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User: criscooil

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Comments · 79

  1. Re:This is the reason why on Experts Now Say JFK Bullet Analysis Was Wrong · · Score: 1

    But then why did he deny it? If Oswald was after the notoriety wouldnt he have admitted killing Kennedy? He said he didnt shoot anybody, and that he had been set up as a 'patsy'. That contradicts your premise.

  2. Your ideas... on Linux Starts to Find Home on Desktops · · Score: 1

    ...fascinate me, and I wish to subscribe to your newsletter.

  3. Obviously wont work on A Wikipedia WIthout Graffiti · · Score: 1

    ...only content that they can reach consensus on can be published. Do you think this would work?
    No, and it's easy enough to see that this will not work. Some subjects are inevitably controversial. For example, prejudice . People are, in general, incapable of recognising their own prejudices, so any attempt to list all forms prejudice will provoke people to argue, "that's not prejudice, we hate them because they're dirty/immoral/whatever". Concensus here would be impossible. In cases like this the only thing I see which might work is to accept that there is some controversy, and divide those articles according to the differing POV's.
  4. DRM goes against copyright on Is DRM Intrinsically Distasteful? · · Score: 2, Insightful

    It seems to me that DRM contradicts the idea of copyright.
    Recall the basic idea of copyright (feel free to correct me if I bungle this): to encourage and promote the creation and publication of new works of art, etc. The mechanism to provide the impetus is (or was) an ugly short-term, government-enforced monopoly on duplication. Think of it as a bargain: the public, and society, gets to enjoy the output of artists, etc, in exchange for giving those artists a limited-time monopoly on reproduction.
    With DRM, it seems we have really lost sight of the whole idea of copyright. Now the producers still get their lousy monopoly, but the public are not really getting their end of the deal, because in a very real sense, DRM-protected works are not really published. They are released in encrypted form, so they may never actually make it into the public domain. If the courts were really doing their job, they should say to the producers (of DRM stuff), "Look, mate, you are not really publishing your material. You are in effect making a private contract between yourself and your customers, asking them to agree to all these extra restrictions. If you have an issue with your customers, thats your problem. Copyright doesnt apply here. Case dismissed."
    Well I can dream.

  5. NO its not on Why are Free-Desktop Developers Wedded to Linux? · · Score: 1

    It is not a "false analogy". Its not even any kind of analogy. It is a non sequitur. This is not pedantic. It is completely different.

  6. the saddest thing on US Visitor Fingerprints To Be (Perhaps) Stored by FBI · · Score: 1
    To me, the saddest thing about your comment was this:
    And I'm not one of the left leaning bleeding heart liberal types :-) I tend to lean right -- but this police state crap has got to stop.
    When did "conservative" or "right-wing" come to mean fascist, police-state goons? How sad.
  7. Not particularly insightful on White Dolphin Functionally Extict · · Score: 1

    The best I can give you is that the word "natural" is, somewhat pedantically, not quite the right word here. However, in your haste to educate the rest of us, you overlook the simple, obvious fact that it is very useful to distinguish between man and (the rest of) "nature". You also seem to be amazingly ignorant of the fact that the word nature has been used in that sense for hundreds of years at least.

  8. Re:apolitical... on Politics and 'An Inconvenient Truth' · · Score: 2, Funny
    ...nearly everyone reading this will take exception to some specific thing that I said...
    I don't agree with that.
  9. Re:This isn't a clash between science and religion on U.S. Classrooms Torn Between Science and Religion · · Score: 1

    You're just using the wrong word. Evidence is a word used in science or law. The only justification for religion (or other mystical beliefs) is experience. Otherwise known as epiphany, rebirth, conversion, enlightenment, awakening, etc. You can get this from praying, chanting, fasting, some illnesses, and various mind-altering drugs.

  10. Does it bother you... on AI to Monitor Foreign Press for Threats · · Score: 1

    Does it bother you that AI tools to monitor the foreign press?

  11. Re:The Real Tragedy on Judge Calls SCO On Lack of Evidence · · Score: 1
    But we're all losers here.
    Microsoft, Laura Dildio, Dan Lyin, etc, ... : "What do you mean, 'we' ?"
  12. Re:Am I missing something? on RIM Chairman Wants Changes to U.S. Patent Law · · Score: 2, Funny
    e.g. I sneak a patent in that patents vacuums. The USPTO grants it, and I can then cajole a judge into granting an injunction against every vacuum maker unless they pay my extortion fee. The USPTO will of course pull the patent out and start reviewing it, but the vacuum cleaners will have long been forced to pay up.
    Wow. That would really suck!
  13. Re:Mty suggestions on Heads Roll As Microsoft Misses Vista Target · · Score: 1
    Or, hire Christopher Walken as a Project manager
    First code review under CW:
    CW: It needs more cowbell.
  14. Re:Always the way it goes on DRM More Important Than Life or Security? · · Score: 1
    Killing to protect false, "intellectual property" is surely the next logical extension
    Indeed, I fully expect to hear someone propose capital punishment for "extreme" cases of copyright (and/or DMCA) violation. Perhaps USA should just "delare war on piracy". That should solve the whole problem.
  15. Re:Time to switch! on UK Government Wants a Backdoor Into Windows · · Score: 1

    Yes, but if the Govt actually goes ahead with this (requiring built-in back-door), then they will quickly follow with a ban on other systems which do not have the required back-door. You can see this coming a mile away.

  16. Re:Hemp! on Is Ethanol the Answer to the Energy Dilemma? · · Score: 1
    What are laws for, anyway? To prevent harm, that's what!
    That is perhaps what laws should be for. Its called utilitarianism. If that's what you mean then I agree. However, you and I will need to remember that a large part of the population is quite comfortable with the idea that laws are for enforcing morality. Or should I say the current morality of the part of the population which currently holds power. Add almost a century of vicious propaganda that pot is immoral, and the current situation is not so mysterious.
  17. Re:What article did the OP read? on Some Linux Users Violate Sarbanes-Oxley · · Score: 1
    I didn't think there was any violation to the GPL that could stop you from being able to use Linux.
    You're right AFAIK, but in the FA, it seems clear (to me) that the author is using the word "use" for distribution, specifically in embedded systems.
  18. read Karl Popper on First Draft of GPL Version 3 Released · · Score: 4, Interesting

    This reminds me of something similar which has been explored in depth by Karl Popper, namely the problem of how does a free society protect itself from people who would use that freedom to change the society so that its no longer free. For example how does a democracy prevent a party from getting elected which would end the democracy? I cant give you a 25c summary, because it is a complicated subject, and I cant remember all of it anyway (its been years). However, if you're interested, I highly recommend reading Popper. His stuff is easy to read, and he deserves to be more widely known.

  19. Re:FTFA on Microsoft Responds to WMF Vulnerability · · Score: 1
    Let me paraphrase for you:
    1. MS are idiots (crooks, liars, incompetent, etc)
    2. but its not a backdoor because MS say so.
    There. I feel better already.
  20. Re:Patents on Microsoft Sued Over Patent Infringements · · Score: 1

    8. Profit!

  21. The first rule on Torvalds Says 'Use KDE' · · Score: 0

    ...about the Gnome vs KDE flame war is that you don't talk about the Gnome vs KDE flame war!

  22. Re:Paying more for a free OS on Dell's Open Source Desktop Systems · · Score: 1

    Makes sense to me. Costs money to take out the garbage, after all.

  23. Re:Good News for Software Patent Foes on Creative Has MP3 Player Interface Patent · · Score: 1

    I agree with this wholeheartedly. Thanks for saying what I've been thinking. In fact I believe this is the only way this (software patent problem) will get fixed. The government will not listen to people on this. They view patents etc. as a business thing. Only when a sufficient number of sufficiently large companies get burned by bullshit SW patents will something be done to restrain this.

  24. Re:Fixing is easier said than done on Hyper-Threading, Linus Torvalds vs. Colin Percival · · Score: 2, Informative
    The "patch" [...] only disables hyperthreading and does not provide a real fix.
    Unless I missed something, disabling HT _is_ a real fix.
  25. Stupidest. Name. Evar. on Mandrakesoft Changes Name to Mandriva · · Score: 2, Funny

    They should have called it "Firebird Linux".