Re:"soon-to-be Leader of the Free World"
on
Obama's "ZuneGate"
·
· Score: 1
"Unless you happen to be critical to Islam. Then you can expect a knife in your back or a bullet in your head (eg. v. Gogh, Fortuijn)." So? You still had the freedom to speak your mind on it - the government isn't going to come over and haul you away never to be seen again.
"When it comes to freedom of speech, I'd rather live in the US." Freedom of speech is not an automatic exoneration of any consequences of that speech. Go to a young jewish neighborhood and run around going sieg heil all the time, see how your free speech is respected. (just to get away from the 'go to a black neighborhood, etc.' example)
"Our government has locked up reporters for failing to disclose their sources" Failing to disclose after having been court-ordered to do so. Guess what - they're supposed to get locked up (or pay a fine) when that happens... that's how laws work. You may question -why- the courts agreed that the sources had to be revealed, but for that I'd say read the courts findings. If you think this doesn't happen in the U.S., you are deluded.
"and cartoonists for being critical of the government." Cartoonists, op-eds... ahh, see the Plame case.
"It's not like the Netherlands is a magical fairy land where everything is perfect." Certainly not.. no place is perfect. Each have their pros and cons - I don't think the cons you cited are non-existent for the U.S., however.
submitted by somebody at a blog, a vague summary about a 'story' at... that same blog! Maybe it's not a blog - sure reads like one.
"Numerous users have been complaining about grey lines that muddy the crispness of the displays of the recently updated MacBook Air." That line in the summary -is- the 'story'.
"Doug McLean explains the problem in [the advertised blog]" No he doesn't. He just recaps what the supposed problem would be in some detail with an example image. Kudos for the image, but there's no explanation of the problem - what causes it, why it's only apparently in late 2008 models, etc. etc. you know.. explanation - whatsoever. There's wild guessing as to what's causing it... "Theories about the lines are scant, but the main ones attribute them to the new anti-glare coating or the new Nvidia graphic chips. Many users seem suspicious, though hopeful, that a firmware update will resolve the problem." But that alone should make you quirk an eyebrow... I do hope those 'many users' are on the side of 'the new Nvidia graphic chips [are the cause]", as I've got no hope whatsoever for those who think that a firmware update would fix an anti-glare coating.
"along with what Apple appears to be doing about it." Well I guess including that information in the summary would mean even less people would click on the 'story', but the answer is "we don't know". As usual, with Apple, I know, but from the 'story'... 1. "Apple has issued no official statement on the matter" 2. "we hope Apple [...] takes [...] steps to resolve it" i.e. "we don't know what Apple appears to be doing about it"
Note that I don't think that the RIAA's proposal here makes sense.. no more than do the levies on CDs and DVDs (and tapes, etc) in most European countries and I believe in Canada.. at least; both assume that you will be making copies of music/video that they hold the copyright 'policing' rights to -onto- those media. If you don't.. you only put, say, your own photos onto them.. tough luck, you're still paying the levy. You can get exemption, but.. you guessed it.. to get exemption status you need to pay a yearly fee. Ho-hum.
But back to your argument, and it ties into something I said above... the RIAA looks after the copyrights and whatnot (yeah, I know, they look after their own wallet, blabla) of -their- members. If you are an indie artist, they don't much care about you (other than your diluting the market and such) or rather your copyrights.. as you are not a member.
So if you have a problem with students (potentially) copying your works... hey, that's great... but it's not the RIAA's task to deal with it.. it is your own.. or whoever you signed with (unless you're truly indie and just do your own pressing/burning, distribution, etc.).. it falls onto you/them to have a similar 'I won't sue you' agreement with the university/ties in question.
So yes.. it will never happen.. but the biggest reason why that wouldn't happen is because you are independent artist and simply don't deserve - technically, legally, etc. - any slice of such an agreement.
Just to make this absolutely clear.. I don't think the RIAA deserves any slice of.. well.. whatever - a university's budget, I suppose - for hypothetical / assumed copyright infringing activities where copyrights they govern come into play. I firmly believe they should have to prove it.. of course the laws, regulations and technical aspects make it very difficult to prove who violated what copyright, while at the same time it's clear copyright violation -does- occur.. so if the RIAA wants to get this sort of agreement in action and a university agrees to it... then so be it. I'd frown upon the university but if they figure it's less of hassle / moneysink than is battling RIAA lawyers all the time, then I can't blame them for being pragmatic at least until the laws are more firmly on their side (which is slowly happening, so I wouldn't sign such an agreement just yet).
"That's because the squatters took every goddamned name on earth back in the nineties."
Squatters... or other people like yourself?
By this I'm referring to: "mcgrew.nerd might take you to me"
Sure, it might... but what would another nerdy mcgrew think of that? Or would you suggest they take mcgrew.theothernerd?
The whole debate hinges on extremes... either we should limit the things to ccTLDs and the original 5 (uhh.. 4?).. or, if we're going to allow the whole.museum ,.aero,.tel,.andsoforth.. then we should just allow.anything and make the last part of a domain completely meaningless... which they already are anyway.. witness this comment; http://tech.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=1049859&cid=25978511 "Most sane businesses should have realized by now that they really only need the standard set (.com/.net/.org)"
Yeah, I know "dur - of course it's a money-grab".. but I really wish that the various organizations involved would just come out and say so as well.. "We will allow any TLD as long as you give us enough money and it doesn't offend governments too much."
Apart from john.doe.tel - check out friends.jennifer-aniston.hollywood.celebrity.tel .
Now, it's possible somebody actually registered that (for $$$ - how much $$$ I don't know as you apparently have to sign up first.. whatthe.) but I'm just going to go with telnic seeding their.tel domain with as much crap as they can to make it look more busy and popular... like that guy on Slashdot with his dating site with a ton of fake profiles and saw nothing wrong with it as that's the only way to get a successful launch. That guy may have been technically right, and so is Telnic - but morally? psha.
Can't wait for it to get popular though... replace Plaxo and va-voom.. suddenly I'll get invites to join the latest social networking element fad.. a.TEL domain .
Why is it considered selling yourself short if you do work for free for a commercial entity... but not when you contribute to, say, FireFox, ThunderBird, Apache, the Linux kernel, and so forth and so on?
In both cases you are typically doing work for absolutely zilch as far as cash or prizes go. You may get a fuzzy warm feeling on the inside, you may simply enjoy doing the work (similar to the fuzzy warm feeling), maybe you enjoy the popularity it gives you. On rare occasions, maybe the work you do there lands you a job further down the line but that's not really something you can bank on. In both cases, you are also doing work somebody else -could- have been doing, for actual pay. I won't get into an argument of whether doing work for free means you're 'stealing jobs' - fact simply is that Netflix -is- getting a lot of work done practically for free that they would otherwise have had to hire somebody for; you would have to agree as otherwise "selling themselves short" would not apply.
So yes, you're doing work that should be landing you some cold hard cash when you... - devise a matching algorithm for Netflix - create a video for Radiohead - submit photos to a Canon photo competition that they are then free to use in any and all marketing material aka ads regardless of whether your photo actually won that competition.
But isn't that pretty much the status quo that many here -want- to go to? Those making their money with proprietary programming, creating arts, etc. are dinosaurs in dying business models, no?
I'd say "no", but I'm not a lawyer. These types of questions/answers often spiral down into extremely hairy (legal) details.
What if it isn't 30, but 60 seconds? What if it is 30 seconds at a time of the same song? What if it is the full song, but the titles are used to explain something about the song - would it still be an original and non-derivative work? What if it is the full song, but the titles poke fun at the song - would that qualify as parody? What if it is the full song with the original video, but it is posted with the comment that it is for display in educational institutions only? Would that qualify for the educational exemption status, and any breach of that by viewers (non-educational purposes) be a breach of the terms of the video poster only - thus giving no legal relief to the copyright holder as it is strictly a dispute by the poster of the video and the viewer and the poster may have no interest in enforcing the terms?
Again - find a lawyer.
But the fun thing about the DMCA is that you're sitting on roses with *any* video you might post. It is up to the copyright holder to: 1. find your video in the first place 2. perform a legal analysis of the video 3. if found to be in breach - write up the DMCA takedown and send to YouTube/Google/Whoever
At which point YOU can: 4a. remove the video 5a. re-upload the exact same video under a different name / from a different account.
The entire procedure then continues with: 6a. goto 1
OR: 4b. disagree with the DMCA claims and have YouTube/Google/Whoever re-instate the video
At which point the copyright holder can: 5b.a once again file the claim and proceed with legal action against you* or 5b.b decide your arguments for disagreeing with the DMCA claims are sound and solid (or too expensive to research), and drop the matter.
That's my understanding of it anyway - again, I'm not a lawyer.
Even in your proposed meaning of ".. but note that there are strings attached", I have to say that's a preposterous statement. Oh noes! A LINK! To a site where you have to -pay- for the content! Well that's just unacceptable! *rips the flv and re-uploads with an account.. WITHOUT THE EVIL LINK.
yeeeeeeeesh.
Honestly, the link didn't even deserve mentioning and certainly not in a negative light.
it looks like you're on a roll... so given the (U.S.?) English dictionary of choice - what would be the ideal letter distribution (left/right) on a keyboard if the only argument for 'ideal' is that it should be balanced between left and right hands as much as possible?
( not caring about number of repeats within a single word on a given hand, not caring about -where- in the left / right region the actual keys would be.. that'd take considerably more thought and some insight into the physiology of the human hand, I'd imagine )
to wit: "with the only caveat being a link to buying the movies and TV episodes from Amazon." caveat? -caveat-? Holy crap. The people behind the actual stuff can't put a f'ing "BUY THIS NOW" link with their videos without being chastised for it now?
The "me me me" generation needs to move along and die - the sooner the better.
I've always said (search my comments - I'm sure I've ranted on this topic here before) that the content owners should have a two-part strategy.. 1. yes, by all means, send DMCA takedown notices of clear rips (if for no other reason than that I am tired of the leading title sequences for clips saying "video made by GangFunksta!!!!" in bright yellow on blue put together in windows movie maker, followed by the actual video overlaid by "made with unregistered hypercam" in the corners all over, and the sound too quiet to hear without setting the volume to 11) ( Note that I say 'clear rips'; somebody playing some stupid song in the background of their kid dancing shouldn't get a DMCA takedown. Somebody putting up a still image with the artist name and title of the song with the music in good quality -should- be DMCAd left right and center. )
2. Make an official and -good- quality version available themselves. Doesn't even need to be high quality or HD - leave that for sales if you want, but just set up good quality versions, add links to other productions of yours, add links to amazon, to swag, insert special promo codes - whatever you think would bring you more customers instead of driving them away (and to those crappy rips).. heck, put in an actual ad at the end of the video.
huh? Have you ever pointed a remote at yourself? Didn't hurt one bit, did it? Now imagine just a few of those blinking at a few regions of the screen.. won't heat up the place at all, but will make any camera recording quite useless. Presumably, epileptics wouldn't be bothered by this either, otherwise we should have seen people going into shock over TV usage.
Perhaps you're thinking of the IR lamps used in beauty salons / chicken farms.. those do get hot - but then, that's their intended purpose.
Note that in Holland they -are- rolling out the new 'smart meters' which basically phone home periodically on how much your usage has been.
This is seen as 'good' for everybody all around.. you no longer have to mail/phone in the numbers once a year (gee, a 3 minute job), and you get a nice view online (or by mail - frequency depends on the utilities company) of what your use has been. So you never have to pay more than you should have to (because the utility company's 'assumption' falls too high - say, if you recently divorced, and you now only have to draw energy for 1 person - they'll still base it off of the usage for 2 from the year/6 months before) - nor do you end up paying too little and end up with a surprise at year end when the utility company demands more money because actual usage was higher.
On the other hand... somewhere there is now a database of everybody's usage patterns. What's that, you say, the Willemsens which used to have higher-than-average energy demands have been having near-zero for a week now? You don't say.. gosh, I wonder what that might mean.. I suppose these guys who know some guys should pay their home a visit - you know, just to make sure they're alright.
I, for one, would much rather log at home to check my usage patterns / make sure I pay the right amount at year end.. if that takes me 3 minutes for phoning in the numbers once a year, and 1 minute once a week / month / however often I want to, to note down the numbers in my own database, then that's quite alright by me. Not paranoid - just not a fan of these automated systems that are touted as being so much more convenient for you but always seem to have negative (side) effects down the road.
If you haven't been hit yet, then you probably won't be either; your AVG quite likely already has the fixed definitions file.
If you -are- hit... guess what? it pops up a warning that it believes it found some sort of trojan in user32.dll . Laymen might just tell it to remove the thing, but I do hope -you- would know better and tell it to stfu and ignore, then fetch the latest update (it will warn you a few more times if you've got the resident shield runnning, as user32.dll gets accessed a lot).
If you -are- hit and it has already removed it... quickly restore it, carry on.
If you are hit, it has removed it, and your machine has already crashed... reboot to a command prompt (safe mode MAY work, but it didn't when I fixed a machine on sunday), restore user32.dll from a cache / restore point. If you can't get it from a cache, get it from the installation CD (if you have one), but keep in mind that it will be missing updates and windows update might not realize that (as everything else on the system tells it hotfixes N-M have been installed - maybe MS will make the update check the MD5 or something of user32.dll, after this problem, just in case).
This was extremely stupid on the end of AVG, but then I'm still baffled why such files can be removed at all; same with ntldr. If you accidentally wipe your root dir, you're all kinds of f'ed.
Windows is an operating system (suite) Lindows was... an operating system (suite)
Azureus -was- a bittorrent client (nowadays 'Vuze', so who cares anyway?) Azure would be... online.. web 2.0.. cloud.. computing.. something. Nothing remotely like a bittorrent client, at least.
"Did you mean iPod owners?" - well I'm not sure what the context of this story was as I'm only hitting the comments right now, but I do believe it was about external devices which interface with computers. Yeah, the iPod and iPhone come to mind when I say "Apple".
Take two steps back and then realize I'm not bashing Apple - "because their solution, iTunes, is actually pretty darn good" is quite the opposite of bashing, in case you really needed that pointed out for you. I'll leave Apple-bashing for the people who troll for Apple-fanboys.
Then use some common sense to realize that just because you and I know how to get third party software for iPod, iPhone to manage stuff with, and even get things up and running so that it *does* act as a USB device, that doesn't mean everybody does. That was one of the main arguments against bundling Windows Media Player with Windows - "the common man will just use whatever they already have on their computer".
"The days of mp3/artist/album/Artist_Album_TrackNumber_Song.mp3 are thankfully over." - and have been since well before iTunes - but, again, "iTunes is actually pretty darn good" - as opposed to most of the alternatives.
"in less time that it took to type up your diatribe you could have found programs like Senuti." - I don't need to, I use iTunes quite gladly, tyvm.
You make entirely too many assumptions before you hit reply, but the biggest one is that it was an anti-Apple post (diatribe). It was one thing and one thing only - realization that, yes, vendors would readily make use of this to get people to use -their- services/software/etc. simply because with Microsoft's help they -can-, and no, we don't know if that means they'll just outright drop support for anything else.
Oh, and karma be damned... karma isn't a competition. If I wanted to gather karma I'd post "lol switch to Linux" anytime a story on Microsoft's wrongdoings comes up, or "It's a SONY product - no thanks, I don't need another rootkit" for SONY stories, and so forth and so on.
I have installed: (diskettes) Windows 3.1 Windows 3.11 Windows 95
(cd) Windows 95 OSR 2 Windows 98 Windows 98 SE Windows NT 4.0 Workstation Windows XP Home Windows XP Professional
(dvd) Windows XP Pro with SP2 on the disc Windows Vista Business N
For all of the above, installation has been painless and flawless except for two items... HP Scanjet 3c - it used a SCSI card and the SCSI card was no longer supported under Windows 98. Note that it was never meant to be supported under 98 - it's a DOS era scanner. I had to poke at drivers a bit as the alternative (which would make it happily work right through to XP - might even work with Vista but can't find the info) was to buy a third party scsi card for some stupid amount that was more than a *new* scanner would be. Suffice to say I do now have a new scanner, but simply because I want to scan at a higher quality than the 3c allowed... so it was on its way out. Philips webcam driven through parallel port (and a separate microphone plug that went into the MIC IN of the soundblaster - no model number, sorry..) - no XP drivers, SOL on that one. Shame, too, as its visual quality puts most current webcams to shame ( high end CCD, great in low light ).
Both of those products were EOL well before the operating systems under which they broke were made available and I wouldn't really expect such hardware to 'just work' as such.
Now on the plus side for linux - I do believe that both of those products have Linux drivers and I *could* potentially get them up and running under Ubuntu.. with much work; see e.g. the 3c software: http://www.kirchgessner.net/sanehpfaq.html However, the scanner is gone - and so is the card.. even if I still had the card, it went into an ISA slot... I don't even have a motherboard to plug that into:)
Yeah, I know, trollish subject... but let's face it - what vendor *wouldn't* love to lock their users into *their* online services and *their* software to manage content on their portable devices and the like - all the while being able to advertise their other services, products, etc.
The biggest reason most don't do so right now is not because they listen to the geeks ( like myself - who would much rather just access the darn thing as if it were a portable HDD, copying/deleting/editing files like I would on any drive and only using a proprietary bit of software if needed - e.g. to flash firmware or something ), but because they then have to include the software, the user has to install that software, configure the software, etc.
It's a huge hassle and the only reason Apple gets away with it is because their solution, iTunes, is actually pretty darn good.. and it helps to have a previous technology to launch it with (QuickTime) and additional services that tie into it (iTunes Store).
SONY, Creative, Kowon, iRiver, etc. simply aren't in a position to even launch such an initiative, let alone make it successful enough that if I were to take their device to a random newish computer, that odds are I could use it with their software/services right away (the odds for that being the case with iPods and iPhones is already good - and growing).
But Microsoft *is* in the position to launch such a platform, and if all those manufacturers need to do is make their devices compatible - for free or against a small fee (?) - then there's very little reason not to do it.
Whether it would leave other platforms (specifically non-OS X) out in the cold / you can't circumvent it, though...
"I installed AVG on her system to replace McAfee, but we have since found that AVG is causing problems with her laptop's connection to our wireless network"
Just wondering if you contacted the AVG people. I know that, as a free (as in beer.. sort of) software user you're not likely to get priority support, but I'm sure they would like to know -why- their product appears to be messing with her wireless internet connection. I understand that you feel like it might not be worth messing with, but on the other hand it might be some stupid setting that's enabled by default, or some known issue that they have a workaround / fix for, etc. For example.. if you have AVG's update configured to use a dial-up connection (for whatever reason), and for whatever reason it -does- actually go and use it (for example, if you have a VPN installed - which acts as a 'dial-up connection' in Windows), that might disconnect you from the internet connection you'd normally have.
Not dismissing the alternatives mentioned in the comments here (other than the "Switch to a Linux distribution".. see another reply of mine in there somewhere, but if nothing else it'd be nice if you could let them know.. can't hurt, can it?
Although I do applaud people moving to, say, Ubuntu (I'm playing with the Live CD and loving it), I don't think this is a Funny -or- Insightful reply any time the topic of viruses/trojans/etc. comes up (and this being Slashdot, it does seem to come up quite often).
Ignoring for a moment that Linux -has- its share of malware ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Linux_computer_viruses , cue "wikipedia is unreliable" and "all of those holes are already patched" and "but it's still much less than on M$ Winblows"), and ignoring for a moment that a lot of replies will be that Linux is more secure by design, that a virus can't get root, etc. (and automatically ignoring for a moment the replies -that- will generate on how that's little comfort when your files are gone, or your machine is a spambot all the same (the user does have rights to send e-mail, right?)...
Ignoring all those.. how *easy* is it, exactly, when there are still problems with Linux distributions on some notebooks (hers may very well be one), -and- you have to consider that she'll likely have to switch different bits of software she uses as well (or somebody would have to be willing to put in time to get her stuff working under a Windows emulator).
Getting that Ubuntu Live CD working wasn't *easy*... it took some poking about, and that's for something that should have been "pop into drive, reboot, and enjoy Ubuntu", I'd dread having to get all of my existing software running / switching.. eventually I will, but if anybody suggests that it will be *easy*, they're more than welcome to come figure that all (hardware drivers, software alternatives, methods in those alternatives to achieve the same (or better) as what I'm used to, etc.) out for me.
Don't get me wrong, "Switch to Ubuntu" (or some other linux distribution) may be the perfect answers for this woman, and that would be great - but let's be realistic here and not label that as an easy solution.
Well to be honest, I was talking about Windows - not any 'Linux' operating system (where the exact distribution will matter anyway).
But let me hypothetically ask -you- that question... Assume that... 1. You just saved a file. Not 6 months ago, not 1 week ago, but *just*. 2. You have NO idea whatsoever where you saved it. 3. And even if you did, you haven't the foggiest what name you gave it.
Now I'm going to ask you a question - not "why don't you use X?" because the answer to that is going to be "I didn't know X existed".. at which point.. what can ya do.. it can't be any more clearly labeled (okay, it could be "Files I recently saved" instead of "My Recent Documents".. I'll give you that), it's in the Help file, in the manual, and so forth and so on).
No, I'm going to ask you this question:
Where/how would you expect to find out where and under what name you saved it?
Now it's not going to be entirely fair.. you already know where to find it.. but you suggest that maybe there's users who don't think those places are logical at all.. so this is more reaching out to your creativity... come up with "where/how"s that aren't already covered by the existing facilities.
To be honest, I think you'll have a difficult time.. but maybe you've got friends/family who haven't used a computer much.
This specific problem isn't one of those things where you have to jump through hoops to get at what you need (unlike, say, pasting an image from clipboard as a new image in The Gimp (2.2 - no idea about later versions as later versions have been dying on me.)).
I do fully agree with what you said in general, though - see the above note on The Gimp. ( Though to be honest, it's not any better in Photoshop last I checked, and yet that's supposed to be Teh Best Evar. - there *are* far too few usability studies in computer software, and it *is* hurting software.. and not just Linux or open source software.
- Or look in My Recent Documents (works with most applications) - Or look in Recent Files in the application of choice's file menu (most applications) - Or go to File > Save, eye the file browser that probably opens the last location you saved to
Or, you know, grow short-term memory capacity.
Honestly, "I just saved a file and now I don't know where I put it" is more indicative of the human operating the computer, than it is of the computer apparently lacking facilities to find the files.
That said - Google Desktop - etc. Will all index files in ways that you can easily retrieve them beyond that base Windows will do. OS X and *nix systems do this even better and in an easier to use (completely transparent) way, too.
I've lived long enough to have heard both sides, and though I'm more inclined to go with the 'global warming' scenario, the main thing I got from both debates is what people now call "climate change"*. Either things will get hotter, or they'll get cooler, but I've seen very few claims that things will stay exactly the same.
* Although they tend to mean that, for example, global warming means the earth will warm up - but that we'll also get more extreme weather; so just because the earth is warming up, doesn't mean you can't have an unusually strong winter some year.
Skimmed over the reference, page 6 states: "Some U.S. money has gone into the LHC, which will cost billions of dollars: five, maybe ten--the exact number is elusive (the science will be precise, but the accounting apparently follows the Uncertainty Principle)."
Contrast that with, say, the Joint Strike Fighter program+purchases: "Total development costs are estimated at more than US$40 billion (underwritten largely by the United States), while the purchase of an estimated 2,400 planes is expected to cost an additional US$200 billion.[49]"
I know RTFA is out of fashion here... can't blame people if TFA isn't even the TFA but a F Blog Post -on- TFA, but all the same...
``In addition, Google says that if it does remotely remove an application, it will try to get users their money back, a question that iPhone users have wondered about in the case of an iPhone application recall. Google said that it will make "reasonable efforts to recover the purchase price of the product... from the original developer on your behalf." If Google fails to get the full amount back, it will divide what it gets among affected users.`` - http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9117279&source=rss_news , AKA: TRealFA
"I loved Voyager as well, but the reason I think why I was able to love it is because I saw it for what it could have been as well, not purely for what it actually was."
Although it remains to be seen, perhaps Stargate Universe will appeal to you, then; it's a similar premise (stuck on a ship, trying to get home..alive), but obviously set in a different Sci-Fi setting. Unfortunately the show intends to focus more on character drama than storytelling; I really hope it doesn't become a space soap opera:| But I'm looking forward to finding out:) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stargate_Universe
Slashdot Mirror
"Unless you happen to be critical to Islam. Then you can expect a knife in your back or a bullet in your head (eg. v. Gogh, Fortuijn)."
So? You still had the freedom to speak your mind on it - the government isn't going to come over and haul you away never to be seen again.
"When it comes to freedom of speech, I'd rather live in the US."
Freedom of speech is not an automatic exoneration of any consequences of that speech. Go to a young jewish neighborhood and run around going sieg heil all the time, see how your free speech is respected.
(just to get away from the 'go to a black neighborhood, etc.' example)
"Our government has locked up reporters for failing to disclose their sources"
Failing to disclose after having been court-ordered to do so. Guess what - they're supposed to get locked up (or pay a fine) when that happens... that's how laws work. You may question -why- the courts agreed that the sources had to be revealed, but for that I'd say read the courts findings. If you think this doesn't happen in the U.S., you are deluded.
"and cartoonists for being critical of the government."
Cartoonists, op-eds... ahh, see the Plame case.
"It's not like the Netherlands is a magical fairy land where everything is perfect."
Certainly not.. no place is perfect. Each have their pros and cons - I don't think the cons you cited are non-existent for the U.S., however.
submitted by somebody at a blog, a vague summary about a 'story' at... that same blog!
Maybe it's not a blog - sure reads like one.
"Numerous users have been complaining about grey lines that muddy the crispness of the displays of the recently updated MacBook Air."
That line in the summary -is- the 'story'.
"Doug McLean explains the problem in [the advertised blog]"
No he doesn't. He just recaps what the supposed problem would be in some detail with an example image. Kudos for the image, but there's no explanation of the problem - what causes it, why it's only apparently in late 2008 models, etc. etc. you know.. explanation - whatsoever. There's wild guessing as to what's causing it...
"Theories about the lines are scant, but the main ones attribute them to the new anti-glare coating or the new Nvidia graphic chips. Many users seem suspicious, though hopeful, that a firmware update will resolve the problem."
But that alone should make you quirk an eyebrow... I do hope those 'many users' are on the side of 'the new Nvidia graphic chips [are the cause]", as I've got no hope whatsoever for those who think that a firmware update would fix an anti-glare coating.
"along with what Apple appears to be doing about it."
Well I guess including that information in the summary would mean even less people would click on the 'story', but the answer is "we don't know". As usual, with Apple, I know, but from the 'story'...
1. "Apple has issued no official statement on the matter"
2. "we hope Apple [...] takes [...] steps to resolve it"
i.e. "we don't know what Apple appears to be doing about it"
Your argument doesn't make sense...
Note that I don't think that the RIAA's proposal here makes sense.. no more than do the levies on CDs and DVDs (and tapes, etc) in most European countries and I believe in Canada.. at least; both assume that you will be making copies of music/video that they hold the copyright 'policing' rights to -onto- those media. If you don't.. you only put, say, your own photos onto them.. tough luck, you're still paying the levy. You can get exemption, but.. you guessed it.. to get exemption status you need to pay a yearly fee. Ho-hum.
But back to your argument, and it ties into something I said above... the RIAA looks after the copyrights and whatnot (yeah, I know, they look after their own wallet, blabla) of -their- members. If you are an indie artist, they don't much care about you (other than your diluting the market and such) or rather your copyrights.. as you are not a member.
So if you have a problem with students (potentially) copying your works... hey, that's great... but it's not the RIAA's task to deal with it.. it is your own.. or whoever you signed with (unless you're truly indie and just do your own pressing/burning, distribution, etc.).. it falls onto you/them to have a similar 'I won't sue you' agreement with the university/ties in question.
So yes.. it will never happen.. but the biggest reason why that wouldn't happen is because you are independent artist and simply don't deserve - technically, legally, etc. - any slice of such an agreement.
Just to make this absolutely clear.. I don't think the RIAA deserves any slice of.. well.. whatever - a university's budget, I suppose - for hypothetical / assumed copyright infringing activities where copyrights they govern come into play. I firmly believe they should have to prove it.. of course the laws, regulations and technical aspects make it very difficult to prove who violated what copyright, while at the same time it's clear copyright violation -does- occur.. so if the RIAA wants to get this sort of agreement in action and a university agrees to it... then so be it. I'd frown upon the university but if they figure it's less of hassle / moneysink than is battling RIAA lawyers all the time, then I can't blame them for being pragmatic at least until the laws are more firmly on their side (which is slowly happening, so I wouldn't sign such an agreement just yet).
"That's because the squatters took every goddamned name on earth back in the nineties."
Squatters... or other people like yourself?
By this I'm referring to:
"mcgrew.nerd might take you to me"
Sure, it might... but what would another nerdy mcgrew think of that? Or would you suggest they take mcgrew.theothernerd?
The whole debate hinges on extremes... either we should limit the things to ccTLDs and the original 5 (uhh.. 4?).. or, if we're going to allow the whole .museum , .aero, .tel, .andsoforth.. then we should just allow .anything and make the last part of a domain completely meaningless... which they already are anyway.. witness this comment;
http://tech.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=1049859&cid=25978511
"Most sane businesses should have realized by now that they really only need the standard set (.com/.net/.org)"
Yeah, I know "dur - of course it's a money-grab".. but I really wish that the various organizations involved would just come out and say so as well.. "We will allow any TLD as long as you give us enough money and it doesn't offend governments too much."
Apart from john.doe.tel - check out friends.jennifer-aniston.hollywood.celebrity.tel .
Now, it's possible somebody actually registered that (for $$$ - how much $$$ I don't know as you apparently have to sign up first.. whatthe.) but I'm just going to go with telnic seeding their .tel domain with as much crap as they can to make it look more busy and popular... like that guy on Slashdot with his dating site with a ton of fake profiles and saw nothing wrong with it as that's the only way to get a successful launch. That guy may have been technically right, and so is Telnic - but morally? psha.
Can't wait for it to get popular though... replace Plaxo and va-voom.. suddenly I'll get invites to join the latest social networking element fad.. a .TEL domain .
Why is it considered selling yourself short if you do work for free for a commercial entity... but not when you contribute to, say, FireFox, ThunderBird, Apache, the Linux kernel, and so forth and so on?
In both cases you are typically doing work for absolutely zilch as far as cash or prizes go. You may get a fuzzy warm feeling on the inside, you may simply enjoy doing the work (similar to the fuzzy warm feeling), maybe you enjoy the popularity it gives you. On rare occasions, maybe the work you do there lands you a job further down the line but that's not really something you can bank on. In both cases, you are also doing work somebody else -could- have been doing, for actual pay. I won't get into an argument of whether doing work for free means you're 'stealing jobs' - fact simply is that Netflix -is- getting a lot of work done practically for free that they would otherwise have had to hire somebody for; you would have to agree as otherwise "selling themselves short" would not apply.
So yes, you're doing work that should be landing you some cold hard cash when you...
- devise a matching algorithm for Netflix
- create a video for Radiohead
- submit photos to a Canon photo competition that they are then free to use in any and all marketing material aka ads regardless of whether your photo actually won that competition.
But isn't that pretty much the status quo that many here -want- to go to? Those making their money with proprietary programming, creating arts, etc. are dinosaurs in dying business models, no?
(only semi-flamebait)
I'd say "no", but I'm not a lawyer. These types of questions/answers often spiral down into extremely hairy (legal) details.
What if it isn't 30, but 60 seconds?
What if it is 30 seconds at a time of the same song?
What if it is the full song, but the titles are used to explain something about the song - would it still be an original and non-derivative work?
What if it is the full song, but the titles poke fun at the song - would that qualify as parody?
What if it is the full song with the original video, but it is posted with the comment that it is for display in educational institutions only? Would that qualify for the educational exemption status, and any breach of that by viewers (non-educational purposes) be a breach of the terms of the video poster only - thus giving no legal relief to the copyright holder as it is strictly a dispute by the poster of the video and the viewer and the poster may have no interest in enforcing the terms?
Again - find a lawyer.
But the fun thing about the DMCA is that you're sitting on roses with *any* video you might post. It is up to the copyright holder to:
1. find your video in the first place
2. perform a legal analysis of the video
3. if found to be in breach - write up the DMCA takedown and send to YouTube/Google/Whoever
At which point YOU can:
4a. remove the video
5a. re-upload the exact same video under a different name / from a different account.
The entire procedure then continues with:
6a. goto 1
OR:
4b. disagree with the DMCA claims and have YouTube/Google/Whoever re-instate the video
At which point the copyright holder can:
5b.a once again file the claim and proceed with legal action against you*
or
5b.b decide your arguments for disagreeing with the DMCA claims are sound and solid (or too expensive to research), and drop the matter.
That's my understanding of it anyway - again, I'm not a lawyer.
Even in your proposed meaning of ".. but note that there are strings attached", I have to say that's a preposterous statement. Oh noes! A LINK! To a site where you have to -pay- for the content! Well that's just unacceptable! *rips the flv and re-uploads with an account.. WITHOUT THE EVIL LINK.
yeeeeeeeesh.
Honestly, the link didn't even deserve mentioning and certainly not in a negative light.
it looks like you're on a roll... so given the (U.S.?) English dictionary of choice - what would be the ideal letter distribution (left/right) on a keyboard if the only argument for 'ideal' is that it should be balanced between left and right hands as much as possible?
( not caring about number of repeats within a single word on a given hand, not caring about -where- in the left / right region the actual keys would be.. that'd take considerably more thought and some insight into the physiology of the human hand, I'd imagine )
to wit: "with the only caveat being a link to buying the movies and TV episodes from Amazon."
caveat? -caveat-? Holy crap. The people behind the actual stuff can't put a f'ing "BUY THIS NOW" link with their videos without being chastised for it now?
The "me me me" generation needs to move along and die - the sooner the better.
I've always said (search my comments - I'm sure I've ranted on this topic here before) that the content owners should have a two-part strategy..
1. yes, by all means, send DMCA takedown notices of clear rips (if for no other reason than that I am tired of the leading title sequences for clips saying "video made by GangFunksta!!!!" in bright yellow on blue put together in windows movie maker, followed by the actual video overlaid by "made with unregistered hypercam" in the corners all over, and the sound too quiet to hear without setting the volume to 11)
( Note that I say 'clear rips'; somebody playing some stupid song in the background of their kid dancing shouldn't get a DMCA takedown. Somebody putting up a still image with the artist name and title of the song with the music in good quality -should- be DMCAd left right and center. )
2. Make an official and -good- quality version available themselves. Doesn't even need to be high quality or HD - leave that for sales if you want, but just set up good quality versions, add links to other productions of yours, add links to amazon, to swag, insert special promo codes - whatever you think would bring you more customers instead of driving them away (and to those crappy rips).. heck, put in an actual ad at the end of the video.
huh?
Have you ever pointed a remote at yourself? Didn't hurt one bit, did it? Now imagine just a few of those blinking at a few regions of the screen.. won't heat up the place at all, but will make any camera recording quite useless.
Presumably, epileptics wouldn't be bothered by this either, otherwise we should have seen people going into shock over TV usage.
Perhaps you're thinking of the IR lamps used in beauty salons / chicken farms.. those do get hot - but then, that's their intended purpose.
Note that in Holland they -are- rolling out the new 'smart meters' which basically phone home periodically on how much your usage has been.
This is seen as 'good' for everybody all around.. you no longer have to mail/phone in the numbers once a year (gee, a 3 minute job), and you get a nice view online (or by mail - frequency depends on the utilities company) of what your use has been. So you never have to pay more than you should have to (because the utility company's 'assumption' falls too high - say, if you recently divorced, and you now only have to draw energy for 1 person - they'll still base it off of the usage for 2 from the year/6 months before) - nor do you end up paying too little and end up with a surprise at year end when the utility company demands more money because actual usage was higher.
On the other hand... somewhere there is now a database of everybody's usage patterns. What's that, you say, the Willemsens which used to have higher-than-average energy demands have been having near-zero for a week now? You don't say.. gosh, I wonder what that might mean.. I suppose these guys who know some guys should pay their home a visit - you know, just to make sure they're alright.
I, for one, would much rather log at home to check my usage patterns / make sure I pay the right amount at year end.. if that takes me 3 minutes for phoning in the numbers once a year, and 1 minute once a week / month / however often I want to, to note down the numbers in my own database, then that's quite alright by me. Not paranoid - just not a fan of these automated systems that are touted as being so much more convenient for you but always seem to have negative (side) effects down the road.
If you haven't been hit yet, then you probably won't be either; your AVG quite likely already has the fixed definitions file.
If you -are- hit... guess what? it pops up a warning that it believes it found some sort of trojan in user32.dll . Laymen might just tell it to remove the thing, but I do hope -you- would know better and tell it to stfu and ignore, then fetch the latest update (it will warn you a few more times if you've got the resident shield runnning, as user32.dll gets accessed a lot).
If you -are- hit and it has already removed it... quickly restore it, carry on.
If you are hit, it has removed it, and your machine has already crashed... reboot to a command prompt (safe mode MAY work, but it didn't when I fixed a machine on sunday), restore user32.dll from a cache / restore point. If you can't get it from a cache, get it from the installation CD (if you have one), but keep in mind that it will be missing updates and windows update might not realize that (as everything else on the system tells it hotfixes N-M have been installed - maybe MS will make the update check the MD5 or something of user32.dll, after this problem, just in case).
This was extremely stupid on the end of AVG, but then I'm still baffled why such files can be removed at all; same with ntldr. If you accidentally wipe your root dir, you're all kinds of f'ed.
Windows is an operating system (suite)
Lindows was... an operating system (suite)
Azureus -was- a bittorrent client (nowadays 'Vuze', so who cares anyway?)
Azure would be... online.. web 2.0.. cloud.. computing.. something. Nothing remotely like a bittorrent client, at least.
oh gosh, here we go...
"Did you mean iPod owners?" - well I'm not sure what the context of this story was as I'm only hitting the comments right now, but I do believe it was about external devices which interface with computers. Yeah, the iPod and iPhone come to mind when I say "Apple".
Take two steps back and then realize I'm not bashing Apple - "because their solution, iTunes, is actually pretty darn good" is quite the opposite of bashing, in case you really needed that pointed out for you. I'll leave Apple-bashing for the people who troll for Apple-fanboys.
Then use some common sense to realize that just because you and I know how to get third party software for iPod, iPhone to manage stuff with, and even get things up and running so that it *does* act as a USB device, that doesn't mean everybody does. That was one of the main arguments against bundling Windows Media Player with Windows - "the common man will just use whatever they already have on their computer".
"The days of mp3/artist/album/Artist_Album_TrackNumber_Song.mp3 are thankfully over." - and have been since well before iTunes - but, again, "iTunes is actually pretty darn good" - as opposed to most of the alternatives.
"in less time that it took to type up your diatribe you could have found programs like Senuti." - I don't need to, I use iTunes quite gladly, tyvm.
You make entirely too many assumptions before you hit reply, but the biggest one is that it was an anti-Apple post (diatribe). It was one thing and one thing only - realization that, yes, vendors would readily make use of this to get people to use -their- services/software/etc. simply because with Microsoft's help they -can-, and no, we don't know if that means they'll just outright drop support for anything else.
Oh, and karma be damned... karma isn't a competition. If I wanted to gather karma I'd post "lol switch to Linux" anytime a story on Microsoft's wrongdoings comes up, or "It's a SONY product - no thanks, I don't need another rootkit" for SONY stories, and so forth and so on.
I have installed:
(diskettes)
Windows 3.1
Windows 3.11
Windows 95
(cd)
Windows 95 OSR 2
Windows 98
Windows 98 SE
Windows NT 4.0 Workstation
Windows XP Home
Windows XP Professional
(dvd)
Windows XP Pro with SP2 on the disc
Windows Vista Business N
For all of the above, installation has been painless and flawless except for two items...
HP Scanjet 3c - it used a SCSI card and the SCSI card was no longer supported under Windows 98. Note that it was never meant to be supported under 98 - it's a DOS era scanner. I had to poke at drivers a bit as the alternative (which would make it happily work right through to XP - might even work with Vista but can't find the info) was to buy a third party scsi card for some stupid amount that was more than a *new* scanner would be. Suffice to say I do now have a new scanner, but simply because I want to scan at a higher quality than the 3c allowed... so it was on its way out.
Philips webcam driven through parallel port (and a separate microphone plug that went into the MIC IN of the soundblaster - no model number, sorry..) - no XP drivers, SOL on that one. Shame, too, as its visual quality puts most current webcams to shame ( high end CCD, great in low light ).
Both of those products were EOL well before the operating systems under which they broke were made available and I wouldn't really expect such hardware to 'just work' as such.
Now on the plus side for linux - I do believe that both of those products have Linux drivers and I *could* potentially get them up and running under Ubuntu.. with much work; see e.g. the 3c software: http://www.kirchgessner.net/sanehpfaq.html :)
However, the scanner is gone - and so is the card.. even if I still had the card, it went into an ISA slot... I don't even have a motherboard to plug that into
Yeah, I know, trollish subject... but let's face it - what vendor *wouldn't* love to lock their users into *their* online services and *their* software to manage content on their portable devices and the like - all the while being able to advertise their other services, products, etc.
The biggest reason most don't do so right now is not because they listen to the geeks ( like myself - who would much rather just access the darn thing as if it were a portable HDD, copying/deleting/editing files like I would on any drive and only using a proprietary bit of software if needed - e.g. to flash firmware or something ), but because they then have to include the software, the user has to install that software, configure the software, etc.
It's a huge hassle and the only reason Apple gets away with it is because their solution, iTunes, is actually pretty darn good.. and it helps to have a previous technology to launch it with (QuickTime) and additional services that tie into it (iTunes Store).
SONY, Creative, Kowon, iRiver, etc. simply aren't in a position to even launch such an initiative, let alone make it successful enough that if I were to take their device to a random newish computer, that odds are I could use it with their software/services right away (the odds for that being the case with iPods and iPhones is already good - and growing).
But Microsoft *is* in the position to launch such a platform, and if all those manufacturers need to do is make their devices compatible - for free or against a small fee (?) - then there's very little reason not to do it.
Whether it would leave other platforms (specifically non-OS X) out in the cold / you can't circumvent it, though...
"I installed AVG on her system to replace McAfee, but we have since found that AVG is causing problems with her laptop's connection to our wireless network"
Just wondering if you contacted the AVG people. I know that, as a free (as in beer.. sort of) software user you're not likely to get priority support, but I'm sure they would like to know -why- their product appears to be messing with her wireless internet connection. I understand that you feel like it might not be worth messing with, but on the other hand it might be some stupid setting that's enabled by default, or some known issue that they have a workaround / fix for, etc.
For example.. if you have AVG's update configured to use a dial-up connection (for whatever reason), and for whatever reason it -does- actually go and use it (for example, if you have a VPN installed - which acts as a 'dial-up connection' in Windows), that might disconnect you from the internet connection you'd normally have.
Not dismissing the alternatives mentioned in the comments here (other than the "Switch to a Linux distribution".. see another reply of mine in there somewhere, but if nothing else it'd be nice if you could let them know.. can't hurt, can it?
Although I do applaud people moving to, say, Ubuntu (I'm playing with the Live CD and loving it), I don't think this is a Funny -or- Insightful reply any time the topic of viruses/trojans/etc. comes up (and this being Slashdot, it does seem to come up quite often).
Ignoring for a moment that Linux -has- its share of malware ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Linux_computer_viruses , cue "wikipedia is unreliable" and "all of those holes are already patched" and "but it's still much less than on M$ Winblows"), and ignoring for a moment that a lot of replies will be that Linux is more secure by design, that a virus can't get root, etc. (and automatically ignoring for a moment the replies -that- will generate on how that's little comfort when your files are gone, or your machine is a spambot all the same (the user does have rights to send e-mail, right?)...
Ignoring all those.. how *easy* is it, exactly, when there are still problems with Linux distributions on some notebooks (hers may very well be one), -and- you have to consider that she'll likely have to switch different bits of software she uses as well (or somebody would have to be willing to put in time to get her stuff working under a Windows emulator).
Getting that Ubuntu Live CD working wasn't *easy*... it took some poking about, and that's for something that should have been "pop into drive, reboot, and enjoy Ubuntu", I'd dread having to get all of my existing software running / switching.. eventually I will, but if anybody suggests that it will be *easy*, they're more than welcome to come figure that all (hardware drivers, software alternatives, methods in those alternatives to achieve the same (or better) as what I'm used to, etc.) out for me.
Don't get me wrong, "Switch to Ubuntu" (or some other linux distribution) may be the perfect answers for this woman, and that would be great - but let's be realistic here and not label that as an easy solution.
Just my 2cts.
Well to be honest, I was talking about Windows - not any 'Linux' operating system (where the exact distribution will matter anyway).
But let me hypothetically ask -you- that question...
Assume that...
1. You just saved a file. Not 6 months ago, not 1 week ago, but *just*.
2. You have NO idea whatsoever where you saved it.
3. And even if you did, you haven't the foggiest what name you gave it.
Now I'm going to ask you a question - not "why don't you use X?" because the answer to that is going to be "I didn't know X existed".. at which point.. what can ya do.. it can't be any more clearly labeled (okay, it could be "Files I recently saved" instead of "My Recent Documents".. I'll give you that), it's in the Help file, in the manual, and so forth and so on).
No, I'm going to ask you this question:
Where/how would you expect to find out where and under what name you saved it?
Now it's not going to be entirely fair.. you already know where to find it.. but you suggest that maybe there's users who don't think those places are logical at all.. so this is more reaching out to your creativity... come up with "where/how"s that aren't already covered by the existing facilities.
To be honest, I think you'll have a difficult time.. but maybe you've got friends/family who haven't used a computer much.
This specific problem isn't one of those things where you have to jump through hoops to get at what you need (unlike, say, pasting an image from clipboard as a new image in The Gimp (2.2 - no idea about later versions as later versions have been dying on me.)).
I do fully agree with what you said in general, though - see the above note on The Gimp. ( Though to be honest, it's not any better in Photoshop last I checked, and yet that's supposed to be Teh Best Evar. - there *are* far too few usability studies in computer software, and it *is* hurting software.. and not just Linux or open source software.
- Or look in My Recent Documents (works with most applications)
- Or look in Recent Files in the application of choice's file menu (most applications)
- Or go to File > Save, eye the file browser that probably opens the last location you saved to
Or, you know, grow short-term memory capacity.
Honestly, "I just saved a file and now I don't know where I put it" is more indicative of the human operating the computer, than it is of the computer apparently lacking facilities to find the files.
That said
- Google Desktop
- etc.
Will all index files in ways that you can easily retrieve them beyond that base Windows will do. OS X and *nix systems do this even better and in an easier to use (completely transparent) way, too.
I've lived long enough to have heard both sides, and though I'm more inclined to go with the 'global warming' scenario, the main thing I got from both debates is what people now call "climate change"*. Either things will get hotter, or they'll get cooler, but I've seen very few claims that things will stay exactly the same.
* Although they tend to mean that, for example, global warming means the earth will warm up - but that we'll also get more extreme weather; so just because the earth is warming up, doesn't mean you can't have an unusually strong winter some year.
"The total cost of the project is expected to be 3.2-6.4 billion.[15]" - wikipedia
[15] = http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2008/03/god-particle/achenbach-text
Skimmed over the reference, page 6 states:
"Some U.S. money has gone into the LHC, which will cost billions of dollars: five, maybe ten--the exact number is elusive (the science will be precise, but the accounting apparently follows the Uncertainty Principle)."
Contrast that with, say, the Joint Strike Fighter program+purchases:
"Total development costs are estimated at more than US$40 billion (underwritten largely by the United States), while the purchase of an estimated 2,400 planes is expected to cost an additional US$200 billion.[49]"
I know RTFA is out of fashion here... can't blame people if TFA isn't even the TFA but a F Blog Post -on- TFA, but all the same...
``In addition, Google says that if it does remotely remove an application, it will try to get users their money back, a question that iPhone users have wondered about in the case of an iPhone application recall. Google said that it will make "reasonable efforts to recover the purchase price of the product ... from the original developer on your behalf." If Google fails to get the full amount back, it will divide what it gets among affected users.`` - http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9117279&source=rss_news , AKA: TRealFA
"I loved Voyager as well, but the reason I think why I was able to love it is because I saw it for what it could have been as well, not purely for what it actually was."
Although it remains to be seen, perhaps Stargate Universe will appeal to you, then; it's a similar premise (stuck on a ship, trying to get home ..alive), but obviously set in a different Sci-Fi setting. Unfortunately the show intends to focus more on character drama than storytelling; I really hope it doesn't become a space soap opera :| But I'm looking forward to finding out :)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stargate_Universe