i never would have thought it would happen to me.
i was working alone late one night in the datacenter. i got a call from one of the night support techs. i'd always noticed her at the office....
How different is this really from our government trying to (and succeeding in) placing internet filters in our libraries and schools? The biggest difference is that the chinese government is placing a restriction on the private sector- but we do that here too. Even private internet porn sites have age restrictions as to who can view the content on the site.
So lets turn this article around. Everytime you see "Chinese" replace with "American", replace "Internet Cafe" with "Library" or "School" and honestly the story does not sound so far from what we are experiencing here.
Its not officially anything except an island in the middle of the lake they want people to stay off. And since its not officially a bird sanctuary they aren't technically doing anything illegal (no more than putting it anywhere else in a park).
I'm truly amazed that people can really believe there is anything in this country that is truly colorblind.
Sure, on the internet, our internet identities do not neccessarily convey the color of our skin. But there are people, and companies, working behind the scenes. People getting paid, people doing hiring and firing and promotions and everything else that other companies in other industries do. Even Microsoft.
I'm sure most would agree that there exists gender-based discrimination in this industry. Why would race be any different?
5 billion does seem excessive. On the other hand- how much is Microsoft making off these employees that has gone into the pockets of the (white) ruling men there?
Maybe this is a little extreme, but I also think its a rather polyanna view to take to think the internet is solving the issue of racism in this country.
Are you implying Microsoft allows its employees to 'masturbate while translating' at will?
Crazy, whacky microsoft people. They let those guys get away with anything.
What will they think of next?
Excuse me. I have to say this. Why 'Men'? Why not 'People'? You're leaving out half the population there with your title. Maybe not half of the population of Open Source zealouts, but half the population of potential newcomers.
If you're trying to unmask the mystery of the free software world to newcomers, maybe you shouldn't start by making it sound like a boys club.
(although I know it really seems like a boys club. there are quite a few of us women out there actively involved...more than you might think by the looks of places like slashdot which only has MEN for authors...)
Disclaimer: I work for a national '3rd party' DSL provider.
I used to have DSL through USWest, my local Telco.
I have since switched to having DSl provided by the company I work for in conjunction with Covad.
My dsl is much more reliable than it ever was with USWest, as well as faster overall.
My experience with USWest as a phone company has never in a million years given me the confidence that they have any idea what they're talking about most of the time. At least not the people on the phone, and that is what matters. I even talked to one guy there who knew a little about DSL, but he agreed with me that USWest DSL sucked!
So here's the deal. My experience with the Telco is that they really don't know what they're doing when it comes to dsl. I mean really, they didn't start their business to work with providing high speed internet access to their customers.
However, CLECS (like Covad) are in the business for just that. I have more confidence in their ability to fully understand the technology as well as understand their customers' needs because of that.
The demand is there, so Telco's provide DSL. And they don't like competition, so they make it hard for people to get DSL through another company. Very hard. Because eventually people (like the person who asked the question) will say 'scew going through these other companies, i'll go direct to the source'.
Only the thing is, its not like you're going directly to the source. The process is so involved. Even if you go through your Telco, you are going to have outages. Because even the Telco uses equipment that belongs to someone else.
Its not exactly like Flashcom and Covad are just reselling the dsl. Not at all. The only thing they are using from your Telco is the copper lines. So the Telco has the wire. Then Covad provides the network infrastructure. They're not just buying dsl and selling it to you as the middle man.
Don't go with the Telco. You'll probably regret it.
The currency of the Open Source movement is either ego or cash. Neither of these are being given with this published book. Except to Jon and Rob, of course.
People should keep in mind a couple of things. One is that all comments are archived somewhere on the site. If they really really want to prove that they wrote something in the book they can bring their mom over to the computer and show them the comment on the site.
The other thing to keep in mind is that this book will bring more readers to the site. The readers will be interested in reading the comment posts because that's what the book has. So, here's your chance. Start posting after the book is published under a real name (not AC) and you'll get some credit. As long as the comment makes sense, of course.
I wish people would just chill. Its not a race. Not getting your name in this book doesn't mean you aren't getting your share of the pie. There is no pie. Nothing is stopping you from being your own Rob Malda or Jon Katz.
"In 1993 Dr. Jerry Hall said he had cloned human embryos by splitting them, although he said the clones were destroyed."
He destroyed the clones?? At what point in the lifecycle, I wonder. It seems to me this would have been a huge deal-even if the clones weren't born yet. The pro-lifers would have had a cow. So how come I've never heard of it? They mentioned it so casually here.
i think you lose the nomination (not that you'd make the best woman of the year, being as you are an AC) because you don't see the humor in having the domain of grrl.org
and if i have to explain a joke to you, you've wasted my time.
I often get passed over in all of the 'Man of the Year' crap. Being as I'm not a Man.
The reasons:
I read Slashdot. I've got positive Karma. I've never made a 'first post' (well...there was that one time but the monkeys made me do it!) I use FreeBSD and Linux. I've built my own kernel. I'm post-geek I read Jon Katz's articles at least 13% of the time (that's more than you!) I survived the wrath of Phil Hughes I have a Tshirt signed by Linus I own grrl.org I've got root.
Be sure to send mail to malda@slashdot.org to vote for me!
I've been using FreeBSD for a year and a half now.
For a long while it was installed and maintained by someone else who knew what he was doing. If something broke I asked him to fix it.
Eventually, though, he wasn't around. And I still loved FreeBSD. So, I decided to do my own install.
Its easy as pie. It took me a little while because I didn't know what any of my hardware was (the stuff was given to me). But hey...if I can do it, anyone can do it.
I've also installed Caldera something or another, and seen a RH and Suse install. They didn't appear to be any faster or easier.
And in the end, I know I've got a better machine;)
ESR says he has tried to avoid speaking for the whole Linux community in the past. I take it this time he's saying he is speaking for us.
ESR, however, absolutely *can not* dictate what country, no matter how much he may disagree with their political ideology, decides to favor a particular operating system.
I suspect this is an essay ESR wrote without thinking through his initial emotional knee-jerk reaction and given a bit more time he may come to regret.
This won't be the last we'll hear out of him regarding this issue. Generally, in the past, I've found his writings to at least be able to hold up to most arguments. This one has no logical base on any level.
I like Linux alright. And its cool to see grrls get together for support.
But...its just an OS. I, for example, use and know FreeBSD. And I belong to a good coed FreeBSD user group. It seems silly to make a FreeBSDgrrl group. Especially since there aren't enough grrls using FreeBSD to warrant it.
Or maybe I should try to put one together:)
If you build it, they will come
Hmmm...I wonder if I can come up with a catchy title like Linuxchix. Suggestions?
I *really* like the idea of integrated M2 moderation in the comments section.
I can't tell you how many times I've thought the moderators-in the context of a comments thread, were either clueless or not paying attention or just plain dumb. However, with the current M2 setup, I don't understand the context and don't really want to take the time to go look. I am already taking the time to do the extra moderation.
When I'm not a moderator, it would still be nice to feel I am having some sort of role in the moderation process-even if its just keeping a check on the moderators.
Problems I foresee-Someone moderates a comment, and immediately the moderation is moderated (jeez, i should choose a new word) to be Unfair. So does the moderator go back and change it? Is that unfair pressure? And if you M2 a comment in a thread, are you unable to participate in that discussion?
I like the idea of Karma. Though I think it would be cooler to see it on a scale when presented on the user info page. I pay quite a bit of attention to this site, but I still don't remember the scale offhand. A graphical bar would be nice. And instead of just numbers, relate the the numbers to real world behavior. ie. karma of -1 is called 'troll' or something like that. Be creative!
I'm so glad to see an interview with Matt Welsh. LinuxCare picked a great subject. He has always impressed me. I'm also impressed with how normal he seems in person (and what a cutie!). At least when I met him he was. Which is not to say most geeks aren't normal (autism aside).
He's also such a great writer. Its good to see o'reilly finally got around to publishing the 3rd edition.
If you read the whole article, you'll see it ends with a reference to Freud and the idea that there is no such thing as normal. No where in this article, and I am assuming the study, does it indicate that these behaviors are wrong.
Obviously, our society does place some value on the notion of normality. There are behaviors that exist typically, and behaviors outside of that are considered abnormal. Its abnormal for you to be this smart in the first place. But does anyone condemn you for being smart? No. In fact its rewarded. There may be some behavior associated with intelligence, however, that we do, as a society, consider negatively abnormal. This study addresses some of those common relationships in behavior.
Like any study, you should be critical. But keep an open mind. They aren't excusing anything. They aren't making any decisions about how we should treat people. If anything, the are opening the doors to a better understanding of the behavior that makes a 'geek'.
Ok, I think he has a valid point. And I can see how annoying it must be to have done something 20 years ago and still have it haunting you.
But! The first thing I thought when I read he was 85 was This is just a crazy old guy. With crazy old men, you just nod your head and smile. No need to argue.
"Sure, you were the one who came up with the idea of Obi Wan dying."
"Yes I believe you. That 12 year old boy is after you. Put down the knife, Alec."
Interestingly enough, I started reading the new Ender book yesterday (so far, so good!), after reading this piece of news about the mouse. One of the subjects the book tackles is the subject of ethics and genetic alteration. So-go read the book!
Slashdot Mirror
i never would have thought it would happen to me.
i was working alone late one night in the datacenter. i got a call from one of the night support techs. i'd always noticed her at the office....
How different is this really from our government trying to (and succeeding in) placing internet filters in our libraries and schools? The biggest difference is that the chinese government is placing a restriction on the private sector- but we do that here too. Even private internet porn sites have age restrictions as to who can view the content on the site.
So lets turn this article around. Everytime you see "Chinese" replace with "American", replace "Internet Cafe" with "Library" or "School" and honestly the story does not sound so far from what we are experiencing here.
-Lisa
if we don't like the clones, we can always transmogrify them...
Its not officially anything except an island in the middle of the lake they want people to stay off. And since its not officially a bird sanctuary they aren't technically doing anything illegal (no more than putting it anywhere else in a park).
Lisa
I'm truly amazed that people can really believe there is anything in this country that is truly colorblind.
Sure, on the internet, our internet identities do not neccessarily convey the color of our skin. But there are people, and companies, working behind the scenes. People getting paid, people doing hiring and firing and promotions and everything else that other companies in other industries do. Even Microsoft.
I'm sure most would agree that there exists gender-based discrimination in this industry. Why would race be any different?
5 billion does seem excessive. On the other hand- how much is Microsoft making off these employees that has gone into the pockets of the (white) ruling men there?
Maybe this is a little extreme, but I also think its a rather polyanna view to take to think the internet is solving the issue of racism in this country.
-Lisa
Are you implying Microsoft allows its employees to 'masturbate while translating' at will?
Crazy, whacky microsoft people. They let those guys get away with anything.
What will they think of next?
Lisa
of course...he didn't have to choose the title from that quote, did he?
i didn't say the rest of his article was exclusionary, i just said the title was. the title is often what draws people to read article.
lisa
Excuse me. I have to say this. Why 'Men'? Why not 'People'? You're leaving out half the population there with your title. Maybe not half of the population of Open Source zealouts, but half the population of potential newcomers.
If you're trying to unmask the mystery of the free software world to newcomers, maybe you shouldn't start by making it sound like a boys club.
(although I know it really seems like a boys club. there are quite a few of us women out there actively involved...more than you might think by the looks of places like slashdot which only has MEN for authors...)
Lisa
Now I can listen to that MIDI of Gloria Gaynor's "I will Survive" anytime I want to!
Or, marvel in the glorious majesty that is Beethoven's 5th in MIDI format! There's nothing like a MIDI file to get me to appreciate music.
Its time to boogie, everyone.
Disclaimer: I work for a national '3rd party' DSL provider.
I used to have DSL through USWest, my local Telco.
I have since switched to having DSl provided by the company I work for in conjunction with Covad.
My dsl is much more reliable than it ever was with USWest, as well as faster overall.
My experience with USWest as a phone company has never in a million years given me the confidence that they have any idea what they're talking about most of the time. At least not the people on the phone, and that is what matters. I even talked to one guy there who knew a little about DSL, but he agreed with me that USWest DSL sucked!
So here's the deal. My experience with the Telco is that they really don't know what they're doing when it comes to dsl. I mean really, they didn't start their business to work with providing high speed internet access to their customers.
However, CLECS (like Covad) are in the business for just that. I have more confidence in their ability to fully understand the technology as well as understand their customers' needs because of that.
The demand is there, so Telco's provide DSL. And they don't like competition, so they make it hard for people to get DSL through another company. Very hard. Because eventually people (like the person who asked the question) will say 'scew going through these other companies, i'll go direct to the source'.
Only the thing is, its not like you're going directly to the source. The process is so involved. Even if you go through your Telco, you are going to have outages. Because even the Telco uses equipment that belongs to someone else.
Its not exactly like Flashcom and Covad are just reselling the dsl. Not at all. The only thing they are using from your Telco is the copper lines. So the Telco has the wire. Then Covad provides the network infrastructure. They're not just buying dsl and selling it to you as the middle man.
Don't go with the Telco. You'll probably regret it.
I agree completely.
The currency of the Open Source movement is either ego or cash. Neither of these are being given with this published book. Except to Jon and Rob, of course.
People should keep in mind a couple of things. One is that all comments are archived somewhere on the site. If they really really want to prove that they wrote something in the book they can bring their mom over to the computer and show them the comment on the site.
The other thing to keep in mind is that this book will bring more readers to the site. The readers will be interested in reading the comment posts because that's what the book has. So, here's your chance. Start posting after the book is published under a real name (not AC) and you'll get some credit. As long as the comment makes sense, of course.
I wish people would just chill. Its not a race. Not getting your name in this book doesn't mean you aren't getting your share of the pie. There is no pie. Nothing is stopping you from being your own Rob Malda or Jon Katz.
Lisa
[grrl.org]
Remember those calculators with the solar panels that were so hip in the 90's? Those sucked! You had to angle them just so for them to work.
Fuel cells, on the other hand, rock. I mean, you get some hydrogen from algae and your laptop runs for weeks without a recharge.
Wake me up when that happens.
Lisa
[grrl.org]
He's got too much time on his hands.
But while he's at it, I'd like to see some other old fashions come back in a new tech life:
Tie dyed monitors
Velcro wrist rests
'Pet Rock' Mice
Ergonomic bean bags
Olive Green and Almond colored cases
And lava lamps for the hell of it.
Lisa
[grrl.org]
hehe...he's threatening to write code. That's hilarious!
"In 1993 Dr. Jerry Hall said he had cloned human embryos by splitting them, although he said the clones were destroyed."
He destroyed the clones?? At what point in the lifecycle, I wonder. It seems to me this would have been a huge deal-even if the clones weren't born yet. The pro-lifers would have had a cow. So how come I've never heard of it? They mentioned it so casually here.
Lisa
www.grrl.org
that's funny.
i think you lose the nomination (not that you'd make the best woman of the year, being as you are an AC) because you don't see the humor in having the domain of grrl.org
and if i have to explain a joke to you, you've wasted my time.
But I get to be Slashdot's Woman of the Year.
I often get passed over in all of the 'Man of the Year' crap. Being as I'm not a Man.
The reasons:
I read Slashdot.
I've got positive Karma.
I've never made a 'first post' (well...there was that one time but the monkeys made me do it!)
I use FreeBSD and Linux.
I've built my own kernel.
I'm post-geek
I read Jon Katz's articles at least 13% of the time (that's more than you!)
I survived the wrath of Phil Hughes
I have a Tshirt signed by Linus
I own grrl.org
I've got root.
Be sure to send mail to malda@slashdot.org to vote for me!
Lisa
Hi Davidu,
;)
I've been using FreeBSD for a year and a half now.
For a long while it was installed and maintained by someone else who knew what he was doing. If something broke I asked him to fix it.
Eventually, though, he wasn't around. And I still loved FreeBSD. So, I decided to do my own install.
Its easy as pie. It took me a little while because I didn't know what any of my hardware was (the stuff was given to me). But hey...if I can do it, anyone can do it.
I've also installed Caldera something or another, and seen a RH and Suse install. They didn't appear to be any faster or easier.
And in the end, I know I've got a better machine
Lisa
www.grrl.org
ESR says he has tried to avoid speaking for the whole Linux community in the past. I take it this time he's saying he is speaking for us.
ESR, however, absolutely *can not* dictate what country, no matter how much he may disagree with their political ideology, decides to favor a particular operating system.
I suspect this is an essay ESR wrote without thinking through his initial emotional knee-jerk reaction and given a bit more time he may come to regret.
This won't be the last we'll hear out of him regarding this issue. Generally, in the past, I've found his writings to at least be able to hold up to most arguments. This one has no logical base on any level.
Lisa
www.grrl.org
But...its just an OS. I, for example, use and know FreeBSD. And I belong to a good coed FreeBSD user group. It seems silly to make a FreeBSDgrrl group. Especially since there aren't enough grrls using FreeBSD to warrant it.
Or maybe I should try to put one together :)
If you build it, they will come
Hmmm...I wonder if I can come up with a catchy title like Linuxchix. Suggestions?
-Lisa
I *really* like the idea of integrated M2 moderation in the comments section.
I can't tell you how many times I've thought the moderators-in the context of a comments thread, were either clueless or not paying attention or just plain dumb. However, with the current M2 setup, I don't understand the context and don't really want to take the time to go look. I am already taking the time to do the extra moderation.
When I'm not a moderator, it would still be nice to feel I am having some sort of role in the moderation process-even if its just keeping a check on the moderators.
Problems I foresee-Someone moderates a comment, and immediately the moderation is moderated (jeez, i should choose a new word) to be Unfair. So does the moderator go back and change it? Is that unfair pressure? And if you M2 a comment in a thread, are you unable to participate in that discussion?
I like the idea of Karma. Though I think it would be cooler to see it on a scale when presented on the user info page. I pay quite a bit of attention to this site, but I still don't remember the scale offhand. A graphical bar would be nice. And instead of just numbers, relate the the numbers to real world behavior. ie. karma of -1 is called 'troll' or something like that. Be creative!
-Lisa
I'm so glad to see an interview with Matt Welsh. LinuxCare picked a great subject. He has always impressed me. I'm also impressed with how normal he seems in person (and what a cutie!). At least when I met him he was. Which is not to say most geeks aren't normal (autism aside).
He's also such a great writer. Its good to see o'reilly finally got around to publishing the 3rd edition.
-Lisa
If you read the whole article, you'll see it ends with a reference to Freud and the idea that there is no such thing as normal. No where in this article, and I am assuming the study, does it indicate that these behaviors are wrong.
Obviously, our society does place some value on the notion of normality. There are behaviors that exist typically, and behaviors outside of that are considered abnormal. Its abnormal for you to be this smart in the first place. But does anyone condemn you for being smart? No. In fact its rewarded. There may be some behavior associated with intelligence, however, that we do, as a society, consider negatively abnormal. This study addresses some of those common relationships in behavior.
Like any study, you should be critical. But keep an open mind. They aren't excusing anything. They aren't making any decisions about how we should treat people. If anything, the are opening the doors to a better understanding of the behavior that makes a 'geek'.
Ok, I think he has a valid point. And I can see how annoying it must be to have done something 20 years ago and still have it haunting you.
But! The first thing I thought when I read he was 85 was This is just a crazy old guy. With crazy old men, you just nod your head and smile. No need to argue.
"Sure, you were the one who came up with the idea of Obi Wan dying."
"Yes I believe you. That 12 year old boy is after you. Put down the knife, Alec."
:)
-Lisa
Interestingly enough, I started reading the new Ender book yesterday (so far, so good!), after reading this piece of news about the mouse. One of the subjects the book tackles is the subject of ethics and genetic alteration. So-go read the book!
-Lisa