And some of us have opted out of this fucked up system and unchecked the "willing to moderate" box. It's my way of saying, "I won your silly little karma game, boys. I don't have to play any more."
Hello. I am a subscriber, and as I would say to my 3.5-year-old: These 500 errors are unacceptable. Changes should be tested BEFORE they're activated. Unless you want to be completely amateur about it, that is....
The cable and telco that whine about unfair competition seem to conveniently forget that that their facilities were paid for under
regulations that gave them monopoly status. Most municipalities that get
into the broadband business do so because the incumbents have not provided
anything but vague promises for the future.
Absolutely. Kudos to Disney for using intelligent technology to gather this kind of data. Better than hiring some flunky to track me all day long on their video surveillance feed.
Anyone who plays Roller Coaster Tycoon can appreciate this stuff. Just as long as they don't pick me up with a pair of tongs and dump me into a crowded, walled-up cell with no bathroom.
Seconded. And if he can hit it during Mardi Gras, he'll get to see more b00bies than he ever thought possible! (Probably the only chance that a geek [or anyone, for that matter] will ever *get* to see flesh-and-blood breasts for the price of some cheap plastic beads!).
Maybe you should consider moving the computer OUT of your bedroom. Or turn your computer off when you want to sleep. That's what a NON-techie would do, you see.
I have to step in to defend the author herself. This article states that "J.K. Rowling and her publisher since J.K. Rowling and her publisher have launched an aggressive worldwide legal campaign against the unauthorized Potter takeoffs." (emphasis mine)
What this means is that the publishing company is working to preserve its rights to the characters and likenesses that it has paid Rowling the rights for. Surely the publisher is in it for the money, as well they should be. They assumed the risk when they first accepted the manuscript for publication -- and they hit the jackpot.
The publishers need to protect themselves from other commercial interests seeking to make money off of the characters that Rowling has created (at their expense).
Even if the Harry Potter series ends at Book 7, there may be a multitude of opportunities for other spin-offs. They may set another author to creating a non-Harry children's series based at Hogwarts. They could set up an adult-focused series following Harry & friends through their careers & adulthood. They could publish more of the textbooks and supplemental material mentioned in the original series. And these are just the obvious ideas. My point is that the publishers, having invested in the creation of these characters, have every right to protect their financial interests.
As far as the author's part in all this, having read quite a bit about Rowling herself, I have no doubt that she's NOT in it for the money. She has created these characters, breathed life into them, and there's no doubt that they probably mean as much to her as her own children. She has a vested interest (as their creator and mother) to protect them from being appropriated by other parties.
I think it's worth the quality control alone to keep these books and characters protected as much as possible, especially from commercial exploitation by other "authors."
I agree. Allowing sensitive information about *children* to be this vulnerable is criminal. If I were a parent in that district, I'd be calling a lawyer and strongly considering my private/homeschooling options.
Well, I wouldn't say we live in the "wilderness" per se -- we're a short 15 minutes from the county seat, and lord knows Wal-Mart is just 10 miles down the road! But it sure would be nice to be able to hook into the DSL that's 3 [road] miles away.
A modem speed of 56K isn't the end of the world, but when that's all the bandwidth you have and you're both surfing at once, it can be torturous. I use the Net a LOT less since moving to the country (and away from our cable modem). Believe me -- I notice the difference!!
Another issue for us is that the max upload speed we're getting is 33K -- try e-mailing pix of the baby to parents on the left coast with THAT!! It takes *hours*.
So, just a few things to think of before "stating the obvious" about those of us who live "in the wilderness." We wanted to get away from suburban sprawl and be able to own some land and a nice house -- not abandon civilization (which is defined, of course, by the availability of high-speed Internet access!);-)
He demands sexual favors from mutants of all species and requests that, in particular, mutant females of the nanomage persuasion provide him their feet.
I know this is going to be a VERY unpopular opinion, but I definitely see the point that is being made by the RIAA. They are selling material that is copyrighted. That means that copying (and all permutations thereof) of that material is restricted. End of story.
What I am reading in these reponses is a whole rash of rationalizations:
They screw the artists
They are evil corporations
They charge too much for CDs
The music sucks/everything sounds the same
And on and on and on...
Let's face it: We like the music and we want to use the technology that enables us to copy and share it over the Internet for free. We want the product, but we don't want to pay.
You can put forth all kinds of hypothetical situations where illegal and unethical intentions are not involved, but let's be grown-up enough to admit that getting something for nothing is 99% of what this is all about.
You know what I think ought to be done about it? I think that the RIAA ought to start putting their product out there so cheaply that people won't object so vociferously to paying for it. If we could pay 5 or 10 or 25 cents for a copy of a song (I can already see pricing them on a sliding scale -- with the most popular stuff being priced highest, according to laws of supply and demand, kinda), I think that most of us would do that -- for a multitude of reasons:
For most of us, it's a paltry sum
It gives us MUCH greater choice when we get to pay for *just* the songs we want, rather than 1 or 2 good songs along with 10 tracks of filler crap
It helps support the artists that we like putting out the kind of music that we want
It's the honest thing to do (and I'm one of those people who believes that most of the time most of the people will do their best to do what's right, as long as you make it easy for them).
So maybe I'm too naive about this stuff. But it seems pretty clear cut to me. Making copies of CDs for anything other than your own use is illegal. Does that mean that everyone who does it should go to jail? Probably not. I DO think it means that the RIAA had better wake up and realize that they have a MAJOR problem on their hands, and revolutionize the way they do business, if they want to stay in business.
mod down this entire thread -- or at least the last 50 posts of it? Since when did Slashdot become MikeFM's personal nutritional/relationship/rehabilitation service??
And a message to Mike -- Dude. You better get your ass back to work, because I bet there's about 150 other guys on Slashdot right now out of work who would take your place in a heartbeat!
Met my husband on-line. Before that, it was dozens of other guys. Had my first on-line boyfriend in 8th grade (on a BBS over a Commodore 64 and a 1200 baud modem!). Learned really quickly how to screen the psychos from the normal people -- talking on the phone helps, too. There are good people out there. You just have to make yourself available.
You obviously didn't read WHAT I SAID. I didn't say: anyone who has ever done anything untoward should never be allowed any status in the public forum.
WHAT I SAID was that if you've made some mistakes or done things you're not proud of, then by god, STAND UP and admit it!! Don't try to hide behind "the law" or anything else. Just admit it, address it, beg forgiveness, and carry on doing the good deeds.
How's that. See? We agree, after all!
....Bethanie....
P.S. What makes you think that the U.S. isn't a "boring and repressed" country already?!?
The major problem I have with the whole Miss Vermont thing is that the tales told about her are ADMITTEDLY accurate (RT[F]A). Now, she is holding herself up as a model of abstinence, temperance, steadfastness... and a whole other load of crap (see the saccharin-sweet-make-you-puke intro to her website, which I'm not gonna link to here 'cause she's on a litigious rampage, apparently *cough* www.katyjohnson.com *cough*)
The problem isn't that she's being hypocritical -- everyone has the right to change their mind about the values they hold and what they want to represent. But the truth is, SHE DID THE STUFF that Max is writing about.
Don't we all have dirty little secrets in our past (like, say, those 2 consecutive French Quarter Mardi Gras back in the 90s... I've still got sacks and sacks of beads -- my daughter *loves* playing with them!)??
If you can't face up to your past, DON'T pursue a role as a public figure (like Miss Pure-and-Proper America -- DUH). Eventually, it's gonna come back and bite you in the ass. Either have the ovaries to stand up and address the "mistakes" you've made, or STFU and retire to a quiet life of obscurity.
If you're really lucky, you can buy a house in Barbra Streisand's neighborhood and be ensured of your privacy!:-)
I'm not so sure that gaming is becoming totally mainstream -- I just think that geeks (who will admit to gaming) from all walks of life are starting to come out of the closet, as it were.
Face it,/.ers -- we don't hold a monopoly on geekiness! (But somehow we seem to gravitate towards this site...) Just because some guy DOESN'T spend his days immersed in writing arcane code and his nights hacking his TiVo does not DISqualify him as a geek.
Geeks go to law school, they write papers like this one, and sometimes, they're just stay-at-home moms with a penchant for mental stimulation that can't be gained from hours spent passively absorbing the pablum that is network television (Sopranos not included under that label, of course).
One final note: I think we should question Jared's status as a true "geek" if was actually at a party -- especially one where there were people who watch television and tried to carry on actual "conversations"! Personally, I think he's just trying to come off as a cool guy or something. Or maybe he's just the perfect example to prove my point!?! *grin*
How about abandoning the/. universe altogether (but not the geekly one) and going pre-historic with The Earth's Children series by Jean Auel?
The Clan of the Cave Bear
The Valley of Horses
The Mammoth Hunters
The Plains of Passage
The Shelters of Stone
This series has a very strong narrative (i.e., it's a well-told story) and wonderful, well-developed characters. Lots of detail goes into explaining how they developed tools and techniques and figured out how to do new things, which will definitely appeal to the/. bunch.
PLUS they're chock full of PLENTY of hot sex!! (Which this crowd ALWAYS needs more of!!)
Just trying to point y'all in the right direction, boys (and girls!).
And I can tell you WHY Slashdot will continue to post stories just like this. Because it got something like 200 posts in an hour. Because Slashdotters (or/.ers, just to illustrate that I can read the lingo, too) jump all over it like flies on shit. Because no one can keep his mouth shut when it comes to flaming Microsoft.
Slashdot Mirror
Have you seen this?
Dude. Check your gmail.
....Bethanie....
I thought that a thorough greasing was what made the weasel squeak in the first place.
Oh, no... dammit. That's what makes the weasel SPIT.
I really gotta get those straightened out in my head.
....Bethanie....
And some of us have opted out of this fucked up system and unchecked the "willing to moderate" box. It's my way of saying, "I won your silly little karma game, boys. I don't have to play any more."
....Bethanie....
Hello. I am a subscriber, and as I would say to my 3.5-year-old: These 500 errors are unacceptable. Changes should be tested BEFORE they're activated. Unless you want to be completely amateur about it, that is....
The cable and telco that whine about unfair competition seem to conveniently forget that that their facilities were paid for under regulations that gave them monopoly status. Most municipalities that get into the broadband business do so because the incumbents have not provided anything but vague promises for the future.
....Bethanie....
Absolutely. Kudos to Disney for using intelligent technology to gather this kind of data. Better than hiring some flunky to track me all day long on their video surveillance feed.
....Bethanie....
Anyone who plays Roller Coaster Tycoon can appreciate this stuff. Just as long as they don't pick me up with a pair of tongs and dump me into a crowded, walled-up cell with no bathroom.
Seconded. And if he can hit it during Mardi Gras, he'll get to see more b00bies than he ever thought possible! (Probably the only chance that a geek [or anyone, for that matter] will ever *get* to see flesh-and-blood breasts for the price of some cheap plastic beads!).
....Bethanie....
Bourbon Street, baby!!
This works great and I sleep much better now!
....Bethanie....
Maybe you should consider moving the computer OUT of your bedroom. Or turn your computer off when you want to sleep. That's what a NON-techie would do, you see.
(Original Recipe)
I have to step in to defend the author herself. This article states that "J.K. Rowling and her publisher since J.K. Rowling and her publisher have launched an aggressive worldwide legal campaign against the unauthorized Potter takeoffs." (emphasis mine)
....Bethanie....
What this means is that the publishing company is working to preserve its rights to the characters and likenesses that it has paid Rowling the rights for. Surely the publisher is in it for the money, as well they should be. They assumed the risk when they first accepted the manuscript for publication -- and they hit the jackpot.
The publishers need to protect themselves from other commercial interests seeking to make money off of the characters that Rowling has created (at their expense).
Even if the Harry Potter series ends at Book 7, there may be a multitude of opportunities for other spin-offs. They may set another author to creating a non-Harry children's series based at Hogwarts. They could set up an adult-focused series following Harry & friends through their careers & adulthood. They could publish more of the textbooks and supplemental material mentioned in the original series. And these are just the obvious ideas. My point is that the publishers, having invested in the creation of these characters, have every right to protect their financial interests.
As far as the author's part in all this, having read quite a bit about Rowling herself, I have no doubt that she's NOT in it for the money. She has created these characters, breathed life into them, and there's no doubt that they probably mean as much to her as her own children. She has a vested interest (as their creator and mother) to protect them from being appropriated by other parties.
I think it's worth the quality control alone to keep these books and characters protected as much as possible, especially from commercial exploitation by other "authors."
I agree. Allowing sensitive information about *children* to be this vulnerable is criminal. If I were a parent in that district, I'd be calling a lawyer and strongly considering my private/homeschooling options.
....Bethanie....
Well, I wouldn't say we live in the "wilderness" per se -- we're a short 15 minutes from the county seat, and lord knows Wal-Mart is just 10 miles down the road! But it sure would be nice to be able to hook into the DSL that's 3 [road] miles away.
;-)
....Bethanie....
A modem speed of 56K isn't the end of the world, but when that's all the bandwidth you have and you're both surfing at once, it can be torturous. I use the Net a LOT less since moving to the country (and away from our cable modem). Believe me -- I notice the difference!!
Another issue for us is that the max upload speed we're getting is 33K -- try e-mailing pix of the baby to parents on the left coast with THAT!! It takes *hours*.
So, just a few things to think of before "stating the obvious" about those of us who live "in the wilderness." We wanted to get away from suburban sprawl and be able to own some land and a nice house -- not abandon civilization (which is defined, of course, by the availability of high-speed Internet access!)
He demands sexual favors from mutants of all species and requests that, in particular, mutant females of the nanomage persuasion provide him their feet.
....Bethanie....
I'm pretty sure I dated this guy in college!
What I am reading in these reponses is a whole rash of rationalizations:
Let's face it: We like the music and we want to use the technology that enables us to copy and share it over the Internet for free. We want the product, but we don't want to pay.
You can put forth all kinds of hypothetical situations where illegal and unethical intentions are not involved, but let's be grown-up enough to admit that getting something for nothing is 99% of what this is all about.
You know what I think ought to be done about it? I think that the RIAA ought to start putting their product out there so cheaply that people won't object so vociferously to paying for it. If we could pay 5 or 10 or 25 cents for a copy of a song (I can already see pricing them on a sliding scale -- with the most popular stuff being priced highest, according to laws of supply and demand, kinda), I think that most of us would do that -- for a multitude of reasons:
So maybe I'm too naive about this stuff. But it seems pretty clear cut to me. Making copies of CDs for anything other than your own use is illegal. Does that mean that everyone who does it should go to jail? Probably not. I DO think it means that the RIAA had better wake up and realize that they have a MAJOR problem on their hands, and revolutionize the way they do business, if they want to stay in business.
(and I am ALL about the crotch-level shower head -- I'll make sure I get the water to temp before I step into the shower)
...but who wants to stay the night in El Segundo??? Blech!
....Bethanie....
mod down this entire thread -- or at least the last 50 posts of it? Since when did Slashdot become MikeFM's personal nutritional/relationship/rehabilitation service??
....Bethanie....
And a message to Mike -- Dude. You better get your ass back to work, because I bet there's about 150 other guys on Slashdot right now out of work who would take your place in a heartbeat!
Just keepin' it real.
Met my husband on-line. Before that, it was dozens of other guys. Had my first on-line boyfriend in 8th grade (on a BBS over a Commodore 64 and a 1200 baud modem!). Learned really quickly how to screen the psychos from the normal people -- talking on the phone helps, too. There are good people out there. You just have to make yourself available.
....Bethanie....
My toddler can do all that. Can't yours?
....Bethanie....
You obviously didn't read WHAT I SAID. I didn't say: anyone who has ever done anything untoward should never be allowed any status in the public forum.
....Bethanie....
WHAT I SAID was that if you've made some mistakes or done things you're not proud of, then by god, STAND UP and admit it!! Don't try to hide behind "the law" or anything else. Just admit it, address it, beg forgiveness, and carry on doing the good deeds.
How's that. See? We agree, after all!
P.S. What makes you think that the U.S. isn't a "boring and repressed" country already?!?
Oops. I mean Toots.
:-)
....Bethanie....
The major problem I have with the whole Miss Vermont thing is that the tales told about her are ADMITTEDLY accurate (RT[F]A). Now, she is holding herself up as a model of abstinence, temperance, steadfastness... and a whole other load of crap (see the saccharin-sweet-make-you-puke intro to her website, which I'm not gonna link to here 'cause she's on a litigious rampage, apparently *cough* www.katyjohnson.com *cough*)
The problem isn't that she's being hypocritical -- everyone has the right to change their mind about the values they hold and what they want to represent. But the truth is, SHE DID THE STUFF that Max is writing about.
Don't we all have dirty little secrets in our past (like, say, those 2 consecutive French Quarter Mardi Gras back in the 90s... I've still got sacks and sacks of beads -- my daughter *loves* playing with them!)??
If you can't face up to your past, DON'T pursue a role as a public figure (like Miss Pure-and-Proper America -- DUH). Eventually, it's gonna come back and bite you in the ass. Either have the ovaries to stand up and address the "mistakes" you've made, or STFU and retire to a quiet life of obscurity.
If you're really lucky, you can buy a house in Barbra Streisand's neighborhood and be ensured of your privacy!
I'm not so sure that gaming is becoming totally mainstream -- I just think that geeks (who will admit to gaming) from all walks of life are starting to come out of the closet, as it were.
/.ers -- we don't hold a monopoly on geekiness! (But somehow we seem to gravitate towards this site...) Just because some guy DOESN'T spend his days immersed in writing arcane code and his nights hacking his TiVo does not DISqualify him as a geek.
....Bethanie....
Face it,
Geeks go to law school, they write papers like this one, and sometimes, they're just stay-at-home moms with a penchant for mental stimulation that can't be gained from hours spent passively absorbing the pablum that is network television (Sopranos not included under that label, of course).
One final note: I think we should question Jared's status as a true "geek" if was actually at a party -- especially one where there were people who watch television and tried to carry on actual "conversations"! Personally, I think he's just trying to come off as a cool guy or something. Or maybe he's just the perfect example to prove my point!?! *grin*
...When geeks go to law school!
....Bethanie....
(baaaad things can happen!)
It's right next door to Magrathea.
....Bethanie....
Here's another invention that's sure to further the cause of humanity! Kudos!
....Bethanie....
How about abandoning the /. universe altogether (but not the geekly one) and going pre-historic with The Earth's Children series by Jean Auel?
/. bunch.
....Bethanie....
The Clan of the Cave Bear
The Valley of Horses
The Mammoth Hunters
The Plains of Passage
The Shelters of Stone
This series has a very strong narrative (i.e., it's a well-told story) and wonderful, well-developed characters. Lots of detail goes into explaining how they developed tools and techniques and figured out how to do new things, which will definitely appeal to the
PLUS they're chock full of PLENTY of hot sex!! (Which this crowd ALWAYS needs more of!!)
Just trying to point y'all in the right direction, boys (and girls!).
Well, exactly.
/.ers, just to illustrate that I can read the lingo, too) jump all over it like flies on shit. Because no one can keep his mouth shut when it comes to flaming Microsoft.
....Bethanie....
And I can tell you WHY Slashdot will continue to post stories just like this. Because it got something like 200 posts in an hour. Because Slashdotters (or
More karma for me!