Comment Re:NO FKNG WAY! YOU DON'T HAVE TO GO???? (Score 1) 381
Dead on. Mod up. Some things really DO matter more in life, than video games. (disclaimer: ive played a fair share of video games. but never wow).
Comment Re:Gun Laws (Score 1) 2661
i think a crazy is not likely to be able to put together an effective bomb in the timeframe that they are looking for.
You think? Try linking to some hard examples, next time. Unbacked thoughts are cheap.
that shit is for movies,
Wrong. It is quite real.
just a few bottles of household bleach and suddenly you can blow up buildings, that's all crap,
Maybe not blow up a building, but bleach can easily be used in conjunction with ammonia to make deadly chlorine gas.
the defence of the home/person against thieves who could turn violent is a lead to the basic level of gun protection in many homes. (So the thieves themselves have to carry guns, et al mini-firearms race begins.
If this "mini-firearms race" you speak of really exists, I'd like to see some articles about street muggers holding people up with bazookas.
I've been reading a lot of disturbing stuff on slashdot today, there are many posters that either believe the movies are real and you can kill many with a pocket knife.. or that it's just a trivial matter to fashion an improvided explosive out of chewing gum and toothpicks.
Strawman. I never said anything about making explosives with chewing gum or toothpicks.
Also unilateral gun restriction of the jewish is unrelated to gun laws that effect everyone.
I'd like very much to see a reasoned explanation of why you feel it's unrelated.
Guns aren't going to keep you safe from a corrupt government.. they're certainly not working right now.
Agreed. Guns won't protect you from all levels of corruption in government. That said, it really depends on what kind of corruption we're talking about. If you're just talking about bribes, under the table deals, pork-barrel spending, or even fake foreign wars for personal profit, individual ownership of firearms would probably have no perceptible influence in such matters. The one area where it might make a difference is when said government reaches such a level of corruption that it begins to consider the cost-benefit of going door-to-door and exterminating large segments of its' citizens. The goal here is to make the cost sufficiently high as to nullify any possible benefit to such an organization (Incidentally this is why the reference to the Jewish Holocaust above is relevant).
Submission + - Border Patrol Agents Jailed for Doing Their Jobs!
The Town Crier writes: We should ALL be proud to Americans today. The DOJ has sentenced two US Border Patrol agents to 11 and 12 years in prison for protecting the United States of America from Mexican drug smugglers. Meanwhile, the US DOJ granted the illegal alien drug dealer full immunity for testifying against the border patrol agents!
This is the kind of stuff that supposed to happen in some alternate reality sci-fi flick, NOT in the United States! President Bush has ignored many appeals from fellow republicans to grant these two men a pardon as well as ignored a petition with over 250,000 signatures from American citizens to asking him to do the same.
This is truly a sad, sad, day to be an American.
Here's a link to the story from FOX news:
http://www.foxnews.com/printer_friendly_story/0,35 66,244193,00.html
Submission + - Evidence that MS violated 2002 judgement surfaces
whoever57 writes: In the Comes Vs. Microsoft case, the plaintiffs believe they have found evidence that Microsoft has failed to fully disclose APIs to competitors. If true, this would mean that Microsoft has violated the 2002 judgement.
Once again, Groklaw has the scoop. This information has become avaialble since the plaintiffs have obtained an order allowing them to disclose Microsoft's alleged mis-behavior to the DOJ ("appropriate enforcement and compliance authorities").
Changing Climates for Microsoft and Google 393
ReadWriteWeb writes "Weather metaphors abound as this article looks at the evolving software environment — and in particular the competition between Microsoft and Google. Milan says that while Google enjoys relative dominance on the Web platform today, two fissures exist that will force them to move. The first is Microsoft's ability to use the exact same HTML based strategy as Google (like Microsoft's current Live initiative); and secondly Microsoft leapfrogging the current environment by solving rich application installation/un installation and enforcing an acceptable contract regarding what rich apps can do on a user's machine.
Unfortunately for Google, Microsoft is a lot closer to solving these two issues than people think. Microsoft has the best virtual machine with .NET, the best development tool with Visual Studio and the best access to developers with their MSDN programs. And they have a notion. Steve Ballmer himself has started touting the exact strategy they need — Click Once and Run."
OpenDocument Now Published ISO Standard 134
bobibobi writes "After months of revisions, OpenDocument receives status of a full published standard. The various stages of a standard's "stage code are also online." The OpenDocument standard has been developed by a variety of organizations and is publicly accessible. This means it can be implemented into any system, be it free software/open source or a closed proprietary product, without royalties.
Intelligent Satellite Notices Volcanic Activity 116
Dik Zak points us to this NASA page about a new generation of intelligent Earth observation satellites. From the article: "The Indonesian volcano Talang on the island of Sumatra had been dormant for centuries when, in April 2005, it suddenly rumbled to life. A plume of smoke rose 1000 meters high and nearby villages were covered in ash. Fearing a major eruption, local authorities began evacuating 40,000 people. UN officials, meanwhile, issued a call for help: Volcanologists should begin monitoring Talang at once. Little did they know that, high above Earth, a small satellite was already watching the volcano. No one had told it to. EO-1 (short for "Earth Observing 1") noticed the warning signs and started monitoring Talang on its own. Indeed, by the time many volcanologists were reading their emails from the UN, 'EO-1 already had data,' says Steve Chien, leader of JPL's Artificial Intelligence Group."
Vista Designed to Make Malware Easy 311
SlinkySausage writes "Trojan horses masquerading as 'cracks for Vista' are starting to appear on pirate boards. More worrying though, Microsoft has confirmed that Vista's image-based install process is designed to allow third-party software to be slipstreamed into the installation DVD. Great for corporate deployment of Vista with software pre-installed, but also a huge benefit for malware writers, who can distribute Vista images with deeply-rooted malware."
Windows Vista and XP Head To Head 364
thefickler sends in an article comparing Windows Vista and Windows XP in the areas of security, home entertainment, GUI, parental controls, and networking. The author clearly believes that Vista wins across these categories.
Vista's EULA Product Activation Worries 439
applejax writes "SecurityFocus is running an article regarding some concerns about Vista's activation terms. Do you have the right to use properly purchased but not validated software? What happens if Microsoft deactivates your OS that was legally purchased? The article goes into some detail about Vista's validation and concerns." From the article: "The terms of the Vista EULA, like the current EULA related to the 'Windows Genuine Advantage,' allows Microsoft to unilaterally decide that you have breached the terms of the agreement, and they can essentially disable the software, and possibly deny you access to critical files on your computer without benefit of proof, hearing, testimony or judicial intervention. In fact, if Microsoft is wrong, and your software is, in fact, properly licensed, you probably will be forced to buy a license to another copy of the operating system from Microsoft just to be able to get access to your files, and then you can sue Microsoft for the original license fee."
Microsoft Pushing Municipal Wi-Fi 67
PreacherTom writes "Microsoft is moving to be the latest player to bring its formidable weight to bear in the growing Wi-Fi market. The software giant's recent deal to provide content and services through partnership with municipal Wi-Fi operator MetroFi in Portland, Ore., will intensify the battle between Google, Yahoo!, and MSN for online traffic. Why the focus? Content providers who capture the growing municipal Wi-Fi market will be in a better position to enjoy higher traffic to their sites and greater customer loyalty — and, as a result, grab a greater share of the $16 billion of expected online advertising dollars this year, according to consultancy eMarketer. 'It's a battle for eyeballs,' says Matt Rosoff, an analyst with the consultancy firm 'Directions on Microsoft'."
Ballmer Says Linux "Infringes Our Intellectual Property" 820
Stony Stevenson writes "In comments confirming the open-source community's suspicions, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer Thursday declared his belief that the Linux operating system infringes on Microsoft's intellectual property." From the ComputerWorld article: "In a question-and-answer session after his keynote speech at the Professional Association for SQL Server (PASS) conference in Seattle, Ballmer said Microsoft was motivated to sign a deal with SUSE Linux distributor Novell earlier this month because Linux 'uses our intellectual property' and Microsoft wanted to 'get the appropriate economic return for our shareholders from our innovation.'" His exact wording is available at the Seattle Intelligencer, which has a transcript of the interview. Groklaw had an article up Wednesday giving some perspective on the Novell/Microsoft deal. Guess we'll have something to talk about in 2007, huh?
First Company Logo Visible From Space 436
Albert Sandberg writes, "KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) has created the first logo that is visible from space. The construction was made by 65,000 1x1-foot tiles and covers about 2 acres. The logo was built and assembled over about a month and is located in the Nevada desert near Area 51. The article also has a short video showing the construction in time-lapse. Now the aliens know where to get their slimy food :-)"
Machine Gun Sentry Robot Unveiled 845
mpthompson writes "Samsung has partnered with a Korean university to develop a robotic sentry equipped with a 5.5mm machine gun. Meant for deployment along the DMZ between North and South Korea, the $200,000 robot employs sophisticated pattern recognition software for targeting humans. No three laws here, but the robot does include a speaker that can be used to politely issue a warning before taking the target out. The promotional video is both scary and funny at the same time."
Novell Gets $348 Million From Microsoft 308
An anonymous reader writes, "Novell has published additional details about its agreements with Microsoft concerning Windows and Linux interoperability and patents. It seems the company is receiving an up-front payment of $348 million from Microsoft, for SLES subscription certificates and for patent cross-licensing. Microsoft will make an upfront payment to Novell of $240 million for SLES subscription 'certificates' that Microsoft can use, resell, or distribute over the term of the agreement. Regarding the patent cooperation agreement, Microsoft will make an up-front net payment to Novell of $108 million, and Novell will make ongoing payments totaling at least $40 million over five years to Microsoft."
