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If we are talking about my subject (machine learning / NLP) a lot of the successful tools are open source and developed in academia.
Now I admit there aren't many large NLP companies out there (Nuance springs to mind, but they have their own software), but there are quite a few medium-sized companies that do quite well using open source Machine Learning tools. (After all, the machine learning algorithm is not what is unique about a specific solution anyway).

For instance, TiMBL ( http://ilk.uvt.nl/timbl/ ) is widely used in several small companies (mainly for development of solutions as it is extremely easy to use).

Yes, the laws are extremely strict here:

Current state of the law

The use of cryptography is free, according to article 30(I) of the law No. 2004-575 of 21 June 2004 for the trust in the digital economy (Loi pour la confiance dans l'économie numérique).

Source http://rechten.uvt.nl/koops/cryptolaw/cls2.htm

There are plenty computer related laws and treaties such as the Wassenaar Arrangement which limit the import and export of cryptography amongst other things. Simply taking a copy of truecrypt out of the country with a destination outside of the accepted list can bring about charges similar to weapons dealing.
For more info there is a crypto law survey which includes the US. The survey also has some example case law.

There are plenty computer related laws and treaties such as the Wassenaar Arrangement which limit the import and export of cryptography amongst other things. Simply taking a copy of truecrypt out of the country with a destination outside of the accepted list can bring about charges similar to weapons dealing.
For more info there is a crypto law survey which includes the US. The survey also has some example case law.

Yes there is - it was established by the European Court of Human Rights that the right to silence and the right to not incriminate oneself were intrinsic aspects of a fair trial. http://rechten.uvt.nl/koops/casi-faq.htm#2.

The U.S. is not the only nation with cryptography export restrictions, which in any case have been relaxed for many years now. In fact a great many other nations now have more restrictive laws with regards to cryptography than the USA, as they restrict import and export as well as use by citizens. France, for example.

So why is there no "non-China" repository in Debian, as they restrict import and use of cryptograhic technology? Smells like politics to me...

http://nginyang.uvt.nl/feisty/ubuntu
hhttp:nginyanguvtnlkubuntufeistykbuntu

One of the things I like about openSUSE is that I get 8 gigs of apps on a single DVD. An Ubuntu CD doesn't cut it if I have to then download a web server, all sorts of libraries, header files, utilities, etc.

This is similar to France's approach.

For a survey of crypto law you may want to look at Bert-Jaap Koos's web site http://rechten.uvt.nl/koops/cryptolaw/ .

Different countries have taken all kinds of approaches to this from banning crypto, to forcing people to use key registration authorities, to simply ignoring it.

One interesting approach is to sentence people who won't give up their keys to the same sentence they would get if convicted of the crime they are being investigated for.

Or here, for an up-to-date view from a language processing perspective.

If you are allowed to use any reasonable form of encryption - SSL, SSH tunnel - then censorship is basically impossible. This is why attempts to censor or block access invariably go hand in hand with efforts to outlaw encryption.

That's not actually true. Part 3 of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 has not yet entered into force.

Download the torrent

New stuff include

• Gnome 2.10.1, which makes the desktop a lot faster than before
• X.org
• Simplified update- and package management
• Much faster boot process
• Better laptop support (ie suspending, hibernating, processor frequency scaling)
• Kickstart support for automated largescale installations
• Live CD and Install CD both use the new debian installer infrastructure
• UTF-8 by default
• A program for collecting information about what hardware works and what doesn't
• Kubuntu - complete KDE 3.4 based version of Ubuntu

Stuff people are going to bitch about

• No graphical installer. The current installer is extremely simple and has been streamlined even further in this release. A graphical installer is planned for the next version (Breezy Badger).
• No menu editor installed. One can always edit the files by hand, or install kmenu or something similar for gnome. The official gnome menu editor just didn't finish in time.
• No DivX or MP3 support. These are simple to add though and anyone coming from debian will probably already know of the Marillat repositories. Just look at the instructions in the wiki or use Hoary After-Install helper or another script to do the dirty work for you.

OSDir has published a lot of screenshots of Ubuntu.

Oh and if you are interested to know if your laptop or other piece of hardware is supported, some info can be found in the wiki on the Hardware support-page

Primary mirrors

• United States
• United Kingdom
• Europe

Other mirrors

Australia Canada Croatia Czech Republic France Germany Germany Ireland Italy Lithuania Namibia Netherlands Norway Portugal Portugal South Africa Spain Switzerland United Kingdom United Kingdom United Kingdom United States United States United States

IIRC, SSH is illegal in China.

Just what we need--more wiz-bang effects and styles for procrastinators to obsess over, rather than crafting presentations which are actually informative. The only redeeming feature I see is that it requires nice hardware, which means people will hopefully think twice before either sending me this eye-candy nonsense or before bringing their presentation on a CD to a conference.

You don't have to become a marketing weeny to make a nice looking presentation. I reuse my LaTeX sources in HA-Prosper (putting it in outline form & adding additional illustrations where useful, of course).

Unfortunately, a number of shortsighted politicians are preventing that from being deployed commercially on a worldwide scale.

mirror

Ok, here is a link to the article: without pictures

Similar studies into cultural differences have been undertaken by, for example, Geert Hofstede et al. He identifies 5 dimensions by which cultures may differ. For instance some countries, like the US, score high on the individualistic scale, while countries like Germany or China score higher on the collectivist scale. Power distance indicates the need, or lack of, for structure in an organisational context. Cultures with high Uncertainty Avoidance will be take less risk and vice versa, etc, etc. Anyway... his summary explains it way better than I ever could. A country-by-country-chart can be found here.

In conclusion, according to this study, yes, where you are from may affect your fragging-routines, i.e. "storm the front" or "camp and defend". But it will certainly not be the only factor affecting performance!

As this is almost certainly the vehicle by which DRM will become all-encompassing, perhaps we should do something about stopping it.

I doubt we can, of course, but stranger things have happened.

Are digital signatures legally binding?

In those states where digital signatures are not yet binding, it soon will be. This page lists the legal status of digital signatures in all sorts of jurisdictions. On the page, pull down the menu and select "United States [All States]".

And you still have no way to guarantee delivery

Perhaps SMTP does not guarantee delivery, but the instant message protocols already do. Future instant message protocols will allow for cryptographically signed communication.