If these recordings aren't original, they'd all sound exactly the same, right? So why bother having hundreds of different recordings of the same Beethoven symphony, or the Bach solo violin sonatas? Because they don't all sound the same; each performer has their own sound and interpretation of the music. Classical recordings are very much original and very much copyrightable. If you don't believe me, look for the copyright notice on the back cover of any classical CD.
As I understand it, nobody plays the original Beethovan|Bach|whoever scores, because modern instruments don't sound the same as the ones he composed for.
Not true. By Beethoven's time (early 1800s), the modern symphony orchestra format was well established, and his compositions are played by modern symphonies in their original forms. Bach (early 1700s) didn't write any symphonies, because symphony orchestras didin't exist at the time. But he wrote a lot of choral pieces, a lot for organ/harpsichord, and much for solo string instruments and small string ensembles. Some of the instruments are now different - piano is more commonly used than harpsichord, for example, and modern string instruments have a few changes - but the music for the most part can be played unaltered.
There is no point in learning to speak a second language fluently if you're never going to use it.
That's not entirely true. I took French in high school, and while I've never had any occasion to speak the language outside of school, I still got a lot out of it. Taking a foreign language makes you think more about linguistics and how we express ourselves, and I think I learned more about English in French class than in English class (though perhaps that's just because all my English teachers sucked). Before taking French, I'd never really learned about the different types of past and present tenses, or about what all these obscure grammar terms like "gerund" or "past participle" meant. It's the same reason schools still teach Latin today - it's useless, but it'll make you a better thinker.
Also, trying to learn another language makes you much more aware of English's quirks and more sympathetic to non-native English speakers, because you understand that new languages really are difficult to learn and speak, and English is worse than most.
It should be noted that the "over-the-counter chess programs" you mention are Fritz, Shredder, Junior and Chess Tiger. These are not second-rate programs by any means; versions of Fritz and Junior have tied Kramnik and Kasparov in tournaments (and beaten them in individual games). So while impressive, it's not all that surprising that they would do well.
Source code and unofficial builds have been around in various stages of maturity for a few months. 4G iPods aren't officially supported yet, but a lot of people seem to have gotten theirs working.
No, all I do with my iPod is play music. But that's partly because the included games/apps don't appeal to me. The advantage of Linux is that you can install new games and apps and unlock new capabilities (like recording and video playback) that you would want to use.
Just recently, there's been development on a video player, several more games (including DopeWars), and a few breakthroughs in support for the 4G iPods (including the Photo and mini). The 4G iPods are now capable of decoding Ogg Vorbis faster than realtime (this should be theoretically possible on older iPods, but would require a lot of decoder optimizations).
Note, however, that the current interface isn't nearly as slick as Apple's, and that audio playback and recording is still a bit glitchy. So you probably don't want to use Linux if all you do with your iPod is play music.
At another point, a hacker tells Edward that he needs to get in touch with a super-hacker, but "He won't accept [your e-mail]. Your crypto isn't good enough." As if cryptography were an 31337 skill that some possess and some do not. Edward already knows how to use software, and he is a reasonably intelligent guy.
The guy might have sent his message ROT13ed or something.
But you get to choose your own hours and work on a project of genuine interest to you. And it takes you less than 520 hours to complete a project (which is quite possible), then you're getting paid that much more per hour.
Dude, thousands of companies run their infrastructure on open source without open-sourcing their own apps or sponsoring open source development. Google has gone way beyond the call of duty here; we should be commending them for that.
Google wants to encourage the development of open-source software partly out of the goodness of their hearts, partly as a PR tactic, and partly to take a stab at MS. This program is only for students because they want to encourage new developers to work on open-source projects. Also, they may get a tax writeoff or something.
A shill for Google? If any other company were putting up close to a million dollars in bounty money for open-source development, it'd be huge news. Hell, Novell offered $25000 in GNOME bounties a year ago and we got at least two separate/. stories about it. This is exactly the sort of news for nerds that/. exists to report (as are, incidently, both of the other Google stories on the FP). Should/. just start rejecting all stories pertaining to Google, just because Google is working on a lot of cool stuff?
If it was free to upgrade Windows to the next version, and the upgrade only required one command, then your analogy would make more sense. As it is, upgrading Debian is a much easier process than upgrading Windows, and I have a hard time imagining someone taking more than twelve months to do it. And if you really want, I'm sure there are third parties like Progeny that are happy to support the old release themselves for as long as you want to pay them to.
So Ubuntu's releases are supported for 18 months. Debian Woody has been supported for 3 years, and still has another year left. If you really want to compare, Debian is supporting its release for 12 months after an upgrade comes out, and Ubuntu is doing the exact same thing.
I already own a PC. The only additional expense for games is a $100-$200 video card, which will play any modern game fine. So for pretty much the same price as a console, I get a lot of the same games (usually with better graphics and controls than the consoles) and a lot of PC-only games (especially strategy type stuff), and I get to play them at 1600x1200 instead of 640x480 or whatever TV resolution is. I'm not claiming that PC's are the ultimate game machines or that consoles don't have a place, but consoles are certainly not the be-all and end-all of gaming.
WTF? That's one of the most misleading statements I've seen in a while. The average salary for all districts in your link is $44755. Yes, somewhere, there might be one or two teachers who make $100000. But I've never met them. Entry-level salary in my school district is about $30k. That doesn't compare to most professional-level jobs, which is why so many talented people reject the idea of becoming teachers.
the school is teaching sex education to 6th graders.
You say that like it's a bad thing. I'd be curious to hear your argument. I would love to have had such a class in 6th grade. Not sex education in the sense of "50 tips to improve your anal technique" but in the sense of teaching kids about the changes their bodies are going through and the new responsibilities this gives them. It'd ease a lot of adolescent anxiety (are these lumps under my nipples supposed to be there?) and probably prevent some stupid mistakes.
I don't know where you get off thinking that schools should only teach reading, writing, and arithmetic. I see no mention of science, history, critical thinking, foreign languages, computer use, or PE on that list, all of which I would consider essential lessons that most parents are not in a position to teach.
As for parents paying for public school, I think it's a nice enough idea in principle. But poor people couldn't pay, leaving middle-class and rich parents shouldering the entire burden. They would in turn just send their kids to private schools, since they're paying the same anyway, leaving the public school system as a ghetto of poor kids with no one to fund it.
Really? I've been bringing my own lunch all the way from kindergarten to high school, and I know quite a few high schoolers who do so as well. No one really cares.
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It was a joke. Beethoven has no copyright, since copyright laws were different in those days (early 1800s) and would have long since expired anyway.
If these recordings aren't original, they'd all sound exactly the same, right? So why bother having hundreds of different recordings of the same Beethoven symphony, or the Bach solo violin sonatas? Because they don't all sound the same; each performer has their own sound and interpretation of the music. Classical recordings are very much original and very much copyrightable. If you don't believe me, look for the copyright notice on the back cover of any classical CD.
You can get excellent recordings of small acoustic ensembles for $500-$1000 in recording equipment.
Not true. By Beethoven's time (early 1800s), the modern symphony orchestra format was well established, and his compositions are played by modern symphonies in their original forms. Bach (early 1700s) didn't write any symphonies, because symphony orchestras didin't exist at the time. But he wrote a lot of choral pieces, a lot for organ/harpsichord, and much for solo string instruments and small string ensembles. Some of the instruments are now different - piano is more commonly used than harpsichord, for example, and modern string instruments have a few changes - but the music for the most part can be played unaltered.
That's not entirely true. I took French in high school, and while I've never had any occasion to speak the language outside of school, I still got a lot out of it. Taking a foreign language makes you think more about linguistics and how we express ourselves, and I think I learned more about English in French class than in English class (though perhaps that's just because all my English teachers sucked). Before taking French, I'd never really learned about the different types of past and present tenses, or about what all these obscure grammar terms like "gerund" or "past participle" meant. It's the same reason schools still teach Latin today - it's useless, but it'll make you a better thinker.
Also, trying to learn another language makes you much more aware of English's quirks and more sympathetic to non-native English speakers, because you understand that new languages really are difficult to learn and speak, and English is worse than most.
You mean "Talk about you're flamebate"?
It should be noted that the "over-the-counter chess programs" you mention are Fritz, Shredder, Junior and Chess Tiger. These are not second-rate programs by any means; versions of Fritz and Junior have tied Kramnik and Kasparov in tournaments (and beaten them in individual games). So while impressive, it's not all that surprising that they would do well.
Actually, you are.
Source code and unofficial builds have been around in various stages of maturity for a few months. 4G iPods aren't officially supported yet, but a lot of people seem to have gotten theirs working.
Linux has had graphical interfaces for 13 years. There's no need to type anything on an iPod command line (although you can, it's kinda cumbersome).
You mean the PSP?
No, all I do with my iPod is play music. But that's partly because the included games/apps don't appeal to me. The advantage of Linux is that you can install new games and apps and unlock new capabilities (like recording and video playback) that you would want to use.
Note, however, that the current interface isn't nearly as slick as Apple's, and that audio playback and recording is still a bit glitchy. So you probably don't want to use Linux if all you do with your iPod is play music.
The guy might have sent his message ROT13ed or something.
Step five, explain the situation to any sane judge/jury and get aquitted.
Not to burst your bubble, but Funny mods don't affect karma anymore.
But you get to choose your own hours and work on a project of genuine interest to you. And it takes you less than 520 hours to complete a project (which is quite possible), then you're getting paid that much more per hour.
Google wants to encourage the development of open-source software partly out of the goodness of their hearts, partly as a PR tactic, and partly to take a stab at MS. This program is only for students because they want to encourage new developers to work on open-source projects. Also, they may get a tax writeoff or something.
A shill for Google? If any other company were putting up close to a million dollars in bounty money for open-source development, it'd be huge news. Hell, Novell offered $25000 in GNOME bounties a year ago and we got at least two separate /. stories about it. This is exactly the sort of news for nerds that /. exists to report (as are, incidently, both of the other Google stories on the FP). Should /. just start rejecting all stories pertaining to Google, just because Google is working on a lot of cool stuff?
They don't affect those of us fortunate to have Excellent karma.
If it was free to upgrade Windows to the next version, and the upgrade only required one command, then your analogy would make more sense. As it is, upgrading Debian is a much easier process than upgrading Windows, and I have a hard time imagining someone taking more than twelve months to do it. And if you really want, I'm sure there are third parties like Progeny that are happy to support the old release themselves for as long as you want to pay them to.
So Ubuntu's releases are supported for 18 months. Debian Woody has been supported for 3 years, and still has another year left. If you really want to compare, Debian is supporting its release for 12 months after an upgrade comes out, and Ubuntu is doing the exact same thing.
I already own a PC. The only additional expense for games is a $100-$200 video card, which will play any modern game fine. So for pretty much the same price as a console, I get a lot of the same games (usually with better graphics and controls than the consoles) and a lot of PC-only games (especially strategy type stuff), and I get to play them at 1600x1200 instead of 640x480 or whatever TV resolution is. I'm not claiming that PC's are the ultimate game machines or that consoles don't have a place, but consoles are certainly not the be-all and end-all of gaming.
WTF? That's one of the most misleading statements I've seen in a while. The average salary for all districts in your link is $44755. Yes, somewhere, there might be one or two teachers who make $100000. But I've never met them. Entry-level salary in my school district is about $30k. That doesn't compare to most professional-level jobs, which is why so many talented people reject the idea of becoming teachers.
the school is teaching sex education to 6th graders.
You say that like it's a bad thing. I'd be curious to hear your argument. I would love to have had such a class in 6th grade. Not sex education in the sense of "50 tips to improve your anal technique" but in the sense of teaching kids about the changes their bodies are going through and the new responsibilities this gives them. It'd ease a lot of adolescent anxiety (are these lumps under my nipples supposed to be there?) and probably prevent some stupid mistakes.
I don't know where you get off thinking that schools should only teach reading, writing, and arithmetic. I see no mention of science, history, critical thinking, foreign languages, computer use, or PE on that list, all of which I would consider essential lessons that most parents are not in a position to teach.
As for parents paying for public school, I think it's a nice enough idea in principle. But poor people couldn't pay, leaving middle-class and rich parents shouldering the entire burden. They would in turn just send their kids to private schools, since they're paying the same anyway, leaving the public school system as a ghetto of poor kids with no one to fund it.
Really? I've been bringing my own lunch all the way from kindergarten to high school, and I know quite a few high schoolers who do so as well. No one really cares.