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Comment Re:Even worse than you can imagine (Score 1) 296

I installed the Super Server flavor of the Firebird database some weeks ago at work. Came in a FirebirdSS.tar.gz package and was referred to in the docs as the 'SS' (as opposed to the 'CS', or classic server). I swear, the initial reaction in Holland, where I'm located, is immediately on the Schutsstaffel. When some crazy loon committed suicide some months ago by driving his Suzuki Swift into the crowds at the Queen's Day parade, media were quick to point out that the guy might have been a right radical, given the "SS" of his car. Okay, that's obviously nonsense, but that's the knee-jerk reaction to the abbreviation SS here. (Or to NSB, which is why the Dutch national skating federation (formerly known as... ) changed its name to *Royal* national skating etc (or KNSB) straight after the war :-)

Comment Re:Downloading is legal in the Netherlands (Score 2, Interesting) 90

No; servers who "publish" the material are illegal, but clients who access the material are not. It's like the Dutch marihuana regulations: growing is illegal, but posession for private use is not. This allows the government to go after the big cartels who run distribution networks (talking both drugs and music piracy here), but leaves joe average alone. As we Dutch say with a little rhyme, "don't ask how it's possible, but benefit from it".

Comment Downloading is legal in the Netherlands (Score 4, Insightful) 90

A small difference with, say, the USA is that downloading music and films is legal in the Netherlands, but uploading is not. So even if BREIN's assertion that FTD is aiding and abetting downloading is correct, that does not in itself mean that anything illegal is going on. In fact, the reason FTD is suing BREIN is because they are fed up with the slander against them; BREIN has publically accused them of illegal behavior, and now FTD wants to get a legal ruling that tells them to go piss up a rope.

Comment For newbies? (Score 4, Insightful) 70

When I first became interested in Linux around 2005 or so and wanted to find out more about it, one of the first sites I tried was linux.com. (Hey, why not, I learnt about distros a little while later.) What a mess it was. The new site is a lot better, but I still don't think it has the portal quality that a site with the standing of "linux.com" needs. Where is the elevator pitch about what Linux is, where is the explanation of the ways it's similar to Windows and the ways it's not? Instead we get press releases from the Linux Foundation. Think of the other 95% of the world when you're scaping linux.com, guys.

Comment Last week in Holland... (Score 1) 253

...some idiot plowed deliberately through the crowd at a Queen's Day rally in an apparent attempt to commit suicide and take the Royal family with him. Seven people died. Since this was live on national TV, there is surreal broadcast-quality footage that makes it look like some bad movie: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1Vs-9tfkX0

First thing in my mind when I read this post. //Dutch.

Comment Europe... (Score 5, Interesting) 199

From my time in Moldova with native students, all they want is to join up with the rest of Europe and get the show on the road. They're really frustrated at "the Man". There's the Romanians who don't want to reunite the countries (since Moldova is poorer), the Russians who keep feeding the border conflict with Transnistria (fascinating read about that tin pot narco/weapons state: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transnistria ), there's the EU that doesn't even want to consider Moldova as long as there's an unsolved border conflict, there's the communists in power, and so on. Doesn't surprise me much that they're going the same way as the Orange Revolution in Ukraine -- which was much the same circumstances.

Totally OT: Moldova has the BEST wine and the CRAZIEST Nightclubs. Gotta believe me on that one ;-)

Comment We will be the first digital settlers (Score 1) 313

I believe that we (us netizens right now) will be remembered as the root users of the internet, the place where the buck stops, the people alive at 0 A.D. if you will. Sort of like us surfing to web.archive.org to check out sites from 1995, only people in 2500 will be checking us out and tracking us down. Perhaps even celebrities may come of it, unknown in our time. In 20 years people will have all of today's internet on an USB stick (or obviously some other far more advanced replacement) and this whole data retention thing won't be an issue. We're here to stay, from now on we're switched on. Cheers.

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