So many fond memories... 8" floppy discs... <sigh>

Thank you! I will go check that promptly.

And when I was in college, the schools were using IBM PCs and Apple ][e's and c's, and the big thing then was the Oregon Trail game. :)

I disagree, Les. You bring up credit ratings as an example, yes? Well, as I'm now dealing with TransUnion to get a fraudulent credit inquiry pulled from my own records, I can tell you the Credit Reporting Agencies won't even talk to you about a problem unless you file paperwork (and I do mean real post-marked, on…

Okay, time to be a bit more open than normal here:

I recommend either DVDFab (www.dvdfab.com) or the cross-platform MacX DVD Ripper Pro (www.macxdvd.com) for ripping directly to WMV.

"Fair Use" is a US-specific doctrine derived from the US Bill of Rights as interpreted by the Supreme Court.

Version 8 will not rip some of the more recent discs, hence Version 9, a free update with a different interface that I find confusing; but then again, I've been using DVDFab since version 3.

I find that one is better for burning unencrypted ISO files than actually ripping decrypted/copy-protected DVDs, as the copy-protection technology has surpassed DVD Decrypter's capabilities long ago and it is no longer being developed any further.

If you want to try out my favorite ripping tool (and don't mind paying for commercial software), get a copy of DVDFab (www.dvdfab.com). A list of all the subtitle languages encoded on the disc is presented to you, and you can just check or uncheck boxes to select which one(s) you want to include.

Go check out DVDFab (www.dvdfab.com). Yes, it's commercial, but it does a great job with Blu-rays (for ripping, ripping to ISO, and even burning ISOs back to blank Blu-ray discs).

Whitson,

No, it has not. This is a protected use. The court specifically addressed one particular reason why this is allowable: for backup purposes in case your original media is damaged and no longer usable.

It'd be cool if Six Flaggs bought the property. They've probably got the funds to remodel it properly.

I would interpret that last one as a tribute to someone's mother who was a school teacher as it was traditional to give an apple to your teacher, and #2 pencils are a staple of the classroom — especially in elementary schools, where most kids give apples to their teachers.

LOL! Good point.

I compared it not to gun LAWS, but rather to the argument about guns-killing-people-therefore-they-are-bad, which could be equally applicable to the nuclear fission argument, etc., etc., etc.: Any given technology can be used for good or ill purposes; it is not those who make the technology accountable for it's use,…

People have been doing stuff like this for decades. It's called "e-stim" and involves using a Tens (or Tenz, depending on how you want to spell it) unit and mesh straps and/or electrodes similar to what's used for an ECG.

"Slow" doesn't even begin to describe how bad it was as far as disc operations — it was practically monolithic.

I understand where you're coming from; I just think it's a slippery slope from being responsible for you own safe computing to expecting the software vendor to protect you against malware and then suing them when they don't.