Slashback: OSS, Lawsuits, History

Slashback tonight brings some corrections, clarifications, and updates to previous Slashdot stories, including Record Label civil war, more big-business software getting tossed into open source, US Government says 2008 IPv6 still on track, EU Warned Microsoft source code not enough, RIM celebrates a victory in Germany, 10th planet a reality, and looking forward to the year 2001 -- Read on for details.

Record Label Supports Accused File-Sharer. arabagast writes "The Nettwerk Music Group has said it will pay for the defense of David Greubel. Greubel is the defendant in a complaint filed by the RIAA in a U.S. District Court in Fort Worth, Texas accusing him of having 600 illegally downloaded music files on his home computer."

Qluster's OpenQRM goes OSS. Decibel writes "While Microsoft, Oracle and now IBM have made news by releasing free versions of their databases, other companies have gone one better and released versions of their products as OSS. Qlusters is one example, in that they just released OpenQRM. The CTO's previous company (Symbiot) also made a similar play, releasing OpenSIMS. Could this be the start of a change to where commercial software starts melding more and more into OSS?"

US Government says 2008 IPv6 still on track. DrkShadow writes to tell us that the Government is holding fast to their 2008 IPv6 switch commitment. From the article: "The White House Office of Management and Budget said it would issue a policy memorandum dictating full federal 'IPv6' compliance in an effort to spur its deployment throughout government agencies."

EU Warned Microsoft source code not enough. Joe Barr writes "According to WindowsITPro, the Wall Street Journal has obtained a copy of a confidential memo sent from the EU to Microsoft last month which warned Microsoft that an offer of the source code would not be enough to satisfy the EU's requirements for interoperability. Open source advocates have blasted the offer because it lacks the knowledge required to interoperate with Windows behind its IP licensing, thus making it unusable."

RIM celebrates a victory in Germany. PDG writes "Looks like not everything is going bad for RIM as they have recently won another patent based lawsuit, but this time in Germany. At least they don't have all their legal eggs in one basket."

10th planet a reality. smooth wombat writes "After measuring twice and cutting once, a team of German astrophysicists at the University of Bonn led by Frank Bertoldi have concluded that the object located beyond the orbit of Pluto and named 2003 UB313, is 435 miles larger in diameter than Pluto. As a result, there will be increasing pressure on the IAU (International Astronomical Union) to classify this object as the 10th planet. From the article: '"It is now increasingly hard to justify calling Pluto a planet if UB313 is not also given this status," Bertoldi said.'"

Looking forward to the year 2001. ChristianNerds writes "Atari Magazine is serving up an article written in 1989 concerning what the next century would be like. From the article: 'A typical morning in the year 2001: You wake up, scan the custom newspaper that's spilling from your fax, walk into the living room. There you speak to a giant screen on the wall, part of which instantly becomes a high-quality TV monitor. When you leave for work, you carry a smart wallet, a computer the size of a credit card. When you come home, you slip on special eyeglasses and stroll through a completely artificial world.' They got a great deal right, like the spread of optical disk usage, the internet (ISDN), and parallel processing."

Comments

10th planet

[brian0918]

It seems like the IAU could pin down a definition of what a "planet" is by setting some cutoff based on the object's gravitational effect on the Sun, which fall off as 1/r^2, so that even though the object is slightly larger than Pluto, it is so much farther away from the Sun than Pluto that its gravitational influence is below some arbitrary cutoff.

Re:10th planet

[Anonymous Coward]

Don't worry, this would probably only affect your balls if they were farthe away than Pluto. If that's the case, then you have greater things to worry about than if they're listed as planets.

Re:10th planet

[brian0918]

"Don't worry, this would probably only affect your balls if they were farthe away than Pluto. If that's the case, then you have greater things to worry about than if they're listed as planets."

I can see the book now... "Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus, Women have sent Men's Balls into a Trans-Neptunian Orbit"

Re:10th planet

[CharlesDonHall]

I think we should just decide based on the name.

If the Romans named one of their Gods after it (e.g. Pluto), then it's a planet. If it's named after a person (Hale-Bopp) then it's a comet. If the name is just some random string of letters (UB313) then it's an asteroid.

(Note: Under this system, the asteroids Juno, Pallas, Vesta, etc. would be reclassified as planets.)

Re:10th planet

[cpt kangarooski]

Classification isn't always so easy, because, you see, the object itself keeps insisting that it, as it is, is the only reality, not its classification.

Well that's why we need the space program: so that someday we can get out there and move, alter, and demolish various bodies until the Solar System conforms to what we think it ought to be.

Re:10th planet

[jschrod]

Now you just have to answer the question if Xena (the originally proposed name) is a goddess, a person, or a random string of letters... There are arguments for each of them. :-)

Yes, where IS my flying car?

[ursabear]

I was promised a flying car, dangit!

It is a good thing, however that not all predictions come true.

Looking forward to the Year 2000 slashback

[WillAffleckUW]

I notice that they talk about how we'll all be using ISDN.

Maybe I should turn off the Gigapop Internet we use at the UW, huh?

Wait just a minute

[SeanTobin]

From TFA:

McBride, however, disagreed, saying litigation doesn't benefit artists.

"Litigation is not 'artist development,'" McBride said. "Litigation is a deterrent to creativity and passion and it is hurting the business I love. The current actions of the RIAA are not in my artists' best interests."

So now I'm supposed to cheer for someone named McBride?

Re:"US Government says 2008 IPv6 still on track."

[Anonymous Coward]

Sweet in 2008 I'll be able to play duke nukem forever on my phantom console using IPv6

OK, had to be said

[real gumby]

1989 is calling. They want their 2001 back.

Re:from the cnn article on pluto's successor

[Lithgon]

435 miles larger in uselessness.

Re:2001: A web oddysey

[mrchaotica]

Not mutinous; just stupid. Come to think of it, that would make a great tagline:

"Google Search: Like an army of elves -- just really, really stupid ones."

Re:2001: A web oddysey

[AoT]

That's Gnu/Gnomes to you!

I don't believe it!

[saskboy]

I can't understand how Atari missed predicting Duke Nukem Forever!

And they said nothing about a 10th planet being on the faxed paper too.