The Internet is the very definition of decentralized. Sure, Google might provide an easy way to search for what you want, but then you're directed to some half-assed eCommerce site which may, or may not, be trustworthy. Assuming they're legit, or you just don't care, you've got to navigate whatever checkout process they've got, fill out a bunch of forms with personal info, and if you're lucky they don't steal your identity.

Don't get me wrong, what Amazon is doing here is despicable. But let's not kid ourselves, Amazon got to be the size it is because people like being able to just find what they're looking for and buy it with minimal fuss and without navigating the god-awful clusterfuck that is eCommerce. The comparison to Wal-Mart is particularly apt. Not only because of the two companies desire to take over the world, but because Wal-Mart, like Amazon, has excelled in giving people what they want, when they want it, and at a lower price than any competitor. The fact that these kind of retailers are destroying local economies is the last thing on most peoples minds.

Yet.

Slashdot needs IP shadow banning, so fucktards like APK can spin their wheels with their insane posts and the rest of us can get on with it. I don't know what's gotten into him lately, but practically every single story has a flood of stupid APK's stalker "LOL EAT UR WRODS FEEB" posts. It's starting to get out of hand. Hopefully he gets back on his meds and settles down soon.

APK, before you go on your usual "LOL @UR NOT A >> LICENSED MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL SO U -> KANT KALL ME @KRAZY@" rant, I've got proof that I am and I can. Bitch.

Nonsense. They didn't take it away from you, they didn't flip a switch and remove the possibility of using XP. I can't believe I'm defending Microsoft here, but they've really got nor responsibility to subsidize your, or anyone else's, decision to continue using the software. Where does the line end? Are they to keep updating your precious XP for another ten years? Twenty? Dealing with the aftermath of XP being EOL'd seems to me to fall squarely in the "consequence of your own personal decisions" camp, rather than "they owe me updates forever because I paid them once for something."

Windows 7 is fine, once you get past your heebie-jeebies about the updated interface. The 32-bit version should be able to run nearly everything, save for such software that is so breathtakingly awful, or tied to a specific version of Windows in some kind of unholy union, that it simply can't handle anything else. You can even still run the old 16-bit shit you've got laying around, probably even without significant issues. If you went and got yourself stuck using software that is incapable of running on a newer, and largely compatible, OS, well frankly it's your own god damned fault, and Microsoft shouldn't be expected to ensure your particular requirements are taken care of for free, forever.

They should just do what the comic book guys do. Set the new ones in an alternate dimension, which is almost but not quite entirely unlike Star Wars. Then, they could do whatever they want to, the fans can keep their cherished memories and believe they came from the TRUE universe. To top it all off, they can have a movie where the two realities join forces to battle some inter-dimensional-something-or-other. At least if they mentioned such a thing it might get the whiny fanboys to simmer down a bit.

No, no, no, you're doing it wrong! Only an idiot would use HOSTS files, they're outdated, a pain to administer, and generally a complete waste of time. Only a psychotic internet troll could advocate the use of such a thing.

I'm sure they've thought about charging for 911 service, but for some reason are unable to. The laws and regulations around this stuff are ... complicated.

I do believe there are many, many ways to solve this problem. They just won't.

Because they're evil.

Because they're apparently too god damned stupid to just disallow the text direction character(s). The oft cited excuse for lack of unicode support is essentially, "Cuz the trolls would do nasty things," which is, as excuses go, pretty weak.

The real question would be what kind of transparency is there about this data? What are they collecting, exactly, and what do they do with it? I can't think of anything Madison Avenue, or wherever the marketing firms lurk around in, would love more than a huge trove of child behavioral data, especially if there's even a hint of it being personally identifiable.

Much data is likely already gathered by the government run schools, but the constant push to completely privatize schools raises the same issues as other large corporate databases, specifically the ability of those private schools to monetize that data to pad the bottom line.

The best part about so-called "common sense" is that you most often hear about it from those claiming that nobody has it.

I was going to argue with you, until I realized you were claiming the Heavenly Host was actually made up of something almost, but not quite, entirely unlike bread and wine. I for one welcome our animated bread-and-wine overlords!

Biggest difference I can see between this and SOPA, is that those proposing SOPA had elections to worry about. The FCC is appointed by the Executive branch and serves at their pleasure. Honestly, what the articles author really meant by the FCC being scared of the ISPs is that if they do something the ISPs don't like, well they can say good-bye to the revolving door and a lucrative contract with an ISP after they leave the FCC. Comcast's head lobbyist is a former FCC commissioner for Christ's sake!

I don't know if anything you said is true, but it doesn't really matter. Problem is, there are no viable alternatives!/em If you think the Dem's don't do shit just like this all the time, you're deluded. R or D, they're all a bunch of opportunistic scoundrels, taking every chance to bolster their own position and prestige, regardless of the cost to the rest of us.