I was until you showed me that. I can recall reading an article two years ago on the subject, in Foreign Affairs or the New Republic, I think, that stated that we had not signed it for those reasons. This website, however, lists us as having signed it since the 1970s. I'm going to go dig up that magazine when I get off of work.
What nation still hasn't signed the Biological Weapons Convention treaty, despite being the ONLY industrial nation not to do so? THE US!
Yup. We develop the weapons and refuse to stop because of the pharmaceutical industry and the KILLING they make off of germ warfare (and its side products, vaccines and medicine). Welcome to America.
I just wanted to say that I don't like the term "hacker" thrown in with this logo. Although real "hackers" would most likely use it, in the public's mind "hacker" = "cracker" = "criminal." That's not such a good thing.
In other words, it'd be a goofy thing script kiddies placed on their websites and would bring horrible, negative publicity every time the evening news picked up one of them who'd just written MSBlaster 2.0 and was going to jail for it.
"Next on Fox... teen hacker in latest virus scare apprehended... his website bore the famous "Hacker" logo that also appears on notorious "hacker-friendly" computer operating systems like Linux and *BSD. And now, a word from our sponsor, Microsoft! Proudly hacker-logo free since 2004!"
Now now, Dubya isn't a product of Texas. He's a product of old money Eastern prep school education. All he ever did in Texas was fsck things up -- our baseball teams, our political system, the oil industry in Midland...
Unless you (or your water source) lives in that desert, and said "corrosion-proof containers" have only been certified by "independent firms" hired by the waste control plant, there isn't much harm.
But my hometown lies 15 miles from Waste Control Services, and the plant sits right on top of the Ogalalla Aquifer from which the entire region pumps its water. The "corrosion proof containers" are metal barrels buried in a cement-lined pit. Along with the radioactive material are "non-corrosive" substances like old batteries and various forms of chemical, petroleum and medical waste. To top all this off, some "stabilized" napalm has been added to the mix as garnish.
Taken separately, these things are not harmful. Properly encased by well-trained robots in impervious material, these things are not harmful. But... packaged by overworked, underpaid, undereducated laborers in the cheapest material available with security checks run by firms hired out by the company to be yes-men, dumped together en masse in a cement pit, I'd say these things have the possibility for a big ka-boom.
So... to answer your question -- avoid West Texas at all costs.
But Napster 2 sucks. There was a review on/. the other day, and the poor reviewer couldn't get his machine to stop crashing when he attempted to open it. Plus, Windoze users seem to have taken to iTunes like a duck to water (my girlfriend is probably buying music right now). iTunes is here to stay, and I wouldn't be surprised if it had a monopoly on pay-for-play services within a year.
Actually, it can. There is an option during the Mandrake install where it will let you go through and pick out exactly which software packages you want. If that sounds tedious (which it is, but hey... this is your computer we're talking about. She deserves your time!) you can install large "groups" of software, like editors, development programs, graphics, multimedia... so that Joe Schmoe can pick out KMail, Xine, XMMS, Mozilla and maybe Abiword, and go about his web-surfing, pr0n downloading, movie and music-filled computer experience, but I can go and fetch vi, the latest version of GCC, the Gimp and every little package I want.
Like I said... the "Discovery" package makes it simple for Windows-raised users to jump in to Linux. The problem is that Mandrake is going to been seen as the "wussy" distro or the "non power-user" distro and that's a shame, because it can be those types of distros if the user so desires. Mandrake's 2-3 disc install is deceiving, too. The third disc is the "international" disc, which is really nothing more than some language files and translators. All the apps come in discs 1 and 2. The overall install of Mandrake is surprisingly small, comparted to distros like Debian.
And I'm not sure if there is a network install feature for Mandrake yet, but I'll bring it up to the club. But if you're worried about Mandrake putting more 'ware than you want on there, don't.
I've always said that Mandrake would be the distro to cause MS users to seriously consider switching. I started my Linux oddysey on Mandrake (hell, I still use it!) and fully believe that it offers the widest spectrum of a Linux experience.
The average user can get it working right out of the box (or download). That's something you can't say for most Linux installs -- or even some Windows installs. The hardware support is phenomenal.
And the ease of use doesn't have to detract from its power -- Mandrake gives you plenty of choices, from a fully-loaded, app-laden KDE or Gnome interface to light, fast WMs like Fluxbox. And best of all, it's Linux, pure and simple, so that all our favorite apps are still there.
I originally switched away from Mandrake because of the poor package management they used to have, but the implementation of urpmi in 9.1 convinced me to scrap my Debian install for Mandrake. Package management is a breeze once you get your sources configured. It's still not as developed as apt, but at least it doesn't break things the way apt is wont to.
Mandrake is Linux's best hope for widespread adoption.
Re:thank gawd I can't drink
on
Skittlebrau
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· Score: 1
This is odd. The college mock trial case this year involves a hockey player who died as a result of polycystic kidney disease. I think I will now attempt to argue that this was in fact caused by his overconsumption of Skittlebrau.
Because generally, users give consent in some form to spyware. Remember the last time you installed AOL IM for your little brother or sister, and at the end of the install, you were offered a free "once-in-a-lifetime" chance to cash in on that helpful Bonzai Buddy/Gator/GAIN software that AOL was nice enough to include with their product? Well, you and I may know that the "free deal" is a bad thing, but Joe 56k-Modem thinks "Hey, if it's good enough for AOL, it's good enough for me!" and goes ahead with the install, which then makes him agree to the license which lets them do this.
It's more or less the same thing that happens with a Microsoft EULA. You agree to it, so it's not illegal anymore. I'd be curious to see what would happen to a virus writer who included a EULA with his next e-mail worm. Since mostly stupid people open those e-mail attachments anyway, a little box popping up with "OK" and "Cancel" and a license agreement might be a nice little legal loophole.
Please be advised that I am not advocating the wanton destruction and/or infection of Microsoft systems. They'll do so on their own if you watch 'em long enough.
Positive press for not deciding to include a trojan with their software? Wow... that's like thanking a criminal because their crime could have been worse. "Only mugged and robbed that old lady, eh? Well thanks for not killing her! Here's a medal!"
Wha? Microsoft hasn't much choice on sitting and letting Linux be a better OS -- it already is, in terms of scalability, portability, development and security. OK, so major software developers (IE game developers, photo/video/sound editing suites and of course, Microsoft) choose to develop for the MS platform, but only from a business model standpoint. Microsoft's business practices have allowed them to take over an undue share of the computer market, and so companies would be senseless to devote a lot of time and energy to smaller markets. But that's changing -- more and more people are seeing the value of open source software. As soon as Linux/BSD/etc gain more desktop share (and it will happen, Microsoft's efforts be damned) then developers will start developing for them.
And as for OSS UI design, when's the last time you looked at popular Linux desktop environemts like KDE or Gnome? They all share certain similarities with Windows. Perhaps you are speaking of the command-line interface? I don't know much about you kiddies who grew up in the GUI, but back when I was first learning my way around a computer there was no Windows... just DOS. Even at work, when I'm using OS X, I do most of my work from the terminal because to an experienced user, the command line is a faster interface than the GUI. No need having to waste processer power to do nifty little animations. If every "new" user started out on Linux, then they wouldn't be afraid of it. What happens is that Microsoft grabs everyone early (schools, libraries, etc) and people become attached to MS. It's like a security blanket.
My Mandrake 9.1 system beats the shit out of my XP system as far as from pressing the on button to logging in. Maybe it's the fact that XP loads too much crap at startup, I don't know... but XP's boot time is slower than old cheese through an AC's grandma.
And what the hell? This is Linux, my man! You only need to boot it once a week or so! Most of the time, anyway.
Being an electronic musician, I've been recording with various different pieces of software since I was sixteen!
Fruity Loops is a good starting point because it teaches the basics of step sequencing (beat-box style programming) and lets people start making good tracks right out of the box.
Reason is the ultimate in soft-synth sound generation. I don't know a single producer who uses software who doesn't love Reason. It's pricey, but worth it.
There is also a lot of good high-end music production software out there, many of it with great MIDI controllers like the Oxygen 8 or the Ozone. I use a combination of direct-recording hardware tools (a nice, high-end sound card, Line 6 direct recording equipment) to hook up my instruments (guitars, synths, beatboxes, etc) and a combination of Sound Forge and Reason to generate my loops. I can then arrange and mix them in Acid or Fruityloops. Fruityloops serves as my backup generator for certain drum and bass parts, but overall, my setup is pretty stripped down.
But if you really want professional studio quality digital recording, MIDI sequencing and mixing, get ProTools. It's like God.
No, but the US Penal Code provides that they can be charged with murder in the third degree, negligent homicide. After knowing that there were significant structural problems, and then disregarding them, they were criminally negligent. It'd be moderately difficult to prove this beyond a reasonable doubt, which is why I'm guessing charges haven't been brought forth.
I am just baffled by the sheer number and really wonder how they came up with that list.
Behold.
A dark room somewhere in the bowels of a Washington, DC, office.
Alright sir, just a few questions... Are you white? No. Are you Christian? Nope. Did you vote for Bush? Nope. Well, three strikes and you're out. Put Mr. Zamir on the list.
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Yup. We develop the weapons and refuse to stop because of the pharmaceutical industry and the KILLING they make off of germ warfare (and its side products, vaccines and medicine). Welcome to America.
In other words, it'd be a goofy thing script kiddies placed on their websites and would bring horrible, negative publicity every time the evening news picked up one of them who'd just written MSBlaster 2.0 and was going to jail for it.
"Next on Fox... teen hacker in latest virus scare apprehended... his website bore the famous "Hacker" logo that also appears on notorious "hacker-friendly" computer operating systems like Linux and *BSD. And now, a word from our sponsor, Microsoft! Proudly hacker-logo free since 2004!"
To Microsoft, does it really matter?
So uhm... not at all? Great. Got it. BAD FSCKING IDEA!!!!
My bandwitdh hurts...
But my hometown lies 15 miles from Waste Control Services, and the plant sits right on top of the Ogalalla Aquifer from which the entire region pumps its water. The "corrosion proof containers" are metal barrels buried in a cement-lined pit. Along with the radioactive material are "non-corrosive" substances like old batteries and various forms of chemical, petroleum and medical waste. To top all this off, some "stabilized" napalm has been added to the mix as garnish.
Taken separately, these things are not harmful. Properly encased by well-trained robots in impervious material, these things are not harmful. But... packaged by overworked, underpaid, undereducated laborers in the cheapest material available with security checks run by firms hired out by the company to be yes-men, dumped together en masse in a cement pit, I'd say these things have the possibility for a big ka-boom.
So... to answer your question -- avoid West Texas at all costs.
Like I said... the "Discovery" package makes it simple for Windows-raised users to jump in to Linux. The problem is that Mandrake is going to been seen as the "wussy" distro or the "non power-user" distro and that's a shame, because it can be those types of distros if the user so desires. Mandrake's 2-3 disc install is deceiving, too. The third disc is the "international" disc, which is really nothing more than some language files and translators. All the apps come in discs 1 and 2. The overall install of Mandrake is surprisingly small, comparted to distros like Debian.
And I'm not sure if there is a network install feature for Mandrake yet, but I'll bring it up to the club. But if you're worried about Mandrake putting more 'ware than you want on there, don't.
The average user can get it working right out of the box (or download). That's something you can't say for most Linux installs -- or even some Windows installs. The hardware support is phenomenal.
And the ease of use doesn't have to detract from its power -- Mandrake gives you plenty of choices, from a fully-loaded, app-laden KDE or Gnome interface to light, fast WMs like Fluxbox. And best of all, it's Linux, pure and simple, so that all our favorite apps are still there.
I originally switched away from Mandrake because of the poor package management they used to have, but the implementation of urpmi in 9.1 convinced me to scrap my Debian install for Mandrake. Package management is a breeze once you get your sources configured. It's still not as developed as apt, but at least it doesn't break things the way apt is wont to.
Mandrake is Linux's best hope for widespread adoption.
It beats my old plan of the Chewbacca defense.
It's more or less the same thing that happens with a Microsoft EULA. You agree to it, so it's not illegal anymore. I'd be curious to see what would happen to a virus writer who included a EULA with his next e-mail worm. Since mostly stupid people open those e-mail attachments anyway, a little box popping up with "OK" and "Cancel" and a license agreement might be a nice little legal loophole.
Please be advised that I am not advocating the wanton destruction and/or infection of Microsoft systems. They'll do so on their own if you watch 'em long enough.
When it's up and running you can be my Zaurus and I are going to be there.
And as for OSS UI design, when's the last time you looked at popular Linux desktop environemts like KDE or Gnome? They all share certain similarities with Windows. Perhaps you are speaking of the command-line interface? I don't know much about you kiddies who grew up in the GUI, but back when I was first learning my way around a computer there was no Windows... just DOS. Even at work, when I'm using OS X, I do most of my work from the terminal because to an experienced user, the command line is a faster interface than the GUI. No need having to waste processer power to do nifty little animations. If every "new" user started out on Linux, then they wouldn't be afraid of it. What happens is that Microsoft grabs everyone early (schools, libraries, etc) and people become attached to MS. It's like a security blanket.
Linux/OSS is the future.
I paid 99 dollars for a shitty OS that I only use for music and MS Office? Yeah that'd be it.
And what the hell? This is Linux, my man! You only need to boot it once a week or so! Most of the time, anyway.
Fruity Loops is a good starting point because it teaches the basics of step sequencing (beat-box style programming) and lets people start making good tracks right out of the box.
Sonic Foundry's Sound Forge and Acid are also good programs for loop recording arranging -- the best I've seen in the low-end home user market.
Reason is the ultimate in soft-synth sound generation. I don't know a single producer who uses software who doesn't love Reason. It's pricey, but worth it.
There is also a lot of good high-end music production software out there, many of it with great MIDI controllers like the Oxygen 8 or the Ozone. I use a combination of direct-recording hardware tools (a nice, high-end sound card, Line 6 direct recording equipment) to hook up my instruments (guitars, synths, beatboxes, etc) and a combination of Sound Forge and Reason to generate my loops. I can then arrange and mix them in Acid or Fruityloops. Fruityloops serves as my backup generator for certain drum and bass parts, but overall, my setup is pretty stripped down.
But if you really want professional studio quality digital recording, MIDI sequencing and mixing, get ProTools. It's like God.
Disclaimer: Mac users I'm only joking. I'm a member of the iCult too. ;-)
No, but the US Penal Code provides that they can be charged with murder in the third degree, negligent homicide. After knowing that there were significant structural problems, and then disregarding them, they were criminally negligent. It'd be moderately difficult to prove this beyond a reasonable doubt, which is why I'm guessing charges haven't been brought forth.
Behold.
A dark room somewhere in the bowels of a Washington, DC, office.
Alright sir, just a few questions... Are you white? No. Are you Christian? Nope. Did you vote for Bush? Nope. Well, three strikes and you're out. Put Mr. Zamir on the list.