Why do Slashdot articles sometimes use such weird terminology? Am I supposed to know what a "blanket software license" is?
I KNOW!!!! I meen, slashdot is always uzing crazy jargon that is impossible to interpret, like "internet" (WTF iz that???), GPL, copyright, and software (why is it soft? Is it out of shape, rotten, or overcooked?). Come on slashdot, u needz to use more one-silable words, PLZ!!! I spendz all my time looking up "slashwordz", like Linnux, jedi, and geek, just too name afew. lol i can haz nerd dictionary now? Maybe FOX news and simple talk iz better for some of uz, and tell us what to think so we not have to spend time thinking. Going back to MTV now cyal8r
Good call. Because there's absolutely no way in hell that the Russian government has people who could hack backdoors into open source, compile it, and surreptitiously install it onto rooted Linux systems.
I agree with this: Russian law enforcement and government folks don't need copyright laws and Microsoft to hack or harass dissenters. But I'll go further: they don't generally need back doors at all, because they have no problem with kicking down the front door and dragging citizens out into the street, or simply shooting people in the head. Seriously, they act outside the law and do what they think needs to be done, without the constraints they we in the West are used to. Capitalist corruption and totalitarianism have taken over for the Leninist corruption and totalitarianism that we grew up reading about.
Got money in Russia, you can buy influence and protection. Question the corruption or try to change the status quo, you'll find yourself in a world of pain and trouble, if you keep breathing that is. The situation may not typically be as bloody as the drug-infused battlegrounds in Mexico that we in the US keep reading about, but you'd better know what you're doing if you challenge any level of government in Russia.
I generally have little good to say about Microsoft, but I'll give them a bit of thanks here. It was a nice try. We'll stop there though, because Russia does not really need to act under the guise of protecting Microsoft to crack down on dissenters. They will continue to harass, arrest, and intimidate dissenters and protesters as much as they please, and find some BS justification after the fact, if they feel a need to justify their actions at all. They are certainly more accountable today than during Soviet times, but not by much, and corruption runs rampant at all levels. So this is a nice gesture by Microsoft, but let's not get carried away - it will not serve to protect or promote free speech in Russia.
What is ChromeOS going to do that Android theoretically can't?
What Chrome can NOT do that Android can is more important, and that is: everything. So much hype for vaporware that so few people are begging for. Most people are happy with Windows, geeks are content with new linux distros, and nerds and self-declared hipsters would put their lives on the line for OS X; android and iOS both have huge upsides, whether on phones or tablets. I am an admitted Google fan, but come on, who is really holding their breath for Chrome?
Barrack Hussein Obama made you say that, and you have obviously been duped by the liberal media. It is clear that if you distrust glorious FOX News, you are not as patriotic as the rest of us who follow such masters of logic as Limbaugh and Beck. Stop trying to think for yourself, let Bill O'Reilly decide for you (nevermind his complete oblivion to that known as "fact"), and your simple mind will be much happier (unless Islamist extremists or Mexicans move in next door to you - you don't when them in your backyard, and they are invading American neighborhoods).
In conclusion, fair and balanced, U.S.A! U.S.A! U.S.A.!
Hmm, I think the outdoorsy shtick relates more to young women in rural/outlying areas. They may not really like riding ATVs, camping, fishing, and hiking, but they like guys who listen to songs about tractors and like ATVs and fishing. It could be more about who they are trying to attract than who they wish to exclude. I live on the edge of civilization, where all macho guys to the South and East wear cowboy hats (when they go to the country music dancing bar), claim to hunt and fish (though most of them have done it very few times), and espouse the virtues of pickup trucks (while they drive Chevy Cavaliers and old-ass Mercury Sables). In rural and semi-rural populations, this is somewhat the norm. If you adjusted your data to examine trends only in urban and inner-ring suburban areas, you'd see a lot less outdoorsy crap in women's profiles, with more mentions of wine, reading, baseball games, and walking in parks.
Unfortunately HP printers are approaching Lexmark quality levels and not the other way around.
Yes, in years past, I and some family members owned a number of Lexmark printers, because they were all very cheap or free. Not one of them could load paper consistently one sheet at a time, and the ink was very, very expensive. Now someone at work insists on using an HP multifunction printer that is several years old and is a huge, steaming pile of crap. My experiences with early HP deskjets and colorjets were generally very good, but newer models I've used have all been substandard. The "rear access panel is open" message halts everything, though it is erroneous and VERY annoying. This has been a major problem with one model I know too well, and flimsy plastic parts have been ridiculously bad with a number of models.
For lower-end inkjets, Brother seems to be selling a pretty decent printer right now. I have one currently and maintain a few others, and they are all pretty trouble-free.
Some here are old enough to remember getting paid by the pound for aluminum cans.
When I was a kid, which isn't too long ago, aluminum can prices didn't seem too unreasonable. Now the price the recyclers pay something like 40 cents/pound, which is way way less than the 80 cents/pound they paid back then, especially when you account for inflation. Some people used to scour the city and collect them to make a living, just scraping by, but those days are gone since it takes forever to even earn the equivalent of minimum wage, which is not nearly enough to raise a family on without a ton of assistance. No per can deposit here.
Is this really helping out the environment or just a hidden way to increase taxes?
No, as a Clevelander (almost anyway - that's what I self-identify as), I can tell you that this is just the city's latest attempt to maintain its status as the laughingstock of America. As if they high unemployment rate, high poverty rate, plummeting population (400,000 in Cleveland-proper - less than HALF what it was 50-60 years age), high crime rate, low median income, high prevalence of smoking and obesity, crumbling infrastructure, pervasive political corruption, tales of burning bodies of water, and pro sports ineptitude weren't enough, this is just icing on the cake. Let's pick through garbage so we can fine residents who have no money. Way to get the important things done, Cleveland!
Things have gotten so bad, everyone with a little mobility moves to North Carolina (or, um, South Beach in one recent media debacle) or Columbus (a city Clevelanders used to laugh at), and we've taken to saying, "At least this isn't Detroit."
Maybe this is a regional thing, but who the heck uses Suse?
The people that use SUSE are largely called "Europeans," though certainly not exclusively. Try searching AltaVista or Lycos, or whatever search engine you still use, for a search tool called "Google," and if you find it, do a little reading about "Europe." There are lots of people there, even more than in America (assuming you use "America" to refer to The United States of America). Sorry, but it seems strange to me that someone who clearly knows a bit about linux and various distros should be so clueless.
And I take great offense to your comment about Ubuntu users, though I use Mint. I am not a "Windows guy," and not simply trying to look cool. Enterprise servers are not the only legitimate use for linux, or computers in general, you know.
The $5 is probably a way for them to be able ID anyone who wants to sneak malicious code into an extension. If they have your CC number they have a pretty good way of knowing who you might be.
Uh, then you use a pre-paid Visa or Visa gift card that is purchased anonymously with cash. System broken. If you indeed wanted to sneak in malicious code, you would certainly take a simple step or two to protect your identity.
"Just as the iPhone rendered circa-2007 smartphones obsolete, points out Marco Arment, the iPad is on the verge of doing the same to circa-2010 netbooks.
Wait a minute, when did the iphone kill-off both RIM and Palm, and when did the ifad get a keyboard and the ability to run the diverse range of software that netbooks are capable of using? Did I miss something? The iphone and ipad are great for some people, I guess, but a LOT of us have no real interest in them. They're like using a platinum-plated pocket watch with a built-in cover - they look kind of cool but are not as convenient or functional as some other alternatives.
In related "news," "Marco Arment tends to exaggerate and remember history in a way that is most flattering to his own point", points out one Slashdot user, adding "And he is a poopy pants." This is a direct quotation, so it must be true.
There are several examples IRL of parasites and fungi that modify the behavior of their hosts to increase contagion.
Yes, there have been media reports in recent days about new information regarding a fungus that "zombifies" ants, causing them to latch onto particular parts of plants with a "death grip" until they die, allowing the fungus to mature and spread. This is not the only zombie pathogen known.
A more successful approach may be for the host to experience a desire for companionship, close proximity to others, and physical contact. This would increase probability of contagion without significantly risking the host.
We also know of pathogens like these, though the resulting symptoms are not as dramatic as zombies. STDs spread when people are intimate (which is easiest to achieve when people are nice, or at least appear to be), and some of them can certainly produce cognitive and behavioral effects, though perhaps not rising to the level of zombification, yet. But then again, the ethics of human studies and trials do not permit truly good science, and humans are known to be deceitful, so it is hard to determine what might cause or modify actions and behavior patterns, and to what degree.
Don't forget, we have not studied zombies in any great scientific detail, and we have a poor (at best) understanding of the mechanisms behind zombification and how it spreads. The possible interdimensional implications are intriguing, and are one facet of this phenomena that we still know absolutely nothing about, thus we can not formulate a plan to stop it. This isn't just a virus, folks.
Don't panic.... yet. Have a disaster survival kit, and a plan, and don't forget to include provisions for earthquakes, floods, civil unrest, and a zombie apocalypse.
So, so tired of zombies, pirates, ninjas, and robots. Jesus, Internet
Are you tired of the internet, and Jesus, too? You could always avoid the internet for a few hours a day if you are tired of zombies, pirates, ninjas, robots, or Jesus. But they will all find you, and probably when you least expect it. Don't forget, not everyone is as wise or experienced as you when it comes to zombies, pirates, ninjas, robots, the internet, and Jesus, and more people are discovering these things (I call them the Super Six, and think they should team up) every day.
What about the Americans? Will we develop a fuel based on Budweiser or Tequila?
Since this was about whiskey, how about using the byproducts of Bourbon, Tennessee, and other American whiskies, just as can be done with the byproducts of Scotch whiskey? American production dwarfs that of Scotland, tequila is gross, and no one educated about beer likes Budweiser.
A new era of phreaking is just around the corner, with commodity hardware, free software, and the will to continue to hack service networks. We're not there yet, but it is looking more and more like we may get there. Not a modern day equivalent of the good ol' blue box yet, but we'll keep trying.
I wonder how computer system on cars fair against those on planes.
I don't know, but I do know that critical control systems on a car are not all redundant, since most failures will still let you just pull over to the side of the road and get out. Not so on planes. For something a bit similar, you can compare engines - a lot of small plane engines are piston-based and not all that dissimilar to car engines, but they are much more carefully balanced, tested, and maintained, with tight specifications and higher-quality materials (though I have seen some neat applications of mildly reworked Mazda rotary engines in really small planes). This isn't apples to oranges, but may be like engineered grocery store granny smiths to the little wormy apples that litter my yard and feed the deer?
An unforseen glitch somewhere within the car's dozens of separate onboard computers, hundreds of millions of lines of code, or its internal vehicular network, led to the dramatic BSOD, which had to be resolved with the use of a web-connected laptop.
That's nothing, the new Jag has at least two even more serious flaws that will hamper marketing efforts - the price tag, and the fact that it looks a lot like a Buick.
Also, I'm not advocating going back to carburetors or anything, but I'm also not sure a car needs to rely on "hundreds of millions of lines of code" or "dozens" of computers. Who is the chief engineer of this project, Rube Goldberg IV?
Riiiiight, and Rupert will give up on charging for newspaper/online subscriptions. Don't kid yourself.
We have this futuristic "digital" news he speaks of - I call it "CNN.com".
Also, Opera is faster than Mozilla as well, I'd like to see it included on that chart to compare with the others. Maybe even IE9, if it doesn't skew the Y-scale too much.
I'm beginning to think all this talk about which browser is faster,and by how much, is really kind of pointless. I'm not a gamer and don't use bleeding-edge hardware, though I retired my 386sx before ever venturing onto the internet, and since Firefox was first released, I've never thought it was too slow. Maybe some of the others are faster, but Firefox is plenty fast enough for me on Windows and linux. I've tried lots of other browsers but never been amazed by the speed (or lack of speed) of any of them. This seems kind of like 0-60mph times for cars these days - a Corvette Z06 is a good deal quicker than say, a V6 Accord, but the Accord will never be too slow to merge onto the highway or get you into trouble with the fuzz. Maybe that's a bad analogy - swap out the grocery-getter for a non-M BMW 3-series or RX-8, or something else fun.
Slashdot Mirror
Why do Slashdot articles sometimes use such weird terminology? Am I supposed to know what a "blanket software license" is?
I KNOW!!!! I meen, slashdot is always uzing crazy jargon that is impossible to interpret, like "internet" (WTF iz that???), GPL, copyright, and software (why is it soft? Is it out of shape, rotten, or overcooked?). Come on slashdot, u needz to use more one-silable words, PLZ!!! I spendz all my time looking up "slashwordz", like Linnux, jedi, and geek, just too name afew. lol i can haz nerd dictionary now? Maybe FOX news and simple talk iz better for some of uz, and tell us what to think so we not have to spend time thinking. Going back to MTV now cyal8r
Good call. Because there's absolutely no way in hell that the Russian government has people who could hack backdoors into open source, compile it, and surreptitiously install it onto rooted Linux systems.
I agree with this: Russian law enforcement and government folks don't need copyright laws and Microsoft to hack or harass dissenters. But I'll go further: they don't generally need back doors at all, because they have no problem with kicking down the front door and dragging citizens out into the street, or simply shooting people in the head. Seriously, they act outside the law and do what they think needs to be done, without the constraints they we in the West are used to. Capitalist corruption and totalitarianism have taken over for the Leninist corruption and totalitarianism that we grew up reading about.
Got money in Russia, you can buy influence and protection. Question the corruption or try to change the status quo, you'll find yourself in a world of pain and trouble, if you keep breathing that is. The situation may not typically be as bloody as the drug-infused battlegrounds in Mexico that we in the US keep reading about, but you'd better know what you're doing if you challenge any level of government in Russia.
I generally have little good to say about Microsoft, but I'll give them a bit of thanks here. It was a nice try. We'll stop there though, because Russia does not really need to act under the guise of protecting Microsoft to crack down on dissenters. They will continue to harass, arrest, and intimidate dissenters and protesters as much as they please, and find some BS justification after the fact, if they feel a need to justify their actions at all. They are certainly more accountable today than during Soviet times, but not by much, and corruption runs rampant at all levels. So this is a nice gesture by Microsoft, but let's not get carried away - it will not serve to protect or promote free speech in Russia.
What is ChromeOS going to do that Android theoretically can't?
What Chrome can NOT do that Android can is more important, and that is: everything. So much hype for vaporware that so few people are begging for. Most people are happy with Windows, geeks are content with new linux distros, and nerds and self-declared hipsters would put their lives on the line for OS X; android and iOS both have huge upsides, whether on phones or tablets. I am an admitted Google fan, but come on, who is really holding their breath for Chrome?
Barrack Hussein Obama made you say that, and you have obviously been duped by the liberal media. It is clear that if you distrust glorious FOX News, you are not as patriotic as the rest of us who follow such masters of logic as Limbaugh and Beck. Stop trying to think for yourself, let Bill O'Reilly decide for you (nevermind his complete oblivion to that known as "fact"), and your simple mind will be much happier (unless Islamist extremists or Mexicans move in next door to you - you don't when them in your backyard, and they are invading American neighborhoods). In conclusion, fair and balanced, U.S.A! U.S.A! U.S.A.!
Hmm, I think the outdoorsy shtick relates more to young women in rural/outlying areas. They may not really like riding ATVs, camping, fishing, and hiking, but they like guys who listen to songs about tractors and like ATVs and fishing. It could be more about who they are trying to attract than who they wish to exclude. I live on the edge of civilization, where all macho guys to the South and East wear cowboy hats (when they go to the country music dancing bar), claim to hunt and fish (though most of them have done it very few times), and espouse the virtues of pickup trucks (while they drive Chevy Cavaliers and old-ass Mercury Sables). In rural and semi-rural populations, this is somewhat the norm. If you adjusted your data to examine trends only in urban and inner-ring suburban areas, you'd see a lot less outdoorsy crap in women's profiles, with more mentions of wine, reading, baseball games, and walking in parks.
Unfortunately HP printers are approaching Lexmark quality levels and not the other way around.
Yes, in years past, I and some family members owned a number of Lexmark printers, because they were all very cheap or free. Not one of them could load paper consistently one sheet at a time, and the ink was very, very expensive. Now someone at work insists on using an HP multifunction printer that is several years old and is a huge, steaming pile of crap. My experiences with early HP deskjets and colorjets were generally very good, but newer models I've used have all been substandard. The "rear access panel is open" message halts everything, though it is erroneous and VERY annoying. This has been a major problem with one model I know too well, and flimsy plastic parts have been ridiculously bad with a number of models.
For lower-end inkjets, Brother seems to be selling a pretty decent printer right now. I have one currently and maintain a few others, and they are all pretty trouble-free.
Some here are old enough to remember getting paid by the pound for aluminum cans.
When I was a kid, which isn't too long ago, aluminum can prices didn't seem too unreasonable. Now the price the recyclers pay something like 40 cents/pound, which is way way less than the 80 cents/pound they paid back then, especially when you account for inflation. Some people used to scour the city and collect them to make a living, just scraping by, but those days are gone since it takes forever to even earn the equivalent of minimum wage, which is not nearly enough to raise a family on without a ton of assistance. No per can deposit here.
Is this really helping out the environment or just a hidden way to increase taxes?
No, as a Clevelander (almost anyway - that's what I self-identify as), I can tell you that this is just the city's latest attempt to maintain its status as the laughingstock of America. As if they high unemployment rate, high poverty rate, plummeting population (400,000 in Cleveland-proper - less than HALF what it was 50-60 years age), high crime rate, low median income, high prevalence of smoking and obesity, crumbling infrastructure, pervasive political corruption, tales of burning bodies of water, and pro sports ineptitude weren't enough, this is just icing on the cake. Let's pick through garbage so we can fine residents who have no money. Way to get the important things done, Cleveland!
Things have gotten so bad, everyone with a little mobility moves to North Carolina (or, um, South Beach in one recent media debacle) or Columbus (a city Clevelanders used to laugh at), and we've taken to saying, "At least this isn't Detroit."
Maybe this is a regional thing, but who the heck uses Suse?
The people that use SUSE are largely called "Europeans," though certainly not exclusively. Try searching AltaVista or Lycos, or whatever search engine you still use, for a search tool called "Google," and if you find it, do a little reading about "Europe." There are lots of people there, even more than in America (assuming you use "America" to refer to The United States of America). Sorry, but it seems strange to me that someone who clearly knows a bit about linux and various distros should be so clueless.
And I take great offense to your comment about Ubuntu users, though I use Mint. I am not a "Windows guy," and not simply trying to look cool. Enterprise servers are not the only legitimate use for linux, or computers in general, you know.
The $5 is probably a way for them to be able ID anyone who wants to sneak malicious code into an extension. If they have your CC number they have a pretty good way of knowing who you might be.
Uh, then you use a pre-paid Visa or Visa gift card that is purchased anonymously with cash. System broken. If you indeed wanted to sneak in malicious code, you would certainly take a simple step or two to protect your identity.
"Just as the iPhone rendered circa-2007 smartphones obsolete, points out Marco Arment, the iPad is on the verge of doing the same to circa-2010 netbooks.
Wait a minute, when did the iphone kill-off both RIM and Palm, and when did the ifad get a keyboard and the ability to run the diverse range of software that netbooks are capable of using? Did I miss something? The iphone and ipad are great for some people, I guess, but a LOT of us have no real interest in them. They're like using a platinum-plated pocket watch with a built-in cover - they look kind of cool but are not as convenient or functional as some other alternatives.
In related "news," "Marco Arment tends to exaggerate and remember history in a way that is most flattering to his own point", points out one Slashdot user, adding "And he is a poopy pants." This is a direct quotation, so it must be true.
There are several examples IRL of parasites and fungi that modify the behavior of their hosts to increase contagion.
Yes, there have been media reports in recent days about new information regarding a fungus that "zombifies" ants, causing them to latch onto particular parts of plants with a "death grip" until they die, allowing the fungus to mature and spread. This is not the only zombie pathogen known.
A more successful approach may be for the host to experience a desire for companionship, close proximity to others, and physical contact. This would increase probability of contagion without significantly risking the host.
We also know of pathogens like these, though the resulting symptoms are not as dramatic as zombies. STDs spread when people are intimate (which is easiest to achieve when people are nice, or at least appear to be), and some of them can certainly produce cognitive and behavioral effects, though perhaps not rising to the level of zombification, yet. But then again, the ethics of human studies and trials do not permit truly good science, and humans are known to be deceitful, so it is hard to determine what might cause or modify actions and behavior patterns, and to what degree.
They're just resting.
Don't forget, we have not studied zombies in any great scientific detail, and we have a poor (at best) understanding of the mechanisms behind zombification and how it spreads. The possible interdimensional implications are intriguing, and are one facet of this phenomena that we still know absolutely nothing about, thus we can not formulate a plan to stop it. This isn't just a virus, folks.
Don't panic.... yet. Have a disaster survival kit, and a plan, and don't forget to include provisions for earthquakes, floods, civil unrest, and a zombie apocalypse.
So, so tired of zombies, pirates, ninjas, and robots. Jesus, Internet
Are you tired of the internet, and Jesus, too? You could always avoid the internet for a few hours a day if you are tired of zombies, pirates, ninjas, robots, or Jesus. But they will all find you, and probably when you least expect it. Don't forget, not everyone is as wise or experienced as you when it comes to zombies, pirates, ninjas, robots, the internet, and Jesus, and more people are discovering these things (I call them the Super Six, and think they should team up) every day.
Keep telling yourself that. You'll be sorry one day when you don't run, and a zombie eats your face.
What about the Americans? Will we develop a fuel based on Budweiser or Tequila?
Since this was about whiskey, how about using the byproducts of Bourbon, Tennessee, and other American whiskies, just as can be done with the byproducts of Scotch whiskey? American production dwarfs that of Scotland, tequila is gross, and no one educated about beer likes Budweiser.
A new era of phreaking is just around the corner, with commodity hardware, free software, and the will to continue to hack service networks. We're not there yet, but it is looking more and more like we may get there. Not a modern day equivalent of the good ol' blue box yet, but we'll keep trying.
I wonder how computer system on cars fair against those on planes.
I don't know, but I do know that critical control systems on a car are not all redundant, since most failures will still let you just pull over to the side of the road and get out. Not so on planes. For something a bit similar, you can compare engines - a lot of small plane engines are piston-based and not all that dissimilar to car engines, but they are much more carefully balanced, tested, and maintained, with tight specifications and higher-quality materials (though I have seen some neat applications of mildly reworked Mazda rotary engines in really small planes). This isn't apples to oranges, but may be like engineered grocery store granny smiths to the little wormy apples that litter my yard and feed the deer?
A less sensational headline could have been "XJ Power button kinda flakey".
I would have used this one: Editor's 170k-mile 1995 Isuzu Trooper more reliable than new $100k luxury car.
An unforseen glitch somewhere within the car's dozens of separate onboard computers, hundreds of millions of lines of code, or its internal vehicular network, led to the dramatic BSOD, which had to be resolved with the use of a web-connected laptop.
That's nothing, the new Jag has at least two even more serious flaws that will hamper marketing efforts - the price tag, and the fact that it looks a lot like a Buick.
Also, I'm not advocating going back to carburetors or anything, but I'm also not sure a car needs to rely on "hundreds of millions of lines of code" or "dozens" of computers. Who is the chief engineer of this project, Rube Goldberg IV?
'We'll have young people reading newspapers.'
Riiiiight, and Rupert will give up on charging for newspaper/online subscriptions. Don't kid yourself.
We have this futuristic "digital" news he speaks of - I call it "CNN.com".
Also, Opera is faster than Mozilla as well, I'd like to see it included on that chart to compare with the others. Maybe even IE9, if it doesn't skew the Y-scale too much.
I'm beginning to think all this talk about which browser is faster,and by how much, is really kind of pointless. I'm not a gamer and don't use bleeding-edge hardware, though I retired my 386sx before ever venturing onto the internet, and since Firefox was first released, I've never thought it was too slow. Maybe some of the others are faster, but Firefox is plenty fast enough for me on Windows and linux. I've tried lots of other browsers but never been amazed by the speed (or lack of speed) of any of them. This seems kind of like 0-60mph times for cars these days - a Corvette Z06 is a good deal quicker than say, a V6 Accord, but the Accord will never be too slow to merge onto the highway or get you into trouble with the fuzz. Maybe that's a bad analogy - swap out the grocery-getter for a non-M BMW 3-series or RX-8, or something else fun.
It is the default browser in KDE, unless your distro changed it to Firefox. If you use Gnome, or OSX or Windows, you probably won't get to see it.
Hmm, I already knew about Konqueror, but thanks for your second sentence - I now finally see one advantage to using Windows!