Let me rephrase: I'm in Canada. I get three channels without cable. It's highly unlikely that Firefly aired on any of our three channels.
It was on Global (at least it was in Edmonton). But Global was tied to Fox's schedule, so it was pre-empted practically every other week. It took some effort not to miss them.
I haven't looked at the BSD license in much detail, but isn't this scenario essentially the same as placing the software in the public domain? How does that differ from the BSD license? I do remember reading somewhere that it's difficult to actual put something in the PD. Perhaps this is a regimented way to do that?
Exactly. "Public domain" is rather hard to do, and has some nasty potential pitfalls. For example, who is liable for PD code? BSD is basically PD with "I wrote this" and "Use at your own risk" clauses.
Here is the current gold standard BSD license (used by OpenBSD):
Copyright (c) CCYY YOUR NAME HERE
Permission to use, copy, modify, and distribute this software for any purpose with or without fee is hereby granted, provided that the above copyright notice and this permission notice appear in all copies.
THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND THE AUTHOR DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES WITH REGARD TO THIS SOFTWARE INCLUDING ALL IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHOR BE LIABLE FOR ANY SPECIAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER RESULTING FROM LOSS OF USE, DATA OR PROFITS, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, NEGLIGENCE OR OTHER TORTIOUS ACTION, ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE USE OR PERFORMANCE OF THIS SOFTWARE.
The first part is the "I wrote this" clause. The second part is "Use as you wish, but you can't remove my copyright". The third (shouty) part is the "Use at your own risk" clause.
That's it. It's nice that you don't need to be a lawyer to understand it.
The V-22 was killed by the first Bush administration and reintroduced by Clinton. It's been a disaster since day one and most out siders agree serves no real purpose.
Indeed. Here is an excellent compilation of articles and letters on the V-22 fiasco (an even bigger fiasco than Comanche). The Marines (and other services) would be much better served by a unified Blackhawk upgrade plan.
G2mil published this editorial on the Comanche last month. Excellent reading (as G2mil usually is). Some good responses to it on this month's letters page.
I've always felt that the GPL was too restrctive, and could achieve it's same goals without being as fanatical as it seems to be; could the XFree86 and Apache license conflicts be a sign of a trend that might indicate the GPL needs to bend a bit to avoid becoming more part of the problem, than the solution?
No. These new licenses are problematic for non-GPL projects too. OpenBSD, which is the most dogmatic of the BSDs when it comes to licensing, has also rejected them. Bending a bit on licensing issues only gets you in hot water with lawyers down the line. This is something Theo de Raadt understands very well and leaders of GPLed projects should learn a lesson from him and take a very hard line with licenses. I personally don't like the GPL but if you are going to use it, use it properly. The license you use is not only a way of opening your code but a shield from litigation. Bend it and you not only hurt your code's freedom but also expose yourself to attack.
OpenBSD ships with Apache. Not two hours ago Theo de Raadt sent this message to the OpenBSD mailing list:
And another license issue..
The new apache license is not acceptable. Code written under that new license will never go into our tree.
Look, I am quite frankly getting sick and tired of this. It is time
for the user community to tell these software developers who have
gotten themselves involved with lawyers to stop it. They are NOT
making their software better, they are NOT protecting anyone, and
they we NOT making their software any more free when they add new
terms.
As of this moment in time, therefore, it looks like the httpd in
OpenBSD has now become a fork. It will continue to be managed
under the existing license.
XFree86 on Monday and now this. What project will screw their license up tomorrow?
Don't the BSD's already use a lot GPL stuff such Gnome and KDE? Besides, there's really no problem dynamically linking to LGPL'd code.
No, they don't. There may be ports to allow users to easily install them, but they cannot be pulled into the source tree. Something as important as X needs to be in the tree. GPLed code causes major problems for commercial spin-offs, an issue BSDs take very seriously.
As an aside, OpenBSD is the "canary in a coal mine" when it comes to licensing issues, and has also announced that they will not be importing XFree code under the new license.
"freedesktop.org's code will be placed under free licenses that encourage wide use; most commonly, the LGPL for libraries, or an X-style license when appropriate."
Well that fucks over the BSDs. Thanks freedesktop. Anybody else want to play?
The laptop (as silly as it is) is not about the cars that Ferrari sells to the public, it is about their race cars! (And their Formula One cars are arguably the best out there) Most slashdotters being American proabbly don't realise that Ferrari is one of the biggest sports franchises on the planet. Manchester United is likely the only bigger name in worldwide sports than Ferrari.
And that kind of dominance comes at a price. Ferrari's budget for this coming season is rumoured to be close to half a billion dollars. They NEED product tie-ins like this laptop to support that kind of expense.
All these "experts" keep saying how wonderful it will be when the robots do all the fighting.
The problem is the bottom line of war is always killing people. All the talk of surgically destroying a nation's defenses is just sugar coating the truth: we kill soldiers so that we can kill civilians with impunity. When the civilians see that they are defenseless they usually give up rather than die.
Here's a thought experiment. Assume Canada will never allow itself to be conquered by the US. The US and Canada go to war, pitting their mighty robot armies against each other. Eventually all of Canada's robots are destroyed. Three things may now happen:
the American robots are withdrawn so Americans can start fighting Canadians
the American robots stand around "occupying" Canada while Canadians dismantle them
the American robots start killing Canadians
Nations choose to be defeated. They surrender when they are not willing to continue fighting. Robot armies do not mean bloodless wars unless the defeated nations choose not to fight the robots. The only reason they will choose not to fight the robots is if fighting the robots means death.
War always comes down to killing people. You cannot win a war unless you are willing to kill people. The weapons you use (robots, men with rifles, atomic bombs) are just details.
The authoritative resource for silent PCs is The Silent PC. On there you will find a link to fanless PSUs. Like the proSilence fanless from silentmaxx.
These things are neat. No fan, just a big-ass heatsink sticking out the back of your case. But remember that without the airflow from the PSU you will need a fan for your case (or a special self-cooling case).
Crazy Vaclav: She'll go three hundred hectares on a single tank of kerosene! Homer: What country is this car from? Crazy Vaclav: Ah, it no longer exists, but take her for a test drive and you'll agree -- zagreber dimslotik diev!.... Put it in 'H'!
And how, exactly, does that make your efforts a "waste"? Does Microsoft using your contributions prevent anybody else from using them?
Exactly. If Microsoft takes a copy of your BSD licensed code, compiles it, presses it onto a CD, drops it into a shiny box (so shiny!) and sells it for $100...
...then good for them.
What is stopping anybody else from doing the same thing? What is stopping anybody else from doing the same thing but only charging $90? Or $110 but including a nice manual? Absolutely nothing.
People who use the "Microsoft will use my code in a product" argument against the BSD license forget that the original code will still be available for free. Whatever the marketplace can accept paying for Microsoft's additions to otherwise freely available software then that is what Microsoft's additions are worth, regardless of how insignificant those additions are.
Man pages. If you have never tried OpenBSD it is worth it just to see the man pages. They are actually complete, accurate and useful. If only every OS (Linux included) was so well documented (random HowTos do not count as documentation).
4. Shared source would be communism (you have the illusion of freedom, but really, we the collective control everything and you have no say even though we say you have say even though you don't but you do).
5 And finally, the GPL would be democracy. Democracies are hardly ideal, they are slow, they waste a lot of energy, they infight a lot, but in the end there is NOTHING better.
Refresh my memory, how is the GPL not a "shared source" license again? How can I create a derivative work of GPLed code without sharing my code?
Oh, and you are mixing your metaphors. Anarchy, fascism and democracy are systems of government. Communism is a system of economics.
I'm in Edmonton and have had ADSL for a few months now. I've yet to pay a dime. Yay Telus! Their tech people are incompetent, but so are their billing people.
Anyways, the price they gave me <snicker> when I signed up was $17 CDN per month for the first six months (no obligations), then up to $35 after that. If you bundle with other phone services you can save even more. The CRTC (our communications regulatory board for you non-Canucks) is making noises about this deal so it may be a time limited offer.
Slashdot Mirror
Zoe: Honey, you live on a spaceship.
You forgot the punchline:
Wash: So?
It was on Global (at least it was in Edmonton). But Global was tied to Fox's schedule, so it was pre-empted practically every other week. It took some effort not to miss them.
Exactly. "Public domain" is rather hard to do, and has some nasty potential pitfalls. For example, who is liable for PD code? BSD is basically PD with "I wrote this" and "Use at your own risk" clauses.
Here is the current gold standard BSD license (used by OpenBSD):
The first part is the "I wrote this" clause. The second part is "Use as you wish, but you can't remove my copyright". The third (shouty) part is the "Use at your own risk" clause.That's it. It's nice that you don't need to be a lawyer to understand it.
Props. This is my new favourite description of the GPL - and I've seen some good ones.
Parent should not have been marked flamebait. This is the straight truth (though my understanding is that the death toll sits at at least 23).
Indeed. Here is an excellent compilation of articles and letters on the V-22 fiasco (an even bigger fiasco than Comanche). The Marines (and other services) would be much better served by a unified Blackhawk upgrade plan.
Better get used to it, because it just doesn't work. It is an even bigger disaster than Comanche.
G2mil published this editorial on the Comanche last month. Excellent reading (as G2mil usually is). Some good responses to it on this month's letters page.
You're thinking of OpenBSD. Headquarters in Calgary. Take a look at the April 2003 press coverage for stuff on W^X.
No. These new licenses are problematic for non-GPL projects too. OpenBSD, which is the most dogmatic of the BSDs when it comes to licensing, has also rejected them. Bending a bit on licensing issues only gets you in hot water with lawyers down the line. This is something Theo de Raadt understands very well and leaders of GPLed projects should learn a lesson from him and take a very hard line with licenses. I personally don't like the GPL but if you are going to use it, use it properly. The license you use is not only a way of opening your code but a shield from litigation. Bend it and you not only hurt your code's freedom but also expose yourself to attack.
No, they don't. There may be ports to allow users to easily install them, but they cannot be pulled into the source tree. Something as important as X needs to be in the tree. GPLed code causes major problems for commercial spin-offs, an issue BSDs take very seriously.
As an aside, OpenBSD is the "canary in a coal mine" when it comes to licensing issues, and has also announced that they will not be importing XFree code under the new license.
Well that fucks over the BSDs. Thanks freedesktop. Anybody else want to play?
And that kind of dominance comes at a price. Ferrari's budget for this coming season is rumoured to be close to half a billion dollars. They NEED product tie-ins like this laptop to support that kind of expense.
The problem is the bottom line of war is always killing people. All the talk of surgically destroying a nation's defenses is just sugar coating the truth: we kill soldiers so that we can kill civilians with impunity. When the civilians see that they are defenseless they usually give up rather than die.
Here's a thought experiment. Assume Canada will never allow itself to be conquered by the US. The US and Canada go to war, pitting their mighty robot armies against each other. Eventually all of Canada's robots are destroyed. Three things may now happen:
- the American robots are withdrawn so Americans can start fighting Canadians
- the American robots stand around "occupying" Canada while Canadians dismantle them
- the American robots start killing Canadians
Nations choose to be defeated. They surrender when they are not willing to continue fighting. Robot armies do not mean bloodless wars unless the defeated nations choose not to fight the robots. The only reason they will choose not to fight the robots is if fighting the robots means death.War always comes down to killing people. You cannot win a war unless you are willing to kill people. The weapons you use (robots, men with rifles, atomic bombs) are just details.
These things are neat. No fan, just a big-ass heatsink sticking out the back of your case. But remember that without the airflow from the PSU you will need a fan for your case (or a special self-cooling case).
Better question: how much economic damage is done by companies who leak private data? How much can each victim ask for in compensation?
Crazy Vaclav: She'll go three hundred hectares on a single tank of kerosene! .... Put it in 'H'!
Homer: What country is this car from?
Crazy Vaclav: Ah, it no longer exists, but take her for a test drive and you'll agree -- zagreber dimslotik diev!
So it is basically a BSD license without the "You can't sue me if you hurt yourself with this code." clause.
Here and here and here.
You've never had any dealings with Theo de Raadt, have you?
Exactly. If Microsoft takes a copy of your BSD licensed code, compiles it, presses it onto a CD, drops it into a shiny box (so shiny!) and sells it for $100...
What is stopping anybody else from doing the same thing? What is stopping anybody else from doing the same thing but only charging $90? Or $110 but including a nice manual? Absolutely nothing.
People who use the "Microsoft will use my code in a product" argument against the BSD license forget that the original code will still be available for free. Whatever the marketplace can accept paying for Microsoft's additions to otherwise freely available software then that is what Microsoft's additions are worth, regardless of how insignificant those additions are.
Man pages. If you have never tried OpenBSD it is worth it just to see the man pages. They are actually complete, accurate and useful. If only every OS (Linux included) was so well documented (random HowTos do not count as documentation).
5 And finally, the GPL would be democracy. Democracies are hardly ideal, they are slow, they waste a lot of energy, they infight a lot, but in the end there is NOTHING better.
Refresh my memory, how is the GPL not a "shared source" license again? How can I create a derivative work of GPLed code without sharing my code?
Oh, and you are mixing your metaphors. Anarchy, fascism and democracy are systems of government. Communism is a system of economics.
Anyways, the price they gave me <snicker> when I signed up was $17 CDN per month for the first six months (no obligations), then up to $35 after that. If you bundle with other phone services you can save even more. The CRTC (our communications regulatory board for you non-Canucks) is making noises about this deal so it may be a time limited offer.