You are clueless. Do you really think that anyone who is against socialized medicine feels that way because they dont like poor people and they think they are better than them? The vast majority of us who want a free market for health insurance do so because we know that in the long run, everyone including the poor will be much better off. That is blatantly absurd IMHO. The poor are never better off in capitalistic society. Ever. What good is "innovation" if it's unavailable?
Just turn it around then see if you still agree with your own premise. A new MedFICO score is being developed to assure only the poor receive the best health care. The rich who have jobs and insurance will be excluded from obtaining anything but very basic primary care, if they're able to find it at all.
If I go through your posts I bet I'd find you disagreed with most anything the government or business does that takes something away from you. Have you ever posted against the RIAA? Why? It's all about them getting rich off your back. You support that right? I doubt it.
There is never a purely xxx'ist society that's good for the masses. A capitalist society is evil in of itself. To have a healthy mass living together you need a mix of "ists" and "isms". Capitalism is only one in that mix. Life is about balance. None of the "ists" or "isms" can exist in isolation. Denying the poor health care for the sake of capitalism is going too far.
Unique? I guess I'm a "Dino" or whatever. I still remember the day my father brought home PONG. He was all excited and talking about electronics and stuff I didn't understand at the time. He was an engineer working Top Secret stuff for the government and was all into this. He was going on about miniaturization and that this would have taken a computer with "tubes" the size of a building before... All I wanted to do was was play it.
You had to "hard wire" it to the antenna screws on the back of the TV and change the channel to 3. It was a box about half the size of a VCR player with two hard wired joy stick knobs. It had two slide switches one for 1-2 players and another 3 or 4 position switch for the game(s). Regular pong, advanced (small paddles), I think maybe a "break out" kind of version.
The "ball" just went "boink" and returned after hitting something. You could put "spin" on it by turning the paddle at the same time the ball hit and it escalated in speed the longer you played. That was it. But it sure was fun! Especially the "boink" irritating my mother to the point of yelling at us to "turn than damn thing off and go outside and play" (back in the days that was still safe). Isn't sending your kid out to play now considered child abuse? [sarcasm] Ahhh... the good 'ol days
This is going to be FUN! While all the kids secretly use Hotmail/Gmail addresses their parents don't know about, the goof offs will be submitting lists of addresses blocking their bosses, X'es and others from joining. Time to grab the popcorn, sit back and watch. This is going to be fun!
In the case where they tried to compel a passphrase http://www.news.com/8301-13578_3-9834495-38.html?tag=nefd.blgs there was only one piece of useful information (for me):
Secret Service Agent Matthew Fasvlo, who has experience and training in computer forensics, testified that it is nearly impossible to access these encrypted files without knowing the password. There are no "back doors" or secret entrances to access the files. The only way to get access without the password is to use an automated system which repeatedly guesses passwords. According to the government, the process to unlock drive Z could take years, based on efforts to unlock similarly encrypted files in another case. Despite its best efforts, to date the government has been unable to learn the password to access drive Z. I haven't figured out yet, at least in the FOSS arenea, why Public Key Encryption isn't a default with packages. Ubuntu has done a good job keeping most things under the hood. It wouldn't take a lot when starting an Email client for the first time to walk a user through creating keys. Or Ubuntu walking the user through it during the install. GNU/Linux could be known not just for securing the OS but also for the traffic it generates.
It would require the ability to decrypt on the other end but as the number of Linux installs increases at one point the encrypted transport default will reach a critical mass. Until that time I'm sure we could come up with some kind of [use encryption if available] handshake.
I.E. Send the email encrypted as default with instructions to ask for a clear text version if they can't decrypt it. Then make it semi-automatic: The recipient has requested you send a clear text version of the email, send now? Yes/No. And/Or The recipient has asked for your Public Key, Send Now...
Surely we're all smart enough to come up with a way to make this transition. Clear text should have been gone 10 years ago.
Is this wise? Making available is a significant precedent and it's going to be decided in a case where the defendant has no representation?
I know zero about the case and maybe he's representing this argument well. But if it's to become a precedent I'd be more relaxed if this was argued by a team of Cracker Jack attorneys. We may all end up subject to a decision decided by a one sided argument. Helpfully I'm wrong on the significance of this decision and the depth of his arguments?
We're expecting too much? Making unreasonable demands? Unreasonable by who's definition?
To coin phrases, we're no longer in the industrial revolution. We're in the information age. During the industrial revolution you needed good scientists and engineers. Now you need good Programmers and Administrators.
Would it have made sense 100 years ago to treat your top notch scientest like the cleaning woman? IT can make or brake a corporation. I think we should be exalted and worshipped for the gods we are:) Well... maybe we can find a middle ground.
The simple answer is going to be that if copyright material is being transferred that the ISP is an agent acting on behalf of the infringer. They are enabling the infringement and by not doing everything in their power to stop it they are in fact encouraging it and allowing it to happen. We've been through this before back in the days when BBS were being sued by copyright holders. When the big guys took over they lobbied congress for common carrier status and got it. By statute they are not responsible for the content they carry. A magazine is because they are "editors". Two different legal statuses.
If ISPs start editing and controlling content then they become responsible for the content carried on their systems. This wipes out the common carrier status they fought so hard for and won.
If they do this what I'm saying is there must be a huge financial incentive for them to take on such a huge risk. Where's the money?
Why? What's in it for them? If I were an ISP I'd want to stay as far away as possible from content filtering. Who wouldn't? So, why? If they're doing it for any other reason than money they're breaking their fiduciary responsibility to their stock holders.
So, where's the money? Cash contracts with the MPAA/RIAA studios? ISPs fought hard to become common carriers rather than editors responsible for content. Now they want their cake and eat it too? What's that smell?:)
Label me a troll if you want... but this guy was trash and is where he belongs. You're not a troll. I think maybe he should have got the 10 years. I wouldn't expect a doctor loosing his hospital privileges to start killing patients in revenge. There are some things, disgruntled or not, that you just don't do.
I say that and yet I feel for the guy. I've been disrespected by suits and have gone to sleep fantasizing about wiping a system. It felt good. But in the morning, I got up and went to work to get a job done.
Many in IT are bitter for good reason. Most of the IT in my area was layed off 9/12/2001 and a week later offered their jobs back at half what they were making. A few of my friends have trained their Indian offshore replacements. I see jobs advertised that want 5-7 years expert experience in 12 different programming languages, 10 different platforms and a four year degree with a starting salary less than a manager at McDonnalds would make.
What do you do... We're a new profession with growing pangs. It took a centry for doctors to fight off the mid-wife. Eventually, the world will come to accept that computers are important enough that they want the best people and will treat the Admin with the importance that work entails. It's starting. Google does it. Others do too. We'll get there.
Awhile back a big brewhaha went down with my local cable company and they scheduled a hearing with the government oversight committee. A FCC type local commission that governed the cable company monopoly.
I tuned in 10 minutes late but watched the hearing. for 40 minutes I watched 5 cable company executives on the bench defend their actions against accusations from the committee.
What I messed in the first 10 minutes were the introductions. I was wrong. The accuations were coming from the consumers. The five on the bench were the commission. There are certain epiphanies in life that just stick.
I have zero faith this FCC "investigation" will result in anything but new laws that forbid the consumer from exposing proprietary company practices with stiff fines and jail sentances for bloggers, etc. who expose company secrets. Maybe a new law making packet sniffing illegal. They'll figure something out.
You are right and I am wrong. I stand corrected. Your arguments have shown me there is a market for this stuff.
While we're on the subject... I happen to be the Nephew of a royal family illegally defrauded from their rightful inherence. I'm looking for an investor interested in a guaranteed return of at least 22 million dollars. Would you be interested?
I'm so glad to hear that Netflix is now hosting torrents for free downloading, right?
I'm sorry, did you mean to imply that Netflix has a download client that integrates into Linux?
Okay, then how IS your C relevant at all to A and B? Ignorant and obtuse. Is that on purpose? Insult someone, then ask for information. Is that your usual approach?
Either way, my "C" works just fine thank you. In Linux. With Netflix. A script here and a layer there, all brought together with one point and click. Technologhy made simple. Just because you can't figure out how make technology work for you doesn't necessarly obligate me to teach you. Especially with your 'tude.
But, don't fret. Hold off on that expensive, obsolete hardware and leave the format war behind. It won't be but a couple years before people like you can do it too.
-[d]-
P2P downloading is only free if:
a) Your time means nothing
b) You pay nothing for bandwidth
c) The chance of getting caught is 0% or the consequences of getting caught is 0%.
a) and b) may well be the case for "tech savy neighbourhood kids" living with their parents and c) is small enough not to matter for most people. "A": aptget install [package]. 10 minutes? 45 for full intragration?
"B": Unlimited (so far) up to 30meg down, $45 a month.
"C": Netflix for starters.
In my world all of your conditions have been met or do not apply. Don't be discouraged that this technology is too difficult for you. It will get easier and you'll soon enjoy the freedom others have.
The 45 minutes I spent (thank you Ubuntu) setting this up far outweighs $1000's of "real" dollars. Especially considering those $1000's have been spend on hardware already obsolete before it's even out of warrentee. That $4000 investment will go dark in 2009 with the flip of a switch. I'll trade a couple hours for that nightmare any day and don't have to re-purchace the next round of hardware in 2 years.
I ain't buying into this hardware DRM, format lock-in. Either will the kids I talked with when they grow up and start to "matter" (as if somehow they don't now).
[Cut to head shaking with cartoon sound of rattling marbles]
Myspace and IM vs. what Email? as compared to future buying habits? Study the Greats. A lot of information can be found about formulating an analogous premise. The next buying demographic will change their attitude and will gladly had over wads of cash and be grateful to do so once they "grow-up" because MySpace is now no longer hot?
Okay, let me explain myself better. I want the product. The tie-in with media/product is changing. They used to be one in the same. Even I could care less about physical media and I grew up with it.
I can already get the "product" with a couple clicks. During the next 5 years that's only going to get easier. If I replace my drive or need space, I'll download it again. I do that now with my MythTV PVR. All my "product" is on disk. In fact, I only use the physical media as a means to get on it my Network. Replace the physical media step with download and my end result is the same.
I see the only difference in attitude between the two age groups is paying for it. The younger are more willing to freeload but when they "grow-up" they'll pay? I give you that. But what will they be willing to pay for? Will it matter to them to have physical media or will they be content with a download. To answer that question see Apple.
What I'm seeing in this next demographic is that the media and product tie-in is changing. I'm even changing my attitudes and I'm a Dino:). I'm going to wait this out. I'm not going to invest in physical media format lock-in with DRM when I can already move past that to the next paradigm. But, that's just me:)
Media-less product. It's closer than we think. In fact, it's already here; I already have it.
I think this format war belongs to the 35+ demographic. I was talking with a couple tech savy neighbourhood kids to get a feel for where they were at. Their response? "You buy that shit? Why don't you just download it, that's what we do." They're bypassing this entire nightmare.
$1000 players, $500 HDCP strippers, format "A" vs. format "B", cables, plugs... ad nausium. The generation that matters in the next 10 years are laughing at us 'old' people. They could care less about physical media when on-line on-demand is available.
The warranties haven't even expired on some of these HD-DVD boxes people spent a lot of money on and the format has already been declared dead. My age group is the last generation used to "owning" physical media. For us the format matters. Remove the media as in download on demand, whatever the source, and none of this matters.
I'll wait for several reasons. Least of which, is that either format is moot as is DRM so long as the direction is toward downloading. Cable has on demand viewing, Netflix has started the same thing. I don't think the next 5-10 years is going to be about physical media. Corporations are still battling over a format when it's replacement is available and in use. Things are moving quicker then they have in the past. I declare both formats dead or at least very temporary.
Several lives ago I worked for the company that patented the holes on the left/right of forms allowing them to run though "pin fed" equipment like printers. The were called KS holes as in Can't Slip. I know, maybe CS was already taken... The original concept was to keep multi-ply forms interlaced with carbon paper aligned while they were fed through a device.
I asked if we had the patent why were other companies producing forms with holes on the sides. As explained, first the patent expired like 40 years before I got there but more importantly you can't patent and "idea" only a "process". In other words the idea of having holes on the side of the paper could not be patented. The process for putting holes on the sides of paper could be. Figure out a new or different way of putting holes on the sides of paper and you got yourself a new patent.
Maybe that's changed by now, IANAL. The way I see it the OLED "idea" isn't what's patented. One patent may be a 1500 matrix of mini-LEDs for the display. However, if I figure out a way to shrink a LED flat panel screen to the size of a key, I can patent a new way to do the same thing.
This may or may not be right and it may have changed but it's the way patents were explaind to me (20 years ago). I still see patents written starting with "A process for..." So maybe it hasn't changes all that much.
I was around when Certegy was formed as a company. When they started they used a home grown software system written by one guy. Certegy bought their database (bad check debt recovery) from RMA who used to be part of Equifax. This was back in late 2001. I was subcontracted and flew to Florida and converted the RMA (PICK Universe) data base to Certegy's system.
"Bill", they guy in this story, is actually a very likable person. He's inviting and happy (maybe not now) laughs a lot. He's the kind of easy going guy, trusted and liked. He's fun. This really hits home. I've known this guy for years and was floored when I read the story.
I guess it shows, at least for me, a very fine line. Bill is not a "criminal type" or a "bad character" that might come to mind when these things happen. I don't know what happened, money problems, greed took over, I don't know but I suspect many of us at Slashdot are in positions exposed to temptation. Everyone has a price? Knowing Bill, I suspect this was just a very bad and stupid decision. The temptation of 100's of thousands of dollars for a couple keystrokes and a memory stick. This sure sobered me up.
Turn it around. If he wants a dedicated online expirience why doesn't he pay extra? Why penalize P2P users for using what they've already paid for: Unlimited access. Why not make all these complainers pay extra for dedicated preferential connections?
Germany's top police officer said.
Who is this guy and how "top" is he? Because either he doesn't know what he's talking about or this announcement is a distraction/excuse/redirect.
As if I'm really going to trust an announcement from the state that we can't eavesdrop on communications from company X without thinking it through.
Especially when it's well known the Skype protocol has been broken and has back doors for a long time. Being able to intercept communications has been a requirement here in the US for awhile. It sounds like they just want everyone to start using it. Or it's an excuse to do a run around current German privacy laws.
And, don't forget to add that we've not been in contact with the company. Ya, that adds up. Here's how I read it. "Hey everybody! We can easily eavesdrop on skype calls and decrypt on the fly, please start using it. Or, everybody thinks we can't tap these calls, we'll use that as an excuse to get even more eavesdropping capabilities.
Flack? Naaa... I barely noticed. In order for it to be flack, I would have had to taken it personally. I expected a high noise to signal ratio. Most of the AC comments are just living examples of bad parenting and its effects. My only concern is they're probably breeding and passing along to yet another generation more mental illness. Anyway, they live in a different world than I do and I don't speak their language. I'm unaffected.
You asked for clarification: "degree level understanding". I don't mean a PhD. I mean a PhD level of understanding of whatever particular disorder that may or may not be affecting the child. As an example, when my son went through a bout with a medical issue, I learned what it was, its affects, ad nauseam. When it came to this particular disorder I actually matched, and in ways, exceeded our doctor's degree level of knowledge. I actively participated in my son's diagnosis, treatment and recovery. There was no other option for me. That's my job.
I was 100% responsible for that life. What was I going to do? Say 'Oh well... I guess he's sick and shove some unknown pills down his throat' and then go about *my* life? That approach doesn't even register in my brain.
My view still remains, responsibility/fault call it what you want, is with her parents. Period. That's just the way I see it. Maybe it is cultural. Outside America, at least the Japanese blogs, they're saying the same thing. Parents accept responsibility for their children and their definition of responsibility is all encompassing.
It's curious about the Japanese blogs. I'm 100% mixed European American indistinguishable from any other over weight, bald stereo typical Slashdotter except apparently in my views. My great grand parents were missionaries in Japan. My grand father was born and raised there until mid/late childhood. Maybe my out world views come from generations of non-American cultural concepts. From what I see going on around me, this is just one more thing to be thankful for:) But, I digress.
I appreciate the opportunity you gave me to explain. But this concept is simple. Where does the responsibility for a parent to their child start and stop? It's simple... there is no line.
It was good talking with you but you should have my thinking down by now. If you don't mind, I'll add you as a friend. I suspect you may have other comments I'd like to see however, unless you have other questions its time to end this thread.
This is my first opportunity to login. I'm not the AC posting. Whoever that was seems to agree. It may be cultural. All the Japanese blogs blame her parents too. It's apparently an American thing to relegate parenting responsibility to drugs, excuses and disinterested others'.
Thank you for your thoughtful posts. I can tell you're annoyed. I'm sorry you feel that way. I know how that feeling sucks. I know you don't want to agree but you're really saying the same thing I am.
...Also, it's not enough to say "I'd raise them so that they would have no problem talking to me", because well yeah, great if you can do it, but evidently that isn't the case here.
That is my point. They failed as parents and their child paid the price.
I'll add:
...But how much did they know? How much did they understand? Parents generally aren't psychiatrists, psychologists, counsellors. If they've never been exposed to depression, there is no way you can expect them to know *exactly* how to help.
I do expect them to know especially if their child is suffering. I say 'if' because it would be their first job to find out if the diagnosis is accurate. If it is, then it's their job to get a degree level understanding of what their child is going through and intimately participate in her recovery. I'm glad I can't understand why they didn't.
Slashdot Mirror
Translated:
The DOJ is going to sit back and watch Micro$oft ignore their rulings, expand the monopoly and break laws for yet another two more years.
I'm inspired.
Just turn it around then see if you still agree with your own premise. A new MedFICO score is being developed to assure only the poor receive the best health care. The rich who have jobs and insurance will be excluded from obtaining anything but very basic primary care, if they're able to find it at all.
If I go through your posts I bet I'd find you disagreed with most anything the government or business does that takes something away from you. Have you ever posted against the RIAA? Why? It's all about them getting rich off your back. You support that right? I doubt it.
There is never a purely xxx'ist society that's good for the masses. A capitalist society is evil in of itself. To have a healthy mass living together you need a mix of "ists" and "isms". Capitalism is only one in that mix. Life is about balance. None of the "ists" or "isms" can exist in isolation. Denying the poor health care for the sake of capitalism is going too far.
Again, JMHO -[d]-
Unique? I guess I'm a "Dino" or whatever. I still remember the day my father brought home PONG. He was all excited and talking about electronics and stuff I didn't understand at the time. He was an engineer working Top Secret stuff for the government and was all into this. He was going on about miniaturization and that this would have taken a computer with "tubes" the size of a building before... All I wanted to do was was play it.
You had to "hard wire" it to the antenna screws on the back of the TV and change the channel to 3. It was a box about half the size of a VCR player with two hard wired joy stick knobs. It had two slide switches one for 1-2 players and another 3 or 4 position switch for the game(s). Regular pong, advanced (small paddles), I think maybe a "break out" kind of version.
The "ball" just went "boink" and returned after hitting something. You could put "spin" on it by turning the paddle at the same time the ball hit and it escalated in speed the longer you played. That was it. But it sure was fun! Especially the "boink" irritating my mother to the point of yelling at us to "turn than damn thing off and go outside and play" (back in the days that was still safe). Isn't sending your kid out to play now considered child abuse? [sarcasm] Ahhh... the good 'ol days
This is going to be FUN! While all the kids secretly use Hotmail/Gmail addresses their parents don't know about, the goof offs will be submitting lists of addresses blocking their bosses, X'es and others from joining. Time to grab the popcorn, sit back and watch. This is going to be fun!
In the case where they tried to compel a passphrase http://www.news.com/8301-13578_3-9834495-38.html?tag=nefd.blgs there was only one piece of useful information (for me): Secret Service Agent Matthew Fasvlo, who has experience and training in computer forensics, testified that it is nearly impossible to access these encrypted files without knowing the password. There are no "back doors" or secret entrances to access the files. The only way to get access without the password is to use an automated system which repeatedly guesses passwords. According to the government, the process to unlock drive Z could take years, based on efforts to unlock similarly encrypted files in another case. Despite its best efforts, to date the government has been unable to learn the password to access drive Z. I haven't figured out yet, at least in the FOSS arenea, why Public Key Encryption isn't a default with packages. Ubuntu has done a good job keeping most things under the hood. It wouldn't take a lot when starting an Email client for the first time to walk a user through creating keys. Or Ubuntu walking the user through it during the install. GNU/Linux could be known not just for securing the OS but also for the traffic it generates.
It would require the ability to decrypt on the other end but as the number of Linux installs increases at one point the encrypted transport default will reach a critical mass. Until that time I'm sure we could come up with some kind of [use encryption if available] handshake.
I.E. Send the email encrypted as default with instructions to ask for a clear text version if they can't decrypt it. Then make it semi-automatic: The recipient has requested you send a clear text version of the email, send now? Yes/No. And/Or The recipient has asked for your Public Key, Send Now...
Surely we're all smart enough to come up with a way to make this transition. Clear text should have been gone 10 years ago.
Is this wise? Making available is a significant precedent and it's going to be decided in a case where the defendant has no representation?
I know zero about the case and maybe he's representing this argument well. But if it's to become a precedent I'd be more relaxed if this was argued by a team of Cracker Jack attorneys. We may all end up subject to a decision decided by a one sided argument. Helpfully I'm wrong on the significance of this decision and the depth of his arguments?
-[d]-
We're expecting too much? Making unreasonable demands? Unreasonable by who's definition?
To coin phrases, we're no longer in the industrial revolution. We're in the information age. During the industrial revolution you needed good scientists and engineers. Now you need good Programmers and Administrators.
Would it have made sense 100 years ago to treat your top notch scientest like the cleaning woman? IT can make or brake a corporation. I think we should be exalted and worshipped for the gods we are
-[d]-
If ISPs start editing and controlling content then they become responsible for the content carried on their systems. This wipes out the common carrier status they fought so hard for and won.
If they do this what I'm saying is there must be a huge financial incentive for them to take on such a huge risk. Where's the money?
Why? What's in it for them? If I were an ISP I'd want to stay as far away as possible from content filtering. Who wouldn't? So, why? If they're doing it for any other reason than money they're breaking their fiduciary responsibility to their stock holders.
So, where's the money? Cash contracts with the MPAA/RIAA studios? ISPs fought hard to become common carriers rather than editors responsible for content. Now they want their cake and eat it too? What's that smell?
-[d]-
I say that and yet I feel for the guy. I've been disrespected by suits and have gone to sleep fantasizing about wiping a system. It felt good. But in the morning, I got up and went to work to get a job done.
Many in IT are bitter for good reason. Most of the IT in my area was layed off 9/12/2001 and a week later offered their jobs back at half what they were making. A few of my friends have trained their Indian offshore replacements. I see jobs advertised that want 5-7 years expert experience in 12 different programming languages, 10 different platforms and a four year degree with a starting salary less than a manager at McDonnalds would make.
What do you do... We're a new profession with growing pangs. It took a centry for doctors to fight off the mid-wife. Eventually, the world will come to accept that computers are important enough that they want the best people and will treat the Admin with the importance that work entails. It's starting. Google does it. Others do too. We'll get there.
-[d]-
Awhile back a big brewhaha went down with my local cable company and they scheduled a hearing with the government oversight committee. A FCC type local commission that governed the cable company monopoly.
I tuned in 10 minutes late but watched the hearing. for 40 minutes I watched 5 cable company executives on the bench defend their actions against accusations from the committee.
What I messed in the first 10 minutes were the introductions. I was wrong. The accuations were coming from the consumers. The five on the bench were the commission. There are certain epiphanies in life that just stick.
I have zero faith this FCC "investigation" will result in anything but new laws that forbid the consumer from exposing proprietary company practices with stiff fines and jail sentances for bloggers, etc. who expose company secrets. Maybe a new law making packet sniffing illegal. They'll figure something out.
-[d]-
You are right and I am wrong. I stand corrected. Your arguments have shown me there is a market for this stuff.
While we're on the subject... I happen to be the Nephew of a royal family illegally defrauded from their rightful inherence. I'm looking for an investor interested in a guaranteed return of at least 22 million dollars. Would you be interested?
-[d]-
We're too off topic to continue this thread. The article is about media formats. We're off on a HOWTO:...
BTW: To my point, Comcast will announce this week at CES unlimited movies on demand available 24/7.
Again, and back to my original point, I believe physical media formats will soon be moot.
-[d]-
I'm sorry, did you mean to imply that Netflix has a download client that integrates into Linux?
Okay, then how IS your C relevant at all to A and B? Ignorant and obtuse. Is that on purpose? Insult someone, then ask for information. Is that your usual approach?
Either way, my "C" works just fine thank you. In Linux. With Netflix. A script here and a layer there, all brought together with one point and click. Technologhy made simple. Just because you can't figure out how make technology work for you doesn't necessarly obligate me to teach you. Especially with your 'tude.
But, don't fret. Hold off on that expensive, obsolete hardware and leave the format war behind. It won't be but a couple years before people like you can do it too.
-[d]-
LoL, less content. Uh-huh.
Threats, downplays, complications, complaints...
To all the responding viral media plants... Provide it and they/we will pay for it. Sheez.
a) Your time means nothing
b) You pay nothing for bandwidth
c) The chance of getting caught is 0% or the consequences of getting caught is 0%.
a) and b) may well be the case for "tech savy neighbourhood kids" living with their parents and c) is small enough not to matter for most people. "A": aptget install [package]. 10 minutes? 45 for full intragration?
"B": Unlimited (so far) up to 30meg down, $45 a month.
"C": Netflix for starters.
In my world all of your conditions have been met or do not apply. Don't be discouraged that this technology is too difficult for you. It will get easier and you'll soon enjoy the freedom others have.
The 45 minutes I spent (thank you Ubuntu) setting this up far outweighs $1000's of "real" dollars. Especially considering those $1000's have been spend on hardware already obsolete before it's even out of warrentee. That $4000 investment will go dark in 2009 with the flip of a switch. I'll trade a couple hours for that nightmare any day and don't have to re-purchace the next round of hardware in 2 years.
I ain't buying into this hardware DRM, format lock-in. Either will the kids I talked with when they grow up and start to "matter" (as if somehow they don't now).
That's my life. Your mileage may vary.
[Cut to head shaking with cartoon sound of rattling marbles]
Myspace and IM vs. what Email? as compared to future buying habits? Study the Greats. A lot of information can be found about formulating an analogous premise. The next buying demographic will change their attitude and will gladly had over wads of cash and be grateful to do so once they "grow-up" because MySpace is now no longer hot?
Okay, let me explain myself better. I want the product. The tie-in with media/product is changing. They used to be one in the same. Even I could care less about physical media and I grew up with it.
I can already get the "product" with a couple clicks. During the next 5 years that's only going to get easier. If I replace my drive or need space, I'll download it again. I do that now with my MythTV PVR. All my "product" is on disk. In fact, I only use the physical media as a means to get on it my Network. Replace the physical media step with download and my end result is the same.
I see the only difference in attitude between the two age groups is paying for it. The younger are more willing to freeload but when they "grow-up" they'll pay? I give you that. But what will they be willing to pay for? Will it matter to them to have physical media or will they be content with a download. To answer that question see Apple.
What I'm seeing in this next demographic is that the media and product tie-in is changing. I'm even changing my attitudes and I'm a Dino
Media-less product. It's closer than we think. In fact, it's already here; I already have it.
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I think this format war belongs to the 35+ demographic. I was talking with a couple tech savy neighbourhood kids to get a feel for where they were at. Their response? "You buy that shit? Why don't you just download it, that's what we do." They're bypassing this entire nightmare.
$1000 players, $500 HDCP strippers, format "A" vs. format "B", cables, plugs... ad nausium. The generation that matters in the next 10 years are laughing at us 'old' people. They could care less about physical media when on-line on-demand is available.
The warranties haven't even expired on some of these HD-DVD boxes people spent a lot of money on and the format has already been declared dead. My age group is the last generation used to "owning" physical media. For us the format matters. Remove the media as in download on demand, whatever the source, and none of this matters.
I'll wait for several reasons. Least of which, is that either format is moot as is DRM so long as the direction is toward downloading. Cable has on demand viewing, Netflix has started the same thing. I don't think the next 5-10 years is going to be about physical media. Corporations are still battling over a format when it's replacement is available and in use. Things are moving quicker then they have in the past. I declare both formats dead or at least very temporary.
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Several lives ago I worked for the company that patented the holes on the left/right of forms allowing them to run though "pin fed" equipment like printers. The were called KS holes as in Can't Slip. I know, maybe CS was already taken... The original concept was to keep multi-ply forms interlaced with carbon paper aligned while they were fed through a device.
I asked if we had the patent why were other companies producing forms with holes on the sides. As explained, first the patent expired like 40 years before I got there but more importantly you can't patent and "idea" only a "process". In other words the idea of having holes on the side of the paper could not be patented. The process for putting holes on the sides of paper could be. Figure out a new or different way of putting holes on the sides of paper and you got yourself a new patent.
Maybe that's changed by now, IANAL. The way I see it the OLED "idea" isn't what's patented. One patent may be a 1500 matrix of mini-LEDs for the display. However, if I figure out a way to shrink a LED flat panel screen to the size of a key, I can patent a new way to do the same thing.
This may or may not be right and it may have changed but it's the way patents were explaind to me (20 years ago). I still see patents written starting with "A process for..." So maybe it hasn't changes all that much.
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I was around when Certegy was formed as a company. When they started they used a home grown software system written by one guy. Certegy bought their database (bad check debt recovery) from RMA who used to be part of Equifax. This was back in late 2001. I was subcontracted and flew to Florida and converted the RMA (PICK Universe) data base to Certegy's system.
"Bill", they guy in this story, is actually a very likable person. He's inviting and happy (maybe not now) laughs a lot. He's the kind of easy going guy, trusted and liked. He's fun. This really hits home. I've known this guy for years and was floored when I read the story.
I guess it shows, at least for me, a very fine line. Bill is not a "criminal type" or a "bad character" that might come to mind when these things happen. I don't know what happened, money problems, greed took over, I don't know but I suspect many of us at Slashdot are in positions exposed to temptation. Everyone has a price? Knowing Bill, I suspect this was just a very bad and stupid decision. The temptation of 100's of thousands of dollars for a couple keystrokes and a memory stick. This sure sobered me up.
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Turn it around. If he wants a dedicated online expirience why doesn't he pay extra? Why penalize P2P users for using what they've already paid for: Unlimited access. Why not make all these complainers pay extra for dedicated preferential connections?
Germany's top police officer said.
Who is this guy and how "top" is he? Because either he doesn't know what he's talking about or this announcement is a distraction/excuse/redirect.
As if I'm really going to trust an announcement from the state that we can't eavesdrop on communications from company X without thinking it through.
Especially when it's well known the Skype protocol has been broken and has back doors for a long time. Being able to intercept communications has been a requirement here in the US for awhile. It sounds like they just want everyone to start using it. Or it's an excuse to do a run around current German privacy laws.
And, don't forget to add that we've not been in contact with the company. Ya, that adds up. Here's how I read it. "Hey everybody! We can easily eavesdrop on skype calls and decrypt on the fly, please start using it. Or, everybody thinks we can't tap these calls, we'll use that as an excuse to get even more eavesdropping capabilities.
Either way I don't buy it.
Flack? Naaa... I barely noticed. In order for it to be flack, I would have had to taken it personally. I expected a high noise to signal ratio. Most of the AC comments are just living examples of bad parenting and its effects. My only concern is they're probably breeding and passing along to yet another generation more mental illness. Anyway, they live in a different world than I do and I don't speak their language. I'm unaffected.
You asked for clarification: "degree level understanding". I don't mean a PhD. I mean a PhD level of understanding of whatever particular disorder that may or may not be affecting the child. As an example, when my son went through a bout with a medical issue, I learned what it was, its affects, ad nauseam. When it came to this particular disorder I actually matched, and in ways, exceeded our doctor's degree level of knowledge. I actively participated in my son's diagnosis, treatment and recovery. There was no other option for me. That's my job.
I was 100% responsible for that life. What was I going to do? Say 'Oh well... I guess he's sick and shove some unknown pills down his throat' and then go about *my* life? That approach doesn't even register in my brain.
My view still remains, responsibility/fault call it what you want, is with her parents. Period. That's just the way I see it. Maybe it is cultural. Outside America, at least the Japanese blogs, they're saying the same thing. Parents accept responsibility for their children and their definition of responsibility is all encompassing.
It's curious about the Japanese blogs. I'm 100% mixed European American indistinguishable from any other over weight, bald stereo typical Slashdotter except apparently in my views. My great grand parents were missionaries in Japan. My grand father was born and raised there until mid/late childhood. Maybe my out world views come from generations of non-American cultural concepts. From what I see going on around me, this is just one more thing to be thankful for
I appreciate the opportunity you gave me to explain. But this concept is simple. Where does the responsibility for a parent to their child start and stop? It's simple... there is no line.
It was good talking with you but you should have my thinking down by now. If you don't mind, I'll add you as a friend. I suspect you may have other comments I'd like to see however, unless you have other questions its time to end this thread.
Thanks again
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This is my first opportunity to login. I'm not the AC posting. Whoever that was seems to agree. It may be cultural. All the Japanese blogs blame her parents too. It's apparently an American thing to relegate parenting responsibility to drugs, excuses and disinterested others'.
Thank you for your thoughtful posts. I can tell you're annoyed. I'm sorry you feel that way. I know how that feeling sucks. I know you don't want to agree but you're really saying the same thing I am.
...Also, it's not enough to say "I'd raise them so that they would have no problem talking to me", because well yeah, great if you can do it, but evidently that isn't the case here.That is my point. They failed as parents and their child paid the price.
I'll add:
...But how much did they know? How much did they understand? Parents generally aren't psychiatrists, psychologists, counsellors. If they've never been exposed to depression, there is no way you can expect them to know *exactly* how to help.I do expect them to know especially if their child is suffering. I say 'if' because it would be their first job to find out if the diagnosis is accurate. If it is, then it's their job to get a degree level understanding of what their child is going through and intimately participate in her recovery. I'm glad I can't understand why they didn't.
Anyway, thank you again for your thoughts.
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