I just bought a Physics textbook for less than $10 at lulu.com, the same book is downloadable for free in non-DRM'd format. (The class is for a friend at University of Texas).
There is money to be made without DRM and without insane prices, it's just hard to give it up and treat your customers ethically if you are used to making monopoly sized profits.
It doesn't matter if they're "a natural progression of language"; they're still classless. Have you noticed that people from higher social strata typically pronounce more of the letters of the words they speak, whereas those from lower classes tend to slur or leave sounds out? This was pointed out to me by my wife, who -- while from a lower-class background herself -- spent years of her life taking singing classes (which covered pronunciation and suppression of her native Southern accent) and who for quite some time worked in jewelery sales in establishments catering to the upper middle class.
I think you have just shown that you and your wife are not very well traveled inside the US, and even less so outside of the US. (e.g. You have not seen high society in Boston, Montreal, much less much of France, and regions of Spain near France, and those are just the limited examples that I am aware of where whole sections of words are not pronounced by classes of people that I suspect both you and your wife would feel very uncomfortable being with.)
You have also shown you have never taken a good college level course in linguistics. And from everything I have read and heard from the researchers at the Oxford English Dictionary, they would find your point of view interesting, but at least historically incorrect.
However the one sentence that I do agree with in the GP's stupid rant is that she was not skinny enough to play aeon flux.
Thank you, and although I did go overboard in the Monster criticism, I was trying to point out that even Charlize must realize that physical attributes count for a role, and casting her as Aeon Flux is just as stupid as casting Tom Cruise for a new Conan the Barbarian movie. The body types simply do not match. It does not mean she is ugly, but it does betray the original story, and it means the movie will mostly only appeal to people who only care about seeing her in small leather outfits. (And I'm sure the same converstations will take place with Cruise fans if Tom Cruise is ever cast as Conan.)
And I also gave examples of actresses I believe would have better fit the role - although some of them probably would have had to diet, just as Charlize gained weight for her role in Monster.
I think she is too fat to be Aeon Flux, I mean she's not at her Monster days... but still, it's more like they casted an overweight monster who lost a little bit of weight for the role than someone who might actually fit the role. And yes, I think Milla Jovovich, Lori Petty, Gigi Edgley, Dina Meyer, or Kate Beckinsale would have been better choices, but just about any skinny unknown would have fit the physical role better.
And for those not paying attention, this is microsoft's follow through to their threat to shift their investments from Ireland and the EU to the more patent friendly (at least so far) India.
Secondly, even if your figure is correct, it is obvious that the number is significant enough right now that many companies have decided not to ignore the Linux market. Sure, some companies are going to feel they can ignore the market (e.g. nvidia, ASUS is another bad example), but continuing to purchase from them, or help them with their drivers is just stupid, especially since the Linux users numbers are big enough to make a diference to some companies, and there are companies like "VIA, Realtek, RALink and MSI showing an interest in cooperating."
I find many FOSS programs very easy and intuitive to use. The only thing in my mind holding back Linux on the desktop is people buying hardware from companies that refuse to release open source drivers and also refusing to release specs for their shitty hardware. Which is the whole issue with the print drivers. And it was print drivers that caused RMS to start the Free Software Foundation.... So welcome to RMS' pain. (It's not nice when you can't use the source code for the hardware you purchased, is it?)
The sooner Linux users stop buying closed driver only crap, the sooner we can all stop suffering.
No, you should have said: so I got rid of the opensource driver, (and my freedom) and installed the closed source nvidia driver package.
Please stop blaming FOSS software for the troubles caused by you purchasing hardware from crappy companies like nvidia who refuse to support your hardware purchases by either releasing open source drivers for your hardware or even releasing the hardware specs for your purchases.
Thanks!
In case you did not know, this is mostly funny because it was exactly this issue of closed source drivers that caused RMS to start the Free Software Foundation. (Actually it was the driver to a Xerox printer - which makes the rant about open source printer drivers in the Register article so bitter for people who know the history.) The sooner Linux users stop buying such unsupported crap the sooner we will all have to stop suffering.
It makes me happy because I can boycott Disney, and still watch TV channels of companies I am not so opposed to. Cable companies hate it because they can not force you to buy a bunch of channels you are not interested in. (e.g. If you want PBS, you have to have Nasa Channel, you also have to buy Disney, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNews, ESPN3, & Home shopping network, see what a good deal you are getting with our bundled package?
I don't think closed source software should qualify for copyright protection unless their source code is in escrow (with e.g. the Library of Congress at the publisher's cost) to be released at the end of the copyright term. Without the source code, you should only be afforded Trade-Secret protection.
I was going to call you an idiot for thinking so, but maybe you just have not been paying attention, or have some other agenda? I can't believe I actually responding to someone whose reponse is basically "They want to sell hardware, so DRM will not be too bad - DRM is our friend."
HD-DVD contains Microsoft's DRM software (iHD) (not that Blueray is any better, although their DRM software uses Java)... so you are saying you trust Microsoft to allow you fair use rights?
This is what the fighting is about - these companies could care less about the formats, and very little about the final cost per disk, this is a fight to see who gets to provide the DRM software on your media.
The sad thing is that Sony supported BlueRay uses Java, where as HD-DVD uses Microsoft's special DRM software. (Thus most of the fighting.) I hope China / Taiwan (or anyone else) comes out with a format that is just data... that is something I would buy.
Personnally, I have pretty good teeth, and I think it is mostly from avoiding all water... (I prefer ale anyway.) It's not only the floride in water, do you know what fish do in that stuff?!?
I think Microsoft is at cross purposes with fixing security... most security fixes have not been about creating a more secure, trustable architecture, but instead putting some security candy on top of an insecure OS (e.g. XP SP2 firewall, spyware beta) and I think this is because system security can not be a top priority for Microsoft as long as they also are attempting to:
a) Hide software on your computer (e.g. DRM)
b) Allow other big companies to pay to hide software on your computer (e.g. RIAA DRM)
c) Force you computer to phone home
d) Force people to go to automated updates that can remove functionality
e) Sell ads on your computer (I suspect the number will depend on which of the 8 levels of Longhorn you rent - will they still allow purchases for home users? (upgrade to business version now to avoid pop-ups)
If they can use your computer to do these things remotely, and to do things against your wishes (e.g. DRM) - well, it's always going to be a race to prevent other, more malicous software writers from doing the same. And, can you ever really trust a computer you can not audit, or even completely direct?
This all presupposes:
a) That you cannot support your own changes and...
b) That you will not file bug reports and put your code back into the vendor supported version.
Yes, I have done both of those.
It's really a variation of the "GPL is not really free because you can not take away other people's freedoms" argument. ("Canada is not really free because you do not have the freedom to have slaves." (And just think of all the lost financial opportunities because of this long-haired, draconian policy!))
But how are you going to put on security updates? How do you reinstall XP if Microsoft refuses to authenticate your copy? What will happen in the future when Microsoft stops selling software and only "rents" it?
You are free to get parts and service for your Ford from anybody, but you lack even those basic freedoms with Microsoft's software. Your car analogy is falling apart.
You are wrong... it was AT&T Bell labs, but other than Bjarne Stroustrup, who went to Texas A&M, most of the Bell guys are now at Google. These are people Microsoft could never hire away, but Google did.
Same here, I love playing games, but am done with purchasing games from people who treat me like a thief. Each time I see a new pc game I would really like, I make a donation to a free software project. Thanks for the Free software games guys.
It has nothing to do with Open Office - directly, and if you argue that way you are falling into Microsoft's trap. It is the OASIS Standard Open Document FORMAT, and any program or suite can support it, and many do, including KOffice, Star Office, AbiWord, and OpenOffice. Microsoft could support it also, if they wished to do so.
Now if we could only get Apple to support Open Document, we could probably get rid of this line of FUD mis-thinking all together.
Slashdot Mirror
There is money to be made without DRM and without insane prices, it's just hard to give it up and treat your customers ethically if you are used to making monopoly sized profits.
You can even help the Oxford English Dictionary find new words.
My favorite is to bonk. Slashdot is on the cutting edge of language change - some things will not stick, but many will.
I think you have just shown that you and your wife are not very well traveled inside the US, and even less so outside of the US. (e.g. You have not seen high society in Boston, Montreal, much less much of France, and regions of Spain near France, and those are just the limited examples that I am aware of where whole sections of words are not pronounced by classes of people that I suspect both you and your wife would feel very uncomfortable being with.)
You have also shown you have never taken a good college level course in linguistics. And from everything I have read and heard from the researchers at the Oxford English Dictionary, they would find your point of view interesting, but at least historically incorrect.
So maybe they should not have cast an adult. (Maybe you thought Betty Bronson was a boy in Peter Pan, or that Chris Ackerman's tattoo's really came to life?) Films are just as big a fantasy as cartoons, it's just that the special effects are harder.
Thank you, and although I did go overboard in the Monster criticism, I was trying to point out that even Charlize must realize that physical attributes count for a role, and casting her as Aeon Flux is just as stupid as casting Tom Cruise for a new Conan the Barbarian movie. The body types simply do not match. It does not mean she is ugly, but it does betray the original story, and it means the movie will mostly only appeal to people who only care about seeing her in small leather outfits. (And I'm sure the same converstations will take place with Cruise fans if Tom Cruise is ever cast as Conan.)
And I also gave examples of actresses I believe would have better fit the role - although some of them probably would have had to diet, just as Charlize gained weight for her role in Monster.
I think she is too fat to be Aeon Flux, I mean she's not at her Monster days... but still, it's more like they casted an overweight monster who lost a little bit of weight for the role than someone who might actually fit the role. And yes, I think Milla Jovovich, Lori Petty, Gigi Edgley, Dina Meyer, or Kate Beckinsale would have been better choices, but just about any skinny unknown would have fit the physical role better.
What does microsoft's lobbying, back-room deals, and threatening of India have to do with capitalalism and freedom in India?
And for those not paying attention, this is microsoft's follow through to their threat to shift their investments from Ireland and the EU to the more patent friendly (at least so far) India.
First, I don't believe your 5% figure....
Secondly, even if your figure is correct, it is obvious that the number is significant enough right now that many companies have decided not to ignore the Linux market. Sure, some companies are going to feel they can ignore the market (e.g. nvidia, ASUS is another bad example), but continuing to purchase from them, or help them with their drivers is just stupid, especially since the Linux users numbers are big enough to make a diference to some companies, and there are companies like "VIA, Realtek, RALink and MSI showing an interest in cooperating."
The sooner Linux users stop buying closed driver only crap, the sooner we can all stop suffering.
No, you should have said:
so I got rid of the opensource driver, (and my freedom) and installed the closed source nvidia driver package.
Please stop blaming FOSS software for the troubles caused by you purchasing hardware from crappy companies like nvidia who refuse to support your hardware purchases by either releasing open source drivers for your hardware or even releasing the hardware specs for your purchases.
Thanks!
In case you did not know, this is mostly funny because it was exactly this issue of closed source drivers that caused RMS to start the Free Software Foundation. (Actually it was the driver to a Xerox printer - which makes the rant about open source printer drivers in the Register article so bitter for people who know the history.) The sooner Linux users stop buying such unsupported crap the sooner we will all have to stop suffering.
Goodbye Disney!
I don't think closed source software should qualify for copyright protection unless their source code is in escrow (with e.g. the Library of Congress at the publisher's cost) to be released at the end of the copyright term. Without the source code, you should only be afforded Trade-Secret protection.
And voting systems need transparency
No bubble, it's just Microsoft trying to figure out how they can use their monopoly to outleveredge Google. Gates will try the stupidest things under pressure, and he know he has the money to gamble... I just wonder if he will gamble the whole business before it's over.
Anyway, there is already plenty of proof that Microsoft is happy to abuse DRM.
Another nice presentation on free culture with lots of great examples.
This is what the fighting is about - these companies could care less about the formats, and very little about the final cost per disk, this is a fight to see who gets to provide the DRM software on your media.
The sad thing is that Sony supported BlueRay uses Java, where as HD-DVD uses Microsoft's special DRM software. (Thus most of the fighting.) I hope China / Taiwan (or anyone else) comes out with a format that is just data... that is something I would buy.
Personnally, I have pretty good teeth, and I think it is mostly from avoiding all water... (I prefer ale anyway.) It's not only the floride in water, do you know what fish do in that stuff?!?
I think Microsoft is at cross purposes with fixing security... most security fixes have not been about creating a more secure, trustable architecture, but instead putting some security candy on top of an insecure OS (e.g. XP SP2 firewall, spyware beta) and I think this is because system security can not be a top priority for Microsoft as long as they also are attempting to:
a) Hide software on your computer (e.g. DRM)b) Allow other big companies to pay to hide software on your computer (e.g. RIAA DRM)
c) Force you computer to phone home
d) Force people to go to automated updates that can remove functionality
e) Sell ads on your computer (I suspect the number will depend on which of the 8 levels of Longhorn you rent - will they still allow purchases for home users? (upgrade to business version now to avoid pop-ups)
If they can use your computer to do these things remotely, and to do things against your wishes (e.g. DRM) - well, it's always going to be a race to prevent other, more malicous software writers from doing the same. And, can you ever really trust a computer you can not audit, or even completely direct?
This all presupposes: ...
a) That you cannot support your own changes
and
b) That you will not file bug reports and put your code back into the vendor supported version.
Yes, I have done both of those.
It's really a variation of the "GPL is not really free because you can not take away other people's freedoms" argument. ("Canada is not really free because you do not have the freedom to have slaves." (And just think of all the lost financial opportunities because of this long-haired, draconian policy!))
But how are you going to put on security updates? How do you reinstall XP if Microsoft refuses to authenticate your copy? What will happen in the future when Microsoft stops selling software and only "rents" it?
You are free to get parts and service for your Ford from anybody, but you lack even those basic freedoms with Microsoft's software. Your car analogy is falling apart.
SCO is just the picture of normalcy.
Now if only we could get them to pull their products from the US, I would be happy.
You are wrong... it was AT&T Bell labs, but other than Bjarne Stroustrup, who went to Texas A&M, most of the Bell guys are now at Google. These are people Microsoft could never hire away, but Google did.
Same here, I love playing games, but am done with purchasing games from people who treat me like a thief. Each time I see a new pc game I would really like, I make a donation to a free software project. Thanks for the Free software games guys.
It has nothing to do with Open Office - directly, and if you argue that way you are falling into Microsoft's trap. It is the OASIS Standard Open Document FORMAT , and any program or suite can support it, and many do, including KOffice, Star Office, AbiWord, and OpenOffice. Microsoft could support it also, if they wished to do so.
Now if we could only get Apple to support Open Document, we could probably get rid of this line of FUD mis-thinking all together.
That's actually incoming intercontinental ballistic chairs - DUCK!