Simple, I stopped using dialup about 5 years ago when ADSL became available.
What's more interesting is the change from "unlimited high speed" to "always on" when advertising broadband. Could a similar semantic change be in the works for dialup.
Of course the solution is to have your regulatory body mandate a better rollout of broadband, ensuring it it available to 90+% of the population. Boy, what would that do to the backbones around the world?:)
I agree that marching off to program with no planning would be silly. But I am a big believer in pathfinding programming, where you spend no more than a day building just enough of an application to illustrate the underlying design and/or interface.
Then, come back and demontrate your idea to the larger group, with the expectation that more than likley you will throw the whole thing away.
After a basic model has been developed that makes sense, only then sit down in meeting to flesh out the spec.
And that's what I meant by prototypes, yes they're very useful, I just wrote one yesterday. I wrote a small proof of concept about some enhancements to Psort and on Monday I'll sit down and do it right - determining how to write the code without jamming it in with a shoe horn.
And prototypes should be thrown away, most likely they're done with very poor quality. I recall one of my old profs when teaching us this made us write out prototype in a different language from what he wanted the final product in to "force us to not reuse it." Perhaps that's a bit extreme, but it illustrated the point.:)
If we all just sat down and coded first, our productivity would soar.
Umm, first you say the problem with these administrators is their not developers, then you say we should just sit down and code?
Any good developer who paid attention in their software engineering course would know the further down the development cycle you get when you discover a problem with your specifications the more expensive it becomes to repair the problem.
Make prototypes I can see, show the basic functionality and flow of the software. But before developing any large software project one must design the specifications and requirements.
Any developer who doesn't understand this would fall into the same boat as these "non-developer administrators" in my opinion. Go pick up a software engineering book and re-read it. And make sure it's not eXtreme Programming, that book is how Windows-like disasters are made.
I think it's more that the software development cycle is becoming move evolved, as happened to engineering a few decades ago. The days of slapping things together and getting it out the door are gone, and good thing, we all see what occurred at Microsoft when quality wasn't a top priority. Buggy software with huge security holes.
IF we want the public to trust software and computers more we have to develop a more "engineering" like mentality. Otherwise the public will think rebooting your computer three times a day is normal and acceptable.
I say this from the point of few as both a system administrator and developer. There were times in my old company I would highly object to certain courses of action because they might have compromised security. This forced the developers to go back and rethink things. However the developer side of me usually had a better suggestion anyhow.
Which brings us to the next point, part of the developer "get it out the door" mentality involves a lack of understanding by said developers of how systems work. They learn their C++ or Java in school, but they fail to learn how the underlaying OS and hardware work. IT training has become job training rather then creating computer scientists. Perhaps things would flow better if all invlved better understood the fundamentals of computers.
I for one am not said to see the development cycle slow down. Far too many times have I see bosses go, "Just get it done, we'll worry about cleaning it up later." Do you want the software controlling your car or the X-ray machine at the hospital being managed by such a manager? I certainly don't.
You can buy support for Debian, yes. But when the packages will be updated... that's another question.
Now don't get me wrong, I like Debian, I use it on my personal servers. However I recall then whe last sendmail exploit came out it took a few days for the patch to be released. I tried to inquire when it would be coming out and was rudely told, "We don't comment on such things."
apt-get is a wonderful tool. But until patches are brought out in a more timely fashion I can't in good concience recommend it to any of my clients.
The other issue I've found, but I'll admit haven't put a lot of time into finding the solution for, is having a local mirror. When I build a server, if that server were to die, I want to be able to create the exact same version again of all packages. I have run into the situation with Debian of a package being upgraded and breaking things. Though as I said, this is something which is probably solved by now since I haven't looked into this issue in about 2 years.
Once these issues are resolved, go Debian go! I know we're facing the Redhat issue at the end of the year... upgrade all out RH7.3 machines to 9 by the end of the year... or risk not having security patches. I feel bad for the admin of the local 96 node beowulf. I'm glad I put RH9 on my new cluster....
I can't answer that for two reasons: a) I've never used a Dell 1750 b) We haven't power the cluster up because we're still waiting on Intel for those mounting rails
I have been playing with two nodes in my office building a mini-cluster. So far I like what I see. The only change I'd make is I would not have the serial console port where it is, or at the least not use an RJ-45 for it. While reaching around behind the node it's very easy to confuse it with the network connection when going by feel. That cost me a few hours to figure out....;-)
No, I don't think so. They've been fantastic in the setup of the cluster we bought from them, full of these new Sun V60x machines. They even threw in 13 extra nodes at no extra cost for a total of 43 nodes.
What will kill them is their supply chain however. We've been waiting a few weeks for mounting rails for the V60x machines.... however this isn't Sun's fault, they aparently OEM these machines straight from Intel. It's Intel who is now able to supply the part, it's actually effected another server we bought straight from Intel. It seems with their linux initiative they're simply relying on the services of others.... Intel for the x86 machines, RH and SuSe for the linux support. They're becoming a reseller when it comes to linux rather then a producer/supplier.
Then there's the NAS system which has been held up in QA for the past 3 months.
They have some great products coming out and good linux knowledge and service, however until they streamline their supply chain they might be in trouble. The rep told me they're putting quality as the top priority, however it seems to have created more problems then good. This new 3310 NAS system was suppose to begin shipping in May.... it's now August....
That will be there downfall, not meeting ship dates. They have the knowledge and inovation to survive, they just need to ride their hardware guys' asses a little harder.
As someone who works in bioinformatics research coming from the computer side I think your mixing issues.
There's using computing to forward and analyize biological questions, that's one field. (and the one I'm in)
The other is using biology to build things like nanotech and other molecular circuitry.
Both of these are using one as a tool to forward the other, it's not a straight integration like putting chocolate and peanut butter together, and never will be.
Each field will simply adapt and use tools from other fields. Just as in molecular biology physics and chemistry concepts are used to help understand biological mechanisms. Don't look for a Unifying Theory for all these fields.
Anyhow, that's my opinion, my boss will probably say I'm completely wrong;-)
I usually use rsync for one way backups, and unison where I need 2 way synchronization. Rsync is nice because you can update lots of files very quickly, as it only moves binary diff's between files. Also, if it is a costly network link, you have the option to specify max transfer rates, so you don't kill your pipe when it runs from your cron job. Unison is nice because it is pretty smart about determining which files should be moved, and can correctly handle new and deleted files on either end of the link. Plus it supports doing all of it's comm via ssh, so it's secure.
[too lazy to look it up myself] Can rsync run over ssh? I thought I'd once heard that rsync is a huge security hole. But I could be wrong....
Unison will synchronize any two file trees in The Right Way (TM).
Well luckily it's not two way mirroring, it's purely one way. My clients all update their website on the primary server only, and any changes are then backuped up nightly to the live backup server. However a better solution is definately desirable.
No not REAL RAID 1, I was using RAID 1 as an example of the type of mirroring I was looking for.
Basically I have two servers, one is the active server one is the fall over backup. Now my nightly tar backup is good enough, but I was wondering if there was a better solution. A way to sync the two/home every so often, or even on an on-going basis so my clients can be sure their data is backed up fairly frequently in case a server fallover is needed.
This actually brings up a question I've been wondering about for a while. Does anyone have any solutions for a mirroring file system? Basically RAID 1 over a network.
What is a good stable solution for this? Currently I'm just using a tar over ssh once a night to do an incremental backup.
I thought it was recently announced there were deadly levels of radiation on Mars? That it was determined (wo)man could not go to Mars for these reasons?
How do we plan to get around this problem? Or are we expecting a group of mutan X-men to return?
In Canada the local phone company basically has a monopoly over the last mile, and we're known to have some of the best DSL and Cable internet access available in the world.
The problem isn't lack of competition, quite the opposite, more competition means more companies each with redundant staff and bureaucracies. The solution is to actually have the FCC mandate service quality. DSL service sucks down there because the phone companies are free to do whatever the hell they please.
If you had a government regulating body which looked out for the best interest of the consumer and dictated that the Bells must meet these service levels for customers things would be rosey.
But ooooh no, regulation is bad for business. BS! In natural monopolies like this it's the only way to go. You simply TELL the company they must provide quality service, no excuses.
Until this happens we're going to continue to see the weekly story on slashdot of people whining that their DSL is too slow or they can't get service.
Monorails will never be an efficient means of mass transit. The fact that the infustructure is so intrusive, the fact that "switches" are overly complicated and involve moving large slabs of concrete. Monorails belong in theme parks.
If Seattle wanted a real transit system they'd look at light rail, which can be elevated if so desired.
Using a rail system just opens up so many more doors, besides being a lot cheaper to build.
First Las Vegas, now Seattle, sigh, will these snake oil salesmen never go away?
I actually just had this happen to me a week ago, I was dismissed because of personality conflicts with the new management. However there are many systems which only I understand, so last week a month after being dismissed I was called to help them solve a crisis.
I arrived, they began spewing the problem at me... I quickly stopped them and said, "As an actor would say, what's my motivation?" This stopped them dead in their tracks and we quickly negotiated a fee of $100/hr. One of my former co-workers said I should have demanded $250/hr, but $100 seemed pretty good.
If you've got them in a tight spot, damn can you make some easy money. =)
Why do you have so much trouble with high speed internet in the States? People want it. PEople are paying for it. Why do I continually hear stories of substandard service, quality, and speed and overly high prices? Why do things 'just work' here in Canada but not down there?
My only theory is because of regulation up here keeping the companies in line. Hmm.
Let's see, hour deficit has doubled because of their premature tax cut. They're looking at breaking the contract with the nurses and rolling back their wages. They're cutting social programs left, right and centre. They're selling the province off to the private sector to pay back their corporate backers at the expense ove the working class of the province. Yeah, wonderful, turning the province into an American style capitalism, yuck.
A general strike in the province is coming, and I'm going to be there marching along side them. I'm counting the months until we can begin recalls.
Yes the NDP had become a bunch of fucknuts. However I'd gladly take them over these right wing "liberals" (read: ultra-conservatives).
At Antarcti.ca Systems (http://antarcti.ca) we've been working on the idea of geography based navigation for over two years. Both in 2d and 3d based maps, which can be seen at our demo site of http://map.net
It's a facinating new era of data navigation, doing away with the old screens and screens of text and moving towards a paradigm closer to the real world.
Too bad it won't. Look man, no matter how loudly the sanctimonious lawyers for the MPAA, et al., scream the genie is out of the bottle. Digital is here, and if it's digital, it can be copied easily. Copyright protections only deter, they don't stop. And in the era of the Internet, it only takes one person to break the copyprotection for the entire world to have access. This cannot be stopped.
Why is this contant confrontation needed? If all you ranters who go on about, "it's our right to copy it" sat down and thought, you'd see these people at the hard of things are just trying to earn a living. True, their idea of earning a living involves BMWs and blonde bimbos named Kiki at the call, hwoever for most of the workers on the shows or recordings they're just making a living. Which is their right to do. There's also the continual cry that without the income, there won't be money to make more shows or recording.
I think the movie and recording inductry is making discustingly large profits off the backs of the public, and a lot more of their profits should go to the workers instead of high paid execs and high priced lawyers. So I am in no way defending their actions in trying to 'protect their content' I believe in the freedom of information as much as the next guy.
However I see the big picture. And the big picture is the whole system is flawed. The who system of selling what you make and hoping to make a profit is flawed. Artists should be enabled and encouraged to work to share their talents with the world because it's the right thing to do, and because they get to bring joy to people. And we should set up a system which allows this.
As well, high paid corperate execs need to be taken out of the system, their greed is what's ruining all this.
And finally, these artists need to have it made clear to them, in exchange for their sharing their talents with the world, we the people will give them a good life, with everything they need to live comfortably. (you do not need a blonde bimbo named Kiki to live comfortably....) They will not be rich, they might be slightly famous because people appriciate their talents so much, but they will have a secure life knowing they're giving to society and we're going to be there for them.
This might be anti-American, this might be anti-capitalist, but it's certainly a better way then everyone trying to screw each other just to get ahead. I think Americans need to look at their entire society and ask if there's ways they can improve it, and get rid of this aweful thing called capitalism. (I am NOT saying switch to communism before anyone makes that cry, I'm saying find something better, something in between, or maybe off in an entirely new direction we haven't thought of yet).
I think he has a good point. Watching TV but not the commercials, listening to the radio but flipping the station whenever the music stops, reading a book at the library but never buying it from the bookstore, buying books and CDs used instead of new, listening to illegal mp3s from irc...
They're all the same, in all those cases you're taking money from the content producers. There's no doubt about this, and this is why holleywood fought time-shifting as they did.
Everyone keeps talking about protecting content producers vs. freedom of information, as if they're mutually exclusive. Why does anyone never say, "hey, is there a better way together of doing this?"
Perhaps it's time to change the whole way content is producted and 'funded'. Perhaps it's time more people be convinced to product content not to make a profit, but because they want to share their talent with society. And perhaps it's time that society supported such practices. All this content is producted by artists, who should be doing it not to get rich, but to share with the world. Let's eliminate the greed, everyone work for the betterment of society, very trekish if you will. =)
Now, go ahead, scream communist, tell me that my ideas are anti-american. (good, because I'm not American! and proud of it!) Continuing the Star Trek analogy, I see Americans with their constant need for greed (holleywood being the perfect example) as Feringi (sp?), boy did Star Trek get the pulse of the American mindset perfectly with that creation....
We've lost our way, we've forgotten how to be artists, how to work for the common good, how to SHARE. (didn't these people's mothers ever teach them anything?) It's time to abandon capitalism, it obviously just doesn't work, and neither does communism, we need to find a new better way.
Slashdot Mirror
Simple, I stopped using dialup about 5 years ago when ADSL became available.
:)
What's more interesting is the change from "unlimited high speed" to "always on" when advertising broadband. Could a similar semantic change be in the works for dialup.
Of course the solution is to have your regulatory body mandate a better rollout of broadband, ensuring it it available to 90+% of the population. Boy, what would that do to the backbones around the world?
I agree that marching off to program with no planning would be silly. But I am a big believer in pathfinding programming, where you spend no more than a day building just enough of an application to illustrate the underlying design and/or interface.
:)
Then, come back and demontrate your idea to the larger group, with the expectation that more than likley you will throw the whole thing away.
After a basic model has been developed that makes sense, only then sit down in meeting to flesh out the spec.
And that's what I meant by prototypes, yes they're very useful, I just wrote one yesterday. I wrote a small proof of concept about some enhancements to Psort and on Monday I'll sit down and do it right - determining how to write the code without jamming it in with a shoe horn.
And prototypes should be thrown away, most likely they're done with very poor quality. I recall one of my old profs when teaching us this made us write out prototype in a different language from what he wanted the final product in to "force us to not reuse it." Perhaps that's a bit extreme, but it illustrated the point.
If we all just sat down and coded first, our productivity would soar.
Umm, first you say the problem with these administrators is their not developers, then you say we should just sit down and code?
Any good developer who paid attention in their software engineering course would know the further down the development cycle you get when you discover a problem with your specifications the more expensive it becomes to repair the problem.
Make prototypes I can see, show the basic functionality and flow of the software. But before developing any large software project one must design the specifications and requirements.
Any developer who doesn't understand this would fall into the same boat as these "non-developer administrators" in my opinion. Go pick up a software engineering book and re-read it. And make sure it's not eXtreme Programming, that book is how Windows-like disasters are made.
We're a cancer?
I think it's more that the software development cycle is becoming move evolved, as happened to engineering a few decades ago. The days of slapping things together and getting it out the door are gone, and good thing, we all see what occurred at Microsoft when quality wasn't a top priority. Buggy software with huge security holes.
IF we want the public to trust software and computers more we have to develop a more "engineering" like mentality. Otherwise the public will think rebooting your computer three times a day is normal and acceptable.
I say this from the point of few as both a system administrator and developer. There were times in my old company I would highly object to certain courses of action because they might have compromised security. This forced the developers to go back and rethink things. However the developer side of me usually had a better suggestion anyhow.
Which brings us to the next point, part of the developer "get it out the door" mentality involves a lack of understanding by said developers of how systems work. They learn their C++ or Java in school, but they fail to learn how the underlaying OS and hardware work. IT training has become job training rather then creating computer scientists. Perhaps things would flow better if all invlved better understood the fundamentals of computers.
I for one am not said to see the development cycle slow down. Far too many times have I see bosses go, "Just get it done, we'll worry about cleaning it up later." Do you want the software controlling your car or the X-ray machine at the hospital being managed by such a manager? I certainly don't.
You can buy support for Debian, yes. But when the packages will be updated... that's another question.
:)
Now don't get me wrong, I like Debian, I use it on my personal servers. However I recall then whe last sendmail exploit came out it took a few days for the patch to be released. I tried to inquire when it would be coming out and was rudely told, "We don't comment on such things."
apt-get is a wonderful tool. But until patches are brought out in a more timely fashion I can't in good concience recommend it to any of my clients.
The other issue I've found, but I'll admit haven't put a lot of time into finding the solution for, is having a local mirror. When I build a server, if that server were to die, I want to be able to create the exact same version again of all packages. I have run into the situation with Debian of a package being upgraded and breaking things. Though as I said, this is something which is probably solved by now since I haven't looked into this issue in about 2 years.
Once these issues are resolved, go Debian go! I know we're facing the Redhat issue at the end of the year... upgrade all out RH7.3 machines to 9 by the end of the year... or risk not having security patches. I feel bad for the admin of the local 96 node beowulf. I'm glad I put RH9 on my new cluster....
There, my rant for the day.
Whats the performance like on the V60x systems?
;-)
How do they compared to Dell 1750's say?
I can't answer that for two reasons:
a) I've never used a Dell 1750
b) We haven't power the cluster up because we're still waiting on Intel for those mounting rails
I have been playing with two nodes in my office building a mini-cluster. So far I like what I see. The only change I'd make is I would not have the serial console port where it is, or at the least not use an RJ-45 for it. While reaching around behind the node it's very easy to confuse it with the network connection when going by feel. That cost me a few hours to figure out....
No, I don't think so. They've been fantastic in the setup of the cluster we bought from them, full of these new Sun V60x machines. They even threw in 13 extra nodes at no extra cost for a total of 43 nodes.
What will kill them is their supply chain however. We've been waiting a few weeks for mounting rails for the V60x machines.... however this isn't Sun's fault, they aparently OEM these machines straight from Intel. It's Intel who is now able to supply the part, it's actually effected another server we bought straight from Intel. It seems with their linux initiative they're simply relying on the services of others.... Intel for the x86 machines, RH and SuSe for the linux support. They're becoming a reseller when it comes to linux rather then a producer/supplier.
Then there's the NAS system which has been held up in QA for the past 3 months.
They have some great products coming out and good linux knowledge and service, however until they streamline their supply chain they might be in trouble. The rep told me they're putting quality as the top priority, however it seems to have created more problems then good. This new 3310 NAS system was suppose to begin shipping in May.... it's now August....
That will be there downfall, not meeting ship dates. They have the knowledge and inovation to survive, they just need to ride their hardware guys' asses a little harder.
As someone who works in bioinformatics research coming from the computer side I think your mixing issues.
;-)
There's using computing to forward and analyize biological questions, that's one field. (and the one I'm in)
The other is using biology to build things like nanotech and other molecular circuitry.
Both of these are using one as a tool to forward the other, it's not a straight integration like putting chocolate and peanut butter together, and never will be.
Each field will simply adapt and use tools from other fields. Just as in molecular biology physics and chemistry concepts are used to help understand biological mechanisms. Don't look for a Unifying Theory for all these fields.
Anyhow, that's my opinion, my boss will probably say I'm completely wrong
So I guess the fact that web browsers (just to name one example) have done this for years doesn't count as prior art.
Let's see, I think we had our helpdesk application do this at an old company as well.
What other examples of auto-completing search boxes can we think of? I know dreamweaver auto-completes tags.
This is another typical BS patent and another example of why the patent office needs a major update in their procedures.
I usually use rsync for one way backups, and unison where I need 2 way synchronization.
Rsync is nice because you can update lots of files very quickly, as it only moves binary diff's between files. Also, if it is a costly network link, you have the option to specify max transfer rates, so you don't kill your pipe when it runs from your cron job.
Unison is nice because it is pretty smart about determining which files should be moved, and can correctly handle new and deleted files on either end of the link. Plus it supports doing all of it's comm via ssh, so it's secure.
[too lazy to look it up myself]
Can rsync run over ssh? I thought I'd once heard that rsync is a huge security hole. But I could be wrong....
Whoa, you definitely need Unison [upenn.edu].
Unison will synchronize any two file trees in The Right Way (TM).
Well luckily it's not two way mirroring, it's purely one way. My clients all update their website on the primary server only, and any changes are then backuped up nightly to the live backup server. However a better solution is definately desirable.
No not REAL RAID 1, I was using RAID 1 as an example of the type of mirroring I was looking for.
/home every so often, or even on an on-going basis so my clients can be sure their data is backed up fairly frequently in case a server fallover is needed.
Basically I have two servers, one is the active server one is the fall over backup. Now my nightly tar backup is good enough, but I was wondering if there was a better solution. A way to sync the two
This actually brings up a question I've been wondering about for a while. Does anyone have any solutions for a mirroring file system? Basically RAID 1 over a network.
What is a good stable solution for this? Currently I'm just using a tar over ssh once a night to do an incremental backup.
I thought it was recently announced there were deadly levels of radiation on Mars? That it was determined (wo)man could not go to Mars for these reasons?
How do we plan to get around this problem? Or are we expecting a group of mutan X-men to return?
In Canada the local phone company basically has a monopoly over the last mile, and we're known to have some of the best DSL and Cable internet access available in the world.
The problem isn't lack of competition, quite the opposite, more competition means more companies each with redundant staff and bureaucracies. The solution is to actually have the FCC mandate service quality. DSL service sucks down there because the phone companies are free to do whatever the hell they please.
If you had a government regulating body which looked out for the best interest of the consumer and dictated that the Bells must meet these service levels for customers things would be rosey.
But ooooh no, regulation is bad for business. BS! In natural monopolies like this it's the only way to go. You simply TELL the company they must provide quality service, no excuses.
Until this happens we're going to continue to see the weekly story on slashdot of people whining that their DSL is too slow or they can't get service.
Monorails will never be an efficient means of mass transit. The fact that the infustructure is so intrusive, the fact that "switches" are overly complicated and involve moving large slabs of concrete. Monorails belong in theme parks.
If Seattle wanted a real transit system they'd look at light rail, which can be elevated if so desired.
Using a rail system just opens up so many more doors, besides being a lot cheaper to build.
First Las Vegas, now Seattle, sigh, will these snake oil salesmen never go away?
I actually just had this happen to me a week ago, I was dismissed because of personality conflicts with the new management. However there are many systems which only I understand, so last week a month after being dismissed I was called to help them solve a crisis.
I arrived, they began spewing the problem at me... I quickly stopped them and said, "As an actor would say, what's my motivation?" This stopped them dead in their tracks and we quickly negotiated a fee of $100/hr. One of my former co-workers said I should have demanded $250/hr, but $100 seemed pretty good.
If you've got them in a tight spot, damn can you make some easy money. =)
They should come back and film the final 5 episodes in Vancouver, to bring things back to their roots. That would be true closure, a fitting end.
Plus it'd hopefully really piss DD off to have to return to this "rainy" city he so hates. =)
I always knew I shouldn't trust those slashdot polls, and the bunch of shifty guys behind the scenes.... No wonder Cowboy Neal always wins.
;-)
Why do you have so much trouble with high speed internet in the States? People want it. PEople are paying for it. Why do I continually hear stories of substandard service, quality, and speed and overly high prices? Why do things 'just work' here in Canada but not down there?
My only theory is because of regulation up here keeping the companies in line. Hmm.
Gordon Campbell is one shady character though, you gotta admit. They were elected by default.
Exactly, the Liberals weren't elected, the NDP was booted out for screwing up so much. Once the NDP get their act back together, bye-bye Liberals.
Campbell is a shady character, he scares me. Him and his whole party is like one slickly run television show.
Oh a wonderful job they have done you say, eh?
Let's see, hour deficit has doubled because of their premature tax cut. They're looking at breaking the contract with the nurses and rolling back their wages. They're cutting social programs left, right and centre. They're selling the province off to the private sector to pay back their corporate backers at the expense ove the working class of the province. Yeah, wonderful, turning the province into an American style capitalism, yuck.
A general strike in the province is coming, and I'm going to be there marching along side them. I'm counting the months until we can begin recalls.
Yes the NDP had become a bunch of fucknuts. However I'd gladly take them over these right wing "liberals" (read: ultra-conservatives).
It's a facinating new era of data navigation, doing away with the old screens and screens of text and moving towards a paradigm closer to the real world.
Why is this contant confrontation needed? If all you ranters who go on about, "it's our right to copy it" sat down and thought, you'd see these people at the hard of things are just trying to earn a living. True, their idea of earning a living involves BMWs and blonde bimbos named Kiki at the call, hwoever for most of the workers on the shows or recordings they're just making a living. Which is their right to do. There's also the continual cry that without the income, there won't be money to make more shows or recording.
I think the movie and recording inductry is making discustingly large profits off the backs of the public, and a lot more of their profits should go to the workers instead of high paid execs and high priced lawyers. So I am in no way defending their actions in trying to 'protect their content' I believe in the freedom of information as much as the next guy.
However I see the big picture. And the big picture is the whole system is flawed. The who system of selling what you make and hoping to make a profit is flawed. Artists should be enabled and encouraged to work to share their talents with the world because it's the right thing to do, and because they get to bring joy to people. And we should set up a system which allows this.
As well, high paid corperate execs need to be taken out of the system, their greed is what's ruining all this.
And finally, these artists need to have it made clear to them, in exchange for their sharing their talents with the world, we the people will give them a good life, with everything they need to live comfortably. (you do not need a blonde bimbo named Kiki to live comfortably....) They will not be rich, they might be slightly famous because people appriciate their talents so much, but they will have a secure life knowing they're giving to society and we're going to be there for them.
This might be anti-American, this might be anti-capitalist, but it's certainly a better way then everyone trying to screw each other just to get ahead. I think Americans need to look at their entire society and ask if there's ways they can improve it, and get rid of this aweful thing called capitalism. (I am NOT saying switch to communism before anyone makes that cry, I'm saying find something better, something in between, or maybe off in an entirely new direction we haven't thought of yet).
It's time for change.
antarctican at antarcti dot ca
They're all the same, in all those cases you're taking money from the content producers. There's no doubt about this, and this is why holleywood fought time-shifting as they did.
Everyone keeps talking about protecting content producers vs. freedom of information, as if they're mutually exclusive. Why does anyone never say, "hey, is there a better way together of doing this?"
Perhaps it's time to change the whole way content is producted and 'funded'. Perhaps it's time more people be convinced to product content not to make a profit, but because they want to share their talent with society. And perhaps it's time that society supported such practices. All this content is producted by artists, who should be doing it not to get rich, but to share with the world. Let's eliminate the greed, everyone work for the betterment of society, very trekish if you will. =)
Now, go ahead, scream communist, tell me that my ideas are anti-american. (good, because I'm not American! and proud of it!) Continuing the Star Trek analogy, I see Americans with their constant need for greed (holleywood being the perfect example) as Feringi (sp?), boy did Star Trek get the pulse of the American mindset perfectly with that creation....
We've lost our way, we've forgotten how to be artists, how to work for the common good, how to SHARE. (didn't these people's mothers ever teach them anything?) It's time to abandon capitalism, it obviously just doesn't work, and neither does communism, we need to find a new better way.
Anyhow...
antarctican at antarcti dot ca