My argument never stated that capitalism was better or worse than any other economical system, nor did I endorse (or even mention) communism. And though I appreciate your attempt to put words into my mouth and presume my position, you are pretty much as wrong as you could be as to where I stand. But hey, nice try.
On paper, yes, capitalism works. In reality, however, capitalism is often times the practice of analyzing your competition to discover how you can offer the same or similar [sub-par] service or goods with only a slightly shinier silver lining. Clever marketing has been capitalism's greatest acheivement thus far, recently trumping free market (eg, wireless annual contracts: "Stay with us for 1+ year(s) on pain of an early termination fee and we'll give you fluff in return"). Most companies would never settle for less profit unless it is the very last option left on table, even after trimming the fat around the office. The US wireless market is a prime example of this. Apart from fancy new phones with near useless features, when is the last time there was major innovation in the US wireless marketplace? As far as I can tell, the dead zones have increased, reception has not improved, and, quite frequently, conversations still closely resemble arguments with the Jack in the Box drive thru speaker.
What you are talking about has a different name - Idealism - and unfortunately it only works on imaginary paper.
FWIW, I completely agree with your post. Some folks are just so concerned with whether or not they can do something, they don't stop to consider whether they should, eh? I've always been fond of that saying, and it certainly applies in this circumstance. I'm afraid your dead on about the RIAA looking to use this as another excuse for even more legislation. Let's just hope they are too busy suing little Sally and all of her little friends to take notice.
I hope folks will be careful with what they do with this, in any case. Unless you put it on a T-shirt - I could alternate days between that and my DeCSS shirt!
Who are we joking. If this works, it'll spread across the net quicker than you can say "I set the socal fires".:(
Someone mod this troll down to where he belongs, please. The guy knows dick all about music and is clearly a bandwagon hopping wannabe. Yes, you. You are a wannabe. It's made clear by every word in your post. "I don't like/understand %GENRE%, it sukks!"
Listen goatboy, there is brilliant music in *every* genre. Yep, you heard it right. Even country! Hate Johnny Cash? Well damn, he influenced just about everyone you hear today and will continue to do so for, well, ever. Hate hip hop? Well damn, bands like Digable Planets and Tribe Called Quest influenced and inspired trip hop and downbeat, among about a million other things. Hate disco? Well, that's where your precious "high quality" trance came from. Hate Soundgarden, STP, etc? Guess what, if it weren't for the work they did, Dandy Warhols would have never had an audience. Let that one twist you all up inside, and then go do some reading and research on where the Dandies music really came from. I'll give you a hint, it wasn't Courtney.
The sad thing is that I can imagine you running around town, wearing your favorite DCD shirt, 4 days straight, going on about how you always liked them, even before 4AD, even before Gerrard did the Gladiator soundtrack. You are a fool, nothing more, and you completely missed the point of their music (and that of the Cocteau Twins).
I can't get over you listing the Dandy Warhols as excellent musicians. Are you mentally deficient? Amy (or Zia, or whatever you want to call her this month) plays a freaking KEYBOARD for basslines that she doesn't even write. And you call Dave Matthews talentless? Damn, you must be trolling.
Wrist-turning moves, over and over, are the basic cause of computer-related RSIs.
He's right, you're right...
Just manipulate the mouse with your fingers, instead of unnecessarily moving your wrist. Up the sensitivity, control side to side movement with your thumb and pinky, control up and down movement by curling and uncurling your index/middle/ring fingers, and be done with RSI. I've moused this way for as long as I can remember and I have never experience even the slightest discomfort. You can very successfully control the mouse without moving your wrist at all. Standard rules still apply, like making sure you take the appropriate rests, perform some form of exercises that will keep your hand and wrist limber, etc. I don't know if this goes with or against RSI prevention, but it's worked for me for something like 18 years. 15? Hell, I can't count.
Another way to help prevent RSI is to just learn the keyboard shortcuts. It's faster computing, and you can ridicule mousers around you for fun and entertainment. Don't try that at a LAN party, though.;)
I'm not sure what's worse - that someone actually quoted Back to the Future to support a philosophy, or that I immediately decoded the abbreviation and recalled the scene with a reminiscing sigh.;/
and we're lucky if we can find an actual scrap of truth with a magnifying glass.
And so you come to Slashdot? That reminds me of an old saying. I think our esteemed President said it best: "There's an old saying in Tennessee--I know it's in Texas, probably in Tennessee--that says, fool me once, shame on--shame on you. Fool me--you can't get fooled again."
Heh, I remember you from a few days ago. I see you are still trying to make the same point. I guess we can go back into it, if you'd like. Buckle up!
For 90% of the population/market, the first couple of pages are all they look at.
If the first couple of pages are even close to 100% relevant to your search, then I bet you wouldn't look beyond them, either. Why would you? You found what you were looking for. If that's the case, then Microsoft would be accurate in their results, global domination conspiracy notwithstanding. However, if the initial results are insufficient, yet the seeker is, ahem, "manipulated" into viewing and accepting them... I'm sorry, I can't finish that thought, it's just too absurd. By your own words do you essentially call those people idiots. How could you possibly suggest that 90% of the population lack the wit or wisdom to look beyond search results that are not sufficient for their needs, while implying that a mere 10% are armed with the intelligence to say to themselves, "Hey, I was looking for Linux, not a migration path from MySQL to SQL Server!" and move on to the next result set? Unless you are going back to that whole *we* (your emphasis) are smarter than the average consumer nonsense?
When you control and manipulate those firsts few pages, you control public opinion.
I think you might want to ask the originator of this thread if you can borrow his tin-foil hat... if it fits.
Didn't we just dispel that myth about a week ago, when showing that beyond MSN's initial page(s) of sponsored links, Linux search results thrived in massive numbers? A search for "linux" on MSN returns 440 sponsored links, most of which are legitimate linux sites. Going beyond that list yields over 15 million additional results. I know that doesn't compare to Google, but that's like apples to oranges. Google is a far superior search engine/service by its own merit. Linux.org is #4 on the first page of results, by the way (even though it is beneath that site about migrating away from linux over to Microsoft, lol).
I know that we can't expect Microsoft to roll out the red carpet for negative news about themselves too often, or even positive news for alternative products, but can we please stop with the paranoia? I think they've demonstrated that while they are in fact petty, they aren't quite that petty.
I get roped into supporting PC's and networks (sigh) for family members
I felt your pain. Then I discovered the solution, and my life has been smooth sailing ever since. Two words: restraining order. Sure, it can make family gatherings a little tense for a while, but after dad spends a few nights in the clink for one too many Windows 95 support calls, things start to settle down.
Slashdot Mirror
Trust me, that's more and advantage for the passengers, not the airline.
I wish we were as concerned about who we vote for as we are how we vote for them.
Would that be so bad? Is it not possible to support something while also pointing out flaws? Or are you saying that it's not okay to do so?
My argument never stated that capitalism was better or worse than any other economical system, nor did I endorse (or even mention) communism. And though I appreciate your attempt to put words into my mouth and presume my position, you are pretty much as wrong as you could be as to where I stand. But hey, nice try.
On paper, yes, capitalism works. In reality, however, capitalism is often times the practice of analyzing your competition to discover how you can offer the same or similar [sub-par] service or goods with only a slightly shinier silver lining. Clever marketing has been capitalism's greatest acheivement thus far, recently trumping free market (eg, wireless annual contracts: "Stay with us for 1+ year(s) on pain of an early termination fee and we'll give you fluff in return"). Most companies would never settle for less profit unless it is the very last option left on table, even after trimming the fat around the office. The US wireless market is a prime example of this. Apart from fancy new phones with near useless features, when is the last time there was major innovation in the US wireless marketplace? As far as I can tell, the dead zones have increased, reception has not improved, and, quite frequently, conversations still closely resemble arguments with the Jack in the Box drive thru speaker.
...an opinion, anyway.
What you are talking about has a different name - Idealism - and unfortunately it only works on imaginary paper.
FWIW, I completely agree with your post. Some folks are just so concerned with whether or not they can do something, they don't stop to consider whether they should, eh? I've always been fond of that saying, and it certainly applies in this circumstance. I'm afraid your dead on about the RIAA looking to use this as another excuse for even more legislation. Let's just hope they are too busy suing little Sally and all of her little friends to take notice.
:(
I hope folks will be careful with what they do with this, in any case. Unless you put it on a T-shirt - I could alternate days between that and my DeCSS shirt!
Who are we joking. If this works, it'll spread across the net quicker than you can say "I set the socal fires".
Around 70 of which seem to be Michael Jackson songs.
and thanks for all the radiation.
Someone mod this troll down to where he belongs, please. The guy knows dick all about music and is clearly a bandwagon hopping wannabe. Yes, you. You are a wannabe. It's made clear by every word in your post. "I don't like/understand %GENRE%, it sukks!"
Listen goatboy, there is brilliant music in *every* genre. Yep, you heard it right. Even country! Hate Johnny Cash? Well damn, he influenced just about everyone you hear today and will continue to do so for, well, ever. Hate hip hop? Well damn, bands like Digable Planets and Tribe Called Quest influenced and inspired trip hop and downbeat, among about a million other things. Hate disco? Well, that's where your precious "high quality" trance came from. Hate Soundgarden, STP, etc? Guess what, if it weren't for the work they did, Dandy Warhols would have never had an audience. Let that one twist you all up inside, and then go do some reading and research on where the Dandies music really came from. I'll give you a hint, it wasn't Courtney.
The sad thing is that I can imagine you running around town, wearing your favorite DCD shirt, 4 days straight, going on about how you always liked them, even before 4AD, even before Gerrard did the Gladiator soundtrack. You are a fool, nothing more, and you completely missed the point of their music (and that of the Cocteau Twins).
I can't get over you listing the Dandy Warhols as excellent musicians. Are you mentally deficient? Amy (or Zia, or whatever you want to call her this month) plays a freaking KEYBOARD for basslines that she doesn't even write. And you call Dave Matthews talentless? Damn, you must be trolling.
don't.
Wrist-turning moves, over and over, are the basic cause of computer-related RSIs.
;)
He's right, you're right...
Just manipulate the mouse with your fingers, instead of unnecessarily moving your wrist. Up the sensitivity, control side to side movement with your thumb and pinky, control up and down movement by curling and uncurling your index/middle/ring fingers, and be done with RSI. I've moused this way for as long as I can remember and I have never experience even the slightest discomfort. You can very successfully control the mouse without moving your wrist at all. Standard rules still apply, like making sure you take the appropriate rests, perform some form of exercises that will keep your hand and wrist limber, etc. I don't know if this goes with or against RSI prevention, but it's worked for me for something like 18 years. 15? Hell, I can't count.
Another way to help prevent RSI is to just learn the keyboard shortcuts. It's faster computing, and you can ridicule mousers around you for fun and entertainment. Don't try that at a LAN party, though.
I'm not sure what's worse - that someone actually quoted Back to the Future to support a philosophy, or that I immediately decoded the abbreviation and recalled the scene with a reminiscing sigh. ;/
and we're lucky if we can find an actual scrap of truth with a magnifying glass.
And so you come to Slashdot? That reminds me of an old saying. I think our esteemed President said it best: "There's an old saying in Tennessee--I know it's in Texas, probably in Tennessee--that says, fool me once, shame on--shame on you. Fool me--you can't get fooled again."
Well, it was in trade. 50 XP Pro lic- I mean, uh, well.. shit!
Heh, I remember you from a few days ago. I see you are still trying to make the same point. I guess we can go back into it, if you'd like. Buckle up!
For 90% of the population/market, the first couple of pages are all they look at.
If the first couple of pages are even close to 100% relevant to your search, then I bet you wouldn't look beyond them, either. Why would you? You found what you were looking for. If that's the case, then Microsoft would be accurate in their results, global domination conspiracy notwithstanding. However, if the initial results are insufficient, yet the seeker is, ahem, "manipulated" into viewing and accepting them... I'm sorry, I can't finish that thought, it's just too absurd. By your own words do you essentially call those people idiots. How could you possibly suggest that 90% of the population lack the wit or wisdom to look beyond search results that are not sufficient for their needs, while implying that a mere 10% are armed with the intelligence to say to themselves, "Hey, I was looking for Linux, not a migration path from MySQL to SQL Server!" and move on to the next result set? Unless you are going back to that whole *we* (your emphasis) are smarter than the average consumer nonsense?
When you control and manipulate those firsts few pages, you control public opinion.
I think you might want to ask the originator of this thread if you can borrow his tin-foil hat... if it fits.
much like Linux search results in MSN's search
Didn't we just dispel that myth about a week ago, when showing that beyond MSN's initial page(s) of sponsored links, Linux search results thrived in massive numbers? A search for "linux" on MSN returns 440 sponsored links, most of which are legitimate linux sites. Going beyond that list yields over 15 million additional results. I know that doesn't compare to Google, but that's like apples to oranges. Google is a far superior search engine/service by its own merit. Linux.org is #4 on the first page of results, by the way (even though it is beneath that site about migrating away from linux over to Microsoft, lol).
I know that we can't expect Microsoft to roll out the red carpet for negative news about themselves too often, or even positive news for alternative products, but can we please stop with the paranoia? I think they've demonstrated that while they are in fact petty, they aren't quite that petty.
This is why I should just stick to stupid but sorta funny one-liner posts. Thanks for the correction.
Two words:
John Woo.
I imagine they'd be too busy trying like hell to stay out of the rain.
Simple solution:
Just require a 7-day "cool down" period for people wanting to buy cigar tip cutters. After all, it works for handguns, right?
First "Judas Priest killed my boy!", now Slayer statutes. Leave it to lawyers to blame everything on heavy metal.
Imagine if a distracted individual...slammed into a chemical storage tank.
Yeah, we call that Darwinism.
I get roped into supporting PC's and networks (sigh) for family members
I felt your pain. Then I discovered the solution, and my life has been smooth sailing ever since. Two words: restraining order. Sure, it can make family gatherings a little tense for a while, but after dad spends a few nights in the clink for one too many Windows 95 support calls, things start to settle down.
Since when was Cheney alive?
Microsoft's representative in Brazil decries this as a movement away from freedom and choice...
Since when did dubya work for Microsoft?