So I'm playing with this antique iMac because whee shit and I'm trying to download the 1GB developer tools DMG and Apple sure makes it a gigantic pain in the arsehole, don't they? You can't just download the URL with wget without rigamarole which I haven't gone through yet. I can't actually load the site in Safari at all because of some kind of https error. And my download just failed somehow in the last seconds, which means I get to download it all over again. And then it may fail again. Other downloads are working fine, it's just Apple that's incompetent here somehow.

This is the kind of thing that convinces me that anyone who gives Apple money is either a moron or a masochist. Luckily, I got this machine for free, so all I'm wasting is time.

That may not be a good way to describe it but... I have a C64 I never use and I think I shall desolder its SID before consigning it to recycling since they are now officially hard to come by. What can I put it on that will let me use it efficiently?

The above quote rendered one of my comments unpostable...

In Mainah-speak, I'd say that this privacy policy is, "A riaght pissah." (That spelling looks about right. For those not in the 'know' I'm kind of fond of the various American dialects and the various colorful olloquialisms. I'm also missing home.)

Anyhow, I want to quote it but I don't want to steal the guy's thunder. So, you seriously need to see this:
http://www.donationbasedhosting.org/privacy-policy/

As in, seriously... It's amusing, informative, interesting, and insightful - all at the same time. I kind of want to host with the guy but I don't think I've anything that's server-appropriate. He's just got one server and probably has quite a few people on it.

Actually, my spying button says they've only got 14 domains hosted on the one server and he's got a single Debian box at Linode.

At any rate, that page needs more attention. It's quite funny. It's the best privacy policy that I've seen lately.

Speaking of which, I have to/want to do some custom error pages. I know the mechanism but I lack the creativity to do something enjoyable with them. I gotta find something creative to do with 'em. Maybe random redirects, just to screw with people.

If anyone's interested in checking out my project, lemme know. There's a bunch of goals but the idea of the site is generally fostering a place for intelligent discourse/civil discussion. The idea being that it's possible to remain civil while debating or discussing any topic and the site tries to make that possible while offering a number of ways to participate as a registered or anonymous user. The entire thing is also an attempt to demonstrate something (in the manner of a wager that is still ongoing) where it must be entirely self-funding - it's a bit of a competition against "traditional" social media which I think is unnecessary but not overly evil, in and of itself. This was the best idea I could come up with to demonstrate my belief and, if nothing else, it has been rather fun and it has been great to relearn a lot of stuff.

It's oddly timed but the site is moving to a new server shortly but that actually has nothing to do with the site that I linked to. I found that site by clicking around the Chrome extension site and it looked like an interesting name for a hosting company, so I clicked. Then it didn't appear to be much of a hosting site. So, I clicked around and the privacy policy was what I clicked on. And then I giggled like a little schoolgirl. :/

Oh, it's http://kgiii.gq if you're curious about the project. I'll just link it here, instead of in the comments or by email. Feel free to stop by, sign up, whatever. Basically, anyone that participates gets turned into an author eventually. Ideally, the site will self-fund and be handed off to a committee of site participants who can then decide how it is run in perpetuity. I've actually had a couple of similar projects in the past. However, it has been a long time since I've done any coding, tweaking, editing, and whatnot. So, I've (re)learned a lot and it's great 'cause it's keeping me busy while I wait a while longer as I'm still trying to get permission to go to Cuba before I return to Maine.

I don't think I'm going to get to go.

I didn't notice any update or information given from on-high but I will say that I am neither offended nor bothered by it and I appreciate the honest. I even made it a point to click through it. Odd, too, 'cause it required multiple clicks - my security software wasn't fond of it. No, it wasn't malicious, but it's an add and the MS MVPS Hosts file (incorporated in uMatrix & uBlock Origin) has that listed. So, I told it to temporarily allow it to pass. And it did.

So, Whipslash, congratulations. It's not intrusive, it's not misleading, it's not over-powering, it's not unacceptable. I, for one, appreciate that. I value that you took the time to do so without making it problematic or a burden to work around. Seriously, thanks. I might even click on a few - I might even go so far as to buy something from one of the companies. You never know... It could happen.

I'd just urge you all to not go overboard but I don't think that's going to be a problem. You've shown fine judgment so far and I've every reason to believe you'll continue to do so in the future. I'm thinking it's probably best to not allow comments in those threads - good choice. We've got our share of idiots here. Hell, we've got more than our share of idiots here.

So, thanks. Thanks for looking for *good* ways to monetize the site and to keep the site afloat. It being easy to notice is the icing on the cake. Others may disagree with me. I'm inclined to think they're idiots if they do. Unicorn farts only get you so far. Eventually, it has to have money.

It's fairly well known how I feel about Firefox. I don't like it much and I use it long enough to install Opera. It's default on most every Linux distro out there. I much prefer Opera. At the same time, I'm not some crazy zealot and I don't actively dislike Firefox. I don't uninstall it. I keep it updated, I use it once in a while, and it has its own special tabs that open by default when I open it. It gets used.

On the other hand, I've pretty much used Opera since 1998 or something like that. I don't even remember when I first found it. When I first found it, it would let you block images (such as ads) right from the browser itself. It was built in. It had "fit to width" which meant that you clicked a button and the width of the text filled the entire page. I seem to recall that you could actually adjust the margins for that somewhere. Then, not much later, it got tabs and the world went crazy with tabs not long after.

It was a start of a whole new adventure. Netscape ended up eventually turning into Mozilla. Microsoft got sued pretty handily for their market manipulations (which is a topic for another day). They also got popped for screwing with the world via their fake Java (or was it JavaScript? I'm kind of stoned - again - can tell I'm ready to go home).

And a whole bunch of new browsers came out - changing the web as we know it. No, really, the rest of the web changed as we know it. Opera had some impact on those changes and it was well worth the price I paid for the privilege to use their browser. I bought licenses for friends and I didn't even have much money back then. I liked Opera that much.

Anyhow, I've pretty much used Opera since then. There was one point, from about version to 15 to 23, that they really sucked and for that time, and that time only, they've not been my default browser - since about 1998. It was a fairly quick process, actually. They just POOF went retarded and changed from Presto to Chromium/Blink or whatever is under Chromium.

And it sucked. I'm not gonna lie about it just because I used them. No, they straight up sucked donkey balls. It was unstable, unwieldy, unsecured, and unacceptable. It really was unacceptable. I didn't go rail and rant at them. I didn't have to - people are STILL yelling at them and we're all the way on version 37 now. Dev is 38 and Stable is 36.

Anyhow, that's where I stand on Opera. I've said it before, I'll say it again. I don't care what browser you use. I use what works best for me. For a while, that was quite distinctly, anyone but Opera. At about version 23 it became tolerable again. At about 28 it became acceptable again. At about 31 it became good again. I've got some pretty high standards but at about version 24 I decided to switch back to Opera as my default and to go see if there was something I could do to help - it's open source. So far so good, except I've only given them one idea that they decided to act on. There's still a few more things that would be neat to see. I might actually write an extension myself to fix the remaining issue. That'll be neat.

As I was saying...

So, I read an AC post earlier. They said they were really surprised about the Developer version of Firefox. Now, I knew what the developer tools where and I knew there was a developer's edition and that the two are not the same.

If you're using one of the Ubuntu flavors or derivatives, then it's not the "firefox-dev" that you find by searching the app. In fact, you don't even really need to install it if you don't want. You can, there's a PPA for it. But, it's this version:

https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/channel/#developer

I kid you not... It's not bad, it's not bad at all. It's not only not bad - it's REALLY good. It's a whole different version than the regular Firefox. It's entirely different. Just extract it and run the firefox-bin and you're good to go. It's light, responsive, and... I'm not sure how to say this?

The developer tools? Err... There's more to them than you see in any other browser that I know of BUT... They're actually good. They're pretty good, even. I was kind of shocked. I still am. I've been beating the piss out of it all night. I started beating on it this afternoon. If you really hammer on it then I think it might grow into a memory leak over time - but I've not had it open that long. I've had a ton of tabs open in it. (No, not 500 like some of you weirdos.)

It's fantastically good. It really is. I can't stress that enough.

If you've not given Firefox a try lately or you've not tried the Aurora edition then give it a shot. Here's a slightly different link:

https://hacks.mozilla.org/2012/05/firefox-and-the-release-channels/

No, it's not going to become my new default browser. That's EXTREMELY unlikely. It will, on the other hand, take the place of one of the Opera versions in my line-up/order of procession. I use Opera beta as my default. I have the browsers set for different tasks. My next favorite is Developer. It opens its own set of tabs, has its own special folders on the speed dial, and sits on a second monitor or on its own virtual monitor. Then comes the stable version, if you're curious.

But... I think that Firefox is going to become the second browser. No, I know it's going to - or at least it's getting an extended audition as my second browser. The developer tools are really good. That's what I use Opera's for, I do the checking and configurations in that browser usually. Then I have the stable build open on a third physical or virtual monitor and that keeps my extended searches. If I'm researching something and want to have that open and read to stay with just a few tabs - that's the browser to do it with. (Then I might test in a few other browsers.)

So, no... It's good enough seeming, at this point and after this series of tests for the past dozen hours or so, like it is a very good browser. It's good enough for me to give it second place and that's saying something - I think. I am fast approaching 20 years with Opera. I am giving up a slot that's been devoted to Opera for a fairly decent portion of that 20 years. If I had to stop using Opera tomorrow AND if the developer build is as nice as it was to me today then I'd not mind switching.

As it is, I kind of neat to be ready to switch. Opera's sale to the Chinese company may go through and I'm not sure what direction they'll take the project. I was expecting to go to Vivaldi or Pale Moon or Chromium. If it happens that they destroy the browser beyond all repair, I'll go with Firefox developer as my main browser and work my way down from there. To be completely clear, I might not even mind the switch much at all. I'm really that impressed with the speed, display, resource usage, easy of access to the tools I want, and then some...

I can say this with 100% certainty. When I woke up this morning, I was not even remotely aware that I'd be saying this by this evening. Yes, yes I'm that impressed.

(Someone speaking to an intern): "When you send stuff like that, save it as doc, not odt. That way, people who don't have Openoffice can open it."

It appears that autorefresh still works. If you were a fan then it's:
https://slashdot.org/?source=autorefresh

It still appears to work. There are times when I still prefer it and I've learned to work around it. I don't mind it refreshing and I was sad to see it go. I'd have complained but enough people disliked it so that I didn't bother complaining about them removing it.

(Just because I like something is no reason for me to bitch about other people getting their way - I'm just not that kind of idiot.)

Actually, there are a whole lot of that kind of idiot types out there. Some of them frequent this site. I'm reminded a bit of the recent story where people were OUTRAGED!!! that there were pretty girls at an after-party at a gaming convention. No! Other people may not have fun that I myself would not enjoy! Stupid fucking pricks, the lot of 'em.

The usual names showed up. I asked them the various questions and got the usual non-answers. Some of them had mod points but others came along and fixed it. There is an unusual trend in moderating lately.

Suggesting that people take responsibility, make informed choices, and accept the consequences of their actions is seen as trolling. Even though, I assure you, I was not trolling. Speculating that one made an agreement without reading and understanding the details (easily spelled out) is bad form, it seems. Suggesting that one is not entitled to alter an agreement that they made also makes me smug, or so I'm told.

How to elaborate? That was the Netflix proxy banning thing...

"I paid to watch it!"
"No, you paid to watch it while physically in a specific location - you, personally, present in that physical location. You did read the terms of service - right?"
"Don't be fucking smug!"
"You're saying that you are entitled to break the agreement that you signed, entitled for more than you paid for, are entitled to continue to break the rules you know about or should know about, and I'm the smug person? Really?"

That's the gist of it. The moderators gobbled it up. I'm glad they did it to me instead of someone else - I've got karma points to burn. I'm not even sure if it's possible for me to go below the "excellent karma" rating without a very concerted effort. So, it doesn't bother me but I dislike the trend that I'm seeing. It is getting worse and I see it happening more to others than it does to me.

Advocating accountability cuts both ways. If you want the businesses to be accountable, how about accepting some fucking responsibility yourselves? Why the hell are we enforcing immaturity? Why the hell are we attempting to silence (what more is voting down) someone advocating making informed choices and accepting accountability for those choices?

It speaks of a larger societal problem. I noticed a similar trend in many other threads but I also noticed it in the thread concerning Microsoft's gaming convention with scantily clad women. It appears that I'm a bad person for pointing out that nobody was hurt and that this was not the only option for entertainment. See, they weren't obligated to ogle women - that was optional. Not one person was hurt. Being offended was optional and stupid. There's no reason to be offended, outraged, or even unhappy.

Yes, if there were no other sources of amusement then you might be unhappy. If it were during a talk then, by all means, get irate. But this? They're just inventing reasons to be pissed off. I noticed the moderation in that thread as well and it confirms my belief that there are people spending points in absolutely retarded ways. Again, I'm immune - I don't give a shit *except* that it impacts people who do give a shit. That's not cool people, not cool at all.

Think about what you're saying. You're saying that being outraged over non-events is acceptable. You're saying that personal responsibility is not acceptable. You're saying that nobody is allowed to do things you don't like - even if it harms nobody. You're saying that people don't have to make informed choices - and I can tell you that the use of Netflix service is clearly laid out and in plain language. They're quite specific about who the watcher is and where the watcher must be physically located, for example.

If you don't like the rules - don't give them your money. If you give them your money, live by the rules. This is pretty basic and yes, the suggestions go beyond people just using free speech to be unhappy. Saying that you have a right to the content is surely free speech, it's just stupid. You quite clearly do not have that right. Using the products of another person's labor without payment and express permission is slavery. It is all the more amusing when it is done in reverse. The hypocrisy is thick.

Ah well... I'd go on but that's rant enough.

The important thing is that autorefresh still works. Just use this address:
https://slashdot.org/?source=autorefresh

I do wish there were a switch somewhere. I imagine that someone could make such a thing, pretty easily, with GreaseMonkey/ViolentMonkey. Hell, you could probably fit it into Stylish somewhere. Or, you can still just use the URL and have autorefreshing done for you.

It does not appear to work on older pages - by default. You'll have to append the URL manually and then make it autorefresh from there. I can see that being handy - I often only prefer it autorefresh on the home page. I'm often a few pages back (I usually read oldest to newest) so having it refresh and mess things up was sometimes confusing.

I understand that refreshing might actually impact moderation points but I think that's on the articles themselves. Those who fall in the average, for article views, get moderation points - assuming they're eligible, or so I understand. That's how they described it when the system came out. I'm guessing it has made some changes since then. I do not actually use my moderation points so I don't really know.

Nope... I don't moderate at all. Ever. I haven't in a long time. I think the system noticed? I don't get moderation points as often - even though nothing else has really changed. I just don't spend 'em and they seem to stop giving them to me as often. I'm kind of grateful. I do, sometimes, meta-mod but I don't ever moderate. Who am I to judge? Besides, I'd rather say my opinion than signify what others should think of it devoid of any context.

Finally, as some of you know, I'm hoping to go to Cuba. I've got some folks who are trying to help hurry the process along but I went all last week without any new information except that it can take up to 90 days. *sighs* I don't HAVE 90 days and, by then, they'll have been inundated with well-meaning idiots and they'll be shredding the culture to pieces. I'd like to see it before its gone. I've been twice and loved it, I'd like to go officially and be able to have my passport proudly stamped with it. However, I might just fly in to Mexico and then fly over. If I don't give any notice (I'm not gonna admit to it publicly before going) and I just *poof* for a few days - that's probably where I am.

Sadly, I won't be able to tell people before I go. I may get my passport stamped just to piss 'em off at this point. However, I'm not a huge fan of burning bridges unless i have to. But... In the words of the immortal Kurt Vonnegut, "So be it."

There's a chance, today or tomorrow, that I find out that I have the chance to do a little bit of exploring. We shall see and I'll hopefully return with pictures for those who are interested. I don't want to get my hopes up too high but I did crawl out of bed at 0530 to start making some phone calls.

Surely someone around here knows where's the best slightly-reputable site to buy some knockoffs of the Oakley M2 XLs. I want to try them out for a while and see how they feel on my head. The sites I've found so far are registered straight outta China. Oakley has successfully driven the fakes off eBay and Amazon... the problem is, I'm not going to drop two hundred bucks on some glasses that might give me a headache, like most glasses do.

Apple is now actively, willingly, and deliberately aiding in online harassment and identity theft against me. They refuse to destroy an Apple ID which has been created with my email address, to which I do not have the answers to the "secret questions". They will not permit me to proceed any further without having an attorney.

What do I do now? Who do I call for relief? I can't afford a legal battle with Apple. I don't have an attorney on retainer.ï

Finally, I got my A8 Quattro up to the point where I could get it smogged. Registration and rubber to follow imminently. Crap, this thing is quick.

Slashdot is finally back on Google+. Follow us if you're interested in keeping up with new posts via Google+. The old page was lost a couple of years ago by the previous ownership, but we are back and every post on Slashdot will appear on our Google+ page.

You can keep up with all our changes and improvements at the Slashdot blog.

Since the arrival of the new overlords, I've observed a trend. It's a good trend, I think?

See, I pay attention to usernames and, with that, I often note the UUID number. Since the announcement that the site has sold, I'm seeing some familiar names that I've not seen in a while. I'm also observing an increased number of posts from folks with a lower number.

There are a variety of reasons that I may be seeing this but, to be clear, I didn't just start paying attention to the names and numbers recently. No, I've been noticing them for years.

At any rate, I dare say that this is a good thing. The articles seem to be improving (from what people are saying - 'snot like I'm a heretic and going to admit to reading them) and the comments seem to be marginally improved but that may be a matter of perception and the latter due to confirmation bias. I suppose that means we can be nice to the new owners of the site.

As an aside, they seem to be aware that they just own the site and only that. I've noted (and mentioned to one of them) that they've not stressed it but I think the attitude is there. They've referred to us as a community as opposed to calling a an audience. That makes me think good things may be in store and it appears that I'm not alone.

There's that guy, the HIV drug price gouger guy, named Martin Shkreli. I hadn't been to Cracked in a long time but I was bored and I needed amusement. Holy shit! I'm not usually a violent person and, really, I honestly hadn't given two shits about this story until just now.

That dude has the most punchable face I have ever seen. Seriously, I'd take the $500 fine and time served to punch him in the face. I bet I can break his jaw in just one punch - and I'm just a little fella at exactly 172 pounds (I am almost always exactly that weight) and 5' 11". I'm really just a fairly little person and I'm still reasonably certain that I'd hear a nice satisfying crunchy sound.

I still don't really give a shit about the story and I'm still kind of curious where he's going with this (besides prison) but I really want to crack him in the jaw. How odd, really. I'm normally really not that violent at all. It's not like it'd be a felony so I'd not lose my right to bear arms. I'd not use a weapon or anything. I'd just crack him once in the jaw and then laugh until they came and arrested me. I'd then bail out. I'd plea bargain for time served, a $500 fine, and pay his hospital bills after a civil trial. It'd be so worth it.

Maybe I can get the missus to record it on her phone. I got her a new phone the other day and she's been busy recording most everything that moves and a few things that don't move. I've since suggested she go get a real video recording device so maybe she'll find one that she likes and pick that up. Then, I just need to find Mr. Martin Shkreli and see if he minds if she records it while I crack him in the jaw. I'm a polite person, after all. It'd only be the proper thing to ask his opinion on the matter. He might want the recording for court. It's not like a misdemeanor and a civil trial scare me. Hell, it won't even have been the first time I've been in a situation like that. It will be the first time I've had someone record the evidence.

How does he make it through the day without someone constantly running up and cracking him in the jaw? It's truly the most punchable face that I recall seeing.