Quickielanche 88
Joy! Cleaning out the submissions box:
Praxxus sent us a link to
an article you'll swear is a joke... a new use for old computers:
filling potholes.
HerbieTMac
wrote in to say that Ice-T has joined the fray
by releasing a new MP3 single.
sanpitch sent us an
interesting article about
facial
expression recognition.
polar_bear`
wrote in to say that
Linux Mall has an
Associates Program just like CD-Now. Or Amazon, speaking
of which
Sevn gave me the heads up
on their entry for Bill "Family Circus" Keane- check out the reader
reviews of Daddy's Hat is on Backwards.
Trust me. Read it. Someone had to much spare time, and I'm
glad they did.
[null] hooked us up with the definitive
Mr. T vs. site
and east sent us an
offensive dilbert parody site.
gseidman
wrote in to tell us about an important
translation project
underway to decipher the alien language used on Futurama.
Assorted Slashdot notes from the world:
An anonymous reader linked us to a
cute comment
on Neal Stephenson's server about the Slashdot effect.
suprax
noted that
Slashdot and Freshmeat have
a cameo in the current dead tree edition of PC Computing.
adamv sent us a link
to an interview with the creator of IMDB
where he says he wishes he designed Slashdot. Funny, I wish
I had designed IMDB.
And Lastly,
Jesse Shrieve, my
favorite BSD pusher and dedicated Slashdot Server whipping boy
noticed that Slashdot is up to 28 on hot100.com.
We're neat.
Dilbert Hole Wins (Score:1)
The fact that 'Dilbert Hole' succeeded in offending the vast majority of you makes me want to shake the hand of whoever created it. When something which is obviously a JOKE offends you, no matter how 'vulgar', you're in need of a good punch in the head.
----------------- ------------ ---- --- - - - -
Re: It's just a Joke (Score:1)
Uhm... Yeah. Great point, genius. Do you see "Murder" anywhere in this definition?
Main Entry: 1joke
Pronunciation: 'jOk
Function: noun
Etymology: Latin jocus; perhaps akin to Old High German gehan to say, Sanskrit yAcati he asks
Date: 1670
1 a : something said or done to provoke laughter; especially : a brief oral narrative with a climactic humorous twist b (1) : the humorous or ridiculous element in something (2) : an instance of jesting : KIDDING c : PRACTICAL JOKE d : LAUGHINGSTOCK
2 : something not to be taken seriously : a trifling matter -- often used in negative construction
Please consult webster's dictionary next time. "The whackjob's guide to off-the-wall scenarios" isn't working out too well.
Thank you.
----------------- ------------ ---- --- - - - -
"Funny, I wish I had designed IMDB" no you don't (Score:1)
/. looks a lot nicer. and is a 'cleaner' site than the current IMDb.
henri
City of New York (Score:1)
I'll be damned if I get it... (Score:1)
What's so funny about these reader reviews? I don't get the humor.
I suppose it may help if I were to actually read one of those comic strips, but I've never really paid attention to it... it really seems kinda dumb, like most modern comic strips.
100hot.com (Score:1)
What IS a parody? (Score:2)
Surely there's room for _bad_ parody that sucks and makes you think the 'authors' are idiot losers? I would hope so!
Of course, I hardly expect to see this person given the slashdot recognition of genuinely bizarre and funny exploits like Stick Figure Death Theatre
Mere Red Zone material (Score:2)
Inferior imitations can just stay wher they are!
Just 28? (Score:1)
Yay DFC! (Score:1)
Facial expression recognition (Score:1)
Hi,
that subject isn't that new to me. Not that I participated in it, but at our dept. we have a long-running project on it:
http://www.kbs.twi.tudelft.nl/Research/Projects/IS FER/ [tudelft.nl]
Have fun,
the Apocalyptic Lawnmower
Just not funny (Score:2)
-Peter
Dilbert Hole - it's a shame really. (Score:2)
--
Met with Bill Gates at the LCS 35th reception... (Score:1)
It sounds like he hasn't changed much, then. I just finished reading the very entertaining Hard Drive [amazon.com] (which is a Gates biography published in 93) and it depicts him as almost always having an upolished appearance, to put it nicely, at public events. The implication was that he was always too busy to be bothered about trivial things such as appearance. Anyway, the book points towards the same conclusion that you've seem to have drawn which is that he's too driven for his own good and needs to slow down.
I agree (Score:1)
This is almost like the old "worst suggested captions" at the Dysfunctional Family Circus page.
If someone's going to do something like this, for gods' sakes make it funny! I used to laugh my ass off at DFC, but this is just pathetic. Some people have it, some people don't.
slashdot at 28 (Score:1)
Dilbert Hole plagiarized? (Score:1)
been lifted from Tristan Farnon's Leisuretown [leisuretown.com]
comic strip "A Comedy Crisis". I don't know if
rotten.com is associated with him at all, but I
saw no references, and the Leisuretown strip came
long before this Dilbert Hole thing. (plus, there
was added humor from context in Leisuretown.).
(Personally, I found the ones from Leisuretown and
one or two of the new ones to be really funny).
--
Kevin Doherty
kdoherty+slashdot@jurai.net
basicly rating from proxy logs (Score:1)
Er, intend to imply. Must use preview... n/t (Score:1)
--
Kyle R. Rose, MIT LCS
Met with Bill Gates at the LCS 35th reception... (Score:2)
When I finally got to speak to him, I said exactly one thing: "I disagree with your stance on proprietary software, but we appreciate the donation of a new building." He rolled his eyes and gave no verbal response. That certainly made my night. =) I managed to tell him exactly what I thought of his empire without embarrassing myself, the LCS, or MIT in the process.
Incidentally, I was wearing a suit and not an Obi-wan Kenobi costume.
If anyone has any questions, I might be able to tell you more; it was an interesting experience, considering how I expected him to be very impressive and very professional. I was quite surprised.
--
Kyle R. Rose, MIT LCS
Met with Bill Gates at the LCS 35th reception... (Score:2)
I did not therefore imply to imply an ad hominem attack by describing my impression of his appearance. I was simply providing the facts and letting people draw their own conclusions. However, since you asked, I will offer my own conclusions.
I think the man is under a lot of pressure: the DOJ trial, trying to raise a family, competitors -- including free software -- nipping at his heels, etc. I think it has taken its toll on him physically. Not being facetious at all, I would recommend that he take a couple of billion dollars, transfer control of the company completely to someone else, and go retire somewhere peaceful. Not doing so might literally kill him.
In the end, it just doesn't matter -- he is one man, where computer users make up a community of hundreds of millions. While I wish him no personal ill, I do hope that Microsoft either starts producing better (read: more reliable, with less feature-creep) software, or gets out of the way and lets free software do what it eventually will.
Yet -- and yes, this is turing into a bit of a diatribe -- I am in somewhat of a quandry with that last statement. There will always be those of us to whom freedom and openness are important. I, for one, will never again run a closed operating system. (My system is certified Microsoft-free!) But I don't really care what the guy down the street runs. It just doesn't matter to me. Sure, I want any computer that I interact with to respond properly, and I want any services I use on the internet to work well, so I don't want Microsoft operating systems running bank services, or the military, or so forth. But Joe Sixpack can keep upgrading to the newest service pack of Windows, for all I care.
So, I guess choice is the most important thing I care about. The choice to run proprietary software, or to run free software. I do think that free software will eventually win out in most markets just on technical merits, but I don't think that all software should be forced to be free.
Okay, diatribe off. I'll try to make this a bit more lucid tomorrow. I'm off to bed -- rise and shine at 6:30 EDT tomorrow. (Ugh...)
--
Kyle R. Rose, MIT LCS
Dilbert Hole - Don't bother (Score:1)
The Circus Hole (Score:1)
http://www.prehensile.com/tales/c ircus/circus.htm [prehensile.com]
I'm so damn old (Score:2)
Did anyone else... (Score:1)
Me thinks the point of Dilbert-Hole was to get on slashdot.
Dilbert Hole - Don't bother (Score:1)
--
Doesn't everybody? (Score:1)
--
I'll be damned if I get it... (Score:1)
Modern comic strips? I hope you're joking. Family Circus is an old fart's cartoon. It is, at best, cute. The strip on the cover typifies the entire body of work - bland, obvious, rather unfunny and shallow. The fact that Amazon.com could expect any serious form of positive review is the best joke on the page.
Mr. T vs. Half-Life (Score:1)
Dysfunctional Family Circus (Score:1)
www.spinnwebe.com [spinnwebe.com]
75 tons/year discarded electronics - M$ should pay (Score:1)
Chuck
What IS a parody? (Score:1)
However, I know that if I had created these characters I'd be either mad at them for using them in such stupid comics, or just laugh at them for trying to pass this off as "humor."
I was wondering if anyone knew the Legal definition of parody. I tend to think of it as _ABC_ making fun of _DEF_ using _DEF_'s characters/song/movie/etc.
So the way I see parody, I wouldn't classify these "comics" as such.
But, since I'm not a lawyer and don't know about the legal definition of parady, I could be wrong (if so, please let me know).
They're just stupid attempts at being offensive using someone else's characters.
Maybe they should try to think of their own characters or something.
~enucite~
Dilbert "parody" (Score:1)
Do you mean to tell me that you actually think this [rotten.com] is funny?
The last legal litmus test for obscenity that I read said the work in question has to have "no literary or artistic merit", and I believe the Dilbert Hole cartoons qualify in that regard.
I think the dialogue was optimized for its potential to offend -- straight gay-bashing profanity laced with dialogue taken from a bad direct-to-video porno.
If the "creators" of the Dilbert Hole want to create their own characters to spew that trash, that's their right. But the syndicators of Dilbert would be right to sic the legal attack dogs on them for using Scott Adams' property...
Jay (=
I'll be damned if I get it... (Score:1)
peter
I agree (Score:1)
The Dilbert Hole (Score:1)
I'm not too sure why the "author" of the Dilbert Hole is really bothering to do this. I don't find it particularly amusing at all.
Quoting from the main page [rotten.com], this comment has just appeared:
Definitely an acquired taste. #17 brought a smile to my face, but only briefly.
However, apart from simply using three characters' pictures from the Dilbert comics [unitedmedia.com], there are no real references to the actual characters themselves - so I don't think this qualifies as a parody, or even any type of humour really.
The "Mr T vs ..." page was a much worthier Quickie posting I think. I'm looking forward to the time when my computer knows that I won't find certain things funny and so can filter them from slashdot. :)
Andrew.
--
The Yautja
"It was all so different before everything changed."
facial expression recognition? (Score:1)
Just a thought.
-lx
slashdot = 28 ZDnet = 30 !!! :-) (Score:1)
I guess this is the true victory of slashdot, a higher ranking then all of zdnets sites together. Aint that cool?
--------------------------------
check out my music [mp3.com]
you might actually like it.
Dilbert+Fag Jokes = Slashdot Material? (Score:1)
Do you want to eventually make
(Will Red Hat, or any other business, appreciate having such content linked with their site?)
Generally, I have a thick skin. But links like this seem totally out-of-scope with the lite, interesting, and entertaining past SlashDot "Quickies"
I understand that there is some discussion on another thread about a "freedom of speech" issue. I also understand that SlashDot is frequented more by college students than by employed professionals (garnered by the recent poll.)
But as a network professional in a Big Bad Corporation, I regularly visit SlashDot at work for relevent geek news and events. I would not like to see SlashDot axed at the firewall for such homophobic, misogynist, and anti-semetic crap.
Wait -- you shut down his server..and do it again? (Score:1)
Jim
let's harness some AC power! (Score:1)
I'm just surprised that MS's servers stay up long enough for them to be getting the traffic to be where they are - their true hits prolly register them at second, but the BSOD can't register incoming traffic.
Incidentally - check out the sites that are below
-blarg!
Quickielanche review! (Score:1)
I have a question (Score:1)
If so, that's kinda lame. They should separate all domain names and rank them separately, shouldn't they?
We all had Family Circus, we still do (Score:1)
28? (Score:1)
Met with Bill Gates at the LCS 35th reception... (Score:1)
PC Computing and Linux (Score:1)
It's actually startling how much mindshare linux is getting these days... there were about 10 different references in the current issue, up from about nil last month. What next, an article in Windows magazine titled "Maybe IIS isn't for you"?
I've considered cancelling all of my dead tree subscriptions... every time I pick one up, it's usually old news that I read on the net, sometimes months ago (pefect example: the whole "Free PC" thing). If you want to play a fun game, track an item of news as it hits the mainstream media. The trail is usually something like this:
/. -> HotWired -> Wired (print) -> CNN or CNet TV ->PC Magazine
OK, maybe it's not all that much fun, but it does give you a certain sense of smug superiority when you can sit there and say "Oh yeah, I heard about that _months_ ago..."
--GP
funny that... (Score:1)
I'll be damned if I get it... (Score:1)
Dilbert "parody" (Score:1)
--neil
Did anyone else... (Score:1)
Tech support paradise... (Score:1)
User: My printer won't work, it just says 'spooling.'
BW: OK, Microsoft says to fix that you need to scowl, point your finger, and look threatening... Then your document will print.
User: But, that didn't work!
BW: OK, try standing on your chair, howling like a banshee, then moon the monitor.
User: Hooowwwlll, no, that's not it.
BW: OK, Ill come and fix it...
Gee maybe Ill have to install webcams all over the place to capture all the fun.
Slashdot #28 web property? Worth $92,000,000? (Score:1)
AOL ______1_ 149,376,187,125
Yahoo_____2__ 41,505,777,000
Lycos_____6___ 4,383,988,000
Xoom _____9_____969,898,875
Slashdot _28______ 92,000,000?
Assuming a relationship between these values for pure internet media properties, slashdot should be worth about $92,000,000. The calculation is as follows: Lycos ( #6 ) / Yahoo ( #2 ) = 3.0 is roughly equal to Slashdot ( #28 ) / Xoom ( #9 ) = 3.1. Therefore Lycos ( $4,383,988,000 ) / Yahoo ( $41,505,777,000 ) should roughly equal Slashdot ( $ ) / Xoom ( $969,898,875 ); Slashdot capitalization = $102,000,000, then minus a bit because 3.0 is a bit less than 3.1, Slashdot market capitalization works out to about $92,000,000. Nice work Rob.
Cheers,
Yay DFC! (Score:1)
slashdot at 28 (Score:1)
i remember stopping by at malda's site even before slash
keep it up, rob. charge a buck for user registration and you'll be rich.
peece
CmdrTaco for president! (Score:2)
Dilbert Hole - Don't bother (Score:2)
-Dan
Dilbert "parody" (Score:1)
Hmmm, normally I would think parody was protected by law. But are there any provisions for humorous content? I don't mind offensive humor or parodying of Dilbert, but this just isn't funny.
--
humor impaired (Score:1)
Talk about a lack of humor! It was a JOKE, people. Must all sarcasm be accompanied by inane smileys? I think some folks need to lighten up.
Maybe you read my comment after reading the cartoons. I can see how they would suck the humor right out of you...
--
Dilbert Hole Wins (Score:1)
If you meant "offended by lack of humor", then you're right. However, I don't think anyone here actually gave a rat's ass about the actual supposed "offensiveness" of the dialogue. We're far less sensitive than that. It just wasn't funny. It had no humorous content. It did not elicit mirth.
Can I put it any plainer?
--
I'll be damned if I get it... (Score:1)
Mini Slashdot Effect (Score:1)
http://www.taxtechcpa.com/Technology/1999TopTen
slashdot at 28 (Score:1)
Linux Mall -- Goddamnit I'm Rich! (Score:1)
But I really want to know what the kick back is on a $1.89 distribution CD
Hell, I'll add em to my homepage... I'm making enough off amazon/cdnow/beyond to feed a small african village!
Top 100 Sites (Score:1)
A fine, funny quote! (Score:1)
He's:
-hip to the fact that Linux isn't a tuxedo rent-to-own shop;
-smart with a healthy dash of wisdom;
-not a know-it-all but a want-to-know-it-all (a small yet _very_ important distinction);
-has a reputation acceptable to most folks (sci-fi is acceptable these days *nod*);
-one of the finest writers of our day in the fiction genre most relevant to computing;
-seems quite capable of thinking _before_ making decisions of considerable import (NOTE: To the self-inflicted APL pie faces on the OSS board -- yikes! What the hell were you people thinking about? Flashing camera lights, dancing PR flak girls, what?);
-most probably has good experience dealing with media types;
-reasonably good-looking (for a guy) which is very important to the often all-too-shallow media types;
-and many, many more arguments in favor, all waiting to be fleshed out in typical FreeOSS fashion!
Draft Neal to be the FreeOSS spokesident by sending him email at:
neal@well.com
FLAME RETARDANT: Hey, he posted his addy on his site, so he must want to hear from folks. If he gets 15,000 emails tomorrow, well, *shrug* maybe he'll take the job! And maybe Salon will spend some bucks and get The Well some new 'puters and additional staff.;)
Oh, another quick note: If you're walking down the streets of Seattle tomorrow night and you see a fella who kinda reminds you of a deer-in-the-headlights joke, well, maybe that's our Neal! Just yell, "Hi Neal! Thanks for Snow Crash! Be our Linux spokesident!"
Do your Linux duty today and send Neal Stephenson an e-mail with your opinion on this all-important matter! Send Neal your e-mail now, before you forget!
Dilbert Hole - post-structuralist contexts? (Score:1)
I got lame.
I think about the only thing that impressesd me was the ability of the original Dilbert to be so easily subject to recaptioning.
I'm not sure if this implies the inherant shallowness of Dilbert, or something more profound about contextuality in a post-structuralist context..
..frankly, it doesn't change the fact that it's not worth the time.
morf
CmdrTaco for president! (Score:1)
Did anyone else... (Score:1)
Worse yet, it works.
*Carlos shakes his head ruefully.*
Dilbert Hole - Do bother (Score:1)
These strips are taken from Tristan Farnon's LeisureTown. In context, they were quite funny: a disgruntled office worker re-captioned a bunch of Dilbert cartoons to offend his drone co-workers. The point was not to be independently funny, but to be offensive and to contrast Adam's style. The commentary is not on the content, but the lack thereof. Compare something like the excellent social commentary of The Onion (which on the surface is offensive to everyone but can actually be very intelligent and meaningful) with the inoffensive cartoon facade of Dilbert (which minimally covers material which would be honestly offensive if it actually said anything). This parody is an attempt to be maximally offensive and still not say anything, which I think it does pretty well.
This is just my impression of Tristan's work. [leisuretown.com] Check it our yourself. (choose "A Comedy Crisis" on the left)
joe harpe
Dilbert "parody" (Score:1)