You bring up an *excellent* point. The release abroad and bittorrent...are you, perchance, referring to fansubbed anime?
Whichever case, I think you may be right. It makes sense on the technical side (released before the official release). This could possibly spell the end of fansubs.
Speaking of animated films, I think there's an opportunity here for a new direction in anime:
1) The Schoolkids genre - our hero is a high school boy with mystical powers. He is periodically posessed by the spirit of a patent examiner who can defeat software patent applications by pointing out prior art.
2) The Mecha genre - to get a patent accepted, corporations must defeat their opponents in a fight with giant robots. The hero belongs to an elite Anti-Software-Patent team that uses superior technology to destroy the evil corporate patent-bots.
3) The Magic Girl genre - the hero (necessarily a young girl) finds a magic briefcase, that, when opened, transforms her (in a suitably protracted and enticingly revealing transformation sequence) into a young woman who is a patent attorney fighting (pro bono) against corporate software patents in court on behalf of the EFF.
4) The Magic genre - patents are actually spells woven by powerful and evil corporate patent-conjurers. The hero is a young man who awakens to his power as a patent-sourcerer. He must fight a sequence of increasingly difficult battles, starting with a local software company, and ultimately challenging the most powerful patent-conjurers of all - the Emperor of Microsoft's personal mages - the dreaded cordaukar!
5) The Historical Drama - set in Japan's Sengoku Jidai (the Era of the Country at War), the story follows the adventures of an open-source ronin who is constantly attacked by evil samurai who have abandoned the Code of Bushido for the Corporate Mission Statement.
6) The Romance genre - the hero (an anti-software-patent comp. sci. student) falls in love with a young woman, who, unbenkownst to him is actually studying to be a software patent lawyer!
7) The Fighting genre - this one should be obvious. Like the Mecha genre, except that battles are fought between martial artists. The hero is a young punk who does not believe in all the martial arts codes - he is a street fighter, there to challenge the sanctity of the software-patent-sponsored "traditional" martial artists.
8) and finally, what everyone's been waiting for - the Hentai Genre! - patents are actually monsters from another dimension, whose only purpose in life is to get entrance into this one to have their unspeakable way with innocent young high-school girls (described in highly graphic endless detail). The heroine must "fight" the monster-patents to destroy them and make the world safe for....open-source developers.
We can count on certain highlights in this movement - for instance a suitably confusing and existential exploration of the the inner life of a software patent attorney directed by Hideaki Anno, a movie called "Ghost in the Brief" directed by Mamoru Oshii, and a soundtrack by the ever-brilliant Yoko Kanno. Look forward to it!
microsoft.com has released a PDF covering the history of online sado-masochism. Interesting trivia include the first recorded use of an Intercal interpreter in a webbrowser, and server-side VBscripting. The usual reviews of IIS version 234.33.5.8.83.stable are included, with pretty pictures of performance trumping apache. An interesting read, if you're into that sort of thing.
Ok, he's not up to Jar-Jar levels, but that announcer that's doing the voiceovers (the idiot that's saying "The Jedi Must Unite!") in that peppy Beverly Hills voice....just needs to go. Seeing him used for a demonstration of what happens when wookies lose would be very pleasing. Bet he wouldn't be so peppy anymore: "On May 19, my arms will fight the Ultimate Battle! Staying in their sockets! Ahhh!".
Yes this is OT. Please mod it down to make way for all that insightful, stirring, unbiased and original commentary that is/.'s reaction to Star Wars news.
Ahh, thank you very much for the link. You're right, it would be better for them to list the bottom categories. Can't be that hard - just a sort in the reverse order.
This is one of the least commented stories that I've seen on/. Also, the percentage of troll posts is almost 50%. Some kind of record maybe (well, assuming average/. aren't trolls:-) )
On a semi-serious note: are there any "top" lists for slashdot stories - i.e. most comments, fewest comments, most active discussion (most posts within some time period), stuff like that? I did google for this, but perhaps my google-fu is not strong today.
....hehehe but if you get some smooth-looking doctor with a convincing manner and kindly eyes to say "Arsenic - the choice for the political generation", and run a series of TV ads saying "My doctor said 'Arsenic'", we'll be all good:-D
Well, this sounds like a slightly calmer discussion (I admit I was a bit forceful). You make good points, so let's see what we can do:-)
You're correct in that "a good plan today is better than a perfect plan tomorrow". However, here's my concern: aren't you trying to solve a problem that can't be solved without the ultimate "Big Brother" Internet - the benefits of the solution would be far outweighed by the costs and ramifications of the solution. Once certain information is released, it's released. Period. You can't undo a compromise of confidentiality. If some item of information "foo" is so incredibly secret that it *must* be removed, then whoever wanted to know "foo" already knows. Someone who does not care about "foo" doesn't care if it's out there or not. So what's left is just personally embarassing things. Things you'd rather not have someone else see, but that aren't that critical. Should they be removable at your request - maybe. But again, how? Maybe you could convince google to get rid of it, but you can't hunt down every individual site that might conceivably have that data. Or scour every individual torrent/irc/dc/ftp/hard drive etc.. lest it contain that data. Well, you could, if you had *everything* controlled by that entity, which, by your own admission would likely be abused. Btw, I'm sure that the (MP|RI)AA would love your idea:-) (Not saying that you're like them, these are just entities that would want similar functionality). Incidentally, to make any such measures effective, you'd need reciprocal laws in all/most countries. The Internet, after all, is a global phenomenon. Do you honestly feel such a legal change is attainable, or even a good idea? Heterogeneity is good - it makes spreading stupidity harder.:-)
As an ideal, your idea isn't bad per se. I see no way of implementing it, however, that could be done in any reasonable fashion without compromising so much else. And from a practical standpoint - do you honestly think that in the current state of the US court system we need another law which would lead to more "suit/countersuit" potential? Given that you can already get sued for everything under the sun? Plus, if the government can sue people to remove stuff, then you'd have even more fun, e.g. "You can't publish those pictures of dead US soldiers in Iraq because....because... we don't want you to, that's why". Sure, you can appeal...hehe. Most won't. Which would be bad.
As to your concluding point - I fully realize that those "hack and slash" naturalists were not only cutting down foliage. They also hit a few of their own fellows and a few million indians. I'm fully aware of that. I don't advocate that sort of behavior, times are supposedly a bit different today. Still, that's our heritage. That's how we got where we are today. Whatever else, it makes people strong. Much as I hate to appeal to the original point of discussion, 5-6 generations later, those people want the government's ok on the garbage they post online! I think this shows that things have been taken a bit too far. As far as the role of government in a free society....oh brother, that's something that can't be rolled into a few paragraphs, even on/. (so I'm going to do it anyway:-) )
I can only point out that the credibility of the current style of government isn't worth the spit it takes to discuss it. The "usually only interferes" part is, sadly, a bit laughable today. Government has *never* been trustworthy, but things really seem to be getting worse nowdays. (Also remember please - governments exist not to serve their citizens, or even to protect them against themselves. Governments exist to perpetuate their own existence. This is why they react badly to any change.) More freedoms can be infringed upon with less oversite now that at many times before. The whole legal infrastructure is changing in this direction. Perhaps saying that "all censorship is bad"
I must disagree with your arguments. You speak from the position of enlightened hopefullness - you hope anonymous bureaucrats won't take things too far, since you would not yourself (you feel). This is the sort of cowed, wishful thinking that got us the Department of Homeland Security.
This is, at heart, a question of scale. In how many cases is the release of "private" information by bloggers 1) possible, 2) not remediable under existing laws? Answer: damn little. Potential for rediculous escalation and abuse of power? Certain.
Let consider some examples: some disgruntled employee goes and whines in his blog about his boss, and publishes his home address on the page, with the implication that someone should go and egg the boss's house. Ok. How many people will seriously do that just because they read that on the web? Maybe a few - but they would be looking for trouble in any event, and this is simply a different focal point. Vandalism is an offence. If they get caught, there will be some legal trouble, and the boss has to garden hose his house for a bit. Case settled.
Another, more serious case: someone with access to medical records finds info on a person they don't like and publish it. Now it's on the web, i.e. for everyone to see. This is serious. Serious enough that the offended person can have recourse to full strength of laws about privacy and god knows what else (IANAL). The person is sued, fired from his condifential job, and probably become unemployable. Troubling for the victim - yes. But if they take action within the civil, personal scope, ultimately self-correcting. It's true that the person who would think of violating their professional ethics to this extent is already highly unbalanced, should not have been employed there, and the Internet facilitates (but by no means is the sole cause/avenue) for such behaviour. However, that's the reality of the changing world - more info available nearly-instantly to everyone.
Now your solution. "'checked' censorship". Checked by whom?! "Who watches the watchers" isn't a new question - it's as old as sin. The Romans even knew about it. As you have pointed out, the censorship is difficult. Read: unenforceable. How in the world are you going to do this: hire more federal employees to check every online forum and post? Have the Department of Online Blogging? Only blogs hosted by the Feds are legal? Signing up to their account? What are you talking about? This is about as rational as Argentina requiring IP records for 10 years on all connections. It's beyond delusional.
The most disturbing thing is that people are in favor of government supervision in things that they don't even know about. This is "Big Daddy White Father Knows Best" attitude at it's finest. This is what the pioneer descendants of Lewis and Clark have turned into? A country of savage surviving badasses that hacked and slashed their way across the country, worked, sweated and died as rugged individualists, *this* is what they've become? A people in favor of having some pencil-neck bureaucrat in a Washington Office Ok-ing the publication of even the garbage that they post online? What next? The Office of Bathroom Permission? Yes, Citizen 8849393, you may visit the bathroom now. Citizen 4921993 - you have made 3 unauthorized bathroom visits in the last 2 days. How about you explain that behavior?
Actually...this is the classic "tree/forest" question. One death is a tragedy...because others around can feel it. However, when there is *no one* left around, is that tragic? One more life-form gone from the universe. Too bad, so sad. Insert 25 cents for new game.
Two quotes come to mind:
Man said to the Universe: Sir! I exist. "However", replied the Universe, "that fact has not created in me a sense of obligation" -- Stephen Crane
"The death of one man is a tragedy. That of a million is a statistic" -- (reportedly) Joseph Stalin
I can see the wave of new homework excuses hitting classrooms around the nation:
Oh I had my homework, really. I wanted to type it up to look nice, but then all those evil viruses crawled out from the keyboard and...and...it was just ghastly...oh I can't bear to continue...*sniffle*
The parent poster is quite correct. But he (or perhaps she) may not be aware of some interesting connections. The following springs to mind:
Not too long ago, in a land not terribly far away, there lived these people. Not altogether well, but they were happy...most times...like when they got home after standing in line for 4 hours and when they got to the selling point, they still had whatever item was being sold left! Or when they woke up in the morning. Sometimes little things like that can't be taken for granted. And their rulers kept telling the people that it's ok, we're all working hard for a Bright, Safe, Happy Future(tm). Because, they said, we have our great way of life that we need to share with everyone else. And because everyone will be taken care of. And because everyone has a place to work. So what was the problem? Besides the 4 am wake-up calls by jackbooted thugs, of course.
If you were a worker, no one could do jack shit to you. You could work. You could not work. You could blatantly steal whatever (so long as you were discrete, didn't get caught with too much, and it wasn't on the "banned" list, i.e. bullets, gold, military shit, etc..). Because you know what? No one cared. No one could be motivated to do anything. Because it didn't matter! Because, you see, everyone owned everything in common. Which means no one specifically owned anything. So it didn't matter if you stole pipes from where you worked so you could fix your plumbing. You know why? Cause the actual pluming department employees that should have fixed the problem had stolen their alottment of pipes for themselves. Some, to make a little extra money on the side, some to get booze, others to fix their own sinks. And so on with *everything*.
Now, some people worked really hard. They really really believed that they were building the Bright Happy Future (tm). But of course, they either disappeared thanks to anonymous "concerned" letters, or were shoved off to the sides by people with fewer compuctions, even less brains, but a much louder voice that quoted Party slogans instead of intelligent suggestions. The rulers, meantime, kept up the pressure about how we were all competing with evil "Sharks of Imperialism". To their credit, they didn't scare the shit out of everyone with "Evil Emperialist Sharks will bomb us with nuclear weapson". They just said that the evil emperialists were coming to take away our common happiness. Our wonderful Way of Life (tm).
So, in the end, the whole structure collapsed. Many got buried under the rubble, many were wounded by flying shards (can't make omlette without breaking eggs, khe khe), and some even got rich. And as was, and ever shall be, the ones who did the dieing and suffering were the same stupid people who spent all those years believing. And of course the people who got rich were the same assholes that kept selling the people that pile of shit about the Bright Happy Future(tm). Before they were all high level party bosses and KGB generals. Now they are respected leaders of forward thinking emerging democracies. Whatever. That's not the point. The point is that the whole shebang collapsed when people *really* stopped giving a shit. See the parallel, people. First, no-one gives a shit. Then people disappear. Then everyone really stops giving shit. Then they lose faith. And then you're a third world country with negative population growth.
Ok, maybe not exactly that order, but the end result is still the same. Good luck guys. You're gonna need it. And to those who missed it, I mean it sincerely - it's not worth being petty and holding grudges. Far too many people have suffered far too much for there to be any satisfaction in watching more. So, very sincerely - good luck to you.
I agree, politicians *are* way too dangerous. By your sig and comment style I have reached the tentative conclusion you are American. Are you involved in any political parties? Acting for reform? Writing political articles decrying the frauds of Mr. Bush and company? Discussing how by his actions Mr. Bush obviously does not care about public opinion, freedom, democracy, etc.. Or, conversely, how evil people are mudslinging this fine, upstanding leader. Or something else entirely. Do you do any of that?
Not everyone in this world has a "narrow field of expertise", unless watching Monday Night Football counts. Most people live regular, dull 9-5 lives. Their "narrow fields of expertise" are, at best, hobbies. This is not what I am talking about. Not to mention the fact that most of the world's population has only one "field of expertise" - trying to stay alive. If you are from a 3rd world country, your chances for having enough leisure for even a hobby are pretty slim. Not to mention developing any expertise besides survival. I'll spare you the discussion that, for some people, "surviving" means dodging cruise missles:-)
Finally, about Mr. Putin and democracy. First off, democracy is tricky. You can't just plot it down and say "here - vote!". Without the people being aware of what a representative government means, "democracy" is a euphemism for "money talks". (c.f. all Romanian elections save the last one, the Ukrainian election, etc..) Vote buying, bribing election officials, etc.. And not only by private parties, sometimes by governments. Foreign governments.
But ok, supposing we did have "total" democracy in Russia right now? In 2 seconds flat, shills like Hadarkovski and Gusinski (people who made billions by essentially stealing what they could) would elect themselves and rape the country silly.
Finally, has it ever occurred to you that "democracy" is not the be-all-and-end-all of life? That maybe, just maybe, some things are slightly more important - like preventing the country from totally collapsing into anarchy? If your grasp of Russian politics is based on CNN, let me assure you - it is *very* far from reality.
I've always been amazed at the inability of really smart people to realize certain simple truths. Specifically, when a person is really good at something, and are generally very smart, they have the hardest time comprehending that their competence in one field rarely translates into competence in an unrelated field.
As an example, you can have a very smart mathematician who believes that by virtue of his achievements in math, he is therefore competent to discuss French poetry from the Middle Ages. News flash: unless he really has studied that (somewhat arcane) field, his opinion isn't worth shit, regardless of how great a mathematician he is. What's worse, is that extreme competence in one field is often incompatible even with normal life's "common sense". Thus, said mathematician may not even be very functional as a general human being in society. Another example - consider the average slashdotter - generally quite intelligent, and (usually) technically competent. However, you would not arrive at that fact by reading many of their posts:-D. Also, their legendary inability to find a girlfriend says something about their "competence" in society.
With all due respect to Gary Kasparov as a chess master, and the regret over his retirement, I see it as troubling that he seems to have decided to go into politics. I'm not sure what it is about famous people, but sometimes their political opinions are naive verging on pathological (e.g. Britney Spears's avowed devotion to Mr. Bush, and her encouragement that people should "just trust the President"). I do sincerely hope that Kasparov's political views won't be quite as bad as that, but given the trend of his opinions that other posts have alluded to, it seems a vain hope.
There were some other cases where famous Russian intellectuals (I don't want to say celebrities, most people haven't heard of them) have spearheaded efforts to oust Putin. Usually, such actions have only caused bewilderment and disappointment to the people who once admired them (as an example, for those in the know, Bulat Okudzhava, toward the end of his life, joined a group of liberal thinkers that have decried the "atrocities" of Putin. This was a man highly respected in the bard movement of the 70's and 80's. His support for this group was seen as a sign of senility, and was rather tragic to those who loved and respected him and his work). My fear is that Kasparov will do something similar - this would be far too sad.
As you may gather, I am not one of the people that unilaterally bashes Putin over everything. To those of you who do, please do consider the political ramifications of trying to run a country that is
1) Going through a period of waking up from being a world superpower to the realization that they are a poor, troubled third world country
2) That has *no* history of democratic thought (first the Czars, then Lenin's crowd)
3) That is still seen by much of the world as a huge threat, and some of those members of the world would not be above a few not-so-subtle provocations to make life even more difficult
4) Finally, recovering from a 10 year long period of systematic pillaging of the country by less-than-scrupulous er...shall we say individuals, political and otherwise, whose sole goal was to take/steal as much money as possible while the getting was good. By the way, those were the same people who were thought to be very "liberal" and democractic. When they got caught with their hands in the till, they cried out "oh no, repression! Totalitarianism! How could you!", etc..
Oh, and to those of you who keep going on and on about how Putin was in the KGB, here's a thought: Putin was a field agent for the KGB. His involvement in this was revealed after he took a fall (it is speculated he was ordered to do so to protect another agent). On this side of the Atlantic, President Bush (father) was head of the CIA in the late 70's. I don't recall anyone bashing him over his association with the int
Actually, there *is* an answer as to "why". You simply didn't read it. From the "What are Mersenne primes? How are they useful?" section, I quote:
Finding new Mersenne primes is not likely to be of any immediate practical value. This search is primarily a recreational pursuit. However, the search for Mersenne primes has proved useful in development of new algorithms, testing computer hardware, and interesting young students in math.
There is a fundamental difference between software sold by Microsoft and software released as open source. Open source, effectively, is someone tinkering with code, and revealing everything they do, good and bad. Open source is about doing cool things cooperatively. If someone wishes to use the product - great. But then let the user beware.
Microsoft is *selling* a product. They are taking *money*. The are providing a product/service for a fee. Money being the universal exchange of value, it is expected that you receive an equivalent value. Having spent money, you should, in capitalistic principle, be allowed to hold some reasonable expectations - that is that the damn thing works.
You see the difference? Open source software is not a product. It would be like a kid in your neighborhood putting together widgets and giving them away. You can't sue for good will. *Selling* widgets, on the other hand, implies a responsibility.
So, if any precedent is set by this, it will be that software manufacturers should be liable for the mistakes they make. And frankly, it's about freaking time that was established. All this nonsense about "software is not a product you can put a warranty on" is wishful thinking at best, and softheadedness at least. If you can charge 10K for a software package, it had better be a product or the system is totally messed up.
Man have you opened up a can of worms. Everybody and their anime-watching cat is gonna have their top ten list up here. So, I'm trying to beat the rush. Here are my personal picks:
1) Cowoy Bebop (action/sci-fi) - adventures of several bounty hunters always a bit down on their luck including a former cop, a former mafia enforcer, a woman with no past, a young hacker, and a genetically modified Welsh Corgi. Probably one of the best series released in the last few years. Awesome music, probably some of the best integration of theme and form.
2) Escaflowne (fantasy/action) - a young girl Hitomi Kanzaki is sent to the mysterious world of Gaia. This world is poised on the brink of an expansionist war, and Hitomi's newly discovered powers will be instrumental in shaping the outcome. Giant robots/sword fighting/some magic. Alot of the people from Esca worked on CB.
3) The Gundam Universe (Mecha/Action). One of the biggest venues in anime. Started back in the 80's with Mobile Suit Gundam 0079, and has spawned 4 alternate universes and something like 6 series. Gundam Wing is probably the most famous of the alternatives. Mobile Suit Gudam: the 8th Mobile Suit Team is one of the best from the original series. Gundam is pretty heavy on the idea of how bad war really is and what it does to children. Gundam W. is highly political, but still very cool
4) The Slayers Universe (fantasy/comedy). Your stereotypical magical world with sorcerers, fighters, priests, and world-shattering mayham and destruction as perpetrated by an insanely powerful, but super kawaii (cute) sorceress named Line Inverse.
5) Ghibli. Everything by studio Ghibli. I'm not kidding. Anything that Miyazaki Hayao has ever touch is pretty much gold. (I know, not everything from Ghibli is Miyazaki's, but these were the good ones): My Neighbor Totoro (Tonari no Totoro), Laputa: Castle in the Sky, Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (Tani no Kaze no Nausicaa), Porco Rosso (Kurenai no Buta), Kiki's Delivery Service. Also, Grave of the Fireflies and Castle of Cagliostro.
6) Studio Gainax and Anno Hideaki. They do really fascinating, but strange stuff. The movie Wings of Honneamise is phenomenal. Also, the poster series of Gainax - "Shinsaeki Evangelion" - Neon Genesis Evangelion. Love it, hate it, but you've got to see it. I also recommend Kareshi Kanojo no Jijou (aka Kare Kano) - "His and Her Circumstances".
7) Some other random series I've liked:
Love Hina (romance/comedy) - modern retelling of the Tale of Genji. Story of a young man who tries to get into Tokyo University, but can't quite make it. While preparing, he becomes the manager of a girls' dorm, and the ensuing misadventures of Hinata Inn.
Full Metal Panic - (mecha/adventure) recent release by Gonzo digimation. Sagara Souske is a 16 year old soldier working for a shadowy organization called "Mithril". His next assignment is to protect a Japanese high school student Chidori Kaname, a young girl totally unware of her unique importance. This is also the story of what happens when a professional soldier has to deal with high school life.
Hellsing - (horror) Gonzo digimation. The story of the Hellsing organization, a group dedicated to destroying England's evil supernatural creatures, and it's main weapon - a cynical and ancient vampire called Alucard.
This list is not complete, is highly subjective and non-authoritative. Still, hope this helps and gives you some ideas.
You're right. The great thing about slashdot is that 3 years ago you would be written off as a conspiracy theorist. Now you're modded +5. I'm glad the awareness is catching on, guys. By the time you really catch on as to what's going on, it will be illegal to have this discussion. I sense a Law in the making here: By the time awareness of social injustice becomes widespread, the discussion of this injustice will be outlawed. This is declared as "trurl's law" and shall henceforth be copyrighted in all respective venues and relevant applications. The right to quote it, in unaltered form is hereby granted in perpetuity. No member of, or employee or stockholder of, the following organizations may quote this law under penalty of punitive fines: The Motion Picture Association of America, the Recording Industry Association of America, AOL/Time Warner, the government of the United States.
Looking at the discussion and some of the posted quotes, I get the impression she's a highly paid public troll-whore. If a slashdot reader posted anything like this, he would be modded down to -100 (too dumb to exist). Her comments are imprudent, violent, and intentionally provocative. An official institution would find it inconvenient, to say the least, to have their name associated with this sort of inflammatory demagoguery.
Everyone is angry at what she said - which is probably exactly what she wanted to achieve. She's just shooting into the trees to see what nuts fall out. Kudos to the people who contributed to the discussion calmly, btw. That's the only way you can fight someone like this. I'm not saying we can ignore her - she's voicing the inner thoughts of the people who are passing such laws as the Patriot Act. But remember what she is - she is just a troll. If anything, her comments have the intellectual validity of the "hot grits", "goatsex", and "naked and petrified" posts.
Slashdot Mirror
uhm.... RIAA are *not* her constituents. A corporation is not a voter. Nor is a media conglomerate, or whatever (RI/MP)AA is.
So no. Those are not her constituents. Sorry.
You bring up an *excellent* point. The release abroad and bittorrent...are you, perchance, referring to fansubbed anime?
Whichever case, I think you may be right. It makes sense on the technical side (released before the official release). This could possibly spell the end of fansubs.
Speaking of animated films, I think there's an opportunity here for a new direction in anime:
1) The Schoolkids genre - our hero is a high school boy with mystical powers. He is periodically posessed by the spirit of a patent examiner who can defeat software patent applications by pointing out prior art.
2) The Mecha genre - to get a patent accepted, corporations must defeat their opponents in a fight with giant robots. The hero belongs to an elite Anti-Software-Patent team that uses superior technology to destroy the evil corporate patent-bots.
3) The Magic Girl genre - the hero (necessarily a young girl) finds a magic briefcase, that, when opened, transforms her (in a suitably protracted and enticingly revealing transformation sequence) into a young woman who is a patent attorney fighting (pro bono) against corporate software patents in court on behalf of the EFF.
4) The Magic genre - patents are actually spells woven by powerful and evil corporate patent-conjurers. The hero is a young man who awakens to his power as a patent-sourcerer. He must fight a sequence of increasingly difficult battles, starting with a local software company, and ultimately challenging the most powerful patent-conjurers of all - the Emperor of Microsoft's personal mages - the dreaded cordaukar!
5) The Historical Drama - set in Japan's Sengoku Jidai (the Era of the Country at War), the story follows the adventures of an open-source ronin who is constantly attacked by evil samurai who have abandoned the Code of Bushido for the Corporate Mission Statement.
6) The Romance genre - the hero (an anti-software-patent comp. sci. student) falls in love with a young woman, who, unbenkownst to him is actually studying to be a software patent lawyer!
7) The Fighting genre - this one should be obvious. Like the Mecha genre, except that battles are fought between martial artists. The hero is a young punk who does not believe in all the martial arts codes - he is a street fighter, there to challenge the sanctity of the software-patent-sponsored "traditional" martial artists.
8) and finally, what everyone's been waiting for - the Hentai Genre! - patents are actually monsters from another dimension, whose only purpose in life is to get entrance into this one to have their unspeakable way with innocent young high-school girls (described in highly graphic endless detail). The heroine must "fight" the monster-patents to destroy them and make the world safe for....open-source developers.
We can count on certain highlights in this movement - for instance a suitably confusing and existential exploration of the the inner life of a software patent attorney directed by Hideaki Anno, a movie called "Ghost in the Brief" directed by Mamoru Oshii, and a soundtrack by the ever-brilliant Yoko Kanno. Look forward to it!
microsoft.com has released a PDF covering the history of online sado-masochism. Interesting trivia include the first recorded use of an Intercal interpreter in a webbrowser, and server-side VBscripting. The usual reviews of IIS version 234.33.5.8.83.stable are included, with pretty pictures of performance trumping apache. An interesting read, if you're into that sort of thing.
Ok, he's not up to Jar-Jar levels, but that announcer that's doing the voiceovers (the idiot that's saying "The Jedi Must Unite!") in that peppy Beverly Hills voice....just needs to go. Seeing him used for a demonstration of what happens when wookies lose would be very pleasing. Bet he wouldn't be so peppy anymore: "On May 19, my arms will fight the Ultimate Battle! Staying in their sockets! Ahhh!".
/.'s reaction to Star Wars news.
Yes this is OT. Please mod it down to make way for all that insightful, stirring, unbiased and original commentary that is
Ahh, thank you very much for the link. You're right, it would be better for them to list the bottom categories. Can't be that hard - just a sort in the reverse order.
This is one of the least commented stories that I've seen on /. Also, the percentage of troll posts is almost 50%. Some kind of record maybe (well, assuming average /. aren't trolls :-) )
On a semi-serious note: are there any "top" lists for slashdot stories - i.e. most comments, fewest comments, most active discussion (most posts within some time period), stuff like that? I did google for this, but perhaps my google-fu is not strong today.
If there's not, it would be cool to have it.
....hehehe but if you get some smooth-looking doctor with a convincing manner and kindly eyes to say "Arsenic - the choice for the political generation", and run a series of TV ads saying "My doctor said 'Arsenic'", we'll be all good :-D
Well, this sounds like a slightly calmer discussion (I admit I was a bit forceful). You make good points, so let's see what we can do :-)
:-) (Not saying that you're like them, these are just entities that would want similar functionality). Incidentally, to make any such measures effective, you'd need reciprocal laws in all/most countries. The Internet, after all, is a global phenomenon. Do you honestly feel such a legal change is attainable, or even a good idea? Heterogeneity is good - it makes spreading stupidity harder. :-)
/. (so I'm going to do it anyway :-) )
You're correct in that "a good plan today is better than a perfect plan tomorrow". However, here's my concern: aren't you trying to solve a problem that can't be solved without the ultimate "Big Brother" Internet - the benefits of the solution would be far outweighed by the costs and ramifications of the solution. Once certain information is released, it's released. Period. You can't undo a compromise of confidentiality. If some item of information "foo" is so incredibly secret that it *must* be removed, then whoever wanted to know "foo" already knows. Someone who does not care about "foo" doesn't care if it's out there or not. So what's left is just personally embarassing things. Things you'd rather not have someone else see, but that aren't that critical. Should they be removable at your request - maybe. But again, how? Maybe you could convince google to get rid of it, but you can't hunt down every individual site that might conceivably have that data. Or scour every individual torrent/irc/dc/ftp/hard drive etc.. lest it contain that data. Well, you could, if you had *everything* controlled by that entity, which, by your own admission would likely be abused. Btw, I'm sure that the (MP|RI)AA would love your idea
As an ideal, your idea isn't bad per se. I see no way of implementing it, however, that could be done in any reasonable fashion without compromising so much else. And from a practical standpoint - do you honestly think that in the current state of the US court system we need another law which would lead to more "suit/countersuit" potential? Given that you can already get sued for everything under the sun? Plus, if the government can sue people to remove stuff, then you'd have even more fun, e.g. "You can't publish those pictures of dead US soldiers in Iraq because....because... we don't want you to, that's why". Sure, you can appeal...hehe. Most won't. Which would be bad.
As to your concluding point - I fully realize that those "hack and slash" naturalists were not only cutting down foliage. They also hit a few of their own fellows and a few million indians. I'm fully aware of that. I don't advocate that sort of behavior, times are supposedly a bit different today. Still, that's our heritage. That's how we got where we are today. Whatever else, it makes people strong. Much as I hate to appeal to the original point of discussion, 5-6 generations later, those people want the government's ok on the garbage they post online! I think this shows that things have been taken a bit too far. As far as the role of government in a free society....oh brother, that's something that can't be rolled into a few paragraphs, even on
I can only point out that the credibility of the current style of government isn't worth the spit it takes to discuss it. The "usually only interferes" part is, sadly, a bit laughable today. Government has *never* been trustworthy, but things really seem to be getting worse nowdays. (Also remember please - governments exist not to serve their citizens, or even to protect them against themselves. Governments exist to perpetuate their own existence. This is why they react badly to any change.) More freedoms can be infringed upon with less oversite now that at many times before. The whole legal infrastructure is changing in this direction. Perhaps saying that "all censorship is bad"
This article sounds like a schoolkid's taunt:
"Nah nah na nah nah-nah, you caaan't kill me!"
*bang, bang*
Wrong.
I must disagree with your arguments. You speak from the position of enlightened hopefullness - you hope anonymous bureaucrats won't take things too far, since you would not yourself (you feel). This is the sort of cowed, wishful thinking that got us the Department of Homeland Security.
This is, at heart, a question of scale. In how many cases is the release of "private" information by bloggers 1) possible, 2) not remediable under existing laws? Answer: damn little. Potential for rediculous escalation and abuse of power? Certain.
Let consider some examples: some disgruntled employee goes and whines in his blog about his boss, and publishes his home address on the page, with the implication that someone should go and egg the boss's house. Ok. How many people will seriously do that just because they read that on the web? Maybe a few - but they would be looking for trouble in any event, and this is simply a different focal point. Vandalism is an offence. If they get caught, there will be some legal trouble, and the boss has to garden hose his house for a bit. Case settled.
Another, more serious case: someone with access to medical records finds info on a person they don't like and publish it. Now it's on the web, i.e. for everyone to see. This is serious. Serious enough that the offended person can have recourse to full strength of laws about privacy and god knows what else (IANAL). The person is sued, fired from his condifential job, and probably become unemployable. Troubling for the victim - yes. But if they take action within the civil, personal scope, ultimately self-correcting. It's true that the person who would think of violating their professional ethics to this extent is already highly unbalanced, should not have been employed there, and the Internet facilitates (but by no means is the sole cause/avenue) for such behaviour. However, that's the reality of the changing world - more info available nearly-instantly to everyone.
Now your solution. "'checked' censorship". Checked by whom?! "Who watches the watchers" isn't a new question - it's as old as sin. The Romans even knew about it. As you have pointed out, the censorship is difficult. Read: unenforceable. How in the world are you going to do this: hire more federal employees to check every online forum and post? Have the Department of Online Blogging? Only blogs hosted by the Feds are legal? Signing up to their account? What are you talking about? This is about as rational as Argentina requiring IP records for 10 years on all connections. It's beyond delusional.
The most disturbing thing is that people are in favor of government supervision in things that they don't even know about. This is "Big Daddy White Father Knows Best" attitude at it's finest. This is what the pioneer descendants of Lewis and Clark have turned into? A country of savage surviving badasses that hacked and slashed their way across the country, worked, sweated and died as rugged individualists, *this* is what they've become? A people in favor of having some pencil-neck bureaucrat in a Washington Office Ok-ing the publication of even the garbage that they post online? What next? The Office of Bathroom Permission? Yes, Citizen 8849393, you may visit the bathroom now. Citizen 4921993 - you have made 3 unauthorized bathroom visits in the last 2 days. How about you explain that behavior?
Oh my country! What have you done to yourself!
Actually...this is the classic "tree/forest" question. One death is a tragedy...because others around can feel it. However, when there is *no one* left around, is that tragic? One more life-form gone from the universe. Too bad, so sad. Insert 25 cents for new game.
Two quotes come to mind:
Man said to the Universe: Sir! I exist.
"However", replied the Universe, "that fact has not created in me a sense of obligation" -- Stephen Crane
"The death of one man is a tragedy. That of a million is a statistic" -- (reportedly) Joseph Stalin
Snowcrash partially concerns that very idea. Some nasty side-effects though :-)
I can see the wave of new homework excuses hitting classrooms around the nation:
Oh I had my homework, really. I wanted to type it up to look nice, but then all those evil viruses crawled out from the keyboard and...and...it was just ghastly...oh I can't bear to continue...*sniffle*
The parent poster is quite correct. But he (or perhaps she) may not be aware of some interesting connections. The following springs to mind:
Not too long ago, in a land not terribly far away, there lived these people. Not altogether well, but they were happy...most times...like when they got home after standing in line for 4 hours and when they got to the selling point, they still had whatever item was being sold left! Or when they woke up in the morning. Sometimes little things like that can't be taken for granted. And their rulers kept telling the people that it's ok, we're all working hard for a Bright, Safe, Happy Future(tm). Because, they said, we have our great way of life that we need to share with everyone else. And because everyone will be taken care of. And because everyone has a place to work. So what was the problem? Besides the 4 am wake-up calls by jackbooted thugs, of course.
If you were a worker, no one could do jack shit to you. You could work. You could not work. You could blatantly steal whatever (so long as you were discrete, didn't get caught with too much, and it wasn't on the "banned" list, i.e. bullets, gold, military shit, etc..). Because you know what? No one cared. No one could be motivated to do anything. Because it didn't matter! Because, you see, everyone owned everything in common. Which means no one specifically owned anything. So it didn't matter if you stole pipes from where you worked so you could fix your plumbing. You know why? Cause the actual pluming department employees that should have fixed the problem had stolen their alottment of pipes for themselves. Some, to make a little extra money on the side, some to get booze, others to fix their own sinks. And so on with *everything*.
Now, some people worked really hard. They really really believed that they were building the Bright Happy Future (tm). But of course, they either disappeared thanks to anonymous "concerned" letters, or were shoved off to the sides by people with fewer compuctions, even less brains, but a much louder voice that quoted Party slogans instead of intelligent suggestions. The rulers, meantime, kept up the pressure about how we were all competing with evil "Sharks of Imperialism". To their credit, they didn't scare the shit out of everyone with "Evil Emperialist Sharks will bomb us with nuclear weapson". They just said that the evil emperialists were coming to take away our common happiness. Our wonderful Way of Life (tm).
So, in the end, the whole structure collapsed. Many got buried under the rubble, many were wounded by flying shards (can't make omlette without breaking eggs, khe khe), and some even got rich. And as was, and ever shall be, the ones who did the dieing and suffering were the same stupid people who spent all those years believing. And of course the people who got rich were the same assholes that kept selling the people that pile of shit about the Bright Happy Future(tm). Before they were all high level party bosses and KGB generals. Now they are respected leaders of forward thinking emerging democracies. Whatever. That's not the point. The point is that the whole shebang collapsed when people *really* stopped giving a shit. See the parallel, people. First, no-one gives a shit. Then people disappear. Then everyone really stops giving shit. Then they lose faith. And then you're a third world country with negative population growth.
Ok, maybe not exactly that order, but the end result is still the same. Good luck guys. You're gonna need it. And to those who missed it, I mean it sincerely - it's not worth being petty and holding grudges. Far too many people have suffered far too much for there to be any satisfaction in watching more. So, very sincerely - good luck to you.
This is the only way in which they can be "ahead" of Google - be the first to reach the Happy Networking Grounds.
Ok, I'll bite.
:-)
I agree, politicians *are* way too dangerous. By your sig and comment style I have reached the tentative conclusion you are American. Are you involved in any political parties? Acting for reform? Writing political articles decrying the frauds of Mr. Bush and company? Discussing how by his actions Mr. Bush obviously does not care about public opinion, freedom, democracy, etc.. Or, conversely, how evil people are mudslinging this fine, upstanding leader. Or something else entirely. Do you do any of that?
Not everyone in this world has a "narrow field of expertise", unless watching Monday Night Football counts. Most people live regular, dull 9-5 lives. Their "narrow fields of expertise" are, at best, hobbies. This is not what I am talking about. Not to mention the fact that most of the world's population has only one "field of expertise" - trying to stay alive. If you are from a 3rd world country, your chances for having enough leisure for even a hobby are pretty slim. Not to mention developing any expertise besides survival. I'll spare you the discussion that, for some people, "surviving" means dodging cruise missles
Finally, about Mr. Putin and democracy. First off, democracy is tricky. You can't just plot it down and say "here - vote!". Without the people being aware of what a representative government means, "democracy" is a euphemism for "money talks". (c.f. all Romanian elections save the last one, the Ukrainian election, etc..) Vote buying, bribing election officials, etc.. And not only by private parties, sometimes by governments. Foreign governments.
But ok, supposing we did have "total" democracy in Russia right now? In 2 seconds flat, shills like Hadarkovski and Gusinski (people who made billions by essentially stealing what they could) would elect themselves and rape the country silly.
Finally, has it ever occurred to you that "democracy" is not the be-all-and-end-all of life? That maybe, just maybe, some things are slightly more important - like preventing the country from totally collapsing into anarchy? If your grasp of Russian politics is based on CNN, let me assure you - it is *very* far from reality.
I've always been amazed at the inability of really smart people to realize certain simple truths. Specifically, when a person is really good at something, and are generally very smart, they have the hardest time comprehending that their competence in one field rarely translates into competence in an unrelated field.
:-D. Also, their legendary inability to find a girlfriend says something about their "competence" in society.
As an example, you can have a very smart mathematician who believes that by virtue of his achievements in math, he is therefore competent to discuss French poetry from the Middle Ages. News flash: unless he really has studied that (somewhat arcane) field, his opinion isn't worth shit, regardless of how great a mathematician he is. What's worse, is that extreme competence in one field is often incompatible even with normal life's "common sense". Thus, said mathematician may not even be very functional as a general human being in society. Another example - consider the average slashdotter - generally quite intelligent, and (usually) technically competent. However, you would not arrive at that fact by reading many of their posts
With all due respect to Gary Kasparov as a chess master, and the regret over his retirement, I see it as troubling that he seems to have decided to go into politics. I'm not sure what it is about famous people, but sometimes their political opinions are naive verging on pathological (e.g. Britney Spears's avowed devotion to Mr. Bush, and her encouragement that people should "just trust the President"). I do sincerely hope that Kasparov's political views won't be quite as bad as that, but given the trend of his opinions that other posts have alluded to, it seems a vain hope.
There were some other cases where famous Russian intellectuals (I don't want to say celebrities, most people haven't heard of them) have spearheaded efforts to oust Putin. Usually, such actions have only caused bewilderment and disappointment to the people who once admired them (as an example, for those in the know, Bulat Okudzhava, toward the end of his life, joined a group of liberal thinkers that have decried the "atrocities" of Putin. This was a man highly respected in the bard movement of the 70's and 80's. His support for this group was seen as a sign of senility, and was rather tragic to those who loved and respected him and his work). My fear is that Kasparov will do something similar - this would be far too sad.
As you may gather, I am not one of the people that unilaterally bashes Putin over everything. To those of you who do, please do consider the political ramifications of trying to run a country that is
1) Going through a period of waking up from being a world superpower to the realization that they are a poor, troubled third world country
2) That has *no* history of democratic thought (first the Czars, then Lenin's crowd)
3) That is still seen by much of the world as a huge threat, and some of those members of the world would not be above a few not-so-subtle provocations to make life even more difficult
4) Finally, recovering from a 10 year long period of systematic pillaging of the country by less-than-scrupulous er...shall we say individuals, political and otherwise, whose sole goal was to take/steal as much money as possible while the getting was good. By the way, those were the same people who were thought to be very "liberal" and democractic. When they got caught with their hands in the till, they cried out "oh no, repression! Totalitarianism! How could you!", etc..
Oh, and to those of you who keep going on and on about how Putin was in the KGB, here's a thought: Putin was a field agent for the KGB. His involvement in this was revealed after he took a fall (it is speculated he was ordered to do so to protect another agent). On this side of the Atlantic, President Bush (father) was head of the CIA in the late 70's. I don't recall anyone bashing him over his association with the int
Actually, there *is* an answer as to "why". You simply didn't read it. From the "What are Mersenne primes? How are they useful?" section, I quote:
Finding new Mersenne primes is not likely to be of any immediate practical value. This search is primarily a recreational pursuit. However, the search for Mersenne primes has proved useful in development of new algorithms, testing computer hardware, and interesting young students in math.
There is a fundamental difference between software sold by Microsoft and software released as open source. Open source, effectively, is someone tinkering with code, and revealing everything they do, good and bad. Open source is about doing cool things cooperatively. If someone wishes to use the product - great. But then let the user beware.
Microsoft is *selling* a product. They are taking *money*. The are providing a product/service for a fee. Money being the universal exchange of value, it is expected that you receive an equivalent value. Having spent money, you should, in capitalistic principle, be allowed to hold some reasonable expectations - that is that the damn thing works.
You see the difference? Open source software is not a product. It would be like a kid in your neighborhood putting together widgets and giving them away. You can't sue for good will. *Selling* widgets, on the other hand, implies a responsibility.
So, if any precedent is set by this, it will be that software manufacturers should be liable for the mistakes they make. And frankly, it's about freaking time that was established. All this nonsense about "software is not a product you can put a warranty on" is wishful thinking at best, and softheadedness at least. If you can charge 10K for a software package, it had better be a product or the system is totally messed up.
Man have you opened up a can of worms. Everybody and their anime-watching cat is gonna have their top ten list up here. So, I'm trying to beat the rush. Here are my personal picks:
1) Cowoy Bebop (action/sci-fi) - adventures of several bounty hunters always a bit down on their luck including a former cop, a former mafia enforcer, a woman with no past, a young hacker, and a genetically modified Welsh Corgi. Probably one of the best series released in the last few years. Awesome music, probably some of the best integration of theme and form.
2) Escaflowne (fantasy/action) - a young girl Hitomi Kanzaki is sent to the mysterious world of Gaia. This world is poised on the brink of an expansionist war, and Hitomi's newly discovered powers will be instrumental in shaping the outcome. Giant robots/sword fighting/some magic. Alot of the people from Esca worked on CB.
3) The Gundam Universe (Mecha/Action). One of the biggest venues in anime. Started back in the 80's with Mobile Suit Gundam 0079, and has spawned 4 alternate universes and something like 6 series.
Gundam Wing is probably the most famous of the alternatives. Mobile Suit Gudam: the 8th Mobile Suit Team is one of the best from the original series. Gundam is pretty heavy on the idea of how bad war really is and what it does to children. Gundam W. is highly political, but still very cool
4) The Slayers Universe (fantasy/comedy). Your stereotypical magical world with sorcerers, fighters, priests, and world-shattering mayham and destruction as perpetrated by an insanely powerful, but super kawaii (cute) sorceress named Line Inverse.
5) Ghibli. Everything by studio Ghibli. I'm not kidding. Anything that Miyazaki Hayao has ever touch is pretty much gold. (I know, not everything from Ghibli is Miyazaki's, but these were the good ones): My Neighbor Totoro (Tonari no Totoro), Laputa: Castle in the Sky, Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (Tani no Kaze no Nausicaa), Porco Rosso (Kurenai no Buta), Kiki's Delivery Service. Also, Grave of the Fireflies and Castle of Cagliostro.
6) Studio Gainax and Anno Hideaki. They do really fascinating, but strange stuff. The movie Wings of Honneamise is phenomenal. Also, the poster series of Gainax - "Shinsaeki Evangelion" - Neon Genesis Evangelion. Love it, hate it, but you've got to see it. I also recommend Kareshi Kanojo no Jijou (aka Kare Kano) - "His and Her Circumstances".
7) Some other random series I've liked:
Love Hina (romance/comedy) - modern retelling of the Tale of Genji. Story of a young man who tries to get into Tokyo University, but can't quite make it. While preparing, he becomes the manager of a girls' dorm, and the ensuing misadventures of Hinata Inn.
Full Metal Panic - (mecha/adventure) recent release by Gonzo digimation. Sagara Souske is a 16 year old soldier working for a shadowy organization called "Mithril". His next assignment is to protect a Japanese high school student Chidori Kaname, a young girl totally unware of her unique importance. This is also the story of what happens when a professional soldier has to deal with high school life.
Hellsing - (horror) Gonzo digimation. The story of the Hellsing organization, a group dedicated to destroying England's evil supernatural creatures, and it's main weapon - a cynical and ancient vampire called Alucard.
This list is not complete, is highly subjective and non-authoritative. Still, hope this helps and gives you some ideas.
You're right. The great thing about slashdot is that 3 years ago you would be written off as a conspiracy theorist. Now you're modded +5. I'm glad the awareness is catching on, guys. By the time you really catch on as to what's going on, it will be illegal to have this discussion. I sense a Law in the making here: By the time awareness of social injustice becomes widespread, the discussion of this injustice will be outlawed. This is declared as "trurl's law" and shall henceforth be copyrighted in all respective venues and relevant applications. The right to quote it, in unaltered form is hereby granted in perpetuity. No member of, or employee or stockholder of, the following organizations may quote this law under penalty of punitive fines: The Motion Picture Association of America, the Recording Industry Association of America, AOL/Time Warner, the government of the United States.
Looking at the discussion and some of the posted quotes, I get the impression she's a highly paid public troll-whore. If a slashdot reader posted anything like this, he would be modded down to -100 (too dumb to exist). Her comments are imprudent, violent, and intentionally provocative. An official institution would find it inconvenient, to say the least, to have their name associated with this sort of inflammatory demagoguery.
Everyone is angry at what she said - which is probably exactly what she wanted to achieve. She's just shooting into the trees to see what nuts fall out. Kudos to the people who contributed to the discussion calmly, btw. That's the only way you can fight someone like this. I'm not saying we can ignore her - she's voicing the inner thoughts of the people who are passing such laws as the Patriot Act. But remember what she is - she is just a troll. If anything, her comments have the intellectual validity of the "hot grits", "goatsex", and "naked and petrified" posts.