Read what they say. It pretty much says implicitly that if you've got a contract, fuck you, otherwise "yes we believe". That covers the telecom bases. Wanna get your "free" upgrade as part of your contract and sell it to someone on CL for $200 off MSRP? Still under contract? Then Fuck You.
Wanna switch your phone midstream?
"This is particularly important for secondhand or other mobile devices that you might buy or receive as a gift, and want to activate on the wireless network that meets your needs -- even if it isn't the one on which the device was first activated"
What does that mean? That means AT THE END OF THE CONTRACT otherwise FUCK YOU.
This is way less liberal than people seem to be interpreting it. They've also let the FCC in and other red tape that will ensure this moves at a typical snails pace. Read between the lines, read what it doesn't spell out.
Is it better than nothing? Yes. Is it a full retraction and concession to public pressure? Fuck no.
He's right as usual. I love Stallman. We need more of him.
(PS, even if the original comment were true he's also right. I didn't know about the Amazon affiliation with Unity, even though I have an Ubuntu machine at work it's not got an outside connection and it has a single function, imaging other machines, so I've never used a Dash search or w/e the fuck it's called.)
As an aside, is there anyone who can tell me what's so great about Ubuntu in the first place? I am honestly not seeing much in the way of improvement over a linux based desktop in the 90's (in fact they're shockingly similar, and blackbox or one of the others was faster).
He shows one of the more popular root apps... Which uses a timing issue already "patched" in later versions but not the one the Kindle uses... I got one from work thinking the same thing.
EVERY OTA FORCED UPDATE UNROOTS IT AND REMOVES GOOGLE APPS...
I've sent them multiple complaints and even told them I hope they get a class action suit against them for computer trespass or some equivalent since THEY DON'T OWN THE THE DEVICE I DO (and since I got it from work I never signed any contract).
It will do this even with the Kindle unregistered. These HD's have an encrypted bootloader to make custom firmware difficult/impossible compared to the original; that was done deliberately to try to stop the kind of thing this article shows.
You can, however, install all kinds of apps that don't need root and "pirated" (unapproved unsigned unpurchased on Amazon.com) content without it being rooted. A failed root can brick the device. You can find multiple Android sub forum threads on XDA-developer's site (already popular for other hacks).
I used to be a PRIME member but their policies with this and some other things made me reconsider re-upping this year; I go out of my way to avoid them now. They are the Wal-mart of online retail with all that entails and implies (no I don't shop there either).
I think the fact that the first comment on this story is a joke modded funny shows the author is correct. A lot of people are callous, I've found technical people to be, generally, even more so (as well as often insecure with fragile inflated egos).
People only did this because they ignored the real petitions and even most of the ones they answer are canned bullshit PR responses. It's a gimmick to make you think they care at all in any way whatsoever what you think.
Okay, you forced me to respond. There is no GOOD WILL here at all. This is a business decision.
Google hates Microsoft. Gabe Newell is quoted (paraphrasing here) as saying Windows 8 is the worst thing to ever happen basically and that they need to seek other options. I think in short order we will have a steam powered google gaming platform; that is effectively what they've said their goal is.
You're laughing but I had to tell the developers of a small indie MMO, with-in the last year, that their ircd was vulnerable to remote exploits and it was running on the same thing that hosted the game itself, true story.
"I'm making more money than all of my 4-year degree friends because I decided long ago to educate myself in a field that's likely to GROW (and not things like art history, where you go to school just to teach other kids, so they can teach other kids, and so on) and because I can talk to people and have them see me as an asset and not a potential liability."
The mutliple comments like this one are my favorite part of this thread. These people are VERY careful not to mention their 'niche'.
Oh, and I forgot to mention that Al Franken has been trying to get the Fairness in Arbitration Act enacted by Congress for years now. It was filibustered the last time it went up for vote iirc.
They do now. It's stylish now. Even Valve did this less than a month ago. There is an NPR Diane Rehm show about this topic where one of the legal experts she's interviewing from George Washington University says that 93% of employer/employee contracts now have this in it too with the argument being "if you don't like it don't work there"...
Or is Microsoft really desperate to get windows 8 to work?
According to CNBC they are and with good reason. I occasionally watch some of their short videos with my Roku while getting ready for work. I've seen several analysts in the last week or two talking about how Microsoft has bet the company on Windows 8 and they're nervous (and from what I've seen; they should be).
I personally think it will be a massive failure, the likes of Vista but probably worse. Also, after more than a decade of not knowing first hand, and then seeing the way they treat their direct customers as a technet subscriber, I hope that it is.
they don't? even after the ipad? there is no way i believe this was an accident. especially since it's exactly the same 'accident' that MS used recently for their wii-mote rip off for the xbox. i wouldn't be surprised if they both 'found' it themselves and called the press. who doesn't want millions in free publicity all over the net and the news?
because they're hated by a large majority of the population... until they're needed. both sides are right, who hasn't seen a cop, not in uniform, flip their lights on to run a red light (and no they weren't going to an under cover investigation)? i know i have. i've been repeatedly harassed by police for how i was dressed, both as a kid and as an adult, and done experiments along these lines. clean cut, white, and in jeans and a tshirt? no problem. put on a trenchcoat and grow a beard? you're a criminal, i've even been stopped and questioned by police i knew and worked with. i work with police regularly and have for a long time.
i've received parking citations for my car facing the wrong way from a cop who lived in my neighborhood and who i had pictures of his cop car parked the same as i did, facing the wrong way for the lane he was in. i have worked 3rd shift hotels and dealt with racist security teams who were also off duty cops, most of them extremely corrupt and definitely only wearing a badge for power and the 'respect' it garners them (fear would be a better word), and i did see some women want to fuck them solely because of this too.
there are also a LOT of dishonest cops who abuse their power. many (most?) of them are little more than state sanctioned and funded gang members. not all but enough to notice. i forget the exact quote but a friend once said there are two kinds, the corrupt power hungry kind who mostly got picked on in school, and the superman wannabe kind who thinks they're the moral police and are totally smug about their decisions, i have seen the latter even disgusted by other police they worked with and said so but, no they would NEVER under any circumstances turn each other in; it's more of a talk behind their back or pat them on the shoulder and ask them to stop kind of thing. both are dangerous, both abuse power, some more than others.
generally if you are polite, so are they, sometimes they're good to have around but they're pretty much always like restless invading armies, if they don't have something else to do they will turn on you very *very* quickly. maybe YMMV, i live in the midwest and have lived in the city most of my life and my experiences have been consistent with police for more than 14 years.
Oh, I forgot to mention, I was urging people on EA's support forums to all contact the BBB in protest because it was obvious that EA didn't give a flying fuck and were, for weeks, denying they even had issues and were telling people to check their own settings. They immediately removed my posts so I spammed like a 12 yo 4channer across all of the BF:BC2 channels for a couple hours until I was sick of looking at their logo and received a temporary forum ban anyway (naturally it would have been trivial to re-register but I didn't care that much I just went back to filling in details on my BBB complaint). I figure a couple thousand people saw my admonishment anyway. Hopefully enough to get some word out.
Escapist is not alone. EA bans anyone who talks about the Better Business Bureau and removes their posts. I recently, after 40 days (irony?) got a free copy of Mass Effect 2 Collector's Edition after turning them in to the BBB (something I've never done before) for their shitty Bad Company 2 launch and the fact that several weeks after launch, and after I had talked a friend in to buying the game for the whole 15 minutes I had been able to play it, it was still broken and took HOURS to connect to a server to the point where sane people walked away and wanted their money back.
I had purchased from STEAM so they told me I was fucked because they wouldn't talk to me since it had been a digital download (that they had to distribute to Valve, got their cut of the money for, and I paid full retail for; something else I rarely do). I appealed to the BBB, I guess because they didn't want the 3 year mark on their record they finally ponied up a game after refusing to refund anything, going through 3 tiers of tech support idiots and going full circle when they tried to "troubleshoot" my connection after already offering an alternate title.
I think people who are dicked on releases like this (in this case, the game was fine, it was their horrible MP authentication and Punk Buster server fiascos) should absolutely be compensated by the company at fault so they have a deterrent from pulling that shit again.
I should say, I haven't even opened the box for ME:2, I may well sell it, and I haven't touched BF:BC2 since either. Fuck EA, the Escapist, and all those like them. This will probably be marked OT but it seemed relevant enough, and happened recently enough (I just got the replacement game yesterday, after literally 40 days of going back and forth between EA and the BBB mediator every couple days) that I thought I'd share my story of woe.
There is only one rule, The Golden one (He that has the Gold makes the rules; not the do unto others one), and after more than 20 years as a lawyer I think he holds the system in contempt as well, after being a True Believer, ultra straight edged, right wing, NRA/RNC boyscout for most of his life.
Slashdot Mirror
Read what they say. It pretty much says implicitly that if you've got a contract, fuck you, otherwise "yes we believe". That covers the telecom bases. Wanna get your "free" upgrade as part of your contract and sell it to someone on CL for $200 off MSRP? Still under contract? Then Fuck You.
Wanna switch your phone midstream?
"This is particularly important for secondhand or other mobile devices that you might buy or receive as a gift, and want to activate on the wireless network that meets your needs -- even if it isn't the one on which the device was first activated"
What does that mean? That means AT THE END OF THE CONTRACT otherwise FUCK YOU.
This is way less liberal than people seem to be interpreting it. They've also let the FCC in and other red tape that will ensure this moves at a typical snails pace. Read between the lines, read what it doesn't spell out.
Is it better than nothing? Yes. Is it a full retraction and concession to public pressure? Fuck no.
PS, I read this on Hacker News hours ago.
He's right as usual. I love Stallman. We need more of him.
(PS, even if the original comment were true he's also right. I didn't know about the Amazon affiliation with Unity, even though I have an Ubuntu machine at work it's not got an outside connection and it has a single function, imaging other machines, so I've never used a Dash search or w/e the fuck it's called.)
As an aside, is there anyone who can tell me what's so great about Ubuntu in the first place? I am honestly not seeing much in the way of improvement over a linux based desktop in the 90's (in fact they're shockingly similar, and blackbox or one of the others was faster).
I hope the backlash from this makes SOPA look tame.
No? Wake me if it ever does.
He shows one of the more popular root apps... Which uses a timing issue already "patched" in later versions but not the one the Kindle uses... I got one from work thinking the same thing.
EVERY OTA FORCED UPDATE UNROOTS IT AND REMOVES GOOGLE APPS ...
I've sent them multiple complaints and even told them I hope they get a class action suit against them for computer trespass or some equivalent since THEY DON'T OWN THE THE DEVICE I DO (and since I got it from work I never signed any contract).
It will do this even with the Kindle unregistered. These HD's have an encrypted bootloader to make custom firmware difficult/impossible compared to the original; that was done deliberately to try to stop the kind of thing this article shows.
You can, however, install all kinds of apps that don't need root and "pirated" (unapproved unsigned unpurchased on Amazon.com) content without it being rooted. A failed root can brick the device. You can find multiple Android sub forum threads on XDA-developer's site (already popular for other hacks).
I used to be a PRIME member but their policies with this and some other things made me reconsider re-upping this year; I go out of my way to avoid them now. They are the Wal-mart of online retail with all that entails and implies (no I don't shop there either).
I think the fact that the first comment on this story is a joke modded funny shows the author is correct. A lot of people are callous, I've found technical people to be, generally, even more so (as well as often insecure with fragile inflated egos).
People only did this because they ignored the real petitions and even most of the ones they answer are canned bullshit PR responses. It's a gimmick to make you think they care at all in any way whatsoever what you think.
You got modded funny but it's probably true.
Okay, you forced me to respond. There is no GOOD WILL here at all. This is a business decision.
Google hates Microsoft. Gabe Newell is quoted (paraphrasing here) as saying Windows 8 is the worst thing to ever happen basically and that they need to seek other options. I think in short order we will have a steam powered google gaming platform; that is effectively what they've said their goal is.
He said he was more than 2500 miles away. Do you trust your mom to replace a power supply?
"When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross.”
--C.S. Lewis
Too bad Comcast doesn't offer packages like that...
Sony was already on my boycott list with Activision, Apple, and Walmart. But here is a list of their subsidiaries from wikipedia.
You're laughing but I had to tell the developers of a small indie MMO, with-in the last year, that their ircd was vulnerable to remote exploits and it was running on the same thing that hosted the game itself, true story.
"I'm making more money than all of my 4-year degree friends because I decided long ago to educate myself in a field that's likely to GROW (and not things like art history, where you go to school just to teach other kids, so they can teach other kids, and so on) and because I can talk to people and have them see me as an asset and not a potential liability."
The mutliple comments like this one are my favorite part of this thread. These people are VERY careful not to mention their 'niche'.
Oh, and I forgot to mention that Al Franken has been trying to get the Fairness in Arbitration Act enacted by Congress for years now. It was filibustered the last time it went up for vote iirc.
They do now. It's stylish now. Even Valve did this less than a month ago. There is an NPR Diane Rehm show about this topic where one of the legal experts she's interviewing from George Washington University says that 93% of employer/employee contracts now have this in it too with the argument being "if you don't like it don't work there" ...
Or is Microsoft really desperate to get windows 8 to work?
According to CNBC they are and with good reason. I occasionally watch some of their short videos with my Roku while getting ready for work. I've seen several analysts in the last week or two talking about how Microsoft has bet the company on Windows 8 and they're nervous (and from what I've seen; they should be).
I personally think it will be a massive failure, the likes of Vista but probably worse. Also, after more than a decade of not knowing first hand, and then seeing the way they treat their direct customers as a technet subscriber, I hope that it is.
pfft... i live in the midwest we don't have any natural disasters.. just acts of God; these are red states after all...
they don't? even after the ipad? there is no way i believe this was an accident. especially since it's exactly the same 'accident' that MS used recently for their wii-mote rip off for the xbox. i wouldn't be surprised if they both 'found' it themselves and called the press. who doesn't want millions in free publicity all over the net and the news?
because they're hated by a large majority of the population ... until they're needed. both sides are right, who hasn't seen a cop, not in uniform, flip their lights on to run a red light (and no they weren't going to an under cover investigation)? i know i have. i've been repeatedly harassed by police for how i was dressed, both as a kid and as an adult, and done experiments along these lines. clean cut, white, and in jeans and a tshirt? no problem. put on a trenchcoat and grow a beard? you're a criminal, i've even been stopped and questioned by police i knew and worked with. i work with police regularly and have for a long time.
i've received parking citations for my car facing the wrong way from a cop who lived in my neighborhood and who i had pictures of his cop car parked the same as i did, facing the wrong way for the lane he was in. i have worked 3rd shift hotels and dealt with racist security teams who were also off duty cops, most of them extremely corrupt and definitely only wearing a badge for power and the 'respect' it garners them (fear would be a better word), and i did see some women want to fuck them solely because of this too.
there are also a LOT of dishonest cops who abuse their power. many (most?) of them are little more than state sanctioned and funded gang members. not all but enough to notice. i forget the exact quote but a friend once said there are two kinds, the corrupt power hungry kind who mostly got picked on in school, and the superman wannabe kind who thinks they're the moral police and are totally smug about their decisions, i have seen the latter even disgusted by other police they worked with and said so but, no they would NEVER under any circumstances turn each other in; it's more of a talk behind their back or pat them on the shoulder and ask them to stop kind of thing. both are dangerous, both abuse power, some more than others.
generally if you are polite, so are they, sometimes they're good to have around but they're pretty much always like restless invading armies, if they don't have something else to do they will turn on you very *very* quickly. maybe YMMV, i live in the midwest and have lived in the city most of my life and my experiences have been consistent with police for more than 14 years.
Oh, I forgot to mention, I was urging people on EA's support forums to all contact the BBB in protest because it was obvious that EA didn't give a flying fuck and were, for weeks, denying they even had issues and were telling people to check their own settings. They immediately removed my posts so I spammed like a 12 yo 4channer across all of the BF:BC2 channels for a couple hours until I was sick of looking at their logo and received a temporary forum ban anyway (naturally it would have been trivial to re-register but I didn't care that much I just went back to filling in details on my BBB complaint). I figure a couple thousand people saw my admonishment anyway. Hopefully enough to get some word out.
Escapist is not alone. EA bans anyone who talks about the Better Business Bureau and removes their posts. I recently, after 40 days (irony?) got a free copy of Mass Effect 2 Collector's Edition after turning them in to the BBB (something I've never done before) for their shitty Bad Company 2 launch and the fact that several weeks after launch, and after I had talked a friend in to buying the game for the whole 15 minutes I had been able to play it, it was still broken and took HOURS to connect to a server to the point where sane people walked away and wanted their money back.
I had purchased from STEAM so they told me I was fucked because they wouldn't talk to me since it had been a digital download (that they had to distribute to Valve, got their cut of the money for, and I paid full retail for; something else I rarely do). I appealed to the BBB, I guess because they didn't want the 3 year mark on their record they finally ponied up a game after refusing to refund anything, going through 3 tiers of tech support idiots and going full circle when they tried to "troubleshoot" my connection after already offering an alternate title.
I think people who are dicked on releases like this (in this case, the game was fine, it was their horrible MP authentication and Punk Buster server fiascos) should absolutely be compensated by the company at fault so they have a deterrent from pulling that shit again.
I should say, I haven't even opened the box for ME:2, I may well sell it, and I haven't touched BF:BC2 since either. Fuck EA, the Escapist, and all those like them. This will probably be marked OT but it seemed relevant enough, and happened recently enough (I just got the replacement game yesterday, after literally 40 days of going back and forth between EA and the BBB mediator every couple days) that I thought I'd share my story of woe.
I just added this video to Stumble. Long live the parodies.
There is only one rule, The Golden one (He that has the Gold makes the rules; not the do unto others one), and after more than 20 years as a lawyer I think he holds the system in contempt as well, after being a True Believer, ultra straight edged, right wing, NRA/RNC boyscout for most of his life.