That would be slightly disgusting, but hey, if screwing with meat floats your boat....
Personally I don't mind animals suffering for my pleasure - in fact, looking at my gadgets and my way of living, I'd go as far as apparently, I don't mind humans suffering for my pleasure. I wear clothes produced by cheap labor in India, I use computers produced by cheap labor in China, I eat meat produced under horrible conditions; however, it does make my life pretty nice.
There is an old saying: two wrongs don't make a right.
We are conscious of our actions and can therefore exercise control over what we choose to consume. Food is one of our most basic requirements for survival but meat is a luxury, and demonstrably not necessary to function in society. Choosing a vegetarian lifestyle will help put an end to the needless suffering of animals, and is a "good" choice for many other reasons including sustainability and the environment.
We can only hope that the screws are turned so tight the system blows up in their faces. Nothing else has worked so far in how many thousands of years?:(
This is not likely to be a popular comment around here, but seriously...
Waiting 4-5 seconds for a simple function to be graphed on its 96x64 screen just makes me want to hurl it at the wall.
If this is a literal problem rather than a joke you may want to look at the reasons why you're so angry about waiting a few seconds. If you can't control this now you will very likely find life becomes quite challenging for you in the long run.
For most of the country an intro to Office 2010 is all they need to know about computers. College should prepare them for future employment. If you're complaining about other alternatives, realize the course wasn't targeted at you.
When I first attended college the requisite "Intro to Computing" course was mind numbingly basic and dull. But this also serves a purpose - those who are truly interested will persevere and see their way through to the advanced courses.
4. I've yet to read a study that shows that people with the absence of pirating sites will convert to actual customers
In fact this scenario was described in TFS (summary);-)
I have only anecdotal evidence to back this up, but yes some people do pay for software if they cannot find a working crack. This has been proven to me by interacting with one such customer of the company I work for while providing remote software support.
We do employ a relatively unobtrusive copy protection method for our demo software, and watermarking for licensed copies. Every few months when the copy protection of the cracked demo version kicks in we see a spike in the number of support forum posts asking why projects fail to recall correctly, and a corresponding small increase in sales of the software.
IP was created by us. It is an abstract thing. It served a purpose which does not exist anymore, and so it is time for it to go away.
Money is also an abstract concept created by humans - particularly the digital kind that exists in your bank account - so can I have all of yours, please?
Don't get me wrong - I'm not suggesting that "download" == "lost sale" or "virtual bits" are the same as "a car" but I am getting quite sick of seeing people argue about these rights, hiding behind the premise that downloading stuff for free is some how sticking it to the man. It's not - it's just getting something without paying for it.
Here's a hint: if you or anyone else wants Hollywood et al to stop monopolising the worlds media and producing crap: stop buying their stuffand also stop downloading it. Only then will they get the hint.
It's pretty obvious the major studios are watching the file sharing networks (well, those that are publicly visible at least) and using the metrics to gauge what is popular or not. By downloading from TBP or similar, you're giving them ideas:
Well that film did pretty well, since it was very popular with file sharers - but why didn't they pay to see it at the cinema? I know - we'll make it 3D this time, and use 168 speakers.
Unfortunately this means they have not learned what the real problem is: bad plots, overpaid actors, poor dialog and "focus groups" (the latter being particularly obnoxious).
Personal experience from both sides of the debate - as a former warez user who paid lip service to "Try Before Buy", but now works with an ISV (Independent Software Vendor, if you don't know what it means...).
The research financed by the big labels? Maybe the same research that generated this
No. These mega-corporations are lying to us, that's obvious.
Working for an ISV helped me realise that downloading and using software from small indie developers without paying for it benefits no one but myself. It certainly doesn't benefit the indie developer in any way!
Nothing sinister. No **AA involved. Just honest, hard working developers with a passion for building products that help people get things done. In the case of these ISV's there generally isn't the luxury of running an international cartel dedicated to screwing over the rights of artists and consumers. We know that piracy hurts our business - at least to a certain extent - but that seems to be lost on people who consider anyone with a website and products to sell to be in the same league as $$MEGA_CORPORATION$$.
But it won't faze ThePirateBay in the least. Until somebody can come up with a solution to that one,
I wasn't aware ThePirateBay was a "problem"?
Sure, it's a problem for some of us. You could argue that TBP is "great advertising" because it allows users to "Try Before By" software from ISV's for free, and then buy if they like it... but we all know how often that works out in favour of the ISV's don't we;-)
The source code for NoiseTracker was used as the basis for Renoise, which is cross-platform including Linux, but not free. It's a reasonably popular host for composing songs / beats that obviously appeals to a fairly specific group of users due to it's tracker heritage. Most musicians prefer the piano roll for editing MIDI, which is used in most other hosts including Cubase, Ableton Live and Logic (none of which are available for Linux, and Logic is only available on Mac).
As for the cost: Renoise is around EUR 60.00. Reaper is a similar price for a non-commercial license, but only runs on Linux using Wine. The "high-end" or industry standard hosts cost considerably more. Although the price of Logic was recently reduced to $199 - which is a bargain - Cubase is more expensive, as is Ableton Live which can cost up to $800 depending on how much content is included.
Why aren't there more hosts available for Linux? It's about the plugins - similar to video editing suites, there is an ecosystem of audio plugin instrument and effects developers, and the users who have invested heavily in these plugins. The plugins adhere to specific standards (VST, AU and RTAS mainly) so developing for Linux is just not very cost effective for most of these developers, and users are generally unwilling to change to Linux because the plugins they own are not supported.
Also, the VST SDK (supported by most audio hosts on Mac and Win with a few notable exceptions) needs to be licensed from Steinberg (they also develop the main VST host Cubase). It is possible to use VST plugins on Linux, but it requires a reasonable amount of technical skill to do - and one must download and build the SDK, which is not strictly legal.
What we really have to worry/consider are the things that we never even know happen, not just "don't know their purpose."
Obligatory Rumsfeld quote:
[T]here are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns – there are things we do not know we don't know.
Just how far are you willing to take the paranoia?
How exactly is a relatively small amount of water being pumped into the ground supposed to destabilize TECTONIC PLATES...
You mean like when a feather (small), lightly brushed across the skin, affects a person (large)?
Sometimes, small things have huge consequences. We don't fully understand the Earth's geology, there are many people with an agenda on both sides of the fracking debate. A ton of money has been invested, and of course: everyone is an expert! This is not a good mix for producing facts.
He says it would be great to hear a positive drug story, but he doesn't actually tell a real one. I guess it's supposed to be funny as long as you aren't the one on a bad trip, or dying.
If you actually read the linked article you will find that these "drug overdose deaths" are not attributed to street drugs (heroin, cocaine, LSD, ecstasy etc) but to prescription drugs or "opioid pain killers" (OxyContin and Vicodin). This is just one of the choice quotes (there are many) from a quick scan of the linked article and summary:
One might assume that the increase in drug overdose deaths is due to an increased use of street drugs like heroin and cocaine, because we have in the past associated such drugs with overdoses. However, in a paper published in 2006, the CDC drilled down to another level to look at the codes given to the specific drugs recorded on the death certificates through 2004. When these more specific drugs were tabulated, we found that street drugs were not behind the increase. The increase from 1999 to 2004 was driven largely by opioid analgesics, with a smaller contribution from cocaine, and essentially no contribution from heroin. The number of deaths in the narcotics category that involved prescription opioid analgesics increased from 2,900 in 1999 to at least 7,500 in 2004, an increase of 160% in just 5 years.[1] By 2004, opioid painkiller deaths numbered more than the total of deaths involving heroin and cocaine in this category.
In future, when attacking a subject you know very little about, at least have the decency to provide links and analysis that back up your claims instead of fear driven media bullshit. Thank you.
Jesus did die, he rose from the grave by conquering death - according to the Bible, it's one of the key tenants of Christianity. Now, how would copyright law handle that?
Not sure, but Hollywood tells the story of a time travelling Jesus who arrives in 2013 to enter law school. His intention after graduation is to travel back to the year 0+3 days and sue the freakin' ass off this "copy cat" Jesus for rising from the grave and claiming to be Him. However, during the freshman year he meets a young but very pretty drug dealer named Mary Jane for whom he feels a strangely compelling sense of attachment, and so evolves a story of heart warming love.
And that, my friends, is how Jesus came to be the dope smoking, tree hugging hippy we know and love today.
By 2051 the Multinational corporate conglomerates that hold the rights will have paid the politicians and courts to extended it to 3051 or perpetuity. That is if we make it through 2012 first!
While I don't agree with our culture being ruined by greed and believe sane copyright laws would benefit everyone, there is a very good reason the corporations are continuing to fight for copyright extension - and presumably won't stop until perpetual copyright is granted. Obviously, that reason is profit. Let's look at Happy Birthday To You as an example. From the Wikipedia entry:
in 2008, Warner collected about $5000 per day ($2 million per year) in royalties for the song.
A corporations only goal is to make profit. As we have witnessed time and time again, the corporation does not care how profit is created, human or cultural concerns are not part of the equation. It would be a failure of corporate duty to give up $2 million a year without a serious fight.
Slashdot Mirror
That would be slightly disgusting, but hey, if screwing with meat floats your boat....
Personally I don't mind animals suffering for my pleasure - in fact, looking at my gadgets and my way of living, I'd go as far as apparently, I don't mind humans suffering for my pleasure. I wear clothes produced by cheap labor in India, I use computers produced by cheap labor in China, I eat meat produced under horrible conditions; however, it does make my life pretty nice.
There is an old saying: two wrongs don't make a right.
We are conscious of our actions and can therefore exercise control over what we choose to consume. Food is one of our most basic requirements for survival but meat is a luxury, and demonstrably not necessary to function in society. Choosing a vegetarian lifestyle will help put an end to the needless suffering of animals, and is a "good" choice for many other reasons including sustainability and the environment.
Peace,
Andy.
Have you tried repair permissions,?
FTFY. You're welcome.
A *POSSIBLE* ancestor that a study suggests *MIGHT* be what they thing. Maybe. Possibly.
In other words, the headline is, as usual, misleading.
Worse, this crap gives the creationists plenty of reasons to laugh and point at science.
Basically, headlines and (extremely) speculative articles like this do a lot of undermine the real work and value of science.
Peace,
Andy.
> It keeps the powers that be busy.
it allows them to request bigger budgets.
We can only hope that the screws are turned so tight the system blows up in their faces. Nothing else has worked so far in how many thousands of years? :(
Peace,
Andy.
This is not likely to be a popular comment around here, but seriously ...
Waiting 4-5 seconds for a simple function to be graphed on its 96x64 screen just makes me want to hurl it at the wall.
If this is a literal problem rather than a joke you may want to look at the reasons why you're so angry about waiting a few seconds. If you can't control this now you will very likely find life becomes quite challenging for you in the long run.
Peace,
Andy.
For most of the country an intro to Office 2010 is all they need to know about computers. College should prepare them for future employment. If you're complaining about other alternatives, realize the course wasn't targeted at you.
Considering that most users don't know how to use the find command, the above observation is spot on.
When I first attended college the requisite "Intro to Computing" course was mind numbingly basic and dull. But this also serves a purpose - those who are truly interested will persevere and see their way through to the advanced courses.
Peace,
Andy.
4. I've yet to read a study that shows that people with the absence of pirating sites will convert to actual customers
In fact this scenario was described in TFS (summary) ;-)
I have only anecdotal evidence to back this up, but yes some people do pay for software if they cannot find a working crack. This has been proven to me by interacting with one such customer of the company I work for while providing remote software support.
We do employ a relatively unobtrusive copy protection method for our demo software, and watermarking for licensed copies. Every few months when the copy protection of the cracked demo version kicks in we see a spike in the number of support forum posts asking why projects fail to recall correctly, and a corresponding small increase in sales of the software.
Peace,
Andy.
... a plausible scenario ...
I think you meant to say this.
IP was created by us. It is an abstract thing. It served a purpose which does not exist anymore, and so it is time for it to go away.
Money is also an abstract concept created by humans - particularly the digital kind that exists in your bank account - so can I have all of yours, please?
Don't get me wrong - I'm not suggesting that "download" == "lost sale" or "virtual bits" are the same as "a car" but I am getting quite sick of seeing people argue about these rights, hiding behind the premise that downloading stuff for free is some how sticking it to the man. It's not - it's just getting something without paying for it.
Here's a hint: if you or anyone else wants Hollywood et al to stop monopolising the worlds media and producing crap: stop buying their stuff and also stop downloading it. Only then will they get the hint.
It's pretty obvious the major studios are watching the file sharing networks (well, those that are publicly visible at least) and using the metrics to gauge what is popular or not. By downloading from TBP or similar, you're giving them ideas:
Well that film did pretty well, since it was very popular with file sharers - but why didn't they pay to see it at the cinema? I know - we'll make it 3D this time, and use 168 speakers.
Unfortunately this means they have not learned what the real problem is: bad plots, overpaid actors, poor dialog and "focus groups" (the latter being particularly obnoxious).
Peace,
Andy.
All in all apparently the great majority of people do not think piracy is wrong
We can simplify this statement further:
The great majority of people like to get something for nothing.
But getting back to his original point, how will this affect TPB in the least?
Probably about the same as it affected your favourite "Canadian.VIAGRA Pharmacy" :)
Peace,
Andy.
Do we? Where do you take your data from?
Personal experience from both sides of the debate - as a former warez user who paid lip service to "Try Before Buy", but now works with an ISV (Independent Software Vendor, if you don't know what it means ...).
The research financed by the big labels? Maybe the same research that generated this
No. These mega-corporations are lying to us, that's obvious.
Working for an ISV helped me realise that downloading and using software from small indie developers without paying for it benefits no one but myself. It certainly doesn't benefit the indie developer in any way!
Nothing sinister. No **AA involved. Just honest, hard working developers with a passion for building products that help people get things done. In the case of these ISV's there generally isn't the luxury of running an international cartel dedicated to screwing over the rights of artists and consumers. We know that piracy hurts our business - at least to a certain extent - but that seems to be lost on people who consider anyone with a website and products to sell to be in the same league as $$MEGA_CORPORATION$$.
Peace,
Andy.
But it won't faze ThePirateBay in the least. Until somebody can come up with a solution to that one,
I wasn't aware ThePirateBay was a "problem"?
Sure, it's a problem for some of us. You could argue that TBP is "great advertising" because it allows users to "Try Before By" software from ISV's for free, and then buy if they like it ... but we all know how often that works out in favour of the ISV's don't we ;-)
Peace,
Andy.
Didn't we make beats in NoiseTracker
The source code for NoiseTracker was used as the basis for Renoise, which is cross-platform including Linux, but not free. It's a reasonably popular host for composing songs / beats that obviously appeals to a fairly specific group of users due to it's tracker heritage. Most musicians prefer the piano roll for editing MIDI, which is used in most other hosts including Cubase, Ableton Live and Logic (none of which are available for Linux, and Logic is only available on Mac).
As for the cost: Renoise is around EUR 60.00. Reaper is a similar price for a non-commercial license, but only runs on Linux using Wine. The "high-end" or industry standard hosts cost considerably more. Although the price of Logic was recently reduced to $199 - which is a bargain - Cubase is more expensive, as is Ableton Live which can cost up to $800 depending on how much content is included.
Why aren't there more hosts available for Linux? It's about the plugins - similar to video editing suites, there is an ecosystem of audio plugin instrument and effects developers, and the users who have invested heavily in these plugins. The plugins adhere to specific standards (VST, AU and RTAS mainly) so developing for Linux is just not very cost effective for most of these developers, and users are generally unwilling to change to Linux because the plugins they own are not supported.
Also, the VST SDK (supported by most audio hosts on Mac and Win with a few notable exceptions) needs to be licensed from Steinberg (they also develop the main VST host Cubase). It is possible to use VST plugins on Linux, but it requires a reasonable amount of technical skill to do - and one must download and build the SDK, which is not strictly legal.
Peace,
Andy.
What we really have to worry/consider are the things that we never even know happen, not just "don't know their purpose."
Obligatory Rumsfeld quote:
[T]here are known knowns; there are things we know we know.
We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know.
But there are also unknown unknowns – there are things we do not know we don't know.
Just how far are you willing to take the paranoia?
Peace,
Andy.
I didn't know Thursdays were particularly bad for piracy
Patch Thursday it notorious for piracy in these parts. ARRR!
Is this "news for nerds?"
Is this "news for anyone" besides Zuckberg, his wife, family and friends? FFS :(
How exactly is a relatively small amount of water being pumped into the ground supposed to destabilize TECTONIC PLATES...
You mean like when a feather (small), lightly brushed across the skin, affects a person (large)?
Sometimes, small things have huge consequences. We don't fully understand the Earth's geology, there are many people with an agenda on both sides of the fracking debate. A ton of money has been invested, and of course: everyone is an expert! This is not a good mix for producing facts.
Peace,
Andy.
He says it would be great to hear a positive drug story, but he doesn't actually tell a real one. I guess it's supposed to be funny as long as you aren't the one on a bad trip, or dying.
Trends in Unintentional Drug Overdose Deaths
If you actually read the linked article you will find that these "drug overdose deaths" are not attributed to street drugs (heroin, cocaine, LSD, ecstasy etc) but to prescription drugs or "opioid pain killers" (OxyContin and Vicodin). This is just one of the choice quotes (there are many) from a quick scan of the linked article and summary:
One might assume that the increase in drug overdose deaths is due to an increased use of street drugs like heroin and cocaine, because we have in the past associated such drugs with overdoses. However, in a paper published in 2006, the CDC drilled down to another level to look at the codes given to the specific drugs recorded on the death certificates through 2004. When these more specific drugs were tabulated, we found that street drugs were not behind the increase. The increase from 1999 to 2004 was driven largely by opioid analgesics, with a smaller contribution from cocaine, and essentially no contribution from heroin. The number of deaths in the narcotics category that involved prescription opioid analgesics increased from 2,900 in 1999 to at least 7,500 in 2004, an increase of 160% in just 5 years.[1] By 2004, opioid painkiller deaths numbered more than the total of deaths involving heroin and cocaine in this category.
In future, when attacking a subject you know very little about, at least have the decency to provide links and analysis that back up your claims instead of fear driven media bullshit. Thank you.
Peace,
Andy.
Is there any part of the war on drug users that isn't based on lies?
No!
The plot of episode 3 details how a mans life is effectively ruined by perfect recall*.
Forgetting all the fun of interesting stats generated by this Wolfram project, is that what you want?
Peace,
Andy.
* spoiler alert for those of you who have not watched this brilliant series
And yet, I'm betting that the 1995 machine boots faster than the 2012 machine...
For the average PC / Mac user, sure, but not with SSD for the system disk. Consistent boot times of about 15 seconds here on a 2011 MBP.
Peace,
Andy.
WOOSH!
Jesus did die, he rose from the grave by conquering death - according to the Bible, it's one of the key tenants of Christianity. Now, how would copyright law handle that?
Not sure, but Hollywood tells the story of a time travelling Jesus who arrives in 2013 to enter law school. His intention after graduation is to travel back to the year 0+3 days and sue the freakin' ass off this "copy cat" Jesus for rising from the grave and claiming to be Him. However, during the freshman year he meets a young but very pretty drug dealer named Mary Jane for whom he feels a strangely compelling sense of attachment, and so evolves a story of heart warming love.
And that, my friends, is how Jesus came to be the dope smoking, tree hugging hippy we know and love today.
Peace,
Andy.
By 2051 the Multinational corporate conglomerates that hold the rights will have paid the politicians and courts to extended it to 3051 or perpetuity. That is if we make it through 2012 first!
While I don't agree with our culture being ruined by greed and believe sane copyright laws would benefit everyone, there is a very good reason the corporations are continuing to fight for copyright extension - and presumably won't stop until perpetual copyright is granted. Obviously, that reason is profit. Let's look at Happy Birthday To You as an example. From the Wikipedia entry:
in 2008, Warner collected about $5000 per day ($2 million per year) in royalties for the song.
A corporations only goal is to make profit. As we have witnessed time and time again, the corporation does not care how profit is created, human or cultural concerns are not part of the equation. It would be a failure of corporate duty to give up $2 million a year without a serious fight.
Peace,
Andy.