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User: jelizondo

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Comments · 309

  1. Re:Mexico: Linux or MS? on Where is Largest Linux Desktop Install? · · Score: 1

    Steve Ballmer recently (Aug 22) visited Mexico and had a meeting with President Fox about the e-Mexico project proposed by Fox. While no conclusive evidence has surfaced, based in Ballmer's declarations Microsoft would "help" the government with Windows licences.

    If you can read Spanish see the following article in the respected newspaper Reforma of Mexico City.

    Ballmer decried using Linux or other open source in government projects and discarded criticism regarding the possible technological dependency of the Mexican Government on MS. Quote: "The grovernment will make a wise decision," said Ballmer, obviously meaning using MS instead of Linux.

  2. Re:Heinlein may have been onto something... on Messages From Democracy's Ghosts · · Score: 1
    Again, my comment was to use Heinlein's idea and simply expand it beyond our current representative democracy.

    Voter Ignorance - Well, you only need to be able to balance your checkbook to run the country properly, which it seems the clowns in Congress can't do.

    If you keep spending more than you earn, you know it, you'll go broke. Just Plain Old Common Sense.

  3. Re:Heinlein may have been onto something... on Messages From Democracy's Ghosts · · Score: 1
    I agree with you, but then if you earned the right to vote as proposed by Heinlein, only those with an interest in shaping the country would be able to vote. Nothing would prevent blacks, hispanics or other minorities from acquiring voting rights and exercising them.

    I think rights in the USA have been declining, a couple of weeks ago we had several incidents in Florida where the 'canker police', attempting to stop the spread of the disease of orange trees, would get in people's backyards and cut infected orange trees without a warrant or due process. It probably won't stand in court if the affected people decide to file suit, but those are ominous signs more reminiscent of China or the URSS than of the country of the free.

    I agree that the government has a duty to protect citizens from each other, such as banning smoking in public places or driving drunk, but the government oversteps its authority when it tries to protect me from myself, such as mandating that I weat a seat belt. 'Protecting citizens' has become a sure and easy way to regulate and control our lives beyond what the founding fathers would stand for.

  4. Re:Heinlein may have been onto something... on Messages From Democracy's Ghosts · · Score: 1

    I really like the idea of using Heinlein's franchise voting, however I think it must be extended. There is no need, at least in the USA, for representative democracy. The idea was to assemble a Congress representing the people and to pass laws and such. But that was then, when communications were slow; today the voter can learn about an issue and vote on it directly. This eliminates the need for professional politicians and permits the true voice of the people to be heard. Of course, there are issues of control of mass communication, which voters would rely on to get information regarding issues and the security of the voting mechanism, but I think those can be solved. I don't expect this to happen any time soon since the very people that would implement it would find themselves out of power.

  5. re: No Warranty Required on Comment To FTC On Software Warranties And UCITA · · Score: 2

    The Magnuson-Moss Act explicitly allows manufacturers not to include a warranty. IANAL but I think the act stands on top of UCITA. So should be able to say, sorry no warranty. For someone selling software, the sorry no warranty could be a disaster if you could buy software with a written warranty from someone else. Sort of what happens with car warranties, you look at the car, the sticker and the warranty (well if you don't have cash to burn) and many times the warranty tells you which is a better product. Will you buy a car with a six month limited warranty?

  6. Re:Thank god on Jackson Sends Microsoft Case To Supreme Court · · Score: 1

    FYI Microsoft did not invent the PC nor it did the OS (DOS) that ran on the first IBM PC. The first PC is arguably the Altair (or the Apple II according to who you ask) and the MS-DOS original program was a pirated version of CP/M. Of course, MS was "innovating" from day one!

  7. Re:Cool on Jackson Sends Microsoft Case To Supreme Court · · Score: 1

    I believe Judge Jackson is following the correct procedure allowed under the law. It's not a question of taking or not the heat, it's a question of following the law.

  8. Re:Forging Bounces (the real question) on E-mail Blacklists on a User Basis? · · Score: 1

    Well, not always! Part of my functions is to be postmaster for the company I work for and many spammers fake their return addresses, so if you bounce an email many times it just comes back as undeliverable, creating more work. The trick would be to somehow *beyond me at this point* insure that the return address is good and then return it. Even return it a thousand times for good measure!

  9. Intercept the transmission on Mattel Spyware · · Score: 1

    You can use ZoneAlarm (http://www.zonelabs.com) to stop ANY program attempting to use your internet connection without permission. It is a bit of a hassle to grant permissions manually to each program, but it insures you know what programs are accesing the internet from your computer.