While I won't repeat what others have said, bear in mind that one of the essays had an explicit notice forbidding them from archiving it, but Turnitin went ahead and did it anyway.
And secondly, the company is making money using the content from the students.
How is any of that fair use?
Not to mention that these systems are used by people assuming that all students cheat, which is bad to begin with. So much for morale.
Realistic: You're on Slashdot and you'd need to have a wife and then have kids who're not dorkier than you for them to procreate. So, the point is moot. =)
That implies that the other side will have enough resources (finances and time) to be able to win in court. It's like the RIAA cases, it's a lot easier to reach for a settlement and give in than not.
Sadly, most of these cases get settled outside of the courtroom because the defendant does not have enough resources to stay long enough to fight and win.
Except that once again, people would be worried about going to court against a big corporation for a patent they own, even if they had the upper hand.
Because even if you had a good enough patent, without a good lawyer there isn't much use defending it. And corporations can spend enormous amounts of money and time until you buckle under.
Which is precisely the reason why your idea is a horrible one. If anything, it places even more power in the hands of lawyers.
At least right now, there is some degree of protection.
I doubt it's like government propping up industries - for one, the industry started taking off quite well (whatever that may entail) without any government intervention.
Secondly, isn't that part of the role of the government? To create and maintain basic infrastructure that people can use?
I don't see how this is different from building an airport or from building roads.
The telecom thing did not take off because the government was trying to provide a service - this is not particularly a service, this is building an infrastructure that could be used by others.
Besides, I think this is the sort of thing governments *should* do - beats the hell out of making condoms or TV sets (look at some socialist countries where the telecom thing was taking to an extreme, where the government started doing just about everything).
Ummm, if you'd read the article you'd know that Virgin Galactic is leasing out parts of the space port.
And they aren't leasing out the whole facilities, only portions of it. Now, if this took off, there would doubtless be others who would build something like this and they too could lease the facility.
This is more like the government building the first airport so that more people fly to/from a particularly destination. More people fly out from the Spaceport to see space means NM gets more revenue and the tourism improves. And the companies providing the service will also have to pay the state of NM for use of the facility.
If Virgin was the only company that did it, what is the point? There is no competition and others cannot use the facility. This way, NM keeps the prime real-estate and gets to make money out of it.
You, not "u". Of course, if you want to sound like a 10 year old girl who listens to Britney Spears, go ahead.
I just hope this kind of incidents doesn't get to happen too frecuently because it certainly WILL have a cost in human lives.
That should read, "I just hope that these kind of incidents don't happen too often, because it would certainly have a cost in terms of human lives."
Anyway.... i couldn't find anything about it in main papers, such as Emol.
Your use of ellipsis is inappropriate (not to mention the fact that there are four dots and not three dots). "I" should be capitalised. And it should be, "in the main newspapers" (although, "in the main papers" works too).
btw.... don't get me wrong Cmdrtaco.... but can't you spell my country's name properly?
That should be, "Btw, don't get me wrong CmdrTaco, but can't you at the very least spell my country's name properly?" Once again, problems with capitalization and the ellipsis.
'Chili'.... what were u thinking?
He was probably thinking food. Once again, you and not "u" and the ellipsis. And the punctuation.
please make us chilean people a big fat favor... spell properly. It is spelled C H I L E.
You don't make someone a favour - you do someone a favour. And since you are talking about a nation which is a proper noun, it should be "Chilean people". Once again, you are using ellipsis in the place of punctuation, which is not correct. Not to mention that "please" ought to be capitalised.
Usually, I do not tend to be a Mean Grammar Nazi (TM), but people in glass houses and all that.
Now, that's not to say that we all don't make mistakes. There are probably enough mistakes in my post for someone else to pick and berate me, but you were just making way too many mistakes for someone who was commenting on Taco's inability to spell.
I dual boot on my notebook, and have had a couple of issues with my less-than-a-year-old laptop (the Dell E1405 series has some issues with the keyboard).
Dell fixed it for me in no time (sent me a new keyboard), and I even asked them if they had pointers to some hardware specific drivers, and they said no.
And I have owned a HP in the past and HP is one of the worst companies that I've had to deal with.
Despite everything, folks at Dell have been a lot more friendly and helpful, at least in my experience.
I'm glad you enjoyed them, no problem. And yes, it was wonderful. Now, given DT fans, I'm sure I could find the bootlegs of this concert somewhere if I looked hard enough.:)
I can't say that I agree with you completely, mostly because it is a lot harder to come up with a theme and run it through an entire album.
Having one catchy song is fairly easy - hell, during jamming sessions I'm sure a lot of us have come up with music that sounded cool. But making a habit of that is hard.
Now, your classical music analogy has one simple problem - if you can do a four-part chamber ensemble, you probably are capable of writing for a full orchestra (now conducting and arranging it might be another issue, but I digress). The level of skill needed for either is fairly high.
However, when you look at most one-hit wonders, you will notice that the amount of skill needed to come up with a single song is a lot lesser than the skill needed to come up with a whole album.
Do I find a single songs enjoyable? Sure. But often, artists with the occasional hit have just one good piece - that one good hit. Anecdotal, of course, but sadly true from what I've seen.
Now I do agree with you that it should be left to the artists - it is their music, and they should be the ones making the decisions about how they want their music played.
Oh dude, they played a bunch of DT and RacerX numbers. Mike Portnoy was his usual self, kicking ass! At the very end, all three came on stage and they started playing Hendrix stuff (Foxy lady, Voodoo child etc) and towards the very end, Rolling Stone numbers.
I rarely listen to one entire album. In most, there are a few good songs I like and I'll add those to my playlist, in addition to particular songs from others.
For the one night wonders, maybe - but not for *real* musicians.
Take banks like Jethro Tull or Pink Floyd for example. Listening to one song doesn't really mean anything, you have to listen to entire albums to make sense of things.
Hell, I was just at a G3 concert last night - Joe Satriani, John Petrucci (with Mike Portnoy from Dream Theater) and Paul Gilbert. It was a good three hours of excellent guitar and good music. If you heard any of Satriani's or Steve Vai's albums, you'd realize that listening to the whole thing is very different from listening to just one song.
Now, I really do not know about other genres such as pop/hip-hop/rap/R&B but as far as I know, there are still some good musicians out there whose entire albums are a joy to listen to.
Hell, that's why good bands still have folks buying their music. It's not because I cannot download their songs online, but it's because they make good music and I'd like to support them, even if they are small, local bands.
In fact, the last band that I linked to, Eddie from Ohio, is not signed up with any record label and yet do really well. Shows you what quality can achieve.
Then again, I probably do not make a very good sample of the typical CD-buying demographic.
Sure, but then again book sales are also a function of publicity (which would explain why crappy, ghost-written books by famous people get sold). I remember reading an article on how the NYT bestselling list in itself is largely a publisher scam.
So, I doubt if *just* good writing helps -- one just has to look at the "best sellers" anywhere. And I know several excellent authors who've just not sold enough or are not famous, yet their books (and writing) are phenomenal.
Then again, my writing is largely limited to the crap I spew forth on Slashdot. =)
In another reply I saw someone suggest ISPs sending automated snail mail notices to users who's machines have been owned.
I'll go one better. Cut the fucking thing off the net until the user fixes the problem.
That's not really fair.
Most users are not technically sophisticated to do anything, even if they were told that their computers were affected.
Computers and the internet are far too prevalent today to simply cut somebody off because their boxes were compromised. If you must, blame the manufacturers for designing systems that can so easily be taken over by bots and viruses.
Most people don't really care, because to them the computer is just like the TV or the microwave - a tool that lets them do something. If the tool gets messed up and causes problems because of something, they can't be held responsible because face it, they have no clue whatsoever. If you are designing a system that you think even an idiot can use, then make sure that it is idiot-proof.
But companies want to sell $OS to your grandma, but do not want to take responsibility for what happens when things go to hell. If you are selling something to grandma, make it grandma-proof. She will open attachments, she will not have a clue about what's out there on the web -- if you are selling her a tool, make sure that it is protected against the mistakes she most likely will make.
Somehow, in the software industry, it is considered acceptable to call the users idiots and let go. Now here's the thing -- even some of the very smart people have trouble using computers simply because it is not their thing. Not everybody can be a computer geek, and nor should they expected to be.
If anything, the software manufacturers should be held responsible. Stop blaming the users already, please.
As a fan of the old Metallica (i.e. Cliff Burton inspired Metallica, until the Black Album), I do not find S&M to be bad.
While it is definitely not metal in any sense of the word, it is not bad music either. And for that matter, Metallica's music has not been metal for a long time coming and S&M was their one album that I actually listened to after a long time.
Is it Metal? No. But is it good music? I definitely think so. Then again, I also like classical, so that might have something to do with it.
I agree with most everything said, but to add my 2 cents, I believe that moderate messyness is good because it works like a cache and a priority queue.
That I think is a personality trait.
As someone who's anal-retentive about things being squeaky clean and organized, I find it hard to function unless things around me are uncluttered, the mess straightened out and everything organized.
And while a bit of a mess maybe good, I find that having everything organized makes things (and life) extremely easy over the long run. Want something from 1999? Sure thing! Got it right here, just give me a minute. Not to nitpick, but I have often found that messy people can find things just as quickly as me in the short run, but over the long run, things get lost because they forget and lose track, while their things get lost in the mess.
Now, my girlfriend has what she calls "organized chaos", i.e. a bit of a mess but she knows where everything is.
At the end of the day, she functions great the way things are for her, and I function great with things being organized (to paraphrase my Dad, a place for everything and everything in its place).
So, I don't think it is necessarily universal for everybody. Some people function well with things being messy, while some of us like everything to be perfectly organized.
Obviously, the parent has no clue whatsoever about how the legal system works. A lot of landmark judgments were the result of such "pedantry", as s/he chooses to call it.
Slashdot Mirror
While I won't repeat what others have said, bear in mind that one of the essays had an explicit notice forbidding them from archiving it, but Turnitin went ahead and did it anyway.
And secondly, the company is making money using the content from the students.
How is any of that fair use?
Not to mention that these systems are used by people assuming that all students cheat, which is bad to begin with. So much for morale.
Realistic: You're on Slashdot and you'd need to have a wife and then have kids who're not dorkier than you for them to procreate. So, the point is moot. =)
That implies that the other side will have enough resources (finances and time) to be able to win in court. It's like the RIAA cases, it's a lot easier to reach for a settlement and give in than not.
Sadly, most of these cases get settled outside of the courtroom because the defendant does not have enough resources to stay long enough to fight and win.
Except that once again, people would be worried about going to court against a big corporation for a patent they own, even if they had the upper hand.
Because even if you had a good enough patent, without a good lawyer there isn't much use defending it. And corporations can spend enormous amounts of money and time until you buckle under.
Which is precisely the reason why your idea is a horrible one. If anything, it places even more power in the hands of lawyers.
At least right now, there is some degree of protection.
I doubt it's like government propping up industries - for one, the industry started taking off quite well (whatever that may entail) without any government intervention.
Secondly, isn't that part of the role of the government? To create and maintain basic infrastructure that people can use?
I don't see how this is different from building an airport or from building roads.
The telecom thing did not take off because the government was trying to provide a service - this is not particularly a service, this is building an infrastructure that could be used by others.
Besides, I think this is the sort of thing governments *should* do - beats the hell out of making condoms or TV sets (look at some socialist countries where the telecom thing was taking to an extreme, where the government started doing just about everything).
Best of both worlds, IMHO.
Ummm, if you'd read the article you'd know that Virgin Galactic is leasing out parts of the space port.
And they aren't leasing out the whole facilities, only portions of it. Now, if this took off, there would doubtless be others who would build something like this and they too could lease the facility.
This is more like the government building the first airport so that more people fly to/from a particularly destination. More people fly out from the Spaceport to see space means NM gets more revenue and the tourism improves. And the companies providing the service will also have to pay the state of NM for use of the facility.
If Virgin was the only company that did it, what is the point? There is no competition and others cannot use the facility. This way, NM keeps the prime real-estate and gets to make money out of it.
Yeah, but Taco isn't from Russia or Chile, either.
And secondly, English isn't my first language, either. What's your point?
Usually, I do not tend to be a Mean Grammar Nazi (TM), but people in glass houses and all that.
Now, that's not to say that we all don't make mistakes. There are probably enough mistakes in my post for someone else to pick and berate me, but you were just making way too many mistakes for someone who was commenting on Taco's inability to spell.
Cheers.
Not true.
I dual boot on my notebook, and have had a couple of issues with my less-than-a-year-old laptop (the Dell E1405 series has some issues with the keyboard).
Dell fixed it for me in no time (sent me a new keyboard), and I even asked them if they had pointers to some hardware specific drivers, and they said no.
And I have owned a HP in the past and HP is one of the worst companies that I've had to deal with.
Despite everything, folks at Dell have been a lot more friendly and helpful, at least in my experience.
I'm glad you enjoyed them, no problem. And yes, it was wonderful. Now, given DT fans, I'm sure I could find the bootlegs of this concert somewhere if I looked hard enough. :)
The "performer" in the world of pop today is just a marketing package.
Totally. Britney Spears' music isn't the final package, Britney Spears is the final package.
Sad, that.
I can't say that I agree with you completely, mostly because it is a lot harder to come up with a theme and run it through an entire album.
Having one catchy song is fairly easy - hell, during jamming sessions I'm sure a lot of us have come up with music that sounded cool. But making a habit of that is hard.
Now, your classical music analogy has one simple problem - if you can do a four-part chamber ensemble, you probably are capable of writing for a full orchestra (now conducting and arranging it might be another issue, but I digress). The level of skill needed for either is fairly high.
However, when you look at most one-hit wonders, you will notice that the amount of skill needed to come up with a single song is a lot lesser than the skill needed to come up with a whole album.
Do I find a single songs enjoyable? Sure. But often, artists with the occasional hit have just one good piece - that one good hit. Anecdotal, of course, but sadly true from what I've seen.
Now I do agree with you that it should be left to the artists - it is their music, and they should be the ones making the decisions about how they want their music played.
Oh dude, they played a bunch of DT and RacerX numbers. Mike Portnoy was his usual self, kicking ass! At the very end, all three came on stage and they started playing Hendrix stuff (Foxy lady, Voodoo child etc) and towards the very end, Rolling Stone numbers.
It was heaven.
Damn, should have used preview.
Bands, not banks. And I meant that I buy CDs to show support, especially if they are small, local bands.
I rarely listen to one entire album. In most, there are a few good songs I like and I'll add those to my playlist, in addition to particular songs from others.
For the one night wonders, maybe - but not for *real* musicians.
Take banks like Jethro Tull or Pink Floyd for example. Listening to one song doesn't really mean anything, you have to listen to entire albums to make sense of things.
Hell, I was just at a G3 concert last night - Joe Satriani, John Petrucci (with Mike Portnoy from Dream Theater) and Paul Gilbert. It was a good three hours of excellent guitar and good music. If you heard any of Satriani's or Steve Vai's albums, you'd realize that listening to the whole thing is very different from listening to just one song.
Now, I really do not know about other genres such as pop/hip-hop/rap/R&B but as far as I know, there are still some good musicians out there whose entire albums are a joy to listen to.
Hell, that's why good bands still have folks buying their music. It's not because I cannot download their songs online, but it's because they make good music and I'd like to support them, even if they are small, local bands.
In fact, the last band that I linked to, Eddie from Ohio, is not signed up with any record label and yet do really well. Shows you what quality can achieve.
Then again, I probably do not make a very good sample of the typical CD-buying demographic.
Apart from the *obvious* flaws in your statements that others have expressed, how about News for socio-political/legal nerds?
Who said that everyone had to be a nerd of technology? I know several geeks and nerds of social studies, law and assorted subjects.
Gee. Talk of short sightedness.
Sure, but then again book sales are also a function of publicity (which would explain why crappy, ghost-written books by famous people get sold). I remember reading an article on how the NYT bestselling list in itself is largely a publisher scam.
So, I doubt if *just* good writing helps -- one just has to look at the "best sellers" anywhere. And I know several excellent authors who've just not sold enough or are not famous, yet their books (and writing) are phenomenal.
Then again, my writing is largely limited to the crap I spew forth on Slashdot. =)
Most users are not technically sophisticated to do anything, even if they were told that their computers were affected.
Computers and the internet are far too prevalent today to simply cut somebody off because their boxes were compromised. If you must, blame the manufacturers for designing systems that can so easily be taken over by bots and viruses.
Most people don't really care, because to them the computer is just like the TV or the microwave - a tool that lets them do something. If the tool gets messed up and causes problems because of something, they can't be held responsible because face it, they have no clue whatsoever. If you are designing a system that you think even an idiot can use, then make sure that it is idiot-proof.
But companies want to sell $OS to your grandma, but do not want to take responsibility for what happens when things go to hell. If you are selling something to grandma, make it grandma-proof. She will open attachments, she will not have a clue about what's out there on the web -- if you are selling her a tool, make sure that it is protected against the mistakes she most likely will make.
Somehow, in the software industry, it is considered acceptable to call the users idiots and let go. Now here's the thing -- even some of the very smart people have trouble using computers simply because it is not their thing. Not everybody can be a computer geek, and nor should they expected to be.
If anything, the software manufacturers should be held responsible. Stop blaming the users already, please.
Well, robots.txt is your friend.
Now you know how Slashdotters will look after a hundred million years!
On a serious note, no sex, no evolution -- doesn't look like this organism has changed all that much in hundred million years.
Support evolution: get laid now!
As a fan of the old Metallica (i.e. Cliff Burton inspired Metallica, until the Black Album), I do not find S&M to be bad.
While it is definitely not metal in any sense of the word, it is not bad music either. And for that matter, Metallica's music has not been metal for a long time coming and S&M was their one album that I actually listened to after a long time.
Is it Metal? No. But is it good music? I definitely think so. Then again, I also like classical, so that might have something to do with it.
Maybe you should try the Bruce DickInson School for the not-moronic.
SHAME on you for misspelling His name.
Well, obviously, the gifted part doesn't work for all of them. Duh.
(Only kidding! Love Maiden myself...)
In all honesty though, I've been around Slashdot for a while now (since '97 or '98) and am not remotely concerned about making cheap karma grabs.
It's the geek chicks, isn't it? =)
I agree with most everything said, but to add my 2 cents, I believe that moderate messyness is good because it works like a cache and a priority queue.
That I think is a personality trait.
As someone who's anal-retentive about things being squeaky clean and organized, I find it hard to function unless things around me are uncluttered, the mess straightened out and everything organized.
And while a bit of a mess maybe good, I find that having everything organized makes things (and life) extremely easy over the long run. Want something from 1999? Sure thing! Got it right here, just give me a minute. Not to nitpick, but I have often found that messy people can find things just as quickly as me in the short run, but over the long run, things get lost because they forget and lose track, while their things get lost in the mess.
Now, my girlfriend has what she calls "organized chaos", i.e. a bit of a mess but she knows where everything is.
At the end of the day, she functions great the way things are for her, and I function great with things being organized (to paraphrase my Dad, a place for everything and everything in its place).
So, I don't think it is necessarily universal for everybody. Some people function well with things being messy, while some of us like everything to be perfectly organized.
Well said. Hats off.
Obviously, the parent has no clue whatsoever about how the legal system works. A lot of landmark judgments were the result of such "pedantry", as s/he chooses to call it.