I never said I agree with that theory but theory or not, that is why laws like this take on more "importance" (notice the quotation marks) to legislators. It is a perseption problem.
Without considering the implications this law will have, the reason it has more "importance" than movies is its interactive features. You don't interact with movies and movies don't interacy with your input. GTA:SA as you use in your example is AO because of the graphic scenes that the user invoked. The difference is between watching blind violence and doing (virtually) blind violence.
Both sides have radicals that have no use for peace in the region. It is a self fueling situation when attacks are involved. The situation won't get better until the violence ceases and both sides learn to control their radicals. The violence won't cease as long as other nations (the US included) keep choosing sides and fanning the flames of war. This war by proxy (Iran & Syria vs the USA) is a direct result of US cowboy policy this administration enjoys. Unless the UN got some balls about it and condemns the fighting AND ALL THOSE WHO SUPPORT IT, it won't stop.
"Bet you I can prove to you that most jurisdictions allow marriage to sisters."
Sure they do....As long as it is someone else's sister. OTOH, I think the Catholic faith may have an issue if you try to marry one of their sisters....
"The huge dump of drivers from 2.4 to 2.6 did not help; it was supposed to only get rid of legacy hardware, right? Well, it got rid of more than that, such as support for my VIA 10/100 ethernet card. I hardly think any 10/100 ethernet qualifies as legacy hardware, let alone one that debuted less than 4 years ago, but all distros with a 2.4 kernel worked perfectly with it (including DSL, but not DSL-N) and virtually none with a 2.6 kernel work with it. I can only imagine how much other non-legacy hardware lost support with 2.6. Geeks love the latest and greatest hardware and take the mentality "just upgrade", but lots of people use older hardware as long as it still works."
I have to ask...Have you tried compiling your own 2.6 kernel instead of using the one that comes with a distro? Distros usually are a couple versions behind on just about everything (with my distro being one of the exceptions [Gentoo]). I am willing to bet your distro doesn't have the "legacy drivers" enabled. BTW, my VIA 10/100 works just fine in 2.6.
"Continuing support for older hardware is one way in which Microsoft is going to win as far as the common user is concerned."
Where the hell did that idea come form?!?! Microsoft has been dumping legacy hardware with every iteration of Windows they have ever released. Most hardware since the DOS days comes with drivers provided by the manufacturer. With XP and more so with Vista, hardware that isn't signed (meaning they don't meet the "made for Windows" initiative) probably won't work properly if they work at all. This is the case with most (if not all) true legacy hardware (legacy means hardware that is no longer manufactured or supported).
"The only saving grace for Linux at this point in time is that your average Linux user is smart enough to not execute random executable files they receive from people they don't know in an email message."
Although I agree with this statement, a lot of the time the really nasty ones are spread by people you *DO* know. You know the type. This is the user that actually believes clicking "Remove me from this list" will actually remove them from that spammer's list. These also tend to be those people that clog the email system with "try this! It really works!" messages.
"It is very narrow and scope, and does not concern broad free-speech rights."
Horse shit.
It is called "the slippery slope" in case you haven't heard of it. All rights restrictive laws start out narrow and widen over time. First legislation to protect the children, then legislation to protect women, then legislation to protect the handicapped, etc...
This is just the beginning of the slide where this legislation is concerned.
"How exactly am I infringing somebody else's rights by leaving my wireless network open? The answer is I am not."
Your "rights" end when they negatively affect others. Let me setup some hypotheticals here...
1) You are sitting there with an "open AP" and Mr. Mass Spammer finds it. Mr. Mass Spammer then proceeds to use your connection to spam the rest of the world. You sir are now a menace to networking and deserve the blackhole of every blacklist out there.
2) You are sitting there with your "open AP" and Mr. Pedo Mass Murderer finds it. Mr. Pedo Mass Murderer then uses it to lure that 14 year old off of MySpace (the one that isn't the FBI agent) and kills her. You then deserve the blackhole of public flogging you will get when you are arrested, questioned with rubber hoses, and thrown in with Bubba for a few days until they figure out it wasn't you....If they figure that out.
"Now that is just one minor point. But consider that there are about hundred settings, and ninetyfive of them will stop the router from working properly if I change them, so how is an end user who is not a computer expert supposed to get this right?"
Just like any other field where you are clueless....You hire an expert. I wouldn't consider doing heart surgery on my brother who had a heart attack for the same reason.
Horse shit. The only reason to update is to make sure your machine isn't a menace to others on a network. By using the update cycle to verify that a user has paid the Microsoft tax, Microsoft is making itself a menace to all networking. Add to that the fact that WGA is spyware in every sense of the word, and broken spyware at that, and it is a recipe for people not to update when WGA incorrectly identifes them as being "pirates".
As a Linux user I am offended by the attitude Microsoft takes to network security since everyone, including you and me, is affected by shit like this.
"Aside from reparing an old design flaw which had long been unexploited, I don't know how much more Microsoft could do."
How about not using critical updates as a platform for making more money?!?!? Their WGA policy on updates causes people to NOT update especially when WGA itself is spyware.
Ok professor, I'm going to play a little devil's advocate here...
"The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."
Define "unreasonable" and no, a dictionary answer won't do. You see, that is the problem with the Constitution. It is purposefully vague. What may be unreasonable today may not be tomorrow. There are loads of wiggle room in the Constitution that can allow things like this. And while we are on the subject of the Constitution, what about article IV section 4 that says:
"Section 4. The United States shall guarantee to every state in this union a republican form of government, and shall protect each of them against invasion; and on application of the legislature, or of the executive (when the legislature cannot be convened) against domestic violence."
The Patriot Act is IMO in part the enforcement of this article. Congress abdicated its authority to the Executive Branch a long time ago.
"With respect to information dissemination, the Director shall develop and oversee the implementation of policies, principles, standards, and guidelines to--
apply to Federal agency dissemination of public information, regardless of the form or format in which such information is disseminated; and
promote public access to public information and fulfill the purposes of this chapter, including through the effective use of information technology."
"The government can't seem to decide it's priorities. It'll punish you more for cracking than for murder, but at the same time it won't secure it's own systems and heed experts."
sarcasm Who needs secure systems when you have draconian punishments?/sarcasm
That aside, systems are no more secure or insecure as the people behind them. I have been in places where they have implemented "high security passwords" only to have the secretary simply write the thing down on a post-it and stick it to their monitor.
Ok, I'll take your word but you still have the derivative work issue as well as the DMCA violation in cracking the content protection to do the editing (forgot to mention that one in my original post).
"i do not understand what the big deal is. It is almost as if hollywood is saying it our morals or nothing."
They aren't saying that at all. They are saying 2 things. First, all your derivative works are belong to us. Second, it is a reflection on their editing when these things get released into the "wild". Imagine if you bought what you thought was an unedited version of The Matrix second hand only to find it was edited. I don't know if the edited versions stated they were edited outside of the industry or not but even if they were there is the first point to deal with.
No, it's a scam when you see the price listed as "$150.00*" it is a misleading advertising scam. That "*" will lead you to the VERY fine print reading "after $100.00 rebate". Anything that intentionally misleads you into thinking you are getting something for one price while being charged another is a scam in my book.
Do you mean to imply that people are blind and deaf about identity theft with as much press as it has been getting? I know the American attention span is about that of a retarded gnat, but I didn't think it was so short as to be non-existant. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out when you are being scammed INCLUDING those credit card offers....
Sure, on the credit card side you are right. On the online banking side you are wrong. The attention identity theft has received and will continue to receive when it gets worse will only cause people to not do anything involving money online. The more it happens, the less likely people will be to trust ANY site....
All it takes is common sense to know that clicking a link in an email is a no-no. Also, any site that asks for all the information these sites are asking for IN ONE PLACE is a big red flag. No site, not even a banking site, is going to ask you for your DOB, SSN, mother's maiden name, credit card PINs, etc all on the same page. People really should listen to their gut instinct when the red flags go up....
The banking industry as well as Congress and just about every commerce site out there is just drooling to get their hands on a REAL identity thief. The "example" they make of them should be grand! I can just see it....Nothing left but a smoking boot!
Slashdot Mirror
I never said I agree with that theory but theory or not, that is why laws like this take on more "importance" (notice the quotation marks) to legislators. It is a perseption problem.
B.
http://www.woehr.de/engl/source/frameset.htm
Without considering the implications this law will have, the reason it has more "importance" than movies is its interactive features. You don't interact with movies and movies don't interacy with your input. GTA:SA as you use in your example is AO because of the graphic scenes that the user invoked. The difference is between watching blind violence and doing (virtually) blind violence.
B.
Both sides have radicals that have no use for peace in the region. It is a self fueling situation when attacks are involved. The situation won't get better until the violence ceases and both sides learn to control their radicals. The violence won't cease as long as other nations (the US included) keep choosing sides and fanning the flames of war. This war by proxy (Iran & Syria vs the USA) is a direct result of US cowboy policy this administration enjoys. Unless the UN got some balls about it and condemns the fighting AND ALL THOSE WHO SUPPORT IT, it won't stop.
B.
"Bet you I can prove to you that most jurisdictions allow marriage to sisters."
Sure they do....As long as it is someone else's sister. OTOH, I think the Catholic faith may have an issue if you try to marry one of their sisters....
B.
"The huge dump of drivers from 2.4 to 2.6 did not help; it was supposed to only get rid of legacy hardware, right? Well, it got rid of more than that, such as support for my VIA 10/100 ethernet card. I hardly think any 10/100 ethernet qualifies as legacy hardware, let alone one that debuted less than 4 years ago, but all distros with a 2.4 kernel worked perfectly with it (including DSL, but not DSL-N) and virtually none with a 2.6 kernel work with it. I can only imagine how much other non-legacy hardware lost support with 2.6. Geeks love the latest and greatest hardware and take the mentality "just upgrade", but lots of people use older hardware as long as it still works."
I have to ask...Have you tried compiling your own 2.6 kernel instead of using the one that comes with a distro? Distros usually are a couple versions behind on just about everything (with my distro being one of the exceptions [Gentoo]). I am willing to bet your distro doesn't have the "legacy drivers" enabled. BTW, my VIA 10/100 works just fine in 2.6.
"Continuing support for older hardware is one way in which Microsoft is going to win as far as the common user is concerned."
Where the hell did that idea come form?!?! Microsoft has been dumping legacy hardware with every iteration of Windows they have ever released. Most hardware since the DOS days comes with drivers provided by the manufacturer. With XP and more so with Vista, hardware that isn't signed (meaning they don't meet the "made for Windows" initiative) probably won't work properly if they work at all. This is the case with most (if not all) true legacy hardware (legacy means hardware that is no longer manufactured or supported).
B.
"The only saving grace for Linux at this point in time is that your average Linux user is smart enough to not execute random executable files they receive from people they don't know in an email message."
Although I agree with this statement, a lot of the time the really nasty ones are spread by people you *DO* know. You know the type. This is the user that actually believes clicking "Remove me from this list" will actually remove them from that spammer's list. These also tend to be those people that clog the email system with "try this! It really works!" messages.
B.
"It is very narrow and scope, and does not concern broad free-speech rights."
Horse shit.
It is called "the slippery slope" in case you haven't heard of it. All rights restrictive laws start out narrow and widen over time. First legislation to protect the children, then legislation to protect women, then legislation to protect the handicapped, etc...
This is just the beginning of the slide where this legislation is concerned.
B.
"How exactly am I infringing somebody else's rights by leaving my wireless network open? The answer is I am not."
Your "rights" end when they negatively affect others. Let me setup some hypotheticals here...
1) You are sitting there with an "open AP" and Mr. Mass Spammer finds it. Mr. Mass Spammer then proceeds to use your connection to spam the rest of the world. You sir are now a menace to networking and deserve the blackhole of every blacklist out there.
2) You are sitting there with your "open AP" and Mr. Pedo Mass Murderer finds it. Mr. Pedo Mass Murderer then uses it to lure that 14 year old off of MySpace (the one that isn't the FBI agent) and kills her. You then deserve the blackhole of public flogging you will get when you are arrested, questioned with rubber hoses, and thrown in with Bubba for a few days until they figure out it wasn't you....If they figure that out.
B.
"Now that is just one minor point. But consider that there are about hundred settings, and ninetyfive of them will stop the router from working properly if I change them, so how is an end user who is not a computer expert supposed to get this right?"
Just like any other field where you are clueless....You hire an expert. I wouldn't consider doing heart surgery on my brother who had a heart attack for the same reason.
B.
Horse shit. The only reason to update is to make sure your machine isn't a menace to others on a network. By using the update cycle to verify that a user has paid the Microsoft tax, Microsoft is making itself a menace to all networking. Add to that the fact that WGA is spyware in every sense of the word, and broken spyware at that, and it is a recipe for people not to update when WGA incorrectly identifes them as being "pirates".
As a Linux user I am offended by the attitude Microsoft takes to network security since everyone, including you and me, is affected by shit like this.
B.
"Aside from reparing an old design flaw which had long been unexploited, I don't know how much more Microsoft could do."
How about not using critical updates as a platform for making more money?!?!? Their WGA policy on updates causes people to NOT update especially when WGA itself is spyware.
B.
Ok professor, I'm going to play a little devil's advocate here...
"The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."
Define "unreasonable" and no, a dictionary answer won't do. You see, that is the problem with the Constitution. It is purposefully vague. What may be unreasonable today may not be tomorrow. There are loads of wiggle room in the Constitution that can allow things like this. And while we are on the subject of the Constitution, what about article IV section 4 that says:
"Section 4. The United States shall guarantee to every state in this union a republican form of government, and shall protect each of them against invasion; and on application of the legislature, or of the executive (when the legislature cannot be convened) against domestic violence."
The Patriot Act is IMO in part the enforcement of this article. Congress abdicated its authority to the Executive Branch a long time ago.
B.
Read the law...
"With respect to information dissemination, the Director shall develop and oversee the implementation of policies, principles, standards, and guidelines to--
apply to Federal agency dissemination of public information, regardless of the form or format in which such information is disseminated; and
promote public access to public information and fulfill the purposes of this chapter, including through the effective use of information technology."
B.
B.
"The government can't seem to decide it's priorities. It'll punish you more for cracking than for murder, but at the same time it won't secure it's own systems and heed experts."
/sarcasm
sarcasm
Who needs secure systems when you have draconian punishments?
That aside, systems are no more secure or insecure as the people behind them. I have been in places where they have implemented "high security passwords" only to have the secretary simply write the thing down on a post-it and stick it to their monitor.
B.
Ok, I'll take your word but you still have the derivative work issue as well as the DMCA violation in cracking the content protection to do the editing (forgot to mention that one in my original post).
B.
"i do not understand what the big deal is. It is almost as if hollywood is saying it our morals or nothing."
They aren't saying that at all. They are saying 2 things. First, all your derivative works are belong to us. Second, it is a reflection on their editing when these things get released into the "wild". Imagine if you bought what you thought was an unedited version of The Matrix second hand only to find it was edited. I don't know if the edited versions stated they were edited outside of the industry or not but even if they were there is the first point to deal with.
B.
No, it's a scam when you see the price listed as "$150.00*" it is a misleading advertising scam. That "*" will lead you to the VERY fine print reading "after $100.00 rebate". Anything that intentionally misleads you into thinking you are getting something for one price while being charged another is a scam in my book.
B.
Umm....You didn't pay attention to this part...
"Faith in obscurity means you'll be totally unprepared when disaster strikes."
Your post indicates that you think there will never be an attack on a Mac box. Never is a very long time you know.
"-----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
12345
-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----"
Damn....Remind me to change the combination on my luggage!
B.
Do you mean to imply that people are blind and deaf about identity theft with as much press as it has been getting? I know the American attention span is about that of a retarded gnat, but I didn't think it was so short as to be non-existant. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out when you are being scammed INCLUDING those credit card offers....
B.
I forgot he did that skit...lol...
"Colbert Report: Truthiness Anyone can read the news to you. Stephen promises to feel the news at you."
B.
Sure, on the credit card side you are right. On the online banking side you are wrong. The attention identity theft has received and will continue to receive when it gets worse will only cause people to not do anything involving money online. The more it happens, the less likely people will be to trust ANY site....
B.
Not trying to defend these thieves but:
All it takes is common sense to know that clicking a link in an email is a no-no. Also, any site that asks for all the information these sites are asking for IN ONE PLACE is a big red flag. No site, not even a banking site, is going to ask you for your DOB, SSN, mother's maiden name, credit card PINs, etc all on the same page. People really should listen to their gut instinct when the red flags go up....
B.
The banking industry as well as Congress and just about every commerce site out there is just drooling to get their hands on a REAL identity thief. The "example" they make of them should be grand! I can just see it....Nothing left but a smoking boot!
B.