Slashdot Mirror
Slashback: Discipline, License, Name-calling
Every day, in every way, I am becoming a better and better Lt. Junior Grade. alanjstr writes "The Baltimore Sun reports 'The Naval Academy has disciplined 85 students who used a military Internet connection to illegally swap copyrighted music and movies, but it stopped short of carrying out its threat to impose the maximum penalties of expulsion or court-martial, an academy document shows.' It goes on to say that the raid was spurred less by the RIAA and more by the threat of losing the internet connection due to the enormous amount of bandwidth consumed. The academy had given students several warnings before raiding the dorm rooms. Some of the hard drives seized last November were found to contain one or two copyrighted files, while others ran into the hundreds or thousands."
I bet they could make a better agreement with Xiph.org Magnetic Confinement writes "In an effort to make life more difficult for civic-minded Mac users, NPR has decided to drop Quicktime from its available streams. Nothing specific on their webpage addresses it, just some suspicious vacancies remain. Their helpdesk response is officially:
'NPR.org had been offering some of its audio in the Apple QuickTime format under an arrangement with Apple QuickTime. We regret that we were unable to reach mutually acceptable terms for a new arrangement with Apple QuickTime. As a result, NPR is unable to continue offering its content in this format.You can also contact Apple QuickTime directly at: quicktime@apple.com
Weston
NPR Online'"
A note that got lost in the bin for too long ... JulesVD writes "Microsoft has agreed to tweak its Windows XP operating system in response to recent feedback from the Justice Department over its antitrust settlement with the federal government. (See news on Yahoo!) Microsoft will give more prominent display to a button in Windows that allows computer users to remove the company's Internet Explorer browser, company spokesman Jim Desler said. The Justice Department is overseeing Microsoft's compliance with the settlement. Placement of the button in a hard-to-reach spot in Windows was one of several complaints Microsoft's rivals made to the department last year."
Proportionality isn't just for the personals. You may still be boggling (I am) at the recently announced RIAA suits alleging that colleges and college students are liable for billions of dollars in damages to the music industry for facilitating online file trading. Reader Derek Lomas writes in with another editorial indicating "growing support at Yale for legal alternatives".
Even biggerness. The Gathering is billed by some as the the world's largest computer party. MC68040, though, writes "I'd like to remind everyone to have a look at dreamhack, that 'also' is the largest LAN in Sweden twice a year ... Which had over 5000 participants in 2001 and even more in 2002.. *arhem* Biggest you say?"
If you want to fight about "LAN party" vs. "Computer party," leave me out of it!
How about calling it "900t"? An anonymous reader writes "As previously reported, mozilla.org's Phoenix browser has been renamed to Firebird. This hasn't pleased supporters of the Firebird relational database project. In an Australian LinuxWorld article, one of their administrators calls the name change "one of the dirtiest deeds I've seen in open source so far." In a MozillaZine article, the same person accused mozilla.org of "theft" and "corporate bullying". They don't explain how it was different when they picked a name that was already used by a BBS, financial software manufacturer, Fenix IDE and games company. Meanwhile, IBPhoenix, an organisation that supports the development of the Firebird database, has put up a protest page, encouraging people to spam the MozillaZine forums (even though MozillaZine had nothing to do with the decision) and send masses of email to many Mozilla developers (most of whom were not involved in selecting the new name). I find it rather hypocritical that the Firebird database people are accusing Mozilla of "the filthiest of dirty tricks" while at the same time advocating the harassment of many Mozilla developers."
Point of clarification. batkid writes "In response to the article 'Microsoft pirating their own software,' Seems like MS is taking it pretty seriously. I got the following response from Microsoft (I am a faculty member, but the response should be the same to students).
April 9, 2003RE: Visual Studio .NET Professional Edition and Windows XP Professional software distributed during the Microsoft Faculty Seminars
Dear Faculty Member, Thank you for attending the recent Microsoft Faculty Seminar. The purpose of this letter is to clarify questions concerning the legal use of the Visual Studio .NET Professional and Windows XP Professional software distributed to faculty who attended the Seminar. The software received is governed by the electronic license embedded in the product set up that appears prior to installation and no additional documentation is required.
Notwithstanding language on the CD label for the copies of Visual Studio .NET Professional Edition and Windows XP Professional Edition that you received during your attendance at the Seminar, which appeared to indicate that a separate license document was required in order for you to legally use the software, this letter will confirm that use by you of the software received is governed by the electronic license embedded in the product setup that appears prior to installation.
You are required to agree to accept the terms and conditions of this license prior to proceeding with the products' installation. Acceptance by you of these "Click to Accept" licenses is the only license required for your use of the copies of Visual Studio.NET Professional Edition and Windows XP Professional Edition received. We recommend that you keep a copy of this letter in your personal files for future reference."
Thanks for passing that along.
What if Masterlock security was assured this way? Monday, you read that security researchers Billy Hoffman and Virgil Griffith (known as Vergil and Acidus) were were prevented from speaking at a security conference by means of a Cease and Desist order from Blackboard, Inc.. The two planned to talk about security flaws found in Blackboard's Transaction System.
In a mail posted at Declan McCullagh's Politech mailing list, David Yaskin of Blackboard responds to the criticism that the company's legal action has drawn. John R. Hall has posted a FAQ explaining some particulars of the Blackboard Transaction System which Virgil and Acidus aren't at liberty to discuss, as well as contradicting some claims that Yaskin makes in the posted email.
*highlights*
*Ctrl-C*
*Ctrl-V*
*Prints Letter*
*Launches Gnutella*
This space intentionally left blank.
They should just rename it "TransAm", its the same thing anyways......
Slashdot is like Playboy: I read it for the articles
"Some kids were running miniature Napsters," said the academy official, referring to the now-defunct music-sharing site. "They had enormous drives - multigigabite drives - and they were on all the time. They became little Web sites."
Just goes to show how educated some naval personell are about computer technology. I mean MULTIgigabyte drives?!? Holy shit man, that's a lot of storage!!!
*note sarcasm above*
If you can't beat them, arrange to have them beaten. -George Carlin
It's about time. Making internet explorer easy to remove will definately eliminate the problem with Microsoft's monopoly. The only reason Linux hasn't been adopted as a major desktop competitor is that it was widely felt that the internet explorer icon needed to be removed from Windows before you could install Linux, and this should clear that up. The justice department deserves a big pat on the back for this. Way to go DOJ!
My Blog
Bart: Ohh, I wish I programmed an [open source email client.]
Lisa: You did, you named it "Stampy".
"About the Mozilla naming thing...you can't pick a much less original name than Thunderbird..."
That may be why they're calling it Firebird.
Sheesh, confusing a Ford with a GM... People have been lynched for less...
Warning: Since Internet Explorer is part of the operating system, your operating system will no longer function after you click the button. Please forward all concerns to the US Department of Justice. Have a nice day.
Sigs are bad for your health.
They should just make up a word, like they did with Mozilla. Isn't this what everyone else does? Where do they think "Firebird" came from in the first place? Someone just stuck two words together to make a new one.
I nominate "Yozizza".
Yes, but where can you buy CDs for only $15? Enquiring minds want to know!
"The evil of the world is made possible by nothing but the sanction you give it." -- Ayn Rand
I'm all for this name, only because their ad slogan could be:
"Yozizza? Foshizza. . ."
The only acceptable defense of scientific results is to say that they were the product of the Scientific Method.
The "Restore Competition" button is buried much more deeply.
Sigs are bad for your health.
Well, you know there are 3 kinds of lies:
"Lies, damned lies, and statistics," Disraeli
SCO to Hell
Blah blah blah~! I despise the aforementioned party. I also have an elitist remark which exemplifies my superior intelligence and would usurp their viability. Huzza!
C'mon let's go, AC to AC!
Highlights...
Left mouse click...
Middle mouse click...
lpr...
Launches Gnutella...
What the %^&#, this requires WINDOWS?!
Launches Gnutella again...
microsoftword.mp3 - it doesn't care that they're not words...
Or, how about what the automotive world refers to the Firebird as(screaming/flaming chicken car), with a Mozilla twist?
I can see it now: "Screaming Dinosaur 7.0! Now featuring the Mullet theme, complete with AC/DC background music. Cinderblocks available as add-on module(please note, Cinderblock module disables browser completely, installs junk on your desktop)"
Please help metamoderate.
I triple guarantee you, there are no illegal MP3s on Kazaa! It is a fabrication by the RIAA to decieve us into approving the DMCA!
Repeal the DMCA!
How about calling it "900t"? An anonymous reader writes "As previously reported, mozilla.org's Phoenix browser has been renamed to Firebird. This hasn't pleased supporters of the Firebird relational database project. In an Australian LinuxWorld article, one of their administrators calls the name change "one of the dirtiest deeds I've seen in open source so far." In a MozillaZine article, the same person accused mozilla.org of "theft" and "corporate bullying". They don't explain how it was different when they picked a name that was already used by a BBS, financial software manufacturer, Fenix IDE and games company. Meanwhile, IBPhoenix, an organisation that supports the development of the Firebird
I'd like to suggest that all Open Source disputes over program names be settled through trial by combat in the old English tradition.
If this works, perhaps this method can be used to settle all trade name disputes.
Alternately, a version of this adapted to the programmer community can be tried.
Set up a server on a static IP. One side tries to keep it running, the other side tries to h4ck it down, who defends and who attacks settled by coin flip.
Tech Public Policy stuff
The baysean filtering in Thunderbird works great with emails like those.
Somebody ought to make an sql database called Mozilla. That will ignite the situation. Or better, the Firebird SQL Database project should rename to Mozilla. *sarcasm*