Absolutely. NEVER overlook cheap shit. THe vast majority of my non-opensource software was purchased out of a discount bin for between $.50 and $10, all top-quality. It was also the only stuff I could run for awhile, till my main box got a serious upgrade. I mean, ten bucks for Carmageddon 2, with Carmageddon 1 included free.
Although, i bet a Sim of several multi-processing systems working together to mimic human balance would require. . .
Wait for it. . .
A Beowulf cluster of Segways.
Speaking of transportation. . .
is exactly the kind of thinking that got us irrevocably hooked on petroleum and perpetuated the Vietnam War, et. al. If this settlement goes through, the kids will win in the short run, but any chance OSS/GNU/Linux has in the classroom is jeoparized. Check out the Linux TermServ Project at http://www.riverdale.k12.or.us/linux/k12ltsp.html (i think) and see what creative, beneficial projects would be threatened. . .
Limb
This was my very first language. At the tender age of 8 I was coding Text based adventure games and eventually graduating to 4 count them 4 color graphics, a blue/white/black/orange extravaganza of sci-fi geekdom.
Also, it was a M1cr05of+ product. I've since grown distrustful of any language that requires an interpreter to run, making me violate copyright law to distribute my own work in usable form. . .
Globalization, meaning for the sake of argument the removal of boundaries(political/social/economic/etc), could be a wonderful thing if used to promote the general welfare and enfranchisement of all people in a worldwide democratic state with localized subdistricts, a macrocosm of many western nations, for example. This would reduce pollution, allow for increased access to and distribution of vital food and most importanly drugs i.e. AIDS treatments.
If, on the other hand, this process is used by a small plurality of large international corporate entities for the circumvention of local laws in order to maximize profit, (==NAFTA in practice, not in principle) then the above effects would be/will be/ are being exactly reversed, hence the massive worldwide protests (http://www.indymedia.org).
I hope that globalization, now basically inevitable due to technological advance, will be used for good, and not merely to line the pockets and coffers of the elite. If this occurs, the globalized world will suffer the fate of the Roman empire: revolution, dissolution, decline, and absorbtion by surrounding cultures. Not that this would be a bad thing, but it would be far less bloody to just globalize in a humanist fashion rather than a corporate one.
First of all, J.K. Rowling is a woman.
On a more relevant note, the Harry Potter series is a fascinating epic with many threads and topics that keep adults enthralled, myself included. My wife read the first one, and recommended it to me, and I thought, 'oh, ok, i'll succumb to the hype this once' but it was amazing, and the other three only get better. There are also parallels with Star Wars. Young boy of unusual ability lives with aunt and uncle from infancy due to parents' mysterious deaths at the hands of an unknown evil. These facts are revealed suddenly and the boy's world is changed forever, as he learns to tap his powers and fight evil, while gathering friends. A New Hope, or The Sorcerer's Stone? Both, actually.
Succumbs to the slashdot effect. I got far enough to find something interesting and it crapped out.
I mean, defecated externally. 'Crap' is double ungood. . .
According to http://orlandosentinel.com/business/tourism/orl-as ecdisney23a102301oct23.story?coll=orl%2Dhome%2Dhea dlines
Disney is cutting hours and employees. Could a failing theme-park market be making Disney nervous and more likely to clutch it's media holdings like a straw in rapids?
I have to wonder why this article was written.
Linux desktop distribution numbers are difficult if no impossible to tabulate accurately, as recent events at The Linux Counter have shown. So, the fact that the majority of PC's aren't shipping with Linux is not really relevant. I buy a laptop from Gateway, I get Windows XP, if throw it in a drawer and install RedHat, and approximately 2 people are aware of this, if you count my wife.
Linux currently provides all the functionality I need, and is only getting better. I still use NT and 98 on 2 machines, but these are not my primary machines.
The point is, due to the nature of the beast, a statement the Linux is about to lose or has lost is not one that can be backed up without a massive statistical display of dubious authenticity.
Simply FUD?
JIC someone cares what I think, I sent this to RedHat and 'Fritz':
As an IT professional and a US citizen, I find the proposed SSSCA appalling.
I consider it unwise to attempt such an Act, and this is for three main reasons.
The first is that I believe the any requirement as to the content of any communication is in violation of the First Amendment. Censorship is a hotly debated issue, and is usually left to private corporations to decide for themselves, and I feel that it is right that they should do so. Corporations (i.e. Disney, Fox, TW/AOL) have the right to edit the content they provide, and I have the right not to edit the content I provide.
While censorship is not the issue at stake in the SSSCA, there is a valid parallel here. Mandating that copyright law be technologically embedded in all electronic media to protect Intellectual Property is invasive. Open Source software, by its very definition, would not be possible under such a law. I would be prevented from making my personal thoughts freely distributable electronically without implementing this technology, meaning that if I intend for others to copy and distribute my data without my direct involvement, I will be in violation of the law. Even the forwarding of email would be affected. I feel that this invasion of privacy is unconstitutional.
The second reason I object to the SSSCA is that it is impractical. The cost of embedding every electronic device and piece of software with copyright-enforcing technology would be prohibitive to all but the most affluent companies. The SSSCA would also presumably make copy-protection technology mandatory on devices like dishwasher, ranges, microwaves, and automobiles. While not typically targets for piracy, these are electronic devices which could conceivably be reverse-engineered and copied as a means of reducing competitor?s R&D costs. This is currently not only illegal but difficult, and thus the added cost of technology to prevent it is absurd in and of itself.
My third primary objection to the proposed SSSCA is that it is too wide in scope and unnecessary in light of existing copyright law. It is already illegal to copy those pieces of Intellectual Property that a copyright holder does not want copied, and yet it is legal to copy Intellectual Property that is meant to be copied, such as software under the Gnu Public License. The current law already criminalizes theft of Intellectual Property. The intent of the proposed SSSCA seems to be simply to inhibit that theft. The effects of this bill would be to not only restrict Intellectual Property theft (that is, until someone circumvents the copy-protection technology, which is only a matter of time), but to make legitimate usage of electronic media much more difficult and costly.
I mean, this is all wonderful, but when will they increase the maximum network length for Token Ring lobes so I can run a direct line across town to my friend's house for 16Mbit interactive gaming heaven?;)P
Slashdot Mirror
Absolutely. NEVER overlook cheap shit. THe vast majority of my non-opensource software was purchased out of a discount bin for between $.50 and $10, all top-quality. It was also the only stuff I could run for awhile, till my main box got a serious upgrade. I mean, ten bucks for Carmageddon 2, with Carmageddon 1 included free.
Although, i bet a Sim of several multi-processing systems working together to mimic human balance would require. . . Wait for it. . . A Beowulf cluster of Segways. Speaking of transportation. . .
. Funding. Nice. First Pot helps with glaucoma, then beer is good for the environment. What's next, qualudes to beef up your firewall?
That Dreamcast Beowulf cluster is finally affordable!
is exactly the kind of thinking that got us irrevocably hooked on petroleum and perpetuated the Vietnam War, et. al. If this settlement goes through, the kids will win in the short run, but any chance OSS/GNU/Linux has in the classroom is jeoparized. Check out the Linux TermServ Project at http://www.riverdale.k12.or.us/linux/k12ltsp.html (i think) and see what creative, beneficial projects would be threatened. . . Limb
This was my very first language. At the tender age of 8 I was coding Text based adventure games and eventually graduating to 4 count them 4 color graphics, a blue/white/black/orange extravaganza of sci-fi geekdom. Also, it was a M1cr05of+ product. I've since grown distrustful of any language that requires an interpreter to run, making me violate copyright law to distribute my own work in usable form. . .
. . .How much would a Beowulf cluster of these weigh, and would it still be portable AND ahve the 6 hour battery life? ;)P
this is exactly the issue.
Globalization, meaning for the sake of argument the removal of boundaries(political/social/economic/etc), could be a wonderful thing if used to promote the general welfare and enfranchisement of all people in a worldwide democratic state with localized subdistricts, a macrocosm of many western nations, for example. This would reduce pollution, allow for increased access to and distribution of vital food and most importanly drugs i.e. AIDS treatments.
If, on the other hand, this process is used by a small plurality of large international corporate entities for the circumvention of local laws in order to maximize profit, (==NAFTA in practice, not in principle) then the above effects would be/will be/ are being exactly reversed, hence the massive worldwide protests (http://www.indymedia.org).
I hope that globalization, now basically inevitable due to technological advance, will be used for good, and not merely to line the pockets and coffers of the elite. If this occurs, the globalized world will suffer the fate of the Roman empire: revolution, dissolution, decline, and absorbtion by surrounding cultures. Not that this would be a bad thing, but it would be far less bloody to just globalize in a humanist fashion rather than a corporate one.
Limburgher
First of all, J.K. Rowling is a woman. On a more relevant note, the Harry Potter series is a fascinating epic with many threads and topics that keep adults enthralled, myself included. My wife read the first one, and recommended it to me, and I thought, 'oh, ok, i'll succumb to the hype this once' but it was amazing, and the other three only get better. There are also parallels with Star Wars. Young boy of unusual ability lives with aunt and uncle from infancy due to parents' mysterious deaths at the hands of an unknown evil. These facts are revealed suddenly and the boy's world is changed forever, as he learns to tap his powers and fight evil, while gathering friends. A New Hope, or The Sorcerer's Stone? Both, actually.
Succumbs to the slashdot effect. I got far enough to find something interesting and it crapped out. I mean, defecated externally. 'Crap' is double ungood. . .
for calling a spade a spade. They refer to XP as a "piece of work". "Bill of goods" might also be appropriate. . .
According to http://orlandosentinel.com/business/tourism/orl-as ecdisney23a102301oct23.story?coll=orl%2Dhome%2Dhea dlines
Disney is cutting hours and employees. Could a failing theme-park market be making Disney nervous and more likely to clutch it's media holdings like a straw in rapids?
I have to wonder why this article was written. Linux desktop distribution numbers are difficult if no impossible to tabulate accurately, as recent events at The Linux Counter have shown. So, the fact that the majority of PC's aren't shipping with Linux is not really relevant. I buy a laptop from Gateway, I get Windows XP, if throw it in a drawer and install RedHat, and approximately 2 people are aware of this, if you count my wife. Linux currently provides all the functionality I need, and is only getting better. I still use NT and 98 on 2 machines, but these are not my primary machines. The point is, due to the nature of the beast, a statement the Linux is about to lose or has lost is not one that can be backed up without a massive statistical display of dubious authenticity. Simply FUD?
JIC someone cares what I think, I sent this to RedHat and 'Fritz':
As an IT professional and a US citizen, I find the proposed SSSCA appalling.
I consider it unwise to attempt such an Act, and this is for three main reasons.
The first is that I believe the any requirement as to the content of any communication is in violation of the First Amendment. Censorship is a hotly debated issue, and is usually left to private corporations to decide for themselves, and I feel that it is right that they should do so. Corporations (i.e. Disney, Fox, TW/AOL) have the right to edit the content they provide, and I have the right not to edit the content I provide.
While censorship is not the issue at stake in the SSSCA, there is a valid parallel here. Mandating that copyright law be technologically embedded in all electronic media to protect Intellectual Property is invasive. Open Source software, by its very definition, would not be possible under such a law. I would be prevented from making my personal thoughts freely distributable electronically without implementing this technology, meaning that if I intend for others to copy and distribute my data without my direct involvement, I will be in violation of the law. Even the forwarding of email would be affected. I feel that this invasion of privacy is unconstitutional.
The second reason I object to the SSSCA is that it is impractical. The cost of embedding every electronic device and piece of software with copyright-enforcing technology would be prohibitive to all but the most affluent companies. The SSSCA would also presumably make copy-protection technology mandatory on devices like dishwasher, ranges, microwaves, and automobiles. While not typically targets for piracy, these are electronic devices which could conceivably be reverse-engineered and copied as a means of reducing competitor?s R&D costs. This is currently not only illegal but difficult, and thus the added cost of technology to prevent it is absurd in and of itself.
My third primary objection to the proposed SSSCA is that it is too wide in scope and unnecessary in light of existing copyright law. It is already illegal to copy those pieces of Intellectual Property that a copyright holder does not want copied, and yet it is legal to copy Intellectual Property that is meant to be copied, such as software under the Gnu Public License. The current law already criminalizes theft of Intellectual Property. The intent of the proposed SSSCA seems to be simply to inhibit that theft. The effects of this bill would be to not only restrict Intellectual Property theft (that is, until someone circumvents the copy-protection technology, which is only a matter of time), but to make legitimate usage of electronic media much more difficult and costly.
This bill must not become law.
Jonathan Ciesla
I mean, this is all wonderful, but when will they increase the maximum network length for Token Ring lobes so I can run a direct line across town to my friend's house for 16Mbit interactive gaming heaven? ;)P