My main concern is just about where we're going as a human race. I mean, nobody really thinks of aliens speaking separate languages when you read sci-fi.
I like to think that most people would agree that a single language would be one less roadblock in an advanced society. Not trying to westernize anyone...hell, I'd even accept Chinese dialects since they're the most spoken already.
I am all for giving people resources in their own language as a stop-gap measure, but in the big picture, it would be nice if we didn't re-segregate the world by language?
I've been trying to get my employer to switch from expensive Adobe Robohelp for years to some open source wiki software. We spend six figures on licensing every couple of years.
Their response is "well there's no guarantee that the software will continue to be updated."
For what Robohelp costs, we could keep an IT person on full-time who could customize the software to our needs and make adjustments or add features in realtime.
The problem with bigger companies is the same problem as objects with a lot of mass...it takes a lot more energy to change their direction than to change the direction of a smaller one.
In our time, we view these organizations who are fighting to stop the spread of ideas the same way you might look at the mini-war caused by prohibition.
So many legal battles, so many livelihoods ruined, all these resources drained that could have been invested in other, more meaningful things than whether or not someone was entitled to see a film or hear a song...it's sad to see, really. And what a damned waste.
We don't want the government to decide what they can and can't charge. We just want the government to require going over to be something you have to consciously opt in to do.
My carrier won't do it. I asked them if I could block data if I have no data plan, seeing as how they made the default internet button right in the center of my phone (and it sticks out the most). They said no. I suspect most other peoples' carriers won't, either.
I don't know if the solution to screwing customers out of their money is to force them to spend even more money as "screwing insurance". Why would it be so hard to make going over an "opt-in" instead of the default? Most major carriers won't even give you the option not to go over.
"According to the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS): "In 2008, over 7.3 million people were on probation, in jail or prison, or on parole at year-end — 3.2% of all U.S. adult residents or 1 in every 31 adults."
Maybe in the future when they release new systems, Microsoft/Sony/Nintendo can continue to sell their old systems as multipurpose devices, adding features for profit.
So let Best Buy hurt them; I think we could all learn a lesson. We should look at idiots not as a nuisance, but as livestock to be milked for everything they're worth. Don't hate Best Buy; they're doing the Lord's work. Profit is just a fortunate side-effect.
If I were a firefighter, I would have done what I could to put out the fire. I'd scold this douchebag homeowner for not considering his property, his pets, and his family as being worth paying $75 to protect, but I'd put his fire out.
And just to add to the pile of anecdotes...
I used to do a lot of satellite antenna installations in the country, and I must say that this guy's refusal to pay anything is typical of most of the rural customers for whom I installed. They choose to live in the country and then complain about how they can't get services like phone, terrestrial internet, road plowing, etc without paying a crapload of extra money. Well, duh. If you choose to live in the country, there are associated costs. If you refuse to pay them, why should anyone provide them?
Lol...I'm not a lawyer or anything, but it doesn't seem like there's anything standing in the way of them doing just that.
We could have a whole mess of laws written by "treaties" between zero outside parties, or calling an agreement with the **AA a "treaty". Stranger things have happened...we've had presidents using "executive orders" to get things done that lawmakers would never originate or approve of.
So we're required to participate in search and seizure of our own property now? I thought it was the burden was on the police to gather all the evidence, but I guess I was wrong. Looks like the court can coerce you into locating evidence against yourself.
I'm kind of torn on botnets. The only sites that get taken down by botnets that I have read about lately are sites of organizations I wish didn't exist anyway.
When ACTA inevitably becomes the law of the land, DDoS will be one of the few weapons we plebes will have left against corporatism.
Ethics aside, wouldn't it be easier to genetically modify humans to live in a wider variety of environments? Seems like it would be a far more reachable goal in the near term than getting to these distant planets.
Give them jail time:
A company cannot operate for a certain number of years and must close its doors if they break laws.
Give them proportional fines:
If an individual person gets a $500 fine for a minor infraction, a company with 100,000 employees breaks gets a $50,000,000 dollar fine for every minor infraction. If a major infraction carried a $250,000 fine (like piracy does) the company will be on the hook for $25 billion
Give them the death penalty:
A jury can liquidate the company's assets for serious lawbreaking if a fine is un-payable or inadequate for the seriousness of the offense.
Hold their executives personally accountable:
No more hiding behind the corporation! If you gave the order to break the law, or your board agreed on such an order, you get to spend eternity in prison while your company gets liquidated.
"We don't have legal ground to stand on, but we'll keep you in court until you are out of money. Doesn't matter if you were right or wrong; all that matters is that you bleed to death."
Slashdot Mirror
My main concern is just about where we're going as a human race. I mean, nobody really thinks of aliens speaking separate languages when you read sci-fi.
I like to think that most people would agree that a single language would be one less roadblock in an advanced society. Not trying to westernize anyone...hell, I'd even accept Chinese dialects since they're the most spoken already.
I am all for giving people resources in their own language as a stop-gap measure, but in the big picture, it would be nice if we didn't re-segregate the world by language?
Sure glad we didn't have software patents back when addition, subtraction, division, geometry, and calculus was invented.
We might have been set back centuries in advancement.
I've been trying to get my employer to switch from expensive Adobe Robohelp for years to some open source wiki software. We spend six figures on licensing every couple of years.
Their response is "well there's no guarantee that the software will continue to be updated."
For what Robohelp costs, we could keep an IT person on full-time who could customize the software to our needs and make adjustments or add features in realtime.
The problem with bigger companies is the same problem as objects with a lot of mass...it takes a lot more energy to change their direction than to change the direction of a smaller one.
The problem is that PC gaming is dying as online console gaming gains ground.
Most new exciting games are being released for consoles. There are only a few really hot titles for the PC.
I'm only 31, and this is the second decade in which I've heard this claimed.
In our time, we view these organizations who are fighting to stop the spread of ideas the same way you might look at the mini-war caused by prohibition.
So many legal battles, so many livelihoods ruined, all these resources drained that could have been invested in other, more meaningful things than whether or not someone was entitled to see a film or hear a song...it's sad to see, really. And what a damned waste.
We don't want the government to decide what they can and can't charge. We just want the government to require going over to be something you have to consciously opt in to do.
My carrier won't do it. I asked them if I could block data if I have no data plan, seeing as how they made the default internet button right in the center of my phone (and it sticks out the most). They said no. I suspect most other peoples' carriers won't, either.
I don't know if the solution to screwing customers out of their money is to force them to spend even more money as "screwing insurance". Why would it be so hard to make going over an "opt-in" instead of the default? Most major carriers won't even give you the option not to go over.
"According to the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS): "In 2008, over 7.3 million people were on probation, in jail or prison, or on parole at year-end — 3.2% of all U.S. adult residents or 1 in every 31 adults."
This doesn't make me feel safe.
Maybe in the future when they release new systems, Microsoft/Sony/Nintendo can continue to sell their old systems as multipurpose devices, adding features for profit.
A couple of die shrinks and they're all set.
I wonder if France's government has a lemon rule, so if its customers buy a law with a flaw, they can get their money back?
So let Best Buy hurt them; I think we could all learn a lesson. We should look at idiots not as a nuisance, but as livestock to be milked for everything they're worth. Don't hate Best Buy; they're doing the Lord's work. Profit is just a fortunate side-effect.
If I were a firefighter, I would have done what I could to put out the fire. I'd scold this douchebag homeowner for not considering his property, his pets, and his family as being worth paying $75 to protect, but I'd put his fire out.
And just to add to the pile of anecdotes...
I used to do a lot of satellite antenna installations in the country, and I must say that this guy's refusal to pay anything is typical of most of the rural customers for whom I installed. They choose to live in the country and then complain about how they can't get services like phone, terrestrial internet, road plowing, etc without paying a crapload of extra money. Well, duh. If you choose to live in the country, there are associated costs. If you refuse to pay them, why should anyone provide them?
Zero. He'll lose his claim.
Lol...I'm not a lawyer or anything, but it doesn't seem like there's anything standing in the way of them doing just that. We could have a whole mess of laws written by "treaties" between zero outside parties, or calling an agreement with the **AA a "treaty". Stranger things have happened...we've had presidents using "executive orders" to get things done that lawmakers would never originate or approve of.
So we're required to participate in search and seizure of our own property now? I thought it was the burden was on the police to gather all the evidence, but I guess I was wrong. Looks like the court can coerce you into locating evidence against yourself.
I'm kind of torn on botnets. The only sites that get taken down by botnets that I have read about lately are sites of organizations I wish didn't exist anyway.
When ACTA inevitably becomes the law of the land, DDoS will be one of the few weapons we plebes will have left against corporatism.
In one universe, digital distribution is an unholy force that costs the world eight billion jobs every year and funds terrorism.
In the other universe, digital distribution doesn't exist at all and is no more potent a force than than a barely perceptible breeze.
Sapience.
Yes! This is exactly the direction I think we can (and should) go to ensure our continued survival.
Ethics aside, wouldn't it be easier to genetically modify humans to live in a wider variety of environments? Seems like it would be a far more reachable goal in the near term than getting to these distant planets.
Corporations are the "Blade" of humanity. All of our rights, none of our responsibilities!
Give them jail time:
A company cannot operate for a certain number of years and must close its doors if they break laws.
Give them proportional fines:
If an individual person gets a $500 fine for a minor infraction, a company with 100,000 employees breaks gets a $50,000,000 dollar fine for every minor infraction. If a major infraction carried a $250,000 fine (like piracy does) the company will be on the hook for $25 billion
Give them the death penalty:
A jury can liquidate the company's assets for serious lawbreaking if a fine is un-payable or inadequate for the seriousness of the offense.
Hold their executives personally accountable:
No more hiding behind the corporation! If you gave the order to break the law, or your board agreed on such an order, you get to spend eternity in prison while your company gets liquidated.
I would love a GPU-accelerated DF. It would be a god among games with the amount of complexity you could add.
"We don't have legal ground to stand on, but we'll keep you in court until you are out of money. Doesn't matter if you were right or wrong; all that matters is that you bleed to death."