I find it amusing that I didn't really even notice until I saw this submission.
Yeah, yeah, we get it: Slashdot==Linux.
But really, there is something disturbingly naive about whistling down the street not giving Microsoft a second thought; all the while they're plotting some serious hardship for your baby (Linux).
Just because you don't think about Microsoft doesn't mean they don't think about you.
exactly would these ID cards have prevented the events of 9/11?
Because when 4 guys who are at least loosely associated with a known terrorist buy tickets on the same flight, that just might trigger a few bells.
The Fed does have some seriously vast databases at their disposal. The result of which being that they do have the ability to recognize rings of communication.
I'm not sure whether I'm for or against this, but there is definately a possibility that national ID cards could have prevented the WTC tragedy.
I have tried several times in the past to have marketplace competitors shut down for blatantly pirating software...
Hmmm - whatever it takes to be successful I guess. Although there are definately more honorable ways to operate a company than sabotaging your competitors.
Felten should announce that he will be presenting his case at a public place in a major city sometime in the next few days [...] At that point the RIAA will either have the FBI arrest Felten and press charges, at which point the case can proceed, or they can back off, showing that even they do not really have the balls to push the DMCA, giving anti-DMCA forces more ammunition.
Nah, the RIAA would let him proceed because fighting over a dead watermarking standard just isn't worth it. \
The RIAA knows that if they lost, their biggest gun (the DMCA) would be hurtin'. And, frankly, they don't even give a damn about that particular watermarking technology anymore.
So, they want to set up an intranet for the government. Why is this a bad thing?
Uh, who do you think pays for that kind of shit?
It's bad because it's unnecessary. Do you think it would be acceptable to run 100Mbps fiber to every congressman's house just because it would be alright for a corporation to do it for its Vice Presidents?
Whether or not OpenOffice 6 has been released (apparently it has not); I can tell you that it is really starting to look good as an MS Office replacement.
I recently had a user with a corrupted MS Excel spreadsheet that would immediately crash Excel every time it was opened. I tried Excel 2000, Excel 97, Excel Viewer, and nothing worked.
So, I tried to open it with the Win32 version of OpenOffice build 638. Hmmm, so far so good - it opened with no problems. I saved it as a native OpenOffice document; reopened it in OpenOffice; and exported it as an Excel document. Finally, I tried to open it with Excel and it worked like a charm!
So if nothing else, OpenOffice makes a nifty file repairer for MS Office documents.;-)
People have understood for years that when you purchase software you are actually purchasing a license to use that software. Should your CD cabinet suddenly burst into flames, you can call Microsoft and tell them you need new media. You prove you purchased it, pay shipping and handling, and you'll have new discs in no time. This is also the reason that big software companies don't try to copyprotect their CDs.
With the RIAA's latest move it has become much less clear exactly what we are purchasing from them.
If you're paying for the license to listen to the music, then you should be allowed to copy the CD, transfer to another medium, etc. As long you don't violate the license.
However, if you're paying for the media (i.e. the CD), then once it's in your possession you can do whatever you want with it - including duplication.
It's fucked up antics like this that piss me off about the RIAA. Either I'm buying the music or I'm buying the media - which is it? From now on, if I buy a CD and find out its copyprotected, I am going to assume that what I've purchased is the media, not the license to listen to the music, and should I figure out how to rip MP3s from it then I'll freely trade them with whomever I can.
Any idea of we'll be seeing a compatible implementation of something that can do everything Outlook can do (including connecting to an Exchange server)?
At the other end of the problem, the free software community is in dire need of a Samba-like clone of Exchange's MAPI abilities.
Right now, Linux still makes a better server than it does a desktop. I've replaced NT file/print servers with Samba+Linux; I've used PostgreSQL+Linux instead of MS SQL Server; but there is no way to replace an NT Exchange server with anything and still take advantage of Outlook's sweet MAPI groupware functionality.
I just don't understand why there isn't a free software Exchange clone out there. I'll tell you what - Exchange aint cheap; if a stable replacement existed for *nix, it would be one less reason for anyone to run NT Server.
Brita "purified" water is nowhere near pure H20. If you think you like pure water, do what I suggested: go to Wal-Mart and buy a gallon of distilled water and have a glass. Don't worry - it's safe.
I think you'll find that your Brita filter isn't removing everything you thought it was.
I'm wondering, is the efflux drinkable? [...] Obviously if you have pure hydrogen and clean air going into a fuel cell, you could possably get pure H2O out.
I'm not sure whether or not a hydrogen fuel cell will produce pure H2O, but I do know that you wouldn't want to drink it.
Although it isn't unhealthy, distilled water (pure H2O) tastes like shit. Your body is actually accustomed to the various minerals and whatnot that you'll find in most drinking water.
Try a glass of it the next time you fill up your car's radiator - the distilled water, not the coolant!
The cost in real dollars (not "gartner dollars" or "TCO dollars) to clean it up was around $25,000. For one small manufacturing company.
Bullshit. Have you ever seen how these companies estimate their damages? $5000 for the computer the report was typed on; $6500 for the manager's time; $1500 for the laser printer it was printed on; et cetera. It wouldn't cost somebody $25000 to clean up a virus if they had Bill fuckin' Gates doing it.
So exactly how is this Nimda bomb not a "serious offense"?
Breaking into an unpatched/insecure OS is a piece of cake (and not just Microsoft OSes either). When kids are writing software that can cause over $1 billion in "losses" worldwide, it's a sign that there is a bigger problem than the hackers. Software systems need to be self-patching, and companies need to hire competent people to install them.
When you are running a NT Server with IIS and have taken no steps to secure it - you are begging for trouble. You might as well take all your digital assets, burn them on CDs, and dump them in the fucking street.
Now, if we get THOUSANDS of people doing this - and we can, this is slashdot we're talking about
Feh, yeah right. There is no larger collection of vociferous "do-nothings" in the entire frickin' universe.
Someone set up a domain. "CopyproofCDs.org" or something. Make a list of every copy-proof CD out there.
You, sir, provide a perfect example. Why don't you set up this domain and database? Do you really think there are people sitting around out there with nothing better to do than wait for suggestions from/.ers?
I don't mean to harp on you in particular, but 95% of the people here are all talk. Nobody is writing their congressman about restrictive IP legislation. Nobody is boycotting the RIAA or the MPAA.
Apart from whining exhaustively, nobody around here is doing shit.
The EFF would then become the NRA of geek politics, they would get a lot of support, shuffle around a lot of money, but in the long run they would earn quite a bit of disdain from outsiders.
I'll take it.
Unfortunately, we are the morons who show up to a gunfight with a knife. The RIAA, MPAA, etc. have no qualms about feverishly pouring cash into Washington, and so far, it's working quite well for them. I can assure you that congress did not dream up the DMCA on their own.
The sad truth is that, currently, it takes money to get changes in legislation. If you don't pay up, you're guaranteed to have your rights slowly chiseled away by those who will.
One other disclaimer: Everything I have said should be interpreted as "coming out my ass"...
Heh - I think with Slashdot, this is usually an assumed competence. But we appreciate you candidness anyway.
Re:Try be inovative instead of just replicate ?
on
Linux on the Desktop
·
· Score: 2
The core issue is, dont try to walk your way to the desktop by making [almost as good] replicas of existing desktop software. Instead, offer something better!
Unfortunately, the free software community at large is just too damn helpful for this to work. Every time a better product is produced for *nix systems, some jerk invariably ports it to Win32;-). And then, there goes another reason to switch to Linux. The examples are countless: Apache, Perl, GIMP, etc.
I don't really know if this impacts anyone's decision to switch to *nix, but it is true.
Slashdot Mirror
Great - now I'll have to put up with co-workers that say stuff like: "Shit bizatch, that muther-fuckin' Linux be phat!" ;-)
Yeah, yeah, we get it: Slashdot==Linux.
But really, there is something disturbingly naive about whistling down the street not giving Microsoft a second thought; all the while they're plotting some serious hardship for your baby (Linux).
Just because you don't think about Microsoft doesn't mean they don't think about you.
Oh, it will definately be against the DMCA, but frankly, I couldn't care less. Stupid laws were meant to be broken.
I'm sorry, but your video card alone cost between $200 and $350. Exactly what is the point of comparing a $1000 computer with a $299 console?
Say what you will of Microsoft, but $299 for a 700 Mhz PIII with an nVidia chipset is a suhweeet deal.
I'm just interested to see how long it takes the hacker community to turn these things into coolest looking Linux workstations ever.
Oh shit! Now Gartner is going to recommend that I switch all my servers back over to NT.
Sounds like you need this.
Because when 4 guys who are at least loosely associated with a known terrorist buy tickets on the same flight, that just might trigger a few bells.
The Fed does have some seriously vast databases at their disposal. The result of which being that they do have the ability to recognize rings of communication.
I'm not sure whether I'm for or against this, but there is definately a possibility that national ID cards could have prevented the WTC tragedy.
Hmmm - whatever it takes to be successful I guess. Although there are definately more honorable ways to operate a company than sabotaging your competitors.
Nah, the RIAA would let him proceed because fighting over a dead watermarking standard just isn't worth it. \
The RIAA knows that if they lost, their biggest gun (the DMCA) would be hurtin'. And, frankly, they don't even give a damn about that particular watermarking technology anymore.
OMG that's fucking funny.
Uh, who do you think pays for that kind of shit?
It's bad because it's unnecessary. Do you think it would be acceptable to run 100Mbps fiber to every congressman's house just because it would be alright for a corporation to do it for its Vice Presidents?
I think seeing a DVD of just how much of a homo Mark Hamill is would pretty much dash any chance of that.
I recently had a user with a corrupted MS Excel spreadsheet that would immediately crash Excel every time it was opened. I tried Excel 2000, Excel 97, Excel Viewer, and nothing worked.
So, I tried to open it with the Win32 version of OpenOffice build 638. Hmmm, so far so good - it opened with no problems. I saved it as a native OpenOffice document; reopened it in OpenOffice; and exported it as an Excel document. Finally, I tried to open it with Excel and it worked like a charm!
So if nothing else, OpenOffice makes a nifty file repairer for MS Office documents. ;-)
With the RIAA's latest move it has become much less clear exactly what we are purchasing from them.
If you're paying for the license to listen to the music, then you should be allowed to copy the CD, transfer to another medium, etc. As long you don't violate the license.
However, if you're paying for the media (i.e. the CD), then once it's in your possession you can do whatever you want with it - including duplication.
It's fucked up antics like this that piss me off about the RIAA. Either I'm buying the music or I'm buying the media - which is it? From now on, if I buy a CD and find out its copyprotected, I am going to assume that what I've purchased is the media, not the license to listen to the music, and should I figure out how to rip MP3s from it then I'll freely trade them with whomever I can.
At the other end of the problem, the free software community is in dire need of a Samba-like clone of Exchange's MAPI abilities.
Right now, Linux still makes a better server than it does a desktop. I've replaced NT file/print servers with Samba+Linux; I've used PostgreSQL+Linux instead of MS SQL Server; but there is no way to replace an NT Exchange server with anything and still take advantage of Outlook's sweet MAPI groupware functionality.
I just don't understand why there isn't a free software Exchange clone out there. I'll tell you what - Exchange aint cheap; if a stable replacement existed for *nix, it would be one less reason for anyone to run NT Server.
Unfortunately, I'm not smart enough to do it.
I think you'll find that your Brita filter isn't removing everything you thought it was.
I'm not sure whether or not a hydrogen fuel cell will produce pure H2O, but I do know that you wouldn't want to drink it.
Although it isn't unhealthy, distilled water (pure H2O) tastes like shit. Your body is actually accustomed to the various minerals and whatnot that you'll find in most drinking water.
Try a glass of it the next time you fill up your car's radiator - the distilled water, not the coolant!
Bullshit. Have you ever seen how these companies estimate their damages? $5000 for the computer the report was typed on; $6500 for the manager's time; $1500 for the laser printer it was printed on; et cetera. It wouldn't cost somebody $25000 to clean up a virus if they had Bill fuckin' Gates doing it.
So exactly how is this Nimda bomb not a "serious offense"?
Breaking into an unpatched/insecure OS is a piece of cake (and not just Microsoft OSes either). When kids are writing software that can cause over $1 billion in "losses" worldwide, it's a sign that there is a bigger problem than the hackers. Software systems need to be self-patching, and companies need to hire competent people to install them.
When you are running a NT Server with IIS and have taken no steps to secure it - you are begging for trouble. You might as well take all your digital assets, burn them on CDs, and dump them in the fucking street.
Man I think I'm going to move to Tokyo. Just so I can tell people back home, "Yup, I'm pullin' down a cool 6,000,000 Yen a year.".
I don't do shit either, but I at least have enough social awareness to realize that I'm not the only one.
Constant cries for "everyone else" to partake in boycotts and demonstrations are as useless as doing nothing.
I suggest for people to "put up or shut up". I'm tired of reading "Boycott the RIAA!! Oooh, the new Barenaked Ladies CD is out - I'll be right back."
And I guess out of reciprocal antagonism I must now ask you, friend - what have you done?
Feh, yeah right. There is no larger collection of vociferous "do-nothings" in the entire frickin' universe.
Someone set up a domain. "CopyproofCDs.org" or something. Make a list of every copy-proof CD out there.
You, sir, provide a perfect example. Why don't you set up this domain and database? Do you really think there are people sitting around out there with nothing better to do than wait for suggestions from /.ers?
I don't mean to harp on you in particular, but 95% of the people here are all talk. Nobody is writing their congressman about restrictive IP legislation. Nobody is boycotting the RIAA or the MPAA.
Apart from whining exhaustively, nobody around here is doing shit.
I'll take it.
Unfortunately, we are the morons who show up to a gunfight with a knife. The RIAA, MPAA, etc. have no qualms about feverishly pouring cash into Washington, and so far, it's working quite well for them. I can assure you that congress did not dream up the DMCA on their own.
The sad truth is that, currently, it takes money to get changes in legislation. If you don't pay up, you're guaranteed to have your rights slowly chiseled away by those who will.
You're right Michael - it's okay to steal and loot because some employers can't afford to make their payroll.
WTF are you thinking?
Heh - I think with Slashdot, this is usually an assumed competence. But we appreciate you candidness anyway.
Unfortunately, the free software community at large is just too damn helpful for this to work. Every time a better product is produced for *nix systems, some jerk invariably ports it to Win32 ;-). And then, there goes another reason to switch to Linux. The examples are countless: Apache, Perl, GIMP, etc.
I don't really know if this impacts anyone's decision to switch to *nix, but it is true.