I nominate stormtrooper armor for the Most Useless Armor Ever, based mostly on the Ewok battle.
Actually, the hammer/club is an extremely effective weapon against people wearing armor intended to protect against piercing/slashing weapons. Even if it doesn't kill outright it knocks them down and stuns them long enough for you to stick your stiletto through their eyeslits.
Even armor intended to protect against such concussive impacts can only do so much if the wearer is to retain any sort of fighting mobility.
In any case the Stormtrooper's armor was clearly intended to protect against weapons such as the blaster, so you can only really judge it by its effectiveness against them.
Oh. Wait. Nevermind.
Ok, new theory. Stormtrooper armor was used primarily so that they could go out in public without having to worry about their hair and makeup.
WE'RE WATCHING YOU - doesnt sound as scary, especially if they really dont know what they are seeing.
No, it's scarier if they are willing to prosecute, or even simply threaten prosectution, on such grounds.
Not to mention what amounts to the power to have your internet account shut down on such grounds with it being your responsibility to "prove" noninfringment to get reinstated.
Well, for starters, we aren't talking primarily in the financial sense. We really are talking about free in the libre sense. It just happens that free code in the libre sense is innately available for free in the financial sense the second someone choses to distribute it that way.
Second, free software isn't just for *nix. My Windows partition is well stocked with FS/OSS software for the ultimate in cross platform compatibility. Pirating MS Office makes less sense when OpenOffice is freely available legally and offers all of the benefits of OSS.
As for my propriatary apps, well, I have two bits of trivial nagware that I haven't registered. I wouldn't exactly miss either one if I wanted to "go clean."
All of my games are paid for, one of them I even declined a full refund for (and I paid release price for it over the counter). I'm not exactly rich, but they are quality software that I was glad to support financially.
I not only don't waste my money on crap games, I don't waste my time on them either.
KFG
Re:I've got mine on pre-order.
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Port-A-Nuke
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· Score: 1
Looking at the octopi at work and around home it seems my next house should have powerstrips along the walls, not just outlets.
Yes, I am at the top layer of the technology protocol stack. The layer at which it would be inappropriate to ask questions about specific implimentations of specific algorithms, but at which genreralized technical questions are most appropriately addressed if you aren't just after the "information" you can find in a sales brouchure.
And, quite frankly, his answers were subpar even for a sales brouchure.
I'll give him this though, the questions themselves were, for the most part, also subpar.
I did not denigrate their contest. In fact, in the annoucment story I rather supported the idea that people would participate in it just for the thrill of the competition. Competition can be fun.
I denigrated Greenblatt's characterization of the contest.
Your answer is much, much better and I find myself in general agreement with it, although in the case of the Nobel it is up to the researchers themselves to decide what to work on and not a specific given task.
It's not a contest I personally have much interest in, because I don't believe my time would best benefit humanity by developing migration tools to Ingres. The only possible reasons for my participation would be for the money and public recognition of winning.
If, however, CA wishes to alleviate any financial hardship on my part by depositing a million after taxes bucks in my bank account I'd be absolutely delighted to devote much of what remains of my life toward developing Ingres to fully support the relational calculus for the good of humanity.
However, I'll note that no single programmer is slated to win the million. The prize, as is the case with most contests (including the Nobel), is to be divided up between participants. It is the total of prizes to be awarded, not a "winner takes all" pot.
KFG
Re:Electricity IS Civilization
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· Score: 1
Egypt, Babylon, Greece, The British Empire and by extention the first few centuries of development of American civilization.
Civilization is the social aspect of leveraging human capital in the pursuit of mutually beneficial technologies (such as agriculture). The pyramids and the Great Wall of China could not have been built without civilization. They were, however, built without any electricity.
Civilization is not, and is not dependant upon, any specific technology itself. It is, and is dependant upon, cooperation.
I don't really see it. In this case all of these projects had their genesis in freely distributed IBM research and IBM itself funded Berkeley's early Ingres development and it is the current rights holder to the specific product that is explicitly releasing the current code base as Open Source.
SCO's litigation rests on the rather shakey ground that they own code by contractual obligation with IBM who actually wrote the code and that their own distribution of that code under the GPL doesn't count against them because it was not themselves, as the rights holder, who actually released the code as Open Source.
So I suppose you could squabble over a few lines of specific code if you wanted to, but the core technology of the relational calculus and SQL is IBM's, has always been IBM's and was always made available for development under free license with Ingres itself first available under a BSD license with IBM's explicit blessings.
He is, as the first sentence of the blurb states, Senior Vice President and Chief Architect of CA's Linux Technology Group.
A manager, but a technical manager. That's why the questions were submitted to him instead of acting CEO Ken Cron. To maybe get some answers to questions from technologists from the technologist point of view.
We could have just read the CA website on our own if all we wanted was the standard promotional dreck.
And answered better, in threads at the time of question submission. It seems odd that time and space should be wasted by submitting questions to Greenblatt that are, ummmmmm, "factually flawed" when their poor roots in reality were addressed at that time.
The one answer that draws my attention though is the claim that the big million isn't for compensation of development efforts, but to alleviate constraints of financial hardship.
Come again? It's a contest. First you do development, perhaps under conditions of great financial hardship, then, after you do the work, maybe you win something to pay off the credit card bills you lived off of while doing the work.
It's not only compensation after the fact, it's very improbable compensation after the fact.
Tell ya what guys, if you really want me to work on the project while alleviating any financial hardship on my part fund the project with the million. Or at least just send me a case of rice noodles.
As it is this contest appears not to be either compensation or "alleviation", but rather a splashy offer in order to grab a lot of free headline space.
You can make up your own Dr. Evil joke about trying to make their million stand out against IBM's commitment of a billion.
No licensing / royaltees are required for live performances.
You are woefully incorrect, as you can find by simply reading the copyright notice on any play, sheet music and most recordings.
Either ASCAP or BMI is the group responsible for collecting performance royalties in the United States, and if you think the RIAA are royal bastards you've never dealt with the ASCAP sharks. Those guys will actually try to collect royalties from you for pointedly not playing any music that they represent.
In most case it is the house that pays the royaltie fees though. Look for the little ASCAP decal on the door as you enter the venue.
But if you are a street performer and play a Beatles tune you are vilolating copyright law and owe money for having done so.
". ..all went to seek the yellow gold that the Indians had seen there with Tobacco* fifty years ago. It was the same gold that drove the whites with the cholera over the trail to California, then to Colorado, up the Bozeman trail the Idaho country and now to the Black Hills. Always they ran after the yellow iron that one could not eat or wear or use to heat the winter lodge."
Because we live in times when if some guy hits you for wearing a "Bush/War/Starbucks/Episode 2 Sucks!" T-Shirt, instead of him being arrested for assault you will be arrested for inciting a riot.
Slashdot Mirror
I wonder just how he expects me to "prepare myself?"
Think Oedipus.
KFG
I nominate stormtrooper armor for the Most Useless Armor Ever, based mostly on the Ewok battle.
Actually, the hammer/club is an extremely effective weapon against people wearing armor intended to protect against piercing/slashing weapons. Even if it doesn't kill outright it knocks them down and stuns them long enough for you to stick your stiletto through their eyeslits.
Even armor intended to protect against such concussive impacts can only do so much if the wearer is to retain any sort of fighting mobility.
In any case the Stormtrooper's armor was clearly intended to protect against weapons such as the blaster, so you can only really judge it by its effectiveness against them.
Oh. Wait. Nevermind.
Ok, new theory. Stormtrooper armor was used primarily so that they could go out in public without having to worry about their hair and makeup.
KFG
. . .you've overestimated it's impact by a longshot.
That depends a good deal on what is meant by "affect."
KFG
. . . like trying to kill dolphins by getting drunk and pissing in the ocean. . .
Hey, if dolphins don't want piss in the ocean they should just hold it until they find a restroom like the rest of us are supposed to.
KFG
They are NOT claiming that the rights of the person they are contacting are being infringed.
Ummmmmmmm, duh?
I'm sorry, but I really don't know what else to say that.
KFG
Good thing you qualified that statement with "crap"
Which I did.
The dozen or three hours a week I spend playing good games (computer or otherwise) are a delight and ain't nobody's business but my own.
KFG
More like mistakes.
Offered as sworn testimony that you are responsible for correcting, not them.
KFG
WE'RE WATCHING YOU - doesnt sound as scary, especially if they really dont know what they are seeing.
No, it's scarier if they are willing to prosecute, or even simply threaten prosectution, on such grounds.
Not to mention what amounts to the power to have your internet account shut down on such grounds with it being your responsibility to "prove" noninfringment to get reinstated.
KFG
They ARE authorized to act on behalf of the owner.
.of the exclusive rights being infringed as set forth in this notification..."
". .
The people they represent are not the owners and have no such exclusive rights.
KFG
Well, for starters, we aren't talking primarily in the financial sense. We really are talking about free in the libre sense. It just happens that free code in the libre sense is innately available for free in the financial sense the second someone choses to distribute it that way.
Second, free software isn't just for *nix. My Windows partition is well stocked with FS/OSS software for the ultimate in cross platform compatibility. Pirating MS Office makes less sense when OpenOffice is freely available legally and offers all of the benefits of OSS.
As for my propriatary apps, well, I have two bits of trivial nagware that I haven't registered. I wouldn't exactly miss either one if I wanted to "go clean."
All of my games are paid for, one of them I even declined a full refund for (and I paid release price for it over the counter). I'm not exactly rich, but they are quality software that I was glad to support financially.
I not only don't waste my money on crap games, I don't waste my time on them either.
KFG
Looking at the octopi at work and around home it seems my next house should have powerstrips along the walls, not just outlets.
You can already purchase these from Wiremold.
KFG
In the future the "graphics card" will be refered to as the "motherboard" and you'll plug a "computer card" into it.
KFG
Yes, I am at the top layer of the technology protocol stack. The layer at which it would be inappropriate to ask questions about specific implimentations of specific algorithms, but at which genreralized technical questions are most appropriately addressed if you aren't just after the "information" you can find in a sales brouchure.
And, quite frankly, his answers were subpar even for a sales brouchure.
I'll give him this though, the questions themselves were, for the most part, also subpar.
KFG
I did not denigrate their contest. In fact, in the annoucment story I rather supported the idea that people would participate in it just for the thrill of the competition. Competition can be fun.
I denigrated Greenblatt's characterization of the contest.
Your answer is much, much better and I find myself in general agreement with it, although in the case of the Nobel it is up to the researchers themselves to decide what to work on and not a specific given task.
It's not a contest I personally have much interest in, because I don't believe my time would best benefit humanity by developing migration tools to Ingres. The only possible reasons for my participation would be for the money and public recognition of winning.
If, however, CA wishes to alleviate any financial hardship on my part by depositing a million after taxes bucks in my bank account I'd be absolutely delighted to devote much of what remains of my life toward developing Ingres to fully support the relational calculus for the good of humanity.
However, I'll note that no single programmer is slated to win the million. The prize, as is the case with most contests (including the Nobel), is to be divided up between participants. It is the total of prizes to be awarded, not a "winner takes all" pot.
KFG
Egypt, Babylon, Greece, The British Empire and by extention the first few centuries of development of American civilization.
Civilization is the social aspect of leveraging human capital in the pursuit of mutually beneficial technologies (such as agriculture). The pyramids and the Great Wall of China could not have been built without civilization. They were, however, built without any electricity.
Civilization is not, and is not dependant upon, any specific technology itself. It is, and is dependant upon, cooperation.
KFG
I don't really see it. In this case all of these projects had their genesis in freely distributed IBM research and IBM itself funded Berkeley's early Ingres development and it is the current rights holder to the specific product that is explicitly releasing the current code base as Open Source.
SCO's litigation rests on the rather shakey ground that they own code by contractual obligation with IBM who actually wrote the code and that their own distribution of that code under the GPL doesn't count against them because it was not themselves, as the rights holder, who actually released the code as Open Source.
So I suppose you could squabble over a few lines of specific code if you wanted to, but the core technology of the relational calculus and SQL is IBM's, has always been IBM's and was always made available for development under free license with Ingres itself first available under a BSD license with IBM's explicit blessings.
KFG
He is, as the first sentence of the blurb states, Senior Vice President and Chief Architect of CA's Linux Technology Group.
A manager, but a technical manager. That's why the questions were submitted to him instead of acting CEO Ken Cron. To maybe get some answers to questions from technologists from the technologist point of view.
We could have just read the CA website on our own if all we wanted was the standard promotional dreck.
KFG
And answered better, in threads at the time of question submission. It seems odd that time and space should be wasted by submitting questions to Greenblatt that are, ummmmmm, "factually flawed" when their poor roots in reality were addressed at that time.
The one answer that draws my attention though is the claim that the big million isn't for compensation of development efforts, but to alleviate constraints of financial hardship.
Come again? It's a contest. First you do development, perhaps under conditions of great financial hardship, then, after you do the work, maybe you win something to pay off the credit card bills you lived off of while doing the work.
It's not only compensation after the fact, it's very improbable compensation after the fact.
Tell ya what guys, if you really want me to work on the project while alleviating any financial hardship on my part fund the project with the million. Or at least just send me a case of rice noodles.
As it is this contest appears not to be either compensation or "alleviation", but rather a splashy offer in order to grab a lot of free headline space.
You can make up your own Dr. Evil joke about trying to make their million stand out against IBM's commitment of a billion.
KFG
Also:
Crippled; lame
Yep, it was a game alright.
KFG
No licensing / royaltees are required for live performances.
You are woefully incorrect, as you can find by simply reading the copyright notice on any play, sheet music and most recordings.
Either ASCAP or BMI is the group responsible for collecting performance royalties in the United States, and if you think the RIAA are royal bastards you've never dealt with the ASCAP sharks. Those guys will actually try to collect royalties from you for pointedly not playing any music that they represent.
In most case it is the house that pays the royaltie fees though. Look for the little ASCAP decal on the door as you enter the venue.
But if you are a street performer and play a Beatles tune you are vilolating copyright law and owe money for having done so.
KFG
I thought we were supposed to use the duct tape to combat the terrorists.
You should have seen my daughter when she was doing her "terrible two."
KFG
". . .all went to seek the yellow gold that the Indians had seen there with Tobacco* fifty years ago. It was the same gold that drove the whites with the cholera over the trail to California, then to Colorado, up the Bozeman trail the Idaho country and now to the Black Hills. Always they ran after the yellow iron that one could not eat or wear or use to heat the winter lodge."
Cheyenne Autumn -- Mari Sandoz
*A Cheyenne, not the plant
I was not refering to any specific incident and have no knowledge of the incident you refer to.
KFG
...after all the children must be secured.
I don't need the government to secure children, thank you very much. I've got duct tape.
KFG
2. Why is simply posting it illegal?
Because we live in times when if some guy hits you for wearing a "Bush/War/Starbucks/Episode 2 Sucks!" T-Shirt, instead of him being arrested for assault you will be arrested for inciting a riot.
KFG