Sorry, but you shoot your own argument down in the first sentence:
"It doesn't matter if you are trying to prohibit drinking alcohol or paying someone else for sexual favors, prohibition doesn't work -- all it does is create artificial scarcity"
The goal here is to create artificial scarcity of incandescent light bulbs, not to eliminate all incandescents everywhere. If they eliminate 90% of the supply of lightbulbs then that's 90% of lightbulbs that can't be put into service wasting wattage. That's achieving their conservation goal. So in this case, prohibition does work.
Screw the user is correct. When the users can write their own polished apps that work the way they want them to, they'll get them. They're getting this code for free and the code works the way the author wants it to, if they're lucky, and the code is any good. If the users don't like it, they can go shell out for commercial software which also doesn't work the way they want it to. Then they have the recourse of not shelling out.
This is interesting. So you're saying that negative economic consequences would not impact your behavior, nor would the potential threat to your life or health if you were one of these careless people. Does this not imply that the fine should be raised to ruinous levels? Proponents of free markets always say that one should charge what the market will bear. If 200 dollars won't do it, what about 5000? If people were being bankrupted by crossing streets with mp3 players, would their behavior change? If not, does it not behoove the government to extract as much value as possible from the person to cover the presumed future taxes they won't be paying as roadkill, or to cover their future care needs if they become a disabled? Just playing devil's advocate here, I don't really support these fines at all.
When your entire system is hit by lightning, you're out replacement costs for the hardware anyway, you'll probably get a new copy of windows with it. If not, that's what customer-relations reps are for. Take a few digital pictures of your slagged system and send them in. Maybe they'll take pity. If you can yank the drive the hypothetical FrackedBox utility would help, but if it's all a melted deformed pile of goo, well, let's just say God disapproved of your software choices and decided to make an example;)
The WGA and activation crap is not a surprise. We just want it to work better; to not deny legally purchased rights to legitimate customers. Unfortunately, it's not really "our choice" as you say. I'm a Mac guy. The sole reason I run Windows software at all is to test the experience *other people* will receive with their godforsaken choice of an operating system and browser for web apps that I write. And in many cases, they didn't choose it either. Their platform was dictated to them. So I'm compelled to purchase Operating Systems I don't want due to the bad choices of other people, because I want those same unfortunates as customers despite their lack of discernment in technology. They're not going to change to my OS or browser just to use my website. If IE were truly standards-compliant, and bug-free it woudln't be an issue, but it is and requires special testing for the hobbled 90% of the market.
I'd much rather take my copy of Windows from the POS eMachines I purchased, delete it from the winbox, load linux onto the box and install Windows on my MacBook in a multiple boot scenario so I don't have to deal with two computers But the stupid hardware-keyed restore disks and partitions make it difficult to use rights I legally purchased. And I sure am not going to reward Microsoft's bad behavior by buying yet another copy of their craptastic software.
Fracking M$. Why the hell don't they just track the User? I am John Q. Public. Here is my secret authenticating token. I own 3 boxes which shipped with Windows. I am legally entitled to three computers which use Windows. Here is hard drive of serial number XYZ which had windows installed on it, and M$ recorded that to their server.. My FrackedBox utility confirms that Hard Drive of serial #XYZ fails S.M.A.R.T. testing. Therefore it should be deauthorized and I am entitled to install a fresh new copy on my new fracking hard drive, even if it happens to be situated in a completely different computer, say one that previously ran linux. Geez, it's not that hard people. With the exception of my hypothetical FrackedBox utility, this is exactly how iTunes DRM works. In iTunes the authorization and deauthorization occurs manually. The user types in his login and password and says "authorize this computer". Similarly, if you are selling the computer or putting linux on it or whatever, you deauthorize it first so those other people don't get your music and so that you free up another slot of your 5 authorizations.
This is an interesting idea, but how would we identify these irresponsible parents? Talk about the mother of all fishing expeditions. And once we have sued them, and won, now we've only made things worse for the kids who have to put up with the parents in the first place. Not only do their parents suck, but now they're poor as well, and are probably blaming the kids for their problems since they refuse to take any of their own responsibility. Sounds like a good recipe to fill the prisons.
Bah, unstable shockwave giving a pulsar its spin! Ridiculous! Pulsars obviously spin through Intelligent Exploding!
Re:The French news is the most interesting
on
UFOs In the News
·
· Score: 1
Ok, let's for a second, take your observations at face value. Some aerial vehicle, produced by no known human culture, was barnstorming in broad daylight. Now, what is the significance of this? Whoever they are, they're clearly uninterested in anything beyond a little harmless aerobatics. They don't have commercial interests. We don't have "Buy Galacto-Discs Now! by Wham-O" ads being beamed to our telescreens. They don't seem interested in invading. They don't seem interested in interacting in any substantive manner with the population as a whole, nor any significant interest in human organizational power structures, or they would be landing on the White House Lawn. If you believe the kookiest of the fringe, they seem to be interested in mauling cattle and the rectums of yokels. So from this we can deduce we are dealing with possibly perverted aerobatics pilots. So fracking what? Why would this be in any way noteworthy? Our understanding of the laws of physics tells us that the reported flight envelope of their vehicles is starkly impossible. The pilots of these craft seem unwilling to share their knowledge. If in fact, they can do the things claimed, we're not likely to be able to force it out of them. So therefore UFOs have no practical significance whatsoever, even if they do exist as advertised.
The network is the computer from the perspective of the naive user, who, when denied access to a web application due to grievous misconfiguration of his network's firewall or due to network failure calls his IT guy and says "The computer's broken". Previously the user accessed standalone apps on his unnetworked computer. He was able to do his work. Now he has moved to a web application, and he doesn't get to use his app unless the network works. So, by dividing aspects of the software application between client and server, the network has become just as much a critical component of the computer as the memory bus. And more irritating to troubleshoot as the entire end-to-end configuration of client and server connection is generally not under the control of any one technician.
'Reboot and try again' is often valid advice when dealing with technology that routinely fouls up its memory state so as to become unusable. If it's not said to the men, perhaps it should be. What do they get told, "It's broken, you're screwed!"?
Ok, walk me through this. Tomorrow's technology will be hotter, municiplalities won't be able to react, community will be stuck with dated technology, and yet for-profit enterprises will ignore this obvious and juicy underserved market? Why's that exactly? I thought the whole advantage of free markets was that they could and would react quickly to consumer demand. Why would for-profit companies be afraid of competing with such a leaden, inefficient and obsolete existing provider?
It's an interesting question. Why can't older adults learn new terms with fixed meanings? Does the fear of computers have an impact on long-term human memory or something? People rarely mistake a truck for a city bus, even though both have engines and wheels and travel on roads. SImilarly, if you show a person a hard drive and a memory dimm they will not mistake one for the other unless they have very bad eyesight or have neurological problems. But many of them mix the terms up all the time. I'm really perplexed by this. But then again I am also perplexed by people's inability to understand the concept of directory trees and 'virtual object permanence'.
Slashdot Mirror
Didn't you hear? Corporations have a fiduciary responsibility to shareholders to pwn consumers.
Sorry, but you shoot your own argument down in the first sentence:
"It doesn't matter if you are trying to prohibit drinking alcohol or paying someone else for sexual favors, prohibition doesn't work -- all it does is create artificial scarcity"
The goal here is to create artificial scarcity of incandescent light bulbs, not to eliminate all incandescents everywhere. If they eliminate 90% of the supply of lightbulbs then that's 90% of lightbulbs that can't be put into service wasting wattage. That's achieving their conservation goal. So in this case, prohibition does work.
Screw the user is correct. When the users can write their own polished apps that work the way they want them to, they'll get them. They're getting this code for free and the code works the way the author wants it to, if they're lucky, and the code is any good. If the users don't like it, they can go shell out for commercial software which also doesn't work the way they want it to. Then they have the recourse of not shelling out.
This is interesting. So you're saying that negative economic consequences would not impact your behavior, nor would the potential threat to your life or health if you were one of these careless people. Does this not imply that the fine should be raised to ruinous levels? Proponents of free markets always say that one should charge what the market will bear. If 200 dollars won't do it, what about 5000? If people were being bankrupted by crossing streets with mp3 players, would their behavior change? If not, does it not behoove the government to extract as much value as possible from the person to cover the presumed future taxes they won't be paying as roadkill, or to cover their future care needs if they become a disabled? Just playing devil's advocate here, I don't really support these fines at all.
When your entire system is hit by lightning, you're out replacement costs for the hardware anyway, you'll probably get a new copy of windows with it. If not, that's what customer-relations reps are for. Take a few digital pictures of your slagged system and send them in. Maybe they'll take pity. If you can yank the drive the hypothetical FrackedBox utility would help, but if it's all a melted deformed pile of goo, well, let's just say God disapproved of your software choices and decided to make an example ;)
The WGA and activation crap is not a surprise. We just want it to work better; to not deny legally purchased rights to legitimate customers. Unfortunately, it's not really "our choice" as you say. I'm a Mac guy. The sole reason I run Windows software at all is to test the experience *other people* will receive with their godforsaken choice of an operating system and browser for web apps that I write. And in many cases, they didn't choose it either. Their platform was dictated to them. So I'm compelled to purchase Operating Systems I don't want due to the bad choices of other people, because I want those same unfortunates as customers despite their lack of discernment in technology. They're not going to change to my OS or browser just to use my website. If IE were truly standards-compliant, and bug-free it woudln't be an issue, but it is and requires special testing for the hobbled 90% of the market.
I'd much rather take my copy of Windows from the POS eMachines I purchased, delete it from the winbox, load linux onto the box and install Windows on my MacBook in a multiple boot scenario so I don't have to deal with two computers But the stupid hardware-keyed restore disks and partitions make it difficult to use rights I legally purchased. And I sure am not going to reward Microsoft's bad behavior by buying yet another copy of their craptastic software.
Selling Saddam Hussein poison gas is hardly non-involvement by the US.
Fracking M$. Why the hell don't they just track the User? I am John Q. Public. Here is my secret authenticating token. I own 3 boxes which shipped with Windows. I am legally entitled to three computers which use Windows. Here is hard drive of serial number XYZ which had windows installed on it, and M$ recorded that to their server.. My FrackedBox utility confirms that Hard Drive of serial #XYZ fails S.M.A.R.T. testing. Therefore it should be deauthorized and I am entitled to install a fresh new copy on my new fracking hard drive, even if it happens to be situated in a completely different computer, say one that previously ran linux. Geez, it's not that hard people. With the exception of my hypothetical FrackedBox utility, this is exactly how iTunes DRM works. In iTunes the authorization and deauthorization occurs manually. The user types in his login and password and says "authorize this computer". Similarly, if you are selling the computer or putting linux on it or whatever, you deauthorize it first so those other people don't get your music and so that you free up another slot of your 5 authorizations.
"An Imperial Probe droid. Couldn't have hit it that hard, must have self-destructed." -ObHanSolo
Yeah, how are Sun and SGI doing these days?
I am so waiting for "Zany Zebra"
Sorry, you are incorrect. The Supreme Court cannot strike down a Constitutional Amendment as unconstitutional. If an Amendment is ratified, it is in the Constitution by definition. And things that are in the Constitution cannot be unconstitutional. See Amendment XVI http://www.archives.gov/national-archives-experien ce/charters/constitution_amendments_11-27.html
This is an interesting idea, but how would we identify these irresponsible parents? Talk about the mother of all fishing expeditions. And once we have sued them, and won, now we've only made things worse for the kids who have to put up with the parents in the first place. Not only do their parents suck, but now they're poor as well, and are probably blaming the kids for their problems since they refuse to take any of their own responsibility. Sounds like a good recipe to fill the prisons.
Starfleet Command 2 http://www.amazon.com/Star-Trek-Starfleet-Command- Empires/dp/B00004TSX7/ref=pd_sim_vg_1/002-4057135- 8454451 was an excellent Star Trek game. Of course it helped that it was based on an already fully-fleshed out pen and paper wargame called Starfleet Battles
Bah, unstable shockwave giving a pulsar its spin! Ridiculous! Pulsars obviously spin through Intelligent Exploding!
Ok, let's for a second, take your observations at face value. Some aerial vehicle, produced by no known human culture, was barnstorming in broad daylight. Now, what is the significance of this? Whoever they are, they're clearly uninterested in anything beyond a little harmless aerobatics. They don't have commercial interests. We don't have "Buy Galacto-Discs Now! by Wham-O" ads being beamed to our telescreens. They don't seem interested in invading. They don't seem interested in interacting in any substantive manner with the population as a whole, nor any significant interest in human organizational power structures, or they would be landing on the White House Lawn. If you believe the kookiest of the fringe, they seem to be interested in mauling cattle and the rectums of yokels. So from this we can deduce we are dealing with possibly perverted aerobatics pilots. So fracking what? Why would this be in any way noteworthy? Our understanding of the laws of physics tells us that the reported flight envelope of their vehicles is starkly impossible. The pilots of these craft seem unwilling to share their knowledge. If in fact, they can do the things claimed, we're not likely to be able to force it out of them. So therefore UFOs have no practical significance whatsoever, even if they do exist as advertised.
The network is the computer from the perspective of the naive user, who, when denied access to a web application due to grievous misconfiguration of his network's firewall or due to network failure calls his IT guy and says "The computer's broken". Previously the user accessed standalone apps on his unnetworked computer. He was able to do his work. Now he has moved to a web application, and he doesn't get to use his app unless the network works. So, by dividing aspects of the software application between client and server, the network has become just as much a critical component of the computer as the memory bus. And more irritating to troubleshoot as the entire end-to-end configuration of client and server connection is generally not under the control of any one technician.
'Reboot and try again' is often valid advice when dealing with technology that routinely fouls up its memory state so as to become unusable. If it's not said to the men, perhaps it should be. What do they get told, "It's broken, you're screwed!"?
>When will Firefox's automation capabilities match those of IE?
Now. http://www.openqa.org/selenium-ide/
ZOMG, you mean people wrote viruses for the Amiga *after* Commodore went bankrupt? Now that's what I call community-based support!
Ok, walk me through this. Tomorrow's technology will be hotter, municiplalities won't be able to react, community will be stuck with dated technology, and yet for-profit enterprises will ignore this obvious and juicy underserved market? Why's that exactly? I thought the whole advantage of free markets was that they could and would react quickly to consumer demand. Why would for-profit companies be afraid of competing with such a leaden, inefficient and obsolete existing provider?
Bah! These aren't the droids we're looking for.
It's an interesting question. Why can't older adults learn new terms with fixed meanings? Does the fear of computers have an impact on long-term human memory or something? People rarely mistake a truck for a city bus, even though both have engines and wheels and travel on roads. SImilarly, if you show a person a hard drive and a memory dimm they will not mistake one for the other unless they have very bad eyesight or have neurological problems. But many of them mix the terms up all the time. I'm really perplexed by this. But then again I am also perplexed by people's inability to understand the concept of directory trees and 'virtual object permanence'.
Same here John. Phuk the phishers, I say.
Wipe them out. All of them...
Sounds like Mutually Assured Destruction to me. The system works!