I'm a happy customer of Baen. I purchase ebooks directly from their website, where they are available in a variety of formats without DRM, and once I have purchased can go back and download again in the future if I lose my local files. Other online retail outlets may have lower prices, or may not (Baen's pricing is very reasonable) but Baen's terms and conditions are worth a great deal to me.
Because of Baen's policies, I am not even tempted to obtain illegal copies of any of their publications, and have not and will not do so.
Hi, I'm not afraid to look like an ass, having survived it on many occasions, so I'll take up that gauntlet in lieu of our anonymous friend.
You have displayed a remarkable grasp of the obvious, and your initial post appears to have missed the intended irony or sarcasm of the one it criticized. However, it could be that your post was an even more subtle commentary, perhaps designed to elicit just such a "whoosh" response, for your own amusement or to demonstrate the predictability of the conversations on slashdot.
I agree with your sentiment, but this here ^ - yeah, bank CEOs and politicians ARE educated in ethics, kind of a requirement for all of the education that they need. Has that made their respective industries more ethical, do you think?
Interestingly enough, yes, I do think those mandatory ethics courses make a difference. Do they inspire perfect ethics throughout every individual in an industry? Don't be ridiculous. But "a little bit better" is an improvement over "not any better".
I suspect I was reacting to the tone of "all they do in their free time is...". The implication is that "boating" or by extension any other non-job-related activity is less worthwhile than pursuing job related hobbies or activities.
I am very glad that you have a career and hobbies that align so neatly, and respect your choices. I regret, slightly, my tone when I said "I'll take a life instead." That simply reflects my own situation, in which I have several activities that I personally value more than programming - which is my day job too, by the way.
So, if for you, programming and more programming is what fulfills your needs and aspirations, awesome, I salute you. For me, programming is a somewhat enjoyable and reasonably lucrative way of financing other things that are more important to me.
While I understand the impatience to get to dessert...
A full length novel is generally much, much longer in terms of plot than the average two to three hour film screenplay. A typical screenplay is more equivalent to a short story or novelette. While The Hobbit is by no means a lengthy tome, it is certainly more than a short story, and when you add in the additional material Jackson is introducing (White Council, Dol Guldur, Radagast, etc.) it would be impossible to cram into a commercially viable screenplay.
I was fine with two films, and I'm fine with three. I'm happy to have the story fleshed out with more context, and I'm mostly fine with having Jackson and company extrapolate and add things, recognizing that film and text are different media with different strengths and weaknesses and techniques for storytelling. My "fine" stops with altering things that Tolkien actually wrote, as happened in spots in the Lord of the Rings movies. Nonetheless, I expect I'll enjoy these just as thoroughly as the last three. I doubt Jackson will pull a Lucas on us... let us hope.
And let it be said, I am willing to pay for my enjoyment, repeatedly, and do not begrudge the commercial nature of the venture, provided the art is not compromised thereby.
This is what happens when you have a large industry selling a product that has no measurable value. In the heyday of the recording industry, the companies manufacturing vinyl discs provided both a valuable physical product and the means of distribution. Same with moving pictures. Technology has now eliminated the value of both the physical medium and correspondingly the distribution of said medium. It will take time for the entrenched industry to fully adapt or die.
Commercial software had the problem of artificial scarcity almost from its beginning.
There is still all of the original value of the artistry and engineering to create the works of art and technology. However, monetizing the distribution of that valuable work may not always be as profitable as monopolizing distribution was in the past. So it goes.
Live music performance, the pleasure of viewing a film on a giant screen with great sound and comfort and that bathtub of popcorn, and similar experience based value are still worth paying for, for many people.
It's been interesting, watching this change over my lifetime. I expect many interesting twists and turns in the future, too.
Your laws are funny in the USA. Isn't that a simple mechanical modification to make ?
Not necessarily all that simple, and definitely illegal without the appropriate licenses/permits.
(Semi to full auto mods depend on the particulars of the mechanism and often require the precise machining of new parts. Also a good way to ruin a perfectly good gun if you do it or use it wrong.)
Algebra may be what separates the Morlocks from the Eloi.
In the comments on the article itself, someone pointed out that the admittedly difficult leap from arithmetic to algebra is the step from concrete to abstract thinking, and that we really do want as many people as possible to make that leap. It's more generally important than the math ability.
On the contrary, the goal is to use new technologies to do what has been done before better, and occasionally to find genuinely new ways of doing things. Ignoring the past or thinking that new technology is magical are sure roads to failure.
Likewise, ignoring the possibilities inherent in new technologies or methods is a sure road to stagnation.
The wise mind encompasses both the past and the future, and uses lessons learned in the former to guide efforts in the latter.
Online education is in its infancy. This is an area where many ideas are being tried. Some will work better than others. Probably nothing currently available is "the answer", but rather all are those little baby steps toward what will eventually emerge. It's a normal and pretty universally unavoidable process.
Slashdot Mirror
I'm a happy customer of Baen. I purchase ebooks directly from their website, where they are available in a variety of formats without DRM, and once I have purchased can go back and download again in the future if I lose my local files. Other online retail outlets may have lower prices, or may not (Baen's pricing is very reasonable) but Baen's terms and conditions are worth a great deal to me.
Because of Baen's policies, I am not even tempted to obtain illegal copies of any of their publications, and have not and will not do so.
How's that for piracy prevention?
Hi, I'm not afraid to look like an ass, having survived it on many occasions, so I'll take up that gauntlet in lieu of our anonymous friend.
You have displayed a remarkable grasp of the obvious, and your initial post appears to have missed the intended irony or sarcasm of the one it criticized. However, it could be that your post was an even more subtle commentary, perhaps designed to elicit just such a "whoosh" response, for your own amusement or to demonstrate the predictability of the conversations on slashdot.
But I doubt it.
I'm running Mint 13 with MATE. I'm happier with that than with any other recent OS release, on any platform.
Be aware though, my nerd quotient may not qualify as "real", depending on your prejudices. YMMV, etc.
Anonymous members aren't educated in ethics.
I agree with your sentiment, but this here ^ - yeah, bank CEOs and politicians ARE educated in ethics, kind of a requirement for all of the education that they need. Has that made their respective industries more ethical, do you think?
Interestingly enough, yes, I do think those mandatory ethics courses make a difference. Do they inspire perfect ethics throughout every individual in an industry? Don't be ridiculous. But "a little bit better" is an improvement over "not any better".
Justice is a pipe dream, and you wouldn't really like it if you saw it.
I'll take mercy, and the rule of law, imperfect though it be, over the justice of the mob. Thanks anyway.
You make a good point. As a corollary, I posit that you wouldn't believe how many inebriated rapists think "no" is foreplay.
I suspect I was reacting to the tone of "all they do in their free time is...". The implication is that "boating" or by extension any other non-job-related activity is less worthwhile than pursuing job related hobbies or activities.
I am very glad that you have a career and hobbies that align so neatly, and respect your choices. I regret, slightly, my tone when I said "I'll take a life instead." That simply reflects my own situation, in which I have several activities that I personally value more than programming - which is my day job too, by the way.
So, if for you, programming and more programming is what fulfills your needs and aspirations, awesome, I salute you. For me, programming is a somewhat enjoyable and reasonably lucrative way of financing other things that are more important to me.
My time, family, and yes, boats are more valuable to me than your extra money. Keep it, with my blessings and best wishes. I'll take a life instead.
"Our car is heading toward a cliff, but if we turn the steering wheel, it'll take longer to get where we're going!"
Humans are stupid.
I can't remember what this topic was about. Oh, well, my rocking chair is nice.
While I understand the impatience to get to dessert...
A full length novel is generally much, much longer in terms of plot than the average two to three hour film screenplay. A typical screenplay is more equivalent to a short story or novelette. While The Hobbit is by no means a lengthy tome, it is certainly more than a short story, and when you add in the additional material Jackson is introducing (White Council, Dol Guldur, Radagast, etc.) it would be impossible to cram into a commercially viable screenplay.
I was fine with two films, and I'm fine with three. I'm happy to have the story fleshed out with more context, and I'm mostly fine with having Jackson and company extrapolate and add things, recognizing that film and text are different media with different strengths and weaknesses and techniques for storytelling. My "fine" stops with altering things that Tolkien actually wrote, as happened in spots in the Lord of the Rings movies. Nonetheless, I expect I'll enjoy these just as thoroughly as the last three. I doubt Jackson will pull a Lucas on us... let us hope.
And let it be said, I am willing to pay for my enjoyment, repeatedly, and do not begrudge the commercial nature of the venture, provided the art is not compromised thereby.
...dwarves (dwarfs?).
Dwarves. See the Author's Note at the beginning of a copy of the book. (Like the one on my e-reader, right here in my pocket...)
This is what happens when you have a large industry selling a product that has no measurable value. In the heyday of the recording industry, the companies manufacturing vinyl discs provided both a valuable physical product and the means of distribution. Same with moving pictures. Technology has now eliminated the value of both the physical medium and correspondingly the distribution of said medium. It will take time for the entrenched industry to fully adapt or die.
Commercial software had the problem of artificial scarcity almost from its beginning.
There is still all of the original value of the artistry and engineering to create the works of art and technology. However, monetizing the distribution of that valuable work may not always be as profitable as monopolizing distribution was in the past. So it goes.
Live music performance, the pleasure of viewing a film on a giant screen with great sound and comfort and that bathtub of popcorn, and similar experience based value are still worth paying for, for many people.
It's been interesting, watching this change over my lifetime. I expect many interesting twists and turns in the future, too.
...when things hit the crapper in another decade, he'd have the means to keep himself and his neighbors safe.
Or shoot the neighbors and take their food.
Your laws are funny in the USA. Isn't that a simple mechanical modification to make ?
Not necessarily all that simple, and definitely illegal without the appropriate licenses/permits.
(Semi to full auto mods depend on the particulars of the mechanism and often require the precise machining of new parts. Also a good way to ruin a perfectly good gun if you do it or use it wrong.)
To be fair, I might give the books another go. It has been a while.
Don't. They get worse, not better.
Algebra may be what separates the Morlocks from the Eloi.
In the comments on the article itself, someone pointed out that the admittedly difficult leap from arithmetic to algebra is the step from concrete to abstract thinking, and that we really do want as many people as possible to make that leap. It's more generally important than the math ability.
On the contrary, the goal is to use new technologies to do what has been done before better, and occasionally to find genuinely new ways of doing things. Ignoring the past or thinking that new technology is magical are sure roads to failure.
Likewise, ignoring the possibilities inherent in new technologies or methods is a sure road to stagnation.
The wise mind encompasses both the past and the future, and uses lessons learned in the former to guide efforts in the latter.
Online education is in its infancy. This is an area where many ideas are being tried. Some will work better than others. Probably nothing currently available is "the answer", but rather all are those little baby steps toward what will eventually emerge. It's a normal and pretty universally unavoidable process.
How long does it take you to type <tr><td>stuff stuff<td><tr>?
Seriously?
You had to be there, I guess.
Yes, and?
Stupid sells even better than sex.
What a dull and pointless world it would be if everything and everyone could be handled by "most people".
Good point. I'll think about that as I ride my bike home this evening.