Everything you say is indeed true, but you must realize how politicians operate. Someone who is either uneducated or unconcerned enough to verify the spelling and grammar of their letter is also unlikely to vote or donate to a campaign. Simply put, if you aren't paying them or keeping them in office, you don't exist to them. [Before anyone flames me for that, yes, I realize that there are exceptions, but the generally accepted reasoning follows what's above, and politicians nearly always follow that which is generally accepted, until something else pays better]
The left hand folks (Sony hardware) are simply reading and responding to consumer demand for such devices. More than anything, this stands a sign that the right hand folks (Sony music) and their friends (RIAA) just do not get it when it comes to what their customers truly desire. It will be interesting to see when and if the corporate head honchos decide to end this little bout of schizophrenia, and which side they squash.
The move from the current standard to serial ATA is as much to allow for backwards compatibility as increased speed & features. There are plans for adaptors for current drives for use with serial ATA controllers. FireWire interfaces would require all new drive hardware in addition to the motherboard. Simple truth is, forklift upgrading scares folks. They -much- prefer to upgrade piecemeal.
And I used to think about how unrealistic that scene in _Real Genius_ was. Now we just have to be careful of getting this message: "Stop playing with yourself!"
1. "Evil will always triumph because Good is dumb" -Dark Helmet
2. Mod the parent up, and emblazon it onto as many cluesticks as possible. Then -maybe- we can beat it into the heads of those who matter and actually come up with a better way of fighting the good fight.
True, but you miss the issue. The IRS makes more money if most folks understand their forms. Then, those poor saps who didn't have no one to support them when they get reamed. [See the not too far past 'tax law reforms' that led to the 'kinder, gentler' IRS for what occurs when just about -everyone- says they can't fathom the forms]
Software houses, however, -want- people to glaze over and just click yes, because then they can screw them badly [as long as their lawyers are decent, they can defend the 'comprehensibility' aspect far more easily than a user can defend not bothering to even try]
OK, this is going to be said a -lot-, but hasn't this topic popped up before around here? [On another note, does it -really- surprise anyone? After all, there is -far- less motivation for the average software company to make EULAs readable than there is for the IRS to make its tax forms readable]
The idea of signing up for this willingly boggles my mind. You mean to tell me that you -never-, not -once-, end up going a few miles over the posted speed limits? Sorry, no one is that perfect. Beyond that, going over the limit -is- allowable under very limited circumstances [like passing a car you belive to be a danger]. Beyond that, it is a fact that most roads [with the exception of very old ones] are designed to support speeds 5-15 mph higher than the posted limit [if you don't believe me, try it out. Get on any Interstate when traffic is fairly light, observe the limit, add 10 mph and drive at that speed. 99% of the time, it will feel natural and safe. Now speed up another 10 mph. Feels a bit unstable doesn't it?]. Most times, speed limits have nothing to do with the actual speed the road can be driven upon safely, they have to do with zoning [oops, residential. The road is 4 lanes and straight as an arrow, but the speed limit is still 25 mph], studies on gas mileage/emissions [this is where the old 55 mph mandate came from], or the simple desire of a locality to bring in revenue by deliberately lowering limits to a speed that is near maddening [see the accounts of a few Florida towns].
Oh, BTW, if you honestly believe the insurance companies will lower anybody's rates because of this, I have a bridge to sell you.
::grumble:: My, but you don't even -read- the whole post do you? I said -could have-, not -can-. In case you are unclear on the difference, the US could once have taken the world, or a large portion thereof, by force of arms. That is no longer possible. See the difference now?
You also make mention of the rich/poor divide... well, for the record, my wife and I have had an income that is just barely at the poverty line for the past 4 years, so believe me, I know about the divide, but let me make this quite clear: No country on this Earth will ever be fair. If life -were- fair, we wouldn't be having this discussion now, would we? So sympathizing with psychopaths who ram planes into buildings full of people who are, by and large, just trying to claw their way out of the aforementioned poverty won't net you many brownie points, or many sympathetic ears.
And, for the record, I never said I was a fan of Bush, or the US government on the whole. Just because I take issue with your semi-coherent ranting about my homeland does not mean I give those currently in power carte blanche to do as they will.
Oh yes, one last point, you can't moderate and post on the same discussion, in case you failed to note that part of the moderation system.
Geez, this guy will soon be modded into oblivion (Troll? Flamebait? maybe they'll add a special '-1 Moron'?). But to address one minor point of Mr. L33+ H4X0R here (for those who will no longer be able to see his post, his nick is 'n3r0.m4dski11z'), were the US the bully your kind make us out to be, we'd be the United States of Earth by now (read your history folks, after WWII, before Russia got the bomb, if we -had- wanted a global empire taking it then, when no one on Earth could possibly have opposed us, would have been child's play).
You dance near to the issues, but what really needs to happen is for several OSS alternatives to Micro$soft wares to become popular on Windows. Once that happens, switching to Linux, *BSD, or whatever else might come down the pike becomes easy and logical (ie: 'We already use X, Y, and Z software, which run on this 'Linux' too, may as well have a more stable environment at a lower cost too').
MS does not have a monopoly because of Windows, they have a monopoly in spite of it.
1. No industry I have ever encountered is thinking about its customers much IMHO (ref: RIAA, MPAA, OPEC, any and all auto makers, etc etc). Industry thinks about its customers only as much as it needs to to make money.
2. You're comparing the wrong parts of cars, phones, etc. to computers. Yes, the user interfaces are simple (or at least more so), but have you ever tried repairing one? Awfully complex, right? Well, when someone's computer breaks, and they don't know how to fix it, how is that different? Why do they expect to be able to any more than they are able to overhaul their car's engine?
3. I was not comparing technology to biology, I was comparing the amount of time one needs to invest to -fully- understand the respective fields. To be 'savvy' in either field requires a solid and substantial investment of time and effort. (Note, I think my definition of 'savvy' is potentially more strict than Katz's. What he seems to be getting it is mere 'competance', equivalent to simply starting and steering a car.)
Katz asks why the tech industry has continued to trundle along (not entirely prosper, but mostly so) when we 'abuse' our users. Tell me, would he ask the same uestion about a gap between the 'medically savvy' and the 'medically confused'? Modern computer systems (and by systems I mean -everything, hardware and software) are very nearly as complex as biological organisms (at least as we currently understand them. The more we learn about biology, the more there seems to be, but that's another topic). Is it -really- hard to figure out why most folks aren't computer experts?
Let me spell it out then: The problem is too complex for most people to bother spending the required amount of time to learn its answer. Just like medicine, some of the more esoteric bits of automobiles, and other inherently complex topics.
"you might want to know that if the muffler falls off, the car will die in under two seconds!"
See, this would be accurate, except it's more akin to your radiator falling off [which WILL kill a car, though not in quite 2 seconds]. A muffler is a purely cosmetic device, serving no practical purpose as far as the engine is concerned [indeed, many mufflers, by reducing air flow, actually hinder engine performance]. Sure, it's nice for us to not go deaf or breathe toxic fumes, but the engine doesn't need one. Just thought you ought to make a CORRECT analogy if you're going to bother.
MY main reason for using AOL is portability in terms of geography. I recently moved ~100 miles,a dn will likely be moving again soon. Until I'm fully settled, at which point I'll probably spring for DSL of some flavor if I can get it, AOL provides an easy way to get online where ever I land, no down time beyond plugging myself in.
Simple!=better for everything. For something like an OS or the basic window interface, sometimes you need comething that lets you get a little down and dirty [which Java simply does not do, and from what I gather neither does C#]. Ease of code is fine and dandy, unless it translates into slower, buggier, clunkier programs. Sure, computing power is cheap these days, but even so, not all systems are GHz monsters with 512MB of DDR RAM and 80 gig HDs... have to pay attention to the lower end of the user pool, and make it a good experience for all [something I know Java is not good at]
I downloaded patches, many of them [2.4.3-2.4.9 so far] but my RedHat 7.1 box does not seem to like them [I get complaints about 'patch already applied' or something like]. Aside from downloading and recompiling a mound of source, anyone know how to get RH to swallow a 'standard' patch?
Re:W e didn't loose anything, look at what we gain
on
The End of Innovation?
·
· Score: 3, Funny
The whole slashdot concept of DVD's is pathetic. BUY A DVD PLAYER to watch your movies. 99% of the world bought dvd's because of the technology and advancements over VHS. YOU HAVE TO PAY FOR THOSE ACHIEVEMENTS and technological improvements. SO FREAKING WHAT if you want watch your DVD's for free. You didn't write the codec, produce the technology, market the products and standardize the industry on formats. That comes to a huge cost and well, DVD's are so awesome for home theater that i don't mind paying that cost.
The price of the DVD and/or player isn't the issue. DVD's aren't priced much higher than VHS [in some cases they can actually be less than a comparable VHS tape]. Likewise, the players are now at rather reasonable prices, about where VCR's stabalized to after they became common [incidentally, VCRs are now DIRT cheap]. The issue is fair use violations [it is not possible, under current law, to legally copy ANY portion of a DVD, even a small excerpt for use in a classroom.] The other issue is region encoding [I can buy tapes from Europe, Asia, etc that play fine in my VCR so long as they are the right format {VHS}. Yet, DVD's from each area may or may not play depending on the region encoding]. Region encoding is, flat out, screwing the consumer. The only possible reason for it is so people in region A have no choice but to pay region A prices and can only get films at region A release dates. Currently, especially for those of us in the US, this is not much of an issue, but the potential is there for a great deal of abuse, and it would be best to nip that in the bud. Lastly, there have been reports of DVDs the refuse to fast forward [one of the wonderful points about DVDs is the ability to jump straight to a scene as opposed to winding tape] through trailors. On rental only copies, maybe I can see this, a way to offset the discount rental places must get, but for consumer purchased discs? I think most would agree if I buy it I ought to be able to watch however I like, be it straight through, no trailors, or the last 5 minutes only. I paid my money, it ought to be my choice.
Basicly, the DVD opposition isn't about copying. Even with today's huge hard drives, you still couldn't put too many onto them at DVD quality, and besides, to download them off the net would take forever even at broadband speeds. The issue is consumers losing rights they have been entitled to and enjoyed since the dawn of home entertainment devices.
You cannot gain the credibility needed to get the attention of lawmakers if you are breaking the very laws you are fighting against.
Well, you have the wrong idea on two counts.
Firstly, breaking an unjust law IS a way to get the lawmakers' attention, it is known as civil disobedience, and has some rather successful precendent in U.S. and international law.
Secondly, the issue with RIAA/MPAA is, essentially, the hijacking of the culture of a people for the sake of making money. What they do is analogous to extortion, similar to a street gang charging a 'toll' to walk on 'their turf'. Perhaps boycotting all music outlets save those not aligned with the RIAA would get some attention, but it will also represent undo loss in quality of life for those involved. Now, suffering for what one believes in is certainly to be expected, but not when the likelihood of success by that suffering is smaller than the likelihood of success down a more comfortable path. Rosa Parks made her impression by riding the bus, not walking instead.
We need to go farther. Perhaps/. or some other geek friendly site will sponsor a bit of web space to organize a simple campaign, centered around the following:
[Joe/Jane] Doe Congresscritter[yes, be more polite in the actualy letter]:
In recent months, it has become blatantly obvious that the act of Congress generally known as the Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA) is unfair, unreasonable, and quite likely unconstitutional. Considering those facts, this letter is a call for the immediate and unconditional repeal of the DMCA, as well as a call to never again pass such an odious law. It is my intention to keep an eye on the progress of anti-DMCA efforts, and if the law is not repealed by the next election in which your term is up, I will not vote for you under any circumstances, and will encourage others to do the same. Upon this point there is no negotiation. The DMCA must go, or those who allow it's continued existence will go in it's place.
CN has a fairly consistent record in regards to their editing. Let us begin with Tenchi Muyo, where bathing suits magically appear in hot tub scenes [understandable, but an edit is an edit]. Similar editing appears [I believe, I could be mistaken] in Outlaw Star [the black thing Melphina wears when 'part' of the ship... looks out of place and edited in to me]. From what I've read, the editing done to Big-O was relatively minor [the God/Good thing was probably so they wouldn't piss off some obnoxious religious group or another]. All in all, yeah, it's hacked up a bit, but not as bad as what Fox tends to do [feel pity for Slayers, should they ever get around to it. Slayers without the flat chest jokes just isn't the same], and besides, it's a good way to preview anime before shelling out $20 or more per tape/disc [I wish someone somewhere would run Eva... I've heard good things, but at $25 per tape it's just obnoxiously expensive]
Because Windows is already firmly entrenched, you must first win the hearts of the consumers before you can sway companies.
The problem here is the recursive nature of the issue. You say you must win the consumers to get the companies to follow, which is at least plausible. However, most consumers won't buy something that is unsupported or only supported by small name, unknown shops. So, in a sense, you have to win over the companies to sway the consumers. This is why the M$ monopoly is such an issue. If M$ were forced to open their API's other companies could start small, writing programs that have versions on both Windows and Linux, the get people comfortable with alternative applications and make the move to Linux a painless matter of saving some money and frustration.
...and yes, I know this is off topic, and has probably been beaten to death, but the simple point is, as it stands, Linux simply isn't positioned to even try to break into the consumer market [which is largely due to M$ practices, and AFAIK is part of the definition of the crime they've been convicted of]
Anti free-trade activists and other 'independent' or 'alternative' people are really ramped up for "Mayday: a festival of labor, paganism, anarchist ideas, and action!"
Well, just to start off, why are labor, paganism, anarchist ideas [not anarchy itself, just some of their ideas, mind you] and action necessarily wrong? You berate me for a narrow world view, but it seems to me you are the one lacking in maturity and respect.
Investigating a potential felony is NOT stepping on anybody's rights.
Shall we examine this statement a bit?
'Investigating': Since when does investigation imply resorting to what amounts to barging into someone's home and checking on what they watch on TV?[Yes, it DOES apply, visiting a web site is much like tuning in to a TV channel. Just because I happened to see something on the Web or on TV does not mean I necessarily did anything wrong, nor should it be grounds enough for the police to so much as ask for my name]
'Potential felony': So, before it's even truly a crime, it needs to be investigated? "Sorry sir, we have to take you in, you MIGHT have done something naughty."
'NOT stepping on anybody's rights': Well, how do you know that? How many times HAVE various 'authorities' overstepped their bounds when investigating things? Just because they are doing something in the name of 'preventing crime' does not mean they are justified.
A final point, if I may, is to ask, just WHY is posting where the President will be located and when a crime anyway? He has armed guards where ever he goes anyway, and any truly interested terrorists could no doubt gain this information with trivial effort [after all, someone had tio to start this whol emess], so what is gained by hiding it?
. In that instance the president is a bit more important than your precious right to anonymitity.
Placing the rights of any one person over any other is NOT good, right, just, or however you want to term it. To see someone say otherwise, to blatantly put ANYONE above the rights of others makes it difficult for me to type this and not devolve in spewing vile curses. He's the president, so the [explative] what? He's just another politician, another corporate pawn, and in the the end, just another man like you or I. The powers that be should NOT be allowed to step on our rights, ANY of our rights, for ANY reason. Down that path, does indeed lie 1984.
Slashdot Mirror
Everything you say is indeed true, but you must realize how politicians operate. Someone who is either uneducated or unconcerned enough to verify the spelling and grammar of their letter is also unlikely to vote or donate to a campaign. Simply put, if you aren't paying them or keeping them in office, you don't exist to them. [Before anyone flames me for that, yes, I realize that there are exceptions, but the generally accepted reasoning follows what's above, and politicians nearly always follow that which is generally accepted, until something else pays better]
The left hand folks (Sony hardware) are simply reading and responding to consumer demand for such devices. More than anything, this stands a sign that the right hand folks (Sony music) and their friends (RIAA) just do not get it when it comes to what their customers truly desire. It will be interesting to see when and if the corporate head honchos decide to end this little bout of schizophrenia, and which side they squash.
The move from the current standard to serial ATA is as much to allow for backwards compatibility as increased speed & features. There are plans for adaptors for current drives for use with serial ATA controllers. FireWire interfaces would require all new drive hardware in addition to the motherboard. Simple truth is, forklift upgrading scares folks. They -much- prefer to upgrade piecemeal.
And I used to think about how unrealistic that scene in _Real Genius_ was. Now we just have to be careful of getting this message: "Stop playing with yourself!"
1. "Evil will always triumph because Good is dumb" -Dark Helmet
2. Mod the parent up, and emblazon it onto as many cluesticks as possible. Then -maybe- we can beat it into the heads of those who matter and actually come up with a better way of fighting the good fight.
To the newly disconnected customers, very VERY bad.
True, but you miss the issue. The IRS makes more money if most folks understand their forms. Then, those poor saps who didn't have no one to support them when they get reamed. [See the not too far past 'tax law reforms' that led to the 'kinder, gentler' IRS for what occurs when just about -everyone- says they can't fathom the forms]
Software houses, however, -want- people to glaze over and just click yes, because then they can screw them badly [as long as their lawyers are decent, they can defend the 'comprehensibility' aspect far more easily than a user can defend not bothering to even try]
OK, this is going to be said a -lot-, but hasn't this topic popped up before around here? [On another note, does it -really- surprise anyone? After all, there is -far- less motivation for the average software company to make EULAs readable than there is for the IRS to make its tax forms readable]
The idea of signing up for this willingly boggles my mind. You mean to tell me that you -never-, not -once-, end up going a few miles over the posted speed limits? Sorry, no one is that perfect. Beyond that, going over the limit -is- allowable under very limited circumstances [like passing a car you belive to be a danger]. Beyond that, it is a fact that most roads [with the exception of very old ones] are designed to support speeds 5-15 mph higher than the posted limit [if you don't believe me, try it out. Get on any Interstate when traffic is fairly light, observe the limit, add 10 mph and drive at that speed. 99% of the time, it will feel natural and safe. Now speed up another 10 mph. Feels a bit unstable doesn't it?]. Most times, speed limits have nothing to do with the actual speed the road can be driven upon safely, they have to do with zoning [oops, residential. The road is 4 lanes and straight as an arrow, but the speed limit is still 25 mph], studies on gas mileage/emissions [this is where the old 55 mph mandate came from], or the simple desire of a locality to bring in revenue by deliberately lowering limits to a speed that is near maddening [see the accounts of a few Florida towns].
Oh, BTW, if you honestly believe the insurance companies will lower anybody's rates because of this, I have a bridge to sell you.
::grumble:: My, but you don't even -read- the whole post do you? I said -could have-, not -can-. In case you are unclear on the difference, the US could once have taken the world, or a large portion thereof, by force of arms. That is no longer possible. See the difference now?
You also make mention of the rich/poor divide... well, for the record, my wife and I have had an income that is just barely at the poverty line for the past 4 years, so believe me, I know about the divide, but let me make this quite clear: No country on this Earth will ever be fair. If life -were- fair, we wouldn't be having this discussion now, would we? So sympathizing with psychopaths who ram planes into buildings full of people who are, by and large, just trying to claw their way out of the aforementioned poverty won't net you many brownie points, or many sympathetic ears.
And, for the record, I never said I was a fan of Bush, or the US government on the whole. Just because I take issue with your semi-coherent ranting about my homeland does not mean I give those currently in power carte blanche to do as they will.
Oh yes, one last point, you can't moderate and post on the same discussion, in case you failed to note that part of the moderation system.
Geez, this guy will soon be modded into oblivion (Troll? Flamebait? maybe they'll add a special '-1 Moron'?). But to address one minor point of Mr. L33+ H4X0R here (for those who will no longer be able to see his post, his nick is 'n3r0.m4dski11z'), were the US the bully your kind make us out to be, we'd be the United States of Earth by now (read your history folks, after WWII, before Russia got the bomb, if we -had- wanted a global empire taking it then, when no one on Earth could possibly have opposed us, would have been child's play).
You dance near to the issues, but what really needs to happen is for several OSS alternatives to Micro$soft wares to become popular on Windows. Once that happens, switching to Linux, *BSD, or whatever else might come down the pike becomes easy and logical (ie: 'We already use X, Y, and Z software, which run on this 'Linux' too, may as well have a more stable environment at a lower cost too').
MS does not have a monopoly because of Windows, they have a monopoly in spite of it.
1. No industry I have ever encountered is thinking about its customers much IMHO (ref: RIAA, MPAA, OPEC, any and all auto makers, etc etc). Industry thinks about its customers only as much as it needs to to make money.
2. You're comparing the wrong parts of cars, phones, etc. to computers. Yes, the user interfaces are simple (or at least more so), but have you ever tried repairing one? Awfully complex, right? Well, when someone's computer breaks, and they don't know how to fix it, how is that different? Why do they expect to be able to any more than they are able to overhaul their car's engine?
3. I was not comparing technology to biology, I was comparing the amount of time one needs to invest to -fully- understand the respective fields. To be 'savvy' in either field requires a solid and substantial investment of time and effort. (Note, I think my definition of 'savvy' is potentially more strict than Katz's. What he seems to be getting it is mere 'competance', equivalent to simply starting and steering a car.)
Katz asks why the tech industry has continued to trundle along (not entirely prosper, but mostly so) when we 'abuse' our users. Tell me, would he ask the same uestion about a gap between the 'medically savvy' and the 'medically confused'? Modern computer systems (and by systems I mean -everything, hardware and software) are very nearly as complex as biological organisms (at least as we currently understand them. The more we learn about biology, the more there seems to be, but that's another topic). Is it -really- hard to figure out why most folks aren't computer experts?
Let me spell it out then: The problem is too complex for most people to bother spending the required amount of time to learn its answer. Just like medicine, some of the more esoteric bits of automobiles, and other inherently complex topics.
"you might want to know that if the muffler falls off, the car will die in under two seconds!"
See, this would be accurate, except it's more akin to your radiator falling off [which WILL kill a car, though not in quite 2 seconds]. A muffler is a purely cosmetic device, serving no practical purpose as far as the engine is concerned [indeed, many mufflers, by reducing air flow, actually hinder engine performance]. Sure, it's nice for us to not go deaf or breathe toxic fumes, but the engine doesn't need one. Just thought you ought to make a CORRECT analogy if you're going to bother.
MY main reason for using AOL is portability in terms of geography. I recently moved ~100 miles,a dn will likely be moving again soon. Until I'm fully settled, at which point I'll probably spring for DSL of some flavor if I can get it, AOL provides an easy way to get online where ever I land, no down time beyond plugging myself in.
Simple!=better for everything. For something like an OS or the basic window interface, sometimes you need comething that lets you get a little down and dirty [which Java simply does not do, and from what I gather neither does C#]. Ease of code is fine and dandy, unless it translates into slower, buggier, clunkier programs. Sure, computing power is cheap these days, but even so, not all systems are GHz monsters with 512MB of DDR RAM and 80 gig HDs... have to pay attention to the lower end of the user pool, and make it a good experience for all [something I know Java is not good at]
I downloaded patches, many of them [2.4.3-2.4.9 so far] but my RedHat 7.1 box does not seem to like them [I get complaints about 'patch already applied' or something like]. Aside from downloading and recompiling a mound of source, anyone know how to get RH to swallow a 'standard' patch?
The whole slashdot concept of DVD's is pathetic. BUY A DVD PLAYER to watch your movies. 99% of the world bought dvd's because of the technology and advancements over VHS. YOU HAVE TO PAY FOR THOSE ACHIEVEMENTS and technological improvements. SO FREAKING WHAT if you want watch your DVD's for free. You didn't write the codec, produce the technology, market the products and standardize the industry on formats. That comes to a huge cost and well, DVD's are so awesome for home theater that i don't mind paying that cost.
The price of the DVD and/or player isn't the issue. DVD's aren't priced much higher than VHS [in some cases they can actually be less than a comparable VHS tape]. Likewise, the players are now at rather reasonable prices, about where VCR's stabalized to after they became common [incidentally, VCRs are now DIRT cheap]. The issue is fair use violations [it is not possible, under current law, to legally copy ANY portion of a DVD, even a small excerpt for use in a classroom.] The other issue is region encoding [I can buy tapes from Europe, Asia, etc that play fine in my VCR so long as they are the right format {VHS}. Yet, DVD's from each area may or may not play depending on the region encoding]. Region encoding is, flat out, screwing the consumer. The only possible reason for it is so people in region A have no choice but to pay region A prices and can only get films at region A release dates. Currently, especially for those of us in the US, this is not much of an issue, but the potential is there for a great deal of abuse, and it would be best to nip that in the bud. Lastly, there have been reports of DVDs the refuse to fast forward [one of the wonderful points about DVDs is the ability to jump straight to a scene as opposed to winding tape] through trailors. On rental only copies, maybe I can see this, a way to offset the discount rental places must get, but for consumer purchased discs? I think most would agree if I buy it I ought to be able to watch however I like, be it straight through, no trailors, or the last 5 minutes only. I paid my money, it ought to be my choice.
Basicly, the DVD opposition isn't about copying. Even with today's huge hard drives, you still couldn't put too many onto them at DVD quality, and besides, to download them off the net would take forever even at broadband speeds. The issue is consumers losing rights they have been entitled to and enjoyed since the dawn of home entertainment devices.
You cannot gain the credibility needed to get the attention of lawmakers if you are breaking the very laws you are fighting against.
Well, you have the wrong idea on two counts.
Firstly, breaking an unjust law IS a way to get the lawmakers' attention, it is known as civil disobedience, and has some rather successful precendent in U.S. and international law.
Secondly, the issue with RIAA/MPAA is, essentially, the hijacking of the culture of a people for the sake of making money. What they do is analogous to extortion, similar to a street gang charging a 'toll' to walk on 'their turf'. Perhaps boycotting all music outlets save those not aligned with the RIAA would get some attention, but it will also represent undo loss in quality of life for those involved. Now, suffering for what one believes in is certainly to be expected, but not when the likelihood of success by that suffering is smaller than the likelihood of success down a more comfortable path. Rosa Parks made her impression by riding the bus, not walking instead.
-={(Astynax)}=-
We need to go farther. Perhaps /. or some other geek friendly site will sponsor a bit of web space to organize a simple campaign, centered around the following:
[Joe/Jane] Doe Congresscritter[yes, be more polite in the actualy letter]:
In recent months, it has become blatantly obvious that the act of Congress generally known as the Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA) is unfair, unreasonable, and quite likely unconstitutional. Considering those facts, this letter is a call for the immediate and unconditional repeal of the DMCA, as well as a call to never again pass such an odious law. It is my intention to keep an eye on the progress of anti-DMCA efforts, and if the law is not repealed by the next election in which your term is up, I will not vote for you under any circumstances, and will encourage others to do the same. Upon this point there is no negotiation. The DMCA must go, or those who allow it's continued existence will go in it's place.
Sincerely,
[Joe/Jane] Q. Voter
-={(Astynax)}=-
CN has a fairly consistent record in regards to their editing. Let us begin with Tenchi Muyo, where bathing suits magically appear in hot tub scenes [understandable, but an edit is an edit]. Similar editing appears [I believe, I could be mistaken] in Outlaw Star [the black thing Melphina wears when 'part' of the ship... looks out of place and edited in to me]. From what I've read, the editing done to Big-O was relatively minor [the God/Good thing was probably so they wouldn't piss off some obnoxious religious group or another]. All in all, yeah, it's hacked up a bit, but not as bad as what Fox tends to do [feel pity for Slayers, should they ever get around to it. Slayers without the flat chest jokes just isn't the same], and besides, it's a good way to preview anime before shelling out $20 or more per tape/disc [I wish someone somewhere would run Eva... I've heard good things, but at $25 per tape it's just obnoxiously expensive]
-={(Astynax)}=-
Because Windows is already firmly entrenched, you must first win the hearts of the consumers before you can sway companies.
...and yes, I know this is off topic, and has probably been beaten to death, but the simple point is, as it stands, Linux simply isn't positioned to even try to break into the consumer market [which is largely due to M$ practices, and AFAIK is part of the definition of the crime they've been convicted of]
The problem here is the recursive nature of the issue. You say you must win the consumers to get the companies to follow, which is at least plausible. However, most consumers won't buy something that is unsupported or only supported by small name, unknown shops. So, in a sense, you have to win over the companies to sway the consumers. This is why the M$ monopoly is such an issue. If M$ were forced to open their API's other companies could start small, writing programs that have versions on both Windows and Linux, the get people comfortable with alternative applications and make the move to Linux a painless matter of saving some money and frustration.
-={(Astynax)}=-
Anti free-trade activists and other 'independent' or 'alternative' people are really ramped up for "Mayday: a festival of labor, paganism, anarchist ideas, and action!"
Well, just to start off, why are labor, paganism, anarchist ideas [not anarchy itself, just some of their ideas, mind you] and action necessarily wrong? You berate me for a narrow world view, but it seems to me you are the one lacking in maturity and respect.
Investigating a potential felony is NOT stepping on anybody's rights.
Shall we examine this statement a bit?
'Investigating': Since when does investigation imply resorting to what amounts to barging into someone's home and checking on what they watch on TV?[Yes, it DOES apply, visiting a web site is much like tuning in to a TV channel. Just because I happened to see something on the Web or on TV does not mean I necessarily did anything wrong, nor should it be grounds enough for the police to so much as ask for my name]
'Potential felony': So, before it's even truly a crime, it needs to be investigated? "Sorry sir, we have to take you in, you MIGHT have done something naughty."
'NOT stepping on anybody's rights': Well, how do you know that? How many times HAVE various 'authorities' overstepped their bounds when investigating things? Just because they are doing something in the name of 'preventing crime' does not mean they are justified.
A final point, if I may, is to ask, just WHY is posting where the President will be located and when a crime anyway? He has armed guards where ever he goes anyway, and any truly interested terrorists could no doubt gain this information with trivial effort [after all, someone had tio to start this whol emess], so what is gained by hiding it?
-={(Astynax)}=-
. In that instance the president is a bit more important than your precious right to anonymitity.
Placing the rights of any one person over any other is NOT good, right, just, or however you want to term it. To see someone say otherwise, to blatantly put ANYONE above the rights of others makes it difficult for me to type this and not devolve in spewing vile curses. He's the president, so the [explative] what? He's just another politician, another corporate pawn, and in the the end, just another man like you or I. The powers that be should NOT be allowed to step on our rights, ANY of our rights, for ANY reason. Down that path, does indeed lie 1984.
Give me liberty, or give me death.
-={(Astynax)}=-