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My current computer's case came from them. Although it looks nice and arrived quickly, some of the bits and pieces for internal disk mounting were missing.
Two e-mails to NewEgg (one of them through their web-site) remain unanswered three months later...
A Yahoo! Shopping is usually my first destination. They are like virtual shopping mall, where merchants register their stores and list their inventories in some unified format for "across the site" searching. One merchant once mentioned on the phone, that he found Yahoo's terms to be the most reasonable around.
I was once looking for a video tape for my friends in Ukraine (different video standard from US). I found it through Yahoo! Shopping Australia...
That said, I also visit CNet and EPinions for product reviews and -- right before buying from a particular vendor -- search Google for
Crusades aimed to retake Jerusalem, conquered by Islamic warriors a couple of centuries earlier.
today's USA.
Today's USA is less religious than it was in 1950-ies. Oops...
You could've blamed modern Christianity for its blasting of contraceptives -- the late Pope was quite (in)famous for it -- but you can't because he was also against Iraq war. Talk about weakening one's point.
These operations are not labor-intensive at all. But they sure are bandwidth-intensive. These two factors alone will keep them in US for a while.
Plus there is the already mentioned strategic importance. We are not talking about phone-support centers, nor medical-records processing, nor cotton growing here.
The notion of "Eminent Domain" is also in the Constitution and has been considered "reasonable" for centuries.
The recent Supreme Court ruling shows to many (myself included), that a new law (or, better yet, a clarifying ammendment) is needed, and I'm glad, Congress is finally doing something useful again.
Violating the oath to uphold the constitution is an impeachable offence to say the very least. And, yes, they can be impeached.
Who are you going to impeach? Supreme Court judges? Yeah, that's what they do in Ecuador and I would not like that...
Corporations are given charters to perform some activity.
You got it backwards. People are free to do anything, they please (within laws). Forming corporations is one of these freedoms.
Government should not be allowing charters that ultimatly hurt society
Hurt society in whose opinion? The government's? The corporation's? Its customers? Or its competitors?
I have no idea why your bringing up Socrates, the GULAG and AK-47's.
The point was that resisting a corporation (even a big one like Microsoft) is FAR easier, than other kinds of resistance. If people still don't do it, blaming Microsoft for the apathy is stupid.
If you -- hating Microsoft so much -- still use it, than you have nothing to add here -- you are the problem and I am the victim of your (in)actions.
There are plenty of more relavent details you are missing and I would suggest you start with those.
We disagree on a much greater picture -- there is no point arguing about trees, when we can't agree on the principle of forest.
But I have read the writings surrounding the trial of Socrates and it sounds much like what we have today. A selfish oligarchy attempting to maintain it's power despite the common good.
(Athens was a Democracy -- Sparta was an oligarchy -- but neither really had corporations, so they can not be said to be "much like what we have today".) Socrates was advocating (among other things), that slavery is wrong and that priests and superstitions are foolish. His anti-slavery advocacy is what really pissed people off (slaves were quite affordable in Athens and even the poor had them) -- not just the "blasphemy". He was -- quite democratically -- put to death.
perhaps the people have the power to determine society
They do... And I'm more scared of "the people", than of Microsoft.
First and foremost, it will give you time, which is precious, whenever you are under assault.
Second, for a judge to do it, (s)he will -- most likely -- at least, hear your side of the story -- a luxury, which Chip did not get, according to TFA...
Third, you may also be able to negotiate a limited scope: "Ok, here is the ExEmployer folder, but I'm not showing you the ExGirlfriend mailbox. And, by the way that one over there is my dad's computer. Your honor, can he, please, have it back?".
Fourth, you'll also be able to arrange, that you and/or your lawyer be present, when the decrypted data is searched, etc.
Without encryption, your opponents will be happily fishing through all of the data, while you argue for all those things.
and you refuse, that pretty much screams "guilty". Doesn't it.
No more so than "taking the Fifth" does. Thousands of people are acquited every month despite refusing to testify themselves.
BTW, I just realized, that you may be able to -- literally -- "take the Fifth" to justify refusing to decrypt your data. Khmm, worth asking a lawyer...
the people are supposed to be able to revoke corporate status
This kind of arbitrary and capricious "revokations" is what makes some countries less inviting to business, than the others. The tend to develop (much) slower as a result.
Power of "you the people" is trivial. It is assuring the power of minorities and downright individuals over their lives (and wealth), that is tricky. Bill Gates ought to be free to do as he pleases -- just as you and me.
His corporation does not exist to benefit "the society" (much less the community -- a dirty word) nor to provide its employees with jobs. It exists to make its owners wealthy. Period. (No, I'm not condoning their breaking the law -- that's a different topic.)
It just so happened, that corporations' activities towards their own good tend to benefit the rest of us. But they can not be destroyed simply because enough voters hate them.
That said, I'm pretty sure, Microsoft would win any such referendum...
that if it were put to vote, MS would get the corporate death penalty according to the poster.
This sort of Democracy was soundly discredited over two thousand years ago, when Athenians (sp?) condemned Socrates to death by poisoning. 400 judges (almost as many as there are Congressmen, but from a much smaller population) heard the case and the majority voted against him...
But, at least, Socrates was accused and convicted of breaking law (against blasphemy). Athenians also had a tradition of, literally, voting off the city people many citizens disliked. I don't know about your ambitions, but I would not want to live in such a society -- I already pissed off a few people. Imagine if Senator Kerry had to go into exile last November... Wow, what people power!
Or do you prefer to live in a corporate oligarchy instead of a democracy?
I suspect, that I would prefer to live in (almost) anything, but what you think is a Democracy. I like America's Republic the most, though, thank you very much.
I hate to sound like a defender of Microsoft, but I fail to see, how people can blame it for having to use it, when the harshest penalty for not using it is losing one's job.
Considering the demographics of the Slashdot crowd, the usual (semi-)acceptable excuse of having to provide for one's family would not apply to most people either.
It is not like you have to live in a jungle with AK-47 or go to GULAG for 15 years... Just say: "No".
against unreasonable searches and seizures [...] but upon probable cause
Searching and seizing his computers was reasonable -- in the opinion of the one judge, who did not even get to his side of the story. Merely "upon probably cause".
His person certainly is much better protected -- a hearing is required before he can be locked for any significant time before full jury trial.
He also can not be beaten or damaged while incarcerated with strict punishments for violators, whereas his computers may spend days in dusty rooms or under rainy sky even with nothing but "oops".
The Constitution DOES protect your property.
It does, but not nearly as well as your person. Surprisingly poorly, in fact -- to everyone, who ever had to deal with such situations. That was my point...
Although your person is pretty well protected by the Constitution, your property is not.
Your computer can be seized -- and pretty quickly. All non-trivial data (including risky photos of your partner) should be encrypted on disk. Major operating systems support this option -- including FreeBSD, Windows, and, no doubt, Linux.
Certainly, "honest people have nothing to hide", but it is not even so much about winning the case (you will, likely, prevail), but also saving yourself a lot of time and money. Your adversary will go through all data found on your machine and your lawyer (don't even think of not hiring one) will be billing you in proportion to the amount of things, the other party brings up. Even if all of it ends up being nothing.
True, the opponent may demand, that you decrypt the data -- but you (your lawyer) can fight that demand -- it will likely be cheaper, than explaining away all messages in your ExEmployer-folder.
Do not rely on mere obscurity -- I found out first-hand, that even FreeBSD is "mainstream" enough for professionals (yes, there is a good market for these services) to know it. They came with software (something from SourceForge) to search through filesystems (very easy -- "grep" for the disk devices). For Linux they'd probably even have GUI.
Treat these guys decently -- they are just doing their jobs. If you do, they are more likely to overlook your older computer, which will let you post about your troubles on Slashdot when they are gone.
Set up encryption. Encrypt your back-ups, before they leave your computer. Do not automate decryption so that it happens by itself on boot (duh!)
When you are done, treat yourself to "Cryptonomicon" for fun and more behind-covering ideas.
...is the accepted mantra, than why is anyone surprised?
Are you using Windows every day? Did you set up a Windows computer for your parents, grandparents, or other friends because FreeBSD/Linux/NetBSD/MacOS is "too complicated"? Then you are the problem...
Slashdot Mirror
Two e-mails to NewEgg (one of them through their web-site) remain unanswered three months later...
I was once looking for a video tape for my friends in Ukraine (different video standard from US). I found it through Yahoo! Shopping Australia...
That said, I also visit CNet and EPinions for product reviews and -- right before buying from a particular vendor -- search Google for
.I wonder, if Linus would plug himself in, though...
For weak/poor contries, there may occasionally be a point in "going through U.N.". For stronger ones it is very foolish indeed.
You could've blamed modern Christianity for its blasting of contraceptives -- the late Pope was quite (in)famous for it -- but you can't because he was also against Iraq war. Talk about weakening one's point.
Plus there is the already mentioned strategic importance. We are not talking about phone-support centers, nor medical-records processing, nor cotton growing here.
Better be polite about it, of course, but do not let go.
The recent Supreme Court ruling shows to many (myself included), that a new law (or, better yet, a clarifying ammendment) is needed, and I'm glad, Congress is finally doing something useful again.
Who are you going to impeach? Supreme Court judges? Yeah, that's what they do in Ecuador and I would not like that...
It may not support all of the latest sound and video cards, but it sure makes a better server.
Congress is busy already. Although you are right, I'd prefer it be set in the Constitution too.
If you -- hating Microsoft so much -- still use it, than you have nothing to add here -- you are the problem and I am the victim of your (in)actions.
We disagree on a much greater picture -- there is no point arguing about trees, when we can't agree on the principle of forest. (Athens was a Democracy -- Sparta was an oligarchy -- but neither really had corporations, so they can not be said to be "much like what we have today".) Socrates was advocating (among other things), that slavery is wrong and that priests and superstitions are foolish. His anti-slavery advocacy is what really pissed people off (slaves were quite affordable in Athens and even the poor had them) -- not just the "blasphemy". He was -- quite democratically -- put to death. They do... And I'm more scared of "the people", than of Microsoft.BTW, I just realized, that you may be able to -- literally -- "take the Fifth" to justify refusing to decrypt your data. Khmm, worth asking a lawyer...
My advice was more generic -- one can sued by someone other than their employer.
Power of "you the people" is trivial. It is assuring the power of minorities and downright individuals over their lives (and wealth), that is tricky. Bill Gates ought to be free to do as he pleases -- just as you and me.
His corporation does not exist to benefit "the society" (much less the community -- a dirty word) nor to provide its employees with jobs. It exists to make its owners wealthy. Period. (No, I'm not condoning their breaking the law -- that's a different topic.)
It just so happened, that corporations' activities towards their own good tend to benefit the rest of us. But they can not be destroyed simply because enough voters hate them.
That said, I'm pretty sure, Microsoft would win any such referendum...
This sort of Democracy was soundly discredited over two thousand years ago, when Athenians (sp?) condemned Socrates to death by poisoning. 400 judges (almost as many as there are Congressmen, but from a much smaller population) heard the case and the majority voted against him...But, at least, Socrates was accused and convicted of breaking law (against blasphemy). Athenians also had a tradition of, literally, voting off the city people many citizens disliked. I don't know about your ambitions, but I would not want to live in such a society -- I already pissed off a few people. Imagine if Senator Kerry had to go into exile last November... Wow, what people power!
I suspect, that I would prefer to live in (almost) anything, but what you think is a Democracy. I like America's Republic the most, though, thank you very much.I hate to sound like a defender of Microsoft, but I fail to see, how people can blame it for having to use it, when the harshest penalty for not using it is losing one's job. Considering the demographics of the Slashdot crowd, the usual (semi-)acceptable excuse of having to provide for one's family would not apply to most people either.
It is not like you have to live in a jungle with AK-47 or go to GULAG for 15 years... Just say: "No".
His person certainly is much better protected -- a hearing is required before he can be locked for any significant time before full jury trial.
He also can not be beaten or damaged while incarcerated with strict punishments for violators, whereas his computers may spend days in dusty rooms or under rainy sky even with nothing but "oops".
It does, but not nearly as well as your person. Surprisingly poorly, in fact -- to everyone, who ever had to deal with such situations. That was my point...Whatever (if anything) ruins the next shuttle, it will likely be not be the same thing, that caused any of the earlier disasters.
Your computer can be seized -- and pretty quickly. All non-trivial data (including risky photos of your partner) should be encrypted on disk. Major operating systems support this option -- including FreeBSD, Windows, and, no doubt, Linux.
Certainly, "honest people have nothing to hide", but it is not even so much about winning the case (you will, likely, prevail), but also saving yourself a lot of time and money. Your adversary will go through all data found on your machine and your lawyer (don't even think of not hiring one) will be billing you in proportion to the amount of things, the other party brings up. Even if all of it ends up being nothing.
True, the opponent may demand, that you decrypt the data -- but you (your lawyer) can fight that demand -- it will likely be cheaper, than explaining away all messages in your ExEmployer-folder.
Do not rely on mere obscurity -- I found out first-hand, that even FreeBSD is "mainstream" enough for professionals (yes, there is a good market for these services) to know it. They came with software (something from SourceForge) to search through filesystems (very easy -- "grep" for the disk devices). For Linux they'd probably even have GUI.
Treat these guys decently -- they are just doing their jobs. If you do, they are more likely to overlook your older computer, which will let you post about your troubles on Slashdot when they are gone.
Set up encryption. Encrypt your back-ups, before they leave your computer. Do not automate decryption so that it happens by itself on boot (duh!)
When you are done, treat yourself to "Cryptonomicon" for fun and more behind-covering ideas.
If you hate it -- do not use it. You will not be sent to jail for that, nor will you be tortured or killed.
Are you using Windows every day? Did you set up a Windows computer for your parents, grandparents, or other friends because FreeBSD/Linux/NetBSD/MacOS is "too complicated"? Then you are the problem...
-1 Offtopic
-1 Consistently bad spelling
*Plonk*