What's the battery life on a wired headphone? The only reason for power in a headphone is noise cancellation, which is an added feature.
So your claim is that having to charge headphones along with your phone to get an equivalent listening experience is unimportant. In my book you just defined yourself as being really stupid.
You left out Mac OS.They used to have their own operating system, now they sponge off BSD. As far as I know, they don't contribute anything to the BSD community. The last time I looked there was no sponsorship by Apple of any BSD activity. If I remember correcty they did some work when OSX was new, but that ended a long time ago.
Taxes pay for public education. The UC budget has not kept up with the combination of more students and rising costs.
So they are trying to keep a sinking boat afloat. That's why they recruit out of state/out of country students: they pay full tuition, as opposed to residents who pay less.
Also, don't underestimate the influence of the corporate takeover of the educational system. The regents and the leadership at all the campuses are integrated with corporate interests. Public funded research results in patents and the profits are used to support research. Sounds OK, but in fact the ultimate benefit goes to corporations who have deals with the schools. It's a lot like the NFL using state supported schools as their farm team system. Get someone else to develop the talent and harvest the results at a huge discount.
I'm not defending any of this. It's just one more example of the corrupt state of the country. All the costs are go one way, all the payout goes the other.
Don't forget the courage of the makers of the Epipen to raise the cost of their life saving unit by only 600% ($50 to $300), rather then 1200% ($50 to $600). Really, they deserve some sort of medal for their bravery.
Does that mean you are going to give everyone on Slashdot $150 for the new EarBuds? If you are that convinced that there is no greed in the decision, why don't you put you're money where your mouth is? Or is your mouth too busy kissing the ass of Apple to do anything else?
Using earbuds is not a viable option for me. Putting things in my ears causes medical problems and my ears clog up.
How long will it be until there are compatible headsets available? And how much will they cost? And will they even work or have acceptable battery life?
I have a sinking feeling that I'm going to have very few options for my smartphone headset in the future. Not much choice and stupidly high prices.
Why is this happening? Because the two manufacturers who matter, Apple and Samsung, are having a pissing contest over who's phone is thinner. So Samsung has to recall phones that are catching fire and Apple has phones where the touch interface fails because the case flexes and solder pads disconnect from a chip. Both these engineering failures happen because cramming reliable electronics into such a slim case is nearly impossible.
Given a choice between a phone as thick as the previous generation that was reliable and had a longer battery life, pretty much any human being on the planet would choose a thicker phone. I bet that a phone twice as thick with really long battery life would sell in vastly greater numbers then any of the current crap. But we don't get that choice. Marketeers and designers who are completely out of touch dictate what choices we have, and they don't give a damn about what we want.
Just another case of pretend capitalism. Nothing to see here, move along.
If you can't tell the difference between organized crime and a functioning democracy they you are deranged.
You want freedom from government interference? Move to Somalia, central Mexico dominated by drug cartels or Southeast Asia where they grow opium. No "oppressive" government there.
In contrast consider Norway. I've been there and it is one of the best run societies I have ever seen. Lot of government regulation and it always ranks near or at the top for overall quality of life.
Since things in the US suck so much because of the "ebil gumment" why don't you "self deport" and go to one of the Libertard havens that exist all over the world? Since all problems result from government interfering with your precious sovereign liberty, you should be about to create a paradise on earth anywhere there is no effective central control. Parts of North Africa are lawless right now, and with the recent death of Uzbekistan's dictator I bet you and your best Libertarian buds could go over their and create the perfect society.
Can you leave tomorrow? I'd be happy to drive you to the airport. Don't let the door hit your ass on the way out.
Hmm, so the "yokels" include law enforcement up to and including Federal officers, who show up with guns and SWAT teams planning on confronting armed and dangerous criminals. What could possibly go wrong? It's not like a mistake could lead to someone's home being invaded by police who shoot first and make up excuses later. Cops never ever get the wrong house and have a confrontation with the residents where an innocent person is killed. This has never happened, thank god.
Nice to know that providing provably incorrect information has no negative consequence. Who knew?
It makes no difference what your analysis is if you don't even mention Bush. Remember him? The guy who invaded the wrong country? President My Pet Goat, for want of a better term.
I know that you have a mental block against facts and objective reality, so here are some important real world events you skipped over:
1) Iraq had nothing to do with the 9/11 attacks, but Bush and his cronies lied their teeth out and whipped up a frenzy to invade.
2)There were no WMDs, except fragments left over from the Iraq/Iran war. Another deliberate lie to make the war seem reasonable. Don't forget that during the Iran/Iraq war the US was sponsoring Saddam Hussein and Cheney was a big Saddam fan.
3) Bush the Idiot and his incompetent crew did no planning for post invasion Iraq. And by no planning I mean absolutely nothing. They waited until after the fall of Hussein to recruit anyone to administer the country. Many were picked because they worked on the Bush campaign and were Republican loyalists with no international experience. A large number had to apply for passports because they had never left the US in their lives. To give an idea of how they functioned, just think of the $12 billion cash (in $100 bills) that was sent to Iraq and just vanished. To this day no one knows what happened to it.
4) The invasion happened in 2003 and Obama took office in January 2009. There were over six years of massive incompetence overseen by the Bush administration and Obama inherited the entire mess. You would have to go back the end of WW2 in Europe or Japan to find anything nearly as bad. You talk as if it all just magically appeared on January 20 2009 when Obama took the oath of office. WTF?
It's like describing Eastern Europe after WW2 and ignoring Germany's invasion, or the takeover of China by Mao's Communists and ignoring the Japanese empire. Your description is unconnected with historical reality. You're worse then the fools who claim the world is only 6000 years old. You were alive when this happened. Just like Bush, you have no excuse.
Too late. America and the labor market are now on the fast path to a nation of peasants and gentry.
One big sign is that individuals no longer own things that they pay for. This is blatantly true for anything that hooks to the internet or has a computer in it. You have a Windows machine that doesn't have Windows 10? Microsoft will hijack it and make you run Windows 10. That says you don't own that box, no matter what you paid.
By the way, this is the future. It's already happened with some of the early IoT gear. The manufacturer changes the terms and conditions and do whatever the hell they want and the end user either has to live with it or unplug the device. Soon everything will be like that including your car. There will be a point where you will have no choice, because everything will be "automated". Unless you knuckle under you will be living the life of the "have nots". That is the only choice available.
Oh I see, instead of unions stealing "your money" you want foreign body shop operations conspiring with large multi-national corporations to steal "your money" by lowering wages and allowing discrimination against US workers.
Makes perfect sense to me. How's that working out for you in the long run?
When IoT fully arrives not only will you loose your car, all the belongings in your house will be up for grabs.
There will be no way to avoid this by sticking with "real hardware" technology like mechanical locks and keys. In the same way that that all credit cards will be chipped along with all passports, you will ultimately be required to have your house/apartment hooked to the internet to get insurance. This will be justified due to fire sensors that automatically call the fire department. Part of the installation will also unlock all doors and windows to insure that anyone trapped inside will be able to escape.
It sounds reasonable up to a point, but it's obvious that the police and government are already drooling over the possibility that no one will be able to secure their physical space. It will be justified in terms of "terrorists" and "home invasion", but the real motivation is so they can infiltrate anybody at any time. The lack of constitutional protections for communications will be extended into real life.
How do you kill a program that is already has budget troubles? Shut it down and do an audit. It's the bureaucratic way to eliminate something while pretending to be responsible.
And how often have over budget military programs been halted because of money? It has happened, but it's very rare. Meanwhile, we got the B-2 at over $1 billion per copy and the F-35 which is "Three years behind schedule and some $200 billion over its original budget". The original projected cost was about half what has already been spent.
So how does NASA's trouble compare to that? NASA's entire 2015 budget was $18.01 billion. So who is worse when it comes to being "responsible" about managing technical risk? Did anyone suggest shutting down the F-35 program while they decided what to do about escalating costs and slipping schedules?
If this sort of nonsense had gone on during the Apollo program we would have never put anyone in orbit in an Gemini or Apollo capsule, much less made it to the moon.
Glad to know that there are no drones that weigh over two pounds. I was also completely unaware that drones were made of bones, feathers and bird meat. No difference really.
So ingesting a bird into a jet engine is identical to a mechanical object. Something that by design uses high strength materials like carbon fiber and possibly metals like aluminum or titanium. So you got the references to the FAA verified tests that equate bird engine ingestion to an equivalent amount of flying structure? Those test have already been completed and are in the regulations, right? And they were no more difficult to perform then the bird tests, because just like birds drones are made of materials that are very predictable.
And the flight characteristics of drones are identical to birds as well. I really love those nature shows where they describe how geese fly just like hummingbirds and can hover, go vertically up and down and then dart off in any direction. It shows the magnificence of nature that something that weighs multiple kilograms has the same manouverability as something that is only a few grams. And since pilots who fly fire drops are already use to hovering big birds, drones will never cause any confusion.
It never ceases to amaze me how Slashdot Pundits can take almost any problem and show that there is a simple minded solution that people with all kinds of experience, degrees and certifications just can't find. You are obviously a great mind and your country needs you. I suggest that you immediately drop whatever you're doing and go to the FAA headquarters in DC and tell them what you think. I bet that they will fire whoever else they have now and put you in charge of all drone related matters.
I concur. The definition of "value" that the Verge is using reflects the attitudes of marketeers who are incapable of original thinking.
In reality, there is no "need" to have anything beyond a basic smart phone. People rarely use all the possible bells and whistles in their existing high end phones. This is highlighted by recent statistics showing that most downloaded apps are used less then five times. What people really do on smart phones consists of calls/texting, games, photos/video, navigation and searching nearby locations. None of these require a high end phone.
So how do you break out of the mold and differentiate on anything other then price? According to the deep thinkers at the Verge "cleverer design" is the road to failure. They seem to be forgetting that Apple started it's iPhone empire using "cleverer design", as did Tesla and Dyson. They all have premium prices and are doing just fine. Check out the advertising and their competitors are either explicitly or implicitly comparing themselves to their respective high end brands.
Does creativity guarantee success? Of course not. Is it a risky but potentially good strategy? Absolutely. So it seems tha the Verge is enamored with doing more of the same and turning up it's collective nose at anything new.
They screw entire countries. They screwed everyone in the country of Greece before the 2008 meltdown. First they invented a bunch of semi-illegal schemes to fund the government and at the same time they placed huge bets that the Greek economy would fail. Of course they made a huge profit up front with these scams, and even bigger profits when it all went to hell.
Now they are eyeball deep in the looting scandal that stole over $2.5 billion dollars out of the Malaysian economy.
Goldman Sachs' (GS.N) work with Malaysian sovereign wealth fund 1MDB is under the spotlight over U.S. government allegations that billions of dollars were diverted for the personal use of officials and some people associated with them.
The Wall Street bank helped 1MDB, which was founded by Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak in September 2009, raise $6.5 billion in three bond sales in 2012 and 2013 to invest in energy projects and real estate to boost the Malaysian economy.
Instead, more than $2.5 billion raised from those bonds was misappropriated by high-level 1MDB officials, their relatives and associates, according to U.S. Department of Justice civil lawsuits filed in court on Wednesday.
Goldman Sachs, which earned close to $600 million to arrange and underwrite the 1MDB bonds, has not been accused of any wrongdoing.
Still, the lawsuits allege investors were not properly informed about the use and nature of the bonds.
The U.S. Justice Department said that the offering circulars for two of the bonds issued in 2012 contained "material misrepresentations and omissions" over what the proceeds of the bonds would be used for and the nature of the relationship between 1MDB and International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC), an entity owned by the Abu Dhabi government.
So no matter how much fun it is for Wall Street types to tie up hookers, or be tied up by them, nothing comes close to egomaniac thrill of wrecking entire economies for profit. That's why they keep doing it over and over again.
BTW, one of the truly ironic features of this case is that some of the stolen money was used to fund the film The Wolf of Wall Street. You can't make this kind of shit up.
Google should be forced to register as the agent of a foreign government. When they make that level of commitment to India (or anywhere else) they are exploiting their privileged position in the US at the expense of the people and economy here. They take all the government support, tax breaks (which they get by lobbying) and legal advantages of being based in the US and effectively transfer wealth to India to improve their bottom line. Short of industrial spying it's hard to be any more aggressive about putting the interests of one country above another.
Of course IBM is way ahead if them in this regard. A few years ago they quit reporting the number of people employed per country. That's a clear sign they know they have something to hide.
Here's an idea: US companies that have overseas branches have to report the number of employees the have in all the countries they do business (roll in consultants as well). Make exemptions for smaller firms, or companies that take no US tax deductions or other government assistance. It's an impossible dilemma for companies that are trying to have it both ways. Do they give up all the subsidies, both direct and by tax tricks, or do they have to admit that they are parasites?
If this was put forward in legislation American business interests would squeal like stuck pigs. They want to grab as much as they can from the public coffers without having to admit anything or face any consequence. They figure, correctly, that as long as they can keep the public in the dark about how they play this rigged game that they can get away with almost anything.
And if you think this is bad, just wait for the TPP to kick in. If it does happen, US employment figures will be dropping by multiple percentage point on a quarterly basis. It might take a few years to get that bad, but considering it is primarily intended to move jobs overseas no one should be surprised. This is exactly what happens when greedy self serving corporate interest run amok. Under the hood it's just like the 2008 economic meltdown. In that case Wall Street had no effective oversight on real estate lending and almost took down the entire world economy. With the TPP the corporate class is now negotiating international trade policy solely for it's own profit. It is entirely likely that this next folly will make 2008 look like a walk in the park compared to the antipersonnel cluster bomb that is the TPP.
Not quite right: "your great-grandchildren have to be able to make money" should be replaced by "their great-grandchildren have to be able to make money." It's not the artists/innovators who are raking in the cash, it's the parasites who control the content distribution. Creators, except for a very luck few, get almost nothing for their work.
This is a case where fleas are claiming ownership of the dog, and are adamantly defending their right to stop any kind of flea treatment because Profit!
Bringing this up in open court was a deliberate and hostile act. Oracle and their attorneys knew that this was very proprietary number and that putting it into circulation would damage both Apple and Google. Now when any of the big players negotiates fees with either Google or Apple they will have this benchmark. It's a game changer.
It is impossible that this was a mistake by Oracle and their law firm. It's very normal that corporations learn proprietary information during a big suit like this, and there are all sorts of rules pertaining to how it can be used and who has a right to see it. Without these rules legal actions would be used all the time to find out how the competition is doing internally.
Take a look at the letter that Google's law firm sent to the judges in the case. It's short and does not contain too much legalese. It refers to the relevant case law and asks the judge for sanctions. They are going after both Oracle and their law firm, and accuse them abusing the courts and not respecting the judges.
Accordingly, Google respectfully requests permission to file a motion for a finding of
contempt and the imposition of sanctions, including but not limited to: an Order precluding further
access by Ms. Hurst to Google and third-party confidential information; an Order requiring all of
Oracle’s counsel to sign undertakings under the Protective Order, reinforcing the importance of the
Order; an award of Google’s attorneys’ fees and costs necessitated by Oracle’s and its counsel’s
violations of the Protective Order; and such other relief as the Court deems appropriate.
This is the legal way of asking the judge to throw the book and Oracle and it's lawyers. Asking to have the Oracle legal team sign a document saying they will obey the law in the future makes them look really, really bad. Asking that Hurst not be allowed to see information means she can't continue to work on the case. If her law firm is looking for a scapegoat for loosing, she just got a target on her back. This sanction could end her career, so it is not likely it will be granted. Still, findings of contempt are very serious and have significant longer term impact. It boils down to how far the judges think that Oracle's law firm went over the line and how much they disrespected the judges and the law. People sitting on the bench take this very seriously so it could be a big deal.
The most popular cheese in the US is Mozzarella because of it's use on pizza. Since it's such a commercial hit with so big a fan base, clearly it deserves a CGI heavy blockbuster production.
Unfortunately there are rumors that a rival film is headed towards a competing release the same summer: Pizza: The Movie. Both projects may be delayed because of impending cross litigation over rights to the original concept. This may help green light the dark horse project that seemed to be going nowhere: The Grilled Cheese Saga. It's complete lack of mozzarella may turn out to be it's saving grace. Given that cheddar is the second most consumed cheese in the US, Grilled Cheese Saga with it's multi-cheese fan appeal could satisfy the market for cheese themed blockbuster entertainment.
Slashdot Mirror
So your claim is that having to charge headphones along with your phone to get an equivalent listening experience is unimportant. In my book you just defined yourself as being really stupid.
You left out Mac OS.They used to have their own operating system, now they sponge off BSD. As far as I know, they don't contribute anything to the BSD community. The last time I looked there was no sponsorship by Apple of any BSD activity. If I remember correcty they did some work when OSX was new, but that ended a long time ago.
So they are trying to keep a sinking boat afloat. That's why they recruit out of state/out of country students: they pay full tuition, as opposed to residents who pay less.
Also, don't underestimate the influence of the corporate takeover of the educational system. The regents and the leadership at all the campuses are integrated with corporate interests. Public funded research results in patents and the profits are used to support research. Sounds OK, but in fact the ultimate benefit goes to corporations who have deals with the schools. It's a lot like the NFL using state supported schools as their farm team system. Get someone else to develop the talent and harvest the results at a huge discount.
I'm not defending any of this. It's just one more example of the corrupt state of the country. All the costs are go one way, all the payout goes the other.
File under: Failures of Capitalism
Does that mean you are going to give everyone on Slashdot $150 for the new EarBuds? If you are that convinced that there is no greed in the decision, why don't you put you're money where your mouth is? Or is your mouth too busy kissing the ass of Apple to do anything else?
How long will it be until there are compatible headsets available? And how much will they cost? And will they even work or have acceptable battery life?
I have a sinking feeling that I'm going to have very few options for my smartphone headset in the future. Not much choice and stupidly high prices.
Why is this happening? Because the two manufacturers who matter, Apple and Samsung, are having a pissing contest over who's phone is thinner. So Samsung has to recall phones that are catching fire and Apple has phones where the touch interface fails because the case flexes and solder pads disconnect from a chip. Both these engineering failures happen because cramming reliable electronics into such a slim case is nearly impossible.
Given a choice between a phone as thick as the previous generation that was reliable and had a longer battery life, pretty much any human being on the planet would choose a thicker phone. I bet that a phone twice as thick with really long battery life would sell in vastly greater numbers then any of the current crap. But we don't get that choice. Marketeers and designers who are completely out of touch dictate what choices we have, and they don't give a damn about what we want.
Just another case of pretend capitalism. Nothing to see here, move along.
Not the throat, the other end.
You want freedom from government interference? Move to Somalia, central Mexico dominated by drug cartels or Southeast Asia where they grow opium. No "oppressive" government there.
In contrast consider Norway. I've been there and it is one of the best run societies I have ever seen. Lot of government regulation and it always ranks near or at the top for overall quality of life.
Since things in the US suck so much because of the "ebil gumment" why don't you "self deport" and go to one of the Libertard havens that exist all over the world? Since all problems result from government interfering with your precious sovereign liberty, you should be about to create a paradise on earth anywhere there is no effective central control. Parts of North Africa are lawless right now, and with the recent death of Uzbekistan's dictator I bet you and your best Libertarian buds could go over their and create the perfect society.
Can you leave tomorrow? I'd be happy to drive you to the airport. Don't let the door hit your ass on the way out.
Nice to know that providing provably incorrect information has no negative consequence. Who knew?
I know that you have a mental block against facts and objective reality, so here are some important real world events you skipped over:
1) Iraq had nothing to do with the 9/11 attacks, but Bush and his cronies lied their teeth out and whipped up a frenzy to invade.
2)There were no WMDs, except fragments left over from the Iraq/Iran war. Another deliberate lie to make the war seem reasonable. Don't forget that during the Iran/Iraq war the US was sponsoring Saddam Hussein and Cheney was a big Saddam fan.
3) Bush the Idiot and his incompetent crew did no planning for post invasion Iraq. And by no planning I mean absolutely nothing. They waited until after the fall of Hussein to recruit anyone to administer the country. Many were picked because they worked on the Bush campaign and were Republican loyalists with no international experience. A large number had to apply for passports because they had never left the US in their lives. To give an idea of how they functioned, just think of the $12 billion cash (in $100 bills) that was sent to Iraq and just vanished. To this day no one knows what happened to it.
4) The invasion happened in 2003 and Obama took office in January 2009. There were over six years of massive incompetence overseen by the Bush administration and Obama inherited the entire mess. You would have to go back the end of WW2 in Europe or Japan to find anything nearly as bad. You talk as if it all just magically appeared on January 20 2009 when Obama took the oath of office. WTF?
It's like describing Eastern Europe after WW2 and ignoring Germany's invasion, or the takeover of China by Mao's Communists and ignoring the Japanese empire. Your description is unconnected with historical reality. You're worse then the fools who claim the world is only 6000 years old. You were alive when this happened. Just like Bush, you have no excuse.
One big sign is that individuals no longer own things that they pay for. This is blatantly true for anything that hooks to the internet or has a computer in it. You have a Windows machine that doesn't have Windows 10? Microsoft will hijack it and make you run Windows 10. That says you don't own that box, no matter what you paid.
By the way, this is the future. It's already happened with some of the early IoT gear. The manufacturer changes the terms and conditions and do whatever the hell they want and the end user either has to live with it or unplug the device. Soon everything will be like that including your car. There will be a point where you will have no choice, because everything will be "automated". Unless you knuckle under you will be living the life of the "have nots". That is the only choice available.
Makes perfect sense to me. How's that working out for you in the long run?
There will be no way to avoid this by sticking with "real hardware" technology like mechanical locks and keys. In the same way that that all credit cards will be chipped along with all passports, you will ultimately be required to have your house/apartment hooked to the internet to get insurance. This will be justified due to fire sensors that automatically call the fire department. Part of the installation will also unlock all doors and windows to insure that anyone trapped inside will be able to escape.
It sounds reasonable up to a point, but it's obvious that the police and government are already drooling over the possibility that no one will be able to secure their physical space. It will be justified in terms of "terrorists" and "home invasion", but the real motivation is so they can infiltrate anybody at any time. The lack of constitutional protections for communications will be extended into real life.
When Orwell wrote 1984 he was being optimistic.
Black Ops by TMBG
And how often have over budget military programs been halted because of money? It has happened, but it's very rare. Meanwhile, we got the B-2 at over $1 billion per copy and the F-35 which is "Three years behind schedule and some $200 billion over its original budget". The original projected cost was about half what has already been spent.
So how does NASA's trouble compare to that? NASA's entire 2015 budget was $18.01 billion. So who is worse when it comes to being "responsible" about managing technical risk? Did anyone suggest shutting down the F-35 program while they decided what to do about escalating costs and slipping schedules?
If this sort of nonsense had gone on during the Apollo program we would have never put anyone in orbit in an Gemini or Apollo capsule, much less made it to the moon.
So ingesting a bird into a jet engine is identical to a mechanical object. Something that by design uses high strength materials like carbon fiber and possibly metals like aluminum or titanium. So you got the references to the FAA verified tests that equate bird engine ingestion to an equivalent amount of flying structure? Those test have already been completed and are in the regulations, right? And they were no more difficult to perform then the bird tests, because just like birds drones are made of materials that are very predictable.
And the flight characteristics of drones are identical to birds as well. I really love those nature shows where they describe how geese fly just like hummingbirds and can hover, go vertically up and down and then dart off in any direction. It shows the magnificence of nature that something that weighs multiple kilograms has the same manouverability as something that is only a few grams. And since pilots who fly fire drops are already use to hovering big birds, drones will never cause any confusion.
It never ceases to amaze me how Slashdot Pundits can take almost any problem and show that there is a simple minded solution that people with all kinds of experience, degrees and certifications just can't find. You are obviously a great mind and your country needs you. I suggest that you immediately drop whatever you're doing and go to the FAA headquarters in DC and tell them what you think. I bet that they will fire whoever else they have now and put you in charge of all drone related matters.
In reality, there is no "need" to have anything beyond a basic smart phone. People rarely use all the possible bells and whistles in their existing high end phones. This is highlighted by recent statistics showing that most downloaded apps are used less then five times. What people really do on smart phones consists of calls/texting, games, photos/video, navigation and searching nearby locations. None of these require a high end phone.
So how do you break out of the mold and differentiate on anything other then price? According to the deep thinkers at the Verge "cleverer design" is the road to failure. They seem to be forgetting that Apple started it's iPhone empire using "cleverer design", as did Tesla and Dyson. They all have premium prices and are doing just fine. Check out the advertising and their competitors are either explicitly or implicitly comparing themselves to their respective high end brands.
Does creativity guarantee success? Of course not. Is it a risky but potentially good strategy? Absolutely. So it seems tha the Verge is enamored with doing more of the same and turning up it's collective nose at anything new.
Now they are eyeball deep in the looting scandal that stole over $2.5 billion dollars out of the Malaysian economy.
So no matter how much fun it is for Wall Street types to tie up hookers, or be tied up by them, nothing comes close to egomaniac thrill of wrecking entire economies for profit. That's why they keep doing it over and over again.
BTW, one of the truly ironic features of this case is that some of the stolen money was used to fund the film The Wolf of Wall Street. You can't make this kind of shit up.
Fuck You.
Of course IBM is way ahead if them in this regard. A few years ago they quit reporting the number of people employed per country. That's a clear sign they know they have something to hide.
Here's an idea: US companies that have overseas branches have to report the number of employees the have in all the countries they do business (roll in consultants as well). Make exemptions for smaller firms, or companies that take no US tax deductions or other government assistance. It's an impossible dilemma for companies that are trying to have it both ways. Do they give up all the subsidies, both direct and by tax tricks, or do they have to admit that they are parasites?
If this was put forward in legislation American business interests would squeal like stuck pigs. They want to grab as much as they can from the public coffers without having to admit anything or face any consequence. They figure, correctly, that as long as they can keep the public in the dark about how they play this rigged game that they can get away with almost anything.
And if you think this is bad, just wait for the TPP to kick in. If it does happen, US employment figures will be dropping by multiple percentage point on a quarterly basis. It might take a few years to get that bad, but considering it is primarily intended to move jobs overseas no one should be surprised. This is exactly what happens when greedy self serving corporate interest run amok. Under the hood it's just like the 2008 economic meltdown. In that case Wall Street had no effective oversight on real estate lending and almost took down the entire world economy. With the TPP the corporate class is now negotiating international trade policy solely for it's own profit. It is entirely likely that this next folly will make 2008 look like a walk in the park compared to the antipersonnel cluster bomb that is the TPP.
This is a case where fleas are claiming ownership of the dog, and are adamantly defending their right to stop any kind of flea treatment because Profit!
It is impossible that this was a mistake by Oracle and their law firm. It's very normal that corporations learn proprietary information during a big suit like this, and there are all sorts of rules pertaining to how it can be used and who has a right to see it. Without these rules legal actions would be used all the time to find out how the competition is doing internally.
Take a look at the letter that Google's law firm sent to the judges in the case. It's short and does not contain too much legalese. It refers to the relevant case law and asks the judge for sanctions. They are going after both Oracle and their law firm, and accuse them abusing the courts and not respecting the judges.
This is the legal way of asking the judge to throw the book and Oracle and it's lawyers. Asking to have the Oracle legal team sign a document saying they will obey the law in the future makes them look really, really bad. Asking that Hurst not be allowed to see information means she can't continue to work on the case. If her law firm is looking for a scapegoat for loosing, she just got a target on her back. This sanction could end her career, so it is not likely it will be granted. Still, findings of contempt are very serious and have significant longer term impact. It boils down to how far the judges think that Oracle's law firm went over the line and how much they disrespected the judges and the law. People sitting on the bench take this very seriously so it could be a big deal.
Welcome to digital morality.
Unfortunately there are rumors that a rival film is headed towards a competing release the same summer: Pizza: The Movie. Both projects may be delayed because of impending cross litigation over rights to the original concept. This may help green light the dark horse project that seemed to be going nowhere: The Grilled Cheese Saga. It's complete lack of mozzarella may turn out to be it's saving grace. Given that cheddar is the second most consumed cheese in the US, Grilled Cheese Saga with it's multi-cheese fan appeal could satisfy the market for cheese themed blockbuster entertainment.