Journal TrollBack's Journal: Trollback for August 2004 11
/
\/....\/\__,_|\__, |\__,_/___|_|_| |_|\___|
Issue 23 "Hurricane iPod" - August 2004 - Archive
Table of Contents
- Trollback!
- The List [VOTE]
- We Want Negrodamus
- Selected Reading
- I Wanted to Be a Coward
- Daily WHAT?
- The Cathedral and the Bizarre
- The 10th Circle
- Hurricane-force Quickies
Trollback!
No apologies for the delay, dear readers, hurricane season is afoot and we've learned our lesson. For future reference, we present the following tips to publishing a successful online magazine during tropical storms:
- Peapod does not deliver to disaster areas.
- An Internet cafe in Sheboygan does actually beat a T1 line under water, no matter what your cousin told you.
- "Like, totally staying up late, looting, smoking whatever, burning shit down" sounds a lot cooler than it actually is.
- Floating, immobile animals not necessarily dead.
- Apparently, shit floats.
This month's topic icon is a wheelbarrow, always useful when you're digging shit. Somehow, we felt it was appropriate.
The List [VOTE]
Now with 400% more Voodoo.
462|(5,35,197,26%) Lostie | "Not the first time..."
This isn't the first time a huge company has made an embarassing translation error.There is that old classic when Ford introduced the Pinto in Brazil. After watching sales go nowhere, the company learned that Pinto is Brazilian slang for small penis. Ford pried the nameplates off all of the cars and substituted them with Corcel which means horse.
- 55AC, Awards:+143acct+8bust+7low+3acup+6bab+40mod
344|(5,59,104,30%) ObviousGuy | "The whole idea is crazy"
I don't get it.
- 33AC, Awards:+71acct+2bust+6low+34mod
321|(5,22,166,14%) Madison K | "Re:Aim a little lower...."
How about just respecting women? So many times I talk or I see another woman talk to you guys and your eyes just gloss over like you go into some standby mode until we finish. Then many of you keep right on as if we said nothing at all. Just a thought. Madison
- 88AC, Awards:+80acct+1bust+9low+1acup+1bab+27mod
316|(5,35,132,24%) USAPatriot | "Microsoft and Windows Topics Icons"
Of the list of slashdot topics [slashdot.org], only Microsoft and the Windows icons are of a derogatory and belittling nature. Why is it so hard that the editors can't use the appropriate icons for them? It's time this site starts to grow up.
- 50AC, Awards:+82acct+1bust+3low+2acup+44mod
238|(5,10,119,15%) Anonymous Coward | "There is a simple reason"
There are two simple reasons why microsoft does not incorporate these techniques into windows. Windows runs on many different pieces of hardware. Not all hardware supports the options that these accelerators need. Believe it or not, not everyone has an AGP video card. Linux is not faster as a desktop than windows. As the gnome and kde desktops are the main competition for Microsoft Windows, it does not make sense for microsoft to make windows as fast as it can, because Linux is [cont]...
- 28AC, Awards:+92acct+2bust+5low+1acup+31mod
200|(4,33,74,17%) Sanity | "News about how great Apple is, Stuff that Matters"
congrats to Apple for a job well doneDo Apple have to pay for all the free advertising and advocacy they geton Slashdot? I mean, lets take a look at some of the opinions youwon't hear on Slashdot (from here [downhillbattle.org]): It's too expensive Let's start simple: the iTunes Music Store is not a good value forcustomers. Apple says many users are buying whole albums for $8-$12each. That's less than the $16 store price, but used CDs at Amazon orebay cost $5, and those come with line [cont]...
- 24AC, Awards:+50acct+1bust+1low+1acup+1bab+31mod
178|(1,12,88,16%) Sheetrock | "One possible explanation"
Before getting all excited about this, it is worth noting the following:Photons have mass.An eclipse means less photons are emitted and reach the measurer.Ergo, gravitational effect.Although it is well known that if your effect has a name it instantly has more credibility, I'm a bit skeptical that this is the one that'll turn relativity on its ear (dark matter is another story...)
- 23AC, Awards:+66acct+2low+1acup+18mod
174|(3,38,72,10%) Exmet Paff Daxx | "What a week for women's rights"
Ten years after Demi Moore went for a million bucks, we've found a way to bring the objectification of women to a new level. The computer is apparently Larry Flynt's new meat grinder.It's sad to see the rate at which our runaway technological advances outstrip the advancement of society. In one hundred years we've developed flight, space travel, nuclear physics, gene therapy, and global digital communications networks, but we still can't get past treating women like property instead of [cont]...
- 25AC, Awards:+47acct+3low+13mod
155|(5,18,86,5%) Anonymous Coward | "Worst movie I've seen"
Goatse.cx: The Movie - Tagline: Opening Soon Near You
- 27AC, Awards:+60acct+1bust+2low+20mod
153|(5,22,69,9%) rd_syringe | "Article summary--uh, "recent mass migration?""
All the submitter did was link to a blog entry that listed a couple of public advisories and mentioned Mozilla. Apparently, when put through the Slashbot filter, that becomes recent mass migration away from MSIE?According to Google Zeitgeist [google.com], IE 6 hasn't dropped at all and is still massively slaughtering the competition. In fact, Slashdot's own browser statistics show that IE is the majority browser for people accessing this website! Also note that every year is th [cont]...
- 23AC, Awards:+46acct+2low+2acup+27mod
148|(-1,8,74,11%) Omnifarious | "Re:ext3 to reiser4 ?"
MD5 has been proven to have collisions. Use sha1sum, not md5sum. IMHO, the md5sum tool should be deprecated and removed from all future Linux distributions.
- 19AC, Awards:+55acct+2low+1acup+1bab+28mod
131|(0,27,60,5%) vuvewux | "Funny enough, I was planning on voting for Kerry."
I don't agree with most of the crap Bush believes in. For what it's worth, I think Bush is a sleazy, shady douchebag. And, save for the level-headed folk I see on Slashdot, I can't fucking stand Bush supporters and militant Republicans. I really hate those fucking pudgy, clean-shaven, uptight business suit republican twats on my campus. But my distaste for conservatives and Republicans pales in comparison to my distaste for whackjob liberals.The way the left-leaning have conducted [cont]...
- 28AC, Awards:+32acct+1bust+2low+1acup+1bab+9mod
126|(4,14,57,20%) rd_syringe | "Kinda sad..."
You basically admitted that nobody will use it because copyrights are enforced. Heaven forbid people respect copyrights. You know, like we demand with the GPL. I actually got accused of trolling the other day because of my sig.
- 13AC, Awards:+44acct+17mod
122|(4,1,79,5%) ron_ivi | "Re:Democracy.."
So who would be for reasonable copyright use? Badnarik [badnarik.org]?Just remember, unless the voting results in an exact tie, you're throwing your vote out anyway, so a vote for a third party candidate is as good as any.
- 13AC, Awards:+66acct+1bab+19mod
122|(2,8,70,4%) Zabu | "All the studies show"
Stroke victims prefer Bush.
- 14AC, Awards:+56acct+1bust+1bab+20mod
107|(3,3,65,4%) Anonymous Coward | "Re:Florida is going to sink anyway..."
They made Bush our president. They're just catching payback for the last 4 years from someone upstairs
:)
- 15AC, Awards:+50acct+1bust+1low+2acup+16mod
104|(4,14,49,8%) FortKnox | "From memory"
I'm going off of memory, which may not be correct at all. But here are my assumptions:X-Chat is freeX-Chat may or may not be open sourceX-Chat borrows off of other GPL code What's the big deal? Its a free project that no one is getting money from. Now if it was a big corporation, trying to make a profit off of GPL'ed code, I'd see a problem, but this is just silly. The thing I notice most about GPL and open source in general is how many internal flame wars ensue. Just be happy thin [cont]...
- 9AC, Awards:+40acct+1low+11mod
101|(4,10,51,10%) Anonymous Coward | "Non-Moderated, not Slashdot"
PJ reckons: 'an astroturf campaign depends upon a non-moderated site Which, thankfully isn't slashdot. Most readers probably don't know this, but the editors have full control over moderation, and can use their unlimited mod points to mod stuff over and over again. It doesn't show up publicly, but editors have been doing this for quite some time.By doing this, they can trigger IP bans and therefore thwart these nefarious astroturfing campaigns. I trust the good editors here to [cont]...
- 20AC, Awards:+31acct+2low+24mod
75|(4,6,43,4%) fiannaFailMan | "Another terror alert?"
I smell the work of the GOP trying to get the geek vote.
- 21AC, Awards:+22acct+21mod
73|(5,17,28,6%) Exmet Paff Daxx | "This is probably a good thing."
People need to confront the DMCA, really see it for what it is. Right now, the law says thou shalt only play the movies in the way Hollywood prescribes, but it hasn't really internalized because so many people can use unlicensed software to do things like copy DVDs, play them without commercials, etc. I think the FBI needs to really crack down on anyone who violates the DMCA, by imprisoning everyone who copies a DVD for home use, especially rich and politically connected people. We co [cont]...
- 10AC, Awards:+18acct+2low+7mod
65|(1,10,34,7%) cubicledrone | "Oh good"
All Apple does invent one great product after another:iPodG5PowerbookOS XCinema Display(for openers)and they invest millions to make inexpensive music downloads available (at almost no profit). But they don't sell shovelboxes at $299 each, so let's kick Apple in the face again. Sounds great.
- 13AC, Awards:+21acct+1low+5mod
62|(2,10,27,5%) dasmegabyte | "Re:...EU software patents?"
Fuck you, man, thinkers got to eat. They shouldn't have to hope nobody else can figure out what they're doing and sell it better than they can (which wouldn't be hard...inventors are as bad at marketing as markeeters are at invention). And hey, we developed the same thing at the same time, what a coinky-dink isn't an excuse -- if it were, there'd be less impetus to publish ideas, resulting in less knowledge. Anybody could read the journals and claim coincidental development. It's [cont]...
- 5AC, Awards:+22acct+1bust+12mod
59|(3,18,24,3%) Exmet Paff Daxx | "This is not wise."
The most popular P2P software vendor is AOL, maker of AOL Instant Messenger which allows for direct file transfers between users of the service. It's important to keep in mind that the chairman of the FCC, Mike Powell, has a huge number of shares of AOL stock. So when you go after American P2P companies, you're going after Mike Powell's pocket, and in turn that means you're going to be invoking the wrath of Colin Powell.Like I said, not smart.By the way, did anyone know that Colin Powe [cont]...
- 8AC, Awards:+16acct+1low+5mod
58|(0,8,23,5%) hanssprudel | "A job well done indeed!"
Most of all, I would like to congratulate Apple on their fantastic use of the DMCA to crush free software developer writing applications (PlayFair) that can handle the formats in which they sell music. We like to commend such positive use of the DMCA here on Slashdot, so that perhaps more companies will start using the DMCA and attacking small developers!It is very important that companies like Apple help show the world that is completely possible to shove DRM down consumers throw [cont]...
- 9AC, Awards:+14acct+1bust+1low+9mod
55|(5,9,30,1%) Exmet Paff Daxx | "Nothing shocking about it."
Terrorism works. Terrorism causes fear, and the people whom terrorism works best on are those who fear the most and are most able to emphatize with victims. This has been aided by modern media, which is able to deliver maximum shock images instantly via a worldwide television network.I will be moderated down for saying this, but it's on-topic, it's factual, and it's my well reasoned opinion. Not good material for Slashdot, but my conscience dictates my actions.If we lived in a world of [cont]...
- 7AC, Awards:+23acct+6mod
54|(2,10,29,2%) Brandybuck | "Re:Why Harry?"
I used to work at a bookstore that occasionally sold controversial books. So let me tell you the difference between Christians and Muslems when it comes to sacrilege...When we sold Last Temptation of Christ, some Christians boycotted, some urged others to boycott, and some wrote letters to the newspapers. The author never had his life threatened. When we sold Satanic Verses, Muslems threatened us with bombings and death. The author of the book actually had to go into hiding, and is sti [cont]...
- 12AC, Awards:+17acct+9mod
53|(-1,11,22,5%) vuvewux | "Engineering?"
EE here. Please stop calling yourself Engineers, because you're not (B/M/PhD.Sc vs B/M/PhD.Eng), and you doing so degrades my trade.
- 7AC, Awards:+15acct+1bust+1low+8mod
52|(-1,9,22,9%) USAPatriot | "The Privacy Jihad"
I'm concerned that in these times, the privacy advocates and other luddites just want to block any technological advances towards thwarting terrorists and other evildoers.They want to shackle law enforcement in the name of privacy. It's clear that 'privacy concerns' have become a catch-all to dismantle any tool that may be useful to government agencies. I'm not saying they can't be used for evil, harassing the innocent isn't what its primarily used for. Evoking 'Big Brother' at eve [cont]...
- 6AC, Awards:+16acct+9mod
45|(5,12,18,4%) Anonymous Coward | "No..."
I am a windows developer of a small program with about 4000 users. Without spyware I would not be in business, since most people crack my s/w and dont pay after the trial.Thanks to spyware, I am still make a living.
- 11AC, Awards:+7acct+1acup+10mod
37|(4,10,16,3%) USAPatriot | "Good For Them"
Microsoft has decided not to rush a release just for the sake of releasing it. They want to get it right the first time. I congratulate them for doing the Right Thing and making sure they deliver a rock solid Service Pack for the millions of XP users out there.Before the slashdot editors and crowd crow over this delay, just remember the 503 errors and flakiness this site has experienced since maintenance was performed. Don't throw stones in glass houses, kids.
- 4AC, Awards:+12acct+5mod
35|(2,6,19,3%) Exmet Paff Daxx | "Let's get this straight."
A lawyer posted on Yahoo to protect his reputation, was attacked by a bunch of faceless Anonymous Cowards, and is angry because he can't determine their identity because Yahoo's moderation system won't filter them out?Sounds like your typical Slashdot user.I think among the Slashdot crowd it's of course common knowledge that Yahoo deletes comments all the time, just full time staff with unlimited moderation power [slashdot.org] to instantly IP ban anyone who disagrees too much - but wh [cont]...
- 4AC, Awards:+15acct+5mod
27|(0,7,8,5%) after | "What about 5001?"
Why must Slashdot get all excited when a number like 5000 pops up? I don't understand why everyone is so excited about numbers. I took my 500th shit this month, you dont hear me calling the press do you?What about the 5001st book? Will that also yeild a news item?
- 2AC, Awards:+6acct+1bust+7mod
22|(4,8,8,4%) Exmet Paff Daxx | "Way to turn the tables on M$!"
Micro$oft gives out millions of dollars to catch people who exploit bugs in their browser! Now Linux gives out cash directly to people who find the bugs, rewarding engineers instead of snitches. I hope the major news outlets cover the huge difference in paradigm here- good cop instead of bad cop.Everyone failed my last Gmail invite challenge, and I'm up to three invites, so here's a new one: there are sixteen factual errors in this article [nytimes.com]. I'll give you one for free: Bus [cont]...
- 3AC, Awards:+5acct+1mod
22|(3,2,12,1%) Have Blue | "Re:Interesting timing.."
Maybe the passengers upset with the terrorists' plans to crash them into the Internet.
- 2AC, Awards:+10acct+2bust+8mod
19|(5,4,7,6%) Anonymous Coward | "A word if I may:"
Gentlemen, the time has come for a serious discussion on whether ornot to continue using Perl for serious programming projects. As I willexplain, I feel that Perl needs to be retired, much the same way thatFortran, Cobol and Java have been. Furthermore, allow me to be so boldas to suggest a superior replacement to this outdated language.To give you a little background on this subject, I was recently askedto develop a client/server project on a Unix platform for a Fortune500 compan [cont]...
- 2AC, Awards:+6acct+3mod
17|(5,7,7,1%) orangesquid | "Re:Very Easy"
Not if your car is a webserver. That's like having a car with a big sign that says LOOK IN THE WINDOWS! THERE'S COOL STUFF INSIDE THIS CAR! Of course some people are bound to try the handle, at least to get a closer look. I attempt anonymous ftp logins and try
/pub URLs on webservers all the time, as well as ascending to the parent directory and such. Sometimes I find some really neat stuff that way. I'm not about to attempt a root login, but, it's human nature [cont]...
- 3AC, Awards:+4acct+1mod
9|(-1,1,5,1%) Anonymous Coward | "What really happened to Zeitgeist"
I'm a google enginer in an unrelated department. I can shed light on what actully happened. While I could get fired, I want all Linux Zealots to take note.Zeitgeist has freqently been used by pragmatists to show that Linux is not redy for the desktop based on the user agents presented during a search. If it were ready, more people would send user agent Mozila/Linux. 1% of all browsers is below the margin of error.A common rasponse to Zeitgeist is that Linux users set there bro [cont]...
- 4AC, Awards:+2acct+1mod
We Want Negrodamus
An alert reader alerted us to this profoundly poor appraisal of the iPod by Slashdot's preeminent portly prognosticator:
"No wireless. Less space than a nomad. Lame."
Unsurprisingly, he seems to be getting called on it now and then. To be fair, hindsight is 20/20. Looking back, writing a million reader site in an interpreted language probably wasn't the best idea - it might scale poorly.
Selected Reading
While there's a lot of good stuff in this month's List, we wanted to direct reader's attention to this highly rated comment suggesting gene therapy as the cure for liberalism, Slashdot's millionth comment, and the best retort you never saw.
I Wanted to Be a Coward
Lest we get burned again, we point you in the direction of this suspiciously non-anonymous post about a user... by the same user. Remember kids, you can check "post anonymously" in your preferences.
Daily WHAT?
Apparently Rusty of the busted-bridge site has come to consensus with CmdrTaco: k5 is a failure. Rusty's new bid for fame is a site called "DailyKos", which is "untrollable" because they have an ex-military administrator deleting accounts and posts in true Free Republic style. An alert reader, however, points out that nothing is impossible.
The Cathedral and the Bizarre
If Microsoft sometimes has obtuse development practices, it is highly probable that they are merely learning from the leader. With developers like that, who needs espionage? [cache]
The 10th Circle
We think this journal entry should be required reading for Slashdot moderators. Feel free to email the admins and suggest that it be added to the moderator guidelines.
Hurricane-force Quickies
September marked the continuing success of the lame filter's War on ASCII Art, Gnome Developers and their secret Adequacy ties, and a boot stomping on a Slashdot comment, forever. If you're going to use a banned script to read Slashdot, you should archive your journal first. Here's a script that reads Slashdot to do it.
That's it for this month. As always, email your links to trollback at gmail dot com. Subscribe to Trollback Magazine by befriending; Slashdot will notify you of upcoming issues! And please remember,
_________/_____\___________
DECAPITATE JUNIS AFGHANISTAN
Jeff Johnson / Redhat (Score:2)
That has to be the most amazingly choad-like series of bug responses I have ever seen, in all my born days.
That guy likewise fails it.