All pre-installed systems from brand name manufacturs does. Nope... Not all, by far, and it's even worse if you have to use restore/recovery disks. Heck, they aren't even giving out copies of MS-Office like they used to; you get that BS "2003 Trial" edition.
There is a huge difference between caring about people and trying to force your will on them, no matter how benevolent you think you're being.
...and then there are times where you might do both. Checking your kid into drug rehab would be a good example... Restrictive != malicious intent
And traditionally, resource starvation has been one of the most efficient ways of coercion, as any army laying siege can tell you.
That'd be an argument FOR, not against. It's why grounding and removing phone/TV privileges work for many parents. If my sons are slacking on their homework, they'll no longer have the same freedoms they did when their grades are good. This is reality-based, folks; if {later in life} you drive drunk and get caught, you'll lose your license and/or freedom.
Such enforcement might seem like it's nothing now because it's directed against kids and an unimportant resource;
Unimportant? Says who? That's the whole reason many are applauding what this guy did... As these kids are the ones we're handing the future off to, and as I'd MUCH rather not pass the torch to a bumbling idiot, I think this was a creative approach to an increasingly serious problem. Where he screwed the pooch was pulling this without running it by management.
...but even kids are human beings and shouldn't be subjected to arbitrary use of power by anyone who cares to do so.
This isn't an arguable point. However, AFAIA, there are no laws enumerating the right of children to own video games, and while I'm not lawyer-shaped, it'd seem to me that if a sale of anything constitutes a contract, you could simply refuse sales to minors based on the fact that they can't legally enter contracts on their own...
Besides, it's best to nip these things in the bud.
I agree, and is why I support this guy. Stupidity is a nasty epidemic that needs to be stamped out soon...
Your average user isn't going to know anything about the legal issues surrounding codecs on Linux. All they know is that on Windows and OSX their media files play fine right after installing the OS.
So you've not yet had a Windows user ask why their new DVD *won't* play in their PC and *will* play on their DVD player...?
That will happen when the corporations have better access to the political system than you do. Shame you can't do anything about it, at least on a practical level.
I have to play devil's advocate here...
1. Are you SURE there's nothing to be done?
2. Would you please define "practical", as used above?
3. Are you including illegal methodologies?
I'm not trying to quibble, but I've rarely found a situation SO dire that NOTHING could be done...
Personally, I'm in favor of a hardware device (think like an Atari cartridge), but there may be a better solution.
I've seen quite a few pricey packages use those security dongles, but they're also not 100%. I was tasked to find a replacement key once {they wanted a spare, go figure} and found this company, who maintain they can create a software solution for a hard dongle. I'm not sure if it's 100% legal; has anyone used a firm like this?
Courts have upheld the right to use company phones for occasional personal use. Recently, they have ruled simillary for the web or email (I can't remember which). Citations, please?
Don't forget cordless phones that operate in the 2.4GHz range, either. We had a client a few years back who would lose all connection whenever the phone rang...
They're all in their late 50s and early 60s now- getting ready to retire. We're going to need to replace them with people who have similar skill levels.
If nobody but Microsoft cares about or needs to use the backwards compatible tags, then why the hell would they bother to put it in a public standard?
Think Marketing...{2 drink minimum}...
Most marketing departments would have a field day if their products "became part of the standard", or even were "what the standard was based on"... For insanely-standards-focused organizations, it could even make it a shoe-in for the preferred buy. WE may be able to see past the hype, but some PHBs might not...
...although I am NOT surprised, after checking his wikipedia page, to find that his company was acquired by Novell, and he's STILL there as "Vice President of Developer Platform".
' In the same post he says that to avoid patent problems over Silverlight, when using or developing Mono's implementation (known as Moonlight), it's best to 'get/download Moonlight from Novell which will include patent coverage.'
I'll think about getting it from Novell....as soon as MS hands over the list of "patent violations". IMHO, this is just a try to make the "If it's Novell/MS, it's legal" line of shite more palatable.
If you're going to try to feed us a crap sandwich, do NOT tell us it's filet mignon.
Something to think about the next time your swimming naked in a lake or stream........It's not the 1st set of jaws that will get you.... it's the 2nd set....... The scary part? There might be people out there that'd appeal to...
It's a lot more complicated, and frankly insidious, than that.
I reread that, and even double-checked "insidious" at Merriam-Webster's site to make sure I wasn't missing an alternate meaning. M-W lists it as follows:
1 a : awaiting a chance to entrap : TREACHEROUS b : harmful but enticing : SEDUCTIVE {insidious drugs}
2 a : having a gradual and cumulative effect : SUBTLE {the insidious pressures of modern life} b of a disease : developing so gradually as to be well established before becoming apparent
Which of these definitions {if any} best demonstrate the qualities of a "Libertarian", by your reckoning, and why?
Oh, and if you need to know anything about blondes, beer or vikings, feel free to ask
OK! How many blondes/vikings/beers must one consume before using Vista sounds like a good idea?
Slashdot Mirror
...and then there are times where you might do both. Checking your kid into drug rehab would be a good example... Restrictive != malicious intent
And traditionally, resource starvation has been one of the most efficient ways of coercion, as any army laying siege can tell you.That'd be an argument FOR, not against. It's why grounding and removing phone/TV privileges work for many parents. If my sons are slacking on their homework, they'll no longer have the same freedoms they did when their grades are good. This is reality-based, folks; if {later in life} you drive drunk and get caught, you'll lose your license and/or freedom.
Such enforcement might seem like it's nothing now because it's directed against kids and an unimportant resource;Unimportant? Says who? That's the whole reason many are applauding what this guy did... As these kids are the ones we're handing the future off to, and as I'd MUCH rather not pass the torch to a bumbling idiot, I think this was a creative approach to an increasingly serious problem. Where he screwed the pooch was pulling this without running it by management.
...but even kids are human beings and shouldn't be subjected to arbitrary use of power by anyone who cares to do so.This isn't an arguable point. However, AFAIA, there are no laws enumerating the right of children to own video games, and while I'm not lawyer-shaped, it'd seem to me that if a sale of anything constitutes a contract, you could simply refuse sales to minors based on the fact that they can't legally enter contracts on their own...
Besides, it's best to nip these things in the bud.I agree, and is why I support this guy. Stupidity is a nasty epidemic that needs to be stamped out soon...
...and no, I'm not new here, why?
Too late! DARPA already has a project for a "self-healing" minefield based on a very similar approach.
So you've not yet had a Windows user ask why their new DVD *won't* play in their PC and *will* play on their DVD player...?
Lucky you. :P We get about one a month.
I have to play devil's advocate here...
1. Are you SURE there's nothing to be done?
2. Would you please define "practical", as used above?
3. Are you including illegal methodologies?
I'm not trying to quibble, but I've rarely found a situation SO dire that NOTHING could be done...
I've seen quite a few pricey packages use those security dongles, but they're also not 100%. I was tasked to find a replacement key once {they wanted a spare, go figure} and found this company, who maintain they can create a software solution for a hard dongle. I'm not sure if it's 100% legal; has anyone used a firm like this?
Don't forget cordless phones that operate in the 2.4GHz range, either. We had a client a few years back who would lose all connection whenever the phone rang...
They HAVE been replacing them....
...just not with US workers...
Think Marketing...{2 drink minimum}...
Most marketing departments would have a field day if their products "became part of the standard", or even were "what the standard was based on"... For insanely-standards-focused organizations, it could even make it a shoe-in for the preferred buy. WE may be able to see past the hype, but some PHBs might not...
Just for a hoot, I looked around, and found this link out there. I have NO idea if this guy's on the level and/or sane, but he's fairly convinced...
...although I am NOT surprised, after checking his wikipedia page, to find that his company was acquired by Novell, and he's STILL there as "Vice President of Developer Platform".
Shill hunt over. The foo shits.
I'll think about getting it from Novell....as soon as MS hands over the list of "patent violations". IMHO, this is just a try to make the "If it's Novell/MS, it's legal" line of shite more palatable.
If you're going to try to feed us a crap sandwich, do NOT tell us it's filet mignon.
...and having set it and used it, I know the difference between the Zap2it XMLTV listing project and their TV site with listings...
Please...
I'm like that with ANYone who can't figure which country they're in... So, is it the US or is it Canada?
Name even two whose terms of service allow schedule scraping...
Might want to check their wiki next time; the North American grabber USED Zap2it.
Actually, as I've met some really ignorant 12-year-olds, I'd have to lean more toward the good ol'-fashioned OR, IMHO.
Does the job. Still fits on a floppy easily.... found here!
Is it that the smell is more noxious, or that new technology makes it easier to dig deeper for muck?
Personally, I'm at around 50/50... A general ethical decline in the US, coupled with technology bringing the misery to us instantly, live...
Actually, I believe the answer is instead eleventy-two...
...only if you believe in such...
I reread that, and even double-checked "insidious" at Merriam-Webster's site to make sure I wasn't missing an alternate meaning. M-W lists it as follows:
1 a : awaiting a chance to entrap : TREACHEROUS b : harmful but enticing : SEDUCTIVE {insidious drugs}
2 a : having a gradual and cumulative effect : SUBTLE {the insidious pressures of modern life}
b of a disease : developing so gradually as to be well established before becoming apparent
Which of these definitions {if any} best demonstrate the qualities of a "Libertarian", by your reckoning, and why?
OK! How many blondes/vikings/beers must one consume before using Vista sounds like a good idea?
{just could NOT resist, folks...}