It's submitted stories like this that make me yearn to get to the comments. You know: start off with a few jokes... get into the XKCD shit... ALL ROCKS come from space...
[deep contented sigh] Like watching a train wreck all over again...
It's not the drones that people have a problem with; It's how they're used. No amount of positive publicity on their 'good' uses can erase the fact that many, if not most, law enforcement agencies envision an armada of cheap surveillance drones monitoring everyone and everyplace they decide they don't like. Protesting wall street? Drones. Add in the crowd-control microwave emitter for only an additional $2,999. How about some drones patrolling over the freeways during rush hour, equipped with a radar gun? Now an officer can write tickets for anyone speeding over a several mile stretch of road, rather than just a particular point. Only $1,599 after mail in rebate. The list goes on.
Okay, hold on. This is just incentivising, nothing but stirring a pot not boiling. Yet.
Regardless of what law enforcement agencies "envision", they don't have drones yet with crowd-control microwave emitters, radar guns, or other Dr. No devices attached from some Looney Tunes Acme mail-in company. Perhaps they will in the future. Deal with it then; don't stir up scary shit now with some quasi-conspiracy-theory invective.
What I took from the articles and the events? I saw a positive response. We have technology that, up until now, has been used in mostly deleterious ways: dropping bombs, spying on enemies or suspected enemies, etc. Now someone(s) has/have determined to use this technology in a way that supersedes the usual mandate that we assign to it: drones can be used to help people, not just harm or harass them. I'm sure that there are many, many other examples of this in the scientific and sociological fields: rainforest and desert exploration, remote demographics and census taking... but we don't hear about them. They're not main-stream news.
Kudos to the staff at U of Alaska for having the lateral thinking to use their equipment in a way that points out the positive usage of any technology. As "Hammer" guy says (either before or after this... ?) hammers can build houses, or beat people's skulls in. I favour advocating the houses, and focusing on the positive. Bring that to people's attention, and it will multiply. Only misogynistic sadists are going to clap for glee at the perverted use of any technology.
As a non-US citizen that's been watching the developments of this closely, I am extremely glad that this has happened. Hell, I'm sure everyone is. Now just need to do something about PIPA, and we can breathe a nice sigh of relief (for a while)
As another non-US citizen, I mirror your joy... but I'm still leaving up all of my anti-SOPA banners/tags/overlays on Twitter etc. Why?
Because I don't believe it for a minute.
Forget about the fact that PIPA is still out there (although that is as much a concern as SOPA is/was); forget the fact that SOPA is "tabled," not really "killed" as the article stipulates (another example of tabloid headlining). I won't believe it until, as so many above ^^^ have pointed out, we're sure it's not going to go hydra on us, and sprout a thousand little ugly heads by being packaged off into benign bills and shipped piecemeal to the unknowing and blinkered masses.
Can I see that happening? HELL YEAH! Today, I've seen comments all over fearing that very same thing -- not just on/. . It's a proven way for those weasels in DC to get their agenda through, while seeming to pander to the desires of the constituents.
What will it take to convince me that SOPA, PIPA, and OPEN are dead? At this point, I'm not sure, which is why I'm going to keep following this. That's something I think we all should do: keep your eyes and ears open, and if we see ANYTHING that even whiffs of a SOPA hydra head, POINT IT OUT! KILL THAT THING! If we continue to be as vigilant as we have been, maybe we can stop these assholes from sneaking it past us tomorrow, too!
I was going to mod this thread, but I can't. I've gotta comment.
Truth may be truth, even if it hurts someone's feelings; being an flaming, chasm-wide asshole is just that: being a flaming, chasm-wide asshole. Even if it hurts someone's feelings.
Those top-side comments weren't intended to point out any "truths"; they were written to reflect the idiot(s)' world-view, not titillate, not provoke, not query nor question.
Shit like that doesn't reflect on/.... you see it everywhere. What it reflects is that there are always going to be bitter, uninformed, closed-minded tiny people in this world. I choose not to be one of them.
Now. off to the next thread to moderate. Hopefully, all the bile and spite was delivered here, where it can collect and stew in silence.
Basically, they would have to be broadcasting a massively powerful signal capable of killing off lifeforms from the raw energy in the wave before we could detect it at our distance.
At SETI:
"Hurgle, did you hear that?"
[thump-thump-thump-thump-THUMP] "What? WHAT? You heard something?"
"I don't know... sounded like... bacon?"
"Bacon?"
"Yeah, you know... just when it hits the pan... all poppy and bubbly and spitting and stuff."
"That's background radiation, you dolt. We went over that in the orientation!"
I've been tweeting about this GoDaddy shit since I saw it, and I'm so chuffed that it's actually panning out! As a Canadian webmaster, we up here don't have any means of affecting the vote for SOPA or Protect IP... we're just zombies waiting for the impact of the U.S. bomb that will take away or rights on the 'net. No say, no means of influence.
So what do we do? We get YOU, the American public, to show that YOU ACTUALLY GIVE A SHIT. Again, I'm so relieved that this whole GoDaddy thing has elevated itself to the level of grassroots involvement. I KNEW there was something that would start the ball rolling to show these house- and senate-assholes that there are people out here that know they're backing legislation that is harmful and diseased.
Lets not stop, people! Find the next GoDaddy. Show the gov't that we won't put up with their mal-formed attempts to subjugate us!
And kudos, folks. Nice job, and well done!
Given that things have gone off the scales within the boundaries of computing, is there now a tablet that will do everything a normal desktopor laptop would do?
I haven't researched, but if anyone has answers, much obliged. Tablets, to my mind, aren't the way forward...
If I want to write for Apple, I will. For Android, same thing. For Java? Homesfree!
Screw what they want. I saw an article earlier that was dissing non-Apple programmers. Let them suck on this: we're going to be here, we're going to code, and we're going to watch you delve yourself an early grave. Don't piss off those that port your stuff.
As if I was an author...
I DO write for a living. I happen to takke greeat straights to bee voluble ohn-line, and be as respecctful as possible to thost that opposte me.
That NOT being said, I lose money every time someone downloads a book that takes away from my readership. Think about it, asshole: one read = dozens of dollars being lost.
Perhaps you have money out the wazzoo; I don't. Shut your yap, pay for the shit you're downloading if you thing it's worth it, and get real.
Sorry... tidbit two: Don't even mention "patronage". If so, sponsor me! I'll be glad to write you a little ditty to sing at your grandmother's funeral: I love requiems. I'll even supply the details for the bank account payments.
I'll ask the question that I usually ask: "What have you created that is copyrightable?"
I'm getting pretty sick of wankers that don't contribute anything to the arts, sciences or general well-being of society whacking off about, "You can't keep it from us!" Yes, we can. if we choose to. If I write a song, that's my fucking song. If I write a piece of software, that's my piece of software. I do both. If I choose to publish it under a Creative Commons License, that's my choice... or I can choose to copyright it, and make some money. I pay the bills that way. In case you hadn't heard, there are financial responsibilities in life. We can't all live in our parent's basement.
I choose what I publish, and how I publish it. Some of it is CC, some copyrighted. If you think that just the matter of your using up oxygen allows you to profit from my genius, then you're sadly mistaken. My wish would be for a vetting process for my CC work, so that assholes like you didn't get their hands on my stuff, and use it to further their idiot ideas. THAT would be a great boon!
Create something worthy first, something that's worth a copyright. Then talk to me,
There ain't any technology that one human(s) can come up with that another human(s) can't corrupt.
I don't care how quick, savvy or exotic you are, you're not going to foil everyone forever. I figure it's just a state of grace we have: there's a situation whereby the technology is benign, if asinie; a state whereby it's corrupted, abused and malicious; and a state whereby it's antiquated, unused, and maligned.
I hope Twitter's now made it to that last stage now.
Yeah. Thanks to anonymous reader for pointing this one out.
On the one hand, this sort of shit needs to see the light of day. On the other hand, it give me a (rare) reason to feel ashamed of being Canadian. What the hell do these idiots think they're doing? Pulling the wool over our eyes?
Wake up and smell the coffee, you idiots. We're not going to let you get away with crap like that. Thanks for letting us know! (Shuffles off to some networking sites to start some more news stories re: this!)
Now, I've never blown up a server... but I've met several that deserved it.
I'm indebted to those that posted here, and heartily, if tearfully, thank them. That made my day.
.
Now, can we do something about the Canadian government? I know they're supposed to "serve" us, but look at the track record. Our politicians have only twenty digits. Ancient MIT devices parsing primes could do better back in the eighties. Please, please! Send up an Obama replacement for our "server," and we won't nuke it!
.
After your President leaves today, of course...:-)
I've always been a big Robert Heinlein fan, and the character of D.D. Harriman was particularly fun to imagine.
With this, it looks like Bob's vision of commercial space flight is finally starting to stretch to the plateau that he saw. I'm more than excited: maybe this means that that elusive space elevator is possible too? Oh, not by the same people, but hey! Maybe that's the next step.
In any case, kudos to the two companies. Thanks for seeing Mr. Heinlein's vision come true.
Thanks for this. I was really inspired by the bottom-quote today, in light of most of the responses to this article:
The more I see of men the more I admire dogs. -- Mme De Sevigne, 1626-1696
I don't know if context is the most important part of this, although it's more relevant than other issues brought forth. (Emo kids? GW Bush? Fuck me...) The real issue here is the abuse -- abuse to death!!! -- of another person. I personally don't care what the mechanic of that abuse was: MySpace, stalking, kidnapping, Facebook, playground bullying, financial or identity theft... what was the end result?
The result was the death of a human being. Period.
It's really nice to sit back on a forum and analyze, and dissociate. It's easy to remove yourself from the humanity of the situation. I'm not a social networker, but I'm as choked as anyone that something Internet-related was involved in something this heinous. That said, this reflects our evolution. We've gone from the playground to the virtual ground, from the meatspace to cyberspace. The mechanic is different; the results of abuse and violent behaviour are the same.
I'm not sure which makes my guts clench more: the fact that some psychotic bitch was able to use a supposedly-benign site to inspire another person to end their own life, or the idiotic, inhuman responses I've seen here from people reacting to this story. Even given that most of these crass responses are from ignorant adolescents who know the value of human existence from Halo and Half Life, I'm fucking appalled at what I've read.
Thanks for participating. Perhaps you're too jaded to suffer such abuse to such an extreme. I hope that everyone you love is as strong as you. Otherwise, you'll be reading these responses with the bitterness and bile that I'm sure the victim's family has.
Slashdot Mirror
It's submitted stories like this that make me yearn to get to the comments. You know: start off with a few jokes... get into the XKCD shit... ALL ROCKS come from space...
[deep contented sigh] Like watching a train wreck all over again...
It's not the drones that people have a problem with; It's how they're used. No amount of positive publicity on their 'good' uses can erase the fact that many, if not most, law enforcement agencies envision an armada of cheap surveillance drones monitoring everyone and everyplace they decide they don't like. Protesting wall street? Drones. Add in the crowd-control microwave emitter for only an additional $2,999. How about some drones patrolling over the freeways during rush hour, equipped with a radar gun? Now an officer can write tickets for anyone speeding over a several mile stretch of road, rather than just a particular point. Only $1,599 after mail in rebate. The list goes on.
Okay, hold on. This is just incentivising, nothing but stirring a pot not boiling. Yet.
Regardless of what law enforcement agencies "envision", they don't have drones yet with crowd-control microwave emitters, radar guns, or other Dr. No devices attached from some Looney Tunes Acme mail-in company. Perhaps they will in the future. Deal with it then; don't stir up scary shit now with some quasi-conspiracy-theory invective.
What I took from the articles and the events? I saw a positive response. We have technology that, up until now, has been used in mostly deleterious ways: dropping bombs, spying on enemies or suspected enemies, etc. Now someone(s) has/have determined to use this technology in a way that supersedes the usual mandate that we assign to it: drones can be used to help people, not just harm or harass them. I'm sure that there are many, many other examples of this in the scientific and sociological fields: rainforest and desert exploration, remote demographics and census taking... but we don't hear about them. They're not main-stream news.
Kudos to the staff at U of Alaska for having the lateral thinking to use their equipment in a way that points out the positive usage of any technology. As "Hammer" guy says (either before or after this... ?) hammers can build houses, or beat people's skulls in. I favour advocating the houses, and focusing on the positive. Bring that to people's attention, and it will multiply. Only misogynistic sadists are going to clap for glee at the perverted use of any technology.
As a non-US citizen that's been watching the developments of this closely, I am extremely glad that this has happened. Hell, I'm sure everyone is. Now just need to do something about PIPA, and we can breathe a nice sigh of relief (for a while)
As another non-US citizen, I mirror your joy... but I'm still leaving up all of my anti-SOPA banners/tags/overlays on Twitter etc. Why?
Because I don't believe it for a minute.
Forget about the fact that PIPA is still out there (although that is as much a concern as SOPA is/was); forget the fact that SOPA is "tabled," not really "killed" as the article stipulates (another example of tabloid headlining). I won't believe it until, as so many above ^^^ have pointed out, we're sure it's not going to go hydra on us, and sprout a thousand little ugly heads by being packaged off into benign bills and shipped piecemeal to the unknowing and blinkered masses.
Can I see that happening? HELL YEAH! Today, I've seen comments all over fearing that very same thing -- not just on /. . It's a proven way for those weasels in DC to get their agenda through, while seeming to pander to the desires of the constituents.
What will it take to convince me that SOPA, PIPA, and OPEN are dead? At this point, I'm not sure, which is why I'm going to keep following this. That's something I think we all should do: keep your eyes and ears open, and if we see ANYTHING that even whiffs of a SOPA hydra head, POINT IT OUT! KILL THAT THING! If we continue to be as vigilant as we have been, maybe we can stop these assholes from sneaking it past us tomorrow, too!
Good job, everyone!
Turn that damn light off, you jerks!
...as they flip us the pseudopod...
I was going to mod this thread, but I can't. I've gotta comment.
Truth may be truth, even if it hurts someone's feelings; being an flaming, chasm-wide asshole is just that: being a flaming, chasm-wide asshole. Even if it hurts someone's feelings.
Those top-side comments weren't intended to point out any "truths"; they were written to reflect the idiot(s)' world-view, not titillate, not provoke, not query nor question.
Shit like that doesn't reflect on /. ... you see it everywhere. What it reflects is that there are always going to be bitter, uninformed, closed-minded tiny people in this world. I choose not to be one of them.
Now. off to the next thread to moderate. Hopefully, all the bile and spite was delivered here, where it can collect and stew in silence.
or just direct a satellite to read the reflections on your glasses.
Sorry, we're talking about the NSA, not CSI.
That's not CSI, that's 007.
Besides, 300+ years in the future it's quite possible we won't be speaking English at all, or it might be very different from what we speak now.
No wa, dood. Well be speekn just t sam as we alwys did... jst shortr cuz were all usin wee wee kbds.
Basically, they would have to be broadcasting a massively powerful signal capable of killing off lifeforms from the raw energy in the wave before we could detect it at our distance.
At SETI:
"Hurgle, did you hear that?"
[thump-thump-thump-thump-THUMP] "What? WHAT? You heard something?"
"I don't know... sounded like... bacon?"
"Bacon?"
"Yeah, you know... just when it hits the pan... all poppy and bubbly and spitting and stuff."
"That's background radiation, you dolt. We went over that in the orientation!"
"No, listen: this is diff--"
Well put. I would say that the only thing that should be added is to also throw out all reason and sanity.
And I used up all my mod points before I got to the two of you. Damn it!
"We're going out now, Stewie. Becky's coming to babysit, and we've locked the LCD projector in the bedroom."
"DAMN YOU WOMAN!"
"Yep, looks like that one made it... ;-)"
SHIT! I'm NEVER logged in when I get off a good one! Double shit!
I've been tweeting about this GoDaddy shit since I saw it, and I'm so chuffed that it's actually panning out! As a Canadian webmaster, we up here don't have any means of affecting the vote for SOPA or Protect IP... we're just zombies waiting for the impact of the U.S. bomb that will take away or rights on the 'net. No say, no means of influence. So what do we do? We get YOU, the American public, to show that YOU ACTUALLY GIVE A SHIT. Again, I'm so relieved that this whole GoDaddy thing has elevated itself to the level of grassroots involvement. I KNEW there was something that would start the ball rolling to show these house- and senate-assholes that there are people out here that know they're backing legislation that is harmful and diseased. Lets not stop, people! Find the next GoDaddy. Show the gov't that we won't put up with their mal-formed attempts to subjugate us! And kudos, folks. Nice job, and well done!
Actually, I thought my clickthroughs funded their site. I'll have to find another one now... so many buttons, so few worthy clicks... (sigh)
Given that things have gone off the scales within the boundaries of computing, is there now a tablet that will do everything a normal desktopor laptop would do?
I haven't researched, but if anyone has answers, much obliged. Tablets, to my mind, aren't the way forward...
How is it we've gotten so sucked into (y)our cable connections? I'll admit: I'm very faithful to my net stuff, but for cable? PSHAW!
Let's lighten things up, people. I read books, do crosswords, and look at articles on-line. Where's the stuff of naturalism on the web????!!!!!! =)
Nothing to see here.... please keep moving. Mind the lights....
If I want to write for Apple, I will. For Android, same thing. For Java? Homesfree! Screw what they want. I saw an article earlier that was dissing non-Apple programmers. Let them suck on this: we're going to be here, we're going to code, and we're going to watch you delve yourself an early grave. Don't piss off those that port your stuff.
As if I was an author... I DO write for a living. I happen to takke greeat straights to bee voluble ohn-line, and be as respecctful as possible to thost that opposte me.
That NOT being said, I lose money every time someone downloads a book that takes away from my readership. Think about it, asshole: one read = dozens of dollars being lost. Perhaps you have money out the wazzoo; I don't. Shut your yap, pay for the shit you're downloading if you thing it's worth it, and get real.
Sorry... tidbit two: Don't even mention "patronage". If so, sponsor me! I'll be glad to write you a little ditty to sing at your grandmother's funeral: I love requiems. I'll even supply the details for the bank account payments.
I'll ask the question that I usually ask: "What have you created that is copyrightable?"
I'm getting pretty sick of wankers that don't contribute anything to the arts, sciences or general well-being of society whacking off about, "You can't keep it from us!" Yes, we can. if we choose to. If I write a song, that's my fucking song. If I write a piece of software, that's my piece of software. I do both. If I choose to publish it under a Creative Commons License, that's my choice... or I can choose to copyright it, and make some money. I pay the bills that way. In case you hadn't heard, there are financial responsibilities in life. We can't all live in our parent's basement.
I choose what I publish, and how I publish it. Some of it is CC, some copyrighted. If you think that just the matter of your using up oxygen allows you to profit from my genius, then you're sadly mistaken. My wish would be for a vetting process for my CC work, so that assholes like you didn't get their hands on my stuff, and use it to further their idiot ideas. THAT would be a great boon!
Create something worthy first, something that's worth a copyright. Then talk to me,
There ain't any technology that one human(s) can come up with that another human(s) can't corrupt.
I don't care how quick, savvy or exotic you are, you're not going to foil everyone forever. I figure it's just a state of grace we have: there's a situation whereby the technology is benign, if asinie; a state whereby it's corrupted, abused and malicious; and a state whereby it's antiquated, unused, and maligned.
I hope Twitter's now made it to that last stage now.
On the one hand, this sort of shit needs to see the light of day. On the other hand, it give me a (rare) reason to feel ashamed of being Canadian. What the hell do these idiots think they're doing? Pulling the wool over our eyes?
Wake up and smell the coffee, you idiots. We're not going to let you get away with crap like that. Thanks for letting us know! (Shuffles off to some networking sites to start some more news stories re: this!)
I'm indebted to those that posted here, and heartily, if tearfully, thank them. That made my day.
.
Now, can we do something about the Canadian government? I know they're supposed to "serve" us, but look at the track record. Our politicians have only twenty digits. Ancient MIT devices parsing primes could do better back in the eighties. Please, please! Send up an Obama replacement for our "server," and we won't nuke it!
.
After your President leaves today, of course... :-)
I've always been a big Robert Heinlein fan, and the character of D.D. Harriman was particularly fun to imagine.
With this, it looks like Bob's vision of commercial space flight is finally starting to stretch to the plateau that he saw. I'm more than excited: maybe this means that that elusive space elevator is possible too? Oh, not by the same people, but hey! Maybe that's the next step.
In any case, kudos to the two companies. Thanks for seeing Mr. Heinlein's vision come true.
Thanks for this. I was really inspired by the bottom-quote today, in light of most of the responses to this article:
The more I see of men the more I admire dogs. -- Mme De Sevigne, 1626-1696
I don't know if context is the most important part of this, although it's more relevant than other issues brought forth. (Emo kids? GW Bush? Fuck me...) The real issue here is the abuse -- abuse to death!!! -- of another person. I personally don't care what the mechanic of that abuse was: MySpace, stalking, kidnapping, Facebook, playground bullying, financial or identity theft... what was the end result?
The result was the death of a human being. Period.
It's really nice to sit back on a forum and analyze, and dissociate. It's easy to remove yourself from the humanity of the situation. I'm not a social networker, but I'm as choked as anyone that something Internet-related was involved in something this heinous. That said, this reflects our evolution. We've gone from the playground to the virtual ground, from the meatspace to cyberspace. The mechanic is different; the results of abuse and violent behaviour are the same.
I'm not sure which makes my guts clench more: the fact that some psychotic bitch was able to use a supposedly-benign site to inspire another person to end their own life, or the idiotic, inhuman responses I've seen here from people reacting to this story. Even given that most of these crass responses are from ignorant adolescents who know the value of human existence from Halo and Half Life, I'm fucking appalled at what I've read.
Thanks for participating. Perhaps you're too jaded to suffer such abuse to such an extreme. I hope that everyone you love is as strong as you. Otherwise, you'll be reading these responses with the bitterness and bile that I'm sure the victim's family has.