Nope. You're describing an issue of individual freedom. The global warming debate is about how to regulate the commons, not imposing on an individual's freedom.
> when a new version is found, they automatically and silently download it
Step 1: Find the player key for a popular software player Step 2: Find the auto-update mechanism it uses so you can intercept future update pushes (you could do this even without doing Step 1, perhaps) Step 3:....
> I agree, until the DRM algorithms get implanted in the brain there's always a way around it - microphones!
(USian-centric post follows)
Used in that context, microphones are already illegal under the DMCA. It's not hard to imagine a near future where it's illegal to sell speakers or mics which are not DRM-enforcing, with a short grandfathering-in period for already-owned analog-fed gear.
The legal chains are complete. The enforcement machinery isn't in place yet, but it's coming.
> It is a greater tragedy for one innocent man to be convicted of a crime than > for 1000 guilty men to go free. (I forget who takes the credit for that quote, > but it was a man who believed in human rights, unlike you.)
> While you won't let the government listen in on your calls > to Tora Bora to save your own life, it is the government's > job to protect the rest of us.
Actually, Article II Section 1 makes it pretty clear that the president's job is to protect and defend the Constitution. I recommend you read it.
> Linux can use swapfiles. Swap partitions are just a generally better way.
Since Linux 2.6, the latter half of that statement isn't really true anymore. As I understand it, it used to be the case that to use a swap file meant that any swap I/O would have to hit the filesystem code, but that as of 2.6, that is no longer the case. Swap files are the same speed as swap partitions and a lot more flexible. =)
> vote for the president of Diebold in massive amounts
The only problem with that is that it's not at all unlikely that Blackwell is going to run for the Republican presidential nomination at some point in the not-too-distant future. Don't want to jump the gun;)
Can we please disabuse ourselves of the myth that medical malpractice suits are the problem with health care costs in the U.S. ? The vast majority of malpractice cases are due to a few bad doctors. This is why we HAVE laws about malpractice. PLEASE let this asinine meme die.
The best proposed solution I've heard would be to require all our trading partners to have reasonable standards for number of hours in a work-week, minimum wage, safe, sanitary working conditions, etc. Insert perpetual debate on what constitutes "reasonable" here.
That would solve the problem quite neatly. Contrary to the right's refrain, the reason U.S. labor is more expensive isn't because we're all too lazy and demanding. It's because we have some modicum of worker protections that are absent in many other countries. I wouldn't mind "competing for my own job" a bit as long as I don't have to compete with slaves.
I like the Linux copy/paste methodology much better, and have posted several times here defending it. As for being able to have richer types of content in the clipboard, well... I've never used that in my life in any OS, but I guess if you used it you would miss it in Linux. I can only speak intelligently about things I use. =)
> How about audio support? If all software worked with a single > standard (like ALSA), everything would be fine; but this isn't > the case.
Heh, I can often be heard around the office to opine "GDMF, sound sucks in Linux!", but it's mostly in jest. Alsa with dmix combined with esound make every semi-modern program "just work" and software mix with good quality and reasonable latency. Certainly good enough for most desktop users. The only app I occasionally use that still wants OSS is audacity, and some day I'm going to find out what the "new hotness" to audacity's "old and busted" is. (Please feel free to post suggestions! =)
Yes. Otherwise I wouldn't use it. If Windows was easier, I'd use that.
>> Ask yourself how much time you had to put in to get it that way.
It used to take me a while, takes about 30 minutes these days. The time I put into learning Linux has been paid back a thousandfold in increased productivity in the 9 years I've been using it, though.
The question of ease of installation is a valid one. I recognize Linux isn't trivially easy for the inexperienced to get set up. Preinstalled Linux is what I do for a living. Most people get their Windows preinstalled too, though, so the more interesting question to me is ease of use of a properly configured system, and Linux wins by a mile there.
Personally, I find Windows to be MUCH more stressful and difficult to get set up properly. I had a whole multi-paragraph rant typed out about how impossible it is to get movie playback set up in Windows vs. how relatively easy it is in Linux, the ease with which I can get my system 100% up to date (which is basically impossible in Windows as far as I know), and how dealing with antiviruses and half a dozen different spyware cleaners is the exact opposite of "beautiful" in my estimation. But I won't bore you with it.;)
After thinking it over, I was only able to think of two things that I use which Windows does better. It's much easier to get Civilization 3 going in Windows, a fact which I take as a personal insult.;) And, the wireless network scanner is better in Windows, which is why we're actively hacking on it to improve the one in Linux. Everything else is more sane, stable, and beautiful in Linux, by a wide margin.
> I'm not sure whether this was intended as a joke or not, but assuming you're > serious then you're misunderstanding the nature of the word beautiful.
In the context of software, I'd guess it means either "nice to look at" or "nice to use". Windows is neither of those things. If you disagree, then why would you even bother with Linux/Open Source in the first place?
> There was a time when people couldn't imagine a world with both nuclear power and hunger.
-nod- And if we would make intelligent use of the new, inherently safe reactor designs, it would make a huge difference in the lives of us Terrans. China's doing it. Doesn't solve overpopulation issues, but it make going to war for scarce fossil fuel resources seem even sillier than it already does.
Weaning ourselves from oil won't fix 100% of the problem, but it would certainly calm things down in the middle-east a bit.;)
-nod- It's probably because I grew up on STNG, but I've always had trouble accepting the dystopic view of the future that a lot of sci-fi goes for. Most of the suffering that takes place on earth boils down to some combination of energy scarcity, resource scarcity and population density; once we have the resources and the energy to fling a life-supporting tub through space at speeds that make interplanetary travel practical, all those problems are relaxed a whole lot even given that you will still have petty warlords and barons exerting influence in their own little fiefdoms.
It's depressing (and I think/hope, implausible) to imagine a world with both warp drive and hunger.
> When my doctor refers to medical jargon I may not know what it means and may be confused > (I'm generally well versed in my particular conditions)
If your doctor regularly says things you don't understand, and you don't bother to ask/learn, some day you might die as a result. I would have died in July of 1996 if I hadn't been curious at that the acronym "TBI" stood for. I was slated for spot radiation to complement my high-dose cytoxan chemotherapy. If I had gotten the total body irradiation that was written on my order, I would not have survived.
Jargon is fucking important. People should take the time to understand it.
Slashdot Mirror
> Notice anything familiar?
Nope. You're describing an issue of individual freedom. The global warming debate is about how to regulate the commons, not imposing on an individual's freedom.
> So, you're saying that you failed a Turing test? :-)
Tell me more about failed a Turing test?
>> In fact, if these expandable 'tents' receive positive reviews, astronauts will 'camp' on the moon as early as 2020.
> Frickin campers!
It's a legitimate strategy !
> when a new version is found, they automatically and silently download it
....
Step 1: Find the player key for a popular software player
Step 2: Find the auto-update mechanism it uses so you can intercept future update pushes (you could do this even without doing Step 1, perhaps)
Step 3:
etc.
> I agree, until the DRM algorithms get implanted in the brain there's always a way around it - microphones!
(USian-centric post follows)
Used in that context, microphones are already illegal under the DMCA. It's not hard to imagine a near future where it's illegal to sell speakers or mics which are not DRM-enforcing, with a short grandfathering-in period for already-owned analog-fed gear.
The legal chains are complete. The enforcement machinery isn't in place yet, but it's coming.
>> The only way I see it happening would be in a severe supply shortage ... which is exactly what we're discussing in this thread. Welcome!
> So.. if it turns out differently, will you say that the analysts are wrong or the votes?
Depends on whether the votes are blatantly altered on a large scale like they were in the last 2 federal elections.
Please don't respond until you read.
> It is a greater tragedy for one innocent man to be convicted of a crime than
> for 1000 guilty men to go free. (I forget who takes the credit for that quote,
> but it was a man who believed in human rights, unlike you.)
I've heard it attributed to Ben Franklin.
> My dream for the future of Star Trek can be summarised in two words: Mirror Borg.
Yes please.
> Have you made it past the first three words or did you start and finish with Article II, Section 1?
... [snip a bunch of reasons] do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
Keep reading, nimrod.
We the People,
That's from memory, so forgive any typos.
> While you won't let the government listen in on your calls
i on.table.html
> to Tora Bora to save your own life, it is the government's
> job to protect the rest of us.
Actually, Article II Section 1 makes it pretty clear that the
president's job is to protect and defend the Constitution.
I recommend you read it.
http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/constitut
> Linux can use swapfiles. Swap partitions are just a generally better way.
Since Linux 2.6, the latter half of that statement isn't really true anymore.
As I understand it, it used to be the case that to use a swap file meant that
any swap I/O would have to hit the filesystem code, but that as of 2.6, that
is no longer the case. Swap files are the same speed as swap partitions and
a lot more flexible. =)
> vote for the president of Diebold in massive amounts
;)
The only problem with that is that it's not at all unlikely that Blackwell is going to run for the Republican presidential nomination at some point in the not-too-distant future. Don't want to jump the gun
Can we please disabuse ourselves of the myth that medical malpractice suits
are the problem with health care costs in the U.S. ? The vast majority
of malpractice cases are due to a few bad doctors. This is why we HAVE laws about
malpractice. PLEASE let this asinine meme die.
> having to defend a perjurer
You do realize Clinton was tried and acquitted of perjury and obstruction, don't you?
So what's your proposal?
The best proposed solution I've heard would be to require all our trading partners to have reasonable standards for number of hours in a work-week, minimum wage, safe, sanitary working conditions, etc. Insert perpetual debate on what constitutes "reasonable" here.
That would solve the problem quite neatly. Contrary to the right's refrain, the reason U.S. labor is more expensive isn't because we're all too lazy and demanding. It's because we have some modicum of worker protections that are absent in many other countries. I wouldn't mind "competing for my own job" a bit as long as I don't have to compete with slaves.
> Including clipboard/buffer management?
I like the Linux copy/paste methodology much better, and have posted
several times here defending it. As for being able to have richer
types of content in the clipboard, well... I've never used that in
my life in any OS, but I guess if you used it you would miss it in
Linux. I can only speak intelligently about things I use. =)
> How about audio support? If all software worked with a single
> standard (like ALSA), everything would be fine; but this isn't
> the case.
Heh, I can often be heard around the office to opine "GDMF, sound
sucks in Linux!", but it's mostly in jest. Alsa with dmix combined
with esound make every semi-modern program "just work" and software
mix with good quality and reasonable latency. Certainly good enough
for most desktop users. The only app I occasionally use that still
wants OSS is audacity, and some day I'm going to find out what the
"new hotness" to audacity's "old and busted" is. (Please feel free
to post suggestions! =)
> Now, why do you think it's probably an example? "Cyborg
> Warrior" probably wont figure it out.
*ahem* Meeememememee... testing testing...
-tap- -tap- -tap- Hellooo helloo... okay, we're ready.
YHBT. YHL. HAND.
That's a wrap.
>> Is Linux easy to use for you?
;)
;)
Yes. Otherwise I wouldn't use it. If Windows was easier, I'd use that.
>> Ask yourself how much time you had to put in to get it that way.
It used to take me a while, takes about 30 minutes these days. The time
I put into learning Linux has been paid back a thousandfold in increased
productivity in the 9 years I've been using it, though.
The question of ease of installation is a valid one. I recognize Linux
isn't trivially easy for the inexperienced to get set up. Preinstalled
Linux is what I do for a living. Most people
get their Windows preinstalled too, though, so the more interesting
question to me is ease of use of a properly configured system, and Linux
wins by a mile there.
Personally, I find Windows to be MUCH more stressful and difficult to
get set up properly. I had a whole multi-paragraph rant typed out
about how impossible it is to get movie playback set up in Windows vs.
how relatively easy it is in Linux, the ease with which I can get my
system 100% up to date (which is basically impossible in Windows as
far as I know), and how dealing with antiviruses and half a dozen
different spyware cleaners is the exact opposite of "beautiful" in my
estimation. But I won't bore you with it.
After thinking it over, I was only able to think of two things that I
use which Windows does better. It's much easier to get Civilization 3
going in Windows, a fact which I take as a personal insult.
And, the wireless network scanner is better in Windows, which is why
we're actively hacking on it to improve the one in Linux. Everything
else is more sane, stable, and beautiful in Linux, by a wide margin.
> I'm not sure whether this was intended as a joke or not, but assuming you're
> serious then you're misunderstanding the nature of the word beautiful.
In the context of software, I'd guess it means either "nice to look at" or "nice to use".
Windows is neither of those things. If you disagree, then why would you even bother with
Linux/Open Source in the first place?
I just LOVE scanning for lifeforms!
Life forms!
You pretty little life forms!
You precious little life forms!
Where are you?
> There was a time when people couldn't imagine a world with both nuclear power and hunger.
;)
-nod- And if we would make intelligent use of the new, inherently safe reactor designs, it would make a huge difference in the lives of us Terrans. China's doing it. Doesn't solve overpopulation issues, but it make going to war for scarce fossil fuel resources seem even sillier than it already does.
Weaning ourselves from oil won't fix 100% of the problem, but it would certainly calm things down in the middle-east a bit.
-nod- It's probably because I grew up on STNG, but I've always had trouble accepting the dystopic view of the future that a lot of sci-fi goes for. Most of the suffering that takes place on earth boils down to some combination of energy scarcity, resource scarcity and population density; once we have the resources and the energy to fling a life-supporting tub through space at speeds that make interplanetary travel practical, all those problems are relaxed a whole lot even given that you will still have petty warlords and barons exerting influence in their own little fiefdoms.
It's depressing (and I think/hope, implausible) to imagine a world with both warp drive and hunger.
> And then there's always the HSoAFR (or is it HSoFAR?), the ultra-rare smurf from smurfadia.
HSoFAR. I'm going to farm one of those after I get a couple of IDMGs, which are what
I'm currently after.
> When my doctor refers to medical jargon I may not know what it means and may be confused
> (I'm generally well versed in my particular conditions)
If your doctor regularly says things you don't understand, and you don't bother to ask/learn,
some day you might die as a result. I would have died in July of 1996 if I hadn't been
curious at that the acronym "TBI" stood for. I was slated for spot radiation to complement
my high-dose cytoxan chemotherapy. If I had gotten the total body irradiation that was
written on my order, I would not have survived.
Jargon is fucking important. People should take the time to understand it.