The worst part here is that I think you're sincere, rather than trolling.
The parachute analogy is bad. A parachute is an essential part of skydiving. Without parachutes, or if parachutes couldn't be made reliable, nobody would skydive, because chance of injury approaches 100%.
What's next, if you kill yourself in a car accident, it's your fault? Even if the seatbelt broke because it couldn't take the force of a crash? And it would have saved your life if it was engineered properly?
The seat belt analogy is pretty good. Seat belts, like wiimote straps, are not essential. You don't expect to use them; they're there "just in case." Without seat belts, people would still drive. With seat belts, people still die in car collisions. They're a good idea, but not something you expect to use.
If I got into a car crash and we were all wearing seat belts that malfunctioned, and I was horribly crippled for life and everyone I love died, it wouldn't occur to me to sue anyone over the seat belts. I got in a crash. That's an extreme exception, and it's not the seat belt manufacturer's fault I crashed. Seat belts are not "used" (yes, they're worn, but they don't do anything) in the normal operation of a car. That belt exists as a favor to me, to improve an exceptional case (a case that has never happened with me, in nearly 25 years of driving (though I still wear a seat belt)), not because it's something I need.
But it looks like you would actually blame the seat belt maker, and I don't really think that's a terribly uncommon attitude. And I think that's really sad. I wish all you people would move out of my country so we could have a responsible society, instead of a "blame someone else" society.
I see the McDonalds hot coffee case has been mentioned here too. Yeah, same issue. Spilling the coffee is an exception. Dealing with exceptions is fine, but shouldn't be a requirement, expecially when the user could also deal with it. Don't spill your coffee, or if you think you're likely to, wear a poncho. Don't throw your wiimote at your TV, or if you think you're likely to, add your own high-tensile steel chain strap, or put some thick plate glass in front of your TV. It's not their fault when you do clumsy things.
No, it wasn't pedanticism. It was just that I was reading all this talk about it, and leadership came up, and then realized I didn't have a clue what the job is.;)
Of the vital and necessary freedoms, anonymity is one of the least valuable. It's sort of like the right to own a machine gun. We need to keep it available and overthrow any government that tries to take it from us, but we almost never actually need to use it. It's one of those "just in case" kind of things.
How easy would it be to modify Windows 2000 to be even better?
Pretty damn hard, since step 1 of the project is "disassemble Windows and make sense of it." There are reasons people like working with Open Source stuff, and having the source is one of them.
Or her size, if she hadn't been one of those cute Little People like Warwick Davis. Or her age, if she hadn't been old like John McCain. Or her sexual preferences, if she hadn't been a necrophi-- oh wait, he left that part out.
Use anything, but if you use C at the bottom (where you need speed, or for tiny projects where the extra amount of your time that it'll use won't matter much) and python at the top, you'll be fine, and ready for 99% of the world's problems.
As for python's whitespace issue: get over it. If this is distasteful enough to you that you have a problem with the language, then you're going to have some sort of aesthetic issue somewhere, with another language. Whether you choose python or something else, you're going to need to learn how to "just deal." It sounds like you (in particular, this is no longer generic advice) ought to go with python just so you can get over that mental block. Once you're over it, then maybe you can switch to whatever (although you probably won't want to).
Anyone who still thinks that drug-related problems are caused by their prohibition is an idiot.
All drug-related problems? No. We'll still have stupid people who want the drugs, and that's never going to change, whether it's legal or illegal. Some drug-related problems? Hell yes prohibition is causing that.
Prohibition is what has puts criminals in charge of the supply (leading to a wide variety of problems, everywhere from flying bullets to lack of quality control).
It's also causing us to spend public funds on the totally useless activity of arresting people involved with drugs for drugs. When someone gets arrested because of a marijuana plant in someone's back yard, society has just expended resources for the sole purpose of harming itself. We could be using those cops to go after people who harm other people, instead of using them to go after the innocent.
And flat out once drugs infest a neighborhood it is a terror
Let's be clear about something: unless you're really old, then you're not talking about drugs infesting a neighborhood; you're talking about criminals infesting a neighborhood. Our current policy is that only criminals are allowed to sell drugs. It doesn't surprise me that these people do unsavory things, and since we have decided that they must be the businessmen to whom people go for drugs, they're going to have the money/power to do the worst things imaginable. Our current policies are to elevate them, like we did for Capone.
Let's think about what these "drug-infested" neighborhoods would be like, if people went to Wal-Mart to get their drugs, for about $3.89 per pound. I don't know if things would be better or worse, but they'd sure as hell be different.
Even when a user has a high-speed local connection, downloads from abroad will trickle in. Bittorrent clients apparently don't prioritize other users on the same ISP or at least in the same country.
I heard some people are working on an advanced file transfer protocol that solves that problem. They call it HTTP. I don't remember what the letters stand for. Combine that with something called (sorry if I get jargony) a "caching proxy" at the ISP, and it works beautifully.
I had to switch to iTunes when I got my iPod... so what??
That is what people are talking about, when they complain about iTunes lock-in. Try using a Rio without their software: easy. Try using an iPod without their software: hard and you get threats and deception from an Apple lawyer.
What is your logic for going after iTunes as being anything worse then is already out on the market from damn near everyone else?
Because it's not "damn near everyone else," it's damn near no one else. It's unusual for an MP3 player to require a proprietary syncing app and refuse to work if the user chooses some other way to get the music onto the player.
You install some package, and it says "requires MySQL" and then you have MySQL installed. Later you need to do something database-y, and think "well, I already have MySQL on here..."
This has nothing to do with registering under a pseudonym. This has to do with psychological stalking and trauma. Please pull your head out of your ass. I'm sure it's hard to breathe up there.
No, the stalking/trauma is why people wanted to "do something" about Lori Drew. But look at what she was actually charged with and at the bullshit conviction that is now on the books.
If she had used her real name, she would not have been in violation of the laws she was charged with violating, no matter how much she had stalked or harassed the suiciteen. Do you get it? This jury's decision is all about the pseudonym and MySpace terms, and the consequences to the crazy suiciteen are irrelvant.
The actual harm is irrelevant. From this law's point of view, the only victim was MySpace, due to Lori Drew horrifically misleading them into thinking they were serving pages to a teen boy. FRAUD!!
Of course, if it weren't for the stalking thing, she also won't be charged with anything, because no one would care, just like I won't be charged with anything if I call you a $CURSE_WORD and you get upset. (Unless you kill yourself, in which case CmdrTaco is getting a "who is Cajun Hell" subpoena.
That's the whole problem with you Linux dorks! People shouldn't have to get down to that level and do such obscure things, just to be able to safely use their computer. And what you don't understand is that most people just plain won't do it! Your post is exactly why Linux will never be ready for the desktop!
I don't think they're so much condemning the photo and saying DoD shouldn't be allowed to alter photos that way. They're just saying DoD can no longer be relied upon as as source for news-related photos.
It really isn't that much different than flying the general to the fanciest New York salon, fixing her all up, taking her to the best photographer, and snapping a beautiful picture (other than cost).
But if AP receives a photo like that from DoD with the caption, "Here is La Generala hard at work on a plan to protect America from the terr'rists, in a casual snapshot captured by one of her cow-orkers, right before one of the all-the-Chimay-you-can-drink party that the DoD holds every Friday afternoon to loosen their employees up for the after-work sexathon," and AP passes that on to your local newspaper, your community might experience a drain as people become government employees based on a false belief.
Sure, it seems unlikely, but damn it's cold up here in Alaska and I can't wait until the end up the term so I can go home.
You might want to keep up with current events. Saving a buck is just one of the reasons to violate copyright. DRM is getting to the one of the big ones, maybe even the biggest one. For example, if you buy movies, you can't play them on the most recent MacBooks. When content providers use DRM, piracy is the only way to make stuff Just Work.
When the choice is between "I can watch the movie" and "I can't watch the movie" then the issue of which choice involves payment and which one doesn't, is a distant second priority.
Slashdot Mirror
The worst part here is that I think you're sincere, rather than trolling.
The parachute analogy is bad. A parachute is an essential part of skydiving. Without parachutes, or if parachutes couldn't be made reliable, nobody would skydive, because chance of injury approaches 100%.
The seat belt analogy is pretty good. Seat belts, like wiimote straps, are not essential. You don't expect to use them; they're there "just in case." Without seat belts, people would still drive. With seat belts, people still die in car collisions. They're a good idea, but not something you expect to use.
If I got into a car crash and we were all wearing seat belts that malfunctioned, and I was horribly crippled for life and everyone I love died, it wouldn't occur to me to sue anyone over the seat belts. I got in a crash. That's an extreme exception, and it's not the seat belt manufacturer's fault I crashed. Seat belts are not "used" (yes, they're worn, but they don't do anything) in the normal operation of a car. That belt exists as a favor to me, to improve an exceptional case (a case that has never happened with me, in nearly 25 years of driving (though I still wear a seat belt)), not because it's something I need.
But it looks like you would actually blame the seat belt maker, and I don't really think that's a terribly uncommon attitude. And I think that's really sad. I wish all you people would move out of my country so we could have a responsible society, instead of a "blame someone else" society.
I see the McDonalds hot coffee case has been mentioned here too. Yeah, same issue. Spilling the coffee is an exception. Dealing with exceptions is fine, but shouldn't be a requirement, expecially when the user could also deal with it. Don't spill your coffee, or if you think you're likely to, wear a poncho. Don't throw your wiimote at your TV, or if you think you're likely to, add your own high-tensile steel chain strap, or put some thick plate glass in front of your TV. It's not their fault when you do clumsy things.
No, it wasn't pedanticism. It was just that I was reading all this talk about it, and leadership came up, and then realized I didn't have a clue what the job is. ;)
Of the vital and necessary freedoms, anonymity is one of the least valuable. It's sort of like the right to own a machine gun. We need to keep it available and overthrow any government that tries to take it from us, but we almost never actually need to use it. It's one of those "just in case" kind of things.
Exactly. The outcome of the JMRI case is that these types of things are copyright violations, not merely contract violations.
Wait a minute, back it up, back it up. I have a question.
What's an Energy Secretary?
Pretty damn hard, since step 1 of the project is "disassemble Windows and make sense of it." There are reasons people like working with Open Source stuff, and having the source is one of them.
Or her size, if she hadn't been one of those cute Little People like Warwick Davis. Or her age, if she hadn't been old like John McCain. Or her sexual preferences, if she hadn't been a necrophi-- oh wait, he left that part out.
Use anything, but if you use C at the bottom (where you need speed, or for tiny projects where the extra amount of your time that it'll use won't matter much) and python at the top, you'll be fine, and ready for 99% of the world's problems.
As for python's whitespace issue: get over it. If this is distasteful enough to you that you have a problem with the language, then you're going to have some sort of aesthetic issue somewhere, with another language. Whether you choose python or something else, you're going to need to learn how to "just deal." It sounds like you (in particular, this is no longer generic advice) ought to go with python just so you can get over that mental block. Once you're over it, then maybe you can switch to whatever (although you probably won't want to).
All drug-related problems? No. We'll still have stupid people who want the drugs, and that's never going to change, whether it's legal or illegal. Some drug-related problems? Hell yes prohibition is causing that.
Prohibition is what has puts criminals in charge of the supply (leading to a wide variety of problems, everywhere from flying bullets to lack of quality control).
It's also causing us to spend public funds on the totally useless activity of arresting people involved with drugs for drugs. When someone gets arrested because of a marijuana plant in someone's back yard, society has just expended resources for the sole purpose of harming itself. We could be using those cops to go after people who harm other people, instead of using them to go after the innocent.
Let's be clear about something: unless you're really old, then you're not talking about drugs infesting a neighborhood; you're talking about criminals infesting a neighborhood. Our current policy is that only criminals are allowed to sell drugs. It doesn't surprise me that these people do unsavory things, and since we have decided that they must be the businessmen to whom people go for drugs, they're going to have the money/power to do the worst things imaginable. Our current policies are to elevate them, like we did for Capone.
Let's think about what these "drug-infested" neighborhoods would be like, if people went to Wal-Mart to get their drugs, for about $3.89 per pound. I don't know if things would be better or worse, but they'd sure as hell be different.
Or maybe you're not biased, and preferred those machines because of their more advanced tech. :-)
I seem to recall the 68020 (1984?) having an instruction cache. (Though a lot smaller than 8k, if I recall.)
Are you sure that wasn't a megabyte of RAM?
Is it just my imagination, or is 199 out of 200 pretty damn useful? So you have one slow connection and 199 fast ones? Oh, the horror!
I heard some people are working on an advanced file transfer protocol that solves that problem. They call it HTTP. I don't remember what the letters stand for. Combine that with something called (sorry if I get jargony) a "caching proxy" at the ISP, and it works beautifully.
That is what people are talking about, when they complain about iTunes lock-in. Try using a Rio without their software: easy. Try using an iPod without their software: hard and you get threats and deception from an Apple lawyer.
Because it's not "damn near everyone else," it's damn near no one else. It's unusual for an MP3 player to require a proprietary syncing app and refuse to work if the user chooses some other way to get the music onto the player.
You install some package, and it says "requires MySQL" and then you have MySQL installed. Later you need to do something database-y, and think "well, I already have MySQL on here..."
Oops, I thought the reference to low-wattage bulbs was the author praising Coulter's efficiency and greenness.
If SETI can detect patterns in the songs, then the aliens need a more efficient codec.
No, the stalking/trauma is why people wanted to "do something" about Lori Drew. But look at what she was actually charged with and at the bullshit conviction that is now on the books.
If she had used her real name, she would not have been in violation of the laws she was charged with violating, no matter how much she had stalked or harassed the suiciteen. Do you get it? This jury's decision is all about the pseudonym and MySpace terms, and the consequences to the crazy suiciteen are irrelvant.
The actual harm is irrelevant. From this law's point of view, the only victim was MySpace, due to Lori Drew horrifically misleading them into thinking they were serving pages to a teen boy. FRAUD!!
Of course, if it weren't for the stalking thing, she also won't be charged with anything, because no one would care, just like I won't be charged with anything if I call you a $CURSE_WORD and you get upset. (Unless you kill yourself, in which case CmdrTaco is getting a "who is Cajun Hell" subpoena.
That's the whole problem with you Linux dorks! People shouldn't have to get down to that level and do such obscure things, just to be able to safely use their computer. And what you don't understand is that most people just plain won't do it! Your post is exactly why Linux will never be ready for the desktop!
I don't think they're so much condemning the photo and saying DoD shouldn't be allowed to alter photos that way. They're just saying DoD can no longer be relied upon as as source for news-related photos.
But if AP receives a photo like that from DoD with the caption, "Here is La Generala hard at work on a plan to protect America from the terr'rists, in a casual snapshot captured by one of her cow-orkers, right before one of the all-the-Chimay-you-can-drink party that the DoD holds every Friday afternoon to loosen their employees up for the after-work sexathon," and AP passes that on to your local newspaper, your community might experience a drain as people become government employees based on a false belief.
Sure, it seems unlikely, but damn it's cold up here in Alaska and I can't wait until the end up the term so I can go home.
Yeah, but this an agenda like that, hardly anyone is your ally, comrade. He's sure an ally of a lot of us, though.
Microsoft's lawyers are way lazier, that's the difference.
You might want to keep up with current events. Saving a buck is just one of the reasons to violate copyright. DRM is getting to the one of the big ones, maybe even the biggest one. For example, if you buy movies, you can't play them on the most recent MacBooks. When content providers use DRM, piracy is the only way to make stuff Just Work.
When the choice is between "I can watch the movie" and "I can't watch the movie" then the issue of which choice involves payment and which one doesn't, is a distant second priority.