I would think leaving one of these cars in a high crime area and waiting for them to get stolen is a noble thing. But it scares me when they begin to make false senario's and they target people who fit the profile of a car thief.
The article made the important distinction of entrapment, where the law enforcement people plant the idea of the crime in someone's mind. All of your examples (including the one you saw on TV) are examples of entrapment, where definite steps are taken to put ideas in people's heads. On the other hand, simply leaving a car in a high crime area, with no differentiation between the bait and any other normal vehicle, is just creating a way to tag someone who was already planning on stealing someone's car.
Er, the government has a known criminal track record...
Well, no. Certain individuals in the Government have been convicted of criminal activities, and when this is known, these individuals can be removed from office, either by means of impeachment, or by simply being voted out.
You may not like government policy, or the issues that certain political parties push, but generally speaking, the government as a whole doesn't have a criminal track record.
> I use MS (or other closed source) products when I find them useful.
Na... I use GPL/OS products even when they are somewhat less than useful (assuming they're not completely broken), just to spite MS, and the Bill Gates lackeys that work all around me.
Who was it that said, "There's no such thing as 'bad press'?"
Seriously, what I want is something that can open a Word doc email attachment, without taking forever to start up like StarOffice, and doesn't mutilate the format like AbiWord. Probably 90% of the time, I don't need to print things, but just have to be able to read what's in the attachment.
That being said, AbiWord still does a "good enough" job, so it would be hard to rationalize paying real $$$ for another marginally better alternative. On the other hand, if I can install on multiple machines... it might still be worth it!
I've used some really big applications (as in, 400Meg memory footprint), and while it is slow on old hardware, it performs reasonably well. Just make sure you have lots of RAM, and a moderately fast CPU.
Really, the question is not so much the language (Java), as it is the people writing the application. You can write dog slow applications in any language. Java can be fast, but it takes time and effort, and some good tools to help you fine bottlenecks. (Think: "OptimizeIt")
Hey - what a great way to advertise your product. Just get an article posted on Slashdot, and instantly get a few hundred thousand hits on your site!
(I wish them the best, though between MS, StarOffice, OpenOffice and many other less known Open Source alternatives, they've got a long hill to climb to get a foothold in this marketplace.)
Anyone ever notice how much CPU power those stupid Flash animations on the Yahoo.com email site take?!?!? Now, I'd just love to see Yet Another Goofy Animation sucking down my CPU, slowing down everything else I'm trying to do.
Fortunately, I'm using Mozilla now, which I trust has options to shut this insanity off.
Sheesh.....
Differences between Gnome and KDE?
on
KDE 3.0 is Out
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· Score: 3, Interesting
Didn't we just finish saying that the reason why we want Linux to succeed in a world of Windoze boxes is that, real competition forces all contenders to get better over time?
Seriously, I don't want to start a flame war, but I've tried to run KDE a couple of times, and I keep switching back to Gnome. I'm not saying that Gnome is better than KDE, but I have yet to find a compelling reason to throw out all the experience I have with the Gnome tools and way of doing things, to learn Just Another Window Manager.
My question is, what does KDE offer that Gnome doesn't? Why should I make the effort to switch?
They continue to write their closed source, proprietary software, but they adopt open protocols, without trying to co-opt them with hidden API's. They stop adding Feature Bloat, and get serious about security, and the overall quality of their products.
In short, the only thing they change is to write quality software that stands on its own merits, rather than on the force of their marketing machine and existing OS monopoly.
Does anyone else get the feeling that these "articles" ane just rehashing the same tired old lines again and again and again? They don't really bother to go out and any original research. They just read what everyone else is saying, and repeat it again. "Linux is a no-start on the desktop." "Linux is dead on the desktop." "Linux doesn't have enough applications on the desktop." "Linux is hard to install in the desktop." How many times have you heard it?
Perhaps, if people would do a little original research, try out some of the new applications out there like Star/OpenOffice, Mozilla, the Gimp and Evolution, then they would realize that, though Linux isn't equivalent to Windows/Office, there are plenty of people out there who can do 99% of the work they are currently using Windows for, without selling their soul to MS.
To my mind, Sam is the everyman hero of the books, yet his role seems to be being played down. This nobility of the common man (or Hobbit) is an important message of the books and is being glossed over.
In my mind, looking back at the movie, this is my one biggest disappointment. Not so much the fact that they downplayed Sam's role, but that they made the story a Clash of Titans. I think a great deal of what Tolkien was trying to say (to the extent that he was trying to say anything) was the triumph of the "little people" against the Great Evil. Where the Mighty had failed, in no small part due to their own arrogance, the unasuming Hobbits were the ones to save the day.
Once the Fellowship started out, the movie spent most of its time on Aragorn and Gandalf. Sure, they were great Heroes, but when it came down to it, it was the Hobbits who got the work done.
Regardless of what version this is for, it's a beta, and as such, I'm not surprised it's not on the RedHat Network servers. Regarding the original poster's question, betas are not generally considered "ready for prime time", and thus are generally a little harder to get.
(BTW - I'm downloading off the UB mirror, and it's cranking! My cable modem is maxed out. So, I'm not complaining about overloaded RH servers.)
Well, yea, that's all well and good when you're putting your own life and limb on the line, but when we sit here in our Ivory Towers and talk about actions which might very well result in someone else getting fired, I don't know that I can agree.
Now finding more subtle forms of pressure might be a good idea...
Correct me if I'm wrong, but my understanding from the article is that the search is actually sent to info.netscape.com, and then redirected to the appropriate search engine. What you will end up with is a timeout error, and no search results.
Of course, the SIMPLE answer is to just go to the freaking site and use their "search" button, not depend on the button on the Netscape GUI, but I guess that's too obvious...
Well, that was helped along by the utter and total collapse of civilisation:)
Uh... well, Western Civilization that is. There were plenty of other Civilizations humming along just fine during that same period, the Chinese being the first to come to mind.
> The Constitution was designed to limit the rights of the government...
If you'd stop a moment to think, you'd realize that this is exactly what Microsoft is saying. They are claiming that the courts (and Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly in particular) are stepping into territory that the Constitution has not given them, areas reserved for other branches of the government. It's the whole balance of power thing, designed to keep one branch of government (or individuals within those branches) from growing too powerful.
Of course, that's not to say that I agree with their particular interpretation. They just don't like Judge Kollar-Kotelly (haven't been able to buy her yet), and are trying to intimidate her into submission...
I like this part -- in response to the Tunney Act, requiring corporations under anti-trust actions to disclose communications with government officials:
Microsoft called those "meritless complaints," and said Tunney's opinion, "coming over 25 years after enactment of the statute, is irrelevant as a legal matter."
Uh... so if a law is more than 25 years old, it is no longer relevant?
If I had balls as big as Microsoft's, I'd have to register as my own Solar system...
Because, this case will create precedent for all GPL'ed software, and whether or not corporations can steal the work of other people and call it their own! It's not a matter of which database software is better, but whether or not individual people should be able to create enforcable copyrights for their own software, and expect them to hold up in court.
If the GPL doesn't hold up in this case, expect a whole slew of proprietary packages to start popping up all over the place, each with a surprising resemblance to other, slightly inferior, but still groundbreaking "Libre" alternatives. It will suck the air out of all those alternatives, and once the alternatives are sucked dry, the Open Standards will go with them. (Remember -- Microsoft isn't the only company out there bent on World Domination through Embrase and Extend tactics.)
Slashdot Mirror
The article made the important distinction of entrapment, where the law enforcement people plant the idea of the crime in someone's mind. All of your examples (including the one you saw on TV) are examples of entrapment, where definite steps are taken to put ideas in people's heads. On the other hand, simply leaving a car in a high crime area, with no differentiation between the bait and any other normal vehicle, is just creating a way to tag someone who was already planning on stealing someone's car.
Oh, and it goes on the hand too, and it starts with "666"...
Well, no. Certain individuals in the Government have been convicted of criminal activities, and when this is known, these individuals can be removed from office, either by means of impeachment, or by simply being voted out.
You may not like government policy, or the issues that certain political parties push, but generally speaking, the government as a whole doesn't have a criminal track record.
Does my Passport ID number start with "666", and do I have to tattoo it on my forehead and hand?
Na... I use GPL/OS products even when they are somewhat less than useful (assuming they're not completely broken), just to spite MS, and the Bill Gates lackeys that work all around me.
Does it run under Linux? Can I launch it from a command line?
Seriously, what I want is something that can open a Word doc email attachment, without taking forever to start up like StarOffice, and doesn't mutilate the format like AbiWord. Probably 90% of the time, I don't need to print things, but just have to be able to read what's in the attachment.
That being said, AbiWord still does a "good enough" job, so it would be hard to rationalize paying real $$$ for another marginally better alternative. On the other hand, if I can install on multiple machines... it might still be worth it!
Really, the question is not so much the language (Java), as it is the people writing the application. You can write dog slow applications in any language. Java can be fast, but it takes time and effort, and some good tools to help you fine bottlenecks. (Think: "OptimizeIt")
(I wish them the best, though between MS, StarOffice, OpenOffice and many other less known Open Source alternatives, they've got a long hill to climb to get a foothold in this marketplace.)
Fortunately, I'm using Mozilla now, which I trust has options to shut this insanity off.
Sheesh.....
Seriously, I don't want to start a flame war, but I've tried to run KDE a couple of times, and I keep switching back to Gnome. I'm not saying that Gnome is better than KDE, but I have yet to find a compelling reason to throw out all the experience I have with the Gnome tools and way of doing things, to learn Just Another Window Manager.
My question is, what does KDE offer that Gnome doesn't? Why should I make the effort to switch?
They continue to write their closed source, proprietary software, but they adopt open protocols, without trying to co-opt them with hidden API's. They stop adding Feature Bloat, and get serious about security, and the overall quality of their products.
Scene: Man teetering on an open window ledge, high up on a skyscraper, looking down at the parking lot, several hundred feet below.
Caption: Yes, Microsoft would be happy to show you "The Way Out," but are you really sure you want to take it?
Perhaps, if people would do a little original research, try out some of the new applications out there like Star/OpenOffice, Mozilla, the Gimp and Evolution, then they would realize that, though Linux isn't equivalent to Windows/Office, there are plenty of people out there who can do 99% of the work they are currently using Windows for, without selling their soul to MS.
Once the Fellowship started out, the movie spent most of its time on Aragorn and Gandalf. Sure, they were great Heroes, but when it came down to it, it was the Hobbits who got the work done.
(BTW - I'm downloading off the UB mirror, and it's cranking! My cable modem is maxed out. So, I'm not complaining about overloaded RH servers.)
Now finding more subtle forms of pressure might be a good idea...
Of course, the SIMPLE answer is to just go to the freaking site and use their "search" button, not depend on the button on the Netscape GUI, but I guess that's too obvious...
Uh... well, Western Civilization that is. There were plenty of other Civilizations humming along just fine during that same period, the Chinese being the first to come to mind.
If you'd stop a moment to think, you'd realize that this is exactly what Microsoft is saying. They are claiming that the courts (and Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly in particular) are stepping into territory that the Constitution has not given them, areas reserved for other branches of the government. It's the whole balance of power thing, designed to keep one branch of government (or individuals within those branches) from growing too powerful.
Of course, that's not to say that I agree with their particular interpretation. They just don't like Judge Kollar-Kotelly (haven't been able to buy her yet), and are trying to intimidate her into submission...
If I had balls as big as Microsoft's, I'd have to register as my own Solar system...
Because, this case will create precedent for all GPL'ed software, and whether or not corporations can steal the work of other people and call it their own! It's not a matter of which database software is better, but whether or not individual people should be able to create enforcable copyrights for their own software, and expect them to hold up in court.
If the GPL doesn't hold up in this case, expect a whole slew of proprietary packages to start popping up all over the place, each with a surprising resemblance to other, slightly inferior, but still groundbreaking "Libre" alternatives. It will suck the air out of all those alternatives, and once the alternatives are sucked dry, the Open Standards will go with them. (Remember -- Microsoft isn't the only company out there bent on World Domination through Embrase and Extend tactics.)
Unfortunately (or, fortunately, depending on how you look at it), corporations no not have Constitutionally guaranteed rights.
Warning: Don't try to read the Peter Write article on a full stomach. I did and almost lost my lunch.