The FCC has no standing to police what comcast does or does not do to its customers because congress has not given the FCC that power.
Additionally, sometime during President Truman's last term, a statement was issued that essentially said 'We are not communists! See - we like the free market, and we will regulate as little as possible', which WAS approved by congress, and is currently active.
Comcast is essentially telling the FCC to not bother, as whatever finding they come to, Comcast will believe it illigit and not comply unless congress gets involved and changes the laws, or issues a new guidance.
Essentially - this is big political news, and if this goes forward we can expect to see a new set of good laws ( or bad) coming out of congress to address issues like this.
My bet? Be prepared for congress to give the go head to throttle down P2P as a public service.
Neither of these is a requirement for 'legal' downloading. The only requirements for 'legal' downloading are authentication and speed, the second of which this apparently gets them, more than likely through the use of the first.
This will be accepted and used by large numbers of people that care about speed primarily, selection and privacy secondariliy. And in fact, if it allows me to watch Chuck and Heroes on my HD TV through my computer hookup without having to do any 'work', I might even use it... if it comes with a way to talk to those you are downloading from, as authentication is now probably active, it may start a brand new kind of community: jury is still out on whether that is a good thing or not (leaning toward bad)
I don't particularly agree with most of what the responder to my original post said... except for the one piece that you are calling bizarre.
As consumers we are worse off because we are locked in unless [drum roll please], we put in EXTRA work to get what we really want: EXACTLY the work you have just itemized.
If we had a choice of four different stores from which to buy songs to play on five different players, and they were all completely interchangable, those stores would have to compete on price, quality, or selection, thus IMPROVING our lot.
As it stands, if you are using iTunes are only able to buy what they want to sell you at the quality they want to sell it at and at the price they have decided to set. How are you better off as a consumer? Isn't the exact reason everyone is so upset with Microsoft et al?
And, getting back to your original point, if we don't understand that, we are indeed idiots. Have a nice day sir.
"ZapMedia applied for the patents in 1999. One was granted in March 2006, the other on Tuesday."
They filed for these patents 9 years ago, and one of them was just granted... Tuesday?!!
I know we are all against software patents... but these guys have been waiting for 9 years to be able to use this patent by the rules that everyone is supposed to play by. calling them Patent Trolls for standing by and watching while Apple used thier technology to make billions, is not quite accurate.
What would have happened if this patent was issued 9 years ago? or even just the year before the iPod came out? Would it be the ZapMediaPod that everyone was playing thier music on?
Patent laws were originally designed so that the little guys can get thier inventions out without being clobbered by the big guys. Granted they don't work that way in practice.
However - if you read the article's related to this issue, (and I don't mean the trashy yahoo article) try this one:
You will see that these guys worked closely with Apple, and then Apple cut them out of the loop, EXACTLY what patent law was originally designed to prevent.
Patents shouldn't apply to software... maybe. How do you protect the small time coder from the big business that takes thier ideas, makes billions, and then doesn't return a dime, without patents?
I'll accept any answer that doesn't end with
3: ????
4: PROFIT!
Starcraft had some of the most EFFECTIVE graphics.
There isn't a sense that you would ever miss your targets because the graphics display couldn't get on the same page with where the engine thought the graphics should be...
sprites makes sure everyone is on the same page, by being able to say, beyond a doubt, this thing is here and it is this big... no no - don't compute its position, just put it there... no no - I don't care what kind of processor you have, or what OS you are using, put it where I said to put it.
If you believe in the Anti Copyright Crusade: Don't lose faith and keep fighting. As soon as you give in, and say 'Maybe its not so bad...' You have just given them permission to do whatever they want.
Keep crusading, or give up, but only you can make that decision for yourself.
This system was designed to overcome another flaw: that the winner take all system 'unfairly' rewards momentum.
Jimmy Carter is the reason the Democrats system is the way it is, and they changed it to this to prevent Another Jimmy Carter from winning the primary.
If the democratic race were a winner take all, I'm not certain who would be the winner, but I'm fairly sure we wouldn't be talking about it right now: There would be a clear winner, based on a few percentage points victories in states that are probably going to be voting republican in November... Like Texas, Sort of like how the Republican Nomination was mostly decided in states that are going to be voting democrat come November: Notice how most of the 'conservative' states have been voting for Huckabee while he still had a sliver of a chance.
I'm not willing to say that my experiences are in the minority, although I will say that the people who I have known who play DnD, are probably a small subset of the total: College students between the ages of 18 and ~30 in the northeast, at a college whose name you may be able to guess from my email address. A set of people that I think everyone can agree will try anything to excess, especially if it lets them avoid thier homework or roomates, or both.
Additionally, I will also agree with you: addictive personalities WILL latch on to anything. This is just one of those things. If not this, then Magic Cards, or Pokemon, or Coffee. I have found this to be a popular latching point.
I also agree that the 80's crap is very similar to what is going on now with the violent video games craze... All I am trying to say, is that this game has not improved anyone's life that I know. It is not a self help regimen, nor is it a magic wand to make your problems go away. It is a pause, and if a pause helps you take better action, good. If it lets things fester and grow worse, bad. In either case, it is not action.
The summary asked how DnD has improved my life: It hasn't, except by making the people around me who had problems and latched on to this game disappear from my life. That is a rather harsh improvement.
Anectodal evidence is not what I used in the case. I used personal experience. The difference is huge.
DnD caused me problems, but I didn't play. It caused problems for those around me, and thus for me. I didn't need to quit because I didn't play.
Gygax created something that was a game. So long as it is a game it is fine. When it becomes something you need to function, it stops being a game, and starts being an addiction. Yes, lots of people have addictions. I have an Oxygen addiction. You are probably addicted to H20, I hear many people are addicted to sleep, However, when you become addicted to something that takes you away from reality, rather than keeping you in it, it becomes destructive.
DnD, when taken to an extreme, is destructive. Yes, yes, some people don't take it to an extreme. blahdy blah. some people do.
And it is not something that I have seen ever improve someones life. I'm not trying to blast the man, or the game. I'm just saying don't put him, or his game up on a pedistal. Don't give him a +10 charisma bonus that he never had in life now that he is dead.
Mourn him, take this as a reason to look up his old books, read a few and remember those times you had as a kid that were so good.... but don't put him on a pedistal.
As a matter of fact, I have watched many people piss away thier money, education and future while playing these games.
I have even watched someone that I know and love take on the characteristics of the character she was playing, hide from the real world, and allow people to completely take advantage of her, and by extension me.
Not having seen her in almost a year, I hope and wish that she is doing well, but I know she would be have done better if she could have faced the world without a d10 in her hand.
My life is far better since then, so I suppose you could say that DnD has improved my life: mostly by subtraction.
Not taking anything away from Gary Gygax: It is always sad when someone dies, and I enjoyed his books when I was young, but don't go putting him up on a pedistal, or saying DnD is great. It is what you make of it, but its mostly a trap for the mind, and an escape from the real world, just like video games, drugs, and alcahol. Certainly all of the above have helped someone somewhere in some circumstance: but that is the exception, not the rule.
Back when I invented spyware... What?... Back when I invented spyware, these were the exact same arguments that we used.
The client needed to know exactly which ads thier client was looking at and how they were positioned, how long the user lingered on the page, and what they clicked through, and which offers they accepted... so that we could target them with more of the same type of offers.
Our only issue was, how to get this wonderful tool that every user will want into thier hands? Why did I suggest the same avenue that viruses and other exploits use? two reasons: One, I figured there had to some useful purposes these pointless 'turn off your computer after typing a funny message to the screen' viruses could be put to.
Two: Becuase we didn't have the power of microsoft to shove it down everyones throat.
I've spent a long time regretting my suggestion so long ago - My only solace is that maybe someone somewhere else suggested it first, and the implementation of it was well along before I opened my mouth. Please don't let me be the guy that invented spyware... Also - please let me avoid having it downloaded to my computer via windows update.
The reason north station and south station are not connected through boston (and if you take the T enough, you realize that it isn't even easy by T) is because way back when north station and south station were being built, the taxi lobby successfully blocked the connection.
Read that again. In the 1910's lobbiest twisted arms, and got what they want, and anyone who wants to travel from the north of massachusetts to the south of massachusetts has to get off the commuter rail in boston and hoof it to south station (much faster than the T if you don't have luggage) or vice versa.
Lobbyists for who? Taxi's, who are even slower than the T crossing boston's congested streets and will cost you an arm and leg.
Pay attention to what your politicians do today: Our kids are going to be paying for it.
Who decides which games are worthwhile for minors?
Who decides which games provide a minor 'serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value'?
Does Grand Theft Auto 'Tom Sawyer Edition' pass muster?
How about SCMRPG (or whatever) that just got pulled from the slamdance festival? That at least might have had historical value, as a rememberence of a national tragedy.
Blocking these games from being sold on the store shelf doesn't stop the problem: These kids think they want these games and they ask mommy and daddy to buy them. If mommy and daddy can't find them in Massachusetts, they will do what everyone else in the state does: Buy it in Nashua or Salem NH and avoid the sales tax too.
This will be a great benifit for gamestops and EBgames in NH. Way to go Massachusetts.
This refers to toms friedmans book ' Lexus vs the Olive Tree ' or close, look it up - its a good book.
Here is the summary:
The Lexus represents modern life, aka - globalization, the internet, computers etc etc, and our love for these things and conveinces which make our lives better.
The Olive Tree is our long standing traditions, communities, churches, families, the ties that bind us to each other and to the places we live.
I have not RTFA, but from the summary, I can see this guy is a good writer... although he does lean somewhat heavily on an informed audience.
This metaphor is actually pretty good - Our modern culture is clashing with our values, and its not pretty. Video game violence legislation, computure monotiring etc etc, all of the things we rail about on slashdot... the majority of them are a direct result of this clash.
Read the book, and understand your world better.
Don't read the book, trash authors because you don't get it, and look like an idiot.
Better?
And I suppose I should put up a website to reach a new set of clients, but I've been doing so much work word of mouth that I haven't seen a need as of yet.
That sounds like it was an excellent Thesis. Did you get any usable results from your experiment, or did it terminate when you recieved your thesis grade (as mine and hundreds of thousands of others did)?
Advice to the people who know how to remove these infections: Do what I'm doing and start up a business in your area cleaning up these things: Because there is no tried and true way to stop adware and spyware from assaulting users computers, you will always have a ready customer base to reach.
The people will love you, and if you charge reasonable rates and do house calls, they will keep calling you. And more than likely feed you while you are there. Oh - and if there is anyone having problems in northern mass and souther NH, email me - If i can fix your problem in less than an hour its 50 dollars for a house call!
Slashdot Mirror
The FCC has no standing to police what comcast does or does not do to its customers because congress has not given the FCC that power.
Additionally, sometime during President Truman's last term, a statement was issued that essentially said 'We are not communists! See - we like the free market, and we will regulate as little as possible', which WAS approved by congress, and is currently active.
Comcast is essentially telling the FCC to not bother, as whatever finding they come to, Comcast will believe it illigit and not comply unless congress gets involved and changes the laws, or issues a new guidance.
Essentially - this is big political news, and if this goes forward we can expect to see a new set of good laws ( or bad) coming out of congress to address issues like this.
My bet? Be prepared for congress to give the go head to throttle down P2P as a public service.
Neither of these is a requirement for 'legal' downloading. The only requirements for 'legal' downloading are authentication and speed, the second of which this apparently gets them, more than likely through the use of the first.
This will be accepted and used by large numbers of people that care about speed primarily, selection and privacy secondariliy. And in fact, if it allows me to watch Chuck and Heroes on my HD TV through my computer hookup without having to do any 'work', I might even use it... if it comes with a way to talk to those you are downloading from, as authentication is now probably active, it may start a brand new kind of community: jury is still out on whether that is a good thing or not (leaning toward bad)
I don't particularly agree with most of what the responder to my original post said... except for the one piece that you are calling bizarre.
As consumers we are worse off because we are locked in unless [drum roll please], we put in EXTRA work to get what we really want: EXACTLY the work you have just itemized.
If we had a choice of four different stores from which to buy songs to play on five different players, and they were all completely interchangable, those stores would have to compete on price, quality, or selection, thus IMPROVING our lot.
As it stands, if you are using iTunes are only able to buy what they want to sell you at the quality they want to sell it at and at the price they have decided to set. How are you better off as a consumer? Isn't the exact reason everyone is so upset with Microsoft et al?
And, getting back to your original point, if we don't understand that, we are indeed idiots. Have a nice day sir.
"ZapMedia applied for the patents in 1999. One was granted in March 2006, the other on Tuesday."
... Tuesday?!!
They filed for these patents 9 years ago, and one of them was just granted
I know we are all against software patents... but these guys have been waiting for 9 years to be able to use this patent by the rules that everyone is supposed to play by. calling them Patent Trolls for standing by and watching while Apple used thier technology to make billions, is not quite accurate.
What would have happened if this patent was issued 9 years ago? or even just the year before the iPod came out? Would it be the ZapMediaPod that everyone was playing thier music on?
Patent laws were originally designed so that the little guys can get thier inventions out without being clobbered by the big guys. Granted they don't work that way in practice.
However - if you read the article's related to this issue, (and I don't mean the trashy yahoo article) try this one:
http://money.excite.com/jsp/nw/nwdt_ge.jsp?cat=PRRELEASE&src=102&feed=cmt§ion=news&news_id=cmt-072b4826&date=20080312&alias=/alias/money/cm/nw
You will see that these guys worked closely with Apple, and then Apple cut them out of the loop, EXACTLY what patent law was originally designed to prevent.
Patents shouldn't apply to software... maybe. How do you protect the small time coder from the big business that takes thier ideas, makes billions, and then doesn't return a dime, without patents?
I'll accept any answer that doesn't end with
3: ????
4: PROFIT!
But apple has a monopoly on IPHONES!
These are the rules with H1-b as of nov 2003.
I do not believe that they have changed substantially since then.
Search for prevailing wage: this would be you 'going rate'. What you suggest in point 4 is illegal.
http://www.murthy.com/mb_pdf/nov2803.pdf
Should anyone date a woman who reads fashion magazines?
Discuss.
Starcraft had some of the most EFFECTIVE graphics.
There isn't a sense that you would ever miss your targets because the graphics display couldn't get on the same page with where the engine thought the graphics should be...
sprites makes sure everyone is on the same page, by being able to say, beyond a doubt, this thing is here and it is this big... no no - don't compute its position, just put it there... no no - I don't care what kind of processor you have, or what OS you are using, put it where I said to put it.
If you believe in the Anti Copyright Crusade: Don't lose faith and keep fighting. As soon as you give in, and say 'Maybe its not so bad...' You have just given them permission to do whatever they want.
Keep crusading, or give up, but only you can make that decision for yourself.
This system was designed to overcome another flaw: that the winner take all system 'unfairly' rewards momentum.
Jimmy Carter is the reason the Democrats system is the way it is, and they changed it to this to prevent Another Jimmy Carter from winning the primary.
If the democratic race were a winner take all, I'm not certain who would be the winner, but I'm fairly sure we wouldn't be talking about it right now: There would be a clear winner, based on a few percentage points victories in states that are probably going to be voting republican in November... Like Texas, Sort of like how the Republican Nomination was mostly decided in states that are going to be voting democrat come November: Notice how most of the 'conservative' states have been voting for Huckabee while he still had a sliver of a chance.
I'm not willing to say that my experiences are in the minority, although I will say that the people who I have known who play DnD, are probably a small subset of the total: College students between the ages of 18 and ~30 in the northeast, at a college whose name you may be able to guess from my email address. A set of people that I think everyone can agree will try anything to excess, especially if it lets them avoid thier homework or roomates, or both.
Additionally, I will also agree with you: addictive personalities WILL latch on to anything. This is just one of those things. If not this, then Magic Cards, or Pokemon, or Coffee. I have found this to be a popular latching point.
I also agree that the 80's crap is very similar to what is going on now with the violent video games craze... All I am trying to say, is that this game has not improved anyone's life that I know. It is not a self help regimen, nor is it a magic wand to make your problems go away. It is a pause, and if a pause helps you take better action, good. If it lets things fester and grow worse, bad. In either case, it is not action.
The summary asked how DnD has improved my life: It hasn't, except by making the people around me who had problems and latched on to this game disappear from my life. That is a rather harsh improvement.
Anectodal evidence is not what I used in the case. I used personal experience. The difference is huge.
DnD caused me problems, but I didn't play. It caused problems for those around me, and thus for me. I didn't need to quit because I didn't play.
Gygax created something that was a game. So long as it is a game it is fine. When it becomes something you need to function, it stops being a game, and starts being an addiction. Yes, lots of people have addictions. I have an Oxygen addiction. You are probably addicted to H20, I hear many people are addicted to sleep, However, when you become addicted to something that takes you away from reality, rather than keeping you in it, it becomes destructive.
DnD, when taken to an extreme, is destructive. Yes, yes, some people don't take it to an extreme. blahdy blah. some people do.
And it is not something that I have seen ever improve someones life. I'm not trying to blast the man, or the game. I'm just saying don't put him, or his game up on a pedistal. Don't give him a +10 charisma bonus that he never had in life now that he is dead.
Mourn him, take this as a reason to look up his old books, read a few and remember those times you had as a kid that were so good.... but don't put him on a pedistal.
As a matter of fact, I have watched many people piss away thier money, education and future while playing these games.
I have even watched someone that I know and love take on the characteristics of the character she was playing, hide from the real world, and allow people to completely take advantage of her, and by extension me.
Not having seen her in almost a year, I hope and wish that she is doing well, but I know she would be have done better if she could have faced the world without a d10 in her hand.
My life is far better since then, so I suppose you could say that DnD has improved my life: mostly by subtraction.
Not taking anything away from Gary Gygax: It is always sad when someone dies, and I enjoyed his books when I was young, but don't go putting him up on a pedistal, or saying DnD is great. It is what you make of it, but its mostly a trap for the mind, and an escape from the real world, just like video games, drugs, and alcahol. Certainly all of the above have helped someone somewhere in some circumstance: but that is the exception, not the rule.
Back when I invented spyware... What?... Back when I invented spyware, these were the exact same arguments that we used.
The client needed to know exactly which ads thier client was looking at and how they were positioned, how long the user lingered on the page, and what they clicked through, and which offers they accepted... so that we could target them with more of the same type of offers.
Our only issue was, how to get this wonderful tool that every user will want into thier hands? Why did I suggest the same avenue that viruses and other exploits use? two reasons: One, I figured there had to some useful purposes these pointless 'turn off your computer after typing a funny message to the screen' viruses could be put to.
Two: Becuase we didn't have the power of microsoft to shove it down everyones throat.
I've spent a long time regretting my suggestion so long ago - My only solace is that maybe someone somewhere else suggested it first, and the implementation of it was well along before I opened my mouth. Please don't let me be the guy that invented spyware... Also - please let me avoid having it downloaded to my computer via windows update.
The reason north station and south station are not connected through boston (and if you take the T enough, you realize that it isn't even easy by T) is because way back when north station and south station were being built, the taxi lobby successfully blocked the connection.
Read that again. In the 1910's lobbiest twisted arms, and got what they want, and anyone who wants to travel from the north of massachusetts to the south of massachusetts has to get off the commuter rail in boston and hoof it to south station (much faster than the T if you don't have luggage) or vice versa.
Lobbyists for who? Taxi's, who are even slower than the T crossing boston's congested streets and will cost you an arm and leg.
Pay attention to what your politicians do today: Our kids are going to be paying for it.
Who decides which games are worthwhile for minors?
Who decides which games provide a minor 'serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value'?
Does Grand Theft Auto 'Tom Sawyer Edition' pass muster?
How about SCMRPG (or whatever) that just got pulled from the slamdance festival? That at least might have had historical value, as a rememberence of a national tragedy.
Blocking these games from being sold on the store shelf doesn't stop the problem: These kids think they want these games and they ask mommy and daddy to buy them. If mommy and daddy can't find them in Massachusetts, they will do what everyone else in the state does: Buy it in Nashua or Salem NH and avoid the sales tax too.
This will be a great benifit for gamestops and EBgames in NH. Way to go Massachusetts.
This refers to toms friedmans book ' Lexus vs the Olive Tree ' or close, look it up - its a good book.
Here is the summary:
The Lexus represents modern life, aka - globalization, the internet, computers etc etc, and our love for these things and conveinces which make our lives better.
The Olive Tree is our long standing traditions, communities, churches, families, the ties that bind us to each other and to the places we live.
I have not RTFA, but from the summary, I can see this guy is a good writer... although he does lean somewhat heavily on an informed audience.
This metaphor is actually pretty good - Our modern culture is clashing with our values, and its not pretty. Video game violence legislation, computure monotiring etc etc, all of the things we rail about on slashdot... the majority of them are a direct result of this clash.
Read the book, and understand your world better.
Don't read the book, trash authors because you don't get it, and look like an idiot.
Better? And I suppose I should put up a website to reach a new set of clients, but I've been doing so much work word of mouth that I haven't seen a need as of yet.
That sounds like it was an excellent Thesis. Did you get any usable results from your experiment, or did it terminate when you recieved your thesis grade (as mine and hundreds of thousands of others did)?
Advice to the people who know how to remove these infections: Do what I'm doing and start up a business in your area cleaning up these things: Because there is no tried and true way to stop adware and spyware from assaulting users computers, you will always have a ready customer base to reach.
The people will love you, and if you charge reasonable rates and do house calls, they will keep calling you. And more than likely feed you while you are there. Oh - and if there is anyone having problems in northern mass and souther NH, email me - If i can fix your problem in less than an hour its 50 dollars for a house call!