But China censors. The question we shouldn't be asking is "is the government telling Baidu to censor Baidupedia", but rather "would Baidu have an interest in censoring Baidupedia absent the silent threat from the Chinese government?" And the answer to that is "no". In effect, then, it isn't a private company doing the censoring, it's the threat from above that's doing the censoring.
Basically, your analogy fails because Slashdot is not in an environment in which dissident views pose a risk to it, whereas such views posted in regions under chinese control run a risk of being shut down or censored.
This is censorship, but it's not done in the company's *pure* self-interest. It's not forceful in this case, but without government censorship, there would be no need for self-censorship. So one can reason that even though China isn't doing the censoring, they're doing it by extension.
except that FTW is more common and pleasant to the eye/ear than "For Teh Win" ever will be. Not that it isn't appropriate, but that FTW is just as, if not more, right.
If you rip and copy the DVD, you should be able to strip out the no-skip flags or better yet, just watch the movie, minus the hassle of menus, as soon as you stick the DVD in. Of course, this also depends on the capacity of your DVD+R's, though Nero can re-encode the files in a lower quality (i found that even at 60% the quality wasn't noticeable different). See doom9.org -- technically the DMCA forbids bypassing the CSS protection, but seeing as how you own the DVDs and it's a personal backup...they can't really go after you unless you email them asking them to.
To be fair to the robber barons of the late 1800s/early 1900s, didn't many of them donate to charitable causes? Well, yes, but that doesn't mean they weren't interfering with the free market or unfairly competing due to excessive market power. The B&MG Foundation is a boon to humanity, but that doesn't mean that it counterbalances Microsoft's misdeeds. I think it's perfectly fair to call MS on their (I hesitate to use this word, as it's misused too easily) immoral alleged dealings with Paul Allen, IMO.
The clock after it's submitted to the FDA. In case you don't know what the FDA does, it spends lots of time making sure that medicines are safe for your consumption. Thus, he said, the problem (no *approved* drugs that kill HIV) would be solved (by approval).
More accurately, it's a platform that compiles intermediate bytecode, which they call MSIL, into machine code. C#.NET is essentially Microsoft's own Java standard (not to be confused with their implementation of Java, J++). VB.NET, C++.NET, C#.NET, etc. all compile into MSIL. It's also possible to write MSIL assembly, and I think you can even instantiate objects in assembly (or something...I didn't go too deeply into it and it was some time ago).
Clearly you haven't delved far into OS X. OS X's packaging is far more clever. The applications are folders, so you just drag the executable to the Applications directory. Voila. One download, one-step install for virtually anything, completely transparent, and no GUI interface to a commandline app needed, as it's simply moving a file.
Personally, I find OS X's standard application install method far more flexible and attractive than Linux's. I don't use synaptic (on ubuntu) for the updated libraries, I use it for programs. Face it. Linux simply doesn't have the consistency that Windows or OS X has when it comes to separating libraries and programs. As a result, it can be confusing as hell.
Yeah. I wouldn't mind if I were required to be logged into my gmail account, as long as I could watch the videos anywhere. Hopefully, this would work with portable devices, though that's far-fetched. DRM in Steam's style would allow me to play anywhere. I still don't like DRM that, but I do believe DRM can be non-evil.
Warning: long rant. I may be modded down for bitching about KDE, but these are my honest grievances.
Disclaimer: I believe that for everyone but true power users, people use the GUI given to them. This is reflected in the following post.
Honestly, as a desktop user, I don't give a damn about software bloat, so long as it doesn't eat up 100% of both hard drive and CPU. Computers aren't _that_ slow, and space isn't _that_ scarce. What I want is an easy, consistent interface, which Gnome gives me. I installed KDE on what used to be a gui-less ubuntu install yesterday -- with an open mind to try it again, after reading digg and slashdot articles on both sides -- and when I did, found that the programs menu _still_ made no sense. How about Gnome (on Ubuntu)? Applications, check. System, check. I know where I want to go to fiddle with the computer (so I can say to whoever is using it: "remember to stay away from *this* menu, nothing you need is there"), and I know where I want to go to actually do things (OOo, gaim, FF, etc). Gnome, for whatever reason, makes the distinction much more clear to me.
KDE's code is great, I'm sure, but again, bloat or non-bloat is a non-issue. Its interface organization is, to me, weak. I'm sure that spending a few dedicated days (read: a few weeks in real time) would be enough to customize it myself to the point it's not only usable, but comfortable. But if it's too much of a pain in the ass in the first place, why bother? It's organized in such a way that finding what I want to, fast, is more work than I want to put in...
For example, and I brought this up above, if I want to perform computer maintenance, do I go to System? Do I go to Utilities? Settings? Control Center? For that matter, why include the system: KIOSlave? Konqueror crashed for trying to play sound and failing, and destroyed my settings windows, web pages, and open folders. Integration it its best and worst. Great integration, but even crashes are integrated.
This brings me to the next point: the "tighter" everything is -- the more interdependent it is -- the less it takes to crap it up. Sure, the modularity in KDE makes rearranging stuff a lot easier than in Gnome, just like Legos are more customizable than bricks, too, but hardly any sturdier.
Don't get me wrong -- I like the KIOSlaves idea, it's really a brilliant idea. But settings:/ or such things don't seem to me to serve a distinct purpose. Why make settings look like files when you're probably never going to be dragging stuff in or copying it out? If it's just an interface for settings, how necessary is it to make it an KIOSlave?
Gnome doesn't reuse code as well as KDE does, perhaps. Maybe Gnome has more software bloat. But having tried XFCE and a few other GUIs, KDE is by far the most organizationally bloated system I have EVER used, and thus, has the lowest initial usability, in my opinion.
KDE has a lot of good ideas, but is doomed to be used only by power users until it presents those in a way that *doesn't* confuse everyone but hardworking people who dedicate themselves to learning the ins and outs of the interfaces. People have *work* to do. I'd bet this is the same reason pico/nano and notepad are so successful -- they work simple and they work fast, even though complex things are occasionally a pain in the ass. Same goes for browsers (especially FF), IM clients (unobtrusive except for the messages themselves), and media players (media player classic as opposed to WMP). Fast. Simple. Friendly. For this desktop user, KDE is anything but.
I object to this comment. There are computer-illiterates, users, power users, and "slashdot"-level users, and of those four categories, there *is* a population of people who are either users or power users that can re-install Windows despite not knowing what the hell they're doing otherwise.
You forget that the average person gets loads of spyware. Granted, they could just install anti-spyware software, but many just re-install Windows. BECAUSE THEY CAN. Don't be elitist prick.
I thought it was convicted of being a monopolist, meaning that it abused its monopoly to get into the game consoles and ISP market (xbox and MSN). After all, its monopoly over x86 desktop gives it money, which it then uses to compensate for an otherwise unprofitable division.
Which is wrong: being a monopoly, or being a monopolist? I prefer the latter.
"Absence of proof is not the proof of absence."
This is the core fallacy of atheism. It requires just as much a leap of faith as religion: believing in the absence or presence of a supreme being require similar facilities, and are different than believing nothing at all.
Thus, it is wrong to say that atheists don't believe in God(s), as atheists specifically believe that Gods do not exist. In essence, Agnostics are completely without dogma; atheists are not.
Disclaimer: It's the atheists' right to make the leap of faith, even though it's a pretty short and easy leap, from believing in nothing to believing there is nothing, but I believe differently.
Re:The real 90s versus outdated 00s software
on
Java Is So 90s
·
· Score: 1
Java *already* allows you to compile your bytecode to machine code, eliminating pre-compilation or JITC delays. What's your point? Furthermore, Java is an open standard (though it's true that Sun owns the base classes, not all of which have been re-coded in the GNU Classpath, iirc Azureus can now be run entirely without Sun code/compilers) -- ever heard of gcj? No, I think that Python can't obsolete Java, just like Java can't obsolete C++, or C++ to C. They have their strengths, niches, and weaknesses. Java happens to have a large niche, and several strengths, and as such I don't believe that any weaknesses or shortcomings will obsolete it for quite some time, thanks especially to the open nature of the platform.
Clearly, not all Slashdotters are as hypocritical as you make them out to be. Many moderators are willing to give pro-Microsoft, anti-stuffpopularonslashdot ideas mod points, as long as they are interesting and well thought out. It just so happens that, because certain ideas are more popular, that 1) Linux, etc are praised more often and modded up, and 2) The frequency of high-quality posts on Linux, etc. is higher than with the others.
And THEN you have the asshole moderators. That the GP got modded up is proof that there are conscientious mods who counter-modded the idiot who modded it down.
So please stop accusing the mass of Slashdotters of hypocrisy. You're treating a crowd as an individual and criticising its aggregate of viewpoints. If that isn't hypocritical, I don't know what is.
Slashdot Mirror
So basically you're saying we'll live in Caves of Steel?
F.E.A.R and System Shock 2. 'nuff said. FPSes with shooters *do* exist.
But China censors. The question we shouldn't be asking is "is the government telling Baidu to censor Baidupedia", but rather "would Baidu have an interest in censoring Baidupedia absent the silent threat from the Chinese government?" And the answer to that is "no". In effect, then, it isn't a private company doing the censoring, it's the threat from above that's doing the censoring.
Basically, your analogy fails because Slashdot is not in an environment in which dissident views pose a risk to it, whereas such views posted in regions under chinese control run a risk of being shut down or censored.
This is censorship, but it's not done in the company's *pure* self-interest. It's not forceful in this case, but without government censorship, there would be no need for self-censorship. So one can reason that even though China isn't doing the censoring, they're doing it by extension.
except that FTW is more common and pleasant to the eye/ear than "For Teh Win" ever will be. Not that it isn't appropriate, but that FTW is just as, if not more, right.
Except is a verb. Shame on you!
(yes, my response was meant to be ironic.)
Uh...I haven't watched King Kong, and I actually didn't know that. Thanks. Ass.
If you rip and copy the DVD, you should be able to strip out the no-skip flags or better yet, just watch the movie, minus the hassle of menus, as soon as you stick the DVD in. Of course, this also depends on the capacity of your DVD+R's, though Nero can re-encode the files in a lower quality (i found that even at 60% the quality wasn't noticeable different). See doom9.org -- technically the DMCA forbids bypassing the CSS protection, but seeing as how you own the DVDs and it's a personal backup...they can't really go after you unless you email them asking them to.
"apt-get install build-essential automake". Done.
To be fair to the robber barons of the late 1800s/early 1900s, didn't many of them donate to charitable causes? Well, yes, but that doesn't mean they weren't interfering with the free market or unfairly competing due to excessive market power. The B&MG Foundation is a boon to humanity, but that doesn't mean that it counterbalances Microsoft's misdeeds. I think it's perfectly fair to call MS on their (I hesitate to use this word, as it's misused too easily) immoral alleged dealings with Paul Allen, IMO.
ln -s internet serious business
Uh, last time I checked, your hands didn't radiate ultraviolet light...
The clock after it's submitted to the FDA. In case you don't know what the FDA does, it spends lots of time making sure that medicines are safe for your consumption. Thus, he said, the problem (no *approved* drugs that kill HIV) would be solved (by approval).
More accurately, it's a platform that compiles intermediate bytecode, which they call MSIL, into machine code. C#.NET is essentially Microsoft's own Java standard (not to be confused with their implementation of Java, J++). VB.NET, C++.NET, C#.NET, etc. all compile into MSIL. It's also possible to write MSIL assembly, and I think you can even instantiate objects in assembly (or something...I didn't go too deeply into it and it was some time ago).
Uh...no.
(really, I've never seen one or known anyone with one.)
Clearly you haven't delved far into OS X. OS X's packaging is far more clever. The applications are folders, so you just drag the executable to the Applications directory. Voila. One download, one-step install for virtually anything, completely transparent, and no GUI interface to a commandline app needed, as it's simply moving a file.
Personally, I find OS X's standard application install method far more flexible and attractive than Linux's. I don't use synaptic (on ubuntu) for the updated libraries, I use it for programs. Face it. Linux simply doesn't have the consistency that Windows or OS X has when it comes to separating libraries and programs. As a result, it can be confusing as hell.
Yeah. I wouldn't mind if I were required to be logged into my gmail account, as long as I could watch the videos anywhere. Hopefully, this would work with portable devices, though that's far-fetched. DRM in Steam's style would allow me to play anywhere. I still don't like DRM that, but I do believe DRM can be non-evil.
*Agnosticism* is the state of being without a belief in a god or gods; *Atheism* is the state of believing in godlessness.
Warning: long rant. I may be modded down for bitching about KDE, but these are my honest grievances. Disclaimer: I believe that for everyone but true power users, people use the GUI given to them. This is reflected in the following post. Honestly, as a desktop user, I don't give a damn about software bloat, so long as it doesn't eat up 100% of both hard drive and CPU. Computers aren't _that_ slow, and space isn't _that_ scarce. What I want is an easy, consistent interface, which Gnome gives me. I installed KDE on what used to be a gui-less ubuntu install yesterday -- with an open mind to try it again, after reading digg and slashdot articles on both sides -- and when I did, found that the programs menu _still_ made no sense. How about Gnome (on Ubuntu)? Applications, check. System, check. I know where I want to go to fiddle with the computer (so I can say to whoever is using it: "remember to stay away from *this* menu, nothing you need is there"), and I know where I want to go to actually do things (OOo, gaim, FF, etc). Gnome, for whatever reason, makes the distinction much more clear to me.
KDE's code is great, I'm sure, but again, bloat or non-bloat is a non-issue. Its interface organization is, to me, weak. I'm sure that spending a few dedicated days (read: a few weeks in real time) would be enough to customize it myself to the point it's not only usable, but comfortable. But if it's too much of a pain in the ass in the first place, why bother? It's organized in such a way that finding what I want to, fast, is more work than I want to put in...
For example, and I brought this up above, if I want to perform computer maintenance, do I go to System? Do I go to Utilities? Settings? Control Center? For that matter, why include the system: KIOSlave? Konqueror crashed for trying to play sound and failing, and destroyed my settings windows, web pages, and open folders. Integration it its best and worst. Great integration, but even crashes are integrated.
This brings me to the next point: the "tighter" everything is -- the more interdependent it is -- the less it takes to crap it up. Sure, the modularity in KDE makes rearranging stuff a lot easier than in Gnome, just like Legos are more customizable than bricks, too, but hardly any sturdier.
Don't get me wrong -- I like the KIOSlaves idea, it's really a brilliant idea. But settings:/ or such things don't seem to me to serve a distinct purpose. Why make settings look like files when you're probably never going to be dragging stuff in or copying it out? If it's just an interface for settings, how necessary is it to make it an KIOSlave?
Gnome doesn't reuse code as well as KDE does, perhaps. Maybe Gnome has more software bloat. But having tried XFCE and a few other GUIs, KDE is by far the most organizationally bloated system I have EVER used, and thus, has the lowest initial usability, in my opinion.
KDE has a lot of good ideas, but is doomed to be used only by power users until it presents those in a way that *doesn't* confuse everyone but hardworking people who dedicate themselves to learning the ins and outs of the interfaces. People have *work* to do. I'd bet this is the same reason pico/nano and notepad are so successful -- they work simple and they work fast, even though complex things are occasionally a pain in the ass. Same goes for browsers (especially FF), IM clients (unobtrusive except for the messages themselves), and media players (media player classic as opposed to WMP). Fast. Simple. Friendly. For this desktop user, KDE is anything but.
I object to this comment. There are computer-illiterates, users, power users, and "slashdot"-level users, and of those four categories, there *is* a population of people who are either users or power users that can re-install Windows despite not knowing what the hell they're doing otherwise.
You forget that the average person gets loads of spyware. Granted, they could just install anti-spyware software, but many just re-install Windows. BECAUSE THEY CAN. Don't be elitist prick.
I thought it was convicted of being a monopolist, meaning that it abused its monopoly to get into the game consoles and ISP market (xbox and MSN). After all, its monopoly over x86 desktop gives it money, which it then uses to compensate for an otherwise unprofitable division.
Which is wrong: being a monopoly, or being a monopolist? I prefer the latter.
Oh, be fair, he isn't that fat.
Quite bald, though.
"Absence of proof is not the proof of absence."
This is the core fallacy of atheism. It requires just as much a leap of faith as religion: believing in the absence or presence of a supreme being require similar facilities, and are different than believing nothing at all.
Thus, it is wrong to say that atheists don't believe in God(s), as atheists specifically believe that Gods do not exist. In essence, Agnostics are completely without dogma; atheists are not.
Disclaimer: It's the atheists' right to make the leap of faith, even though it's a pretty short and easy leap, from believing in nothing to believing there is nothing, but I believe differently.
Java *already* allows you to compile your bytecode to machine code, eliminating pre-compilation or JITC delays. What's your point? Furthermore, Java is an open standard (though it's true that Sun owns the base classes, not all of which have been re-coded in the GNU Classpath, iirc Azureus can now be run entirely without Sun code/compilers) -- ever heard of gcj? No, I think that Python can't obsolete Java, just like Java can't obsolete C++, or C++ to C. They have their strengths, niches, and weaknesses. Java happens to have a large niche, and several strengths, and as such I don't believe that any weaknesses or shortcomings will obsolete it for quite some time, thanks especially to the open nature of the platform.
Clearly, not all Slashdotters are as hypocritical as you make them out to be. Many moderators are willing to give pro-Microsoft, anti-stuffpopularonslashdot ideas mod points, as long as they are interesting and well thought out. It just so happens that, because certain ideas are more popular, that 1) Linux, etc are praised more often and modded up, and 2) The frequency of high-quality posts on Linux, etc. is higher than with the others.
And THEN you have the asshole moderators. That the GP got modded up is proof that there are conscientious mods who counter-modded the idiot who modded it down.
So please stop accusing the mass of Slashdotters of hypocrisy. You're treating a crowd as an individual and criticising its aggregate of viewpoints. If that isn't hypocritical, I don't know what is.
I don't get it. Does that mean that http://www.google.com/search?q=mit and http://www.google.com/search?q=university+of+calif ornia+system are ads too? What am I supposed to be looking for?