People hate to think that other people, especially kids, are capable of evil like this. They will always look for the cause and try to find something to blame. Video games have been blamed for a long time as they are an easy target. In order to succeed one must commit violent acts with weapons. Plain and simple.
What these experts don't ever mention is the endless hours spent playing "Cowboys and Indians" by generations past. Playing "War" isn't new, it's just that there is new technology to play war with.
When people spout off about this I always point out that Street Fighting Man by The Rolling Stones was banned by the BBC when it was released because it was seen as a call for violent revolution against the government. Fast forward a few decades and the same government has made Mick a Knight.
People want quick fixes and something to blame instead of looking into the mirror to see that people, even kids, are capable of horrible acts of violence. They don't want to think about how to raise their children right, they want to leave them with babysitters to attend the next Marilyn Manson record burning.
Selecting the gender of a child may seem innocent enough to some, even when talking about reasons of health, but you are starting down a path that causes many ethicists sleepless nights.
The next step is defining what is acceptable as a disorder. After that gets spread out what about other hardships? Financial and cultural concerns aren't as important as medical concerns? Lobbyists and special interests will start in on that.
If it wins, then you have further catering where selecting favorable characteristics that aren't gender based. If it doesn't then you have the fight over who gets to decide and on what authority.
Yahoo doesn't HAVE to compete with Google as they are already light years in front of Google in profit and revenue, visitors, hours spent on the site, etc...
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/13.03/yahoo.htm l?pg=2&topic=yahoo&topic_set=# Check the graphics with the article as they give the details on this.
I'm not surprised that techies would think Yahoo has to "compete" as they all love Google but it's akin to asking how Windows will be able to compete with Linux.
...I survived the Global Cooling predicted in the 70's, then I dodged the Y2K end of the world so that I can die in the Global Warming of the 00's.
Not that it matters anyway. I'll probably end up dying on the runway somewhere because of some kid with a thinkgeek.com green laser shined it in a pilot's eyes or from the horrible human/bird flu conflagration that may or may not happen sometime soon.
I couldn't help but notice that while you object to the term "podcasting" you referred to the practice of recording ones own audio shows as "that" (once) and "it" twice.
What is more recognizable: "podcasting" or "that/it"?
What grates on me is what people are arguing about what to call "that/it". Not to mention mods giving a rant from someone scared to show themselves enough of a bump to get around my filter.
When people start calling it "Anonymous Coward-casting" I'll know where it started.
When I came online my neighbor flipped out. He had just started working on an export contract with some Arab parties. He was convinced that The Man was checking up on him because the guys were on a watchlist. He was very relieved when I told him it was me.
It's that incident that keeps me from disabling broadcast - I love thinking that my less-than-savvy neighbors are a little uneasy because of that.
When asked, Gates said "Yes, copyright laws are totally out of control and the new intellectual property legislation is totally out of balance. I wish that we could go open source with all our future projects, but those damned stockholders just keep carping about the almighty dollar. By the way, I use Linux and it's the best."
Gates and his people do threat assesments of new technology. They decide what to ignore, what to buy, what to compete with, etc...
He's not a technical guy who is going to give unbiased opinion. We shouldn't be surprised that he's going McCarthy on Lessig-types here. It's in his own best interest!
I'm glad he said it because it just gives more reason for those out there to fight and innovate.
... in 2005 to SBC Yahoo DSL customers who also have SBC Dish Network in 2005, per SBC press release.
There is no way the people in charge of keeping DirecTV customers from getting TiVo functionality will let something like this come through to their customers until at least 2009. By then others will be watching holographic images projected by their off the shelf units while we finally can network and display jpegs on ours.
There are a lot of easy ways to sabotage cell phones using Bluetooth. The fact that it's a GAME on a CELL PHONE just makes it even jucier. Get people who have to have their games, and people who don't know what they are doing on their phones... I can see the headlines now.
Just wait until people are bugging all your conversations by using your own cell phone right there in your pocket. Companies will need to ban cell phones from conference rooms because people can't trust them.
You think Windows is riddled with problems? Just wait until you see what script kiddie Bluetooth "hackers" do to people who don't even know their phones HAVE Bluetooth, let alone what to do with it.
...I thought the most interesting points were those of communicating without sending messages across the internet. The monitoring of a bank account for a $20 ATM withdrawl and saving drafts in a webmail account that are never sent are examples.
The most troubling part of this to me is it comes from the angle that there is an expectation that all communications from "bad guys" can be monitored. If we operate under the expectation that all communications can intercepted we're just setting ourselves up for failure.
The simple act of sending a postcard, or a flag flown on a balcony at a specific time, or a stalled car at a specific point on the road with it's left turn signal on or...
Doesn't our own government use covert means of communication that they think can't be intercepted? If we have them, others do too. Focusing on high tech ways to monitor people who'll use low tech, or no tech, is another example of the arrogance of technology. We need to have many, many layers of security because none of them will work all the time. We can't check all the shipping containers, but we can control communications??
This is the first generation that has truly graphic videogames easily available to them. Regulation of this particular content is new, but the concept is not. Videogames are percieved by older generations as kids stuff so when they see something like GTA or Manhunt they flip out. I don't know that these people are aware most gamers are adults of voting age.
There is a large market for violent entertainment and so long as there are politicians there will attempts made to legislate it. Be it TV, comics, movies or pumpkin carvings. Just keep in mind the average age of those writing the legislation and how out of touch they are with anything moderm when you view their attempts to "think of the children".
Street Fighting Man was banned by the BBC and now the Stones frontman is SIR Mick. Ozzy was going to consume your children alive with catsup, now his family is sitcom fodder. There is always something for everyone to get in an uproar over and it's rarely as dangerous as it is portrayed. The fact that the evil Led Zeppelin is now used to try to sell me a Caddy shows just how accurate their perceptions are.
Except Puff The Magic Dragon. That pot-smoking commie threat was real!
Now, instead of donating my old phones to one of the many charities that reprogram them and give them to those in need of ways to make emergency calls I can instead bury it in dirt! Where do I sign up?!?
Morbid question:
Can you make a diamond from someone from Sierra Leone's ashes without it being considered a conflict diamone?
There sure is a lot of corpse talk in that article for things to do BEFORE you die. Do they know something we don't?
Instead of looking at the possibility of beefing up your catalog of Futurama episodes, think about the new uses for it.
Medical imaging produces very large files, and the need to transfer them over distances quickly to save lives is real.
The possibility for video is great as well. Imagine getting multiple feeds of the next WTO event from different sources on the ground. Or quality alternative broadcasting that isn't just some postage-stamp-sized, pixelated blobs. Torrents are nice, but there is something to be said for being jacked in live.
And for those who didn't RTFA, it's 3 DVDs a second.
Since I purchased my iPod I have recognized the elegance, style and simplicity of Apple products. Even the packaging is sexy!
I would not purchase one of the devices for myself, but I would recommend them to others who don't need to upgrade a lot or tinker. For those who aren't power users, they are a nice package.
Before the iPod I wouldn't have even considered recommending Apple machines to anyone though. So I'm sort of on board.
I'd prefer that someone appoints some decent litigators, legislators and judges to look at reforming the actual laws instead of inforcement of those which are already botched.
Anyone else breaking out their sleds? I see a great slippery slope to head down...
Do South Korea and Taiwan have the same economic structure that we do in the US? Are private companies there deploying this service for pure profit or are there governmental factors there?
I moved into a new area where I couldn't get ANY high speed for a few years. Once I could get it, I only had the choice of cable or ultra-expensive IDSL. In the few years since more choices were made available I've seen growth of leaps and bounds in the speeds I can get. Currently I have 1.5 MB DSL, while people less than a mile away can't get anything because they are served by a different company who sees no potential ROI in upgrading their CO.
Canada, well, that's Canada.:)
In our country we are highly invested in an antiquated infrastructure that keeps providing profit to companies regardless of upgrades. They target areas for upgrading that will give them the best return on investment.
Until we are liberated from the clutches of those who control the last mile, and we have a true wireless solution, we're going to have more of the same. It will just be different companies providing the same services to the same neighborhoods via different pipes. And given the documented struggles of Verizon in Florida, I'm not sure how thrilled I am about the prospect of anything new in my yard!
Hellblazer starring Keanu isn't bad enough? Now they have to poison the well further with Watchmen?
What's next??? V For Vendetta starring Vin Diesel?? The Rock IS The Sandman... *gag* *wretch* *puke*
For those of you who haven't heard of Watchmen before, or haven't read it - you should. This is one of the works that really showed just how well comics could tell adult stories and be more than spandex and capes.
I'm not quite sure why this is real big news, given the level of censorship we all read about here. I have no idea what it is really like but the Slashdotter's view of Australian authority can't be good!!
I wonder how good old whitehouse.com would do over there??
I can't even begin to tell you the body count I had to witness watching football on CBS and Fox yesterday. There were ads showing me weapons fired and aimed at people, dead bodies, people getting killed by inclement weather in that CBS gag-me-with-a-tornado ad, etc... Let's not even get started with the Dr. Porkenheimer's Boner Juice ads.
It's gotten to the point where I cannot allow my young son to watch sporting events in the middle of the day because of the advertising! I'm going to be forced to tivo them and make sure that I'm there to pause and skip over them.
It amazes me to think that so many people in office can be so incredibly out of touch. I'm off to email my reps now.
Maximum PC has their Gear Of The Year on newsstands now and a lot of the items listed on Tom's aren't rated too highly. Many of the things they are pimping here are either overpriced or underperformers.
That said, I REALLY would have enjoyed some shots from the Aibo's webcam during that shoot.
Often when a company is in a boom phase they often look at milking every possible penny out of operations and streamlining things. Eliminating bad debt, reducing time spent on non-profitable operations, etc...
As the companies that do this most often perform the analysis during a boom period they aren't looking out far enough to see the impact of their actions. Their "optimization" of current practices may create their next bust period where they'll do anything to get sales.
I know that I detest the place, but I still have use for it. I do my research somewhere else, then only go there if the deal is right. Occasionally they have the best deal on something, and if it's a big ticket item you can get a few reward certificates for it.
To those who applaud their current policy change I would just like to point out that it would be much easier for the company to get their internal policies in line to prevent returns of already purchased items. An example of this would be mandating the original UPC be sent in so that returns of the merchandise are impossible. They could do more to prevent this without alienating "customers" and risking the potentially huge PR hit.
Although their present business practices already show they aren't really that savvy though, eh?
Slashdot Mirror
Man, I love this place!
Did anyone see the test reel on Robot Chicken? I laughed, I cried, it became a part of me.
What these experts don't ever mention is the endless hours spent playing "Cowboys and Indians" by generations past. Playing "War" isn't new, it's just that there is new technology to play war with.
When people spout off about this I always point out that Street Fighting Man by The Rolling Stones was banned by the BBC when it was released because it was seen as a call for violent revolution against the government. Fast forward a few decades and the same government has made Mick a Knight.
People want quick fixes and something to blame instead of looking into the mirror to see that people, even kids, are capable of horrible acts of violence. They don't want to think about how to raise their children right, they want to leave them with babysitters to attend the next Marilyn Manson record burning.
The next step is defining what is acceptable as a disorder. After that gets spread out what about other hardships? Financial and cultural concerns aren't as important as medical concerns? Lobbyists and special interests will start in on that.
If it wins, then you have further catering where selecting favorable characteristics that aren't gender based. If it doesn't then you have the fight over who gets to decide and on what authority.
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/13.03/yahoo.htm l?pg=2&topic=yahoo&topic_set=# Check the graphics with the article as they give the details on this.
I'm not surprised that techies would think Yahoo has to "compete" as they all love Google but it's akin to asking how Windows will be able to compete with Linux.
Not that it matters anyway. I'll probably end up dying on the runway somewhere because of some kid with a thinkgeek.com green laser shined it in a pilot's eyes or from the horrible human/bird flu conflagration that may or may not happen sometime soon.
What is more recognizable: "podcasting" or "that/it"?
What grates on me is what people are arguing about what to call "that/it". Not to mention mods giving a rant from someone scared to show themselves enough of a bump to get around my filter.
When people start calling it "Anonymous Coward-casting" I'll know where it started.
When I came online my neighbor flipped out. He had just started working on an export contract with some Arab parties. He was convinced that The Man was checking up on him because the guys were on a watchlist. He was very relieved when I told him it was me.
It's that incident that keeps me from disabling broadcast - I love thinking that my less-than-savvy neighbors are a little uneasy because of that.
You'd understand if you knew my neighbors.
Gates and his people do threat assesments of new technology. They decide what to ignore, what to buy, what to compete with, etc...
He's not a technical guy who is going to give unbiased opinion. We shouldn't be surprised that he's going McCarthy on Lessig-types here. It's in his own best interest!
I'm glad he said it because it just gives more reason for those out there to fight and innovate.
There is no way the people in charge of keeping DirecTV customers from getting TiVo functionality will let something like this come through to their customers until at least 2009. By then others will be watching holographic images projected by their off the shelf units while we finally can network and display jpegs on ours.
Just wait until people are bugging all your conversations by using your own cell phone right there in your pocket. Companies will need to ban cell phones from conference rooms because people can't trust them.
You think Windows is riddled with problems? Just wait until you see what script kiddie Bluetooth "hackers" do to people who don't even know their phones HAVE Bluetooth, let alone what to do with it.
...only old people shut down Bit Torrent sites.
The most troubling part of this to me is it comes from the angle that there is an expectation that all communications from "bad guys" can be monitored. If we operate under the expectation that all communications can intercepted we're just setting ourselves up for failure.
The simple act of sending a postcard, or a flag flown on a balcony at a specific time, or a stalled car at a specific point on the road with it's left turn signal on or...
Doesn't our own government use covert means of communication that they think can't be intercepted? If we have them, others do too. Focusing on high tech ways to monitor people who'll use low tech, or no tech, is another example of the arrogance of technology. We need to have many, many layers of security because none of them will work all the time. We can't check all the shipping containers, but we can control communications??
There is a large market for violent entertainment and so long as there are politicians there will attempts made to legislate it. Be it TV, comics, movies or pumpkin carvings. Just keep in mind the average age of those writing the legislation and how out of touch they are with anything moderm when you view their attempts to "think of the children".
Street Fighting Man was banned by the BBC and now the Stones frontman is SIR Mick. Ozzy was going to consume your children alive with catsup, now his family is sitcom fodder. There is always something for everyone to get in an uproar over and it's rarely as dangerous as it is portrayed. The fact that the evil Led Zeppelin is now used to try to sell me a Caddy shows just how accurate their perceptions are.
Except Puff The Magic Dragon. That pot-smoking commie threat was real!
Now, instead of donating my old phones to one of the many charities that reprogram them and give them to those in need of ways to make emergency calls I can instead bury it in dirt! Where do I sign up?!?
Morbid question: Can you make a diamond from someone from Sierra Leone's ashes without it being considered a conflict diamone? There sure is a lot of corpse talk in that article for things to do BEFORE you die. Do they know something we don't?
I don't know jack about life down under, but I do know about the laws regarding censorship. Do they have any legislation about beating dead horses??
Medical imaging produces very large files, and the need to transfer them over distances quickly to save lives is real.
The possibility for video is great as well. Imagine getting multiple feeds of the next WTO event from different sources on the ground. Or quality alternative broadcasting that isn't just some postage-stamp-sized, pixelated blobs. Torrents are nice, but there is something to be said for being jacked in live.
And for those who didn't RTFA, it's 3 DVDs a second.
I would not purchase one of the devices for myself, but I would recommend them to others who don't need to upgrade a lot or tinker. For those who aren't power users, they are a nice package.
Before the iPod I wouldn't have even considered recommending Apple machines to anyone though. So I'm sort of on board.
Anyone else breaking out their sleds? I see a great slippery slope to head down...
I moved into a new area where I couldn't get ANY high speed for a few years. Once I could get it, I only had the choice of cable or ultra-expensive IDSL. In the few years since more choices were made available I've seen growth of leaps and bounds in the speeds I can get. Currently I have 1.5 MB DSL, while people less than a mile away can't get anything because they are served by a different company who sees no potential ROI in upgrading their CO.
Canada, well, that's Canada. :)
In our country we are highly invested in an antiquated infrastructure that keeps providing profit to companies regardless of upgrades. They target areas for upgrading that will give them the best return on investment.
Until we are liberated from the clutches of those who control the last mile, and we have a true wireless solution, we're going to have more of the same. It will just be different companies providing the same services to the same neighborhoods via different pipes. And given the documented struggles of Verizon in Florida, I'm not sure how thrilled I am about the prospect of anything new in my yard!
What's next??? V For Vendetta starring Vin Diesel?? The Rock IS The Sandman... *gag* *wretch* *puke*
For those of you who haven't heard of Watchmen before, or haven't read it - you should. This is one of the works that really showed just how well comics could tell adult stories and be more than spandex and capes.
I wonder how good old whitehouse.com would do over there??
It's gotten to the point where I cannot allow my young son to watch sporting events in the middle of the day because of the advertising! I'm going to be forced to tivo them and make sure that I'm there to pause and skip over them.
It amazes me to think that so many people in office can be so incredibly out of touch. I'm off to email my reps now.
Maximum PC has their Gear Of The Year on newsstands now and a lot of the items listed on Tom's aren't rated too highly. Many of the things they are pimping here are either overpriced or underperformers.
That said, I REALLY would have enjoyed some shots from the Aibo's webcam during that shoot.
As the companies that do this most often perform the analysis during a boom period they aren't looking out far enough to see the impact of their actions. Their "optimization" of current practices may create their next bust period where they'll do anything to get sales.
I know that I detest the place, but I still have use for it. I do my research somewhere else, then only go there if the deal is right. Occasionally they have the best deal on something, and if it's a big ticket item you can get a few reward certificates for it. To those who applaud their current policy change I would just like to point out that it would be much easier for the company to get their internal policies in line to prevent returns of already purchased items. An example of this would be mandating the original UPC be sent in so that returns of the merchandise are impossible. They could do more to prevent this without alienating "customers" and risking the potentially huge PR hit.
Although their present business practices already show they aren't really that savvy though, eh?