Welcome to high Karma. When your Karma gets above a certain level, your posts will automagically be given a score of 2 --- unless you check the box, then you won't get the bonus and will have it rated at the usual 1.
Your Karma can't go above 50. Interestingly, it took a year to get to 25 and just one month more to get to 50. [Shrug]
They're getting clueful, finally. US$0.99 for an mp3 is a tad high, though. Lower quality rip, etc. Don't forget the VAT for European markets. US$9.99 per CD is about right, though I'd prefer to buy per song (song that I want) anyway.
Activisim, running for public office, and voting are the best tools for fighting for civil liberties. Violence - through members of a movement or agent provacateurs - undermine the fight for liberty. The public will galvanize against it.
Nonviolent protest and civil disobediance should be the means for struggling against bad law, disenfranchisement, and poor government. Even Malcolm X recognized this and renounced his doctrine of by any means necessary.
Of course the powers-that-be shut him up pretty permanently by employing violence.
Man, what a relief! Its comforting to know that we'll always have someone looking out for us. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Can they tuck me into bed and read me a story too?
I have to agree with Chacham here; you *never* *ever* have developers changing a database schema willy nilly. It's a great way to destroy your project. The database comes *first*; if you plan your project properly from the beginning you shouldn't need to make many structural changes to your database.
This is 101 level stuff: plan first, code later. You don't make things up as you go along.
This just makes me sick. I've read Alexis de Toqueville's Democracy in America several times, it's one of my favorite books. He considered unchecked capitalism a serious threat to participatory democracy. How vile for an organization to sully his name with drivel like this report.
My LAN gang lugs boxes around bi-weekly and I find my OC'ed Celeron@992 w/1GB SDRAM and a GeForce2 MX sufficient to whoop ass in CounterStrike, Wolfenstein, and UnrealT. But after screwing up my back, lugging around a 17" CRT (for gaming) and all associated crap made me take a gander at the various notebook offerings.
A buddy of mine has one of those Dell Inspiron 8100s with the GeForce2Go. The light weight and 60 second setup really caught my eye. I gave it a whirl, but the blurring motion and artifacting problems (yeah, driver was updated) made the experience disappointing; especially a big fat block right on the crosshairs that made sniping all but impossible. Before long, the novelty wore off and I was back on my own box.
I haven't given the GeForce4Go-based notebooks a whirl yet and they're pricey.
My solution is to opt for a nice 17" LCD and get one of Shuttle's new SS40 series boxes when the AGP version comes out. Stick in a GeForce4 Ti4600 and you've got a small gaming system that won't blow your back out.
This'll have to do until we can get some whoop-ass wearables for a bit of augmented unreality.:)
We're all entitled to one stupid ponderance and I'm maxed on karma, so here goes.
I know I'm not the first to ponder this, but I have to wonder when Microsoft will descend, slurp up open source code, and mint their own distro. The horror and wailing...
There are a lot of people on the road who shouldn't be. But you can't expect pilot-license-level expertise from your average motorist. I'd be happy if they would just: (a) not talk on phone & drive, (b) not drink and drive, and (c) fucking signal.
Most drivers know about as much about their cars as they do about their computers: dick.
You put gas in it. You change oil and check other fluids every 3,000 miles. You take it to a mechanic here and there to check things out when they seem weird. You inflate tyres to the pressure indicated in the owner's manual. You drive. Drivers don't really need to know all that much about their cars, just as Joe Sixpack doesn't need to know all that much about the inner workings of his PC to use it.
However, it sure helps to have a clue about both.
I'm a pretty good driver and take good care of my car. I've only had one accident - which was major - and two speeding tickets in over 16 years behind the wheel. I did have a tyre blow out at 100kph+ during rush-hour traffic. It was just an inconvenience. Don't panic, keep the car straight, slow down, pull over, and stop. It ain't rocket science.
FuturePower(R) says: Companies with virtual monopolies, like Microsoft, should be required to place their file formats in the public domain (make them public and free). Otherwise, monopolies can use file formats to compete unfairly.
BoyPlankton replies:
I really believe that if you are going to impose a restriction like this against MS then you should impose it industry-wide. Otherwise, future virtual monopolies will use file formats to compete unfairly.
It's been clearly demonstrated that Microsoft can and does use its monopoly power abusively. No, it's not illegal to be a monopoly. But yes, it is illegal to abuse your position as a monopoly. That's what the Sherman Anti-Trust act is all about.
You can't use some prior-restraint against a company that might become a monopoly because it would be "unfair" to a convicted abusive monopolist. At best that's being an apologist for abusive monopolies.
At the very least Microsoft should be forced to open their file formats and APIs, fully documented, in the interest of interoperability with other platforms. It has been shown time and time again that they will otherwise abuse their position as a monopoly to crush other companies and projects (Dr. DOS, PC-DOS, Netscape, Samba). This clearly should be part of the remedy phase of the trial. Let's remember - they've already been convicted. Now we're looking at remedies that are supposed to preclude them from engaging in such behaviour in the future. Clearly, a promise to do so is woefully inadequate.
IMHO, All Intellectual Property, 25 years after the death of the creator/IP holder or 75 years after first publication in any event. Otherwise Disney, AOL-Time-Warner, and a handful of other companies will own our culture. The Constitution makes a very specific provision for copyright expiration, the purpose of copyrights, and the purpose of expiring them for the benefit of the public.
Forgot to close a tag, so about 30% of my reply got cut off (oops). But I think it's unfortunate your kids will be restricted from the library. IMHO, adolescents are responsible enough to go out with little supervision - depending on their behaviour and temperament. You're the best judge of that.
I think you're overreacting about the library - I doubt there a pedophiles lurking around most corners. I also don't think that banning books, music, and ideas is a good idea. Kids should be encouraged to investigate literature.
However, they're your kids and it's your rules. There are people who don't agree with my ideas of parenting - but that's fine as long as they don't interfere with my parenting - or yours.
I didn't for a moment state, nor do I believe, that sex is bad.
Not suggesting that you did. It's a major undercurrent in our culture and a prevailing view.
What I do believe is that there are things that should be controlled, just like medicine. I have very useful drugs at home (strong pain relievers), that could be deadly to my son, that I restrict him from.
We have some common ground here I'll get to in a second. But I'm very suspicious of stuff (sex, drugs, rock its the responsibility of the parent to ensure their kids are properly supervised.
I'm just saying that it's not up the library or the government to decide what kids read, it's up to you. It's not up the the library to restrict certain books, web sites, or movies from kids. It's up to you. What you find "mature" for your kid might not be for mine, and vice versa.
I'm not disparaging your parenting here - I'm sure you love your kids and want a good life for them. But I shouldn't have to go hunt down a librarian for each web site I want to visit (or "banned book" or whatever) that's been restricted; your kid shouldn't be on the library computer (or in the library at all) without your supervision.
Do you also believe that kids should be exposed to sexual contact as well?
With adults? Absolutely not.
If someone in a library tries to expose my son in that manner I would be tried for that person's murder.
You'll get no argument from me there. I'd tear someone apart if they tried to molest a child.
My position is that kids should not be taught that sex is bad (regardless of orientation) and should to be taught about abstinence and how to protect themselves from STDs and pregnancy if they decide engage in sex.
Most adolescents are going to have sex and I don't think that repressing their sexuality will ever work - more importantly, it's not healthy from a mental standpoint. It's biology, which should be (and often isn't) tempered with common sense.
Pedophiles and child pornographers are predators and should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. It is *never* appropriate for adults to have sex with minors.
As for CITA, the court (and I) disagrees with your position. Blocking something or not allowing someone to get it freely is censorship, which isn't appropriate.
The ultimate arbiter of what's proper and improper for children to access is not Congress, not me, not a neighbor, but you - the parent. You're perfectly within your rights to raise and look after your children. People have different ways of raising kids and I wouldn't brook interference with the way I raise my kids any more than you would. I'm just stating my opinion.:)
I get this question a lot. Biologically, nope, but have helped raise 2:
Gwen, from 8 to 12 years old
Madison, from 6 to 10 years old
There's a balance between permissiveness and totalitarianism that has to be struck with raising kids. Structure changes as kids mature and go through different developmental periods.
You have to be honest with them. Kids pick up on bullshit fast. I answer their questions honestly, explain with analogies, and encourage them to question. I also point them to resources where they can learn stuff for themselves.
They don't deserve to be shortchanged or have answers to their questions censored.
Hurrah! Now kids can actually do research on breast cancer, pregnancy, and a host of other subjects without getting the big fat "blocked by CensorWare 4.3."
'Protecting' kids from the realities of the world is a great disservice. They'll end up clueless adults who have a hard time fitting in with society. I may sound like a broken record here, but kids don't need protection from porn or sex. For my pr0n argument, counter-arguments, and a really nice discussion thread, look here.
Keeping kids in the dark about sex and other 'unsavory' subjects is stupid. It only compounds the problems of STDs and unwanted pregnancy. Keeping kids in the dark about drugs, violence, politics, history, and other subjects is equally bankrupt. The 'innocent childhood' is a ridiculous concept and a disservice to kids.
Look, all RMS is saying is that you should GPL the software you write so it can't be Shanghied. That's it. Nothing in the GPL prevents me from creating and installer and some other utilities, creating a distro, and selling that distro for $1 million per-seat.
I prefer the way RedHat does it. You can buy just about everything you need for US$199, (a lot) more if you want Tux or their release of PostGRESQL. But Tux and 'RedHat database' are worth it. RedHat lets you download the ISOs (nice of them + makes sense to get easy distribution) for base installs, everything's online. What they make their money on is RedHat Network.
Now, I think RHN is pretty goddamned expensive for the US$240-per-year-per-box corporate version, but the handy-dandy cheapo version is quite reasonable. And the US$240 ain't much to pay considering how much of a hassle it saves you to keep your boxen patched.
IMHO, from a business standpoint, Linux (and other software) as a service makes the best sense. You pays your $ and you gets your ongoing service. If you don't want the service, don't pay. You can self-serve for free.
Compared to traditional monstrosities, I've found the Shuttle boxes to be pretty quiet. Most of our other workstations are *loud*. We usually stick them under the desks, out of the way of feet - partly for space but also for noise.
These shuttle boxes - the older SV24 and SV25 models - really aren't that loud. Yeah, they're louder than I'd like them to be. Ideally I'd like my breathing to be louder than the fans (and hard drive noise) and it looks like the newer models go along those lines. I'll be picking up a few once they release the AGP version, specifically for LAN party usage.
I'm seriously considering doing reseller business based on these boxes, primarily for students and small businesses. But I have to expand IT a lot more to get into that gig, margins are *low*, and I much prefer coding.
On a tangential note, I'm very interested to see how the miniaturization trend goes, particularly with roll-on flexible circuit board printing (sealed plastic-like substrate instead of silicon).
Amen. To paraphrase Wendy: "Fuck the industry. Fuck them right in the ear."
NitsujTPU, you're absolutely right. They key here is to offer customers an incentive to BUY - give them something for their money.
Take television and the whole TiVo row. I'm a big fan of Smallville. Now if I can't make it home in time to watch it, you bet your ass TiVo is going to get it. Am I gonna skip commercials? You bet, aside from a few I find genuinely entertaining (e.g. the Mountain Dew commercial with the dude and ram butting heads).
But I digress. After the season is over, a smart studio would put out the whole damned season on DVD in wide-screen and pan-and-scan, chock full of goodies. I'd pay for a really good show, provided it was higher-quality than broadcast and there were some 'extra' goodies. Studios get their 'lost' revenue for commercial skippers and then some. Or take a clue from the UK and video-on-demand technology and let me subscribe to the show commercial-free - and let me record it or burn it without hassling me.
I'm sick of this anti-piracy bullshit. If I buy a CD, vinyl, audio tape, or DVD then I'll watch and listen whereever the hell I please, whenever I please.
I've spent a lot of time carefully ripping my CD collection to get the best sound quality I can. I make mix CDs of my own, and load up my mp3 player. I'm no paying for music twice or thrice, that's for damned sure.
[/rant]
Own several of shuttle's boxes, very nice
on
Shuttle SS40G Mini-PC
·
· Score: 5, Interesting
I bought about ten of the SV24 and SV25 boxes for the office and I love 'em. In fact, I just ordered 3 more yesterday. I'm just waiting for the SS40 to come out with an AGP slot then it's on like Donkey Kong for a new LAN party box.
These boxes are perfect for office PCs. They're tiny, packed full of features (gotta love the firewire), are quiet - and they're pretty. Only had one problem with a single box - a bad power supply that shuttle promptly replaced.
Out of the can, RedHat 7.2 (haven't 'upgraded' to 7.3 yet) installed though you have to configure the video and some other goodies manually. Once you're up and running it's solid. I'm considering clustering a few of these, though I'm more tempted by Transmeta's rack o' blades.
I have to say that Shuttle has hit the nail on the head with this series. I can't wait for the AMD 1AGP/1PCI version! If you have a grand or so laying around, snap one of these puppies up.:)
Yup, the half that's missing from every history book I read in high school and (sadly) most American history classes in college.
Quarters, quarters, and more quarters.
Amen. I never had enough quarters. Laundry, laundry detergent, more laundry, sodas, chips, and smokes. Did I mention laundry? I had some room mates that never quite grasped the concept of laundry.
Not to be a snit, but how in the world was any of this offtopic? All of these are (a) subversive, (b) college, and (c) gifts. You don't get more on-topic.
Slashdot Mirror
Your Karma can't go above 50. Interestingly, it took a year to get to 25 and just one month more to get to 50. [Shrug]
They're getting clueful, finally. US$0.99 for an mp3 is a tad high, though. Lower quality rip, etc. Don't forget the VAT for European markets. US$9.99 per CD is about right, though I'd prefer to buy per song (song that I want) anyway.
LOL. I guess enough ppl followed the link that Bell.ca got slashdotted.
Nonviolent protest and civil disobediance should be the means for struggling against bad law, disenfranchisement, and poor government. Even Malcolm X recognized this and renounced his doctrine of by any means necessary.
Of course the powers-that-be shut him up pretty permanently by employing violence.
Man, what a relief! Its comforting to know that we'll always have someone looking out for us. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Can they tuck me into bed and read me a story too?
I mean, why bother? You might strain your back and be out $50 a co-pay visit to the chiropractor.
It's a request, not a requirement, and not an unreasonable request at that.
This is 101 level stuff: plan first, code later. You don't make things up as you go along.
This just makes me sick. I've read Alexis de Toqueville's Democracy in America several times, it's one of my favorite books. He considered unchecked capitalism a serious threat to participatory democracy. How vile for an organization to sully his name with drivel like this report.
A buddy of mine has one of those Dell Inspiron 8100s with the GeForce2Go. The light weight and 60 second setup really caught my eye. I gave it a whirl, but the blurring motion and artifacting problems (yeah, driver was updated) made the experience disappointing; especially a big fat block right on the crosshairs that made sniping all but impossible. Before long, the novelty wore off and I was back on my own box.
I haven't given the GeForce4Go-based notebooks a whirl yet and they're pricey.
My solution is to opt for a nice 17" LCD and get one of Shuttle's new SS40 series boxes when the AGP version comes out. Stick in a GeForce4 Ti4600 and you've got a small gaming system that won't blow your back out.
This'll have to do until we can get some whoop-ass wearables for a bit of augmented unreality. :)
I know I'm not the first to ponder this, but I have to wonder when Microsoft will descend, slurp up open source code, and mint their own distro. The horror and wailing...
Most drivers know about as much about their cars as they do about their computers: dick.
You put gas in it. You change oil and check other fluids every 3,000 miles. You take it to a mechanic here and there to check things out when they seem weird. You inflate tyres to the pressure indicated in the owner's manual. You drive. Drivers don't really need to know all that much about their cars, just as Joe Sixpack doesn't need to know all that much about the inner workings of his PC to use it.
However, it sure helps to have a clue about both.
I'm a pretty good driver and take good care of my car. I've only had one accident - which was major - and two speeding tickets in over 16 years behind the wheel. I did have a tyre blow out at 100kph+ during rush-hour traffic. It was just an inconvenience. Don't panic, keep the car straight, slow down, pull over, and stop. It ain't rocket science.
BoyPlankton replies: I really believe that if you are going to impose a restriction like this against MS then you should impose it industry-wide. Otherwise, future virtual monopolies will use file formats to compete unfairly.
It's been clearly demonstrated that Microsoft can and does use its monopoly power abusively. No, it's not illegal to be a monopoly. But yes, it is illegal to abuse your position as a monopoly. That's what the Sherman Anti-Trust act is all about.
You can't use some prior-restraint against a company that might become a monopoly because it would be "unfair" to a convicted abusive monopolist. At best that's being an apologist for abusive monopolies.
At the very least Microsoft should be forced to open their file formats and APIs, fully documented, in the interest of interoperability with other platforms. It has been shown time and time again that they will otherwise abuse their position as a monopoly to crush other companies and projects (Dr. DOS, PC-DOS, Netscape, Samba). This clearly should be part of the remedy phase of the trial. Let's remember - they've already been convicted. Now we're looking at remedies that are supposed to preclude them from engaging in such behaviour in the future. Clearly, a promise to do so is woefully inadequate.
IMHO, All Intellectual Property, 25 years after the death of the creator/IP holder or 75 years after first publication in any event. Otherwise Disney, AOL-Time-Warner, and a handful of other companies will own our culture. The Constitution makes a very specific provision for copyright expiration, the purpose of copyrights, and the purpose of expiring them for the benefit of the public.
Your post is the most succinct summation of this subject I've had the pleasure to read. This is one of those times I wish I was a moderator. Bravo.
I think you're overreacting about the library - I doubt there a pedophiles lurking around most corners. I also don't think that banning books, music, and ideas is a good idea. Kids should be encouraged to investigate literature.
However, they're your kids and it's your rules. There are people who don't agree with my ideas of parenting - but that's fine as long as they don't interfere with my parenting - or yours.
Not suggesting that you did. It's a major undercurrent in our culture and a prevailing view.
What I do believe is that there are things that should be controlled, just like medicine. I have very useful drugs at home (strong pain relievers), that could be deadly to my son, that I restrict him from.
We have some common ground here I'll get to in a second. But I'm very suspicious of stuff (sex, drugs, rock its the responsibility of the parent to ensure their kids are properly supervised.
I'm just saying that it's not up the library or the government to decide what kids read, it's up to you. It's not up the the library to restrict certain books, web sites, or movies from kids. It's up to you. What you find "mature" for your kid might not be for mine, and vice versa.
I'm not disparaging your parenting here - I'm sure you love your kids and want a good life for them. But I shouldn't have to go hunt down a librarian for each web site I want to visit (or "banned book" or whatever) that's been restricted; your kid shouldn't be on the library computer (or in the library at all) without your supervision.
With adults? Absolutely not.
If someone in a library tries to expose my son in that manner I would be tried for that person's murder.
You'll get no argument from me there. I'd tear someone apart if they tried to molest a child.
My position is that kids should not be taught that sex is bad (regardless of orientation) and should to be taught about abstinence and how to protect themselves from STDs and pregnancy if they decide engage in sex.
Most adolescents are going to have sex and I don't think that repressing their sexuality will ever work - more importantly, it's not healthy from a mental standpoint. It's biology, which should be (and often isn't) tempered with common sense.
Pedophiles and child pornographers are predators and should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. It is *never* appropriate for adults to have sex with minors.
As for CITA, the court (and I) disagrees with your position. Blocking something or not allowing someone to get it freely is censorship, which isn't appropriate.
The ultimate arbiter of what's proper and improper for children to access is not Congress, not me, not a neighbor, but you - the parent. You're perfectly within your rights to raise and look after your children. People have different ways of raising kids and I wouldn't brook interference with the way I raise my kids any more than you would. I'm just stating my opinion. :)
Gwen, from 8 to 12 years old
Madison, from 6 to 10 years old
There's a balance between permissiveness and totalitarianism that has to be struck with raising kids. Structure changes as kids mature and go through different developmental periods.
You have to be honest with them. Kids pick up on bullshit fast. I answer their questions honestly, explain with analogies, and encourage them to question. I also point them to resources where they can learn stuff for themselves.
They don't deserve to be shortchanged or have answers to their questions censored.
'Protecting' kids from the realities of the world is a great disservice. They'll end up clueless adults who have a hard time fitting in with society. I may sound like a broken record here, but kids don't need protection from porn or sex. For my pr0n argument, counter-arguments, and a really nice discussion thread, look here.
Keeping kids in the dark about sex and other 'unsavory' subjects is stupid. It only compounds the problems of STDs and unwanted pregnancy. Keeping kids in the dark about drugs, violence, politics, history, and other subjects is equally bankrupt. The 'innocent childhood' is a ridiculous concept and a disservice to kids.
I prefer the way RedHat does it. You can buy just about everything you need for US$199, (a lot) more if you want Tux or their release of PostGRESQL. But Tux and 'RedHat database' are worth it. RedHat lets you download the ISOs (nice of them + makes sense to get easy distribution) for base installs, everything's online. What they make their money on is RedHat Network.
Now, I think RHN is pretty goddamned expensive for the US$240-per-year-per-box corporate version, but the handy-dandy cheapo version is quite reasonable. And the US$240 ain't much to pay considering how much of a hassle it saves you to keep your boxen patched.
IMHO, from a business standpoint, Linux (and other software) as a service makes the best sense. You pays your $ and you gets your ongoing service. If you don't want the service, don't pay. You can self-serve for free.
These shuttle boxes - the older SV24 and SV25 models - really aren't that loud. Yeah, they're louder than I'd like them to be. Ideally I'd like my breathing to be louder than the fans (and hard drive noise) and it looks like the newer models go along those lines. I'll be picking up a few once they release the AGP version, specifically for LAN party usage.
I'm seriously considering doing reseller business based on these boxes, primarily for students and small businesses. But I have to expand IT a lot more to get into that gig, margins are *low*, and I much prefer coding.
On a tangential note, I'm very interested to see how the miniaturization trend goes, particularly with roll-on flexible circuit board printing (sealed plastic-like substrate instead of silicon).
Amen. To paraphrase Wendy: "Fuck the industry. Fuck them right in the ear."
NitsujTPU, you're absolutely right. They key here is to offer customers an incentive to BUY - give them something for their money.
Take television and the whole TiVo row. I'm a big fan of Smallville. Now if I can't make it home in time to watch it, you bet your ass TiVo is going to get it. Am I gonna skip commercials? You bet, aside from a few I find genuinely entertaining (e.g. the Mountain Dew commercial with the dude and ram butting heads).
But I digress. After the season is over, a smart studio would put out the whole damned season on DVD in wide-screen and pan-and-scan, chock full of goodies. I'd pay for a really good show, provided it was higher-quality than broadcast and there were some 'extra' goodies. Studios get their 'lost' revenue for commercial skippers and then some. Or take a clue from the UK and video-on-demand technology and let me subscribe to the show commercial-free - and let me record it or burn it without hassling me.
I'm sick of this anti-piracy bullshit. If I buy a CD, vinyl, audio tape, or DVD then I'll watch and listen whereever the hell I please, whenever I please.
I've spent a lot of time carefully ripping my CD collection to get the best sound quality I can. I make mix CDs of my own, and load up my mp3 player. I'm no paying for music twice or thrice, that's for damned sure.
[/rant]
These boxes are perfect for office PCs. They're tiny, packed full of features (gotta love the firewire), are quiet - and they're pretty. Only had one problem with a single box - a bad power supply that shuttle promptly replaced.
Out of the can, RedHat 7.2 (haven't 'upgraded' to 7.3 yet) installed though you have to configure the video and some other goodies manually. Once you're up and running it's solid. I'm considering clustering a few of these, though I'm more tempted by Transmeta's rack o' blades.
I have to say that Shuttle has hit the nail on the head with this series. I can't wait for the AMD 1AGP/1PCI version! If you have a grand or so laying around, snap one of these puppies up. :)
Yup, the half that's missing from every history book I read in high school and (sadly) most American history classes in college.
Quarters, quarters, and more quarters.
Amen. I never had enough quarters. Laundry, laundry detergent, more laundry, sodas, chips, and smokes. Did I mention laundry? I had some room mates that never quite grasped the concept of laundry.
Not to be a snit, but how in the world was any of this offtopic? All of these are (a) subversive, (b) college, and (c) gifts. You don't get more on-topic.