Hell, *I* hate Tux the Penguin. Nothing screams Dork in a College Dorm Room louder than Tux. (OK, maybe a Middle Earth poster...) But the goofy little guy endures, so he must be reaching somebody in the target audience who's not me and the pundits. Maybe this Win7 ad reaches the same key demographic.
Of course, the preceding argument presumes that Linux has some kind of unified and organized marketing program. Which is, y'know, ridiculous...
Symbols do empower. And the weak and narrow-minded get all threatened-like. Swastikas, Crosses, Pentagrams, Joker-Faces -- none have power inherently, except that which the Already Scared and Uncertain impart to them.
Google tried a fast one, the global publishing equivalent of tightly packaging a web browser with an OS, and got caught. The only "negotiations" up to this point had been akin to the conversation the kid has with the candy jar. Now, perhaps, a genuine dialogue can begin.
...because you know their State Police will have really cool uniforms. They'll be, like, all shiny medals and epaulets and swagger sticks and motorcycle sidecars and they'll put their surveillance cams in hovering dirigibles and what not, all trim ex-military guys. If I'm going to be cracked across the back of the neck for not showing my papers, I want to be cracked by a guy with some style. Obama goons will be all business casual, in new, pressed, grandma jeans and open-collar shirts and sneakers, driving around in non-descript cars, all mouth-breathing ex-IRS guys.
We're Americans, dammit. Electric Cars, making no noise, are dainty and prissy. Carbonalicious Cars that go Vrooom-Vroooom, these are the cars that Real Men drive.
I'm saying it in a snarky way (it's my curse), but you know that is what the auto-marketers are thinking. Safety? Oh, please...!
Most of the stuff on my Kindle is public domain, stuff I have downloaded from legit free text sites. Yeah, they are not in the "Kindle format," and that's a drag... for about 20 seconds, and then I remember how much I paid for the free text, versus how much I pay for a Kindle Version of anything, and then I am happy again.
I wouldn't buy one -- it's not *that* great an idea -- but were I to receive one as a gift it would get me to open a Twitter account, which is really saying a lot.
Good luck with that, as they say. If it's anything like NYC, Justice will pretty much need two separate news crews, six NYPD detectives, nineteen passersby, and a televangelist to witness one of the "made men" machinegun down a busload of out-of-town nuns at high noon in Times Square on the day before Election Day to be served.
In the United States, the MAJORITY of people do not believe in evolution.
If that's true, it's not because their religion is against it. That's like saying the majority of people in the US believe we've been visited by space aliens, therefore all Christians believe we've been visited by space aliens, which is not to say you won't find some Christian sects who teach that Jesus was from outer space. Just don't be misinformed and confuse the teachings of a minority with the tenets of the vast majority.
Christianity demands reason being left at the door. There are some things you just don't question. Period. The bible is true - period. The world is 6000 years old - period.
And you're wrong. Period. The percentage of overall Christian sects which are biblical fundamentalists is small. And I'm not even including the non-fundie Roman Catholicism, which is the largest Christian denomination by far.
But don't let the truth stand in the way of your bigotry.
Ardour is not available for Windows, and it was the large Windows userbase I was referring to. If you're already running Linux, this conversation is not about you, and if you own a Mac, cost is probably not a consideration when choosing your software.
I've lost count of the number of "casual" graphics designers to whom I have introduced to open source tools... they want to "do stuff," either within a web site or with their photos, but the name brand graphics tools are too expensive, so... they'll try anything, even something with a name as ridiculous and off-putting as "The Gimp." Then, once they become proficient, once they start to understand "layers" and "filters" and the like, they understand the required reading a bit better, and wonder what they are missing with the Adobe software. Well, they don't wonder, it's very clear: all the web and design magazines each month provide specialized step-by-step tutorials on how to do neat stuff with the popular tools, and never once mention open source beyond the "Annual Condescension" summary article about the "other" tools. These people take a stroll down the aisles at B&N and see tome after tome designed to help the Adobe user, and maybe -- in a particularly well-stocked store -- a copy of "Beginning GIMP, which just sounds icky. I've seen the same scenario play out with Audacity and Pro Tools: people learn how to edit with free Audacity, and then when they become savvy enough to realize what they are missing with the proprietary stuff -- either in the form of missing features or widespread community and commercial support -- they step up.
The pro creative tools have great "wannabe" appeal: working with Adobe and Pro Tools, the amateur wannabe artists feel like they're "more connected" to that professional world to which they aspire. Using the free open source tools just underscores -- in their mind -- that they are second tier. This is not to say that the open source tools are second-rate technically, just that -- in the eyes of the latte-infused graphics and sound editor pretenders -- they may not be quite as "fashionable."
A dozen years ago, perhaps. They had *it* once, and lost it. Which is not to say they are not making money by the bushelful. "Wired" is to technology as "Men's Fitness" is to exercise and nutrition. But I still pine for Mondo 2000, so maybe I'm not the right person to pass judgment...
You don't need to "win" by beating all of your competitors, you need to "survive"... And if you don't understand that, or tend to disagree, please do us all a favor and leave the gene pool.
Right. We don't want any over-achievers in our gene pool.
Earth President Barack Obama welcomed the representatives of the Galactic Brotherhood to Washington
Actually, the "welcome" was just a formality. They've been here for over a decade, off the books, sending money back to their families in Tau Ceti and Alpha Centauri.
Texting was that tiny spot on the personal digital communications timeline between "Cell Phones Become Prevalent" and "Smartphones with E-Mail Become Prevalent." And I guess I can't really say that "smartphones have become prevalent," beyond the anecdotal "everyone I know uses a smartphone now and just e-mails from it (at no extra charge)." So, yeah, give kids the ability to text, I guess. Give 'em all an abacus and a CueCat while you're add it, too.
If there are any conservative Christians out there who need an example of why their gay-bashing is idiotic and obscenely counter-productive, look no further than the case of Alan Turing.
Right. Because it's only conservative Christians who "gay bash." Islamic fundamentalists, for whom gay bashing laws are still on the theocratic books, get a pass in the public consciousness, as usual..
Lookit, the Americans and Western Europeans did some bad things, and then we got over it! We moved on! We entered the 21st Century!! You want to get angry, you want to get fired up, you want to actually do some good and maybe save some lives, go after Sharia, today, not Britain 50-60 years ago.
Whether it's your G-Mail contact list, your search history, or what books you check out from from their "library," your data is Google's stock in trade. This is the price of "free." For most people, it's a much better than even proposition. For the paranoid and privacy conscious, it's a deal breaker. And the notion that Google is providing this information to the US government is merely an urban myth, so get that idea right out of your head this instant...
(MOD ME DOWN FOR POINTING OUT REALITY IN THE FACE OF A FECKLESS/WEAK LEFTY SMEAR ATTEMPT!!!)
Uh, can they just mod you down for being so dense and paranoid that you have lost any sense of irony you may have once possessed? But thanks for calling me "Lefty." That one's a first...
Slashdot Mirror
Hell, *I* hate Tux the Penguin. Nothing screams Dork in a College Dorm Room louder than Tux. (OK, maybe a Middle Earth poster...) But the goofy little guy endures, so he must be reaching somebody in the target audience who's not me and the pundits. Maybe this Win7 ad reaches the same key demographic.
Of course, the preceding argument presumes that Linux has some kind of unified and organized marketing program. Which is, y'know, ridiculous...
Symbols do empower. And the weak and narrow-minded get all threatened-like. Swastikas, Crosses, Pentagrams, Joker-Faces -- none have power inherently, except that which the Already Scared and Uncertain impart to them.
Google tried a fast one, the global publishing equivalent of tightly packaging a web browser with an OS, and got caught. The only "negotiations" up to this point had been akin to the conversation the kid has with the candy jar. Now, perhaps, a genuine dialogue can begin.
Ignorance is Strength.
War is Peace.
Freedom is Slavery.
Religion is Science.
Government is Industry.
Poverty is Wealth.
Morality is Relative.
...because you know their State Police will have really cool uniforms. They'll be, like, all shiny medals and epaulets and swagger sticks and motorcycle sidecars and they'll put their surveillance cams in hovering dirigibles and what not, all trim ex-military guys. If I'm going to be cracked across the back of the neck for not showing my papers, I want to be cracked by a guy with some style. Obama goons will be all business casual, in new, pressed, grandma jeans and open-collar shirts and sneakers, driving around in non-descript cars, all mouth-breathing ex-IRS guys.
Yup, it's European Fascism for me, for sure.
I'll never complain about another fanboi pretentious Cory Doctorow story ever again, I promise!!
We're Americans, dammit. Electric Cars, making no noise, are dainty and prissy. Carbonalicious Cars that go Vrooom-Vroooom, these are the cars that Real Men drive.
I'm saying it in a snarky way (it's my curse), but you know that is what the auto-marketers are thinking. Safety? Oh, please...!
Most of the stuff on my Kindle is public domain, stuff I have downloaded from legit free text sites. Yeah, they are not in the "Kindle format," and that's a drag... for about 20 seconds, and then I remember how much I paid for the free text, versus how much I pay for a Kindle Version of anything, and then I am happy again.
I wouldn't buy one -- it's not *that* great an idea -- but were I to receive one as a gift it would get me to open a Twitter account, which is really saying a lot.
If they are connected to this mess and convicted
Good luck with that, as they say. If it's anything like NYC, Justice will pretty much need two separate news crews, six NYPD detectives, nineteen passersby, and a televangelist to witness one of the "made men" machinegun down a busload of out-of-town nuns at high noon in Times Square on the day before Election Day to be served.
Then the appeals process begins...
In the United States, the MAJORITY of people do not believe in evolution.
If that's true, it's not because their religion is against it. That's like saying the majority of people in the US believe we've been visited by space aliens, therefore all Christians believe we've been visited by space aliens, which is not to say you won't find some Christian sects who teach that Jesus was from outer space. Just don't be misinformed and confuse the teachings of a minority with the tenets of the vast majority.
Christianity demands reason being left at the door. There are some things you just don't question. Period. The bible is true - period. The world is 6000 years old - period.
And you're wrong. Period. The percentage of overall Christian sects which are biblical fundamentalists is small. And I'm not even including the non-fundie Roman Catholicism, which is the largest Christian denomination by far.
But don't let the truth stand in the way of your bigotry.
Ardour is not available for Windows, and it was the large Windows userbase I was referring to. If you're already running Linux, this conversation is not about you, and if you own a Mac, cost is probably not a consideration when choosing your software.
I've lost count of the number of "casual" graphics designers to whom I have introduced to open source tools... they want to "do stuff," either within a web site or with their photos, but the name brand graphics tools are too expensive, so... they'll try anything, even something with a name as ridiculous and off-putting as "The Gimp." Then, once they become proficient, once they start to understand "layers" and "filters" and the like, they understand the required reading a bit better, and wonder what they are missing with the Adobe software. Well, they don't wonder, it's very clear: all the web and design magazines each month provide specialized step-by-step tutorials on how to do neat stuff with the popular tools, and never once mention open source beyond the "Annual Condescension" summary article about the "other" tools. These people take a stroll down the aisles at B&N and see tome after tome designed to help the Adobe user, and maybe -- in a particularly well-stocked store -- a copy of "Beginning GIMP, which just sounds icky. I've seen the same scenario play out with Audacity and Pro Tools: people learn how to edit with free Audacity, and then when they become savvy enough to realize what they are missing with the proprietary stuff -- either in the form of missing features or widespread community and commercial support -- they step up.
The pro creative tools have great "wannabe" appeal: working with Adobe and Pro Tools, the amateur wannabe artists feel like they're "more connected" to that professional world to which they aspire. Using the free open source tools just underscores -- in their mind -- that they are second tier. This is not to say that the open source tools are second-rate technically, just that -- in the eyes of the latte-infused graphics and sound editor pretenders -- they may not be quite as "fashionable."
Aren't most /. readers also Wired readers?
A dozen years ago, perhaps. They had *it* once, and lost it. Which is not to say they are not making money by the bushelful. "Wired" is to technology as "Men's Fitness" is to exercise and nutrition. But I still pine for Mondo 2000, so maybe I'm not the right person to pass judgment...
Then there is the cyber angle. I suspect America could be pwned quite quick.
Because...?
Lastly, who is gonna supply walley word with cheap tupperware and lawnmowers to the post nuke surviviors
Ohh, I see now. Midwest-hating urban hipster. never mind...
You don't need to "win" by beating all of your competitors, you need to "survive"... And if you don't understand that, or tend to disagree, please do us all a favor and leave the gene pool.
Right. We don't want any over-achievers in our gene pool.
it's harmful because it's divisive and not constructive. Also it tends to rely on ignorance as opposed to logic.
You've just described my last meeting with the Marketing Department.
You can only take it.
Earth President Barack Obama welcomed the representatives of the Galactic Brotherhood to Washington
Actually, the "welcome" was just a formality. They've been here for over a decade, off the books, sending money back to their families in Tau Ceti and Alpha Centauri.
superannuated (ex-)musicians *cough*SonnyBonoCliffRichardJohnnyHalliday*cough* demanding perpetual extensions of copyright terms
I'm pretty sure that Sonny hasn't been demanding much of anyone lately, nor is he likely to be making any kind of new music soon, royalties or not.
Texting was that tiny spot on the personal digital communications timeline between "Cell Phones Become Prevalent" and "Smartphones with E-Mail Become Prevalent." And I guess I can't really say that "smartphones have become prevalent," beyond the anecdotal "everyone I know uses a smartphone now and just e-mails from it (at no extra charge)." So, yeah, give kids the ability to text, I guess. Give 'em all an abacus and a CueCat while you're add it, too.
If there are any conservative Christians out there who need an example of why their gay-bashing is idiotic and obscenely counter-productive, look no further than the case of Alan Turing.
Right. Because it's only conservative Christians who "gay bash." Islamic fundamentalists, for whom gay bashing laws are still on the theocratic books, get a pass in the public consciousness, as usual..
Lookit, the Americans and Western Europeans did some bad things, and then we got over it! We moved on! We entered the 21st Century!! You want to get angry, you want to get fired up, you want to actually do some good and maybe save some lives, go after Sharia, today, not Britain 50-60 years ago.
Whether it's your G-Mail contact list, your search history, or what books you check out from from their "library," your data is Google's stock in trade. This is the price of "free." For most people, it's a much better than even proposition. For the paranoid and privacy conscious, it's a deal breaker. And the notion that Google is providing this information to the US government is merely an urban myth, so get that idea right out of your head this instant...
(MOD ME DOWN FOR POINTING OUT REALITY IN THE FACE OF A FECKLESS/WEAK LEFTY SMEAR ATTEMPT!!!)
Uh, can they just mod you down for being so dense and paranoid that you have lost any sense of irony you may have once possessed? But thanks for calling me "Lefty." That one's a first...