It's pretty much a local issue, anyway, so start going to PTA meetings and lobby your town selectmen or mayor. Heck, run for your local school board if they're incompetent.
In a society that is in debt up to its tits, and both parents need to work to make ends meet, that isn't going to happen. Real wages have remained flat but the standard of living has continued to rise. The difference between the two is the debt we are seeing. As long as that debt is overwhelming, you will see less and less participation in "normal" society especially politics.
Besides, the way most politicians are treated (at least in the US) it is little wonder anyone wants to run. So you wind up with the sociopath in office because nobody else wants it.
It's not a requirement for Windows 8. It is a requirement for 'Designed for Windows 8' OEM systems.
Which is practically equal. Ever been to Microsoft's site and seen the marketing phrase, "Look for Designed for Windows logo"? There isn't an OEM on the planet that would cut off their logo link given the monopoly MS has on the OS market.
And how do you know it isn't a requirement for Windows 8? Microsoft hasn't released it yet. We have no idea what will and won't be required until it is. We also have no idea it won't become a requirement in the future at the first big malware infestation that comes along.
Actually, I see this as an extension of WGA. Imagine if MS can revoke your key upon detection of any activity they deem "illegal". One flip of the switch and you don't have a brick, you have a cinder block. I am not in favor of any company having that power.
Have you used brand X and had side effect Z? Call 1-800-BAD-DRUG now! You could be eligible for compensation!"
The companies don't want there to be any evidence that they were aware of an issue with a drug prior to the jury trial. It is that issue alone which allows for plausible deniability.
In my experience, the moderation system works quite well.
In my experience, it does NOT work quite so well. You are given mod points and the only place you can use them in is in conversations you wouldn't be interested in in the first place. I don't moderate because of this. If I find a story interesting enough, I post. Once posted to, you can't moderate in that topic so they are a waste of time. Far easier to just ignore posts that I don't care about.
Anyway, the cost of the device is hardly relevant.
I'm not convinced of that. People are paying more for less is how I see it.
Aside from portability, the real differences are consuming versus creating. So far, tablets are basically giant consumption devices. Listen to music, read books, watch videos, visit other people's websites. Not so much made for creating
Just how do you "consume" data? Pay through the nose for access to data sure but consume....No. I don't disagree with you overall premise though.
mighty broad brush you got there sparky. Not all of the US are full of self-serving asshats like yourself. There are many communities here that do care about their neighbors especially in rural areas. Snobbery aside, I would venture to say that US citizens in general are a generous and compassionate people. Try not to prove me wrong on the m'kay...
The problem with this strategy is in an earthquake what makes you think your back yard will still be accessible and safe enough for you to live there for two weeks? And when that 2 weeks turns into 2 months because State and Federal agencies can't respond due to their own poor planning? What then?
Communities are required to do disaster planning involving public input. They have public meetings every year or two on it. Attend those meetings and let your opinions be heard. Every time I have to give them, I'm amazed when one person shows up. Planning meetings are dull but without knowing what the public thinks, they are exercises in futility.
If you are waiting until the tragedy happens to be getting out of dodge, then you are a victim waiting to happen. Ever see a full scale evacuation of an urbanized area? Gridlock is an outcome of panicked people trying to leave an area. Good luck with that strategy.
I work emergency management and can tell you from personal experience, the US will be rode hard and put away wet if a catastrophic incident happens today. We don't have the financial capabilities to deal with it and the "something for nothing" crowd we got for politicians these days will cut it even further.
We really need a federal law that defines "unlimited broadband internet."
Ummm...Do you really want a bunch of "get off my lawn!" grampys who have absolutely no clue what the Internet is deciding something that already exists in law?
It is called bait & switch and it is already illegal.
You are joking right? There is NOTHING private about FaceBook! It's a damned website designed to be viewed, searched, etc. Don't post there if you don't want others to view it. I never did understand this fascination with people posting every drib and drab of their pathetic lives there... And worse, expecting it to be "private" when they have friended everyone under the sun. If you don't want something leaked, then don't post it there plain and simple.
Then you didn't read / hear what was said. Either that or your were on a source that withheld the fact that NONE of the payment systems were affected by the DDoS. It was solely their website / some web services, which has nothing to do with payments.
MasterCard Statement on Service Interruption to its Corporate Website
Purchase, NY, December 08, 2010 - MasterCard has made significant progress in restoring full-service to its corporate website. Our core processing capabilities have not been compromised and cardholder account data has not been placed at risk. While we have seen limited interruption in some web-based services, cardholders can continue to use their cards for secure transactions globally.
Congress cut taxes, not Bush, though it was his initiative. They also cut them for every tax bracket, not just the wealthy. The highest tax bracket still pays a higher percentage than the lower brackets under our 'progressive' tax system.
Horse shit. Unless your taxes are less than 2.4% then that is total horse shit. Let's put this into perspective as it relates to Ireland:
Google is "flying a banner of doing no evil, and then they're perpetrating evil under our noses," said Abraham J. Briloff, a professor emeritus of accounting at Baruch College in New York who has examined Google's tax disclosures.
"Who is it that paid for the underlying concept on which they built these billions of dollars of revenues?" Briloff said. "It was paid for by the United States citizenry."
Without public funding, most of these companies wouldn't exist today and it certainly wouldn't be "global". Everything from research seed money through NIH to actual research sources such as DARPA are all federally funded. Without federal funding, there would be no internet, no cell phones, no interstate transportation system, etc... The list goes on and on. For any company to shirk their responsibility to support the country of their origin, or actively seek loopholes in the laws all while trying to get that country's government to make laws that favor them even more, now that's truly unpatriotic.
And while I'm on this rant, tell me why any country should do things like issue patents, enforce copyright and prosecute fraud against corporations when the corporations don't want any of that funded? After all, it is taxes that pays for all that and they don't want to pay taxes right?!?
Judge: "Well, Microsoft released all this code, actively supported the open source implementation of this product, and then changed their minds. I'll have to aware billions of dollars in damages for infringement to Microsoft because..."
It's that "because..." I'm having trouble filling in here.
You are having trouble because you are confusing copyright law with patent law. That is a common mistake caused by all those attorneys who refer to both as "intellectual Property". To break it down to you, copyright != patent. Patent rights can be asserted any time by the patent holder regardless of their involvement with others. A patent holder can grant or withdraw licenses to use the patented technology at their whim. Currently, Microsoft only has a promise not to sue those developers that they can withdraw at any time.
The "patent pledge" Microsoft made with the mono developers can evaporate in the wink of an eye and then the whole project, and anyone using it, are at risk of patent infringement. The only reason they made that pledge is because of the multiple suits both here in the US and in Europe regarding interoperability. Once the scrutiny dies down, they can revoke that promise. And don't think they won't if it means they can make easy profits on threatening patent suits (which they can).
Worse, if Microsoft were to sell that patent to some other troll out there, nothing is binding that troll to the promise Microsoft made.
It doesn't work that way. The 5th has to be invoked the entire time. This is why it isn't required for a defendant to take the stand but once they do, the prosecution then has the right of cross examination and the defendant can be compelled to answer. In short, there is no selective 5th amendment rights.
Of course, often Congress does specify where in the executive branch things go, and even creates new offices, which the president cannot override. This is generally frowned upon at levels lower than cabinet positions....Congress creates the top level Departments, and maybe one level below that, but generally shouldn't be micromanaging within the offices, as it makes any sort of reorganization difficult. I.e., they create the Department of Homeland Security, and put the FBI (and others) within it, and assign specific crimes for the FBI to handle...but they shouldn't really be creating offices in the FBI to handle those crimes. (Because, over time, crimes change, and the FBI might find itself with one nearly empty office and one overworked one. I mean, at one time it would have made sense to have a 'train robbery' division.)
Funny you should bring up Homeland Security. That bill was the most God awful piece of crap that they landed in the Executive Branches lap that has ever come out of Congress.
Just look through the table of contents and you can see the Congressional micro-management going on. I remember the change, being in FEMA at the time, and it was terrible to endure. That bill needs to be revisited to remove FEMA from DHS for many reasons (including waste, fraud and abuse) and given a much smaller budget. It needs to become a coordinating agency between federal, state and local law enforcement agencies and the intelligence gathering communities. DHS needs to get out of the disaster business. DHS raiding of FEMA money and more importantly staff resources is a big part of why they are flailing about ineffectually on just about every disaster they try to run.
Another reason the agency is impotent is the micro-management Congress has enforced on this agency through this bill. DHS is a paranoid and schizophrenic agency. It is fragmented into so many compartments it is little wonder why they are ineffective.
Absent specific statutory authority, an executive order may have the force and effect of law if Congress has acquiesced in a long-standing executive practice that is well-known to it. For example, in Dames v. Regan, 453 U.S. 654, 101 S. Ct. 2972, 69 L. Ed. 2d 918 (1981), the U.S. Supreme Court upheld various executive orders that suspended claims of U.S. nationals arising out of the Iranian hostage crisis, citing Congress's Acquiescence in a 180-year-old practice of settling U.S. citizens' claims against foreign governments by executive agreement.
That is settled law, in short, the law of the land. And...
Executive orders also may be authorized by the president's independent constitutional authority (Cunningham v. Neagle, 135 U.S. 1, 10S. Ct. 658, 34 L. Ed. 55 [1890]). Various clauses of the U.S. Constitution have been cited to support the issuance of executive orders. Among them are the Vestiture Clause, which states, "The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America" (art. II, 1, cl. 1); the Take Care Clause, which states that the president "shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed" (art. II, 3); and the Commander in Chief Clause, which states that the president "shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States" (art. II, 2, cl. 1).
Even though they are executive policies, they still carry the weight of law.
There was a little project known as "Star Wars" that was Ronnie's pet meant to bankrupt the then USSR. It almost did too and it almost took us with them. He also increased across the board increases in Defense spending beyond believable levels allowing for the aggression we see with the neo-cons. It was all part of the Regan Doctrine.
Ummm...John Lennon received his "green card" in 1976 after much legal fighting because of his anti-war stance. In fact, Nixon tried to get him deported. that was overturned.
Also of note is the fact that the court's local rules allow any attorney admitted to any state bar--not just that of Texas--to be admitted to practice before the Eastern District Court.
That means that any ambulance chaser can get in on the act. Add to that the different handling of appeals for patents:
Appeals from cases brought in the Eastern District of Texas are taken to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are appealed to the Federal Circuit.
... have no idea there is an alternative and have no idea there is a security risk involved
This is not and never will be a valid excuse for people using shit software.
Come on. Put the blame where it belongs. It belongs on lazy developers writing the shitty software those users are more than likely forced into using. It comes from lazy web developers who push "get the FREE Adobe Acrobat reader here" whenever they post a PDF. It comes from PHBs who see a new dufingletron in Adobe products and just have to have it. And lastly, it comes from people who do know better refusing to help those who don't. There is plenty of blame to go around with the hapless office drone being way on the bottom of the list.
The point is, why jump even through those hoops when you don't have to? Why even shell out that $2,000 when it can go to something more valuable than lining Microsoft's pockets? That and the Microsoft penchant for vendor lock-in I suspect is what is really driving developers away.
That would only work if the existing campus LAN could be adapted to work with independent ISPs, or if WIMAX were a reality.
Why? ISPs wire apartment buildings all the time. The same can be done with the dorms. You then make "internal" student material available via secured web interface or VPN. Again, it isn't the employees of the college who are using P2P it is the students. So put the burden of policing the network on those who do have safe harbor provisions.
Slashdot Mirror
In a society that is in debt up to its tits, and both parents need to work to make ends meet, that isn't going to happen. Real wages have remained flat but the standard of living has continued to rise. The difference between the two is the debt we are seeing. As long as that debt is overwhelming, you will see less and less participation in "normal" society especially politics.
Besides, the way most politicians are treated (at least in the US) it is little wonder anyone wants to run. So you wind up with the sociopath in office because nobody else wants it.
Which is practically equal. Ever been to Microsoft's site and seen the marketing phrase, "Look for Designed for Windows logo"? There isn't an OEM on the planet that would cut off their logo link given the monopoly MS has on the OS market.
And how do you know it isn't a requirement for Windows 8? Microsoft hasn't released it yet. We have no idea what will and won't be required until it is. We also have no idea it won't become a requirement in the future at the first big malware infestation that comes along.
Actually, I see this as an extension of WGA. Imagine if MS can revoke your key upon detection of any activity they deem "illegal". One flip of the switch and you don't have a brick, you have a cinder block. I am not in favor of any company having that power.
You've seen the ads...
The companies don't want there to be any evidence that they were aware of an issue with a drug prior to the jury trial. It is that issue alone which allows for plausible deniability.
In my experience, it does NOT work quite so well. You are given mod points and the only place you can use them in is in conversations you wouldn't be interested in in the first place. I don't moderate because of this. If I find a story interesting enough, I post. Once posted to, you can't moderate in that topic so they are a waste of time. Far easier to just ignore posts that I don't care about.
I'm not convinced of that. People are paying more for less is how I see it.
Just how do you "consume" data? Pay through the nose for access to data sure but consume....No. I don't disagree with you overall premise though.
mighty broad brush you got there sparky. Not all of the US are full of self-serving asshats like yourself. There are many communities here that do care about their neighbors especially in rural areas. Snobbery aside, I would venture to say that US citizens in general are a generous and compassionate people. Try not to prove me wrong on the m'kay...
The problem with this strategy is in an earthquake what makes you think your back yard will still be accessible and safe enough for you to live there for two weeks? And when that 2 weeks turns into 2 months because State and Federal agencies can't respond due to their own poor planning? What then?
Communities are required to do disaster planning involving public input. They have public meetings every year or two on it. Attend those meetings and let your opinions be heard. Every time I have to give them, I'm amazed when one person shows up. Planning meetings are dull but without knowing what the public thinks, they are exercises in futility.
If you are waiting until the tragedy happens to be getting out of dodge, then you are a victim waiting to happen. Ever see a full scale evacuation of an urbanized area? Gridlock is an outcome of panicked people trying to leave an area. Good luck with that strategy.
I work emergency management and can tell you from personal experience, the US will be rode hard and put away wet if a catastrophic incident happens today. We don't have the financial capabilities to deal with it and the "something for nothing" crowd we got for politicians these days will cut it even further.
Bingo! We have a winner here folks...
It is bait and switch because they are luring you in for one product and switching it with a lesser product.
Ummm...Do you really want a bunch of "get off my lawn!" grampys who have absolutely no clue what the Internet is deciding something that already exists in law?
It is called bait & switch and it is already illegal.
Shouldn't go to the theater while on call.
You are joking right? There is NOTHING private about FaceBook! It's a damned website designed to be viewed, searched, etc. Don't post there if you don't want others to view it. I never did understand this fascination with people posting every drib and drab of their pathetic lives there... And worse, expecting it to be "private" when they have friended everyone under the sun. If you don't want something leaked, then don't post it there plain and simple.
Then you didn't read / hear what was said. Either that or your were on a source that withheld the fact that NONE of the payment systems were affected by the DDoS. It was solely their website / some web services, which has nothing to do with payments.
http://www.mastercard.com/us/company/en/newsroom/pr_service_interruption.html
Horse shit. Unless your taxes are less than 2.4% then that is total horse shit. Let's put this into perspective as it relates to Ireland:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-10-21/google-2-4-rate-shows-how-60-billion-u-s-revenue-lost-to-tax-loopholes.html
To quote the article:
Without public funding, most of these companies wouldn't exist today and it certainly wouldn't be "global". Everything from research seed money through NIH to actual research sources such as DARPA are all federally funded. Without federal funding, there would be no internet, no cell phones, no interstate transportation system, etc... The list goes on and on. For any company to shirk their responsibility to support the country of their origin, or actively seek loopholes in the laws all while trying to get that country's government to make laws that favor them even more, now that's truly unpatriotic.
And while I'm on this rant, tell me why any country should do things like issue patents, enforce copyright and prosecute fraud against corporations when the corporations don't want any of that funded? After all, it is taxes that pays for all that and they don't want to pay taxes right?!?
You are having trouble because you are confusing copyright law with patent law. That is a common mistake caused by all those attorneys who refer to both as "intellectual Property". To break it down to you, copyright != patent. Patent rights can be asserted any time by the patent holder regardless of their involvement with others. A patent holder can grant or withdraw licenses to use the patented technology at their whim. Currently, Microsoft only has a promise not to sue those developers that they can withdraw at any time.
The "patent pledge" Microsoft made with the mono developers can evaporate in the wink of an eye and then the whole project, and anyone using it, are at risk of patent infringement. The only reason they made that pledge is because of the multiple suits both here in the US and in Europe regarding interoperability. Once the scrutiny dies down, they can revoke that promise. And don't think they won't if it means they can make easy profits on threatening patent suits (which they can).
Worse, if Microsoft were to sell that patent to some other troll out there, nothing is binding that troll to the promise Microsoft made.
In short, you need to look up "torpedo patent".
It doesn't work that way. The 5th has to be invoked the entire time. This is why it isn't required for a defendant to take the stand but once they do, the prosecution then has the right of cross examination and the defendant can be compelled to answer. In short, there is no selective 5th amendment rights.
Funny you should bring up Homeland Security. That bill was the most God awful piece of crap that they landed in the Executive Branches lap that has ever come out of Congress.
http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/hr_5005_enr.pdf
Just look through the table of contents and you can see the Congressional micro-management going on. I remember the change, being in FEMA at the time, and it was terrible to endure. That bill needs to be revisited to remove FEMA from DHS for many reasons (including waste, fraud and abuse) and given a much smaller budget. It needs to become a coordinating agency between federal, state and local law enforcement agencies and the intelligence gathering communities. DHS needs to get out of the disaster business. DHS raiding of FEMA money and more importantly staff resources is a big part of why they are flailing about ineffectually on just about every disaster they try to run.
Another reason the agency is impotent is the micro-management Congress has enforced on this agency through this bill. DHS is a paranoid and schizophrenic agency. It is fragmented into so many compartments it is little wonder why they are ineffective.
You are 100% wrong.
http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Executive+Order
I refer you to the following:
That is settled law, in short, the law of the land. And...
Even though they are executive policies, they still carry the weight of law.
There was a little project known as "Star Wars" that was Ronnie's pet meant to bankrupt the then USSR. It almost did too and it almost took us with them. He also increased across the board increases in Defense spending beyond believable levels allowing for the aggression we see with the neo-cons. It was all part of the Regan Doctrine.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strategic_Defense_Initiative
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reagan_Doctrine
Ummm...John Lennon received his "green card" in 1976 after much legal fighting because of his anti-war stance. In fact, Nixon tried to get him deported. that was overturned.
You forgot the biggest reason...From wikipedia:
That means that any ambulance chaser can get in on the act. Add to that the different handling of appeals for patents:
And it become a patent troll feeding frenzy.
Reference article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._District_Court_for_the_Eastern_District_of_Texas
Come on. Put the blame where it belongs. It belongs on lazy developers writing the shitty software those users are more than likely forced into using. It comes from lazy web developers who push "get the FREE Adobe Acrobat reader here" whenever they post a PDF. It comes from PHBs who see a new dufingletron in Adobe products and just have to have it. And lastly, it comes from people who do know better refusing to help those who don't. There is plenty of blame to go around with the hapless office drone being way on the bottom of the list.
http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0777958.html
That should refresh your memory.
The point is, why jump even through those hoops when you don't have to? Why even shell out that $2,000 when it can go to something more valuable than lining Microsoft's pockets? That and the Microsoft penchant for vendor lock-in I suspect is what is really driving developers away.
Why? ISPs wire apartment buildings all the time. The same can be done with the dorms. You then make "internal" student material available via secured web interface or VPN. Again, it isn't the employees of the college who are using P2P it is the students. So put the burden of policing the network on those who do have safe harbor provisions.