I guess you could say I'm a huge O'Reilly fan, not only because of his show, but because of all those top quality Computing books he finds time to write. It's just wronger to say us O'Reilly viewers are less intellignet.
A question we have to ask oursevles is why did the jenemy attack the WTC, when there were more politically explosive (White House) and economically important (NY stock exchange) targets? My best guess is that it was due to the underlying symbol of the twin towers.
It's a well established fact of modern architecture that skyscrapers represent masculinity. I don't want to make it anymore explicit than that. The act of throwing up a huge public, tapering monument is very symbolic of what drives the world (note also that Architects are 89% male, which increases to 96% when you look at the top 100). So what they did on that fateful September day was no less than a direct attack on America's masculinity. Also note that the main victims of 9-11 were firefighters, which is an extremely masculine career.
If you accept this hypothesis, a number of interesting conclusions can be drawn. Firstly, consider the fact there were TWO towers, side by side, and what that might symbolise about permissive modern America. Next, remember that the Middle Eastern perpetrators were deeply conservative reactionaries, dedicated to justice that dates from biblical times, so this target must have subconsciously represented what they hate most in modern America. Also think about the vehement reaction from some quarters.
There are many types of reaction to an attack on masculinity. Those secure in their own proclivities and nature tend to handle it the best. The others may range from slight disquiet to full blown rage. It is the latter group that is in denial. Denial of their nature leads to inner repression, and then an outbursting of emotion when the feelings inside finally have an outlet. The next time you see, for example, a politician, ranting about the twin towers in a wholly overblown way, just remember what is REALLY motivating him. Just something to think about.
Is it safe to ask why this is in the Apple section? I don't want to burn what little karma I have, but in what way is this news for nerds or stuff that matters? A minor technical problem, many comapnies have them, many companies have recalls. It seems Slashdot is turning more and more into http://applepressrelease.slashdot.org
If only their computers were cheaper, so I could jump on the bandwagon...
That's a nasty piece of political manoeuvering, but is stem cell research really a good example? I'm not aware that there is a scientific consensus on what is basically a moral issue. A slight distinction, perhaps.
I agree wiht your post to some extent. The difference is that when a tree is cut down, there aren't two camps of lumberjacks hotly debating whether it was a Elm or a Beech. Science is confusing enough for those whose business it is to know the ins and outs. Simply because Bush tends to believe one camp over another is not grounds to condemn the man. Our time is limited and at some point we must trust the word of an advisor, who himself must trust another to provide his information. The chain continues where it might terminate in someone with an agenda. Politicians by their nature are generalists not specialists, they cannot afford to be.
But really the point is - misusing science is not limited to the Bush government. I'd like you, if you will, to give me a couple of examples of Bush ignoring established scientific consensus. I'm willing to change my opinion. On the global warming question, there is no doubt recent trends show global warming is occurring and is inevitable. Though it is not my field, it seems to me that it is the magnitude, and downstream effects of this that are hotly debated, a debate muddied by bad science and vested interests, but a debate nonetheless.
What? Politicians misuse scientific findings for their own political goals? What an amazing insight!! Perhaps Vint Cerf et al. should get a reality check - this isn't a George Bush problem, though his problems with science have admittedly been flagrant ie global warming, Kyoto. I don't see how Kerry or anyone would be any different, it is the system, not the political party that misuses science. Most of it is from a misunderstanding of the process involved. There is nothing hard and fast to grasp in science. Most theories form, are disproved or modified, continuing indefinitely. Even the most basic axioms of biology have to have their addendums and footnotes because there are always exceptions to every rule, and on contentious issues (global warming is a good example), well, wait 50 years and then you can look back over the equally convincing, committed camps and make a decision of who is more likely to be right on the preponderance of the evidence.
Many groups misuse scientific research for their own motives. The media for instance is one of the worse, publishing dubious claims as scare stories to ultimately sell newspapers i.e. HRT links with cancer, danger of the pill, MMR scandal, GMO/GM food to name a few recent UK ones. This appears to me to be a thinly veiled political attack. I'm no fan of Bush, but I feel this is wrong. Scientists should not use their status to give political affiliation a veneer of legitimacy, as our opinions are no more valid than truck drivers, shop assistants or lumberjacks.
Thanks for the answer, but the original question was comparing buying a DVD ($20) with going to the cinema ($24+$8+$12=$44). Even allowing for the somewhat strange "parking" charge (WTF is that? Parking at cinema's are free over here), the difference in cost is $24.
So to get the value of your home cinema experience, you would have to buy 3450/24= ~144 DVDs to break even. Heh, only a factor of ten off from my initial prediction. Good enough for government work. Take your figures though, $25 for a visit - $20 dollars for the DVD and you have 863 DVDs to buy to make up the difference.
Point taken about the idiots in the cinema. Some drunken bint spoiled a Indiana Jones marathon by subjecting us all to her oh-so-hilarious commentary.
Your cost estimate is missing the amount you presumably shelled out to build that state of the art home cinema experience. How much "savings" from cheaper DVDs are you really making when you add that in? Or, in other words, how many DVDs would you have to buy instead of cinema tickets to make up for the value of your huge TV / surround sound? My pulled-out-my-ass guess is >1000 at least.
Of course I realise its nice to have a big TV and sound system for other reasons, but really...
I used P2P for a while (eDonkey) but stopped, but I became pretty uneasy about the whole thing (ethically/ pragmatically). I feel it is only a matter of time before virus writers become more proactive in using these ready made networks for the transmission and control of their viruses. When the first P2P transmission virus blazes through the network, like HIV in a lymph node, then uses it as a reservoir for systemic (Internet) infection, it will be too late. When a virus writer releases an upgraded payload, or a modification to escape anti viral scanner via P2P to create "escape" mutants, we will be in serious trouble. We need government legislation of P2P now. Learn from biology.
Yes, this article is about Europe, but the underlying issue that PWC were investigating, and which has been discussed and voted on in the European Parliment, is whether Europe should have a US style software patents system. That is what PWC are discussing, so I don't feel it is to offtopic to bring up problems in the US style system. I type and spell well, but I don't prewrite rants. Blame the superior educational system over here.
...that this is just the fault of the patent system, it is a flaw in the legal system, and it is a flaw in the community. Where patents are demonstratedly wrong, it should be easier for small companies or individuals to challenge that bad patent. Bad patents shouldn't just stand becasue one party has deeper pockets. And parties who are in thei right shouldn't be so cowardly as to run from these fights, if they want to change the system, they must work at it. It's all very well bitching about C&D and takedown notices, but you Americans meekly agree to do whatever they say anyway, grow some backbone.
I feel sorry for the USPTO. They obviously lack technical expertise, and can't afford the salaries to attain it. If they were getting feedback on what patents were downright bad from the court system, they could train and evolve to start granting more deserved patents.
1. You're using Firefox
2. You had two tabs open
3. With two YRO stories
4. You replied to the wrong one.
5. You want this one.
6. Someone will shortly claim your soon-to-be reposted comment is a dupe and point to the one in this story as proof.
7. You will lose more karma.
Therefore:
You would be correct if Google were selling razor blades, cheese or any other physical product. What they are doing is creating a news resource. Personally, I don't like the fact that a company which wears its ethics on its sleeve, so to mangle the metaphor, by stating "Don't be evil" as its company motto would self censor to fit into the demands of a foreign government.
It is the precedent that is important here. When you ignore this, you erode the fundamental freedoms that form the basis of the Internet.
This si interesting, but you have to say this guy is fighting a losing battle. You have to fight Spam at its source. Look at the Spamhaus statistics: it might sound trollish, but spam is evidently an American problem, which must be combated in America. The Spamhaus stats prove it. 90% of the spam you see is from 200 individuals, of whom 96% are Americans, operating out of america.
Clean up your act guys. When you're costing the world this much money, it just isn't funny anymore.
This is good news. America is going to have to crack down hard on Spammers. Spam is essentailly an American problem, exported to the rest of the world. You think I'm lying? Hell, check out the spamhaus stats. It's clear that America is going to have to enact the heaviest penalties to help the rest of the world. The CAN-SPAM act is ludicrous, hopefully Congress will wise up. Speaking as a Brit, I'm outraged that such a prominent Net-Nation is taking such a bláse attitude towards their responsibilities to the rest of us. America is ruining my Net experience. It's a harsh truth, but it's a truth nonetheless.
Let me start by saying I really respect Goodger as a talented programmer and leading light of the firefox community. But every Dr Jekyll has his Mr Hyde and the Mr Hyde in this case is Mr Goodger's firefox extension "Magpile" (no url intentional). Every intelligent being must decide whether to use their ability for good or evil, this is the lesson learnt from Spiderman 2. A good film, but too much indecent kissing and costumes.
For those unfamiliar to it, it involves various tools for making the downloading of, and stockpiling of, obscene images incredibly easy with just a few keyboard shortcuts. When I first stumbled across it, introducing my elderly father to the extension system, I was pretty embarassed. It's apologists try to claim it has some other function, but this is a weak and flimflam argument.
My embarassment with my father that day was joined by a growing sense of anger as I pondered why the mozilla foundation itself was supporting (albeit indirectly) this indecent extension. Now I realise, after many ignored letters, that Goodger is a core developer!! of Firefox: it has been built from the ground up to aid obscenity. That's all I can write at the moment, I'm too choked with emotion. I leave it to your own conscious whether you can continue to use this browser.
I know I will be lambasted and moderated down for this, so I hope those of you who still browse at less than +1 will take the time to read and understand my fresh viewpoint. I'm not sure how much longer I will be able to continue being part of a community that I have found extremely closed to unique opinions. I could easily "karma w****" as it is known (I personally prefer the term "karma solicitation") in order to get my views more widely seen, but I feel that that would be adapting myself to fit into a community which frankly is not ready for me, emotionally.
Anyway, this is all far from the point. I'm not about to claim to you that I'm an individual with any real experience in the world of Linucks. I've had my share of jobs involving IT, but these were exclusively to do with the administration and usage of Windows systems.
This article, and the other just like it posted a week ago, made me think about where we are all headed with this "Open Source" phenomenon. After some thought I realised - if Open Source software comes to predominate over all other forms of software, then we are on the highway to hell - and we don't even have a paddle.
Let's, as an example, look at Joe FLOSSpack, sitting down at his computer in the year 2100 - the year of the Linux desktop. He painstakingly "logs on" to his "Linux Box" to look at his e-mail. OH WAIT! NO E-MAIL JOE! Our current open source, ubiquitous e-mail system has been hijacked again overnight by Russian Gangsters. EVEN A LINUCKS MONOCULTURE WAS A BAD IDEA. "Maybe I'll surf the net instead", thinks Joe next. "Oh no - I've just remembered. THERE IS NO INTERNET! When everyone gained the open source tools to do away with advertisements and pop ups MOST POPULAR WEBSITES WENT UNDER. Now all that's left is pickaninny sites that die if they get +200 visitors in one day. Someone had to pay for that infrastructure- if only I could have lived in the GOLDEN AGE of 2004."
True, this scenario as I've outlined it makes no sense. But compare what I say to what ESR regularly says. I think I've made my point.
If you look at the issues, the scandal wasn't that the White House forged the documents themselves. It was that they used the documents nevertheless, despite knowing they were forgeries to make a case for war. In a State of the Union speech Dubya hid behind Britain, saying that they had evidence Saddam was seeking to buy yellowcake Uranium. At the time the WH had investigated and knew the documents the British were citing were forgeries.
Also at the time, the British Foreign Secretary stated there was other evidence beyond the documents that confirmed their evidence, but refused to release it. Our recent enquiry has shown this to be a lie. GCHQ gathered intel from mobile phone conversations about an Iraqi trading mission to Niger. No yellowcake was mentioned in that evidence. But the British put the two together and called it two independent pieces of evidence on the purchase of yellowcake, and the US, knowing that it was false, hid behind their allies stance for their own ends.
I could understand the initial charm of Anime, back in the '80s. I remember when Akira first came out in the cinema and caused quite a stir with its futuristic, Blade Runner Neo-Tokyo setting, engrossing storyline and revolutionary computer graphics mixed in traditional cell
animation. I could see then why Anime and Manga were popular - they were fresh and interesting and the Japanese perspective, the different cultural traditions, made for cartoons which could really surprise you, or make you laugh, thinking "What the hell was THAT all about?".
But they've only grown in popularity and I find it surprising that so many slashdotters seemed to have jumped on the bandwagon. There was an odd dichotomy the other day with a story article about outsourcing alongside one about a new anime which made me uneasy, and I tried to reason out why. Do you guys not realise that there are fantastic American cartoons out there, that you could spend your money on as well?
The thing that worries me is that a lot of kids cartoons are imported direct from Japan. And they're the future consumers so things will only get worse. They've got pretty shoddy animation, panning across one cell for example, but because they are the anime style, they're popular. It's the mindless following of a particular style that gets to me, and I see it a lot in the anime fans on Slashdot. *Anything* anime is news. How often do you see any other style of animation being publicised on the main page?
How is a slashbot mindlessly buying japanese anime regardless of the quality different from a CEO of a large company mindlessly outsourcing to India regardless of the quality? They're both going offshore without looking at other alternatives, because it's suddenly fashionable. But on slashdot, anime cheerleading (zealotry is too strong a word) is good, but outsourcing is hideously evil. There's a bit of hypocrisy going on here, in my opinion.
It's obvious what the "trade secret" is. The final part of the hose had been held on with a piece of chewing gum, and it's now become too dried and brittle to hold it together.
The (seeming) failure of the mission is a big blow to the USs scientific credentials. Is it possible sabotage was involved by our enemies, I haven't seen any discussion of this real possibility?
Muhammed Saeed al-Sahaf: We have much, much money. Many games for console. Console has already appeared in shops, and we have made many millions out of it.
Muhammed Saeed al-Sahaf: Nintendo and Microsoft pigdogs are running for the cover. We will crush them like a snake, and burn their machines in the streets.
Muhammed Saeed al-Sahaf: Our console can fly, hoover and tidy your bedroom whilst making dinner for 4 and creating virtual reality world where you are the One, with boomboom magic powers.
Why is Slashdot giving room to this errant nonsense? The original fusion experiments could not be reproduced by any respected laboratory (though there were claims from various amateur laboratories that it was possible), the article linked to makes a whole host of unsupported and unreferenced assertions and contains such precise scientific language as "ratios of 100 percent". Any peer reviewed research anywhere? Thought not. Well done editors, YHBT.
I too have a magic jar which produces electricity. Can I have my own Slashdot story?
Slashdot Mirror
I guess you could say I'm a huge O'Reilly fan, not only because of his show, but because of all those top quality Computing books he finds time to write. It's just wronger to say us O'Reilly viewers are less intellignet.
A question we have to ask oursevles is why did the jenemy attack the WTC, when there were more politically explosive (White House) and economically important (NY stock exchange) targets? My best guess is that it was due to the underlying symbol of the twin towers.
It's a well established fact of modern architecture that skyscrapers represent masculinity. I don't want to make it anymore explicit than that. The act of throwing up a huge public, tapering monument is very symbolic of what drives the world (note also that Architects are 89% male, which increases to 96% when you look at the top 100). So what they did on that fateful September day was no less than a direct attack on America's masculinity. Also note that the main victims of 9-11 were firefighters, which is an extremely masculine career.
If you accept this hypothesis, a number of interesting conclusions can be drawn. Firstly, consider the fact there were TWO towers, side by side, and what that might symbolise about permissive modern America. Next, remember that the Middle Eastern perpetrators were deeply conservative reactionaries, dedicated to justice that dates from biblical times, so this target must have subconsciously represented what they hate most in modern America. Also think about the vehement reaction from some quarters.
There are many types of reaction to an attack on masculinity. Those secure in their own proclivities and nature tend to handle it the best. The others may range from slight disquiet to full blown rage. It is the latter group that is in denial. Denial of their nature leads to inner repression, and then an outbursting of emotion when the feelings inside finally have an outlet. The next time you see, for example, a politician, ranting about the twin towers in a wholly overblown way, just remember what is REALLY motivating him. Just something to think about.
Is it safe to ask why this is in the Apple section? I don't want to burn what little karma I have, but in what way is this news for nerds or stuff that matters? A minor technical problem, many comapnies have them, many companies have recalls. It seems Slashdot is turning more and more into http://applepressrelease.slashdot.org
If only their computers were cheaper, so I could jump on the bandwagon...
That's a nasty piece of political manoeuvering, but is stem cell research really a good example? I'm not aware that there is a scientific consensus on what is basically a moral issue. A slight distinction, perhaps.
I agree wiht your post to some extent. The difference is that when a tree is cut down, there aren't two camps of lumberjacks hotly debating whether it was a Elm or a Beech. Science is confusing enough for those whose business it is to know the ins and outs. Simply because Bush tends to believe one camp over another is not grounds to condemn the man. Our time is limited and at some point we must trust the word of an advisor, who himself must trust another to provide his information. The chain continues where it might terminate in someone with an agenda. Politicians by their nature are generalists not specialists, they cannot afford to be.
But really the point is - misusing science is not limited to the Bush government. I'd like you, if you will, to give me a couple of examples of Bush ignoring established scientific consensus. I'm willing to change my opinion. On the global warming question, there is no doubt recent trends show global warming is occurring and is inevitable. Though it is not my field, it seems to me that it is the magnitude, and downstream effects of this that are hotly debated, a debate muddied by bad science and vested interests, but a debate nonetheless.
What? Politicians misuse scientific findings for their own political goals? What an amazing insight!! Perhaps Vint Cerf et al. should get a reality check - this isn't a George Bush problem, though his problems with science have admittedly been flagrant ie global warming, Kyoto. I don't see how Kerry or anyone would be any different, it is the system, not the political party that misuses science. Most of it is from a misunderstanding of the process involved. There is nothing hard and fast to grasp in science. Most theories form, are disproved or modified, continuing indefinitely. Even the most basic axioms of biology have to have their addendums and footnotes because there are always exceptions to every rule, and on contentious issues (global warming is a good example), well, wait 50 years and then you can look back over the equally convincing, committed camps and make a decision of who is more likely to be right on the preponderance of the evidence.
/GM food to name a few recent UK ones. This appears to me to be a thinly veiled political attack. I'm no fan of Bush, but I feel this is wrong. Scientists should not use their status to give political affiliation a veneer of legitimacy, as our opinions are no more valid than truck drivers, shop assistants or lumberjacks.
Many groups misuse scientific research for their own motives. The media for instance is one of the worse, publishing dubious claims as scare stories to ultimately sell newspapers i.e. HRT links with cancer, danger of the pill, MMR scandal, GMO
Thanks for the answer, but the original question was comparing buying a DVD ($20) with going to the cinema ($24+$8+$12=$44). Even allowing for the somewhat strange "parking" charge (WTF is that? Parking at cinema's are free over here), the difference in cost is $24.
So to get the value of your home cinema experience, you would have to buy 3450/24= ~144 DVDs to break even. Heh, only a factor of ten off from my initial prediction. Good enough for government work. Take your figures though, $25 for a visit - $20 dollars for the DVD and you have 863 DVDs to buy to make up the difference.
Point taken about the idiots in the cinema. Some drunken bint spoiled a Indiana Jones marathon by subjecting us all to her oh-so-hilarious commentary.
Your cost estimate is missing the amount you presumably shelled out to build that state of the art home cinema experience. How much "savings" from cheaper DVDs are you really making when you add that in? Or, in other words, how many DVDs would you have to buy instead of cinema tickets to make up for the value of your huge TV / surround sound? My pulled-out-my-ass guess is >1000 at least.
Of course I realise its nice to have a big TV and sound system for other reasons, but really...
I used P2P for a while (eDonkey) but stopped, but I became pretty uneasy about the whole thing (ethically/ pragmatically). I feel it is only a matter of time before virus writers become more proactive in using these ready made networks for the transmission and control of their viruses. When the first P2P transmission virus blazes through the network, like HIV in a lymph node, then uses it as a reservoir for systemic (Internet) infection, it will be too late. When a virus writer releases an upgraded payload, or a modification to escape anti viral scanner via P2P to create "escape" mutants, we will be in serious trouble. We need government legislation of P2P now. Learn from biology.
Yes, this article is about Europe, but the underlying issue that PWC were investigating, and which has been discussed and voted on in the European Parliment, is whether Europe should have a US style software patents system. That is what PWC are discussing, so I don't feel it is to offtopic to bring up problems in the US style system. I type and spell well, but I don't prewrite rants. Blame the superior educational system over here.
...that this is just the fault of the patent system, it is a flaw in the legal system, and it is a flaw in the community. Where patents are demonstratedly wrong, it should be easier for small companies or individuals to challenge that bad patent. Bad patents shouldn't just stand becasue one party has deeper pockets. And parties who are in thei right shouldn't be so cowardly as to run from these fights, if they want to change the system, they must work at it. It's all very well bitching about C&D and takedown notices, but you Americans meekly agree to do whatever they say anyway, grow some backbone.
I feel sorry for the USPTO. They obviously lack technical expertise, and can't afford the salaries to attain it. If they were getting feedback on what patents were downright bad from the court system, they could train and evolve to start granting more deserved patents.
OK, it's quite simple.
1. You're using Firefox
2. You had two tabs open
3. With two YRO stories
4. You replied to the wrong one.
5. You want this one.
6. Someone will shortly claim your soon-to-be reposted comment is a dupe and point to the one in this story as proof.
7. You will lose more karma.
Therefore:
*Don't post while drunk.*
You would be correct if Google were selling razor blades, cheese or any other physical product. What they are doing is creating a news resource. Personally, I don't like the fact that a company which wears its ethics on its sleeve, so to mangle the metaphor, by stating "Don't be evil" as its company motto would self censor to fit into the demands of a foreign government.
It is the precedent that is important here. When you ignore this, you erode the fundamental freedoms that form the basis of the Internet.
This si interesting, but you have to say this guy is fighting a losing battle. You have to fight Spam at its source. Look at the Spamhaus statistics: it might sound trollish, but spam is evidently an American problem, which must be combated in America. The Spamhaus stats prove it. 90% of the spam you see is from 200 individuals, of whom 96% are Americans, operating out of america.
Clean up your act guys. When you're costing the world this much money, it just isn't funny anymore.
This is good news. America is going to have to crack down hard on Spammers. Spam is essentailly an American problem, exported to the rest of the world. You think I'm lying? Hell, check out the spamhaus stats. It's clear that America is going to have to enact the heaviest penalties to help the rest of the world. The CAN-SPAM act is ludicrous, hopefully Congress will wise up. Speaking as a Brit, I'm outraged that such a prominent Net-Nation is taking such a bláse attitude towards their responsibilities to the rest of us. America is ruining my Net experience. It's a harsh truth, but it's a truth nonetheless.
I heard from a mate, who heard from a mate, who heard from a guy he spoke to on IRC, that Half Life 2 is a bit of a washout.
He played an early release copy, he said, and there weren't even any monsters, scripted encounters or real puzzles, only a couple of half assed maps.
I won't be buying a copy.
Let me start by saying I really respect Goodger as a talented programmer and leading light of the firefox community. But every Dr Jekyll has his Mr Hyde and the Mr Hyde in this case is Mr Goodger's firefox extension "Magpile" (no url intentional). Every intelligent being must decide whether to use their ability for good or evil, this is the lesson learnt from Spiderman 2. A good film, but too much indecent kissing and costumes.
For those unfamiliar to it, it involves various tools for making the downloading of, and stockpiling of, obscene images incredibly easy with just a few keyboard shortcuts. When I first stumbled across it, introducing my elderly father to the extension system, I was pretty embarassed. It's apologists try to claim it has some other function, but this is a weak and flimflam argument.
My embarassment with my father that day was joined by a growing sense of anger as I pondered why the mozilla foundation itself was supporting (albeit indirectly) this indecent extension. Now I realise, after many ignored letters, that Goodger is a core developer!! of Firefox: it has been built from the ground up to aid obscenity. That's all I can write at the moment, I'm too choked with emotion. I leave it to your own conscious whether you can continue to use this browser.
Now if taco (or some outsource programmer in Mumbai) could just get us a nice little "use normal /. colors on all pages" check box in our prefs..
Go to your settings homepage tab and check the "Light" box. Black text on white background, all the time. No shitty colour schemes.
I know I will be lambasted and moderated down for this, so I hope those of you who still browse at less than +1 will take the time to read and understand my fresh viewpoint. I'm not sure how much longer I will be able to continue being part of a community that I have found extremely closed to unique opinions. I could easily "karma w****" as it is known (I personally prefer the term "karma solicitation") in order to get my views more widely seen, but I feel that that would be adapting myself to fit into a community which frankly is not ready for me, emotionally.
Anyway, this is all far from the point. I'm not about to claim to you that I'm an individual with any real experience in the world of Linucks. I've had my share of jobs involving IT, but these were exclusively to do with the administration and usage of Windows systems.
This article, and the other just like it posted a week ago, made me think about where we are all headed with this "Open Source" phenomenon. After some thought I realised - if Open Source software comes to predominate over all other forms of software, then we are on the highway to hell - and we don't even have a paddle.
Let's, as an example, look at Joe FLOSSpack, sitting down at his computer in the year 2100 - the year of the Linux desktop. He painstakingly "logs on" to his "Linux Box" to look at his e-mail. OH WAIT! NO E-MAIL JOE! Our current open source, ubiquitous e-mail system has been hijacked again overnight by Russian Gangsters. EVEN A LINUCKS MONOCULTURE WAS A BAD IDEA. "Maybe I'll surf the net instead", thinks Joe next. "Oh no - I've just remembered. THERE IS NO INTERNET! When everyone gained the open source tools to do away with advertisements and pop ups MOST POPULAR WEBSITES WENT UNDER. Now all that's left is pickaninny sites that die if they get +200 visitors in one day. Someone had to pay for that infrastructure- if only I could have lived in the GOLDEN AGE of 2004."
True, this scenario as I've outlined it makes no sense. But compare what I say to what ESR regularly says. I think I've made my point.
If you look at the issues, the scandal wasn't that the White House forged the documents themselves. It was that they used the documents nevertheless, despite knowing they were forgeries to make a case for war. In a State of the Union speech Dubya hid behind Britain, saying that they had evidence Saddam was seeking to buy yellowcake Uranium. At the time the WH had investigated and knew the documents the British were citing were forgeries.
Also at the time, the British Foreign Secretary stated there was other evidence beyond the documents that confirmed their evidence, but refused to release it. Our recent enquiry has shown this to be a lie. GCHQ gathered intel from mobile phone conversations about an Iraqi trading mission to Niger. No yellowcake was mentioned in that evidence. But the British put the two together and called it two independent pieces of evidence on the purchase of yellowcake, and the US, knowing that it was false, hid behind their allies stance for their own ends.
I could understand the initial charm of Anime, back in the '80s. I remember when Akira first came out in the cinema and caused quite a stir with its futuristic, Blade Runner Neo-Tokyo setting, engrossing storyline and revolutionary computer graphics mixed in traditional cell animation. I could see then why Anime and Manga were popular - they were fresh and interesting and the Japanese perspective, the different cultural traditions, made for cartoons which could really surprise you, or make you laugh, thinking "What the hell was THAT all about?".
But they've only grown in popularity and I find it surprising that so many slashdotters seemed to have jumped on the bandwagon. There was an odd dichotomy the other day with a story article about outsourcing alongside one about a new anime which made me uneasy, and I tried to reason out why. Do you guys not realise that there are fantastic American cartoons out there, that you could spend your money on as well?
The thing that worries me is that a lot of kids cartoons are imported direct from Japan. And they're the future consumers so things will only get worse. They've got pretty shoddy animation, panning across one cell for example, but because they are the anime style, they're popular. It's the mindless following of a particular style that gets to me, and I see it a lot in the anime fans on Slashdot. *Anything* anime is news. How often do you see any other style of animation being publicised on the main page?
How is a slashbot mindlessly buying japanese anime regardless of the quality different from a CEO of a large company mindlessly outsourcing to India regardless of the quality? They're both going offshore without looking at other alternatives, because it's suddenly fashionable. But on slashdot, anime cheerleading (zealotry is too strong a word) is good, but outsourcing is hideously evil. There's a bit of hypocrisy going on here, in my opinion.
Look into the American alternatives.
It's obvious what the "trade secret" is. The final part of the hose had been held on with a piece of chewing gum, and it's now become too dried and brittle to hold it together.
The (seeming) failure of the mission is a big blow to the USs scientific credentials. Is it possible sabotage was involved by our enemies, I haven't seen any discussion of this real possibility?
The timing is just too convenient.
Press Room, 09/09/04
Muhammed Saeed al-Sahaf: We have much, much money. Many games for console. Console has already appeared in shops, and we have made many millions out of it.
Muhammed Saeed al-Sahaf: Nintendo and Microsoft pigdogs are running for the cover. We will crush them like a snake, and burn their machines in the streets.
Muhammed Saeed al-Sahaf: Our console can fly, hoover and tidy your bedroom whilst making dinner for 4 and creating virtual reality world where you are the One, with boomboom magic powers.
Why is Slashdot giving room to this errant nonsense? The original fusion experiments could not be reproduced by any respected laboratory (though there were claims from various amateur laboratories that it was possible), the article linked to makes a whole host of unsupported and unreferenced assertions and contains such precise scientific language as "ratios of 100 percent". Any peer reviewed research anywhere? Thought not. Well done editors, YHBT.
I too have a magic jar which produces electricity. Can I have my own Slashdot story?