Well that was intelligent. Let me say that the kinds of things I would like to see in fact do not totally conform to the idea of "flashy". In fact if I were to make a wager I would say linux and the people who generally use it are in fact more used to flashy stuff than the rest of the OS community. Themes.org is a beautiful example of this fascination. Actually I haven't used a windows machine for quite a while (not since 3.11) and I have never even bought a mac ( I rreally don't like the interface of the Mac OS because it dosn't give me the power of the cli like linux does).
Without apps all linux and quite frankly any other unix system would be is just a server OS. Quite frankly the fact that people wanted to make it more isd really quite commendable. Without apps (new ones) you loose life. People who do computing in the 21st century will expect more and more from their computers and will accept no substitute when it comes to what they want. I would essentially choose any possible OS that gave me what I considered the best apps for my hardware3and right now that's linux.
about ethics. See you may think that gently admointions is best but Micro$oft dosn't really care. They want to make sure that everyone runs windows and that's all. The first thing you see is often the first thing that you end up using. I remember when I had problems with dos and it basically betrayed me because the beloved vendor (From hell's heart I stab at thee, with my last breath I curse at thee Microsoft) and I got to complaining. Eventually I got so fed up with nothing actually working I just decided to look into linux (that was a while ago). I really don't regret it. If I had been able to use X sooner it would have been better.
You see I have one of two choices with this. I could use linux and keep what I have (garbage system that can still function fancy that) or I can spend thousands for a new computer spend an even larger ammount of money for Microsoft Visual Studio so that I can do programming have to pay for constant forced upgrades (not that linux dosn't eventually force one to upgrade but that's the subject of a differnt rant). I see the problem being that eventually people will not want to develop apps for linux and we will have a real classy OS for real smart people that dosn't have any r3ael new and fancy apps. The thought of being forced to retire my hardard is not a very comforting thought.
Look who's talking Anonymous COWARD!
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You have such nerve to call me a coward when you don't have any identifing info (not even a fake slashdot id). I quote things liek this because I think that the biggest threat to people will not come from without (in the case of space aliens, corporations, or your local boogey man) it will come from a reverse form of utopia which will allow for a renewed caste system and the addition of a whole group of people the Proles (aka nonprogrammers) who will be completely powerless in the face of massive "Hippie Power"(tm) and wealth. You pass enviro laws that raise the prices of basic goods and services thousands of times because we are "hurting" the environment (whateer that means), you support all sorts of miserable wretches outside fof said country and allow your own private citizens to go in want. You then allow for open methods of travel which allow for massive ammounts of competition. No my firend what will most undoubtally happen is not Big Brother because theyt are far too smart for that but they will just slowly allow you to become a hollow husk of a human which they can safely ignore. Obvious tyranny is soooo mid 20th century for my taste. I may suspect (well because of the time zone differences and how late it is here but I think we have hit Europe or perhaps Asia (possible insiteful but I think that the most liberal literature thumping bunch are usually te ones that have the least to actually loose in the real battle the battle over power and walth of veto groups)
The polie don't mind that you use drugs? wtf
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Considering a large number of people are in jail for posessing/using/selling drugs I would tend not to believe that.
Loosing the Iron Curtain
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I would maintain that in fact it was because the USSR became sloppy and the KGB grew weak that Eastern Europe was mainly allowed to leave. I will admit that in fact people getting neadlessly killed must have been quite a thril (you usually can't interview dead people because they are well dead but the dieing give us a clue and they don't usualyl like it one bit). I am not ignorant because I dont' have millions of dollars to quit my day job and jet set around the world to interview old men and women or to learn 20+ languages to intelligently talk with said people. I am basing my ideas on some very basic primevil emotions that people have. Simply try this experiment take you regular gass stove (or perhaps fireplace if you prefer if you have none of these get a wastepaper basket, garbage can, or dumpster and create a fire in it. Now take an exposed limb douse it in a flamable liquit (gasoline, nitroglycerin, or crude oil) and see what happens. Ok good did that feel good? Assuming you survive that and have not lost conciousness from the excrutiating pain in that area of the body take a minute and wonder what death (pain magnified 10,000x your current pain level of the limb over your whole body). That is what people try to avoid. On a more subtle level if I decide that unstead of direct harm a thourough form of mental torture with movements into physical deprivation (hint feed you when your howling becomes bothersome or water when you have finally pased out from thirst). Well the one constant is this. Supposing I don't irritate the power that be I can live and think (and most importantlty scheme, plan, and generally advance my evil theories that a "Bolsheviki agent of radicalism" would want to do). Meanwhile you and your fellow band of lennists die at the hands of the secret police or remain in some Goulag for the rest of your mortal existence.
No it's what happens when you have a slow link
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Add to that being tired and you make lots more errors than usual
Maybe just maybe how would have society been different for example most of the people in history had simply played it cool and decided to take the artful form of the tactifal retreat? Suppose Lincoln had decided to act like a frady cat and just stay home from the theatre that night? Hmmm well I can tell you that he would almost certainally been able to shape the South to gradually transition into the Union and not fall under the "carpetbagger" regime that took over shortly after his death. Guess when and why the Klu Klux Klan formed? You got it Nathan Bedfoird Forrest an disgruntled ex-Confederate civil war general decided it would be cool for him and his "men" (and I use that term loosely about anyone who enjoys killing for fun) decided to cause a mess of trouble. If Lincoln had been there we would have had a lienent system that would have been ther for the south when they needed us. Instead we had next Jim Crow laws and widespread ignorance and poverty because of greedy people i charge. Fighting is nice but survival is much, much, much better in the long run. Take various political dissenters. Some fellow a while back was involved with the former East Timoreese government before Indonesia invaded. He decided to flee and not to make himself a useless matry for a (currently then) lost cause. I have a perfectly affable solution. Let's take a crack at the next format of the future and make it an open standard that dosn't support these big bugaboo features that people don't like. Then when the technology becomes outdated in say 6 months you can have something that you helped reate and you don't have to act like (as my favorite phrase for radicals taken from a book published in the year 1919): "Bolsheviki agents of radicalism" pretty catchy no?
No not based on purely fabricated lies
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I base it upon the possibility that anyone who actually invented that phrase (and I picked a place where more sheep are than anywhere else, in otherwords a guess ok). It is essentially bigoted and elitest to think than anyone but fanatics and groups of "caring" people in the world are just stupid pawns for Big Brother. That is what really angers me to the depths of my core. Just because I wish to live without obresion because I taped my particular tormenter and said "please sir hit me and beat me to a bloody pulp for the hell of it ok?". I sometimes wonder if people like the sadeo masohistic way of thinking in their dayly lives. Another supporting piece of evidence is that on slashdot (yes on that wonderful utopia of web sites) many english people (and coincidentally man people who have strong social tied to those countries) really lambast Americans for being lazy, stupid, slothful, and finally stupid, then being denegrated as sheep. That my dear happy friend is what I do not like. If you do not like my analysis please tell me the exact name of the person or groups who advocates said statementys and I will write a little e-mail just for them. Oh I would like to know how you speak for each and every person in New Zealand I very much doubt that you have the only computer and internet connection.
Definition of "forced" for the uninitated
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To force in the computer arena is to basically give no plausible alternatives to so that the only other choice is one that is not desireable to the user. For example if for example if I want the modem that came with my computer to work and it happens to be a winmodem then perhaps I am being "forced" (ie I have to other reasonable alternative) to run windows if I am to have the modem work at all (withotu replaceing any hardware). If you get mugged late at night in the streets of downtown New York City and a mugger takes you at the point of a shotgun and "forces" you to give your wallet over then that is being truely "forced" in your eyes. I don't know why people never think English matters anymore I guess they are too busy learning something else really cool like why DVDs are cool and you end up getting speech that resembles tarzan: Me want DVD work under Linux *UG* FUCK MPAA, make bastards pay rah rah rah In each and every one of my posts to date there has been a group of people or persons who has said something similar to what you have that you are not truely being "forced". Ok so I guess the MPAA is not forcing anyone to pay them royalties, your boss is not forcing you to work for money, you are not "forced" to eat to live, you are not "forced" to read if you go to a university lie Harvard and most especially you aren't "forced" to feel bad if something bad happens to you. It really depends on how much of that "force" you think is actual force.
Of curious interest is the site of any merit?
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I would like to know if this site that everyone and their mother dhas been fighting, screaming, and crusading about is interesting or not? I hdard it was some kind of fring art groupf however I would like to hear the straight dope (no flames or troll moderation thankyou)
I think I do know real pain
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For most of my life Mr. Prestigeous AC I probably have had more crappy life changing events occur to me and my immediate family than you could shake a stick at but I will not favor this "wonderful" forum because I don't consider them worth it or my friends in any sence of the word. Secondly my reply to the above poster was in his socially bigoted concept calling all people who do not directly challenge anything to be nothing but mindless automotans. That was downright rude and I seriously doubt that anyone could state in a well worded essay that would incontrovertably prove that such has occured. Thirdly I think that anyone who runs a linux machine and who is using a alpha stage decoding device using assemply or low level buggy C code is probably more than capable of what I just described. Hell I in fact have never actually sat down in from of a true "multi-media" machine with linux on it anyway and still I managed to come up with that little idea. Think it's still impossible? Fourthly Your analysis of what the tormented feel is hardly accurate. I would be very interested in seeing exactly where and under what circumstances that said captives expressed their joy in imprisonment. Did they "love Big Brother" to coin the popular? I can think of only one person in fictional or mythical or spiritual literature who did that kind of thing (and I have read a great deal i[Dn fact if there was more money to be made I would drop CS and go into history where I reaDlly did do much better as far as grades and enjoyed it a hell of a lot more) that was the figure of Jesus of Nazareth. He was the true inventor of the concept of actual forgiveness and all that good stuff (I could be wrong and quite frankly I expect to loose about 15 karma points from this little debate but I yearn for the debate and feel that we as humans are better for it). Being imprisoned is so against what people who truely love freedom could tolerate that I assume that if you handed a couple of cyanide capsules to one of those people and left for maybe a week they would most certainly be dead. Fifthly I have had to work hard and never received much in the way for it. Unless you have been a Vietnam POW or been in terrorist hands in Lebanon I doubt any claim to the contrary wise. For better or for worse I feel as I do. Historically (you can debate this if you want as well I can personally attest to this) that in fact the people who do all the major social "crusading" to do anything are those people who are in fact the neauvo-rich (programming does pay well I am told). They have the time, the resources, their ideals. They have everything and can be responsible to no one. I am sure that you planners of the world will single me out. In fact I would fear for my life if I didn't protect my identity so well. However I have a real good question for all of you thinking people I would like this topical question to be answered to the best extent of your ability: Why is it commonly assumed that I am going to be an "artist" or as the term goes "content author". What actual percentage of you are actually consistently engaged in the task of making the kind of money that it takes to survive in doing things of your own choosing? I doubt these things because when writing programs it usually tkes time to even write the lousy ones. How do you actually make sums of money without being attached to a job? In each and every instince I can define I have never known the group of artists and the like to have much of an impact. Show me the local amateur DVD shop and then maybe I will seem more sympathetic to your cause. Show me cases documented in writing that in fact if say Billy Codehead or Billy Rockstar is actually hurt? Another little thing that has been stated is that I have the inclination to do whatever that individuals choose to do in terms of entertainment. I would go as far as to say that at some future date (because of my superb grasp of attempts at anonyminity and tracability that I could be one of these goons in black suits, did anyone ever think of that?). Throughout time we have sought to try and change things and we have had passion about things. I think that the needs of the "artist" are not that weighty because of the almost non existence in a modern society that is fueled with money.
Things are on a continum of risk
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Maybe whispering the word DeCSS at night in your bunker is not a risky thing however operating a web site called http://www.fuckthempaa.com or something similar would be tempting fate. Perhaps I don't need risk to actually achieve anything at all.
Oh and I suppose that you tried to beat the shit out of every person who called you names as a kid huh? Man you must have received a lot of beatings.
Why do people get this superority kick from risk?
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Ok so if I decide to swallow gasoline and light a match near my mouth am I not an intelligent person? Tell me how making risky choices makes me inherently better?
Reminds me of a good quote
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"The death of one man is a tragedy; the death of a million is a statistic" --Joseph Stalin The dead have very little influence on current policy in the world. Being a matry isn't going to bring you a long and happy life, nor will it allow you to achieve anything that people really value in the 21st century (namely technical ability and achiewvement). One of the best things that group can do to become oppressed is to start making a great deal of noise. The minute that happens you are done for. Wheras you had been previously ignored and left alone now you suddently have lots and lots of oppresive actions and ideas. Frankly I would think that most intelligent people would realize that it is better to fight another day. or how about this one: "Neither a borrower nor a lender be" --Polonius, Hamlet; William Shakespeare I could go on in such a manner but I would be wasting my time with further references to the cencept of allowing for a life unfettered with burdens and hideous problems.
Ohh goodie more social Darwinism
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Not everyone is stupid and not everyone enjoys being "fleeced" (the sheep metaphor is rather stupid guess it must have been coined by people who live in high density sheep populations New Zealand?). I think being robbed of all my money and then spending all my free time getting rapped by someone of the same sex would get rather irritating after awhile. I think you would change your tune if you were the one who was getting let's say 300 years in jail in some harsh maxium security prison for violating laws. Boy the big old freedom fighter can't do much from the dungeon can you? See I understand what is at stake I just choose to remain free and wait for the time when I have ture influence and change things like I see fit. You could always develop a hardware device that superimposes something onto the front of the television/monitor and then reincodes the DVD into MPEG3 or something else and do it that way. Or you could simply do the smarter thing and get a windows box that had the ability to play the movies and stream it like a real video stream from there to the linux machine. This stuff can be done you just have to care enough and it seems like you do.
Presumably people in the know find out where
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Within groups and people in the know will find where to get what they want and others will not.
They're looking for big fish
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Let's hope the lawyers that work for the MPAA don't think that you are big enough to score on. Generally they don't have to take everyone on at once just a few high profile people who have a great deal to loose. Also think of what lawyers charge for various services. It is in the best interests of lawyers to sue everyone and anyone they can to get more and more moeny. Things like this are like playing with fire.
Boy you people like living dangerously
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Are you people lawyers or know a lawyer in the immediate family? Look I am as supportive as the average nonDVD owning/playing person in this world can be but don't people ever learn to avoid trouble? Even getting sued is a major expense eevn if you are innocent (I know), couple this with public embarassment and the problems that it can lead to and I think that it is a thourally bad thing. I actually looked at this program and he author's page on freshmeat at least an hour before it got posted to slashdot; and my opinion is pretty much unchanged. People don't like drug laws and such and there have been many, many, many attempts to override them through similar attempts at civil disobedience; however all of these have failed and over 50 years later we still have unpopular drug laws and they are still enforced. Same with these types of things. Although the vocal minority of people (face it not everyone really ownes such equipment as a general rule and it becomes even smaller when you look at the entire population). Also please tell me exactly how this does anything at all? So I have a program that has the name of another unpopular program. Does this really change anything? So if I decide to help out say say a fanatical regime in Iran does that mean I should rename my linux distro to Komini Linux? Face it danger is not a good thing and I would rather have my pride/honor/respect/and freedom than play DVDs on unsupported OSs. Flame me if you like but I am interested (I mean really interested) why this kind of thing was selected by taco in the first place? Does he realize that VA and the individuals who control his job could end up being forced to possibly even realease him from employment? Yeah I guess the slashdot croud does like to live dangerously.
Re:Or even better - get the IMAX camera up there
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Screw 35 mm -- lets get some astronauts up there with an IMAX camera - or better yet, the 3D space camera! Why use 35 mm stills when you can have the wide screen? It's like VHS vs. DVD....
We already have technologies that do very high quality imaging of space. Usually however you need a IMAX screen to display standard or true output from an IMAX camera. Plus what do you really think will happen to said footage? Well a bunch of corporate big wigs will just create something like "Spaceflight 2: Man Returns!!!" (only playing a IMAX(tm) theaters) and charge people $20 a person to watch it. That I personally do not care for.
Re:Can we have some new pictures please?
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It seems to have been such a long time since Man was last on the moon. I would really like some more up to date close-ups taken with a good old 35mm.
Well with things like the Hubble space telescope now repaired we can look at the moon in minute detail and gather photos enough to determine how many pebbles the moon has on it's surface.
Re:Can't open source without source
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Thanks for clearing that up. I really didn't think people were that stupid.
Re:Not one star in sky in ANY picture
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With all the lights out on the moon, it must have been a spectacular site to look up into space and see millions of stars. I hope to visit the moon one day and see the sights for myself.
Well I think you will be waiting for quite a long time to get anything close to your idea. They have been saying this stuff for 30 years and they are not really that much closer.
Slashdot Mirror
Well that was intelligent. Let me say that the kinds of things I would like to see in fact do not totally conform to the idea of "flashy".
In fact if I were to make a wager I would say linux and the people who generally use it are in fact more used to flashy stuff than the rest of the OS community. Themes.org is a beautiful example of this fascination. Actually I haven't used a windows machine for quite a while (not since 3.11) and I have never even bought a mac ( I rreally don't like the interface of the Mac OS because it dosn't give me the power of the cli like linux does).
Without apps all linux and quite frankly any other unix system would be is just a server OS.
Quite frankly the fact that people wanted to make it more isd really quite commendable. Without apps (new ones) you loose life.
People who do computing in the 21st century will expect more and more from their computers and will accept no substitute when it comes to what they want. I would essentially choose any possible OS that gave me what I considered the best apps for my hardware3and right now that's linux.
about ethics.
See you may think that gently admointions is best but Micro$oft dosn't really care. They want to make sure that everyone runs windows and that's all. The first thing you see is often the first thing that you end up using.
I remember when I had problems with dos and it basically betrayed me because the beloved vendor (From hell's heart I stab at thee, with my last breath I curse at thee Microsoft) and I got to complaining. Eventually I got so fed up with nothing actually working I just decided to look into linux (that was a while ago). I really don't regret it. If I had been able to use X sooner it would have been better.
You see I have one of two choices with this. I could use linux and keep what I have (garbage system that can still function fancy that) or I can spend thousands for a new computer spend an even larger ammount of money for Microsoft Visual Studio so that I can do programming have to pay for constant forced upgrades (not that linux dosn't eventually force one to upgrade but that's the subject of a differnt rant).
I see the problem being that eventually people will not want to develop apps for linux and we will have a real classy OS for real smart people that dosn't have any r3ael new and fancy apps.
The thought of being forced to retire my hardard is not a very comforting thought.
You have such nerve to call me a coward when you don't have any identifing info (not even a fake slashdot id).
I quote things liek this because I think that the biggest threat to people will not come from without (in the case of space aliens, corporations, or your local boogey man) it will come from a reverse form of utopia which will allow for a renewed caste system and the addition of a whole group of people the Proles (aka nonprogrammers) who will be completely powerless in the face of massive "Hippie Power"(tm) and wealth.
You pass enviro laws that raise the prices of basic goods and services thousands of times because we are "hurting" the environment (whateer that means), you support all sorts of miserable wretches outside fof said country and allow your own private citizens to go in want. You then allow for open methods of travel which allow for massive ammounts of competition. No my firend what will most undoubtally happen is not Big Brother because theyt are far too smart for that but they will just slowly allow you to become a hollow husk of a human which they can safely ignore. Obvious tyranny is soooo mid 20th century for my taste.
I may suspect (well because of the time zone differences and how late it is here but I think we have hit Europe or perhaps Asia (possible insiteful but I think that the most liberal literature thumping bunch are usually te ones that have the least to actually loose in the real battle the battle over power and walth of veto groups)
Considering a large number of people are in jail for posessing/using/selling drugs I would tend not to believe that.
I would maintain that in fact it was because the USSR became sloppy and the KGB grew weak that Eastern Europe was mainly allowed to leave. I will admit that in fact people getting neadlessly killed must have been quite a thril (you usually can't interview dead people because they are well dead but the dieing give us a clue and they don't usualyl like it one bit).
I am not ignorant because I dont' have millions of dollars to quit my day job and jet set around the world to interview old men and women or to learn 20+ languages to intelligently talk with said people.
I am basing my ideas on some very basic primevil emotions that people have. Simply try this experiment take you regular gass stove (or perhaps fireplace if you prefer if you have none of these get a wastepaper basket, garbage can, or dumpster and create a fire in it. Now take an exposed limb douse it in a flamable liquit (gasoline, nitroglycerin, or crude oil) and see what happens. Ok good did that feel good? Assuming you survive that and have not lost conciousness from the excrutiating pain in that area of the body take a minute and wonder what death (pain magnified 10,000x your current pain level of the limb over your whole body). That is what people try to avoid.
On a more subtle level if I decide that unstead of direct harm a thourough form of mental torture with movements into physical deprivation (hint feed you when your howling becomes bothersome or water when you have finally pased out from thirst).
Well the one constant is this. Supposing I don't irritate the power that be I can live and think (and most importantlty scheme, plan, and generally advance my evil theories that a "Bolsheviki agent of radicalism" would want to do). Meanwhile you and your fellow band of lennists die at the hands of the secret police or remain in some Goulag for the rest of your mortal existence.
Add to that being tired and you make lots more errors than usual
Maybe just maybe how would have society been different for example most of the people in history had simply played it cool and decided to take the artful form of the tactifal retreat? Suppose Lincoln had decided to act like a frady cat and just stay home from the theatre that night? Hmmm well I can tell you that he would almost certainally been able to shape the South to gradually transition into the Union and not fall under the "carpetbagger" regime that took over shortly after his death. Guess when and why the Klu Klux Klan formed? You got it Nathan Bedfoird Forrest an disgruntled ex-Confederate civil war general decided it would be cool for him and his "men" (and I use that term loosely about anyone who enjoys killing for fun) decided to cause a mess of trouble.
If Lincoln had been there we would have had a lienent system that would have been ther for the south when they needed us. Instead we had next Jim Crow laws and widespread ignorance and poverty because of greedy people i charge.
Fighting is nice but survival is much, much, much better in the long run. Take various political dissenters. Some fellow a while back was involved with the former East Timoreese government before Indonesia invaded. He decided to flee and not to make himself a useless matry for a (currently then) lost cause.
I have a perfectly affable solution. Let's take a crack at the next format of the future and make it an open standard that dosn't support these big bugaboo features that people don't like. Then when the technology becomes outdated in say 6 months you can have something that you helped reate and you don't have to act like (as my favorite phrase for radicals taken from a book published in the year 1919):
"Bolsheviki agents of radicalism" pretty catchy no?
I base it upon the possibility that anyone who actually invented that phrase (and I picked a place where more sheep are than anywhere else, in otherwords a guess ok).
It is essentially bigoted and elitest to think than anyone but fanatics and groups of "caring" people in the world are just stupid pawns for Big Brother.
That is what really angers me to the depths of my core. Just because I wish to live without obresion because I taped my particular tormenter and said "please sir hit me and beat me to a bloody pulp for the hell of it ok?". I sometimes wonder if people like the sadeo masohistic way of thinking in their dayly lives.
Another supporting piece of evidence is that on slashdot (yes on that wonderful utopia of web sites) many english people (and coincidentally man people who have strong social tied to those countries) really lambast Americans for being lazy, stupid, slothful, and finally stupid, then being denegrated as sheep.
That my dear happy friend is what I do not like. If you do not like my analysis please tell me the exact name of the person or groups who advocates said statementys and I will write a little e-mail just for them. Oh I would like to know how you speak for each and every person in New Zealand I very much doubt that you have the only computer and internet connection.
To force in the computer arena is to basically give no plausible alternatives to so that the only other choice is one that is not desireable to the user.
For example if for example if I want the modem that came with my computer to work and it happens to be a winmodem then perhaps I am being "forced" (ie I have to other reasonable alternative) to run windows if I am to have the modem work at all (withotu replaceing any hardware).
If you get mugged late at night in the streets of downtown New York City and a mugger takes you at the point of a shotgun and "forces" you to give your wallet over then that is being truely "forced" in your eyes. I don't know why people never think English matters anymore I guess they are too busy learning something else really cool like why DVDs are cool and you end up getting speech that resembles tarzan:
Me want DVD work under Linux *UG* FUCK MPAA, make bastards pay rah rah rah
In each and every one of my posts to date there has been a group of people or persons who has said something similar to what you have that you are not truely being "forced". Ok so I guess the MPAA is not forcing anyone to pay them royalties, your boss is not forcing you to work for money, you are not "forced" to eat to live, you are not "forced" to read if you go to a university lie Harvard and most especially you aren't "forced" to feel bad if something bad happens to you.
It really depends on how much of that "force" you think is actual force.
I would like to know if this site that everyone and their mother dhas been fighting, screaming, and crusading about is interesting or not?
I hdard it was some kind of fring art groupf however I would like to hear the straight dope (no flames or troll moderation thankyou)
For most of my life Mr. Prestigeous AC I probably have had more crappy life changing events occur to me and my immediate family than you could shake a stick at but I will not favor this "wonderful" forum because I don't consider them worth it or my friends in any sence of the word.
Secondly my reply to the above poster was in his socially bigoted concept calling all people who do not directly challenge anything to be nothing but mindless automotans. That was downright rude and I seriously doubt that anyone could state in a well worded essay that would incontrovertably prove that such has occured.
Thirdly I think that anyone who runs a linux machine and who is using a alpha stage decoding device using assemply or low level buggy C code is probably more than capable of what I just described. Hell I in fact have never actually sat down in from of a true "multi-media" machine with linux on it anyway and still I managed to come up with that little idea. Think it's still impossible?
Fourthly Your analysis of what the tormented feel is hardly accurate. I would be very interested in seeing exactly where and under what circumstances that said captives expressed their joy in imprisonment. Did they "love Big Brother" to coin the popular? I can think of only one person in fictional or mythical or spiritual literature who did that kind of thing (and I have read a great deal i[Dn fact if there was more money to be made I would drop CS and go into history where I reaDlly did do much better as far as grades and enjoyed it a hell of a lot more) that was the figure of Jesus of Nazareth.
He was the true inventor of the concept of actual forgiveness and all that good stuff (I could be wrong and quite frankly I expect to loose about 15 karma points from this little debate but I yearn for the debate and feel that we as humans are better for it). Being imprisoned is so against what people who truely love freedom could tolerate that I assume that if you handed a couple of cyanide capsules to one of those people and left for maybe a week they would most certainly be dead.
Fifthly I have had to work hard and never received much in the way for it. Unless you have been a Vietnam POW or been in terrorist hands in Lebanon I doubt any claim to the contrary wise.
For better or for worse I feel as I do. Historically (you can debate this if you want as well I can personally attest to this) that in fact the people who do all the major social "crusading" to do anything are those people who are in fact the neauvo-rich (programming does pay well I am told). They have the time, the resources, their ideals. They have everything and can be responsible to no one. I am sure that you planners of the world will single me out. In fact I would fear for my life if I didn't protect my identity so well. However I have a real good question for all of you thinking people I would like this topical question to be answered to the best extent of your ability: Why is it commonly assumed that I am going to be an "artist" or as the term goes "content author". What actual percentage of you are actually consistently engaged in the task of making the kind of money that it takes to survive in doing things of your own choosing? I doubt these things because when writing programs it usually tkes time
to even write the lousy ones. How do you actually make sums of money without being attached to a job? In each and every instince I can define I have never known the group of artists and the like to have much of an impact. Show me the local amateur DVD shop and then maybe I will seem more sympathetic to your cause. Show me cases documented in writing that in fact if say Billy Codehead or Billy Rockstar is actually hurt? Another little thing that has been stated is that I have the inclination to do whatever that individuals choose to do in terms of entertainment. I would go as far as to say that at some future date (because of my superb grasp of attempts at anonyminity and tracability that I could be one of these goons in black suits, did anyone ever think of that?). Throughout time we have sought to try and change things and we have had passion about things. I think that the needs of the "artist" are not that weighty because of the almost non existence in a modern society that is fueled with money.
Maybe whispering the word DeCSS at night in your bunker is not a risky thing however operating a web site called http://www.fuckthempaa.com or something similar would be tempting fate. Perhaps I don't need risk to actually achieve anything at all.
Oh and I suppose that you tried to beat the shit out of every person who called you names as a kid huh? Man you must have received a lot of beatings.
Ok so if I decide to swallow gasoline and light a match near my mouth am I not an intelligent person?
Tell me how making risky choices makes me inherently better?
"The death of one man is a tragedy; the death of a million is a statistic" --Joseph Stalin
The dead have very little influence on current policy in the world. Being a matry isn't going to bring you a long and happy life, nor will it allow you to achieve anything that people really value in the 21st century (namely technical ability and achiewvement). One of the best things that group can do to become oppressed is to start making a great deal of noise. The minute that happens you are done for. Wheras you had been previously ignored and left alone now you suddently have lots and lots of oppresive actions and ideas. Frankly I would think that most intelligent people would realize that it is better to fight another day.
or how about this one:
"Neither a borrower nor a lender be" --Polonius, Hamlet; William Shakespeare
I could go on in such a manner but I would be wasting my time with further references to the cencept of allowing for a life unfettered with burdens and hideous problems.
Not everyone is stupid and not everyone enjoys being "fleeced" (the sheep metaphor is rather stupid guess it must have been coined by people who live in high density sheep populations New Zealand?).
I think being robbed of all my money and then spending all my free time getting rapped by someone of the same sex would get rather irritating after awhile.
I think you would change your tune if you were the one who was getting let's say 300 years in jail in some harsh maxium security prison for violating laws. Boy the big old freedom fighter can't do much from the dungeon can you? See I understand what is at stake I just choose to remain free and wait for the time when I have ture influence and change things like I see fit. You could always develop a hardware device that superimposes something onto the front of the television/monitor and then reincodes the DVD into MPEG3 or something else and do it that way. Or you could simply do the smarter thing and get a windows box that had the ability to play the movies and stream it like a real video stream from there to the linux machine. This stuff can be done you just have to care enough and it seems like you do.
Within groups and people in the know will find where to get what they want and others will not.
Let's hope the lawyers that work for the MPAA don't think that you are big enough to score on. Generally they don't have to take everyone on at once just a few high profile people who have a great deal to loose.
Also think of what lawyers charge for various services. It is in the best interests of lawyers to sue everyone and anyone they can to get more and more moeny. Things like this are like playing with fire.
Are you people lawyers or know a lawyer in the immediate family?
Look I am as supportive as the average nonDVD owning/playing person in this world can be but don't people ever learn to avoid trouble?
Even getting sued is a major expense eevn if you are innocent (I know), couple this with public embarassment and the problems that it can lead to and I think that it is a thourally bad thing. I actually looked at this program and he author's page on freshmeat at least an hour before it got posted to slashdot; and my opinion is pretty much unchanged.
People don't like drug laws and such and there have been many, many, many attempts to override them through similar attempts at civil disobedience; however all of these have failed and over 50 years later we still have unpopular drug laws and they are still enforced. Same with these types of things. Although the vocal minority of people (face it not everyone really ownes such equipment as a general rule and it becomes even smaller when you look at the entire population).
Also please tell me exactly how this does anything at all? So I have a program that has the name of another unpopular program. Does this really change anything? So if I decide to help out say say a fanatical regime in Iran does that mean I should rename my linux distro to Komini Linux? Face it danger is not a good thing and I would rather have my pride/honor/respect/and freedom than play DVDs on unsupported OSs.
Flame me if you like but I am interested (I mean really interested) why this kind of thing was selected by taco in the first place? Does he realize that VA and the individuals who control his job could end up being forced to possibly even realease him from employment? Yeah I guess the slashdot croud does like to live dangerously.
Screw 35 mm -- lets get some astronauts up there with an IMAX camera - or better yet, the 3D space camera! Why use 35 mm stills when you can have the wide screen? It's like ....
VHS vs. DVD
We already have technologies that do very high quality imaging of space. Usually however you need a IMAX screen to display standard or true output from an IMAX camera. Plus what do you really think will happen to said footage? Well a bunch of corporate big wigs will just create something like "Spaceflight 2: Man Returns!!!" (only playing a IMAX(tm) theaters) and charge people $20 a person to watch it. That I personally do not care for.
It seems to have been such a long time since Man was last on the moon. I would really like some more up to date close-ups taken with a good old 35mm.
Well with things like the Hubble space telescope now repaired we can look at the moon in minute detail and gather photos enough to determine how many pebbles the moon has on it's surface.
Thanks for clearing that up. I really didn't think people were that stupid.
With all the lights out on the moon, it must have been a spectacular site to look up into space and see millions of stars. I hope to visit the moon one day and see the sights for
myself.
Well I think you will be waiting for quite a long time to get anything close to your idea. They have been saying this stuff for 30 years and they are not really that much closer.