The Willie Maykit principle used to actually exist. It is the source of the word "outlaw," which did not mean "criminal." It meant someone who had been put outside of the law. A legalistic shunning.
You cannot assault, batter, rob or murder one outside the law, since these are strictly issues of legality.
But this actually has very little to do with the economics of spamming. It simply modifies the risk factor in the equation, which, with regards to spamming, is minimal to nonexistant, even when defrauding or otherwise breaking the law.
If spam is where the money is Willie is going to break in.
The real diffence is that Willie broke into one place to steal a little money from each of us at one time.
Spammers "break" into millions of places to steal a few pennies from individuals here and there.
Willie we can deal with. Guard the pile of money.
A godzillion little cat burglers operating all at once is another story.
. ..have you read an XF86Config file lately? notice the structure?
Yes. If it did not have structure it would not work as a config file. It would be random noise. It is not noise. It has structure. It works as a config file.
If this very post did not have structure you could not read it.
XML is not for data at all. It is a text markup language, which gives language "meaning" (because, or course, language doesn't have meaning to begin with) which can be parsed by machine and displayed human readable. Such markup languages are verbosely archane (just view a website's source), as opposed to the compressed, coded archanity of a config file. Source for "Hello World" in a WP document can take eight pages of text. I'm sorry, but that's pretty damned archane.
What the point of parsing a config file would be I haven't the slightest idea.
color=red conveys no more information to man or machine than color=red in the context of a config file. In your very example formating as a tag is pointless. Including such tags would do little other than quadrupaling the lines of code and adding a layer of parsing. An older machine could be brought to it's knees by Ratpoison.
XML has its place. If you were writing a novel in which you wanted to be able to edit the text by word meaning, say Hello and change instances, say Hi there, it could, concievably, come in handy.
Getting down to the core of the matter, XML is legitimately, to the extent to which it is legitimate at all, is only an exchange format. It is not intended for, nor is it suitable for, use in something like a config file or a production database.
Parent poster understands this. You do not. You do stand with the majority though, which validates parent's fear that if the Gnome crew took over an X windowing system's code it would likely fill up with XML or something similar.
And in five or ten years we'd just have to rip it all out again as the code base imploded.
The proper language for a config file is mathmatics with verbose variable names. Mathmatics is a language for structured data. It is actually even more human readable and less archane than XML.
Let's just say that the rest of us might get the opportunity to stock up on 32 bit chips at bargain basement prices for a while, so there's some value to be had from it all.
What will be interesting to see is how fast the telemarketing firms find work-arounds.
"Hello? Yes, this is the United Way. We're calling to let you know that under arrangement with Company X a small donation allows us to offer you. . . "
Yes, I'm familiar with Red Hat. I've got a 5.2 box sitting over in the corner. I'm also familiar with ODSN, I'm using one of their services right now. I'm also familiar with Sun who have made a contribution or two. I even dabble a bit myself now and again.
Of course Open Source is thriving here. IBM is thriving quite well, aren't they? Increasingly on Open Source? And hence might be a major American corporation who could be harmed by blockages against the uptake of OSS overseas?
You are using the term "US" overloosely. The issue here was the American government, not America.
And is not the American government behaving in a way antithetical to American Open Source companies to favor Microsoft?
IANAD (I am not a developer) but surely API's for things like the interface by which Internet Explorer passes webpage sounds to Media Player are only of use if you wish to design, from the ground up, a replacement for WMP
That and the codec, and a ground up replacement for for WMP is trivial. Musicmatch and WinAmp could impliment it within a couple of days.
That's the point.
A further concern is that Microsoft might NDA the API's in a fashion that makes the developers who see them incapable of working on Opensource projects or projects for other Operating Systems.
This my concern, i.e. the current situation. It is not a free and open standard. Opening the standard means publishing it publicly. Publish it publicly and MS (or Real or Apple) has no innate advantage. Anyone, including the average teenager, could write a compatible player.
The only reason Real, Windows Media and Quicktime exist is to not be an open standard. They have no other purpose.
For that matter have you tried to buy a dead tree O.E.D. lately?
I happen to agree with Cliff, books, on the whole, are more important than computers. But books are hardely cheap. I have far more money into books than I do into computer equipment, and I payed less than a buck apiece for many of my books. That's not including my Project Gutenberg books, which exceed my computer in value by a considerable margin. Have you priced Gibbon lately? The unexpurgated Burton translation of The Arabian Nights?
Of course that's because I bought those books used, which presupposes a sufficient new book market, and an economy wherein they can be considered disposable.
I too strongly suggest reading Cliff Stoll's Silicon Snake Oil, it'll cost you twelve bucks in paperback from Amazon. That's twelve bucks a head for schoolroom use and the paperback won't last long.
If I gave up reading I could damned near live for free. As it is the single largest catagory in which I feel financially disadvantaged here in America is not having suffiecient funds for books.
This has nothing to do with the fact that people spend money on things they enjoy and that doing so is not unreasonable, and that your argument for bowling is exactly my argument for computer gaming.
It only need be a money pit if that's the way you play the game, and as a pastime it's in no way inferior to, or less deserving of expense, than any other.
You buy a ball and a shoes, I buy a wheel and pedal set. Same difference; and no big deal.
In 1959, a year and a half after IBM announced their first fully transistorized computer, I was issued a federal ID number. I rather considered that the proof that I could be databased quite easily, for any purpose whatsoever.
In the sense that it's easier for me to attend a city council meeting and take the mike than it is for me to do the same in Congress, yes.
In the sense that they give more weight to my opinion than they do the Mormons, JWs, Baptists, et al than Congress, no.
Politics is politics and the morality police rule the roost.
Even in places like SF and Eugene the morality may be different, but the politics of morality are the same. You can get a gay marriage, but you have to take harmonica lessons.
Slashdot Mirror
. . .to borrow capital.
KFG
Interesting. I read it to mean "simplified to the point where the author knowingly said things that weren't strictly true."
A common trait of quicky introductions.
KFG
The Willie Maykit principle used to actually exist. It is the source of the word "outlaw," which did not mean "criminal." It meant someone who had been put outside of the law. A legalistic shunning.
You cannot assault, batter, rob or murder one outside the law, since these are strictly issues of legality.
KFG
But this actually has very little to do with the economics of spamming. It simply modifies the risk factor in the equation, which, with regards to spamming, is minimal to nonexistant, even when defrauding or otherwise breaking the law.
If spam is where the money is Willie is going to break in.
The real diffence is that Willie broke into one place to steal a little money from each of us at one time.
Spammers "break" into millions of places to steal a few pennies from individuals here and there.
Willie we can deal with. Guard the pile of money.
A godzillion little cat burglers operating all at once is another story.
KFG
. . .have you read an XF86Config file lately? notice the structure?
Yes. If it did not have structure it would not work as a config file. It would be random noise. It is not noise. It has structure. It works as a config file.
If this very post did not have structure you could not read it.
XML is not for data at all. It is a text markup language, which gives language "meaning" (because, or course, language doesn't have meaning to begin with) which can be parsed by machine and displayed human readable. Such markup languages are verbosely archane (just view a website's source), as opposed to the compressed, coded archanity of a config file. Source for "Hello World" in a WP document can take eight pages of text. I'm sorry, but that's pretty damned archane.
What the point of parsing a config file would be I haven't the slightest idea.
color=red conveys no more information to man or machine than color=red in the context of a config file. In your very example formating as a tag is pointless. Including such tags would do little other than quadrupaling the lines of code and adding a layer of parsing. An older machine could be brought to it's knees by Ratpoison.
XML has its place. If you were writing a novel in which you wanted to be able to edit the text by word meaning, say Hello and change instances, say Hi there, it could, concievably, come in handy.
Getting down to the core of the matter, XML is legitimately, to the extent to which it is legitimate at all, is only an exchange format. It is not intended for, nor is it suitable for, use in something like a config file or a production database.
Parent poster understands this. You do not. You do stand with the majority though, which validates parent's fear that if the Gnome crew took over an X windowing system's code it would likely fill up with XML or something similar.
And in five or ten years we'd just have to rip it all out again as the code base imploded.
The proper language for a config file is mathmatics with verbose variable names. Mathmatics is a language for structured data. It is actually even more human readable and less archane than XML.
KFG
Is the code SCO's? Yeah, probably.
.
.
When Darl passed the pipe you took a hit, didn't you?
. . . IBM would put the code effectually in the public domain. Such a move would essentially neuter SCO's copyright. .
Yep, guess so.
2.6 is out now without those infringements. .
Which would also explain why you didn't read as far as the response to interogatory number frickin' one.
KFG
Let's just say that the rest of us might get the opportunity to stock up on 32 bit chips at bargain basement prices for a while, so there's some value to be had from it all.
KFG
And I was noting the irony of the government codifying the irony.
KFG
What will be interesting to see is how fast the telemarketing firms find work-arounds.
"Hello? Yes, this is the United Way. We're calling to let you know that under arrangement with Company X a small donation allows us to offer you. . . "
KFG
Are you not a current customer? See exceptions.
KFG
Yes, I'm familiar with Red Hat. I've got a 5.2 box sitting over in the corner. I'm also familiar with ODSN, I'm using one of their services right now. I'm also familiar with Sun who have made a contribution or two. I even dabble a bit myself now and again.
Of course Open Source is thriving here. IBM is thriving quite well, aren't they? Increasingly on Open Source? And hence might be a major American corporation who could be harmed by blockages against the uptake of OSS overseas?
You are using the term "US" overloosely. The issue here was the American government, not America.
And is not the American government behaving in a way antithetical to American Open Source companies to favor Microsoft?
KFG
Who needs Open Source when I already have Office 97?
Yes, that question has very deep roots.
KFG
. . .the U.S. has more than its fair share of open source development houses. . .
Like, Ooooooh, IBM? You think they might want to leverage Open Source for a piece of the "I" pie?
Of course identifying the particular interests would go a long ways too....
Ooooooh, Oooooh, don't tell me Mr. Kotter. I think I know this one.
KFG
Nah, I wouldn't do that. Naming a directory or drive "My Computer" is just plain stupid.
:)
Although I did consider adding it to my list of prospective distro names.
KFG
. . .they just have enough forward velocity to miss.
Ah! That's what I keep getting wrong.
KFG
. . .hardly any of them apply to the current situation.
It's worse than that Jim, hardly any of them were any good.
Not that it matters, it's dead Jim, dead Jim, dead Jim, dead.
KFG
I fancy releasing a distro and naming it "GUI" or maybe "Mouse." "Widget" has a nice sound to it as well. Kinda cute. Or maybe "Browser."
"Text Box" might make a nice name for a distro aimed at writers. "Radio Button" for a multimedia distro, or perhaps "Television."
Hey, how about "Operating System"?
Yeah, I like that one. Simple and direct description.
Kinda like Windows.
KFG
And they'll both, in turn, be sued by Proctor & Gamble.
Anderson Windows is reported to be miffed they were late to the party.
KFG
IANAD (I am not a developer) but surely API's for things like the interface by which Internet Explorer passes webpage sounds to Media Player are only of use if you wish to design, from the ground up, a replacement for WMP
That and the codec, and a ground up replacement for for WMP is trivial. Musicmatch and WinAmp could impliment it within a couple of days.
That's the point.
A further concern is that Microsoft might NDA the API's in a fashion that makes the developers who see them incapable of working on Opensource projects or projects for other Operating Systems.
This my concern, i.e. the current situation. It is not a free and open standard. Opening the standard means publishing it publicly. Publish it publicly and MS (or Real or Apple) has no innate advantage. Anyone, including the average teenager, could write a compatible player.
The only reason Real, Windows Media and Quicktime exist is to not be an open standard. They have no other purpose.
KFG
Hey! Guys. We've found our Esperanto volunteer.
KFG
Have you priced a Britannica or an O.E.D. lately?
For that matter have you tried to buy a dead tree O.E.D. lately?
I happen to agree with Cliff, books, on the whole, are more important than computers. But books are hardely cheap. I have far more money into books than I do into computer equipment, and I payed less than a buck apiece for many of my books. That's not including my Project Gutenberg books, which exceed my computer in value by a considerable margin. Have you priced Gibbon lately? The unexpurgated Burton translation of The Arabian Nights?
Of course that's because I bought those books used, which presupposes a sufficient new book market, and an economy wherein they can be considered disposable.
I too strongly suggest reading Cliff Stoll's Silicon Snake Oil, it'll cost you twelve bucks in paperback from Amazon. That's twelve bucks a head for schoolroom use and the paperback won't last long.
If I gave up reading I could damned near live for free. As it is the single largest catagory in which I feel financially disadvantaged here in America is not having suffiecient funds for books.
They're God damned expensive.
KFG
Which is secret APIs, codecs and file formats.
Open these up and Microsoft could bundle any damned thing they want and not be able to effectively leverage their monopoly status.
Bundling competing super secret (and often viral) formulas only compounds the issue, not relieve it.
Free standards means free competition.
KFG
I bowl for free. My brother owns an alley.
This has nothing to do with the fact that people spend money on things they enjoy and that doing so is not unreasonable, and that your argument for bowling is exactly my argument for computer gaming.
It only need be a money pit if that's the way you play the game, and as a pastime it's in no way inferior to, or less deserving of expense, than any other.
You buy a ball and a shoes, I buy a wheel and pedal set. Same difference; and no big deal.
KFG
In 1959, a year and a half after IBM announced their first fully transistorized computer, I was issued a federal ID number. I rather considered that the proof that I could be databased quite easily, for any purpose whatsoever.
KFG
In the sense that it's easier for me to attend a city council meeting and take the mike than it is for me to do the same in Congress, yes.
In the sense that they give more weight to my opinion than they do the Mormons, JWs, Baptists, et al than Congress, no.
Politics is politics and the morality police rule the roost.
Even in places like SF and Eugene the morality may be different, but the politics of morality are the same. You can get a gay marriage, but you have to take harmonica lessons.
KFG