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Random Humor 236

Posted by michael from the non-quickie-quickies dept.
An anonymous reader sends in Monitor Man: "Monitor Man is the latest idea in Japan for advertising at sports matches. Seems to be quite popular with the kids, anyway... siliconshock writes "Here is a torrent link to a 10 year old educational video from the SPA (Software Publisher's Association), which tells kids not to 'copy that floppy'. The video contains oldskool screen shots from "Oregon Trail", "Tetris" and other games of the era. The best part is the rapper who is singing and dancing to a great anti-piracy song. Here is more info. The file is 16mb, and in case you were worried about this file being copyrighted.... 'The Software Publishers Association gives you permission to copy this video for the non-profit purpose of promoting the ethical and legal use of software.'" And [vmlinuz] writes "After recently hearing a few different versions of RMS's legendary Free Software Song, I decided to do my own version, considerably heavier. You can get it in MP3 and OGG format."
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  • Dumbest Link ever? (Score:4, Funny)

    by spacefight ( 577141 ) on Monday July 07, 2003 @03:11AM (#6381542)
    Linking an MP3/OGG File on /. beats everything up till now ;-)
  • it reminds me the excellent "Don't date robots" propaganda movie parody in the Futurama ep about (Kid)Nappster lol

  • Blue's News mentioned this on July 4th... (Score:5, Informative)

    by antdude ( 79039 ) on Monday July 07, 2003 @03:15AM (#6381555) Homepage Journal
    You can find the WMV download link here [bluesnews.com]. The music video is quite long and amusing. :)

  • First thing ... (Score:5, Funny)

    by yamcha666 ( 519244 ) on Monday July 07, 2003 @03:16AM (#6381560)
    First thing to come to mind when I watched that video ...

    OH DEAR GOD!!

    I believe I have been scarred for life musically.

  • The best part of "Don't Copy That Floppy" (Score:5, Interesting)

    by iamdrscience ( 541136 ) on Monday July 07, 2003 @03:17AM (#6381563) Homepage
    I saw the "Don't Copy That Floppy" a few weeks ago and I have to say that my favorite part about it is that it says none-too-subtly that if you copy software illegally it will lead to the downfall of all technology and advancement of man kind. I mean, that's just ridiculous. I can understand people who think software piracy is a crime as bad as murder or whatever (even though I'm pretty firmly of the opposite opinion) but come on...
  • I just know that guy's first name is iMac...

  • Why download it... (Score:5, Funny)

    by daBass ( 56811 ) on Monday July 07, 2003 @03:22AM (#6381583)
    When you can buy [siia.net] it!

    Don't forget to also get the 1997 video "It Could Have Been So Easy"!

  • www.dictionary.com... (Score:5, Funny)

    by njan ( 606186 ) on Monday July 07, 2003 @03:23AM (#6381586) Homepage
    naive or naïve ( P ) Pronunciation Key (n-v, nä-) also naif or naïf (n-f, nä)
    adj.

    1. Lacking worldly experience and understanding, especially:
    1. Simple and guileless; artless: a child with a naive charm.
    2. Unsuspecting or credulous: "Students, often bright but naive, betand losesubstantial sums of money on sporting events" (Tim Layden).
    2. Showing or characterized by a lack of sophistication and critical judgment: "this extravagance of metaphors, with its naive bombast" (H.L. Mencken).

    ...

    4. naive: noun, descriptive; historical usage, 21st century. Anyone who posts a link to an mp3 file on slashdot.org
    • ...(and as an afterthought, don't bother correcting me on describing 'naive' as a noun if you missed the SF reference in the fourth definition. ;))

  • Yeah right... (Score:5, Funny)

    by NeoGeo64 ( 672698 ) on Monday July 07, 2003 @03:25AM (#6381588) Homepage Journal
    Funny how at that time, no computer could really play any video (not enough horsepower OR space), and yet they would have us believe this rig could do that.

    Oh yea, and I could tell rather quickly it was made by AOL. Now i just wanna copy all my floppies to spite the bastard!

    This goes on for 10 minutes?!?!?!

    I stopped it at about 3... I got the point... I will never copy that floppy again.

    Thank god for CD burners.

    • Re:Yeah right... (Score:2, Interesting)

      by Anonymous Coward
      Bullshit, I got a P60 with 16MB of RAM and a 500MB hard drive that year. I could play videos. It was hot shit.

      Also, what about Amiga? They had fullscreen video editing at that time.
      • Beat ya. Had a 486DX 66 with a ReelMagic (yes, it was spelt that way back then) MPEG1 card. Could stream video from a 2X CD ROM drive. Only a handful of games made for it though. Dragon's Lair, Return to Zork, The Horde, and one or two others.

    • Re:Yeah right... (Score:5, Funny)

      by gfody ( 514448 ) * on Monday July 07, 2003 @03:48AM (#6381631)
      disk protector was ahead of its time with video compression and high speed playback. back in the mid 80's me and some friends would try and copy oregon trail just to see the video.
  • After recently hearing a few different versions of RMS's legendary Free Software Song, I decided to do my own version, considerably heavier

    So what did you do ? a Microsoft Windows song ? that'd be heavy ...
  • I remember seeing that in the sixth grade.

    Hours later, in Gym, I met up with a friend of mine and caught a hold of the full Doom.

    What caught my eye this time around was a screen shot that said, "Never Winter Nights." I sure hope that was a CGA/VGA version and not the version that eventually became the modern game, DNF has quite the ways to go before it's really really late by comparison.

  • Free Software song (Score:2, Interesting)

    by Jim the Bad ( 192095 )
    Nice work Jono, giving the Free software song the metal treatment. Fantastic solo, too...but...what's going on with the drum sounds? Did you use a couple of old tupperware tubs or something? :)

  • Amazing (Score:5, Funny)

    by barcodez ( 580516 ) on Monday July 07, 2003 @03:34AM (#6381602)
    It amazes me that companies are allowed this unfettered access to our children in school to peddle such messages they desire. Is there a modern equivalent to this film. I would love to see it. "Don't rip to XVid" doesn't quite have the same ring to it....

    • Re:Amazing (Score:2, Funny)

      by Anonymous Coward
      We really need a "Go ahead, copy that floppy" version now. "But Grandmaster Stallman, we were taught to never copy that floppy in school!!!" "That's right kids, but this is a GNU/Linux boot disk and is free!!!!!!!!!!!"

    • Re:Amazing (Score:3, Funny)

      by SCHecklerX ( 229973 )
      Even more disturbing is stations putting a "G" rating on religious shows on television. If ANYTHING requires parental guidance, it is religious shows! At least make it PG, fer cryin' out loud.

      Brainwashing at its best.

  • Edutainment (Score:5, Funny)

    by Op7imus_Prim3 ( 645940 ) on Monday July 07, 2003 @03:37AM (#6381608) Journal
    Now if only SCO had made a video like this...

  • Quotes (Score:5, Funny)

    by mrpuffypants ( 444598 ) * <mrpuffypantsNO@SPAMgmail.com> on Monday July 07, 2003 @03:40AM (#6381612)
    I like the interview sessions wit the programmers:

    "Lots of great things come in the boxes: manuals, upgrades, warrantees."

    "You can just call us up and ask for help on your software and we can give you a hand."

    I'd like to see this now. Call Microsoft ans ask to speak to the guy who coded the AI for Clippy...
    • Melinda Gates was the project manager for Microsoft Bob, which became Clippy. Doubt she did much coding on, but she did do a CS degree so hopefully she can code a little.

  • Oi (Score:5, Funny)

    by TheOnlyCoolTim ( 264997 ) <tim.bolbrockNO@SPAMverizon.net> on Monday July 07, 2003 @03:40AM (#6381614)
    What's my torrent doing on the front page of Slashdot?

    I did get to see a late night Slashdot effect in action... Went from being connected to 20 seeds to about 110 leechers...

    Tim

  • license violation (Score:5, Funny)

    by wo1verin3 ( 473094 ) on Monday July 07, 2003 @03:41AM (#6381615) Homepage
    >> 'The Software Publishers Association gives you permission to copy this video for the non-profit
    >> purpose of promoting the ethical and legal use of software

    What if we just download it to laugh at it?
  • I've got to stop the rampant piracy around here! I pledge to never copy another floppy.

    Oh, CD's and DVD's too? Ahhhh... come back in a few years. I've got to... finish backing up... yeah, thats it. Backing up my software.

  • Monitor man (Score:2, Interesting)

    by Smartcowboy ( 679871 )
    Why these guys remind me V [infinit.net] if I remove the moniter on their head?

    Hum.... I need to sleep

  • Jumpsuit (Score:2, Interesting)

    by MulluskO ( 305219 )
    I really like that orange jumpsuit. He even has orange chucks to match. Maybe I could join up and get one of those jumpsuits, ans a helmet and advertise in arcades, classrooms, and cafetirias.

  • Nice gfx for a Macintosh LC (Score:4, Funny)

    by green pizza ( 159161 ) on Monday July 07, 2003 @04:01AM (#6381657) Homepage
    That must be one impressive video codec to fit the rapper and the interviews on that 1.44MB floppy! Auto-run too!

    And the whole thing runs on the Motorola 68020 of the school's Macintosh LC!

  • who knew... (Score:2, Funny)

    by silicon1 ( 324608 )
    ...you could store that long of a video on a single floppy disk!

  • practical applications for monitor-man technology (Score:4, Funny)

    by lingqi ( 577227 ) on Monday July 07, 2003 @04:08AM (#6381668) Journal
    I am thinking, if you had a monitor attached to your head, wouldn't it be possible to use it to display stuff, like say, thought-bubbles?

    or for the mute/deaf amongst us. I mean, who want's to learn to sign anyway.

    Then, if it really can seriously display *thoughts*, i.e. grab things out of your head unaware - then how many % of the time would the said monitors display sex-related material when guys are wearing them?

    Obviously there are video-conferencing application here too, and possbily making neck-chiropractors the next fastest-growing job-market in the world, but i will skip those for now.

  • Anyone else notice... (Score:4, Interesting)

    by green pizza ( 159161 ) on Monday July 07, 2003 @04:10AM (#6381671) Homepage
    Anyone else notice that Pixar is mentioned in the credits?
  • The fact that I watched this last week and again tonight?

    Or

    the fact that I remember it from when it was *new*?

    Jeebus I feel old.

  • How ironic (Score:5, Interesting)

    by archeopterix ( 594938 ) on Monday July 07, 2003 @04:12AM (#6381678) Journal
    The anti-piracy clip that contains images from Tetris, whose inventor, Alexey Pajitnov never saw a penny from the Tetris sales. The software publishers took advantage of the fact that he, being a citizen of the Soviet Russia wasn't protected by the copyright law.

    • Re:How ironic (Score:5, Funny)

      by Catnapster ( 531547 ) on Monday July 07, 2003 @04:32AM (#6381718) Homepage
      being a citizen of the Soviet Russia
      IN SOVIET RUSSIA... oh, screw it.

    • Re:How ironic (Score:2, Insightful)

      by Anonymous Coward
      This is one fact that many of us "old Skool" guys remember vividly and caused a large portion of no respect for any copyright.

      If the SPA can condone and protect Outright raping of a programmer like they did with tetris... why should I honor ANYTHING that is made by them and their members?

      Today as an adult, I am legal and honor copyright by avoiding all of the software from them and their members... by Using BSD and linux at home.

  • And who can forget... (Score:5, Funny)

    by cliveholloway ( 132299 ) on Monday July 07, 2003 @04:28AM (#6381712) Homepage Journal
    this classic from the BSA [bsa.org] :)

    Oh, sorry, we had the 'irony' conversation the other day. mumble mumble...

    .02

    cLive ;-)

  • Free Software Song (Score:4, Interesting)

    by mirko ( 198274 ) on Monday July 07, 2003 @04:34AM (#6381722) Journal
    After recently hearing a few different versions of RMS's legendary Free Software Song, I decided to do my own version, considerably heavier

    There also the Tompox mix [gnuart.net].

    BTW, here are other contributions to RMS art by Tompox :
    • Debugging [gnuart.net] (lyrics by RMS)
    • Boot It! [gnuart.net] (lyrics by RMS)
    • 1983 [gnuart.net] (electro remix of an RMS speech)

  • Don't make a fool of the kids nowsday (Score:5, Funny)

    by jsse ( 254124 ) on Monday July 07, 2003 @04:35AM (#6381726) Homepage Journal
    (Not in US)While I was a kid my grade school teacher showed us a video on sex education. It uses very indirect approach to describe the act of sex - pollunation of flowers. We didn't know what the heck it was showing or ask much question about it.

    Years later I was shocked to hear that they still use the very same tape to teach sex education for my kids. Needless to say, the whole class was laughing their ass off, and everybody raising so many questions that embarrassing the teacher very much, like - the role of bee in real life sex, the way of using condem on a flower, and the actual sexual position if we want to do it in 'flower way', etc.

    Man, don't fool nowaday kids.
  • that 'don't copy that floppy' knocked my socks off. as an avid hip-hop fan i marvelled at their verbal acuity and sound knowledge of copyright law. i wondered how someone could be so versed in both legalities and dope rhymes.

    then i saw in the credits that additional lyrics were provided by that virtuoso of beats, ms. ilene rosenthal, who you may recognize from the video as also playing 'SPA attorney'.

    kudos to you ms. rosenthal. you are truly a renaissance woman. and i look forward to hearing what craz

  • You're pirating that movie! (Score:5, Funny)

    by TheMidget ( 512188 ) on Monday July 07, 2003 @04:40AM (#6381738)
    The SPA gives you permission to "copy this video for the non-profit purpose of promoting the ethical and legal use of software."

    They don't give you permission to "copy this video for the despicable purpose of mocking the most venerable SPA organization."

  • More info about the video. (Score:3, Informative)

    by will_die ( 586523 ) on Monday July 07, 2003 @05:26AM (#6381813) Homepage
    Wanted to find out what happened to our poor AOL developers and if they were currently on the dole, I did a quick seach on google. Unfortunatly not much can be found out on them.
    However did find a 107Meg version and a more detailed explaination of the video at Ninja Culter [ninjaculture.com] the google cache is here [216.239.33.104].

  • The Ultimate Propeller-Heads (Score:5, Funny)

    by SkewlD00d ( 314017 ) on Monday July 07, 2003 @05:32AM (#6381832)
    Don't you feel sorry for the shmoe wearing this? He must feel about as good as a Mickey Mouse actor at Disneyland getting constantly kicked in the balls by hyper-active, sugar-crazed ten year-olds. It's like carrying a sign on your head that says to kids "my nuts are your punching bag and there's nothing I can do about it, because your parents can get me fired."

    Wouldn't it be a lot cheaper to just staticly mount some flat-panels and have them centrally controlled via UHF or something? Oh wait, that's a TV. All this extra technology to replace something that could be done a lot cheaper and easier by using a little planning.

    Also, is labor in Asia so cheap now that it costs less to hire someone to stand there than a 1" OD x 6 ft pole of aluminum? Might as well hire some people to fan you w/ palm-frawns too.

    That's my 3.14159... cents
    • yea, i hear the aluminum poles that can walk and track crowd movements are pretty expensive. Esp the ones that can explain the product that their advertising, or hand out free samples.

      this is not to say that aluminum hasnt come very far lately, i even hear its transparent now!

  • Wow, we managed to slashdot a bittorrent-link

  • Monitor Man in New York (Score:5, Funny)

    by Rayonic ( 462789 ) on Monday July 07, 2003 @06:24AM (#6381923) Homepage Journal
    This isn't a Japan-only thing. I saw a Monitor Man (actually, a woman) in New York city about 6 weeks ago on vacation. She was in Times Square near where the ticket center (name?) is.

    Upon seeing her, I joked with my wife, "She was probably tired of men staring at her breasts all the time."
  • Jesus holy christ, there's enough copies of Tetris, in SOME form or another, that if I DELETED THE SOURCE CODE of one a game an hour until Christmas, I'd only be halfway done.

    Besides, who actually LIKED those other games Alexey threw together in those MS Software packs? I think in this case, copying would have encouraged him to STOP with that junk.
  • In case Slashdot is not aware, the afforementioned SPA video is STILL sold for 20 dollars a pop and, as far as I know, all copyrights on it are still held by the orginization that replaced the SPA (whatever its called, no one cares). In other words, Slashdot is directly linking (via bittorrent, which I suppose you could argue is not a DIRECT LINK) to copyrighted materials. Since when has Slashdot supported theft of intellectual property?
    • OK, I didn't see that disclaimer (was it editted in or something?). My fault. I probably jumped the gun on this post. But It is true that they STILL sell that video. I can't imagine anyone acutally buy's it though. . .

  • Where are they now (Score:3, Informative)

    by Torgo's Pizza ( 547926 ) on Monday July 07, 2003 @08:52AM (#6382488) Homepage Journal
    I did some quick research and found out some information on the people featured in the video here [videogamestumpers.com] in my own review. This video was so bad that almost everyone associated with it has gone on to mediocrity.

  • I have the files (Score:2, Informative)

    by [vmlinuz] ( 158785 )
    Hi all,

    I am the guy who wrote the Free Software Song metal version. I have the files on my home server. If you have a server you can put the files on, mail me at jono@jonobacon.org and I will mail you them.

    Cheers,

    Jono
  • ...how Queen Latifa got her start. Now I know.
  • Oh BSA, your cacophonic rapper playing on an 68020 processor without an FPU has opened my eyes. I will never again copy a floppy. In fact, I won't even use one, and I quite hopefully will never see one again except perhaps in a RAID device [8k.com]. From now on, I will only copy CDs, DVDs, books, Reagan's economic policies, the sound of a dying giraffe, and just about everything other than floppies.
  • The best part is the rapper who is singing and dancing to a great anti-piracy song.

    ...you could have explained that you meant "a black guy who is moving spastically and non-lip-synchronously to an incredibly horrible anti-piracy farce 'rap'" before I wasted my time downloading all 16MB of this mindless propoganda.
    At least qualify your definition of 'great', like so:

    "To me, 'great' is a synonym for that feeling you get when someone else throws up in your mouth".
  • So first Taco, bless his heart, says in one of his magnanimous JEs (which are supposed to be how people find out about why the site is crapped on a given day) that funny mods don't count towards karma anymore (because you're supposed to be "smart", not "smartass" - gold, pure gold). And then here we have michael, bless his renowned sense of humor, posting an "article" that is going to get 99% +1 funny mods.

    What's the point? Is this some sort of evil social engineering experiment or what?

  • First I thought it was weird that the "game designers" are people from AOL, which AFAIK (at least at the time) was more of an ISP. But probably they had the odd game on their pages.

    A much more interesting thing is that later they thank "all the companies that donated software". In other words, they didn't pay a cent for any of the software used to make that video! :-)

  • We used to say (in parody) "don't floppy that copy" in reference to putting any important data on floppy because floppies are so unreliable.

    It is interesting how many things in the video turned out to be downright false:
    1) Piracy will end all software development.
    2) The only motivating factor in software development is profit.
    3) Every pirated copy represents a lost sale.
    4) Oregon trail ran on a Mac LC.

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