As an indie consultant, I've never been able to make this kind of thing work.
I've always come into situations of conflict, and preserving my status as an indie consultant has kept me out of more trouble than I care to think about!
You will invariably mix them - ideas from work will percolate into your private business and vice versa, and then suddenly, you're found standing on very, very thin ice.
Save yourself much heartache and pain. Pick one: Consultant/businessman, or employee. Whichever you choose, do your best, and always perform to a high degree of integrity.
As that alternate platform is technically superior, there is little reason to shell out big bucks for legacy software.
Sorry, I can't let this go. Linux is nice, Linux generally works, and I won't pretend I'm typing this on anything but my RedHat 9 Linux workstation.
But, Linux is only "technically superior" when you limit "superior" in some way.
Linux is quite stable. Linux has a modest security model. Linux compatability is generally decent. Linux is more modular and flexible than windows, allowing it to run on more hardware platforms.
But Linux is not better at all things than Windows.
For example, the kernel interface for drivers is just the pits. I mean, you either have to have open source drivers to build for your kernel release, or your equipment manufacturer has to have a binary for every possible kernel version and build!
I think that is retarded.
Linux has a very inconsistent UI, so that tech support for "Linux" is very difficult. For example, somebody can't "get online". Are you running Lindows? Mandrake? Red Hat? Suse? Slackware? Gentoo? KDE? Gnome? IceWM? Which version of each? What kernel build do you have installed?
Try walking somebody through setting up email over the phone sometime. And, sorry, if you disagree with me on this point, it's probably because you haven't done it with a Linux setup you didn't install yourself in the first place.
What Linux offers is not "technical superiority" but "political superiority". It's license is a good mix of open and closed.
--) Open enough that people don't get that "vendor lock-in" feeling, and can do what they want with it.
--) Closed enough that it remains cohesive enough that it can continue to grow and expand. (Unlike the BSD licensed Unix systems)
This makes Linux more of a marketplace or an environmental force than a mere product. Selling Linux-related services is becoming an industry in its own right.
In this light, due to the political security that Linux offers, it doesn't need to be "better" than Windows - it only needs to be "good enough" and cheap. It's both, so it will win unless something drastic fundamentally changes the marketplace.
Again, I use Linux routinely, I'm sitting in front of an Athlon, RH 9.0 Linux workstation, and get paid nicely for programming and sysadmin work.
But, I feel I'm also realistic about Linux's weaknesses as well as its strengths.
The punchline? It's music I've written, I've recorded, I hold copyright over, but as part of that copyright I allow my music to be downloaded.
So where is it?!?!?! No link!?!?!? WTF?
I would sure like to check it out and see if you have something I might like.... it's OK to link to your home page! (look below, and you'll see that I sure do)
What if your favorite Linux distribution had a "share" option that would let you share resources, Bit-Torrent style, to distribute patches and updates?
I'd imagine being able to cap upload/download speed and disk space used so that you aren't terribly inconvenienced, but if it was just a checkbox in the latest distro, it'd sure make updates fast, responsive, and cut hosting costs down to the bone for the distro.
I know I wouldn't mind sharing a few MB of disk space and 5-10 Kbps "for the cause". Wouldn't you?
I'd imagine that Fedora or Debian would/should be the first to implement this kind of idea...
I currently use a Kodak DC-210+ zoom digital camera. It's getting pretty long in the tooth, and starting to wear out. What should I replace it with?
I like CF, and I'm looking to spend $200-$300 on a personal camera. I like rich color, and convenience is very much an issue. I've always been happy with the image quality of the 1 Mpixel DC-210, but 3 Mp would be nice. I have never trusted "digital zoom" and prefer the optical type.
My biggest beef with the DC-210 is that it takes a long time to get ready for the next picture. (like 30-40 seconds)
Having used a number of different models, what camera would you recommend?
Why waste time hacking a file format? You know, one hex edit and you can screw up an entire file...suppose that particular byte is part of a run-length indicator? Load and crash, as the entire rest of the level is shfted even one byte left or right.
What I find more amazing than the fact that you responded seriously is the fact that you thought I was serious.
Plus you're double-taxed: first on corporate income and then when you draw personal income from the corp.
This has been suggested by both my attorney and my lawyer as a myth. Corps are taxed on income; moneys paid to employees is not counted as income. Presumably, you'd be an employee of your own company so that you could enjoy some of the many perks of incorporation, such as health benefits. (most which can be written off in a corporation, but not so for LLCs)
We were thinking LLC but upon further review, we're incorporating...
Perhaps the one thing Windows does much better than Linux is graphical file management. Windows/Internet Explorer provides a reasonable interface to manage files, get previews, sort, find, etc. KDE and Gnome both try to provide these same services, but they are for the most part half baked
Excuse me?
Have you used a recent KDE desktop lately?
Sorry, but your assertion that it's "half baked" really leaves some room for laughter.
HAW HAW HAW HAW HAW!
Now, that's done, I feel much better. I absolutely *LOVE* KDE 3.x on RH 9. It's clean, efficient, powerful, and flexible.
One of the things KDE does so very right is multiple desktops. As a consultant, it's routine for me to work with several contracts simultaneously. Single-desktop systems like Windows become worthless in 2 hours of answering the phone and answering questions.
The overlapping windows, various browser and text windows all combine to create a hellacious mess in just a few hours.
It's very important for me to always leave the impression with each client that I'm there for THEM.
With KDE, I can define a desktop for each client, and then keep all processes and activity for that client on the appropriate desktop. I usually have 4 desktops, but right now I'm running 6. (busy!)
Somebody calls, I'm 2 or 3 keystrokes away from a busy computer with all relevant data onscreen. (Ctl-Tab and I'm there, buddy!)
I've been told more than once by clients that, while they know I work with and for other people, they never know that I'm not working 24x7 for THEM. That's a big win for me, and it's a big win in part because of KDE.
Don't you even begin to mention "half-baked". Maybe if your idea of "hard work" is beating Minesweeper in "expert" mode, Linux desktops are half-baked.
Perhaps my mome said it best: "You know what you like, and you like whatever you know..."
I sit down in front of a Windows box and immediately feel constrained. So much I just cannot do...
By signing up for the card, you are voluntarily giving them this info. You are giving it up.
But, for what purpose? If they truly OWN the data, they could sell it, right? They could publish it, right? They could give your number to vendors of missile parts and child pornography, right?
Wrong.
Personal information is never truly owned by anybody other than the person detailed. Otherwise, there would not be so many laws regarding the sale, transfer, and maintenance of such data. There will likely be more laws regarding this in the future, not less.
Sorry, bud. I sign my name on a Safeway application, I'm giving it to Safeway. Unless it's explicity on the paper I sign, my signature doesn't then give Safeway the right to do whatever they please with my personal information.
Remember, it's information. Information can be licensed, and is usually transferred under some kind of contract or agreement.
You can't take your WinXP CD, make copies, and sell them. Neither can you take my personal info, make copies and sell it, either.
But this is NOT A PATENT FOR SOFTWARE. It's a patent for an "encoding apparatus".
Reference the following text:
"Each encoding device is an apparatus which accepts two inputs: a message-to-be-encoded, M, and an encoding key or operator, E. Each encoding device transforms the message M in accordance with the encryption operator to produce an encoded version C of the message (which is denoted as the ciphertext) where C=E(M). The encoding key and the ciphertext are also digital sequences.
Each decoding device is an apparatus which accepts two inputs: a ciphertext-to-be-decoded C and a decoding key or operator, D. Each decoding device transforms the ciphertext in accordance with the decryption operator to produce a decoded version M' of the ciphertext where M'=D(C), or M'=D(E(M)). Like the encoding key, the decoding key and decoded message M' are also digital sequences. The encoding and decoding keys are selected so that M'=M for all messages M.
It is not a patent for software - it's a patent for the software, combined with hardware, to create an information encoding apparatus.
How is that different than a design combined with steel to make a tractor hitch?
Running benchmarks of 32 vs. 64 bit binaries in a 64 bit Sparc/Solaris environment has shown little or no difference for us, on many occasions. If the author had used Sun's compiler instead of the substantially less-than-optimal gcc, I expect that his 20% average difference would have disappeared.
But, for all intents and purposes, GCC is *it* when it comes to compilers.
I maintain several dozen servers - all running RH Linux, all using GCC.
I would never consider using anything else. GCC for me is just as much a part of the 64-bit question as the CPU!
For me, if gcc compiles 20% slower on 64 than 32, a 64 bit processer is 20% slower. I'll wait for another revision of gcc before considering 64 bits...
Well, as I write this, there are two responses, neither of which actually provide a link to an actual patent. In case you haven't followed the thread, I said the following:
You can't get a patent on software itself. You can only get a patent on the resulting combination of a computer and the software, which, as a unified piece, is an operating machine that is capable of performing a real activity or service.
Instead, we either have a few lame, secondhand press articles, or worse, thirdhand slashdot postings, and we all know how amazingly accurate/. postings are.
If you've ever worked with press (I have, a little) you'd know how amazingly inaccurate any press actually is. Every reporter I ever saw didn't really care - they get a snippet or two, write a story, and they're done.
So, I asked for a patent on software, so show me one! I'd be perfectly happy with just a patent number!
The patent must be for software, and not for the resulting machine. Does even one single example exist?
>You can't patent an algorithm, unless that > algorithm is part of a demonstrable machine >that produces an identifiable result.
But that isn't what is happening. Patents are being issued on algorithms without tying them to a paticular piece of hardware. People aren't getting patents on programs they are being granted patents on algorithms and formats and other abstract ideas that are clearly and explicitly excluded from the Patent Act.
No, the biggest problem is that software (or any mathematics for that matter) should not be patentable.
I think it's time to spend some karma here, as I'm most assuredly going to lose some for saying this, but...
The idea of a patent is to benefit those that invent things, on the notion that inventing things in general is a good idea.
A patent is never completely new. All ideas come from other ideas. Taking an existing idea and improving on it can easily result in a patentable item.
Patents are issued quite legitimately for all kinds of incremental ideas. For example, I have a patented Snap-on ratchet screwdriver. I looked up the patent one time, just for kicks. The actual latch mechanism inside the screwdriver is what's patented. If you are interested, you can look it up yourself.
Notice that it references some 20 other patents, one dating back to 1883! Ratchet screwdrivers are nothing new - but there's still plenty of patentable ideas around ratchet screwdrivers.
Now, with a patent, you have an idea that results in a machine that does something. How is software really any different?
You can't get a patent on software itself. You can only get a patent on the resulting combination of a computer and the software, which, as a unified piece, is an operating machine that is capable of performing a real activity or service.
You are not be able to patent a specific instance of software - that's protected by copyright law. (which IMHO is easily more messed up than patents are with their 100+ year extensions)
You can't patent an algorithm, unless that algorithm is part of a demonstrable machine that produces an identifiable result.
Granted, software can be represented as a set of numbers, but then, too, so can a design for the tractor hitch!
In other words, people like Frankel not only innovated, but they were paid quite well for their efforts. Now that's impressive. It demonstrates that others were/are willing to pay for the things they created, which is a pretty good way to determine if you have created something of value.
And this is where the monetary system of value really breaks down. Linus (to borrow your own example) brings insane amounts of value to very BIG players in the computing industry (IBM, HP, RedHat, etc) and yet he makes a standard, middle-class wage.
Linus is one of the most valuable people on the face of the earth today - he certainly brings more value to the table of humanity than the blathering but closely watched G.W. Bush!
He is one of the rare, true heroes - one among those people which do wonderful things and then wonder why everyone gawks at hime/her for doing so.
I wonder how long most ISPs keep their logs linking usernames to IP addresses.
I suspect there may be some policies written very quickly, to say "not long at all".
Actually, I sysad at a few local ISPs, (outsourcing isn't just for Indian workers, y'know) and one of the client ISPs long ago made it clear to keep logs as short as possible to avoid problems like this.
Most records are deleted automatically (a la logrotate.d) in a month. The only real reason to keep these records is for tech support, which virtually never requires anything more than a few weeks back.
Why is it that so many media companies have to start "wars" with consumers? Is biting the hand that feeds you a perfectly acceptable practice now?
Actually, it's more like an attempt to get some food from the hand that's continually biting you!
Bandwidth costs $$. In the case of my workflow management business, I've made it a point to do services that provide a very high value for a small amount of bandwidth.
However, in the case of a media company, they provide a very high volume, low margin business. Each page hit costs a small amount, and multiplied by the millions, they aren't feeding hands, they are very costly hands.
How else do you get money from the people who cost you money in staff, bandwidth, server equipment, and the like, when they are so reluctant to cut you a check?
It's not exactly a "war" with the customer, it's more like a "war" with the pocketbook!
However, because there are so few other internet users on my ring, I can use as much bandwith as I want without my use really effect any one else on the local ring. For the last 3 months I used well over 40GB of traffic, no letters of complaint, no calls, nothing.
You are excited because you only used 40 GB of traffic in a month?!?!?
I've been burning thru up to 3 times that every month for the last four years on SBC DSL. I've checked their AUP - no mention of bandwidth usage. I've called - the clerk thought I was nucking futs...
Honestly, I average somewhere near 50 GB per month, but it's very normal to push 150 or more.
"We've found a way to line our pockets with more money, so why shouldn't we use cheap, hard to understand overseas techs? We're greedy, plain and simple."
Ever hear of the "Tragedy of the commons"?
Assume you have a village with a big, grassy park in the middle, used to feed sheep that then are used to feed the villagers. Assume that the use of the park is unregulated.
Anybody is able to take their sheep to the nice, green, grassy park, let their sheep eat the grass, and then go home. There's enough park for everybody to feed enough sheep to feed everybody.
Everybody will starve quickly with this system. As soon as somebody has a few more sheep than they actually need, and somebody else notices this additional wealth, they too will grow more sheep than needed.
This will escalate into a "grass grab" where everybody then tries to get their sheep to the park before all the grass gets eaten by somebody else's sheep. Soon the park is dry and barren from overgrazing, and everybody starves.
The same effect is going on, here. Think of India as a nice, grassy park. Think of the US as the shepherds. It's now a big "wage grab" for India, and companies that don't jump now stand to lose lots in higher expenses and reduced competetiveness.
At least, that's the perception. Reality, can be quite different. Indian people work differently than their US counterparts. Beyond language issues and timezone issues, their definition of "fair" can be surprisingly different, and the type of creativity demonstrated can differ quite markedly from what we'd expect here in the US.
As an example of cultural differences, have you ever tried to make sense of a joke from another country translated into your native tongue?
The force to outsource is economic, and all but unstoppable. It's largely a result of the strict laws regarding employing people in the US. These strict laws have made it infeasible to allow employees to telecommute, so companies then outsource to another company altogether. Once you move to another company, who is to say what country that other company should be in?
Passing laws to try to stop this would result in even more economic loss for the U.S., and at best would only delay the inevitable.
I recently read that the area of the world with the most rapidly climbing wages and cost of living is... India! The free market is already correcting itself, and will correct itself so long as it's kept free. (See also: Monopoly, Wal-Mart, Microsoft)
Tried it. Test system is an older AMD K6-2 450 with 96 MB RAM and ATA-66 33 GB HDD running Win98.
*) You still have to hunt to find the free installer, as well as deal with an annoying amount of popup ads.
*) It's 10 MB - not so bad on a 1.5 Mb DSL line.
*) When you click the link, you immediately get a prompt about installing the Real One installer - but I don't want Real ONE, I want Real 10... it took a bit more poking around to discover that's what I wanted... it's "Real One v.10". (Wonder where 2-9 went?)
*) The installer takes a long time to run.
*) The installer still asks a million irrelevant questios, the answer to all of which was "n/A".
*) There's still an anoying registarting process to go thru. "F---@you.com was taken, as was "f---you@now.com" and "f---you@rightnow.com" . I settile on something lame that I've already fogorron for the emailaddy.
*) After going thru it all, and rebooting the system oce, I get illegal ops everytime I try to run RP.
*) Real player 10 is still the piece of s---t that Real one/9 always was.
Slashdot Mirror
As an indie consultant, I've never been able to make this kind of thing work.
I've always come into situations of conflict, and preserving my status as an indie consultant has kept me out of more trouble than I care to think about!
You will invariably mix them - ideas from work will percolate into your private business and vice versa, and then suddenly, you're found standing on very, very thin ice.
Save yourself much heartache and pain. Pick one: Consultant/businessman, or employee. Whichever you choose, do your best, and always perform to a high degree of integrity.
As that alternate platform is technically superior, there is little reason to shell out big bucks for legacy software.
Sorry, I can't let this go. Linux is nice, Linux generally works, and I won't pretend I'm typing this on anything but my RedHat 9 Linux workstation.
But, Linux is only "technically superior" when you limit "superior" in some way.
Linux is quite stable. Linux has a modest security model. Linux compatability is generally decent. Linux is more modular and flexible than windows, allowing it to run on more hardware platforms.
But Linux is not better at all things than Windows.
For example, the kernel interface for drivers is just the pits. I mean, you either have to have open source drivers to build for your kernel release, or your equipment manufacturer has to have a binary for every possible kernel version and build!
I think that is retarded.
Linux has a very inconsistent UI, so that tech support for "Linux" is very difficult. For example, somebody can't "get online". Are you running Lindows? Mandrake? Red Hat? Suse? Slackware? Gentoo? KDE? Gnome? IceWM? Which version of each? What kernel build do you have installed?
Try walking somebody through setting up email over the phone sometime. And, sorry, if you disagree with me on this point, it's probably because you haven't done it with a Linux setup you didn't install yourself in the first place.
What Linux offers is not "technical superiority" but "political superiority". It's license is a good mix of open and closed.
--) Open enough that people don't get that "vendor lock-in" feeling, and can do what they want with it.
--) Closed enough that it remains cohesive enough that it can continue to grow and expand. (Unlike the BSD licensed Unix systems)
This makes Linux more of a marketplace or an environmental force than a mere product. Selling Linux-related services is becoming an industry in its own right.
In this light, due to the political security that Linux offers, it doesn't need to be "better" than Windows - it only needs to be "good enough" and cheap. It's both, so it will win unless something drastic fundamentally changes the marketplace.
Again, I use Linux routinely, I'm sitting in front of an Athlon, RH 9.0 Linux workstation, and get paid nicely for programming and sysadmin work.
But, I feel I'm also realistic about Linux's weaknesses as well as its strengths.
The punchline? It's music I've written, I've recorded, I hold copyright over, but as part of that copyright I allow my music to be downloaded.
So where is it?!?!?! No link!?!?!? WTF?
I would sure like to check it out and see if you have something I might like.... it's OK to link to your home page! (look below, and you'll see that I sure do)
What if your favorite Linux distribution had a "share" option that would let you share resources, Bit-Torrent style, to distribute patches and updates?
I'd imagine being able to cap upload/download speed and disk space used so that you aren't terribly inconvenienced, but if it was just a checkbox in the latest distro, it'd sure make updates fast, responsive, and cut hosting costs down to the bone for the distro.
I know I wouldn't mind sharing a few MB of disk space and 5-10 Kbps "for the cause". Wouldn't you?
I'd imagine that Fedora or Debian would/should be the first to implement this kind of idea...
I currently use a Kodak DC-210+ zoom digital camera. It's getting pretty long in the tooth, and starting to wear out. What should I replace it with?
I like CF, and I'm looking to spend $200-$300 on a personal camera. I like rich color, and convenience is very much an issue. I've always been happy with the image quality of the 1 Mpixel DC-210, but 3 Mp would be nice. I have never trusted "digital zoom" and prefer the optical type.
My biggest beef with the DC-210 is that it takes a long time to get ready for the next picture. (like 30-40 seconds)
Having used a number of different models, what camera would you recommend?
Why waste time hacking a file format? You know, one hex edit and you can screw up an entire file...suppose that particular byte is part of a run-length indicator? Load and crash, as the entire rest of the level is shfted even one byte left or right.
What I find more amazing than the fact that you responded seriously is the fact that you thought I was serious.
I see a few posts here as I write this about this level editor for that game... whatever.
I suggest you get down and dirty with the game, and use a hex editor to write your level files!
Really! It's not so hard, (after all, there's only 16 possible combinations in hex, and English has 26 in the alphabet!)
Just open a file or two in a good hex editor, and start tweaking. I'm sure it'll "come to you" after a bit of experience...
Plus you're double-taxed: first on corporate income and then when you draw personal income from the corp.
This has been suggested by both my attorney and my lawyer as a myth. Corps are taxed on income; moneys paid to employees is not counted as income. Presumably, you'd be an employee of your own company so that you could enjoy some of the many perks of incorporation, such as health benefits. (most which can be written off in a corporation, but not so for LLCs)
We were thinking LLC but upon further review, we're incorporating...
Perhaps the one thing Windows does much better than Linux is graphical file management. Windows/Internet Explorer provides a reasonable interface to manage files, get previews, sort, find, etc. KDE and Gnome both try to provide these same services, but they are for the most part half baked
Excuse me?
Have you used a recent KDE desktop lately?
Sorry, but your assertion that it's "half baked" really leaves some room for laughter.
HAW HAW HAW HAW HAW!
Now, that's done, I feel much better. I absolutely *LOVE* KDE 3.x on RH 9. It's clean, efficient, powerful, and flexible.
One of the things KDE does so very right is multiple desktops. As a consultant, it's routine for me to work with several contracts simultaneously. Single-desktop systems like Windows become worthless in 2 hours of answering the phone and answering questions.
The overlapping windows, various browser and text windows all combine to create a hellacious mess in just a few hours.
It's very important for me to always leave the impression with each client that I'm there for THEM.
With KDE, I can define a desktop for each client, and then keep all processes and activity for that client on the appropriate desktop. I usually have 4 desktops, but right now I'm running 6. (busy!)
Somebody calls, I'm 2 or 3 keystrokes away from a busy computer with all relevant data onscreen. (Ctl-Tab and I'm there, buddy!)
I've been told more than once by clients that, while they know I work with and for other people, they never know that I'm not working 24x7 for THEM. That's a big win for me, and it's a big win in part because of KDE.
Don't you even begin to mention "half-baked". Maybe if your idea of "hard work" is beating Minesweeper in "expert" mode, Linux desktops are half-baked.
Perhaps my mome said it best: "You know what you like, and you like whatever you know..."
I sit down in front of a Windows box and immediately feel constrained. So much I just cannot do...
This sounds all well and good from what's in the article. But what are it's chances for success??
It doesn't need to "crush the RIAA" to succeed. It only needs to be profitable, or at least find a way to cover its own expenses.
Everything else follows after that.
-Ben
By signing up for the card, you are voluntarily giving them this info. You are giving it up.
But, for what purpose? If they truly OWN the data, they could sell it, right? They could publish it, right? They could give your number to vendors of missile parts and child pornography, right?
Wrong.
Personal information is never truly owned by anybody other than the person detailed. Otherwise, there would not be so many laws regarding the sale, transfer, and maintenance of such data. There will likely be more laws regarding this in the future, not less.
Sorry, bud. I sign my name on a Safeway application, I'm giving it to Safeway. Unless it's explicity on the paper I sign, my signature doesn't then give Safeway the right to do whatever they please with my personal information.
Remember, it's information. Information can be licensed, and is usually transferred under some kind of contract or agreement.
You can't take your WinXP CD, make copies, and sell them. Neither can you take my personal info, make copies and sell it, either.
But this is NOT A PATENT FOR SOFTWARE. It's a patent for an "encoding apparatus".
Reference the following text:
"Each encoding device is an apparatus which accepts two inputs: a message-to-be-encoded, M, and an encoding key or operator, E. Each encoding device transforms the message M in accordance with the encryption operator to produce an encoded version C of the message (which is denoted as the ciphertext) where C=E(M). The encoding key and the ciphertext are also digital sequences.
Each decoding device is an apparatus which accepts two inputs: a ciphertext-to-be-decoded C and a decoding key or operator, D. Each decoding device transforms the ciphertext in accordance with the decryption operator to produce a decoded version M' of the ciphertext where M'=D(C), or M'=D(E(M)). Like the encoding key, the decoding key and decoded message M' are also digital sequences. The encoding and decoding keys are selected so that M'=M for all messages M.
It is not a patent for software - it's a patent for the software, combined with hardware, to create an information encoding apparatus.
How is that different than a design combined with steel to make a tractor hitch?
Where is this wrong?
Running benchmarks of 32 vs. 64 bit binaries in a 64 bit Sparc/Solaris environment has shown little or no difference for us, on many occasions. If the author had used Sun's compiler instead of the substantially less-than-optimal gcc, I expect that his 20% average difference would have disappeared.
But, for all intents and purposes, GCC is *it* when it comes to compilers.
I maintain several dozen servers - all running RH Linux, all using GCC.
I would never consider using anything else. GCC for me is just as much a part of the 64-bit question as the CPU!
For me, if gcc compiles 20% slower on 64 than 32, a 64 bit processer is 20% slower. I'll wait for another revision of gcc before considering 64 bits...
Well, as I write this, there are two responses, neither of which actually provide a link to an actual patent. In case you haven't followed the thread, I said the following:
/. postings are.
You can't get a patent on software itself. You can only get a patent on the resulting combination of a computer and the software, which, as a unified piece, is an operating machine that is capable of performing a real activity or service.
Instead, we either have a few lame, secondhand press articles, or worse, thirdhand slashdot postings, and we all know how amazingly accurate
If you've ever worked with press (I have, a little) you'd know how amazingly inaccurate any press actually is. Every reporter I ever saw didn't really care - they get a snippet or two, write a story, and they're done.
So, I asked for a patent on software, so show me one! I'd be perfectly happy with just a patent number!
The patent must be for software, and not for the resulting machine. Does even one single example exist?
(BTW, You can see my original post here)
>You can't patent an algorithm, unless that
> algorithm is part of a demonstrable machine
>that produces an identifiable result.
But that isn't what is happening. Patents are being issued on algorithms without tying them to a paticular piece of hardware. People aren't getting patents on programs they are being granted patents on algorithms and formats and other abstract ideas that are clearly and explicitly excluded from the Patent Act.
Can you give a single example?
One? (provide me a link)
No, the biggest problem is that software (or any mathematics for that matter) should not be patentable.
I think it's time to spend some karma here, as I'm most assuredly going to lose some for saying this, but...
The idea of a patent is to benefit those that invent things, on the notion that inventing things in general is a good idea.
A patent is never completely new. All ideas come from other ideas. Taking an existing idea and improving on it can easily result in a patentable item.
Patents are issued quite legitimately for all kinds of incremental ideas. For example, I have a patented Snap-on ratchet screwdriver. I looked up the patent one time, just for kicks. The actual latch mechanism inside the screwdriver is what's patented. If you are interested, you can look it up yourself.
Notice that it references some 20 other patents, one dating back to 1883! Ratchet screwdrivers are nothing new - but there's still plenty of patentable ideas around ratchet screwdrivers.
Now, with a patent, you have an idea that results in a machine that does something. How is software really any different?
You can't get a patent on software itself. You can only get a patent on the resulting combination of a computer and the software, which, as a unified piece, is an operating machine that is capable of performing a real activity or service.
You are not be able to patent a specific instance of software - that's protected by copyright law. (which IMHO is easily more messed up than patents are with their 100+ year extensions)
You can't patent an algorithm, unless that algorithm is part of a demonstrable machine that produces an identifiable result.
Granted, software can be represented as a set of numbers, but then, too, so can a design for the tractor hitch!
Where is the problem?
In other words, people like Frankel not only innovated, but they were paid quite well for their efforts. Now that's impressive. It demonstrates that others were/are willing to pay for the things they created, which is a pretty good way to determine if you have created something of value.
And this is where the monetary system of value really breaks down. Linus (to borrow your own example) brings insane amounts of value to very BIG players in the computing industry (IBM, HP, RedHat, etc) and yet he makes a standard, middle-class wage.
Linus is one of the most valuable people on the face of the earth today - he certainly brings more value to the table of humanity than the blathering but closely watched G.W. Bush!
He is one of the rare, true heroes - one among those people which do wonderful things and then wonder why everyone gawks at hime/her for doing so.
I wonder how long most ISPs keep their logs linking usernames to IP addresses.
I suspect there may be some policies written very quickly, to say "not long at all".
Actually, I sysad at a few local ISPs, (outsourcing isn't just for Indian workers, y'know) and one of the client ISPs long ago made it clear to keep logs as short as possible to avoid problems like this.
Most records are deleted automatically (a la logrotate.d) in a month. The only real reason to keep these records is for tech support, which virtually never requires anything more than a few weeks back.
After that, these logs are just lawyer bait.
I don't get it. My phone already has this ability.
I got it for free from Verizon Wireless when I signed up for another 2 year contract. Is this special?
Why is it that so many media companies have to start "wars" with consumers? Is biting the hand that feeds you a perfectly acceptable practice now?
Actually, it's more like an attempt to get some food from the hand that's continually biting you!
Bandwidth costs $$. In the case of my workflow management business, I've made it a point to do services that provide a very high value for a small amount of bandwidth.
However, in the case of a media company, they provide a very high volume, low margin business. Each page hit costs a small amount, and multiplied by the millions, they aren't feeding hands, they are very costly hands.
How else do you get money from the people who cost you money in staff, bandwidth, server equipment, and the like, when they are so reluctant to cut you a check?
It's not exactly a "war" with the customer, it's more like a "war" with the pocketbook!
Honestly, what do you use that much traffic for?
1) Off-site backups of databases and files via rsync done nightly.
2) P2P
3) IP Telephone
4) Remote sessions with VNC and SSH
5) LOTS of email, with lots of large database and image attachments.
6) VPN with ipsec.
7) Remote directories a la WebDAV.
8) Backup DNS for some domains.
9) Remote sessions via SSH and VNC
It all adds up mighty quick...
However, because there are so few other internet users on my ring, I can use as much bandwith as I want without my use really effect any one else on the local ring. For the last 3 months I used well over 40GB of traffic, no letters of complaint, no calls, nothing.
You are excited because you only used 40 GB of traffic in a month?!?!?
I've been burning thru up to 3 times that every month for the last four years on SBC DSL. I've checked their AUP - no mention of bandwidth usage. I've called - the clerk thought I was nucking futs...
Honestly, I average somewhere near 50 GB per month, but it's very normal to push 150 or more.
"We've found a way to line our pockets with more money, so why shouldn't we use cheap, hard to understand overseas techs? We're greedy, plain and simple."
Ever hear of the "Tragedy of the commons"?
Assume you have a village with a big, grassy park in the middle, used to feed sheep that then are used to feed the villagers. Assume that the use of the park is unregulated.
Anybody is able to take their sheep to the nice, green, grassy park, let their sheep eat the grass, and then go home. There's enough park for everybody to feed enough sheep to feed everybody.
Everybody will starve quickly with this system. As soon as somebody has a few more sheep than they actually need, and somebody else notices this additional wealth, they too will grow more sheep than needed.
This will escalate into a "grass grab" where everybody then tries to get their sheep to the park before all the grass gets eaten by somebody else's sheep. Soon the park is dry and barren from overgrazing, and everybody starves.
The same effect is going on, here. Think of India as a nice, grassy park. Think of the US as the shepherds. It's now a big "wage grab" for India, and companies that don't jump now stand to lose lots in higher expenses and reduced competetiveness.
At least, that's the perception. Reality, can be quite different. Indian people work differently than their US counterparts. Beyond language issues and timezone issues, their definition of "fair" can be surprisingly different, and the type of creativity demonstrated can differ quite markedly from what we'd expect here in the US.
As an example of cultural differences, have you ever tried to make sense of a joke from another country translated into your native tongue?
The force to outsource is economic, and all but unstoppable. It's largely a result of the strict laws regarding employing people in the US. These strict laws have made it infeasible to allow employees to telecommute, so companies then outsource to another company altogether. Once you move to another company, who is to say what country that other company should be in?
Passing laws to try to stop this would result in even more economic loss for the U.S., and at best would only delay the inevitable.
I recently read that the area of the world with the most rapidly climbing wages and cost of living is... India! The free market is already correcting itself, and will correct itself so long as it's kept free. (See also: Monopoly, Wal-Mart, Microsoft)
I'd be interested to know what the going rate is for a 1 GB transfer.
Last summer I surfed around for a new hosting facility. [PLUG] I settled on pb-solutions.com. [/PLUG]
At a hosting facility, a wholesale-ish price starts at around $0.50, and retail starts at around $1, and is more typically $2-$5.
-Ben
Tried it. Test system is an older AMD K6-2 450 with 96 MB RAM and ATA-66 33 GB HDD running Win98.
*) You still have to hunt to find the free installer, as well as deal with an annoying amount of popup ads.
*) It's 10 MB - not so bad on a 1.5 Mb DSL line.
*) When you click the link, you immediately get a prompt about installing the Real One installer - but I don't want Real ONE, I want Real 10... it took a bit more poking around to discover that's what I wanted... it's "Real One v.10". (Wonder where 2-9 went?)
*) The installer takes a long time to run.
*) The installer still asks a million irrelevant questios, the answer to all of which was "n/A".
*) There's still an anoying registarting process to go thru. "F---@you.com was taken, as was "f---you@now.com" and "f---you@rightnow.com" . I settile on something lame that I've already fogorron for the emailaddy.
*) After going thru it all, and rebooting the system oce, I get illegal ops everytime I try to run RP.
*) Real player 10 is still the piece of s---t that Real one/9 always was.
Ugh. Steer me clearof this, thankyou!