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MS Calls On Kids to Stop Thought Thieves
theodp writes "Microsoft is calling all UK kids aged 14-17 to enter its Thought Thieves Competition. Remember kids, finalists must agree to formally license all intellectual property rights in their film on terms acceptable to Microsoft. And don't forget to download your free Thought Thieves Poster!"
No it's not the hitler youth, it's the Thought Police Youth.
Just took 20 years longer than 1984.
Actually there's an 18 and older category as well.
Hehehe yea, ask Stack how they feel about MS's thought theft :) (for those of you who don't remember, stack they made a HD compression program which MS ripped off 100%, drove them out of business, and then eventually lost a lawsuit to). Im sure someone else could mention at least 100 other companies they've done that to.
Religion is a gateway psychosis. -- Dave Foley
I have a feeling it's not
Um... Do a google search. Name a newspaper or a news site - from drudge and slashdot to msnbc and indymedia and usatoday, they've all reported it this year. Not sure how you could have possibly missed that?
- students-press_x.htm
http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2005-01-30
One in three U.S. high school students say the press ought to be more restricted, and even more say the government should approve newspaper stories before readers see them, according to a survey being released today.
The survey of 112,003 students finds that 36% believe newspapers should get "government approval" of stories before publishing; 51% say they should be able to publish freely; 13% have no opinion.
Asked whether the press enjoys "too much freedom," not enough or about the right amount, 32% say "too much," and 37% say it has the right amount. Ten percent say it has too little.
The survey of First Amendment rights was commissioned by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and conducted last spring by the University of Connecticut. It also questioned 327 principals and 7,889 teachers.
Google for that quote... true or not, there is a fairly widespread allegation that it was sarcastic, used in a letter to a bitter rival.
It's funny you should mention Newton's statement as being positive. I'm currently reading "Science: A History 1534-2001" by John Gribbin which suggests that his comment was in fact a barely disguised personal attack. It written in a letter to a scientific competitor, Robert Hooke, who had complained, correctly, that Newton was not giving him proper credit for his discoveries. Newton's response that he had seen further by "standing on the shoulders of Giants" was intended to rule out Hooke, who was famously short and hunchbacked. This is not 100% accepted history but it does seem to fit in with Newton's general demenour and behaviour.
Apparently other people said it before Newton if you want to quote someone who actually meant it.
Apple paid to be "inspired" by the xerox GUI
You know, I intended this to be read in the context of what Bill was saying about Microsoft rather than what he was saying about Apple. 'stole the TV' is a pretty strong metaphor for thought theft.
Bill Gates is pretty much admitting to 'Thought Theft' there: Microsoft wouldn't even have their flagship product line if they hadn't taken the idea of the GUI from Xerox and Apple.
I guess these days, Microsoft is Xerox, and some darn kids are nicking their TV now.