Richard N. Turner - Subject: I'm Reminded of An Old Post... ( Feb 23, 2000, 15:39:02 )
...that someone made on an online discussion, oh, about a year ago. It cracked me up so I saved it:
``SCO should do the industry a favor and disband, pausing only to bulk-format all their drives so that none of the evil source code can inadvertently escape into the world. Their marketing people and their tech support people should be sent to camps to be retrained for professions more suited to their skills and their buildings should be torn down and burned.''
I think this demonstrates (again) how an industry that refuses to innovate will be left in the dust. Just like the music and movie industries, this one has refused to change with the times.
From bootlegging grandmas
After all, needlepoint designs are hard to come by, especially for women
like Davis who live in rural areas. A trip to the nearest hobby shop can
mean a three-hour drive. "There aren't very many stores that carry
needlepoint patterns anymore," Davis said.
Evidently, there is a demand for easily available patterns. It is only fair (by the rules of capitalism) that these companies evolve or become extinct. Don't misunderstand me piracy is wrong, but so are industries that no longer value their customers. I don't think these people are out to screw the designers and am willing to bet they would pay for some type of internet service if it existed (which must not be the case).
I found the line of copied code SCO is refering to
on
Today's SCO News
·
· Score: 1, Funny
for(int i=0;in;i++)
They'll be after me next, I use that all the time.
"Renewables" are improving, but still can't do the job properly
Not so, according to a USDA study, ethonol yields a 34% energy gain ( USDA REPORT FINDS ETHANOL IS ENERGY EFFICIENT)and that is including growing and harvesting. Wonder what the efficiency of oil is when you figure in transport from who knows where and add the cost of defending it?
I think there are better sources of energy that are just on the horizon but I think ethonol is a good temporary solution. It has enviornmental benifits and I think its better than subsidies for farmers (and taxpayers).
>The problem is, we don't want that. Because that would make them rivals.
"WE" is a gross overgeneralization. Apperantly I have a little more faith in humanity than you. I think most ordinary people don't want to see others suffer (WE just don't take as much action as we could/should).
About neo-colonialism, I strongly doubt there is any large number of people that are that sinister. This statement is simply paranoid conspiricy theory. However, you are VERY correct that corporations are happy to make a buck on developing nations and just as happy to exploit them. But the idea of "neo-colonialism" is far too structured. The same effect is being achieved by corporate greed, but I don't think it is in any way intentional. In other words the current economic situation of the third world is a byproduct of corporate greed.
Then again my opinion results from a sort of optomistic faith in humanity, "we suck but we don't want to".
"Senegal... realized full Internet connectivity in 1996, creating a miniboom in information technology-based services. Private activity now accounts for 82% of GDP."
However, I worry about the mentality that the internet can solve all our problems. I think we all saw the fallacy of that misconception after the bubble. Further, the question should be asked, is this a society that is ready for this technology? Will this have adverse impacts on a culture that has not prepared itself for such drastic change (now I sound like my old Tech and Society prof)? Will the average Senegalese be receptive to such a cultural shift?
Soap + Gasoline + Fireworks + WD40 +... + Estes model rocket + lego guy in the payload compartment was a favorite when I was a kid.
That'd make Tom Ridge raise an eybrow.
I don;t mean to be too hard on Arthur C. Clarke, but people really ought to remember how wrong he was with a few gems of being right.
I think you misunderstand the ESA's interest in Sci-Fi. Sci-Fi isn't as much prophesy as it is self-fulfilling prophesy.
Sci-Fi can be the impetus to the creative process at the heart of all good technology. Further, it explores the impact that technology will have (good or bad) on people, cultures, environment, etc.
"Pearse's machine was in some ways more advanced than the first Wright Flyer....ailerons for steering similar to those used in modern aircraft. The Wright brothers used "wing warping," twisting the wing to change the flow of air over it."
The article is trying to imply ailerons are more advanced than wing warping? Obviously the author doesn't read slashdot.
Air Force to Test Aeroelastic Wings
I find it odd that people think having a GMO body part inside them is a good idea if it saves their life but they wont eat GMO food even if they are starving to death.
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/world/DailyNews/zam bia020902.html
The trouble with your statement is that many environmentalists don't advocate bio-fuels because the thermodynamics don't work out. Ethonol production and use exhibits an energy deficit. However, the manufacturing process is being improved to a point that some claim that deficit is being elliminated.
I don't think the energy issue is a reason to abandon ethonol though. I think the environmental advantage of clean air outwieghs the disadvantage of energy loss. In addition, energy is inevitably lost when it is converted to another USEABLE form (yes energy is conserved but it isn't transfered to the useable form in this case ethonol).
The calculation of ethonol's energy output factors in energy expended at the farm level as well which I think is a bit unfair. If you compared the energy expenditure on the alternative, oil, using this standard you would need to factor in shipping from the mideast, troop movements for defense of oil fields, etc.
The alternative to bio fuels at present are electric cars. However, I'm geussing electric car usage increases coal burning or radioactive waste. All in all I think the the best solution is using fuel cells. However, since that is not economically feasible at the moment I think bio fuels provide a good bridge solution.
Dude you didn't read the article did you.
"In mid-April, a federal court in Missouri upheld a St. Louis County ordinance requiring parental consent for minors to purchase video games that depict graphic violence."
This law ensures that "...the responsibility for deciding what is appropriate for each child and the consequences of that choice lies with the parents".
The idea is that the parents have more control when "monitoring what your child watches".
I don't agree with the bill entirely but it certainly isn't "Passing the buck" because the resposibility is still the parents.
Slashdot Mirror
The comment
...that someone made on an online discussion, oh, about a year ago. It cracked me up so I saved it:
Richard N. Turner - Subject: I'm Reminded of An Old Post... ( Feb 23, 2000, 15:39:02 )
``SCO should do the industry a favor and disband, pausing only to bulk-format all their drives so that none of the evil source code can inadvertently escape into the world. Their marketing people and their tech support people should be sent to camps to be retrained for professions more suited to their skills and their buildings should be torn down and burned.''
I think thats a bit prophetic.
I think this demonstrates (again) how an industry that refuses to innovate will be left in the dust. Just like the music and movie industries, this one has refused to change with the times.
From bootlegging grandmas
After all, needlepoint designs are hard to come by, especially for women like Davis who live in rural areas. A trip to the nearest hobby shop can mean a three-hour drive. "There aren't very many stores that carry needlepoint patterns anymore," Davis said.
Evidently, there is a demand for easily available patterns. It is only fair (by the rules of capitalism) that these companies evolve or become extinct. Don't misunderstand me piracy is wrong, but so are industries that no longer value their customers. I don't think these people are out to screw the designers and am willing to bet they would pay for some type of internet service if it existed (which must not be the case).
for(int i=0;in;i++) They'll be after me next, I use that all the time.
"Renewables" are improving, but still can't do the job properly
Not so, according to a USDA study, ethonol yields a 34% energy gain ( USDA REPORT FINDS ETHANOL IS ENERGY EFFICIENT)and that is including growing and harvesting. Wonder what the efficiency of oil is when you figure in transport from who knows where and add the cost of defending it?
I think there are better sources of energy that are just on the horizon but I think ethonol is a good temporary solution. It has enviornmental benifits and I think its better than subsidies for farmers (and taxpayers).
"WE" is a gross overgeneralization. Apperantly I have a little more faith in humanity than you. I think most ordinary people don't want to see others suffer (WE just don't take as much action as we could/should).
About neo-colonialism, I strongly doubt there is any large number of people that are that sinister. This statement is simply paranoid conspiricy theory. However, you are VERY correct that corporations are happy to make a buck on developing nations and just as happy to exploit them. But the idea of "neo-colonialism" is far too structured. The same effect is being achieved by corporate greed, but I don't think it is in any way intentional. In other words the current economic situation of the third world is a byproduct of corporate greed.
Then again my opinion results from a sort of optomistic faith in humanity, "we suck but we don't want to".
Exactly, wouldn't this money be better spent? On the flip side it sounds like the move is generating private investment.
From the CIA world fact book (hey its what google gave me): [CIA World Fact Book]
"Senegal ... realized full Internet connectivity in 1996, creating a miniboom in information technology-based services. Private activity now accounts for 82% of GDP."
However, I worry about the mentality that the internet can solve all our problems. I think we all saw the fallacy of that misconception after the bubble. Further, the question should be asked, is this a society that is ready for this technology? Will this have adverse impacts on a culture that has not prepared itself for such drastic change (now I sound like my old Tech and Society prof)? Will the average Senegalese be receptive to such a cultural shift?
Well said!
Soap + Gasoline + Fireworks + WD40 + ... + Estes model rocket + lego guy in the payload compartment was a favorite when I was a kid.
That'd make Tom Ridge raise an eybrow.
I think you misunderstand the ESA's interest in Sci-Fi. Sci-Fi isn't as much prophesy as it is self-fulfilling prophesy. Sci-Fi can be the impetus to the creative process at the heart of all good technology. Further, it explores the impact that technology will have (good or bad) on people, cultures, environment, etc.
LoneStar> "And that makes us..."
Dark Helmet> "Absolutely nothing, which is what you are about to become."
I see "Bamboo Dick's" schwartz is as big as mine.
The article is trying to imply ailerons are more advanced than wing warping? Obviously the author doesn't read slashdot. Air Force to Test Aeroelastic Wings
I find it odd that people think having a GMO body part inside them is a good idea if it saves their life but they wont eat GMO food even if they are starving to death. http://abcnews.go.com/sections/world/DailyNews/zam bia020902.html
The trouble with your statement is that many environmentalists don't advocate bio-fuels because the thermodynamics don't work out. Ethonol production and use exhibits an energy deficit. However, the manufacturing process is being improved to a point that some claim that deficit is being elliminated. I don't think the energy issue is a reason to abandon ethonol though. I think the environmental advantage of clean air outwieghs the disadvantage of energy loss. In addition, energy is inevitably lost when it is converted to another USEABLE form (yes energy is conserved but it isn't transfered to the useable form in this case ethonol). The calculation of ethonol's energy output factors in energy expended at the farm level as well which I think is a bit unfair. If you compared the energy expenditure on the alternative, oil, using this standard you would need to factor in shipping from the mideast, troop movements for defense of oil fields, etc. The alternative to bio fuels at present are electric cars. However, I'm geussing electric car usage increases coal burning or radioactive waste. All in all I think the the best solution is using fuel cells. However, since that is not economically feasible at the moment I think bio fuels provide a good bridge solution.
Dude you didn't read the article did you. "In mid-April, a federal court in Missouri upheld a St. Louis County ordinance requiring parental consent for minors to purchase video games that depict graphic violence." This law ensures that "...the responsibility for deciding what is appropriate for each child and the consequences of that choice lies with the parents". The idea is that the parents have more control when "monitoring what your child watches". I don't agree with the bill entirely but it certainly isn't "Passing the buck" because the resposibility is still the parents.
Well yeah brain but where are we gonna get lead pants our size this time of night?