In the mid '80s I was around 5 years old - Please share your nerd exploits with the younger generation so we can bask in your geekiness and strive for perfection.
No, seriously, please do put a site up. Just let me know before it gets posted on/. (Unless you have some Uber-MIT-bandwith).
It's probaby already been said, but I'll second... cold turkey is the best thing to do. The headaches will go away (I think I had mine for about a week), and your friends and family will (probably) eventually forgive your bastardness.
Be sure to substitute your morning coffee with some decaff (not going to be 100% decaff, but close enough) - that helps with the habit part.
Don't blame the business owners for that (entirely)... I'd say that the saying "perception drives reality" isn't far from the mark in most cases, and certaintly within the IT industry.
I see it every day. That being the case, the challenge becomes changing perception. Not whining about it... because we all know how effective whining is.
Well, even though they say the girl was targeted, it'll be the parents that are sued.
My first reaction was "they won't pursue this". But consider the reason behind these lawsuits: to make an example of people. Now they can also show that parents are responsible for their kids' downloading. Obviously the family can't pay out too much, but don't expect them to be let off the hook.
This really needed to happen. Honestly, if the music is good and affordable, I'll pay for it. I'm just not payin' $18 for the latest Metallica monkey shat.
These are public web cams in public places. What difference is there between this and going to the park, sitting on a bench, and people-watching? People enjoy watching other people - it's interesting. I understand that in this case, people may not know they're being watched. But if you're out in public, you should assume *someone* can see what you're doing. By definition.
Get over it and enjoy the show. Now, when government mandated cameras start showing up in peoples' homes, then you can start screaming 1984 and I'll be happy to join in.
I'm off to enjoy my "college co-ed shower cam" subscription. You kids play nice.
How many "How to program in C++" books to we need?
More power to 'em, I guess. It just seems to me that the language has been around for awhile, has aged gracefully, and has an entire library's worth of books written for it.
I suppose it's good to update every once in awhile, but this book doesn't seem to have anything new (based on the review). I'll stick to the 4 or 5 I have, thanks.
No kidding. And whenever something like this happens, there's a high degree of probability that we'll be seeing heat-related deaths (particularly among the elderly).
I don't know about the charities being less objectionable. All the charity calls we get now (and I do mean every single one for the past couple years) are paid solicitors for said charity. The charities are guaranteed anywhere from 15-50% of whatever you donate and the rest goes the the company making the calls. They're every bit as rude and obnoxious as regular telemarketers.
Now that we have the DNC list, I personally expect these calls to increase in volume since charities are generally excluded.
If you really want to give money to these charities (and I've done this), don't give these jokers the $25 they try to squeeze out of you. Ask for the charity's mailing address and send $10 - you save money and karma and the charity ends up with about the same amount.
Never do. But, I do expect brilliance from those the politicians hire to do the real work and research... noting of course, that "expectations" are not the same as actual results.
Of course, I have to admit that my "get someone smart" approach is pretty lame. IANAL, and I don't know the precise legal issues (in their entirety) that surround IP and copywrite laws. But, it doesn't take an intelligent person (maybe just observant with a little common sense) to point out what obviously doesn't work.
I suppose that since there's no good way to read peoples' minds to determine if they would have purchased the software, this is the best they can come up with.
I agree that calculating damages due to software piracy if difficult, if not impossible. To me, it's a case of a square peg and a round hole (or maybe a round peg and an octagonal hole would be more appropriate). When you have a physical product, and someone steals it, the value is very easy to calculate, but not so with IP. That being the case, perhaps we need IP laws that are capable of looking beyond damages in their sentencing structure and rely more heavily upon other factors. Admittedly, though, I can't think of what those might be. Someone smarter than I will have to dream that up:)
I've heard other complaints about hotmail, but I get very little spam compared to most people. Maybe 4 a day? If that? I've had the account for about 5 years now.
And the spam I do get is admittedly (probably) my fault... I'm a sucker for those free laptop promotions.
Of course, it's always best to attack the source, and I appreciate M$ efforts to do so (even if it is self-serving, imo).
No, not unique to nerds, but it seems in my everyday dealing with nerdy/techie people (and I'm one of them), there seems to be a fairly high number of ADD/ADHD within our population./. may not be a support group, but there are many here who I believe can offer sound advice. That's the point.
Also, one shouldn't cover up their trolling with an "offtopic" subject line:) If you really think it offtopic, then perhaps you shouldn't post. (I'm kidding... kinda.)
Perhaps the problem lies in the blurring of lines between differing forms of media. If I read the article correctly (and I'm prone to miss things), it seems that personal blogs are also prone to this.
I liken this to hanging a sign on my front porch that proclaims "Bill Clinton sucks donkey balls" and having to allow the man an equally-sized sign to profess that he does not, in fact, suck donkey balls. (Ignoring the fact that I'm sure there are some local codes prohibiting the public use of the phrase "donkey balls" in that context)
So in this age where anyone can be an information or editorial provider to millions of people via the internet, where do these people fall when it comes to "journalistic" responsibility and personal opinion? How then can laws like this reasonably be applied? CNN.com is one thing - jimbobsjournal.com seems to be another.
I don't have a ready answer, but feel free to let me know your opinion.
What if a news commentary anchor is critical of, say, our president (I know this is far-fetched, but stay with me here). They aren't obligated to give him a 30-second commercial spot in retaliation.
Newspapers are not required (though often do) publish retalitory letters to editorials.
That doesn't mean you won't at times have to answer for your comments - that's why we have legal mechanisms for handling slander, etc. But forcing personal blogs and web sites to post retalitory comments is, well, dumb.
Now, having said that, do we have to allow these folks a response on slashdot? Just curious.
Slashdot Mirror
But I post, therefore I am.
What if slashdot doesn't exist? I can observe it's effects on my productivity - but what if it's actually something else? Like laziness?
My God, it's full of tacos...
- w
I am just as much a nerd as these guys!
/. (Unless you have some Uber-MIT-bandwith).
In the mid '80s I was around 5 years old - Please share your nerd exploits with the younger generation so we can bask in your geekiness and strive for perfection.
No, seriously, please do put a site up. Just let me know before it gets posted on
I whored myself to the football team (doing homework - nothing else). Nobody messes with the football team's pet homework bitch.
It's probaby already been said, but I'll second... cold turkey is the best thing to do. The headaches will go away (I think I had mine for about a week), and your friends and family will (probably) eventually forgive your bastardness.
Be sure to substitute your morning coffee with some decaff (not going to be 100% decaff, but close enough) - that helps with the habit part.
Don't blame the business owners for that (entirely)... I'd say that the saying "perception drives reality" isn't far from the mark in most cases, and certaintly within the IT industry.
I see it every day. That being the case, the challenge becomes changing perception. Not whining about it... because we all know how effective whining is.
Well, even though they say the girl was targeted, it'll be the parents that are sued.
My first reaction was "they won't pursue this". But consider the reason behind these lawsuits: to make an example of people. Now they can also show that parents are responsible for their kids' downloading. Obviously the family can't pay out too much, but don't expect them to be let off the hook.
Not sayin' I agree with it... I'm just sayin'
This really needed to happen. Honestly, if the music is good and affordable, I'll pay for it. I'm just not payin' $18 for the latest Metallica monkey shat.
The 1984 reference is old and tired, guys.
These are public web cams in public places. What difference is there between this and going to the park, sitting on a bench, and people-watching? People enjoy watching other people - it's interesting. I understand that in this case, people may not know they're being watched. But if you're out in public, you should assume *someone* can see what you're doing. By definition.
Get over it and enjoy the show. Now, when government mandated cameras start showing up in peoples' homes, then you can start screaming 1984 and I'll be happy to join in.
I'm off to enjoy my "college co-ed shower cam" subscription. You kids play nice.
Most companies that spam me on a regular basis probably aren't interested in PR.
Unless herbal penis enlargers are now a legit business. Last I checked, no such luck. Maybe if it worked... well, so I'm told.
Back when I used ICQ, I used to like getting spammed:
HotSxzzGrl says: Can we talk?
Or something like that. It's been awhile. God I miss her, though.
How many "How to program in C++" books to we need?
More power to 'em, I guess. It just seems to me that the language has been around for awhile, has aged gracefully, and has an entire library's worth of books written for it.
I suppose it's good to update every once in awhile, but this book doesn't seem to have anything new (based on the review). I'll stick to the 4 or 5 I have, thanks.
No kidding. And whenever something like this happens, there's a high degree of probability that we'll be seeing heat-related deaths (particularly among the elderly).
Let's hope it gets cleared up soon.
- g
I'll respond to you instead of the AC...
At least I didn't call you an asshat :)
I don't know about the charities being less objectionable. All the charity calls we get now (and I do mean every single one for the past couple years) are paid solicitors for said charity. The charities are guaranteed anywhere from 15-50% of whatever you donate and the rest goes the the company making the calls. They're every bit as rude and obnoxious as regular telemarketers.
Now that we have the DNC list, I personally expect these calls to increase in volume since charities are generally excluded.
If you really want to give money to these charities (and I've done this), don't give these jokers the $25 they try to squeeze out of you. Ask for the charity's mailing address and send $10 - you save money and karma and the charity ends up with about the same amount.
Paid solicitors for charities are scum, too.
Never do. But, I do expect brilliance from those the politicians hire to do the real work and research... noting of course, that "expectations" are not the same as actual results.
Of course, I have to admit that my "get someone smart" approach is pretty lame. IANAL, and I don't know the precise legal issues (in their entirety) that surround IP and copywrite laws. But, it doesn't take an intelligent person (maybe just observant with a little common sense) to point out what obviously doesn't work.
Or maybe it's just obvious to us.
I suppose that since there's no good way to read peoples' minds to determine if they would have purchased the software, this is the best they can come up with.
I agree that calculating damages due to software piracy if difficult, if not impossible. To me, it's a case of a square peg and a round hole (or maybe a round peg and an octagonal hole would be more appropriate). When you have a physical product, and someone steals it, the value is very easy to calculate, but not so with IP. That being the case, perhaps we need IP laws that are capable of looking beyond damages in their sentencing structure and rely more heavily upon other factors. Admittedly, though, I can't think of what those might be. Someone smarter than I will have to dream that up :)
I have mixed results with the auto-update. Generally speaking, I usually get better results by going directly to windowsupdate
:) Go figure.
But maybe I'm stupid
I've heard other complaints about hotmail, but I get very little spam compared to most people. Maybe 4 a day? If that? I've had the account for about 5 years now.
And the spam I do get is admittedly (probably) my fault... I'm a sucker for those free laptop promotions.
Of course, it's always best to attack the source, and I appreciate M$ efforts to do so (even if it is self-serving, imo).
No, not unique to nerds, but it seems in my everyday dealing with nerdy/techie people (and I'm one of them), there seems to be a fairly high number of ADD/ADHD within our population. /. may not be a support group, but there are many here who I believe can offer sound advice. That's the point.
:) If you really think it offtopic, then perhaps you shouldn't post. (I'm kidding... kinda.)
Also, one shouldn't cover up their trolling with an "offtopic" subject line
Perhaps the problem lies in the blurring of lines between differing forms of media. If I read the article correctly (and I'm prone to miss things), it seems that personal blogs are also prone to this.
I liken this to hanging a sign on my front porch that proclaims "Bill Clinton sucks donkey balls" and having to allow the man an equally-sized sign to profess that he does not, in fact, suck donkey balls. (Ignoring the fact that I'm sure there are some local codes prohibiting the public use of the phrase "donkey balls" in that context)
So in this age where anyone can be an information or editorial provider to millions of people via the internet, where do these people fall when it comes to "journalistic" responsibility and personal opinion? How then can laws like this reasonably be applied? CNN.com is one thing - jimbobsjournal.com seems to be another.
I don't have a ready answer, but feel free to let me know your opinion.
What if a news commentary anchor is critical of, say, our president (I know this is far-fetched, but stay with me here). They aren't obligated to give him a 30-second commercial spot in retaliation.
Newspapers are not required (though often do) publish retalitory letters to editorials.
That doesn't mean you won't at times have to answer for your comments - that's why we have legal mechanisms for handling slander, etc. But forcing personal blogs and web sites to post retalitory comments is, well, dumb.
Now, having said that, do we have to allow these folks a response on slashdot? Just curious.
Yeah, and watch out for the damn tubgirl links, too... I think that's 500 times worse.
Man, the whole Dune series is awesome... I guess I should respect your views. But that's hard to do when they're so wrong and stupid!
Sorry - I couldn't let ya get away with that one.
Flame on.
The site did mention that a fanless version using a celeron chip was available. I would expect them to cool it much like a laptop.
I guess the only problem with that is that now the tech has no job. I wouldn't be too motivated to help out my old company's customers for free.
I do hate to see people loosing their jobs for being nice, though. WTF.