Americans are becoming a country of superstitious control freaks.
As Bill Mahar said... "When did we become Utah?"
There are a large number of people in the US who are very willing to eradicate the opinions of others given half a chance. (These are also the same people who will winge loudly if their opinions are supressed or doubted in the slightest degree.)
It is all explained in my new book "I'm OK, you're a unpatriotic terrorist". On sale at Christian bookstores and gas stations everywhere.
The only Internet filter that works 100% of the time is a pair of wirecutters. (You can't call them "dykes" in Utah.)
In order to keep the emotionally immature citizens of Utah protected from sites exploiting biology, we must remove *all* Internet connections from Utah. This means all communication more advanced than a paper cup and a waxed string needs to be disconnected from Utah.
If they want to live in the 19th century, then let them. But they don't get Internet access until they grow up.
That sounds like Wallace & Gromit: Cracking Contraptions. The shorts were shown in the US on Atom films in a low resolution format. If you lived in the UK you could get it on a very nice DVD which they refused to ship to the US. (You had to have a friend cross-ship it for you.)
A great series of shorts. The theme got to be a bit much after the 5th or 6th time, however...
There was also a Wallace and Gromit videogame for the PS2. That was available in the US. Fun, but the controls took a bit to get used to. Quite true to the series and saw the return of the evil penguin from "The Wrong Trousers".
Word Perfect used to be the defacto standard word processor for law firms. Glad to see that they are actually sticking with WP and not running to Word just because everyone else is.
In the long run they might be better off with Open Office. The support for non-Microsoft OSes has been pretty weak. The Mac version has not been updated in years and the Linux version is more of an illusion than a real program.
Not to mention what it takes to tune the OS and keep it running correctly.
In my experience Linux is MUCH easier to keep running than Windows.
Windows administration relies on far too many "black magic" registry tweaks. In order to make adjustments in many cases, you need to set obscure registry entries that are usually only known through rumor and hearsay. (If you can fix it at all.) Every place I have worked with a mixed environment, the Windows admins spent more time fixing and patching and tuning to keep machines running instead of getting other projects done. I controlled 5x the Unix boxes and rarely had a problem.
Anyone who says "Windows is easier to admin" has either never admined a Unix network, a Windows network or both.
This is only one small part of a much bigger problem.
American students are not taught how to distinguish fantasy from reality.
This has been going on for at least one generation, maybe more, depending on what criteria you use.
This is why Americans are not allowed to see real phone numbers in fictional movies. If they do, people call the numbers trying to reach the fictional characters. (A film that had a story about God helping people had a real number in it and the people who happened to have that number were swamped by people trying to contact God.)
Some people say our last election was an example of people who cannot tell fantasy from reality.
Some of the people who want to protect us from real violence seem to believe that fantasy violence either causes it or encourages real violence when the statistics show no such correleation. Just because they cannot tell the difference does not mean that others do not.
I can give other examples...
I doubt that this problem will be solved soon. Too many parts of American culture derive their power from the confusion of fantasy and reality for their to be any real incentive to change.
Phil Karn wrote a program in 1993 that used MD5 hash colisions to find duplicate files. I know this is an obvious use because I had written a similar program in Perl around 1996. (I have not published it due to it being a giant race condition, not to mention the awful coding style.) I talked to Phil about it when I discovered he had written a similar program that predated mine by a few years.
Anyone who understands file hashes and hash tables will think of using it for finding duplicate files. Especially if they have any archives of code from the net.
Back in the 80s I built a Lego monitor case. (I bought the guts of a monochrome monitor for $15 and I needed a case for it that did not consist of foil lined cardboard.)
In the end it cost more than if I had just gone out and bought a brand new color monitor. (Not that color would have gotten me much. This was an 8mhz XT clone. CGA was pretty ugly.) Legos are not cheap. Even if you buy the big huge buckets, it takes a lot and you always need something not in the bucket.
You also have to cement the legos together or the heat will pop them apart.
I still have it in a box somewhere. I will have to dig it out one of these days and post pictures.
It is not something I would want to use on a regular basis. I swear you could feel the x-rays pouring off the screen. It was pretty evil. But it looked cool.
You think its a bad thing management realized how bad and unimaginative the game was going to be and they cancelled it?
That is not the reason that Lucas Arts gave.
Here is what Steve Purcell, the creator of Sam and Max had to say about the cancelation.
LucasArts' sudden decision to stop production on Sam & Max is mystifying. Sam & Max was on schedule and coming together beautifully.
I couldn't have been more pleased with the quality of the writing, gameplay, hilarious animation and the gorgeous 3D world that Mike Stemmle's team has created. The rug has been pulled out from under this brilliant team who've so expertly retooled Sam & Max for the 21st century.
I'm extremely frustrated and disappointed especially for the team who have devoted so much effort and creativity to Sam & Max. It's a shame to think that their accomplishments, as well as the goodwill that has been growing in the gaming press toward this project, will all go to waste due to this shortsighted decision.
Thanks everyone, for continuing to make your feelings known.
--Steve Purcell
The Lucas Arts press release (which you obviously never read) gave the reason of the cancelation as "it was not the right time to release a graphic adventure". In other words, they could not figure out how to sell anything that was not a Star Wars game.
Quality (or lack thereof) had nothing to do with it.
They forgot about Lucas Arts canceling the long awaited Sam and Max game. The original almost always gets listed as one of the best games of all time and one of the more fondly remembered games produced by Lucas Arts.
But Lucas Arts sales people canceled it because the only thing they know how to market is yet another Star Wars title.
Is Lucas Arts planning on producing any title in the near future that is not a rehash of the Star Wars franchise?
I expect "JarJar's Big Adventure" or "Jedi of Gor" and day now...
Re:Right on the fucking torrent page
on
LokiTorrent vs. MPAA
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· Score: 2, Insightful
They should get life in front of the firing squad for distributing copies of "White Chicks".
The animated gif file for "made for IE" logo that Microsoft used for websites back in the 90s was made with an unregistered shareware program. (I don't remember the name of the program. It was about 1996-97 or so.)
Maybe they need to look at how hard it is to purchace software within Microsoft. "Not invented here" is no excuse.
One thing that is a determining factor in a laptop bag is the size of your laptop.
You want a bag that is light. Get a bag that is too big and you will regret it later. (Or your back will.)
Before you buy a bag, make sure it has compartments for all the cards, mice and other misc objects needed for your laptop. I have bought bags that had no place for PCMCIA cards.
Of the ones I have looked at lately, I like the one from Jinx and the ones by Targus. The Targus I looked at had extra padding and rubber in case you dropped it.
You can also get laptop sleeves that you can put in a regular backpack. You can get one that fits your laptop more than a generic laptop bag.
You will probably going to pay more like $80 for a good laptop bag.
I wonder how many of the people who are frightened of wardrivers in Scotsdale even HAVE wireless? Probably a small number.
Seems that every so often the "common folk" get paniced over something that they do not have a clue about. Instead of trying to figure out what the actual threat is, they jump at shadows.
Sounds like the reaction to just about any real or imagined problem in my lifetime.
"A person is smart. People are dumb and panicy and you know it." - Men in Black
Only the BBC World Service. It does not have BBC Radio 1, Radio 4, 6Music, or Radio 7. All of those are available over broadband using the Real (yeah, I know) Audio player.
BBC Radio homepage has more info on times, how to listen and the last week of programs for most shows.
People like Stern have to move to pay radio or face the arbatrary wrath of the Fedrel Censorship Commision. XM radio and Sirrus are free of the thumb of Michael Powell for the moment. (I am sure he will find some excuse to regulate them.)
From what programming I have heard on XM, I may have to subscribe. The radio comedy broadcasts alone are worth the money. (They run Firesign Radio, National Lampoon Radio Hour, Dr. Demento and more.)
I guess the only thing that stops me is that it would cut into my BBC radio listening time.
The PICK OS (which dates back to at least before 1980) used a bytecode interpreter. (I know because I wrote a decompiler for it.) I have tapes with a opcodes from before 1987 around here somewhere.
Slashdot Mirror
Americans are becoming a country of superstitious control freaks.
As Bill Mahar said... "When did we become Utah?"
There are a large number of people in the US who are very willing to eradicate the opinions of others given half a chance. (These are also the same people who will winge loudly if their opinions are supressed or doubted in the slightest degree.)
It is all explained in my new book "I'm OK, you're a unpatriotic terrorist". On sale at Christian bookstores and gas stations everywhere.
It is called a "wife".
The only Internet filter that works 100% of the time is a pair of wirecutters. (You can't call them "dykes" in Utah.)
In order to keep the emotionally immature citizens of Utah protected from sites exploiting biology, we must remove *all* Internet connections from Utah. This means all communication more advanced than a paper cup and a waxed string needs to be disconnected from Utah.
If they want to live in the 19th century, then let them. But they don't get Internet access until they grow up.
No one is innocent.
Everyone is a suspect.
The computer is your friend.
That sounds like Wallace & Gromit: Cracking Contraptions. The shorts were shown in the US on Atom films in a low resolution format. If you lived in the UK you could get it on a very nice DVD which they refused to ship to the US. (You had to have a friend cross-ship it for you.)
A great series of shorts. The theme got to be a bit much after the 5th or 6th time, however...
There was also a Wallace and Gromit videogame for the PS2. That was available in the US. Fun, but the controls took a bit to get used to. Quite true to the series and saw the return of the evil penguin from "The Wrong Trousers".
"What is best in life?"
"To crush Microsoft, see Bill driven before you, and to hear the lamentation of his users! "
Word Perfect used to be the defacto standard word processor for law firms. Glad to see that they are actually sticking with WP and not running to Word just because everyone else is.
In the long run they might be better off with Open Office. The support for non-Microsoft OSes has been pretty weak. The Mac version has not been updated in years and the Linux version is more of an illusion than a real program.
Not to mention what it takes to tune the OS and keep it running correctly.
In my experience Linux is MUCH easier to keep running than Windows.
Windows administration relies on far too many "black magic" registry tweaks. In order to make adjustments in many cases, you need to set obscure registry entries that are usually only known through rumor and hearsay. (If you can fix it at all.) Every place I have worked with a mixed environment, the Windows admins spent more time fixing and patching and tuning to keep machines running instead of getting other projects done. I controlled 5x the Unix boxes and rarely had a problem.
Anyone who says "Windows is easier to admin" has either never admined a Unix network, a Windows network or both.
They are called "Promise Keepers".
How else are they going to get new Pop Stars and Newscasters.
It is not like they can grow them in tanks.
Oh wait. They already do.
Nevermind.
This is only one small part of a much bigger problem.
American students are not taught how to distinguish fantasy from reality.
This has been going on for at least one generation, maybe more, depending on what criteria you use.
This is why Americans are not allowed to see real phone numbers in fictional movies. If they do, people call the numbers trying to reach the fictional characters. (A film that had a story about God helping people had a real number in it and the people who happened to have that number were swamped by people trying to contact God.)
Some people say our last election was an example of people who cannot tell fantasy from reality.
Some of the people who want to protect us from real violence seem to believe that fantasy violence either causes it or encourages real violence when the statistics show no such correleation. Just because they cannot tell the difference does not mean that others do not.
I can give other examples...
I doubt that this problem will be solved soon. Too many parts of American culture derive their power from the confusion of fantasy and reality for their to be any real incentive to change.
Anyone who understands file hashes and hash tables will think of using it for finding duplicate files. Especially if they have any archives of code from the net.
How long until the first "Smart Gun Jammers" become available?
Somehow I think there will be a number of RISKS articles generated from these guns.
Back in the 80s I built a Lego monitor case. (I bought the guts of a monochrome monitor for $15 and I needed a case for it that did not consist of foil lined cardboard.)
In the end it cost more than if I had just gone out and bought a brand new color monitor. (Not that color would have gotten me much. This was an 8mhz XT clone. CGA was pretty ugly.) Legos are not cheap. Even if you buy the big huge buckets, it takes a lot and you always need something not in the bucket.
You also have to cement the legos together or the heat will pop them apart.
I still have it in a box somewhere. I will have to dig it out one of these days and post pictures.
It is not something I would want to use on a regular basis. I swear you could feel the x-rays pouring off the screen. It was pretty evil. But it looked cool.
That is not the reason that Lucas Arts gave.
Here is what Steve Purcell, the creator of Sam and Max had to say about the cancelation.
The Lucas Arts press release (which you obviously never read) gave the reason of the cancelation as "it was not the right time to release a graphic adventure". In other words, they could not figure out how to sell anything that was not a Star Wars game.
Quality (or lack thereof) had nothing to do with it.
They forgot about Lucas Arts canceling the long awaited Sam and Max game. The original almost always gets listed as one of the best games of all time and one of the more fondly remembered games produced by Lucas Arts.
But Lucas Arts sales people canceled it because the only thing they know how to market is yet another Star Wars title.
Is Lucas Arts planning on producing any title in the near future that is not a rehash of the Star Wars franchise?
I expect "JarJar's Big Adventure" or "Jedi of Gor" and day now...
They should get life in front of the firing squad for distributing copies of "White Chicks".
Next thing you know they will be banning Bowflex machines because they can be converted into crossbows...
The animated gif file for "made for IE" logo that Microsoft used for websites back in the 90s was made with an unregistered shareware program. (I don't remember the name of the program. It was about 1996-97 or so.)
Maybe they need to look at how hard it is to purchace software within Microsoft. "Not invented here" is no excuse.
People claim that Unix does not have spyware.
We do.
We just call them "rootshells".
There is not much difference between an app designed to steal your surfing habits and one designed to execute foriegn code.
Part of the total cost of 0wnership...
One thing that is a determining factor in a laptop bag is the size of your laptop.
You want a bag that is light. Get a bag that is too big and you will regret it later. (Or your back will.)
Before you buy a bag, make sure it has compartments for all the cards, mice and other misc objects needed for your laptop. I have bought bags that had no place for PCMCIA cards.
Of the ones I have looked at lately, I like the one from Jinx and the ones by Targus. The Targus I looked at had extra padding and rubber in case you dropped it.
You can also get laptop sleeves that you can put in a regular backpack. You can get one that fits your laptop more than a generic laptop bag.
You will probably going to pay more like $80 for a good laptop bag.
I wonder how many of the people who are frightened of wardrivers in Scotsdale even HAVE wireless? Probably a small number.
Seems that every so often the "common folk" get paniced over something that they do not have a clue about. Instead of trying to figure out what the actual threat is, they jump at shadows.
Sounds like the reaction to just about any real or imagined problem in my lifetime.
"A person is smart. People are dumb and panicy and you know it." - Men in Black
Only the BBC World Service. It does not have BBC Radio 1, Radio 4, 6Music, or Radio 7. All of those are available over broadband using the Real (yeah, I know) Audio player.
BBC Radio homepage has more info on times, how to listen and the last week of programs for most shows.
People like Stern have to move to pay radio or face the arbatrary wrath of the Fedrel Censorship Commision. XM radio and Sirrus are free of the thumb of Michael Powell for the moment. (I am sure he will find some excuse to regulate them.)
From what programming I have heard on XM, I may have to subscribe. The radio comedy broadcasts alone are worth the money. (They run Firesign Radio, National Lampoon Radio Hour, Dr. Demento and more.)
I guess the only thing that stops me is that it would cut into my BBC radio listening time.
The PICK OS (which dates back to at least before 1980) used a bytecode interpreter. (I know because I wrote a decompiler for it.) I have tapes with a opcodes from before 1987 around here somewhere.