Since when is massified flavored synthetic liquid that's honestly labeled as "Beef" ethical? Now if McDonalds were to LABEL all the food thay have as what it is (Genetically Engineered, hormone enhanced, etc) that would be ethical. But that would also mean the fall of McD. So you see? You can't be ethical and be a multi-billion company at the same time. Money is dirty. --------------
I think that a lot of people bother not realize the magnitude of the task that the Mozilla developers were faced with. They had to build a browser from scratch, which implements all the features of any modern browser, cross platform and all.
Think about versions 1.0 of MSIE and Netscape. MS and Netscape had the luxury of a very mellow development curve. I mean, MSIE 3.0 doesn't even suport Javascript! Mozilla has to cover all the features that MS has been working on for 7 years, in a 1.0 release!
So give these people a break. Your complaints are not helping speeding up the development at all. --------------
I think that all these jackass software companies should shut the hell up already. This is becoming ridiculous. It's not like Windows is the only OS in the world. It's one of the _worst_ OS's in the world, and all these jackals are fighting over who gets to write software for it...
If I was Gates, I'd be freakin' pissed. He started M$, they came up with Window$, and now people are treating him like he stole Window$ or something. It's his own damn thing!!! I don't care if AOL and Netscape can't make it because M$ bundles Explorer with Windows. It's their own damn product, you buy it if you like it, you don't if you don't. You don't _have_ to use Window$. And M$ is as far away from a monopoly as anybody else. A monopoly means "no choice." You _do_ have a choice in this case. That's why this whole affair is sooo ridiculous.
I'm sick and tired of this deal, and they should leave M$ alone, and Time Warner should go eat shit and realize that they made a bad business decision, and they should move away from the browser/internet messaging industry... Writing a browser for Window$ is an incredibly idiotic idea to begin with. --------------
I believe that you are missing the entire point. Why do you think that OSS needs respect in the business world? Why do you think that OSS needs to succeed beyond the Slashdot population? Who are you to determine what OSS needs? Linux, in this case, is being managed by Linus out of his bedroom, in his free time. If Linus (who by the way you can't push out of the picture, since he is the creator of the OS and can pull the plug anytime he wants) wanted Linux to succeed in the "business world" he would have started a Linux company or something, looking for cash. Linux was never meant to fall in the hands of money sharks like IBM and Redhat. It was intended to be a free OS, which people can improve and pass around in their spare time. It's people like you that are bringing destruction to OSS by thinking that money is what should be the purpose of all things. Linus' response is the best response to M$'s OS bashing that I've seen in a long time. Original and sincere. No promotional bullshit. --------------
And it's expected that you feel this way, since you are obviously falling down togther with M$, while you truly believe it's relatively not that bad. In order to understand the M$ opposition, you need to rip yourself away from them, and take a wide, outside look at the entire going on. You'll then be able to make a more conscious decision. I can now say that it's good to live in the US, but I "say" this because I've never had the chance to step out of my situation and evaluate all sides of it. Anyway, good luck, but please don't bet to differ, because you are not qualified to do so. --------------
... yet 32 years ago, when a decent computer would have been twice as big as the lunar module, 50 times as buggy as Windows (believe it or not) and offer 1/100 the functionality of a modern computer, we made 6 flawless trips to the moon...
They should have told us that they drove a Chevy or a Ford up there. That would have at least added some creative value to the story. --------------
So does this mean that we should be afraid that Transmeta is going to snag Linux from Linus just because he works for them, close the sorce and do like Microsoft and monopolize?
In the future (next 30-40 years) we will be forced to pass laws that give computers the power to make decisions that we are not able to make anymore, due to our primitive thinking.
Be really careful! Technology already owns you. --------------
I think that would be a great opportunity to change the awful ways in which we choose to use computers nowadays. Change all aspects of computer connectivity, the GUI, the awful, overrated binary system, and expand on more crazy ideas, like an efficient implementation of neural networks into hardware to allow for evolving software to be written, drop the idea of software updates (which I think is the biggest flaw of computing as it is) by writing self-healing, smart code.
These ideas are NOT far-fetched. They are all within our reach, and are only prevented from becoming reality by the way the current computing scheme is instilled in our minds, our behaviour, our culture. It's a 60-year old idea which has become very stagnant. All we can improve now is speed. We do the same awful things, but faster.
I think that this rebooting the world should be done deliberately; we don't have to wait for a catastrophy to improve the way we expand our intellect. --------------
It's funny how people get so involved in every conversation here at Slashdot, even when it's based on a moronic subject like this one.
I think I saw this being discussed on 20/20 once. --------------
My oxygen bill was high this month...
I hope Bush will lower taxes on the ability to eat...
I hope I didn't mess up again and used unlicensed letters and words...
This whole experiecne thing is a bunch of crap... I know so many cases when young (better) workers are sad cases of age descrimination, although they are trainers to employees which are twice their age, have 1/4 of their knowledge, weren't supposed to occupy that position to begin with, and the company's justification for that is that "they bring sooo much more to the company..."
I don't care if they can manufacture nuclear weapons and are as the wisest of the wise, if their job description is 'BLAH' which includes duties 'blah1', 'blah2' and 'blah3' but NOT 'Nuclear weapon manufacturing' and 'Wise advice' then they DON'T bring squat to the company.
Age discrimination has been a very subtle way to make good profit off capable young people by mentally engineering them to believe that age is a factor in judging their wages.
But when you think about it, though: Who decides these wages? A bunch of old farts who have been with the company for 150 years and they think that seniority is the thing. Well, it's not. In fact, the talent core of most companies sits in their young, oppressed, discriminated against employees.
Stop age discrimination. Don't be a vegetable! --------------
Your theory accurately describes Paolo Freire's "Banking Concept of Education," where students are simple receptacles of information which the teacher "fills" during lecture, thus making them "smarter."
This is a pretty drastic situation, and it amazes me that it's being ignored to this level... It's all about letters and percentages. And even if you oppose the system, you have to let yourself be harnessed by it, just to survive...
Hum... Why would you want the Open Source community to jump in and "save the day?" I'm sure that this is a company like RedHat's dream, but RedHat is slowly disconnecting from what Open Source stands for.
The Open Source community is doing fine the way it is. If all the newbies and "usability freaks" got their hands on Linux, they would turn it into a piece of crap like MacOS and Windows. Open source software is great because it's built by programmers for programmers. You don't have a boss pushing you around, telling you how to make software "Easy to use" -- because that's what would eventually happen. Look at applications like mutt, vi, srn, etc. They're great because they're "powerful", no pre-set usability limits. They don't assume that the user is stupid (Which Macos and Windows do and they're popular because of it)
So think again. I despise the thought that one day Linux will be "easy to use." There. --------------
Microsoft is dead to me until they come up with some original ideas. So far, they have methodically and persistently ripped off everything SUN did. It seems like they have a special "Ripping SUN" department that works 24/7.
It's easy to take existing technology, tack a few new features onto it and sell it as your own, which Microsoft is good at. Everything they've ever done, from BASIC to NT are rips of already existing software.
.NET IS JAVA + a couple of other features. A lot of you are impressed with.NET's multi-language support, when the JVM supports 150+ languages..NET supports a mere 30.
This C# BS is so close to Java, I can't even imagine how they dared develop it. It's like stealing your friend's clothes and wering them in his presence.
For the people who don't care about the originality, innovation and dedication behind software development,.NET may seem cool. But Microsoft's always lacked that. They've never had NEW, breakthrough ideas.
Linus would slap this moron below until he's unconscious.
OS X has NOTHING to do with Linux! NOTHING!!! If you consider OS X as a replacement for your Linux box, you must be either completely missing the point of using Linux, or you're some kind of a dumb ass script kiddie.
Linux spells F-R-E-E-D-O-M. Linux is Linux because it's OPEN SOURCE!!! That simple! Linux is not the best OS. It's the OPEN SOURCE OS that has more developers working on it than any other OS. Linux is JUST A KERNEL! You can't talk shit that your X apps are not consistent. Linux doesn't even know or care that an X server exists. Imagine the disaster if it did! Linux is modular. Linux can be modified by anybody to fit their needs. The Playstation 2 development system is running Linux. That's because SONY tailored the kernel to fit their exact needs!
OS X and any other closed source OS cannot offer any of the above. If you're using a computer because clicking on pretty icons and moving semi-translucent windows around floats your boat, that so be it! But you cannot say that Linux is not a competent OS because applications that run on it are not consistent. With market OS's, you are forced into using them exactly the way they were supposed to be used. You are bound by their rules. On top of that, you are willingly putting $$$ that you worked hard for into the pockets of big shots like Gates and Jobs for crap OS's that you are not even sure they are not backdoor-ed. It's exactly like buying a car, and the hood is soldered shut, with no way to get to the engine. How can you even trust something like that? Do you REALLY trust someone whose only purpose on this planet is to make tons of money???
As a final remark, Linux and MacOS own the SAME percentage of the desktop market share. Funny, isn't it? You know... since Linux sucks and all... --------------
What's the freaking point of sci-fi to begin with?
It all depends on what your views are on things. I always try to be optimistic, and take the "good" out of everything. The Matrix had some pretty bad parts, but that's what makes it complete.
Imagine a whole shitload of "perfect." Could you cope with that? Think again. --------------
You know how there's a virtual spectrum of knowledge and logic? And Einstein, Newton and Shakespeare are at one end of it? Well, the entire US police force is crammed at the other end. I wonder what the police academy is like... Elementary school all over again. Sheesh!
No, seriously, the US police needs a LOT of work. There are TONS of issues out there that haven't been addressed properly, like police brutality. But the police is part of the government, the government runs the country, the supreme court knows that, and there you go. If Farmer John -- officier specialized in pronouncing "y'all" with a special accent bend and who posseses a gun (a GUN!) -- comes to your house and succesfully identifies what would qualify as computer equipment, "he be takin' it" and you can cry about it, because Farmer John knows one thing: that he can get a warrant. Last time I heard of something like this, the cops confiscated 2 computers from a kid based on 2 entries in the Apache log file of a Web site that had been hacked.
Forget about Uncle Sam. Beware of a new specimen: Officier Farmer John! He be takin' shit... --------------
Hehe... Windows 200 Professional, huh? Cheap Version of ZoneAlarm? It looks like you're all set! The next thing you should do is put your system outside your apartment complete with monitor and keyboard. Although running Windows kind of does that anyway...
I still can't believe that the entire US Government's computer net is run by Microsoft!! Who are their network engineers? Have these people been sleeping while Microsoft was selling them crap that had "crap" written on the label and the entire geek community was referring to it as crap?
This is stupid. If some third-world country takes over their network (which is entirely possible) they deserve it.
NT error of the day: Operation could not be completed because operation was completed successfully! --------------
I'm starting college in a few days (BS in CS) and I'm planning on going all the way, for at least a Masters, and most likely the Ph.D
I'm 21 years old, so I took about 3 years after high school to make my decision. I asked myself all kinds of questions during this time, like:
- How important is money in the immediate future to me?
- Do I personally HAVE to gain all the knowledge possible, or will I do OK with just a little bit?
- Which degree fits me the best?
- Do I really need to go to college at all?
I see your problem a lot with kids who jump into things right after hish school, just because their parents said so... That's wrong. You should be 100% decided, and know a LOT about that degree before you jump into things.
The other important question is "Are you passioned about this stuff?" "Do you start writing a Web server in your favorite scripting language because you need to feel the 'rush' you feel when you accomplish something?"
If quick money is what you have in mind, you might as well drop out after your sophomore year and get a job. --------------
This is stupid! It's like going out on a playfield and getting hit in the head with a ball and complaining... Then the judge makes balls illegal on the playfield, because "if you get hit in the head occasionally, there might be a chance that whoever hit you might have done it on purpose."
If you make your machine available to the outside world, get ready to be bitch-portscanned! If a portscan on your machine leads to a break-in, then you weren't ready to plug your machine into the internet anyway. Deal with it.
It's funny that I see these judges making firm decisions over such deep matters, after just a couple of days of "research," previous to which they thought that Internet was a town in Kansas... Stupid! --------------
WOW! You are so off the subject here...
You are not entitled an upgrade price in a fridge, because the company chose not to charge people for their inellectual property. They charge for the physical property.
When you buy another fridge, you pay for physical materials, and the labor it took for the fridge to work. You should not be entitled to an upgrade price.
CD's and software are in a totally different spectrum. If you buy a CD and scratch it beyond recognition, you have to re-pay the original price if you want another one. THat's WRONG! You'd already paid for the intellectual property part of that CD when you first bought it. You should now pay what that physical CD is worth. Which is $0.80. --------------
This is a problem that dates back when the first vinyl record was released. It's a flawed system that started on the wrong foot, and not it seems it's too late to change things, since the majority of the people think it's a good concept.
This is what the whole Napster thing is revolving around. Lars Ulrich thinks he should be rewarded for his work. Work that he did 10 years ago. (?!?!) That's bullshit! I'm not going to pay $16 for a mere copy of an album he recorded 10 years ago! Give me his original studio recording, and I will gladly pay you. If Ulrich performed for every single CD recording, then Yes, he would have a point.
The point here is that the music and software industry get away with a lot of crap because of this flaw. Just think about it for a second: Why would you pay $40 for a CD that had a copy of a game on it, and took an average of 80 cents to make? That's $39.20 profit for the software company. I don't buy CD's or games, just because I would feel like a stupid idiot moron, for paying for Dr Dre's weed and Madonna's rent, when they had absolutely nothing to do with the CD I just bought.
Just take a second and think about this people. You take all these copyright laws for granted, when the Hollywood and software giants are praying that people don't figure out the trick to this banal process that pays for their 20 lbs gold necklaces.
Slashdot Mirror
McDonald's ethical policies?
Since when is massified flavored synthetic liquid that's honestly labeled as "Beef" ethical? Now if McDonalds were to LABEL all the food thay have as what it is (Genetically Engineered, hormone enhanced, etc) that would be ethical. But that would also mean the fall of McD. So you see? You can't be ethical and be a multi-billion company at the same time. Money is dirty.
--------------
I think that a lot of people bother not realize the magnitude of the task that the Mozilla developers were faced with. They had to build a browser from scratch, which implements all the features of any modern browser, cross platform and all.
Think about versions 1.0 of MSIE and Netscape. MS and Netscape had the luxury of a very mellow development curve. I mean, MSIE 3.0 doesn't even suport Javascript! Mozilla has to cover all the features that MS has been working on for 7 years, in a 1.0 release!
So give these people a break. Your complaints are not helping speeding up the development at all.
--------------
I think that all these jackass software companies should shut the hell up already. This is becoming ridiculous. It's not like Windows is the only OS in the world. It's one of the _worst_ OS's in the world, and all these jackals are fighting over who gets to write software for it...
If I was Gates, I'd be freakin' pissed. He started M$, they came up with Window$, and now people are treating him like he stole Window$ or something. It's his own damn thing!!! I don't care if AOL and Netscape can't make it because M$ bundles Explorer with Windows. It's their own damn product, you buy it if you like it, you don't if you don't. You don't _have_ to use Window$. And M$ is as far away from a monopoly as anybody else. A monopoly means "no choice." You _do_ have a choice in this case. That's why this whole affair is sooo ridiculous.
I'm sick and tired of this deal, and they should leave M$ alone, and Time Warner should go eat shit and realize that they made a bad business decision, and they should move away from the browser/internet messaging industry... Writing a browser for Window$ is an incredibly idiotic idea to begin with.
--------------
I believe that you are missing the entire point. Why do you think that OSS needs respect in the business world? Why do you think that OSS needs to succeed beyond the Slashdot population? Who are you to determine what OSS needs? Linux, in this case, is being managed by Linus out of his bedroom, in his free time. If Linus (who by the way you can't push out of the picture, since he is the creator of the OS and can pull the plug anytime he wants) wanted Linux to succeed in the "business world" he would have started a Linux company or something, looking for cash. Linux was never meant to fall in the hands of money sharks like IBM and Redhat. It was intended to be a free OS, which people can improve and pass around in their spare time. It's people like you that are bringing destruction to OSS by thinking that money is what should be the purpose of all things. Linus' response is the best response to M$'s OS bashing that I've seen in a long time. Original and sincere. No promotional bullshit.
--------------
And it's expected that you feel this way, since you are obviously falling down togther with M$, while you truly believe it's relatively not that bad. In order to understand the M$ opposition, you need to rip yourself away from them, and take a wide, outside look at the entire going on. You'll then be able to make a more conscious decision. I can now say that it's good to live in the US, but I "say" this because I've never had the chance to step out of my situation and evaluate all sides of it. Anyway, good luck, but please don't bet to differ, because you are not qualified to do so.
--------------
... yet 32 years ago, when a decent computer would have been twice as big as the lunar module, 50 times as buggy as Windows (believe it or not) and offer 1/100 the functionality of a modern computer, we made 6 flawless trips to the moon ...
They should have told us that they drove a Chevy or a Ford up there. That would have at least added some creative value to the story.
--------------
So does this mean that we should be afraid that Transmeta is going to snag Linux from Linus just because he works for them, close the sorce and do like Microsoft and monopolize?
B.S.
--------------
In the future (next 30-40 years) we will be forced to pass laws that give computers the power to make decisions that we are not able to make anymore, due to our primitive thinking.
Be really careful! Technology already owns you.
--------------
I think that would be a great opportunity to change the awful ways in which we choose to use computers nowadays. Change all aspects of computer connectivity, the GUI, the awful, overrated binary system, and expand on more crazy ideas, like an efficient implementation of neural networks into hardware to allow for evolving software to be written, drop the idea of software updates (which I think is the biggest flaw of computing as it is) by writing self-healing, smart code.
These ideas are NOT far-fetched. They are all within our reach, and are only prevented from becoming reality by the way the current computing scheme is instilled in our minds, our behaviour, our culture. It's a 60-year old idea which has become very stagnant. All we can improve now is speed. We do the same awful things, but faster.
I think that this rebooting the world should be done deliberately; we don't have to wait for a catastrophy to improve the way we expand our intellect.
--------------
It's funny how people get so involved in every conversation here at Slashdot, even when it's based on a moronic subject like this one.
I think I saw this being discussed on 20/20 once.
--------------
My oxygen bill was high this month...
I hope Bush will lower taxes on the ability to eat...
I hope I didn't mess up again and used unlicensed letters and words...
Fucked up!
--------------
This whole experiecne thing is a bunch of crap... I know so many cases when young (better) workers are sad cases of age descrimination, although they are trainers to employees which are twice their age, have 1/4 of their knowledge, weren't supposed to occupy that position to begin with, and the company's justification for that is that "they bring sooo much more to the company..."
I don't care if they can manufacture nuclear weapons and are as the wisest of the wise, if their job description is 'BLAH' which includes duties 'blah1', 'blah2' and 'blah3' but NOT 'Nuclear weapon manufacturing' and 'Wise advice' then they DON'T bring squat to the company.
Age discrimination has been a very subtle way to make good profit off capable young people by mentally engineering them to believe that age is a factor in judging their wages.
But when you think about it, though: Who decides these wages? A bunch of old farts who have been with the company for 150 years and they think that seniority is the thing. Well, it's not. In fact, the talent core of most companies sits in their young, oppressed, discriminated against employees.
Stop age discrimination. Don't be a vegetable!
--------------
Your theory accurately describes Paolo Freire's "Banking Concept of Education," where students are simple receptacles of information which the teacher "fills" during lecture, thus making them "smarter."
This is a pretty drastic situation, and it amazes me that it's being ignored to this level... It's all about letters and percentages. And even if you oppose the system, you have to let yourself be harnessed by it, just to survive...
Sad, but true.
--------------
Hum... Why would you want the Open Source community to jump in and "save the day?" I'm sure that this is a company like RedHat's dream, but RedHat is slowly disconnecting from what Open Source stands for.
The Open Source community is doing fine the way it is. If all the newbies and "usability freaks" got their hands on Linux, they would turn it into a piece of crap like MacOS and Windows. Open source software is great because it's built by programmers for programmers. You don't have a boss pushing you around, telling you how to make software "Easy to use" -- because that's what would eventually happen. Look at applications like mutt, vi, srn, etc. They're great because they're "powerful", no pre-set usability limits. They don't assume that the user is stupid (Which Macos and Windows do and they're popular because of it)
So think again. I despise the thought that one day Linux will be "easy to use." There.
--------------
Microsoft is dead to me until they come up with some original ideas. So far, they have methodically and persistently ripped off everything SUN did. It seems like they have a special "Ripping SUN" department that works 24/7. .NET's multi-language support, when the JVM supports 150+ languages. .NET supports a mere 30.
.NET may seem cool. But Microsoft's always lacked that. They've never had NEW, breakthrough ideas.
- -
It's easy to take existing technology, tack a few new features onto it and sell it as your own, which Microsoft is good at. Everything they've ever done, from BASIC to NT are rips of already existing software.
.NET IS JAVA + a couple of other features. A lot of you are impressed with
This C# BS is so close to Java, I can't even imagine how they dared develop it. It's like stealing your friend's clothes and wering them in his presence.
For the people who don't care about the originality, innovation and dedication behind software development,
dot_NET = Java_platform + Microsoft_specific_bs;
release_dot_NET_and_make_money();
------------
Linus would slap this moron below until he's unconscious.
OS X has NOTHING to do with Linux! NOTHING!!! If you consider OS X as a replacement for your Linux box, you must be either completely missing the point of using Linux, or you're some kind of a dumb ass script kiddie.
Linux spells F-R-E-E-D-O-M. Linux is Linux because it's OPEN SOURCE!!! That simple! Linux is not the best OS. It's the OPEN SOURCE OS that has more developers working on it than any other OS. Linux is JUST A KERNEL! You can't talk shit that your X apps are not consistent. Linux doesn't even know or care that an X server exists. Imagine the disaster if it did! Linux is modular. Linux can be modified by anybody to fit their needs. The Playstation 2 development system is running Linux. That's because SONY tailored the kernel to fit their exact needs!
OS X and any other closed source OS cannot offer any of the above. If you're using a computer because clicking on pretty icons and moving semi-translucent windows around floats your boat, that so be it! But you cannot say that Linux is not a competent OS because applications that run on it are not consistent. With market OS's, you are forced into using them exactly the way they were supposed to be used. You are bound by their rules. On top of that, you are willingly putting $$$ that you worked hard for into the pockets of big shots like Gates and Jobs for crap OS's that you are not even sure they are not backdoor-ed. It's exactly like buying a car, and the hood is soldered shut, with no way to get to the engine. How can you even trust something like that? Do you REALLY trust someone whose only purpose on this planet is to make tons of money???
As a final remark, Linux and MacOS own the SAME percentage of the desktop market share. Funny, isn't it? You know... since Linux sucks and all...
--------------
What's the freaking point of sci-fi to begin with?
It all depends on what your views are on things. I always try to be optimistic, and take the "good" out of everything. The Matrix had some pretty bad parts, but that's what makes it complete.
Imagine a whole shitload of "perfect." Could you cope with that? Think again.
--------------
You know how there's a virtual spectrum of knowledge and logic? And Einstein, Newton and Shakespeare are at one end of it? Well, the entire US police force is crammed at the other end. I wonder what the police academy is like... Elementary school all over again. Sheesh!
No, seriously, the US police needs a LOT of work. There are TONS of issues out there that haven't been addressed properly, like police brutality. But the police is part of the government, the government runs the country, the supreme court knows that, and there you go. If Farmer John -- officier specialized in pronouncing "y'all" with a special accent bend and who posseses a gun (a GUN!) -- comes to your house and succesfully identifies what would qualify as computer equipment, "he be takin' it" and you can cry about it, because Farmer John knows one thing: that he can get a warrant. Last time I heard of something like this, the cops confiscated 2 computers from a kid based on 2 entries in the Apache log file of a Web site that had been hacked.
Forget about Uncle Sam. Beware of a new specimen: Officier Farmer John! He be takin' shit...
--------------
Hehe... Windows 200 Professional, huh? Cheap Version of ZoneAlarm? It looks like you're all set! The next thing you should do is put your system outside your apartment complete with monitor and keyboard. Although running Windows kind of does that anyway...
Wake up, Neo! Wake UP!!!
--------------
I still can't believe that the entire US Government's computer net is run by Microsoft!! Who are their network engineers? Have these people been sleeping while Microsoft was selling them crap that had "crap" written on the label and the entire geek community was referring to it as crap?
This is stupid. If some third-world country takes over their network (which is entirely possible) they deserve it.
NT error of the day: Operation could not be completed because operation was completed successfully!
--------------
I'm starting college in a few days (BS in CS) and I'm planning on going all the way, for at least a Masters, and most likely the Ph.D
I'm 21 years old, so I took about 3 years after high school to make my decision. I asked myself all kinds of questions during this time, like:
- How important is money in the immediate future to me?
- Do I personally HAVE to gain all the knowledge possible, or will I do OK with just a little bit?
- Which degree fits me the best?
- Do I really need to go to college at all?
I see your problem a lot with kids who jump into things right after hish school, just because their parents said so... That's wrong. You should be 100% decided, and know a LOT about that degree before you jump into things.
The other important question is "Are you passioned about this stuff?" "Do you start writing a Web server in your favorite scripting language because you need to feel the 'rush' you feel when you accomplish something?"
If quick money is what you have in mind, you might as well drop out after your sophomore year and get a job.
--------------
This is stupid! It's like going out on a playfield and getting hit in the head with a ball and complaining... Then the judge makes balls illegal on the playfield, because "if you get hit in the head occasionally, there might be a chance that whoever hit you might have done it on purpose."
If you make your machine available to the outside world, get ready to be bitch-portscanned! If a portscan on your machine leads to a break-in, then you weren't ready to plug your machine into the internet anyway. Deal with it.
It's funny that I see these judges making firm decisions over such deep matters, after just a couple of days of "research," previous to which they thought that Internet was a town in Kansas... Stupid!
--------------
I live in Portland, Ore. and we've been using 10-digit dialing for a couple of months now. It really sucks;
--------------
WOW! You are so off the subject here...
You are not entitled an upgrade price in a fridge, because the company chose not to charge people for their inellectual property. They charge for the physical property.
When you buy another fridge, you pay for physical materials, and the labor it took for the fridge to work. You should not be entitled to an upgrade price.
CD's and software are in a totally different spectrum. If you buy a CD and scratch it beyond recognition, you have to re-pay the original price if you want another one. THat's WRONG! You'd already paid for the intellectual property part of that CD when you first bought it. You should now pay what that physical CD is worth. Which is $0.80.
--------------
This is a problem that dates back when the first vinyl record was released. It's a flawed system that started on the wrong foot, and not it seems it's too late to change things, since the majority of the people think it's a good concept.
This is what the whole Napster thing is revolving around. Lars Ulrich thinks he should be rewarded for his work. Work that he did 10 years ago. (?!?!) That's bullshit! I'm not going to pay $16 for a mere copy of an album he recorded 10 years ago! Give me his original studio recording, and I will gladly pay you. If Ulrich performed for every single CD recording, then Yes, he would have a point.
The point here is that the music and software industry get away with a lot of crap because of this flaw. Just think about it for a second: Why would you pay $40 for a CD that had a copy of a game on it, and took an average of 80 cents to make? That's $39.20 profit for the software company. I don't buy CD's or games, just because I would feel like a stupid idiot moron, for paying for Dr Dre's weed and Madonna's rent, when they had absolutely nothing to do with the CD I just bought.
Just take a second and think about this people. You take all these copyright laws for granted, when the Hollywood and software giants are praying that people don't figure out the trick to this banal process that pays for their 20 lbs gold necklaces.
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