Yeah, it's arbitrary. People think it's 'obvious' that they are Americans because their family has been living there for 6 generations, but a random black person is not really american why? Because their skin looks a little like an African? By this reasoning you could very well call Americans with the syndrome of down 'Mongolian-Americans' because their eyes look slightly similar (note: in the Netherlands 'mongool' is old slang for a person with down syndrome)...
The fact to remember is: All Americans are immigrants, the only difference is who came first. You can find some really nice info on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immigration_to_the_United_States, for example:
- The peak year of European immigration was in 1907 (only one century ago). So the average white American family (basically all 'European-Americans') has been in America for roughly 4-5 generations.
- The peak of slavery was in the early 1800s (almost 2 centuries ago). The average descendants of actual African slaves ('African-American') have been in America 8-10 generations.
On average a random african-american is more likely a 'real' American than the European-American, very arbitrary indeed.
I hope everyone realizes this stupidity and just stops with these labels, especially the *-American, what it means to be an American is to be born and live in the land, it has no other significance and there sure as hell is no 'American race'.
I really want web-browsers to support this properly, with a dialog that shows that it's self-signed and provides encryption but no verification. Self-signed certificates have a lot of advantages, and the only thing holding back widespread use is those crappy browser dialogs warning you that this website is going to cause the end of life as you know it. There is a legitemate use for encryption without a CA, and this article only confirms that.
The way I see it you have the following levels:
- HTTP (unencrypted, but free)
- HTTPS SSC TOFU (encrypted and free + as a bonus no government can mess with certs apparently)
- HTTPS CA (encrypted + verified)
- HTTPS CA+ (better verification + whatever extra shit they can sell for overpriced certificates)
The question is now: which browser will be the first to support true free and 'open' HTTPS?
Maybe so, but "american" even less...
I'm amazed by the amount of trouble americans go trough to sound PC (like 'african-american' and 'native-american') but in my opinion it only sounds more racist, especially when used in news items like this.
What an excellent review. I won't be buying C&C 4 (while I own practically every game in the series).
Seems to me they'll be losing quite a few fans if the continue like this... It's not even hard for me not to buy the game, I stopped caring just now.
If you really want to get out of Facebook completely try to commit suicide: http://suicidemachine.org/
Facebook tried to fight them, so here is some more Streisand effect for you.:)
You have nothing to worry, right? Until amazon women rise to power and force all men to work the land, or when population increase causes food shortage in 20 years and all people over 50 are turned into soylent green... By that time you wish you hadn't given too much information (or you proceed to welcome your new large-breasted female overlords).
Please understand: I hate that elitist behaviour... I will always ask before removing IE. Instead I try to educate users that there is a choice, and Firefox isn't the magic answer... They can choose a browser they like, and does what they want. And when they just want to the whole thing pink-looking with unicorns I will point out that Firefox has those 'personas' now , because people seem to like that kind of 'fun-extras'... And this seems to work (along with adding 'internet' to the link).
The only place I just install Firefox and remove the IE icon is on my work where we try to eliminate IE as much as possible (it has to stay on the PC for some apps, but I can remove all the icons).
Besides the well-known bitmap that looks like a bad fax there is also an option to purposely make a PDF unsearchable. The text is normally encoded twice, once as the actual shapes in PostScript format and another time as plaintext metadata. I've seen PDFs that were not searchable because this metadata had been disabled, but the text was a real vector and not a bitmap scan.
On the other hand I also have a lot of scanned PDFs that had automatic OCR done by the scanning software, and these are in fact searchable (and the text is selectable although a little off-target sometimes)... So both vector and bitmap encoded PDFs can optionally contain the plaintext required for searching, but this is in no way mandated by the format. So I guess both were right and wrong, and would know that this is not inherent to PDF if they looked a little further...
There a lot of truth in the fact that users just click anything that says 'internet'. When I install Firefox next to Internet Explorer I can explain that Firefox is a great browser and all but they will never use it, but when I rename the shortcut to 'Internet (Firefox)' and hide Internet Explorer it's no big deal suddenly... People just don't give a shit, they just want to click the first Internet icon and have it work for them...:-)
Yeah, sadly here in Europe we pay the tax no matter what, even if you just use the CDs to burn linux install discs. The tax on a music CD is about three times the tax on a data CD. Music CDs are only used rarely, even the old CD players in cars handle the normal CD-R perfectly well so there is really no point...
You do know that RIAA doesn't just blindly attack sharing of any music, but only music by artists who have (or their labels have) authorized them to do so.
This is not true, the fines imposed on blank media for example are all going to big labels. I think the chance of my blank CD-R being used to burn some legally bought indie music is much larger than ever being used to illegally copy the latest Lady Gaga CD, but nevertheless the money goes to this mafia. I would call this 'fined for being guilty of infringement whatever the circumstance' a blind attack on one method of sharing music, and it also negates the second part of your claim since indie artists have never authorized the big labels to collect (and keep) this fine for them.
There's one way and only one way to determine if an animal is intelligent. Dissect its brain! (And maybe you can find out where Farnsworth's voice is coming from).
compress(XML) should do the trick... parsing time is negligible, the only advantage would be an index, but there are other tricks for that like embedding it in the XML or creating a separate smaller index file.
I like the trick DriveImage XML uses: one binary blob with all files after each other and a plaintext XML file with filenames and byte positions, this is a great example of the strength of XML and binary data combined.
We had that for decades already... but indeed: what about a computer with *good* TV reception... No analog tuner, no digital terrestial tuner which requires a card, no crappy web-video that is put online the day after broadcast... I just want a true online TV subscription and I would pay good money to get rid of regular TV completely and just use the internet for all my communication needs...
Yeah, gamers are impatient... but the other (even easier) alternative is just downloading a cracked copy of the game. If only studios start seeing these 'losses' as a result of the reduced value of their games and work on that instead of making their games suck more.
A friend of mine buys a lot of games brandnew, but has been screwed by crappy DRM several times (disc unreadable errors halfway into the game or refusal to run after install etc.) and the fix in this case was simple: torrent a copy of the game without the DRM and it worked fine.
But I bet this friend shows up in the studio's statistics as 1 succesful sale and 1 torrent download they missed out on, so he should have paid twice for a defective product. Doesn't the research show time and time again that people who torrent the most also spend the most cash... so I would bet there are a lot more people like my friend who fix the game's biggest artificial bug (DRM) by 'illegal' means. I'd say that instead of reducing illegal downloads DRM contributes to it, and it might even make it completely legal since torrents of games without DRM 'defects' are a consumers right (to fix a defective product you own).
Yes you can, by withholding said profit from them. I refuse to buy games at new prices unless I know in advance the game is completely worth it... for that there needs to be a basis of trust that goes back some games. Once i've been screwed by a mediocre game that's made even crappier by requiring activation/disc inserted/internet connection I see this as a reduced value for those games... DRM devaluates games. I won't refuse to play it, but I will wait until it hits the bargain bins (and that can be surprisingly fast sometimes).
Once game publishers see that they can combat piracy with 'added value' (extra's and artwork) instead of the 'reduced value' that DRM offers they will see profits rise again.
Something useful... like ending actual ongoing *human* slavery? Nah... PETA finds it more worthwhile to kill (uhhh 'rescue') some more animals: http://www.petakillsanimals.com/.
Yesterday night my second xbox showed the dreaded RROD while watching a movie. Maybe this is a sign... and a proper burial will please the gaming gods and allow my next xbox to live a long and ever-green life.
The gods will have to pry the controller out of my dead cold hands though.
Slashdot Mirror
Yeah, it's arbitrary. People think it's 'obvious' that they are Americans because their family has been living there for 6 generations, but a random black person is not really american why? Because their skin looks a little like an African? By this reasoning you could very well call Americans with the syndrome of down 'Mongolian-Americans' because their eyes look slightly similar (note: in the Netherlands 'mongool' is old slang for a person with down syndrome)...
The fact to remember is: All Americans are immigrants, the only difference is who came first. You can find some really nice info on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immigration_to_the_United_States, for example:
- The peak year of European immigration was in 1907 (only one century ago). So the average white American family (basically all 'European-Americans') has been in America for roughly 4-5 generations.
- The peak of slavery was in the early 1800s (almost 2 centuries ago). The average descendants of actual African slaves ('African-American') have been in America 8-10 generations.
On average a random african-american is more likely a 'real' American than the European-American, very arbitrary indeed.
I hope everyone realizes this stupidity and just stops with these labels, especially the *-American, what it means to be an American is to be born and live in the land, it has no other significance and there sure as hell is no 'American race'.
I really want web-browsers to support this properly, with a dialog that shows that it's self-signed and provides encryption but no verification. Self-signed certificates have a lot of advantages, and the only thing holding back widespread use is those crappy browser dialogs warning you that this website is going to cause the end of life as you know it. There is a legitemate use for encryption without a CA, and this article only confirms that.
The way I see it you have the following levels:
- HTTP (unencrypted, but free)
- HTTPS SSC TOFU (encrypted and free + as a bonus no government can mess with certs apparently)
- HTTPS CA (encrypted + verified)
- HTTPS CA+ (better verification + whatever extra shit they can sell for overpriced certificates)
The question is now: which browser will be the first to support true free and 'open' HTTPS?
Maybe so, but "american" even less...
I'm amazed by the amount of trouble americans go trough to sound PC (like 'african-american' and 'native-american') but in my opinion it only sounds more racist, especially when used in news items like this.
What an excellent review. I won't be buying C&C 4 (while I own practically every game in the series).
Seems to me they'll be losing quite a few fans if the continue like this... It's not even hard for me not to buy the game, I stopped caring just now.
If you really want to get out of Facebook completely try to commit suicide: http://suicidemachine.org/ :)
Facebook tried to fight them, so here is some more Streisand effect for you.
You have nothing to worry, right? Until amazon women rise to power and force all men to work the land, or when population increase causes food shortage in 20 years and all people over 50 are turned into soylent green... By that time you wish you hadn't given too much information (or you proceed to welcome your new large-breasted female overlords).
Thats nothing, they can already measure it by the way you walk for years now... Have you ever heard of a pedometer?
Sorry, no dice!
Please understand: I hate that elitist behaviour... I will always ask before removing IE. Instead I try to educate users that there is a choice, and Firefox isn't the magic answer... They can choose a browser they like, and does what they want. And when they just want to the whole thing pink-looking with unicorns I will point out that Firefox has those 'personas' now , because people seem to like that kind of 'fun-extras'... And this seems to work (along with adding 'internet' to the link).
The only place I just install Firefox and remove the IE icon is on my work where we try to eliminate IE as much as possible (it has to stay on the PC for some apps, but I can remove all the icons).
Besides the well-known bitmap that looks like a bad fax there is also an option to purposely make a PDF unsearchable. The text is normally encoded twice, once as the actual shapes in PostScript format and another time as plaintext metadata. I've seen PDFs that were not searchable because this metadata had been disabled, but the text was a real vector and not a bitmap scan.
On the other hand I also have a lot of scanned PDFs that had automatic OCR done by the scanning software, and these are in fact searchable (and the text is selectable although a little off-target sometimes)... So both vector and bitmap encoded PDFs can optionally contain the plaintext required for searching, but this is in no way mandated by the format. So I guess both were right and wrong, and would know that this is not inherent to PDF if they looked a little further...
There a lot of truth in the fact that users just click anything that says 'internet'. When I install Firefox next to Internet Explorer I can explain that Firefox is a great browser and all but they will never use it, but when I rename the shortcut to 'Internet (Firefox)' and hide Internet Explorer it's no big deal suddenly... People just don't give a shit, they just want to click the first Internet icon and have it work for them... :-)
Yeah, sadly here in Europe we pay the tax no matter what, even if you just use the CDs to burn linux install discs. The tax on a music CD is about three times the tax on a data CD. Music CDs are only used rarely, even the old CD players in cars handle the normal CD-R perfectly well so there is really no point...
You do know that RIAA doesn't just blindly attack sharing of any music, but only music by artists who have (or their labels have) authorized them to do so.
This is not true, the fines imposed on blank media for example are all going to big labels. I think the chance of my blank CD-R being used to burn some legally bought indie music is much larger than ever being used to illegally copy the latest Lady Gaga CD, but nevertheless the money goes to this mafia. I would call this 'fined for being guilty of infringement whatever the circumstance' a blind attack on one method of sharing music, and it also negates the second part of your claim since indie artists have never authorized the big labels to collect (and keep) this fine for them.
The Chinese will be back wearing sunglasses...
Just make the car invisible too and you're golden... And if it fails to cancel each other out you can still get away undetected with hit and run.
There's one way and only one way to determine if an animal is intelligent. Dissect its brain! (And maybe you can find out where Farnsworth's voice is coming from).
compress(XML) should do the trick... parsing time is negligible, the only advantage would be an index, but there are other tricks for that like embedding it in the XML or creating a separate smaller index file.
I like the trick DriveImage XML uses: one binary blob with all files after each other and a plaintext XML file with filenames and byte positions, this is a great example of the strength of XML and binary data combined.
If they choose a Hollywoodesque name based on Tolkien wouldn't that be: The Hobbit 2: ... Back Again
We had that for decades already... but indeed: what about a computer with *good* TV reception... No analog tuner, no digital terrestial tuner which requires a card, no crappy web-video that is put online the day after broadcast... I just want a true online TV subscription and I would pay good money to get rid of regular TV completely and just use the internet for all my communication needs...
Yeah, gamers are impatient... but the other (even easier) alternative is just downloading a cracked copy of the game. If only studios start seeing these 'losses' as a result of the reduced value of their games and work on that instead of making their games suck more.
A friend of mine buys a lot of games brandnew, but has been screwed by crappy DRM several times (disc unreadable errors halfway into the game or refusal to run after install etc.) and the fix in this case was simple: torrent a copy of the game without the DRM and it worked fine. But I bet this friend shows up in the studio's statistics as 1 succesful sale and 1 torrent download they missed out on, so he should have paid twice for a defective product. Doesn't the research show time and time again that people who torrent the most also spend the most cash... so I would bet there are a lot more people like my friend who fix the game's biggest artificial bug (DRM) by 'illegal' means. I'd say that instead of reducing illegal downloads DRM contributes to it, and it might even make it completely legal since torrents of games without DRM 'defects' are a consumers right (to fix a defective product you own).
You can't win against a profit motive.
Yes you can, by withholding said profit from them. I refuse to buy games at new prices unless I know in advance the game is completely worth it... for that there needs to be a basis of trust that goes back some games. Once i've been screwed by a mediocre game that's made even crappier by requiring activation/disc inserted/internet connection I see this as a reduced value for those games... DRM devaluates games. I won't refuse to play it, but I will wait until it hits the bargain bins (and that can be surprisingly fast sometimes).
Once game publishers see that they can combat piracy with 'added value' (extra's and artwork) instead of the 'reduced value' that DRM offers they will see profits rise again.
Something useful... like ending actual ongoing *human* slavery? Nah... PETA finds it more worthwhile to kill (uhhh 'rescue') some more animals: http://www.petakillsanimals.com/.
Yesterday night my second xbox showed the dreaded RROD while watching a movie. Maybe this is a sign... and a proper burial will please the gaming gods and allow my next xbox to live a long and ever-green life.
The gods will have to pry the controller out of my dead cold hands though.
There's a hole in your budget.
Depending on A/S/L up to $3.7 million according to Fox News: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,480037,00.html