People are bad, mmkay?
on
TigerCloning
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· Score: 4
Wait. If our killing of the Tasmanian tiger was a natural product of Darwinism, then why isn't our bringing one back also natural?
Oh, that's right, I forgot. If a beaver builds a dam, that's nature; if we build a hydroelectric plant, that's science. Humans are intrinsicly evil and have no place on this planet. [end sarcasm]
All that's happened is that we've got a workable intelligence, so instead of creatures evolving to the environment, we're creatures changing the environment to suit ourselves. I still don't see why this kind of thing isn't considered nature. People seem to act like cloning is against the rules, to which I say, what rules?
The Oddworld game for PS2 looks like it's going to be 3D. Now *that* scares me. The sidescroller is a generally forgotten idea anymore, and when you get right down to it, most of the best games were side scrollers, if they scrolled at all.
Mindstorm to create a physical bar graph?
on
Lego + Linux HOWTO
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· Score: 2
If you ever do get that set up, be careful. Don't mention your URL here. If you did, the plotting arm of your robot would overextend and snap off. The motor would overheat and catch flame.
It'd be the first time a Lego construction ever got Slashdotted.
GB Color has a few good games on it, and a remarkable battery life, I'll give it that. The next handheld will probably be just as impressive.
However, as a company, I don't like them, I suppose for the same reason you do. Nintendo seems to be continuing to market to the same age group as always, while the die-hards that grew up on video games (like me) continue to get older.
Of course, Nintendo has Pokemon, so there's no chance of them disappearing anytime soon, but the Playstation succeded despite its terrible loading delays and poor 3D graphics [1], because Sony recognized that the NES generation has aged ten years over the past ten years.
I watch Pokemon on a very regular basis. It's what gets me up in the mornings before I go to work. I really am not sure if it's just me, or if there's actually something there worth watching.
Pikachu is pretty cool, but I think the real entertainment in the TV show comes from Meowth, who seems to have more of a clue than anyone else. Ash is clearly a terrible trainer. Brock seems a little bit worthless (I think that if he ever ended up with a girl he'd become terribly confused and not sure what to do next) and Misty... well, I guess we don't even have to go there.
But enough yammering. So, erm, any opinions, folks? I'd love to know how much of a minority I'm in here.
Yeah, really. That show was actually smarter than most people gave it credit for.
Remember the one scene where Van Dreissen was explaining animation to Beavis and Butt-Head while they sat there motionless for a minute? That had me laughing out loud for a good while. [1]
The thing that was great about Beavis and Butt-Head wasn't how dumb they were, but how dumb everyone else in Highland was. Watching Van Dreissen try to get through to the duo, or McVicker trying to punish them, or Stewart trying to be their friend... I dunno, maybe I read too much into it, but I think that was the brilliancy of the show.
I've never been a huge fan of Katz articles, but I guess the reason I don't filter them is because the Katz-haters responses are always interesting.
I can't imagine that any other articles on/. are under half the scrutiny as Katz's are. Ooh, he missed the P on the keyboard by a centimeter! Let's burn him at the stake!
This "use it or lose it" view of intellectual property seems to be a pervasive one -- and the only reason for this, I believe, is that it allows people to feel a little better about themselves when they download old intellectual property that they have no right to.
Would you argue that if I wrote a book and tried to sell it, I would have intellectual property rights to it, but if I wrote a book, thought it was horrible, and shelved it, that I wouldn't have any rights because I wasn't selling it? That you could come in and make a xerox copy of it (after all, it's not actually theft since you're leaving the original copy) and distribute it? And put banner ads on the site where you're distributing it at that?
Come on. Isn't it time that people got a little bit realistic here, took a deep breath, and checked if their IP morality isn't just a convenient way of justifying illegal and wrong acts?
The whole benefit from Apollo wasn't the moon rocks we brought back; it's what we learned in the process of sending people there. It's a shame, but if history is any guide, we're not going to seriously try until some other country looks like it's going to do it. With no Soviet Union, we may be waiting a while.
This probably would have been fun and cool--if it hadn't been posted on Slashdot.
There is no way this would have been fun or cool. People just can't be trusted with any sort of anonymous forum. I mean, moderation was invented here because of the ACs, and there are still ACs posting volumes of off-topic junk.
Anything like this would require some sort of moderation or regulation. And even then, a post on/. would probably lead to someone cracking into the system. People are jerks.
What is this saying? "Napster users buy more music, so it's okay for them to steal?"
Yes, I know, this isn't a popular thing to say around here. I really wish people would figure this out. The thinking here seems to be backwards.
Look at free software. Now here's a place where we got it right. Personally, I think Stallman's views on software morality are a bit extreme, but the reason the GNU project is so respectable -- even to someone like me who believes in strong intellectual property rights -- is that he didn't say "I think the current system is bad, so I'll break the law"; he said "I think the current system is bad, so I'll make a better system."
I've heard it argued that musicians have no intrinsic right to profit from their music. I think this is insane. If you want to argue from this angle, you don't have an intrinsic right to free music.
Like it or not, Metallica music isn't a natural resource. It wasn't an obvious thing somebody discovered. It was created by Metallica. If you think that Metallica shouldn't earn money for what they do, that's fine. But don't go online and download Metallica music and think you're not stealing. I have more respect for a thief who says he's a thief than a thief who claims he's standing up for his rights. I'm surprised more people don't.
The most important part of all of this is that there IS a free-software equivilent to music. There are countless bands online who are more than happy to provide MP3s of their music for free. And if you haven't seriously checked them out, you really should, because there are some great songs out there.
With all the free music out there, the argument that downloading Metallica is a right has gotten really tired. If you're one of these people, maybe you should reevaluate your position. You say that you buy a lot of music anyway, you say the RIAA is big and evil, you say Metallica is invoking morally wrong intellectual rights. I say you wanted something, you stole it, and now you're trying to make yourself feel a little bit better.
Why are all the high-rated posts about lag? I would have expected more people to comment that the entire concept is absolutely ridiculous.
Concerts are a great experience; much more than just viewing the performers and listening to the music. Imagine your favorite group, with each member in a different corner of the world. Imagine watching it on your home theatre system. Once you got past the novelty of the whole thing, do you really think it would be nearly as enjoyable as a live show?
All it seems like we're talking about here is a sort of HD-MTV. Who cares? Give me a real concert, with real performers interacting with the crowd. Give me a show at a site packed with a crowd who is as into the music as I am. Give me the onstage interplay between the musicians, for god's sake.
The discussion here should be about the amount of bandwidth and audio/video compression. That's the interesting and impressive thing. It'd be more interesting than discussing that a researcher's pipe dream is a pipe dream. (Or maybe it's just me.:-)
The idea of a one-shot configuration for people too lazy to spend an hour on security makes me think that this sort of thing will only be effective if it does not hit the mainstream.
Right now, many users install RedHat and then take no security steps. If many users started installing some default Bastille configuration and then taking no more security steps, then holes in the default Bastille configurations will be found and exploited. There's no such thing as a security free lunch, save maybe unplugging your computer.
Slashdot Mirror
Oh, that's right, I forgot. If a beaver builds a dam, that's nature; if we build a hydroelectric plant, that's science. Humans are intrinsicly evil and have no place on this planet. [end sarcasm]
All that's happened is that we've got a workable intelligence, so instead of creatures evolving to the environment, we're creatures changing the environment to suit ourselves. I still don't see why this kind of thing isn't considered nature. People seem to act like cloning is against the rules, to which I say, what rules?
The Oddworld game for PS2 looks like it's going to be 3D. Now *that* scares me. The sidescroller is a generally forgotten idea anymore, and when you get right down to it, most of the best games were side scrollers, if they scrolled at all.
It'd be the first time a Lego construction ever got Slashdotted.
However, as a company, I don't like them, I suppose for the same reason you do. Nintendo seems to be continuing to market to the same age group as always, while the die-hards that grew up on video games (like me) continue to get older.
Of course, Nintendo has Pokemon, so there's no chance of them disappearing anytime soon, but the Playstation succeded despite its terrible loading delays and poor 3D graphics [1], because Sony recognized that the NES generation has aged ten years over the past ten years.
[1] Pitiful when compared to the N64's.
I watch Pokemon on a very regular basis. It's what gets me up in the mornings before I go to work. I really am not sure if it's just me, or if there's actually something there worth watching.
Pikachu is pretty cool, but I think the real entertainment in the TV show comes from Meowth, who seems to have more of a clue than anyone else. Ash is clearly a terrible trainer. Brock seems a little bit worthless (I think that if he ever ended up with a girl he'd become terribly confused and not sure what to do next) and Misty... well, I guess we don't even have to go there.
But enough yammering. So, erm, any opinions, folks? I'd love to know how much of a minority I'm in here.
Remember the one scene where Van Dreissen was explaining animation to Beavis and Butt-Head while they sat there motionless for a minute? That had me laughing out loud for a good while. [1]
The thing that was great about Beavis and Butt-Head wasn't how dumb they were, but how dumb everyone else in Highland was. Watching Van Dreissen try to get through to the duo, or McVicker trying to punish them, or Stewart trying to be their friend... I dunno, maybe I read too much into it, but I think that was the brilliancy of the show.
[1] Of course, I'm easily amused.
I can't imagine that any other articles on /. are under half the scrutiny as Katz's are. Ooh, he missed the P on the keyboard by a centimeter! Let's burn him at the stake!
Would you argue that if I wrote a book and tried to sell it, I would have intellectual property rights to it, but if I wrote a book, thought it was horrible, and shelved it, that I wouldn't have any rights because I wasn't selling it? That you could come in and make a xerox copy of it (after all, it's not actually theft since you're leaving the original copy) and distribute it? And put banner ads on the site where you're distributing it at that?
Come on. Isn't it time that people got a little bit realistic here, took a deep breath, and checked if their IP morality isn't just a convenient way of justifying illegal and wrong acts?
"Somebody developed something and has the intellectual property rights to it. I want it. Why can't I have everything I want?"
It's getting pretty tired.
The whole benefit from Apollo wasn't the moon rocks we brought back; it's what we learned in the process of sending people there. It's a shame, but if history is any guide, we're not going to seriously try until some other country looks like it's going to do it. With no Soviet Union, we may be waiting a while.
There is no way this would have been fun or cool. People just can't be trusted with any sort of anonymous forum. I mean, moderation was invented here because of the ACs, and there are still ACs posting volumes of off-topic junk.
Anything like this would require some sort of moderation or regulation. And even then, a post on /. would probably lead to someone cracking into the system. People are jerks.
If you can't read it in Lynx, it's not a website. (Well, almost. I guess the tables could be better, but... well, you know.)
Yes, I know, this isn't a popular thing to say around here. I really wish people would figure this out. The thinking here seems to be backwards.
Look at free software. Now here's a place where we got it right. Personally, I think Stallman's views on software morality are a bit extreme, but the reason the GNU project is so respectable -- even to someone like me who believes in strong intellectual property rights -- is that he didn't say "I think the current system is bad, so I'll break the law"; he said "I think the current system is bad, so I'll make a better system."
I've heard it argued that musicians have no intrinsic right to profit from their music. I think this is insane. If you want to argue from this angle, you don't have an intrinsic right to free music.
Like it or not, Metallica music isn't a natural resource. It wasn't an obvious thing somebody discovered. It was created by Metallica. If you think that Metallica shouldn't earn money for what they do, that's fine. But don't go online and download Metallica music and think you're not stealing. I have more respect for a thief who says he's a thief than a thief who claims he's standing up for his rights. I'm surprised more people don't.
The most important part of all of this is that there IS a free-software equivilent to music. There are countless bands online who are more than happy to provide MP3s of their music for free. And if you haven't seriously checked them out, you really should, because there are some great songs out there.
With all the free music out there, the argument that downloading Metallica is a right has gotten really tired. If you're one of these people, maybe you should reevaluate your position. You say that you buy a lot of music anyway, you say the RIAA is big and evil, you say Metallica is invoking morally wrong intellectual rights. I say you wanted something, you stole it, and now you're trying to make yourself feel a little bit better.
Concerts are a great experience; much more than just viewing the performers and listening to the music. Imagine your favorite group, with each member in a different corner of the world. Imagine watching it on your home theatre system. Once you got past the novelty of the whole thing, do you really think it would be nearly as enjoyable as a live show?
All it seems like we're talking about here is a sort of HD-MTV. Who cares? Give me a real concert, with real performers interacting with the crowd. Give me a show at a site packed with a crowd who is as into the music as I am. Give me the onstage interplay between the musicians, for god's sake.
The discussion here should be about the amount of bandwidth and audio/video compression. That's the interesting and impressive thing. It'd be more interesting than discussing that a researcher's pipe dream is a pipe dream. (Or maybe it's just me. :-)
I get the feeling that these are going to be as readable in DVD players as CD-RWs are in CD players today.
Right now, many users install RedHat and then take no security steps. If many users started installing some default Bastille configuration and then taking no more security steps, then holes in the default Bastille configurations will be found and exploited. There's no such thing as a security free lunch, save maybe unplugging your computer.