Amazing. So the cause of income inequality is entropy. Utterly. Fucking. Amazing. What "job" are do the superstars of Hollywood do? Do they produce anything of value that can be used by anyone? Do they provide a service that helps another person perform a task? I'm not a socialist, but its the true cry of the idiot conservative to respond to any call for compassion with phrases like "life isn't like that" and to point fingers shouting "socialist!". I have no problem paying a market price for a Big Mac, a pair of jeans, a car with power mirrors and aircon. I have no problem with charging market price for the cell phones I retail in my shop. I have a big problem with Pfizer charging $40 per tablet for anti-biotics to third world countries where average daily wage is about $3 because they say that's market price. Don't start with the "well they need return on their research" BS. They'd get adequate return on their expenses if they didn't waste vast sums on marketing. Go get the latest financial reports of Pfizer from their web site, the ratio between research spending and marketing spending is astonishing.
Ok, this is a long one, let's see. First off, the point I made was, that the world is becoming more and more caotic, you must see this yourself in your life, and in the events around you. Now, you're asking what "job" are the stars of *wood (Holly/Bolly) doing, well, why are you listening to their songs and watching their movies and TV shows? That's what they are doing, they entertain the rest of us.
Don't get me started on Pfizer, there's a product that's called Ivomec used on cattle, to control parasites and lice, it's been around for a while, and claimed a very large market share. It costs somewhere around $350 USD, for 5 litres. Now, have a look at Dectomax It's the same drug, with one molecule changed, as Ivomec, yet they were selling it at $150 USD. After they convinced all of the vet clinics, and animal health centres to quit carrying Ivomec, they jacked up their price, and it now costs $600 USD. This isn't what I call capitalism, this is highway roberry. Fortunately, we do have a choice, we go a bit further, and buy Ivomec from a store a hundred miles away, at the original price.
All I'm saying is, that the people of Hollywood deserve to make money, just like the rest of us do; although, I don't find that the quality of their "product" justifies the pricing, you still have to pay for it, if you want it. Like it or not, DRM circumvention, downloading from Kazaa, and whatnot is stealing, and morally wrong. I'll confess to not knowing the Koran, but my Bible, has a Commandment, that says "Thou Shalt Not Steal".
Umm, you just proved my point. To sell to middlemen you need to sell much higher quantities, requiring much higher capital investments and sell at far lower margins. You say it costs you $460/acre? Guess what? The guy I just bought some chopped fruit from works 3 or 4 acres total and makes enough to live off. You on the other hand work however many acres you work and still, according to you, struggle. My friend works less land with less equipment, but his margins are so high that it doesn't matter. The price I paid for the fruit, at $1 a serve, probably equates to thousands of dollars a year per acre. You my friend are a victim of middlemen. Stop being so happy about it and wake up. The biggest problem with fundamentalist capitalism is that the idiot peons are actually happy being idiot peons because they are told rubbish like "You have liberty" and "Hey look! A dictator with WMDs!".
No, I disproved your point, you just didn't see it. Look at the living conditions of the people in Asia, and then look at those of the people in North America. There are "farmgate" producers here (North America) too, however, they aren't doing much better as anyone else
Damn straight it's stupid. Somewhere between enjoying enjoying Pink Floyd and not having DDT added to my milk and cookies there is a line. It's not particularly hard to find. Rules and regulations for safety are fine, but rules and regulations that exist for no other purpose but to provide an artificial way to channel return on product to people not involved in production are socially wasteful. Incidentally, artists were never paid until recently in history. Some were good enough that they could earn a living performing, but most had other jobs and lives as well, lives which served to provide creative inspiration for new art. Perhaps the inane trivial lifestyles of modern pop artists today explains the inane trivial nature of modern pop music. Personally, I feel that the 9 figure bank balances of pop artists are just effing stupid, and I don't effing care how good their music is. People are dying from a lack of a bag of rice, and Puff Daddy sings a few songs and gets paid the GDP of half of Africa? No sir, I refuse to subscribe to your newsletter.
I agree that there is an imbalance. People are starving, dying of disease, and living in squalor, while Hollywood brats (aka, Hilton, and the lot) are living up a life that 95% of the world can only imagine. However, they are doing a "job", if you'd like to call it that, and they deserve to be paid. From your post, it appears that you are firmly rooted in Socialism. Yes, it would be nice if they wouldn't need money, heck, if we wouldn't need money. Unfortunately, life isn't like that. You pay for cloths, you pay for food, you pay for housing, you pay for phone, internet, and anything else you want. In the classical ages, things were not based purely on money as they are now, but, one of the rules of the universe is that Chaos is always increasing...
No, that's not always the way and I will NOT get the point. This point in history is unique in that for the first time society has allowed creativity to be commoditised. Until recently knowledge and art flowed freely between societies and people, with few notable exceptions such as military techniques and technologies. Men like Isaac Newton, Louis Pasteur and Leonardo Da Vinci shared what they learned freely, and society is the better for it. Only with the spread of Militant Fundamentalist Capitalism and the resulting private sector heavily armed with lawyers has the idea that people have to be able to profit from thinking before they will think become ingrained. That is not to say that one should not be able to profit from one's invention. I am arguing that one should not be able to exploit the rest of society by unfairly excluding some from it's use. I point to pharmaceutical companies as the main invoker of my wrath on this point. Yes, a very broad paragraph, but your assertion that "it's always the way" was, no offense, broadly stupid.
You are, with all due respect, a moron. Society changes, we didn't have computers, we didn't have cars, planes, Capitalism, or Communism in the middle-ages. But we do now, and things won't go back. You have to realise that you're a minority, that anyone can crush at any point. In the modern world, numbers speak louder than voices, and nerds, geeks, or whatever you want to call them, don't have the numbers to speak loudly, to anyone, but others like themselves.
I am currently travelling in Thailand. There are food vendors who will sell me a full multi-course meal for about $4 and then beam like it's Christmas when I give them the equivalent of $6 and tell them to keep the change. He produces goods and retails them, leading to high margins for him and rock bottom prices for me. Lovely situation isn't it? There is lots of poverty here. I don't see how creating a class of people who charge a 500% markup to take the food from the guy before he gets into town at wholesale prices, reducing his profit to a fraction of what it was, and then gives it to me at retail, multiplying the price I pay many times over. I mu
The reason us "blow hard" geeks fight DRM is not because there is an objection with the idea that an artist should be able to profit from their work, but because there is an objection that a middleman should be able to give us a narrow list of ways in which we are allowed to enjoy that art. It would be like going down to your local grocery store, buying a tomato and being told you were only allowed to have it in a salad or you'd be fined. Kinda screws you if you have a hankering for spaghetti bolognaise. So well done on completely missing the point
Here's another analogy for you: As a farmer, we purchase chemicals, which belong to certain groups. The government says we can only use chemicals in group 6, to control weeds in cereals. According to your thought-train, that would mean that I should screw rules, and do as I please. But... That would mean you would get poisoned from your food.
You may argue this is a stupid comparison, but the world has rules and certain established conventions. Going up against them is useless and really annoying. In the end, un-DRMed media almost always comes from Bit-torrent, Kazaa or whatever else P2P system is "hot" at the moment. This means that the artist doesn't get a penny from your use of their creative abilities. Yes, people in the middle take most of the money, but it is always that way, in everything! Get the point!
In food, that bag of flour you buy in the store costs around $22 / bushel. We, the producers get $5.00 / bushel, and it costs about $2.00 / bushel to turn it into flour. Who do you think gets all that money? Do you think it's better to just go steal your food from the store, because you hate the middle-men?
I struggle to see why some self-professed "pseudo geeks" think they can get riled up about "hard core geeks" and throw all kinds of stereotypes. Throwing stereos is dangerous. Here's one for you: Could the reason you are so riled up about "hard core geeks" be due to the fact that you yourself are a typical failed or failing small business operator unable to make your IT guy work well on the meager pittance you can afford to pay him?
First of all, I'm not a pseudo geek, or a geek at all. People who know me, know that. I'm not riled up for any other reason than this: Since the 70s, geeks (nerds) have been outcasts, making a lot of noise that no one listens to, for no other reason than to gratify themselves! There is no point to it, and never will be. In fact, geeks/nerds are a reason why Linux doesn't get anywhere; I distribute Linux CDs to people around here, and in a little while, I hear from them that "the support sucks, everyone bites your head off when you ask a question!" Who do you think it is who is "biting their heads off"?
I don't hire an IT person, I am an IT person, in case you're wondering.
Social conservative hey? That explains your rediculous spelling and grammar. Oh, and no theory says the Earth is 2 billion years old. It's a few thousand or about 4.5 billion. Us "blow hard" geeks tend to like to do 2 to 3 minutes of research before jumping onto our soap boxes. Perhaps you could learn a thing or two from us, so allow me to formally invite you to my cosy little basement. My Mum will bring you some warm milk and freshly baked cookie
At the end of the day, I can look myself in the mirror and not be ashamed of my life, or what I do, that's why I am what I am, like it or not.
Regarding the age of the earth, there are these things called figures of speach, you must have learnt about them in school. It doesn't matter, the Big-Bang theory is the dumbest thing scientists have ever come up with.
...And Harper is different how? Cozzying up to the Americans? Getting rid of the CWB? Income Trusts? Childcare? Healthcare? Making a fool of Canada world-wide? I'm socially conservative, but Harper is NOT a Conservative.
I agree. Slashdot is full of many, many technology buffs, some of them are highly educated, and have well-paying jobs in everything from engineering, to computer sciences. Those are the ones who read, and post really informative comments every once in a while.
Then, there are the blow-hard geeks, who live in their parent's basements, have no life, and nothing to do, so they keep trying to attack large corporations for no other reason, then "we can".
iTunes Music Store, the iPod, and the MacBook are a success for Apple. The world needs certain rules in place in order to function. I don't see why Apple's DRM is so evil. It lets me burn CDs, I can watch shows, movies, and music videos, and it works flawlessly. That's what's important to me. Geeks are all about "freedom", and the only reason they keep bitching about it, is because they themselves don't have it.
I know this will get modded -1, because it hurts to hear the truth.
Oh, and I'm a Social Conservative, a Farmer, a Developer,and a Webhost. I'm Catholic, and Evolutionary "The earth is 2000000000 years old" sounds rediculous to me.
Just because I like it, doesn't matter you have to. I'm just giving my opinion. I don't really like Microsoft, but they do know their flight-sims. To each his own I say!
I was flipping through a software catalogue a while back, and I know I saw a few XServer for Windows apps, so, doesn't that also mean you could run KDE/Gnome on Windows? I do know there is a F/OSS window manager for Windows, I used to use it, but can't remember the name now.
Of This Uber-cool game called Half-Life 2: Episode 1? You know, I think "stunning" will have a whole new meaning for you after playing it (well, if you have a 1600 x 1200 display), and the hardware for it.
The way I figure it:
Option 1 Buy a $350 - $500 gaming console, then a $1,500 monitor, to play games that I _dont_ like (How can you play BzFlag, Half-Life*, Counter-Strike, and Counter-Strike:Source, Flight Simulator 200*, and Combat Flight Simulator on a console?) -or-
Option 2
Spend about $2,500 for a high-end Core2 Duo machine, with latest-gen nVidia Graphics, which can take care of my gaming needs, and serve as a work-station?
For me, the choice is obvious, but hey, to each his own.
Re:So let the flame wars begin!
on
The Birth of vi
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· Score: 1
After all, it's innovations like this that have led to an endless stream of clients sending me screenshots as Word documents.
Amen brother! This is the most annoying thing I have to deal with on a daily basis, and something I don't understand. *WHY* can't they just send the image??? Oh wait, I get it... they just PrtScn -> Paste into Word... Bleh, I'm rambling.
The reason they pollute so much is that the air-fuel mixture is pumped into the crank case along with some lubricating oil. All the engine's lubrication comes from the oil that is mixed in with the gas.
Actually, two-strokes don't have a crank-case persay. Air-fuel-oil is sucked into the combustion chamber (that would be above the tie-rod).
The reason for a two stroke diesel engine is efficiency. Note that the engine is supercharged. That means it doesn't need to use the crankcase as an air pump.
The crank-case is never the air-pump. what happens is that one piston is on the compression stroke, when the other is on the intake stroke. This causes the intake piston to "suck" air into it. Once the valves close, fuel is injected, and it then goes onto compression stroke, at the top of which the fuel/air ignites are produces power.
(I work with MTZ diesel engines for a living - both two and four-stroke).
It's very simple. Most people don't like geeks, and find them arrogant, and pathetic. In reality, the person next-door much rather likes a good ole Dell computer, if it has trouble, he dials Dell's 1-800 number, and gets things fixed. With Linux, he will need to wade through a bunch of IRC channels, and forums, having to deal with many not-so-friendly people.
Now, don't get me wrong; I don't have an issue with hotheaded geeks, but if we want to make Linux a product, which can compete with Windows, you're going to have to learn to put your g33k philosophies to bed. Ubuntu has been more succesful, partially because its community is quite friendly, plain and simple.
A typical response from a smart-ass linux fag. This would make more sense if, a) I was a faggot. b) I was a smart-ass, and c) you weren't an anonymous coward.
I guess, but still, I know MANY, MANY scripts that simply use SELECT * FROM `members` WHERE `member_id` = $_GET['id'];
By simply stating that $_GET['id'] is an INT, it'll prevent what would otherwise be a really, really big SQL flaw. Of course, all languages are only as secure as the developers working with them;)
Will Microsoft still be a viable competitor in the future? I mean, if this is all they're working on right now...
On a different note, did any of you realise that not a single computer is being advertised as having Vista installed? It was released already, no?
From the people I've had to work with, I think too many companies are doing that (Erm... "Manager in Charge of Database Development", I ask him if he knows what MySQL is and he says "I think I may have heard of it a long time ago")
I agree. Big-business is becoming the Bolshevik Revolution of the 21st century. If the public stands up to large corporations, then they'll know their limits. If we all bow down to them, what's going to happen, is that they'll control what we watch, when we eat, sleep, and work, and what we talk about.
The web is a place for free content exchange. Linking to someone's website shouldn't cause a lawsuite (whatever happened to people who wanted you to link to their sites)?
Slashdot Mirror
Ok, this is a long one, let's see. First off, the point I made was, that the world is becoming more and more caotic, you must see this yourself in your life, and in the events around you. Now, you're asking what "job" are the stars of *wood (Holly/Bolly) doing, well, why are you listening to their songs and watching their movies and TV shows? That's what they are doing, they entertain the rest of us.
Don't get me started on Pfizer, there's a product that's called Ivomec used on cattle, to control parasites and lice, it's been around for a while, and claimed a very large market share. It costs somewhere around $350 USD, for 5 litres. Now, have a look at Dectomax It's the same drug, with one molecule changed, as Ivomec, yet they were selling it at $150 USD. After they convinced all of the vet clinics, and animal health centres to quit carrying Ivomec, they jacked up their price, and it now costs $600 USD. This isn't what I call capitalism, this is highway roberry. Fortunately, we do have a choice, we go a bit further, and buy Ivomec from a store a hundred miles away, at the original price.
All I'm saying is, that the people of Hollywood deserve to make money, just like the rest of us do; although, I don't find that the quality of their "product" justifies the pricing, you still have to pay for it, if you want it. Like it or not, DRM circumvention, downloading from Kazaa, and whatnot is stealing, and morally wrong. I'll confess to not knowing the Koran, but my Bible, has a Commandment, that says "Thou Shalt Not Steal".
No, I disproved your point, you just didn't see it. Look at the living conditions of the people in Asia, and then look at those of the people in North America. There are "farmgate" producers here (North America) too, however, they aren't doing much better as anyone else
I agree that there is an imbalance. People are starving, dying of disease, and living in squalor, while Hollywood brats (aka, Hilton, and the lot) are living up a life that 95% of the world can only imagine. However, they are doing a "job", if you'd like to call it that, and they deserve to be paid. From your post, it appears that you are firmly rooted in Socialism. Yes, it would be nice if they wouldn't need money, heck, if we wouldn't need money. Unfortunately, life isn't like that. You pay for cloths, you pay for food, you pay for housing, you pay for phone, internet, and anything else you want. In the classical ages, things were not based purely on money as they are now, but, one of the rules of the universe is that Chaos is always increasing...
You are, with all due respect, a moron. Society changes, we didn't have computers, we didn't have cars, planes, Capitalism, or Communism in the middle-ages. But we do now, and things won't go back. You have to realise that you're a minority, that anyone can crush at any point. In the modern world, numbers speak louder than voices, and nerds, geeks, or whatever you want to call them, don't have the numbers to speak loudly, to anyone, but others like themselves.
Here's another analogy for you: As a farmer, we purchase chemicals, which belong to certain groups. The government says we can only use chemicals in group 6, to control weeds in cereals. According to your thought-train, that would mean that I should screw rules, and do as I please. But... That would mean you would get poisoned from your food.
You may argue this is a stupid comparison, but the world has rules and certain established conventions. Going up against them is useless and really annoying. In the end, un-DRMed media almost always comes from Bit-torrent, Kazaa or whatever else P2P system is "hot" at the moment. This means that the artist doesn't get a penny from your use of their creative abilities. Yes, people in the middle take most of the money, but it is always that way, in everything! Get the point!
In food, that bag of flour you buy in the store costs around $22 / bushel. We, the producers get $5.00 / bushel, and it costs about $2.00 / bushel to turn it into flour. Who do you think gets all that money? Do you think it's better to just go steal your food from the store, because you hate the middle-men?
First of all, I'm not a pseudo geek, or a geek at all. People who know me, know that. I'm not riled up for any other reason than this: Since the 70s, geeks (nerds) have been outcasts, making a lot of noise that no one listens to, for no other reason than to gratify themselves! There is no point to it, and never will be. In fact, geeks/nerds are a reason why Linux doesn't get anywhere; I distribute Linux CDs to people around here, and in a little while, I hear from them that "the support sucks, everyone bites your head off when you ask a question!" Who do you think it is who is "biting their heads off"?
I don't hire an IT person, I am an IT person, in case you're wondering.
At the end of the day, I can look myself in the mirror and not be ashamed of my life, or what I do, that's why I am what I am, like it or not.
Regarding the age of the earth, there are these things called figures of speach, you must have learnt about them in school. It doesn't matter, the Big-Bang theory is the dumbest thing scientists have ever come up with.
Regards, Christian
...And Harper is different how? Cozzying up to the Americans? Getting rid of the CWB? Income Trusts? Childcare? Healthcare? Making a fool of Canada world-wide? I'm socially conservative, but Harper is NOT a Conservative.
This is why Harper is called a Moron by Canadians...
We need the Liberals back, now
I agree. Slashdot is full of many, many technology buffs, some of them are highly educated, and have well-paying jobs in everything from engineering, to computer sciences. Those are the ones who read, and post really informative comments every once in a while.
Then, there are the blow-hard geeks, who live in their parent's basements, have no life, and nothing to do, so they keep trying to attack large corporations for no other reason, then "we can".
iTunes Music Store, the iPod, and the MacBook are a success for Apple. The world needs certain rules in place in order to function. I don't see why Apple's DRM is so evil. It lets me burn CDs, I can watch shows, movies, and music videos, and it works flawlessly. That's what's important to me.
Geeks are all about "freedom", and the only reason they keep bitching about it, is because they themselves don't have it.
I know this will get modded -1, because it hurts to hear the truth.
Oh, and I'm a Social Conservative, a Farmer, a Developer,and a Webhost. I'm Catholic, and Evolutionary "The earth is 2000000000 years old" sounds rediculous to me.
160 acres is 80 square rods.
One metre is 39 inches.
One inch is 2.54 centimetres.
One foot is 12 inches.
three feet is one yard.
The important key here is The way I figure it
Just because I like it, doesn't matter you have to. I'm just giving my opinion. I don't really like Microsoft, but they do know their flight-sims. To each his own I say!
I was flipping through a software catalogue a while back, and I know I saw a few XServer for Windows apps, so, doesn't that also mean you could run KDE/Gnome on Windows? I do know there is a F/OSS window manager for Windows, I used to use it, but can't remember the name now.
Of This Uber-cool game called Half-Life 2: Episode 1? You know, I think "stunning" will have a whole new meaning for you after playing it (well, if you have a 1600 x 1200 display), and the hardware for it.
The way I figure it:
Option 1
Buy a $350 - $500 gaming console, then a $1,500 monitor, to play games that I _dont_ like (How can you play BzFlag, Half-Life*, Counter-Strike, and Counter-Strike:Source, Flight Simulator 200*, and Combat Flight Simulator on a console?)
-or- Option 2
Spend about $2,500 for a high-end Core2 Duo machine, with latest-gen nVidia Graphics, which can take care of my gaming needs, and serve as a work-station?
For me, the choice is obvious, but hey, to each his own.
I agree. Nano is much easier to use.
*ducks*
BzFlag
The crank-case is never the air-pump. what happens is that one piston is on the compression stroke, when the other is on the intake stroke. This causes the intake piston to "suck" air into it. Once the valves close, fuel is injected, and it then goes onto compression stroke, at the top of which the fuel/air ignites are produces power.
(I work with MTZ diesel engines for a living - both two and four-stroke).
Vi and Emacs suck, use Kate.
Gnome looks like a fish
Don't like my comment? When you're done reviewing it, just send it back(tm)
Until the geeks get lost.
It's very simple. Most people don't like geeks, and find them arrogant, and pathetic. In reality, the person next-door much rather likes a good ole Dell computer, if it has trouble, he dials Dell's 1-800 number, and gets things fixed. With Linux, he will need to wade through a bunch of IRC channels, and forums, having to deal with many not-so-friendly people.
Now, don't get me wrong; I don't have an issue with hotheaded geeks, but if we want to make Linux a product, which can compete with Windows, you're going to have to learn to put your g33k philosophies to bed. Ubuntu has been more succesful, partially because its community is quite friendly, plain and simple.
KDE is about 100X that which GTK is. Learn to make themes for it ;)
I guess, but still, I know MANY, MANY scripts that simply use
;)
SELECT * FROM `members` WHERE `member_id` = $_GET['id'];
By simply stating that $_GET['id'] is an INT, it'll prevent what would otherwise be a really, really big SQL flaw. Of course, all languages are only as secure as the developers working with them
Actually get some friggen types implemented! Then, half the SQL injection flaws that are in PHP scripts would become null.
Will Microsoft still be a viable competitor in the future? I mean, if this is all they're working on right now...
On a different note, did any of you realise that not a single computer is being advertised as having Vista installed? It was released already, no?
From the people I've had to work with, I think too many companies are doing that (Erm... "Manager in Charge of Database Development", I ask him if he knows what MySQL is and he says "I think I may have heard of it a long time ago")
Canada's Cattle Identification System. We are able to trace a cow back to the yard it was born at... very cool to find diseased cows.
I'd rather be labeled as a 6'2" arrogant bastard that enjoys computers as just one past time, and loves to invoke fear in people by always smiling.
I agree. Big-business is becoming the Bolshevik Revolution of the 21st century. If the public stands up to large corporations, then they'll know their limits. If we all bow down to them, what's going to happen, is that they'll control what we watch, when we eat, sleep, and work, and what we talk about.
The web is a place for free content exchange. Linking to someone's website shouldn't cause a lawsuite (whatever happened to people who wanted you to link to their sites)?