I realize you were joking when you said that, but it reminded me of a very quick test to determine whether Windows has gotten any better.
1. Start out with Win 2K/XP/2003/Vista
2. Load Microsoft Train Simulator on the PC and actually try to play it
3. If the game doesn't crash within the first 15 minutes, then yes, they have improved Windows
Hardware configuration and exact version of NT are irrelevant in this case. You WILL get a BSOD.
I wonder how long it'll be before mediadefender.com's site becomes the target of a DDOS..
On topic now, they are trying to sue people based on downloading a fake. This may hold up as in schools/planes where you would get in serious trouble for saying something of the order of "I have a bomb!" regardless of whether it's true. But still, it's pretty ridiculous. Going further, if a court were to validate the MPAA's 'evidence' in any of these cases, it'd change the rules so that the legal system must judge based on intent preemptively as opposed on based on actions. I'd think that would open the door for many a frivolous suit.
It also seems the MPAA is pretty inexperienced at keeping up with the standards of torrent-based networks. They may be able to lure in non tech-savvy users but otherwise their efforts seem to be blocked fairly quickly by the torrent search engines.
What are the current penalties imposed on a person for losing a court battle with the MPAA? (Could probably find it fairly easily but don't feel like going through legalese now). I remember in 2005 a law passed in Bulgaria where the sentence for downloading music illegally was set for 3 years. Pretty ridiculous considering the sentence there for committing a felony tends to be much shorter. Just a few thoughts.
This doesn't really mean anything by itself. However, it's worth mentioning that the individual attitude is different in the rest of the world than it is in the U.S. (For example, the students at the Shanghai U. might be a bit more motivated to prove their talents than the students in the U.S. thanks to some social doctrines going around in the region).
Darn. I would be really interested into test-driving a Mac Mini if I wasn't so much into using x86 assembly to code apps. (Maybe learning PPC asm would be the next logical step?) The Epia has exactly as much juice as you described meaning it gets the job done (programming mostly) but there's no room for gaming whatsoever. Currently that's an aid to the programming process, simply because there isn't all that much I can do on the system - but some extra processing power woudld still be nice.
Surely Microsoft would feel ashamed of stating something like that? Considering that Windows won't run for much longer than a couple of days on a uniprocessor PC while just having to keep explorer running, it's funny that they are trying to attack Linux on SMP platforms. But then again, M$ is the one with the "Copyright 1981.." lines all over their binaries.
Same for Sun, whose screenshots boldly display KDE and a host of other interfaces commonly associated with Linux.
What's really disturbing is not that they're calling the competition bad but that they're doing it while at the same time relying on the system they're just attacking.
Just goes to show the state of social decay over the last few decades. Parents are constantly bothered by issues at work and no longer have the time to devote to their kids. TV is not much different from this robot (whether it's running M$ or something more worthy) in providing a parent-replacement function.
..Of course, they'll be laughing on company time, and getting *paid* for it... unless they are too busy contemplating what will happen to them once their job gets outsourced to India.
Let me guess: you are an American.
Let me answer at least a couple of the questions you just brought up:
3) Scientists are scientists (unless owned by a politician like the ones working for Bush that say global warming is OK..) and they are people who stay true to facts. If scientists are continuously telling you something bad's coming, it means they reviewed quite a few facts before reaching this conclusion. And finally, the above being said, I'd listen to what they have to say. On a side note, you may want to look up the IPCC (www.ipcc.ch). Those guys are from all over the place and they have been working on global warming for a while now. They are saying the same thing.
4) I'm sorry, this is just a stupid question. Global warming (or massive amounts of ice melting) doesn't just make the climate a bit warmer. It actually starts a chain reaction of events which take place in a land slide and end with a signifant portion of the earth's biosphere dead or extinct. Yes, this coming from the same guys that can tell you what your weather will be like tomorrow correctly 90% of the time.
Windows auto-updating itself would be a huge problem. Why? Because I let mine do that a few months ago (Norton AV was running in the background) and the update which happened to be Windows 2000 Service Pack 3 contained a worm right in one of the CAB files off Microsoft's web site. Considering Windows to be unreliable and Microsoft a company one can't trust, having Windows auto-update itself will only bring yet more trouble if any benefits and all. And then there's the whole issue of (lack of) privacy with such a scheme. Anyone seen the Phoenix BIOS and Microsoft merger post from yesterday?
In this world of 8-hour workdays and with a need to constantly pay bills it's not very easy to just up and start a company. Of course taking a loan is an option, but for many college students (like myself) that would just mean a second loan to pay off. And then I'm not sure companies would very much like to hire me if I'm trying to get my own team together and compete instead of cooperate with them.
Otherwise hey, it's a great great idea and it could end up producing some quality software. Only it really helps to win the lottery beforehand...
That's pretty upsetting to hear about. Myself I'm running a web site (trace jkansoft.mine.nu) on my Comcast cable line and I haven't received any threatening letters yet. One of my friends' friends however has MSN DSL and apparently their approach to limiting bandwidth usage is to block all public server ports in the direction of the end user. My friend has Ricochet wireless and they just have a bandwidth limit where you get kicked offline for exceeding it. Especially with the new administration in the government some of these ISPs are getting way too much power to decide how you can use your bandwidth. From my point of view it's absolutely valid to run a web server from your home line if the bandwidth has been allocated to you anyway. Otherwise they're simply lying to you as a consumer.
Slashdot Mirror
I realize you were joking when you said that, but it reminded me of a very quick test to determine whether Windows has gotten any better. 1. Start out with Win 2K/XP/2003/Vista 2. Load Microsoft Train Simulator on the PC and actually try to play it 3. If the game doesn't crash within the first 15 minutes, then yes, they have improved Windows Hardware configuration and exact version of NT are irrelevant in this case. You WILL get a BSOD.
I wonder how long it'll be before mediadefender.com's site becomes the target of a DDOS.. On topic now, they are trying to sue people based on downloading a fake. This may hold up as in schools/planes where you would get in serious trouble for saying something of the order of "I have a bomb!" regardless of whether it's true. But still, it's pretty ridiculous. Going further, if a court were to validate the MPAA's 'evidence' in any of these cases, it'd change the rules so that the legal system must judge based on intent preemptively as opposed on based on actions. I'd think that would open the door for many a frivolous suit. It also seems the MPAA is pretty inexperienced at keeping up with the standards of torrent-based networks. They may be able to lure in non tech-savvy users but otherwise their efforts seem to be blocked fairly quickly by the torrent search engines. What are the current penalties imposed on a person for losing a court battle with the MPAA? (Could probably find it fairly easily but don't feel like going through legalese now). I remember in 2005 a law passed in Bulgaria where the sentence for downloading music illegally was set for 3 years. Pretty ridiculous considering the sentence there for committing a felony tends to be much shorter. Just a few thoughts.
This doesn't really mean anything by itself. However, it's worth mentioning that the individual attitude is different in the rest of the world than it is in the U.S. (For example, the students at the Shanghai U. might be a bit more motivated to prove their talents than the students in the U.S. thanks to some social doctrines going around in the region).
Darn. I would be really interested into test-driving a Mac Mini if I wasn't so much into using x86 assembly to code apps. (Maybe learning PPC asm would be the next logical step?) The Epia has exactly as much juice as you described meaning it gets the job done (programming mostly) but there's no room for gaming whatsoever. Currently that's an aid to the programming process, simply because there isn't all that much I can do on the system - but some extra processing power woudld still be nice.
The first logical step would then be to start designing code for operating systems other than Windows (such as Linux).
Surely Microsoft would feel ashamed of stating something like that? Considering that Windows won't run for much longer than a couple of days on a uniprocessor PC while just having to keep explorer running, it's funny that they are trying to attack Linux on SMP platforms. But then again, M$ is the one with the "Copyright 1981.." lines all over their binaries. Same for Sun, whose screenshots boldly display KDE and a host of other interfaces commonly associated with Linux. What's really disturbing is not that they're calling the competition bad but that they're doing it while at the same time relying on the system they're just attacking.
Just goes to show the state of social decay over the last few decades. Parents are constantly bothered by issues at work and no longer have the time to devote to their kids. TV is not much different from this robot (whether it's running M$ or something more worthy) in providing a parent-replacement function.
..Of course, they'll be laughing on company time, and getting *paid* for it... unless they are too busy contemplating what will happen to them once their job gets outsourced to India.
Let me guess: you are an American. Let me answer at least a couple of the questions you just brought up: 3) Scientists are scientists (unless owned by a politician like the ones working for Bush that say global warming is OK..) and they are people who stay true to facts. If scientists are continuously telling you something bad's coming, it means they reviewed quite a few facts before reaching this conclusion. And finally, the above being said, I'd listen to what they have to say. On a side note, you may want to look up the IPCC (www.ipcc.ch). Those guys are from all over the place and they have been working on global warming for a while now. They are saying the same thing. 4) I'm sorry, this is just a stupid question. Global warming (or massive amounts of ice melting) doesn't just make the climate a bit warmer. It actually starts a chain reaction of events which take place in a land slide and end with a signifant portion of the earth's biosphere dead or extinct. Yes, this coming from the same guys that can tell you what your weather will be like tomorrow correctly 90% of the time.
Windows auto-updating itself would be a huge problem. Why? Because I let mine do that a few months ago (Norton AV was running in the background) and the update which happened to be Windows 2000 Service Pack 3 contained a worm right in one of the CAB files off Microsoft's web site. Considering Windows to be unreliable and Microsoft a company one can't trust, having Windows auto-update itself will only bring yet more trouble if any benefits and all. And then there's the whole issue of (lack of) privacy with such a scheme.
Anyone seen the Phoenix BIOS and Microsoft merger post from yesterday?
In this world of 8-hour workdays and with a need to constantly pay bills it's not very easy to just up and start a company. Of course taking a loan is an option, but for many college students (like myself) that would just mean a second loan to pay off. And then I'm not sure companies would very much like to hire me if I'm trying to get my own team together and compete instead of cooperate with them.
Otherwise hey, it's a great great idea and it could
end up producing some quality software. Only it really helps to win the lottery beforehand...
That's pretty upsetting to hear about. Myself I'm running a web site (trace jkansoft.mine.nu) on my Comcast cable line and I haven't received any threatening letters yet. One of my friends' friends however has MSN DSL and apparently their approach to limiting bandwidth usage is to block all public server ports in the direction of the end user. My friend has Ricochet wireless and they just have a bandwidth limit where you get kicked offline for exceeding it. Especially with the new administration in the government some of these ISPs are getting way too much power to decide how you can use your bandwidth. From my point of view it's absolutely valid to run a web server from your home line if the bandwidth has been allocated to you anyway. Otherwise they're simply lying to you as a consumer.