I'd go as far as to say the Wii remote is the evolution/replacement of the general purpose joystick. The only time I'd buy another joystick would be for a flight simulator type of situation, but that's a niche market (of which I'm not particularly fond.)
That reminds me of this girl who in 10th grade math class had to be explained that it is not the light bulb in the microwave that cooks the food. She did not accept the truth very easily. She will forever be associated with that moment in my mind.
Sadly, as I've grown older, I've discovered this is a common belief in my country (USA). Science, damnit!
Some of the best Daily Show and Colbert Report episodes were done without writers.
Sure, the shows became a little bit less organized, and don't flow quite as smoothly as before, but the comedy has never been so true to the hosts' styles. I personally loved the experimentation they were afforded in this time. Hopefully when the writers return they will continue on this path, but I wouldn't put money on it.
I didn't RTFA, but I've heard a lot of buzz about this issue.
I understand wanting to control the export of data, but how could bringing data into the country possible be a security (or otherwise) risk? It's not like fruit or animals, which do pose an ecological risk. What exactly are they looking for? Did the RIAA/MPAA put them up to this?
The government could scan a bazillion laptops and still miss the terrorist communications occurring on the internet, in secret code, encrypted, and embedded in other files, or on CDs sent through the mail. And even then, I'm at a loss for what data could possibly pose a threat to the country.
The supposed terrorists aren't just going to send Osama bin Laden to Ellis Island with his Outlook Contacts Folder unencrypted.
This is about as helpful to the country as electronic voting and bill of rights toiler paper.
Aside from the occasional person who changes their act after an arrest, those who are paid to fight the war on drugs are the only winners. Law enforcement. Contractors. Equipment manufacturers. Service providers.
The government itself does benefit from the war on drugs. The government gets bigger and thus stronger. It doesn't cost them anything. It costs the tax payers. Our government is not in the business of making money. But the people in it are.
The war on drugs was never intended to be beneficial to the government's budget. It was intended to channel money differently.
That's how it seems to me anyways, and my tin foil hat is currently stowed.
The RIAA basically comes from an attempt at a monopoly. They do not update their world view. Therefore, from their perspective, all music is theres, and if you did not buy it from one of their outlets, you must have stolen it...
This is similar to how internet radio royalties work in the USA.
I remember reading some legal clause -- not sure if it was passed or merely proposed, but it would require me to register with SoundExchange as an Artist AND a Station, and then pay royalties to them and collect back only a fraction of those royalties just to play my original music (and only my original music) on my own radio stream.
I don't think the founding fathers anticipated that we the people would be asleep at the wheel when the corporations stole our countries from us.
My post was not to deny the reality of the media industry vs. file sharing. As long as there are laws in place upon which to charge The Pirate Bay (without it being some unenforced law from like 1704 actually referring to seafaring pirates) with real substantiated crimes, then I'm on board with them being brought to justice. I just don't want to see them tired up in a b.s. lawsuit for "being mean."
I agree with you from a practical stand point. Somebody is losing an unknown amount of money, TPB is helping to make it possible, and somebody should pay. Whether or not TPB are the ones to pay is a sticky situation. I just feel like if the RIAA (etc) can manipulate the laws and work through loopholes, why shouldn't their enemies try to also?
I didn't suggest it was good or right. I wasn't making an argument, I was just depicting my view of the reality we live in.
Unless I missed something, TPB does not link to illegal content, otherwise this wouldn't even be news. They link to manifest files which contain chunk checksums, which themselves are perfectly legal.
AFAIK, it's the motive and primary use that moves TPB into illegal territory.
I was not saying that any crime should be passed over. They've obviously set out to challenge the law based on some higher authority (which law exactly I don't know -- IANAL.) That is the purpose of the judicial system of most modern governments.
In practical terms, it's clear TPB is up to no good. By legal precedence and the word of the law, I'm not so sure it's as cut and dry as you make it out to be. That's for the courts to work out. In the end, it won't change anything anyways.
No artist can claim the ignorant position that they did not anticipate the theft of their creations.
I know people steal music. A huge portion of the connected population does. So, you just have to be aware, like I am, that when you write a song and get it published: people are going to steal it!
Since the history of man, theft has existed. It was in fact a way of life prior to the advent of lawful society, even still for many. IANA evolutionary biologist, but I suspect our urge to steal music, and in some individuals many other things, is a byproduct of our distant scavenging ancestry.
My dad owns a car lot, and experiences frequent crime. He does not sue the socket/ratchet company that enables a thief to make off with a set of rims. He has insurance for this sort of thing. Maybe it's time the recording industry quit their bitchin and buy some insurance (and I don't mean lawyers/politicians/lobbyists).
This makes the experience a lot more accessible to the public and paves the way for copycat companies. It also generates hype -- look no further than the space race to see the value of this? It's only at a proof of concept stage right now, basically. Once this goes to the final retail stage, it will grow exponentially, not just in popularity, but also in capacity. Bigger ships. Greater range. Free-market competition! It's even in their name, SCALED composites. I mean, we're not going to just go from Space Shuttle to "Beam me up, Scotty" overnight.
IANA astronaut/astrophysicist... but I do believe the incidence of collisions can be reduced by selecting the proper site on the moon... from what I recall, this is one of the appeals of landing at the poles, despite its increased fuel costs.
The parent mentioned a key point, as far as I can tell.
"Combines" on Earth are made as big as possible to maximize output for given labor. This would not be necessary (at first) in space, and as such extremely small and slow devices could be used.
Grain cultivators might be huge, but my Lawn Boy can mulch, and it runs all summer on about 4 gallons of gas with no maintenance! Sure, mining, smelting, and forging metals is a little more extreme, but it's all about scale. Given that efficiency (like cost per labor unit) is not a concern, and rate of production also is not, surely a suitable compromise can be met.
Obviously, it's a bit cheaper to send unmanned missions into space, so you'd want to send the equipment up on its own, ahead of a manned mission to meet up with it. The modules could be designed to target the optimal lift/cost. Final assembly could be carried out automatically or by humans, in orbit or on the moon, at which point weight would be less of a concern.
Am I the only one who sees a self-sustaining materials and manufacturing infrastructure on the moon as being worth any cost today? Without it, we'll never realize our sci-fi dreams of colonizing off the planet.
Even if it took a day to process a very small amount of material, it's still a lot more material than we currently produce there. Use those resources to produce more resource gathering capacity, and from that point, it should snowball.
The first obvious thing that comes to mind is the fact that plain old steganography will likely render this sort of search useless. Not only will they be unable to get the data that you need, but they won't even know you have anything out of the ordinary.
My only question is... who cares what they bring into the country on a laptop? Whatever it is, it can be brought in much more easily over the internet, or in a UPS box filled with DVD-Rs.
We all need to buy headgear: the politicians need padded helmets, and we need the variety fashioned out of tin foil.
I just traveled from Allentown, PA to Sanford, FL and back and I was ID'd at the ticket counter when I claimed my tickets, as well as when I attempted to enter the secure part of the terminals.
Granted, the people checking my ID were complete dopes, and probably could have been fooled quite easily by a glue on mustache, but they are checking -- at least in the USA.
I placed an order with StartLogic.com for hosting a while back (soon after the game went retail.) The domain was "wowvault.com" just like "eqvault.com" and "uovault.com". Sure, I was trying to pre-emptively hijack this site from the vault network, but I was going to develop it as my own and actually run with it. I checked and saw that the domain was available. Now, at the time, I was a bit unsure about registering a domain myself, so I figured I'd let "the experts" do it at StartLogic. I placed an online order and then followed it up almost immediately with a telephone call to confirm it. Everything was in order and would be taken care of shortly.
Days went by, and the domain was still available. I called StartLogic and they lost my order somehow! So then I placed the order again, figuring it had to go through smoothly this time. 2 more days go by and finally the domain is registered, BUT TO SOMEBODY ELSE! And it's just a domain squatter, even. I strongly suspect foul play was involved, and have since registered every one of my domains myself.
This is no surprise. I think it's been done before a lot, but not necessarily through automated websites. It seems so far to have been more of an analog to a phone operator at a catalog company taking a caller's credit info home with them.
Maybe it's just me, but... $450 isn't something everybody just has lying around. A junk computer, on the other hand... well, I personally can't seem to rid myself of them, so I load Linux on them and *viola* I have what amounts to an internet kiosk in every room of my house. I could also run an assortment of other useful services on them if I so desired.
Windows would cost money and be basically unusable and un-updatable on many of these systems. Perhaps the energy they use cancels this next bit out, but at least they aren't in a land fill. They still have a lot of life left in them.
These new systems are way over powered for the system requirements of web browsing. Old systems work just fine for that, if that's your main goal. These new systems are so powerful (and thus pricey) so they can run Vista, and perhaps a few games. Not everybody needs that to review their stocks and pay their credit card. (Personally I have some killer systems, but I still put the junk to good use.)
There isn't exactly any "asking" or "telling" going on... you just have to agree to the equipment usage policy when you sign in, which basically says you can't be gay.
By creating a more complex system that is tougher to attack from the outside, I'd worry more about incompetence attacking it from the inside, or complexity rendering it functionally ineffective.
"Fire the missiles!" "Oh crap, this config file is missing carriage returns..."
Slashdot Mirror
I agree about the Wii.
I'd go as far as to say the Wii remote is the evolution/replacement of the general purpose joystick. The only time I'd buy another joystick would be for a flight simulator type of situation, but that's a niche market (of which I'm not particularly fond.)
I try to avoid making judgments of one's intellectual capacity (since it's so subjective and amorphous)...
But in a developed nation, never inquiring about how a microwave works is, just plain ignorant.
That reminds me of this girl who in 10th grade math class had to be explained that it is not the light bulb in the microwave that cooks the food. She did not accept the truth very easily. She will forever be associated with that moment in my mind.
Sadly, as I've grown older, I've discovered this is a common belief in my country (USA). Science, damnit!
Some of the best Daily Show and Colbert Report episodes were done without writers.
Sure, the shows became a little bit less organized, and don't flow quite as smoothly as before, but the comedy has never been so true to the hosts' styles. I personally loved the experimentation they were afforded in this time. Hopefully when the writers return they will continue on this path, but I wouldn't put money on it.
I'm offended by martyrs. They must stop immediately.
I didn't RTFA, but I've heard a lot of buzz about this issue.
I understand wanting to control the export of data, but how could bringing data into the country possible be a security (or otherwise) risk? It's not like fruit or animals, which do pose an ecological risk. What exactly are they looking for? Did the RIAA/MPAA put them up to this?
The government could scan a bazillion laptops and still miss the terrorist communications occurring on the internet, in secret code, encrypted, and embedded in other files, or on CDs sent through the mail. And even then, I'm at a loss for what data could possibly pose a threat to the country.
The supposed terrorists aren't just going to send Osama bin Laden to Ellis Island with his Outlook Contacts Folder unencrypted.
This is about as helpful to the country as electronic voting and bill of rights toiler paper.
Aside from the occasional person who changes their act after an arrest, those who are paid to fight the war on drugs are the only winners. Law enforcement. Contractors. Equipment manufacturers. Service providers.
The government itself does benefit from the war on drugs. The government gets bigger and thus stronger. It doesn't cost them anything. It costs the tax payers. Our government is not in the business of making money. But the people in it are.
The war on drugs was never intended to be beneficial to the government's budget. It was intended to channel money differently.
That's how it seems to me anyways, and my tin foil hat is currently stowed.
- Andy
Does this mean we should soon expect a Google vs. Linux championship deathmatch article?
The RIAA basically comes from an attempt at a monopoly. They do not update their world view. Therefore, from their perspective, all music is theres, and if you did not buy it from one of their outlets, you must have stolen it...
This is similar to how internet radio royalties work in the USA.
I remember reading some legal clause -- not sure if it was passed or merely proposed, but it would require me to register with SoundExchange as an Artist AND a Station, and then pay royalties to them and collect back only a fraction of those royalties just to play my original music (and only my original music) on my own radio stream.
I don't think the founding fathers anticipated that we the people would be asleep at the wheel when the corporations stole our countries from us.
My post was not to deny the reality of the media industry vs. file sharing. As long as there are laws in place upon which to charge The Pirate Bay (without it being some unenforced law from like 1704 actually referring to seafaring pirates) with real substantiated crimes, then I'm on board with them being brought to justice. I just don't want to see them tired up in a b.s. lawsuit for "being mean."
I agree with you from a practical stand point. Somebody is losing an unknown amount of money, TPB is helping to make it possible, and somebody should pay. Whether or not TPB are the ones to pay is a sticky situation. I just feel like if the RIAA (etc) can manipulate the laws and work through loopholes, why shouldn't their enemies try to also?
I didn't suggest it was good or right. I wasn't making an argument, I was just depicting my view of the reality we live in.
Unless I missed something, TPB does not link to illegal content, otherwise this wouldn't even be news. They link to manifest files which contain chunk checksums, which themselves are perfectly legal.
AFAIK, it's the motive and primary use that moves TPB into illegal territory.
I was not saying that any crime should be passed over. They've obviously set out to challenge the law based on some higher authority (which law exactly I don't know -- IANAL.) That is the purpose of the judicial system of most modern governments.
In practical terms, it's clear TPB is up to no good. By legal precedence and the word of the law, I'm not so sure it's as cut and dry as you make it out to be. That's for the courts to work out. In the end, it won't change anything anyways.
ARTISTS, WELCOME TO REALITY:
No artist can claim the ignorant position that they did not anticipate the theft of their creations.
I know people steal music. A huge portion of the connected population does. So, you just have to be aware, like I am, that when you write a song and get it published: people are going to steal it!
Since the history of man, theft has existed. It was in fact a way of life prior to the advent of lawful society, even still for many. IANA evolutionary biologist, but I suspect our urge to steal music, and in some individuals many other things, is a byproduct of our distant scavenging ancestry.
My dad owns a car lot, and experiences frequent crime. He does not sue the socket/ratchet company that enables a thief to make off with a set of rims. He has insurance for this sort of thing. Maybe it's time the recording industry quit their bitchin and buy some insurance (and I don't mean lawyers/politicians/lobbyists).
How about they test the myth where slashdot has useful posts and accurate summaries?
BUSTED!
*rimshot, anybody?*
I'm curious what U2 has to say about this.
Probably something along the lines of, "Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah YEAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"
This makes the experience a lot more accessible to the public and paves the way for copycat companies. It also generates hype -- look no further than the space race to see the value of this? It's only at a proof of concept stage right now, basically. Once this goes to the final retail stage, it will grow exponentially, not just in popularity, but also in capacity. Bigger ships. Greater range. Free-market competition! It's even in their name, SCALED composites. I mean, we're not going to just go from Space Shuttle to "Beam me up, Scotty" overnight.
Remember the Wright brothers?
IANA astronaut/astrophysicist... but I do believe the incidence of collisions can be reduced by selecting the proper site on the moon... from what I recall, this is one of the appeals of landing at the poles, despite its increased fuel costs.
The parent mentioned a key point, as far as I can tell.
"Combines" on Earth are made as big as possible to maximize output for given labor. This would not be necessary (at first) in space, and as such extremely small and slow devices could be used.
Grain cultivators might be huge, but my Lawn Boy can mulch, and it runs all summer on about 4 gallons of gas with no maintenance! Sure, mining, smelting, and forging metals is a little more extreme, but it's all about scale. Given that efficiency (like cost per labor unit) is not a concern, and rate of production also is not, surely a suitable compromise can be met.
Obviously, it's a bit cheaper to send unmanned missions into space, so you'd want to send the equipment up on its own, ahead of a manned mission to meet up with it. The modules could be designed to target the optimal lift/cost. Final assembly could be carried out automatically or by humans, in orbit or on the moon, at which point weight would be less of a concern.
Am I the only one who sees a self-sustaining materials and manufacturing infrastructure on the moon as being worth any cost today? Without it, we'll never realize our sci-fi dreams of colonizing off the planet.
Even if it took a day to process a very small amount of material, it's still a lot more material than we currently produce there. Use those resources to produce more resource gathering capacity, and from that point, it should snowball.
It would be the dawn of the lunar-industrial age.
If by "self correcting", you mean "changing the law", then I agree :-)
The first obvious thing that comes to mind is the fact that plain old steganography will likely render this sort of search useless. Not only will they be unable to get the data that you need, but they won't even know you have anything out of the ordinary.
My only question is... who cares what they bring into the country on a laptop? Whatever it is, it can be brought in much more easily over the internet, or in a UPS box filled with DVD-Rs.
We all need to buy headgear: the politicians need padded helmets, and we need the variety fashioned out of tin foil.
I just traveled from Allentown, PA to Sanford, FL and back and I was ID'd at the ticket counter when I claimed my tickets, as well as when I attempted to enter the secure part of the terminals.
Granted, the people checking my ID were complete dopes, and probably could have been fooled quite easily by a glue on mustache, but they are checking -- at least in the USA.
- Andy
I placed an order with StartLogic.com for hosting a while back (soon after the game went retail.) The domain was "wowvault.com" just like "eqvault.com" and "uovault.com". Sure, I was trying to pre-emptively hijack this site from the vault network, but I was going to develop it as my own and actually run with it. I checked and saw that the domain was available. Now, at the time, I was a bit unsure about registering a domain myself, so I figured I'd let "the experts" do it at StartLogic. I placed an online order and then followed it up almost immediately with a telephone call to confirm it. Everything was in order and would be taken care of shortly.
Days went by, and the domain was still available. I called StartLogic and they lost my order somehow! So then I placed the order again, figuring it had to go through smoothly this time. 2 more days go by and finally the domain is registered, BUT TO SOMEBODY ELSE! And it's just a domain squatter, even. I strongly suspect foul play was involved, and have since registered every one of my domains myself.
This is no surprise. I think it's been done before a lot, but not necessarily through automated websites. It seems so far to have been more of an analog to a phone operator at a catalog company taking a caller's credit info home with them.
Maybe it's just me, but... $450 isn't something everybody just has lying around. A junk computer, on the other hand... well, I personally can't seem to rid myself of them, so I load Linux on them and *viola* I have what amounts to an internet kiosk in every room of my house. I could also run an assortment of other useful services on them if I so desired.
Windows would cost money and be basically unusable and un-updatable on many of these systems. Perhaps the energy they use cancels this next bit out, but at least they aren't in a land fill. They still have a lot of life left in them.
These new systems are way over powered for the system requirements of web browsing. Old systems work just fine for that, if that's your main goal. These new systems are so powerful (and thus pricey) so they can run Vista, and perhaps a few games. Not everybody needs that to review their stocks and pay their credit card. (Personally I have some killer systems, but I still put the junk to good use.)
Don't underestimate the power of FREE.
There isn't exactly any "asking" or "telling" going on... you just have to agree to the equipment usage policy when you sign in, which basically says you can't be gay.
By creating a more complex system that is tougher to attack from the outside, I'd worry more about incompetence attacking it from the inside, or complexity rendering it functionally ineffective.
"Fire the missiles!"
"Oh crap, this config file is missing carriage returns..."