>>>It is an article of their faith that the free market is always more innovative than the government
YES competition is always more innovative than a government monopoly. That is a self-evident truth, because the many produce more ideas than the one. Problem: ISPs are not a free market and never were (except during the brief dialup era). ISPs are monopolies and just like the utility monopolies, need to be regulated. (Or even price fixed.)
Before you go too far with your Republican 5-minute hate, remember which party established Commissions and Czars to help track-and-prosecute copyright (monopoly) infringers and downloaders, for their Hollywood and Record company friends.
That would be the D's. Both parties suck. "We don't have two parties - we have ONE party. The Big Government party with two branches - both of which want to limit your person and your liberty." - Judge Napolitano, http://freedomwatchonfox.com/
>>>it was de facto rule of internet up till this day,
Since when was net neutrality the defacto rule? I don't recall that ever being the case - in fact I remember the earliest ISPs like AOL, Compuserve, Genie, and so on used to put the internet behind a wall and charge extra. Then they opened the wall, but filtered which websites or newsgroups you could visit.
The Democrats did the same thing. How fast was that Bailout Bill passed? 20 days? I think the Stimulus Bill was rammed through even faster, within two weeks of the president taking the oath (in order to beat the Feb 11 Analog TV cutoff). That's 1500 billion spent in less than two months, for legislation none of them had time to read.
It's about time people learn: Both Rep and Dems suck ass.
>>>Without Windows' market share, and the fact that Windows only runs on x86 hardware, Intel wouldn't be where they are today.
Your historical knowledge is not accurate. Intel-based IBM PC-compatibles were already outselling the competition (Atari, Commodore, Apple) by 10-to-1 before windows became commonplace (i.e. before 1991). Intel was already the dominant platform with 90% share and if windows had flopped, we'd simply be using some other OS on Intel CPUs.
That's not quite true. Intel chips would simply be running a different OS, most likely IBM's PC-DOS or PC OS/2. Or maybe even a different third party like GEOS.
As for DRM, all of these companies are reacting defensively to protect their business. It makes perfect sense to put-up walls around themselves & their hardware, rather than embrace an open format that turns Hardware into commodities. That's the mistake IBM made with the PC, and Apple almost made with their Mac clones.
You don't need a gun to kill. You only need your bare hands or a well-placed kick. QED it's not the gun or knife or blunt instrument that kills - it's the owner of the hands/legs
>>>That information is only powerful if people are willing to stand up for it.
There are many Egyptian Telco workers who think, 'If the government tells me to shutdown the ISP connection, I will obey, because the government knows best.' - These are the same types you find in the EU or US who say it's okay for the SA officers to stick hands down passengers' pants (i.e. grope penises) and touch women's breasts.* They think it's okay if the government does it.
* *Pour-out baby's milk in the trash. *Lock people in glass cages. *Have men remove urine/feces bags & dump contents on the floor. *Ask women to remove mastectomy bras. And on and on.
"Well..... Duh." I already knew this. The Egyptian government shutdown the ISPs the same way governments have shutdown Newspaper companies in the past --- by issuing threats.
In fact our OWN government did the same thing to get Amazon and Paypal to stop accepting donations to wikileaks.com.
But I guess it's necessary for Reporters to *document* these events rather than just guess (like I did).
More likely it's just because Bill Gates' protege Ballmer doesn't think software should be free. He learned from Gates' infamous CUG letter from circa 1977. He cited the unfairness of gaining the benefits of software authors' time, effort, and capital without paying them.
It's also reminiscent of how Microsoft sent letters to schools warning them that using open source and/or pirated software could be dangerous with possible legal consequences. As a result we have stories like Karen the Teacher sending a student to detention, because he was handing-out Linux OS discs. (She thought she was doing the right thing based upon Microsoft's warnings.*)
MS actively fights against open source.
* * "No software is free and spreading that misconception is harmful. These children look up to adults for guidance and discipline. I will research this as time allows and I want to assure you, if you are doing anything illegal, I will pursue charges as the law allows." - Teacher to Ubuntu.com
That is the weak point that allows governments to set-up their recorders and track everything the citizens do. We need to find a way to communicate directly with one another.
Either that or an amendment by the Member States to the Union constitution that mandates ISPs, telcos, banks, etc have the same protection as private homes (i.e. require a judge-issued warrant to search a citizen's account).
>>>let them duke it out fairly and then, when they finally have enough of killing each other, we could sit down and help them build something worthwhile. >>>
That sounds like the Star Trek TNG solution. Don't interfere, unless they come to you and ASK for peace. But if they want to keep killing each other, then back away and do nothing.
It's also the solution proposed by our first president. Non-interference with world affairs, while our country lives in peace. Only go to war if the US is invaded and has no other choice.
(1) None of their damn business what color I am, what sex, how much I earn, how old, et cetera. (2) The Member States gave the central union government the authority to enumerate (count me) and nothing more. They were never given the authority to invade my privacy (see point one and amends.9 and 10).
>>>all that would happen from the other side of things is an absolute intransigent refusal to consider any change
What other side? The only thing that's involved are the State Legislatures to assent to the amendment, which they've done 27 times already. This is not an R versus D thing. This is a States issue.
- Also there's such a thing as respect for the Law. And the law is clear. If the member states have not given power to the central government, then that power is reserved to the States. It's as clear as black ink on parchment.
Oh and I'm in good company - Thomas Jefferson who founded your party the Democrats* said the tenth was the most important sentence in the whole of the constitution. I agree with him, and I think it's the best policy to obey that Law, until such time as it has been stricken. (Or appropriate amendments made to grant more powers to the union government.)
* * I'm just guessing you're a D rather than an R. (shrug)
>>>The postal service exist to facilitate communication, which makes a nation possible. I argue that grants Congress the power to build other mediums of communications. >>>
That's now how your interpret Laws. You read what the law actually says, and what it actually says is "The Congress shall have Power To establish Post Offices and post Roads" and "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."
It says not one thing about handing-out books, or giving everybody access to a printing press to print their mail/books, or handing out free pencils or quills..... It says what it says, and reserves all other powers to the Member State.
If you think that is too limiting, that's why the amendment process exists. We've done it 27 times already - including giving Congress power to ban alcohol (and then repealing it) - it's not a big deal to amend the Constitution again. Or even throw it out and create a new one (a constitutional convention).
But you do NOT twist the Law. You enforce the Law as it is written, with no exceptions, and change it as required.
Here's the quote for those who are curious: "Granted, Obama did say "next-generation" wireless, but given the current debate around the definition of fourth generation (4G) wireless, that term now technically includes every variety of mobile broadband faster than 256kbps. It's certain a vast majority of the public will see "next generation" 4G wireless within the next five years without the government lifting a finger.
"That makes this promise much like the FCC's promise to bring 100 Mbps service to 100 Million households in twenty years, something also destined to happen organically (relatively inexpensive DOCSIS 3.0 cable upgrades) without Uncle Sam doing anything. In short, the 98% mark is another meaningless metric designed to impress people who don't pay attention."
>>>is there a serious argument that having a survey of the conditions in the country is not a valid function of government?
I don't have a problem with a survey - it could be considered part of the annual state of the union report. I have a problem if they say I HAVE to answer it, or else face jail time, like they did with the census. Answering that 1 person lives at my house? Cool. Answering what color I am, how old, how much money I make, and other shit? No.
I also have a problem if Congress takes it upon itself to build High speed fiber (or whatever) to every home. It violates our 10th Amendment rights: "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."
The power to provide internet is reserved to the Member States. Or the people (i.e. entrepreneurs). If this is felt to be too restrictive, then amend the Constitution granting the Congress power to create an internet service, akin to how they were given power to create a postal service.
99% of the country is already connected to high speed internet via wireless 3G connections. That only leaves a few nomads living in deserts or montana ranches that can not get "broadband" internet.
* * BTW what is broadband? 100 MHz width? 500 MHz? I've never seen it defined other than the loose "greater than a phoneline's 4 kHz" definition.
>>>Keven the Teacher was doing the right thing. >>>Little Johnny's Dad calls in to tell the >>>Superintendent that his hard drive was wiped.
Sending a kid to detention because the Linux OS Discs he handed-out *might* be taken home and *might* be inserted into dad's computer and *might* wipe the hard drive (but very unlikely), is NOT the responsibility of the teacher. It is not her job to police the home, or the kid, or dad's computer, you stupid Gates-fucking Microsoft associate (ass. for short).
>>>Does you employer allow you to pass out software at work from unknown/untrusted sources?
Yes. Not for work use of course, but for home use is just fine. I've handed-out many Puppy Linux CDs, or links to them.
Why so long? Surely it isn't that difficult to take an existing Nokia phone and port Windows phone 7 to it. Aim for September release so you can take advantage of the coming Christmas spending spree.
"Attack" seems a poor choice of words. In the cold war days we simply called this "spying" or "espionage". The fact the spies are now sitting behind computers instead of sneaking into buildings doesn't require a new word.
It's really just gov't propaganda. "Oh horror! Our country was ATTACKED! We need to lockdown the internet, so we can save you."
Next month Sony will announce that ownership of a PS3 w/o record of having bought any games, indicates the person is a pirate and will result in banning from PSN. (With possible legal action too.)
Slashdot Mirror
>>>It is an article of their faith that the free market is always more innovative than the government
YES competition is always more innovative than a government monopoly. That is a self-evident truth, because the many produce more ideas than the one. Problem: ISPs are not a free market and never were (except during the brief dialup era). ISPs are monopolies and just like the utility monopolies, need to be regulated. (Or even price fixed.)
Before you go too far with your Republican 5-minute hate, remember which party established Commissions and Czars to help track-and-prosecute copyright (monopoly) infringers and downloaders, for their Hollywood and Record company friends.
That would be the D's.
Both parties suck.
"We don't have two parties - we have ONE party. The Big Government party with two branches - both of which want to limit your person and your liberty." - Judge Napolitano, http://freedomwatchonfox.com/
>>>it was de facto rule of internet up till this day,
Since when was net neutrality the defacto rule? I don't recall that ever being the case - in fact I remember the earliest ISPs like AOL, Compuserve, Genie, and so on used to put the internet behind a wall and charge extra. Then they opened the wall, but filtered which websites or newsgroups you could visit.
The Democrats did the same thing. How fast was that Bailout Bill passed? 20 days? I think the Stimulus Bill was rammed through even faster, within two weeks of the president taking the oath (in order to beat the Feb 11 Analog TV cutoff). That's 1500 billion spent in less than two months, for legislation none of them had time to read.
It's about time people learn: Both Rep and Dems suck ass.
Monopolies need to be regulated Mr. Congresscritter.
Jeez. Maybe we can appeal to our Member State Legislatures to regulate the Comcasts, Verizons, and other monopolies inside their borders.
>>>Without Windows' market share, and the fact that Windows only runs on x86 hardware, Intel wouldn't be where they are today.
Your historical knowledge is not accurate. Intel-based IBM PC-compatibles were already outselling the competition (Atari, Commodore, Apple) by 10-to-1 before windows became commonplace (i.e. before 1991). Intel was already the dominant platform with 90% share and if windows had flopped, we'd simply be using some other OS on Intel CPUs.
That's not quite true. Intel chips would simply be running a different OS, most likely IBM's PC-DOS or PC OS/2. Or maybe even a different third party like GEOS.
As for DRM, all of these companies are reacting defensively to protect their business. It makes perfect sense to put-up walls around themselves & their hardware, rather than embrace an open format that turns Hardware into commodities. That's the mistake IBM made with the PC, and Apple almost made with their Mac clones.
You don't need a gun to kill. You only need your bare hands or a well-placed kick. QED it's not the gun or knife or blunt instrument that kills - it's the owner of the hands/legs
People kill.
>>>That information is only powerful if people are willing to stand up for it.
There are many Egyptian Telco workers who think, 'If the government tells me to shutdown the ISP connection, I will obey, because the government knows best.' - These are the same types you find in the EU or US who say it's okay for the SA officers to stick hands down passengers' pants (i.e. grope penises) and touch women's breasts.* They think it's okay if the government does it.
*
*Pour-out baby's milk in the trash.
*Lock people in glass cages.
*Have men remove urine/feces bags & dump contents on the floor.
*Ask women to remove mastectomy bras. And on and on.
Or as we used to say in the 80s:
"Well..... Duh." I already knew this. The Egyptian government shutdown the ISPs the same way governments have shutdown Newspaper companies in the past --- by issuing threats.
In fact our OWN government did the same thing to get Amazon and Paypal to stop accepting donations to wikileaks.com.
But I guess it's necessary for Reporters to *document* these events rather than just guess (like I did).
>>>Fidonet still exists
Great! I miss fidonet. Where do I access it?
>>>the service has to be provided by someone for there to be any internet
There was internet before ISPs existed.
More likely it's just because Bill Gates' protege Ballmer doesn't think software should be free. He learned from Gates' infamous CUG letter from circa 1977. He cited the unfairness of gaining the benefits of software authors' time, effort, and capital without paying them.
It's also reminiscent of how Microsoft sent letters to schools warning them that using open source and/or pirated software could be dangerous with possible legal consequences. As a result we have stories like Karen the Teacher sending a student to detention, because he was handing-out Linux OS discs. (She thought she was doing the right thing based upon Microsoft's warnings.*)
MS actively fights against open source.
*
* "No software is free and spreading that misconception is harmful. These children look up to adults for guidance and discipline. I will research this as time allows and I want to assure you, if you are doing anything illegal, I will pursue charges as the law allows." - Teacher to Ubuntu.com
That is the weak point that allows governments to set-up their recorders and track everything the citizens do. We need to find a way to communicate directly with one another.
Either that or an amendment by the Member States to the Union constitution that mandates ISPs, telcos, banks, etc have the same protection as private homes (i.e. require a judge-issued warrant to search a citizen's account).
>>>let them duke it out fairly and then, when they finally have enough of killing each other, we could sit down and help them build something worthwhile.
>>>
That sounds like the Star Trek TNG solution. Don't interfere, unless they come to you and ASK for peace. But if they want to keep killing each other, then back away and do nothing.
It's also the solution proposed by our first president. Non-interference with world affairs, while our country lives in peace. Only go to war if the US is invaded and has no other choice.
>>>what is the reason for your refusal?
(1) None of their damn business what color I am, what sex, how much I earn, how old, et cetera. (2) The Member States gave the central union government the authority to enumerate (count me) and nothing more. They were never given the authority to invade my privacy (see point one and amends.9 and 10).
>>>all that would happen from the other side of things is an absolute intransigent refusal to consider any change
What other side? The only thing that's involved are the State Legislatures to assent to the amendment, which they've done 27 times already. This is not an R versus D thing. This is a States issue.
- Also there's such a thing as respect for the Law. And the law is clear. If the member states have not given power to the central government, then that power is reserved to the States. It's as clear as black ink on parchment.
Oh and I'm in good company - Thomas Jefferson who founded your party the Democrats* said the tenth was the most important sentence in the whole of the constitution. I agree with him, and I think it's the best policy to obey that Law, until such time as it has been stricken. (Or appropriate amendments made to grant more powers to the union government.)
*
* I'm just guessing you're a D rather than an R. (shrug)
>>>The postal service exist to facilitate communication, which makes a nation possible. I argue that grants Congress the power to build other mediums of communications.
>>>
That's now how your interpret Laws. You read what the law actually says, and what it actually says is "The Congress shall have Power To establish Post Offices and post Roads" and "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."
It says not one thing about handing-out books, or giving everybody access to a printing press to print their mail/books, or handing out free pencils or quills..... It says what it says, and reserves all other powers to the Member State.
If you think that is too limiting, that's why the amendment process exists. We've done it 27 times already - including giving Congress power to ban alcohol (and then repealing it) - it's not a big deal to amend the Constitution again. Or even throw it out and create a new one (a constitutional convention).
But you do NOT twist the Law. You enforce the Law as it is written, with no exceptions, and change it as required.
Here's the quote for those who are curious: "Granted, Obama did say "next-generation" wireless, but given the current debate around the definition of fourth generation (4G) wireless, that term now technically includes every variety of mobile broadband faster than 256kbps. It's certain a vast majority of the public will see "next generation" 4G wireless within the next five years without the government lifting a finger.
"That makes this promise much like the FCC's promise to bring 100 Mbps service to 100 Million households in twenty years, something also destined to happen organically (relatively inexpensive DOCSIS 3.0 cable upgrades) without Uncle Sam doing anything. In short, the 98% mark is another meaningless metric designed to impress people who don't pay attention."
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Why-Obamas-98-Wireless-Goal-Is-Empty-Rhetoric-112429
>>>is there a serious argument that having a survey of the conditions in the country is not a valid function of government?
I don't have a problem with a survey - it could be considered part of the annual state of the union report. I have a problem if they say I HAVE to answer it, or else face jail time, like they did with the census. Answering that 1 person lives at my house? Cool. Answering what color I am, how old, how much money I make, and other shit? No.
I also have a problem if Congress takes it upon itself to build High speed fiber (or whatever) to every home. It violates our 10th Amendment rights: "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."
The power to provide internet is reserved to the Member States. Or the people (i.e. entrepreneurs). If this is felt to be too restrictive, then amend the Constitution granting the Congress power to create an internet service, akin to how they were given power to create a postal service.
According to DSLreports.com:
99% of the country is already connected to high speed internet via wireless 3G connections. That only leaves a few nomads living in deserts or montana ranches that can not get "broadband" internet.
*
* BTW what is broadband? 100 MHz width? 500 MHz? I've never seen it defined other than the loose "greater than a phoneline's 4 kHz" definition.
>>>When times are tight, they hate ambiguity in their heroes
And yet Spiderman 3 was the best-selling of the whole franchise, and Peter Parker was very ambiguous in that flick.
>>>Keven the Teacher was doing the right thing.
>>>Little Johnny's Dad calls in to tell the
>>>Superintendent that his hard drive was wiped.
Sending a kid to detention because the Linux OS Discs he handed-out *might* be taken home and *might* be inserted into dad's computer and *might* wipe the hard drive (but very unlikely), is NOT the responsibility of the teacher. It is not her job to police the home, or the kid, or dad's computer, you stupid Gates-fucking Microsoft associate (ass. for short).
>>>Does you employer allow you to pass out software at work from unknown/untrusted sources?
Yes. Not for work use of course, but for home use is just fine. I've handed-out many Puppy Linux CDs, or links to them.
>>>With the first Nokia/WP phones slated for 2012
Why so long? Surely it isn't that difficult to take an existing Nokia phone and port Windows phone 7 to it. Aim for September release so you can take advantage of the coming Christmas spending spree.
"Attack" seems a poor choice of words. In the cold war days we simply called this "spying" or "espionage". The fact the spies are now sitting behind computers instead of sneaking into buildings doesn't require a new word.
It's really just gov't propaganda. "Oh horror! Our country was ATTACKED! We need to lockdown the internet, so we can save you."
Next month Sony will announce that ownership of a PS3 w/o record of having bought any games, indicates the person is a pirate and will result in banning from PSN. (With possible legal action too.)