Amen. Try to order a slower processor with built in video and any decent RAID and you are boned with Dell. (ie: home server) You have to buy their higher systems with deluxe audio and video and god knows you can't get it without Windows.
We have about 20 Dells here, been reliable, but one hard drive died (6 months old, 3 year warranty), so their tech came out to our office and replaced the drive, then STARTED the install of the OS and left a note saying that is all he is responsible for. Just disappeared.
After finishing the base install, I realized he has just installed Windows HOME. I got to start over. I politely emailed Dell, two different areas, no response. Over a month ago now. It would have been cheaper if they DIDN'T have a warranty, and I just installed a $50 80gb drive and did it all myself to begin with.
You are correct that it seems to have breathed new life into Slashdot. To me, Digg is like a Mall, where you don't know anyone and your actions have little consequence, good or bad.
Slashdot is like a pub where everyone knows you, so you find more meaningful conversation. People actually give a damn about Slashdot, even when pointing out the flaws. Actually, if they didn't care, they wouldn't bother. Digg just isn't a "community" and never will be.
I quit taking Digg serious shortly after I thought I liked it, soley because of the obvious censoring they do, all in secret. Also because they edited my comments, changing the context, AND they were not against Digg or anyone else. Just simply Admin abuse.
I still find a story or two that is interesting, but mainly I just try to mod up the trash just to prove how fucked up and bias it is.
Digg is already old news, earning perhaps a footnote in Wikipedia someday.
Of course for all this added convenience and direct profit to the developer I get the chance to pay the exact same price as I would at retail.
Simply not true. You can buy Half Life 2 for $29.99, and most of their upgrade packages are $10 to $20 (completely different games are the same price).
You also don't have to authenticate to play, except multiplayer. What about with 360 and other consoles that support multiplayer? You have to authenticate, just the same. Its no different.
I bought HL back in 1998, and when I activated my steam account, I just punched in the code off the cd, and havent used the cd since. I bought HL2, and now they just GAVE me all the extra games that I would have paid for for HL1, including Opposing Force and Blue Shift, neither of which I paid for with the original. Of course, counter strike and tfc are also included free.
So I hear a lot of people complaint about Steam, but I'm as rabid about privacy and DRM as anyone, but as an actual USER of the system, I can say it has been 10x more pleasant than anything else. I installed everything at work, at home and on my laptop from the same account, no problems. If I am offline, I play any single player game without authentication. I can NOT play from two machines in multiplayer at the same time, but you couldn't with CD keys before (the whole idea behind authentication). There is nothing to prevent me from playing single player on two machines at once.
Steam isn't perfect, but it is an extremely affordable ($10 to $30 per game) system that offers reasonable authentication for multiple player games, fast updates. NO more going to freaking fileplanet and "waiting in line for 40 minutes, or pay $5 per month" crap either. Hell, I will pay twice the price to avoid that mess.
Everytime I do log on (I have is so I only do that manually, a simple toggle in setup) it automatically starts downloading any patches, shows their "news" (ad for games, can be disabled but I don't mind since I want to know) and has a built in program for finding game servers that is better than Gamespy.
And since 1998, all this has cost me about $100, and has many games I play, and they have never sent me spam. What a freaking bargain!
The only guys I see bitch about Steam, are the ones who have never TRIED it because of (fill in lame excuse here) reasons.
Personally, I realized I like Steam and buy games from them. No Wal-mart needed. No box, no cd to lose and I can install on multiple boxes. But then, that is just me...and a few million others.
Odd that I couldn't find the word "steam" anywhere on this first page. Surely with some of the hottest selling games in the industry, and a platform that makes the retailer not needed (thus not powerful, as in this example) this has to make games more profitable for the maker, and more affordable for the user.
I think that is about as much control as you can have.
Every vendor who labels their products as "Linux" when there is as much GNU software in the distribution as Linux kernel, or more. I think that is his point. I don't think it is about being "famous" but rather that Linux should do more than be better than Microsoft, it should promote the idea of software Freedom, and that is the entire reason GNU exists. Again, I don't get political about it, but he does have a valid point.
Just as you have "Microsoft Windows" (as opposed to XWindows) you have GNU/Linux. I might not say "GNU/Linux" when I converse, but if i am advertising a product for sale, it seems logical to add the GNU, since at the very least, all the software in that "box" was compiled on the GNU CC compiler and is chock full of other GNU software.
What Linus does is extremely valuable, no doubt, and I am even glad he is neutral about the politics himself. But without the GNU components (and other components not related to the Linux kernel), all you would have is a kernel that boots and sits there and does nothing else. So yea, I think RMS has a point. I've also said RMS looks like Jerry Garcia after an all-nighter and is a bit preachy for my tastes, but he is still right on this point.
I don't get involved in the internal politics of GNU/Linux, but Linux was only a few lines of code before it went GNU/GPL and it attracted most of the coding talent since then because of it was GNU/GPL.
In 1990, GNU was already organized and had a fair amount of software in development and in use, including emacs and gcc. In 1990, Linus was a student learning on Minix and had not written a single line of kernel code.
I find RMS to be more preachy than he needs to be, but like you, I agree that is he is still right on the issues. GNU is just as important as Linus when it comes to Linux and the acceptance it now has, and it does seem fair to give credit where credit is due.
Slashdot is what you keep loaded in the OTHER tab, in case the wife walks in and you are looking at pron.
You just switch tabs right quick, so she sees you are looking at Slashdot, which guarantees she will not have any interest in looking at the computer screen any futher. She won't even notice the other tab with the "Want to play tonight?" title.
Unless of course Slashdot has a pink ponies theme, which will actual pique her interest. Bastards.
"Free as in speech" would also include having the choice to use proprietary file formats is one so chooses. Not my cup of tea, but neither is fanboyism.
Actually what you say makes total sense, and is what Apple has done with OS/X. This is one reason Apple has had some serious innovation lately, while MS appears to be bogged down with security fixes. Eventually, MS will have to break compatibility, and common sense would tell you that now is the perfect time (they have Virtual PC, computers are powerful enough to emulate NT for older programs, etc.) Also, since the new GUI is going to be so CPU intensive, dropping much of the backward compatible baggage would help make the OS faster. Coming out with a new version of Office at the same time would also justify the expense for customers to make the upgrade as well.
But this is also what happens when a corporation gets too large. It starts to buckle under its own weight. They can't seem to make the tough decisions because everything is decided by committee.
Some people feel compelled to "protect us, from us" by limiting speech. It "isn't fair if Sen. Bob has more money than Sen. John" so they try to limit the capability to raise money. Maybe Sen. John is an asshole, so no one donates to him. Maybe Sen. Bob is a crook, so businesses funnel millions to him. With FULL reporting of donations, at least I have the information to decide for myself.
And no, I don't need a government official "protecting" me by limiting the money raised. I'm smart enough to decide for myself if given accurate information.
the transfer of money is not speech it it commerce.
I don't mean to argue, but I'm pretty sure the Supreme Court sees donating to a campaign as Speech. It is a way of enabling someone else to speak for you in the government. They may allow regulating it but it is still speech.
Yelling FIRE in a crowded theatre is illegal because it is a regulation to limit "free speech" in one of the few situations where the greater good of the community outweights the individuals right to speak. Yelling FIRE is generally not considered a form of political speech, so it is protected to a lesser degree.
The key is POLITICAL SPEECH. Be it about a politician in general, religion, human rights, world affairs, war or anything affecting policies or way of life. Again, the higher standard of protection is established in precident.
The key, in my opinion, is that you and I know that "ABC123, Inc." gave Sen. Joe Blow $5 million dollars and the transaction is totally in the open. Anything less is a limitation on free speech.
I know not everyone thinks this way, but if ABC123, Inc. wants to get $5 million to Joe, they will, one way or another. If it is legal, at least everyone will KNOW it, and can decide to vote for Joe, who is already bought and paid for. Right now, Joe is already getting the $5 million, but its by ABC123, Inc. hiring his wife for one million for consulting, hiring his son for an internship, etc.
And yes, there is a part of me that says, if you want to spend $5 million of YOUR legally earned money to support a candidate, you should have the right. It's your money. And to those who say "what if it isn't legally earned", that is a different law and doesn't apply here. (Same people who correct my speling.)
I have no right to tell you how to spend your money. If you do in a way that influences our form of government, I have the right to KNOW this, but I don't have the right to abridge your freedom of speech (ie: paying for commercials, etc.). Donating money to a candidatial campaign IS speech.
At least the last time I read the Constitution, that is what it seemed to say, lawyers be damned.
Is it me, or should the parent have a disclaimer "This advertisement paid by..." for a signature? And what does "sharing your experiences" about AMD have to do with the US Government regulating free speech on the internet, which is the topic of this story?
In what way does regulating the internet in the same way as print media qualify as a light touch? Just seems like fairness to me.
To me, the biggest fear is that they HAD to clarify this. Publishing on the internet should be regarded exactly the same as publishing flyers, TV ads, books, etc. WITHOUT clarification. The job of determining this has traditionally been left to the courts anyway.
Anytime the government decides to regulate speach, you are entering very dangerous waters. This included McCain-Feingold or any other law that puts any limitation on political speech.
Some of us believe that campaign contributions should be 100% without limits, but 100% reported and accounted for so the public can see exactly who is buying and selling our politicians.
Aren't we lucky, they're so gracious as to allow us our constitutionally protected free speech. Like they had a choice.
But by "giving" us the right, they reserve their right to take it away in the future, if the right is "abused". So they have set a precident that may come in handy in the future, as long as those nasty courts don't interfere.
Fortunately for them, by the time a court interferes, the election would likely be over, rendering the point moot for that election season, and giving them the opportunity to create a differently worded "right of speach". Rinse, repeat.
you will have lots of fun giving tech support for your family when they all switch to some kind of linux:p
Holy crap I wish my mom WOULD switch to Linux! Lots of fun? Yes, I ssh in, see what the problem is, fix it. All during a three minute commercial break. Try that with Windows.
It is MUCH easier to fix someone's problem than it is to walk them through and help them fix it themselves over the phone. WAY EASIER AND FASTER.
Desktop frozen? SSH in, kill -9 , "Ok mom, type startx and press enter". I already have a script that "knocks" on my dns server and they autoupdate so I just use the FQDN to log into any of my computers by NAME. Piece of cake, even for a non-guru like me.
Assuming you are a Windows power user kinda person, if you knew as much about Linux as you did Windows, you would prefer fixing Linux because it is easier, faster and better documented. And yes, it really is needed much less often.
That's a bonus for all those boot-sector virus writers - 8 times more space to do their dirty deeds...
Oh great, now my viruses can be bloatware, too. I guess with that much space, they can even install a GUI for the virus, or maybe "Clippy" to keep me distracted while he formats my hard drive.
The imminent loss of life, limb is the legal term used in many states, not just a random phrase I invented.
Sending SPAM is a crime in the US, but you don't use 911 to report it. Same with seeing your neighbor smoke a joint. Or hit and run on an unoccupied, parked car. You call the desk, not 911.
There is a *reason* why the above is the worded the way it is. Not all crimes are emergencies or should be treated as such.
Slashdot Mirror
Amen. Try to order a slower processor with built in video and any decent RAID and you are boned with Dell. (ie: home server) You have to buy their higher systems with deluxe audio and video and god knows you can't get it without Windows.
We have about 20 Dells here, been reliable, but one hard drive died (6 months old, 3 year warranty), so their tech came out to our office and replaced the drive, then STARTED the install of the OS and left a note saying that is all he is responsible for. Just disappeared.
After finishing the base install, I realized he has just installed Windows HOME. I got to start over. I politely emailed Dell, two different areas, no response. Over a month ago now. It would have been cheaper if they DIDN'T have a warranty, and I just installed a $50 80gb drive and did it all myself to begin with.
You are correct that it seems to have breathed new life into Slashdot. To me, Digg is like a Mall, where you don't know anyone and your actions have little consequence, good or bad.
Slashdot is like a pub where everyone knows you, so you find more meaningful conversation. People actually give a damn about Slashdot, even when pointing out the flaws. Actually, if they didn't care, they wouldn't bother. Digg just isn't a "community" and never will be.
I quit taking Digg serious shortly after I thought I liked it, soley because of the obvious censoring they do, all in secret. Also because they edited my comments, changing the context, AND they were not against Digg or anyone else. Just simply Admin abuse.
I still find a story or two that is interesting, but mainly I just try to mod up the trash just to prove how fucked up and bias it is.
Digg is already old news, earning perhaps a footnote in Wikipedia someday.
Of course for all this added convenience and direct profit to the developer I get the chance to pay the exact same price as I would at retail.
Simply not true. You can buy Half Life 2 for $29.99, and most of their upgrade packages are $10 to $20 (completely different games are the same price).
You also don't have to authenticate to play, except multiplayer. What about with 360 and other consoles that support multiplayer? You have to authenticate, just the same. Its no different.
I bought HL back in 1998, and when I activated my steam account, I just punched in the code off the cd, and havent used the cd since. I bought HL2, and now they just GAVE me all the extra games that I would have paid for for HL1, including Opposing Force and Blue Shift, neither of which I paid for with the original. Of course, counter strike and tfc are also included free.
So I hear a lot of people complaint about Steam, but I'm as rabid about privacy and DRM as anyone, but as an actual USER of the system, I can say it has been 10x more pleasant than anything else. I installed everything at work, at home and on my laptop from the same account, no problems. If I am offline, I play any single player game without authentication. I can NOT play from two machines in multiplayer at the same time, but you couldn't with CD keys before (the whole idea behind authentication). There is nothing to prevent me from playing single player on two machines at once.
Steam isn't perfect, but it is an extremely affordable ($10 to $30 per game) system that offers reasonable authentication for multiple player games, fast updates. NO more going to freaking fileplanet and "waiting in line for 40 minutes, or pay $5 per month" crap either. Hell, I will pay twice the price to avoid that mess.
Everytime I do log on (I have is so I only do that manually, a simple toggle in setup) it automatically starts downloading any patches, shows their "news" (ad for games, can be disabled but I don't mind since I want to know) and has a built in program for finding game servers that is better than Gamespy.
And since 1998, all this has cost me about $100, and has many games I play, and they have never sent me spam. What a freaking bargain!
The only guys I see bitch about Steam, are the ones who have never TRIED it because of (fill in lame excuse here) reasons.
Personally, I realized I like Steam and buy games from them. No Wal-mart needed. No box, no cd to lose and I can install on multiple boxes. But then, that is just me...and a few million others.
Odd that I couldn't find the word "steam" anywhere on this first page. Surely with some of the hottest selling games in the industry, and a platform that makes the retailer not needed (thus not powerful, as in this example) this has to make games more profitable for the maker, and more affordable for the user.
I think that is about as much control as you can have.
BTW, who does not give credit to gnu ??
Every vendor who labels their products as "Linux" when there is as much GNU software in the distribution as Linux kernel, or more. I think that is his point. I don't think it is about being "famous" but rather that Linux should do more than be better than Microsoft, it should promote the idea of software Freedom, and that is the entire reason GNU exists. Again, I don't get political about it, but he does have a valid point.
Just as you have "Microsoft Windows" (as opposed to XWindows) you have GNU/Linux. I might not say "GNU/Linux" when I converse, but if i am advertising a product for sale, it seems logical to add the GNU, since at the very least, all the software in that "box" was compiled on the GNU CC compiler and is chock full of other GNU software.
What Linus does is extremely valuable, no doubt, and I am even glad he is neutral about the politics himself. But without the GNU components (and other components not related to the Linux kernel), all you would have is a kernel that boots and sits there and does nothing else. So yea, I think RMS has a point. I've also said RMS looks like Jerry Garcia after an all-nighter and is a bit preachy for my tastes, but he is still right on this point.
I don't get involved in the internal politics of GNU/Linux, but Linux was only a few lines of code before it went GNU/GPL and it attracted most of the coding talent since then because of it was GNU/GPL.
In 1990, GNU was already organized and had a fair amount of software in development and in use, including emacs and gcc. In 1990, Linus was a student learning on Minix and had not written a single line of kernel code.
I find RMS to be more preachy than he needs to be, but like you, I agree that is he is still right on the issues. GNU is just as important as Linus when it comes to Linux and the acceptance it now has, and it does seem fair to give credit where credit is due.
Yeah, nobody should have that much money.
We should take it from him, somehow.
Being a vigilante isn't the solution. Besides, the IRS is more than capable of taking most of it without your help.
Slashdot is what you keep loaded in the OTHER tab, in case the wife walks in and you are looking at pron.
You just switch tabs right quick, so she sees you are looking at Slashdot, which guarantees she will not have any interest in looking at the computer screen any futher. She won't even notice the other tab with the "Want to play tonight?" title.
Unless of course Slashdot has a pink ponies theme, which will actual pique her interest. Bastards.
I heard that Linus and Richard might try to sneak in! They're sooooo cute! *SQueaL!*
Have you seen "Richard"?
Don't get me wrong, we owe RMS for the GPL and more, but you have to admit, he looks Jerry Garcia after an all nighter.
"Free as in speech" would also include having the choice to use proprietary file formats is one so chooses. Not my cup of tea, but neither is fanboyism.
OMG, and me without mod points. Best. Post. Ever.
Actually what you say makes total sense, and is what Apple has done with OS/X. This is one reason Apple has had some serious innovation lately, while MS appears to be bogged down with security fixes. Eventually, MS will have to break compatibility, and common sense would tell you that now is the perfect time (they have Virtual PC, computers are powerful enough to emulate NT for older programs, etc.) Also, since the new GUI is going to be so CPU intensive, dropping much of the backward compatible baggage would help make the OS faster. Coming out with a new version of Office at the same time would also justify the expense for customers to make the upgrade as well.
But this is also what happens when a corporation gets too large. It starts to buckle under its own weight. They can't seem to make the tough decisions because everything is decided by committee.
Some people feel compelled to "protect us, from us" by limiting speech. It "isn't fair if Sen. Bob has more money than Sen. John" so they try to limit the capability to raise money. Maybe Sen. John is an asshole, so no one donates to him. Maybe Sen. Bob is a crook, so businesses funnel millions to him. With FULL reporting of donations, at least I have the information to decide for myself.
And no, I don't need a government official "protecting" me by limiting the money raised. I'm smart enough to decide for myself if given accurate information.
the transfer of money is not speech it it commerce.
I don't mean to argue, but I'm pretty sure the Supreme Court sees donating to a campaign as Speech. It is a way of enabling someone else to speak for you in the government. They may allow regulating it but it is still speech.
Yelling FIRE in a crowded theatre is illegal because it is a regulation to limit "free speech" in one of the few situations where the greater good of the community outweights the individuals right to speak. Yelling FIRE is generally not considered a form of political speech, so it is protected to a lesser degree.
The key is POLITICAL SPEECH. Be it about a politician in general, religion, human rights, world affairs, war or anything affecting policies or way of life. Again, the higher standard of protection is established in precident.
The key, in my opinion, is that you and I know that "ABC123, Inc." gave Sen. Joe Blow $5 million dollars and the transaction is totally in the open. Anything less is a limitation on free speech.
I know not everyone thinks this way, but if ABC123, Inc. wants to get $5 million to Joe, they will, one way or another. If it is legal, at least everyone will KNOW it, and can decide to vote for Joe, who is already bought and paid for. Right now, Joe is already getting the $5 million, but its by ABC123, Inc. hiring his wife for one million for consulting, hiring his son for an internship, etc.
And yes, there is a part of me that says, if you want to spend $5 million of YOUR legally earned money to support a candidate, you should have the right. It's your money. And to those who say "what if it isn't legally earned", that is a different law and doesn't apply here. (Same people who correct my speling.)
I have no right to tell you how to spend your money. If you do in a way that influences our form of government, I have the right to KNOW this, but I don't have the right to abridge your freedom of speech (ie: paying for commercials, etc.). Donating money to a candidatial campaign IS speech.
At least the last time I read the Constitution, that is what it seemed to say, lawyers be damned.
Isn't the 'g' necessary only to replace multiple occurences?
Yes. Every election and race where Diebold is involved, not just any once instance. IE: "each time you see it". That was the idea, anyway.
Is it me, or should the parent have a disclaimer "This advertisement paid by..." for a signature? And what does "sharing your experiences" about AMD have to do with the US Government regulating free speech on the internet, which is the topic of this story?
Makes me want to go buy an Intel product.
In what way does regulating the internet in the same way as print media qualify as a light touch? Just seems like fairness to me.
To me, the biggest fear is that they HAD to clarify this. Publishing on the internet should be regarded exactly the same as publishing flyers, TV ads, books, etc. WITHOUT clarification. The job of determining this has traditionally been left to the courts anyway.
Anytime the government decides to regulate speach, you are entering very dangerous waters. This included McCain-Feingold or any other law that puts any limitation on political speech.
Some of us believe that campaign contributions should be 100% without limits, but 100% reported and accounted for so the public can see exactly who is buying and selling our politicians.
You forgot to add "g;" at the end.
Aren't we lucky, they're so gracious as to allow us our constitutionally protected free speech. Like they had a choice.
But by "giving" us the right, they reserve their right to take it away in the future, if the right is "abused". So they have set a precident that may come in handy in the future, as long as those nasty courts don't interfere.
Fortunately for them, by the time a court interferes, the election would likely be over, rendering the point moot for that election season, and giving them the opportunity to create a differently worded "right of speach". Rinse, repeat.
you will have lots of fun giving tech support for your family when they all switch to some kind of linux :p
Holy crap I wish my mom WOULD switch to Linux! Lots of fun? Yes, I ssh in, see what the problem is, fix it. All during a three minute commercial break. Try that with Windows.
It is MUCH easier to fix someone's problem than it is to walk them through and help them fix it themselves over the phone. WAY EASIER AND FASTER.
Desktop frozen? SSH in, kill -9 , "Ok mom, type startx and press enter". I already have a script that "knocks" on my dns server and they autoupdate so I just use the FQDN to log into any of my computers by NAME. Piece of cake, even for a non-guru like me.
Assuming you are a Windows power user kinda person, if you knew as much about Linux as you did Windows, you would prefer fixing Linux because it is easier, faster and better documented. And yes, it really is needed much less often.
That's a bonus for all those boot-sector virus writers - 8 times more space to do their dirty deeds...
Oh great, now my viruses can be bloatware, too. I guess with that much space, they can even install a GUI for the virus, or maybe "Clippy" to keep me distracted while he formats my hard drive.
The imminent loss of life, limb is the legal term used in many states, not just a random phrase I invented.
Sending SPAM is a crime in the US, but you don't use 911 to report it. Same with seeing your neighbor smoke a joint. Or hit and run on an unoccupied, parked car. You call the desk, not 911.
There is a *reason* why the above is the worded the way it is. Not all crimes are emergencies or should be treated as such.
The real number is 912 - every Stonecutter knows that!
Who controls the British crown?
Who keeps the metric system down?
We do! We do.
Who leaves the Atlantis off the maps?
Who keeps the Martians under wraps?
We do! We do.
Who holds back the electric car?
Who makes Steve Guttenberg a star?
We do! We do.
Who robs cave fish of their sight?
Who rigs every Oscar night?
We do! We do.
(appologies to http://www.snpp.com/episodes/2F09.html)