I think you should rename your post "A Catholic" or "A couple of Catholics" something like that. Unless you actually think all Catholics behave this way.
I'm talking about much broader questions of allocation than just shipping things around in trucks. In fact, the most important resources are increasingly non-tangible (i.e. knowledge). Globally distributing basic knowledge about agriculture, for example, would go much further toward reducing poverty than any physical resource, or any population control.
I'm definitely onboard with sustainability theory, but I cringe when people talk as if the planet's just bursting at the seams with people. It isn't.
Furthermore, people are not hamsters. Each person who is born has a brain, and intelligence that can be applied to solving problems such as "overpopulation". I suspect inefficient resource allocation is a larger part of the poverty problem than raw "mouths to feed" numbers.
Others: AC is making a joke about that Al Gore & the penguins video that tried to discredit his global warming film by pointing out that Al Gore's airplane uses a lot of gas.
See, I don't just rely on who I know, but on scientific study "it would take 5,000 downloads to reduce the sales of an album by one copy" http://www.p2pnet.net/zero/FileSharing_March2004.p df "this would imply a yearly sales loss of two million albums, which is virtually rounding error' given that 803 million records were sold in 2002. Sales dropped by 139 million albums from 2000 to 2002"
So if your friends aren't buying many CDs, there are likely lots of reasons for that.
"the best consumer OS out there with vast hardware support, more software and user friendly"
hell, I'll bite.
If by "hardware" you mean "consumer eletronics" then I guess yeh, there sure are a lot of digital cameras that require Windows or at least claim to. But it is 100% beyond debate that Linux is available on a *much wider variety of hardware.
"Dating Me(TM) enables integrated solutions that optimize your Social Life Experience through new streamlined enterprise implementations and enhanced security..."
"Dating Me(TM) is a service provided to you under the following terms and conditions..."
"...in no event will Me be liable for damages to your reputation, orifices, or other assets arising from Dating Me(TM)..."
"...you agree to allow Microsoft(TM) personnel to periodically inspect your residentiary premises for evidence of Unauthorized Account Activity (including but not limited to Shagging rms on the Side)..."
"...you hereby grant permission for Me too share non-personally-identifying information (such as your CPU serial number, your driver's license number, and your social security number) with certain strategic partners of Me..."
"...any attempts to reverse-engineer Me for better performance, reliability, etc. are strictly prohibited by this agreement..."
If we're done with all the rootkit jokes and dismissive asides, TFA's description of this thing is fascinating: *only uses power when turning page. Leave a page "on" (visible) on your desk and go to be. And the description of how it manages to be as easy on the eyes as paer is cool.
Size & weight would be a big deal for me; I'll need to see this in person (or at least in cyborg) to assess its chances. Oh, and I agree that DRM BS can kill theses.
No, MS only bought "piece of mind". The SCOSource license was a hilarious bit of salesmanship: buy this just in case something we're suing about turns out to have evidence backing it up.
BTW I think MS might deserve a refund, having not got the "piece of mind" they were buying. That is to say: this maneuver backfired big time; IBM's response has laid waste to years worth of FUD, and Linux has 5 times the mindshare it used to.
Reread.
I specifically said I had purchased 5 CDs that I wouldn't have if it weren't for p2p discovery. I didn't mention the total number I've purchased and own. It is in fact in the hundreds.
I don't use windows, because I want to control my computer.
I am, however, forced to *buy Windows every time I get a new computer. I could build my own, I guess, but that's quite a bit of work.
Or would you say that the US Postal service doesn't have a monopoly because after all I can drive my letters to Nevada myself if I don't like their product?
Nice attempt, but only covers a tiny slice of people's buying habits.
How about when I'm at a record store, ready to buy, and I see a discounted CD by a band I remember from my friend's mp3 collection? Or from a mix someone gave me.
I can tell you conclusively that the answer is definitely not "none" because I've personally bought at least 5 CDs that I would never have heard of were it not for p2p. To be fair, I also definitely know one CD I would have bought but did not because someone downloaded all the tracks to my machine. Wasn't me, though.
Incidentally, if I ever see that disc for sale in the range $6-8 I'll buy it anyway for the convenience and liner art.
esp. if your CDs are in the car, or elsewhere. but I don't think the number's anywhere near 60%.
The more interesting number is: how many people would buy the song they're downloading if they had to. Even from iTunes? for $2?
I think 2%
The other more interesting number is: how many sales are *generated by the other 98%, when they user plays it for her friend, or ends up buying it, or whatever. Does it balance out that 2%?
And I hope they are: instead of just youtube-plus-ads, they could easily build customizable GoogleTV channel(s) that you could subscribe to by defining a set of tags/users/whatev that you are interested in, combining user-submitted content with stuff they've licensed. Paid for with ads, or by subscription just like your cable TV bill. But instead of 107 channels of crap to get the 2 you like, you get 15 you like and no crap.
I've always thought the youtube system had real potential to enable egalitarian broadcasting; I sincerely hope google is thinking the same way.
"From a corporate point of view, Windows just works."
I think this point of view might be slipping from dominance. You speak of the population of pre-trained/semi-trained people who can run a windows machine. This is a good thing from the corporate point of view, but at the consumer's end this is what leads to the script-driven tech support system that (to me, at least) is extremely frustrating.
When I call my ISP for support, I want a guy who knows what an SMTP server is exactly, not a guy who asks what version of Windows I'm using or who starts off with "go to the Options menu in outlook express...."
I think this is a short-term benefit. How many of these semi-competent script-readers are going to be useful when Vista rolls out? Or the Excel interface changes drastically? Nothing's going to "just work" anymore until you spend big money retraining.
I don't know if "kooks" is quite fair, but they do seem to rail about inflammatory issues, rather than issues that really affect the national economy.
example: I did the math, and I think "pork barrel" spending amounted to about 1% of the national budget ($23B of 2 or so trillion). Pork is bad on principle, of course, but if you think that's the biggest waste in America's federal budget you're just parroting something you heard on talk radio.
I rather like the analogy. During the industrial age, pollution was viewed as a necessary evil in order to sustain the production levels required by modern life, and by the project to alleviate human misery.
Likewise IP is viewed by many (esp. the more prgoressive creators) as a necessary evil in order to sustain respectable funding levels for scientific research and artistic creation.
Thing is: technology changes things. Just as there are more efficient, cleaner technologies that can manufacture a wide range of things without damaging the planet as much, there are more efficient distribution/monetization strategeies for the products of human creativity.
Slashdot Mirror
I think you should rename your post "A Catholic" or "A couple of Catholics" something like that. Unless you actually think all Catholics behave this way.
I'm talking about much broader questions of allocation than just shipping things around in trucks. In fact, the most important resources are increasingly non-tangible (i.e. knowledge). Globally distributing basic knowledge about agriculture, for example, would go much further toward reducing poverty than any physical resource, or any population control.
I'm definitely onboard with sustainability theory, but I cringe when people talk as if the planet's just bursting at the seams with people. It isn't.
Furthermore, people are not hamsters. Each person who is born has a brain, and intelligence that can be applied to solving problems such as "overpopulation". I suspect inefficient resource allocation is a larger part of the poverty problem than raw "mouths to feed" numbers.
Judging by that satellite shot google is turning into the next Mr Burns.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Who_shot_mr_burns)
I got it, AC. Very cute.
Others: AC is making a joke about that Al Gore & the penguins video that tried to discredit his global warming film by pointing out that Al Gore's airplane uses a lot of gas.
Would get a perfect score on that new SAT essay test, though...
See, I don't just rely on who I know, but on scientific studyp df
"it would take 5,000 downloads to reduce the sales of an album by one copy"
http://www.p2pnet.net/zero/FileSharing_March2004.
"this would imply a yearly sales loss of two million albums, which is virtually rounding error' given that 803 million records were sold in 2002. Sales dropped by 139 million albums from 2000 to 2002"
So if your friends aren't buying many CDs, there are likely lots of reasons for that.
"the best consumer OS out there with vast hardware support, more software and user friendly"
b ility
hell, I'll bite.
If by "hardware" you mean "consumer eletronics" then I guess yeh, there sure are a lot of digital cameras that require Windows or at least claim to. But it is 100% beyond debate that Linux is available on a *much wider variety of hardware.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux_(kernel)#Porta
"Dating Me(TM) enables integrated solutions that optimize your Social Life Experience through new streamlined enterprise implementations and enhanced security..."
"Dating Me(TM) is a service provided to you under the following terms and conditions..."
"...in no event will Me be liable for damages to your reputation, orifices, or other assets arising from Dating Me(TM)..."
"...you agree to allow Microsoft(TM) personnel to periodically inspect your residentiary premises for evidence of Unauthorized Account Activity (including but not limited to Shagging rms on the Side)..."
"...you hereby grant permission for Me too share non-personally-identifying information (such as your CPU serial number, your driver's license number, and your social security number) with certain strategic partners of Me..."
"...any attempts to reverse-engineer Me for better performance, reliability, etc. are strictly prohibited by this agreement..."
If we're done with all the rootkit jokes and dismissive asides, TFA's description of this thing is fascinating: *only uses power when turning page. Leave a page "on" (visible) on your desk and go to be. And the description of how it manages to be as easy on the eyes as paer is cool.
Size & weight would be a big deal for me; I'll need to see this in person (or at least in cyborg) to assess its chances. Oh, and I agree that DRM BS can kill theses.
No, MS only bought "piece of mind". The SCOSource license was a hilarious bit of salesmanship: buy this just in case something we're suing about turns out to have evidence backing it up.
Here's a similar license:
http://btetc.blogspot.com/2006/07/mattsource.html
BTW I think MS might deserve a refund, having not got the "piece of mind" they were buying. That is to say: this maneuver backfired big time; IBM's response has laid waste to years worth of FUD, and Linux has 5 times the mindshare it used to.
Reread. I specifically said I had purchased 5 CDs that I wouldn't have if it weren't for p2p discovery. I didn't mention the total number I've purchased and own. It is in fact in the hundreds.
IIRC, the droids have to be enveloped in real skin otherwise they cannot travel through time.
(OB)
Kappy Kirthday to you,
Kappy Kirthday to you,
Kappy Kirthday Kister Kresident,
Kappy Kirthday Ko Kou
I don't use windows, because I want to control my computer.
I am, however, forced to *buy Windows every time I get a new computer. I could build my own, I guess, but that's quite a bit of work.
Or would you say that the US Postal service doesn't have a monopoly because after all I can drive my letters to Nevada myself if I don't like their product?
Nice attempt, but only covers a tiny slice of people's buying habits.
How about when I'm at a record store, ready to buy, and I see a discounted CD by a band I remember from my friend's mp3 collection? Or from a mix someone gave me.
I can tell you conclusively that the answer is definitely not "none" because I've personally bought at least 5 CDs that I would never have heard of were it not for p2p. To be fair, I also definitely know one CD I would have bought but did not because someone downloaded all the tracks to my machine. Wasn't me, though.
Incidentally, if I ever see that disc for sale in the range $6-8 I'll buy it anyway for the convenience and liner art.
esp. if your CDs are in the car, or elsewhere. but I don't think the number's anywhere near 60%.
The more interesting number is: how many people would buy the song they're downloading if they had to. Even from iTunes? for $2?
I think 2%
The other more interesting number is: how many sales are *generated by the other 98%, when they user plays it for her friend, or ends up buying it, or whatever. Does it balance out that 2%?
And I hope they are: instead of just youtube-plus-ads, they could easily build customizable GoogleTV channel(s) that you could subscribe to by defining a set of tags/users/whatev that you are interested in, combining user-submitted content with stuff they've licensed. Paid for with ads, or by subscription just like your cable TV bill. But instead of 107 channels of crap to get the 2 you like, you get 15 you like and no crap. I've always thought the youtube system had real potential to enable egalitarian broadcasting; I sincerely hope google is thinking the same way.
no text
"From a corporate point of view, Windows just works."
I think this point of view might be slipping from dominance. You speak of the population of pre-trained/semi-trained people who can run a windows machine. This is a good thing from the corporate point of view, but at the consumer's end this is what leads to the script-driven tech support system that (to me, at least) is extremely frustrating.
When I call my ISP for support, I want a guy who knows what an SMTP server is exactly, not a guy who asks what version of Windows I'm using or who starts off with "go to the Options menu in outlook express...."
I think this is a short-term benefit. How many of these semi-competent script-readers are going to be useful when Vista rolls out? Or the Excel interface changes drastically? Nothing's going to "just work" anymore until you spend big money retraining.
no text this time.
I don't know if "kooks" is quite fair, but they do seem to rail about inflammatory issues, rather than issues that really affect the national economy.
example: I did the math, and I think "pork barrel" spending amounted to about 1% of the national budget ($23B of 2 or so trillion). Pork is bad on principle, of course, but if you think that's the biggest waste in America's federal budget you're just parroting something you heard on talk radio.
Vista will never be installed on any machine I control. That is all.
I rather like the analogy. During the industrial age, pollution was viewed as a necessary evil in order to sustain the production levels required by modern life, and by the project to alleviate human misery.
Likewise IP is viewed by many (esp. the more prgoressive creators) as a necessary evil in order to sustain respectable funding levels for scientific research and artistic creation.
Thing is: technology changes things. Just as there are more efficient, cleaner technologies that can manufacture a wide range of things without damaging the planet as much, there are more efficient distribution/monetization strategeies for the products of human creativity.