"If the blackbox was used to check if someone went over the speed limit (but committed no crime) just to give him a speed ticket without other evidence, then I would called that an invasion of privacy."
There are only two kinds of crimes in which intent is irrelevant - driving infractions and statutory sex crimes. If you're speeding, you are breaking the law, whether it was an accident or whether your wife is giving birth in the back seat. You don't have privacy on public roads. Police limitations are not legal limitations - just because an officer doesn't see it doesn't make it legal.
"After all, that's the equivalent of buying one CD every 1-2 months, which is a lot less than many people buy."
How many people do you know who continuously throw out month-old CDs? Buying a CD gives you access to the music for as long as you have a functioning CD player (assuming you don't destroy the disc).
Why couldn't non-approved things be used? If ISP limited traffic to "approved" sites, you'd quickly find that the vast majority of the internet would be inaccessible (how many home pages, overseas, or "legacy" sites would go for it?). I doubt this would be very profitable (I suppose it could be sold as "safe" for children to a few parents). Additionally, they'd have to advertise with massive disclaimers (like drugs do now); "Does not provide access to the internet; only allows access websites which have received 'Government Approved' status."
You listed 12 shows, two of which are over, if memory serves. So, you've got 10 shows on I'm guessing well over 70 channels (but I'll stay conservative and say 50). That's one show for every 5 channels. I remember the days when most channels had more than one good show (and we're talking about a decade ago, when we had about 30 channels). 10 decent shows is nothing to toot your horn at.
I was thinking- how can they get you to start buying a channel if you can't see it? Then it hit me, they'll have to do it the same way premium used to, with free trial weekends, etc.. I've got to say, this model has a lot to offer, if they can keep it cheap.
No doubt about it. I still remember speeding up internet access on computers by adding a video card. Post-processing can be a significant factor, especially in low-end computers.
Sorry, but does anyone consider this worthy of being posted to Slashdot? There are a dozen Mozilla extensions that are more functional or more fit for conversation.
Good for a few jokes, yes; worth a whole story, no.
Gnosticism: "The doctrines of certain pre-Christian pagan, Jewish, and early Christian sects that valued the revealed knowledge of God and of the origin and end of the human race as a means to attain redemption for the spiritual element in humans and that distinguished the Demiurge from the unknowable Divine Being." (American Heritage Dictionary, 4th Ed.).
Sorry, but as someone who has studied this quite a bit, I can say with confidence that you are completely incorrect and are basing your statements on popular conception rather than facts.
Atheism is the lack of belief in a god. While many atheists are "anti-god" that does not alter the definition of the word. A baby is an atheist because it cannot conceive the existence of god, and therefore cannot believe in it.
Agnostics believe in a higher power, but not the Christian God. The I-don't-want-to-think-about-it description is what is often called agnosticism, but it most certainly is not (American dictionaries tend to follow popular, rather than historical definitions). Check the roots of the word.
Atheists only tend to be from religious backgrounds because most people are from religious backgrounds. 85-90% of the US is theist, and atheists come from all parts of the population, so the numbers are skewed. Violent rejection of religion is the often the media portrayal, and you notice it because it is visible; people who quitely slip away from faith don't give much indication for you to pick up on.
As a former [Supermarket] employee, I can tell you that they track everything. Anything that happens on a register is logged, and the logs are regularly reviewed. They can and do break it down by store, customer, cashier, register, etc. in order to increase profits and cut costs by whatever means necessary.
I suppose our best "defense" would be to evacuate as much of the impact area as possible. Nuclear winter theories aren't as respected as they used to be.
I did give it a shot - I tried Opera and Firebird at the same time when I decided to get away from IE. My experience was quite simple: pages load much faster in Firebird (Opera was dead even with IE). Firebird has mouse gestures (All-In-One Gestures extension is great), and I can disable Java, JavaScript, and gif looping (TTLO extension). The price difference didn't even come into play; Firebird wins hands-down in my opinion.
I don't think "shutting down a bank" is possible in this sort of case. They could force BoA to change software by a certain date several months/years down the road, but I don't think the courts are going to let something as vital as banking be impeded by a copyright violation. Bank computer equipment is simply not going anywhere - nobody short of a federal agency (FBI, DoJ, etc.) would be allowed near it.
Lawsuits have gotten out of hand, but the courts and government haven't necessarily gotten less intelligent (keep your politics to yourself). While companies and individuals can duke it out for cash, infrastructure and the economy will not be allowed to lapse.
The elderly may in fact be the ones that destroy this. When you tell 80-year olds that they have to buy a new TV to watch Biography, they will fight back.
What makes you think most people have the time, energy, or desire to learn to work with computer language? If you're a programmer or CS person, it makes sense, but it would be horribly inefficient for the typical person to do so. The amount of knowledge necessary to even approach coding of any kind vastly exceeds the payoff for almost everyone outside of the computer industry. We're not pointing and grunting here, we're mechanizing a task. Rather than repeatedly perform the same actions, we're creating machines to do our menial labor for us. That's advanced, not primitive.
If you'd prefer they do nothing, feel free to suggest it. They do catch many threats, and if they stopped, people would die. Your sarcasm is evidence of ignorance, not intelligence. Not everything is a political struggle; most law enforcement, etc. is intended to save lives and enforce the law, not irritate you or steal your liberties. Iraq was a political move, but I see no reason to believe that confiscating the servers was.
Slashdot Mirror
"If the blackbox was used to check if someone went over the speed limit (but committed no crime) just to give him a speed ticket without other evidence, then I would called that an invasion of privacy."
There are only two kinds of crimes in which intent is irrelevant - driving infractions and statutory sex crimes. If you're speeding, you are breaking the law, whether it was an accident or whether your wife is giving birth in the back seat. You don't have privacy on public roads. Police limitations are not legal limitations - just because an officer doesn't see it doesn't make it legal.
I'd have suggested "Lindoors"
"After all, that's the equivalent of buying one CD every 1-2 months, which is a lot less than many people buy."
How many people do you know who continuously throw out month-old CDs? Buying a CD gives you access to the music for as long as you have a functioning CD player (assuming you don't destroy the disc).
Why couldn't non-approved things be used? If ISP limited traffic to "approved" sites, you'd quickly find that the vast majority of the internet would be inaccessible (how many home pages, overseas, or "legacy" sites would go for it?). I doubt this would be very profitable (I suppose it could be sold as "safe" for children to a few parents). Additionally, they'd have to advertise with massive disclaimers (like drugs do now); "Does not provide access to the internet; only allows access websites which have received 'Government Approved' status."
What if you aren't approved to receive the $100?
"just send me the car"
Hmm... I know I had a car-sized cardboard box around here somewhere...
Don't forget the food, water, and oxygen he'll consume, and the CO2 and waste he'll generate. Oh, and the equipment, training, etc.
You listed 12 shows, two of which are over, if memory serves. So, you've got 10 shows on I'm guessing well over 70 channels (but I'll stay conservative and say 50). That's one show for every 5 channels. I remember the days when most channels had more than one good show (and we're talking about a decade ago, when we had about 30 channels). 10 decent shows is nothing to toot your horn at.
I was thinking- how can they get you to start buying a channel if you can't see it? Then it hit me, they'll have to do it the same way premium used to, with free trial weekends, etc.. I've got to say, this model has a lot to offer, if they can keep it cheap.
"...angry about cable bills that have risen at three times the rate of inflation..."
Don't forget that quality has also dropped noticeably. We're paying more for more channels, not more good programs.
Sounds like bad marketing, not hypocricy.
No doubt about it. I still remember speeding up internet access on computers by adding a video card. Post-processing can be a significant factor, especially in low-end computers.
Sorry, but does anyone consider this worthy of being posted to Slashdot? There are a dozen Mozilla extensions that are more functional or more fit for conversation.
Good for a few jokes, yes; worth a whole story, no.
Gnosticism: "The doctrines of certain pre-Christian pagan, Jewish, and early Christian sects that valued the revealed knowledge of God and of the origin and end of the human race as a means to attain redemption for the spiritual element in humans and that distinguished the Demiurge from the unknowable Divine Being." (American Heritage Dictionary, 4th Ed.).
"Agnostic" was created to mean "not Christian".
Sorry, but as someone who has studied this quite a bit, I can say with confidence that you are completely incorrect and are basing your statements on popular conception rather than facts.
Atheism is the lack of belief in a god. While many atheists are "anti-god" that does not alter the definition of the word. A baby is an atheist because it cannot conceive the existence of god, and therefore cannot believe in it.
Agnostics believe in a higher power, but not the Christian God. The I-don't-want-to-think-about-it description is what is often called agnosticism, but it most certainly is not (American dictionaries tend to follow popular, rather than historical definitions). Check the roots of the word.
Atheists only tend to be from religious backgrounds because most people are from religious backgrounds. 85-90% of the US is theist, and atheists come from all parts of the population, so the numbers are skewed. Violent rejection of religion is the often the media portrayal, and you notice it because it is visible; people who quitely slip away from faith don't give much indication for you to pick up on.
As a former [Supermarket] employee, I can tell you that they track everything. Anything that happens on a register is logged, and the logs are regularly reviewed. They can and do break it down by store, customer, cashier, register, etc. in order to increase profits and cut costs by whatever means necessary.
" 3 out of 4 people will not be able to tell you what bandwidth is."
3 out of 4 people will not be able to tell you what frequency their phone uses.
3 out of 4 people will not be able to tell you what DVD region they are in.
3 out of 4 people will not be able to tell you what the RIAA is...or the MPAA...or the FCC...
...I think you get my drift.
I suppose our best "defense" would be to evacuate as much of the impact area as possible. Nuclear winter theories aren't as respected as they used to be.
I did give it a shot - I tried Opera and Firebird at the same time when I decided to get away from IE. My experience was quite simple: pages load much faster in Firebird (Opera was dead even with IE). Firebird has mouse gestures (All-In-One Gestures extension is great), and I can disable Java, JavaScript, and gif looping (TTLO extension). The price difference didn't even come into play; Firebird wins hands-down in my opinion.
Actually, you should wait until after they make The Hobbit, because you can be sure that the 4-movie set will be quite souped-up.
I don't think "shutting down a bank" is possible in this sort of case. They could force BoA to change software by a certain date several months/years down the road, but I don't think the courts are going to let something as vital as banking be impeded by a copyright violation. Bank computer equipment is simply not going anywhere - nobody short of a federal agency (FBI, DoJ, etc.) would be allowed near it.
Lawsuits have gotten out of hand, but the courts and government haven't necessarily gotten less intelligent (keep your politics to yourself). While companies and individuals can duke it out for cash, infrastructure and the economy will not be allowed to lapse.
The elderly may in fact be the ones that destroy this. When you tell 80-year olds that they have to buy a new TV to watch Biography, they will fight back.
You'd need a thousand times the current number of Linux zealots to make even the most miniscule impact on a large company like AutoZone's business.
What makes you think most people have the time, energy, or desire to learn to work with computer language? If you're a programmer or CS person, it makes sense, but it would be horribly inefficient for the typical person to do so. The amount of knowledge necessary to even approach coding of any kind vastly exceeds the payoff for almost everyone outside of the computer industry. We're not pointing and grunting here, we're mechanizing a task. Rather than repeatedly perform the same actions, we're creating machines to do our menial labor for us. That's advanced, not primitive.
If you'd prefer they do nothing, feel free to suggest it. They do catch many threats, and if they stopped, people would die. Your sarcasm is evidence of ignorance, not intelligence. Not everything is a political struggle; most law enforcement, etc. is intended to save lives and enforce the law, not irritate you or steal your liberties. Iraq was a political move, but I see no reason to believe that confiscating the servers was.