But the thing I hate the most about this whole situation is that, once again, it points out that
businesses think I'm a thief and should be treated like one./quote
This statement can be taken several ways. I suspect both interpretations are correct.
Sandeater writes: "BBC news is reporting that an new telescope has just been completed to search out black holes from the Australian outback.
Austrailia has black holes?! How many? When did they discovere black holes there? How come they haven't swallowed up the continent? Or will they? hey, I didn't write it, I just read it.
Heck, I buy very few books now, anyway. Sinc my wife lworks for a library, reading current books is already free, as long as you're willing toawait a few weeks for the book to be available.
Nowadays, I only buy books if they are worth a second read (which eliminates about 95% of the books I actually read...sigh) ~Dave
That reminds me...has anyone tried writing or playing a computer simulation of the Quiddich game as described in _Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone_? Seems like the 3-D aspects of the game would be ideal for Quake junkies...and if you miss the violence, we could always throw in a Basilisk or two:-)
A patent cannot be obtained upon a mere idea or suggestion. The patent is granted upon the new machine, manufacture, etc., as has been said, and not upon the idea or suggestion of the new machine. A complete description of the actual machine or other subject matter for which a patent is sought is required.
I hesitate to question the USPO's documents, but here is a distinct counterexample: Richard Feynman (in his essay _I Want My Dollar_) describes an amusing diversion that happened to him and other scientists at the Manhattan Project. While trying to make plutonium, they were asked to submit any useful non-military applications of nuclear power. Ol' Rich was umm...amused and made some suggestions....he realized that nuclear power could drive an engine and thus be glommed onto any vehicle; i.e. airplane, boat, submarine. He thought nothing of it at the time. But several weeks later, he is informed that the patentable idea of the nuke-powered submarine is his, and for his efforts he receives $1. Wee-ha.
In his usual irreverent manner, he then requests payment of his dollar, and then tells all his friends that if they submitted useful ideas, they each get a dollar too! And of course his bosses hadn't actually PLANNED to compensate these scientists!
So while $1 may not be such a big deal, why would he be compensated for a patentable idea if he never bothered to actually build a nuke sub?
I like this idea of putting hate literature into its own category. As an avowed Satanist, I think the Bible should be the first book so classified...it is so hateful to my kind.
Oh wait a minute...the Song of Solomon from the Old Testament is pornographic, so the Bible has to go into the.xxx category. Dang...
So about a year ago, I bought a combination lock to stick on my school locker. However, it is a nifty plaything...when people stop by my office and wait for me to see them, they often pick up the lock (which I'm not using) and play with it.
Anyway, what I'm scared of is, about four months ago, I took it apart and started tinkering with it. Really neat! (Ever since junior high, I've always wondered how they worked.) I bet I could buy some more locks and study them and become a decent locksmith or safecracker.
This is illegal, isn't it? I'm gonna go to jail for it, anen't I? If they can arrest that nice kid in Norway for tinkering with his DVDs, then I'm toast! OH GOD I DONT WANNA GO TO JAIL!!!
I asked my email-pal: "UNIX or Windoze?". He replied "UNIX". I said "Ah...me too!".
I asked my email-pal: "Linux or AIX?". He said "Linux, of course". I said "Me too".
I asked him: "Emacs or vi". He replied "Emacs". I said "Me too. Small world."
I asked him: "GNU Emacs or XEmacs?", and he said "GNU Emacs". I said "oh, me too."
I asked him "GNU Emacs 19 or GNU Emacs 20"? and he said "GNU Emacs 19". I said "oh, me too."
I asked him, "GNU Emacs 19.29 or GNU Emacs 19.34", and he replied "GNU Emacs 19.29". I said "DIE YOU OBSOLETE NOGOOD SOCIALLY MALADJUSTED CELIBATE COMMIE FASCIST DORK!", and never emailed him again.
A plot, by none other than ESR, RMS, and Linus himself, to subvert commercial software! "If we manage to screw over closed-source software users enough, they'll turn to us and use OURS! BWAHAHAHAHA!!!"
He is only now noticing that Wife 1.0 is also spawning Child Processes which are further consuming valuable resources. No mention of this particular phenomenon was included in the product brochure or the documentation,
Documentation! Where did he get documentation for Girlfriend or Wife? My packages came with no documentation, yet the sw expects me to know *everything*! ARGH!
Slashdot Mirror
~svoboda
~svoboda
~svoboda
~svoboda
So what'll we watch onconmmercial-free TV today? Ann of Green Gables? Sesame Street? No...BARNEY! HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
~svoboda
Nowadays, I only buy books if they are worth a second read (which eliminates about 95% of the books I actually read...sigh) ~Dave
~svoboda
~svoboda
I hesitate to question the USPO's documents, but here is a distinct counterexample: Richard Feynman (in his essay _I Want My Dollar_) describes an amusing diversion that happened to him and other scientists at the Manhattan Project. While trying to make plutonium, they were asked to submit any useful non-military applications of nuclear power. Ol' Rich was umm...amused and made some suggestions....he realized that nuclear power could drive an engine and thus be glommed onto any vehicle; i.e. airplane, boat, submarine. He thought nothing of it at the time. But several weeks later, he is informed that the patentable idea of the nuke-powered submarine is his, and for his efforts he receives $1. Wee-ha.
In his usual irreverent manner, he then requests payment of his dollar, and then tells all his friends that if they submitted useful ideas, they each get a dollar too! And of course his bosses hadn't actually PLANNED to compensate these scientists!
So while $1 may not be such a big deal, why would he be compensated for a patentable idea if he never bothered to actually build a nuke sub?
~svoboda
Oh wait a minute...the Song of Solomon from the Old Testament is pornographic, so the Bible has to go into the .xxx category. Dang...
~svoboda
Anyway, what I'm scared of is, about four months ago, I took it apart and started tinkering with it. Really neat! (Ever since junior high, I've always wondered how they worked.) I bet I could buy some more locks and study them and become a decent locksmith or safecracker.
This is illegal, isn't it? I'm gonna go to jail for it, anen't I? If they can arrest that nice kid in Norway for tinkering with his DVDs, then I'm toast! OH GOD I DONT WANNA GO TO JAIL!!!
~svoboda
I asked my email-pal: "UNIX or Windoze?". He replied "UNIX". I said "Ah...me too!".
I asked my email-pal: "Linux or AIX?". He said "Linux, of course". I said "Me too".
I asked him: "Emacs or vi". He replied "Emacs". I said "Me too. Small world."
I asked him: "GNU Emacs or XEmacs?", and he said "GNU Emacs". I said "oh, me too."
I asked him "GNU Emacs 19 or GNU Emacs 20"? and he said "GNU Emacs 19". I said "oh, me too."
I asked him, "GNU Emacs 19.29 or GNU Emacs 19.34", and he replied "GNU Emacs 19.29". I said "DIE YOU OBSOLETE NOGOOD SOCIALLY MALADJUSTED CELIBATE COMMIE FASCIST DORK!", and never emailed him again.
~svoboda
A plot, by none other than ESR, RMS, and Linus himself, to subvert commercial software! "If we manage to screw over closed-source software users enough, they'll turn to us and use OURS! BWAHAHAHAHA!!!"
~svoboda
Documentation! Where did he get documentation for Girlfriend or Wife? My packages came with no documentation, yet the sw expects me to know *everything*! ARGH!
~svoboda