Regarding how hard it is for Non-Christian religions to get 501(c)(3) status: precisely as hard as it is for any other church.
And with regard to the periodic whining about tax exemptions for religious institutions: either advocate abolishing non-profit organization exemptions entirely (e.g., the U.S Olympic Committee, the Red Cross, the ACLU, ad nauseum) or shut the heck up.
Funny thing: I'm a lawyer, and I believe the exact opposite. I don't see a problem with having citizens pledge allegiance to the flag and to the republic for which it stands. In fact, the grounds on which that (requiring the Pledge in schools) was ruled unconstitutional were religious: some sects refuse to pledge allegiance to anything but the Big Guy. Other than that, I say to heck with 'em: if it makes them uncomfortable to keep their traps shut while others are pledging allegiance to their flag and republic, they deserve feeling that way.
'Course, I'm pretty big on the Constitution and our political system -- which doesn't mean I'm all that thrilled with some of the components thereof and how things are run.
But in terms of Constitutionality, I have always seen a problem with the "under God" addition. And I'm a pretty committed theist, too.
The place I have used for some time for supplies. Prices competitive with the best, returns handled efficiently, service pretty good. Finally, they have a $5.95 shipping deal on all orders up to 150 pounds, which can certainly save a few bucks. http://www.tcwo.com Oops: strike that. I just checked, and they're currently offering *free* shipping.
In Mozilla, Ctrl-Page Up Ctrl-Page Down switch between tabs. Ctrl-Left and Ctrl-Right are reserved for something else on cross-platform applications, IIRC.
Re: "It's selfish and immoral to only be concerned about yourself, or be like Reagan's fundie Secretary of Interior who said "We don't have to worry about the environment, the day of judgement is at hand". Yes, we do have to worry about the future even after we're gone for our children."
What I find amusing is an atheist calling something "immoral," thereby adopting tenets of theism without thinking. Without God, there is no morality: only situational advantage, and it is illogical and senseless to "have to worry about the future." There is no reason to be moral/nice/kind to one's fellow man apart from a perceptible advantage gained; if you cannot identify the exact advantage, you are acting illogically. Atheism, if carried to its logical conclusion, inexorably leads to nihilism.
As a Clie owner (an "old" S300), thought I'd point out:
1) OS5, by all accounts, is expected to add no new features to OS4, but be designed for the ARM. Also, with the installed base of Palm-compatible devices and apps, I really doubt creativity in the pre-OS 5 arena will go away very soon.
2) The screen size issue, from what I've read, is an application issue, fairly easily resolved, even under OS 4.
3) Low battery life is an issue with any color device. If you want better battery life, get mono.
4) Memory sticks aren't big and are only slightly more expensive than (e.g.) CF. They are proprietary, which is indeed a strike against. Not hold too much data? I've got a 128 MB one in my Clie as we speak, which can be had for under $90. 256 should be coming out soon. Not much of a data issue; if you want to carry tons of MP3 albums, get a dedicated player.
5) ATRAC3 is not an issue; it's only used with Sony's software. All you have to do is copy MP3's to the memory stick and it plays them just fine.
6) True on the peripherals, but Sonys are relatively new to the market. More and more are appearing, but if you really need a GPS right now, early Clie adoption isn't for you.
As for me, I really want an NR-70V. The V part will be fun (though, of course, not for serious photography).
One thing I would like to add regarding atheists: they quite frequently, if not usually, lambaste theists for relying upon untestable assumptions, but are mistaken in believing that they themselves do not. Case in point: they routinely dismiss the entire New Testament as evidence. Why? Because it documents miracles, which are a priori impossible, therefore it cannot be a reliable account. That argument is based upon the premise it attempts to prove. If one wishes to call oneself "open minded," one must be open to possibilities which call one's own assumptions into question.
I am a theist, but readily admit that I could be mistaken. Many, if not most, of the atheists I have met are not flexible enough to admit that they may be wrong, other than it being a theoretical possibility. But from the evidence I have seen, and the reason I have brought to bear on it, I believe the existence of God is very probable. Books by former atheists such as "God: the Evidence" and "The Case for Faith" might be helpful.
Re:Blocking pop ups is easy.......READ THIS NOW
on
Life on The Net in 2004
·
· Score: 0, Offtopic
Regarding: "BY THE WAY, TRY RUNNING WINDOWS WITH NO THIRD PARTY SOFTWARE..ITS SOLID AS A ROCK..."
Interesting to see somebody reading Slashdot who buys into the Microsoft Vision of the Future so wholeheartedly, especially in a comment responding to the topic in question. The one neat thing about the Microsoft Future will be seeing just how royally gouged idiots like this will be on a regular basis, while everyone else uses better, faster software more freely for a lot less money.
Yes, I use Windows 2000, but every other piece of software I use is superior to the Microsoft alternative. And my system is "stable as a rock," too.
Very simple: forget the bundled Jukebox software. In fact, throw it out; it's useless. Clie in cradle, run audio application, Import, which mounts the memory stick as a removable drive. Copy all the regular MP3 files you can fit into the MSAUDIO directory. Voila.
I think most of you are missing the point of the camera on this PDA. Suppose you have a hard time remembering names. You meet John Doe and enter his information into your PDA: along with a quick little snapshot of him, linked to his entry. When you think about it, for contact management purposes, that could be really useful; in fact, a memory aid like no other available. (The Clie address book already has the capability to add a contact's picture -- of very little use in my monochrome S300.)
Compare with taking the picture with a good digital camera, transferring to PC, reducing to lower res, synching to the PDA, and adding to the address book entry. Frankly, the camera makes more sense than the MP3 player for professional use purposes.
That's odd. I have never had a problem (I have an S300, but have the MP3 player add-on). Regular 128 MB memory stick, self-encoded MP3 files. DRM simply shouldn't be a factor on the Clie, unless you're using Sony's proprietary ATRAC format (and why would anyone want to?). Something's wrong with your configuration, or perhaps even your hardware. I'd suggest inquiring in the Yahoo Clie user's group and/or the Palm OS newsgroup about this.
I'll come here and say that, at least about one of the points: "Motivation for Open Source is inappropriate for most software." That is my main beef with open source advocacy: it will only produce good software that does things that *programmers* really want and need. Hence such things as Apache, whereas many Linux advocates see no need for a text processor more sophisticated than emacs. My main obstacle to moving entirely to Linux (other than games) is business applications, like Timeslips, Peachtree Accounting, Kleinrock's Tax Expert, and much other tax and legal software. Sure, I could find open-source alternatives *almost* as good, but that would entail reconfiguring my entire way of running my practice. Perhaps I should; but it is simply much more practical for a lawyer to use Windows and available Windows programs -- and I doubt that the open source community will produce a viable alternative soon. The bazaar does have its advantages; but it is not a replacement for the cathedral.
Remember WordPerfect? Version 9, SP4, is rock solid stable and does not suffer from Word's inability to handle long documents. (The primary culprit: Word's continuous repagination and reformatting, required by the document structure.) Versioning is supported, and WordPerfect, unlike Word, has the native ability to generate PDF files. Version 10, SP2 does even better, formatting hyperlinks automatically in PDF files, but I won't recommend it yet because there's a nasty interaction bug between it and Mozilla.
Not to mention WordPerfect's ultimate advantage over Word: Reveal Codes. In Word, any fouled-up formatting can only be fixed by *different* formatting. In WordPerfect, you can *remove* offending code. And it's more customizable, doing things the way you want them done, not the way Microsoft dictates. I could go on about dozens of other advantages, too.
Oh yeah, there are Linux versions available too (albeit using Wine).
Frankly, I'm amazed that any person with technical knowledge and expertise would use Word by choice.
Re:did anyone actually read the proposed amendment
on
RIAA Wants Right To Hack
·
· Score: 3, Insightful
Wrong. Read it again. "Impairment of the availability of data, a program, a system or information" (translation: Damage done to your programs/OS/data) IS hacking. What the amendment really says is that if such damage is caused to your computer, if the RIAA REASONABLY INTENDED to prevent the "unauthorized transmission" of copyrighted work (translation: if they thought you might be sharing MP3's), they cannot be held liable for the damages. Sure, they're trying to block transmissions. The problem is that the amendment says that they may do so with impunity; any damage they cause while attempting to do so, *whether or not justified* (only has to be "reasonable" intent) is *your* problem.
Speaking as a lawyer, the answer is NO. That is what we have a judicial system for. To extend your analogy, coincidentally enough your neighbor just happened to buy a stereo which was the exact make and model of yours. Under this RIAA proposal, you would be exempted from liability because you mistakenly *thought* it was your stereo. How stupid is that?
A cardinal, and often inconvenient, principle of the law is that the difficulty, expense, and time involved in using proper channels to enforce one's rights does not justify using illegal means to do so.
I *know* I saw someone post on this topic on netscape.public.mozilla.general. I believe there is something you can enter into your prefs.js file which will do that. But I cannot recall the exact line (since, fortunately, my bank -- Bank One -- has no problems dealing with Mozilla). Perhaps a Google Usenet search will turn it up for you.
The problem with this entire comment is it is only accurate when referring to Microsoft's behavior *before* it had acquired its monopoly. Low prices? Everything else in the computing world has demonstrated consistently dropping prices, *except* for Microsoft products. Priced Microsoft Office lately? Priced Windows, period? How come they're more expensive than they used to be? How come OS alternatives (read: Linux) are so much cheaper (read: free)? I won't say that Microsoft software is total garbage, but I will say that if it weren't for the monopoly they wouldn't be getting a 100% premium in price for it over products as good or better. That, simply, is harm to the consumer.
And Microsoft had nothing to do with hardware prices. And Netscape wasn't beaten "fair and square." READ the findings of fact. READ the testimony in the trial court!
What Microsoft supporters don't seem to be able to answer is: Why exactly did Judge Jackson, a Reagan conservative appointee, develop such an animosity towards this successful company which has supposedly brought so many benefits to the country? Why? Sure, he expressed his loathing for the company: but how did he come to feel that way? Read the transcripts.
Actually, I rather liked the adaptation of Dune that recently showed on the Sci-Fi Channel. Of course the theatrical release stank, but the recent one did it justice, I thought.
I could have written that comment myself. I'd *like* to switch over to Linux, really I would. I've tried playing around with it, but am having a very hard time figuring things out, since all the documentation I've ever seen is either (a) for total idiots ("click here to do this") or (b) for people already comfortable with Unix. I'm a DOS / Windows expert, and am quite comfortable with a command line, but Linux leaves me totally befuddled, since there's nothing out there written with folks like me in mind. And the only standardization is at the most basic, command-line level. If I had a week with nothing else to do, I'd have fun learning it from the ground up; but I've got to get work done with my computer and have other things to do. Very frustrating.
Slashdot Mirror
Regarding how hard it is for Non-Christian religions to get 501(c)(3) status: precisely as hard as it is for any other church.
And with regard to the periodic whining about tax exemptions for religious institutions: either advocate abolishing non-profit organization exemptions entirely (e.g., the U.S Olympic Committee, the Red Cross, the ACLU, ad nauseum) or shut the heck up.
Funny thing: I'm a lawyer, and I believe the exact opposite. I don't see a problem with having citizens pledge allegiance to the flag and to the republic for which it stands. In fact, the grounds on which that (requiring the Pledge in schools) was ruled unconstitutional were religious: some sects refuse to pledge allegiance to anything but the Big Guy. Other than that, I say to heck with 'em: if it makes them uncomfortable to keep their traps shut while others are pledging allegiance to their flag and republic, they deserve feeling that way.
'Course, I'm pretty big on the Constitution and our political system -- which doesn't mean I'm all that thrilled with some of the components thereof and how things are run.
But in terms of Constitutionality, I have always seen a problem with the "under God" addition. And I'm a pretty committed theist, too.
The place I have used for some time for supplies. Prices competitive with the best, returns handled efficiently, service pretty good. Finally, they have a $5.95 shipping deal on all orders up to 150 pounds, which can certainly save a few bucks. http://www.tcwo.com
Oops: strike that. I just checked, and they're currently offering *free* shipping.
I'm sorry to reply to this at all, but one statement really leaves me hanging:
"...the greatest aphrodisiac that is on this earth - The Harry Potter Movie..."
Uh... say what? A movie without a single attractive female over the age of 12?
Mozilla also can have mouse gesture control:
http://optimoz.mozdev.org/gestures/
Good fully-functional unified IM app? Trillian! Works terrific.
http://www.trillian.com
Gotcher CSS support right here:
i ra l/glassy.html
http://www.meyerweb.com/eric/css/edge/complexsp
Check it out (in fact, see all the CSS stuff on the site); renders beautifully under Mozilla (RC2). Not so on Internet Explorer for Windows.
In Mozilla, Ctrl-Page Up Ctrl-Page Down switch between tabs. Ctrl-Left and Ctrl-Right are reserved for something else on cross-platform applications, IIRC.
Re: "It's selfish and immoral to only be concerned about yourself, or be like Reagan's fundie Secretary of Interior who said "We don't have to worry about the environment, the day of judgement is at hand". Yes, we do have to worry about the future even after we're gone for our children."
What I find amusing is an atheist calling something "immoral," thereby adopting tenets of theism without thinking. Without God, there is no morality: only situational advantage, and it is illogical and senseless to "have to worry about the future." There is no reason to be moral/nice/kind to one's fellow man apart from a perceptible advantage gained; if you cannot identify the exact advantage, you are acting illogically. Atheism, if carried to its logical conclusion, inexorably leads to nihilism.
As a Clie owner (an "old" S300), thought I'd point out:
1) OS5, by all accounts, is expected to add no new features to OS4, but be designed for the ARM. Also, with the installed base of Palm-compatible devices and apps, I really doubt creativity in the pre-OS 5 arena will go away very soon.
2) The screen size issue, from what I've read, is an application issue, fairly easily resolved, even under OS 4.
3) Low battery life is an issue with any color device. If you want better battery life, get mono.
4) Memory sticks aren't big and are only slightly more expensive than (e.g.) CF. They are proprietary, which is indeed a strike against. Not hold too much data? I've got a 128 MB one in my Clie as we speak, which can be had for under $90. 256 should be coming out soon. Not much of a data issue; if you want to carry tons of MP3 albums, get a dedicated player.
5) ATRAC3 is not an issue; it's only used with Sony's software. All you have to do is copy MP3's to the memory stick and it plays them just fine.
6) True on the peripherals, but Sonys are relatively new to the market. More and more are appearing, but if you really need a GPS right now, early Clie adoption isn't for you.
As for me, I really want an NR-70V. The V part will be fun (though, of course, not for serious photography).
One thing I would like to add regarding atheists: they quite frequently, if not usually, lambaste theists for relying upon untestable assumptions, but are mistaken in believing that they themselves do not. Case in point: they routinely dismiss the entire New Testament as evidence. Why? Because it documents miracles, which are a priori impossible, therefore it cannot be a reliable account. That argument is based upon the premise it attempts to prove. If one wishes to call oneself "open minded," one must be open to possibilities which call one's own assumptions into question.
I am a theist, but readily admit that I could be mistaken. Many, if not most, of the atheists I have met are not flexible enough to admit that they may be wrong, other than it being a theoretical possibility. But from the evidence I have seen, and the reason I have brought to bear on it, I believe the existence of God is very probable. Books by former atheists such as "God: the Evidence" and "The Case for Faith" might be helpful.
Regarding: "BY THE WAY, TRY RUNNING WINDOWS WITH NO THIRD PARTY SOFTWARE..ITS SOLID AS A ROCK..."
Interesting to see somebody reading Slashdot who buys into the Microsoft Vision of the Future so wholeheartedly, especially in a comment responding to the topic in question. The one neat thing about the Microsoft Future will be seeing just how royally gouged idiots like this will be on a regular basis, while everyone else uses better, faster software more freely for a lot less money.
Yes, I use Windows 2000, but every other piece of software I use is superior to the Microsoft alternative. And my system is "stable as a rock," too.
Excellent point. And Internet Explorer costs... uh, isn't that free? Oops.
Very simple: forget the bundled Jukebox software. In fact, throw it out; it's useless. Clie in cradle, run audio application, Import, which mounts the memory stick as a removable drive. Copy all the regular MP3 files you can fit into the MSAUDIO directory. Voila.
I think most of you are missing the point of the camera on this PDA. Suppose you have a hard time remembering names. You meet John Doe and enter his information into your PDA: along with a quick little snapshot of him, linked to his entry. When you think about it, for contact management purposes, that could be really useful; in fact, a memory aid like no other available. (The Clie address book already has the capability to add a contact's picture -- of very little use in my monochrome S300.)
Compare with taking the picture with a good digital camera, transferring to PC, reducing to lower res, synching to the PDA, and adding to the address book entry. Frankly, the camera makes more sense than the MP3 player for professional use purposes.
That's odd. I have never had a problem (I have an S300, but have the MP3 player add-on). Regular 128 MB memory stick, self-encoded MP3 files. DRM simply shouldn't be a factor on the Clie, unless you're using Sony's proprietary ATRAC format (and why would anyone want to?). Something's wrong with your configuration, or perhaps even your hardware. I'd suggest inquiring in the Yahoo Clie user's group and/or the Palm OS newsgroup about this.
I'll come here and say that, at least about one of the points: "Motivation for Open Source is inappropriate for most software." That is my main beef with open source advocacy: it will only produce good software that does things that *programmers* really want and need. Hence such things as Apache, whereas many Linux advocates see no need for a text processor more sophisticated than emacs. My main obstacle to moving entirely to Linux (other than games) is business applications, like Timeslips, Peachtree Accounting, Kleinrock's Tax Expert, and much other tax and legal software. Sure, I could find open-source alternatives *almost* as good, but that would entail reconfiguring my entire way of running my practice. Perhaps I should; but it is simply much more practical for a lawyer to use Windows and available Windows programs -- and I doubt that the open source community will produce a viable alternative soon. The bazaar does have its advantages; but it is not a replacement for the cathedral.
Remember WordPerfect? Version 9, SP4, is rock solid stable and does not suffer from Word's inability to handle long documents. (The primary culprit: Word's continuous repagination and reformatting, required by the document structure.) Versioning is supported, and WordPerfect, unlike Word, has the native ability to generate PDF files. Version 10, SP2 does even better, formatting hyperlinks automatically in PDF files, but I won't recommend it yet because there's a nasty interaction bug between it and Mozilla.
Not to mention WordPerfect's ultimate advantage over Word: Reveal Codes. In Word, any fouled-up formatting can only be fixed by *different* formatting. In WordPerfect, you can *remove* offending code. And it's more customizable, doing things the way you want them done, not the way Microsoft dictates. I could go on about dozens of other advantages, too.
Oh yeah, there are Linux versions available too (albeit using Wine).
Frankly, I'm amazed that any person with technical knowledge and expertise would use Word by choice.
Wrong. Read it again. "Impairment of the availability of data, a program, a system or information" (translation: Damage done to your programs/OS/data) IS hacking. What the amendment really says is that if such damage is caused to your computer, if the RIAA REASONABLY INTENDED to prevent the "unauthorized transmission" of copyrighted work (translation: if they thought you might be sharing MP3's), they cannot be held liable for the damages. Sure, they're trying to block transmissions. The problem is that the amendment says that they may do so with impunity; any damage they cause while attempting to do so, *whether or not justified* (only has to be "reasonable" intent) is *your* problem.
Speaking as a lawyer, the answer is NO. That is what we have a judicial system for. To extend your analogy, coincidentally enough your neighbor just happened to buy a stereo which was the exact make and model of yours. Under this RIAA proposal, you would be exempted from liability because you mistakenly *thought* it was your stereo. How stupid is that?
A cardinal, and often inconvenient, principle of the law is that the difficulty, expense, and time involved in using proper channels to enforce one's rights does not justify using illegal means to do so.
I *know* I saw someone post on this topic on netscape.public.mozilla.general. I believe there is something you can enter into your prefs.js file which will do that. But I cannot recall the exact line (since, fortunately, my bank -- Bank One -- has no problems dealing with Mozilla). Perhaps a Google Usenet search will turn it up for you.
The problem with this entire comment is it is only accurate when referring to Microsoft's behavior *before* it had acquired its monopoly. Low prices? Everything else in the computing world has demonstrated consistently dropping prices, *except* for Microsoft products. Priced Microsoft Office lately? Priced Windows, period? How come they're more expensive than they used to be? How come OS alternatives (read: Linux) are so much cheaper (read: free)? I won't say that Microsoft software is total garbage, but I will say that if it weren't for the monopoly they wouldn't be getting a 100% premium in price for it over products as good or better. That, simply, is harm to the consumer. And Microsoft had nothing to do with hardware prices. And Netscape wasn't beaten "fair and square." READ the findings of fact. READ the testimony in the trial court! What Microsoft supporters don't seem to be able to answer is: Why exactly did Judge Jackson, a Reagan conservative appointee, develop such an animosity towards this successful company which has supposedly brought so many benefits to the country? Why? Sure, he expressed his loathing for the company: but how did he come to feel that way? Read the transcripts.
Actually, I rather liked the adaptation of Dune that recently showed on the Sci-Fi Channel. Of course the theatrical release stank, but the recent one did it justice, I thought.
I could have written that comment myself. I'd *like* to switch over to Linux, really I would. I've tried playing around with it, but am having a very hard time figuring things out, since all the documentation I've ever seen is either (a) for total idiots ("click here to do this") or (b) for people already comfortable with Unix. I'm a DOS / Windows expert, and am quite comfortable with a command line, but Linux leaves me totally befuddled, since there's nothing out there written with folks like me in mind. And the only standardization is at the most basic, command-line level. If I had a week with nothing else to do, I'd have fun learning it from the ground up; but I've got to get work done with my computer and have other things to do. Very frustrating.