The thing to remember is that the reason SMS is so popular is because it's a fast, cheap and easy way of keeping in touch with loved ones. While people need love, people are going to use this type of communication; it is reprehensible that there should be a tax on this sort of thing.
This just shows that governments around the globe are all really after one thing - money. Usually it is at the cost of freedoms, but now it is at the cost of emotions. How low can we get?
This is especially easy to understand, presumably as it doesn't have to worry about the average user wanting text to look exactly as it did on his screen.
Same as before, some browsers should format the xml source nicely. If not, this source is neatly indented so 'View Source' and you'll still get it pretty-printed.
Oh, thanks to twistedemotions for sending me this stuff.
I've mirrored the actual xml file that has not been mutilated by slashcode policies.
Look here using a browser that will display the raw xml nicely formatted - IE works fine, supposedly Mozilla does too but I can't seem to get it to work; it parses the file and just displays the text.
Go on, send us a link and if it's nice and simple I'll stick up a mirror that can be posted. And yes, it did have an authentic feel about it, but then again a lot of people have too much time on their hands, so I was being cautious.
What? But he just talked about the DMCA, including an extract with some bits highlighted, and used it to explain how MS will be evil, and OSS will be hindered.
How could you possibly disagree with such slashdot wisdom?
I don't know whether you're using this code as an example for or against MS, but to me it looks perfectly reasonable at a glance. Remember that this is not a toy app, people want this to be able to represent exactly what is on screen, as well as the behind the scenes options.
By printing it as a monolithic block of text, of course it is illegible, however if you were to look at it through a pretty-printer I'm sure it'd look fine - and remember it's not supposed to be parsed by a human. I intended to save this and view it through IE to let it format it for me, however it is corrupt (possibly due to slashdot adding spaces, possibly due to the original code being invalid).
A link to where you got this from would be appreciated so I could check it out, and indeed check it's genuine. The reason I would be surprised if it is invalid was that the format was given the blessing by a beta-tester who sat on the panel who designed XML (I forget the details, it was on/. a while back)
Ironically, the only possible use I can see for that behavior would be DRM
That is because you are a fucking idiot blinded by anti-MS FUD (note how I use the term FUD correctly rather than as a general insult?)
How do we know what a file contains? Well, by its filename. Except if it's a Word doc, when we can get author, title and a few other stats by letting Windows peek inside. Then there's the example you gave yourself - images. We can display a thumbnail which can describe an image very accurately. So how do we get extra info on an MP3? Well, we could play it, or we could view the info in the ID3 tag.
Oh, wait a fucking minute, that's exactly where the vulnerability is. Now, do you see a more rational reason why Windows would automatically gather info from the MP3 upon mouseover? Good.
No. Did you read the blockquoted bit in the middle where Taco closes a perfectly polite bug report of this issue with the one-line answer that "it's not a bugl [sic]"?
If I'd thought he'd listen (i.e. he hadn't just ignored the bug report) then no, I wouldn't have written the rant.
PS. EnglishTim is a pretty groovy nick. Was it a real-life nickname owing to growing up as a Brit in America or something?
True. However, I was not trying to imply that Slashdot was actually violating the letter of the law. You'll notice that I only talk about Slashdot going against the principles of free and open source software.
In this case, an open source license must not be written to discriminate against groups of people. Slashdot is wilfully discriminating against people. Sure, technically they are doing nothing wrong, because slashdot obviously isn't an open source license. however, they are going against the spirit of freedom evidenced in clause 5. Perhaps I should make it clearer that clause 5 was only an example, and was not being used as a legal directive.
Thank you for your comments, their cogency was refreshing.
How Slashdot goes against open source philosophies
on
Still More RIAA News
·
· Score: -1, Offtopic
You may be unaware that Taco and Slashdot blatantly scoff in the face of some of the most sensible and just principles of the open source movement.
What, but I thought that Slashcode is GPLd?
Yes, this is true, however that is not what I am talking about. As an aside, it is worth mentioning that when having GPLd Slashcode, Taco is determined to get as much out of it as possible; rather than simply making the code available for all to use and modify for their own gains, Taco uses this solely to get free labour. Anyone who has submitted a valid bug report and received the Taco Response(tm) of "Well code up a patch and we'll include, else fuck off." will know what I mean here.
Well then, what do you mean?
As you may be aware, Slashdot recently included a set of fields that you can fill in with your instant messaging details.
Sounds neat - people can contact me in realtime! I still don't see the GNU tie-in...
Yes, doesn't it? However look again at the list:
AOL IM
ICQ UIN
Yahoo! ID
Jabber
See anything missing? Hint: it's a very popular messaging system. That's right, MSN Messenger is missing! For some people, such as me, this makes the feature entirely useless as I only use MSNIM. All my friends use MSNIM, so why should I install another client just to receive messages from Slashdot users?
Sounds like an oversight to me. The OSS doesn't ban oversights.
Oh, to be young and naive. Such a bug report was submitted by Super Trooper, a diligent Slashdot reader. The text of the bug and Taco's response are included:
Submitted By: Jon Anderson (s_trooper) Users Status: Closed Summary:
Missing MSN Messenger entry in user info Slashdot recently added fields for AOL, Jabber, Yahoo! and ICQ instant messenger screen names to the User Info preferences page. However, an entry for MSN Messenger is conspicuously missing. I can only assume this was an accidental oversight on the developers' part.
Yup, not a bug. This means one obvious thing - it was deliberate.
Cut to the chase. So Taco is a Microsoft hating fuckwit who probably phoned up the few friends he has to boast about how his omission of MSNIM will singlehandedly bring down Micro$$$oft. Will you please tell me how this means Taco goes against the spirit of the OSS movement?
OK, you win. For those of you who have looked at the definition of open source software will be interested to look at clause 5: The license must not discriminate against any person or group of persons.
Now, this is one of the single most sensible, rational parts of the open source and free software philosophies. Were this clause not there, it would be a slippery slope to begin by excluding oppressive regimes, then maybe unethical companies, then maybe companies who make lots of money already...
Hmm. I see what you're getting at.
Yes, exactly. The point is, the overarching principles of free software sensibly include everyone. This makes perfect sense, and guarantees true freedom of software. By deliberately and arguably even actively not supporting MSNIM, Taco has demonstrated that he cares more about childish ya-boo-sucks posturing than he does about the freedom of software; the freedom of choice. I have no choice; Taco has effectively said that I must use a different messaging system if I want to use this software's feature. Taco has removed my freedom of choice.
I think it is fair to say that RMS, despite his hatred of proprietary protocols, would find this abhorrent; one of the biggest sites in support of open source / free software is deliberately restricting the freedom of its users.
Well what can we do about it?
Sadly, nothing. Taco is a stubborn little child. He will get pleasure every day 'knowing' that his actions have caused serious damage to a multinational multi-billion dollar turnover company.
Thank's for taking the moral high ground, Mr Malda.
How Slashdot goes against open source philosophies
on
Linux for Home Electronics
·
· Score: -1, Offtopic
You may be unaware that Taco and Slashdot blatantly scoff in the face of some of the most sensible and just principles of the open source movement.
What, but I thought that Slashcode is GPLd?
Yes, this is true, however that is not what I am talking about. As an aside, it is worth mentioning that when having GPLd Slashcode, Taco is determined to get as much out of it as possible; rather than simply making the code available for all to use and modify for their own gains, Taco uses this solely to get free labour. Anyone who has submitted a valid bug report and received the Taco Response(tm) of "Well code up a patch and we'll include, else fuck off." will know what I mean here.
Well then, what do you mean?
As you may be aware, Slashdot recently included a set of fields that you can fill in with your instant messaging details.
Sounds neat - people can contact me in realtime! I still don't see the GNU tie-in...
Yes, doesn't it? However look again at the list:
AOL IM
ICQ UIN
Yahoo! ID
Jabber
See anything missing? Hint: it's a very popular messaging system. That's right, MSN Messenger is missing! For some people, such as me, this makes the feature entirely useless as I only use MSNIM. All my friends use MSNIM, so why should I install another client just to receive messages from Slashdot users?
Sounds like an oversight to me. The OSS doesn't ban oversights.
Oh, to be young and naive. Such a bug report was submitted by Super Trooper, a diligent Slashdot reader. The text of the bug and Taco's response are included:
Submitted By: Jon Anderson (s_trooper) Users Status: Closed Summary:
Missing MSN Messenger entry in user info Slashdot recently added fields for AOL, Jabber, Yahoo! and ICQ instant messenger screen names to the User Info preferences page. However, an entry for MSN Messenger is conspicuously missing. I can only assume this was an accidental oversight on the developers' part.
Yup, not a bug. This means one obvious thing - it was deliberate.
Cut to the chase. So Taco is a Microsoft hating fuckwit who probably phoned up the few friends he has to boast about how his omission of MSNIM will singlehandedly bring down Micro$$$oft. Will you please tell me how this means Taco goes against the spirit of the OSS movement?
OK, you win. For those of you who have looked at the definition of open source software will be interested to look at clause 5: The license must not discriminate against any person or group of persons.
Now, this is one of the single most sensible, rational parts of the open source and free software philosophies. Were this clause not there, it would be a slippery slope to begin by excluding oppressive regimes, then maybe unethical companies, then maybe companies who make lots of money already...
Hmm. I see what you're getting at.
Yes, exactly. The point is, the overarching principles of free software sensibly include everyone. This makes perfect sense, and guarantees true freedom of software. By deliberately and arguably even actively not supporting MSNIM, Taco has demonstrated that he cares more about childish ya-boo-sucks posturing than he does about the freedom of software; the freedom of choice. I have no choice; Taco has effectively said that I must use a different messaging system if I want to use this software's feature. Taco has removed my freedom of choice.
I think it is fair to say that RMS, despite his hatred of proprietary protocols, would find this abhorrent; one of the biggest sites in support of open source / free software is deliberately restricting the freedom of its users.
Well what can we do about it?
Sadly, nothing. Taco is a stubborn little child. He will get pleasure every day 'knowing' that his actions have caused serious damage to a multinational multi-billion dollar turnover company.
Thank's for taking the moral high ground, Mr Malda.
Nonsense. Almost every hardware works right out of the box, missing Linux support has become the exception, not the rule.
Please read the line which you were responding to. Nothing to do with hardware, I was talking about software. As for the DSL example, it is hardly exotic hardware. 2 (more?) years ago the Alcatel SpeedTouch USB was the modem given out as standard for ADSL to home users. Oh, and before you blame Alcatel for not writing a good installer, let's consider that they did 'the right thing' by making a GPL driver. Oh, the absolutely lowest level core is distributed as a binary, but that isn't the problem. It is the open source, GPL driver that is lacking the configuration and installation features.
Oh, and I was surprisingly unable to use the GUI "Create Internet Connection" to set this up. In Windows All I did was install the driver and then set up a new Internet connection. The installation didn't set me up a connection, I did that myself using a handy wizard.
Well, if you're going to get stupid about it then fuck, Linux has been ready for years - after all, the kernel has been stable.
Drivers, X, apps...shit, they're all extra. GNU tools? Not Linux, so don't whinge about problems with them. The point is that these are all part of what the user sees. You can't say "Linux is ready for the desktop! Oh, sure there's loads of peripheral software and support missing making it unusable as an operating but it's not Linux's fault!"
Oh, and that script was for RH7.2 or greater. I'd like to see it written for all the other distros or user built systems...
There is no desktop-centric setting left that can't be configured with the mouse
Well, if you're going to strictly adhere to graphical widgets then sure. But explain to me the process (and I know I've used this example already) by which I'd graphically set up my Alcatel USB ADSL modem. Please. Because I had to hunt around on google to find straightforward instructions (that weren't pages of commands) and eventually found a script to do it for me. Great. And then it still didn't work - fortunately the script author pointed me in the right direction; I needed to symlink/etc/resolv.conf to/etc/ppp/resolv.conf.
Yup, a flagship for easily setting up a desktop system.
No, you don't use 2 way encryption, you use a one-way hash like an MD4 to securely store the CC number in a format that cannot be decrypted.
That way the CC number cannot be cracked even if the database is broken into, and ebay only needs to send the MD4 over to the banks for them to process. As I said, it's a perfectly common practice and well known to people who bother to learn about security rather than just guess at it.
If Ebay had actually cared about their customers' privacy they would have encrypted the CC numbers before they put them in the database. This would make it impossible to steal them.
This is a well known security procedure - does nobody read anymore?
Re:You're wrong
on
Smart Mobs
·
· Score: 2, Informative
Congratulations. You've illustrated that as nodes are added a network becomes more valuable. What I am criticising is the order of the function governing value.
I suggested maybe ln(n) or the sigmoidal function 1/(1+e**-n). Hell, your argument implies a linear relationship, which is still a far cry from exponential. Yeah, the more people on the telephone network the better. But, if some person only now gets a telephone, you are saying that the network for the rest of us will have an increase in value greater than ever seen before.
Nay, nay and thrice nay.
Information value
on
Smart Mobs
·
· Score: 5, Interesting
Reed's Law, which states that, for a network where members of the network can form groups within the network, the value of that network will grow exponentially....web logs are proof of this
This is shit. Utter shit. Not just the web log link, but the law - think about it. Imagine 1 person joining Slashdot. According to this law, he will make more difference to the value of the site than any person before him. This also applies to nodes in a network, clearly.
Anyone who isn't an idiot can see that rather than exponential, it is more accurately logarithmic, or at the very most sigmoidal. Anyone who disagrees with me, think about it. The claim is that the bigger a network is, the greater the impact of a single new node is. That's what an exponential function means.
Slashdot Mirror
This just shows that governments around the globe are all really after one thing - money. Usually it is at the cost of freedoms, but now it is at the cost of emotions. How low can we get?
This is especially easy to understand, presumably as it doesn't have to worry about the average user wanting text to look exactly as it did on his screen.
Same as before, some browsers should format the xml source nicely. If not, this source is neatly indented so 'View Source' and you'll still get it pretty-printed.
Oh, thanks to twistedemotions for sending me this stuff.
Look here using a browser that will display the raw xml nicely formatted - IE works fine, supposedly Mozilla does too but I can't seem to get it to work; it parses the file and just displays the text.
Shame this is all so hidden away in the story.
we drink methyl alcohol.
Go on, send us a link and if it's nice and simple I'll stick up a mirror that can be posted. And yes, it did have an authentic feel about it, but then again a lot of people have too much time on their hands, so I was being cautious.
How could you possibly disagree with such slashdot wisdom?
By printing it as a monolithic block of text, of course it is illegible, however if you were to look at it through a pretty-printer I'm sure it'd look fine - and remember it's not supposed to be parsed by a human. I intended to save this and view it through IE to let it format it for me, however it is corrupt (possibly due to slashdot adding spaces, possibly due to the original code being invalid).
A link to where you got this from would be appreciated so I could check it out, and indeed check it's genuine. The reason I would be surprised if it is invalid was that the format was given the blessing by a beta-tester who sat on the panel who designed XML (I forget the details, it was on /. a while back)
Get it on
You're riding in a
Robocoaster.
That is because you are a fucking idiot blinded by anti-MS FUD (note how I use the term FUD correctly rather than as a general insult?)
How do we know what a file contains? Well, by its filename. Except if it's a Word doc, when we can get author, title and a few other stats by letting Windows peek inside. Then there's the example you gave yourself - images. We can display a thumbnail which can describe an image very accurately. So how do we get extra info on an MP3? Well, we could play it, or we could view the info in the ID3 tag.
Oh, wait a fucking minute, that's exactly where the vulnerability is. Now, do you see a more rational reason why Windows would automatically gather info from the MP3 upon mouseover? Good.
I shall email the one known as Taco. Expect to be kept informed as to the results.
If I'd thought he'd listen (i.e. he hadn't just ignored the bug report) then no, I wouldn't have written the rant.
PS. EnglishTim is a pretty groovy nick. Was it a real-life nickname owing to growing up as a Brit in America or something?
In this case, an open source license must not be written to discriminate against groups of people. Slashdot is wilfully discriminating against people. Sure, technically they are doing nothing wrong, because slashdot obviously isn't an open source license. however, they are going against the spirit of freedom evidenced in clause 5. Perhaps I should make it clearer that clause 5 was only an example, and was not being used as a legal directive.
Thank you for your comments, their cogency was refreshing.
What, but I thought that Slashcode is GPLd?
Yes, this is true, however that is not what I am talking about. As an aside, it is worth mentioning that when having GPLd Slashcode, Taco is determined to get as much out of it as possible; rather than simply making the code available for all to use and modify for their own gains, Taco uses this solely to get free labour. Anyone who has submitted a valid bug report and received the Taco Response(tm) of "Well code up a patch and we'll include, else fuck off." will know what I mean here.
Well then, what do you mean?
As you may be aware, Slashdot recently included a set of fields that you can fill in with your instant messaging details.
Sounds neat - people can contact me in realtime! I still don't see the GNU tie-in...
Yes, doesn't it? However look again at the list:
- AOL IM
- ICQ UIN
- Yahoo! ID
- Jabber
See anything missing? Hint: it's a very popular messaging system. That's right, MSN Messenger is missing! For some people, such as me, this makes the feature entirely useless as I only use MSNIM. All my friends use MSNIM, so why should I install another client just to receive messages from Slashdot users?Sounds like an oversight to me. The OSS doesn't ban oversights.
Oh, to be young and naive. Such a bug report was submitted by Super Trooper, a diligent Slashdot reader. The text of the bug and Taco's response are included:
Yup, not a bug. This means one obvious thing - it was deliberate.
Cut to the chase. So Taco is a Microsoft hating fuckwit who probably phoned up the few friends he has to boast about how his omission of MSNIM will singlehandedly bring down Micro$$$oft. Will you please tell me how this means Taco goes against the spirit of the OSS movement?
OK, you win. For those of you who have looked at the definition of open source software will be interested to look at clause 5: The license must not discriminate against any person or group of persons.
Now, this is one of the single most sensible, rational parts of the open source and free software philosophies. Were this clause not there, it would be a slippery slope to begin by excluding oppressive regimes, then maybe unethical companies, then maybe companies who make lots of money already...
Hmm. I see what you're getting at.
Yes, exactly. The point is, the overarching principles of free software sensibly include everyone. This makes perfect sense, and guarantees true freedom of software. By deliberately and arguably even actively not supporting MSNIM, Taco has demonstrated that he cares more about childish ya-boo-sucks posturing than he does about the freedom of software; the freedom of choice. I have no choice; Taco has effectively said that I must use a different messaging system if I want to use this software's feature. Taco has removed my freedom of choice.
I think it is fair to say that RMS, despite his hatred of proprietary protocols, would find this abhorrent; one of the biggest sites in support of open source / free software is deliberately restricting the freedom of its users.
Well what can we do about it?
Sadly, nothing. Taco is a stubborn little child. He will get pleasure every day 'knowing' that his actions have caused serious damage to a multinational multi-billion dollar turnover company.
Thank's for taking the moral high ground, Mr Malda.
What, but I thought that Slashcode is GPLd?
Yes, this is true, however that is not what I am talking about. As an aside, it is worth mentioning that when having GPLd Slashcode, Taco is determined to get as much out of it as possible; rather than simply making the code available for all to use and modify for their own gains, Taco uses this solely to get free labour. Anyone who has submitted a valid bug report and received the Taco Response(tm) of "Well code up a patch and we'll include, else fuck off." will know what I mean here.
Well then, what do you mean?
As you may be aware, Slashdot recently included a set of fields that you can fill in with your instant messaging details.
Sounds neat - people can contact me in realtime! I still don't see the GNU tie-in...
Yes, doesn't it? However look again at the list:
- AOL IM
- ICQ UIN
- Yahoo! ID
- Jabber
See anything missing? Hint: it's a very popular messaging system. That's right, MSN Messenger is missing! For some people, such as me, this makes the feature entirely useless as I only use MSNIM. All my friends use MSNIM, so why should I install another client just to receive messages from Slashdot users?Sounds like an oversight to me. The OSS doesn't ban oversights.
Oh, to be young and naive. Such a bug report was submitted by Super Trooper, a diligent Slashdot reader. The text of the bug and Taco's response are included:
Yup, not a bug. This means one obvious thing - it was deliberate.
Cut to the chase. So Taco is a Microsoft hating fuckwit who probably phoned up the few friends he has to boast about how his omission of MSNIM will singlehandedly bring down Micro$$$oft. Will you please tell me how this means Taco goes against the spirit of the OSS movement?
OK, you win. For those of you who have looked at the definition of open source software will be interested to look at clause 5: The license must not discriminate against any person or group of persons.
Now, this is one of the single most sensible, rational parts of the open source and free software philosophies. Were this clause not there, it would be a slippery slope to begin by excluding oppressive regimes, then maybe unethical companies, then maybe companies who make lots of money already...
Hmm. I see what you're getting at.
Yes, exactly. The point is, the overarching principles of free software sensibly include everyone. This makes perfect sense, and guarantees true freedom of software. By deliberately and arguably even actively not supporting MSNIM, Taco has demonstrated that he cares more about childish ya-boo-sucks posturing than he does about the freedom of software; the freedom of choice. I have no choice; Taco has effectively said that I must use a different messaging system if I want to use this software's feature. Taco has removed my freedom of choice.
I think it is fair to say that RMS, despite his hatred of proprietary protocols, would find this abhorrent; one of the biggest sites in support of open source / free software is deliberately restricting the freedom of its users.
Well what can we do about it?
Sadly, nothing. Taco is a stubborn little child. He will get pleasure every day 'knowing' that his actions have caused serious damage to a multinational multi-billion dollar turnover company.
Thank's for taking the moral high ground, Mr Malda.
Has RedHat acquired ID software or something? I don't recall them maintaining a Q3 port for linux either...
Your fucking mouth, story deleting MF.
Please read the line which you were responding to. Nothing to do with hardware, I was talking about software. As for the DSL example, it is hardly exotic hardware. 2 (more?) years ago the Alcatel SpeedTouch USB was the modem given out as standard for ADSL to home users. Oh, and before you blame Alcatel for not writing a good installer, let's consider that they did 'the right thing' by making a GPL driver. Oh, the absolutely lowest level core is distributed as a binary, but that isn't the problem. It is the open source, GPL driver that is lacking the configuration and installation features.
Oh, and I was surprisingly unable to use the GUI "Create Internet Connection" to set this up. In Windows All I did was install the driver and then set up a new Internet connection. The installation didn't set me up a connection, I did that myself using a handy wizard.
Drivers, X, apps...shit, they're all extra. GNU tools? Not Linux, so don't whinge about problems with them. The point is that these are all part of what the user sees. You can't say "Linux is ready for the desktop! Oh, sure there's loads of peripheral software and support missing making it unusable as an operating but it's not Linux's fault!"
Oh, and that script was for RH7.2 or greater. I'd like to see it written for all the other distros or user built systems...
Well, if you're going to strictly adhere to graphical widgets then sure. But explain to me the process (and I know I've used this example already) by which I'd graphically set up my Alcatel USB ADSL modem. Please. Because I had to hunt around on google to find straightforward instructions (that weren't pages of commands) and eventually found a script to do it for me. Great. And then it still didn't work - fortunately the script author pointed me in the right direction; I needed to symlink /etc/resolv.conf to /etc/ppp/resolv.conf.
Yup, a flagship for easily setting up a desktop system.
Much better. One correction to your text that I would propose would be to use a lowercase 'v' in 'View'. Otherwise, a great improvement.
That way the CC number cannot be cracked even if the database is broken into, and ebay only needs to send the MD4 over to the banks for them to process. As I said, it's a perfectly common practice and well known to people who bother to learn about security rather than just guess at it.
This is a well known security procedure - does nobody read anymore?
I suggested maybe ln(n) or the sigmoidal function 1/(1+e**-n). Hell, your argument implies a linear relationship, which is still a far cry from exponential. Yeah, the more people on the telephone network the better. But, if some person only now gets a telephone, you are saying that the network for the rest of us will have an increase in value greater than ever seen before.
Nay, nay and thrice nay.
This is shit. Utter shit. Not just the web log link, but the law - think about it. Imagine 1 person joining Slashdot. According to this law, he will make more difference to the value of the site than any person before him. This also applies to nodes in a network, clearly.
Anyone who isn't an idiot can see that rather than exponential, it is more accurately logarithmic, or at the very most sigmoidal. Anyone who disagrees with me, think about it. The claim is that the bigger a network is, the greater the impact of a single new node is. That's what an exponential function means.
Dumb. Dumb, wrong and idiotic.