Large gorillas have filed civil suits for violations stemming from the use of the slang "800-pound gorilla" when referring to large businesses which dominate an industry. A spokesperson for the gorillas said, while this has been an issue for gorillas for a long time, that since AT&T provided the NSA with a backdoor to its backbone, that it is just too offensive to have the word gorilla and AT&T used in the same sentence. As the suit winds its way through the judicial system, the gorillas prefer people use the more appropriate metaphor for large corporations who violate American citizen's privacy rights on a grand scale, by referring to them as "800-pound penises."
AT&T Introduces Privacy+ Tier for Consumers and an NSA Turbo-Speed Tier for the government, at Market-Leading Prices
Wednesday April 26, 6:00 am ET
For $24.95 a month extra, the new Privacy+ Tier offers consumers the ability to feed all data to the NSA at the slowest speeds available. However, for an extra $28.95 per month, per customer, the NSA can override the Privacy+ Tier and spy on Americans at Speeds of up to 6.0 Megabits per Second
SAN ANTONIO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 26, 2006--AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T - News) today announced a new, higher-privacy tier for its AT&T Yahoo!® High Speed Internet service that meets consumers' growing outrage for allowing the NSA full availability to its backbone. At the same time, it announced a new NSA Turbo-Speed Tier that, for a fee, allows the government to override the newly introduced Privacy+ Tier.
Beginning Monday, May 1, new residential customers who order AT&T Yahoo! High Speed Internet service online through www.att.com can purchase the Privacy+ Tier -- offering data to the NSA at speeds sometimes as slow as 56k. (other monthly charges and a 12-month term commitment apply). Effective today, the new Privacy+ Tier is available for $24.99, when it is ordered with a qualifying service bundle. Existing AT&T Yahoo! High Speed Internet customers can upgrade to the Privacy+ service through the company's Web site and take advantage of the current pricing promotion beginning Monday.
"Consumers are craving greater privacy, and now with the AT&T Privacy+ service, they can at least get the satisfaction that the government is going to get their private data at the slowest speeds possible; "Consumers could easily get more privacy from a company that doesn't offer the NSA a fat pipe right onto its backbone, but with the incredible amount of money that the government paid us for that pipe, we just couldn't pass it up. The new Privacy+ Tier, tips the scales back just a little bit in favor of the consumer," said Scott Helbing, chief marketing officer-AT&T Consumer.
Also effective Monday, May 1, the NSA can sign up for the new NSA Turbo-Speed Tier, which for an extra $28.95 per month, per customer, allows the government to override the newly created Privacy+ Tier. "The NSA is craving greater speed to American's private communications, and now with the NSA Turbo-Speed Tier, they can at least get the satisfaction that they can resume domestic spying at the highest speeds possible; "The NSA will be hard-pressed to find this speed at a better price, for a full 12 months, from one of our leading competitors," said Scott Helbing, chief marketing officer-AT&T Consumer.
AT&T Yahoo! High Speed Internet also announced that with the NSA paying an undisclosed, but very large amount of money for access to its backbone data, and with a higher than expected demand from consumers, that it has decided to ask popular web sites, such as Google and eBay to also pay a monthly fee to insure a speedy deliver of all consumer data to these web sites. In that regard, AT&T Yahoo introduced the new Extortion-racket Tier.
Also, in a move that is sure to stun Wall Street, AT&T has announced that they will soon enter the "garbage collection" business.
About the New AT&T
AT&T Inc. is one of the world's largest telecommunications holding companies and is the largest in the United States. Operating globally under the AT&T brand, AT&T companies are recognized as the leading worldwide providers of IP-based communications services to business and as leading U.S. providers of high-speed DSL Internet, local and long distance voice, and directory publishing and advertising services. AT&T Inc. holds a 60 percent ownership interest in Cingular Wireless, which is the No. 1 U.S. wireless services provider with 55.8 million wireless customers. Additional information about AT&T Inc. and AT&T products and services is available at www.att.com.
You will also be charged a monthly FUSF (Federal Un
Large gorillas have filed civil suits for violations stemming from the use of the slang "800-pound gorilla" when referring to large businesses which dominate an industry. A spokesperson for the gorillas said, while this has been an issue for gorillas for a long time, that since AT&T provided the NSA with a backdoor to its backbone, that it is just too offensive to have the word gorilla and AT&T used in the same sentence. As the suit winds its way through the judicial system, the gorillas prefer people use the more appropriate metaphor for large corporations who violate American citizen's privacy rights on a grand scale, by referring to them as "800-pound penises."
AT&T Introduces Privacy+ Tier for Consumers and an NSA Turbo-Speed Tier for the government, at Market-Leading Prices
Wednesday April 26, 6:00 am ET
For $24.95 a month extra, the new Privacy+ Tier offers consumers the ability to feed all data to the NSA at the slowest speeds available. However, for an extra $28.95 per month, per customer, the NSA can override the Privacy+ Tier and spy on Americans at Speeds of up to 6.0 Megabits per Second
SAN ANTONIO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 26, 2006--AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T - News) today announced a new, higher-privacy tier for its AT&T Yahoo!® High Speed Internet service that meets consumers' growing outrage for allowing the NSA full availability to its backbone. At the same time, it announced a new NSA Turbo-Speed Tier that, for a fee, allows the government to override the newly introduced Privacy+ Tier.
Beginning Monday, May 1, new residential customers who order AT&T Yahoo! High Speed Internet service online through www.att.com can purchase the Privacy+ Tier -- offering data to the NSA at speeds sometimes as slow as 56k. (other monthly charges and a 12-month term commitment apply). Effective today, the new Privacy+ Tier is available for $24.99, when it is ordered with a qualifying service bundle. Existing AT&T Yahoo! High Speed Internet customers can upgrade to the Privacy+ service through the company's Web site and take advantage of the current pricing promotion beginning Monday.
"Consumers are craving greater privacy, and now with the AT&T Privacy+ service, they can at least get the satisfaction that the government is going to get their private data at the slowest speeds possible; "Consumers could easily get more privacy from a company that doesn't offer the NSA a fat pipe right onto its backbone, but with the incredible amount of money that the government paid us for that pipe, we just couldn't pass it up. The new Privacy+ Tier, tips the scales back just a little bit in favor of the consumer," said Scott Helbing, chief marketing officer-AT&T Consumer.
Also effective Monday, May 1, the NSA can sign up for the new NSA Turbo-Speed Tier, which for an extra $28.95 per month, per customer, allows the government to override the newly created Privacy+ Tier. "The NSA is craving greater speed to American's private communications, and now with the NSA Turbo-Speed Tier, they can at least get the satisfaction that they can resume domestic spying at the highest speeds possible; "The NSA will be hard-pressed to find this speed at a better price, for a full 12 months, from one of our leading competitors," said Scott Helbing, chief marketing officer-AT&T Consumer.
AT&T Yahoo! High Speed Internet also announced that with the NSA paying an undisclosed, but very large amount of money for access to its backbone data, and with a higher than expected demand from consumers, that it has decided to ask popular web sites, such as Google and eBay to also pay a monthly fee to insure a speedy deliver of all consumer data to these web sites. In that regard, AT&T Yahoo introduced the new Extortion-racket Tier.
Also, in a move that is sure to stun Wall Street, AT&T has announced that they will soon enter the "garbage collection" business.
About the New AT&T
AT&T Inc. is one of the world's largest telecommunications holding companies and is the largest in the United States. Operating globally under the AT&T brand, AT&T companies are recognized as the leading worldwide providers of IP-based communications services to business and as leading U.S. providers of high-speed DSL Internet, local and long distance voice, and directory publishing and advertising services. AT&T Inc. holds a 60 percent ownership interest in Cingular Wireless, which is the No. 1 U.S. wireless services provider with 55.8 million wireless customers. Additional information about AT&T Inc. and AT&T products and services is available at www.att.com.
You will also be charged a monthly FUSF (Federal Un
Yeah, and the more I think about AT&T, I can't help but think that they didn't make the government pay, and pay A LOT for that fat pipe to its backbone...and I'd bet AT&T is probably working hard to charge Google to make sure people get to it at full speed...even though AT&T customers already pay for a Net connection to do what THEY want to do and go where THEY want to go. This doesn't seem to be getting much press, but I hope this blows up in AT&Ts face so bad.
A lot of these childhood diseases actually help strengthen the immune system. Here is an article from The Lancet, which explains that, while the measles vaccine does stop you from getting a rash...the rash is actually the body killing the virus. By stopping the rash, many vaccinated people get MUCH MORE SERIOUS diseases later on in life because they still have the virus, but because of the vaccine, the body can't get rid of it. The biggest majority of these diseases are a pain, but rarely life threatening. I would much rather have measles than lupus erythematosus, Scheurmann's diseases and chondromalacia, which are all chronic degenerative diseases...which means the doctor says, "it sucks to be you." -- Usurper_ii
More info:
-=-=-=-=-
An article in the January 5, 1985 issue of The Lancet is titled "Measles Virus Infection Without Rash in Childhood is Related to Disease in Adult Life." The research, based in Denmark, investigated the histories of people who claimed they did not have measles when they were children. Many of these people with no measles rash as a child, however, were found to have in their bloodstream antibody evidence of the measles infection. Significant numbers of these people had been vaccinated for measles, and "A high proportion of such individuals were found in adult life to have developed immuno-reactive diseases such as sebacious skin disease, tumours and degenerative disease of the bone and cartridge. These included cervical cancer, skin cancers and cases of multiple sclerosis."
The fact that the normal progression of measles was halted by the vaccination appears to have prevented the body from destroying the measles virus. This destruction of the virus takes place in the "spots" for which measles is known, but when the vaccine prevents the spots and fever from occurring, the measles virus is not destroyed, and stays in the body through adulthood, the medical journal article explains.
The Lancet article is further quoted by Chaitow, concluding that, "If this association is correct, absence of a rash may imply that intracellular virus escapes neutralization during the acute infection, and this, in turn, might give rise to developmental disease subsequently."
"Put simply this means that, as part of the process of neutralizing the invading virus, the body literally 'burns' up the cells which contain (measles virus). This incineration takes place at the site of the spots or rash, which measles are known for. If this is stopped in some way (as by an inoculation with a vaccine) then the rash is prevented and the virus survives and lives on in the body, only to cause havoc later," Chaitow writes. Among these people vaccinated for measles and who did not have a rash, the diseases they displayed later in life included lupus erythematosus, Scheurmann's diseases and chondromalacia, which are all chronic degenerative diseases.
"This research confirms the worst fears of those who have speculated on the possibility of viruses remaining dormant for many years after immunization. It also shows the folly of suppressing a self-healing mechanism, such as is displayed by the healthy body in response to infection. A healthy child will suffer no ill-effects from infection by measles virus. A child whose immune function has been modified and impaired by immunization methods, will be unable to adequately deal with such a virus, and may later suffer chronic degenerative disease, of one sort or another. This is no longer mere speculation but is, of course, not proved beyond all doubt. However, there is sufficient evidence to allow for the calling of a halt to the direction in which immunization is taking the human race, and to ask for emphasis to be restored to that aspect of the defense mechanism which has been neglected, the nutritional effort which can boost defenses without harmful potentials," Chaitow suggests.
And the British author concludes, "We have seen earlier that the possibility exists for transfer of genetic material from viruses in the body, to the cells of the body, thus altering their code and their future pattern of reproduction. If malignant changes are part of that new genetic code, then that is what will be produced as the cell reproduces."
Looking back over the link, I do remember looking at this. For computers around the office, this wouldn't have been too difficult, but for distant employees who are not computer literate, I wasn't really interested in trying to walk them through modifying their system registry over the phone. And what is to say I drive 150 miles to fix their registry and then a month later they get a new computer, or didn't tell me they wanted to print from their laptop, too?
And what I don't understand, and MS does not explain, is if there is not some down side to forcing all ports on the client to redirect to the server? There must be some reasoning for MS not just making this standard right from the start (hey, all printers work with Remote Desktop!)?
I looked on google but didn't find much information at all, but what I imagine happening is that computers set to force all ports to redirect, have the capability to eat up more bandwidth sending stuff to the server that doesn't need to be sent.
Yeah, that is all fine and well, but I work at one of those places where IT is a part time job...and the busier we get the less time I have for pure IT work like that. I knew about the redirection, but finding the time to jack with every cheap printer under the sun and/or attempting to do registry hacks, while I could do that if given the time, wasn't a great solution for me.
ePrinterAnywhere, on the other hand, I posted the client on our intranet for everyone to download and could *easily* explain to them over the phone how to install it. It is incredibly simple and I had it going in 30 minutes and about five minutes or less per employee. And the plus is, I had reasonable expectations that it would work with future printers, rather than having to fight with each weird, cheap printer one of our employees managed to come up with.
If time is money, the software more than paid for itself. If time isn't money, then there are cheaper work arounds, I 100% agree.
The only crappy thing is, the only person that had problems with it, is the person who owns my company. I know that looks bad, but I can't honestly say it is the software's fault, and not the users. Black Ice took it really personal that he had problems, but since he is at one of our remote offices, I haven't been able to personally see if it was actually the software or the user.
The WinConnect Server XP allows multiple users to simultaneously and independently share the same hardware and software installed on the Host computer. Some software is licensed for use on a single computer while other software may be licensed for single or multiple users. It is the responsibility of the WinConnect Server XP purchaser/user to read and comply with the licensing agreements of any software that may be used on the RDP devices.
A separate Windows XP license is required for each RDP device connected to the Host computer running Windows XP. It is the responsibility of the WinConnect Server XP purchaser/user to read and comply with the Windows XP licensing agreement or contact Microsoft for clarification regarding this licensing requirement. back.
See Also:
Where can I download the Remote Desktop Client software for Linux System?
You may download or purchase the WinConnect Remote Desktop Client software from our web site at http://www.thinsoftinc.com/
It is funny this came up. I submitted this as an article just today, but it was rejected (grouse, grouse). Anyway, it lists Token Ring as one of the top flops of IT in the last 20 years. I have actually never used a token ring network, but this is stuff I always thought about it when I read about it:
Network World's editors and columnist have nominated their favorite IT flops of the last 20 years, making for an interesting and entertaining read. Among the flops are the OSI protocol and technologies such as ATM and Token Ring, but also making the list IBM, Microsoft's Bob and ME, and the Apple Newton.
The deal with printing from Citirx and Remote desktop is that you must have the same pritner drivers installed on the server that the client is trying to use. Some printers work and some don't. For instance, unless they have some update I don't know about, MS Remote Desktop will not print to a printer working from a TCP/IP port. Also, some cheap USB printers have drivers that won't install on the server's OS, so there goes the requirement to have the driver on the server.
While there are some solutions that cost a fortune, this program, ePrintAnywhere, solved our problems and did it at a fair price:
It fixed every printer I couldn't get going with Remote Desktop, including TCP/IP port printers and cheap USB printers. Only one person has reported a problem -- and unfortunately, it is at a remote office, so I don't know if it is user error or a legit problem yet.
And the standard disclaimer: I do not make any money off of this product. It solved a problem, worked well, and was fairly priced compared to similar products that cost a fortune!
WinConnect Server XP enables a Windows® Small Business Server 2003 or Windows® XP computer (Host PC) to allow up to 21 remote desktop sessions. It allows Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) 4.0, 5.0 5.1 and 5.2-enabled Thin Client devices (such as Terminals, Internet/Information Appliances, Tablet PCs and PDAs) to connect to a Host PC to run Windows® applications simultaneously and independently. Price: WinConnect Server XP can be purchased for US $299.95 for a three user license.
Actual User Comment (taken from Slashdot):
Another remote solution (Score:3, Informative) by pyrrhonist (701154) Alter Relationship on Friday June 03, @09:17PM (#12719869)
If you're unwilling to purchase a Windows 2003 Server and a Microsoft Terminal Services license set, but still would like to run the troublesome application remotely, here is another solution.
All you need is a Windows XP Professional machine with your software on it, and then you can run WinConnect Server XP [thinsoftinc.com]. It is inexpensive, uses regular Windows RDP, includes a fairly decent admin tool, and you can try it out for free. ThinSoft also makes a Linux client, but you can use rdesktop [rdesktop.org]. The bad news is that it only allows 21 clients concurrently.
No, I don't work for them, but I have used their software quite a bit. Their site leads you to believe that they only sell licenses in groups of three, but in fact, they are more than willing to sell you individual licenses. All in all, their system works rather well.
There is a company which has a device which will vaporize alcohol and let you breath it. You supposedly get the same effects, but with no calories and no hangover. Now I figure it makes it a little closer to laughing gas, and in that respect, there is no hangover but the buzz also is probably going to go away pretty quick after you get off the machine. The link to the company is here:
NEW YORK - There's a new low-calorie, low-carbohydrate way for adults to consume alcohol in The United States, and you don't even need a glass. It's AWOL, Alcohol With Out Liquid, and for the first time, it is available in The United States after successful debuts in Europe and Asia.
Spirit Partners, Inc. announced that it has acquired the exclusive license to market the AWOL technology in the United States, August 20, 2004, at The Trust Lounge in New York's Meat-Packing District. Spirit Partners will sell at least one AWOL dealership in all 50 states.
AWOL consists of two components: an oxygen generator and a hand-held vaporizer. Tubes from the generator attach to the vaporizer. The user chooses an 80-proof spirit, which is poured into the vaporizer. Oxygen mixes with the alcohol producing a mist which is inhaled through the mouth.
"We are elated to launch AWOL," said Kevin Morse, president of Spirit Partners, Inc. "We are now able to dispel the rumors that have been expressed in some media reports and show that AWOL is simply a fun, new, exciting way for adults to enjoy alcohol in a responsible manner."
Alcohol enters the bloodstream through the lungs rather than the stomach making AWOL low calorie and low carbohydrate. The resulting feeling is the same sense of well being an adult gets from consuming alcohol in the traditional manner, only milder.
Once the alcohol enters the bloodstream, it affects the body in the same way as drinking alcohol. Additionally, the alcohol leaves the body in the same manner as if it had been consumed by drinking.
"One of the ways alcohol leaves the body is through the mouth," Morse said. "Therefore, contrary to reports, the alcohol will definitely register on the Intoxylizer 5000, commonly called the Breathalyzer test which is used by law-enforcement officials to apprehend drivers who are under the influence of alcohol."
When used responsibly, there is no evidence to indicate greater risks from using AWOL than consuming alcohol in the traditional way. AWOL should be used no more than two 20-minute sessions within a 24-hour period.
"We are not aware of any current evidence to suggest that use of the AWOL machine, in accordance with your advice and instructions, poses particular risks to the user over and above the risks that may be posed by consuming an equivalent amount of alcohol in an equivalent time period in a more traditional way," said Judith Hind of England's Department of Health Alcohol Policy Team.
AWOL is intended for patrons of an adult-only facility or people that are at least 21 years old. Patrons should not drive or operate any type of machinery after using AWOL.
AWOL units may be purchased directly from Spirit Partners. However, Morse says the company is currently selling exclusive dealerships in all 50 states.
Working in a two-way business radio company, we were talking to someone about Nextel's "Push to Talk." He said it worked fantastic, but in the area we were in, they didn't have good coverage (we did happen to have good coverage in that area, too, so we still had this customer). He then went on to point out that Nextel had spent X amount of money to have a big Super Bowl ad...and that if they had instead put that money into building towers to get good coverage, their service would really be useful to them.
Well, as someone who puts food on my familie's table due to stupid mistakes of huge bloated corps., let's hear it for the huge, money wasting marketing campaigns!
Well you know, they can force iTunes to sell the whole album only. A friend gave me a free iTunes download a couple of weeks ago. I spent quite a bit of time picking out a song to download. Had it picked out and tried to buy it, only I couldn't because the stupid thing was only available if you purchased the whole album.
What the crap? The whole point of iTunes is to get only the songs you want. Leave it to somebody to screw that up!
Heck, if they want to play that game, I'll wait for it to come out in BMG's catalog and pick it up for 6.00 or 7.00 bucks (shipping included) and have a real CD.
I thought it was really easy to get going and really easy for someone who didn't know HTML to get a basic shopping cart up and running.
In fact, I thought it would be a piece of cake for me to take care of the store, but have someone else, like our secretary, put together a product spreadsheet for me to simply import and have an instant, but actually nice looking, store. And the key part of that was, it was so easy to do, that *I* wasn't the one that had to compile the data!
How does OsCommerce compare to something like Agoracart?
Kriho did not mention the fact that, 11 years earlier, she had received a deferred judgment and sentence for possession of Lysergic Acid Diethylamide (LSD). Following entry of the judgment in that case, she had successfully completed two years probation and 40 hours of community service, after which the charges had been dismissed.
She also was asked to give a routine biographical sketch indicating, among other things, her "special interests and hobbies" and to state "anything else" that would prevent her from being a fair and impartial juror. She provided particulars as to her marital status, education, and employment, and various hobbies and interests. She did not mention the fact that she was a member of the Boulder Hemp Initiative Project, an organization that supports the legalization of marijuana in Colorado. Nor did she voice any antipathy towards drug laws or their enforcement.
Following the mistrial and the release of the jurors, Kriho handed one of the other jurors a pamphlet outside the courthouse which purported to be sponsored by the Boulder Hemp Initiative Project and the "Fully Informed Jury Association." It was entitled: "True or False? When you sit on a jury, you have the right to vote your conscience."
Thereafter, the People initiated this contempt action against Kriho pursuant to C.R.C.P. 107 and 18-1-104(3), C.R.S. 1998. The contempt citation alleged that she should be held in contempt for:
(1) disobedience to an order of the court, (2)
obstructing the administration of justice, and (3)
committing Perjury in the First Degree, C.R.S. 18-
8-502, a class 4 Felony, by lying under oath to
8-502, a class 4 Felony, by lying under oath to
the Judge and the attorneys.
Approximately three months after the close of the evidence, the trial court issued a written order finding that two of the prosecution's charges -- disobedience to a court order and perjury -- had not been sustained. However, it found that Kriho had intended to obstruct the judicial process and that her actions had prevented the seating of a fair and impartial jury. On that basis, the court found her in contempt under C.R.C.P. 107 for obstructing the administration of justice and imposed a $1200 fine payable within one year. It is from this order that Kriho now appeals.
John Adams, our second president, had this to say about the juror: "It is not only his right but his duty...to find the verdict according to his own best understanding, judgment, and conscience, though in direct opposition to the direction of the court."....
"Jury nullification of law", as it is sometimes called, is a traditional American right defended by the Founding Fathers. Those patriots intended that the jury serve as one of the tests a law must pass through before it assumes enough popular authority to be enforced. Our constitutional designers saw to it that each enactment of law must pass the scrutiny of these tribunals before it gains the authority to punish those who choose to violate any written law. Thomas Jefferson said, "I consider trial by jury as the only anchor yet imagined by man, by which a government can be held to the principles of its constitution."
Four decades before Jefferson spoke these words, a jury had established freedom of the press in the colonies by finding John Peter Zenger not guilty of seditious libel. He had been arrested and charged for printing critical Ñ but true Ñ news stories about the Governor of New York Colony. "Truth is no defense", the court told the jury! But the jury decided to reject bad law, and acquitted.
I was up for jury duty not too long ago for a big trial (it would have lasted 3 - 6 weeks if I had been picked).
The system is rigged because they get rid of all (or at least a lot) of the jurors who don't answer their questions right. So if you get a handful of people in the courtroom who know that they are there to serve as a check against corruption in the courts, they ask questions that might reveal this, and this handful of potential jurors is booted out the door.
For instance, for a trial like the Diebold whistler blower here, the prosecutor might ask, "is there anyone here that feels it is ok to break the law for a noble cause?" The jurors who answered yes, and would have most likely been the people the whistle blower would have wanted on his jury, are then eliminated.
Yeah, there is a limit to how many people who can be eliminated, but after both sides get to ask their questions, you get the unopinionated leftovers.
I say, if it is actually a jury of your peers, then they shouldn't be able to automatically dismiss so many potential jurors just because they don't answer the way they want you to.
On the trial before this one I was called for, an illegal drug trial, they asked if anyone thought drugs should be made legal. Well, I do, so I wasn't picked.
So how do I get to sit in judgment of the law, if I'm not picked because I spoke my mind? The only way is, they don't ask the right questions and you make it through, or you keep your mouth shut and don't raise your hand when they ask a question. And I'm not real hot on that second option, as it is close to lying, and I don't think that is right.
Ok, it isn't real, but I once submitted this as an article and it was rejected./. could have a blast with this one...like I can't wait to get my hands on one of these!
Actually, since GIMP, on a Linux system, will bypass the DRM, GIMP and Linux will be considered circumvention tools, and as such, illegal to use.
Maybe it won't be that extreme, but it will taint Linux in the corporate world, where the failed attempts to regulate DRM into Linux will get the OS associated with piracy and other bad stuff.
Either that will happen, or so many people switch to open operating systems that it forces the other side to back off and slow it down for a while.
Unfortunately, the latter option is the one least likely to happen.
I seem to remember back when Napster was hitting its stride really well, analyst were saying that ISPs were going to reap the rewards because Napster was that golden application that was going to magically get everyone to sign up for high-speed Internet. Well, people did sign up in droves to use Napster, but as it turns out, ISPs wanted customers...but NOT the customers that actually used what they paid for. Yes, taking their cue from the insurance industry, ISPs want to sell every single person on the face of the earth an Internet connection, but they don't want everyone to actually use it, just pay for it.
And now they want the customer's to not only not use it, but they want the content providers to pay them as well!
It must be nice to have a business where everyone pays you, but you don't let them actually use your service! Now wait a minute, what exactly are we paying them for?
I work at a small WISP and it's brought up constantly to filter out traffic. I always say, we sold this person high-speed internet...and this is what they want to do with it, why should we filter it?
Slashdot Mirror
Large gorillas have filed civil suits for violations stemming from the use of the slang "800-pound gorilla" when referring to large businesses which dominate an industry. A spokesperson for the gorillas said, while this has been an issue for gorillas for a long time, that since AT&T provided the NSA with a backdoor to its backbone, that it is just too offensive to have the word gorilla and AT&T used in the same sentence. As the suit winds its way through the judicial system, the gorillas prefer people use the more appropriate metaphor for large corporations who violate American citizen's privacy rights on a grand scale, by referring to them as "800-pound penises."
Usurper_ii
AT&T Introduces Privacy+ Tier for Consumers and an NSA Turbo-Speed Tier for the government, at Market-Leading Prices
Wednesday April 26, 6:00 am ET
For $24.95 a month extra, the new Privacy+ Tier offers consumers the ability to feed all data to the NSA at the slowest speeds available. However, for an extra $28.95 per month, per customer, the NSA can override the Privacy+ Tier and spy on Americans at Speeds of up to 6.0 Megabits per Second
SAN ANTONIO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 26, 2006--AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T - News) today announced a new, higher-privacy tier for its AT&T Yahoo!® High Speed Internet service that meets consumers' growing outrage for allowing the NSA full availability to its backbone. At the same time, it announced a new NSA Turbo-Speed Tier that, for a fee, allows the government to override the newly introduced Privacy+ Tier.
Beginning Monday, May 1, new residential customers who order AT&T Yahoo! High Speed Internet service online through www.att.com can purchase the Privacy+ Tier -- offering data to the NSA at speeds sometimes as slow as 56k. (other monthly charges and a 12-month term commitment apply). Effective today, the new Privacy+ Tier is available for $24.99, when it is ordered with a qualifying service bundle. Existing AT&T Yahoo! High Speed Internet customers can upgrade to the Privacy+ service through the company's Web site and take advantage of the current pricing promotion beginning Monday.
"Consumers are craving greater privacy, and now with the AT&T Privacy+ service, they can at least get the satisfaction that the government is going to get their private data at the slowest speeds possible; "Consumers could easily get more privacy from a company that doesn't offer the NSA a fat pipe right onto its backbone, but with the incredible amount of money that the government paid us for that pipe, we just couldn't pass it up. The new Privacy+ Tier, tips the scales back just a little bit in favor of the consumer," said Scott Helbing, chief marketing officer-AT&T Consumer.
Also effective Monday, May 1, the NSA can sign up for the new NSA Turbo-Speed Tier, which for an extra $28.95 per month, per customer, allows the government to override the newly created Privacy+ Tier. "The NSA is craving greater speed to American's private communications, and now with the NSA Turbo-Speed Tier, they can at least get the satisfaction that they can resume domestic spying at the highest speeds possible; "The NSA will be hard-pressed to find this speed at a better price, for a full 12 months, from one of our leading competitors," said Scott Helbing, chief marketing officer-AT&T Consumer.
AT&T Yahoo! High Speed Internet also announced that with the NSA paying an undisclosed, but very large amount of money for access to its backbone data, and with a higher than expected demand from consumers, that it has decided to ask popular web sites, such as Google and eBay to also pay a monthly fee to insure a speedy deliver of all consumer data to these web sites. In that regard, AT&T Yahoo introduced the new Extortion-racket Tier.
Also, in a move that is sure to stun Wall Street, AT&T has announced that they will soon enter the "garbage collection" business.
About the New AT&T
AT&T Inc. is one of the world's largest telecommunications holding companies and is the largest in the United States. Operating globally under the AT&T brand, AT&T companies are recognized as the leading worldwide providers of IP-based communications services to business and as leading U.S. providers of high-speed DSL Internet, local and long distance voice, and directory publishing and advertising services. AT&T Inc. holds a 60 percent ownership interest in Cingular Wireless, which is the No. 1 U.S. wireless services provider with 55.8 million wireless customers. Additional information about AT&T Inc. and AT&T products and services is available at www.att.com.
You will also be charged a monthly FUSF (Federal Un
Large gorillas have filed civil suits for violations stemming from the use of the slang "800-pound gorilla" when referring to large businesses which dominate an industry. A spokesperson for the gorillas said, while this has been an issue for gorillas for a long time, that since AT&T provided the NSA with a backdoor to its backbone, that it is just too offensive to have the word gorilla and AT&T used in the same sentence. As the suit winds its way through the judicial system, the gorillas prefer people use the more appropriate metaphor for large corporations who violate American citizen's privacy rights on a grand scale, by referring to them as "800-pound penises."
AT&T Introduces Privacy+ Tier for Consumers and an NSA Turbo-Speed Tier for the government, at Market-Leading Prices
Wednesday April 26, 6:00 am ET
For $24.95 a month extra, the new Privacy+ Tier offers consumers the ability to feed all data to the NSA at the slowest speeds available. However, for an extra $28.95 per month, per customer, the NSA can override the Privacy+ Tier and spy on Americans at Speeds of up to 6.0 Megabits per Second
SAN ANTONIO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 26, 2006--AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T - News) today announced a new, higher-privacy tier for its AT&T Yahoo!® High Speed Internet service that meets consumers' growing outrage for allowing the NSA full availability to its backbone. At the same time, it announced a new NSA Turbo-Speed Tier that, for a fee, allows the government to override the newly introduced Privacy+ Tier.
Beginning Monday, May 1, new residential customers who order AT&T Yahoo! High Speed Internet service online through www.att.com can purchase the Privacy+ Tier -- offering data to the NSA at speeds sometimes as slow as 56k. (other monthly charges and a 12-month term commitment apply). Effective today, the new Privacy+ Tier is available for $24.99, when it is ordered with a qualifying service bundle. Existing AT&T Yahoo! High Speed Internet customers can upgrade to the Privacy+ service through the company's Web site and take advantage of the current pricing promotion beginning Monday.
"Consumers are craving greater privacy, and now with the AT&T Privacy+ service, they can at least get the satisfaction that the government is going to get their private data at the slowest speeds possible; "Consumers could easily get more privacy from a company that doesn't offer the NSA a fat pipe right onto its backbone, but with the incredible amount of money that the government paid us for that pipe, we just couldn't pass it up. The new Privacy+ Tier, tips the scales back just a little bit in favor of the consumer," said Scott Helbing, chief marketing officer-AT&T Consumer.
Also effective Monday, May 1, the NSA can sign up for the new NSA Turbo-Speed Tier, which for an extra $28.95 per month, per customer, allows the government to override the newly created Privacy+ Tier. "The NSA is craving greater speed to American's private communications, and now with the NSA Turbo-Speed Tier, they can at least get the satisfaction that they can resume domestic spying at the highest speeds possible; "The NSA will be hard-pressed to find this speed at a better price, for a full 12 months, from one of our leading competitors," said Scott Helbing, chief marketing officer-AT&T Consumer.
AT&T Yahoo! High Speed Internet also announced that with the NSA paying an undisclosed, but very large amount of money for access to its backbone data, and with a higher than expected demand from consumers, that it has decided to ask popular web sites, such as Google and eBay to also pay a monthly fee to insure a speedy deliver of all consumer data to these web sites. In that regard, AT&T Yahoo introduced the new Extortion-racket Tier.
Also, in a move that is sure to stun Wall Street, AT&T has announced that they will soon enter the "garbage collection" business.
About the New AT&T
AT&T Inc. is one of the world's largest telecommunications holding companies and is the largest in the United States. Operating globally under the AT&T brand, AT&T companies are recognized as the leading worldwide providers of IP-based communications services to business and as leading U.S. providers of high-speed DSL Internet, local and long distance voice, and directory publishing and advertising services. AT&T Inc. holds a 60 percent ownership interest in Cingular Wireless, which is the No. 1 U.S. wireless services provider with 55.8 million wireless customers. Additional information about AT&T Inc. and AT&T products and services is available at www.att.com.
You will also be charged a monthly FUSF (Federal Un
Yeah, and the more I think about AT&T, I can't help but think that they didn't make the government pay, and pay A LOT for that fat pipe to its backbone...and I'd bet AT&T is probably working hard to charge Google to make sure people get to it at full speed...even though AT&T customers already pay for a Net connection to do what THEY want to do and go where THEY want to go. This doesn't seem to be getting much press, but I hope this blows up in AT&Ts face so bad.
Usurper_ii
A lot of these childhood diseases actually help strengthen the immune system. Here is an article from The Lancet, which explains that, while the measles vaccine does stop you from getting a rash...the rash is actually the body killing the virus. By stopping the rash, many vaccinated people get MUCH MORE SERIOUS diseases later on in life because they still have the virus, but because of the vaccine, the body can't get rid of it. The biggest majority of these diseases are a pain, but rarely life threatening. I would much rather have measles than lupus erythematosus, Scheurmann's diseases and chondromalacia, which are all chronic degenerative diseases...which means the doctor says, "it sucks to be you." -- Usurper_ii
More info:
-=-=-=-=-
An article in the January 5, 1985 issue of The Lancet is titled "Measles Virus Infection Without Rash in Childhood is Related to Disease in Adult Life." The research, based in Denmark, investigated the histories of people who claimed they did not have measles when they were children. Many of these people with no measles rash as a child, however, were found to have in their bloodstream antibody evidence of the measles infection. Significant numbers of these people had been vaccinated for measles, and "A high proportion of such individuals were found in adult life to have developed immuno-reactive diseases such as sebacious skin disease, tumours and degenerative disease of the bone and cartridge. These included cervical cancer, skin cancers and cases of multiple sclerosis."
The fact that the normal progression of measles was halted by the vaccination appears to have prevented the body from destroying the measles virus. This destruction of the virus takes place in the "spots" for which measles is known, but when the vaccine prevents the spots and fever from occurring, the measles virus is not destroyed, and stays in the body through adulthood, the medical journal article explains.
The Lancet article is further quoted by Chaitow, concluding that, "If this association is correct, absence of a rash may imply that intracellular virus escapes neutralization during the acute infection, and this, in turn, might give rise to developmental disease subsequently."
"Put simply this means that, as part of the process of neutralizing the invading virus, the body literally 'burns' up the cells which contain (measles virus). This incineration takes place at the site of the spots or rash, which measles are known for. If this is stopped in some way (as by an inoculation with a vaccine) then the rash is prevented and the virus survives and lives on in the body, only to cause havoc later," Chaitow writes. Among these people vaccinated for measles and who did not have a rash, the diseases they displayed later in life included lupus erythematosus, Scheurmann's diseases and chondromalacia, which are all chronic degenerative diseases.
"This research confirms the worst fears of those who have speculated on the possibility of viruses remaining dormant for many years after immunization. It also shows the folly of suppressing a self-healing mechanism, such as is displayed by the healthy body in response to infection. A healthy child will suffer no ill-effects from infection by measles virus. A child whose immune function has been modified and impaired by immunization methods, will be unable to adequately deal with such a virus, and may later suffer chronic degenerative disease, of one sort or another. This is no longer mere speculation but is, of course, not proved beyond all doubt. However, there is sufficient evidence to allow for the calling of a halt to the direction in which immunization is taking the human race, and to ask for emphasis to be restored to that aspect of the defense mechanism which has been neglected, the nutritional effort which can boost defenses without harmful potentials," Chaitow suggests.
And the British author concludes, "We have seen earlier that the possibility exists for transfer of genetic material from viruses in the body, to the cells of the body, thus altering their code and their future pattern of reproduction. If malignant changes are part of that new genetic code, then that is what will be produced as the cell reproduces."
Forgive my ignorance, but what is CUPS? I'm open to anything that works and doesn't cost a fortune.
Usurper_ii
Looking back over the link, I do remember looking at this. For computers around the office, this wouldn't have been too difficult, but for distant employees who are not computer literate, I wasn't really interested in trying to walk them through modifying their system registry over the phone. And what is to say I drive 150 miles to fix their registry and then a month later they get a new computer, or didn't tell me they wanted to print from their laptop, too?
And what I don't understand, and MS does not explain, is if there is not some down side to forcing all ports on the client to redirect to the server? There must be some reasoning for MS not just making this standard right from the start (hey, all printers work with Remote Desktop!)?
I looked on google but didn't find much information at all, but what I imagine happening is that computers set to force all ports to redirect, have the capability to eat up more bandwidth sending stuff to the server that doesn't need to be sent.
Yeah, that is all fine and well, but I work at one of those places where IT is a part time job...and the busier we get the less time I have for pure IT work like that. I knew about the redirection, but finding the time to jack with every cheap printer under the sun and/or attempting to do registry hacks, while I could do that if given the time, wasn't a great solution for me.
ePrinterAnywhere, on the other hand, I posted the client on our intranet for everyone to download and could *easily* explain to them over the phone how to install it. It is incredibly simple and I had it going in 30 minutes and about five minutes or less per employee. And the plus is, I had reasonable expectations that it would work with future printers, rather than having to fight with each weird, cheap printer one of our employees managed to come up with.
If time is money, the software more than paid for itself. If time isn't money, then there are cheaper work arounds, I 100% agree.
The only crappy thing is, the only person that had problems with it, is the person who owns my company. I know that looks bad, but I can't honestly say it is the software's fault, and not the users. Black Ice took it really personal that he had problems, but since he is at one of our remote offices, I haven't been able to personally see if it was actually the software or the user.
Usurper_ii
This software has been out for quite some time.
f aq8
From the company's FAQ:
http://www.thinsoftinc.com/products_wcs_faq.html#
Do I need to buy additional software licenses?
The WinConnect Server XP allows multiple users to simultaneously and independently share the same hardware and software installed on the Host computer. Some software is licensed for use on a single computer while other software may be licensed for single or multiple users. It is the responsibility of the WinConnect Server XP purchaser/user to read and comply with the licensing agreements of any software that may be used on the RDP devices.
A separate Windows XP license is required for each RDP device connected to the Host computer running Windows XP. It is the responsibility of the WinConnect Server XP purchaser/user to read and comply with the Windows XP licensing agreement or contact Microsoft for clarification regarding this licensing requirement. back.
See Also:
Where can I download the Remote Desktop Client software for Linux System?
You may download or purchase the WinConnect Remote Desktop Client software from our web site at http://www.thinsoftinc.com/
Usurper_ii
It is funny this came up. I submitted this as an article just today, but it was rejected (grouse, grouse). Anyway, it lists Token Ring as one of the top flops of IT in the last 20 years. I have actually never used a token ring network, but this is stuff I always thought about it when I read about it:
Network World's editors and columnist have nominated their favorite
IT flops of the last 20 years, making for an interesting and entertaining read. Among the flops are the OSI protocol and technologies such as ATM and Token Ring, but also making the list IBM, Microsoft's Bob and ME, and the Apple Newton.
The deal with printing from Citirx and Remote desktop is that you must have the same pritner drivers installed on the server that the client is trying to use. Some printers work and some don't. For instance, unless they have some update I don't know about, MS Remote Desktop will not print to a printer working from a TCP/IP port. Also, some cheap USB printers have drivers that won't install on the server's OS, so there goes the requirement to have the driver on the server.
While there are some solutions that cost a fortune, this program, ePrintAnywhere, solved our problems and did it at a fair price:
http://www.blackice.com/ePrintAnywhere.htm
It fixed every printer I couldn't get going with Remote Desktop, including TCP/IP port printers and cheap USB printers. Only one person has reported a problem -- and unfortunately, it is at a remote office, so I don't know if it is user error or a legit problem yet.
And the standard disclaimer: I do not make any money off of this product. It solved a problem, worked well, and was fairly priced compared to similar products that cost a fortune!
Usurper_ii
Other Software Options at a fraction of a cost:
WinConnect Server XP enables a Windows® Small Business Server 2003 or Windows® XP computer (Host PC) to allow up to 21 remote desktop sessions. It allows Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) 4.0, 5.0 5.1 and 5.2-enabled Thin Client devices (such as Terminals, Internet/Information Appliances, Tablet PCs and PDAs) to connect to a Host PC to run Windows® applications simultaneously and independently. Price: WinConnect Server XP can be purchased for US $299.95 for a three user license.
Actual User Comment (taken from Slashdot):
Another remote solution (Score:3, Informative)
by pyrrhonist (701154) Alter Relationship on Friday June 03, @09:17PM (#12719869)
If you're unwilling to purchase a Windows 2003 Server and a Microsoft Terminal Services license set, but still would like to run the troublesome application remotely, here is another solution.
All you need is a Windows XP Professional machine with your software on it, and then you can run WinConnect Server XP [thinsoftinc.com]. It is inexpensive, uses regular Windows RDP, includes a fairly decent admin tool, and you can try it out for free. ThinSoft also makes a Linux client, but you can use rdesktop [rdesktop.org]. The bad news is that it only allows 21 clients concurrently.
No, I don't work for them, but I have used their software quite a bit. Their site leads you to believe that they only sell licenses in groups of three, but in fact, they are more than willing to sell you individual licenses. All in all, their system works rather well.
Usurper_ii
There is a company which has a device which will vaporize alcohol and let you breath it. You supposedly get the same effects, but with no calories and no hangover. Now I figure it makes it a little closer to laughing gas, and in that respect, there is no hangover but the buzz also is probably going to go away pretty quick after you get off the machine. The link to the company is here:
http://www.awolmachine.com/
From their press release:
NEW YORK - There's a new low-calorie, low-carbohydrate way for adults to consume alcohol in The United States, and you don't even need a glass. It's AWOL, Alcohol With Out Liquid, and for the first time, it is available in The United States after successful debuts in Europe and Asia.
Spirit Partners, Inc. announced that it has acquired the exclusive license to market the AWOL technology in the United States, August 20, 2004, at The Trust Lounge in New York's Meat-Packing District. Spirit Partners will sell at least one AWOL dealership in all 50 states.
AWOL consists of two components: an oxygen generator and a hand-held vaporizer. Tubes from the generator attach to the vaporizer. The user chooses an 80-proof spirit, which is poured into the vaporizer. Oxygen mixes with the alcohol producing a mist which is inhaled through the mouth.
"We are elated to launch AWOL," said Kevin Morse, president of Spirit Partners, Inc. "We are now able to dispel the rumors that have been expressed in some media reports and show that AWOL is simply a fun, new, exciting way for adults to enjoy alcohol in a responsible manner."
Alcohol enters the bloodstream through the lungs rather than the stomach making AWOL low calorie and low carbohydrate. The resulting feeling is the same sense of well being an adult gets from consuming alcohol in the traditional manner, only milder.
Once the alcohol enters the bloodstream, it affects the body in the same way as drinking alcohol. Additionally, the alcohol leaves the body in the same manner as if it had been consumed by drinking.
"One of the ways alcohol leaves the body is through the mouth," Morse said. "Therefore, contrary to reports, the alcohol will definitely register on the Intoxylizer 5000, commonly called the Breathalyzer test which is used by law-enforcement officials to apprehend drivers who are under the influence of alcohol."
When used responsibly, there is no evidence to indicate greater risks from using AWOL than consuming alcohol in the traditional way. AWOL should be used no more than two 20-minute sessions within a 24-hour period.
"We are not aware of any current evidence to suggest that use of the AWOL machine, in accordance with your advice and instructions, poses particular risks to the user over and above the risks that may be posed by consuming an equivalent amount of alcohol in an equivalent time period in a more traditional way," said Judith Hind of England's Department of Health Alcohol Policy Team.
AWOL is intended for patrons of an adult-only facility or people that are at least 21 years old. Patrons should not drive or operate any type of machinery after using AWOL.
AWOL units may be purchased directly from Spirit Partners. However, Morse says the company is currently selling exclusive dealerships in all 50 states.
Working in a two-way business radio company, we were talking to someone about Nextel's "Push to Talk." He said it worked fantastic, but in the area we were in, they didn't have good coverage (we did happen to have good coverage in that area, too, so we still had this customer). He then went on to point out that Nextel had spent X amount of money to have a big Super Bowl ad...and that if they had instead put that money into building towers to get good coverage, their service would really be useful to them.
Well, as someone who puts food on my familie's table due to stupid mistakes of huge bloated corps., let's hear it for the huge, money wasting marketing campaigns!
Usurper_ii
Well you know, they can force iTunes to sell the whole album only. A friend gave me a free iTunes download a couple of weeks ago. I spent quite a bit of time picking out a song to download. Had it picked out and tried to buy it, only I couldn't because the stupid thing was only available if you purchased the whole album.
What the crap? The whole point of iTunes is to get only the songs you want. Leave it to somebody to screw that up!
Heck, if they want to play that game, I'll wait for it to come out in BMG's catalog and pick it up for 6.00 or 7.00 bucks (shipping included) and have a real CD.
Usurper_ii
So what he is saying is that Microsoft made a lot of money off of what, 10 years ago, was a substandard and way over-priced product.
Even if what Yates said is 100% true, considering that OpenOffice is free, I think that puts it *way* ahead of MS office.
Heck, over the years, I have paid hard earned cash for software that wasn't nearly as advanced as OpenOffice.
You win some and you lose some. But hopefully from here on out, OpenOffice will win a lot, and MS will lose a lot.
Usurper_ii
I spent a couple of days getting Agoracart to run on FreeBSD (and even documented all of the errors I ran into: http://www.quest4.org/freebsd/agoracart_error_faq. htm [quest4.org]).
I thought it was really easy to get going and really easy for someone who didn't know HTML to get a basic shopping cart up and running.
In fact, I thought it would be a piece of cake for me to take care of the store, but have someone else, like our secretary, put together a product spreadsheet for me to simply import and have an instant, but actually nice looking, store. And the key part of that was, it was so easy to do, that *I* wasn't the one that had to compile the data!
How does OsCommerce compare to something like Agoracart?
http://www.levellers.org/jrp/coa.opinion.htm
Some case highlights:
Kriho did not mention the fact that, 11 years earlier, she had received a deferred judgment and sentence for possession of Lysergic Acid Diethylamide (LSD). Following entry of the judgment in that case, she had successfully completed two years probation and 40 hours of community service, after which the charges had been dismissed.
She also was asked to give a routine biographical sketch indicating, among other things, her "special interests and hobbies" and to state "anything else" that would prevent her from being a fair and impartial juror. She provided particulars as to her marital status,
education, and employment, and various hobbies and interests. She did not mention the fact that she was a member of the Boulder Hemp Initiative Project, an organization that supports the legalization of marijuana in Colorado. Nor did she voice any antipathy towards drug laws or their enforcement.
Following the mistrial and the release of the jurors, Kriho handed one of the other jurors a pamphlet outside the courthouse which purported to be sponsored by the Boulder Hemp Initiative Project and the "Fully Informed Jury Association." It was entitled: "True or False? When you sit on a jury, you have the right to vote your conscience."
Thereafter, the People initiated this contempt action against Kriho pursuant to C.R.C.P. 107 and 18-1-104(3), C.R.S. 1998. The contempt citation alleged that she should be held in contempt for:
(1) disobedience to an order of the court, (2)
obstructing the administration of justice, and (3)
committing Perjury in the First Degree, C.R.S. 18-
8-502, a class 4 Felony, by lying under oath to
8-502, a class 4 Felony, by lying under oath to
the Judge and the attorneys.
Approximately three months after the close of the evidence, the trial court issued a written order finding that two of the prosecution's charges -- disobedience to a court order and perjury -- had not been sustained. However, it found that Kriho had intended to obstruct the judicial process and that her actions had prevented the seating of a fair and impartial jury. On that basis, the court found her in contempt under C.R.C.P. 107 for obstructing the administration of justice and imposed a $1200 fine payable within one year. It is from this order that Kriho now appeals.
Found with a little googling:
....
John Adams, our second president, had this to say about the juror: "It is not only his right but his duty...to find the verdict according to his own best understanding, judgment, and conscience, though in direct opposition to the direction of the court."
"Jury nullification of law", as it is sometimes called, is a traditional American right defended by the Founding Fathers. Those patriots intended that the jury serve as one of the tests a law must pass through before it assumes enough popular authority to be enforced. Our constitutional designers saw to it that each enactment of law must pass the scrutiny of these tribunals before it gains the authority to punish those who choose to violate any written law. Thomas Jefferson said, "I consider trial by jury as the only anchor yet imagined by man, by which a government can be held to the principles of its constitution."
Four decades before Jefferson spoke these words, a jury had established freedom of the press in the colonies by finding John Peter Zenger not guilty of seditious libel. He had been arrested and charged for printing critical Ñ but true Ñ news stories about the Governor of New York Colony. "Truth is no defense", the court told the jury! But the jury decided to reject bad law, and acquitted.
I was up for jury duty not too long ago for a big trial (it would have lasted 3 - 6 weeks if I had been picked).
The system is rigged because they get rid of all (or at least a lot) of the jurors who don't answer their questions right. So if you get a handful of people in the courtroom who know that they are there to serve as a check against corruption in the courts, they ask questions that might reveal this, and this handful of potential jurors is booted out the door.
For instance, for a trial like the Diebold whistler blower here, the prosecutor might ask, "is there anyone here that feels it is ok to break the law for a noble cause?" The jurors who answered yes, and would have most likely been the people the whistle blower would have wanted on his jury, are then eliminated.
Yeah, there is a limit to how many people who can be eliminated, but after both sides get to ask their questions, you get the unopinionated leftovers.
I say, if it is actually a jury of your peers, then they shouldn't be able to automatically dismiss so many potential jurors just because they don't answer the way they want you to.
On the trial before this one I was called for, an illegal drug trial, they asked if anyone thought drugs should be made legal. Well, I do, so I wasn't picked.
So how do I get to sit in judgment of the law, if I'm not picked because I spoke my mind? The only way is, they don't ask the right questions and you make it through, or you keep your mouth shut and don't raise your hand when they ask a question. And I'm not real hot on that second option, as it is close to lying, and I don't think that is right.
Usurper_ii
Ok, it isn't real, but I once submitted this as an article and it was rejected. /. could have a blast with this one...like I can't wait to get my hands on one of these!
s ical-breast-implants/
http://www.engadget.com/2005/10/13/medical-and-mu
Usurper_ii
Actually, since GIMP, on a Linux system, will bypass the DRM, GIMP and Linux will be considered circumvention tools, and as such, illegal to use.
Maybe it won't be that extreme, but it will taint Linux in the corporate world, where the failed attempts to regulate DRM into Linux will get the OS associated with piracy and other bad stuff.
Either that will happen, or so many people switch to open operating systems that it forces the other side to back off and slow it down for a while.
Unfortunately, the latter option is the one least likely to happen.
Usurper_ii
Don't feed the Beast.
I seem to remember back when Napster was hitting its stride really well, analyst were saying that ISPs were going to reap the rewards because Napster was that golden application that was going to magically get everyone to sign up for high-speed Internet. Well, people did sign up in droves to use Napster, but as it turns out, ISPs wanted customers...but NOT the customers that actually used what they paid for. Yes, taking their cue from the insurance industry, ISPs want to sell every single person on the face of the earth an Internet connection, but they don't want everyone to actually use it, just pay for it.
And now they want the customer's to not only not use it, but they want the content providers to pay them as well!
It must be nice to have a business where everyone pays you, but you don't let them actually use your service! Now wait a minute, what exactly are we paying them for?
I work at a small WISP and it's brought up constantly to filter out traffic. I always say, we sold this person high-speed internet...and this is what they want to do with it, why should we filter it?
Usurper_ii