This one is going to be fun to crack! I love it when the ENTIRE WORLD can join together to solve a technical puzzle like this. Her scheme assumes that I am willing to buy this hardware and use the formats that she recommends. Well fuck her! I'm going to use different formats and different hardware. There has never yet been an "uncrackable" encryption scheme. At some point along the way -- it breaks down and fails. And as soon as we find that point you can kiss this mechanism goodbye! They make the shit... we crack it.
When did this happen? I must have missed that meeting. Is Slashdot going to do away with Anonymous Postings for good? Or, is it just an April Fool's joke? I agree with you on the quality of posts. But, c'mon... haven't you ever wanted to post some smart-ass comment on Slashdot without losing your Kharma points? And, what about all the Goatse.cx people? What about the hot grits, Natalie Portmans, Beowolf Clusters and Penis Birds? What will happen to them? As bad as these things are... they have become part of the Slashdot culture. I might miss them if they suddenly disappeared!
Rather than running news stories at all, Slashdot will now become the premeire portal for the online viewing of banner ads. Hemos and CmdrTaco combined their last shred of human dignity and sold it to AOL/Time Warner this morning at 10 am.
Starting tomorrow morning, "News for Nerds. Stuff that Matters" will be replaced with "Ads for Herds. Buy Stuff You Cheap Bastards". The index page will be replaced with a multicolumn layout of banner ads that rotate on a hourly basis. You are expected to check the site at least 5 times a day from work and home to click on the banner ads.
"No wonder Windoze makes you feel boxed in... It ties you to a useless and un-workable system. It requires you to buy tons of extra hardware and pay expensive per-seat license fees. It makes you struggle daily with an insecure server environment that's getting hacked more than ever. Bill Gates wants you to think that Windoze is easy to use and affordable to buy. The reality is that you really end up spending money per user and locking your self into a perpetual upgrade cycle that Microsoft controls."
Maybe we can get some CGI animations of Tux doing the narration?
If they win... and DRM does get built into all electronics it will start an entire industry of embedded Linux devices sold as "kits" that the user has to put together. The art of hobby-computing and fun would make a great comeback!
Unfortunately, Reuters is giving this a pure "MP3 and music" spin. The headline they are running is: Dutch Court Clears Web Music Swapping. Which is only part of the issue. They are only reporting this in terms of MP3 sharing. I think that this issue is much deeper than that. What the court is saying is that KaZaa (as a software company) is not responsible for its user's actions. Regardless of whether they are sharing MP3s, movies, sounds, Word documents, or pictures of Natalie Portman. It pisses me off to see the mainstream media put their editorial slant on a story and change the entire meaning. This way Joe Sixpack has no clue what the real core issues are.
It is a sad commentary on society when decisions like this (that would have seemed like common sense 10 years ago) make front page news. What is our world coming to?
Do we hold the auto manufacturers responsible for people speeding? Do we hold the gun manufacturers responsible for shootings? Or how about liquor manufactures? Do we hold them responsible for stupid, drunk people?
So, why would we hold KaZaa responsible for copyright infringment? Lucky for us -- the Dutch seem to have a very balanced view regarding this issue. Maybe the yo-yo's in the USA could learn a few things from this.
But, I would like to know how many subscribers they have that actually make it past the 14 day trial period? Some idiots will pay to try anything once. But, 6 months down the road they get sick of it and cancel their service. I know morons who ended up buying the pro version of Real Player because they were too stupid to find the "Click Here for the free version of Real Player Basic" link.
Let's wait about a year and check these numbers again. Real will be lucky if they can keep 100,000 people who are willing to pay for this lame-ass service. But, the thing that scares me about Real is the deals they are signing with Mobile phone manufacturers. In the future will I be forced to buy a Nokia phone with "RealOne" on it? What if I don't want this software installed on my phone? Can I uninstall it? Be afraid.... be very afraid.
I still like the older version of RealPlayer 8 Basic. I saw RealOne in action once and decided that I would rather be castrated with a dull butter knive that use the software. You should pick up a copy of the older versions before they change their minds and stop offering it to the public: http://proforma.real.com/real/player/blackjack.htm l
What kind of man sends his computer "away for repairs" ?!?!?! Real men take it apart, order parts and fix it dammit! So, how much did they charge you for these repairs? What ever it was -- you got ripped off! I've sent my watch out for repairs. I've sent some components out for repairs. But, why in god's name would you send your entire computer out to someone else to fix?
I wrote to Sen. Kerry too. In the snail-mail response that I got from his office he said:
"I agree that Congress should proceed with great caution when considering the regulation of the development of technology"
But, he goes on to say:
"I believe that particular attention must be given to writers, artists, and other creators of copyrighted material whose works are entitled to protection from piracy in the information age."
I am not against copyright protection. But I am against the DMCA and weak-encryption being used as "protection". I won't tolerate my government telling me to use an officially sanctioned platform for format for my media. I also believe in time-shifting and the right to fair-use.
Let's keep after Sen. Kerry. I've also written to Kennedy and Tierney as well.
On a scale of 1 - 10 for sleazy business practices I would rate this as a 11 or a 12 !!! The nerve of these people to hijack your browser and send you somewhere else. I have heard about sneaky plugins that detect the keywords you type in to a search engine and pop up banner ads to you. But, this takes the cake! We should all file a class-action lawsuit against them. When will advertisers learn that they are not "above the law" !?!?
Everyone likes to talk about fighting for causes like freedom of speech, privacy, and individual's rights. But, the EFF takes on cases that fight for these things all the time! If you support Karl's fight against ICANN head on over and donated $10 or $20 now!
I want a high-end PDA like this but I don't want to run a Microsoft OS or MS Software. I refuse to use "Pocket" anything. When is someone going to offer a good alternative? Or has Microsoft already won the high-end, color, PDA market?
All I want to do is give away information, not charge for it....
Unfortunately Corporate America(TM) doesn't understand the concept of "free" (as in speech and beer). They rack their brains 24/7 on ingenious ways to bilk money from people online. But, one after another they fail. We understand your desire to give away information for free... why can't they?
Not to mention... if you are a non-US citizen and you live in a country like Romania or Bulgaria the average monthly wage is about $100 USD. So... you are asking someone to spend 7 months salary on a piece of software!?!? No wonder piracy is so wide spread.
Some of the software (read: Photoshop, ChemDraw, Mathematica, 3D Max) are still ridiculously over priced. There needs to be a sliding scale on the cost of software based on what you are using it for. If you are a student and are just learning it -- $30. If you are a company and you are making money off it -- $3,000. None of these guys have gotten that through their thick-skulls yet! When I was in school they offered student discounts on Photoshop -- for only $279 !! I warezed a copy instead for free. When you are a student, $279 is a LOT of money! Money that would be better spent on food, beer and getting laid. Until they address the fact that software is worth different amounts to different people -- piracy will never stop.
Apple is not telling you to pirate movies anymore than BMW is encouraging you to drive recklessly. I saw a BMW commercial with a professional driver on a closed course doing 150+ MPH. Does this mean that if I buy the BMW I get to speed and break the law?
I'm going start my own biz called 'Crappy Software, Inc.' and pump out 3 crappy apps a day. I'll send thousands of crappy applications to the clearing house. How much do and I get paid?
I'm not trying to be 'flamebait' here... just questioning your business model. The previous poster was asking how you would be able to distinguish applications from music and movies? That is a huge responsibility for the ISPs. Would we be paying $500/mo. Internet bills?
I am going to uninstall KaZaa when I get home tonight. Thanks for the pointer to this article. I had my suspicions, but this really confirms it for me. KaZaa has no intentions of supporting P2P or the file-sharing community. They just want to spy on us and sell the data to others.
Slashdot Mirror
IT'S A FUCKING GAME DUMBASS! TURN OFF YOUR COMPUTER AND GO OUTSIDE!
This public service announcement was brought to you by the letters "F" and "U" and by the Corporation for Common Sense.
This one is going to be fun to crack! I love it when the ENTIRE WORLD can join together to solve a technical puzzle like this. Her scheme assumes that I am willing to buy this hardware and use the formats that she recommends. Well fuck her! I'm going to use different formats and different hardware. There has never yet been an "uncrackable" encryption scheme. At some point along the way -- it breaks down and fails. And as soon as we find that point you can kiss this mechanism goodbye! They make the shit... we crack it.
When did this happen? I must have missed that meeting. Is Slashdot going to do away with Anonymous Postings for good? Or, is it just an April Fool's joke? I agree with you on the quality of posts. But, c'mon... haven't you ever wanted to post some smart-ass comment on Slashdot without losing your Kharma points? And, what about all the Goatse.cx people? What about the hot grits, Natalie Portmans, Beowolf Clusters and Penis Birds? What will happen to them? As bad as these things are... they have become part of the Slashdot culture. I might miss them if they suddenly disappeared!
Starting tomorrow morning, "News for Nerds. Stuff that Matters" will be replaced with "Ads for Herds. Buy Stuff You Cheap Bastards". The index page will be replaced with a multicolumn layout of banner ads that rotate on a hourly basis. You are expected to check the site at least 5 times a day from work and home to click on the banner ads.
That is all.
You know it beeotch!
Maybe we can get some CGI animations of Tux doing the narration?
memepool
Need To Know
Weird Ass Shit
still around... there is plenty of fun to be had looking for stuff off the beaten-path. I like surfing for the inane and useless stuff.
If they win... and DRM does get built into all electronics it will start an entire industry of embedded Linux devices sold as "kits" that the user has to put together. The art of hobby-computing and fun would make a great comeback!
Unfortunately, Reuters is giving this a pure "MP3 and music" spin. The headline they are running is: Dutch Court Clears Web Music Swapping. Which is only part of the issue. They are only reporting this in terms of MP3 sharing. I think that this issue is much deeper than that. What the court is saying is that KaZaa (as a software company) is not responsible for its user's actions. Regardless of whether they are sharing MP3s, movies, sounds, Word documents, or pictures of Natalie Portman. It pisses me off to see the mainstream media put their editorial slant on a story and change the entire meaning. This way Joe Sixpack has no clue what the real core issues are.
Do we hold the auto manufacturers responsible for people speeding? Do we hold the gun manufacturers responsible for shootings? Or how about liquor manufactures? Do we hold them responsible for stupid, drunk people?
So, why would we hold KaZaa responsible for copyright infringment? Lucky for us -- the Dutch seem to have a very balanced view regarding this issue. Maybe the yo-yo's in the USA could learn a few things from this.
Let's wait about a year and check these numbers again. Real will be lucky if they can keep 100,000 people who are willing to pay for this lame-ass service. But, the thing that scares me about Real is the deals they are signing with Mobile phone manufacturers. In the future will I be forced to buy a Nokia phone with "RealOne" on it? What if I don't want this software installed on my phone? Can I uninstall it? Be afraid.... be very afraid.
I still like the older version of RealPlayer 8 Basic. I saw RealOne in action once and decided that I would rather be castrated with a dull butter knive that use the software. You should pick up a copy of the older versions before they change their minds and stop offering it to the public: http://proforma.real.com/real/player/blackjack.htm l
What kind of man sends his computer "away for repairs" ?!?!?! Real men take it apart, order parts and fix it dammit! So, how much did they charge you for these repairs? What ever it was -- you got ripped off! I've sent my watch out for repairs. I've sent some components out for repairs. But, why in god's name would you send your entire computer out to someone else to fix?
I wrote to Sen. Kerry too. In the snail-mail response that I got from his office he said:
"I agree that Congress should proceed with great caution when considering the regulation of the development of technology"
But, he goes on to say:
"I believe that particular attention must be given to writers, artists, and other creators of copyrighted material whose works are entitled to protection from piracy in the information age."
I am not against copyright protection. But I am against the DMCA and weak-encryption being used as "protection". I won't tolerate my government telling me to use an officially sanctioned platform for format for my media. I also believe in time-shifting and the right to fair-use.
Let's keep after Sen. Kerry. I've also written to Kennedy and Tierney as well.
On a scale of 1 - 10 for sleazy business practices I would rate this as a 11 or a 12 !!! The nerve of these people to hijack your browser and send you somewhere else. I have heard about sneaky plugins that detect the keywords you type in to a search engine and pop up banner ads to you. But, this takes the cake! We should all file a class-action lawsuit against them. When will advertisers learn that they are not "above the law" !?!?
http://www.eff.org/perl/join
Everyone likes to talk about fighting for causes like freedom of speech, privacy, and individual's rights. But, the EFF takes on cases that fight for these things all the time! If you support Karl's fight against ICANN head on over and donated $10 or $20 now!
Put your money where your mouth is!
The ICANN Movie:
http://paradigm.nu/icann/icannstage.html
Muahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!
Justice is served motherfucker!
I want a high-end PDA like this but I don't want to run a Microsoft OS or MS Software. I refuse to use "Pocket" anything. When is someone going to offer a good alternative? Or has Microsoft already won the high-end, color, PDA market?
Unfortunately Corporate America(TM) doesn't understand the concept of "free" (as in speech and beer). They rack their brains 24/7 on ingenious ways to bilk money from people online. But, one after another they fail. We understand your desire to give away information for free... why can't they?
Not to mention ... if you are a non-US citizen and you live in a country like Romania or Bulgaria the average monthly wage is about $100 USD. So... you are asking someone to spend 7 months salary on a piece of software!?!? No wonder piracy is so wide spread.
Some of the software (read: Photoshop, ChemDraw, Mathematica, 3D Max) are still ridiculously over priced. There needs to be a sliding scale on the cost of software based on what you are using it for. If you are a student and are just learning it -- $30. If you are a company and you are making money off it -- $3,000. None of these guys have gotten that through their thick-skulls yet! When I was in school they offered student discounts on Photoshop -- for only $279 !! I warezed a copy instead for free. When you are a student, $279 is a LOT of money! Money that would be better spent on food, beer and getting laid. Until they address the fact that software is worth different amounts to different people -- piracy will never stop.
Apple is not telling you to pirate movies anymore than BMW is encouraging you to drive recklessly. I saw a BMW commercial with a professional driver on a closed course doing 150+ MPH. Does this mean that if I buy the BMW I get to speed and break the law?
I'm going start my own biz called 'Crappy Software, Inc.' and pump out 3 crappy apps a day. I'll send thousands of crappy applications to the clearing house. How much do and I get paid?
I'm not trying to be 'flamebait' here... just questioning your business model. The previous poster was asking how you would be able to distinguish applications from music and movies? That is a huge responsibility for the ISPs. Would we be paying $500/mo. Internet bills?
MOD THIS PARENT UP !
I am going to uninstall KaZaa when I get home tonight. Thanks for the pointer to this article. I had my suspicions, but this really confirms it for me. KaZaa has no intentions of supporting P2P or the file-sharing community. They just want to spy on us and sell the data to others.