I believe that I understand Bayes Theorem pretty well (I admit that I've never used it much directly with hypothesis testing in inferential statistics), but I don't see how it relates directly to the problem at hand.
And you don't need 99% to prove something as being statistically significant.
Let's say you wanted to prove that cannibis use and heroin use were related. Remember that you can't prove cause and effect through correlational studies. (Another weapon in the world of FUD -- state cause and effect from an observational study.) You could take a sample of Cannabis users, and another sample from the entire population. Compare the samples for number of people who have used heroin. Do some testing to determine the probablility that the difference between the two is due to chance, and voila. You can prove statistically that heroin use is higher among those that smoke Cannibis than those who don't.
But that's all. It is incorrect to make assumptions regarding cause and effect simply because two variables are related. With such a complicated issue as drug abuse, it is very reasonable to assue that there is multifactorial causation.
So let's take this back to the CNN/IRC argument. It isn't a matter of statistics. It's more a matter of logic.
For example, take the old hammer analogy. You can kill someone with a hammer, but you can also build useful and creative things. A hammer is meant to be a tool. So is IRC.
Huh? Don't the proceeds from these go to a good cause? Come on... If you were rich and had a few hundred thousand dollars you wanted to give to charity, why not get a nifty scooter along with it?
While that may be what happened to your friend, that's *NOT* the normal policy. Wal-Mart Photo Labs are instructed (VERY clearly instructed) to not print photos that would be considered indecent. Granted, this is a very broad definition, and is open to individual judgement. (My local Wal-Mart defines this as frontal nudity.)
So what should happen if your pictures are deemed indecent? The individual prints are destroyed -- but the negatives are to be returned untouched. (One of the clerks in our local Wal-Mart photo lab showed me this policy -- the line about not touching negatives is even printed in bold.)
Maybe this has to do more with training than Wal-Mart censorship...
Oops... Left out a step. (The base64 encoding). After copying and pasting the above base64 program into a file (let's say xpcrackfromslashdot.base64). Do this:
As far as I can tell, it's obvious that the lameness filter is shoving in spaces all over the place that don't belong there. Remove all the spaces first, then you should have the real file. Then you're ready to uuencode or Base-64 or whatever's next.
To remove the spaces:
cat xpcrackfromslashdot.base64 | sed -e "s///" > xpkeycrack.zip
Aren't they the cutest? Rob has taken to voicing Sushi's "inner thoughts" in a breathy falsetto, and it is very cute... except when she calls me the "C" word. She is a very, very naughty kitten.
(Disclaimer:) This is pure speculation based on some experience I've had in a field related to this. (It seems to me like a lot more posts on Slashdot should begin with this...)
I work with some video production equipment from time to time, I'm pretty sure that this doesn't apply to commercial grade VCRs. All of the adjustments I've seen are done manually, like so many other pieces of professional grade equipment. (Having a deck without manual adjustments would be like having a version of Photoshop with automatic color correction only.) Not being able to adjust gain manually would drive any video engineer I know nuts. Plus, I've worked with new (I believe post-DMCA) S-VHS decks and have copied Macrovision protected tapes no problem...
Which brings us to the (often quoted) next point: If one person can copy and share unprotected copies, what's the point in copy protection?
Remember the Digital Audio Tape? No? Exactly my point.
I don't quite get your point. I work with DAT on a daily basis. So do many other people. It is a product that serves a very useful purpose. Tell me... You want to record a live concert. If DAT is dead, what format are you going to record it on?
i use a non-lossy format known as the Audio Interchange File Format, or AIFF, to store my audio files. They can be burned to CDs very easily -- you can't fit as many on one CD as MP3, but the CDs will play in every CD player I've come across, and the sound is CD-quality.
Pssst... Moderators: I think you spelled funny wrong... It doesn't start with an 'I'. AIFF is plain jane raw audio. Just like any other (non-copyprotected) CD you'll find out there.
What? They made *two* categories for window managers and time-wasters? After spending six hours trying to get Sawfish to work right, I would put them in the same group...
The database was still available as of a few years ago, but it was available on CD *directly* from the DMV. I remember seeing it advertised in the Oregonian Classified. The copies didn't just "show up" on CD.
Also, some people may remember the fiasco that happened a few years prior when someone decided to make the database accessable with a handy web interface. After it was brought to the attention of the local media, the creator decided to bring the page down after several days of intense scrutiny. He had reporters with cameras on his doorstep and all.
I felt sorry for the guy... All of the public's angst for having their records publicly available was directed at him instead of the state. He just brought it to their attention.
Ahhhh... I remember hearing that story, and agree with it. I believe that the key point here is *accessability* of the pictures. If I remember right, the photographer of the Monica/Bill-Hugging shot had to hire a researcher to find the shot on a whim after he had a feeling that he had seen that face before. How many people do you know that have the resources to do that on a gut instinct? Not many.
There are many trade offs on the digital/traditional issue... Imagine that. Something in life that isn't pure and simple. Although it does make for fun (although circular) debate.
That may be true for some items, you have a point. I would agree to stay away from bringing mysterious powders, things that look like bombs, guns, or *anything* having to do with recent world events.
So bring a bag full of bananas, silk flowers, or any other pseudo-sexual items. There is a difference between funny/gross and threatening.
Ummmmm, I hate to tell you this but the Wright brothers can't be executed for building their planes because they're already dead. If only people would do more research before...
(*whispering*)
Huh? Oh! That's what sarcasm is. Sorry about that. I apologize.
[...] the rest use "secret shoppers" (people who look like they are shopping but are really watching YOU) to discourage shoplifting [...]
I'm not sure what retail establishment you've worked with, but I've never heard one refer to in-store undercover loss prevention as "secret shoppers." Secret shoppers are something entirely different -- They're ususally regular consumers hired by a customer satisfaction firm to evaluate restaurants, service, etc. (And compensated for their time by a free meal, or the service in question.)
However, most retail establishments to have highly trained undercover employees who watch for both customer and employee dishonesty. Many of them are ex/prospective law enforcement. Shrink, the official name for unaccounted loss in inventory (eg shoplifting), is a huge cost for retailers. Any large chain realizes this, and has people working to try and eliminate it.
This is not true. There are three houses with the name numerical address within walking distance (two minutes) of mine. This is not unusual for my area either.
Hmmmm... Maybe this works for every city except Vancouver, WA... -- But I doubt it.
Very good stuff, indeed. With the permission of the author, a copy of this will be printed and sent to my local members of Congress. It explains very clearly the blatent problems of the DCMA without being too technical or philisophical. A good read for anybody.
What? MP3 is more intuitive and makes more sense than ogg? When MP3 first came out, it wasn't cool, it wasn't a household name. Same thing with ogg.
Do you think the average teenager knows what MP3 stands for? I can't even remember what it stands for. MPEG something or other... Reminds me of a joke I heard about PCMCIA -- People Can't Memorize Computer Industry Acronyms.
WMA? Ogg? MP3? I don't see marketing genius in any of them...
Slashdot Mirror
I believe that I understand Bayes Theorem pretty well (I admit that I've never used it much directly with hypothesis testing in inferential statistics), but I don't see how it relates directly to the problem at hand.
And you don't need 99% to prove something as being statistically significant.
Let's say you wanted to prove that cannibis use and heroin use were related. Remember that you can't prove cause and effect through correlational studies. (Another weapon in the world of FUD -- state cause and effect from an observational study.) You could take a sample of Cannabis users, and another sample from the entire population. Compare the samples for number of people who have used heroin. Do some testing to determine the probablility that the difference between the two is due to chance, and voila. You can prove statistically that heroin use is higher among those that smoke Cannibis than those who don't.
But that's all. It is incorrect to make assumptions regarding cause and effect simply because two variables are related. With such a complicated issue as drug abuse, it is very reasonable to assue that there is multifactorial causation.
So let's take this back to the CNN/IRC argument. It isn't a matter of statistics. It's more a matter of logic.
For example, take the old hammer analogy. You can kill someone with a hammer, but you can also build useful and creative things. A hammer is meant to be a tool. So is IRC.
Maybe they could adapt the odor meter idea later... v2.0?
... In BASIC:
10 FOR 0 TO 15,1
20 SUB SLIDE_FIST_UP
30 SUB SLIDE_FIST_DOWN
40 ENDFOR
50 ECHO "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH...."
60 EXIT
Huh? Don't the proceeds from these go to a good cause? Come on... If you were rich and had a few hundred thousand dollars you wanted to give to charity, why not get a nifty scooter along with it?
So what should happen if your pictures are deemed indecent? The individual prints are destroyed -- but the negatives are to be returned untouched. (One of the clerks in our local Wal-Mart photo lab showed me this policy -- the line about not touching negatives is even printed in bold.)
Maybe this has to do more with training than Wal-Mart censorship...
cat xpcrackfromslashdot.base64 | sed -e "s/ //" | base64 -d - xpkeycrack.zip
That should handle it. Someone else will probably come up with a more elegant solution, but that works ok for me.
To remove the spaces:
cat xpcrackfromslashdot.base64 | sed -e "s/ //" > xpkeycrack.zip
It worked for me.
Aren't they the cutest? Rob has taken to voicing Sushi's "inner thoughts" in a breathy falsetto, and it is very cute... except when she calls me the "C" word. She is a very, very naughty kitten.
Yikes...
I work with some video production equipment from time to time, I'm pretty sure that this doesn't apply to commercial grade VCRs. All of the adjustments I've seen are done manually, like so many other pieces of professional grade equipment. (Having a deck without manual adjustments would be like having a version of Photoshop with automatic color correction only.) Not being able to adjust gain manually would drive any video engineer I know nuts. Plus, I've worked with new (I believe post-DMCA) S-VHS decks and have copied Macrovision protected tapes no problem...
Which brings us to the (often quoted) next point: If one person can copy and share unprotected copies, what's the point in copy protection?
I don't quite get your point. I work with DAT on a daily basis. So do many other people. It is a product that serves a very useful purpose. Tell me... You want to record a live concert. If DAT is dead, what format are you going to record it on?
i use a non-lossy format known as the Audio Interchange File Format, or AIFF, to store my audio files. They can be burned to CDs very easily -- you can't fit as many on one CD as MP3, but the CDs will play in every CD player I've come across, and the sound is CD-quality.
Pssst... Moderators: I think you spelled funny wrong... It doesn't start with an 'I'. AIFF is plain jane raw audio. Just like any other (non-copyprotected) CD you'll find out there.
Or the slash2001 account:
Username: slash2001
Password: slash2001
Either one will set a cookie that will say goodbye to login requrements...
What? They made *two* categories for window managers and time-wasters? After spending six hours trying to get Sawfish to work right, I would put them in the same group...
Are you suppossed to tip the gas station attendant?
No. Think of them as cashiers, like in a supermarket. They just bag (or tank) your stuff and take your money. I'm sure you could, though...
A few small corrections....
The database was still available as of a few years ago, but it was available on CD *directly* from the DMV. I remember seeing it advertised in the Oregonian Classified. The copies didn't just "show up" on CD.
Also, some people may remember the fiasco that happened a few years prior when someone decided to make the database accessable with a handy web interface. After it was brought to the attention of the local media, the creator decided to bring the page down after several days of intense scrutiny. He had reporters with cameras on his doorstep and all.
I felt sorry for the guy... All of the public's angst for having their records publicly available was directed at him instead of the state. He just brought it to their attention.
Ahhhh... I remember hearing that story, and agree with it. I believe that the key point here is *accessability* of the pictures. If I remember right, the photographer of the Monica/Bill-Hugging shot had to hire a researcher to find the shot on a whim after he had a feeling that he had seen that face before. How many people do you know that have the resources to do that on a gut instinct? Not many.
There are many trade offs on the digital/traditional issue... Imagine that. Something in life that isn't pure and simple. Although it does make for fun (although circular) debate.
That may be true for some items, you have a point. I would agree to stay away from bringing mysterious powders, things that look like bombs, guns, or *anything* having to do with recent world events.
So bring a bag full of bananas, silk flowers, or any other pseudo-sexual items. There is a difference between funny/gross and threatening.
(*whispering*)
Huh? Oh! That's what sarcasm is. Sorry about that. I apologize.
I'm not sure what retail establishment you've worked with, but I've never heard one refer to in-store undercover loss prevention as "secret shoppers." Secret shoppers are something entirely different -- They're ususally regular consumers hired by a customer satisfaction firm to evaluate restaurants, service, etc. (And compensated for their time by a free meal, or the service in question.)
However, most retail establishments to have highly trained undercover employees who watch for both customer and employee dishonesty. Many of them are ex/prospective law enforcement. Shrink, the official name for unaccounted loss in inventory (eg shoplifting), is a huge cost for retailers. Any large chain realizes this, and has people working to try and eliminate it.
Hmmmm... Maybe this works for every city except Vancouver, WA... -- But I doubt it.
Very good stuff, indeed. With the permission of the author, a copy of this will be printed and sent to my local members of Congress. It explains very clearly the blatent problems of the DCMA without being too technical or philisophical. A good read for anybody.
What? MP3 is more intuitive and makes more sense than ogg? When MP3 first came out, it wasn't cool, it wasn't a household name. Same thing with ogg.
Do you think the average teenager knows what MP3 stands for? I can't even remember what it stands for. MPEG something or other... Reminds me of a joke I heard about PCMCIA -- People Can't Memorize Computer Industry Acronyms.
WMA? Ogg? MP3? I don't see marketing genius in any of them...
Hasn't this been planned for before? It seems every year or so there are more plans for colonizing the moon. Just another can of worms to open...