Without the BBS systems, do you really think the technology we have today would be in place?
I guess it depends on what mean when you say technology. I can honestly say that I have only connected to a BBS maybe once or twice, and I have been working with computers (both at home and at work/school) since I started engineering college in the late 1970's. It seems to me that the three biggest factors that have influenced today's technology are 1) the Arpanet, 2) Unix, and 3) the Xerox Alto computer.
How did BBS systems influence any of those systems?
There is no mention of this debate on the C-SPAN
Debates web page. It appears that C-SPAN is giving this about as much attention as the major networks, which is a shame considering that C-SPAn claims to be non-partisan.
If you have a GPS receiver and live in the United States, you should check out USAPhotoMaps. It lets you view your waypoints superimposed on areal photographs. The best part is that it's free. the bad part is that it only runs on Windoze.
Most of the responses have missed the point of the question. The mere act of publishing an idea somewhere will not prevent someone else from patenting it; publishing just gives the original inventor an opportunity to challenge a patent. The poster wants to prevent an offending panent from ever being issued.
The best way to prevent someone else from patenting the idea is to make sure that the invention has been disclosed in a way that any reputable patent attorney will find it during a prior art search. Most patent attorneys will not be searching the archives of the ACM, SlashDot, or Usenet. Instead, they will be searching for existing patents.
So the best way to disclose an invention is to file a patent application, and request that the patent office immediately publish the patent application. Yes, there are some fees involved, but this is the only wat to make sure that patent attornesy can find your disclosure. You can then abandon the application if you don't pay any additional fees.
Go to the US Patent and Trademark Office web site for more specific information about the process, fees, etc.
I find that it's much easier for me to get to sleep if I do some light reading for a few minutes immediately before turning off the lights. This helps me wind-down and distract my mind from the events of the day. A couple pages of a book or magazine (not work related!) is all that's necessary.
The general concern about using electronic devices while in-flight has to do with the potential for a device to cause electromagnetic interference that would result in the pilot not being able to control the plane. This is particularly a concern on newer, fly-by-wire aircraft. The device's proximity to a control wire might be a factor, meaning that there might only be one location on the plane where a device would cause an interference.
Who's going to fund the tests to determine if a given device is safe to use in very location of every commerial moel of aircraft?
If the proposed scenario really happened, then the US Congress would pass a law that either nullified the Wheat 2.0 patent or set the license fee to one cent. Remember that the the first priority of every elected offical is to be reelected.
It sounds like the author expected the ISPs to conduct their own investigaion of whether there was really a Copyright infringement. I really doubt if many (any?) ISPs have enough resources to do that. At some point, they have to rely on the information that is provided to them.
Having said that, it's unfortunate that he UK ISP didn't do any type of verification before yanking the web page. But I don't see how the author can reach any sort of conclusion when the sample size is only two. I hope that this is not typical of the work that his sponsor publishes.
A few years ago there was a lawsuit involving employe exposure to hazardous waste at Area 51. At that time, the US Government acknowledged the existance of the base, but reused to release any details citing national security concerns. The judge in the case agreed with the government.
This is pure nonsense. Weren't cellular telephones at one time considered an innovative service in a heavily regulated industry? Didn't the cellular phone industry manage to survive dispite regulation?
VoIP will survive as long as it provides a useful service that is in some way advantageous over existing land-based and/or cellular systems.
... sounds like a telephone, acts like a telphone, works like a telephone...
Then it must be a telephone!
Who cares what technology it uses? If I can pick up the handset, dial a number, and expect a recipient on the other end to answer, then the state has every right (and obligation) to deal with it like any other telephone service.
If this were not the case, then cellular telephones would also be exempt from taxes.
I'm not familiar with Macromedia Authorware, but it sounds like a program that a teacher could use to develop lesson plans, etc. When I started this thread, I was thinking about something diferent, namely the educational "games" that my kids (ages 5 and 7) play.
Imagine WalMart or Dell marketing a low cost computer aimed at families who want to buy a second computer for their kids to use. They don't need Windows, but currently have no other choice if they want to continue using the software that they hav already invested in (or want to borrow programs from the local public library).
It seems like most of the effort so far has been to get office productivity software (ie. Microsoft Office) to work on Linux. However, there is a market for low cost home computers that Linix could help to fill if the educational software that kids use (such as the Reader Rabbit series) could run on Linux. Why is this potential market being ignored?
I read the Wired article, looking for more details on how NETI@Home actually worked, or at least how much overhead it would add to the average computer and/or nrtwork connection. Of course there was no technical information at all. It's starting to look like a lot of fluff.
It's not a one of a kind, in the sense that the folk music community has known all along about Woody's alternative lyrics to the song. In fact Woody wrote several additional verses, as this
link shows. Considering the state of politics back in the 1950's and 1960's, it's not surprising that these lyrics were not widely published (or performed). In fact, I know of some musicians in my own community today who refuse to sing these verses because of concern that they would offend some members of the audience.
Back in the good old days of vinyl records,
RIAA Equalization was/is an industry standard for how music that is recorded on vinyl records is played back. The idea is to compensate for the fact that vinyl does not have a flat audio frequncy response.
The link above explains it much better (and in more detail) that I can.
You may find the responses that I received to be helpful. After some more soul searching I decided not to return to coding, but the advice was applicable beyond returning to pure software development.
My local grocery store Wegmanshas been known to send letters to shoppers who have purchased certain items that have been recalled. Maybe that's a good use of the data, and maybe it's not, but clearly they are using loyalty card system to track everything that we purchase.
You've been using your personal cell phone for business purposes. Are you complaining because your employer doesn't want you to do this anymore? Why is this a problem? Your employer should either provide you with the tools that you need to do your job or explicitly state that it's your responsibility to provide them.
Or, are you complaining because your employer doesn't want you to make personal phone calls when you're on the job? I don't see this as a problem, either, because employers have every right to do work during business hours.
If you want to find a new job, then go do it. But at least be honest with yourself about why you're quitting.
In December 2002, Ray L. Wallace made a death bed confession that BigFoot was a hoax. CNN had all of the details. I remember seeing accounts that showed photos of the wooden feet, etc.
Great idea. Too bad Viacom (and the other content providers) won't let the cable companies and satellite companies break up their offerings channels into small blocks. If Dish wants to offer the MTV channel, then they also have to offer several other channels (and you, the consumer, have to pay fo them too). That's the whole point of the fight between EchoStar and Viacom.
Slashdot Mirror
Does this work in Mozilla, or only in Firefox? I can't find the "open link in sidebar" check box in Mozilla 1.7.3 (XP SP1). Thanks. /Don
Without the BBS systems, do you really think the technology we have today would be in place?
I guess it depends on what mean when you say technology. I can honestly say that I have only connected to a BBS maybe once or twice, and I have been working with computers (both at home and at work/school) since I started engineering college in the late 1970's. It seems to me that the three biggest factors that have influenced today's technology are 1) the Arpanet, 2) Unix, and 3) the Xerox Alto computer.
How did BBS systems influence any of those systems?
Apparently Kerry doesn't like the lights either.
There is no mention of this debate on the C-SPAN Debates web page. It appears that C-SPAN is giving this about as much attention as the major networks, which is a shame considering that C-SPAn claims to be non-partisan.
If you have a GPS receiver and live in the United States, you should check out USAPhotoMaps. It lets you view your waypoints superimposed on areal photographs. The best part is that it's free. the bad part is that it only runs on Windoze.
... have used a system like this for several years. With that in mind, I'm not sure why CSU's installation is newsworthy. /Don
Most of the responses have missed the point of the question. The mere act of publishing an idea somewhere will not prevent someone else from patenting it; publishing just gives the original inventor an opportunity to challenge a patent. The poster wants to prevent an offending panent from ever being issued.
The best way to prevent someone else from patenting the idea is to make sure that the invention has been disclosed in a way that any reputable patent attorney will find it during a prior art search. Most patent attorneys will not be searching the archives of the ACM, SlashDot, or Usenet. Instead, they will be searching for existing patents.
So the best way to disclose an invention is to file a patent application, and request that the patent office immediately publish the patent application. Yes, there are some fees involved, but this is the only wat to make sure that patent attornesy can find your disclosure. You can then abandon the application if you don't pay any additional fees.
Go to the US Patent and Trademark Office web site for more specific information about the process, fees, etc.
I find that it's much easier for me to get to sleep if I do some light reading for a few minutes immediately before turning off the lights. This helps me wind-down and distract my mind from the events of the day. A couple pages of a book or magazine (not work related!) is all that's necessary.
The general concern about using electronic devices while in-flight has to do with the potential for a device to cause electromagnetic interference that would result in the pilot not being able to control the plane. This is particularly a concern on newer, fly-by-wire aircraft. The device's proximity to a control wire might be a factor, meaning that there might only be one location on the plane where a device would cause an interference.
Who's going to fund the tests to determine if a given device is safe to use in very location of every commerial moel of aircraft?
If the proposed scenario really happened, then the US Congress would pass a law that either nullified the Wheat 2.0 patent or set the license fee to one cent. Remember that the the first priority of every elected offical is to be reelected.
It sounds like the author expected the ISPs to conduct their own investigaion of whether there was really a Copyright infringement. I really doubt if many (any?) ISPs have enough resources to do that. At some point, they have to rely on the information that is provided to them.
Having said that, it's unfortunate that he UK ISP didn't do any type of verification before yanking the web page. But I don't see how the author can reach any sort of conclusion when the sample size is only two. I hope that this is not typical of the work that his sponsor publishes.
The best source for current information about the happenings at Area 51 is Dreamland Resort.
A few years ago there was a lawsuit involving employe exposure to hazardous waste at Area 51. At that time, the US Government acknowledged the existance of the base, but reused to release any details citing national security concerns. The judge in the case agreed with the government.
This is pure nonsense. Weren't cellular telephones at one time considered an innovative service in a heavily regulated industry? Didn't the cellular phone industry manage to survive dispite regulation?
VoIP will survive as long as it provides a useful service that is in some way advantageous over existing land-based and/or cellular systems.
Then it must be a telephone!
Who cares what technology it uses? If I can pick up the handset, dial a number, and expect a recipient on the other end to answer, then the state has every right (and obligation) to deal with it like any other telephone service.
If this were not the case, then cellular telephones would also be exempt from taxes.
I'm not familiar with Macromedia Authorware, but it sounds like a program that a teacher could use to develop lesson plans, etc. When I started this thread, I was thinking about something diferent, namely the educational "games" that my kids (ages 5 and 7) play.
Imagine WalMart or Dell marketing a low cost computer aimed at families who want to buy a second computer for their kids to use. They don't need Windows, but currently have no other choice if they want to continue using the software that they hav already invested in (or want to borrow programs from the local public library).
It seems like most of the effort so far has been to get office productivity software (ie. Microsoft Office) to work on Linux. However, there is a market for low cost home computers that Linix could help to fill if the educational software that kids use (such as the Reader Rabbit series) could run on Linux. Why is this potential market being ignored?
I read the Wired article, looking for more details on how NETI@Home actually worked, or at least how much overhead it would add to the average computer and/or nrtwork connection. Of course there was no technical information at all. It's starting to look like a lot of fluff.
It's not a one of a kind, in the sense that the folk music community has known all along about Woody's alternative lyrics to the song. In fact Woody wrote several additional verses, as this link shows. Considering the state of politics back in the 1950's and 1960's, it's not surprising that these lyrics were not widely published (or performed). In fact, I know of some musicians in my own community today who refuse to sing these verses because of concern that they would offend some members of the audience.
Back in the good old days of vinyl records, RIAA Equalization was/is an industry standard for how music that is recorded on vinyl records is played back. The idea is to compensate for the fact that vinyl does not have a flat audio frequncy response.
The link above explains it much better (and in more detail) that I can.
\/Don
You may find the responses that I received to be helpful. After some more soul searching I decided not to return to coding, but the advice was applicable beyond returning to pure software development.
My local grocery store Wegmanshas been known to send letters to shoppers who have purchased certain items that have been recalled. Maybe that's a good use of the data, and maybe it's not, but clearly they are using loyalty card system to track everything that we purchase.
I'm confused.
You've been using your personal cell phone for business purposes. Are you complaining because your employer doesn't want you to do this anymore? Why is this a problem? Your employer should either provide you with the tools that you need to do your job or explicitly state that it's your responsibility to provide them.
Or, are you complaining because your employer doesn't want you to make personal phone calls when you're on the job? I don't see this as a problem, either, because employers have every right to do work during business hours.
If you want to find a new job, then go do it. But at least be honest with yourself about why you're quitting.
In December 2002, Ray L. Wallace made a death bed confession that BigFoot was a hoax. CNN had all of the details. I remember seeing accounts that showed photos of the wooden feet, etc.
Great idea. Too bad Viacom (and the other content providers) won't let the cable companies and satellite companies break up their offerings channels into small blocks. If Dish wants to offer the MTV channel, then they also have to offer several other channels (and you, the consumer, have to pay fo them too). That's the whole point of the fight between EchoStar and Viacom.