Alright. So, alot of us are in agreeance that Episodes I and II sucked ass. While the original Trilogy is still considered among the greatest in history, the last two movies have put a sour taste on the Star Wars sweetness.
With Genndy Tartakovsky at the helm of the animated project, I really can't see this as being all too bad. While Genndy and his team probably won't have much of a say story wise (which is where this might fail), we can bet that the animation will be slick and stylish. Genndy is a damned genius, and that was proven when Samurai Jack hit the scene.
So here I am, with cautious optimism that the top animator in America can salvage a franchise that's quickly swirling down the toilet bowl. If anyone can do it, it's Genndy Tartakovsky. Here's hoping that something good can come out of the modern Star Wars paradox...
This is going to sound sad, but here goes. So, PA wants to keep me from seeing bad things and is forcing my ISP to block these sites? Oh my God! I'm just so happy to have a government that wants to do something totally useless when it comes to protecting me while I surf the web!
Look, in all honestly, I only have a few websites that I ever visit with any regularity. Those sites are:
1. Of Course, Slashdot. 2. 1 Wrestling Dot Com - My Pro Wrestling Fix 3. My Site, Rancho Relaxo - Checking on the site, updating, etc. 4. AnimeFu - Opinions are like Escaflowne DVDs: Everybody Has One... 5. Keeping Up On That Wheaton Kid - Because the Real-Life Wil is much cooler than Wesley... 6. Cartoon Orbit - Their gToons game is neat, and yes, I'm addicted to cartoons. 7. Yahoo! Games - Pinochle and Spades.
That's it. At least once a day, I visit these sites (my own site even less). Sometimes I Google for info and images. But there is one thing that I'm most certainly not sick or stupid enough to go after, and that's child pr0n. Honestly, I don't have to go looking for regular, legal porn, either.
So, my ISP is now going to have to filter out sites I don't even care to think about, let alone visit. Not that I much care, really. Just interesting to know that I'm being protected by a state government that spawned the first ever Secretary of Homeland Security (Tom Ridge, who's only positive achievement as our governer was finally raising the highway speed limit to 65), cost my father his job twice (taking two state hosipitals and making them private), screwed up my student loans (AES/PHEAA is guilty there), can't maintain roads properly...
I took a look at the list, and why the hell is Andy Serkis not nominated?!?
Now, most people would say "Aww, he just did the voice of Gollum. He shouldn't be nominated for voice acting." Not so. He was also on the sets, hooked up to computers and providing alot of the motion capture data that would be used in animating Gollum.
Gollum is the first character to effectively blur the line between CGI and reality. While he is obviously a computer-generated character, the work Serkis did with both his voice and his motion is astounding. It brings Gollum to life in ways never before thought possible. If you tuned yourself in while sitting in the theater, you could feel the emotion literally dripping from Gollum's frail body. The conflict raging in his head between his original Smeagol persona and that which the One Ring created. Gandalf said it best in FotR: "The pity of Bilbo may decide the fate of the One Ring (yep, I'm paraphrasing)." In The Hobbit, Bilbo was going to kill Gollum, but stayed his hand out of pity for the creature. That emotion was perfectly conveyed through the work of not only the animators, but Andy Serkis.
This proves that the Academy is nothing but a bunch of stale old farts who can only see CGI as a special effects tool, not something that can be used to create a character such as Gollum. And, sadly, the fate of TTT in the best picture category rests in that same outdated judgement process. The Academy has never bestowed a Best Picture honor on a fantasy film such as the LotR series. Sadly, that will probably remain the case this year.
Bitch all you want about story discrepencies and the lack of important parts of the story. As a whole, Peter Jackson's LotR trilogy is a wonder to behold, a truely entertaining film, and an achievement that even Tolkien himself thought wasn't possible. It deserves the kudos...
The best episode of The Simpsons by far has got to be the episode where they killed Maude Flanders. It was the single most unexpected thing in the world, and how they killed her was funnier than hell. It also put Ned, the overly happy, overly Christian neighbor in an awkward position, reworking his character almost entirely. They hyped that episode to no end, and when Maude died, we were all sitting around looking at each other, saying "Maude? They killed Maude?"
The best twist ever in a Simpsons episode. Kudos to Greoning and Company on 300 Episodes of one of the funniest animated shows ever!
D'OH!
A Space Elevator? Um...
on
Columbia Coverage
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· Score: 2, Interesting
Space Elevator? Can you say "terrorist target?" Besides, I dont' see how that could possibly be viable. Raw materials would be one factor, and I can't stand an elevator going up a couple of dozen floors, let alone several miles. If a couple of people fart, it'd be all over. And besides, bin Laden and crew would drool over a high profile target like that, and it wouldn't even get very far under construction without getting nailed by some radical towel heads who can't wait to get to their how-ever-many virgins in the name of their god. That's just reality, folks. Next idea, please...
Aren't we supposed to be on the next generation shuttles already? Or did Challenger set us THAT far back? Don't we have some new birds like those seen in Armageddon yet? Oh yeah, that's right. Our President cares more about dropping bombs in a sandbox than he does about Space Exploration, so NASA goes underfunded, and the War for Oil gets top billing.
Yes, we'll return to space. It took us a while after Challenger, but I don't think we'll have that much of a delay this time around. Trouble is, we're running low on Shuttles, and now that we're down by two, with the others aging, how much longer can we keep up that program? We need new shuttles, which means NASA needs more funding so it can get contracts rolling....
I believe that was the original intent of Copyright laws: To prevent you from making money of of work that was copyrighted. You could make a cassette tape of something off of the radio, and as long as you didn't try to sell it, you were fine. Same deal with using the VCR to tape something on TV. As long as you weren't making a profit off of your legally made copy, you were fine.
The RIAA member labels are just pissed because music downloading just means that they're not getting their cut. They've set insanely high prices for music CDs, and don't want to drop their prices to more reasonable levels (I'd have no problem laying down $7-10 for a CD, but $15-20 is asking a bit much). With the advent of the CD-R, the creation of a CD and the cost to do so was brought home to the consumer, and they realized that they were being gouged at the register. Until they bring the price of CDs down, file sharing will flourish. If prices are brought down to reasonable levels, then consumers would most likely download only to sample music they don't own yet, and then go out and buy the reasonably priced CD.
AOL's recent ad campaign for their AOL 8.0 service has to be the direct reason for the drop in subscribers. Let's do the math:
In one scene, where a "dad" talks about setting up the parental controls for his "kids," a shot of the screen is shown with three users listed. The first user in the list (name unknown, and doesn't matter) is shown as having Adult access. The second user on this list is the key. First of all, the user name is HappyAOLUser, and is shown as having Older Teen access. First of all, what Teenager in their right(?) mind would use HappyAOLUser as their screen name? None. And secondly, is there such a thing as a Happy AOL User? I haven't met any...
Here's the big detractor. Their offer boasts 1,025 hours free for the first 45 days. Let's do the math. There are 24 hours in a day, right? OK. So, let's multiply that by 45. The answer is 1,080 hours. Now, we subtract from that the 1,025 hours offered for free. We get 55 hours. Divide those 55 hours by the original 45 days, and you get 1.2222222r. So, in order to use up all of the 1,025 hours in 45 days, a single AOL user would only be able to get 1.22222r hours of sleep per day in the 45 day period.
Simply put, either the user doesn't get to use all of the free hours, or they die from sleep deprivation trying to get them all in.
Couple this with the slowly growing demand for broadband, AOL's lack of local servers (resulting in long distance bills for some users), and the frequent busy signals encountered, you have your reason for people migrating away from AOL.
(a) This Agreement constitutes the entire agreement between the parties concerning the subject matter hereof;(b) This Agreement and any dispute arising out of it shall be governed by the laws of Hungary; (c) Unless otherwise agreed in writing, all disputes relating to this Agreement (excepting any dispute relating to intellectual property rights) shall be subject to final and binding arbitration in the country of Hungary; (d) This Agreement shall not be governed by the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods; (e) If any provision in this Agreement should be held illegal or unenforceable by a court having jurisdiction, such provision shall be modified to the extent necessary to render it enforceable without losing its intent or severed from this Agreement if no such modification is possible, and other provisions of this Agreement shall remain in full force and effect; (f) A waiver by either party of any term or condition of this Agreement or any breach thereof, in any one instance, shall not waive such term or condition or any subsequent breach thereof; (g) The provisions of this Agreement that require or contemplate performance after the expiration or termination of this Agreement shall be enforceable notwithstanding said expiration or termination; (h) you may not assign or otherwise transfer by operation of law or otherwise this Agreement or any rights or obligations herein. (i) This Agreement shall be binding upon and shall inure to the benefit of the parties, their successors, and assigns; (j) Neither party shall be in default or be liable for any delay, failure in performance (excepting the obligation to pay), or interruption of service resulting directly or indirectly from any cause beyond its reasonable control.
...people should learn the joys of browsers like Mozilla and Opera.
I recently updated IE (it has a problem with Cartoon Network'sgToons game) so I could do a little gaming. I noticed when I bumped it up to 5.5 that it gave me a list of things to install along with it, including Media Player, Outlook and Script Support. Script Support? Isn't that IE's problem in the first place? You'ld think they'd take that sorta crap out. Long story short, I unchecked everything but the browser update, and sat back while my painfully slow 56K connection chugged away.
After about an hour (damn Adelphia), I ran the update and of course, rebooted. Once I was back in Windows, I fired up IE, only to be greeted with an alert window telling me "Hey! You need to get Script Support!" Now, didn't I tell it that I didn't want that in the first place? After telling it that I never want that crap installed on my machine, things have been fine, but I still can't play gToons. Not to mention the damned thing made itself my default browser again without asknig my permission...
Crap like this Xupiter nonsense is exactly why either Microsoft needs to clean up it's act (script support is usually what starts up web-based virii), or people need to actually try and learn something about computers instead of sticking with the Beast for the easy factor.
With nicotine being the main addictive ingredient in cancer sticks, these might possibly be the best way to kick the habbit altogether. Without nicotine to hold you in, you could still get your fix. After a while smoking these babys, the nic fits would subside, making it a little easier to kick the habbit to the curb.
At least, in theory, that might work.
As an 11 year veteran of smoking (started when I was 14), I see this as a possible ray of hope. If I quit now, my lungs might have a chance at surviving into middle age, and some of my vim and vigor might just come back. I think I'm going to take a drive down to Holland (I don't live too far from there, maybe a three hour trip tops) and see what this is all about...
Why the hell are they backing down and complying? If anything, they should be pissed off at the US Entertainment Industry for insulting them with that damned "Kangaroo Jack" movie...
Yes, I agree. JoePa does need to go. He has passed Bear Bryant, and should now retire and bask in his record from his living room every Saturday. What PSU needs is a younger head coach who can take what tradition Paterno has created and build on it, adding his own two cents to the whole mix.
I'll admit. It was nice watching PSU win two National Titles (and get screwed out of a third oppertunity in 94, To Hell With Nebraska) under Paterno. But let's face it. All good things must come to an end, and it's time for the Paterno Era to end and give way to the next generation at the Pennsylvania State University.
And I think it's obvious that if there's a God, he/she is a Penn State fan. Why else would the sky be blue and white?
I'm probably one of the few/. readers who gives a crap about football (I dig hockey and soccer, too). But this year, my team, the Steelers, isn't in it (we got screwed by some shoddy officiating). So, I'm gonna go with my fallback "team to root for" system. When it comes to College Football, I'm a Penn State fan. And for years, I sat in the upper deck of Beaver Stadium watching many future NFL heroes play for the love of the game and school pride.
So how does this factor into me rooting for the Bucs? Well, one of the Bucs' wide recievers is former Penn State wide out Joe Jurevicius, who just celebrated the birth of his child last week. I wish Joe the best of luck, and I'm sure that everyone here in Happy Valley is pulling for him to get his first Super Bowl ring.
Then, after the big game (which I'm not watching due to (rock, not high school) Band Practice), I'm headed out to my local bar for post-game karaoke. Sure beats sitting at home playing gToons...
Can we expect to see Bill Gates making a trip to South Africa now? After India just said they were leaning towards it, MS wandered over there carpetbagging "Free" software. I garuntee that within the week, there'll be an MS rep on the Dark Continent preaching the joys of their software. Let the countdown begin.
Haven't they gotten the idea yet? The only 100% sure-fire way to prevent music piracy is to prevent music. And that, my friends, is not happening. Any eight year old kid with a little patience isn't going to care that you can't copy a CD the most direct way if it's copy-protected. With the slightest bit of initiative and desire, anyone who wants to will find a way to copy it to their format of choice.
I believe this falls under "deceptive marketing/advertising." Spam is in essence advertisements and marketing. Hiding the acceptance checkbox from the user is decieving them into subscribing to such advertising. I'm not really up to date on the laws, but last time I checked, deceptive marketing tactics were illegal, not to mention open to a lawsuit...
Opening a little bit of source code up isn't really enough to be able to compete with Linux. One of the biggest problems facing Micro$oft, should Linux catch on in the mainstream, is it's price. Go to any Wal-Mart or Electronics Boutique, anywhere where they sell Windows XP and any Linux Distro side by side (or at least on the same rack/stand). Windows XP Home Edition, ~$150. Mandrake Linux, ~$30. Now, to the money concious computer user, which do you think they'll choose?
The fact of the matter is that M$ could turn a hefty profit even if they sold Windows for $50. They just want to take the consumer for whatever they can, adding to their already insanely high cash surplus (which stands at around $40 billion). That's just not right. And even if they did start selling Windows el cheap-o, they still have to deal with the fact that Linux Distros are available to broadband users (or 56K users with alot of patience) on the net for free. Yeah, sure, you don't get the manual, but that same information is available online from any number of sources.
Opening a little bit of source is a nice gesture by M$, but that's about all it amounts to. With foreign governments, universities, and even single users discovering and going with the Open Source solution, they need to do a heck of alot more to even begin thinking about the possibility of maybe, just maybe, competing with the Open Source community.
...then it's an illegal act, period. Unless the Berman Bill is retroactive to a date prior to this supposed worm launch, it occoured before the bill is ever passed, and is illegal no matter what.
This supposed worm disables functions of a computer. Therefore, it is malicious, as is anything that modifies system performance without the user's knowledge and consent.
If this is true (95% infection rate? Doubt it), then we have one heck of a piece of ammo to use against the RIAA, if indeed they contracted this worm. The Price Fixing settlement, in that case, is just the beginning.
They can do it for jets, but not for regular automobiles? Oh, wait, I'm sorry. Things like BioDiesel would hurt Dubya and his Oil pumping buddies down in Texas. And who wants to bet that that fuel will only be available to the Militry right off the bat? I highly doubt a squadron of F117-A's are punching that nasty hole in the ozone...
Well, Jeri Ryan is a little too classy to be on Slashpr0n. She'd eitehr be on OSPN (Open Source Pr0n Network) or Pr0nforge.
Sorry about the Kate Mulgrew thing. Guessing you're not the MILF type. Neither am I. Just heard her name on TNNs running of VIP earlier today, and it kinda stuck in my head.
Just think: SLASHPR0N! All the porn that geeks want, all the time. For a nominal monthly fee,/. readers can get their grubby little mits on the latest geek erotica from the likes of Marina Sirtis, Kate Mulgrew, Sarah Michelle Gellar and any other "geek chic chicks" that nerds fancy from Sci-Fi and Fantasy shows/movies/etc.
And ladies, don't think I forgot you! There will be a whole section devoted to "Cowboy Perversions" featuring CowboyNeal, CmdrTaco's "I'm married now, I don't get laid anymore, so I need porn to keep me happy" weekly rants, and the "Hardcore Nerd Beach Weekend" starring all of your favorite Slashdot authors, live in streaming RealMedia from the newest hit pr0n site on the web, http://slashpr0n.org(asm)...
...what does this mean for we, the regular users of Linux? Will this affect individual users, or just businesses? Will this affect strictly SCO Linux users, or all of us? Too many questions, and not enough answers.
If SCO does decide to enforce any patent claims they may have and apply them directly to Linux, I say we blackball the hell out of them.
In 1995, M$ didn't really think of Linux as much of a threat, and more or less ignored it. In recent years, though, Linux has gotten some attention from a broader range of folks, and now M$ is a little more interested in it.
It's attacked the GNU/GPL as being "viral" (it is, and it's a good virus), we've seen the Halloween Documents: they're in a small state of panic OSs like Linux are catching on.
And I'm willing to bet that they're worried about Mac OS-X too. From what I hear of it, it's quite the operating system, and people are happy with it. Macs are slowly catching on, as well. And since they're based on an open source OS, it intergrates with the others a little easier.
Maybe they should have paid a little more attention to it and not wait...
Slashdot Mirror
Alright. So, alot of us are in agreeance that Episodes I and II sucked ass. While the original Trilogy is still considered among the greatest in history, the last two movies have put a sour taste on the Star Wars sweetness.
With Genndy Tartakovsky at the helm of the animated project, I really can't see this as being all too bad. While Genndy and his team probably won't have much of a say story wise (which is where this might fail), we can bet that the animation will be slick and stylish. Genndy is a damned genius, and that was proven when Samurai Jack hit the scene.
So here I am, with cautious optimism that the top animator in America can salvage a franchise that's quickly swirling down the toilet bowl. If anyone can do it, it's Genndy Tartakovsky. Here's hoping that something good can come out of the modern Star Wars paradox...
This is going to sound sad, but here goes. So, PA wants to keep me from seeing bad things and is forcing my ISP to block these sites? Oh my God! I'm just so happy to have a government that wants to do something totally useless when it comes to protecting me while I surf the web!
Look, in all honestly, I only have a few websites that I ever visit with any regularity. Those sites are:
1. Of Course, Slashdot.
2. 1 Wrestling Dot Com - My Pro Wrestling Fix
3. My Site, Rancho Relaxo - Checking on the site, updating, etc.
4. AnimeFu - Opinions are like Escaflowne DVDs: Everybody Has One...
5. Keeping Up On That Wheaton Kid - Because the Real-Life Wil is much cooler than Wesley...
6. Cartoon Orbit - Their gToons game is neat, and yes, I'm addicted to cartoons.
7. Yahoo! Games - Pinochle and Spades.
That's it. At least once a day, I visit these sites (my own site even less). Sometimes I Google for info and images. But there is one thing that I'm most certainly not sick or stupid enough to go after, and that's child pr0n. Honestly, I don't have to go looking for regular, legal porn, either.
So, my ISP is now going to have to filter out sites I don't even care to think about, let alone visit. Not that I much care, really. Just interesting to know that I'm being protected by a state government that spawned the first ever Secretary of Homeland Security (Tom Ridge, who's only positive achievement as our governer was finally raising the highway speed limit to 65), cost my father his job twice (taking two state hosipitals and making them private), screwed up my student loans (AES/PHEAA is guilty there), can't maintain roads properly...
You get the idea, right?
Bet ya can't guess what my name is. Anyway, I decided to go and see who else has my name. I found:
The International Eric Jacobsen Page
Eric.Com
The Eric Conspiracy Secret Labs (member example)
I could care less who has my name. We're each as original as the next one with our name. I don't think it's that much of a big deal, really.
I took a look at the list, and why the hell is Andy Serkis not nominated?!?
Now, most people would say "Aww, he just did the voice of Gollum. He shouldn't be nominated for voice acting." Not so. He was also on the sets, hooked up to computers and providing alot of the motion capture data that would be used in animating Gollum.
Gollum is the first character to effectively blur the line between CGI and reality. While he is obviously a computer-generated character, the work Serkis did with both his voice and his motion is astounding. It brings Gollum to life in ways never before thought possible. If you tuned yourself in while sitting in the theater, you could feel the emotion literally dripping from Gollum's frail body. The conflict raging in his head between his original Smeagol persona and that which the One Ring created. Gandalf said it best in FotR: "The pity of Bilbo may decide the fate of the One Ring (yep, I'm paraphrasing)." In The Hobbit, Bilbo was going to kill Gollum, but stayed his hand out of pity for the creature. That emotion was perfectly conveyed through the work of not only the animators, but Andy Serkis.
This proves that the Academy is nothing but a bunch of stale old farts who can only see CGI as a special effects tool, not something that can be used to create a character such as Gollum. And, sadly, the fate of TTT in the best picture category rests in that same outdated judgement process. The Academy has never bestowed a Best Picture honor on a fantasy film such as the LotR series. Sadly, that will probably remain the case this year.
Bitch all you want about story discrepencies and the lack of important parts of the story. As a whole, Peter Jackson's LotR trilogy is a wonder to behold, a truely entertaining film, and an achievement that even Tolkien himself thought wasn't possible. It deserves the kudos...
The best episode of The Simpsons by far has got to be the episode where they killed Maude Flanders. It was the single most unexpected thing in the world, and how they killed her was funnier than hell. It also put Ned, the overly happy, overly Christian neighbor in an awkward position, reworking his character almost entirely. They hyped that episode to no end, and when Maude died, we were all sitting around looking at each other, saying "Maude? They killed Maude?"
The best twist ever in a Simpsons episode. Kudos to Greoning and Company on 300 Episodes of one of the funniest animated shows ever!
D'OH!
Space Elevator? Can you say "terrorist target?" Besides, I dont' see how that could possibly be viable. Raw materials would be one factor, and I can't stand an elevator going up a couple of dozen floors, let alone several miles. If a couple of people fart, it'd be all over. And besides, bin Laden and crew would drool over a high profile target like that, and it wouldn't even get very far under construction without getting nailed by some radical towel heads who can't wait to get to their how-ever-many virgins in the name of their god. That's just reality, folks. Next idea, please...
Aren't we supposed to be on the next generation shuttles already? Or did Challenger set us THAT far back? Don't we have some new birds like those seen in Armageddon yet? Oh yeah, that's right. Our President cares more about dropping bombs in a sandbox than he does about Space Exploration, so NASA goes underfunded, and the War for Oil gets top billing.
Yes, we'll return to space. It took us a while after Challenger, but I don't think we'll have that much of a delay this time around. Trouble is, we're running low on Shuttles, and now that we're down by two, with the others aging, how much longer can we keep up that program? We need new shuttles, which means NASA needs more funding so it can get contracts rolling....
I believe that was the original intent of Copyright laws: To prevent you from making money of of work that was copyrighted. You could make a cassette tape of something off of the radio, and as long as you didn't try to sell it, you were fine. Same deal with using the VCR to tape something on TV. As long as you weren't making a profit off of your legally made copy, you were fine.
The RIAA member labels are just pissed because music downloading just means that they're not getting their cut. They've set insanely high prices for music CDs, and don't want to drop their prices to more reasonable levels (I'd have no problem laying down $7-10 for a CD, but $15-20 is asking a bit much). With the advent of the CD-R, the creation of a CD and the cost to do so was brought home to the consumer, and they realized that they were being gouged at the register. Until they bring the price of CDs down, file sharing will flourish. If prices are brought down to reasonable levels, then consumers would most likely download only to sample music they don't own yet, and then go out and buy the reasonably priced CD.
I know I would...
AOL's recent ad campaign for their AOL 8.0 service has to be the direct reason for the drop in subscribers. Let's do the math:
In one scene, where a "dad" talks about setting up the parental controls for his "kids," a shot of the screen is shown with three users listed. The first user in the list (name unknown, and doesn't matter) is shown as having Adult access. The second user on this list is the key. First of all, the user name is HappyAOLUser, and is shown as having Older Teen access. First of all, what Teenager in their right(?) mind would use HappyAOLUser as their screen name? None. And secondly, is there such a thing as a Happy AOL User? I haven't met any...
Here's the big detractor. Their offer boasts 1,025 hours free for the first 45 days. Let's do the math. There are 24 hours in a day, right? OK. So, let's multiply that by 45. The answer is 1,080 hours. Now, we subtract from that the 1,025 hours offered for free. We get 55 hours. Divide those 55 hours by the original 45 days, and you get 1.2222222r. So, in order to use up all of the 1,025 hours in 45 days, a single AOL user would only be able to get 1.22222r hours of sleep per day in the 45 day period.
Simply put, either the user doesn't get to use all of the free hours, or they die from sleep deprivation trying to get them all in.
Couple this with the slowly growing demand for broadband, AOL's lack of local servers (resulting in long distance bills for some users), and the frequent busy signals encountered, you have your reason for people migrating away from AOL.
Check out this part of their license agreement:
(a) This Agreement constitutes the entire agreement between the parties concerning the subject matter hereof;(b) This Agreement and any dispute arising out of it shall be governed by the laws of Hungary; (c) Unless otherwise agreed in writing, all disputes relating to this Agreement (excepting any dispute relating to intellectual property rights) shall be subject to final and binding arbitration in the country of Hungary; (d) This Agreement shall not be governed by the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods; (e) If any provision in this Agreement should be held illegal or unenforceable by a court having jurisdiction, such provision shall be modified to the extent necessary to render it enforceable without losing its intent or severed from this Agreement if no such modification is possible, and other provisions of this Agreement shall remain in full force and effect; (f) A waiver by either party of any term or condition of this Agreement or any breach thereof, in any one instance, shall not waive such term or condition or any subsequent breach thereof; (g) The provisions of this Agreement that require or contemplate performance after the expiration or termination of this Agreement shall be enforceable notwithstanding said expiration or termination; (h) you may not assign or otherwise transfer by operation of law or otherwise this Agreement or any rights or obligations herein. (i) This Agreement shall be binding upon and shall inure to the benefit of the parties, their successors, and assigns; (j) Neither party shall be in default or be liable for any delay, failure in performance (excepting the obligation to pay), or interruption of service resulting directly or indirectly from any cause beyond its reasonable control.
Isn't that bloody well lovely?
...people should learn the joys of browsers like Mozilla and Opera.
I recently updated IE (it has a problem with Cartoon Network's gToons game) so I could do a little gaming. I noticed when I bumped it up to 5.5 that it gave me a list of things to install along with it, including Media Player, Outlook and Script Support. Script Support? Isn't that IE's problem in the first place? You'ld think they'd take that sorta crap out. Long story short, I unchecked everything but the browser update, and sat back while my painfully slow 56K connection chugged away.
After about an hour (damn Adelphia), I ran the update and of course, rebooted. Once I was back in Windows, I fired up IE, only to be greeted with an alert window telling me "Hey! You need to get Script Support!" Now, didn't I tell it that I didn't want that in the first place? After telling it that I never want that crap installed on my machine, things have been fine, but I still can't play gToons. Not to mention the damned thing made itself my default browser again without asknig my permission...
Crap like this Xupiter nonsense is exactly why either Microsoft needs to clean up it's act (script support is usually what starts up web-based virii), or people need to actually try and learn something about computers instead of sticking with the Beast for the easy factor.
With nicotine being the main addictive ingredient in cancer sticks, these might possibly be the best way to kick the habbit altogether. Without nicotine to hold you in, you could still get your fix. After a while smoking these babys, the nic fits would subside, making it a little easier to kick the habbit to the curb.
At least, in theory, that might work.
As an 11 year veteran of smoking (started when I was 14), I see this as a possible ray of hope. If I quit now, my lungs might have a chance at surviving into middle age, and some of my vim and vigor might just come back. I think I'm going to take a drive down to Holland (I don't live too far from there, maybe a three hour trip tops) and see what this is all about...
Why the hell are they backing down and complying? If anything, they should be pissed off at the US Entertainment Industry for insulting them with that damned "Kangaroo Jack" movie...
Yes, I agree. JoePa does need to go. He has passed Bear Bryant, and should now retire and bask in his record from his living room every Saturday. What PSU needs is a younger head coach who can take what tradition Paterno has created and build on it, adding his own two cents to the whole mix.
I'll admit. It was nice watching PSU win two National Titles (and get screwed out of a third oppertunity in 94, To Hell With Nebraska) under Paterno. But let's face it. All good things must come to an end, and it's time for the Paterno Era to end and give way to the next generation at the Pennsylvania State University.
And I think it's obvious that if there's a God, he/she is a Penn State fan. Why else would the sky be blue and white?
PENN STATE!
As an aside, sitting in section NC's upper deck seats, we always did that half of the chant.
I'm probably one of the few /. readers who gives a crap about football (I dig hockey and soccer, too). But this year, my team, the Steelers, isn't in it (we got screwed by some shoddy officiating). So, I'm gonna go with my fallback "team to root for" system. When it comes to College Football, I'm a Penn State fan. And for years, I sat in the upper deck of Beaver Stadium watching many future NFL heroes play for the love of the game and school pride.
So how does this factor into me rooting for the Bucs? Well, one of the Bucs' wide recievers is former Penn State wide out Joe Jurevicius, who just celebrated the birth of his child last week. I wish Joe the best of luck, and I'm sure that everyone here in Happy Valley is pulling for him to get his first Super Bowl ring.
Then, after the big game (which I'm not watching due to (rock, not high school) Band Practice), I'm headed out to my local bar for post-game karaoke. Sure beats sitting at home playing gToons...
Can we expect to see Bill Gates making a trip to South Africa now? After India just said they were leaning towards it, MS wandered over there carpetbagging "Free" software. I garuntee that within the week, there'll be an MS rep on the Dark Continent preaching the joys of their software. Let the countdown begin.
...I Can Rip It.
Haven't they gotten the idea yet? The only 100% sure-fire way to prevent music piracy is to prevent music. And that, my friends, is not happening. Any eight year old kid with a little patience isn't going to care that you can't copy a CD the most direct way if it's copy-protected. With the slightest bit of initiative and desire, anyone who wants to will find a way to copy it to their format of choice.
I believe this falls under "deceptive marketing/advertising." Spam is in essence advertisements and marketing. Hiding the acceptance checkbox from the user is decieving them into subscribing to such advertising. I'm not really up to date on the laws, but last time I checked, deceptive marketing tactics were illegal, not to mention open to a lawsuit...
Opening a little bit of source code up isn't really enough to be able to compete with Linux. One of the biggest problems facing Micro$oft, should Linux catch on in the mainstream, is it's price. Go to any Wal-Mart or Electronics Boutique, anywhere where they sell Windows XP and any Linux Distro side by side (or at least on the same rack/stand). Windows XP Home Edition, ~$150. Mandrake Linux, ~$30. Now, to the money concious computer user, which do you think they'll choose?
The fact of the matter is that M$ could turn a hefty profit even if they sold Windows for $50. They just want to take the consumer for whatever they can, adding to their already insanely high cash surplus (which stands at around $40 billion). That's just not right. And even if they did start selling Windows el cheap-o, they still have to deal with the fact that Linux Distros are available to broadband users (or 56K users with alot of patience) on the net for free. Yeah, sure, you don't get the manual, but that same information is available online from any number of sources.
Opening a little bit of source is a nice gesture by M$, but that's about all it amounts to. With foreign governments, universities, and even single users discovering and going with the Open Source solution, they need to do a heck of alot more to even begin thinking about the possibility of maybe, just maybe, competing with the Open Source community.
...then it's an illegal act, period. Unless the Berman Bill is retroactive to a date prior to this supposed worm launch, it occoured before the bill is ever passed, and is illegal no matter what.
This supposed worm disables functions of a computer. Therefore, it is malicious, as is anything that modifies system performance without the user's knowledge and consent.
If this is true (95% infection rate? Doubt it), then we have one heck of a piece of ammo to use against the RIAA, if indeed they contracted this worm. The Price Fixing settlement, in that case, is just the beginning.
They can do it for jets, but not for regular automobiles? Oh, wait, I'm sorry. Things like BioDiesel would hurt Dubya and his Oil pumping buddies down in Texas. And who wants to bet that that fuel will only be available to the Militry right off the bat? I highly doubt a squadron of F117-A's are punching that nasty hole in the ozone...
Well, Jeri Ryan is a little too classy to be on Slashpr0n. She'd eitehr be on OSPN (Open Source Pr0n Network) or Pr0nforge.
Sorry about the Kate Mulgrew thing. Guessing you're not the MILF type. Neither am I. Just heard her name on TNNs running of VIP earlier today, and it kinda stuck in my head.
Just think: SLASHPR0N! All the porn that geeks want, all the time. For a nominal monthly fee, /. readers can get their grubby little mits on the latest geek erotica from the likes of Marina Sirtis, Kate Mulgrew, Sarah Michelle Gellar and any other "geek chic chicks" that nerds fancy from Sci-Fi and Fantasy shows/movies/etc.
And ladies, don't think I forgot you! There will be a whole section devoted to "Cowboy Perversions" featuring CowboyNeal, CmdrTaco's "I'm married now, I don't get laid anymore, so I need porn to keep me happy" weekly rants, and the "Hardcore Nerd Beach Weekend" starring all of your favorite Slashdot authors, live in streaming RealMedia from the newest hit pr0n site on the web, http://slashpr0n.org(asm)...
...what does this mean for we, the regular users of Linux? Will this affect individual users, or just businesses? Will this affect strictly SCO Linux users, or all of us? Too many questions, and not enough answers.
If SCO does decide to enforce any patent claims they may have and apply them directly to Linux, I say we blackball the hell out of them.
In 1995, M$ didn't really think of Linux as much of a threat, and more or less ignored it. In recent years, though, Linux has gotten some attention from a broader range of folks, and now M$ is a little more interested in it.
...
It's attacked the GNU/GPL as being "viral" (it is, and it's a good virus), we've seen the Halloween Documents: they're in a small state of panic OSs like Linux are catching on.
And I'm willing to bet that they're worried about Mac OS-X too. From what I hear of it, it's quite the operating system, and people are happy with it. Macs are slowly catching on, as well. And since they're based on an open source OS, it intergrates with the others a little easier.
Maybe they should have paid a little more attention to it and not wait