Re:How can they call this a Party!
on
Assembly '03
·
· Score: 1
Why was the parent modded funny? It's all true! I am sure that some/.ers will be disappointed, but it is. The parent should have been modded "Informative".
"Yeah, I would have asked that, but I heard somewhere that NetBSD is dying."
Lies! There all lies!
Besides, putting Windows on something is worse than actually paying the SCO fee in the same way that bowing to Darth Sidius is worse than bowing to Darth Tyrannus. The master is worse than the apprentice.
Well, if they don't have any real case, and the thing goes to trial, then they will be seriously screwed down the road. Maybe we will see the top execs in jail for trying to defraud businesses that use Linux, not to mention the federal government.
That wouldn't work. If SCO is never forced to reveal where the allegedly offending code is in a way that would allow the Linux community to remove it from the kernel, then SCO could just make the same claim for the alternate Linux 2.4 kernel that came down the pike. Hell, they could even have some of their employees try to sneak SCO code into the alternate 2.4 kernel.
They don't worry as much about Argentina simply because most people make $200 USD a month and therefore can't afford to buy many CDs. People in the US have a hell of a lot more disposable income and so RIAA goes after them with their anti-piracy campaign.
Probably at least 90% of all p2p file sharing is of copyrighted material without the consent of the holder of the copyright. I agree that technology should not be banned just because it's put to illegitimate use most of the time, but I also have to admit that they have a pretty good case. Now if more legitimate use was made out filesharing, that might be a different story.
But it probably won't. My reasoning is that, most of the time, it is more convenient to post legal material on a website or on an ftp site than on a peer2peer network. The biggest attraction of the p2p networks is that they are decentralized. There is no server that has an owner that the **AA can sue. This kind of decentralization simply isn't necessary if no copyrights are being violated, even though it can be beneficial in special circumstances.
I totally disagree that usenet is dead as a place for intelligent discussion. I could list at least a half-dozen newsgroups off the top of my head that are almost spam-free and which are intellectually stimulating and helpful. And those make up a high percentage of the groups that I have peroused, being only a usenet-dabbler.
I won't name the groups by name, since they might getted spammed if some of the less helpful readers of slashdot see them, but I will say that some of the distribution-specific Linux related groups are quite excellent.
"What about the guys who invented the Abacus? Shouldn't they get a cut too?"
Obviously you haven't read the British "Sliderule Vs. Abicus" decision of 1748. It stated that the inheritor of the patent on the Abicus, one John Smith of Sussex (he had a lineage that can be traced back to Rome, Greece, Egypt, and several other interesting places), had no right to the patent on the sliderule, even though it also was a mathematical device and incorporated addition and subtraction in its functions.
"What I want is a global extremely-high-speed ad-hoc wireless data & voice network, where the only entry cost is a mobile phone (or newtork card or whatever)."
What I want is all of Bill Gate's money, all of Jeff Bezos's patents, and a quick easy way of getting rid of SCO once and for all (e.g., a tactical nuke).
I am not a programmer, but I have read that BASIC is not the best programming language to start with. They say that it teaches bad habits. Is it really a bad thing that BASIC is not included with Windows?
Ooh! ooh! I have a brilliant idea for an environmentally sound way to light a charcoal grill. It involves using a quantity of punchcards, something that every self-respecting geek should have in abundance.
Perhaps the Slashdot crew have fallen for that, "Since France opposed the Iraq war, the word 'French' is obscene" stupidity. I suppose "Warning: Fremch" is better than the solution others would have used: "Warning: Freedom."
No, I do not have terminal cancer, or "something". I think my point was that the cloud that a three to five year law suit would spread over Linux would do plenty of damage to Linux's momentum, and therefore to future adoption as well. It would provide a long opportunity for Microsoft to attack a weakened target, to say to businesses, "Don't use that operating system that might be full of pirated code and which might get you sued in the end. Use our nice, completely legal OS."
Of course the cloud will be lifted as soon as what code is offending is revealed to the Linux Kernel Powers That Be, but who knows how long SCO will be allowed to keep that secret, at least from Linus and company.
Slashdot Mirror
Why was the parent modded funny? It's all true! I am sure that some /.ers will be disappointed, but it is. The parent should have been modded "Informative".
:::smacks himself with a snurf cluebat:::
I meant to say "They're", not "There". Shame on me.
"Yeah, I would have asked that, but I heard somewhere that NetBSD is dying."
Lies! There all lies!
Besides, putting Windows on something is worse than actually paying the SCO fee in the same way that bowing to Darth Sidius is worse than bowing to Darth Tyrannus. The master is worse than the apprentice.
Are you on crack? The question you should have asked is this: Has anyone hacked the Tivo yet to run NetBSD?
Well, if they don't have any real case, and the thing goes to trial, then they will be seriously screwed down the road. Maybe we will see the top execs in jail for trying to defraud businesses that use Linux, not to mention the federal government.
If only Darl McBride would get carted off to Guantanamo with no legal counsel one blessed August night...
That wouldn't work. If SCO is never forced to reveal where the allegedly offending code is in a way that would allow the Linux community to remove it from the kernel, then SCO could just make the same claim for the alternate Linux 2.4 kernel that came down the pike. Hell, they could even have some of their employees try to sneak SCO code into the alternate 2.4 kernel.
Who owns the code when a company folds? Why SCO of course! Don't they own everything?
They don't worry as much about Argentina simply because most people make $200 USD a month and therefore can't afford to buy many CDs. People in the US have a hell of a lot more disposable income and so RIAA goes after them with their anti-piracy campaign.
Probably at least 90% of all p2p file sharing is of copyrighted material without the consent of the holder of the copyright. I agree that technology should not be banned just because it's put to illegitimate use most of the time, but I also have to admit that they have a pretty good case. Now if more legitimate use was made out filesharing, that might be a different story.
But it probably won't. My reasoning is that, most of the time, it is more convenient to post legal material on a website or on an ftp site than on a peer2peer network. The biggest attraction of the p2p networks is that they are decentralized. There is no server that has an owner that the **AA can sue. This kind of decentralization simply isn't necessary if no copyrights are being violated, even though it can be beneficial in special circumstances.
But what are the lawyers going to do with $48 million dollars worth of retail coupons towards a Linux distribution purchase?
I totally disagree that usenet is dead as a place for intelligent discussion. I could list at least a half-dozen newsgroups off the top of my head that are almost spam-free and which are intellectually stimulating and helpful. And those make up a high percentage of the groups that I have peroused, being only a usenet-dabbler.
I won't name the groups by name, since they might getted spammed if some of the less helpful readers of slashdot see them, but I will say that some of the distribution-specific Linux related groups are quite excellent.
The mods read Slashdot. 'Nuff said.
"What about the guys who invented the Abacus? Shouldn't they get a cut too?"
Obviously you haven't read the British "Sliderule Vs. Abicus" decision of 1748. It stated that the inheritor of the patent on the Abicus, one John Smith of Sussex (he had a lineage that can be traced back to Rome, Greece, Egypt, and several other interesting places), had no right to the patent on the sliderule, even though it also was a mathematical device and incorporated addition and subtraction in its functions.
Hmm. I wonder what he'd do for $10 an hour. On second thought, I think I'd rather not think about it.
Would Taco agree to stay on for $5 an hour?
"It seems hardly worth posting on Slashdot at any rate."
It's the weekend. What else are they gonna do?
I second that.
"What I want is a global extremely-high-speed ad-hoc wireless data & voice network, where the only entry cost is a mobile phone (or newtork card or whatever)."
What I want is all of Bill Gate's money, all of Jeff Bezos's patents, and a quick easy way of getting rid of SCO once and for all (e.g., a tactical nuke).
I think that my desire is more realistic.
Quick Jeff Bezos, patent DVD rentals and save us from Walmart!
I am not a programmer, but I have read that BASIC is not the best programming language to start with. They say that it teaches bad habits. Is it really a bad thing that BASIC is not included with Windows?
Here's a thought: what if ESR got arrested or dropped dead and RMS took over all his projects.
Ooh! ooh! I have a brilliant idea for an environmentally sound way to light a charcoal grill. It involves using a quantity of punchcards, something that every self-respecting geek should have in abundance.
Perhaps the Slashdot crew have fallen for that, "Since France opposed the Iraq war, the word 'French' is obscene" stupidity. I suppose "Warning: Fremch" is better than the solution others would have used: "Warning: Freedom."
No, I do not have terminal cancer, or "something". I think my point was that the cloud that a three to five year law suit would spread over Linux would do plenty of damage to Linux's momentum, and therefore to future adoption as well. It would provide a long opportunity for Microsoft to attack a weakened target, to say to businesses, "Don't use that operating system that might be full of pirated code and which might get you sued in the end. Use our nice, completely legal OS."
Of course the cloud will be lifted as soon as what code is offending is revealed to the Linux Kernel Powers That Be, but who knows how long SCO will be allowed to keep that secret, at least from Linus and company.