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User: rleesBSD

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  1. Since I do all my ad blocking in my firewall, firewalls without ad-holes are going to be illegal soon? Gotta take that ad medicine or else ...

  2. Re:New boss - same as the old boss on NY Times: "All the News That Mark Zuckerberg Sees Fit To Print"? · · Score: 1

    "The little ones will be dependent on the tolerance of the big ones to get their content seen." Absolutely. This is the likely future of content. My original post was directed to an analogy between the old paper publishing houses (the gatekeepers, once known as the Big Six) and the devolution of the internet. Who will the new gatekeepers be (or already are)? The list is short: Google, Amazon, Trashrags, Inc - and now (Facebook).

  3. Re:Trust Us! on UK Setting Itself Up To Be More Friendly To Bitcoin Startups · · Score: 1

    Hmm ... that jives with the rumors about bitcoin being heavily mined by entities with three letter abbreviations.

  4. Re:Trust Us! on UK Setting Itself Up To Be More Friendly To Bitcoin Startups · · Score: 1

    The only bank that could be involved is the one taking the $Mega deposit after SHA256 been busted. Agent K to agent L: "Do you think we should have waited for a little bigger build out? Hey, could you rub a little more suntan lotion on my shoulder?"

  5. Re:Obligatory Discussions on GNOME 3.16 Released · · Score: 1

    The cell phone drones can only remember three levels of tap, and Gnome 3 takes this into account. You're only supposed to use authorized apps anyway.

  6. Let's be fair! on GNOME 3.16 Released · · Score: 0

    Let's be fair! Gnome 3 is still better than the command line. Count your blessings.

  7. New boss - same as the old boss on NY Times: "All the News That Mark Zuckerberg Sees Fit To Print"? · · Score: 5, Informative

    There was a brief moment in time (sorry Stephen) when I thought the internet would break up the gate keepers. That moment has passed.

  8. Re:A very grave collapse that can't be stopped. on Death of Printed Books May Have Been Exaggerated · · Score: 1

    The paper is not a very big deal, but unsold inventory is a huge deal. The way publishing works is that the bookstores put their stuff physically on the shelves only when there's an agreement to buy back everything that doesn't sell at a whopping fifty percent discount. That's most of the waste in the system. Book paper is pretty cheap (I can run my 300 page novel in 5,000 volume batches at about a buck, U.S. )

  9. Re:The tech needs to advance just a bit more on Death of Printed Books May Have Been Exaggerated · · Score: 1

    Have you ever seen the dependencies list for that thing? Holy C___! I don't think I've ever seen a longer one, anywhere, anytime.

  10. Re:Price driven... on Death of Printed Books May Have Been Exaggerated · · Score: 1

    A solution might be to "stream" books over the web, rather than distribute them as files. I guess you'd still have the authorization hassles. The files are a problem. Publishers figure the files are way too easy to redistribute, and so they just add some cushion to the price to cover lost sales. But, it seems like I see more 99 cent offerings than $9.99 ones. I'm not sure where you're shopping. DRM is declining, because it severely restricts device compatibility.

  11. Re:Price driven... on Death of Printed Books May Have Been Exaggerated · · Score: 1

    They're pre-factoring the piracy. Software publishers have done this for years ...

  12. Re:Nostalgia on Death of Printed Books May Have Been Exaggerated · · Score: 1

    "Formatting in physical books tends to be far better..." Yes, I can attest to that statement! It's entirely a nightmare to do the formatting, when producing ebooks. I've written one particular ebook that I would put in the nightmare category, as it was overflowing with diagrams, and almost impossible to do in kindle. The epub variant didn't do too badly, but still was not optimal...

  13. Re:I hope he's right ... on Death of Printed Books May Have Been Exaggerated · · Score: 1

    Techies tend to buy the kinds of books that don't attach to the heart. I can't imagine developing feelings of sentimentality for my "Secrets of Writing Good Python Code" book.

  14. Re:I hope he's right ... on Death of Printed Books May Have Been Exaggerated · · Score: 1

    The scary thing is, there's a movement afoot to bring the software licensing model into the durable goods market. In other words - take away your right to resell your bicycle!!!!

  15. Re:I don't know on Death of Printed Books May Have Been Exaggerated · · Score: 1

    "So, give me the paper book that I can buy without telling what I had for breakfast and how my mother's milk tasted." -- Don't forget to add "your favorite underwear color" to the authorization requirements! Yes - I prefer the paperback, like you. It's very anonymous, especially if paying with cash. In terms of lending books, Amazon now offers some titles with "lending" authorization.

  16. Re:I wonder... on Death of Printed Books May Have Been Exaggerated · · Score: 1

    Yes - font adjustment capability is a really big and good use for e-readers. The publishers don't always provide a "large print" version of the book (14 point or higher font size). My parents (both over 80) each have eyesight better than mine. They should buy the e-reader for me!

  17. Re:I don't even know anyone with a tablet or e-dev on Death of Printed Books May Have Been Exaggerated · · Score: 1

    The crappy thing is that I knew about e-ink two years before it was commercialized into the ebooks, but didn't have the liquid doe-rah-mee to invest at the time. Now, kick self in butt, kick self in butt ....

  18. Re:An e-book is not a book. on Death of Printed Books May Have Been Exaggerated · · Score: 1

    You are not just whistling dixie, and I'm in the south. One big pipe that they can turn off anytime they like, slow down anytime they like, or adulterate anytime they like. Seems much like being plugged into the ministry of information, and paying a premium. Hey, is that like G4?

  19. Re:An e-book is not a book. on Death of Printed Books May Have Been Exaggerated · · Score: 1

    Walls lined with books make the best wallpaper. There's something about the scent they impart to the room ... it's a pleasant sort of ambiance that always makes me feel comfortable. But ... to each his own.

  20. Re:Love my kindle and my Nexus 7 on Death of Printed Books May Have Been Exaggerated · · Score: 1
    Yes, the DRM thing sucks. But, as an author who has published several books, I can tell you that the publishers don't have a clue about how to make this new market work to every persons benefit. Too many people are dishonest. I originally put my volumes out on the market in two tiers :
    • 1 ) A creative commons, non-commercial use, no derivatives tier.
    • 2 ) A commercial tier (usually the paperback).

    My idea was that the ebook version could be bought, and the freebie would drive sales to the commercial version. I know that most people still prefer paper. Well, guess what happened? In spite of the creative commons non-com/no-derivative license, all kinds of shysters came out of the woodwork, took the free ebook version, and sold it in PAPERBACK form for more than my LIST PRICE!!!! They plastered their ads all over the internet! I can't really say I'd do that again, except for a book from which I expect no revenue.

  21. Re:Already installed Sophos on my phone on Google May Soon Scan Your Android Apps For Malware · · Score: 1

    "... aren't running with escalated privileges ..." [ Or so you think. ]

  22. Great new thing from Samsung! on Samsung Creates New File System F2Fs For Linux & Android · · Score: 1

    Um, yeah - but will Apple sue me?

  23. Yeah but ... on Bill Would Force Patent Trolls To Pay Defendants' Legal Bills · · Score: 1

    The gubmint's move still ain't good enough to let me move up from mp2 to mp3! Since there are so many patent experts reading this story, it should be timely for me to ask, "Has the mp2 patent really expired?" By the way... ahem, cough, rattle ... I use ogg. That whole mp2 thing was hypothetical ...

  24. Re:Outward facing systems ... on Sloppy Linux Admins Enable Slow Brute-Force Attacks · · Score: 1

    I like the idea of not using a continuously running SSHD at all, but instead put a trigger mechanism on an obscure port (or just reboot) to turn it on.

  25. USB Firewall? on Hardware Firewall On a USB Key · · Score: 1


    Well, I don't exactly see the unique benefit of this device (not enough coffee this A.M., I guess). But let's give 'em credit for something:


    Marketing Marketing Marketing!

    • Find a field that regular folks know nothing about, but is scary for them.
    • Sell a widget that purports to save them from the scariness.
    • Make millions.
    • Sell it to Homeland Security providers.
    • Make more millions.