I think you can count on various republishings and repackagings of things for years to come. Digging the works off a dead authors computer IMHO would indicate they'll stop at little to find something to sell.
I rather expected Douglas Adams last writings was a non-issue on Slashdot, because I wrote up nice posts with links and everything and they kept getting send to file 86. From the rather lukewarm addition by Michael, I'd assume it's so. Too bad he didn't have an Anime version, but maybe there's hope.
"What??"
"Big yellow ship hang over MegaTokyo in exactly way that brick do not!!"
"What say!!"
"Arthur Dent, where my satchel!?! We go on Vogon ship, listen to Poetry!!"
"What??"
There's to be a VHS tape documentary, too, this from DNA's site, one year to the date after his death.
As flames and flamebait go, Re: MIT and Profs there, this guy does not only himself, but MIT a disservice knowing so little about which he desired to be so precise about.
I believe the proper term here is Self-Immolation. Imagine facing his peers after those gaffs.
I'd laugh, but I'm usually cursing. Few things put me in a rotten mood as quickly as trying to do anything on my Windows laptop.
Still, it's fun to see these witnesses stumble at the expense of company which insists my operating system has to be bloated, buggy, and inefficient othewise it would fragment (ha!) the software industry and consumer market. Yet, it's sad to see some prominent figures in industry and education have to admit they're talking through their hats and will have us snickering behind their backs for years to come.
"Hello, I'm Jerry Sanders."
*snerk* *snerk* "Please to meet you, Jerry!" *snerk*
Then the Nielsen boxes will just get moved around to households that actually watch
This is certainly something I wonder about, as fewer of my friends actually know what's on the t00b than in the past. I expect ACNilesen doesn't just go around and find houses that watch TV and report viewing as a percentage of the entire population, which would be transparent and amaturish, no doubt the broadcasters and advertisers who actually pay for these ratings get the full package, including estimates of % of demographics viewing TV. That doesn't mean your average local TV/Radio news reporters don't get fed bad or misleading information to give ratings false appearances.
i.e. An statistical estimation of viewers on Households with a TV on Thursday evenings from 8:00 pm to 10:00 pm could be 40 million. With an average of 2.5 persons per household that expands to 100 million people. 25% are watching All My Circuits, which with a reasonble amount of error would state 25 million people are watching the show. If some doofus gets the 25% number and works that against the last population estimate they heard of the U.S. they could assume that 75 million people are watching. (Then advertisers would like to know why they're not all buying their products!)
It's important to keep raw numbers and percentages separated and understood for such reasons.
most of the turner stations, the ads are the best thing they're broadcasting.
This could be said of most TV in general. I rarely even tune in anymore, which makes the decision to get a PVR tougher to defend. Probably has something to do with rather being out on the bike, watching the sunset/moonrise or reading. For all the accolades of new shows, most of which are on cable and another expense I'd have to face, not much seems to be worth it. Judging, IMHO, the current crop of shows and how lame writing has become (you know it's really bad when you catch an old episode of Dick Van Dyke and by comparison it's much more entertaining), a renegotiation of the contract is called for.
But do people complain? None that I know, we just tune out.
Write to Wal-mart customer services and point out how silly it is to include a WinModem with an OS-less PC. Ask if they will be
supplying proper modems with their PCs in future.
Please write to them in friendly, non-condesending words how helpful it is to offer non-winmodem PC's, of make modem an option. Being a jerk is unlikely to have your letter read past the "Dear Bloated Sack of Protoplasm" salutation. It's a big step for Wal-Mart, love 'em or hate 'em, and if it's a success than others will likely follow suit. If Wal-Mart sees it as a failure and the type of customer they've attracted as obnoxious jerks, the decision to drop it and declare it a bad business decision will be that much easier.
I'm all for getting rid of the Microsoft tax, but this just smacks of promoting piracy, frustrating users, and adding fuel to microsoft's
arguments about how bad an idea naked PCs are.
When I was a kid we had these really cool stores in town, Lafayette Electronics and Radio Shack (not to confused with the fairly useless RS nowadays.) They sold all kinds of do-it-yourself kits to make radios, metal detectors, winky-blinkies, etc. They also sold generic bare circuit boards you could build your own projects out of Pop. Electronics (aw heck, now I'm getting all nostalgic *sniff*) with your handy Weller soldering pen.
Did this encourage budding electronic enthusiasts to steal parts from Lafayette/Radio Shack to build these? Nah, not unless they were already unethical people, and it's best to realize right away that you can't force your ethics on other people, if they're of that stripe then they'll do whatever anyway. As for my brothers and friends, we bought parts at Hamfests, scrapped industrial electronics, even picked a few TV's off the curbs the night before trash pickup.
Do everyone a favor and try to be less of a pessimist.
I think my kids would like a beowulf cluster of elmos!
Well, this may be their big chance...
...but here's a thought: Get a few of those wossname robots from Sony, get some big stuffed Elmo's from Toys-B-Us, install Linux on the robots and stuff them into the Elmo's (after removing all the stuffins) and set em up with 802.11 and you're good to go, just need to feed them some sort of Elmo personality. Wouldn't that be something?
I count myself lucky, I installed (and paid for) The Bat from Ritlabs 3 years ago and haven't had a problem. Heck, I don't even have decent virus scan software on my laptop, I just view everything as ascii and delete anything suspicious. It's worked so far.:)
In one of those misunderstood lyrics things, for years I thought in the show opening they said "Transformers - Robots in the skies"
Years later I figured out it was "robots in disguise" Still, seemed fitting as they were always jumping and flying around -- 'n since nobody (well, maybe one reader) kno who I am, I don't feel so bad.:)
This would actually be a good case for employees to be in a union, as it would provide some insurance against executives getting stupid ideas like this. About the only other recourse is for employees to file a class action suit of some sort.
In any case, I'd urge them to get together, get some legal advice, particularly from someone with labor experience and pass along their feelings.
Sitting still for this is just asking for the next Enron to hit where you work, and we all know how trule poor Mr. Skilling is and feel just awful for him.
Yep. I can remember when us Amiga users were thrilled by the appearance and use of Amigas to make this show. I've still got pretty much every episode, including the pilot. What with ALF doing commercials these days, maybe Matt Frewer could give Max another go... well, there were those New Coke commercials... I hope we don't go there again.
I was under the impression it wasn't really fantasy, but a telling of a chinese folk tale.
I suppose I could do a Paul Bunyan & Babe the Blue Ox with some nifty ninja moves as they descent upon Evil Harry Dread in his Shed of Doom and get at least a nomination...
That doesn't explain why they are on a holy war against all things GPL. If they don't want to use it, that's fine, but why bitch that nobody else should use it either?
In one word: Control.
Per my previous post -- Microsoft's problem with free ideas is that they can't control them. No nice neat little IP License agreements or locking it away and suing everyond who tries to simulate or emulate. You can't even begin to become a monopoly if you don't have total control. Losing control means losing the monopoly.
The funny part, really, is their approach is something like this:
You and a friend buy one root beer float and ask for two straws. The soda jerk (Bill Gates) says no, only one straw per glass. If your friend wants a float than he has to buy his own. And don't even think about drinking half of it and then giving the other half to your friend. He'd probably have a EULA printed on the bottom of every glass.
It's amazing how they come off all reasonable like on the radio, isn't it?
They ran ads back in January in the SF Bay Area (e.g. KCBS 740) about how important it is to keep a clean shop and comply by the grace period end. Nothing about imperial stormtroopers installing software on your PC's or Servers, or demanding audits which would be unthinkable in short timeframes, or even the extortion of large wads of cash and total capitulation as the only other option.
Ideas developed and shared undermine Intellectual Property. i.e. If you invented a better moustrap and GPL'd the design, then MSFT wouldn't be able get a patent on it, and thus license for big fees or lock any other developer or competitor out.
Having to include source to something they didn't invent and can't get along without is their problem and, like any reasonable minded person, don't want problems. They like to keep it simple, by owning or having license agreements on IP.
How anyone actually associates Linux with Piracy is beyond me and reflective of a lack of understanding the spirit of MSFT's gripes.
I've been receiving spam at work and found all employees internal email addresses are on web pages at our site. I notified management and after some poo-pooing about tempest in a teapot, nothing has been done. Another ludicrous spam arrived this morning and I'm just counting the days until we have a worm attached and working it's way through our server (yeah, they went with that companies 'solution', moo.)
Slashdot Mirror
I rather expected Douglas Adams last writings was a non-issue on Slashdot, because I wrote up nice posts with links and everything and they kept getting send to file 86. From the rather lukewarm addition by Michael, I'd assume it's so. Too bad he didn't have an Anime version, but maybe there's hope.
"What??"
"Big yellow ship hang over MegaTokyo in exactly way that brick do not!!"
"What say!!"
"Arthur Dent, where my satchel!?! We go on Vogon ship, listen to Poetry!!"
"What??"
There's to be a VHS tape documentary, too, this from DNA's site, one year to the date after his death.
I believe the proper term here is Self-Immolation. Imagine facing his peers after those gaffs.
Still, it's fun to see these witnesses stumble at the expense of company which insists my operating system has to be bloated, buggy, and inefficient othewise it would fragment (ha!) the software industry and consumer market. Yet, it's sad to see some prominent figures in industry and education have to admit they're talking through their hats and will have us snickering behind their backs for years to come.
"Hello, I'm Jerry Sanders."
*snerk* *snerk* "Please to meet you, Jerry!" *snerk*
This is certainly something I wonder about, as fewer of my friends actually know what's on the t00b than in the past. I expect ACNilesen doesn't just go around and find houses that watch TV and report viewing as a percentage of the entire population, which would be transparent and amaturish, no doubt the broadcasters and advertisers who actually pay for these ratings get the full package, including estimates of % of demographics viewing TV. That doesn't mean your average local TV/Radio news reporters don't get fed bad or misleading information to give ratings false appearances.
i.e. An statistical estimation of viewers on Households with a TV on Thursday evenings from 8:00 pm to 10:00 pm could be 40 million. With an average of 2.5 persons per household that expands to 100 million people. 25% are watching All My Circuits, which with a reasonble amount of error would state 25 million people are watching the show. If some doofus gets the 25% number and works that against the last population estimate they heard of the U.S. they could assume that 75 million people are watching. (Then advertisers would like to know why they're not all buying their products!)
It's important to keep raw numbers and percentages separated and understood for such reasons.
This could be said of most TV in general. I rarely even tune in anymore, which makes the decision to get a PVR tougher to defend. Probably has something to do with rather being out on the bike, watching the sunset/moonrise or reading. For all the accolades of new shows, most of which are on cable and another expense I'd have to face, not much seems to be worth it. Judging, IMHO, the current crop of shows and how lame writing has become (you know it's really bad when you catch an old episode of Dick Van Dyke and by comparison it's much more entertaining), a renegotiation of the contract is called for.
But do people complain? None that I know, we just tune out.
ATM, however, nothing bars a good old fashioned C & D letter hinting at something in the DMCA or any other arcane law.
Please write to them in friendly, non-condesending words how helpful it is to offer non-winmodem PC's, of make modem an option. Being a jerk is unlikely to have your letter read past the "Dear Bloated Sack of Protoplasm" salutation. It's a big step for Wal-Mart, love 'em or hate 'em, and if it's a success than others will likely follow suit. If Wal-Mart sees it as a failure and the type of customer they've attracted as obnoxious jerks, the decision to drop it and declare it a bad business decision will be that much easier.
When I was a kid we had these really cool stores in town, Lafayette Electronics and Radio Shack (not to confused with the fairly useless RS nowadays.) They sold all kinds of do-it-yourself kits to make radios, metal detectors, winky-blinkies, etc. They also sold generic bare circuit boards you could build your own projects out of Pop. Electronics (aw heck, now I'm getting all nostalgic *sniff*) with your handy Weller soldering pen.
Did this encourage budding electronic enthusiasts to steal parts from Lafayette/Radio Shack to build these? Nah, not unless they were already unethical people, and it's best to realize right away that you can't force your ethics on other people, if they're of that stripe then they'll do whatever anyway. As for my brothers and friends, we bought parts at Hamfests, scrapped industrial electronics, even picked a few TV's off the curbs the night before trash pickup.
Do everyone a favor and try to be less of a pessimist.
Well, this may be their big chance...
I count myself lucky, I installed (and paid for) The Bat from Ritlabs 3 years ago and haven't had a problem. Heck, I don't even have decent virus scan software on my laptop, I just view everything as ascii and delete anything suspicious. It's worked so far. :)
Normally I would stand corrected, but sitting is my normal typing position.
Think of Michael Eisner and his grip on the Muppets next time we get into the DMCA rants.
Well, I warned you, but nooooOO...
Gilligan's Island with
Jim Carrey!
Ack!
Years later I figured out it was "robots in disguise" Still, seemed fitting as they were always jumping and flying around -- 'n since nobody (well, maybe one reader) kno who I am, I don't feel so bad. :)
What's old is new again.
In any case, I'd urge them to get together, get some legal advice, particularly from someone with labor experience and pass along their feelings.
Sitting still for this is just asking for the next Enron to hit where you work, and we all know how trule poor Mr. Skilling is and feel just awful for him.
Yep. I can remember when us Amiga users were thrilled by the appearance and use of Amigas to make this show. I've still got pretty much every episode, including the pilot. What with ALF doing commercials these days, maybe Matt Frewer could give Max another go... well, there were those New Coke commercials... I hope we don't go there again.
I was under the impression it wasn't really fantasy, but a telling of a chinese folk tale.
I suppose I could do a Paul Bunyan & Babe the Blue Ox with some nifty ninja moves as they descent upon Evil Harry Dread in his Shed of Doom and get at least a nomination...
Not my site, but pretty good reading, hit reload a couple times. 8)
In one word: Control.
Per my previous post -- Microsoft's problem with free ideas is that they can't control them. No nice neat little IP License agreements or locking it away and suing everyond who tries to simulate or emulate. You can't even begin to become a monopoly if you don't have total control. Losing control means losing the monopoly.
The funny part, really, is their approach is something like this:
You and a friend buy one root beer float and ask for two straws. The soda jerk (Bill Gates) says no, only one straw per glass. If your friend wants a float than he has to buy his own. And don't even think about drinking half of it and then giving the other half to your friend. He'd probably have a EULA printed on the bottom of every glass.
They ran ads back in January in the SF Bay Area (e.g. KCBS 740) about how important it is to keep a clean shop and comply by the grace period end. Nothing about imperial stormtroopers installing software on your PC's or Servers, or demanding audits which would be unthinkable in short timeframes, or even the extortion of large wads of cash and total capitulation as the only other option.
Ideas developed and shared undermine Intellectual Property. i.e. If you invented a better moustrap and GPL'd the design, then MSFT wouldn't be able get a patent on it, and thus license for big fees or lock any other developer or competitor out.
Having to include source to something they didn't invent and can't get along without is their problem and, like any reasonable minded person, don't want problems. They like to keep it simple, by owning or having license agreements on IP.
How anyone actually associates Linux with Piracy is beyond me and reflective of a lack of understanding the spirit of MSFT's gripes.
I've been receiving spam at work and found all employees internal email addresses are on web pages at our site. I notified management and after some poo-pooing about tempest in a teapot, nothing has been done. Another ludicrous spam arrived this morning and I'm just counting the days until we have a worm attached and working it's way through our server (yeah, they went with that companies 'solution', moo.)