I hate to say it but your example only bolsters the argument that those who oppose this kind of invasion of privacy do so because they have something to hide or want to get away with something.
It was a joke and was modded appropriately, it wasn't meant as an argument at all. But I'll respond in seriousness with an actual argument:
Protecting ourselves from invasion of privacy is all we can do to avoid be punished by inappropriate policy. For example, drug testing. Drug testing is basically used to find that people have smoked marijuana in the last month or so (other drugs don't show up as easilly since evidence of their use leaves the body quicker). I know some people will argue this, but many people firmly believe that marijuana should be a legal substance just like alcohol, and that drug testing by employers is wrong and is an invasion of privacy. What is wrong with using marijuana when you are not working?
Well sure people will say you just want to hide from the law. But when the law is wrong, you need some kind of safeguard to protect you against these laws.
What would happen if we all had cameras in every room and our cars and anywhere else we may be. And what would happen if we were charged for every crime and civil violation that was caught on these cameras?
Many people would be charged for copyright violation, sodomy, drug possesion, traffic violations. Not all of these laws are wrong, but some of them are. Take the sodomy laws, you will have people being arrested for oral sex, anal sex, gay sex, sex with a woman on top, etc. There ARE many states with ridiculous laws on the books. We (at least) need privacy to protect us from these defects in our legal system.
There, I said it. Now the entire world knows what beer I purchased, when, where, and why. What is the WORST thing that can possibly happen to me by making this public?
"This is your boss. According to your timesheet, you reported that you worked all day and night on Saturday. Yet here I find out that you were drinking on the job. Those rocket widgets track when you finish drinking the bottles too, you know, so don't try to say you drank them on Sunday; they also provide a saliva analysis indicating who drank them. You know we have a strict policy on being sober on the job. Don't bother to come in tommorrow, we will ship your personal items to you. Good luck finding another job, you fucking drunk!":)
I don't see anything in the bill that says you are required to use it. Just that the cars must have it. Maybe it is something that can be enabled when necessary?
In any case, won't people just buy cars in other states?
If it is the case that everyone has to blow into a tube to get their car started, this is the kind of law that assumes someone is guilty until proven innocent (they have to prove they are not drunk to be able to drive). When you are always assuming people are guilty, these people will assume they are supposed to be guilty, and are more likely to do the crimes. This is the case in law enforcement, and also the case with parenting or any other authority situation.
Re:No one took your time in the first place.
on
Take Back Your Time!
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· Score: 1
When you think about buying a non-necessity, calculate how long you have to work to purchase it and then ask, "Is this worth that much time?". That has saved me from making all sorts of strange choices. When you are looking at that new car and you say, "Is this car worth 6 FULL MONTHS of my life?", you'll often find out the answer is no.
This AC made an excellent point. I started thinking exactly this way -- I started thinking in terms of how much time it takes me to earn enough money to pay for something. And I realized a lot of things are not worth the time, and I have been saving more because of this.
However, it can be used in the opposite way. If spending a little money saves me a considerable amount of time, I'm more justified in spending the money than spending the time to do something myself.
Re:Title made me think this was about daylight sav
on
Take Back Your Time!
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· Score: 1
Ah, New Orleans.. Much fun was had there. Nothing but fond memories going there for Marti Gras or just to visit my buddies going to Tulane. You could walk down the street with a beer in your hand. You could drink in the cab or as a passenger in a car. It was an absolutely liberating experience. It's the way it should be. I will have to visit again.
Re:Title made me think this was about daylight sav
on
Take Back Your Time!
·
· Score: 1
I actually like this part of daylight savings time...say tomorrow night you're in a bar. They call last call just before 2am..but, then, point out to the bartender..at 2am...that is just NOW 1am. You still have One More Hour to Drink!!
Actually, I got screwed by it in reverse back in spring. Apparently 2am was the time when the clocks changed, so at precisely that moment it became 3am which is closing time where I live, and stores stop selling alcohol as well. I didn't realize it until it was near 2am, and frantically chugged as many beers as I could (sink or swim is good like that). But I really was expecting to have that last hour to talk to all the ladies there. Ah well...
Yeah, you'll notice that many of the popular apps are all GTK+ based. Gaim, Evolution, etc. I was using KDE and mostly GTK+ apps for a while. They run fine in KDE. Then I switched to Gnome. I find the KDE apps tend to load really slow in Gnome. The only thing I really like from KDE is the Konqueror file browser, though.
I think they should have include Favorite File Browser in this.
2.6.0 is supposedly going to give us hibernate. that will be very nice i think, and i may actually shut down at night for once. i don't like rebooting, but i'm all for hibernating.
I've used big iron multiprocessors to run my code (wot I wrote) but I can honestly say I couldn't make Windows say Hello World without severe head scratching:)
Its as simple as a batch file. Open up notepad and create hello_world.cmd:
@echo off echo Hello World pause
Or if you want to get all fancy with a GUI:
@echo off echo Hello World > hello_world.txt notepad hello_world.txt
DISCLAIMER: I am not responsible for any damages this code does to your system. If you have important data in a file called "hello_world.txt" do not execute this code!
Obviously the *NIX side of the world isn't bulletproof either. Now perhaps we might be spared (at least for a day or two) about the anti-M$ rants about insecure M$ code. It can happen, and it can happen regardless of OS platform.
Fair enough, but this goes for any OS: no ports should be open by default!!!
If linux was installed on 98% of all machines in the world you can bet there would be a worm by now that would have taken advantage of this. Don't throw too many stones linux users.
Any "linux user" who has openssh open to the world is a huge dumbass. What part of "firewall rules" don't you understand?
Furthermore, anyone running any OS, who has any port open to anyone other than themselves is not secure.
One of the most annoying things about Windows (the versions I have seen) is, that you cannot start reading a file before it has been completely written. I often want to start reading a file while I'm still not finished downloading it.
Are you sure about that? I can always start viewing or listening to video/audio before its done downloading in Windows. This may be more of an issue with which software you are using to download. I remember there being some apps I've used where I couldn't do this, but in those cases, I could make a copy of the file while it was downloading and then open the copy.
Then you haven't been looking hard enough. A lot of apps export to SVG, with corel's latest offering being an example. You might want to google for slashdot articles on SVG for more example, instead of embaressing yourself in a public forum.
You might want to actually try working with SVG before you try and refute what I'm saying. Reading a few Slashdot articles is not enough.
I am well aware of Corel, Adobe, Visio and a few others exporting to SVG. I've worked with SVG and done some research on it for a project, the software that works with it is mostly immature (so I didn't end up using it). Where are the working browser plugins/support, specifically for Mozilla (their SVG support is far from complete)? Why hasn't Adobe updated their plugin in years? Where are the open source (or even proprietary) toolkits for working with SVG? Batik is buggy and slow, and no one is contributing to its development. There is another one, but its even less significant than Batik.
Sure, there is a little bit going on with SVG, but its not enough. I guess since it has a proprietary plugin for IE only, it should be gaining mass acceptance like Flash has, but I haven't seen that happening. Where are the web sites using SVG?
Yes, I like SVG, but last time I researched it (a few months ago), there is not enough going on. The little that is out there is either proprietary, incomplete, and/or buggy/slow. Correct me if I'm wrong, maybe something has changed in the last few months.
The reason there is no good open source SVG rendering software is that it is a relatively complex task that your average developer cannot handle. There needs to be people specialized in vector graphics working on these things. I hope we see something soon; I'd love to see SVG replace Flash.
I don't see all the open authoring tools, or even fully working plugins for other browsers than IE though.
The same can be said for SVG. There is no good software that puts it to good use. No one is working on any SVG software. Adobe isn't doing too much (as far as I know). Batik is dead (I've looked in CVS, no one is doing anything). There was some stuff going on 3 years, but eveyone seemed to have given up on it. Maybe in a few years, we may see SVG emerge, but I think its too early to see it doing anything right now (other than some nice icons, and Adobe's plugin that only works in IE, though it could work in Mozilla like it used to).
The death of flash would be the most wonderful day in web browsing history since it's inception. For some of us, those Flash sites are *already* inaccessible.
True enough.. I don't even have Flash installed on my Linux box at home (or even my Windows box for that matter, but I don't browse with that). I don't need it, so why bother?
why would you want to work in India? You should *retire* in India. A few years of working in the U.S. should be enough for you to save up enough money to live a good 20 years in India easilly. You'll even be able to afford servants. Don't worry about language, in the big cities, most people speak English.
If you plan to live in one of the populated areas of India, be prepared for incredibly bad polution. Also, one of the advantages is that you can piss in the streets or anywhere in fact. No more having to find a bathroom or worrying about cops arrested you just for taking a leak. Hell, you can take a dump on the side of the road, and no one will even look at you funny. On a related note, be prepared for some serious diarrhea. Diarrhea is common there, that its typical to respond to "how are you doing?" with "I have diarrhea."
If you're rich enough (a small U.S. fortune will do), you can build a huge castle on a huge plot of land, and have servants cook you food using vegetables grown on your own land. They will clean the entire place every day. I've seen this myself with someone who moved here for a few years, made some money, and then moved back to India.
This applies to people in other rich countries besides the U.S that have a high currency value.
Do I spot a slight anachronism here? TRS-80's were way before Bloom County and Doonesbury were syndicated, IIRC.
I think you are right, though TRS-80's were used in schools for a long time after they became obsolete. I recall taking a computer class in 1990-1991, and we used TRS-80's.
Though the poster was talking about Radio Shack, and not schools...
Yep. Those keyboards and mice with zero moving parts are really nice. Ok, I guess they could all use button-less touchpads, but I've yet to see a usable keyboard without any moving parts.
What about those keyboards that display an image of a keyboard onto a surface and then track your finger movements to determine what keys you are pressing. I can't find a good link for this, but here is one. They are probably still in development (vapor?), but they don't have any moving parts.
Think no moving parts like a PDA (which these virtual keyboards are designed for).
Slashdot Mirror
I hate to say it but your example only bolsters the argument that those who oppose this kind of invasion of privacy do so because they have something to hide or want to get away with something.
It was a joke and was modded appropriately, it wasn't meant as an argument at all. But I'll respond in seriousness with an actual argument:
Protecting ourselves from invasion of privacy is all we can do to avoid be punished by inappropriate policy. For example, drug testing. Drug testing is basically used to find that people have smoked marijuana in the last month or so (other drugs don't show up as easilly since evidence of their use leaves the body quicker). I know some people will argue this, but many people firmly believe that marijuana should be a legal substance just like alcohol, and that drug testing by employers is wrong and is an invasion of privacy. What is wrong with using marijuana when you are not working?
Well sure people will say you just want to hide from the law. But when the law is wrong, you need some kind of safeguard to protect you against these laws.
What would happen if we all had cameras in every room and our cars and anywhere else we may be. And what would happen if we were charged for every crime and civil violation that was caught on these cameras?
Many people would be charged for copyright violation, sodomy, drug possesion, traffic violations. Not all of these laws are wrong, but some of them are. Take the sodomy laws, you will have people being arrested for oral sex, anal sex, gay sex, sex with a woman on top, etc. There ARE many states with ridiculous laws on the books. We (at least) need privacy to protect us from these defects in our legal system.
Don't like it? Make your own beer!
There, I said it. Now the entire world knows what beer I purchased, when, where, and why. What is the WORST thing that can possibly happen to me by making this public?
:)
"This is your boss. According to your timesheet, you reported that you worked all day and night on Saturday. Yet here I find out that you were drinking on the job. Those rocket widgets track when you finish drinking the bottles too, you know, so don't try to say you drank them on Sunday; they also provide a saliva analysis indicating who drank them. You know we have a strict policy on being sober on the job. Don't bother to come in tommorrow, we will ship your personal items to you. Good luck finding another job, you fucking drunk!"
then only outlaws will have balloons
I don't see anything in the bill that says you are required to use it. Just that the cars must have it. Maybe it is something that can be enabled when necessary?
In any case, won't people just buy cars in other states?
If it is the case that everyone has to blow into a tube to get their car started, this is the kind of law that assumes someone is guilty until proven innocent (they have to prove they are not drunk to be able to drive). When you are always assuming people are guilty, these people will assume they are supposed to be guilty, and are more likely to do the crimes. This is the case in law enforcement, and also the case with parenting or any other authority situation.
When you think about buying a non-necessity, calculate how long you have to work to purchase it and then ask, "Is this worth that much time?". That has saved me from making all sorts of strange choices. When you are looking at that new car and you say, "Is this car worth 6 FULL MONTHS of my life?", you'll often find out the answer is no.
This AC made an excellent point. I started thinking exactly this way -- I started thinking in terms of how much time it takes me to earn enough money to pay for something. And I realized a lot of things are not worth the time, and I have been saving more because of this.
However, it can be used in the opposite way. If spending a little money saves me a considerable amount of time, I'm more justified in spending the money than spending the time to do something myself.
Ah, New Orleans.. Much fun was had there. Nothing but fond memories going there for Marti Gras or just to visit my buddies going to Tulane. You could walk down the street with a beer in your hand. You could drink in the cab or as a passenger in a car. It was an absolutely liberating experience. It's the way it should be. I will have to visit again.
I actually like this part of daylight savings time...say tomorrow night you're in a bar. They call last call just before 2am..but, then, point out to the bartender..at 2am...that is just NOW 1am.
You still have One More Hour to Drink!!
Actually, I got screwed by it in reverse back in spring. Apparently 2am was the time when the clocks changed, so at precisely that moment it became 3am which is closing time where I live, and stores stop selling alcohol as well. I didn't realize it until it was near 2am, and frantically chugged as many beers as I could (sink or swim is good like that). But I really was expecting to have that last hour to talk to all the ladies there. Ah well...
Is there a good library for using postgres from C++?
Yeah, you'll notice that many of the popular apps are all GTK+ based. Gaim, Evolution, etc. I was using KDE and mostly GTK+ apps for a while. They run fine in KDE. Then I switched to Gnome. I find the KDE apps tend to load really slow in Gnome. The only thing I really like from KDE is the Konqueror file browser, though.
I think they should have include Favorite File Browser in this.
2.6.0 is supposedly going to give us hibernate. that will be very nice i think, and i may actually shut down at night for once. i don't like rebooting, but i'm all for hibernating.
strippers and lapdances are punishment, not benefits, so let em have them
If you're paying for them, yes.
underclock it to 1 Mhz and it won't produce much heat
My processor is 1 MHz stock you insensitive clod!
Its as simple as a batch file. Open up notepad and create hello_world.cmd:Or if you want to get all fancy with a GUI:DISCLAIMER: I am not responsible for any damages this code does to your system. If you have important data in a file called "hello_world.txt" do not execute this code!
Obviously the *NIX side of the world isn't bulletproof either. Now perhaps we might be spared (at least for a day or two) about the anti-M$ rants about insecure M$ code. It can happen, and it can happen regardless of OS platform.
Fair enough, but this goes for any OS: no ports should be open by default!!!
If linux was installed on 98% of all machines in the world you can bet there would be a worm by now that would have taken advantage of this. Don't throw too many stones linux users.
Any "linux user" who has openssh open to the world is a huge dumbass. What part of "firewall rules" don't you understand?
Furthermore, anyone running any OS, who has any port open to anyone other than themselves is not secure.
"hrm, i wonder what version of apache i'm running at the moment... should i look in apache..? no.. i know, i'll scan myself"
you're obviously not an admin, and obviously don't do any serious work with computers at all.
One of the most annoying things about Windows (the versions I have seen) is, that you cannot start reading a file before it has been completely written. I often want to start reading a file while I'm still not finished downloading it.
Are you sure about that? I can always start viewing or listening to video/audio before its done downloading in Windows. This may be more of an issue with which software you are using to download. I remember there being some apps I've used where I couldn't do this, but in those cases, I could make a copy of the file while it was downloading and then open the copy.
Then you haven't been looking hard enough. A lot of apps export to SVG, with corel's latest offering being an example. You might want to google for slashdot articles on SVG for more example, instead of embaressing yourself in a public forum.
You might want to actually try working with SVG before you try and refute what I'm saying. Reading a few Slashdot articles is not enough.
I am well aware of Corel, Adobe, Visio and a few others exporting to SVG. I've worked with SVG and done some research on it for a project, the software that works with it is mostly immature (so I didn't end up using it). Where are the working browser plugins/support, specifically for Mozilla (their SVG support is far from complete)? Why hasn't Adobe updated their plugin in years? Where are the open source (or even proprietary) toolkits for working with SVG? Batik is buggy and slow, and no one is contributing to its development. There is another one, but its even less significant than Batik.
Sure, there is a little bit going on with SVG, but its not enough. I guess since it has a proprietary plugin for IE only, it should be gaining mass acceptance like Flash has, but I haven't seen that happening. Where are the web sites using SVG?
Yes, I like SVG, but last time I researched it (a few months ago), there is not enough going on. The little that is out there is either proprietary, incomplete, and/or buggy/slow. Correct me if I'm wrong, maybe something has changed in the last few months.
The reason there is no good open source SVG rendering software is that it is a relatively complex task that your average developer cannot handle. There needs to be people specialized in vector graphics working on these things. I hope we see something soon; I'd love to see SVG replace Flash.
I don't see all the open authoring tools, or even fully working plugins for other browsers than IE though.
The same can be said for SVG. There is no good software that puts it to good use. No one is working on any SVG software. Adobe isn't doing too much (as far as I know). Batik is dead (I've looked in CVS, no one is doing anything). There was some stuff going on 3 years, but eveyone seemed to have given up on it. Maybe in a few years, we may see SVG emerge, but I think its too early to see it doing anything right now (other than some nice icons, and Adobe's plugin that only works in IE, though it could work in Mozilla like it used to).
The death of flash would be the most wonderful day in web browsing history since it's inception. For some of us, those Flash sites are *already* inaccessible.
True enough.. I don't even have Flash installed on my Linux box at home (or even my Windows box for that matter, but I don't browse with that). I don't need it, so why bother?
we hate MS, go Eolas!!!
we hate patents, go MS!!!
No.. this ones easy:
"I hate Microsoft as much as anyone else does, but fuck Eolas!" and "Fuck the USPTO!"
Its just easier to hate them all.
why would you want to work in India? You should *retire* in India. A few years of working in the U.S. should be enough for you to save up enough money to live a good 20 years in India easilly. You'll even be able to afford servants. Don't worry about language, in the big cities, most people speak English.
If you plan to live in one of the populated areas of India, be prepared for incredibly bad polution. Also, one of the advantages is that you can piss in the streets or anywhere in fact. No more having to find a bathroom or worrying about cops arrested you just for taking a leak. Hell, you can take a dump on the side of the road, and no one will even look at you funny. On a related note, be prepared for some serious diarrhea. Diarrhea is common there, that its typical to respond to "how are you doing?" with "I have diarrhea."
If you're rich enough (a small U.S. fortune will do), you can build a huge castle on a huge plot of land, and have servants cook you food using vegetables grown on your own land. They will clean the entire place every day. I've seen this myself with someone who moved here for a few years, made some money, and then moved back to India.
This applies to people in other rich countries besides the U.S that have a high currency value.
Do I spot a slight anachronism here? TRS-80's were way before Bloom County and Doonesbury were syndicated, IIRC.
I think you are right, though TRS-80's were used in schools for a long time after they became obsolete. I recall taking a computer class in 1990-1991, and we used TRS-80's.
Though the poster was talking about Radio Shack, and not schools...
Yep. Those keyboards and mice with zero moving parts are really nice. Ok, I guess they could all use button-less touchpads, but I've yet to see a usable keyboard without any moving parts.
What about those keyboards that display an image of a keyboard onto a surface and then track your finger movements to determine what keys you are pressing. I can't find a good link for this, but here is one. They are probably still in development (vapor?), but they don't have any moving parts.
Think no moving parts like a PDA (which these virtual keyboards are designed for).