from-pitas

Electronics Not Respect Consumers’ Rights

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Yeah, the electronics and software manufacturers don’t care about us. We are the enemy!

Nevermind that we give them the money that sustains the industry. Each and every one of us have the potential for attempting to use their products differently than they intend. Should we venture into those gray markets they will do their best to push us back into being the guinea pigs they want us to be.

Mercury News | 12/23/2002 | Electronics makers give little respect to consumers’ rights

 

2002 Quotes

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“… My hypocracy knows no bounds” — Doc Holiday, Tombstone

“Every horse thinks his own pack heaviest.” — Thomas Fuller

“You live by choice, not by chance.”

“It isn’t that they can’t see the solution. It’s that they can’t see the problem.” — G. K. Chesterton

“Prepare yourself for the world, as the athletes used to do for their exercise; oil your mind and your manners, to give them the necessary suppleness and flexibility; strength alone will not do.” — Earl of Chesterfield

“The problem with bars is they have too many drunks.” — Some Crone

“Just because you ignore politics doesn’t mean politics ever ignores you.” — Robert Anson Heinlein

“The average user wouldn’t know a hack if it walked up and bit them.” Mike Sweeney original quoted in So Many Holes, So Few Hacks (Wired.com)

 


Real World: Miami

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Actually got my mom to watch MTV’s Real World: Miami. Just a few episodes. She picked up on the idea of the show very, very quickly. Pick a bunch of people to be on a show to create conflict. Turn them loose and let them wreck havoc upon each other. Of course, I think she has been secretly watching other “reality” shows.

Point. Click. Think?

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The wild, wild, web is a dangerous place to be if you want to think critically. C’mon, really now… who expects students to think while doing an assignment for a class in which they are not engaged. School has become an endeavor to do what is minimally necessary to get the grade desired. Maybe it is backlash against too much homework, but let’s get real. Were student really thinking when they had to use books to do their papers? NO! Editors did the thinking for the students. Now we have the Internet and editors are out of the loop. People must be taught to adjust their thinking… teachers included. Point. Click. Think? (washingtonpost.com)

Video Games Hurt Your Brain

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Mmmmmmmmmmmm… playing video games is what screwed me up. GamePro.com News: Report: Video Games Hurt Your Brain

That last post has some problems in methodology, I think. First Person Shooters (FPSs), where people have to react as quickly as possible could elicit the problem of reduced emotional and creative abilities. To me those games are the LEAST fun. The ones where one has to locate items, solve problems, and basically use one’s head are the really fun games.

I only really enjoy FPSs when playing against others. Then I am pitting my sneakiness (read: creativity) against their superior reaction skillz.

Don’t really understand why anyone would play only FPSs. RPGs and community interactive games seem much more enticing.

Trojan Chips

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Hard geeks are probably aware of this b.s…. the rest of you, especially the free software pirates and MP3 traders, better be afraid! Very Afraid! A little chip on your motherboard under the pretenses of encrypting your transmissions with the outside world could also make you a sitting duck by the RIAA, MPAA, and BSA. ITworld.com – WINDOWS THIS WEEK – Report: Microsoft Plans Security Chip for Next Windows