Does this mean I will never have to hear the STUPID FSCKING WORD 'DIGERATI' ever again? That's certainly worth a Katz article... and not a bad one, either.
Can we also abolish Esther Dyson while we're at it?
Indeed. I'm in the second year of the CSE program (actually goofing off at lab and not paying attention to Norton and Thevenin's theorems.) I picked the CSE degree because a) "engineering" sounded cool, b) we took more core courses, and c) CS is halfway to being an MIS weenie (boy, am I gonna get it for that one), which is like CS, but without the coding.
Even with all the disdain for coding that goes around this discussion, there's no substitute for long hours spent playing with the system. An hour of programming can explain better than five of poor lecture notes.
In American movies, things explode, buildings collapse... eh. The people always dive out of the way Just In Time, and we feel safe.
Akira removes that boundary. When buildings collapse, people are crushed into puddles. When a character is in danger (Kaori), she doesn't miraculously escape -- poof, she's squished into soup.
I'm not saying I'm a bloodthirsty ogre -- I'm just struck by the honesty of the violence. (Yeah, I know, honesty goes along with mutating bubblegum-flesh and orbital laser platforms.)
Also, it was a wonderfully pretty movie, even on the crappy VHS copy I have. Can't wait for the DVD. And I liked parts of the soundtrack a lot. (Some parts were just too weird... or "traditional", you might say.) And whoever did the English voice of Colonel Shikishima kicked serious ass.
Not to mention my list of reasons why Princess Mononoke was spectacular. I know... these are exceptions. But when anime is good, it's *spectacularly* good, at least for me.
As a side note, I appear to have developed a fetish for girls with pink, red, purple or blue hair. Must... cut... down!
Well, you've got to remember that OAVs are sort of like TV episodes over there. Who owns every episode of 'Full House'?!
But people religiously collect Ranma 1/2. Go fig.
Anime is a lot like media here. Subject to Sturgeon's law. Some people forget this and claim that anime will save us all!, forgetting that it's possible to make crappy anime.
To summarize: don't get sour on the whole idea; there's plenty of good anime out there. I'm sure someone has a better list than I do, so I'll refrain.
Humans are like us. Animals are quite unlike us, plants more so. This is why we have a bigger problem eating humans than animals than plants -- the feeling that we could be next on the plate. We anthropomorphize cats and dogs -- and we can't bring ourselves to eat them.
What are we supposed to think? They're acting as if they were in the throes of death (which they're not, are they?), what with the "Linux will destroy us!"/"Linux is nothing!" flip-flopping.
I don't think that Miller really addresses anything, except the fact that Microsoft has an assload of resources to put behind service and support, while anyone using Linux must rely on their own IT department or third-party providers.
Innovation? Aside from cosmetic improvements, what's so much better about Windows now than two years ago? Linux, on the other hand, has a completely new VM (the benefits of which will start outweighing the pain that it's brought to kernel hackers any day now), the LVM, journaling file systems which will be included in the mainstream kernel RSN, a completely overhauled windowing system... (I know, X runs on BSD and Solaris too.)
Besides, what major improvements *haven't* been thought of in some university/IBM thinktank and implemented in a mainstream distribution by someone else?
Note that they write about 'consumers'... not citizens, not people, they see us as little bags of money for them to periodically drain --.NET and such are proposals to help it occur in a more continuous fashion.
Damn it, can't at least *one* journalist resign in disgust over the control exerted by the myriad interests of the corporate hydra? ("No, you can't run this story about AOL/TW beating up third world baby seals...")
SCSI is terribly, terribly expensive in comparison. And it's the *principle* of the matter, because once it's been done with ATA, it'll be done with SCSI, it's just a matter of time.
No, this has to be seen for the very, very bad idea that it is. This is about *control*.
And what's to keep them from denying storage of all unsigned/unvalidated media? Let's meditate on why having all media centrally approved is *bad*.
Does anyone remember the great comics crash in the early 90s? Marvel was putting out two books a month for every character because people would buy them, the market was saturated with speculators, and it all came tumbling down, driving many, many indies out of business...
Okay, no one speculates on video games. But a hyper-saturated market where you can sell anything you can put in a box can't be a good thing; and we've seen it more recently than 1982...
What on earth is Katz thinking when he fluffs up this geek ideal which involves not coding, not activism, not creation of any sort, but passive activities like Napstering, DVD ripping and gaming?
There's a great big difference between actual action and a couch-potato "Yeah, I'm cool" attitude. Major props to you for being so articulate about it.
Humanity is different. Sapience is one thing. Tool-using beyond a primitive stage is another. These are not minor or trivial differences.
The fact that we can *consider* eating our own young to be wrong shows that we have a sense of morality -- not the weird, abstract UberChristian kind, but the kind that keeps us from doing something, not because it would hurt us, but because it would be *wrong*.
Sigh... I remember when people at least put some *effort* into their trolls.
Oh, no, wait, I don't.
Capitalizing 'Human Beings'?! A reference to 'the very basis of humanity' in the second sentence?!What ever happened to actually trying to fool people?
In a truly free market, any entity that becomes large, slow and establishment-y is vulnerable to attack by a quicker, smarter version.
Recording companies are obsolete. Notice that they seek their protection from the savior you cite, the government, hoping to stave off the effects of the market.
I suppose I could do that... if I had enough money to matter to these people.
I'm currently living on the scale of "how on earth will I buy books next semester", not "how should I leverage this particular fat sack of CASH MONEY".
If I had enough money to throw around, I'd effect change in several ways, but I happen not to.
Remember, these corporations are very, very big. They are made of lots and lots of dollars. More dollars than a normal person has, much more. Your voice in the company is proportional to the stock you own. They are *not* *like* you or me. Well, at least, not like me.
Egg on me. Revise that to read 'where the government runs everything important.'
Socialism gives me the crawling horrors, anyway. Too many cautionary examples in this century of what happens when your government becomes too powerful.
"Okay, we can tour about four months out of the year, and we want half of the profits from everything sold in our name."
"Bwa ha ha! You will tour eleven months to put food in your belly, and see pennies from the merchandise we grow fat on, slave!"
"Why, we don't have to stand for this!"
"Yes you do."
"No, I think we'll take our business elsewhere!"
"Go ahead -- throw your talent away in some backwater local scene, and wish for 'the big time' -- 'cause there ain't no recording cartel -- uh, industry -- but ours, kid."
"Well, you appear to have us by the collective hairy sack. I believe we'll have to capitulate to your unreasonable terms, since we have no bargaining power, and this is where The One True Road Of Musicianship has lead us."
Err... socialism is an economic system where the *government* runs everything.
The government doesn't get involved here until someone gets sued.
Corporations don't stand for democracy, they stand for making a quick buck, repeatedly. This works just fine, as long as everyone understands this, that the company is only concerned about its potential for profit.
A reference to the fact that more than ninety percent of actors are out of work at any given time... I'm sure it's likewise for any but the most professional musicians.
Slashdot Mirror
Oh, come *on*.
Canonizing unstable children as potential avatars of electronic activism is a blatant Katzism.
-grendel drago
He could have meant the difference between:
"You obviously don't understand. Next time, take your head out of your ass before posting."
and...
"FUKN GOAT MUNCHING FAGOTS! I'LL KIK YOR A$$ PUNKK!!!!"
I can see how the former might seem almost literary... It's the difference between Kernel Traffic arguments that get out of hand and trolls here.
-grendel drago
Does this mean I will never have to hear the STUPID FSCKING WORD 'DIGERATI' ever again? That's certainly worth a Katz article... and not a bad one, either.
Can we also abolish Esther Dyson while we're at it?
-grendel drago
Indeed. I'm in the second year of the CSE program (actually goofing off at lab and not paying attention to Norton and Thevenin's theorems.) I picked the CSE degree because a) "engineering" sounded cool, b) we took more core courses, and c) CS is halfway to being an MIS weenie (boy, am I gonna get it for that one), which is like CS, but without the coding.
Even with all the disdain for coding that goes around this discussion, there's no substitute for long hours spent playing with the system. An hour of programming can explain better than five of poor lecture notes.
-grendel drago
Good points.
My personal favorite is 'Akira'. Why?
In American movies, things explode, buildings collapse... eh. The people always dive out of the way Just In Time, and we feel safe.
Akira removes that boundary. When buildings collapse, people are crushed into puddles. When a character is in danger (Kaori), she doesn't miraculously escape -- poof, she's squished into soup.
I'm not saying I'm a bloodthirsty ogre -- I'm just struck by the honesty of the violence. (Yeah, I know, honesty goes along with mutating bubblegum-flesh and orbital laser platforms.)
Also, it was a wonderfully pretty movie, even on the crappy VHS copy I have. Can't wait for the DVD. And I liked parts of the soundtrack a lot. (Some parts were just too weird... or "traditional", you might say.) And whoever did the English voice of Colonel Shikishima kicked serious ass.
Not to mention my list of reasons why Princess Mononoke was spectacular. I know... these are exceptions. But when anime is good, it's *spectacularly* good, at least for me.
As a side note, I appear to have developed a fetish for girls with pink, red, purple or blue hair. Must... cut... down!
-grendel drago
Well, you've got to remember that OAVs are sort of like TV episodes over there. Who owns every episode of 'Full House'?!
But people religiously collect Ranma 1/2. Go fig.
Anime is a lot like media here. Subject to Sturgeon's law. Some people forget this and claim that anime will save us all!, forgetting that it's possible to make crappy anime.
To summarize: don't get sour on the whole idea; there's plenty of good anime out there. I'm sure someone has a better list than I do, so I'll refrain.
-grendel drago
The record for Most Gratuitous Tit Shots in a movie not ostensibly about tits.
I mean really! Every ten seconds, guns are blazing, tits are flying, and someone's head comes off.
Well, at least the tits part.
-grendel drago
Humans are like us. Animals are quite unlike us, plants more so. This is why we have a bigger problem eating humans than animals than plants -- the feeling that we could be next on the plate. We anthropomorphize cats and dogs -- and we can't bring ourselves to eat them.
-Grendel Drago
Incidentally, 'sorting out' the 'telomere problem' would largely solve the problem of aging, wouldn't it?
What are we supposed to think? They're acting as if they were in the throes of death (which they're not, are they?), what with the "Linux will destroy us!"/"Linux is nothing!" flip-flopping.
I don't think that Miller really addresses anything, except the fact that Microsoft has an assload of resources to put behind service and support, while anyone using Linux must rely on their own IT department or third-party providers.
Innovation? Aside from cosmetic improvements, what's so much better about Windows now than two years ago? Linux, on the other hand, has a completely new VM (the benefits of which will start outweighing the pain that it's brought to kernel hackers any day now), the LVM, journaling file systems which will be included in the mainstream kernel RSN, a completely overhauled windowing system... (I know, X runs on BSD and Solaris too.)
Besides, what major improvements *haven't* been thought of in some university/IBM thinktank and implemented in a mainstream distribution by someone else?
Bah. He's only making himself look ridiculous.
-grendel drago
Note that they write about 'consumers'... not citizens, not people, they see us as little bags of money for them to periodically drain -- .NET and such are proposals to help it occur in a more continuous fashion.
Damn it, can't at least *one* journalist resign in disgust over the control exerted by the myriad interests of the corporate hydra? ("No, you can't run this story about AOL/TW beating up third world baby seals...")
Grendel Drago
No way:
SCSI is terribly, terribly expensive in comparison. And it's the *principle* of the matter, because once it's been done with ATA, it'll be done with SCSI, it's just a matter of time.
No, this has to be seen for the very, very bad idea that it is. This is about *control*.
And what's to keep them from denying storage of all unsigned/unvalidated media? Let's meditate on why having all media centrally approved is *bad*.
grendel drago
Really? Never get boring? Where could one of these mystical, magical, everlasting games be found? Have you invented one?
I see your point... Dark City was much better than The Matrix, but the latter had leather-clad boobies and a techno soundtrack.
But to claim that a single game should entertain you for all eternity is silliness that transcends mere arrogance.
grendel drago
Does anyone remember the great comics crash in the early 90s? Marvel was putting out two books a month for every character because people would buy them, the market was saturated with speculators, and it all came tumbling down, driving many, many indies out of business...
Okay, no one speculates on video games. But a hyper-saturated market where you can sell anything you can put in a box can't be a good thing; and we've seen it more recently than 1982...
grendel drago
Yes, but she still wears heels. Funny, that...
Yes! Yes! Thank you! Someone else gets the idea!
What on earth is Katz thinking when he fluffs up this geek ideal which involves not coding, not activism, not creation of any sort, but passive activities like Napstering, DVD ripping and gaming?
There's a great big difference between actual action and a couch-potato "Yeah, I'm cool" attitude. Major props to you for being so articulate about it.
grendel drago
First off, you didn't post anonymously.
Anyway...
Humanity is different. Sapience is one thing. Tool-using beyond a primitive stage is another. These are not minor or trivial differences.
The fact that we can *consider* eating our own young to be wrong shows that we have a sense of morality -- not the weird, abstract UberChristian kind, but the kind that keeps us from doing something, not because it would hurt us, but because it would be *wrong*.
grendel drago
Err... why not? Do you mean "shouldn't"? Or is there some kind of point you're trying to make?
grendel drago
Sigh... I remember when people at least put some *effort* into their trolls.
Oh, no, wait, I don't.
Capitalizing 'Human Beings'?! A reference to 'the very basis of humanity' in the second sentence?!What ever happened to actually trying to fool people?
grendel drago
No!
Socialism BAD!
In a truly free market, any entity that becomes large, slow and establishment-y is vulnerable to attack by a quicker, smarter version.
Recording companies are obsolete. Notice that they seek their protection from the savior you cite, the government, hoping to stave off the effects of the market.
grendel drago
I suppose I could do that... if I had enough money to matter to these people.
I'm currently living on the scale of "how on earth will I buy books next semester", not "how should I leverage this particular fat sack of CASH MONEY".
If I had enough money to throw around, I'd effect change in several ways, but I happen not to.
Remember, these corporations are very, very big. They are made of lots and lots of dollars. More dollars than a normal person has, much more. Your voice in the company is proportional to the stock you own. They are *not* *like* you or me. Well, at least, not like me.
Egg on me. Revise that to read 'where the government runs everything important.'
Socialism gives me the crawling horrors, anyway. Too many cautionary examples in this century of what happens when your government becomes too powerful.
grendel drago
Savvy in negotiating?!
"Hi, we're the artists."
"We are RIAA of Borg."
"Okay, we can tour about four months out of the year, and we want half of the profits from everything sold in our name."
"Bwa ha ha! You will tour eleven months to put food in your belly, and see pennies from the merchandise we grow fat on, slave!"
"Why, we don't have to stand for this!"
"Yes you do."
"No, I think we'll take our business elsewhere!"
"Go ahead -- throw your talent away in some backwater local scene, and wish for 'the big time' -- 'cause there ain't no recording cartel -- uh, industry -- but ours, kid."
"Well, you appear to have us by the collective hairy sack. I believe we'll have to capitulate to your unreasonable terms, since we have no bargaining power, and this is where The One True Road Of Musicianship has lead us."
"Good boy. Now shine my shoes."
You get the idea.
grendel drago
Err... socialism is an economic system where the *government* runs everything.
The government doesn't get involved here until someone gets sued.
Corporations don't stand for democracy, they stand for making a quick buck, repeatedly. This works just fine, as long as everyone understands this, that the company is only concerned about its potential for profit.
grendel drago
The old joke goes...
"So, what do you do?"
"I'm an actor/actress."
"Really? What restaurant?"
A reference to the fact that more than ninety percent of actors are out of work at any given time... I'm sure it's likewise for any but the most professional musicians.
grendel drago