...get extension blocks which you can switch on/off as needed. Throughout uni, I rarely found myself using more than a few peripherals or other electrical appliances at a time.
Of course, I have no real use for more than one PC, so I may not qualify as much of a geek in this respect...;)
Oh, I'd certainly feel free to download any and all pop tracks I've thus far mostly ignored, and continue to separately support the smaller, less well-known artists I have an interest in. After all, they wouldn't make anything off this arrangement. You already see this in the way radio play royalties are distributed within companies...
Incidentally, how does the Canadian CDR levy work with regard to artists who have no label representation in Canada?
First, why should all internet traffic be taxed for something a portion of customers do? Expect business costs in particular to soar. Yes, I know that similar can be said of CD-Rs... but you don't use CD-Rs for essential communications, to perform transactions, or to maintain a shop front.
As far as taxing at the ISP level goes... why should a file marked "madonna" be assumed to be an MP3 of a particular singer. It could be any number of things.
Well, there's my Bill Hicks -inspired pulling strategy out of the window...
I really hope that the people involved in this reconsider. It isn't their content, they merely agreed to host it. As such, there could be some complicated issues... does the right to copy it to ensure backup override the fact that uploaders accepted TOC for one agency rather than another, or were the TOC 'bought' by the new owners?
In any case, they're under no obligation to keep the stuff around, but it would be nice to see someone hang onto the stuff and keep it together for posterity. Museums often contain LPs/CDs/etc... why not hard-drives?
The "Information wants to be free" argument invariably falls down when a person who'll quite glibly throw out that catchphrase suddenly falls quiet when asked to "free" their full address and credit card number.
In the first instance, the phrase is semantically rubbish, unless you incorporate information which defines life (bacteria, etc) into an argument. I'm certainly not defending the phrase...
As to your second point, that information is volunteered daily by billions of people, in business situations. Illegality comes from abuse of that information once it is in the possession of another. Money still nominally represents a physical resource, therefore its removal can be said to be theft.
Some might argue that music digitally copied from a CD also represents a physical resource... but the law treats the copy as a separate entity. Hence, we have 'copyright infringement', rather than 'theft'.
Furthermore, copyright is a bodge designed to promote the creation of works (by ensuring that artists have motivation to do so)... and sales of many artists have risen. File-sharing (through increased exposure) has been a factor in that.
What we're seeing is high-profile artists having a little less incentive, and low profiles being raised (and those artists gaining more financial incentive.)
Were copyright not able to be reassigned... or if it could be assigned for a maximum duration of, say, five years... record labels would be forced to give more of a shit about artists. Which would promote new works. Which is copyright was intended for.
They're still words which have struck a chord with a huge number of people.
Book Ends, II
The stone's too full. The wording must be terse.
There's scarcely room to carve the FLORENCE on it--
Come on, it's not as if we're wanting verse.
It's not as if we're wanting a whole sonnet!
After tumblers of neat Johnny Walker
(I think that both of us we're on our third)
you said you'd always been a clumsy talker
and couldn't find another, shorter word
for 'beloved' or for 'wife' in the inscription,
but not too clumsy that you can't still cut:
You're supposed to be the bright boy at description
and you can't tell them what the fuck to put!
I've got to find the right words on my own.
I've got the envelope that he'd been scrawling,
mis-spelt, mawkish, stylistically appalling
but I can't squeeze more love into their stone.
...there isn't any real use for Java, ActiveX, etc in most people's browsing experience.
Of course, you'll see a few sites become accessible only through those gimmicks, but they'll be quickly deserted.
Heck, there isn't even any reason to keep Flash turned on all the time...
What I want is a simple control panel applet for Javascript. Something which allows the handful of useful applications through but blocks things which 'animate' windows by resizing them, etc. I suspect Proxomitron can handle most of this already... it just needs to be a little more friendly to config.
ML, images (not even animations) and a little JS are all I need.
...allowing their name to be attached as an endorsement. It's the thin end of the wedge; how many of your principles would something you "said" have to break before you walked?
Oh, it's certainly the implementation that's the problem. It's the implementation which currently makes it too much of an effects package; with serious competition, I would hope that Macromedia give thought to addressing some of the concerns people have mentioned.
The best way to reach people is to give them ready accessiblity in as many forms as they choose. Ergo those of us who are deeply cynical of all-singing and dancing sales pitches just want the stats, and a rep to truthfully answer the few questions which may result. There's no excuse for relying on what the supplier wants you to see, after all.
...until Flash content is controllable the way cookies and pop-ups are beginning to be (by which I mean in mainstream browsers used by the public) people will continue to regard it with suspicion. Rightly so.
Now, if Macromedia provided some useful options with its plugin, everyone would be happier. Apart from people with "fly-in" ads which make stupid noises. By catering to these people, the company is making a statement that this is what Flash is good for. Not good for its rep.
Hopefully this will be an incentive to more browser builders to customise Flash-playing in their browsers based on user preferences per domain.
Indeed. If it isn't, the number of users choosing to live without quacking ducks and ads which can chase them around the screen is going to diminish rapidly.
Flash is one of those tools which has a lot of potential, but isn't set up by default to produce content which users can intuitively interact with.
There isn't really an excuse for losing any of a target audience on grounds of software setup, yet Flash sites typically fail to provide alternative navigation controls. Whilst this is mostly the fault of developers, Flash tools could become more oriented toward providing accessibility.
If people could actually handle the functionality in a responsible manner, I'd be all for Flash. It has its uses..
I've seen all sorts of 'extravaganzas' try to pitch things. As a business purchaser (or as a consumer, for that matter) I'd rather have a spec, some details and a photo or two.
By text resizing, I mean Flash would have to respect browser and CSS settings. And people would, again, have to bother to implement this. Likewise, they'd have to implement simple functions such as printing, copy-pasting text and generally not interfering with standard browser controls even most of my immediate family can reliably cope with. Offices I've worked with are typically even less web-savvy.
I understand Flash perfectly well... it's rather naive to say that I'm not part of several target markets. But, for argument's sake, I'll simply point out the large number of my tech-illiterate friends who are sick of being asked to download plugins; M$ have made the web such an unfriendly place by allowing auto-installs of everything from dialers to spyware, they're scared stiff of those windows.
Relying on the general public to identify what is and isn't safe to install, rather than cancelling anything remotely suspicious (about their only survival strategy) is asking to be ignored.
Lastly... "great audio compression (think mp3)"... one, the quality is poor (for home user bandwidth) and two, voice-overs are about as convincing in presentations as they are in other adverts; people who manage budgets aren't typically swayed much by toys. Bottom lines and practical concerns.
Although I suppose if you were selling to markets where the gimmick is the sale, this wouldn't be a problem...
...Flash doesn't lend itself to creating accessible sites. Screen readers, text resizing... these things aren't exactly common within Flash content, are they?
Hand-coded interactivity will require more effort, but won't alienate your audience. Especially with the number of ads now which include sounds.
Flash is going from my default browser. I'll miss a couple of fun games, but I won't shed a tear for the developers whose digital masturbation I'm ignoring...
I've definitely mentioned UWA before now... nice to see the old firm getting some more press, though. Random trivia: the compsci department were involved with Robot Wars in the UK.
Ah, the "Centre for Explosion Studies"...the dream of every stratboy in the interpol department come true!
The official position of TV Licensing (and I'll admit, it varies depending on which agent you talk to--their website is, I would say, deliberately misleading) is that unless a set has been neutered (ie, cannot receive an aerial signal) a license is required.
...I can see the use for limited home traffic, but how many people are simply going to decide that the Earthlink crowd can sit and stew in their lonely corner. I'd certainly bother to make contact with far fewer peoople.
Also, you've just banned blind and partially-sighted users from the net. I'm sure these aren't the only people who'd find such a solution crippling.
...Ability Office lacks bell & whistles, but that actually plays to its audience. It's sufficiently far ahead of MS Works (apart maybe from Word) to suit the kids... and Mum and Dad will be pleasantly surprised with its power, too. It also includes a pretty decent PaintShopPro style graphics editor.
I can't see it winning many points in an business environment, but it's well-pitched for the home Windows user.
Good enough to stop people just pirating MS Office or the more tech-savvy taking OpenOffice for a spin? Possibly not. Ability need to work at getting OEMs to bundle.
...that's the sort of size you can comfortably cup in the palm of your hand and scribble notes onto without drawing attention. I'd be persuaded if it can recognise handwriting and the price comes down, that is. Who needs colour to write a few hundred words?
I'd like to see more manufacturers paying attention to making something for basic users, though. The Psion 3 was everything I needed in a portable; a notepad application and a proper keyboard. Fortunately, Sharp stepped in with its Wizard series (and you can get software to code around its limitations) but there still isn't much out there for pocket-sized type-out-a-quick-letter functionality.
As a disclaimer, I'm part of the generation that grew up with SMS-toughened thumb muscles...
...particularly if you attend a university next to one. For example, the University of Wales, ABerystwyth even allows undergrads access; tutors are generally very willing to sign papers. I've still got a card valid into 2005 which I rarely used because the university's own facilities are more than sufficient for many disciplines.
I understand national libraries in Scotland and elsewhere are a lot less friendly with access, but lots of people visit Wales specifically for NL access. Also, there are only, what, five national libraries? That's good enough concentration of resources for most people.
...no, not obvious copyright ones (the web being a publishing medium no different to any other in this respect; content is copyright but is said to have been published publically unless password-protected. I don't think robots.txt would stand up in court if other agents such as browsers have access.)
A while back it was posited that sites should actually be reponsible for providing snapshots of sites, though. Fortunately, I believe this was shot down; the cost implications would be mind-boggling.
I'm glad to see proactive steps being taken, however. Current guidelines for selecting content to archive have produced very usable resources in national libraries such as the one in Aberystwyth where I studied. It isn't as if they keep everything, after all...
Slashdot Mirror
Of course, I have no real use for more than one PC, so I may not qualify as much of a geek in this respect... ;)
Incidentally, how does the Canadian CDR levy work with regard to artists who have no label representation in Canada?
As far as taxing at the ISP level goes... why should a file marked "madonna" be assumed to be an MP3 of a particular singer. It could be any number of things.
I really hope that the people involved in this reconsider. It isn't their content, they merely agreed to host it. As such, there could be some complicated issues... does the right to copy it to ensure backup override the fact that uploaders accepted TOC for one agency rather than another, or were the TOC 'bought' by the new owners?
In any case, they're under no obligation to keep the stuff around, but it would be nice to see someone hang onto the stuff and keep it together for posterity. Museums often contain LPs/CDs/etc... why not hard-drives?
In the first instance, the phrase is semantically rubbish, unless you incorporate information which defines life (bacteria, etc) into an argument. I'm certainly not defending the phrase...
As to your second point, that information is volunteered daily by billions of people, in business situations. Illegality comes from abuse of that information once it is in the possession of another. Money still nominally represents a physical resource, therefore its removal can be said to be theft.
Some might argue that music digitally copied from a CD also represents a physical resource... but the law treats the copy as a separate entity. Hence, we have 'copyright infringement', rather than 'theft'.
Furthermore, copyright is a bodge designed to promote the creation of works (by ensuring that artists have motivation to do so)... and sales of many artists have risen. File-sharing (through increased exposure) has been a factor in that.
What we're seeing is high-profile artists having a little less incentive, and low profiles being raised (and those artists gaining more financial incentive.)
Were copyright not able to be reassigned... or if it could be assigned for a maximum duration of, say, five years... record labels would be forced to give more of a shit about artists. Which would promote new works. Which is copyright was intended for.
...sex sells, even when it's underage. I wish I were kidding.
It would be preferable, IMO, to prevent those involved in such sensitive projects from contributing to [i]any[/i] political party.
One possibility is something similar to DVD-ROM hardware region locks, in which chips are 'burnt out' every time a signal is transmitted.
Given that much of the media is similarly controlled?
Of course, you'll see a few sites become accessible only through those gimmicks, but they'll be quickly deserted.
Heck, there isn't even any reason to keep Flash turned on all the time...
What I want is a simple control panel applet for Javascript. Something which allows the handful of useful applications through but blocks things which 'animate' windows by resizing them, etc. I suspect Proxomitron can handle most of this already... it just needs to be a little more friendly to config.
ML, images (not even animations) and a little JS are all I need.
Most of us have done things we aren't proud of, but we won't dodge the labels of 'hypocrite' or 'scumbag' if we're honest.
...allowing their name to be attached as an endorsement. It's the thin end of the wedge; how many of your principles would something you "said" have to break before you walked?
The best way to reach people is to give them ready accessiblity in as many forms as they choose. Ergo those of us who are deeply cynical of all-singing and dancing sales pitches just want the stats, and a rep to truthfully answer the few questions which may result. There's no excuse for relying on what the supplier wants you to see, after all.
Now, if Macromedia provided some useful options with its plugin, everyone would be happier. Apart from people with "fly-in" ads which make stupid noises. By catering to these people, the company is making a statement that this is what Flash is good for. Not good for its rep.
Indeed. If it isn't, the number of users choosing to live without quacking ducks and ads which can chase them around the screen is going to diminish rapidly.
Flash is one of those tools which has a lot of potential, but isn't set up by default to produce content which users can intuitively interact with.
There isn't really an excuse for losing any of a target audience on grounds of software setup, yet Flash sites typically fail to provide alternative navigation controls. Whilst this is mostly the fault of developers, Flash tools could become more oriented toward providing accessibility.
I've seen all sorts of 'extravaganzas' try to pitch things. As a business purchaser (or as a consumer, for that matter) I'd rather have a spec, some details and a photo or two.
By text resizing, I mean Flash would have to respect browser and CSS settings. And people would, again, have to bother to implement this. Likewise, they'd have to implement simple functions such as printing, copy-pasting text and generally not interfering with standard browser controls even most of my immediate family can reliably cope with. Offices I've worked with are typically even less web-savvy.
I understand Flash perfectly well... it's rather naive to say that I'm not part of several target markets. But, for argument's sake, I'll simply point out the large number of my tech-illiterate friends who are sick of being asked to download plugins; M$ have made the web such an unfriendly place by allowing auto-installs of everything from dialers to spyware, they're scared stiff of those windows.
Relying on the general public to identify what is and isn't safe to install, rather than cancelling anything remotely suspicious (about their only survival strategy) is asking to be ignored.
Lastly... "great audio compression (think mp3)"... one, the quality is poor (for home user bandwidth) and two, voice-overs are about as convincing in presentations as they are in other adverts; people who manage budgets aren't typically swayed much by toys. Bottom lines and practical concerns.
Although I suppose if you were selling to markets where the gimmick is the sale, this wouldn't be a problem...
Hand-coded interactivity will require more effort, but won't alienate your audience. Especially with the number of ads now which include sounds.
Flash is going from my default browser. I'll miss a couple of fun games, but I won't shed a tear for the developers whose digital masturbation I'm ignoring...
Ah, the "Centre for Explosion Studies" ...the dream of every stratboy in the interpol department come true!
The official position of TV Licensing (and I'll admit, it varies depending on which agent you talk to--their website is, I would say, deliberately misleading) is that unless a set has been neutered (ie, cannot receive an aerial signal) a license is required.
Also, you've just banned blind and partially-sighted users from the net. I'm sure these aren't the only people who'd find such a solution crippling.
I can't see it winning many points in an business environment, but it's well-pitched for the home Windows user.
Good enough to stop people just pirating MS Office or the more tech-savvy taking OpenOffice for a spin? Possibly not. Ability need to work at getting OEMs to bundle.
I'd like to see more manufacturers paying attention to making something for basic users, though. The Psion 3 was everything I needed in a portable; a notepad application and a proper keyboard. Fortunately, Sharp stepped in with its Wizard series (and you can get software to code around its limitations) but there still isn't much out there for pocket-sized type-out-a-quick-letter functionality.
As a disclaimer, I'm part of the generation that grew up with SMS-toughened thumb muscles...
I understand national libraries in Scotland and elsewhere are a lot less friendly with access, but lots of people visit Wales specifically for NL access. Also, there are only, what, five national libraries? That's good enough concentration of resources for most people.
A while back it was posited that sites should actually be reponsible for providing snapshots of sites, though. Fortunately, I believe this was shot down; the cost implications would be mind-boggling.
I'm glad to see proactive steps being taken, however. Current guidelines for selecting content to archive have produced very usable resources in national libraries such as the one in Aberystwyth where I studied. It isn't as if they keep everything, after all...