Ahh, ya know, that one slipped right through my "sanity checker". You make an excellent point. Mental note made... "next time, check snopes and/or call the MythBusters":)
Oh, just for clarification... I wasn't meaning to specifically say anything real about the quality of life or amount of freedom in china, just that empirically, it sure seems like that's their government's worry.
Xie xie^H^H^H^H^H^H^Thank You, A normal American Capitalist worm-baby.
Lt. Gen. Robert Elder: "okay boys, the flag's gone up... we're authorized to implement full-scale electronic warfare against China. Begin preparations" Pvt. Doorman: "Um sir, there's a gentleman here to see you, something about repossessing the command post..."
---- 3 hours later (after the command posts computers have been hauled away for non-payment) ---
Lt. Gen. Robert Elder: "Jones!" Sgt. Jones: "Yessir!?!" Lt. Gen. Robert Elder: "Prepare the TinFoil Hats!" Sgt. Jones: "Yessir!!!"
I gotta say that it feels like that particular war's started already, and it's just that nobody actually told us.
Whether intentional or just a result of all those pirated copies of Winderz, the sheer number of bot-net/zombie attacks coming from China is staggering.
Too bad the "Great Firewall of China" is so concerned about information going IN to the country... I guess its perfectly fine if a citizen's computer sends thousands of emails for v1@gr@ or posts a zillion commercial messages into someone's threaded discussions... Just as long as it doesn't inform the user of how they've got very little freedom and a horrible standard of living, or say anything bad about the Chinese gub'ment!
"Which hints at the ultimate remedy for this nonsense: Shaming."
hmmm right direction, but... how about "Shenanigans"
Barbrady: "People of South Park, do you declare Shenanigans on the carnival people?" angry mob: Yeah! Barbrady: Okay, carnival people, do you accept this decree of Shenanigans? Woman:...What the hell are you talking about?! This whole town is screwy! Barbrady: Well, that settles it! Everybody grab a broom, it's Shenanigans!
(the mob cheers; brooms, pitchforks, and lit torches are already in their hands. They lay about the carnival people with great enthusiasm)
"And funny how a silicon 'sphere' is to be the 'roundest object ever'"
Indeed round versus sphere. I was thinking that myself.
Regardless, your comment reminded me of something else: I always thought that the Earth itself is actually the 'roundest' object on Earth.
Supposedly, if you could scale even the best man-made spherical things to the size of the Earth, the surface variations would make Everest and the Dead sea look like foothills and potholes (respectively) by comparison.
I wonder how well this particular sphere stacks up in that regard. (Well, by definition I suppose spheres don't stack very well at all... at least, not the near 'perfect' ones, but you get my meaning)
I think you miss the point here. This man is asserting that Gateway can not force him into binding arbitration (and probably giving up his right to appeal it) through their EULA because he was never given an opportunity to see it because his computer was so broken.
As far as I can tell, asserting your RIGHTS under the law is a fairly fundamental freedom that we have here in the US. I always thought that our country valued the freedom of all, and that when the rights of EVEN ONE PERSON are denied, it hurts us all.
This man has a right to sue, and besides, I also thought that small claims court was designed specifically to keep the main court system from getting clogged up with smaller Tom, Dick, and Harry cases. His claim strikes me as quite legitimate, and I hope he does indeed get his day in court.
Ahh, but how are they going to develop a Heisenberg Compensator if they don't perform experiments on transmitting the full quantum state of matter over a distance?
You see, that's the point.. in order to transport matter, you are going to have to take a very detailed picture of its exact quantum state. And you're going to have to transport that over a distance. This is a LOT of data (something like one bit per Planck Area (LOTS and LOTS of bits per cubic centimeter)), so if they can harness some of that "spooky action at a distance" (Quantum entanglement) to directly transmit the states instead of store and forward, then maybe they've taken a quantum leap (pun intended) toward teleportation.
From the Article::
"My parents said we are [only] paying for four years of school and I could
not become a lawyer in four years", 48 year-old CIO said. " I just said
okay, well I want to make a lot of money and so what is the next best
thing? And I did the research and the computing industry was the next big
booming thing"
My first thought: I have noted throughout my career that the worst IT people are those who are in it for the money or treat it as just a job.
Those managers and co-workers who have a true passion... those who live and breathe for technology: they're the ones that actually get stuff done.
This may be total FUD, but I swear I read an article recently showing how the way some of the recent laws were wroded, the RIAA supposedly has the right to collect royalties even for artists who are not on any labels they represent. So, in theory, they could come after me for publishing my own songs (which I composed and performed on my own) on my own web site.
I really wish I could remember where I heard that because I'd like to have more to go on, but the important thing is that I can believe that the RIAA would certainly be willing to go there, and I can believe that they have enough money to buy enough politicians to let something that stupid slide on through.
So, I wonder, even if you have alternatives now, how long before the Music Police start arresting folks for composing without a license?
Presumably because magnetic media is succeptable to strong magnetic fields, high heat, and general bit-rot over time... So, as long as they can show that this technology really will have a nice long shelf life, I think there's something worthwhile there.
If I'm a landlord, then I should not be able to discriminate based on race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, etc, but DUDE... this is for ROOMMATES. Although discrimination is wrong in principal, individuals sharing a house or apartment with one another really need to make sure they're compatible. I'm a lesbian... so I might be willing to share my apartment with a gay man, but certainly not a straight one. Likewise, a straight woman really might be uncomfortable sharing an apartment with me. What's wrong with helping people to filter out their choices?
While I kind of find the judge denying safe harbor a bit harsh, I do sort of appreciate the whole "required" versus optional form data. When I fill out forms for this and that on the web, I really get annoyed when every gorram field is required. I understand that the more complete the info, the better able to provide services, but honestly, forcing email or phone on peole is just likely to either a)turn users off from going any further or b)cause users to enter fake info.
I'd much rather have missing fields than false info... it's EASY to parse for missing fields, but false info can really pollute or skew things. I know that on "stop bugging me" registrations for some software, I'll just enter F***@you.com or some other random made up address that expresses my displeasure at being forced to provide such information. To whomever has the email address "F***@you.com" I apologize for the extra spam I've caused you to receive from the likes of Real Networks, Apple, and others.:)
I think that my general problem in this particular case goes as such:
If mearely by hearing that said e-tailer hs this new feature, a programmer who is of average skill can then go and replicate the functionality with no other information, then it seems to me that the patented process is coming very close to failing the "non-obvious" standard.
How many false arrests will you tolerate to provide more safety on the streets? How about random searches of individuals cars and homes?
I know where you're coming from, and I don't want to delve into hyperbole, but the fact is that there is a huge difference between the intentions of the founders of this nation and the reality of a police state, but if we don't stand up and object each time a little of our freedom is er roded... in the name of safety or anti-terrorism, or whatever, then over time, we move closer and closer to a police state.
If someone suspected that this student might be doing something illegal, then fine, but as soon as the police determine there has been no crime committed, then this is a done deal. The idea that a school district is so paranoid that they take such extreme discipline against someone about whom there are no IN-SCHOOL related complaints, well, it's just repugnant.
That's not gonna happen as long as the people who own "Mickey da Rat" have enough money to keep buying lobbyists , lawyers, and politicians. I betchya, the next time "Steamboat Willey" comes due to enter public domain, there will be a nice, quiet extension to the copyright timeout again.
I wanna know why everyting is always measured in football fields, football stadiums, statues of liberty, olympic swimming pools or empire state buildings... I mean being a geek and all, I really dislike football, and I don't do swimming sports, and for that matter, I don't get out of the house enough to have a first-hand experience of the size of various buildings and monuments./satire
I don't know as I'd go so far as to claim that/. was paid for it, but it is certainly a case of advertisement in the guise of news. When I used to work for an NBC affilliate as a news photog, I had a chance to see first-hand, the constant stream of "press releases" and other crap that ended up at the news desk. They generally spiked most of it without a second thought... unless it was a really slow news day. Then, all bets were off.
So, either it was a: slow news day, or b: flew under the radar. (Hey, if/. readers are constantly failing to rtfa, maybe the editor forgot to as well.:)
I tend to agree... It's like coding. When a programmer works on code written by someone else, it is generally more efficient for all concerned if they adapt their style to match the local conventions rather than blithely doing their own thing. The worst offenders in this are the ones who can't touch someone else's code without compulsively re-arranging, re-writing, re-indenting, or whatever... it plays hell with the diffs.
I'm not terribly widly-traveled, but I've noticed that Boston is probably the place where not conforming to the local style will cause the most disruption. You can get a lot of angry horns and fingers flying in NYC by not driving like them, but they tend to be willing and able to angrily make their way around you, but with Boston's Byzantine street layout and totally over-capacity roads, non-locals really cause havoc.
You have indeed placed the blame in exactly the right place. I've been saying this for years, the only difference being that I always called it "DoSumthin'" I wonder if that will count as prior art to defend against any allegations of trademark infringement.:)
Seriously though, the urge on the part of politicians to provide simple answers to inherantly difficult and complex situations (The "Do Something" mentality) is far more dangerous to the freedoms and way of life of Americans than many of the possible actions of terrorists and criminals. I often wonder if Bin Laden isn't sitting back, laughing his butt off every time our own government knee jerks away another fundamental liberty for the sake of the PERCEPTION of a bit of temporary security.
Slashdot Mirror
Ahh, ya know, that one slipped right through my "sanity checker". You make an excellent point. Mental note made... "next time, check snopes and/or call the MythBusters" :)
Oh, just for clarification... I wasn't meaning to specifically say anything real about the quality of life or amount of freedom in china, just that empirically, it sure seems like that's their government's worry.
Xie xie^H^H^H^H^H^H^Thank You,
A normal American Capitalist worm-baby.
Lt. Gen. Robert Elder: "okay boys, the flag's gone up... we're authorized to implement full-scale electronic warfare against China. Begin preparations"
Pvt. Doorman: "Um sir, there's a gentleman here to see you, something about repossessing the command post..."
---- 3 hours later (after the command posts computers have been hauled away for non-payment) ---
Lt. Gen. Robert Elder: "Jones!"
Sgt. Jones: "Yessir!?!"
Lt. Gen. Robert Elder: "Prepare the TinFoil Hats!"
Sgt. Jones: "Yessir!!!"
I gotta say that it feels like that particular war's started already, and it's just that nobody actually told us.
Whether intentional or just a result of all those pirated copies of Winderz, the sheer number of bot-net/zombie attacks coming from China is staggering.
Too bad the "Great Firewall of China" is so concerned about information going IN to the country... I guess its perfectly fine if a citizen's computer sends thousands of emails for v1@gr@ or posts a zillion commercial messages into someone's threaded discussions... Just as long as it doesn't inform the user of how they've got very little freedom and a horrible standard of living, or say anything bad about the Chinese gub'ment!
"Which hints at the ultimate remedy for this nonsense:
...What the hell are you talking about?! This whole town is screwy!
Shaming."
hmmm right direction, but... how about "Shenanigans"
Barbrady: "People of South Park, do you declare Shenanigans on the carnival people?"
angry mob: Yeah!
Barbrady: Okay, carnival people, do you accept this decree of Shenanigans?
Woman:
Barbrady: Well, that settles it! Everybody grab a broom, it's Shenanigans!
(the mob cheers; brooms, pitchforks, and lit torches are already in their hands. They lay about the carnival people with great enthusiasm)
"And funny how a silicon 'sphere' is to be the 'roundest object ever'"
Indeed round versus sphere. I was thinking that myself.
Regardless, your comment reminded me of something else:
I always thought that the Earth itself is actually the 'roundest' object on Earth.
Supposedly, if you could scale even the best man-made spherical things to the size of the Earth, the surface variations would make Everest and the Dead sea look like foothills and potholes (respectively) by comparison.
I wonder how well this particular sphere stacks up in that regard. (Well, by definition I suppose spheres don't stack very well at all... at least, not the near 'perfect' ones, but you get my meaning)
"The GP's point is that the EULA is available in print form as well as on the computer."
:)
Ahh, so I may have missed the point... Mea Culpa
I think you miss the point here. This man is asserting that Gateway can not force him into binding arbitration (and probably giving up his right to appeal it) through their EULA because he was never given an opportunity to see it because his computer was so broken.
As far as I can tell, asserting your RIGHTS under the law is a fairly fundamental freedom that we have here in the US. I always thought that our country valued the freedom of all, and that when the rights of EVEN ONE PERSON are denied, it hurts us all.
This man has a right to sue, and besides, I also thought that small claims court was designed specifically to keep the main court system from getting clogged up with smaller Tom, Dick, and Harry cases. His claim strikes me as quite legitimate, and I hope he does indeed get his day in court.
"Moreover this type of behavior is exactly the type of action Congress might find sufficiently indefensible to act on patent law."
OOh, THAT would be a happy day indeed.
These guys are weasels, through and through, but if it helps to bring down our Evil Patent Overlords...
Go scumbags, go scumbags, yaaaaaaaay SCUMBAGS!
Ahh, but how are they going to develop a Heisenberg Compensator if they don't perform experiments on transmitting the full quantum state of matter over a distance?
You see, that's the point.. in order to transport matter, you are going to have to take a very detailed picture of its exact quantum state. And you're going to have to transport that over a distance. This is a LOT of data (something like one bit per Planck Area (LOTS and LOTS of bits per cubic centimeter)), so if they can harness some of that "spooky action at a distance" (Quantum entanglement) to directly transmit the states instead of store and forward, then maybe they've taken a quantum leap (pun intended) toward teleportation.
From the Article::
"My parents said we are [only] paying for four years of school and I could
not become a lawyer in four years", 48 year-old CIO said. " I just said
okay, well I want to make a lot of money and so what is the next best
thing? And I did the research and the computing industry was the next big
booming thing"
My first thought:
I have noted throughout my career that the worst IT people are those who are in it for the money or treat it as just a job.
Those managers and co-workers who have a true passion... those who live and breathe for technology: they're the ones that actually get stuff done.
OOh, thanks... I guess it's NOT FUD... it's Slashdot! :)
This may be total FUD, but I swear I read an article recently showing how the way some of the recent laws were wroded, the RIAA supposedly has the right to collect royalties even for artists who are not on any labels they represent. So, in theory, they could come after me for publishing my own songs (which I composed and performed on my own) on my own web site.
I really wish I could remember where I heard that because I'd like to have more to go on, but the important thing is that I can believe that the RIAA would certainly be willing to go there, and I can believe that they have enough money to buy enough politicians to let something that stupid slide on through.
So, I wonder, even if you have alternatives now, how long before the Music Police start arresting folks for composing without a license?
Presumably because magnetic media is succeptable to strong magnetic fields, high heat, and general bit-rot over time... So, as long as they can show that this technology really will have a nice long shelf life, I think there's something worthwhile there.
Now, THAT's the way it should be.
I swear, I sooo should move to Canada.
If I'm a landlord, then I should not be able to discriminate based on race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, etc, but DUDE... this is for ROOMMATES. Although discrimination is wrong in principal, individuals sharing a house or apartment with one another really need to make sure they're compatible. I'm a lesbian... so I might be willing to share my apartment with a gay man, but certainly not a straight one. Likewise, a straight woman really might be uncomfortable sharing an apartment with me. What's wrong with helping people to filter out their choices?
While I kind of find the judge denying safe harbor a bit harsh, I do sort of appreciate the whole "required" versus optional form data. When I fill out forms for this and that on the web, I really get annoyed when every gorram field is required. I understand that the more complete the info, the better able to provide services, but honestly, forcing email or phone on peole is just likely to either a)turn users off from going any further or b)cause users to enter fake info.
:)
I'd much rather have missing fields than false info... it's EASY to parse for missing fields, but false info can really pollute or skew things. I know that on "stop bugging me" registrations for some software, I'll just enter F***@you.com or some other random made up address that expresses my displeasure at being forced to provide such information. To whomever has the email address "F***@you.com" I apologize for the extra spam I've caused you to receive from the likes of Real Networks, Apple, and others.
I think that my general problem in this particular case goes as such:
If mearely by hearing that said e-tailer hs this new feature, a programmer who is of average skill can then go and replicate the functionality with no other information, then it seems to me that the patented process is coming very close to failing the "non-obvious" standard.
How many false arrests will you tolerate to provide more safety on the streets? How about random searches of individuals cars and homes?
I know where you're coming from, and I don't want to delve into hyperbole, but the fact is that there is a huge difference between the intentions of the founders of this nation and the reality of a police state, but if we don't stand up and object each time a little of our freedom is er roded... in the name of safety or anti-terrorism, or whatever, then over time, we move closer and closer to a police state.
If someone suspected that this student might be doing something illegal, then fine, but as soon as the police determine there has been no crime committed, then this is a done deal. The idea that a school district is so paranoid that they take such extreme discipline against someone about whom there are no IN-SCHOOL related complaints, well, it's just repugnant.
Orclevegam,
That's not gonna happen as long as the people who own "Mickey da Rat" have enough money to keep buying lobbyists , lawyers, and politicians. I betchya, the next time "Steamboat Willey" comes due to enter public domain, there will be a nice, quiet extension to the copyright timeout again.
Just a theory.
I have an idea how they can raise some of the money to buy SeaLand: they could negotiate a deal to rename the central office building "GoldenPalace".
I wanna know why everyting is always measured in football fields, football stadiums, statues of liberty, olympic swimming pools or empire state buildings... I mean being a geek and all, I really dislike football, and I don't do swimming sports, and for that matter, I don't get out of the house enough to have a first-hand experience of the size of various buildings and monuments. /satire
I don't know as I'd go so far as to claim that /. was paid for it, but it is certainly a case of advertisement in the guise of news. When I used to work for an NBC affilliate as a news photog, I had a chance to see first-hand, the constant stream of "press releases" and other crap that ended up at the news desk. They generally spiked most of it without a second thought... unless it was a really slow news day. Then, all bets were off.
/. readers are constantly failing to rtfa, maybe the editor forgot to as well. :)
So, either it was a: slow news day, or b: flew under the radar. (Hey, if
I tend to agree... It's like coding. When a programmer works on code written by someone else, it is generally more efficient for all concerned if they adapt their style to match the local conventions rather than blithely doing their own thing. The worst offenders in this are the ones who can't touch someone else's code without compulsively re-arranging, re-writing, re-indenting, or whatever... it plays hell with the diffs.
I'm not terribly widly-traveled, but I've noticed that Boston is probably the place where not conforming to the local style will cause the most disruption. You can get a lot of angry horns and fingers flying in NYC by not driving like them, but they tend to be willing and able to angrily make their way around you, but with Boston's Byzantine street layout and totally over-capacity roads, non-locals really cause havoc.
Alaren,
:)
You have indeed placed the blame in exactly the right place. I've been saying this for years, the only difference being that I always called it "DoSumthin'" I wonder if that will count as prior art to defend against any allegations of trademark infringement.
Seriously though, the urge on the part of politicians to provide simple answers to inherantly difficult and complex situations (The "Do Something" mentality) is far more dangerous to the freedoms and way of life of Americans than many of the possible actions of terrorists and criminals. I often wonder if Bin Laden isn't sitting back, laughing his butt off every time our own government knee jerks away another fundamental liberty for the sake of the PERCEPTION of a bit of temporary security.
~sigh~