Its stupid, and purely a cultural thing. The American legal system is based on English Common Law, but our law diverged some 300-odd years ago to include Puritanical moires of virtue and vice; a sort of Prudish Penal Code, and it stuck around to be deeply ingrained in our culture. Having Charles I kick the Puritans asses out of England was probably a really good idea, as that prudish sort of cultural bent was somehow dissipated in old world common law and values because of their expulsion. It might be explained quite simply as our culture is just too young with regard to some moral aspects of society. We're talking about a culture that is really around 400 years old at best and very much more mature 2000+ year old culture in Europe. Certainly some things are going to be better developed over there, such a more adult attitude to nudity. A lot of people here though do believe that the only reason its a big deal here is because prudish people make it a big deal.
"Try talking about how all cops are pigs and deserve to die when there are police around."
And btw- you don't know what your talking about. That happens all the time. Yeah, sometimes the cops go rogue and bash skulls. If that happens, they almost always get run over the coals, drummed out of the cop business, or worse. There's no magic wall that springs up and prevents injustice here. Its a process. Which apparently you folks across the pond can't talk about, or something.
"That is what Europeans find so bizzare about Americans."
So when the ACLU takes rogue cops to court for "our own bullshit we believe" we should be like Europe and tell them they don't have a right to talk about these injustices? You do not have any kind of lock on "what's right". When bad shit goes down here, people can at least talk about it and take action. Apparently, in Europe, such action might hurt someone's feelings.
So you're saying that they're licensing h264 for free now, only to pull the rug out from under implementors and re-instate the license at some future date? Sounds pretty far-fetched.
"As a brit who lived in the US for several years you ought to try it before making comments like that. Remember that the freedom to say something does not imply freedom from the consequences of saying it and if those consequences are severe enough to put you off saying what you think do you really have true freedom of speech?
Even if I weren't an American who's lived in Europe (amd Asia) for many years I still feel eminently qualified to ask you: Isn't it possible that there can possibly be consequences for things you have not said or done yet this (really unique) attitude you're espousing can lead to completely innocent people being taken to court? Does the old adage "Sticks and stones" really hold no weight with you people? Do you really believe that not being allowed to say what you want make your society better? I really feel bad for you, you don't even seem to understand this rather simple but important political freedom. For all the things you might say about American society, my freedom to write "President Obama sucks" is considered so sacred here I can't even describe it. And you refuse to understand it even a little. That is what Americans find so bizarre about Europeans.
That would have been cool if he had shot at the server with a MAC-10 like Jason Mewes shot at a winged Ben Affleck in "Dogma" yelling "Suck a duck!". Of course, you really don't need a reason to machine-gun Ben Affleck. Hey, maybe the guy looked at the server but saw Ben Affleck?
"Really, if you feel the need to put a plot twist in your movie at least make it clever and new, if it's the same plot twist that's been used oh so many times before then it'll just annoy the audience..."
Umm, by definition, if its clever and new, its not "the same plot twist that been used oh so many times before". I'm glad your so willing to give Hollywood a pass. I prefer that they ear my money, and frankly, its been a while since they've been able to do that. "Inception" does. First film in some time.
"There's really a trend in going all "That movie sucks!" against every popular movie, and I'm getting tired of it."
Just because a film is popular doesn't mean its good. A predictable story line surely means the film's producers are void of any original thought and are simply after your money by exploiting your fan-boy nature. Humans sucking up a planet's resources and generally being the villains is tired, old, and not very interesting anymore. I'm glad you dismissed the original story argument; but I'd make a comparison that much closer than Pocahotass- an animated film from 1992 titled "Ferngully". Avatar == Ferngully, but with special effects for the fan-boys. The difference here is that Ferngully was absolutely terrible whereas Pocahotass was a little more interesting. But then again, Ferngully was for the kiddies, while Pocahotass was for the older kiddies.
"'The RIAA would strongly prefer informal agreements inked with intermediaries... We're working on [discussions with broadband providers], and we'd like to extend that kind of relationship--not just to ISPs, but [also to] search engines, payment processors, advertisers..."
He essentially believes New Media and the Digital Economy owes the RIAA a living, and wants to change legislation to make this happen. Hopefully legislators tell him he's off his rocker.
"...has always had the problem of the double edged sword because it always had to serve Sun..."
Not exactly sure what you mean by "serve", and even so, not sure how that was a problem. Of course OpenSolaris needed to compatible with Sun products, it was a SUN effort, why shouldn't it run the Sun library of products? How exactly was that a problem? OpenSol suffered from a slight lack of interest, really. And I mean slight. Lots of folks liked the idea of an OSS Solaris, I'm just exactly sure there was a real need for it. Of course some are going to disagree with me, but honestly, for all the wonder and mystery of OpenSolaris; the universe will shed a single tear and move on. The world wasn't exactly beating Sun's door down for another flavor of Unix. But having some kind of problem? Not any more so than the problems the other Unoids have.
Your story is a good one, and certainly on point, but you kind of remind me of back when I was in school; this was around 1976 or so, and my aptitude was Mathematics. I had a top of the line Keiffel & Esser trigonometric slide rule, and relied on it quite a bit. I still amaze people today with my demonstrations with a slide rule (not the same one). But the very next year I was given an HP led calculator for Christmas. I kept the slide rule around because I just knew I'd need it if I was out of batteries for the calc or whatever. I stuck it away in a draw, ready for use. I never used it, not once. I went off to college, and left it in that drawer. I don't think I touched one again until years later when I saw an old Picket bamboo model in Japan (I was an ESL teacher for a few years after college.) The point is, yes, a back up plan is good, but technology can't save people from being stupid. The article mentions hikers who hit the emergency button on a satellite because their water tasted salty. I don't think all the desalinization equipment in the world would have kept them from hitting that button anyway.
"I think the problem with Linux is that those who develop it push their philosophy too much and refuse to give room for other philosophies..."
That's an entirely bizarre statement given that the open philosophy that is the backbone of the Linux movement. Which philosophies have been snuffed out by the OSS community? There's only one reason Valve or EA or any big players won't produce games for Linux, $$$. User base is not large enough. There's no technical or philosophical reason to not produce games for Linux, none at all. If you can put Quake Arena on Linux, you can put any other game on it.
Your right. If it read "wife" I'd have been a little confused as well. He always struck me as a bit of a flamer. Very nice- I loved his show, but he just seemed like he would have responded if some one yelled "Mary!" on the set.
Slashdot Mirror
"Only at the mercy of the USPS which has an absolute monopoly over mail delivery in the US."
Which of course explains why the USPS is sinking like a lead balloon.
Where in the world did you get "superior" out of all that? You're seeing things.
Its stupid, and purely a cultural thing. The American legal system is based on English Common Law, but our law diverged some 300-odd years ago to include Puritanical moires of virtue and vice; a sort of Prudish Penal Code, and it stuck around to be deeply ingrained in our culture. Having Charles I kick the Puritans asses out of England was probably a really good idea, as that prudish sort of cultural bent was somehow dissipated in old world common law and values because of their expulsion.
It might be explained quite simply as our culture is just too young with regard to some moral aspects of society. We're talking about a culture that is really around 400 years old at best and very much more mature 2000+ year old culture in Europe. Certainly some things are going to be better developed over there, such a more adult attitude to nudity. A lot of people here though do believe that the only reason its a big deal here is because prudish people make it a big deal.
No, real hackers turn off that stupid "Help" background process.
'63. Get off of MY lawn.
"Try talking about how all cops are pigs and deserve to die when there are police around."
And btw- you don't know what your talking about. That happens all the time. Yeah, sometimes the cops go rogue and bash skulls. If that happens, they almost always get run over the coals, drummed out of the cop business, or worse. There's no magic wall that springs up and prevents injustice here. Its a process. Which apparently you folks across the pond can't talk about, or something.
"That is what Europeans find so bizzare about Americans."
So when the ACLU takes rogue cops to court for "our own bullshit we believe" we should be like Europe and tell them they don't have a right to talk about these injustices? You do not have any kind of lock on "what's right". When bad shit goes down here, people can at least talk about it and take action. Apparently, in Europe, such action might hurt someone's feelings.
So you're saying that they're licensing h264 for free now, only to pull the rug out from under implementors and re-instate the license at some future date? Sounds pretty far-fetched.
"As a brit who lived in the US for several years you ought to try it before making comments like that. Remember that the freedom to say something does not imply freedom from the consequences of saying it and if those consequences are severe enough to put you off saying what you think do you really have true freedom of speech?
Even if I weren't an American who's lived in Europe (amd Asia) for many years I still feel eminently qualified to ask you: Isn't it possible that there can possibly be consequences for things you have not said or done yet this (really unique) attitude you're espousing can lead to completely innocent people being taken to court? Does the old adage "Sticks and stones" really hold no weight with you people? Do you really believe that not being allowed to say what you want make your society better? I really feel bad for you, you don't even seem to understand this rather simple but important political freedom. For all the things you might say about American society, my freedom to write "President Obama sucks" is considered so sacred here I can't even describe it. And you refuse to understand it even a little. That is what Americans find so bizarre about Europeans.
But the receiver cord is broken.
That would have been cool if he had shot at the server with a MAC-10 like Jason Mewes shot at a winged Ben Affleck in "Dogma" yelling "Suck a duck!". Of course, you really don't need a reason to machine-gun Ben Affleck. Hey, maybe the guy looked at the server but saw Ben Affleck?
"How exactly can a film be "popular" and not "good"?
You've got to be kidding me. Just because something is popular doesn't necessarily mean its of good quality. You're funny.
"Really, if you feel the need to put a plot twist in your movie at least make it clever and new, if it's the same plot twist that's been used oh so many times before then it'll just annoy the audience..."
Umm, by definition, if its clever and new, its not "the same plot twist that been used oh so many times before". I'm glad your so willing to give Hollywood a pass. I prefer that they ear my money, and frankly, its been a while since they've been able to do that. "Inception" does. First film in some time.
Uh, subject to opinion of course, but The Usual Suspects wasn't that good either. Try Goodfellas for a truly awesome film.
A fan boy says:
"There's really a trend in going all "That movie sucks!" against every popular movie, and I'm getting tired of it."
Just because a film is popular doesn't mean its good. A predictable story line surely means the film's producers are void of any original thought and are simply after your money by exploiting your fan-boy nature. Humans sucking up a planet's resources and generally being the villains is tired, old, and not very interesting anymore. I'm glad you dismissed the original story argument; but I'd make a comparison that much closer than Pocahotass- an animated film from 1992 titled "Ferngully". Avatar == Ferngully, but with special effects for the fan-boys. The difference here is that Ferngully was absolutely terrible whereas Pocahotass was a little more interesting. But then again, Ferngully was for the kiddies, while Pocahotass was for the older kiddies.
Yep...
"'The RIAA would strongly prefer informal agreements inked with intermediaries... We're working on [discussions with broadband providers], and we'd like to extend that kind of relationship--not just to ISPs, but [also to] search engines, payment processors, advertisers..."
He essentially believes New Media and the Digital Economy owes the RIAA a living, and wants to change legislation to make this happen. Hopefully legislators tell him he's off his rocker.
Millions of dollars & thousands of lives later, they figure it out.
What do you expect from an OS that has a default color scheme that's very much like the livery of a clown car?
~drum roll~
Google, Youtube, Facebook, Wikipedia, & Yahoo. No surprises.
"...has always had the problem of the double edged sword because it always had to serve Sun..."
Not exactly sure what you mean by "serve", and even so, not sure how that was a problem. Of course OpenSolaris needed to compatible with Sun products, it was a SUN effort, why shouldn't it run the Sun library of products? How exactly was that a problem? OpenSol suffered from a slight lack of interest, really. And I mean slight. Lots of folks liked the idea of an OSS Solaris, I'm just exactly sure there was a real need for it. Of course some are going to disagree with me, but honestly, for all the wonder and mystery of OpenSolaris; the universe will shed a single tear and move on. The world wasn't exactly beating Sun's door down for another flavor of Unix. But having some kind of problem? Not any more so than the problems the other Unoids have.
After the Jobs one.
Your story is a good one, and certainly on point, but you kind of remind me of back when I was in school; this was around 1976 or so, and my aptitude was Mathematics. I had a top of the line Keiffel & Esser trigonometric slide rule, and relied on it quite a bit. I still amaze people today with my demonstrations with a slide rule (not the same one). But the very next year I was given an HP led calculator for Christmas. I kept the slide rule around because I just knew I'd need it if I was out of batteries for the calc or whatever. I stuck it away in a draw, ready for use. I never used it, not once. I went off to college, and left it in that drawer. I don't think I touched one again until years later when I saw an old Picket bamboo model in Japan (I was an ESL teacher for a few years after college.)
The point is, yes, a back up plan is good, but technology can't save people from being stupid. The article mentions hikers who hit the emergency button on a satellite because their water tasted salty. I don't think all the desalinization equipment in the world would have kept them from hitting that button anyway.
"I think the problem with Linux is that those who develop it push their philosophy too much and refuse to give room for other philosophies..."
That's an entirely bizarre statement given that the open philosophy that is the backbone of the Linux movement. Which philosophies have been snuffed out by the OSS community? There's only one reason Valve or EA or any big players won't produce games for Linux, $$$. User base is not large enough. There's no technical or philosophical reason to not produce games for Linux, none at all. If you can put Quake Arena on Linux, you can put any other game on it.
You said something about writing to an api is better. There is no lack of apis in linux. You're still an idiot.
Your right. If it read "wife" I'd have been a little confused as well. He always struck me as a bit of a flamer. Very nice- I loved his show, but he just seemed like he would have responded if some one yelled "Mary!" on the set.