Well, I'm actually Austrian and it's true that anti-Nazi laws here sometimes border on the ridiculous. See, this Hitler guy was Austrian and it seems most people don't want something like this to happen again. In Germany there is actually a National Socialist Party, something which would be illegal in Austria. I agree that laws against blasphemy are rediculous, and they are occasionally enforced in countries like Greece.
But just try to appear unpatriotic in the U.S. (e.g. refuse to recite the Pledge of Allegiance or advocate overthrowing your government, no big deal here) and there's a good chance you'll be labelled an Evil Terrorist (tm). If not legally then socially. That's "forbidden ideas" right there. They even made unconstitutional laws for that. That kind of blind "patriotism" (Support our Troops!) is unheard of around here. So is imprisoning people in metal cages for years without trial.
To me, everyday life in Europe feels "more free" than in the U.S. In the U.S. you have curfew zones (really!), no eating on many buses, absurd drinking ages, no drinking alcohol in parks, fines for being in certain areas (parks) after dark. Now these are things many people don't even think could exist in a democracy. On the other hand an American might feel restricted because he can't buy guns as easily.
And since you mention it, there's hardcore porn on broadcast TV and nudity in commercials is very common here...:-)
Sorry for the long rant. I guess all I'm saying is it's different here, not necessarily better or worse. The idea that somehow the U.S. is the shining beacon of democracy and free speech is something that's pretty much laughed at in the rest of the world.
"The U.S. has an embarrassing history when it comes to obcenity laws, but we do have stronger protection for political speech than most (if not all) of Europe."
Right, sometimes you even have "Free Speech Zones".
Well, you quoted this: "... infringement requires a similar product".
I have yet to see a window made by Microsoft or an operating system made by Vista Windows, so no, I don't think there's any confusion.
Sounds like all those websites that tell me to download a widespread browser and the 'standard' Flash plugin when I disable Flash.
Or the great 'Spread Firefox' campaign code (that even many big sites seemed to use for a short time) that tells me that my (up-to-date) Opera browser is insecure and that I should download Firefox.
A great recipe for losing customers.
Bottom line is: you can't trust those user agent strings. That's not what they were invented for and you shouldn't abuse them.
We know. It's been discussed a couple of times here. It even was a/. story.
Also, it's not an ordinary dovetail jig tool. It's a dovetail jig designed to make dovetail jigs, and it's pretty cheap for what it is. Still, these EULAs are just wrong.
Well, that outlined apple you mention is actually a transparent part of the display cover so it's brightly lit when the display is turned on. Also the iBook is one of the very few white laptops. So there's a lot of product branding. You can see the apple from hundreds of meters away.
Still, the 12" iBook is a great deal at the price when compared to other 12" notebooks. And you definitely want to buy another 512 MB or so of RAM; not from Apple because they charge you twice the market price.
And you can always paint the cover if it's a bit too shiny for you -- there are plenty of instructions for that out there.
When I was in Los Angeles I just thought that people like driving a lot (actually that's mostly waiting in traffic). I was pretty shocked about the state of the subway and light rail system there.
In other words, that problem's been solved in many other places. It's just that (good) public transport doesn't seem to be a very high priority in LA and Orange Counties (and indeed most of the US...).
And yes, busses often suck. But in metropolitan areas with good and well-thought-out public transport they are really just a last resort to get to very, very remote places.
Yes, indeed they (it's plural, ignorant American) do. Only American sources try to redefine the word 'parliament.' Everywhere else that's what the legislative body is called.
Realtek cards do have their place. I always buy 8139s for home networks; they are fine for 10/100 Mbit/s environments. In my experience they break as often as 3com cards but are only EUR 5 a piece.
"Also, you'd be amazed at the number of compromised terminals at universities and colleges, too. Better warn your kids before they go off to college not to do any financial transactions, etc."
I would tell my kids to avoid universities where you can write in another user's home directory. At my university we have hundreds of terminals but everything is mounted over a network. I'd imagine most institutions do the same.
That would imply that bitching about the governement is unpatriotic.
No, not at all. That's the official US government and FNC definition. And that's why I put "patriotism" in quotes. I meant the popular, "As seen on TV" version that's so prevalent in the US.
There's a wonderful quote I always hear around here: Patriotism is the ability to be ashamed of your country.
Now, that's just not true (well, depends on who you've met). That's what Americans believe. In many, many European countries this kind of blind "patriotism" doesn't exist. We don't have a zillion flags in front of car dealerships (opinions about that here range from silly to idiotic).
Believe it or not, there are countries where most people constantly bitch about their government (and indeed their country).
Seriously, before I went to the US I didn't believe people who told me how much worse CNN USA is compared to CNN International. I thought, "CNN is CNN, they wouldn't make such a bad product on purpose if they can do better, would they?"
Well, I was wrong. Not that CNN International is great, but it's so much better than the American version.
Why was this modded down? There are many examples of OSS innovating, but Firefox isn't one of them. Opera had most of Firefox's advertised features first.
EXACTLY!! I live in the US, I mean how the hell am I supposed to watch Dr. Who? Wait 5 or 6 years for the DVD box set to come out here?
I agree with the bit about the Daily Show (I love it and I live in Europe, so downloading is the only option) but the complete first season of Dr. Who will be out on DVD this year. I don't know about North American release dates but I suppose you could always order from the UK if you don't mind R1 disks.
"be aware there are some webpages that'll scream if find you're blocking the referer"
And that's why Opera is so great. Pretty much all settings/menu items can be a button/checkbox on a toolbar. Normally I browse with referer disabled but if I need it for a site it's one click away.
Slashdot Mirror
Well, I'm actually Austrian and it's true that anti-Nazi laws here sometimes border on the ridiculous. See, this Hitler guy was Austrian and it seems most people don't want something like this to happen again. In Germany there is actually a National Socialist Party, something which would be illegal in Austria.
:-)
I agree that laws against blasphemy are rediculous, and they are occasionally enforced in countries like Greece.
But just try to appear unpatriotic in the U.S. (e.g. refuse to recite the Pledge of Allegiance or advocate overthrowing your government, no big deal here) and there's a good chance you'll be labelled an Evil Terrorist (tm). If not legally then socially. That's "forbidden ideas" right there. They even made unconstitutional laws for that. That kind of blind "patriotism" (Support our Troops!) is unheard of around here. So is imprisoning people in metal cages for years without trial.
To me, everyday life in Europe feels "more free" than in the U.S. In the U.S. you have curfew zones (really!), no eating on many buses, absurd drinking ages, no drinking alcohol in parks, fines for being in certain areas (parks) after dark. Now these are things many people don't even think could exist in a democracy. On the other hand an American might feel restricted because he can't buy guns as easily.
And since you mention it, there's hardcore porn on broadcast TV and nudity in commercials is very common here...
Sorry for the long rant. I guess all I'm saying is it's different here, not necessarily better or worse. The idea that somehow the U.S. is the shining beacon of democracy and free speech is something that's pretty much laughed at in the rest of the world.
"The U.S. has an embarrassing history when it comes to obcenity laws, but we do have stronger protection for political speech than most (if not all) of Europe." Right, sometimes you even have "Free Speech Zones".
Well, you quoted this: "... infringement requires a similar product". I have yet to see a window made by Microsoft or an operating system made by Vista Windows, so no, I don't think there's any confusion.
Why's that? Does Vista Windows sell operating systems?
Sounds like all those websites that tell me to download a widespread browser and the 'standard' Flash plugin when I disable Flash.
Or the great 'Spread Firefox' campaign code (that even many big sites seemed to use for a short time) that tells me that my (up-to-date) Opera browser is insecure and that I should download Firefox.
A great recipe for losing customers.
Bottom line is: you can't trust those user agent strings. That's not what they were invented for and you shouldn't abuse them.
All that in 19 minutes.
We know. It's been discussed a couple of times here. It even was a /. story.
Also, it's not an ordinary dovetail jig tool. It's a dovetail jig designed to make dovetail jigs, and it's pretty cheap for what it is. Still, these EULAs are just wrong.
Well, that outlined apple you mention is actually a transparent part of the display cover so it's brightly lit when the display is turned on. Also the iBook is one of the very few white laptops. So there's a lot of product branding. You can see the apple from hundreds of meters away.
Still, the 12" iBook is a great deal at the price when compared to other 12" notebooks. And you definitely want to buy another 512 MB or so of RAM; not from Apple because they charge you twice the market price.
And you can always paint the cover if it's a bit too shiny for you -- there are plenty of instructions for that out there.
When I was in Los Angeles I just thought that people like driving a lot (actually that's mostly waiting in traffic). I was pretty shocked about the state of the subway and light rail system there.
In other words, that problem's been solved in many other places. It's just that (good) public transport doesn't seem to be a very high priority in LA and Orange Counties (and indeed most of the US...).
And yes, busses often suck. But in metropolitan areas with good and well-thought-out public transport they are really just a last resort to get to very, very remote places.
Yes, indeed they (it's plural, ignorant American) do. Only American sources try to redefine the word 'parliament.' Everywhere else that's what the legislative body is called.
And your constitution is ignored by your parliament. Is that better?
If you can, watch CNN International. Much better, actual news and no Crossfire. And you get to hear funny accents.
Realtek cards do have their place. I always buy 8139s for home networks; they are fine for 10/100 Mbit/s environments. In my experience they break as often as 3com cards but are only EUR 5 a piece.
Here you go. That's the article about it in our local paper. It's where I read about it first.
"Also, you'd be amazed at the number of compromised terminals at universities and colleges, too. Better warn your kids before they go off to college not to do any financial transactions, etc."
I would tell my kids to avoid universities where you can write in another user's home directory. At my university we have hundreds of terminals but everything is mounted over a network. I'd imagine most institutions do the same.
The average slashdotter should check the Human Rights Watch reports.
Now that's a great idea if I've ever seen one: U.S.That would imply that bitching about the governement is unpatriotic.
No, not at all. That's the official US government and FNC definition. And that's why I put "patriotism" in quotes. I meant the popular, "As seen on TV" version that's so prevalent in the US.
There's a wonderful quote I always hear around here: Patriotism is the ability to be ashamed of your country.
Now, that's just not true (well, depends on who you've met).
That's what Americans believe. In many, many European countries this kind of blind "patriotism" doesn't exist. We don't have a zillion flags in front of car dealerships (opinions about that here range from silly to idiotic).
Believe it or not, there are countries where most people constantly bitch about their government (and indeed their country).
You know that presidents and kings are mostly ceremonial figureheads in Europe and don't have much in the way of real power, right?
And I challenge you to find a European country where it's de facto impossible for a third party to have seats in a national parliament.
You must live in the US.
Seriously, before I went to the US I didn't believe people who told me how much worse CNN USA is compared to CNN International. I thought, "CNN is CNN, they wouldn't make such a bad product on purpose if they can do better, would they?"
Well, I was wrong. Not that CNN International is great, but it's so much better than the American version.
Why was this modded down? There are many examples of OSS innovating, but Firefox isn't one of them. Opera had most of Firefox's advertised features first.
"The names Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau roughly translate to Ogre, Monk and Young Woman (Or Virgin)."
Jungfrau means virgin (or virgo) and nothing else (at least today). "Young woman" would be "junge Frau."
oops... that's supposed to say R2
EXACTLY!! I live in the US, I mean how the hell am I supposed to watch Dr. Who? Wait 5 or 6 years for the DVD box set to come out here?
I agree with the bit about the Daily Show (I love it and I live in Europe, so downloading is the only option) but the complete first season of Dr. Who will be out on DVD this year. I don't know about North American release dates but I suppose you could always order from the UK if you don't mind R1 disks.
"be aware there are some webpages that'll scream if find you're blocking the referer"
And that's why Opera is so great. Pretty much all settings/menu items can be a button/checkbox on a toolbar. Normally I browse with referer disabled but if I need it for a site it's one click away.