Not the first time I've read this, and I'm sure most people here are already familiar with it along with Asimov's other works.
The obvious question would then be, that if all existence is cyclical, how many times has it been reset? And, what kicked it off to begin with? The biblical tie in is a convenient reconciliation of science and (mostly Christian creation myth) religion, but it's a cheat. It doesn't actually answer any questions at all. It is something interesting to think about though.
But that wont stop them from trying to establish a new precedent, especially since it would create an INCREDIBLY large new revenue stream for them where there was once none. It's quite the incentive for them but offers no benefit for the user. Which is why this needs to be fought hard, NOW, so that sanity and common sense will be maintained. It's a shame that we even have to fight for common sense on the internet but technology has a way of making normal intelligent people completely dumbfounded and unable to exercise rational judgment.
Sorry that you got modded offtopic; should have put that part after the relevant comment about HD-DVD.
I in fact know a great deal about what libertarianism is, and what it is not. I have been around the apologists and the critics and found reason and logic to be only in the minds of the latter. Libertarianism is NOT the only (or best, or even a feasible) solution to the problems of overspending, wasteful spending, and warmongering. Many people inside the Democratic party feel very strongly about these issues too, as well as several things you lumped into the concept of "mommy government". For instance, I advocate drastically reducing the size of the active military by at least 50% (based on dollars not personnel) this would free up a huge amount of money for social (no, I'm not afraid of that word, or socialism. It's not a pejorative no matter how hard the right tries to make it sound like one) welfare programs AND make it impossible for us to even start wars of aggression in the first place. Don't think for a second that the LP has a monopoly on peace.
But that's besides the point. Libertarianism is a self-serving, self-interested, selfish ideology for individuals with the political minds of teenagers who have absolutely no concept of responsibility or empathy. In short, they want to smash and grab as much as they can and then take it all home. But you can't do that in modern society without rewriting all the rules and obliterating the social contract that CREATED the country. In the same breath libertarianism legitimizes the very thing it attempts to denounce. It is closer to Fascism, or Corporatism, than it is to any ideology that uses the term "liberty" to define itself.
I would point you to this website for further reading on the subject, specifically the section titled "Exercises and contact".
You also might be interested in reading a piece that is linked to from that site titled, I'm Still Not a Libertarian.
Depends what your needs are. I wouldn't have use for a TV above 32 inches or so on the high end, it wouldn't be practical for the space I have. If you have a much larger room with a big space in between then you'll want a 42 inch or even larger because you're simply sitting farther away. So with a small space to get a better picture you want a higher resolution, with a big room you want a big picture (and high res too but that's probably secondary in terms of viewing experience).
I'm happy I decided to wait before jumping into HD, because I was tempted to buy an HD-DVD player for my 360. Good thing I waited.
Check out some of the torrent sites (if you don't already) and search for new movies. You can get copies of movies that are still playing in theaters, and not always low quality copies filmed on shaky digital video cameras. I'm talking about high quality DVD screeners and copies ripped off from inside the industry. And once it gets on the net, that's it, game over. DRM only has to be broken once, and the distribution channels we have right now are simple enough to be learned by pretty much anyone (torrents are not THAT hard to use once you setup your client properly).
Same with the other restrictions you mentioned. They can release all the different formats they want with tiered pricing, different quality, packaged deals; what ends up on the torrents will be the best quality, most complete copy. If they gave up on copyright tomorrow, if the whole industry said overnight that we're switching to an entirely technical based solution to combat unauthorized (that very word loses meaning once copyright is abandoned) copying, then the NEXT day there would effectively be no barriers to copying. They need copyright because it gives their actions legitimacy and because they know DRM will never work to deter all but lowest hanging fruit of "copyright infringers". And that's a very low standard. Using nothing but google and some free tools most people could circumvent something like iTunes DRM for example without much trouble.
DRM will replace copyright? Excellent; since there has been no DRM scheme TO DATE that still stands entirely undefeated against the legions of hobbyists and amateurs that take pleasure in circumventing those systems. Actually the entire venture is fundamentally impossible, it's not even a technical problem, it's just logic. You have two people, A and B, you're trying to keep content C from getting to B while allowing A to still use it. Only with DRM, A and B are the SAME PERSON.
It seems simple to me, and I'm not a lawyer or anything. TPB is all about using P2P technology to let people trade things for free. One of the fundamentals is that there is no money changing hands for this to happen. TPB doesn't magically create a few cents out of NOTHING every time someone hops on a torrent. They probably make a little bit from advertising and t-shirts to cover their costs and put a little in their pockets but they deserve that for the service they are providing FOR FREE. A service that is completely within the letter, if not the spirit, of the law as it currently stand in their home country of Sweden. I would say Web Sheriff (Great name for a US based operation, idiots. As if we weren't hated for acting like the world's police already.) and the "artists" they are representing do not have a legal leg to stand on. I can't see much coming from this empty threat--this is not the first to be levied against TPB and they're still alive and well, and growing.
That's just bad coding. Never attribute to malice what can be explained by stupidity.
Re:Now there are 3 Liberals to decide between..
on
Has Ron Paul Quit?
·
· Score: 1
When I took that test I was...
Economic: -5.62 Social: -5.33
So I'm more "liberal" than all the candidates that have a chance. I'm even more liberal than Gravel, but at least he's in my quadrant:P Of the mainstream ones the closest to me would have been Edwards, who I was a supporter of. Now that he's gone I'm voting for Obama.
His anti-war message added a lot to the Republican debates, and served to show by contrast just how terrible most of the other Republicans are when it comes to their warmongering. One thing I will compliment him on is his foreign policy positions, but I can't say I agree with him on much more that.
Maybe the astroturfing and spam can finally end now. Ron Paul definitely gets the award for most annoying campaign ever. I've never received spam in my inbox from any of the other candidates. And if I have to ignore one more invitation to a Ron Paul supporters group on facebook I'll scream.
One question though: what happens to all the money he raised? I'm sure he hasn't burned through all of it, and he raised a lot from what I've read. Now that he's running a "leaner" campaign he will be using it even slower.
Of course there are trolls. You're going to deal with people like that everywhere you go, on and offline (They're just more prevalent and egregious when they have anonymity). I've read genuinely interesting and informative posts too, and they usually out number the people that are just making noise.
But anyway, this is scaring me. Why is slashdot trying to copy and compete with the likes of Digg? I come here because this place is DIFFERENT, the discourse is often intelligent and insightful. If I wanted mindless links to ads, Ron Paul you tube videos, and funny pictures I wouldn't be on a site that purports to cover "News for Nerds".
IIRC, our B-2 stealth bombers were purchased for approximately 1 billion each. That was the figure I remember being quoted most often. The shining bastion of accuracy and credibility Wikipedia cites the unit price as being between "$727 million to $2.2 billion"
I go out of my way to say 'web journal', 'web blog', or even, 'web site' and I encourage people to do the same. I think that I'm doing my small part to end this stupid fad buzzword. But society seems to have an unlimited amount of new ones to annoy me with...
You'd think the poor would revolt, so to speak, and demand more equality. History has shown that this does not happen until poverty reaches "starving and dying en masse" levels.
On the one hand, I hate the idea of PACs, on the other hand it's for an interest I support and is currently underrepresented. On the third hand it's not really that important compared to things like (ending) The Global War on Terror TM and the economy. I guess PACs are just part of the current system, standing on principle and thinking that money shouldn't have a say in political decisions is far too wishful even for me. Playing within the system might be the best way to get it changed at this point.
Looking at the entities behind this PAC--"Electronic Arts, Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo"--I doubt they're going to be fighting for the rights of gamers so much as the rights of game producing corporations. So issues that are important to ME (less censorship, rating restrictions, not using games as a scapegoat for school shootings) might take backseat to interests that are important to the industry from a business stand point (DRM/copy protection, criminalizing mod-chips, less regulation, certain taxes). That's the whole point of a PAC though I suppose, and what's good for the industry is good for people who play games in that more games can be made. In theory at least. I'd be happier if EA made less games, or stopped entirely.
Of course iPods will produce inferior sound when you're using the standard earbuds, they suck. Does anyone not understand this? Get some real headphones, or decent speakers and then compare lossless FLAC to vinyl with a range of different music--and make sure it's a blind test, nostalgia is more powerful than you think in swaying your perception.
All of which is less interesting than how a 15yo acquired such a large collection of music. I don't know anyone with that many records or CDs. I have over 1000 albums but it's all digital so it hardly counts as a tangible collection.
(cue 10 responses by umpteen thousand vinyl collection owners)
Slashdot Mirror
Not the first time I've read this, and I'm sure most people here are already familiar with it along with Asimov's other works.
The obvious question would then be, that if all existence is cyclical, how many times has it been reset? And, what kicked it off to begin with? The biblical tie in is a convenient reconciliation of science and (mostly Christian creation myth) religion, but it's a cheat. It doesn't actually answer any questions at all. It is something interesting to think about though.
But that wont stop them from trying to establish a new precedent, especially since it would create an INCREDIBLY large new revenue stream for them where there was once none. It's quite the incentive for them but offers no benefit for the user. Which is why this needs to be fought hard, NOW, so that sanity and common sense will be maintained. It's a shame that we even have to fight for common sense on the internet but technology has a way of making normal intelligent people completely dumbfounded and unable to exercise rational judgment.
Sorry that you got modded offtopic; should have put that part after the relevant comment about HD-DVD.
I in fact know a great deal about what libertarianism is, and what it is not. I have been around the apologists and the critics and found reason and logic to be only in the minds of the latter. Libertarianism is NOT the only (or best, or even a feasible) solution to the problems of overspending, wasteful spending, and warmongering. Many people inside the Democratic party feel very strongly about these issues too, as well as several things you lumped into the concept of "mommy government". For instance, I advocate drastically reducing the size of the active military by at least 50% (based on dollars not personnel) this would free up a huge amount of money for social (no, I'm not afraid of that word, or socialism. It's not a pejorative no matter how hard the right tries to make it sound like one) welfare programs AND make it impossible for us to even start wars of aggression in the first place. Don't think for a second that the LP has a monopoly on peace.
But that's besides the point. Libertarianism is a self-serving, self-interested, selfish ideology for individuals with the political minds of teenagers who have absolutely no concept of responsibility or empathy. In short, they want to smash and grab as much as they can and then take it all home. But you can't do that in modern society without rewriting all the rules and obliterating the social contract that CREATED the country. In the same breath libertarianism legitimizes the very thing it attempts to denounce. It is closer to Fascism, or Corporatism, than it is to any ideology that uses the term "liberty" to define itself.
I would point you to this website for further reading on the subject, specifically the section titled "Exercises and contact".
You also might be interested in reading a piece that is linked to from that site titled, I'm Still Not a Libertarian.
Depends what your needs are. I wouldn't have use for a TV above 32 inches or so on the high end, it wouldn't be practical for the space I have. If you have a much larger room with a big space in between then you'll want a 42 inch or even larger because you're simply sitting farther away. So with a small space to get a better picture you want a higher resolution, with a big room you want a big picture (and high res too but that's probably secondary in terms of viewing experience).
I'm happy I decided to wait before jumping into HD, because I was tempted to buy an HD-DVD player for my 360. Good thing I waited.
Check out some of the torrent sites (if you don't already) and search for new movies. You can get copies of movies that are still playing in theaters, and not always low quality copies filmed on shaky digital video cameras. I'm talking about high quality DVD screeners and copies ripped off from inside the industry. And once it gets on the net, that's it, game over. DRM only has to be broken once, and the distribution channels we have right now are simple enough to be learned by pretty much anyone (torrents are not THAT hard to use once you setup your client properly).
Same with the other restrictions you mentioned. They can release all the different formats they want with tiered pricing, different quality, packaged deals; what ends up on the torrents will be the best quality, most complete copy. If they gave up on copyright tomorrow, if the whole industry said overnight that we're switching to an entirely technical based solution to combat unauthorized (that very word loses meaning once copyright is abandoned) copying, then the NEXT day there would effectively be no barriers to copying. They need copyright because it gives their actions legitimacy and because they know DRM will never work to deter all but lowest hanging fruit of "copyright infringers". And that's a very low standard. Using nothing but google and some free tools most people could circumvent something like iTunes DRM for example without much trouble.
DRM will replace copyright? Excellent; since there has been no DRM scheme TO DATE that still stands entirely undefeated against the legions of hobbyists and amateurs that take pleasure in circumventing those systems. Actually the entire venture is fundamentally impossible, it's not even a technical problem, it's just logic. You have two people, A and B, you're trying to keep content C from getting to B while allowing A to still use it. Only with DRM, A and B are the SAME PERSON.
It seems simple to me, and I'm not a lawyer or anything. TPB is all about using P2P technology to let people trade things for free. One of the fundamentals is that there is no money changing hands for this to happen. TPB doesn't magically create a few cents out of NOTHING every time someone hops on a torrent. They probably make a little bit from advertising and t-shirts to cover their costs and put a little in their pockets but they deserve that for the service they are providing FOR FREE. A service that is completely within the letter, if not the spirit, of the law as it currently stand in their home country of Sweden. I would say Web Sheriff (Great name for a US based operation, idiots. As if we weren't hated for acting like the world's police already.) and the "artists" they are representing do not have a legal leg to stand on. I can't see much coming from this empty threat--this is not the first to be levied against TPB and they're still alive and well, and growing.
That's just bad coding. Never attribute to malice what can be explained by stupidity.
When I took that test I was...
:P
Economic: -5.62
Social: -5.33
So I'm more "liberal" than all the candidates that have a chance. I'm even more liberal than Gravel, but at least he's in my quadrant
Of the mainstream ones the closest to me would have been Edwards, who I was a supporter of. Now that he's gone I'm voting for Obama.
His anti-war message added a lot to the Republican debates, and served to show by contrast just how terrible most of the other Republicans are when it comes to their warmongering. One thing I will compliment him on is his foreign policy positions, but I can't say I agree with him on much more that.
Maybe the astroturfing and spam can finally end now. Ron Paul definitely gets the award for most annoying campaign ever. I've never received spam in my inbox from any of the other candidates. And if I have to ignore one more invitation to a Ron Paul supporters group on facebook I'll scream.
One question though: what happens to all the money he raised? I'm sure he hasn't burned through all of it, and he raised a lot from what I've read. Now that he's running a "leaner" campaign he will be using it even slower.
Check my UID. I'm not THAT new.
Not all geeks are libertarians. In fact I'd say most are not. The ones that are just happen to be incredibly vocal.
Of course there are trolls. You're going to deal with people like that everywhere you go, on and offline (They're just more prevalent and egregious when they have anonymity). I've read genuinely interesting and informative posts too, and they usually out number the people that are just making noise.
Hey, I'm a nerd AND I like football. Go figure.
But anyway, this is scaring me. Why is slashdot trying to copy and compete with the likes of Digg? I come here because this place is DIFFERENT, the discourse is often intelligent and insightful. If I wanted mindless links to ads, Ron Paul you tube videos, and funny pictures I wouldn't be on a site that purports to cover "News for Nerds".
IIRC, our B-2 stealth bombers were purchased for approximately 1 billion each. That was the figure I remember being quoted most often. The shining bastion of accuracy and credibility Wikipedia cites the unit price as being between "$727 million to $2.2 billion"
When it comes to something that important I would say the simplest solution is the best one. So...use the other hand? Fleshlight?
First day here?
We're not all libertarians ;)
Otherwise, completely accurate for me.
That was a typographical error. I wouldn't support the use of the word I'm denouncing. It should have read: "web log"
I go out of my way to say 'web journal', 'web blog', or even, 'web site' and I encourage people to do the same. I think that I'm doing my small part to end this stupid fad buzzword. But society seems to have an unlimited amount of new ones to annoy me with...
On the one hand, I hate the idea of PACs, on the other hand it's for an interest I support and is currently underrepresented. On the third hand it's not really that important compared to things like (ending) The Global War on Terror TM and the economy. I guess PACs are just part of the current system, standing on principle and thinking that money shouldn't have a say in political decisions is far too wishful even for me. Playing within the system might be the best way to get it changed at this point.
Looking at the entities behind this PAC--"Electronic Arts, Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo"--I doubt they're going to be fighting for the rights of gamers so much as the rights of game producing corporations. So issues that are important to ME (less censorship, rating restrictions, not using games as a scapegoat for school shootings) might take backseat to interests that are important to the industry from a business stand point (DRM/copy protection, criminalizing mod-chips, less regulation, certain taxes). That's the whole point of a PAC though I suppose, and what's good for the industry is good for people who play games in that more games can be made. In theory at least. I'd be happier if EA made less games, or stopped entirely.
That sounds more like a recreational activity than a scientific experiment.
Helium was fun to play with like that but I loved when our chemistry teacher showed us what Sulfur Hexafluoride does to your voice.
Of course iPods will produce inferior sound when you're using the standard earbuds, they suck. Does anyone not understand this? Get some real headphones, or decent speakers and then compare lossless FLAC to vinyl with a range of different music--and make sure it's a blind test, nostalgia is more powerful than you think in swaying your perception.
All of which is less interesting than how a 15yo acquired such a large collection of music. I don't know anyone with that many records or CDs. I have over 1000 albums but it's all digital so it hardly counts as a tangible collection.
(cue 10 responses by umpteen thousand vinyl collection owners)