Just an FYI: KDE already provides spiffy central spellchecking, available for apps to take advantage of. Konqueror is quite happily spellchecking the contents of this comment field as I type it, for example (using the same checker/dictionary that, say, my e-mail client does).
You do realize that arguing *for* a government service, to be funded by a tax -- to help the *environment* of all things -- will be a damned tough sell in America, no matter how sensible the plan is.
Yeah, those people are totally obsolete, according to how the music industry works these days. I mean, after all, there's a chance that an 85 year old may actually remember songs from his or her youth that have entered the public domain! Scandalous! I much prefer the world us younger folk live in, where we have the security of knowing that nothing composed in our lifetimes will enter the public domain while we yet breathe.
I mean, seriously. Where would those oh-so-original Tin Pan Alley composers be without multi-generational copyright terms???
How much Marx have you read? Marxism is primarily a critical and descriptive apparatus, rather than a prescriptive one. A great deal of very interesting and valuable work has been inspired by and built upon the Marxist tradition. To dismiss the whole shebang as a "fundamentally flawed ideology" is deeply misguided.
I'm certainly not trying to defend the Chinese government here, but it's interesting to see how decades of American Cold War propaganda continues to circulate.
...not least of which is an ethical objection to taxation as a variant of armed robbery
You know, you're free to leave whatever country you happen to be in (somehow I suspect you're from the States). Perhaps you actually enjoy the benefits in living in a stable *society* funded through taxes?
Seriously. You're *choosing* to live where you are: a more or less democratic society that provides a certain set of services. These services are funded through taxes and are essential to keep a modern economy afloat. Things like upholding the property laws which some people think are absolute or god-given.
And you really are free to leave (well, practically you're limited by *where you'd go* -- there's a lotta people on this planet and I hear most cool places already have dibs called on them!). So how is that at all like armed robbery? If you like the tax-funded society you're living in, stick around. Get involved. And not just by voting, but by joining a political party, going to meetings, writing letters, speaking at your union, whatever. Maybe you do these things already, I don't know...but taxes really aren't anything at all like armed robbery.
I noticed that the only thing you actually said in your post is that you think people who use Ubunutu are, for the most part, fools not worthy of using a GNU/Linux OS. So, care to spell out exactly how Ubuntu hurts Free software? Or do displays such as the above just make you feel superior?
Really, that last sentence of yours is totally off base and insulting.
Perhaps that childhood maxim isn't true. For a trite example, think of the difference between the words "freedom fighter" and "terrorist". Being called a terrorist can, in the USA, lead to the complete erasure of your civil liberties (such as the right to due process). Pretty powerful word, eh?
Whatever you may want to think, history is powerful, and it is persistent. America is *not* a racism-free country, nor is racism in America the problem of a few occasional individuals. It is widespread and systematic. For a white person to use a derogatory word is *not* the same as a someone attempting to claim (or reclaim) that word. The latter is often an attempt to boost pride, awareness of group participation, &c., whereas the former is nothing more than petty spite.
I've seen so many ridiculously childish comments about this whole Imus thing. "If a black person can say a word, any white person can use it too!" Do people really think the world operates according to simplistic models like that? Most people who say things like that claim to not be racist, and I believe them; but I do not believe the problem is *primarily* individual, but structural. People who express the "well fine then, I'll use the word nigger as much as I please!" attitude are, perhaps without intending to, demonstrating how they themselves benefit from white privilege in US society. One can only realistically be expected to have the attitude that "words can't hurt" when they come from a background where words haven't been used as a weapon against them and their people for hundreds of years.
I think there's a difference between *useful* and *obvious*. With regards to the obviousness clause, all that matters is that the claimed invention not be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made. So if its functional or not, the idea is that if an average given person with ordinary skill in the art could have conceived the same thing, it's not a valid patent.
Of course, this is all pretty irrelevant, as the Federal Circuit pretty much gutted the obviousness clause during the 90s.
Thanks for the links, I'll read up on that. I still think, though, that the model of "influence = interest" still spells trouble. After all, who has more time and energy to invest in governance participation -- the rich or the working poor? For example, how could a hypothetical single mother working her ass off while raising a kid possibly hope to participate in a meaningful way? This is one of the problems with the role of lobbying in contemporary governments. Lobbyists get their way because they are paid to talk to decision makers *every day*. That requires *huge* amount of resources -- grass-roots campaigns generally simply can't afford to have people who work full time at getting their message out. How could open-source governance avoid this problem? If influence in a government is determined by the *ability* to participate, then your ability to participate is limited by your resources. Much like how IBM, Red Hat, &c. have far more influence on the Linux kernel than any given hacker sending in a bugfix.
And yeah, I think democracy is still valid. It's seriously busted in the US, but it's working better in other places. And the ideal of a democratic civil society built upon a broad middle class is still absolutely worth striving for, IMHO.
You *really* think governments are actively losing control of people right now? That just doesn't jive with the world I see around me. No, the Internet just brings its own tools of control. Advertising, primarily.
And just what is "open source governance" -- in detail -- and how would it govern a country of tens of millions better than representative democracy? Is open source governance when the amount of influence you have in government is directly proportional to the resources (read: money) one can "contribute to the project"?
By "standing up to political pressure" do you mean "obeying the laws of a country in which they seek to make a profit"?
Re:Another organization that wants to be above the
on
ICANN Wants Immunity
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· Score: 1
Yeah, good thing the UN doesn't have a hand in, say, regulating international telephone or radio networks! They'd sure screw that up! And after all, if there's one thing the world can agree on, it's that we trust the US government to act responsibly and to not abuse its power!
Seriously, though, what is it with Americans and blind, irrational hatred of multilateralism? Is it chauvinism or just ignorance? Or a little from column A, a little from column B?
Oh, but what about Uhuru's skirt? The oddly angular neckline of Troi's skintight uniform? Any military design aesthetic that blatantly treats its female members as sex objects to be ogled over can't be *that* bad, can it???
So, what the fuck are you doing on Slashdot, MF'er? Code up that web site and get at it!
Buddy, I just wanted to say absofuckinlutely. You've got the right attitude; not just for getting work, but for a lotta shit. It's incredibly easy to burn energy on nothing, to lose sight of goals and ambitions -- forgetting one must *DO* to achieve them!
"Free markets" only have a chance in hell of actually functioning anything like the fantasies of neo-liberal economists if consumers have the resources to make informed decisions. Payola blatantly violates that, by turning the song into nothing more than a paid advertisement for price-fixed pieces of plastic and presenting it as if its placement on the Top 40 is the result of requests or other measures of popularity. Oligopolies are the enemy of the free market because they can make backroom deals like this out of the public eye that distort the market.
Besides, these companies do not have an inherent right to broadcast at all. You, as an American, own the airwaves, NOT the broadcasters; they are using a public resource for private gain, and part of that deal is that they owe something to the public. Asking them to kindly not lie out of their teeth in order to enrich a few people's pockets doesn't seem like much to ask, eh?
Finally, I don't think you, as an American citizen, *need* to accept anything! As a citizen, aren't you theoretically part of the body politic...? Are you not, in theory at least, participating in your country's sovereignty, in fact the ultimate basis for that sovereignty? Are you really happy to surrender that sovereignty to entrenched business interests? If so, what's the point of Democracy at all? Government for the people, by the people, and all that jazz?
Hm, interesting. I've been meaning to download the demo just to see if it will run at all on my system, and I definitely *want* to give Civ4 a go -- although I love Civ3, 4 looks like it's got some awesome ideas in it. Thanks for the heads up!
Although I'm a bit of a Civ addict, I haven't played Civ 4 yet because the system requirements are absolutely insane; beyond my laptop, at any rate. There is no reason *at all* for a turn based strategy game to demand the sort of specs Civ 4 does (I've run across stories of people being able to run WoW, but not Civ 4). That's just crappy engineering.
Slashdot Mirror
Just an FYI: KDE already provides spiffy central spellchecking, available for apps to take advantage of. Konqueror is quite happily spellchecking the contents of this comment field as I type it, for example (using the same checker/dictionary that, say, my e-mail client does).
You do realize that arguing *for* a government service, to be funded by a tax -- to help the *environment* of all things -- will be a damned tough sell in America, no matter how sensible the plan is.
...is this some sort of feeble attempt at humour?
I mean, seriously. Where would those oh-so-original Tin Pan Alley composers be without multi-generational copyright terms???
I'm certainly not trying to defend the Chinese government here, but it's interesting to see how decades of American Cold War propaganda continues to circulate.
You know, you're free to leave whatever country you happen to be in (somehow I suspect you're from the States). Perhaps you actually enjoy the benefits in living in a stable *society* funded through taxes?
Seriously. You're *choosing* to live where you are: a more or less democratic society that provides a certain set of services. These services are funded through taxes and are essential to keep a modern economy afloat. Things like upholding the property laws which some people think are absolute or god-given.
And you really are free to leave (well, practically you're limited by *where you'd go* -- there's a lotta people on this planet and I hear most cool places already have dibs called on them!). So how is that at all like armed robbery? If you like the tax-funded society you're living in, stick around. Get involved. And not just by voting, but by joining a political party, going to meetings, writing letters, speaking at your union, whatever. Maybe you do these things already, I don't know...but taxes really aren't anything at all like armed robbery.
How can sound communication policy be formed without adequate information?
Really, that last sentence of yours is totally off base and insulting.
Perhaps that childhood maxim isn't true. For a trite example, think of the difference between the words "freedom fighter" and "terrorist". Being called a terrorist can, in the USA, lead to the complete erasure of your civil liberties (such as the right to due process). Pretty powerful word, eh?
Whatever you may want to think, history is powerful, and it is persistent. America is *not* a racism-free country, nor is racism in America the problem of a few occasional individuals. It is widespread and systematic. For a white person to use a derogatory word is *not* the same as a someone attempting to claim (or reclaim) that word. The latter is often an attempt to boost pride, awareness of group participation, &c., whereas the former is nothing more than petty spite.
I've seen so many ridiculously childish comments about this whole Imus thing. "If a black person can say a word, any white person can use it too!" Do people really think the world operates according to simplistic models like that? Most people who say things like that claim to not be racist, and I believe them; but I do not believe the problem is *primarily* individual, but structural. People who express the "well fine then, I'll use the word nigger as much as I please!" attitude are, perhaps without intending to, demonstrating how they themselves benefit from white privilege in US society. One can only realistically be expected to have the attitude that "words can't hurt" when they come from a background where words haven't been used as a weapon against them and their people for hundreds of years.
Waitasecondwaitasecond...you actually think that anyone trusts the US government at all?
C'mon, are you serious? "B-b-b-but France!"???
Oh me. Oh my. I know I shouldn't be surprised, but the depth and breadth of extreme-right thought in America continues to frighten me.
I think there's a difference between *useful* and *obvious*. With regards to the obviousness clause, all that matters is that the claimed invention not be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made. So if its functional or not, the idea is that if an average given person with ordinary skill in the art could have conceived the same thing, it's not a valid patent.
Of course, this is all pretty irrelevant, as the Federal Circuit pretty much gutted the obviousness clause during the 90s.
And yeah, I think democracy is still valid. It's seriously busted in the US, but it's working better in other places. And the ideal of a democratic civil society built upon a broad middle class is still absolutely worth striving for, IMHO.
And just what is "open source governance" -- in detail -- and how would it govern a country of tens of millions better than representative democracy? Is open source governance when the amount of influence you have in government is directly proportional to the resources (read: money) one can "contribute to the project"?
By "standing up to political pressure" do you mean "obeying the laws of a country in which they seek to make a profit"?
Seriously, though, what is it with Americans and blind, irrational hatred of multilateralism? Is it chauvinism or just ignorance? Or a little from column A, a little from column B?
Oh, but what about Uhuru's skirt? The oddly angular neckline of Troi's skintight uniform? Any military design aesthetic that blatantly treats its female members as sex objects to be ogled over can't be *that* bad, can it???
What the hell has happened to your country?
Buddy, I just wanted to say absofuckinlutely. You've got the right attitude; not just for getting work, but for a lotta shit. It's incredibly easy to burn energy on nothing, to lose sight of goals and ambitions -- forgetting one must *DO* to achieve them!
Well put, and cheers.
Besides, these companies do not have an inherent right to broadcast at all. You, as an American, own the airwaves, NOT the broadcasters; they are using a public resource for private gain, and part of that deal is that they owe something to the public. Asking them to kindly not lie out of their teeth in order to enrich a few people's pockets doesn't seem like much to ask, eh?
Finally, I don't think you, as an American citizen, *need* to accept anything! As a citizen, aren't you theoretically part of the body politic...? Are you not, in theory at least, participating in your country's sovereignty, in fact the ultimate basis for that sovereignty? Are you really happy to surrender that sovereignty to entrenched business interests? If so, what's the point of Democracy at all? Government for the people, by the people, and all that jazz?
Hm, interesting. I've been meaning to download the demo just to see if it will run at all on my system, and I definitely *want* to give Civ4 a go -- although I love Civ3, 4 looks like it's got some awesome ideas in it. Thanks for the heads up!
Although I'm a bit of a Civ addict, I haven't played Civ 4 yet because the system requirements are absolutely insane; beyond my laptop, at any rate. There is no reason *at all* for a turn based strategy game to demand the sort of specs Civ 4 does (I've run across stories of people being able to run WoW, but not Civ 4). That's just crappy engineering.
But maybe your low /. ID gives you a distorted perspective on this sort of thing. ;)
Don't forget about the money blown on just licensing the "Star Trek" name either!