I don't understand how this gets moderated as 'funny'... Anyway, the fact that it reaches +5 means that moderators agree with it.
Not necessarily. Moderators are not supposed to moderate depending on whether they agree with the poster or not. If it's a good, well thought out post, that deserves a +X value, regardless of whether you agree with it or not.
Whether this guideline and reality match up is another matter.
They legalize weed but label everyone who buys CD-Rs a pirate? I've burned lots of CDs to backup my personal documents, stuff on which I own the copyright.
Exactly. I've burned countless CDs containing downloads, home movies, digital camera pictures, etc..
Awesome! (not)
on
Real DRM
·
· Score: 3, Informative
This is just what consumers have been waiting for. DRM is going to take off like hotcakes now!
Now, how are they going to distribute DRM'd media? Oh, that's still a problem.. then why not figure that part out first?!
Re:Science is open to everyone
on
Who Owns Science?
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· Score: 3, Insightful
But for those that do, it is important that they receive some sort of carrot to keep them motivated. If this means charging for academic journals, then perhaps that's the way to go about it.
That kind of thinking is just wrong.
If scientists are motivated only by the money, they're in the wrong field. The reward is knowledge itself, and being the first person to discover and share that knowledge. Eureka! That's what it's all about: that is what has driven scientists for centuries.
I'd wager that scientists today haven't changed all that much on average. It's the big companies backing them that drive the lust for money and power.
There are other ways to make money than to hold the information ransom. What if Einstein Co. had all the rights to general relativity? How much less would we have advanced as a result?
Ultimately, I think, big picture of the future is that our willingness to learn will be the driving force behind humanity. That's a looong way off, though, but the winds of change are blowing and open source, sharing of information, and revolutionary new concepts and ways of thinking are helping to make it happen.
Re:Ok, I'll dumb it down for you.
on
Decentralization
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· Score: 2
I would rather get nothing than a cheap little gift. Recognition amongst my peers is more valuable to me than some stupid bottle of wine, doll, or what have you. Give me some certificate of accomplishment at least that I can use at my next job.;)
I've seen people who rake in millions get stupid little gifts and I just think... God, I'm glad that's not me because I'd f-ckin' blow a gasket.
Please remember that the Speakeasy account-holder is responsible for all activity originating from their DSL line, even if it is the result of other users on a shared wireless connection.
How could you know what everyone is doing on your connection if it was open? It seems that this point is a show-stopper.
If you have a universe full of players, how are players on one end of the galaxy going to be interacting with those on the other side of the galaxy? Either they won't or can't, or it will happen infrequently.
If you partition your system properly, you won't have a central "hive" of data where you need big iron. You will be able to distribute the load amongst smaller servers running a smaller database.
Since cost seems to be a major issue with this project, I'd say going with a very expensive is a tad risky. I don't know how their system works obviously, but there's a good chance they'd be better off spending more time designing and looking at performance issues and single points of failure (maybe the entire universe doesn't have to go down if something fails?)
Anyway, it sounds like you have some kind of stake in large databases so I'm going to consider your opinion biased.
If they're running that close to the profit line, they might as well switch to mysql or postgres while they're ahead. They won't make enough money to please the (almighty) stockholders otherwise, AFAICT.
Various technologies are evolving that will significantly improve interaction between humans and computers
I'm more interested in improving human-human interaction. That "unused social capital" bit really peaked my interest. I see it as sort of a counter-balance for the big city life.
I hardly believe they will run it so close to the licensing threshhold, but say there were no secondary players allowed, and someone wanted to join for ten bucks. That player would bump them into the next tier which would cost, say, $20,000 dollars. Not worth it. Forget expanding.
I don't think it's that cut & dried. Sooner or later they will exceed a threshold and it will make them money. What the need to do is figure out how much an extra player costs just in hardware, backup, etc... (MUST be less than $10) and only charge people that much.
I'll say it flatly--a character record in SWG is FAR larger than you think. There's a business reality to see here. We share fancy databases over multiple servers. Said fancy databases cost $X up to a certain size. Then they cost ten times that if you go over that limit by one byte because you have to buy the "next size up." As it already stands, our programmers are nervous that we're storing too much data per character. Heck, we got asked, "You can live with 20 items in inventory max, right? 150 items total per character across the entire game?" Do the math on the items stored with a character above, and start getting scared.
Say a player takes 1 megabyte of space. How many pennies does a meg cost these days? Plus backup, plus electricity, blah blah blah. Say 50 cents per player? And you're paying $10 to join? That hs to cover advertising, development, etc.. so ten bucks helps to cover all that. Perhaps having secondary players at 50 cents a shot wouldn't be a bad idea since the only added cost then is storage space.
There was a claim a couple of years ago of the recovery of viable bacteria from water trapped in a salt crystal that (for good reasons) is strongly believed to have been intact for ~250 million years.
Translating that to "microorganisms can survive a million years inside an asteroid" is not directly justified.
That is correct. Thankfully nobody has done any translation from the study two years ago.
What I am referring to was a story in the last couple of months. You can search for it in Slashdot's archives if you wish.
I don't think it's a real big "invasion of privacy" or even a major privacy cut for that matter I still use sbc/yahoo! dial-up
Maybe you aren't seeing past what software is installed on your system. On the server-side, they can track you in many ways. Plus, they have your credit card information (which must be accurate) so it's all tied back to a real person! With an email address and a mailing address... and a social security number, driver's license #, and hordes of other information associated with the above.
I specifically avoided SBC-Yahoo DSL because of their EULA. This year is the last year for my Yahoo mail account - I'll be closing it as soon as the subscription ends. Figure I might as well pay for web hosting and just use that webmail! No ads, no loss of privacy.
This is not offtopic or flamebait... think about it:
We need to create an "open source law" (OSL) website. It should be a repository for all the fundamental values we (as a global community) hold dear. It should support discussions. It should allow someone to easily look up certain sections of the OSL.
This law would not be enforceable. However, it could be used as a reference point to measure our own local laws against. The OSL would be considered an ideal.
Companies which are heinously against the OSL should be listed on the front page. This war is fought with money. We need to stop giving money to those who turn and strike us down.
Over time, if enough people care about the OSL's ideals, I foresee local laws being molded into that ideal. It's in our hands - only time will tell.
Comments? Anyone know of a base system which could be used to support most of the features needed by such a website?
I once had the Everquest on my back, but I kicked. Believe me, these addictions do screw up real lives...
And addictions always have a way of being justified as many people are trying to do here.
Anyone who has ever smoked cigarettes and quit successfully can tell you that it plays games with your mind when you try and quit. It can even make you feel crazy. The addiction intermingles with your whole being. Without it, you are not the same person everybody loves. You aren't happy. You're stressed out. Unless your craving is satisfied.
And when the addiction is well on its way to leaving your body and mind, you start to think in new ways. You think "what the fuck was I thinking all those years?" You might even cry about the days of your life that were wasted.
So do yourself a favour: take one addiction, and stop it. Fill your time with something else. Dwell on helping others instead.
Any serious problems that strike these people and their families are brought on by themselves. It's that simple.
Without compassion, these people may never come out of their addiction. It's easy to have zero tolerance for others' mistakes, but remember that someday you may need help. Maybe you already do and you just don't know it. Maybe we all need a little help sometimes... let's be there for each other.
Slashdot Mirror
I don't understand how this gets moderated as 'funny'... Anyway, the fact that it reaches +5 means that moderators agree with it.
Not necessarily. Moderators are not supposed to moderate depending on whether they agree with the poster or not. If it's a good, well thought out post, that deserves a +X value, regardless of whether you agree with it or not.
Whether this guideline and reality match up is another matter.
They legalize weed but label everyone who buys CD-Rs a pirate? I've burned lots of CDs to backup my personal documents, stuff on which I own the copyright.
Exactly. I've burned countless CDs containing downloads, home movies, digital camera pictures, etc..
I commented on this awhile back.
This is just what consumers have been waiting for. DRM is going to take off like hotcakes now!
Now, how are they going to distribute DRM'd media? Oh, that's still a problem.. then why not figure that part out first?!
But for those that do, it is important that they receive some sort of carrot to keep them motivated. If this means charging for academic journals, then perhaps that's the way to go about it.
That kind of thinking is just wrong.
If scientists are motivated only by the money, they're in the wrong field. The reward is knowledge itself, and being the first person to discover and share that knowledge. Eureka! That's what it's all about: that is what has driven scientists for centuries.
I'd wager that scientists today haven't changed all that much on average. It's the big companies backing them that drive the lust for money and power.
There are other ways to make money than to hold the information ransom. What if Einstein Co. had all the rights to general relativity? How much less would we have advanced as a result?
Ultimately, I think, big picture of the future is that our willingness to learn will be the driving force behind humanity. That's a looong way off, though, but the winds of change are blowing and open source, sharing of information, and revolutionary new concepts and ways of thinking are helping to make it happen.
Let me fill that in for you:
1. Make new stuff.
2. Karma whore.
3. Profit!
I would rather get nothing than a cheap little gift. Recognition amongst my peers is more valuable to me than some stupid bottle of wine, doll, or what have you. Give me some certificate of accomplishment at least that I can use at my next job. ;)
I've seen people who rake in millions get stupid little gifts and I just think... God, I'm glad that's not me because I'd f-ckin' blow a gasket.
I have always thought of PR as "public reputation".
The Merriam-Webster dictionary actually says "public relations". What a sour relationship.
the equivalent of 421 CD-R burners
If they had said "the equivalent of 421 12x CD-R burners", that would have been a bit more accurate.
What I find funniest about this story is the link to the RIAA:
http://riaa.org/PR_Story.cfm?id=592
"PR STORY?"
Not good PR, but PR nonetheless I suppose.
Please remember that the Speakeasy account-holder is responsible for all activity originating from their DSL line, even if it is the result of other users on a shared wireless connection.
How could you know what everyone is doing on your connection if it was open? It seems that this point is a show-stopper.
I wouldn't either -- those things are boring! ;-)
Unless you're reading what the scientists in Garry Larson's "Far Side" are saying. One
Two
The grownups should stop playing and get to work.
If you have a universe full of players, how are players on one end of the galaxy going to be interacting with those on the other side of the galaxy? Either they won't or can't, or it will happen infrequently.
If you partition your system properly, you won't have a central "hive" of data where you need big iron. You will be able to distribute the load amongst smaller servers running a smaller database.
Since cost seems to be a major issue with this project, I'd say going with a very expensive is a tad risky. I don't know how their system works obviously, but there's a good chance they'd be better off spending more time designing and looking at performance issues and single points of failure (maybe the entire universe doesn't have to go down if something fails?)
Anyway, it sounds like you have some kind of stake in large databases so I'm going to consider your opinion biased.
If they're running that close to the profit line, they might as well switch to mysql or postgres while they're ahead. They won't make enough money to please the (almighty) stockholders otherwise, AFAICT.
Various technologies are evolving that will significantly improve interaction between humans and computers
I'm more interested in improving human-human interaction. That "unused social capital" bit really peaked my interest.
I see it as sort of a counter-balance for the big city life.
I hardly believe they will run it so close to the licensing threshhold, but say there were no secondary players allowed, and someone wanted to join for ten bucks. That player would bump them into the next tier which would cost, say, $20,000 dollars. Not worth it. Forget expanding.
I don't think it's that cut & dried. Sooner or later they will exceed a threshold and it will make them money. What the need to do is figure out how much an extra player costs just in hardware, backup, etc... (MUST be less than $10) and only charge people that much.
I'll say it flatly--a character record in SWG is FAR larger than you think. There's a business reality to see here. We share fancy databases over multiple servers. Said fancy databases cost $X up to a certain size. Then they cost ten times that if you go over that limit by one byte because you have to buy the "next size up." As it already stands, our programmers are nervous that we're storing too much data per character. Heck, we got asked, "You can live with 20 items in inventory max, right? 150 items total per character across the entire game?" Do the math on the items stored with a character above, and start getting scared.
Say a player takes 1 megabyte of space. How many pennies does a meg cost these days? Plus backup, plus electricity, blah blah blah. Say 50 cents per player? And you're paying $10 to join? That hs to cover advertising, development, etc.. so ten bucks helps to cover all that. Perhaps having secondary players at 50 cents a shot wouldn't be a bad idea since the only added cost then is storage space.
From here.
There was a claim a couple of years ago of the recovery of viable bacteria from water trapped in a salt crystal that (for good reasons) is strongly believed to have been intact for ~250 million years.
Translating that to "microorganisms can survive a million years inside an asteroid" is not directly justified.
That is correct. Thankfully nobody has done any translation from the study two years ago.
What I am referring to was a story in the last couple of months. You can search for it in Slashdot's archives if you wish.
NO CARRIER
--
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
I don't think it's a real big "invasion of privacy" or even a major privacy cut for that matter I still use sbc/yahoo! dial-up
Maybe you aren't seeing past what software is installed on your system. On the server-side, they can track you in many ways. Plus, they have your credit card information (which must be accurate) so it's all tied back to a real person! With an email address and a mailing address... and a social security number, driver's license #, and hordes of other information associated with the above.
I specifically avoided SBC-Yahoo DSL because of their EULA. This year is the last year for my Yahoo mail account - I'll be closing it as soon as the subscription ends. Figure I might as well pay for web hosting and just use that webmail! No ads, no loss of privacy.
haven't we already decided to boycott amazon?
A man of my word... yup, I still boycott them to this day.
In a previous article, they said microorganisms could last up to a million years deep inside an asteroid.
Is it so hard to believe there's life at the bottom of the sea?
The hard truth (not a flame):
First, you need to learn how to learn.
Go to a book store and browse around.
Surf the net - use Google to find stuff.
Talk to your friends.
What do you think we do?
This is not offtopic or flamebait... think about it:
We need to create an "open source law" (OSL) website. It should be a repository for all the fundamental values we (as a global community) hold dear. It should support discussions. It should allow someone to easily look up certain sections of the OSL.
This law would not be enforceable. However, it could be used as a reference point to measure our own local laws against. The OSL would be considered an ideal.
Companies which are heinously against the OSL should be listed on the front page. This war is fought with money. We need to stop giving money to those who turn and strike us down.
Over time, if enough people care about the OSL's ideals, I foresee local laws being molded into that ideal. It's in our hands - only time will tell.
Comments? Anyone know of a base system which could be used to support most of the features needed by such a website?
I once had the Everquest on my back, but I kicked. Believe me, these addictions do screw up real lives...
And addictions always have a way of being justified as many people are trying to do here.
Anyone who has ever smoked cigarettes and quit successfully can tell you that it plays games with your mind when you try and quit. It can even make you feel crazy. The addiction intermingles with your whole being. Without it, you are not the same person everybody loves. You aren't happy. You're stressed out. Unless your craving is satisfied.
And when the addiction is well on its way to leaving your body and mind, you start to think in new ways. You think "what the fuck was I thinking all those years?" You might even cry about the days of your life that were wasted.
So do yourself a favour: take one addiction, and stop it. Fill your time with something else. Dwell on helping others instead.
Any serious problems that strike these people and their families are brought on by themselves. It's that simple.
Without compassion, these people may never come out of their addiction. It's easy to have zero tolerance for others' mistakes, but remember that someday you may need help. Maybe you already do and you just don't know it. Maybe we all need a little help sometimes... let's be there for each other.