not, you are going to have to back that claim up.
I'm not saying London is crime free, far from it, but I've lived here for 16 years and can count the number of things I've seen or even heard of affecting my friends on my fingers.
I don't know about now, but when I was there in the 90s Imperial College in London had a nuclear reactor on a different site, and a z-pinch machine in the basement of the Physics building on the main campus (which is next door to the Science Museum in central London). So, I have no trouble believing that the OP's uni had a reactor.
(albeit slightly more slowly)
Heh, my card was eaten by an ATM a few months ago. Let me assure you that standing in line in the bank to withdraw cash over the counter is definitely *not* slightly slower than using an ATM, and that's when you're probably the only one doing it. When everyone has to, it's going to take a long time. (Especially if people who don't have the correct ID start to argue with the tellers...)
How about a mode where I can hit Ctrl-Alt-Del and hit Enter, and have it lock my screen, without having to wait in the middle for Windows to mode-switch to a different video screen, complete with fancy graphics, to ask me the same thing a simple dialog box asks me?
Winkey-L locks your screen, no waiting, no confirmations.
Whats up with this whole "Library" thing? What is wrong with "My Documents"
Libraries allow you to add other folders (e.g. public photo or music folders) and have their contents appear alongside that of any others (e.g. your "My Pictures" or "My Music" folder)
is user crap still sprinkled around in c:\program files\blah ?
You'll be wanting to talk to your software vendors about that - that's been against recommended practice since at least Windows 2000 (or Win XP if you want to take it from when the DOS-based home OS line finally died; but even that's now 9 years ago)
Quanta is already plural (it's the plural of quantum), so "quantas" is not a word.
But I suspect you know that and have simply typoed it...
The argument will be that while 07 & 08 are no longer worth supporting, they contain code and other technologies used in 10, and so being forced to release that code will be detrimental to them.
I'm not saying I agree, in fact I agree with you in spirit at least - anything that is discontinued and no longer available, I think, really should pass into the public domain. I just don't think it's as clear-cut in this case as you'd like it to be.