I think they are offering a product whose name is confusing similar to a GeoTrust's product. The language in their e-mail does everything possible to obfuscate the fact that they are not affiliated with Equifax, encouraging customers to "renew" and "upgrade" their certificates.
IANAL. Now, of course you have to consider that it's up to a court to determine whether a servicemark or trademark is being infringed upon, but "confusingly similar" certainly meets the standard for infringement. However, the special sauce got a different reading than I did - no doubt coloured by the fact that Comodo [brings visions of flushing to mind] spammed his customers for competing (and probably lame) products. I'd be pissed too.
However, my reading of the spam was that it's pretty straightforward. There's obsfucation, but it's arguable that they consider their product an "upgrade" in much the same way Microsoft salesdrones consider W2K Server an "upgrade" to your favorite Unix/Linux distro. Companies often offer "renewals" or "competitive upgrades" to entice users to switch from Brand X.
IMHO, what Verisign has done in its spam "renewal" campaign is fraudulent. In a related anecdote, I've found it next to impossible to move my domains to another registrar; hell, I've had problems just moving them between hosting services.
But, back to the topic, Comodo [flush] ain't slamming, I've experienced that joy on two occasions. BellSouth got a new Access app that had a *required* a selection from a lookup table of long distance providers. The default at the time was AT&T. I went from *no long distance* (I *PAID* a monthly fee for disabling long distance. Not that it mattered, because BellSouth was perfectly happy to sign me up with AT&T for my non-existent long-distance service at a $15 a month fee. I still haven't found out how much they got for it, but after repeated phone calls and legal threats I enjoyed 8 months of free local phone service to settle the matter. Of course, that was after about 8 weeks of haranguing dozens of people - your mileage may vary.
Second was when I ordered DirecTV DSL for one of my company's East Texas offices. As in most places, the local Bell does the actual activation - molasses slow for competitors' customers, blazing quick (in comparison) for Bell customers. But I signed up for DirecTV DSL and SouthWestern Bell *canceled* that work order, telling DirecTV DSL that we'd already signed up with SouthWestern Bell; a blatant lie. Still dealing with that one.
I work in a rural area for a company that installs satellite systems - home and commercial. We're constantly asked for low-latency broadband (no DSL, no cable available locally) and are considering becoming a wireless ISP if we sign up enough people to cover the costs. We're pretty much Mom & Pop.
I've looked into different solutions from non-line-of-sight systems to homebrew LOS solutions with pringles cans. The next step is to tour a few places and test these networks out in the real world. We're small and don't have a huge amount of cash to spend, and will initially support up to 50 small business offices, maybe 250 users at the outset.
Anybody out there have a wireless setup (yeah, I've done a google search and have a few sites to visit on my list) they're particularly proud of that I should add to the list? East Texas and all of Louisiana are easily accessible.
Couldn't have been said better. Old news. But it does have interesting implications in light of recent news.
Think about this:
Microsoft plans Palladium, essentially hardware-locking our boxes and software-locking the code that runs on it. Capitalist company exerting tight control over consumers.
Chinese government has invested in Linux and open source - even if they won't embrace the GPL. If they keep to standard hardware, then we'll be assured of a cheap source of Linux boxen. Communist government producing "free" (as in freedom) boxen, leaving control in the hands of consumers.
Even if their distro is rife with spyware (who thinks it isn't?) you can simply bleem the box and start fresh.
Elwood, I did a lot of searching, sure that I was right and...I'm wrong, dead wrong. The following excerpt is from a review of Constitutional Law from LexisNexis(TM), specifically the section on Due Process:
1. Protected against the government: First, practically all of the individual rights conferred by the Constitution upon individuals protect only against government action. They do not protect a person against acts by other private individuals. (Example: Suppose P is a woman who's two months pregnant, and none of the private hospitals in her state will perform an abortion. P's substantive due process right to an abortion has not been violated, because the government has not interfered with that right.)
There is a single exception, having to do with the Thirteenth Amendment, which in the 1960's was siezed upon as the sole exception and - with the Civil Rights Act of 1964 - forms the basis for civil rights lawsuits against private individuals and corporations.
However, I do believe that telcos that sell or otherwise share calling information does violate privacy and that we'll soon see this FCC ruling quashed. I certainly hope so anyway.
I wasn't trolling, I'm just your average opinionated jackass.:)
Companies (or individuals) cannot fly in the face of my (or your) Constitutional rights. A company can't restrict my speech or search me without my consent. Yes, you can be limited to what you can and cannot do at work on company premises with company equipment. Yes, you can sign your rights away under certain conditions.
However, just because I work for Acme or am a customer of Acme doesn't mean that Acme can come rifle through my home or share my phone records without my consent.
Constitutional rights are protected regardless of whether the party is governmental or civilian. Companies and people can be (and are) busted for civil rights violations.
Actually, the states are bound to the federal Constitution. States can't take away rights granted in the federal Constitution, but can grant *more* rights.
As to the question of the 4th Amendment, I anticipated the argument that the 4th doesn't apply:
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
What we commonly call "right to privacy" is enshrined in this amendment. In the 18th century, communication was conducted primarily through the post. This is one reason why the amendment specifically addresses "papers and effects". I would argue (as courts have commonly ruled) that records about phone calls I place are *personal effects*. This is why law enforcement MUST obtain a search warrant, just as they must get a warrant to find out what movies and books I check out or buy.
There are numerous state and federal laws that govern privacy in communications. You cannot, for example, record a call on *your phone* if you are not a party to the call. However, you *can* do so if you are a party to the call (or other conversation). The phone company is not a party to the call, but merely the carrier.
That's my take, anyway. IANAL, batteries not included, your mileage may vary, etc. I fully expect this will be litigated.
WTF? Corporate free speech? Okay, first I take issue with treating corporations as legal persons. That's bull. However, on to my point:
It is NOT a free speech issue to tell other divisions, "partners", or anyone at all for that matter who I call. I don't think this you can find a better example of violating a person's right to privacy (4th Amendment) than to sell or otherwise disseminate details about a person's personal phone calls (date, time, number, duration).
This is a clear example of corporate takeover of government. Citizens - you're doing it to yourselves. Take political action; you don't have to quit your job. Just take a few minutes one day a week to contact your representatives to gripe and organize locally, whether you're an independent, a Green, a Republicrat or a Demopublican.
Okay, why the f*ck did they use polio? Isn't there something more benign they could have messed with? Crap.
[2 scientists smoking crack] Scientist 0: What should we make? Scientist 1: How about Ebola? Scientist 0: Too 'Tom Clancy.' Scientist 1: Hmm. Smallpox? Scientist 0: Nah. E-Coli? Scientist 1: Not cool enough. Anthrax? Scientist 0: Been there, done that. Scientist 1 & 0: [at once] Polio!
You have to wonder what the crap goes through these guys minds. I mean, how is this a good idea? I'm all for scientific research and stuff, and yeah I know some of it is dangerous. But this seems to be tempting fate to me. What's the matter with making something *benign*?
This is one of those rare pleasures, where I get to have an intelligent, informed discussion with another person on/. Good show.
Y'know, as your earlier patent-pending post suggests an "informed" Gator could be a sweet idea. I really like the idea of having an advertising agent that will replace regular advertising with stuff I'm interested in (yes, I want targeted advertising rather than the regular drivel). But I also want a way for content providers at sites that I visit (and TV shows that I watch) to get paid. I wonder how these can be reconciled.
I find most/. banners advertise stuff I either (a) use, or (b) am interested in. There are those (.Net stuff, Micro$oft's 1' of separation) that I'd rather not see at all and instead would like to see an ad for a new ThinkGeek product or nicotine IV drip or something.
I think the analogy breaks down a bit when we're comparing apples (web/print) and mangoes (broadcast). But here goes...
Say I pay $50 per month for cable, both ad-laden and ad-free channels, plus $10 a month for TiVo so I can record stuff when I'm not around, stay late at work, whatever.
Now, I skip commercials like I skip print/banner ads. I just don't look at them and will do something else when commericals come on. I'll either (a) go potty, (b) get a snack, (c) thumb through National Geographic, or (d) channel surf while commercials are on. I don't do that 100% of the time, but most of the time. So does every damned body else since the debut of TV.
Just because we don't work the way they want us to doesn't give them the right to force us to. Advertisers are paying for placement, that's it. Whether I want to watch it/read it/hear it is *my choice*, not theirs.
By the same standard, they have the right to getting that placement in the broadcast stream (though I have the right NOT to record it) and in the print and web advertising venues they choose. I can choose not to view it, but no third party has the right to replace ads the advertisers pay for with their own advertising. That's theft. This is an important distinction that I hope a thoughtful court will agree with.
except that advertising dollars is what makes your magazine subscription so cheap and if some third party cuts out the ads and replaces them with their own they are ripping off the publisher.
If *you* cut out the ads and replace them (or not) with pr0n ads or whatever, that's your business. If you choose to skip ads on your TiVo, that's your business. But if TiVo or a third-party service decided to replace ads the broadcaster was putting out with their own advertising, TiVo would be ripping off the broadcaster.
Fair use means *fair*, not screw the copyright holder or the user.
Bzzt - *wrong*. Thank you for playing.
on
Is Linux Dead?
·
· Score: 2
"It appears MSNBC is reporting that Linux has failed as an operating system. By citing the large Linux hype as reason for Linux to be dominating the market, they draw the conclusion that the "open source" alternative has flopped as an operating system. They briefly mention the success of Linux in the server community, but really the article gives Linux as little credit as possible."
Bzzt. Wrong. Did we even read the *same article*? Your "review" is a complete mischaracterization of the article; we don't need more FUD there, Chief.
The article merely noted that Linux was hyped to death for the desktop and hasn't made the huge splash there that many expected it to. Article says that corporate interest in Linux is *growing* and that it's making inroads to the consumer desktop with Wally World's cheap boxen.
It does not give little credit to Linux, or say anything about "open source" (or Linux) failing as an operating system. BTW, "open source" is not an operating system; it's a class of software.
The only one drawing conclusions here seems to be *you*. Try to acquire some reading comprehension skills before spouting off; and Taco - WTF made this a worthy submission?
For those of you who keep spazzing about how/. ain't bein' properly journalistic and all...here's a clue:
/.!=news
/. is a blog, nothing more, nothing less. It ain't news, it's kewl shizat for nerds. If you want reputable news, go read Al Jazeera. And if you can't read Arabic try translation from Ajeeb.
This point has been hammered home time and again, but it's obvious that Americans (and everyone else, but talking US in this specific instance) need privacy legislation. Unfortunately, the only kind they're likely to get is the sort put forth by the distinguished Senator from Disney.
Obviously, opt-out should be the default, otherwise an undue burden of opting-out on tens of thousands of databases would be placed on the individual.
Unfortunately, with the current climate ushered in by the War on *.*, we're not likely to see anything remotely resembling protection of civil liberties for years to come.
Until we fight collection and access to this data, we're all going to be run against "terrorist" profiles. The feds might decide that your choice of cusine this weekend fits a "terrorist diet" profile - though to pick a point with the article I think a visit from the feds is much more likely to result from a/. post than a visit to the supermarket.
I had decided to wait for blue ray, but hey - I got lucky. Strolling a lane in Wal-Mart, I happened across a shelf with a couple of Philips DVD+RW burners for $74.88. The little yellow smiley face must have been on crack or something - it's about $400 off apiece.
Anyway, the burners are sweet. It takes about a half hour to toast a DVD, but hey - it's 4.7GB per side. The media is kina expensive, more than twice CD-R for storage, more if you do the +RWs. Teamed with a Plextor, I'm covered.
It's really not economical to put my TV shows on DVD yet. Besides, most are coming out now in DVD collections and I'd rather have those than go to the trouble of archiving. But for mp3 they're sweet. Do you have any idea how many mp3s fit on a DVDR?
DVDs hold a lot of promise for storage. I'm hopeful that BlueRay will be cheap (and uncrippled) enough to be ubiquitous. Still, it's obvious that DVD will not be the format of choice for backups. Already, IDE drives outpace the storage capacity of DVDs, tape, and other backup mediums. Storing an image on a network drive still seems the best way.
No, we're not doing enough to track down Earth-killer asteroids, but we're probably going to choke on our own Union Carbide/Dow/pollutant noxious gasses, nuke each other, or otherwise make the planet uninhabitable (to us anyway) long before we get the cosmic smackdown.
My first self-built computer was a Timex Sinclair, so here's my two cents:
Step zero, figure out what you want to do with it. Do you want high-end sound? Gaming? Video capture? Entertainment system? Are you going to lug it around to LAN parties? This will help you trim things down.
First, go to TomsHardware.com, pick up a copy of MaximumPC, and hit other sites like ArsTechnica to read up on articles of importance to your project. You will need a rock-solid motherboard, don't get caught up in overclocking madness and other BS. If this is the first time you've built a machine you've got a lot of stuff to school yourself on without toasting a CPU or mobo. Wait until you know what you're doing. Baby steps. Check out compatibility issues, etc.
Second, don't do this to save money - you won't. Building a box isn't a way to save, it's to be assured that you'll get exactly what you want put together exactly how you want it. Also remember that you are your own warranty and that OEM equipment doesn't have the same warranty period as retail stuff in most cases. Also if you return stuff, there's usually a huge (20%+) restock fee, so make sure you're ordering what you think you're ordering. Caveat emptor.
Third, go to newegg.com or mwave.com and configure yourself up a box. Newegg will let you save your cart and whatnot, mwave is still stuck in 1997 in that regard. Anyway, poke, configure. Design your box around your specific wants and needs. Nip and tuck.
Certainly use pricewatch as a guide, but trust me - it's ALWAYS better to order your parts all from one place rather than be kept waiting for a CPU or couple of sticks of RAM to trickle in. Plus, there's less hassle if something's DOA.
Next, pick up a PC Upgrade & Repair book and a basic toolset. Read, read, read. Check your order to make damned sure that you didn't forget anything. If you're too squeamish to put the whole thing together yourself (you should put it together yourself, IMHO) you can get mwave or someone to prebuild it for your and tweak it when it comes in.
Anyway, if you decide to put it together yourself schedule a free weekend - yes, a whole weekend. Use common sense, a clean worktable without errant drinks or chips, anti-static gear, and a Zen-like ripose. Before you start tearing into your hardware READ THE MANUALS AND HOW-TOS FIRST.
Let me say that again: READ THE MANUALS AND HOW-TOS FIRST.
One more time, because since you're building it YOU are all the tech support you're ever going to get. READ THE MANUALS AND HOW-TOS FIRST. Check erratta online, grab the latest BIOS for your motherboard and drivers for your gear. All the drivers that come on your install CDs were out of date before the CDs were finished duplicating.
Having a running box and broadband handy to grab patches and do research while you construct is invaluable. So is the advice/help/EMT of a friendly geek buddy if you get stuck. Don't bug the crap out of your friend; I HATE being roped into a newbie install at 6:00PM on a Saturday night.
Anyway, make sure you have all your OS and application CDs laying around. Grab the latest ISOs of your favorite distro and make boot floppies.
There will be twists, turns, and headaches. But you'll get a sense of satisfaction and - over the years - invaluable experience with all kinds of wierd hardware and odd situations. Bask in pride as you fire up your very own custom box!
The article was a bit alarmist to catch the reader's attention, but was a pretty good overview of the mischief one can wreak with a zillion consoles; though I think there's no more danger than the zillions of PCs already out there.
[donning flamesuit]
Yeah, there's a lot of Microsoft bashing on/. - sometimes it's deserved and sometimes it's not. Mostly the former.
MS touts it security while its insecurity stands frozen in the stark daylight. It's kind of like trying to be all suave and debonair with your fly unzipped. It's funny.
Now I'm all for using the right tool for the right job. It just turns out that Linux is cheaper, breezier, and more stable most of the time. For LAN parties, it's Windows 2000 hands-down. For console gaming, I like the XBox - mostly for its hacking potential. But I plan to get a Playstation 2 as well.
People are going to hack their consoles. Hell, the first thing I did with my TiVo was to take it apart. Don't think I'm not tinkering with my xbox, it's potential as a cheap Apache webserver or slave in a rendering farm begs experimentation.
It's good that Sony is supportive of the curious developer. It means their platform will spread wider. At $199 apiece, there's no reason not to mod consoles.
I don't doubt a lot of consoles are going to be 0wn3d. Whether it's Microsoft first or Sony will depend on the hobbiest - or on a corporate uh-oh. After all, Microsoft did ship Nimda to Korea with Visual Studio.Net. I'm not crazy about Microsoft's decision to close their gaming
community, but I'm not surprised either.
Blizzard does the same thing (and are villified for it). But I'm less troubled by Blizzard's motives than by Microsoft's.
I don't think that many people really understand what Offtopic really is anyway. In a discussion, it's normal for it to weave and touch on different subjects, even to take off entirely into a different tangent. And while yes, a thread that branches off from the main topic of a discussion may be off-topic, it's not off-topic within that thread.
And you're right that there's often good stuff of value within that thread, tangentially related if at all. I'm going to give your suggestion a shot.
People who have a background in newsgroups seem to readily understand this distinction. Others don't. I was replying to a direct question and got tagged for it. That's really no big deal, though, because I've been moderated up for crap I didn't think was particularly insightful or interesting.
What a high Karma score really means is that people that what you've got to say is more important than background noise. However, as an earlier posted pointed out, it's a long hard struggle to rise above the noise in the first place (to get automagic score of 2) so people notice you, then the trip to 50 territory comes quickly.
Don't get me wrong, I think having some kind of moderation system is better than having dick. This one is far superior to anything else I've encountered (or can think of). No, it's not perfect, but it's not meant to be.
Oh, and off-topic to this thread, I'm gonna take a look at the Lindows PC offerings in my local Wal-Mart this afternoon. I'm glad to see that someone's willing to experiment (even if it is Wal-Mart), but I think it's doomed to fail because Wal-Mart isn't where you should go to buy computers - well, or anything else for that matter.
Well, the record labels can want in one hand and sh*t in the other; see which one fills up first. Here's how commerce works:
I buy a shrink-wrapped CD. Label gets their $, label rips artist off of their $.
A couple of years pass and I get tired of the genre, the artist, whatever. I trade a couple of CDs to a used CD shop for another used CD I want. The record company and artist aren't out any money - the CD was already sold at retail. They got their $.
I have tons of.mp3s, all carefully ripped from my CD collection. Most of the music I listen to is found in used CD shops or on cheesy compilation CDs you see advertised on late-night TV 'cause it originated on another format. Very occassionally do I ever buy a new CD, then usually as a gift for a friend. Why?
Well, because I have about all the music I ever want to hear, legally owned on CD and ripped to my exacting mp3 standards. I listen at home, in the car, and at work; and I'm not paying extra.
I already paid about $5,000 for my music collection, plus all the music that I have on tape or LP that I bought on CD specifically for ripping to mp3. And my collection is wimpy by the standards of audiophiles. That's over a CD-and-a half a month for fifteen years bought at retail. And the music industry doesn't think that's enough?
Well, they can suck my bearded cojones. Punish me for being legal? Fine, screw you guys, I'll keep my money.
Slashdot Mirror
IANAL. Now, of course you have to consider that it's up to a court to determine whether a servicemark or trademark is being infringed upon, but "confusingly similar" certainly meets the standard for infringement. However, the special sauce got a different reading than I did - no doubt coloured by the fact that Comodo [brings visions of flushing to mind] spammed his customers for competing (and probably lame) products. I'd be pissed too.
However, my reading of the spam was that it's pretty straightforward. There's obsfucation, but it's arguable that they consider their product an "upgrade" in much the same way Microsoft salesdrones consider W2K Server an "upgrade" to your favorite Unix/Linux distro. Companies often offer "renewals" or "competitive upgrades" to entice users to switch from Brand X.
IMHO, what Verisign has done in its spam "renewal" campaign is fraudulent. In a related anecdote, I've found it next to impossible to move my domains to another registrar; hell, I've had problems just moving them between hosting services.
But, back to the topic, Comodo [flush] ain't slamming, I've experienced that joy on two occasions. BellSouth got a new Access app that had a *required* a selection from a lookup table of long distance providers. The default at the time was AT&T. I went from *no long distance* (I *PAID* a monthly fee for disabling long distance. Not that it mattered, because BellSouth was perfectly happy to sign me up with AT&T for my non-existent long-distance service at a $15 a month fee. I still haven't found out how much they got for it, but after repeated phone calls and legal threats I enjoyed 8 months of free local phone service to settle the matter. Of course, that was after about 8 weeks of haranguing dozens of people - your mileage may vary.
Second was when I ordered DirecTV DSL for one of my company's East Texas offices. As in most places, the local Bell does the actual activation - molasses slow for competitors' customers, blazing quick (in comparison) for Bell customers. But I signed up for DirecTV DSL and SouthWestern Bell *canceled* that work order, telling DirecTV DSL that we'd already signed up with SouthWestern Bell; a blatant lie. Still dealing with that one.
I've looked into different solutions from non-line-of-sight systems to homebrew LOS solutions with pringles cans. The next step is to tour a few places and test these networks out in the real world. We're small and don't have a huge amount of cash to spend, and will initially support up to 50 small business offices, maybe 250 users at the outset.
Anybody out there have a wireless setup (yeah, I've done a google search and have a few sites to visit on my list) they're particularly proud of that I should add to the list? East Texas and all of Louisiana are easily accessible.
Think about this:
Microsoft plans Palladium, essentially hardware-locking our boxes and software-locking the code that runs on it. Capitalist company exerting tight control over consumers.
Chinese government has invested in Linux and open source - even if they won't embrace the GPL. If they keep to standard hardware, then we'll be assured of a cheap source of Linux boxen. Communist government producing "free" (as in freedom) boxen, leaving control in the hands of consumers.
Even if their distro is rife with spyware (who thinks it isn't?) you can simply bleem the box and start fresh.
It would be ironic, no?
Surf over to lernasp.com and check out "Classic ASP" if you're a vb programmer who hasn't bit into
[/flame suit]
There is a single exception, having to do with the Thirteenth Amendment, which in the 1960's was siezed upon as the sole exception and - with the Civil Rights Act of 1964 - forms the basis for civil rights lawsuits against private individuals and corporations.
However, I do believe that telcos that sell or otherwise share calling information does violate privacy and that we'll soon see this FCC ruling quashed. I certainly hope so anyway.
I wasn't trolling, I'm just your average opinionated jackass. :)
Companies (or individuals) cannot fly in the face of my (or your) Constitutional rights. A company can't restrict my speech or search me without my consent. Yes, you can be limited to what you can and cannot do at work on company premises with company equipment. Yes, you can sign your rights away under certain conditions.
However, just because I work for Acme or am a customer of Acme doesn't mean that Acme can come rifle through my home or share my phone records without my consent.
Constitutional rights are protected regardless of whether the party is governmental or civilian. Companies and people can be (and are) busted for civil rights violations.
As to the question of the 4th Amendment, I anticipated the argument that the 4th doesn't apply:
What we commonly call "right to privacy" is enshrined in this amendment. In the 18th century, communication was conducted primarily through the post. This is one reason why the amendment specifically addresses "papers and effects". I would argue (as courts have commonly ruled) that records about phone calls I place are *personal effects*. This is why law enforcement MUST obtain a search warrant, just as they must get a warrant to find out what movies and books I check out or buy.
There are numerous state and federal laws that govern privacy in communications. You cannot, for example, record a call on *your phone* if you are not a party to the call. However, you *can* do so if you are a party to the call (or other conversation). The phone company is not a party to the call, but merely the carrier.
That's my take, anyway. IANAL, batteries not included, your mileage may vary, etc. I fully expect this will be litigated.
It is NOT a free speech issue to tell other divisions, "partners", or anyone at all for that matter who I call. I don't think this you can find a better example of violating a person's right to privacy (4th Amendment) than to sell or otherwise disseminate details about a person's personal phone calls (date, time, number, duration).
This is a clear example of corporate takeover of government. Citizens - you're doing it to yourselves. Take political action; you don't have to quit your job. Just take a few minutes one day a week to contact your representatives to gripe and organize locally, whether you're an independent, a Green, a Republicrat or a Demopublican.
[2 scientists smoking crack]
Scientist 0: What should we make?
Scientist 1: How about Ebola?
Scientist 0: Too 'Tom Clancy.'
Scientist 1: Hmm. Smallpox?
Scientist 0: Nah. E-Coli?
Scientist 1: Not cool enough. Anthrax?
Scientist 0: Been there, done that.
Scientist 1 & 0: [at once] Polio!
You have to wonder what the crap goes through these guys minds. I mean, how is this a good idea? I'm all for scientific research and stuff, and yeah I know some of it is dangerous. But this seems to be tempting fate to me. What's the matter with making something *benign*?
So that's what's wrong with me! Quick, I need a lawyer. Who do I sue first?
This is one of those rare pleasures, where I get to have an intelligent, informed discussion with another person on /. Good show.
Y'know, as your earlier patent-pending post suggests an "informed" Gator could be a sweet idea. I really like the idea of having an advertising agent that will replace regular advertising with stuff I'm interested in (yes, I want targeted advertising rather than the regular drivel). But I also want a way for content providers at sites that I visit (and TV shows that I watch) to get paid. I wonder how these can be reconciled.
I find most /. banners advertise stuff I either (a) use, or (b) am interested in. There are those (.Net stuff, Micro$oft's 1' of separation) that I'd rather not see at all and instead would like to see an ad for a new ThinkGeek product or nicotine IV drip or something.
Good point. It's up to a court to decide, of course, but I'd say that since Gator is spyware it fails the user agent test.
Say I pay $50 per month for cable, both ad-laden and ad-free channels, plus $10 a month for TiVo so I can record stuff when I'm not around, stay late at work, whatever.
Now, I skip commercials like I skip print/banner ads. I just don't look at them and will do something else when commericals come on. I'll either (a) go potty, (b) get a snack, (c) thumb through National Geographic, or (d) channel surf while commercials are on. I don't do that 100% of the time, but most of the time. So does every damned body else since the debut of TV.
Just because we don't work the way they want us to doesn't give them the right to force us to. Advertisers are paying for placement, that's it. Whether I want to watch it/read it/hear it is *my choice*, not theirs.
By the same standard, they have the right to getting that placement in the broadcast stream (though I have the right NOT to record it) and in the print and web advertising venues they choose. I can choose not to view it, but no third party has the right to replace ads the advertisers pay for with their own advertising. That's theft. This is an important distinction that I hope a thoughtful court will agree with.
If *you* cut out the ads and replace them (or not) with pr0n ads or whatever, that's your business. If you choose to skip ads on your TiVo, that's your business. But if TiVo or a third-party service decided to replace ads the broadcaster was putting out with their own advertising, TiVo would be ripping off the broadcaster.
Fair use means *fair*, not screw the copyright holder or the user.
Bzzt. Wrong. Did we even read the *same article*? Your "review" is a complete mischaracterization of the article; we don't need more FUD there, Chief.
The article merely noted that Linux was hyped to death for the desktop and hasn't made the huge splash there that many expected it to. Article says that corporate interest in Linux is *growing* and that it's making inroads to the consumer desktop with Wally World's cheap boxen.
It does not give little credit to Linux, or say anything about "open source" (or Linux) failing as an operating system. BTW, "open source" is not an operating system; it's a class of software.
The only one drawing conclusions here seems to be *you*. Try to acquire some reading comprehension skills before spouting off; and Taco - WTF made this a worthy submission?
For those of you who keep spazzing about how /. ain't bein' properly journalistic and all...here's a clue:
Obviously, opt-out should be the default, otherwise an undue burden of opting-out on tens of thousands of databases would be placed on the individual.
Unfortunately, with the current climate ushered in by the War on *.*, we're not likely to see anything remotely resembling protection of civil liberties for years to come.
Until we fight collection and access to this data, we're all going to be run against "terrorist" profiles. The feds might decide that your choice of cusine this weekend fits a "terrorist diet" profile - though to pick a point with the article I think a visit from the feds is much more likely to result from a /. post than a visit to the supermarket.
Anyway, the burners are sweet. It takes about a half hour to toast a DVD, but hey - it's 4.7GB per side. The media is kina expensive, more than twice CD-R for storage, more if you do the +RWs. Teamed with a Plextor, I'm covered.
It's really not economical to put my TV shows on DVD yet. Besides, most are coming out now in DVD collections and I'd rather have those than go to the trouble of archiving. But for mp3 they're sweet. Do you have any idea how many mp3s fit on a DVDR?
DVDs hold a lot of promise for storage. I'm hopeful that BlueRay will be cheap (and uncrippled) enough to be ubiquitous. Still, it's obvious that DVD will not be the format of choice for backups. Already, IDE drives outpace the storage capacity of DVDs, tape, and other backup mediums. Storing an image on a network drive still seems the best way.
Damn, now I'll have to upgrade all my counterfeiting equipment!
No, we're not doing enough to track down Earth-killer asteroids, but we're probably going to choke on our own Union Carbide/Dow/pollutant noxious gasses, nuke each other, or otherwise make the planet uninhabitable (to us anyway) long before we get the cosmic smackdown.
Step zero, figure out what you want to do with it. Do you want high-end sound? Gaming? Video capture? Entertainment system? Are you going to lug it around to LAN parties? This will help you trim things down.
First, go to TomsHardware.com, pick up a copy of MaximumPC, and hit other sites like ArsTechnica to read up on articles of importance to your project. You will need a rock-solid motherboard, don't get caught up in overclocking madness and other BS. If this is the first time you've built a machine you've got a lot of stuff to school yourself on without toasting a CPU or mobo. Wait until you know what you're doing. Baby steps. Check out compatibility issues, etc.
Second, don't do this to save money - you won't. Building a box isn't a way to save, it's to be assured that you'll get exactly what you want put together exactly how you want it. Also remember that you are your own warranty and that OEM equipment doesn't have the same warranty period as retail stuff in most cases. Also if you return stuff, there's usually a huge (20%+) restock fee, so make sure you're ordering what you think you're ordering. Caveat emptor.
Third, go to newegg.com or mwave.com and configure yourself up a box. Newegg will let you save your cart and whatnot, mwave is still stuck in 1997 in that regard. Anyway, poke, configure. Design your box around your specific wants and needs. Nip and tuck.
Certainly use pricewatch as a guide, but trust me - it's ALWAYS better to order your parts all from one place rather than be kept waiting for a CPU or couple of sticks of RAM to trickle in. Plus, there's less hassle if something's DOA.
Next, pick up a PC Upgrade & Repair book and a basic toolset. Read, read, read. Check your order to make damned sure that you didn't forget anything. If you're too squeamish to put the whole thing together yourself (you should put it together yourself, IMHO) you can get mwave or someone to prebuild it for your and tweak it when it comes in.
Anyway, if you decide to put it together yourself schedule a free weekend - yes, a whole weekend. Use common sense, a clean worktable without errant drinks or chips, anti-static gear, and a Zen-like ripose. Before you start tearing into your hardware READ THE MANUALS AND HOW-TOS FIRST.
Let me say that again: READ THE MANUALS AND HOW-TOS FIRST.
One more time, because since you're building it YOU are all the tech support you're ever going to get. READ THE MANUALS AND HOW-TOS FIRST. Check erratta online, grab the latest BIOS for your motherboard and drivers for your gear. All the drivers that come on your install CDs were out of date before the CDs were finished duplicating.
Having a running box and broadband handy to grab patches and do research while you construct is invaluable. So is the advice/help/EMT of a friendly geek buddy if you get stuck. Don't bug the crap out of your friend; I HATE being roped into a newbie install at 6:00PM on a Saturday night.
Anyway, make sure you have all your OS and application CDs laying around. Grab the latest ISOs of your favorite distro and make boot floppies.
There will be twists, turns, and headaches. But you'll get a sense of satisfaction and - over the years - invaluable experience with all kinds of wierd hardware and odd situations. Bask in pride as you fire up your very own custom box!
[donning flamesuit] /. - sometimes it's deserved and sometimes it's not. Mostly the former.
Yeah, there's a lot of Microsoft bashing on
MS touts it security while its insecurity stands frozen in the stark daylight. It's kind of like trying to be all suave and debonair with your fly unzipped. It's funny.
Now I'm all for using the right tool for the right job. It just turns out that Linux is cheaper, breezier, and more stable most of the time. For LAN parties, it's Windows 2000 hands-down. For console gaming, I like the XBox - mostly for its hacking potential. But I plan to get a Playstation 2 as well.
People are going to hack their consoles. Hell, the first thing I did with my TiVo was to take it apart. Don't think I'm not tinkering with my xbox, it's potential as a cheap Apache webserver or slave in a rendering farm begs experimentation.
It's good that Sony is supportive of the curious developer. It means their platform will spread wider. At $199 apiece, there's no reason not to mod consoles.
I don't doubt a lot of consoles are going to be 0wn3d. Whether it's Microsoft first or Sony will depend on the hobbiest - or on a corporate uh-oh. After all, Microsoft did ship Nimda to Korea with Visual Studio .Net. I'm not crazy about Microsoft's decision to close their gaming
community, but I'm not surprised either.
Blizzard does the same thing (and are villified for it). But I'm less troubled by Blizzard's motives than by Microsoft's.
Possession is 9/10th's of the law anyway, so where the server resides governs.
And you're right that there's often good stuff of value within that thread, tangentially related if at all. I'm going to give your suggestion a shot.
People who have a background in newsgroups seem to readily understand this distinction. Others don't. I was replying to a direct question and got tagged for it. That's really no big deal, though, because I've been moderated up for crap I didn't think was particularly insightful or interesting.
What a high Karma score really means is that people that what you've got to say is more important than background noise. However, as an earlier posted pointed out, it's a long hard struggle to rise above the noise in the first place (to get automagic score of 2) so people notice you, then the trip to 50 territory comes quickly.
Don't get me wrong, I think having some kind of moderation system is better than having dick. This one is far superior to anything else I've encountered (or can think of). No, it's not perfect, but it's not meant to be.
Oh, and off-topic to this thread, I'm gonna take a look at the Lindows PC offerings in my local Wal-Mart this afternoon. I'm glad to see that someone's willing to experiment (even if it is Wal-Mart), but I think it's doomed to fail because Wal-Mart isn't where you should go to buy computers - well, or anything else for that matter.
I buy a shrink-wrapped CD. Label gets their $, label rips artist off of their $.
A couple of years pass and I get tired of the genre, the artist, whatever. I trade a couple of CDs to a used CD shop for another used CD I want. The record company and artist aren't out any money - the CD was already sold at retail. They got their $.
I have tons of .mp3s, all carefully ripped from my CD collection. Most of the music I listen to is found in used CD shops or on cheesy compilation CDs you see advertised on late-night TV 'cause it originated on another format. Very occassionally do I ever buy a new CD, then usually as a gift for a friend. Why?
Well, because I have about all the music I ever want to hear, legally owned on CD and ripped to my exacting mp3 standards. I listen at home, in the car, and at work; and I'm not paying extra.
I already paid about $5,000 for my music collection, plus all the music that I have on tape or LP that I bought on CD specifically for ripping to mp3. And my collection is wimpy by the standards of audiophiles. That's over a CD-and-a half a month for fifteen years bought at retail. And the music industry doesn't think that's enough?
Well, they can suck my bearded cojones. Punish me for being legal? Fine, screw you guys, I'll keep my money.