Whilst American cars struggle to reach 25MPG, the average MPG of a European car is over 40MPG
This statement is a misnomer. The volvo's, Toyotas, Honda, etc are all available in North America, it's a problem with the people who prefer to drive their nasty gas-guzzling SUV's (and to add to that, I've seen a whole lot of people driving the massively-consuming motorhomes this summer as well, WTF).
Their online auction and payment services have great potential. As for others, I'n not sure what potential they have for profit, but their picasa software I've found very useful and it seems to be quite popular as well. Google earth is fairly snazzy as well (with some advertising potential in terms of directory services, etc).
This summer I've driven past burning cars twice. I'm assuming this was caused by a ruptured hose or whatever,and it looks like they went up pretty fast. They might not explode, but bursting into flames isn't exactly a fun thing either... especially if you're stuck in the vehicle or can't get out before it goes up (personally I'd rather be exploded than burn+asphixiate to death).
Indeed, tuition at the local college is about 2.5 to 3 times what I paid. Now that might not seem like a huge increase... but I've only been out since about 2002.
A friend of mine took the same program, but was a few semesters behind, her tuition during the last semester was almost exactly double what I had been paying, not to mention the hundreds of dollars for overpriced books, parking pass fees, various other student fees, etc.
Such a system ensures that the rich will continue to get richer, and the poor will get poorer. Is student X that went to school Y really smarter? A better worker? Or was it just that student A who went to school B couldn't afford that Ivy-League education. Was student X really a good learner in class, or could he afford to take the same class several times until he eventually passed. Nowadays, maybe the case is that student X could pay somebody to do the work for him, whether online or otherwise.
Sorry, but today's post-secondary education system is a joke, with the institutions reaming students for every little dollar and cent they can. And for the record, the best damn prof I had was not some expensive PHD who spoke self-rightous gobbledekgook and looked down on the whole class (while being 20 years out-of-date and not really teaching anything relevant), he was a gentlemen with a good class mannerism, lots of current industry experience in the given field, and the ability to work with and communicate with students.
The real question should be: Is this caused by an increase in cheating students (and the resources to do so), or is it caused by an industry that has become stagnant, boring, and oftimes irrelevant?
I happen to love my field (IT). There were some courses that I loved. There were many courses that I wandered through (accounting, basic computing courses for the people that *didn't* like IT but wanted a job), and many that were irrelevant (outdated computing languages that almost nobody used... except for the college's sponsoring industries). There were also a lot of courses I wish I could have taken, but lacked the money. One of these days I'll probably have to go back to uni, and I greatly loath the concept of paying for dull, vaguely-related courses taught by barely-competent profs. I wouldn't download my answers or my essays - despite the boredom and irrelevance there is some sense of personal accomplishment to finishing useless courses - but I can definately see the motivation behind some that do.
But while the installed software might be genuine (as in it *is* Microsoft Windows XP and not Linux XP or something like that, the original installation media was generally *not* a genuine Microsoft disc (unless installed illegitimately but a shop ) and the license is not a geniune microsoft license, not is the license code genuine. Moreover, since WGA only works properly (I use works loosely, sometimes it doesn't anyways) with legitimate copies, one could state that functionally it is not the same either... although said functionality difference was one implemented by microsoft.
I could be wrong, but don't some countries have laws against region-locks (I know some, at least, allow you to buy region-free or deregionalize your device without legal repercussions).
As it is now, what prevents someone from hearing a song, and singing it again (think Happy Birthday)?
Actually, it may be an urban legend, but I've heard of restaurants being sued (successfully) for singing copyrighted songs such as that very one... so perhaps that's a bad example as it's already precedent in favour of the cartels.
You really think a judge is going to listen to an arguement about retinas and memory?
There *is* a difference between that and a storable or hardcopy duplication, not that either should be disallowed when one owns the original media or license (iTunes/etc)
You still can't photocopy or scan an entire book to make a "backup" of it!
Why not? If I keep the original (which, while not in usable condition, may still be recognisable as the original product), and photocopy it, copy it on a compuyter, or whatever, how am I violating anything if I do not distribute (the original or copy) and retain both as proof of ownership?
But that's not really the issue here. The issue is generally of users "sharing" files, not downloading... which while being somewhat semantical (the programs would be useless if people didn't share, and do so by default), is the big difference between copying one's own CD's or a friend's if you have the original etc.
You'll still be nailed if you rip your own discs and then have them in a shared folder. You won't be if you just rip them and stick them on an iPod or whatever.
Civil or criminal. A criminal conviction might do the following:
a) Put you in jail
b) Give you a record
c) Drain your finances in court fighting it
d) All associated issues with the afforementioned
A heavy civil penalty (the RIAA is often seeking damages in the $100,000's to more) will have the effect of:
a) Bankrupty, and poverty
However, the worst effects of (a) are - in addition to the possibility of being abused in prison - the financial ones as well... a record means getting a good job can be really hard, jail time can kill a marriage etc. Being bankrupt (civil penalty) can be much the same... it's pretty hard to afford a mortgage/house, car to get to work, etc when you're up to your eyeballs in virtually unimaginable debt.
I'd choose civil over criminal, but neither is a bed of roses by a long way.
With the various lawsuits going on, and settlements seeming to arise regularly... I wonder whether they're actually making more profit for these various companies than some of their CD/movie sales. Certainly the lawyers are munching on a fair chunk... but how much are the studios taking in as profit?
Truely a sad business model... especially when they're going after companies that are actually trying to negotiate legitimate mutually-beneficial deals.
So far as I can tell, with the CD-copying levy etc and various other factors, there have been no cases of somebody being sued for downloading music in Canada. That being said, perhaps that's the best way to get a song distributed by sony without getting the malware?
I'd say that the problem with linux is not that it's not "laptop-ready", but that it's not "toy-ready."
It's the annoying little things, like the built-in cardreaders (the usb ones for desktops work fine, but I've rarely seen a laptop one work), some wireless chipsets (getting better... but despite having supposed kernel support I still haven't gotten my broadcomm chipset to work without ndiswrapper), hotkeys, and various other little things that don't quite work in linux.
On the other hand, there are lots of really cool things that only work in linux, or work better in linux, but those tend to be outside of the main area of interest for the general public.
That being said, I've seen vast improvement in the area of compatability with various hardware in 'nix. In the last few years I've seen more webcams, capture cards, and other of the 'fun but not essential' hardware come out with linux drivers that work (if not always work wonderfully)... and I'm hoping that such things will have more support in the future.
Who actually uses linux because it's not mainstream? 99% of the geeks that use it do so because:
a) For those that can code: They can modify, fix, script, and add to software functionality when things don't quite work the way they want
b) Stability
c) Cost
d) Variety
e) Choice
f) Community (depending on the linux application)
If they really want to be elitist and using something just because it's *not* mainstream, screw 'em... let them go make another operating system, or use some uncommon/obscure form of linux.
There were actually a lot of clones at the time, many which weren't very good, but all along the general idea. Wolf3d was interesting, but it got pretty dull partway in. Doom on the other hand, introduced network multiplay, which was a big step forward as FPS's suddenly became a group activity and allowed multiple peoples to play.
Well, if you go by the "black blood" as actual blood, perhaps. If you go by background or cultural origin, then perhaps not so much. Part of the issue of racism is that it usually denotes offensive racial remarks. In the majority of cases, a black or latino person would not be offended by a remark that "black people are hot," in fact it would be complimentary.
Also, one's background (again not actual 'blood' or skin colour, but upbringing) tend to influence one's sexual behavior. In terms of actual genetics, race may also promote certain physical attributes which might be attractive. For example, many Asian nationalities tend to have smaller, more petite figures, while so-called "black" races might have more rounding, leading to the common references to 'booty' (large backsides).
You can argue that remarks along those lines are racist as they single out a particular race, but again they lack the negetive connotations. I myself have been known to date quite a few Asians (more than most white people around here), as culturally and physically they have characteristics I find attractive. I have dated white people with similar characteristics, but they are more prevalent in various Asian groups. Were I to comment that I find asians attractive, or "hot" as it were, I doubt they'd be offended, no more than I would be for a Asian who finds paricular preference in Caucasian males.
Calling somebody hot or sexy is a far, far cry from calling them a 'nigger' (especially with the slave references and other negetives it entails).
There are plenty of instances where a non-graphical site is of no use. For example, what if the product in question (maybe a video game that requires vision to play) is of no use to those who can't see. If they put up a flash site (annoying, but not a crime) with no text links, should they be sued even though the product it advertises is of little or no use to the vision impaired?
Potential employer. They haven't hired you yet, though whether this gives them more or less claim to such information (they shouldn't really have any) I couldn't say.
And now I'd also have to agree that sounds to me like what would actually push it into breaking US laws, since those US numbers indicate an actual presence in (and specific to) the US itself, and not just on the internet (which is quasi-international).
Nice to see somebody who actually has a well-reasoned opinion and lets the facts speak (and even change one's mind when they're strong enough).
He's doing business on the internet, which is globally available to all. Nailing him for violating US laws would be like having a US porn-site owner being arrested in a country where porn is illegal.
Anything that requires the user to repeatedly "do stupid action (a)" to bypass "annoying function (b)" indicates that perhaps "annoying function (b)" should either not exist, period, or have a mechanism to be bypassed/disabled automatically.
And for the record, a previous posted already showed how to turn off the mac startup sound.
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Whilst American cars struggle to reach 25MPG, the average MPG of a European car is over 40MPG
This statement is a misnomer. The volvo's, Toyotas, Honda, etc are all available in North America, it's a problem with the people who prefer to drive their nasty gas-guzzling SUV's (and to add to that, I've seen a whole lot of people driving the massively-consuming motorhomes this summer as well, WTF).
Their online auction and payment services have great potential. As for others, I'n not sure what potential they have for profit, but their picasa software I've found very useful and it seems to be quite popular as well. Google earth is fairly snazzy as well (with some advertising potential in terms of directory services, etc).
This summer I've driven past burning cars twice. I'm assuming this was caused by a ruptured hose or whatever ,and it looks like they went up pretty fast. They might not explode, but bursting into flames isn't exactly a fun thing either... especially if you're stuck in the vehicle or can't get out before it goes up (personally I'd rather be exploded than burn+asphixiate to death).
Indeed, tuition at the local college is about 2.5 to 3 times what I paid. Now that might not seem like a huge increase... but I've only been out since about 2002.
A friend of mine took the same program, but was a few semesters behind, her tuition during the last semester was almost exactly double what I had been paying, not to mention the hundreds of dollars for overpriced books, parking pass fees, various other student fees, etc.
Such a system ensures that the rich will continue to get richer, and the poor will get poorer. Is student X that went to school Y really smarter? A better worker? Or was it just that student A who went to school B couldn't afford that Ivy-League education. Was student X really a good learner in class, or could he afford to take the same class several times until he eventually passed. Nowadays, maybe the case is that student X could pay somebody to do the work for him, whether online or otherwise.
Sorry, but today's post-secondary education system is a joke, with the institutions reaming students for every little dollar and cent they can. And for the record, the best damn prof I had was not some expensive PHD who spoke self-rightous gobbledekgook and looked down on the whole class (while being 20 years out-of-date and not really teaching anything relevant), he was a gentlemen with a good class mannerism, lots of current industry experience in the given field, and the ability to work with and communicate with students.
The real question should be: Is this caused by an increase in cheating students (and the resources to do so), or is it caused by an industry that has become stagnant, boring, and oftimes irrelevant?
I happen to love my field (IT). There were some courses that I loved. There were many courses that I wandered through (accounting, basic computing courses for the people that *didn't* like IT but wanted a job), and many that were irrelevant (outdated computing languages that almost nobody used... except for the college's sponsoring industries). There were also a lot of courses I wish I could have taken, but lacked the money. One of these days I'll probably have to go back to uni, and I greatly loath the concept of paying for dull, vaguely-related courses taught by barely-competent profs. I wouldn't download my answers or my essays - despite the boredom and irrelevance there is some sense of personal accomplishment to finishing useless courses - but I can definately see the motivation behind some that do.
But while the installed software might be genuine (as in it *is* Microsoft Windows XP and not Linux XP or something like that, the original installation media was generally *not* a genuine Microsoft disc (unless installed illegitimately but a shop ) and the license is not a geniune microsoft license, not is the license code genuine. Moreover, since WGA only works properly (I use works loosely, sometimes it doesn't anyways) with legitimate copies, one could state that functionally it is not the same either... although said functionality difference was one implemented by microsoft.
I could be wrong, but don't some countries have laws against region-locks (I know some, at least, allow you to buy region-free or deregionalize your device without legal repercussions).
As it is now, what prevents someone from hearing a song, and singing it again (think Happy Birthday)?
Actually, it may be an urban legend, but I've heard of restaurants being sued (successfully) for singing copyrighted songs such as that very one... so perhaps that's a bad example as it's already precedent in favour of the cartels.
You really think a judge is going to listen to an arguement about retinas and memory?
There *is* a difference between that and a storable or hardcopy duplication, not that either should be disallowed when one owns the original media or license (iTunes/etc)
You still can't photocopy or scan an entire book to make a "backup" of it!
Why not? If I keep the original (which, while not in usable condition, may still be recognisable as the original product), and photocopy it, copy it on a compuyter, or whatever, how am I violating anything if I do not distribute (the original or copy) and retain both as proof of ownership?
But that's not really the issue here. The issue is generally of users "sharing" files, not downloading... which while being somewhat semantical (the programs would be useless if people didn't share, and do so by default), is the big difference between copying one's own CD's or a friend's if you have the original etc.
You'll still be nailed if you rip your own discs and then have them in a shared folder. You won't be if you just rip them and stick them on an iPod or whatever.
Civil or criminal. A criminal conviction might do the following: a) Put you in jail
b) Give you a record
c) Drain your finances in court fighting it
d) All associated issues with the afforementioned
A heavy civil penalty (the RIAA is often seeking damages in the $100,000's to more) will have the effect of:
a) Bankrupty, and poverty
However, the worst effects of (a) are - in addition to the possibility of being abused in prison - the financial ones as well... a record means getting a good job can be really hard, jail time can kill a marriage etc. Being bankrupt (civil penalty) can be much the same... it's pretty hard to afford a mortgage/house, car to get to work, etc when you're up to your eyeballs in virtually unimaginable debt.
I'd choose civil over criminal, but neither is a bed of roses by a long way.
With the various lawsuits going on, and settlements seeming to arise regularly... I wonder whether they're actually making more profit for these various companies than some of their CD/movie sales. Certainly the lawyers are munching on a fair chunk... but how much are the studios taking in as profit?
Truely a sad business model... especially when they're going after companies that are actually trying to negotiate legitimate mutually-beneficial deals.
So far as I can tell, with the CD-copying levy etc and various other factors, there have been no cases of somebody being sued for downloading music in Canada. That being said, perhaps that's the best way to get a song distributed by sony without getting the malware?
I'd say that the problem with linux is not that it's not "laptop-ready", but that it's not "toy-ready."
It's the annoying little things, like the built-in cardreaders (the usb ones for desktops work fine, but I've rarely seen a laptop one work), some wireless chipsets (getting better... but despite having supposed kernel support I still haven't gotten my broadcomm chipset to work without ndiswrapper), hotkeys, and various other little things that don't quite work in linux.
On the other hand, there are lots of really cool things that only work in linux, or work better in linux, but those tend to be outside of the main area of interest for the general public.
That being said, I've seen vast improvement in the area of compatability with various hardware in 'nix. In the last few years I've seen more webcams, capture cards, and other of the 'fun but not essential' hardware come out with linux drivers that work (if not always work wonderfully)... and I'm hoping that such things will have more support in the future.
Who actually uses linux because it's not mainstream? 99% of the geeks that use it do so because:
a) For those that can code: They can modify, fix, script, and add to software functionality when things don't quite work the way they want
b) Stability
c) Cost
d) Variety
e) Choice
f) Community (depending on the linux application)
If they really want to be elitist and using something just because it's *not* mainstream, screw 'em... let them go make another operating system, or use some uncommon/obscure form of linux.
Yes, that's a perfectly good example...
Of how people looking to take offence at something will find a way to stretch a given issue to make their own point and/or cause complaint.
Good day to you sir.
There were actually a lot of clones at the time, many which weren't very good, but all along the general idea. Wolf3d was interesting, but it got pretty dull partway in. Doom on the other hand, introduced network multiplay, which was a big step forward as FPS's suddenly became a group activity and allowed multiple peoples to play.
By auctions I'm guessing ebay etc, perhaps including email scams, where illegitimate copies are being sold.
Well, if you go by the "black blood" as actual blood, perhaps. If you go by background or cultural origin, then perhaps not so much. Part of the issue of racism is that it usually denotes offensive racial remarks. In the majority of cases, a black or latino person would not be offended by a remark that "black people are hot," in fact it would be complimentary.
Also, one's background (again not actual 'blood' or skin colour, but upbringing) tend to influence one's sexual behavior. In terms of actual genetics, race may also promote certain physical attributes which might be attractive. For example, many Asian nationalities tend to have smaller, more petite figures, while so-called "black" races might have more rounding, leading to the common references to 'booty' (large backsides).
You can argue that remarks along those lines are racist as they single out a particular race, but again they lack the negetive connotations. I myself have been known to date quite a few Asians (more than most white people around here), as culturally and physically they have characteristics I find attractive. I have dated white people with similar characteristics, but they are more prevalent in various Asian groups. Were I to comment that I find asians attractive, or "hot" as it were, I doubt they'd be offended, no more than I would be for a Asian who finds paricular preference in Caucasian males.
Calling somebody hot or sexy is a far, far cry from calling them a 'nigger' (especially with the slave references and other negetives it entails).
To add to that... how about if you still have the receipt?
There are plenty of instances where a non-graphical site is of no use. For example, what if the product in question (maybe a video game that requires vision to play) is of no use to those who can't see. If they put up a flash site (annoying, but not a crime) with no text links, should they be sued even though the product it advertises is of little or no use to the vision impaired?
Potential employer. They haven't hired you yet, though whether this gives them more or less claim to such information (they shouldn't really have any) I couldn't say.
US phone numbers and EST calling times
And now I'd also have to agree that sounds to me like what would actually push it into breaking US laws, since those US numbers indicate an actual presence in (and specific to) the US itself, and not just on the internet (which is quasi-international).
Nice to see somebody who actually has a well-reasoned opinion and lets the facts speak (and even change one's mind when they're strong enough).
but he's doing a lot of business in US.
He's doing business on the internet, which is globally available to all. Nailing him for violating US laws would be like having a US porn-site owner being arrested in a country where porn is illegal.
I'm fairly sure there are programs to monitor+log overall CPU usage. Why not just spit out some nice graphs or charts with that for the boss-man?
Anything that requires the user to repeatedly "do stupid action (a)" to bypass "annoying function (b)" indicates that perhaps "annoying function (b)" should either not exist, period, or have a mechanism to be bypassed/disabled automatically.
And for the record, a previous posted already showed how to turn off the mac startup sound.