And maybe they could use this information to track more than piracy. For example, they could use it to gather data on what listeners like to hear, and keep their customers updated on other products that are sure to appeal to them. They could even do it automatically, via e-mail of some kind of machine generated snail-mail. Think of it, no more being annoyed by ads that don't apply to you. Let some corporation do the grunt work of tracking your habits and maintaining a database of your activities. Why, eventually, this method could become so advanced that companies would send you products and deduct your accounts without you ever having to hassle with shopping or making any decisions at all!
Man, what a wonderful world that would be. Of course, you can bet that a bunch of criminals who are bent on hiding their nefarious activities will object. What kind of country is this where criminals and paranoid cranks are allowed to stand in the way of progress?
The whole point of this law is to take that choice away from consumers by criminalizing the act of creating or using alternatives. You won't be able to choose to run Linux/BSD/etc unless they comply to the draconian standards created by this law. The only way you will able to say "No!", with your pocketbook or otherwise, is to not use a computer or any other digintal technology.
Um, okay. Here is the most common approach proffered in these parts:
Walk into the meeting and shout "Micro$oft sucks, Open Source rules!" (I'm not sure how to pronounce the "$", but go with your gut.) If he disagrees, ostracize him from the conversation.
The key is to be as self-righteous and condescending as possible. This will show everyone listening that you are in charge.
. ..to bad rubbish. Loacal news is completely useless. Based on my experience living in different areas and travelling, it seems to me that local news does a uniform disservice to the local population. Rather than focuising local attention on local issues of importance, it serves to divide and conquer the collective attention span of viewers. The greatest threats to the Republic are not occuring on the local level, and certainly have nothing to do with the inane human interest pap that characterizes local news coverage.
Didn't you hear? We need more commerce to strengthen our economy. The least you could do is pay attention to the urgent commercial updates that are painstakenly assembled for you by patriotic marketing operations. What, with all the human effort and natural resources devoted to these campaigns, the least you could do is read them. Would it absolutely kill you to buy something you don't need or want once in a while?
1. Perhaps being afraid of the command line and having more control options than point-click, point-click, point-click... please restart computer causes certain individuals to defend all familiar territory. It's understandable, it's human nature, FEAR FOR THE UNKNOWN and frustration towards the UNOBTAINABLE.
Your talking about the UNIX folks here, right? But you got it backwards! UNIX is limited to the command line, while MS products have the command prompt, ALT-s-r (Run) and a GUI. Good point though, those *NIX folks are insufferably jealous.
What a bold stand! Offering to live off someone elses dime rather than sacrifice your precious (and preposterously petty) principles. You're a real inspiration.
Sorry, I've just been incredibly disheartened by the amount of time people on this planet spend trying to sell each other worthless crap lately.
Unfortunately, as we relegate constructive employment to machines and computers, all that is left for us mortals is to do just that, build useless crap and try to convince each other to buy it.
imagine how much healthier the city of Seattle would be if all the parents stuck in the car for 3 hours a day the the SR 520 bridge were home with their children instead...
This is a prime example. People assume that children are one more thing is best left to the care of machines (tv, computers). What are parents today doing that is so much more rewarding than raising healthy children? I really wonder...
Furthermore, you are wrong about making life easier and more efficient. As they say "The Devil makes work for idle hands." (Or something to that effect.) People don't need easier lives, they need lives with purpose. What we need to focus on is creating a society where people are engaged and gainfully employed, not where they can sit around all day vegetating (which is what they would do).
Now, spell check this post and have it on my desk by tomorrow morning.
Slashdot Mirror
Its pining for the fjords!
My PC is not an Advertising Medium.
Yeah. It's more like a fashion statement.
Not to pick nits, but it would have been much clearer if this had read odometer instead of speedometer.
Totally. I had no idea what the story was about.
how could it be sooner than now?
Very funny, but I'll bite. Anything that has already happened, happened sooner than now.
Eventually the web will be so filled with bad grammar that the next generation will have no idea how to string a simple sentence together.
Three words: Distributed Grammar Checking
Funny, I though half a clue was all you were left with after encoding it to ogg.
Or
Everyone with half a clue has switched. It's the people with a whole clue who haven't.
And maybe they could use this information to track more than piracy. For example, they could use it to gather data on what listeners like to hear, and keep their customers updated on other products that are sure to appeal to them. They could even do it automatically, via e-mail of some kind of machine generated snail-mail. Think of it, no more being annoyed by ads that don't apply to you. Let some corporation do the grunt work of tracking your habits and maintaining a database of your activities. Why, eventually, this method could become so advanced that companies would send you products and deduct your accounts without you ever having to hassle with shopping or making any decisions at all!
Man, what a wonderful world that would be. Of course, you can bet that a bunch of criminals who are bent on hiding their nefarious activities will object. What kind of country is this where criminals and paranoid cranks are allowed to stand in the way of progress?
The whole point of this law is to take that choice away from consumers by criminalizing the act of creating or using alternatives. You won't be able to choose to run Linux/BSD/etc unless they comply to the draconian standards created by this law. The only way you will able to say "No!", with your pocketbook or otherwise, is to not use a computer or any other digintal technology.
Um, okay. Here is the most common approach proffered in these parts:
Walk into the meeting and shout "Micro$oft sucks, Open Source rules!" (I'm not sure how to pronounce the "$", but go with your gut.) If he disagrees, ostracize him from the conversation.
The key is to be as self-righteous and condescending as possible. This will show everyone listening that you are in charge.
. . .to bad rubbish. Loacal news is completely useless. Based on my experience living in different areas and travelling, it seems to me that local news does a uniform disservice to the local population. Rather than focuising local attention on local issues of importance, it serves to divide and conquer the collective attention span of viewers. The greatest threats to the Republic are not occuring on the local level, and certainly have nothing to do with the inane human interest pap that characterizes local news coverage.
I don't know if there is an official name for the syndrome, but those afflicted by it are commonly know as "Suckers."
Who in his right mind would moderate that up???
.umm. . .thanks anyway for sharing.
So your comment was intended to be neither funny nor informative nor interesting nor insightful? Well. .
How about a 'karma whoring, completely pointless and offtopic Microsoft bashing Slashdot post' detector.
It could be called. . .
When will companies learn, that forcing advertising/spam onto customers does not help you get more customers.
Maybe when your statement is true? Just a guess on my part.
If spam wasn't profitable, it would dissappear.
Didn't you hear? We need more commerce to strengthen our economy. The least you could do is pay attention to the urgent commercial updates that are painstakenly assembled for you by patriotic marketing operations. What, with all the human effort and natural resources devoted to these campaigns, the least you could do is read them. Would it absolutely kill you to buy something you don't need or want once in a while?
1. Perhaps being afraid of the command line and having more control options than point-click, point-click, point-click... please restart computer causes certain individuals to defend all familiar territory. It's understandable, it's human nature, FEAR FOR THE UNKNOWN and frustration towards the UNOBTAINABLE.
Your talking about the UNIX folks here, right? But you got it backwards! UNIX is limited to the command line, while MS products have the command prompt, ALT-s-r (Run) and a GUI. Good point though, those *NIX folks are insufferably jealous.
What a bold stand! Offering to live off someone elses dime rather than sacrifice your precious (and preposterously petty) principles. You're a real inspiration.
Off-topic, but...
...nonetheless Informative=1
Just evidence of my weak grasp of cyrillic.
Wrong to, if you actually know how to decrypt it, I could torture you during weeks so you give me the "private key".
Strictly speaking, that wouldn't be breaking the encryption.
It's not that expensive to subscribe. I completely forgot that Salon even had ads.
At 8 cents per day, are you really saving money by printing articles.
Good plan. After all, just about everyone is (shudder) l33t enough to comb through source code.
Right. Because the FBI will never be able to root a Linux box.
Sorry, I've just been incredibly disheartened by the amount of time people on this planet spend trying to sell each other worthless crap lately.
Unfortunately, as we relegate constructive employment to machines and computers, all that is left for us mortals is to do just that, build useless crap and try to convince each other to buy it.
imagine how much healthier the city of Seattle would be if all the parents stuck in the car for 3 hours a day the the SR 520 bridge were home with their children instead...
This is a prime example. People assume that children are one more thing is best left to the care of machines (tv, computers). What are parents today doing that is so much more rewarding than raising healthy children? I really wonder...
Dude, I was kidding.
Furthermore, you are wrong about making life easier and more efficient. As they say "The Devil makes work for idle hands." (Or something to that effect.) People don't need easier lives, they need lives with purpose. What we need to focus on is creating a society where people are engaged and gainfully employed, not where they can sit around all day vegetating (which is what they would do).
Now, spell check this post and have it on my desk by tomorrow morning.
Uniting and
Strengtheing
American
Corporate
Hegemony
Utilizing
Misguided
Protection
Schemes.