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Comment Re:Purpose (Score 1) 252

I've been using Slackware since '96, and I continue to use it in various capacities today. Installing Slackware and playing with it, writing programs for it, was seriously the best thing I ever did for my knowledge of computers and for Unix environments. I have skills that far surpass any of my co-workers or friends, and have often been the only one that could sort out issues with any sort of Unix environment.

I had the same experience, except with the computer science degree I was taking part time.

I ended up getting an A+ in the unix course (my other grades were usually in the B+/A-) range almost strictly from my prior knowledge gained from using Slackware day after day on my desktop.

I even got something like 105% on a midterm after the instructer had to curve it after most of the class bombed.

Businesses

Submission + - Amazon, Abebooks Profit from White Supremacy

An anonymous reader writes: There is a debate in the West about whether hate speech should be protected, or outlawed. But most "reasonable people" would probably agree that reputable companies like Amazon.com and Abebooks.com should not be profiting from White Supremacy. Yet they are. With their marketplace/storefront services, Amazon.com and Abebooks.com allow third parties to list new and used books for sale. Unfortunately White Supremacists and Holocaust Deniers are taking advantage to peddle their wares to a larger audience.

Two notorious Holocaust Denial books The Myth of the Six Million and The Hoax of the Twentieth Century: The Case Against the Presumed Extermination of European Jewry are available for sale on both Amazon.com (here and here), and Abebooks (here and here). A Holocaust Denier has set up a storefront on Amazon, where DVD's with titles like Why Do Some People Dislike Jews? and Judea Declares War on Germany are sold. Abebooks has a White Supremacist storefront here, where material in such categories as White Nationalism, American Nazi Party and Anti-Semitic is sold. (Screenshots archived here).

Does protection of Hate Speech extend to the right of companies like Amazon.com and Abebooks.com to profit from it? Does the Amazon or Abebooks brand appearing beside a title like "Why Do Some People Dislike Jews?" give these ideas legitimacy? Or, if free speech is allowed with impunity, does it follow then that online marketplaces should not vet what they sell?
It's funny.  Laugh.

Submission + - Jimbo Wales gives new meaning to Wikipedia entry

Gregory Rider writes: "Jimbo Wales, self-proclaimed "spiritual leader" of Wikipedia, has apparently been involved in an extramarital affair with political commentator Rachel Marsden, according to transcripts obtained by ValleyWag. The biographical article for Marsden has received extraordinarily unusual treatment on Wikipedia, raising questions if this relationship may have influenced what material was published. Danny Wool, former office manager for the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation has come forward and confirmed the allegations, while raising additional questions regarding Jimbo's practices handling expense receipts."
Privacy

Submission + - Mass Stalking Organized On Facebook

Jack Action writes: "Police in Cambridge, Ontario are investigating a 700-hundred member Facebook group that was dedicated to harassing and posting humiliating photos of a black, apparently homeless woman. Called "Obeeba Sightings" (the name group administers gave to the woman), Facebook members called the woman racist and sexually explict names, and called for her to be run over by a car and put in a trash compactor. In their response to the incident, Cambridge police indicated Facebook cooperated fully with them in their investigation to the point of handing over IP addresses for all those involved in the group; at which point Facebook shut down the group. Police say it is the worst case of online harassment they have ever seen.

Recent research indicates Facebook is homogeneous even by the standards of the internet, and that members of social networks are more likely to "cyber-bully." Is this a sign that cyber-bulling will get worse as social networks make themselves more like-minded and exclusive? Should companies like Facebook be held responsible for the bad behaviour of their members? Or is this just the nature of distance and anonymity on the internet?"
Businesses

Submission + - Big Boxes Squeezing Small Computer Stores

Jack Action writes: "Small computer stores, even those with a few locations are being squeezed by big boxes like Best Buy and Staples using PC's, especially notebooks, as loss leaders. According to the Globe and Mail, spending on computer products at small retailers in the Canadian market dropped in half over the last year, while at the same time jumping by 29% at big box stores. Elsewhere, even large chains like CompuServe and Circuit City are in trouble.

Small retailers in the Canadian market have had to make innovative changes to stay alive: slashing staff, paying for assembly by the piece, negotiating bulk orders from vendors, and emphasizing customs orders for the geek market — but still its a struggle. Is the loss of the local neighbourhood computer store the inevitable outcome of the market, or will something valuable be lost if they all go down the tubes?"

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