"I just saw The Two Towers in the theatre last weekend. I'm pretty sure it's still showing."
Let me see, I can drive hundreds of miles to your theatre to see it, I can drive to any place where it is stored to break in and steal a copy (some other guy suggested stealing), or I can get a pirate DVD copy somewhere.
What is missing is the option to buy a copy from the movie studio. Sure, they will come out with it eventually, but every day they refuse to sell a DVD that people will give them good money for is a day that people will find other ways to access the content.
"If the Riaa and Mpaa do not trust people with the media, why show it? They, in effect, release the idea to everybody when they put some show/song in mass media."
Not only that, but the MPAA commonly encourages piracy.
Let's say I want to see "The Two Towers". It is no longer in theatres, can't go there. It is a LONG time before they sell a DVD; so I can't pay them that way by buying a DVD. The only alternative is to obtain somehow a pirated DVD copy of "The Two Towers".
No way should they whine about money-loss to piracy when they aren't selling it in the first place! There is a demand for their product, and in this example, they refuse to meet it in any way.
DRM should be treated like viruses. If we could only get the DMCA out of the way (with its huge $$$ fines for listening to the song you bought on the "wrong" player), we could have Norton and McAfee come out with software that strips all incoming content of DRM just like their other products which remove viruses from incoming files.
"Computers started out simplistic, under the user's complete control..."
No, they started out controlled by men in white coats in clean rooms.
The microcomputer and PC revolution changed all this.
The regressive trend back to "Master Control" started with Scott McNelly of Sun Microsystems. I remember when he first laid out his grand vision of returning everything to central control via the Internet. Java was part of this. Microsoft copied the rhetoric, announcing a time when your Word app and even your Word docs would all be on Microsoft's central servers.
Why is it called "trusted computing" after all, when it violates trust?
The problem is we are looking at the wrong definition of trust. Most of us have in mind the primary definition: "Firm reliance on the integrity, ability, or character of a person or thing" or "Custody; care"
You have to look down the list to find the definition of "trust" that fits perfectly with Microsoft, RIAA/MPAA and the Palladium idea:
"A combination of firms or corporations for the purpose of reducing competition and controlling prices throughout a business or an industry."
Might as well called it "monopolized computing". Means the same thing.
What misleading terms they are. How can Palladium have anything to do with "trust" when they violate trust and anything else by intruding into my computer and controlling my content?
How can DRM "protect rights" when it denies basic rights of fair use?
Come to think of it, the Architect does work for the Warner games division at this time.
Destroy the system?
on
Matrix MMORPG
·
· Score: 2, Insightful
"And someone will try and crash the game to free the people from the matrix, claiming to be The One."
That's a pretty good point. Who is going to blame anyone who hacks and destroys the Matrix MMORPG when the goal in the Matrix universe is to destroy the Matrix computer system?
Some hacker is going to bust into the system, get root access with a Unix command line on the servers, and format all the hard disks. He'll say in his defense "I thought it was another version of that DOS prompt in the MATRIX game"
When the system bogs down
on
Matrix MMORPG
·
· Score: 4, Funny
When this Matrix game system bogs down to poor planning for number of users and bandwidth, and everything starts to look like running multi-user Quake IV on a 286 IBM-PC AT with a 300 baud modem, the guys running the game can say "There's nothing wrong here. You are just watching bullet-time effects"
Now, is there a way to to set up apache to prevent your site being "slashdotted" ?
Theft of pictures?
on
Alien Case Mod
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· Score: 2, Insightful
"The reason why many people choose to use Flash to display pictures is that it is harder for someone to steal it and put it on their website."
Does theft of pictures take place, where someone can easily remove pictures from someone's web site so they aren't there anymore????? I rather doubt it.
No, you can't steal with HTML. You can copy. However, you can copy with Flash as well, with a screen-capture.
James Cameron and Alien
on
Alien Case Mod
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· Score: 3, Insightful
"So the guy who directed Titanic gets a front page nod as an influence while Giger is relegated to a secondary link... Maybe he thinks Cameran directed Alien? But that was Ridley Scott"
I can see the reason for his confusion. Ridley Scott did "Alien", but Cameron directed the sequel "Aliens". This second film recycled some of Giger's work from the first film. Most people I talk to think "Aliens" (the sequel) is the far better film, which is something I do not agree with.
No problem. Although, considering the requirements of traditional formalwear, it would appear that as is, Tux would not be allowed into a formal event. Black shoes are after all required, not yellow.
Maybe this is a new Blackfoot distro I've not heard of before.
Top 10 Film-Inspired Case Mods
on
Alien Case Mod
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· Score: 4, Funny
10. "The Matrix". Get an old Toshiba Infinia ("Darth Vader's Toilet Tank") black case, cover it with grease, place green magnetic letters on the sides, and sit back and watch them ooze down the black background
9. "Attack of the Clones". All you need is a lot of PC clone boxes (Columbia, Gateway, Leading Edge, Zenith, Dell, etc. Put stormtrooper helmets on top of them.
8. "Lord of the Rings". This one's pretty easy. Just clear out a space on the desk and tell people there is an invisible computer there wearing the One Ring.
7. "The Hulk". 89 cent green spraypaint case at Wal*Mart, that's it.
6. "Indiana Jones". Everything must be wireless, no cables. Indy hates snakes.
5. "The Empire Strikes Back". Just slap the IBM logo on your box.
4. "The Fully Monty". Just remove the case shell.
3. "Christine". To honor the final scene of this fine Stephen King movie, you need to take it down to the local junkyard and ask to use the crusher.
2. "Battlefield Earth". Just make it ugly. Real ugly, so bad no one will want to see it.
Laptop mod, Apple Powerbook?
on
Alien Case Mod
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· Score: 0, Troll
Who needs a laptop mod when the original Toilet Seat Powerbook from Apple is available?
Isn't this what everyone wanted: a bright-green toilet seat? A pity Apple never went forward with the idea of a G4 Cube shaped like a chamber pot.
I word of advice: never leave a toilet-seat powerbook sitting out in a public lavatory.
PC cases too big?
on
Alien Case Mod
·
· Score: 4, Insightful
"Is this the proove that PC cases ARE too big?"
Sure, you might think it is too big, but if you ever have had to open one up and change memory SIMMS/DIMMS etc, hard disks, or sometimes even a modem card, you will be thankful you have a roomy case that you can move around inside and all regrets go away.
I once had a "compact" Puckered-Smell tower, and you had to disassemble a lot of innards to access just about everything inside it.
HTML version much better
on
Alien Case Mod
·
· Score: 2, Interesting
This HTML version is a lot better. In the time it took to get rid of the Flash popup window and kill the volume on the Flash screen, I'd already viewed a few of the images of the case on the HTML version.
This particular page would have worked fine with just HTML, no flash. There is nothing that Flash add to the display of the mod case shots, and there are ways that Flash makes the page worse (noises that get around the noises-off setting on the browser, and those annoying upgrade Flash popups).
This page is an excellent illustration of a page that does not need Flash and is made worse by it.
Taiwan WANTS to be a separate country, but they have the little problem that Beijing doesn't want to let them. Every time someone in the Taiwanese govenment makes waves about declaring independence"
Taiwan is an independent country in reality; it has separate government, and everyone treats it like its own country except when they don't want to get the mainland angry.
Slashdot Mirror
"I just saw The Two Towers in the theatre last weekend. I'm pretty sure it's still showing."
Let me see, I can drive hundreds of miles to your theatre to see it, I can drive to any place where it is stored to break in and steal a copy (some other guy suggested stealing), or I can get a pirate DVD copy somewhere.
What is missing is the option to buy a copy from the movie studio. Sure, they will come out with it eventually, but every day they refuse to sell a DVD that people will give them good money for is a day that people will find other ways to access the content.
I guess they just don't really want the money.
I think they serve cat burgers at White Castle.
"So if someone won't sell you something you want, it's ok to steal it?"
I never said anything about stealing. The only way you can seal "The Two Towers" is to break into some Time-Warner vault and swipe a copy.
" For God's sake, grow up", to quote you.
"Your... content... ?"
My content. I paid for it. That kind of content. Consider the ad campaign for selling DVD's "Own a Movie Today!"
"Oh, and you still have as much fair use as anyone did before the digital boom"
Not really. The real problem is the DMCA. If the DMCA were repealed, DRM would not be a problem.
"If the Riaa and Mpaa do not trust people with the media, why show it? They, in effect, release the idea to everybody when they put some show/song in mass media."
Not only that, but the MPAA commonly encourages piracy.
Let's say I want to see "The Two Towers". It is no longer in theatres, can't go there. It is a LONG time before they sell a DVD; so I can't pay them that way by buying a DVD. The only alternative is to obtain somehow a pirated DVD copy of "The Two Towers".
No way should they whine about money-loss to piracy when they aren't selling it in the first place! There is a demand for their product, and in this example, they refuse to meet it in any way.
DRM should be treated like viruses. If we could only get the DMCA out of the way (with its huge $$$ fines for listening to the song you bought on the "wrong" player), we could have Norton and McAfee come out with software that strips all incoming content of DRM just like their other products which remove viruses from incoming files.
"Samwise was a hungry hobbit indeed
Yes. The only reason he followed Frodo to Mordor at all is because Gandalf whispered in his ear that Mordor had a pretty good all-you-can eat buffet.
"Computers started out simplistic, under the user's complete control..."
No, they started out controlled by men in white coats in clean rooms.
The microcomputer and PC revolution changed all this.
The regressive trend back to "Master Control" started with Scott McNelly of Sun Microsystems. I remember when he first laid out his grand vision of returning everything to central control via the Internet. Java was part of this. Microsoft copied the rhetoric, announcing a time when your Word app and even your Word docs would all be on Microsoft's central servers.
Why is it called "trusted computing" after all, when it violates trust?
The problem is we are looking at the wrong definition of trust. Most of us have in mind the primary definition: "Firm reliance on the integrity, ability, or character of a person or thing" or "Custody; care"
You have to look down the list to find the definition of "trust" that fits perfectly with Microsoft, RIAA/MPAA and the Palladium idea:
"A combination of firms or corporations for the purpose of reducing competition and controlling prices throughout a business or an industry."
Might as well called it "monopolized computing". Means the same thing.
What misleading terms they are. How can Palladium have anything to do with "trust" when they violate trust and anything else by intruding into my computer and controlling my content?
How can DRM "protect rights" when it denies basic rights of fair use?
"Heisenburglary"
Does that mean if you are observing the crime, then you are committing it yourself?
That word you coined does sound like something involving a McDonald's mascot.
Come to think of it, the Architect does work for the Warner games division at this time.
"And someone will try and crash the game to free the people from the matrix, claiming to be The One."
That's a pretty good point. Who is going to blame anyone who hacks and destroys the Matrix MMORPG when the goal in the Matrix universe is to destroy the Matrix computer system?
Some hacker is going to bust into the system, get root access with a Unix command line on the servers, and format all the hard disks. He'll say in his defense "I thought it was another version of that DOS prompt in the MATRIX game"
When this Matrix game system bogs down to poor planning for number of users and bandwidth, and everything starts to look like running multi-user Quake IV on a 286 IBM-PC AT with a 300 baud modem, the guys running the game can say "There's nothing wrong here. You are just watching bullet-time effects"
Mod that "informative"!
Now, is there a way to to set up apache to prevent your site being "slashdotted" ?
"The reason why many people choose to use Flash to display pictures is that it is harder for someone to steal it and put it on their website."
Does theft of pictures take place, where someone can easily remove pictures from someone's web site so they aren't there anymore????? I rather doubt it.
No, you can't steal with HTML. You can copy. However, you can copy with Flash as well, with a screen-capture.
"So the guy who directed Titanic gets a front page nod as an influence while Giger is relegated to a secondary link...
Maybe he thinks Cameran directed Alien? But that was Ridley Scott"
I can see the reason for his confusion. Ridley Scott did "Alien", but Cameron directed the sequel "Aliens". This second film recycled some of Giger's work from the first film. Most people I talk to think "Aliens" (the sequel) is the far better film, which is something I do not agree with.
No problem. Although, considering the requirements of traditional formalwear, it would appear that as is, Tux would not be allowed into a formal event. Black shoes are after all required, not yellow.
"they can't see the beauty in something that doesn't have two black webbed feet dressed in a tuxedo that doesn't compile the lastest kernel."
Last time I saw, the little fellow had yellow feet.
Maybe this is a new Blackfoot distro I've not heard of before.
10. "The Matrix". Get an old Toshiba Infinia ("Darth Vader's Toilet Tank") black case, cover it with grease, place green magnetic letters on the sides, and sit back and watch them ooze down the black background
9. "Attack of the Clones". All you need is a lot of PC clone boxes (Columbia, Gateway, Leading Edge, Zenith, Dell, etc. Put stormtrooper helmets on top of them.
8. "Lord of the Rings". This one's pretty easy. Just clear out a space on the desk and tell people there is an invisible computer there wearing the One Ring.
7. "The Hulk". 89 cent green spraypaint case at Wal*Mart, that's it.
6. "Indiana Jones". Everything must be wireless, no cables. Indy hates snakes.
5. "The Empire Strikes Back". Just slap the IBM logo on your box.
4. "The Fully Monty". Just remove the case shell.
3. "Christine". To honor the final scene of this fine Stephen King movie, you need to take it down to the local junkyard and ask to use the crusher.
2. "Battlefield Earth". Just make it ugly. Real ugly, so bad no one will want to see it.
1. "Firestarter". Another Stephen King inspired mod: a flaming PC! Please visit to find out how to cause your PC to burst into flame.
Who needs a laptop mod when the original Toilet Seat Powerbook from Apple is available?
Isn't this what everyone wanted: a bright-green toilet seat? A pity Apple never went forward with the idea of a G4 Cube shaped like a chamber pot.
I word of advice: never leave a toilet-seat powerbook sitting out in a public lavatory.
"Is this the proove that PC cases ARE too big?"
Sure, you might think it is too big, but if you ever have had to open one up and change memory SIMMS/DIMMS etc, hard disks, or sometimes even a modem card, you will be thankful you have a roomy case that you can move around inside and all regrets go away.
I once had a "compact" Puckered-Smell tower, and you had to disassemble a lot of innards to access just about everything inside it.
This HTML version is a lot better. In the time it took to get rid of the Flash popup window and kill the volume on the Flash screen, I'd already viewed a few of the images of the case on the HTML version.
Call Flashbusters!
This particular page would have worked fine with just HTML, no flash. There is nothing that Flash add to the display of the mod case shots, and there are ways that Flash makes the page worse (noises that get around the noises-off setting on the browser, and those annoying upgrade Flash popups).
This page is an excellent illustration of a page that does not need Flash and is made worse by it.
Taiwan WANTS to be a separate country, but they have the little problem that Beijing doesn't want to let them. Every time someone in the Taiwanese govenment makes waves about declaring independence"
Taiwan is an independent country in reality; it has separate government, and everyone treats it like its own country except when they don't want to get the mainland angry.