Imagine trying to return Turbo Tax after April 15. For most people, the shelf life of that product ends then.
Actually, if there wasn't a caveat in the EULA against returning opened copies of Turbo Tax, people could do their taxes in twenty four hours and return the product well before April 15. Then, they got their taxes done for free. In fact, due to piracy of their product, Intuit, may be phasing out the desktop based Turbo Tax in favor of Turbo Tax Online. This is a good idea and is relatively easy to implement as broadband becomes more and more prevalent. For those that lack access to broadband, why not use a DRM scheme with the desktop version Turbo Tax? If Turbo Tax does not meet the end user's need then simply revoke the DRM license, rendering the software unuseable. This will prevent people from using what they do not want to pay for.
I didn't know anyone still used Telnet. Personally, I gave up that bad habit a long time ago when there was a need to do big things like not have your authentication credentials pass in plain text. Seriously, why is this an issue? Any competent unix sysadmin will be using SSH. The first thing I do when setting up a new unix server is to visually verify that the telnet daemon has been turned off or comment it out in the inetd.conf. Sounds like some attempt at FUD against a very stable, mature, and good operating system. This article is just, well, a moot point.
These collections are intended to compensate artists and labels for the losses they suffer when people 'illegally' copy or transfer music.
I fail to see how this would solve the problem at all. Conversely, new problems arise. Should people who do not 'illegally' copy or transfer music be punished for those that do? Another question, does the artist really suffer? I remember Dave Matthews, an artist in his own right, encouraging piracy of his music. He basically cited this as the reason he grew from a small West Virginia garage band into a multi-national sensation. This honestly sounds like an offshoot of the Canadian RIAA representing the interests of the labels only. I agree with the meta-tags, this is greed but it punishes everyone. I guess this is the consumer equivalent of collateral damage. Oh, and another thing, how much of this tax will actually make it back into the hands of the artist? By the time you account for the enormous costs of enforcement and the giant bureaucracy behind the collections, the piece of the pie will be rapidly whittled down.
Nicely said. Except the pharma companies would loose lots of money on their anti-depressants and others. Pharmaceuticals are a big lobby. Believe me, the world would be a better place with more cannibis. That said, I don't believe CO2 levels started to rise on the banning of growing the plant alone. That may have been a factor, albeit a small one. Our population has also grown and there are more automobiles on the road. Personally, I'd love to see the 6B per year spent on alternate energy sources.
Re:Are you arguing for toys or the legilization...
on
The Return of Toys
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· Score: 1
Funny, yes. I think I would advocate for the legalization of hallucinogenic drugs because in recent medical experiments, it has been found that the occasional usage of LSD has shown to treat depression more effectively than Prozac. In a study (doh! I wish I remember the link) of patients suffering from depression, those given LSD once a week recovered faster than even placebo. After recovering from depression, patients self-reported leading richer lives with re-newed interest in philosophy, the arts, classical music, etc. The drug companies would loose millions.
When I mean mental journey, I mean we have our own imaginations . . . . kind of like when reading a book, right. More often the book is better than the movie because we percieve our mental images to be more accurate than the artist's interpretation. I don't know how many times I found myself saying, "Man this is lame . . . . in the book . .."
Good points. Although, Apple does have to worry about its DRM arrogance. I don't like the fact that Apple has a virtual monopoly on DRM mp3s through itunes. I think with the popularity of the iPod, Apple could have made its FairPlay DRM scheme available on a royalty basis or even open source it and still make a very decent profit. Let's face it, Steve Jobs is no saint either. He has done things in the past and some of his behavior was odious. That said, I still like Apple better than Microsoft on any given day.
I have a friend that strongly believes in the value of toys. He has two boys and, rather than buy cheap, plastic stuff, he builds toys. These toys are miniature working bulldozers and front-end loaders with actual hydraulics and small diesel engines. Another friend built a small rideable, electric railroad. He figured that the little HO models just don't bring to life the magic of the railroad for a kid. Toys are awesome! The day we give them up for video games is a sad one. Video games do not encourage wholesome play. Granted, they are fun (when I have a bad day, I love a good game of Grand Theft Auto to relax by but this ain't wholesome fun), but should be kept to a minimum. Toys have an innocence about them that should be embraced.
Sorry, I don't think so. Toys are timeless and they can take you places where you cannot normally go. They encourage and develop the imagination, thought, and reasoning. Toys can take you into a mental journey where you can craft your imagery. Conversely, a computer game is an artist's conception of a theme as reflected in its graphics. You may or may not agree with that theme but you are, however, stuck with it. Toys are an extremely important part of development that also build fine motor skills and coordination at the early childhood level while a video game simply teaches automatic reaction. Toys teach us reflective thinking and problem solving. Now granted, toys do break, but that may simply be a fault of design or an absense of quality in the construction. I, for one, lament that toys are taking backseat to video games and high technology stuff and I'm only 29. Whatever happened to simple, whole-hearted pleasures?
I do like Quagga very much. But, its performance still doesn't quite match the Enterprise Cisco router. That said, Quagga works very well for small to medium sized businesses and Quagga may even outperform the lower end Cisco routers. The enterprise Cisco router has a slight advantage in that its hardware and architecture are designed for purely routing. I was bummed to find out that there was a performance gap. A Canadian University, University of Toronto, has a routing cluster based on Quagga. The administrator, Russell Sutherland, even said that UoT would be moving to a Cisco or Juniper router config as he said that he would need fewer Cisco units than Quagga servers to achieve the same amount of routing. The cost savings in power alone is not insignificant. It is a neat experiment and I hope that one day Quagga will surpass enterprise Cisco. Here is a PDF detailing what Russell Sutherland has done: Back to the Future: BSD on the Edge of the Enterprise.
Well, yes Microsoft is the enemy. Gorbachev tried to intervene on behalf on the school teacher and Microsoft's Chairman Bill would not hear of it. Microsoft did have the power to affect the outcome but instead chose to slaughter the lamb and I feel very strongly about this. Please read this Gorbachev Asks Gates to Intervene in Piracy Case This should clarify some things.
It would seem that Microsoft's campaign against the poor, Russian school teacher backfired miserably. Microsoft has now incurred the wrath of the Russian government and has just locked itself out of a market. That's a real smooth way to do business and has just opened the flood gates for open source software. Bill Gates' tacit denial of Gorbachev's appeal shows an utter lack of foresight and has caused an ultimate loss for Microsoft. And all of this occurred because Bill wanted to make an example of a poor, Russian school teacher whom was using Windows, not for commercial gain, but for education. If Microsoft were wise, they would have provided free, genuine copies because this teacher is educating future Microsoft consumers. Instead, they caused alienation, and, as anyone can tell you, alienation is a bad thing. So now, Red Hat has the chance to build loyal users. Go Red Hat!
I strongly disagree. I think this bill will pass and that is just what Bush does not want to happen. This bill probably has more support than you would think in the democratic majority; especially because there was considerable outrage in the democratic community at the warrantless searches and domestic spying programs. I think this will turn out to be a political move to provide some checks and balances. Finally, in addition, there should be some move to reaffirm the existing laws and begin enforcing them with real, tangible penalties for their violations.
Well, the ruling of the court did seem to be consistent with the precedent. Criticism of public figures is legally protected free speech. In this case, the court rightfully determined that the doctor was acting as a public figure. This is kind of the same thing as in that whole debacle between Rosie O'Donnell and Donald Trump. Trump really would be unable to sue her over alleged comments because he is a public figure. Trump is really just using a scare tactic and throwing his money around.
I just know I am going to get modded for this. Please be gentle. I believe Chairman Gates, when asked about why he wasn't allowing low end copies of Vista to be run virtually, his response was akin to, Consumers do not have the knowledge or technical expertise to run Vista in a virtual environment. Please! I think his statement was English for "You need to pay more money to us in order to do that."
Absolutely. I think the article fails to distinguish between an intellectual argument and an inappropriate argument. Good intellectual arguments should be made because alternative ideas are flushed out and mistakes can be mitigated. An inappropriate argument is something that turns threatening and ominous. I like a good intellectual argument because it helps me learn more about the subject matter and it is a chance to contribute. An intellectual argument isn't necessarily about winning or loosing but about bringing up points to improve ideas. An intellectual argument is more of a discussion.
Absolutely. When I hear encouraging, positive comments it makes me feel wanted and loyal. I actually do not mind working longer and harder knowing that my efforts are noticed and recognized. This happens too infrequently in the workplace. In fact, just the opposite happens. Mostly, the only feedback you here is when you "fucked-up." I know that if all I hear is how bad a worker I am, I would grow to resent the employer and the situation. But, I have enough moral fortitude not to take the resentment into the realm of overt sabotage. I notice that, in negative reinforcement situations, employees do not generally work well together as a team and are quick to want to find a way to blame someone else or scapegoat. This scapegoating, in some organizations, happens shamelessly. I think simple, honest, and genuine recognition would drastically reduce the incidents of going postal, if not eliminate them altogether.
That's an interesting question you pose. I really hope that the person you mentioned isn't punished. I think they really did not intend for this to happen. Let's go after the big guys; the ones that write and distribute the code to harvest addresses. By punishing the small, petty guys, you only make it harder for them to obtain employment and to be contributing members of society. Finding a good job and making one's own way is already hard enough, having a criminal record notwithstanding. Therefore, the problem is never solved by going after the small time and the already overburdened criminal justice just gets further taxed. My.02 cents, anyway.
I know I am being redundant but, for all intents and purposes, Linux is a UNIX clone. I also know that my previous statement is an oversimplification but Linux and UNIX behave similarly with similar commands. In some cases, software is fairly portable between the two. Also what about the BSDs? I'd argue that they are actually closer to their UNIX ancestors. Look at Explaining FreeBSD for an excellent comparison and history.
Microsoft is nothing but one big bunch of assholes. How much money is enough? Go after the big fish. I reported a website selling downloads of Microsoft software and Microsoft did absolutely nothing. The website is still up! Instead, they want to fry a school teacher. What next, a minister or priest?
You are right. I should not have been cheering about people's death and, after you point that out, I wish to amend what I previously said. However, the Taliban and Al Qaeda were, for all intents and purposes one and the same. They were, as you say, "in bed with each other."
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Actually, if there wasn't a caveat in the EULA against returning opened copies of Turbo Tax, people could do their taxes in twenty four hours and return the product well before April 15. Then, they got their taxes done for free. In fact, due to piracy of their product, Intuit, may be phasing out the desktop based Turbo Tax in favor of Turbo Tax Online. This is a good idea and is relatively easy to implement as broadband becomes more and more prevalent. For those that lack access to broadband, why not use a DRM scheme with the desktop version Turbo Tax? If Turbo Tax does not meet the end user's need then simply revoke the DRM license, rendering the software unuseable. This will prevent people from using what they do not want to pay for.
I didn't know anyone still used Telnet. Personally, I gave up that bad habit a long time ago when there was a need to do big things like not have your authentication credentials pass in plain text. Seriously, why is this an issue? Any competent unix sysadmin will be using SSH. The first thing I do when setting up a new unix server is to visually verify that the telnet daemon has been turned off or comment it out in the inetd.conf. Sounds like some attempt at FUD against a very stable, mature, and good operating system. This article is just, well, a moot point.
I gotta get me one of these. This lends new creedence the Staples Red Button of major scientific and engineering problems. "That was easy!"
I fail to see how this would solve the problem at all. Conversely, new problems arise. Should people who do not 'illegally' copy or transfer music be punished for those that do? Another question, does the artist really suffer? I remember Dave Matthews, an artist in his own right, encouraging piracy of his music. He basically cited this as the reason he grew from a small West Virginia garage band into a multi-national sensation. This honestly sounds like an offshoot of the Canadian RIAA representing the interests of the labels only. I agree with the meta-tags, this is greed but it punishes everyone. I guess this is the consumer equivalent of collateral damage. Oh, and another thing, how much of this tax will actually make it back into the hands of the artist? By the time you account for the enormous costs of enforcement and the giant bureaucracy behind the collections, the piece of the pie will be rapidly whittled down.
Nicely said. Except the pharma companies would loose lots of money on their anti-depressants and others. Pharmaceuticals are a big lobby. Believe me, the world would be a better place with more cannibis. That said, I don't believe CO2 levels started to rise on the banning of growing the plant alone. That may have been a factor, albeit a small one. Our population has also grown and there are more automobiles on the road. Personally, I'd love to see the 6B per year spent on alternate energy sources.
When I mean mental journey, I mean we have our own imaginations . . . . kind of like when reading a book, right. More often the book is better than the movie because we percieve our mental images to be more accurate than the artist's interpretation. I don't know how many times I found myself saying, "Man this is lame . . . . in the book . . ."
Good points. Although, Apple does have to worry about its DRM arrogance. I don't like the fact that Apple has a virtual monopoly on DRM mp3s through itunes. I think with the popularity of the iPod, Apple could have made its FairPlay DRM scheme available on a royalty basis or even open source it and still make a very decent profit. Let's face it, Steve Jobs is no saint either. He has done things in the past and some of his behavior was odious. That said, I still like Apple better than Microsoft on any given day.
Well, at least its a start. I mean the fix to the problem has to begin somewhere. If government isn't gonna do shit about it, let us do it.
I have a friend that strongly believes in the value of toys. He has two boys and, rather than buy cheap, plastic stuff, he builds toys. These toys are miniature working bulldozers and front-end loaders with actual hydraulics and small diesel engines. Another friend built a small rideable, electric railroad. He figured that the little HO models just don't bring to life the magic of the railroad for a kid. Toys are awesome! The day we give them up for video games is a sad one. Video games do not encourage wholesome play. Granted, they are fun (when I have a bad day, I love a good game of Grand Theft Auto to relax by but this ain't wholesome fun), but should be kept to a minimum. Toys have an innocence about them that should be embraced.
Sorry, I don't think so. Toys are timeless and they can take you places where you cannot normally go. They encourage and develop the imagination, thought, and reasoning. Toys can take you into a mental journey where you can craft your imagery. Conversely, a computer game is an artist's conception of a theme as reflected in its graphics. You may or may not agree with that theme but you are, however, stuck with it. Toys are an extremely important part of development that also build fine motor skills and coordination at the early childhood level while a video game simply teaches automatic reaction. Toys teach us reflective thinking and problem solving. Now granted, toys do break, but that may simply be a fault of design or an absense of quality in the construction. I, for one, lament that toys are taking backseat to video games and high technology stuff and I'm only 29. Whatever happened to simple, whole-hearted pleasures?
I do like Quagga very much. But, its performance still doesn't quite match the Enterprise Cisco router. That said, Quagga works very well for small to medium sized businesses and Quagga may even outperform the lower end Cisco routers. The enterprise Cisco router has a slight advantage in that its hardware and architecture are designed for purely routing. I was bummed to find out that there was a performance gap. A Canadian University, University of Toronto, has a routing cluster based on Quagga. The administrator, Russell Sutherland, even said that UoT would be moving to a Cisco or Juniper router config as he said that he would need fewer Cisco units than Quagga servers to achieve the same amount of routing. The cost savings in power alone is not insignificant. It is a neat experiment and I hope that one day Quagga will surpass enterprise Cisco. Here is a PDF detailing what Russell Sutherland has done: Back to the Future: BSD on the Edge of the Enterprise.
Well, yes Microsoft is the enemy. Gorbachev tried to intervene on behalf on the school teacher and Microsoft's Chairman Bill would not hear of it. Microsoft did have the power to affect the outcome but instead chose to slaughter the lamb and I feel very strongly about this. Please read this Gorbachev Asks Gates to Intervene in Piracy Case This should clarify some things.
It would seem that Microsoft's campaign against the poor, Russian school teacher backfired miserably. Microsoft has now incurred the wrath of the Russian government and has just locked itself out of a market. That's a real smooth way to do business and has just opened the flood gates for open source software. Bill Gates' tacit denial of Gorbachev's appeal shows an utter lack of foresight and has caused an ultimate loss for Microsoft. And all of this occurred because Bill wanted to make an example of a poor, Russian school teacher whom was using Windows, not for commercial gain, but for education. If Microsoft were wise, they would have provided free, genuine copies because this teacher is educating future Microsoft consumers. Instead, they caused alienation, and, as anyone can tell you, alienation is a bad thing. So now, Red Hat has the chance to build loyal users. Go Red Hat!
I strongly disagree. I think this bill will pass and that is just what Bush does not want to happen. This bill probably has more support than you would think in the democratic majority; especially because there was considerable outrage in the democratic community at the warrantless searches and domestic spying programs. I think this will turn out to be a political move to provide some checks and balances. Finally, in addition, there should be some move to reaffirm the existing laws and begin enforcing them with real, tangible penalties for their violations.
Well, the ruling of the court did seem to be consistent with the precedent. Criticism of public figures is legally protected free speech. In this case, the court rightfully determined that the doctor was acting as a public figure. This is kind of the same thing as in that whole debacle between Rosie O'Donnell and Donald Trump. Trump really would be unable to sue her over alleged comments because he is a public figure. Trump is really just using a scare tactic and throwing his money around.
I just know I am going to get modded for this. Please be gentle. I believe Chairman Gates, when asked about why he wasn't allowing low end copies of Vista to be run virtually, his response was akin to, Consumers do not have the knowledge or technical expertise to run Vista in a virtual environment. Please! I think his statement was English for "You need to pay more money to us in order to do that."
Absolutely. I think the article fails to distinguish between an intellectual argument and an inappropriate argument. Good intellectual arguments should be made because alternative ideas are flushed out and mistakes can be mitigated. An inappropriate argument is something that turns threatening and ominous. I like a good intellectual argument because it helps me learn more about the subject matter and it is a chance to contribute. An intellectual argument isn't necessarily about winning or loosing but about bringing up points to improve ideas. An intellectual argument is more of a discussion.
Absolutely. When I hear encouraging, positive comments it makes me feel wanted and loyal. I actually do not mind working longer and harder knowing that my efforts are noticed and recognized. This happens too infrequently in the workplace. In fact, just the opposite happens. Mostly, the only feedback you here is when you "fucked-up." I know that if all I hear is how bad a worker I am, I would grow to resent the employer and the situation. But, I have enough moral fortitude not to take the resentment into the realm of overt sabotage. I notice that, in negative reinforcement situations, employees do not generally work well together as a team and are quick to want to find a way to blame someone else or scapegoat. This scapegoating, in some organizations, happens shamelessly. I think simple, honest, and genuine recognition would drastically reduce the incidents of going postal, if not eliminate them altogether.
Nice! Thank you for echoing my thoughts exactly!
Good point. Microsoft, in its infancy, did everything they could to appeal to consumers. Now look where they are.
That's an interesting question you pose. I really hope that the person you mentioned isn't punished. I think they really did not intend for this to happen. Let's go after the big guys; the ones that write and distribute the code to harvest addresses. By punishing the small, petty guys, you only make it harder for them to obtain employment and to be contributing members of society. Finding a good job and making one's own way is already hard enough, having a criminal record notwithstanding. Therefore, the problem is never solved by going after the small time and the already overburdened criminal justice just gets further taxed. My .02 cents, anyway.
people are wearing sunglasses on a cloudy day :)
I know I am being redundant but, for all intents and purposes, Linux is a UNIX clone. I also know that my previous statement is an oversimplification but Linux and UNIX behave similarly with similar commands. In some cases, software is fairly portable between the two. Also what about the BSDs? I'd argue that they are actually closer to their UNIX ancestors. Look at Explaining FreeBSD for an excellent comparison and history.
Microsoft is nothing but one big bunch of assholes. How much money is enough? Go after the big fish. I reported a website selling downloads of Microsoft software and Microsoft did absolutely nothing. The website is still up! Instead, they want to fry a school teacher. What next, a minister or priest?
You are right. I should not have been cheering about people's death and, after you point that out, I wish to amend what I previously said. However, the Taliban and Al Qaeda were, for all intents and purposes one and the same. They were, as you say, "in bed with each other."