It's quite a good result, all things concerned: most people hate the idea of changing their e-mail address.
Which is incidentally exactly why I only have a Gmail address, and completely ignore the mail addresses my ISP offers me. Sooner or later, I'll switch ISPs again.
A destroyed installation of Windows does not serve much...
Well, it could...
Imagine, if you will, how Slashdotters are perceived: mostly Linux-fanatics, Microsoft-haters, bloody communists etc.
Is it not possible that some of us created a virus as a mere propaganda tool to make people turn away from Windows?
It wouldn't be that difficult - just create a tiny program that would check for unpatched and unprotected computers. Nothing virus-like in checking whether certain software is present on one's computer, right? And if it isn't, one ping of 'No.' won't make a large impact on network traffic. Then present the computer with a pop-up window which will install the actual program (porn or a Windows error would probably work best here as well). Then, on a certain date (sadly, 6/6/06, although very symbolic, passed without any such occurence), all unprotected computers just activate the installed "system modifier".
Even if most companies are unaffected, watch them slowly turn away from Windows.
Maybe not after the first attack, but after the second or third?
The question is: if we all really are such anti-social techno creeps, why haven't we done that already?
All this doesn't sound that bad to me... the original post said that, with this private info, marketing will get more effective.
Scary, that... I mean, marketing doesn't work on me. I have no money to spend, for one. I don't watch TV. I block ads.
Sure, send me some more effective marketing; it'll end up in the rubbish bin along with all the rest.
I'm not afraid someone will abuse my private information; the other day I got a call from a telemarketer who informed me my phone number was public. Thanks, lady, I never knew... sod off. And that has nothing to do with Internet (or needn't have; I do wager it's easier to flip open a random page of the phonebook than search the Internet database).
I leave my private information - when and where I leave it - voluntarily. When I don't want to leak any private info, I use an alias or just don't give them anything. If it leads to some marketing I actually might be interested in (fat chance for that, but you never know), good; if someone does start annoying me, they end up on my blacklist.
It is not a privacy issue as long as people do it voluntarily... yes, the consequences may be unpleasant, but that makes it the issue of education, not of privacy.
What kind of fascist do you have to be to require certain media to bear some labels just because you don't like them?
Media want to be free, not interned by arbitrary labels just because you don't like their licences.
If they're labeled like that, no-one would ever buy them... I mean, would you talk to a Jew if all the Jews had to wear a yellow star? Would you be seen with a gay friend if he were forced to wear a pink triangle?
Your Nazi ideas will be the death of intellectual property, of capitalism and Mother's Distressed Pudding!
I was so wondering who'll be the first to post this one...
Seems the crowd here would rather have a Bush-bashing robot than a beer-pouring one.
That's TV nation for you... the most activity you can handle is pouring your own beer while watching a robot pummel your president.
If you were saving - or preserving - people's lives every day, you'd get quite a lot free time. Look at air traffic controllers... AFAIK, they work a few hours at a time, and not even every day.
Also, I think that if you had a longer vacation, you'd be more inclined to work harder instead of slacking. Most people seem to prefer some extra time off instead of a bigger paycheck - all work and no play gives Jack a paycheck which he has no time to spend.
We have a saying which, translated to English, says something like: "You can't pay me so little money that I wouldn't be able to work as if you were paying me even less." s/pay money/give holiday
Well, I don't live in the USA, so my point of view may be different than yours... but from what I see, you do have quite a cult of the state.
Granted, I only infer that from what I saw in your films and series, but still... from American History you teach to immigrants onwards... kids reciting the Gettysburg Address and whatnot... statism propaganda all the way. To my ears at least, and I speak as someone living in a former-so-called-communist country. I've heard it all.
The recent political moves also indicate that the state is central: limiting civil rights in order to "protect the people from terrorism" sounds quite like the propaganda of a regime I can't mention without invoking Godwin's Law... damn, done it again!
First they sell you an antivirus to protect you against viruses and other malicious code.
Then they sell you a security package which will protect you against malicious code which the antivirus cannot detect. Or which attacks the antivirus itself.
Soon they'll sell you an additional package which will make sure nothing gets past the security package.
And another one to keep all those in check.
Therefore, soon enough no code will be able to execute because all the CPU cycles will be reserved for Symantec security.
Perfect security - and the Quis custodet ipsos custodes? problem solved. Rather neat...
I have nothing against text editors. I'm a Vim man myself. I only object to Notepad.
For instance, I see nothing wrong with syntax highlighting - for one, people may understand things like tags, attributes, strings etc. more readily: not only do you explain them what they are, but they see them as different.
And I said nothing about Visual Studio - only about Visual Web Developer. And I'll say it again, having worked with it today: it's crap. It's buggy. I, for one, hate it - and I'm not the only one, either.
Slashdot Mirror
And Gmail is still invite-only.
It's quite a good result, all things concerned: most people hate the idea of changing their e-mail address.
Which is incidentally exactly why I only have a Gmail address, and completely ignore the mail addresses my ISP offers me. Sooner or later, I'll switch ISPs again.
My point is, very few of those thousands of viruses were really dangerous.
A really devastating virus, though, would be one which would edit all .xls files and turn every 3 into an 8. That would ruin businesses.
Ah, you have much to learn, young one...
You were hoping to discern my location, political orientation and whatnot based on my date format?
Do you really think I would let on that I'm an alien in such an obvious way?
When you see a flying saucer in front of your house, that's when you'll know we've come for you...
Well, it could...
Imagine, if you will, how Slashdotters are perceived: mostly Linux-fanatics, Microsoft-haters, bloody communists etc.
Is it not possible that some of us created a virus as a mere propaganda tool to make people turn away from Windows?
It wouldn't be that difficult - just create a tiny program that would check for unpatched and unprotected computers. Nothing virus-like in checking whether certain software is present on one's computer, right? And if it isn't, one ping of 'No.' won't make a large impact on network traffic. Then present the computer with a pop-up window which will install the actual program (porn or a Windows error would probably work best here as well). Then, on a certain date (sadly, 6/6/06, although very symbolic, passed without any such occurence), all unprotected computers just activate the installed "system modifier".
Even if most companies are unaffected, watch them slowly turn away from Windows.
Maybe not after the first attack, but after the second or third?
The question is: if we all really are such anti-social techno creeps, why haven't we done that already?
I don't know...
All this doesn't sound that bad to me... the original post said that, with this private info, marketing will get more effective.
Scary, that... I mean, marketing doesn't work on me. I have no money to spend, for one. I don't watch TV. I block ads.
Sure, send me some more effective marketing; it'll end up in the rubbish bin along with all the rest.
I'm not afraid someone will abuse my private information; the other day I got a call from a telemarketer who informed me my phone number was public. Thanks, lady, I never knew... sod off. And that has nothing to do with Internet (or needn't have; I do wager it's easier to flip open a random page of the phonebook than search the Internet database).
I leave my private information - when and where I leave it - voluntarily. When I don't want to leak any private info, I use an alias or just don't give them anything. If it leads to some marketing I actually might be interested in (fat chance for that, but you never know), good; if someone does start annoying me, they end up on my blacklist.
It is not a privacy issue as long as people do it voluntarily... yes, the consequences may be unpleasant, but that makes it the issue of education, not of privacy.
Damn, I'm incoherent today...
Whooosh.
Though I did get modded Troll... someone must have understood my point, although not the humour in it.
I mean, come on!
What kind of fascist do you have to be to require certain media to bear some labels just because you don't like them?
Media want to be free, not interned by arbitrary labels just because you don't like their licences.
If they're labeled like that, no-one would ever buy them... I mean, would you talk to a Jew if all the Jews had to wear a yellow star? Would you be seen with a gay friend if he were forced to wear a pink triangle?
Your Nazi ideas will be the death of intellectual property, of capitalism and Mother's Distressed Pudding!
Well, at least that's easy. You just say 'Of course not, Boss... how on Earth did you get that idea?' - with a perfectly straight face, of course.
It's not that hard; look at all the moron politicians doing it on a daily basis, and professionally, too.
At least the programming language we'll have to use is already available.
I, for one, welcome our new Brainfuck-hacking overlords.
Fish and chips... brain and chips... yeah, I guess that'll work.
So now I'll be waiting for a distro called NeuroLinux. Or Neurinux.
As if Gentoo doesn't sound funny enough.
Well, duh!
But the buyer could be accused of indirect terrorist action.
Damn, I should be a politician...
After all, he is a Muslim. He might blow himself up, and then what? He could get sued for inciting terrorism.
Sorry, did I say sued? I meant, transported to Guantanamo.
</sarcasm>
I was so wondering who'll be the first to post this one...
Seems the crowd here would rather have a Bush-bashing robot than a beer-pouring one.
That's TV nation for you... the most activity you can handle is pouring your own beer while watching a robot pummel your president.
</tongueincheek>
TFA says: 10 cm cubes.
You just throw them really hard.
Or use a slingshot.
He's forward thinking.
If you were saving - or preserving - people's lives every day, you'd get quite a lot free time. Look at air traffic controllers... AFAIK, they work a few hours at a time, and not even every day.
Also, I think that if you had a longer vacation, you'd be more inclined to work harder instead of slacking. Most people seem to prefer some extra time off instead of a bigger paycheck - all work and no play gives Jack a paycheck which he has no time to spend.
We have a saying which, translated to English, says something like: "You can't pay me so little money that I wouldn't be able to work as if you were paying me even less." s/pay money/give holiday
Well, I don't live in the USA, so my point of view may be different than yours... but from what I see, you do have quite a cult of the state.
Granted, I only infer that from what I saw in your films and series, but still... from American History you teach to immigrants onwards... kids reciting the Gettysburg Address and whatnot... statism propaganda all the way. To my ears at least, and I speak as someone living in a former-so-called-communist country. I've heard it all.
The recent political moves also indicate that the state is central: limiting civil rights in order to "protect the people from terrorism" sounds quite like the propaganda of a regime I can't mention without invoking Godwin's Law... damn, done it again!
It's pseudo because they don't call themselves communist.
Well, red-shirts get killed anyway...
Good one.
Governments could very well profit from Open source software, as well as the programmers hired to make it.
Just because it is Open Source, it doesn't mean that the work the programmers put in is free.
What it does mean is that:
But because of the omnipresent FUD, very few people in governments worldwide have any idea whatsoever about these things.
P.S.
5. ???
6. Profit!
One of the best similes I've seen here.
Which reminds me, I have an exam in Semantics on Tuesday, I should study a bit... <gets offline>
I'm sorry, I must have got something wrong...
How exactly does this differ from our current situation?
Smog excluded, this is what every room with a smoker present looks like to me.
OK, let me try:
Perfect security - and the Quis custodet ipsos custodes? problem solved. Rather neat...
I have nothing against text editors. I'm a Vim man myself. I only object to Notepad.
For instance, I see nothing wrong with syntax highlighting - for one, people may understand things like tags, attributes, strings etc. more readily: not only do you explain them what they are, but they see them as different.
And I said nothing about Visual Studio - only about Visual Web Developer. And I'll say it again, having worked with it today: it's crap. It's buggy. I, for one, hate it - and I'm not the only one, either.