this is the guy that thought the greatest thing he could do for an internet connection was move to Australia. The guy is a bit of a muppet.
He's wanted to be Australian even before the NBN. The faster internet connection would just be icing on the cake for him.
Wozniak said: “I intend to call myself an Australian and feel an Australian, and study the history and become as much of a real citizen here as I can,” adding: “For 30 years I’ve had a desire to live in Australia. I’m going to live and die as an Australian.
His desire to become Australian is just another example of how sane, sensible and grounded the man is.
Couldn't he just commit some dreadful but non-capital crime and be transported to Oz for life, for free?
Slashdotters hate everything. Even a broken clock (of the analog variety) is right twice a day. And really, you think Windows is a flop?! It is only the most successful piece of software in history!
When it comes to Microsoft, and especially Windows and Office, the normal slashdot drooling worship of monetary success goes out of the window, so that it doesn't matter how much money Microsoft ever made or will ever make, they're a flop because their products are shit.
The biggest advantage of an eReader to me is that I generally read more than 1 book at a time. I might be reading a science fiction anthology, a fictional novel, and a non-fiction book, and I switch between them. With an eReader, I only need to carry a single small device with me instead of 3 bulky books.
I can see this is a good argument if you travel a lot, and certainly I take an eReader on holiday, but personally I do 99% of my reading at home in my library, not in coffee shops, art galleries, student bars or whatever. It's an age thing.
Good luck carrying 1000+ ebooks around in your pocket, like I do on my S2 (or reading them in the dark at night so you don't keep the other half awake). Along with a multitude of movies, music, comics, audio-books, news-feeds AND internet browsing, etc, etc! Oh, it's also a phone too I think...
The thing is, you can only read one book at a time. I know you can have several different books on the go, but almost no one literally reads a page in one book, then half a page in the next, a couple of lines in a third, then back to the first for another page.
I'm talking about reading for pleasure, of course. Obviously if you're doing serious research then it's a different story, as it is for reference/text books.
If anything is going to utterly destroy the Internet, it's going to be censorship, because once you open the door to censoring one type of speech, you start an avalanche of censoring all types of speech. It's like bigotry and racism: Once you cross that line and devalue one group of class of people, you can devalue any group or class of people. Before too long the only way to avoid eventual prosecution would be to stay off the Internet completely.
Ok, I can understand death threats...that is illegal, but what, pray tell, is racial abuse?
In the UK it's a criminal offence. There was a huge fuss recently when John Terry (at the time England's football (soccer) captain) was cleared of the criminal act of swearing at a black player using racist language, as he was subsequently found guilty by the Football Association of professional misconduct, and everyone knew he was guilty all along but it just couldn't be proved beyond a reasonable doubt.
I'll bet the guy who said "Crap! Robin Hood airport is closed. You've got a week and a bit to get your shit together otherwise I'm blowing the airport sky high." expected the police to do the same thing. Guess how that turned out for him.
He got off on appeal. I think everyone now accepts that the original decision to prosecute him was an over-reaction, and that crappy jokes can indeed be differentiated from actual terrorist threats.
Whatever your view of the UK legal system, justice was done in the end.
You don't think the same folks who will try to regulate speech in meatspace would try and do the same online?
Good.
Sorry, but this adolescent view that you should be able to say and do anything you like on the internet with no concern for real world laws is just...adolescent. Just because you can fairly easily cover your tracks and get away with most things doesn't mean that you have a magic Get Out Of Jail Free card.
The "slippery slope" argument is a logical fallacy. The UK has always had laws that punish people for certain forms of offensive speech. Doing the same thing with greater frequency (or enthusiasm) is NOT a "slippery slope".
In actual fact, all that's really happened is that the laws have been extended into the digital age by including tweets, emails, facebook postings or whatever in the same laws that have always applied to libel, threatening behaviour, obscenity or whatever.
The amusing thing is people thinking they can get away with stuff just because it's done on the internet. Well, sorry, a crime's a crime.
Don't care for a chap? Accuse him of some kind of hate speech.
Oh bollocks, he does actually have to make that hate speech, you know. If you can find an actual UK example of someone convicted on the word of someone else without any actual evidence that he said/wrote it, please go ahead.
Obviously, you've never tasted Chardonnay from a cardboard box.
A cardboard box? We used to dream of drinking Chardonnay from a cardboard box. When I were young we drank our Chardonnay from a hole in the road. And we were grateful.
Slashdot Mirror
this is the guy that thought the greatest thing he could do for an internet connection was move to Australia. The guy is a bit of a muppet.
He's wanted to be Australian even before the NBN. The faster internet connection would just be icing on the cake for him.
Wozniak said: “I intend to call myself an Australian and feel an Australian, and study the history and become as much of a real citizen here as I can,” adding: “For 30 years I’ve had a desire to live in Australia. I’m going to live and die as an Australian.
His desire to become Australian is just another example of how sane, sensible and grounded the man is.
Couldn't he just commit some dreadful but non-capital crime and be transported to Oz for life, for free?
Slashdotters hate everything. Even a broken clock (of the analog variety) is right twice a day. And really, you think Windows is a flop?! It is only the most successful piece of software in history!
When it comes to Microsoft, and especially Windows and Office, the normal slashdot drooling worship of monetary success goes out of the window, so that it doesn't matter how much money Microsoft ever made or will ever make, they're a flop because their products are shit.
I can store literally MILLIONS of E-books on a modern portable hard drive if I wish.
Even the most voracious readers only get through twenty or thirty thousand books in their entire lifetime.
The biggest advantage of an eReader to me is that I generally read more than 1 book at a time. I might be reading a science fiction anthology, a fictional novel, and a non-fiction book, and I switch between them. With an eReader, I only need to carry a single small device with me instead of 3 bulky books.
I can see this is a good argument if you travel a lot, and certainly I take an eReader on holiday, but personally I do 99% of my reading at home in my library, not in coffee shops, art galleries, student bars or whatever. It's an age thing.
Horses for courses, as always.
Good luck carrying 1000+ ebooks around in your pocket, like I do on my S2 (or reading them in the dark at night so you don't keep the other half awake). Along with a multitude of movies, music, comics, audio-books, news-feeds AND internet browsing, etc, etc! Oh, it's also a phone too I think...
The thing is, you can only read one book at a time. I know you can have several different books on the go, but almost no one literally reads a page in one book, then half a page in the next, a couple of lines in a third, then back to the first for another page.
I'm talking about reading for pleasure, of course. Obviously if you're doing serious research then it's a different story, as it is for reference/text books.
Were the Nazis really evil ?
This may be controversial but I'm going with "yes".
If anything is going to utterly destroy the Internet, it's going to be censorship, because once you open the door to censoring one type of speech, you start an avalanche of censoring all types of speech. It's like bigotry and racism: Once you cross that line and devalue one group of class of people, you can devalue any group or class of people. Before too long the only way to avoid eventual prosecution would be to stay off the Internet completely.
Ah yes, the now legendary slippery slope.
In the UK you can get arrested for all kinds of things you say: Calling a police horse gay, for example.
I strongly dislike the use of the word "gay" as what teenagers would call a random insult, but even I find that funny.
Your link is from May 2008, what happened in the end? Was he actually prosecuted/convicted?
Yes, I know I should Google it myself...
Ok, I can understand death threats...that is illegal, but what, pray tell, is racial abuse?
In the UK it's a criminal offence. There was a huge fuss recently when John Terry (at the time England's football (soccer) captain) was cleared of the criminal act of swearing at a black player using racist language, as he was subsequently found guilty by the Football Association of professional misconduct, and everyone knew he was guilty all along but it just couldn't be proved beyond a reasonable doubt.
I'll bet the guy who said "Crap! Robin Hood airport is closed. You've got a week and a bit to get your shit together otherwise I'm blowing the airport sky high." expected the police to do the same thing. Guess how that turned out for him.
He got off on appeal. I think everyone now accepts that the original decision to prosecute him was an over-reaction, and that crappy jokes can indeed be differentiated from actual terrorist threats.
Whatever your view of the UK legal system, justice was done in the end.
It's all about definitions and slippery slopes.
It has been said many times before, but the "slippery slope" argument is a fucking logical fallacy.
What the hell is an EDL?
In the US they'd be considered as somewhat left leaning, here in the UK we call them fascists.
If offensive speech and behaviour got everyone into trouble, then Anjem Choudhury and his mob would all be in jail.
Strangely enough, this hasn't happened... In Britain, you can only be racist, bigoted or offensive if you're white. Brown people get a free pass.
Funny how those extremist Muslims got convicted recently for handing out leaflets saying gays should be killed then isn't it?
You don't think the same folks who will try to regulate speech in meatspace would try and do the same online?
Good.
Sorry, but this adolescent view that you should be able to say and do anything you like on the internet with no concern for real world laws is just...adolescent. Just because you can fairly easily cover your tracks and get away with most things doesn't mean that you have a magic Get Out Of Jail Free card.
lol that's rich, considering the most famous food from the UK is Fish and Chips
What exactly is wrong with fish and chips?
It's a lot more nutritious than some "filet-o-fish" with vomit sauce and matchstick reconstitued fries from McDonald's.
all beer tastes vile
I think you just eliminated yourself from any sensible discussion about beer, don't you think?
The "slippery slope" argument is a logical fallacy. The UK has always had laws that punish people for certain forms of offensive speech. Doing the same thing with greater frequency (or enthusiasm) is NOT a "slippery slope".
In actual fact, all that's really happened is that the laws have been extended into the digital age by including tweets, emails, facebook postings or whatever in the same laws that have always applied to libel, threatening behaviour, obscenity or whatever.
The amusing thing is people thinking they can get away with stuff just because it's done on the internet. Well, sorry, a crime's a crime.
Don't care for a chap? Accuse him of some kind of hate speech.
Oh bollocks, he does actually have to make that hate speech, you know. If you can find an actual UK example of someone convicted on the word of someone else without any actual evidence that he said/wrote it, please go ahead.
The whole notion of hate speech and politically correct speech is an abomination.
The whole notion of laws preventing me torturing you and your family to death is an abomination. It tramples upon the right to absolute freedom.
How old do you have to be to buy and carry a handgun in the US?
3
Nothing tastes like Chardonnay from plastic cup
Obviously, you've never tasted Chardonnay from a cardboard box.
A cardboard box? We used to dream of drinking Chardonnay from a cardboard box. When I were young we drank our Chardonnay from a hole in the road. And we were grateful.
I think Alabama has an absurdly low abv limit for beer, if I remember correctly. something like 5 or 6 %.
nope. 13.9%.
There is no sensible beer that is 13.9% ABV. Even Carlsberg Special Brew is only 9%. Or do you have a different system for measuring in the US?
And lots of forests, where you can drink, and shoot guns.
What could possibly go wrong?
What could be more fun than wolf hunting in the snow?
Almost anything, I would imagine, including sawing off your own legs with a rusty hacksaw.