I don't know. Over the course of several days, Dave tried to very politely extract information from an increasingly unhelpful Christophoro. In the end, he triggered the Streissand-bomb. I'm willing to forgive a little bit of textual trollface, after what Christophoro pulled. Plus, Christophoro's further antics show he learned nothing, and would have carried on had it not been for the massive backlash from some very important people in the industry.
"Why is it that software patents specifically should be abolished?"
Because in order to hold a software patent, you're not required to actually have engineered an actual product.
Not to mention that the "products" in question are essentially applied mathematical formulae, and a software patent punishes developers who happen upon the same formula.
I keep Windows 7 on my laptop, so I can test IE natively. My wife occasionally borrows it to watch Netflix in bed. Other than that, her desktop is a Mac, and mine is Ubuntu. My netbook, I'm using to mess around with FreeBSD, and we also have an old laptop that runs Ubuntu as well.
If I can't run Skyrim through Wine, I guess I'll be doing some gaming on the Windows laptop, but other than occasional use like this, I've been either Windows-free or using Windows alongside GNU/Linux for the past seven years or so.
Then -wonder of wonders- you can go to this thing called a "store" (online or off), and exchange cash for the ability to listen to music commercial-free. Funny how that works, isn't it? Pay one time, listen to the music forever. That's a better deal than I get with my plumber!
You're not simply watching the movie, you're doing so in a venue owned by a third party, which incurs expenses every time you want to sit down and watch a movie there. If I pay my plumber every single time I make him come over, why wouldn't I pay a theater every single time I use their facilities for my entertainment?
*cough* Commercial Radio
Do you object to an artist getting paid every time a radio station uses their music to attract listeners, and in turn, make money themselves? How does that affect you? It's a transaction that doesn't involve you in any way.
You don't pay the artist every time you listen to a song, either.
The plumber and the carpenter charge me one-time fees for the work they do for me. The artist charges me a one-time fee for the work he has on offer. Seems reasonable enough.
The difference is that the artist doesn't need to record the song over again each time someone wants to buy it, whereas the plumber and carpenter have to get off their asses and "perform". You call the difference unfair. It's not, it's mere circumstance. Do you consider it unfair that our society so loves sports that the top participants command salaries in the millions? Or that movies are such a popular form of entertainment that studios will pay millions to have a certain name and face associated with their product? If the plumber or carpenter designs a tool that allows him to complete twice as many jobs in a given day, should he make less? Why is it "unfair" to have a good that's easy to mass-produce? Isn't that the argument pirates wield most often? "it's not theft, it's just a copy that doesn't deprive the author of the original". If people want to pay for access to such products, and willingly do so, how is that "unfair"?
The rest of the world has pretty much been telling the US to fuck itself with a pineapple over Helms-Burton. It certainly hasn't affected Cuba's trade with the rest of Latin America, especially Venezuela.
Cuba's failure is a result of the fundamental failure of one-party government and a planned economy. If the embargo ended today, nothing would change in Cuba. Citizens would still be on rationed food and power, no freedom of movement, and with prohibitively expensive (if any) access to telecommunications. Why? Because the aim of every "revolution" of the last 100 years has been "revolution". The goal of the struggle is to struggle. If you don't keep your people under the illusion of a permanent state of siege, they might just realize they have options.
Slashdot Mirror
I don't know. Over the course of several days, Dave tried to very politely extract information from an increasingly unhelpful Christophoro. In the end, he triggered the Streissand-bomb. I'm willing to forgive a little bit of textual trollface, after what Christophoro pulled. Plus, Christophoro's further antics show he learned nothing, and would have carried on had it not been for the massive backlash from some very important people in the industry.
It's a controller designed for those with hand disabilities.
Yes, the Patriarca crime family.
British slang for "sucker", though it's also commonly used to refer to the average patron at a business.
http://www.xfce.org/
You're welcome.
"Why is it that software patents specifically should be abolished?"
Because in order to hold a software patent, you're not required to actually have engineered an actual product.
Not to mention that the "products" in question are essentially applied mathematical formulae, and a software patent punishes developers who happen upon the same formula.
The Tea Party has been co-opted into Fox News' astroturfing arm.
NEVER ask for tits on Slashdot, unless you're into hairy manboobs.
Game, set, match.
I keep Windows 7 on my laptop, so I can test IE natively. My wife occasionally borrows it to watch Netflix in bed. Other than that, her desktop is a Mac, and mine is Ubuntu. My netbook, I'm using to mess around with FreeBSD, and we also have an old laptop that runs Ubuntu as well.
If I can't run Skyrim through Wine, I guess I'll be doing some gaming on the Windows laptop, but other than occasional use like this, I've been either Windows-free or using Windows alongside GNU/Linux for the past seven years or so.
Taco,
If you can't tell Moody's from S&P, you probably shouldn't be commenting on the issue.
Moody's still rates the US as AAA, as does Fitch.
HODOR?
"God" is not a proper noun. Yahweh, Allah, Ganesha? Yep. Capitalizing "god" is like capitalizing "deity".
Man, you make Aaron Seigo look mild-mannered.
The GPL is ethically questionable?
Am I a terrorist or simply someone bored with the daily walk to and from the workplace?
You're a geek who should realize The Matrix isn't the only movie he's allowed to watch.
...sure makes some people whiny.
He wants to know WHO is on this "membership board" and what their credentials are for judging a contributor's worth.
Chrome has worked out better for me on Linux than on Windows. I don't understand the "unstable on Linux" comments I keep reading.
Then -wonder of wonders- you can go to this thing called a "store" (online or off), and exchange cash for the ability to listen to music commercial-free. Funny how that works, isn't it? Pay one time, listen to the music forever. That's a better deal than I get with my plumber!
*cough* Movie Theatre
You're not simply watching the movie, you're doing so in a venue owned by a third party, which incurs expenses every time you want to sit down and watch a movie there. If I pay my plumber every single time I make him come over, why wouldn't I pay a theater every single time I use their facilities for my entertainment?
*cough* Commercial Radio
Do you object to an artist getting paid every time a radio station uses their music to attract listeners, and in turn, make money themselves? How does that affect you? It's a transaction that doesn't involve you in any way.
You don't pay the artist every time you listen to a song, either.
The plumber and the carpenter charge me one-time fees for the work they do for me. The artist charges me a one-time fee for the work he has on offer. Seems reasonable enough.
The difference is that the artist doesn't need to record the song over again each time someone wants to buy it, whereas the plumber and carpenter have to get off their asses and "perform". You call the difference unfair. It's not, it's mere circumstance. Do you consider it unfair that our society so loves sports that the top participants command salaries in the millions? Or that movies are such a popular form of entertainment that studios will pay millions to have a certain name and face associated with their product? If the plumber or carpenter designs a tool that allows him to complete twice as many jobs in a given day, should he make less? Why is it "unfair" to have a good that's easy to mass-produce? Isn't that the argument pirates wield most often? "it's not theft, it's just a copy that doesn't deprive the author of the original". If people want to pay for access to such products, and willingly do so, how is that "unfair"?
How about people actually start creating original material instead of endlessly wanking to someone else's creations?
Yeah, infinite copyright sucks. However, nothing's stopping anyone from coming up with new characters, settings, and stories.
Write one new story, make one new film, paint one new picture. It'll benefit us all far more than yet another "fan" mashup/fanfic/homage/whatever.
MSDOS 5 "the basics of computing"? Man. So fucking sad.
The rest of the world has pretty much been telling the US to fuck itself with a pineapple over Helms-Burton. It certainly hasn't affected Cuba's trade with the rest of Latin America, especially Venezuela.
Cuba's failure is a result of the fundamental failure of one-party government and a planned economy. If the embargo ended today, nothing would change in Cuba. Citizens would still be on rationed food and power, no freedom of movement, and with prohibitively expensive (if any) access to telecommunications. Why? Because the aim of every "revolution" of the last 100 years has been "revolution". The goal of the struggle is to struggle. If you don't keep your people under the illusion of a permanent state of siege, they might just realize they have options.