A lot of you are saying the same tired things about Bitcoin that people used to say about Linux. Now Android is taking over the hearts and minds of the world, and the Linux/OSS vs. Microsoft battle is all but called. (And some have called it already).
All you folks in America, thinking the rest of the world doesn't exist, pishh! Your currency is stable -- for now -- and you won't see the value of Bitcoin for a while yet, and by that time it will be a lot more expensive.
Argentina is going to make sure of it.
It does not matter whether Bitcoin is ever accepted in the US. Right now, Bitcoin is experiencing massive interest and influx from Cyprus, Spain, and Argentina. By the time you realize you should have bought Bitcoin, the banks will be on holiday and your money will be toast. Source: any recent news article on Cyprus. Think it can't happen here? That's OK, I'm sure the Cypriots felt the same way.
Pulling Reader was an assinine move. It may not be a hugely popular service, but guess what, the nerds love Reader. Don't piss off the nerds, we remember.
I, for one, am happy that the unhappiness and skepticism resulting from the Reader fiasco is being carried into new product launches.
Somehow I remember you comparing Linux and Windows.
Let's do the same exercise, but with a Windows box next to it, shall we?
Why would I bother? You have proven yourself to be painfully ignorant about some very basic facts of the computer world (Android), and have an obvious, ugly ax to grind. Even if I did take your challenge, it would do nothing to change your mind. In fact, it SHOULDN'T change your mind, because the truth is that reliability is measured by metrics far larger than one single machine.
And by those metrics, Linux is a winner hands down. In 2005, not so much. In 2013, Linux is winning, and winning at an increasing rate.
You are actually very wrong in this case. Android is definitely Linux, and the pieces of it that are not completely built in-house are most definitely GPL'd. Check the open source license listing that is distributed with EVERY phone (it's under Settings > About device).
On the front end, you are wrong, too. The app store does indeed allow GPL'd apps to be submitted (unlike, say, Apple's app store). Go to https://play.google.com/apps and search for "GPL."
I'm not an Android developer yet, so I can't comment on whether all of the front-end interface is open source, but I think it is. Perhaps someone else can correct me on this if I am wrong.
Actually, you are quite wrong. On any Android phone, go to Settings > About device. You will see a "Kernel version" entry: this is the build information for the version of Torvalds' (et al) kernel running that device. Mine (Galaxy S3) says 3.0.31-370274 etc etc etc. Google "3.0.31" and you'll see it is a Linux kernel with a whole lot of forum questions regarding that kernel on various Android devices.
Then hit "Legal information" > "Open source licenses." Right at the top, there should be "/kernel" which will bring you to the actual license for the Linux kernel.
Android is Linux, through and through. That is a fact which seems to have escaped you somehow. Google did not adapt one of the existing distros; they saw the failures and made their own. Android is not shipped like Ubuntu, but it is definitely a distro with its own distribution mechanism, update mechanism, code contribution system, and so on.
Of course I haven't had a video recording for 5 years. Even if I did, I would not bother to upload it for you, since you are so painfully ignorant of the prevalence and excellent acceptance of Linux among non-technical computer users all around the world.
For whatever it is worth, my desktop was loaded with a clean install of Ubuntu 8.04 in May, 2008, right after it was released. I have upgraded faithfully with every release since then, with zero driver difficulties (or any other difficulties requiring command-line intervention) since then. It will be 5 years in just a couple months.
I think you are demanding, unfair, and ignorant. In fact, I doubt you are as familiar with Windows as you claim. Have you ever actually tried to upgrade directly from any version of Windows to another without wiping the drive? Hello major problems! Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. It's a real crapshoot, and there's no reliable reason why. I've been upgrading Ubuntu installs without clearing the drive for at least 5 years with absolutely zero difficulties on any of them. Huge difference.
Oh, and, ANDROID IS INDEED LINUX! DO YOUR RESEARCH! The most popular mobile platform in the world not only runs on the Torvalds (et al) kernel, but it uses a whole batch of regular open source software on top of it (things like gpsd to run the sweet GPS sensors and so on). I don't know what the ratio is between Google software and regular Linux software, but Android is most definitely a Linux distro.
People like you have been saying the same assinine things for decades. It never changes.
Meanwhile, Linux routes around you. That's the nice thing about open source. Stupid people and stupid ideas get left in the dust to, er, flatline, while the rest of the world goes and does something awesome.
Like Android (which is completely Linux). Windows was made for the desktop, and it formed a virtual monopoly that was hard to beat. So, Linux is now firmly occupying the Next Big Thing (mobile computing) which is rapidly leaving your sad desktop arguments in the dust.
You don't have to agree with me. Visit a local college campus and witness how many people are using tablets versus, say, anything else.
I don't know what decade you are in, but I know it is not the 2010's. Linux has been nothing but fast, reliable, solid, and virus-free for years, now.
Oh, and let's not forget Android, the fancy graphical shell Google wrote on top of guess what operating system... that would be Linux, taking over the world right there.
Dude. I've been running Linux for years without wiping the computer. My desktop has been a steady upgrade cycle from Ubuntu 8.04. I recently upgraded from 12.04 to 12.12 with absolutely zero trouble.
Years ago, sure. Somewhere around Ubuntu 6.4 I had a heck of a time running upgrades. Let's not even consider early SuSE variants, or RedHat in the days of 4.x. For the past five years, however, every computer I run has upgraded flawlessly every time.
I run Linux on all my computers, both desktop and laptop. The company I work for runs Linux on all the servers, all the development machines, and recently switched their customer care group from XP to Linux with an XP-like theme.
None of us have the kind of bitter experience that you are describing. I think your vitriol is rather outdated.
Wildly incorrect. Remove the disconnector from any AR-15 and it will fire full auto. If you happen to be running a piston upper or have a high-quality gas upper, it should even run pretty well. It takes all of 30 seconds (if that), and can be done to other firearms as well.
I am very surprised at how much ignorance is evident about the Silk Road marketplace. Slashdot is supposed "News for Nerds," but there is a lot of technophobia splashed all over the comments section of this story.
1) Silk Road is only accessible via Tor. I would expect the average Slashdot viewer to be more aware of Tor, and the security and anonymity it offers.
2) Silk Road exclusively uses BitCoin for its transactions. To any average crypto-nerd, or even a beginning crypto-nerd like myself, BitCoin is a marvelous application of cryptology in a social environments. Is there really this much ignorance of BitCoin even in a highly-tech-aware venue such as Slashdot?
3) Silk Road customers and sellers and strongly encouraged to encrypt all communications with PGP, and PGP use is routine on that marketplace. Of all things, this should immediately pique the curiousity of any security-minded technophile. Isn't widespread adoption of PGP one of the long-term ideals in the security world?
Security, anonymity, encryption, peer-to-peer... how come so few people have ever seriously looked at this remarkably post-technological creation? Regardless of your interest in drugs, from a freedom/liberty/technology standpoint, Silk Road is pretty amazing.
Google is pretty scary environment to trust your life to. Where you work, where you sleep, where you eat, who you talk to, what you say, what pictures you take, how fast you drive, how often you visit your lover....
If someone can figure out a way to be more open source than Google (Android being an open platform from the perspective of hacking/programming/admin) and also be more safe and secure than Google, then there is a chance.
Someone like RIM? Not a chance. Google has set the bar very high with open standards.
CCRI kicks butt. I love that place, great teachers, tiny classes, and still one of the cheapest places around. Sounds like it has been a while since you've been there?
You are a combat vet, which means your training and expertise is focused around the tools and techniques used by the armed forces. You probably do not have any expertise in guerilla warfare from the guerilla perspective.
You're like a civil engineer telling a gardener how to grow corn. It's just not your expertise. Why do I say this? You mention ANFO. Please. So retro.
Now I don't know much about guerilla warfare, having never been on either side of a shooting fight. However, I have done plenty of reading, and I do not think it is quite so simple as you make it out to be. You mock "bedsheets" but it is that egotistical disregard for unconventional tactics that caused the British to lose us as a colony. That same arrogance will be the guerilla gun nuts' greatest ally, and you have clearly illustrated it for us to see.
So, are the gun nuts off the wall, or not? I don't hear any disagreement, I only hear a discussion that gun nuts might not have the best tools for the job.
If the gun nuts have something to be worried about, then they are arming themselves with the best weapons they can at this time. Everyone knows assault weapons are not the ideal tools for the job, but they're a heck of a lot better than rocks.
What the hell? Full classroom price for an online course? Are they serious? Who do they think they are? The RIAA?
Also, as a non-UC student, this is wildly useless to me. Free courses are excellent because they can help me through my existing classwork, or I can participate just to enrich my own learning.
For-credit is useless unless that credit applies at my own university. It might, but it would be a hassle to figure it out, and I am ALREADY paying full tuition at my university. Why would I pay another $1,400 for another class AND have to figure out if it transfers?
Do you really think burglars will not consult the list when scoping possible targets, to avoid homes that might have increased security or armed occupants?
You just proved my point. http://www.galleryofguns.com/Gallery/AllSaleItems.aspx The only things left from quality manufacturers are bolt actions (Ruger M77) and.22LR calibers (plinking and small game only). The rest is crap. You either have quality guns already, or are going to pay a fortune for them off gunbroker.com.
Local gun stores around me are in a similar situation. No glocks. No AR's except for exotics (12 gauge AR for $2,500, anyone?). No AK-patterns of any kind. A few shops have some S&W M&P pistols left, mostly in.22. The shelves are largely bare, and common ammunition calibers are not to be found. 9mm and.223 is damn near impossible to find, although there is a little of the super-expensive self-defense ammunition left (>$1/round).
http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=324131871 $2,300 for an AR?! Admitted a nice one, but a month ago, these were selling for half the price. At prices like these, if gun stores get any stock, it goes directly to gunbroker. It certainly does not stay local.
The citizens of Westchester are certainly not be able to purchase effective, quality guns to protect themselves without spending exorbitant sums of money and considerable effort. Being in NY state, it will also require a considerable amount of time to overcome the regulatory hurdles.
The second amendment was not about self-defense against criminals. That is a comparatively recent interpretation, first used to help blacks arm themselves against the KKK (as far as I am aware).
Because gunowners are private about their guns, and avoid conflict. Posting signs such as this go against the spirit of owning guns. There are a few noisy individuals, but they are an infintesimal minority.
Slashdot Mirror
A lot of you are saying the same tired things about Bitcoin that people used to say about Linux. Now Android is taking over the hearts and minds of the world, and the Linux/OSS vs. Microsoft battle is all but called. (And some have called it already).
All you folks in America, thinking the rest of the world doesn't exist, pishh! Your currency is stable -- for now -- and you won't see the value of Bitcoin for a while yet, and by that time it will be a lot more expensive.
Argentina is going to make sure of it.
It does not matter whether Bitcoin is ever accepted in the US. Right now, Bitcoin is experiencing massive interest and influx from Cyprus, Spain, and Argentina. By the time you realize you should have bought Bitcoin, the banks will be on holiday and your money will be toast. Source: any recent news article on Cyprus. Think it can't happen here? That's OK, I'm sure the Cypriots felt the same way.
Pulling Reader was an assinine move. It may not be a hugely popular service, but guess what, the nerds love Reader. Don't piss off the nerds, we remember.
I, for one, am happy that the unhappiness and skepticism resulting from the Reader fiasco is being carried into new product launches.
Somehow I remember you comparing Linux and Windows.
Let's do the same exercise, but with a Windows box next to it, shall we?
Why would I bother? You have proven yourself to be painfully ignorant about some very basic facts of the computer world (Android), and have an obvious, ugly ax to grind. Even if I did take your challenge, it would do nothing to change your mind. In fact, it SHOULDN'T change your mind, because the truth is that reliability is measured by metrics far larger than one single machine.
And by those metrics, Linux is a winner hands down. In 2005, not so much. In 2013, Linux is winning, and winning at an increasing rate.
You are actually very wrong in this case. Android is definitely Linux, and the pieces of it that are not completely built in-house are most definitely GPL'd. Check the open source license listing that is distributed with EVERY phone (it's under Settings > About device).
On the front end, you are wrong, too. The app store does indeed allow GPL'd apps to be submitted (unlike, say, Apple's app store). Go to https://play.google.com/apps and search for "GPL."
I'm not an Android developer yet, so I can't comment on whether all of the front-end interface is open source, but I think it is. Perhaps someone else can correct me on this if I am wrong.
You don't have to like it, but it's still true. ANDROID IS LINUX. For fuck's sake, read the Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Android_(operating_system).
cej102937
For so certain a fellow, that guy really missed the mark. Thanks.
cej102937
Actually, you are quite wrong. On any Android phone, go to Settings > About device. You will see a "Kernel version" entry: this is the build information for the version of Torvalds' (et al) kernel running that device. Mine (Galaxy S3) says 3.0.31-370274 etc etc etc. Google "3.0.31" and you'll see it is a Linux kernel with a whole lot of forum questions regarding that kernel on various Android devices.
Then hit "Legal information" > "Open source licenses." Right at the top, there should be "/kernel" which will bring you to the actual license for the Linux kernel.
Android is Linux, through and through. That is a fact which seems to have escaped you somehow. Google did not adapt one of the existing distros; they saw the failures and made their own. Android is not shipped like Ubuntu, but it is definitely a distro with its own distribution mechanism, update mechanism, code contribution system, and so on.
Of course I haven't had a video recording for 5 years. Even if I did, I would not bother to upload it for you, since you are so painfully ignorant of the prevalence and excellent acceptance of Linux among non-technical computer users all around the world.
For whatever it is worth, my desktop was loaded with a clean install of Ubuntu 8.04 in May, 2008, right after it was released. I have upgraded faithfully with every release since then, with zero driver difficulties (or any other difficulties requiring command-line intervention) since then. It will be 5 years in just a couple months.
I think you are demanding, unfair, and ignorant. In fact, I doubt you are as familiar with Windows as you claim. Have you ever actually tried to upgrade directly from any version of Windows to another without wiping the drive? Hello major problems! Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. It's a real crapshoot, and there's no reliable reason why. I've been upgrading Ubuntu installs without clearing the drive for at least 5 years with absolutely zero difficulties on any of them. Huge difference.
Oh, and, ANDROID IS INDEED LINUX! DO YOUR RESEARCH! The most popular mobile platform in the world not only runs on the Torvalds (et al) kernel, but it uses a whole batch of regular open source software on top of it (things like gpsd to run the sweet GPS sensors and so on). I don't know what the ratio is between Google software and regular Linux software, but Android is most definitely a Linux distro.
cej102937
People like you have been saying the same assinine things for decades. It never changes.
Meanwhile, Linux routes around you. That's the nice thing about open source. Stupid people and stupid ideas get left in the dust to, er, flatline, while the rest of the world goes and does something awesome.
Like Android (which is completely Linux). Windows was made for the desktop, and it formed a virtual monopoly that was hard to beat. So, Linux is now firmly occupying the Next Big Thing (mobile computing) which is rapidly leaving your sad desktop arguments in the dust.
You don't have to agree with me. Visit a local college campus and witness how many people are using tablets versus, say, anything else.
cej102937
I don't know what decade you are in, but I know it is not the 2010's. Linux has been nothing but fast, reliable, solid, and virus-free for years, now.
Oh, and let's not forget Android, the fancy graphical shell Google wrote on top of guess what operating system ... that would be Linux, taking over the world right there.
Dude. I've been running Linux for years without wiping the computer. My desktop has been a steady upgrade cycle from Ubuntu 8.04. I recently upgraded from 12.04 to 12.12 with absolutely zero trouble.
Years ago, sure. Somewhere around Ubuntu 6.4 I had a heck of a time running upgrades. Let's not even consider early SuSE variants, or RedHat in the days of 4.x. For the past five years, however, every computer I run has upgraded flawlessly every time.
I run Linux on all my computers, both desktop and laptop. The company I work for runs Linux on all the servers, all the development machines, and recently switched their customer care group from XP to Linux with an XP-like theme.
None of us have the kind of bitter experience that you are describing. I think your vitriol is rather outdated.
cej102937
> No gun can be made full auto "easily".
Wildly incorrect. Remove the disconnector from any AR-15 and it will fire full auto. If you happen to be running a piston upper or have a high-quality gas upper, it should even run pretty well. It takes all of 30 seconds (if that), and can be done to other firearms as well.
I am very surprised at how much ignorance is evident about the Silk Road marketplace. Slashdot is supposed "News for Nerds," but there is a lot of technophobia splashed all over the comments section of this story.
1) Silk Road is only accessible via Tor. I would expect the average Slashdot viewer to be more aware of Tor, and the security and anonymity it offers.
2) Silk Road exclusively uses BitCoin for its transactions. To any average crypto-nerd, or even a beginning crypto-nerd like myself, BitCoin is a marvelous application of cryptology in a social environments. Is there really this much ignorance of BitCoin even in a highly-tech-aware venue such as Slashdot?
3) Silk Road customers and sellers and strongly encouraged to encrypt all communications with PGP, and PGP use is routine on that marketplace. Of all things, this should immediately pique the curiousity of any security-minded technophile. Isn't widespread adoption of PGP one of the long-term ideals in the security world?
Security, anonymity, encryption, peer-to-peer ... how come so few people have ever seriously looked at this remarkably post-technological creation? Regardless of your interest in drugs, from a freedom/liberty/technology standpoint, Silk Road is pretty amazing.
LOL you make a funny :)
Google is pretty scary environment to trust your life to. Where you work, where you sleep, where you eat, who you talk to, what you say, what pictures you take, how fast you drive, how often you visit your lover....
If someone can figure out a way to be more open source than Google (Android being an open platform from the perspective of hacking/programming/admin) and also be more safe and secure than Google, then there is a chance.
Someone like RIM? Not a chance. Google has set the bar very high with open standards.
CCRI kicks butt. I love that place, great teachers, tiny classes, and still one of the cheapest places around. Sounds like it has been a while since you've been there?
Yay RI representing! :) A great story, and sounds plausible. I like it. :)
You are a combat vet, which means your training and expertise is focused around the tools and techniques used by the armed forces. You probably do not have any expertise in guerilla warfare from the guerilla perspective.
You're like a civil engineer telling a gardener how to grow corn. It's just not your expertise. Why do I say this? You mention ANFO. Please. So retro.
Now I don't know much about guerilla warfare, having never been on either side of a shooting fight. However, I have done plenty of reading, and I do not think it is quite so simple as you make it out to be. You mock "bedsheets" but it is that egotistical disregard for unconventional tactics that caused the British to lose us as a colony. That same arrogance will be the guerilla gun nuts' greatest ally, and you have clearly illustrated it for us to see.
So, are the gun nuts off the wall, or not? I don't hear any disagreement, I only hear a discussion that gun nuts might not have the best tools for the job.
If the gun nuts have something to be worried about, then they are arming themselves with the best weapons they can at this time. Everyone knows assault weapons are not the ideal tools for the job, but they're a heck of a lot better than rocks.
Horrifyingly realistic.
Well then, I won't be crying crocodile tears for their multimillion dollar bad idea...
What the hell? Full classroom price for an online course? Are they serious? Who do they think they are? The RIAA?
Also, as a non-UC student, this is wildly useless to me. Free courses are excellent because they can help me through my existing classwork, or I can participate just to enrich my own learning.
For-credit is useless unless that credit applies at my own university. It might, but it would be a hassle to figure it out, and I am ALREADY paying full tuition at my university. Why would I pay another $1,400 for another class AND have to figure out if it transfers?
Terrible idea at a terrible price point.
What is it about git that spawns such unutterably foppish arrogance? It's like a hipster learning about hipsterism for the first time. *shudder*
I say this as a daily user of git in professional and non-professional work. I love it and recommend it, but ... seriously?
Do you really think burglars will not consult the list when scoping possible targets, to avoid homes that might have increased security or armed occupants?
You just proved my point. http://www.galleryofguns.com/Gallery/AllSaleItems.aspx The only things left from quality manufacturers are bolt actions (Ruger M77) and .22LR calibers (plinking and small game only). The rest is crap. You either have quality guns already, or are going to pay a fortune for them off gunbroker.com.
Local gun stores around me are in a similar situation. No glocks. No AR's except for exotics (12 gauge AR for $2,500, anyone?). No AK-patterns of any kind. A few shops have some S&W M&P pistols left, mostly in .22. The shelves are largely bare, and common ammunition calibers are not to be found. 9mm and .223 is damn near impossible to find, although there is a little of the super-expensive self-defense ammunition left (>$1/round).
http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=324131871 $2,300 for an AR?! Admitted a nice one, but a month ago, these were selling for half the price. At prices like these, if gun stores get any stock, it goes directly to gunbroker. It certainly does not stay local.
The citizens of Westchester are certainly not be able to purchase effective, quality guns to protect themselves without spending exorbitant sums of money and considerable effort. Being in NY state, it will also require a considerable amount of time to overcome the regulatory hurdles.
The second amendment was not about self-defense against criminals. That is a comparatively recent interpretation, first used to help blacks arm themselves against the KKK (as far as I am aware).
Because gunowners are private about their guns, and avoid conflict. Posting signs such as this go against the spirit of owning guns. There are a few noisy individuals, but they are an infintesimal minority.