mod this guy up- he's not trolling, he's right!
Clancy has some technical knowledge, but often he uses more fiction than fact, and it's disturbing how often he and others of his ilk are treated as authorities on subjects merely because they wrote a book no more accurate than Jurassic Park or Congo
if you think that friends is funny, then you have a pretty "bad" sense of humor. the plot and "jokes" in that "show" come across as though they were crapped out of a 12-year-old bored in homeroom. While some may find the predictable, network-fed status quo to be entertaining, it's not what I'd hope for from slashdot readers.
and the onion, while once in a while having gems, is often formulaic and unoriginal, and it too resorts to references to sex and bodily functions for humor quite often.
Pointless Waste of Time, while at times crude, is hilarious. it is tongue in cheek, not only making fun of the subject matter, but of itself, fandom, news sites, and containing other levels of relevance as well. the tone of the different articles, while sometimes in the same vein, generally is varied and creative, and the fake screenplays are hilarious.
I'm sorry it's wasted on you, maybe you should turn on the TV and go watch "everybody loves Raymond" or something else more mundane
(the quotes are from Pres. Bush)
"surveillance photos reveal that the regime is rebuilding facilities that it had used to produce chemical and biological weapons"
-despite photos we can't find them? oh wait- we went there and there was no evidence of illegal activities
"We know that the regime has produced thousands of tons of chemical agents, including mustard gas, sarin nerve gas, VX nerve gas"
-THOUSANDS OF TONS all missing without any of our surveillance noticing them get disposed of (hell how do you dispose of thousands of tons and not leave any trace at all?)
"We've also discovered through intelligence that Iraq has a growing fleet of manned and unmanned aerial vehicles that could be used to disperse chemical or biological weapons across broad areas"
-where is this fleet? -we saw ONE prototype that the Iraqis revealed and destroyed the rest of the fleet flew away?
"If we know Saddam Hussein has dangerous weapons today -- and we do"
-where are they? how could we KNOW without any substantiable proof?
"The evidence indicates that Iraq is reconstituting its nuclear weapons program. Saddam Hussein has held numerous meetings with Iraqi nuclear scientists, a group he calls his "nuclear mujahideen" -- his nuclear holy warriors. Satellite photographs reveal that Iraq is rebuilding facilities at sites that have been part of its nuclear program in the past. Iraq has attempted to purchase high-strength aluminum tubes and other equipment needed for gas centrifuges, which are used to enrich uranium for nuclear weapons"
-2 of the facts related to this were proven later to be lies and forgeries (the aluminum parts would not work for nuclear weapons according to the UN, and the claimed attempts to get uranium from nigeria were based on forged documents), and no evidence of these facilities has been found
"our intelligence shows that even as he is destroying these few missiles, he has ordered the continued production of the very same type of missiles"
-where are they? where is the factory? if he only destroyed a couple, for show, why in 2 months since we took control of the country haven't we found any others or the means of producing more?
in addition- read the NYTimes article regarding the dissenting opinions on the vans, and notice how even those who purport that the vans were for WMD production say that the only way they would have been able to function was with another specialty vehicle working in tandem- of a type we have not seen
because you are trying to decide what is best for your country, not to merely express yourself. if you like two similar parties and dislike one which is different (and is running unopposed) than by voting for the weaker of the ones you like you are weakening the stronger and leaving the one that you think is WORST for the country in a position to win the presidency
are you suggesting that you should just give the boss a warning and turn a blind eye if he is exploiting children sexually either in a direct manner (his pictures) or indirect (his $ supports those who abuse and exploit)? that's a pretty fucked system of morals unless I misunderstand you.
I couldn't bring myself to play the second given what seemed to have changed in the switch to FMV. I LOVED the first though. great music, great plot. only thing I disliked was that, as with many other sierra games of the time, a lot of puzzles were pixel hunts (ie finding the snake scale in the grass near the first crime scene). but yeah, I loved the game so much, I still remember it clearly.
lionheart looks like crap so far. and yes, I liked torment and fallout. lionheart looks like simplified, dumbed down diablo/nwn stle fare. I hope I'm wrong about it though
they'd have no grounds on which to sue for piracy- the idea is to have legitimatly owned files, like your own commentary on song tracks or whatever, and name them with the name of the song they are a commentary on. or just to name your own music, that you have created, with the same name as a pop piece.
I'd think that the admitted research by the RIAA into these things would be illegal, as a form of conspiracy or as merely planning to commit theft/property damage/whatever applicable crimes.
If I write out a complicated plot to rob a bank, get maps, weapons, write out how I intend to circumvent security and kill guards, but am still considering whether to go forward with it due to legality- I can still be arrested for my plans.
you seem to miss the point entirely
what the man is arguing has nothing to do with whether or not the knowledge is 'good' or 'evil' but whether or not reckless experimentation, particularly in the time-sensitive (more than consequence-sensitive) fields of commercial study or military arms races, could have potentially disastrous consequences for the planet and all of humanity.
this is very different from the dangers of experimentation from 100 years ago, let alone our cave-dwelling days. primative experiments in (to use your analogy) fire and the wheel could only start a very limited fire and cost very few lives (relatively), experimenting with the wheel (or with flight or cars) can only cost the lives of pilots and the few who may be crashed into. experimenting with rifts in space-time (as mentioned) or self-replicating nanotechnology that we have no means of containing or recalling should something go wrong are entirely different scenarios.
While the potential uses of some technologies are terrifying, this is just not the main thrust of the article. But beyond that, there are some areas of scientific study which DO only have the purpose of pain and suffering, while it is arguable that the only way to prevent this pain should someone else develop it is to develop first, this does not change the fact that the sole intention of the initial research CAN BE harmful and reckless, contrary to your claims that all science is neutral.
To quote Willy Wonka "Strike That, Reverse It" we ARE fairly accurately able to determine past temperature patterns through examination of temp-dependant phenomena, and the work of literally thousands of scientists concurring about global warming and disbelieved by one oil industry funded study is hardly the same as every quasi-religious pseudo scientist of the past being defied in regards to the earth being flat. Sure, it sounds like you're a moron. It's quite possible that you are.
Looking Glass Studios ( the makers of thief, system shock, flight unlimited, and terra nova, among others)did NOT go under as a result of piracy (although piracy may or may not have been an issue for them). the reason they went under is that funding they had been expecting from Eidos was taken from them and spent on the great pile of dung known as DAIKATANA.
the reason ISPs charge what they do (far more than is necessary) is partially to be able to recoup potential costs/damages. it is part of the calculations that go into determining that they're going to charge you $40-50 a month for a dedicated connection. As a result they shouldn't charge you for a liability they have already accounted for and overcharged for (and they do overcharge)
additionally, as long as ISPs bill their service as 'cable modem - x bytes a second, unlimited' rather than 'x bytes a month, capped' this practice is deceitful and will lead to people being charged for services they do not believe they have agreed to (whether or not in some fine print clause it is mentioned). I feel ISPs already have FAR too much power to change contracts on a whim without alerting the consumer, and additionally have already scaled back on a large scale the services provided. Most ISPs no long offer newsgroup retention of over 1 day for messages in binary groups (and as someone who uses many LEGAL usenet groups for art, photography, and underground music this bothers me to no end), some ISPs now filter uploads or limit upload size to newsgroups, some ISPs now allow interest group vigilantes like the **AA access to their servers and your accounts.Most high-speed providers I've encountered often offer far lower speeds than advertised, interspursed with a LOT of downtime. the customer already eats FAR MORE of the bill then they deserve. And for every client who uses their bandwidth excessively there are 10 who don't play games or trade files at all- who just use the internet for work or porn or email or special interests.
These ISPs have a captive audience as well, in the majority of the US they've carved up the areas they work in in such a way that they are uncontested and so as the consumer has no choice- use them and their draconian agreements or don't access the internet at any reasonable speed.
Fuck them. I say don't give them any more leeway to restrict, to censor, to overcharge.
shouldn't be isn't the same as aren't. look at all the innocent targets we hit in afghanistan- canadians, VIPS going to the inauguration, a red cross building, etc.
that's like saying "bullets are not a gun" sure they'll be used with the gun to kill, sure they have no role independent of the gun, but they aren't the gun itself so somehow they're okay.
is there any way to 'solve' the problem?
if P2P clients had EULAs (and lord knows I hate the things) that prohibited intentional fraud and misleading titles, would that in any way be helpful or would it instead just hinder those who want to make their own mixes and versions? could something like that be selectively enforced by the owners of P2P software? or does enforcing anything about usage and content on a P2P network make the software makers too liable if illegal media appears on the network?
is there any way to prohibit or hinder this sort of behavior?
Slashdot Mirror
this isn't theft- it's copyright infringement. if a child draws mickey mouse do you want them to pay big $ to Disney as well?
mod this guy up- he's not trolling, he's right! Clancy has some technical knowledge, but often he uses more fiction than fact, and it's disturbing how often he and others of his ilk are treated as authorities on subjects merely because they wrote a book no more accurate than Jurassic Park or Congo
and the onion, while once in a while having gems, is often formulaic and unoriginal, and it too resorts to references to sex and bodily functions for humor quite often.
Pointless Waste of Time, while at times crude, is hilarious. it is tongue in cheek, not only making fun of the subject matter, but of itself, fandom, news sites, and containing other levels of relevance as well. the tone of the different articles, while sometimes in the same vein, generally is varied and creative, and the fake screenplays are hilarious.
I'm sorry it's wasted on you, maybe you should turn on the TV and go watch "everybody loves Raymond" or something else more mundane
(the quotes are from Pres. Bush) "surveillance photos reveal that the regime is rebuilding facilities that it had used to produce chemical and biological weapons" -despite photos we can't find them? oh wait- we went there and there was no evidence of illegal activities "We know that the regime has produced thousands of tons of chemical agents, including mustard gas, sarin nerve gas, VX nerve gas" -THOUSANDS OF TONS all missing without any of our surveillance noticing them get disposed of (hell how do you dispose of thousands of tons and not leave any trace at all?) "We've also discovered through intelligence that Iraq has a growing fleet of manned and unmanned aerial vehicles that could be used to disperse chemical or biological weapons across broad areas" -where is this fleet? -we saw ONE prototype that the Iraqis revealed and destroyed the rest of the fleet flew away? "If we know Saddam Hussein has dangerous weapons today -- and we do" -where are they? how could we KNOW without any substantiable proof? "The evidence indicates that Iraq is reconstituting its nuclear weapons program. Saddam Hussein has held numerous meetings with Iraqi nuclear scientists, a group he calls his "nuclear mujahideen" -- his nuclear holy warriors. Satellite photographs reveal that Iraq is rebuilding facilities at sites that have been part of its nuclear program in the past. Iraq has attempted to purchase high-strength aluminum tubes and other equipment needed for gas centrifuges, which are used to enrich uranium for nuclear weapons" -2 of the facts related to this were proven later to be lies and forgeries (the aluminum parts would not work for nuclear weapons according to the UN, and the claimed attempts to get uranium from nigeria were based on forged documents), and no evidence of these facilities has been found "our intelligence shows that even as he is destroying these few missiles, he has ordered the continued production of the very same type of missiles" -where are they? where is the factory? if he only destroyed a couple, for show, why in 2 months since we took control of the country haven't we found any others or the means of producing more? in addition- read the NYTimes article regarding the dissenting opinions on the vans, and notice how even those who purport that the vans were for WMD production say that the only way they would have been able to function was with another specialty vehicle working in tandem- of a type we have not seen
and if you're going to call bullshit, you should back it up rather than just say "bullshit"
because you are trying to decide what is best for your country, not to merely express yourself. if you like two similar parties and dislike one which is different (and is running unopposed) than by voting for the weaker of the ones you like you are weakening the stronger and leaving the one that you think is WORST for the country in a position to win the presidency
so because things were worse before, we should be happy that they're still bad but less so? why shouldn't we strive for better?
are you suggesting that you should just give the boss a warning and turn a blind eye if he is exploiting children sexually either in a direct manner (his pictures) or indirect (his $ supports those who abuse and exploit)? that's a pretty fucked system of morals unless I misunderstand you.
I had that .wad, and the simpsons one...
I76 kicked some major ass, the add on was pretty good too (nitro pack) but I82 was shit.
I couldn't bring myself to play the second given what seemed to have changed in the switch to FMV. I LOVED the first though. great music, great plot. only thing I disliked was that, as with many other sierra games of the time, a lot of puzzles were pixel hunts (ie finding the snake scale in the grass near the first crime scene). but yeah, I loved the game so much, I still remember it clearly.
lionheart looks like crap so far. and yes, I liked torment and fallout. lionheart looks like simplified, dumbed down diablo/nwn stle fare. I hope I'm wrong about it though
do you understand what's being proposed?
they'd have no grounds on which to sue for piracy- the idea is to have legitimatly owned files, like your own commentary on song tracks or whatever, and name them with the name of the song they are a commentary on. or just to name your own music, that you have created, with the same name as a pop piece.
I'd think that the admitted research by the RIAA into these things would be illegal, as a form of conspiracy or as merely planning to commit theft/property damage/whatever applicable crimes. If I write out a complicated plot to rob a bank, get maps, weapons, write out how I intend to circumvent security and kill guards, but am still considering whether to go forward with it due to legality- I can still be arrested for my plans.
I love diesel sweeties- didn't realize you post here. cool.
you seem to miss the point entirely
what the man is arguing has nothing to do with whether or not the knowledge is 'good' or 'evil' but whether or not reckless experimentation, particularly in the time-sensitive (more than consequence-sensitive) fields of commercial study or military arms races, could have potentially disastrous consequences for the planet and all of humanity.
this is very different from the dangers of experimentation from 100 years ago, let alone our cave-dwelling days. primative experiments in (to use your analogy) fire and the wheel could only start a very limited fire and cost very few lives (relatively), experimenting with the wheel (or with flight or cars) can only cost the lives of pilots and the few who may be crashed into. experimenting with rifts in space-time (as mentioned) or self-replicating nanotechnology that we have no means of containing or recalling should something go wrong are entirely different scenarios.
While the potential uses of some technologies are terrifying, this is just not the main thrust of the article. But beyond that, there are some areas of scientific study which DO only have the purpose of pain and suffering, while it is arguable that the only way to prevent this pain should someone else develop it is to develop first, this does not change the fact that the sole intention of the initial research CAN BE harmful and reckless, contrary to your claims that all science is neutral.
To quote Willy Wonka "Strike That, Reverse It"
we ARE fairly accurately able to determine past temperature patterns through examination of temp-dependant phenomena, and the work of literally thousands of scientists concurring about global warming and disbelieved by one oil industry funded study is hardly the same as every quasi-religious pseudo scientist of the past being defied in regards to the earth being flat.
Sure, it sounds like you're a moron. It's quite possible that you are.
Looking Glass Studios ( the makers of thief, system shock, flight unlimited, and terra nova, among others)did NOT go under as a result of piracy (although piracy may or may not have been an issue for them). the reason they went under is that funding they had been expecting from Eidos was taken from them and spent on the great pile of dung known as DAIKATANA.
the reason ISPs charge what they do (far more than is necessary) is partially to be able to recoup potential costs/damages. it is part of the calculations that go into determining that they're going to charge you $40-50 a month for a dedicated connection. As a result they shouldn't charge you for a liability they have already accounted for and overcharged for (and they do overcharge) additionally, as long as ISPs bill their service as 'cable modem - x bytes a second, unlimited' rather than 'x bytes a month, capped' this practice is deceitful and will lead to people being charged for services they do not believe they have agreed to (whether or not in some fine print clause it is mentioned). I feel ISPs already have FAR too much power to change contracts on a whim without alerting the consumer, and additionally have already scaled back on a large scale the services provided. Most ISPs no long offer newsgroup retention of over 1 day for messages in binary groups (and as someone who uses many LEGAL usenet groups for art, photography, and underground music this bothers me to no end), some ISPs now filter uploads or limit upload size to newsgroups, some ISPs now allow interest group vigilantes like the **AA access to their servers and your accounts.Most high-speed providers I've encountered often offer far lower speeds than advertised, interspursed with a LOT of downtime. the customer already eats FAR MORE of the bill then they deserve. And for every client who uses their bandwidth excessively there are 10 who don't play games or trade files at all- who just use the internet for work or porn or email or special interests. These ISPs have a captive audience as well, in the majority of the US they've carved up the areas they work in in such a way that they are uncontested and so as the consumer has no choice- use them and their draconian agreements or don't access the internet at any reasonable speed. Fuck them. I say don't give them any more leeway to restrict, to censor, to overcharge.
I agree with the parent post.
couldn't they sue you under the DMCA for that?
shouldn't be isn't the same as aren't. look at all the innocent targets we hit in afghanistan- canadians, VIPS going to the inauguration, a red cross building, etc.
that's like saying "bullets are not a gun" sure they'll be used with the gun to kill, sure they have no role independent of the gun, but they aren't the gun itself so somehow they're okay.
good point wraithlyn
is there any way to 'solve' the problem? if P2P clients had EULAs (and lord knows I hate the things) that prohibited intentional fraud and misleading titles, would that in any way be helpful or would it instead just hinder those who want to make their own mixes and versions? could something like that be selectively enforced by the owners of P2P software? or does enforcing anything about usage and content on a P2P network make the software makers too liable if illegal media appears on the network? is there any way to prohibit or hinder this sort of behavior?