So reducing the cartels' revenue (price of illegal drugs includes compensation for the risks of their being illegal), removing a lot of the incentive for violence (when was the last time you heard about violent soybean gangs), and encouraging a lot more economic competition should be a good thing, right?
It would be a great thing. I don't want to see an unregulated narcotic market, but leaving a multi-billion dollar industry in the hands of organized criminals is probably the worst option available.
"Or how the drug cartels live in lawlessness just below the border in muderous droves."
I don't think the typical US citizen understands how powerful and pervasive the cartels are in Central and South America. They don't just murder people, their influence destabilizes democratic governments, destroys economies, and basically stands in the way of social progress that would benefit everyone the Americas.
That's my biggest criticism of narcotic regulation in the US. The democratic process has been completely removed from the management of drugs. This was introduced during the Nixon administration, I believe. Possession of a drug becomes a crime overnight with little to no legislative and judicial participation. A bureaucratic agency should not have unchecked power to decide what's a crime and what isn't.
PS George Zimmer, of Men's Warehouse fame, is one millionaire with the time and money to fight these laws.
McAfee wrote an article called Mapping the Mail Web and found China's ccTLD was abused more than most. Of course this looked at email scams and it was before the spike in registrations. I suspect the recent increase in.cn sites hasn't improved the situation.
When a judge in Boston recently quashed a subpoena for the names associated with IP addresses, Beckerman publicized that relatively obscure decision and advised lawyers to call it to other judges' attention.
None of this has been lost on the record industry, which has asked a judge to sanction Beckerman for his "vexatious" conduct in maintaining the blog.
I'm speechless... the RIAA has the audacity to accuse a defense lawyer of inappropriate harassment because he brought legal precedents to the attention of his peers? They should be reprimanded for making such an outrageous request. I despise the term "Web 2.0", but blogs and social networking site provide a way for out-funded groups to organize and spread information. You won't beat the RIAA through traditional media and lobbying if you can't outspend them.
PS I admit I had to look up vexatious (intended to harass).
Exactly, whatever copyright law says, it's morally ethical to purchase a printed or DRM'd version of a book and read it on an electronic device. In both cases, one person read the book in exchange for a purchase. Obeying the law and acting ethically are often very different things.
Check out the videos in the article â" especially the slightly creepy one in which the robot contemplates its purpose and its relationship to its environment.
Is that video trying to discourage investment in the technology? Don't give that thing arms! It's the Hell-spawn of Data and Bender.
Manager's Reply: "But you're not going to shoot me first, right? Oh thank God. Good luck with that blowing your brains out thing. We'll keep your resume on file in case something comes up."
How will grid computing be viable without depending on altruistic sharing of resources? Will the costs and benefits of grid computing outweigh the investment, coordination, and technical challenges? Don't worry about all of that... cloud, grid, framework, graphical interface, Eclipse. Oooooh, that sounds technical, here's your money.
Ok, so they manage to dominate the AV market and drive the competitors away. Now viruses and malware are Microsoft's problem, but I doubt consumers will pay more for Windows when "free anti-virus" is no longer a seen as a benefit. It seems short-sighted to me.
Except with typewriters and gun barrels there are physical nuances that leave unique markings on bullets/letters. This just identifies the model, and even that's degraded as the image goes through various software manipulations, as other posters pointed out. It may help reduce the population of digital camera owners in question, but it doesn't seem like the kind of evidence forensics teams are "licking their chops" over.
I'm playing the Wiiware version now. It's a lot of fun if you like puzzle games. It reminds me of Armadillo Run or The Incredible Machine (if you're old enough to remember that game). I'd prefer a mouse over the Wiimote, so I'm considering getting the PC/Mac version which allows you to download the Linux beta now.
Sorry, modded your post redundant instead of insightful by accident. I agree, if game publishers want to distribute their product like a premium cable channel, I'm OK with that. You get a few good originals, some duds, and a selection of older stuff with your subscription. Just don't ask me to buy the game and pay monthly.
Yeah, the headline suggests a 2:1 failure rate. The actual numbers are in line with my experience with the Blackberry Curve and iPod Touch. I can't speak to the iPhone's call quality, but I have less problems with the software and battery on the iPod. I have to occasionally reset my Blackberry and needed to replace the original battery. The headline should have been "iPhone Malfunctions Less Often than Blackberry."
I wish I had some mod points, that's an excellent suggestion. Sound cost-benefit analysis based on reliable, published figures is the best argument. If you don't provide it, a consultant or outsourcing vendor will.
Every business unit, from operations to sales, is evaluated based on their productivity. Management has a hard time measuring IT because it involves more than dividing widgets by workers. Providing them with standard hours of service and the alternative cost is one way to help demystify it for them.
One of my pet peeves is to see code copied and pasted from other projects or web sites. The naming conventions and formatting are usually inconsistent with the rest of the code and exception handling, logging, instrumentation, etc. are lacking or out of context.
My advice is to use mature libraries whenever possible. I'd rather see my development team contribute to an open source project if we need additional features instead of writing an alternative in-house. The open source code will continue to be improved, tested, and documented, while the in-house solution requires constant investment. Plus, I can find developers familiar with popular open source projects when filling open positions.
For your business-specific code, use "cookbooks" and design patterns instead of reusing code. If you really can't find an open source solution to a general problem, consider starting a new open source project. You'll enjoy all of the benefits I mentioned above if enough people have the same problem.
So what gets you banned? The TOS gives EA a lot of room for interpretation:
...
8. Termination of EA Services and Accounts
EA may terminate any EA Service at any time by giving you notice of such termination within the time period specified when you joined the particular EA Service, or if no time period for notice of termination was specified, then within thirty (30) days of the date such notice is posted on the applicable EA Service.
EA may also terminate your Account(s) (and access to all related entitlements) for violation of this Terms of Service, illegal or improper use of your Account, or illegal or improper use of EA Services, products, or EA's Intellectual Property. You may lose your user names and personas as a result of Account termination. If you have more than one Account, EA may terminate all of your Accounts and all related entitlements. EA may issue you a warning, or EA may immediately terminate any and all Accounts that you have established. You acknowledge that EA is not required to provide you notice before terminating your Account(s). If EA terminates your Account, you may not participate in an EA Service again without EA's express permission. To participate in an EA Service, contact support.ea.com EA reserves the right to refuse to keep Accounts for, and provide EA Services to, any individual. You may not allow individuals whose Accounts have been terminated by EA to use your Account.
If your Account, or a particular subscription for an EA Service associated with your Account, is terminated, no refund will be granted; no online time or other credits (e.g., points in an online game) will be credited to you or converted to cash or other form of reimbursement, and you will have no further access to your Account or entitlements associated with your Account or the particular EA Service (such as points, tokens or other digital items).
Check out the full TOS for the "code of conduct." I wouldn't share that No CD utility with the EA forums:)
I hope they have a very strict set of guidelines to ban an account on the forum. It may be sort-of, kinda defensible if they only banned people that did really heinous things; pedophiles trolling for kids, making violent threats, using posts to spread scams or security threats, etc.
If they ban accounts for obnoxious behavior and inane posts they're out of line. The choice to ban forum accounts better be vetted the same way in-game behavior is judged. A forum admin shouldn't have the power to disable features or the ability to play a game. I'd be pissed if my kid posted an immature message to a forum and had hundreds of dollars in software rendered useless.
Sure, you could tell the kid he screwed up and deserves to lose his right to play online. But this quote from the post makes me think your whole family is screwed:
Those banned will stay banned, but like most other internet services, its not that hard to create a new fake e-mail account. However, its a lot harder to get a new serial key =)
I'd suggest anyone that plays EA games stays the hell off those forums, or at least register an account using an old copy of Madden 2004.
Wait until they find out that there's an ultra-portable, wireless tool that allows terrorists to interact by voice and instantly exchange notes, photos, and videos. They can even customize the devices with anti-US skins and Bin Laden ring tones.
I'd hope robots are treated as equipment rather than animals. From the Wikipedia article on police dogs:
Depending on jurisdiction, the perpetrator may be charged the same as if a human officer were injured or killed.[citation needed] A growing number of forces outfit dogs with bulletproof vests (and some even go so far as to give the dogs their own police badges and IDs). Furthermore, a police dog killed in the line of duty is traditionally given a full police funeral/burial just as they would for a human officer.
I can image a solemn group of cops on a rainy afternoon, "Poor ED-209, we hardly knew thee."
For all of you alarmists that claimed IP regulation would be misused by the government and reach beyond trade and artistic works were totally off base. It hasn't led to rampant surveillance, corporate intimidation of citizens and small businesses, or the police indiscriminately stopping motorists and tearing the clothes off their backs.
Oh crap, it has? Is it too late to change our minds?
The GP is correct, a self employed individual (contractor, home based business, etc) does have to show a good faith attempt at making a profit. Writing off loses in three consecutive years is one of the good faith tests, though that alone doesn't prove you're not making an attempt. Corporations have entirely different tax rules.
A FOSS project that's considered a hobby and one that's considered a charity differ by the tax status of the organization running it. Out of pocket costs for a legally recognized non-profit are potentially tax deductible. Otherwise it's probably just a hobby in the eyes of the IRS.
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It would be a great thing. I don't want to see an unregulated narcotic market, but leaving a multi-billion dollar industry in the hands of organized criminals is probably the worst option available.
"Or how the drug cartels live in lawlessness just below the border in muderous droves."
I don't think the typical US citizen understands how powerful and pervasive the cartels are in Central and South America. They don't just murder people, their influence destabilizes democratic governments, destroys economies, and basically stands in the way of social progress that would benefit everyone the Americas.
That's my biggest criticism of narcotic regulation in the US. The democratic process has been completely removed from the management of drugs. This was introduced during the Nixon administration, I believe. Possession of a drug becomes a crime overnight with little to no legislative and judicial participation. A bureaucratic agency should not have unchecked power to decide what's a crime and what isn't.
PS George Zimmer, of Men's Warehouse fame, is one millionaire with the time and money to fight these laws.
McAfee wrote an article called Mapping the Mail Web and found China's ccTLD was abused more than most. Of course this looked at email scams and it was before the spike in registrations. I suspect the recent increase in .cn sites hasn't improved the situation.
I'm speechless... the RIAA has the audacity to accuse a defense lawyer of inappropriate harassment because he brought legal precedents to the attention of his peers? They should be reprimanded for making such an outrageous request. I despise the term "Web 2.0", but blogs and social networking site provide a way for out-funded groups to organize and spread information. You won't beat the RIAA through traditional media and lobbying if you can't outspend them.
PS I admit I had to look up vexatious (intended to harass).
Exactly, whatever copyright law says, it's morally ethical to purchase a printed or DRM'd version of a book and read it on an electronic device. In both cases, one person read the book in exchange for a purchase. Obeying the law and acting ethically are often very different things.
Is that video trying to discourage investment in the technology? Don't give that thing arms! It's the Hell-spawn of Data and Bender.
Manager's Reply: "But you're not going to shoot me first, right? Oh thank God. Good luck with that blowing your brains out thing. We'll keep your resume on file in case something comes up."
How will grid computing be viable without depending on altruistic sharing of resources? Will the costs and benefits of grid computing outweigh the investment, coordination, and technical challenges? Don't worry about all of that... cloud, grid, framework, graphical interface, Eclipse. Oooooh, that sounds technical, here's your money.
You're thinking of Futurama's opening sequence... or maybe Brazil. Either way, tubes are funny.
Ok, so they manage to dominate the AV market and drive the competitors away. Now viruses and malware are Microsoft's problem, but I doubt consumers will pay more for Windows when "free anti-virus" is no longer a seen as a benefit. It seems short-sighted to me.
Except with typewriters and gun barrels there are physical nuances that leave unique markings on bullets/letters. This just identifies the model, and even that's degraded as the image goes through various software manipulations, as other posters pointed out. It may help reduce the population of digital camera owners in question, but it doesn't seem like the kind of evidence forensics teams are "licking their chops" over.
I'm playing the Wiiware version now. It's a lot of fun if you like puzzle games. It reminds me of Armadillo Run or The Incredible Machine (if you're old enough to remember that game). I'd prefer a mouse over the Wiimote, so I'm considering getting the PC/Mac version which allows you to download the Linux beta now.
Who googles their flu symptoms every time they get the flu?
According to Google, a statistically significant number of people.
Sorry, modded your post redundant instead of insightful by accident. I agree, if game publishers want to distribute their product like a premium cable channel, I'm OK with that. You get a few good originals, some duds, and a selection of older stuff with your subscription. Just don't ask me to buy the game and pay monthly.
Yeah, the headline suggests a 2:1 failure rate. The actual numbers are in line with my experience with the Blackberry Curve and iPod Touch. I can't speak to the iPhone's call quality, but I have less problems with the software and battery on the iPod. I have to occasionally reset my Blackberry and needed to replace the original battery. The headline should have been "iPhone Malfunctions Less Often than Blackberry."
I wish I had some mod points, that's an excellent suggestion. Sound cost-benefit analysis based on reliable, published figures is the best argument. If you don't provide it, a consultant or outsourcing vendor will.
Every business unit, from operations to sales, is evaluated based on their productivity. Management has a hard time measuring IT because it involves more than dividing widgets by workers. Providing them with standard hours of service and the alternative cost is one way to help demystify it for them.
One of my pet peeves is to see code copied and pasted from other projects or web sites. The naming conventions and formatting are usually inconsistent with the rest of the code and exception handling, logging, instrumentation, etc. are lacking or out of context.
My advice is to use mature libraries whenever possible. I'd rather see my development team contribute to an open source project if we need additional features instead of writing an alternative in-house. The open source code will continue to be improved, tested, and documented, while the in-house solution requires constant investment. Plus, I can find developers familiar with popular open source projects when filling open positions.
For your business-specific code, use "cookbooks" and design patterns instead of reusing code. If you really can't find an open source solution to a general problem, consider starting a new open source project. You'll enjoy all of the benefits I mentioned above if enough people have the same problem.
Check out the full TOS for the "code of conduct." I wouldn't share that No CD utility with the EA forums :)
If they ban accounts for obnoxious behavior and inane posts they're out of line. The choice to ban forum accounts better be vetted the same way in-game behavior is judged. A forum admin shouldn't have the power to disable features or the ability to play a game. I'd be pissed if my kid posted an immature message to a forum and had hundreds of dollars in software rendered useless.
Sure, you could tell the kid he screwed up and deserves to lose his right to play online. But this quote from the post makes me think your whole family is screwed:
I'd suggest anyone that plays EA games stays the hell off those forums, or at least register an account using an old copy of Madden 2004.
Wait until they find out that there's an ultra-portable, wireless tool that allows terrorists to interact by voice and instantly exchange notes, photos, and videos. They can even customize the devices with anti-US skins and Bin Laden ring tones.
I can image a solemn group of cops on a rainy afternoon, "Poor ED-209, we hardly knew thee."
You better hurry, Google has already cached the location of my hideout.
For all of you alarmists that claimed IP regulation would be misused by the government and reach beyond trade and artistic works were totally off base. It hasn't led to rampant surveillance, corporate intimidation of citizens and small businesses, or the police indiscriminately stopping motorists and tearing the clothes off their backs. Oh crap, it has? Is it too late to change our minds?
The GP is correct, a self employed individual (contractor, home based business, etc) does have to show a good faith attempt at making a profit. Writing off loses in three consecutive years is one of the good faith tests, though that alone doesn't prove you're not making an attempt. Corporations have entirely different tax rules.
A FOSS project that's considered a hobby and one that's considered a charity differ by the tax status of the organization running it. Out of pocket costs for a legally recognized non-profit are potentially tax deductible. Otherwise it's probably just a hobby in the eyes of the IRS.