Felt it here at work. We're on the third floor of an old brick factory building. Certainly heard a few items upstairs hit the floor. Everyone went outside and proceeded to not have cell service. Text was fine though.
The whole TOS suspension for non-real-name thing stopped me in my tracks. What really irks me is that I started to sign up and nowhere did it explicitly say that I couldn't use a pseudonym. Maybe it's because I canceled it when it tried to reassign my Picasa account to the profile - I don't want that to change, thank you.
I've gone by my Nome-de-net of since I first started using the Internet and have used it in my web site since I first registered that in 1998.
There are probably more people who know me by that name or by my SCA name than know me by my "real name". I don't intentionally go out of my way to hide it, but I do normally kind of keep my identities separate (mostly for organizational purposes). I really don't like the idea of directly linking all three on a single profile though.
My family and employer are the only ones who regularly call me by my "real name". Most of my real life friends call me by my SCA name because that's how I was originally introduced to them, and anyone who knows me only on-line knows me by DigitalSorceress. All three are me, and I am the same person / personality throughout,... but I like to keep the distinction as it helps me keep track of "where do you know me from".
My reasoning is that the patent system is obviously no longer helping to ENCOURAGE invention... it's actually STIFLING it.
Someone else already said it here: the big problem with software patents is that they cover ~concept~ instead of ~implementation~ which means that patent trolls can just stake out large, vague chunks of possible invention space and then see how they can apply that to things folks actually implement/build.
Maybe if we get more and more obvious cases of software patents stifling innovation, we'll get enough momentum to actually do something about them... (invalidate them all maybe?)
My preparations include making sure I remember to go look outside at night over the next few days. I live on the MA/CT line, and I've only ever seen the aurora once or twice in my life this far South... both times due to massive CMEs.
I'll be on the lookout and have my camera and tripod standing by this time.
I'm sitting here just trying to determine exactly how software patents encourage innovation (the justification behind the whole patent system). As far as I can tell, with Software and Business Method patents, you can't actually invent anything until you get someone's permission.
I've got a single gesture in mind for folks who think that gesture-based interfaces are where it's at...
Actually, I do like the intuitive "pinch, spin, slide" type gestures with iOS, but for PC-based stuff, I can't stand a lot of the new, shiny crap folks are pushing. Removing useful things like status bars, and replacing intuitive "I don't know what I'm looking for, but I'll know it when I see it" menus with those "trying to view the Grand Canyon through a toilet paper tube" restrictiveness of these ribbons and such... it just really gets annoying.
Constructive criticism: Please consider another line of interest where you're less likely to really piss people off... might I suggest becoming involved in politics or maybe joining a hate group, or maybe joining PETA or heading up the Jack Valenti Fan Club or something.
Re:Towel Day flopped like a damp mattress
on
Happy Towel Day!
·
· Score: 1
I wore my Douglas Adams Memorial Towel (a smart, small black model with the number embroidered on 42 in large, friendly numbers.
My boss complimented me for being a hoopy frood who really knew where her towel was, but the HR drone needed to be enlightened. (Actually she's not really a drone - she's a pretty hoopy frood herself... I mean, she did institute Bacon Day and Beer o' Clock, but she really did have no clue why I was wearing a small black towel with the number 42 embroidered on it in large, friendly numbers.)
In my previous job, a 1920x1200 24" (I brought in my own) plus the original crappy 17" thing they gave me was fine. I was doing a lot of PHP, and I mostly used the small monitor for email and a browser and had my IDE taking up most of the big screen.
Now that I'm doing a bunch of stuff with Visual Studio at my new job, that's not enough Screen Real Estate - I really need to get a third monitor in. I've regularly got two (and often three) instances of VS open, plus email, IM, and a couple browser windows and my company's help documentation. If I had 4 24" 1920x1200 monitors hooked up, I would probably be thinking that I could use "just one more".
yeah, but I think they get that AND they push for the punishment stuff too. They want it both ways. Their business model is becoming irrelevant... it was based on high barrier to entry into the music production, marketing, and distribution world.
The Interwebs has changed the game, but rather than find a way to make a living out of it in a way that adds some value to the world, the music industry seems to be having a giant temper tantrum and throwing a LOT of money around to buy the best legislation they can.
Just gotta get this out of my system... what a greedy bunch of ****suckers!
Ok, maybe some folks use SD cards to copy music, but the assumption that everyone's going to use them for that purpose is beyond stupid.
I own several SD cards and several CF cards and I've never ever put a single song or other piece of copyrighted work on any of them... well, ok, actually I have... I use them in my cameras to take pictures, so I put MY OWN copyrighted work on them.
I know obvious post is obvious, but these Canadian MPAA-Wannabees already get a tax on every blank CD and DVD sold in that country... I can't believe they were allowed to do that, and now they want more... Why don't they just tax brain cells since I might REMEMBER what one of their songs sounded like.
If I had mod points, I'd mod you up... Instead, I'll just say "thank you, I didn't know that's how it worked"
I'm a Comcast customer in the US, and I'm watching this closely as I'm sure it's bound to affect me one way or another. I wonder if we've got any of these "leased last mile" alternative providers.
Coolhand2120, you've hit the nail precisely on the head.
I remember back when anti-virus apps first started to whine about cookies, I was like, "what? do these guys have ANY CLUE how the web works?". I eventually came to the conclusion that they did, but that they were benefiting from the appearance that they were stopping all this "evil" stuff.
Cookies are an absolutely essential way to maintain state across multiple visits from a given user on a web site. As always, XKCD is on-the-ball... http://www.xkcd.com/869/
I only ever use session cookies on web sites/apps that I build. Then again, I don't have anything to do with advertising.
I begged my mom to not get herself a smart phone... the reason? I still have to explain the difference between click, double click, and right click to her once every couple months.
She can manage to make phone calls and has even managed to text me several times, but until she stops buying new memory cards for her camera each time it gets full and until she actually even once uses the iPod touch my sister gave her, a smart phone is sooo not going to solve any problem for her, but will cause many.
Slashdot Mirror
Felt it here at work. We're on the third floor of an old brick factory building. Certainly heard a few items upstairs hit the floor. Everyone went outside and proceeded to not have cell service. Text was fine though.
The whole TOS suspension for non-real-name thing stopped me in my tracks. What really irks me is that I started to sign up and nowhere did it explicitly say that I couldn't use a pseudonym. Maybe it's because I canceled it when it tried to reassign my Picasa account to the profile - I don't want that to change, thank you.
I've gone by my Nome-de-net of since I first started using the Internet and have used it in my web site since I first registered that in 1998.
There are probably more people who know me by that name or by my SCA name than know me by my "real name". I don't intentionally go out of my way to hide it, but I do normally kind of keep my identities separate (mostly for organizational purposes). I really don't like the idea of directly linking all three on a single profile though.
My family and employer are the only ones who regularly call me by my "real name". Most of my real life friends call me by my SCA name because that's how I was originally introduced to them, and anyone who knows me only on-line knows me by DigitalSorceress. All three are me, and I am the same person / personality throughout,... but I like to keep the distinction as it helps me keep track of "where do you know me from".
My first thought on this is, "Good".
My reasoning is that the patent system is obviously no longer helping to ENCOURAGE invention... it's actually STIFLING it.
Someone else already said it here: the big problem with software patents is that they cover ~concept~ instead of ~implementation~ which means that patent trolls can just stake out large, vague chunks of possible invention space and then see how they can apply that to things folks actually implement/build.
Maybe if we get more and more obvious cases of software patents stifling innovation, we'll get enough momentum to actually do something about them... (invalidate them all maybe?)
My preparations include making sure I remember to go look outside at night over the next few days. I live on the MA/CT line, and I've only ever seen the aurora once or twice in my life this far South... both times due to massive CMEs.
I'll be on the lookout and have my camera and tripod standing by this time.
I'm sitting here just trying to determine exactly how software patents encourage innovation (the justification behind the whole patent system). As far as I can tell, with Software and Business Method patents, you can't actually invent anything until you get someone's permission.
It just makes me sick.
I've got a single gesture in mind for folks who think that gesture-based interfaces are where it's at...
Actually, I do like the intuitive "pinch, spin, slide" type gestures with iOS, but for PC-based stuff, I can't stand a lot of the new, shiny crap folks are pushing. Removing useful things like status bars, and replacing intuitive "I don't know what I'm looking for, but I'll know it when I see it" menus with those "trying to view the Grand Canyon through a toilet paper tube" restrictiveness of these ribbons and such... it just really gets annoying.
Polite criticism: I disagree 100%
Nonconstructive criticism: dumb idea.
Constructive criticism: Please consider another line of interest where you're less likely to really piss people off... might I suggest becoming involved in politics or maybe joining a hate group, or maybe joining PETA or heading up the Jack Valenti Fan Club or something.
I wore my Douglas Adams Memorial Towel (a smart, small black model with the number embroidered on 42 in large, friendly numbers.
My boss complimented me for being a hoopy frood who really knew where her towel was, but the HR drone needed to be enlightened. (Actually she's not really a drone - she's a pretty hoopy frood herself... I mean, she did institute Bacon Day and Beer o' Clock, but she really did have no clue why I was wearing a small black towel with the number 42 embroidered on it in large, friendly numbers.)
Uh, what was the question again?
In my previous job, a 1920x1200 24" (I brought in my own) plus the original crappy 17" thing they gave me was fine. I was doing a lot of PHP, and I mostly used the small monitor for email and a browser and had my IDE taking up most of the big screen.
Now that I'm doing a bunch of stuff with Visual Studio at my new job, that's not enough Screen Real Estate - I really need to get a third monitor in. I've regularly got two (and often three) instances of VS open, plus email, IM, and a couple browser windows and my company's help documentation. If I had 4 24" 1920x1200 monitors hooked up, I would probably be thinking that I could use "just one more".
yeah, but I think they get that AND they push for the punishment stuff too. They want it both ways. Their business model is becoming irrelevant... it was based on high barrier to entry into the music production, marketing, and distribution world.
The Interwebs has changed the game, but rather than find a way to make a living out of it in a way that adds some value to the world, the music industry seems to be having a giant temper tantrum and throwing a LOT of money around to buy the best legislation they can.
Just gotta get this out of my system... what a greedy bunch of ****suckers!
Ok, maybe some folks use SD cards to copy music, but the assumption that everyone's going to use them for that purpose is beyond stupid.
I own several SD cards and several CF cards and I've never ever put a single song or other piece of copyrighted work on any of them... well, ok, actually I have... I use them in my cameras to take pictures, so I put MY OWN copyrighted work on them.
I know obvious post is obvious, but these Canadian MPAA-Wannabees already get a tax on every blank CD and DVD sold in that country... I can't believe they were allowed to do that, and now they want more... Why don't they just tax brain cells since I might REMEMBER what one of their songs sounded like.
GARRHRRHHHH!!!!
Grr... mod points all used up - angry at self for not seeing your post and giving you one...
Terrorist-molest your phone
LOL
+ insightful * 1,000,000
Sounds like a perfect question for the MythBusters.
Calling Mr. Savage. Will Adam Savage please report to th... aw, drat, I've got no bars.
Babs called... says you're doing it wrong.
Also, something about it all ending in tears.
Sorry - can I claim pre-coffee half-eye-open, and wow, that was really stoopid of me.
DELETE * FROM active_patients WHERE medical_loss_ratio > 20%;
If I had mod points, I'd mod you up... Instead, I'll just say "thank you, I didn't know that's how it worked"
I'm a Comcast customer in the US, and I'm watching this closely as I'm sure it's bound to affect me one way or another. I wonder if we've got any of these "leased last mile" alternative providers.
Before they proceed, they need to go watch THIS
Godwin is worse than a dunptruck full of Hitlers being driven by The Hulk... with Pol Pot riding shotgun. /does I win?
Coolhand2120, you've hit the nail precisely on the head.
I remember back when anti-virus apps first started to whine about cookies, I was like, "what? do these guys have ANY CLUE how the web works?". I eventually came to the conclusion that they did, but that they were benefiting from the appearance that they were stopping all this "evil" stuff.
Cookies are an absolutely essential way to maintain state across multiple visits from a given user on a web site. As always, XKCD is on-the-ball ... http://www.xkcd.com/869/
I only ever use session cookies on web sites/apps that I build. Then again, I don't have anything to do with advertising.
The People.
Ask an Egyptian
Ask a Tunisian.
Ask someone who marched in Selma.
I begged my mom to not get herself a smart phone... the reason? I still have to explain the difference between click, double click, and right click to her once every couple months.
She can manage to make phone calls and has even managed to text me several times, but until she stops buying new memory cards for her camera each time it gets full and until she actually even once uses the iPod touch my sister gave her, a smart phone is sooo not going to solve any problem for her, but will cause many.
Now, if we could just get them to hire you to write it, I'd be more optimistic. Whoever wrote 2&3 should under no account be allowed to write 4 & 5.
Just my $0.02 worth
If I hadn't already commented on this thread, I'd sooo have modded that up. Glad others did.
So damn true.