I was perusing the cable channels last night and came across a senate hearing on C-SPAN2
Kim Taipale, executive director of the Center for Advanced Studies, was giving testimony to the US Senate about the NSA and the Global Communications network
He said, and I'm paraphrasing, that it was no longer feasible for the NSA to ensure that they didn't listen to the communications of american citizens without some sort of in-depth investigation to determine if the people they were listening to were in fact american citizens.
while it's not a dragnet, it is the mass listening on all global communications. Certain things trip the filters. like arab language. and using high value words such as bomb and al qaeda in the same conversation. this will undoubtedly trip the filters and some NSA analyst will have a chuckle over reading this post on slashdot. but before that happens, they will know who I am and where I live before they have that chuckle.
That's the part that I don't like. however, I hear that using words like viagra and cialis cause the filters to dump the data automatically. somehow I doubt that.
Then we could replay games like system shock 2 and requiem: avenging angel.
I think graphics are the main reason why I don't replay old games.
They really were fun, but going backwards visually doesn't appeal to me.
Half-Life: Source is a great example of how dificult it is to keep games fresh looking.
I think studios have learned a great deal about this and now make high-poly models to start with.
One of the tricks now is scaling graphics down to work with current systems.
LOD is the easiest way to do this, but great advances recently with 3d techniques like normal mapping have made it easier to keep games looking fresh on future hardware.
The greatest impact is in texture quality. even low-poly models look better with high-quality textures
the phone companies' assault as it were is $25 a month for 256Kbit DSL
the cable companies' prices are $45 a month for 6Mbit Cable.
only an idiot would choose DSL if those are the options.
now the phone companies offer more options
$46 a month for 6Mbit/512Kbit DSL
still who wouldn't pay the extra $20 a month for 6MBit vs. 256Kbit?
the $25 plan is a total ripoff.
now, I used to be a DSL fanboy using speakeasy 6.0 dry-pair DSL. but it cost $110 a month after taxes. I'll be the first to say, speakeasy has an excellent network. and even better support.
since I moved to miami, I can't get DSL here (west west miami).
$45 a month for 6Mbit cable is damn good.
though, I think ojbectively it costs way too much for what it provides.
the rest of the world (read- sweden and other such forward looking countries) was providing 10Mbit lines for $20 a month 5 years ago.
the only reason broadband costs so much is because people are still willing to pay for dialup.
just because I got stuff on my hard drive doesn't mean it's illegal.
which is it big media? a content license, or a content product?
one thing is certain, "I'm going to have to buy the white album again."
if they want to make downloading subject to criminal law, let them treat it like a crime. they have to catch me in the act of illegaly downloading content. if not, they have to assume I own the content I have. and, they have to use legal law enforcement channels to do so. Instead of using contracted blackhats and suing anonymous defendents.
these are companies who are subject to the market.
the market has shifted. they should adapt accordingly or die a market death.
first start with the behavior that causes virus infections. teach your parents safe internet habits.
then use firefox and thunderbird. http://www.mozilla.com/products/ it's safer and faster. chances are, once your parents become familliar with the features, they won't care about the stupid blue E.
then install a good internet security suite. Not Norton or McAfee, I said good.
it's worth money to protect your computer and all your information. (parents always reply with, "I don't have anything on there!")
"but eventually the problem will become obvious to even the most oblivious film studio executive."
the problem I think is, it really won't become obvious. Piracy is like jesus to the christians. It is so certain in their minds, that there is no point in healthy debate. They just won't change their views of it.
It doesn't matter that I would never go to the theatre to watch movie "X" or even buy it at walmart. Because I watched movie "X" the studios count that as a potential loss. (a year ago, the didn't use the word potential to describe their losses).
If you want to get businessy about it, my watching of movie "X" wasn't a potential loss, but a potential gain.
yep, a potential gain that never came to fruition.
Slashdot Mirror
as far as I know, downloading isn't illegal.
;)
but the MPAA uses the term "illegal downloading" whenever possible.
according to current US law, uploading is illegal.
the RIAA doesn't sue people who download, only those who upload.
NOT ALL GAMES ARE FOR KIDS!
I agree with game ratings and enforcement of those ratings.
I don't think 15 year old kids should be playing bully.
but I'm 30 years old, and I want to play it.
Sentience begins at 5 years old
the rest is just living cells
www.transgaming.com
cedega lets you play windows games on linux
I was perusing the cable channels last night and came across a senate hearing on C-SPAN2
Kim Taipale, executive director of the Center for Advanced Studies, was giving testimony to the US Senate about the NSA and the Global Communications network
He said, and I'm paraphrasing, that it was no longer feasible for the NSA to ensure that they didn't listen to the communications of american citizens without some sort of in-depth investigation to determine if the people they were listening to were in fact american citizens.
while it's not a dragnet, it is the mass listening on all global communications. Certain things trip the filters. like arab language. and using high value words such as bomb and al qaeda in the same conversation. this will undoubtedly trip the filters and some NSA analyst will have a chuckle over reading this post on slashdot. but before that happens, they will know who I am and where I live before they have that chuckle.
That's the part that I don't like. however, I hear that using words like viagra and cialis cause the filters to dump the data automatically. somehow I doubt that.
I don't think I'll touch it with a 10 foot pole until someone rev-engineers it.
I'm interested to know what it does besides burn DVDs
buildings need this.
Then we could replay games like system shock 2 and requiem: avenging angel.
I think graphics are the main reason why I don't replay old games.
They really were fun, but going backwards visually doesn't appeal to me.
Half-Life: Source is a great example of how dificult it is to keep games fresh looking.
I think studios have learned a great deal about this and now make high-poly models to start with.
One of the tricks now is scaling graphics down to work with current systems.
LOD is the easiest way to do this, but great advances recently with 3d techniques like normal mapping have made it easier to keep games looking fresh on future hardware.
The greatest impact is in texture quality. even low-poly models look better with high-quality textures
what are they gonna do with their CD factories?
it's not that we want to insult them, it's that we need to educate them as to the earthly nature of the magic they call the interweb!
it's not the machine that is accurate, it's the person.
my uncle is a certified polygraph operator with over 30 years of experience.
for normal people, he doesn't need the machine.
I would imagine this is not going to be used by people who have never given a polygraph.
in the worst case that it is deployed by green g-men, then this worries me a lot. what are the health effects of this (medical test)?
the phone companies' assault as it were is $25 a month for 256Kbit DSL
the cable companies' prices are $45 a month for 6Mbit Cable.
only an idiot would choose DSL if those are the options.
now the phone companies offer more options
$46 a month for 6Mbit/512Kbit DSL
still who wouldn't pay the extra $20 a month for 6MBit vs. 256Kbit?
the $25 plan is a total ripoff.
now, I used to be a DSL fanboy using speakeasy 6.0 dry-pair DSL. but it cost $110 a month after taxes.
I'll be the first to say, speakeasy has an excellent network. and even better support.
since I moved to miami, I can't get DSL here (west west miami).
$45 a month for 6Mbit cable is damn good.
though, I think ojbectively it costs way too much for what it provides.
the rest of the world (read- sweden and other such forward looking countries) was providing 10Mbit lines for $20 a month 5 years ago.
the only reason broadband costs so much is because people are still willing to pay for dialup.
fuck'em
just because I got stuff on my hard drive doesn't mean it's illegal.
which is it big media? a content license, or a content product?
one thing is certain, "I'm going to have to buy the white album again."
if they want to make downloading subject to criminal law, let them treat it like a crime.
they have to catch me in the act of illegaly downloading content. if not, they have to assume I own the content I have.
and, they have to use legal law enforcement channels to do so. Instead of using contracted blackhats and suing anonymous defendents.
these are companies who are subject to the market.
the market has shifted. they should adapt accordingly or die a market death.
piracy is what happens on the streets in china, russia, south america and eastern europe.
dowloading is not a crime.
uploading is a crime.
arrest the uploaders.
That app would end up on bit torrent
slyck.com covers news on the torrent scene.
I'm still wating for the 1988 prequel "Blade Run"
and the 1990 sequel "Blade Runnest"
They were the awesomest movies yet.
first start with the behavior that causes virus infections. teach your parents safe internet habits.
e curity.php
then use firefox and thunderbird. http://www.mozilla.com/products/ it's safer and faster. chances are, once your parents become familliar with the features, they won't care about the stupid blue E.
then install a good internet security suite. Not Norton or McAfee, I said good.
it's worth money to protect your computer and all your information. (parents always reply with, "I don't have anything on there!")
if it has to be free, AVG is the best.
if you are willing to spend some money to ensure safety, Kaspersky Internet Security Suite is my top choice. http://usa.kaspersky-labs.com/products/internet-s
I've used all major AV and PF applications out there. This is by far, the best I've ever used.
it lets you password protect the running process. so a virus can't shut it down.
bottom line, viruses spread with 20% technology, 5% evil, and 75% user ignorance.
for me, all I see is some music clips.
no voices.
big oil has already bought most of the innovative patents for alternative energy just to kill them.
why don't we dig through their patent collection?
then we can save the world that they are trying to destroy
you're forgetting that there are more windows virii because there are more windows desktops.
hey anonymous asshole, I am a liberal pagan/atheist/agnostic/spiritual/wannabe lawyer/pirate without children.
I happen to think that not all games are for all age groups.
there is such a thing as adult games.
you are part of the problem. wake up.
the problem I think is, it really won't become obvious. Piracy is like jesus to the christians. It is so certain in their minds, that there is no point in healthy debate. They just won't change their views of it.
It doesn't matter that I would never go to the theatre to watch movie "X" or even buy it at walmart. Because I watched movie "X" the studios count that as a potential loss. (a year ago, the didn't use the word potential to describe their losses).
If you want to get businessy about it, my watching of movie "X" wasn't a potential loss, but a potential gain.
yep, a potential gain that never came to fruition.
just reload the page you nutsack!
when you start hurling around the building blocks of everything, shit goes BOOM!
scientists don't have the necessary knowledge to weild this kind of power.
it's like a storm trooper trying to use a lightsaber: you know he's gonna lose a limb!