Slashdot Mirror


User: babbling

babbling's activity in the archive.

Stories
0
Comments
889
First seen
Last seen
Profile
(view on slashdot.org)

Comments · 889

  1. It wouldn't surprise me... on Judging The Apple 'Sweatshop' Charge · · Score: -1, Troll

    Apple enslave their users and artists using DRM, so why not their workers? Apple is a dodgy company, and the only reason they get portrayed as being "cool" and "good" is because people know they do some of the same stuff as Microsoft, and know that Microsoft are "bad".

    The fact is, just because Apple is a competitor to Microsoft doesn't make them good. Apple seems to have all of the same traits (DRM, closed-source software, lawsuit-happy) as Microsoft, with the only difference being that they don't enjoy the same market share.

  2. Re:ReactOS on OSVids Shows Video Clips of Linux in Action · · Score: 1

    ReactOS is supposed to be a reimplementation of Windows. Getting rid of the registry would mean that it's not Windows anymore.

  3. Re:Where's the source? on Google Earth v4 Released - Linux Support at Last · · Score: 1

    I'm in both. I don't think closed source software is evil, but I don't think it is good, either. I'd rather use Free Software if I can. So I wouldn't ever bother with Opera, since Firefox is around.

    For me, software being Free means that it has certain advantages over proprietary software. I know that the software isn't spying on me or intentionally doing anything (eg. DRM, Sony rootkit, forced ads, etc) that I would obviously not be happy about.

    I'm okay with using Google Earth because I trust that Google's software isn't doing anything bad to me when I run it. If there was a version of Google Earth where the source code was freely available, though, I'd prefer to use that version.

  4. Great site for developers! on OSVids Shows Video Clips of Linux in Action · · Score: 1

    There's probably tonnes of usability stuff to be learned from each of these videos. I noticed in the Vista one that IE7 has a nice feature where all of the tabs can be scaled down and shown at the same time, similar to the Mac/Compiz expose feature. Firefox developers should probably look into that.

  5. Everyone will be limited by Apple's DRM - timebomb on Rosen Believes RIAA is Wrong about P2P Lawsuits · · Score: 2, Insightful

    There's a huge limit that everyone will eventually hit with Apple's DRM.

    When iPods are no longer popular/available, and people want a different music device, they can say goodbye to their collection!

    Consumer rights groups should be, at the very least, issuing warnings to consumers about DRM.

  6. Re:Sample quiz question. on 2006 Google U.S. Puzzle Championship is Open · · Score: 1

    I'm making some progress on the train one, but am making the (safe, I think...) assumption that the train line crosses at every crossing. So I extend each crossing into the middle of the square next to it.

    Next, we are told that the track can't turn as it passes through stations. This helps, because we can see that there is only one direction in which the track can go through stations 1 and 2, and it also means that we can extend the track through stations 3 and 4 (previously in the middle of the stations) by one extra square.

    I haven't done the rest yet, but I think it looks a little easier than it initially did, now.

  7. Sudoku and groundhog answers on 2006 Google U.S. Puzzle Championship is Open · · Score: 1

    Actually, I noticed after posting that the later questions are worth significantly more points, and do seem a fair bit harder.

    Anyway...

    Q1:
    3164275
    7235641
    5421736
    4612357
    1573462
    6357124
    2746513

    Q3:
    A1-D4
    C2-B4
    E2-E5

  8. Sample quiz question. on 2006 Google U.S. Puzzle Championship is Open · · Score: 2, Informative

    Is the difficulty similar to the difficulty of the real quiz? It doesn't seem that difficult.

    Q1 is just a Sudoku that doesn't seem too hard.
    Q2 can be solved with matrices.
    Q3 involves finding the features easiest to compare and comparing all tiles with that feature (eg. one groundhog, two groundhogs, three groundhogs), comparing them, and then crossing out tiles that are definitely not similar to any others.

  9. Re:Human curiosity kills the computer on Social Engineering Using USB Drives · · Score: 1

    Why should company computers have floppy disk drives, CD/DVD ROM drives, or USB ports? Additionally, perhaps there should be some way of "locking" keyboards and mice onto computers to prevent hardware loggers.

  10. The protest isn't aimed at changing Apple's mind. on Protesting Apple's DRM · · Score: 1

    The protest is there to get people asking "what is this DRM thing?" and to bring about awareness of DRM. Most people don't realise it exists yet, or if they have been obstructed by it, they assumed the problem was something of a technical nature as opposed to something that Apple did on purpose.

    Buying other DRM products is a stupid way of "getting back at Apple".

  11. Re:Very stupid on Protesting Apple's DRM · · Score: 1

    No, DRM is that thing that the iTunes Music Store has, and when iPods aren't so cool anymore, people are going to quickly realise that all the music they bought from the iTunes Music Store is useless for their new music players.

  12. Re:The summary made me think of something... on Lessig On Free Content, Copyright · · Score: 1

    I don't have the answer to your question, but I do think it's important to note the differences between source code and other forms of culture.

    Here are a few differences that might be important:
    - Other culture is sometimes a "big hit" and can make the artist very wealthy, but souce code very rarely does that.
    - Most other culture is produced to be enjoyed, whereas source code is more like a recipe - it's the necessary instructions required to do/create something.
    - Programmers tend to be pretty different from other artists. Generalizing, I'd say they're less creative, but more analytic, and perhaps more likely to think about law.
    - Source code is something new that hasn't been around long, whereas other forms of culture have been locked up for hundreds of years.

  13. Re:pulling out more moral than staying out on Google Admits Compromising Principles in China · · Score: 1

    I tend to like Google as a company, too. I like what they do for Free software (Summer of Code) and I like the fact that they don't abuse their users.

    That said, there's no way I am going to make excuses for them being in China. We're talking about Google being complicit in a cover up of a government massacre that took place not even 20 years ago. Google is supposed to be a trusted source of information. I want to be able to trust Google to give me the information they have without tampering with it. I have an implicit agreement with Google (because of the nature of their business) that they will do this for me.

    By acting as a source of information in China, as well as withholding this incredibly important piece of information, they are betraying the trust of their Chinese users. A little box saying the search results have been filtered/censored isn't enough because it doesn't convey the importance of the information that has been withheld.

  14. Re:iTunes FairPlay Vs Qtrax DRM on EMI Launches Advertising-Supported P2P Service · · Score: 2, Funny

    It was one hell of a lot easier to simply download the music, why do I feel punished for trying to do the 'right' thing.

    Don't worry about it too much. The important thing is that you learned your lesson.

  15. Re:Good for Brin! on Google Admits Compromising Principles in China · · Score: 1

    You can do good things and look out for business interests at the same time. You just need to ensure you don't follow business interests that compromise your principles. In fact, this is what Google claim they do, and it seems they do take it seriously, if they pull out of China.

  16. Read the article. on Google Admits Compromising Principles in China · · Score: 1

    This is them pulling out of China, not going into it! I agree that they shouldn't have entered China in the first place, but at least they are admitting their mistake. I'm impressed by a company that can admit it is doing something morally wrong, but take steps to correct themselves despite the fact that they will lose billions of dollars by doing so.

    Now they just need to admit that DRM on Google Video is evil, too, and they're back in my good books!

  17. No, it was evil. on Google Admits Compromising Principles in China · · Score: 2, Interesting

    When Google entered China, they agreed to censor their search engine. Perhaps that could be an acceptable thing to do if they were asked to censor child pornography sites, but it really does depend on what they are being asked to censor.

    The Chinese government was asking them to cover up a government massacre of hundreds, possibly thousands, of people. To do such a thing is extremely disrespectful to those that were killed in this massacre.

    Google claim that they want to give people the information they're looking for, but in China, they're withholding the truth about what happened on June 4, 1989. Hundreds of innocent people murdered. You can't assist in the cover-up of something like that and claim that your integrity hasn't been compromised.

  18. Re:iTunes FairPlay Vs Qtrax DRM on EMI Launches Advertising-Supported P2P Service · · Score: 2, Interesting

    There's one good thing about this DRM music service: the songs don't cost anything. That means it should be a huge success, right? What if it's not? Won't that then be proof that people are not just illegally copying music because "they're cheap", but because there is no DRM-free alternative way of obtaining music? Maybe the record companies will wake up if this flops.

  19. Re:Eminently Defeatable on EMI Launches Advertising-Supported P2P Service · · Score: 1

    Nope! As long as it works with even one operating system where anyone can write drivers, this is defeatable. I could just write a driver that dumps all sound data to a file.

  20. Re:Pirates: Think about the people you're hurting on AllofMp3.com Breaks Silence · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I realise this is a troll, but in this pretend circumstance, "legitimate" music download services like iTunes would do the exact same thing as "piracy" to a music store owner's business.

  21. This is scary. on AllofMp3.com Breaks Silence · · Score: 2, Insightful

    It's scary how far the US is willing to go to pressure other countries into changing their laws to suit US interests. I can almost imagine the US going to war with other countries that "don't have the same copyright laws as us".

  22. Re:CSV == Comma Separated Value on Google Launches Online Spreadsheet System · · Score: 1

    what,if,the,
    value,is,a,
    comma?,,

  23. Demand a refund. on U.K. Group Wants DRM'd Media Labeled · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I have never bought anything that contained DRM, but if I did accidentally buy something, I would simply demand a refund.

    Anything with DRM should have a message on it similar to the "WARNING: SMOKING KILLS" warning. I don't want a small label I have to search for - it should be big, clear, and standardised. The exact same logo/warning message should appear on every product. Something like "Warning: This product uses Digital Rights/Restrictions Management" would do the job.

    Anyway, if anyone accidentally buys a product with DRM, they should be entitled to a refund. It is for all intents and purposes a defect, if you thought the product you were buying was a movie/music that you could use however you like.

  24. Let them know what you think! on Movie Burning Kiosks Coming To Retailers · · Score: 4, Informative

    Now that Skype offers free calls to US numbers until the end of the year, why not drop the MPAA a line and let them know what's on your mind? Maybe we can all check in on them daily and thank them for their efforts!

    Oh, and if you'd be so kind, could you also let them know that The Pirate Bay is back up? They seem to still be under the impression that it's down... (PDF link)

    Oh. You might need their numbers:
    Washington: (202) 293-1966
    LA: (818) 995-6600
    New York (listed as their "anti-piracy office"): (914) 378-0800

  25. Re:Cannot legislate morals... on AllofMP3.com May Hinder Russia Joining WTO · · Score: 1

    You're not thinking outside the box. There are ways of making money other than embedding stuff in DRM and making people pay for it.

    For example, networks could have websites with torrent trackers to video files of the shows. These video files could contain small translucent text at the bottom of the screen saying something like "buy from target", or contain ads short enough that it wouldn't be worth removing them. The TV network website could also sell ringtones associated with the show, and have games associated with the show to keep people on the website, which would have banner ads. This sort of model has worked for Google and turned them into a company worth billions.

    The TV networks do not realise how much money they are missing out on by not continuing to provide free TV, but online...