Heh-heh. Here's Emmett playing the accordion. Cmdr Taco bought a Who CD. Roblimo has a new girlfriend. Look at Jon Katz dressed up like a gladiator. heh-heh. We're so cute. Our little world must be so interesting to all of you. Look at all the little slashdotters who want to submit articles. heh-heh. let's make em beg a little bit. We are so elite. everyone wants to be like us... wouldnt it be neat if we had a slashdot building and we had free sodas and a foozeball table and a dog named slasher or dotcom or something like that? and we could take the website down for like 30 minutes or so a day and put up a page that says something like "CLosed while we play Quake III". it would almost be like we are working for a real company or something, heh-heh.
Ms. Borsook, who incidently is from the Bay Area, reminded me as the impetus for some of the Northern Calfornia "intellectuals" who attacked Randy in Neal Stephenson's "Crytonomicon". In an interview with her in the NYT she decried how much San Francisco has changed with the growing number of dotcom employees flooding the area. Too bad, honey. Alot of prissy whitefolks got mad when blacks moved into their neighborhoods (perish the thought!) and changed the landscape of America. Freedom of movement is one of those pesky little rights we have and the last time I checked, the housing market was open in SF to whoever could afford it, not to those who had your shared political viewpoint
Paulina Borsook is an old, media warthog who cannot wake up and smell the coffee and adjust and adapt to a changing world.
After reading this book, I came to the conclusion she wrote it after a particularly bad experience with some ISP's tech support department.
Fortunately, her audience consists of a gang of like-minded media elites who will slowly dwindle away. Watching the news lately, I realize more and more how little they grasp the world around them.
Why in the world SlashDot has an article on such a one-dimensional, cliche of a person's published works is beyond me. Perhaps we can discuss some of the rantings and Andy Rooney, next?
Couple of years ago in Chicago a group of nine postal workers were caught after running thousand of pounds of mail through a clearing house where they were pillfered and dumped.
Specifically, they were looking for correspondence between migrant workers here in the US and their families in Mexico and Central America. Seems these workers had a habit of putting cash in their letters home for their families and there was a large enough concentration of migrants in Chicago to make this profitable. When they were caught, they had a three bedroom apartment full to the ceiling with missing mail.
A similar case happened in Florida around the same time.
My father in law works for the postal service so I hear these sort of stories often. However, considering the amount of mail delivered and the regular level of service this organization maintains, they actually do a pretty good job. Far better than their counterparts in other countries. .33 will send a message to anyone in the US in less than a week. Pretty good, really.
As for millions of Americans gaining access to email, there are more free internet services out there than ever before; many people do not have email addresses because they choose not to or do not see a need for it. The postal service wants to enter another market just like they did in the overnight delivery service. They just take a little longer to get mobilized.
"You would have a stronger argument if the recording industry was a free market. The major labels control distribution and promotion. It's their way or the highway."
Thanks for bolstering my already strong argument.
Most artists *want* that world created and maintained by the big recording industry. That world includes the distibution, promotion, videos, parties and BS. That is why they sign. But once they do, they can no longer complain about the Terms of Service.
Independent, free thinking artists say, "No Thanks". They give up access to the distribution and promotion channels *built and owned* by the recording industry and find their own way. They say no thanks to the glitz, glammor and fake lifestyle and live like normal people on their own terms.
It is not slavery. Slaves are captured, sold and forced to work. Artists who sign contracts do so by choice. They want that glitzy life they see on VH1 and Entertainment Tonight and have to deal with the consequences of their actions. It is no different than the "signing your soul to the devil".
"corporatism is the enemy of true creativity and freedom. "
Not applicable. Private businesses are in the business of making money. Signing, naive, impatient young people with a modicum of talent to produce maybe one successful single on an overpriced CD has proven to be a successful enterprise for companies like Time Warner, Seagrams, Sony and so forth.
Don't count on some recording executive waking up one day and changing things.
Don't hope the government will step in with some amazing new set of rules; they are making good money off the current methodology in the form of tax revenues.
Artists have to stop providing the fodder and content for the machine. Thats it. Quit feeding the beast and the beast will die.
Because, Mr. Katz has fallen into an all to common attitude prevalent today. There is some imaginary line which allows for a company to be successful (profitable) but not too profitable and therefore, greedy.
This mindset prescribes that profits are fine for corporations as long as profits are "shared" with employees to some degree, are "donated" back to an imaginary place called "community" in some form, and are not made at the expense of offending any person, animal, plant or culture.
Any profits that are paid out to stockholders (greedy speculators and profiteers) or in the form of salaries or bonuses to top performers and leaders are not acceptable. Nor should employee compensation be tied to profitability - pay and bonues should be based upon tenure and title of employees rather than effort and financial condition of the corporation.
Taxes must be paid on all profits by the corporation, shareholders and employees in order to compensate the state for providing an environment in which those profits were derived.
According to proponents of this vaguely defined world, private business would thrive under this ideal condition and all would fairly benefit.
Hey! How can artists protect themselves? By reading the bloody contracts presented to them by the recording industry.
Real simple. You sign, they own you. You want to be on MTV, hang out with Britainy Spears, open up for the Who, and snort cocaine in the back of a limo with a leggy supermodel? Sign the contract.
You want to maintain your independence and creative control and not have to sing songs penned for you by some numbnuts you never met? Don't sign. It is that simple.
Who protects the artists' rights, Jon? They do. They are grownups who should know better. They protect themselves the same way every successful entertainer, actor and athelete does: With a good lawyer, agent and accountant.
Don't like and want to change the system? Try this.
Don't buy new CD's or tapes. Don't listen to commercial radio stations or support advertisers (if at all possible) who advertise on commercial radio stations. Don't buy concert tickets. Convince future artists not to sing contracts and contribute to the ongoing fodder. (Don't be surprised when you find out this takes time and committment).
You can dream all you want about some imaginary utopia, you can imagine some warm, squishy world where artists and listeners/viewers/appreciators live together in peaceful, non-economic controlled state, but here is reality: the recording industry is a business which does this for the money. Deny the money enough and things change.
The fact that I have to remind you of this (yep you! The guy who gets a paycheck from a publicly traded, capitalistic, corporation) befuddles me to no end.
Recent, similar sentiments on the part of the government are being bandied about in France, England and the good ol' home of the free, United States.
In all cases, these politians make generalizations that claim that criminals are making use of the Internet (please, no more "cyberspace" or "the Web") as a means of communication.
Don't buy this bill of goods without proof. Demand proof that established criminals and terrorists are using the Internet as an intergral part of their planning and execution of their crimes.
Otherwise, this is only another means for scared, outdated governments to try and tap into our privacy.
Vote against all politicians who suggest, fund and advocate the usage of electronic surveilance of innocent civilians. Put your money where your vote is.
"while I believe that corporations and private citizens will continue to destroy the planet"
You left out the government. You know, the people who brought you nuclear weapons and waste that cannot simply be detroyed but has to detiorate over a long period of time.
Oh, the same guys who hand out forest and mining rights to the biggest campaign contributors.
Yep, the same folks who routinely dump whatever they feel at sea from Navy ships.
The same people who fired depleted uranium shells throughout the Gulf War with little regard for the contaminents involved.
Yes, the distributors of Agent Orange.
Remember, don't ask what you can do for your government, ask what the hell are they doing to you.
You are right, tax money makes things happen, but remember today's money is made indirectly.
There are no federal taxes and few local taxes on Internet sales. The federal government, I am sure though, is quite delighted with the high-income tax returns from the amazon, ebay and other DCM (Dot Com Millionaires) out there.
However, place an Internet Sales Tax of 1% on all online sales and have those revenues go to the federal government and the Internet will have more safety and contigency plans than the stock market or the postal service.
Don't you wish people would quit refering to the Internet as "The Web"?
"But instead we spend it on Echelon and corporate espionage."
Nope, instead we spend it on: (In order of size, largest to smallest) Social Security Defense "Discretionary" - (I dunno, NSA, junkets, interns, cigars, etc...) Medicare Interest Medicaid Smaller entitlement programs Other Mandatory costs
I looked, but could not find in the story anything about the pre-requisite, "evil corporation(s)" behind this bill.
I find it hard to believe any presumably, benevolent government would do anything like this, therefore, there must be some mondo, meganational, profiteering, heartless, corporation behind this.
If there are any links or hidden messages in this story, can someone point them out to me?
"I think there are probably as many casual visitors as members"
"But I'd bet slashdot gets well over 100,000 page views per day"
Both numbers are guesses on your part. Get some facts about the number of registered, recurring users, actual number of unique hits, and amount of data moved and then we can talk. Until then, it is your assumption vs. mine.
"Another point - if you are against this, a personal boycott, as small of an effect as it may have, is the right thing to do. "
Then put your money where your mouth is. I don't use Napster, I don't buy CD's and I don't listen to commercial radio stations. None of their fodder is accepted by me by any of their channels. Can you say the same?
I feel pretty safe in assuming that most of the "few hundred SlashDot readers" currently are listening to some CD pumped out by these evil corporations right now.
Hypocrites, baby. Once you use the dope in any shape or form, you are one of them.
This boycott will last until the next techno/acid/hiphop/niggahkillacop CD comes out that you *just have to have*.
Please. Go back to protesting the theme for this year's prom or something equally important.
I don't believe there are 175,000 readers of Slashdot, but hey, saying so will get you some good banner advertisers.
Most of the replies I got some up the real problem; there are not enough people here to make a dent. Oh, it's fun to run outside and rally around the flag and shout curse words at the major record labels. But people lose their interest and move on.
Why?
Because this is not about life and death. It is not a direct cost to you. Oh sure, you can say indirectly this affects you because you don't think it is fair to pay 15 bux for a CD and only 1 of those dollars goes to the artist and the rest to some universally despised, nameless, "fatcat" corporation. Guess those "starving artists" - and I say that with more sarcasm than truth - should have read those contracts.
Try protesting something really important, like people starving, corrupt, murderous governments, polluters, spouse abusers, or child stalkers.
Record companies? Please.
This protest will last until Taco or Roblimo have to get the latest "Last Who Live CD".
How many SlashDot users/readers are there? Realistically? A few hundred?
I don't download MP3's or use Napster. My choice. I would rather bang on pots and pans than listen to most of the music out there. But then, that's my opinion.
But if you really want to boycott someone, stop preaching to the choir and involve the majority.
"I am not gonna buy my 15 CD's this year" What a waste of time. Get a few thousand, die-hard, CD-buying fiends to quit buying CD's. Convince club DJ's to stop buying more music. Convince radio stations to quit playing anymore new music. Get sympathy, if possible, from the people who make up those million sales for Brittainy, N'Sink and whoever.
"I am write a letter to my Congressman" That is exactly the wrong way to go about it. Write to the advertisers on the radio station whose format you enjoy. Tell them you will no longer listen to the stations they advertise on. Write to record labels and include copies of receipts for the last year or so. Stop listening to the radio. Stop listening to CD's. Stop buying, borrowing or downloading music. And have the millions who buy the teen-scream, underpants crowd do the same.
"I am gonna download as much music as I can" Good. Those numbers will be seen not as a protest, but as validity for what the recording industry thinks of you: You are not rebels but thieves and vandals trying to loot a few more songs before the impending shakedown. Do them one better. Do not listen to, record, buy, borrow or download any more of their music. Oh, and convince the "millions of people who do not use the Internet/MP3 technology regularly, and listen to the radio for their music" crowd to do the same.
Otherwise, this is a waste of time. But hey, you will have your principals.
Persons making above a certain amount of money in the US are no longer considered citizens.
Companies or organinzations which are "For Profit" are speculators and profiteers and enemies of the people.
Those with money (kulaks) must be hunted down as they are enemies of the revolution (New Democrat Revolution of 1992). Enemies of the revolution will be dealt with accordingly through the use of regulations, government mandates, unauthorized usage of military and law enforcement personnel and news media collaboration.
The people are the State, the State is the people and the State is infalliable.
I wish you had not posted as Anonymous. Please stand behind your beliefs here.
"More generally, intellectual property is one more way for rich countries to extract...Surely there is no better indication that intellectual property is primarily of value to those who are already powerful and wealthy"
The graph paraphrased above is opinion and conjecture and not fact. When I wrote papers in college, I was required to make statements based upon fact, otherwise, I would be guilty of writing a rambling thesis of my opinions and not a true research paper.
But then I read the Mr. Martin was an "academic and activist" and realized he has no real job, no real use to society and probably lives off somebody else, most likely a guilt-based handout.
This is not news or even of interest. It is one person's opinion whom somebody with Slashdot agrees with and therefore it has become an approved article.
SETI was chewing up 90% of the CPU (actually plural - there were four in the server).
The admins are at fault because:
1) The server and workstations in use did not belong to the admins or to the SETI project. They were bought and paid for by the company and its' stockholders and were bought for company business purposes.
2) The admins should have been spending their time on work-related activities and not on downloading and installing SETI on company workstations and servers (over 50 workstations, mind you). Running SETI was not why they were hired, nor did it have anything to do with the company.
I have had two NT admins who ran SETI on high traffic NT servers during business hours. In both cases, we had users complaining about slowness and so forth. I sat down at one of the NT servers and there it was: SETI running and eating up 90% of the CPU time.
In both cases, the problem was not SETI, but immature individuals who should have had better sense. ("It's your fault. You shouldn't run NT!" - Sorry trollboy, I beat you to it).
One of them had the gall to distribute it across several workstations in our Amsterdam office causing user problems. That goes against everything I have ever learned about proper system administration - the best tech support for your users is having a well run network.
SETI enthusiasts need to run this on their own machines, at home on their own time. Leave other people's property alone. It is no different than reading other people's email, using your boss's servers for porn or IRC. It is unethical and goes against system administration ethics - if such a thing still exists.
The demographic is useful. Youth buys, but only certain things. With the economy such as it is, and many parents both working and spending less time with Jr, many parents are placating children with "stuff". A few years ago, mind you this is quite out of date, the 12-18 year old market, spent on average, about 20Billion a year. This does not include what their parents spend on them for clothes, food, etc. but rather what they personally spend in discretionary income.
The most desirable of demographics remains women, 26-54, however. They are responsible for the sale of big ticket purchases, cars, appliances, etc.
As I learned in marketing class, "A man may decide to buy a car, but a woman decides the features, color, type and price". It may sound outdated, but I know that is what happens in my home.
Slashdot Mirror
Heh-heh. Here's Emmett playing the accordion. Cmdr Taco bought a Who CD. Roblimo has a new girlfriend. Look at Jon Katz dressed up like a gladiator. heh-heh. We're so cute. Our little world must be so interesting to all of you. Look at all the little slashdotters who want to submit articles. heh-heh. let's make em beg a little bit. We are so elite. everyone wants to be like us... wouldnt it be neat if we had a slashdot building and we had free sodas and a foozeball table and a dog named slasher or dotcom or something like that? and we could take the website down for like 30 minutes or so a day and put up a page that says something like "CLosed while we play Quake III". it would almost be like we are working for a real company or something, heh-heh.
Ms. Borsook, who incidently is from the Bay Area, reminded me as the impetus for some of the Northern Calfornia "intellectuals" who attacked Randy in Neal Stephenson's "Crytonomicon". In an interview with her in the NYT she decried how much San Francisco has changed with the growing number of dotcom employees flooding the area. Too bad, honey. Alot of prissy whitefolks got mad when blacks moved into their neighborhoods (perish the thought!) and changed the landscape of America. Freedom of movement is one of those pesky little rights we have and the last time I checked, the housing market was open in SF to whoever could afford it, not to those who had your shared political viewpoint
Paulina Borsook is an old, media warthog who cannot wake up and smell the coffee and adjust and adapt to a changing world.
After reading this book, I came to the conclusion she wrote it after a particularly bad experience with some ISP's tech support department.
Fortunately, her audience consists of a gang of like-minded media elites who will slowly dwindle away. Watching the news lately, I realize more and more how little they grasp the world around them.
Why in the world SlashDot has an article on such a one-dimensional, cliche of a person's published works is beyond me. Perhaps we can discuss some of the rantings and Andy Rooney, next?
Couple of years ago in Chicago a group of nine postal workers were caught after running thousand of pounds of mail through a clearing house where they were pillfered and dumped.
Specifically, they were looking for correspondence between migrant workers here in the US and their families in Mexico and Central America. Seems these workers had a habit of putting cash in their letters home for their families and there was a large enough concentration of migrants in Chicago to make this profitable. When they were caught, they had a three bedroom apartment full to the ceiling with missing mail.
A similar case happened in Florida around the same time.
My father in law works for the postal service so I hear these sort of stories often. However, considering the amount of mail delivered and the regular level of service this organization maintains, they actually do a pretty good job. Far better than their counterparts in other countries.
.33 will send a message to anyone in the US in less than a week. Pretty good, really.
As for millions of Americans gaining access to email, there are more free internet services out there than ever before; many people do not have email addresses because they choose not to or do not see a need for it. The postal service wants to enter another market just like they did in the overnight delivery service. They just take a little longer to get mobilized.
"You would have a stronger argument if the recording industry was a free market. The major labels control distribution and promotion. It's their way or the highway."
Thanks for bolstering my already strong argument.
Most artists *want* that world created and maintained by the big recording industry. That world includes the distibution, promotion, videos, parties and BS. That is why they sign. But once they do, they can no longer complain about the Terms of Service.
Independent, free thinking artists say, "No Thanks". They give up access to the distribution and promotion channels *built and owned* by the recording industry and find their own way. They say no thanks to the glitz, glammor and fake lifestyle and live like normal people on their own terms.
It is not slavery. Slaves are captured, sold and forced to work. Artists who sign contracts do so by choice. They want that glitzy life they see on VH1 and Entertainment Tonight and have to deal with the consequences of their actions. It is no different than the "signing your soul to the devil".
Don't play the game their way!
"corporatism is the enemy of true creativity and freedom. "
Not applicable. Private businesses are in the business of making money. Signing, naive, impatient young people with a modicum of talent to produce maybe one successful single on an overpriced CD has proven to be a successful enterprise for companies like Time Warner, Seagrams, Sony and so forth.
Don't count on some recording executive waking up one day and changing things.
Don't hope the government will step in with some amazing new set of rules; they are making good money off the current methodology in the form of tax revenues.
Artists have to stop providing the fodder and content for the machine. Thats it. Quit feeding the beast and the beast will die.
Because, Mr. Katz has fallen into an all to common attitude prevalent today. There is some imaginary line which allows for a company to be successful (profitable) but not too profitable and therefore, greedy.
This mindset prescribes that profits are fine for corporations as long as profits are "shared" with employees to some degree, are "donated" back to an imaginary place called "community" in some form, and are not made at the expense of offending any person, animal, plant or culture.
Any profits that are paid out to stockholders (greedy speculators and profiteers) or in the form of salaries or bonuses to top performers and leaders are not acceptable. Nor should employee compensation be tied to profitability - pay and bonues should be based upon tenure and title of employees rather than effort and financial condition of the corporation.
Taxes must be paid on all profits by the corporation, shareholders and employees in order to compensate the state for providing an environment in which those profits were derived.
According to proponents of this vaguely defined world, private business would thrive under this ideal condition and all would fairly benefit.
Check that link and try again.
Hey! How can artists protect themselves? By reading the bloody contracts presented to them by the recording industry.
Real simple. You sign, they own you. You want to be on MTV, hang out with Britainy Spears, open up for the Who, and snort cocaine in the back of a limo with a leggy supermodel? Sign the contract.
You want to maintain your independence and creative control and not have to sing songs penned for you by some numbnuts you never met? Don't sign. It is that simple.
Who protects the artists' rights, Jon? They do. They are grownups who should know better. They protect themselves the same way every successful entertainer, actor and athelete does: With a good lawyer, agent and accountant.
Don't like and want to change the system? Try this.
Don't buy new CD's or tapes.
Don't listen to commercial radio stations or support advertisers (if at all possible) who advertise on commercial radio stations.
Don't buy concert tickets.
Convince future artists not to sing contracts and contribute to the ongoing fodder.
(Don't be surprised when you find out this takes time and committment).
You can dream all you want about some imaginary utopia, you can imagine some warm, squishy world where artists and listeners/viewers/appreciators live together in peaceful, non-economic controlled state, but here is reality: the recording industry is a business which does this for the money. Deny the money enough and things change.
The fact that I have to remind you of this (yep you! The guy who gets a paycheck from a publicly traded, capitalistic, corporation) befuddles me to no end.
Recent, similar sentiments on the part of the government are being bandied about in France, England and the good ol' home of the free, United States.
In all cases, these politians make generalizations that claim that criminals are making use of the Internet (please, no more "cyberspace" or "the Web") as a means of communication.
Don't buy this bill of goods without proof. Demand proof that established criminals and terrorists are using the Internet as an intergral part of their planning and execution of their crimes.
Otherwise, this is only another means for scared, outdated governments to try and tap into our privacy.
Vote against all politicians who suggest, fund and advocate the usage of electronic surveilance of innocent civilians. Put your money where your vote is.
"while I believe that corporations and private citizens will continue to destroy the planet"
You left out the government. You know, the people who brought you nuclear weapons and waste that cannot simply be detroyed but has to detiorate over a long period of time.
Oh, the same guys who hand out forest and mining rights to the biggest campaign contributors.
Yep, the same folks who routinely dump whatever they feel at sea from Navy ships.
The same people who fired depleted uranium shells throughout the Gulf War with little regard for the contaminents involved.
Yes, the distributors of Agent Orange.
Remember, don't ask what you can do for your government, ask what the hell are they doing to you.
Caustic sarcasm of the SlashDot vein.
Dense.
There, request granted. Moving right along..
You are right, tax money makes things happen, but remember today's money is made indirectly.
There are no federal taxes and few local taxes on Internet sales. The federal government, I am sure though, is quite delighted with the high-income tax returns from the amazon, ebay and other DCM (Dot Com Millionaires) out there.
However, place an Internet Sales Tax of 1% on all online sales and have those revenues go to the federal government and the Internet will have more safety and contigency plans than the stock market or the postal service.
Don't you wish people would quit refering to the Internet as "The Web"?
"But instead we spend it on Echelon and corporate espionage."
2 .html
Nope, instead we spend it on:
(In order of size, largest to smallest)
Social Security
Defense
"Discretionary" - (I dunno, NSA, junkets, interns, cigars, etc...)
Medicare
Interest
Medicaid
Smaller entitlement programs
Other Mandatory costs
Not opinion, but fact. See below..
http://w3.access.gpo.gov/usbudget/fy2001/guide0
There are actually breakdowns by spending types and whatnot.
Please remember, that the information presented there, is from the President's office. Most data is correct, with a little "fine tuning".
I looked, but could not find in the story anything about the pre-requisite, "evil corporation(s)" behind this bill.
I find it hard to believe any presumably, benevolent government would do anything like this, therefore, there must be some mondo, meganational, profiteering, heartless, corporation behind this.
If there are any links or hidden messages in this story, can someone point them out to me?
Thanks!
"I think there are probably as many casual visitors as members"
"But I'd bet slashdot gets well over 100,000 page views per day"
Both numbers are guesses on your part. Get some facts about the number of registered, recurring users, actual number of unique hits, and amount of data moved and then we can talk. Until then, it is your assumption vs. mine.
"Another point - if you are against this, a personal boycott, as small of an effect as it may have, is the right thing to do. "
Then put your money where your mouth is. I don't use Napster, I don't buy CD's and I don't listen to commercial radio stations. None of their fodder is accepted by me by any of their channels. Can you say the same?
I feel pretty safe in assuming that most of the "few hundred SlashDot readers" currently are listening to some CD pumped out by these evil corporations right now.
Hypocrites, baby. Once you use the dope in any shape or form, you are one of them.
This boycott will last until the next techno/acid/hiphop/niggahkillacop CD comes out that you *just have to have*.
Please. Go back to protesting the theme for this year's prom or something equally important.
I don't believe there are 175,000 readers of Slashdot, but hey, saying so will get you some good banner advertisers.
Most of the replies I got some up the real problem; there are not enough people here to make a dent. Oh, it's fun to run outside and rally around the flag and shout curse words at the major record labels. But people lose their interest and move on.
Why?
Because this is not about life and death. It is not a direct cost to you. Oh sure, you can say indirectly this affects you because you don't think it is fair to pay 15 bux for a CD and only 1 of those dollars goes to the artist and the rest to some universally despised, nameless, "fatcat" corporation. Guess those "starving artists" - and I say that with more sarcasm than truth - should have read those contracts.
Try protesting something really important, like people starving, corrupt, murderous governments, polluters, spouse abusers, or child stalkers.
Record companies? Please.
This protest will last until Taco or Roblimo have to get the latest "Last Who Live CD".
How many SlashDot users/readers are there? Realistically? A few hundred?
I don't download MP3's or use Napster. My choice. I would rather bang on pots and pans than listen to most of the music out there. But then, that's my opinion.
But if you really want to boycott someone, stop preaching to the choir and involve the majority.
"I am not gonna buy my 15 CD's this year"
What a waste of time. Get a few thousand, die-hard, CD-buying fiends to quit buying CD's. Convince club DJ's to stop buying more music. Convince radio stations to quit playing anymore new music. Get sympathy, if possible, from the people who make up those million sales for Brittainy, N'Sink and whoever.
"I am write a letter to my Congressman"
That is exactly the wrong way to go about it.
Write to the advertisers on the radio station whose format you enjoy. Tell them you will no longer listen to the stations they advertise on.
Write to record labels and include copies of receipts for the last year or so.
Stop listening to the radio.
Stop listening to CD's.
Stop buying, borrowing or downloading music.
And have the millions who buy the teen-scream, underpants crowd do the same.
"I am gonna download as much music as I can"
Good. Those numbers will be seen not as a protest, but as validity for what the recording industry thinks of you: You are not rebels but thieves and vandals trying to loot a few more songs before the impending shakedown.
Do them one better. Do not listen to, record, buy, borrow or download any more of their music.
Oh, and convince the "millions of people who do not use the Internet/MP3 technology regularly, and listen to the radio for their music" crowd to do the same.
Otherwise, this is a waste of time. But hey, you will have your principals.
Persons making above a certain amount of money in the US are no longer considered citizens.
Companies or organinzations which are "For Profit" are speculators and profiteers and enemies of the people.
Those with money (kulaks) must be hunted down as they are enemies of the revolution (New Democrat Revolution of 1992). Enemies of the revolution will be dealt with accordingly through the use of regulations, government mandates, unauthorized usage of military and law enforcement personnel and news media collaboration.
The people are the State, the State is the people and the State is infalliable.
I wish you had not posted as Anonymous. Please stand behind your beliefs here.
"More generally, intellectual property is one more way for rich countries to extract...Surely there is no better indication that intellectual
property is primarily of value to those who are already powerful and wealthy"
The graph paraphrased above is opinion and conjecture and not fact. When I wrote papers in college, I was required to make statements based upon fact, otherwise, I would be guilty of writing a rambling thesis of my opinions and not a true research paper.
But then I read the Mr. Martin was an "academic and activist" and realized he has no real job, no real use to society and probably lives off somebody else, most likely a guilt-based handout.
This is not news or even of interest. It is one person's opinion whom somebody with Slashdot agrees with and therefore it has become an approved article.
That makes Slashdot pointless.
"Advertising" is sometimes false.
SETI was chewing up 90% of the CPU (actually plural - there were four in the server).
The admins are at fault because:
1) The server and workstations in use did not belong to the admins or to the SETI project. They were bought and paid for by the company and its' stockholders and were bought for company business purposes.
2) The admins should have been spending their time on work-related activities and not on downloading and installing SETI on company workstations and servers (over 50 workstations, mind you). Running SETI was not why they were hired, nor did it have anything to do with the company.
I have had two NT admins who ran SETI on high traffic NT servers during business hours. In both cases, we had users complaining about slowness and so forth. I sat down at one of the NT servers and there it was: SETI running and eating up 90% of the CPU time.
In both cases, the problem was not SETI, but immature individuals who should have had better sense. ("It's your fault. You shouldn't run NT!" - Sorry trollboy, I beat you to it).
One of them had the gall to distribute it across several workstations in our Amsterdam office causing user problems. That goes against everything I have ever learned about proper system administration - the best tech support for your users is having a well run network.
SETI enthusiasts need to run this on their own machines, at home on their own time. Leave other people's property alone. It is no different than reading other people's email, using your boss's servers for porn or IRC. It is unethical and goes against system administration ethics - if such a thing still exists.
Now, more than ever, should we all make sure we are giving as much inaccurate and incorrect information when filling out online signup forms.
A policy of disinformation and dishonesty has served some of our finest public and private leaders well. We would do well to heed their example.
Wow! HDTV in the car? Neat! I can't wait!
The demographic is useful. Youth buys, but only certain things. With the economy such as it is, and many parents both working and spending less time with Jr, many parents are placating children with "stuff". A few years ago, mind you this is quite out of date, the 12-18 year old market, spent on average, about 20Billion a year. This does not include what their parents spend on them for clothes, food, etc. but rather what they personally spend in discretionary income.
The most desirable of demographics remains women, 26-54, however. They are responsible for the sale of big ticket purchases, cars, appliances, etc.
As I learned in marketing class, "A man may decide to buy a car, but a woman decides the features, color, type and price". It may sound outdated, but I know that is what happens in my home.
"Newby, an information and library science professor at the University"
A meeting for hackers (sic) and the moderator is named "Newby". Not the right spelling, but it sounds the same.
Pretty funny, but then again, I don't get out much.