Really, they aren't Borg anymore, they've been busted down to "common thugs"...still fearsome, but no longer insurmountable.
Clearly you haven't seen the final episode of Star Trek: Voyager. All we need are transphasic torpedoes (or whatever the hell they were) and a neurally-accessed Janeway hologram, and all our Microsoft problems will be solved.....Or will they??
I cringe every time I hear about the tragedy of the commons, because, while I know on some level that it's true, I wonder if there's more to the story that we're not being told, or that we haven't realized. Why does it have to be that way?
Since I'm a grad student and have been engaged in nomadic apartment-living for half a decade now, wireless makes an abundant amount of sense for me. People, roommates, computers, and apartments can come and go, and my network is as flexible in speed, reach, and connectivity as I need it to be. Wireless works for me.
However, as a semipro computer tech, I also have seen time and again how people will buy a wireless router for one machine they want to use somewhere in the house that's not easily reached by CAT5 -- and they purchase wireless cards to go with all the other computers in the house, too, for no particular reason.
I agree with you, though, that if for no other reason than it being the Right Thing To Do, that elements of reasonable conservation need to be put into place, so that our commons stays enjoyable for all.
tell consumers that they don't need iTunes to get THEIR music that mean old Apple isn't letting them have.
Here's what gets me about the whole thing: I never needed iPod, iTunes, rootkits, DRM, or any other Breaks With [OperatingSystem]-certified CD formats. If you give me an Audio CD(TM), like you've been doing for the last two decades, I can listen to it on any dinky-damn CD or music player I want. I give you cash money for the CD, you let me do with it what I please, as long as I don't violate copyright laws. Otherwise, sue me.
The only problem with that system is, of course, the fact that the digital revolution has not led to a more perfect form of control for people in power. Fuck that. Seriously.
There isn't a CDDA mark on the outside of those cases, but both the interior of the case that holds the CD and the CD itself are marked with the trademarked, certified CDDA mark. Let's sue the bastards for that, too, while we're at it.;)
I actually use Windows and OS X at work, primarily OS X. I have an iBook (my line of work requires lots of very basic video editing, so iMovie is a godsend), which I use for those work-related things that require OS X compatibility. I use the Windows boxen when needed for various compatibility considerations. My actual home desktop, where I do most of my "power using" is an Ubuntu 5.10 box.
This isn't an RTFA slam -- I did have to scour the planning docs for this info, but it was enjoyable, so no complaints:
-Firewalling: There is a planned implementation of some firewall for the Dapper (6.04) release. I assume this is a basic iptables mod, with some configurable frontend. They mentioned the name of a specific package, but I don't recall what.
-Backup: There is also a planned implementation of backup software, very simple in implementation, but designed to be largely effective for most "average Joe" type users. By default this will only back up your user's ~/ directory, excluding A/V files.
I don't remember the "real books" -- but I do remember "fake books". In fact, I own a couple. Were the Fake Books also produced without licensing from ASCAP / BMI / SOCAN? Is that why my public library got rid of all of them in one of their recent book sales? Interesting. I picked 'em all up, because I think they're just dandy for setting up musical frameworks for songs, but leave you plenty of room to riff on them however you want.
VCRs do still enable ad impressions. It doesn't matter if you watch the 30 second spot and hear the jingle, or if you just see the McDonalds logo while fastforwarding through. An impression is an impression is an impression, and to any company large enough to care, it doesn't matter if you know their jingle as long as they're getting mind-share.
I agree that large portions of people may not know how to do this from the get-go, but I do believe that the perception* that distribution through these channels prevents people from seeing ads will slow the adoption of any commercial-message-driven distribution of TV shows on the web.
* - Note that this perception does extend back, as you mentioned, to videotape recordings, but also to TiVO.
I think the biggest reason is the predominance of really basic, easy-to-use editing tools. And no, I'm not talking iMovie, even. Just QuickTime Pro, for instance, gives you the ability to cut segments out of a video stream. Until they have a way of guaranteeing an impression every time you view (i.e., making it available only by live stream), there won't be an option for free viewing with commercials.
I'd just like to second this point. Slashdot "main page edition" may not be the place for it, necessarily, but I am *always* open to experiencing new music, and bulletins like this can introduce lots of people to great music they never would've encountered otherwise. Maybe a "substantial, noninfringing use" section of./ (no, wait,/., sorry) would be wortwhile?
I grabbed the whole (controversial) set of Beethoven (wasn't it?) songs BBC had posted, and I only knew about it from here. Great recordings, those were. I can't wait for the HD torrent to finish. Just the other day I was asking myself "What the hell ever happened to Harvey Danger." Can't wait to find out:)
That's a fair point, and I get what you're saying. And of course, in the paradigm of Major Corporation, it makes perfect sense that they would protect systems which encourage end-user lock-in.
However, it's also clear that by refusing to support an open system such as OASIS, they're entirely losing their user base in the MA government. If this continues and becomes a trend, by not supporting the OASIS formats, Microsoft is actually locking themselves out of the market, instead of locking themselves in, as their original intentions were.
The reason I got modded up is becuase I had a reasonable idea for how MS can embrace the open file format.
The MS XML Office doc format is still proprietary in nature. As one article or another noted, it's not just the XML-ness of the OASIS formats that's important, it's the fact that there is a shared, open, and agreed-upon parser for these documents. The semantics of the XML have to be identical in order for everything to work properly. Microsoft is not, to the best of my knowledge, releasing all associated information involving their XML specs to the public. Thus, the fact that they're using XML is really beside the point.
That the format isn't supported in all office suites isn't anyone else's fault but Microsoft's. If MS was quick about this, they could easily incorporate the OD standard into an upcoming release of their Office suite. In fact, I believe they have one coming up, as luck would have it. Hell, include a patch to backport that feature to whatever Office (12-1) was called.
In this way, they could show governments that they *can* move to open standards, while still maintaining their (for MS) lucrative relationship. Instead, as per usual, we get stonewalling out of Redmond.
I was discussing this article with a friend, and mentioned that it seems a lot of the inefficiencies and maintenance problems and whatnot that the shuttle has was how it moved away from just using physics in favor of the spacecraft, and trying to control it.
The beauty of Soyuz is and has always been that you sort of fire the rocket and it does its thing and then you're in space. The re-entry capsule is designed so that it more-or-less "automatically" ends up in proper position for re-entry heat shielding. Yes, you don't have as much control as you would in the shuttle, but do you really need it?
This is a move towards the truly tried-and-true method of launch and re-entry. Physics / Mother Nature / God / Whoever allows this to happen in a reasonably well-understood fashion, and by stopping the fight against it, we get improved cargo lift capacity, and substantially cheaper crew lifts in return.
This could be one great legacy Bush could leave behind. Oof. Kinda hurts to say that;)
I like how you just wrote off Microsoft as some minor player. You know, anyone besides Microsoft and their shitty browsers, which make up only a piddly 85% of the market.
Yeah, that Microsoft;)
(Written in Firefox 1.06 / Ubuntu Linux 5.04, just for the record)
*sigh* We *do* have a credit card system, but it's only for tax-exempt purchases from local brick-and-mortar businesses (i.e., can't order online) for purchases under $500.
And that's only if we submit approval paperwork beforehand.
Surely then you appreciate the irony in the mass of paperwork that comes with completing a PO.
If I hear "This is Form 23B in duplicate, but I need Form 23C in triplicate" from a clerk sitting right next to a goddamn copy machine *one* *more* *time*...:)
... in the great Indiana Daylight Saving Time saga! Just this past year, our state legislature voted to turn the entire state to Daylight Saving Time. As it stands now, 77 counties in Indiana do not, with the other 15 scattered amongst northwest, southeast, and southwest Indiana, which, due to their proximity to large metropolitan areas in other time zones, already observe DST (the states in the southern part of the state on ET, in the north on CT).
Now, that's confusing, right? Add in, though, that the legislature never would've gotten the bill passed had it specified a time zone proper for the 77 central counties.
Now, since the legislature just voted to enact DST without specifiying what happens to the 77 other counties, we don't know what time zone we're in! The Feds have refused to order the change as a whole, wanting instead to have hearings on a county-by-county basis! And until such time as either A) hearings can take place to officially move Indiana to Central time (except for the counties in the south which would remain on ET), or B) next summer comes and we're on ET de facto, we're sort of stuck in a netherworld. As the law is written by default, we'd start observing full ET, DST and all come next April, but the jury is strongly divided as to whether or not we should move to central.
And you think changing a couple damn lines of code is a problem?!
Slashdot Mirror
Clearly you haven't seen the final episode of Star Trek: Voyager. All we need are transphasic torpedoes (or whatever the hell they were) and a neurally-accessed Janeway hologram, and all our Microsoft problems will be solved.
I cringe every time I hear about the tragedy of the commons, because, while I know on some level that it's true, I wonder if there's more to the story that we're not being told, or that we haven't realized. Why does it have to be that way?
Since I'm a grad student and have been engaged in nomadic apartment-living for half a decade now, wireless makes an abundant amount of sense for me. People, roommates, computers, and apartments can come and go, and my network is as flexible in speed, reach, and connectivity as I need it to be. Wireless works for me.
However, as a semipro computer tech, I also have seen time and again how people will buy a wireless router for one machine they want to use somewhere in the house that's not easily reached by CAT5 -- and they purchase wireless cards to go with all the other computers in the house, too, for no particular reason.
I agree with you, though, that if for no other reason than it being the Right Thing To Do, that elements of reasonable conservation need to be put into place, so that our commons stays enjoyable for all.
Here's what gets me about the whole thing: I never needed iPod, iTunes, rootkits, DRM, or any other Breaks With [OperatingSystem]-certified CD formats. If you give me an Audio CD(TM), like you've been doing for the last two decades, I can listen to it on any dinky-damn CD or music player I want. I give you cash money for the CD, you let me do with it what I please, as long as I don't violate copyright laws. Otherwise, sue me.
The only problem with that system is, of course, the fact that the digital revolution has not led to a more perfect form of control for people in power. Fuck that. Seriously.
There isn't a CDDA mark on the outside of those cases, but both the interior of the case that holds the CD and the CD itself are marked with the trademarked, certified CDDA mark. Let's sue the bastards for that, too, while we're at it. ;)
I actually use Windows and OS X at work, primarily OS X. I have an iBook (my line of work requires lots of very basic video editing, so iMovie is a godsend), which I use for those work-related things that require OS X compatibility. I use the Windows boxen when needed for various compatibility considerations. My actual home desktop, where I do most of my "power using" is an Ubuntu 5.10 box.
This isn't an RTFA slam -- I did have to scour the planning docs for this info, but it was enjoyable, so no complaints:
-Firewalling: There is a planned implementation of some firewall for the Dapper (6.04) release. I assume this is a basic iptables mod, with some configurable frontend. They mentioned the name of a specific package, but I don't recall what.
-Backup: There is also a planned implementation of backup software, very simple in implementation, but designed to be largely effective for most "average Joe" type users. By default this will only back up your user's ~/ directory, excluding A/V files.
I don't remember the "real books" -- but I do remember "fake books". In fact, I own a couple. Were the Fake Books also produced without licensing from ASCAP / BMI / SOCAN? Is that why my public library got rid of all of them in one of their recent book sales? Interesting. I picked 'em all up, because I think they're just dandy for setting up musical frameworks for songs, but leave you plenty of room to riff on them however you want.
Fair point! :) We'll see how their legal disassembling of the community & technology goes.
VCRs do still enable ad impressions. It doesn't matter if you watch the 30 second spot and hear the jingle, or if you just see the McDonalds logo while fastforwarding through. An impression is an impression is an impression, and to any company large enough to care, it doesn't matter if you know their jingle as long as they're getting mind-share.
I agree that large portions of people may not know how to do this from the get-go, but I do believe that the perception* that distribution through these channels prevents people from seeing ads will slow the adoption of any commercial-message-driven distribution of TV shows on the web.
* - Note that this perception does extend back, as you mentioned, to videotape recordings, but also to TiVO.
I think the biggest reason is the predominance of really basic, easy-to-use editing tools. And no, I'm not talking iMovie, even. Just QuickTime Pro, for instance, gives you the ability to cut segments out of a video stream. Until they have a way of guaranteeing an impression every time you view (i.e., making it available only by live stream), there won't be an option for free viewing with commercials.
Actually, IIRC, phones use RJ-11 connectors; the CAT5-type ethernet jacks are the 8-wire RJ-45s.
I'll bet a dollar (hey, I'm a grad student, OK) that he runs against Al Franken in his next election -- which I believe is in 2008, isn't it?
I'd just like to second this point. Slashdot "main page edition" may not be the place for it, necessarily, but I am *always* open to experiencing new music, and bulletins like this can introduce lots of people to great music they never would've encountered otherwise. Maybe a "substantial, noninfringing use" section of ./ (no, wait, /., sorry) would be wortwhile?
:)
I grabbed the whole (controversial) set of Beethoven (wasn't it?) songs BBC had posted, and I only knew about it from here. Great recordings, those were. I can't wait for the HD torrent to finish. Just the other day I was asking myself "What the hell ever happened to Harvey Danger." Can't wait to find out
That's a fair point, and I get what you're saying. And of course, in the paradigm of Major Corporation, it makes perfect sense that they would protect systems which encourage end-user lock-in.
However, it's also clear that by refusing to support an open system such as OASIS, they're entirely losing their user base in the MA government. If this continues and becomes a trend, by not supporting the OASIS formats, Microsoft is actually locking themselves out of the market, instead of locking themselves in, as their original intentions were.
The reason I got modded up is becuase I had a reasonable idea for how MS can embrace the open file format.
The MS XML Office doc format is still proprietary in nature. As one article or another noted, it's not just the XML-ness of the OASIS formats that's important, it's the fact that there is a shared, open, and agreed-upon parser for these documents. The semantics of the XML have to be identical in order for everything to work properly. Microsoft is not, to the best of my knowledge, releasing all associated information involving their XML specs to the public. Thus, the fact that they're using XML is really beside the point.
That the format isn't supported in all office suites isn't anyone else's fault but Microsoft's. If MS was quick about this, they could easily incorporate the OD standard into an upcoming release of their Office suite. In fact, I believe they have one coming up, as luck would have it. Hell, include a patch to backport that feature to whatever Office (12-1) was called.
In this way, they could show governments that they *can* move to open standards, while still maintaining their (for MS) lucrative relationship. Instead, as per usual, we get stonewalling out of Redmond.
*props*
That's all, actually. Well-put!
I was discussing this article with a friend, and mentioned that it seems a lot of the inefficiencies and maintenance problems and whatnot that the shuttle has was how it moved away from just using physics in favor of the spacecraft, and trying to control it.
;)
The beauty of Soyuz is and has always been that you sort of fire the rocket and it does its thing and then you're in space. The re-entry capsule is designed so that it more-or-less "automatically" ends up in proper position for re-entry heat shielding. Yes, you don't have as much control as you would in the shuttle, but do you really need it?
This is a move towards the truly tried-and-true method of launch and re-entry. Physics / Mother Nature / God / Whoever allows this to happen in a reasonably well-understood fashion, and by stopping the fight against it, we get improved cargo lift capacity, and substantially cheaper crew lifts in return.
This could be one great legacy Bush could leave behind. Oof. Kinda hurts to say that
...The slashdotting generated four times the number of HTTP request on earth.
I thought it was the ugly duckling or something -- it always registered as a swan to my (admittedly just glancing) eye.
Chalk this one up in the "you learn something every day" column!
I like how you just wrote off Microsoft as some minor player. You know, anyone besides Microsoft and their shitty browsers, which make up only a piddly 85% of the market.
Yeah, that Microsoft
(Written in Firefox 1.06 / Ubuntu Linux 5.04, just for the record)
*sigh* We *do* have a credit card system, but it's only for tax-exempt purchases from local brick-and-mortar businesses (i.e., can't order online) for purchases under $500.
And that's only if we submit approval paperwork beforehand.
Color me envious!
Screw time travel; we'll still miss one track from the 9-track tapes.
Maybe we can use the leftover track from reading the 7-track tapes to our advantage...
Surely then you appreciate the irony in the mass of paperwork that comes with completing a PO.
:)
If I hear "This is Form 23B in duplicate, but I need Form 23C in triplicate" from a clerk sitting right next to a goddamn copy machine *one* *more* *time*...
... in the great Indiana Daylight Saving Time saga! Just this past year, our state legislature voted to turn the entire state to Daylight Saving Time. As it stands now, 77 counties in Indiana do not, with the other 15 scattered amongst northwest, southeast, and southwest Indiana, which, due to their proximity to large metropolitan areas in other time zones, already observe DST (the states in the southern part of the state on ET, in the north on CT).
Now, that's confusing, right? Add in, though, that the legislature never would've gotten the bill passed had it specified a time zone proper for the 77 central counties.
Now, since the legislature just voted to enact DST without specifiying what happens to the 77 other counties, we don't know what time zone we're in! The Feds have refused to order the change as a whole, wanting instead to have hearings on a county-by-county basis! And until such time as either A) hearings can take place to officially move Indiana to Central time (except for the counties in the south which would remain on ET), or B) next summer comes and we're on ET de facto, we're sort of stuck in a netherworld. As the law is written by default, we'd start observing full ET, DST and all come next April, but the jury is strongly divided as to whether or not we should move to central.
And you think changing a couple damn lines of code is a problem?!