the usage server provided to allow us to monitor and track our own usage goes down
when we most need it - when we're nearing the end of the month,
Probably has something to do with the possibility that they realized that if they impose a limit, people will tend to try to come as close as possible to it without exceeding it. Caps can do that:). Thus, the server "goes down" so you can't edge up to the limit right at the end of the month. How convenient.
Boy, am I glad I dumped them. When someone like them in an industry caves to something like that, it opens the door for all the other mickey mouse authors to whine "my stuff is being pirated, my stuff is being pirated" like Chicken Little, causing other providers to have to agree. They'll probably have to raise their already too-high prices to pay for this "copyright liaison" for Whorelan Ellison.
Where does it lead? You guessed it. DEATH OF USENET. FILM AT 11.
If the billing problem is solved, and net access is charged like a utility, by the packet, then people will "conserve"--meaning that the Internet is dead, because people know the meter is running when they use it. Corporations won't be able to say "see our web site for that information," because customers will reply "sent it to me in the mail, because I'm not paying to see it."
What REALLY sucks is paying for broadband only to not get it because a few dorks are hogging it
disproportionately for foolish, simple-minded reasons.
If it weren't for those "foolish, simple-minded reasons," there wouldn't be sufficient demand for broadband access to justify having brought it to your home. Internet providers that attempt to meter access to defeat warez, porn, and p2p are going to be rudely awakened when they find that those were the very things that brought users and made them money. No one's going to pay by the kilobyte to read marketing material or check stocks.
I'm not speaking ex cathedra here, but if the cost of a computer isn't included in your budget (known to the Financial Aid Office as your "Cost of Attendance") that was used in figuring your aid package, you may be able to persaude them to add that cost to your budget. That would then possibly enable your school to allow you to borrow additional funds to purchase one from the Federal (or other) loan programs.
All the CYA language is because I'm acquainted enough with financial aid to know it can be a complicated business, but not so acquainted with it to think I can map my knowledge to a situation with which I'm not familiar at a school whose policies I don't know <grin>. I hope you feel like at least checking it out with them--no one should have to go blind at a computer from programming!
Yep. I couldn't believe they used a strip shredder, either. It looked like those pieces were at least 3/8" wide, too. Pretty trivial to get back together in light of the motivation and resources available.
Of course that doesn't matter, juveniles can't vote, most adults have carefully excised any memory at all of what it was like to be a teenager.
I'm over 30, and I still remember. I still skip places that have signs like that in the window, along with those that would dare ask me to leave my briefcase or bag at the counter.
That's what I was getting at. I guess I didn't make it clear that the situation I was describing appeared to be profiteering to some, but really isn't.
Also, many sellers are no longer individuals or hobbyists, but professional middle men. I personally know of people who buy in bulk at Fry's and then move the merchandies on EBay, once again, for a profit.
I don't like profiteers that don't add value any more than it looks like you do, but if the seller buying stuff at Fry's and turning it for a profit is making it available to people who don't have access to the temple that is Fry's (me, for example), why shouldn't he be entitled to make money doing it?
Gimp doesn't support color management because of - guess who - Adobe's and other's patents on the matters.
Why not write and maintain some patches that fix that to the official distribution and upload them to a server in a country that doesn't, shall we say, vigorously cooperate with patent infringement investigations? Maybe even put a nice disclaimer saying "Download from the USA or other countries signatory to the Berne convention is prohibited." (Makes it easier to find it with search engines.)
. . . even if you aren't running multiple virtual machines simulateously, applications like VMware (and possibly Bochs) are useful for creating read only, throwaway environments for when you do anything on the net you might not want your boss or someone who shares your computer to be aware of.
In particular, VMware's "undoable disks" are great in this regard.
Right. At least have the decency to admit you don't have any more arguments. Of course, you can ignore this, since it's an "uneducated and rant-like" post. Thanks.
Ooh. I should leave the country now because I don't agree with you. Can you point out where I said that I agree with the Chinese government's way of thinking? Remember, this is all about the fact that China told their citizens that they're being monitored, and our government has yet to do so.
You see the difference. I see the difference. Does the Chinese government see the difference? Of course not. I don't expect you to see it because you are blinded by your bias and fascist thought/rationalization.
I agree that porn and violent matter in China hasn't caused death. But China views this sort of "Western decadent influence" as just as grave a threat to their state.
And calling the analogy "insane" really doesn't make your argument credible. Are you going to call me a Communist next?
As opposed to a basis consisting of, say, communications to Al Qa'ida, which would be interpreted as just as much of a threat to our state as China considers porn and violent matter to theirs?
The parallel isn't in the specific actions they're taking--it's that they're taking them overtly. Whether they'd put someone in prison or shoot them for emailing a goatse.cx link or not is irrelevant to that point.
Slashdot Mirror
when we most need it - when we're nearing the end of the month,
Probably has something to do with the possibility that they realized that if they impose a limit, people will tend to try to come as close as possible to it without exceeding it. Caps can do that :). Thus, the server "goes down" so you can't edge up to the limit right at the end of the month. How convenient.
Where does it lead? You guessed it. DEATH OF USENET. FILM AT 11.
If the billing problem is solved, and net access is charged like a utility, by the packet, then people will "conserve"--meaning that the Internet is dead, because people know the meter is running when they use it. Corporations won't be able to say "see our web site for that information," because customers will reply "sent it to me in the mail, because I'm not paying to see it."
disproportionately for foolish, simple-minded reasons.
If it weren't for those "foolish, simple-minded reasons," there wouldn't be sufficient demand for broadband access to justify having brought it to your home. Internet providers that attempt to meter access to defeat warez, porn, and p2p are going to be rudely awakened when they find that those were the very things that brought users and made them money. No one's going to pay by the kilobyte to read marketing material or check stocks.
It will be the death of the Internet as we know it. It costs more to bill for bandwidth usage than it does to provide it. It will not happen.
That's why I'm stocked up on "pre-ban" 486's and low end Pentiums. I'm going to make a killing on eBay when this happens.
All the CYA language is because I'm acquainted enough with financial aid to know it can be a complicated business, but not so acquainted with it to think I can map my knowledge to a situation with which I'm not familiar at a school whose policies I don't know <grin>. I hope you feel like at least checking it out with them--no one should have to go blind at a computer from programming!
At least the 2.0 license doesn't have this onerous provision. Guess we won't be upgrading here.
Actually, you'd be surprised at how much document recovery is possible from ash, provided it isn't crumbled. Shred, then burn is probably safest.
Yep. I couldn't believe they used a strip shredder, either. It looked like those pieces were at least 3/8" wide, too. Pretty trivial to get back together in light of the motivation and resources available.
I'm over 30, and I still remember. I still skip places that have signs like that in the window, along with those that would dare ask me to leave my briefcase or bag at the counter.
Holy exploding shit! You just discovered the secret behind the goatse.cx guy!!!
That's what I was getting at. I guess I didn't make it clear that the situation I was describing appeared to be profiteering to some, but really isn't.
I don't like profiteers that don't add value any more than it looks like you do, but if the seller buying stuff at Fry's and turning it for a profit is making it available to people who don't have access to the temple that is Fry's (me, for example), why shouldn't he be entitled to make money doing it?
Why not write and maintain some patches that fix that to the official distribution and upload them to a server in a country that doesn't, shall we say, vigorously cooperate with patent infringement investigations? Maybe even put a nice disclaimer saying "Download from the USA or other countries signatory to the Berne convention is prohibited." (Makes it easier to find it with search engines.)
In particular, VMware's "undoable disks" are great in this regard.
If it makes you feel any better, I was at 50 before I posted it.
Right. At least have the decency to admit you don't have any more arguments. Of course, you can ignore this, since it's an "uneducated and rant-like" post. Thanks.
Ooh. I should leave the country now because I don't agree with you. Can you point out where I said that I agree with the Chinese government's way of thinking? Remember, this is all about the fact that China told their citizens that they're being monitored, and our government has yet to do so.
You see the difference. I see the difference. Does the Chinese government see the difference? Of course not. I don't expect you to see it because you are blinded by your bias and fascist thought/rationalization.
And calling the analogy "insane" really doesn't make your argument credible. Are you going to call me a Communist next?
As opposed to a basis consisting of, say, communications to Al Qa'ida, which would be interpreted as just as much of a threat to our state as China considers porn and violent matter to theirs?
I agree, but think it naïve to think it's not happing in a "black" way. Let's both hope we don't get to the point where it can be done publicly.
The parallel isn't in the specific actions they're taking--it's that they're taking them overtly. Whether they'd put someone in prison or shoot them for emailing a goatse.cx link or not is irrelevant to that point.
No, you called me an extremist. That's not a reasoned argument. Let's just quit pretending it is.