That is quite impressive. Great CGI work, good story.
SPOILER!
My favourite part was when the Code Guardian ripped off the Nazi-bots arm and beat it with it. Who hasn't wanted to do that? Awesome.
END SPOILER
All jokes aside, I think a large part of why they are doing this is because "DRM" has a negative image in the public eye (rightly so, but I digress). By changing to DCE they can say "oh we don't use DRM anymore, it was bad, we have DCE. It "enables" you...". Total PR crap.
I am inclined to agree that in the simplest case a bartender/store clerk/bouncer (etc) has no right to confiscate your ID. I think the issue is that it's not that simple. From the bartender's point of view, as has been mentioned already, they have a lot to lose if they serve an underage person. You (the person with ID in question) have every right to call the police to report the theft of your ID. The thing is, if the ID really is fake then the police DO have the right to confiscate the ID in which case you lose your ID anyway. The bartender is banking on the fact that they can spot a fake and that you aren't going to call the police to try to get it back, since that screws you anyway. Of course if your ID is real then you have every right to be pissed off, tell them off, call the cops and never go to their bar/pub/store again.
In my view, the bottom line is that the bartender/clerk isn't right for taking your ID but since they caught you with a fake ID they have the power so you're screwed. Posting the IDs online is another story, and I think it's just unethical and elitist even if it can be proven to be legal.
Speaking of NIN on Pirate Bay, this isn't the first time Trent has posted content on that site. Last December the DVD version of NIN's Closure video (which was put indefinitely on hold by Interscope) as well as a DVD version of the infamous "Broken" movie were posted to Pirate Bay. Coincidentally enough a short post on the NIN website around the same time said "12/21/06 : Happy Holidays! This one is a guilt-free download. (shhhh - I didn't say that out loud). If you know what I'm talking about, cool." (quote taken from Wikipedia but I remember reading it and thinking wtf?). I think it's pretty cool that Trent is willing to put stuff out there to keep his fans happy even though he might not directly make money off it. Not that he himself posted that stuff (nudge nudge, wink wink).
I would agree with everything that you said if you change the word "go" to "start". As people have already stated it is very difficult for a new band to get access to equipment, recording time, media exposure etc without the help of a label. That is a large part of why new bands usually jump at the chance to join a label.
On the other hand there are a number of large bands that could potentially go independent now and do just fine. A prime example is Radiohead, who are in fact not in a contract right now but I bet when their new album is released it will get just as much hype as the last one. Of course the majority of bands aren't big enough to sustain a large fanbase without a big label or are locked into multi-album record deals, which is why the labels are able to take advantage of so many bands. That's my two cents at least.
It depends on the band.
What you are saying is true for bands from large music companies.
While I agree with most of your points, I have to disagree that it's true for bands from large music companies. The quality of the music depends (almost) solely with the band. The big difference, as I see it, is that the crappy bands on large labels have the backing to be pushed so everyone hears their 1 or 2 good songs while the crappy bands on small labels are just never heard of. The only time you hear about bands from small/indie labels is when their music is good enough to make them popular on their own, thus it seems that indie bands are putting out consistently great music.
Back in May 2006 CBC News (a Canadian network) did a piece on how IsoHunt was being sued (Google "cbc news isohunt" if you want to read it). The owner is actually a Canadian living in Canada, so the switch to a Canadian ISP could just be as simple as him deciding that since his US ISP dropped him he might as well go with something local.
Singh said the company plans to build 23 more rotating towers in each of the world's time zones with finance provided by investors linked to the company.
So Singh didn't ever say "many more" though I'm not sure why he wouldn't research the number of time zones before making statements to the media.
Really there's one good point in this entire article: even if 80% of your users only use 20% of the features, it's probably not the same 20%.
Actually, that point was taken from a previous article of his, so even the one interesting point isn't original. Basically the entire article was a waste of time.
if you run a day care center, you will probably save yourself some grief you don't hire someone with a history of child abuse.
Very true, since the offence (child abuse) is related to the job (day care). However in the article it states that the 30% that had an arrest record were for charges that aren't tech-related. From TFA..
...those charges don't generally include computer crimes. Some 18% were for violent offenses such as rape and manslaughter, 11% were for alcohol- and drug-related offenses, and another 11% were for theft.
Of course there might be another reason to not hire this person, say it's a high-stress job and you don't want your IT person snapping and beating someone up. However in this case the topic was computer crime, which at best is probably only loosely related to violent and drug related crimes.
How different is it than MSFT placing its products (Internet Explorer) in a premium marketing position (embedded in the OS)?
I think there is a huge difference between MS bundling Internet Explorer with Windows and Google putting itself at the top of it's own searches. With IE and Windows the average user just sees IE and uses it because it's there with no mention of other options. With a Google search you have easy access to multiple options. It's not like Google only gives you the Google solution and leaves you to find other options yourself.
Don't forget that Google is a company and they have to make money to continue to exist. This is no different than another company paying to be at the top of the list, it's called advertising. Are you upset that UPS doesn't have FedEx ads on it's trucks? Or that McDonald's doesn't advertise that Wendy's also serves burgers?
I agree. The fact that people with poor eyesight, diabetes etc. aren't "culled" doesn't prove that natural selection is no longer at work. I think it shows that these formerly undesirable traits have less effect these days. Back in the stone age it would be better for the tribe if the "blind genes" were weeded out but these days you can just get glasses/contacts/laser surgery and you are good to go.
That's not to say that natural selection is still progressing at the same rate that it used to but in this case I don't think it's really related.
In regards to 2D geometry, a line is a good example (IMHO) because it shows that there are an infinite number of points (i.e. opinions) between the two extremes. Though I guess technically we're talking about a line segment since by definition a line goes on forever. Of course most political debates seem to go on forever, so maybe a line is a good example:)
Bottom line: there's no reason yet to get excited about the iTunes-cracking technology (and, indeed, no reason to buy an iPod), when you can already convert songs this way
Considering that the iPod is the top selling MP3 player right now it sounds more like he's missing the point than making great insights. He makes it sound like people only buy iPods for the specific purpose of playing music bought from the iTunes store. I'm sure there are plenty of people (myself included) that have never bought music online and bought the iPod for other reasons, be it usability, style, social status or whatever. The ability to play music bought from iTunes never even crossed my mind.
I don't know about anyone else but when I see an incident like this, the fact that he played GTA seems more like a symptom of a violent child rather than the cause. Not to say that everyone that plays violent video games does so because they love violence. More so, this kid was obsessed with GTA because he was attracted to the violence.
Maybe Sony can include a research program that searches for cures to diseases that are caused by obesity that are caused (in part) by kids sitting around all day playing video games instead of going outside and getting exercise. Just a thought.
Smoking hash is illegal in US, like in my country, but should I be arrested just because I have passed a joint in a coffeeshop in Amsterdam.
I agree with your point but just want to point out a technicality. Hash is still illegal in Holland, the law enforcement agencies have just decided to turn a blind eye on soft drugs so they can focus more resources on hard drugs (cocaine, heroin etc). It is still illegal to sell drugs but possession is only a minor offence. Also, you cannot sell drugs on the street, it's limited to the so-called "coffee shops".
My first reaction to these two articles was to think that they are opposite views coming from the pro-MS and anti-MS camps. However, the terms are relative here so they aren't mutually exclusive. "more stable than expected" could mean that the testers expected nothing to work and that Vista would crash every five minutes. If Vista ran okay and only crashed once every couple hours that would be "better than expected" but still not ready for prime time. Given that these reviews are totally subjective they all need to be taken with a grain of salt.
Just a little anecdote on how the Caps Lock can actually be useful. When I was in University I tutored younger students in Comp-Sci. One of the students that I tutored was physically disabled and couldn't use his left hand to type. This made it rather difficult to hold down shift and type keys at the same time. His solution was to hit caps, type the letters and then hits caps again. I'm pretty sure if you asked him he would say that the caps lock key is incredibly useful.
I don't really take this article seriously but at the same time the caps lock key does serve a purpose for some users. You'd think they could make a better use of their time.
Slashdot Mirror
That is quite impressive. Great CGI work, good story.
SPOILER!
My favourite part was when the Code Guardian ripped off the Nazi-bots arm and beat it with it. Who hasn't wanted to do that? Awesome.
END SPOILER
All jokes aside, I think a large part of why they are doing this is because "DRM" has a negative image in the public eye (rightly so, but I digress). By changing to DCE they can say "oh we don't use DRM anymore, it was bad, we have DCE. It "enables" you...". Total PR crap.
I am inclined to agree that in the simplest case a bartender/store clerk/bouncer (etc) has no right to confiscate your ID. I think the issue is that it's not that simple. From the bartender's point of view, as has been mentioned already, they have a lot to lose if they serve an underage person. You (the person with ID in question) have every right to call the police to report the theft of your ID. The thing is, if the ID really is fake then the police DO have the right to confiscate the ID in which case you lose your ID anyway. The bartender is banking on the fact that they can spot a fake and that you aren't going to call the police to try to get it back, since that screws you anyway. Of course if your ID is real then you have every right to be pissed off, tell them off, call the cops and never go to their bar/pub/store again.
In my view, the bottom line is that the bartender/clerk isn't right for taking your ID but since they caught you with a fake ID they have the power so you're screwed. Posting the IDs online is another story, and I think it's just unethical and elitist even if it can be proven to be legal.
Speaking of NIN on Pirate Bay, this isn't the first time Trent has posted content on that site. Last December the DVD version of NIN's Closure video (which was put indefinitely on hold by Interscope) as well as a DVD version of the infamous "Broken" movie were posted to Pirate Bay. Coincidentally enough a short post on the NIN website around the same time said "12/21/06 : Happy Holidays! This one is a guilt-free download. (shhhh - I didn't say that out loud). If you know what I'm talking about, cool." (quote taken from Wikipedia but I remember reading it and thinking wtf?). I think it's pretty cool that Trent is willing to put stuff out there to keep his fans happy even though he might not directly make money off it. Not that he himself posted that stuff (nudge nudge, wink wink).
their web-master, apparently, knows only the single tool (hammer), and everything looks like a nail to him/her
:)
Well duh, I mean the band is Nine Inch NAILS
If they go independant
...
I would agree with everything that you said if you change the word "go" to "start". As people have already stated it is very difficult for a new band to get access to equipment, recording time, media exposure etc without the help of a label. That is a large part of why new bands usually jump at the chance to join a label.
On the other hand there are a number of large bands that could potentially go independent now and do just fine. A prime example is Radiohead, who are in fact not in a contract right now but I bet when their new album is released it will get just as much hype as the last one. Of course the majority of bands aren't big enough to sustain a large fanbase without a big label or are locked into multi-album record deals, which is why the labels are able to take advantage of so many bands. That's my two cents at least.
It depends on the band. What you are saying is true for bands from large music companies.
While I agree with most of your points, I have to disagree that it's true for bands from large music companies. The quality of the music depends (almost) solely with the band. The big difference, as I see it, is that the crappy bands on large labels have the backing to be pushed so everyone hears their 1 or 2 good songs while the crappy bands on small labels are just never heard of. The only time you hear about bands from small/indie labels is when their music is good enough to make them popular on their own, thus it seems that indie bands are putting out consistently great music.
This reminds me of this comic....
http://www.mnftiu.cc/mnftiu.cc/war.html
check out the second comic on the page. heh.
Back in May 2006 CBC News (a Canadian network) did a piece on how IsoHunt was being sued (Google "cbc news isohunt" if you want to read it). The owner is actually a Canadian living in Canada, so the switch to a Canadian ISP could just be as simple as him deciding that since his US ISP dropped him he might as well go with something local.
The full article actually says...
Singh said the company plans to build 23 more rotating towers in each of the world's time zones with finance provided by investors linked to the company.
So Singh didn't ever say "many more" though I'm not sure why he wouldn't research the number of time zones before making statements to the media.
Really there's one good point in this entire article: even if 80% of your users only use 20% of the features, it's probably not the same 20%.
Actually, that point was taken from a previous article of his, so even the one interesting point isn't original. Basically the entire article was a waste of time.
if you run a day care center, you will probably save yourself some grief you don't hire someone with a history of child abuse.
...those charges don't generally include computer crimes. Some 18% were for violent offenses such as rape and manslaughter, 11% were for alcohol- and drug-related offenses, and another 11% were for theft.
Very true, since the offence (child abuse) is related to the job (day care). However in the article it states that the 30% that had an arrest record were for charges that aren't tech-related. From TFA..
Of course there might be another reason to not hire this person, say it's a high-stress job and you don't want your IT person snapping and beating someone up. However in this case the topic was computer crime, which at best is probably only loosely related to violent and drug related crimes.
How different is it than MSFT placing its products (Internet Explorer) in a premium marketing position (embedded in the OS)?
I think there is a huge difference between MS bundling Internet Explorer with Windows and Google putting itself at the top of it's own searches. With IE and Windows the average user just sees IE and uses it because it's there with no mention of other options. With a Google search you have easy access to multiple options. It's not like Google only gives you the Google solution and leaves you to find other options yourself.
Don't forget that Google is a company and they have to make money to continue to exist. This is no different than another company paying to be at the top of the list, it's called advertising. Are you upset that UPS doesn't have FedEx ads on it's trucks? Or that McDonald's doesn't advertise that Wendy's also serves burgers?
I agree. The fact that people with poor eyesight, diabetes etc. aren't "culled" doesn't prove that natural selection is no longer at work. I think it shows that these formerly undesirable traits have less effect these days. Back in the stone age it would be better for the tribe if the "blind genes" were weeded out but these days you can just get glasses/contacts/laser surgery and you are good to go.
That's not to say that natural selection is still progressing at the same rate that it used to but in this case I don't think it's really related.
In regards to 2D geometry, a line is a good example (IMHO) because it shows that there are an infinite number of points (i.e. opinions) between the two extremes. Though I guess technically we're talking about a line segment since by definition a line goes on forever. Of course most political debates seem to go on forever, so maybe a line is a good example :)
Bottom line: there's no reason yet to get excited about the iTunes-cracking technology (and, indeed, no reason to buy an iPod), when you can already convert songs this way
Considering that the iPod is the top selling MP3 player right now it sounds more like he's missing the point than making great insights. He makes it sound like people only buy iPods for the specific purpose of playing music bought from the iTunes store. I'm sure there are plenty of people (myself included) that have never bought music online and bought the iPod for other reasons, be it usability, style, social status or whatever. The ability to play music bought from iTunes never even crossed my mind.
I don't know about anyone else but when I see an incident like this, the fact that he played GTA seems more like a symptom of a violent child rather than the cause. Not to say that everyone that plays violent video games does so because they love violence. More so, this kid was obsessed with GTA because he was attracted to the violence.
Maybe Sony can include a research program that searches for cures to diseases that are caused by obesity that are caused (in part) by kids sitting around all day playing video games instead of going outside and getting exercise. Just a thought.
Smoking hash is illegal in US, like in my country, but should I be arrested just because I have passed a joint in a coffeeshop in Amsterdam.
I agree with your point but just want to point out a technicality. Hash is still illegal in Holland, the law enforcement agencies have just decided to turn a blind eye on soft drugs so they can focus more resources on hard drugs (cocaine, heroin etc). It is still illegal to sell drugs but possession is only a minor offence. Also, you cannot sell drugs on the street, it's limited to the so-called "coffee shops".
B
My first reaction to these two articles was to think that they are opposite views coming from the pro-MS and anti-MS camps. However, the terms are relative here so they aren't mutually exclusive. "more stable than expected" could mean that the testers expected nothing to work and that Vista would crash every five minutes. If Vista ran okay and only crashed once every couple hours that would be "better than expected" but still not ready for prime time. Given that these reviews are totally subjective they all need to be taken with a grain of salt.
B
Hey if it feels like your "insert device" is on fire you should probably see a doctor about it :)
only if it's on a plane!
Just a little anecdote on how the Caps Lock can actually be useful. When I was in University I tutored younger students in Comp-Sci. One of the students that I tutored was physically disabled and couldn't use his left hand to type. This made it rather difficult to hold down shift and type keys at the same time. His solution was to hit caps, type the letters and then hits caps again. I'm pretty sure if you asked him he would say that the caps lock key is incredibly useful.
I don't really take this article seriously but at the same time the caps lock key does serve a purpose for some users. You'd think they could make a better use of their time.
B
My only drug problem is scoring good bud...
Instead, we should be regulating drugs as we do all prescription medicines. In particular, the medicines for sexual stimulation.
Sexual stimulation? So you're referring to pot, right?