Well, as a geek, I don't find any of his stuff funny. Maybe I'm a geek of a different stripe, but I've never found Star Wars very interesting and I've never found anything on the Cartoon Network worth watching (except the occasional massively edited/censored anime). I also can't identify with the whole loser/bullied at school thing.
It might be a wake up call to some of you - chances are MOST geeks weren't locker-dwelling victims of jocks. In fact, many geeks are or were themselves jocks. And just because you're a geek doesn't mean you have to like inane and pointless drivel like a 12 minute animated series about a god damn happy meal.
I listened to his Star Wars song and didn't see the point of it. Great. So some geeks like Star Wars. He rapped about star wars. Boy, that's brilliant. I mean, I like sex, but I don't particularly care for listening to lil'john talking about skeeting on some chick's face.
And really, I doubt he's the right guy to ask about getting laid. Come on, now.
I see. I assumed that, because you could have multiple client connections to the VNC server, that it initialized a new desktop session for each. I've never needed to (or cared) to try it with VNC, so didn't know for sure.
Too bad you have to buy a physical copy of the game from a store. If you could download it and play immediately, I'd be logging in right now and giving it a shot. Even if I had to pay $20 for the download. But I'm sure not going to bother paying $50 for a box copy, wait several says, install it, find out (like every other MMORPG) that it doesn't keep me interested very long and then dump it after a couple weeks.
I seriously don't want to hurt this guy's feelings and I don't mean any offense by my comments here, but this interview is stupid.
I don't mean that MC Chris is stupid. I'm sure he's a nice enough person just out trying to make a buck and make his name doing something he enjoys. More power to him for that. I've listened to his "music" and am not at all into it (nor am I into that Aqua Teen Hunger Force thing - I watched several seasons in one sitting and only laughed one time in 30 episodes).
I just don't think Slashdot is the right venue for this sort of thing. Or, rather, I don't think he's an appropriate guest for Slashdot. Does someone only have to use ProTools and make a reference to Star Wars or 20 sided dice in order to be qualified as Slashdot/nerd/geek material or something?
Really - Shatner, Wil Wheaton, Lawrence Lessig, Neil Gaiman, TMBG (which I only consider appropriate - despite hating their band - because of the technology they put together to serve their dial-a-song) . . . and the guy who does MC PeePeePants?!
Anyway - I wasn't looking to start an argument or put this guy down at all. He's clearly a creative guy and he's pulling some work his way. That's pretty damn cool. But in seven years of Slashdotting, this is probably the least interesting interview that could have ever been done. Not at all because of MC Chris - but because I just don't see how it fits in here. At a music-oriented/behind the scenes of producing music kind of site - it'd be perfect.
I also acknowledge that I could just keep my mouth shut - but since there are a lot of rude comments about how people feel this was a poor interview choice for _this_ site (and were many such comments in the initial thread before), I thought I would throw in a more reasoned commentary on it that didn't needlessly deride anyone.
It just seems to indicate a general "mainstream" vent Slashdot has been taking in the last year, more than ever before. It's turning into Yahoo!/Wired magazine in all the undesirable ways.
Even worse is that, now, most DMVs make you sign your identification card digitally (like you do with your UPS deliveries). What's the problem with this? Well, when I signed mine at the DMV in 2000, they said "sorry, that isn't valid - sign again".
"What the hell are you talking about? Of course that's valid. That's how I sign my name."
They said that you can't sign your name with any squiggles or crossing lines. My name has a line from the first letter of my last name that slashes through the top of the other letters in my last name. They said that was not valid. So I had to sign it again, without it.
Now, how is that a big problem? Try signing for something where they require checking the signature on your photo identification. I've had people say "have you changed your signature recently?". I even had to sit at my own bank for half an hour once, while they worked out how to deal with my signature not matching - exactly - that on my card.
In other words, I have to sign my signature like the one on my identification card. But the one on my card is not my valid signature, because that's not how I sign things - nor have I ever in my entire life.
Computer usage is pointless. They should have investigated what KIND of computer usage. For example, I would agree that if your computer usage is limited to surfing chat sites, bantering on AIM (with txt-speak, even) and downloading the latest Lincoln Park album, you're probably one of the kids who would score lower on tests - not because of computer usage, but because of your mentality.
Likewise, if you learn to program, use reference sites for studying (or to find out more information on topics you broach in books, newspapers, conversations, etc) - then you're probably going to score well because of your mentality.
Computer usage itself is not the problem. How the computer is used is not the problem either - but it's a great indicator of your problems.
Hell, a decade ago, computers were not just some toy to hop on and chit-chat with while listening to the latest rap or pop song. While it was used for games, there was an enormous amount of learning, exploration and discovery going on. It was back before a time when everything was glossy, corporate and homogonized.
It's a bit like food. Saying "food makes you obese" is stupid. There's nothing wrong with food or eating. But if you eat doritos and twinkies all the time, there's a problem. Likewise, someone who takes the time to prepare and serve quality food with good ingredients and a generally healthy intention is making good use of food. They have the right mindset.
But hey, some people would rather blame "that evil computer!" than "my stupid kid!".
I usually order my games through Amazon.com. Sometimes I'll know I want a game months in advance of release and I'll place an order on it. Saves me from having to remember later.
Other times, I won't know about a game I want until it's too late to pre-order. Or I'll only decide the day it has been released that, indeed, I do want it after all. In those cases, I'm usually able to find it within one or two stops. If not, I just go online, order and wait for it to arrive.
Really, it's just a game. Who cares? It's not like I'm trying to replenish blood pressure pills before they run out or something.
Oh - and as I've mentioned before - why are you (article's author) treating your tax refund like a lottery check? That's hard-earned money that you handed to the government all year long that you should have had the foresight to claim properly so you could have put it to use, earning interest, in your own hands. Really, the way people treat refunds like a *gift* is beyond me!
I'm trying to be an adult about this and buy my PSP Value Pack with my tax refund. But they've made it so that in the gaming world -- not strictly limited to the gaming world, either -- you have to buy anything you might actually want to buy weeks or months in advance of its release. I can today, at least for the next couple hours, pay fifty dollars to "pre-order" something I will not get until Thursday no matter what. My tax check has yet to make an appearance and I've promised myself, PSPs being the sorts of things tax checks are for
I've run into this attitude before. I've dated girls who wanted to go on vacations *now*. Future and retirement be damned. More money will come from somewhere down the road, *right*?! Why plan for tomorrow, when you can squander today?
Seriously. There is so much wrong with the opening paragraph of that article, I can hardly decide where to begin. Before we have the issue of being so impatient that you can't wait awhile for the arrival of a stupid VIDEO GAME... we have the issue of you treating your tax refund like some sort of windfall. Like it's a gift from the heavens, rather than hard-earned money that you should have had your hands on the entire time rather than handing it over to the government to earn interest on throughout the year.
Really, have some patience. In fact, rather than wasting your tax refund on a stupid videogame, you could be really crazy and invest it. Or just stick it in the bank. When you're older and able to afford a life beyond that of eeking along on Social Security, you'll thank yourself. And whatever sucker has been snared into spending his life with you will thank you, too. Remember, there isn't always going to be mommy and daddy (or someone else) along to take care of all your necessities. You may have to pay for your own dinner once in awhile. You might even have to pay for your own rent, mortgage, transportation, health insurance and groceries. And those things are decidedly more important than some "PSP" (okay - granted I have no idea what a "PSP" is, but I'm presuming it's a videogame of some sort).
Of course, the frustration of the opening paragraph applies to both genders, but this is an article by a female on a female oriented gaming site, presumably wanting people to take females seriously. So... there you have it. I replied accordingly.
Well, by all means, let's bitch and moan about the old version without even trying the new version to see that the installation could not be any simpler (and is, in fact, far simpler than even MS-Office).
Um- did we put capitalism on hold here? If an ISP starts quashing VoIP traffic (or not handling it properly), consumers will, if it matters to them, move to someone who does things right. If it really matters to consumers, someone will charge a little bit more if they develop a reputation and guarantee(s), otherwise it'll be used as a tool of differentiation.
Um. Did we put our brain on hold here?
If the only highspeed provider in your area squashes competing VoIP traffic to force you to use their own VoIP service (which, interestingly, may not have even been available when you originally signed up with the other VoIP service), then exactly who will you move to?
For example, most areas only have one cable internet provider. Unless you are close enough to the CO for very high-speed DSL, cable is going to be your only bet (not to mention, high-speed DSL will still be enormously expensive in comparison).
See, capitalism works best when you have competition. In most regions, there's only one cable provider and one DSL provider (yes, more than one DSL ISP - but they all have to share the same DSL lines, usually provided by your telco).
As long as geeks are stupid enough to hand out cash, they'll be stupid enough to keep putting out these films. I, gladly, haven't seen any StarWars after Episode I. And I only watched that because I was practically forced to. I just don't see much interesting in the Star Wars saga. It's a boring, uninspired story with tired plots. At least the original three didn't really have famous actors (at the time). Now, Star Wars is even worse (as bad as it already was) because it's just a chance for famous people to get in on the game. A lot like the Batman movies.
I've seen the original three and one of the new SW films. One time. Never saw them again. No interest in seeing them again. No interest in seeing either of the most recent ones or anything that ever comes out in the future.
No, sorry. I'm not a patron of commercialized sports where a bunch of two-digit-intelligence lame-asses swing a stick at a ball and run around a diamond for $10,000,000 per year. Further, I'm offended that my tax money is being used to investigate whether or not a bunch of spoiled rich ball players are "juicing".
Speaking of realistic - isn't it a little _un_realistic to be conducting a career fair for kindergartners through fifth graders?! Christ, let 'em be kids for a little bit. Next thing you know, they'll have to pick "vocations" in junior high. That's how schools in this city started to go about a decade and a half ago. You picked "constellations" of vocations to go into. Yeah, that's great. Rather than gearing kids toward college, they geared them toward "writing" or "car mechanics" and such. Might as well start spitting out the little vocational drones early.
You have to love how they demonize everyone by using labels like "gang of internet pirates". Let's use a little less hyperbole and say "copyright infringement groups" - which is far more accurate and descriptive.
Also, I can see extradition for somethin glike murder or rape - but copyright infringement?!
How can that be? Canadians are always telling me how superior their country is and how much more respect their country has for their rights and privacy and liberal consumer copyright use. Are you telling me that... they were wrong?! *gasp*
So, how does an accusation and an accusation alone count for higher probability? I can accuse you of whatever I like, but the accusation in and of itself does not make it so. Nor does my standing in the community or in society overall itself make my accusation more or less viable than your refutation of it.
The point is, you need some sort of evidence. And there is no evidence they could possibly offer beyond some log somewhere, generated on their network, from their computers, by their employees, showing your IP and the name of a song and claiming that they downloaded and verified that you were actually hosting and distributing said content.
Since when do we take a company's (or anyone's) documentation as irrefutable proof of anything? You wouldn't look at paperwork Enron provided to a court and say "oh, well, Enron says their books are balanced and legit, so they must be on the up and up - case dismissed!".
There should be some sort of independant verification of a claim. Otherwise this is truly a witch-hunt. A case where someone accuses someone of being something and that person being lynched based souly on the accusation without any evidence, demonstration or proof that the accusation is sound. Why the courts have not understood what the industry is trying to do here and put a stop to these unethical strong-arm tactics, I can't understand.
First, is it just me or does that article come across as if part of his settlement entailed him promising to use his public position to author a "scare-em-straight" article?
Second, why aren't people going to court over these lawsuits? I don't see why you would even need a lawyer. Just go to court and say "I didn't do anything illegal. Show me proof beyond a reasonable doubt that I did."
I mean, other than a record company CLAIMING that someone at some IP address was sharing certain songs, what proof is there? If something goes missing from my garage, I can't just point a finger at a neighbor and tell the judge "no, I KNOW he took it - I saw it!". You have to have more proof than that. Something unbiased and irrefutable, preferably from an independant party.
Short of confiscating your computer, finding an installed P2P application ACTUALLY RUNNING AT THE TIME, with a configured shared directory full of copyrighted songs that you are not legally licensed to distribute and your software is actively serving them to active downloaders at the time that it is being viewed by a judge - what proof is there?
Of course, the presentation doesn't actually explain what is defined as internet addiction. How can you do a study on MMORPG related internet addiction when you haven't even defined internet addition to begin with?
Of course, there's no such thing as internet addiction anyway. As the author themselves point out, the same questions could be posed to people who spend a lot of time reading, listening to music, playing music, painting, focusing on sports, watching television, listening to talk radio or almost anything else.
Hell, I spend 50 to 80 hours per week on the computer and the internet/intranet for work alone. My job, by nature, involves the use of all three almost endlessly (except for meetings and conferences) all day. Then throw in my own personal projects that involve the computer and the internet exclusively (a couple very popular websites that I operate) and the number easily approaches 80 to 100 or more.
But, since I'm not exactly "surfing the net" (meaning, I'm not hanging out in IRC chat rooms, randomly surfing for porn or otherwise playing around) or playing an MMORPG or anything else - that means there's no addiction? It's only addiction if I'm doing it for pleasure rather than business or other non-pleasurable gain?
It's interesting that people feel so compelled to waste time researching this sort of thing. People like things. If they like them a lot, they do them a lot. For some, it may be cross-stitching. For others it may be playing music or collecting and listening to it. For some it could be reading or writing or painting. For others it may be following or playing sports. Then there are those who spend inordinate amounts of time watching movies or attending plays. Those who like to go clubbing and dancing almost every night. People who sleep around a lot. People who shop a lot and spend all their time shopping or planning to buy things. Or people obsessed with fashion.
Really, people are just so uptight about new things. It's a box with a keyboard on it. It's not fucking smack.
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There is a world of difference between sitting in a chair and staring at a monitor for 20 hours a day versus digging ditches, running IV drips, or hauling garbage for 20 hours. I just can't see much justification for complaining when our jobs involve sitting.. drinking soda... and staring at a set of CRTs.
Slashdot Mirror
Well, as a geek, I don't find any of his stuff funny. Maybe I'm a geek of a different stripe, but I've never found Star Wars very interesting and I've never found anything on the Cartoon Network worth watching (except the occasional massively edited/censored anime). I also can't identify with the whole loser/bullied at school thing.
It might be a wake up call to some of you - chances are MOST geeks weren't locker-dwelling victims of jocks. In fact, many geeks are or were themselves jocks. And just because you're a geek doesn't mean you have to like inane and pointless drivel like a 12 minute animated series about a god damn happy meal.
I listened to his Star Wars song and didn't see the point of it. Great. So some geeks like Star Wars. He rapped about star wars. Boy, that's brilliant. I mean, I like sex, but I don't particularly care for listening to lil'john talking about skeeting on some chick's face.
And really, I doubt he's the right guy to ask about getting laid. Come on, now.
I see. I assumed that, because you could have multiple client connections to the VNC server, that it initialized a new desktop session for each. I've never needed to (or cared) to try it with VNC, so didn't know for sure.
Too bad you have to buy a physical copy of the game from a store. If you could download it and play immediately, I'd be logging in right now and giving it a shot. Even if I had to pay $20 for the download. But I'm sure not going to bother paying $50 for a box copy, wait several says, install it, find out (like every other MMORPG) that it doesn't keep me interested very long and then dump it after a couple weeks.
What's wrong with the latest version of TightVNC?
A couple minutes to install the server. Even handles file transfers. Doesn't require a client (just connect through your web browser).
I seriously don't want to hurt this guy's feelings and I don't mean any offense by my comments here, but this interview is stupid.
I don't mean that MC Chris is stupid. I'm sure he's a nice enough person just out trying to make a buck and make his name doing something he enjoys. More power to him for that. I've listened to his "music" and am not at all into it (nor am I into that Aqua Teen Hunger Force thing - I watched several seasons in one sitting and only laughed one time in 30 episodes).
I just don't think Slashdot is the right venue for this sort of thing. Or, rather, I don't think he's an appropriate guest for Slashdot. Does someone only have to use ProTools and make a reference to Star Wars or 20 sided dice in order to be qualified as Slashdot/nerd/geek material or something?
Really - Shatner, Wil Wheaton, Lawrence Lessig, Neil Gaiman, TMBG (which I only consider appropriate - despite hating their band - because of the technology they put together to serve their dial-a-song) . . . and the guy who does MC PeePeePants?!
Anyway - I wasn't looking to start an argument or put this guy down at all. He's clearly a creative guy and he's pulling some work his way. That's pretty damn cool. But in seven years of Slashdotting, this is probably the least interesting interview that could have ever been done. Not at all because of MC Chris - but because I just don't see how it fits in here. At a music-oriented/behind the scenes of producing music kind of site - it'd be perfect.
I also acknowledge that I could just keep my mouth shut - but since there are a lot of rude comments about how people feel this was a poor interview choice for _this_ site (and were many such comments in the initial thread before), I thought I would throw in a more reasoned commentary on it that didn't needlessly deride anyone.
It just seems to indicate a general "mainstream" vent Slashdot has been taking in the last year, more than ever before. It's turning into Yahoo!/Wired magazine in all the undesirable ways.
Even worse is that, now, most DMVs make you sign your identification card digitally (like you do with your UPS deliveries). What's the problem with this? Well, when I signed mine at the DMV in 2000, they said "sorry, that isn't valid - sign again".
"What the hell are you talking about? Of course that's valid. That's how I sign my name."
They said that you can't sign your name with any squiggles or crossing lines. My name has a line from the first letter of my last name that slashes through the top of the other letters in my last name. They said that was not valid. So I had to sign it again, without it.
Now, how is that a big problem? Try signing for something where they require checking the signature on your photo identification. I've had people say "have you changed your signature recently?". I even had to sit at my own bank for half an hour once, while they worked out how to deal with my signature not matching - exactly - that on my card.
In other words, I have to sign my signature like the one on my identification card. But the one on my card is not my valid signature, because that's not how I sign things - nor have I ever in my entire life.
Computer usage is pointless. They should have investigated what KIND of computer usage. For example, I would agree that if your computer usage is limited to surfing chat sites, bantering on AIM (with txt-speak, even) and downloading the latest Lincoln Park album, you're probably one of the kids who would score lower on tests - not because of computer usage, but because of your mentality.
Likewise, if you learn to program, use reference sites for studying (or to find out more information on topics you broach in books, newspapers, conversations, etc) - then you're probably going to score well because of your mentality.
Computer usage itself is not the problem. How the computer is used is not the problem either - but it's a great indicator of your problems.
Hell, a decade ago, computers were not just some toy to hop on and chit-chat with while listening to the latest rap or pop song. While it was used for games, there was an enormous amount of learning, exploration and discovery going on. It was back before a time when everything was glossy, corporate and homogonized.
It's a bit like food. Saying "food makes you obese" is stupid. There's nothing wrong with food or eating. But if you eat doritos and twinkies all the time, there's a problem. Likewise, someone who takes the time to prepare and serve quality food with good ingredients and a generally healthy intention is making good use of food. They have the right mindset.
But hey, some people would rather blame "that evil computer!" than "my stupid kid!".
I usually order my games through Amazon.com. Sometimes I'll know I want a game months in advance of release and I'll place an order on it. Saves me from having to remember later.
Other times, I won't know about a game I want until it's too late to pre-order. Or I'll only decide the day it has been released that, indeed, I do want it after all. In those cases, I'm usually able to find it within one or two stops. If not, I just go online, order and wait for it to arrive.
Really, it's just a game. Who cares? It's not like I'm trying to replenish blood pressure pills before they run out or something.
Oh - and as I've mentioned before - why are you (article's author) treating your tax refund like a lottery check? That's hard-earned money that you handed to the government all year long that you should have had the foresight to claim properly so you could have put it to use, earning interest, in your own hands. Really, the way people treat refunds like a *gift* is beyond me!
I'm trying to be an adult about this and buy my PSP Value Pack with my tax refund. But they've made it so that in the gaming world -- not strictly limited to the gaming world, either -- you have to buy anything you might actually want to buy weeks or months in advance of its release. I can today, at least for the next couple hours, pay fifty dollars to "pre-order" something I will not get until Thursday no matter what. My tax check has yet to make an appearance and I've promised myself, PSPs being the sorts of things tax checks are for
I've run into this attitude before. I've dated girls who wanted to go on vacations *now*. Future and retirement be damned. More money will come from somewhere down the road, *right*?! Why plan for tomorrow, when you can squander today?
Seriously. There is so much wrong with the opening paragraph of that article, I can hardly decide where to begin. Before we have the issue of being so impatient that you can't wait awhile for the arrival of a stupid VIDEO GAME... we have the issue of you treating your tax refund like some sort of windfall. Like it's a gift from the heavens, rather than hard-earned money that you should have had your hands on the entire time rather than handing it over to the government to earn interest on throughout the year.
Really, have some patience. In fact, rather than wasting your tax refund on a stupid videogame, you could be really crazy and invest it. Or just stick it in the bank. When you're older and able to afford a life beyond that of eeking along on Social Security, you'll thank yourself. And whatever sucker has been snared into spending his life with you will thank you, too. Remember, there isn't always going to be mommy and daddy (or someone else) along to take care of all your necessities. You may have to pay for your own dinner once in awhile. You might even have to pay for your own rent, mortgage, transportation, health insurance and groceries. And those things are decidedly more important than some "PSP" (okay - granted I have no idea what a "PSP" is, but I'm presuming it's a videogame of some sort).
Of course, the frustration of the opening paragraph applies to both genders, but this is an article by a female on a female oriented gaming site, presumably wanting people to take females seriously. So... there you have it. I replied accordingly.
Well, by all means, let's bitch and moan about the old version without even trying the new version to see that the installation could not be any simpler (and is, in fact, far simpler than even MS-Office).
Um- did we put capitalism on hold here? If an ISP starts quashing VoIP traffic (or not handling it properly), consumers will, if it matters to them, move to someone who does things right. If it really matters to consumers, someone will charge a little bit more if they develop a reputation and guarantee(s), otherwise it'll be used as a tool of differentiation.
Um. Did we put our brain on hold here?
If the only highspeed provider in your area squashes competing VoIP traffic to force you to use their own VoIP service (which, interestingly, may not have even been available when you originally signed up with the other VoIP service), then exactly who will you move to?
For example, most areas only have one cable internet provider. Unless you are close enough to the CO for very high-speed DSL, cable is going to be your only bet (not to mention, high-speed DSL will still be enormously expensive in comparison).
See, capitalism works best when you have competition. In most regions, there's only one cable provider and one DSL provider (yes, more than one DSL ISP - but they all have to share the same DSL lines, usually provided by your telco).
As long as geeks are stupid enough to hand out cash, they'll be stupid enough to keep putting out these films. I, gladly, haven't seen any StarWars after Episode I. And I only watched that because I was practically forced to. I just don't see much interesting in the Star Wars saga. It's a boring, uninspired story with tired plots. At least the original three didn't really have famous actors (at the time). Now, Star Wars is even worse (as bad as it already was) because it's just a chance for famous people to get in on the game. A lot like the Batman movies.
I've seen the original three and one of the new SW films. One time. Never saw them again. No interest in seeing them again. No interest in seeing either of the most recent ones or anything that ever comes out in the future.
*yaaaaaaawn*
Typical womanlike reading.
No, sorry. I'm not a patron of commercialized sports where a bunch of two-digit-intelligence lame-asses swing a stick at a ball and run around a diamond for $10,000,000 per year. Further, I'm offended that my tax money is being used to investigate whether or not a bunch of spoiled rich ball players are "juicing".
No kidding. If I cared, I'd be reading ESPN. /The sound of slashdot mainstreaming.
Why would a telco consider a costumer to be competition?!
Speaking of realistic - isn't it a little _un_realistic to be conducting a career fair for kindergartners through fifth graders?! Christ, let 'em be kids for a little bit. Next thing you know, they'll have to pick "vocations" in junior high. That's how schools in this city started to go about a decade and a half ago. You picked "constellations" of vocations to go into. Yeah, that's great. Rather than gearing kids toward college, they geared them toward "writing" or "car mechanics" and such. Might as well start spitting out the little vocational drones early.
You have to love how they demonize everyone by using labels like "gang of internet pirates". Let's use a little less hyperbole and say "copyright infringement groups" - which is far more accurate and descriptive.
Also, I can see extradition for somethin glike murder or rape - but copyright infringement?!
How can that be? Canadians are always telling me how superior their country is and how much more respect their country has for their rights and privacy and liberal consumer copyright use. Are you telling me that... they were wrong?! *gasp*
So, how does an accusation and an accusation alone count for higher probability? I can accuse you of whatever I like, but the accusation in and of itself does not make it so. Nor does my standing in the community or in society overall itself make my accusation more or less viable than your refutation of it.
The point is, you need some sort of evidence. And there is no evidence they could possibly offer beyond some log somewhere, generated on their network, from their computers, by their employees, showing your IP and the name of a song and claiming that they downloaded and verified that you were actually hosting and distributing said content.
Since when do we take a company's (or anyone's) documentation as irrefutable proof of anything? You wouldn't look at paperwork Enron provided to a court and say "oh, well, Enron says their books are balanced and legit, so they must be on the up and up - case dismissed!".
There should be some sort of independant verification of a claim. Otherwise this is truly a witch-hunt. A case where someone accuses someone of being something and that person being lynched based souly on the accusation without any evidence, demonstration or proof that the accusation is sound. Why the courts have not understood what the industry is trying to do here and put a stop to these unethical strong-arm tactics, I can't understand.
First, is it just me or does that article come across as if part of his settlement entailed him promising to use his public position to author a "scare-em-straight" article?
Second, why aren't people going to court over these lawsuits? I don't see why you would even need a lawyer. Just go to court and say "I didn't do anything illegal. Show me proof beyond a reasonable doubt that I did."
I mean, other than a record company CLAIMING that someone at some IP address was sharing certain songs, what proof is there? If something goes missing from my garage, I can't just point a finger at a neighbor and tell the judge "no, I KNOW he took it - I saw it!". You have to have more proof than that. Something unbiased and irrefutable, preferably from an independant party.
Short of confiscating your computer, finding an installed P2P application ACTUALLY RUNNING AT THE TIME, with a configured shared directory full of copyrighted songs that you are not legally licensed to distribute and your software is actively serving them to active downloaders at the time that it is being viewed by a judge - what proof is there?
Of course, the presentation doesn't actually explain what is defined as internet addiction. How can you do a study on MMORPG related internet addiction when you haven't even defined internet addition to begin with?
Of course, there's no such thing as internet addiction anyway. As the author themselves point out, the same questions could be posed to people who spend a lot of time reading, listening to music, playing music, painting, focusing on sports, watching television, listening to talk radio or almost anything else.
Hell, I spend 50 to 80 hours per week on the computer and the internet/intranet for work alone. My job, by nature, involves the use of all three almost endlessly (except for meetings and conferences) all day. Then throw in my own personal projects that involve the computer and the internet exclusively (a couple very popular websites that I operate) and the number easily approaches 80 to 100 or more.
But, since I'm not exactly "surfing the net" (meaning, I'm not hanging out in IRC chat rooms, randomly surfing for porn or otherwise playing around) or playing an MMORPG or anything else - that means there's no addiction? It's only addiction if I'm doing it for pleasure rather than business or other non-pleasurable gain?
It's interesting that people feel so compelled to waste time researching this sort of thing. People like things. If they like them a lot, they do them a lot. For some, it may be cross-stitching. For others it may be playing music or collecting and listening to it. For some it could be reading or writing or painting. For others it may be following or playing sports. Then there are those who spend inordinate amounts of time watching movies or attending plays. Those who like to go clubbing and dancing almost every night. People who sleep around a lot. People who shop a lot and spend all their time shopping or planning to buy things. Or people obsessed with fashion.
Really, people are just so uptight about new things. It's a box with a keyboard on it. It's not fucking smack.
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Wikipedia and Project Gutenberg seem to do just fine, as do many other similar services.
There is a world of difference between sitting in a chair and staring at a monitor for 20 hours a day versus digging ditches, running IV drips, or hauling garbage for 20 hours. I just can't see much justification for complaining when our jobs involve sitting.. drinking soda... and staring at a set of CRTs.