Slashback: Playstation, CueCat, Games

This edition of Slashback has updates and clarifications on the official release of Sony's PS2 Linux, relative security among various operating systems, dirty output on power-boosted Linksys wireless access points, and more, flying hardware you might have figured was no more, and more.

Maybe a bad day at the factory? An anonymous reader submits: "I'm not sure where the other fellow got his WAP11, but mine don't show the dirty output his does." See this diagram for a much more desireable outcome, if you care to play with (a little bit of) fire.

First application should be a GPL'd AIBO obedience school. gonz writes: "An update to the previous reported linux on ps2 kit has been submitted by Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) to the people previously registering interest on their technology sites. The update consist of that it will be released in May on both SCEA (us) and SCEE (pal areas, including Europe and Australia) territories. A website has been set up at this place. On a side note, registering for notification when pre-ordering can apparently be done too: 'Finally, although sales haven't yet started, if you send an e-mail with the message "subscribe" to ps2linux-request@technology.scee.net we'll let you know when pre-ordering starts.'"

Lessons in obviousness. John Kozubik writes: "I have written an article describing, in a manner I have not yet seen, why the court decision by the U.S. appeals court in SF that claimed in-line linking was not fair use was inherently flawed. It is a short piece written for both the technical and the non-technical, and I think it raises a strong point concerning the arbitrary nature of browser behavior."

If they'd launch some pigs, perhaps global phones would be affordable. Guppy06 writes: "Many of you may be surprised to learn that Iridium (famous for trying to compete with cell phones and failing miserably) is still throwing up satellites (I sure was). The article on CNN tells of the technical woes of getting this particular Delta II off the pad in Vandenberg as Iridium tries to put five more spares into orbit."

Couldn't they have spayed or neutered them instead? Speaking of old hardware, Anonymous Radio Shack Employee writes: "RadioShack has sent a notice to all of its employees to destroy all CueCats (preferably with a hammer). Apparently the CueCat is among a couple of dozen items that RadioShack has given up on, and wants destroyed. The memo says that store employee's can not benefit from the items on the list. Which sucks because my store has over a hundred of these things just sitting in the back room." This week's Linux Weekly News has a great, detailed followup to the recent flap over relative OS security sparked by a post in Windows Informant.

Comments

cuecat

[IanA]

why not just give them away, or throw away?

*destroy* seems like overkill, explain please

Re:cuecat

[spt]

They probably don't want to have to support the customers that would get one - "my cue:cat doesn't understand the barcode on my baked beans .. whine whine whine"

They may well want to sever their relationship with the digital:convergence to, and smashing the things to bits is a great way to send that message.

Re:cuecat

[sigwinch]

Evidently the government holds them responsible for them even if they get thrown out. Ie. if someone chokes on a piece of a toy they picked out the garbage, they are can still be sued.

No, there is no warranty for garbage. The real issue is that the toy had probably already been sold in stores. How do you distinguish a toy with a warranty from a toy picked out of the garbage? It's very hard, and the attempt might cause bad publicity. Destroying the toys protects against confusion, which can easily cost more than simple liability.

Radio Shack

[SpacePunk]

Well, I won't be using Radio Shack ever again. I don't see any reason to patronize a business that would rather destroy an item it no longer wants or can sell, especially something they were just handing out for free in the first place... rather than give the items away to those who need/want them. It's a waste of resources that could have been better used instead of destroyed. It's this sort of action that defines what the deepest, darkest depths that greed and ignorance can reach.

Re:Radio Shack

[vsync64]

I work at Office Depot, and we do the same thing. Anything a customer comes back with saying "it's broken" gets put in the D&D pile, which is later smashed, shredded and hit with red spray paint. We generally don't check if it is broken, either. Yes, it sucks, but what to do? Our entire economic system is based on enforcing artificial scarcity.

Iridium's reincarnation

[Anonymous Coward]

"Many of you may be surprised to learn that Iridium (famous for trying to compete with cell phones and failing miserably) is still throwing up satellites (I sure was). The article on CNN tells of the technical woes of getting this particular Delta II off the pad in Vandenberg as Iridium tries to put five more spares into orbit."

Iridium was bought by a company no one had ever heard of, for a bargain price -- after "securing" a long term contract from the US Government that basically pays for their operating costs. Any additional commercial subscribers is just gravy.

Common speculation is that this company is really a front for one or more of the many three-letter agencies in Washington that saw an opportunity to establish a secure means of global communication.

Re:Iridium's reincarnation

[jamesl]

Or to keep someone else's three-letter agency from establishing a secure means of global communication.

Don't forget

[Scratch-O-Matic]

that every product is a liability forever. This was/is a big problem for small aircraft manufacturers...their planes easily last 50 years or more. 60 years later, the 8th owner crashes it because the fuel filter got clogged, and guess who get's sued?

And did you ever see the Simpsons episode where Homer bought the trampoline?

No lawyer would ever advise a company to give away overstock when they could be destroyed instead.

Re:Don't forget

[Scratch-O-Matic]

The potential problem is the same for large and small manufacturers. The difference is that the big planes tend to be cared for more rigorously, and are less likely to be hanging around in someone's hangar for years, then flown again.

Your brake pad and fuel filter scenarios both fall into the category of "they should have warned me." Remember the guy who broke his neck and was paralyzed after diving into the surf (he hit a sandbar.) The city, you see, "should have warned him." Caution: Ocean is not bottomless. Ocean lined with sand. Also, do not inhale water as injury or death may result.

A more plausible scenario in the Cue Cat case: a child takes one apart and chokes on one of the pieces.

The Kozubik Article

[Cato the Elder]

I would say this article is worth the read, but I have to disagree with its conclusion.

I fully agree that any material placed on publically accessible web servers should be referencable under the "fair use" doctrine. However, I think the court's descision is correct in light of this. Mr. Kozubik's main complaint seems to be that the behavior of browsers as regards linking are entirely arbitrary. He is correct. However, fair use is by its very nature a doctrine which will be interpreted on a case by case basis, respecting precedent.

Rather than fearing, as he does, that the court will constantly have to "revise" the decision as technology changes, I think courts will be able to read the intent and wisely apply it to many other decisions. After all, a court decision is not a law, defined by the precise wordings, but rather a carefully considered opinion on the burden of evidence. Future courts should be able to apply the same fundamental distinction--linking that is designed to automatically reproduce the work vs linking that is designed only to show the location of the work--irregardless of the precise technology involved.

Re:How does one do that thing with oscilloscope?

[Paranoid]

They weren't using an oscilloscope; they were using a spectrum analyser. Think winamp/xmms. One display shows you sound waves going by, like an oscilloscope. Another puts that data through an FFT and shows you the frequency domain (bass on the left, treble on the right), like a spectrum analyser.

Re:::Cue::Cat (or however you spell it)

[TheQuantumShift]

The employees not benefitting part is very believeable. Retail stores of every kind dump old product, and if you happen to take it home instead of throwing it away, you are stealing from the company apparently. Even if you're lucky enough to work for almighty 7-11, you can't just give the $300.00 or so in nowhere near spoiled food that the company writes off everyday to the homeless shelter across the street. No, that would be stealing. When you work for a bookstore, you'd think that all unsold paperback books were recycled. No, just thrown away. What? our schools need books? No, that would be stealing. God I wish I were kidding.

Re:::Cue::Cat (or however you spell it)

[kaphka]

Unsold books and food are both special cases.

As for the food, it's spoiled; safe or not, I'm sure that no business wants to expose itself to the lawsuit that might ensue if someone got sick after eating their abandoned food.

The books are an intellectual property issue. I'm sure every Slashdot readers knows about the difference between buying a copy and licensing a work. When a bookstore destroys a book, they get a refund from the publisher, because although the paper was wasted, the content (which is much more valuable) can be sold again somewhere else. If they simply gave away the books, someone would have to pay royalties to the author and everyone else involved. A little hard to swallow, perhaps, but it makes sense.

Of course, none of this applies to the CueCat, as far as I can tell.

Re:Radio Scrap

[McSpew]

Hey, the policy's not lame. It's a blast. I once replaced a VCR that was deemed "uneconomical to repair." We pitched the dead one off the roof of the building my store was in. It was a hoot.

And trust me, after you've just finished dealing with an infuriating customer who took all the anger of his entire life out on you, taking his returned, worthless answering machine out behind the store and beating the crap out of it with something big and heavy is a very satisfying release.

Re:i proclaim...

[Lars T.]

Because a joke (if you find it funny or not) about a CueCat is ontopic when one of the topics is CueCat, but a post about a real embedded webserver is not ontopic, when there is no webserver mentioned.