What is wrong with parents these days??? Seems like there are only two kinds: the ones that beat/harm their children and the ones that wish to act like they never had any children! Parent's like these are no better than drug addicted parents who mix meth in their house with their 3month old playing at their feet. Put the gadgets down, talk with your kids, or given them up for adoption.
They can definitely shut off your service (thus turning your TiVo into a brain dead PVR), but I still think they are the ones who can sue under the DMCA. While the content (TV show, movie, etc) is not their legal property, they did produce the file that exists on the TiVo and on the user's computer once transfered. The whole reason for the encryption was to prevent the files being shared, thus a form of copyright protection. It's a stretch, but with the current US legal system it's not hard to see TiVo wining a case like this.
But that is easily solved: have them submit both a "pretty" document and an ASCII document. That way, the computer can crunch the ASCII document and the PHB can choose to print out the pretty document if they interview the person. These days, if there is a person who only reads resumes, their job is hanging by a thread. Computers are MUCH faster and cost a lot less.
IANAL, but from my understanding it can summed up as: the MPAA/ABC/CBS/etc can't sue them for this (they didn't put the protection in place), but TiVo certainly can!
Why not skip all this formatting crud and simply ask for ASCII. That way, the document is already in an easily parsed format and allows the employer to use search functions and keywords to identify potential interviewees.
I've found myself doing that once or twice long ago. I pretty much ignored my girlfriend for a few weeks back in the spring of 2005 when WoW was really starting to take off. But all it took was one go whap upside from said girlfriend to help me re-prioritize things. Now she comes before WoW, always. But even the best of people can make a stupid mistake and recover from it.
You just listed the exact reasons why there aren't more law suites in Canada by the Canadian arm of the RIAA. The laws up north actually protect the average citizen, not an out-dated business model. Here in the US, it's just the opposite with citizens viewed as potential criminals and all businesses as victims. I too am proud of whoever tricked the RIAA with the "pirate tax" legislation. We'd try something like that down here in the States, but no one has bought off enough Congress Critters to actually get an amendment like that passed.
I think it has more to do with the legal system in Canada being different than here in the US (disclaimer: I know NOTHING of the Canadian legal system, I'm just assuming it is different). Have you heard of many Canadians being sued by the Canadian equivalent of the RIAA? How about people in other countries such as Greece? Or in Africa? Or Japan? Seems like most we hear about is massive suing in the US and nowhere else. I do think that means only people in the US pirate *cough*AllofMP3.com*cough*. Its more of an indication of the legal system and how the RIAA has found ways to get it changed in their favor.
Offtopic: anything more than $0 (even Canadian dollars) is too much to be 'reasonable' for a 'pirate tax'. You are right though, if they start charging for the pirated songs, we all better go out and get some pirated songs, else the RIAA is simply stealing our money.
The point is, those cables are 100% gravy to the retailers. They charge you $100 for that HDMI cable because they can.
That was my whole point. Unless you do more than 5 minutes of research online you'll most likely buy one of those $100 HDMI cables at the same store you are buying your $2000 HDTV. What's another $100 on a $2000 TV?
Yes, there are plenty of places that carry cheap HDMI cables, but not the BestBuys et al that sell all the large TV's (at least around where I live).
I just did a quick search on Amazon.com (so I by no means have a complete list with prices), shows the first HDMI cable (not a male-to-male or converter) going for around $40. This is not a monster cable, just a no-name brand. The monster cable was $100+.
My point? HDMI cables cost A LOT, even at the low end. And most stores that I've checked (again, not a complete list) don't care more than one or two brands, usually the $75 to $100 versions.
This is sooooooooooo true! I've recently started my first full-time, salaried job after completing my masters, and I don't pull the overtime card much. The majority of the days I'm working ~40 hours a week and producing great work (IMHO).
But, there is a different way to view this OT issue. There are times when my group needs to finish a project on time in order for a second group to deliver their project on time. If we slip, they slip. When it's getting close to tape-out time, it makes sense to put in as much effort as you can to get the project down. This is balanced by my manager being very understanding when I need to work from home or when I just need to take a person day (with my gf;)). When the work level is low or the project is not due for several more months, people can do standard 40 hour weeks and even less if they need (as long as they keep producing results).
I am so with you on this!! People seem to be using the "Net Neutrality" boogyman to push their own agendas, even if those agendas are completely contradictory! For example, TFA (which I haven't read btw) seems to take the stance that the current setup allows for online games to receive higher priority than other traffic (which I doubt very much). Under Net Neutrality, everything would run at the same speed, irregardless of available bandwidth capacity and latency. But I always thought Net Neutrality meant 'keep things the way they are', ie, don't let Comcast and Verizon charge extortion fees to companies like Google to prevent their outbound traffic from being given the bandwidth and latency of a 3600 baud modem while giving their own offerings the highest level of priority possible.
The whole scheme is just badly defined, by both sides, and it is really hard to fight the FUD when the FUD seems to take on new shapes (but keeps the same names) depending on the source and their agenda.
From what I have read and saw from the video, he was not fighting the police. The actually stopped him when he was trying to leave. Yes, he became belligerent and yelled when he didn't need to, but that is zero reason for using force on someone. Now, if he had been physically resisting the cops he would have deserved that tazzing. But only the first one. You obviously don't know what a tazzer is. It overwhelms the central nerves system and muscles, rendering the person incapacitated. That means extreme pain and unable to move. You use that to stop a violent person so you can then drag him away without him resisting. The guy was tazzered and then they demanded he get up and leave. Of course he won't be able to do this, he had been incapacitated! To think he could just shows how dumb the cops (and you) truly are. Maybe if he had been high on PCP he would have needed a couple of tazzings to subdue him, but even then you don't expect the guy to get up afterwards. You cuff him and then drag him out. They didn't and instead tortured him.
I nothing but respect for people who put themselves in harms way to protect other people. However, I have zero respect for people who abuse their power, including police. You have the power to inflict harm on other people, but that doesn't mean you are not held accountable for those actions. A cop receiving a broken nose from a violent person is not a good thing, but neither is using excessive force on a person who isn't violent just because you can.
I think you are confusing anti-American GOVERNMENT sentiment with anti-American PEOPLE sentiment. Oh, and don't forget, we built the Internet. We were there first. We laid the groundwork and did the first R&D. It was only later that other countries started to get involved. And at any point in those phases, they could have suggested these changes. Instead, they wait until the house it built and everyone else it hanging their family pictures to complain about the choice of land and demand everyone start over. The changes will come, but they will have to be slower and more tested now since they didn't speak up in the beginning.
Yes, countries that use non-English characters should be able to interact with the rest of the world using their natural language. No, they shouldn't rush the change and risk a possible crash of a large portion of the Internet. Be patient young patawans, soon you will be able to have DNS names with any character you can think of, but it will be reliable and actually work.
You know, I forgot my wallet one day last week. I never forget my wallet, it has all my most important items (ID, credit card, cash, etc). But I still forgot it one morning on my way out the door to work. If a cop had pulled me over, I would have been in a huge pile of trouble, simply for driving without my ID. Now I believe that most people are honest, decent people, which includes your average police officer. There could have been a chance that if I calmly explained that I forgot my wallet he could have let me off with just a warning. But I'm also white and dressed in casual business attire, so that could influence the way people deal with me. Now imagine that instead of being white, I was Black or Arab. Do you think I would get the same warning or would I get the ticket? I don't know, it's hard to predict peoples' behavior. But stories like this make me think that a minority would not be given much leniency by the police. Now add in someone who is late to work and maybe a bit belligerent to authority figures, and there would be a damn good chance of not only getting the ticket, but getting arrested and thrown in jail for most of the day. All because I/they forgot their wallet one time.
My point? People can forget things, even very important items such as IDs. Not everyone has had good experiences with police/authority figures, and that clouds their interactions with them in the future. Did he deserve that first tazzing? I don't know, I wasn't there. But I and anyone who understand what a tazzer does knows that tazzing him 4 more times for not getting up after the first tazzing is just idiotic and crossed the line into police brutality. I hope those cops are fired and get slapped with both a federal crime charge and a lawsuit from the student. He could have been nicer, but they basically tortured him and should suffer the consequences of their actions.
But we get back to the crutch of the problem: how do you teach solving problems if you ignore the big issue of the language used to solve the problem. Not all languages are created equal or target at the same applications/problems. Perl is a great language for parsing text, but it would be idiotic to try and code an operating system with it. Yes, you should never spend valuable class time teaching specific programing languages over problem solving skills. But don't forget, 4 years provides a lot of time to teach. A class that focuses on the major procedural programing languages, such as C, would be time well spent in my opinion. When I took classes like that, it was never "just C" or "just Java". Other concepts such as OOP were also covered with Java and other basic CS concepts such as searching.
Let's be realistic. Yes, you need a very good foundation in theory so you can be 'future proof', but if you don't have a good basis in several different languages, all the theory in the world won't help you in your career. Unless you can put all the theory into practice, your nothing but a 'thought worker', you know the kind of people who just sit around and 'think' and never 'do'. Should you only learn the latest programing language or fad style? Hell no! But to say you shouldn't focus on teaching languages such as C, C++, Java (great OOP intro language IMHO) is just foolhardy. You need languages like C++ because it is so ubiquitous in programming professions. You should also learn Perl, C#, Pascel, Cobol, Haskel (shutter), and yes even languages such as VB and JavaScript. The more languages you know, the better your toolkit is for putting all that nice theory into practice and delivering the right solution to the problem.
That's because there are so few CS graduates that actually can do much more than just push the data around. In my old University, the CS students took different classes than the engineering students, with focus on discrete math, statistics, and matrix math (such as methods for solving complex problems using matrices). Basically, they learned how to perform the real math that computers and programs use. Could there be more? Probably, but most higher match classes require a very good background in calculus.
So I'm having a hard time figuring out what MS is really trying to accomplish with this deal with Novell et al. Off the top of my head, I see the following possibilities:
1. The truly want to Linux and produce a very of Linux with their 'touches' and make it free like all other versions. Basically, they give up on the whole competing with Linux and instead will transition to a FOSS based kernel with a for-pay MS GUI on top. Personally, I find this option the least likely.
2. They plan to sow FUD within the Linux community. "You are in bed with MS?!?!! Then we won't work with you any more! You get software updates last!". This could be possible and is an old war tactic. It is much easier to fight your enemies (Linux people) when they are fighting themselves.
3. They plan to inject just enough of their IP into the Linux world to take it over using the legal system. Hard to achieve, but they do have very deep pockets.
Anyone have any other evil plans that they could be cooking up?
Those are what I refer to as "political democrats". They don't really believe in anything, they just want power. The best way to get power is to find an issue that makes people afraid (playing video games will make little Billy kill people at school) and tell them you are the only one with a plan to 'fix' the problem. Both dems and reps do this, so it is nothing new. Personally, if the DNC decided to run Hilary Clinton for Prez in '08, I wouldn't vote for her, and neither would a majority of the registered democrats. She's the worst of the power grabbers; no real beliefs, just a desire for power.
At both a political and philosophical level, I completely agree with you. However, when I take the reality of the situation here in the US into account, I see that your method can only be implemented in one way: lots and lots of blood shed (hi FBI!). You see, the current political powers in this country (Republicans and Democrats) will never implement the type of system you describe because it would effectively end their reigns of power. They would never again be able to "control" the government to the level that we current see. Since the system will not correct itself, we would have to fall back on the fail-safe the founding fathers built into the Constitution: the second amendment.
In the end, the framers of our government knew that if the system ever became so corrupt, so distorted, so far-gone that it could not be corrected through new laws and/or government representatives, the people would have to rise up and re-take the government (hi again FBI!). I would NEVER do this (so relax FBI), I'm just saying that in the end it would take a new revolution to change the government from what is currently is. Jefferson himself warned us against political parties and said it would be the downfall of our government. Personally, I believe he was right.
Yes, from a legal standpoint they have just 'opened' up the flood waters. If you sensor even one message/data/item/etc passing through a system under your control, you loose common carrier/neutral party status and are held liable for everything that now occurs. Why do you think/. editors do not edit comments posted here? As soon as they did, they would be held liable for all the comments/. users make and would be open to lawsuits. Right now, Verizon can be held legally responsible for every piece of warez, pr0n, child pr0n, illegal music & movies, offshore gambling traffic, etc that is traveling through even a single machine under their direct control. Quick, someone call a lawyer at the RIAA!
Slashdot Mirror
What is wrong with parents these days??? Seems like there are only two kinds: the ones that beat/harm their children and the ones that wish to act like they never had any children! Parent's like these are no better than drug addicted parents who mix meth in their house with their 3month old playing at their feet. Put the gadgets down, talk with your kids, or given them up for adoption.
They can definitely shut off your service (thus turning your TiVo into a brain dead PVR), but I still think they are the ones who can sue under the DMCA. While the content (TV show, movie, etc) is not their legal property, they did produce the file that exists on the TiVo and on the user's computer once transfered. The whole reason for the encryption was to prevent the files being shared, thus a form of copyright protection. It's a stretch, but with the current US legal system it's not hard to see TiVo wining a case like this.
But that is easily solved: have them submit both a "pretty" document and an ASCII document. That way, the computer can crunch the ASCII document and the PHB can choose to print out the pretty document if they interview the person. These days, if there is a person who only reads resumes, their job is hanging by a thread. Computers are MUCH faster and cost a lot less.
IANAL, but from my understanding it can summed up as: the MPAA/ABC/CBS/etc can't sue them for this (they didn't put the protection in place), but TiVo certainly can!
Why not skip all this formatting crud and simply ask for ASCII. That way, the document is already in an easily parsed format and allows the employer to use search functions and keywords to identify potential interviewees.
I've found myself doing that once or twice long ago. I pretty much ignored my girlfriend for a few weeks back in the spring of 2005 when WoW was really starting to take off. But all it took was one go whap upside from said girlfriend to help me re-prioritize things. Now she comes before WoW, always. But even the best of people can make a stupid mistake and recover from it.
You just listed the exact reasons why there aren't more law suites in Canada by the Canadian arm of the RIAA. The laws up north actually protect the average citizen, not an out-dated business model. Here in the US, it's just the opposite with citizens viewed as potential criminals and all businesses as victims. I too am proud of whoever tricked the RIAA with the "pirate tax" legislation. We'd try something like that down here in the States, but no one has bought off enough Congress Critters to actually get an amendment like that passed.
I think it has more to do with the legal system in Canada being different than here in the US (disclaimer: I know NOTHING of the Canadian legal system, I'm just assuming it is different). Have you heard of many Canadians being sued by the Canadian equivalent of the RIAA? How about people in other countries such as Greece? Or in Africa? Or Japan? Seems like most we hear about is massive suing in the US and nowhere else. I do think that means only people in the US pirate *cough*AllofMP3.com*cough*. Its more of an indication of the legal system and how the RIAA has found ways to get it changed in their favor.
Offtopic: anything more than $0 (even Canadian dollars) is too much to be 'reasonable' for a 'pirate tax'. You are right though, if they start charging for the pirated songs, we all better go out and get some pirated songs, else the RIAA is simply stealing our money.
That was my whole point. Unless you do more than 5 minutes of research online you'll most likely buy one of those $100 HDMI cables at the same store you are buying your $2000 HDTV. What's another $100 on a $2000 TV?
Yes, there are plenty of places that carry cheap HDMI cables, but not the BestBuys et al that sell all the large TV's (at least around where I live).
My point? HDMI cables cost A LOT, even at the low end. And most stores that I've checked (again, not a complete list) don't care more than one or two brands, usually the $75 to $100 versions.
But, there is a different way to view this OT issue. There are times when my group needs to finish a project on time in order for a second group to deliver their project on time. If we slip, they slip. When it's getting close to tape-out time, it makes sense to put in as much effort as you can to get the project down. This is balanced by my manager being very understanding when I need to work from home or when I just need to take a person day (with my gf ;)). When the work level is low or the project is not due for several more months, people can do standard 40 hour weeks and even less if they need (as long as they keep producing results).
The whole scheme is just badly defined, by both sides, and it is really hard to fight the FUD when the FUD seems to take on new shapes (but keeps the same names) depending on the source and their agenda.
From what I have read and saw from the video, he was not fighting the police. The actually stopped him when he was trying to leave. Yes, he became belligerent and yelled when he didn't need to, but that is zero reason for using force on someone. Now, if he had been physically resisting the cops he would have deserved that tazzing. But only the first one. You obviously don't know what a tazzer is. It overwhelms the central nerves system and muscles, rendering the person incapacitated. That means extreme pain and unable to move. You use that to stop a violent person so you can then drag him away without him resisting. The guy was tazzered and then they demanded he get up and leave. Of course he won't be able to do this, he had been incapacitated! To think he could just shows how dumb the cops (and you) truly are. Maybe if he had been high on PCP he would have needed a couple of tazzings to subdue him, but even then you don't expect the guy to get up afterwards. You cuff him and then drag him out. They didn't and instead tortured him.
I nothing but respect for people who put themselves in harms way to protect other people. However, I have zero respect for people who abuse their power, including police. You have the power to inflict harm on other people, but that doesn't mean you are not held accountable for those actions. A cop receiving a broken nose from a violent person is not a good thing, but neither is using excessive force on a person who isn't violent just because you can.
I think you are confusing anti-American GOVERNMENT sentiment with anti-American PEOPLE sentiment. Oh, and don't forget, we built the Internet. We were there first. We laid the groundwork and did the first R&D. It was only later that other countries started to get involved. And at any point in those phases, they could have suggested these changes. Instead, they wait until the house it built and everyone else it hanging their family pictures to complain about the choice of land and demand everyone start over. The changes will come, but they will have to be slower and more tested now since they didn't speak up in the beginning.
Yes, countries that use non-English characters should be able to interact with the rest of the world using their natural language. No, they shouldn't rush the change and risk a possible crash of a large portion of the Internet. Be patient young patawans, soon you will be able to have DNS names with any character you can think of, but it will be reliable and actually work.
My point? People can forget things, even very important items such as IDs. Not everyone has had good experiences with police/authority figures, and that clouds their interactions with them in the future. Did he deserve that first tazzing? I don't know, I wasn't there. But I and anyone who understand what a tazzer does knows that tazzing him 4 more times for not getting up after the first tazzing is just idiotic and crossed the line into police brutality. I hope those cops are fired and get slapped with both a federal crime charge and a lawsuit from the student. He could have been nicer, but they basically tortured him and should suffer the consequences of their actions.
But we get back to the crutch of the problem: how do you teach solving problems if you ignore the big issue of the language used to solve the problem. Not all languages are created equal or target at the same applications/problems. Perl is a great language for parsing text, but it would be idiotic to try and code an operating system with it. Yes, you should never spend valuable class time teaching specific programing languages over problem solving skills. But don't forget, 4 years provides a lot of time to teach. A class that focuses on the major procedural programing languages, such as C, would be time well spent in my opinion. When I took classes like that, it was never "just C" or "just Java". Other concepts such as OOP were also covered with Java and other basic CS concepts such as searching.
Let's be realistic. Yes, you need a very good foundation in theory so you can be 'future proof', but if you don't have a good basis in several different languages, all the theory in the world won't help you in your career. Unless you can put all the theory into practice, your nothing but a 'thought worker', you know the kind of people who just sit around and 'think' and never 'do'. Should you only learn the latest programing language or fad style? Hell no! But to say you shouldn't focus on teaching languages such as C, C++, Java (great OOP intro language IMHO) is just foolhardy. You need languages like C++ because it is so ubiquitous in programming professions. You should also learn Perl, C#, Pascel, Cobol, Haskel (shutter), and yes even languages such as VB and JavaScript. The more languages you know, the better your toolkit is for putting all that nice theory into practice and delivering the right solution to the problem.
That's because there are so few CS graduates that actually can do much more than just push the data around. In my old University, the CS students took different classes than the engineering students, with focus on discrete math, statistics, and matrix math (such as methods for solving complex problems using matrices). Basically, they learned how to perform the real math that computers and programs use. Could there be more? Probably, but most higher match classes require a very good background in calculus.
1. The truly want to Linux and produce a very of Linux with their 'touches' and make it free like all other versions. Basically, they give up on the whole competing with Linux and instead will transition to a FOSS based kernel with a for-pay MS GUI on top. Personally, I find this option the least likely.
2. They plan to sow FUD within the Linux community. "You are in bed with MS?!?!! Then we won't work with you any more! You get software updates last!". This could be possible and is an old war tactic. It is much easier to fight your enemies (Linux people) when they are fighting themselves.
3. They plan to inject just enough of their IP into the Linux world to take it over using the legal system. Hard to achieve, but they do have very deep pockets.
Anyone have any other evil plans that they could be cooking up?
All that shows is that the leadership at Harvard are a bunch of gutless, spineless panderers and should be mocked, not emulated.
Those are what I refer to as "political democrats". They don't really believe in anything, they just want power. The best way to get power is to find an issue that makes people afraid (playing video games will make little Billy kill people at school) and tell them you are the only one with a plan to 'fix' the problem. Both dems and reps do this, so it is nothing new. Personally, if the DNC decided to run Hilary Clinton for Prez in '08, I wouldn't vote for her, and neither would a majority of the registered democrats. She's the worst of the power grabbers; no real beliefs, just a desire for power.
In the end, the framers of our government knew that if the system ever became so corrupt, so distorted, so far-gone that it could not be corrected through new laws and/or government representatives, the people would have to rise up and re-take the government (hi again FBI!). I would NEVER do this (so relax FBI), I'm just saying that in the end it would take a new revolution to change the government from what is currently is. Jefferson himself warned us against political parties and said it would be the downfall of our government. Personally, I believe he was right.
Yes, from a legal standpoint they have just 'opened' up the flood waters. If you sensor even one message/data/item/etc passing through a system under your control, you loose common carrier/neutral party status and are held liable for everything that now occurs. Why do you think /. editors do not edit comments posted here? As soon as they did, they would be held liable for all the comments /. users make and would be open to lawsuits. Right now, Verizon can be held legally responsible for every piece of warez, pr0n, child pr0n, illegal music & movies, offshore gambling traffic, etc that is traveling through even a single machine under their direct control. Quick, someone call a lawyer at the RIAA!