Rather than a foreign policy that makes sure that hostile countries aren't hostile to us.
I don't think it's entirely possible to head off foreign aggression. If I recall, many of Germany's neighbors discovered that at the beginning of WWII.
But I mostly agree with your point. There's no clear reason why we need to be the enemy of Russia, China, some of South America, and a sizable fraction of the Middle East.
I think a legitimate tension exists regarding govermental secrecy:
We citizens don't want our goverments to be secretive, because that can be used to pull a fast one on us and/or to establish autocracy. And it can be used to hide the funneling of money to private interests and friends of those in power, without scrutiny. And besides, if the government's authority flows from us, maybe we just don't feel like letting it be secretive. It's the government's obligation to suck it up and exert no more power over us than we collectively authorize.
During wartime, and to some extent during peace time, we need to government to keep secret in general, so that our adversaries don't know certain things (force levels, where our nuclear subs are located, etc.)
The problem with perpetual war is that it makes the second point above be more legitimately compelling than during peace time. But that reduces our abilities to keep our government in check, which is always risky for the citizenry.
This is one good reason to not pursue forgeign policies that have us constantly in a state of low-level war around the world. It reduces the legitimate reasons for giving those in power an environment in which they can screw over the rest of us.
It's a shame they removed the religion aspect of Civ 4.
But is realism entirely desirable? Religious extremism, and governmetns' responses to it, is an actual threat to many of us. When I play Civ (III), it's to have a little semi-real escaism from the worries of my day. I don't want to spend hours worrying about the same stuff I worry about in real life.
This news broke yesterday, what's with the delay? I submitted it yesterday and it was passed on; why is it news now that it is 25 hours older?
Well, at least from my own perspective, the delay is reasonable because this just isn't very interesting. With Netflix, iTMS, and pay-per-view movies, Blockbuster because irrelevant to me years ago.
He might want to mess with the network and its topology because he's a network guy. Right now the biggest threats come from exploitable bugs in software so rather than attempt to create a new Internet, this guy should be funding massive security code review of both free and non-free software.
Fair point. But I'm not sure which approach would be cheaper and/or more effective.
One little gateway to the great, unwashed Internet, and the whole walled garden is compromised.
In fact, thinking they are safe in a walled garden is likely to lower their level of caution.
And it doesn't require an active network link spanning the networks. Virus and other nasties can be entered via CD's, USB sticks (I'm looking at you, U.S. Navy), or malicious persons on the inside.
If this guy is serious, what he probably wants is the ability to partition the Internet such that walled gardens can be set up, torn down, and have their membership adjusted very quickly.
On, and to hope that the ability to mess with that never gets into the wrong hands.
If you have to go to great lengths to work around customers doing things like deleting cookies then you are doing something wrong or evil.
Or how about in violation of computer security laws? Any website that uses this technique is clearly trying to use the client's computer in an unauthorized fashion. Otherwise they'd just use a simple cookie.
Real geeks tend to be attracted by the next sparkly, shiny opportunity much more than staying put in one single job for long periods of time.
Not sure that's true in this economy. I probably qualify as a "real geek", but I'll be damned if I'm going to jeopardize my family's well-being by trading my interesting and stable job for a more-interesting, less-stable job.
I'm always amazed by people whose frontal lobes are capable of generating and publishing such non-sequiturs without exploding.
My impression is that salesman, marketing people, politicians, and lawyers are often more interested in the effects their words have on others, than the actual soundness of the logic contained therein.
If one can claim that their broadband service is "unlimited" to get increased sales, without being overly sued, I think that's all some of these people care about.
It's evil: they're willing to deceive others for their own benefit.
That six year backlog doesn't seem to apply if you have enough money to grease the proper hands so that your patent magically seems to get processed faster.
I haven't heard any allegations of this before. What leads you to think this problem exists at the USPTO?
by the time companies get a software patent, there's little value to them because, after six years, the industry has already moved on."
The true value of a software patent isn't to protect an invention. It's to have a tool for extorting others. In that sense software patents have a shelf life much longer than six years.
So when you bought your music, did you not know that they had DRM?
I knew, but it was a deal I was willing to make because I wanted to buy songs one at a time, rather than the whole album. For many of those songs, iTMS was the only place where I knew I could buy them that way. And to be honest, I was probably overly influenced by the appeal of clicking one button in the iTunes Store, and having the resulting song purchased and loaded into my music playing app (iTunes).
All I'm saying is that if I could easily move away from iTunes without losing access to those songs, I would.
Slashdot Mirror
If Iran really is trying to develop a nuclear weapons ability, then they're heading for a nasty conflict one way or another.
If conflict is inevitable, then it's probably far better for their computers to catch a nasty flu, than for people do due in a U.S./Israeli airstrike.
I don't think it's entirely possible to head off foreign aggression. If I recall, many of Germany's neighbors discovered that at the beginning of WWII.
But I mostly agree with your point. There's no clear reason why we need to be the enemy of Russia, China, some of South America, and a sizable fraction of the Middle East.
I think a legitimate tension exists regarding govermental secrecy:
We citizens don't want our goverments to be secretive, because that can be used to pull a fast one on us and/or to establish autocracy. And it can be used to hide the funneling of money to private interests and friends of those in power, without scrutiny. And besides, if the government's authority flows from us, maybe we just don't feel like letting it be secretive. It's the government's obligation to suck it up and exert no more power over us than we collectively authorize.
During wartime, and to some extent during peace time, we need to government to keep secret in general, so that our adversaries don't know certain things (force levels, where our nuclear subs are located, etc.)
The problem with perpetual war is that it makes the second point above be more legitimately compelling than during peace time. But that reduces our abilities to keep our government in check, which is always risky for the citizenry.
This is one good reason to not pursue forgeign policies that have us constantly in a state of low-level war around the world. It reduces the legitimate reasons for giving those in power an environment in which they can screw over the rest of us.
But is realism entirely desirable? Religious extremism, and governmetns' responses to it, is an actual threat to many of us. When I play Civ (III), it's to have a little semi-real escaism from the worries of my day. I don't want to spend hours worrying about the same stuff I worry about in real life.
Well, at least from my own perspective, the delay is reasonable because this just isn't very interesting. With Netflix, iTMS, and pay-per-view movies, Blockbuster because irrelevant to me years ago.
Fair point. But I'm not sure which approach would be cheaper and/or more effective.
One little gateway to the great, unwashed Internet, and the whole walled garden is compromised.
In fact, thinking they are safe in a walled garden is likely to lower their level of caution.
And it doesn't require an active network link spanning the networks. Virus and other nasties can be entered via CD's, USB sticks (I'm looking at you, U.S. Navy), or malicious persons on the inside.
If this guy is serious, what he probably wants is the ability to partition the Internet such that walled gardens can be set up, torn down, and have their membership adjusted very quickly.
On, and to hope that the ability to mess with that never gets into the wrong hands.
As Texans, they'll want to shoot someone to protect their daughter. As Republicans, they want to fuck people over to cater to big business.
This conflict will cause their heads to implode.
I'm not the most cutting-edge guy, but I really don't understand what tablets are good for.
Can anyone explain?
IE8 must be pretty uncompetitive.
Or how about in violation of computer security laws? Any website that uses this technique is clearly trying to use the client's computer in an unauthorized fashion. Otherwise they'd just use a simple cookie.
I'm pretty sure the availability of high-explosives changes the question.
You need to think outside the box!
Not sure that's true in this economy. I probably qualify as a "real geek", but I'll be damned if I'm going to jeopardize my family's well-being by trading my interesting and stable job for a more-interesting, less-stable job.
My impression is that salesman, marketing people, politicians, and lawyers are often more interested in the effects their words have on others, than the actual soundness of the logic contained therein.
If one can claim that their broadband service is "unlimited" to get increased sales, without being overly sued, I think that's all some of these people care about.
It's evil: they're willing to deceive others for their own benefit.
No it doesn't. You're still making a choice to break the law.
To be fair, many of them may have highly developed technical skills. But their tools may be paint brushes, pianos, or their own bodies.
It's probably more accurate to say they don't have much computer technical skills.
They're trying to show that engineers can get jobs even in this economy!
I will rip those goddam adults' arms off! It will be a real-life Fatality! Where can I get a frickin' chainsaw and my BFG9000???
I'll leave them in worse shape than Romero left Daikatana!
Why don't I have the feeling there's about to be a flood of, "That's it, I'm moving to the U.S.!"
I haven't heard any allegations of this before. What leads you to think this problem exists at the USPTO?
The true value of a software patent isn't to protect an invention. It's to have a tool for extorting others. In that sense software patents have a shelf life much longer than six years.
No, plow her fields.
No, wait, trim her hedges?
Stroke her pet beaver?
Wait... what were we discussing again?
You know, the sex and other perks that bought off the regulators?
Or the part where they pencilled in the report forms on behalf of the inspectors, who would then trace them over in pen?
I can see how that would slip their minds.
Anyone know then Ubuntu 10.10 will make available the close-source ATI driver?
I knew, but it was a deal I was willing to make because I wanted to buy songs one at a time, rather than the whole album. For many of those songs, iTMS was the only place where I knew I could buy them that way. And to be honest, I was probably overly influenced by the appeal of clicking one button in the iTunes Store, and having the resulting song purchased and loaded into my music playing app (iTunes).
All I'm saying is that if I could easily move away from iTunes without losing access to those songs, I would.