So you say that you can not compare the threats they faced nor the way they performed in military conflicts. Makes me kind of wonder how you think any comparison can be achieved.
As I said "since you can't compare the threats facing each"
That is the point. You can't. The threats were completely different, so you can't compare them directly. Its not all black and white, where "if they do this, you do this". You have even seen Clinton take his side on a few issues regarding the war.
Chechnia or Bosnia? Do we count anyone killed in asprin factories that are not Americans? What about the soldiers killed from terrorist attacks, like the Cole, etc.? Should we have acted earlier, or pulled out? If Clinton would have taken Osama when he had the chance would it have prevented 9-11?
It easy to second guess after the fact, isn't it? I don't claim Clinton is responsible for these things, but I do claim that it is pretty absurd to compare two presidents based upon the number of deaths of military soldiers, since you can't compare the threats facing each.
We do. Linux users. If the FSF filed the suit (since it owns much of the Copyrights now), funded by $5, $10, $20, $100 from Linux users. Its economy of scale, consolidating many small instances of infringement that are similar, to prove a pattern. It would be a good time to sign over copyright to FSF of projects where it reasonable, and let this ONE group go after them, backed by you and I, and maybe a few corporate bucks as well. IBM already is contributing enough to the cause by taking the first punch, but a lot of companies are benefiting and should consider contributing.
Samba, Apache, utilities, etc. are all used by lots of people for free (as in beer), and they are free (as in speech), although not all GPL. It would be easy to talk me into donating $20-$30, which is much cheaper than buying alternatives, and would hopefully put this whole GPL issue to rest. It needs to be confirmed, or declared illegal NOW and fixed. Other free licenses would be strengthened by a favorable ruling as well, just as our case is favored by the BSD case of the 70s-80s.
Only in America do you have to go to court to prove its legal to distribute software without overcharging for it.
No, the people in Iraq are worse off at the moment, because the US (or should I say the Bush administration) bombed what little there was left of, say power plants, radio stations, water supply, and other parts of the infrastructure to weaken the regime, which had been beaten anyways. And now they lack the will to rebuild it.
You really need to check your facts. We didn't bomb any power plants, or virtually any parts of the infrastructure. Most of it was deteriorating from years of neglect. We didn't even take out any radio stations until near the end of the primary battle, which are easily replaced. The bombing of pipelines and powerstations has been done by Saddam loyalists/ Al Queda types. Water service hasn't really been a problem, and the fact is, the electrical service now is better than it was before the war. As to lacking the will, again not true. The only thing slowing down training new Iraqis is our ability to handle only a few thousand trainees at a time.
They may be free, but they're starving unessecarily now.
Absolutely untrue. The first aid in was food, and there IS no shortage of food in Iraq now. Period. The number of people dying to violence is also lower, even with the terrorist attacks going on. There is plenty to debate, but these facts are not even disputed by the UN.
It is insulting to talk about Iraqis lacking the will. Iraqis are not ignorant, backwards, dirt poor people. They are fairly educated, just new to the concept of self determination. Again, you may want to check your facts before submitting and not assume that every group that is oppressed has no capacity to help themselves.
If you guys just HATE the US, fine. We have no problem with that. We didn't go into Iraq to get Europe to love us. But at least try using REAL facts and figures instead of just making stuff up, and expecting other US haters to believe your FUD about the US.
But France and Germany are *much* more socialist than they are capitalist. And they're doing pretty well. In fact, I'm pretty sure they're doing better than the US as far as per capita level of life.
People in Germany and France can do as well as the average American. Some better, some worse. But the level of "freedom" in the US IS higher in most ways, and admittedly lower in a few. I have friends in Germany whom I send US video games, for instance, because in Germany they do not allow anything with any Nazi reference or with a high level of gore. I'm talking about mainstream stuff, like Half-life. The German version is a censored version. This isn't my opinion, its something I have learned from friends all over the globe. On a more important note, it is much easier to have your home searched by the police with a lower standard in most of Europe, vs. the US. This is based upon my experience with these friends, and a few years working as an investigator in a criminal defense law firm here in the US. There are many other examples, and yes, a few that demonstrate a higher degree of freedom in Europe as well.
will tell you this: as a citizen of a country near Iraq, all I say to you is "Leave us the fuck alone!
And thanks to their liberation, some ARE saying this, freely, in the streets, for the first time in almost 40 years. We can disagree about the US involvement and whether its right or wrong, but regardless, the people of Iraq ARE better off, and the majority ARE glad we are there. Fortunately, the minority NOW has the right to protest in the streets without fear of retribution.
You can go ahead and be proud of whatever you have... I just have contempt for it.
Anyone who truly believes in freedom of speech is willing to stand up and protect the speech that most offends them or is in contradiction with their beliefs. You MAY find it hard to believe, but alot of Americans really believe that, and live it, and even join the military for it. The best example is the quotes from the US troops while the Iraqi's were protesting. They were saying how it was a good sign, because they realize they can speak out for the first time, even if they disagreed with the message.
So have your contempt, but don't be under the illusion that you truly understand how we all feel. There are well over 260 million of us, many from different counties, backgrounds, religions and cultures. This is akin to the entire of Europe, where we would not expect British to feel the same way as Germans, or Turks. The same for Texans, New Yorkers, Floridians or Californians.
The US public is acting the sad puppy dog eyes and not understanding why Iraqi civilians "don't like US troups", even though those troups are there to "Liberate and Free" them.
That MAY be how the news/media shows it, but I can promise you, that is NOT how most American's feel. I know of no one that is sad puppy dog about Iraq. Now, you may not like this, but most people I know really don't care what the rest of the world is saying about it. Its not that we don't care about world opinion, but many DO feel that this is a just cause, and in retrospect, the world will say "We still don't like it, but we understand it and respect it.". Until then, we take the heat in stride. I promise you, the US news media is very out of touch with the average person, since they have their own political agenda.
I'm refusing to read anything else from your post... and you know what, go ahead: think that you're better.
You know, you are exactly the kind of person I prefer to mark me as foe: Unwilling to even READ a post before you pass judgement on it. Makes it easier for me.
And the fact that American's HAVE more than most other is no secret. No one, including ME, said that made us better or superior. Its just a fact that American's on average are better fed than say, Africans, Iraqis, Serbs, etc.
Nothing personal, but any country who wants to get ahead, to bring wealth, education and comfort to its citizens, is NOT going to look to Russia, Somalia, or Iran as a model. Even Russia is trying to Westernize. I mean, why would you look at FAILED systems if you are trying to build a success? Which takes us back to Communism.....
Before the US became the US, we tried other forms of government, such as Confederatism, which failed. But you knew that, right?
You, like many other, just don't get it. We don't hate you for it, but still, you just don't get it.
And you consider your capitalism a monumental succes?
The American system of democracy is an experiement, in every sense of the word. That is why it is constantly tweaked. What ISN'T tweaked is the underlying principal that "freedom", in any form, is not given to the people, but is their natural born right.
Look at the US. Practically everyone on the planet hates you.
Not exactly, but yes, there is a lot of anger toward the US, and there always will be resentment from those who have less. Leadership IS, by definition, the willingness to do what is right, even if it is not popular. Any country that is as prominant as the US and popular, would obviously NOT be doing what is right, but rather what is popular. Appeasing Hitler was popular in the 1930s, for instance.
The only reason you are in power is *not* because you are capitalist, but because you took hold of all the oil fields in the world.
America's rise to power began well before anyone knew there was oil in the Middle East, or cared. The anti-trust suits of Standard Oil in the early 1900s had nothing to do with oil from any other country. Also note that the Middle Eastern countries TOOK the oil fields away from private owners in the middle 1900's, taking the wealth for their own monarchies. Read a little history on it, its actually an eye opener.
If you knew a bit about history, you would know about the revolutions that took place in Russia to instill communism.
Not exactly true. The revolution was to end Czarist rule and the corruption that it had, not to instill Communism. The masses wanted only to end the current system at any cost. Communism won by default, as the only alternative that could get a majority of support at the time, by the *new* people in control.
Only a mentality like yours, pragmatic to the last drop (which btw will be the end of your country) would consider a theory to be a failure by looking at its applications.
You make being pragmatic sound bad. Not everyone would agree. And yes, any scientist would look at the results of an experiment to determine if it was a success or a failure, logically so. As our form of government IS an experiment, it would only make sense to look at it this way. Fortunately, ours is an ongoing experiment, and we can change our methods as long as our goals remain the same.
By that same logic, cryptography is a failure.
It is a failure if it doesn't change. 100 years ago, a 32 bit key would be unbreakable. You treat the world (and communism) as a final result, a static entity, a single destination. Most of us do not. Our goals are a moving target, as new ways and people come to take freedom away from everyone. Our underlying goal is the same, that all people should have equal opportunity, but our methods constantly evolve.
You can have your Communism. In theory, it sounds all wonderful, but in practice, the end result is that power ends up in the hands of too few, all in the name of equality. Its the proverbial "propetual motion machine". It simply will not happen, as it violates too many laws of nature: Human nature, in this example. At least the US system guarantees you have a new leader every few years. It is a terribly inefficient governmental system that leads to a very efficient private sector.
Capitalism is where everyone has equal opportunity, but some do well and others do poorly. Communism is where everyone is equally miserable. (regrets to W.C.)
Many people still have perfectly good monitors from years past that could potentially be damaged by incorrect settings. If it still works, why toss it out?
As a general rule, I replace MY monitor every 2 years, while it is still working fine. I do this for a few reasons. One, I do alot of color work, and after a couple years, every monitor is less accurate, color wise. Two, it is still working so I can still actually SELL it, and get some of my money back. Three, most video cards can scan faster than monitors, so every few years I upgrade to get faster refresh rates which are easier on the eyes. My two year old G2-GTS/64MB is fine for Photoshop work but the 2 year old monitor isn't.
Many 6-8 year old monitors, for instance, dont do over 60hz or 800x600 or 1024x768. What I really want is 1600x1200 on a 19"+ at >85hz, and preferably 100hz. I still don't have that, but I'm much better off than I was 3 years ago at 1200x1024@85hz or 1600x1200@75hz. The savings in eye strain is worth it to me, too.
I do not understand what you mean. I was simply quoting Mr. Fester.
Wow. I thought you were joking. I thought you were taking just a little too far, but wow. But now its funnier knowing someone really said that. I would still hire him though. That was Baghdad Bob all over again.
"All told, copmputer fans should look for services that offer the best experience and take advantage of the best digital rights platform available for PCs. With Windows XP 2003, you get faster starts, better quality internet, and support for the most websites," Fester said.
You must be in marketing. Excellently muddled claim about imaginary issues. I bet you spent some time one on that line, getting the nuance, the feel, correct. The art of selling the sizzle, not the steak. "Bullshit", as an artform is second only to propaganda. I would hire you.
I say there is an easier way to fix this. I say we all start a DDOS attack on non existant web sites. I mean, who is going to sue you for flooding www.aafefasa.com if www.aafefasa.com doesn't exist? Technically, you aren't even denying service since the freaking domain doesn't exist, right?:D
Interesting comment. Allow me to demostrate why we all owe a debt to porn, and the people who enjoy it.
Back when VRC's first came out, they typically ranged from $1200 to $1800 each. The reason you can buy one for $49 now is because of porn and those who enjoy it.
When video cameras first came out, they were the size of suitcases and cost in excess of $3000 each for mediocre quality. Now you can buy an exceptional quality unit for well under $1000, and get a decent model for closer to $500. This is because of porn and those who enjoy it.
When computers first came out, growth was slow and mainly due to business' wanting to automate. Once computers became powerful enough to be useful for full graphics (386dx) they were still terribly expensive ($2000 for a stripped box) but soon came down because of porn and those who enjoy it.
When the Internet first became available to the general public, in mass, I personally paid $80 a month for 80 hours. (ironically, not for porn, but for a BBS). Many before me paid much more. But now you can get dialup for $10 to $20 a month, because of porn and those who enjoy it.
Like any new technology, the price can only come down once two conditions are met:
1. Demand is high enough at inflated prices to pay for the research and development involved in bring out a new product. This allows a company to recover a portion of their original investment.
2. Demand has to be reliable enough for companies to invest in excess manufacturing capacity. This lowers prices because it introduces economy of scale. It introduces competition because any profitable venture will attract capitalists who want to make a better mouse trap, cheaper. Eventually, it turns the new product into a commodity, where margins are razor thin and you can get the same basic product from a number of providers.
In each case, it was porn and those who enjoy it that invested the money on the consumer side for these products. No one would have paid $3000 for a computer to email someone on a $80 a month 2400 baud connection. (think fidonet or google it) No grandmother would have paid $3500 for a video camera to take shots of her grandchildren, to play on her $1800 VCR.
Microwave ovens became available in the 50s, but they did not become popular until the late 70s. Why? Because they have no porn value, so it took 20 years to get the economy of scale and demand strong enough for the price to come down. Had there been a potential porn use for the microwave, we all would have had them for $100 before we landed on the moon.
We all owe a great debt to those brave pioneers, who worked tirelessly typing with one hand, pants to ankles, in the darkness of night. Because of their relentless pursuit of a better way to masturbate, we are all able to enjoy consumer goods at incredibly cheap prices. Even the third world countries are able to benefit with wireless phones where there are no wires, all because some guy sitting in his parents basement was patient enough to wait for a 256 color GIF image to load to screen over a 14.4kbit connection.
So, the next time you see a pervert, go up and shake his hand, and tell him "Thank you for your contribution to society".
We had the same problem. We needed a color laser with good enough quality for proofs, and we needed to use it for small print runs (500 or less). After a lot of looking around, I picked the HP 4600DN.
It costs around 2300-2500 (Page Computers had the best price, and very fast delivery). Figure about 100 for delivery. It uses 4 carts, at $120 for black, and $180 each for C, M, Y. 9000 sheets at 5%, but figure about 14 cents for light coverage, 25 for medium, 50 cents for very heavy.
It leaves a 1/4" or less border, of course, but its as small as you can get. It runs PCL or PS, over 95 network, Win2k, or TCP/IP. I set it up on my Linux box as a generic PS printer and it works famously. The color quality is exceptional on plain paper, although my old HP932 made the glossy paper look a little better. You really don't need glossy for this anyway, since being laser, it puts a slightly better than mat finish on it anyway.
Once it calibrates (once per day, first print job) it is super fast. 17ppm, and it seems to really do it. My desk is next to the printer room, and a single page is always done before I get to the printer, 20 feet away. (assuming it has already calibrated)
It has great features, you can run the admin software (not required) on any windows box, its not too large (but over 100 pounds) so it sets on a spare desk. The DN model has duplexing (N is for networking, has a NIC built in). It has a front bypass tray and a 500 sheet tray. You can get an optional tray for 1000 more pages for about $400-500 more.
It uses pc100 sdrams, and I think 512 max ram, which is plenty. I installed generic ram and it accepted it fine. We have 352mb in ours. You do have to remove about 8 screws to get to the ram, but then you just slide out the motherboard and put the ram in. It has one chip you have to keep (fonts) and one other chip for 96mb stock, and two empty slots. (32/64/0/0)
Like all laser printers, you CAN get some streaked lines if you are doing something very saturated, but its less than most. Most images come out very lifelike. You can preview them at most Office Depot stores, but they are not a good place to buy them.
Using Telemagic, purchased for our original 486/33 network running Windows 3.1 and Lantastic. (its a dos based contact manager). I think its from 1991. (we DID get a y2k update for it, for $150) Using Peachtree 4.0, their first windows application (16 bit) which was designed for Windows 3.1, from 1995.
Still running a Windows 95 server because we don't want to pay for Win server client licenses and time constraints have made migrating to Samba not viable. Also have probs with Samba on a mix of 95a,b,c,98,2k,xp. (yes, we tried PlainTextPassword). That 95 server is on a 1.1ghz Dell 1400SC server, which was really fun to get drivers for 95 to work on, but a nice and fast. (u160 scsi)
Actually, I carved up 95 on that one pretty well. It can't handle any media on the desktop, all codecs stripped, etc. Goes a month+ without a reboot easily, which isn't bad for 95. There are several other DOS utilities we run as well, most hosted on that server, including an out of date zip code tracker (zip = city for searching) and others.
Still have a couple P100 machines, but they are getting replaced in two weeks (for the new Peachtree) with CR-53 boxes (VIA 1.0ghz with built in NIC/Sound/Video/usb2/ps2, very cool TINY boxes for $159 bare at computergate.com). We will just pull the old hard drives (850mb) and CD's out and update the drivers for the OS. Already testing one with geat results. Just add a stick of RAM and they fly.
You've paid $10-12US * few thousand dollars on music recordings?
Shit, man. Get a life.
First of all, most NEW CD's cost more than 10-12 bucks.
Second, I am almost 40, and started buying CD's when they first came out, and yes, still have those CD's.
Third, I have been buying most of my CD's from pawnshops since 1990, for an average price of about $3 to $4.
Fourth, I OWN a pawnshop now, and have for 5 years, so what few I get now, I pay 50 cents to $1 for.
Fifth, I used to DJ (and still do a couple times a year free, for charity) so I needed a good variety. Most of them are still in cases. Dozens of large cases.
I used to use "Plano" tool boxes which hold 51 (17x3) and cost about $6 each in the early, but now I get the cases from the shop, and also use more than a few milk cartons for stuff I am just archiving.
So, yes, I have a few thousand music CDs. And no, I didn't spend $50,000 for them. I probably spent over $10,000 for them, over 13 years, while getting paid to spin them (part of the time). I personally know several DJs who have spent significantly more than this. I also collect other items, but CD's are my most numerous.
On another note, not that its any of your business, but its my money, and yes, I can afford it.
You might try asking questions before you put your foot in your mouth next time.
IRC won't fall any time soon, same with Usenet unless ISP's get strict and invade users privacy. chris.
I couldn't tell you what kind of USENET servers my ISP has. Most people that are serious about USENET pay for premium service anyway. I pay $15 a month for airnews.net service at 256kb, and have for over 7 years. I may go a couple months without using USENET, or use it extensively for a week, but I pay for unlimited but throttled access for a reason.
As long as you have the smarts to filter it a bit, USENET is still the best way to go. I have tried Gnutella, Kazaa (deleted that piece of shit after all the spywear popped up) and a few others, but I can find what I want with less headaches with USENET, with just a little patience, AND the download times are much much better.
I usually go looking for very unusual stuff only, since I have a few thousand mainstream music CD's that I already paid for. I also pick up original stuff, some of which is better than what you get on the radio. A premium service usually holds binaries for at least 1 week in busy groups, and 2 or more weeks in moderately busy group.
_Fortunately_, USERNET and the whole concept of MIME, Base64, mulitpart messages, PAR, ARJ, RAR and decoding is beyond most simple minds (even tho Forte Agent does half of it on the fly) which helps keep the medium from being totally spammed out by newbies. Since my USENET access is ISP independent, I am not worried about my ISP getting scrict since it only takes 256kb bandwidth for me, and they can't block port 110 without getting tons of bad feedback.
My experience with users of Kazaa/Morphius/Napster is they are too lazy to actually learn how to do something (not all, but most). They are usually the lowest form of computer users, not willing to learn simple USENET. They don't understand what SPYWEAR is, how to update Windows, use Outlook, and get viruses due to not updating Norton. This is NOT a flame, just an observation, and I have dozens of friends who fall in this catagory. Because of this, seeing P2P die would be a good thing. I like them, but hate what their ignorance does to the network in general.
PS is anyone else getting a lot of "500 internal server error" messages. (Slashdot is being slashdotted)
I saw lot of 500's yesterday, but that is NOT a slashdotting. 500 is an error code, usually due to a CGI program (such as the entire slashdot code) craping out. I get this alot when developing perl scripts (like slashcode only much smaller).
I assumed they were upgrading the code live, thus requests NOW might have data that is not valid in 5 seconds. If the server that is running slashcode was overloaded, you wouldn't get 500, you would get a blank page and an hour glass. You can find the list of status codes here at w3.org.
I wish they had sued him and won. I don't wish H. any harm, but judges (see the garage door opener case) have to stop figuring out ways to not enforce the DMCA so it can be repealed. I think if SunnComm had won, Princeton would have let the student stay in school though bankrupt and an act of Congress have not only overturned the DMCA, but given a grant to Princeton for MORE security research which would fund the rest of the students education. Probably a bit optimistic, but I prefer to call it hope.
You put that well, and I would agree for the most part. It is sad, but until some innocent person is hurt (unfortunately) we are not likely to see action. Politicians need motivation and an constituent that is injured by this type of obvious abuse is often the most effective means to initiate change.
Politicans do not like to correct their own errors, fast or otherwise. Many in office are the same that voted for the DMCA, and are either convinced the courts can deal with it, or think it really was, and is, a good law. Until both misconceptions are proven false with by an innocent user being injured, it is not likely to even be reviewed, no less changed. I can't think of any other circumstance that would generate enough interest within Congress to change the DMCA.
That being said, I am not sure if he was willing to take the proverbial bullet for us all. Since I would rather not the individual being sued, I can not blame anyone else who feels the same way.
Just remember that the OS is getting End of Lifed in December, at which time you will either have to go roll your own update/security patches or figure something out. I hear rpmfind may be keeping things going for EOL'd redhat, but not sure.....
This is why I would only go back for dedicated machines, its much easier to keep up with patches for a DNS only server, for instance. Kernel and bind. Even ssh is optional since I can sit in front of it. I am not sure what the success rate is for running rh9 with a 2.2 kernel in this environment is, but that may be an option, with no kernel updates.
Had to reboot a server today that just would not act right. Restarted all the services, all. Could not get into squirrelmail and some other services. It is a rackshack box running Ensim and 7.2 with a 2.4 kernel and had been up for 141 days. Remote booting from 1400 miles away is better than coffee to get your blood pumping first thing in the morning.
Remember how Microsoft told us to never "Always trust content from Microsoft"?
Did you know that "Linux" is about 35MB of kernel source code only? Its not an operating system, its a freaking kernel. Mandrake, RedHat, SuSe and even Caldera are "Linux distributions". I installed several distributions in the 2.4 series, and at least a dozen different kernel releases, and never saw, experienced or heard about any file system corruption due to the kernel. Then again, most intellegent people don't load the freshest kernel on a production machine.
As a matter of fact, you don't change the kernel unless it has an errata that actually affects you, you need the new features, or you are foolish. At least with Linux, you have a choice of kernels. You show me a smart Linux admin, and I will show you someone using a kernel that is at least a couple versions back.
There are Linux viruses, btw. The difference is when a Linux box gets infected, it is designed with permissions that make it impossible to send it out to every other Linux box out there. Its by design.
When the 2.4 series came out, it was much criticisd for not having anything near the stability of the old 2.2 series (I'd say it haven't catch up yet,but since I use it in a desktop machine 2.2 is not an option)... What can we wait from the brave new world the 2.6 kernel will bring?
I would agree on the server side. RH upgraded 7.2 to a 2.4 kernel and yes I gained iptables (even tho ipchains was adequate) but I did lose some stability. I still only have to reboot every 6 months, but its usually due to some unexplained problem that I didn't have with 2.2.x
Yes, I would prefer 2.4+ on the desktop, but I am considering doing a serious downgrade on a few dedicated boxes I have (dns in particular) due to my faith in the ability to crank out a non modular 2.2 kernel that you can't crash. Actually, until 2.4, I hand built every kernel and never used ANY kernel modules, building everything directly in.
But then again, Windows doesn't have a DLL for kernel panic either. I am not sure if its because the Windows kernel is apathetic and simply doesn't care or what.
On a lighter note, back in the windows 3.1/Lantastic days, I used to mess around with a program called "The Draw" (i ran a bbs, figure it out or google it) which could turn an ANSI screen into a.COM file. I would create a false BSOD that would say something along "Windows has detected a dumbass on the wireless end of the keyboard. Please use a pencil and paper instead" and place this in autoexec.bat, just before a "pause >nul"
The funny thing is half of them would tell me they have a "blue screen thingy" without reading it, giving me the opportunity to ask them "what does it say?". Its much more fun to hear them actually read it out loud over the phone intercom.
I searched and saw no mention of Zone Alarm. This has got to the best free firewall out there for Windows boxes. The pro edition costs $50 but the free version does everything you would want for home use. It has program control, including letting you allow the app to be a client or server, and lets you differentiate "Internet" from "Trusted" network (home network).
I use Nortons security checker web program to test my box with Zone Alarm. (it comes with System Works or probably free anyway, its a web app designed to sell you their firewall products). It passed completely. Its a great 99.9% solution, with free updates.
I am assuming you are on broadband, so you should install this before you install anything else (except AV, of course).
Linux has its own firewall that is adequate, and LOKKIT to manage it. Its not as full featured, but it works.
Slashdot Mirror
So you say that you can not compare the threats they faced nor the way they performed in military conflicts. Makes me kind of wonder how you think any comparison can be achieved.
As I said "since you can't compare the threats facing each"
That is the point. You can't. The threats were completely different, so you can't compare them directly. Its not all black and white, where "if they do this, you do this". You have even seen Clinton take his side on a few issues regarding the war.
How many US soldiers died in Clinton's wars?
Chechnia or Bosnia? Do we count anyone killed in asprin factories that are not Americans? What about the soldiers killed from terrorist attacks, like the Cole, etc.? Should we have acted earlier, or pulled out? If Clinton would have taken Osama when he had the chance would it have prevented 9-11?
It easy to second guess after the fact, isn't it? I don't claim Clinton is responsible for these things, but I do claim that it is pretty absurd to compare two presidents based upon the number of deaths of military soldiers, since you can't compare the threats facing each.
True enough, but who's got the money to do it?
We do. Linux users. If the FSF filed the suit (since it owns much of the Copyrights now), funded by $5, $10, $20, $100 from Linux users. Its economy of scale, consolidating many small instances of infringement that are similar, to prove a pattern. It would be a good time to sign over copyright to FSF of projects where it reasonable, and let this ONE group go after them, backed by you and I, and maybe a few corporate bucks as well. IBM already is contributing enough to the cause by taking the first punch, but a lot of companies are benefiting and should consider contributing.
Samba, Apache, utilities, etc. are all used by lots of people for free (as in beer), and they are free (as in speech), although not all GPL. It would be easy to talk me into donating $20-$30, which is much cheaper than buying alternatives, and would hopefully put this whole GPL issue to rest. It needs to be confirmed, or declared illegal NOW and fixed. Other free licenses would be strengthened by a favorable ruling as well, just as our case is favored by the BSD case of the 70s-80s.
Only in America do you have to go to court to prove its legal to distribute software without overcharging for it.
No, the people in Iraq are worse off at the moment, because the US (or should I say the Bush administration) bombed what little there was left of, say power plants, radio stations, water supply, and other parts of the infrastructure to weaken the regime, which had been beaten anyways.
And now they lack the will to rebuild it.
You really need to check your facts. We didn't bomb any power plants, or virtually any parts of the infrastructure. Most of it was deteriorating from years of neglect. We didn't even take out any radio stations until near the end of the primary battle, which are easily replaced. The bombing of pipelines and powerstations has been done by Saddam loyalists/ Al Queda types. Water service hasn't really been a problem, and the fact is, the electrical service now is better than it was before the war. As to lacking the will, again not true. The only thing slowing down training new Iraqis is our ability to handle only a few thousand trainees at a time.
They may be free, but they're starving unessecarily now.
Absolutely untrue. The first aid in was food, and there IS no shortage of food in Iraq now. Period. The number of people dying to violence is also lower, even with the terrorist attacks going on. There is plenty to debate, but these facts are not even disputed by the UN.
It is insulting to talk about Iraqis lacking the will. Iraqis are not ignorant, backwards, dirt poor people. They are fairly educated, just new to the concept of self determination. Again, you may want to check your facts before submitting and not assume that every group that is oppressed has no capacity to help themselves.
If you guys just HATE the US, fine. We have no problem with that. We didn't go into Iraq to get Europe to love us. But at least try using REAL facts and figures instead of just making stuff up, and expecting other US haters to believe your FUD about the US.
But France and Germany are *much* more socialist than they are capitalist. And they're doing pretty well. In fact, I'm pretty sure they're doing better than the US as far as per capita level of life.
People in Germany and France can do as well as the average American. Some better, some worse. But the level of "freedom" in the US IS higher in most ways, and admittedly lower in a few. I have friends in Germany whom I send US video games, for instance, because in Germany they do not allow anything with any Nazi reference or with a high level of gore. I'm talking about mainstream stuff, like Half-life. The German version is a censored version. This isn't my opinion, its something I have learned from friends all over the globe. On a more important note, it is much easier to have your home searched by the police with a lower standard in most of Europe, vs. the US. This is based upon my experience with these friends, and a few years working as an investigator in a criminal defense law firm here in the US. There are many other examples, and yes, a few that demonstrate a higher degree of freedom in Europe as well.
will tell you this: as a citizen of a country near Iraq, all I say to you is "Leave us the fuck alone!
And thanks to their liberation, some ARE saying this, freely, in the streets, for the first time in almost 40 years. We can disagree about the US involvement and whether its right or wrong, but regardless, the people of Iraq ARE better off, and the majority ARE glad we are there. Fortunately, the minority NOW has the right to protest in the streets without fear of retribution.
You can go ahead and be proud of whatever you have... I just have contempt for it.
Anyone who truly believes in freedom of speech is willing to stand up and protect the speech that most offends them or is in contradiction with their beliefs. You MAY find it hard to believe, but alot of Americans really believe that, and live it, and even join the military for it. The best example is the quotes from the US troops while the Iraqi's were protesting. They were saying how it was a good sign, because they realize they can speak out for the first time, even if they disagreed with the message.
So have your contempt, but don't be under the illusion that you truly understand how we all feel. There are well over 260 million of us, many from different counties, backgrounds, religions and cultures. This is akin to the entire of Europe, where we would not expect British to feel the same way as Germans, or Turks. The same for Texans, New Yorkers, Floridians or Californians.
The US public is acting the sad puppy dog eyes and not understanding why Iraqi civilians "don't like US troups", even though those troups are there to "Liberate and Free" them.
That MAY be how the news/media shows it, but I can promise you, that is NOT how most American's feel. I know of no one that is sad puppy dog about Iraq. Now, you may not like this, but most people I know really don't care what the rest of the world is saying about it. Its not that we don't care about world opinion, but many DO feel that this is a just cause, and in retrospect, the world will say "We still don't like it, but we understand it and respect it.". Until then, we take the heat in stride. I promise you, the US news media is very out of touch with the average person, since they have their own political agenda.
I'm refusing to read anything else from your post... and you know what, go ahead: think that you're better.
You know, you are exactly the kind of person I prefer to mark me as foe: Unwilling to even READ a post before you pass judgement on it. Makes it easier for me.
And the fact that American's HAVE more than most other is no secret. No one, including ME, said that made us better or superior. Its just a fact that American's on average are better fed than say, Africans, Iraqis, Serbs, etc.
Nothing personal, but any country who wants to get ahead, to bring wealth, education and comfort to its citizens, is NOT going to look to Russia, Somalia, or Iran as a model. Even Russia is trying to Westernize. I mean, why would you look at FAILED systems if you are trying to build a success? Which takes us back to Communism.....
Before the US became the US, we tried other forms of government, such as Confederatism, which failed. But you knew that, right?
You, like many other, just don't get it. We don't hate you for it, but still, you just don't get it.
And you consider your capitalism a monumental succes?
The American system of democracy is an experiement, in every sense of the word. That is why it is constantly tweaked. What ISN'T tweaked is the underlying principal that "freedom", in any form, is not given to the people, but is their natural born right.
Look at the US. Practically everyone on the planet hates you.
Not exactly, but yes, there is a lot of anger toward the US, and there always will be resentment from those who have less. Leadership IS, by definition, the willingness to do what is right, even if it is not popular. Any country that is as prominant as the US and popular, would obviously NOT be doing what is right, but rather what is popular. Appeasing Hitler was popular in the 1930s, for instance.
The only reason you are in power is *not* because you are capitalist, but because you took hold of all the oil fields in the world.
America's rise to power began well before anyone knew there was oil in the Middle East, or cared. The anti-trust suits of Standard Oil in the early 1900s had nothing to do with oil from any other country. Also note that the Middle Eastern countries TOOK the oil fields away from private owners in the middle 1900's, taking the wealth for their own monarchies. Read a little history on it, its actually an eye opener.
If you knew a bit about history, you would know about the revolutions that took place in Russia to instill communism.
Not exactly true. The revolution was to end Czarist rule and the corruption that it had, not to instill Communism. The masses wanted only to end the current system at any cost. Communism won by default, as the only alternative that could get a majority of support at the time, by the *new* people in control.
Only a mentality like yours, pragmatic to the last drop (which btw will be the end of your country) would consider a theory to be a failure by looking at its applications.
You make being pragmatic sound bad. Not everyone would agree. And yes, any scientist would look at the results of an experiment to determine if it was a success or a failure, logically so. As our form of government IS an experiment, it would only make sense to look at it this way. Fortunately, ours is an ongoing experiment, and we can change our methods as long as our goals remain the same.
By that same logic, cryptography is a failure.
It is a failure if it doesn't change. 100 years ago, a 32 bit key would be unbreakable. You treat the world (and communism) as a final result, a static entity, a single destination. Most of us do not. Our goals are a moving target, as new ways and people come to take freedom away from everyone. Our underlying goal is the same, that all people should have equal opportunity, but our methods constantly evolve.
You can have your Communism. In theory, it sounds all wonderful, but in practice, the end result is that power ends up in the hands of too few, all in the name of equality. Its the proverbial "propetual motion machine". It simply will not happen, as it violates too many laws of nature: Human nature, in this example. At least the US system guarantees you have a new leader every few years. It is a terribly inefficient governmental system that leads to a very efficient private sector.
Capitalism is where everyone has equal opportunity, but some do well and others do poorly. Communism is where everyone is equally miserable. (regrets to W.C.)
Many people still have perfectly good monitors from years past that could potentially be damaged by incorrect settings. If it still works, why toss it out?
As a general rule, I replace MY monitor every 2 years, while it is still working fine. I do this for a few reasons. One, I do alot of color work, and after a couple years, every monitor is less accurate, color wise. Two, it is still working so I can still actually SELL it, and get some of my money back. Three, most video cards can scan faster than monitors, so every few years I upgrade to get faster refresh rates which are easier on the eyes. My two year old G2-GTS/64MB is fine for Photoshop work but the 2 year old monitor isn't.
Many 6-8 year old monitors, for instance, dont do over 60hz or 800x600 or 1024x768. What I really want is 1600x1200 on a 19"+ at >85hz, and preferably 100hz. I still don't have that, but I'm much better off than I was 3 years ago at 1200x1024@85hz or 1600x1200@75hz. The savings in eye strain is worth it to me, too.
I do not understand what you mean. I was simply quoting Mr. Fester.
Wow. I thought you were joking. I thought you were taking just a little too far, but wow. But now its funnier knowing someone really said that. I would still hire him though. That was Baghdad Bob all over again.
"All told, copmputer fans should look for services that offer the best experience and take advantage of the best digital rights platform available for PCs. With Windows XP 2003, you get faster starts, better quality internet, and support for the most websites," Fester said.
You must be in marketing. Excellently muddled claim about imaginary issues. I bet you spent some time one on that line, getting the nuance, the feel, correct. The art of selling the sizzle, not the steak. "Bullshit", as an artform is second only to propaganda. I would hire you.
I say there is an easier way to fix this. I say we all start a DDOS attack on non existant web sites. I mean, who is going to sue you for flooding www.aafefasa.com if www.aafefasa.com doesn't exist? Technically, you aren't even denying service since the freaking domain doesn't exist, right? :D
I have avoided BIND for years. For a while my DNS server was actually one written in Perl...
You ever release the code? Just curious, would like to see that.
Shut up about porn.
Interesting comment. Allow me to demostrate why we all owe a debt to porn, and the people who enjoy it.
Back when VRC's first came out, they typically ranged from $1200 to $1800 each. The reason you can buy one for $49 now is because of porn and those who enjoy it.
When video cameras first came out, they were the size of suitcases and cost in excess of $3000 each for mediocre quality. Now you can buy an exceptional quality unit for well under $1000, and get a decent model for closer to $500. This is because of porn and those who enjoy it.
When computers first came out, growth was slow and mainly due to business' wanting to automate. Once computers became powerful enough to be useful for full graphics (386dx) they were still terribly expensive ($2000 for a stripped box) but soon came down because of porn and those who enjoy it.
When the Internet first became available to the general public, in mass, I personally paid $80 a month for 80 hours. (ironically, not for porn, but for a BBS). Many before me paid much more. But now you can get dialup for $10 to $20 a month, because of porn and those who enjoy it.
Like any new technology, the price can only come down once two conditions are met:
1. Demand is high enough at inflated prices to pay for the research and development involved in bring out a new product. This allows a company to recover a portion of their original investment.
2. Demand has to be reliable enough for companies to invest in excess manufacturing capacity. This lowers prices because it introduces economy of scale. It introduces competition because any profitable venture will attract capitalists who want to make a better mouse trap, cheaper. Eventually, it turns the new product into a commodity, where margins are razor thin and you can get the same basic product from a number of providers.
In each case, it was porn and those who enjoy it that invested the money on the consumer side for these products. No one would have paid $3000 for a computer to email someone on a $80 a month 2400 baud connection. (think fidonet or google it) No grandmother would have paid $3500 for a video camera to take shots of her grandchildren, to play on her $1800 VCR.
Microwave ovens became available in the 50s, but they did not become popular until the late 70s. Why? Because they have no porn value, so it took 20 years to get the economy of scale and demand strong enough for the price to come down. Had there been a potential porn use for the microwave, we all would have had them for $100 before we landed on the moon.
We all owe a great debt to those brave pioneers, who worked tirelessly typing with one hand, pants to ankles, in the darkness of night. Because of their relentless pursuit of a better way to masturbate, we are all able to enjoy consumer goods at incredibly cheap prices. Even the third world countries are able to benefit with wireless phones where there are no wires, all because some guy sitting in his parents basement was patient enough to wait for a 256 color GIF image to load to screen over a 14.4kbit connection.
So, the next time you see a pervert, go up and shake his hand, and tell him "Thank you for your contribution to society".
Just be sure to wash your hand afterward.
We had the same problem. We needed a color laser with good enough quality for proofs, and we needed to use it for small print runs (500 or less). After a lot of looking around, I picked the HP 4600DN.
It costs around 2300-2500 (Page Computers had the best price, and very fast delivery). Figure about 100 for delivery. It uses 4 carts, at $120 for black, and $180 each for C, M, Y. 9000 sheets at 5%, but figure about 14 cents for light coverage, 25 for medium, 50 cents for very heavy.
It leaves a 1/4" or less border, of course, but its as small as you can get. It runs PCL or PS, over 95 network, Win2k, or TCP/IP. I set it up on my Linux box as a generic PS printer and it works famously. The color quality is exceptional on plain paper, although my old HP932 made the glossy paper look a little better. You really don't need glossy for this anyway, since being laser, it puts a slightly better than mat finish on it anyway.
Once it calibrates (once per day, first print job) it is super fast. 17ppm, and it seems to really do it. My desk is next to the printer room, and a single page is always done before I get to the printer, 20 feet away. (assuming it has already calibrated)
It has great features, you can run the admin software (not required) on any windows box, its not too large (but over 100 pounds) so it sets on a spare desk. The DN model has duplexing (N is for networking, has a NIC built in). It has a front bypass tray and a 500 sheet tray. You can get an optional tray for 1000 more pages for about $400-500 more.
It uses pc100 sdrams, and I think 512 max ram, which is plenty. I installed generic ram and it accepted it fine. We have 352mb in ours. You do have to remove about 8 screws to get to the ram, but then you just slide out the motherboard and put the ram in. It has one chip you have to keep (fonts) and one other chip for 96mb stock, and two empty slots. (32/64/0/0)
Like all laser printers, you CAN get some streaked lines if you are doing something very saturated, but its less than most. Most images come out very lifelike. You can preview them at most Office Depot stores, but they are not a good place to buy them.
Hope this helps.
Using Telemagic, purchased for our original 486/33 network running Windows 3.1 and Lantastic. (its a dos based contact manager). I think its from 1991. (we DID get a y2k update for it, for $150) Using Peachtree 4.0, their first windows application (16 bit) which was designed for Windows 3.1, from 1995.
Still running a Windows 95 server because we don't want to pay for Win server client licenses and time constraints have made migrating to Samba not viable. Also have probs with Samba on a mix of 95a,b,c,98,2k,xp. (yes, we tried PlainTextPassword). That 95 server is on a 1.1ghz Dell 1400SC server, which was really fun to get drivers for 95 to work on, but a nice and fast. (u160 scsi)
Actually, I carved up 95 on that one pretty well. It can't handle any media on the desktop, all codecs stripped, etc. Goes a month+ without a reboot easily, which isn't bad for 95. There are several other DOS utilities we run as well, most hosted on that server, including an out of date zip code tracker (zip = city for searching) and others.
Still have a couple P100 machines, but they are getting replaced in two weeks (for the new Peachtree) with CR-53 boxes (VIA 1.0ghz with built in NIC/Sound/Video/usb2/ps2, very cool TINY boxes for $159 bare at computergate.com). We will just pull the old hard drives (850mb) and CD's out and update the drivers for the OS. Already testing one with geat results. Just add a stick of RAM and they fly.
You've paid $10-12US * few thousand dollars on music recordings?
Shit, man. Get a life.
First of all, most NEW CD's cost more than 10-12 bucks.
Second, I am almost 40, and started buying CD's when they first came out, and yes, still have those CD's.
Third, I have been buying most of my CD's from pawnshops since 1990, for an average price of about $3 to $4.
Fourth, I OWN a pawnshop now, and have for 5 years, so what few I get now, I pay 50 cents to $1 for.
Fifth, I used to DJ (and still do a couple times a year free, for charity) so I needed a good variety. Most of them are still in cases. Dozens of large cases.
I used to use "Plano" tool boxes which hold 51 (17x3) and cost about $6 each in the early, but now I get the cases from the shop, and also use more than a few milk cartons for stuff I am just archiving.
So, yes, I have a few thousand music CDs. And no, I didn't spend $50,000 for them. I probably spent over $10,000 for them, over 13 years, while getting paid to spin them (part of the time). I personally know several DJs who have spent significantly more than this. I also collect other items, but CD's are my most numerous.
On another note, not that its any of your business, but its my money, and yes, I can afford it.
You might try asking questions before you put your foot in your mouth next time.
IRC won't fall any time soon, same with Usenet unless ISP's get strict and invade users privacy.
chris.
I couldn't tell you what kind of USENET servers my ISP has. Most people that are serious about USENET pay for premium service anyway. I pay $15 a month for airnews.net service at 256kb, and have for over 7 years. I may go a couple months without using USENET, or use it extensively for a week, but I pay for unlimited but throttled access for a reason.
As long as you have the smarts to filter it a bit, USENET is still the best way to go. I have tried Gnutella, Kazaa (deleted that piece of shit after all the spywear popped up) and a few others, but I can find what I want with less headaches with USENET, with just a little patience, AND the download times are much much better.
I usually go looking for very unusual stuff only, since I have a few thousand mainstream music CD's that I already paid for. I also pick up original stuff, some of which is better than what you get on the radio. A premium service usually holds binaries for at least 1 week in busy groups, and 2 or more weeks in moderately busy group.
_Fortunately_, USERNET and the whole concept of MIME, Base64, mulitpart messages, PAR, ARJ, RAR and decoding is beyond most simple minds (even tho Forte Agent does half of it on the fly) which helps keep the medium from being totally spammed out by newbies. Since my USENET access is ISP independent, I am not worried about my ISP getting scrict since it only takes 256kb bandwidth for me, and they can't block port 110 without getting tons of bad feedback.
My experience with users of Kazaa/Morphius/Napster is they are too lazy to actually learn how to do something (not all, but most). They are usually the lowest form of computer users, not willing to learn simple USENET. They don't understand what SPYWEAR is, how to update Windows, use Outlook, and get viruses due to not updating Norton. This is NOT a flame, just an observation, and I have dozens of friends who fall in this catagory. Because of this, seeing P2P die would be a good thing. I like them, but hate what their ignorance does to the network in general.
PS is anyone else getting a lot of "500 internal server error" messages. (Slashdot is being slashdotted)
I saw lot of 500's yesterday, but that is NOT a slashdotting. 500 is an error code, usually due to a CGI program (such as the entire slashdot code) craping out. I get this alot when developing perl scripts (like slashcode only much smaller).
I assumed they were upgrading the code live, thus requests NOW might have data that is not valid in 5 seconds. If the server that is running slashcode was overloaded, you wouldn't get 500, you would get a blank page and an hour glass. You can find the list of status codes here at w3.org.
I wish they had sued him and won. I don't wish H. any harm, but judges (see the garage door opener case) have to stop figuring out ways to not enforce the DMCA so it can be repealed. I think if SunnComm had won, Princeton would have let the student stay in school though bankrupt and an act of Congress have not only overturned the DMCA, but given a grant to Princeton for MORE security research which would fund the rest of the students education. Probably a bit optimistic, but I prefer to call it hope.
You put that well, and I would agree for the most part. It is sad, but until some innocent person is hurt (unfortunately) we are not likely to see action. Politicians need motivation and an constituent that is injured by this type of obvious abuse is often the most effective means to initiate change.
Politicans do not like to correct their own errors, fast or otherwise. Many in office are the same that voted for the DMCA, and are either convinced the courts can deal with it, or think it really was, and is, a good law. Until both misconceptions are proven false with by an innocent user being injured, it is not likely to even be reviewed, no less changed. I can't think of any other circumstance that would generate enough interest within Congress to change the DMCA.
That being said, I am not sure if he was willing to take the proverbial bullet for us all. Since I would rather not the individual being sued, I can not blame anyone else who feels the same way.
Just remember that the OS is getting End of Lifed in December, at which time you will either have to go roll your own update/security patches or figure something out. I hear rpmfind may be keeping things going for EOL'd redhat, but not sure.....
This is why I would only go back for dedicated machines, its much easier to keep up with patches for a DNS only server, for instance. Kernel and bind. Even ssh is optional since I can sit in front of it. I am not sure what the success rate is for running rh9 with a 2.2 kernel in this environment is, but that may be an option, with no kernel updates.
Had to reboot a server today that just would not act right. Restarted all the services, all. Could not get into squirrelmail and some other services. It is a rackshack box running Ensim and 7.2 with a 2.4 kernel and had been up for 141 days. Remote booting from 1400 miles away is better than coffee to get your blood pumping first thing in the morning.
Remember the 98a defrag corruptions?
Remember how Microsoft told us to never "Always trust content from Microsoft"?
Did you know that "Linux" is about 35MB of kernel source code only? Its not an operating system, its a freaking kernel. Mandrake, RedHat, SuSe and even Caldera are "Linux distributions". I installed several distributions in the 2.4 series, and at least a dozen different kernel releases, and never saw, experienced or heard about any file system corruption due to the kernel. Then again, most intellegent people don't load the freshest kernel on a production machine.
As a matter of fact, you don't change the kernel unless it has an errata that actually affects you, you need the new features, or you are foolish. At least with Linux, you have a choice of kernels. You show me a smart Linux admin, and I will show you someone using a kernel that is at least a couple versions back.
There are Linux viruses, btw. The difference is when a Linux box gets infected, it is designed with permissions that make it impossible to send it out to every other Linux box out there. Its by design.
When the 2.4 series came out, it was much criticisd for not having anything near the stability of the old 2.2 series (I'd say it haven't catch up yet,but since I use it in a desktop machine 2.2 is not an option)... What can we wait from the brave new world the 2.6 kernel will bring?
I would agree on the server side. RH upgraded 7.2 to a 2.4 kernel and yes I gained iptables (even tho ipchains was adequate) but I did lose some stability. I still only have to reboot every 6 months, but its usually due to some unexplained problem that I didn't have with 2.2.x
Yes, I would prefer 2.4+ on the desktop, but I am considering doing a serious downgrade on a few dedicated boxes I have (dns in particular) due to my faith in the ability to crank out a non modular 2.2 kernel that you can't crash. Actually, until 2.4, I hand built every kernel and never used ANY kernel modules, building everything directly in.
But then again, Windows doesn't have a DLL for kernel panic either. I am not sure if its because the Windows kernel is apathetic and simply doesn't care or what.
.COM file. I would create a false BSOD that would say something along "Windows has detected a dumbass on the wireless end of the keyboard. Please use a pencil and paper instead" and place this in autoexec.bat, just before a "pause >nul"
On a lighter note, back in the windows 3.1/Lantastic days, I used to mess around with a program called "The Draw" (i ran a bbs, figure it out or google it) which could turn an ANSI screen into a
The funny thing is half of them would tell me they have a "blue screen thingy" without reading it, giving me the opportunity to ask them "what does it say?". Its much more fun to hear them actually read it out loud over the phone intercom.
Yahoo Messenger has had this implemented since before December of 2002.
I was about to say, but I had thought they had this well before then. I always hated that feature tho.
I searched and saw no mention of Zone Alarm. This has got to the best free firewall out there for Windows boxes. The pro edition costs $50 but the free version does everything you would want for home use. It has program control, including letting you allow the app to be a client or server, and lets you differentiate "Internet" from "Trusted" network (home network).
I use Nortons security checker web program to test my box with Zone Alarm. (it comes with System Works or probably free anyway, its a web app designed to sell you their firewall products). It passed completely. Its a great 99.9% solution, with free updates.
I am assuming you are on broadband, so you should install this before you install anything else (except AV, of course).
Linux has its own firewall that is adequate, and LOKKIT to manage it. Its not as full featured, but it works.
www.zonelabs.com or from download.com