People have been complaining about CD prices for almost 25 years, and sales never suffered until Napster came along and provided an alternative. In fact, if you account for inflation, CD prices have dropped dramatically.
The warrantless wiretapping has already been ruled unconstitutional. Congress cannot authorize an unconstitutional act.
This will fall apart the moment it gets in front of a judge, just like the torture act.
Is the immunity from litigation enough to make up for having targeted advertising on each page and not being able to write the music to CD or a portable player?
One word: no.
Freedom to copy and burn is nonnegotiable. Which is why I use eMusic. Any other service will have to give me the same level of freedom before I'll even consider it.
...that the ALF and other environmental groups are labeled as "terrorists" by media and law enforcement, but pro-lifers who shoot doctors and firebomb abortion clinics are not.
I'm just sayin'.
"It's too bad, though, that the astronomers turned this question into a pissing contest--shows they don't know how to have a proper argument. A vote, for cryin' out loud! Now if you want to see the fur fly with panache, call in the philosophers."
Reminds me of the following from the Jargon File:
"As in society at large, the intensity and duration of these debates is usually inversely proportional to the number of objective, factual arguments available to buttress any position."
I hate this proposal. It's overly complex, confusing, and arbitrary. If I were proposing a definition, here's what it would have.
A planet:
1) Orbits the sun.
2) Is massive enough to have cleared out everything else in its orbit, so that it's the only significant body at its distance from the sun.
This would leave us with the current planets through Neptune, and exclude asteroids, Kuiper Belt objects, and comets. I don't think Pluto should be a planet, and definitely not Ceres and Charon.
I wish there were some way that ordinary citizens could make a proposal to the IAU. Anybody have any ideas?
Many of the UN's problems could be solved if we simply took away the veto of the Security Council nations. Far too often, one or two members will stand in the way of something good in order to further their own narrow interest.
Looks to me like there's one relevant difference here between commercial and free/open source software.
Commercial software, by definition, is intended to make money for the company that produces it. So there's an incentive to make it easy to use for as wide an audience as possible.
Free/open source software, on the other hand, is primarily created BY geeks FOR geeks. Ease of use for non-technical people is not a high priority.
Face it, the average nongeek doesn't want to have to learn how to edit arcane text files in order to configure their new video card. Microsoft, for all their faults, understands this, and they make it easy. Linux still has a long way to go. (And I'm a Linux fan, so please don't flame me.)
Seriously. I was gradually tapering off for years. Finally I was down to Enterprise and I quit that after a year. Best decision I ever made. If it weren't for DVDs I wouldn't even own one now.
Seriously. How much more of this shit are people going to take before they realize how much of their lives they're wasting?
...and help perfect Darwine? Then bundle it into OS X.
Just imagine: in the near future, you could buy a Mac, and you'd get the beautiful GUI, the rock-solid stability of Unix, and the ability to run all your old Windows apps.
And Steve Jobs finally defeats Bill Gates for good. Lovely.
Well, he's also been saying for some time that Steve Jobs wants to be CEO of Disney. I thought it was nuts too, but now that Jobs has engineered Disney's purchase of Pixar and gotten himself onto Disney's board, the prediction has nearly come true.
Not to mention that Disney buying Pixar was really about Pixar taking over Disney's animation division. Very similar to when Jobs got Apple to purchase NeXT in order to get himself back in power.
Just look at who is harmed in each case.
In the DVD case, the (theoretical) harm is to the studio that holds the copyright on the content. In the Adobe case, the (again, theoretical) harm is to Adobe's image and to the publisher that uses their software. But in the malware case, the victims are ordinary users like you and me.
What's the difference? In the first two cases, we're talking about theoretical harm to large, wealthy corporations. In the third, it's genuine harm to regular people.
Now consider the relative clout of those two groups in our society (particularly in the political arena), and all should become clear.
If I want to buy a car, I'm most likely to trust the salesperson who'll shut the hell up and leave me alone except when I have a question, and who then gives me an intelligent and helpful answer. I don't give a shit what they look like.
You know, I had long scraggly hair for years before and during college. I cut it off when I started going bald and I've worn it short ever since.
I've discovered that there are advantages to looking as straight as I do now. Nobody expects me to be the most radical freak in the room. It's like stealth mode. (Also, I or my wife can cut my hair. I haven't paid anybody for a haircut in eight years!)
Still, whenever I see somebody in a suit, I assume that they've spent time and energy on their appearance that would be better spent on their work. And, conversely, if somebody wants me to conform to a dress code, I assume that they care more about appearance than performance.
Slashdot Mirror
People have been complaining about CD prices for almost 25 years, and sales never suffered until Napster came along and provided an alternative. In fact, if you account for inflation, CD prices have dropped dramatically.
With USB flash drives up to 4GB, and 100GB+ USB hard drives that will fit in a pocket, why not just keep it on your person (encrypted if necessary)?
The warrantless wiretapping has already been ruled unconstitutional. Congress cannot authorize an unconstitutional act. This will fall apart the moment it gets in front of a judge, just like the torture act.
One word: no.
Freedom to copy and burn is nonnegotiable. Which is why I use eMusic. Any other service will have to give me the same level of freedom before I'll even consider it.
...that the ALF and other environmental groups are labeled as "terrorists" by media and law enforcement, but pro-lifers who shoot doctors and firebomb abortion clinics are not. I'm just sayin'.
More flamebait.
Reminds me of the following from the Jargon File:
"As in society at large, the intensity and duration of these debates is usually inversely proportional to the number of objective, factual arguments available to buttress any position."
Sorry, couldn't resist.
I am aware of the Trojan asteroids. I said the only significant body.
A planet:
1) Orbits the sun.
2) Is massive enough to have cleared out everything else in its orbit, so that it's the only significant body at its distance from the sun.
This would leave us with the current planets through Neptune, and exclude asteroids, Kuiper Belt objects, and comets. I don't think Pluto should be a planet, and definitely not Ceres and Charon.
I wish there were some way that ordinary citizens could make a proposal to the IAU. Anybody have any ideas?
Many of the UN's problems could be solved if we simply took away the veto of the Security Council nations. Far too often, one or two members will stand in the way of something good in order to further their own narrow interest.
Commercial software, by definition, is intended to make money for the company that produces it. So there's an incentive to make it easy to use for as wide an audience as possible.
Free/open source software, on the other hand, is primarily created BY geeks FOR geeks. Ease of use for non-technical people is not a high priority.
Face it, the average nongeek doesn't want to have to learn how to edit arcane text files in order to configure their new video card. Microsoft, for all their faults, understands this, and they make it easy. Linux still has a long way to go. (And I'm a Linux fan, so please don't flame me.)
Seriously. I was gradually tapering off for years. Finally I was down to Enterprise and I quit that after a year. Best decision I ever made. If it weren't for DVDs I wouldn't even own one now.
Seriously. How much more of this shit are people going to take before they realize how much of their lives they're wasting?
Just imagine: in the near future, you could buy a Mac, and you'd get the beautiful GUI, the rock-solid stability of Unix, and the ability to run all your old Windows apps.
And Steve Jobs finally defeats Bill Gates for good. Lovely.
Not to mention that Disney buying Pixar was really about Pixar taking over Disney's animation division. Very similar to when Jobs got Apple to purchase NeXT in order to get himself back in power.
Just look at who is harmed in each case. In the DVD case, the (theoretical) harm is to the studio that holds the copyright on the content. In the Adobe case, the (again, theoretical) harm is to Adobe's image and to the publisher that uses their software. But in the malware case, the victims are ordinary users like you and me. What's the difference? In the first two cases, we're talking about theoretical harm to large, wealthy corporations. In the third, it's genuine harm to regular people. Now consider the relative clout of those two groups in our society (particularly in the political arena), and all should become clear.
Never mind the kitties, where are the PONIES???!?!??!?1!
If I want to buy a car, I'm most likely to trust the salesperson who'll shut the hell up and leave me alone except when I have a question, and who then gives me an intelligent and helpful answer. I don't give a shit what they look like.
You know, I had long scraggly hair for years before and during college. I cut it off when I started going bald and I've worn it short ever since.
I've discovered that there are advantages to looking as straight as I do now. Nobody expects me to be the most radical freak in the room. It's like stealth mode. (Also, I or my wife can cut my hair. I haven't paid anybody for a haircut in eight years!)
Still, whenever I see somebody in a suit, I assume that they've spent time and energy on their appearance that would be better spent on their work. And, conversely, if somebody wants me to conform to a dress code, I assume that they care more about appearance than performance.
My TV-B-Gone just arrived yesterday. This'll be fun!