Companies like SSI made a lot of games in BASIC: games like Galactic Gladiator or any of a number of the classic Star Trek games... stuff like that.
Sure, something like AlleyCat or Jet or Snipes would have been written in assembly, but something with a simple text-entry UI and static graphics like Star Command (there were more than one game by that name... I'm talking about the old 40 character text mode RPG) were quite often written in BASIC.
You can hardly criticize someone for not having readily available the source code to a piece of software from about 15 years ago.
Even if these companies could jump dump the source somewhere, there will always be come enterprising nerd to pick it up and put it back together. Of course, with games like Star Command which was probably written in BASIC, it might be easier to just redesign and rewrite it.
Best use of the word "fart"?
Best death of someone named "Kenny"?
Best bashing of Canada in a song that had to be changed for the award show?
Like that autistic-Matisse artwork and Tourette's dialog could ever win anything. Why even a nomination or something so crass and juvenile would completely invalidate the Academy, in my view. They are a respected institution that would never let things like money, popularity or Isaac Hayes get in the way of their objective evaluation of pure artistic merit.
p.s. I haven't actually seen the movie which makes me eminently qualified to bash it.
It doesn't take a multi-billion dollar industry that takes a 90% cut to cash checks.
I know the labels do more than that, but for a small independent artist in the Internet age, the record labels are quickly becoming (or have become) obsolete. I buy all my music legitimately, but it sometimes seems kind of pointless WRT doing it to support the artists since most of the money goes to some faceless corporation that is only trying to maintain the status quo of its monopoly on distribution.
That's why I like to patronize labels like Robert Fripp's Discipline Global Mobile, which allows the artists to maintain their own copyrights. Imagine that. You struggle to make some good work, the record label helps you to publish and market it, you give them their cut, but you still own the work. I'm sure Hilary Rosen would call that communism.
That's a distinction that can be made. However, I was not making it.
In the interests of precision in language, I would describe a convicted criminal as a "convicted criminal" whereas a non-convicted murderer, cyberterrorist, or chronic speeder is just a "criminal". And yes, I realize that 99.9% of the population technically qualifies as a criminal under that definition. However, it is conventional to refer only to more serious infractions of the law as "crimes".
You must be magical because you keep getting mod points and I don't:(
Think of it this way. I impress the typical/. reader. You decide if that's good or bad. A karma cap and 50 cents'll get you a cup of coffee.
I understand that a lot of IT security companies have hired ex-(h)|(cr)ackers and that's fine. But if getting caught means a good prospect for getting a job in computer security, then rooting someone's box becomes less of a crime and more of a resume builder. You see, there's a significant difference between making license plates, and working in high-tech security. I'm not saying it still couldn't be a deterrent, since many people won't want to deal with an ex-criminal, but people who are stupid enough to make things like nimda, might see it as a way to get ahead.
There are other kinds of useful community service that could be used, even jobs that take advantage of computer skills. I recall a friend got busted for some minor violation in college in the early 80's and ended up setting up a database for a local church as his community service.
I agree that alternatives to "pointless punishment" should be found, because there is an incredible waste of human resource when someone is sitting around sulking in striped sunlight for years on end. But we have to remember that punishment for crimes needs to be something that people want to avoid, not some kind of jobs program for troubled youths. That should happen before the legal system comes into play. We have to remember our first priority is trying to keep people from committing the crimes in the first place, even if we do still want to help them once they do.
That's all I'm trying to say.
Rick
p.s.
Who is at fault when you come home and all your gold bricks are gone?
The thief. You might be at fault for being careless or incompetent (and if it were your job to secure the gold, that's another issue), but the thief is still guilty of far worse. Maybe you shouldn't complain if your house is burglarized, but there is still a significant difference in the degree of moral fault here.
If I walk out and leave my gold bricks lying around unprotected, that in no way mitigates the degree of guilt of anyone who might happen to steal them.
Sorry for missing your point. I got the impression you were trolling on purpose. I shouldn't assume posters are being dense, even though it's so often true here.;-)
Good point! I wish it were possible to make the punishment actually be something positive for society (or the convict himself) in more cases. However, the most important aspect of punishment has to be its deterrence effect. If we "punish" script kiddies by giving them jobs (even your "unpaid" example), we are going to get more script kiddies.
I think your point is very good and thoughtful, but it really goes into the whole question of punishment vs. rehabilitation and whether they can coincide or if one can cause the other. I hope and think that will be a question that will be answered much better in the 21st century than in the 20th, but it's not happening yet.
A criminal is, by definition, someone who commits a crime. Speeding is a crime. It doesn't compare to murder in severity.
Actions have consequences. We can (and should) blame Microsoft all day for their flippant disregard of security, but that doesn't mean these script kiddies aren't commiting serious crimes. What if a teenager broke into a factory and managed to shut it down for several hours. Would we be sitting around saying, "Oh, well, he's just a kid with too much time on his hands!" or would we be considering the fact that he cost the company thousands or millions of dollars. Well, Internet servers have reached the point where they can have as much impact on a business as the physical property and machinery.
We need to recall that consequences (and punishment) should fit the crime, not the criminal. A relatively harmless crime needs a small punishment (or possibly even just a warning), whereas a larger crime requires a larger punishment. Otherwise you end up with anarchy.
I don't want to see young kids pulling years of hard time for youthful indiscretions aided by bad security measures, but if there's no threat of punishment, then there will be no deterrent.
I wish it were possible to focus a little less on fuzzy IP issues (which are important, but the government is listening too much to the money and not enough to its own law, precedent, and common sense) and a little more on the fact that the entire global computer network is being bogged down by the actions of a small number of penny-ante vandals.
(And somewhat offtopic, but what does this message from the Windows 98 installation sequence tell you? ``Click Finish to continue starting Windows 98''. I ask you.)
You think that's bad, look at XP sometime. In order to reboot the machine, you click on "Start" then "Shutdown" then "Restart". I'm sure Windows 2010 will have something like:
"Begin"
"Stop"
"Initiate"
"Turn off the Computer"
"Start"
"End"
"Put your left foot in..."
"Take your left foot out..."
It seems Microsoft's usability engineers have decided the way to make Windows easier to use is to level the playing field. Make the commands so arbitrary that experienced users have to guess just like newbies.
They've managed to walk a fine line for years between having notoriously bad security, but not bad enough to get into serious trouble, legally or civilly (let's face the whole DoJ thing is a bust). Now _that's_ innovation!
That's 'cause classical music doesn't have videos involving lots of skin and thrusting pelvises.
Now, if you had some 15-year-old sex kitten with a pierced navel writhing to the strains of Mussorgsky, they'd be jumping off the shelves.
Just imagine how successful Beethoven could have been with modern marketing techniques! Da da da bomb!
Bach missed the boat with all this lame 6-part fugues and contrapuntal complexity that could only be made by someone with a 200 IQ, what he really needed was some big boobies and a nice butt, and the same 5 second refrain repeated for 3 and a half minutes. Wotta chump!
Since the suits are doing everything they can to maintain a monopoly of the means of distribution, the artist will be beholden to them if they don't want to languish in obscurity.
That will change with time, but it's still true for almost everyone.
I write Windows software for managing a brand of access control panels that still use Z80's. I don't deal with the firmware or anything, but the company has obviously decided to stick with something that works!
Shack? No. But what about 1000 people in a community? What about 100?
But this is a huge country, and there are small towns all over the place, remember more people have been moving _away_ from the cities in the last 50 years or so.
I hope something like this can happen and the Internet becomes akin to the telephone in its ubiquity, not for my needs, but for the needs of Joe Twelvepack who is not a computer nerd, but could benefit greatly from ready access to much information and services.
But I was also comparing this infrastructure with another infrastructure, the U.S. Postal system. People complain about the postal system, but let's face it, you can send something thousands of miles for pocket change, and they support everyone with a mailing address. Sure, FedEx and UPS can kick their behinds and deliver superior service, but they aren't required to do all the things the U.S.P.S. must do, like give equal first class delivery to every mailing address.
In any event, I agree it's a worthy idea. It would be better and more helpful than any dozen goofy federal programs that just burn money.
Slashdot Mirror
If I brighten one person's day for every hundred thousand that shake their heads sadly and mutter at me, my life is complete.
I haven't see FOTR yet. Does he have a receding hairline and dress in brown? Does he like to palm Gimli's bald head and complain about his sweat?
Of course, everyone should realize that the little golden circlet and not Frodo is the One.
I need a life.
Don't forget the special edition with the new song-and-dance number by Elrond.
Me... I'm waiting for the re-release next year that shows Treebeard outtakes, a la "A Bug's Life"
I've got the disks at home. Care to wager?
Companies like SSI made a lot of games in BASIC: games like Galactic Gladiator or any of a number of the classic Star Trek games... stuff like that.
Sure, something like AlleyCat or Jet or Snipes would have been written in assembly, but something with a simple text-entry UI and static graphics like Star Command (there were more than one game by that name... I'm talking about the old 40 character text mode RPG) were quite often written in BASIC.
Even if these companies could jump dump the source somewhere, there will always be come enterprising nerd to pick it up and put it back together. Of course, with games like Star Command which was probably written in BASIC, it might be easier to just redesign and rewrite it.
Yeah, right... in your dreams...
What was it nominated for:
Best use of the word "fart"?
Best death of someone named "Kenny"?
Best bashing of Canada in a song that had to be changed for the award show?
Like that autistic-Matisse artwork and Tourette's dialog could ever win anything. Why even a nomination or something so crass and juvenile would completely invalidate the Academy, in my view. They are a respected institution that would never let things like money, popularity or Isaac Hayes get in the way of their objective evaluation of pure artistic merit.
p.s. I haven't actually seen the movie which makes me eminently qualified to bash it.
Yep, just throw lotsa four letter words in, and you're good to go.
Let's face it, that's how most live action comedies are made.
It doesn't take a multi-billion dollar industry that takes a 90% cut to cash checks.
I know the labels do more than that, but for a small independent artist in the Internet age, the record labels are quickly becoming (or have become) obsolete. I buy all my music legitimately, but it sometimes seems kind of pointless WRT doing it to support the artists since most of the money goes to some faceless corporation that is only trying to maintain the status quo of its monopoly on distribution.
That's why I like to patronize labels like Robert Fripp's Discipline Global Mobile, which allows the artists to maintain their own copyrights. Imagine that. You struggle to make some good work, the record label helps you to publish and market it, you give them their cut, but you still own the work. I'm sure Hilary Rosen would call that communism.
That's a distinction that can be made. However, I was not making it.
In the interests of precision in language, I would describe a convicted criminal as a "convicted criminal" whereas a non-convicted murderer, cyberterrorist, or chronic speeder is just a "criminal". And yes, I realize that 99.9% of the population technically qualifies as a criminal under that definition. However, it is conventional to refer only to more serious infractions of the law as "crimes".
You must be magical because you keep getting mod points and I don't :(
/. reader. You decide if that's good or bad. A karma cap and 50 cents'll get you a cup of coffee.
Think of it this way. I impress the typical
I understand that a lot of IT security companies have hired ex-(h)|(cr)ackers and that's fine. But if getting caught means a good prospect for getting a job in computer security, then rooting someone's box becomes less of a crime and more of a resume builder. You see, there's a significant difference between making license plates, and working in high-tech security. I'm not saying it still couldn't be a deterrent, since many people won't want to deal with an ex-criminal, but people who are stupid enough to make things like nimda, might see it as a way to get ahead.
There are other kinds of useful community service that could be used, even jobs that take advantage of computer skills. I recall a friend got busted for some minor violation in college in the early 80's and ended up setting up a database for a local church as his community service.
I agree that alternatives to "pointless punishment" should be found, because there is an incredible waste of human resource when someone is sitting around sulking in striped sunlight for years on end. But we have to remember that punishment for crimes needs to be something that people want to avoid, not some kind of jobs program for troubled youths. That should happen before the legal system comes into play. We have to remember our first priority is trying to keep people from committing the crimes in the first place, even if we do still want to help them once they do.
That's all I'm trying to say.
Rick
p.s.
Who is at fault when you come home and all your gold bricks are gone?
The thief. You might be at fault for being careless or incompetent (and if it were your job to secure the gold, that's another issue), but the thief is still guilty of far worse. Maybe you shouldn't complain if your house is burglarized, but there is still a significant difference in the degree of moral fault here.
If I walk out and leave my gold bricks lying around unprotected, that in no way mitigates the degree of guilt of anyone who might happen to steal them.
Sorry for missing your point. I got the impression you were trolling on purpose. I shouldn't assume posters are being dense, even though it's so often true here. ;-)
I guess I'm guilty of sarcasm profiling.
I think your point is very good and thoughtful, but it really goes into the whole question of punishment vs. rehabilitation and whether they can coincide or if one can cause the other. I hope and think that will be a question that will be answered much better in the 21st century than in the 20th, but it's not happening yet.
A criminal is, by definition, someone who commits a crime. Speeding is a crime. It doesn't compare to murder in severity.
Actions have consequences. We can (and should) blame Microsoft all day for their flippant disregard of security, but that doesn't mean these script kiddies aren't commiting serious crimes. What if a teenager broke into a factory and managed to shut it down for several hours. Would we be sitting around saying, "Oh, well, he's just a kid with too much time on his hands!" or would we be considering the fact that he cost the company thousands or millions of dollars. Well, Internet servers have reached the point where they can have as much impact on a business as the physical property and machinery.
We need to recall that consequences (and punishment) should fit the crime, not the criminal. A relatively harmless crime needs a small punishment (or possibly even just a warning), whereas a larger crime requires a larger punishment. Otherwise you end up with anarchy.
I don't want to see young kids pulling years of hard time for youthful indiscretions aided by bad security measures, but if there's no threat of punishment, then there will be no deterrent.
I wish it were possible to focus a little less on fuzzy IP issues (which are important, but the government is listening too much to the money and not enough to its own law, precedent, and common sense) and a little more on the fact that the entire global computer network is being bogged down by the actions of a small number of penny-ante vandals.
You think that's bad, look at XP sometime. In order to reboot the machine, you click on "Start" then "Shutdown" then "Restart". I'm sure Windows 2010 will have something like:
"Begin"
"Stop"
"Initiate"
"Turn off the Computer"
"Start"
"End"
"Put your left foot in..."
"Take your left foot out..."
It seems Microsoft's usability engineers have decided the way to make Windows easier to use is to level the playing field. Make the commands so arbitrary that experienced users have to guess just like newbies.
Thanks, it was a guess... I always assumed foie gras meant "goose liver".
Oh well. I only took one year of high school French.
As my friend used to say, "C'est la vie, C'est la vionne" (spelling?)
translation: That's life, that's meat.
What do geese have to do with terrorism?
Worse, Microsoft is peeing in their own pool.
They've managed to walk a fine line for years between having notoriously bad security, but not bad enough to get into serious trouble, legally or civilly (let's face the whole DoJ thing is a bust). Now _that's_ innovation!
That's 'cause classical music doesn't have videos involving lots of skin and thrusting pelvises.
Now, if you had some 15-year-old sex kitten with a pierced navel writhing to the strains of Mussorgsky, they'd be jumping off the shelves.
Just imagine how successful Beethoven could have been with modern marketing techniques! Da da da bomb!
Bach missed the boat with all this lame 6-part fugues and contrapuntal complexity that could only be made by someone with a 200 IQ, what he really needed was some big boobies and a nice butt, and the same 5 second refrain repeated for 3 and a half minutes. Wotta chump!
That's my point.
Since the suits are doing everything they can to maintain a monopoly of the means of distribution, the artist will be beholden to them if they don't want to languish in obscurity.
That will change with time, but it's still true for almost everyone.
and was used to justify the passage of the DMCA
And now the DCMA will be used to justify the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty.
"is designed to protect the rights of composers, artists, writers, and others whose work is distributed over the Internet or other digital media"
Does that mean artists will now get paid decent royalties instead of the lion's share going to the suits?
Perhaps. I'm consulting my old Donovan records for more information.
Maybe the magician did it!
I write Windows software for managing a brand of access control panels that still use Z80's. I don't deal with the firmware or anything, but the company has obviously decided to stick with something that works!
Shack? No. But what about 1000 people in a community? What about 100?
But this is a huge country, and there are small towns all over the place, remember more people have been moving _away_ from the cities in the last 50 years or so.
I hope something like this can happen and the Internet becomes akin to the telephone in its ubiquity, not for my needs, but for the needs of Joe Twelvepack who is not a computer nerd, but could benefit greatly from ready access to much information and services.
No, you didn't say "access to everyone".
But I was also comparing this infrastructure with another infrastructure, the U.S. Postal system. People complain about the postal system, but let's face it, you can send something thousands of miles for pocket change, and they support everyone with a mailing address. Sure, FedEx and UPS can kick their behinds and deliver superior service, but they aren't required to do all the things the U.S.P.S. must do, like give equal first class delivery to every mailing address.
In any event, I agree it's a worthy idea. It would be better and more helpful than any dozen goofy federal programs that just burn money.