Then let's look at the REAL problem of this analogy.
When Joe CEO buys a JAG for $60k, what is he buying, really. S-T-A-T-U-S. (I can think of no other luxury car, perhaps except the Cadillac or Lexus where the customer is charged so ridiculously much higher for what is essentially not much of a car, compared to say, a Porsche, BMW, or frankly, a Corvette). All to be seen driving down the road - careful man, I'm a big shot. I pay more to park this car than you do for rent. My suit costs more than your college education. I can afford the gas guzzler tax, unlike you SUV posers.
So is that what really is troubling people here? Paid $600 for the top of the line premier professional graphics software - I'm a hot shit pro graphic artist, yet can't stop those snotty little pimple-faced warez d00ds from getting to use a copy (perhaps developing pro-level skillsets in the process) for nothing?
I can see where it would be unfair for a professional to use a pirated copy of software to compete with other pros who are legit. I say bust those motherfuckers. But for casual, or even educational purposes, you'd be hard pressed to make a case with me that that's as wrong (and as deserving of enforcement effort) as Accountants shovelling fraud trial evidence into a shredder. (yes, where were the 40 heavily armed agents when they were shredding documents at Arthur Anderson for MONTHS, and it was not only public knowledge, but a top news story, while they continued to shred?).
Again - this illustrates the sheer triviality of the crime of software copy infringement. And the low regard in which I hold the BSA, and current government policy.
There's also the VERY real effect on marketshare when a software company ALLOWS it's product to be pirated (by providing no copy-protection whatsoever).
This is essentially "dumping". But since evil people are pirating their software, the software maker gets to pretend they're on the moral high-ground. Then, when they've got market dominance, and all the competitors are wiped out because they included copy protection (people were locked in by file formats, or OS compatability, or whatever) - the monopoly now starts beefing up it's copy-protection, because there's no longer any competition, the consumer has no choice.
This means that software, in general, HUGELY magnifies rules of supply and demand, but it's very much masked by the "official" prices charged, because there's no way to mathematically express what the market value is for a product that may have sold 1000 copies at $500 per, but was pirated 10,000 times. Legitimate accounting does not recognize this marketshare - but the marketshare exists nonetheless - AND the mindshare. And the demand. Multiply the demand of 11,000 people who want to use the software, by the price of $500 per copy, and you can see how skewed a view you can get of what's really going on. There's no demand in the marketplace worth $5,500,000, and the only way you could find out what that demand really is would be in a thought experiment: how much would the pirates have paid for the software? $50? $100? Some may have paid $500, but maybe couldn't legitimately get the software in their country. (old encryption export restrictions) - some people would have pirated if the software cost $1. And an average figure doesn't give you a good picture either.
In the end the way this demand can be measured is how few adopters their are of the competing product. Piracy rate ought to be measured and applied here. And you can't go charging the software company with dumping in these cases, or anticompetitive practices.
Just another big reason why strict adherence to open standards is the only way that won't lead to monopolies and proprietary closed systems, etc. Otherwise people won't be able to switch when the dominating player starts applying the thumbscrews.
no. The trick will be in distinguishing the veracity of information from "official sources".
let's hope that 10,000 years from now, some archeologist doesn't dig up a copy of some wack-job's conspiracy-theory website, and use that to illustrate late 20th century American History. Or worse, GreenPeace's website.
eh? Clint would work too. The cape would kind of have the same effect as the poncho in "Two Mules..." - I could see Clint-Batman lighting a kryptonite bomb with a cigar. . .
Oh damn! You Can Call Me Ray brings back memories, DKBTrace 2.11 - heh. Or, who could forget POLYRAY and POVCAD. Absolute crap! (from the PiSquared BBS) - and then there was RaycerX. . . ah the good old days, when the turbo switch on your computer meant you were blazing away at 12 MHz instead of 10.
Now, I sold my Dark Knight books (and made a bundle) back in the 90's, but I think I recall the sequence being something like;
Batman hides in some buildings, Superman uses his x-ray vision, x-ray-seeking missile auto-launches carrying warhead of synthesized kryptonite as Bruce comments how many years and how much money it cost to make. .. Clark gets creamed.
Of course he knew his alter ego - they were on a first name basis in that comic book, calling eachother "Bruce" and "Clark" while they were fighting. (I always liked that touch).
It certainly has a potential for good political commentary.
Batman's big beef against Superman in the Dark Knight series was that Superman was a bit too boy-scouty, a bit too flag-wavingly patriotic. Too much of a political tool. Too much Law and Order, not enough Justice. Batman was perceived to have "crossed the line" and Superman was sent to reign him in.
In this post 9/11 PATRIOT Act Globalization Corporate Facism Goth/geek-profiling-from-Columbine-aftermath world (heh, I beat Jon Katz to the punch with THAT one) - there's EXCELLENT fodder for political commentary. Too bad the spineless wussies will probably shelve that idea.
Maybe hand it over to Lucas, then he can do Superman with a CGI of Christopher Reeves' face.
IIRC, Superman did not lose - he and Batman colluded; Batman had a faked death, and came out of a drug-induced catelepsy in the grave (was later dug up by his trusty butler).
IIRC, the Mujas were getting their heads handed to them by the Soviet Spetznaz troops and Hind gunships until the US shipped them a few crates of Stingers and.50 Cal sniper rifles. Any credible military analysis I've read credits the Stingers with about 99% of the responsibility for turning the tide.
Since this was 15+ years ago, none of the Stingers should still be operational (they require maintenance and upkeep - battery replacements, sensor swaps, etc). And even if they are, they're fairly useless against ground targets. Despite what your average Arnold Schwartzenegger movie says, you can't target jack shit on the ground with a stinger - you can't even fire them unless they're pointed to at least a 30-degree elevation - they launch with a compressed CO2 charge, and the rocket engine fires out of the barrel, if you point it level, it'll hit the ground before the engine fires. Plus the warhead wouldn't do jack shit against these casks, it's designed to deliver a concussive blast NEAR enough to a plane to deliver structural damage to an airframe - not designed to penetrate armor. (which is why you can't shoot down an A-10 with one).
Opinion has nothing to do with it. Hard science has the answers, and the answer is: BZZZT! Wrong! There is no "relatively" long-lived waste from Fusion.
Quote me as saying, in 1980, while sitting in front of a TRS-80 model II, with my 8th-grade teacher trying to explain how to calculate interest on a home loan: "Games are the only legitimate use for computers."
No, it seemed to me that they were aliens too - because by that time, the earth was all a big frozen wasteland - pretty much lifeless. The "obvious" message was that they were aliens.
When you sit down and think about it, it doesn't make one damn bit of difference whether they're aliens or descendants of the original robots. Six of one, half-a-dozen of the other.
Don't forget, Ewan McGregor in Moulin Rouge. Maybe Lucas will turn EP III into a musical? Picture a light-sabre-wielding Yoda and Mace break-dancing. . .
No Russian nukes automatically launching, no pacemakers shutting down, no toasters attacking people... NOTHING. NOTHING HAPPENED, NOTHING WAS AVOIDED.
My company just discovered a Y2K bug two months ago in one of our customer databases. 50,000 contracts with no valid start date. Ugly. We went through our stuff with a fine toothed comb in 1999 - To say that nothing happened is false. In fact, you could even blame the dot-bombs on the drop in IT spending caused by post Y2K era corporate budgets.
Slashdot Mirror
how in hell will that bring us out of recession if everyone on the outside is unemployed because they have to compete with slave labor?
Then let's look at the REAL problem of this analogy.
When Joe CEO buys a JAG for $60k, what is he buying, really. S-T-A-T-U-S. (I can think of no other luxury car, perhaps except the Cadillac or Lexus where the customer is charged so ridiculously much higher for what is essentially not much of a car, compared to say, a Porsche, BMW, or frankly, a Corvette). All to be seen driving down the road - careful man, I'm a big shot. I pay more to park this car than you do for rent. My suit costs more than your college education. I can afford the gas guzzler tax, unlike you SUV posers.
So is that what really is troubling people here? Paid $600 for the top of the line premier professional graphics software - I'm a hot shit pro graphic artist, yet can't stop those snotty little pimple-faced warez d00ds from getting to use a copy (perhaps developing pro-level skillsets in the process) for nothing?
I can see where it would be unfair for a professional to use a pirated copy of software to compete with other pros who are legit. I say bust those motherfuckers.
But for casual, or even educational purposes, you'd be hard pressed to make a case with me that that's as wrong (and as deserving of enforcement effort) as Accountants shovelling fraud trial evidence into a shredder. (yes, where were the 40 heavily armed agents when they were shredding documents at Arthur Anderson for MONTHS, and it was not only public knowledge, but a top news story, while they continued to shred?).
Again - this illustrates the sheer triviality of the crime of software copy infringement. And the low regard in which I hold the BSA, and current government policy.
There's also the VERY real effect on marketshare when a software company ALLOWS it's product to be pirated (by providing no copy-protection whatsoever).
This is essentially "dumping". But since evil people are pirating their software, the software maker gets to pretend they're on the moral high-ground. Then, when they've got market dominance, and all the competitors are wiped out because they included copy protection (people were locked in by file formats, or OS compatability, or whatever) - the monopoly now starts beefing up it's copy-protection, because there's no longer any competition, the consumer has no choice.
This means that software, in general, HUGELY magnifies rules of supply and demand, but it's very much masked by the "official" prices charged, because there's no way to mathematically express what the market value is for a product that may have sold 1000 copies at $500 per, but was pirated 10,000 times. Legitimate accounting does not recognize this marketshare - but the marketshare exists nonetheless - AND the mindshare. And the demand. Multiply the demand of 11,000 people who want to use the software, by the price of $500 per copy, and you can see how skewed a view you can get of what's really going on. There's no demand in the marketplace worth $5,500,000, and the only way you could find out what that demand really is would be in a thought experiment: how much would the pirates have paid for the software? $50? $100? Some may have paid $500, but maybe couldn't legitimately get the software in their country. (old encryption export restrictions) - some people would have pirated if the software cost $1. And an average figure doesn't give you a good picture either.
In the end the way this demand can be measured is how few adopters their are of the competing product. Piracy rate ought to be measured and applied here. And you can't go charging the software company with dumping in these cases, or anticompetitive practices.
Just another big reason why strict adherence to open standards is the only way that won't lead to monopolies and proprietary closed systems, etc. Otherwise people won't be able to switch when the dominating player starts applying the thumbscrews.
what we don't know is how to actually pronounce their language.
no. The trick will be in distinguishing the veracity of information from "official sources".
let's hope that 10,000 years from now, some archeologist doesn't dig up a copy of some wack-job's conspiracy-theory website, and use that to illustrate late 20th century American History. Or worse, GreenPeace's website.
Thank you for that account.
Now wishing I hadn't sold my comix. But WorldCom seemed like such a better investment!
eh? Clint would work too. The cape would kind of have the same effect as the poncho in "Two Mules .. ." - I could see Clint-Batman lighting a kryptonite bomb with a cigar. . .
Why not just port the BSD version and run from the CLI like the good old days?
Oh damn! You Can Call Me Ray brings back memories, DKBTrace 2.11 - heh. Or, who could forget POLYRAY and POVCAD. Absolute crap! (from the PiSquared BBS) - and then there was RaycerX. . . ah the good old days, when the turbo switch on your computer meant you were blazing away at 12 MHz instead of 10.
Now, I sold my Dark Knight books (and made a bundle) back in the 90's, but I think I recall the sequence being something like;
.
Batman hides in some buildings,
Superman uses his x-ray vision,
x-ray-seeking missile auto-launches carrying warhead of synthesized kryptonite as Bruce comments how many years and how much money it cost to make. .
Clark gets creamed.
That would definately suck.
Batman and Superman in the Dark Knight were OLD.
How about; Sean Connery (minus the accent) as Batman.
That'd be about as perfect as you could get.
Of course he knew his alter ego - they were on a first name basis in that comic book, calling eachother "Bruce" and "Clark" while they were fighting. (I always liked that touch).
It certainly has a potential for good political commentary.
Batman's big beef against Superman in the Dark Knight series was that Superman was a bit too boy-scouty, a bit too flag-wavingly patriotic. Too much of a political tool. Too much Law and Order, not enough Justice. Batman was perceived to have "crossed the line" and Superman was sent to reign him in.
In this post 9/11 PATRIOT Act Globalization Corporate Facism Goth/geek-profiling-from-Columbine-aftermath world (heh, I beat Jon Katz to the punch with THAT one) - there's EXCELLENT fodder for political commentary. Too bad the spineless wussies will probably shelve that idea.
Maybe hand it over to Lucas, then he can do Superman with a CGI of Christopher Reeves' face.
IIRC, Superman did not lose - he and Batman colluded; Batman had a faked death, and came out of a drug-induced catelepsy in the grave (was later dug up by his trusty butler).
.mac would be rather bass-ackwards for the company that freed us from filename extensions.
IIRC, the Mujas were getting their heads handed to them by the Soviet Spetznaz troops and Hind gunships until the US shipped them a few crates of Stingers and .50 Cal sniper rifles. Any credible military analysis I've read credits the Stingers with about 99% of the responsibility for turning the tide.
Since this was 15+ years ago, none of the Stingers should still be operational (they require maintenance and upkeep - battery replacements, sensor swaps, etc). And even if they are, they're fairly useless against ground targets. Despite what your average Arnold Schwartzenegger movie says, you can't target jack shit on the ground with a stinger - you can't even fire them unless they're pointed to at least a 30-degree elevation - they launch with a compressed CO2 charge, and the rocket engine fires out of the barrel, if you point it level, it'll hit the ground before the engine fires. Plus the warhead wouldn't do jack shit against these casks, it's designed to deliver a concussive blast NEAR enough to a plane to deliver structural damage to an airframe - not designed to penetrate armor. (which is why you can't shoot down an A-10 with one).
IMO?
Opinion has nothing to do with it. Hard science has the answers, and the answer is: BZZZT! Wrong! There is no "relatively" long-lived waste from Fusion.
How about a post that's worthy of an Interesting mod?
Porsche (the man, not the car company) built the first electric car. I think he may have been working for Mercedes at the time tho.
IMO the 3 series looks just like a Honda Accord. If you're buying a 3 series, you can't afford a real BMW.
Quote me as saying, in 1980, while sitting in front of a TRS-80 model II, with my 8th-grade teacher trying to explain how to calculate interest on a home loan:
"Games are the only legitimate use for computers."
tee-hee. I like. :)
Yeah, and too bad Divine died.
Maybe Traci Lords could play - um, somebody.
No, it seemed to me that they were aliens too - because by that time, the earth was all a big frozen wasteland - pretty much lifeless. The "obvious" message was that they were aliens.
When you sit down and think about it, it doesn't make one damn bit of difference whether they're aliens or descendants of the original robots. Six of one, half-a-dozen of the other.
Don't forget, Ewan McGregor in Moulin Rouge. Maybe Lucas will turn EP III into a musical? Picture a light-sabre-wielding Yoda and Mace break-dancing. . .
No Russian nukes automatically launching, no pacemakers shutting down, no toasters attacking people... NOTHING. NOTHING HAPPENED, NOTHING WAS AVOIDED.
My company just discovered a Y2K bug two months ago in one of our customer databases. 50,000 contracts with no valid start date. Ugly. We went through our stuff with a fine toothed comb in 1999 -
To say that nothing happened is false.
In fact, you could even blame the dot-bombs on the drop in IT spending caused by post Y2K era corporate budgets.