EXACTLY. I just recently purchased a CD player for my car that supports mp3 and wma. I am currently fixing all my scratches and converting everything. Then I just use my originals for archive purposes, meanwhile I can fit my entire Led Zeppelin collection on two discs. The computer based copy is NOT shared, so I am well within legitimat use.
Now... If an albums come out with this copy protection, I am forced to search out a copy off the internet. Since I have to go to the trouble anyway, I sure as HELL won't be buying it. Therefore, the RIAA alienates another paying customer and loses my money. Trust me, with the thousands I have spent on CD's, they SHOULD be concerned.
Right, mail bombs, sure I'll give up some more of my freedoms to prevent something that NEVER HAPPENS ANYWAY!...and reselling stamps? So hows that work? You hear a whisper from some guy in a trench coat in an alley, "Hey buddy, wanna buy some stamps?"
I dunno, a godlike computer system might actually be farsighted enough to understand that the corporate-profit-heavy-damn-the-small-guy aproach will eventually cause the colapse of our society. After all, you would asume that a self aware computer system would be somewhat intelligent unlike our leaders!
"Right", no I suppose not, but unions worked hard to make the 40 hour week a standard in this country. The problem is, there is no threat to these companies anymore: no one cares where the crap they buy is made. No one will pay extra to buy American. Hell, in a few industries (auto in particular) some will pay more to avoid it! We have had it real easy in this country for a long time, and it looks like its time to pay the bill.
The best thing we can do as members of the work force is try to be the BEST at our jobs. Make it worth the extra money! Trust me, it can work. In my industry (Boilermaker), there are many non-union companies that will do the work MUCH cheaper than we will, but the eventual result is that we are hired to fix what they fucked up and it winds up costing more in the long run!
I have been wondering this for years myself! Why don't more people run antivirus programs? www.grisoft.com has a free version of avg antivirus. Free! I figure, if you use the internet, you have no good excuse not to use one! Did I mention its free. Granted, its a little clumsy and short on features, but it seems to work!
This looks to me like another very bad idea. I can see this CAUSING traffic problems, not eliminating them.
For instance: In my personal experience driving through the Vancouver WA area into Portland OR on I5 at aprox 7:30a.m. I have noticed some things:
1: Reaching what seems to be the "bad stretch" for traffic at the same time can result in a ten minute drive through or a one hour drive through.
2: On mornings that take ten to twenty minutes, I see no cops enforcing speeding, seatbelt tickets, carpool lane violators, etc...
3: Mornings that take more than twenty minutes have cops enforcing those "major offenses." In fact, the more cops I see, the longer it takes to get to the Oregon side of the I5 bridge.
The only thing I can conclude is that the Washington State Police are screwing up the morning commute! If human beings can cause such a clusterfuck, imagine what an automated system (with no understanding of traffic backing up, etc...) could do!
...Says the guy who hasn't been laid in a while. Sure some hot women go for ugly rich guys, but keep in mind they are probably also screwing some poor guy on the side who knows how to get her off! A.K.A. the pool guy, her aerobics instructor, etc...
Back on topic though, I maintain (as I have in other threads about automatic systems on cars) that I can drive better than any system they can come up with, DARPA challenge notwithstanding! Lets see an autodrive system steer with its knee while eating a burrito and rolling a joint with a beer between its legs!...Oooops, did I say that out loud?
Hahahahaha! Thats rich! Expecting people to suddenly be more honest about their tax liability just because everyone pays the same percentage! Sure, that and a pony! Hey, I got this bridge you could buy from me with all the money you save! Sorry, I just don't have that much faith in human nature.
Trust me, I fully agree about the welfare moms. If we could find a way to weed the complete deadbeats out from the people who are simply living on the low end of the scale... The problem is, there are many jobs in this society that don't pay a lot of money. SOMEONE has to do them, or are we just going to shut down all the McDonalds in the country (actually that aint a bad idea...) and ask everyone to go pay a little more for lunch? Someone has to work at Jiffy-Lube, and someone has to be a register-jockey at the 7-11.
For what its worth, I think our difference of opinion is more a product of environment than anything else. I grew up (and still live...) in a fairly depressed area. When I was young my dad lived on unemployment and hopped job to job because the mills in the area kept shutting down. Up until I was about ten I never saw a dentist. He then got a pretty good job that he will probably retire from in a few more years. Still, even at that point, we never lived extravagantly - just bettered our situation. Having lived through it myself, I feel better about helping out those who need it, even though it means I don't see as much of my paycheck. Mostly just a matter of perspective.
Spoken like a true child of privelege! I personally know many people who live below the poverty line and don't realize it (my friend: "I made $9k last year waitressing." me: "Jesus Shannon, that's my bar tab!") These people live comfortable lives and are perfectly content. They don't get food stamps or welfare, but they can survive and live decent lives because of a progressive tax structure. Are these bad people because they don't feel the need to do any better? Should they be punished for being happy with their small salry?
Not everyone is trying to be the next overnight millionaire. More power to your grandfather for being successful and taking initiative, but are you sure he could have become successful from his modest beginnings if he would have had to shoulder a heavier tax burden? He's now paying more to support the poor but by your statement someone else must have been paying more to support him in the beginning.
I just explained a simpler system that serves all the same purposes. Your paragraph about deductions and contracts and value down the road is a perfect example of what I was talking about. There is still a bottom line: how much money came in? OK here's what you owe! Deduction of expense is exactly where everything starts to break down (trust me, I have a good accountant and she saves me enough to make it worth every penny! I know just how little you have to pay, if you can afford it! Kind of an iteresting paradox.) That said, the whole charm of a flat tax is simplicity. If you apply the same set of deductions, etc to said flat tax, it becomes just as big a nightmare as our current system! (and even more painful to those below the poverty line) As for the charities - FUCK THEM! I'm sorry but if they can't survive on their own merit and peoples generousity then let them die. Further I have to ask: If you can write off the donation and it winds up costing you nothing, is it really charity?
I'll admit, I can't solve all the worlds problems in a few lines on slashdot, and everything I propose might not work if it were actually applied, but the horrible lack of functionality of our current system is enough to make me think that it is time to try something else!
Personally, I hate the concept of sales tax. It is a pain in the ass and even more irritating than a once-a-year nightmare. What we need to do is simplify the tax code by removing all the multitude of loopholes and tax breaks. That could instantly streamline the IRS (less loopholes, less time to audit, etc) force big business to pay their share (no loopholes, no high doller shady accounting) and probably make the little-guy's taxes much cheaper by bringing in the revenue that big business is supposed to be creating. After all, I remember Bush's tax cuts the last time they tried it (Reaganomics ring a bell?) and it didn't work then!
I can see your point to a degree, but shouldn't software be like patenting a process? On one hand, it is language, so copyright, on the other hand it is a process of manipulating information and therefore patentable. Just playing devils advocate, personally I'm not sure!
I can honestly say that I don't buy any less music because of file sharing! I buy a lot of CD's. I tend to d/l a couple songs I haven't heard (as opposed to radio tunes) and buy or not based on those. Before file sharing, I would make the owner of the record store open it up. Either way, I still buy AT LEAST 2-3 cd's a month, and often more like 2 a week.
Perhaps we as a country should fight a little harder to keep these jobs here! I'm not enjoying the death of the middle class, as it doesn't bode well for the future. My job isn't going anywhere, (as long as Bush doesn't succeed in his union busting tactics) but I hate watching the people I grew up with hovering at the poverty line.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Mod parent up! Thats some funny shit!
Seriously though, nothing will replace the small alt-music store for me. If for no other reason than the hot chick behind the counter with multi-colored hair and piercings who is impressed by the fact that my buddy once met Mike Ness.
Now if I could just find a store for asyncronous laser diode current controls with a chick like that!
So go get a better job. I used to be broke, I fixed it. I can now afford to be as idealistic as I damn well please. I learned to survive broke as well as anyone, but having money suits me better. Live better - work union!
Slashdot Mirror
EXACTLY. I just recently purchased a CD player for my car that supports mp3 and wma. I am currently fixing all my scratches and converting everything. Then I just use my originals for archive purposes, meanwhile I can fit my entire Led Zeppelin collection on two discs. The computer based copy is NOT shared, so I am well within legitimat use.
Now... If an albums come out with this copy protection, I am forced to search out a copy off the internet. Since I have to go to the trouble anyway, I sure as HELL won't be buying it. Therefore, the RIAA alienates another paying customer and loses my money. Trust me, with the thousands I have spent on CD's, they SHOULD be concerned.
Right, mail bombs, sure I'll give up some more of my freedoms to prevent something that NEVER HAPPENS ANYWAY! ...and reselling stamps? So hows that work? You hear a whisper from some guy in a trench coat in an alley, "Hey buddy, wanna buy some stamps?"
I dunno, a godlike computer system might actually be farsighted enough to understand that the corporate-profit-heavy-damn-the-small-guy aproach will eventually cause the colapse of our society. After all, you would asume that a self aware computer system would be somewhat intelligent unlike our leaders!
No, it actually comes from the Corps and its Hurrah! Not to be confused with Woo Hah! - which generally comes from Busta Rhymes...
"Right", no I suppose not, but unions worked hard to make the 40 hour week a standard in this country. The problem is, there is no threat to these companies anymore: no one cares where the crap they buy is made. No one will pay extra to buy American. Hell, in a few industries (auto in particular) some will pay more to avoid it! We have had it real easy in this country for a long time, and it looks like its time to pay the bill.
The best thing we can do as members of the work force is try to be the BEST at our jobs. Make it worth the extra money! Trust me, it can work. In my industry (Boilermaker), there are many non-union companies that will do the work MUCH cheaper than we will, but the eventual result is that we are hired to fix what they fucked up and it winds up costing more in the long run!
I have been wondering this for years myself! Why don't more people run antivirus programs? www.grisoft.com has a free version of avg antivirus. Free! I figure, if you use the internet, you have no good excuse not to use one! Did I mention its free. Granted, its a little clumsy and short on features, but it seems to work!
This looks to me like another very bad idea. I can see this CAUSING traffic problems, not eliminating them.
For instance:
In my personal experience driving through the Vancouver WA area into Portland OR on I5 at aprox 7:30a.m. I have noticed some things:
1: Reaching what seems to be the "bad stretch" for traffic at the same time can result in a ten minute drive through or a one hour drive through.
2: On mornings that take ten to twenty minutes, I see no cops enforcing speeding, seatbelt tickets, carpool lane violators, etc...
3: Mornings that take more than twenty minutes have cops enforcing those "major offenses." In fact, the more cops I see, the longer it takes to get to the Oregon side of the I5 bridge.
The only thing I can conclude is that the Washington State Police are screwing up the morning commute! If human beings can cause such a clusterfuck, imagine what an automated system (with no understanding of traffic backing up, etc...) could do!
Now how am I supposed to use my old chipset as a boat-anchor?
...Says the guy who hasn't been laid in a while. Sure some hot women go for ugly rich guys, but keep in mind they are probably also screwing some poor guy on the side who knows how to get her off! A.K.A. the pool guy, her aerobics instructor, etc...
...Oooops, did I say that out loud?
Back on topic though, I maintain (as I have in other threads about automatic systems on cars) that I can drive better than any system they can come up with, DARPA challenge notwithstanding! Lets see an autodrive system steer with its knee while eating a burrito and rolling a joint with a beer between its legs!
Hahahahaha! Thats rich! Expecting people to suddenly be more honest about their tax liability just because everyone pays the same percentage! Sure, that and a pony! Hey, I got this bridge you could buy from me with all the money you save! Sorry, I just don't have that much faith in human nature.
Trust me, I fully agree about the welfare moms. If we could find a way to weed the complete deadbeats out from the people who are simply living on the low end of the scale... The problem is, there are many jobs in this society that don't pay a lot of money. SOMEONE has to do them, or are we just going to shut down all the McDonalds in the country (actually that aint a bad idea...) and ask everyone to go pay a little more for lunch? Someone has to work at Jiffy-Lube, and someone has to be a register-jockey at the 7-11.
For what its worth, I think our difference of opinion is more a product of environment than anything else. I grew up (and still live...) in a fairly depressed area. When I was young my dad lived on unemployment and hopped job to job because the mills in the area kept shutting down. Up until I was about ten I never saw a dentist. He then got a pretty good job that he will probably retire from in a few more years. Still, even at that point, we never lived extravagantly - just bettered our situation. Having lived through it myself, I feel better about helping out those who need it, even though it means I don't see as much of my paycheck. Mostly just a matter of perspective.
Spoken like a true child of privelege! I personally know many people who live below the poverty line and don't realize it (my friend: "I made $9k last year waitressing." me: "Jesus Shannon, that's my bar tab!") These people live comfortable lives and are perfectly content. They don't get food stamps or welfare, but they can survive and live decent lives because of a progressive tax structure. Are these bad people because they don't feel the need to do any better? Should they be punished for being happy with their small salry?
Not everyone is trying to be the next overnight millionaire. More power to your grandfather for being successful and taking initiative, but are you sure he could have become successful from his modest beginnings if he would have had to shoulder a heavier tax burden? He's now paying more to support the poor but by your statement someone else must have been paying more to support him in the beginning.
I just explained a simpler system that serves all the same purposes. Your paragraph about deductions and contracts and value down the road is a perfect example of what I was talking about. There is still a bottom line: how much money came in? OK here's what you owe! Deduction of expense is exactly where everything starts to break down (trust me, I have a good accountant and she saves me enough to make it worth every penny! I know just how little you have to pay, if you can afford it! Kind of an iteresting paradox.) That said, the whole charm of a flat tax is simplicity. If you apply the same set of deductions, etc to said flat tax, it becomes just as big a nightmare as our current system! (and even more painful to those below the poverty line) As for the charities - FUCK THEM! I'm sorry but if they can't survive on their own merit and peoples generousity then let them die. Further I have to ask: If you can write off the donation and it winds up costing you nothing, is it really charity?
I'll admit, I can't solve all the worlds problems in a few lines on slashdot, and everything I propose might not work if it were actually applied, but the horrible lack of functionality of our current system is enough to make me think that it is time to try something else!
Personally, I hate the concept of sales tax. It is a pain in the ass and even more irritating than a once-a-year nightmare. What we need to do is simplify the tax code by removing all the multitude of loopholes and tax breaks. That could instantly streamline the IRS (less loopholes, less time to audit, etc) force big business to pay their share (no loopholes, no high doller shady accounting) and probably make the little-guy's taxes much cheaper by bringing in the revenue that big business is supposed to be creating. After all, I remember Bush's tax cuts the last time they tried it (Reaganomics ring a bell?) and it didn't work then!
Steal? No, he's just a meth cook!
*sniff* Yup!
I can see your point to a degree, but shouldn't software be like patenting a process? On one hand, it is language, so copyright, on the other hand it is a process of manipulating information and therefore patentable. Just playing devils advocate, personally I'm not sure!
And if you buy 2 CDs a week, you need to find new artists man, you can't even fully appreciate a CD of *quality* music in half a week!
Hmmm, really Mr. Anonymous? Perhaps I am a quicker study than you. BTW what is *quality* music anyway?
Hah, I'm gonna patent 1 and 0! All digital media is MINE! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
I can honestly say that I don't buy any less music because of file sharing! I buy a lot of CD's. I tend to d/l a couple songs I haven't heard (as opposed to radio tunes) and buy or not based on those. Before file sharing, I would make the owner of the record store open it up. Either way, I still buy AT LEAST 2-3 cd's a month, and often more like 2 a week.
Perhaps we as a country should fight a little harder to keep these jobs here! I'm not enjoying the death of the middle class, as it doesn't bode well for the future. My job isn't going anywhere, (as long as Bush doesn't succeed in his union busting tactics) but I hate watching the people I grew up with hovering at the poverty line.
yeah, you can pick up where you were interupted when you are surfing porn and your roommates come home early!
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Mod parent up! Thats some funny shit!
Seriously though, nothing will replace the small alt-music store for me. If for no other reason than the hot chick behind the counter with multi-colored hair and piercings who is impressed by the fact that my buddy once met Mike Ness.
Now if I could just find a store for asyncronous laser diode current controls with a chick like that!
Time (yet again) to put a brand new shine on my tinfoil hat.
So go get a better job. I used to be broke, I fixed it. I can now afford to be as idealistic as I damn well please. I learned to survive broke as well as anyone, but having money suits me better. Live better - work union!
I want it just so I can name my computer HAL9000! Every time I shut down I want it to say, "Please stop Dave. My mind is going. I can feel it."