Yet as soon as the MPAA does that it becomes labelled "intimidation tactics". I read the article and from what I gathered Excite@Home told people if they didn't stop sharing copyright material they would lose their service.
Point: Why is it the ISP's job to terminate a user's service if the MPAA simply alleges that a user may be illegally copying a movie that is protected by the MPAA?
If there is an allegation made, it is up to the MPAA to prove that allegation, and up to the courts to determine if said allegation is correct, and for a judge to award damages based on a legally made judgement.
In this case, the MPAA is acting as the prosecutor, judge, and jury, and is making the ISP do the dirty work of punishing somebody who may have simply had a "matrix.mov" file that was an animation of a mathematical matrix being inverted.
This sort of intimidation is not only illegal and immoral, but is reprehensible. The MPAA is not trying to, quote, educate the population about what is appropriate, both from an ethical standpoint, and from a legal standpoint, since they are not acting legally or ethically themselves.
People using Gnutella should be afforded the benefits of being innocent until proven guilty. And, if I were to be one of the people targeted by MPAA's Stalinist tactics, I would expect them to show me notarized evidence of (1) exactly what of their intellectual property I have supposedly pirated, (2) proof that I had offered it on the Gnutella service, and (3) that I had actually pirated (or gave to somebody) that item. If any of the above three things are not given to me when they make their accusation, then the do not have any chance at all to win in a court case, and as such, any preliminary action taken against me by anybody, including my ISP, is totally unwarranted.
Remember, this isn't about piracy. It's about intimidation tactics.
If the MPAA can have my ISP shut me down just by asking my ISP to do so because they simply say that I am a pirate without any proof, then I should have the same legal rights to have the internet hosting service that provides, say, MPAA.ORG disconnect them just because I claim that they are guilty of slander and/or libel for calling me a pirate.
Until such time as human beings have as much rights as big-bucks trade organizations, there is little hope for America to be the "land of the free." --
The constitution provides for copyrights for a limited time (so how does that match up with "lifetime of the author plus seventy years?), for the public benefit.
However, there's no statement anywhere in the constitution that says that if you are making money right now, then you have the absolute right to continue to make money, despite whatever may happen in the future. Most buggy-whip manufacturers from the preceding century found this out the hard way.
However, buggy whip manufacturers of this century (read: RIAA, MPAA) are screaming bloody murder. The frightening thing is that judges are listening to their sorry tales, and are making stupid decisions ("sorry, you may not link to that page!") for the sole benefit that these buggy-whip manufacturers continue to rake in their billions of unearned dollars. --
The RIAA represents five music publishers. They may sell the majority of all music recordings, but there are many other smaller publishers and self publishers.
The RIAA's idea is that you must get your music file onto their "approved" list before you can share it with anybody.
And, of course, the RIAA wouldn't want to provide such a service to their competitors for free, would they? That's right. This is just a simple, slimey trick that would allow the RIAA to extort money from ALL music distributors if they want their music on Napster.
So, the big companies get richer, and the smaller companies take it up the ***.
I guess the "government by the people, for the people, and of the people" is redefining the word "people" as multi-national corporations.
Consider, an old Windows TCP/IP stack vendor was FTP Software. What if they decided to assert trademark status on the FTP protocol?
I think that SSH (the company, not the protocol) should do some marketing. Maybe they can call their product "SSH Classic" or "New SSH" (just like a beverage.).
Actually, the whole thing about trademarking the protocol name is just silly. --
Make sure that the lawyer you talk to is well versed in IP rights in your state.
Whether or not you signed a contract stating that your exiting IP is your property, it makes a difference whether or not your company ALSO signed the contract. Otherwise, it's just a document that states what your views were, and isn't an agreement since nobody representing your company signed it.
I have heard of a number of horror stories about IP being "stolen" by companies (and also by less than honest workers). However, neither of these types of cases are in the majority.
Most times, having your lawyer talk to theirs will get some agreement or settlement between the parties. It is is BOTH of your best interests. After all, a company that is seen by its employees as looking to screw its employees will eventually have zero employees working for it.
With regard to the IM-spam described in the Salon article, it won't work if the Napster user isn't running IM or IRC. It is quite possible to run Napster without being able to receive IM's, and to ignore stuff happening in the IRC window.
With regard to Cringely's suggestion of a CD-R "tax," I'd like to point out that not every CD-R is being used to make copies of audio CD's, or even archives of MP3's. A CDROM can hold ANYTHING, including a backup of one or more partitions on your system. Why should ANY money of mine be paid to lazy record company execs just because I want to make a copy of/usr/local? What if instead of audio tracks, I was making an archive of DIVX movies?
In all, I prefer the method mentioned in the Salon article, as there is an "opt-in" method, if you don't mind the spam.
The Cringely "tax" is regressive, and is as obnoxious as the "Microsoft tax" that people pay when they purchase PC's with Windows pre-installed on them, when they have no desire to run that operating system.
Interestingly, though, both articles show that more than one person is honestly thinking of how to make the Napster model work. Good try, Cringely. Better luck next time! --
They've also decided to ban web browsers IRC clients, and instant messaging. And you are not allowed to receive email unless it is from a Sprint-approved SPAM provider.
They will also disconnect you if you or any of your relatives own any firearms. And you cannot get service if you are either pro-life or pro-choice. You are not allowed to have any opinion about any political or religious issues.
And if they catch you attempting connections to slashdot.org, they will send a bunch of guys to your house with Uzis to "reeducate you."
Since your reindeer seem to defy all the laws of physics, do you think that you could take a few minutes from your busy schedule on Monday and send us up a couple of spare air scrubbers? We promise to leave you out some milk and cookies in return.
Yours truly,
The Crew of the International Space Station
(Send it now before the postage rates go up!) --
Granted that the "#" and "*" aren't available on rotary dial phones, but wouldn't it just be easier to designate that a specific non-digit trailing character indicate the end of a phone number?
This would allow:
Four digit dialing -- dial "7890*" and the CO will prefix your local area code and dial prefix.
Seven digit dialing -- dial "4567890#" and the CO will prefix your local area code.
Ten digit dialing -- dial "1234567890" and the call will go through directly with the specified area code and prefix.
As I mentioned, this would preclude the use of rotary dial phones (but they could be adapted by using a suffix code of "11" instead, which would only be valid if the signal is a rotary pulse).
This allows people the maximum flexibility -- dial only as much of a number as you need. The shorter numbers (available if they are local) don't HAVE to be used, and the suffix-code can indicate to the central office that you have finished dialing, just like pressing "ENTER" on the URL bar on your web browser indicates that you've finished entering a URL.
Neat, simple, and easy to implement.
And, of course, this would never be seriously considered.
Actually, I believe that Macintosh Bible was sold on an "upgrade" basis. If you bought the first edition, then you were entitled to two "free upgrades" (in the form of mini-booklets that they'd mail to you).
When the second edition became available, they sent me a mail offer for a nice discount.
I believe that they said they were using the "software business model" for the book. I just checked on Amazon and they are up to the 6th edition, except that it looks like there are now over fifty contributors to it (I believe there were just two or three in the original edition). I also don't know if they are using the same "upgrade model" of publishing, but it was quite an interesting idea. (And this was back in the 80's!) --
The meta-review of Carnivore is quite interesting. And the FBI is quite naive if they think that a device that "sniffs everything by default" and requires configuration to trim down what it sniffs is not going to be in promiscuous mode 99% of the time. In all the years I've been programming, I've found that users don't really like customizing their applications.
The Suck article was quite interesting in that it states that Carnivore may be the one application that causes everybody to start demanding encryption in their email products. And it's about time!!! --
War on Drugs I think thay we should be leading the way in the war on drugs. And furthermore, if you elect me president, you'll never hear the words "No controlling legal authority" in the White House.
Minority Religions I think that religions are important, and our nation must elect a leader who is trustworthy and doesn't claim to have invented the Internet.
Why give a tax cut? My tax cut will give money to EVERY American. I don't like the sound of "targeted tax cuts" which is what you would expect from a candidate who continues to claim many things that he hasn't done.
Electoral Reform The best electoral reform that America can do is to completely turn away from a administration that has undergone impeachment and has never shown any clear moral values and elect ME to be president.
Intellectual Property Intellectual property is an important concern, but not as important as getting rid of candidates who claim that they didn't know they were fund raising in a Buddhist temple.
Encryption America has some of the best encryption techniques in the word, no thanks to an administration that has acted in such a recklessly immoral fashion, such as that incident with the White House Intern.
Political Protests I think that EVERYBODY in America should protest the current administration that has taken the credit for the last eight years of prosperity. Come on, what did President Clinton and Al Gore actually DO THEMSELVES to make this happen? I truly believe it was the work of the state Governors, especially in the last six years or so.
Asteroid Defenses Mr. Gore has made some comments about how shameful it is that Hollywood is targeting minors for R-rated pictures with violence, while at the same time, taking their money in contributions.
The Future of the Country I want to believe in an America, where just about ANY IDIOT AT ALL can spend six years in politics and then find himself the party's best candidate for President.
Wow! I didn't know that those of us that used electronic mail to communicate (I can remember sending email as far back as 1982) had to wait for some company to be born in 1996 to tell us in the year 200 that we should hyphenate the word!
If they want to call it "e-mail" or "email" or even "fred" -- the fact remains that this is shere stupidity and triteness beyond belief. Why is Wired News so self-important that they are going to lecture to those of us that have been around for so much longer on how we should be spelling terms that have been in place for years before they even existed?
Besides, the "e" means electronic, and a principal function of the hyphen is to join two words to form a completely new word. In this case, "electronic" and "mail." Ergo, e-mail.
Hmmm. Let's see: A keeper of books can be referred to as a "bookkeeper" and I don't see any hyphenation between the two words.
Look. There ain't no official RULES for the English language, despite the claims of third-grade English teachers, except "COMMON USAGE." We have no august body of language lawyers to tell us that our language is in jeopardy of being diluted. Look at the period in the first sentence in this paragraph... it lies within the quotes. However, I've seen many people put the period AFTER the quotes... and I don't think that either way is more or less intelligible.
If they want to hyphenate "email" then let them. They can even put the hyphen after the "a" in the word for all I care.
If I decide that their usage is unreadable, I'll simply stop reading their silly pronouncements.
So, let's tax everybody at, say, %20. Across the board, no tax shelters, flat bleeping tax.
The richest 10% of the people in the country control at least 50% of the money. So, using a flat tax, the richest 10% would still be paying at least 50% of the taxes.
So, even with THAT proposal, some Republican will claim THIS as now being unfair, and decide to add all those nice, pretty tax shelters...
The bid to remove inheritance taxes is, plain and simple, a desire to create a permanent aristocracy in America.
If every person in America deserves an EQUAL chance to become a success, then inheritance should be outlawed completely! This runs against the common wisdom, and feels "not quite American." Fine. I even agree. That's why the inheritance tax is a pretty good compromise.
Now, if somebody could force through legislation to roll back copyright protections from "life + nn years" to simply "life..." --
Dick Cavett said it best, when he said "Personally, I see more comedy on television than violence, but nobody is complaining about comedy in the streets."
I get so fed up with people using "common wisdom" to bring their points across... "If a drink costs less at happy hour, people will drink more. It's OBVIOUS!" (Why couldn't it be, "if a drink costs less at happy hour, people will simply save money?").
If it's so ****ing obvious, then do the damn studies, and do them with statistically meaningful numbers. And don't be afraid to publish them when they show that your "common wisdom" was incorrect.
"There's so much violence in these computer games, so they MUST be causing all the violence we're seeing in schools." (BLAH!!!!)
Every once in a while, something like this happens.
But look at the cost... something like $10,000 in legal fees were awarded, and the total claim is just over $15,000 (including interest).
I take this to mean that the person who won the claim had to take the chance that he might lose, and be out $10,000... plus maybe legal fees for the OTHER side!
It's not your classic David and Goliath story, but it's nice to see an individual win out over a corporation. It looks like the system works in this case. --
A mixture of compounds and elements including Oxygen (O2) in gaseous form
A compound consisting of two parts hydrogen (H) and one part Oxygen (O) in liquid form
A combination of compounds and elements in solid form in sufficient quantity to form a planet that is roughly 24,000 miles in diameter, which is covered by 70% of the liquid in claim (2) above, and completely surrounded by the gases in claim (1) above.
I graduated from high school in 1976, and went to University in 1977. I had gotten interested in computers in 1974, though a "computer concepts" course in high school (working on teletypes and time sharing with a bunch of other schools in my region). I got very good with the computers there, quickly surpassing my teacher in knowledge (although he helped me find better references and manuals to read).
I was interested in a computer career, so I asked a few programming professionals that I knew what I should do in college. All of them told me to FORGET about taking computer courses , they were too theoretical for the "real world" (read "business world"); if I wanted to be successful, find an industry that is using computers, and learn that industry. In other words, learn a bit about accounting if you figured you would be doing payroll, A/P, etc.
I took their advice (and a couple of scholarships and grants) and went to University as a pre-med (figuring that doctors would always have enough money to make computing for that profession worthwhile). When I visited the computer room at the place, I was VERY glad that I didn't become "just another computer geek." Those guys were sleeping next to the terminals... bad hygiene... all those other stereotypes we have today.
However, the problem with my decision was that it turned out that I **HATED** the science courses that were necessary for a pre-med occupation, and really DID love programming.
I eventually dropped out of college, and got a job as a computer operator, and then worked my way up to programmer, etc.
Today, I don't know if taking more computer courses in college would have helped (I am probably an exception), but I have two daughters that will be considering college in a few years, and I know that my advice to them would be to NOT do it the way that I did... it was most definitely the hard way.
If you really like something, then spending 4-6 years immersing yourself in the depths of the subject in an educational setting is money well spent.
Although, looking back, I can say that after I left University, I *did* have fun. --
$ ls -1/usr/bin/usr/bin/X11/sbin/usr/sbin 2>/dev/null | wc -l
1018
And most of these are STANDARD with Tru64 Unix... that is, I didn't include/usr/local/bin,/freeware/bin, etc. (since I didn't want to include GNU duplicates of existing Unix programs, which would probably be all right, though).
This includes Netscape (comes standard with Tru64), but not Apache, MySQL, Oracle, Informix, and all those other programs that people with Alpha systems tend to run.
Admittedly, this is just a frozen point in time; with each release, there are some utilities that are obsoleted, and new utilities added.
But the point can be made that any Unix system would have a similar number of standard utilities as well, especially if you include X11, etc.
Of course, this doesn't include vertical applications (banking software, instrumentation programs, chemical analysis programs), games -- although/usr/bin/X11 probably has a few -- and all those other things I can find on Freshmeat that usually build on my platform.
Maybe the author was counting the number of brain cells in his head... [smile]
(Oh yeah... how many times have CS newbies written "Hello, world!" programs????) --
Slashdot Mirror
Yet as soon as the MPAA does that it becomes labelled "intimidation tactics". I read the article and from what I gathered Excite@Home told people if they didn't stop sharing copyright material they would lose their service.
Point: Why is it the ISP's job to terminate a user's service if the MPAA simply alleges that a user may be illegally copying a movie that is protected by the MPAA?
If there is an allegation made, it is up to the MPAA to prove that allegation, and up to the courts to determine if said allegation is correct, and for a judge to award damages based on a legally made judgement.
In this case, the MPAA is acting as the prosecutor, judge, and jury, and is making the ISP do the dirty work of punishing somebody who may have simply had a "matrix.mov" file that was an animation of a mathematical matrix being inverted.
This sort of intimidation is not only illegal and immoral, but is reprehensible. The MPAA is not trying to, quote, educate the population about what is appropriate, both from an ethical standpoint, and from a legal standpoint, since they are not acting legally or ethically themselves.
People using Gnutella should be afforded the benefits of being innocent until proven guilty. And, if I were to be one of the people targeted by MPAA's Stalinist tactics, I would expect them to show me notarized evidence of (1) exactly what of their intellectual property I have supposedly pirated, (2) proof that I had offered it on the Gnutella service, and (3) that I had actually pirated (or gave to somebody) that item. If any of the above three things are not given to me when they make their accusation, then the do not have any chance at all to win in a court case, and as such, any preliminary action taken against me by anybody, including my ISP, is totally unwarranted.
Remember, this isn't about piracy. It's about intimidation tactics.
If the MPAA can have my ISP shut me down just by asking my ISP to do so because they simply say that I am a pirate without any proof, then I should have the same legal rights to have the internet hosting service that provides, say, MPAA.ORG disconnect them just because I claim that they are guilty of slander and/or libel for calling me a pirate.
Until such time as human beings have as much rights as big-bucks trade organizations, there is little hope for America to be the "land of the free."
--
Excellant points!
The constitution provides for copyrights for a limited time (so how does that match up with "lifetime of the author plus seventy years?), for the public benefit.
However, there's no statement anywhere in the constitution that says that if you are making money right now, then you have the absolute right to continue to make money, despite whatever may happen in the future. Most buggy-whip manufacturers from the preceding century found this out the hard way.
However, buggy whip manufacturers of this century (read: RIAA, MPAA) are screaming bloody murder. The frightening thing is that judges are listening to their sorry tales, and are making stupid decisions ("sorry, you may not link to that page!") for the sole benefit that these buggy-whip manufacturers continue to rake in their billions of unearned dollars.
--
The RIAA represents five music publishers. They may sell the majority of all music recordings, but there are many other smaller publishers and self publishers.
The RIAA's idea is that you must get your music file onto their "approved" list before you can share it with anybody.
And, of course, the RIAA wouldn't want to provide such a service to their competitors for free, would they? That's right. This is just a simple, slimey trick that would allow the RIAA to extort money from ALL music distributors if they want their music on Napster.
So, the big companies get richer, and the smaller companies take it up the ***.
I guess the "government by the people, for the people, and of the people" is redefining the word "people" as multi-national corporations.
[sigh]
--
Consider, an old Windows TCP/IP stack vendor was FTP Software. What if they decided to assert trademark status on the FTP protocol?
I think that SSH (the company, not the protocol) should do some marketing. Maybe they can call their product "SSH Classic" or "New SSH" (just like a beverage.).
Actually, the whole thing about trademarking the protocol name is just silly.
--
Make sure that the lawyer you talk to is well versed in IP rights in your state.
Whether or not you signed a contract stating that your exiting IP is your property, it makes a difference whether or not your company ALSO signed the contract. Otherwise, it's just a document that states what your views were, and isn't an agreement since nobody representing your company signed it.
I have heard of a number of horror stories about IP being "stolen" by companies (and also by less than honest workers). However, neither of these types of cases are in the majority.
Most times, having your lawyer talk to theirs will get some agreement or settlement between the parties. It is is BOTH of your best interests. After all, a company that is seen by its employees as looking to screw its employees will eventually have zero employees working for it.
I wish you the best of luck.
--
There is a flaw in both articles.
/usr/local? What if instead of audio tracks, I was making an archive of DIVX movies?
With regard to the IM-spam described in the Salon article, it won't work if the Napster user isn't running IM or IRC. It is quite possible to run Napster without being able to receive IM's, and to ignore stuff happening in the IRC window.
With regard to Cringely's suggestion of a CD-R "tax," I'd like to point out that not every CD-R is being used to make copies of audio CD's, or even archives of MP3's. A CDROM can hold ANYTHING, including a backup of one or more partitions on your system. Why should ANY money of mine be paid to lazy record company execs just because I want to make a copy of
In all, I prefer the method mentioned in the Salon article, as there is an "opt-in" method, if you don't mind the spam.
The Cringely "tax" is regressive, and is as obnoxious as the "Microsoft tax" that people pay when they purchase PC's with Windows pre-installed on them, when they have no desire to run that operating system.
Interestingly, though, both articles show that more than one person is honestly thinking of how to make the Napster model work. Good try, Cringely. Better luck next time!
--
They've also decided to ban web browsers IRC clients, and instant messaging. And you are not allowed to receive email unless it is from a Sprint-approved SPAM provider.
They will also disconnect you if you or any of your relatives own any firearms. And you cannot get service if you are either pro-life or pro-choice. You are not allowed to have any opinion about any political or religious issues.
And if they catch you attempting connections to slashdot.org, they will send a bunch of guys to your house with Uzis to "reeducate you."
Scary service, if you ask me.
--
Since your reindeer seem to defy all the laws of physics, do you think that you could take a few minutes from your busy schedule on Monday and send us up a couple of spare air scrubbers? We promise to leave you out some milk and cookies in return.
Yours truly,
The Crew of the International Space Station
(Send it now before the postage rates go up!)
--
This would allow:
- Four digit dialing -- dial "7890*" and the CO will prefix your local area code and dial prefix.
- Seven digit dialing -- dial "4567890#" and the CO will prefix your local area code.
- Ten digit dialing -- dial "1234567890" and the call will go through directly with the specified area code and prefix.
As I mentioned, this would preclude the use of rotary dial phones (but they could be adapted by using a suffix code of "11" instead, which would only be valid if the signal is a rotary pulse).This allows people the maximum flexibility -- dial only as much of a number as you need. The shorter numbers (available if they are local) don't HAVE to be used, and the suffix-code can indicate to the central office that you have finished dialing, just like pressing "ENTER" on the URL bar on your web browser indicates that you've finished entering a URL.
Neat, simple, and easy to implement.
And, of course, this would never be seriously considered.
[sigh]
--
On my Alpha XP1000 (600 Mhz) running Tru64 5.1, mozilla runs without any real slowness. And with Aphrodite, it even looks pretty nice. [smile]
I agree that it does crash more than Netscape 4.76, though. And no support for the JVM (yet) on Tru64. [sigh]
--
Actually, I believe that Macintosh Bible was sold on an "upgrade" basis. If you bought the first edition, then you were entitled to two "free upgrades" (in the form of mini-booklets that they'd mail to you).
When the second edition became available, they sent me a mail offer for a nice discount.
I believe that they said they were using the "software business model" for the book. I just checked on Amazon and they are up to the 6th edition, except that it looks like there are now over fifty contributors to it (I believe there were just two or three in the original edition). I also don't know if they are using the same "upgrade model" of publishing, but it was quite an interesting idea. (And this was back in the 80's!)
--
The meta-review of Carnivore is quite interesting. And the FBI is quite naive if they think that a device that "sniffs everything by default" and requires configuration to trim down what it sniffs is not going to be in promiscuous mode 99% of the time. In all the years I've been programming, I've found that users don't really like customizing their applications.
The Suck article was quite interesting in that it states that Carnivore may be the one application that causes everybody to start demanding encryption in their email products. And it's about time!!!
--
War on Drugs
I think thay we should be leading the way in the war on drugs. And furthermore, if you elect me president, you'll never hear the words "No controlling legal authority" in the White House.
Minority Religions
I think that religions are important, and our nation must elect a leader who is trustworthy and doesn't claim to have invented the Internet.
Why give a tax cut?
My tax cut will give money to EVERY American. I don't like the sound of "targeted tax cuts" which is what you would expect from a candidate who continues to claim many things that he hasn't done.
Electoral Reform
The best electoral reform that America can do is to completely turn away from a administration that has undergone impeachment and has never shown any clear moral values and elect ME to be president.
Intellectual Property
Intellectual property is an important concern, but not as important as getting rid of candidates who claim that they didn't know they were fund raising in a Buddhist temple.
Encryption
America has some of the best encryption techniques in the word, no thanks to an administration that has acted in such a recklessly immoral fashion, such as that incident with the White House Intern.
Political Protests
I think that EVERYBODY in America should protest the current administration that has taken the credit for the last eight years of prosperity. Come on, what did President Clinton and Al Gore actually DO THEMSELVES to make this happen? I truly believe it was the work of the state Governors, especially in the last six years or so.
Asteroid Defenses
Mr. Gore has made some comments about how shameful it is that Hollywood is targeting minors for R-rated pictures with violence, while at the same time, taking their money in contributions.
The Future of the Country
I want to believe in an America, where just about ANY IDIOT AT ALL can spend six years in politics and then find himself the party's best candidate for President.
--
Drugs are bad.
Religions are good.
Tax cuts good.
I'm for it, except where it allows third party candidates in presidential debates.
I'll have Mr. Gore remove all his stuff when he vacates the Vice Presidential mansion.
Encryption good. Except when it's bad.
Protests bad.
I thought Bruce Willis did a pretty good job, even though Hollywood is corrupting our youngsters.
Humanity is good.
--
If they want to call it "e-mail" or "email" or even "fred" -- the fact remains that this is shere stupidity and triteness beyond belief. Why is Wired News so self-important that they are going to lecture to those of us that have been around for so much longer on how we should be spelling terms that have been in place for years before they even existed?
Hmmm. Let's see: A keeper of books can be referred to as a "bookkeeper" and I don't see any hyphenation between the two words.
Look. There ain't no official RULES for the English language, despite the claims of third-grade English teachers, except "COMMON USAGE." We have no august body of language lawyers to tell us that our language is in jeopardy of being diluted. Look at the period in the first sentence in this paragraph... it lies within the quotes. However, I've seen many people put the period AFTER the quotes... and I don't think that either way is more or less intelligible.
If they want to hyphenate "email" then let them. They can even put the hyphen after the "a" in the word for all I care.
If I decide that their usage is unreadable, I'll simply stop reading their silly pronouncements.
--
So, let's tax everybody at, say, %20. Across the board, no tax shelters, flat bleeping tax.
The richest 10% of the people in the country control at least 50% of the money. So, using a flat tax, the richest 10% would still be paying at least 50% of the taxes.
So, even with THAT proposal, some Republican will claim THIS as now being unfair, and decide to add all those nice, pretty tax shelters...
The bid to remove inheritance taxes is, plain and simple, a desire to create a permanent aristocracy in America.
If every person in America deserves an EQUAL chance to become a success, then inheritance should be outlawed completely! This runs against the common wisdom, and feels "not quite American." Fine. I even agree. That's why the inheritance tax is a pretty good compromise.
Now, if somebody could force through legislation to roll back copyright protections from "life + nn years" to simply "life..."
--
Dick Cavett said it best, when he said "Personally, I see more comedy on television than violence, but nobody is complaining about comedy in the streets."
I get so fed up with people using "common wisdom" to bring their points across... "If a drink costs less at happy hour, people will drink more. It's OBVIOUS!" (Why couldn't it be, "if a drink costs less at happy hour, people will simply save money?").
If it's so ****ing obvious, then do the damn studies, and do them with statistically meaningful numbers. And don't be afraid to publish them when they show that your "common wisdom" was incorrect.
"There's so much violence in these computer games, so they MUST be causing all the violence we're seeing in schools." (BLAH!!!!)
--
Every once in a while, something like this happens.
But look at the cost... something like $10,000 in legal fees were awarded, and the total claim is just over $15,000 (including interest).
I take this to mean that the person who won the claim had to take the chance that he might lose, and be out $10,000... plus maybe legal fees for the OTHER side!
It's not your classic David and Goliath story, but it's nice to see an individual win out over a corporation. It looks like the system works in this case.
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"Do you want them medium rare? Well done? Do you want fries with them?"
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It can't be a meaningful list. Where's John Katz?????
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Give them your credit card number, and after pressing the mouse button JUST ONCE, you TOO can have a license for the one-click patent.
However, if you click twice, the license if voided.
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[Message censored by Slashdot anti-flame filter]
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I graduated from high school in 1976, and went to University in 1977. I had gotten interested in computers in 1974, though a "computer concepts" course in high school (working on teletypes and time sharing with a bunch of other schools in my region). I got very good with the computers there, quickly surpassing my teacher in knowledge (although he helped me find better references and manuals to read).
I was interested in a computer career, so I asked a few programming professionals that I knew what I should do in college. All of them told me to FORGET about taking computer courses , they were too theoretical for the "real world" (read "business world"); if I wanted to be successful, find an industry that is using computers, and learn that industry. In other words, learn a bit about accounting if you figured you would be doing payroll, A/P, etc.
I took their advice (and a couple of scholarships and grants) and went to University as a pre-med (figuring that doctors would always have enough money to make computing for that profession worthwhile). When I visited the computer room at the place, I was VERY glad that I didn't become "just another computer geek." Those guys were sleeping next to the terminals... bad hygiene... all those other stereotypes we have today.
However, the problem with my decision was that it turned out that I **HATED** the science courses that were necessary for a pre-med occupation, and really DID love programming.
I eventually dropped out of college, and got a job as a computer operator, and then worked my way up to programmer, etc.
Today, I don't know if taking more computer courses in college would have helped (I am probably an exception), but I have two daughters that will be considering college in a few years, and I know that my advice to them would be to NOT do it the way that I did... it was most definitely the hard way.
If you really like something, then spending 4-6 years immersing yourself in the depths of the subject in an educational setting is money well spent.
Although, looking back, I can say that after I left University, I *did* have fun.
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(since that's what is running on my work system).
/usr/bin /usr/bin/X11 /sbin /usr/sbin 2>/dev/null | wc -l
/usr/local/bin, /freeware/bin, etc. (since I didn't want to include GNU duplicates of existing Unix programs, which would probably be all right, though).
/usr/bin/X11 probably has a few -- and all those other things I can find on Freshmeat that usually build on my platform.
$ ls -1
1018
And most of these are STANDARD with Tru64 Unix... that is, I didn't include
This includes Netscape (comes standard with Tru64), but not Apache, MySQL, Oracle, Informix, and all those other programs that people with Alpha systems tend to run.
Admittedly, this is just a frozen point in time; with each release, there are some utilities that are obsoleted, and new utilities added.
But the point can be made that any Unix system would have a similar number of standard utilities as well, especially if you include X11, etc.
Of course, this doesn't include vertical applications (banking software, instrumentation programs, chemical analysis programs), games -- although
Maybe the author was counting the number of brain cells in his head... [smile]
(Oh yeah... how many times have CS newbies written "Hello, world!" programs????)
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