"If only Windows does WMA or IE web sites, that's a good reason to buy Windows" No, that's a good reason to bitch at the idiots who refuse to code according to standards (for IE only websites) or, it's a good reason to not listen to whatever is *only* in WMA format.
For example, when I surf a site like I-am-bored.com and something comes up in RealPlayer.... the window gets closed. End of story I don't support that format on my machine.
As far as MS not selling their software on other platforms....think about that...
a *software* company not *selling their software*. Makes sense to me...wait, no it doesn't.
The computer that I'm currently using (which b.t.w. is running 2k) came with ME. At the time (in 2000 I think?) I was using a dialup ISP. The modem in this computer has nothing wrong with it (it worked fine when I switched to 2k) but *everytime* I wanted to dail into the 'net I had to pull out the phone line, plug it into the secondary outlet on the modem (I think it was for an actual phone maybe? this was trial and error) then unplug it, and plug it back into the original jack and dial. As I said, there was nothing wrong with the modem itself, afaik there was nothing wrong with the networking settings.... I switched to 2K and never, not a single damn time, had to pull that bullshit with switching stuff around. I blame Mistake Edition.
I've *never* heard tell of someone who it worked right for longer than a week at a time.
You were thinking that this was about choice in the first place? At first, the ads were on TV to "Pay for the programming". Then, cable tv came out and for about 2 months, NO COMMERCIALS. Then they thought... "Hey wait a minute. I can get people to pay for something that used to be free....AND make money off the commercials because there's really no alternative!" Modern CableTV was born.
There are *no* "legal" alternatives anymore, even if you pay...look at movies with the 10-15 minutes worth of commercials in them now.
However, the solution is really simple if you ask me.... Don't watch TV. Don't go to movies. Don't buy movies...or TV programs on DVD. Do that for about a year....and if a *majority* of people did that, they would have no choice but to change, or try to pass a law a la Clockwork Orange treatment.
Now the trick is... Getting all these consumer-bots to stop buying every little thing their heart desires for a while. This would work for gas prices too...you'd just have to reduce because it's not really a viable option to eliminate gas yet.
All the power in the world is in the consumers hands....it's just that the market-droids have convinced them that they NEEED this shit.
Fair enough, however, a good majority of accidents are head on..or close to it. Having a kid in the back seat is simply a safety measure, less chance of them being ejected out of the car in any case.
Do you even have kids? Crying is a child's way of communicating *everything* up until a certain age. At times though, this is merely attention getting behaviour. After a certain point, you're actually TRAINING your kid to whine and cry even more by giving them positive feedback.
--"Maybe someone should commission a report into the effects of a parent facing away from and ignoring a child for long periods in a car."--
A few things:
To a 6 month old... 2 minutes is a REALLY LONG TIME. Our sense of time is revelant to how old we are.
Also, almost no parent worth their salt does not have a way to monitor their kid. Most people put their child in the opposite back seat -eg. the passenger side back seat- that way, at stop lights or when you get a quick moment, you can look back and see that they're just fine.
Not meaning to offend, just pointing out a few things. Kids are pretty resiliant when it comes to not being paid attention to every 4 seconds. I'm not advising that we ignore our children a lot, or that we shouldn't pay some attention to them, but from a LOT of the posts above this one, all I seem to be hearing is "OMG...you're not watching your child every SECOND?!?!?!!!!!!" Ya don't have to....
And no....it doesn't really matter where they are sitting in relation to you...they're still gonna scream. TRUST ME... *shudders*
"They don't sit sucking 100% of the capacity around the clock"
Yes, damn them for using what they paid for. I mean....who do they think they are?
Last I checked, my ISP didn't tell me "ok...we're going to let you have xK/sec, but only during the times we want you to use it...otherwise it's yK/sec, because we might lose $5..." Nope... they said (and what I pay for is) xK/sec *all the time*, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. If they wanted to tell me that I could only use it at certain times I'd tell them to politely fuck themselves. I want what I paid for...simple, direct, to the point.
I thought that was what MAX throughput was....a hard cap on how much bandwidth went through the line...all the time... not just here and now.
The same could be said for consentual crime laws (where there are no victims...) and about a lot of other things as well. Think it's fair to get 2 years and a felony record for having a joint on you? Hell no... it's not about 'fair' man, it's about guiding the behaviour patterns of modern morons.
Well, look how well it's worked for the United States. Wait...it hasn't. The value of a human life has scarce been lower than in recent years. Companies that push out garbage products have laws passed for them that lower the cap on product damage lawsuits at the same time that they ship their production overseas to factories that don't have quality standards that are up to par. The average citizen pays many times more taxes than the big corps, with less rights to show for it.
It took hundreds of years for black people to come to be recognized as citizens. The "Corporation" was recognized in a few short years. Somehow, that sickens me. Human rights violations are still widespread all around the world, including in the US. When we start valuing people over pieces of paper, maybe we'll step ahead in evolution.
I could go and actually look all this up, but I'm tired...sorry you'll have to get it from my memory;-)
Deleting a file doesn't actually get rid of the info. I believe it simply rids the FAT (File Allocation Table) of the entry for that file. The actually 0's and 1's are still there. As for just 0'ing over a section... I remember reading somewhere that the NSA uses wiping software that blasts a sector with random 0's and 1's something like 7 times before it's considered secure.
I believe you have been misinformed, at least about Wal-mart.
A few things before I begin : There's usually a lot of static here on/. about left and right leaning news sites. I'm going to share with you what I have found, a lot of it people would consider "left" leaning. I consider it information, follow it up if you think it's wrong. I'm always open to good conversation;-)
With that said, here we go.
From what I've read, Wal-mart is not a great place to work. They treat their employees poorly more often than not, they censor what books they carry, what videos they carry, they have been brought up on charges of time-clock tampering, and many other dishonest practices. They receive public money to purchase the land the stores are on, to build the buildings themselves, and to train their workforce. See http://goodjobsfirst.org/pdf/wmtstudy.pdf for a study done about the massive tax abatements and subsidies they receive.
Now granted, employing a large number of people does open you to a lot of suits, but there is a very real trend in the types of suits against them. I've heard many, many, stories on the evening news and also read a few in print about their practices in regards to going into a town specifically to take over the local market, driving out the local businesses so as to become the only game in town so to speak. Yes, that may be all well and good, it's also predatory.
I refuse to have anything to do with Walmart or any of their child companies because of all the things I've heard. YMMV however. I encourage you to go check this topic out if it interests you.
"The article even suggested that soldiers should self-moderate their usage with proper medical advice."
Which, if you ask me, is just bullshit. I've never...*EVER* seen a speed user who has used it more than a few times be able to "self-moderate". Sorry, it's like self-moderating your cigarette smoking...possible...but damn difficult.
Vaild point, however, one only has to look towards those in power currently to realize that not everyone shares your positive and high moral standards.
Slashdot Mirror
"the biggest impediment for a switch to anything else over MS is the so called "gaming" community."
Wait, let me get this straight.
Gamers...are the reason people won't switch from Microsoft.?
"We wouldn't have forced hardware upgrades and the other 99% uses/users of computers could finally bust away from expensive and buggy code easier."
Dude, I'm running a fucking 733MHZ with an ONBOARD Intel videocard. What are these "forced hardware upgrades" of which you speak?
"biggest bunch of me me me me me wimps out there"
Pot? Meet kettle...you two should get along fine.
A.A
"If only Windows does WMA or IE web sites, that's a good reason to buy Windows"
No, that's a good reason to bitch at the idiots who refuse to code according to standards (for IE only websites) or, it's a good reason to not listen to whatever is *only* in WMA format.
For example, when I surf a site like I-am-bored.com and something comes up in RealPlayer.... the window gets closed. End of story I don't support that format on my machine.
As far as MS not selling their software on other platforms....think about that...
a *software* company not *selling their software*. Makes sense to me...wait, no it doesn't.
A.A
Just to chirp in with my 2 cents:
The computer that I'm currently using (which b.t.w. is running 2k) came with ME. At the time (in 2000 I think?) I was using a dialup ISP. The modem in this computer has nothing wrong with it (it worked fine when I switched to 2k) but *everytime* I wanted to dail into the 'net I had to pull out the phone line, plug it into the secondary outlet on the modem (I think it was for an actual phone maybe? this was trial and error) then unplug it, and plug it back into the original jack and dial. As I said, there was nothing wrong with the modem itself, afaik there was nothing wrong with the networking settings.... I switched to 2K and never, not a single damn time, had to pull that bullshit with switching stuff around. I blame Mistake Edition.
I've *never* heard tell of someone who it worked right for longer than a week at a time.
A.A
...I'm sorry...could you expand on that a bit? I'm guessing it was a joke?
*raises an eyebrow* I just checked my RSS feed for /. in FF....no ads... I was worried there for a second.
A.A
"I will go out of my way to take my business to the competitor who ISN'T using this technology"
You're actually thinking there is a business out there that's not looking for yet *another* way to make money?? Come now.
A.A
You were thinking that this was about choice in the first place? At first, the ads were on TV to "Pay for the programming". Then, cable tv came out and for about 2 months, NO COMMERCIALS. Then they thought... "Hey wait a minute. I can get people to pay for something that used to be free....AND make money off the commercials because there's really no alternative!" Modern CableTV was born.
There are *no* "legal" alternatives anymore, even if you pay...look at movies with the 10-15 minutes worth of commercials in them now.
However, the solution is really simple if you ask me....
Don't watch TV. Don't go to movies. Don't buy movies...or TV programs on DVD.
Do that for about a year....and if a *majority* of people did that, they would have no choice but to change, or try to pass a law a la Clockwork Orange treatment.
Now the trick is...
Getting all these consumer-bots to stop buying every little thing their heart desires for a while.
This would work for gas prices too...you'd just have to reduce because it's not really a viable option to eliminate gas yet.
All the power in the world is in the consumers hands....it's just that the market-droids have convinced them that they NEEED this shit.
My 2c
A.A
Fair enough, however, a good majority of accidents are head on..or close to it. Having a kid in the back seat is simply a safety measure, less chance of them being ejected out of the car in any case.
Thanks for the reply though =)
A.A
Do you even have kids? Crying is a child's way of communicating *everything* up until a certain age. At times though, this is merely attention getting behaviour. After a certain point, you're actually TRAINING your kid to whine and cry even more by giving them positive feedback.
--"Maybe someone should commission a report into the effects of a parent facing away from and ignoring a child for long periods in a car."--
A few things:
To a 6 month old... 2 minutes is a REALLY LONG TIME. Our sense of time is revelant to how old we are.
Also, almost no parent worth their salt does not have a way to monitor their kid. Most people put their child in the opposite back seat -eg. the passenger side back seat- that way, at stop lights or when you get a quick moment, you can look back and see that they're just fine.
Not meaning to offend, just pointing out a few things. Kids are pretty resiliant when it comes to not being paid attention to every 4 seconds. I'm not advising that we ignore our children a lot, or that we shouldn't pay some attention to them, but from a LOT of the posts above this one, all I seem to be hearing is "OMG...you're not watching your child every SECOND?!?!?!!!!!!" Ya don't have to....
And no....it doesn't really matter where they are sitting in relation to you...they're still gonna scream. TRUST ME... *shudders*
My 2cents
A.A
"They don't sit sucking 100% of the capacity around the clock"
Yes, damn them for using what they paid for. I mean....who do they think they are?
Last I checked, my ISP didn't tell me "ok...we're going to let you have xK/sec, but only during the times we want you to use it...otherwise it's yK/sec, because we might lose $5..." Nope... they said (and what I pay for is) xK/sec *all the time*, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. If they wanted to tell me that I could only use it at certain times I'd tell them to politely fuck themselves. I want what I paid for...simple, direct, to the point.
I thought that was what MAX throughput was....a hard cap on how much bandwidth went through the line...all the time... not just here and now.
Am I wrong in this?
*applause*
--how's that for a fair punishment?--
The same could be said for consentual crime laws (where there are no victims...) and about a lot of other things as well. Think it's fair to get 2 years and a felony record for having a joint on you? Hell no... it's not about 'fair' man, it's about guiding the behaviour patterns of modern morons.
My 2c
A_A
Well, look how well it's worked for the United States. Wait...it hasn't. The value of a human life has scarce been lower than in recent years. Companies that push out garbage products have laws passed for them that lower the cap on product damage lawsuits at the same time that they ship their production overseas to factories that don't have quality standards that are up to par. The average citizen pays many times more taxes than the big corps, with less rights to show for it.
It took hundreds of years for black people to come to be recognized as citizens. The "Corporation" was recognized in a few short years. Somehow, that sickens me. Human rights violations are still widespread all around the world, including in the US. When we start valuing people over pieces of paper, maybe we'll step ahead in evolution.
A.A
I could go and actually look all this up, but I'm tired...sorry you'll have to get it from my memory ;-)
Deleting a file doesn't actually get rid of the info. I believe it simply rids the FAT (File Allocation Table) of the entry for that file. The actually 0's and 1's are still there. As for just 0'ing over a section... I remember reading somewhere that the NSA uses wiping software that blasts a sector with random 0's and 1's something like 7 times before it's considered secure.
Hope this helps!
A.A
I believe you have been misinformed, at least about Wal-mart.
/. about left and right leaning news sites. I'm going to share with you what I have found, a lot of it people would consider "left" leaning. I consider it information, follow it up if you think it's wrong. I'm always open to good conversation ;-)
x _discrim.htm5 /01/08/wal_mart_lawsuit_certified/
A few things before I begin :
There's usually a lot of static here on
With that said, here we go.
From what I've read, Wal-mart is not a great place to work. They treat their employees poorly more often than not, they censor what books they carry, what videos they carry, they have been brought up on charges of time-clock tampering, and many other dishonest practices. They receive public money to purchase the land the stores are on, to build the buildings themselves, and to train their workforce. See http://goodjobsfirst.org/pdf/wmtstudy.pdf for a study done about the massive tax abatements and subsidies they receive.
As for treating their employees well, a quick google turned up the following:
http://www.ufcw135.org/wal/wal_litigation_over_se
http://www.walmartclass.com/public_home.html
http://www.boston.com/business/globe/articles/200
Now granted, employing a large number of people does open you to a lot of suits, but there is a very real trend in the types of suits against them. I've heard many, many, stories on the evening news and also read a few in print about their practices in regards to going into a town specifically to take over the local market, driving out the local businesses so as to become the only game in town so to speak. Yes, that may be all well and good, it's also predatory.
I refuse to have anything to do with Walmart or any of their child companies because of all the things I've heard. YMMV however. I encourage you to go check this topic out if it interests you.
Cheers!
My 2c
A.A
"The article even suggested that soldiers should self-moderate their usage with proper medical advice."
Which, if you ask me, is just bullshit. I've never...*EVER* seen a speed user who has used it more than a few times be able to "self-moderate". Sorry, it's like self-moderating your cigarette smoking...possible...but damn difficult.
Vaild point, however, one only has to look towards those in power currently to realize that not everyone shares your positive and high moral standards.
My 2c
A.A
Sunmabitch, that's what happened to RARE... *sighs*. I always wondered, thanks for letting me know.
A.A
OMG!?! What if he was just offering a suggestion to help you out you ignorant prick?
/me shrugs...karma is made to burn I suppose.
*sighs* there goes my karma...just sick of seeing people get sarcasm in response to helping.
Mod points....damnit....don't have any..
:D
nice one anyway
A.A
...and being a coward makes you a twit. Congratulations.
*sighs* that's what I get for not checking for dupes...ON SLASHDOT.....*shakes his head*
*Applause* Bravo man, thank you for the laugh.
:-D
MOD PARENT UP
A.A
How about the massive amount of side effects Anti-Depressants and Anti-Psychotics have? Or were you just trolling?
A.A
Yeah, because lots of six year old kids should be browsing the internet unsupervised.
My 2c
A.A