Re:Mixed Response on This One
on
Congress@Work
·
· Score: 1
I don't know... I mean, I see your point, but I don't take it as a right to privacy. I take it more as a right to security. There are so many things not addressed by the actual text of the amendment (although the same could be said for all of them). The right to not be subjected to police-state-type searches to me is fundamentally different than the right to not be identified by my credit card company when I make purchases. Just like the right to free speech, while applying to my right to stand on a soapbox and rant in a public park (assuming I've got the valid permits:), does NOT apply in it's entirety when I'm in my office working for my employer.
Re:Mixed Response on This One
on
Congress@Work
·
· Score: 1
The Supreme Court may have ruled that way, but what I said was the Constitution doesn't guarantee neither anonymity nor privacy. Many state constitutions make some provision for privacy, but there is no federal Constitutional guarantee.
Agreed, if the Supreme Court rules it's a right it's a bit of a moot point, but hey, we're on/., and technically it's not in the Constitution.
Re:Mixed Response on This One
on
Congress@Work
·
· Score: 2
The Constitution of the USA guarantees neither anonymity nor even privacy. You're free to say what you want, but you're more than likely going to be held accountable for it.
That's hilarious man... I'm from Boston and have been accused on two separate occasions of being from Britain while on vacation. Americans can even be oblivious when it comes to recognizing one of their own it seems.
"...it is likely (given the relative ease by which websites can be entered) that such users will choose to visit the sites, if only to satisfy their curiosity. Respondent will have accomplished his objective of diverting potential customers of Complainant to his websites by the use of domain names that are similar to Complainant's trademark."
I can accomplish the same thing by registering www.pinkelephants.com and sprinkling the HTML with the phrase "Lockheed Martin Sucks!". Search engines do not search only URL's. THey'd be pretty damn useless if that were the case.
For some insight into how truly bad some people are at constructing a search request, check out Disturbing Search Requests. It's updated constantly and is a consistent source of wonder and amusement.
I would think paying a tax on blank media that is then distributed to artists would, in many people's minds, justify even more piracy. After all, the artist is still getting compensated, regardless of whether I buy that CD or just copy it to a new CD-R...
I agree, there's the danger of frying equipment. But the conditioner part of the power conditioner will eliminate "noise" from the power supply. I happen to leave fairly close to a radio station, and knew I had interference occasionally on the telephone, but hadn't realized that I was actually getting some hissing through my speakers, which I can only assume was from the radio station. It was very subtle. I hadn't even noticed it until I installed the power conditioner. The "blank hum" you get when you first turn on your amp was completely gone. Pretty impressive difference for $200.
I recently upgraded all my interconnects to Monster Cables, and I'd have to agree. The only exception I've seen is in S-Video cables. My Sony 550 DVD player had been hooked up with the thin factory cable. When I hooked up the Monster S-Video cable, YOWZA! Sharper picture, but most noticeable was the fact that the colors were suddenly MUCH brighter (I'm using a projection TV, so I'll take any help I can get with color brightness). The sound cables, looking back on it, weren't worth the $40 a pop.
I agree, speakers are extremely important. Disagree on your specific brand, but hey, it's a subjective thing.
One thing very often overlooked is POWER CONDITIONING. No, not the $30 power strip you bought at Home Depot. A real power CONDITIONER. Monster makes a pretty widely-acclaimed one for $200. It makes a huge difference, especially if, like me, you live in an area where the power supply can be less-than-stable.
For the price range you're talking about, I'd check out Sony. Some of their higher-end receivers have some pretty nice features and sound great. The nice thing about Sony is they're heavily into the whole DSP thing, so their receivers come with 6 - 10 "idiot settings" whereby with a single button you can optimize the sound field for music, movies, etc. They usually work pretty well.
As far as speakers go, I'm from the old school. My setup is entirely Cambridge SoundWorks, but I absolutely detest the small satellite thingies that everyone is going nuts for now. I just think they sound like small, over-driven speakers. Using them with a subwoofer gives you great highs and lows, and no mids whatsoever. My setup is 6 Model 6's ($200 - $250 a pair), 2 model 17's ($100 - $150 a pair)for rear, a Center Stage center channel ($250 - $300), and a BassCube 12 ($350 - $450). The room I'm in is about 30' x 15'. It's absolutely unbeatable. I actually find the sound I get is often preferable that what I get at real movie theaters. If you do go for "larger" speakers, I'd recommend the highest-wattage amp you can afford. The power really helps improve clarity, even at lower volume levels.
Wouldn't it have been nicer to send out a message saying "Sorry to bother you, but we experienced some file system problems, and just wanted to make sure you wanted these preferences set to 'NO'. If you'd like to receive our messages please click HERE and change them to 'YES'". Actually changing the preferences seems like a big no-no.
To be quite honest (and it pains me greatly to say this being a C++ programmer) try Java. I've heard many people mess about with C++ and say they just didn't "get it". Then Java came along, and more than a few of those same people suddenly "got it". Having not used Java very much I can't say I know why, but I've seen it happen... let's see... I can remember 3 separate occasions.
How can you refer to something that's been going on for what, at least 10 or 12 years that I know of, as "Hype"? Britney Spears, there's hype for you. But OO? You'd consider the Web established, wouldn't you? Well OO is certainly older than the Web!
First Kansas decides that Darwin is a figment of our imaginations. Now this is Virginia. I could understand if they didn't want students surfing porn on lab computers (I might not agree with it, but I can understand it). But how can they expect their higher-education system to be taken seriously with such Draconian laws? I've definitely had classes (as I'm sure most people have) that would have been implacted by this nonsense.
The day this happens is a fine day indeed to stop watching TV. They're doing this to have more control, and to rape the consumer for more money, when all it will really accomplish is to drive people away from TV.
I loved how all the dialog strings for the game (since they were displayed, not spoken) were in a separate file. Load up a hex editor and modify to your heart's content! My personal favorite was changing one of the characters' "death line" to "I think I just shit my pants."
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Imagine if YOU had to update their defacement site every time an AC or "spork" posted to /.
Uhhh... that counts as "defacement", doesn't it?
we lost :)
I don't know... I mean, I see your point, but I don't take it as a right to privacy. I take it more as a right to security. There are so many things not addressed by the actual text of the amendment (although the same could be said for all of them). The right to not be subjected to police-state-type searches to me is fundamentally different than the right to not be identified by my credit card company when I make purchases. Just like the right to free speech, while applying to my right to stand on a soapbox and rant in a public park (assuming I've got the valid permits :), does NOT apply in it's entirety when I'm in my office working for my employer.
The Supreme Court may have ruled that way, but what I said was the Constitution doesn't guarantee neither anonymity nor privacy. Many state constitutions make some provision for privacy, but there is no federal Constitutional guarantee.
/., and technically it's not in the Constitution.
Agreed, if the Supreme Court rules it's a right it's a bit of a moot point, but hey, we're on
The Constitution of the USA guarantees neither anonymity nor even privacy. You're free to say what you want, but you're more than likely going to be held accountable for it.
It could tell you to press your lips against the building and suck like hell!
That's hilarious man... I'm from Boston and have been accused on two separate occasions of being from Britain while on vacation. Americans can even be oblivious when it comes to recognizing one of their own it seems.
"...it is likely (given the relative ease by which websites can be entered) that such users will choose to visit the sites, if only to satisfy their curiosity. Respondent will have accomplished his objective of diverting potential customers of Complainant to his websites by the use of domain names that are similar to Complainant's trademark."
I can accomplish the same thing by registering www.pinkelephants.com and sprinkling the HTML with the phrase "Lockheed Martin Sucks!". Search engines do not search only URL's. THey'd be pretty damn useless if that were the case.
For some insight into how truly bad some people are at constructing a search request, check out Disturbing Search Requests. It's updated constantly and is a consistent source of wonder and amusement.
When a telemarketer calls...
Me: What has a 1-inch dick and hangs down?
Marketriod: Wha?
Me: What has a 1-inch dick and hangs down?
Marketroid: Uh... I dunno.
Me: A vampire bat... get it?
Marketroid: Uh... sure.
Me: What has a 10-inch dick and hangs up?
Marketroid: Wha?
Me: What has a 10-inch dick and hangs up?
Marketroid: Uh... I dunno.
Me: (CLICK!)
Telemarketers are the BEST!
"Hi, I'm calling from (insert name of newspaper here)..."
"But... I can't read."
"Hi, I'm calling from (inser name of church here)..."
"But... I worship Satan"
"Hi, I'm calling from Microsoft..."
"(click!)"
I would think paying a tax on blank media that is then distributed to artists would, in many people's minds, justify even more piracy. After all, the artist is still getting compensated, regardless of whether I buy that CD or just copy it to a new CD-R...
I agree, there's the danger of frying equipment. But the conditioner part of the power conditioner will eliminate "noise" from the power supply. I happen to leave fairly close to a radio station, and knew I had interference occasionally on the telephone, but hadn't realized that I was actually getting some hissing through my speakers, which I can only assume was from the radio station. It was very subtle. I hadn't even noticed it until I installed the power conditioner. The "blank hum" you get when you first turn on your amp was completely gone. Pretty impressive difference for $200.
I recently upgraded all my interconnects to Monster Cables, and I'd have to agree. The only exception I've seen is in S-Video cables. My Sony 550 DVD player had been hooked up with the thin factory cable. When I hooked up the Monster S-Video cable, YOWZA! Sharper picture, but most noticeable was the fact that the colors were suddenly MUCH brighter (I'm using a projection TV, so I'll take any help I can get with color brightness). The sound cables, looking back on it, weren't worth the $40 a pop.
I agree, speakers are extremely important. Disagree on your specific brand, but hey, it's a subjective thing.
One thing very often overlooked is POWER CONDITIONING. No, not the $30 power strip you bought at Home Depot. A real power CONDITIONER. Monster makes a pretty widely-acclaimed one for $200. It makes a huge difference, especially if, like me, you live in an area where the power supply can be less-than-stable.
For the price range you're talking about, I'd check out Sony. Some of their higher-end receivers have some pretty nice features and sound great. The nice thing about Sony is they're heavily into the whole DSP thing, so their receivers come with 6 - 10 "idiot settings" whereby with a single button you can optimize the sound field for music, movies, etc. They usually work pretty well.
As far as speakers go, I'm from the old school. My setup is entirely Cambridge SoundWorks, but I absolutely detest the small satellite thingies that everyone is going nuts for now. I just think they sound like small, over-driven speakers. Using them with a subwoofer gives you great highs and lows, and no mids whatsoever. My setup is 6 Model 6's ($200 - $250 a pair), 2 model 17's ($100 - $150 a pair)for rear, a Center Stage center channel ($250 - $300), and a BassCube 12 ($350 - $450). The room I'm in is about 30' x 15'. It's absolutely unbeatable. I actually find the sound I get is often preferable that what I get at real movie theaters. If you do go for "larger" speakers, I'd recommend the highest-wattage amp you can afford. The power really helps improve clarity, even at lower volume levels.
All IMHO, of course...
Wouldn't it have been nicer to send out a message saying "Sorry to bother you, but we experienced some file system problems, and just wanted to make sure you wanted these preferences set to 'NO'. If you'd like to receive our messages please click HERE and change them to 'YES'". Actually changing the preferences seems like a big no-no.
To be quite honest (and it pains me greatly to say this being a C++ programmer) try Java. I've heard many people mess about with C++ and say they just didn't "get it". Then Java came along, and more than a few of those same people suddenly "got it". Having not used Java very much I can't say I know why, but I've seen it happen... let's see... I can remember 3 separate occasions.
How can you refer to something that's been going on for what, at least 10 or 12 years that I know of, as "Hype"? Britney Spears, there's hype for you. But OO? You'd consider the Web established, wouldn't you? Well OO is certainly older than the Web!
First Kansas decides that Darwin is a figment of our imaginations. Now this is Virginia. I could understand if they didn't want students surfing porn on lab computers (I might not agree with it, but I can understand it). But how can they expect their higher-education system to be taken seriously with such Draconian laws? I've definitely had classes (as I'm sure most people have) that would have been implacted by this nonsense.
This is step one towards SKYnet. Eventually it will become self-aware and kill us all. Or even worse, become self-aware filtering software.
The day this happens is a fine day indeed to stop watching TV. They're doing this to have more control, and to rape the consumer for more money, when all it will really accomplish is to drive people away from TV.
Any know how many qbits are they are up to in a single machine now?
Everytime I try to count them they no longer exist!
I loved how all the dialog strings for the game (since they were displayed, not spoken) were in a separate file. Load up a hex editor and modify to your heart's content! My personal favorite was changing one of the characters' "death line" to "I think I just shit my pants."
Isn't it telling that what most people consider to be the best of the SW franchise, "The Empire Strikes Back", wasn't directed by Lucas?