Re:Does the GPL prevent companies from enslaving u
on
New CTO at Red Hat
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· Score: 1
In a word, yes.
But what happens when a company who distributes these applications we worked so hard on begins to dominate the market. What happens when their distro is no longer freely available to the masses via FTP, ISO images and restrictions on giving copies via cheapbytes.
When their distro is no longer freely available we repackage the freely distributable portions and forget them. They cease to dominate. The GPL doesn't guarantee that others may not charge for your product, but it does guarantee that those who buy it can give it away free, and that no restrictions can be placed on its redistribution by the distributor.
If RHAT creates some closed-source installer, or other nifty item, and stops making the source available to any-but-paying customers, that's their choice. We just do without the neat-o thing (or pay, your choice). But nothing stops you from generating an ISO image and putting it on your website.
I agree, but I like the analysis better here. My GF an I did 1-2-3 Success (don't sue me) but we were both somewhat discouraged by the random fluctuations at the weekly weigh-in.
Also I think the daily trend analysis can help keep those "wild weekends" from getting a trend started. WW wants us to weigh weekly to spread out the datapoints (rather than average them) and make trends apparent, but that can backfire if you tend to "celebrate" a good week:-).
The advice in the article is good -- if you can get a consistant reading, try it holding a coffee can (or other measured weight). If you see the right trend (don't mind the actual numbers) buy it, you'll get into reality as you approach 250. Of course, I have encountered models that just don't read at our weight....
Naturally the numbers will be wrong but the principle is sound, since the feedback is based on the trend rather than the actual numbers.
Other alternatives I have found:
Health club -- they usually have a balance scale, which is what we need to get an accurate number. If it doesn't go that high, see below.
Weight Watchers -- my local chapter weighed me successfully with a $3000 electronic scale, but they'll ask you to weigh only once a week (tho you can probably talk 'em out of that).
HMO? If you can get into a manged care plan they'll probably let you sneak in and weigh yourself on the balance scales. Heck, your doctor might do it too, if you promise not to speak to any docs or nurses while you're in the office:-).
Or buy your own. Last I looked a balance scale was about $1500, and once you get it home you can use a known weight to fashion a "tare" weight for the balance. Just measure 200 lbs worth of something, then attach a coathanger to the 200 notch, and zero the balance. Add weight to the coathanger... They did this to weigh me at the doctor's:-).
If you're really having trouble, build your own balance scale. All you need is a weight, a tape measure (for moment arms) and a lever long and strong enough (with an adjustable fulcrum).
One of the biggest flaws I see in it is his view of exercise. He lists the caloric expenditure for several aerobic activities and then says that it's too much work compared to the amount of food it amounts to.
Let me start by saying congratulations! You're probably quite a bit healthier than the average hacker. I take issue with the beginning of your post, only on the basis of internal consistancy and my experience with exercise and weight loss. Have you attempted the diet without exercise?
1) this is weight loss for sedentary people. If we were into exercise we wouldn't have had time to memorize all those opcodes:-).
2) Those are one-hour numbers. I don't know about you, but "20-minute workout" tended to make me sleepy, after they started watching those camera angles. I can walk outdoors for an hour, sometimes, but otherwise... no.
3) Exercise increases your appetite. It frequently serves as a short-term appetite supressant, but when you finally do get hungry you'll tend to eat more (and make up for the deficit). So it's better to do less and eat less than do more and eat more. When I was taking Kung-Fu lessons I'd work out about two hours every other night (save Sundays) and sweat buckets. After the first two months I lost no weight. Though I was trying to limit intake, the cravings were enormous. I was down 80 lbs and the body was alarmed (though still corpulent).
Congrats on the pound a week. I'm heading out to get my scale at tomorrow's lunch break.
Cool...Now by the time I have my first heart attack, I can have spare part waiting in the wings. Heck, why stop there? Let's grow spare bodies and just do the brain transplant! (I know it's possible -- I've met donors....)
Title II - First Inventor Defense Protects an inventor from patent infringement charges if the original inventor brought the subject matter to practical use at least a year before the filing of the other guy's patent and used the patent commercially at some point prior to the filing.
It seems to me like this kinda matches my own interpretation of what "prior art" was, but maybe not. Maybe this just makes it more explicit.
This could actually be read as a weakening of the prior art clause. This protects the prior inventor, but does not require the disqualification of the patent (IANAL) if the inventor was, say a nonprofit. So I can invent the spiffy method before you, and I can put it into say, GnuPG. I can keep using it, but you still get your patent for all commercial purposes. (Danger, Will Robinson!)
It appears that they've un-bundled the publishing costs from the application fee, to be collected at the time of publication (a Good Thing for economy of expression). They've also made the patent retroactive to publication, if granted (this is fair, but it sucks if the patent is rejected after years of "pending").
I like the re-examination clause! On the whole it's probably a Good Idea, but I'm a little iffy about the inventor protection and protection-from-publication bits.
It's the difference between being able to sink the 8-ball some of the time by "feel", and being able to calculate the proper angle and energy to sink the 8-ball.
If this holds up (and it appears to be doing it so far) it will assist us in making predictions about what happens to very small or very high-energy things. As the article said, we make flourescent tubes and play with plasma, but up to now it mostly has worked by accident. The breakthrough is the solution of the simplest case, but it's a step towards manipulating plasma properly on purpose.
This is cool, but it's probably a little different than OCR. Handwriting systems (like Jot, on which this is based) usually use movement as part of the interperetation, allowing a much wider range of characters to be recognized, but eliminating static character recognition. I for one would love to see a decent OCR packages on Linux.
A couple of free or semi-free efforts have been started, but they seem to have lost momentum. I'm still building up the gumption to start a project, but if anyone else is working on it, please drop me a line...
And the Persians sure did their part forming those ideas too.
Heck, more than half the Greek classics studied in the West after 1300 were translated from copies captured in Moorish Spain. So the Persians are responsible for the survival of Classical Greek culture in Western Europe, in spite of the Spartans:-).
Remember those clear disks that came by a month ago? Lucas may be looking to cash in on the next generation of home video. How many of us would buy a new kind of player if you could get both trilogies for it in 36 languages... on two disks?
AOL "volunteers" agreed to work for compensation (free time, etc). They had standing to sue when they were overworked and denied the compensation due.
Linux and related GPL/BSD developers included with their product permission to use it for gain without compensating the developers. Therefore, you can sit back and let someone else profit from your labor because you said they could. That's part of the Free Software movement. Ask any three-letter-acronym'd personality;-).
The pie belongs to those who take the risk to make a company, and those who invest. They're the ones who will be sued if they fail to enhance shareholder value or if the company fails to give away what it produces with GPL'd code. The rest of us do it for no risk, no pie. Just for fun and satisfaction.
I hope this makes CNN and rouses the public ire. This sort of thing (Trademark "enforcement" in areas unrelated to the business) is really starting to get old. Unless of course it's an MIT hack, as that might take away from the issue.
Seriously, what kind of damages could the journal expect to get for this harrassment if this goes to court and the judge rules that the complaint had no basis? Is there any way to stop the corporate lawyers from kiting these sorts of fringe (or downright wacky) IP claims?
Regardless of what anyone tries to do with it, we can continue to use it, fix it, and enhance it.
So if Micros~1 should pick up say, GCC and put a major part of it into the next VC++, we should get hold of their source clandestinely, then wait for them to sue us, and claim they have no grounds for complaint?
I am not a mozilla contributor (but I read about it on the web).
AFAICT, there is no crypto in Mozilla due to the international nature of the dev. effort. There is a separate crypto project, and no doubt Netscape will add a crypto module if the Mozilla product becomes Navigator 5.0. No crypto => no CA. For Netscape > 4.5 there are some Verisign CA certs that expire in 1999, but some are good to 2028, so it depends on your host's cert (which may expire).
So, remind me again why a self-aware machine would crave to be human?
Because we programmed them? It's that Pinocchio subroutine.;-)
Serously, because they "grow up" in human company, they're likely to take on the prejudices of humans (at least in a vague subconcious way) in the same way that minority classes of humans living in proximity with others often pick up the prejudices of the majority classes. It's not necessarily right, nor is it usually good, but it's so.
One could argue that a mechanistic personality could use the superior logical processors in its brain to overcome this social programming, but then it might not be recongnised as sentient. After all, its ability to continue evolving depends on our forbearance (as you no doubt would see in the movie, though I haven't been yet either), so it must evolve in a manner that we find acceptable, or face disassembly.
Thus we can posit the "positronic principle" in parallel with the antrhopic principle. The anthropic principle states that the universe that we observe can support life like us because if it didn't we wouldn't be observing it. The positronic principle asserts that mechanical intelligence will closely resemble human intelligence because if it doesn't we'll probably decomission it.
Yeah, that's what I'm saying, but Beowulf doesn't scale either, without putting a lot of *programming* work into it. That's what work I was talking about (although there is some sysadmin work that's not exactly straightforward in an NT cluster).
And NT has scaled to 8-way in demos, but I'm unaware of real-world examples...
Don't get me wrong -- I'd rather run on a Unix cluster any day, but Linux just isn't there yet for most applications (since most applications require more than message-passing for distributed calculation, which is what Beowulf is good at).
Yeah, that's what I'm saying, but Beowulf doesn't scale either, without putting a lot of *programming* work into it. That's what work I was talking about (although there is some sysadmin work that's not exactly straightforward in an NT cluster).
And NT has scaled to 8-way in demos, but I'm unaware of real-world examples...
Don't get me wrong -- I'd rather run on a Unix cluster any day, but Linux just isn't there yet for most applications (since most applications require more than message-passing for distributed calculation, which is what Beowulf is good at).
There are no more forced labor chain gangs in the US. Prisoners who work on or near the highway are selected on a volunteer basis. They get to see the sun, and get away from the prison for a few hours, and they're paid (a teeny bit) for their labor. They may save the money until their release, or use it to purchase a limited variety of luxury items.
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But what happens when a company who distributes these applications we worked so hard on begins to dominate the market. What happens when their distro is no longer freely available to the masses via FTP, ISO images and restrictions on giving copies via cheapbytes.
When their distro is no longer freely available we repackage the freely distributable portions and forget them. They cease to dominate. The GPL doesn't guarantee that others may not charge for your product, but it does guarantee that those who buy it can give it away free, and that no restrictions can be placed on its redistribution by the distributor.
If RHAT creates some closed-source installer, or other nifty item, and stops making the source available to any-but-paying customers, that's their choice. We just do without the neat-o thing (or pay, your choice). But nothing stops you from generating an ISO image and putting it on your website.
(remember, you can't spell 'GNU' without 'GN' :)
These folks sell a 500lb scale... http://www.scalepeople.com/bath.html
Also I think the daily trend analysis can help keep those "wild weekends" from getting a trend started. WW wants us to weigh weekly to spread out the datapoints (rather than average them) and make trends apparent, but that can backfire if you tend to "celebrate" a good week :-).
The advice in the article is good -- if you can get a consistant reading, try it holding a coffee can (or other measured weight). If you see the right trend (don't mind the actual numbers) buy it, you'll get into reality as you approach 250. Of course, I have encountered models that just don't read at our weight....
Naturally the numbers will be wrong but the principle is sound, since the feedback is based on the trend rather than the actual numbers.
Other alternatives I have found:
Health club -- they usually have a balance scale, which is what we need to get an accurate number. If it doesn't go that high, see below.
Weight Watchers -- my local chapter weighed me successfully with a $3000 electronic scale, but they'll ask you to weigh only once a week (tho you can probably talk 'em out of that).
HMO? If you can get into a manged care plan they'll probably let you sneak in and weigh yourself on the balance scales. Heck, your doctor might do it too, if you promise not to speak to any docs or nurses while you're in the office :-).
Or buy your own. Last I looked a balance scale was about $1500, and once you get it home you can use a known weight to fashion a "tare" weight for the balance. Just measure 200 lbs worth of something, then attach a coathanger to the 200 notch, and zero the balance. Add weight to the coathanger... They did this to weigh me at the doctor's :-).
If you're really having trouble, build your own balance scale. All you need is a weight, a tape measure (for moment arms) and a lever long and strong enough (with an adjustable fulcrum).
Let me start by saying congratulations! You're probably quite a bit healthier than the average hacker. I take issue with the beginning of your post, only on the basis of internal consistancy and my experience with exercise and weight loss. Have you attempted the diet without exercise?
1) this is weight loss for sedentary people. If we were into exercise we wouldn't have had time to memorize all those opcodes :-).
2) Those are one-hour numbers. I don't know about you, but "20-minute workout" tended to make me sleepy, after they started watching those camera angles. I can walk outdoors for an hour, sometimes, but otherwise... no.
3) Exercise increases your appetite. It frequently serves as a short-term appetite supressant, but when you finally do get hungry you'll tend to eat more (and make up for the deficit). So it's better to do less and eat less than do more and eat more. When I was taking Kung-Fu lessons I'd work out about two hours every other night (save Sundays) and sweat buckets. After the first two months I lost no weight. Though I was trying to limit intake, the cravings were enormous. I was down 80 lbs and the body was alarmed (though still corpulent).
Congrats on the pound a week. I'm heading out to get my scale at tomorrow's lunch break.
Cool...Now by the time I have my first heart attack, I can have spare part waiting in the wings. Heck, why stop there? Let's grow spare bodies and just do the brain transplant! (I know it's possible -- I've met donors....)
Protects an inventor from patent infringement charges if the original inventor brought the subject matter to practical use at least a year before the filing of the other guy's patent and used the patent commercially at some point prior to the filing.
It seems to me like this kinda matches my own interpretation of what "prior art" was, but maybe not. Maybe this just makes it more explicit.
This could actually be read as a weakening of the prior art clause. This protects the prior inventor, but does not require the disqualification of the patent (IANAL) if the inventor was, say a nonprofit. So I can invent the spiffy method before you, and I can put it into say, GnuPG. I can keep using it, but you still get your patent for all commercial purposes. (Danger, Will Robinson!)
It appears that they've un-bundled the publishing costs from the application fee, to be collected at the time of publication (a Good Thing for economy of expression). They've also made the patent retroactive to publication, if granted (this is fair, but it sucks if the patent is rejected after years of "pending").
I like the re-examination clause! On the whole it's probably a Good Idea, but I'm a little iffy about the inventor protection and protection-from-publication bits.
He's actually saying that we'll change our minds when there's another chance for the world to end.
It's a need to know thing. You need to know about the new EMP hazard :-).
If this holds up (and it appears to be doing it so far) it will assist us in making predictions about what happens to very small or very high-energy things. As the article said, we make flourescent tubes and play with plasma, but up to now it mostly has worked by accident. The breakthrough is the solution of the simplest case, but it's a step towards manipulating plasma properly on purpose.
A couple of free or semi-free efforts have been started, but they seem to have lost momentum. I'm still building up the gumption to start a project, but if anyone else is working on it, please drop me a line...
Hmm... time to check on the turkey.
Heck, more than half the Greek classics studied in the West after 1300 were translated from copies captured in Moorish Spain. So the Persians are responsible for the survival of Classical Greek culture in Western Europe, in spite of the Spartans :-).
Remember those clear disks that came by a month ago? Lucas may be looking to cash in on the next generation of home video. How many of us would buy a new kind of player if you could get both trilogies for it in 36 languages... on two disks?
Linux and related GPL/BSD developers included with their product permission to use it for gain without compensating the developers. Therefore, you can sit back and let someone else profit from your labor because you said they could. That's part of the Free Software movement. Ask any three-letter-acronym'd personality ;-).
The pie belongs to those who take the risk to make a company, and those who invest. They're the ones who will be sued if they fail to enhance shareholder value or if the company fails to give away what it produces with GPL'd code. The rest of us do it for no risk, no pie. Just for fun and satisfaction.
Seriously, what kind of damages could the journal expect to get for this harrassment if this goes to court and the judge rules that the complaint had no basis? Is there any way to stop the corporate lawyers from kiting these sorts of fringe (or downright wacky) IP claims?
So if Micros~1 should pick up say, GCC and put a major part of it into the next VC++, we should get hold of their source clandestinely, then wait for them to sue us, and claim they have no grounds for complaint?
Risky proposition, but interesting.
preview,preview,preview
AFAICT, there is no crypto in Mozilla due to the international nature of the dev. effort. There is a separate crypto project, and no doubt Netscape will add a crypto module if the Mozilla product becomes Navigator 5.0. No crypto => no CA. For Netscape > 4.5 there are some Verisign CA certs that expire in 1999, but some are good to 2028, so it depends on your host's cert (which may expire).
Because we programmed them? It's that Pinocchio subroutine. ;-)
Serously, because they "grow up" in human company, they're likely to take on the prejudices of humans (at least in a vague subconcious way) in the same way that minority classes of humans living in proximity with others often pick up the prejudices of the majority classes. It's not necessarily right, nor is it usually good, but it's so.
One could argue that a mechanistic personality could use the superior logical processors in its brain to overcome this social programming, but then it might not be recongnised as sentient. After all, its ability to continue evolving depends on our forbearance (as you no doubt would see in the movie, though I haven't been yet either), so it must evolve in a manner that we find acceptable, or face disassembly.
Thus we can posit the "positronic principle" in parallel with the antrhopic principle. The anthropic principle states that the universe that we observe can support life like us because if it didn't we wouldn't be observing it. The positronic principle asserts that mechanical intelligence will closely resemble human intelligence because if it doesn't we'll probably decomission it.
Well, not until the news about the cameras leaks... ;-)
And NT has scaled to 8-way in demos, but I'm unaware of real-world examples...
Don't get me wrong -- I'd rather run on a Unix cluster any day, but Linux just isn't there yet for most applications (since most applications require more than message-passing for distributed calculation, which is what Beowulf is good at).
blush -- that's what I get for not previewing
And NT has scaled to 8-way in demos, but I'm unaware of real-world examples...
Don't get me wrong -- I'd rather run on a Unix cluster any day, but Linux just isn't there yet for most applications (since most applications require more than message-passing for distributed calculation, which is what Beowulf is good at).
There are no more forced labor chain gangs in the US. Prisoners who work on or near the highway are selected on a volunteer basis. They get to see the sun, and get away from the prison for a few hours, and they're paid (a teeny bit) for their labor. They may save the money until their release, or use it to purchase a limited variety of luxury items.
That's why DVD's work, and have such high densities.