"Does it mean I can use my Olympus SLR only to take my own nude pics with mountains in background?"
Hi. God has retained me to represent His interests in the current matter. My client retains exclusive trademark and design interests in both your nude representation AND those mountains you want to photograph. God maintains that nude pictures of you will tend to discredit the theory of Intelligent Design (for example, God forgot to remove Adam's nipples, which are pretty much useless unless you're gay).
We must therefore regretfully inform you that any infringement on God's IP will result in you being struck by a bolt of lightning and being turned into a greasy spot on the floor.
Sincerely,
Beazlebub,
666 9th Circle of Hell
(where the fuck else did you expect God to get a lawyer from, anyway?)
One small correction in an otherwise interesting post (sorry, used up my points already):
"Before you can enforce said copyright it must be registered as such, but the copyright begins the instant you press the shutter.
You're free to seek damaqges even if the copyright is not registered. The only difference is that you're only able to claim actual, provable damages, as opposed to statutory "$M.NN per infringing copy" damages.
By the same logic, tobacco companies will argue that people who play video games are more likely to stay indoors, where second-hand smoke is concentrated, rather than spending their time outdoors.
> > "You know, I've been thinking about this for a while, and I'm not convinced that's true anymore. If it's prominently advertised (say, at the store entrance as it usually is), and you buy merchandise, that could be considered consent to a (legally speaking, not written) contract in which they *do* have the right to search your packages. This is in addition to whatever common-law rights they have under Shopkeeper's Privilege."
How about if they put up a sign saying "we reserve the right to refuse service or charge you more based on your sex, gender, colour, social or civil status, or ethnic origin?" A sign doesn't of itself create a legal right, even if its advertised prominently.
There is no contract when someone posts a sign in the store claiming a fictitious "right to search". A contract requires BOTH parties to obtain something of value (a consideration) as well as wilful consent.
The four elements of a contract:
Consent between both parties (the "meeting of the minds")
Who are legally capable of entering into the agreement
For a contract that is itself lawful (for example, purchase of goods)
In return for good and valid consideration (for example, money).
There is no contract when, for example, there is no meeting of the minds, when one party is incapable of contracting (a minor,e tc), when the object of the contract is illegal or against public welfare (an illicit drug deal), or when there is no benefit for one of the contracting parties.
People are always confusing "promises to gift" with contracts. A promise to gift, without any other conditions, is not a contract, even though it MAY be included in other contracts where valid considerations (benefits) can be presumed to accrue to both parties - for example, marriage contracts, where its' presumed that both parties are getting something they value in return.
In the present example. what are YOU getting as a "consideration" for allowing a search, compared to others who aren't searched? Are you receiving a benefit, such as a 10% discount? Free merchandise? If you don't receive something of value in return, they can't claim any sort of "contract", not even an implied contract.
And with the proliferation of cell phones that can make videos, any store trying such shit as an illegal search deserves to find themselves on youtube.
Police asked someone for ID because he was crossing through a vacant lot.
The person refused to co-operate, as he was not committing a crime.
Filed complaint with the Police Ethics Commission
PROFIT! Awarded $6,000.00
Police still have to have reasonable grounds to stop people in Kanuckistan, unlike Amerika, which is why our cops aren't so heavy-handed, which works out better for them, since there's less likelyhood of an adversarial situation between the police and the average citizen. For the most part, we actually like our cops.
"if you enter our store and move merchandise around or buy things we can reasonably search your things), you can legally be searched by that private entity within reason"
YOu can call the cops - you CANNOT search someone. Not under any circumstances. Also, "or buy things we can reasonably search your things" is such TOTAL bullshit that you may want to have a cup of coffee and re-read what you wrote.
My buying something doesn't give the merchant the right to seach my things. I'd be on 911 so fast if anyone even tried that sort of shit... you can't even do that to a guest in your own home, so how the fuck do you expect merchants to have such a "right"?
WTF are you smoking? They have NO right to search ANYONE. Not in common law (it would be classified as an assault), or in law. Also, they are NOT immune to you suing them if they detain you (a. la. citizens' arrest) and they turn out wrong.
As someone who has had to do a citizen's arrest, the procedure was simple: inform the person that you are arresting them; wait for the police;
If I had been wrong (I wasn't - there were a lot of witnesses), I could have been arrested for unlawful confinement, and sued civilly. And if I had been stupid enough to try to search the person, I would have been charged with assault. No search is allowed by civilians under ANY circumstances.
Don't be an idiot. How are they getting anything but a grainy surveillance cam picture? Ever worked with them? Even the 720x480x30fps images are pretty much useless for identification in most setups, because they have to cover too much area. So that's not going to work...
And if they ask you to leave for no valid reason, and you're a member of a minority group (black, gay, indian, breast-feeding, whatever)? think about it - they don't need the hassles and civil suits.
Its the same as the signs that say "we reserve the right to search your packages." They can put them up all they want - diesn't give them the legal right. You can refuse, and there is NOTHING they can do about it. Even if they call the cops... Just refuse, and tell them "Charge me first. THEN you can look. But be prepared for a false arrest charge!"
Heck, you can even refuse to show your receipt to the stupid "Walmart Greeter" when you're leaving, and they have NO legal right to do anything. Trying to keep you from leaving at that point is unlawful confinement - aka kidnapping.
Stores don't have a right to treat customers as criminals. Grow a backbone.
"Yet in practice, business owners can and do ban you for life from their premises for operating your own video camera."
Sounds like a load of BS to me. How do they "enforce" this ban?
First, they need to be able to ID you - and that's not going to happen, since you have NO obligation to give them any ID, under any circumstances.
Second, if they try to enforce the ban 6 months later, you only have to say "What are you talking about?" What are they going to do - call the cops? To do what? Throw you out for breaking some sort of "ban"? Nah - they'll let it slide instead of making a scene. Besides, with today's cell phones, everyone can take pictures pretty much undetected. Heck, I've taken pics inside Wallyworld (Walmrt) with no problem - and we all know what PITAs they can be! Hey, if they can video me, I can video them.
Um, no, you can't - not on the screen - you HAVE to use an external monitor. The EEE screen is a cheap piece of shit that we used to be able to snarf on eBay for $25 a shot from overstopck resellers.
There's a big difference between subconscious and unconscious. I seriously doubt ANYONE can pick up another person's facial patterns when they're unconscious (asleep).
The $350 model doesn't. Its only when you shell out $400 or more that you get the webcam. For the same $400, you can get 2 OLPC XO machines, one for your mom, and one as a gift to a child in another country. You'll also get a MUCH better video display (800x600, 1024x768 and 1200x900 instead of the wtf 800 x 480), 3x the battery life, etc.
Its often cheaper not to remove an obsolete piece of hardware than to remake the board, or to include the chips for extra functionality, and just not activate them. That's why, for example, at the peak of the 33k vs 56k modem wars, a lot of the 33k modems shipped were the same as their 56k cousins, except for a cut trace. It was cheaper to have one assembly line than to have two.
Was that being shoddy? No, just practical. Look at how many PC cases ship with openings for floppy drives. When's the last time you used a floppy for anything? Are the case manufacturers being shoddy? Or is it just cheaper/more profitable to produce an extra million cases before retooling?
Seriously, do you know *anyone* who doesn't live in the boonies who still uses dial-up? Heck, half the people I know (myself included) have "cut the cord" and abandoned land-lines completely. We couldn't care less if the mb supports a dial-up modem, working or non-working.
Now if the nic had been 10mb instead of 100mb, you'd have a point about "shoddy". Or if the box wasn't upgradeable. Or if the hardware locked you into one software configuration. but $200? You can't even get a Wii for that price. And the machine doesn't pull much wall current.
For people who just want "a computer to go on the internet" its much better than a Windows machine, and at a much better price. Beefing about a modem that *nobody* is going to use and that would actually cost more to design out of the board is either just nit-picking, or pushing an agenda of finding fault because of previous bias - and the latter is what the original reviewer was doing, because by the same criteria, NO current Windows machine under $5,000.00 rates even a 1.
You're free to implement a "better" solution. Unlike with a Windows PC, you can mix-n-match to your hearts' content.
As for the printer thing, its easier to set up printers under linux nowadays. Plug it into the usb port, and most distros will auto-config - no driver disk necessary (like my samsung). Same with uploading music to my cell phone (motorola v635) - just plug it in, and up pops a file browser showing me its contents. Drag-n-drop wallpapers, music, 3gp videos, etc. Added a firewire card last week - configured automatically on boot, no drivers necessary. And my cable internet? Worked out of the box, no configuration necessary. Plugged in a logitech usb cam... again, no drivers needed.
So there's not really much of a need to "offer printers (or other hardware) that they know will work".
We both know the "lose points for the winmodem" argument is bogus. I don't know anyone who still uses dial-up, not when broadband starts at $9.95/month and doesn't tie up your phone line. It would be like taking off points because it has no zip or floppy drive.
Look, its good value for the price, and you're free to install any distro you want on it. If you're that concerned about playing music and dvds, throw a copy of OpenSUSE on it, enable the european repositories, and you'll have all the codecs you need. Or just use smart updater and add packman.de to the list of channels.
Of course, the question is "could you do that and still sell the box for $199.00"? Probably not.
You probably do like I do - build your own box, install your distro, then, as time goes on, add/upgrade components, migrate to a new box, rinse, lather, repeat. But for someone who just wants a box that "works on the net", this is a great buy. the next iteration will probably keep the same price point, fix some of the software config problems with the video, and offer more ram or disk space.
Its not an OLPC, but its not bad. I'd recommend it, and I'm trying to avoid shopping at WallyWorld too often on general principles.
By the same token, you'd have to give most new Vista boxes less than one star.
Incomplete hardware support? Check.
Difficulties with installing software? Check.
Bad autodetection? Check.
Less than green? Well, constantly accessing the hard drive, requiring a gpu that soaks up more power than the computer you're ragging against, etc... Check!
Price? The OS alone costs more than the whole Walmart PC. Check.
Virus-prone? Check.
Ram hog. Check.
Needs added software to be of any use? Check.
Its not like windows comes with working drivers for all your hardware, or Firefox (IE is a handicap, not a plus), GnuCash or another money package, OpenOffice, or any office suite, for that matter, at no extra charge.
The WallyWorld linux box is an okay pc, and an okay value, and you can add tons of software for free. Vista machines, by comparison, are overpriced energy hogs with no useful included software and a history of being zombified. Microsoft has made the same claim with every OS since they claimed Windows95 would be safe from viruses "because viruses can't run in a 32-bit environment."
"I want to give one to my mother to get her on the Internet. She only needs to be able to do some light email and web browsing on it."
Then why not buy her an OLPC, under the "buy one, give one" plan. Better screen (readable in full daylight), much longer run-time (12 hours), included webcam, etc. People really like them.
Besides, the eee pc runs Xandros, and they're on our shit-list, remember?
"She was on TV, cut her a break, it's quite possible she couldn't function under the stress"
Riiiight... like everyone cracks the first time they're in front of a large audience... and like this was the first time she was in front of a large audience.
Oops - neither of those was the case.
The simple truth is (1) she had nothing to say, and (2) she used too many words to say it.
Give her a few years and she'll be running for office. Unfortunately, her non-message resonates with a certain part of the electorate.
... and yes, I've been on TV newscasts more than a dozen times... you learn to pretty much ignore the cameras after the first few seconds, and let the camera guys do their job.
"1080 lines! Wow! Correct me if I'm wrong (like I have to ask) but that's basically the same picture you'll get on your 1024 x 768 monitor, but blown up to be 108 inches"
Um, no, that's the same picture you'll get on your 1728 x 1080 monitor, but blown up to be 108 inches.
Slashdot Mirror
"Does it mean I can use my Olympus SLR only to take my own nude pics with mountains in background?"
Hi. God has retained me to represent His interests in the current matter. My client retains exclusive trademark and design interests in both your nude representation AND those mountains you want to photograph. God maintains that nude pictures of you will tend to discredit the theory of Intelligent Design (for example, God forgot to remove Adam's nipples, which are pretty much useless unless you're gay).
We must therefore regretfully inform you that any infringement on God's IP will result in you being struck by a bolt of lightning and being turned into a greasy spot on the floor.
Sincerely,
Beazlebub,
666 9th Circle of Hell
(where the fuck else did you expect God to get a lawyer from, anyway?)
One small correction in an otherwise interesting post (sorry, used up my points already):
"Before you can enforce said copyright it must be registered as such, but the copyright begins the instant you press the shutter.
You're free to seek damaqges even if the copyright is not registered. The only difference is that you're only able to claim actual, provable damages, as opposed to statutory "$M.NN per infringing copy" damages.
"How many American industries have sued themselves into extinction? I'm having trouble thinking of one."
Gee, you must be new here. How about those guys who used to say they "owned Unix"?
You know, the SCOundrels, those litigious bastards who are in voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy, because otherwise they'd already be in Chapter 7?
By the same logic, tobacco companies will argue that people who play video games are more likely to stay indoors, where second-hand smoke is concentrated, rather than spending their time outdoors.
Fucktards.
The real difference between Europe and the U.S.of A.
All I can say is "vive la difference!"
Other copies, in case of slashdotting ...
here and here
> > "You know, I've been thinking about this for a while, and I'm not convinced that's true anymore. If it's prominently advertised (say, at the store entrance as it usually is), and you buy merchandise, that could be considered consent to a (legally speaking, not written) contract in which they *do* have the right to search your packages. This is in addition to whatever common-law rights they have under Shopkeeper's Privilege." How about if they put up a sign saying "we reserve the right to refuse service or charge you more based on your sex, gender, colour, social or civil status, or ethnic origin?" A sign doesn't of itself create a legal right, even if its advertised prominently.
There is no contract when someone posts a sign in the store claiming a fictitious "right to search". A contract requires BOTH parties to obtain something of value (a consideration) as well as wilful consent.
The four elements of a contract:
- Consent between both parties (the "meeting of the minds")
- Who are legally capable of entering into the agreement
- For a contract that is itself lawful (for example, purchase of goods)
- In return for good and valid consideration (for example, money).
There is no contract when, for example, there is no meeting of the minds, when one party is incapable of contracting (a minor,e tc), when the object of the contract is illegal or against public welfare (an illicit drug deal), or when there is no benefit for one of the contracting parties.People are always confusing "promises to gift" with contracts. A promise to gift, without any other conditions, is not a contract, even though it MAY be included in other contracts where valid considerations (benefits) can be presumed to accrue to both parties - for example, marriage contracts, where its' presumed that both parties are getting something they value in return.
In the present example. what are YOU getting as a "consideration" for allowing a search, compared to others who aren't searched? Are you receiving a benefit, such as a 10% discount? Free merchandise? If you don't receive something of value in return, they can't claim any sort of "contract", not even an implied contract.
And with the proliferation of cell phones that can make videos, any store trying such shit as an illegal search deserves to find themselves on youtube.
Come to Canada.
Police still have to have reasonable grounds to stop people in Kanuckistan, unlike Amerika, which is why our cops aren't so heavy-handed, which works out better for them, since there's less likelyhood of an adversarial situation between the police and the average citizen. For the most part, we actually like our cops.
"if you enter our store and move merchandise around or buy things we can reasonably search your things), you can legally be searched by that private entity within reason"
YOu can call the cops - you CANNOT search someone. Not under any circumstances. Also, "or buy things we can reasonably search your things" is such TOTAL bullshit that you may want to have a cup of coffee and re-read what you wrote.
My buying something doesn't give the merchant the right to seach my things. I'd be on 911 so fast if anyone even tried that sort of shit ... you can't even do that to a guest in your own home, so how the fuck do you expect merchants to have such a "right"?
(sigh)
WTF are you smoking? They have NO right to search ANYONE. Not in common law (it would be classified as an assault), or in law. Also, they are NOT immune to you suing them if they detain you (a. la. citizens' arrest) and they turn out wrong.
As someone who has had to do a citizen's arrest, the procedure was simple: inform the person that you are arresting them; wait for the police;
If I had been wrong (I wasn't - there were a lot of witnesses), I could have been arrested for unlawful confinement, and sued civilly. And if I had been stupid enough to try to search the person, I would have been charged with assault. No search is allowed by civilians under ANY circumstances.
Don't be an idiot. How are they getting anything but a grainy surveillance cam picture? Ever worked with them? Even the 720x480x30fps images are pretty much useless for identification in most setups, because they have to cover too much area. So that's not going to work ...
And if they ask you to leave for no valid reason, and you're a member of a minority group (black, gay, indian, breast-feeding, whatever)? think about it - they don't need the hassles and civil suits.
Its the same as the signs that say "we reserve the right to search your packages." They can put them up all they want - diesn't give them the legal right. You can refuse, and there is NOTHING they can do about it. Even if they call the cops ... Just refuse, and tell them "Charge me first. THEN you can look. But be prepared for a false arrest charge!"
Heck, you can even refuse to show your receipt to the stupid "Walmart Greeter" when you're leaving, and they have NO legal right to do anything. Trying to keep you from leaving at that point is unlawful confinement - aka kidnapping.
Stores don't have a right to treat customers as criminals. Grow a backbone.
"Yet in practice, business owners can and do ban you for life from their premises for operating your own video camera."
Sounds like a load of BS to me. How do they "enforce" this ban?
First, they need to be able to ID you - and that's not going to happen, since you have NO obligation to give them any ID, under any circumstances.
Second, if they try to enforce the ban 6 months later, you only have to say "What are you talking about?" What are they going to do - call the cops? To do what? Throw you out for breaking some sort of "ban"? Nah - they'll let it slide instead of making a scene. Besides, with today's cell phones, everyone can take pictures pretty much undetected. Heck, I've taken pics inside Wallyworld (Walmrt) with no problem - and we all know what PITAs they can be! Hey, if they can video me, I can video them.
"My fellow Americans, I'm pleased to tell you today that I've signed legislation that will outlaw .py forever"
What, no more "American Py?"
While you're at it, how about reviving the old "We'll legislate pi to be 3.0"?
If they can block links to myminicity, I for one would welcome our new Russian DNS Overlords!
Better yet, lets give them myminicity.ro or rf, or whatever, and let let them build their own gulags.
In Soviet Russia, DNS blocks YOU.
"Actually, With the EEE you can go 1600x1280"
Um, no, you can't - not on the screen - you HAVE to use an external monitor. The EEE screen is a cheap piece of shit that we used to be able to snarf on eBay for $25 a shot from overstopck resellers.
"and then asked to sleep and engage in other activities".
Have a happy new year!
There's a big difference between subconscious and unconscious. I seriously doubt ANYONE can pick up another person's facial patterns when they're unconscious (asleep).
The $350 model doesn't. Its only when you shell out $400 or more that you get the webcam. For the same $400, you can get 2 OLPC XO machines, one for your mom, and one as a gift to a child in another country. You'll also get a MUCH better video display (800x600, 1024x768 and 1200x900 instead of the wtf 800 x 480), 3x the battery life, etc.
Its often cheaper not to remove an obsolete piece of hardware than to remake the board, or to include the chips for extra functionality, and just not activate them. That's why, for example, at the peak of the 33k vs 56k modem wars, a lot of the 33k modems shipped were the same as their 56k cousins, except for a cut trace. It was cheaper to have one assembly line than to have two.
Was that being shoddy? No, just practical. Look at how many PC cases ship with openings for floppy drives. When's the last time you used a floppy for anything? Are the case manufacturers being shoddy? Or is it just cheaper/more profitable to produce an extra million cases before retooling?
Seriously, do you know *anyone* who doesn't live in the boonies who still uses dial-up? Heck, half the people I know (myself included) have "cut the cord" and abandoned land-lines completely. We couldn't care less if the mb supports a dial-up modem, working or non-working.
Now if the nic had been 10mb instead of 100mb, you'd have a point about "shoddy". Or if the box wasn't upgradeable. Or if the hardware locked you into one software configuration. but $200? You can't even get a Wii for that price. And the machine doesn't pull much wall current.
For people who just want "a computer to go on the internet" its much better than a Windows machine, and at a much better price. Beefing about a modem that *nobody* is going to use and that would actually cost more to design out of the board is either just nit-picking, or pushing an agenda of finding fault because of previous bias - and the latter is what the original reviewer was doing, because by the same criteria, NO current Windows machine under $5,000.00 rates even a 1.
You're free to implement a "better" solution. Unlike with a Windows PC, you can mix-n-match to your hearts' content.
As for the printer thing, its easier to set up printers under linux nowadays. Plug it into the usb port, and most distros will auto-config - no driver disk necessary (like my samsung). Same with uploading music to my cell phone (motorola v635) - just plug it in, and up pops a file browser showing me its contents. Drag-n-drop wallpapers, music, 3gp videos, etc. Added a firewire card last week - configured automatically on boot, no drivers necessary. And my cable internet? Worked out of the box, no configuration necessary. Plugged in a logitech usb cam ... again, no drivers needed.
So there's not really much of a need to "offer printers (or other hardware) that they know will work".
We both know the "lose points for the winmodem" argument is bogus. I don't know anyone who still uses dial-up, not when broadband starts at $9.95/month and doesn't tie up your phone line. It would be like taking off points because it has no zip or floppy drive.
Look, its good value for the price, and you're free to install any distro you want on it. If you're that concerned about playing music and dvds, throw a copy of OpenSUSE on it, enable the european repositories, and you'll have all the codecs you need. Or just use smart updater and add packman.de to the list of channels.
Of course, the question is "could you do that and still sell the box for $199.00"? Probably not.
You probably do like I do - build your own box, install your distro, then, as time goes on, add/upgrade components, migrate to a new box, rinse, lather, repeat. But for someone who just wants a box that "works on the net", this is a great buy. the next iteration will probably keep the same price point, fix some of the software config problems with the video, and offer more ram or disk space.
Its not an OLPC, but its not bad. I'd recommend it, and I'm trying to avoid shopping at WallyWorld too often on general principles.
"people are really clever at catching on to subtle clues like experimenter's face"
They must be REALLY clever to be able to do that in their sleep.
By the same token, you'd have to give most new Vista boxes less than one star.
Incomplete hardware support? Check.
Difficulties with installing software? Check.
Bad autodetection? Check.
Less than green? Well, constantly accessing the hard drive, requiring a gpu that soaks up more power than the computer you're ragging against, etc ... Check!
Price? The OS alone costs more than the whole Walmart PC. Check.
Virus-prone? Check.
Ram hog. Check.
Needs added software to be of any use? Check.
Its not like windows comes with working drivers for all your hardware, or Firefox (IE is a handicap, not a plus), GnuCash or another money package, OpenOffice, or any office suite, for that matter, at no extra charge.
The WallyWorld linux box is an okay pc, and an okay value, and you can add tons of software for free. Vista machines, by comparison, are overpriced energy hogs with no useful included software and a history of being zombified. Microsoft has made the same claim with every OS since they claimed Windows95 would be safe from viruses "because viruses can't run in a 32-bit environment."
"I want to give one to my mother to get her on the Internet. She only needs to be able to do some light email and web browsing on it."
Then why not buy her an OLPC, under the "buy one, give one" plan. Better screen (readable in full daylight), much longer run-time (12 hours), included webcam, etc. People really like them.
Besides, the eee pc runs Xandros, and they're on our shit-list, remember?
"She was on TV, cut her a break, it's quite possible she couldn't function under the stress"
Riiiight ... like everyone cracks the first time they're in front of a large audience ... and like this was the first time she was in front of a large audience.
Oops - neither of those was the case.
The simple truth is (1) she had nothing to say, and (2) she used too many words to say it.
Give her a few years and she'll be running for office. Unfortunately, her non-message resonates with a certain part of the electorate.
Um, no, that's the same picture you'll get on your 1728 x 1080 monitor, but blown up to be 108 inches.