I am gross and perverted,
I'm obsessed and deranged,
I have existed for years,
but very little has changed.
I'm the tool of the government
and industry too,
for I was destined to rule
and regulate you.
I may be vile and pernicious
but you can't look away.
I make you think I'm delicious
with the stuff that I say.
I'm the best you can get,
Have you guessed me, yet?
I'm the slime
oozing out
from your TV set.
You will obey me as I lead you
with the garbage that I feed you
untill the day that we don't need you,
don't call for help, no one will heed you.
Your mind is totally controlled
it has been stuffed into my mould
and you will do as you are told
untill the rights to you are sold.
-------------------------------------------
This was from way back in pre-internet days:))
Loved it so much I memorized it!
Yes, the purpose of technology is a huge game of 'one-up-man-ship' - I want a faster computer so I can sneer down my nose at those with old slow ones, I want lots of fast late breaking information sources so I can know about events before my neighbor does, and a fast car so I can pass those bozo's on the interstate, it's a socio-economic status symbol, etc., etc. While a few inventors and engineers entertain feeble notions of it being used for the benefit of all (like Radio, TV etc should be used for education, etc) what happens is it gets largely used for competitive business purposes (advertising, public manipulation, etc). Look at how international competitions, cold or hot, leads to lots of techno developements. You've got something there, Katz.
Another interesting, if off topic, online auction house with govt. surplus stuff is at LevyLatham, some pretty weird stuff. Your (USians) tax dollars at work.
Like a recent commentator said, sheer volumn of IP associated with PC*nix isn't everything if most all of them are useless vanity pages - how about important industries like this
just like the DAT TAX, I'll betcha pretty soon everyone with an internet connection will be charged a special fee, just like anyone with a phone pays the Gore Tax to pay off the phone companies for all the local calls which go on for hours - the ISP tax will go toward placating the RIAA, MPAA, and anybody else who can scream bloody murder the loudest over Inet media and lines up for a piece of the action. It's the perfect solution, a no brainer - it's quick, easy to institute, and assumes everybody is guilty of making illegal copies. Of course the people who do respect copyrights will get shafted, but that's their punishment for being honest in the first place.:))
Investigators at a major research institution have discovered the heaviest element known to science. This startling new discovery has been tentatively named Administratium.
This new element has no protons or electrons, thus having an atomic number of zero. It does, however, have 1 neutron, 125 assistant neutrons, 75 vice neutrons and 111 assistant vice neutrons, giving it an atomic mass of 312.
These 312 particles are held together by a force called morons, that are surrounded by vast quantities of lepton-like particles called peons. Since it has no electrons, Administratium is inert. However, it can be detected as it impedes every reaction with which it comes into contact. According to the discoverers, a minute amount of Administratium causes a single reaction to take over four-days to complete when it would normally take less than a second.
Administratium has a normal half-life of approximately three years; it does not decay but instead undergoes a reorganization in which a portion of the assistant neutrons, vice neutrons and assistant vice neutrons exchange places. In fact, an Administratium sample's mass will actually increase over time, since with each reorganization some of the morons inevitably become neutrons forming new isotopes.
This characteristic of moron promotion leads some scientists to speculate that Administratium is spontaneously formed whenever morons reach a certain quantity in concentration. This hypothetical quantity is referred to as "Critical Morass".
This advice against inhouse R&D or 'tinkering' reveals gross ingorance of a basic rule: you have production machines which only get the best, lab proven stuff (parts and sw) and you leave it alone as long as it works and your not upgrading or otherwise changeing anything. Then you keep a sacrifical test machine in the lab to do all the 'tinkering', testing, proving, slamming, development etc on, something you can reformat and reinstall and doesn't affect any ongoing business. It's really so simple you should shun anyone who doesn't get it. Next objection?
really, whenever I see someone whining about 'the enviroment' I just substitute 'population' - there's a real problem but having more&more people consume less&less isn't the answer. Will humanity solve that one 'rationally' or will the age old limits of war, famine, disease etc. have to save the planet?
What musicians should do is start placing ads in the songs and charging advertisers for 'ears' -
That's Right! Just give the music away (with a small fee for cd's and physical media) but start each number off with a smartly targeted advert for a meal at McDonalds or whatever, paid for by McD, make it short enough that reaching for the advance button isn't worth it - and bury the ad in the song somewhere unexpected, so you've just d/l'd the latest Metallica track and say 1.25 minutes in the music fades a little and Lars comes on with a pitch for Spencers Gifts or something...... That oughta please everyone. Well, at least folks would have to go thru the trouble of editing it out and leaving a abrupt inexplicable transition so that it's obvious something was cut.
A quick flip thru a mag like Circuit Cellar reveals several embedded pc's like this one or, hey, this one is sporting a Penguin logo - what's sweet (and expensive) about the unit here is is the 340Mb microdrive.
if one can install it and get it up and running quickly like a business machine should that'd be great - altho for 200 servers that comes to, mmmm, $660,000 (zowie!). If I have to start putzing around trying to trick it to work, read thick manuals, grep TechNet for workarounds and edit registry keys then I'd just rather use an open platform in the first place - at least it *worth* learning, and isn't just BG's flavor on the month that will be obsolete, useless knowledge in the next cycle - e.g., I'm glad I didn't commit much time to learning NT security domains, other than just enough to get by and get paid, now that there's a completely different system in 2K.
Unfortunately, it doesn't look good - it's guilt by association, and if the blunt tool of the law has to bludgeon a few innocents in the name of protecting the property of the wealthy they'll do it. Since copyright protection is mostly by the honor system, and if people have the freedom to 'do the right thing' and some don't and it's impossible to enforce, then we ALL lose a freedom - which is what CSS is about, taking away some control over content (like on what we can play it) - all it takes is ONE person to abuse a freedom and the authorities use that as an excuse to lock us all down.
Of course the above poster has a point - there may be physics/tech that we just don't know about yet. Like 200 yrs ago, if you told someone you could talk into a little box and people hundreds of miles away could hear you on another little box using some mysterious "electromagnetic spectrum" they'd think you were crazy. And now we have all kinds of radios. Who's to say there isn't some other medium like that waiting to be discovered?
Again, read the license: when you "purchase" a DVD, sure, you bought a physical disk you can play, microwave, etc but the CONTENT you are NOT buying! The movie or content remains the property of the owners, who reserve all right - you may only view it on an official player, between the hours of 7-10PM, except on Sundays, on a set with a minimum size of 21", and only with Orvill brand buttered popcorn - consumption of any OTHER snack brand constitutes a violation of the license agreement whereupon you must destroy the disk. If more than one person wishes to view the content, contact the publisher for a "license pak" upgrade available in multiples of '5'.
Slashdot Mirror
they use Unix in CD manufacturing - they brag about it in at least one page as that's how they ensure the CD's are free of viri....
...because of the lack of, er, radio noise.
this technique is actually the scientific basis for the Second Coming
I am gross and perverted,
:))
I'm obsessed and deranged,
I have existed for years,
but very little has changed.
I'm the tool of the government
and industry too,
for I was destined to rule
and regulate you.
I may be vile and pernicious
but you can't look away.
I make you think I'm delicious
with the stuff that I say.
I'm the best you can get,
Have you guessed me, yet?
I'm the slime
oozing out
from your TV set.
You will obey me as I lead you
with the garbage that I feed you
untill the day that we don't need you,
don't call for help, no one will heed you.
Your mind is totally controlled
it has been stuffed into my mould
and you will do as you are told
untill the rights to you are sold.
-------------------------------------------
This was from way back in pre-internet days
Loved it so much I memorized it!
Nice quote from the latest issue of Scientific American that just showed up, article about will MP4 do for movies what MP3 does for music???
Yes, the purpose of technology is a huge game of 'one-up-man-ship' - I want a faster computer so I can sneer down my nose at those with old slow ones, I want lots of fast late breaking information sources so I can know about events before my neighbor does, and a fast car so I can pass those bozo's on the interstate, it's a socio-economic status symbol, etc., etc. While a few inventors and engineers entertain feeble notions of it being used for the benefit of all (like Radio, TV etc should be used for education, etc) what happens is it gets largely used for competitive business purposes (advertising, public manipulation, etc). Look at how international competitions, cold or hot, leads to lots of techno developements. You've got something there, Katz.
Another interesting, if off topic, online auction house with govt. surplus stuff is at LevyLatham, some pretty weird stuff. Your (USians) tax dollars at work.
Like a recent commentator said, sheer volumn of IP associated with PC*nix isn't everything if most all of them are useless vanity pages - how about important industries like this
just like the DAT TAX, I'll betcha pretty soon everyone with an internet connection will be charged a special fee, just like anyone with a phone pays the Gore Tax to pay off the phone companies for all the local calls which go on for hours - the ISP tax will go toward placating the RIAA, MPAA, and anybody else who can scream bloody murder the loudest over Inet media and lines up for a piece of the action. It's the perfect solution, a no brainer - it's quick, easy to institute, and assumes everybody is guilty of making illegal copies. Of course the people who do respect copyrights will get shafted, but that's their punishment for being honest in the first place. :))
Hmmm, wonder if that was intentional or unconscious.
Investigators at a major research institution have discovered the heaviest element known to science. This startling new discovery has been tentatively named Administratium.
This new element has no protons or electrons, thus having an atomic number of zero. It does, however, have 1 neutron, 125 assistant neutrons, 75 vice neutrons and 111 assistant vice neutrons, giving it an atomic mass of 312.
These 312 particles are held together by a force called morons, that are surrounded by vast quantities of lepton-like particles called peons. Since it has no electrons, Administratium is inert. However, it can be detected as it impedes every reaction with which it comes into contact. According to the discoverers, a minute amount of Administratium causes a single reaction to take over four-days to complete when it would normally take less than a second.
Administratium has a normal half-life of approximately three years; it does not decay but instead undergoes a reorganization in which a portion of the assistant neutrons, vice neutrons and assistant vice neutrons exchange places. In fact, an Administratium sample's mass will actually increase over time, since with each reorganization some of the morons inevitably become neutrons forming new isotopes.
This characteristic of moron promotion leads some scientists to speculate that Administratium is spontaneously formed whenever morons reach a certain quantity in concentration. This hypothetical quantity is referred to as "Critical Morass".
You will know it when you see it.
This advice against inhouse R&D or 'tinkering' reveals gross ingorance of a basic rule: you have production machines which only get the best, lab proven stuff (parts and sw) and you leave it alone as long as it works and your not upgrading or otherwise changeing anything. Then you keep a sacrifical test machine in the lab to do all the 'tinkering', testing, proving, slamming, development etc on, something you can reformat and reinstall and doesn't affect any ongoing business. It's really so simple you should shun anyone who doesn't get it. Next objection?
really, whenever I see someone whining about 'the enviroment' I just substitute 'population' - there's a real problem but having more&more people consume less&less isn't the answer. Will humanity solve that one 'rationally' or will the age old limits of war, famine, disease etc. have to save the planet?
What musicians should do is start placing ads in the songs and charging advertisers for 'ears' -
That's Right! Just give the music away (with a small fee for cd's and physical media) but start each number off with a smartly targeted advert for a meal at McDonalds or whatever, paid for by McD, make it short enough that reaching for the advance button isn't worth it - and bury the ad in the song somewhere unexpected, so you've just d/l'd the latest Metallica track and say 1.25 minutes in the music fades a little and Lars comes on with a pitch for Spencers Gifts or something...... That oughta please everyone. Well, at least folks would have to go thru the trouble of editing it out and leaving a abrupt inexplicable transition so that it's obvious something was cut.
Use the address above.
Even the Federal Trade Commish claims that uce "is a threat to consumer confidence in online commerce."
(forget who said this)
Sometimes you get something useful from it, but, that's not why we're doing it.
Also, If you know what your doing, or what you're going to get, it's not research.
In Germany because 'vic' could be construed obscene. Likewise Japanese 'Puckman' became 'Pacman' in the US.
SAMBA, a must have for Unix/Windows interoperability should be able to accomodate - Just call it FreeSMB or something.
SOMBE
SIMBA
SUMBY
etc
I wanted to research a Trip to Thailand but the damn library keeps blocking any info about it!!
A quick flip thru a mag like Circuit Cellar reveals several embedded pc's like this one or, hey, this one is sporting a Penguin logo - what's sweet (and expensive) about the unit here is is the 340Mb microdrive.
if one can install it and get it up and running quickly like a business machine should that'd be great - altho for 200 servers that comes to, mmmm, $660,000 (zowie!). If I have to start putzing around trying to trick it to work, read thick manuals, grep TechNet for workarounds and edit registry keys then I'd just rather use an open platform in the first place - at least it *worth* learning, and isn't just BG's flavor on the month that will be obsolete, useless knowledge in the next cycle - e.g., I'm glad I didn't commit much time to learning NT security domains, other than just enough to get by and get paid, now that there's a completely different system in 2K.
That should be a good battle cry....
Unfortunately, it doesn't look good - it's guilt by association, and if the blunt tool of the law has to bludgeon a few innocents in the name of protecting the property of the wealthy they'll do it. Since copyright protection is mostly by the honor system, and if people have the freedom to 'do the right thing' and some don't and it's impossible to enforce, then we ALL lose a freedom - which is what CSS is about, taking away some control over content (like on what we can play it) - all it takes is ONE person to abuse a freedom and the authorities use that as an excuse to lock us all down.
be sure to check out this picture - small but funny, you'll enjoy it.
when he published "Steal This Book".
/my/ karma)
"It's embarrassing you try to overthrow the government and you wind up on the Best Seller's List."
-- Abbie Hoffman
(quote stolen from above link to boost
Of course the above poster has a point - there may be physics/tech that we just don't know about yet. Like 200 yrs ago, if you told someone you could talk into a little box and people hundreds of miles away could hear you on another little box using some mysterious "electromagnetic spectrum" they'd think you were crazy. And now we have all kinds of radios. Who's to say there isn't some other medium like that waiting to be discovered?
Again, read the license: when you "purchase" a DVD, sure, you bought a physical disk you can play, microwave, etc but the CONTENT you are NOT buying! The movie or content remains the property of the owners, who reserve all right - you may only view it on an official player, between the hours of 7-10PM, except on Sundays, on a set with a minimum size of 21", and only with Orvill brand buttered popcorn - consumption of any OTHER snack brand constitutes a violation of the license agreement whereupon you must destroy the disk. If more than one person wishes to view the content, contact the publisher for a "license pak" upgrade available in multiples of '5'.