This is actually exactly the approach that I use to back up my own DVDs (which, before anyone chimes in saying otherwise, is fair use). I've had one go missing on me, burned the backup to a fresh DVD-R, and actually had that be playable in my PS2. The backup copy, of course, still has the copy protection and still has region encoding (if it was present on the original DVD), and thus isn't any more versatile than the original. It's just that if you scratch it or lose it or something, you won't feel as bad.
The real pirates, of course, have machines to perform this duplication for them, and the economics of that work out just fine. If the MPAA is trying to stop these guys by encrypting content on the discs, I'm really not sure how they can prevent a wholesale bit-for-bit copy without harassing manufacturers (something I vehemently oppose).
Yeah see this is what always gets me about the DRM thing. Either you make it playable or you make it secure. Pick one.
The Sony rootkit fiasco really brought home, for me, the need of consumers to assert their rights over their devices. This computer on which I'm writing this is mine. If I had the choice of hardware that would do what I told it or hardware that would obey the whims of the MPAA/RIAA, I'd choose the open hardware. Given the choice of software that does what I tell it to or software that doesn't, the choice is obvious. If there is no choice, I write my own software.
The most insulting thing about the rootkit incident, as well as many such events since, is the notion that just because I'm using my computer to play content owned by someone else they somehow they own my hardware. That's simply not the case.
Here's what I want to know. They're sending a patch to the software that plays the discs, right? It's already too late to change what's on the actual discs because too many are already in the wild, so to speak. What if I just don't update my software/firmware? Or better yet, what if I write my own?
I still remember what it was like to be a teenager, and one of the most frustrating things about it is the feeling of being disenfranchised. I don't think personal attacks and bullying are okay, and I recognize that the Internet is being used more and more frequently for this type of activity, but teenagers still need to feel like they have a voice.
I'm actually quite surprised I had to read this far down in the comments to find someone else who caught that.
Hearing China freak out about video game and internet addiction so much lately has raised some weird red flags with me. The Chinese government has a lot of reasons to keep people offline, and online gaming is one of those things the Great Firewall of China (the existence of which the government denies) they can't control as tightly. This is another subtle way to keep their citizenry in line.
6x6cm is 120/220 sized film. IMAX is actually 70x48.5mm. So each frame is about as large as from my large-format 5x7 camera.
Nitpicking aside, though, I've used the same trick to get digital advocates to stfu. One frame of 6x6 at, say 100ASA—if you were to consider each grain of silver halide to be a "pixel"—and you're talking hundred of megapixels.
You can preempt that by running the country for the benefit of the people in general rather than for the billionaires.
That's one of the single best things that any country could do to prevent long-term instability and internal conflict, but politicians (at least here in the US) typically work for short-term benefit—usually their own short-term benefit.
You can actually extend that concept to the entire world. The income and quality-of-life disparity between, say, the US and Afghanistan/Iran/Iraq/etc. is enormous. Someone needs to tell Bush that they don't hate us because they hate freedom, a growing number of them hate us because they want a piece of the pie.
I'm a telemarketer you insensitive clod!!!
Naw I'm not, really, but I was for an afternoon once. Stayed at the job for 4 hours before walking off. Only time I ever did that.
But they already covered the censorship and freedom of speech hot buttons. The only one remaining was the OSS one. I figure Zonk saw it, saw his opportunity to create the perfect storm of Slashdotter angst, and went for it.
Can you honestly say you wouldn't do the same, given the chance?
Newton's second law of motion, not Newton's law of gravitation. General relativity won out against Newton, yes, but nobody's yet disproven that F=ma./P.
That doesn't explain why Linux... is more stable than Windows.
Simple. The user just has to recompile the kernel or load modules or do something else crazy to get linux to work on not-so-vanilla hardware. You don't have that option in Windows (or Mac OS for that matter; Mac OS X doesn't run on my old-skool LCIII).
Don't get me wrong, I love linux, but you're still comparing apples and oranges over there.
As I mentioned in my comment above, Windows is built to run on a huge range of hardware. The reason Mac OS can be limited to only certain hardware (and this limitation can be circumvented, by the way) is because Apple already knows what hardware macs ship with. Microsoft has no such luxury, so they couldn't pull the same trick. With something like Parallels or Boot Camp, too, the BIOS and motherboard are already somewhat emulated, so what could stop either of those from handing Windows whatever flags it needs to run virtualized?
Everyone dumps on Apple for having software that *only* runs on *their* hardware, but really that's their strength. Windows would be infinitely more stable and an infinitely more consistent user experience if it weren't for the fact that it's made to run on *everything*. That's why it's plagued by bad device drivers, ancient code, and the ghost of backwards-compatibility issues.
In addition, it's one of the reasons why when you buy a boxed copy of Mac OS, it's pretty cheap compared to Windows. It's because they've already made money by selling you the hardware, so they don't have a need to gouge you for the software. That's also why Apple doesn't care nearly as much about piracy; unless you're buying super-high-end software from them (Final Cut Pro, OS X Server, stuff like that), you don't even have to enter in a serial number.
I don't see how encouraging people to hoard dollar coins would be beneficial to the government.
That's why it's not done too much. You mention sales tax and income tax, but by getting you to just not spend that dollar coin, if you never spend it ever, the government has effectively earned back the whole dollar. They would, as you said, only get about half of it otherwise. Meanwhile people are spending their paper money just fine. Nobody out there is hoarding Benjamins, so I think the economy is probably going to do just fine.
Can you imagine if Star Wars stamps were the one thing that brought the US economy down for good?
I own a roomba and I have the same problem. I try to let it vacuum pretty often, but the way that I usually work is by spreading out (read: on the floor nested in a circle of random papers, drawings, etc.). So, a lot of times I have to pre-clean my rooms before the roomba is allowed in there. First time out it had an "incident" with some twist-ties and speaker wire. It weren't pretty....
Absolutely. Ever wonder why dollar coins are perpetually in short supply? It's because the U.S. government effectively makes money when people hoard them and thus take them out of circulation. Same deal with the quarters with the states on them. People started collecting them, and for each person with a full set, that was $12.50 the treasury department was no longer responsible for in a way.
The Post Office can pull the same trick with people who collect stamps. It's in their best interest to offer up stamps that people will want to acquire and keep.
Are you saying that breeder reactors are allowed in the USA or in Canada? Because I was saying that the US does not recycle its "spent" fissile material, because of President Carter's executive order (google it; I don't remember the number), the stated purpose of which was non-proliferation of nuclear weapons.
How can my post be arrogant if I'm recognizing that other countries out there are doing things better than mine? Forget Canada, France has a very successful nuclear program. If I recall correctly, something on the order of 2/3rds of their power comes from nuclear sources. Also, Japan and Korea both have great nuclear power research facilities. Meanwhile here in the US nuclear power research has been largely stagnated because of lack of money, lack of interest, and public stigma.
So, what was it that was so arrogant about my post?
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I wonder if he died while thumbing his nose at God.... It would seem a fitting gesture.
This is actually exactly the approach that I use to back up my own DVDs (which, before anyone chimes in saying otherwise, is fair use). I've had one go missing on me, burned the backup to a fresh DVD-R, and actually had that be playable in my PS2. The backup copy, of course, still has the copy protection and still has region encoding (if it was present on the original DVD), and thus isn't any more versatile than the original. It's just that if you scratch it or lose it or something, you won't feel as bad.
The real pirates, of course, have machines to perform this duplication for them, and the economics of that work out just fine. If the MPAA is trying to stop these guys by encrypting content on the discs, I'm really not sure how they can prevent a wholesale bit-for-bit copy without harassing manufacturers (something I vehemently oppose).
Yeah see this is what always gets me about the DRM thing. Either you make it playable or you make it secure. Pick one.
The Sony rootkit fiasco really brought home, for me, the need of consumers to assert their rights over their devices. This computer on which I'm writing this is mine. If I had the choice of hardware that would do what I told it or hardware that would obey the whims of the MPAA/RIAA, I'd choose the open hardware. Given the choice of software that does what I tell it to or software that doesn't, the choice is obvious. If there is no choice, I write my own software.
The most insulting thing about the rootkit incident, as well as many such events since, is the notion that just because I'm using my computer to play content owned by someone else they somehow they own my hardware. That's simply not the case.
Here's what I want to know. They're sending a patch to the software that plays the discs, right? It's already too late to change what's on the actual discs because too many are already in the wild, so to speak. What if I just don't update my software/firmware? Or better yet, what if I write my own?
Another result could be another Columbine.
I still remember what it was like to be a teenager, and one of the most frustrating things about it is the feeling of being disenfranchised. I don't think personal attacks and bullying are okay, and I recognize that the Internet is being used more and more frequently for this type of activity, but teenagers still need to feel like they have a voice.
I, for one, welcome our new HD209458bian overlords.
I'm actually quite surprised I had to read this far down in the comments to find someone else who caught that.
Hearing China freak out about video game and internet addiction so much lately has raised some weird red flags with me. The Chinese government has a lot of reasons to keep people offline, and online gaming is one of those things the Great Firewall of China (the existence of which the government denies) they can't control as tightly. This is another subtle way to keep their citizenry in line.
6x6cm is 120/220 sized film. IMAX is actually 70x48.5mm. So each frame is about as large as from my large-format 5x7 camera.
Nitpicking aside, though, I've used the same trick to get digital advocates to stfu. One frame of 6x6 at, say 100ASA—if you were to consider each grain of silver halide to be a "pixel"—and you're talking hundred of megapixels.
Maybe they meant "stable"? That doesn't really make a lot of sense either. . . .
That's one of the single best things that any country could do to prevent long-term instability and internal conflict, but politicians (at least here in the US) typically work for short-term benefit—usually their own short-term benefit.
You can actually extend that concept to the entire world. The income and quality-of-life disparity between, say, the US and Afghanistan/Iran/Iraq/etc. is enormous. Someone needs to tell Bush that they don't hate us because they hate freedom, a growing number of them hate us because they want a piece of the pie.
I'm a telemarketer you insensitive clod!!! Naw I'm not, really, but I was for an afternoon once. Stayed at the job for 4 hours before walking off. Only time I ever did that.
Wake me up when I can buy a Delorean *with* flux capacitor.
But they already covered the censorship and freedom of speech hot buttons. The only one remaining was the OSS one. I figure Zonk saw it, saw his opportunity to create the perfect storm of Slashdotter angst, and went for it.
Can you honestly say you wouldn't do the same, given the chance?
Well, that's what happens when you live in a former penal colony....
I'm so sorry that you missed the ponies then. . . .
Newton's second law of motion, not Newton's law of gravitation. General relativity won out against Newton, yes, but nobody's yet disproven that F=ma./P.
Simple. The user just has to recompile the kernel or load modules or do something else crazy to get linux to work on not-so-vanilla hardware. You don't have that option in Windows (or Mac OS for that matter; Mac OS X doesn't run on my old-skool LCIII).
Don't get me wrong, I love linux, but you're still comparing apples and oranges over there.
*whooooooosh!!!!*
As I mentioned in my comment above, Windows is built to run on a huge range of hardware. The reason Mac OS can be limited to only certain hardware (and this limitation can be circumvented, by the way) is because Apple already knows what hardware macs ship with. Microsoft has no such luxury, so they couldn't pull the same trick. With something like Parallels or Boot Camp, too, the BIOS and motherboard are already somewhat emulated, so what could stop either of those from handing Windows whatever flags it needs to run virtualized?
Ah yes. This theme again. It won't happen.
Everyone dumps on Apple for having software that *only* runs on *their* hardware, but really that's their strength. Windows would be infinitely more stable and an infinitely more consistent user experience if it weren't for the fact that it's made to run on *everything*. That's why it's plagued by bad device drivers, ancient code, and the ghost of backwards-compatibility issues.
In addition, it's one of the reasons why when you buy a boxed copy of Mac OS, it's pretty cheap compared to Windows. It's because they've already made money by selling you the hardware, so they don't have a need to gouge you for the software. That's also why Apple doesn't care nearly as much about piracy; unless you're buying super-high-end software from them (Final Cut Pro, OS X Server, stuff like that), you don't even have to enter in a serial number.
That's why we have metamoderation, too.
That's why it's not done too much. You mention sales tax and income tax, but by getting you to just not spend that dollar coin, if you never spend it ever, the government has effectively earned back the whole dollar. They would, as you said, only get about half of it otherwise. Meanwhile people are spending their paper money just fine. Nobody out there is hoarding Benjamins, so I think the economy is probably going to do just fine.
Can you imagine if Star Wars stamps were the one thing that brought the US economy down for good?
I own a roomba and I have the same problem. I try to let it vacuum pretty often, but the way that I usually work is by spreading out (read: on the floor nested in a circle of random papers, drawings, etc.). So, a lot of times I have to pre-clean my rooms before the roomba is allowed in there. First time out it had an "incident" with some twist-ties and speaker wire. It weren't pretty....
Absolutely. Ever wonder why dollar coins are perpetually in short supply? It's because the U.S. government effectively makes money when people hoard them and thus take them out of circulation. Same deal with the quarters with the states on them. People started collecting them, and for each person with a full set, that was $12.50 the treasury department was no longer responsible for in a way.
The Post Office can pull the same trick with people who collect stamps. It's in their best interest to offer up stamps that people will want to acquire and keep.
Arrogant? Nah I don't think so.
Are you saying that breeder reactors are allowed in the USA or in Canada? Because I was saying that the US does not recycle its "spent" fissile material, because of President Carter's executive order (google it; I don't remember the number), the stated purpose of which was non-proliferation of nuclear weapons.
How can my post be arrogant if I'm recognizing that other countries out there are doing things better than mine? Forget Canada, France has a very successful nuclear program. If I recall correctly, something on the order of 2/3rds of their power comes from nuclear sources. Also, Japan and Korea both have great nuclear power research facilities. Meanwhile here in the US nuclear power research has been largely stagnated because of lack of money, lack of interest, and public stigma.
So, what was it that was so arrogant about my post?