As a scientist, I find your post offensive. You act like we go around in gangs or something. But worse of all, you make broad statements without citing any sources, or indeed even mentioning any specifics. That is thoroughly unscientific, and it is statements like that that we rightfully run out of town.
If the publishers want a cut from resales, the assumption is that the product is as good as new. (This is why the used-car sale is often considered to be a flawed analogy). But what measures would they implement to guarantee the used product merits their cut of the revenue? Are they going to refurbish it? Are they going to restore the original packaging and manuals, etc? Are they going the guarantee that the disc will be free of scratches or other defects for a certain warranty period of time? If not, then indeed selling a used game (or DVD movie or music CD for that matter) is just the same as a used car or a used anything.
Of course, digital copies could truly put a dent in that reasoning. However, even then there should not be a cut of revenue to the publisher if the original user discontinues use of the product (so that it's not piracy). It's like someone re-selling artwork. Presumably it's in like-new condition if it was taken care of (on in some cases, would appreciate in value even if its condition deteriorates) -- but you wouldn't hear anyone talk of paying the original artist a cut of its resale value, now would you? From what I hear, book publishers are also gearing up for a fight in this arena. They have already been breathing down the neck of used-book stores, and now e-books are adding a new twist to the debate.
Fair enough, though opinions are not as valuable as facts. Over half of all 360 owners have and play Halo3. Sorry you don't like it, but the masses have voted with their wallets.
I've had three friends who didn't want to screw around trying to fix things themselves, and they ended up going to Apple. It didn't work out well for 2/3, and they didn't get their disks back. The thing is, I am not confident enough to mess with data recovery unless I know they feel comfortable (or desperate as the case may be, since they've already gone the "official" route). I'm certain I could have given it a good try (after all, it is actually pretty difficult to really delete data). So ya, I wish Apple had given them their "bad" disks back. I have a couple Macs myself, and all know now is that I've try every trick in the book myself before I even think about giving a disk over to Apple. They should give the disks back.
What right do you have to create a dangerous situation for pilots? The fact that no accident happened here should mitigate the penalties, but would you really want to be on the receiving end of a laser beam when you're trying to fly a helo or plane?
Well, what you've clearly stated is a personal opinion, not a general consensus. I've played a lot of 1st person shooters before and most really did not grip me with story (though I really liked Thief), with the exception of Halo. Having read a lot of "pocket" sci-fi, including Ringworld, and numerous epics, I must say I thought the Halo story was extremely well done. In fact, I'd only played the original Halo until recently, but was thoroughly engrossed by the story line (i.e. I read up on the story lines of Halo 2 and Halo 3 before ever having played them, and I read the novels also). They aren't masterpieces of literature, but there are many great classic elements there... interesting characters & relationships, lots of symbolism, an epic plot.
So, basically, I can refute your main point that the story is only good enough to get you to play the game. The story was enough for me for a long time, having been introduced to it by the original game, and eventually I picked up Halo 2-3 being interested in knowing more about the story, though I've come to find it's a great game.
OMG. Chill out. I've been in molecular biology for a decade now. I'll gladly eat any GMO knowing that it is free of pests and costs less and imparts stability to global food availability. Humans are living longer and healthier now than at any point in history. This trend will not make a u-turn. There isn't going to be some big "oh shit our genetic manipulations have rendered us all sterile and the human race is going to die out". But you've illustrated a very important point. The scientists have clearly failed at something -- educating the public.
I had entries that were finalists in both the illustration and animation categories for the Visualization Challenge a couple of years ago. My doctorate was in biology, but I also spent many a day teaching myself Cinema 4D, from scratch. I've always had an interest in 3D graphics as a hobby, but within a few months, I was making the most beautiful images of the system I was studying that I had ever seen. We regularly use these now for presentations to scientific and general audiences, and they are published in primary literature as well as textbooks. It was totally worth the effort, and I think the images have really helped a lot of people visualize what I work on. As you point out, your field, bioinformatics, is less amenable to retaining information and being visually beautiful at the same time. I respectfully suggest that that is simply your experience. For the macromolecular complexes I study, there is significant scientific value in visualizing them properly, as far as thinking about the problem and coming up with specific experiments to do.
Do we own the physical CD/DVD, but not what's on it?
If we own the right to use the media for personal use, then we should get additional copies of the physical media at no (or very little) charge if it becomes damaged.
But if we own that CD/DVD, then we should be able to make our own backups, at the least.
The content producers want it both ways. They say that we don't really "own" the content, just the right to access it, but what if you can't access that content? For example, no more working record players or tape decks in the world. Then we should get the updated version for free right? If we bought the right to access that content. If not, then they should just fuck off and let us acquire or reacquire content we already paid for.
Apple wants to sell as much hardware as it can. I doubt it was behind the ridiculous ringtone pricing. It's much more likely that they have to walk a fine line with the music industry (and now with the cellular carriers). Don't be deluded -- it's those bastards that are pulling the strings here. Otherwise, why would any hardware seller possibly agree to LIMIT their sales?? As with the music, ringtones, TV shows, movies, and now cellphone access, they have to make some token effort to thwart "hackers" to appease their contract partners. I think, secretly, though, that they don't really mind the hacking... it increases the "value" of their product. I doubt they're losing much money on those ringtone hacks... it's the RIAA that takes most of that money anyways.
Wow. You're brilliant. Let's just use Slashdot to sling insults. Thanks for your thoughtful comments. I see you have lot in common with the jerk who got tasered.
I'd have to say I agree... there isn't really any war against terrorism or really anything based on principle. It's all about what's politically ok. Making nice with Russia and China seems to be politically ok with the current administration, though it should make any true conservative cringe. From the liberal view point, we should not put up with these countries who have no basic declaration of rights for their own citizens. Anyone who thinks the Chinese and Russian governments aren't ecstatic about their hackers targeting western servers is deluded.
You know, on the whole I'm really opposed to the heavy-handed tactics of police officers. I don't think he should have been tased. However, I'm a little embarrassed to say I was glad to see him dragged kicking and screaming from the room. He acted like a little bitch, and his website supports the idea that he was just some jackass looking for a publicity stunt rather than someone who thoughtfully cared about the issues he brought up. He makes it harder for the rest of the ACLU types who patriotically stand for our rights. I only wish he'd have been cracked across the face with a nightstick instead.
The whole "more publications" thing is baloney. 15 mediocre articles will NOT get you tenure at a competitive university. They are not that stupid. I've seen this many times. The flip side is that many articles with solid data published in decent but not high profile journals is also unfortunately not always enough to get tenure. So ya, there are many issues, but every department is different, and every field is also. I can't imagine you're in biology, because 15 articles in 6 years is bullshit. Maybe CS or physics or something.
"We all know..." What are you basing this on??? As a postdoc, I've committed myself to a massive amount of work and I'm certainly not doing it for pay (which is meager), but a LITTLE amount of respect would be nice. I've published a few studies and it was incredibly hard work to do the kind of careful science that gets published. A small amount of scandals and people like you who swallow any sensationalist piece of news out there really cast things in an unfair light. I encourage you to read more scientific literature and actually try and understand how the scientific process works. Do you really think we live in the kind of technological age as we do in spite of "a good portion of all studies" being "bogus" or "based on nothing"? I find this incredibly insulting.
As a postdoc, I'd be interested to know what field you're in and where you study. If you actually believe what you just said, get out now. We don't want people who're so susceptible to fraud in science.
Furthermore, this epidemiologist primarily studied medically-related publications, and in fact focused mostly on high-profile research that make broad claims, or relied heavily on statistics to support a conclusion. Many research publications at the cell/molecular level do not rely on subtle statistical comparisons to prove a point. This guy is singling out research that is based heavily on correlations (like people with x, y, z are more likely to get a, b, or c diseases). He is only an expert in his own field, and I don't think he is qualified to judge every level of scientific publication, but he certainly doesn't mind the media attention.
It is way off the base to say that "most published research findings are wrong". It is often the case that data analysis and interpretation for particular aspects of a research project (like 1-2 figures in a 7 figure paper) are up for vigorous debate. The scientific community can, in the long run, converge on very robust ideas, and drop those that are flimsy. To misleadingly imply that most research is wrong, which is exactly what the post suggests, is just poor interpretation of flimsy data, ironically.
I don't think anything short of good parenting will help. But, if you must, perhaps blocking in combination with monitoring might help. At the most extreme, this would mean putting in a surveillance tool (software or preferably hardware) that monitors all traffic.
This filtration bottle will filter out anything larger than 15 nm particles. But it does not include any sort of distillation mechanism or activated-charcoal or ion-exchange column to filter out the salts, ions, and other small molecules, like toxins. It's nice that it will eliminate disease causing microorganisms, but this dude's bottle will still make your piss taste like piss.
...let it be string theory that gets booted. The only scientific research into string theory that should be ongoing is that which seeks to determine whether or not string theory is even falsifiable. If it is not, you may as well call it a religion or shuffle it over to the philosophy department. I'm not so thirsty for a quantum theory of gravity that I'll buy into this voodoo.
Some say this could even lead to the abandonment of either string theory or inflation, though no one is ruling out a possible resolution yet.
Hardly. Do you have any idea how hard it is nowadays for companies to apply for H1-Bs for workers? Given how limited the number of H1-Bs are every year, there is actually stiff competition for qualified workers. Considering the firm is planning to open up 500 jobs in the coming years it is impossible for more than a small fraction of these to be filled with H1-Bs, I seriously doubt your "ploy" is what this is all about. (Also consider that ONLY ~25% of H1-Bs are for Indians, whereas they actually have one of the largest pools of qualified applicants).
Moreover, you seem to think this is automatically bad. As a generally benign tax-paying and extremely low crime population, I hardly think Atlanta will suffer from inclusion of these H1-Bs.
RTFA, and consider using better language next time -- "gaggle", "ploy" -- just smacks of a snooty, condescending attitude.
I've published a couple papers/seen a few through the publication process. Almost all journals either publish free after 1 year/6 months, allow you to post your work (in a slightly altered pre-publication "draft" format) in Pubmed central, or can grant you free access to your own paper on demand.
That he didn't know all this going into it is highly questionable. Most scientists know perfectly well that a condition of publication in most journals is that you grant the journal exclusive copyright on the published form of the paper, but not on the intellectual content within.
Slashdot Mirror
As a scientist, I find your post offensive. You act like we go around in gangs or something. But worse of all, you make broad statements without citing any sources, or indeed even mentioning any specifics. That is thoroughly unscientific, and it is statements like that that we rightfully run out of town.
Of course, digital copies could truly put a dent in that reasoning. However, even then there should not be a cut of revenue to the publisher if the original user discontinues use of the product (so that it's not piracy). It's like someone re-selling artwork. Presumably it's in like-new condition if it was taken care of (on in some cases, would appreciate in value even if its condition deteriorates) -- but you wouldn't hear anyone talk of paying the original artist a cut of its resale value, now would you? From what I hear, book publishers are also gearing up for a fight in this arena. They have already been breathing down the neck of used-book stores, and now e-books are adding a new twist to the debate.
I actually tend to agree with you man... I think there are a lot of perfectly sane people who would easily take that opportunity.
Fair enough, though opinions are not as valuable as facts. Over half of all 360 owners have and play Halo3. Sorry you don't like it, but the masses have voted with their wallets.
I've had three friends who didn't want to screw around trying to fix things themselves, and they ended up going to Apple. It didn't work out well for 2/3, and they didn't get their disks back. The thing is, I am not confident enough to mess with data recovery unless I know they feel comfortable (or desperate as the case may be, since they've already gone the "official" route). I'm certain I could have given it a good try (after all, it is actually pretty difficult to really delete data). So ya, I wish Apple had given them their "bad" disks back. I have a couple Macs myself, and all know now is that I've try every trick in the book myself before I even think about giving a disk over to Apple. They should give the disks back.
What right do you have to create a dangerous situation for pilots? The fact that no accident happened here should mitigate the penalties, but would you really want to be on the receiving end of a laser beam when you're trying to fly a helo or plane?
So, basically, I can refute your main point that the story is only good enough to get you to play the game. The story was enough for me for a long time, having been introduced to it by the original game, and eventually I picked up Halo 2-3 being interested in knowing more about the story, though I've come to find it's a great game.
OMG. Chill out. I've been in molecular biology for a decade now. I'll gladly eat any GMO knowing that it is free of pests and costs less and imparts stability to global food availability. Humans are living longer and healthier now than at any point in history. This trend will not make a u-turn. There isn't going to be some big "oh shit our genetic manipulations have rendered us all sterile and the human race is going to die out". But you've illustrated a very important point. The scientists have clearly failed at something -- educating the public.
I had entries that were finalists in both the illustration and animation categories for the Visualization Challenge a couple of years ago. My doctorate was in biology, but I also spent many a day teaching myself Cinema 4D, from scratch. I've always had an interest in 3D graphics as a hobby, but within a few months, I was making the most beautiful images of the system I was studying that I had ever seen. We regularly use these now for presentations to scientific and general audiences, and they are published in primary literature as well as textbooks. It was totally worth the effort, and I think the images have really helped a lot of people visualize what I work on. As you point out, your field, bioinformatics, is less amenable to retaining information and being visually beautiful at the same time. I respectfully suggest that that is simply your experience. For the macromolecular complexes I study, there is significant scientific value in visualizing them properly, as far as thinking about the problem and coming up with specific experiments to do.
Do we own the physical CD/DVD, but not what's on it?
If we own the right to use the media for personal use, then we should get additional copies of the physical media at no (or very little) charge if it becomes damaged.
But if we own that CD/DVD, then we should be able to make our own backups, at the least.
The content producers want it both ways. They say that we don't really "own" the content, just the right to access it, but what if you can't access that content? For example, no more working record players or tape decks in the world. Then we should get the updated version for free right? If we bought the right to access that content. If not, then they should just fuck off and let us acquire or reacquire content we already paid for.
Apple wants to sell as much hardware as it can. I doubt it was behind the ridiculous ringtone pricing. It's much more likely that they have to walk a fine line with the music industry (and now with the cellular carriers). Don't be deluded -- it's those bastards that are pulling the strings here. Otherwise, why would any hardware seller possibly agree to LIMIT their sales?? As with the music, ringtones, TV shows, movies, and now cellphone access, they have to make some token effort to thwart "hackers" to appease their contract partners. I think, secretly, though, that they don't really mind the hacking... it increases the "value" of their product. I doubt they're losing much money on those ringtone hacks... it's the RIAA that takes most of that money anyways.
Wow. You're brilliant. Let's just use Slashdot to sling insults. Thanks for your thoughtful comments. I see you have lot in common with the jerk who got tasered.
I'd have to say I agree... there isn't really any war against terrorism or really anything based on principle. It's all about what's politically ok. Making nice with Russia and China seems to be politically ok with the current administration, though it should make any true conservative cringe. From the liberal view point, we should not put up with these countries who have no basic declaration of rights for their own citizens. Anyone who thinks the Chinese and Russian governments aren't ecstatic about their hackers targeting western servers is deluded.
You know, on the whole I'm really opposed to the heavy-handed tactics of police officers. I don't think he should have been tased. However, I'm a little embarrassed to say I was glad to see him dragged kicking and screaming from the room. He acted like a little bitch, and his website supports the idea that he was just some jackass looking for a publicity stunt rather than someone who thoughtfully cared about the issues he brought up. He makes it harder for the rest of the ACLU types who patriotically stand for our rights. I only wish he'd have been cracked across the face with a nightstick instead.
The whole "more publications" thing is baloney. 15 mediocre articles will NOT get you tenure at a competitive university. They are not that stupid. I've seen this many times. The flip side is that many articles with solid data published in decent but not high profile journals is also unfortunately not always enough to get tenure. So ya, there are many issues, but every department is different, and every field is also. I can't imagine you're in biology, because 15 articles in 6 years is bullshit. Maybe CS or physics or something.
"We all know..." What are you basing this on??? As a postdoc, I've committed myself to a massive amount of work and I'm certainly not doing it for pay (which is meager), but a LITTLE amount of respect would be nice. I've published a few studies and it was incredibly hard work to do the kind of careful science that gets published. A small amount of scandals and people like you who swallow any sensationalist piece of news out there really cast things in an unfair light. I encourage you to read more scientific literature and actually try and understand how the scientific process works. Do you really think we live in the kind of technological age as we do in spite of "a good portion of all studies" being "bogus" or "based on nothing"? I find this incredibly insulting.
As a postdoc, I'd be interested to know what field you're in and where you study. If you actually believe what you just said, get out now. We don't want people who're so susceptible to fraud in science.
Furthermore, this epidemiologist primarily studied medically-related publications, and in fact focused mostly on high-profile research that make broad claims, or relied heavily on statistics to support a conclusion. Many research publications at the cell/molecular level do not rely on subtle statistical comparisons to prove a point. This guy is singling out research that is based heavily on correlations (like people with x, y, z are more likely to get a, b, or c diseases). He is only an expert in his own field, and I don't think he is qualified to judge every level of scientific publication, but he certainly doesn't mind the media attention.
It is way off the base to say that "most published research findings are wrong". It is often the case that data analysis and interpretation for particular aspects of a research project (like 1-2 figures in a 7 figure paper) are up for vigorous debate. The scientific community can, in the long run, converge on very robust ideas, and drop those that are flimsy. To misleadingly imply that most research is wrong, which is exactly what the post suggests, is just poor interpretation of flimsy data, ironically.
I don't think anything short of good parenting will help. But, if you must, perhaps blocking in combination with monitoring might help. At the most extreme, this would mean putting in a surveillance tool (software or preferably hardware) that monitors all traffic.
I believe you're touching on the idea of "unlicensed" spectrum. That's not a bad idea... essentially like wifi.
This filtration bottle will filter out anything larger than 15 nm particles. But it does not include any sort of distillation mechanism or activated-charcoal or ion-exchange column to filter out the salts, ions, and other small molecules, like toxins. It's nice that it will eliminate disease causing microorganisms, but this dude's bottle will still make your piss taste like piss.
Some say this could even lead to the abandonment of either string theory or inflation, though no one is ruling out a possible resolution yet.
Moreover, you seem to think this is automatically bad. As a generally benign tax-paying and extremely low crime population, I hardly think Atlanta will suffer from inclusion of these H1-Bs.
RTFA, and consider using better language next time -- "gaggle", "ploy" -- just smacks of a snooty, condescending attitude.
That he didn't know all this going into it is highly questionable. Most scientists know perfectly well that a condition of publication in most journals is that you grant the journal exclusive copyright on the published form of the paper, but not on the intellectual content within.