Who does all this? Are they professional programmers with spare time? Bored college students? High school students?
More appropriately, do/did they work at said company? I'd think that alot of the cracks that come out are so complex, and have such a detailed knowledge of how and where in the code the protection is, that they must be former/current employees looking to make a quick buck on the side...
Take a look at P.Diddy (or whatever the hell he calls himself), he's sold millions upon millions of CDs, and yet he was dropped by his label for spending more money than he was making. Lavish demands... I agree the RIAA is evil, but these artists aren't that much less evil themselves... Especially the POP/RAP superstars... they are insane when it comes to their spending habits...
it is rather unfortunate that the RIAA's product is less talented than it's lawyers:|
It is unfortunate, but a quality product is not what makes money in this day and age, it's having lawyers that can twist the crap out of your product to make it look good, and make everything else look evil (aka Microsoft), and marketing crap well (again, Microsoft)... All the RIAA needs to learn to do is market their crap WELL, and we're all doomed!
I don't know what it does, so I'll claim it's a napster clone...
It can be used to cut into our profits, stop it...
With this logic, PC's should be banned, as they can copy music, MSN and AOL should be shut down, since they provide access to the internet, which has illegal copies of music, and hell, XM radio should be shutdown as well, since it is hackable and can have music ripped off of it...
BLAH! Put the RIAA out of their missery, and MINE!
ISPs are putting bandwidth caps on accounts because they see it as a source of revenue. Plain and simple. The crap about how 5% of the users use 95% of the bandwidth is really starting to piss me off... they advertised always on, unlimited bandwidth when I signed up, and now they have enough customers used to the speed, so they essentially upped the price (just like soup companies reduced the size of their cans of soup, but kept the price the same, if you want more, buy a larger can...) if you want more bandwidth, upgrade your package, or better yet, pay $7.95 a GB/Month over our generous 3 GB/month...
Isn't there a law against doing this sorta crap? They said always on, unlimited bandwidth... now they're charging through the nose, claiming crappy stats on usage, and blaiming it on p2p networks... I can't even download my legitimate MSDN ISO images without going over my monthly bandwidth limit, let alone actually doing anything else on the net...
GSM is analog switched technology... GPRS is packet based. Lets see... which one do we want? Since GSM never really took off in the US, why not work on getting GPRS standard accepted in the US (and north america for that matter)... why pus for GSM, which, as many others have pointed out is not as secure, has poor bandwidth usage, considering CDMA as a competitor, and suffers from insane 'big brother' cell tower syndrom (or whatever you wanna call it when the phone is constantly telling the tower where it is, and what it's doing).
They're thrown together, spend half their time making it look pretty, and the rest of the time (after it's sold) releasing patches that are just as buggy as the original, if not more so...
When will they release something like this for Microsoft? If a picture is worth a thousand words, then perhaps microsoft can release a movie detailing their kernel layout???
The US market will not accept this. It is great for us geeks, but the average Joe off the street won't buy it. If they did, then thinkgeek would be rolling in the money, and microsoft's PVR/webtv crap would be selling.
Just because it has linux as it's OS doesn't mean it will do well, especially in the US, where there isn't a market for it.
Plenty of products by microsoft have failed miserably. Bob, for instance. WinMe for another. At best, they get resurrected in another form. Bob becomes Clippy.
And Clippy was such a success... It failed as well, why else would MS have created a websited devoted to it's retirement --- err demise...
Pay me $500 a year, and I'll vouch for ya! Sure, I'm a nobody now... but wait till everyone pays me $500... I'll have a great website, and ads during the superbowl... how can you lose?
Apple the next microsoft.... Oh, yeah, here's some great technology, but if you don't use it with our hardware, and our software, well then we'll get nasty on your ass... Oh and by the way, you also void your warranty...
What next? Nvidia sues end users over moving their video cards from their AMD to their Intel systems? WTF???
HMM... as if script kiddies don't have it easy enough, lets put a link to a 'crash' script on the front page of slashdot... Do the editors on slashdot ever think before they post links?
I remember hearing about a similar trial in Germany (Netherlands maybe???), that was pulled because it generated RF interferance as the data travelled down the powerlines... something about the lines being unsheilded... Anyone remember what I'm blabbing about???
No, seriously, I can't figure out how to operate those stupid touchscreen gas pumps to get a receipt... how the hell am I supposed to vote with this technology?
I've only used Linux via the GUI for a few months (ya, ya I know...)... but why is there KDE and Gnome? Why are the two not one. The only differences I see between the two are skins, very minor UI functionality, and some utils that are unique to either or. But why can't KDE and Gnome be merged, and allow the end user to customize everything the way they want? And use the utilities they want. I like KDE's appearence, but I hate it's 'feel' when actually doing tasks.
What is so fundamentally different between Gnome and KDE that doesn't allow them to be merged into one project? IMHO that's all that is required to finally get a solid Desktop presence for linux.
Slashdot Mirror
If it weren't for Charles Simonyi, I wouldn't be proud to be Hungarian at parties...
:P
Wait... I never actually get invited to parties... damn... day dreaming again...
Who does all this? Are they professional programmers with spare time? Bored college students? High school students?
More appropriately, do/did they work at said company? I'd think that alot of the cracks that come out are so complex, and have such a detailed knowledge of how and where in the code the protection is, that they must be former/current employees looking to make a quick buck on the side...
Take a look at P.Diddy (or whatever the hell he calls himself), he's sold millions upon millions of CDs, and yet he was dropped by his label for spending more money than he was making. Lavish demands... I agree the RIAA is evil, but these artists aren't that much less evil themselves... Especially the POP/RAP superstars... they are insane when it comes to their spending habits...
it is rather unfortunate that the RIAA's product is less talented than it's lawyers :|
It is unfortunate, but a quality product is not what makes money in this day and age, it's having lawyers that can twist the crap out of your product to make it look good, and make everything else look evil (aka Microsoft), and marketing crap well (again, Microsoft)... All the RIAA needs to learn to do is market their crap WELL, and we're all doomed!
I don't know what it does, so I'll claim it's a napster clone...
It can be used to cut into our profits, stop it...
With this logic, PC's should be banned, as they can copy music, MSN and AOL should be shut down, since they provide access to the internet, which has illegal copies of music, and hell, XM radio should be shutdown as well, since it is hackable and can have music ripped off of it...
BLAH! Put the RIAA out of their missery, and MINE!
ISPs are putting bandwidth caps on accounts because they see it as a source of revenue. Plain and simple. The crap about how 5% of the users use 95% of the bandwidth is really starting to piss me off... they advertised always on, unlimited bandwidth when I signed up, and now they have enough customers used to the speed, so they essentially upped the price (just like soup companies reduced the size of their cans of soup, but kept the price the same, if you want more, buy a larger can...) if you want more bandwidth, upgrade your package, or better yet, pay $7.95 a GB/Month over our generous 3 GB/month...
:P
Isn't there a law against doing this sorta crap? They said always on, unlimited bandwidth... now they're charging through the nose, claiming crappy stats on usage, and blaiming it on p2p networks... I can't even download my legitimate MSDN ISO images without going over my monthly bandwidth limit, let alone actually doing anything else on the net...
End rant...
Trust the English Not... with their Tea Tax and what not...
GPRS anyone?
GSM is analog switched technology... GPRS is packet based. Lets see... which one do we want? Since GSM never really took off in the US, why not work on getting GPRS standard accepted in the US (and north america for that matter)... why pus for GSM, which, as many others have pointed out is not as secure, has poor bandwidth usage, considering CDMA as a competitor, and suffers from insane 'big brother' cell tower syndrom (or whatever you wanna call it when the phone is constantly telling the tower where it is, and what it's doing).
Microsoft products are not engineered period.
They're thrown together, spend half their time making it look pretty, and the rest of the time (after it's sold) releasing patches that are just as buggy as the original, if not more so...
When will they release something like this for Microsoft? If a picture is worth a thousand words, then perhaps microsoft can release a movie detailing their kernel layout???
Screw it, patent breathing...
quicker return, everyone can be sued immediately...
Everything geek?
So no women then? except for the kind you gotta pay for? That last expo I went to was costly...They should include a discount in the admission fee...
The US market will not accept this. It is great for us geeks, but the average Joe off the street won't buy it. If they did, then thinkgeek would be rolling in the money, and microsoft's PVR/webtv crap would be selling.
Just because it has linux as it's OS doesn't mean it will do well, especially in the US, where there isn't a market for it.
Plenty of products by microsoft have failed miserably. Bob, for instance. WinMe for another. At best, they get resurrected in another form. Bob becomes Clippy.
And Clippy was such a success... It failed as well, why else would MS have created a websited devoted to it's retirement --- err demise...
Pay me $500 a year, and I'll vouch for ya! Sure, I'm a nobody now... but wait till everyone pays me $500... I'll have a great website, and ads during the superbowl... how can you lose?
Paypal account to follow....
Apple the next microsoft.... Oh, yeah, here's some great technology, but if you don't use it with our hardware, and our software, well then we'll get nasty on your ass... Oh and by the way, you also void your warranty...
What next? Nvidia sues end users over moving their video cards from their AMD to their Intel systems? WTF???
former Linux naysayer-turned-disciple?
That's funny... How come I don't read about former Microsoft naysayer-turned-disciple??? Anyone???
WAP... a word that will soon be in the same category as other failed ideas that should have been shot down the instant AOL agreed to endorse it.
HMM... as if script kiddies don't have it easy enough, lets put a link to a 'crash' script on the front page of slashdot... Do the editors on slashdot ever think before they post links?
I remember hearing about a similar trial in Germany (Netherlands maybe???), that was pulled because it generated RF interferance as the data travelled down the powerlines... something about the lines being unsheilded... Anyone remember what I'm blabbing about???
Proprietary over opensource? Wha?
Nah... Just get a broadband connection.. :P
No, seriously, I can't figure out how to operate those stupid touchscreen gas pumps to get a receipt... how the hell am I supposed to vote with this technology?
And Where is the money for this lawsuit going to be coming from?
I've only used Linux via the GUI for a few months (ya, ya I know...)... but why is there KDE and Gnome? Why are the two not one. The only differences I see between the two are skins, very minor UI functionality, and some utils that are unique to either or. But why can't KDE and Gnome be merged, and allow the end user to customize everything the way they want? And use the utilities they want. I like KDE's appearence, but I hate it's 'feel' when actually doing tasks.
What is so fundamentally different between Gnome and KDE that doesn't allow them to be merged into one project? IMHO that's all that is required to finally get a solid Desktop presence for linux.