Well, of course we would choose homelessness. Principles are very good for lots of different things - I'm sure they can be eaten, and if pressed I'd be willing to bet that they'd keep you dry in a rainstorm.
At the risk of being flamed (wearing my fire-retardant underwear, so bring it) - I recently migrated my desktop AWAY from Linux for a variety of different reasons, many of which were outlined above.
Like what?
Well, multiple monitor support was always the big one for me. I haven't used fewer than 4 monitors on my home desktop for the last 5 or 6 years, and with Linux it was a constant battle to keep things working correctly. Why? Well, because NVIDIA (or ATI, doesn't seem to matter much) couldn't be bothered to update their code for the new kernel, or Xorg hasn't been updated for the last 4 kernels so if something doesn't work, then tough.
Now, I can sit here and bitch about the plethora of issues that I was constantly having to fight (the aforementioned monitors, for example) - for example, virtually every upgrade broke X (multiple monitors, remember), but even beyond the issues that would sometimes take days or weeks to resolve there were larger issues at work.
Such as? Unsupported packages (that are nonetheless required for a working setup). Devs that have no interest in supporting their own code, offering (more often than not) the standard "RTFM" (even if the issue isn't addressed, or their "manual" is a paragraph on what their software is supposed to do). The consistent elitist treatment afforded new users (and I haven't been a "new" Linux user since 1994).
This is just a handful of issues off the top of my head that prevent me from pushing Linux on anyone. If someone has more time on their hands and not enough stress in their lives I'll suggest it, but beyond that, NOBODY should have to put more hours into fixing a computer than they're able to put in on USING the damn thing...Linux is simply not mature enough to let that happen.
For teh fanbois out there: I am neither an M$ nor Apple shill...TBH they can all burn and I'd be just as happy. But the simple fact is that they are both more appropriate for end-users than Linux (both from a maintenance standpoint, as well as a support standpoint). If Linux were capable of competing in the Desktop market I would likely be just as happy to use it as any other OS...but it simply can't (and probably shouldn't) compete in that market...continuing to try to push it for the Desktop market (especially before it's ready) is only going to hurt the cause, not help it.
If you believe that then I think you vastly underestimate how willing the US Government is to pay someone to spend months or years poring over the same BS until they find something interesting. They have entire departments devoted to it.
Yeah, well, if the world were mine to control it would be a vastly different place. There are a whole lot of people that could benefit from understanding the difference between a criminal act and an object, but obviously our Public School system is failing in the areas of logic and reason (among others).
So I pose the question: At what point should possession a device like this or derivatives be considered to be a defacto indication of intention to illegally break into a network?
When a crime is committed. Until then, no laws have been broken. As much as our government would like to think that they can prevent crimes by banning items that could be used in a crime, until a crime is committed they are infringing on the rights of the Americans in question.
I know that's not how it works in real life. I understand (although disagree) with that line of thinking...I'm just one of those that believes that until a crime is committed, you don't have a criminal.
Don't know how significant this is: http://www.nature.com/nbt/journal/v27/n9/full/nbt0909-801b.html (it's paywalled and I don't feel like spending $32 to find out what their "clarifications" about the claims in the above article). I suspect that their numbers are misleading - I had always thought that GM crops *do* produce less, but a given crop may survive drought conditions or freezing conditions (extending the growing season)better. Different crops that have already been modified (as mentioned, corn and wheat) may have been modified do behave in different ways - it would just depend on what problem they're trying to solve in that area. Under those circumstances, tests performed under "ideal conditions" wouldn't show the benefits of using GM crops. Of course, how much of what I "know" is propaganda, I can't say. Generally speaking, I trust Penn & Teller, but I can't promise facts:p
It's the sense of entitlement (perhaps appropriate for some rich people...not even remotely appropriate for the Prius drivers) that does it. When someone sees their job/life/goal as being "important", they figure that they should be "allowed" a bit more leeway. I doubt it's a conscious decision on their parts (at least for most), but I've noticed the same thing: The higher up on the totem pole you get, you notice an increase in the undeserved entitlements that are claimed.
Well, that's what conditions are apparently like in China: Their *BEST* working conditions are "nightmarish" to those of us in a country where we used to have rights.
Like many others, I wish there were some recourse for those of use that *do* give a shit, but really, what is there for us to do? Boycott? Yeah...good luck with that - you'd be running around naked sleeping on the streets if you wanted to boycott China.
As has been mentioned already, it seems like the better solution would be to accept slightly higher prices for our goods in exchange for some consideration of the lives of the assemblers. Unfortunately, since all of the companies that we do business with are determined to kill manufacturing in our own country we're kind of stuck either "not having" (which is a problem for those of us that rely on technology to do our jobs) or feeling like we're contributing to the problem.
It'd be nice if we could push (yet another) boycott, but in this particular instance it would be like boycotting people: YOU might be effective, but quite literally nobody else will notice.
TB runs rampant where there are overcrowding and health issues already. Viruses also evolve to become more resistant to treatments if given the opportunity (that's why hospitals are really bad places for people with already-compromised immune systems to go).
I think what this indicates is that, unlike smallpox which is gone in the "world", TB has been continuing for decades to get stronger and more resistant to the medications that can fight it. Not only that, TB drugs are notoriously hard on the immune system (particularly the liver and kidneys), so if someone is already having health issues they can die really easy just by being treated for TB...I had a close friend die because of them.
My biggest concern with stuff like this is that the world is a much smaller place then it used to be. All it takes is for the "wrong" person to travel from one of those countries to a crowded area in an unaffected nation (like, say someone coming into New York or Los Angeles) and it *could* spark another epidemic. Almost guaranteed if there's no feasible means to treat the illness.
AFAIC, the US is far beyond that point. There's no way to fix the system from within because it's simply too corrupt.
I understand the point that you're making and I'm slightly inclined to agree simply because our populace is so ignorant of facts (doesn't matter which ones, they're ignorant of most of them) that they WON'T fix the system from within. To say that the system is "too corrupt" implies that we, as citizens, have no recourse (other than revolution) and I don't believe that to be the case. We have seen, over the last year, an inkling of the power of protest. We HAVE options - far greater ones than some people (like North Koreans) - we're just too ignorant/confused/stupid/blind/willful to choose the "right" ones (whatever "right" means, anyway)...
I don't think it's fear as much as it is laziness - how many people refused to drop BoA because it would take "too much time"? If you haven't got "time" to uphold your principles, you haven't got a principle worth having. The apathy, I hope, will pass though....the Constitution still has a lot of good bits in it (for now)
No big surprise that you posted this as AC...don't want to claim your own opinions?
Revolution is necessary in a large number of situations - generally speaking, when all other avenues have been exhausted. The United States is not - YET - at that point, however (as many) I'm seeing the same trends happening around the world and, let's face it, the United States is not full of leaders.
We are not, as you say, "stuck" with what we have. We have had (and continue to have) opportunity to effect positive change. We also have probably the worst case of National Apathy that I've seen in a long time. When people get pissed off ENOUGH, then the Apathy will go away out of necessity.
I see this playing out in one of three different ways (there may be more, lists are for goobers):
1) Citizens pull their heads out of their asses, get educated, and start participating in effecting positive change.
That needs to happen before:
2) The Government manages to strip the last of our remaining rights away.
If #1 doesn't happen, then #2 certainly will. As soon as people wake the fuck up, then we can expect to see:
3) People rebelling against the government that treats them as a consumable to be bought, sold, and abused as They see fit.
I can't say that there will or won't be a revolution, but I will say that it's likely to help things more than hinder them (in the long run)
Yes, and they'd manage to leverage other fees to make up for their "loss"...so it still gets passed on to someone that's completely not involved with the situation.
...aren't going to stop pulling this bullshit if they backpedal every time a threat is made. BoA, Netflix, and now GoDaddy seem to be playing these types of games pretty regularly. I've been looking for a decent replacement registrar since seeing the original article this morning and I think that, despite their backpedaling, I'm going to pull my account from them anyway. You know, there's a saying that "it's easier to ask for forgiveness than permission"...these assholes seem to want us to "forgive" them every time they threaten to take our rights away. It's abundantly clear that they aren't interested in preserving Freedom, so fuck them.
Flame on...
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Well, of course we would choose homelessness. Principles are very good for lots of different things - I'm sure they can be eaten, and if pressed I'd be willing to bet that they'd keep you dry in a rainstorm.
At the risk of being flamed (wearing my fire-retardant underwear, so bring it) - I recently migrated my desktop AWAY from Linux for a variety of different reasons, many of which were outlined above. Like what? Well, multiple monitor support was always the big one for me. I haven't used fewer than 4 monitors on my home desktop for the last 5 or 6 years, and with Linux it was a constant battle to keep things working correctly. Why? Well, because NVIDIA (or ATI, doesn't seem to matter much) couldn't be bothered to update their code for the new kernel, or Xorg hasn't been updated for the last 4 kernels so if something doesn't work, then tough. Now, I can sit here and bitch about the plethora of issues that I was constantly having to fight (the aforementioned monitors, for example) - for example, virtually every upgrade broke X (multiple monitors, remember), but even beyond the issues that would sometimes take days or weeks to resolve there were larger issues at work. Such as? Unsupported packages (that are nonetheless required for a working setup). Devs that have no interest in supporting their own code, offering (more often than not) the standard "RTFM" (even if the issue isn't addressed, or their "manual" is a paragraph on what their software is supposed to do). The consistent elitist treatment afforded new users (and I haven't been a "new" Linux user since 1994).
This is just a handful of issues off the top of my head that prevent me from pushing Linux on anyone. If someone has more time on their hands and not enough stress in their lives I'll suggest it, but beyond that, NOBODY should have to put more hours into fixing a computer than they're able to put in on USING the damn thing...Linux is simply not mature enough to let that happen.
For teh fanbois out there: I am neither an M$ nor Apple shill...TBH they can all burn and I'd be just as happy. But the simple fact is that they are both more appropriate for end-users than Linux (both from a maintenance standpoint, as well as a support standpoint). If Linux were capable of competing in the Desktop market I would likely be just as happy to use it as any other OS...but it simply can't (and probably shouldn't) compete in that market...continuing to try to push it for the Desktop market (especially before it's ready) is only going to hurt the cause, not help it.
Oc was, apparently, can't you read?
...he shouts from the Anonymous mountaintop...
The IRS?
Technically, yes, but only for the employees that have too much imagination for regular Intel work.
If you believe that then I think you vastly underestimate how willing the US Government is to pay someone to spend months or years poring over the same BS until they find something interesting. They have entire departments devoted to it.
Or even better - don't lose your goddamned phone...really...3 times? Sounds to me like you need a phone with cord on it.
Yeah, well, if the world were mine to control it would be a vastly different place. There are a whole lot of people that could benefit from understanding the difference between a criminal act and an object, but obviously our Public School system is failing in the areas of logic and reason (among others).
So I pose the question: At what point should possession a device like this or derivatives be considered to be a defacto indication of intention to illegally break into a network?
When a crime is committed. Until then, no laws have been broken. As much as our government would like to think that they can prevent crimes by banning items that could be used in a crime, until a crime is committed they are infringing on the rights of the Americans in question.
I know that's not how it works in real life. I understand (although disagree) with that line of thinking...I'm just one of those that believes that until a crime is committed, you don't have a criminal.
Don't know how significant this is: http://www.nature.com/nbt/journal/v27/n9/full/nbt0909-801b.html (it's paywalled and I don't feel like spending $32 to find out what their "clarifications" about the claims in the above article). I suspect that their numbers are misleading - I had always thought that GM crops *do* produce less, but a given crop may survive drought conditions or freezing conditions (extending the growing season)better. Different crops that have already been modified (as mentioned, corn and wheat) may have been modified do behave in different ways - it would just depend on what problem they're trying to solve in that area. Under those circumstances, tests performed under "ideal conditions" wouldn't show the benefits of using GM crops. Of course, how much of what I "know" is propaganda, I can't say. Generally speaking, I trust Penn & Teller, but I can't promise facts :p
It's the sense of entitlement (perhaps appropriate for some rich people...not even remotely appropriate for the Prius drivers) that does it. When someone sees their job/life/goal as being "important", they figure that they should be "allowed" a bit more leeway. I doubt it's a conscious decision on their parts (at least for most), but I've noticed the same thing: The higher up on the totem pole you get, you notice an increase in the undeserved entitlements that are claimed.
oh AT&T would absolutely love it if those of us on "Unlimited" plans cancelled our contracts. That doesn't help anyone but AT&T.
Perhaps: Agency of Super Serious Hackers, Obfuscating Legal Endowment Surreptitiously?
As has been mentioned already, it seems like the better solution would be to accept slightly higher prices for our goods in exchange for some consideration of the lives of the assemblers. Unfortunately, since all of the companies that we do business with are determined to kill manufacturing in our own country we're kind of stuck either "not having" (which is a problem for those of us that rely on technology to do our jobs) or feeling like we're contributing to the problem.
It'd be nice if we could push (yet another) boycott, but in this particular instance it would be like boycotting people: YOU might be effective, but quite literally nobody else will notice.
That's what most people want, anyway...not answers, but confirmation that what they assumed was already correct.
Yet surprisingly they don't pay as well...
TB runs rampant where there are overcrowding and health issues already. Viruses also evolve to become more resistant to treatments if given the opportunity (that's why hospitals are really bad places for people with already-compromised immune systems to go). I think what this indicates is that, unlike smallpox which is gone in the "world", TB has been continuing for decades to get stronger and more resistant to the medications that can fight it. Not only that, TB drugs are notoriously hard on the immune system (particularly the liver and kidneys), so if someone is already having health issues they can die really easy just by being treated for TB...I had a close friend die because of them. My biggest concern with stuff like this is that the world is a much smaller place then it used to be. All it takes is for the "wrong" person to travel from one of those countries to a crowded area in an unaffected nation (like, say someone coming into New York or Los Angeles) and it *could* spark another epidemic. Almost guaranteed if there's no feasible means to treat the illness.
The United States is not - YET - at that point
AFAIC, the US is far beyond that point. There's no way to fix the system from within because it's simply too corrupt.
I understand the point that you're making and I'm slightly inclined to agree simply because our populace is so ignorant of facts (doesn't matter which ones, they're ignorant of most of them) that they WON'T fix the system from within. To say that the system is "too corrupt" implies that we, as citizens, have no recourse (other than revolution) and I don't believe that to be the case. We have seen, over the last year, an inkling of the power of protest. We HAVE options - far greater ones than some people (like North Koreans) - we're just too ignorant/confused/stupid/blind/willful to choose the "right" ones (whatever "right" means, anyway)...
I don't think it's fear as much as it is laziness - how many people refused to drop BoA because it would take "too much time"? If you haven't got "time" to uphold your principles, you haven't got a principle worth having. The apathy, I hope, will pass though....the Constitution still has a lot of good bits in it (for now)
Sorry about that - the formatting was lost when I posted :-/ My apologies for the readability...
No big surprise that you posted this as AC...don't want to claim your own opinions? Revolution is necessary in a large number of situations - generally speaking, when all other avenues have been exhausted. The United States is not - YET - at that point, however (as many) I'm seeing the same trends happening around the world and, let's face it, the United States is not full of leaders. We are not, as you say, "stuck" with what we have. We have had (and continue to have) opportunity to effect positive change. We also have probably the worst case of National Apathy that I've seen in a long time. When people get pissed off ENOUGH, then the Apathy will go away out of necessity. I see this playing out in one of three different ways (there may be more, lists are for goobers): 1) Citizens pull their heads out of their asses, get educated, and start participating in effecting positive change. That needs to happen before: 2) The Government manages to strip the last of our remaining rights away. If #1 doesn't happen, then #2 certainly will. As soon as people wake the fuck up, then we can expect to see: 3) People rebelling against the government that treats them as a consumable to be bought, sold, and abused as They see fit. I can't say that there will or won't be a revolution, but I will say that it's likely to help things more than hinder them (in the long run)
Yes, and they'd manage to leverage other fees to make up for their "loss"...so it still gets passed on to someone that's completely not involved with the situation.
...aren't going to stop pulling this bullshit if they backpedal every time a threat is made. BoA, Netflix, and now GoDaddy seem to be playing these types of games pretty regularly. I've been looking for a decent replacement registrar since seeing the original article this morning and I think that, despite their backpedaling, I'm going to pull my account from them anyway. You know, there's a saying that "it's easier to ask for forgiveness than permission"...these assholes seem to want us to "forgive" them every time they threaten to take our rights away. It's abundantly clear that they aren't interested in preserving Freedom, so fuck them. Flame on...
So you can't scale "intimidation"?
We could, but we'd have to import it from the Mexican drug cartels...
Thanks asshole...now the theme song is stuck in my head.