Firstly, if docx files were plain text markup (PP asserts that is "exactly" what they are), then any word processing package would be able to reproduce, exactly, the documents as they appear in MS-Word. Other applications are not able to do this, and the reason is because the file format is NOT plain text markup.
Secondly, nice distraction with HTML. Since when is the web supposed to be an archival medium?
GP was on-topic. The specification for OOXML includes references to previous.doc file formats, hence discussion of those is relevant in any discussion of OOXML.
I'd say your post is one-eyed to the point of propaganda -- were you paid to write it?
Just a note about using the word "trick." This does not imply an effort to mislead -- trick can also mean a useful or neat idea. eg. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kernel_trick
Ahh - that is very interesting. It's a shame you weren't modded up.
This would make me think that being a priest does not make one more considerate or moral (eg. less inclined to abuse children), but that the church organisation itself gives lots of protection to pedophiles (relative to other, similar, organisations) that allows them to do a lot more damage. Pretty damning for the church if so.
I sort of agree with you, but I think you're confounding two issues. One is the tendency for anti-social behaviour to emerge when there are large groups of people and no one feels personal responsibility towards any one else. This is what I think you are referring to. I'm thinking of something else, which is the tendency of people to tell themselves that they're good and in-the-right. I think this tendency is exacerbated by religion, because people think they're on God's side, etc. I think this can lead to people behaving in more selfish and anti-social ways. In the example of the mega-church you used, they might tell themselves that stiffing the little contractor out of payment for a job is ok, because they're doing God's work.
So, the wisdom of/. tends to say that 1. Theora cannot compete with h264, because it has marginally worse performance (that in itself being contentious, apparently) 2. Vorbis can't compete with MP3 because the mp3 files produced by LAME* are nearly as good as Vorbis, and MP3 is ubiquitous.
To me, this reads as a double-standard. Surely, for the sake of openness and freedom of online video, people should be willing to accept the same _slight_ trade-off in quality that they're willing to accept in audio for the sake of convenience? Or is this just another case of convenience trumping freedom, or another case of astro-turfing at work?
*note that LAME is not actually an mp3 encoder, but just makes compatible files - mp3 files produced by commercial encoders are likely worse!
Unfortunately, this kind of behaviour is an inveitable outcome of telling people that they are holy and good and right in God's eyes. Once someone believes this, they can do anything - and it is justified (as the GP said): this is why I believe that religions are a force for evil in the world.
In addition, why are there so many cases of pedophilia? It seems (anecdotally - stats anyone?) that the incidence is higher in the priesthood than in the general community. If this is true, what does it say about the affect of the strict observance of religious dogma on people's morals?
This isn't about price. This is about the freedom of the internet, which is slowly being eroded, and with it our personal freedom. It's easy to take the path of least resistance and simply seek technological circumventions to censorship and other online restrictions. But, while we keep playing with such toys, those that would control knowledge are busy building both the legislative and technological systems that will make this battle that much harder to fight in another decade or so.
so is this going to become the standard modus operandi for companies with a new product: release chock-full of useful features, wait for good market penetration, then retro-actively remove said features and secure lock-in. If so, the only way that customers will have any rights is if hardware and software are kept open and inter-changeable.
That kind of thing is very common with the patent system, I'm afraid. Particularly in Europe, where it's apparently "first to patent" not "first to invent".
But you at least have more confidence that the thermometer was read correctly than if I walk out of a room and tell you that "the thermometer in there says that it's 50 deg F" - that's the whole point of peer review: reproduction of results.
I think it's disgusting that the data, methods and detailed results of publicly funded research are hidden from the public. I think it should be a condition of public grants that all data, code, etc _must_ be released and opened when papers are published. I'm really pissed off that these selfish people have done more than any oil baron dreamed to undermine climate research. I hope they're satisfied with themselves and have a successful career -- bastards!
Without wanting to sound like a fanboi, Stallman is _usually_ right (I can't think of anything I've heard him say that, on reflection, I haven't agreed with). Unfortunately, he's also a fairly eccentric person, and people don't generally seem to respect the ideas of those that seem different.
I hope future generations come to recognise his wisdom...
Slashdot Mirror
Firstly, if docx files were plain text markup (PP asserts that is "exactly" what they are), then any word processing package would be able to reproduce, exactly, the documents as they appear in MS-Word. Other applications are not able to do this, and the reason is because the file format is NOT plain text markup.
Secondly, nice distraction with HTML. Since when is the web supposed to be an archival medium?
GP was on-topic. The specification for OOXML includes references to previous .doc file formats, hence discussion of those is relevant in any discussion of OOXML.
I'd say your post is one-eyed to the point of propaganda -- were you paid to write it?
Just a note about using the word "trick." This does not imply an effort to mislead -- trick can also mean a useful or neat idea.
eg. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kernel_trick
"The price good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men." -Plato
Why on Earth has this been moderated "troll"? I don't agree with everything in the post, but there's sure-as-hell no trolling here!
Bah - you could equally say that programmers are to blame because they implement DRM schemes!
Can you back up this claim with evidence, or are you just another astro-turfer or troll?
"harder for them to do men in the middle attacks"
bloody hell, it was bad enough when there was _one_ man in the middle - now there's a whole army of the bastards!
(sorry, couldn't resist :-P)
Ahh - that is very interesting. It's a shame you weren't modded up.
This would make me think that being a priest does not make one more considerate or moral (eg. less inclined to abuse children), but that the church organisation itself gives lots of protection to pedophiles (relative to other, similar, organisations) that allows them to do a lot more damage. Pretty damning for the church if so.
I sort of agree with you, but I think you're confounding two issues.
One is the tendency for anti-social behaviour to emerge when there are large groups of people and no one feels personal responsibility towards any one else. This is what I think you are referring to.
I'm thinking of something else, which is the tendency of people to tell themselves that they're good and in-the-right. I think this tendency is exacerbated by religion, because people think they're on God's side, etc. I think this can lead to people behaving in more selfish and anti-social ways. In the example of the mega-church you used, they might tell themselves that stiffing the little contractor out of payment for a job is ok, because they're doing God's work.
So, the wisdom of /. tends to say that
1. Theora cannot compete with h264, because it has marginally worse performance (that in itself being contentious, apparently)
2. Vorbis can't compete with MP3 because the mp3 files produced by LAME* are nearly as good as Vorbis, and MP3 is ubiquitous.
To me, this reads as a double-standard. Surely, for the sake of openness and freedom of online video, people should be willing to accept the same _slight_ trade-off in quality that they're willing to accept in audio for the sake of convenience? Or is this just another case of convenience trumping freedom, or another case of astro-turfing at work?
*note that LAME is not actually an mp3 encoder, but just makes compatible files - mp3 files produced by commercial encoders are likely worse!
Unfortunately, this kind of behaviour is an inveitable outcome of telling people that they are holy and good and right in God's eyes. Once someone believes this, they can do anything - and it is justified (as the GP said): this is why I believe that religions are a force for evil in the world.
In addition, why are there so many cases of pedophilia? It seems (anecdotally - stats anyone?) that the incidence is higher in the priesthood than in the general community. If this is true, what does it say about the affect of the strict observance of religious dogma on people's morals?
"The whole vatican is a PR operation these days."
Oh mercy! Are you ignorant of the last 800 years or something?
This isn't about price. This is about the freedom of the internet, which is slowly being eroded, and with it our personal freedom. It's easy to take the path of least resistance and simply seek technological circumventions to censorship and other online restrictions. But, while we keep playing with such toys, those that would control knowledge are busy building both the legislative and technological systems that will make this battle that much harder to fight in another decade or so.
so is this going to become the standard modus operandi for companies with a new product: release chock-full of useful features, wait for good market penetration, then retro-actively remove said features and secure lock-in. If so, the only way that customers will have any rights is if hardware and software are kept open and inter-changeable.
Ahh, blu-ray DRM - where are the apologists now, I wonder?
"Relax, coffeeboy."
Reminds me of a Tori Amos lyric:
"you sign 'Prince Of Darkness,' more like: 'Squire Of Dimness'"
That kind of thing is very common with the patent system, I'm afraid. Particularly in Europe, where it's apparently "first to patent" not "first to invent".
Centuries, actually ;-)
But you at least have more confidence that the thermometer was read correctly than if I walk out of a room and tell you that
"the thermometer in there says that it's 50 deg F" - that's the whole point of peer review: reproduction of results.
I think it's disgusting that the data, methods and detailed results of publicly funded research are hidden from the public. I think it should be a condition of public grants that all data, code, etc _must_ be released and opened when papers are published. I'm really pissed off that these selfish people have done more than any oil baron dreamed to undermine climate research. I hope they're satisfied with themselves and have a successful career -- bastards!
It's like that survey about heaven:
When asked, the average believer thought that about 25% of people will get into heaven.
But 95% of respondents thought that _they_ would get in.
numbers approximate, and no link, unfortunately...
"reboot about once a month and use sleep / resume the rest of the time"
Well they wouldn't be using Windows anyway, would they?!? ;-)
Without wanting to sound like a fanboi, Stallman is _usually_ right (I can't think of anything I've heard him say that, on reflection, I haven't agreed with). Unfortunately, he's also a fairly eccentric person, and people don't generally seem to respect the ideas of those that seem different.
I hope future generations come to recognise his wisdom...
I was just thinking the same thing - it would be really crappy to be a person who actually only had one hand!
What makes you think that homo neanderthalensis were less intelligent than homo sapiens?
Oh, and haven't you heard the expression: beauty is in the eye of the beholder?
(you sound like quite an ugly person to me)