- lest I have to install a giant hamster exercise wheel at the main hub between the two largest connecting tubes to keep Johnny law chasing useless recycled information - or I could just reroute the tubes to Digg, where he'll find a level of discourse that isn't over his head.
This is so ridiculous; I am (as I think most slashdotters are) opposed to any form of censorship, especially state mandated censorship.
Aside from the obvious wrong of trying to restrict ideas and content, the other point that I think can be made which shows how wrong this is - is the following:
Who decides what is inappropriate content? The standard is in the eye of the beholder:
I am sure that there are a lot of people who find nudity, sex, art, controversial discourse, etc. beautiful; (as I do), and find a lot of what many organized religions (and the other things these people use as their personally defined self-righteous "moral" authority) to be profane and harmful, especially when used in the political/governmental sphere - as do I.
An argument can be made that children shouldn't watch porn (and violence is worse IMO) and I agree with this, but this is something that the parents or guardians are responsible for. Don't attempt to take away freedoms and discourse by claiming that you are protecting children or "cleaning up the net."
So we can then see that this isn't about protecting anyone from anything - this is about controlling ideas, controlling possibilities and getting a handle around the internet - I think governments have realized that the net is one area where these masses actually have organizing potential that is difficult to squelch - they don't like not being able to control it.
There is also the obvious political side too IE promising some political bullshit which is impossible to deliver - because even if they get away with this the technological libertarians (not the political party per se, I am referring to those in our community who will use their skills to protect the freedom of the net) - will use encryption and/or hopefully develop tools to try to circumvent most of these restrictions.
Yes, I am well aware of marketing practices; deceptive and otherwise; I think what you're saying basically is that "it's okay because all companies deceive and marketing practices are deceptive" - but you may have missed the point of my post - I'm not talking about whether 5GB is a reasonable amount for an EVDO users to download - my issue is with advertising something as unlimited and then cancelling someone's account and possibly insinuating that they are pirating movies or whatever once they have passed some arbitrary or secret threshold.
I read that they are now adding the 5GB clause to their contract, but that isn't how it was in the past and this sort of thing is a common practice for the large ISPs with all sorts of broadband products which they offer.
5GB is far from unlimited - yeah, it's a lot if all you are doing is email, but with all of the media rich content which is available these days for cell phones and laptops with EVDO type connections it doesn't go as far as it used to - and for people who don't know the difference between kilobits and kilobytes or what a GB is it's even worse because they have no understanding of how much data they're consuming.
My point is: Call it what it is - Be up front with your customers - call it "almost unlimited," or "near unlimited," if your customers don'
Whether or not it's "too little" really isn't the issue as far as I'm concerned...
What's too little for one person would be more than enough for another.
The real issue is how they're marketing it; If there is a 5GB limit, then that is a limit... period - hence it is not "unlimited."
I'm sure that it is easier for them to sell it as "unlimited," just like it would make my life a hell of a lot easier if I tell the IRS that I didn't make any money last year and refuse to let them commence their annual financial colonoscopy.
They need to find another name - calling it unlimited is, basically a straight up lie.
Unfortunately the Supreme Court isn't going to help us.
We live in an authoritarian capito-fascistic state. You can choose to ignore it, you can tell yourself that it doesn't affect you personally (yet); but that won't change the fact. We have government that reinterprets laws and standards to mean what they decide they need to mean to fit their agenda at the mmoment (which usually, in all moments, is CONTROL), it's a system of institutionalized corruption.
Electing someone from the either large party isn't going to help us - I mean, there are a few exceptions in both major parties, but none of the big names really.
I think that the people are going to have to find a way to organize and save our constitution. The system will not save itself because it is compromised. It could be hacked or manipulated and forced to work for us should large groups of people be willing to stand up for their rights - but unfortunately that's not going to happen by voting or by any of the rigged or tilted mechanisms in place.
What people who say things like "I don't mind, I'm not doing anything illegal" fail to realize is that it doesn't matter - because once the entire system of surviellance and control is in place, once you have no privacy or anonimity it is too late - because then the definition of what is legal and what is illegal can be changed.
It's not like they ever give your rights or your expectations of personal liberty back once they have been taken away - even when these things are promised (like sunset provisions) at the time such legislation is proposed.
Aside from that, what if you were at one time in drug rehab - or are a member of a group like AA and all of these records are stored forever and then down the line the whole world can find out all of your private personal stuff.
The slippery slope is no more - we're almost in freefall.
Totally fucking ridiculous; these laws are meant to protect children from adult predators; not to protect children from experimenting sexually with other children.
A bullet in the head makes life easier; no more bills to pay - don't have to worry about taxes etc. Very convenient
Doesn't mean it's a good idea.
Sell your soul for convenience; give up your rights incrementally for convenience; trade your constitution to corporations for convenience and a false sense of security...C'mon, either you're with us or your with the terra-ists. Everything is black and white, it's never been more simple.
Yes, simplicity, get used to it -- it will be very simple; the authoritarian government will manage everything for you. You just be sure to "like it."
Hmmm...I wish switching countries was as easy as switching OS'.
The thing is, that most Americans will take the convenient way. If it's more convenient to stick with MS (because it's what they know..think about your parents, or anyone you know who is less technically literate....
Unfortunately recent events have proven that the masses will allow their rights to be completely stripped away from them as long as:
*It happens incrementally, and not too much at once
*They can still go about their daily routine as they are used to, for the most part...
- And if there is any added convenience or time saving as a result of giving up said rights, they might even applaud it..Especially if somone tells them that they are "SAFER."
That is true, that is the original source of the report of that comment; however, from what I understand there were several people present when this was allegedly said and it does fit with several other equally disturbind, idiotic things he has said.
Regardless of the validity of that report, i am more concerned with his actions than his statements
- and his actions speak very loudly that he thinks that the constitution gives him the right to do whatever he pleases and protects him from being held responsible; while at the same time allowing him to completely disregard the protections it guarantees the people of this country if he decides they are "terra-ists."
Everybody should be concerned about this, especially given that this administration tends to like to redefine words to mean whatever they need them to mean to accomplish their "goal of the moment."
It seems that this administration and the people behind it's policies want to selectively use and selectively abuse the constitution.
They want to disregard, eviscerate and invalidate parts of the constitution which provide protections to the people, checks and balances between the branches of government and state's rights; Bush himself has even, (on one occasion it is reported) referred to it as "just a goddamned piece of paper;"
yet when it suits them they claim that under this same document Bush has absolute power to disregard other protections given to the people, to wage war without oversight or congressional approval, to disregard the rule of law and conventions of war, and to supercede process when it comes to congress.
What really gets me is how oblivious most Americans are to how dangerous this time we are in is; not just to Americans but to the entire planet.
I can explain it.
It's called the "our-government-passes-vaguely-worded-laws-then-in tperets-them-however-they-like-in-order-to-do-what ever-the-fuck-they-want-to-whoever-whenever" rule; (and they don't let little things like constitutions, sovereign borders, human rights, or rule of law dissuade them).
You may not have heard of this rule yet, it was attached as a last minute amendment to a spending bill. (yes, I think it's time to remake that old schoolhouse rock).
So how bad does it have to get before "by any means necessary" becomes the guiding philosophy? (and I am obviously not just talking about the RIAA - I am talking about the now standard practice of corporations and their toadies [western governments and their puppets] disrespecting human rights, the rule of law and their own constitutions to abuse the citizens in whichever way brings profits or more control to the corporate/government conglomeration)?
It depends on what you want to believe; the facts of a situation or the the bill of goods that certain sectors of the US government use to justify asymmetrical warfare in places like several Central American countries, Iran in the 50s through the 70s, and many other places.
It's not a pleasant thing to think about and goes against everything we're generally told, but nonetheless it is true.
The only duty the people who are involved in deciding when and where to deploy asymmetrical warfare (or standard warfare) seem to truly feel that they have is the duty to dominate and control anything they wish to; not necessarily for the good of the country, but more for the good of certain corporations and dynastic organizations.
In general the people making these decisions are no humanitarians.
Oh please - it's interesting how you're telling me to grow up, yet you're the one who is trying to invalidate my point of view by what amounts to calling names.
There is a deeper level of politics going on in America than the 2 party system, it's about playing both sides of any conflict in order to achieve the goal. I would call it vigilance, which is something that is the responsibility of all Americans, unfortunately too many of us are content to believe that CNN and MSNBC will be vigilant for them; and besides, even if I am paranoid by your standards, I think there is good reason to be.
If the political reality of America in 2006 (vs what you find in the mainstreasm media) is too much for you to handle - you may wish to stick with Douglas Adams; or maybe that's the problem, too much fantasy and not enough reality.
These governments want total control and will do whatever is necessary to get it - including subverting their own laws, false flag attacks, manipulation of the public via mainstream corporate media distortions etc.
BY the time their goals are achieved the internet will probably be like an interactive version of MSNBC crossed with the home shopping network.
Anonymity and privacy online will be a thing of the past. All dissenting viewpoints will be monitored; no, wait, ALL viewpoints will be monitored.
Things like TOR which promote freedom and privacy will not be tolerated by these fasicsts, and they will find a way to subvert or desrtoy them - if the child porn argument doesn't work then they'll use the oldest trick in the book: There are terra-ists out there, they're gonna get us! We must take away your freedom to keep you safe. Give it up for safety, trust us, we know what's best and we have your best interest in mind.
I predict that one way or another this guy is going to regret doing this.
He's assuming that people are going to be too ashamed of their sexuality or of having sent information to someone who turned out to be scamming to pursue this civically or criminally; and my guess is that he is right about that most people.
- however, there are plenty of people in the world who have no problem with what they do and who they are and have no problem with doing whatever it takes to make this guy pay. Whether it's a criminal case, a civil case, or more base methods of returning the screw.
The post of the thread where he is going back and forth with the guy who is asking him to remove the personal information shows his arrogance, and, AFAIAC his ignorance as well.
There is always somebody tougher, there is always somebody smarter, and there is always someone with nothing to lose - he obviously hasn't learned that yet.
Also, as a previous post mentioned there is also the possibility that this will hurt him professionally at some point.
One thing about the ipod, and the reason why I first purchased one and love mine so much is that many aftermarket car stereos (like Alpine for example, which is what I installed in my car) have built in full support for Ipod - not just a stereo mini jack, I'm talking about the same connection in the bottom of the ipod that you use to connect it to a computer - so I can control my ipod from my car stereo, see the artist, album and track name. I can put it into shuffle mode for the entire ipod on a specific album or playlist - and it sounds really good, very rich and full because they have BBE which actually does make it sound better (kind of like BBE sonic maximizer)....I know that this is an option on some of the nicer vehicles too when purchased new, but it's a completely different experience then trying to mess around with one of those little FM transmitters.
The only problem was the very first gen of the Alpine units is that the 2004 ones scrolled through your artists too slow. They fixed that (as well as inegrating the ipod support directly into the head unit) so I upgraded and have been extremely happy ever since.
I get tons of new music online every day, whether it's from binaries or torrents of live performances, this is cool because I can have it in my car (or any other stereo or computer I can plug the thing into) the same day I get it usually without having to do any conversion (lossless audio files need to be converted, but that is a quick one click change to mp3).
Since 95% of non public, non satellite (and even some satellite) radio is a total joke; (basically just a long ass commercial with the same 10 lame songs droning over and over again in between the inane patter of someone who sounds like they should be selling used cars) it's so nice to throw my 60 gig into my dash compartment, connect it and hit "mix all" on the head unit and hear a rotating random (seemingly anyways) selection of 15,000 tracks that range from personal classics I have loved for years to something i just found yesterday.
For me that is one of the things that truly makes the ipod great is integration with other items (car stereo, Xbox360 etc). The only thing I would like even more is something as small or smaller with the same or larger capacity that was completely open source and embraced by the consumer electronics industry, but until then the ipod has been the best option for me.
The only problem was the very first gen of the Alpine units is that the 2004 ones scrolled through your artists too slow. They fixed that (as well as inegrating the ipod support directly into the head unit) so I upgraded and have been extremely happy ever since.
I get tons of new music online every day, whether it's from binaries or torrents of live performances, this is cool because I can have it in my car (or any other stereo or computer I can plug the thing into) the same day I get it usually without having to do much work.
Since 95% of non public, non satellite (and even some satellite) radio is a total joke; (basically just a long ass commercial with the same 10 lame songs droning over and over again in between the inane patter of someone who sounds like they should be selling used cars) it's so nice to though my 60 gig into my dash compartment and hit "mix all" on the head unit and hear a rotating random (seemingly anyways) selection of 15,000 tracks that range from personal classics I have loved for years to something i just found yesterday.
For me that is one of the things that truly makes the ipod great is integration with other items (car stereo, Xbox360 etc). The only thing I would like even more is something as small or smaller that was completely open source and embraced by the consumer electronics industry, but until then the ipod has been the best option for me.
I think that this is a horrible idea that can only serve to weaken online privacy (what little there is left), security (these days being secure to me means being protected from harassment or worse from the police state as much as being protected from normal criminals).
I think that everyone who has said that this will be abused by idiots and kids is right, for the most part - but my real problem is that this is a first step to eroding anonymity (or semi-anonymity) online, because once that button has been there for a little while, then the authorities can say - "Well, we now need every IP to be verifiably tied to an ID because online police buttons might be pushed and we can't go throught trying to figure out who all of these sceennames are."
What makes me feel like being violent is dealing with fundamentalist fascistic self-appointed *"morality" crusaders who try to reduce every artistic, creative or unusual work of art or media that they don't understand to their very low level of artistic literacy (IE lowest common denominator) and who attempt to control what others can see, do, or experience.
One of the things which help me deal with the violent impules which these hypocritic ass-clowns arouse in me is a little bit of time playing some violent video games, or possibly enjoying some other form of entertainment which Mr Thompson would no doubt publically try to gain political momentum by denouncing.
Any respectable artist or organization should not be the least bit intimidated by this sort of politicized "campaign for censorship."
* (Morality: Morality to these people has nothing to do with true morality, as far as morality meaning "Virtuous" or "conformity to ideals of right human conduct." for these people "Morality" means that you act and behave exactly like they do, which in many cases has nothing at all to with right and ideal conduct and everything to do with dogma, their backward ass "religion" and guilt driven behavior control.
I think there is a lot to be said for learning to play by ear. Saying "that's the lazy way to do it" seems slightly arrogant and, maybe a little ignorant of some of the benefits of playing by ear (in my opinion; and you are certainly welcome to yours).
Learing to read music proper isn't going to necessarily help you develop an ear for music, or for tone - which you need to jam with people and is really necessary if you want to play nicely with others.
Tapes of such importance don't just "get lost." According to some of the astronauts involved on that and other Apollo missions as well as people who have seen the original SSTV (superior to what was broadcast in quality) there were artifacts and other things that cannot be explained by conventional theories.
http://www.totse.com/en/fringe/cydonia_and_moon_mo untains/cornet-a.htmlhttp://www.enterprisemission.com/Missing-Apollo.ht ml
Some people like to just dismiss these sort of things because they have been conditioned to do so, but if you look at the evidence it is clear that something isn't right - between the missing tapes and photos, the censored (either manipulated or stright blacked out in sections) photos, the way that NASA handles real time communications from the shuttle and other spacecraft it is clear that they are hiding things. I am not saying I know what for sure, but I do know that there has been a lot of obfuscation, and that it is being done for a purpose.
They don't "agree with the government" - They believe the government's propaganda and they agree with the false face the government puts on things.
If most these people knew how their government really works and what it's truly up to I think most people would fight it.
I think such a tax would encourage those who have never downloaded any "pirated" material to do so, so that they feel that they are getting what they pay for.
Slashdot Mirror
Good - they can keep their laws off my internets
- lest I have to install a giant hamster exercise wheel at the main hub between the two largest connecting tubes to keep Johnny law chasing useless recycled information - or I could just reroute the tubes to Digg, where he'll find a level of discourse that isn't over his head.
This is so ridiculous; I am (as I think most slashdotters are) opposed to any form of censorship, especially state mandated censorship.
Aside from the obvious wrong of trying to restrict ideas and content, the other point that I think can be made which shows how wrong this is - is the following:
Who decides what is inappropriate content? The standard is in the eye of the beholder:
I am sure that there are a lot of people who find nudity, sex, art, controversial discourse, etc. beautiful; (as I do), and find a lot of what many organized religions (and the other things these people use as their personally defined self-righteous "moral" authority) to be profane and harmful, especially when used in the political/governmental sphere - as do I.
An argument can be made that children shouldn't watch porn (and violence is worse IMO) and I agree with this, but this is something that the parents or guardians are responsible for. Don't attempt to take away freedoms and discourse by claiming that you are protecting children or "cleaning up the net."
So we can then see that this isn't about protecting anyone from anything - this is about controlling ideas, controlling possibilities and getting a handle around the internet - I think governments have realized that the net is one area where these masses actually have organizing potential that is difficult to squelch - they don't like not being able to control it.
There is also the obvious political side too IE promising some political bullshit which is impossible to deliver - because even if they get away with this the technological libertarians (not the political party per se, I am referring to those in our community who will use their skills to protect the freedom of the net) - will use encryption and/or hopefully develop tools to try to circumvent most of these restrictions.
+ mod points for insightful for the last sentence of his post.
Dead on..Unfortunately.
Yes, I am well aware of marketing practices; deceptive and otherwise; I think what you're saying basically is that "it's okay because all companies deceive and marketing practices are deceptive" -
but you may have missed the point of my post - I'm not talking about whether 5GB is a reasonable amount for an EVDO users to download - my issue is with advertising something as unlimited and then cancelling someone's account and possibly insinuating that they are pirating movies or whatever once they have passed some arbitrary or secret threshold.
I read that they are now adding the 5GB clause to their contract, but that isn't how it was in the past and this sort of thing is a common practice for the large ISPs with all sorts of broadband products which they offer.
5GB is far from unlimited - yeah, it's a lot if all you are doing is email, but with all of the media rich content which is available these days for cell phones and laptops with EVDO type connections it doesn't go as far as it used to - and for people who don't know the difference between kilobits and kilobytes or what a GB is it's even worse because they have no understanding of how much data they're consuming.
My point is: Call it what it is - Be up front with your customers - call it "almost unlimited," or "near unlimited," if your customers don'
Whether or not it's "too little" really isn't the issue as far as I'm concerned...
What's too little for one person would be more than enough for another.
The real issue is how they're marketing it; If there is a 5GB limit, then that is a limit... period - hence it is not "unlimited."
I'm sure that it is easier for them to sell it as "unlimited," just like it would make my life a hell of a lot easier if I tell the IRS that I didn't make any money last year and refuse to let them commence their annual financial colonoscopy.
They need to find another name - calling it unlimited is, basically a straight up lie.
Unfortunately the Supreme Court isn't going to help us.
We live in an authoritarian capito-fascistic state. You can choose to ignore it, you can tell yourself that it doesn't affect you personally (yet); but that won't change the fact. We have government that reinterprets laws and standards to mean what they decide they need to mean to fit their agenda at the mmoment (which usually, in all moments, is CONTROL), it's a system of institutionalized corruption.
Electing someone from the either large party isn't going to help us - I mean, there are a few exceptions in both major parties, but none of the big names really.
I think that the people are going to have to find a way to organize and save our constitution. The system will not save itself because it is compromised. It could be hacked or manipulated and forced to work for us should large groups of people be willing to stand up for their rights - but unfortunately that's not going to happen by voting or by any of the rigged or tilted mechanisms in place.
What people who say things like "I don't mind, I'm not doing anything illegal" fail to realize is that it doesn't matter - because once the entire system of surviellance and control is in place, once you have no privacy or anonimity it is too late - because then the definition of what is legal and what is illegal can be changed.
It's not like they ever give your rights or your expectations of personal liberty back once they have been taken away - even when these things are promised (like sunset provisions) at the time such legislation is proposed.
Aside from that, what if you were at one time in drug rehab - or are a member of a group like AA and all of these records are stored forever and then down the line the whole world can find out all of your private personal stuff.
The slippery slope is no more - we're almost in freefall.
Totally fucking ridiculous; these laws are meant to protect children from adult predators; not to protect children from experimenting sexually with other children.
What's next; prosecuting kids for playing doctor?
A bullet in the head makes life easier; no more bills to pay - don't have to worry about taxes etc. Very convenient
Doesn't mean it's a good idea.
Sell your soul for convenience; give up your rights incrementally for convenience; trade your constitution to corporations for convenience and a false sense of security...C'mon, either you're with us or your with the terra-ists. Everything is black and white, it's never been more simple.
Yes, simplicity, get used to it -- it will be very simple; the authoritarian government will manage everything for you. You just be sure to "like it."
Hmmm...I wish switching countries was as easy as switching OS'.
The thing is, that most Americans will take the convenient way. If it's more convenient to stick with MS (because it's what they know..think about your parents, or anyone you know who is less technically literate....
Unfortunately recent events have proven that the masses will allow their rights to be completely stripped away from them as long as:
*It happens incrementally, and not too much at once
*They can still go about their daily routine as they are used to, for the most part...
- And if there is any added convenience or time saving as a result of giving up said rights, they might even applaud it..Especially if somone tells them that they are "SAFER."
That is true, that is the original source of the report of that comment; however, from what I understand there were several people present when this was allegedly said and it does fit with several other equally disturbind, idiotic things he has said. Regardless of the validity of that report, i am more concerned with his actions than his statements - and his actions speak very loudly that he thinks that the constitution gives him the right to do whatever he pleases and protects him from being held responsible; while at the same time allowing him to completely disregard the protections it guarantees the people of this country if he decides they are "terra-ists." Everybody should be concerned about this, especially given that this administration tends to like to redefine words to mean whatever they need them to mean to accomplish their "goal of the moment."
This just keeps getting worse....
It seems that this administration and the people behind it's policies want to selectively use and selectively abuse the constitution.
They want to disregard, eviscerate and invalidate parts of the constitution which provide protections to the people, checks and balances between the branches of government and state's rights; Bush himself has even, (on one occasion it is reported) referred to it as "just a goddamned piece of paper;"
yet when it suits them they claim that under this same document Bush has absolute power to disregard other protections given to the people, to wage war without oversight or congressional approval, to disregard the rule of law and conventions of war, and to supercede process when it comes to congress.
What really gets me is how oblivious most Americans are to how dangerous this time we are in is; not just to Americans but to the entire planet.
I can explain it. It's called the "our-government-passes-vaguely-worded-laws-then-in tperets-them-however-they-like-in-order-to-do-what ever-the-fuck-they-want-to-whoever-whenever" rule; (and they don't let little things like constitutions, sovereign borders, human rights, or rule of law dissuade them).
You may not have heard of this rule yet, it was attached as a last minute amendment to a spending bill. (yes, I think it's time to remake that old schoolhouse rock).
So how bad does it have to get before "by any means necessary" becomes the guiding philosophy? (and I am obviously not just talking about the RIAA - I am talking about the now standard practice of corporations and their toadies [western governments and their puppets] disrespecting human rights, the rule of law and their own constitutions to abuse the citizens in whichever way brings profits or more control to the corporate/government conglomeration)?
It depends on what you want to believe; the facts of a situation or the the bill of goods that certain sectors of the US government use to justify asymmetrical warfare in places like several Central American countries, Iran in the 50s through the 70s, and many other places.
It's not a pleasant thing to think about and goes against everything we're generally told, but nonetheless it is true.
The only duty the people who are involved in deciding when and where to deploy asymmetrical warfare (or standard warfare) seem to truly feel that they have is the duty to dominate and control anything they wish to; not necessarily for the good of the country, but more for the good of certain corporations and dynastic organizations.
In general the people making these decisions are no humanitarians.
Oh please - it's interesting how you're telling me to grow up, yet you're the one who is trying to invalidate my point of view by what amounts to calling names.
There is a deeper level of politics going on in America than the 2 party system, it's about playing both sides of any conflict in order to achieve the goal. I would call it vigilance, which is something that is the responsibility of all Americans, unfortunately too many of us are content to believe that CNN and MSNBC will be vigilant for them; and besides, even if I am paranoid by your standards, I think there is good reason to be.
If the political reality of America in 2006 (vs what you find in the mainstreasm media) is too much for you to handle - you may wish to stick with Douglas Adams; or maybe that's the problem, too much fantasy and not enough reality.
These governments want total control and will do whatever is necessary to get it - including subverting their own laws, false flag attacks, manipulation of the public via mainstream corporate media distortions etc.
BY the time their goals are achieved the internet will probably be like an interactive version of MSNBC crossed with the home shopping network.
Anonymity and privacy online will be a thing of the past. All dissenting viewpoints will be monitored; no, wait, ALL viewpoints will be monitored.
Things like TOR which promote freedom and privacy will not be tolerated by these fasicsts, and they will find a way to subvert or desrtoy them - if the child porn argument doesn't work then they'll use the oldest trick in the book: There are terra-ists out there, they're gonna get us! We must take away your freedom to keep you safe. Give it up for safety, trust us, we know what's best and we have your best interest in mind.
I predict that one way or another this guy is going to regret doing this.
He's assuming that people are going to be too ashamed of their sexuality or of having sent information to someone who turned out to be scamming to pursue this civically or criminally; and my guess is that he is right about that most people.
- however, there are plenty of people in the world who have no problem with what they do and who they are and have no problem with doing whatever it takes to make this guy pay. Whether it's a criminal case, a civil case, or more base methods of returning the screw.
The post of the thread where he is going back and forth with the guy who is asking him to remove the personal information shows his arrogance, and, AFAIAC his ignorance as well.
There is always somebody tougher, there is always somebody smarter, and there is always someone with nothing to lose - he obviously hasn't learned that yet.
Also, as a previous post mentioned there is also the possibility that this will hurt him professionally at some point.
One thing about the ipod, and the reason why I first purchased one and love mine so much is that many aftermarket car stereos (like Alpine for example, which is what I installed in my car) have built in full support for Ipod - not just a stereo mini jack, I'm talking about the same connection in the bottom of the ipod that you use to connect it to a computer - so I can control my ipod from my car stereo, see the artist, album and track name. I can put it into shuffle mode for the entire ipod on a specific album or playlist - and it sounds really good, very rich and full because they have BBE which actually does make it sound better (kind of like BBE sonic maximizer)....I know that this is an option on some of the nicer vehicles too when purchased new, but it's a completely different experience then trying to mess around with one of those little FM transmitters.
The only problem was the very first gen of the Alpine units is that the 2004 ones scrolled through your artists too slow. They fixed that (as well as inegrating the ipod support directly into the head unit) so I upgraded and have been extremely happy ever since.
I get tons of new music online every day, whether it's from binaries or torrents of live performances, this is cool because I can have it in my car (or any other stereo or computer I can plug the thing into) the same day I get it usually without having to do any conversion (lossless audio files need to be converted, but that is a quick one click change to mp3).
Since 95% of non public, non satellite (and even some satellite) radio is a total joke; (basically just a long ass commercial with the same 10 lame songs droning over and over again in between the inane patter of someone who sounds like they should be selling used cars) it's so nice to throw my 60 gig into my dash compartment, connect it and hit "mix all" on the head unit and hear a rotating random (seemingly anyways) selection of 15,000 tracks that range from personal classics I have loved for years to something i just found yesterday.
For me that is one of the things that truly makes the ipod great is integration with other items (car stereo, Xbox360 etc). The only thing I would like even more is something as small or smaller with the same or larger capacity that was completely open source and embraced by the consumer electronics industry, but until then the ipod has been the best option for me.
The only problem was the very first gen of the Alpine units is that the 2004 ones scrolled through your artists too slow. They fixed that (as well as inegrating the ipod support directly into the head unit) so I upgraded and have been extremely happy ever since.
I get tons of new music online every day, whether it's from binaries or torrents of live performances, this is cool because I can have it in my car (or any other stereo or computer I can plug the thing into) the same day I get it usually without having to do much work.
Since 95% of non public, non satellite (and even some satellite) radio is a total joke; (basically just a long ass commercial with the same 10 lame songs droning over and over again in between the inane patter of someone who sounds like they should be selling used cars) it's so nice to though my 60 gig into my dash compartment and hit "mix all" on the head unit and hear a rotating random (seemingly anyways) selection of 15,000 tracks that range from personal classics I have loved for years to something i just found yesterday.
For me that is one of the things that truly makes the ipod great is integration with other items (car stereo, Xbox360 etc). The only thing I would like even more is something as small or smaller that was completely open source and embraced by the consumer electronics industry, but until then the ipod has been the best option for me.
Amen Brother.
I think that this is a horrible idea that can only serve to weaken online privacy (what little there is left), security (these days being secure to me means being protected from harassment or worse from the police state as much as being protected from normal criminals).
I think that everyone who has said that this will be abused by idiots and kids is right, for the most part - but my real problem is that this is a first step to eroding anonymity (or semi-anonymity) online, because once that button has been there for a little while, then the authorities can say - "Well, we now need every IP to be verifiably tied to an ID because online police buttons might be pushed and we can't go throught trying to figure out who all of these sceennames are."
What makes me feel like being violent is dealing with fundamentalist fascistic self-appointed *"morality" crusaders who try to reduce every artistic, creative or unusual work of art or media that they don't understand to their very low level of artistic literacy (IE lowest common denominator) and who attempt to control what others can see, do, or experience.
One of the things which help me deal with the violent impules which these hypocritic ass-clowns arouse in me is a little bit of time playing some violent video games, or possibly enjoying some other form of entertainment which Mr Thompson would no doubt publically try to gain political momentum by denouncing.
Any respectable artist or organization should not be the least bit intimidated by this sort of politicized "campaign for censorship."
* (Morality: Morality to these people has nothing to do with true morality, as far as morality meaning "Virtuous" or "conformity to ideals of right human conduct." for these people "Morality" means that you act and behave exactly like they do, which in many cases has nothing at all to with right and ideal conduct and everything to do with dogma, their backward ass "religion" and guilt driven behavior control.
I think there is a lot to be said for learning to play by ear. Saying "that's the lazy way to do it" seems slightly arrogant and, maybe a little ignorant of some of the benefits of playing by ear (in my opinion; and you are certainly welcome to yours).
Learing to read music proper isn't going to necessarily help you develop an ear for music, or for tone - which you need to jam with people and is really necessary if you want to play nicely with others.
Tapes of such importance don't just "get lost." According to some of the astronauts involved on that and other Apollo missions as well as people who have seen the original SSTV (superior to what was broadcast in quality) there were artifacts and other things that cannot be explained by conventional theories. http://www.totse.com/en/fringe/cydonia_and_moon_mo untains/cornet-a.html
http://www.enterprisemission.com/Missing-Apollo.ht ml
Some people like to just dismiss these sort of things because they have been conditioned to do so, but if you look at the evidence it is clear that something isn't right - between the missing tapes and photos, the censored (either manipulated or stright blacked out in sections) photos, the way that NASA handles real time communications from the shuttle and other spacecraft it is clear that they are hiding things. I am not saying I know what for sure, but I do know that there has been a lot of obfuscation, and that it is being done for a purpose.
They don't "agree with the government" - They believe the government's propaganda and they agree with the false face the government puts on things. If most these people knew how their government really works and what it's truly up to I think most people would fight it.
I think such a tax would encourage those who have never downloaded any "pirated" material to do so, so that they feel that they are getting what they pay for.