That's not really a good example... Having sex with your children is harmful to them and the human race both, as it creates mental issues and greatly increases the possibility of genetic defects in offspring. I'd hardly say 'disgust' is the only reason that law exists.
I've got an n800 and the other poster is correct, it's basically always on. It'll turn off the screen automatically after a time (you can set) and there's also the ability to hit the 'power' button, and it'll ask if you want to lock the screen and keys. Hit the button again and you can unlock the screen. (Requires hitting 2 keys in a row.)
I think I've only power cycled it once, for an upgrade of the OS. You have to turn it all the way off and plug it into the USB to upgrade it. I forget how already though... It was pretty simple, whatever it was.
I typically browse the web, read ebooks (fbreader app and baen.com's books work great) and I've recently started listening to Rhapsody through it. Never had a crash or reset.
Well, that's a matter of opinion, I guess. I never liked them much, and I only shopped there because their selection was better than any other local retailer. It certainly wasn't for the customer service. (Last time I was TV shopping, an employee actually told me to get out of the way. I bought the TV elsewhere.)
I've always believed in voting with my wallet, and that's what I've done. So I definitely didn't 'lose'. I admit, I probably shouldn't have volunteered to erase the pictures, but I tend towards nice rather than angry. In return, I expect others to do the same.
Yelling at the employee wasn't going to do anything. LP told him to say that, and he's just doing his job. I'm not mad at him, I'm mad at Best Buy. Taking a few more pictures and they buying the software doesn't hurt BB at all. Taking my money elsewhere -does-. I didn't leave 'scared', I left insulted and angry. They could have done nothing to me that I wasn't going to do anyhow: Leave the store without a purchase. The most the police would have done was the same as well, unless I caused a huge disturbance.
I did come to the same conclusion afterwards, though... I should have taken more pictures right in front of him, and smiled. If he threw me out, I wouldn't have had to walk out. The police would not have been necessary, though. I'd have left when they told me to.
I know I'm going to use my camera more openly in more stores now, though. It's an easy and interesting way to find out the stores attitude towards customers.
Actually, it's easier now than ever before. All of the big libraries for javascript like Prototype and (my favorite) jQuery already deal with the cross-browser stuff for the most part. If you use them, you'll rarely run into a place where the difference between browsers is a problem if you know your stuff beforehand. It's still pretty rare even if you're just learning, but knowing you way around makes it even easier.
It's not just 'these companies', it's 'all companies'. We had a little swing back to 'the customer is always right' for a while, but we're headed back to 'grab the buck, fuck the customer' again now.
Example: Yesterday, I went to Best Buy because my mother wanted software for my niece. I find the require software, and I'm browsing and find Circus Empire. Knowing that my friend wants this game, but he's in Europe, I take some pictures of the box. The flash went off twice, alerting employees. I walk to the next aisle and look around and there's a whole gaggle of employees pointing to where I was standing. Finally a manager walks down the aisle and finds me on the next one and informs me that I cannot take pictures in the store. Why? Loss Prevention told him he has to stop me.
I told him I'd delete the pictures and then did so. But then I realized how insulting that is, and found him again and told him that I will -never- shop at Best Buy again. He told me to tell corporate, and I told HIM to tell corporate because I'd have nothing to do with their company ever again, then handed him the software in my hands to put back.
Immediately afterwards, I went to a competitor and purchased most of that software, plus blank DVDs and a $500 laser printer.
Are customers so dependant on these companies that they give up they let them insult them right to their faces?
Why are their prices so important that I can't take pictures of them? Are they -that- much higher that they know they'll lose business if anyone on the internet learns about it? Are they doing something illegal?
To be fair, the competitor said (when I asked) that if I took a lot of pictures, they'd do the same thing.
The furniture store, when I was shopping there a few months back, happily let me take pictures of anything, and even asked if they could photo-copy the pricelist for me.
Most companies have lost focus. It used to be about making the customer happy so they'd -want- to shop there, and now it's about making sure they are forced to, and making as much money as possible. I'm not against making money, but there's better ways to do it than be assholes.
I question whether it's libel when MySpace asks 'based on this information, is this person a sex offender?' and the other company responds 'yes' in private. It's quite a bit different than someone writing a newspaper article with the same statement, especially without someone asking the question first.
Again from that link:
"The defamatory statement must also have been made with fault. The extent of the fault depends primarily on the status of the plaintiff. Public figures, such as government officials, celebrities, well-known individuals, and people involved in specific public controversies, are required to prove actual malice, a legal term which means the defendant knew his statement was false or recklessly disregarded the truth or falsity of his statement. In most jurisdictions, private individuals must show only that the defendant was negligent: that he failed to act with due care in the situation." Emphasis mine.
and...
"Some defamatory statements may be protected by privilege, meaning that in certain circumstances the interest in communicating a statement outweighs the interest in protecting reputation."
I can already hear the 'Think of the Children!' screams, thank you. Especially since that's -exactly- why this all happened.
I think it's pretty clear that MySpace's attempt to remove sex offenders from their system outweighs this lady's indignity at MySpace being told she's a possible sex offender. MySpace did not tell anyone else, and the other company did not either. Not a single soul would EVER have known why her account was removed if she had not screamed about it. MySpace has many reasons for removing an account, and it would be nearly impossible to assume one was from this.
Any legal battle she has is on extremely shaky grounds. The best she could hope would be to get her MySpace account back, and I'm of the opinion that it would do her more harm than good.;)
I'm guessing YANAL, either. IANAL, but I'm pretty sure to commit libel, you have to actually tell it to someone OTHER than the person involved.
http://www.medialaw.org/Content/NavigationMenu/Pub lic_Resources/Libel_FAQs/Libel_FAQs.htm "Libel and slander are legal claims for false statements of fact about a person that are printed, broadcast, spoken or otherwise communicated to others." "The statement(s) alleged to be defamatory must also have been published to at least one other person (other than the subject of the statement) and must be "of and concerning" the plaintiff."
You say that, but it's been the focus of many MUDs, Asheron's Call 1/2, and even World of Warcraft. I've only played a little ways into it (level 8), but it treats new Drenai as if they are the one that must save their race from extinction. You start off finding and healing members of the crew, then stop a plot to attack the ship, etc etc. It always acts like you are 'THE ONE'. WoW has this in other races as well, like the Trolls... Basically the same thing.
And there's been plenty of MUDs where the goal is to get to some end point first. Some even reset the server each time this happens and everyone starts over.
I think there are more similarities that you care to admit... It just takes a lot of design work to use the features from one in the other.
"search for the ISO file extension handles in your registry and remove it."
I've done that already. It doesn't just crash when I right-click, though. It also crashes if you hit ctrl-c or ctrl-x. (Copy or cut.) Very odd behavior.
I'll try CCleaner though. Couldn't hurt, since I'm likely to format soon anyhow.
Seriously? You think the fact that Google bought DoubleClick will even be widely known? Or that they will suddenly stop blocking DC because it's owned by the 'good guys', even though absolutely nothing about the company has changed?
Not likely. It's much more likely the DC's mud will rub off on Google, and people will be more likely to block it as well.
Since I've got NoScript installed now, I didn't bother to unblock Google's traffic stuff. It doesn't do anything for -me-, so it stays blocked.
I know about the no-middle-name thing. It happens. (Personally, I have a middle name and I think it's just a way for pretentious rich people (or faux rich people) to name their children 'better' than others. My proof of this is people with 4 middle names... Like my niece. Her mother doesn't have 2 cents to rub together.)
As for 'every state'... Name one? Because seriously, that IS your name, even if it's misspelled. If the state doesn't put it on there, you don't have a middle name.
Unless you've changed your name (and you'd have documentation for that), your birth certificate WILL have your full middle name. It's not your name, otherwise.
Too right. And maybe Cygwin will adopt this package manager as well. Their current install program is -horrid-. It has to fetch the list each and every time you run it, and is extremely tough to find anything, even if you know what the exact name is. Their categories often seem completely arbitrary.
Msys as well. I set it up a few months ago to compile a linux-based app for windows, for a friend. (It had been done before, but the new version didn't have a Windows binary.) It took me a good weekend to just get it all set up, and about 20 minutes to do the actual work. Then it turned out some of the paths were all set up wrong, and it wouldn't run on his machine, so I got to start all over with a new set of instructions. Lost an evening to that.
As Linux becomes more prevalent, and Qt4 is released (and KDE 4) I expect to have/want to do more of this, and I'd appreciate an easy install. Especially given that Windows tends to need to be completely reinstalled about every 6 months because of how much garbage I install on it. (Right now, if I click on an ISO in the file manager, explorer crashes. Been dealing with that for about 6 months rather than reinstall.)
His argument had nothing to do with 'being constantly connected', that was just one of the bonuses. It is just generally cheaper to have a cellphone now. Of course, that assumes a fairly basic plan and that you use -some- long distance.
It would actually be cheaper for me to have a land-line, but not by much. I pay about $30/mo for my cellphone (4-way family plan, $120/mo total) and land lines start at $24, last I checked. (2 years ago.) For the extra $6, I get free long distance, unlimited calling to other customers of my cell company (not advertising for them), voicemail, and (this is a bonus for me, but apparently not for you) I can keep in touch wherever I am. If I used a land-line to call work, I'd be calling long distance and almost assuredly end up paying more than the $6/mo extra.
There's nothing stopping you from having a cell in your house and just leaving it there when you go out.
As for the $5... When was the last time you checked that? Prices are falling all the time. It's getting ridiculously cheap to have a cellphone.
'Making it easy' takes a -lot- less time if it's planned from the start, for most projects. And the 'manual' for open source software doesn't have to look like the manual for professional software.
I wrote a mesh conversion utility once. It was used by thousands of people and my 'manual' (web-based tutorial, with screenshots) was so good that nobody ever asked me how to use the app except when there was a bug. I got plenty of praise on my tutorial as well. The tutorial probably took a couple hours to prepare and write, including adding interesting fun facts about what was being modelled. The software probably took around 20 hours. Even with the experience I have now, the program would take at least 10 hours to write.
So while it -can- take 90% of the time, it can also take 10% of the time, when done and planned right.
More complex software obviously needs a more complex manual, but I think it probably scales pretty evenly. It might even weigh in heavier on the programming side, as there will be quite a lot of back-end stuff the user won't see.
A minor correction to that statement: They advertise unlimited data transfer. The bandwidth is limited and is -always- advertised as such.
For instance, my current cable connection is advertised as 6 Mbit, but there is no limit, except the max speed, to how much data I can transfer in a month.
Internet is not the only thing sold in this way. Anything that many people use, but only a small amount use at a given time, is sold this way. There isn't enough roadway for everyone in New York to drive their car at the same time. There aren't enough cell phone towers for everyone to talk on the phone at the same time. I'm sure there are plenty more examples.
The problem here is that usage patterns are changing, and more people are going to want to use the service at the same time now. (By use I mean use 100%, instead of the small % that is typical.) Somehow, I think we'll survive this crisis. Sweden has internet connections to the house that are over 10x the bandwidth that mine is. ISPs will simply have to upgrade their infrastructure to handle it if they want to survive. If they don't, someone else will.
And let's not forget all the 'dark fiber' out there and wireless technologies that have been showing up lately. It could very well be that we decide not to use physical connections at all, and instead relay through a satellite or cell-towers for internet.
This article is either scaremongering or just plain boredom speaking. Someone recently found out about this situation and suddenly thinks they know more than everyone else in the industry, and decided to tell us the sky is falling. -yawn-
Actually, I do have digital cable, but I have to confess... I only ever use it as a DVR. It's been quite a while since I watched a show as it aired, and I can't remember the last time I flipped channels. I'm pretty sure it didn't take more than half a second or so, about what it took on old TVs.
fast channel changing - What's slow about pushing the button and the next channel is there? I can't even blink that fast. video-on-demand - Cable's got it and charges out the ass. Unless it's free and actually has content (the free stuff on cable is crap), no thanks. three set-top boxes - Right, cuz 1 just wasn't enough. a digital video recorder - Is that ANOTHER box? Anyhow, cable without DVR isn't worth it. a picture-in-picture feature that allows viewers to surf channels without switching channels - TV, cable, satellite have all have this for years, an interactive program guide - Again, they've all had it for years.
If they aren't going to offer anything special, and they aren't going to have significantly lower prices, they can go ahead and call this a failure.
The only thing I see that's even halfway special is that the entire thing is going to be 'on-demand'. That's why the need to state fast channel switching, etc. They aren't going to play all channels all the time... They are only going to play the 2 channels (pic in pic) that you are currently watching, streamed from their CO. (Central Office, the local telephone switch in each city.) If they also made it so that the 'DVR' wasn't at my house, but was instead stored at the CO (it's not really a DVR, just a way to play back whenever I want) then I could see an advantage.
DVR Advantage: I missed Survivor this week because A) I forgot or B) The president had a fit and decided to tell the world, making every show in existance run later than normal. With CO-based DVR, I could just say 'I want to watch ep 785 of Survivor' and it plays it. No worries about storage space or recording mishaps. I'd even pay -extra- for this service. Take it a step further and let me watch Thursday's shows -any time- on Thursday, even before they 'air', and I'd be even happier.
But no, they'll totally miss the coolest aspects of this and instead try to merely match what everyone else already has.
Because I've had to program in it. It has all the annoying fiddly bits of C++ and it's slow as hell. Even worse, I was forced to use it for JSP. There's nothing less fun that debugging poorly written code that has to be recompiled in its entirety every time you want to see how a webpage looks now.
Debugging poorly written code in all other languages (that I've used) hasn't been nearly as bad. I jumped for joy when I was told we were going to rewrite the project in PHP.
That's kind of the question, isn't it? Why are they creating yet another VM when so many already exist and could just be extended and improved?
I hate Java. But it -is- cross-platform.
Also, I get that their goal is to have 'normal' programs run cross platform, without having to be written in Java,.NET, etc. But the programs still have to be recompiled for the VM, which will probably necessitate -some- changes. And most of the programs that people will want to run cross-platform, you can't get the source for. They're proprietary.
Having said that... There are a few programs I'd like to see work on Windows, that don't with Cygwin: K3B, Yakuake, Quanta Plus. And the KIO Slaves would be killer, even if I had to specifically mount them as a drive letter before using them.
I'm guessing that LINA won't even begin to be able to run these, though. Please, correct me if I'm wrong.
That's okay, they clearly haven't watched the professional ads lately, anyhow. Most of them are complete crap, too. They send the wrong message, they have annoying sound and video, and they play way too often. I find it hard to believe this 'horrible' videos could do any worse than they already are.
Sending the wrong message is actually my biggest gripe about most commercials these days. Most of them try to show an 'average' person, but miss the mark end up at 'loser'. The end result is that 'product X is for losers' instead of their intended message. They even hit on this about the yellow teeth in the video, questioning if the message is that the bad dental hygiene was caused by their own product.
I'm not against commercials any more than I'm against movies or music. I'm against BAD commercials, movies, and music. Good commercials can actually be 30 seconds of humor, or awe, or heaven forbid, information you actually care about. (Cingular, Geico (old commercials), Apple.) The world is a bit short on awe and informative commercials, and I can't think of a single one now.
Don't forget the thought bubbles with the cryptic icons, occasionally with a 'no' symbol over them. And the ++ and -- floating from their heads as they make and lose friendship.
Wait wait wait... There is a very large difference between taking the exact plot of Star Wars Ep 4 and filming it with new actors and taking the Star Wars universe and creating a new, intertwining story.
As far as I know, the latter is actually legal as things stand right now.
"In the late 1500s"... Yeah, but did any of those take the script of another and simply edit it? Or did they 'play off each others works'? Again, quite a huge difference there.
Fanfics exist today, and don't get sued out of existence. Some are even movie form, as the Star Wars "Revelations" is.
As for music, it's quite legal to 'sample' someone else's work to use in your own.
I'm sorry, but I don't see your arguments holding up, as what you argue for already exists.
Oh, and... "The answer is that some authors and all media companies want to maximize their income." I'd argue that all of the do, actually... It's the way the market works. Some value non-monetary gain more than others is all.
I don't think anyone was ever free to spread 'culture' the way you are talking about. Certainly they used to all tell the same stories. that was pretty much by agreement, though I admit lack of a way to restrict it played a large part.
But 'culture' is not a single item. It's an over-all feel. Western 'culture' is most certainly spread freely. Just think of how many people complain that 'all songs are alike' and such.
Contract... No, that's probably not the right word, but that's basically what happens. You agree to purchase the DVD for $x with certain limitations. If you do not agree to those limitations, you don't buy the DVD. Nobody is removing your from your fellows. You can only do that yourself. The choices are 'buy the dvd' or 'share culture with your friends', according to what you've said. There is no third 'buy the dvd and do whatever you like, regardless of the agreement.'
Copyright law does not state what you CAN do, it states what you can't. The contract, or agreement, with the creator is what gives you those rights. (This is not a defense of copyright. It's just information.)
Let's go back to sharing culture... Back in the days of roaming bards, do you think anyone ever said 'I'll sell you a song, but you can't perform it for anyone else.' ? Of course, but the answer was almost assuredly 'No deal.' Bards had only 1 use for a new song, and that was to perform it for others.
DVDs are different. Their intended purpose is to display a video. There's nothing in their purpose about copying it for friends or placing it on the internet for download. Nothing about ripping it to your Myth box and watching it that way. If you want those 'rights', you'll have to renegotiate. It just so happens that the studios are not willing to renegotiate at this point because they make all the money they want without doing that.
Everyone's got a right to their own property, intellectual or not. They can choose to sell it in any way shape or form, and anyone can choose not to purchase it.
I'm not claiming to be squeaky clean. Anyone who does is a saint or a liar. But I'm willing to admit what's 'right and wrong' and that I know the difference. (That sounds like an attack on you, but it's not. It's aimed at everyone who denies that 'piracy' is wrong.)
Slashdot Mirror
That's not really a good example... Having sex with your children is harmful to them and the human race both, as it creates mental issues and greatly increases the possibility of genetic defects in offspring. I'd hardly say 'disgust' is the only reason that law exists.
I've got an n800 and the other poster is correct, it's basically always on. It'll turn off the screen automatically after a time (you can set) and there's also the ability to hit the 'power' button, and it'll ask if you want to lock the screen and keys. Hit the button again and you can unlock the screen. (Requires hitting 2 keys in a row.)
I think I've only power cycled it once, for an upgrade of the OS. You have to turn it all the way off and plug it into the USB to upgrade it. I forget how already though... It was pretty simple, whatever it was.
I typically browse the web, read ebooks (fbreader app and baen.com's books work great) and I've recently started listening to Rhapsody through it. Never had a crash or reset.
Well, that's a matter of opinion, I guess. I never liked them much, and I only shopped there because their selection was better than any other local retailer. It certainly wasn't for the customer service. (Last time I was TV shopping, an employee actually told me to get out of the way. I bought the TV elsewhere.)
I've always believed in voting with my wallet, and that's what I've done. So I definitely didn't 'lose'. I admit, I probably shouldn't have volunteered to erase the pictures, but I tend towards nice rather than angry. In return, I expect others to do the same.
Yelling at the employee wasn't going to do anything. LP told him to say that, and he's just doing his job. I'm not mad at him, I'm mad at Best Buy. Taking a few more pictures and they buying the software doesn't hurt BB at all. Taking my money elsewhere -does-. I didn't leave 'scared', I left insulted and angry. They could have done nothing to me that I wasn't going to do anyhow: Leave the store without a purchase. The most the police would have done was the same as well, unless I caused a huge disturbance.
I did come to the same conclusion afterwards, though... I should have taken more pictures right in front of him, and smiled. If he threw me out, I wouldn't have had to walk out. The police would not have been necessary, though. I'd have left when they told me to.
I know I'm going to use my camera more openly in more stores now, though. It's an easy and interesting way to find out the stores attitude towards customers.
Actually, it's easier now than ever before. All of the big libraries for javascript like Prototype and (my favorite) jQuery already deal with the cross-browser stuff for the most part. If you use them, you'll rarely run into a place where the difference between browsers is a problem if you know your stuff beforehand. It's still pretty rare even if you're just learning, but knowing you way around makes it even easier.
It's not just 'these companies', it's 'all companies'. We had a little swing back to 'the customer is always right' for a while, but we're headed back to 'grab the buck, fuck the customer' again now.
Example: Yesterday, I went to Best Buy because my mother wanted software for my niece. I find the require software, and I'm browsing and find Circus Empire. Knowing that my friend wants this game, but he's in Europe, I take some pictures of the box. The flash went off twice, alerting employees. I walk to the next aisle and look around and there's a whole gaggle of employees pointing to where I was standing. Finally a manager walks down the aisle and finds me on the next one and informs me that I cannot take pictures in the store. Why? Loss Prevention told him he has to stop me.
I told him I'd delete the pictures and then did so. But then I realized how insulting that is, and found him again and told him that I will -never- shop at Best Buy again. He told me to tell corporate, and I told HIM to tell corporate because I'd have nothing to do with their company ever again, then handed him the software in my hands to put back.
Immediately afterwards, I went to a competitor and purchased most of that software, plus blank DVDs and a $500 laser printer.
Are customers so dependant on these companies that they give up they let them insult them right to their faces?
Why are their prices so important that I can't take pictures of them? Are they -that- much higher that they know they'll lose business if anyone on the internet learns about it? Are they doing something illegal?
To be fair, the competitor said (when I asked) that if I took a lot of pictures, they'd do the same thing.
The furniture store, when I was shopping there a few months back, happily let me take pictures of anything, and even asked if they could photo-copy the pricelist for me.
Most companies have lost focus. It used to be about making the customer happy so they'd -want- to shop there, and now it's about making sure they are forced to, and making as much money as possible. I'm not against making money, but there's better ways to do it than be assholes.
I question whether it's libel when MySpace asks 'based on this information, is this person a sex offender?' and the other company responds 'yes' in private. It's quite a bit different than someone writing a newspaper article with the same statement, especially without someone asking the question first.
;)
Again from that link:
"The defamatory statement must also have been made with fault. The extent of the fault depends primarily on the status of the plaintiff. Public figures, such as government officials, celebrities, well-known individuals, and people involved in specific public controversies, are required to prove actual malice, a legal term which means the defendant knew his statement was false or recklessly disregarded the truth or falsity of his statement. In most jurisdictions, private individuals must show only that the defendant was negligent: that he failed to act with due care in the situation." Emphasis mine.
and...
"Some defamatory statements may be protected by privilege, meaning that in certain circumstances the interest in communicating a statement outweighs the interest in protecting reputation."
I can already hear the 'Think of the Children!' screams, thank you. Especially since that's -exactly- why this all happened.
I think it's pretty clear that MySpace's attempt to remove sex offenders from their system outweighs this lady's indignity at MySpace being told she's a possible sex offender. MySpace did not tell anyone else, and the other company did not either. Not a single soul would EVER have known why her account was removed if she had not screamed about it. MySpace has many reasons for removing an account, and it would be nearly impossible to assume one was from this.
Any legal battle she has is on extremely shaky grounds. The best she could hope would be to get her MySpace account back, and I'm of the opinion that it would do her more harm than good.
I'm guessing YANAL, either. IANAL, but I'm pretty sure to commit libel, you have to actually tell it to someone OTHER than the person involved.
b lic_Resources/Libel_FAQs/Libel_FAQs.htm
http://www.medialaw.org/Content/NavigationMenu/Pu
"Libel and slander are legal claims for false statements of fact about a person that are printed, broadcast, spoken or otherwise communicated to others."
"The statement(s) alleged to be defamatory must also have been published to at least one other person (other than the subject of the statement) and must be "of and concerning" the plaintiff."
You say that, but it's been the focus of many MUDs, Asheron's Call 1/2, and even World of Warcraft. I've only played a little ways into it (level 8), but it treats new Drenai as if they are the one that must save their race from extinction. You start off finding and healing members of the crew, then stop a plot to attack the ship, etc etc. It always acts like you are 'THE ONE'. WoW has this in other races as well, like the Trolls... Basically the same thing.
And there's been plenty of MUDs where the goal is to get to some end point first. Some even reset the server each time this happens and everyone starts over.
I think there are more similarities that you care to admit... It just takes a lot of design work to use the features from one in the other.
"search for the ISO file extension handles in your registry and remove it."
I've done that already. It doesn't just crash when I right-click, though. It also crashes if you hit ctrl-c or ctrl-x. (Copy or cut.) Very odd behavior.
I'll try CCleaner though. Couldn't hurt, since I'm likely to format soon anyhow.
Thanks.
Seriously? You think the fact that Google bought DoubleClick will even be widely known? Or that they will suddenly stop blocking DC because it's owned by the 'good guys', even though absolutely nothing about the company has changed?
Not likely. It's much more likely the DC's mud will rub off on Google, and people will be more likely to block it as well.
Since I've got NoScript installed now, I didn't bother to unblock Google's traffic stuff. It doesn't do anything for -me-, so it stays blocked.
I know about the no-middle-name thing. It happens. (Personally, I have a middle name and I think it's just a way for pretentious rich people (or faux rich people) to name their children 'better' than others. My proof of this is people with 4 middle names... Like my niece. Her mother doesn't have 2 cents to rub together.)
... Name one? Because seriously, that IS your name, even if it's misspelled. If the state doesn't put it on there, you don't have a middle name.
As for 'every state'
Unless you've changed your name (and you'd have documentation for that), your birth certificate WILL have your full middle name. It's not your name, otherwise.
Too right. And maybe Cygwin will adopt this package manager as well. Their current install program is -horrid-. It has to fetch the list each and every time you run it, and is extremely tough to find anything, even if you know what the exact name is. Their categories often seem completely arbitrary.
Msys as well. I set it up a few months ago to compile a linux-based app for windows, for a friend. (It had been done before, but the new version didn't have a Windows binary.) It took me a good weekend to just get it all set up, and about 20 minutes to do the actual work. Then it turned out some of the paths were all set up wrong, and it wouldn't run on his machine, so I got to start all over with a new set of instructions. Lost an evening to that.
As Linux becomes more prevalent, and Qt4 is released (and KDE 4) I expect to have/want to do more of this, and I'd appreciate an easy install. Especially given that Windows tends to need to be completely reinstalled about every 6 months because of how much garbage I install on it. (Right now, if I click on an ISO in the file manager, explorer crashes. Been dealing with that for about 6 months rather than reinstall.)
His argument had nothing to do with 'being constantly connected', that was just one of the bonuses. It is just generally cheaper to have a cellphone now. Of course, that assumes a fairly basic plan and that you use -some- long distance.
It would actually be cheaper for me to have a land-line, but not by much. I pay about $30/mo for my cellphone (4-way family plan, $120/mo total) and land lines start at $24, last I checked. (2 years ago.) For the extra $6, I get free long distance, unlimited calling to other customers of my cell company (not advertising for them), voicemail, and (this is a bonus for me, but apparently not for you) I can keep in touch wherever I am. If I used a land-line to call work, I'd be calling long distance and almost assuredly end up paying more than the $6/mo extra.
There's nothing stopping you from having a cell in your house and just leaving it there when you go out.
As for the $5... When was the last time you checked that? Prices are falling all the time. It's getting ridiculously cheap to have a cellphone.
'Making it easy' takes a -lot- less time if it's planned from the start, for most projects. And the 'manual' for open source software doesn't have to look like the manual for professional software.
I wrote a mesh conversion utility once. It was used by thousands of people and my 'manual' (web-based tutorial, with screenshots) was so good that nobody ever asked me how to use the app except when there was a bug. I got plenty of praise on my tutorial as well. The tutorial probably took a couple hours to prepare and write, including adding interesting fun facts about what was being modelled. The software probably took around 20 hours. Even with the experience I have now, the program would take at least 10 hours to write.
So while it -can- take 90% of the time, it can also take 10% of the time, when done and planned right.
More complex software obviously needs a more complex manual, but I think it probably scales pretty evenly. It might even weigh in heavier on the programming side, as there will be quite a lot of back-end stuff the user won't see.
Hm, thanks for that tip. If I ever have to deal with JSP again, I'll definitely look into that.
A minor correction to that statement: They advertise unlimited data transfer. The bandwidth is limited and is -always- advertised as such.
For instance, my current cable connection is advertised as 6 Mbit, but there is no limit, except the max speed, to how much data I can transfer in a month.
Internet is not the only thing sold in this way. Anything that many people use, but only a small amount use at a given time, is sold this way. There isn't enough roadway for everyone in New York to drive their car at the same time. There aren't enough cell phone towers for everyone to talk on the phone at the same time. I'm sure there are plenty more examples.
The problem here is that usage patterns are changing, and more people are going to want to use the service at the same time now. (By use I mean use 100%, instead of the small % that is typical.) Somehow, I think we'll survive this crisis. Sweden has internet connections to the house that are over 10x the bandwidth that mine is. ISPs will simply have to upgrade their infrastructure to handle it if they want to survive. If they don't, someone else will.
And let's not forget all the 'dark fiber' out there and wireless technologies that have been showing up lately. It could very well be that we decide not to use physical connections at all, and instead relay through a satellite or cell-towers for internet.
This article is either scaremongering or just plain boredom speaking. Someone recently found out about this situation and suddenly thinks they know more than everyone else in the industry, and decided to tell us the sky is falling. -yawn-
Actually, I do have digital cable, but I have to confess... I only ever use it as a DVR. It's been quite a while since I watched a show as it aired, and I can't remember the last time I flipped channels. I'm pretty sure it didn't take more than half a second or so, about what it took on old TVs.
fast channel changing - What's slow about pushing the button and the next channel is there? I can't even blink that fast.
video-on-demand - Cable's got it and charges out the ass. Unless it's free and actually has content (the free stuff on cable is crap), no thanks.
three set-top boxes - Right, cuz 1 just wasn't enough.
a digital video recorder - Is that ANOTHER box? Anyhow, cable without DVR isn't worth it.
a picture-in-picture feature that allows viewers to surf channels without switching channels - TV, cable, satellite have all have this for years,
an interactive program guide - Again, they've all had it for years.
If they aren't going to offer anything special, and they aren't going to have significantly lower prices, they can go ahead and call this a failure.
The only thing I see that's even halfway special is that the entire thing is going to be 'on-demand'. That's why the need to state fast channel switching, etc. They aren't going to play all channels all the time... They are only going to play the 2 channels (pic in pic) that you are currently watching, streamed from their CO. (Central Office, the local telephone switch in each city.) If they also made it so that the 'DVR' wasn't at my house, but was instead stored at the CO (it's not really a DVR, just a way to play back whenever I want) then I could see an advantage.
DVR Advantage: I missed Survivor this week because A) I forgot or B) The president had a fit and decided to tell the world, making every show in existance run later than normal. With CO-based DVR, I could just say 'I want to watch ep 785 of Survivor' and it plays it. No worries about storage space or recording mishaps. I'd even pay -extra- for this service. Take it a step further and let me watch Thursday's shows -any time- on Thursday, even before they 'air', and I'd be even happier.
But no, they'll totally miss the coolest aspects of this and instead try to merely match what everyone else already has.
Because I've had to program in it. It has all the annoying fiddly bits of C++ and it's slow as hell. Even worse, I was forced to use it for JSP. There's nothing less fun that debugging poorly written code that has to be recompiled in its entirety every time you want to see how a webpage looks now.
Debugging poorly written code in all other languages (that I've used) hasn't been nearly as bad. I jumped for joy when I was told we were going to rewrite the project in PHP.
That's kind of the question, isn't it? Why are they creating yet another VM when so many already exist and could just be extended and improved?
.NET, etc. But the programs still have to be recompiled for the VM, which will probably necessitate -some- changes. And most of the programs that people will want to run cross-platform, you can't get the source for. They're proprietary.
I hate Java. But it -is- cross-platform.
Also, I get that their goal is to have 'normal' programs run cross platform, without having to be written in Java,
Having said that... There are a few programs I'd like to see work on Windows, that don't with Cygwin: K3B, Yakuake, Quanta Plus. And the KIO Slaves would be killer, even if I had to specifically mount them as a drive letter before using them.
I'm guessing that LINA won't even begin to be able to run these, though. Please, correct me if I'm wrong.
That's okay, they clearly haven't watched the professional ads lately, anyhow. Most of them are complete crap, too. They send the wrong message, they have annoying sound and video, and they play way too often. I find it hard to believe this 'horrible' videos could do any worse than they already are.
Sending the wrong message is actually my biggest gripe about most commercials these days. Most of them try to show an 'average' person, but miss the mark end up at 'loser'. The end result is that 'product X is for losers' instead of their intended message. They even hit on this about the yellow teeth in the video, questioning if the message is that the bad dental hygiene was caused by their own product.
I'm not against commercials any more than I'm against movies or music. I'm against BAD commercials, movies, and music. Good commercials can actually be 30 seconds of humor, or awe, or heaven forbid, information you actually care about. (Cingular, Geico (old commercials), Apple.) The world is a bit short on awe and informative commercials, and I can't think of a single one now.
Don't forget the thought bubbles with the cryptic icons, occasionally with a 'no' symbol over them. And the ++ and -- floating from their heads as they make and lose friendship.
Wait wait wait... There is a very large difference between taking the exact plot of Star Wars Ep 4 and filming it with new actors and taking the Star Wars universe and creating a new, intertwining story.
As far as I know, the latter is actually legal as things stand right now.
"In the late 1500s"... Yeah, but did any of those take the script of another and simply edit it? Or did they 'play off each others works'? Again, quite a huge difference there.
Fanfics exist today, and don't get sued out of existence. Some are even movie form, as the Star Wars "Revelations" is.
As for music, it's quite legal to 'sample' someone else's work to use in your own.
I'm sorry, but I don't see your arguments holding up, as what you argue for already exists.
Oh, and... "The answer is that some authors and all media companies want to maximize their income." I'd argue that all of the do, actually... It's the way the market works. Some value non-monetary gain more than others is all.
"Even though Anderson's The Little Mermaid is in the public domain, if I made an animated movie, they would certainly fight me in court."
While I take your point, you are wrong about this. See 1992. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Little_Mermaid
I don't think anyone was ever free to spread 'culture' the way you are talking about. Certainly they used to all tell the same stories. that was pretty much by agreement, though I admit lack of a way to restrict it played a large part.
But 'culture' is not a single item. It's an over-all feel. Western 'culture' is most certainly spread freely. Just think of how many people complain that 'all songs are alike' and such.
Contract... No, that's probably not the right word, but that's basically what happens. You agree to purchase the DVD for $x with certain limitations. If you do not agree to those limitations, you don't buy the DVD. Nobody is removing your from your fellows. You can only do that yourself. The choices are 'buy the dvd' or 'share culture with your friends', according to what you've said. There is no third 'buy the dvd and do whatever you like, regardless of the agreement.'
Copyright law does not state what you CAN do, it states what you can't. The contract, or agreement, with the creator is what gives you those rights. (This is not a defense of copyright. It's just information.)
Let's go back to sharing culture... Back in the days of roaming bards, do you think anyone ever said 'I'll sell you a song, but you can't perform it for anyone else.' ? Of course, but the answer was almost assuredly 'No deal.' Bards had only 1 use for a new song, and that was to perform it for others.
DVDs are different. Their intended purpose is to display a video. There's nothing in their purpose about copying it for friends or placing it on the internet for download. Nothing about ripping it to your Myth box and watching it that way. If you want those 'rights', you'll have to renegotiate. It just so happens that the studios are not willing to renegotiate at this point because they make all the money they want without doing that.
Everyone's got a right to their own property, intellectual or not. They can choose to sell it in any way shape or form, and anyone can choose not to purchase it.
I'm not claiming to be squeaky clean. Anyone who does is a saint or a liar. But I'm willing to admit what's 'right and wrong' and that I know the difference. (That sounds like an attack on you, but it's not. It's aimed at everyone who denies that 'piracy' is wrong.)