well, while we wait for the advogato.org server to recover from the onslaught - speaking of inscrutable error messages - t'other day I tried to move an email into one of M$'s 'Outlook' folders and could only get something like "Operation Did Not Complete" or so - scratch head - hmmmm - go to folder and noticed there are 16,383 items - Hmmmm! - were I a layperson that would look like an purely random number and have to call for support, but being a computer genius I tink: that's 2^14-1 ! The ol' M$ 13 bit limit w/ inscrutable error message trick. Why can't they say something sensible like, "This folder is full. Please move or delete some items"? I guess it was probably nixed by their superiors in the Mrktng dept.
face it - there's the iron triangle of business/lobbyists/legislators to deal with - when push comes to shove over personal freedoms/rights vs business and jobs, bb wins everytime because people need jobs and the last thing a politician wants is hordes of the unemployed marching on their office. Maybe when folks were self sufficient farmers who could support themselves, then human rights and freedoms were at the forefront but now that the democratic masses all depend on some business/employer for daily bread, that's the squeeky wheel what gets the funding and protective 'incubator' legislation. These guys just want to create a friendly climate where bazillionair software moguls can setup shop in their tax district too!
Is it mere coincidence that the fortune at the bottom of the page read, "the only person who got his work done by Friday was Crusoe"?
There are several aspects the make IT an around the clock experience: 1) training. When I went into electronics 25 yrs ago they said, "this is such a fast changing field that you're going to be in school the rest of your working days". 2) Access to mission critical servers and workstations: in many cases the only chance you get to do maintenance on servers etc. is at 4AM in the morning or early Sundays. Most of us just can't 'leave work behind' when you exit the building - we're often working on long projects and I get lots of insirations in the middle of the night or early morning, and keep a pad by the bed to jot down ideas. Yet, with all that, I resent the fact that we're often treated like factory laborers! I can't stand supervisors who want you to punch in a 7:30, be focused and creative for precisely 2 hours, take a 10 minute break, then back to the "THINK!" tank. Maybe if these managers could actually organize with effecient specilization and division of labor one could crank out code like a machine shop all tooled up for a production run, but anything that's already that mechanized is already obsolete and not worth persuing, it ain't bleeding edge!
I guess RH & Co. can make software anyone's grandmother can use, but it seems like an awefully formidible task to try to be all things to everyone; yes I'm happy with a niche 'programmer's OS' and have no prob w/ keeping a MS box for things MS is good at. But if Linux continues to steadily evolve to a human-friendly cross platform compatible level, so much the better!
Now, I don't know what direction Linus, Alan, RMS, RedHat, et al want this to go but I'm not particularly interested in making Linux an appliance OS for non-technical users to just plug in, autoconfig, and start word processing and web browsing. I guess that's the value add-on that RH is betting the farm on, but it's all the semi-automatic stuff in Msft that semi-works that causes me untold headaches, over-complicates and frankly just gets in my way.
The model for this ease-of-setup is the Macintosh system, which truly is user-friendly.
So, why don't the laity buy Mac's? Why do a lot of appliance folks who may be better of with Mac's end up with broken Msft systems? That's Msft's oversold-PC-marketing-and-the-customers-who-fell-f or-it's problem. They created the 'buy a PC or else...' gangster bullying mentality. They're not getting any sympathy and free support from me! Maybe they'll learn next time and just get a Mac.
This is what I beleive: If someone wants to open up a box, plug it in, have printers autoconfig, start wordprocessing and web browsing, get a Mac. If you want something fairly automatic but sometimes quite challenging, buy Msft. If you want access to all the nuts & bolts and enjoy learning how computers really work, run Linux.
To me, the value of Linux is twofold: (1) as much control as I can learn, and (2) easy licensing. Certainly #2 is as appealing to the non-technical user as the technical, (witness how many non-technical types want to run unlicensed copies of easy to use Word, Excel, etc) but a central contradiction exists - if your willing to do a lot of work yourself, the licensing can be free and easy, but if your not willing to do a lot of head scratching and puzzle solving, then you'll probably have to pay someone to do it for you, either directly on site (designer Linux!), or indirectly in lots of autoconfig type software development, Mac and Msft style, which, as I said, kinda turns me off, but as long as I can turn IT off I guess it'll be ok.
CSMA/CD race driver
AI Computer-bot runs amuck, takes over
on
The Star Fraction
·
· Score: 2
The idea of a life form springing from the silicon is opposed by those - both ignorant and computer literate
Geez, it that old bug-a-boo still a staple of sci-fi? I'll beleive that "scientist creates monster that turns on it's creator" when I see it; like 'consciousness', it's nowhere in sight.
draconian license enforcement regulations whipped up into an almost drug-war level frenzy are GREAT for LINUX - it's those 27% unlicensed Msft copies that just perpetuates the Msft Monopoly - if people were afraid that the FBI could, with little more than a suspicion, bust in doors and demand to see licenses/invoices & proof of purchase (wheres youse papers? Dis 'puter got Papers buddy?! All right, your coming wid us) then people WOULD take a serious look at Linux where you CAN say, "Here, have a copy! And I'll help you install and config it too!!"
Quantum Physics - the dreams stuff is made of. "Reality, what a concept" - Geo. Carlin.
Personally, I'm not aware of this stuff you call 'consciousness' - can you measure it in anyway? Weigh it, diffuse it, taste it, describe it? Why, yes & no!
I never did quite 'get' Schrodinger's cat - something about the cat being neither dead or alive untill you 'look'?
no seriously, I'd manufacture one nano-logo and embed it in say a 3" cube of clear plastic, maybe visible with a certain power microscope - and sell 'em in bookstores maybe with a little booklet about nano-tech - hey, if people bought pet rocks and chunks of the Berlin Wall....
I thought this was going to be about some kind of philosophy, like, "TRVTH: congnizance of a meaningful relationship existing between a conceptually modeled representation and the objects in reality that are being represented. In no way are the conceptul models to be construed as outside reality (which is all inclusive anyway) but as realities themselves that can also be modeled (meta-model) and in fact, the limit as understanding of TRVTH increases is a meaning and relation free "oneness" of being with reality where the drive to construct models ceases (nirvana) and just is (being)."
Hmmm, didn't know that - jeez, this guy was in one of the most powerful jobs on the planet, TV NEWS, media, the class that makes/breaks political candidates and vastly influences opinion, at least of those whose 'reality' is shaped largely by TeeVee. (gag)
Anyhow, at least one cultural Z-mismatch here is that the audience he's addressing is notoriously IMPATIENT, you either get to the point QUICK or piss off folks. Hence the gasbag status, most hated, etc. Hopefully he's not paid by the word!
Who was it, Churchill I think, said if you want a two hour speech I can deliver it now; if you want a 5 minute talk, it will take me a month to prepare. Jon could really use an editor (human) to cut out the linguistic flab.
they should pick an easier mark, like peddling quack patent medicines to old, sick and confused retiree's - trying to scam the OSS community is like trying to sell fake plastic toy guns to folks at an NRA convention.
At best it sounds like the old 'vaporware' scam, a fraud mastered by you know who, advertise the heck out of a product or service just to get enough orders to finance it's development.
Wow, nice to see you here hobnobbing with the masses (virtually speaking, that is) - sorry about the bash there, I was just, haha, trying to fit in this crowd, you know, gain their confidence then start subtling plugging our products. Actually I'm trying to convince my current employer to spring for a Windows 2000 Advanced Server, that would be so kewl! Also, sorry I let my TechNet subscription lapse; will get a check in the mail ASAP.
every restaurant that dared to sell any brand of Noodles other than Microsoft® noodles would still be required to pay their supplier for a serving of Msft noodles for every dish sold, whether the customer ordered Msft noodles or not;
other food companies that seek to establish 'strategic alliances' and 'marketing tie-ins' with Msft noodles would eventually find themselves a subordinate division of Msft Oriental Noodles International (MONI);
Msft noodles contain secret patented ingredients that react with the ingrediants of noodles from other companies, resulting in severe cramps and indigestion if eaten together, the implication being that "if you would only eat Msft brand noodles exclusively this wouldn't happen", or else other noodle companies would have to 'license' the secret patented Msft noodle formula to maintain gastronomic compatibility.
But seriously, interesting that the article mentions that copyrights are essentially "govt. granted monopolies". I've often thought the Msft situation was the result of the govt. allowing the company to 'get away' with things, permitting if not encouraging the buildup a domestic monopoly in order to promote US global competitiveness (competing with the 'Japan Inc' of the 80's) - but has gotten out of hand altogether now.
"Under this rule, it is illegal to produce, say, Microsoft brand ramen noodles, even though that other Microsoft isn't in the noodle business, lest the lousiness of your pasta undermine the software company's reputation."
That's backwards - the lousiness of Msft would ruin the noodle business! Everyone would start to think they contained worms or "This noodle product is provided with no warrenty, express or implied, as to merchantability or fitness for human consumption"
I've got to, ahem, keep a copy of that article - some good, uh, pointers in there!
About redubbing, some of my favorites are "Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid" w/ Steve Martin and "J Men Forever" by Firesign Theatre - old films chopped up with a new, improved soundtrack.
On taking movies out of circulation, I was peeved to hear Bill Cosby bought up all the old "Our Gang - Little Rascal's" movies and taken them private, probably for the same reasons "Song of the South" is out of circulation - This I heard from a guy who does "Amos & Andy" recreations, which ARE in circulation, and, by the way, almost any RADIO programs before 1960 are fair game, free and pubic - you can even set up shop and sell tapes, cd's, etc of those if you want, and many people do. Also, (was going to put this in the 'usenet' article) there are many available in alt.binaries.sounds.(mp3,oldradio something like that) - perfectly legal.
Lastly, I think at some time courts are going to have to address the intentions of the Constitution copyright laws to advance arts and science, not make neverending gold buckets for ancestral estates. Quote,
"... they now can use videotapes, camcorders, Photoshop, digital film editing, recordable CDs, MP3 files, and the Internet. The result has been an explosion of amateur films, fiction, and music, all of which can be "published" for a minimal investment by putting them on the Web."
<SARCASM> Now we wouldn't want THAT now would we?</SARCASM>
no matter WHAT you do, when gold bricks start flying the scum crawls out of the woodwork to try and sell you a bridge over the East River - donations should end up in the right hands and not the trunk of some shyster speeding for the boarder...
Have you stopped beating your wife yet? ( ) Yes ( ) No
Some people say Microsoft has strong competition - AOL/TW, IBM, Sony, Sun & Apple ---- could be reworded to read "If you wanted to buy an open hardware system such as an IBM compatible PC, do you feel you have a choice of operating system software to run on it?"
( ) yes ( ) no ( ) oh, I just use whatever the 'experts' tell me to!
The average person will believe on faith any statement attributed to a scientist, a recent study showed.
Scientists reported that 93% of those surveyed believed all statements prefaced with "Scientists say", "Studies show", "Other findings include", or "According to recent research". According to this research, even when very few details of the study are given, and no controls are mentioned, 43% of respondents believe any random statistic given.
Among their other findings, these scientists have concluded that the gullibility effect is increased if unrelated vague future applications are presented. "A direct quote from someone involved in the project also has a measurable impact" said Dr. J. J. Charfman, leader of this effort. Dr. Charfman further added that a note of dissent from a random other party with no obvious qualifications actually increased the gullibility effect, contrary to expectations.
However, not all agree with Dr. Charfman's findings. "This research drastically overestimates the number of people who can read, and therefore the number of people who will be affected by reading articles of the type mentioned" pointed out Dr. C. Rackpot.
Dr. Charfman and his group believe that therapy based on their research could one day lead to a cure for cancer.
Slashdot Mirror
adding to collection
here
well, while we wait for the advogato.org server to recover from the onslaught - speaking of inscrutable error messages - t'other day I tried to move an email into one of M$'s 'Outlook' folders and could only get something like "Operation Did Not Complete" or so - scratch head - hmmmm - go to folder and noticed there are 16,383 items - Hmmmm! - were I a layperson that would look like an purely random number and have to call for support, but being a computer genius I tink: that's 2^14-1 ! The ol' M$ 13 bit limit w/ inscrutable error message trick. Why can't they say something sensible like, "This folder is full. Please move or delete some items"? I guess it was probably nixed by their superiors in the Mrktng dept.
face it - there's the iron triangle of business/lobbyists/legislators to deal with - when push comes to shove over personal freedoms/rights vs business and jobs, bb wins everytime because people need jobs and the last thing a politician wants is hordes of the unemployed marching on their office. Maybe when folks were self sufficient farmers who could support themselves, then human rights and freedoms were at the forefront but now that the democratic masses all depend on some business/employer for daily bread, that's the squeeky wheel what gets the funding and protective 'incubator' legislation. These guys just want to create a friendly climate where bazillionair software moguls can setup shop in their tax district too!
here .
Is it mere coincidence that the fortune at the bottom of the page read, "the only person who got his work done by Friday was Crusoe"?
There are several aspects the make IT an around the clock experience: 1) training. When I went into electronics 25 yrs ago they said, "this is such a fast changing field that you're going to be in school the rest of your working days". 2) Access to mission critical servers and workstations: in many cases the only chance you get to do maintenance on servers etc. is at 4AM in the morning or early Sundays. Most of us just can't 'leave work behind' when you exit the building - we're often working on long projects and I get lots of insirations in the middle of the night or early morning, and keep a pad by the bed to jot down ideas. Yet, with all that, I resent the fact that we're often treated like factory laborers! I can't stand supervisors who want you to punch in a 7:30, be focused and creative for precisely 2 hours, take a 10 minute break, then back to the "THINK!" tank. Maybe if these managers could actually organize with effecient specilization and division of labor one could crank out code like a machine shop all tooled up for a production run, but anything that's already that mechanized is already obsolete and not worth persuing, it ain't bleeding edge!
Bozorro the swashbuckling clown
I guess RH & Co. can make software anyone's grandmother can use, but it seems like an awefully formidible task to try to be all things to everyone; yes I'm happy with a niche 'programmer's OS' and have no prob w/ keeping a MS box for things MS is good at. But if Linux continues to steadily evolve to a human-friendly cross platform compatible level, so much the better!
CSMA/CD race driver
Now, I don't know what direction Linus, Alan, RMS, RedHat, et al want this to go but I'm not particularly interested in making Linux an appliance OS for non-technical users to just plug in, autoconfig, and start word processing and web browsing. I guess that's the value add-on that RH is betting the farm on, but it's all the semi-automatic stuff in Msft that semi-works that causes me untold headaches, over-complicates and frankly just gets in my way.
f or-it's problem. They created the 'buy a PC or else...' gangster bullying mentality. They're not getting any sympathy and free support from me! Maybe they'll learn next time and just get a Mac.
The model for this ease-of-setup is the Macintosh system, which truly is user-friendly.
So, why don't the laity buy Mac's? Why do a lot of appliance folks who may be better of with Mac's end up with broken Msft systems? That's Msft's oversold-PC-marketing-and-the-customers-who-fell-
This is what I beleive: If someone wants to open up a box, plug it in, have printers autoconfig, start wordprocessing and web browsing, get a Mac. If you want something fairly automatic but sometimes quite challenging, buy Msft. If you want access to all the nuts & bolts and enjoy learning how computers really work, run Linux.
To me, the value of Linux is twofold: (1) as much control as I can learn, and (2) easy licensing. Certainly #2 is as appealing to the non-technical user as the technical, (witness how many non-technical types want to run unlicensed copies of easy to use Word, Excel, etc) but a central contradiction exists - if your willing to do a lot of work yourself, the licensing can be free and easy, but if your not willing to do a lot of head scratching and puzzle solving, then you'll probably have to pay someone to do it for you, either directly on site (designer Linux!), or indirectly in lots of autoconfig type software development, Mac and Msft style, which, as I said, kinda turns me off, but as long as I can turn IT off I guess it'll be ok.
CSMA/CD race driver
The idea of a life form springing from the silicon is opposed by those - both ignorant and computer literate
Geez, it that old bug-a-boo still a staple of sci-fi? I'll beleive that "scientist creates monster that turns on it's creator" when I see it; like 'consciousness', it's nowhere in sight.
CSMA/CD race driver.
seems there was a flap on here recently about course notes being property of the prof. or U. and they couldn't be posted online...
Zorro
draconian license enforcement regulations whipped up into an almost drug-war level frenzy are GREAT for LINUX - it's those 27% unlicensed Msft copies that just perpetuates the Msft Monopoly - if people were afraid that the FBI could, with little more than a suspicion, bust in doors and demand to see licenses/invoices & proof of purchase (wheres youse papers? Dis 'puter got Papers buddy?! All right, your coming wid us) then people WOULD take a serious look at Linux where you CAN say, "Here, have a copy! And I'll help you install and config it too!!"
Zorro
a book out about the same time as "Godel Escher Bach" w/ Doug Hofstadter and Stanislaw Lem ?
But I may be hallucinating again...
Major Major Major Major
Quantum Physics - the dreams stuff is made of.
"Reality, what a concept" - Geo. Carlin.
Personally, I'm not aware of this stuff you call 'consciousness' - can you measure it in anyway? Weigh it, diffuse it, taste it, describe it? Why, yes & no!
I never did quite 'get' Schrodinger's cat - something about the cat being neither dead or alive untill you 'look'?
But I may be hallucinating again...
Major Major Major Major
no seriously, I'd manufacture one nano-logo and embed it in say a 3" cube of clear plastic, maybe visible with a certain power microscope - and sell 'em in bookstores maybe with a little booklet about nano-tech - hey, if people bought pet rocks and chunks of the Berlin Wall....
Major Major Major Major
I thought this was going to be about some kind of philosophy, like, "TRVTH: congnizance of a meaningful relationship existing between a conceptually modeled representation and the objects in reality that are being represented. In no way are the conceptul models to be construed as outside reality (which is all inclusive anyway) but as realities themselves that can also be modeled (meta-model) and in fact, the limit as understanding of TRVTH increases is a meaning and relation free "oneness" of being with reality where the drive to construct models ceases (nirvana) and just is (being)."
Hmmm, didn't know that - jeez, this guy was in one of the most powerful jobs on the planet, TV NEWS, media, the class that makes/breaks political candidates and vastly influences opinion, at least of those whose 'reality' is shaped largely by TeeVee. (gag)
Anyhow, at least one cultural Z-mismatch here is that the audience he's addressing is notoriously IMPATIENT, you either get to the point QUICK or piss off folks. Hence the gasbag status, most hated, etc. Hopefully he's not paid by the word!
Who was it, Churchill I think, said if you want a two hour speech I can deliver it now; if you want a 5 minute talk, it will take me a month to prepare. Jon could really use an editor (human) to cut out the linguistic flab.
Howard Roark
they should pick an easier mark, like peddling quack patent medicines to old, sick and confused retiree's - trying to scam the OSS community is like trying to sell fake plastic toy guns to folks at an NRA convention.
At best it sounds like the old 'vaporware' scam, a fraud mastered by you know who, advertise the heck out of a product or service just to get enough orders to finance it's development.
Wow, nice to see you here hobnobbing with the masses (virtually speaking, that is) - sorry about the bash there, I was just, haha, trying to fit in this crowd, you know, gain their confidence then start subtling plugging our products. Actually I'm trying to convince my current employer to spring for a Windows 2000 Advanced Server, that would be so kewl! Also, sorry I let my TechNet subscription lapse; will get a check in the mail ASAP.
Yours Devotely
MCP/MCSE # 7199832
every restaurant that dared to sell any brand of Noodles other than Microsoft® noodles would still be required to pay their supplier for a serving of Msft noodles for every dish sold, whether the customer ordered Msft noodles or not;
other food companies that seek to establish 'strategic alliances' and 'marketing tie-ins' with Msft noodles would eventually find themselves a subordinate division of Msft Oriental Noodles International (MONI);
Msft noodles contain secret patented ingredients that react with the ingrediants of noodles from other companies, resulting in severe cramps and indigestion if eaten together, the implication being that "if you would only eat Msft brand noodles exclusively this wouldn't happen", or else other noodle companies would have to 'license' the secret patented Msft noodle formula to maintain gastronomic compatibility.
But seriously, interesting that the article mentions that copyrights are essentially "govt. granted monopolies". I've often thought the Msft situation was the result of the govt. allowing the company to 'get away' with things, permitting if not encouraging the buildup a domestic monopoly in order to promote US global competitiveness (competing with the 'Japan Inc' of the 80's) - but has gotten out of hand altogether now.
This kills me, about trademarks:
"Under this rule, it is illegal to produce, say, Microsoft brand ramen noodles, even though that other Microsoft isn't in the noodle business, lest the lousiness of your pasta undermine the software company's reputation."
That's backwards - the lousiness of Msft would ruin the noodle business! Everyone would start to think they contained worms or "This noodle product is provided with no warrenty, express or implied, as to merchantability or fitness for human consumption"
I've got to, ahem, keep a copy of that article - some good, uh, pointers in there!
About redubbing, some of my favorites are "Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid" w/ Steve Martin and "J Men Forever" by Firesign Theatre - old films chopped up with a new, improved soundtrack.
On taking movies out of circulation, I was peeved to hear Bill Cosby bought up all the old "Our Gang - Little Rascal's" movies and taken them private, probably for the same reasons "Song of the South" is out of circulation - This I heard from a guy who does "Amos & Andy" recreations, which ARE in circulation, and, by the way, almost any RADIO programs before 1960 are fair game, free and pubic - you can even set up shop and sell tapes, cd's, etc of those if you want, and many people do. Also, (was going to put this in the 'usenet' article) there are many available in alt.binaries.sounds.(mp3,oldradio something like that) - perfectly legal.
Lastly, I think at some time courts are going to have to address the intentions of the Constitution copyright laws to advance arts and science, not make neverending gold buckets for ancestral estates. Quote,
"... they now can use videotapes, camcorders, Photoshop, digital film editing, recordable CDs, MP3 files, and the Internet. The result has been an explosion of amateur films, fiction, and music, all of which can be "published" for a minimal investment by putting them on the Web."
<SARCASM> Now we wouldn't want THAT now would we?</SARCASM>
no matter WHAT you do, when gold bricks start flying the scum crawls out of the woodwork to try and sell you a bridge over the East River - donations should end up in the right hands and not the trunk of some shyster speeding for the boarder...
No alter ego today
Of course, the classic loaded question is:
Have you stopped beating your wife yet?
( ) Yes
( ) No
Some people say Microsoft has strong competition - AOL/TW, IBM, Sony, Sun & Apple ---- could be reworded to read "If you wanted to buy an open hardware system such as an IBM compatible PC, do you feel you have a choice of operating system software to run on it?"
( ) yes
( ) no
( ) oh, I just use whatever the 'experts' tell me to!
No alter ego today
From the msft site:
--------------------
The 27% piracy rate in the United States costs the economy 130,000 jobs per year.
Software piracy costs the U.S. economy $5.3 billion in lost wages and nearly $1 billion in lost tax revenue.
Software piracy costs the U.S. distribution channel over $500 million in lost revenue.
-1997 study by Nathan and Associates
---------------------------
No alter ego today
The average person will believe on faith any statement attributed to a scientist, a recent study showed.
Scientists reported that 93% of those surveyed believed all statements prefaced with "Scientists say", "Studies show", "Other findings include", or "According to recent research". According to this research, even when very few details of the study are given, and no controls are mentioned, 43% of respondents believe any random statistic given.
Among their other findings, these scientists have concluded that the gullibility effect is increased if unrelated vague future applications are presented. "A direct quote from someone involved in the project also has a measurable impact" said Dr. J. J. Charfman, leader of this effort. Dr. Charfman further added that a note of dissent from a random other party with no obvious qualifications actually increased the gullibility effect, contrary to expectations.
However, not all agree with Dr. Charfman's findings. "This research drastically overestimates the number of people who can read, and therefore the number of people who will be affected by reading articles of the type mentioned" pointed out Dr. C. Rackpot.
Dr. Charfman and his group believe that therapy based on their research could one day lead to a cure for cancer.
{From SegFault archives}
heard a blurb about it while driving home from work last night - one of those stock reports brought to you by your friendly local brokerage..
No alter ego today.