I hate to have to cut and paste all day, so I'll just reply in one chunk. Talking about the Washington Redskins in reference to racism confuses organized racism with lack of conformity to political correctness. Segregation(done away with) was racism. There are undercurrents of racism still in the US, but they are just that.. undercurrents. Actually your example of lack of education for the poor in this country was an ironic one. Ask anyone(such as myself) who has applied for Pell grants whether it is easier to get them if they are rich or poor. As for the public school system, man it sucks, but it's still better than anything you'll find in most 'developing' nations. Also at issue is healthcare which in my state is quite good if you have no money. Oregon health plan provided well for my wife and child until she got a job. Although I probably don't make nearly as much as the IT professionals around here, I don't consider myself poor. I did, however, have to eat my share of government cheese when I was growing up, and there are considerable mechanisms in place to help poor people. These include childcare benefits, healthcare, access foodshare, foodstamps, and general assistance/unemployment. These mechanisms have suffered recently due to a lack of funding(should have passed the open source initiative, I wrote my rep) but I haven't seen the distended starvation bellies of third world contries here yet. As far as camp x-ray goes, I did a little google on it before I answered your first post and blindfold was the worst I saw. Until I see evidence of torture I have no reason to believe it is happening. As for the patriot act, I agree with you completely. Noone should be held indefinately without access to legal councel. I think your clarifications were quite enough and I appreciate the new word. I had no idea what a pogrom was.
The US should stop tolerating pograms (sic) against minorities.
What the hell is a pogram? If you mean program I'd ask what minorities you are talking about. Perhaps the minority of people who are from contries who are typically indoctrinated to believe that we should all die? I think they bear a little watching. If you're talking about some other program, you're sadly mistaken. Racism doesn't fly here anymore... at least not government sponsered racism.
The US should address their grievous oppression of "lower castes" (i.e. people from poorer backgrounds).
It's a capitalist society. If you're poor, you're poor. It's not oppression. Show me the country that has no poor.
The US should respect the Geneva Convention and other human rights in Camp X-Ray as specified by most of the world.
It's a prison. It's not a resort. In a regular prison if you act up you get thrown in the hole(solitary). In x-ray you get a blindfold. So what? I'd rather have the blindfold.
The US has many problems, and perhaps something could be done about the poverty situation here(as anywhere), but if the founding fathers were alive today they would be disgusted at many things, probably none of which are on your list.
Thanks for posting that link, I used it to write my representatve as I think we all should.
Maybe we could make a difference if we offered some of these congressmen a chance to repesent themselves on slashdot... top modded questions get answered sort of thing.
Answer: there isn't any difference other than the fact that you probably like Sun, and you don't like Microsoft.
That's not exactly true. Sun released the Star Office source under an open license. It's analogous to saying Sun gave away some widgets, but Microsoft gave free rental of widgets so they could charge us an arm and a leg for them as soon as we have no other choice. BTW, I don't like Sun.
The contention you make that most slashdotters are rabid copyright violators and that their love of p2p networks is a result of pure greed is flawed. There are actual good reasons why p2p, DMCA, DRM etc affect peoples rights. The DMCA doesn't protect copyrights, it eliminates fair use. You can't copy a song(that has always been illegal except for personal backup purposes and the DMCA hasn't changed this), but now you can't take a song you own and put it where you want it or change it to a form you want it in. The DMCA obviously has little to say about current p2p issues else the RIAA would have lost their lawsuit. P2P technology represents probably the only realistic way of having decentralized anonymous communication(see freenet.org). DRM can be no different than the police breaking into your house to make sure there are no stolen goods inside.. it's a privacy violation. I could give a fuck less if there's a Kazaa port for Linux. Windows users by far pirate more software/music. They started by pirating their OS.
My neighbor did something... I can't really say what he did, but it was cauing tons of damage to my property. If I told him what he had done he could just fix it. Of course I've taken many pictures of the damage, but I see no reason why I should have to tell him what to fix until we're in court. In fact, that's just what he'd expect me to do. Unlike SCO, however, I sent him a warning letter before I sued him. It read "If you don't figure out what you're doing wrong and fix it within 30 days I'm suing you!"
that the fundamental problem with the recording industry is that they don't serve a purpose in the internet era(this being a few years ahead since most people still hear new music on the radio). Their other major problem is that they are trying to collect money from artists works without paying the artists. They have to walk a fine line between wooing the artists and stealing their work while wooing the fans and stealing their money. You know a business model isn't really solid when the sellers have to use the courts to collect their money. Nobody needs to legislate toilet paper(follow obligator links to toilet paper cases)
It's about time. Making internet explorer easy to remove will definately eliminate the problem with Microsoft's monopoly. The only reason Linux hasn't been adopted as a major desktop competitor is that it was widely felt that the internet explorer icon needed to be removed from Windows before you could install Linux, and this should clear that up. The justice department deserves a big pat on the back for this. Way to go DOJ!
Well, it has something to do with a tortoise, an electron in a crystal in a magnetic field, and a meta-meta-meta genie.. I remember that much. Actually reading anything by W.V. Quine was quite impossible for me though, it's like reading RFCs... who the hell wou... uh nevermind.
I switched from Windows to Linux a while back and there really isn't much I did with Windows I can't do with Linux. I can still browse the web, play media files, do word processing, and even play a few games(those that have Linux ports like Terminus). I'm not exactly technically inept, but I'm no sysadmin and I've been able to get it working. The install was just as simple as Windows was. For those that think Linux isn't ready for the desktop my question is: what are you using it for? Although the lack of third party software is a little annoying, that's hardly a problem with Linux itself. Most people that I know who run Windows never paid for it and the two who bought XP that I know can't use it now because they made too many hardware upgrades. If I had paid for Windows+Office+Photoshop etc. I would have been looking at easily the cost of another computer. This way I get the same stuff with some added benefits(like NEVER getting a virus) and I get to be honest about it. I used to reinstall Windows every few months, but I haven't reinstalled Linux yet. Even when it comes to the interface I think KDE beats the hell out of Windows. I don't know how I ever lived without multiple desktops. Yeah, there are things you can't do with Linux(things you won't be able to do until Linux hits mainstream desktop use), but I can see cases where Linux on desktops would definately be a more cost effective approach. Where I worked in telephone sales we had hundreds of computers all running the same application. In this situation why pay hundreds for NT? Why have Windows for library computers? The search application is probably web based anyway. People need to be pragmatic about this stuff, not just do what everyone else is doing.
The entire open source movement is dying and all you guys can talk about are April fools jokes! Don't you know that the FSF is where all free software is made and now that Microsoft has bought it there won't be anymore. Sure, I thought it was a joke at first, but then I saw all the other articles and realized there's no way slashdot would dedicate the entire day to joke stories. The world must really be going to hell.
The problem is that it's not always possible to protect things that should be protected without protecting things that shouldn't be. In my opinion it's hardly ever the case that speech should be censored. The first thing people spout off about when they talk about a free network is child pornography.. the second is terrorism. I suggest to you that if you first find out your child is a pornographic terrorist on the net then you have problems that go beyond rampant file sharing.
I think we have a misunderstanding here. Actually all my comment was really about was the fact that most people don't use weird features of Word. I don't think they should be called stupid even if they are.. it just struck as idiotic not to be able to use a word processor. In light of your comments I realize that it's possible to have problems with Word that aren't very intuitive to fix. In no event do I think that I'm better than someone else for knowing about computers, although my post seems to refute that.. it was really just the mood I was in.
That's an aweful lot of pent up anger released on someone for a post that was admitedly a troll. My favorite part is where you represent enough knowledge of me to describe me as 'sanctimonious'. I'm sure you know me very well since we've been aquainted for so long, but maybe you just don't know what the word means.
I am glad you pointed out how horribly bloated Word is and how easy it is to make terrible things happen by accident. More people need to know these things. I hope someone mods you up.
This is absolutely a troll, but how the fuck could anyone have trouble using Word? 99% of students only need the damn thing for papers in which all they need to do is be able to change fonts, underline stuff, put stuff in bold, double space etc. Someone who uses openoffice could take a minute to show this idiot how to use his word processor.
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I hate to have to cut and paste all day, so I'll just reply in one chunk. Talking about the Washington Redskins in reference to racism confuses organized racism with lack of conformity to political correctness. Segregation(done away with) was racism. There are undercurrents of racism still in the US, but they are just that.. undercurrents. Actually your example of lack of education for the poor in this country was an ironic one. Ask anyone(such as myself) who has applied for Pell grants whether it is easier to get them if they are rich or poor. As for the public school system, man it sucks, but it's still better than anything you'll find in most 'developing' nations. Also at issue is healthcare which in my state is quite good if you have no money. Oregon health plan provided well for my wife and child until she got a job. Although I probably don't make nearly as much as the IT professionals around here, I don't consider myself poor. I did, however, have to eat my share of government cheese when I was growing up, and there are considerable mechanisms in place to help poor people. These include childcare benefits, healthcare, access foodshare, foodstamps, and general assistance/unemployment. These mechanisms have suffered recently due to a lack of funding(should have passed the open source initiative, I wrote my rep) but I haven't seen the distended starvation bellies of third world contries here yet. As far as camp x-ray goes, I did a little google on it before I answered your first post and blindfold was the worst I saw. Until I see evidence of torture I have no reason to believe it is happening. As for the patriot act, I agree with you completely. Noone should be held indefinately without access to legal councel. I think your clarifications were quite enough and I appreciate the new word. I had no idea what a pogrom was.
The US should abandon nuclear weapons and ICBMs.
And I suppose everyone else will follow suit?
The US should stop tolerating pograms (sic) against minorities.
What the hell is a pogram? If you mean program I'd ask what minorities you are talking about. Perhaps the minority of people who are from contries who are typically indoctrinated to believe that we should all die? I think they bear a little watching. If you're talking about some other program, you're sadly mistaken. Racism doesn't fly here anymore... at least not government sponsered racism.
The US should address their grievous oppression of "lower castes" (i.e. people from poorer backgrounds).
It's a capitalist society. If you're poor, you're poor. It's not oppression. Show me the country that has no poor.
The US should respect the Geneva Convention and other human rights in Camp X-Ray as specified by most of the world.
It's a prison. It's not a resort. In a regular prison if you act up you get thrown in the hole(solitary). In x-ray you get a blindfold. So what? I'd rather have the blindfold.
The US has many problems, and perhaps something could be done about the poverty situation here(as anywhere), but if the founding fathers were alive today they would be disgusted at many things, probably none of which are on your list.
If I'm getting sued for something I sure hope I at least had a fun time doing it!
Right. Like alimony.
and I was thinking of visiting Thailand too. They'd better not stamp a EULA on my passport.
Thanks for posting that link, I used it to write my representatve as I think we all should.
Maybe we could make a difference if we offered some of these congressmen a chance to repesent themselves on slashdot... top modded questions get answered sort of thing.
Have you tried stealing music on p2p networks?
Answer: there isn't any difference other than the fact that you probably like Sun, and you don't like Microsoft.
That's not exactly true. Sun released the Star Office source under an open license. It's analogous to saying Sun gave away some widgets, but Microsoft gave free rental of widgets so they could charge us an arm and a leg for them as soon as we have no other choice. BTW, I don't like Sun.
The contention you make that most slashdotters are rabid copyright violators and that their love of p2p networks is a result of pure greed is flawed. There are actual good reasons why p2p, DMCA, DRM etc affect peoples rights. The DMCA doesn't protect copyrights, it eliminates fair use. You can't copy a song(that has always been illegal except for personal backup purposes and the DMCA hasn't changed this), but now you can't take a song you own and put it where you want it or change it to a form you want it in. The DMCA obviously has little to say about current p2p issues else the RIAA would have lost their lawsuit. P2P technology represents probably the only realistic way of having decentralized anonymous communication(see freenet.org). DRM can be no different than the police breaking into your house to make sure there are no stolen goods inside.. it's a privacy violation. I could give a fuck less if there's a Kazaa port for Linux. Windows users by far pirate more software/music. They started by pirating their OS.
The idea of owning an idea is just ridiculous.
My neighbor did something... I can't really say what he did, but it was cauing tons of damage to my property. If I told him what he had done he could just fix it. Of course I've taken many pictures of the damage, but I see no reason why I should have to tell him what to fix until we're in court. In fact, that's just what he'd expect me to do. Unlike SCO, however, I sent him a warning letter before I sued him. It read "If you don't figure out what you're doing wrong and fix it within 30 days I'm suing you!"
that the fundamental problem with the recording industry is that they don't serve a purpose in the internet era(this being a few years ahead since most people still hear new music on the radio). Their other major problem is that they are trying to collect money from artists works without paying the artists. They have to walk a fine line between wooing the artists and stealing their work while wooing the fans and stealing their money. You know a business model isn't really solid when the sellers have to use the courts to collect their money. Nobody needs to legislate toilet paper(follow obligator links to toilet paper cases)
I really wish you hadn't brought up Everquest. I just want... just a little loot... and maybe some XP..... aaaarrrgh!
I wrote to Lenn Hannon and Rob Patridge so far with no reply. I hope others are doing the same.
I downloaded the movie and snuck drinks/snacks into the theater, but your way is much more moral... er... no.. much more legal.
It's about time. Making internet explorer easy to remove will definately eliminate the problem with Microsoft's monopoly. The only reason Linux hasn't been adopted as a major desktop competitor is that it was widely felt that the internet explorer icon needed to be removed from Windows before you could install Linux, and this should clear that up. The justice department deserves a big pat on the back for this. Way to go DOJ!
Aha... so you're saying that something useful might spring from hatred of this conjecture thingamagig. Now we're getting somewhere.
Well, it has something to do with a tortoise, an electron in a crystal in a magnetic field, and a meta-meta-meta genie.. I remember that much. Actually reading anything by W.V. Quine was quite impossible for me though, it's like reading RFCs... who the hell wou... uh nevermind.
I switched from Windows to Linux a while back and there really isn't much I did with Windows I can't do with Linux. I can still browse the web, play media files, do word processing, and even play a few games(those that have Linux ports like Terminus). I'm not exactly technically inept, but I'm no sysadmin and I've been able to get it working. The install was just as simple as Windows was. For those that think Linux isn't ready for the desktop my question is: what are you using it for? Although the lack of third party software is a little annoying, that's hardly a problem with Linux itself. Most people that I know who run Windows never paid for it and the two who bought XP that I know can't use it now because they made too many hardware upgrades. If I had paid for Windows+Office+Photoshop etc. I would have been looking at easily the cost of another computer. This way I get the same stuff with some added benefits(like NEVER getting a virus) and I get to be honest about it. I used to reinstall Windows every few months, but I haven't reinstalled Linux yet. Even when it comes to the interface I think KDE beats the hell out of Windows. I don't know how I ever lived without multiple desktops. Yeah, there are things you can't do with Linux(things you won't be able to do until Linux hits mainstream desktop use), but I can see cases where Linux on desktops would definately be a more cost effective approach. Where I worked in telephone sales we had hundreds of computers all running the same application. In this situation why pay hundreds for NT? Why have Windows for library computers? The search application is probably web based anyway. People need to be pragmatic about this stuff, not just do what everyone else is doing.
The entire open source movement is dying and all you guys can talk about are April fools jokes! Don't you know that the FSF is where all free software is made and now that Microsoft has bought it there won't be anymore. Sure, I thought it was a joke at first, but then I saw all the other articles and realized there's no way slashdot would dedicate the entire day to joke stories. The world must really be going to hell.
Post would be closer to the truth if all instances of 'democratically elected' were replaced with 'corporate sponsered'.
The problem is that it's not always possible to protect things that should be protected without protecting things that shouldn't be. In my opinion it's hardly ever the case that speech should be censored. The first thing people spout off about when they talk about a free network is child pornography.. the second is terrorism. I suggest to you that if you first find out your child is a pornographic terrorist on the net then you have problems that go beyond rampant file sharing.
I think we have a misunderstanding here. Actually all my comment was really about was the fact that most people don't use weird features of Word. I don't think they should be called stupid even if they are.. it just struck as idiotic not to be able to use a word processor. In light of your comments I realize that it's possible to have problems with Word that aren't very intuitive to fix. In no event do I think that I'm better than someone else for knowing about computers, although my post seems to refute that.. it was really just the mood I was in.
That's an aweful lot of pent up anger released on someone for a post that was admitedly a troll. My favorite part is where you represent enough knowledge of me to describe me as 'sanctimonious'. I'm sure you know me very well since we've been aquainted for so long, but maybe you just don't know what the word means.
I am glad you pointed out how horribly bloated Word is and how easy it is to make terrible things happen by accident. More people need to know these things. I hope someone mods you up.
This is absolutely a troll, but how the fuck could anyone have trouble using Word? 99% of students only need the damn thing for papers in which all they need to do is be able to change fonts, underline stuff, put stuff in bold, double space etc. Someone who uses openoffice could take a minute to show this idiot how to use his word processor.
Well, he did specifically say that he was not here to change a single word of the law.