Um, actually if you look here (http://slashdot.org/code.shtml) you'll notice the current version is NOT available. And, as the site says "News for Nerds" not "All GPL/All the time" I won't be giving them a hard time about it. Maybe you should look first before you call people a hypocrite (and as an Anonymous Coward yet!).
And exactly how would you justify that? I hate to tell you this, but it's completely legal and OK with the majority of Americans for programmers to create something and make money off of it and NOT give it away. Open source is cool, but the vast majority of non-religious (as in the FSF variety) have NO PROBLEM with commercial software and never will. They have NO INTEREST in modifying their code and would prefer to not know it even exists, along with the computer itself. They (and I) don't give a flying rat's ass about Richard Stallman and the FSF, so whatever he proposes is pretty much "so what". As is the boycott of Amazon.com - well intentioned but completely ineffective.
Now, if you're taking money from the public they're going to have some say in what you do and how it's done, aren't they? Do you really want Congress writing a law that says all open source code must be vetted for swear-words so we don't pollute the young impressionable minds of our children? Or one particular window manager WILL BE MANDATED in order to eliminate redundant distribution of public funds? Or maybe you'll need a license and certification to make sure you're REALLY a good open source guy.
So OK, it's Christmas - give some money to the homeless, but keep you're hand out of the public pocket.
Freud said sometimes a cigar is just a cigar; same goes with Anonymous Cowards. For what it's worth, I'm glad Rob reaped the rewards. It's a classic case of good karma - they worked their butts off and it paid off.
Happy Birthday Tricia, I'm in the Michigan Militia....
Forget the Commies mate, I get stopped every time I leave the house at night. I have to show my papers, recite the alphabet and dance for them. They're called The Police, and I don't mean the the rock band. Know the airline commercial that ends with "You are now free to move about the country"? Don't believe it.
It's LOSING YOU IDIOTS! They are not LOOSING millions or there would be a riot as the public ran around filling their pockets with loose dollars. Repeat after me: whenever I think of writing "loosing" I will write "losing", because unless you're writing "loosing the dogs of hell" or somesuch there's bloody well no use for "loosing".
I think it's nice to know that there are some conservative Christians out there who aren't extremist. I still don't believe in their doctrine, but it's a relief to know they're not all wigged out. Thanks Patrick!
Heh, reminds me of a conversation I had once with a guy right out of college, explaining to me how he had never had a project fail, etc. and had been programming since he was TWO. I said "Yeah, I've been programming since you were two too; I was working for the Princeton Plasma Physics Labs at the time, who was your client?"
Jeez, I've been working too hard - Cher has a new boyfriend? Maybe I'm just lonely but frankly I think she *is* more interesting than yet another discussion of GPL fine points. People have to chill about this stuff, it's ridiculous.
What a selective memory! Pournelle doesn't mention that MS was charging $2600 for the OS/2 SDK and then simply dropped it, leaving those who had ponied up the big bucks out of luck.
OS/2 would've been fine if it was offered pre-loaded because it WAS hard to setup; Windows 3.0 was easy only because it was just a DOS-wrapper, not a real system. OS/2 is better compared to NT in that regard. Most people couldn't install any system on a blank PC, even now.
Hell, I *demonstrated* multiple personalities all through high school and couldn't get *any* attention from the authorities. I never thought I'd be glad to grow up in the 70's!
First, in principle I agree, they probably aren't spying on me. I don't do any international calls and don't have many spirited political discussion via email. On your other points I think you're being a little naive. For isntance:
> For starters, it is illegal for the NSA and the > NIC (National Intelligence Community) to spy on > American Persons
It's been illegal for our gov. to do many things they've done. Since WWII they've taken the approach that the end justifies the means. This would include things like CIA drug trafficking, arms-for-hostages deals to Iran, etc. If you were them and believed a person to be dangerous, you mean to tell me you wouldn't ask your Brit spook-buddy to send you their data? See, you didn't collect it, so it's OK now.
>Out of respect for the countries of NATO, we probably don't spy on them either
How about Israel? We spy on each other like crazy. Can you say "Jason Pollard"?
And why wouldn't geeks with guns count? Do you think they *know* you're just a mild-mannered geek with a ton of ammo?
So you're saying that you send messages that might have some national-security-threatening content? BINGO! Probable cause, you're now under investigation. Have a nice day.
Or maybe you're just worried that when you jokingly suggest to your friend that it's too bad they bombed the World Trade Center instead of Congress you'll end up losing your job and possibly your liberty because they won't get the joke?
Therein lie the rub. When Clinton was first elected, one of the Senators from the Carolinas suggested it might be best if he didn't come to their state. If he were anyone else he would've been arrested for threatening the President.
The real danger is the lives that'll be ruined due to a federal investigation of nonsense. Go ahead and explain to your boss that the FBI guys who came to interview you (and HIM) were only kidding. See how long you keep your job. Even if nothing ever happens they'll always suspect you.
Um, did anybody notice that AOL and Gateway just signed a big deal - Gateway is going to produce a web browsing appliance for AOL, and AOL is taking over gateway.net so they'll get a good chunk of new Gateway customers into the AOL fold. I dunno what they're going to call it, but "friend" in Spanish is not a bad moniker for a personal web thingie.
FBI history is VERY bad with respect to rights
on
CALEA update
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· Score: 1
The very LARGE point is that the ability to do all this is automatically is apt to be abused. Ever have to argue over an incorrect bill with someone who says "the computer says it's right"? Imagine what they'll say about their keyword search programs. "If it picked you out you must have done something." The FBI has a VERY long history of abusing US citizens rights and seldom admits to a mistake. Read any newspapers lately? You may have heard about Waco. They even cover up info from the Justice Department! Do you think the average wrongly-accused person stands a chance? As a former prosecutor said about the Starr investigation: "Give me unlimited money and a few FBI agents and I can put ANYBODY in jail."
You don't have to be criminal to get caught in a web of keywords that make you the target of an investigation. Try explaining to your boss how the nice FBI man was mistaken. Good luck.
THEY didn't subject the secretary to abuse, the people who sent the abuse did. You need some remedial classes in the concept of personal responsibility.
It was a cool machine, and I'd love to have a fresh one with a big drive, etc. Besides, it's like anything: my first car was a '66 Mustang convertible. Any new Honda would beat the hell out of it as a car, but I still want another one.
This is so stupid - it's OK because they're all your friends, is it? Well they're not MY friends, now are they? I'm sorry, but while the majority of police and other court officers no doubt are Fine People it's really not unknown for ambitious cops, FBI agents or DA's to go too far in an investigation. A few cops were caught snooping into the database of a local drug-testing firm because hey, if they test positive we're going to stake out the house and bust 'em, right? It didn't matter to them that the data was supposed to be confidential medical information. When I was a kid people were routinely framed for drugs - they'd just palm some evidence from the last guy and drop it in your back seat. I've had cops come to my car door with their guns out supposedly because I had a taillight out. Did they need to have the guns out to tell me that? Or did my ratty old Honda and the long hair indicate terrorist leanings?
Just wait and see how you feel when they cart away all your machines and shut down your bank accounts because you unknowingly correspond and exchange files with a pedophile they're watching.
As far as the Founding Fathers go, the philosophy holds, even now. They were used to having British soldiers come to the door and take them away, so I don't think they'd be too quick to toss their beliefs (and our rights) over drug-dealers and pedophiles. Oh, and are we trying to stop people from making nukes in their garage? Is that a *real* risk?
What percentage of the population do you think drug kingpins and pedophiles are that the govt should be able to bug everyone's house to catch them? What difference does it make if we're a "superpower"? It's OK to treat your citizens like residents of a gulag if you're a superpower? If we were the size of China, I'm sure we'd be taking Falun Gong members out for re-education too, all in the name of social stability.
Y'know, I was about to read my first Katz piece in awhile when I realized he still can't manage to post text without having a question mark appear instead of an apostrophe. I just can't stand it.
I'd like to see the age differences between the people who automatically say "So get another job asshole" and the people with more supportive responses to this guy. The fact is he's written some really nice stuff - most of us would be really happy to do anything close in our careers. I have Music X myself, and it's a great package. To those of you with no sympathy I say go ahead, move into management now, because if you stay a programmer you will surely feel the same one day.
For the answer to that you want to ask people who work in TV or the movies. As in "I was inspired to write Star Wars from the Commando Cody shows I used to watch."
Besides, knowledge of Star Trek would seem to be required in many companies. I think you have a good point in general about letting kids be kids, but don't be quite so quick to dismiss the social implications. TV is now one of the few things that act as shared experiences out here in the 'burbs.
Well, I pretty much fit the stereotype. A Libertarian wardrobe-challenged Zen Rastafarian Star Trek-watching guy. Possibly better looking of course.:-)
Slashdot Mirror
Why is this moderated as flamebait?
Troll my ass! What is this, from moderators who also can't freakin' spell? Sorry, it DOES make a difference, and it IS a legitimate criticism.
Um, actually if you look here (http://slashdot.org/code.shtml) you'll notice the current version is NOT available. And, as the site says "News for Nerds" not "All GPL/All the time" I won't be giving them a hard time about it. Maybe you should look first before you call people a hypocrite (and as an Anonymous Coward yet!).
And exactly how would you justify that? I hate to tell you this, but it's completely legal and OK with the majority of Americans for programmers to create something and make money off of it and NOT give it away. Open source is cool, but the vast majority of non-religious (as in the FSF variety) have NO PROBLEM with commercial software and never will. They have NO INTEREST in modifying their code and would prefer to not know it even exists, along with the computer itself. They (and I) don't give a flying rat's ass about Richard Stallman and the FSF, so whatever he proposes is pretty much "so what". As is the boycott of Amazon.com - well intentioned but completely ineffective.
Now, if you're taking money from the public they're going to have some say in what you do and how it's done, aren't they? Do you really want Congress writing a law that says all open source code must be vetted for swear-words so we don't pollute the young impressionable minds of our children? Or one particular window manager WILL BE MANDATED in order to eliminate redundant distribution of public funds? Or maybe you'll need a license and certification to make sure you're REALLY a good open source guy.
So OK, it's Christmas - give some money to the homeless, but keep you're hand out of the public pocket.
Freud said sometimes a cigar is just a cigar; same goes with Anonymous Cowards. For what it's worth, I'm glad Rob reaped the rewards. It's a classic case of good karma - they worked their butts off and it paid off.
Happy Birthday Tricia, I'm in the Michigan Militia....
Forget the Commies mate, I get stopped every time I leave the house at night. I have to show my papers, recite the alphabet and dance for them. They're called The Police, and I don't mean the the rock band. Know the airline commercial that ends with "You are now free to move about the country"? Don't believe it.
It's LOSING YOU IDIOTS! They are not LOOSING millions or there would be a riot as the public ran around filling their pockets with loose dollars. Repeat after me: whenever I think of writing "loosing" I will write "losing", because unless you're writing "loosing the dogs of hell" or somesuch there's bloody well no use for "loosing".
I think it's nice to know that there are some conservative Christians out there who aren't extremist. I still don't believe in their doctrine, but it's a relief to know they're not all wigged out. Thanks Patrick!
Heh, reminds me of a conversation I had once with a guy right out of college, explaining to me how he had never had a project fail, etc. and had been programming since he was TWO. I said "Yeah, I've been programming since you were two too; I was working for the Princeton Plasma Physics Labs at the time, who was your client?"
Jeez, I've been working too hard - Cher has a new boyfriend? Maybe I'm just lonely but frankly I think she *is* more interesting than yet another discussion of GPL fine points. People have to chill about this stuff, it's ridiculous.
Just my $0.02.
What a selective memory! Pournelle doesn't mention that MS was charging $2600 for the OS/2 SDK and then simply dropped it, leaving those who had ponied up the big bucks out of luck.
OS/2 would've been fine if it was offered pre-loaded because it WAS hard to setup; Windows 3.0 was easy only because it was just a DOS-wrapper, not a real system. OS/2 is better compared to NT in that regard. Most people couldn't install any system on a blank PC, even now.
Hell, I *demonstrated* multiple personalities all through high school and couldn't get *any* attention from the authorities. I never thought I'd be glad to grow up in the 70's!
First, in principle I agree, they probably aren't spying on me. I don't do any international calls and don't have many spirited political discussion via email. On your other points I think you're being a little naive. For isntance:
> For starters, it is illegal for the NSA and the > NIC (National Intelligence Community) to spy on > American Persons
It's been illegal for our gov. to do many things they've done. Since WWII they've taken the approach that the end justifies the means. This would include things like CIA drug trafficking, arms-for-hostages deals to Iran, etc. If you were them and believed a person to be dangerous, you mean to tell me you wouldn't ask your Brit spook-buddy to send you their data? See, you didn't collect it, so it's OK now.
>Out of respect for the countries of NATO, we probably don't spy on them either
How about Israel? We spy on each other like crazy. Can you say "Jason Pollard"?
And why wouldn't geeks with guns count? Do you think they *know* you're just a mild-mannered geek with a ton of ammo?
So you're saying that you send messages that might have some national-security-threatening content? BINGO! Probable cause, you're now under investigation. Have a nice day.
Or maybe you're just worried that when you jokingly suggest to your friend that it's too bad they bombed the World Trade Center instead of Congress you'll end up losing your job and possibly your liberty because they won't get the joke?
Therein lie the rub. When Clinton was first elected, one of the Senators from the Carolinas suggested it might be best if he didn't come to their state. If he were anyone else he would've been arrested for threatening the President.
The real danger is the lives that'll be ruined due to a federal investigation of nonsense. Go ahead and explain to your boss that the FBI guys who came to interview you (and HIM) were only kidding. See how long you keep your job. Even if nothing ever happens they'll always suspect you.
> At this point we should flip over into a gift culture completely as the economics behind technology are crashed.
Great! Give me your TV!
Um, did anybody notice that AOL and Gateway just signed a big deal - Gateway is going to produce a web browsing appliance for AOL, and AOL is taking over gateway.net so they'll get a good chunk of new Gateway customers into the AOL fold. I dunno what they're going to call it, but "friend" in Spanish is not a bad moniker for a personal web thingie.
Purity... Of.... Essence....
Ever see a Commie drink water Mandrake?
The very LARGE point is that the ability to do all this is automatically is apt to be abused. Ever have to argue over an incorrect bill with someone who says "the computer says it's right"? Imagine what they'll say about their keyword search programs. "If it picked you out you must have done something." The FBI has a VERY long history of abusing US citizens rights and seldom admits to a mistake. Read any newspapers lately? You may have heard about Waco. They even cover up info from the Justice Department! Do you think the average wrongly-accused person stands a chance? As a former prosecutor said about the Starr investigation: "Give me unlimited money and a few FBI agents and I can put ANYBODY in jail."
You don't have to be criminal to get caught in a web of keywords that make you the target of an investigation. Try explaining to your boss how the nice FBI man was mistaken. Good luck.
THEY didn't subject the secretary to abuse, the people who sent the abuse did. You need some remedial classes in the concept of personal responsibility.
It was a cool machine, and I'd love to have a fresh one with a big drive, etc. Besides, it's like anything: my first car was a '66 Mustang convertible. Any new Honda would beat the hell out of it as a car, but I still want another one.
:-)
Sentimental humans.
This is so stupid - it's OK because they're all your friends, is it? Well they're not MY friends, now are they? I'm sorry, but while the majority of police and other court officers no doubt are Fine People it's really not unknown for ambitious cops, FBI agents or DA's to go too far in an investigation. A few cops were caught snooping into the database of a local drug-testing firm because hey, if they test positive we're going to stake out the house and bust 'em, right? It didn't matter to them that the data was supposed to be confidential medical information. When I was a kid people were routinely framed for drugs - they'd just palm some evidence from the last guy and drop it in your back seat. I've had cops come to my car door with their guns out supposedly because I had a taillight out. Did they need to have the guns out to tell me that? Or did my ratty old Honda and the long hair indicate terrorist leanings?
Just wait and see how you feel when they cart away all your machines and shut down your bank accounts because you unknowingly correspond and exchange files with a pedophile they're watching.
As far as the Founding Fathers go, the philosophy holds, even now. They were used to having British soldiers come to the door and take them away, so I don't think they'd be too quick to toss their beliefs (and our rights) over drug-dealers and pedophiles. Oh, and are we trying to stop people from making nukes in their garage? Is that a *real* risk?
What percentage of the population do you think drug kingpins and pedophiles are that the govt should be able to bug everyone's house to catch them? What difference does it make if we're a "superpower"? It's OK to treat your citizens like residents of a gulag if you're a superpower? If we were the size of China, I'm sure we'd be taking Falun Gong members out for re-education too, all in the name of social stability.
It's people like you that frighten me most.
Y'know, I was about to read my first Katz piece in awhile when I realized he still can't manage to post text without having a question mark appear instead of an apostrophe. I just can't stand it.
I'd like to see the age differences between the people who automatically say "So get another job asshole" and the people with more supportive responses to this guy. The fact is he's written some really nice stuff - most of us would be really happy to do anything close in our careers. I have Music X myself, and it's a great package. To those of you with no sympathy I say go ahead, move into management now, because if you stay a programmer you will surely feel the same one day.
For the answer to that you want to ask people who work in TV or the movies. As in "I was inspired to write Star Wars from the Commando Cody shows I used to watch."
Besides, knowledge of Star Trek would seem to be required in many companies. I think you have a good point in general about letting kids be kids, but don't be quite so quick to dismiss the social implications. TV is now one of the few things that act as shared experiences out here in the 'burbs.
Well, I pretty much fit the stereotype. A Libertarian wardrobe-challenged Zen Rastafarian Star Trek-watching guy. Possibly better looking of course. :-)