MPAA: What? you want to send us to jail? *Pulls out checkbook* Here's $30 mill. JD: Oh wait, YOU didn't do the hacking, that guy you hired did, we should be going after him. Sorry for wasting your time.
I'm afraid what you have described here is bribery and the JD has a rather dim view on that. What really happens is this:
MPAA (to JD): What? you want to send us to jail? [Motions to passing Senator and pulls out checkbook] MPAA (to Senator): Here's $30M for your campaigns! BTW, we're having a bit of a problem with the JD. Senator (to MPAA): Oh my! That's terrible! Let me look into it. Senator (to JD):My, my, my! You've been busy boys, fighting crime and all, but I've heard you've been going after innocent business organizations. Now, I can't tell you what to do, but that's some lovely funding you have sitting over there I'd hate to see you lose. JD (to MPAA): Oh wait, YOU didn't do the hacking, that guy you hired did, we should be going after him. Sorry for wasting your time.
You see! This way there'a no bribery involved! Just your normal, upfront, legal political process in action!
After about fifteen years or so of writing database apps, I've learned that one cannot develop secure and performant SQL code without tailoring it for the individual databases you use. This goes for Oracle, DB2, Informix, MySQL, PostgreSQL, and (yes) SQL Server. The fact that you think that standard SQL (and don't get me started on ODBC and the different vendors' mongrel APIs) can be used in a portable manner with acceptable performance tells me you probably haven't developed very large databases, or run a server farm so oversized that performance isn't an issue for your system.
I have to disagree with you on this one. They are far too high noise for interesting receiving circuits (unless I've missed newer low noise ones). Give me a nice big set of plates any day. Now, I'll be the first to admit that the semiconductor theory behind them is cool and the ability to make VCF's and other circuits out of them is pretty neat - but as a serious device? Unless you're going for miniturization, they suck.
As for what anti-anxiety meds do, they mimic the effect of the naturally occuring GABA neurotransmitter, and have an inhibitory affect on cells with GABA receptors.
You forgot a few of the more fun receptors like the canabinoid and opioid receptors!
Because GABA is so wide-ranging in neurological function (one of the reasons why many nerve agents impact the GABA receptors as well as the acetylcholinesterase receptors and why many insecticides target the GABA receptors), GABA targeting has always led to drugs with quite a few side effects. Many of the newer anxiolytics target the seratonin receptors or a combo of the seratonin and norepinephrine receptors and, as such, have fewer side effects than older classes of anxiolytics like the benzodiazepines.
... at the level of DNA. Discuss and explain differences between infrastructural and higher -level monoculture. Are turing-equivalent devices a monoculture? Von Neuman architectures? The C-oriented architectures of todays machines? Is monculture *always* a bad idea? Should we design systems based on economic principles (which usually like monocultures due to economies of scale) or biological principles (which may lead to more robust systems)?
The thing that amazes me is that there are *so* many interesting issues that this view of computer systems raises and the best that the collective wisdom (such as it is) of the net can come up with is a bunch of mindless Linux advocacy and Windows counter defense. In general, any discussion of this topic without also recognizing systems other than Windows and Linux is missing the point.
They should be worried more about regular literacy before they start screwing about with computers.
I take my own generation as an example. I didn't see a computer before college. Most people of my generation have, via their jobs or their own curiosity, received enough training to use computers effectively and many of us have gained enough experience to even design the damn things. It is unclear to me that K-8 teachers (few of whom have advanced beyond the basic Word-edit/IE-browse stage) have the training to effectively transmit computer literacy to their charges. In addition, computers (and their software's associated license fees) tend to cost dollars that are already in short supply.
The solution? Introduce computers, at the earliest, at the Junior High stage, where the students have (with any luck) already learned basic skills and the school can dedicate trained personnel to the task. Even better, you might wait until High School, when their desire to get onto MySpace.com (ZOMG!!!!1!!! lol) will make them want to learn these l33t sk1llZ.
BTW, I am rather impressed with what I read about Senator Wyden - I wish there were more like him in office.
As someone who is a constituent, I will simply say that, like all Congresspeople, he has his plusses and his minuses. I like the stances he is taking with the last tax bill (read, the energy company giveaway) and his stance on net neutrality. OTOH, he will also occasionally vote for some really boneheaded stuff, too. That being said, he's better than Gordon "Sure! Let's do what the president wants" Smith (Actually, even that's sort of a cheap shot. On the whole, Gordon's been one of the more independent voices from the R side. All things considered, Oregon has been relatively well-blessed on the Federal representation front).
The Congressmen that are posturing are just using the fact that they are not on the committe for political gain. Don't be naive, look for the motivations of your representative.
As my Senator, Ron Wyden (who, BTW *is* a member of the Senate Intelligence Comittee), pointed out, the programs were shared only with the leadership of the committee and not with the membership as a whole. It's hard to see how his compalining about this is simply "posturing for political gain".
You, my friend, have hit the nail square on the head. You are far too insightful to be posting here. It saddens me to see you in such company. Nevertheless, the heathen must be converted. Godspeed...
We can pump you full of every antibiotic known to man and cause every single bacteria in your system to explode, but without neutrophils and macrophages to clean up the resultant toxic mess, you're likely to eventually go into septic shock, which frequently means an eventual trip to the morgue.
Microsoft Research is also the primary party responsible for GHC, the Glasgow Haskell Compiler.
That's because they bought^Whired Simon Peyton Jones into their British research lab, who was the inventor and primary researcher of Haskell. I doubt they'd cut his work off. If you want to really see what Microsoft wants to do in the functional space, look at LINQ. Simon might dream it in Haskell, but Microsoft is going to make sure it goes into VB.
I understand some people might want something (like Photoshop) that's only available on Windows and don't want to use wine, but I think the majority of non-techies are just websurfers and do some IM/email with an office app pitched in.
This statement shows you don't understand the problem. There are three key phrases here:
"don't want to use wine" - Do you understand what it is like to actually install Wine? To get it working with J. Random Windows program? It's not a question of don't want, it's a matter of can't. The bottom line is that people don't understand copying system DLL's around from here to there to get the damn thing working.
"people might want something (like Photoshop) that's only available on Windows" - It's not so much that they want it, it's that they don't know any alternative. What is the Photoshop replacement on Linux? I know it's the Gimp, but 99% of these people don't even know about the existance of Paint Shop Pro on Windows, let alone an alternative that might run on Linux. And, even if they think Photoshop is too expensive and want something else? Well, Adobe offers a dumbed down version that might make them happy or they ask a friend. And most people's friends will probably be Windows users and still won't know any different.
"the majority of non-techies are just websurfers and do some IM/email with an office app pitched in" - You are correct about this statement, but you think that the consequence is that this makes it easier for a user to install Linux and destroy any value they might have invested in previously installed software. Oddly enough, the fact that they needed to install this software against their will makes it even more precious to them (something about the pain investment). That they do so little with it actually means that the perceived cost-benefit ratio for switching is extremely low.
The bottom line is this: Until Linux people understand that users (a) are basically ignorant about computers and their operation, (b) are unmotivated about learning about them, (c) don't want to spend a lot of time fiddling with their machines; understand that, for most users, issues (a) and (b) outweigh (c) by a large magnitude because users perceive (c) as just an unfortunate symptom of machines as they are; and, most importantly, cater to the issues (a) and (b), they will not make significant inroads. In fact, given that OS/X has a better user experience than any Linux desktop, that there are Macintoshes that give adequate performance for a reasonable cost, and that Apple still can't make major inroads into the PC market, it would seem to indicate that this is largely an unsolvable problem. Face facts. You're simply screwed on this front. Joe Sixpack will never give a rat's ass about what OS he runs (or how badly it runs), as long as he doesn't have to get off his fat ass.
The only thing that might have a chance to change people's mind would be the availability of machines insanely cheaper than the current PC that (a) could do everything that a current PC can do and (b) that ran Linux. The problem is that Microsoft is too smart to let the OEM cost of Windows rise to a point where it's a significant percentage of the system cost. If they need too, they'll sell it to the manufacturer of the $100 machine for $5.00. And there is nothing illegal about pricing like that.
My advice to Linux folks is to find some way to make stupidity and inertia work for you instead of against you or just enjoy the market share you have in a sense of quality instead of quantity.
Mama and Papa do not spend $80,000/yr. each on Muffy's and Skippy's education to have them bring home C's and D's. Nor do Muffy's and Skippy's parents donate a new library building to an institution that cannot teach well enough to ensure that Muffy and Skippy receive A's. What do you expect? A higher education system run on merit? Heavens! I bet you're one of those socialists who'd like to have the government help pay for it, as well!
We really should draw a distinction here between the influence of state and/or federal government and that of municipal governments.
Standard Fundamentalist Libertarian obfuscation point #51: Shift the topic of one level of government to another. Oh! I wasn't talking about local government, I was talking about the Federal government! Not that you won't find Libertarians attacking all levels of government - it's just easier to win an argument by keeping the target moving. Not that winning arguments tend to lead to effective systems of living together - in general, compromise works better for that.
Why does MS have the right? Because they can ammend the terms you are bound to any time they like?
Yup.
Besides, if you're not "pirating" Windows, you have nothing to worry about. And if they treat their customers that way, you might want to consider switching to a better class of OS vendor.
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JD: Oh wait, YOU didn't do the hacking, that guy you hired did, we should be going after him. Sorry for wasting your time.
I'm afraid what you have described here is bribery and the JD has a rather dim view on that. What really happens is this:
MPAA (to JD): What? you want to send us to jail?
[Motions to passing Senator and pulls out checkbook]
MPAA (to Senator): Here's $30M for your campaigns! BTW, we're having a bit of a problem with the JD.
Senator (to MPAA): Oh my! That's terrible! Let me look into it.
Senator (to JD):My, my, my! You've been busy boys, fighting crime and all, but I've heard you've been going after innocent business organizations. Now, I can't tell you what to do, but that's some lovely funding you have sitting over there I'd hate to see you lose.
JD (to MPAA): Oh wait, YOU didn't do the hacking, that guy you hired did, we should be going after him. Sorry for wasting your time.
You see! This way there'a no bribery involved! Just your normal, upfront, legal political process in action!
I don't know why.
After about fifteen years or so of writing database apps, I've learned that one cannot develop secure and performant SQL code without tailoring it for the individual databases you use. This goes for Oracle, DB2, Informix, MySQL, PostgreSQL, and (yes) SQL Server. The fact that you think that standard SQL (and don't get me started on ODBC and the different vendors' mongrel APIs) can be used in a portable manner with acceptable performance tells me you probably haven't developed very large databases, or run a server farm so oversized that performance isn't an issue for your system.
I have to disagree with you on this one. They are far too high noise for interesting receiving circuits (unless I've missed newer low noise ones). Give me a nice big set of plates any day. Now, I'll be the first to admit that the semiconductor theory behind them is cool and the ability to make VCF's and other circuits out of them is pretty neat - but as a serious device? Unless you're going for miniturization, they suck.
I can see it now! Fox searchlight! Quick! Get me a trademark so I can get an infusion of cash from Rupert!
You forgot a few of the more fun receptors like the canabinoid and opioid receptors!
Because GABA is so wide-ranging in neurological function (one of the reasons why many nerve agents impact the GABA receptors as well as the acetylcholinesterase receptors and why many insecticides target the GABA receptors), GABA targeting has always led to drugs with quite a few side effects. Many of the newer anxiolytics target the seratonin receptors or a combo of the seratonin and norepinephrine receptors and, as such, have fewer side effects than older classes of anxiolytics like the benzodiazepines.
The thing that amazes me is that there are *so* many interesting issues that this view of computer systems raises and the best that the collective wisdom (such as it is) of the net can come up with is a bunch of mindless Linux advocacy and Windows counter defense. In general, any discussion of this topic without also recognizing systems other than Windows and Linux is missing the point.
Have a nice day!
I take my own generation as an example. I didn't see a computer before college. Most people of my generation have, via their jobs or their own curiosity, received enough training to use computers effectively and many of us have gained enough experience to even design the damn things. It is unclear to me that K-8 teachers (few of whom have advanced beyond the basic Word-edit/IE-browse stage) have the training to effectively transmit computer literacy to their charges. In addition, computers (and their software's associated license fees) tend to cost dollars that are already in short supply.
The solution? Introduce computers, at the earliest, at the Junior High stage, where the students have (with any luck) already learned basic skills and the school can dedicate trained personnel to the task. Even better, you might wait until High School, when their desire to get onto MySpace.com (ZOMG!!!!1!!! lol) will make them want to learn these l33t sk1llZ.
I, for one, welcome our new three-headed Russion overlords.
I think it's to drive the subtitles needed because you're in a foreign country where they speak a different language :-).
As someone who is a constituent, I will simply say that, like all Congresspeople, he has his plusses and his minuses. I like the stances he is taking with the last tax bill (read, the energy company giveaway) and his stance on net neutrality. OTOH, he will also occasionally vote for some really boneheaded stuff, too. That being said, he's better than Gordon "Sure! Let's do what the president wants" Smith (Actually, even that's sort of a cheap shot. On the whole, Gordon's been one of the more independent voices from the R side. All things considered, Oregon has been relatively well-blessed on the Federal representation front).
As my Senator, Ron Wyden (who, BTW *is* a member of the Senate Intelligence Comittee), pointed out, the programs were shared only with the leadership of the committee and not with the membership as a whole. It's hard to see how his compalining about this is simply "posturing for political gain".
That's not a slam, by the way. I suck at PERL.You speak of this as if it's a bad thing...
You, my friend, have hit the nail square on the head. You are far too insightful to be posting here. It saddens me to see you in such company. Nevertheless, the heathen must be converted. Godspeed...
Dude. You're like... so cheery today.
That's because they bought^Whired Simon Peyton Jones into their British research lab, who was the inventor and primary researcher of Haskell. I doubt they'd cut his work off. If you want to really see what Microsoft wants to do in the functional space, look at LINQ. Simon might dream it in Haskell, but Microsoft is going to make sure it goes into VB.
Very embarrassing. After all, we all know that Curly was the better stooge. Good thing his name wasn't Curly Joe... or Joe Besser.
This statement shows you don't understand the problem. There are three key phrases here:
"don't want to use wine" - Do you understand what it is like to actually install Wine? To get it working with J. Random Windows program? It's not a question of don't want, it's a matter of can't. The bottom line is that people don't understand copying system DLL's around from here to there to get the damn thing working.
"people might want something (like Photoshop) that's only available on Windows" - It's not so much that they want it, it's that they don't know any alternative. What is the Photoshop replacement on Linux? I know it's the Gimp, but 99% of these people don't even know about the existance of Paint Shop Pro on Windows, let alone an alternative that might run on Linux. And, even if they think Photoshop is too expensive and want something else? Well, Adobe offers a dumbed down version that might make them happy or they ask a friend. And most people's friends will probably be Windows users and still won't know any different.
"the majority of non-techies are just websurfers and do some IM/email with an office app pitched in" - You are correct about this statement, but you think that the consequence is that this makes it easier for a user to install Linux and destroy any value they might have invested in previously installed software. Oddly enough, the fact that they needed to install this software against their will makes it even more precious to them (something about the pain investment). That they do so little with it actually means that the perceived cost-benefit ratio for switching is extremely low.
The bottom line is this: Until Linux people understand that users (a) are basically ignorant about computers and their operation, (b) are unmotivated about learning about them, (c) don't want to spend a lot of time fiddling with their machines; understand that, for most users, issues (a) and (b) outweigh (c) by a large magnitude because users perceive (c) as just an unfortunate symptom of machines as they are; and, most importantly, cater to the issues (a) and (b), they will not make significant inroads. In fact, given that OS/X has a better user experience than any Linux desktop, that there are Macintoshes that give adequate performance for a reasonable cost, and that Apple still can't make major inroads into the PC market, it would seem to indicate that this is largely an unsolvable problem. Face facts. You're simply screwed on this front. Joe Sixpack will never give a rat's ass about what OS he runs (or how badly it runs), as long as he doesn't have to get off his fat ass.
The only thing that might have a chance to change people's mind would be the availability of machines insanely cheaper than the current PC that (a) could do everything that a current PC can do and (b) that ran Linux. The problem is that Microsoft is too smart to let the OEM cost of Windows rise to a point where it's a significant percentage of the system cost. If they need too, they'll sell it to the manufacturer of the $100 machine for $5.00. And there is nothing illegal about pricing like that.
My advice to Linux folks is to find some way to make stupidity and inertia work for you instead of against you or just enjoy the market share you have in a sense of quality instead of quantity.
Mama and Papa do not spend $80,000/yr. each on Muffy's and Skippy's education to have them bring home C's and D's. Nor do Muffy's and Skippy's parents donate a new library building to an institution that cannot teach well enough to ensure that Muffy and Skippy receive A's. What do you expect? A higher education system run on merit? Heavens! I bet you're one of those socialists who'd like to have the government help pay for it, as well!
Finally, a good use for trademark law - trademark annoying things and sue anyone else that uses them!
Standard Fundamentalist Libertarian obfuscation point #51: Shift the topic of one level of government to another. Oh! I wasn't talking about local government, I was talking about the Federal government! Not that you won't find Libertarians attacking all levels of government - it's just easier to win an argument by keeping the target moving. Not that winning arguments tend to lead to effective systems of living together - in general, compromise works better for that.
Like that would make a difference to most Slashdotters.
Vaccinate your kids...
OK - now I know it's a joke. I think you meant "Make sure people who have kids vaccinate their kids."
Viagra?
You also forgot about the manditory extended option waranty and fiduciary service plan that bloats the normal CEO cost well above the base price!
No it's the fifth - the strong and weak nuclear forces and the electromagnetic force come between it and pr0n.
Yup.
Besides, if you're not "pirating" Windows, you have nothing to worry about. And if they treat their customers that way, you might want to consider switching to a better class of OS vendor.