Slashdot Mirror
Slashback: Mars, Linksys, Torrent
Fork carefully or be forked preemptively. BSD Forums writes "The leader of the open-source JBoss Java application server environment said that if the group of developers that left his organization attempts to splitâ"or "fork" as it's called in the industryâ"the JBoss code base, he would sue them. Marc Fleury, president of JBoss Group LLC, Atlanta, said he is prepared to take legal action if the group of developers who left the JBoss Group to form a new company, known as Core Developers Network LLC, attempts to diverge from the JBoss code base."
They can learn in the classroom, or outside it. MVP writes "Fridrik "frisk" Skulason, of F-Prot fame (you know, that good old DOS free for personal use antivirus, up-to-date & usable for windows), has a very acid reaction against the decision of University of Calgary to start teaching virus-writing classes (see previous Slashdot thread)."
Just let me control the textbooks ... After a few stories like this one, it may please some people to see at least a partial turnaround from Microsoft on computers donated to schools without Windows licenses. Patrick Cable II writes "I got an interesting letter from Microsoft today at work. Microsoft has started a "Fresh Start" program for educational instutions that basically makes it so schools who have had computers donated to them without licenses or media can get media and a letter stating the computer is licensed to use a Windows operating system (98 or 2000). More information can be found here. Anyone think they're trying to figure out a way to deal with the whole Linux thing?"
Software in the Public Interest has yet to respond with a lower licensing fee for Debian.
More fun than "The Winds of War." For fans of Kim Stanley Robinson, space exploration and colonization, space elevators et cetera, reader Unbeliever writes with new that Hurd will soon meet Mars. "No, not GNU/Hurd, but Gale Ann Hurd. Hurd just signed a deal with Sci-Fi to produce Kim Stanley Robinson's Red Mars as a Sci-Fi 6-hour miniseries. Red Mars is the first of the Robinson's Red/Green/Blue Mars Trilogy, an 'almost plausible sci-fi' future-history approach about Colonizing and Terraforming Mars. The trilogy looks at the technological, sociological, personal, and political challenges of terraforming a different planet. Also of interest to Slashdotters in general is Robinson's ideas on the growth of multi-national corporations into Meta-Nations, and their effects on world politics."
But doesn't that make it radio their way? In the recent Radio Your Way review, our reviewer said of the device that it had "[n]o off button! As far as I can tell, once you turn the device on there is no way to manually turn it off other than to wait for it to enter sleep mode after several minutes. Very annoying."
Another reader writes with this workaround: "In any mode, hold down the stop button (a little square under the play button) for 2-3 seconds to turn off the unit. This is listed in the manual, which you are right, is a very poorly done Korean effort."
Calm down that jerking knee, then apply ice. In response a post which raised the question of whether Linksys was in violation of the GPL by not distributing, nor offering links to, the source code for the software controlling their 802.11g base stations. A representative from Linksys-PR sent in this note about the "missing" source code:
Linksys is a strong proponent of both Linux and the Open Source movement. The code within our routers is using User Space code without linking dynamically or statically to any GPL (GNU GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE) code. Any code which does not have a static or dynamic link to anything covered by the General Public License is not GPL'ed, and can be considered closed source.
We regret it took some time to respond to this posting. To assure timely responses to inquiries like this in the future, please use the following procedure which complies with the requirements of the General Public License:
1. Please put your request in writing or in an email addressed to info@Linksys.com
2. You have to request the code for the specific modules you want. It is not valid to issue a request for any "code you may be using."
3. Technically, you are also supposed to provide us with a self-addressed stamped envelope, along with funds to cover the cost of providing the code to you. But Linksys will handle requests on a case-by-case basis. Thank you."
Straight from the Tiger's mouth. Tiger Direct Executive Vice President Richard Wallet wrote to contradict Michael Robertson's claims that Microsoft was targeting Tiger Direct customers who purchased Lindows systems to offer them steep discounts on Windows XP. Wallet writes:
"TigerDirect is not selling any version of Windows for $50. We are selling Microsoft Windows XP just like any other reseller and we are in compliance with all of Microsoft's licensing agreements, no better, no worse, and no different.TigerDirect does sell low-cost systems with the Lindows operating system. TigerDirect also sells low-cost systems with Microsoft Windows XP. TigerDirect even sells systems with NO operating systems. The only parties who can tell us which products are or aren't worth selling are our customers. Neither Microsoft nor Lindows has a significant influence on what we buy and sell. We aim to serve our customers with the products they want at the very best values available and world-class customer service.
TigerDirect did in fact perform a survey of its customers as it does on a regular basis. Contrary to the author's claim, this survey was not only sent to Lindows buyers. It was sent to everybody who bought systems from TigerDirect during a specific time period. The purpose of the survey was to help us better serve the needs of our customers by getting a better understanding of what they're using the systems for, what they're running on them, and why they purchased what they did. The result of the survey is going to be to help us better align our PC product mix to increase sales."
Many monkeys make slick visuals. IamTheRealMike writes "Hi all, there is a BitTorrent of the XD2 RPMs for Red Hat 9 available, please be gentle with it. It comes as a directory that contains a readme and an ISO - make sure you read the readme first as there is a bug in the installer you need to know about. When all is done and you've read the instructions, just mount the ISO using the loopback device and point the installer at it. For all those who have been trying and failing to get it using the mirror network, this might provide a useful alternative."
JBoss is open source... doesn't the license protect the guys that walked out? Does this mean that Mr. Fleury will sue me as well if I do a JBoss knockoff?
1. Please put your request in writing or in an email addressed to info@Linksys.com
I think that you forgot something, or the post office got way more efficient.
You think that I'm crazy, you should see this guy!
BitTorrent can distribute directories of files, so why add the extra obfuscation?
What is XD2, or is this something that all the cool kids know about, and I don't, so you won't tell me, because I'm not one of the cool kids, and by the way here's my lunch money, please dont't hax0r my box, I didn't say nothing to you, please?
~ a low user id is no indication I have a clue what I'm talking about.
Speaking of which, Microsoft has decided it makes more sense to embrace schools
Kids beware, Microsoft now embraces schools. Learn to recognize Microsoft employees : they're the funny-looking people with long raincoats waiting for you outside the school.
"A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of" - Ogden Nash
Didn't the last linksys article say that new drivers HAD been linked with the kernel? Which is correct?
You can't judge a book by the way it wears its hair.
So, a suit was only threatened in the case the forked version used the same name as the original (presumably on trademark grounds).
I've said this before (when the original article was posted), but I still suspect the JBoss split is related to their Sun certification troubles.
There's an interesting ZDnet article here that talks about JBoss not being 100% kosher J2EE, and the main group's ongoing dispute with Sun. I think that the breakaway group intendeds to fork JBoss to make a more easily certified version, and this Slashback seems to support that somewhat.
Vino, gyno, and techno -Bruce Sterling
This is great news. I really enjoyed the whole trilogy. Maybe a bit slow to start with, but once you get into them it's a great read.
Finally (I hope) a good Movie (well, miniseries) about the red planet. (mission to mars anyone? blergh)
hmmm... A quick google reveals that Gale Ann Hurd also produced Virus, Armageddon along with the Hulk and T3 as the article says. Make what you will of that I guess...
Here's a revolutionary idea. Instead of posting hysterical flamebait stories to the front page, how about you do your homework before the fact? Is it so difficult to email the guy beforehand and ask him for the real story? You sit on submissions for days sometimes, so how problematic would this be?
I know that posting another "M$ is doing evil" story contributes to the bottom line with all the ad impressions and whatnot, but taken as a whole your FUD is no better than Microsoft's. And that puts you on the same ethical bandwagon.
According to guy who reported Linksys possibly not providing source code, his contact within Linksys finally responded and said the lack of source with the WRT54G was unintential. His contact also said that previously they shipped their products with source code on a CD. I found this on the lkml shortly after the slashdot article.
It's good to see Microsoft doing something about licensing for schools, but I wonder how many people will actually know about or apply for this? Or more precisely, how useful will this really be? I can see only a limited amount of success with this program.
2. You have to request the code for the specific modules you want. It is not valid to issue a request for any "code you may be using."
Well then, what if I ask Linksys to send me any GPL code they're using ? is that valid enough ? because mething they'd have to send it to me.
As for asking what modules I want specifically, how would I know without reverse-engineering the product ?
I know the GPL allows users of GPLed code to require people to ask for the source code of whatever GPL stuff they're using, but when Linksys tells you you have to ask in writing, including a self-addressed stamped envolope, I call that bad will. It would show good grace if they provided a link to the sources on their site, and it would cost them less than processing snail mail.
So Linksys, put your money where your mouth is and show you're a real proponent of Linux and OSS. Right now, you look like freeloaders who want to make the process of getting your sources as painful as possible.
"A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of" - Ogden Nash
How does "Joncho" sound? How does it sound with the Spanish pronunciation?
If you're serious, it's Ximian Desktop 2, although I find it odd that someone with such a low user id would ask in such an lame way.
This was a better, kinder move by Microsoft and I applaud them. They are behaving themselves much better in regards to licensing issues now than in the past. Since this move sounds like a defensive mesaure due to pressure put upon them by the open source alternatives, its safe to say that open source is providing the consumer and student with better licensing and hence a better product. Open source is good for the market.
If you can get over the guy's language problem, he's actually right.
> md5sum --help
Usage: md5sum [OPTION] [FILE]...
or: md5sum [OPTION] --check [FILE]
[...]
-c, --check check MD5 sums against given list
Using your sig line to advertise for friends is lame.
That makes sense, I always thought GNU/Hurd qualified as computer science-fiction
Fair is fair; however, it is Linksys who is distributing the programs in binary form to begin with. They cannot simply provide a copy of the GPL in the documentation with their product and say that this covers "all GPL code distributed with this product" without themselves identifying what software the product contains which falls under the GPL. Here, check out the TiVO website for an example of how it's done.
-renard
please stop
The NY Times article on 'Thedeacon' had it all wrong, apparently because of a personal vendetta or simply bad journalism:
? s= ff915490517fe192403f903ca23ea861&threadid=143417&p erpage=20&pagenumber=1
http://forums.anarchy-online.com/showthread.php
I was wondering this same thing myself...I would think the University would be partly liable in a court of law, though I don't really know if it should be. They are supplying the resources the student needs to create the virus, and educating them on how to do it. Now if they can show that they took every reasonable precaution to prevent it from getting out and the student still somehow snuck it out, then they might be OK--but consider the biological parallel: it's like showing someone how to make anthrax, giving them the means to do so, and then not having a secure lab environment, thus creating a hazard to the community.
Like I said though, it ultimately comes down to the student's will to pull the trigger, but considering that the University is supplying the gun...it's shaky ground.
"I may be quite wrong." - Socrates
...and even though much of what he says is correct (most virus writers, particularly nowadays, are just script-kiddies and not particularly good programmers) I can't agree with his main point. There are very valid reasons to write viruses as learning experiments. And not just for people interested in working in security either - as pure CS there is a lot to be said for it.
He gives the impression that all viruses are harmful, but that's simply not true and he must know that. Many viruses, including all the early ones, were pure CS experiments in artificial life. They had no 'payload', no destructive nature, they just try to survive and reproduce, the basics of biological life transplanted to the digital realm.
Now writing a virus with a destructive payload and spreading it to other people's computers - that is clearly unethical, but I really doubt that's what they have planned in this class.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Friends don't let friends enable ecmascript.
If 10 people have a copy of kernel-2.4.20.tar.gz then can p2p software download different parts from each person?
As usual, the trade rag is unnecessarily alarmist and so is the referring /. blurb. The quote of interest is:
"I did think about them forking," Fleury said. "If they fork JBoss, that's another problem. If there's a new JBoss, if they fork it and call it JBoss I would sue them. There is only one version that we control."
Fleury's saying he would not sue over a mere fork, per se, but instead a violation of the JBoss trademark. In other words, if CDN forked the code but called it something other than JBoss, there would be nothing to sue about.
Interesting. I read "Red Mars" and, quite honestly, hated it. I thought the characters were extremely thin and the plot was framgented beyong belief leading to this wierd non-linear story progression where one chapter had absolutely no impact on any other chapter. I don't know, it just really bugged me. I finished it because I hate leaving books unfinished but the last 2/3 of the book just made me mad.
I think I will be steering clear of this.
-David
There. Now go play some cool javascript games!
Heheh.
I'm pretty tired of programmers who think people should adapt to machines instead of machines to people. So, people don't react in an optimal way to a virus infection. Perhaps someone will have some new ideas about how to create software that either makes the behavior change required easier and less annoying than not changing behavior, or makes it completely unecessary. Software is for people. People aren't for software.
This whole section has nothing to do with the point. Sure it takes more skill to write anti-virus software, but that doesn't mean a thorough understanding of how to write a virus wouldn't be helpful. It also doesn't mean that teaching someone how to write a virus turns them into a low skill programmer.
One could argue that all the pieces of source code lying around that are designed to reproduce themselves in their output are a form of virus, yet writing them is considered an interesting intellectual challenge worthy of a serious programmer.
This requirement is predicated on the automatically assumed malicious intent of anybody who writes a virus. The school is trying to protect against accidents, not a deliberate attempt to unleash a virus on the net as a whole.
Preventing source code printouts is only a very minor deterrent against such maliciousness. So I don't think think it's worth considering putting into practice as it invites circumvention by treating the people taking the class as if they were criminals. People treated as criminals from the outset are more likely to act like criminals.
The only valid point in the entire thing.
The rest of it is all predicated on the assumption that anybody who takes the course automatically has criminal intent. I prefer not calling people criminals until they commit a crime. Writing a virus shouldn't be a crime. Releasing one into the wild should be.
The social consequences of making virus writing seem legitimate is a real consideration. Though, I have an unfounded suspicion that the attitude that it isn't legitimate tends to inhibit a-life research some.
Need a Python, C++, Unix, Linux develop
Here is the readme if you're wondering about it before downloading that 473 MB file ;-)
/mnt/cdrom for RedHat)
btw, I love bittorrent... downloading at 250-400 k/s !
--
Note!
To Install Ximian Desktop 2 for RedHat 9 (x86), please do the following:
1) Burn the ISO to a CD.
2) Mount the CD, and run installer-i386. make sure you have network
connectivity. The installer will need a file from ximian.com, but it's only
300k.
3) Select "Local Media" and point it at where you mounted the cd (usually
4) THIS IS IMPORTANT!
You'll get to a point where you verify what packages the installer will
install. LOOK AT THE VERSIONS of the packages that will be installed.
Note all the packages that do NOT have 'ximian' in the version number.
These need to be installed from RedHat 9 media BEFORE continuing.
If you see any packages that lack 'ximian' in its version, QUIT THE INSTALLER,
install the missing packages, and rerun the installer.
5) After noting 4, and installing the "missing" packages, rerun the installer.
In a few minutes, you'll be able to enjoy your new XD2 install!
"But they [the defectors] were not involved in the business and they were disgruntled. They also were not the sharpest ones" in the bunch, he added. /me --- In further news, Fleury was subsequently browbeaten by his HR manager and the corporate lawyer...
Probably not a judicious comment unless he is looking to get himself sued....
No he isn't.
Granted, if someone has a file up on a public server with plenty of bandwidth, there's no need.
But bandwidth isn't free, and not everyone can afford to pay for the privilege of giving away their code.
With P2P everyone interested in the file can contribute a little of their bandwidth to aggregate, and make fast distribution possible without shelling out for a fast server on a big pipe. So why not use it?
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Friends don't let friends enable ecmascript.
Amiga: The OTHER Gay Computer
So why not use it?
Umm, because it fucking sucks?
angry? Therapy, perhaps, maybe a Zoloft tab or two?
Section 3 of version 2 of the GNU General Public License provides three options for those wishing to distribute GPL'ed software: (a) "Accompany it with the complete corresponding machine-readable source code [...]" (as I understand it, Linksys did not do this), (b) "Accompany it with a written offer, valid for at least three years, to give any third party , for a charge no more than your cost of physically performing source distribution, a complete machine-readable copy of the corresponding source code [...]", or, (c) an option available "allowed only for noncommercial distribution" (not the case of Linksys). So, I infer that Linksys is now trying to get close to following option (b).
The problem that I see with Linksys's claim that "It is not valid to issue a request for any 'code you may be using.'" is that without written offers that specifically identify exactly what GPL'ed software Linksys is using, and without source code to begin with, we cannot be sure that we know all of the source code that Linksys is using. For example, we don't know everything that was linked into their busybox image, and we might not even know every kernel device driver they use.
It seems that Linksys sees two different specificity requirements in the GPL. Firstly, they seem to think that a blanket offer to provide code without identifying the source code that they are referring to satisifies the written offer requirements of section 3b. Secondly, they seem to think that they are not obliged to fulfill the acceptance of that offer when it is made with the same level of specificity. Linksys seems to think that they are fulfilling the GPL's requirements if they provide an offer to do x, but refuse to actually do it if someone simply says, "okay, I accept your offer." In other words, Linksys is not providing enough information in their offer for people to fully avail themselves of it. This is similar to offering to provide source code, but providing no contact information by which people can accept the offer. I expect that under some sort of "reasonable man" standard, a court would decide that these shenanigans are not in the intended meaning of the GPL.
If I were in Linksys's shoes, I'd just dump of all of the GPL'ed source code involved into a CD image, send out CD's as needed, and also put it on an FTP site, which would probably reduce the requests for physical media to about a dozen (and, besides, the media costs less than postage and it's useful to have a mailing list of likely Linux wireless access point developers).
Personally, I am mostly interested in the 802.11g drivers, although I suspect that some useful software may have been linked into busybox, which might be helpful to have too. I am glad that Linksys is trying to conform to the requirements of the GNU General Public License. Hopefully we can help them actually achieve that.
By the way, I just sent info@linksys.com a request for the source code to the kernel and any software linked against BusyBox. I sure wish I knew what other GPL'ed software is in the WRT54G.
A lot of things clear up and are built upon in the next two books. The beginning of "Red" kind of blew, but it does get better.
I just bought "Years of Rice and Salt" to read camping next week. It is an alternate history by Robinson about the Black Death killing 99% of Europe, instead of 1/3, and the Muslim, Asian and Native Americans ruling the world.
You have to request the code for the specific modules you want. It is not valid to issue a request for any "code you may be using.
Is this actually allowed in the GPL? Others here have pointed out that it is more or less impossible to know what sections to request when you only have a binary. But my impression was that a request for any GPLed code was acceptable, in which case Linksys would still be in the wrong. Am I incorrect in thinking that?
"In any mode, hold down the stop button (a little square under the play button) for 2-3 seconds to turn off the unit."
The CD stereo (an aftermarket Blaupunkt) in my car does something like this: to turn it off, you have to press and hold the power button for three seconds. Otherwise, it just reduces the volume significantly but continues to play. I've seen other brands do this, too.
WHY?
When I hit the power button, I want the radio to turn OFF. Right at that moment. If I'm turning off the radio, there's a good chance that I'm doing so because it's distracting me and I need to concentrate on the traffic and roads around me. Now, I'm forced to keep my hand at the radio (making it useless for steering or operating other controls, and it restricts my ability to look over my shoulders to check traffic in the blind spots) for several seconds. It's annoying.
When I look at new radios, that's the first thing I check: the power button must work instantly. (I didn't pick this radio myself--it was installed by the dealer when I purchased the car.)
If the manufacturers want to include a "mute" feature, fine, just add another button for it. Or better yet, use a volume knob; my other car has one and it works perfectly.
--RJ
He said they COULD require a request be submitted via mail and povide self addressed envelope and costs, but they choose not to and will honor requests on a case by case basis.
This is listed in the manual, which you are right, is a very poorly done Korean effort. ...which leads me to wonder if Americans have some kind of patent on bad English grammar.
Comment removed based on user account deletion
Somebody help me out here..
If they aren't statically or dynamically linking to the code. Then exactly how are they linking to it? Magically? The had to compile the code to work with linux base right?
What bits did they leave in the open? Unless you disassemble their bio's there is no way to tell wether their code was in binary before it was compiled. Its really not in their best interest to just say 'See look, this is how I did it', even though they accepted the terms of the GPL in good faith. Maybe tomorrow we will find out how well the GPL will hold up.
I do believe that any company that accepts the GPL should not be allowed to turn and run the instant they drop their side of the bargain.
Maybe there should have been a GPL gurantee that starts the moment they sell a product based on linux sources. At least for commercial companies, so they can't say they didn't understand the GPL.
this sig is classified..how about yours?
The more people downloading from a BitTorrent link, the better...
Send them a polite e-mail requesting every piece of GPL software you can think of. And please post it and the response on /.
"I assumed blithely that there were no elves out there in the darkness"
This is getting way overblown due to some bad reporting or some bad reading of the reports.
The issue is not whether the guys that walked can fork the JBoss code -- it's [L]GPL, of course they can -- it's whether they can call the result JBoss.
Assuming JBoss is a trademark (which I believe it is), then they can't, at least not without Fleury's permission. They can call it JPointyHeaded, or JDictator, or JSlavedriver, or even Fred, but not somebody else's trademark.
-- Alastair
So does this mean that, if they want to use the JBoss name for their independent work, Mark Fleury says to "fork off and die?"
Get off my launchpad!
To turn it off, I need to press and hold down the Source (Tuner/CD) button for about a second. Any button will turn it back on.
To be honest, it doesn't bother me much, and I never turn it off by mistake. I'm not sure that Off really has any meaning for a car stereo; it's on when the ignition is on, and off any other time, and as long as I can get it to shut up with a single button press (Mute/Pause) I don't really care what it's labelled as.
It's only plausible if you still think that technology is advancing linearly, instead of exponentially, and only if you assume humans will still be stuck in our fragile biological form for a period longer than the centuries it takes to terraform a planet in the first place. So no, IMHO, I think we'll sooner end up ripping Mars apart (oh the humanity!) to make better use of its matter, than wasting space & energy by living on its limited surface area.
(Yeah, I've had a slight problem suspending my disbelief for most SF in recent years :)
I'd much rather see Iain Banks' Culture brought to the screen, though that would be just a tad bit more difficult.
--
Power to the Peaceful
Is it just me, or is the torrent EXTREMELY slow? I tried it and it didn't download at all for a while, went to 1kbps immediately...I'm just going to download the RPMs from a mirror with wget and throw them on CD.
"Software in the Public Interest has yet to respond with a lower licensing fee for Debian."
Priceless!
(As it were.)
--AC
Now, if someone would be interested in taking all the PCs in a school district, and then donate them back to the district. That would be just peachy, it being so expensive to upgrade from Windows 95 and all. Thanks.
So, let me see if I've got this:
If Microsoft sell at full price to schools, they are scum
If they "back license" schools (as they are doing) they are competing with linux
If they give software free to schools they are trying to screw Apple.
Not giving them much wriggle room are you? What are they SUPPOSED to be doing?
Read reviews of shopping cart software
I couldn't agree more with you. It's both within your rights and something that more people should be doing. And regardless what the AC just before me said, busybox doesn't suck.
/ GPL/" is going to act as an impediment to people buying the product. If anything, I'd be more convinced of its reliability; I've had enough devices running unstable software to make me a selective purchaser.
It takes so little effort for them to comply with the GPL that they should be doing it anyhow, but maybe companies need a little incentive to start complying. How long does it take to put up a webpage linking to source for busybox v. whatever, stock kernel x, or whatever? Practically none. Think about all the time and money they saved by using the GPL'd stuff in the first place? TONS.
And personally, I seriously doubt a notice that "hey, we use some GPL'd software in here, these are their names, they may be stock packages, but for licensing reasons we are providing the source at http://www.companyx.com/products/rotofruitskinner
Poor show linksys. Keep it up BB maintainer!
Not giving them much wriggle room are you? What are they SUPPOSED to be doing? ...keeping their stuff outta the schools?
JINT Is Not JBoss
^
What bugged was the part where they were setting up windmill powered electric heaters to warm up Mars.
This is a double scientific blooper:
1) Wind energy gets degraded into heat naturally without the help of windmills.
2)Even if you used an external heat source such as nuclear energy the warmth would not accumulate, basically for the same reason that your stove does not get hotter every time you cook. The temperature of a planet is determined by an equilibrium between solar heating (plus other relatively small sources) and radiation into space.
LOL, that thread makes Thedeacon and all other AO players look even more like unstable losers than the original article did!
...wearing a skin-tight topless leather jumpsuit, with cutaway buttocks and transparent crotch panel.
I agree with you that Linksys should tell people what GPL'd code they're using. Publishing programs made with GPL source requires publishing an offer for the source or the source itself.
However, I disagree with you about an SASE being too onerous. The reason is that only one person really has to do it, then we can all leech off her server all night long. Or she can set up a bittorrent stream, or what have you.
microsoftword.mp3 - it doesn't care that they're not words...
Maybe 'purchase' them from the district for say, $50. Then, 'donate' them back. (Don't even move them- just do the paperwork) Wala! Free 98SE Licenses.
Now...I just need to get more than 16 or 24 MBs of ram in those 486s....
There are 4 boxes to use in the defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury, ammo. Use in that order. Starting now.
Also, from a copyright standpoint, if Linksys was in violation of the GPL, then they were infringing many parties' copyrights by distributing the GPL'ed software. Those who registered the copyrights could sue for at least statutory damages, between $750 and $25k per copy, as I understand it (and, again, I'm not a lawyer, so don't rely on this as legal advice).
More importantly, I believe a civil court can do more than just award money. I would expect the court would order Linksys to provide the complete source code without requiring people to identify specific modules (or Linksys would have to pay contempt of court fines and so on). This might result in publication of some new free software, such as 802.11g drivers (even if they turned out to be a user level program linked into BusyBox). These benefits are not "pointless" to the users who are already asking for such software.
As a practical matter, I think Linksys was simply trying to move quickly in assembling their first pass at GPL compliance. I suspect that they'll soon offer complete source without making people jump through hoops. I haven't heard of Linksys being obnoxious to the developer community before. If anything, I think they've been rather pro-nerd, providing detachable antennas, using the documented Intersil 802.11b chips. I think they realize that it's in their enlightened self-interest if Linux users and other developers can make more use of their product, because those users are more likely to buy the products or even specify them in larger purchases.
My TiVo box, a loyal pal,
A friend I Truly care for.
Because It guarantees I'll see,
The shows I wasn't there for.
Two thousand shows I've "taped" so far,
Each Night I "tape" a new one.
Who knows, perhaps there'll come a day,
I'll find the time to view one.
Now I have an opportunity to get behind on all that radio talk show stuff that was previously unimportant.
Good security is based upon reality and common sense. Common sense is a function of having common knowledge.
even better here is a link to one of his slashdot comments in that story. In that thread he flips out on the new york times guy and later explains how the language used wasn't complimentary. WTF? Anyway the slashdot post is even better it just screams insults all in one huge paragraph wort checking out O.o
Do they own "JrBoss"? Drat, someone does.
DMCA, Hollings, Palladium. What might have sounded like paranoia is now common sense.
After plain dumb journalism like this story on JBoss I wonder if I should trust other stories published here. The meaning of the statement is completely changed. It takes 20 sec to read the original quote (not even the whole story)!
I think it is more like spreading viruses is illegal while writing viruses is unethical. And I don't think you have to actually write a virus just to know how they work either.
.bat files and that was written in DOS batch language. I succeeded. That was almost as much fun as doing the boot sector stuff.
:-) ) with which to fix it.
Hm. I just can't see that. I have written more than one virus in my time. Nobody got hurt. I played with them on isolated machines. I learnt something from doing it. It was a challenge and it was lots of fun. For example, I set myself the challenge of writing a virus that infected DOS
It turned out useful some time later when I had a non-bootable harddisk and only an assembler on a bootable floppy (a magazine cover disk
And at the end of all this, nothing got damaged. No people got hurt. I had fun watching my code wander around my systems. I played in assembler, and eventually deleted the viruses and moved on to other things, like artificial life simulations and genetic algorithms. 14 years later, I still have people oohing and ahing over the leet assembler skills I use on their embedded projects.
How was this unethical?
---
Especially, on a more serious note, given the speculation in other comments that this breakaway crew might be trying to make this "tine" of the fork more in line with J2EE.
I really can't say any more about this, however. I don't really know anything about this rift thing with Sun, I just wanted to be funny
Get off my launchpad!
So, you're saying that Sun magically transported the postcard from the post box to their employee? Or do you think that it's more plausible that the USPS did a fair amount of work to get it there and then Sun either did a finger on the email address or send a message to said address to find out who to send it to through interoffice mail?
But it hasn't always been this way. Horror stories about lost mail and general screwups were legion. UPS wouldn't even be in business if the Parcel Post hadn't been a complete disaster for years and years.
I'm old enough to remember when the USPS was the federal Post Office Department and the Postmaster-General was appointed by the President. The job always went to the chairman of the party in power, because of all the patronage jobs. Needless to say, efficiency and quality of service were not top priorities. Most of the USPS's unfortunate reputation dates from this period.
I agree whole-heartedly with this statement. Anyone who purposely posts an off-topic statement with derrogitory intent should not be alowed to use a computer, let alone post on a web-board dedicated to computers. And the fact that you are not willing to post using your screen name shows that you are not man enough to stand up for what you believe in. If you wish to post something like this in the future, at least have the decency to submit your name with it and own up to what you say.
I came, I saw, She conquered.
Don't they normally embrace and extend?
No, I do not want to know what those pervs will extend to the kids!
Linux, ready for the desktop. Why doesn't Ximian actually FIX the bugs in the INSTALLER when they're found? Or do I have to get it all from CVS or something for that.
Personally, I think the choice is clear. Windows is the operating system for you. Let me explain. The creator of Windows (Microsoft) has been fucking the industry in the ass for years. As a result of such behavior, many think that the company is beginning to die. In addition, since the Windows code base is so poorly written, the platform has been compromised and is rendered weak by constant virus attacks. As an HIV sufferer, I'm sure you'll be able to more easily relate to your computer because of this.
So there you have it. Go out any purchase a copy of Windows XP (Extreme Patsie) today. Hurry before you're too sick to install all of the Windows Update patches!
Yes, I agree. However I would prefer it if anybody who refers to a SlashDot username as a "screen name" had their testicals removed with a pen knife and some dental floss. I am also interested at your basging of Anonymous Cowards, as though your real name is "KingArthur10" and we could all look you up in the 'phone book.
I would say the guy is out of his mind, has no business sense, is unreasonable, or has an ego the size of Bill Gates Estate.
Let me tell you, that is one big ego.
A few days ago during the Jargon File discussion, someone proposed the ESR as the basic unit of ego. Much like the Farad, 1 ESR is a finite but impossibly huge number. I just wonder what the conversion factor is between a "Bill Gates Estate" sized ego and the ESR is. I'd guess about a 0.3 myself.
The PR release says one must ask for the source to a particular binary by name. To be in compliance, if I have say a BEFSR41 router and I send a SASE asking to the source for any GPLed binary in the router then they have to do it. I should not have to crawl around their firmware and figure it all out. As far as the GPL is concerned, having the router or a firmware update file entitles me to do this. This is no big deal, just roll up a tarball. They can even say "HERE!" in a surly voice.
no text, just VOMIT!!!!!
you should read everything on the internet as if it had "but I'm probably talking out of my ass" appended to it.
Some years ago when I lived in Nome, Alaska, my girlfriend's mother sent her a note and left the Zip code off. It took nearly 3 months to arrive, because it had been misdirected to Saudi Arabia. The envelope was backstamped in Arabic! (backstamping is the convention of applying a postmark to the back of an envelope when a misdirected piece of mail is identified as such)
Mail? Put "slashdot" in the subject to pass the spam filters.
Judging by the responses to this comment, there are a few people who are too fucking stupid to realize the original poster is probably as anti-gay as they are. At least he has a rudimentary grasp of irony, despite the hateful, pointless and boring way he used it.
I'm only getting 520kB/s
Just the other day, I was wondering if a particular company would go after the FSF for violation of their trademark. "GNU's not *n|x" is similar to "based on JBoss". It should be OK, but is it?
Foster, RI, USA: The mailman was a raging alcoholic. We'd see him drive up the hill on one side of the road, put mail in the mailboxes, drive down our side of the road, put mail in the mailboxes, drive up the other side of the road again and take the mail out, throw it in the backseat, and put other mail in the box. We compared notes, once we discovered that the letters he was putting in the second time were a random handful from the mail bag. One time someone on our street got an empty beer bottle, a flyer from some store or other, and a copy of a magazine addressed to someone else.
Vermont, USA: Every personal letter going out made it to destination within three days. Every personal letter coming IN took at least three weeks. That was a few years ago, i hope it's better now. But you could also put cash in your mailbox and the letter carrier would leave you stamps. AND CHANGE, when your cash exceeded the amount of a multiple of stamp price. If you specified what stamps- 2 cents, 29 cents, whatever, they'd do their best to accommodate, or they'd take the cash, leave a receipt and a note stating what you needed and had paid for, and deliver it the next day. You could also take the note into the post office, where it could be redeemed. Brandon Vermont was a very honest town. (one time a gas attendent further north walked off his job, leaving the pumps on and the office closed. When the proprieter came by the next day -and i am not joking- there was money piled inside the door. $0.99 more than what was taken from the pumps. It made the news.)
Boston, MA. Not only do they randomly forward mail, I frequently get mail sent from inside Boston to an address here in Boston- with postmarks from towns far away, From western Mass., twice from other states. Does anybody remember the mailman from the movie, "Funny Farm"? There's a reason that the sterotype carries on...
Oh. In Britain, do you have volunteers to answer the Dear Santa letters?
"I'd say 'Have a good time,' but arson is still illegal.
Comment removed based on user account deletion
I like my "fragile biological form", and if I want to live on Mars one day, how dare you suggest you're going to rip it up. As a future citizen of Mars, I regard that as a declaration of war.
In all seriousness, I have to say I think that is one of the most idiotic ideas I've ever heard. Most people like living in a biosphere. As much as I enjoy the works of Iain Banks, Ken MacLeod and Alastair Reynolds, and one day the universe probably will include many different cultures with body-changing, identity-shifting citizens, shouldn't there also be a place in that future universe for those of us who want to live on the planet of our choosing, in ways not too dissimilar from how humans have lived since the dawn of time?
If you must, use the asteroids, there's plenty to share. At worst, use a planet with much less chance of being terraformed. But stay away from Mars.
Frankly, I think you're deluding yourself if you really think technology is advancing so fast that we'll be ripping up Mars before terraforming it. Kurzweil is a prat, and most of what he says is nothing more than wishful thinking.
Jesus fucking christ do they let any asswipe post to slashdot these days?
::trembling:: I VIOLATED THE DMCA!!!
I have half a mind to ram an anal plug into your nostrils for spouting that shit. What the fuck is wrong with legal uses for p2p?!!! DO YOU WANT TO GO TO ASS-RAPE PRISON?
I can just see it now:
Hey pretty little one, what are you in here fo'?
Um, well
Hahaha! Okay that's it, we're going to triple team you
And thus ends slashdot theatre. Goodnight folks!
Fuck Beta. Fuck Dice
Tell me, Mr. andersen , what good is source code if you are unable to comply with the GPL? ;)
Try EP bonehead. (EP=Eighth Post!)
At least this troll has a sense of humor :-)
Yeah, the DMCA really is a piece of shit isn't it...
Sorry about the whole "Username"/"Screen name" mixup. lol. And if you want to know what the KingArthur10 thing is, well, Arthur is my real name. I have used the AIM SN KingArthur10 since the 6th grade (7 years ago). On almost every one of the message boards I visit, I use the same name, so for the most part, if someone wanted to know how to reach me, it would be pretty darn easy to find me/contact me.
I came, I saw, She conquered.
I'll be honest, I hated that book by the time I finished it. It was well written, but I had serious problems with the plot and sudden re-appearance of characters. To explain further would give the ending of the book away, and I won't do that. I was so unhappy that I never read the rest of the series.
My 2 cents are now spent.
BTW, does anyone know how to actually retrieve the SHA1 sum from a
"I assumed blithely that there were no elves out there in the darkness"
But they replied that a bribe said otherwise. For the low-low price of a unix distributer's license plus $29.95, I can get my tip heard.
You can't judge a book by the way it wears its hair.