>>>I have never wiped the mac partition and it still runs just fine.
Now that I think about it, the last time I wiped XP off my PC was 2004, and it too ran fine up to November 2010. Then I wiped it clean again. So that's what? 6 years? I don't think a six-year-old Mac would even be able to run Safari 4 or iTunes 9, due to planned obsolescence.
My BBS software (JRterm) supported everything from Xmodem through Zmodem, plus Kermit, and even a plain text transfer (no error correction). Zmodem was the fastest of all of them, plus had the ability to resume download if files were disconnected (a frequent occurrence when mom or dad picks-up the phone).
>>>"Sergey Brin thinks managing your own computer is 'torture'."
I think Sergey Brin is just off his rocker. I've had Windows XP for almost ten years now, and I don't have to "manage" anything. Every year or so I wipe the drive with a fresh XP-CD install, and need to reinstall my favorite programs, but that would be true of any OS, whether it's Mac, Lubuntu, or Chrome. Otherwise WinXP just works. Like my car. Or my microwave*. Or my stereo.
* * The lightbulb burned out, but it still works after 20 years.
>>>Never mind the cost of R&D, never mind the time spent getting the artwork just right.. it's not "stuff", it's just information, and if you can copy it in a second, then that's all it's worth.
On Ebay I recently complained about a customer that bought a brand-new videogame, swiped it with a beat-up scratched disc, and then returned it. Ebay responded "That's just the cost of business. We try to protect our sellers but in this case we have to follow the law which sides with the buyer." I'm still angry about it but overall I made a lot more money (~$5000) than I lost (~$30).
Same applies to piracy. It is simply the cost of business, and if you feel you cannot deal with those ~1% of losses, then maybe you should not be a businessman.
Oh, and you don't have a right to a monopoly. You don't have a right to eternal protection of your book, song, or program. In nature no such protection exists, therefore no such right exists. You have a LIMITED PRIVILEGE to a monopoly, in the same way Comcast was granted a limited privilege in my neighborhood to supply television. The privilege can and will be revoked whenever We the People decide it no longer benefits us.
>>>Guess what, someone, usually dozens or hundreds of people, worked to produce the software and they want to be paid for their work
They have already been paid (hourly or weekly wages). So stop bitching.
>>>Maybe you think it's funny or sticking it to the man, but you wouldn't be laughing if it was your stuff being taken and you didn't get paid for it.
Wouldn't bother me. I would share the same opinion as the Author of the "Walking Dead" comic book: The amount of money I earn, even minus the losses from piracy, is still a hell of a lot more than if I hid the comic book in my closet and never shared it.
>>>Or do you think the servers are running on puppy farts?
Some of them are running on cow farts. (Yes I'm serious.) Anyway you don't have a natural right to a monopoly. You don't have a natural right to have your ideas protected, anymore than Comcast has a right to a monopoly on CATV, or Ford a monopoly on cars, or Apple a monopoly on MP3 players. Such a "right" does not exist.
Your monopoly is a PRIVILEGE granted by society, and the privilege can be revoked at any time the People decide it is no longer needed. Stick that in your flame and smoke it.
>>>Just because it's not a loss doesn't me you have the right to it.
Likewise neither do you have a right to a monopoly over your book, or Comcast to a monopoly over CATV, or Microsoft a monopoly over PCs, or Standard Oil a monopoly over oil wells, et cetera.
- Nature does not give the right to a monopoly. Your ideas, by natural right, belong to everyone. - The protection of your ideas is a limited-time PRIVILEGE granted by society, not a right.
That's correct. I'm glad you're finally understanding our viewpoint. Perhaps a LIMITED monopoly of 14 years would be acceptable, so you could useful income from your anti-rust idea, but no more. You no more deserve a multi-decade monopoly than Comcast does over local neighborhoods.
>>>stealing - to appropriate (ideas, credit, words, etc.) without right or acknowledgment.
I disagree with this definition. You have a right to create, but you don't have a natural right to get credit/acknowledgement for the idea. "If nature has made any one thing less susceptible than all others of exclusive property, it is the action of the thinking power called an idea, which an individual may exclusively possess as long as he keeps it to himself; but the moment it is divulged, it forces itself into the possession of every one, and the receiver cannot dispossess himself of it." - Jefferson
While some societies see the benefit of giving a *temporary* monopoly to authors and inventors (or corporations named Microsoft), other societies have no such restriction, and they appear to be just as innovative, successful, and vibrant as the United States. (examples: China, India, Russia)
>>>some sales and some income is undoubtably lost.
Yes but only a few million, not billions.
Thomas Jefferson considered freedom from copyright and patent lawsand other monopolies to be of similar importance to freedom of speech, religion, and the press. He repeated this view in his letter to Madison dated July 31, 1788:
"I sincerely rejoice at the acceptance of our
new constitution by nine states. It is a good
canvas, on which some strokes only want
re-touching...it is better to establish trials by jury,
the right of Habeas corpus, freedom of the press
and freedom of religion in all cases, and to abolish
standing armies in time of peace, and monopolies, in
all cases, than not to do it in any... The saying
there shall be no monopolies lessens the incitements
to ingenuity, which is spurred on by the hope of a
monopoly for a limited time, as of 14 years; but the
benefit even of limited monopolies is too doubtful to
be opposed to that of their general suppression."
i.e. He was against the copyright monopoly. He said that Ideas, like fire, can be shared without diminishing the value to the originator, and appears to be designed by Nature for the mutual benefit of all humanity. Personally I don't mind a LIMITED monopoly, in the same sense that the Power Company is limited, but the present 100+ year terms is just nuts. If an author or company can not make profit during the first 14 years of the new book, song, or program's creation, then tough shit for them.
>>>The BSA isn't right, nor is it wrong. I might understand stealing a loaf of bread because you're hungry, *might*, but stealing software because you can't afford it doesn't fly with me >>>
How about stealing software because it's worthless trash? Like the Limewire I pirated, discovered it was junk, and erased it. Saved myself ~$80 (versus my niece who foolishly bought it legally).
Same with movies/songs. I've saved tons of cash by NOT buying shitty crap like Transformers 2, Spiderman 3, Linkin Park, and so on. At one time, preinternet, I used to throw-away money on cassettes but now I can "try before I buy".
We as consumers have a RIGHT to return shoddy shit to the manufacturer, and if we're not allowed to do that, then we have a right to sample the product before purchase (just like you can testdrive a car before getting screwed by GM, Ford, VW, etc).
BTW it's not a loss if the customer had zero intent of buying your product. Walmart didn't "lose" 100 billion last year, because some of their customers walked-out the door without buying anything. (Although I bet walmart would love to claim that they did "lose" that money.) Stop falling for marketing bullshit. Stop being gullible.
As another poster remarks, imagine if the Boy was PAID by the glazier to go-round breaking perfectly functional windows? The glazier would be a vandalist and thief.
That is, in essence, what Congress is guilty of doing. I watched on my evening news as perfectly-good, rust-free, and less than 10 year old cars were crushed. For what purpose? To make GM and the bankers slightly richer.
>>>He is using someone's work without their permission, period, end of story. I don't care what you call it, it is morally wrong
So? I bet you sped in your car to work this morning (driving 65 in a 55 zone)(or 70+ in a 65 zone), and not only is that morally wrong, but also deadly to other people. ""Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?"
In other words that XO is completely ineffective, since lawmakers don't work in the executive office, and she's free to Lobby congressmembers all she desires. Starting immediately.
Ahhh, nope. Kermit was one of the EARLY transfer protocols (early 80s), and because it was basically junk, was quickly replaced by later formats like Ymodem1K, Ymodem-g, and Zmodem (late 80s).
and found something damning (like Assange is a paid lackey of Putin), I sure as hell wouldn't hesitate to leak it to the press. Confidentiality agreement be damned.
Why do these groups think these things hold any power? It's just words on a page.
>>>excellent compared to most, if not all, other governments on the planet.
I really, really hate this argument. Just because our pile of manure has whipped cream on it, while the other governments are just plain manure, doesn't mean we have to call it "excellent".
If we compare our government today, to what it was in 1900, it's clear that we've gone downhill. In fact..... I'd say we fell off a cliff. Why should stop comparing ourselves to the other corrupt governments of the present, and instead try to return to the government we used to have. Small, efficient, and non-intrusive (i.e. not stopping people and forcing them to random searches or X-rays).
Let's start enforcing the Tenth Amendment for a change. Congress shall exercise no power it was never granted to do. (Those powers are reserved to the Local State government, which is directly accountable to the people.)
Because Republicans are progressives... all the way back to Teddy Roosevelt.
As for the merger, corporations exist because government CREATED them (the incorporation license). Every merger has to be approved or denied by the licensor (the government). In fact the government could revoke the license and terminate a corporation whenever it felt like it.
I don't think the Comcast/NBC merger is that big of a deal. A cable company acquired a 4th place network and a few channels with sinking ratings. I think it will have as little impact as when UPN/WB bankrupted themselves & created CW, or when Sirius XM merged. Little impact will be noticed.
I do however think Comcast needs to be sued under the Sherman Antitrust Act, forced into regulation, and price fixed just like the electricity and water monopolies. They are a utility and should be treated as such.
They don't care. For them this part of the Constitution does not exist. The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.
Of this part: The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
And State Constitutions? They don't even read them.
They either come from Corporations (which means they are biased in favor of their former boss) or they know that the job will eventually lead from government to a cushy corporate position, if they just brown nose enough (hand down the right decisions).
I still think the FCC's decision to allow Internet Devices to broadcast over top existing TV channels demonstrates they care more about pleasing their once-or-future bosses (Microsoft, Google, Apple, ATT, etc), even if it means blocking consumers ability to watch free TV.
The "winner" in your graph is not a fuel cell car. It's a battery-electric vehicle refueled either off the grid or from a home power unit (i.e. solar). So basically they are saying forget Fuel Cells and go with EVs. (shrug)
I find it hard to believe switching a power plant from Natural gas to Hydrogen makes efficiency double (35 to 74%). It appears the author of the study did not take something into account..... probably efficiency losses converting water to H2. To overlook something that obvious is not good.
BTW they didn't include diesel hybrids. If they had, the efficiency would have been ~34%. About the same as the EV powered by a natural gas plant.
The "winner" in your graph is not a fuel cell car. It's a battery-electric vehicle refueled either off the grid (natural gas or hydrogen plant) or from a home power unit (i.e. solar).
I find it hard to believe switching a power plant from Natural gas to Hydrogen makes efficiency jump from 35% to 74%. It appears the author of the study did not take something into account..... probably efficiency losses converting water to H2.
BTW they didn't include diesel hybrids. If they had, the efficiency would have been ~34%. About the same as the EV powered by a natural gas plant.
Slashdot Mirror
>>>I have never wiped the mac partition and it still runs just fine.
Now that I think about it, the last time I wiped XP off my PC was 2004, and it too ran fine up to November 2010. Then I wiped it clean again. So that's what? 6 years? I don't think a six-year-old Mac would even be able to run Safari 4 or iTunes 9, due to planned obsolescence.
My BBS software (JRterm) supported everything from Xmodem through Zmodem, plus Kermit, and even a plain text transfer (no error correction). Zmodem was the fastest of all of them, plus had the ability to resume download if files were disconnected (a frequent occurrence when mom or dad picks-up the phone).
But you own a car.
You've sped.
>>>"Sergey Brin thinks managing your own computer is 'torture'."
I think Sergey Brin is just off his rocker. I've had Windows XP for almost ten years now, and I don't have to "manage" anything. Every year or so I wipe the drive with a fresh XP-CD install, and need to reinstall my favorite programs, but that would be true of any OS, whether it's Mac, Lubuntu, or Chrome. Otherwise WinXP just works. Like my car. Or my microwave*. Or my stereo.
*
* The lightbulb burned out, but it still works after 20 years.
>>>Never mind the cost of R&D, never mind the time spent getting the artwork just right.. it's not "stuff", it's just information, and if you can copy it in a second, then that's all it's worth.
On Ebay I recently complained about a customer that bought a brand-new videogame, swiped it with a beat-up scratched disc, and then returned it. Ebay responded "That's just the cost of business. We try to protect our sellers but in this case we have to follow the law which sides with the buyer." I'm still angry about it but overall I made a lot more money (~$5000) than I lost (~$30).
Same applies to piracy. It is simply the cost of business, and if you feel you cannot deal with those ~1% of losses, then maybe you should not be a businessman.
Oh, and you don't have a right to a monopoly. You don't have a right to eternal protection of your book, song, or program. In nature no such protection exists, therefore no such right exists. You have a LIMITED PRIVILEGE to a monopoly, in the same way Comcast was granted a limited privilege in my neighborhood to supply television. The privilege can and will be revoked whenever We the People decide it no longer benefits us.
Que?
>>>Guess what, someone, usually dozens or hundreds of people, worked to produce the software and they want to be paid for their work
They have already been paid
(hourly or weekly wages).
So stop bitching.
>>>Maybe you think it's funny or sticking it to the man, but you wouldn't be laughing if it was your stuff being taken and you didn't get paid for it.
Wouldn't bother me.
I would share the same opinion as the Author of the "Walking Dead" comic book: The amount of money I earn, even minus the losses from piracy, is still a hell of a lot more than if I hid the comic book in my closet and never shared it.
>>>Or do you think the servers are running on puppy farts?
Some of them are running on cow farts. (Yes I'm serious.) Anyway you don't have a natural right to a monopoly. You don't have a natural right to have your ideas protected, anymore than Comcast has a right to a monopoly on CATV, or Ford a monopoly on cars, or Apple a monopoly on MP3 players. Such a "right" does not exist.
Your monopoly is a PRIVILEGE granted by society, and the privilege can be revoked at any time the People decide it is no longer needed. Stick that in your flame and smoke it.
>>>Just because it's not a loss doesn't me you have the right to it.
Likewise neither do you have a right to a monopoly over your book, or Comcast to a monopoly over CATV, or Microsoft a monopoly over PCs, or Standard Oil a monopoly over oil wells, et cetera.
- Nature does not give the right to a monopoly.
Your ideas, by natural right, belong to everyone.
- The protection of your ideas is a limited-time PRIVILEGE granted by society, not a right.
>>>Nobody should have paid me anything.
That's correct. I'm glad you're finally understanding our viewpoint. Perhaps a LIMITED monopoly of 14 years would be acceptable, so you could useful income from your anti-rust idea, but no more. You no more deserve a multi-decade monopoly than Comcast does over local neighborhoods.
>>>stealing - to appropriate (ideas, credit, words, etc.) without right or acknowledgment.
I disagree with this definition. You have a right to create, but you don't have a natural right to get credit/acknowledgement for the idea. "If nature has made any one thing less susceptible than all others of exclusive property, it is the action of the thinking power called an idea, which an individual may exclusively possess as long as he keeps it to himself; but the moment it is divulged, it forces itself into the possession of every one, and the receiver cannot dispossess himself of it." - Jefferson
While some societies see the benefit of giving a *temporary* monopoly to authors and inventors (or corporations named Microsoft), other societies have no such restriction, and they appear to be just as innovative, successful, and vibrant as the United States. (examples: China, India, Russia)
>>>some sales and some income is undoubtably lost.
Yes but only a few million, not billions.
Thomas Jefferson considered freedom from copyright and patent lawsand other monopolies to be of similar importance to freedom of speech, religion, and the press. He repeated this view in his letter to Madison dated July 31, 1788:
"I sincerely rejoice at the acceptance of our
new constitution by nine states. It is a good
canvas, on which some strokes only want
re-touching...it is better to establish trials by jury,
the right of Habeas corpus, freedom of the press
and freedom of religion in all cases, and to abolish
standing armies in time of peace, and monopolies, in
all cases, than not to do it in any... The saying
there shall be no monopolies lessens the incitements
to ingenuity, which is spurred on by the hope of a
monopoly for a limited time, as of 14 years; but the
benefit even of limited monopolies is too doubtful to
be opposed to that of their general suppression."
i.e. He was against the copyright monopoly. He said that Ideas, like fire, can be shared without diminishing the value to the originator, and appears to be designed by Nature for the mutual benefit of all humanity. Personally I don't mind a LIMITED monopoly, in the same sense that the Power Company is limited, but the present 100+ year terms is just nuts. If an author or company can not make profit during the first 14 years of the new book, song, or program's creation, then tough shit for them.
>>>The BSA isn't right, nor is it wrong. I might understand stealing a loaf of bread because you're hungry, *might*, but stealing software because you can't afford it doesn't fly with me
>>>
How about stealing software because it's worthless trash? Like the Limewire I pirated, discovered it was junk, and erased it. Saved myself ~$80 (versus my niece who foolishly bought it legally).
Same with movies/songs. I've saved tons of cash by NOT buying shitty crap like Transformers 2, Spiderman 3, Linkin Park, and so on. At one time, preinternet, I used to throw-away money on cassettes but now I can "try before I buy".
We as consumers have a RIGHT to return shoddy shit to the manufacturer, and if we're not allowed to do that, then we have a right to sample the product before purchase (just like you can testdrive a car before getting screwed by GM, Ford, VW, etc).
BTW it's not a loss if the customer had zero intent of buying your product. Walmart didn't "lose" 100 billion last year, because some of their customers walked-out the door without buying anything. (Although I bet walmart would love to claim that they did "lose" that money.) Stop falling for marketing bullshit. Stop being gullible.
>>>Broken Window Fallacy
Cash for Clunkers comes to mind.
As another poster remarks, imagine if the Boy was PAID by the glazier to go-round breaking perfectly functional windows? The glazier would be a vandalist and thief.
That is, in essence, what Congress is guilty of doing. I watched on my evening news as perfectly-good, rust-free, and less than 10 year old cars were crushed. For what purpose? To make GM and the bankers slightly richer.
>>>He is using someone's work without their permission, period, end of story. I don't care what you call it, it is morally wrong
So?
I bet you sped in your car to work this morning (driving 65 in a 55 zone)(or 70+ in a 65 zone), and not only is that morally wrong, but also deadly to other people. ""Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?"
Not according to greenercars.org (ACEE sponsored) which ranks an EV1 car as no cleaner overall (from well to wheel) then a Prius or Civic Hybrid.
And about 10% less clean than a Honda Insight (70mpg version) or Civic CNG. And about 15% less clean than a diesel Lupo (88mpg version).
>>>words on a page backed by men with a guns.
i.e. Fear the government men with the guns.
In other words that XO is completely ineffective, since lawmakers don't work in the executive office, and she's free to Lobby congressmembers all she desires. Starting immediately.
>>>Kermit was an improvement on ZMODEM.
Ahhh, nope. Kermit was one of the EARLY transfer protocols (early 80s), and because it was basically junk, was quickly replaced by later formats like Ymodem1K, Ymodem-g, and Zmodem (late 80s).
and found something damning (like Assange is a paid lackey of Putin), I sure as hell wouldn't hesitate to leak it to the press. Confidentiality agreement be damned.
Why do these groups think these things hold any power? It's just words on a page.
>>>excellent compared to most, if not all, other governments on the planet.
I really, really hate this argument. Just because our pile of manure has whipped cream on it, while the other governments are just plain manure, doesn't mean we have to call it "excellent".
If we compare our government today, to what it was in 1900, it's clear that we've gone downhill. In fact..... I'd say we fell off a cliff. Why should stop comparing ourselves to the other corrupt governments of the present, and instead try to return to the government we used to have. Small, efficient, and non-intrusive (i.e. not stopping people and forcing them to random searches or X-rays).
Let's start enforcing the Tenth Amendment for a change. Congress shall exercise no power it was never granted to do. (Those powers are reserved to the Local State government, which is directly accountable to the people.)
Because Republicans are progressives... all the way back to Teddy Roosevelt.
As for the merger, corporations exist because government CREATED them (the incorporation license). Every merger has to be approved or denied by the licensor (the government). In fact the government could revoke the license and terminate a corporation whenever it felt like it.
I don't think the Comcast/NBC merger is that big of a deal. A cable company acquired a 4th place network and a few channels with sinking ratings. I think it will have as little impact as when UPN/WB bankrupted themselves & created CW, or when Sirius XM merged. Little impact will be noticed.
I do however think Comcast needs to be sued under the Sherman Antitrust Act, forced into regulation, and price fixed just like the electricity and water monopolies. They are a utility and should be treated as such.
>>>Progressives have a lot to answer for.
They don't care. For them this part of the Constitution does not exist. The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.
Of this part: The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
And State Constitutions?
They don't even read them.
They either come from Corporations (which means they are biased in favor of their former boss) or they know that the job will eventually lead from government to a cushy corporate position, if they just brown nose enough (hand down the right decisions).
I still think the FCC's decision to allow Internet Devices to broadcast over top existing TV channels demonstrates they care more about pleasing their once-or-future bosses (Microsoft, Google, Apple, ATT, etc), even if it means blocking consumers ability to watch free TV.
FCC == corporate tool.
The "winner" in your graph is not a fuel cell car. It's a battery-electric vehicle refueled either off the grid or from a home power unit (i.e. solar). So basically they are saying forget Fuel Cells and go with EVs. (shrug)
I find it hard to believe switching a power plant from Natural gas to Hydrogen makes efficiency double (35 to 74%). It appears the author of the study did not take something into account..... probably efficiency losses converting water to H2. To overlook something that obvious is not good.
BTW they didn't include diesel hybrids. If they had, the efficiency would have been ~34%. About the same as the EV powered by a natural gas plant.
The "winner" in your graph is not a fuel cell car. It's a battery-electric vehicle refueled either off the grid (natural gas or hydrogen plant) or from a home power unit (i.e. solar).
I find it hard to believe switching a power plant from Natural gas to Hydrogen makes efficiency jump from 35% to 74%. It appears the author of the study did not take something into account..... probably efficiency losses converting water to H2.
BTW they didn't include diesel hybrids. If they had, the efficiency would have been ~34%. About the same as the EV powered by a natural gas plant.