This is the funniest post I've ever read on Slashdot:
http://yro.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=62762&threshold=1&commentsort=0&tid=188&tid=141&tid=99&tid=123&mode=thread&pid=5857229#5857620
"In other words, the 'streaming only, no save to disk' thing might have a hole in it."
Of course there's a "hole" in it, you dickhead. Hold a fucking microphone up to the fucking speaker. What the fuck.
Calling shit like that a "hole" completely misses the point. Nobody cares if you ""tee" stdout (aka >&1) from /dev/audio (or whatever they use) to filename.mp3 (or whatever format)" (which would, of course, not even remotely work). If you wanna get your rocks off by stealing music, go right ahead. Apple just wants to make sure that it's not convenient or easy.
You know what it's like? You calling this a "hole" I mean. It's like if I put up a fence around my property. You're on one side of my property, and on the other is a Krispy Kreme. You can smell those donuts, and man, you want 'em bad. You look and look at my fence, but then you suddenly realize that you can just go AROUND my property, around the perimeter of my fence, to get to the Krispy Kreme. And after you do, you come back with your face smeared with glaze and say, "Hey, d00d, there's a hole in your fence look how clever I am!!!!!1" And I'm all, "Shut the fuck up you fat fucking pig, you don't even understand what my fence is trying to protect so you just shut your fucking mouth. Bitch."
Yeah. That's what it's like, that shit right there. Yeah.
SARS Forces Catholics to Halt Confessions:
The Roman Catholic church has suspended confessions in Singapore due to the spread of the deadly SARS virus, and priests will instead forgive all churchgoers for their sins, the church said on Wednesday.
...
Singapore Archbishop Nicholas Chia said a general absolution, or forgiveness, without one-on-one confessions only can be given in times of "grave necessity," according to the Bible.
"This year in view of the SARS epidemic, I have obtained permission from Rome for our priests to grant a general absolution instead of individual confessions and absolution," Chia said in a letter to Singapore's 152,000 Catholics.
According to this story, The White House scorned an Iraqi leader's suggestion that President Bush and Saddam Hussein could resolve their differences in a duel, calling it an "irresponsible statement" that did not justify a "serious response."
Too bad. Sounds like a good idea to me. A real win-win situation.
Fascinating story on CNN: CNN.com - Chain sues to edit sex, violence from films - August 30, 2002. It isn't actually clear to me which side is more idiotic. They seem to be on par with each other and top it off with nearly equal doses of sanctimoniousness.
CNN.com - Ga. policy may OK teaching creationism - August 23, 2002:
The Cobb County school board voted unanimously Thursday to review for 30 days a proposal that says the district "believes that discussion of disputed views of academic subjects is a necessary element of providing a balanced education, including the study of the origin of the species."
And yet, I have a feeling that these same people would vehemently oppose a 'balanced discussion' on whether the world is actually supported by four elephants sitting on the back of a giant turtle. Or even better, maybe we should have a 'balanced discussion' on whether the world is flat.
At law.com: Idea in Former Employee's Head Belongs to Alcatel.
Only the 'Justice' system in Texas could produce such a ridiculous ruling. Other states shouldn't be allowed to use cases tried in Texas as precedent.
Read on The Register: Acatel owns US employee's thoughts.
I guess inane clauses in employment agreements are enforceable. Should be more careful about striking them before signing the damn thing.
I like this quote at The Register USA:
Snosoft's Finisterre told the news service that although he wanted to resolve the dispute with HP, he resented been threatened.
"We are like the guys that found out that Firestone tires have issues on Ford explorers," he said. "It's not our fault your Explorer has crap tires. We just pointed it out."
Q: How many layers of stupidity can one fit in a single post?
A: Straight Dope Message Board - Finitum and infinitum
CNN.com - Moon rock at center of legal battle - June 29, 2002:
An "encased, fingertip-sized rock is listed as the defendant in the case of 'United States v. Lucite ball containing lunar material.'"
House Refines Virtual Porn Ban:
COPPA would put the burden of proof on the defendant to prove that the images were fake, rather than requiring prosecutors to prove images were made from real children.
Are you fucking kidding me? What happened to this country? What happened to 'innocent until proven guilty'? The legislative branch of this government is utterly retarded. These idiots should have to pass a test on the Constitution and the ideals behind it before being allowed to run for office.
GAO finds some vandalism by Clinton staffers
So, an $X00,000 investigation, requested by idiot Rep. Bob Barr, R-Georgia, found that the outgoing Clinton administration caused $9,324 worth of damage to the White House. Says Mr. Barr, "They showed nothing less than a complete lack of respect for one of America's most sacred public monuments, and in doing so, they disgraced not just themselves, but institution and the office of the presidency as well." Is the wasteful expenditure of the American public's $X00,000 less disgraceful than $9,324 of vandalism?
As if PwC Consulting's new name weren't bad enough ('Monday'), their new branding is absolutely preposterous.
Open source invites terrorism - study:
The Alexis de Tocqueville Institution, "a group purportedly devoted to the 'perfection of democracy' would, with a straight face, recommend the MCSE as a qualification for adult participation in a democratic economy superior to a university degree.
"Effective participation in the American political economy has always been substantially dependent upon an education that goes beyond basic verbal and mathematical skills," the author of this 'study' intones."
New violators of the DMCA? Reuters, Yahoo.com, CNN.com, dozens of other publications, and us
Great article: LawMeme: Legal Bricolage for a Technological Age - In Defense of Larry Lessig
Amy Harmon has an interesting article in the NYTimes: Digital Video Recorders Give Advertisers Pause. I like Amy Harmon; she writes sensibly.
I'm sick of reading mindless and fawning obits of SJG like this one: Stephen Jay Gould, an appreciation. "A brilliant scientist who can write beautifully is an unusual creature, almost an evolutionary impossibility." What a crock of shit.
Who cares if he's dead? That doesn't mean we've lost the right to be objective and intelligent when critiquing his work. I hate idiotically rosy obits.
SJG sucked. Find out why here: The Accidental Creationist. "Stephen Jay Gould is bad for evolution." Ah, much better.
I hope they don't publish any of his works posthumously...
Yahoo! News - No Evidence Housework Improves Health - Study. I always knew there was no point to housework. Vindicated at last.
Read on MSNBC, NATO, Russia step up cooperation:
Under the expected agreement with Moscow, a new NATO-Russia Council would deal with a fixed range of issues likely to include terrorism, arms proliferation, missile defense, peacekeeping, management of regional crises, search and rescue efforts and arms control.
The deal springs from Russian President Vladimir Putin's cooperation with the West since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
"After 60 years of estrangement between Russia and the West there is an identifiable common enemy. There is unprecedented cooperation at the highest level," NATO Secretary General Lord Robertson was quoted as saying by Britain's Guardian newspaper Monday."
It sucks that it took 9/11 to get these people to cooperate. What happens when there isn't a 'common enemy' again?
Read on MSNBC, Choking at the bowl:
Men experience stage fright at ballpark urinals all the time. In fact, the problem is so common that urologists have a reassuring, pat-on-the-butt-sounding name for it: choking at the bowl.
Are you kidding? Is there really nothing better to report? There isn't any ongoing research more interesting than this?
Read on Slashdot, Under Attack by PanIP's Patent Lawyers?:
I work for a small plumbing, heating, irrigation, and BBQ supply house. Over the past four we have built up quite a website that houses tons of information and offers many products for sale via an online store. Recently a company known as PanIP has decided to sue us on 2 counts of patent infringement. To the best of my understanding, as you can see from their website, they claim that they invented the use of text and images as a method of business on the Internet. They also claim that they invented the use of a form to enter customer information. Obviously this is ridiculous and most likely won't hold up in court! However, this is not the problem. PanIP has also sued 10 other small companies. PanIP chose small companies because they hope that none of them can afford the legal fees that would ultimately remove their patents. Most defendants, including us, want to opt to bail out for a smaller licensing fee of $30,000. PanIP will continue this vicious cycle on small companies of which many of you may become victim of. Eventually they will have so many cases under their belt that they will be able to attack larger companies.
I hate this country sometimes: Dionne Warwick faces drug charges. All she had was a bit of weed...
Somes pages on Senator Hollings' and Jack Valenti's agendas to force hardware makers to build-in copy protection: John Gilmore and Intel, EFF's Alert, ACM's open letter to Senator Hollings, and EFF's BPDG Blog.
Maybe I'm becoming more sensitive to these issues after reading The Future of Ideas, but this is the first time I feel strongly enough about one of EFF's issues to consider becoming a member. The entire mess is symptomatic of the classic Democratic "regulate first, think later" mindset.
Openlaw: Eldred v. Ashcroft provides a forum and links to information about quite an interesting case regarding the latest extension to copyrights. The author of The Future of Ideas, Lawrence Lessig, is the attorney for the plaintiffs. Golan v. Ashcroft is a companion case.
Spider Robinson has a (free) short story called Melancholy Elephant that reflects the reductio ad absurdum of copyright gone too far, which is what will eventually happen if intellectual property is allowed to become the same thing as real property and personal property. It's not very well written, IMHO, but it won the Hugo Award in 1983.