I love the comment where he tells the blogger bagging on Adobe for spying on him: [Be sure to thank your mother for the continued use of her basement. -J]
He spent quite a bit of time answering people on his blog, in his own way. That's either commendable, or reckless; I haven't quite figured out which yet.
Adobe's big mistake was using an opt-out instead of an opt-in. You can go into Prefs and make the splash screen not load, among disabling the other Internet-using functions. But those are only pseudo-"opt-out" measures. On initial program start (right after install), it should say "We're going to use the Internet for X, Y, and Z, please click Yes or No if you want us to do that. You can always change it in Preferences. Here's the list of features that will not work if you click No:..."
Whatever their slip-ups end up being, I can tell you for sure that the execs from Omniture will be called onto Adobe's carpet Monday morning.
The question here is, has the shop attendant crossed that line? IMHO, I don't think he has. This is not a gray line. It's a very, very bright line. We in this country have had a very long tradition of non-interference in the affairs of a family. The parents, unless they are doing something illegal, immoral or unsafe, do indeed have the final say.
And parents are ultimately responsible for their childrens' education. If they are not providing the oversight necessary, helping where needed, stepping in when appropriate, etc., there is no one to blame but the parents. It is not the responsibility of the State to churn out little automatons educated to a certain base level. That's not the function of the State.
C'mon, what is it that terrorists have understood for the past 20 years of American history? You strike the US, they do nothing. Unfortunately, OBL got a bit too cocky and hit a bit too close to home. The US struck back. No one over there expected that. Believe me, they are quaking over there. Look at Syria. They now want nothing to do with what has been going on in Iraq. They know it's in their best interest to distance themselves politically from the goings on in Iraq, so they're coming to the table. It's a big step for them to do so, because it shows to the other Arab nations their "weakness." But it will be just what the Doctor ordered to keep those nations in line.
What terrorists and terrorist backers understand is not "weapons inspectors" and strokings by the UN, but force, applied in kind and with greater intensity than it was applied to you. They know that we won't be able to be controlled by the likes of France, Russia, Germany, and other countries willing to risk regional stability and global propagation of terrorism for the almighty dollar.
and if the US decides to go after fabled WMDs in Iran and Syria
We know that WMDs had been produced for years under the nose of the UN; we have in custody the scientists who made the stuff. We know that it was both shipped to Syria, and also destroyed just days before the war started. When would have been the correct time to act? When Detroit or San Francisco or Chicago was hit with a Ricin attack and another 3K worth of Americans died? It's the same old argument: they did nothing to us.
Here's a suggestion: All you State Troopers out there, just stop pulling over drunk drivers. I mean, they haven't done anything yet, right? They haven't killed anyone yet, right? Let's just wait until they do, and then we can go after them. Right? In order to maintain a safe, free society, we protect and defend the Constitution and our way of life against all enemies, foreign or domestic. "He hasn't killed me yet" is not an excuse for inaction when you know that your inaction will lead to more attacks, more deaths, and the destabilzation of a region which is vital to world economic health. With the state of the world economy, no one can afford that.
[now stepping down from my soapbox]
Oh, and by the way, you can get great mini-ITX cases at cyberguys.com.
The meek shall inherit the earth, but not the mineral rights!
what really amuses me is the fact that if you take a look at the Patent Office's website showing the first patent being claimed, they themselves have an "online order system" where you can order paper copies of the patents themselves, theoretically in violation of the very patent they are displaying!
The statement was that we Slashdotters don't necessarily understand as much as the patent office. Apparently, they're not reading for comprehension when they approve patents...
Slashdot Mirror
[Be sure to thank your mother for the continued use of her basement. -J]
He spent quite a bit of time answering people on his blog, in his own way. That's either commendable, or reckless; I haven't quite figured out which yet.
Adobe's big mistake was using an opt-out instead of an opt-in. You can go into Prefs and make the splash screen not load, among disabling the other Internet-using functions. But those are only pseudo-"opt-out" measures. On initial program start (right after install), it should say "We're going to use the Internet for X, Y, and Z, please click Yes or No if you want us to do that. You can always change it in Preferences. Here's the list of features that will not work if you click No:..."
Whatever their slip-ups end up being, I can tell you for sure that the execs from Omniture will be called onto Adobe's carpet Monday morning.
And parents are ultimately responsible for their childrens' education. If they are not providing the oversight necessary, helping where needed, stepping in when appropriate, etc., there is no one to blame but the parents. It is not the responsibility of the State to churn out little automatons educated to a certain base level. That's not the function of the State.
C'mon, what is it that terrorists have understood for the past 20 years of American history? You strike the US, they do nothing. Unfortunately, OBL got a bit too cocky and hit a bit too close to home. The US struck back. No one over there expected that. Believe me, they are quaking over there. Look at Syria. They now want nothing to do with what has been going on in Iraq. They know it's in their best interest to distance themselves politically from the goings on in Iraq, so they're coming to the table. It's a big step for them to do so, because it shows to the other Arab nations their "weakness." But it will be just what the Doctor ordered to keep those nations in line.
What terrorists and terrorist backers understand is not "weapons inspectors" and strokings by the UN, but force, applied in kind and with greater intensity than it was applied to you. They know that we won't be able to be controlled by the likes of France, Russia, Germany, and other countries willing to risk regional stability and global propagation of terrorism for the almighty dollar.
and if the US decides to go after fabled WMDs in Iran and Syria
We know that WMDs had been produced for years under the nose of the UN; we have in custody the scientists who made the stuff. We know that it was both shipped to Syria, and also destroyed just days before the war started. When would have been the correct time to act? When Detroit or San Francisco or Chicago was hit with a Ricin attack and another 3K worth of Americans died? It's the same old argument: they did nothing to us.
Here's a suggestion: All you State Troopers out there, just stop pulling over drunk drivers. I mean, they haven't done anything yet, right? They haven't killed anyone yet, right? Let's just wait until they do, and then we can go after them. Right? In order to maintain a safe, free society, we protect and defend the Constitution and our way of life against all enemies, foreign or domestic. "He hasn't killed me yet" is not an excuse for inaction when you know that your inaction will lead to more attacks, more deaths, and the destabilzation of a region which is vital to world economic health. With the state of the world economy, no one can afford that.
[now stepping down from my soapbox]
Oh, and by the way, you can get great mini-ITX cases at cyberguys.com.
The meek shall inherit the earth, but not the mineral rights!
The statement was that we Slashdotters don't necessarily understand as much as the patent office. Apparently, they're not reading for comprehension when they approve patents...