That is, if the prosecutors have logical interests. What if they are interested in using strategic lawsuits as a scare tactic, regardless of winning or not?
Do the math: You get involved in a lawsuit and win it, but in the process you lose an year of your life and $20-$100k.
It'a pretty big punishment for testing your (insert freedom of speech etc. here) rights.
The result is that many people will choose to not do things they would otherwise do not because of the law but because of the punishment.
Compare the costs: Stay low, be afraid, do not stend up for your rights = you feel like shit, pay $nothing. Do what's in your right but against [big_corporation]'s interests = 1 year, $20k, you feel like shit most of the time, then maybe a hero, maybe a criminal+jail.
Man, you got it. I wish more people will read this. Give your wife what she really needs, with love and respect, and you'll get the same (or you'll find out you married the wrong person).
Marriages comprising of spoiled, selfish and moody children (vs adults) rarely work out.
What SCO CEOs are really interested in is getting rich. They are doing very well so far.
Whether they'll win in court or not is irrelevant. Whether they'll collect on those Linux licenses is irrelevant. All that matters is the movement of the stock. This is a wag the dog situation. They have started a bullshit war and winning or losing it is not the point. The point is having the war and make it look as real as possible, for long enough.
This they are very successful at. I guess that's what they teach you in Management School.
What I want is them to be accountable for their actions as individuals, no more able to hide behind the "Corporation".
What I see is the history repeating: Very powerful people use power to create an environment where they are no longer accountable for their actions. Reminds me of "noble" families in the past - owning the land and the lives of others just because they are noble. Able to steal, rape and kill without consequences.
I own iGesturePad which replaces the pointing device (not the whole keyboard). I used it for a couple of weeks.
My experience:
.pros
- my hand is relaxed on the pad (took a while though)
- gestures are intuitive, easy to learn and give me a geeky satisfaction every time I use them (no more cut and paste using the keyboard!)
- smooth, intuitive
.cons
- tense hand in the beginning
- reacts to the smallest hand movements (I can rest my hand on the mous, less so on the pad as I might do something wrong by moving my hand even slightly)
- not as precise as my optical Intellimouse Explorer esp. in Photoshop where I need pixel precision.
- the Intellimouse Explorer driver gets crippled when the pad is connected and I can't use my doubleclick etc. shortcuts. (I use the pad and mouse interchangingly)
- no tactile feedback - "did I "release" that button gesture? Not sure..."
- my fingers get sweaty and the pad gets less smooth so my fingers get "stuck" which results in jerky movements.
If you are mostly coding/writing, it may be more usable for you than it was for me using photoshop.
Right now, the mouse is back on my desk and the pad is back in the box and soon on ebay.
Amendment VIII
--------------
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
I wonder if copying a movie is a crime deserving the offender being repeatedly being ass-raped? I bet some people would rather have their pinkie cut or something. So why not just cut a finger form everyone who thinks about pirating a movie? Pretty soon the offenders won't be able to type and this will very likely resolve the problem.
Seriously, if the [empowered] people were not so much into unproportinally cruel punishments, this amendment would not exist.
Did they base their research on NBA players? They say that study was based on "thousands" of subjects. Well if there were even a few pro basketball players in it, their income would be sufficient to raise the overall average.
Statistics are a great instrument of argument as they are so easy to manipulate.
On the other hand, if you are taller, more handsome, more ambicious, with a deeper voice etc. your chances to make more money *and* mate more *are* higher:)
How easy is it going to be to prove that a potential employer didn't do this?
Are we going to see artificial anti-discrimination laws which require employers to hire people from "the bottom of the gene pool"?
How long before security tech catches up and violent gene sequence owners start being "randomly" searched, watched, refused service?
I have been amazed by how fast technology moves ahead of consciusness and personal integrity (look at the last 70 years). I am telling you, these are exciting times and there'll be a lot to tell your grandchildren if we don't self destruct or enter a Matrix-like experience by the time. (Hmmm when I think about it, a Matrix-like technology would be the ideal post-apocaliptic shelter)
1. There are ways around this. Like http://anon.free.anonymizer.com/http://groups.yaho o.com (you need to use the paid service in order to log in through yahoo's secure connection)
or, maybe, participating in the group via email only.
2. Governments are about control and lack trust in individuals. (And rightly so, too many conflicting interests!) The Internet is based on trust and freedom of speech/expression. It is the conschiousness of mankind starting to manifest itself in material (well, electronic) form. Which is an evolutionary step towards a revolution in human relationships.
When you go to the hospital and the doctor asks you to undress, would you refuse?
How about your children/wife? Would you rather have them not have a checkup? What if they seem sick?
No guarantee that a doctor is not a pedofile. No guarantee that he is not going to fantasize about whatever images he retains in memory.
On the other hand, looking at 5000 translucent quite imperfect human bodies a day may be quite desensetizing. I'd rather worry for the mental comfort of screeners than for the passengers.
A job I definitely don't want.
Of course this is coming from a guy born in Europe, where topless sunbathing doesn't cause mass hysteria.
All you need is CGI (perl) support on your server -- it doesn't require a database and the site it generates is based on static pages (partially) updated every time the admin makes a change.
How is this different from signing your name on the dotted line of any other contract?
In their database these settings will appear as choices made by you. Choices which allow their company to make money by indulging your attention and time.
The question whether such an obvious immoral approach should be legal or not bothers me a lot as it shows that we rely on finite and imperfect laws to replace our natural moral values and protect us from people who have abandoned them.
And I do not speak of values based on culture or religion or education but the ones we carry on a deeper level, as a part of the human nature.
You can't have laws against every possible variation of cruelty, violence, selfishness. Even more, laws ARE cruel and violent.
The self regulatory mechanism of our society is failing. What do we do now?
The spot itself is available at http://www.adcouncil.org/campaigns/campaign_for_ fr eedom/
Click on Library (links on the right).
If security experts believe that a determined criminal's last resort for information would be the public library... too bad for all of us.
Our society is built on the trust that most of its members lead lives based on "acceptable" line of behavior. There is no way to enforce high security against determined individuals without changing the environment, at a high cost, both monetary and human rights wise. Such environments are prisons, banks, airports, etc.
The choice of a government to create conflicts and conditions which encourage the appearance of such "determined individuals" is a conscious decision to turn its citizens into hostages.
Unfortunately, I don't see a quick solution. Maybe treat others with respect and/or leave them alone? Even that might not be a solution as it might be exploited as a sign of fear. I am not a politician and do not understand the rules in the battle for power. What I see is that a structure which was invented to support the best interests of "all people" is changing its function to support other entities by _exploiting_ "all people".
This is the old question of doing business with Integrity. It looks like for many companies it is more efficient to spend marketing dollars on building a good image while maintaining business practices which would shame a used car salesman.
On the other hand, Google builds their entire model on integrity... - Indicated paid links - Ad words shown are based on user's interest - The main service, fast and accurate web search, remains #1 priority and revenue model is built as a helpful supplement to rather than an obstacle to meaningful results.
... and is currently the number one in the world of web search engines.
Meanwhile statistics show that users close pop up windows before they load, and almost never click on ad banners. For once, statistics are correct.
In a related news FBI has started methodical searches for unlicensed software and copyrighted media (vhs tapes of copied movies, audio tapes recorded from the radio, photocopied pages from your university textbooks).
They are also talking to your neighbours, colleagues and family about occasions when you have performed copyrighted material (have you sung "Happy Birthday?") or used trademarked phrases ("Drivers Wanted") without paying license fees and / or having written permission from the copywright holders.
Citizens which have done any of the above activity will be prosecuted to the furthest extend of the law, on the spot.
There's a PreCopy task force being formed which will be empowered to issue arrest warrants before the copyright crime takes place, based on profiling.
A couple of years ago designing web sites was a major pain -- IE and Navigator had different opinions about almost everything -- from HTML to Javascript (especially the Document Object Model) and Cascading Style Sheets (very, very broken Netscape).
Right now IE has over 90% penetration on the "market" and offers almost acceptable support for CSS and stylesheets (Remember, AOL uses various crippled versions of IE, too). Netscape prior to the Mozilla based code is out of the question. Opera has very little penetration.
What was a web designer to do? Write fast and easy code compatible with IE and maybe breaking for 5% of the users (less than 5% for some big, non-geeky sites) OR spending over 200% more time accomodating for alternate templates, scripts, etc.?
The light at the end of the tunnel comes with the now officially finished version of Mozilla which is less than a month old.
Some designers got sick of the agony of coding all workarounds and decided to go for standards (load alistapart.com in Netscape 4.5, load it in Mozilla -- see?) but big sites still go with the shit flow (IE).
The actions I personally am taking is coding with standards, and avoiding using features not supported by IE -- this way the layouts work in IE, Opera and Gecko based browsers, and is readable in Lynx.
g
Here are some links: http://Webstandards.org http://bluerobot.org http://alistapart.com
Slashdot Mirror
That is, if the prosecutors have logical interests. What if they are interested in using strategic lawsuits as a scare tactic, regardless of winning or not?
Do the math: You get involved in a lawsuit and win it, but in the process you lose an year of your life and $20-$100k.
It'a pretty big punishment for testing your (insert freedom of speech etc. here) rights.
The result is that many people will choose to not do things they would otherwise do not because of the law but because of the punishment.
Compare the costs:
Stay low, be afraid, do not stend up for your rights = you feel like shit, pay $nothing.
Do what's in your right but against [big_corporation]'s interests = 1 year, $20k, you feel like shit most of the time, then maybe a hero, maybe a criminal+jail.
You choose.
Man, you got it.
I wish more people will read this.
Give your wife what she really needs, with love and respect, and you'll get the same (or you'll find out you married the wrong person).
Marriages comprising of spoiled, selfish and moody children (vs adults) rarely work out.
He did not commit copyright infringement, his parents did!
What SCO CEOs are really interested in is getting rich. They are doing very well so far.
Whether they'll win in court or not is irrelevant. Whether they'll collect on those Linux licenses is irrelevant. All that matters is the movement of the stock. This is a wag the dog situation. They have started a bullshit war and winning or losing it is not the point. The point is having the war and make it look as real as possible, for long enough.
This they are very successful at. I guess that's what they teach you in Management School.
What I want is them to be accountable for their actions as individuals, no more able to hide behind the "Corporation".
What I see is the history repeating: Very powerful people use power to create an environment where they are no longer accountable for their actions. Reminds me of "noble" families in the past - owning the land and the lives of others just because they are noble. Able to steal, rape and kill without consequences.
My feeling is, King of England is back.
I am not amused.
Thank you. I'll plug it in for a couple more days before I make a final decision about selling it.
-- Andre
I own iGesturePad which replaces the pointing device (not the whole keyboard). I used it for a couple of weeks.
.pros
.cons
My experience:
- my hand is relaxed on the pad (took a while though) - gestures are intuitive, easy to learn and give me a geeky satisfaction every time I use them (no more cut and paste using the keyboard!) - smooth, intuitive
- tense hand in the beginning
- reacts to the smallest hand movements (I can rest my hand on the mous, less so on the pad as I might do something wrong by moving my hand even slightly)
- not as precise as my optical Intellimouse Explorer esp. in Photoshop where I need pixel precision.
- the Intellimouse Explorer driver gets crippled when the pad is connected and I can't use my doubleclick etc. shortcuts. (I use the pad and mouse interchangingly)
- no tactile feedback - "did I "release" that button gesture? Not sure..."
- my fingers get sweaty and the pad gets less smooth so my fingers get "stuck" which results in jerky movements.
If you are mostly coding/writing, it may be more usable for you than it was for me using photoshop.
Right now, the mouse is back on my desk and the pad is back in the box and soon on ebay.
Regards
-- Andre
Citibank provides disposable CC numbers for one time use only, or for use with only one merchant (i.e. subscription).
You log on to their web site with your account info and gener... Oh, wait...
You mean his name is really Ransom Love? Like, in "love for ransom"?
This is perfect. Beautiful!
Amendment VIII
--------------
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
I wonder if copying a movie is a crime deserving the offender being repeatedly being ass-raped? I bet some people would rather have their pinkie cut or something. So why not just cut a finger form everyone who thinks about pirating a movie? Pretty soon the offenders won't be able to type and this will very likely resolve the problem.
Seriously, if the [empowered] people were not so much into unproportinally cruel punishments, this amendment would not exist.
Did they base their research on NBA players?
:)
They say that study was based on "thousands" of subjects. Well if there were even a few pro basketball players in it, their income would be sufficient to raise the overall average.
Statistics are a great instrument of argument as they are so easy to manipulate.
On the other hand, if you are taller, more handsome, more ambicious, with a deeper voice etc. your chances to make more money *and* mate more *are* higher
Please mod parent up.
How easy is it going to be to prove that a potential employer didn't do this?
Are we going to see artificial anti-discrimination laws which require employers to hire people from "the bottom of the gene pool"?
How long before security tech catches up and violent gene sequence owners start being "randomly" searched, watched, refused service?
I have been amazed by how fast technology moves ahead of consciusness and personal integrity (look at the last 70 years). I am telling you, these are exciting times and there'll be a lot to tell your grandchildren if we don't self destruct or enter a Matrix-like experience by the time. (Hmmm when I think about it, a Matrix-like technology would be the ideal post-apocaliptic shelter)
Google toolbar bar takes care of pop ups in IE and manages form data.
Popfile is an excellent Bayesian spam filtering solution sitting between your (any) mail client and the POP3 server.
On the upside, the more India is cut off from the internet, the better my job security.
I disagree. The more India is cut off from the internet, the more productive your competitors in the codefarms (no slacking!)
1. There are ways around this. Like http://anon.free.anonymizer.com/http://groups.yaho o.com (you need to use the paid service in order to log in through yahoo's secure connection)
or, maybe, participating in the group via email only.
2. Governments are about control and lack trust in individuals. (And rightly so, too many conflicting interests!) The Internet is based on trust and freedom of speech/expression. It is the conschiousness of mankind starting to manifest itself in material (well, electronic) form. Which is an evolutionary step towards a revolution in human relationships.
When you go to the hospital and the doctor asks you to undress, would you refuse?
How about your children/wife? Would you rather have them not have a checkup? What if they seem sick?
No guarantee that a doctor is not a pedofile. No guarantee that he is not going to fantasize about whatever images he retains in memory.
On the other hand, looking at 5000 translucent quite imperfect human bodies a day may be quite desensetizing. I'd rather worry for the mental comfort of screeners than for the passengers.
A job I definitely don't want.
Of course this is coming from a guy born in Europe, where topless sunbathing doesn't cause mass hysteria.
MT does just that and is widely used by the blogging community.
There are many plugins available for it, too.
All you need is CGI (perl) support on your server -- it doesn't require a database and the site it generates is based on static pages (partially) updated every time the admin makes a change.
In version 1.3:
Edit > Preferences > Privacy&Security > Images: Do not load remote images in Mail & Newsgroup messages (check!)
also, in Preferences >Advanced > Scripts & Plug Ins: Enable Javascript for News & Newsgroups (uncheck!)
This, along with whitelisting sites with popup windows and Bayesian email filtering should make your life easier.
Cheers
-- Andre
How is this different from signing your name on the dotted line of any other contract?
In their database these settings will appear as choices made by you. Choices which allow their company to make money by indulging your attention and time.
The question whether such an obvious immoral approach should be legal or not bothers me a lot as it shows that we rely on finite and imperfect laws to replace our natural moral values and protect us from people who have abandoned them.
And I do not speak of values based on culture or religion or education but the ones we carry on a deeper level, as a part of the human nature.
You can't have laws against every possible variation of cruelty, violence, selfishness. Even more, laws ARE cruel and violent.
The self regulatory mechanism of our society is failing. What do we do now?
Don't worry about the MP3s. By that time we'll be living in a pay-per-view, pay-per-listen and pay-per-breath economy.
Cheers
The spot itself is available at_ fr eedom/
http://www.adcouncil.org/campaigns/campaign_for
Click on Library (links on the right).
If security experts believe that a determined criminal's last resort for information would be the public library... too bad for all of us.
Our society is built on the trust that most of its members lead lives based on "acceptable" line of behavior. There is no way to enforce high security against determined individuals without changing the environment, at a high cost, both monetary and human rights wise. Such environments are prisons, banks, airports, etc.
The choice of a government to create conflicts and conditions which encourage the appearance of such "determined individuals" is a conscious decision to turn its citizens into hostages.
Unfortunately, I don't see a quick solution.
Maybe treat others with respect and/or leave them alone? Even that might not be a solution as it might be exploited as a sign of fear. I am not a politician and do not understand the rules in the battle for power. What I see is that a structure which was invented to support the best interests of "all people" is changing its function to support other entities by _exploiting_ "all people".
Now what?
Something like
http://elance.com
or
http://guru.com
?
This is the old question of doing business with Integrity. It looks like for many companies it is more efficient to spend marketing dollars on building a good image while maintaining business practices which would shame a used car salesman.
... and is currently the number one in the world of web search engines.
On the other hand, Google builds their entire model on integrity...
- Indicated paid links
- Ad words shown are based on user's interest
- The main service, fast and accurate web search, remains #1 priority and revenue model is built as a helpful supplement to rather than an obstacle to meaningful results.
Meanwhile statistics show that users close pop up windows before they load, and almost never click on ad banners.
For once, statistics are correct.
In a related news FBI has started methodical searches for unlicensed software and copyrighted media (vhs tapes of copied movies, audio tapes recorded from the radio, photocopied pages from your university textbooks).
They are also talking to your neighbours, colleagues and family about occasions when you have performed copyrighted material (have you sung "Happy Birthday?") or used trademarked phrases ("Drivers Wanted") without paying license fees and / or having written permission from the copywright holders.
Citizens which have done any of the above activity will be prosecuted to the furthest extend of the law, on the spot.
There's a PreCopy task force being formed which will be empowered to issue arrest warrants before the copyright crime takes place, based on profiling.
Happiness, we are all in it!
A couple of years ago designing web sites was a major pain -- IE and Navigator had different opinions about almost everything -- from HTML to Javascript (especially the Document Object Model) and Cascading Style Sheets (very, very broken Netscape).
Right now IE has over 90% penetration on the "market" and offers almost acceptable support for CSS and stylesheets (Remember, AOL uses various crippled versions of IE, too). Netscape prior to the Mozilla based code is out of the question. Opera has very little penetration.
What was a web designer to do? Write fast and easy code compatible with IE and maybe breaking for 5% of the users (less than 5% for some big, non-geeky sites) OR spending over 200% more time accomodating for alternate templates, scripts, etc.?
The light at the end of the tunnel comes with the now officially finished version of Mozilla which is less than a month old.
Some designers got sick of the agony of coding all workarounds and decided to go for standards (load alistapart.com in Netscape 4.5, load it in Mozilla -- see?) but big sites still go with the shit flow (IE).
The actions I personally am taking is coding with standards, and avoiding using features not supported by IE -- this way the layouts work in IE, Opera and Gecko based browsers, and is readable in Lynx.
g Here are some links:
http://Webstandards.org
http://bluerobot.org
http://alistapart.com
The Chinese have released the 3rd episode of the Star Wars prequels, titled Dark Fist, Jedi Sword.
The critics are excited to see the first prequel not directed by Lucas and therefore having actors not trying to act like robots.