Absolutely. Blizzard need to make sure that they're not ripped off completely by people cracking the game.
However, using the proverbial sledgehammer to crack the nut is not a very good solution.
By wheeling out the laywers from the word go, they alienate the very developers who could actually think, and come up with some way to aid them in the future.
Now, the cracked clients will stay cracked, and people will play the game.. Often at Lan parties and so on, so, killing bnetd doesn't stop the warez scene. It simply stops one aspect of gameplay.
Now, actually getting heads together with Blizzard and the creators of Bnetd, I'm sure that some solution could be arrived at. Don't ask me what, I've not developeed for this, or looked too deeply.. But, usually when two sides get together and work, solutions arise.
When you set two side against each other, you end up with a battlefield, with a lot of casualties, and nothing really progresses too much at the end of it.
Both sides have valid points, and if they got together and hashed them out, I'm sure they'd both end up a lot happier than firing lawyers at each other, who don't actually understand the real problem at all..
So.. If I understand this aright, this law applies to America only.
That leaves the rest of the world quite happily able to use 'unlocked' devices.
As not implementing this 'lock' tech is a cheaper option, it's likely to be used as much as possible by the eastern manufacters for sale everywhere else in the world.
Thus, the stuff going to the US will have to be specially modded, and of course, carry the extra price tag, meaning that for once, the US will be shouldering the highest cost for technological devices around.
Higher cost of players/decoders means that it's more likley the 'new' won't be taken up quite as readily. Reduced marked, of course, means that the item becomes more 'specialist', carrying an even higher price tag (companies need to make their money back on a market).
Which of course feeds back into the educational system. Fewer US homes will have up to date equipment, and are thus, less able to take advantage of the latest ideas, meaning fewer people qualified to perform tech tasks readily available to other countries (due to much lower cost of tools).
This goes on to make the US much more a 'consumer' of ideas and products developed elsewhere in the world, thus having money leaving the economy to pay for import. Thus higher taxes to make up this shortfall on export.
Which all snowballs on, leaving the average future US citizen/company unable to compete in a global economy due to cost overheads and lack of skills, paying higher taxes to keep the economy afloat, and thus less able still to keep the skillsets current.
Leaving one unholy mess, much sadness, and a crippled country.
It's sad, really, to see how little the current politicians have learned from history.. Once upon a time, a whole country rebelled at an overly dictatorial regime that taxed everything it could, and gave nothing in return. Then, it was England doing the taxing, and America rebelling.
In the centuries since, the USA grew into an economic giant on the premise of freedom, demonstrating that this very freedom was fundamental to progress, and worked in the marketplace too..
Now, it's trying to stop that freedom, and once again, tax everything in sight, and dictate everything...
Surely, they must have noticed that there is a point where people eventually just throw the tea in the harbour, and go use something else instead.
I sincerely hope this is laughed out, as it deserves to be. Otherwise, the citizens of the US are in for a long hard struggle in the world at large.
Sure it'll raise the cost of bulk emails..
Getting together a list of people that actually want to get something takes time, and a little effort.
Just like putting an envelope in the mail raises the cost of sending junk mail that way.
Why on earth should the ISPs and users downloading more and more spam ever day have to shoulder the cost of businesses 'targetting' them, trying to sell stuff that's largely not wanted anyway, and only interferes with trying to enjoy one's email quietly.
I have two email accounts unusable now because of spam accumulation over the years from harvesters.
That cost to me is rather great. And I don't make money like corporations.. I think it's about time they shouldered the cost for once, instead of trying to sue because they don't have it as easy as they used to, and they're now actually told they can only sell to people that want to go and get their product. Radical idea that.. Who'd ever have thought that people would actually have the brains to figure out they want to buy something and actually go looking, instead of you jamming their email box every day with cajoles and other annoyances.
I used to work for a compay called Cricinfo, and in the database of registered users, there was a field about how those users came to the site.
There were a significant number that specified they'd heard about the site from playing one of the cricket games on computer..
It seemed to work very nicely for them.:)
Most of the fark thread I went through and could keep eyes to was about the same level of insightfulness as Slashdot. Loads of garbage interspersed with the odd few bit of interesting talk.
I would, however, say thanks for giving a well written rebuttal. It did make me think again, and ponder.
Actually, no, I'm trying to keep an open mind. Some people here have actually given me links, and things to ponder, which does make me re-evaluate my stance somewhat. I just need a better quality of info than I have from the pro side to make me think it was a well considered action.
No, non-us media just gives you the other side of the story. Watch what they quote, chase the quotations for veracity, and see what picture emerges.
As for your rather amusing attempts at telepathy:
1) Actually, I like the idea of having a military. They think differently to me, and I couldn't do what they do. I respect them very much, and understand they are the ones who will be putting their lives on the line for me if something ever happened to require it.
2) Oh dear. Another one who reckons I'm a bleeding heart liberal. Sorry to disillusion you, but no. I quite understand the courts, and in many cases wish they were a lot less liberal themselves. Understand the victim first, and you'll know truly how to punish the criminal.
3) This is giving me more laughs than a trip to the funfair! A few of my friends are Police. As per military, they do a job I can't, and I respect that, and them. They've pulled my butt out of the fire more than once, and for that I'm eternally grateful. We just need more of them these days, not the cost cutting 'cos a beancounter says there's not enough to justify it.
4) Oh Joy!! Another saying I'm anti-corporate. I own a small limited company, and have for the last 4 years. It's doing very nicely thank you. Somehow, I think your analysis will give the local chamber of commerce a few giggles over an evening beer tho.:)
5) Education. The better the education, the better the chance of humanity actually making something of itself. Whatever else may be neglected, schools should be the last thing to go. A good school will teach you to question yourself first, then others, then question what you know, and teach you how to find the answers for yourself. More schools I say.
And yes, my world I have is quite fun, thanks..
Don't watch any movie, watch real life, and learn what it's like. May help on your next analysis.
Actually, I have started a company, which is running very successfully thank you very much. It has been for the last 4 years.
I've a few people working for me (tho it feels more like they work with me, we all get our hands dirty, but I get the sad job of making sure the books balance).
I prefer to base my business practices on giving our clients a good deal, making sure they're covered, dealing with them honourably, and making sure there's enough to keep us all paid happily.
So, from the perspective of the MD of a small business, making enough money to keep me happy, I honestly don't think you could call me 'anti capitalist', or 'anti corporation'.
I just want to see fair play, and honour and decency become popular again, rather than the current fad for screwing anyone over for a buck or two more.
I suggest you polish your crystal ball a little more, as the perspective it seems to be showing you is a little skewed.
As for the rest of your tirade, I showed a mate of mine, and asked him how close you were. Apparently you couldn't be further wrong if you were given the coordinates of right, and ran to the other side of the world in a fit of pique.
A polite "I disagree, on grounds of 'x' and 'y'" would have made me take you seriously, and perhaps rethink my standing.
However, you've merely come across as someone shooting their mouth off.
I don't know you, I don't claim to know you, I don't know what you want.
I do know you just sounded a little silly to people who do know me.
Anyhow, 'tis slashdot, and it's in the spirit, I guess, so no hard feelings from this side.:)
Read non-us newspaper articles, and historic documents. You'll see many others have independantly achieved his conclusions from the historic documentation.
Disputing his arguments because he's "left wing" is dead wrong. To disprove his argument, you need to find evidence to the contrary. When you find them, please post them, and maybe enlightenment will ensue.
This would be the incisive and totally factual rationale near the debate on boobies, and pass the booger would it?
Have you perchance checked out the government publications mentioned in the independant article?
What, exactly did you consider was wrong with it? And what proof did you have it was wrong?
I'm sorry, but saying "It's wrong and filled with errors" doesn't exactly say you know much about it.
I'm not saying that I know much about it either, but consider: Some country decides America needs some 'aid', and sends troops over, despite the government saying 'no'. Some redneck shoots one, or several of these troops. Said country "sends in the boys", and all hell breaks loose. Would the US citizens consider any rescue force of these people heroes or terrorists? Odds on that they'd have the full force of the military behind them, and have them tried, and most likely executed for terrorist offenses.
Every story has three sides. Your side, their side and the truth. I'm sure the Somalis have a very strong perspective on this, and it will likely upset them greatly.
The US military will have a gung ho attitute on it (as per normal), and the truth is most likely somewhere much closer to the indie article than is comfortable. Several independant historic researchers (who's job it is to do this research across countries, and many records) seem to be coming up with the same answers, and it's much closer to the Independant article that the fluff reasons in the movie.
If you point me to hard evidence from reliable sources, I'll be happy to reconsider, but I need to have historic sources, documents etc. not the "Well, they wouldn't do this, they'd do that" rhetoric of armchair warriors.
This could make for an interesting strategy.
Assume for a moment that Lindows did some business in the UK, and has UK subscribers in it's database.
This contravenes the UK data protection act (handing over the details of the UK subscriber).
Now, Microsoft has a presence in the UK, so it's perhaps possible to ask MS what details it has on you.
You send them £10, and they MUST give you all details they as a company have on you. And if you know they have your address in this Lindows case, but don't supply it, they're in contravention of the Data Protection Act.
If they do send it to you, with the correct details, they must then prove they have legitimate reason to be holding this data, or else they're in contravention of the Data Protection Act.
Somehow, I don't think "We're investigating trademark infrigement." will quite be sufficient reason.
A few cases of this are enough to get a story in the big media.. Which, is perhaps enough to make a few people start to think about just what MS wants when it asks them anything, if it's up for 'stealing' information about you from others...
In many aspects of computing, I'd agree. But in Software Engineering, you don't need the other disciplines. It's all about putting the thing together reliably.
Unlike the 'tainted' cross trained programmers which are great at putting together scripts, some designs and general coding, the engineer is dedicated to the engineering aspect.
In the same way you may also employ the services of a geologist to determine the land around where you build a bridge, you would hire someone from another discipline to aid the engineer in achieving the optimum solution.
You wouldn't, however, put someone with only a Geology qualification in charge of designing the bridge structure, just because they'd recieved a little 'intensive' training in engineering basics, with specialism in pylons.
You don't lose any innovations from engineering software correctly. However, you do lose quality of the engineering if you don't use an experienced professional that's been doing it for years.
And yep, I know that to be a fact, 'cos I've worked in those conditions (a few times as the engineer, a few times on the groups, with a dedicated Engineer, and I know I don't hold a candle to a dedicated software engineer at engineering big projects).
Hmmm.. All I've seen lawyers do so far (in the most part anyhow) is be employed by the people with the money (i.e. the stupid people who are likely to put insecure documents on the web) to make it illegal to look at the stuff they don't want you to see.
The credit card data, although in a public area was "Not authorized for Transmission". Which means that any access by a bot was unauthorized access to the machine in question.
This, as I understand it, is now being classified as a terrorist act. If not, at least a highly illegal action.
Thus, Search engines are now tools of terrorists/criminals. The provision of those numbers (if they are ever used) could be set up in a case as direct theft by the search engine, or complicity in the final actions. The owners of the search engine could probably end up in court if owners of 'sensitive information' ended up deciding to pass the blame on and sue.
This is going to be another license to print money by a few Lawyers who decide it's worth fighting a few cases.
I'm hoping sense prevails, but I think in the long run, some silly person is likely to sue...
The world today seems to be slowly turning into one state.
Just hundreds of years ago, much of the world was tribal, of based on small kingdoms.. Over the past 20 centuries or so, that's changed, and the rate of change seems to be increasing.
At each step of the way, there's been trouble with clashes of law and custom as the smaller territories were integrated into the more dominant.
This treaty seems to be pulling the same kind of disgruntled reactions that have pervaded the assimilation of varying cultures over the years. Each of the signatories will most likely start to press for it's own parochial laws to be followed in all areas.
However, this will definately cause a lot of foulups. This is bad for business, and relations between countries... And, rather than risk international outcries in the 'in crowd' of signatory nations, it's likely that some form of appeasement will be made. One country doesn't press one law, on the basis that one other law in another country will be persued less vigorously across national boundaries.
Over time, something arises from the morass which is more or less workable policy. It's a small fragment of what the lawyers have written down on the statute books, but, it's something that can be followed without sinking the whole arrangement completely.
If it's going to work, people on all sides need to make compromises, and start seeing the larger pictures.. Maybe then, they'll stop getting all picky about the small things.. Just in case everyone then decides to be just as picky on them...
When things reach this scale, the system more or less follows some kind of sense, despite the lawyers.. Either that, or it falls flat on it's face, and all signatories start to breach the treaty and it fails.
Either way, it's a rough slog for a while, and then everything goes ok again...
Ok, considering the amount of funds channelled into the organisation by US agencies to support them while Russia was in Afghanistan, I take it you also advocate shutting down the US security agencies?
There's a little quote I seem to remember somewhere, "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone..".
If people actually listened, the only people eligible to throw stones wouldn't want to. And the ones with the least right to throw stones usually lob the largest.
Well, I don't think you'd be useless, and perhaps that's the wrong way to look at it.
What you need to consider is:
Do you really consider you know as much about the structure of programs (in general), putting software together, and have as broad an overview and experience as someone who's spent 20 years intensively studying and applying software, and trying to refine it to it's optimum, and is at least as talented as you?
The idea of accreditation is that you take people with the talent, and subject them to several years of rounded exposure to the whole of the discipline, so they don't fall foul of errors caused by lack of understanding of associated areas. You then test these people to ensure that they don't make the stupid mistakes that can and frequently are made by people applying good methodology in a stupid way (it happens).
What is being rewarded is people who went into a field because they liked it, and followed it, and gained experience. Don't call it luck, 'cos I don't buy that.
You chose your path, they chose theirs, and perhaps, just perhaps, they're being rewarded for the initiative, independant learning, flexibility and gumption they showed in choosing their career because it's what they wanted to study in the first place!
If you consider that in 11 months, you're on par with some of the old timers that HAVE been in the game for 20 or 30 years (I've worked with some in my time), then, I think you're exactly the kind of person that shouldn't be an engineer.
These things take time. If you want full accreditation, you should be prepared to do the graft and sweat that the rest of the world put in, even if it means going back to study full time again for several years, to re train from another discipline.
It seems that perhaps the move is partly to prevent the influx of people who've suddenly realised that there's a fast buck to be made in the computing world, and take a fast track that trains intensively in one area, to get them able to perform programming tasks, and these people pushing that envelope into areas they were never trained for.
I'm sure you're very good at what you do, and I'm in no way trying to take away from you what you have achieved, and yes, I agree, it's quite an achievement. I just ask you not to belittle those people who had the insight to choose their career early and stick to it.
As to the cries I hear here in the UK so often of "Oh, but that's so ELITIST!".. Well, yes. But I'd rather be travelling in a plane programmed by a set of guys who have proven themselves to be the elite by many years of peer review and monitoring, than a bunch of guys who thought maybe this would be the best way to assemble an avionics system, although they couldn't quite put on paper why that was so...
Knowing the Slashdot of today, it's quite likely this will be modded down, but, I've worked with gurus claiming to be fools, and fools claiming to be gurus, and I say what I see.
With Linux, customers "end up being in the operating systems business," managing software updates and security patches while making sure the multitude of software packages don't conflict with each other," Miller said. "That's the job of a software vendor like Microsoft."
Ok, so, how does Microsoft make things that much easier than apt-get?
On that command, on a debian box, I can quite happily make sure that my system is at it's best.
All done, configured, sorted, working dependancies etc...
This seems much easier than going to the MS website, hunting down all the latest upgrades, installing patches for all the seperate bits and pieces, having patches for one app kill half the rest, and ending up with your MS box in tatters...
Really, this FUD is old hat by now... I wish they'd get a little more creative, and actually do a little research for once...
Urrrm...
Several hundred years ago, America had a rather large fight, to escape the stupidity of having to make ridiculous payments that were enshrined in Law.
As a Brit, I always thought that the American War of Independance was a thoroughly justified action. It needed to be done. And it was. All was great.
Since then, Europe grew up. It's still bound with silly and ridiculous things, but it's pretty lax on the whole.. I think it burned out it's fervour hundreds of years ago, and learned that the world was a very small place...
Now, however, the US seems to be heading towards where Europe was hundreds of years ago, enacting new laws for corporate profit and so on...
Over here, you find houses with windows bricked up, as long ago, there was a 'window tax' on buildings to get more money for the treasury.. We consider this really stupid...
The people at the time probably thought it was stupid...
But what would they think if you told them you had to pay more every time you read a book you'd already purchased?
Most of the restrictions being placed on media to restrict copy can be thought of as nothing more than a "Corporate Media Tax".. You're being taxed by the corporations for moving something you own to a more modern media.
Yeah, Europe is a bit loony, no we're not pissed that you're now the masters of "Taxation without Representation", we're just highly surprised, and a little bit worried about taking a step down that particular memory lane.
Personally, I'm avoiding going to the US whereever possible. I used to love it, as I have many friends there.. Now, I'm just worried...
When, oh when will you stop comparing apples and oranges??
There are some CCTV cameras in city centers in the UK. Yes they stop crime. Yes I feel safer (are you also complaining that you have no privacy because Police on duty can see you, or that other people can see you and act as 'witness' to you when you go out in public?) for having them around. No, it doesn't bother me to be seen, if I go out in public.
What does bother me is being spied on in my own home, which is effectively what this thread is about. You can do something in private, and still be spied on. Now that really gets my goat.
And please, please stop bringing up the gun laws. We honestly don't need guns to go shopping. And there's nothing out there to defend ourselves against on this small island that is the UK, except other people, who are now less likely to have guns to use against us.
My girlfriend is American, and now lives here in the UK. After coming over from America, she feels she has more effective freedom, and less 'big brother' than when she was in the US.
She's not a techie, but has very much noticed the erosion of freedoms that this thread is all about.
As for the statement that everyone is getting to have a 'big brother' looking on. Don't forget it's always been that way. Ever since the first tribe got it's first chief. There's always been someone keeping their eye on you. For better or worse.
The big difference being that now they're trying to spy on you in your own home, not just when you're in public.
Given that people are now getting conditioned to MS using these 'reminders' to get people to sign into things, not really being aware of what that entails, I'm just waiting for the XP specific virus that comes up with the 'confirmation' reminder, or similar, that asks the user to re-send their details and password as confirmation of the account.
Bingo, how to compromise the financial security of about 50% of the net in one easy sweep.
Of course, MS could head this off by educating users not to keep clicking buttons, but then, they'd start understanding just why they don't need all the Windows add on garbage, and stay with what they have...
Instead, it's easier to let the users risk their money to let MS make a buck, than let MS lose potential revenue by educating people as to what is really going on...
Secondly, the closing of another anonymity service will make it harder for terrorists to operate on the internet.
But, as just about all the security agencies with a clue keep admitting, terrorists don't use the internet because it's just too insecure.
So closing down all the privacy sites does nothing to hinder the Bad Guys(TM), it just bugs the ordinary guy.
Or do a quick bit of code that analyses the return status of the ad. If it's not a valid download/partial download, then the cgi returns the 'freeloader' page rather than the normal content.
Slashdot Mirror
Absolutely. Blizzard need to make sure that they're not ripped off completely by people cracking the game.
However, using the proverbial sledgehammer to crack the nut is not a very good solution.
By wheeling out the laywers from the word go, they alienate the very developers who could actually think, and come up with some way to aid them in the future.
Now, the cracked clients will stay cracked, and people will play the game.. Often at Lan parties and so on, so, killing bnetd doesn't stop the warez scene. It simply stops one aspect of gameplay.
Now, actually getting heads together with Blizzard and the creators of Bnetd, I'm sure that some solution could be arrived at. Don't ask me what, I've not developeed for this, or looked too deeply.. But, usually when two sides get together and work, solutions arise.
When you set two side against each other, you end up with a battlefield, with a lot of casualties, and nothing really progresses too much at the end of it.
Both sides have valid points, and if they got together and hashed them out, I'm sure they'd both end up a lot happier than firing lawyers at each other, who don't actually understand the real problem at all..
Malk
So.. If I understand this aright, this law applies to America only.
That leaves the rest of the world quite happily able to use 'unlocked' devices.
As not implementing this 'lock' tech is a cheaper option, it's likely to be used as much as possible by the eastern manufacters for sale everywhere else in the world.
Thus, the stuff going to the US will have to be specially modded, and of course, carry the extra price tag, meaning that for once, the US will be shouldering the highest cost for technological devices around.
Higher cost of players/decoders means that it's more likley the 'new' won't be taken up quite as readily. Reduced marked, of course, means that the item becomes more 'specialist', carrying an even higher price tag (companies need to make their money back on a market).
Which of course feeds back into the educational system. Fewer US homes will have up to date equipment, and are thus, less able to take advantage of the latest ideas, meaning fewer people qualified to perform tech tasks readily available to other countries (due to much lower cost of tools).
This goes on to make the US much more a 'consumer' of ideas and products developed elsewhere in the world, thus having money leaving the economy to pay for import. Thus higher taxes to make up this shortfall on export.
Which all snowballs on, leaving the average future US citizen/company unable to compete in a global economy due to cost overheads and lack of skills, paying higher taxes to keep the economy afloat, and thus less able still to keep the skillsets current.
Leaving one unholy mess, much sadness, and a crippled country.
It's sad, really, to see how little the current politicians have learned from history.. Once upon a time, a whole country rebelled at an overly dictatorial regime that taxed everything it could, and gave nothing in return. Then, it was England doing the taxing, and America rebelling.
In the centuries since, the USA grew into an economic giant on the premise of freedom, demonstrating that this very freedom was fundamental to progress, and worked in the marketplace too..
Now, it's trying to stop that freedom, and once again, tax everything in sight, and dictate everything...
Surely, they must have noticed that there is a point where people eventually just throw the tea in the harbour, and go use something else instead.
I sincerely hope this is laughed out, as it deserves to be. Otherwise, the citizens of the US are in for a long hard struggle in the world at large.
Malk
Sure it'll raise the cost of bulk emails..
Getting together a list of people that actually want to get something takes time, and a little effort.
Just like putting an envelope in the mail raises the cost of sending junk mail that way.
Why on earth should the ISPs and users downloading more and more spam ever day have to shoulder the cost of businesses 'targetting' them, trying to sell stuff that's largely not wanted anyway, and only interferes with trying to enjoy one's email quietly.
I have two email accounts unusable now because of spam accumulation over the years from harvesters.
That cost to me is rather great. And I don't make money like corporations.. I think it's about time they shouldered the cost for once, instead of trying to sue because they don't have it as easy as they used to, and they're now actually told they can only sell to people that want to go and get their product. Radical idea that.. Who'd ever have thought that people would actually have the brains to figure out they want to buy something and actually go looking, instead of you jamming their email box every day with cajoles and other annoyances.
Malk
I used to work for a compay called Cricinfo, and in the database of registered users, there was a field about how those users came to the site. There were a significant number that specified they'd heard about the site from playing one of the cricket games on computer.. It seemed to work very nicely for them. :)
Most of the fark thread I went through and could keep eyes to was about the same level of insightfulness as Slashdot. Loads of garbage interspersed with the odd few bit of interesting talk.
I would, however, say thanks for giving a well written rebuttal. It did make me think again, and ponder.
Actually, no, I'm trying to keep an open mind. Some people here have actually given me links, and things to ponder, which does make me re-evaluate my stance somewhat. I just need a better quality of info than I have from the pro side to make me think it was a well considered action.
No, non-us media just gives you the other side of the story. Watch what they quote, chase the quotations for veracity, and see what picture emerges.
:)
As for your rather amusing attempts at telepathy:
1) Actually, I like the idea of having a military. They think differently to me, and I couldn't do what they do. I respect them very much, and understand they are the ones who will be putting their lives on the line for me if something ever happened to require it.
2) Oh dear. Another one who reckons I'm a bleeding heart liberal. Sorry to disillusion you, but no. I quite understand the courts, and in many cases wish they were a lot less liberal themselves. Understand the victim first, and you'll know truly how to punish the criminal.
3) This is giving me more laughs than a trip to the funfair! A few of my friends are Police. As per military, they do a job I can't, and I respect that, and them. They've pulled my butt out of the fire more than once, and for that I'm eternally grateful. We just need more of them these days, not the cost cutting 'cos a beancounter says there's not enough to justify it.
4) Oh Joy!! Another saying I'm anti-corporate. I own a small limited company, and have for the last 4 years. It's doing very nicely thank you. Somehow, I think your analysis will give the local chamber of commerce a few giggles over an evening beer tho.
5) Education. The better the education, the better the chance of humanity actually making something of itself. Whatever else may be neglected, schools should be the last thing to go. A good school will teach you to question yourself first, then others, then question what you know, and teach you how to find the answers for yourself. More schools I say.
And yes, my world I have is quite fun, thanks..
Don't watch any movie, watch real life, and learn what it's like. May help on your next analysis.
Actually, I have started a company, which is running very successfully thank you very much. It has been for the last 4 years. :)
I've a few people working for me (tho it feels more like they work with me, we all get our hands dirty, but I get the sad job of making sure the books balance).
I prefer to base my business practices on giving our clients a good deal, making sure they're covered, dealing with them honourably, and making sure there's enough to keep us all paid happily.
So, from the perspective of the MD of a small business, making enough money to keep me happy, I honestly don't think you could call me 'anti capitalist', or 'anti corporation'.
I just want to see fair play, and honour and decency become popular again, rather than the current fad for screwing anyone over for a buck or two more.
I suggest you polish your crystal ball a little more, as the perspective it seems to be showing you is a little skewed.
As for the rest of your tirade, I showed a mate of mine, and asked him how close you were. Apparently you couldn't be further wrong if you were given the coordinates of right, and ran to the other side of the world in a fit of pique.
A polite "I disagree, on grounds of 'x' and 'y'" would have made me take you seriously, and perhaps rethink my standing.
However, you've merely come across as someone shooting their mouth off.
I don't know you, I don't claim to know you, I don't know what you want.
I do know you just sounded a little silly to people who do know me.
Anyhow, 'tis slashdot, and it's in the spirit, I guess, so no hard feelings from this side.
and America is a republic, it is not a democracy.
Perhaps, "Corporate Republic" is getting more a realistic description, rather than the classic "Republic"?
Read non-us newspaper articles, and historic documents. You'll see many others have independantly achieved his conclusions from the historic documentation.
Disputing his arguments because he's "left wing" is dead wrong. To disprove his argument, you need to find evidence to the contrary. When you find them, please post them, and maybe enlightenment will ensue.
This would be the incisive and totally factual rationale near the debate on boobies, and pass the booger would it?
Have you perchance checked out the government publications mentioned in the independant article?
What, exactly did you consider was wrong with it? And what proof did you have it was wrong?
I'm sorry, but saying "It's wrong and filled with errors" doesn't exactly say you know much about it.
I'm not saying that I know much about it either, but consider: Some country decides America needs some 'aid', and sends troops over, despite the government saying 'no'. Some redneck shoots one, or several of these troops. Said country "sends in the boys", and all hell breaks loose. Would the US citizens consider any rescue force of these people heroes or terrorists? Odds on that they'd have the full force of the military behind them, and have them tried, and most likely executed for terrorist offenses.
Every story has three sides. Your side, their side and the truth. I'm sure the Somalis have a very strong perspective on this, and it will likely upset them greatly.
The US military will have a gung ho attitute on it (as per normal), and the truth is most likely somewhere much closer to the indie article than is comfortable. Several independant historic researchers (who's job it is to do this research across countries, and many records) seem to be coming up with the same answers, and it's much closer to the Independant article that the fluff reasons in the movie.
If you point me to hard evidence from reliable sources, I'll be happy to reconsider, but I need to have historic sources, documents etc. not the "Well, they wouldn't do this, they'd do that" rhetoric of armchair warriors.
Malk
This could make for an interesting strategy.
Assume for a moment that Lindows did some business in the UK, and has UK subscribers in it's database.
This contravenes the UK data protection act (handing over the details of the UK subscriber).
Now, Microsoft has a presence in the UK, so it's perhaps possible to ask MS what details it has on you.
You send them £10, and they MUST give you all details they as a company have on you. And if you know they have your address in this Lindows case, but don't supply it, they're in contravention of the Data Protection Act.
If they do send it to you, with the correct details, they must then prove they have legitimate reason to be holding this data, or else they're in contravention of the Data Protection Act.
Somehow, I don't think "We're investigating trademark infrigement." will quite be sufficient reason.
A few cases of this are enough to get a story in the big media.. Which, is perhaps enough to make a few people start to think about just what MS wants when it asks them anything, if it's up for 'stealing' information about you from others...
Hang on, isn't Lickey Louse that porn cartoon from Valt Cisney?
In many aspects of computing, I'd agree. But in Software Engineering, you don't need the other disciplines. It's all about putting the thing together reliably.
Unlike the 'tainted' cross trained programmers which are great at putting together scripts, some designs and general coding, the engineer is dedicated to the engineering aspect.
In the same way you may also employ the services of a geologist to determine the land around where you build a bridge, you would hire someone from another discipline to aid the engineer in achieving the optimum solution.
You wouldn't, however, put someone with only a Geology qualification in charge of designing the bridge structure, just because they'd recieved a little 'intensive' training in engineering basics, with specialism in pylons.
You don't lose any innovations from engineering software correctly. However, you do lose quality of the engineering if you don't use an experienced professional that's been doing it for years.
And yep, I know that to be a fact, 'cos I've worked in those conditions (a few times as the engineer, a few times on the groups, with a dedicated Engineer, and I know I don't hold a candle to a dedicated software engineer at engineering big projects).
Hmmm.. All I've seen lawyers do so far (in the most part anyhow) is be employed by the people with the money (i.e. the stupid people who are likely to put insecure documents on the web) to make it illegal to look at the stuff they don't want you to see.
The credit card data, although in a public area was "Not authorized for Transmission". Which means that any access by a bot was unauthorized access to the machine in question.
This, as I understand it, is now being classified as a terrorist act. If not, at least a highly illegal action.
Thus, Search engines are now tools of terrorists/criminals. The provision of those numbers (if they are ever used) could be set up in a case as direct theft by the search engine, or complicity in the final actions. The owners of the search engine could probably end up in court if owners of 'sensitive information' ended up deciding to pass the blame on and sue.
This is going to be another license to print money by a few Lawyers who decide it's worth fighting a few cases.
I'm hoping sense prevails, but I think in the long run, some silly person is likely to sue...
The world today seems to be slowly turning into one state.
Just hundreds of years ago, much of the world was tribal, of based on small kingdoms.. Over the past 20 centuries or so, that's changed, and the rate of change seems to be increasing.
At each step of the way, there's been trouble with clashes of law and custom as the smaller territories were integrated into the more dominant.
This treaty seems to be pulling the same kind of disgruntled reactions that have pervaded the assimilation of varying cultures over the years. Each of the signatories will most likely start to press for it's own parochial laws to be followed in all areas.
However, this will definately cause a lot of foulups. This is bad for business, and relations between countries... And, rather than risk international outcries in the 'in crowd' of signatory nations, it's likely that some form of appeasement will be made. One country doesn't press one law, on the basis that one other law in another country will be persued less vigorously across national boundaries.
Over time, something arises from the morass which is more or less workable policy. It's a small fragment of what the lawyers have written down on the statute books, but, it's something that can be followed without sinking the whole arrangement completely.
If it's going to work, people on all sides need to make compromises, and start seeing the larger pictures.. Maybe then, they'll stop getting all picky about the small things.. Just in case everyone then decides to be just as picky on them...
When things reach this scale, the system more or less follows some kind of sense, despite the lawyers.. Either that, or it falls flat on it's face, and all signatories start to breach the treaty and it fails.
Either way, it's a rough slog for a while, and then everything goes ok again...
Just my thoughts,
Malk
Ok, considering the amount of funds channelled into the organisation by US agencies to support them while Russia was in Afghanistan, I take it you also advocate shutting down the US security agencies?
There's a little quote I seem to remember somewhere, "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone..".
If people actually listened, the only people eligible to throw stones wouldn't want to. And the ones with the least right to throw stones usually lob the largest.
Well, I don't think you'd be useless, and perhaps that's the wrong way to look at it.
What you need to consider is:
Do you really consider you know as much about the structure of programs (in general), putting software together, and have as broad an overview and experience as someone who's spent 20 years intensively studying and applying software, and trying to refine it to it's optimum, and is at least as talented as you?
The idea of accreditation is that you take people with the talent, and subject them to several years of rounded exposure to the whole of the discipline, so they don't fall foul of errors caused by lack of understanding of associated areas. You then test these people to ensure that they don't make the stupid mistakes that can and frequently are made by people applying good methodology in a stupid way (it happens).
What is being rewarded is people who went into a field because they liked it, and followed it, and gained experience. Don't call it luck, 'cos I don't buy that.
You chose your path, they chose theirs, and perhaps, just perhaps, they're being rewarded for the initiative, independant learning, flexibility and gumption they showed in choosing their career because it's what they wanted to study in the first place!
If you consider that in 11 months, you're on par with some of the old timers that HAVE been in the game for 20 or 30 years (I've worked with some in my time), then, I think you're exactly the kind of person that shouldn't be an engineer.
These things take time. If you want full accreditation, you should be prepared to do the graft and sweat that the rest of the world put in, even if it means going back to study full time again for several years, to re train from another discipline.
It seems that perhaps the move is partly to prevent the influx of people who've suddenly realised that there's a fast buck to be made in the computing world, and take a fast track that trains intensively in one area, to get them able to perform programming tasks, and these people pushing that envelope into areas they were never trained for.
I'm sure you're very good at what you do, and I'm in no way trying to take away from you what you have achieved, and yes, I agree, it's quite an achievement. I just ask you not to belittle those people who had the insight to choose their career early and stick to it.
As to the cries I hear here in the UK so often of "Oh, but that's so ELITIST!".. Well, yes. But I'd rather be travelling in a plane programmed by a set of guys who have proven themselves to be the elite by many years of peer review and monitoring, than a bunch of guys who thought maybe this would be the best way to assemble an avionics system, although they couldn't quite put on paper why that was so...
Knowing the Slashdot of today, it's quite likely this will be modded down, but, I've worked with gurus claiming to be fools, and fools claiming to be gurus, and I say what I see.
Malk
With Linux, customers "end up being in the operating systems business," managing software updates and security patches while making sure the multitude of software packages don't conflict with each other," Miller said. "That's the job of a software vendor like Microsoft."
Ok, so, how does Microsoft make things that much easier than apt-get?
On that command, on a debian box, I can quite happily make sure that my system is at it's best.
All done, configured, sorted, working dependancies etc...
This seems much easier than going to the MS website, hunting down all the latest upgrades, installing patches for all the seperate bits and pieces, having patches for one app kill half the rest, and ending up with your MS box in tatters...
Really, this FUD is old hat by now... I wish they'd get a little more creative, and actually do a little research for once...
Malk
Hmm.. Many are already in the "Pharmaceutical Distribution" industry, so maybe those alternatives are more up their street... :)
Urrrm...
Several hundred years ago, America had a rather large fight, to escape the stupidity of having to make ridiculous payments that were enshrined in Law.
As a Brit, I always thought that the American War of Independance was a thoroughly justified action. It needed to be done. And it was. All was great.
Since then, Europe grew up. It's still bound with silly and ridiculous things, but it's pretty lax on the whole.. I think it burned out it's fervour hundreds of years ago, and learned that the world was a very small place...
Now, however, the US seems to be heading towards where Europe was hundreds of years ago, enacting new laws for corporate profit and so on...
Over here, you find houses with windows bricked up, as long ago, there was a 'window tax' on buildings to get more money for the treasury.. We consider this really stupid...
The people at the time probably thought it was stupid...
But what would they think if you told them you had to pay more every time you read a book you'd already purchased?
Most of the restrictions being placed on media to restrict copy can be thought of as nothing more than a "Corporate Media Tax".. You're being taxed by the corporations for moving something you own to a more modern media.
Yeah, Europe is a bit loony, no we're not pissed that you're now the masters of "Taxation without Representation", we're just highly surprised, and a little bit worried about taking a step down that particular memory lane.
Personally, I'm avoiding going to the US whereever possible. I used to love it, as I have many friends there.. Now, I'm just worried...
Malk
When, oh when will you stop comparing apples and oranges??
There are some CCTV cameras in city centers in the UK. Yes they stop crime. Yes I feel safer (are you also complaining that you have no privacy because Police on duty can see you, or that other people can see you and act as 'witness' to you when you go out in public?) for having them around. No, it doesn't bother me to be seen, if I go out in public.
What does bother me is being spied on in my own home, which is effectively what this thread is about. You can do something in private, and still be spied on. Now that really gets my goat.
And please, please stop bringing up the gun laws. We honestly don't need guns to go shopping. And there's nothing out there to defend ourselves against on this small island that is the UK, except other people, who are now less likely to have guns to use against us.
My girlfriend is American, and now lives here in the UK. After coming over from America, she feels she has more effective freedom, and less 'big brother' than when she was in the US.
She's not a techie, but has very much noticed the erosion of freedoms that this thread is all about.
As for the statement that everyone is getting to have a 'big brother' looking on. Don't forget it's always been that way. Ever since the first tribe got it's first chief. There's always been someone keeping their eye on you. For better or worse.
The big difference being that now they're trying to spy on you in your own home, not just when you're in public.
Malk
Given that people are now getting conditioned to MS using these 'reminders' to get people to sign into things, not really being aware of what that entails, I'm just waiting for the XP specific virus that comes up with the 'confirmation' reminder, or similar, that asks the user to re-send their details and password as confirmation of the account.
Bingo, how to compromise the financial security of about 50% of the net in one easy sweep.
Of course, MS could head this off by educating users not to keep clicking buttons, but then, they'd start understanding just why they don't need all the Windows add on garbage, and stay with what they have...
Instead, it's easier to let the users risk their money to let MS make a buck, than let MS lose potential revenue by educating people as to what is really going on...
Secondly, the closing of another anonymity service will make it harder for terrorists to operate on the internet.
But, as just about all the security agencies with a clue keep admitting, terrorists don't use the internet because it's just too insecure.
So closing down all the privacy sites does nothing to hinder the Bad Guys(TM), it just bugs the ordinary guy.
Malk
Or do a quick bit of code that analyses the return status of the ad. If it's not a valid download/partial download, then the cgi returns the 'freeloader' page rather than the normal content.
Malk