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Recent Posts

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31376
Official Announcements / Re: Discount Summary Page
« Last post by mouser on June 01, 2006, 06:40 AM »
welcome to the site wallee, good to have you here.

"Give a person a fish and you feed them for a day; teach that person to use the Internet and they won't bother you for weeks."
;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
31377
Living Room / Re: Vista: how to delete a shortcut icon in 7 simple steps!
« Last post by mouser on June 01, 2006, 05:47 AM »
absolutely wonderful.  ;D
31378
General Software Discussion / Re: Why is so much software cracked?
« Last post by mouser on June 01, 2006, 12:10 AM »
this thread is getting way too combatitive and political.
i guess it's not so surprising given the mixture of people we have on this forum.

can i remind people that we have an explicit policy on this forum to avoid political talk?  there are plenty of other places to argue politics on the web.  i realize that when the issue of capitalism and business and illegal software comes up, it's hard to avoid talking politics.. and perhaps i am guilty as well of slipping into it.

but please let's try to keep the discussion civil and respectful of each others ideas, and avoid getting into arguments over political parties.
31379
General Software Discussion / Re: Why is so much software cracked?
« Last post by mouser on May 31, 2006, 06:06 PM »
cpilot, i really don't understand why you are arguing with carol - she is proposing solutions that she is arguing could increase profits for the company at the same time as being better for customers (i listed these points above).

you should really be focusing the anger on people like me who are advocating for an approach to software that does not make profit the primary the primary justification and motivation for all decisions.
31380
Developer's Corner / web-based logo design companies
« Last post by mouser on May 31, 2006, 04:46 PM »
If you're site isn't lucky enough to have talented people willing to contribute their time to make the perfect logo, you might consider hiring a company to design a distinctive logo for you.

I thought it might be useful to have a thread where people can post about different logo creating companies.

  • logoworks (http://www.logoworks.com/) seems to be getting some attention lately;  charging $300 and up it's not cheap, but it does sound like they are trying to run a serious and quality service.

anyone know any others?
31381
Living Room / Your monthly reminder - BACK UP YOUR HARD DISK
« Last post by mouser on May 31, 2006, 01:59 AM »
If you haven't backed up everything of important in the last month - you are way overdue.
This is your reminder that you need to have a backup strategy and policy.

There are lot's of guides about developing a good backup system, find one you like and stick to it.
The one we wrote last year is a bit dated but still useful (https://www.donation...Archive/BackUpGuide/).
31382
General Software Discussion / Re: Why is so much software cracked?
« Last post by mouser on May 31, 2006, 01:23 AM »
I think app's point is important, and it reminds me of one of the very best arguments against using pirated software that i've read, from an ethical standpoint.  if anyone knows the article i'm talking about please post it.

Basically the article argued a counter-intuitive point.  That the use of pirated software doesn't hurt the software companies making the software that is pirated - since the people who use pirated versions weren't likely to be potential customers.  It argued that it hurts most the open source and free alternative companies, who would OTHERWISE be thriving if there was no piracy.  It makes some sense and it's an extremely important point to bear in mind.  Does piracy hurt the open source, free, and donationware software community, because if people really couldn't use pirated versions of programs they would be more willing to support, contribute, and encourage these alternatives?
31383
General Software Discussion / Re: Why is so much software cracked?
« Last post by mouser on May 31, 2006, 12:54 AM »
There are a couple of discussions happening simultaneously here..
One discussion is about why it might be beneficial for everyone (INCLUDING THE COMPANIES PROFITS) to have a more "enlightened" pricing system.  Clearly some companies have implemented tiered pricing for their own selfish reasons.  Dual open source licenses are becoming more popular - where the software is free for open source/non-profit use, but costs money for commercial use.  Again these companies are doing this because they think it makes economic sense.

The other discussion is about the ethics of using pirated software.  That's a much stickier issue.  I do think there is a difference between legality, morality, ethics.  I think people need to consider the ethical consequences of their actions.  But in a world so stacked against individuals (especially those who are struggling for financial survial) and so stacked in favor of large corporations, that such issues are not as simple as you might think.

I don't presume to have all the answers.  This site will not condone software piracy - we are more interested in finding an alternative way to find a healthy medium.  Your description of business as only concerned with profit is what i think is wrong with this world - everyone seems to be coming to accept the idea that the only rational goal of any individual or business is simply to grab as much profit as possible as fast as possible, and damned the consequences or anyone else.  The only goal of any business it to get as big as possible, as fast as possible, and aquire as much power as possible.  that's an exaggeration but not a huge one.  does it have to be that way? i hope not.  i hope there's still room in this world for reasonable people to seek a reasonable middle ground.  those of us who recognize we have to make some money to live but who have desires that are more important than profit, like doing something we enjoy that doesn't make the world a worse place.
31384
General Software Discussion / Re: Why is so much software cracked?
« Last post by mouser on May 31, 2006, 12:05 AM »
cpilot -
i think you missed the entire point of javajones reply to my saying that, which i agree with.
no one said they should be forced to price things that way - we are simply suggesting that if they did that they might:
  • make more money
  • gain larger market share
  • build a more loyal and happy user base
  • do some good for the world

there are some difficulties of course, but perhaps not insurmountable ones.  the use of tiered pricing *is* increasing it seems.. let's hope this trend continues.
31385
Living Room / Structured Procrastination - hahaha
« Last post by mouser on May 31, 2006, 12:02 AM »
ok, i know a lot of us hardcore procrastinators have already thought of this, but this is the best i've ever seen it described.

...
I have been intending to write this essay for months. Why am I finally doing it? Because I finally found some uncommitted time? Wrong. I have papers to grade, textbook orders to fill out, an NSF proposal to referee, dissertation drafts to read. I am working on this essay as a way of not doing all of those things. This is the essence of what I call structured procrastination, an amazing strategy I have discovered that converts procrastinators into effective human beings, respected and admired for all that they can accomplish and the good use they make of time.
...



from digg.com
31386
General Software Discussion / Re: Why is so much software cracked?
« Last post by mouser on May 30, 2006, 11:22 PM »
i want to echo the idea that tiered pricing seems to me like it might help these things a lot.
if you could find a more reasonable way of properly classifying home users vs. moderate sized companies, then you might be able to do it on a larger scale.  it would make a lot of sense to say photoshop is $5 for the unemployed, $50 for home users, and $500 for companies.
31387
good points javajones - i'm not endorsing everything he says - but i think he has some great points and does a nice job of pointing out different scenerios that may need novel solutions.
31388
There are certain types of answers that ought not be provided by an individual. When a government bureaucrat sets a price, for instance, the result is often inferior to the answer that would come from a reasonably informed collective that is reasonably free of manipulation or runaway internal resonances. But when a collective designs a product, you get design by committee, which is a derogatory expression for a reason.

Here I must take a moment to comment on Linux and similar efforts. The various formulations of "open" or "free" software are different from the Wikipedia and the race to be most Meta in important ways. Linux programmers are not anonymous and in fact personal glory is part of the motivational engine that keeps such enterprises in motion. But there are similarities, and the lack of a coherent voice or design sensibility in an esthetic sense is one negative quality of both open source software and the Wikipedia.

These movements are at their most efficient while building hidden information plumbing layers, such as Web servers. They are hopeless when it comes to producing fine user interfaces or user experiences. If the code that ran the Wikipedia user interface were as open as the contents of the entries, it would churn itself into impenetrable muck almost immediately. The collective is good at solving problems which demand results that can be evaluated by uncontroversial performance parameters, but bad when taste and judgment matter.
31389
More people appear to vote in this pop competition than in presidential elections, and one reason why is the instant convenience of information technology. The collective can vote by phone or by texting, and some vote more than once. The collective is flattered and it responds. The winners are likable, almost by definition.

But John Lennon wouldn't have won. He wouldn't have made it to the finals. Or if he had, he would have ended up a different sort of person and artist. The same could be said about Jimi Hendrix, Elvis, Joni Mitchell, Duke Ellington, David Byrne, Grandmaster Flash, Bob Dylan (please!), and almost anyone else who has been vastly influential in creating pop music.

As below, so above. The New York Times, of all places, has recently published op-ed pieces supporting the pseudo-idea of intelligent design. This is astonishing. The Times has become the paper of averaging opinions. Something is lost when American Idol becomes a leader instead of a follower of pop music. But when intelligent design shares the stage with real science in the paper of record, everything is lost.

How could the Times have fallen so far? I don't know, but I would imagine the process was similar to what I've seen in the consulting world of late. It's safer to be the aggregator of the collective. You get to include all sorts of material without committing to anything. You can be superficially interesting without having to worry about the possibility of being wrong.

Except when intelligent thought really matters. In that case the average idea can be quite wrong, and only the best ideas have lasting value. Science is like that.
31390
I've participated in a number of elite, well-paid wikis and Meta-surveys lately and have had a chance to observe the results. I have even been part of a wiki about wikis. What I've seen is a loss of insight and subtlety, a disregard for the nuances of considered opinions, and an increased tendency to enshrine the official or normative beliefs of an organization.
31391
The artificial elevation of all things Meta is not confined to online culture. It is having a profound influence on how decisions are made in America.

What we are witnessing today is the alarming rise of the fallacy of the infallible collective. Numerous elite organizations have been swept off their feet by the idea. They are inspired by the rise of the Wikipedia, by the wealth of Google, and by the rush of entrepreneurs to be the most Meta. Government agencies, top corporate planning departments, and major universities have all gotten the bug.

As a consultant, I used to be asked to test an idea or propose a new one to solve a problem. In the last couple of years I've often been asked to work quite differently. You might find me and the other consultants filling out survey forms or tweaking edits to a collective essay. I'm saying and doing much less than I used to, even though I'm still being paid the same amount. Maybe I shouldn't complain, but the actions of big institutions do matter, and it's time to speak out against the collectivity fad that is upon us.
31392
some excerpts i found interesting:

For instance, most of the technical or scientific information that is in the Wikipedia was already on the Web before the Wikipedia was started. You could always use Google or other search services to find information about items that are now wikified. In some cases I have noticed specific texts get cloned from original sites at universities or labs onto wiki pages. And when that happens, each text loses part of its value. Since search engines are now more likely to point you to the wikified versions, the Web has lost some of its flavor in casual use.
..
When you see the context in which something was written and you know who the author was beyond just a name, you learn so much more than when you find the same text placed in the anonymous, faux-authoritative, anti-contextual brew of the Wikipedia. The question isn't just one of authentication and accountability, though those are important, but something more subtle. A voice should be sensed as a whole. You have to have a chance to sense personality in order for language to have its full meaning. Personal Web pages do that, as do journals and books.
31393
I really enjoyed this article - very thought provoking and runs countrary to current trends in thinking..
highly recommended!

..
There was a well-publicized study in Nature last year comparing the accuracy of the Wikipedia to Encyclopedia Britannica. The results were a toss up. While there is a lingering debate about the validity of the study. The items selected for the comparison were just the sort that Wikipedia would do well on: Science topics that the collective at large doesn't care much about. "Kinetic isotope effect" or "Vesalius, Andreas" are examples of topics that make the Britannica hard to maintain, because it takes work to find the right authors to research and review a multitude of diverse topics. But they are perfect for the Wikipedia. There is little controversy around these items, plus the Net provides ready access to a reasonably small number of competent specialist graduate student types possessing the manic motivation of youth.
..



from digg technology
31394
31395
no one will ever beat my DcTiles Score (6x6 grid) - my secret strategy is patented!

Score: 421 = Cells: +720 | Elapsed: -79 | Failed: -220


ps. click the copy button after you complete a puzzle to get the score text to paste.
31396
This is a nice example of the kinds of fun things you'll make in the programming school.

Tekzel definitely took this assignment to the next level, with sound effects and images taken from the avatars used on the DonationCoder.com forum.  In fact he won a bonus medal at the programming school for this game, which is so good we had to share it.

Tekzel's DcTiles:

DcTiles1.png

In addition to the great fun of playing using the DonationCoder.com avatar images, Tekzel has made it easy to use your own images and sounds - make one for your family to play using home photos!

And another great feature is the scoring, which takes into account matrix size, time, and mistakes.
Warning: it's addictive!

Post your best scores!



DC Tiles now has its own web page with instructions on how to add your own images:
31397
Living Room / Re: PDAs - any use?
« Last post by mouser on May 30, 2006, 04:54 PM »
heres a mini-pda i keep in my wallet..
i almost never use it but at least i never even realize i'm carrying it, so it's always with me.
(ps you can write c programs for it!):

“The world's smallest full-function PDA”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/REX_6000

Rex_6000.jpg
31398
Living Room / Re: Is Your Son a Computer Hacker?
« Last post by mouser on May 30, 2006, 04:34 PM »
i happen to LOVE these these humour pieces that are subtle in their humour.
the more subtle the better for me - i love how close they come to being real.

this "Is Your Son a Computer Hacker?" one is fantastic - not over the top, and written perfectly so that you could almost believe it.

(note: i also think it's not right to make fun of people who might mistake these things for real - not everyone is up on issues well enough to know whats real and what's fake.  maybe joke writing like this needs a special little spoiler button at bottom explaining the joke :))
31399
something occured to me that i thought might be worth posting about..
i was talking to a friend the other day about corruption in political systems and how you might try to fix the system to clean some of it up.  and one issue that kept rearing its head is the idea of incentives towards corruption, and the idea of de-incentivizing corruption.

if you are out to make money and your revenue stream is built off of advertising money - then all of the incentives are pushing you to add content to increase advertisers.

one of the real benefits in having a user funded site - is that the incentive is to please the donators and encourage more donators, and what the donators want is useful software and honest reviews and opinion and discussion.  in other words, as long as people donating to the site are the primary funding mechanism - as opposed to stock sales, advertising dollars etc., then the primary driving force on the site is to make it more useful for the donators, which means creating better software and providing a better resource for finding good software.

maybe this is just an obvious point not worth discussing - but maybe it's something to keep in mind when you think about the way sites and companies get funded.. how do the goals of the site/company match up with their sources of funding.
31400
Well worth reading.

...
I want to state quite clearly that I have never taken a payment for a review and never will. Sure I’ve been offered money for a review a couple of times. But it would be completely unethical for me to take it. I couldn’t sleep at night if I did that. Companies that have offered to pay me have never been written about on TechCrunch.
But let’s put that easy case aside for a moment. What about the more subtle ways that journalists can be influenced in what they write about, and what they say?
...


always disclose any relationship you might have from a company of a product you review, and any information that could possibly be viewed as influencing your review.  strive to be objective.


from http://www.larkware.com/
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