Totalitarianism doesn't have to take the same form every time. It's like a computer virus - if a virus is highly destructive, it will tend to burn out because it incapacitates the systems that it infects, is easily detected (i.e. your compute stops working) and as such has trouble spreading. A more successful model is to make a virus that inflicts a small, or hard to detect, amount of damage. Such a virus can then worm its way through the whole Internet with ease. Likewise, a totalitarian regime that is openly violent and suppressive is more easily opposed than a regime that subtly but pervasively takes control of a society.
I put it to you that the curent US regime is the latter - essentially totalitarian, but paying extensive lip service to democracy as a cover. I mean, just look at the nexus between government and business - who has more power, one ordinary citizen or one large corporation?
"If you're going to quote someone, keep the quotes in context."
Yeah! Don't, for example, take tiny exerpts from a report about the unlikely possibility that Iraq is buying uranium from an African country and use it as the basis for launching an unprovoked attack on a sovereign nation.
COME ON, PATRIOTS!!!
You Americans are FUCKING UNBELIEVABLE. Just because he is the President DOESN'T MEAN YOU HAVE TO DEFEND BUSH.
I just played Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit 2 and FIFA World Cup 2002 on GC, and MAN did they blow. I have rarely seen a worse conversion than NFS - the frame rate dropped to well under 10fps many times during the race I played. As for FIFA, the textures and resolution were just dismal, really poor when compared to something like Rogue Leader or Pikmin.
So, when talking of mediocre ports I think the Cube can't really be exempted.
Not to ruffle any feathers but any list that has Halo, GTA 3 and Tony Hawk in the top ten games of all time is not exactly a list I want to trust for my game buying decisions. They are all fairly decent games, true, but none of them is particularly amazing in terms of gameplay or innovation (well, maybe GTAIII is a bit innovative).
However, Soul Calibur outranks Streetfighter? Metroid Prime outranks Quake/Doom? Tony Hawk outranks anything? Also, one PC game and 9 console games... I think not!
"Telecommunications is Oz is stiffled by low population and distance, not Telstra, etc. 90%+ can have broardband, only 5% want it."
Um... only 5% want it at $90 a month with severe download limits and heinously huge extra data rates.
And Tel$tra IS a problem, they own all of the network infrastructure yet other companies are supposed to 'compete' with them whilst renting space on the Telstra network. Furthermore, they have the ability to act like a competitive company yet are government-owned and therefore have the backing of the executive, resulting in many, many favourable breaks w.r.t. government contracts, legislation, lack of oversight, etc. etc.
I could go on all day, but why not head over to www.whirlpool.net.au to actually get some facts before you make statements like that.
Off-topic I realise, but foreigners should be aware that Australia has a policy of mandatory detention for refugees who come here to seek freedom from persecution. This is part of a conservative policy known as 'deterrence.' Effectively we take the neediest and most downtrodden people on earth, put them in a paddock in the desert behind razor wire, and deny them access to basic legal and human rights that even serial killers receive in Australia. Furthermore it is no coincidence that these people who are demonised are universally non-white, whilst thousands of white illegal immigrants from the US, UK and New Zealand swarm around our country using up welfare and not getting caught.
If you are a non-Australian and you care about human rights, please do not buy Australian products, do not visit Australia, do write to your own government and ask them to pressure Australia about this issue, and do write to the Australian government to explain to them that you don't want to visit Australia as a result of this policy.
Yes, but a lot of them are the result of a conscious effort to 'improve' the dictionary by American linguists, too. Personally I like the character that (UK) English spellings lend to the language.
Still, I enjoy the arrogance of Americans who assert that '-ise' is incorrect. I sometimes think such people might actually believe that English originated in America or something.
Yeah, it's not like it has: - a hard drive - a processor - memory - Various I/O devices - The ability to run compiled computer code - Small size and low price
I'd call that a P(ersonal) C(omputer), wouldn't you? I mean, when it comes down to it, an XBox is a modified Celeron with a smallish hard disk and a custom graphics chip.
I think you are wrong. MS should find the middle ground. They could offer the patch with at least the requirement that you consent to have it applied, and with an explanation of the consequences. They could *not* apply it unless you are actually connecting to X-Box Live, rather than just leaving your machine turned on.
Or, even crazier, they could take into account that a lot of people want to use their machine in a certain way and make the patch give people a legitimate way to install Linux if they want to.
People are complaining because their property is being tampered with without their knowledge or consent, not because the benevolent MS corporation is trying to get rid of a terrible bug.
-it doesn't affect other functions of your machine -it is removeable (the whole thing I mean) -it is an optional part of your system to start with -it can't connect without your knowledge if you have a decent firewall
So perhaps what we need is for someone to argue it in a less important case, even where it's not necessarily crucial. I attended a talk for lawyers and legal academics by a 5th Circuit SC judge and he basically urged people to bring cases before the courts when important principles were at play. He said something like, "I'd love to give an opinion on that, but I can't until you bring it before me!"
In other words, he wants to protect liberties and the citizen against the state (this was in the context of other comments in this vein), but he can't if noone brings the cases and makes the arguments.
People criticise the courts, but I am thankful for them all the time. Even 'conservative' judges like Thomas tend to put fairness, legal progress and true justice ahead of politicking and ideology most of the time.
Still, it's an interesting question. Is, for instance, it tresspass to use someone's own GPS system in their car or phone against them? Is it tresspass to attach something to their car without their knowledge or consent?
Ah, the old 'money is more important than process or freedoms' argument.
Never get tired of that one. I wonder how much money the US is saving by keeping those pesky alleged unproven possibly unlawful combatants locked away at Camp X-Ray, free from the money squandering foolishness of the US Courts who might want to accord them pricey and unneccessary rights?
Of course, ultimately it would be cheaper for the police to just shoot every suspect. About 10 cents for the bullet, no pesky paperwork or trial, everybody wins, taxpayers rejoice! This policy has been implemented successfully in LA I believe. You could even make a few more bucks by selling the organs of the deceased to the privatised health system.
Business plan:
1. Remove all due process from law enforcement 2. ??? 3. Profit!
I was wondering if this might actually constitute tresspass to property, as they are messing with your car without your knowledge or consent and without necessarily believing that you are guilty of anything.
The police do not, for instance, have the ability to enter your home without your consent in the absence of a warrant, so how is this different? If an ordinary citizen did it they would be guilty of tresspass for sure.
This is a totally facetious argument. You can justify any excess by making stupid laws and then saying that 'liberty' doesn't extend to allowing people to break the law.
In fact, the liberty to break the law is essential. If you have no choice about the matter, you're not really being good, just controlled. People shouldn't commit crimes because they don't want to commit crimes, not because the police have a tracking implant placed in everyone's head at birth to monitor their thoughts and actions.
Furthermore, I don't see how the judge is making an arbitrary distinction. What is the difference between this and asking for a wiretap or search warrant?
Um... how is that different to using a phone tap and not crediting its use, or any one of a number of other surveillence investigative techniques?
"an actual violent criminal" - just make sure you don't put the cart before the horse. It's way to easy to say that the police should have every power to deal with 'actual' criminals, but no-one should be treated as guilty until after they have been to trial. There is an immense danger in implicitly removing the presumption of innocence by granting the police unchecked discretionary powers they would traditionally need to show good reasons to a judge to use.
What we're talking about here is the police actually going to your car and placing a tracker on it. It seems to me that there is a significant difference between this and, say, using an inbuilt navigation system in your car to track you.
My view is that, whereas the first option might be ok in some circumstances with a warrant, the real danger to liberties is when the second option starts to become viable. If the police are investigating a specific crime, and they have evidence that leads them to suspect you, then they will be able to convince a judge to let them track you and gain a warrant, which is pretty benign so long as proper processes are followed and there is enough transparency to monitor their activities. What would be scary would be if they could just check up on anyone, any time, because we all have GPS in our cars or phones and implanted in our brains.
What will be interesting will be to see how the two scenarios are construed by the courts: is it a more serious matter to track someone using their own GPS than it is to place a tracker on their vehicle, or vice-versa? I hope the bar is set higher for the use of someone's own GPS device, or at least set to the same height. It is all to easy to envisage a police policy arguing that there is no harm is using the GPS system to 'check' where people are without their knowledge - kinda how the compulsory location identification technology in phones is justified because it lets emergency services find idiots who phone 911 and then fail to give their location. Once there is some degree of ambiguity the system is open to all kinds of abuse. Therefore I think the best solution would be for a warrant to be required for any kind of tracking to occur.
It's great to see the law actually adapt to a new scenario with some degree of success, anyway.
France has 50 odd million people. They are a nuclear power. They are scientifically and culturally advanced. They have a mighty history that has arguably contributed more to the concepts of democracy and freedom than the USA has.
As for arrogance, there is really no contest these days as to which nation is the most arrogant. Most countries prefer not to rant on about being somehow special and better than the rest of the world, god's chosen country, the unique home of freedom, the most powerful nation in history and suchlike bullcrap. Most other countries also prefer not to rampage around the globe invading people like a bear with a sore head.
Just because you're militarily powerful, it doesn't make you great. I believe most people have a better idea of what the US's interests are than the current leaders of that fine nation.
Very prescient comments about China. I think the dark horse in terms of countries unexpectedly upsetting our western fat cat society has got to be India, however. China will get there sooner than most people expect, but India is within a few years of seriously kicking our rumps. Just look at those software jobs flying off to the subcontinent...
Basically, we are in very big trouble, because the mathematics of having a billion Indians and a billion Chinese means that they need a much lower percentage of educated people in their countries to have a vastly larger actual number of educated people. If China or India can achieve a 10% university education rate, that's 200 million well educated Chinese and Indians - the equivalent of every person in the US having such a degree. There is a lot of complacence, because we look at those countries and see a high poverty rate, unemployment, lots of people living in poor conditions... but they are both nations on the rise and because of their immense sizes they will be hugely powerful before we know it.
Right now we can see this with IT jobs going to India... but how soon until there are hordes of Chinese accountants? Indian engineers? One only has to look at the speed with which the high-tech industry took off in SE Asia, where most of the manufacturing is still done, to see how quickly such sectors could be taken overseas with great speed. We won't just be wearing shirts made in China, our knowledge work will be done there too. Unfortunately we won't be able to afford any of it because we will all be unemployed.
IMHO you are absolutely correct in your assertion that we should be moving now, with great rapidity, to build a new set of ideals for our societies. We need to really migrate from the industrial, oil-swilling, third-world-will-pick-up-the-pieces mentality to an information age, high-tech, renewable, sustainable future. We have all the technology, we just need to put it into practice. If we don't, the west will become a hideous, decayed place full of social problems and memories of the era when we ruled the world.
This could actually be a big opportunity for open source to seize the initiative.
I have seen various programs that act as add-ons to MS-Office, e.g. footnoting software that gives Word the ability to have a decent referencing system for use in proper academic and legal documents (called EndNote or something). Is there any reason why we couldn't write an open source DRM standard and then implement an Office plugin to provide functionality for MS users? I can think of a few benefits:
- there is an incentive for people to use a system that is transparent and therefore free from MS shenanigans
- there is a very big incentive for business to use a standard that all of their partners/suppliers/employers/customers can also use irrespective of their OS and software configuration
- people love the word 'free'
- an open source standard could easily be implemented to run on practically any system, whereas MS's system will no doubt require very specific MS networking/security protocols to be installed and configured (ever tried to use.Net with a remote database?)
- and most of all, open source cannot win battles it is not in. We must comprehend that we are not talking about the 'DRM v no DRM' battle any more, we are talking about the 'MS Secret DRM v Open DRM' battle. We can't win that if we don't have a contender, and by contender I mean a contender that people running Windows with Office can use. People who think we can just say, this whole thing sucks, we don't want DRM at all, are dreaming if they think that will stop it from happening. What we need is to seize the initiative and create a version of DRM that is the best option for business and individuals. Furthermore, we can't stick with Linux and hope that enough people switch to let us win - there must be a focus on fighting MS with open source on its own turf, the Windows family of OSs.
POPFile rocks. It is incredibly easy to use, and very, very accurate. I initially started using it for spam reduction purposes but now I find it's best use is actually sorting my mail... waaaaay better that pre-defined mail filters.
I strongly recommend people check it out if they want a very effective solution that is easy to use and configure.
I couldn't agree more, they put waaay too much into trailers sometimes. In the Two Towers trailer, they actually went so far as to show that Gandalf was alive even though as far as the plot and the characters were concerned he was dead as of the end of the first movie. To me this is the equivalent of making a trailer for the Empire Strikes back and putting in a clip of Darth Vader saying "I am your father!" and Luke screaming "No!!!"
Yeah, yeah, I know we all know that Gandalf was going to live because we're cool and we read the books, but perhaps there were people out there who didn't know, and after all it's the principle of the thing. The worst part is that you can't escape the trailers when you go to see a movie.
Slashdot Mirror
Totalitarianism doesn't have to take the same form every time. It's like a computer virus - if a virus is highly destructive, it will tend to burn out because it incapacitates the systems that it infects, is easily detected (i.e. your compute stops working) and as such has trouble spreading. A more successful model is to make a virus that inflicts a small, or hard to detect, amount of damage. Such a virus can then worm its way through the whole Internet with ease. Likewise, a totalitarian regime that is openly violent and suppressive is more easily opposed than a regime that subtly but pervasively takes control of a society.
I put it to you that the curent US regime is the latter - essentially totalitarian, but paying extensive lip service to democracy as a cover. I mean, just look at the nexus between government and business - who has more power, one ordinary citizen or one large corporation?
"If you're going to quote someone, keep the quotes in context."
Yeah! Don't, for example, take tiny exerpts from a report about the unlikely possibility that Iraq is buying uranium from an African country and use it as the basis for launching an unprovoked attack on a sovereign nation.
COME ON, PATRIOTS!!!
You Americans are FUCKING UNBELIEVABLE. Just because he is the President DOESN'T MEAN YOU HAVE TO DEFEND BUSH.
Yeah, you should be able to use two consoles and plug them to two tvs to play... Goldeneye would have totally ruled!
I just played Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit 2 and FIFA World Cup 2002 on GC, and MAN did they blow. I have rarely seen a worse conversion than NFS - the frame rate dropped to well under 10fps many times during the race I played. As for FIFA, the textures and resolution were just dismal, really poor when compared to something like Rogue Leader or Pikmin.
So, when talking of mediocre ports I think the Cube can't really be exempted.
Ahem...
Not to ruffle any feathers but any list that has Halo, GTA 3 and Tony Hawk in the top ten games of all time is not exactly a list I want to trust for my game buying decisions. They are all fairly decent games, true, but none of them is particularly amazing in terms of gameplay or innovation (well, maybe GTAIII is a bit innovative).
However, Soul Calibur outranks Streetfighter? Metroid Prime outranks Quake/Doom? Tony Hawk outranks anything? Also, one PC game and 9 console games... I think not!
"Telecommunications is Oz is stiffled by low population and distance, not Telstra, etc. 90%+ can have broardband, only 5% want it."
Um... only 5% want it at $90 a month with severe download limits and heinously huge extra data rates.
And Tel$tra IS a problem, they own all of the network infrastructure yet other companies are supposed to 'compete' with them whilst renting space on the Telstra network. Furthermore, they have the ability to act like a competitive company yet are government-owned and therefore have the backing of the executive, resulting in many, many favourable breaks w.r.t. government contracts, legislation, lack of oversight, etc. etc.
I could go on all day, but why not head over to www.whirlpool.net.au to actually get some facts before you make statements like that.
Off-topic I realise, but foreigners should be aware that Australia has a policy of mandatory detention for refugees who come here to seek freedom from persecution. This is part of a conservative policy known as 'deterrence.' Effectively we take the neediest and most downtrodden people on earth, put them in a paddock in the desert behind razor wire, and deny them access to basic legal and human rights that even serial killers receive in Australia. Furthermore it is no coincidence that these people who are demonised are universally non-white, whilst thousands of white illegal immigrants from the US, UK and New Zealand swarm around our country using up welfare and not getting caught.
If you are a non-Australian and you care about human rights, please do not buy Australian products, do not visit Australia, do write to your own government and ask them to pressure Australia about this issue, and do write to the Australian government to explain to them that you don't want to visit Australia as a result of this policy.
Yes, but a lot of them are the result of a conscious effort to 'improve' the dictionary by American linguists, too. Personally I like the character that (UK) English spellings lend to the language.
Still, I enjoy the arrogance of Americans who assert that '-ise' is incorrect. I sometimes think such people might actually believe that English originated in America or something.
"Well, the USA is paying most of the costs for the damn thing, so why shouldn't we get the most control?"
Oh, you mean like in Iraq where you are going to give control to Europe if they start paying for it? Oh wait...
You are a rock star
You are a rock legend to the max
You can really knock it out
You can really wupp a horse's ass
Alanis Morissette
Alanis Morissette
Alanis Morissette
Alanis Morissette
You are a rocking maniac
You are a singing hyena
You are a rock star in Jesus' name
You can really rock Saddam Hussein's ass
Alanis Morissette
Alanis Morissette
Alanis Morissette
Alanis Morissette
You are my sweet woman to the end
You are my honey lover to the max
You are my sweetheart for years to come
You are so lovable to me in the long run
Alanis Morissette
Alanis Morissette
Alanis Morissette
Alanis Morissette
Taco Bell, make a run for the border
"an XBox is not a PC"
Yeah, it's not like it has:
- a hard drive
- a processor
- memory
- Various I/O devices
- The ability to run compiled computer code
- Small size and low price
I'd call that a P(ersonal) C(omputer), wouldn't you? I mean, when it comes down to it, an XBox is a modified Celeron with a smallish hard disk and a custom graphics chip.
I think you are wrong. MS should find the middle ground. They could offer the patch with at least the requirement that you consent to have it applied, and with an explanation of the consequences. They could *not* apply it unless you are actually connecting to X-Box Live, rather than just leaving your machine turned on.
Or, even crazier, they could take into account that a lot of people want to use their machine in a certain way and make the patch give people a legitimate way to install Linux if they want to.
People are complaining because their property is being tampered with without their knowledge or consent, not because the benevolent MS corporation is trying to get rid of a terrible bug.
-it doesn't affect other functions of your machine
-it is removeable (the whole thing I mean)
-it is an optional part of your system to start with
-it can't connect without your knowledge if you have a decent firewall
I could go on.
So perhaps what we need is for someone to argue it in a less important case, even where it's not necessarily crucial. I attended a talk for lawyers and legal academics by a 5th Circuit SC judge and he basically urged people to bring cases before the courts when important principles were at play. He said something like, "I'd love to give an opinion on that, but I can't until you bring it before me!"
In other words, he wants to protect liberties and the citizen against the state (this was in the context of other comments in this vein), but he can't if noone brings the cases and makes the arguments.
People criticise the courts, but I am thankful for them all the time. Even 'conservative' judges like Thomas tend to put fairness, legal progress and true justice ahead of politicking and ideology most of the time.
Hmm, guess I should RTFA :)
Still, it's an interesting question. Is, for instance, it tresspass to use someone's own GPS system in their car or phone against them? Is it tresspass to attach something to their car without their knowledge or consent?
Ah, the old 'money is more important than process or freedoms' argument.
Never get tired of that one. I wonder how much money the US is saving by keeping those pesky alleged unproven possibly unlawful combatants locked away at Camp X-Ray, free from the money squandering foolishness of the US Courts who might want to accord them pricey and unneccessary rights?
Of course, ultimately it would be cheaper for the police to just shoot every suspect. About 10 cents for the bullet, no pesky paperwork or trial, everybody wins, taxpayers rejoice! This policy has been implemented successfully in LA I believe. You could even make a few more bucks by selling the organs of the deceased to the privatised health system.
Business plan:
1. Remove all due process from law enforcement
2. ???
3. Profit!
+10 FLAMEBAIT!!!
I was wondering if this might actually constitute tresspass to property, as they are messing with your car without your knowledge or consent and without necessarily believing that you are guilty of anything.
The police do not, for instance, have the ability to enter your home without your consent in the absence of a warrant, so how is this different? If an ordinary citizen did it they would be guilty of tresspass for sure.
"the liberty to break the law"
This is a totally facetious argument. You can justify any excess by making stupid laws and then saying that 'liberty' doesn't extend to allowing people to break the law.
In fact, the liberty to break the law is essential. If you have no choice about the matter, you're not really being good, just controlled. People shouldn't commit crimes because they don't want to commit crimes, not because the police have a tracking implant placed in everyone's head at birth to monitor their thoughts and actions.
Furthermore, I don't see how the judge is making an arbitrary distinction. What is the difference between this and asking for a wiretap or search warrant?
Um... how is that different to using a phone tap and not crediting its use, or any one of a number of other surveillence investigative techniques?
"an actual violent criminal" - just make sure you don't put the cart before the horse. It's way to easy to say that the police should have every power to deal with 'actual' criminals, but no-one should be treated as guilty until after they have been to trial. There is an immense danger in implicitly removing the presumption of innocence by granting the police unchecked discretionary powers they would traditionally need to show good reasons to a judge to use.
What we're talking about here is the police actually going to your car and placing a tracker on it. It seems to me that there is a significant difference between this and, say, using an inbuilt navigation system in your car to track you.
My view is that, whereas the first option might be ok in some circumstances with a warrant, the real danger to liberties is when the second option starts to become viable. If the police are investigating a specific crime, and they have evidence that leads them to suspect you, then they will be able to convince a judge to let them track you and gain a warrant, which is pretty benign so long as proper processes are followed and there is enough transparency to monitor their activities. What would be scary would be if they could just check up on anyone, any time, because we all have GPS in our cars or phones and implanted in our brains.
What will be interesting will be to see how the two scenarios are construed by the courts: is it a more serious matter to track someone using their own GPS than it is to place a tracker on their vehicle, or vice-versa? I hope the bar is set higher for the use of someone's own GPS device, or at least set to the same height. It is all to easy to envisage a police policy arguing that there is no harm is using the GPS system to 'check' where people are without their knowledge - kinda how the compulsory location identification technology in phones is justified because it lets emergency services find idiots who phone 911 and then fail to give their location. Once there is some degree of ambiguity the system is open to all kinds of abuse. Therefore I think the best solution would be for a warrant to be required for any kind of tracking to occur.
It's great to see the law actually adapt to a new scenario with some degree of success, anyway.
Small how?
France has 50 odd million people. They are a nuclear power. They are scientifically and culturally advanced. They have a mighty history that has arguably contributed more to the concepts of democracy and freedom than the USA has.
As for arrogance, there is really no contest these days as to which nation is the most arrogant. Most countries prefer not to rant on about being somehow special and better than the rest of the world, god's chosen country, the unique home of freedom, the most powerful nation in history and suchlike bullcrap. Most other countries also prefer not to rampage around the globe invading people like a bear with a sore head.
Just because you're militarily powerful, it doesn't make you great. I believe most people have a better idea of what the US's interests are than the current leaders of that fine nation.
Very prescient comments about China. I think the dark horse in terms of countries unexpectedly upsetting our western fat cat society has got to be India, however. China will get there sooner than most people expect, but India is within a few years of seriously kicking our rumps. Just look at those software jobs flying off to the subcontinent...
Basically, we are in very big trouble, because the mathematics of having a billion Indians and a billion Chinese means that they need a much lower percentage of educated people in their countries to have a vastly larger actual number of educated people. If China or India can achieve a 10% university education rate, that's 200 million well educated Chinese and Indians - the equivalent of every person in the US having such a degree. There is a lot of complacence, because we look at those countries and see a high poverty rate, unemployment, lots of people living in poor conditions... but they are both nations on the rise and because of their immense sizes they will be hugely powerful before we know it.
Right now we can see this with IT jobs going to India... but how soon until there are hordes of Chinese accountants? Indian engineers? One only has to look at the speed with which the high-tech industry took off in SE Asia, where most of the manufacturing is still done, to see how quickly such sectors could be taken overseas with great speed. We won't just be wearing shirts made in China, our knowledge work will be done there too. Unfortunately we won't be able to afford any of it because we will all be unemployed.
IMHO you are absolutely correct in your assertion that we should be moving now, with great rapidity, to build a new set of ideals for our societies. We need to really migrate from the industrial, oil-swilling, third-world-will-pick-up-the-pieces mentality to an information age, high-tech, renewable, sustainable future. We have all the technology, we just need to put it into practice. If we don't, the west will become a hideous, decayed place full of social problems and memories of the era when we ruled the world.
This could actually be a big opportunity for open source to seize the initiative.
.Net with a remote database?)
I have seen various programs that act as add-ons to MS-Office, e.g. footnoting software that gives Word the ability to have a decent referencing system for use in proper academic and legal documents (called EndNote or something). Is there any reason why we couldn't write an open source DRM standard and then implement an Office plugin to provide functionality for MS users? I can think of a few benefits:
- there is an incentive for people to use a system that is transparent and therefore free from MS shenanigans
- there is a very big incentive for business to use a standard that all of their partners/suppliers/employers/customers can also use irrespective of their OS and software configuration
- people love the word 'free'
- an open source standard could easily be implemented to run on practically any system, whereas MS's system will no doubt require very specific MS networking/security protocols to be installed and configured (ever tried to use
- and most of all, open source cannot win battles it is not in. We must comprehend that we are not talking about the 'DRM v no DRM' battle any more, we are talking about the 'MS Secret DRM v Open DRM' battle. We can't win that if we don't have a contender, and by contender I mean a contender that people running Windows with Office can use. People who think we can just say, this whole thing sucks, we don't want DRM at all, are dreaming if they think that will stop it from happening. What we need is to seize the initiative and create a version of DRM that is the best option for business and individuals. Furthermore, we can't stick with Linux and hope that enough people switch to let us win - there must be a focus on fighting MS with open source on its own turf, the Windows family of OSs.
Now we just need someone to actually do it...
POPFile rocks. It is incredibly easy to use, and very, very accurate. I initially started using it for spam reduction purposes but now I find it's best use is actually sorting my mail... waaaaay better that pre-defined mail filters.
I strongly recommend people check it out if they want a very effective solution that is easy to use and configure.
I couldn't agree more, they put waaay too much into trailers sometimes. In the Two Towers trailer, they actually went so far as to show that Gandalf was alive even though as far as the plot and the characters were concerned he was dead as of the end of the first movie. To me this is the equivalent of making a trailer for the Empire Strikes back and putting in a clip of Darth Vader saying "I am your father!" and Luke screaming "No!!!"
Yeah, yeah, I know we all know that Gandalf was going to live because we're cool and we read the books, but perhaps there were people out there who didn't know, and after all it's the principle of the thing. The worst part is that you can't escape the trailers when you go to see a movie.