If their so-called "security patches" didn't contain anti-competitor tricks (changing default settings from FF to IE, Google to Bing, etc.), "anti-piracy" trojans and other crap so often, then their users might have more motivation to install the patches. Me, I stopped running the updater when IE7 came out, and spent the rest of my time on Windows figuring out how to migrate (now using Ubuntu).
Unless TFA (didn't read) says Aleynikov was backed by a government, my guess is he was self-employed or being paid by a mafia organization. Look, it can be a Russian mafia if you want. Other than that, his surname isn't much evidence.
(PS: Note that for that to work at all, the military would have to hurry like hell to get the destruction over with because they'd be out of stuff to pay their guys in a few weeks.)
There are very, very few countries the USA could attack right now without doing great harm to its own economy, and most of those countries are tiny third-world nations. The stimulus to the arms industry could no more hope to compensate for the damage to international trade, than you could violate the laws of thermodynamics.
The European Union and even the PRC could be destroyed militarily, but each of these events would cause hyperinflation in the USD, and essentially an economic apocalypse in the US. It'd be reduced to foodstamps and barter.
In the quote, the only real "WTF" part is the mention of hyperlinks. It's unrelated to the concept being discussed, and it is obviously false that a hyperlink from site A to site B represents any cost (let alone unpaid) to site B. Rather, it is an almost unilateral gift from site A to site B.
Naturally, I also disagree about the main concept, which essentially calls Fair Use economically untenable. But that is an actual matter for debate, rather than the hyperlink stuff, which is self-evidently contradictory. From looking at Posner's works and credentials, I'd be hesitant to label him "stupid about technology". Maybe it was just a verbal slip?
The gold price is already inflated by the crisis. It may rise further, but to buy it at 30% above market value requires a lot of faith. It's not as if gold is getting any rarer.
However, it is a very clever business idea. Gold glitters very nicely, and you can entice poor people with the shine of a small, overpriced gold bar while letting them justify it as "an investment in the future". I'm sure they'll make lots and lots of money off something marginally less deceptive than a slots machine.
Frameworks aren't limited to the "simple and fast" user type either. Even when I'm developing an application from scratch that would not fit with Drupal's CMS, I will usually rip out one or more of Drupal's basic components (my favorites are the HTTP client and Form API) as they work exceedingly well on their own, making my own code leaner and higher-level. Admittedly, this only works if you have intricate knowledge of how each of these components operate, but it is still far easier than rewriting them.
A major complaint against frameworks is that they make programming too easy or "bloated" - as if a wheel invented in a few nights by an overcaffeinated code-cowboy is going to run remotely as smooth as one developed by a community over years of design discussion and real-world testing. I'm wondering if there is a school of thought (whose adherents are best known as "Real Programmers") that holds that self-torture can compensate for a lack of skill.
The outcome of this current situation is not yet certain, at least in the short term (in the long term, revolutions are inevitable - remember what happened in Iran the last time).
But one thing is clear: If the USA or Israel had attacked Iran, as we have basically been anticipating for the past three to four years, then this would mever have happened. An external, immediate threat would have magnetized the country and unified it behind its nationalist leader. Remember Bush's approval rating the week after 9/11?
Contrast this with Iraq, whose oppressive regime has been eliminated by military force, and whose citizens are still engaged in a guerilla war with their "liberators".
And because ISPs will retaliate by promising "unlimited" plans, and then cutting you off if it turns out to be unprofitable for them. Even if they can't shape the traffic, they can still throttle the bandwidth to their own users.
ISP: "It's a bit more expensive, but you get all the bandwidth in the world." Customer: "Sweet, now to BitTorrent..." ISP: "Whoops, we didn't think you'd use all that much. Goodbye!" Customer: "Breach of contract!" ISP: "Haha, sue us. See if you can afford a lawyer."
Slashdot Mirror
This is Slashdot. You take what you can get.
If their so-called "security patches" didn't contain anti-competitor tricks (changing default settings from FF to IE, Google to Bing, etc.), "anti-piracy" trojans and other crap so often, then their users might have more motivation to install the patches. Me, I stopped running the updater when IE7 came out, and spent the rest of my time on Windows figuring out how to migrate (now using Ubuntu).
Unless TFA (didn't read) says Aleynikov was backed by a government, my guess is he was self-employed or being paid by a mafia organization. Look, it can be a Russian mafia if you want. Other than that, his surname isn't much evidence.
Keep in mind that encryption, right now, can be strong enough to take millions of years to decrypt.
Run s/cyber/cybersex on any article related to this topic.
(PS: Note that for that to work at all, the military would have to hurry like hell to get the destruction over with because they'd be out of stuff to pay their guys in a few weeks.)
There are very, very few countries the USA could attack right now without doing great harm to its own economy, and most of those countries are tiny third-world nations. The stimulus to the arms industry could no more hope to compensate for the damage to international trade, than you could violate the laws of thermodynamics.
The European Union and even the PRC could be destroyed militarily, but each of these events would cause hyperinflation in the USD, and essentially an economic apocalypse in the US. It'd be reduced to foodstamps and barter.
That's not helping, really...
Politician: "So you would say there's about a ten percent chance?"
I'm sure there's a point when a troll gets obvious enough to be called "sarcastic". :P
And if they manage to make another discovery like this, it could become 9 years...
In the quote, the only real "WTF" part is the mention of hyperlinks. It's unrelated to the concept being discussed, and it is obviously false that a hyperlink from site A to site B represents any cost (let alone unpaid) to site B. Rather, it is an almost unilateral gift from site A to site B.
Naturally, I also disagree about the main concept, which essentially calls Fair Use economically untenable. But that is an actual matter for debate, rather than the hyperlink stuff, which is self-evidently contradictory. From looking at Posner's works and credentials, I'd be hesitant to label him "stupid about technology". Maybe it was just a verbal slip?
You should consider such small differences with humour, not rancour. :P
I hold my phone to the ear that doesn't require me to reach around my fucking face.
But meh. Maybe that's why I'm so short with stupid people on the telephone.
You can't tell me that wasn't on purpose. :P
It's a fucking ripoff.
The gold price is already inflated by the crisis. It may rise further, but to buy it at 30% above market value requires a lot of faith. It's not as if gold is getting any rarer.
However, it is a very clever business idea. Gold glitters very nicely, and you can entice poor people with the shine of a small, overpriced gold bar while letting them justify it as "an investment in the future". I'm sure they'll make lots and lots of money off something marginally less deceptive than a slots machine.
Agreed very much.
Frameworks aren't limited to the "simple and fast" user type either. Even when I'm developing an application from scratch that would not fit with Drupal's CMS, I will usually rip out one or more of Drupal's basic components (my favorites are the HTTP client and Form API) as they work exceedingly well on their own, making my own code leaner and higher-level. Admittedly, this only works if you have intricate knowledge of how each of these components operate, but it is still far easier than rewriting them.
A major complaint against frameworks is that they make programming too easy or "bloated" - as if a wheel invented in a few nights by an overcaffeinated code-cowboy is going to run remotely as smooth as one developed by a community over years of design discussion and real-world testing. I'm wondering if there is a school of thought (whose adherents are best known as "Real Programmers") that holds that self-torture can compensate for a lack of skill.
Yes it is, if he didn't actually cheat.
The outcome of this current situation is not yet certain, at least in the short term (in the long term, revolutions are inevitable - remember what happened in Iran the last time).
But one thing is clear: If the USA or Israel had attacked Iran, as we have basically been anticipating for the past three to four years, then this would mever have happened. An external, immediate threat would have magnetized the country and unified it behind its nationalist leader. Remember Bush's approval rating the week after 9/11?
Contrast this with Iraq, whose oppressive regime has been eliminated by military force, and whose citizens are still engaged in a guerilla war with their "liberators".
Sometimes, things work out only if left alone.
Should have paid more attention to that hrung. What is a hrung anyway? And why does it have to collapse on Betelgeuse?
Ahem. I don't know about Limewire, but a BitTorrent client poses exactly the same risk to your system as an HTTP client. No more, no less.
Spyware Puts Computers At Risk
I nominate this for the most awesome headline ever.
That line isn't exactly new... :P
Jobs are BAD. We need to chase as many of them overseas as we possibly can!
(To me, the only bearable choice in the upcoming elections is the Pirate Party. We need someone who is not fucking stupid about technology.)
And because ISPs will retaliate by promising "unlimited" plans, and then cutting you off if it turns out to be unprofitable for them. Even if they can't shape the traffic, they can still throttle the bandwidth to their own users.
ISP: "It's a bit more expensive, but you get all the bandwidth in the world."
Customer: "Sweet, now to BitTorrent..."
ISP: "Whoops, we didn't think you'd use all that much. Goodbye!"
Customer: "Breach of contract!"
ISP: "Haha, sue us. See if you can afford a lawyer."
Don't we *want* regulation in order to ensure net neutrality?
Who are we rooting for right now?