Already got the email from Slashdot... and getting email from Slashdot is kinda new, especially since it's coming from a 3rd party (elabs10.com).
And I'm not sure I especially like a Slashdot which emails me such things through a mass-mail host. Especially one which has apparently been blacklisted as a spammer. I'm pretty sure I never told Slashdot they could do that.
It's not that it's illegal. There are regulations governing the trading of futures, which is what these are marketed as. The site is likely not following those regulations.
But, is this really 'trading futures'? My understanding is that real futures trading is defined thusly:
A financial contract obligating the buyer to purchase an asset (or the seller to sell an asset), such as a physical commodity or a financial instrument, at a predetermined future date and price. Futures contracts detail the quality and quantity of the underlying asset; they are standardized to facilitate trading on a futures exchange.
There's no promise of any future transactions here. It's someone placing a bet on a prediction, which if you're right pays off. It's not saying "Next March 31st I will sell you x units of y at price z"... it's saying "I bet the stock market is trending down on March 31st".
So, unless there is a fear that people placing these bets could have some sway over the outcome (which is insider trading and already covered by regulations)... then this doesn't seem like it fits the definition of trading futures.
But "I predict this team wins" or "I predict this person gets elected" seem like they're very far outside of regulating futures trades.
But that won't cover stuff printed in portrait format. Shredding in only one direction is a bad idea.
Hell, my home shredder, like most of them nowadays, is a cross shredder, which means it's cutting in both directions at once. That ends up making fairly small confetti-like pieces.
Sounds like someone has been watching the Matrix or something a little too much.
Herds of nerds driving geared up motorcycles so they can go around war driving. Very cyberpunk, kinda. Now he just needs a couple of swords.
And, it sounds like he's trying to do a little more 'black hat' kind of stuff, but at least he can make a fast getaway.
Of course, I can picture the pick up lines... "Hey baby, like my custom motorcycle".... "oooh, you're such a stud"... "yeah, and it's equipped with custom wi-fi penetration gear and an integrated HUD"... *crickets*
Actually, in the patent game, both sides get to increase their cost-to-customer as well as barriers to market entry for small players and startups. For big companies, patent wars are a win, which is why they so willingly participate.
That's accurate, but highly depressing.
And it highlights the problem -- this doesn't help consumers or foster innovation, it mostly just makes sure the big companies have no competition.
But an incompetent Linux admin can cause far worse damage than an incompetent windows one.
What are you talking about?
An incompetent admin on any system can lead to a total outage and a lack of access to your data and software. If your admin re-formats the drives or otherwise renders your system unusable, no matter the platform, you're still dead in the water.
In what way can a Linux admin break a machine more than a Windows admin can?
I've seen the results of incompetent admins in multiple contexts -- and no matter the underlying platform, they can still screw stuff up to the point of being costly and time consuming to fix.
I can't help thinking that the average Slashdot reader has already watched every episode of Good Eats and knows not to do this already.
From what I've seen over the years... such demonstrations don't serve to dissuade Slashdotters from doing something. It's more of a starting point for something to try at home.:-P
Are those actually real? I've never seen them, and I wouldn't follow a link like that -- I would assume it's bogus. Since I have no idea where.gl is, I wouldn't click on that link.
If I want google, I will go to google.com, permutations of that will be assumed to be fraudulent, pointless, or wrong.
Nor would I click on bun.gl, fon.dl, stup.id, wank.er or any of these ones which try to be overly clever with a TLD from somewhere else.
Except that the people who would own and or maintain the infrastructure aren't the ones whose property might blow up.
This is closer to me saying "you need to fix your gas leak or my property might explode". Unless I can get you to take on legal responsibility in case it happens, what is the incentive for you to fix the leak?
This isn't property owners who aren't fixing their own property -- this is infrastructure type stuff.
What? Is that not enough of an incentive? If it goes into the air, you cannot sell it or make money off it.
Nope, like most such things, the inventory loss is accounted for, and already passed onto the consumer buried in a line item.
I'd be very surprised to hear those companies are eating this cost. And, if they're just passing it on to the consumers, they don't really suffer any loss, and therefore don't care.
In the same way that I have to pay a security fee when I fly so some flunky can grab my junk, it isn't the companies losing money on this -- it's taxpayers and consumers.
I'm not tired of it.. I use it as a way to know which ones to avoid. Anybody using any of those TLDs becomes a site I won't visit since I just assume they're shady.
And all of those things like bit.ly? Well, since I can't tell what the fscking URL is, I'm not following it.
Does anyone know if this operating system will be made open or if it will remain closed?
Presumably, if it's "Linux based" they'll be required under the terms of the GPL to release their changes.
The stuff they write on top probably not so much. And then I'm sure they'll have some stuff they say is patented or licensed they can't tell you about.
I don't think I'd count on getting something which can provide a usable OS on other phones without a lot of work by someone.
Yea, great business model. Piss off nerds that use a HUGELY popular web site. [sarcasm]
You might be surprised to find out that nerd rage doesn't go a long way to intimidate corporations and lawyers.
Us pissing and moaning about such things doesn't really tend to actually change much.
And, of course, that idiot who heads the USPTO will claim this is how the system is supposed to work and that it's driving innovation. It's not, but he'll still continue to claim that.
Well, they also did Iron Man 2 -- which no matter what your opinion of the movie, made a butt-load of money and got them exposure.
I was in a restaurant the other day, and two young kids (like 8 or 9) were singing along and head bobbing with the AC/DC which was playing -- my guess is that Iron Man 2 is partly to credit, though, maybe they got it from their parents.
At this point, any artists who are holding out from iTunes and the other stores have lost track of how most people are buying music.
Whose projections are these? Actual industry ones, or Microsoft claiming they'd sell a billion units in the first week?
Many of us predicted Win 8 would be something most people skip as they've already gotten Win 7 and aren't interested in it.
From what I've seen of it, and the reviews I've read... Win 8 sounds more like something many people will try to avoid. Some of the reviews I'm seeing basically make it sound like the new UI is bordering on useless, but I've not yet had a chance to play with a Win 8 machine myself.
I'm guessing things look a little different when it's oneself being falsely accused, even without taking into account whatever level of corruption is perceived in the local judiciary.
That, of course, presumes he's actually being falsely accused.
I honestly haven't seen enough evidence to sway me either way -- and it's not like people haven't gone to elaborate lengths to deny criminal charges.
So far we have the official version, and his version. I don't doubt the possibility of corrupt police and false charges -- but I can't exclude the possibility that he did it as well.
Also, what's to stop a cop from taking them off to do something under the table?
Well, then you pretty much have to say "any police action which doesn't have the corresponding video will result in disciplinary action".
You won't be able to stop the outright corrupt cops, but if someone did an arrest and didn't have the glasses on to record what actually happened -- they might get thrown out of court.
At least, that seems a sane way. We hear far too often about cops deciding they can take/break cameras, delete images, and all sorts of other things they're not really legally allowed to do. Enforcing some level of accountability on them might actually do some good.
There's an awful lot of police officers who either don't know, or don't care, about what they're legally allowed to do.
Slashdot Mirror
Already got the email from Slashdot ... and getting email from Slashdot is kinda new, especially since it's coming from a 3rd party (elabs10.com).
And I'm not sure I especially like a Slashdot which emails me such things through a mass-mail host. Especially one which has apparently been blacklisted as a spammer. I'm pretty sure I never told Slashdot they could do that.
Maybe "Dice Holdings" are becoming asshats?
But, is this really 'trading futures'? My understanding is that real futures trading is defined thusly:
There's no promise of any future transactions here. It's someone placing a bet on a prediction, which if you're right pays off. It's not saying "Next March 31st I will sell you x units of y at price z" ... it's saying "I bet the stock market is trending down on March 31st".
So, unless there is a fear that people placing these bets could have some sway over the outcome (which is insider trading and already covered by regulations) ... then this doesn't seem like it fits the definition of trading futures.
But "I predict this team wins" or "I predict this person gets elected" seem like they're very far outside of regulating futures trades.
Why is it illegal to wager on a prediction?
Or is this just being treated as a special case of on-line gambling, which apparently the world would end if allowed.
But that won't cover stuff printed in portrait format. Shredding in only one direction is a bad idea.
Hell, my home shredder, like most of them nowadays, is a cross shredder, which means it's cutting in both directions at once. That ends up making fairly small confetti-like pieces.
Sounds like someone has been watching the Matrix or something a little too much.
Herds of nerds driving geared up motorcycles so they can go around war driving. Very cyberpunk, kinda. Now he just needs a couple of swords.
And, it sounds like he's trying to do a little more 'black hat' kind of stuff, but at least he can make a fast getaway.
Of course, I can picture the pick up lines ... "Hey baby, like my custom motorcycle" .... "oooh, you're such a stud" ... "yeah, and it's equipped with custom wi-fi penetration gear and an integrated HUD" ... *crickets*
That's accurate, but highly depressing.
And it highlights the problem -- this doesn't help consumers or foster innovation, it mostly just makes sure the big companies have no competition.
What are you talking about?
An incompetent admin on any system can lead to a total outage and a lack of access to your data and software. If your admin re-formats the drives or otherwise renders your system unusable, no matter the platform, you're still dead in the water.
In what way can a Linux admin break a machine more than a Windows admin can?
I've seen the results of incompetent admins in multiple contexts -- and no matter the underlying platform, they can still screw stuff up to the point of being costly and time consuming to fix.
From what I've seen over the years ... such demonstrations don't serve to dissuade Slashdotters from doing something. It's more of a starting point for something to try at home. :-P
This is Slashdot, not Livestrong ... we don't go outside.
Well, it will end up being whatever they want to do, with some inputs from governments to be sure they're handing over our information.
Well, they usually involve the mother in law in some capacity. So, yeah. ;-)
Umm ... because that's what they're for? ;-)
Are those actually real? I've never seen them, and I wouldn't follow a link like that -- I would assume it's bogus. Since I have no idea where .gl is, I wouldn't click on that link.
If I want google, I will go to google.com, permutations of that will be assumed to be fraudulent, pointless, or wrong.
Nor would I click on bun.gl, fon.dl, stup.id, wank.er or any of these ones which try to be overly clever with a TLD from somewhere else.
Except that the people who would own and or maintain the infrastructure aren't the ones whose property might blow up.
This is closer to me saying "you need to fix your gas leak or my property might explode". Unless I can get you to take on legal responsibility in case it happens, what is the incentive for you to fix the leak?
This isn't property owners who aren't fixing their own property -- this is infrastructure type stuff.
Nope, like most such things, the inventory loss is accounted for, and already passed onto the consumer buried in a line item.
I'd be very surprised to hear those companies are eating this cost. And, if they're just passing it on to the consumers, they don't really suffer any loss, and therefore don't care.
In the same way that I have to pay a security fee when I fly so some flunky can grab my junk, it isn't the companies losing money on this -- it's taxpayers and consumers.
I'm thinking he can expect a visit from Homeland Security on this one -- now the terrorists know how to blow up Boston. :-P
I'm not tired of it .. I use it as a way to know which ones to avoid. Anybody using any of those TLDs becomes a site I won't visit since I just assume they're shady.
And all of those things like bit.ly? Well, since I can't tell what the fscking URL is, I'm not following it.
Presumably, if it's "Linux based" they'll be required under the terms of the GPL to release their changes.
The stuff they write on top probably not so much. And then I'm sure they'll have some stuff they say is patented or licensed they can't tell you about.
I don't think I'd count on getting something which can provide a usable OS on other phones without a lot of work by someone.
You might be surprised to find out that nerd rage doesn't go a long way to intimidate corporations and lawyers.
Us pissing and moaning about such things doesn't really tend to actually change much.
And, of course, that idiot who heads the USPTO will claim this is how the system is supposed to work and that it's driving innovation. It's not, but he'll still continue to claim that.
Well, they also did Iron Man 2 -- which no matter what your opinion of the movie, made a butt-load of money and got them exposure.
I was in a restaurant the other day, and two young kids (like 8 or 9) were singing along and head bobbing with the AC/DC which was playing -- my guess is that Iron Man 2 is partly to credit, though, maybe they got it from their parents.
At this point, any artists who are holding out from iTunes and the other stores have lost track of how most people are buying music.
Whose projections are these? Actual industry ones, or Microsoft claiming they'd sell a billion units in the first week?
Many of us predicted Win 8 would be something most people skip as they've already gotten Win 7 and aren't interested in it.
From what I've seen of it, and the reviews I've read ... Win 8 sounds more like something many people will try to avoid. Some of the reviews I'm seeing basically make it sound like the new UI is bordering on useless, but I've not yet had a chance to play with a Win 8 machine myself.
That, of course, presumes he's actually being falsely accused.
I honestly haven't seen enough evidence to sway me either way -- and it's not like people haven't gone to elaborate lengths to deny criminal charges.
So far we have the official version, and his version. I don't doubt the possibility of corrupt police and false charges -- but I can't exclude the possibility that he did it as well.
He's making a prediction. He has previously said his predictions are really good.
So, if he'd be a fool to place a bet, his predictions are equally worthless.
I can get out a ouija board and tell you who is going to win too -- and except for sheer dumb luck, I'd be just as wrong.
Well, then you pretty much have to say "any police action which doesn't have the corresponding video will result in disciplinary action".
You won't be able to stop the outright corrupt cops, but if someone did an arrest and didn't have the glasses on to record what actually happened -- they might get thrown out of court.
At least, that seems a sane way. We hear far too often about cops deciding they can take/break cameras, delete images, and all sorts of other things they're not really legally allowed to do. Enforcing some level of accountability on them might actually do some good.
There's an awful lot of police officers who either don't know, or don't care, about what they're legally allowed to do.
I think in parallel to this he should start placing bets with sports bookies or something.
Put his money where his mouth is ... and, if he's been right on so many things, he can probably make a fortune on the side.