I don't know about the MS Music Store (and don't much care) but songs bought from the iTMS can be un-DRM'ed pretty easily. Just burn the songs or album to CD after you buy it. You should do this for backup purposes anyway. You can then re-rip the song in a non-DRM format, like MP3. In fact, I think that "convert to MP3" is a menu selection in iTunes. This removes DRM, no?
My understanding is that he said he would rescind the tax cuts for those making over $200,000. See here in the 10th paragraph. That doesn't affect me personally, I am sorry to say. But I would not care if Kerry put my taxes back to the level they were under Clinton. The Bush tax break got me an extra $40 a month or so, increasing my take-home pay by a bit more than 1%. I don't own a house or have kids, so maybe others saw more of a gain. But that tax "relief" was really insignificant to me. And I don't think I am atypical.
Besides all that, I think the tax debate is kinda silly anyway. We in the US pay much lower taxes than most indutrialized countries. Considering the US top rate used to be 70%, our current top rate of 35% (I think) doesn't seem so oppressive to me. And taxes pay for stuff like police and fire fighters and other things we will need in the event of another attack. And we are currently conducting a very expensive war. And W wants to keep cutting taxes? Is that smart?
I agree, the adversarial relationship between "right" and "left" is destructive. Your point about effectivness, and responsibility (I would add observing results and consequenses) is a good one. We all need to realize that getting together on this is the best way to go. The hard part is agreeing on what will work to solve a given problem. This is often based on differences in asessing what the root causes of a problem are. This is where we are now with Islamic terrorism. Why are they attacking us? Not a one sentence answer to be sure. But I think part of it has to do with our foreign policy, which often serves our narrow, immediate business interests without considering the needs and desires of people who are affected by it. This is not the whole story, but it is the part we have the most control over. So some national introspection is necessary if we are ever going to have security.
Honestly, I have tried to have a proper debate with a number of "conservatives". It often devolves into, "John Kerry will raise my taxes and coddle terrorists!" When I try to point out that A: No, he won't and B: It's not that simple, they don't want to hear it. That's just my experience, I realize. But I have trouble finding conservatives who are willing and able to debate a point on the issues, and don't sound like a Fox news blowhard (and at Fox, they are blowhards).
Many times I have seen Bush get twisted in language, or look like a deer in headlights, have been when he is trying to stick to the script. There have been times when he has spoken well. These have been times when he is just talking with people on the trail, or in normal conversation. What I attribute this to is Bush being a poor liar. There is an old saying, "Liars need to have good memories". Basically, Bush gets tangled up when he is trying to remember what he is supposed to say and what he is not supposed to say, on the fly. If he could just say what he thinks, he would sound better. But he wouldn't get elected. That is why his "press conferences" are scripted (he has admitted as much himself). When he knows what's coming, he and Karl can prepare. But he's just not very good at improvising bullsh*t.
Sorry, which part of the article said they were aligning themselves with the Democrats? Maybe Anarchy just hates Republicans. Nader claims to be against the Republicans, but he's not with the Democrats. It's not an either/or question.
Or, as Rumsfeld likes to say, "Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence." While there may not be solid proof, most of the information available points to Dubya not fulfilling his Guard requirement. Incidentally, Bush could put it to rest by signing a release of his military record, as McCain did. But he won't.
Of course we're resented for our foreign policy. But this must not be said. For if that is the case, America would have to make a change. We would have to consider the needs and wants and hopes and dreams of those we share this planet with, and other such sissy, wimpy things. It would put a serious dent in the American right to do whatever, whenever, however. It would mean that America is not completely a victim in all of this. It would mean that we can't shoot our way out of this problem. It would mean introspection, which many Americans seem allergic to.
Proper debate? With Republicans? LOL! When their party platform amounts to "If you look at us funny we'll kick your ass" there's not much proper debate to be had. Though I agree, DDoS attacks on websites is counterproductive.
"Why is so unreasonable to expect any user to have a rough idea of what programs they run on their computer so that they just update the bits they need to?"
Because people don't know enough about computers to know this. And no, it is not reasonable to expect them to. Most people don't know megahertz from megabytes. We in the/. community often forget this. Many people, especially of the older generation, just don't have the understanding of computers to really know what is going on. Why must you "install" a program, and why must it be "uninstalled"? The Registry? What's that? Most people don't care to know.
Would it be better if they did? Sure. But the fact is they don't. Just as I don't know all of what is in my car and how it works and whether it needs to be replaced or what better parts are available. I could find out, but I have not taken the time and probably won't.
So the Service Pack strategy may be, "It's better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it." It's not the most efficient way to do it, but it deals with reality.
The page linked to Intelligent Design actually goes on to refute the idea that the Bombardier Beelte is an example of inteligent design. It is quite plausible that the beetle developed it's defense mechanism through natural selection.
While it is true that there are other media for news and entertainment, television is far from dead. It is still by far the most popular medium. The number of people that use the internet for news and entertainment is miniscule next to that of TV watchers.
Besides, if you read the article you know that Ted notes that the media companies own multiple distribution channels, i.e. TV networks, cable networks, newspapers, ISP's, and websites. So yeah, people may get their news from the Internet. But when they do, what are the odds that they go to cnn.com, or foxnews.com, or nyt.com, or whatever. It's all the same stuff. So when you say that you are worried about ISP consolidation, or censorship, you are worrying about the same thing Ted Turner is.
Lastly, you say that you get most of your news from the Internet. So do I. But the fact that you and I are reading and posting on/. means that we are not like 99% of the rest of the country. Our usage patterns are not indicative of the whole country. TV is not dead. And though Ted Turner bitching about media consolidation is like Bill Gates criticizing Big Software, he still has a point.
Have you seen the size and complexity of that thing? Have you read the whole thingand all of the other laws and regulations it referrs to? Yikes! Question for you though: I have been told and have read myself that the FBI can get library and customer records without a warrant and impose a gag order on those it gets the records from. Is this not the case? If it is not, I am misinformed. But if it is the case, where does this come from, if not the PATRIOT act?
I have searched through the act and cannot find a reference to it.
Um, dude? iPods used on a Windows machine are formatted for Windows. If you use an iPod with a Mac it is formatted for Mac, and can't be attached to a PC without interprative software. So the people attaching their iPods to Windows PC's at work use them with their PC's at home. And they work like a firewire disk on a PC too. So introducing malware to as work PC is quite easy to do.
IMHO this is a moot issue however. USB flash drives are the real security hole.
I've been hearing these sentiments for 20 years. And yet Apple continues to lead the computing industry in software and industrial design. It is often still true that if you want to see next year's PC, take a look at today's Macintosh. Funny how that is...
That, and look at the size of that space! Even my girlfriend (sorry, honey) could get into that space! I'll buy it when it can get a 9' car into a 9' 4" space.
That is a simple answer. Like most simple answers, it is insufficient. Having bought the CD, I am allowed, under fair use, to copy it. So, your answer, while simple, is incorrect.
Slashdot Mirror
I don't know about the MS Music Store (and don't much care) but songs bought from the iTMS can be un-DRM'ed pretty easily. Just burn the songs or album to CD after you buy it. You should do this for backup purposes anyway. You can then re-rip the song in a non-DRM format, like MP3. In fact, I think that "convert to MP3" is a menu selection in iTunes. This removes DRM, no?
Damn straight! And it works. Besides, have you seen the default color scheme in Windows XP? Eeew!
Besides all that, I think the tax debate is kinda silly anyway. We in the US pay much lower taxes than most indutrialized countries. Considering the US top rate used to be 70%, our current top rate of 35% (I think) doesn't seem so oppressive to me. And taxes pay for stuff like police and fire fighters and other things we will need in the event of another attack. And we are currently conducting a very expensive war. And W wants to keep cutting taxes? Is that smart?
Does that mean you'd have modded me up? ;-)
I agree, the adversarial relationship between "right" and "left" is destructive. Your point about effectivness, and responsibility (I would add observing results and consequenses) is a good one. We all need to realize that getting together on this is the best way to go. The hard part is agreeing on what will work to solve a given problem. This is often based on differences in asessing what the root causes of a problem are. This is where we are now with Islamic terrorism. Why are they attacking us? Not a one sentence answer to be sure. But I think part of it has to do with our foreign policy, which often serves our narrow, immediate business interests without considering the needs and desires of people who are affected by it. This is not the whole story, but it is the part we have the most control over. So some national introspection is necessary if we are ever going to have security.
Honestly, I have tried to have a proper debate with a number of "conservatives". It often devolves into, "John Kerry will raise my taxes and coddle terrorists!" When I try to point out that A: No, he won't and B: It's not that simple, they don't want to hear it. That's just my experience, I realize. But I have trouble finding conservatives who are willing and able to debate a point on the issues, and don't sound like a Fox news blowhard (and at Fox, they are blowhards).
Many times I have seen Bush get twisted in language, or look like a deer in headlights, have been when he is trying to stick to the script. There have been times when he has spoken well. These have been times when he is just talking with people on the trail, or in normal conversation. What I attribute this to is Bush being a poor liar. There is an old saying, "Liars need to have good memories". Basically, Bush gets tangled up when he is trying to remember what he is supposed to say and what he is not supposed to say, on the fly. If he could just say what he thinks, he would sound better. But he wouldn't get elected. That is why his "press conferences" are scripted (he has admitted as much himself). When he knows what's coming, he and Karl can prepare. But he's just not very good at improvising bullsh*t.
Sorry, which part of the article said they were aligning themselves with the Democrats? Maybe Anarchy just hates Republicans. Nader claims to be against the Republicans, but he's not with the Democrats. It's not an either/or question.
Or, as Rumsfeld likes to say, "Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence." While there may not be solid proof, most of the information available points to Dubya not fulfilling his Guard requirement. Incidentally, Bush could put it to rest by signing a release of his military record, as McCain did. But he won't.
Here is a little knowledge for you. It's not exactly the same, but it's the same idea.
Though, it is no more right than when republicans do it.
Man, I gotta switch to decaf...
Proper debate? With Republicans? LOL! When their party platform amounts to "If you look at us funny we'll kick your ass" there's not much proper debate to be had. Though I agree, DDoS attacks on websites is counterproductive.
Because people don't know enough about computers to know this. And no, it is not reasonable to expect them to. Most people don't know megahertz from megabytes. We in the /. community often forget this. Many people, especially of the older generation, just don't have the understanding of computers to really know what is going on. Why must you "install" a program, and why must it be "uninstalled"? The Registry? What's that? Most people don't care to know.
Would it be better if they did? Sure. But the fact is they don't. Just as I don't know all of what is in my car and how it works and whether it needs to be replaced or what better parts are available. I could find out, but I have not taken the time and probably won't.
So the Service Pack strategy may be, "It's better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it." It's not the most efficient way to do it, but it deals with reality.
The page linked to Intelligent Design actually goes on to refute the idea that the Bombardier Beelte is an example of inteligent design. It is quite plausible that the beetle developed it's defense mechanism through natural selection.
While it is true that there are other media for news and entertainment, television is far from dead. It is still by far the most popular medium. The number of people that use the internet for news and entertainment is miniscule next to that of TV watchers.
Besides, if you read the article you know that Ted notes that the media companies own multiple distribution channels, i.e. TV networks, cable networks, newspapers, ISP's, and websites. So yeah, people may get their news from the Internet. But when they do, what are the odds that they go to cnn.com, or foxnews.com, or nyt.com, or whatever. It's all the same stuff. So when you say that you are worried about ISP consolidation, or censorship, you are worrying about the same thing Ted Turner is.
Lastly, you say that you get most of your news from the Internet. So do I. But the fact that you and I are reading and posting on /. means that we are not like 99% of the rest of the country. Our usage patterns are not indicative of the whole country. TV is not dead. And though Ted Turner bitching about media consolidation is like Bill Gates criticizing Big Software, he still has a point.
I see! Thank you for setting me straight. Wow! Slashdot can be fun and educational!
I have searched through the act and cannot find a reference to it.
IMHO this is a moot issue however. USB flash drives are the real security hole.
LOL!
I've been hearing these sentiments for 20 years. And yet Apple continues to lead the computing industry in software and industrial design. It is often still true that if you want to see next year's PC, take a look at today's Macintosh. Funny how that is...
That, and look at the size of that space! Even my girlfriend (sorry, honey) could get into that space! I'll buy it when it can get a 9' car into a 9' 4" space.
Okay, I can dig that.
That is a simple answer. Like most simple answers, it is insufficient. Having bought the CD, I am allowed, under fair use, to copy it. So, your answer, while simple, is incorrect.
Hee! Korean man to his wife: "I read this thing today on a baloon that fell out of the sky, and it really spoke to me."
Are those the only two choices?