Seriously.. if you feel sooooo stongly about this issue, post your real number so we can submit it to every company / charity / political org / scammer that we can find. After all, it is their right to call you. You can choose to just sit and listen to the phone ring, or just hang up on them.
After reading several post by "Red Flayer," I'm beginning to think that (s)he is nothing more than a shill or lobbyist for one of these marketing companies. As with most telemarketers, this person simply refuses to listen to anything logical or reasonable, and continues to insist that it is the right of the marketers to harrass people at the most inconvenient times.
I wonder how he would feel if somebody kicked in his front door while he was eating dinner, and started screaming a sales pitch through a megaphone. That's what these calls feel like to me.
I do not find this quote annoying and offensive. I think you're taking it out of context.
The point is that the *AA is going around suing anybody they possibly can, regardless of whether or not the people being sued have used file sharing. The *AA has no real evidence, and persists in harassing, threatening, and using strong-arm tactics to extort money from people who usually can ill-afford to pay. This is about the modern day protection racket. They are a bunch of thugs, and we all need to stand up against them.
However, all the companies who have anything to do with this are all rolling out new hardware at *exactly* the same time so there simply will be no alternative.
And that, not coincidentally, will be the same time that I stop buying new hardware, and just keep what I've got. The same goes for software. I guess it may be time for me to stock up on some replacement parts.
Why should the people of two nations depend on the personal relations of those two nations leaders?
You hit on one of the big problems that has plagued the world for thousands of years.
It seems to me that the people of any given country are not really likely to hate the people of another country, unless they are coerced to by the powers that be (through propaganda, scare tactics, whatever).
Having served in the US Army during the cold war, I was trained to hate Russians, to want to kill them. Currently, one of my best friends is Russian. Nice guy. He had served in the Soviet Army, and was trained to hate Americans, and to want to kill us.
The problems between countries are usually between the "leaders" of these countries, not the people themselves.
I have a fair amount of experience in both environments, as well as heterogeneous (a lot of both). Integrating the applications that run on the different platforms is one of the most challenging and rewarding things I've done. Personally, I prefer *NIX, but I really don't mind working with Windows either. They each have their strong and weak points. I believe in the best tool for the job.
I guess the point I'm trying to make is that the zealots on both sides of the MS -vs- *NIX flamewars are not doing their side any favors. They're only "preaching to the converted," and making everybody else think they're nuts.
It does, sometimes, make for rather entertaining reading, though.
While I think it's a good idea to write an article that addresses some of the common objections to switching to Linux, I think that having the article written in such a flamebaitish manner undermines the whole thing.
Also, when trying to discuss the benefits of alternative operating systems, it does not help the argument if you (by this, I mean the writer of the article) come off as being sarcastic and condescending.
If people just use the $50 to download music, Apple is out virtually nothing.
Apple may even benefit financially from this. IANAA, but I think that Apple may be able to write off the "revenue loss" from people using their credits. Of course, an accountant can verify this; I may be wrong.
Many people are given the title "Project Manager" when in fact a more accurate description should be "Project Administrator".
and therein lies one of the more pervasive problems at really large corporations. Due to the title itself, these "Project Managers" usually do not understand that "Project Manager" != Manager. I have, on only one occasion, worked with a PM that did understand this.
Another thing: the title "Technical Manager." IMHO, the title itself implies that the person in question is a manager who understands the technology. Many times, this is not the case. I've had several "Technical Managers" that really should have had the title, "Non-technical Manager" or (if they did not even have management skills), "non-Technical A$$hat."
This is not to say that all managers with a technical backround are good managers, or that all managers that are not technical are bad managers. I've had all four:
Technical and good manager (preferred)
Non-technical and good manager (almost as good)
Technical and bad manager (usually arrogant and difficult, but still better than the next)
Non-technical and bad manager (knows, but will not admit, that they are clueless. This causes problems for everybody)
Currently, my manager fits into the number 1 category, so I am very happy (and lucky).
I usually end up going to some kind of live performance (like a play)
The Shakespeare Theater combined with a good Turkish dinner and you have a really nice night out in the DC area. Not cheap, but well worth the cost for someone special.
Nice of you to stick up for all those helpless rich people.
It didn't appear to me that he was defending those "helpless" rich people. I think the point he was trying to make was that, with a little research and effort, people in the US can find alternatives. While we may have to pay a little more, I think it's worth it for the (usually) better quality of the goods, and the knowledge that people are not being abused or exploited.
I do agree with your point about "bitching" being free speech. If we don't use it, we'll lose it. Without free speech, it'll be that much more difficult to break out of this cycle in which we find ourselves.
but he's not a terrorist, because he's on our side. (for some definition, or other, of 'us').
Somebody (I don't remember who) said this once: "If they are on our side, they are freedom fighters; if they are on the other side, they are terrorists."
Osama was a freedom fighter in the 80s. Now he's a terrorist.
Just look at the treatment anything controversial gets at the hands of the media - immigration, id cards, the Iraq war, etc - and you'll see anything but respect and embracing of the government.
As an American who has seen/read/heard the mainstream media from the US and the UK, it seems to me that the media in the UK is far more critical of their government than the US media is of ours.
It is always interesting to compare articles in the FT and the Washington Post regarding the same topic. The FT (supposed to be conservative, I think) usually has more criticism and information than the Post (supposed to be 'left-wing').
I can agree that time synchronization is important in many cases, but writing a book about ntp and attempting to tie it into the "philosophical aspects of time" may be just a bit overboard.
Than being said, if ntp could be used for time travel, then such a book may be more interesting (and useful).
While I too agree with the GP regarding food/shelter/clothing, I do think that by providing wifi (and hopfully computers with which to use it) to those less fortunate would give them access to many resources that had been previously out of their reach.
Their kids will be able to do better in school (provided they don't always play games), and maybe the kids and the parents may be able to learn skills that would provide them a better standard of living. It could well be a good way out of "the hole" for them.
In your rush for FP, you neglected to RTFA, and the summary in incorrect in it's assertion of "free wifi."
FTFA: Free service for all is probably not in the cards, however. The mayor's statement on the TechConnect's Web site specifically calls for "affordable, wireless broadband access."
It may end up being low cost, but likely not free.
Slashdot Mirror
Yeah... I had to feed the troll and left this comment as a reply to one of his posts.
;)
Seriously.. if you feel sooooo stongly about this issue, post your real number so we can submit it to every company / charity / political org / scammer that we can find. After all, it is their right to call you. You can choose to just sit and listen to the phone ring, or just hang up on them.
I wonder how he would feel if somebody kicked in his front door while he was eating dinner, and started screaming a sales pitch through a megaphone. That's what these calls feel like to me.
Or a disadvantage: Man-Boobs.
and...
what guarantee do we have that these hippies are less corrupt?!?!?
--- SNIP ---
Name calling and Nazi references are a hallmark of a failing argument.
I agree with this last statement wholeheartedly.
Are you in marketing, by any chance?
The point is that the *AA is going around suing anybody they possibly can, regardless of whether or not the people being sued have used file sharing. The *AA has no real evidence, and persists in harassing, threatening, and using strong-arm tactics to extort money from people who usually can ill-afford to pay. This is about the modern day protection racket. They are a bunch of thugs, and we all need to stand up against them.
...unless, of course, the hardware doesn't "trust" Linux either.
And that, not coincidentally, will be the same time that I stop buying new hardware, and just keep what I've got. The same goes for software. I guess it may be time for me to stock up on some replacement parts.
You hit on one of the big problems that has plagued the world for thousands of years.
It seems to me that the people of any given country are not really likely to hate the people of another country, unless they are coerced to by the powers that be (through propaganda, scare tactics, whatever).
Having served in the US Army during the cold war, I was trained to hate Russians, to want to kill them. Currently, one of my best friends is Russian. Nice guy. He had served in the Soviet Army, and was trained to hate Americans, and to want to kill us.
The problems between countries are usually between the "leaders" of these countries, not the people themselves.
I have a fair amount of experience in both environments, as well as heterogeneous (a lot of both). Integrating the applications that run on the different platforms is one of the most challenging and rewarding things I've done. Personally, I prefer *NIX, but I really don't mind working with Windows either. They each have their strong and weak points. I believe in the best tool for the job.
I guess the point I'm trying to make is that the zealots on both sides of the MS -vs- *NIX flamewars are not doing their side any favors. They're only "preaching to the converted," and making everybody else think they're nuts.
It does, sometimes, make for rather entertaining reading, though.
Also, when trying to discuss the benefits of alternative operating systems, it does not help the argument if you (by this, I mean the writer of the article) come off as being sarcastic and condescending.
My $.02 anyway.
Apple may even benefit financially from this. IANAA, but I think that Apple may be able to write off the "revenue loss" from people using their credits. Of course, an accountant can verify this; I may be wrong.
I first read this as, "They can make the upper strata feel all warm and fuzzy about the way things are being mangled," then I realized my mistake.
and therein lies one of the more pervasive problems at really large corporations. Due to the title itself, these "Project Managers" usually do not understand that "Project Manager" != Manager. I have, on only one occasion, worked with a PM that did understand this.
Another thing: the title "Technical Manager." IMHO, the title itself implies that the person in question is a manager who understands the technology. Many times, this is not the case. I've had several "Technical Managers" that really should have had the title, "Non-technical Manager" or (if they did not even have management skills), "non-Technical A$$hat."
This is not to say that all managers with a technical backround are good managers, or that all managers that are not technical are bad managers. I've had all four:
- Technical and good manager (preferred)
- Non-technical and good manager (almost as good)
- Technical and bad manager (usually arrogant and difficult, but still better than the next)
- Non-technical and bad manager (knows, but will not admit, that they are clueless. This causes problems for everybody)
Currently, my manager fits into the number 1 category, so I am very happy (and lucky).The Shakespeare Theater combined with a good Turkish dinner and you have a really nice night out in the DC area. Not cheap, but well worth the cost for someone special.
That alone would be enough to justify the cost of going to the theater. ;)
It didn't appear to me that he was defending those "helpless" rich people. I think the point he was trying to make was that, with a little research and effort, people in the US can find alternatives. While we may have to pay a little more, I think it's worth it for the (usually) better quality of the goods, and the knowledge that people are not being abused or exploited.
I do agree with your point about "bitching" being free speech. If we don't use it, we'll lose it. Without free speech, it'll be that much more difficult to break out of this cycle in which we find ourselves.
Somebody (I don't remember who) said this once: "If they are on our side, they are freedom fighters; if they are on the other side, they are terrorists."
Osama was a freedom fighter in the 80s. Now he's a terrorist.
As an American who has seen/read/heard the mainstream media from the US and the UK, it seems to me that the media in the UK is far more critical of their government than the US media is of ours.
It is always interesting to compare articles in the FT and the Washington Post regarding the same topic. The FT (supposed to be conservative, I think) usually has more criticism and information than the Post (supposed to be 'left-wing').
Than being said, if ntp could be used for time travel, then such a book may be more interesting (and useful).
D'oh! *smacks self on forehead* :-)
Their kids will be able to do better in school (provided they don't always play games), and maybe the kids and the parents may be able to learn skills that would provide them a better standard of living. It could well be a good way out of "the hole" for them.
FTFA: Free service for all is probably not in the cards, however. The mayor's statement on the TechConnect's Web site specifically calls for "affordable, wireless broadband access."
It may end up being low cost, but likely not free.
Ahhh yes. I forgot about that. Need. More. Coffee.