Heh, I thought the exact same thing, you beat me too it. So I'll just use this post to rant uselessly about topics beaten to death.
I'm disgusted at how Sony has shown preferential treament by giving their proprietary "Memory Stick" a better position than the industry standard PC Card slot. Cleary, Sony cares nothing for industry standards and open source technology. It's not suprising I guess: they're just Microsoft's lapdogs (pun intended) anyway. It wouldn't suprise me to learn that the PC Card slot has built-in "Anti MP3" technology, courtesy of the RIAA (or was that the MPAA?). Now if you'll excuse me, I must go make a Beowulf cluster of Aibo's.
It seems that all these Big Companies (ATT, Microsoft, Amazon, etc) have a new business philosophy:
1. Make dozens of wild and impractical user policies, patents, copyrights, and pricing schemes.
2. Sit back, and see which ones hit the fan the hardest.
3. Profusely apologize for the ones the general public complains about the most, restate your commitment to fair pricing/competition/whatever, and basically grovel and kiss ass until all is forgiven.
4. Make money hand-over-fist on the one's that get through.
Every time I see a Slashdot story about some company trying to get over with something ridiculous, I can't help but wonder how many others ridiculous things are out there slipping in under the radar.
I wonder: who, besided manufacturers, actually buys these "latest-and-greatest" processors when they first come out? For me, an announcement of a new Pentium or Athlon chip means one thing: time to see how much the price is dropping on last years (months?) models.
The idea of paying $1000+ for a processor that is only marginally better than one $500 cheaper seems silly to me, despite cutting edge needs. Seriously: would you really gain that much more performance in buying a 1.13 ghz than an 866 or 933?
Tyco: Uh, Lord, it's not nice to shoot people while their typing.
Jesus: Chatty bitch should get on IRC if he wants to talk.
Gabe: That's what I'm talking about!
If only Slashdot would let me fit all that into my sig.
On Windows 98 at least, what you have to do is right click on the systray icon, and choose properties. Some BS screen will come up wanting you to register/upgrade to RealPlayer Pro or something, cancel out and you'll get a preferences screen. Somewhere there is an option to "Disable StartCenter" or such.
It's probably in the registry Local/Software/Microsoft/Windows/Current/Run or Run Services as well, though I've never looked for it.
Yeah, I actually got it to work the second crack at installing. It just kind of worried me when it didn't work, and I didn't see 2000 listed as one of the supported OS's. Oh well...
I've been pretty impressed from what I've seen as well. Definitely a huge improvement over PR2, if for no other reason than it looks better. Also seems to handle web pages a little better, and is definitely faster.
After PR2, I was wondering why I should even care about Netscape6, whenever it's released. Perhaps there's hope yet.
I wonder why no Windows 2000 support though? I tried installing it anyway on my 2000 box, and the netscp6.exe just hangs. Have to try a re-install I guess...
This seems odd, since PR2 worked fine on the very same 2000 box (well, about as fine as PR2 ever worked). Anyone know what might have changed in it that it now hiccups in 2000?
Netscape has also started installing this Evil Icon(tm) from 4.75 as well. We recently rolled out 4.75 to our whole campus (needed 128bit): you can't even stop it from installing the icon using the Netscape Client Customization Kit.
Oh, it says that the AOL on Desktop option is disabled when building a custom configuration, yet we found it still put the icon on about half the desktops we ran the setup on. We ended up having to use Novell Zen to do a check for the icon and remove it after the installation.
*Sigh* indeed. From IE to RealPlayer, I loathe programs that insist on throwing useless crap on your desktop.
Isn't there a bunch of space junk stuck in orbit? Why doesn't that drop through, too? Are those items further out?
There's all kinds of stuff out there, and a lot of it does drop to earth. Probably 99% of it burns up in the atmosphere (AHHH...The Atmosphere...AHHHH). Of the remaining stuff, most of it probably finds it's way into one of the oceans that make up 70% of the earths surface.
The problem with Mir is that it's of sufficient size that it probably would not totally burn up in the atmosphere, and an uncontrolled "de-orbit" would be just that: throw a dart to find out where it lands. Irony might suggest NBC studios as a possible crash site, but I digress...
I'm not buying the whole parts shortage excuse. How long has Sony been gearing up for an American PS2 release? At least over a year now? And they're just now learning they can't make their original shipping estimates, a month from release?
I think this really is a cheap ploy to drum up hype for the system. Limiting the supply in October will result in a lot of disappointed people who couldn't get the console. Then, around December 1, you suddenly announce your shipping a new batch, and bam, they fly out the doors right before Christmas.
That's the point: there are no more amateur athletes, or at least very few. And you can bet that those getting paid aren't going to risk their money on something relatively trivial like on-line diaries.
Is anyone here even watching the Olympics? I haven't watched a minute: to me, they're a joke. The only thing the Olympics stand for these days is selling french fries and shoes. The IOC might as well just sell the Olympic name to Nike and be done with it.
Re:It's not the broken mods that piss people off..
on
New Q3A Patch And Mods
·
· Score: 1
And then this newbie wouldn't get slaughtered so much at CTF:-)
Heh, no kidding. Those damn rail gods own me over at Springfield server.
Also, that page is one of those God-forsaken meta-refresh-is-zero-seconds pages. Sites that keep pulling you back suck ass
Amen brother. I'd suggest everyone send an polite e-mail to the two e-mail addresses listed at the top of the page, expressing your disgust if you find this practice as horrible as I do. Yeah, they're probably only sales people (I guess, what's up with those WilsonMcHenry addresses?), but imagine the flak the web designers are going to get if 2 of their sales guys are flooded with "Your web site sucks!" messages;)
Not only for the reasons you mentioned, but also the idea that even if they could have blown the asteroid in two, that it would have been enough to divert it from hitting the earth. That asteroid was what, a few thousand miles away when the blew it? The scenes of them watching the asteroid approach the "point of no return" were hilarious. If it's already that close, no force in the world is going to save you.
Oh well, enough about this: it's time for a new Slashdot poll. Which Summer of 98 asteroid/comet movie babe would win in a fight: Tea Leoni or Liv Tyler?
Man they weren't kidding made for politicians. Lots of big colored pictures and PowerPoint-ish graphics. I wonder why it's always necessary to "disguise" important information to people in positions of leadership?
It is a known fact that the record companies charge artificially high prices for music, and the artist sees very very little of this money
And how many of this kids 40+ gigs do you suppose was filled with new, unappreciated, or otherwise struggling artists? Or do you suppose this was 40 gigs of Metallica, Madonna, Master P and similar high-profile artists, who have no trouble making money under the current system?
People who steal from the rich (record companies) and give to the poor (college students who enjoy music) are seen as modern day "Robin Hood"s and are considered heros, just like the legendary person.
First of all, Robin Hood, at least how you know him, is a work of pure fiction. If there ever was a real-life basis for Robin Hood (something that is debatable by historians), he likely was nothing more than a common thief. The fact that he happened to be stealing from an unpopular king is probably the only thing that made him famous.
Second, let's get a little perspective here, shall we? We're talking about the theft of music CD's via the MP3 file format: a luxury item. Let me repeat that: A Luxury Item. You can live without music. You can make your own music, or only listen to music created by those who don't try to sell it at exorbinate prices. Go downtown in an city of size on Friday or Saturday night, and you can hear a live bands all night for a few dollars cover. Attend local music festivals, and hear more music than you can probably listen to.
But please, do not point at a $15 Metallica CD, and cry to everone who will listen about how wrong it is to charge such a price, and how you must steal it to defeat the evil record companies. That's just pathetic.
This reminds me of when SouthPark came out. My local theater (and, from the news reports I read, many others across the nation) carded me and everyone else when we bought our tickets at the ticket counter, and also when we walked into the theater. They had a couple of kids checking ID's right outside the theater door.
This is all well and good, and probably gave a warm fuzzy to a lot of parents out there. But you want to guess how many times I've been carded for subsequent movies at the same theater? Try none, as in Zero, Not Once. I don't really pay attention to movie ratings, but I'm guessing I've probably seen at least a half-dozen R rated movies in that theater since SouthPark. Where were the carders at The Patriot or Gladiator? Was Scary Movie really less offensive than South Park?
The squeaky wheel get's the grease; or in this case, the card. When SouthPark came out, it was during the height of controversy over the TV show. The movie was described by some to be the sickest, most perverted thing they'd ever seen, and parents and "concerned groups" nationwide raised a shitstorm. Theaters responded by cracking down with ID checks. Rarely before had theaters taken such measures to ensure the underaged stayed out, and it seems they haven't taken the same steps since, at least in my area.
Similarly, when ratings started appearing on video games, nobody really cared. Then games like Soldier of Fortune, Quake3, and others started appearing with blood, gore, and violence not seen before in games. Parents and others have started raising hell again, and this is the result.
There's nothing inheritely wrong with a voluntary rating systems on games. The real question, I think, is how it is enforced. Does a 15 year old get carded for any M rated game, whether it be Soldier of Fortune or Deer Hunter?
Slashdot Mirror
Heh, I thought the exact same thing, you beat me too it. So I'll just use this post to rant uselessly about topics beaten to death.
I'm disgusted at how Sony has shown preferential treament by giving their proprietary "Memory Stick" a better position than the industry standard PC Card slot. Cleary, Sony cares nothing for industry standards and open source technology. It's not suprising I guess: they're just Microsoft's lapdogs (pun intended) anyway. It wouldn't suprise me to learn that the PC Card slot has built-in "Anti MP3" technology, courtesy of the RIAA (or was that the MPAA?). Now if you'll excuse me, I must go make a Beowulf cluster of Aibo's.
"From my cold, dead hands!"
Heh. Won't be long now, Chuck, not long at all...
You Fool! You blow my cover! I kill you all!
It seems that all these Big Companies (ATT, Microsoft, Amazon, etc) have a new business philosophy:
1. Make dozens of wild and impractical user policies, patents, copyrights, and pricing schemes.
2. Sit back, and see which ones hit the fan the hardest.
3. Profusely apologize for the ones the general public complains about the most, restate your commitment to fair pricing/competition/whatever, and basically grovel and kiss ass until all is forgiven.
4. Make money hand-over-fist on the one's that get through.
Every time I see a Slashdot story about some company trying to get over with something ridiculous, I can't help but wonder how many others ridiculous things are out there slipping in under the radar.
I wonder: who, besided manufacturers, actually buys these "latest-and-greatest" processors when they first come out? For me, an announcement of a new Pentium or Athlon chip means one thing: time to see how much the price is dropping on last years (months?) models.
The idea of paying $1000+ for a processor that is only marginally better than one $500 cheaper seems silly to me, despite cutting edge needs. Seriously: would you really gain that much more performance in buying a 1.13 ghz than an 866 or 933?
The name is something like, With Special Guest. It's found right here. An oldie (Quake3 demo?), but a goodie.
:-)
Tyco: Uh, Lord, it's not nice to shoot people while their typing.
Jesus: Chatty bitch should get on IRC if he wants to talk.
Gabe: That's what I'm talking about!
If only Slashdot would let me fit all that into my sig.
On Windows 98 at least, what you have to do is right click on the systray icon, and choose properties. Some BS screen will come up wanting you to register/upgrade to RealPlayer Pro or something, cancel out and you'll get a preferences screen. Somewhere there is an option to "Disable StartCenter" or such.
It's probably in the registry Local/Software/Microsoft/Windows/Current/Run or Run Services as well, though I've never looked for it.
Yeah, I actually got it to work the second crack at installing. It just kind of worried me when it didn't work, and I didn't see 2000 listed as one of the supported OS's. Oh well... I've been pretty impressed from what I've seen as well. Definitely a huge improvement over PR2, if for no other reason than it looks better. Also seems to handle web pages a little better, and is definitely faster.
After PR2, I was wondering why I should even care about Netscape6, whenever it's released. Perhaps there's hope yet.
I wonder why no Windows 2000 support though? I tried installing it anyway on my 2000 box, and the netscp6.exe just hangs. Have to try a re-install I guess...
This seems odd, since PR2 worked fine on the very same 2000 box (well, about as fine as PR2 ever worked). Anyone know what might have changed in it that it now hiccups in 2000?
Netscape has also started installing this Evil Icon(tm) from 4.75 as well. We recently rolled out 4.75 to our whole campus (needed 128bit): you can't even stop it from installing the icon using the Netscape Client Customization Kit.
Oh, it says that the AOL on Desktop option is disabled when building a custom configuration, yet we found it still put the icon on about half the desktops we ran the setup on. We ended up having to use Novell Zen to do a check for the icon and remove it after the installation.
*Sigh* indeed. From IE to RealPlayer, I loathe programs that insist on throwing useless crap on your desktop.
thank you, I just spat beer all over my laptop.
Kids, let this be a lesson to you: drinking and computing don't mix. Well, unless it's been a REALLY long day.
Isn't there a bunch of space junk stuck in orbit? Why doesn't that drop through, too? Are those items further out?
There's all kinds of stuff out there, and a lot of it does drop to earth. Probably 99% of it burns up in the atmosphere (AHHH...The Atmosphere...AHHHH). Of the remaining stuff, most of it probably finds it's way into one of the oceans that make up 70% of the earths surface.
The problem with Mir is that it's of sufficient size that it probably would not totally burn up in the atmosphere, and an uncontrolled "de-orbit" would be just that: throw a dart to find out where it lands. Irony might suggest NBC studios as a possible crash site, but I digress...
I'm not buying the whole parts shortage excuse. How long has Sony been gearing up for an American PS2 release? At least over a year now? And they're just now learning they can't make their original shipping estimates, a month from release?
I think this really is a cheap ploy to drum up hype for the system. Limiting the supply in October will result in a lot of disappointed people who couldn't get the console. Then, around December 1, you suddenly announce your shipping a new batch, and bam, they fly out the doors right before Christmas.
That's the point: there are no more amateur athletes, or at least very few. And you can bet that those getting paid aren't going to risk their money on something relatively trivial like on-line diaries.
Is anyone here even watching the Olympics? I haven't watched a minute: to me, they're a joke. The only thing the Olympics stand for these days is selling french fries and shoes. The IOC might as well just sell the Olympic name to Nike and be done with it.
And then this newbie wouldn't get slaughtered so much at CTF :-)
Heh, no kidding. Those damn rail gods own me over at Springfield server.
Danm, thast pritty sweeet, dued!
Also, that page is one of those God-forsaken meta-refresh-is-zero-seconds pages. Sites that keep pulling you back suck ass
;)
Amen brother. I'd suggest everyone send an polite e-mail to the two e-mail addresses listed at the top of the page, expressing your disgust if you find this practice as horrible as I do. Yeah, they're probably only sales people (I guess, what's up with those WilsonMcHenry addresses?), but imagine the flak the web designers are going to get if 2 of their sales guys are flooded with "Your web site sucks!" messages
That movie was so unrealistic it wasn't funny.
Not only for the reasons you mentioned, but also the idea that even if they could have blown the asteroid in two, that it would have been enough to divert it from hitting the earth. That asteroid was what, a few thousand miles away when the blew it? The scenes of them watching the asteroid approach the "point of no return" were hilarious. If it's already that close, no force in the world is going to save you.
Oh well, enough about this: it's time for a new Slashdot poll. Which Summer of 98 asteroid/comet movie babe would win in a fight: Tea Leoni or Liv Tyler?
Man they weren't kidding made for politicians. Lots of big colored pictures and PowerPoint-ish graphics. I wonder why it's always necessary to "disguise" important information to people in positions of leadership?
It is a known fact that the record companies charge artificially high prices for music, and the artist sees very very little of this money
And how many of this kids 40+ gigs do you suppose was filled with new, unappreciated, or otherwise struggling artists? Or do you suppose this was 40 gigs of Metallica, Madonna, Master P and similar high-profile artists, who have no trouble making money under the current system?
People who steal from the rich (record companies) and give to the poor (college students who enjoy music) are seen as modern day "Robin Hood"s and are considered heros, just like the legendary person.
First of all, Robin Hood, at least how you know him, is a work of pure fiction. If there ever was a real-life basis for Robin Hood (something that is debatable by historians), he likely was nothing more than a common thief. The fact that he happened to be stealing from an unpopular king is probably the only thing that made him famous.
Second, let's get a little perspective here, shall we? We're talking about the theft of music CD's via the MP3 file format: a luxury item. Let me repeat that: A Luxury Item. You can live without music. You can make your own music, or only listen to music created by those who don't try to sell it at exorbinate prices. Go downtown in an city of size on Friday or Saturday night, and you can hear a live bands all night for a few dollars cover. Attend local music festivals, and hear more music than you can probably listen to.
But please, do not point at a $15 Metallica CD, and cry to everone who will listen about how wrong it is to charge such a price, and how you must steal it to defeat the evil record companies. That's just pathetic.
We had one damn story that didn't reference Napster, RIAA, MPAA, or DeCSS?
OK, one last time. This is Slashdot, a privately run web-based discussion board. They can post whatever the hell they want.
This reminds me of when SouthPark came out. My local theater (and, from the news reports I read, many others across the nation) carded me and everyone else when we bought our tickets at the ticket counter, and also when we walked into the theater. They had a couple of kids checking ID's right outside the theater door.
This is all well and good, and probably gave a warm fuzzy to a lot of parents out there. But you want to guess how many times I've been carded for subsequent movies at the same theater? Try none, as in Zero, Not Once. I don't really pay attention to movie ratings, but I'm guessing I've probably seen at least a half-dozen R rated movies in that theater since SouthPark. Where were the carders at The Patriot or Gladiator? Was Scary Movie really less offensive than South Park?
The squeaky wheel get's the grease; or in this case, the card. When SouthPark came out, it was during the height of controversy over the TV show. The movie was described by some to be the sickest, most perverted thing they'd ever seen, and parents and "concerned groups" nationwide raised a shitstorm. Theaters responded by cracking down with ID checks. Rarely before had theaters taken such measures to ensure the underaged stayed out, and it seems they haven't taken the same steps since, at least in my area.
Similarly, when ratings started appearing on video games, nobody really cared. Then games like Soldier of Fortune, Quake3, and others started appearing with blood, gore, and violence not seen before in games. Parents and others have started raising hell again, and this is the result.
There's nothing inheritely wrong with a voluntary rating systems on games. The real question, I think, is how it is enforced. Does a 15 year old get carded for any M rated game, whether it be Soldier of Fortune or Deer Hunter?
http://www.penny-arcade .com/view.php3?date=2000-06-02&res=l
Because all of life's problems can be solved through better Web Comics.