The "system" has had no effect on the recent anti-terrorism laws -- passing in HOURS.
Huh? Ashcroft is still bitching that his laws haven't been passed yet. (Which don't mention encryption at all, BTW, though that's a frequent bugaboo of the/. crowd, myself included.)
Every C.T.O. in the world should be alarmed at Microsoft being able to download and run any code
they feel like, as well as switching any other programs off that they don't like.
No kidding. I bet the firewall makers are already looking at this and adding blocking code too. Fuck the EULA, users or CIOs should control their PCs.
Okay, we all hate the RIAA and their stooges in the copy-protection business. Still, here they are, and this is their latest salvo in their war against fair use.
However, it may be a huge double-barreled shot at their feet. Here's why: Ripping MP3s is already mainstream. When they ship these crippled CDs, and the word gets out that you can't rip them or you have to go through some user-hostile WMA download every time you want to add tunes to your jukebox, sales will drop.
And, as others have noted here, indie bands won't behave this way (why should they? MP3 trading will help spread the word about their tunes). So they will get a sales boost from users who may not give a shit about IP and fair use but certainly care about ease of use.
Don't believe me? Look at the commercial failure of Sony's Music Clip. It fell flat on its face because customers wanted the standard (MP3) not something else that required many extra steps to use it.
So, as for the music industry: fuck 'em. If they want to sell useless drink coasters for $15, and wonder where a big segment the buyers went, let them take the financial hit. Just don't invest in any of the big five, and you won't personally pay the price. Maybe now is the time to short Vivendi-Universal, for example.
You're probably trolling, but I'll bite anyway. I WANT to consume more, I am within my rights to do so, and I don't want you "live simply" types telling me not to.
When I'm driving on 101, I don't mind the billboards - I sometimes buy what's advertised. When reading slashdot, I often click through to ThinkGeek and buy a shirt - even though I have hundreds of t-shirts already and sure don't need any more of them.
I still hate spam. But advertising in general is a positive thing, and not just because it subsidizes publications including but not limited to slashdot. And I suspect that mine is the majority view.
Don't forget:
- Bitch that Apple sucks because they only use a one button mouse
- Squawk that Apple sucks because OS X has those annoying "Dock" icons and transparent windows and weird red, yellow, and green buttons and anyway the interface was better in system 6
- Mutter that Apple sucks because you lost a lot of money on their stock
- Grouse that Apple sucks because they just fucking suck
Have I missed any?
Don't forget:
- Bitch that Apple sucks because they only use a one button mouse
- Squawk that Apple sucks because OS X has those annoying "Dock" icons and transparent windows and weird red, yellow, and green buttons and anyway the interface was better in system 6
- Grouse that Apple sucks because they just fucking suck
Have I missed any?
These multiple flavors are exactly what push corpotate buyers away. Some standardization really would be helpful. Herding cats it may be, but it needs to happen.
Most everything else in the IT world is standardized: ethernet, for example. Usually the format wars settle down and one clear winner emerges. This need not happen completely with linux, but significant economies of scale would emerge if it did somewhat, because it would be one hell of a lot easier to support. Easy techsupport == corporate adoption.
I found it quite moving, because I'd been there so frequently, and because now the images of the location are so completely different (and so awful). Having seen the skeleton of that one tower repeatedly for two weeks now, it's very meaningful to see them whole again, full of life.
What's most interesting about this piece is that it's totally accidental. The author was never intending to make it a tribute - when he shot it, it was just footage of a place he liked. But now, because it's gone, it suddenly means a lot more.
For another example, next time you're in NYC, take a train to Pennsylvania Station. As you walk around that low-ceilinged, crowded, user-hostile concourse, look around for the B&W photos on some of the pillars. This used to be there, until they tore it down in 1963.
How many copies do you allow people to make? It's up to the record company, but six is the standard right now. So they can make six copies; as long as their disc is in the tray of their computer, they can make those copies...It's hard to get your arms around copy protection as a technology, and I get that Everybody here gets that. The thing is how do you make it warm enough for people to accept it.
The guy has had his PR training, but what a fscking joke. Anyone who suggests that you have to download a music clip (and I bet it's not MP3) just to listen to it from a CD is smoking a particularly strong brand of crack. What, he never heard of laptops? On airplanes? Or dial-up connections where internet access is so slow that a download is impossible?
I hope this guy goes bankrupt, and sooner rather than later.
that's really sweet. brings back some good memories of my days in lower Manhattan (walking thru the WTC plaza to work near City Hall). Everyone should download, watch, and save this. Also Robert: send it to one of the news stations, I bet they'll play it at the end of a news broadcast.
but the unassuming facade, which is wrapped in bulletproof
Kevlar, belies its extremely high security, almost to the point of paranoia.
Inside, a biometric hand scanner, another layer of bulletproof glass, two Pinkerton security guards, and a 500-pound door block access to
66,000 climate-controlled square feet of Internet servers...
No wonder they're bankrupt! All that fancy hardware, really just for PR.
Slashdot Mirror
Except that some of them are on both sides themselves - and choose the user-hostile route every time.
Huh? Ashcroft is still bitching that his laws haven't been passed yet. (Which don't mention encryption at all, BTW, though that's a frequent bugaboo of the /. crowd, myself included.)
Yeah, but in Japan, trains always run on time, so unless there's a 6.0 or above earthquake you won't need to check again
and the thing overheats in 15 min. Sounds pretty experimental to me...
No kidding. I bet the firewall makers are already looking at this and adding blocking code too. Fuck the EULA, users or CIOs should control their PCs.
Gartner are such whores. They have no credibility whatever on issues of consumer protection.
the story wasn't copy-protected, so it was copied and replayed
Hey, there had to be some benefit!
However, it may be a huge double-barreled shot at their feet. Here's why: Ripping MP3s is already mainstream. When they ship these crippled CDs, and the word gets out that you can't rip them or you have to go through some user-hostile WMA download every time you want to add tunes to your jukebox, sales will drop.
And, as others have noted here, indie bands won't behave this way (why should they? MP3 trading will help spread the word about their tunes). So they will get a sales boost from users who may not give a shit about IP and fair use but certainly care about ease of use.
Don't believe me? Look at the commercial failure of Sony's Music Clip. It fell flat on its face because customers wanted the standard (MP3) not something else that required many extra steps to use it.
So, as for the music industry: fuck 'em. If they want to sell useless drink coasters for $15, and wonder where a big segment the buyers went, let them take the financial hit. Just don't invest in any of the big five, and you won't personally pay the price. Maybe now is the time to short Vivendi-Universal, for example.
Guess it's time to hit the used CD stores again. Will these idiots EVER learn?
When I'm driving on 101, I don't mind the billboards - I sometimes buy what's advertised. When reading slashdot, I often click through to ThinkGeek and buy a shirt - even though I have hundreds of t-shirts already and sure don't need any more of them.
I still hate spam. But advertising in general is a positive thing, and not just because it subsidizes publications including but not limited to slashdot. And I suspect that mine is the majority view.
Or use it anyway, in willing violation of an unjust law. If this passes I'll get a Linux box, just because.
Fuck that! Hit them with vigor. You're just reading their site, of course.
Don't forget: - Bitch that Apple sucks because they only use a one button mouse - Squawk that Apple sucks because OS X has those annoying "Dock" icons and transparent windows and weird red, yellow, and green buttons and anyway the interface was better in system 6 - Mutter that Apple sucks because you lost a lot of money on their stock - Grouse that Apple sucks because they just fucking suck Have I missed any?
Don't forget: - Bitch that Apple sucks because they only use a one button mouse - Squawk that Apple sucks because OS X has those annoying "Dock" icons and transparent windows and weird red, yellow, and green buttons and anyway the interface was better in system 6 - Grouse that Apple sucks because they just fucking suck Have I missed any?
Put it another way: Because he should be bankrupt, and isn't yet.
Remember, the more you buy, the more you save!
No Media Player for me!
Most everything else in the IT world is standardized: ethernet, for example. Usually the format wars settle down and one clear winner emerges. This need not happen completely with linux, but significant economies of scale would emerge if it did somewhat, because it would be one hell of a lot easier to support. Easy techsupport == corporate adoption.
Also:
6.6.6.6
IP address of the Beast
66:66:66:66:66:66
MAC address of the Beast
Route 66
Highway of the Beast
What's most interesting about this piece is that it's totally accidental. The author was never intending to make it a tribute - when he shot it, it was just footage of a place he liked. But now, because it's gone, it suddenly means a lot more.
For another example, next time you're in NYC, take a train to Pennsylvania Station. As you walk around that low-ceilinged, crowded, user-hostile concourse, look around for the B&W photos on some of the pillars. This used to be there, until they tore it down in 1963.
The guy has had his PR training, but what a fscking joke. Anyone who suggests that you have to download a music clip (and I bet it's not MP3) just to listen to it from a CD is smoking a particularly strong brand of crack. What, he never heard of laptops? On airplanes? Or dial-up connections where internet access is so slow that a download is impossible?
I hope this guy goes bankrupt, and sooner rather than later.
that's really sweet. brings back some good memories of my days in lower Manhattan (walking thru the WTC plaza to work near City Hall). Everyone should download, watch, and save this. Also Robert: send it to one of the news stations, I bet they'll play it at the end of a news broadcast.
No wonder they're bankrupt! All that fancy hardware, really just for PR.
on bandwidth-intensive stuff like news slideshows. it's no big deal to me.