I think you're ignoring the whole reason for Google's "other" products (besides search). With GMail, they know who I'm writing to, about what, and who's writing to me. I use my GMail account as a place for subscriptions, registrations, and the like, so they obviously know my interests on the net. All of the options on the Google Home page are designed to identify demographics (what's my local weather setting? What are my news and sports interests?). Am I searching for specific stores in Google Maps, or prices on specific items on Froogle? And with Picasa and Hello and Desktop search, they know what's on my computer, who I'm talking to in cyberspace, and even where I keep my pr0n. And with their blogspot service, they know what my personal and political views are. When their books service comes online, they'll know what I'm reading. The Toolbar could even let them know my most common spelling mistakes. All of these give them finely tuned demographic information that is priceless in advertising.
I would hesitate to call it just "publicly available" information, implying thereby that any other search engine could find out the same information. I don't think Google is evil in this, just canny and very, very smart. But it does give one reason to question how much "anonymous" information can be gathered before it becomes a threat to privacy. And keep our fingers crossed that they never change their motto to "Only do a little evil."
What if they run out of Firefoxes? Is the Mozilla Foundation ready to start manufacturing new Firefoxes that fast? Won't that cause forced overtime at the factory, overworked laborers, spot shortages, gray marketing, maybe even out-sourcing? Somebody's got to look into this!
From reading (skimming, actually) the regulation, it appears the ISP's have been included in this all along-- that's who the regulation was written for. The universities and libraries only just found out they're included as well, which may be explained by the growth of network services available at universities and libraries. I think it's safe to say that ISP's will be in compliance by the required date, and can't really argue about it.
I think it was some time in the 80's when the average cost of a US senate campaign (it's about 4M now... google it) dictated that a senator has to raise more than $10,000 in donations every week. When you've got to do that just to get re-elected, before you even get to do any of the work you were elected to do in the first place, it means you've got very little time to talk to the "little people" in your constituency. I believe the government represents the people it talks to. Unfortunately, the only people it can afford to talk to are corporations and rich business owners, or the lobbyists they employ (read the guest lists of any of those $10,000/plate dinners that politicians go to). And neither political party has the courage to change the situation. It's no wonder we have DMCA, software patents, copyright of IP in perpetuity, tort-reform, reduction or repeal of capital gains and estate taxes, tightening of bankruptcy laws, corporate welfare, and oh yeah, universal surveillance of the citizenry.
I've been waiting for this argument. And all I can say is wait a couple of years. The Republicans are up in arms today becaus nine-eleven happened on their watch, and they're damned determined it won't happen again. In a couple of years, the Republican administration, because of it's feckless abuses of power, corruption, and overall incompetence to make government perform up to the expectations they themselves created, will be swept from power by the Democrats. (I predict a half pecent win, which the Democrats will use to illustrate their "clear mandate.") When they find this unprecedented arsenal of surveillance apparatus at their fingertips, don't doubt for a minute they will use it to track down pornographers, anti-unionists, radical right-to-lifers, deadbeat dads, smokers, and all the rest of the panoply of unregenerate evil-doers who threaten the American way of life.
The issue here is not the goal of the establishment of pervasive surveillance apparatus, it's the establishment of that apparatus itself. It's a mistake, and it's wrong. And apparently it's already a done deal. *sigh*
I'm not disagreeing, but I want to point out the fact that the "sueing" part will almost certainly require enlisting the help of a lawyer. That will cost (at least) a couple of thousand dollars if any litigation is involved, and probably more. It's possible, if there's been an obvious abuse, the lawyer would do the work on contingency, but only if it was an "open-and-shut case" with an obvious (large enough) loss, and then it will cost you 1/3 of any settlement.
So, we're faced with abuse for which the only relief available is by spending quite a lot of money up front. If some credit agency messes up your history, it could cost you a few hundred dollars on a car loan, possibly more on a home loan. Likely, it's not enough to pursue. If someone steals your identity, that could cost you time and money to fix, but it's not likely to run into thousands. Your own time and aggravation are not likely to be valued highly (and hence, reimbursed) in a court, even if you win.
These companies are allowed to do what they do because "the consumer has legal recourse." The fact the recourse costs more than the damage incurred is a trap. If we had to pay a bureaucrat to "fix" a credit problem, it would be called graft and corruption. Having to pay a lawyer for the same thing is considered "the American way" and is supposedly no problem at all. A company who screws 10 million people for 100 bucks each makes a billion. If it costs a thousand bucks to get your hundred bucks back, who's going to pursue it?
Most of Africa got it not from sex but from doctors reusing needles.
I would be very interested to see the source of your numbers for this assertion! HIV in Africa is growing, and it's not needle reuse by the medical profession that's fuelling the rise. The needle re-use vector in Africa could be high, but I don't think there are enough needles in the entire continent to account for the tens of millions of infections. Face it-- people engage in unsafe sex. If no one did, the infection rate would fall. That won't happen. What the medical profession can do is attempt to mitigate the risks of handling already infected patients, which is the source of all the other transmission vectors you bring up. Knowing a genetic limiter that stops the transmission can only help, even if it doesn't yield a vaccine.
And one other point which I think is often missed: IV drug use does not cause HIV transmission, using contaminated needles does. It's a fact that IV drug users often use contaminated needles, but from a cellular point of view, it doesn't matter that the contaminated needle is being used to administer heroin or athsma medicine, or is just an accidental prick. People seem to forget the vector is the contamination and not the drug. Just as people used to think the vector was homosexuality. Clear thinking based on good information is the best-- and basically only-- protection we have.
You haven't heard? All American corporations, and most others (even the ones that have been convicted of serious crimes) are now agents of the government. Ask your Congress-persons-- if you can reach them, because they're awfully busy sucking up to the corporate types in their districts. Many are out with their lobbyists, getting briefed on the new trends in how laws should be drafted, and can't come to the phone. Keep calling... someone from their office will eventually confirm it. All corporations are now de-facto agents of the government, so there's no need to worry when they take on quasi-enforcement duties. They're just helping out. Only criminals are worried about this. HAND.
Uh oh, now you've not only told the aliens where the telescopes are, but gave them a little travel brochure about why else they might want to visit (the main reason, of course, being to take out the nosy radio telescopes). I'm thinking the "cow-fouled" part was deliberately put in the article to throw them off.
I get that, but what worried me was the idea they might try and replace a rocket engine with a search engine. Maybe the new staff at the top of NASA needs to talk to someone in the know, about how those infernal contraptions really work! Sheesh.
My experience is that the word "Enterprise" placed on any product means that the price gets multiplied by 10 or so. Sometimes they add some glitzy splash screen or GUI checkboxes so the "enterprise" admin can show off the shiny new software to the PHB's. But believe me, if it says "Product XYZ, Enterprise Edition" it means they figgered how to add another zero or two to the price of XYZ, without adding any other functionality.
Of course, I haven't RTFA yet, so I could be completely wrong about this.
Very interesting and informative post (and not to nit-pick) but the word is "tenets", not "tenants," which I'm afraid means something completely different than what you're asserting.
Those are "2 up, duplex" pages, so multiply by 4-- hence the 1440 pages quoted in TFA. When they say 2-up, I think they mean the front and back are mirror images of each other, which means we get two copies each of 720 pages per minute. That's DARN fast for a laser printer. I'd hate to see a printer jam on one of these!
because everyone is busy downloading the software? They've already posted warnings that the site is getting "slammed" and that the coupon processing doesn't always work. And the download is a separate step via BitTorrent, so it should be great-- the more downloaders the better. They recommend trying between 11:00pm and 5:00am Eastern Time.
I agree, and must point out you are assuming there will be any history (or anyone who cares to read it) after our current cycle of global warming. I'm not so sure.
You're right about Amazon, but I have to add one thing: Their website is amazing! If you type in the name of a band or a song, the odds are good they'll have it, and a whole slew of links and other information about it. Reviews? They've got them. Reactions of others? Yup. Album songlists with MP3/WMA/Real samples? Yeah. Published lists of similar music? They're there. Whenever I hear some new, interesting music, I type it into Amazon's search box and I learn more than I ever wanted to know about the song, the album, the band, the audience. They even remember what I was looking for the last few times I was there, and make recommendations.
Jeff Bezos and the Amazon business model are basically pure evil (they've put more local bookstores out of business than anyone besides Borders, maybe, and according to/. they recently patented fscking delivery by Xmas! Bastards!), but their website helps you be an informed consumer, and if you register, you can even make up a "wishlist," so you remember what it was you liked last week or last month. I buy my books (except tech books, where Bookpool gets my business) and CD's locally because I like the B&M vendors and they usually match the prices, but I use Amazon all the time to do the research and publish it. They are, of course, tracking your navigation of their site for marketing purposes, but always lie when they're looking to gather your demographics-- they think I'm a 19 y/o female with household income > $250K. And don't ever, no matter what, click that one-click buying thingy! That's a sure trip to Hell!
Excellent. I do the same. I get that sinking, "I'm being hoodwinked" feeling when I get to the page where I'm supposed to type in my CC number, and I still don't have the final price. Sheesh!
I also will not buy from a vendor who shows only "after rebate" prices. I used to use Tiger Direct for computer parts, because even if I could beat the price elsewhere, they are great at shipping complete orders quickly, have a good selection, website that's reliable, etc., etc. Sometime along about 2 1/2 years ago, they got totally hooked on this "after rebate" pricing, which made it impossible to figure out what the heck the final price would be. It was easier to find out the shipping price than the retail price. Add to that the "last minute" nature of some of the rebates (sometimes less than a week from the time of placing the order), and it was obvious they were using them strictly to lie about the prices of their products. I fought it for awhile, and finally just switched to NewEgg. They have rebates, too, but they show the actual price when you're shopping (and also have a great selection, good website, fast shipping, competitive pricing).
I buy well over a thousand bucks a year in computer parts and components on the WWW, and I'll never shop at TigerDirect again. They've already shown their level of business ethics.
One other comment-- it's almost always possible to beat a price I get on the internet, but the risk of hassling with returning a product that's wrong, took weeks to ship, or is just plain faulty or broken, makes the slightly higher price from a legit and reliable vendor more than worth the extra cost. Saving $5.00 on a new processor will never pay for even one return-- in hassle, shipping costs, lost time. Most vendors get your money as soon as they ship, and it can take a lot of time to get it back.
I'm sorry but that's fallacious reasoning and a crap argument. First, the cost of spam is measurable and comes out of the pocket of the receiver--the spamee, who is you or me. The cost of copyright infringement is not a cost to the owner of the IP, but a (possibly) lost opportunity-- an opportunity that would not have existed without the copyright law in the first place.
Copyright infringement and spamming have no relationship to one another, except the one you've made up in your narrow little mind by reading about both on slashdot. It's perfectly reasonable to support anti-spamming law and not support IP law. It happens that both activities are, in various countries, more or less illegal. So are murder and growing marijuana and driving over the speed limit. Supporting one law and flouting another is neither inconsistent nor dishonest. It's even possible (gasp!) to flout a law and still believe, honestly and consistently, in the rule of law. Take a couple of deep breaths, count to 10, and think about it.
And as for your last line... "The sooner people admit they're basing their opinions on their own preferences rather than objective logic, the better.", well... just think about that one for awhile.
If you live in an oppressive police state which enforces conformity and group-think (like Saudi Arabia or China or the Bible-Belt) I take it all back, and forget I said anything. I meant no offense. And, for the record, I receive income as a result of the sale of material on which I own the copyright.
I don't know what happened to the moderators, but I laughed kind of explosively at your post. Maybe after the mods RTFA they'll get their heads together... or maybe they're stuck in the recursive sarcasm and they just have to finish the loop...
I don't know... but right on with helping out the pharmaceutical companies. Golly, they're hobbled by all the gubmit regulations and restrictions. They don't have all the money yet! Sheesh. Now, where's my prozac and prilosec?
The fact that evolution is a theory does not make creationism anything besides a middle eastern myth from ~3500 years ago, probably dreamed up (at least written down) by clerics trying to keep order among a peasant and slave class, passed to our time through a sketchy set of translations, and believed now by simpletons and Republicans. I can't stand when some Bible-beating dork states that, because creationism can't be proved, then any cockamamie story his grandmother told him is just as likely to be true. Crap, I say! Creationism isn't science, it's literature. Get over it.
Slashdot Mirror
I would hesitate to call it just "publicly available" information, implying thereby that any other search engine could find out the same information. I don't think Google is evil in this, just canny and very, very smart. But it does give one reason to question how much "anonymous" information can be gathered before it becomes a threat to privacy. And keep our fingers crossed that they never change their motto to "Only do a little evil."
What if they run out of Firefoxes? Is the Mozilla Foundation ready to start manufacturing new Firefoxes that fast? Won't that cause forced overtime at the factory, overworked laborers, spot shortages, gray marketing, maybe even out-sourcing? Somebody's got to look into this!
Personally, you know, I see your posts all over /. and I don't agree with a lot of them, but this was simple, beautiful, and hilarious. Thanks.
From reading (skimming, actually) the regulation, it appears the ISP's have been included in this all along-- that's who the regulation was written for. The universities and libraries only just found out they're included as well, which may be explained by the growth of network services available at universities and libraries. I think it's safe to say that ISP's will be in compliance by the required date, and can't really argue about it.
I think it was some time in the 80's when the average cost of a US senate campaign (it's about 4M now... google it) dictated that a senator has to raise more than $10,000 in donations every week. When you've got to do that just to get re-elected, before you even get to do any of the work you were elected to do in the first place, it means you've got very little time to talk to the "little people" in your constituency. I believe the government represents the people it talks to. Unfortunately, the only people it can afford to talk to are corporations and rich business owners, or the lobbyists they employ (read the guest lists of any of those $10,000/plate dinners that politicians go to). And neither political party has the courage to change the situation. It's no wonder we have DMCA, software patents, copyright of IP in perpetuity, tort-reform, reduction or repeal of capital gains and estate taxes, tightening of bankruptcy laws, corporate welfare, and oh yeah, universal surveillance of the citizenry.
The issue here is not the goal of the establishment of pervasive surveillance apparatus, it's the establishment of that apparatus itself. It's a mistake, and it's wrong. And apparently it's already a done deal. *sigh*
So, we're faced with abuse for which the only relief available is by spending quite a lot of money up front. If some credit agency messes up your history, it could cost you a few hundred dollars on a car loan, possibly more on a home loan. Likely, it's not enough to pursue. If someone steals your identity, that could cost you time and money to fix, but it's not likely to run into thousands. Your own time and aggravation are not likely to be valued highly (and hence, reimbursed) in a court, even if you win.
These companies are allowed to do what they do because "the consumer has legal recourse." The fact the recourse costs more than the damage incurred is a trap. If we had to pay a bureaucrat to "fix" a credit problem, it would be called graft and corruption. Having to pay a lawyer for the same thing is considered "the American way" and is supposedly no problem at all. A company who screws 10 million people for 100 bucks each makes a billion. If it costs a thousand bucks to get your hundred bucks back, who's going to pursue it?
And one other point which I think is often missed: IV drug use does not cause HIV transmission, using contaminated needles does. It's a fact that IV drug users often use contaminated needles, but from a cellular point of view, it doesn't matter that the contaminated needle is being used to administer heroin or athsma medicine, or is just an accidental prick. People seem to forget the vector is the contamination and not the drug. Just as people used to think the vector was homosexuality. Clear thinking based on good information is the best-- and basically only-- protection we have.
Uh oh, now you've not only told the aliens where the telescopes are, but gave them a little travel brochure about why else they might want to visit (the main reason, of course, being to take out the nosy radio telescopes). I'm thinking the "cow-fouled" part was deliberately put in the article to throw them off.
I get that, but what worried me was the idea they might try and replace a rocket engine with a search engine. Maybe the new staff at the top of NASA needs to talk to someone in the know, about how those infernal contraptions really work! Sheesh.
My experience is that the word "Enterprise" placed on any product means that the price gets multiplied by 10 or so. Sometimes they add some glitzy splash screen or GUI checkboxes so the "enterprise" admin can show off the shiny new software to the PHB's. But believe me, if it says "Product XYZ, Enterprise Edition" it means they figgered how to add another zero or two to the price of XYZ, without adding any other functionality.
Of course, I haven't RTFA yet, so I could be completely wrong about this.
Very interesting and informative post (and not to nit-pick) but the word is "tenets", not "tenants," which I'm afraid means something completely different than what you're asserting.
Those are "2 up, duplex" pages, so multiply by 4-- hence the 1440 pages quoted in TFA. When they say 2-up, I think they mean the front and back are mirror images of each other, which means we get two copies each of 720 pages per minute. That's DARN fast for a laser printer. I'd hate to see a printer jam on one of these!
Yup, that settles it, if they agree, with that scientific survey, I'm going with that.
because everyone is busy downloading the software? They've already posted warnings that the site is getting "slammed" and that the coupon processing doesn't always work. And the download is a separate step via BitTorrent, so it should be great-- the more downloaders the better. They recommend trying between 11:00pm and 5:00am Eastern Time.
I agree, and must point out you are assuming there will be any history (or anyone who cares to read it) after our current cycle of global warming. I'm not so sure.
I for one won't believe it until Netcraft confirms SGI's demise...
Too bad though-- less competition is never good for the market.
Hahahaha... a girl don't tell!!
You're right about Amazon, but I have to add one thing: Their website is amazing! If you type in the name of a band or a song, the odds are good they'll have it, and a whole slew of links and other information about it. Reviews? They've got them. Reactions of others? Yup. Album songlists with MP3/WMA/Real samples? Yeah. Published lists of similar music? They're there. Whenever I hear some new, interesting music, I type it into Amazon's search box and I learn more than I ever wanted to know about the song, the album, the band, the audience. They even remember what I was looking for the last few times I was there, and make recommendations.
Jeff Bezos and the Amazon business model are basically pure evil (they've put more local bookstores out of business than anyone besides Borders, maybe, and according to /. they recently patented fscking delivery by Xmas! Bastards!), but their website helps you be an informed consumer, and if you register, you can even make up a "wishlist," so you remember what it was you liked last week or last month. I buy my books (except tech books, where Bookpool gets my business) and CD's locally because I like the B&M vendors and they usually match the prices, but I use Amazon all the time to do the research and publish it. They are, of course, tracking your navigation of their site for marketing purposes, but always lie when they're looking to gather your demographics-- they think I'm a 19 y/o female with household income > $250K. And don't ever, no matter what, click that one-click buying thingy! That's a sure trip to Hell!
Excellent. I do the same. I get that sinking, "I'm being hoodwinked" feeling when I get to the page where I'm supposed to type in my CC number, and I still don't have the final price. Sheesh!
I also will not buy from a vendor who shows only "after rebate" prices. I used to use Tiger Direct for computer parts, because even if I could beat the price elsewhere, they are great at shipping complete orders quickly, have a good selection, website that's reliable, etc., etc. Sometime along about 2 1/2 years ago, they got totally hooked on this "after rebate" pricing, which made it impossible to figure out what the heck the final price would be. It was easier to find out the shipping price than the retail price. Add to that the "last minute" nature of some of the rebates (sometimes less than a week from the time of placing the order), and it was obvious they were using them strictly to lie about the prices of their products. I fought it for awhile, and finally just switched to NewEgg. They have rebates, too, but they show the actual price when you're shopping (and also have a great selection, good website, fast shipping, competitive pricing).
I buy well over a thousand bucks a year in computer parts and components on the WWW, and I'll never shop at TigerDirect again. They've already shown their level of business ethics.
One other comment-- it's almost always possible to beat a price I get on the internet, but the risk of hassling with returning a product that's wrong, took weeks to ship, or is just plain faulty or broken, makes the slightly higher price from a legit and reliable vendor more than worth the extra cost. Saving $5.00 on a new processor will never pay for even one return-- in hassle, shipping costs, lost time. Most vendors get your money as soon as they ship, and it can take a lot of time to get it back.
I'm sorry but that's fallacious reasoning and a crap argument. First, the cost of spam is measurable and comes out of the pocket of the receiver--the spamee, who is you or me. The cost of copyright infringement is not a cost to the owner of the IP, but a (possibly) lost opportunity-- an opportunity that would not have existed without the copyright law in the first place.
Copyright infringement and spamming have no relationship to one another, except the one you've made up in your narrow little mind by reading about both on slashdot. It's perfectly reasonable to support anti-spamming law and not support IP law. It happens that both activities are, in various countries, more or less illegal. So are murder and growing marijuana and driving over the speed limit. Supporting one law and flouting another is neither inconsistent nor dishonest. It's even possible (gasp!) to flout a law and still believe, honestly and consistently, in the rule of law. Take a couple of deep breaths, count to 10, and think about it.
And as for your last line... "The sooner people admit they're basing their opinions on their own preferences rather than objective logic, the better.", well... just think about that one for awhile.
If you live in an oppressive police state which enforces conformity and group-think (like Saudi Arabia or China or the Bible-Belt) I take it all back, and forget I said anything. I meant no offense. And, for the record, I receive income as a result of the sale of material on which I own the copyright.
Yeah, but did you like his movies?
I don't know what happened to the moderators, but I laughed kind of explosively at your post. Maybe after the mods RTFA they'll get their heads together... or maybe they're stuck in the recursive sarcasm and they just have to finish the loop...
I don't know... but right on with helping out the pharmaceutical companies. Golly, they're hobbled by all the gubmit regulations and restrictions. They don't have all the money yet! Sheesh. Now, where's my prozac and prilosec?
The fact that evolution is a theory does not make creationism anything besides a middle eastern myth from ~3500 years ago, probably dreamed up (at least written down) by clerics trying to keep order among a peasant and slave class, passed to our time through a sketchy set of translations, and believed now by simpletons and Republicans. I can't stand when some Bible-beating dork states that, because creationism can't be proved, then any cockamamie story his grandmother told him is just as likely to be true. Crap, I say! Creationism isn't science, it's literature. Get over it.