Of course, the reason to go to space is just to fix the "real issues" of overpopulation, ecological deterioation, etc. Space exploration requires and stimulates the advancement of human science, and human science is the only way we're ever going to have the ability to overcome those serious issues.
It's amazing to me that in all these discussions and news articles about the offshore outsourcing trend, no one's raised concerns about the very serious problems that arise when trying to develop products with an offshore team. I think that these problems are so severe the model is destined to fail.
Has anyone else run into serious issues trying to effectively communicate product specification and work collaboratively across half the planet? I have. I don't think there will ever be a replacement for the efficiency with which a focused, communicative, and geographically coherent development team can execute.
Has anyone seen the Dilbert cartoon about outsourcing to Elbonia?
The biggest challenge faced when outsourcing any project is that of communication, and especially specification. Offshore outsourcing has two major strikes against it: 1) language barrier, and 2) time zones. You can't deny either of these.
When the hell is the tech biz community going to realize that it jest don't wurk?
Eh, the investigation was concerned with whether or not the future of online digital music distribution was going to be controlled by the five major labels, which have significant equity stakes in pressplay and MusicNet.
The Justice Dept. was concerned that the five majors would end up with exclusive control of online digital distribution, which would be a Bad Thing and would probably violate antitrust.
Since Apple is kicking ass in this space, and there's a bunch of other players out there that don't have anything to do with the majors, that's not a concern anymore, which is why Justice is dropping the investigation.
The real damage of SCO's spurious, money-grubbing claims to Linux IP is this: it's going to destroy the Open Source movement in the eyes of the uninformed. They've come a long way in reducing GNU/Linux's stature as a positive community effort in the eyes of someone who doesn't know who to believe. Which is a lot of people.
Does the name of this program remind anyone else of a line from the original Matrix?
Agent Smith: "We're willing to wipe the slate clean, give you a fresh start and all that we're asking in return is your cooperation in bringing a known terrorist to justice."...to which the obvious answer is...
Neo: "Yeah. Wow, that sound like a really good deal. But I think I got a better one. How about I give you the finger... and you give me my FSCKING MP3s back?"
That's a good point - if the people who are going to be authorized to violate our privacy are perfect and trustworthy, then a lot of the concern is alleviated (although I think that modesty is a natural right of man, so it's still not OK). But history has shown that any kind of person given this sort of ability is going to abuse it. That's human nature. And it's totally unacceptable to me.
People like you are the problem with this country - you don't understand the ideals it is based on so you're willing to throw them away. You are one of the people Benjamin Franklin was referring to when he said "Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
Not being seen naked is essential liberty, at least to me. If you don't agree, get the hell out of my country.
This is the end of the line when it comes to privacy violations. This is where I stand up and say, I'm not getting on a fscking plane if someone's going to be sitting in a booth at the security checkpoint looking at me naked. If that's not a terrible invasion of privacy, THEN NOTHING IS.
What is privacy anyway? Does anyone remember? Anyone?
As much as I hate to say it and in all seriousness, GTA III and Vice City have affected the way I look at the real world - it's not the violence or mayhem that I'm talking about here; it's the fact that these games actually do a fantastic job of drawing a comprehensive albeit negative portrait of a city and the people who live there. It's easy to look at the GTA games as an example of what can go wrong in an urban setting, and draw a parallel with real-world conditions. I think in all cities, most of the things we see sensationalized in the GTA world really do exist to a certain degree. As I play the games, I'm always a little bit amazed by the fact that the designers have included enough detail and realism to be able to draw those parallels with the city I live in.
$250B Market Cap can't be wrong; this is a ridiculous statement.
Microsoft was in the right place at the right time to take monopoly control of one of the greatest industries of the modern world - their outrageous success is due to the immensity of the information revolution and not to the quality of their interview questions.
Way to go, Slashdot - reposting a Weekly World News story.
Slashdot Question and Answer session: Elvis. We'll send 10 or 12 of the highest-moderated questions to the King tomorrow, and run his answers as soon as he has time to reply.
10 is pronounced "sixteen". 11 is pronounced "seventeen". 12 is pronounced "eighteen". 13 is pronounced "nineteen". 14 is pronounced "twenty". 1E is pronounced "thirty". 3E8 is pronounced "one thousand",
Whether a number is written in decimal or hexidecimal or binary, its verbal representation is the same. A number is a number.
Thanks for the very informative post! I appreciate it. The one question that remains in my mind is: is the DMCA's jurisdiction the same as that of Patent law? The cartridges themselves aren't patented, but they defeat a "technological measure" that the printer uses to verify that the cartridge is made by an approved vendor.
I can see that the jurisdiction of the DMCA is probably, for whatever reason, the same as that of Patent law. It just seems horribly wrong to me that essentially now manufacturers can use federal law to restrict the use of hardware which consumers bought from them and "own".
All Ford has to do is sign a deal with Pennzoil that ensures that all new Fords have an oil filler cap that only matches the shape of special new Pennzoil plastic oil bottles. They can then sue STP, citing the DMCA, if STP makes a corresponding oil bottle that will match the Pennzoil-only cap. Ford and Pennzoil split the money. Can this happen?
Right, they only have jurisdiction over interstate commerce - so is it legal to build toner cartridges (or mod chips) and sell them within your home state?
I'm not familiar with the details of the situation, but I would suspect the DMCA doesn't just have to apply to items transferred between states. I agree with you that this is not the way things should be. Can anyone clear this up for us?
Once again, I believe that when I buy something, I own it. Does this now mean that if I build my own toner cartridge it's illegal for me to install it in my own printer?
How long until it's illegal to run my own code on my own hardware?
I think that the basic natural right of ownership is being violated by these laws. Americans have other basic natural rights that were guaranteed us - but not this one?
I would wholeheartedly endorse and contribute money to any politician or legislation seeking to reinforce the basic natural right of property ownership.
We're living in a fucking prison. Vote for the libertarians, or anyone else who'd rather repeal laws than make new ones because lobbyists want them to.
The real reason that Linux in our schools is cheaper than Windows in the long run is that the future technology and business leaders of our nation will be growing up using and being comfortable using free and open software rather than a proprietary and closed OS.
The *Great Thing* that is going to happen is that the billions of dollars that Microsoft makes off of selling operating systems to consumers is going to stay in the consumers' pockets instead of buying more SUVs for Redmond.
The *Great Thing* that is going to happen is that x number of underprivileged (read: poor) people are going to be that much closer to being able to own and use personal computers.
The *Great Thing* is that more teenagers will grow up to be kernel hackers because the systems they grew up using will be distributed with source code, instead of the proverbial padlock-on-the-hood.
The *Great Thing* is that M$ won't be able to suppress emergent technologies and standards by simply not supporting them, thus confining a whole lot of great ideas to "Nerdland" only.
I completely agree; I was merely alluding to the fact that it is will be a great tragedy if the platform Joe Sixpack knows is Windows instead of something open and publicly owned.
Do we have a chance? One of the reasons M$ is so keen on donating computers to schools (usually as payment of court settlements) is that the more children use Windows, the more likely they are to use it when they become adults. What initiatives have been taken to bring or tailor a public desktop to children?
No, really - why do we care? The real milestone will be when a desktop UI in the public domain is ready for Joe Sixpack - then the world will be a better place.
We should also realize that Joe Sixpack is going to naturally become a more proficient and knowledgeable computer user than he is today. He's decidedly better than he was five years ago. If Joe Sixpack is learning how to use a desktop UI, isn't it far, far better for everyone if he becomes familiar with a publicly owned desktop, instead of one controlled and sold by a private corporation?
Windows definitely *is* ready, however, for your friendly neighborhood trash compactor...
Slashdot Mirror
And these days, you just casemod and overclock.
Of course, the reason to go to space is just to fix the "real issues" of overpopulation, ecological deterioation, etc. Space exploration requires and stimulates the advancement of human science, and human science is the only way we're ever going to have the ability to overcome those serious issues.
It's amazing to me that in all these discussions and news articles about the offshore outsourcing trend, no one's raised concerns about the very serious problems that arise when trying to develop products with an offshore team. I think that these problems are so severe the model is destined to fail.
Has anyone else run into serious issues trying to effectively communicate product specification and work collaboratively across half the planet? I have. I don't think there will ever be a replacement for the efficiency with which a focused, communicative, and geographically coherent development team can execute.
Has anyone seen the Dilbert cartoon about outsourcing to Elbonia?
The biggest challenge faced when outsourcing any project is that of communication, and especially specification. Offshore outsourcing has two major strikes against it: 1) language barrier, and 2) time zones. You can't deny either of these.
When the hell is the tech biz community going to realize that it jest don't wurk?
Eh, the investigation was concerned with whether or not the future of online digital music distribution was going to be controlled by the five major labels, which have significant equity stakes in pressplay and MusicNet.
The Justice Dept. was concerned that the five majors would end up with exclusive control of online digital distribution, which would be a Bad Thing and would probably violate antitrust.
Since Apple is kicking ass in this space, and there's a bunch of other players out there that don't have anything to do with the majors, that's not a concern anymore, which is why Justice is dropping the investigation.
The real damage of SCO's spurious, money-grubbing claims to Linux IP is this: it's going to destroy the Open Source movement in the eyes of the uninformed. They've come a long way in reducing GNU/Linux's stature as a positive community effort in the eyes of someone who doesn't know who to believe. Which is a lot of people.
And that makes me pretty sad.
Does the name of this program remind anyone else of a line from the original Matrix?
...to which the obvious answer is...
Agent Smith: "We're willing to wipe the slate clean, give you a fresh start and all that we're asking in return is your cooperation in bringing a known terrorist to justice."
Neo: "Yeah. Wow, that sound like a really good deal. But I think I got a better one. How about I give you the finger... and you give me my FSCKING MP3s back?"
That's a good point - if the people who are going to be authorized to violate our privacy are perfect and trustworthy, then a lot of the concern is alleviated (although I think that modesty is a natural right of man, so it's still not OK). But history has shown that any kind of person given this sort of ability is going to abuse it. That's human nature. And it's totally unacceptable to me.
People like you are the problem with this country - you don't understand the ideals it is based on so you're willing to throw them away. You are one of the people Benjamin Franklin was referring to when he said "Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
Not being seen naked is essential liberty, at least to me. If you don't agree, get the hell out of my country.
This is the end of the line when it comes to privacy violations. This is where I stand up and say, I'm not getting on a fscking plane if someone's going to be sitting in a booth at the security checkpoint looking at me naked. If that's not a terrible invasion of privacy, THEN NOTHING IS.
What is privacy anyway? Does anyone remember? Anyone?
This guy's a consumer advocate. That means a LOT to me in these days of corporate sneakiness and underhanded deception.
Say what you will about running as root by default, but isn't that how most of his competing products (read: Windows [^NT|XP]) essentially work?
I think we should support and encourage Robertson and his company!
As much as I hate to say it and in all seriousness, GTA III and Vice City have affected the way I look at the real world - it's not the violence or mayhem that I'm talking about here; it's the fact that these games actually do a fantastic job of drawing a comprehensive albeit negative portrait of a city and the people who live there. It's easy to look at the GTA games as an example of what can go wrong in an urban setting, and draw a parallel with real-world conditions. I think in all cities, most of the things we see sensationalized in the GTA world really do exist to a certain degree. As I play the games, I'm always a little bit amazed by the fact that the designers have included enough detail and realism to be able to draw those parallels with the city I live in.
$250B Market Cap can't be wrong; this is a ridiculous statement.
Microsoft was in the right place at the right time to take monopoly control of one of the greatest industries of the modern world - their outrageous success is due to the immensity of the information revolution and not to the quality of their interview questions.
Way to go, Slashdot - reposting a Weekly World News story.
Slashdot Question and Answer session: Elvis. We'll send 10 or 12 of the highest-moderated questions to the King tomorrow, and run his answers as soon as he has time to reply.
10 is pronounced "sixteen".
11 is pronounced "seventeen".
12 is pronounced "eighteen".
13 is pronounced "nineteen".
14 is pronounced "twenty".
1E is pronounced "thirty".
3E8 is pronounced "one thousand",
Whether a number is written in decimal or hexidecimal or binary, its verbal representation is the same. A number is a number.
Thanks for the very informative post! I appreciate it. The one question that remains in my mind is: is the DMCA's jurisdiction the same as that of Patent law? The cartridges themselves aren't patented, but they defeat a "technological measure" that the printer uses to verify that the cartridge is made by an approved vendor.
I can see that the jurisdiction of the DMCA is probably, for whatever reason, the same as that of Patent law. It just seems horribly wrong to me that essentially now manufacturers can use federal law to restrict the use of hardware which consumers bought from them and "own".
All Ford has to do is sign a deal with Pennzoil that ensures that all new Fords have an oil filler cap that only matches the shape of special new Pennzoil plastic oil bottles. They can then sue STP, citing the DMCA, if STP makes a corresponding oil bottle that will match the Pennzoil-only cap. Ford and Pennzoil split the money. Can this happen?
Right, they only have jurisdiction over interstate commerce - so is it legal to build toner cartridges (or mod chips) and sell them within your home state?
I'm not familiar with the details of the situation, but I would suspect the DMCA doesn't just have to apply to items transferred between states. I agree with you that this is not the way things should be. Can anyone clear this up for us?
Once again, I believe that when I buy something, I own it. Does this now mean that if I build my own toner cartridge it's illegal for me to install it in my own printer?
How long until it's illegal to run my own code on my own hardware?
I think that the basic natural right of ownership is being violated by these laws. Americans have other basic natural rights that were guaranteed us - but not this one?
I would wholeheartedly endorse and contribute money to any politician or legislation seeking to reinforce the basic natural right of property ownership.
We're living in a fucking prison. Vote for the libertarians, or anyone else who'd rather repeal laws than make new ones because lobbyists want them to.
Let's change this law. I think I DO own my hardware, no matter how many lobbyists some corp, or the entertainment industry has.
The real reason that Linux in our schools is cheaper than Windows in the long run is that the future technology and business leaders of our nation will be growing up using and being comfortable using free and open software rather than a proprietary and closed OS.
No man.
The *Great Thing* that is going to happen is that the billions of dollars that Microsoft makes off of selling operating systems to consumers is going to stay in the consumers' pockets instead of buying more SUVs for Redmond.
The *Great Thing* that is going to happen is that x number of underprivileged (read: poor) people are going to be that much closer to being able to own and use personal computers.
The *Great Thing* is that more teenagers will grow up to be kernel hackers because the systems they grew up using will be distributed with source code, instead of the proverbial padlock-on-the-hood.
The *Great Thing* is that M$ won't be able to suppress emergent technologies and standards by simply not supporting them, thus confining a whole lot of great ideas to "Nerdland" only.
Anyone care to add?
I completely agree; I was merely alluding to the fact that it is will be a great tragedy if the platform Joe Sixpack knows is Windows instead of something open and publicly owned.
Do we have a chance? One of the reasons M$ is so keen on donating computers to schools (usually as payment of court settlements) is that the more children use Windows, the more likely they are to use it when they become adults. What initiatives have been taken to bring or tailor a public desktop to children?
No, really - why do we care? The real milestone will be when a desktop UI in the public domain is ready for Joe Sixpack - then the world will be a better place.
We should also realize that Joe Sixpack is going to naturally become a more proficient and knowledgeable computer user than he is today. He's decidedly better than he was five years ago. If Joe Sixpack is learning how to use a desktop UI, isn't it far, far better for everyone if he becomes familiar with a publicly owned desktop, instead of one controlled and sold by a private corporation?
Windows definitely *is* ready, however, for your friendly neighborhood trash compactor...
...require extraordinary evidence. Is this extraordinary evidence?