I'll never forget the graphic drunk-driving presentation we got in high school.
The picture of a dude with a rear view mirror inside his skull was a pretty convincing reason to not drive drunk. Only the windshield mount part was sticking out of his head.
(CAPTCHA: blockage:P)
From what I've seen, those videos only help the people that knew better anyway. There are always going to be people that believe they'll never be stupid or unlucky enough to end up as one of those statistics.
A guy I went to high school with broke his spine in a drunk driving accident; he was one of the people joking and laughing through all those videos in class. Anyway, he'd consumed about six beers and figured since he was driving on a road "nobody ever uses" he'd be fine. He ended up upside down in the ditch screaming for an hour before somebody drove by. It may sound callused, but I think he finally learned the lesson that video was supposed to teach and I'm glad I don't have to watch out for him on the road anymore.
I don't understand why those with PVRs still watch the ads. I've found that, with the sole exception of the ad-free (but paid-for, of course) BBC channels, the ad breaks are _way_ too long; this is mostly the reason I use a PVR. To skip through the ads.
In addition, the Treat The Audience As If They Have An Attention Span Of Less Than A Minute approach, showing you highlights of what you're going to see soon, then actually showing you it, then showing you a re-cap of what you've just seen; that just encourages more skipping from me, really.
I think frequency is much more of a problem than quantity. The intro of your show finished, commercials. Ten minutes of your show have passed, commercials. Your show is done, commercials. It's almost impossible to change the channel without landing on a commercial.
I agree it's a waste of time to show what you're going to show right before the commercials, I'd go so far as to say it's a commercial for the show you're already watching anyway. It makes me of that "yo dawg" meme actually.
Like the wii, touchpads, motion tracking and countless other control methods, this one fails to address a key issue: I don't bloody want to move my hands other than to type.
Looking at Wii sales I think it's safe to assume that there are people who do want this technology.
Now that the whole Chuck Norris phase has kinda spun down does anyone see Bruce Schneier picking up the mantel? At least in geek culture / IT? I think it would be hilarious.
The cost of a single piece of paper and the amount of ink I would have used is trivial to me being able to deny them internet access. They had it completely open, broadcasted the SSID, and left the router with the default username and password. I could have locked them out from their own internet if I had wished it. Sure, they could press the button on the bottom to restore factory defaults, but then I could do it over and over again. Or, if I were in the business of stealing personal information, I would have had very little standing in the way.
If they wanted to share, they should have at least locked down access to the rest of their network (PC, Printer, Router/Gateway).
If you leave your car unlocked and someone uses your pen and post its to tell you to lock your car, are you going to be pissed?
Yes, I would be pissed. Someone used my stuff without my permission.
I compare what you did and your example to walking into someone's house and informing them their door was unlocked, then explaining the dangers and advising them on how to fix it (e.g. lock the door). But it's a good thing you're a nice person because you could have been a serial killer. Do you think people would thank you for that?
You may have had the best intentions possible, and I'm sure you did, but what you did the digital equivalent of entering someone's unlocked house without their permission. Just because they're not adequately protecting themselves from the unlawful use of their network doesn't mean you get a free pass to use their network without permission, regardless of the reason.
I think the current level of security is ridiculous and barely grounded in reality but I also think it makes sense that airlines want to know what people are bringing on their planes seeing as they're responsible for the lives of everyone on board.
In a perfect world we wouldn't need any security at airports but history has proven that it is necessary. There needs to be a compromise between security that's too lax (who needs a box cutter in the cabin anyway?) and security that's too tight and driven by fear ("I'm sorry sir, but that bottle of water might cause an action movie explosion"); I think letting someone have a quick peek in my backpack is a decent compromise.
Here in Canada most, if not all, of the airports have signs at security that basically say "you don't have to get searched if you don't want to, but you're not getting on the plane without getting searched". You're more than welcome to refuse a search, politely or otherwise, but security can and will prevent you from moving further into the terminal if you exercise that right. The fact that people play along with the security theater isn't a sign of cowardice so much as the fact that they just want to get it over with and get on the damn plane.
While I think the liquid ban thing and taking off my orthopedic shoes is a waste of time and money it doesn't mean I'm going to try making a statement about it at airport security. When they quiz me on my solid deodorant, solid shampoo, solid soap, and powdered toothpaste (just add water) I politely inform them I can't bring liquids on the plane and I don't want to pack a suitcase for my toiletries or buy them when I land so this is my compromise. I've never had a problem with that answer in any airport (including several in the US).
When I found some malware (Securitytool, basically holds the computer hostage) on one of the computers I called everyone around it and told them that because someone installed something they weren't supposed to, everyone who used that computer for online banking or any other important activities needed to change their passwords if they wanted to keep their bank accounts full. To this day I don't know who kept messing up that computer but it hasn't happened since.
this is an ebook reader, what is the point of installing another version of linux and other apps when netbooks have more features for the same price
More features doesn't necessarily mean better features. In this case, the point is to have the option to add more desirable features on top of an already desirable feature set.
You don't however surrender the liberty to keep others from forcibly injecting you with something against your wishes.
I don't want to surrender the liberty to keep others from forcibly exposing me to something that can potentially kill me against my wishes. I'm one of those unlucky people who has a realistic chance of dying when exposed to nearly any strain of influenza so it's kind of important to me that the people treating me at the hospital are unlikely to be carriers.
I worked with a guy last year. At lunchtime he'd wander off somewhere alone. After work he'd never come to the pub, the only time he did was on his last day. Ask him what he'd done at the weekend, "oh, chilled out, watched TV, played Warcraft, not much". He was 21 and doing a 12-month placement, shouldn't he be making the most of finally earning some money? The other placement students did (IT or otherwise).
Also, he was overweight and sometimes smelled bad.
You've described this guy as an introvert from the perspective of an extrovert, making the assumption that he would be happier in a social setting. Not everyone wants to go to spend their money at the bar, some of us would rather have a quiet night at home. For him, watching TV and playing WoW was probably "making the most of finally earning some money" by getting some downtime from work.
A compressed image of Wikipedia is about 4 gigs (last time I downloaded one anyway). That's just the text of the articles though. From what I hear, the pictures add about 600-700 gigs. Now, if you include revision history, discussion, etc. then you'll get into the terabytes, but if you're just building a local mirror you can fit the whole thing on one drive.
Given that it's Thanksgiving weekend here in Canada, I would have modded that informative if I had points. Though I have to admit that/. is the last place I expected to get cooking advice...
Slashdot Mirror
I'll never forget the graphic drunk-driving presentation we got in high school.
The picture of a dude with a rear view mirror inside his skull was a pretty convincing reason to not drive drunk. Only the windshield mount part was sticking out of his head.
(CAPTCHA: blockage :P)
From what I've seen, those videos only help the people that knew better anyway. There are always going to be people that believe they'll never be stupid or unlucky enough to end up as one of those statistics.
A guy I went to high school with broke his spine in a drunk driving accident; he was one of the people joking and laughing through all those videos in class. Anyway, he'd consumed about six beers and figured since he was driving on a road "nobody ever uses" he'd be fine. He ended up upside down in the ditch screaming for an hour before somebody drove by. It may sound callused, but I think he finally learned the lesson that video was supposed to teach and I'm glad I don't have to watch out for him on the road anymore.
Your ideas are intriguing to me and I wish to subscribe to your newsletter.
Here in Canada we recently finished a national copyright consultation. I can't wait to see how our government fucks this one up.
Biological overclocking. How long before they try nitrogen cooling?
In other news, "Ratsicles" will soon be available in your grocer's freezer.
The difference between PVR and DVR is just semantics, like calling your cell phone a mobile phone and vice versa.
I don't understand why those with PVRs still watch the ads. I've found that, with the sole exception of the ad-free (but paid-for, of course) BBC channels, the ad breaks are _way_ too long; this is mostly the reason I use a PVR. To skip through the ads.
In addition, the Treat The Audience As If They Have An Attention Span Of Less Than A Minute approach, showing you highlights of what you're going to see soon, then actually showing you it, then showing you a re-cap of what you've just seen; that just encourages more skipping from me, really.
I think frequency is much more of a problem than quantity. The intro of your show finished, commercials. Ten minutes of your show have passed, commercials. Your show is done, commercials. It's almost impossible to change the channel without landing on a commercial.
I agree it's a waste of time to show what you're going to show right before the commercials, I'd go so far as to say it's a commercial for the show you're already watching anyway. It makes me of that "yo dawg" meme actually.
Like the wii, touchpads, motion tracking and countless other control methods, this one fails to address a key issue: I don't bloody want to move my hands other than to type.
Looking at Wii sales I think it's safe to assume that there are people who do want this technology.
Now that the whole Chuck Norris phase has kinda spun down does anyone see Bruce Schneier picking up the mantel? At least in geek culture / IT? I think it would be hilarious.
Ask and ye shall receive.
The cost of a single piece of paper and the amount of ink I would have used is trivial to me being able to deny them internet access. They had it completely open, broadcasted the SSID, and left the router with the default username and password. I could have locked them out from their own internet if I had wished it. Sure, they could press the button on the bottom to restore factory defaults, but then I could do it over and over again. Or, if I were in the business of stealing personal information, I would have had very little standing in the way.
If they wanted to share, they should have at least locked down access to the rest of their network (PC, Printer, Router/Gateway).
If you leave your car unlocked and someone uses your pen and post its to tell you to lock your car, are you going to be pissed?
Yes, I would be pissed. Someone used my stuff without my permission.
I compare what you did and your example to walking into someone's house and informing them their door was unlocked, then explaining the dangers and advising them on how to fix it (e.g. lock the door). But it's a good thing you're a nice person because you could have been a serial killer. Do you think people would thank you for that?
You may have had the best intentions possible, and I'm sure you did, but what you did the digital equivalent of entering someone's unlocked house without their permission. Just because they're not adequately protecting themselves from the unlawful use of their network doesn't mean you get a free pass to use their network without permission, regardless of the reason.
Word.
I think the current level of security is ridiculous and barely grounded in reality but I also think it makes sense that airlines want to know what people are bringing on their planes seeing as they're responsible for the lives of everyone on board.
In a perfect world we wouldn't need any security at airports but history has proven that it is necessary. There needs to be a compromise between security that's too lax (who needs a box cutter in the cabin anyway?) and security that's too tight and driven by fear ("I'm sorry sir, but that bottle of water might cause an action movie explosion"); I think letting someone have a quick peek in my backpack is a decent compromise.
Here in Canada most, if not all, of the airports have signs at security that basically say "you don't have to get searched if you don't want to, but you're not getting on the plane without getting searched". You're more than welcome to refuse a search, politely or otherwise, but security can and will prevent you from moving further into the terminal if you exercise that right. The fact that people play along with the security theater isn't a sign of cowardice so much as the fact that they just want to get it over with and get on the damn plane.
While I think the liquid ban thing and taking off my orthopedic shoes is a waste of time and money it doesn't mean I'm going to try making a statement about it at airport security. When they quiz me on my solid deodorant, solid shampoo, solid soap, and powdered toothpaste (just add water) I politely inform them I can't bring liquids on the plane and I don't want to pack a suitcase for my toiletries or buy them when I land so this is my compromise. I've never had a problem with that answer in any airport (including several in the US).
Excellent point about bringing personal pain.
When I found some malware (Securitytool, basically holds the computer hostage) on one of the computers I called everyone around it and told them that because someone installed something they weren't supposed to, everyone who used that computer for online banking or any other important activities needed to change their passwords if they wanted to keep their bank accounts full. To this day I don't know who kept messing up that computer but it hasn't happened since.
OMG! A real female on slashdot! It's time like these that I wish slashdot's "Alter Relationship" user option was more powerful. :-)
Great, now there needs to be a "stalker" option... ;)
As a fellow Winnipeger all I can say is this: at least it's not Saskatchewan. =p
buy a netbook and install linux
this is an ebook reader, what is the point of installing another version of linux and other apps when netbooks have more features for the same price
More features doesn't necessarily mean better features. In this case, the point is to have the option to add more desirable features on top of an already desirable feature set.
You don't however surrender the liberty to keep others from forcibly injecting you with something against your wishes.
I don't want to surrender the liberty to keep others from forcibly exposing me to something that can potentially kill me against my wishes. I'm one of those unlucky people who has a realistic chance of dying when exposed to nearly any strain of influenza so it's kind of important to me that the people treating me at the hospital are unlikely to be carriers.
How do you know?
I worked with a guy last year. At lunchtime he'd wander off somewhere alone. After work he'd never come to the pub, the only time he did was on his last day. Ask him what he'd done at the weekend, "oh, chilled out, watched TV, played Warcraft, not much". He was 21 and doing a 12-month placement, shouldn't he be making the most of finally earning some money? The other placement students did (IT or otherwise).
Also, he was overweight and sometimes smelled bad.
You've described this guy as an introvert from the perspective of an extrovert, making the assumption that he would be happier in a social setting. Not everyone wants to go to spend their money at the bar, some of us would rather have a quiet night at home. For him, watching TV and playing WoW was probably "making the most of finally earning some money" by getting some downtime from work.
Everyone uses the _internet_, now. Who cares about ethernet?!
Anyone trying to catch the Ether Bunny cares!
Ow, my sperm!
Yet another example of blatant sexism in FOSS!! 48% of the world is not 'most'.
True, but in this case I'm pretty sure the phrase "most of us" refers to men. ;)
I agree completely. It MUST be your fault my boss is Zap Brannigan in a Hawaiian shirt.
That would make for some interesting team meetings...
"All we have to do is aim for the bulls eye and the rest of the dominoes will fall like a house of cards. Checkmate."
Any instructions on how to build a local mirror?
Here's enough to get you started. They also link to a program (Wikix) that builds scripts to download images should you desire them.
I've found that in most cases just the text is good enough, but if I had the hard drive space and bandwidth I'd download the images too.
A compressed image of Wikipedia is about 4 gigs (last time I downloaded one anyway). That's just the text of the articles though. From what I hear, the pictures add about 600-700 gigs. Now, if you include revision history, discussion, etc. then you'll get into the terabytes, but if you're just building a local mirror you can fit the whole thing on one drive.
Given that it's Thanksgiving weekend here in Canada, I would have modded that informative if I had points. Though I have to admit that /. is the last place I expected to get cooking advice...