There must be a tonne (ton) of PhD thesisss proving what a drain on the world economy patents really are. The more I think about it the less I can see *any* reason for patents. They are an artificial drain in the economy, encourage monopolisation and generally an option that favours huge corporates over the innovative "little" guys.
Are you an ideas person? Go sell that skill to a company that needs ideas, that's what the rest of us do, you don't need patents to make a buck.
The idea of patents encapuslates two mistaken ideals:
1. "The American Dream" - you get to make a shit load of money for nothing.
2. Professionals (read lawyers) are more than "just" about selling services - no no, we sell ideas.
On point two, I should state I am proud to be selling my services. If it makes my clients a lot of money, maybe they'll pay me a lot to keep my services. In the end, why should we be considered better (or worse) than toilet cleaners who do an equally valuable job.
Re:The Trillian Project : Proof of SCO's actions
on
Settling SCOres
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· Score: 1
Ooops. That's too embarrasing. I had OpenServer in mind. Stat the original...
Re:The Trillian Project : Proof of SCO's actions
on
Settling SCOres
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· Score: 1
Fascinating though this account maybe it talks all the way through about Unixware, which was a very different beast to System V. To those of us who ever used System V to use the term "enterprise" along that OS is simply laughable.
I now this is way OT but frankly I've had a gutsful of my chosen industry. We have M$ behaving like total jerks for over a decade, Oracle looking like a complete bunch of bully boy tossers and now SCO behaving in a manner that would surely see them heading directly to jail for extortion if they had Italien heritage.
Frankly OSS is the only point of sanity and some morality left to the industry (I can't quite believe that the IBM of the 70s and 80s is suddenly transposed itself to that touchstone).
I went to a talk given by British invetor James Dyson (check out their Home Page) a few weeks back. He invented the "bagless vacuum cleaner" and one of his engineers' "inovations" was to have a clear case round the rubbish it sucked up. They thought it was cool. One of the most interested people in the design was Steve Jobs...The rest is history.
I lost respect for Gartner long ago, when they started predicting things that had already happened ("oh look, the internet could be a big deal" and "boy aren't there a lot of mobile phones out there") and then put s bogus x% probability rating next to every statement made.I don't believe they "do" independent analysis anymore.
Otherwise, they should demand that all IS departments have access to all source code they use to verify that all their suppliers are not breaching 3rd party IP. They might even comment on the fact that breach of IP if very hard to hide in the OSS world as some many people to review code.
In short condpiricy, maybe not, collusion...hard to avoid such a conclusion.
If one buries the paper that will act as a corbon sink counteracting some of the effects of global warming. Worth considering if your country is a signatory to the Kyoto accord (read everyone except the USA & Australia). Even better, if you bury the paper under water you will be making a contribution to future generations' fossil fuel supplies...
Agreed. Particularly in a work situation where if I have a problem the sysadm comes and fixes it up for me, just like they used to under Windows. So now I crash less, my licence fees have dropped to zero and I am still able to write high quality documents for my clients. That is reality for 99% of medium to large work spaces.
What isn't addressed is the reason for the "defection". I for one would not be suprised that the prime motivator was Microsoft eating their lunch - not much point producing a product if M$ baked it into Windows....
Whilst we have always had a core Linux group the reason all our developers, and even management, are now able to (and do) chose Linux is the internet. All our new client development is based on delivering user interfaces over a browser. Suddenly we don't need to worry about desk tops, client server archtecture, APIs ODBC crap crap crap.
As I say to my clients, we are able to truely stand on giants shoulders...
Done, thanks. AS for hurling insults and "proofreading"...never mind, just recheck your own post (or was that an attempt at subtle humour, if so, it's funny, laugh:-)).
As an immigrant I can definately agree that would NZ benefit from more of us! Seeing the xenophiobic discussion in/. during the recent H1-B story made me think we were not alone with stupid immigration laws and attitudes. I won't even go close to that troll from Australia...
On topic, there has been a great LOTR exhipition in Wellington at Te Papa (the Natinal Museum). Lots of vidoe clips, that I guess will come out on DVD, explaining how things were done, along with costumes and props. The best video was the one showing a clip of Gollum from the film against Sarkis. They took the entire movement and facial expressions from him. He was shot three times over, at least for each scene. Once with the other actors (that's him wrestling with Sam), once doing all the physical movements so that they could animate Gollum accurately and once doing the voice overs and facial expressions.
I don't know. By browsing at 4-5 mod points I find my external view of the the USA and its vicious administration is somewhat mollified. It is important that we get to see more of the US thought than the mainstream media presnts.
When he was younger...
on
Strike on Iraq
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· Score: 2, Funny
Ya know, I think I prefered Dubbya when he was a cocain snorting, alcholic, boardroom fraudster. Oh for the good ol' days...
There is a good LOTR exhibition on in Wellington at Te Papa (the Natinal Museum). Lots of vidoe clips, that I guess will come out on DVD, explaining how things were done, along with costumes and props. The best video was the one showing a clip of Gollum from the film against Sarkis. They took the entire movement and facial expressions from him. He was shot three times over, at least for each scene. Once with the other actors (that's him wrestling with Sam), once doing all the physical movements so that they could animate Gollum accurately and once doing the voice overs and facial expressions.
Another way to state: People who are good at brain-teasers are usually good at figuring out problems in real life. But rarely do the brain teasers mirror real life.
I observe that those said people are often good at minutiae of life but can never get their heads out of their arses long enough to see what is really happening in real life:-)
As for the grandparent comment about people being more important - isn't this exactly what agile "methodologies" recognise? Whilst I am not a convert to the lap dancing extremities of extreme programming, I do strongly agree with the underlying observations made with regard to agile development.
I particularly enjoyed Martin Fowler's knock off of the endless comparisions between software development and civil enginering. In a wide ranginging article he manages to capture just about all the hazy confused conclusions I've arrived at after 15 years in this industry.
Slashdot Mirror
There must be a tonne (ton) of PhD thesisss proving what a drain on the world economy patents really are. The more I think about it the less I can see *any* reason for patents. They are an artificial drain in the economy, encourage monopolisation and generally an option that favours huge corporates over the innovative "little" guys.
Are you an ideas person? Go sell that skill to a company that needs ideas, that's what the rest of us do, you don't need patents to make a buck.
The idea of patents encapuslates two mistaken ideals:
1. "The American Dream" - you get to make a shit load of money for nothing.
2. Professionals (read lawyers) are more than "just" about selling services - no no, we sell ideas.
On point two, I should state I am proud to be selling my services. If it makes my clients a lot of money, maybe they'll pay me a lot to keep my services. In the end, why should we be considered better (or worse) than toilet cleaners who do an equally valuable job.
Ooops. That's too embarrasing. I had OpenServer in mind. Stat the original...
Fascinating though this account maybe it talks all the way through about Unixware, which was a very different beast to System V. To those of us who ever used System V to use the term "enterprise" along that OS is simply laughable.
I now this is way OT but frankly I've had a gutsful of my chosen industry. We have M$ behaving like total jerks for over a decade, Oracle looking like a complete bunch of bully boy tossers and now SCO behaving in a manner that would surely see them heading directly to jail for extortion if they had Italien heritage.
Frankly OSS is the only point of sanity and some morality left to the industry (I can't quite believe that the IBM of the 70s and 80s is suddenly transposed itself to that touchstone).
Phew, its off my chest, quick, mod me down.
Good, so now we can get TV/VTs to watch the crap they put out themselves...I'm sure Douglas Adams would approve.
Ok, so how, in the interest of accuracy, do we get this mod'ed up to 5 and the parent to -1 troll...
I went to a talk given by British invetor James Dyson (check out their Home Page) a few weeks back. He invented the "bagless vacuum cleaner" and one of his engineers' "inovations" was to have a clear case round the rubbish it sucked up. They thought it was cool. One of the most interested people in the design was Steve Jobs...The rest is history.
So the $8million to SCO must seem like peanuts. And talk about a great ROI.
I lost respect for Gartner long ago, when they started predicting things that had already happened ("oh look, the internet could be a big deal" and "boy aren't there a lot of mobile phones out there") and then put s bogus x% probability rating next to every statement made.I don't believe they "do" independent analysis anymore.
Otherwise, they should demand that all IS departments have access to all source code they use to verify that all their suppliers are not breaching 3rd party IP. They might even comment on the fact that breach of IP if very hard to hide in the OSS world as some many people to review code.
In short condpiricy, maybe not, collusion...hard to avoid such a conclusion.
oops, I forgot :-) :-) :-)
Whew, glad that's sorted.
Seems like a good way to make sure you only keep middle class rich kids going to your school to me.
If one buries the paper that will act as a corbon sink counteracting some of the effects of global warming. Worth considering if your country is a signatory to the Kyoto accord (read everyone except the USA & Australia). Even better, if you bury the paper under water you will be making a contribution to future generations' fossil fuel supplies...
Strangely, software development continues in the rest of the world without patent protection.
(sorry, couldn't help the shameless plug!)
Agreed. Particularly in a work situation where if I have a problem the sysadm comes and fixes it up for me, just like they used to under Windows. So now I crash less, my licence fees have dropped to zero and I am still able to write high quality documents for my clients. That is reality for 99% of medium to large work spaces.
What isn't addressed is the reason for the "defection". I for one would not be suprised that the prime motivator was Microsoft eating their lunch - not much point producing a product if M$ baked it into Windows....
Whilst we have always had a core Linux group the reason all our developers, and even management, are now able to (and do) chose Linux is the internet. All our new client development is based on delivering user interfaces over a browser. Suddenly we don't need to worry about desk tops, client server archtecture, APIs ODBC crap crap crap.
As I say to my clients, we are able to truely stand on giants shoulders...
Done, thanks. AS for hurling insults and "proofreading"...never mind, just recheck your own post (or was that an attempt at subtle humour, if so, it's funny, laugh :-)).
bugger!
Patents are a critical part of the foundation of successful free markets. Why would anyone want to innovate if not to profit from his innovations?
and yet, strangely enough, software development continues in the rest of the world without patent protection.
(sorry, couldn't help the shameless plug!)
--
As an immigrant I can definately agree that would NZ benefit from more of us! Seeing the xenophiobic discussion in /. during the recent H1-B story made me think we were not alone with stupid immigration laws and attitudes. I won't even go close to that troll from Australia...
On topic, there has been a great LOTR exhipition in Wellington at Te Papa (the Natinal Museum). Lots of vidoe clips, that I guess will come out on DVD, explaining how things were done, along with costumes and props. The best video was the one showing a clip of Gollum from the film against Sarkis. They took the entire movement and facial expressions from him. He was shot three times over, at least for each scene. Once with the other actors (that's him wrestling with Sam), once doing all the physical movements so that they could animate Gollum accurately and once doing the voice overs and facial expressions.
I wish we'd designed the web site!
-------------
I don't know. By browsing at 4-5 mod points I find my external view of the the USA and its vicious administration is somewhat mollified. It is important that we get to see more of the US thought than the mainstream media presnts.
Ya know, I think I prefered Dubbya when he was a cocain snorting, alcholic, boardroom fraudster. Oh for the good ol' days...
Congrats for capturing the sentiment so clearly. As soon as I read the article I thought the same thing and this post was the "first read".
So sad to see so many ungrateful Americans :-).
There is a good LOTR exhibition on in Wellington at Te Papa (the Natinal Museum). Lots of vidoe clips, that I guess will come out on DVD, explaining how things were done, along with costumes and props. The best video was the one showing a clip of Gollum from the film against Sarkis. They took the entire movement and facial expressions from him. He was shot three times over, at least for each scene. Once with the other actors (that's him wrestling with Sam), once doing all the physical movements so that they could animate Gollum accurately and once doing the voice overs and facial expressions.
I wish we'd designed the web site!
Fantastic stuff, only thing is, he must be well over 6 foot, not what you imagine Gollum to be!
(Whilst you are there you can also check out the Harley exhibition...)
Another way to state: People who are good at brain-teasers are usually good at figuring out problems in real life. But rarely do the brain teasers mirror real life.
I observe that those said people are often good at minutiae of life but can never get their heads out of their arses long enough to see what is really happening in real life:-)
As for the grandparent comment about people being more important - isn't this exactly what agile "methodologies" recognise? Whilst I am not a convert to the lap dancing extremities of extreme programming, I do strongly agree with the underlying observations made with regard to agile development.
I particularly enjoyed Martin Fowler's knock off of the endless comparisions between software development and civil enginering. In a wide ranginging article he manages to capture just about all the hazy confused conclusions I've arrived at after 15 years in this industry.