Bein' from Jo-jah, it took me a moment to unda-stand the statement "you all." Then, I just realized it be a bastardization of "y'all." Come own now - ain't no problem sayin' "y'all."
But in a weak attempt to stay on topic - I don't read PC mags. I saw a guy laughing over a Unix mag once and asked him what was so funny, and he said - "Can you believe these pleebs think that the standard carburator can run at 3700 jigawatts on a 1998 Googenheimer Blonhoowhatzit?" I looked at him vacantly. "Exactly! That's what I'm sayin'!" He said before turning back to the magazine.
In short, I don't read them because - more often than not - I feel incredibly out of the loop. Most advanced users and technology writers write and talk as if they're working for a specialized trade magazine, so it's harder for me to keep up.
That being said, I stick to the Victoria's Secret catalogue... not that I understand how their products work either.
Finally! A slashdot post that I can choose to not RTFA but still leave a comment without anyone getting too mad at me!
But seriously - I'm with the poster who made a comment questioning the writer's sexuality. Kirsten Dunst is amazing. I'd also suggest the original poster check this out.
But in all seriousness I'm quite eager to see this movie. It had literally been years since I last indulged in serious comic book or action figure purchasing - and I NEVER buy movie souvenirs - but I happened to spot the new Spidey figure with tons of articulation points and magnets in his hands and feet. Oh man. I must've played with that for hours. I never knew my fridge could be a source of so much amusement.
I love the series - it's definitely being handled better than Batman. All naysayers can eat my farts!
Thanks for pointing out that article! See, I knew I had some kind of smarts SOMEWHERE in there. It just so happens I have slow smarts - where I think up good ideas that have already been thought of.
I'm glad to see that they're already planning that. Apple is still #1 in my book, and I do suppose it's better to have too much innovation than not enough.
Jesus tap-dancing christ! After years of putting up with Microsoft's often sluggish innovations/updates and overall unreliability, I switched to a Mac. Now, I barely have time to learn my system before the next major update comes out. The speed of change is giving me geek-whiplash. I was surprised that Mac released Safari, did a couple of minor updates, but then hasn't continued to update it for Jaguar (well, at least not to the extent that they have for Panther). If they only focus support and innovation on the newest OS, but then release a new system every year, people are going to feel that it's a big scam and a bad investment. OSes should be a stable foundation for building more great software on top of. Apple is just rebuilding foundations and there's not enough time for users to build a strong and consistent powerhouse on top.
Plus, it took me months to get into the groove of using expose and the new finder design! I like it, but give me time to appreciate the system in it's entirety before releasing a new one. I don't think I'm going to buy this update - a lot of the new features just seem superfluous.
An operating system shouldn't be 100% old news after only a year or so. Panther still looks, feels, and acts spiffy and new to me. If there's a small update or addition to be had, make it a downloadable update. Most of these features just aren't worthy of an entire new release.
I'm not saying I miss Micro$oft's inconsistent OS updates, but I definitely think Apple should slow down and take their time a little more than they are.
A "funny only" filter is something I've dreamed about! Probably because I don't know much about technology except for what I've learned from computers crashing/breaking and having to fix them on my own. Amazing what you can learn in such a situation.
I definitely agree that it does seem MS products have problems from the outset. I mean, am I the only one who realizes that this Ask Slashdot is basically saying - "Um, I can't even get windows to START. Can anyone give me some tips on how to make it START? Because it's NOT EVEN REALLY STARTING." It's so odd of a situation that it's laughable.
When I bought my powerbook, I plugged in the charger and pressed the on button - and it booted up. I literally said to my cat, "Did you see that?" As usual, he just licked his balls and ignored me - but I'll be damned if the computer did actually start. I suffered through similar problems as the question poster with being attacked under windows before even getting the system operational. Hence, my PC now has Fedora and I do most of my work on a powerbook.
Question: Did you hear how Windows plans to fix this issue?
Answer: Neither have I.
"Um, honey? You know that browser update you just downloaded? Some pop-up box is asking if we want to install the Gator update... should we? Oh nevermind, it just started automatically on its own... oh cool! There's a brand new version of that adsearch bar on the bottom too!"
No downloading on your hard drive!
DRIVE!
We have copy pro-tec-shun inside!
SIDE!
We're running out of ideas, as you can see!
SEE!
There's no such thing as bad pu-bleh-sit-tee!
TEE!
(Sung to the beat of about 317 songs sampled simultaneously on one track! It's phat!)
Am I the only person who thinks that Mozilla's bang-bang-bang 3 releases in a row of their most notable software seems kind of like a premature orgasm? Are they blowing their load too quickly? Should they have released more gradually and carefully? With the bugs I enountered with Thunderbird, I certainly think so. Firefox seems okay despite the rush... except for the fact that whenever I apply a new skin in Mac OS X - the scroll bar is missing. That's a bizarre bug that you'd think would've been caught.
I scream like a little girl just playing Silent Hill 3. I imagine if I worked in a war zone, I'd have to wear a diaper and keep a pacifier handy. No thank you... I shit myself enough as it is.
(Sorry... had to lighten up this somber topic.)
On Gmail, invitations, and alternatives
on
Gmail in the News
·
· Score: 1
Alright - I'm too lazy to post my myriad of responses to many of hte above comments... so I'll just post once.
First - I feel sorry for the guy that mentioned he had some invitations. No doubt his gmail account's 1 gig limit is being tested by the torrent of email from eager slashdotter geeks desperate to get at one of his invitations.
Next issue.. For those that really just want a fat email box for free - I highly suggest going over to Spymac, or even Lycos - both of which offer 1 gig mailboxes. I personally hate ALL webmail, forgoing it for the sake of using Thunderbird. That being the case, I rarely experience the same problems with email services that other people do who prefer webmail. If you use an external mail program - spymac is great. If you prefer webmail... well, keep trying to get a gmail invite.
Some of the people are complaining about Spymac asking for lots of personal information. Am I the only one that has a fake name and address for use in sign-ups? When I was a teen, I was worried that companies would check my fake info, track me down, and pistol-whip me or something. Then, after a few times doing it, I realized that human eyes probably never actually see my fake information. My information is harvested, shared, then printed on junk mail ALL by computers. So, it's easy to get away with fake addresses. Although I feel sorry for whoever lives at 999 Mybunghole Lane, Redneck, GA 31337. They've probably gotten a TON of junk mail for "Joe Momma." But here I am sitting pretty, with all my free internet and email accounts. No secret police have come after me yet.
Lastly, I am pissed at the creator of that Gmail Machine, as well as the person who added it to slashdot for my weak mind to stumble upon. I already have two Gmail accounts - and here I am just reloading and reloading and reloading. I feel like an old woman in vegas at the slot machines... or a college girl clicking away at Diamond Mine/Bejewelled. It's mine-numbingly addictive. Damn you slashdot and Gmail machine... damn you....
Who'da thunk it? I still thought they just crammed a note into a beer can and tossed it to the pit. That's what I do when I'm in a rush to work down at the con-stru-shun site but need to leave a note for the lil lady about what I want for dinner. She cooks it up real nayce - we don't need no fancy shmancy computer bursts.
(Yes, this really is how some of us down in Georgia talk - ESPECIALLY about racing.)
Thanks to all the great fellow slashdotters, I did manage to get the new version working with my old profile - it just takes some extra work. I'd still keep trying to download the new version if I were you - just be prepared to alter your profile.ini file to point to your old profile instead of the new empty one.
(humor)(sarcasm) Wow your fix works great! The thunderbird mess-up disappeared and suddenly in its place was the default Mac Mail program! It works perfectly now;) (/sarcasm)(/humor)
In all seriousness, this time around I have to grudgingly concede to Microsoft Entourage. Although Windows always crashed on me (that being the reason I switched to a mac in the first place), Entourage never gave me any of these kind of problems. I also agree with the poster who said that this thing should have been handled elegantly by Thunderbird.
So, it could just be that I'm a moron, but I thought I'd share anyway.
Virtually every program I use in Mac OS X Panther allows me to overwrite an old program with the newer version without screwing up any of the settings. Thunderbird, however, screwed up big time. It copied perfectly, and opened smoothly, but it did NOT keep any of my settings. I'm having to go through and reconfigure all my email accounts and settings from scratch. I like thunderbird, but this little feature is a big enough pain in the ass that I may have to stick with Mail just so I don't have to worry about wasting time with this again. Proceed with caution, Mac users.
I love Apple, although our relationship is a little rocky right now. Apple is a beautiful girlfriend, and she does her housework really fast and efficient, but there are problems. Namely, she won't let me listen to her sing. I mean, I bring home the bacon daily, but if I want to hear her sing I have to go in a specific room of the house. Pretty lame if you ask me. If I try to listen to her in a room of my choice instead of hers, she kicks me in the nads.
Ouch.
The girl I dated a few years ago - Napster - and the one after that - Kazaa - were much more trusting of me. But they were ho's and gave it up to anyone. Apple is much classier than those, but I miss being trusted. Heck, Apple even makes me wear a chastity belt because she doesn't trust me with myself.
Needless to say, Apple is making me pretty uncomfortable lately with this squeamish distrust. I thought the basis of any good relationship is trust and understanding, but apparently she thinks it's all about control and restriction. That's no way to live life. If she's not careful, she may end up a lonely spinster with no sustainable long-term relationships. Please Apple, I love you - don't treat me like a child! Give me the freedom I long for, and I promise I'll be faithful to you!
I love Apple, although our relationship is a little rocky right now. Apple is a beautiful girlfriend, and she does her housework really fast and efficient, but there are problems. Namely, she won't let me listen to her sing. I mean, I bring home the bacon daily, but if I want to hear her sing I have to go in a specific room of the house. Pretty lame if you ask me. If I try to listen to her in a room of my choice instead of hers, she kicks me in the nads. Ouch.
The girl I dated a few years ago - Napster - and the one after that - Kazaa - were much more trusting of me. But they were ho's and gave it up to anyone. Apple is much classier than those, but I miss being trusted. Heck, Apple even makes me wear a chastity belt because she doesn't trust me with myself.
Needless to say, Apple is making me pretty uncomfortable lately with this squeamish distrust. I thought the basis of any good relationship is trust and understanding, but apparently she thinks it's all about control and restriction. That's no way to live life. If she's not careful, she may end up a lonely spinster with no sustainable long-term relationships. Please Apple, I love you - don't treat me like a child! Give me the freedom I long for, and I promise I'll be faithful to you!
Very, very good point. I agree 100%. I have a friend who seeks out smaller P2P networks specifically to try to obtain expensive software that he'll never use or only use once just for fun. It's a very interesting ethical point to think about - if the people would honestly never buy it, whether for lack of money or lack of interest, then obviously it doesn't harm the company if they play with it. It's just bits and bytes anyway, and no one's the worse for it, so I'm with you there.
I was about to answer your question, but then realized I already did:)... The only thing that's touchy with anime and other such things is that it COULD be slated for licensing and redistrubutors would be cutting into their revenue. In that case, I say nay.
But to expand, what I was saying was that if licensing IS already planned or being considered, I say nay. If the company says "No, we certainly will not be distributing this here," then I say go for it.
If there is no access whatsoever, then I'm all for the consumers creating access. If the companies exercise their right to limit access to say - movie theaters, then you have to accept what they give you or rally for another reasonable alternative (such as demanding more lax personal usage rights for digital music).
The only gray area for me in this issue is when it comes to "approved devices." Like if I buy a dvd, but the only dvd player I have is on my linux box, then I do feel I have a right to break copy protection to watch the movie I paid for. Same goes for file conversions of digital music that may not work on the portable music player you own. But as far as outright pirating a movie/music/anime because someone is too lazy, impatient, or ethically unsound to obtain it in a legal fashion - I say a big no to that.
Basically, being in the capitalist society that I'm in (Yay American gluttony!) I have to say that if it's someone else's creation, then you have no right to take anything from them that cuts into their profit. The only control you have is whether or not to purchase from them. But if it doesn't hurt their bottom line in any way, and if you're not doing any harm to the company or any individual, more power to you.
I think a fluid and flexible moral mind is definitely necessary when asking these questions. There are too many confusing aspects of technology and creative rights to have a definite standard of behavior.
I'm all for culture jacking and sharing of entertainment. It bothers me that people like the RIAA and Jack Valenti of the MPAA are so fierce about preventing the spread of entertainment to other countries. The MPAA in particular has been rallying foreign governments to crack down on piracy of movies that aren't even being distributed commercially in those countries.
If you're not selling your items in a certain area, does it really matter if there are pirated copies popping up in that area? It's not like it's cutting into your business if you're not even selling there.
Same goes for software, I say. If a company stubbornly refuses to release compatible software in other languages and devices, I'm all for people in those countries jacking up the software and making it work for them.
The only thing that's touchy with anime and other such things is that it COULD be slated for licensing and redistrubutors would be cutting into their revenue. In that case, I say nay.
But if a company says no to distribution in an area where there's demand, I'm all for consumers taking things into their own hands. Anime, software, and other forms of media are not expensive to reproduce. Technically, the "art" itself is non-existent - it's all just 1's and 0's on a computer disk or images pressed onto tape. Redistribution is harmless if it doesn't affect profits whatsoever while simultaneously spreading the art.
Companies who refuse to redistribute on their own while also refusing to allow others to redistribute in an area that does not cut into their profits are just being stingy. It's the equivalent of a kid refusing to let his little brother play with an action figure "just because," even though he's not playing with it either - it's just great entertainment gathering dust and not being sufficiently appreciated.
Now I'll probably be kidnapped by some secret military group controlled by big media, but I had to say my piece. Free the anime! Vive la revolucion!
When I was a kid, I was always fascinated by how drivers on highways/interstates could be so mean to each other (cutting each other off, flicking each other off, etc...), and yet still occasionally help a brutha' out by flicking their headlights to warn of a sneaky hidden cop.
I've got a bit of hippy in me thanks to a 70s generation mom, so I love to see any example of people banding together to fight annoying corporate trends like login requirements for free content. I previously had not heard of BugMeNot.com, but now I'm going to stick a link up on my site to spread it around a little more - as well as adding the firefox extension.
Of course, I suppose I should disable logins for my site in order to avoid hypocrisy/irony... although that'll seriously cut into my meager revenue...:)
D'oh! I noticed that right after I had hit submit. I'm surprised it made it this far down the forum before getting spelling-and-grammar-nazi'ed.
But I'm not upset. I actually blame instant messenger for dumbing down the writing skills of Americans (including myself). I actually hope they start charging, because then perhaps I'll spend less time gossiping and finding lame buddy icons. In fact, my social skills have suffered as well as my spelling skills. Anytime someone makes a joke, I yell out "L-O-L!"
Slashdot Mirror
I just ran a search on Microsoft's new search engine and I accidentally crashed the internet. My bad.
Bein' from Jo-jah, it took me a moment to unda-stand the statement "you all." Then, I just realized it be a bastardization of "y'all." Come own now - ain't no problem sayin' "y'all."
But in a weak attempt to stay on topic - I don't read PC mags. I saw a guy laughing over a Unix mag once and asked him what was so funny, and he said - "Can you believe these pleebs think that the standard carburator can run at 3700 jigawatts on a 1998 Googenheimer Blonhoowhatzit?" I looked at him vacantly. "Exactly! That's what I'm sayin'!" He said before turning back to the magazine.
In short, I don't read them because - more often than not - I feel incredibly out of the loop. Most advanced users and technology writers write and talk as if they're working for a specialized trade magazine, so it's harder for me to keep up.
That being said, I stick to the Victoria's Secret catalogue... not that I understand how their products work either.
So we're talking Cowboy Bebop but with email and in the privacy of our own homes? Only if I get to work with Faye! -1 excessive nerdiness
Didn't read it because of the spoilers warning.
Finally! A slashdot post that I can choose to not RTFA but still leave a comment without anyone getting too mad at me!
But seriously - I'm with the poster who made a comment questioning the writer's sexuality. Kirsten Dunst is amazing. I'd also suggest the original poster check this out.
But in all seriousness I'm quite eager to see this movie. It had literally been years since I last indulged in serious comic book or action figure purchasing - and I NEVER buy movie souvenirs - but I happened to spot the new Spidey figure with tons of articulation points and magnets in his hands and feet. Oh man. I must've played with that for hours. I never knew my fridge could be a source of so much amusement.
I love the series - it's definitely being handled better than Batman. All naysayers can eat my farts!
Thanks for pointing out that article! See, I knew I had some kind of smarts SOMEWHERE in there. It just so happens I have slow smarts - where I think up good ideas that have already been thought of.
I'm glad to see that they're already planning that. Apple is still #1 in my book, and I do suppose it's better to have too much innovation than not enough.
Jesus tap-dancing christ! After years of putting up with Microsoft's often sluggish innovations/updates and overall unreliability, I switched to a Mac. Now, I barely have time to learn my system before the next major update comes out. The speed of change is giving me geek-whiplash. I was surprised that Mac released Safari, did a couple of minor updates, but then hasn't continued to update it for Jaguar (well, at least not to the extent that they have for Panther). If they only focus support and innovation on the newest OS, but then release a new system every year, people are going to feel that it's a big scam and a bad investment. OSes should be a stable foundation for building more great software on top of. Apple is just rebuilding foundations and there's not enough time for users to build a strong and consistent powerhouse on top.
Plus, it took me months to get into the groove of using expose and the new finder design! I like it, but give me time to appreciate the system in it's entirety before releasing a new one. I don't think I'm going to buy this update - a lot of the new features just seem superfluous.
An operating system shouldn't be 100% old news after only a year or so. Panther still looks, feels, and acts spiffy and new to me. If there's a small update or addition to be had, make it a downloadable update. Most of these features just aren't worthy of an entire new release.
I'm not saying I miss Micro$oft's inconsistent OS updates, but I definitely think Apple should slow down and take their time a little more than they are.
A "funny only" filter is something I've dreamed about! Probably because I don't know much about technology except for what I've learned from computers crashing/breaking and having to fix them on my own. Amazing what you can learn in such a situation.
I definitely agree that it does seem MS products have problems from the outset. I mean, am I the only one who realizes that this Ask Slashdot is basically saying - "Um, I can't even get windows to START. Can anyone give me some tips on how to make it START? Because it's NOT EVEN REALLY STARTING." It's so odd of a situation that it's laughable.
When I bought my powerbook, I plugged in the charger and pressed the on button - and it booted up. I literally said to my cat, "Did you see that?" As usual, he just licked his balls and ignored me - but I'll be damned if the computer did actually start. I suffered through similar problems as the question poster with being attacked under windows before even getting the system operational. Hence, my PC now has Fedora and I do most of my work on a powerbook.
Question: Did you hear how Windows plans to fix this issue?
Answer: Neither have I.
Thanks for the compliment too!
So the WORST case scenario is that you don't actually succeed in getting Windows installed? Man, talk about a win-win situation!
"Um, honey? You know that browser update you just downloaded? Some pop-up box is asking if we want to install the Gator update... should we? Oh nevermind, it just started automatically on its own... oh cool! There's a brand new version of that adsearch bar on the bottom too!"
No downloading on your hard drive!
DRIVE!
We have copy pro-tec-shun inside!
SIDE!
We're running out of ideas, as you can see!
SEE!
There's no such thing as bad pu-bleh-sit-tee!
TEE!
(Sung to the beat of about 317 songs sampled simultaneously on one track! It's phat!)
Am I the only person who thinks that Mozilla's bang-bang-bang 3 releases in a row of their most notable software seems kind of like a premature orgasm? Are they blowing their load too quickly? Should they have released more gradually and carefully? With the bugs I enountered with Thunderbird, I certainly think so. Firefox seems okay despite the rush... except for the fact that whenever I apply a new skin in Mac OS X - the scroll bar is missing. That's a bizarre bug that you'd think would've been caught.
I scream like a little girl just playing Silent Hill 3. I imagine if I worked in a war zone, I'd have to wear a diaper and keep a pacifier handy. No thank you... I shit myself enough as it is.
(Sorry... had to lighten up this somber topic.)
Alright - I'm too lazy to post my myriad of responses to many of hte above comments... so I'll just post once.
First - I feel sorry for the guy that mentioned he had some invitations. No doubt his gmail account's 1 gig limit is being tested by the torrent of email from eager slashdotter geeks desperate to get at one of his invitations.
Next issue.. For those that really just want a fat email box for free - I highly suggest going over to Spymac, or even Lycos - both of which offer 1 gig mailboxes. I personally hate ALL webmail, forgoing it for the sake of using Thunderbird. That being the case, I rarely experience the same problems with email services that other people do who prefer webmail. If you use an external mail program - spymac is great. If you prefer webmail... well, keep trying to get a gmail invite.
Some of the people are complaining about Spymac asking for lots of personal information. Am I the only one that has a fake name and address for use in sign-ups? When I was a teen, I was worried that companies would check my fake info, track me down, and pistol-whip me or something. Then, after a few times doing it, I realized that human eyes probably never actually see my fake information. My information is harvested, shared, then printed on junk mail ALL by computers. So, it's easy to get away with fake addresses. Although I feel sorry for whoever lives at 999 Mybunghole Lane, Redneck, GA 31337. They've probably gotten a TON of junk mail for "Joe Momma." But here I am sitting pretty, with all my free internet and email accounts. No secret police have come after me yet.
Lastly, I am pissed at the creator of that Gmail Machine, as well as the person who added it to slashdot for my weak mind to stumble upon. I already have two Gmail accounts - and here I am just reloading and reloading and reloading. I feel like an old woman in vegas at the slot machines... or a college girl clicking away at Diamond Mine/Bejewelled. It's mine-numbingly addictive. Damn you slashdot and Gmail machine... damn you....
Who'da thunk it? I still thought they just crammed a note into a beer can and tossed it to the pit. That's what I do when I'm in a rush to work down at the con-stru-shun site but need to leave a note for the lil lady about what I want for dinner. She cooks it up real nayce - we don't need no fancy shmancy computer bursts.
(Yes, this really is how some of us down in Georgia talk - ESPECIALLY about racing.)
Thanks to all the great fellow slashdotters, I did manage to get the new version working with my old profile - it just takes some extra work. I'd still keep trying to download the new version if I were you - just be prepared to alter your profile.ini file to point to your old profile instead of the new empty one.
(humor)(sarcasm) Wow your fix works great! The thunderbird mess-up disappeared and suddenly in its place was the default Mac Mail program! It works perfectly now ;) (/sarcasm)(/humor)
In all seriousness, this time around I have to grudgingly concede to Microsoft Entourage. Although Windows always crashed on me (that being the reason I switched to a mac in the first place), Entourage never gave me any of these kind of problems. I also agree with the poster who said that this thing should have been handled elegantly by Thunderbird.
So, it could just be that I'm a moron, but I thought I'd share anyway.
Virtually every program I use in Mac OS X Panther allows me to overwrite an old program with the newer version without screwing up any of the settings. Thunderbird, however, screwed up big time. It copied perfectly, and opened smoothly, but it did NOT keep any of my settings. I'm having to go through and reconfigure all my email accounts and settings from scratch. I like thunderbird, but this little feature is a big enough pain in the ass that I may have to stick with Mail just so I don't have to worry about wasting time with this again. Proceed with caution, Mac users.
I love Apple, although our relationship is a little rocky right now. Apple is a beautiful girlfriend, and she does her housework really fast and efficient, but there are problems. Namely, she won't let me listen to her sing. I mean, I bring home the bacon daily, but if I want to hear her sing I have to go in a specific room of the house. Pretty lame if you ask me. If I try to listen to her in a room of my choice instead of hers, she kicks me in the nads.
Ouch.
The girl I dated a few years ago - Napster - and the one after that - Kazaa - were much more trusting of me. But they were ho's and gave it up to anyone. Apple is much classier than those, but I miss being trusted. Heck, Apple even makes me wear a chastity belt because she doesn't trust me with myself.
Needless to say, Apple is making me pretty uncomfortable lately with this squeamish distrust. I thought the basis of any good relationship is trust and understanding, but apparently she thinks it's all about control and restriction. That's no way to live life. If she's not careful, she may end up a lonely spinster with no sustainable long-term relationships. Please Apple, I love you - don't treat me like a child! Give me the freedom I long for, and I promise I'll be faithful to you!
Someone please moderate my previous comment down - I somehow managed to post it to the wrong story!
I love Apple, although our relationship is a little rocky right now. Apple is a beautiful girlfriend, and she does her housework really fast and efficient, but there are problems. Namely, she won't let me listen to her sing. I mean, I bring home the bacon daily, but if I want to hear her sing I have to go in a specific room of the house. Pretty lame if you ask me. If I try to listen to her in a room of my choice instead of hers, she kicks me in the nads.
Ouch.
The girl I dated a few years ago - Napster - and the one after that - Kazaa - were much more trusting of me. But they were ho's and gave it up to anyone. Apple is much classier than those, but I miss being trusted. Heck, Apple even makes me wear a chastity belt because she doesn't trust me with myself.
Needless to say, Apple is making me pretty uncomfortable lately with this squeamish distrust. I thought the basis of any good relationship is trust and understanding, but apparently she thinks it's all about control and restriction. That's no way to live life. If she's not careful, she may end up a lonely spinster with no sustainable long-term relationships. Please Apple, I love you - don't treat me like a child! Give me the freedom I long for, and I promise I'll be faithful to you!
Very, very good point. I agree 100%. I have a friend who seeks out smaller P2P networks specifically to try to obtain expensive software that he'll never use or only use once just for fun. It's a very interesting ethical point to think about - if the people would honestly never buy it, whether for lack of money or lack of interest, then obviously it doesn't harm the company if they play with it. It's just bits and bytes anyway, and no one's the worse for it, so I'm with you there.
I was about to answer your question, but then realized I already did :) ...
The only thing that's touchy with anime and other such things is that it COULD be slated for licensing and redistrubutors would be cutting into their revenue. In that case, I say nay.
But to expand, what I was saying was that if licensing IS already planned or being considered, I say nay. If the company says "No, we certainly will not be distributing this here," then I say go for it.
If there is no access whatsoever, then I'm all for the consumers creating access. If the companies exercise their right to limit access to say - movie theaters, then you have to accept what they give you or rally for another reasonable alternative (such as demanding more lax personal usage rights for digital music).
The only gray area for me in this issue is when it comes to "approved devices." Like if I buy a dvd, but the only dvd player I have is on my linux box, then I do feel I have a right to break copy protection to watch the movie I paid for. Same goes for file conversions of digital music that may not work on the portable music player you own. But as far as outright pirating a movie/music/anime because someone is too lazy, impatient, or ethically unsound to obtain it in a legal fashion - I say a big no to that.
Basically, being in the capitalist society that I'm in (Yay American gluttony!) I have to say that if it's someone else's creation, then you have no right to take anything from them that cuts into their profit. The only control you have is whether or not to purchase from them. But if it doesn't hurt their bottom line in any way, and if you're not doing any harm to the company or any individual, more power to you.
I think a fluid and flexible moral mind is definitely necessary when asking these questions. There are too many confusing aspects of technology and creative rights to have a definite standard of behavior.
I'm all for culture jacking and sharing of entertainment. It bothers me that people like the RIAA and Jack Valenti of the MPAA are so fierce about preventing the spread of entertainment to other countries. The MPAA in particular has been rallying foreign governments to crack down on piracy of movies that aren't even being distributed commercially in those countries.
If you're not selling your items in a certain area, does it really matter if there are pirated copies popping up in that area? It's not like it's cutting into your business if you're not even selling there.
Same goes for software, I say. If a company stubbornly refuses to release compatible software in other languages and devices, I'm all for people in those countries jacking up the software and making it work for them.
The only thing that's touchy with anime and other such things is that it COULD be slated for licensing and redistrubutors would be cutting into their revenue. In that case, I say nay.
But if a company says no to distribution in an area where there's demand, I'm all for consumers taking things into their own hands. Anime, software, and other forms of media are not expensive to reproduce. Technically, the "art" itself is non-existent - it's all just 1's and 0's on a computer disk or images pressed onto tape. Redistribution is harmless if it doesn't affect profits whatsoever while simultaneously spreading the art.
Companies who refuse to redistribute on their own while also refusing to allow others to redistribute in an area that does not cut into their profits are just being stingy. It's the equivalent of a kid refusing to let his little brother play with an action figure "just because," even though he's not playing with it either - it's just great entertainment gathering dust and not being sufficiently appreciated.
Now I'll probably be kidnapped by some secret military group controlled by big media, but I had to say my piece. Free the anime! Vive la revolucion!
When I was a kid, I was always fascinated by how drivers on highways/interstates could be so mean to each other (cutting each other off, flicking each other off, etc...), and yet still occasionally help a brutha' out by flicking their headlights to warn of a sneaky hidden cop.
:)
I've got a bit of hippy in me thanks to a 70s generation mom, so I love to see any example of people banding together to fight annoying corporate trends like login requirements for free content. I previously had not heard of BugMeNot.com, but now I'm going to stick a link up on my site to spread it around a little more - as well as adding the firefox extension.
Of course, I suppose I should disable logins for my site in order to avoid hypocrisy/irony... although that'll seriously cut into my meager revenue...
D'oh! I noticed that right after I had hit submit. I'm surprised it made it this far down the forum before getting spelling-and-grammar-nazi'ed.
But I'm not upset. I actually blame instant messenger for dumbing down the writing skills of Americans (including myself). I actually hope they start charging, because then perhaps I'll spend less time gossiping and finding lame buddy icons. In fact, my social skills have suffered as well as my spelling skills. Anytime someone makes a joke, I yell out "L-O-L!"