Please then, enlighten us as to why countries with punishment-centered 'justice' systems like the US have substantially higher crime and repeat crime than countries with "all-expense-paid resorts". I'm waiting.
"That's really quite amazing that an industrial city like Pittsburgh would adopt such a radical provision, which could be good or bad depending on your view."
Pittsburgh used to be industrial, but now there are only offices of the industries that used to have plants there (like US Steel). Now it's mostly healthcare, banking, and universities now.
Lulzsec is just another part of a bigger cultural shift (wikileaks and "anonymous" as well) away from servitude into actual civil awareness. Yes, they quite often catch people in the cross-fire. Yes, they often act without any real goals, just to humiliate. However, they serve a role that has long since been shrugged off by people around the world, that of an actual opposition to the status quo.
I'm not an anarchist, but there is something poetic about a group of sarcastic hackers achieving what people want better than their government.
If I were you, I'd get used to it, because people are tired of the corruption. If it takes people like Lulzsec to actually get something done, so be it. There is a time for everything and the time for quiet obedience is past.
Many people are just sheep, as has always been the case. Those with no morals or values will surrender anything when told to, while those who stand for what they believe will keep being called terrorists. Eventually, though, the "terrorists" win - and not in the bad way. Then they are called heroes.
You have already done more to protect the rights of common people than most governments in the world have in years.
This really makes you wonder how a shadowy group of people on the internet have more influence than elected officials and regulatory boards. Of course, I guess that's because they have completely different goals... we are possibly seeing the dawn of a new world here.
Re:digital book needs to be screen reader open
on
The End of Paper Books
·
· Score: 3, Insightful
Textbooks are as good as dead, but their evil lives on in WebAssign and other grade-based extortion rackets that makes the old textbook scam look charitable.
"Education" and its associated businesses are built upon the concept of captive audiences and extortion. The education industry is what needs to die.
"And WTF do previous presidents or GOP candidates have to do with it? Is your bar set that low?! If it is, then maybe voters like you are the problem."
It has to do with the current GOP candidates being far more extreme and far less beholden to the laws of reason than even the past ones.
There essentially are no third parties. I'm sorry to say it, but you had best realize that now before doing more damage. First past the post is a two-party system. The only cases where a third party gets involved is local parties (ie, nationalist), and that only happens in Europe.
It might not be good, but it is a factual statement. In the US, not voting for someone is voting against.
"No; no; and no. All the features from KWin 3 are there. It renders windows fine. Video playback is fine."
Must be imagining things then.
"Sounds like a driver problem to me. My Radeon HD 4770 works fine with Kubuntu Natty. So does my NVIDIA 8400M laptop. I use KDE 4 and KWin and it's fine now, just like KDE 3.5 was--better, even. [...] unless it's a driver problem, in which case you should complain to ATI or spend a few bucks and get a slightly newer or different card that has decent drivers--the info you need is out there"
It almost certainly is a driver problem in part. That is not an excuse, however, to do nothing to work around the problem or avoid it in the first place. In the non-open source world, complaining that something you depend upon has a glitch is not typically a defense for "but my program stopped working!" and if the major programs on Linux intend to be taken seriously, they need to be held to the same standards. That means no hand waving from supporters.
However I'll refer you back to where I said I watched the performance and stability of every major window manager deteriorate... on my old card. From a perfectly smooth KDE3 (and smooth but annoying gnome) to nearly unusable. Getting a new card certainly seems to have sealed the deal, though. Despite repeated attempts, the major problems have not been solved 5 months later.
"1. Linux (the kernel--and yes, you need to be specific when advocating changes) is not what your complaint is about."
I don't feel I do need to be more specific. The window managers and surrounding programs are what make Linux an operating system in the modern world. The fact that in a large part they are all backsliding pretty much negates any attempts at being specific.
"2. A complete change is not needed."
Alright. Say that again in 10 years. I'll be waiting.
"4. However, we do not need mass forks. Good grief, man, do you have any idea what that would mean? What are you going to do, clone every developer and install a brain implant so they will do your bidding? What do you even mean by, "This whole batch of project managers"? You're speaking in terms so broad and vague that your words are meaningless."
Broad terms fit broad problems. It is not one single program or even a collection of them; it is the entire developer culture on Linux which has in recent years abandoned any semblance of professionalism. Aside from the distros themselves (which are not bastions of sanity), I could tell you horror stories of nearly every major project either undermining itself or those arround it. It needs to stop.
"The fact is that hardware support and out-of-the-box configuration in Linux distros has never been better, and it works better and more simply than Windows in most cases."
I'm sure this is the case for the subset you quote. It is not, however, a general fact.
"And the fact that you switched back to Windows simply lends credence to the suspicion that you didn't know what you were doing and didn't bother to find out."
I have used Linux for approximately 7 years, and as my main operating system for 5. I have managed both home-run web servers and remotely hosted Linux servers, contributed to a few projects, and used almost every distro at least once - Gentoo and Arch, not known for their ease of use - for most of the time. The fact I went back to windows shows I actually have a life which requires access to a working operating system, and little else.
But go on and claim I don't know what I am doing, because I am a heretic in the house of Linux, so I must obviously be wrong. And really - that's all your argument boils down to - I must not know anything because I disagree that problems do, in fact, exist. And that they need to be addressed, rather than excused.
Not that long ago I had to actually make a decision as to which window manager to use based on the features they supported. However, over the last three years, I've watched both Gnome and KDE go from stable to hacked together pieces of crap that barely run. I stayed on KDE3 for a very long time after 4 was released, because, as has become common, it was released completely unfinished. However I was forced to upgrade because almost no distro supports KDE3 anymore.
Well, that was great! Almost every feature I used either gone or mangled. It can no longer render windows properly, causes video playback to jump and freeze, and is now almost entirely unusable with my new video card. Gnome is even worse.
So, as a strong proponent of open source software, I am really dismayed. I can't even use Linux anymore because no window manager works right with my ATI card, and even before that, were barely usable (older Nvidia) without glitches. How am I supposed to advocate that others use it if I can't?
I think Linux needs a complete change in focus and methodology, or it is going to end up losing what little market share it has. It is time to stop trying to copy Apple UIs and time to start worrying about stability. This whole batch of project managers has failed us - we need mass forks of major projects.
But then, what do I know? I'm a windows user, again...
Oh, I've got to remember that one. "Oh, sorry I crashed your car, but hey- you should thank me for proving it couldn't stop that fast! Hopefully, you'll buy a better one next time."
You do realize this is why people don't take open source seriously, right?
I've not found this to be true. The drivers are buggy - not slow. Speed problems resulting from wine are often from inefficient stopgap code in the Direct X components of wine, or simply games doing things that the wine programmers didn't expect. Direct X is one of the most complicated parts of windows and wine depends mostly on Microsoft-provided documentation and reverse engineering to get it to work. It is really amazing anything can work, I think. Wine is perhaps one of the most impressive programming accomplishments in history.
But I do have a problem with something. As much as drivers cause problems on Linux, using them as a defense for Open Source failings to provide stable and quality libraries and programs is pathetic. I'm not accusing you of this, but already I see posts on here excusing GNOME because somehow, ATI/NVIDIA drivers are worse on GNOME than KDE... yeah, right. It is part of GNOME's job to make sure their library works with the drivers out there. That might not be right, but it's how it is, and making excuses gives Linux a bad name.
Guess what? Proprietary developers have to put up with it, too. The hardware makers aren't (generally) singling out Open Source libraries to mess with. They don't sit in dimly kit conference rooms, laughing maniacally from under their black hoods, saying "ha, we got GNOME to look bad today!" At some point, developers (I'm looking at you, GNOME), need to grow a pair and stop complaining about the world around them.
"WHO IS NOT allowed to have a military (Plus they have the balls to use the word "dong" to name their missile name... Type-of-Dong which would make getting deep-throated by one that much more humiliating) 5) Any threat to Japan is a threat to the US who is in charge of protecting them in exchange for giving up the military."
Totally false. Japan spends almost as much on their military as the United Kingdom. They just don't call it one.
This would be instantly struck down as a restriction on interstate commerce (a state-wide tariff, more or less), as it should be. States taxing trade with other states is an amazingly fast way to a failed union.
It was an act of violence to harm a field of scientific research that could help humanity in ways these loons can't even imagine. I'd say that's just as bad.
They became rioters, although I seriously question if that was not their intention. Organized, politically-motivated destruction of property... not so sure terrorism is the wrong term.
Then advocate tests (which are almost certainly already being done). Destroying experiments makes you simple terrorists. And who thought the Luddites died out?
Here's what I never get. Is Israel a theorcracy? Because the United States has no business propping up a religious government, and if Israel is oppressing in the name of religion, they deserve to not only lose support, but all else they have coming to them.
...or are they a secular democracy, as supporters claim, that are not necessarily built on religion? In such a case, you can't claim that being anti-Israel has any connection to Antisemitism.
Either they are built on religion or not, you can't have it both ways and remain honest. And taking it either way doesn't justify their behavior. But hey, did I expect supporters of one of the most oppressive and violent modern governments to be honest? Guess not.
The United States government is so corrupt that the only way they see it surviving is to use 1984 as a howto manual.
As an American (hopefully not for that much longer), this is shameful. Every so-called patriot should be fighting against censorship and spying, in every form, yet both the "small government" republicans and "progressive" democrats are for this kind of crap.
Welcome to the road to a third-world banana republic, America.
I don't believe copyright should exist, but as it does, support GPL-like licenses as a sort of attempt at perversion of the system to ends actually beneficial to society. It would be stupid to give one side all the legal ammunition by just using public domain.
Slashdot Mirror
Please then, enlighten us as to why countries with punishment-centered 'justice' systems like the US have substantially higher crime and repeat crime than countries with "all-expense-paid resorts". I'm waiting.
"That's really quite amazing that an industrial city like Pittsburgh would adopt such a radical provision, which could be good or bad depending on your view."
Pittsburgh used to be industrial, but now there are only offices of the industries that used to have plants there (like US Steel). Now it's mostly healthcare, banking, and universities now.
Don't tell me what I should encourage.
Lulzsec is just another part of a bigger cultural shift (wikileaks and "anonymous" as well) away from servitude into actual civil awareness. Yes, they quite often catch people in the cross-fire. Yes, they often act without any real goals, just to humiliate. However, they serve a role that has long since been shrugged off by people around the world, that of an actual opposition to the status quo.
I'm not an anarchist, but there is something poetic about a group of sarcastic hackers achieving what people want better than their government.
If I were you, I'd get used to it, because people are tired of the corruption. If it takes people like Lulzsec to actually get something done, so be it. There is a time for everything and the time for quiet obedience is past.
Many people are just sheep, as has always been the case. Those with no morals or values will surrender anything when told to, while those who stand for what they believe will keep being called terrorists. Eventually, though, the "terrorists" win - and not in the bad way. Then they are called heroes.
You have already done more to protect the rights of common people than most governments in the world have in years.
This really makes you wonder how a shadowy group of people on the internet have more influence than elected officials and regulatory boards. Of course, I guess that's because they have completely different goals... we are possibly seeing the dawn of a new world here.
Textbooks are as good as dead, but their evil lives on in WebAssign and other grade-based extortion rackets that makes the old textbook scam look charitable.
"Education" and its associated businesses are built upon the concept of captive audiences and extortion. The education industry is what needs to die.
Do you seriously believe Bitcoin is a currency? Two cases and plenty of evidence says it is a ponzi scheme.
"And WTF do previous presidents or GOP candidates have to do with it? Is your bar set that low?! If it is, then maybe voters like you are the problem."
It has to do with the current GOP candidates being far more extreme and far less beholden to the laws of reason than even the past ones.
There essentially are no third parties. I'm sorry to say it, but you had best realize that now before doing more damage. First past the post is a two-party system. The only cases where a third party gets involved is local parties (ie, nationalist), and that only happens in Europe.
It might not be good, but it is a factual statement. In the US, not voting for someone is voting against.
There are plenty of secretive (and thus corrupt) countries you can go to, scumbag. Get out of this one.
Constitution > Local Yokel laws.
"No; no; and no. All the features from KWin 3 are there. It renders windows fine. Video playback is fine."
Must be imagining things then.
"Sounds like a driver problem to me. My Radeon HD 4770 works fine with Kubuntu Natty. So does my NVIDIA 8400M laptop. I use KDE 4 and KWin and it's fine now, just like KDE 3.5 was--better, even. [...] unless it's a driver problem, in which case you should complain to ATI or spend a few bucks and get a slightly newer or different card that has decent drivers--the info you need is out there"
It almost certainly is a driver problem in part. That is not an excuse, however, to do nothing to work around the problem or avoid it in the first place. In the non-open source world, complaining that something you depend upon has a glitch is not typically a defense for "but my program stopped working!" and if the major programs on Linux intend to be taken seriously, they need to be held to the same standards. That means no hand waving from supporters.
However I'll refer you back to where I said I watched the performance and stability of every major window manager deteriorate... on my old card. From a perfectly smooth KDE3 (and smooth but annoying gnome) to nearly unusable. Getting a new card certainly seems to have sealed the deal, though. Despite repeated attempts, the major problems have not been solved 5 months later.
"1. Linux (the kernel--and yes, you need to be specific when advocating changes) is not what your complaint is about."
I don't feel I do need to be more specific. The window managers and surrounding programs are what make Linux an operating system in the modern world. The fact that in a large part they are all backsliding pretty much negates any attempts at being specific.
"2. A complete change is not needed."
Alright. Say that again in 10 years. I'll be waiting.
"4. However, we do not need mass forks. Good grief, man, do you have any idea what that would mean? What are you going to do, clone every developer and install a brain implant so they will do your bidding? What do you even mean by, "This whole batch of project managers"? You're speaking in terms so broad and vague that your words are meaningless."
Broad terms fit broad problems. It is not one single program or even a collection of them; it is the entire developer culture on Linux which has in recent years abandoned any semblance of professionalism. Aside from the distros themselves (which are not bastions of sanity), I could tell you horror stories of nearly every major project either undermining itself or those arround it. It needs to stop.
"The fact is that hardware support and out-of-the-box configuration in Linux distros has never been better, and it works better and more simply than Windows in most cases."
I'm sure this is the case for the subset you quote. It is not, however, a general fact.
"And the fact that you switched back to Windows simply lends credence to the suspicion that you didn't know what you were doing and didn't bother to find out."
I have used Linux for approximately 7 years, and as my main operating system for 5. I have managed both home-run web servers and remotely hosted Linux servers, contributed to a few projects, and used almost every distro at least once - Gentoo and Arch, not known for their ease of use - for most of the time. The fact I went back to windows shows I actually have a life which requires access to a working operating system, and little else.
But go on and claim I don't know what I am doing, because I am a heretic in the house of Linux, so I must obviously be wrong. And really - that's all your argument boils down to - I must not know anything because I disagree that problems do, in fact, exist. And that they need to be addressed, rather than excused.
Not that long ago I had to actually make a decision as to which window manager to use based on the features they supported. However, over the last three years, I've watched both Gnome and KDE go from stable to hacked together pieces of crap that barely run. I stayed on KDE3 for a very long time after 4 was released, because, as has become common, it was released completely unfinished. However I was forced to upgrade because almost no distro supports KDE3 anymore.
Well, that was great! Almost every feature I used either gone or mangled. It can no longer render windows properly, causes video playback to jump and freeze, and is now almost entirely unusable with my new video card. Gnome is even worse.
So, as a strong proponent of open source software, I am really dismayed. I can't even use Linux anymore because no window manager works right with my ATI card, and even before that, were barely usable (older Nvidia) without glitches. How am I supposed to advocate that others use it if I can't?
I think Linux needs a complete change in focus and methodology, or it is going to end up losing what little market share it has. It is time to stop trying to copy Apple UIs and time to start worrying about stability. This whole batch of project managers has failed us - we need mass forks of major projects.
But then, what do I know? I'm a windows user, again...
Oh, I've got to remember that one. "Oh, sorry I crashed your car, but hey- you should thank me for proving it couldn't stop that fast! Hopefully, you'll buy a better one next time."
You do realize this is why people don't take open source seriously, right?
I've not found this to be true. The drivers are buggy - not slow. Speed problems resulting from wine are often from inefficient stopgap code in the Direct X components of wine, or simply games doing things that the wine programmers didn't expect. Direct X is one of the most complicated parts of windows and wine depends mostly on Microsoft-provided documentation and reverse engineering to get it to work. It is really amazing anything can work, I think. Wine is perhaps one of the most impressive programming accomplishments in history.
But I do have a problem with something. As much as drivers cause problems on Linux, using them as a defense for Open Source failings to provide stable and quality libraries and programs is pathetic. I'm not accusing you of this, but already I see posts on here excusing GNOME because somehow, ATI/NVIDIA drivers are worse on GNOME than KDE... yeah, right. It is part of GNOME's job to make sure their library works with the drivers out there. That might not be right, but it's how it is, and making excuses gives Linux a bad name.
Guess what? Proprietary developers have to put up with it, too. The hardware makers aren't (generally) singling out Open Source libraries to mess with. They don't sit in dimly kit conference rooms, laughing maniacally from under their black hoods, saying "ha, we got GNOME to look bad today!" At some point, developers (I'm looking at you, GNOME), need to grow a pair and stop complaining about the world around them.
Quite a few operate well enough through wine. There even are a few that run better on Linux/Wine than windows.
"WHO IS NOT allowed to have a military (Plus they have the balls to use the word "dong" to name their missile name... Type-of-Dong which would make getting deep-throated by one that much more humiliating) 5) Any threat to Japan is a threat to the US who is in charge of protecting them in exchange for giving up the military."
Totally false. Japan spends almost as much on their military as the United Kingdom. They just don't call it one.
http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/MS.MIL.XPND.GD.ZS?cid=GPD_42
Japan: (1/100)*5068996399491 = 5.07 10^10 UK: 2174529808278*(2.7/100) = 5.87 10^10
By some (possibly more reliable) estimates, it is more: http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/japan/jda.htm
This would be instantly struck down as a restriction on interstate commerce (a state-wide tariff, more or less), as it should be. States taxing trade with other states is an amazingly fast way to a failed union.
It was an act of violence to harm a field of scientific research that could help humanity in ways these loons can't even imagine. I'd say that's just as bad.
They became rioters, although I seriously question if that was not their intention. Organized, politically-motivated destruction of property... not so sure terrorism is the wrong term.
Then advocate tests (which are almost certainly already being done). Destroying experiments makes you simple terrorists. And who thought the Luddites died out?
Here's what I never get. Is Israel a theorcracy? Because the United States has no business propping up a religious government, and if Israel is oppressing in the name of religion, they deserve to not only lose support, but all else they have coming to them.
...or are they a secular democracy, as supporters claim, that are not necessarily built on religion? In such a case, you can't claim that being anti-Israel has any connection to Antisemitism.
Either they are built on religion or not, you can't have it both ways and remain honest. And taking it either way doesn't justify their behavior. But hey, did I expect supporters of one of the most oppressive and violent modern governments to be honest? Guess not.
I have a bridge in Florida to sell to anyone who believes that.
The United States government is so corrupt that the only way they see it surviving is to use 1984 as a howto manual.
As an American (hopefully not for that much longer), this is shameful. Every so-called patriot should be fighting against censorship and spying, in every form, yet both the "small government" republicans and "progressive" democrats are for this kind of crap.
Welcome to the road to a third-world banana republic, America.
I don't believe copyright should exist, but as it does, support GPL-like licenses as a sort of attempt at perversion of the system to ends actually beneficial to society. It would be stupid to give one side all the legal ammunition by just using public domain.