...how long before he finds himself a lawyer, patents a "method of conveying levity via a sequence of characters typed on a keyboard," and sues, well, everyone?:-)
Well, great that they found the first smiley, but I will not be satisfied until I see the LAST one. Once upon a time, people could communicate emotions effectively simply through the tone of their writing. Now that people have apparently lost this ability, they use a crude text representation of a facial expression. This is not an improvement.
In the neverending rush to heap more and more gadgets and whizbang technology into browsers, the people that develop them didn't seem to take much of an interest as to their usefulness. Web developers struggling to stay abreast of existing technologies hardly had time to hone their skills on all the latest, bleeding edge (and often contradictory) gadgetry while being pushed by their managers to get their work done "Now, now, now!" Everyone was in such a rush to cash in that nobody put any thought into it.
Now that the bubble has burst, fixing "obsolete" sites is not a priority. IT staffs have been cut, resources have been redirected into projects that actually turn a profit, or the "web guys" are gone all together. Nobody is around or has time to fiddle with the brochureware homepage.
but given that a vast majority of US households are without broadband, is this an idea before its time?
That's backwards. There need to be more things that increase the consumer demand for broadband. What broadband needs (and the Internet as a whole) is the next "killer app" to rekindle its growth and further legitimize. I spent much of the dotcom boom watching the pundits desperately search for this next killer app. One day it was "push" technology, the next it was Java. The next it was this and that and the other. Mosaic and the propogation of the WWW into the public consciousness was a killer app. MP3 was a killer app. Broadband is out there but there are a lot of "average users" who don't see much they can do with it.
Re:Freedom and the USA
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Want Freedom?
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· Score: 1
Why is it that there seem to be many Americans that believe that the USA invented the concepts of democracy, freedom and liberty? The issue comes up time and time again. Is it something that is taught in schools in the USA?
I would retort with the following: Why is it that whenever a topic of this nature is discussed on Slashdot there are presumptuous, sweeping generalizations made by those who seem to be out to do nothing but take swats at Americans? We GET it already.
The USA has had great success with its system of guaranteed rights. And no, there has never been another nation with quite the same system. The founding fathers of the USA looked at many other nations when designing the framework of the Constitution: The Iroquois Confederacy being an example. The Magna Carta was also very influential, of course.
Nobody but a fool would claim that the USA "invented" guaranteed rights and freedoms, nor that it is the only country with guaranteed rights and freedoms. But it would be the same fool that would decry the very unique and irrefutably successful system laid down by the founding fathers simply because he or she has some asinine grudge against this country.
Well, one good way to help the propagation along would be to post a link to it on slashdot so thousands of script kiddies can get ahold of it... oh wait..
I commend Michael for doing so (and I am no fan of his) because by publicizing exploits it increases the pressure Microsoft to fix them more quickly. Security through obscurity is no security at all.
Apparently when wracked by economic hard times it's cool for a "news" site to sell off its staff to write thinly-veiled MPAA/RIAA press releases.. probably in the hopes that it would drum up some sympathetic advertising.
Oh and by the way: 2002-08-19 11:25:16 Cnet Goes Apologist (yro,news) (rejected) - submitted at 7AM EST this morning.
companies like Doubleclick are becoming more popular with online businesses because of the low price they charge
It wouldn't cost businesses much to hire bums to take a shit on my front doorstep, but does that mean it's good?! Who actually buys anything soliiticted to them via spam? The only result I've ever seen UCE deliver is anger.
How does this sell a product more effectively than any other medium? Sounds more like a cutesy way for an ad agency to bill out more hours and pat itself on the back while marveling at its own creativity.
With Aztec codes, Maxicodes, data matrices and other alternatives to barcodes being used more and more now, why even bother extending the existing format when it will just need to be extended again in short order?
Formats like the Aztec code can hold up to 3000 characters of information. Rather than re-engineer something inefficient (UPC), why not adapt something new and completely extinguish the problem?
Also what about the risk of it falling down? An orbital tower will wrap about the earth more than once if it falls. The description in Red Mars was particularly though provoking.
The first thought that flashes through my head whenever I read about orbital towers and the like is "Babylon." I am all in favor of progress and technology, but the parallels you sometimes find between our modern ambitions and our Biblical ambitions are.. stirring.
Seriously, where the fuck is it. WHy doesn't carmack stick to what he is good at.
Why don't you take some of your own advice? I'm sure there's a vacant alley somewhere in need of a bum begging to suck cock for quarters.
Hell, I haven't even finished writing a novel [expressivefreedom.org] set in 2057 that depicts exactly these sorts of events. How close is one to the Singualarity I wonder, when real world events overtake science fiction faster than it can be written?
Expressive Freedom [expressivefreedom.org] - Fighting the Copyright Cartels With Free Content
So you won't mind if a take a copy of the complete text of your book, put my name on it, and pass it around for free.... right?
My company dropped Dell for server purchases several weeks ago in favor of HPaq. My job focuses in the Microsoft arena entirely, but even so, to me this is one more reason that I am glad we've dropped Dell.
Slashdot Mirror
Despair, Inc. has held the trademark on the :-( for some time, now.
Read all about it.
Lighten the fuck up. :-)
Now that the bubble has burst, fixing "obsolete" sites is not a priority. IT staffs have been cut, resources have been redirected into projects that actually turn a profit, or the "web guys" are gone all together. Nobody is around or has time to fiddle with the brochureware homepage.
That's backwards. There need to be more things that increase the consumer demand for broadband. What broadband needs (and the Internet as a whole) is the next "killer app" to rekindle its growth and further legitimize. I spent much of the dotcom boom watching the pundits desperately search for this next killer app. One day it was "push" technology, the next it was Java. The next it was this and that and the other. Mosaic and the propogation of the WWW into the public consciousness was a killer app. MP3 was a killer app. Broadband is out there but there are a lot of "average users" who don't see much they can do with it.
It -always- rains on holiday weekends!
I would retort with the following: Why is it that whenever a topic of this nature is discussed on Slashdot there are presumptuous, sweeping generalizations made by those who seem to be out to do nothing but take swats at Americans? We GET it already.
The USA has had great success with its system of guaranteed rights. And no, there has never been another nation with quite the same system. The founding fathers of the USA looked at many other nations when designing the framework of the Constitution: The Iroquois Confederacy being an example. The Magna Carta was also very influential, of course.
Nobody but a fool would claim that the USA "invented" guaranteed rights and freedoms, nor that it is the only country with guaranteed rights and freedoms. But it would be the same fool that would decry the very unique and irrefutably successful system laid down by the founding fathers simply because he or she has some asinine grudge against this country.
Well, one good way to help the propagation along would be to post a link to it on slashdot so thousands of script kiddies can get ahold of it... oh wait.. I commend Michael for doing so (and I am no fan of his) because by publicizing exploits it increases the pressure Microsoft to fix them more quickly. Security through obscurity is no security at all.
.. that Microsoft products have new security holes or that Michael interjects yet another snide pseudo-troll at the end of the summary.
No one's used modern nuclear weapons yet, either. Shall we not bother with caring about that, too?
Mod this UP! A very informative comment that very much clarifies what the "journalist" in question is up to.
Oh and by the way: 2002-08-19 11:25:16 Cnet Goes Apologist (yro,news) (rejected) - submitted at 7AM EST this morning.
And the idiots who endlessly try to constrict it are bound to be disappointed - inevitably.
It wouldn't cost businesses much to hire bums to take a shit on my front doorstep, but does that mean it's good?! Who actually buys anything soliiticted to them via spam? The only result I've ever seen UCE deliver is anger.
How does this sell a product more effectively than any other medium? Sounds more like a cutesy way for an ad agency to bill out more hours and pat itself on the back while marveling at its own creativity.
We can just sue anyone that uses the exploit for violating the DMCA. There, problem solved!
Or even better, don't use Windows at all.
.. that when it was written, VA Linux's stock was actually worth something.
Formats like the Aztec code can hold up to 3000 characters of information. Rather than re-engineer something inefficient (UPC), why not adapt something new and completely extinguish the problem?
Info on barcodes, UPC symbols, maxicode, etc.
The first thought that flashes through my head whenever I read about orbital towers and the like is "Babylon." I am all in favor of progress and technology, but the parallels you sometimes find between our modern ambitions and our Biblical ambitions are.. stirring.
You're absolutely, 100% correct. You are most definitely a curmudgeon.
I can't remember - Is AOL the evil corporate empire today or are they the champions fighting against M$? Let me check my calendar..
Seriously, where the fuck is it. WHy doesn't carmack stick to what he is good at. Why don't you take some of your own advice? I'm sure there's a vacant alley somewhere in need of a bum begging to suck cock for quarters.
*blink*
Expressive Freedom [expressivefreedom.org] - Fighting the Copyright Cartels With Free Content
So you won't mind if a take a copy of the complete text of your book, put my name on it, and pass it around for free.... right?
My company dropped Dell for server purchases several weeks ago in favor of HPaq. My job focuses in the Microsoft arena entirely, but even so, to me this is one more reason that I am glad we've dropped Dell.