you're trivializing a complex issue. government oversight caused the disaster? spare me the FUD. Oversight is very very useful and respected where it helps business and derided where it just helps the average taxpayer.
For example, you won't see many people complaining about oversight of the financial industry--because money talks--and stability and correct information are extremely important to major investors and business. The overall industry does not want too weak a set of regulations--they want a quality SEC to mitigate risk. And that's what they get.
Contrast that with the design of energy regulations, which are not good for profit margins, and thus business managed to tweak them from the start to lessen consumer protections, mitigate their loss of profit, and leave regulators with very little bite. This happened in california, and happens at the national level (see Cheney and the energy bill, for example)
In the end, California has been left trying to sue to get some money back from a program that was, unfortunately, too catered to business interests.
without oversight (either nonprofit or govt) of key commodity/minimal choice industries (at the least) business will game the customer because it has an effective local monopoly, and it will do so regardless of whether the customer is the government or a private citizen. In the case of Enron, the energy industry was heavily involved in designing the CA regulation in the first place. the _method_ of oversight and/or regulation is important, but tweak the method, dont simply disregard the importance of oversight.
this project is the result of _prize_ funding. The gov't could be providing that money, and frequently does (See DARPA). And when it doesn't do so, when it doesn't encourage competition it ends up paying tremendously because there isn't enough innovation/incentive to drive down costs.
I suspect, for example, the aerospace industry itself is highly inefficient because it has to support current infrastructure, pass on profits to investors, and slowly introduce new product. It also has little competition due to high startup costs.
Businesses make maximum profit, and without oversight, u get the Enron energy trader scandal and 900$ toilet seats. it's oversight and open discussion and competition that are requirements for efficiency, not Govt Vs Private.
we're in a state managed capitalist society (see patent system, military-industrial complex, the fed), and some of that management is imho important for the greater good of the country--DARPA, AIDS research, long-term scientific research, SEC. Such research and planning and oversight should be discussed intelligently and not derided so easily.
I've been following armadillo for some time, and though armadillo/carmack doesn't think armadillo is going to win the x-prize, carmack stated before that control systems/requiring a pilot could lead to major setbacks for Space Ship One and change the odds (back in august). And more recently he discussed his focus on control systems.
According to one article they had to run on backup systems, another said the pilot heard a loud BANG at one point (lost that link). Not happy stuff, clearly they moved too soon.
For me, i'm not all that interested in the higher cost version of scaled composites, Rutan IS a pioneer, but previous work has also been government related. Which is why I laugh at the whole notion of public/private. Don't get me wrong, govt funding/projects are a good thing. But im sick of the BS pretending that there's the government and there's private industry. They are interelated, and we would do well to discuss, and plan, that relationship and public funding of r&d. And dont get me started on healthcare.
I just re-read the story, after trying to correct the misinformation...it appears the author actually read the finding, but played it up to sound like the Supreme Court gave officers free reign. They didn't, and as someone that read the finding, he should know.
This story shouldn't have been posted in its current form...I wish we could rate stories down as flamebait.
if i recall, it wasnt a domestic dispute, it was another investigation (looking for a car or some such) and hiibel was in the area. Thus the ambiguity, since he wasn't suspected of anything.
This is NOT a blanket right for officers to stop and question or demand your name. There must be reasonable suspicion or reasonable relation to a criminal investigation underway.
If the officer does not have (or cannot prove in court) reasonable suspicion, then the case could reach some serious legal trouble--because reasonable suspicion or relation to an investigation are what the supreme court requires for such stops.
instead of presenting information or information with quality analysis, tv news organizations and their online versions (most notably foxnews and to a lesser extent cnn, which i do read online in addition to bbc, and nytimes) present information sensationally, either by picking and displaying emotional topics in as emotionally impactful a manner as possibly (sad stories, funerals, Us or Them partisanship). The emotional roller coaster, FUD (usually associated with fox/war on terror), and one-sided expert testimony (i.e. Cato institute) serves to entertain and/or mirror assumptions of the views---not to inform/broaden their knowledge.
An excellent example was with CNN a year ago, when the twins joined at the head were going to be separated. Everyone knew there was a 50%+ chance of failure, and with plenty of other things going on it didnt make for great news, but CNN played it up. Front page online for several days, and didnt release in detail the doubts about the operation until after the operation failed. 2 random people undergoing surgery that is expected to fail, played up as a drama, is quality infotainment.
seriously, that's just oreilly's onjava readers, not java developers.
i've never heard of anyone using eclipse in a work environment (or even heard of eclipse at all)....and i've worked with around 50 java developers front/mid/back and had my share of geek-talk-lunches.
It's always been (imho) for stupid non-interactive journal/pontification sites. Yay! All the morons can write their own op-ed pieces and try and get people to read them. Seems pretty egotistical to me. AND COMPLETELY THE SAME AS PRINT!!! What's the point? You've got all new internet ivory tower types pandering to the left/right/middle, whatever. not very creative or productive.
Slashdot and other sites that have community functions do not act primarily as LOGS, but as a public discussion medium. weblogs==.plan files in my opinion. Whereas slashdot is really about discussion and not pontification from a small group of sources...and even the static/logged messages change as people respond or rate them.
anyway...i hate the primitive weblogs...they're a depressing waste of the power of the net.
Seriously, i live/walk through sketchy areas in San Francisco...crackheads everywhere. Crackheads and thieves do not like to fuck with wierd people...they dont like the unknown, it's a serious risk, especially when there are soo many normal looking people that are easy to predict.
I originally started carrying a mini hello kitty doll in my side pocket for amusement purposes (i am a freak, but otherwise normal-looking). I noticed that 1) less people asked me for change 2) noone followed me 3) and random crackheads didnt try to sell me envelopes, streetsheets, or other silly items 4) if i wanted to i could pick up girls more easily, it's the whole 'he must be gay thing':)
I dont know about you, but i figured that if i started associating removing spyware and fixing drivers with sex, i might as well go ahead and join a monastery. So, instead, my friend with benefits and I barter around something I truly detest: cooking. I fix the computer (annoying), she cooks(annoying to me), i eat the great food (happy day). and presto! at that point sex can be had without fear of pemanent spyware induced psychological damage AND i got a great meal.
Oh but they do have such a database, it's called racial profiling...i wont even get into classism...but it's along the same lines
we also have longer sentencing for lower class/black drugs (crack rock vs powder) (in calif) in north carolina pot was a major offense (i believe a felony) until it became a 'white' drug.
they also DENY COLLEGE LOANS to people that got busted due to classist/racist methods
they also DENY FOOD STAMPS to federally convicted drug users. Sucks to be a poor recovering addict and not have food eh? Guess you have to steal? fall off the wagon? and go back in the slammer.
i guess what im saying is that we DO have some very very fucked up law enforcement systems that focus on pulling in a set group of people or observing a set group of people all the time. And guess what, those people lose the right to vote...oops. And noone had stood up for them, quite a shame really.
Nothing new here. People ahve been pushing different content and different versions of content to business users for years. And in terms of games, it's not that new either. Not sure who started it, but square had the offline/non-heavy side-games for FF for a while, and I believe they aren't the only one. If the big 'news' here is interoperability between devices and development geared toward the different devices...that's not big news.... Especially since he didnt have the balls to come out and say: "We're working on a game server that can interact with multiple clients and game types within a specific universe". microsoft doesn't appear to currently have the skill or infrastructure to produce game servers, especially not massive ones, they couldnt even handle the chat channel for turbine in ac2.
The article seemed very very VERY pie in the sky to me about what MS would be providing to developers. Developer can already reuse/simplify textures, storyline, prop files/i18n coding, etc. Innovation would be a strong, extensible suite of template applications: FPS, RTS, MMP -- but other companies already have developed such systems/tools or are in the process of doing so...
somewhat offtopic...but when online distribution systems are more prevalent, getting your cash will (hopefully) be less of a problem and maybe we'll see more innovation. Until then, the little guys are going to get squeezed because the brick and mortar distribution channels are heavily controlled by existing, major companies whose days are numbered unless they adapt and invest in new ip. In addition, if you have a new product (at least at grocery stores) you actually have to buy/absorb the cost of changing the inventory/shelf-space, and that means an established middle man with a reputation and a hankering for lining his pockets, as well as his investors.
speaking of which, he has some nice tests up of the big engine. still looks like a ways to go, but it's nice to see progress. the sheer amount of parts issues he goes through is insane.... click the news for the video...woooo wouldnt i like to have one of those to play with.
the site
I was modded down to flamebait for mentioning sound card install issues wrt the groklaw documentation project. And heckled for not having an up-to-date-kernel (it is). Good to see there's actually someone else voicing their opinion and being heard.
--original newbie commentary was i've used linux at work before. but never had to maintain/install it. i was there for the emacs and faster compiling. Anyway, as an end user, there's a lot of work to be done. Basic setup issues with redhat (fedora core) can be extremely annoying. I.e. Sound didnt work, and I couldnt find documentation through searching google (docs that actually worked). End user install issues: 1) Sound problems. XMMS and ut2004 works after many hours of research. Most everything else doesnt, i.e. Realplayer 2) Webcams. None of the defaults/helpers apps work with my (widely sold) logitech cam. I had to use the command-line and do research and create a little script to use my logitech camera. 3) video card setup needs more work. and now theres an nvidia splash screen that i really shouldnt have to figure out to disable. (app land) 4) Why doesnt mozilla install/configure plugins correctly/regularly? PLEASE? flash/real audio installs but either ownly recognizes some files or doesnt work at all. (documentation) 5) How am I(newbie) supposed to divine where to look for information/help? Google tends to direct searchers to links that involve pay-per-answer crap. 6) Updates--the red hat subscription system seemed nice. But registration, etc, paying for services, isnt what people expect to see when using a free system. --------------
my kernel is 2.4.22-1.2174.nptl or whatever. and the splash screen crap is the current up-to-date nvidia driver install.
as for debian...i'd consider it if i actually heard of an IT department using it or heard an osx developer recommend it...if either of those groups think it's easy to use, then i'd feel comfortable trying it. and that's part of the problem. the average non-slashdot person has probably heard of redhat and may know someone face to face or at work that supports it.
as for the somewhat cocky reply about html tags. well, that's a wee bit ironic, considering the topic is usability. a default txt preference would be much more user friendly. but it doesnt matter anyway, already modded down as flamebait. time to go metamod.
The problem is that all of the below isn't hidden from the average user: 1)Noone told me to use APT-GET. I had to figure it out after I had problems with redhat and someone mentioned it. 2) Then I had to modify site lists figure out what the parsing/matching system was when I move from rh9 to fc1 3) then I have to run it multiple times because sometimes it doesnt work correctly/complete dowloads. --- Maybe this isnt an issue on other distributions, but the user should be presented with a nice list showing what applications they wish to upgrade. And maybe an advanced view that shows more detail. They shouldn't have to do all the above.
i've used linux at work before. but never had to maintain/install it. i was there for the emacs and faster compiling.
Anyway, as an end user, there's a lot of work to be done. Basic setup issues with redhat (fedora core) can be extremely annoying. I.e. Sound didnt work, and I couldnt find documentation through searching google (docs that actually worked).
End user install issues:
1) Sound problems. XMMS and ut2004 works after many hours of research. Most everything else doesnt, i.e. Realplayer
2) Webcams. None of the defaults/helpers apps work with my (widely sold) logitech cam. I had to use the command-line and do research and create a little script to use my logitech camera.
3) video card setup needs more work. and now theres an nvidia splash screen that i really shouldnt have to figure out to disable.
(app land)
4) Why doesnt mozilla install/configure plugins correctly/regularly? PLEASE? flash/real audio installs but either ownly recognizes some files or doesnt work at all.
(documentation)
5) How am I(newbie) supposed to divine where to look for information/help? Google tends to direct searchers to links that involve pay-per-answer crap.
6) Updates--the red hat subscription system seemed nice. But registration, etc, paying for services, isnt what people expect to see when using a free system.
--------------
As I side note, I was a java developer (and no, not just html/jsp), and currently have my own slash server running on linux. But that doesn't mean i _like_ complicated tech/systems/super-ultra-configurable modules. And thats what it still comes off as.
the above is either flamebait, overated or intended as sarcasm and not insight. the government does not track your -private- health, diseases, psychological problems, etc. they do not have access to personal information without a good reason (i.e. the IRS gives u breeding tax breaks, and the police requesting info if related to a warrant).
I went to the site and realized that you cannot create a fake identity and trick people with it. Friendster only lets you browse or search friends or friends of friends. You must create a network and bring it into friendster--you cannot search or view general users. Once you sign up your friends you could create a fake person and link to your real identity. But it would be easy to trace since the system shows you how people are connected.
For example, someone posted a link to a fake profile here on slashdot...i cant access it...i'm not connected:(
i wonder if they are using a dag and oracle's connectby to model their community
an old game of mine involved creating a yahoo account, something like cute_girl_18_???, putting my cat on cam, and seeing how many viewers the pretty kitty could rack up at one time -- by running around enticing horny str8 boys to look at the hairy pussy. I believe kitty's top score was 65.
"It will confirm that our actions are entirely consistent with the law as enacted by the U.S. Congress and interpreted by the courts," the RIAA said in a statement issued to The Associated Press.
A very interesting statement, a very conservative statement...the RIAA knows that the majority of americans and congress are going to think the fines involved are excessive...grossly excessive...especially after the supreme court recently ruled against excessive punitive damages...apparently they are currently safe from challenge because the law states specific remedies...but they wont be safe for long and they have to know that...congress or (possibly) the courts will trim the penalties down to size...if they're smart they'll settle any tear-jerker cases out of court -- it's the only way they'll profit from their fear campaign without getting burned with backlash and/or ending up mired in red tape whenever they want to subpoena...
i.e. how long do u think a clerk of court is going to be in charge of approving the release of personal information from an isp?
Slashdot Mirror
you're trivializing a complex issue. government oversight caused the disaster? spare me the FUD. Oversight is very very useful and respected where it helps business and derided where it just helps the average taxpayer.
For example, you won't see many people complaining about oversight of the financial industry--because money talks--and stability and correct information are extremely important to major investors and business. The overall industry does not want too weak a set of regulations--they want a quality SEC to mitigate risk. And that's what they get.
Contrast that with the design of energy regulations, which are not good for profit margins, and thus business managed to tweak them from the start to lessen consumer protections, mitigate their loss of profit, and leave regulators with very little bite. This happened in california, and happens at the national level (see Cheney and the energy bill, for example)
In the end, California has been left trying to sue to get some money back from a program that was, unfortunately, too catered to business interests.
without oversight (either nonprofit or govt) of key commodity/minimal choice industries (at the least) business will game the customer because it has an effective local monopoly, and it will do so regardless of whether the customer is the government or a private citizen. In the case of Enron, the energy industry was heavily involved in designing the CA regulation in the first place. the _method_ of oversight and/or regulation is important, but tweak the method, dont simply disregard the importance of oversight.
this project is the result of _prize_ funding. The gov't could be providing that money, and frequently does (See DARPA). And when it doesn't do so, when it doesn't encourage competition it ends up paying tremendously because there isn't enough innovation/incentive to drive down costs.
I suspect, for example, the aerospace industry itself is highly inefficient because it has to support current infrastructure, pass on profits to investors, and slowly introduce new product. It also has little competition due to high startup costs.
Businesses make maximum profit, and without oversight, u get the Enron energy trader scandal and 900$ toilet seats. it's oversight and open discussion and competition that are requirements for efficiency, not Govt Vs Private.
we're in a state managed capitalist society (see patent system, military-industrial complex, the fed), and some of that management is imho important for the greater good of the country--DARPA, AIDS research, long-term scientific research, SEC. Such research and planning and oversight should be discussed intelligently and not derided so easily.
According to one article they had to run on backup systems, another said the pilot heard a loud BANG at one point (lost that link). Not happy stuff, clearly they moved too soon.
For me, i'm not all that interested in the higher cost version of scaled composites, Rutan IS a pioneer, but previous work has also been government related. Which is why I laugh at the whole notion of public/private. Don't get me wrong, govt funding/projects are a good thing. But im sick of the BS pretending that there's the government and there's private industry. They are interelated, and we would do well to discuss, and plan, that relationship and public funding of r&d. And dont get me started on healthcare.
I just re-read the story, after trying to correct the misinformation...it appears the author actually read the finding, but played it up to sound like the Supreme Court gave officers free reign. They didn't, and as someone that read the finding, he should know.
This story shouldn't have been posted in its current form...I wish we could rate stories down as flamebait.
if i recall, it wasnt a domestic dispute, it was another investigation (looking for a car or some such) and hiibel was in the area. Thus the ambiguity, since he wasn't suspected of anything.
This is NOT a blanket right for officers to stop and question or demand your name. There must be reasonable suspicion or reasonable relation to a criminal investigation underway.
If the officer does not have (or cannot prove in court) reasonable suspicion, then the case could reach some serious legal trouble--because reasonable suspicion or relation to an investigation are what the supreme court requires for such stops.
instead of presenting information or information with quality analysis, tv news organizations and their online versions (most notably foxnews and to a lesser extent cnn, which i do read online in addition to bbc, and nytimes) present information sensationally, either by picking and displaying emotional topics in as emotionally impactful a manner as possibly (sad stories, funerals, Us or Them partisanship). The emotional roller coaster, FUD (usually associated with fox/war on terror), and one-sided expert testimony (i.e. Cato institute) serves to entertain and/or mirror assumptions of the views---not to inform/broaden their knowledge.
An excellent example was with CNN a year ago, when the twins joined at the head were going to be separated. Everyone knew there was a 50%+ chance of failure, and with plenty of other things going on it didnt make for great news, but CNN played it up. Front page online for several days, and didnt release in detail the doubts about the operation until after the operation failed. 2 random people undergoing surgery that is expected to fail, played up as a drama, is quality infotainment.
seriously, that's just oreilly's onjava readers, not java developers.
i've never heard of anyone using eclipse in a work environment (or even heard of eclipse at all)....and i've worked with around 50 java developers front/mid/back and had my share of geek-talk-lunches.
It's always been (imho) for stupid non-interactive journal/pontification sites. Yay! All the morons can write their own op-ed pieces and try and get people to read them. Seems pretty egotistical to me. AND COMPLETELY THE SAME AS PRINT!!! What's the point? You've got all new internet ivory tower types pandering to the left/right/middle, whatever. not very creative or productive.
Slashdot and other sites that have community functions do not act primarily as LOGS, but as a public discussion medium. weblogs==.plan files in my opinion. Whereas slashdot is really about discussion and not pontification from a small group of sources...and even the static/logged messages change as people respond or rate them.
anyway...i hate the primitive weblogs...they're a depressing waste of the power of the net.
Seriously, i live/walk through sketchy areas in San Francisco...crackheads everywhere. Crackheads and thieves do not like to fuck with wierd people...they dont like the unknown, it's a serious risk, especially when there are soo many normal looking people that are easy to predict.
:)
I originally started carrying a mini hello kitty doll in my side pocket for amusement purposes (i am a freak, but otherwise normal-looking). I noticed that 1) less people asked me for change 2) noone followed me 3) and random crackheads didnt try to sell me envelopes, streetsheets, or other silly items 4) if i wanted to i could pick up girls more easily, it's the whole 'he must be gay thing'
looking a little wierd goes a long way.
I dont know about you, but i figured that if i started associating removing spyware and fixing drivers with sex, i might as well go ahead and join a monastery. So, instead, my friend with benefits and I barter around something I truly detest: cooking. I fix the computer (annoying), she cooks(annoying to me), i eat the great food (happy day). and presto! at that point sex can be had without fear of pemanent spyware induced psychological damage AND i got a great meal.
Oh but they do have such a database, it's called racial profiling...i wont even get into classism...but it's along the same lines
we also have longer sentencing for lower class/black drugs (crack rock vs powder) (in calif) in north carolina pot was a major offense (i believe a felony) until it became a 'white' drug.
they also DENY COLLEGE LOANS to people that got busted due to classist/racist methods
they also DENY FOOD STAMPS to federally convicted drug users. Sucks to be a poor recovering addict and not have food eh? Guess you have to steal? fall off the wagon? and go back in the slammer.
i guess what im saying is that we DO have some very very fucked up law enforcement systems that focus on pulling in a set group of people or observing a set group of people all the time. And guess what, those people lose the right to vote...oops. And noone had stood up for them, quite a shame really.
you forgot Hello Kitty. Keep Solidarity with your ghey brethern!
(or die).
Nothing new here. People ahve been pushing different content and different versions of content to business users for years. And in terms of games, it's not that new either. Not sure who started it, but square had the offline/non-heavy side-games for FF for a while, and I believe they aren't the only one. If the big 'news' here is interoperability between devices and development geared toward the different devices...that's not big news.... Especially since he didnt have the balls to come out and say: "We're working on a game server that can interact with multiple clients and game types within a specific universe". microsoft doesn't appear to currently have the skill or infrastructure to produce game servers, especially not massive ones, they couldnt even handle the chat channel for turbine in ac2.
The article seemed very very VERY pie in the sky to me about what MS would be providing to developers. Developer can already reuse/simplify textures, storyline, prop files/i18n coding, etc. Innovation would be a strong, extensible suite of template applications: FPS, RTS, MMP -- but other companies already have developed such systems/tools or are in the process of doing so...
somewhat offtopic...but when online distribution systems are more prevalent, getting your cash will (hopefully) be less of a problem and maybe we'll see more innovation. Until then, the little guys are going to get squeezed because the brick and mortar distribution channels are heavily controlled by existing, major companies whose days are numbered unless they adapt and invest in new ip. In addition, if you have a new product (at least at grocery stores) you actually have to buy/absorb the cost of changing the inventory/shelf-space, and that means an established middle man with a reputation and a hankering for lining his pockets, as well as his investors.
now bob has to get up off his ass and walk to the refrigerator. now THAT would be tragic.
speaking of which, he has some nice tests up of the big engine. still looks like a ways to go, but it's nice to see progress. the sheer amount of parts issues he goes through is insane.... click the news for the video...woooo wouldnt i like to have one of those to play with. the site
I was modded down to flamebait for mentioning sound card install issues wrt the groklaw documentation project. And heckled for not having an up-to-date-kernel (it is). Good to see there's actually someone else voicing their opinion and being heard.
--original newbie commentary was
i've used linux at work before. but never had to maintain/install it. i was there for the emacs and faster compiling. Anyway, as an end user, there's a lot of work to be done. Basic setup issues with redhat (fedora core) can be extremely annoying. I.e. Sound didnt work, and I couldnt find documentation through searching google (docs that actually worked). End user install issues:
1) Sound problems. XMMS and ut2004 works after many hours of research. Most everything else doesnt, i.e. Realplayer
2) Webcams. None of the defaults/helpers apps work with my (widely sold) logitech cam. I had to use the command-line and do research and create a little script to use my logitech camera.
3) video card setup needs more work. and now theres an nvidia splash screen that i really shouldnt have to figure out to disable. (app land) 4) Why doesnt mozilla install/configure plugins correctly/regularly? PLEASE? flash/real audio installs but either ownly recognizes some files or doesnt work at all. (documentation)
5) How am I(newbie) supposed to divine where to look for information/help? Google tends to direct searchers to links that involve pay-per-answer crap.
6) Updates--the red hat subscription system seemed nice. But registration, etc, paying for services, isnt what people expect to see when using a free system.
--------------
my kernel is 2.4.22-1.2174.nptl or whatever. and the splash screen crap is the current up-to-date nvidia driver install.
as for debian...i'd consider it if i actually heard of an IT department using it or heard an osx developer recommend it...if either of those groups think it's easy to use, then i'd feel comfortable trying it. and that's part of the problem. the average non-slashdot person has probably heard of redhat and may know someone face to face or at work that supports it.
as for the somewhat cocky reply about html tags. well, that's a wee bit ironic, considering the topic is usability. a default txt preference would be much more user friendly. but it doesnt matter anyway, already modded down as flamebait. time to go metamod.
The problem is that all of the below isn't hidden from the average user:
1)Noone told me to use APT-GET. I had to figure it out after I had problems with redhat and someone mentioned it.
2) Then I had to modify site lists figure out what the parsing/matching system was when I move from rh9 to fc1
3) then I have to run it multiple times because sometimes it doesnt work correctly/complete dowloads.
---
Maybe this isnt an issue on other distributions, but the user should be presented with a nice list showing what applications they wish to upgrade. And maybe an advanced view that shows more detail. They shouldn't have to do all the above.
i've used linux at work before. but never had to maintain/install it. i was there for the emacs and faster compiling. Anyway, as an end user, there's a lot of work to be done. Basic setup issues with redhat (fedora core) can be extremely annoying. I.e. Sound didnt work, and I couldnt find documentation through searching google (docs that actually worked). End user install issues: 1) Sound problems. XMMS and ut2004 works after many hours of research. Most everything else doesnt, i.e. Realplayer 2) Webcams. None of the defaults/helpers apps work with my (widely sold) logitech cam. I had to use the command-line and do research and create a little script to use my logitech camera. 3) video card setup needs more work. and now theres an nvidia splash screen that i really shouldnt have to figure out to disable. (app land) 4) Why doesnt mozilla install/configure plugins correctly/regularly? PLEASE? flash/real audio installs but either ownly recognizes some files or doesnt work at all. (documentation) 5) How am I(newbie) supposed to divine where to look for information/help? Google tends to direct searchers to links that involve pay-per-answer crap. 6) Updates--the red hat subscription system seemed nice. But registration, etc, paying for services, isnt what people expect to see when using a free system. -------------- As I side note, I was a java developer (and no, not just html/jsp), and currently have my own slash server running on linux. But that doesn't mean i _like_ complicated tech/systems/super-ultra-configurable modules. And thats what it still comes off as.
the above is either flamebait, overated or intended as sarcasm and not insight. the government does not track your -private- health, diseases, psychological problems, etc. they do not have access to personal information without a good reason (i.e. the IRS gives u breeding tax breaks, and the police requesting info if related to a warrant).
I went to the site and realized that you cannot create a fake identity and trick people with it. Friendster only lets you browse or search friends or friends of friends. You must create a network and bring it into friendster--you cannot search or view general users. Once you sign up your friends you could create a fake person and link to your real identity. But it would be easy to trace since the system shows you how people are connected. For example, someone posted a link to a fake profile here on slashdot...i cant access it...i'm not connected :(
i wonder if they are using a dag and oracle's connectby to model their community
an old game of mine involved creating a yahoo account, something like cute_girl_18_???, putting my cat on cam, and seeing how many viewers the pretty kitty could rack up at one time -- by running around enticing horny str8 boys to look at the hairy pussy. I believe kitty's top score was 65.
A very interesting statement, a very conservative statement...the RIAA knows that the majority of americans and congress are going to think the fines involved are excessive...grossly excessive...especially after the supreme court recently ruled against excessive punitive damages ...apparently they are currently safe from challenge because the law states specific remedies...but they wont be safe for long and they have to know that...congress or (possibly) the courts will trim the penalties down to size...if they're smart they'll settle any tear-jerker cases out of court -- it's the only way they'll profit from their fear campaign without getting burned with backlash and/or ending up mired in red tape whenever they want to subpoena...
i.e. how long do u think a clerk of court is going to be in charge of approving the release of personal information from an isp?