I really don't want advertisments ANYWHERE unless I say ok, so why is snail mail exempt? Granted, most of it is not offensive ( except for the odd jury summons ), but that doesn't change the fact that it's unsolicited junk mail, albeit arriving via physical means instead of electronic.
And yet, all those good things aside, I bet it still gets passed.
The beauty of being a politician is the public listens to what you say, not what you do.
So yeah, they'll make tons of noise about being against sw patents, and then silently pass it into law.
If it ever comes up, they figure ( rightly so I imagine ) that they can spin it so the other guy looks bad, and they were the knight in shining armor ( armour for those of you on the other side of the pond ).
I have a drivers license, no passport. The state owns the roads, they get to dictate the terms of their use. They decided that I must have a license to use the roads.
I can certainly NOT have one, but then I wouldn't get to use the roads. So I choose to have one.
I'm not entirely clear how a passport is used, so I can't speak for that. But as far as a driver's license is concerned, that's perfectly valid.
Look at it like this: They will *buy* your shopping habit data by giving you discounts off their products.
Honestly, I don't care. They can track whatever they want, link it up to my name or whatever. It's a deal *I* agreed to ( because, mainly, I can't think of how they can use that information in a bad way ),and I get something out of doing nothing, which is pretty sweet.
However. National ID cards are NOT something I'd agree to, because in order for something like that to be effective, you'd have to mandate their use. And that means we'd be forcing many people, myself include, into using something they didn't agree to.
Well, I doubt the IPv6 part. With all this natting going on ( or patting, for you Cisco freaks ), we don't really have to worry about addresses for a while yet.
Further, do I really want my IP device ( tv in this case ) addressable directly from the internet? Especially with MS software on it?
Two of my favorite companies teaming up to bring me reality ( which, as near as I can figure, is populated by models. I wish I lived in reality ) TV, complete with watching habit tracking software and security flubs.
And should I have I have any problems, I can call SBC's amazing tech support. Maybe I'll get Dan, or David, or Gloria, all of whom english is a second language. Overpaid phone jocky being the first.
wait...how many iraqi soldiers had email? According to our administration, most were lucky to have the basics. Further, according to the propaganda on the evening news ( and it's all propaganda ), the countries infrastructure was almost nonexistant regarding internet connectivity.
Further, how did they know these were iraqi emails?
I smell a fish. I don't doubt the few that did manage to get these emails stayed home, but come on, bragging about saving 5-6 technically superior iraqis?
There's all sorts of wiggle room in the numbers however.
Say my distributers come and tell me that they have taken over 10m+ orders for my game. Do I setup servers to handle that load, or do I set it up for the more reasonable estimate of around 2-5mil due to the fact that, while 10m+ copies may be sitting on the shelves, only a fraction of those will be purchased.
Now, granted, in H2's case, it's a sizable fraction, but how many other titles sell out completely? I'm willing to bet there have been so few that you can name the last 5 off the top of your head.
..and something that most of us have been doing for years, whether the customers know it or not.
I don't know about the rest of you, but I have stock systems that I go with, both hardware and software wise. I get a customer order, I already know which systems I'm going to use ( hell, I have ghost images of the damn things ). It's just a matter of what extra software packages they'll need.
There's another aspect of this, and one that people can't quite grasp: Customers want to feel special. I don't care how much they belly ache about wanting it fast and cheap and good ( heh ), they want to feel like they are your most important customer. On the opposite side, most IT contractors are cock-chokers, and will spend as little time on the customer as possible. You see the potential problems arising from this situation?
I didn't buy the four hour service. I bought an optiplex g270 ( er, or something ), didn't get any extra warrenty. Mobo went out, and it was really the only intel chipset board we had that could handle the xray stuff we were doing. After explaining that to the tech, I got the part by about 4pm that day ( I called in at 8am ).
Above and beyond what they could have done. I will stick with Dell from this point forward.
Their website sucks, true, but they aren't alone in this. I can't think of a single business website that has a decent interface, they all universally suck.
It's like it's a fucking game with the web developers: How hard can I make it to hide the most useful shit from the end user. It's always some thing new. If I want a phone number, say, for Fed Ex, for example, I spend a good couple minutes dicking around on their site before calling information.
Anyway, Dell is my new favorite computer company. They sell the best machines and have the best support I've dealt with recently ( old Compaq customer here ). When something does break, they have a replacement part on my door step the next day, or if it's critical, the same day. And I don't pay a fucking dime for that service, it's included.
The question is why? If they are doing this, are they simply going to present the results as their own, or are they going to work some magic and find the most relevant search results from ALL the engines and use those.
In the first case, it's a slimy business practice. In the second, it's fairly cunning ( and has been tried before ).
In either case, I doubt google is in any real danger. They are to search engines what MS is to the desktop. And while MS has squandered that advantage in the desktop arena ( reader homework: 250 word essay as to why ), google is only improving on their work.
Isn't the real advantage of a decent burial of the code showing "respect" to the programmers who may well now be senior management?
Look, I don't know if it's the same every where or not, but the reason programmers get moved to upper management ( and out of the development cycle ) around here is because they can do less damage there.
Slashdot Mirror
why don't we go after spammers in snail mail?
I really don't want advertisments ANYWHERE unless I say ok, so why is snail mail exempt? Granted, most of it is not offensive ( except for the odd jury summons ), but that doesn't change the fact that it's unsolicited junk mail, albeit arriving via physical means instead of electronic.
With Wil being a poster here?
I mean, couldn't EVERY day be a q/a session with him ( modded offtopic, of course )?
I am so confused.
Well, we were going to save the surprise for later, but we've had plans in the works now for kicking puppy dogs and stealing children.
No need, politics is the same regardless of past history. So they tried it once and failed. They won't try it again, smarter this time?
Is it still cynicism when it's based on past experiences?
And yet, all those good things aside, I bet it still gets passed.
The beauty of being a politician is the public listens to what you say, not what you do.
So yeah, they'll make tons of noise about being against sw patents, and then silently pass it into law.
If it ever comes up, they figure ( rightly so I imagine ) that they can spin it so the other guy looks bad, and they were the knight in shining armor ( armour for those of you on the other side of the pond ).
The subject matter is irrelevant. With age does come wisdom, and the ability to make decisions regarding new technology.
Youth, on the other hand, lacks wisdom, and is double-wammied by believing they have it.
Given the choice between the two, guess which I'd choose.
Someone saying something "bad" about their competition!
In other news, MS claims use of Linux violates 1m of their patents and has been known in the state of california to cause cancer.
Dude, it would have destroyed the matrix, wasting fields upon fields of human crops.
Duh.
I have a drivers license, no passport. The state owns the roads, they get to dictate the terms of their use. They decided that I must have a license to use the roads.
I can certainly NOT have one, but then I wouldn't get to use the roads. So I choose to have one.
I'm not entirely clear how a passport is used, so I can't speak for that. But as far as a driver's license is concerned, that's perfectly valid.
Exactly right. You accept an erosion of your liberties because you can perceive the benefit to you of doing so.
Oh come off it. Errosion of my liberties? Being just a bit dramatic here, aren't we?
Today, Super market loyalty cards. Tomorrow, THE WORLD! MWA HAH HAHAHAHAHAHAH
Look at it like this: They will *buy* your shopping habit data by giving you discounts off their products.
Honestly, I don't care. They can track whatever they want, link it up to my name or whatever. It's a deal *I* agreed to ( because, mainly, I can't think of how they can use that information in a bad way ),and I get something out of doing nothing, which is pretty sweet.
However. National ID cards are NOT something I'd agree to, because in order for something like that to be effective, you'd have to mandate their use. And that means we'd be forcing many people, myself include, into using something they didn't agree to.
Well, I doubt the IPv6 part. With all this natting going on ( or patting, for you Cisco freaks ), we don't really have to worry about addresses for a while yet.
Further, do I really want my IP device ( tv in this case ) addressable directly from the internet? Especially with MS software on it?
SBC AND MS? Jee, hold me back.
Two of my favorite companies teaming up to bring me reality ( which, as near as I can figure, is populated by models. I wish I lived in reality ) TV, complete with watching habit tracking software and security flubs.
And should I have I have any problems, I can call SBC's amazing tech support. Maybe I'll get Dan, or David, or Gloria, all of whom english is a second language. Overpaid phone jocky being the first.
wait...how many iraqi soldiers had email? According to our administration, most were lucky to have the basics. Further, according to the propaganda on the evening news ( and it's all propaganda ), the countries infrastructure was almost nonexistant regarding internet connectivity.
Further, how did they know these were iraqi emails?
I smell a fish. I don't doubt the few that did manage to get these emails stayed home, but come on, bragging about saving 5-6 technically superior iraqis?
There's all sorts of wiggle room in the numbers however.
Say my distributers come and tell me that they have taken over 10m+ orders for my game. Do I setup servers to handle that load, or do I set it up for the more reasonable estimate of around 2-5mil due to the fact that, while 10m+ copies may be sitting on the shelves, only a fraction of those will be purchased.
Now, granted, in H2's case, it's a sizable fraction, but how many other titles sell out completely? I'm willing to bet there have been so few that you can name the last 5 off the top of your head.
..and something that most of us have been doing for years, whether the customers know it or not.
I don't know about the rest of you, but I have stock systems that I go with, both hardware and software wise. I get a customer order, I already know which systems I'm going to use ( hell, I have ghost images of the damn things ). It's just a matter of what extra software packages they'll need.
There's another aspect of this, and one that people can't quite grasp: Customers want to feel special. I don't care how much they belly ache about wanting it fast and cheap and good ( heh ), they want to feel like they are your most important customer. On the opposite side, most IT contractors are cock-chokers, and will spend as little time on the customer as possible. You see the potential problems arising from this situation?
I didn't buy the four hour service. I bought an optiplex g270 ( er, or something ), didn't get any extra warrenty. Mobo went out, and it was really the only intel chipset board we had that could handle the xray stuff we were doing. After explaining that to the tech, I got the part by about 4pm that day ( I called in at 8am ).
Above and beyond what they could have done. I will stick with Dell from this point forward.
Their website sucks, true, but they aren't alone in this. I can't think of a single business website that has a decent interface, they all universally suck.
It's like it's a fucking game with the web developers: How hard can I make it to hide the most useful shit from the end user. It's always some thing new. If I want a phone number, say, for Fed Ex, for example, I spend a good couple minutes dicking around on their site before calling information.
Anyway, Dell is my new favorite computer company. They sell the best machines and have the best support I've dealt with recently ( old Compaq customer here ). When something does break, they have a replacement part on my door step the next day, or if it's critical, the same day. And I don't pay a fucking dime for that service, it's included.
The question is why? If they are doing this, are they simply going to present the results as their own, or are they going to work some magic and find the most relevant search results from ALL the engines and use those.
In the first case, it's a slimy business practice. In the second, it's fairly cunning ( and has been tried before ).
In either case, I doubt google is in any real danger. They are to search engines what MS is to the desktop. And while MS has squandered that advantage in the desktop arena ( reader homework: 250 word essay as to why ), google is only improving on their work.
Um...the parent took my answer.
Sure, they can tax the big players, but what are they going to do about those of us who build our own voip networks via asterisk and the like?
And if they do managed to tax the big players, who's to say they don't go offshore somewhere?
This started life as a bad idea, and it can only get worse. Time to let it die.
No, wait, I thought we liked Novelle now.
Damn it, did I miss a meeting again?
...Not to start a political flame fest, but if we voted for another 4 years of this, then we deserve whatever we fucking get.
Isn't the real advantage of a decent burial of the code showing "respect" to the programmers who may well now be senior management?
Look, I don't know if it's the same every where or not, but the reason programmers get moved to upper management ( and out of the development cycle ) around here is because they can do less damage there.
Will it be N Korea? China? Canada ( Damn you canuks ).
Stay tuned! Same Bush channel, same Bush time!