"Windows is useless without the GUI" is a slight overstatement. Yes, maybe it won't run if it's not installed. When you say "maybe it won't run if it's not installed" You are, of course, meaning Windows for the first "it", and "GUI" for the second "it". So, if Windows doesn't run without the GUI installed, how can it be an overstatement to say "Windows is useless without the GUI" ??? I maybe an idiot in your opinion, but read this post a second time, and determine who is the idiot...
You obviously don't install Windows often... You don't have to install anything that you don't need... Hmmm, let's see, could I install Windows 98se and above with no web browser, no media player, no direct x, or how about running it headless?, that's with no monitor and sometimes no video card (depending on the motherboard) Can it be used by just a serial console for user i/o? Can it be pared down to just fit on a floppy, and still retain full servability? Because where I'm from, real servers would not have a built in media player, nor cd burning software, no web browser, no gui (and I mean not even sitting on the drive, as opposed to just not being used). Most of them wouldn't even have a keyboard, mouse or monitor attached. My server installs rarely need more than 100MB of disk space for all operating system space. Xp whines if it doesn't have more than a GB and a half, just to install. I could go on and on, but it would do no good. You seem to be of the school of "Gee, look at the pretty colors", and you must need media player installed on your servers, and IE, and all that other stuff.
Everyone is missing the point here... Let's assume that Micro$oft could actually create a search engine 70% as good as Google. Then they bundle it into their OS and IE. Then market the crap out of it.
Actually, if you look at IE 6, and maybe the lower ones now, MSN is already the default home page, and MSN Access to the internet comes on all Microsofts systems now as it is. And no, it's not even 10% as good as Google. As a system builder, I set my systems home pages to Google before I sell them. It may just give the new user a fighting chance to at least find whatever it is s/he's looking for.
I just had to leave my place of employment, as the new management wanted us to sign new contracts. Part of the contract stated that any idea, document, illustration, patent, trademark, (and the list goes on and on) that I may come up with, on or off the clock, or on or off the job site, at any time during my employment, was then the property soley and exclusively of the company.
Most "innovation" and invention has traditionally been done by a person in their garage or basement, working on the proverbial better mouse trap. Corporations are trying to cash in on this, saying stuff like, well, you wouldn't have gotten that idea if you didn't work for me, so it is now mine. No wonder there's been a lessening of "innovation", invention, progress, etc. What I do on my time is mine. I may work for a corporation, but I refuse to be owned by one.
Phoenix's CME will reside in a protected area on a PC's hard drive.
I laugh as I read this. At this very moment, I have a system on my bench with an HDD that just let the magic smoke out of it's chips in a great gout of fiery stink!!! No chips, no spin, no way for their "protected area" of the HDD to do anything but stink. I love the smell of burning chips....It smells like PROFIT!!!
And, when (not if) Microsoft's super-de-dooper Hardware security gets exploited, who 0wnz? Could you imagine that? A compromised system could lock out the rightful owners and Microsofts OS, but let anyone else in. Gee, and then what do you do to patch hardware? Buy new systems all over again, every few days/weeks when there is a security patch? Fsck Microsoft and all it is/stands for.
OpenSource will never be able to program the way the customer needs the software.
Nor does Closed source. What the hell good does it do me to have all the overhead of a GUI interface on a headless server? I do NOT have any use for an integrated media player on a file server. If a program is open source, and GPL, then, if the original programmer won't fix it, well, I can always go in and tweak the software the way I want, or pay someone to do it for me. Do you think MS or Apple will do that for me?
If you look at commercial Companies such as Apple for example. Most of their applications look equal, feel equal and behave equal because they spent a lot of money into their design, their usability and their programmers. As true as this is, they never asked me what I want from their system. So, all their stuff looks/feels/behaves equal, but doesn't do it in a way that I want it to. Open source gives me the ability to have it done the way I want it to be done. Big Big difference there. The median average of any group leaves the majority of the group unsatisfied.
I think the smaller towns are more under the thumbs of the big media corps. I couldnt name the characters on "friends" or know who sings the mallcore ballad to the latest comic book turned into a feature film. But I bet everyone in this suburban neighbourhood I live in can.
I am from a small town. I didn't have a tv while growing up. No, not for religous reasons or anything else. I was too busy learning things like hunting, fishing, how to live off the land, cooking, carpentry, how to actually fix something/anything. But, most importantly, I was learning to think for myself, how to solve problems, and again, how to think for myself. Television is the complete opposite for thinking for yourself. NEVER can a movie be better than a book. But, this world is made up of those who are easily wowed by flashy visuals, and don't want to think. That is why tv is as popular as it is. Back to your post, Where I am from there were less than 25,000 people for the entire county. Yes there was the guy with the spiked mohawk who didn't look like anyone else around, but he and the football captain, and the stoner crew, and us farmers and the geeks, well, hell, everybody! would all party together and have a great time. There were the usual teasing things happening, but I don't remember but one fist fight in our school. There was at least one fight a week with the rival school, but afterwards most everybody from both schools would go partying together.
There may be a "general aura of diversity" in a major city, but the small towns where I'm from seem to have a greater sense of community in that diversity than big cities. We didn't judge someone by which side of town they were from, we didn't care who had more money, etc. The portrayal you see on the tv of small town life being cliqueish and all children praying to leave, may be true somewhere, but not any of the small towns I've lived in/been to.
Notice how this will make your tv more web-like?? But yet, the media is also trying to turn the WWW more tv like. So, it appears they are trying wash every form of media out to a uniform middle line "safe" grey. How about they turn off TV period. This technology will NOT make tv more interactive. They would control what/how/when/why you would click anything. They would let you have the illusion of being able to interact with a program, but, if I am watching a movie, and suddenly one of those god-forsaken pop-up text balloons pops up over the hero as he lifts a drink to his mouth to tell me "Punch the monkey and you could win a free drink like his!!!" I WILL empty every guns I own into the fscking tv!!!
Listen-up smarty-pants web designers. I don't want to be entertained, I don't want to be blown away by your fancy tricks -- I just want to be able to access the information and navigate without a whole lot of fuss, and without wearing the great big "kick me" sign that IE paints on your back when you're surfing unknown URLs.
Ain't that the truth!?! 'Course, most everyday users of systems are all like, "oooh! look at the pretty colors." And I'm like, "WTF!!! I can't even read the text of a page, as the font color is the same as the majority of the stupid background image!" And their all like, "oooh! look at the pretty colors." And I'm like, "WTF!!! What the hell does shockwave have to do with downloading a driver?" And their all like, "oooh! look at the pretty colors." And I'm like, "WTF!!! I'm trying to read a damn how-to, and the mouse cursor has some fucking trail of dancing clowns 8 inches long!" And their all like, "oooh! look at the pretty colors." And I'm like, "WTF!!! I have to have java-script enabled for a drop down menu, with one fucking option!?!?!"
And their all like, "oooh! look at the pretty colors." And I'm like, "WTF!!! I have to get permission from some one to swap my motherboard?!?!?!"...oops, got a little off track there, but same goes for OSes. Mac users and XP users are wowed by the colors. It's all they see. They should die.....
When the BSA knocks on your door, you have a perfect opportunity to fight for your freedom, and it's not only a fight that means something, it's also a fight worth winning.
In some parts of the U.S. there is a "make my day law" Which basically states, if some one will NOT leave your residence when you request it, and they are threatening, then you can kill them, right there, in your foyer. So come on, BSA, visit me and my Glock!!!!
Obviously, you don't just go to the Display control panel, change it, see the change take effect on the screen with your windows and icons automatically adjusting.
In Mandrake, it is that easy. That being said, every single person who used a computer for the first time, no matter what OS, or platform, or what have you, knew didley squat for how to do anything with it. ALL the problems you talk about that people have with Linux are indentical to the problems the same people have with Windows or Mac or whatever. It is a matter of learning how to use anything. Just getting used to something is the biggest hurdle. Even if you've driven passenger cars for 30 years, you do NOT just jump into a tractor trailer rig, or airplane, or locomotive engine, and take off like you would in a car. You must first learn how to deal with the new form of transportation. Knowing how to run Windows does not a computer expert make. Just as knowing how to drive a car really well does NOT a transportation expert make.
...it is still not Mac or Windows easy to use It is actually easier for me to use than Mac or Windows, but that is because I've become familiar with it. I use Linux at home, on both my IBM platform computers, and my Apple platforms. I fix Windows boxes all day long, and often cuss them for their lack of whatever, because I've taken the whatever for granted at home, on my Linux boxes.
I asked 3 of my profs in business school if there was any way to make money from Open source except support. They all said NO!
That is probably because they are business professors. They have built their proverbial house upon the concept of ROI, numbers games, profit/loss margins, ad nauseum. Open Source represents a new paradigm, that doesn't fit into their Excel spreadsheet formulas. It's been proven over and over again throughout the history of humanity that new notions that don't fit the old model are hard to accept, especially among the learned. The concept of the Earth being round, for instance. The scholars of the time (and government and religious leaders) would rather kill someone for that thought, than change their "view of the way things are." This is not to slam the professors, just that they aren't 'open' to new views.
...that people understand a User Interface is as much a science as it is an art. It is something that takes skill and talent.
This is very true. And, like any art, it is completely subjective. I hear alot of people say they love xp's interface, or Aqua, or what have you. I like the command line for many tasks, and find KDE more to my taste than Gnome. The beauty of Linux and open source projects is there is room for everyone. Linux does NOT need to be more like windows, or mac to be a success. The state of desktops today (all of them) is such that if my grandma can't figure out KDE, she'll not be able to figure out any GUI. I do not subscribe to the vision that one size fits all. The planet is inhabited by 6 billion+ individuals. No matter how hard governments and corporations try to lump us all as one, we are still individuals, with different tastes.
finally ego's are starting to subside and we are working together. i have dreamt about this for years, a common human interface guide, that will work consistently. i do not need 100 differnt ways to do something.. nor do i need 100 different widget sets. i just want something that works the same way every time
I agree, you don't need 100 different ways to do anything, you only need MY WAY!!!!
Well, here in the Homeland, we've got a brand new department of security that views everyone as a criminal. That way, instead of worrying about protecting the innocents or victims, they can just bust us all.
I hope the people who are responsible for this attack (which is technically terrorism) are thrown in jail. It will likely be a long sentence. Merriam Webster's Collegiate® Dictionary, 10th Edition defines terrorism as " the systematic use of terror especially as a means of coercion." and defines terror as "violence (as bombing) committed by groups in order to intimidate a population or government into granting their demands."
I hardly think a network attack such as this would fit that description. No, it is NOT condoned by me, and no, I wouldn't like someone attacking the servers where I get my open source from. THAT is why I detest Microsoft products. When their servers are attacked and compromised, they try over and over again to infect everything they can, thus making the open-source servers I get my software from unavailable for a time. Luckly, the admins of those sites know their jobs well enough to minimise the effects of the compromised Microsoft servers, allowing me and other visitors to their site a pleasant on-line experience.
That's true, and I do check the websites before/after downloading the packages, and no, there aren't alot of hits. But, you gotta admit, if no one is really looking for it, there are NO queues to deal with! I do worry about poison packages, which is why I have to visit the author's site, to make sure it's not trojaned. Who knows though, it could be a good use of P2P networking.
The P2P concept is awesome. It is a great way to quickly exchange ideas, papers, shareware/freeware, etc. But when was the last time you downloaded anything other than copyrighted material from a P2P system?
I actually share alot of GPLed software, and search for it. I think it may be a way to reduce the bandwidth the authors of the software have to pay for. As far as I can tell, it won't upset the authors either. If it does, well, maybe they should use a different license. There are also how-tos and many freely distributable works. There doesn't seem to be alot of this type stuff on the P2P networks right now, but I think it is perfect for the distribution of GPLed or other free software packages and support documents. It would definately save bandwidth costs.
Of course, Cryptonomicon, the U.S. Constitution and others. For those who like trolls, or conspiracy theories, I suggest reading anything and everything you can get your hands on, and save copies, as the way the world's governments and corporations are headed is the way of massive book burnings, arrests for free thought articles, etc. etc. etc. I hope it doesn't come to pass, but it sure looks like the age of reason and the information age are about to become the modern version of the dark ages, substituting governments and corporations for kings and religion.
Well here's the news of the day, sheep: the people who can afford real influence are laughing all the way to the bank. Democracy is an experiment that's failing because an informed, committed, active voting public is not something you can build into a constitution - and without that people get exactly the government they deserve.
The real unfortunate thing is, is when one becomes informed and commited, there is a very big chance they will stop being active. A choice of the lesser of two evils is NOT a choice. America is pretty much bought and paid for now. I hated what Clinton's regime was doing to the people with their DMCA and other completely unconstitutional laws, but what did his opposition do upon entering office(Bush)? He knew all about Al-Queda's plans, but figured it would be a great opportunity to grab more power from the American people. The PATRIOT act is the most completely unconstitutional, and more importantly, unpatriotic piece of legislation around. Anyone remember the McCarthy era? That was chicken feed compared to what is going on now. When Bush was running, I considered him the lesser of two evils, as Al Gore was caught(not sure if it was proven or not)being paid by the Chinese, who we were not talking with at the time. According to the US Constitution, that is a TREASONABLE offense, punishable by death. That is NOT acceptable behavior for the leader of our country.
Just look what the lesser of two evils got us.
I know it's silly to reply to anonymous cowards, but how's this then?? If you are listed in the telephone book, anyone with said book can call you. If you don't want called, don't put your name in the book. SAME with the internet, if you don't want linked, get the fuck off the internet!!!
Slashdot Mirror
"Windows is useless without the GUI" is a slight overstatement. Yes, maybe it won't run if it's not installed.
When you say "maybe it won't run if it's not installed" You are, of course, meaning Windows for the first "it", and "GUI" for the second "it". So, if Windows doesn't run without the GUI installed, how can it be an overstatement to say "Windows is useless without the GUI" ??? I maybe an idiot in your opinion, but read this post a second time, and determine who is the idiot...
You obviously don't install Windows often... You don't have to install anything that you don't need ...
Hmmm, let's see, could I install Windows 98se and above with no web browser, no media player, no direct x, or how about running it headless?, that's with no monitor and sometimes no video card (depending on the motherboard) Can it be used by just a serial console for user i/o? Can it be pared down to just fit on a floppy, and still retain full servability? Because where I'm from, real servers would not have a built in media player, nor cd burning software, no web browser, no gui (and I mean not even sitting on the drive, as opposed to just not being used). Most of them wouldn't even have a keyboard, mouse or monitor attached. My server installs rarely need more than 100MB of disk space for all operating system space. Xp whines if it doesn't have more than a GB and a half, just to install. I could go on and on, but it would do no good. You seem to be of the school of "Gee, look at the pretty colors", and you must need media player installed on your servers, and IE, and all that other stuff.
Everyone is missing the point here... Let's assume that Micro$oft could actually create a search engine 70% as good as Google. Then they bundle it into their OS and IE. Then market the crap out of it. Actually, if you look at IE 6, and maybe the lower ones now, MSN is already the default home page, and MSN Access to the internet comes on all Microsofts systems now as it is. And no, it's not even 10% as good as Google. As a system builder, I set my systems home pages to Google before I sell them. It may just give the new user a fighting chance to at least find whatever it is s/he's looking for.
I just had to leave my place of employment, as the new management wanted us to sign new contracts. Part of the contract stated that any idea, document, illustration, patent, trademark, (and the list goes on and on) that I may come up with, on or off the clock, or on or off the job site, at any time during my employment, was then the property soley and exclusively of the company.
Most "innovation" and invention has traditionally been done by a person in their garage or basement, working on the proverbial better mouse trap. Corporations are trying to cash in on this, saying stuff like, well, you wouldn't have gotten that idea if you didn't work for me, so it is now mine. No wonder there's been a lessening of "innovation", invention, progress, etc. What I do on my time is mine.
I may work for a corporation, but I refuse to be owned by one.
Phoenix's CME will reside in a protected area on a PC's hard drive.
I laugh as I read this. At this very moment, I have a system on my bench with an HDD that just let the magic smoke out of it's chips in a great gout of fiery stink!!! No chips, no spin, no way for their "protected area" of the HDD to do anything but stink.
I love the smell of burning chips....It smells like
PROFIT!!!
And, when (not if) Microsoft's super-de-dooper Hardware security gets exploited, who 0wnz? Could you imagine that? A compromised system could lock out the rightful owners and Microsofts OS, but let anyone else in. Gee, and then what do you do to patch hardware? Buy new systems all over again, every few days/weeks when there is a security patch?
Fsck Microsoft and all it is/stands for.
OpenSource will never be able to program the way the customer needs the software.
Nor does Closed source. What the hell good does it do me to have all the overhead of a GUI interface on a headless server? I do NOT have any use for an integrated media player on a file server. If a program is open source, and GPL, then, if the original programmer won't fix it, well, I can always go in and tweak the software the way I want, or pay someone to do it for me. Do you think MS or Apple will do that for me?
If you look at commercial Companies such as Apple for example. Most of their applications look equal, feel equal and behave equal because they spent a lot of money into their design, their usability and their programmers.
As true as this is, they never asked me what I want from their system. So, all their stuff looks/feels/behaves equal, but doesn't do it in a way that I want it to. Open source gives me the ability to have it done the way I want it to be done. Big Big difference there. The median average of any group leaves the majority of the group unsatisfied.
Just which Washington should it hit? Redmond, or D.C.??? Maybe we'll get lucky, it'll split, and hit 'em both!
I think the smaller towns are more under the thumbs of the big media corps. I couldnt name the characters on "friends" or know who sings the mallcore ballad to the latest comic book turned into a feature film. But I bet everyone in this suburban neighbourhood I live in can.
I am from a small town. I didn't have a tv while growing up. No, not for religous reasons or anything else. I was too busy learning things like hunting, fishing, how to live off the land, cooking, carpentry, how to actually fix something/anything. But, most importantly, I was learning to think for myself, how to solve problems, and again, how to think for myself. Television is the complete opposite for thinking for yourself. NEVER can a movie be better than a book. But, this world is made up of those who are easily wowed by flashy visuals, and don't want to think. That is why tv is as popular as it is. Back to your post, Where I am from there were less than 25,000 people for the entire county. Yes there was the guy with the spiked mohawk who didn't look like anyone else around, but he and the football captain, and the stoner crew, and us farmers and the geeks, well, hell, everybody! would all party together and have a great time. There were the usual teasing things happening, but I don't remember but one fist fight in our school. There was at least one fight a week with the rival school, but afterwards most everybody from both schools would go partying together.
There may be a "general aura of diversity" in a major city, but the small towns where I'm from seem to have a greater sense of community in that diversity than big cities. We didn't judge someone by which side of town they were from, we didn't care who had more money, etc. The portrayal you see on the tv of small town life being cliqueish and all children praying to leave, may be true somewhere, but not any of the small towns I've lived in/been to.
Notice how this will make your tv more web-like?? But yet, the media is also trying to turn the WWW more tv like. So, it appears they are trying wash every form of media out to a uniform middle line "safe" grey. How about they turn off TV period. This technology will NOT make tv more interactive. They would control what/how/when/why you would click anything. They would let you have the illusion of being able to interact with a program, but, if I am watching a movie, and suddenly one of those god-forsaken pop-up text balloons pops up over the hero as he lifts a drink to his mouth to tell me "Punch the monkey and you could win a free drink like his!!!" I WILL empty every guns I own into the fscking tv!!!
Funny, Funny, Funny!!
Listen-up smarty-pants web designers. I don't want to be entertained, I don't want to be blown away by your fancy tricks -- I just want to be able to access the information and navigate without a whole lot of fuss, and without wearing the great big "kick me" sign that IE paints on your back when you're surfing unknown URLs.
...oops, got a little off track there, but same goes for OSes. Mac users and XP users are wowed by the colors. It's all they see. They should die.....
Ain't that the truth!?! 'Course, most everyday users of systems are all like, "oooh! look at the pretty colors." And I'm like, "WTF!!! I can't even read the text of a page, as the font color is the same as the majority of the stupid background image!" And their all like, "oooh! look at the pretty colors." And I'm like, "WTF!!! What the hell does shockwave have to do with downloading a driver?" And their all like, "oooh! look at the pretty colors." And I'm like, "WTF!!! I'm trying to read a damn how-to, and the mouse cursor has some fucking trail of dancing clowns 8 inches long!" And their all like, "oooh! look at the pretty colors." And I'm like, "WTF!!! I have to have java-script enabled for a drop down menu, with one fucking option!?!?!"
And their all like, "oooh! look at the pretty colors." And I'm like, "WTF!!! I have to get permission from some one to swap my motherboard?!?!?!"
When the BSA knocks on your door, you have a perfect opportunity to fight for your freedom, and it's not only a fight that means something, it's also a fight worth winning.
In some parts of the U.S. there is a "make my day law" Which basically states, if some one will NOT leave your residence when you request it, and they are threatening, then you can kill them, right there, in your foyer. So come on, BSA, visit me and my Glock!!!!
Obviously, you don't just go to the Display control panel, change it, see the change take effect on the screen with your windows and icons automatically adjusting.
...it is still not Mac or Windows easy to use It is actually easier for me to use than Mac or Windows, but that is because I've become familiar with it. I use Linux at home, on both my IBM platform computers, and my Apple platforms. I fix Windows boxes all day long, and often cuss them for their lack of whatever, because I've taken the whatever for granted at home, on my Linux boxes.
In Mandrake, it is that easy. That being said, every single person who used a computer for the first time, no matter what OS, or platform, or what have you, knew didley squat for how to do anything with it. ALL the problems you talk about that people have with Linux are indentical to the problems the same people have with Windows or Mac or whatever. It is a matter of learning how to use anything. Just getting used to something is the biggest hurdle. Even if you've driven passenger cars for 30 years, you do NOT just jump into a tractor trailer rig, or airplane, or locomotive engine, and take off like you would in a car. You must first learn how to deal with the new form of transportation. Knowing how to run Windows does not a computer expert make. Just as knowing how to drive a car really well does NOT a transportation expert make.
I asked 3 of my profs in business school if there was any way to make money from Open source except support. They all said NO!
That is probably because they are business professors. They have built their proverbial house upon the concept of ROI, numbers games, profit/loss margins, ad nauseum. Open Source represents a new paradigm, that doesn't fit into their Excel spreadsheet formulas. It's been proven over and over again throughout the history of humanity that new notions that don't fit the old model are hard to accept, especially among the learned. The concept of the Earth being round, for instance. The scholars of the time (and government and religious leaders) would rather kill someone for that thought, than change their "view of the way things are." This is not to slam the professors, just that they aren't 'open' to new views.
Thanks!! That's what I was trying to say, just didn't get the words simple enough
This is very true. And, like any art, it is completely subjective. I hear alot of people say they love xp's interface, or Aqua, or what have you. I like the command line for many tasks, and find KDE more to my taste than Gnome. The beauty of Linux and open source projects is there is room for everyone. Linux does NOT need to be more like windows, or mac to be a success. The state of desktops today (all of them) is such that if my grandma can't figure out KDE, she'll not be able to figure out any GUI. I do not subscribe to the vision that one size fits all. The planet is inhabited by 6 billion+ individuals. No matter how hard governments and corporations try to lump us all as one, we are still individuals, with different tastes.
finally ego's are starting to subside and we are working together. i have dreamt about this for years, a common human interface guide, that will work consistently. i do not need 100 differnt ways to do something.. nor do i need 100 different widget sets. i just want something that works the same way every time
I agree, you don't need 100 different ways to do anything, you only need MY WAY!!!!
Well, here in the Homeland, we've got a brand new department of security that views everyone as a criminal. That way, instead of worrying about protecting the innocents or victims, they can just bust us all.
I hope the people who are responsible for this attack (which is technically terrorism) are thrown in jail. It will likely be a long sentence.
Merriam Webster's Collegiate® Dictionary, 10th Edition defines terrorism as " the systematic use of terror especially as a means of coercion." and defines terror as "violence (as bombing) committed by groups in order to intimidate a population or government into granting their demands."
I hardly think a network attack such as this would fit that description. No, it is NOT condoned by me, and no, I wouldn't like someone attacking the servers where I get my open source from. THAT is why I detest Microsoft products. When their servers are attacked and compromised, they try over and over again to infect everything they can, thus making the open-source servers I get my software from unavailable for a time. Luckly, the admins of those sites know their jobs well enough to minimise the effects of the compromised Microsoft servers, allowing me and other visitors to their site a pleasant on-line experience.
That's true, and I do check the websites before/after downloading the packages, and no, there aren't alot of hits. But, you gotta admit, if no one is really looking for it, there are NO queues to deal with! I do worry about poison packages, which is why I have to visit the author's site, to make sure it's not trojaned. Who knows though, it could be a good use of P2P networking.
The P2P concept is awesome. It is a great way to quickly exchange ideas, papers, shareware/freeware, etc. But when was the last time you downloaded anything other than copyrighted material from a P2P system?
I actually share alot of GPLed software, and search for it. I think it may be a way to reduce the bandwidth the authors of the software have to pay for. As far as I can tell, it won't upset the authors either. If it does, well, maybe they should use a different license. There are also how-tos and many freely distributable works. There doesn't seem to be alot of this type stuff on the P2P networks right now, but I think it is perfect for the distribution of GPLed or other free software packages and support documents. It would definately save bandwidth costs.
Of course, Cryptonomicon, the U.S. Constitution and others. For those who like trolls, or conspiracy theories, I suggest reading anything and everything you can get your hands on, and save copies, as the way the world's governments and corporations are headed is the way of massive book burnings, arrests for free thought articles, etc. etc. etc. I hope it doesn't come to pass, but it sure looks like the age of reason and the information age are about to become the modern version of the dark ages, substituting governments and corporations for kings and religion.
Well here's the news of the day, sheep: the people who can afford real influence are laughing all the way to the bank. Democracy is an experiment that's failing because an informed, committed, active voting public is not something you can build into a constitution - and without that people get exactly the government they deserve.
The real unfortunate thing is, is when one becomes informed and commited, there is a very big chance they will stop being active. A choice of the lesser of two evils is NOT a choice. America is pretty much bought and paid for now. I hated what Clinton's regime was doing to the people with their DMCA and other completely unconstitutional laws, but what did his opposition do upon entering office(Bush)? He knew all about Al-Queda's plans, but figured it would be a great opportunity to grab more power from the American people. The PATRIOT act is the most completely unconstitutional, and more importantly, unpatriotic piece of legislation around. Anyone remember the McCarthy era? That was chicken feed compared to what is going on now. When Bush was running, I considered him the lesser of two evils, as Al Gore was caught(not sure if it was proven or not)being paid by the Chinese, who we were not talking with at the time. According to the US Constitution, that is a TREASONABLE offense, punishable by death. That is NOT acceptable behavior for the leader of our country.
Just look what the lesser of two evils got us.
I know it's silly to reply to anonymous cowards, but how's this then?? If you are listed in the telephone book, anyone with said book can call you. If you don't want called, don't put your name in the book. SAME with the internet, if you don't want linked, get the fuck off the internet!!!