If there was much FUD to be had then people would not already be signing up to be sued first
Re:Stop with the Johnny Depp nonsense
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Piracy Economics
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· Score: 1
For starters, the movie and music companies are nasty and greedy multi-national conglomerates who would like nothing more than to force every consumer into a rental model for their media so that they have a nice, regular revenue stream for basically doing nothing. All that piracy does here is to give those same companies the justification they need to do what they were going to do anyway - it just makes it easier for them to do it because piracy turns it into a political agenda meaning that governments can get involved in pushing DRM and the like through. I agree, and to be blunt thats why I have not bought a single CD (Sony Rootkit Fiasco), gone to see a single movie since the original Matrix one (movies are usually full of trash and feature overpayed stars thus inflating the price of the tickets) and do not really collect DVDs (though other people in the house do).
Now if only I could stop them from collectingleviesonblankmedia then I could honestly say I can give a flying fuck about their piracy issues. As it stands I'm basically paying for their legal machine everytime I buy some CD's to burn the latest linux distributions on.
Thats because the software simply isnt worth $600+. It is more than the market is willing to bear under normal circumstances.
Do you think Photoshop would be one of the most pirated software in existence if they sold it for $60-80 instead of $600? Probably not, and they'd likely make more than 10x the $$$ off of sales than they do now.
I'm glad to see that you are getting such support on your site but the question remains. Wont sites like this indicate people that Microsoft should not sue first because they'd rather go after someone with no money who is willing to settle (IE. The MAFIAA model of business). Doing this just removes a few landmines from Microsoft's litigation engine until they have some solid suits behind them.
I'm inclined to think that like some other posters have suggested (either here or in other articles about the patent war) that sending a Cease and Desist order to Microsoft would probably garner the same or better results because then Microsoft would have to shut up about the patent infringements (thereby preventing them from their primary objective in this by spreading FUD) or bring the case(s) to court (where they are likely to fail)
I am pretty sure that the Novell distribution will use entirely GPLv2 code. If any GPLv3 code makes its way into Novell then both Novell and Microsoft will probably end up dead in the water.
Yeah and at $18,000 for a drive these big companies don't have to worry about people losing discs anymore because they'll be the only ones who can afford the drives to read them!
Simple... If you post the keys immediately they have how many HD-DVD's sitting there with already compromised keys. I mean really who wants to use a content protection scheme that's cracked even before your product hits the shelves. The choice then is to either...
a) Sell it and say fuck it (admitting defeat) b) Destroy the copies and blow yet more $$$ because you need to do another run of HD-DVD's
Well considering the short message by the parent...
There has been talk for a long time about how if big companies start switching over to Linux that Microsoft will lose even more market share as other smaller companies get in their mind 'Hey we can do this too and tell Microsoft to go #*&% itself with their licensing fees'.
Not a huge deal since they did not use any Microsoft products before, but the fact that they chose Linux and AIX over Microsoft just goes to show that the financial sector wants security and reliability (Hey has Microsoft patented daily crashes yet?). I do not blame them for using Linux since uptime on them tend to be very high (sometimes in the order of years) and does not require a reboot every single time you make the tiniest most insignificant patch.
[Microsoft licensing chief Horacio] Gutierrez refuses to identify specific patents or explain how they're being infringed, lest FOSS advocates start filing challenges to them. Translation: They know the patents wont stand up to scrutiny in court so they're going to keep them secret so they can try and extort money from everyone.
Nothing to see here, move along people... Call me when there is an actual lawsuit and we can see what exactly is behind the curtain that Microsoft is trying to hide all their patents behind.
But seriously, the numbers almost certainly include every single copy of XP sold in the past year with their 'free upgrade to Windows Vista' bullshit as numerous other comments in other threads have pointed out.
This is most definitely NOT the number of copies of Vista installed. I can guarantee you that. Even friends who have bought new computers with Vista installed have wiped the hard drive and installed Linux or XP on it.
Also this is not only a problem with technical support in the computer sector but it is a problem with most big companies today. The lack of LOCALIZED phone support for things is a big problem, if I'm calling a company's 1-800 number I want to speak to someone who understands and speaks the language that I know with at least enough fluency to understand them, I dont really care about accents so much as long as I can understand them. I can imagine that if the situation were reversed and people in India were calling to the US for tech support that they would want people who can speak whatever language is common there.
I mean you would think that if you are going to be answering calls from North America area that the person would be required to speak fluent english? Not some half assed mishmash of english with a super thick accent that you cant understand what they are saying so you have to have them repeat themselves like 4 or 5 times.
I'm not an audio engineer but from a telecom course I took the basic idea is that you sample at twice the highest frequency (IE. 20kHz frequency would require 40k samples a second).
For the most part humans focus on the 300Hz-3.3kHz range which is why the phone companies only give you about 3k Bandwidth and sample at about 8k samples a second over POTS.
I'm pretty sure any judge in their right mind can see that blocking ads != Content Protection Mechanism. They could make a case for any HTTPS protected pages though since those are by definition protecting people from unauthorized access.
And unfortunately DMCA notices ONLY apply to copyrighted material or means to circumvent the access of copyrighted material.
So I would imagine that the toolbar by NOT displaying some portions of the website is not breaking any laws (its the same as having Adblock Plus on I imagine). Of course the only point of contention could be the 'see preview image regardless if seller payed for it or not' part could be the only portion that is even remotely DMCA-able. In which case they remove that minor bit of functionality and go on their way.
Just goes to show, Open Source can and will bite the big players in the ass if they are too slow.
No, it wont be bad for Ubuntu. It may be bad for any Linux Guru's around making them go prematurely bald by having them rip their hair out when some Dell customer asks them 'Wheres Internet Explorer?' or 'Does this thing have google?' or in the case of semi-knowledgeable find that they've activated the root account and are running everything from there instead of using 'sudo' (yes you can cringe now)
I popped in Kubuntu 7.04 (Feisty) into my laptop. Other than a bit of screen resolution issue which really wasnt that big of an issue... Everything worked, including the wireless connection. After some quick configuration (basically putting in my WEP key, yes I know WEP is useless) it worked and I was browsing with Google with no problems.
No offense but the parent of this parent is right... I mean lots of questions I get from my own family in my own house....
Does this computer have google? (Ofcourse it does its just a website) Wheres the internet? (Internet Explorer Icon) How do I get to my email? (well if you dont know how the hell am I supposed to? I dont know if you are using MSN, Gmail, etc...)
So yeah to Joe Average end user the internet is just that blue icon you click on to get to google and check your email. Its sad but I'd expect over 80% of computer users are this way with no basic knowledge of how the stuff works behind it mostly because a majority havent grown up with the internet being commonplace. To Joe Average end user the Internet is just a series of tubes... straight out of Sen. Ted Stevens mouth
Hahaha... That is just win. I'm sure there are plenty more games than that one that demonstrate 'prior art' as well.
I mean really, can someone tell me when we've been able to patent stupid things like using mouse clicks and moving a mouse around the keyboard, etc... This is probably one of the poster child for why software patents should not be permitted.
LOL... The guys picture in the article looks like an idiot. If anyone is believing this bullshit by some Microsoft shill... I got a deed to the Atlantic Ocean I want to sell, $1 billion dollars its cheap!
Software as a Service will never become popular as long as the open source movement exists. This is why Microsoft is trying its hardest to make everyone believe its dead and doing all the sabre rattling with regards to patents.
Proprietary software has its place in the marketplace but trying to force people who are already operating under the licensing model of software to switch to Software as a Service(SaaS) scheme... Even the most financially irresponsible person can see that paying $10-20/mo over the course of your computers lifetime is more than buying a single copy at $100-120 (oh wait sorry for Vista thats like $400 for Ultimate, this in comparison to Server 2003 which is $600).
SaaS has its place as well... I mean look at all the MMO's out there, they are all basically SaaS schemes. They work because they are providing something people want (a forum for interaction with both real people as well as computer AI 'mobs' and a sense of accomplishment). Of course one could argue that the servers the thing runs on is basically a service in which case a MMO truely becomes a Service as a Service scheme where you buy subscriptions (sorta like how Linux server distros sell service contracts to come help fix things if stuff gets broken)
Nope no corruption here... Not until you see Copyright violators getting more jail time than murderers and rapists... oh wait I think they already do (well the rapists atleast).
Actually I hand-code just about everything in valid XHTML Strict. Integrated with CSS and hand written javascript and PHP. It is the only way to be certain that some editor isnt shoving in random useless garbage like a crapload of comments with 'CREATED WITH X-EDITOR! (C) 2007!'
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If there was much FUD to be had then people would not already be signing up to be sued first
Now if only I could stop them from collecting levies on blank media then I could honestly say I can give a flying fuck about their piracy issues. As it stands I'm basically paying for their legal machine everytime I buy some CD's to burn the latest linux distributions on.
Thats because the software simply isnt worth $600+. It is more than the market is willing to bear under normal circumstances.
Do you think Photoshop would be one of the most pirated software in existence if they sold it for $60-80 instead of $600? Probably not, and they'd likely make more than 10x the $$$ off of sales than they do now.
I'm glad to see that you are getting such support on your site but the question remains. Wont sites like this indicate people that Microsoft should not sue first because they'd rather go after someone with no money who is willing to settle (IE. The MAFIAA model of business). Doing this just removes a few landmines from Microsoft's litigation engine until they have some solid suits behind them.
I'm inclined to think that like some other posters have suggested (either here or in other articles about the patent war) that sending a Cease and Desist order to Microsoft would probably garner the same or better results because then Microsoft would have to shut up about the patent infringements (thereby preventing them from their primary objective in this by spreading FUD) or bring the case(s) to court (where they are likely to fail)
Here's hoping. At least with Linux you can have those army of Chinese coders examine each and every part of that 50mb kernel for exploits and flaws :)
I am pretty sure that the Novell distribution will use entirely GPLv2 code. If any GPLv3 code makes its way into Novell then both Novell and Microsoft will probably end up dead in the water.
Why not? After all the US is enforcing their laws on other countries' citizens already, why should they not also gain the benefits from the US Constitution as well?
Yeah and at $18,000 for a drive these big companies don't have to worry about people losing discs anymore because they'll be the only ones who can afford the drives to read them!
Simple... If you post the keys immediately they have how many HD-DVD's sitting there with already compromised keys. I mean really who wants to use a content protection scheme that's cracked even before your product hits the shelves. The choice then is to either...
a) Sell it and say fuck it (admitting defeat)
b) Destroy the copies and blow yet more $$$ because you need to do another run of HD-DVD's
Knowing the MPAA, they'll choose option B.
Well considering the short message by the parent...
There has been talk for a long time about how if big companies start switching over to Linux that Microsoft will lose even more market share as other smaller companies get in their mind 'Hey we can do this too and tell Microsoft to go #*&% itself with their licensing fees'.
Not a huge deal since they did not use any Microsoft products before, but the fact that they chose Linux and AIX over Microsoft just goes to show that the financial sector wants security and reliability (Hey has Microsoft patented daily crashes yet?). I do not blame them for using Linux since uptime on them tend to be very high (sometimes in the order of years) and does not require a reboot every single time you make the tiniest most insignificant patch.
The Next PC will be your Toaster! It will run Windows Vista, and by the time its done making your toast you'll probably throw it through a window too.
[Microsoft licensing chief Horacio] Gutierrez refuses to identify specific patents or explain how they're being infringed, lest FOSS advocates start filing challenges to them. Translation: They know the patents wont stand up to scrutiny in court so they're going to keep them secret so they can try and extort money from everyone.
Nothing to see here, move along people... Call me when there is an actual lawsuit and we can see what exactly is behind the curtain that Microsoft is trying to hide all their patents behind.
Obviously Bill Gates is buying the licenses!
But seriously, the numbers almost certainly include every single copy of XP sold in the past year with their 'free upgrade to Windows Vista' bullshit as numerous other comments in other threads have pointed out.
This is most definitely NOT the number of copies of Vista installed. I can guarantee you that. Even friends who have bought new computers with Vista installed have wiped the hard drive and installed Linux or XP on it.
Mod Parent Up! This is not really a troll.
Also this is not only a problem with technical support in the computer sector but it is a problem with most big companies today. The lack of LOCALIZED phone support for things is a big problem, if I'm calling a company's 1-800 number I want to speak to someone who understands and speaks the language that I know with at least enough fluency to understand them, I dont really care about accents so much as long as I can understand them. I can imagine that if the situation were reversed and people in India were calling to the US for tech support that they would want people who can speak whatever language is common there.
I mean you would think that if you are going to be answering calls from North America area that the person would be required to speak fluent english? Not some half assed mishmash of english with a super thick accent that you cant understand what they are saying so you have to have them repeat themselves like 4 or 5 times.
I'm not an audio engineer but from a telecom course I took the basic idea is that you sample at twice the highest frequency (IE. 20kHz frequency would require 40k samples a second).
For the most part humans focus on the 300Hz-3.3kHz range which is why the phone companies only give you about 3k Bandwidth and sample at about 8k samples a second over POTS.
I'm pretty sure any judge in their right mind can see that blocking ads != Content Protection Mechanism. They could make a case for any HTTPS protected pages though since those are by definition protecting people from unauthorized access.
And unfortunately DMCA notices ONLY apply to copyrighted material or means to circumvent the access of copyrighted material.
So I would imagine that the toolbar by NOT displaying some portions of the website is not breaking any laws (its the same as having Adblock Plus on I imagine). Of course the only point of contention could be the 'see preview image regardless if seller payed for it or not' part could be the only portion that is even remotely DMCA-able. In which case they remove that minor bit of functionality and go on their way.
Just goes to show, Open Source can and will bite the big players in the ass if they are too slow.
No, it wont be bad for Ubuntu. It may be bad for any Linux Guru's around making them go prematurely bald by having them rip their hair out when some Dell customer asks them 'Wheres Internet Explorer?' or 'Does this thing have google?' or in the case of semi-knowledgeable find that they've activated the root account and are running everything from there instead of using 'sudo' (yes you can cringe now)
I popped in Kubuntu 7.04 (Feisty) into my laptop. Other than a bit of screen resolution issue which really wasnt that big of an issue... Everything worked, including the wireless connection. After some quick configuration (basically putting in my WEP key, yes I know WEP is useless) it worked and I was browsing with Google with no problems.
No offense but the parent of this parent is right... I mean lots of questions I get from my own family in my own house....
Does this computer have google? (Ofcourse it does its just a website)
Wheres the internet? (Internet Explorer Icon)
How do I get to my email? (well if you dont know how the hell am I supposed to? I dont know if you are using MSN, Gmail, etc...)
So yeah to Joe Average end user the internet is just that blue icon you click on to get to google and check your email. Its sad but I'd expect over 80% of computer users are this way with no basic knowledge of how the stuff works behind it mostly because a majority havent grown up with the internet being commonplace. To Joe Average end user the Internet is just a series of tubes... straight out of Sen. Ted Stevens mouth
Hahaha... That is just win. I'm sure there are plenty more games than that one that demonstrate 'prior art' as well.
I mean really, can someone tell me when we've been able to patent stupid things like using mouse clicks and moving a mouse around the keyboard, etc... This is probably one of the poster child for why software patents should not be permitted.
Its over there, right next to the UN Weapons Inspectors for Iraq.
LOL... The guys picture in the article looks like an idiot. If anyone is believing this bullshit by some Microsoft shill... I got a deed to the Atlantic Ocean I want to sell, $1 billion dollars its cheap!
Software as a Service will never become popular as long as the open source movement exists. This is why Microsoft is trying its hardest to make everyone believe its dead and doing all the sabre rattling with regards to patents.
Proprietary software has its place in the marketplace but trying to force people who are already operating under the licensing model of software to switch to Software as a Service(SaaS) scheme... Even the most financially irresponsible person can see that paying $10-20/mo over the course of your computers lifetime is more than buying a single copy at $100-120 (oh wait sorry for Vista thats like $400 for Ultimate, this in comparison to Server 2003 which is $600).
SaaS has its place as well... I mean look at all the MMO's out there, they are all basically SaaS schemes. They work because they are providing something people want (a forum for interaction with both real people as well as computer AI 'mobs' and a sense of accomplishment). Of course one could argue that the servers the thing runs on is basically a service in which case a MMO truely becomes a Service as a Service scheme where you buy subscriptions (sorta like how Linux server distros sell service contracts to come help fix things if stuff gets broken)
Nope no corruption here... Not until you see Copyright violators getting more jail time than murderers and rapists... oh wait I think they already do (well the rapists atleast).
Actually I hand-code just about everything in valid XHTML Strict. Integrated with CSS and hand written javascript and PHP. It is the only way to be certain that some editor isnt shoving in random useless garbage like a crapload of comments with 'CREATED WITH X-EDITOR! (C) 2007!'