You forgot the part about how paypal has it such that your paypal balance can be a money market account which earns interest. When you consider that plus everything else, it's definitely acting like a bank.
Yeah? If that's true, you sure are lucky. FIOS has been "6 months away" for a few years now where I live.
Seriously. Here in tech-savvy wealthy Silicon Valley, FIOS won't come here in my LIFETIME, and I'm under 30 years of age. There is a small outfit called Paxio that does FTTP (and even offer gigabit up and down), but they only seem to be in new Pulte Home Developments, that's it.
"That's an interesting paradox. The court prosecutes on behalf of her older self, whose life has been ruined because her younger self posted nude pictures of herself, causing the court to prosecute her on behalf of her older self and ruin her life by putting her on the sex offenders' registry.
Let's leave aside that, by that rationale, the victim of the crime does not exist, and therefore that was no complaining witness and therefore no crime could have possibly been committed. Honestly, would that really stand up under appeal? Are you sure that's what the rationale was?"
Not much of a paradox really. States do not prosecute on behalf of victims, they prosecute for the state or "the people." She broke a law and the state wanted to punish her. She helped contribute to "child porn" and the state frowns on this, so they prosecuted. Doesn't matter if the pics are of her, bottom line they are pics of an underage female and she distributed them.
Now to your other point, there does not need to be victim of a crime (prostitution for example), and it's not true that no crime could have possibly been committed. If she violates the letter of the law (as codified in statutes), a crime has been committed.
I agree with you that probably the whole "older self" thing is probably not the rationale.
"you have to return cafedvd rentals within 8 days though - not quite the joy of never having to think about 'is it due?' from netflix."
To me it is assumed that if someone wants a carte DVD renting by mail, they can't keep it as long as they want. After all, it doesn't make business sense to let a customer rent a movie for a couple bucks, keep it 6 months, and then return it with no additional fees.
The OP wanted an a la carte service, and it seems like cafedvd is an option. Probably not the only option out there either.
cafedvd.com offers the service you want, you rent by mail per DVD you actually watch, no subscription. Check it out. They call it "a la carte" renting.
The real story is that five years after Wal-mart started selling linux PC's online...they are still selling them online, not in-store. That's the real story, and it still shows that linux isn't ready for general idiot consumer use, because well, wal-mart employees still don't know what linux is and hilarity would insue at most wal-marts when their employees try to explain that the computer doesn't have windows, but that the employee doesn't know if x game that specifically says it's for windows only will run on the $200 pc.
"What is it about GNOME that makes it so compelling to distro manufacturers?"
It's because linux geeks perceive KDE as pandering to the windows crowd and people like GNOME for the simple fact that it isn't trying to be a windows clone. I personally don't like GNOME and prefer KDE, not because it is more "Windows" like, but I like the look, feel, and layout better. Some distros are KDE-friendly. After all, you can get kubuntu (although I think regular ubunutu install cd should give you a choice during install of KDE or GNOME, but I can understand the desire to conserve CD/DVD space.
Re:The system doesn't want anyone to get ahead
on
Failing Our Geniuses
·
· Score: 1
"Walk into any high school and ask the history teachers why the War of 1812 was fought. I bet 99% of them will give some non-reasoning answer like "because the British attacked us," rather than the real answer: Britain was trying to keep American hemp out of France, in order to cripple the French navy."
Interesting you say this, when everyone knows the War of 1812 is all about the (failed) American Invasion of Canada (at that time, a full territory of the UK).
Seriously, Web 2.0 has to be the most annoying new catch phrase re: internet. I've read various definitions and I still don't get what Web 2.0 is, especially considering many of the things people cite as examples of Web 2.0 were capable during the "1.0" period, or at least the technology exist.
There is no point in referring to any aspect of the World Wide Web as Web 2.0.
"Now, if the SlingBox is doing a record/playback process, then it should be a non-issue. But if it is simply doing a "pass through" then there may be some legal issue here. And if it is re-encoding or transcoding the content, then an argument could be made that the resulting content is actually a copy, not the original (which could open up a different can of worms.)"
Actually it is the other way around. A simple pass through is on better legal standing than Slingbox temporarily recording then playing back.
But Slingbox does not work like the other things you mentioned. Slingbox actually allows the remote user to control their cable box from a remote location. They can watch LIVE TV if they wish, or watch a program from their cable box's DVR. MLB has an issue with Slingbox facilitating streaming of baseball games.
" This was true up until this year. MLB signed a sort of exclusive deal with DirecTV that ended up forcing other providers to match DirecTV's price. Dish wanted to negotiate their own rates and did not want to pay what DirecTV was offering. MLB would not budge (at least according to Dish Network). Read more about it here [dishnetwork.com]."
Ah, I see, well dude needs to switch to DirecTV to watch the Brew Crew then.
"Of course, I'll bet that the moment Sling Media is ready to hand over a substantial wad of cash to MLB for providing this functionality to their fans, that MLB will have no problems with it at all."
Hopefully this never happens, because all sports leagues will come out of the woodwork and sue SlingMedia because they all sports packages too and if you have a friend that will set up a slingbox for you in the city of your favorite team, you can avoid purchasing NHL Center Ice, NBA League Pass, **NFL SUNDAY TICKET** (assuming you get those just to watch your favorite team who plays in a city you had to move away from).
Imagine the how hard the NFL will come down if they learns that hoards of Bay Area Oakland Raider fans are huddling at someone computer (connected to a TV, of course) to watch an Oakland Raiders blacked out home game because the guy in question has a friend somewhere else outside the blackout area with NFL Sunday Ticket AND a Slingbox.
Slingbox would be doomed if they settle with MLB. This needs to go to court to see what the Supreme Court will say about extending Sony Betamax fair use from time-shifting to place-shifting.
"I live in MN, but I'm a Brewers fan. This is quite unfortunate since it makes it IMPOSSIBLE for me to watch Brewers games. My satellite provider will only let me watch Twins games (something i would have to pay extra for), but MLB has my MN zip code in the "blackout area" for the Brewers and Twins, so I can't watch games online through mlb.tv either.
Last year I paid ~$200 for something called MLB Season Ticket just to watch brewers games on satellite. This year it's not available."
Actually it is called MLB Extra Innings. Who is your satellite provider? The major ones provide MLB Extra Innings. Blackout rules are a joke with MLB because they do reach out much farther than should be, but I don't see how you are not offered MLB Extra Innings anymore.
"Slingbox simply automates a process that has been done the old fashioned way since the advent of the home VCR. It's better. It's nicer. It's far more consumer friendly, but it's essentially the same thing!"
Except that with Slingbox, I can actually watch events live. I am a Giants fan in the Bay Area, and let's say I have Slingbox. If I am in Nebraska I can use my Slingbox and watch the game LIVE. MLB wants me to find a bar with MLB Extra Innings to watch the game.
I am not saying it is right or wrong, but you suggest it is like taping a game and taking it a on trip. That isn't true when you watch LIVE TV.
"A little off topic: I've always found it stupid that the only way to get a law removed from the books is to break and fight it in court. There's no other way. Why is it the duty of individual citizens to police the government? (They should have the right, not the obligation.)"
Most states have procedures for initiatives and referendum from the people. So the people can get a law off the books. You see this a lot in California because they have lax requirements to get something on a ballot, but I bet Michigan has something too.
The only this is, an initiative to repeal this law would get backlash from small business owners in Michigan.
"Now - if you can prove to me that Peterson knew this and was trying to get around it, then I might consider it "stealing." However, that information was not supplied in the article. For all we know, he was connecting to something called freewifi and didn't even know which business/building was providing it or why. Lots of areas have wifi provided free just for being in a specific area (usually provided by municipalities) how was he to know that this wasn't the case here?"
I agree, to me wi-fi is free if I can connect to it without encryption and there is NO message in my browser asking me to pay up (And it won't let me navigate to another site), like you see at many airports and the like.
It's not this guy's fault that the coffee shop owner didn't set it up that way. If they had set it up that way, this situation never would have happened.
You might wonder how a guy is charged with this felony when he, the cop, and store owner didn't even know it was a crime.
I suspect small business owners in Michigan put pressure on the DA to prosecute. Many are probably tired of people using the wi-fi without entering the store and buying something, whether it is right or not.
The problem is that idiots can't follow rules. You won't believe how many people I've met don't understand that if you land on a property and do not wish to buy it, it goes up immediately for auction to the highest bidder, including the person who landed on it.
It's CLEARLY in the rules, but somehoe that rule isn't followed, which slows down games because all the properties are not bought as fast as they should be.
"I think it's stupid to follow rules just for the sake of following rules, as you seem to espouse. I break rules that I think are stupid, baseless, or irrelevant. I will not and should not apologize for that. I am open-minded and inquisitive enough that I will do some sort of due diligence beforehand to make sure the rule in question is in fact stupid, baseless, or irrelevant. And if you don't like it, tough - I really don't care about anything you think about anything."
No problem, just keep in mind THAT YOU HAVE LOST THE RIGHT TO COMPLAIN ABOUT ANYBODY ELSE IN THE WORLD NOT FOLLOWING RULES.
One who does not follow rules cannot complain about others non-compliance. Just remember that: I will, and if you do, I'll shove this right back in your face.
"turned-on cell phone, which is always on when I fly"
I hope you NEVER complain about anyone breaking rules since you openly admit and are proud that you break a rule that you are repeatedly told to follow.
It SICKENS me to see how people can't follow rules: like when the plane is at the gate and the pilot says not to unbuckle your seat until the fasten seat belt light goes off, and invariably on almost every flight I've ever been on, there are plenty of idiots who do so when the plane stops but the light is still on.
If our society can't follow simple rules, we shouldn't have all the privileges that we currently enjoy in our society. Nobody should be allowed to drive, because all of you idiots who leave your phone on and don't wait until the fasten seat belt sign is turned can't be trusted to follow rules that actually affect the safety of others.
I'm being serious here. If you wonder why there are crackdowns for millions of things, blame yourself. Tool.
After being thrown big gobs of money and classy but wild hookers, both Houses of Congress passed a law which Dubya quickly signed into law banning the use, sale, or importation of cars running on compressed air in the United States.
Reportedly Dick Cheney is throwing a huge bash tonight to celebrate the law...
Slashdot Mirror
You forgot the part about how paypal has it such that your paypal balance can be a money market account which earns interest. When you consider that plus everything else, it's definitely acting like a bank.
FIOS - it's always 6 months away.
Yeah? If that's true, you sure are lucky. FIOS has been "6 months away" for a few years now where I live.
Seriously. Here in tech-savvy wealthy Silicon Valley, FIOS won't come here in my LIFETIME, and I'm under 30 years of age. There is a small outfit called Paxio that does FTTP (and even offer gigabit up and down), but they only seem to be in new Pulte Home Developments, that's it.
"That's an interesting paradox. The court prosecutes on behalf of her older self, whose life has been ruined because her younger self posted nude pictures of herself, causing the court to prosecute her on behalf of her older self and ruin her life by putting her on the sex offenders' registry.
Let's leave aside that, by that rationale, the victim of the crime does not exist, and therefore that was no complaining witness and therefore no crime could have possibly been committed. Honestly, would that really stand up under appeal? Are you sure that's what the rationale was?"
Not much of a paradox really. States do not prosecute on behalf of victims, they prosecute for the state or "the people." She broke a law and the state wanted to punish her. She helped contribute to "child porn" and the state frowns on this, so they prosecuted. Doesn't matter if the pics are of her, bottom line they are pics of an underage female and she distributed them.
Now to your other point, there does not need to be victim of a crime (prostitution for example), and it's not true that no crime could have possibly been committed. If she violates the letter of the law (as codified in statutes), a crime has been committed.
I agree with you that probably the whole "older self" thing is probably not the rationale.
"you have to return cafedvd rentals within 8 days though - not quite the joy of never having to think about 'is it due?' from netflix." To me it is assumed that if someone wants a carte DVD renting by mail, they can't keep it as long as they want. After all, it doesn't make business sense to let a customer rent a movie for a couple bucks, keep it 6 months, and then return it with no additional fees. The OP wanted an a la carte service, and it seems like cafedvd is an option. Probably not the only option out there either.
cafedvd.com offers the service you want, you rent by mail per DVD you actually watch, no subscription. Check it out. They call it "a la carte" renting.
Joss Whedon directed last night's episode of "The Office."
Ok, I can't wait to see how many angry noob customers complain because the computer didn't "just work."
The real story is that five years after Wal-mart started selling linux PC's online...they are still selling them online, not in-store. That's the real story, and it still shows that linux isn't ready for general idiot consumer use, because well, wal-mart employees still don't know what linux is and hilarity would insue at most wal-marts when their employees try to explain that the computer doesn't have windows, but that the employee doesn't know if x game that specifically says it's for windows only will run on the $200 pc.
"What is it about GNOME that makes it so compelling to distro manufacturers?"
It's because linux geeks perceive KDE as pandering to the windows crowd and people like GNOME for the simple fact that it isn't trying to be a windows clone. I personally don't like GNOME and prefer KDE, not because it is more "Windows" like, but I like the look, feel, and layout better. Some distros are KDE-friendly. After all, you can get kubuntu (although I think regular ubunutu install cd should give you a choice during install of KDE or GNOME, but I can understand the desire to conserve CD/DVD space.
"Walk into any high school and ask the history teachers why the War of 1812 was fought. I bet 99% of them will give some non-reasoning answer like "because the British attacked us," rather than the real answer: Britain was trying to keep American hemp out of France, in order to cripple the French navy."
Interesting you say this, when everyone knows the War of 1812 is all about the (failed) American Invasion of Canada (at that time, a full territory of the UK).
"I just always used the term "Gameboy DS" in common dialogue with people."
I'm surprised nobody EVER corrected you. You must have friends that want you to look dumb in front of others.
"(because I doubt the SG controller from Guitar Hero will work on this)"
They've already said that GH guitars will work for guitar hero.
Seriously, Web 2.0 has to be the most annoying new catch phrase re: internet. I've read various definitions and I still don't get what Web 2.0 is, especially considering many of the things people cite as examples of Web 2.0 were capable during the "1.0" period, or at least the technology exist.
There is no point in referring to any aspect of the World Wide Web as Web 2.0.
"Now, if the SlingBox is doing a record/playback process, then it should be a non-issue. But if it is simply doing a "pass through" then there may be some legal issue here. And if it is re-encoding or transcoding the content, then an argument could be made that the resulting content is actually a copy, not the original (which could open up a different can of worms.)"
Actually it is the other way around. A simple pass through is on better legal standing than Slingbox temporarily recording then playing back.
But Slingbox does not work like the other things you mentioned. Slingbox actually allows the remote user to control their cable box from a remote location. They can watch LIVE TV if they wish, or watch a program from their cable box's DVR. MLB has an issue with Slingbox facilitating streaming of baseball games.
"
This was true up until this year. MLB signed a sort of exclusive deal with DirecTV that ended up forcing other providers to match DirecTV's price. Dish wanted to negotiate their own rates and did not want to pay what DirecTV was offering. MLB would not budge (at least according to Dish Network). Read more about it here [dishnetwork.com]."
Ah, I see, well dude needs to switch to DirecTV to watch the Brew Crew then.
"Of course, I'll bet that the moment Sling Media is ready to hand over a substantial wad of cash to MLB for providing this functionality to their fans, that MLB will have no problems with it at all."
Hopefully this never happens, because all sports leagues will come out of the woodwork and sue SlingMedia because they all sports packages too and if you have a friend that will set up a slingbox for you in the city of your favorite team, you can avoid purchasing NHL Center Ice, NBA League Pass, **NFL SUNDAY TICKET** (assuming you get those just to watch your favorite team who plays in a city you had to move away from).
Imagine the how hard the NFL will come down if they learns that hoards of Bay Area Oakland Raider fans are huddling at someone computer (connected to a TV, of course) to watch an Oakland Raiders blacked out home game because the guy in question has a friend somewhere else outside the blackout area with NFL Sunday Ticket AND a Slingbox.
Slingbox would be doomed if they settle with MLB. This needs to go to court to see what the Supreme Court will say about extending Sony Betamax fair use from time-shifting to place-shifting.
"I live in MN, but I'm a Brewers fan. This is quite unfortunate since it makes it IMPOSSIBLE for me to watch Brewers games. My satellite provider will only let me watch Twins games (something i would have to pay extra for), but MLB has my MN zip code in the "blackout area" for the Brewers and Twins, so I can't watch games online through mlb.tv either.
Last year I paid ~$200 for something called MLB Season Ticket just to watch brewers games on satellite. This year it's not available."
Actually it is called MLB Extra Innings. Who is your satellite provider? The major ones provide MLB Extra Innings. Blackout rules are a joke with MLB because they do reach out much farther than should be, but I don't see how you are not offered MLB Extra Innings anymore.
"Slingbox simply automates a process that has been done the old fashioned way since the advent of the home VCR. It's better. It's nicer. It's far more consumer friendly, but it's essentially the same thing!"
Except that with Slingbox, I can actually watch events live. I am a Giants fan in the Bay Area, and let's say I have Slingbox. If I am in Nebraska I can use my Slingbox and watch the game LIVE. MLB wants me to find a bar with MLB Extra Innings to watch the game.
I am not saying it is right or wrong, but you suggest it is like taping a game and taking it a on trip. That isn't true when you watch LIVE TV.
"A little off topic: I've always found it stupid that the only way to get a law removed from the books is to break and fight it in court. There's no other way. Why is it the duty of individual citizens to police the government? (They should have the right, not the obligation.)"
Most states have procedures for initiatives and referendum from the people. So the people can get a law off the books. You see this a lot in California because they have lax requirements to get something on a ballot, but I bet Michigan has something too.
The only this is, an initiative to repeal this law would get backlash from small business owners in Michigan.
"Now - if you can prove to me that Peterson knew this and was trying to get around it, then I might consider it "stealing." However, that information was not supplied in the article. For all we know, he was connecting to something called freewifi and didn't even know which business/building was providing it or why. Lots of areas have wifi provided free just for being in a specific area (usually provided by municipalities) how was he to know that this wasn't the case here?"
I agree, to me wi-fi is free if I can connect to it without encryption and there is NO message in my browser asking me to pay up (And it won't let me navigate to another site), like you see at many airports and the like.
It's not this guy's fault that the coffee shop owner didn't set it up that way. If they had set it up that way, this situation never would have happened.
You might wonder how a guy is charged with this felony when he, the cop, and store owner didn't even know it was a crime.
I suspect small business owners in Michigan put pressure on the DA to prosecute. Many are probably tired of people using the wi-fi without entering the store and buying something, whether it is right or not.
The problem is that idiots can't follow rules. You won't believe how many people I've met don't understand that if you land on a property and do not wish to buy it, it goes up immediately for auction to the highest bidder, including the person who landed on it.
It's CLEARLY in the rules, but somehoe that rule isn't followed, which slows down games because all the properties are not bought as fast as they should be.
"I think it's stupid to follow rules just for the sake of following rules, as you seem to espouse. I break rules that I think are stupid, baseless, or irrelevant. I will not and should not apologize for that. I am open-minded and inquisitive enough that I will do some sort of due diligence beforehand to make sure the rule in question is in fact stupid, baseless, or irrelevant. And if you don't like it, tough - I really don't care about anything you think about anything."
No problem, just keep in mind THAT YOU HAVE LOST THE RIGHT TO COMPLAIN ABOUT ANYBODY ELSE IN THE WORLD NOT FOLLOWING RULES.
One who does not follow rules cannot complain about others non-compliance. Just remember that: I will, and if you do, I'll shove this right back in your face.
"turned-on cell phone, which is always on when I fly"
I hope you NEVER complain about anyone breaking rules since you openly admit and are proud that you break a rule that you are repeatedly told to follow.
It SICKENS me to see how people can't follow rules: like when the plane is at the gate and the pilot says not to unbuckle your seat until the fasten seat belt light goes off, and invariably on almost every flight I've ever been on, there are plenty of idiots who do so when the plane stops but the light is still on.
If our society can't follow simple rules, we shouldn't have all the privileges that we currently enjoy in our society. Nobody should be allowed to drive, because all of you idiots who leave your phone on and don't wait until the fasten seat belt sign is turned can't be trusted to follow rules that actually affect the safety of others.
I'm being serious here. If you wonder why there are crackdowns for millions of things, blame yourself. Tool.
After being thrown big gobs of money and classy but wild hookers, both Houses of Congress passed a law which Dubya quickly signed into law banning the use, sale, or importation of cars running on compressed air in the United States. Reportedly Dick Cheney is throwing a huge bash tonight to celebrate the law...