If that were true then the 400+ people held at Gitmo over these many years would have resulted in more that a small handful of trials and more than a sprinkling of convictions.
We don't know why they choose to hold the people they do, and they do not have to tell us. For all we know the Gitmo detentions are as much to change the political landscape in the Middle East as they are to fight terrorism.
We have no idea what the NSA is looking for when they are wiretapping, and more importantly, we do not know what they might find profitable to look for in the future. We only know that they are permitted to operate without oversight.
Our government was set up on a basis of checks and balances to keep things on the straight and narrow. In a Democracy, however, the governmental checks and balances are tier 2 of the mechanism to keep things in line. The voting populace is tier 1. Without the ability to understand what the government is doing (the information is classified) we are unable to direct the government through elections.
We are looking at an example where the checks and balances system is being undermined at the most fundamental level.
We seem to be living at the period in American history that future peoples will point to when discussing the unraveling of our Nation.
The reason it is wise to include jail time for violent offenders is that it is ultimately cheaper for society to pay for their room, board, and supervision than it is to potentially suffer another violent incident. Incarcerating violent offenders is one of the least controversial uses of tax money in modern America.
What is the justification for using taxpayer money to incarcerate a non-violent offender? Worse yet, what is the justification for incarcerating an individual who only potentially damaged a private company's profits?
Shouldn't a fine be sufficient considering only money was at stake?
Bootleggers are closely related to white collar criminals. The only impact is financial. In the case of Enron, or some other fraud situations, I would much rather have seen the offenders be forced to work the rest of their lives to repay the retirement funds they looted etc.. rather than getting what amounts to a monetary slap on the wrist and jail time. I am pretty sure the people who ended up getting pennies on the dollar out of the settlements would probably agree with me, just as I would bet most people would rather see the money spent on jailing this bootlegger spent on something like... oh... I don't know... anything that actually benefits society.
but wouldn't they spin the hacks as evidence of the degraded moral character of open source advocates? Then those hacks would be used to harden the proprietary products.
We are not going to get anywhere trying to reason with these people.
Perhaps your experience differs, but most people I know are unaware of these issues, or know only as much as they learn while listening to a soundbite on the evening news. We can't reason with the rulemakers, and we can't make this a popular issue because most people have 'more important' things to worry about.
We need to use a bit of creativity and innovation to find a new approach. Unfortunately I have no suggestions at this time.
The whole value of the exploit is that only a few people know it exists. How do you preserve that when you would need to divulge something of the nature of the exploit for it to be marketable?
I wonder if the people putting this on are actually looking to make a point about software vendors and their products. Any chance that they are looking to do nothing more than score some legal victories for the good of the public?
I think they are doing the right thing by keeping mission expectations low. Ambitious missions that fail to deliver are seen as failures by shortsighted lawmakers. Toned down missions that outperform look much better.
Most people only follow space exploration at the soundbite level (evening news or whatnot). Hearing that yet another vehicle continues to operate beyond its life expectancy is a good way to create a positive perception of NASA in the general public.
If you are going to choose a proprietary vendor to safeguard your data wouldn't IBM be the obvious choice. They have proven their ability to keep 20 year old programs running in modern environments without modification.
It has been a while since I worked on an AS/400 system... so anyone with updated info please feel free to correct me if things have changed.
True, we innovate. We also allow the innovators to strangle competition including those who would make incremental improvements to their designs.
Back on topic...
With the vast majority of major American cities possessing some of the shittiest public transit in the developed world, I see this innovative idea as yet another cash sink-hole that ignores the real problem. Whether or not you believe all the peak oil arguments, the fossil fuel environmental impact arguments, or whatever, it is pretty hard to argue that congestion and accidents in general could not be reduced by making real investments in quality public transportation.
I have lived in three of America's biggest cities for several years each and NYC was the only one with decent mass transit. True, the traffic there sucked, but a system like this will not have an impact on NYC streets. Further improvements to mass transit will.
The L.A. mass transit system was beyond inept. No where I else that I lived is even worth mentioning.
The increase in web development probably has a lot to do with this. Many Windows coders had nothing to do with the web because their apps were traditional desktop apps. Now the possibilities of the web are not only more fleshed out, but large companies are showing the way toward the web as a partial replacement for traditional desktop programs.
That being said, TFA data goes against my personal experience.
Almost everyone I know is now experimenting with Linux, with slow adopters and doubters being prodded by Vista to finally look over the fence, but I don't know of any Windows developers who have abandoned Windows development altogether.
Your comment, chris098, falls directly in line with my experience. The first step most developers I know are taking is evaluating Linux as a server platform... tweaking/playing with/learning about the O.S. in that capacity.
"...because A/V companies are always very careful not to make too successful products, otherwise they'd kill the golden goose."
While you may have something there, I tend to believe that anyone who is constantly aiming at a moving target is going to come up a little short. What is an O.S. but a moving target?
IMHO the true golden goose is the consumer (or corporate buyer) who has been trained to believe that newer is synonymous with better... I believe this is the mindset that allows software vendors to pawn off 'upgrades' that actually help the malware authors keep one step ahead of the game.
The A/V companies should not be blamed for simply being in the right place at the right time in the evolution of technology. After all, if they did not exist now, the practices currently dominant in the market would necessitate their creation.
Bad form to reply to my own post, but it occurs to me that this topic might get some people thnking about how to game the system.
For any youngsters out there getting ideas... card companies also work closely with major retailers to identify a reverse type of fraud.
One case I saw related to a woman who generated false receipts for small dollar amounts (box store multimedia retailer) and returned product that had been stolen for the purpose of reducing her credit card bills with the refunded amounts.
She was allowed to continue this activity for over a year after we were notified so that she would exceed a particular dollar amount at which time she was prosecuted and convicted at a higher level than would have been possible if she had been busted immediately.
Once again... these guys are serious. Always have refunded amounts put on the card with which you made the purchase or accept store credit instead (though one or two instances won't matter much any sort of pattern over time will). It really isn't worth getting a flag put on your account. You may never know of an investigation that takes place, but you may have a higher risk level associated with your account that can change balance increases or future offers.
As of 1 1/2 years ago this is how fraudulent charges were handled.
If there is a disputed charge of any amount the credit agency sends a notice to the seller. The seller MUST provide signature evidence related to the transaction within a period of several days or the charge is automatically reversed (charge-back).
If the signatory proof is produced, but the signature does not match the one on file then depending on the amount one of two things will happen: the credit lender will request video footage and or supporting documents related to the sale, or the credit lender will eat the charge and the seller does not get charged-back.
In the event of a suspicious pattern of claims of fraudulent activity the credit lender reserves the right to investigate the card holder to the extent that they may request video or other documentary evidence related to purchases made by the card holder at any location that accepts the credit card as tender. It is up to the legal department of the seller whether to comply, but my experience is that they always do. All major retailers with which I am familiar have procedures set up for handling charge-back notifications in-store, without legal department approval providing the request for documents falls withing a predefined range of appropriate disclosure (usually does not include video which is a separate approval process).
Always sign your slips with a distinct signature, never try to screw with your card provider. These guys are serious and have entire departments dedicated to identifying patterns of fraud... you are not excluded even if your fraud pattern is only going to include small amounts.
My hands are in varying states of pain on most days as a result of too much hard contact over the years. Some days I type as fast as anyone I know, other days I am slow.
Most people who have participated in contact training for more than a couple years have this same condition to one degree or another.
Stick with strong passwords. At least then only two classes of people are negatively impacted: users who can't be bothered, and users who deal with onerous security requirements related to multiple passwords that change regularly.
Thanks, but I did see that. It only lists common majors and the fact that you need to list all relevant work experience + three references. No specifics on the types of people who are likely to be employed outside of some vague areas of study.
Just out of curiosity... does anyone know minimum requirements for getting on as a server tech in a place like that?
Really contemplating computing power like they describe is a pretty far out exercise for a small time programmer like me... What sort of people get employed at these places?
Get money from pr0n kingpins. Bring them into the family and let them subsidize this tech/form their own group of researchers to specifically pursue porn related applications. It will get to market so much faster than if left to academics..
My interest would be to explore new human/computer interactions (not like that sickos). The 2d nature of monitor systems is only slightly less annoying with the new 3d super gee whiz flying through space multiple workspace navigation systems.
A haptic glove with sensitive feedback mechanisms and a graphical interface that allows organization of workspaces/workspace elements in an untethered 3d environment is something I have always wanted. Add in some good voice recognition and a chair designed so you can rest your arms while still retaining full range of motion with the gloved hand.
Adding to your point... What kind of idiot species would show up and drop a couple thousands of years of technological advancement on the heads of a native species only about a century into portable internal combustion tech?... A native species that still uses its most advanced tech to KILL each other..
If it was me in the saucer I would tone the tech down, identify a couple of contact points (a government or two) and start the species down a controlled road toward technical proficiency starting with the next step progressing from the species' current state of development.
The alien tech integration would ideally be indistinguishable from a native advancement.
Just a side reference... the Catholic book of Ezekiel opens with a description of a storm like anomaly in the sky that precedes the arrival of angels from the above. It kinda reads like the opening of Independence Day (the Will Smith flick).
I always thought that it was possible that really big Roswell storm could have just been misinterpreted as a natural event, when it was actually the phenomenon that is both recorded in the KJV version of the bible and represented in the backgrounds of several of those old-school religious paintings that the conspiracy theorists get all worked up about.
Anyhow, wouldn't it be much more likely that the craft was already experiencing difficulty if it crashed rather than something simple like lightning taking it down? Lightning does not even damage most commercial aircraft, and dealing with electrical charges would seem to be a requirement for any craft passing at speed through planetary atmospheres.
Hate to break it to you, but birds have four limbs and often deploy all four to establish balance. You may think wings are only for flight, but birds use them for many things including maintaining balance while repositioning in trees, regaining balance on the ground while in windy conditions, etc..
I am not agreeing with the GP, but as a birdwatcher I can tell you that they use their wings regularly to maintain balance.
Animals that stand erect with only two dominant limbs (weight bearing) almost either have stabilizer limbs like wings or balancing limbs like significantly sized tails.
Funniest thing about these possibilities is that our descendants may still persist in some form.. and in that case, rediscovering the little cache of info their ancestors left behind could easily (and correctly) be interpreted as communication from an ancient alien race with a poor (perhaps doomed?) comprehension of cosmology.
I can see it now.. the philosophical debates about who these ancient creatures might have been... about how they were doomed from the get-go by their flawed and quaint interpretations of the cosmos.
*sigh*
I am only middle aged, but I miss the future already.
Nah, the bigger problem would seem to be that as far as we know we are the only sentients capable of taking advantage of the information currently available... which places a huge responsiblity on our shoulders.
If the far future will see an absence of this information then we have a responsibility to persist the data beyond the demise of our culture, whether or not another civilization will arise that can interpret the data. The information we can gather now would appear to be a limited resource given our current understanding of cosmology, and we who have access should derive what we can and pass the value on as others will not be able to do so.
Can you imagine the ID vs Evolution argument in an apparently static universe? Oh wait.. just pick up a history book and check out the executions, exiles, pariahs, and all the other fun stuff that happened to/became of our scientific forefathers back when the Earth was considered the center of a static universe.
I didn't suggest Google could fly in, only that the major players will continue to battle each other whatever happens. The OP put forward one way in which he thought another player could change the scenario. Really, there are many. Major companies who are in the middle of the pack with regard to market share are not going to stop fighting the dominance of the other players. I just don't want to see this situation go down. There are better ways... like voter education.
Your idea of the market players regulating each other seems sound enough.
My interest lies elsewhere, though. We have an election coming and numerous candidates have already declared intent, raised millions of dollars, and started building their platforms.
Will one of them have the foresight to make this more than a John-McCain-style-uninformed-soundbyte type issue?
If so, I am ready to start thinking about actually voting in this election. No one candidate can reverse the course of the war in Iraq, no one candidate can fix healthcare/welfare/the educational system. One candidate can, however, help America understand how high the stakes are for this particular issue.
Believe me... I would much rather see some sort of movement by all candidates to drop the party lines and attempt to fix the war and all the other issues I detailed above. Failing that, I guess I will consider voting for any candidate that shows an understanding of this issue because the impact on our future can be so incredibly far reaching.
The candidates now have some added time to weigh in on this issue. I'll be watching.
There are a number of proprietary vendors who do not 'hoard' their code. VistaDB is an excellent example. Microsoft was interested in the product, but a proprietary coder with an incredible background in DB development was more interested. If you are willing to compensate him for his time, talent investment, and personal involvement in the community (which is what most major companies would compensate him for providing) all you have to do is pay the code fee.
I did pay the code fee in addition to the standard fee and now have access to all the guts without any distribution royalties to be paid back up the line.
It should be noted that this product interested MS to such an extent that they hired the original developer and put him in charge of a development department. This proprietary model allows both code access, and a means of keeping quality products out of the hands of the giants who do squash products/sit on code/play by f'd up rules.
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If that were true then the 400+ people held at Gitmo over these many years would have resulted in more that a small handful of trials and more than a sprinkling of convictions.
We don't know why they choose to hold the people they do, and they do not have to tell us. For all we know the Gitmo detentions are as much to change the political landscape in the Middle East as they are to fight terrorism.
We have no idea what the NSA is looking for when they are wiretapping, and more importantly, we do not know what they might find profitable to look for in the future. We only know that they are permitted to operate without oversight.
Regards.
Our government was set up on a basis of checks and balances to keep things on the straight and narrow. In a Democracy, however, the governmental checks and balances are tier 2 of the mechanism to keep things in line. The voting populace is tier 1. Without the ability to understand what the government is doing (the information is classified) we are unable to direct the government through elections.
We are looking at an example where the checks and balances system is being undermined at the most fundamental level.
We seem to be living at the period in American history that future peoples will point to when discussing the unraveling of our Nation.
Regards.
The reason it is wise to include jail time for violent offenders is that it is ultimately cheaper for society to pay for their room, board, and supervision than it is to potentially suffer another violent incident. Incarcerating violent offenders is one of the least controversial uses of tax money in modern America.
What is the justification for using taxpayer money to incarcerate a non-violent offender? Worse yet, what is the justification for incarcerating an individual who only potentially damaged a private company's profits?
Shouldn't a fine be sufficient considering only money was at stake?
Bootleggers are closely related to white collar criminals. The only impact is financial. In the case of Enron, or some other fraud situations, I would much rather have seen the offenders be forced to work the rest of their lives to repay the retirement funds they looted etc.. rather than getting what amounts to a monetary slap on the wrist and jail time. I am pretty sure the people who ended up getting pennies on the dollar out of the settlements would probably agree with me, just as I would bet most people would rather see the money spent on jailing this bootlegger spent on something like... oh... I don't know... anything that actually benefits society.
Regards.
but wouldn't they spin the hacks as evidence of the degraded moral character of open source advocates? Then those hacks would be used to harden the proprietary products.
We are not going to get anywhere trying to reason with these people.
Perhaps your experience differs, but most people I know are unaware of these issues, or know only as much as they learn while listening to a soundbite on the evening news. We can't reason with the rulemakers, and we can't make this a popular issue because most people have 'more important' things to worry about.
We need to use a bit of creativity and innovation to find a new approach. Unfortunately I have no suggestions at this time.
Regards.
The whole value of the exploit is that only a few people know it exists. How do you preserve that when you would need to divulge something of the nature of the exploit for it to be marketable?
I wonder if the people putting this on are actually looking to make a point about software vendors and their products. Any chance that they are looking to do nothing more than score some legal victories for the good of the public?
Regards.
I think they are doing the right thing by keeping mission expectations low. Ambitious missions that fail to deliver are seen as failures by shortsighted lawmakers. Toned down missions that outperform look much better.
Most people only follow space exploration at the soundbite level (evening news or whatnot). Hearing that yet another vehicle continues to operate beyond its life expectancy is a good way to create a positive perception of NASA in the general public.
Regards.
If you are going to choose a proprietary vendor to safeguard your data wouldn't IBM be the obvious choice. They have proven their ability to keep 20 year old programs running in modern environments without modification.
It has been a while since I worked on an AS/400 system... so anyone with updated info please feel free to correct me if things have changed.
It seems like a no-brainer.
Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AS/400
True, we innovate. We also allow the innovators to strangle competition including those who would make incremental improvements to their designs.
Back on topic...
With the vast majority of major American cities possessing some of the shittiest public transit in the developed world, I see this innovative idea as yet another cash sink-hole that ignores the real problem. Whether or not you believe all the peak oil arguments, the fossil fuel environmental impact arguments, or whatever, it is pretty hard to argue that congestion and accidents in general could not be reduced by making real investments in quality public transportation.
I have lived in three of America's biggest cities for several years each and NYC was the only one with decent mass transit. True, the traffic there sucked, but a system like this will not have an impact on NYC streets. Further improvements to mass transit will.
The L.A. mass transit system was beyond inept. No where I else that I lived is even worth mentioning.
Regards.
The increase in web development probably has a lot to do with this. Many Windows coders had nothing to do with the web because their apps were traditional desktop apps. Now the possibilities of the web are not only more fleshed out, but large companies are showing the way toward the web as a partial replacement for traditional desktop programs.
That being said, TFA data goes against my personal experience.
Almost everyone I know is now experimenting with Linux, with slow adopters and doubters being prodded by Vista to finally look over the fence, but I don't know of any Windows developers who have abandoned Windows development altogether.
Your comment, chris098, falls directly in line with my experience. The first step most developers I know are taking is evaluating Linux as a server platform... tweaking/playing with/learning about the O.S. in that capacity.
Regards.
"...because A/V companies are always very careful not to make too successful products, otherwise they'd kill the golden goose."
While you may have something there, I tend to believe that anyone who is constantly aiming at a moving target is going to come up a little short. What is an O.S. but a moving target?
IMHO the true golden goose is the consumer (or corporate buyer) who has been trained to believe that newer is synonymous with better... I believe this is the mindset that allows software vendors to pawn off 'upgrades' that actually help the malware authors keep one step ahead of the game.
The A/V companies should not be blamed for simply being in the right place at the right time in the evolution of technology. After all, if they did not exist now, the practices currently dominant in the market would necessitate their creation.
Regards.
Here is a link to a site where your intellect will be tested by other far advanced minds like your own... http://www.digg.com/
Use it carefully... Remember, with great power comes great responsibility.
Bad form to reply to my own post, but it occurs to me that this topic might get some people thnking about how to game the system.
For any youngsters out there getting ideas... card companies also work closely with major retailers to identify a reverse type of fraud.
One case I saw related to a woman who generated false receipts for small dollar amounts (box store multimedia retailer) and returned product that had been stolen for the purpose of reducing her credit card bills with the refunded amounts.
She was allowed to continue this activity for over a year after we were notified so that she would exceed a particular dollar amount at which time she was prosecuted and convicted at a higher level than would have been possible if she had been busted immediately.
Once again... these guys are serious. Always have refunded amounts put on the card with which you made the purchase or accept store credit instead (though one or two instances won't matter much any sort of pattern over time will). It really isn't worth getting a flag put on your account. You may never know of an investigation that takes place, but you may have a higher risk level associated with your account that can change balance increases or future offers.
As of 1 1/2 years ago this is how fraudulent charges were handled.
If there is a disputed charge of any amount the credit agency sends a notice to the seller. The seller MUST provide signature evidence related to the transaction within a period of several days or the charge is automatically reversed (charge-back).
If the signatory proof is produced, but the signature does not match the one on file then depending on the amount one of two things will happen: the credit lender will request video footage and or supporting documents related to the sale, or the credit lender will eat the charge and the seller does not get charged-back.
In the event of a suspicious pattern of claims of fraudulent activity the credit lender reserves the right to investigate the card holder to the extent that they may request video or other documentary evidence related to purchases made by the card holder at any location that accepts the credit card as tender. It is up to the legal department of the seller whether to comply, but my experience is that they always do. All major retailers with which I am familiar have procedures set up for handling charge-back notifications in-store, without legal department approval providing the request for documents falls withing a predefined range of appropriate disclosure (usually does not include video which is a separate approval process).
Always sign your slips with a distinct signature, never try to screw with your card provider. These guys are serious and have entire departments dedicated to identifying patterns of fraud... you are not excluded even if your fraud pattern is only going to include small amounts.
Regards.
My hands are in varying states of pain on most days as a result of too much hard contact over the years. Some days I type as fast as anyone I know, other days I am slow.
Most people who have participated in contact training for more than a couple years have this same condition to one degree or another.
Stick with strong passwords. At least then only two classes of people are negatively impacted: users who can't be bothered, and users who deal with onerous security requirements related to multiple passwords that change regularly.
Thanks, but I did see that. It only lists common majors and the fact that you need to list all relevant work experience + three references. No specifics on the types of people who are likely to be employed outside of some vague areas of study.
Just out of curiosity... does anyone know minimum requirements for getting on as a server tech in a place like that?
Really contemplating computing power like they describe is a pretty far out exercise for a small time programmer like me... What sort of people get employed at these places?
Regards.
Get money from pr0n kingpins. Bring them into the family and let them subsidize this tech/form their own group of researchers to specifically pursue porn related applications. It will get to market so much faster than if left to academics..
My interest would be to explore new human/computer interactions (not like that sickos). The 2d nature of monitor systems is only slightly less annoying with the new 3d super gee whiz flying through space multiple workspace navigation systems.
A haptic glove with sensitive feedback mechanisms and a graphical interface that allows organization of workspaces/workspace elements in an untethered 3d environment is something I have always wanted. Add in some good voice recognition and a chair designed so you can rest your arms while still retaining full range of motion with the gloved hand.
It would be the interface of my dreams.
Adding to your point... What kind of idiot species would show up and drop a couple thousands of years of technological advancement on the heads of a native species only about a century into portable internal combustion tech? ... A native species that still uses its most advanced tech to KILL each other..
If it was me in the saucer I would tone the tech down, identify a couple of contact points (a government or two) and start the species down a controlled road toward technical proficiency starting with the next step progressing from the species' current state of development.
The alien tech integration would ideally be indistinguishable from a native advancement.
Regards.
Just a side reference... the Catholic book of Ezekiel opens with a description of a storm like anomaly in the sky that precedes the arrival of angels from the above. It kinda reads like the opening of Independence Day (the Will Smith flick).
I always thought that it was possible that really big Roswell storm could have just been misinterpreted as a natural event, when it was actually the phenomenon that is both recorded in the KJV version of the bible and represented in the backgrounds of several of those old-school religious paintings that the conspiracy theorists get all worked up about.
Anyhow, wouldn't it be much more likely that the craft was already experiencing difficulty if it crashed rather than something simple like lightning taking it down? Lightning does not even damage most commercial aircraft, and dealing with electrical charges would seem to be a requirement for any craft passing at speed through planetary atmospheres.
Regards.
Hate to break it to you, but birds have four limbs and often deploy all four to establish balance. You may think wings are only for flight, but birds use them for many things including maintaining balance while repositioning in trees, regaining balance on the ground while in windy conditions, etc..
I am not agreeing with the GP, but as a birdwatcher I can tell you that they use their wings regularly to maintain balance.
Animals that stand erect with only two dominant limbs (weight bearing) almost either have stabilizer limbs like wings or balancing limbs like significantly sized tails.
Regards.
Funniest thing about these possibilities is that our descendants may still persist in some form.. and in that case, rediscovering the little cache of info their ancestors left behind could easily (and correctly) be interpreted as communication from an ancient alien race with a poor (perhaps doomed?) comprehension of cosmology.
I can see it now.. the philosophical debates about who these ancient creatures might have been... about how they were doomed from the get-go by their flawed and quaint interpretations of the cosmos.
*sigh*
I am only middle aged, but I miss the future already.
Regards.
Nah, the bigger problem would seem to be that as far as we know we are the only sentients capable of taking advantage of the information currently available... which places a huge responsiblity on our shoulders.
If the far future will see an absence of this information then we have a responsibility to persist the data beyond the demise of our culture, whether or not another civilization will arise that can interpret the data. The information we can gather now would appear to be a limited resource given our current understanding of cosmology, and we who have access should derive what we can and pass the value on as others will not be able to do so.
Can you imagine the ID vs Evolution argument in an apparently static universe? Oh wait.. just pick up a history book and check out the executions, exiles, pariahs, and all the other fun stuff that happened to/became of our scientific forefathers back when the Earth was considered the center of a static universe.
Regards.
I didn't suggest Google could fly in, only that the major players will continue to battle each other whatever happens. The OP put forward one way in which he thought another player could change the scenario. Really, there are many. Major companies who are in the middle of the pack with regard to market share are not going to stop fighting the dominance of the other players. I just don't want to see this situation go down. There are better ways... like voter education.
Your idea of the market players regulating each other seems sound enough.
My interest lies elsewhere, though. We have an election coming and numerous candidates have already declared intent, raised millions of dollars, and started building their platforms.
Will one of them have the foresight to make this more than a John-McCain-style-uninformed-soundbyte type issue?
If so, I am ready to start thinking about actually voting in this election. No one candidate can reverse the course of the war in Iraq, no one candidate can fix healthcare/welfare/the educational system. One candidate can, however, help America understand how high the stakes are for this particular issue.
Believe me... I would much rather see some sort of movement by all candidates to drop the party lines and attempt to fix the war and all the other issues I detailed above. Failing that, I guess I will consider voting for any candidate that shows an understanding of this issue because the impact on our future can be so incredibly far reaching.
The candidates now have some added time to weigh in on this issue. I'll be watching.
Regards.
There are a number of proprietary vendors who do not 'hoard' their code. VistaDB is an excellent example. Microsoft was interested in the product, but a proprietary coder with an incredible background in DB development was more interested. If you are willing to compensate him for his time, talent investment, and personal involvement in the community (which is what most major companies would compensate him for providing) all you have to do is pay the code fee.
I did pay the code fee in addition to the standard fee and now have access to all the guts without any distribution royalties to be paid back up the line.
It should be noted that this product interested MS to such an extent that they hired the original developer and put him in charge of a development department. This proprietary model allows both code access, and a means of keeping quality products out of the hands of the giants who do squash products/sit on code/play by f'd up rules.
Regards.