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Submission + - Ask Slashdot: Will the NSA Controversy Drive People to Use Privacy Software? (slashdot.org) 1

Nerval's Lobster writes: As the U.S. government continues to pursue former NSA contractor Edward Snowden for leaking some of the country’s most sensitive intelligence secrets, the debate over federal surveillance seems to have abated somewhat—despite Snowden’s stated wish for his revelations to spark transformative and wide-ranging debate, it doesn’t seem as if anyone’s taking to the streets to protest the NSA’s reported monitoring of Americans’ emails and phone-call metadata. Even so, will the recent revelations about the NSA lead to a spike in demand for sophisticated privacy software, leading to a glut of new apps that vaporize or encrypt data? While there are quite a number of tools already on the market (SpiderOak, Silent Circle, and many more), is their presence enough to get people interested enough to install them? Or do you think the majority of people simply don't care? Despite some polling data that suggests people are concerned about their privacy, software for securing it is just not an exciting topic for most folks, who will rush to download the latest iteration of Instagram or Plants vs. Zombies, but who often throw up their hands and profess ignorance when asked about how they lock down their data.

Comment Dicking around (Score 3, Interesting) 59

NASA dicks around in low Earth orbit and the only way to send up an astronaut is on a Russian rocket. We should've been on Mars by 1980 at the latest, but we just. stopped.. trying. People will disagree with the above sentiment. It's jingoistic and Cold War-ish, they'll say. To them I reply, gloat over our corpses. You won and we lost. We no longer have the national will to do great things. Whether it's NASA alone or a coalition of public and private firms, we just don't have what it takes. You win.

Comment Re:Meh.... (Score 1) 208

If you rewatch some of the Monkees episodes, especially ones from after the first season you'll find that a lot of them are pretty intelligently written. They were fully aware of their own image as being manufactured, and poked fun at themselves mercilessly. "Head" is one of the greatest psychedelic movies ever made.

Comment Re:Nvidia drivers (Score 4, Insightful) 157

I agree in that I wish Nvidia would go faster, but what will you do? Run Noveau? The fact remains they DO support Linux, and they do it a helluva lot better than AMD/ATI do.. Now, if you don't run 3-D games that tax the hardware you'll probably be fine. I'm not picking on you so much as expressing frustration at the people who complain about Nvidia. No, their support isn't perfect. Yes, they've stumbled. Yes, they pour most of their resources into the Windows driver because Windows, crappy as it is, has 90% of the market. Mod me down, bitch about what I'm saying, whatever. I run Linux myself with an aging GT240 card. I boot into Windows once a month on my main machine for Patch Tuesday. ATI is not a real viable option, and while Intel graphics is fairly well supported, their 'cards' are not really as powerful. Be patient. There'll be a new driver out soon.

Submission + - Linux 3.10 officially released (paritynews.com)

hypnosec writes: Linux 3.10 kernel has been officially released on Sunday evening which makes the 3.10-rc7 the last release candidate of the latest kernel which yields the biggest changes in years. Linus Torvalds was thinking of releasing another rc but, went against the idea and went ahead with official Linux 3.10 commit as anticipated last week. Torvalds notes in the announcement that releases since Linux 3.9 haven’t been prone to problems and 3.10 is no different. However, he added that this release could have gone either but, there was no specific reason for another rc and break the normal pattern of "rc7 is the last rc before the release."

Comment Re:Tech will affect this (Score 1) 208

It's been ~fifty years since the Beatles burst onto the world stage. Setting aside the fact that they've sold a billion+ records, they've also been written about in countless books and their music continues to attract scholarly attention. They're the greatest example of something that will last. Whether someone likes their music or not, it's hard to argue they won't become part of "classical" canon in 50 more years. Now let's pick a lightweight act that gets no respect. I personally love ABBA and the Carpenters, but I know that in 2113 their music will probably not be considered as some of the 20th Century's greatest. But you're correct, it'll all still be available to be heard in whatever form exists then; molecular data crystals or what have you.

Comment Re:Meh.... (Score 1) 208

Some men.... you just can't reach. Your assertion that "Strauss Shultz-Evler Blue Danube Lhevinne Ampico" is the best piano intro ever has a lot more going for it than trying to defend GagMe. Classical music is called exactly that partially because it has survived for hundreds of years and is still played today. Not all of it though, just the stuff that was considered good enough to hand down to subsequent generations. I seriously doubt that lady HaHa will be spoken of in the same reverent tones in 300 years. Just because something's popular doesn't make it good. Jersey Shore was popular. The Jerry Springer show is popular.

Comment Re:Meh.... (Score 2) 208

Let me add that I come by my music snobbery honestly. I worked in radio for 17 years and observed pop music rotting away a little more each year. Before you say I'm just an old fart who hates anything new, there *is* good stuff being made today but the record companies aren't signing them. They toil away in small venues night after night busting their asses for next to nothing. They write their owns songs & play their own instruments, and don't need or want Autotune.

Comment Re:Meh.... (Score 1) 208

No, I despise Madonna too. Competitive with Let It Be? Competitive with Dark Side Of The Moon? Competitive with Born In The USA? Goodbye Yellow Brick Road? Elton John had the same gimmick-- dress outrageously, but he makes good music. Lady HaHa is nothing BUT an image. The music is only incidental, and it's all Autotuned.

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