Despite all the manufacturing jobs leaving the country, there are still millions of jobs that don't require anything more than basic math and reading, combined with on-the-job training of skills you wouldn't learn in any HS. You've neglected to mention that all of those jobs pay below the poverty line. People get involved in crime when crime pays better than hawking Squishies at the Kwik-E-Mart. The people who do choose those kinds of jobs usually have to take two or three to make ends meet.
I work in a law firm, and one of the things we do here is risk management for corporations of various sizes. If I were to advise this company on how to manage a risk like that, I would say that they should get a reasonable system in place that honours the GPL, and teach their employees to use that system. it's a due diligence defence, and it's an absolute defence, most of the time. It also has the advantage of being cheaper, in the long run, in most cases.
It may be realistic to assume that companies are going to "prioritize" the way you claim, but it's not good management.
I did get that you're not a GPL abusing bastard.
...that you will get a LOT further in the business world by writing respectfully than writing in SMS shorthand. In my past life I worked as a salesman for a Major Electronics Retailer (well, major in Canada, anyway), and the running joke was that you couldn't advance to the Corporate management level unless you had shitty spelling and horrible grammar skills. My experiences in a law office are similar. The clerks all have impeccable spelling and grammar skills and the lawyers can't spell for shit.
Well, there are two possibilities: 1. They know they're violating the GPL and just want him to get lost In a civil law suit this would probably open them up to aggravated or punitive damages.
2. They don't know what the GPL is, that they're using GPL'd products, that they don't read the GPL right, they don't understand who he is, why it's any of his business, why he thinks he's got any right to their products source code and so on. Ignorance is no excuse; the GPL isn't so hard to read that a reasonable person couldn't either 1) figure it out or 2) know that they'd better get some legal advice. The hacker in the basement who borrows some code for his pet project might maybe get away with this, but any outfit bigger than a mom-n-pop outfit should know better.
No, they do not. They can withdraw the product, pay any fines but they will never have to provide any source unless they want to. Personally I wish they'd take a more RIAA-ish approach, have each author sue for 150,000$ each. That should stop GPL violations really really quick. Agreed on all points.
The issue should have been resolved before it became an issue: the company should have had a policy in place to distribute the appropriate source code on demand.
So basically what you're saying is that it's reasonable (though not necessarily right) for a corporation or its representative to break a license, as long as they don't get called out on it.
Sorry, that's just not okay, and may not even make much financial sense, because when the company is eventually sued by the owner of the license, each kid the company snubbed represents one count of license violation.
You can bet if I represented the owner of the license, I'd be finding as many people as I could, to push that damage award up.
given yesterday's article on the Denon RJ-45 ethernet cable, I'm not sure if you're serious or joking...I wonder if I could start selling old VCRs for $4000+ to videophiles...
1) you still have a VCR? Unless you collect obsolete media players, you fail at geekdom.
2) you don't set your VCR's time properly? Okay, you can turn in your geek card now, I've yet to meet a geek who can bear the blinking damnation of eternal midnight, even if it's someone else's VCR.
Hmmm, I don't think "trying his case on the internet" is as bad as it seems in this case. Given the tactics being used by the other side, and given that the RIAA is trying to get new case law favourable to their position that will affect everybody, bypassing the legislative branch in the process, it's good strategy to shine a big bright light on these cases, so people at least know what's going on.
Also, he pushes the news to us because we're Slashdot and we're interested, and because we can give him insights with regard to the technological issues that he couldn't get anywhere else. It's not like he's pushing updates to the New York Times or ABC news (at least, I don't think he is...).
I can't tell for sure, but there is some indication, if you follow the links back, that NYCL, you know, Ray Beckerman, is Counsel for the Defendants, and as such would of course have standing to address both judges. And if I'm wrong, well see my sibling post re: Amicus Curiae briefs.
Clearly you lack understanding of the government that is currently in power in Ottawa. Harper and his ilk are cut from the same cloth as the Bush Whitehouse, and its not surprising at all that we we got stuck with our own DMCA clone. Painful, sad, frustrating, but not surprising.
Wish I could post graphics here, I'm sure you've seen the "campaign poster" that says "Cthulu 2008: why vote for a lesser evil?" But others may not have.
And calling the Boy Scouts homophobic is hate speech. Strictly speaking, advocating the mis-treatment or abuse (or worse) of Boy Scouts of America because the members are homophobic is hate speech. Calling them homophobic is not hate speech, whether it's correct or not.
The government, for example, provides funding to churches... WTF? Doesn't the USA have church/state separation? Other than their traditional tax-exempt status (an argument for another time) since when are churches entitled to state money?
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I see what you did there....
It may be realistic to assume that companies are going to "prioritize" the way you claim, but it's not good management.
I did get that you're not a GPL abusing bastard.
...that you will get a LOT further in the business world by writing respectfully than writing in SMS shorthand. In my past life I worked as a salesman for a Major Electronics Retailer (well, major in Canada, anyway), and the running joke was that you couldn't advance to the Corporate management level unless you had shitty spelling and horrible grammar skills. My experiences in a law office are similar. The clerks all have impeccable spelling and grammar skills and the lawyers can't spell for shit.Because I obviously can't use my mod points...
I lol'd.
1. They know they're violating the GPL and just want him to get lost In a civil law suit this would probably open them up to aggravated or punitive damages. 2. They don't know what the GPL is, that they're using GPL'd products, that they don't read the GPL right, they don't understand who he is, why it's any of his business, why he thinks he's got any right to their products source code and so on. Ignorance is no excuse; the GPL isn't so hard to read that a reasonable person couldn't either 1) figure it out or 2) know that they'd better get some legal advice. The hacker in the basement who borrows some code for his pet project might maybe get away with this, but any outfit bigger than a mom-n-pop outfit should know better. No, they do not. They can withdraw the product, pay any fines but they will never have to provide any source unless they want to. Personally I wish they'd take a more RIAA-ish approach, have each author sue for 150,000$ each. That should stop GPL violations really really quick. Agreed on all points.
The issue should have been resolved before it became an issue: the company should have had a policy in place to distribute the appropriate source code on demand.
So basically what you're saying is that it's reasonable (though not necessarily right) for a corporation or its representative to break a license, as long as they don't get called out on it.
Sorry, that's just not okay, and may not even make much financial sense, because when the company is eventually sued by the owner of the license, each kid the company snubbed represents one count of license violation.
You can bet if I represented the owner of the license, I'd be finding as many people as I could, to push that damage award up.
I didn't realize that the GPL allowed you to deny source code to someone on the basis of poor grammar or the use of a pseudonym. Oh wait...
Whooooooosh.....
given yesterday's article on the Denon RJ-45 ethernet cable, I'm not sure if you're serious or joking...I wonder if I could start selling old VCRs for $4000+ to videophiles...
Okay, there are two things wrong with your post:
1) you still have a VCR? Unless you collect obsolete media players, you fail at geekdom.
2) you don't set your VCR's time properly? Okay, you can turn in your geek card now, I've yet to meet a geek who can bear the blinking damnation of eternal midnight, even if it's someone else's VCR.
Fair enough, the dems are usually hollywood's bitch. But he hasn't rushed to get rid of it either.
But then there will inevitably be fat tourists walking around the Moon or Mars in their skin-tight space suits. maybe bulky is better.
Hmmm, I don't think "trying his case on the internet" is as bad as it seems in this case. Given the tactics being used by the other side, and given that the RIAA is trying to get new case law favourable to their position that will affect everybody, bypassing the legislative branch in the process, it's good strategy to shine a big bright light on these cases, so people at least know what's going on.
Also, he pushes the news to us because we're Slashdot and we're interested, and because we can give him insights with regard to the technological issues that he couldn't get anywhere else. It's not like he's pushing updates to the New York Times or ABC news (at least, I don't think he is...).
I can't tell for sure, but there is some indication, if you follow the links back, that NYCL, you know, Ray Beckerman, is Counsel for the Defendants, and as such would of course have standing to address both judges. And if I'm wrong, well see my sibling post re: Amicus Curiae briefs.
Res judicata doesn't apply until the judge makes a decision on the issue. That's exactly what the Plaintiffs were trying to avoid.
Clearly you lack understanding of the government that is currently in power in Ottawa. Harper and his ilk are cut from the same cloth as the Bush Whitehouse, and its not surprising at all that we we got stuck with our own DMCA clone. Painful, sad, frustrating, but not surprising.
Wish I could post graphics here, I'm sure you've seen the "campaign poster" that says "Cthulu 2008: why vote for a lesser evil?" But others may not have.
Now get off my lawn!
Oh come on, how many HR bean-counters know how to use grep?
I for one, welcome our irony-lacking Overlords.
No organization that receives government funding is truly private.
What exactly is illegal about Wikileaks? (no seriously, I want to know).