If I'm in a Western Democracy that is reasonably well-off and free-market oriented, I like my government to be small, with little insight into what I'm doing or how I'm doing it. As a matter of fact, I'd like my government to be on permanent vacation, and only convene during emergencies. Law enforcement can be efficient and on the job, but should not make me do its surveillance job, nor should it rely on technology to do the peacekeeping (which includes rounds on foot).
So your model for security against government oppression is 'security through obscurity"?
I'd much rather that my right to privacy was explicitly safeguarded through vigilant defense against over-reaching monitoring of private activity. A state that has theoretical ability to wield overwhelming power against the individual is a problem, even if the state lacks the resources to do so in a large-scale manner. When someone in government chooses a target, the state can bring its limited resources to bear. I'd like to make sure that citizens are not targeted inappropriately.
Then again, I'm dreaming -- so a hamstrung government might be the best we can hope for.
Finally, there is the problem of what Mozilla should do with the money, at least the portion that isn't being reinvested in the Firefox.
Yes, well, bring that up on the Slashdot if you want some suggestions on where to spend the money. Maybe even ask the Google about it, since that's where the money came from.
I don't know why use of "the" here amuses me so much, but it makes the author seem very unfamiliar with the companies and products they are writing about.
Just because I recognize a troll doesn't mean I don't have fun responding to them sometimes:)
I don't play WoW, but I like to be able to chat in-game, so what I'd prefer is to have the channels open but not crap-flooded... that may be too much to ask:)
Currently, you're right. But, as I mentioned, it would be possible tob have a server dedicated to "playing nice." Sure, it'll get violated sometimes, but bannination of offending accounts to other servers will really cut down on it.
Hell, I'd pay extra for a "playing nice" server, just to have a dedicated admin to investigate complaints.
but the real stir here isn't that it might harbor life, but that we have finally found a terrestial planet in the habitable zone around a star.
To be sure, most people don't understand that simply being able to find such a planet is a big deal. However, it's the implications for the possibilty of finding life that strike up the imaginations of many. It's the life connection that makes this newsworthy to the general population; it wouldn't get a second glance otherwise.
When we finally DO find a planet harboring life, I'm afraid the public will just shrug and say, "didn't they announce that before?", not parsing the difference between COULD and DOES.
And that's most likely the segment of the population we should be least concerned with, IMO.
Now are you really sure you want to bash him and his big bad profit motive given the alternative?
Not sure where you saw a bash in my comment. It's the truth, and I passed no judgment on it. I believe it's a good thing, that space-related industries are have profit motives; it's a sign of a maturing industry (though I wouldn't put it past a 'toddler' stage at this point).
I was just making it clear that being a fan of space stuff wasn't his only motivation, in case someone misconstrued my OP as such.
You have no clue, do you? You've never raised kids, have you? Until you have, STFU and GBTW.
I have my preferences, you have yours. Big fucking deal. If there are a lot of people like me out there, why shouldn't a game company cater to us? It's not like the people like you and the people like me can't both be satisfied.
Or you could teach the children to ignore it and thicken their skins a little, but hey, since daddy can't and would rather be shielded from all the naughty words and thoughts than just do the same, why should they?
Seriously, get a clue before you spout off your nonsense. If you ever have kids, you'll learn that parenting is not easy, and that making sure your kids are exposed to the right influences is one of the keys to ensuring that they establish behavior patterns that are healthy for them. Teaching them to be able to handle bad situations and assholes is important, but I want to be able to do that on my own terms. Then again, I *care* how my kids turn out, so the above may not apply to you.
I have wondered how well we could adapt to even an Earth like planet in terms of infectious agents like bacteria and viruses. Would we just have to accept higher mortality rates until our immune systems adapted over time?
I'd imagine it's extremely unlikely for pathogens that could infect us to have evolved without lifeforms similar to us to evolve in. For example, most human pathogens won't infect pigs, and they are not too far from us (genetically speaking). How similar would life forms on another planet have to be in order for us to share susceptibility to pathogens that evolved to infect them?
When the media flogs "science" stories like this, full of marginal ideas that probably aren't true are we just conditioning the public to ignore actual science as pie in the sky crap?
No, we're also inspiring another generation of kids to enter scientific fields. Seriously, how much does stuff like this pique the interest of the next Goddard, or even the next rank-and-file NASA employee? Or maybe the next Branson, who is willing to spend a fortune of private funds on space-related activities (even if he does have a long-term profit incentive)?
Sure, the hum-drum science of everyday research is important... but so too are the stories that inspire us.
I like to play multiplayer games, so I'm in a bit of a different boat than you. But there's always the 'no chat' or 'friends only' options in most MMOs; whether they have good solo content is another matter.
Sorry if you just don't get it, that solution isn't good enough. It's not about naughty words, it's about hate speech. I don't want to see it, I don't want my kids exposed to it -- regardless of whether I (or they) can choose to add someone to an ignore list after the fact.
the hate-filled miasma they spatter around them has reached the point where many people who could be on those services won't go
That's me. I prefer not to surround myself with all that negative energy, I generate enough myself. If an online game company wants my business, they should run a "play nice" server where players who act like that can be bumped to a regular server. I enjoy competition -- but I can't stand the racist, misogynist etc chat to be found in most games.
Not many on slashdot care a whole lot about Vista sales.
That's funny, why then were there som many comments to the last Vista sales article?
Even fewer care what MS marketing says about Vista sales.
Agreed... except, of course, that what they say about their sales affects what other people think about their sales. Such as, for instance, the people signing the POs for new systems this year. Plenty of management types will isten to this, and assume that since Vista is selling so well, it must be a good thing (tm) and therefore will be implemented at their companies.
Nobody cares what someone else says about what MS says about Vista sales.
If that were so, no one would respond to comments to Vista sales articles.
Anyway, if you don't like these articles, why don't you:
1. Give 'em the old thumbs-down at the Firehose 2. Not bother reading them 3. Not bother commenting -- if it's the wste of your time that's got you so worked up, why voluntarily waste it so?
Remember: if you try to buy something with your Visa, but they won't let you because you won't show your ID, you can file a complaint against the merchant by calling (800) VISA-911. So far I've never had to make the call, just had to threaten it.
I don't sign my credit cards; they are marked "please ask for ID" on the signature line.
Seriously, are you that lazy that you can't provide an ID when you use a credit card? You've already gone into your wallet to get the card, why not pull out your license while you're at it?
I like it when stores require ID to make a purchase via credit card. Makes me feel a bit safer at very little cost -- though it would help much more if every merchant did so.
Interestingly, I was in a pharmacy when someone tried to use someone else's credit card. The cashier asked for ID, and the customer (unwisely) handed their own ID... Cops were called, I don't know what happened after that since I left once I'd paid for my own goodies.
You should be basing your college choices on three things, and only three things: a) quality of education, b) reputation in your chosen field, and c) networking opportunities.
You're missing something important, which is students' like or dislike of their surroundings affect those students' performances. It's not true for every student, but it's true for a lot them -- their feelings about the campus affect their ability to perform well. Comfort and safety ARE important.
Besides which, there are several things about a campus that will affect performance even not including a student's feelings. How far is the library from the dormitories? How about classrooms and lecture halls? What about facilities for exercise, since it's been demonstrated that students who exercise regularly perform better than those who don't?
What about shared experiences with other students? This is, after all, a place where networking comes into play, and a nice campus is far more conducive to interaction with others. People who have negative views of their alma mater (to which a mediocre campus could contribute) are far less likely to reach a hand out to another alum.
In short, I think a nice campus contributes more than you think to the ability of a student to profit from their college experience, even in the long term.
All it would take is a big label saying "We're taking all our top-100 artists away from ITMS because Amazon is allowing us to charge $2.00 per song (DRM'd) instead of $1.00.
Should be "Amazon is willingo to charge $2.29 per song (non-DRM'd) instead of $1.29."
I wonder what strings they were able to pull to get this moving faster/better than iTunes has... hurm....
Oh, I'm sure the recording industry is ecstatic to have another major player in the licensed-music-download arena. Until now, Apple has in some ways had the recording industry by the cojones -- as the major retailer of song downloads, Jobs has been able to tell the industry to STFU re: variable pricing. With Amazon in the mix, the labels have a *huge* bargaining chip, since they can tell Jobs to take a hike. If push comes to shove, and a big label pulls out from ITMS, then things start to look a little less rosy for Apple.
All it would take is a big label saying "We're taking all our top-100 artists away from ITMS because Amazon is allowing us to charge $2.00 per song (DRM'd) instead of $1.00.
Slashdot Mirror
I'd much rather that my right to privacy was explicitly safeguarded through vigilant defense against over-reaching monitoring of private activity. A state that has theoretical ability to wield overwhelming power against the individual is a problem, even if the state lacks the resources to do so in a large-scale manner. When someone in government chooses a target, the state can bring its limited resources to bear. I'd like to make sure that citizens are not targeted inappropriately.
Then again, I'm dreaming -- so a hamstrung government might be the best we can hope for.
Yes, well, bring that up on the Slashdot if you want some suggestions on where to spend the money. Maybe even ask the Google about it, since that's where the money came from.
I don't know why use of "the" here amuses me so much, but it makes the author seem very unfamiliar with the companies and products they are writing about.
Satire is fair use.
Given Disney's stance on extending copyright indefinitely, it seems to me that was the author's intent.
As for use of the logo, there could be trademark issues, but satire is, of course, fair use for trademark as well.
Just because I recognize a troll doesn't mean I don't have fun responding to them sometimes :)
:)
I don't play WoW, but I like to be able to chat in-game, so what I'd prefer is to have the channels open but not crap-flooded... that may be too much to ask
Thanks for the tip.
But are there equivalents for non-RPGs?
Currently, you're right. But, as I mentioned, it would be possible tob have a server dedicated to "playing nice." Sure, it'll get violated sometimes, but bannination of offending accounts to other servers will really cut down on it.
Hell, I'd pay extra for a "playing nice" server, just to have a dedicated admin to investigate complaints.
Never thought of it that way. Thanks, I'll consider it.
And that's most likely the segment of the population we should be least concerned with, IMO.
I was just making it clear that being a fan of space stuff wasn't his only motivation, in case someone misconstrued my OP as such.
I have my preferences, you have yours. Big fucking deal. If there are a lot of people like me out there, why shouldn't a game company cater to us? It's not like the people like you and the people like me can't both be satisfied.
Seriously, get a clue before you spout off your nonsense. If you ever have kids, you'll learn that parenting is not easy, and that making sure your kids are exposed to the right influences is one of the keys to ensuring that they establish behavior patterns that are healthy for them. Teaching them to be able to handle bad situations and assholes is important, but I want to be able to do that on my own terms. Then again, I *care* how my kids turn out, so the above may not apply to you.
Sure, the hum-drum science of everyday research is important... but so too are the stories that inspire us.
How do you saturate the upstream when watching porn?!
At any rate, I can saturate a lot more than the upstream and downstream when my wife and I watch porn at work.
Wait, that came out wrong...
I thought the same when I hacked my 300 baud modem to 1200 baud. Man, those BBSs were flying down the tubes!
I like to play multiplayer games, so I'm in a bit of a different boat than you. But there's always the 'no chat' or 'friends only' options in most MMOs; whether they have good solo content is another matter.
Sorry if you just don't get it, that solution isn't good enough. It's not about naughty words, it's about hate speech. I don't want to see it, I don't want my kids exposed to it -- regardless of whether I (or they) can choose to add someone to an ignore list after the fact.
Agreed... except, of course, that what they say about their sales affects what other people think about their sales. Such as, for instance, the people signing the POs for new systems this year. Plenty of management types will isten to this, and assume that since Vista is selling so well, it must be a good thing (tm) and therefore will be implemented at their companies.
If that were so, no one would respond to comments to Vista sales articles.
Anyway, if you don't like these articles, why don't you:
1. Give 'em the old thumbs-down at the Firehose
2. Not bother reading them
3. Not bother commenting -- if it's the wste of your time that's got you so worked up, why voluntarily waste it so?
Seriously, are you that lazy that you can't provide an ID when you use a credit card? You've already gone into your wallet to get the card, why not pull out your license while you're at it?
I like it when stores require ID to make a purchase via credit card. Makes me feel a bit safer at very little cost -- though it would help much more if every merchant did so.
Interestingly, I was in a pharmacy when someone tried to use someone else's credit card. The cashier asked for ID, and the customer (unwisely) handed their own ID... Cops were called, I don't know what happened after that since I left once I'd paid for my own goodies.
No, but apparently you are, if you're unable to fight a parking ticket.
Besides which, there are several things about a campus that will affect performance even not including a student's feelings. How far is the library from the dormitories? How about classrooms and lecture halls? What about facilities for exercise, since it's been demonstrated that students who exercise regularly perform better than those who don't?
What about shared experiences with other students? This is, after all, a place where networking comes into play, and a nice campus is far more conducive to interaction with others. People who have negative views of their alma mater (to which a mediocre campus could contribute) are far less likely to reach a hand out to another alum.
In short, I think a nice campus contributes more than you think to the ability of a student to profit from their college experience, even in the long term.
RTFA. Hell, RTFS.
Just because you "shout" something with capital letters doesn't make it true.
Oh crap, I wrote "iDea", I expect a cease-and-desist letter now for that little iTem of trademark violation.
Oh crap, I did it again. Dammit!
All it would take is a big label saying "We're taking all our top-100 artists away from ITMS because Amazon is allowing us to charge $2.00 per song (DRM'd) instead of $1.00.