How would you feel upon learning that the local mobster, after being caught for extortion proposes, offers, as his punishment, to donate some money to a charity.
What people seem to forget is that Microsoft has destroyed companies, hurt consumers, and generally played the all-around bad guy, and yet no only do they get to propose a "penalty" (I use that term lightly), but they get to propose a penalty that actually tightens their stranglehold!
Apple always did well in the school market, and now they have to stand aside as Microsoft "punishes" their way massively into that market.
So RIAA threatens to sue under DCMA if Felton publishes his research. This scares Felton and he doesn't publish. Doesn't appreciate the threat so he sues. RIAA withdraws "threat". Court says, "Well, there is no threat now, so case dismissed."
Here's the implications:
RIAA threatens to sue under DCMA if continues to . gets scared and stops . sues. RIAA withdraws threat. Case dismissed.
My father was a minister, and he followed an unwritten (I think) rule that said pretty much "when you leave a church, LEAVE it." Horror stories abound of retired ministers who still attended the old church they used to preach at.
This should be no different. By all means hand the project over, but then sever all ties to the project. Accept the fact that someone else is at the helm, and they may have a different vision than you.
"Internet browsing on your toaster. Now you can catch up with your surfing while you make yourself breakfast!"
Is the net this important to people? Why on earth would I need a web browser in my handicam? Can't they put the R&D money wasted on this isn't something more useful...like how to do better than a 1 hour recording time???
Followed the one link to the recent bug in IE, and was provided with the following interesting link [m$].
A great quote from this article: "The relationship between information anarchy and the recent spate of worms is undeniable. Every one of these worms exploited vulnerabilities for which step-by-step exploit instructions had been widely published. But the evidence is more far conclusive than that. Not only do the worms exploit the same vulnerabilities, they do so using the same techniques as were published - in some cases even going so far as to use the same file names and identical exploit code. This is not a coincidence. Clearly, the publication of exploit details about the vulnerabilities contributed to their use as weapons. "
In other words, "Please don't publish anything about security flaws you find in our products. All this does is spread viruses."
Translate out of M$ speech: "Please don't make us and our products look bad by publishing this info."
Fortune 100 companies and big megaliths with thousands of employees. It is fairly safe to label these employees as technically illiterate. Most need a computer to type documents and read email. Even the smallest of software switches causes widespread confusion. I worked for one company where they changed the mail from some old system to Lotus Notes. Everyone had to take a 4 hour course to "learn" how to use a blasted email program!
Imagine switching not only their email program, but also their office suite and their OS. Widespread pandamonium! The cost (Linux may be free, but training certainly isn't!) is too much.
Hmmm...good point. Morpheous (eus?) definately has a use outside of copyright violations.
However, the problem is that as long as some company is making money off of the piracy of copyrighted works, RIAA will have a legal handhold on them. If MusicCity can prove that a significant portion of traffic is non-infringing (ala the betamax case) then they may have a chance. It would have been much easier for them had they simply left out the ads though (maybe not the best business practices of course).
The RIAA and Motion Picture Association of America argue that this case differs little from those against Napster, Scour and Aimster, other file-swapping services that have been sued or shut down. All three companies are profiting from the trades of copyrighted works, or "building a business on the back of piracy" as the trade group executives are fond of saying.
That's the problem with this....RIAA is actually correct. MusicCity, by serving up ads, is profiting from the piracy of content.
What we need is someone to drum up some Morpheus-like software, and to release it as open source sans-ads. Then RIAA cannot argue their "they're making money off our copyrighted works" and will have little hope of winning on those grounds.
Ya ya ya....so some crusty old bugger took a non-digital photo of Clinton hugging Lewinksy. Wow, it's a good thing that photo wasn't "deleted". Just think of the implications that would have had to US history! Oh wait...some tabloids would have had to run a few more weeks with that dreaded Ramsey murder story instead.
What a useless arguement. There's nothing preventing a journalist from keeping all photos from a digital camera. If anything, digital photos are much easier to store, catalog, and retrieve. That they don't do it is their own fault!
Ok, so Netscape and IE both allow you to disable cookies. Woohoo. How usefull is that? Your other choice is confirming each cookie. Ever tried surfing with that option on?
I'm sure there are some third-party software products that allow users to assess each cookie once and allow/deny it forever (ie. yahoo cookie allow, doubleclick cookie deny). Why is that so hard to include with the browser?!?
Apparantly the banner adds were losing effectiveness, so ThinkGeek asked Slashdot guys to do up a story disguised as an add. OSDN may be losing lots of money . . . but, damn! Talk about un-subtle.
OO databases mixed with XML == Very bad performance
This may be great for acadamia, or perhaps small projects, but in "The Real World"(tm) this won't fly. As a performance guy working on a big system, I can tell you that using OO databases and/or XML queries/storage will butcher performance.
For most of our clients, performance is the #1 concern, as that is what dictates hardware. Buying one 32-way p680 for a typical RDMS solution -vs two for a fancy OO/XML solution isn't much of a choice.
If I type in "Jew" and use the thesarus should it provide "kike" or "mud-person"? Or how about if I put in "white" should it fill in "trailer-trash" or "cracker"? How about if I put in "gay" - how about "ass-master" or "faggot". Blacks? How about "nigger" or "one of those them there coloreds".
Well, if those words were part of an established dictionary, then yes, a proper thesarus should suggest those words. Duh.
There's a reason Microsoft won the browser war. They shipped their browser on new PCs, and restricted the big computer sellers from including anything else. Granted, most people on slashdot are more than capable of downloading Netscape, but the general public isn't.
That's why there will never be an open source monopoly. Until PCs ship with open source programs, 95% of the computing public isn't going to be using anything except that which came with their computer.
Here's a comment from my tech-illiterate wife: "Get that damn Linux installed -- I'm sick of this s**t from Microsoft!"
If my wife, of all people, is asking for an alternative to M$'s stuff, then there really is some hope. Linux may never get beyond a 10% desktop share, but just giving up because there's no good spell checker for Linux is silly.
Did you know that video games make more than the entire movie industry? Do you realize how much money is available for games out there. When you have billions of dollars up for grabs, a small piece of the crowded marketplace is still a big piece of the pie.
I don't get it. I can read/. daily and see some story regarding Napster or DeCSS and how evil Sony and crowd are, and yet post a story about PS2 and you all turn into a bunch of corporate hoars.
Do you realize that every penny you give Sony is a penny that they have to use in their fight against Napster/2600/etc? Are you all made of so much rubber that you can't resist the pull of corporate marketing....or is it simply a case that the whole lot of you are a bunch of hypocrites?
This story inspired me to write a play. I call it Behind Closed Doors.
The Characters:
Mr. Moron: a 50 year old engineer who's an alcoholic, drug user, and generally stupid person. He feels he's about to get fired, and in a desparate attempt to salvage his job he's contacted management promising them a new product that will save their company.
Exec 1, 2, 3: typical Pointy Headed Boss
Begin
Exec 1: Ok, Mr. Moron wanted to pitch his new idea to us today. According to him, this will enable our company to grow its revenue by 300% while realizing 400% profit. Go ahead Mr. Moron...
Mr. Moron: Ah... err... ya... Ok, ummm, how about if we make a cell phone where you can, umm, maybe browse the internet on...?
Exec 2: They have that already.
Mr. Moron: Oh...did I say cell phone? I, ah, meant, ummm..., camera. Ya, camera.
[blank stares from execs]
Mr. Moron:... digital camera ?
[blank stares from execs]
Mr. Moron: It, ah, would, um, allow us to leverage the synergies of these two paradigms while being proactive....
Exec 1, 2, 3: Love it! Mr. Moron, you're a genious!
That's the best way to sum it up. People are idiots.
When I was a kid, I played Cowboys and Indians (you know...the game where kids run around shooting each other) and I burned bugs with a magnifying glass.
If I started a software company now that made a game "Cowboys & Indians", where virtual kids ran around shooting each other, or "Bug Burn", where virtual kids burned virutal bugs, people would jump all over me.
Slashdot Mirror
What people seem to forget is that Microsoft has destroyed companies, hurt consumers, and generally played the all-around bad guy, and yet no only do they get to propose a "penalty" (I use that term lightly), but they get to propose a penalty that actually tightens their stranglehold!
Apple always did well in the school market, and now they have to stand aside as Microsoft "punishes" their way massively into that market.
So RIAA threatens to sue under DCMA if Felton publishes his research. This scares Felton and he doesn't publish. Doesn't appreciate the threat so he sues. RIAA withdraws "threat". Court says, "Well, there is no threat now, so case dismissed."
Here's the implications:
RIAA threatens to sue under DCMA if continues to . gets scared and stops . sues. RIAA withdraws threat. Case dismissed.
This should be no different. By all means hand the project over, but then sever all ties to the project. Accept the fact that someone else is at the helm, and they may have a different vision than you.
Is the net this important to people? Why on earth would I need a web browser in my handicam? Can't they put the R&D money wasted on this isn't something more useful...like how to do better than a 1 hour recording time???
I must have...the book is sitting there on the shelf right next to my Prolog manual and my Abstract Non-Linear Algebra book.
Wait a minute.
Painful memories returning
Feelings of hopelessness returning
Confusion taking over
O god. What have I done
A great quote from this article: "The relationship between information anarchy and the recent spate of worms is undeniable. Every one of these worms exploited vulnerabilities for which step-by-step exploit instructions had been widely published. But the evidence is more far conclusive than that. Not only do the worms exploit the same vulnerabilities, they do so using the same techniques as were published - in some cases even going so far as to use the same file names and identical exploit code. This is not a coincidence. Clearly, the publication of exploit details about the vulnerabilities contributed to their use as weapons. "
In other words, "Please don't publish anything about security flaws you find in our products. All this does is spread viruses."
Translate out of M$ speech: "Please don't make us and our products look bad by publishing this info."
Imagine switching not only their email program, but also their office suite and their OS. Widespread pandamonium! The cost (Linux may be free, but training certainly isn't!) is too much.
Hmmm...good point. Morpheous (eus?) definately has a use outside of copyright violations.
However, the problem is that as long as some company is making money off of the piracy of copyrighted works, RIAA will have a legal handhold on them. If MusicCity can prove that a significant portion of traffic is non-infringing (ala the betamax case) then they may have a chance. It would have been much easier for them had they simply left out the ads though (maybe not the best business practices of course).
So at what quality does it go from "it's ok for me to give this copy to you" to "you are a bad person" ???
That's the problem with this....RIAA is actually correct. MusicCity, by serving up ads, is profiting from the piracy of content.
What we need is someone to drum up some Morpheus-like software, and to release it as open source sans-ads. Then RIAA cannot argue their "they're making money off our copyrighted works" and will have little hope of winning on those grounds.
Ya ya ya....so some crusty old bugger took a non-digital photo of Clinton hugging Lewinksy. Wow, it's a good thing that photo wasn't "deleted". Just think of the implications that would have had to US history! Oh wait...some tabloids would have had to run a few more weeks with that dreaded Ramsey murder story instead.
What a useless arguement. There's nothing preventing a journalist from keeping all photos from a digital camera. If anything, digital photos are much easier to store, catalog, and retrieve. That they don't do it is their own fault!
Thanks for the info though...I will have to try out this new version of Netscape again.
Ok, so Netscape and IE both allow you to disable cookies. Woohoo. How usefull is that? Your other choice is confirming each cookie. Ever tried surfing with that option on?
I'm sure there are some third-party software products that allow users to assess each cookie once and allow/deny it forever (ie. yahoo cookie allow, doubleclick cookie deny). Why is that so hard to include with the browser?!?
That would make this whole issue go away.
Apparantly the banner adds were losing effectiveness, so ThinkGeek asked Slashdot guys to do up a story disguised as an add. OSDN may be losing lots of money . . . but, damn! Talk about un-subtle.
No mention of operating system that I saw. I'm assuming it isn't Linux.
Also, what's with the shameless plugging of the site's sponsors. We already get a banner add, thankyouverymuch. Is VA Linux in that much trouble?
CEO: "Oh no. Slashdot people hate us for our patent of the one-click."
Lackies: "Oh no! What can we do???"
CEO: "Let's tell them we switched to linux."
A little later on
CmdrTaco: "Amazon is great!"
OO databases mixed with XML == Very bad performance
This may be great for acadamia, or perhaps small projects, but in "The Real World"(tm) this won't fly. As a performance guy working on a big system, I can tell you that using OO databases and/or XML queries/storage will butcher performance.
For most of our clients, performance is the #1 concern, as that is what dictates hardware. Buying one 32-way p680 for a typical RDMS solution -vs two for a fancy OO/XML solution isn't much of a choice.
If I type in "Jew" and use the thesarus should it provide "kike" or "mud-person"? Or how about if I put in "white" should it fill in "trailer-trash" or "cracker"? How about if I put in "gay" - how about "ass-master" or "faggot". Blacks? How about "nigger" or "one of those them there coloreds".
Well, if those words were part of an established dictionary, then yes, a proper thesarus should suggest those words. Duh.
That's why there will never be an open source monopoly. Until PCs ship with open source programs, 95% of the computing public isn't going to be using anything except that which came with their computer.
Here's a comment from my tech-illiterate wife: "Get that damn Linux installed -- I'm sick of this s**t from Microsoft!"
If my wife, of all people, is asking for an alternative to M$'s stuff, then there really is some hope. Linux may never get beyond a 10% desktop share, but just giving up because there's no good spell checker for Linux is silly.
Did you know that video games make more than the entire movie industry? Do you realize how much money is available for games out there. When you have billions of dollars up for grabs, a small piece of the crowded marketplace is still a big piece of the pie.
Do you realize that every penny you give Sony is a penny that they have to use in their fight against Napster/2600/etc? Are you all made of so much rubber that you can't resist the pull of corporate marketing....or is it simply a case that the whole lot of you are a bunch of hypocrites?
Ya, that's what I thought.
The Characters:
Mr. Moron: a 50 year old engineer who's an alcoholic, drug user, and generally stupid person. He feels he's about to get fired, and in a desparate attempt to salvage his job he's contacted management promising them a new product that will save their company.
Exec 1, 2, 3: typical Pointy Headed Boss
Begin
Exec 1: Ok, Mr. Moron wanted to pitch his new idea to us today. According to him, this will enable our company to grow its revenue by 300% while realizing 400% profit. Go ahead Mr. Moron...
Mr. Moron: Ah... err... ya... Ok, ummm, how about if we make a cell phone where you can, umm, maybe browse the internet on...?
Exec 2: They have that already.
Mr. Moron: Oh...did I say cell phone? I, ah, meant, ummm..., camera. Ya, camera.
[blank stares from execs]
Mr. Moron: ... digital camera ?
[blank stares from execs]
Mr. Moron: It, ah, would, um, allow us to leverage the synergies of these two paradigms while being proactive ....
Exec 1, 2, 3: Love it! Mr. Moron, you're a genious!
When I was a kid, I played Cowboys and Indians (you know...the game where kids run around shooting each other) and I burned bugs with a magnifying glass.
If I started a software company now that made a game "Cowboys & Indians", where virtual kids ran around shooting each other, or "Bug Burn", where virtual kids burned virutal bugs, people would jump all over me.
Step one: connect line out from player to line in on recorder
Step two: press record
Step three: press play
Step four: enjoy your unwatermarked song