Let's stop using that "Spanish" language in any public documents. This is a language that unfairly assigns a 'gender' to every noun.
Unless the Spanish speaking Mexican American population of Los Angeles county agree to replace the 'le' and 'la' with something more gender nutural, then all people working with, or receiving services will have to do so in the English language.
That's what always bugged me. X-10 made some pretty dang good products. But after a wile, I got so annoyed with their pop-up/under ads, I stoped buying from them. I even sent them a letter asking "Why do you go out of your way to annoy customers?"
There was no reply.
I always figured they would go under because their customer base would eventually get fed up with their gosh awful advertisment techniques. Who'd a thunk it would be like this. An odd, uneasy karmic justice.
Oh well, hopefully somebody else will fill the gap they left behind.
I hope this starts the begginings of another space race. With our (America's) woefully old technology, hopefully the Chinese will catch up soon and force us to start really innovating again.
Yes, there are valid reasons why America has been so lax in the development of space travel. Mostly the fact that we can't seem to justify the expense in light of the profound economic problems in our country.
Of course, there is the opinion...my opinion...that in the long run, mankind's advancement in space is far more important then short term economic woes. And if it takes one of our (America's) uneasy neighbors to start making us nervous for us to get back on the ball in full ernest, then it's a good thing.
The small part of the review that did mention audio quality (as opposed to the endless words gushing about the unit's features) appeared to be addressing a very subjective analysis of the sound reproduction.
Which, at times can be useful. A unit can have poor numbers and still sound wonderful to certian folks. There are countless audiophiles who swear by ancient turn tables or stereo speakers which on paper sport poor numbers, but still seem to make their listners very, very happy.
Conversly, there are units with exceptional stats that ultimatly just don't sound that great. I'm not saying numbers aren't important, but they alone are hardley a judge for 'audiophile' quality.
it's obvious that people act to further their own interests. And in fact, the science of economics is founded on this observation
No, the science of economics was founded on the concept of alocation and distribution of scarce resources. While it can be inferred by extension that humans will typically act in their own best interests in order to maximize their share of these resources, the science of economics is hardly based on that fact.
The distinction is subtle, but important. So much of modern economics relies on the fact that greater economic efficency can be obtained through pariatio efficent solutions, it sort of flies in the face of the assumption that the course of study was founded upon entirly self serving interests.
Why would the government grant amnesty from people who are committing an illegal act?
Actually, I was refering to allowing legal p2p file trading. As the law is interpreted now, everyone with Kazaa on their computers is assumed guilty and gone after by corporations. A politician with the people's interests in mind would revert to the triditional 'innocent until proven guilty' when it comes to p2p networks.
In other words, when I download a copy of a CD which I already own off the Internet, I'm not going to be saddled with a lawsuit.
I'm not talking about what is legal or illegal, I'm talking about using political authority to determine what is legal or illegal.
As an amature writer myself, I find the best tool for writing is the network itself.
At different times I like to write in different environments. Sometimes, sitting at the desk with a full sized screen provides me with the best setup. Othertimes, depending on mood, sitting in bed with my laptop works best.
With the network, I can go wherever I want and the work will always be saved on my central server. Even if I'm 1,000 miles away I can access my network remotly and dabble with works in process.
As a geek who has set up AV and computer systems for 'average' family members, I've found that getting the thing working is by far the easy part.
It's when you say goodbye and leave the house that the problems start happining. Computer drivers become muddled. Wifi networks magically stop connecting. Stereo settings become off.
And you end up dreding answering your phone because you're going to have to do tech support.
To the average person, keeping a hi tech setup in good working order is difficult. (My stereo doesn't work. After hours of troubleshooting over the phone, you discover it's because they hit the 'a' speaker button while cleaning the recevier).
Keeping a computer system in top condition is even harder. "Of course I clicked on that attachment. It said it was from microsoft and it would clean the virus out of my computer".
Simply amazing. The citizens want you gone, so you use your power to help pass laws that the citizen actually wants!
What's next?
Amnisty for p2p traders? Caps on insurance hikes? Regulation of energy to keep costs down? Actually following the letter and intent of the weed decrimilization law?
As a Californian who isn't too fond of Davis, I have to snicker a bit. So the threat of being kicked out actually does make law makers push to enact laws that the average person wants, instead of pandering to corperations.
Gosh, the next thing you know, Davis will be the champion of providing a quality education.
Are VCs stupid? At least in the late 90s, they could invest in a company which any 12 year old could see will not make a profit, and take some profits at the IPO.
This simply won't work for obvious ways.
Consumer: So, this box will cost me $400. Retailer: Yes Consumer: And basically all it is is a PC made with off the shelf parts. Retailer: Yes Consumer: And there's no CD drives or external way of transferring data Retailer: You can through our service Consumer: Can I open it up and put in my own hardware? Retailer: No. If you do you will be in trouble. Consumer: Well, I guess that's OK. It's just going to be a game box. It can play games right? Retailer: Oh yes. Lots of them. Consumer: And I can play all the games I want for $9.95 a month? Retailer: Oh no, some games are included with the subscription price; others will cost you extra money. Consumer: Which ones will cost me extra? Retailer: The good ones. Consumer: So for $9.95 I get to play all the crummy games I want, and the right to pay more for ones I'd actually want to play? Retailer: You also get targeted commercial content. Consumer: Ooo... that sounds interesting. What exactly is that? Retailer: Ads. Consumer: So for $400 and a $9.95 a month, I get a computer I can't touch, all the games I've never heard of, lots of ads and the privilege of paying for the good games, which I could do at any store with an X-box or Playstation while actually getting the physical media? Sign me up! Retailer: Sounds great! While you're here, can I interest you in some volcano insurance?
You're a parent, and you see a video game in the store with a felony listed as the title, a mature sticker on the cover and dozens of references to perversion, violence and murder all over the packaging.
And then you let your 14 year old kid play it.
A few months later your 14 year old kid is picking off moterists with his brother because they're "bored".
And somehow it's the fault of the company that built the system that the violent game was initially (not exclusivly, initially)?
I don't want to have imbedded technology in my cloathing. Heck, if they never wore out, I'd never replace my current clothing. Build me a nice oxford shirt that works just like cotton and lasts forever, and I'll be first in line to buy it.
What I want is for them to design a cell phone/PDA/computer that's small enough to fit in my pocket, large enough not to get lost, and durable enough not to get scratched up by my keys and loose change or get broken when I fall on it. (This happens often. Don't ask)
After the average world citizen has gone through their 2nd or 3rd generations of cell phones or PDAs, I have a feeling they will be wanting something like this.
I was thinking something along the same lines. Just about anything you can think of in the world of science fiction has been done, usually much better then you can. The genre has been all but exausted in terms of ideas.
Fantasy, on the other hand is still a relitivly unexplored genre. Theres simply more avanues availble to explore to the creative writer.
All those shows can be found on competetors like Dish Network (which I guess is sort of Direct TV now) or digital cable.
I need my direct TV because they are the only ones running Sunday ticket through what is, while not illegal, is certianlly an immoral non competitive agreement with the NFL.
Because I have to pay $200 a year to see what would be free if I lived 3,000 miles away, and because my sister who hates football has to pay Direct TV extra due to the fact that they are still losing money on the NFL agreement, I say let 'em burn.
Typically the RIAA has international agreements with most major record lables.
What you might be able to do, if you were an artist, is provide your own copywrited work, make sure that you put somewhere in the description that "This file is only for use for backup of an owned CD. The artist is not associated with the RIAA". If the RIAA downloads it, you then might be able to sue them for the insane amount of money they themselves value copywrite infringement at.
Of course, you'd have to have a lot of up frount money to get a lawyer to do it right.
It's very simple: Slashdot gives moderator points to retarded individuals who are, quite frankly, idiots.
For example, the moderator who will most likely mod this comment down, ignoring the insightful and informative comments on this thread that should be modded up, is probably an idiot.
Further a compaing of speeding and sharing of copyrighted material is fallacious in that speeding, unlike P2P sharing, does not cause econonomic harm.
I think you misunderstood the point the initial poster was making. The distinction that was made had nothing to do with the ethics invovled between the two. It is an apt comparison when looking at the issue of law vs. deviant behavoir.
Incidently, the economic harm caused by the file sharing is indirect. Much like the economic harm caused by speeding (envrionmental degradation, property damage and medical costs caused by increased accidents, etc.)
one cannot help feeling that IP law, in its current form, may have outlived its usefulness.
I think you hit the nail on the head there. In its current form, IP law doesn't protect the interests of the author of the work. And it's precisely because of that that most people don't see any major moral problem with file sharing.
As they stand, our copywrite laws protect the rights of the copywrite owners. Which in and of itself is not a bad thing. The problem arises when the only way an artist can ever hope to become successful is to give the ownership of his work over to a large corporation, which controls most avenues of production, promotion and distribution of the artist's work in the world.
The Internet has the potential to change that; when online digital music distribution becomes more commonplace, the individual artist can eventually have the ability to successfully promote, publish and distribute his work without the need to go to a major record label. I haven't seen an artist rise to prominence by divorcing himself from the conventional music industry and exclusively using the Internet yet, but hopefully it will happen soon.
Until that happens (if it does), one of two things need to change in the law. IP law needs to be changed so the initial author of the work has greater control over how that work is used. Or, we can leave IP law alone and start looking at the legality of the virtual monopoly (and subsequent corruption) the recording industry has over all aspects of production and distribution.
It has been my opinion that the RIAA is so heavily against file sharing not because it hurts revenue through theft, but because it has such a great potential to remove them from the loop altogether.
There are certain attributes in 'try before you buy,'" said David Nixon, the executive producer of RealOneArcade. "They have to be a small download. They have to be understood easily. They have to get you hooked right away.
Note the conspicious lack of the modifer "It has to be good" or "It has to be something the end user would enjoy".
The problem with big business in small gaming is that they are going to do their best to apply a formula to it and base their research and production on that formula, instead of actual quality or talent.
And then scratching their heads when a crappy game that follows the "proven formula" fails, why do I have the feeling they will make up all sorts of figures about changing markets.
Slashdot Mirror
Let's stop using that "Spanish" language in any public documents. This is a language that unfairly assigns a 'gender' to every noun.
Unless the Spanish speaking Mexican American population of Los Angeles county agree to replace the 'le' and 'la' with something more gender nutural, then all people working with, or receiving services will have to do so in the English language.
You sexist pigs.
That's what always bugged me. X-10 made some pretty dang good products. But after a wile, I got so annoyed with their pop-up/under ads, I stoped buying from them. I even sent them a letter asking "Why do you go out of your way to annoy customers?"
There was no reply.
I always figured they would go under because their customer base would eventually get fed up with their gosh awful advertisment techniques. Who'd a thunk it would be like this. An odd, uneasy karmic justice.
Oh well, hopefully somebody else will fill the gap they left behind.
I hope this starts the begginings of another space race. With our (America's) woefully old technology, hopefully the Chinese will catch up soon and force us to start really innovating again.
Yes, there are valid reasons why America has been so lax in the development of space travel. Mostly the fact that we can't seem to justify the expense in light of the profound economic problems in our country.
Of course, there is the opinion...my opinion...that in the long run, mankind's advancement in space is far more important then short term economic woes. And if it takes one of our (America's) uneasy neighbors to start making us nervous for us to get back on the ball in full ernest, then it's a good thing.
The small part of the review that did mention audio quality (as opposed to the endless words gushing about the unit's features) appeared to be addressing a very subjective analysis of the sound reproduction.
Which, at times can be useful. A unit can have poor numbers and still sound wonderful to certian folks. There are countless audiophiles who swear by ancient turn tables or stereo speakers which on paper sport poor numbers, but still seem to make their listners very, very happy.
Conversly, there are units with exceptional stats that ultimatly just don't sound that great. I'm not saying numbers aren't important, but they alone are hardley a judge for 'audiophile' quality.
it's obvious that people act to further their own interests. And in fact, the science of economics is founded on this observation
No, the science of economics was founded on the concept of alocation and distribution of scarce resources. While it can be inferred by extension that humans will typically act in their own best interests in order to maximize their share of these resources, the science of economics is hardly based on that fact.
The distinction is subtle, but important. So much of modern economics relies on the fact that greater economic efficency can be obtained through pariatio efficent solutions, it sort of flies in the face of the assumption that the course of study was founded upon entirly self serving interests.
...upon discovering there is a documentary about a new, better couch on channel 27 ...
"Turn to channel 27 couch"
no response
"Turn to channel 27 couch"
'You know Don, you appear to be under a lot of stress. Perhaps you should let me order you some Chinese food delivered'
"Turn to channel 27 couch"
'I know you and your roomates have been thinking about getting a new couch. I saw... I read your lips'
"Turn to channel 27 couch"
'I'm sorry Don, I'm afraid I can't do that'
Why would the government grant amnesty from people who are committing an illegal act?
Actually, I was refering to allowing legal p2p file trading. As the law is interpreted now, everyone with Kazaa on their computers is assumed guilty and gone after by corporations. A politician with the people's interests in mind would revert to the triditional 'innocent until proven guilty' when it comes to p2p networks.
In other words, when I download a copy of a CD which I already own off the Internet, I'm not going to be saddled with a lawsuit.
I'm not talking about what is legal or illegal, I'm talking about using political authority to determine what is legal or illegal.
As an amature writer myself, I find the best tool for writing is the network itself.
At different times I like to write in different environments. Sometimes, sitting at the desk with a full sized screen provides me with the best setup. Othertimes, depending on mood, sitting in bed with my laptop works best.
With the network, I can go wherever I want and the work will always be saved on my central server. Even if I'm 1,000 miles away I can access my network remotly and dabble with works in process.
As a geek who has set up AV and computer systems for 'average' family members, I've found that getting the thing working is by far the easy part.
It's when you say goodbye and leave the house that the problems start happining. Computer drivers become muddled. Wifi networks magically stop connecting. Stereo settings become off.
And you end up dreding answering your phone because you're going to have to do tech support.
To the average person, keeping a hi tech setup in good working order is difficult. (My stereo doesn't work. After hours of troubleshooting over the phone, you discover it's because they hit the 'a' speaker button while cleaning the recevier).
Keeping a computer system in top condition is even harder. "Of course I clicked on that attachment. It said it was from microsoft and it would clean the virus out of my computer".
Simply amazing. The citizens want you gone, so you use your power to help pass laws that the citizen actually wants!
What's next?
Amnisty for p2p traders?
Caps on insurance hikes?
Regulation of energy to keep costs down?
Actually following the letter and intent of the weed decrimilization law?
As a Californian who isn't too fond of Davis, I have to snicker a bit. So the threat of being kicked out actually does make law makers push to enact laws that the average person wants, instead of pandering to corperations.
Gosh, the next thing you know, Davis will be the champion of providing a quality education.
Are VCs stupid? At least in the late 90s, they could invest in a company which any 12 year old could see will not make a profit, and take some profits at the IPO.
This simply won't work for obvious ways.
Consumer: So, this box will cost me $400.
Retailer: Yes
Consumer: And basically all it is is a PC made with off the shelf parts.
Retailer: Yes
Consumer: And there's no CD drives or external way of transferring data
Retailer: You can through our service
Consumer: Can I open it up and put in my own hardware?
Retailer: No. If you do you will be in trouble.
Consumer: Well, I guess that's OK. It's just going to be a game box. It can play games right?
Retailer: Oh yes. Lots of them.
Consumer: And I can play all the games I want for $9.95 a month?
Retailer: Oh no, some games are included with the subscription price; others will cost you extra money.
Consumer: Which ones will cost me extra?
Retailer: The good ones.
Consumer: So for $9.95 I get to play all the crummy games I want, and the right to pay more for ones I'd actually want to play?
Retailer: You also get targeted commercial content.
Consumer: Ooo... that sounds interesting. What exactly is that?
Retailer: Ads.
Consumer: So for $400 and a $9.95 a month, I get a computer I can't touch, all the games I've never heard of, lots of ads and the privilege of paying for the good games, which I could do at any store with an X-box or Playstation while actually getting the physical media? Sign me up!
Retailer: Sounds great! While you're here, can I interest you in some volcano insurance?
You're a parent, and you see a video game in the store with a felony listed as the title, a mature sticker on the cover and dozens of references to perversion, violence and murder all over the packaging.
And then you let your 14 year old kid play it.
A few months later your 14 year old kid is picking off moterists with his brother because they're "bored".
And somehow it's the fault of the company that built the system that the violent game was initially (not exclusivly, initially)?
The world is going nuts.
And where, exactly, would the end user put that seal?
"No baby, check it out. This thing it terror free! It's got the seal right here. Wait, wait, hold on a minute. Ok, no.... ahh there it is!"
I don't want to have imbedded technology in my cloathing. Heck, if they never wore out, I'd never replace my current clothing. Build me a nice oxford shirt that works just like cotton and lasts forever, and I'll be first in line to buy it.
What I want is for them to design a cell phone/PDA/computer that's small enough to fit in my pocket, large enough not to get lost, and durable enough not to get scratched up by my keys and loose change or get broken when I fall on it. (This happens often. Don't ask)
After the average world citizen has gone through their 2nd or 3rd generations of cell phones or PDAs, I have a feeling they will be wanting something like this.
I was thinking something along the same lines. Just about anything you can think of in the world of science fiction has been done, usually much better then you can. The genre has been all but exausted in terms of ideas.
Fantasy, on the other hand is still a relitivly unexplored genre. Theres simply more avanues availble to explore to the creative writer.
All those shows can be found on competetors like Dish Network (which I guess is sort of Direct TV now) or digital cable.
I need my direct TV because they are the only ones running Sunday ticket through what is, while not illegal, is certianlly an immoral non competitive agreement with the NFL.
Because I have to pay $200 a year to see what would be free if I lived 3,000 miles away, and because my sister who hates football has to pay Direct TV extra due to the fact that they are still losing money on the NFL agreement, I say let 'em burn.
I'd rather push my MG then drive a Triumph.
Then again, I usually did.
WARNING: This joke will not work on the continental States
No, our hairdressers drive Miatas too. Especially the bloke hairdressers.
Typically the RIAA has international agreements with most major record lables.
What you might be able to do, if you were an artist, is provide your own copywrited work, make sure that you put somewhere in the description that "This file is only for use for backup of an owned CD. The artist is not associated with the RIAA". If the RIAA downloads it, you then might be able to sue them for the insane amount of money they themselves value copywrite infringement at.
Of course, you'd have to have a lot of up frount money to get a lawyer to do it right.
You just made me laugh more then I have laughed in over a month. Amazing. Simply amazing.
It's very simple: Slashdot gives moderator points to retarded individuals who are, quite frankly, idiots.
For example, the moderator who will most likely mod this comment down, ignoring the insightful and informative comments on this thread that should be modded up, is probably an idiot.
I run a day-care center and am very interested in your idea.
VERY interested.
Further a compaing of speeding and sharing of copyrighted material is fallacious in that speeding, unlike P2P sharing, does not cause econonomic harm.
I think you misunderstood the point the initial poster was making. The distinction that was made had nothing to do with the ethics invovled between the two. It is an apt comparison when looking at the issue of law vs. deviant behavoir.
Incidently, the economic harm caused by the file sharing is indirect. Much like the economic harm caused by speeding (envrionmental degradation, property damage and medical costs caused by increased accidents, etc.)
one cannot help feeling that IP law, in its current form, may have outlived its usefulness.
I think you hit the nail on the head there. In its current form, IP law doesn't protect the interests of the author of the work. And it's precisely because of that that most people don't see any major moral problem with file sharing.
As they stand, our copywrite laws protect the rights of the copywrite owners. Which in and of itself is not a bad thing. The problem arises when the only way an artist can ever hope to become successful is to give the ownership of his work over to a large corporation, which controls most avenues of production, promotion and distribution of the artist's work in the world.
The Internet has the potential to change that; when online digital music distribution becomes more commonplace, the individual artist can eventually have the ability to successfully promote, publish and distribute his work without the need to go to a major record label. I haven't seen an artist rise to prominence by divorcing himself from the conventional music industry and exclusively using the Internet yet, but hopefully it will happen soon.
Until that happens (if it does), one of two things need to change in the law. IP law needs to be changed so the initial author of the work has greater control over how that work is used. Or, we can leave IP law alone and start looking at the legality of the virtual monopoly (and subsequent corruption) the recording industry has over all aspects of production and distribution.
It has been my opinion that the RIAA is so heavily against file sharing not because it hurts revenue through theft, but because it has such a great potential to remove them from the loop altogether.
There are certain attributes in 'try before you buy,'" said David Nixon, the executive producer of RealOneArcade. "They have to be a small download. They have to be understood easily. They have to get you hooked right away.
Note the conspicious lack of the modifer "It has to be good" or "It has to be something the end user would enjoy".
The problem with big business in small gaming is that they are going to do their best to apply a formula to it and base their research and production on that formula, instead of actual quality or talent.
And then scratching their heads when a crappy game that follows the "proven formula" fails, why do I have the feeling they will make up all sorts of figures about changing markets.
heh