While we're at it, let's pass laws that persecute the owners and developers that work at automotive and gun companies when somebody commits a crime while using their product. After all, you can tie the CEO of GMC directly to a hit-and-run murder case since they provided the means of the crime.
This is plain stupid. The only thing stupider than this bill is the moron that suggested it.
Wireless rep Harold Wray admits that "radio waves find leaks", while the company asks users to be aware that the product "must be applied selectively" otherwise it "might hinder the performance of radios, televisions and cell phones".
First they say that "radio waves find leaks". Those dastardly buggers do have a way of doing that. But after warning about possible "leaks" they then suggest you apply the product selectively otherwise you'll have other problems. Gosh, do I buy a pallet or a single bucket?
If you did this, say applying enough paint to block up to 5Ghz, then I think the problems outweigh the positive effects. Your cordless phone wouldn't work from outside anymore. You obviously couldn't use your wireless connection on your lawn. Your FM radio, TV, and possibly your cell phone would work poorly if at all. But not to worry, you're sure that nobody is hax0ring your WiFi network!
That aside, this seems like a worthless "solution". It's like everybody just selling tin-foil hats and not mentioning that the government really doesn't have mind control rays. Why would it be so hard for manufacturers to simply make the product a little more secure out of the box?
I'd guess that if you simply stopped broadcasting your SSID you'd be fine 95% of the time. It really doesn't seem that much to show folks how to change and stop broadcasting the SSID (better yet, have it disabled by default), then how to log onto the network with it.
Traditionally I don't. I'll buy perhaps a single CD a year, if that.
The issue is however that while like me many people have made the decision to boycott CDs to some extent, many of those same people still want access to new music. This means they download it - either legally or illegally - and the music industry has to understand that suing people is never going to fix the problem. When you have a product that can be easily reproduced and transmitted electronically then when people start boycotting the physical product it doesn't mean they won't acuire it through other means. It comes down to a decision: do they try fix the problem by lowing CD prices and attempting to offer better quality albums or continue to play the poor innocent victim by suing little Susie and Grandma May?
This is how our economy is supposed to work. If you think it's overpriced, don't buy it.
Indeed, in the physical world. But when it comes to soft-wares such as music, software, and movies new options have been opened up to people. Want to oppose the industry then don't buy their product, but that doesn't mean you can't still have it! If we could easily digitalize cars and then recreate them someplace else, the number of incidents involving grand theft auto would skyrocket.
I don't necessarily agree with it, but that's how it is and there's no way to change it back to the good old days.
How -- if at all -- should policymakers attempt to resolve emerging digital media conflicts?
Perhaps the policy makers at the RIAA should realize people are tired of bending over for them. People are sick of spending $18 on a CD with only a single new track and a bunch of old-favorites-remixed-so-they-are-like-new tracks. Actually, I think people are sick of paying $18 for a CD period.
This just give everybody who's concerned about ICANN's unchecked control even more reasons to learn about and support the Open Root Server Confederation.
The Internet needs to stay unregulated and as free as possible from the corporate mindset if it's going to stay in it's current shape. You can already see problems arising with corporations controlling so much of the public's interest in the Internet such as VeriSign's abusing their power by implementing programs like SiteFinder.
It's reasons like these and ICANN's increasing little fees they charge that something needs to be done at some point and the sooner the better. I suppose the very nature of the Internet is a saving grace - if the current custodians fail the public then the network can always be restructured, if very slowly. There is more than one way millions of computers can be inter-connected.
The other thing that comes to mind is that videogames are different in other ways when compared to similar forms of entertainment. Game consoles are often sold at a loss once the console has been out for a year or so. The developer relies on the publishing rights fees and royalties of the games themselves to make up for the lost revenue of the console.
If consoles costs were closer to the production cost of things like CD and DVD players then I would expect the prices for games to be on par with CDs and DVDs. The problem with consoles is that they only last for 4-5 years before the next generation is expected which means even more production and research costs. I guess in the end console game prices make some sense, but I still think they could drop in price by 20% with no problems ($125 Million the first day in sales for Halo 2? Yeah, they could drop a bit I think).
PC games are a whole other story however. They just keep rising and rising with no end in sight and with a consumer base that will pay whatever the sticker says with no questions asked, the publishers are simply going to keep raising prices until they start down the other side of the cost/revenue curve. That's something that needs to change.
Odd, I just got an "Updates Available" message from Windows Update:
New critical updates are now available for your computer. Click Next to install the following upates:
Critical update for Windows XP Tour
Install this update to protect your computer from, um, really bad stuff. Once this updates is installed it cannot be removed. Ever (really). This update will also delete all WAV files stored on your computer. After installing this update the URL http://slashdot.org may become unavailable. This is behavior by design.
...and then forced Bungie to port Halo to the X-box.
Do you have any idea what you're even talking about? Halo went through so many changes that if it had been released on the Mac as originally planned it would have been yet another mediocre RTS game on a platform with a very small videogame market.
I'm not a Microsoft advocate, but because of Microsoft's purchase of Bungie, they were given an infusion of funds and resources to make what would have been an undersold and mediocre game into the best FPS on the Xbox, perhaps even the best FPS console game to date (yes I've played Goldeneye and Perfect Dark-- Niether game can is as good as Halo multiplayer, new technology notwithstanding).
For anyone interested, here's a look at the evolution of Halo. Get an idea of what it would have looked like had Microsoft not been involved. Trust me... nobody would have bought a Mac just because the RTS Halo-as-it-would-have-been was on it.
They're probably losing customers on purpose. After all, now when all of their members show up to give them ideas they'll have enough chairs. Not to mention they're probably as sick as I am of hearing stupid members standing up on tables saying "I want, I want, I want, I want...".
Well, maybe Hormel will be kind and donate some Spam for the cause. Combine that with the immediate suspension of any and all rights for somebody convicted of the aformentioned crimes and we've got a great plan.
Perhaps group executions are the way to go? That's got to save some cash. I see large gas chambers decorated like shower halls where we stick all the spammers. Just tell them it's a nice warm group shower... sounds pretty good!
I agree, for purely practical reasons... putting them in jail costs us money, whereas fining them costs them money...
Easy solution then. The punishment for spammer/scammers/phishers is now a fine up to but not to exceed $250,000 followed by execution, the manner of which shall be being force-fed Spam until their gut explodes.
...both individual genes and interactions between genes must be proportionately more complex, in order to get the same level of complexity out.
That or we can finally admit that we aren't as hot as we thought we were. I mean honestly, a mustard plant? Couldn't our superiourity be overthrown by something that at least has legs?
It's all in the numbers baby, and someday I hope to live up to our mustard plant elders.
That's true, however even today it's not that hard to have the same thing happen. Many times you'll find phone lines, coaxial, and fiber running alongside each other underground or on poles.
Case in point: At home we currently have standard POT service with Qwest over twisted pair copper wire. We also have Comcast cable and Internet service over standard coaxial cable. It still only took about 10 minutes to kill it all after my father unloaded the trencher in our back yard.
One fiber pipe compared to a 25-pair copper bundle and a big coaxial cable. Both taste the same to a trencher, and have a similar result.
As much as I wonder how this is going to play out in terms of cost and DRM issues, I'm glad to see at least a few introductory steps taking us in the direction.
I really look forward to getting rid of the old standard twisted-pair copper wire infrastructure that we're currently using and moving towards a "one connection for everything" system. Assuming we don't run into issues with monopoly-dictated pricing and/or start revisiting the old problems with massive telecoms, I'd love to get all my services through a single cable and a single provider, not to mention a kickass Internet connection.
How much federal regulation will eventually need to come into play to prevent history from repeating itself as with the telecoms? Should something as huge and important as the nation's information infrastructure be regulated directly by the government as the railroads were for a time?
Why use boring old For and While loops when recursion is so much more fun? Next time you start typing 'for (i=0;'... ^H^H^H^H a few times and do it with a recursive function call instead. It's a lot more exciting, and just think of the fun somebody else is going to have in a few years when they try to update your code!
That'll teach those dirty corporate &%*@!s. Lay me off will you? I hope the Indians like puzzles!
Besides, nothing's cooler than that which has the rule "Just have faith it [recursion] will work."
Most phone telemarketers were operating legal businesses, so when laws made it imposible for them to operate they simply went out of business.
It's just too durn bad too. I'm sure so many of us were heartbroken to see them go. Just because they were legitimate doesn't mean they weren't a pain in the ass.
You make a very valid point, but whatever the reason, I'm glad to see them gone, even though they did occasionally provide some entertainment when I was in a particularily sadistic mood.
1. When you call us to have your computer moved or fixed, be sure to leave it buried under half a ton of postcards, baby pictures, stuffed animals, dried flowers, bowling trophies and children's art. We don't have a life, and we find it deeply moving to catch a fleeting glimpse of yours.
2. Don't write anything down. Ever. We can play back the error messages from here.
3. When an IT person says he's coming right over, go for coffee. That way you won't be there when we need your password. It's nothing for us to remember 300 user passwords.
4. When you call the help desk, state what you want, not what's keeping you from getting it. We don't need to know that you can't get into your mail because your computer won't power on at all.
6. When IT support sends you an e-mail with high importance, delete it at once. We're just testing.
7. When an IT person is eating lunch at his desk, walk right in and spill your guts right out. We exist only to serve.
8. Send urgent email all in uppercase. The mail server picks it up and flags it as a rush delivery.
9. When the photocopier doesn't work, call computer support. There's electronics in it. Ditto for the microwave, timeclock, and coffee maker. Hell, if it plugs in, we're probably in charge of it anyway.
10. When you're getting a NO DIAL TONE message at home, call computer support. We can fix your telephone line from here.
11. When you have a dozen old computer screens to get rid of, call computer support. We're collectors.
12. When something's wrong with your home PC, dump it on an IT person's chair with no name, no phone number and no description of the problem. We love a puzzle.
13. When an IT person tells you that computer screens don't have cartridges in them, argue. We love a good argument.
14. When an IT person tells you that he'll be there shortly, reply in a scathing tone of voice: "And just how many weeks do you mean by shortly?". That motivates us.
15. When the printer won't print, re-send the job at least 20 times. Print jobs frequently get sucked into black holes.
16. When the printer still won't print after 20 tries, send the job to all 68 printers in the company. One of them is bound to work.
17. Don't learn the proper name for anything technical. We know exactly what you mean by "my thingy blew up".
18. Don't use on-line help. On-line help is for wimps.
19. If the mouse cable keeps knocking down the framed picture of your dog, lift the computer and stuff the cable under it. Mouse cables were designed to have 40lb of computer sitting on top of them.
20. If the space bar on your keyboard doesn't work, blame it on the mail upgrade. Keyboards are actually very happy with half a pound of muffin crumbs and nail clippings in them.
21. When you get a message saying "Are you sure?" click on that Yes button as fast as you can. Hell, if you weren't sure, you wouldn't be doing it, would you?
22. When you find an IT person on the phone with his bank, sit uninvited on the corner of his desk and stare at him until he hangs up. We don't have any money to speak of anyway.
23. Feel perfectly free to say things like "I don't know nothing about that computer crap". We don't mind at all hearing our area of professional expertise referred to as crap.
24. When you need to change the toner cartridge in a printer, call IT support. Changing a toner cartridge is an extremely complex task, and Hewlett-Packard recommends that it be performed only by a professional engineer with a master's degree in nuclear physics.
25. When you can't find someone in the government directory, call IT Support.
26. When you have a lock to pick on an old file cabinet, call IT Support. We love to hack.
27. When something's the matter with your computer, ask your secretary to call the help desk. We enjoy the challenge of h
Typically if I want to save a link to, or the SWF file itself, I'll view the source, do a quick search for ".swf", and then create a hyperlink and save the target. Unless the author went nuts with it, it's pretty easy to find out where the flash file itself (*.swf) is being pulled from. The address is usually in an EMBED or OBJECT tag.
Slashdot Mirror
While we're at it, let's pass laws that persecute the owners and developers that work at automotive and gun companies when somebody commits a crime while using their product. After all, you can tie the CEO of GMC directly to a hit-and-run murder case since they provided the means of the crime.
This is plain stupid. The only thing stupider than this bill is the moron that suggested it.
I can't think this is much of a solution.
Wireless rep Harold Wray admits that "radio waves find leaks", while the company asks users to be aware that the product "must be applied selectively" otherwise it "might hinder the performance of radios, televisions and cell phones".
First they say that "radio waves find leaks". Those dastardly buggers do have a way of doing that. But after warning about possible "leaks" they then suggest you apply the product selectively otherwise you'll have other problems. Gosh, do I buy a pallet or a single bucket?
If you did this, say applying enough paint to block up to 5Ghz, then I think the problems outweigh the positive effects. Your cordless phone wouldn't work from outside anymore. You obviously couldn't use your wireless connection on your lawn. Your FM radio, TV, and possibly your cell phone would work poorly if at all. But not to worry, you're sure that nobody is hax0ring your WiFi network!
That aside, this seems like a worthless "solution". It's like everybody just selling tin-foil hats and not mentioning that the government really doesn't have mind control rays. Why would it be so hard for manufacturers to simply make the product a little more secure out of the box?
I'd guess that if you simply stopped broadcasting your SSID you'd be fine 95% of the time. It really doesn't seem that much to show folks how to change and stop broadcasting the SSID (better yet, have it disabled by default), then how to log onto the network with it.
Then don't.
Traditionally I don't. I'll buy perhaps a single CD a year, if that.
The issue is however that while like me many people have made the decision to boycott CDs to some extent, many of those same people still want access to new music. This means they download it - either legally or illegally - and the music industry has to understand that suing people is never going to fix the problem. When you have a product that can be easily reproduced and transmitted electronically then when people start boycotting the physical product it doesn't mean they won't acuire it through other means. It comes down to a decision: do they try fix the problem by lowing CD prices and attempting to offer better quality albums or continue to play the poor innocent victim by suing little Susie and Grandma May?
This is how our economy is supposed to work. If you think it's overpriced, don't buy it.
Indeed, in the physical world. But when it comes to soft-wares such as music, software, and movies new options have been opened up to people. Want to oppose the industry then don't buy their product, but that doesn't mean you can't still have it! If we could easily digitalize cars and then recreate them someplace else, the number of incidents involving grand theft auto would skyrocket.
I don't necessarily agree with it, but that's how it is and there's no way to change it back to the good old days.
How -- if at all -- should policymakers attempt to resolve emerging digital media conflicts?
Perhaps the policy makers at the RIAA should realize people are tired of bending over for them. People are sick of spending $18 on a CD with only a single new track and a bunch of old-favorites-remixed-so-they-are-like-new tracks. Actually, I think people are sick of paying $18 for a CD period.
Perhaps a little out of date, but Maddox still makes a good point.
This just give everybody who's concerned about ICANN's unchecked control even more reasons to learn about and support the Open Root Server Confederation.
The Internet needs to stay unregulated and as free as possible from the corporate mindset if it's going to stay in it's current shape. You can already see problems arising with corporations controlling so much of the public's interest in the Internet such as VeriSign's abusing their power by implementing programs like SiteFinder.
It's reasons like these and ICANN's increasing little fees they charge that something needs to be done at some point and the sooner the better. I suppose the very nature of the Internet is a saving grace - if the current custodians fail the public then the network can always be restructured, if very slowly. There is more than one way millions of computers can be inter-connected.
Anyone have a public IP and any good pr0n they want to share?
Nicely put.
The other thing that comes to mind is that videogames are different in other ways when compared to similar forms of entertainment. Game consoles are often sold at a loss once the console has been out for a year or so. The developer relies on the publishing rights fees and royalties of the games themselves to make up for the lost revenue of the console.
If consoles costs were closer to the production cost of things like CD and DVD players then I would expect the prices for games to be on par with CDs and DVDs. The problem with consoles is that they only last for 4-5 years before the next generation is expected which means even more production and research costs. I guess in the end console game prices make some sense, but I still think they could drop in price by 20% with no problems ($125 Million the first day in sales for Halo 2? Yeah, they could drop a bit I think).
PC games are a whole other story however. They just keep rising and rising with no end in sight and with a consumer base that will pay whatever the sticker says with no questions asked, the publishers are simply going to keep raising prices until they start down the other side of the cost/revenue curve. That's something that needs to change.
New critical updates are now available for your computer. Click Next to install the following upates:
Critical update for Windows XP Tour
Install this update to protect your computer from, um, really bad stuff. Once this updates is installed it cannot be removed. Ever (really). This update will also delete all WAV files stored on your computer. After installing this update the URL http://slashdot.org may become unavailable. This is behavior by design.
Well, I tried, but believe it or not "Slashdot" isn't listed in the 'Where did you hear about BSA?' box.
Oh, well.
Do you have any idea what you're even talking about? Halo went through so many changes that if it had been released on the Mac as originally planned it would have been yet another mediocre RTS game on a platform with a very small videogame market.
I'm not a Microsoft advocate, but because of Microsoft's purchase of Bungie, they were given an infusion of funds and resources to make what would have been an undersold and mediocre game into the best FPS on the Xbox, perhaps even the best FPS console game to date (yes I've played Goldeneye and Perfect Dark-- Niether game can is as good as Halo multiplayer, new technology notwithstanding).
For anyone interested, here's a look at the evolution of Halo. Get an idea of what it would have looked like had Microsoft not been involved. Trust me... nobody would have bought a Mac just because the RTS Halo-as-it-would-have-been was on it.
More mirrors
That signature, -S, looks somewhat familiar. If you're who I think you are how could you ever say that? Traitor!
They're probably losing customers on purpose. After all, now when all of their members show up to give them ideas they'll have enough chairs. Not to mention they're probably as sick as I am of hearing stupid members standing up on tables saying "I want, I want, I want, I want...".
Perhaps group executions are the way to go? That's got to save some cash. I see large gas chambers decorated like shower halls where we stick all the spammers. Just tell them it's a nice warm group shower... sounds pretty good!
Easy solution then. The punishment for spammer/scammers/phishers is now a fine up to but not to exceed $250,000 followed by execution, the manner of which shall be being force-fed Spam until their gut explodes.
Sounds fitting to me!
skycutter40-1.wmv
"This shit really works!" -- Possible MirrorDot slogan
...both individual genes and interactions between genes must be proportionately more complex, in order to get the same level of complexity out.
That or we can finally admit that we aren't as hot as we thought we were. I mean honestly, a mustard plant? Couldn't our superiourity be overthrown by something that at least has legs?
It's all in the numbers baby, and someday I hope to live up to our mustard plant elders.
That's true, however even today it's not that hard to have the same thing happen. Many times you'll find phone lines, coaxial, and fiber running alongside each other underground or on poles.
Case in point: At home we currently have standard POT service with Qwest over twisted pair copper wire. We also have Comcast cable and Internet service over standard coaxial cable. It still only took about 10 minutes to kill it all after my father unloaded the trencher in our back yard.
One fiber pipe compared to a 25-pair copper bundle and a big coaxial cable. Both taste the same to a trencher, and have a similar result.
As much as I wonder how this is going to play out in terms of cost and DRM issues, I'm glad to see at least a few introductory steps taking us in the direction.
I really look forward to getting rid of the old standard twisted-pair copper wire infrastructure that we're currently using and moving towards a "one connection for everything" system. Assuming we don't run into issues with monopoly-dictated pricing and/or start revisiting the old problems with massive telecoms, I'd love to get all my services through a single cable and a single provider, not to mention a kickass Internet connection.
How much federal regulation will eventually need to come into play to prevent history from repeating itself as with the telecoms? Should something as huge and important as the nation's information infrastructure be regulated directly by the government as the railroads were for a time?
Why use boring old For and While loops when recursion is so much more fun? Next time you start typing 'for (i=0;'... ^H^H^H^H a few times and do it with a recursive function call instead. It's a lot more exciting, and just think of the fun somebody else is going to have in a few years when they try to update your code!
That'll teach those dirty corporate &%*@!s. Lay me off will you? I hope the Indians like puzzles!
Besides, nothing's cooler than that which has the rule "Just have faith it [recursion] will work."
Too bad he posted as an AC. I personally won't mod up any AC posts.
:)
Now I apparently won't be modding up anyone else in this article either
In Soviet Russia, air pollutes YOU!
It's just too durn bad too. I'm sure so many of us were heartbroken to see them go. Just because they were legitimate doesn't mean they weren't a pain in the ass.
You make a very valid point, but whatever the reason, I'm glad to see them gone, even though they did occasionally provide some entertainment when I was in a particularily sadistic mood.
Haha, very good. I think that's certainly worth being added to the list :)
The required list for today:
Getting the most from your IT department
1. When you call us to have your computer moved or fixed, be sure to leave it buried under half a ton of postcards, baby pictures, stuffed animals, dried flowers, bowling trophies and children's art. We don't have a life, and we find it deeply moving to catch a fleeting glimpse of yours.
2. Don't write anything down. Ever. We can play back the error messages from here.
3. When an IT person says he's coming right over, go for coffee. That way you won't be there when we need your password. It's nothing for us to remember 300 user passwords.
4. When you call the help desk, state what you want, not what's keeping you from getting it. We don't need to know that you can't get into your mail because your computer won't power on at all.
6. When IT support sends you an e-mail with high importance, delete it at once. We're just testing.
7. When an IT person is eating lunch at his desk, walk right in and spill your guts right out. We exist only to serve.
8. Send urgent email all in uppercase. The mail server picks it up and flags it as a rush delivery.
9. When the photocopier doesn't work, call computer support. There's electronics in it. Ditto for the microwave, timeclock, and coffee maker. Hell, if it plugs in, we're probably in charge of it anyway.
10. When you're getting a NO DIAL TONE message at home, call computer support. We can fix your telephone line from here.
11. When you have a dozen old computer screens to get rid of, call computer support. We're collectors.
12. When something's wrong with your home PC, dump it on an IT person's chair with no name, no phone number and no description of the problem. We love a puzzle.
13. When an IT person tells you that computer screens don't have cartridges in them, argue. We love a good argument.
14. When an IT person tells you that he'll be there shortly, reply in a scathing tone of voice: "And just how many weeks do you mean by shortly?". That motivates us.
15. When the printer won't print, re-send the job at least 20 times. Print jobs frequently get sucked into black holes.
16. When the printer still won't print after 20 tries, send the job to all 68 printers in the company. One of them is bound to work.
17. Don't learn the proper name for anything technical. We know exactly what you mean by "my thingy blew up".
18. Don't use on-line help. On-line help is for wimps.
19. If the mouse cable keeps knocking down the framed picture of your dog, lift the computer and stuff the cable under it. Mouse cables were designed to have 40lb of computer sitting on top of them.
20. If the space bar on your keyboard doesn't work, blame it on the mail upgrade. Keyboards are actually very happy with half a pound of muffin crumbs and nail clippings in them.
21. When you get a message saying "Are you sure?" click on that Yes button as fast as you can. Hell, if you weren't sure, you wouldn't be doing it, would you?
22. When you find an IT person on the phone with his bank, sit uninvited on the corner of his desk and stare at him until he hangs up. We don't have any money to speak of anyway.
23. Feel perfectly free to say things like "I don't know nothing about that computer crap". We don't mind at all hearing our area of professional expertise referred to as crap.
24. When you need to change the toner cartridge in a printer, call IT support. Changing a toner cartridge is an extremely complex task, and Hewlett-Packard recommends that it be performed only by a professional engineer with a master's degree in nuclear physics.
25. When you can't find someone in the government directory, call IT Support.
26. When you have a lock to pick on an old file cabinet, call IT Support. We love to hack.
27. When something's the matter with your computer, ask your secretary to call the help desk. We enjoy the challenge of h
Typically if I want to save a link to, or the SWF file itself, I'll view the source, do a quick search for ".swf", and then create a hyperlink and save the target. Unless the author went nuts with it, it's pretty easy to find out where the flash file itself (*.swf) is being pulled from. The address is usually in an EMBED or OBJECT tag.