Why hasn't anyone discussed the real issue here: common carrier status for Verizon.
Making them responsible for what goes over their lines is a slippery slope. If that is decided, then what? Do they start blocking ports that are "bad"? What's next?
This particular story has nothing to do with the usual copyright arguments on slashdot. It's more about "who is responsible for what".
As businesses get wise to these kind of contracts, they will get smarter about entering into them. For years now, most companies have been "stupid" when it comes to IT -- but times are changing. Companies are getting MUCH more sophisticated about how they handle their IT.
I just switched industries completely (doing Process Control Engineering now). While I will always have a fondness in my heart for IT/Computers, I will NEVER miss the long hours / piss-poor environment, non-appreciated by everyone-ness that permeates almost every IT shop I've ever been. I never realized how overworked and underappreciated I was until I got a "real" job in a non-IT function --- and realized that 60 hour weeks and staying up until 2am to meet deadlines are NOT THE NORM IN BUSINESS.
Now, don't get me wrong, I put in long hours -- when I need to. But they warrant some kind of specific need. In IT, everything seems to be a specific need so people wind up working crazy hours "to get things done".
It's absurd. You don't see that kind of craziness in any other functional area (marketing, HR, finance, etc). Only on rare occasions. However, within IT, I would be SHOCKED if I walked in at 7pm and half the staff was actually gone for the day. Unfortunately, we (IT folks) have come to accept that 60-80 hr weeks are the norm.
You don't have to live that way. There is an alternative.
Re:Is that why spam in my Hotmail account has drop
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As the Spam Turns
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· Score: 1
Mine too. I've noticed a SIGNIFICANT drop in my hotmail spam.
Now, realize I ONLY use the hotmail account for "commercial" communications - receipts, etc from online purchases so the volume of SPAM is normally huge -- like 40-70 per day before whatever change took place. Now its more like 10.
Europe is the worst offender
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Add-Ons Add Up
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· Score: 1
I remember paying up to $.50 a packet for ketchup.
Did it in every country I visited so it is not just a local thing.
Ok, so since I am devilish and a bastard about anything having to do with MPAA/RIAA, I will for sure be LOOKING for ways to begin the 8 hour countdown on any product I touch on the store (read: break the airtight container)
soooo...how many returns from Mary Jane MathTeacher do you think it will take before they realize this is a lost cause? Serioulsy. 2%? 5%? 10%? 20%?
The problem is NOT that I can't find a site for indie bands. The problem is that I do not want to sift through those sites to find the golden nuggets among the crap. Not everyone wants to go so deep into their music that they have to smother themselves in 99 pieces of garbage just to find the one solid song/artist.
You can argue all you want about the "big 5" labels but one thing is for sure: they don't require ANY "research" to listen their wares. Turn on the radio. Listen to the artist. Buy the album if you like it.
Nowhere in there does it say "surf 200 crappy bands, waste mountains of your time, and find the one that you like". Until there is a popular ranking system for indies (idea, anyone?), I'll pass on the search and conquer method of music love.
"Of course the income of the top 2% of the country would drop significantly, but hell, we could live without them and their United Defense shares anyway"
No, you couldn't. Its a fact that the top 2% fund MUCH of the investment taken on in this country as well as others. I get so tired of people acting like the "wealth" of this nation does NOTHING positive for the country. The fact is, the "wealth" of this nation is what provides the initial funding for much of what you see around you. That's capitalism. Sorry.
This is a simple economic game (remember game theory?). If the big-5 record companies will produce a product that I like and is reasonably priced --- I'll buy it.
If not, I'll use P2P and circumvent any and all "buying" - rightly or wrongly. I don't share the moral dilemma that the record companies seem to want me to share. I see their products more as "services" in that they fulfill a desire for music. However, they fail to see that there are many many alternatives to fill that desire -- some legal, some not. And remember, legality is only as good as the enforcement of the law (marijuana, anyone?) and I have GREAT confidence that the "pirates" will ALWAYS be one step ahead in that arena.
We dealt with this in Texas by charging the end user $3.00 (I think) to get on the list. That paid for support of the list and kept you on it for a period of 3 years, IIRC
All telemarketers doing business in Texas are required to download the list (free of charge, I think).
Of course, we also like to execute retarded people so take this with a grain of salt.:-)
Do you mean a Billboard top 100? Hmm...I think I've heard that before
Acutally, sarchasm aside, I think a Billboard 100 - chosen by USERS (not a corp.) seems to make sense. In fact, you could prolly modify the slashdot code and create this in about 2 days.
I live in Dallas where The Edge *used* to be very cool. Until about 2-3 years ago, its all I listened. Nowadays, its just like the edge in every other city I've been to.
You should check out a 65" digital TV sometime. Sitting at about 10', its almost as perceivably large as a big screen. Seriously. Its so damn big, your eyes can't take in the whole screen.
I find it every bit as engaging as the actual theatre - without all the hassels mentioned above.
When VCR's came out, you had stereo at best (prolly over a mono speaker, in most cases). Then, we moved onto Dolby Prologic and home theatres got a little better. At least we had a rear channel. Now using DVD's, with DTS and DD, the experience at home can be every bit as engaging as the theatre.
Running DTS or DD (5.1) isn't possible with VCR. That's why its a little different now.
Now, the question is, when can you take away those rights and under what conditions? That, my friend, is the tricky part.
...and don't say rights can't be taken away. They can if certain conditions are met, like committing a crime for example. Unless you are talking about human rights, perhaps.
Slashdot Mirror
Why hasn't anyone discussed the real issue here: common carrier status for Verizon.
Making them responsible for what goes over their lines is a slippery slope. If that is decided, then what? Do they start blocking ports that are "bad"? What's next?
This particular story has nothing to do with the usual copyright arguments on slashdot. It's more about "who is responsible for what".
As my mom says, "Who the heck is Sun?"
Most folks out there run whatever comes on the machine. They are NOT going to go out and "upgrade" to Sun's java. That's just the way it is.
I just saw a story that the US has over 2 million people in jail right now.
By FAR, the highest percentage of prisoners to population of any country in the world, except maybe China, who has unpublished numbers.
As businesses get wise to these kind of contracts, they will get smarter about entering into them. For years now, most companies have been "stupid" when it comes to IT -- but times are changing. Companies are getting MUCH more sophisticated about how they handle their IT.
This is a short term problem.
I just switched industries completely (doing Process Control Engineering now). While I will always have a fondness in my heart for IT/Computers, I will NEVER miss the long hours / piss-poor environment, non-appreciated by everyone-ness that permeates almost every IT shop I've ever been. I never realized how overworked and underappreciated I was until I got a "real" job in a non-IT function --- and realized that 60 hour weeks and staying up until 2am to meet deadlines are NOT THE NORM IN BUSINESS.
Now, don't get me wrong, I put in long hours -- when I need to. But they warrant some kind of specific need. In IT, everything seems to be a specific need so people wind up working crazy hours "to get things done".
It's absurd. You don't see that kind of craziness in any other functional area (marketing, HR, finance, etc). Only on rare occasions. However, within IT, I would be SHOCKED if I walked in at 7pm and half the staff was actually gone for the day. Unfortunately, we (IT folks) have come to accept that 60-80 hr weeks are the norm.
You don't have to live that way. There is an alternative.
Actually, if you dig a little, you'll find that the reason for the cameras in patrol cars is to protect US from the cops -- not the other way around.
Not sure that level of checks and balances is in place for Echelon.
At first, it was called German toast. They renamed it after Normandy and the following invasion...
....and which version of "morality" do you suggest we use? Southern Babtists? Raging Liberals? Staunch Conservatives?
You see, therein lies the rub. Defining what is moral and what is not is a subjective guess -- at best.
(paraphrased) To the unenlightened, any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. - Arthur C. Clarke
Remembering that quote has saved me hundreds of hours of frustration.
Is the war on drugs equivalent to the 100 Years War or something? Shit...how long are we going to fight this damn thing before people wise up?
XML is much easier to reverse engineer than .doc
Mine too. I've noticed a SIGNIFICANT drop in my hotmail spam.
Now, realize I ONLY use the hotmail account for "commercial" communications - receipts, etc from online purchases so the volume of SPAM is normally huge -- like 40-70 per day before whatever change took place. Now its more like 10.
I remember paying up to $.50 a packet for ketchup.
Did it in every country I visited so it is not just a local thing.
Ok, so since I am devilish and a bastard about anything having to do with MPAA/RIAA, I will for sure be LOOKING for ways to begin the 8 hour countdown on any product I touch on the store (read: break the airtight container)
soooo...how many returns from Mary Jane MathTeacher do you think it will take before they realize this is a lost cause? Serioulsy. 2%? 5%? 10%? 20%?
6. It bounces.
Actually, what you are suggesting is fraud.
The problem is NOT that I can't find a site for indie bands. The problem is that I do not want to sift through those sites to find the golden nuggets among the crap. Not everyone wants to go so deep into their music that they have to smother themselves in 99 pieces of garbage just to find the one solid song/artist.
You can argue all you want about the "big 5" labels but one thing is for sure: they don't require ANY "research" to listen their wares. Turn on the radio. Listen to the artist. Buy the album if you like it.
Nowhere in there does it say "surf 200 crappy bands, waste mountains of your time, and find the one that you like". Until there is a popular ranking system for indies (idea, anyone?), I'll pass on the search and conquer method of music love.
"Of course the income of the top 2% of the country would drop significantly, but hell, we could live without them and their United Defense shares anyway"
No, you couldn't. Its a fact that the top 2% fund MUCH of the investment taken on in this country as well as others. I get so tired of people acting like the "wealth" of this nation does NOTHING positive for the country. The fact is, the "wealth" of this nation is what provides the initial funding for much of what you see around you. That's capitalism. Sorry.
Nothing.
This is a simple economic game (remember game theory?). If the big-5 record companies will produce a product that I like and is reasonably priced --- I'll buy it.
If not, I'll use P2P and circumvent any and all "buying" - rightly or wrongly. I don't share the moral dilemma that the record companies seem to want me to share. I see their products more as "services" in that they fulfill a desire for music. However, they fail to see that there are many many alternatives to fill that desire -- some legal, some not. And remember, legality is only as good as the enforcement of the law (marijuana, anyone?) and I have GREAT confidence that the "pirates" will ALWAYS be one step ahead in that arena.
We dealt with this in Texas by charging the end user $3.00 (I think) to get on the list. That paid for support of the list and kept you on it for a period of 3 years, IIRC
:-)
All telemarketers doing business in Texas are required to download the list (free of charge, I think).
Of course, we also like to execute retarded people so take this with a grain of salt.
Do you mean a Billboard top 100? Hmm...I think I've heard that before
Acutally, sarchasm aside, I think a Billboard 100 - chosen by USERS (not a corp.) seems to make sense. In fact, you could prolly modify the slashdot code and create this in about 2 days.
Every city has:
The Edge.
The Eagle.
K-Hits. (pop crap)
I live in Dallas where The Edge *used* to be very cool. Until about 2-3 years ago, its all I listened. Nowadays, its just like the edge in every other city I've been to.
You should check out a 65" digital TV sometime. Sitting at about 10', its almost as perceivably large as a big screen. Seriously. Its so damn big, your eyes can't take in the whole screen.
I find it every bit as engaging as the actual theatre - without all the hassels mentioned above.
When VCR's came out, you had stereo at best (prolly over a mono speaker, in most cases). Then, we moved onto Dolby Prologic and home theatres got a little better. At least we had a rear channel. Now using DVD's, with DTS and DD, the experience at home can be every bit as engaging as the theatre.
Running DTS or DD (5.1) isn't possible with VCR. That's why its a little different now.
Great post about "what is a right?".
...and don't say rights can't be taken away. They can if certain conditions are met, like committing a crime for example. Unless you are talking about human rights, perhaps.
Now, the question is, when can you take away those rights and under what conditions? That, my friend, is the tricky part.