Don't you dare call me a lawyer! We heroin addicts have enough of a image problem without being linked to those soulless drains upon society. At least if you made heroin legal we would stop stealing and stay to ourselves.
I've seen keypads with digital readout on the keys used in jails (my job takes me in and out of jails frequently). The keypad scrambles the digits each time and there is a prism-type covering over the keys so that unless you are looking directly at it you cannot see the numbers on each key. In order to see the numbers you need to stand in such a way that no one else can see them (your head blocks their view from the only angle the numbers are readable from).
I tried to get the code by watching as the guards let me in and out, just to see how effective it was, and can say that I never succeeded in even getting close. What was even better is that from talking to the offenders I learned that they thought they knew the codes by watching the patterns the keys were pressed by the guards -- I didn't have the heart to tell them that using the pattern they had watched would actually punch in a different code than the one the guards used. I did make sure one of the guards knew about it though.
I'm sure this is a lost cause, as there is very little new to be said here, but...
One should really study what fascism is before throwing the term around. It may be a small point but when you're going about conjuring up the image of Il Duce (and with it their allies the Nazis) it is important to be precise.
With that said, I believe it is the very process that you describe taking place that leads to true fascism -- historical fascism, which equates the desires of the majority as the only and sufficient basis for every legal action taken by the state. Eventually someone in government offers the majority what it wants at the expense of rights of the minority (be it the rich, an ethnic group, a religion, etc), the rule of law vanishes and voila -- Fascism proper. What the government is doing in the context of copying music may or may not be undemocratic, but for the sake of clarity, and to leave the emotions invoked by WWII behind, we should be clear that it is not fascism.
Good point Bitz, but does that mean that the only thing standing between most people and doing something illegal is the effort? Sloth as a counterbalance to greed -- we're amoral but too lazy to do really do anything about it if it takes any effort. As for quality you again have a point, but I can remember taping of the radio, which was pretty bad quality, and still listening to it on my walkman.
Its off the question but I wonder how many average people could actually tell the difference between the different quality of digital files in a blind test. Anyone know if this has ever been tested?
Hasn't piracy been around ever since cassettes came out? Why is it such a big deal now? Frankly I don't pirate stuff myself -- some it is that I sell IPs myself but in large part because there just isn't anything that I consider worth taking the time to steal. They could give most music away for free and I wouldn't take the time to download it. Come to think of it, maybe all the crappy music is just part of their strategy to stop piracy, i.e. if the music sucks no one will steal it.
Actually, I used to love gaming on my pc, but there is no way I am spending that much money for games. Its just not worth it. You can say that its my choice not to game, and you'd be right, but I believe there are a lot of would be casual gamers like me who would buy games if they cost less.
Not to mention that it forces you to see their ads every time you start up. Music Match let you start in your music library, but now you see Yahoo's shilling for their products. Their radio stations put ads after every 3 or 4 songs unless you upgrade to their service too. Can anyone suggest another product for me on xp that has comparable features?
>When you control the pipe you should be able to get profit from your investment
Dude, thats totally like this time when I was a Phish concert and my buddy Splifster wouldn't let me use the pipe until I gave him some of my Fritos. Man that was seriously harshing my mellow. Not cool. If McCain can't share his weed I am not voting for him.
Thank you, I am glad you appreciate my douche bagginess. I do work hard to please. As for the proposed lawncare at my grave and homepathic therapy for my spouse I shall be sure to let you know when they are needed.
I'm not normally a "the glass is half full" kind of guy, but after reading the climate myth comments I have to say that I'm impressed by the discussion here. Apart from the normal (and completely appropriate) joking, the discussion seems to be pretty courteous and postive. I expected to see alot of techno-elitism and I haven't. I could end all that with a reference to a political party or by misusing its, but I think I'll just appreciate the all too rare bout of civility and understanding. Still lets not make a habit of this ok... flamewars keep the moderators on their toes and we don't want them to get lazy do we?
This is why the first amendment matters. You can say what you want about the US, but our founding fathers got a few things right.
Matt Pickut
Sigs are for losers
Yeah, were number 1, were number 1, were number 1!
Take that Ossama. Lets see you Al Queada guys match our spam output!
And the French can't even come close.
Remembers when spam is outlawed only outlaws will spam.
As someone who has made money off copywrited material, I just want to point out that piracy is not a victimless crime. You may not like the riaa (I don't) but the fact is that you are taking something that belongs to someone else and not paying for it.
The fact that its expensive or that you really want it, or that its intellectual rather than physical is no excuse (you have no constitutional right to grovey music). If you really admire and like these artists, why are you stealing from them (they obviously get no royalities at all from p2p)?
If that's how you treat people you like and admire, do me a favor and flame me!
Rather than get completly off point let me say this:
You are completly correct if good and evil are relative terms that represent no real values.
However, the very fact that you are trying to convince me that your point is more 'good' than mine tells me you don't agree with that fact. Your use of terms with values attached such as troll and selfish defeat your own argument.
Please understand that I do not mean that believing in good and evil gives one the right to crush what is considered evil by any means available. Nor may we or must we make value statements about every event and cultural norm or mores -- that is just bigotry. One cannot take the missuse of the belief of good and evil, however as an argument agianst thier existance as a real things.
With that said I do not want a level playing field: I do not want cops to be on a level playing field with criminals (I want criminals locked up and cops paid well) and I do not want to be on a level playing with theives (I will lock my doors).
My point is simply this: if we are convinced that something is right (good as opposed to evil) the only way that we will fight for our beliefs is to be better at using the tools good and evil have in common. One will never succeed by whining and complaining -- don't get mad, just get better educated.
Is it still a sig if it just says:Blah, Blah, Blah
Encryption will be used for evil, regardless. If you do not outlaw it then the playing field will be level.
Who says we want a level playing field?
We're not playing D&D here -- this is real life and there is no great balnce between Good and Evil that has to be preserved. Evil for lack of a better term is always bad and society depends on those doing evil to not be on even ground with the law in order to protect the rights we all hold dear.
So yes -- encryption is amoral, but that just means that the forces of good need to be that much better at it. The problem is that evil is almost always better motivated because in our society no good deed goes unpunished.
Generic Sig -- compare and save!
Slashdot Mirror
What the government creates the government controls.
No, they were just stupid.
By and large I've found that the reason we say crime doesn't pay is that we only catch the dumb ones.
As I like to say, "crime doesn't pay, but only because when it does we call it politics."
Don't you dare call me a lawyer! We heroin addicts have enough of a image problem without being linked to those soulless drains upon society. At least if you made heroin legal we would stop stealing and stay to ourselves.
I've seen keypads with digital readout on the keys used in jails (my job takes me in and out of jails frequently). The keypad scrambles the digits each time and there is a prism-type covering over the keys so that unless you are looking directly at it you cannot see the numbers on each key. In order to see the numbers you need to stand in such a way that no one else can see them (your head blocks their view from the only angle the numbers are readable from).
I tried to get the code by watching as the guards let me in and out, just to see how effective it was, and can say that I never succeeded in even getting close. What was even better is that from talking to the offenders I learned that they thought they knew the codes by watching the patterns the keys were pressed by the guards -- I didn't have the heart to tell them that using the pattern they had watched would actually punch in a different code than the one the guards used. I did make sure one of the guards knew about it though.
I'm sure this is a lost cause, as there is very little new to be said here, but...
One should really study what fascism is before throwing the term around. It may be a small point but when you're going about conjuring up the image of Il Duce (and with it their allies the Nazis) it is important to be precise.
With that said, I believe it is the very process that you describe taking place that leads to true fascism -- historical fascism, which equates the desires of the majority as the only and sufficient basis for every legal action taken by the state. Eventually someone in government offers the majority what it wants at the expense of rights of the minority (be it the rich, an ethnic group, a religion, etc), the rule of law vanishes and voila -- Fascism proper. What the government is doing in the context of copying music may or may not be undemocratic, but for the sake of clarity, and to leave the emotions invoked by WWII behind, we should be clear that it is not fascism.
Good point Bitz, but does that mean that the only thing standing between most people and doing something illegal is the effort? Sloth as a counterbalance to greed -- we're amoral but too lazy to do really do anything about it if it takes any effort. As for quality you again have a point, but I can remember taping of the radio, which was pretty bad quality, and still listening to it on my walkman.
Its off the question but I wonder how many average people could actually tell the difference between the different quality of digital files in a blind test. Anyone know if this has ever been tested?
Hasn't piracy been around ever since cassettes came out? Why is it such a big deal now? Frankly I don't pirate stuff myself -- some it is that I sell IPs myself but in large part because there just isn't anything that I consider worth taking the time to steal. They could give most music away for free and I wouldn't take the time to download it. Come to think of it, maybe all the crappy music is just part of their strategy to stop piracy, i.e. if the music sucks no one will steal it.
Actually, I used to love gaming on my pc, but there is no way I am spending that much money for games. Its just not worth it. You can say that its my choice not to game, and you'd be right, but I believe there are a lot of would be casual gamers like me who would buy games if they cost less.
Maybe they just dreamed they were kissing a co-worker.
"and when I woke up my mouse was all wet..."
Not to mention that it forces you to see their ads every time you start up. Music Match let you start in your music library, but now you see Yahoo's shilling for their products. Their radio stations put ads after every 3 or 4 songs unless you upgrade to their service too. Can anyone suggest another product for me on xp that has comparable features?
>When you control the pipe you should be able to get profit from your investment
Dude, thats totally like this time when I was a Phish concert and my buddy Splifster wouldn't let me use the pipe until I gave him some of my Fritos. Man that was seriously harshing my mellow. Not cool. If McCain can't share his weed I am not voting for him.
Thank you, I am glad you appreciate my douche bagginess. I do work hard to please. As for the proposed lawncare at my grave and homepathic therapy for my spouse I shall be sure to let you know when they are needed.
I'm not normally a "the glass is half full" kind of guy, but after reading the climate myth comments I have to say that I'm impressed by the discussion here. Apart from the normal (and completely appropriate) joking, the discussion seems to be pretty courteous and postive. I expected to see alot of techno-elitism and I haven't. I could end all that with a reference to a political party or by misusing its, but I think I'll just appreciate the all too rare bout of civility and understanding. Still lets not make a habit of this ok... flamewars keep the moderators on their toes and we don't want them to get lazy do we?
I is an idiot to. All you smarte people shold remeber that there are more of us then therre are of yous.
Idiots of the world untie you have nothing to lose but your shoes,
No.
This is why the first amendment matters. You can say what you want about the US, but our founding fathers got a few things right. Matt Pickut Sigs are for losers
> You're fine until someone kills Archduke Ferdinand.
I think I just found my new favorite saying...
Just imagine how often a phrase like that will come in handy!
Yeah, were number 1, were number 1, were number 1! Take that Ossama. Lets see you Al Queada guys match our spam output! And the French can't even come close. Remembers when spam is outlawed only outlaws will spam.
As someone who has made money off copywrited material, I just want to point out that piracy is not a victimless crime. You may not like the riaa (I don't) but the fact is that you are taking something that belongs to someone else and not paying for it.
The fact that its expensive or that you really want it, or that its intellectual rather than physical is no excuse (you have no constitutional right to grovey music). If you really admire and like these artists, why are you stealing from them (they obviously get no royalities at all from p2p)?
If that's how you treat people you like and admire, do me a favor and flame me!
Rather than get completly off point let me say this:
You are completly correct if good and evil are relative terms that represent no real values.
However, the very fact that you are trying to convince me that your point is more 'good' than mine tells me you don't agree with that fact. Your use of terms with values attached such as troll and selfish defeat your own argument.
Please understand that I do not mean that believing in good and evil gives one the right to crush what is considered evil by any means available. Nor may we or must we make value statements about every event and cultural norm or mores -- that is just bigotry. One cannot take the missuse of the belief of good and evil, however as an argument agianst thier existance as a real things.
With that said I do not want a level playing field: I do not want cops to be on a level playing field with criminals (I want criminals locked up and cops paid well) and I do not want to be on a level playing with theives (I will lock my doors).
My point is simply this: if we are convinced that something is right (good as opposed to evil) the only way that we will fight for our beliefs is to be better at using the tools good and evil have in common. One will never succeed by whining and complaining -- don't get mad, just get better educated.
Is it still a sig if it just says:Blah, Blah, Blah
Encryption will be used for evil, regardless. If you do not outlaw it then the playing field will be level. Who says we want a level playing field? We're not playing D&D here -- this is real life and there is no great balnce between Good and Evil that has to be preserved. Evil for lack of a better term is always bad and society depends on those doing evil to not be on even ground with the law in order to protect the rights we all hold dear. So yes -- encryption is amoral, but that just means that the forces of good need to be that much better at it. The problem is that evil is almost always better motivated because in our society no good deed goes unpunished. Generic Sig -- compare and save!