> But this whole "we're gonna download whether they like or
> not, they need to change" mentality, where the implication is
> that you will stop an illegal activity if they promise to do
> something you want, sounds kinda like blackmail to me.
Why should it be illegal for customers to respond to the RIAA's price gouging by circumventing the RIAA's expensive distribution channels? Must all customers forever be at the mercy of media congomerates? No, and they're not going to be, no matter how many lawsuits are wrought. P2P filesharing is a direct response to the price-fixing and unfair, unethical practices with which the RIAA/MPAA abuse their legal customers, and lawsuits are used to enforce these practices. The truth of the matter (from where I sit) is that the collective power of the consumer base will eventually force media conglomerates to reorganize their business model in such a way that best addresses their customers' needs. The internet and p2p filesharing has tipped the scales of influence back to the individual, and that is a good thing. Without any power (a.k.a. choice), all the consumer can do is lay there and get fucked.
The MPAA/RIAA are clutching greedily to their outmoded and obsolete business model with the claws of lawyers, but eventually they will realize that they are losing money and alienating consumers, and a new generation of corporate leaders will soon realize this and fix the problem. That's when all this so-called "piracy" and "theft" will cease to be an issue.
Uh, bullshit. If it's invitation-only, and viewed on private property on privately owned equipment, it's not public. What are you saying, there have to be legal limits now on how many people I can invite over to eat pizza and watch a movie?
The fact that we have to sit through commercials before movies begin pisses me off to no end. That's abuse of their customers. Ticket prices continue to go *up* and yet they shove more and more commercials into that timespace before the movie starts. Used to be, you would pay a few bucks for a movie ticket, and see the movie. Now, not only do we have to pay three times that amount to get in, we have to put up with forced marketing messages.
If I've paid for my movie ticket, I don't need to see no damn commercials. If they're going to show us commercials, then don't sell tickets.
Forgive me if I can't seem to muster any tears for those poor movie studio execs who are going hungry because of p2p.
I find it hard to take seriously any magazine (in this case, NewScientist) who refers to Apple's MP3 player as an "i-Pod". No one in touch with reality has ever seen a hyphen used in the device's name.
Take an informal survey of people who don't live "geek" lifestyles. Once people discover iPod (and get one), they discover iTunes. Once people discover iTunes, they quickly discover how easy it is to rip music off their CDs. Once people discover ripping music, they start ripping.
Millions of people have discovered iPods, and many of them have discovered the joys of having all your music in iTunes to arrange and rearrange and take with you on your iPod. Including my girlfriend, who is the most un-geek person I've ever met (save for my mother), and has been routinely ripping her entire CD collection to MP3 so it can be available in iTunes.
I am about to buy a new Powerbook G4. I am afraid the rumors are true, folks. Apple takes its hardware release date cues directly from my purchasing decisions. The Powerbook G5 is imminent.. as is the requisite slashing of all Powerbook G4 prices across the board. They're just waiting for my signal.
BBC EXCLUSIVE: Scientists have acquired evidence that the Earth will be absorbed by the Sun in approximately 7.7 billion years.
"No one will survive this catastrophe," claims experts. "All life on planet Earth will be extinguished. If we don't take action now, this atrocity will claim every living man, woman and child on this planet."
Environmentalists are asking for trillions of dollars for research grants and book advances with which to shriek about the coming apocalypse.
Damn, no mod points for me today. This is the most insightful post on this thread so far. Man does not operate in nor can he truly comprehend geologic time. The fact that journalists (and their mind-numbed consumers) wig out over the slightest perceived change from what we (in our miniscule experience) consider "normal" is ridiculous hubris.
Sells papers and advertising, though.
Re:Statistical Lies...
on
Newsy Numbers
·
· Score: 1
95% of Slashdot readers saw this joke already.
Re:Newsweek: The Cooling World - April 28, 1975
on
BBC on Global Dimming
·
· Score: 1
> The article posted was written in 1975, nearly 30 years ago.
Call me stupid but I do believe that was his point. Journalism today seems to be more about sensationalizing news than disseminating truth. Without any real contextual information, journalists like to try to raise everyone's blood pressure because they think they're doing society some kind of service.
"Oh no, what should I be worried about today? I must buy a paper!"
I agree. I know we talk about important product announcements and things, but this is a magazine subscription. For pete's sake, can we leave the blatant advertising in the ad windows and such where we can ignore them if we choose? This is not news.
"The basic need for faith, in something, by far exceeds the need to keep one's worldview intellectually honest." - a Slashdot poster whose name I don't remember
Well, if you are that adamant about not wanting ANY of your emails accessed upon your unscheduled demise, the solution to this is rather simple. Keep your password somewhere written down. Maybe somewhere in your apartment or home or something. Tell one person you trust where they can find it in case you are killed, and tell them you would like them to go in and wipe all your email off the servers completely. If you're a geek like most of us here, your friend would probably appreciate the same favor done for him.
The only problem with this arrangement is that that one person will have access to everything. Which is why it would have to be someone that you trust would not act against your wishes (i.e. save some of the juicy ones, or share them with others), or care about what might be in there should he read them. If you truly do not trust anyone with this responsibility, then a) this won't work for you and b) you are seriously lacking in true social relationships and should spend less time emailing anyway.
It's not just ok to be a geek. It's encouraged. You have an entire billion-dollar industry striving to make computer games cool. Why? Because games drive the industry. Newer, cooler games demand faster, more powerful computers. Faster computers demand more memory, new OSs, etc etc. Faster computers allow game developers to push the limts even further, and around the circle turns. Nobody wouldn't buy a whole new computer to run Office 2004, but they would to be able to play Halo 2.
How about those of us who played Collossal Cave and Zork? Or listened to Bunkner & Garcia's "Pac Man Fever" when it was Top-40? Or can immediately remember, with crystal clarity, the sound the marching Space Invaders made as they trudged across the screen..
Almost none of Logitech keyboards have drivers to allow their special function keys to work on the Mac. They did a great job with their Cordless MX Duo.. how hard would it be to modify that software to work with their DiNovo keyboards, or the MX 3100, or the LX 700, or the LX 500, and so on?
I have the LS 500 on my Mac at home, and even though I don't have drivers for it, the keyboard works fine.. I just can't use any of the functionality offered by all the extra media control keys and Web shortcuts keys. Come on Logitech! Do you not want our money?
Slashdot Mirror
"No one mourns the wicked .."
May I suggest Battlestar Galactica as an alternative. Sci-fi for grownups.
> But this whole "we're gonna download whether they like or
> not, they need to change" mentality, where the implication is
> that you will stop an illegal activity if they promise to do
> something you want, sounds kinda like blackmail to me.
Why should it be illegal for customers to respond to the RIAA's price gouging by circumventing the RIAA's expensive distribution channels? Must all customers forever be at the mercy of media congomerates? No, and they're not going to be, no matter how many lawsuits are wrought. P2P filesharing is a direct response to the price-fixing and unfair, unethical practices with which the RIAA/MPAA abuse their legal customers, and lawsuits are used to enforce these practices. The truth of the matter (from where I sit) is that the collective power of the consumer base will eventually force media conglomerates to reorganize their business model in such a way that best addresses their customers' needs. The internet and p2p filesharing has tipped the scales of influence back to the individual, and that is a good thing. Without any power (a.k.a. choice), all the consumer can do is lay there and get fucked.
The MPAA/RIAA are clutching greedily to their outmoded and obsolete business model with the claws of lawyers, but eventually they will realize that they are losing money and alienating consumers, and a new generation of corporate leaders will soon realize this and fix the problem. That's when all this so-called "piracy" and "theft" will cease to be an issue.
File sharing results in MORE SALES. The RIAA/MPAA refuse to acknowledge this. Thank god somebody isn't afraid to research this and then say so.
Uh, bullshit. If it's invitation-only, and viewed on private property on privately owned equipment, it's not public. What are you saying, there have to be legal limits now on how many people I can invite over to eat pizza and watch a movie?
The fact that we have to sit through commercials before movies begin pisses me off to no end. That's abuse of their customers. Ticket prices continue to go *up* and yet they shove more and more commercials into that timespace before the movie starts. Used to be, you would pay a few bucks for a movie ticket, and see the movie. Now, not only do we have to pay three times that amount to get in, we have to put up with forced marketing messages.
If I've paid for my movie ticket, I don't need to see no damn commercials. If they're going to show us commercials, then don't sell tickets.
Forgive me if I can't seem to muster any tears for those poor movie studio execs who are going hungry because of p2p.
I find it hard to take seriously any magazine (in this case, NewScientist) who refers to Apple's MP3 player as an "i-Pod". No one in touch with reality has ever seen a hyphen used in the device's name.
Take an informal survey of people who don't live "geek" lifestyles. Once people discover iPod (and get one), they discover iTunes. Once people discover iTunes, they quickly discover how easy it is to rip music off their CDs. Once people discover ripping music, they start ripping.
Millions of people have discovered iPods, and many of them have discovered the joys of having all your music in iTunes to arrange and rearrange and take with you on your iPod. Including my girlfriend, who is the most un-geek person I've ever met (save for my mother), and has been routinely ripping her entire CD collection to MP3 so it can be available in iTunes.
I am about to buy a new Powerbook G4. I am afraid the rumors are true, folks. Apple takes its hardware release date cues directly from my purchasing decisions. The Powerbook G5 is imminent .. as is the requisite slashing of all Powerbook G4 prices across the board. They're just waiting for my signal.
If you have boobs attached to your face, please blur them too. Thank you.
This what your office looks like?
How dare you associate an English language purist with the Nazi regime, you insensitive clod. Er, fucktard.
Maybe he was crossing Arizona when he wrote the post.
BBC EXCLUSIVE: Scientists have acquired evidence that the Earth will be absorbed by the Sun in approximately 7.7 billion years.
"No one will survive this catastrophe," claims experts. "All life on planet Earth will be extinguished. If we don't take action now, this atrocity will claim every living man, woman and child on this planet."
Environmentalists are asking for trillions of dollars for research grants and book advances with which to shriek about the coming apocalypse.
Damn, no mod points for me today. This is the most insightful post on this thread so far. Man does not operate in nor can he truly comprehend geologic time. The fact that journalists (and their mind-numbed consumers) wig out over the slightest perceived change from what we (in our miniscule experience) consider "normal" is ridiculous hubris.
Sells papers and advertising, though.
95% of Slashdot readers saw this joke already.
> The article posted was written in 1975, nearly 30 years ago.
Call me stupid but I do believe that was his point. Journalism today seems to be more about sensationalizing news than disseminating truth. Without any real contextual information, journalists like to try to raise everyone's blood pressure because they think they're doing society some kind of service.
"Oh no, what should I be worried about today? I must buy a paper!"
I agree. I know we talk about important product announcements and things, but this is a magazine subscription. For pete's sake, can we leave the blatant advertising in the ad windows and such where we can ignore them if we choose? This is not news.
"The basic need for faith, in something, by far exceeds the need to keep one's worldview intellectually honest." - a Slashdot poster whose name I don't remember
I wouldn't have noticed it if you hadn't said anything.
Well, if you are that adamant about not wanting ANY of your emails accessed upon your unscheduled demise, the solution to this is rather simple. Keep your password somewhere written down. Maybe somewhere in your apartment or home or something. Tell one person you trust where they can find it in case you are killed, and tell them you would like them to go in and wipe all your email off the servers completely. If you're a geek like most of us here, your friend would probably appreciate the same favor done for him.
The only problem with this arrangement is that that one person will have access to everything. Which is why it would have to be someone that you trust would not act against your wishes (i.e. save some of the juicy ones, or share them with others), or care about what might be in there should he read them. If you truly do not trust anyone with this responsibility, then a) this won't work for you and b) you are seriously lacking in true social relationships and should spend less time emailing anyway.
It's not just ok to be a geek. It's encouraged. You have an entire billion-dollar industry striving to make computer games cool. Why? Because games drive the industry. Newer, cooler games demand faster, more powerful computers. Faster computers demand more memory, new OSs, etc etc. Faster computers allow game developers to push the limts even further, and around the circle turns. Nobody wouldn't buy a whole new computer to run Office 2004, but they would to be able to play Halo 2.
How about those of us who played Collossal Cave and Zork? Or listened to Bunkner & Garcia's "Pac Man Fever" when it was Top-40? Or can immediately remember, with crystal clarity, the sound the marching Space Invaders made as they trudged across the screen ..
Yep, we're old now.
Almost none of Logitech keyboards have drivers to allow their special function keys to work on the Mac. They did a great job with their Cordless MX Duo .. how hard would it be to modify that software to work with their DiNovo keyboards, or the MX 3100, or the LX 700, or the LX 500, and so on?
I have the LS 500 on my Mac at home, and even though I don't have drivers for it, the keyboard works fine .. I just can't use any of the functionality offered by all the extra media control keys and Web shortcuts keys. Come on Logitech! Do you not want our money?
Maybe now Logitech will get off their asses and start releasing OSX drivers for their low end USB keyboards.