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Comment Re:Desktop environment? (Score 2, Informative) 432

It's not just you; the question is ambiguous. What does "environment" mean? Is it the type of desktop software (Enlightenment, Gnome, KDE, Xfce, ...), the version of the desktop software (2.8 -> 2.12 -> 2.26), the window manager (Compiz, Metacity, twm, ...), your theme (Bluecurve, Clearlooks, Mist, Oxygen, ...), or simply your desktop background?

I typically select my desktop theme when I upgrade the OS every few years, and otherwise I don't touch the software. The background picture may change after 6-18 months.

Comment Re:Only 10 types of people. (Score 1) 599

"My UID is prime... is yours?"

Erm, yes, I think it is. Thanks for asking!

So is mine. But I have to admit not only did you beat me to the punch, but your UID is way lower too. Congrats.

Comment In other words (Score 1) 307

"About 25 percent of the Dutch population downloaded hacked and pirated DVDs, games, and music ..."

"... illegal downloaders representing 45 percent of consumers who purchase content legally"

This tells me that at least 44% of the Dutch population doesn't purchase DVDs, games, or music. That's assuming that all downloaders also purchase. If nearly all downloaders don't purchase, then anywhere up to 99.9% of the population isn't buying any of it.

Does that say something about the quality of commercial products?

Comment Re:I saw that one coming...(I'm in Canada) (Score 1) 229

I wonder if that's the same scammer who's been calling me almost every day for the last two months? My caller ID box shows a Florida number (561-xxx-xxxx, which could be a fake), so I never pick up, but the caller never left a message until just last week. Then I had his pitch captured on my voice mail: it was from "Imperial Majesty Cruise Lines" claiming I've received a free cruise. I've reported every instance to the national Do Not Call registry, but the calls just kept coming until a few days ago.

I think sending the FTC a complete transcript of each voice mail message may have helped.

Privacy

Submission + - Privacy International Releases 2007 Report (privacyinternational.org)

I Don't Believe in Imaginary Property writes: "Privacy International has released their report on privacy for 2007, which includes a color-coded world map that highlights the countries with the best privacy laws, the privacy-hostile countries being in black. While many of the overall rankings may come as no surprise, it does highlight some of the more obscure abuses. For example, Venezuela requires your fingerprints just to get a phone and South Korea requires a government registration number linked to your identity before you can post on message boards. Makes you wonder who is Number One?"
United States

Submission + - Lifesaving hospital hygiene checklist banned (nytimes.com) 2

An anonymous reader writes: From the article:
Johns Hopkins University published a simple five-step checklist designed to prevent certain hospital infections. It reminds doctors to make sure, for example, that before putting large intravenous lines into patients, they actually wash their hands and don a sterile gown and gloves.

The results were stunning. Within three months, the rate of bloodstream infections from these I.V. lines fell by two-thirds. The average I.C.U. cut its infection rate from 4 percent to zero. Over 18 months, the program saved more than 1,500 lives and nearly $200 million.

Yet this past month, the Office for Human Research Protections shut the program down.

Security

Submission + - NYT Article About One of the Original Phreaks 1

tmalone writes: The New York Times is running an end of year piece about the most interesting people who have died this year. One of their picks is Joybubbles, also known as Josef Engressia, or "Whistler". He was born blind and discovered at the age of 7 that he could whistle 2600 hertz into a phone to make free long distance calls. He was one of the original phone phreaks, got arrested for phone fraud, and was even employed by the phone company. The article deals more with his personal life (he was abused at a home for the blind) than with his technical exploits, but is a very interesting story.
Robotics

Submission + - The latest SAAB goes hypersonic

G3ckoG33k writes: SAAB has launched, quite literally, the world's first remote controlled hypersonic missile. The missilie is operated at more than Mach 5.5 (about 6500 km/h). The domain-b article says "A manoeuvrable missile fired at hypersonic speeds is difficult to oppose. The speed means that reaction times are minimal [...]". Who would argue with that?!
Music

Submission + - RIAA Insanity-Suing People For Ripping CD's They P (fastsilicon.com) 2

mrneutron2003 writes: "With this past weeks announcement by Warner to release its entire catalog to Amazon in MP3 format with no Digital Rights Management, you would think that the organization that represents them, The Recording Industry Association of America , would begin changing its tune. However in an inane display of hubris and futility, the RIAA presses on in it's tirade against the very consumers its partners rely on buy (we're not making this up) suing individuals who merely rip CD's they've purchased legally.

The Washington Post reports on the case being fought by a Scottsdale Arizona man, Jeffrey Howell, who is being taken to task for ripping his own store bought CD's to his PC as a violation of copyright.

Now, in an unusual case in which an Arizona recipient of an RIAA letter has fought back in court rather than write a check to avoid hefty legal fees, the industry is taking its argument against music sharing one step further: In legal documents in its federal case against Jeffrey Howell, a Scottsdale, Ariz., man who kept a collection of about 2,000 music recordings on his personal computer, the industry maintains that it is illegal for someone who has legally purchased a CD to transfer that music into his computer.
If the RIAA is successful here, it is safe to say that the overwhelming majority of American music consumers will soon be classified as criminals under the law for attempting to use media they've legally purchased in a manner they desire.
http://www.fastsilicon.com/off-the-wall/riaa-insanity-suing-people-for-ripping-cds-they-purchased.html"

The Courts

Submission + - RIAA attacks Fair use (washingtonpost.com)

cyberfunk2 writes: It seems the RIAA has finally decided to drink their own koolaid. It seems the aforementioned entity is attacking the what most people believe to be holy ground in a case against Jeffrey Howell. The Washington Post reports In legal documents in its federal case against Jeffrey Howell, a Scottsdale, Ariz., man who kept a collection of about 2,000 music recordings on his personal computer, the industry maintains that it is illegal for someone who has legally purchased a CD to transfer that music into his computer. For his part, RIAA spokesman Jonathan Lamy said in a statement that the industry "will continue to bring lawsuits" against those who "ignore years of warnings,". "It's not our first choice, but it's a necessary part of the equation. There are consequences for breaking the law." Fair use anyone ?

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