After The Wizard, when they finally released Super Mario 3, there was a frenzy, at least where I was from. It was going for about $75 at one point, and it was pretty difficult to find. It was an enjoyable game, but I'm so jaded about advertising now that, were The Wizard to happen again today, I would think it was the most disgusting thing ever.
I won't take my stepkids to see any movies geared towards children because they are all just elaborate marketing schemes. Harry Potter for example... the kids wanted nothing but Harry Potter crap for Christmas, even though they had neither seen the movies or read the books.
Advertisers are pretty savvy when they can fool people into confusing advertising with entertainment. I think we're moving toward a culture where there is no distinction.
Fred Savage used to be such a hunk, when I was 10. Did anyone see him on that Law and Order Criminal Intent episode? He was so creepy.
"The Beach" is actually a very excellent novel by Alex Garland and I heartily recommend it. I haven't seen the flick yet, but I am certain that with all of the plot changes (and character omissions) it can not come close to doing the book justice. Jon Katz, I suggest that you take an afternoon or two to read "The Beach." Garland very definitely succeeds in weaving a tail of an island paradise transforming into a place of horror and despair. What bothers me the most about this is that, while doubtless hordes of mindless, trend-seeking teenyboppers will run to see this film, it will turn off the intelligent among us who would be able to grasp the insight and complexity of the novel.
We produce much more CO2 than our rapidly disappearing forests can convert glucose and O2.
The use of fossil fuels releases carbon that was previously locked up inside the earth for several million years. (I don't remember the exact quote, but Carl Sagan cleverly stated that our society runs on the fossilized remains of our very early ancestors...)
We are cutting down and burning the "lungs" of our planet... the forests that are supposed to keep CO2 at a reasonable level in the atmosphere.
If we can find methods to removes vast quantities of CO2 from the atmosphere and convert it into a form that is useful to us as fuel, we may be able to solve two imminent problems: the greenhouse effect, and the exhaustion of our fuel supply.
Of course, if this sort of technology starts going places, the oil companies will catch wind of it and try to stamp it out before it has a chance to catch on.
I don't know if anything like this exists already, but this story made me think that Linux fans should be doing something to inform the general public about Linux. Not only should we be telling people about the benefits of using Linux, we should also be informing people what to look for in a Linux distribution and what to avoid.
Reviews like this are amusing for people who know a lot about Linux to read, but we should be getting this sort of information out to the people who don't know a lot about Linux.
I know some people who have been completely turned off of Linux because they had so many problems with an inferior distribution that wouldn't install properly.
It's one of these cases where one guy ruins it for all the rest, and the only way to solve this problem is by helping non-techie people understand Linux better.
Plastic is, environmentally speaking, one of the most harmful substances we have ever created.
One example of the impact of plastic manufacturing is this: chemicals used in the production of plastics emulate sex hormones and cause infertility and birth defects in amphibians. This is one of the reasons that amphibians are disappearing around the globe.
I wouldn't like to see this idea go mainstream... we throw out too much stuff already. Now they want to manufacture DVDs that are specifically designed to be thrown away? Definitely not cool.
People who whine incessantly everytime someone says something non-positive can also be annoying.
"Freedom of speech" loses all meaning if we start attaching "but only if you're nice to everyone" to it.
Hostility is always going to present on the internet. It's a sink or swim situation. Everyone has the right to have a say, but if you choose to forfeit that right because you're a wimp, then don't complain about it.
Think of it as a sport... it's a bit rough, people get overly competitive, sometimes someone loses a tooth. But if we try to tame it by making more and more rules so everyone can play without getting bumped around a bit, all the fun is lost.
Nobody is going to start playing baseball with Nerf bats in order to be "inclusive."
If you want to play the game, stop being a wimp and get in there. Ignore the flames and enjoy the discussions.
---And identity - perhaps the single most elemental ingredient of community - is almost eroded when anonymous posters dominate all discussions. Women seeking community often turn to all-female mailing lists, conferences and websites, a sad evolution of a medium with so much promise to be free and open. At its geeky core, the Net still feels like a clubhouse - male, white, narrow.---
I'm a 20 year old female, and I like reading and posting on Slashdot, and I won't allow a few sexist comments to drive me away. (And speaking as a 20 year old female with a strong affinity for geek guys, I don't see anything wrong with the fact that Slashdot is dominated by geek guys. )
I know where my capabilities begin and end as far as computers go, and I'm not going to draw insult by pretending to know more than I do.
I'm also not going to let anyone assume that my female-status means that I need the "Start" button pointed out to me.
Of course, this goes along with one of my basic philosophies about dealing with jerks... suck it up. The jerks aren't going to go away, so you have to deal with them... or retreat.
If you can't handle the Natalie Portman posts and the girls-can't-code posts and the if-you-don't-use-my-favourite-software-you-suck posts, then by all means, go elsewhere.
If you want to enjoy Slashdot for everything it has to offer, then accept the good with the bad and stop being so sensitive about every lame post.
I'd much rather put up with a few offensive comments every now and again on Slashdot than suffer the boredom of some "womyn"-only animated-teddy-bear-gifs discussion group. Most of the people I encounter on Slashdot are NOT jerks.
ResNet was great for these reasons: 1. Being the only computer-literate person on my residence floor, the high speed internet connection increased my ability to wow my peers with nifty stuff. Nothing adds to your popularity among first-year students faster than a 2 gig collection of hip mp3s. 2. Anyone with an an ethernet card and a length of 10-base-T cable could steal Internet access and likely not get caught. 3. The honest among us only paid $100 a year. We didn't have any daily upload/download limits, I don't know if this is still true at that particular University. In my opinion, the schools that do have these are way too strict about it... limiting users to 15megs of uploading a day is a bit unreasonable in my opinion. I think that if the school finds it necessary to create these limits in order to deter students from running Warez servers etc., they should still be reasonable about it... since the vast majority of students who have these internet connections don't use them for anything more than checking their Hotmail account and looking at those "You're My Friend!" web sites. It would make more sense to not impose any limits and then IF someone is consistently uploading hundreds of megs a day, look into it.
Slashdot Mirror
I'm glad the authorities are cracking down on evil criminals like this guy, and leaving the friendly neighbourhood meth labs alone.
All your Winamp are belong to us.
After The Wizard, when they finally released Super Mario 3, there was a frenzy, at least where I was from. It was going for about $75 at one point, and it was pretty difficult to find. It was an enjoyable game, but I'm so jaded about advertising now that, were The Wizard to happen again today, I would think it was the most disgusting thing ever.
I won't take my stepkids to see any movies geared towards children because they are all just elaborate marketing schemes. Harry Potter for example... the kids wanted nothing but Harry Potter crap for Christmas, even though they had neither seen the movies or read the books.
Advertisers are pretty savvy when they can fool people into confusing advertising with entertainment. I think we're moving toward a culture where there is no distinction.
Fred Savage used to be such a hunk, when I was 10. Did anyone see him on that Law and Order Criminal Intent episode? He was so creepy.
"The Beach" is actually a very excellent novel by Alex Garland and I heartily recommend it. I haven't seen the flick yet, but I am certain that with all of the plot changes (and character omissions) it can not come close to doing the book justice.
Jon Katz, I suggest that you take an afternoon or two to read "The Beach." Garland very definitely succeeds in weaving a tail of an island paradise transforming into a place of horror and despair.
What bothers me the most about this is that, while doubtless hordes of mindless, trend-seeking teenyboppers will run to see this film, it will turn off the intelligent among us who would be able to grasp the insight and complexity of the novel.
The use of fossil fuels releases carbon that was previously locked up inside the earth for several million years. (I don't remember the exact quote, but Carl Sagan cleverly stated that our society runs on the fossilized remains of our very early ancestors...)
We are cutting down and burning the "lungs" of our planet... the forests that are supposed to keep CO2 at a reasonable level in the atmosphere.
If we can find methods to removes vast quantities of CO2 from the atmosphere and convert it into a form that is useful to us as fuel, we may be able to solve two imminent problems: the greenhouse effect, and the exhaustion of our fuel supply.
Of course, if this sort of technology starts going places, the oil companies will catch wind of it and try to stamp it out before it has a chance to catch on.
Reviews like this are amusing for people who know a lot about Linux to read, but we should be getting this sort of information out to the people who don't know a lot about Linux.
I know some people who have been completely turned off of Linux because they had so many problems with an inferior distribution that wouldn't install properly.
It's one of these cases where one guy ruins it for all the rest, and the only way to solve this problem is by helping non-techie people understand Linux better.
I don't think that downloading top 40 dance music hits really counts as "free thinking."
Plastic is, environmentally speaking, one of the most harmful substances we have ever created.
One example of the impact of plastic manufacturing is this: chemicals used in the production of plastics emulate sex hormones and cause infertility and birth defects in amphibians. This is one of the reasons that amphibians are disappearing around the globe.
I wouldn't like to see this idea go mainstream... we throw out too much stuff already. Now they want to manufacture DVDs that are specifically designed to be thrown away? Definitely not cool.
Flamers can be annoying.
People who whine incessantly everytime someone says something non-positive can also be annoying.
"Freedom of speech" loses all meaning if we start attaching "but only if you're nice to everyone" to it.
Hostility is always going to present on the internet. It's a sink or swim situation. Everyone has the right to have a say, but if you choose to forfeit that right because you're a wimp, then don't complain about it.
Think of it as a sport... it's a bit rough, people get overly competitive, sometimes someone loses a tooth. But if we try to tame it by making more and more rules so everyone can play without getting bumped around a bit, all the fun is lost.
Nobody is going to start playing baseball with Nerf bats in order to be "inclusive."
If you want to play the game, stop being a wimp and get in there. Ignore the flames and enjoy the discussions.
I'm a 20 year old female, and I like reading and posting on Slashdot, and I won't allow a few sexist comments to drive me away. (And speaking as a 20 year old female with a strong affinity for geek guys, I don't see anything wrong with the fact that Slashdot is dominated by geek guys. )
I know where my capabilities begin and end as far as computers go, and I'm not going to draw insult by pretending to know more than I do.
I'm also not going to let anyone assume that my female-status means that I need the "Start" button pointed out to me.
Of course, this goes along with one of my basic philosophies about dealing with jerks... suck it up. The jerks aren't going to go away, so you have to deal with them... or retreat.
If you can't handle the Natalie Portman posts and the girls-can't-code posts and the if-you-don't-use-my-favourite-software-you-suck posts, then by all means, go elsewhere.
If you want to enjoy Slashdot for everything it has to offer, then accept the good with the bad and stop being so sensitive about every lame post.
I'd much rather put up with a few offensive comments every now and again on Slashdot than suffer the boredom of some "womyn"-only animated-teddy-bear-gifs discussion group. Most of the people I encounter on Slashdot are NOT jerks.
It's so cold here in Ottawa, the developers must be choosing to work overtime so they can put off going out into the wind and snow.
I am always amazed at how angry and hostile people get when someone has an opinion they disagree with.
Just because MY opinion is different from YOUR opinion does not mean that I am slamming your right to have that opinion.
This comes up a lot when people discuss "favourites"... favourite bands, favourite foods, favourite operating systems, etc.
We all need to learn to express ourselves constructively and avoid personal attacks...
"OS/2 sucks"
is a much better reply to "I like OS/2" than
"YOU SUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
wouldn't you agree?
Nobody "sucks" because they like something else, or don't like what you like.
ResNet was great for these reasons: 1. Being the only computer-literate person on my residence floor, the high speed internet connection increased my ability to wow my peers with nifty stuff. Nothing adds to your popularity among first-year students faster than a 2 gig collection of hip mp3s. 2. Anyone with an an ethernet card and a length of 10-base-T cable could steal Internet access and likely not get caught. 3. The honest among us only paid $100 a year. We didn't have any daily upload/download limits, I don't know if this is still true at that particular University. In my opinion, the schools that do have these are way too strict about it... limiting users to 15megs of uploading a day is a bit unreasonable in my opinion. I think that if the school finds it necessary to create these limits in order to deter students from running Warez servers etc., they should still be reasonable about it... since the vast majority of students who have these internet connections don't use them for anything more than checking their Hotmail account and looking at those "You're My Friend!" web sites. It would make more sense to not impose any limits and then IF someone is consistently uploading hundreds of megs a day, look into it.
Please bend over, remove the 2 X 4, and lighten up.