I'm not sure about the VHS protection, but certainly now there is a point. For one, a crack only helps those who know about it, have access to it, and are capable of using it. For example, many copy protection systems on CDs can be easily be bypassed by not copying with windows (or holding down shift), but when a friend tried to copy a copy-protected CD, and it didn't work, they gave up instantly. They actually said they were relieved that they had been stopped in their attempts to do something illegal (and it was illegal). For two, an effective copy protection mechanism is protected under the DMCA, and so it makes it harder for people to distribute cracks. You can't sell them in the country, you can't really advertise in the country, and the DMCA-equivalents are spreading across the globe. Even if the copy protection mechanism only makes a token effort, it still isn't a waste.
Someone needs to start a new religion that can speak freely - and as a religion it will be protected...the main tenant would be that to get to Heaven you must point out the failings of other religions.
We shall have crusades against the Inferior (as they shall be known), hunting down and slaughtering all those who believe in any religion with any kind of shortcoming! Only then, after the blood of the last Inferior dog has been spilled, will we truly have renounced all other religion and be accepted into paradise!
I obviously saw the submission in a very different light. I saw it as a shamelessly biased, sensationalised vilification of what sounds like a very interesting machine. It marks another step forward in understanding our brain, and a practical use for the knowledge gleaned so far.
This is a scary, scary device.
OK, so someone invented a machine that you consider scary. So what? No-one is forcing you to use it, and it's not going to affect you any other way. No, it's not really the machine, it's the possibility of legislation for use on people against their will. So wouldn't it be better if we appealed to the politicians rather than halting research and development in the field of the human brain?
if BayTSP were trying to bust me for doing drugs, it'd be like getting arrested because I was hanging out with some dealers, but they never saw me using, buying, or selling any drugs."
...busting you for hanging around with people who they suspect (usually with no evidence) of dealing drugs.
It's kind of disturbing how self-centred that argument is. Do you think you are the only one to be affected if you crash without a seatbelt? Of course not. You become a loose object in the car, and thus become a danger to those around you, not just in the car, but outside as well (after all, an average American body going through the air at 50mph is pretty fuckin' scary).
And there is the fact that other drivers/riders don't appreciate witnessing the death of strangers around them.
I thought Linux/Mac users were 'better than that'?
Means to an end, my friend, means to an end. And no, it's not lying, it's talking authoritatively about things you don't really know about (this is/. for crying out loud). And no, I use Windows XP.
as soon as profit becomes the motivation in ANY area of life, the quality of that area decreases tremendously.
I am incredibly frustrated with the free market and capitalism, but the way you see it seems rather convoluted. Profit usually does motivate things to improve. There are many exceptions of course, and it heavily depends on what you actually want, but that's the one strength of the free market. It's the side effects that are a kick in the balls.
So why were things so much better back then? There was a natural filter in place. A barrier to entry. You HAD to be more intelligent back then to get on the net.
By "more intelligent", you of course mean "more skilled with computers" right? And what exactly does that prove about someone? I guess it suggests at least a very basic level of intelligence, but it sure as hell doesn't guarantee reliable knowledge. The fact that you had to be part of some kind of institution was the effective barrier. You obviously miss that, but there really isn't anything stopping you, or someone else, from creating an online community that requires some form of expertise.
Because the true point of the internet (free exchange of information, ideas, collaboration on culturally and globally beneficial non-profit projects) was lost.
It wasn't lost; it's just been expanded to include leisure, idle chatting, MMORPGs, porn, etc. Besides, I would have thought the "free exchange of information" would have been hampered by the fact that only a select few could access such freedom. What would the others do to broadcast their information and ideas, or collaborate with others?
Like it, hate it, buy it or dont, but its a fucking piece of SOFTWARE!
We wish it was just a piece of software. Like it, hate it, buy it, or not, MS is the standard, and tends to have a lot of influence, not just on its platform, but on other OSes, on the internet, on portable computers, on mp3 players, etc, etc.
You want that changed? Please propagate the FUD floating around about MS and Vista, don't buy it, don't let your friends buy it, and support workable alternatives such as OSX.
How can you not see that an appliance that the user is never meant to muck with, and a general-purpose computing device that the user is intended to muck with, are just not even the same damned thing?
I think this is what Microsoft is trying to change. Most of their users are computer illiterate, and treat their computers as an appliance, afraid even to open the control panel. It would certainly be in their interests and the **AA's interests to homogenise computers that way.
BTW, the GP is asshole, and good for you for sticking it to him at the risk of your mod points.
Your dirt analogy has one fault: that it's a natural resource and no-one manufactures it, so no-one has ownership over it. It would work better if it were farmed dirt, or dirt with a specific combination of chemicals/life forms/etc mixed in.
It has come to our attention that the administrators and contributors of slashdot.org (henceforth known as "you terrorists") are infringing on a copyright held by republicans (henceforth known as "us"). You terrorists are imitating the concept of "stupidity", albeit badly, and labelling it as "Funny", or worse, as "Insightful". Please cease and desist, or pay us royalties of $0.001 per "stupid" comment posted and $0.10 per "stupid" article retroactively. Based on early estimations, you terrorists owe us in excess of $67 billion.
Jobs will never, ever let you use HIS hardware in any fashion that HE didn't think up first
While I'm no Apple fanboy by any measure, I still think your statement is completely unfair. What made the iPod so much more successful than the competition is the targeting of the non-techie. It's designed to put up all that red tape; it breads reliability and ease of use. The iPod is meant to be used for one purpose only, and believe me, it's not programming.
Just having the option gives the consumer an opportunity to do lasting damage, and possibly souring the experience for them, putting off other potential buyers. Soon the iPod would get the reputation of being too hard for all but the computer-savvy, and it would become just another mp3 player.
most of the stuff produced by the entertainment cartels is pure unadultrated crap...If I want original entertainment, I go to the Internet and such sites as You Tube
Most of the people out there are idiots. Perhaps that's why we look for intelligence in space?
This does NOT mean that the Internet will be shut down here. For one, they only refer to copyrighted material that you don't have permission to use. You can use hyperlinks, just not to illegally posted mp3s, or pages/files that you simply aren't meant to see. For two, just because they ruled this way, doesn't mean that everyone will start taking advantage of the technical holes in it. Besides, if anyone actually had the motive and the short-sightedness to attempt that, I'm sure the ruling would be changed quick smart. I know it's not the best solution to a crappy law, but at least it works.
Slashdot Mirror
I'm not sure about the VHS protection, but certainly now there is a point. For one, a crack only helps those who know about it, have access to it, and are capable of using it. For example, many copy protection systems on CDs can be easily be bypassed by not copying with windows (or holding down shift), but when a friend tried to copy a copy-protected CD, and it didn't work, they gave up instantly. They actually said they were relieved that they had been stopped in their attempts to do something illegal (and it was illegal).
For two, an effective copy protection mechanism is protected under the DMCA, and so it makes it harder for people to distribute cracks. You can't sell them in the country, you can't really advertise in the country, and the DMCA-equivalents are spreading across the globe. Even if the copy protection mechanism only makes a token effort, it still isn't a waste.
Please mod me funny, not informative: http://www.endofworld.net/
Can I get an amen?
So what would it take for the senate to impress you on the privacy front?
It's kind of disturbing how self-centred that argument is. Do you think you are the only one to be affected if you crash without a seatbelt? Of course not. You become a loose object in the car, and thus become a danger to those around you, not just in the car, but outside as well (after all, an average American body going through the air at 50mph is pretty fuckin' scary).
And there is the fact that other drivers/riders don't appreciate witnessing the death of strangers around them.
Why aren't you running since you have something to hide?
You want that changed? Please propagate the FUD floating around about MS and Vista, don't buy it, don't let your friends buy it, and support workable alternatives such as OSX.
BTW, the GP is asshole, and good for you for sticking it to him at the risk of your mod points.
Your dirt analogy has one fault: that it's a natural resource and no-one manufactures it, so no-one has ownership over it. It would work better if it were farmed dirt, or dirt with a specific combination of chemicals/life forms/etc mixed in.
...this is old news!
Is that a question
Dude!
It has come to our attention that the administrators and contributors of slashdot.org (henceforth known as "you terrorists") are infringing on a copyright held by republicans (henceforth known as "us"). You terrorists are imitating the concept of "stupidity", albeit badly, and labelling it as "Funny", or worse, as "Insightful". Please cease and desist, or pay us royalties of $0.001 per "stupid" comment posted and $0.10 per "stupid" article retroactively. Based on early estimations, you terrorists owe us in excess of $67 billion.
Just having the option gives the consumer an opportunity to do lasting damage, and possibly souring the experience for them, putting off other potential buyers. Soon the iPod would get the reputation of being too hard for all but the computer-savvy, and it would become just another mp3 player.
A bold political move, but obviously not a well thought-out one.
Seriously, Mr Serious, that whole I am Bond. James Bond. thing is soooo last year.
This does NOT mean that the Internet will be shut down here. For one, they only refer to copyrighted material that you don't have permission to use. You can use hyperlinks, just not to illegally posted mp3s, or pages/files that you simply aren't meant to see. For two, just because they ruled this way, doesn't mean that everyone will start taking advantage of the technical holes in it. Besides, if anyone actually had the motive and the short-sightedness to attempt that, I'm sure the ruling would be changed quick smart. I know it's not the best solution to a crappy law, but at least it works.