The thing is, claiming that the GPL is invalid and all works under it are in the public domain is the only way SCO can come out of this alive. They backed themselves into a corner without looking where they were going, and this is now their only route or escape. (Or maybe the planned to make this argument all along, but I can't believe anyone would be that stupid.)
They've been distributing the Linux kernel with their IP in it under the GPL for years. They kept doing so once the lawsuit was announced, even after they were informed that they were in violation of the GPL. If the GPL's valid, they're up the creek without a paddle.
On the other hand, if the GPL's not valid, copyright law defaults. Which means they have no right to copy, distribute, or modify the code in question. Given their continued distribution of Linux, this makes them guilty of several hundred counts of copyright infringement. They do not own the entire thing by default just because some of their IP happens to have wound up in there. So they're also screwed in this situation.
The only way they can survive and justify their position is if the Linux code they don't claim ownership of is public domain. As then not only can they distribute it, but they can charge for their IP. (Whatever that may be - they still aren't even clear on exactly what kind of IP is being infringed)
What I find really interesting is that the only thing in common on that slide is the comment. (Which, as others have pointed out, seems to come from really, really early Unix) The SCO side not only has no code at all, but has a comment that is absent from the Linux side and seems to imply that the SCO code was changed.
Actually, very few American or Japanese companies have a problem with fansubbers. (Carl Macek, of Harmony Gold, is the only one I can think off of the top of my head) Fansubbers are very nearly their best friends. These are people willing to do the work of obtaining high-quality copies of episodes, translating and subbing them, and distributing them to fans for free. This gives the commercial importers/translators a great chance to judge how popular a series is before dropping loads of money on it. (Though some ignore this opportunity, such as the guys who funded the Ninja Scroll TV, and wind up with flops on their hands. Huh. Big surprise) As long as the fansubbers stop distributing once the show's acquired for US distribution, the commercial companies generally have no problem with it. And there's enough fans out there that respect this (such as the guy that runs animesuki) that the system works.
The real problem is that, if the GPL is not invalid, SCO is in some serious legal problems. Because not only did they distribute their code under the GPL unknowingly, but they continued to do so after they were informed of the fact. And they still continue to do so, because otherwise they'd loose what few customers they have left. (The distribution in question is them providing Linux binaries, patches, and possibly source from their FTP site) If the GPL's valid, they have no right to do this unless they license the code/IP in question under the GPL, which makes their case (and stock price) collapse.
Unfortunately, they're equally screwed if the GPL is invalid. Just because Linux was "infected" with "confidential information" doesn't give them ownership over all the other IP in there. And if the GPL's invalid, that falls back to the default of US copyright law. Which means that SCO has no right to distribute it or modify it. So if it is invalid, they're equally screwed.
That's why they're now (IIRC) trying to not only claim that its invalid, but that anything formerly under the GPL is now public domain. Why? Because this is Chewbacca. No, wait, that's wrong. Because the author allowed unlimited copies.
Well... Yeah. As a group, we do tend to have a weekness for cool toys. Especially cool toys with penguins on them.;)
But a lot of those things are fairly good arguments against "globalization". They're for niche markets and are already fairly expensive to make, so having them produced by a guy who's being paid a decent wage instead of prison labour isn't going to add much to the unit price. Maybe $10-15 max, not nearly enough to affect buying decisions at that price. Heck, having more households in the economy with more cash to spend might drive the price of those goods down.
In the push for globalization, businesses seem to have forgotten about the "households" side of the economic equation. Oops.
Welcome to the flip side of the globalization that brings you cheap and plentiful consumer goods.
Uh-huh. Do you see many of us asking for that? Hell, no. A sizable percentage of Slashdot is rabidly anticonsumerist. And if you remember the comments posted during the anti-globalism rallies during the WTO conference in Seattle a few years back, those were also generally anti"globalist". (Globalist in quotes because what we're seeing is a small upper class looting economies, not real global development)
In any case, I think you're confusing the concept of " bastard Indians stole my job" with "motherfscking greedy employers decided to screw working Americans in order to add a few pennies to the bottom line". Why attack the pawns when the king is in plain view?
On this, we agree. Don't blame the Indians - they'll be in the same place you are in ten years time or worse. (When the companies currently employing them move on to some other third-world country that they've convinced to improve its "high-tech sector") Go after the bastards driving the looting to line their pockets.
Higher ad rates? Yeah, right. Despite the ratings, Futurama and Family Guy were too "edgy", so they scared away advertisers despite their popularity. But the same popularity ment Fox couldn't just dump them without the public raising a stink. So it played the normal schedule game a network does when it has a show that's popular with viewers but not the "real customers" (advertisers) until the ratings finally dipped low enough that they could be dumped.
And a simple demonstration of just how insecure the machines are. (And the winner is... Dr. Security Researcher, of John Hopkins university, by three million write-in votes. Hey....!) Of course, the problem there is that they could then immediately be slapped down with the DMCA AND nailed by the Republicrats for election fraud. Do not underestimate the fury of a company that sees millions of dollars of free money from government contracts slipping from their grasp or a political party that sees its nice one-party system threatened.
Of course, it'd be really nice to see these machines scrapped and the makers sued into bankruptcy for fraud. But in today's corporatist America, that's not gonna happen.
I refer you to one of the latest episodes of Futurama, the one with the execubots. Family Guy fell victim to Execubot Beta (the dice-roller), while Futurama got nailed Execubots Gamma (programmed to underestimate middle America) and Alpha. (programmed to like things it has seen before)
Seriously, justifying things through ratings is a cop-out. Both shows are great, but the ratings system is set up to punish anything that's not ruthlessly mass-market. (Or rather, what the networks WANT to be mass-market this season) Simpsons came out of nowhere and hit them between the eyes in the early '90s, and they don't want to risk that happening again... But they also don't want to be seen as not sponsoring anything new. So you get kamikaze shows, like Family Guy or Futurama.
I only found it because I remembered reading about it a few years back. The fact that he'd gotten busted because of the PTA member for refusing to give her a discount sort of stuck in my head.
Ah, here we go. Found the original story on the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund site. Not sure if this is the same owner or not - the owner doesn't get named in that story.
Actually, if I remember the case correctly, this one started because he refused to give a member of the town council a discount on Pokemon cards for her son. (Or sell her a specific card, I forget which) She then set the police on him, who decided that the material was obscene not because of the content, but because the content was in a comic book. (Which are, of course, just for children)
Of course, I could be remembering a different case. But there was one in Texas a few years back involving these circumstances.
I don't think its going to work. I mean, we didn't run out of bad Microsoft jokes until well after the trial, and those had been going since the early '90s! SCO's even worse than Microsoft in that respect. Expect SCO jokes to be going strong for at least five years after the trial, assuming there ever is one.
And because it comes standard (supporting up to 16 desktops, it appears) you can trivially define key bindings to switch between them any way you want. By number (direct or cycle through), geometrically (above/left/right/below), and maybe a couple of others I never use. You can also trivially define keybindings to move windows between desktops.
And yes, there have been times when being able to expand to more than 4 desktops are handy.
Note that this also might depend on what WM you're using. IIRC, WindowMaker works well with KDe, and it supports (nigh-)infinite virtual desktops, which can be created as necssary.
Turnaround time is important. Turnaround time on Linux holes is usually much less than Microsoft holes, the holes are generally less dangerous, and the fixes get deployed faster. Also, has it ever occurred to you that maybe more holes get found and fixed in Linux because they're actively interested in improving their existing software, while Microsoft just wants to sell the next version, with NEW IMPROVED security?
Duh. Pirates who sell their work are no threat to the MPAA - they, after all, have to make a profit. The MPAA's never gone after them. What they're scared of is people getting the idea that (a) culture or entertainment should be free, or at least cheap and (b) there are sources of entertainment and culture other than the MPAA. (Which IS what file sharing will eventually lead to)
I seem to recall that RMS basically says this in one of his philosophy essays - that the purpose of copyleft is to use copyright law (which prevents sharing of information and knowledge) against itself. Without copyright, there is no need for copyleft, because there is no legal backing behind attempts to keep knowledge secret.
Not only that, but they give out vouchers. Which, if I understand correctly, can only be used to... Purchase more Microsoft products. (And are a miniscule fraction of the purchase price) Which makes the problem they were suing over worse - Microsoft has more leverage for its illegal bullying than before.
Eliminating the GPL is a good thing. Its stated purpose is (or was) to undermine unjust and immoral copyright laws. If copyright laws are changed to be more open and facilitate sharing, a lot of the justification that made the GPL necessary disappears.
Actually, "Trade Secrets" have no formal legal status. The only way they're protected is if someone breaches a contract that says they can't reveal them. The concept that they were protected got started with the DeCSS case, where the MPAA claimed that DeCSS was illegal because CSS had "trade secret" protections, and so could not be legally re-implemented.
The only people its not broke for are the I.P. lawyers and for them its a license to extort money.
Especially since its practically impossible now to be an artist or innovator of any sort and not infringe on someone's "IP". Whether its copyrights for things 70 years old that no-one's heard for decades or patents that cover everything under the sun, there's very little that someone doesn't have exclusive "rights" to.
Do you think a union really would've helped, other than accelerating the process? This was already starting, with the widespread H1B visa-slavery and systematic purging of experienced workers, during the early days of the dot-bomb boom.
Slashdot Mirror
The thing is, claiming that the GPL is invalid and all works under it are in the public domain is the only way SCO can come out of this alive. They backed themselves into a corner without looking where they were going, and this is now their only route or escape. (Or maybe the planned to make this argument all along, but I can't believe anyone would be that stupid.)
They've been distributing the Linux kernel with their IP in it under the GPL for years. They kept doing so once the lawsuit was announced, even after they were informed that they were in violation of the GPL. If the GPL's valid, they're up the creek without a paddle.
On the other hand, if the GPL's not valid, copyright law defaults. Which means they have no right to copy, distribute, or modify the code in question. Given their continued distribution of Linux, this makes them guilty of several hundred counts of copyright infringement. They do not own the entire thing by default just because some of their IP happens to have wound up in there. So they're also screwed in this situation.
The only way they can survive and justify their position is if the Linux code they don't claim ownership of is public domain. As then not only can they distribute it, but they can charge for their IP. (Whatever that may be - they still aren't even clear on exactly what kind of IP is being infringed)
Dunno, but this one's pretty simple. One right parenthesis was moved from the end of the line to right after the return.
Looks like someone made a mistake cutting and pasting to powerpoint.
What I find really interesting is that the only thing in common on that slide is the comment. (Which, as others have pointed out, seems to come from really, really early Unix) The SCO side not only has no code at all, but has a comment that is absent from the Linux side and seems to imply that the SCO code was changed.
Just more evidence that SCO is blowing smoke.
Actually, very few American or Japanese companies have a problem with fansubbers. (Carl Macek, of Harmony Gold, is the only one I can think off of the top of my head) Fansubbers are very nearly their best friends. These are people willing to do the work of obtaining high-quality copies of episodes, translating and subbing them, and distributing them to fans for free. This gives the commercial importers/translators a great chance to judge how popular a series is before dropping loads of money on it. (Though some ignore this opportunity, such as the guys who funded the Ninja Scroll TV, and wind up with flops on their hands. Huh. Big surprise) As long as the fansubbers stop distributing once the show's acquired for US distribution, the commercial companies generally have no problem with it. And there's enough fans out there that respect this (such as the guy that runs animesuki) that the system works.
The real problem is that, if the GPL is not invalid, SCO is in some serious legal problems. Because not only did they distribute their code under the GPL unknowingly, but they continued to do so after they were informed of the fact. And they still continue to do so, because otherwise they'd loose what few customers they have left. (The distribution in question is them providing Linux binaries, patches, and possibly source from their FTP site) If the GPL's valid, they have no right to do this unless they license the code/IP in question under the GPL, which makes their case (and stock price) collapse.
Unfortunately, they're equally screwed if the GPL is invalid. Just because Linux was "infected" with "confidential information" doesn't give them ownership over all the other IP in there. And if the GPL's invalid, that falls back to the default of US copyright law. Which means that SCO has no right to distribute it or modify it. So if it is invalid, they're equally screwed.
That's why they're now (IIRC) trying to not only claim that its invalid, but that anything formerly under the GPL is now public domain. Why? Because this is Chewbacca. No, wait, that's wrong. Because the author allowed unlimited copies.
Yeah, everyone else is just as puzzled.
Actually, what's next is the Lawbot 0.92. Beta version. With new, improved subpoena launcher.
Well... Yeah. As a group, we do tend to have a weekness for cool toys. Especially cool toys with penguins on them. ;)
But a lot of those things are fairly good arguments against "globalization". They're for niche markets and are already fairly expensive to make, so having them produced by a guy who's being paid a decent wage instead of prison labour isn't going to add much to the unit price. Maybe $10-15 max, not nearly enough to affect buying decisions at that price. Heck, having more households in the economy with more cash to spend might drive the price of those goods down.
In the push for globalization, businesses seem to have forgotten about the "households" side of the economic equation. Oops.
Welcome to the flip side of the globalization that brings you cheap and plentiful consumer goods.
Uh-huh. Do you see many of us asking for that? Hell, no. A sizable percentage of Slashdot is rabidly anticonsumerist. And if you remember the comments posted during the anti-globalism rallies during the WTO conference in Seattle a few years back, those were also generally anti"globalist". (Globalist in quotes because what we're seeing is a small upper class looting economies, not real global development)
In any case, I think you're confusing the concept of " bastard Indians stole my job" with "motherfscking greedy employers decided to screw working Americans in order to add a few pennies to the bottom line". Why attack the pawns when the king is in plain view?
On this, we agree. Don't blame the Indians - they'll be in the same place you are in ten years time or worse. (When the companies currently employing them move on to some other third-world country that they've convinced to improve its "high-tech sector") Go after the bastards driving the looting to line their pockets.
Higher ad rates? Yeah, right. Despite the ratings, Futurama and Family Guy were too "edgy", so they scared away advertisers despite their popularity. But the same popularity ment Fox couldn't just dump them without the public raising a stink. So it played the normal schedule game a network does when it has a show that's popular with viewers but not the "real customers" (advertisers) until the ratings finally dipped low enough that they could be dumped.
And a simple demonstration of just how insecure the machines are. (And the winner is... Dr. Security Researcher, of John Hopkins university, by three million write-in votes. Hey....!) Of course, the problem there is that they could then immediately be slapped down with the DMCA AND nailed by the Republicrats for election fraud. Do not underestimate the fury of a company that sees millions of dollars of free money from government contracts slipping from their grasp or a political party that sees its nice one-party system threatened.
Of course, it'd be really nice to see these machines scrapped and the makers sued into bankruptcy for fraud. But in today's corporatist America, that's not gonna happen.
I refer you to one of the latest episodes of Futurama, the one with the execubots. Family Guy fell victim to Execubot Beta (the dice-roller), while Futurama got nailed Execubots Gamma (programmed to underestimate middle America) and Alpha. (programmed to like things it has seen before)
Seriously, justifying things through ratings is a cop-out. Both shows are great, but the ratings system is set up to punish anything that's not ruthlessly mass-market. (Or rather, what the networks WANT to be mass-market this season) Simpsons came out of nowhere and hit them between the eyes in the early '90s, and they don't want to risk that happening again... But they also don't want to be seen as not sponsoring anything new. So you get kamikaze shows, like Family Guy or Futurama.
I only found it because I remembered reading about it a few years back. The fact that he'd gotten busted because of the PTA member for refusing to give her a discount sort of stuck in my head.
Let's see... What games made Nintendo famous?
Mario, Metroid, Zelda, Castlevania, and Mega Man. Two of those a third-party, but they're not from Rare. Three are in-house developments.
Ah, here we go. Found the original story on the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund site. Not sure if this is the same owner or not - the owner doesn't get named in that story.
Actually, if I remember the case correctly, this one started because he refused to give a member of the town council a discount on Pokemon cards for her son. (Or sell her a specific card, I forget which) She then set the police on him, who decided that the material was obscene not because of the content, but because the content was in a comic book. (Which are, of course, just for children)
Of course, I could be remembering a different case. But there was one in Texas a few years back involving these circumstances.
I don't think its going to work. I mean, we didn't run out of bad Microsoft jokes until well after the trial, and those had been going since the early '90s! SCO's even worse than Microsoft in that respect. Expect SCO jokes to be going strong for at least five years after the trial, assuming there ever is one.
And because it comes standard (supporting up to 16 desktops, it appears) you can trivially define key bindings to switch between them any way you want. By number (direct or cycle through), geometrically (above/left/right/below), and maybe a couple of others I never use. You can also trivially define keybindings to move windows between desktops.
And yes, there have been times when being able to expand to more than 4 desktops are handy.
Note that this also might depend on what WM you're using. IIRC, WindowMaker works well with KDe, and it supports (nigh-)infinite virtual desktops, which can be created as necssary.
I know, IHBT.
Turnaround time is important. Turnaround time on Linux holes is usually much less than Microsoft holes, the holes are generally less dangerous, and the fixes get deployed faster. Also, has it ever occurred to you that maybe more holes get found and fixed in Linux because they're actively interested in improving their existing software, while Microsoft just wants to sell the next version, with NEW IMPROVED security?
Duh. Pirates who sell their work are no threat to the MPAA - they, after all, have to make a profit. The MPAA's never gone after them. What they're scared of is people getting the idea that (a) culture or entertainment should be free, or at least cheap and (b) there are sources of entertainment and culture other than the MPAA. (Which IS what file sharing will eventually lead to)
I seem to recall that RMS basically says this in one of his philosophy essays - that the purpose of copyleft is to use copyright law (which prevents sharing of information and knowledge) against itself. Without copyright, there is no need for copyleft, because there is no legal backing behind attempts to keep knowledge secret.
Not only that, but they give out vouchers. Which, if I understand correctly, can only be used to... Purchase more Microsoft products. (And are a miniscule fraction of the purchase price) Which makes the problem they were suing over worse - Microsoft has more leverage for its illegal bullying than before.
Gotta love the justice system!
Eliminating the GPL is a good thing. Its stated purpose is (or was) to undermine unjust and immoral copyright laws. If copyright laws are changed to be more open and facilitate sharing, a lot of the justification that made the GPL necessary disappears.
Trade Secret
Actually, "Trade Secrets" have no formal legal status. The only way they're protected is if someone breaches a contract that says they can't reveal them. The concept that they were protected got started with the DeCSS case, where the MPAA claimed that DeCSS was illegal because CSS had "trade secret" protections, and so could not be legally re-implemented.
The only people its not broke for are the I.P. lawyers and for them its a license to extort money.
Especially since its practically impossible now to be an artist or innovator of any sort and not infringe on someone's "IP". Whether its copyrights for things 70 years old that no-one's heard for decades or patents that cover everything under the sun, there's very little that someone doesn't have exclusive "rights" to.
Modern "IP" law is immoral.
Do you think a union really would've helped, other than accelerating the process? This was already starting, with the widespread H1B visa-slavery and systematic purging of experienced workers, during the early days of the dot-bomb boom.