there's no shortage of American citizens who would be happy to round up all homosexuals and gas them.
You are either lying through your teeth, or delusional. Conservatives and orthodox Christians simply want marriage to not be redefined. Many of them even accept a "civil union" that grants hospital visitation and some other benefits. From that to "round up all homosexuals and gas them"... Wow. This is the single most bizarre straw man that I remember ever seeing.
If they were the real champions of progressive values, wouldn't they, ummm, not be conservatives anymore?
You are begging the question. His point is that equality under the law was defended by conservatives. Only recently, progressives started claiming that conservatives are "anti-black" and "anti-woman".
Genetic engineering notwithstanding, how exactly is it different from what we have today?
The rich may be powerful, but they are a small minority. So, in a democratic society, they cannot completely dominate the lower class. In fact, in the USA rich people pay much more taxes (in absolute numbers), while getting less benefit.
In the scenario I described, the powerful beings (who would not even be human) would probably be a majority. So the upper class would be smarter, wealthier and more numerous than the underclass. Nightmare.
Actually, that's not common sense at all. What would be common sense is that people who do the same thing get paid the same
Absolutely absurd! People should be paid the same if they do the same thing with the same talent, with the same experience, with the same effort, with the same career priorities, with the same commitment, etc.
Since feminists are the one trying to pass new restrictive laws (such as ERA), it is they who should prove their case.
If you find a comprehensive and reliable study about this, then share it with me.
I just read it, and I don't see a serious argument there - except that we should not panic and we should try to find reasonable ways to fight problems.
The main argument seems to be that because there have been many predictions of huge catastrophe that did not come true then no such predictions will ever come true.
No. The argument is that every time a new problem is discovered, people(radical environmentalists, politicians, crazy scientists, and the entire media) will exaggerate it into catastrophic scales. So it makes sense to take Apocalypse predictions with a big grain of salt. Otherwise, we will live in constant panic, and will constantly take extreme measures that will cause more damage than good.
However, do I see any proof that AGW will have only moderate economical (slash ecological) impact?
Since the radical environmentalists want to significantly restrict people's lives (by crippling the economy, by performing population control, etc.), it is they who should prove their case.
And it is actually hard to believe in the catastrophic AGW scenarios. With Green(tm) energy getting cheaper and cheaper (solar is predicted to reach residential grid parity by 2015 and industrial grid parity by 2020; and wind will reach grid parity by 2025; then there is geothermal, hydro, wave, etc.), with nuclear fission technology advancing, with nuclear fusion probably being available in a few decades, we have many options. It is extremely unlikely they would all fail.
And we also have many options to cool Earth via geoengineering. Increasing solar reflection (there are many ways to do that), sequestering carbon (again, there are many ways to do it), etc.
The AGW Apocalypse scenarios are based on the _extreme_ unlikelihood that _everything_ will fail. People with this pessimist mentality have, so far, caused far more damage than good.
Bigger population enables better division of labor.
By the way, 1st world countries are precisely the ones with the least fertility (often, much lower than the replacement rate), so you should be advocating for their fertility rate to increase.
In the current culture, greater wealth causes less population growth (due to women getting married older, due to women focusing on careers, due to the cost of raising a child, due to selfishness and hedonism, etc.), which is tragic. The most advanced cultures are going to age, ossify and shrink into oblivion.
Where did it happen in Europe? In the French Revolution as a violent reaction against the church?
Voltaire had a chance to influence society only because the society was already relatively tolerant. If Voltaire was born in Iran or the URSS, he would have been quickly executed.
Or the US constitution where the only people citing the bible were the opponents? Do you have any evidence for this proposition? It sounds like you're getting your history from David Barton.
Alexis de Tocqueville said:
for they must know that liberty cannot be established without morality, nor morality without faith
It is no coincidence that the USA, one of the most religious countries in the first world, is also one of the countries with the best freedom of expression (1st amendment). In Europe, people are punished for saying politically incorrect things (such as "abortion is murder", "homosexual acts are sinful"), which are deemed "hate speech".
The communist nations had another ideology causing the aggression, but in general, studies show that religiosity is highly correlated with violent cultures, you can argue cause and effect, but Muslim or Christian there is a definite correlation.
In the other extreme (very high atheism) we find the totalitarian Marxist states, which were orders of magnitude worse than any theocracy. So you can argue that there is a correlation between religious or atheist extremism, and violence. It is not a monotonic curve.
In a mouse only environment you have to fish for the "expose desktops" button whereas in gnome 3 it is one concise move. In keyboard only mode you have to do a combination, not very difficult but much less effective than a single keypress.
I'm sorry, what button are you referring to? Please rephrase.
The UI does not deform properly upon parametrization
What?
The hotbar shortcuts are irrelevant once you have actually started the programs
Why?
, lenses mess up the experience and unnecessarily populate your activities
What I can't digest about the unity interface is that it can't be effectively used as a mouse oriented UI nor can it be effectively used as a keyboard only UI.
How so? I see no problem in using Unity as mouse-only or keyboard-only.
Install the J programming language. Run the REPL. Then cover the REPL window with another window. The J REPL is then lost for good. I have never seen a window manager lose a window before. I stopped using Unity at that point and started using Gnome3.
AFAIK Unity is a compiz plugin. Does that defect happen in other compiz environments too?
Apple is, and should be, free to prohibit any content they want on their store. It's their store, we shouldn't force them to add stuff they don't want.
There is a large difference between "I have a legal right to do it" and "It is good to do it".
I have a legal right to say black people are inferior. Does not mean it is a good idea.
Apple has the legal right to censor political/philosophical/religious ideas (see [1]), but at the same time we have a right and maybe even a duty to boycott it.
Ok, so if I know I want, say, for example, some program that will rip music from a CD but I don't have any clue what it might be called, what do I do, precisely?
There are at least two options:
1) Open the Dash Home* or the Dash App Lens** and type (the first letters of) "music" or "rhythmbox" (if you know the name)
2) Open the Dash App Lens**. Click "Filter results". Click "Media". On the "Installed" row, you will see "Rhythmbox music player".
Now, I'll grant it is slightly confusing for newbies because Rhythmbox is called "music player", not "cd ripper". It just happens that Rhythmbox has ripping functionality. Gnome 2 would be just as (slightly) confusing (AFAIK).
* You can open the Dash Home by clicking the Ubuntu icon or tapping Super ** You can open the Dash App Lens by right-click on the Ubuntu Icon and choosing "Applications" or by typing Super + A. Holding Super will show a screen that informs you about the keyboard shortcuts.
The main reason I hated it was that you pretty much HAVE to use the keyboard to use it. Not so bad for most people, but my monitor is a 42" tv sitting across the room with my pc. I have a wireless mouse and keyboard, but I usually left the keyboard turned off and sitting on a table out of the way. Until Unity, I could access all of my applications with no more than 3 mouse clicks, and I only had to use the keyboard to enter passwords or for the occasional terminal session.
Can't you right-click the Ubuntu icon, choose "Applications", and click on "Filter results"? In fact, the next time you do it "Filter results" will be pre-activated.
1- Yes I can just type a few letters and the program will show up, but if I cant remember the name of the program because I only use it once in a blue moon, I need to spend 5+ minutes searching for it.
See above.
2- I have to jump through a few hoops to get all my app notifications to show up correctly.
I have never had problems with that. What specific problems do you have?
3- I have 5 third party apps installed to tweak various settings in Unity that should be built in
Maybe you are a tweak-freak. I let Unity the way it came.
4- I think the universal menu system is retarded. I have it turned off, but it really should be a simple checkbox in the system settings.
I find it OK.
5- It needs a better workspace indicator. The one that is stuck on the launch bar should at least tell me what workspace I have active since I cant remove it. (I have an extra mouse button set to open workspace switching, and I have the cube set up where if I scroll on the left or right of the screen, it changes workspaces)
The workspace indicator could improve, but I find Super-S (equivalent to clicking the button) to be convenient enough. So that issue is minor.
6- I would like the option to only show open application on the active workspace instead of always seeing all open apps on all workspaces. If its already pinned to the launchbar, the little arrows are cool, but I dont really need to see a transmission icon taking up space on my main workspace when I only have it open on workspace 4
And if it did, if I'm running an application I don't commonly use, I often don't know the name of it, so I would like a categorized menu of software to choose from.
If you want a categorized menu, you just need to click on "Filter results".
Besides, when you run the application, its icon appears in the bar. You can right-click it and choose "Lock to launcher".
It's a lingering hatred from Unity's early days when it was still buggy and lacking in customization options. It's less buggy now but still doesn't offer the level of customization that some geeks like to have. As Unity matures, though, I find myself agreeing that it is in fact quite usable.
This lingering hatred is a pity. Maybe Ubuntu will have to make marketing fireworks with a campaign called "Try the new Unity" or something.
This was after testing a couple of versions of Ubuntu with Unity in a VM and seeing the train-wreck that it was
Why all the Slashdot anti-Unity hate? Among my friends, they generally like or at least tolerate Unity. In the Ubuntu Software Center, the most recent (later than March 2012) reviews average 4 star. I, personally, like it very much. It saves screen real-state and: 1) Provides direct buttons for all the programs I commonly use 2) For other programs, I just hit Super and type the first letters of the program name
The scope of economics is limited to the domain of human behavior. It has no concept of physics, biology, or ecosystems, and those are what's in question here.
Utterly absurd. By that logic, we should ignore economics when examining the automobile industry, because economics has no concept of mechanical engineering, aerodynamics, electronics, ergonomics, chemistry, etc.
Overpopulation is a scientific issue, and the competent scientists have pretty much settled it. [youtube.com] Denying it makes it costlier.
Your video is simply a youtube video about the exponential function. I lost 9 minutes by watching it.
The DNA of study subjects had been analyzed for MAOA gene variation and their self-reported happiness was scored by a widely used and validated scale.
What scale is that? Maybe those women don't really are happy. Maybe they just have lower standards. How can we know? Unfortunately, the article is behind a paywall.
Slashdot Mirror
You are either lying through your teeth, or delusional. Conservatives and orthodox Christians simply want marriage to not be redefined. Many of them even accept a "civil union" that grants hospital visitation and some other benefits.
From that to "round up all homosexuals and gas them"... Wow. This is the single most bizarre straw man that I remember ever seeing.
You are begging the question. His point is that equality under the law was defended by conservatives. Only recently, progressives started claiming that conservatives are "anti-black" and "anti-woman".
The rich may be powerful, but they are a small minority. So, in a democratic society, they cannot completely dominate the lower class. In fact, in the USA rich people pay much more taxes (in absolute numbers), while getting less benefit.
In the scenario I described, the powerful beings (who would not even be human) would probably be a majority. So the upper class would be smarter, wealthier and more numerous than the underclass. Nightmare.
Absolutely absurd! People should be paid the same if they do the same thing with the same talent, with the same experience, with the same effort, with the same career priorities, with the same commitment, etc.
Since feminists are the one trying to pass new restrictive laws (such as ERA), it is they who should prove their case.
If you find a comprehensive and reliable study about this, then share it with me.
No. The argument is that every time a new problem is discovered, people(radical environmentalists, politicians, crazy scientists, and the entire media) will exaggerate it into catastrophic scales. So it makes sense to take Apocalypse predictions with a big grain of salt. Otherwise, we will live in constant panic, and will constantly take extreme measures that will cause more damage than good.
Since the radical environmentalists want to significantly restrict people's lives (by crippling the economy, by performing population control, etc.), it is they who should prove their case.
And it is actually hard to believe in the catastrophic AGW scenarios. With Green(tm) energy getting cheaper and cheaper (solar is predicted to reach residential grid parity by 2015 and industrial grid parity by 2020; and wind will reach grid parity by 2025; then there is geothermal, hydro, wave, etc.), with nuclear fission technology advancing, with nuclear fusion probably being available in a few decades, we have many options. It is extremely unlikely they would all fail.
And we also have many options to cool Earth via geoengineering. Increasing solar reflection (there are many ways to do that), sequestering carbon (again, there are many ways to do it), etc.
The AGW Apocalypse scenarios are based on the _extreme_ unlikelihood that _everything_ will fail. People with this pessimist mentality have, so far, caused far more damage than good.
Wrong; third world countries perform research too. They maybe underdeveloped, but they are not savages.
By the way, the world leader in science (USA) has a mostly privatized higher level education system.
See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUY4ztwIVfA
Bigger population enables better division of labor.
By the way, 1st world countries are precisely the ones with the least fertility (often, much lower than the replacement rate), so you should be advocating for their fertility rate to increase.
In the current culture, greater wealth causes less population growth (due to women getting married older, due to women focusing on careers, due to the cost of raising a child, due to selfishness and hedonism, etc.), which is tragic. The most advanced cultures are going to age, ossify and shrink into oblivion.
Voltaire had a chance to influence society only because the society was already relatively tolerant. If Voltaire was born in Iran or the URSS, he would have been quickly executed.
Alexis de Tocqueville said:
It is no coincidence that the USA, one of the most religious countries in the first world, is also one of the countries with the best freedom of expression (1st amendment). In Europe, people are punished for saying politically incorrect things (such as "abortion is murder", "homosexual acts are sinful"), which are deemed "hate speech".
In the other extreme (very high atheism) we find the totalitarian Marxist states, which were orders of magnitude worse than any theocracy.
So you can argue that there is a correlation between religious or atheist extremism, and violence. It is not a monotonic curve.
I just wanted to know what is your specific problem with Unity.
I find it both beautiful and convenient.
I recommend you try to adapt Unity to your needs.
One very quick Google search found this: http://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2011/07/unity-launchers-compiz-plugins
What "expose"?
I'm sorry, what button are you referring to? Please rephrase.
What?
Why?
How?
Maybe you are running Unity3D with mesa software 3D emulation?
Either install Unity2D or use LLVMPipe (with Ubuntu 12.10).
How so? I see no problem in using Unity as mouse-only or keyboard-only.
AFAIK Unity is a compiz plugin. Does that defect happen in other compiz environments too?
I have never heard of it. Is there a bug report?
There is a large difference between "I have a legal right to do it" and "It is good to do it".
I have a legal right to say black people are inferior. Does not mean it is a good idea.
Apple has the legal right to censor political/philosophical/religious ideas (see [1]), but at the same time we have a right and maybe even a duty to boycott it.
1. http://www.manhattandeclaration.org/the-movement/latest-updates/10-12-23/Apple_Says_No_to_Manhattan_Declaration_App_2_0-1562643600.aspx
When have you tried it last? It is progressing nicely.
There are at least two options:
1) Open the Dash Home* or the Dash App Lens** and type (the first letters of) "music" or "rhythmbox" (if you know the name)
2) Open the Dash App Lens**. Click "Filter results". Click "Media". On the "Installed" row, you will see "Rhythmbox music player".
Now, I'll grant it is slightly confusing for newbies because Rhythmbox is called "music player", not "cd ripper". It just happens that Rhythmbox has ripping functionality. Gnome 2 would be just as (slightly) confusing (AFAIK).
* You can open the Dash Home by clicking the Ubuntu icon or tapping Super
** You can open the Dash App Lens by right-click on the Ubuntu Icon and choosing "Applications" or by typing Super + A.
Holding Super will show a screen that informs you about the keyboard shortcuts.
Can't you right-click the Ubuntu icon, choose "Applications", and click on "Filter results"? In fact, the next time you do it "Filter results" will be pre-activated.
See above.
I have never had problems with that. What specific problems do you have?
Maybe you are a tweak-freak. I let Unity the way it came.
I find it OK.
The workspace indicator could improve, but I find Super-S (equivalent to clicking the button) to be convenient enough. So that issue is minor.
I have never had a problem with that.
You can click on the Ubuntu icon.
If you want a categorized menu, you just need to click on "Filter results".
Besides, when you run the application, its icon appears in the bar. You can right-click it and choose "Lock to launcher".
This lingering hatred is a pity. Maybe Ubuntu will have to make marketing fireworks with a campaign called "Try the new Unity" or something.
Is its visual, or its functionality that you dislike? "Look like" is a bit ambiguous.
Someone modded the parent "Flamebait".
I hope this person is caught by metamoderation.
The parent is not remotely similar to a flamebait.
Why all the Slashdot anti-Unity hate? Among my friends, they generally like or at least tolerate Unity. In the Ubuntu Software Center, the most recent (later than March 2012) reviews average 4 star.
I, personally, like it very much. It saves screen real-state and:
1) Provides direct buttons for all the programs I commonly use
2) For other programs, I just hit Super and type the first letters of the program name
It is perfectly convenient.
So why the hate?
Utterly absurd. By that logic, we should ignore economics when examining the automobile industry, because economics has no concept of mechanical engineering, aerodynamics, electronics, ergonomics, chemistry, etc.
Your video is simply a youtube video about the exponential function. I lost 9 minutes by watching it.
News flash: the human population is not growing exponentially. See http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=3073583&cid=41135697
What scale is that? Maybe those women don't really are happy. Maybe they just have lower standards. How can we know?
Unfortunately, the article is behind a paywall.