Speak for yourself. The Slashdot audience is global and the problem is global.
a few thousand people killed 12 years ago did not give the government of the USA the right to start using the Constitution for toilet paper
Quite right: an apathetic public gave the government the ability (not the right) to violate its founding principles. The terrorist attacks were a pretext to accelerate the trend, not the real reason.
You can't enforce DRM effectively until you lock down the device completely. So, of course Steam wants to control the OS. SteamOS sounds exactly like Microsoft's strategy of embracing, extending, and then extinguishing open standards.
So, yes, SteamOS will bring the Linux kernel to the masses, but as to the actual *benefits* of Linux -- transparency and freedom -- Valve is going to kill those.
Did your professor explain how this benefits *you* as a student in his class? Because you are the one paying thousands of dollars for this experience. It sounds to me like your professor is intentionally teaching his students to be parasites*, in which case it is strongly in your interest to transfer to a better university. You don't want your diploma to come from the same institution as all of those losers.
*The reason for this could that it minimizes the amount of whining and grade-grubbing he has to put up with. But to dump the burden on you to make his job easier is unethical.
I know college has dumbed down a lot since I went (meaning no offense to the hard-working students who suffer as a result), but it is still not high school. A reasonable professor will listen to you if you request students be allowed to self-organize. Especially if the five or ten best students in class make the request at once. A reasonable professor is probably looking for ways to motivate the leeches to do their own work, and may welcome my suggestion.
If the professor does not listen, and cannot justify why the hard-working students are better off under the current system, then it's time to talk to the dean and/or transfer to a university where excellence is promoted rather than mediocrity.
In the professional world, I have found that competent employees are always willing to help mentor someone who pulls his own weight, but will leave a leech to fail alone.
I can believe that, but if the legislators don't even provide an effective filter on the draft laws the lobbyists write, then the legislators' only possible functions are to conceal the source (read, deceive the public) and to assume blame. So, they asked for it!
It seems to me you have only learned half the lesson this method of pedagogy is meant to teach. Why don't you find the other well-prepared and conscientious students in your class, work with them, and shut out the losers?
They did -- they predicted it would generate $161 million in revenue. The problem is, they studiously overlooked any *other* effects, like driving all technology companies out of Massachusetts and into neighboring states that don't have such a tax. This is typical. The applicable phrase is "lies of omission."
That is completely accurate. Though to perfect the analogy, the legislatures take the extra step of giving major customers (lobbyists) commit access to the same code repo (draft laws are frequently written by lobbyists).
So the legislature admits they passed a law with no idea what its impact would be. As a voter and taxpayer in the commonwealth of Massachusetts, I say with all due respect: WTF?!
I mean, they get points for admitting a blunder and backpedaling furiously, but the hubris of passing laws nobody in the legislature understands is mind-boggling. Just, wow.
If the incumbent in my district has an opponent on the ballot for a change, I sure will consider voting for him/her. (Most state and local offices around here have only one candidate. Another democracy fail.)
But they're not breaking, they're not even obsolete, they're just not "new" and so the modern consumer who is obsessed with newness wants a replacement.
You say that like it's a bad thing. I say it's the reason I prefer to buy stock in Sony than to buy a new Sony TV.
I blame Facebook for a lot, but I think they deserve a pass for this. "Mass hysteria" looks to me like a real phenomenon, but that doesn't mean the "victims" aren't doing in on purpose.
"... At last all the nuns meowed together every day at a certain time for several hours together." The meowing went on until neighbors complained and soldiers were called, threatening to whip the nuns until they stopped meowing.
If they can stop whenever they want, then I have a hard time calling it a "disease." It sounds more like "being an asshole." (See also, Salem witch trials.)
Drifting off-topic here, but your story is why I use Angie's List. Businesses like the one you describe rely on ignorant customers to function -- I say, deny them the opportunity.
I think the dwindling number of repairmen is due to increase factory automation. Today, the amount of human labor that goes into making a device is very low (still decreasing) and unskilled. Repair is labor-intensive and requires skill. Therefore, for an increasing range of products, it's cheaper to make a new one than to repair it. The exceptions are when the items are very costly, like cars and houses, and/or difficult to replace, like HVAC systems.
Slashdot Mirror
Two questions:
1) How many "new users" did they actually talk to?
2) How many GNOME users are there, and of those users, how many are "new"?
It sounds to me like they're removing a feature that millions of people use, on a whim.
Never mind the Steambox, here comes the Zorkbox!
For bonus points, someone do this on a Raspberry Pi. :-)
Speak for yourself. The Slashdot audience is global and the problem is global.
Quite right: an apathetic public gave the government the ability (not the right) to violate its founding principles. The terrorist attacks were a pretext to accelerate the trend, not the real reason.
Far to the left of where our governments want it drawn. ;-)
Android.
Actually, when it comes to metadata, you could make a First Amendment case: freedom of association.
You can't enforce DRM effectively until you lock down the device completely. So, of course Steam wants to control the OS. SteamOS sounds exactly like Microsoft's strategy of embracing, extending, and then extinguishing open standards.
So, yes, SteamOS will bring the Linux kernel to the masses, but as to the actual *benefits* of Linux -- transparency and freedom -- Valve is going to kill those.
Did your professor explain how this benefits *you* as a student in his class? Because you are the one paying thousands of dollars for this experience. It sounds to me like your professor is intentionally teaching his students to be parasites*, in which case it is strongly in your interest to transfer to a better university. You don't want your diploma to come from the same institution as all of those losers.
*The reason for this could that it minimizes the amount of whining and grade-grubbing he has to put up with. But to dump the burden on you to make his job easier is unethical.
You're right -- Hanlon's Razor probably applies.
Where is the line between incompetence and dereliction?
I know college has dumbed down a lot since I went (meaning no offense to the hard-working students who suffer as a result), but it is still not high school. A reasonable professor will listen to you if you request students be allowed to self-organize. Especially if the five or ten best students in class make the request at once. A reasonable professor is probably looking for ways to motivate the leeches to do their own work, and may welcome my suggestion.
If the professor does not listen, and cannot justify why the hard-working students are better off under the current system, then it's time to talk to the dean and/or transfer to a university where excellence is promoted rather than mediocrity.
In the professional world, I have found that competent employees are always willing to help mentor someone who pulls his own weight, but will leave a leech to fail alone.
You could try moving out of the ghetto so your neighbor has a job, too.
I can believe that, but if the legislators don't even provide an effective filter on the draft laws the lobbyists write, then the legislators' only possible functions are to conceal the source (read, deceive the public) and to assume blame. So, they asked for it!
It seems to me you have only learned half the lesson this method of pedagogy is meant to teach. Why don't you find the other well-prepared and conscientious students in your class, work with them, and shut out the losers?
They did -- they predicted it would generate $161 million in revenue. The problem is, they studiously overlooked any *other* effects, like driving all technology companies out of Massachusetts and into neighboring states that don't have such a tax. This is typical. The applicable phrase is "lies of omission."
That is completely accurate. Though to perfect the analogy, the legislatures take the extra step of giving major customers (lobbyists) commit access to the same code repo (draft laws are frequently written by lobbyists).
So the legislature admits they passed a law with no idea what its impact would be. As a voter and taxpayer in the commonwealth of Massachusetts, I say with all due respect: WTF?!
I mean, they get points for admitting a blunder and backpedaling furiously, but the hubris of passing laws nobody in the legislature understands is mind-boggling. Just, wow.
If the incumbent in my district has an opponent on the ballot for a change, I sure will consider voting for him/her. (Most state and local offices around here have only one candidate. Another democracy fail.)
I cannot believe you did not get modded funny for this. I practically snorted coffee through my nose! Well said!
You say that like it's a bad thing. I say it's the reason I prefer to buy stock in Sony than to buy a new Sony TV.
Obviously, equality has to go then! However, I suspect you misunderstand which side of the "less than" symbol you will end up on, when it does.
Some would say, this is just another instance of Obama blaming his failures on his predecessor(s). ;-)
And then I galloped away, laughing. ;-)
"Whenever they want" and "when properly motivated" are exact synonyms.
I blame Facebook for a lot, but I think they deserve a pass for this. "Mass hysteria" looks to me like a real phenomenon, but that doesn't mean the "victims" aren't doing in on purpose.
For example, from one of the stories linked in the summary:
If they can stop whenever they want, then I have a hard time calling it a "disease." It sounds more like "being an asshole." (See also, Salem witch trials.)
Drifting off-topic here, but your story is why I use Angie's List. Businesses like the one you describe rely on ignorant customers to function -- I say, deny them the opportunity.
I think the dwindling number of repairmen is due to increase factory automation. Today, the amount of human labor that goes into making a device is very low (still decreasing) and unskilled. Repair is labor-intensive and requires skill. Therefore, for an increasing range of products, it's cheaper to make a new one than to repair it. The exceptions are when the items are very costly, like cars and houses, and/or difficult to replace, like HVAC systems.