This is very small compensation for machines that may have been damaged by this rootkit.
But we can file an objection... Here's mine. I'm open to suggested improvements:
Name
Address
Telephone Number
In re SONY BMG CD Technologies Litigation:
I am objecting to the settlement process on the grounds that,
A) The settlement excludes people who may not have purchased one of the listed compact disks from Sony/BMG, but have otherwise been affected by the software contained on it. It is conceivable that someone may have legally borrowed a compact disk, been affected by the rootkit, and have no receipt to file a claim in the settlement.
B) The settlement excludes people who may not have used any compact disk from Sony/BMG but may have otherwise been affected by the nature of the software. There has been no investigation into what, if any, personal information protected by law was surreptitiously obtained by Sony/BMG's use of the rootkit or by others who may have taken advantage of security holes left open by the rootkit itself.[1]
C) The settlement does not address the criminal actions of individuals at Sony/BMG. If this were the case of a "computer hacker" distributing a rootkit, that person would have been jailed on charges of computer trespass. Sony/BMG shipped an estimated 20,000,000 affected compact disks, some of which installed software REGARDLESS of whether or not the end user accepted the terms of their license agreement.[2] All members of the settlement class are potentially victims of Sony/BMG's criminal actions. Yet there have been, to my knowledge, no charges regarding criminal actions brought against Sony/BMG or any individual of that company.
Hmmm, after that last bit, I wonder if I should instead file for exclusion. One or the other must be done before May 1, 2006. You can't do both... and I'll probably just get lip service from the courts with my objection...
Would it be so hard to fathom that Apple kept Red Box in development along with Rhapsody on Intel? And is it so hard to imagine that they might use that trusted computing stuff for something besides FairPlay? Just an idle thought...
According to this Wired article, the iBill data is fake:
But Spaniak says iBill cross referenced the 17 million transaction database against its own on Wednesday, and that only three e-mail addresses matched between the two.
and
Wired News found that entries from the smaller cache of one million consumers are listed as mortgage leads on a spammer community site, specialham.com. A Google search turns up scores of offers on specialham.com for purported iBill databases, one of them advertising "20mill ibill list w/Full data from 2003" for $300. But in one message, a spammer slams an underground vendor for selling him a fake iBill list.
"In My Own Words," burst onto the national album chart yesterday at No. 1, with sales of more than 301,000 copies, easily ranking as the biggest debut of the year so far. And just as eye-popping: the digital single of "So Sick" sold almost 120,000 copies in its first week, according to Nielsen SoundScan.
iTMS first:
"Run It!" was available for sale online for more than three months before his eponymous CD hit stores. During that time, Mr. Brown's song sold more than 300,000 copies. When the album finally went on sale, it sold roughly 154,000 copies in its first week.
Total, 421,000 copies for the CD first track. 454,000 copies for the iTMS first track. Yeah, the CD first album sold more copies, but that was at a reduced price of $7.98... cheaper than the 'album' is sold on iTMS. Wow, big surprise there... you lower the price of something and you sell more of it! That's news? No, that's not news... here's the big news:
So far this year, album sales have declined about 3 percent from a year ago. But if every 10 singles sold so far were bundled together and counted as albums, sales would be up about 2 percent, according to Nielsen SoundScan.
Once again, a story on Slashdot is misleading and flame worthy. It's almost like they do it on purpose to sell more page views or something... Noooo, Slashdot is 'news for nerds' and would never treat its readership as if they were illiterate morons.
just because it hasn't happened yet (in the field, as it were), doesn't mean it won't happen.
Just because it may happen, doesn't mean it will. In the last ten years, I've seen far more damage done to Macintosh systems by the likes of anti-virus products than any virus, worm, or trojan.
Some suggest that Mac users live in fear of something that *may* someday exist, and use products with a proven track record of screwing up Macintosh systems. I'll bet they wonder why no Mac user will take their advice. Thanks, but no thanks. I'll just stick with good backups and the factory DVD containing a full install of Mac OS X while they wave their hands around and proclaim the sky is falling. A spilled cola poses a much greater and more probable threat to my Mac than any virus, trojan, or worm.
I assume your $0.80 number comes from somewhere like so. Let's see... at $0.35 per pack in NC, and $1.50 in NY, that should equate to a difference of $11.50 a carton... Well, Marlboros run about $30 a carton in NC, while in NY they're closer to $70. That's difference of $40 a carton, or about 350% higher than your magic numbers show. You're obviously overlooking a staggering amount of tax. You also assume all smokers die from smoking related disease and that all smokers die after 30 years of smoking. It looks like someone is twisting the truth.
Well who would have guessed that someone as clever as you would smoke?
To be so clever yourself, you seem to overlook a lot of facts.
My original point remains the same: Berating smokers is rude. It's the equivalent of approaching someone walking their dog and professing how much you hate dogs. Learn some manners. I stand by my original statements. You are a troll. The topic is not cigarettes, it is NASA. No one mentioned cigarettes but you. You obviously would like to argue about cigarettes. Stop acting like a child or take your personal problems elsewhere. I will not argue with you any further.
It calculates to about $3 per taxpayer per year. Compare that to the military budget, which is about 500 times higher.
That's a bit of an exaggeration... NASA's share of the federal budget is roughly 15 billion dollars. The DOD gets 475 billion. That's closer to the neighborhood of 30 times. It's worth mentioning that the executive branch gets 25 billion a year though; About the same as the legislative branch, the judicial branch, and NASA combined... Limos and jets cost more than shuttle missions apparently.
I think the government should not have to pay medical expenses for alcohol or cigarrete[SIC] related medical issues, because they are 100% preventalbe[SIC] and it is common knowledge, if not common sense that they are not good for you.
I think the government should not have to pay medical expenses for obesity related issues, because they are 100% preventable and it is common knowledge, if not common sense, that weighing more than livestock is bad for you. On a related note, I think downhill skiers should not receive medical attention when they break bones, because it's 100% preventable and it is common knowledge that downhill skiing commonly leads to fractures. I also would like to add that I don't think dog owners should receive treatment for having their faces chewed off, because they were just asking for it by owning a dog. However, other people who are attacked by the mangy mutts should still receive treatment, because it was not their fault that someone else's dog chewed their scalp off.
How much of the US GDP goes to health care vs. the military?
You've got Google, use it. According to the budget explorer roughly 644 billion for health and human services and 475 billion for the DOD. And NASA? 15 billion. The Executive office of the President gets about 25 billion BTW.
Eliminate cigarettes and alcohol and you end up with a heck of a lot of money not being spent that could be used for any number of better things.
Well isn't that just a load of off topic flamebait. Yet here at Slashdot, that's what mods call Insightful!
Well, allow me to retort with a few "insightful" comments of my own. I smoke and drink and I say, go right ahead slick... You also eliminate cigarette and alcohol taxes. Oops! Forgot about that, didn't ya sport? So, your "money saved" is already being spent. Here's a better idea... Why don't we institute a fat ass tax on fast food and junk food. Then we can go for a diabeties tax on colas with caffeine... You know, those deadly addictive products with no warning labels. Then we can have All Kinds Of Extra Money to spend on things like space travel and research!... No? Don't like the idea of taxing your twinkies? Well damn! I could've sworn heart disease was the number one killer in America. Pot, meet kettle.
Alright. Go ahead, mod me down you guys. I know you want to.
The Essential Clash huh? From Sony? Rootkit fiesta Sony? I think I'll pass. Regarding 12 songs for $12... albums are $9.99 at iTMS. 12 songs from 12 different albums... $12 bucks. RIAA style? $12 x 12 albums == $144.
In order to properly make a recording, not only to you need musicians and a producer; you need lawyers, agents, marketing reps, and dozens of other various hangers on.
What a shame that laws need to be created to keep companies from acting like greedy assholes.
This wasn't an issue until they ruled in Brand X. Let's hope this passes. I'm concerned however, because AT&T is Mr. Wyden's #1 campaign contributor for 2006. Is he going against the big money, or just indirectly requesting more of it with this bill...
Send the soybeans to Africa where they would quite literally and without any doubt whatsoever save lives.
It's my understanding that Africa is rife with over population, disease, and political instability, especially in the areas where people are starving. How is more food going to do anything but increase the size of a suffering population? (assuming the food makes it to the intended recipients, rather than increasing the wealth and power of the warlord in charge) Then of course, once you've "tampered with their ecosystem" you must continue to send more food to feed their otherwise unsustainable population. Either that or you have starvation that is much worse and on a much larger scale.
Which J2EE development environment are they comparing to? Personally, I like WebObjects. As far as I can tell... Apple was and still is doing everything RoR is doing. Apple (NeXT) just started doing it about a decade earlier. Would anyone care to point out something I'm missing in WO that RoR offers? Well... other than hype?
Those who fear the government... Are doing something illegal.
Yeah, like those black people eating in white restaurants. Damned dirty criminals.
The government is responsible for protecting its citizens and making sure laws are being followed.
Actually, if you'll read your constitution, you'll find that nowhere in it is there any mention of the government protecting you in any way, shape, or form. You're on your own if you're an American buddy.
For once, someone has the balls to protect this country and the "civil rights" propronents want to bring it down.
Go ahead, say it. I know what you're thinking: Niggers and towel heads. Right?
I love freedom, but I am willing to give some up if it means my wife and daughter are safer as a result.
The man who trades freedom for security does not deserve nor will he ever receive either. - Ben Franklin
The reason the iPod does so well has a lot to do with compatibility. iTunes.app runs Windows and Mac. That is key. Before iTunes was ported, MusicMatch was the client for Windows. It sucked monkey balls, and as a result, the iPod was mainly a Mac user thing. I knew a few Windows people who owned them, but they all had problems because of the software-hardware interface. When iTunes.app was ported, the change was instant. People started buying iPods and music from iTMS in droves. The iPod became the MP3 player to have. So, does Samsunk have a decent app to go with that neat little player of theirs? Probably not.
You also have to consider the iPod as a platform. With so many people owning so many tunes encrypted with Fairplay, you're absolutely sunk in trying to get those folks to convert. Unless your player is twice as nice at half the price, your player must be compatible with Fairplay or else all those tunes must be purchased again, adding to the expense of the switch. Apple has faced this for all its history with the Mac OS, because even if their offering was better, switchers would be required to buy all new software to make the change. Hence no flood of switchers.
Since there's no way to offer twice as nice at half the price without eating a huge portion of the cost yourself, you must have Fairplay. That's why the RIAA wants Apple to license it, and that's why Apple will not. Finally, and most ironically, the very law that the RIAA and friends put into place in 1998 (DMCA) to maintain their iron grip on their music distribution monopoly is the key reason why the RIAA cannot simply reverse engineer Fairplay and retain their control of music distribution now. They've even started to consider unencrypted file schemes like watermarking so they can break Apple's lock on online music distribution. Of course, these schemes will ultimately fail, and the law they bought and paid for will be their own undoing.
Oh, and the final nail in the RIAA's coffin? Any band can get an album up on iTMS for about 20 bucks. Bands no longer have to give up their copyrights. They no longer have to sign terrible contracts or pay off million dollar loans. They no longer have to give up creative control and push to put out mediocre music to make quarterly numbers for some corporation. They just have to do what they like to do: Make music. Does Samsunk have all that in place? Nope.
It's beautiful. The RIAA labels are toast:-) Thank you Apple! Those guys deserve to wither and fade away after suing children and generally making an ass out of themselves at every opportunity. You've done us all a great favor. And to think... who would have ever believed, when the Beetles first sued Apple, that Apple really would become a record label:-D It's priceless.
I thought all the greatest artists were loosing all their sales to piracy. Isn't that what the RIAA always says? The artists being affected least by piracy will be the ones selling the most... therefore, the money should be distributed in inverse proportion to sales.;-)
Yeah, ok, I went ahead and downloaded flash 8 anyway. Wanted to see how cleverly placed the hint happened to be... Anyway, now that I've entered Buffalo into the password field, I'm presented with check age. I enter the age in Omniweb with cookies and js on. Apparently, I'm to frickin' young, so I try Safari... Again, I'm under the age of 18 even though I was born in the 70's. Wow, great frickin' move KFC. I first have to download Flash 8 to watch, then enable cookies and js, then enter my age just to find out your website sucks and I don't get a free snacker coupon because I use a Mac. Great, thanks. Rounded out a perfect day there.
Slashdot Mirror
Wow... without RTFA, that says a mouthful.
I'd say all parties are looking pretty bad here.
But we can file an objection... Here's mine. I'm open to suggested improvements:
Hmmm, after that last bit, I wonder if I should instead file for exclusion. One or the other must be done before May 1, 2006. You can't do both... and I'll probably just get lip service from the courts with my objection...
Well, since we're skipping over the "get the rootkit there in the first place" part, wouldn't TC make a VM-based rootkit easier to produce?
Would it be so hard to fathom that Apple kept Red Box in development along with Rhapsody on Intel? And is it so hard to imagine that they might use that trusted computing stuff for something besides FairPlay? Just an idle thought...
and
CD First:
iTMS first:
Total, 421,000 copies for the CD first track. 454,000 copies for the iTMS first track. Yeah, the CD first album sold more copies, but that was at a reduced price of $7.98... cheaper than the 'album' is sold on iTMS. Wow, big surprise there... you lower the price of something and you sell more of it! That's news? No, that's not news... here's the big news:
Once again, a story on Slashdot is misleading and flame worthy. It's almost like they do it on purpose to sell more page views or something... Noooo, Slashdot is 'news for nerds' and would never treat its readership as if they were illiterate morons.
Just because it may happen, doesn't mean it will. In the last ten years, I've seen far more damage done to Macintosh systems by the likes of anti-virus products than any virus, worm, or trojan.
Some suggest that Mac users live in fear of something that *may* someday exist, and use products with a proven track record of screwing up Macintosh systems. I'll bet they wonder why no Mac user will take their advice. Thanks, but no thanks. I'll just stick with good backups and the factory DVD containing a full install of Mac OS X while they wave their hands around and proclaim the sky is falling. A spilled cola poses a much greater and more probable threat to my Mac than any virus, trojan, or worm.
Hey, there ya go! That looks better :-) From that page, my favorite quote happens to be...
And the global warmers are worried about the frickin' CO2. :-D They never cease to amaze me.
Well yeah, if you deeduck Medicarez & Medicades. :-)
Oops... my bad. You aren't the original troll, just the stand in.
I assume your $0.80 number comes from somewhere like so. Let's see... at $0.35 per pack in NC, and $1.50 in NY, that should equate to a difference of $11.50 a carton... Well, Marlboros run about $30 a carton in NC, while in NY they're closer to $70. That's difference of $40 a carton, or about 350% higher than your magic numbers show. You're obviously overlooking a staggering amount of tax. You also assume all smokers die from smoking related disease and that all smokers die after 30 years of smoking. It looks like someone is twisting the truth.
Well who would have guessed that someone as clever as you would smoke?
To be so clever yourself, you seem to overlook a lot of facts.
My original point remains the same: Berating smokers is rude. It's the equivalent of approaching someone walking their dog and professing how much you hate dogs. Learn some manners. I stand by my original statements. You are a troll. The topic is not cigarettes, it is NASA. No one mentioned cigarettes but you. You obviously would like to argue about cigarettes. Stop acting like a child or take your personal problems elsewhere. I will not argue with you any further.
That's a bit of an exaggeration... NASA's share of the federal budget is roughly 15 billion dollars. The DOD gets 475 billion. That's closer to the neighborhood of 30 times. It's worth mentioning that the executive branch gets 25 billion a year though; About the same as the legislative branch, the judicial branch, and NASA combined... Limos and jets cost more than shuttle missions apparently.
That, and lotteries.
I think the government should not have to pay medical expenses for obesity related issues, because they are 100% preventable and it is common knowledge, if not common sense, that weighing more than livestock is bad for you. On a related note, I think downhill skiers should not receive medical attention when they break bones, because it's 100% preventable and it is common knowledge that downhill skiing commonly leads to fractures. I also would like to add that I don't think dog owners should receive treatment for having their faces chewed off, because they were just asking for it by owning a dog. However, other people who are attacked by the mangy mutts should still receive treatment, because it was not their fault that someone else's dog chewed their scalp off.
You've got Google, use it. According to the budget explorer roughly 644 billion for health and human services and 475 billion for the DOD. And NASA? 15 billion. The Executive office of the President gets about 25 billion BTW.
Eliminate cigarettes and alcohol and you end up with a heck of a lot of money not being spent that could be used for any number of better things.
Well isn't that just a load of off topic flamebait. Yet here at Slashdot, that's what mods call Insightful!
Well, allow me to retort with a few "insightful" comments of my own. I smoke and drink and I say, go right ahead slick... You also eliminate cigarette and alcohol taxes. Oops! Forgot about that, didn't ya sport? So, your "money saved" is already being spent. Here's a better idea... Why don't we institute a fat ass tax on fast food and junk food. Then we can go for a diabeties tax on colas with caffeine... You know, those deadly addictive products with no warning labels. Then we can have All Kinds Of Extra Money to spend on things like space travel and research! ... No? Don't like the idea of taxing your twinkies? Well damn! I could've sworn heart disease was the number one killer in America. Pot, meet kettle.
Alright. Go ahead, mod me down you guys. I know you want to.
The Essential Clash huh? From Sony? Rootkit fiesta Sony? I think I'll pass. Regarding 12 songs for $12... albums are $9.99 at iTMS. 12 songs from 12 different albums... $12 bucks. RIAA style? $12 x 12 albums == $144.
Not anymore :-)
You know, the only guy that had the brass to vote against USA PATRIOT the first time? I'd vote for him based on that alone.
This wasn't an issue until they ruled in Brand X. Let's hope this passes. I'm concerned however, because AT&T is Mr. Wyden's #1 campaign contributor for 2006. Is he going against the big money, or just indirectly requesting more of it with this bill...
It's my understanding that Africa is rife with over population, disease, and political instability, especially in the areas where people are starving. How is more food going to do anything but increase the size of a suffering population? (assuming the food makes it to the intended recipients, rather than increasing the wealth and power of the warlord in charge) Then of course, once you've "tampered with their ecosystem" you must continue to send more food to feed their otherwise unsustainable population. Either that or you have starvation that is much worse and on a much larger scale.
Which J2EE development environment are they comparing to? Personally, I like WebObjects. As far as I can tell... Apple was and still is doing everything RoR is doing. Apple (NeXT) just started doing it about a decade earlier. Would anyone care to point out something I'm missing in WO that RoR offers? Well... other than hype?
Yeah, like those black people eating in white restaurants. Damned dirty criminals.
The government is responsible for protecting its citizens and making sure laws are being followed.
Actually, if you'll read your constitution, you'll find that nowhere in it is there any mention of the government protecting you in any way, shape, or form. You're on your own if you're an American buddy.
For once, someone has the balls to protect this country and the "civil rights" propronents want to bring it down.
Go ahead, say it. I know what you're thinking: Niggers and towel heads. Right?
I love freedom, but I am willing to give some up if it means my wife and daughter are safer as a result.
The man who trades freedom for security does not deserve nor will he ever receive either. - Ben Franklin
Where are the troll mods?
You also have to consider the iPod as a platform. With so many people owning so many tunes encrypted with Fairplay, you're absolutely sunk in trying to get those folks to convert. Unless your player is twice as nice at half the price, your player must be compatible with Fairplay or else all those tunes must be purchased again, adding to the expense of the switch. Apple has faced this for all its history with the Mac OS, because even if their offering was better, switchers would be required to buy all new software to make the change. Hence no flood of switchers.
Since there's no way to offer twice as nice at half the price without eating a huge portion of the cost yourself, you must have Fairplay. That's why the RIAA wants Apple to license it, and that's why Apple will not. Finally, and most ironically, the very law that the RIAA and friends put into place in 1998 (DMCA) to maintain their iron grip on their music distribution monopoly is the key reason why the RIAA cannot simply reverse engineer Fairplay and retain their control of music distribution now. They've even started to consider unencrypted file schemes like watermarking so they can break Apple's lock on online music distribution. Of course, these schemes will ultimately fail, and the law they bought and paid for will be their own undoing.
Oh, and the final nail in the RIAA's coffin? Any band can get an album up on iTMS for about 20 bucks. Bands no longer have to give up their copyrights. They no longer have to sign terrible contracts or pay off million dollar loans. They no longer have to give up creative control and push to put out mediocre music to make quarterly numbers for some corporation. They just have to do what they like to do: Make music. Does Samsunk have all that in place? Nope.
It's beautiful. The RIAA labels are toast :-) Thank you Apple! Those guys deserve to wither and fade away after suing children and generally making an ass out of themselves at every opportunity. You've done us all a great favor. And to think... who would have ever believed, when the Beetles first sued Apple, that Apple really would become a record label :-D It's priceless.
I thought all the greatest artists were loosing all their sales to piracy. Isn't that what the RIAA always says? The artists being affected least by piracy will be the ones selling the most... therefore, the money should be distributed in inverse proportion to sales. ;-)
Yeah, ok, I went ahead and downloaded flash 8 anyway. Wanted to see how cleverly placed the hint happened to be... Anyway, now that I've entered Buffalo into the password field, I'm presented with check age. I enter the age in Omniweb with cookies and js on. Apparently, I'm to frickin' young, so I try Safari... Again, I'm under the age of 18 even though I was born in the 70's. Wow, great frickin' move KFC. I first have to download Flash 8 to watch, then enable cookies and js, then enter my age just to find out your website sucks and I don't get a free snacker coupon because I use a Mac. Great, thanks. Rounded out a perfect day there.