we need someone to do the work that most of us don't do. quit yer slashdot whining and write some free software already, everybody.
What I was objecting to is not the work being done, nor the dedication of the guy doing it. I think trying to promote Free Software as some sort of holy crusade is evidence that your priorities in life may be a bit out of whack. Important? Certainly. The central concept around which my life revolves? Perish the thought.
As for free software, I can barely write a free batch file. But if I could manage to come up with a useful one, it would be GPL. =)
We need people like Stallman because, regardless of whether or not one agrees with particular aspects of the FSF or its mission, no one would ever accuse Stallman of being a "political slug." He may not be spending his time attempting to persuade politicians but rather he has devoted decades of his lifetime to make a direct contribution to what Lessig calls "the commons" by working on GNU, helping to develop the GPL, and contributing to the FSF's efforts to defend the GPL.
I am far from arguing that what the guy has done is unnecessary or spurious. But a prophet? Methinks that some people are taking themselves and their ideology a tad too seriously. There is more to life than software. I'm of the wacky persuasion that someone who decides to put his (however influential) software on the back burner to spend time raising his kids actually has his priorities straight. Your mileage (and values) may vary, of course.
Don't bother--screenshots gone.
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Jaguar Reviewed
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· Score: 1
They're hosted on someone's Mac.com homepage, and the bandwidth limit has been exceeded. Too bad.
Definitely some /.ing going on...
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Jaguar Reviewed
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· Score: 1
I can get a new page every few reloads... Particularly amusing is the sidebar:
Who's Online
We have 764 guests and 0 members online
I suspect that's more than their usual traffic. =)
But why do we need a prophet?
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The Stallman Factor
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· Score: 4, Insightful
No matter how controversial, the community needs RMS. Where Linus has openly admitted Linux is not the most important part of his life, RMS remains the prophet while Linus settles down with family life.
Why do we need a prophet? Are the MS Heathens out there going to hell if we don't convert them? Get over yourself, people. I suspect Linus has the right idea. Go play frisbee, dammit. =)
I can understand that some people are one-issue voters, but over a freaking Mac? Couldn't you pick an issue that really mattered to the health and well-being of the American public more than what computer platform its legislators are using in their offices?
Computers are tools to help us do life. They are not life itself. Go play frisbee, dammit. =)
Interestingly enough, I received a letter from my representative in response to one of those charming form letters I had sent electronically re: SPISPOPD or whatever that acronym that scary-ass legislation has been changed to now.
What I noticed most was a) the quality of the paper his response was on, b) the completely mealy-mouthed wishy-washy nature of his response, and c) his request at the end to correspond via e-mail rather than postal mail. Only the latter surprised me.
Apparently, there have been significant delays in postal processing for legislators in light of the anthrax scare (damn that band). I know not whether this is actually the case, or whether he simply wants to keep the internet kooks from filling up his physical inbox.
That's silly. The problem does not constitute evidence that must be preserved. If the states have documented the issue properly, that should be all the evidence necessary.
If MS were defending themselves from a "Your software is crappy and insecure" suit, I don't think anyone would be arguing that they shouldn't be able to try to fix any bugs or holes until after the trial was over.
Besides, I suspect that testifying that the problem was resolved qualifies as an admission that a problem existed. No need to prove something that both parties agree to.
more than they got from napster or any of the current junk out there!
Were I a recording artist, I would rather see these services fail. Every inadequate business model--and 1/4 cent per song is decidedly inadequate--should fail.
I would rather see a dozen of these fail--to be replaced by one that works, balancing the needs of the consumers and the recording artists. [I can't honestly claim to care much about the needs of the RIAA.]
If this is successful, it will only lend legitimacy to a model which screws the consumers and the artists to support the old-style distribution interests. Such interests should adapt or die.
I had a roommate try that stuff for a week to see if it could help him concentrate on his biology homework. I never found out whether it worked; he was too busy trying to stop the nosebleeds to try to study.
The gist of the article, if you read it all, is that such rights have been upheld so far. It's currently waiting on the Colorado Supreme Court.
Even should it continue to be upheld there, that will not necessarily apply to the other states. Until the U.S. Supreme Court rules definitively on the matter, bookstores will get hit with this again and again.
Maybe they left it out because police powers are not given to the federal government, but to the states.
Even so, according to modern interpretation of the good ol' 14th Amendment, most of the Bill of Rights apply to the states as well:
Section 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
Or would, if anyone bothered to read or adhere to that document anymore.
People all over the Web routinely block and filter points of view they don't like or don't want to hear (or buy), so nobody online really ever has to encounter all that discordant diversity that digital technology makes possible. More disconnection.
They don't really care how much heavy breathing they generate in the media or among excitable teenagers and college students.
I'm sorry, but this is silly. Today's excitable teenagers and college students are tomorrow's consumers. I imagine many of the tech sector's high rollers were excitable teenagers once. If the conservative elements drove the market as much as is insinuated here, we'd still be using mechanical calculators--at best.
Slashdot Mirror
What I was objecting to is not the work being done, nor the dedication of the guy doing it. I think trying to promote Free Software as some sort of holy crusade is evidence that your priorities in life may be a bit out of whack. Important? Certainly. The central concept around which my life revolves? Perish the thought.
As for free software, I can barely write a free batch file. But if I could manage to come up with a useful one, it would be GPL. =)
I am far from arguing that what the guy has done is unnecessary or spurious. But a prophet? Methinks that some people are taking themselves and their ideology a tad too seriously. There is more to life than software. I'm of the wacky persuasion that someone who decides to put his (however influential) software on the back burner to spend time raising his kids actually has his priorities straight. Your mileage (and values) may vary, of course.
Why do we need a prophet? Are the MS Heathens out there going to hell if we don't convert them? Get over yourself, people. I suspect Linus has the right idea. Go play frisbee, dammit. =)
Computers are tools to help us do life. They are not life itself. Go play frisbee, dammit. =)
...could you tell it to my boss? =)
Interestingly enough, I received a letter from my representative in response to one of those charming form letters I had sent electronically re: SPISPOPD or whatever that acronym that scary-ass legislation has been changed to now.
What I noticed most was a) the quality of the paper his response was on, b) the completely mealy-mouthed wishy-washy nature of his response, and c) his request at the end to correspond via e-mail rather than postal mail. Only the latter surprised me.
Apparently, there have been significant delays in postal processing for legislators in light of the anthrax scare (damn that band). I know not whether this is actually the case, or whether he simply wants to keep the internet kooks from filling up his physical inbox.
Is it that freaking hard to click on the article?
That's silly. The problem does not constitute evidence that must be preserved. If the states have documented the issue properly, that should be all the evidence necessary.
If MS were defending themselves from a "Your software is crappy and insecure" suit, I don't think anyone would be arguing that they shouldn't be able to try to fix any bugs or holes until after the trial was over.
Besides, I suspect that testifying that the problem was resolved qualifies as an admission that a problem existed. No need to prove something that both parties agree to.
That wouldn't bother me overly much; I don't plan to need to use it. I'm more worried about not being able to leave the browser for anything.
Were I a recording artist, I would rather see these services fail. Every inadequate business model--and 1/4 cent per song is decidedly inadequate--should fail.
I would rather see a dozen of these fail--to be replaced by one that works, balancing the needs of the consumers and the recording artists. [I can't honestly claim to care much about the needs of the RIAA.]
If this is successful, it will only lend legitimacy to a model which screws the consumers and the artists to support the old-style distribution interests. Such interests should adapt or die.
I had a roommate try that stuff for a week to see if it could help him concentrate on his biology homework. I never found out whether it worked; he was too busy trying to stop the nosebleeds to try to study.
Tuxracer would be absolutely wicked.
StarFleet Battles. Resurrected for the PC under the name StarFleet Command.
The gist of the article, if you read it all, is that such rights have been upheld so far. It's currently waiting on the Colorado Supreme Court. Even should it continue to be upheld there, that will not necessarily apply to the other states. Until the U.S. Supreme Court rules definitively on the matter, bookstores will get hit with this again and again.
"Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" is commonly thought to be from the Constitution, but this is not the case.
Even so, according to modern interpretation of the good ol' 14th Amendment, most of the Bill of Rights apply to the states as well:
Or would, if anyone bothered to read or adhere to that document anymore."Hey, we found his head! Post to Slashdot!"
http://www.pocketmovies.net/
Sounds more like "thinking about the long term," which in my experience eliminates any possible involvement by marketing.
I'm still tuned into you, aren't I?
No binding LEGAL precedent, perhaps. This is hardly the only kind of precedent that matters.
I'm sorry, but this is silly. Today's excitable teenagers and college students are tomorrow's consumers. I imagine many of the tech sector's high rollers were excitable teenagers once. If the conservative elements drove the market as much as is insinuated here, we'd still be using mechanical calculators--at best.
It's been done, man. =)