I've been thinking that this is going to be the real DivX:) Deux (what a stupid name) battle; trading old television show episodes.
They are smaller so the downloads are going to be available to more people.
There is a large group of people that have video tapes of their favorite shows (a friend of mine has the entire ST:TNG on tape); all they need is a user-friendly way to copy them into a digital format.
And, finally, while nobody is too worried about new movies since any new movie will eventually be available on DVD (yes, even _Deus Bigalo, Male Gigalo_), there are no gaurantees that any television episode will ever be released on DVD, particualarly if it only appealed to a niche audience.
I'd love to get my hands on those short-run early eighties comedies (like _The Charmings_ and _Sledge Hammer_) just to see if they are as funny now that I'm twenty years older.
I know this was intended as a joke, but there is a kernal of truth. There have been innovations in the last decade in reproductive sciences that may have long term effects on our society.
Viagra, 60 y.o women having babies, sextuplets, etc.
Cloning (human clones are just around the corner)
Geneticly-modified animals and plants (including the first known "escape" of a genetically modified seed into the wild)
Population > 6 billion. Not really an innovation, but maybe a ominous milestone.
If patent battles only get fought over exact copies of someone's way of doing things then the "one-click" patent, BT's patent, Alta Vista's patent, [name another shithead lawyer]'s overly broad patent, and all the rest wouldn't be an issue because the people who they are going after could change some small detail and the case would be moot.
If patents are going to apply to anything that happens to fall under some broad description of what they describe (which seems to be the case in the recent headlines) then broadly relate prior art should be acceptable.
What you seem to be describing is a world where only exact prior art can invalidate a patent but the patent holder can sue anyone whoes work is even remotely related.
Actually, I did respond. Sent a nice email which answered the questions given. Got a thank you back, and, surprisingly, my name was on the list of contributers on the recommendation.
The sad part is, here I am in the U.S. and I feel like a country 4000 miles away is more likely to take an interest in how I feel about an important issue than my own government. Have you ever heard of Lott, Daschell, Armey, etc.. asking for comments from the general population?
Perhaps a parlementary democracy is the first step towards better representation here in the U.S..
Pretty funny, I'm suprised there havn't been more comments.
Off topic, but I've cut out my hamburger/hotdog consumption (don't like the idea of spinal cord and brain fragments in my meals which _may_ be the vector for Mad Cow Disease). I'll still go for a meal where I can identify the actual meat structure, however.
Now I'm not a Linux expert, but it seems to me there could be a market for three or so comercial distributions, plus Debian acting as the reference platform for the others. What might we see in a stable Linux marketplace??
1. A simple Windows migration distribution with two click setup into KDE or GNOME. This could be the AOL of Linux distributions; the kind of distribution Slashdoters sneer at, but the one that would introduce many people to Linux in the same way that AOL introduced many people to the internet. It's too bad that Corel gave up since they seemed to be working in that direction.
2. Two or three competing hobbiest / proffessional distributions. Each would have the kind of subtle differences that people who know what they are talking about (and those that don't) could argue about for days... This competition would drive the bleeding edge of Linux evolution.
3. Finally, Debian -- the Amish farmer of Linux -- carefully examining what should and should not be included in the software, probing the political, ethical, and social differences between Free Software and Open Source, asking the question "whether we should", and, acting as a standard; the "Microsoft seal of approval" for the Linux world.
These opinions are from someone who is just starting to enter this world...
This is the Vooodoo 3 2000, right? I thought the Voodoo what highly dependant on the CPU speed. This will be going into an old PPro 200. I will look into it, thanks.
On the flip side of this, could the tile-based rendering be implemented for the very lowest segment of the video card market: PCI cards for legacy desktops? Wouldn't the tile-based rendering at least partially minimize the performance hit from using PCI as opposed to AGP.
I'd like to find an inexpensive PCI card to replace the 2MB Mystique in my old PPro200... I guess their wouldn't be much of a profit margin, however.
1. Hogarth describes the death of open source software as people stop working on the "fun stuff" when the work day is done because of a fear of a conflict of interest
2. Only work in a job you hate otherwise you might be tempted to try something similar in your off time
3. If you can't convience your company to try a "crazy new idea" don't try and implement it yourself
4. Only lawyers can solve problems
I'd like to try a counter suggestion: Work for a company that values your intelligence, creativity, and motivation. Talk to friends, coworkers, ex-classmates and offer your services to the companies that have a reputation for fairness. I'm sure their are a couple of them out there: maybe a software engineer like yourself started a company for the express purpose of having a nice place to work. Maybe that means taking a slight pay cut. Maybe that means you don't get a foosball table in the break room.
They could also start marketing to replace current cell phones for those people that are worried about safety. I can see the ads now: scene of a car crash on a deserted road, weeping kids trying to call for help on a traditional cell phone while mom lies unconscious at the wheel of the car, camera closeup on the "no signal" message. Sorry to be morbid, but they could sell a lot of these.
Is $1500 (especially if it's added to the cost of your Mercades Benz ) too much to spend on the security of your family? Of course you are only going to use it for emergency calls, right, so you don't need to worry about the $1.50 a minute cost.
Get one for your boat, your car, your plane... if you put them in a nice, cherry wood case they'll probably quickly become status symbols, just like the original "car phone".
First night after getting to college, me and my roommate were walking around the "Ave" where all the copy and coffee shops, bookstores, bars, etc.. are located. When this beautiful girl comes up to us and asks if we want to take a free personality test. At this point I'm thinking to myself, "College is going to be great, beautiful girls want me to take personality tests with them!! Whoo hoo.".
We agree. Next thing we know, we are taking the test (never did see the girl again; talk about a "bait and switch") and a few minutes later a nice, clean-cut gentleman is explaining that our personalities are sub-par in the positive catagories and way above average on the negative catagories and have we ever hear about "Dianetics"?
We hadn't so he explains about L. Ron and I'm starting to get a real uncomfortable feeling like we are about to be kidnapped for 16 hour days in the Thetan mines. So, to change the subject, I say, "Hubbard? Didn't he write _Battlefield Earth_?" Now don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the book well enough, but when he responded "Yes, that was the best science fiction book ever written." I knew something was very, very, very wrong. My roommate and I realized that we had to act fast. Quickly we overcame the guards, lept from the balcony, and escaped...
Thinking back, I realize Azimov, Brin, Sterling, Heinlein, and the others saved me and my roommate from a very expensive religion...
I'm not religious, but your post is bullshit. Scientology sounds like the sort of thing that you describe, but not real religions like Christianity, Hinduism and Islam, etc.
I agree, look at some of the truely great, recent accomplishments of religion:
The lasting peace that has spread across the Middle East,
The preservation of 2000 y.o. statues in Afganistan,
The elimination of poverty, illiteracy, and violence in the U.S. thanks to "faith based" initiatives,
And, of course, the preservation of online rights of privacy and the free expression of ideas as demonstrated by this article.
If this has inspired you to renounce your athiest ways, join a truely great religion. Check out Landover Baptist
The really sad part about all of this is the current dialog is pitting the audience against the authors where the real criminals are the middle-men; RIAA, MPAA, and, yes, even some of the technology companies (Napster and MP3.com aren't completely guiltless in all of this).
I think most people are willing to pay for their entertainment, but we don't like feeling like we are being screwed in every transaction (especially when we know the money isn't going to Ellison, Phillip K. Dick's estate, or the muscician's that the RIAA supposedly represents).
The mention of some of the other authors listed in Ellison's rant (Azimov and Heinlein) as well as your mention of PKD reminds me that, until the latest corporate inspired rewrites of the copyright law, many of these work's would be nearing enterence into the public domain. Didn't it used to be life + 20 years, I guess PKD's work would be in the public domain already if not for Disney's rewrite of the laws.
Am I missing something? Is there a way to try this out without putting down $1600 buck? How about a student discount?
Don't get me wrong I think a good library/set of tools should charge what it's worth. But, I'd like to try it out and I don't think I can get my company to simply shell out the cash.
It should be noted that no cell phone service provider guarantees constant receptiion anyway. If you are truly life-or-death on call, you should be by a land line.
Just because _Erin Brokovitch_ got made into a movie doesn't mean that the legal system works as well for the poor as it does for the rich.
Even without the the direct influence of money (e.g. not necessarily bribes, but better and more lawyers and far more "staying power") judges are human beings and are as subject to marketing as anyone else and if "evil music pirates" gets repeated often enough they are going to be influenced. The RIAA can afford to have a PR Bunny stationed 24/7 at every major TV network and newspaper. I think that was the original poster's point: "the RIAA (or any large corp) gets to choose the terms under which the battle is fought." If the terms are "noble muscician" versus "evil pirate", the battle is already lost: DCMA will never be overturned.
Of course there are many fair judges, but they get labled as "liberal activist" by the same corporate shills that are paying congress to write (and rewrite) legislation.
It has always seemed to me that the real trick is to make it past the HR person to actually get the interview with the programmers/engineers. If XX doesn't appear on the resume and he doesn't know that YY is the functional equivalent then you never make it to the interview. At least if they turn you down you know you've been judged on your technical merit not simply had buzzwords checked off a list.
HR person takes over for Peter at the gates of Heaven when Mother Theresa appears.
"Hmmm, let's see here Mother Theresa, your resume lists sacrifice, merciful works, moral goodness, and charity, but I don't see compassion listed. The bible specifically lists compassion, hmmm'kay. I'm sorry, better luck next time.
Fortunately, they are extremely hard to enforce (which is what every HR person says), but at the same time, if they are so hard to enforce, why bother with them.
Because if you "win the lottary" with your new start-up company that starts kicking your old company's ass in the market, they can go after you with lawyers. Most people, I bet, will never be negatively affected by a NCA; only the most valuable and/or entraprenurial (sp?) employees. That doesn't mean NCAs are morally good (I think there is a good argument that they limit innovation and technical progress) but they might help protect a company from shareholder wrath.
I may be wrong, but I was under the impression that Opera was small, fast, and compliant to HTML standards because they built thier own HTML renderer. I use Opera 5 for windows and I love it, I'd hate for it to loose it's current speed and flexibility. In addition, from what I understand, Gecko is an increadible HTML renderer it terms of speed and compliance and IE might be a better program if they used Gecko.
I agree with the concept, however; MS might have more of a leg to stand on in my opinion if they were claim that HTML rendering was a integral part of the OS rather than claiming the entire Internet Explorer application was an integral part of the OS. The difference is probably hard to explain to the average user...
What are the chances of getting one of/.'s "patented" interviews of the author of this article or another relatively impartial and knowledgable patent lawyer? I think I'm getting tired of the IANAL comments (including my own) when it comes to the patent issue.
Slashdot Mirror
Damn, I hate when I get the assignement and equivalence operators mixed up... Oh well, it's freeware, someone will send in a patch ;)
// texas compliance censorware:
// available under GPL to be included with all new
// computers.
#include <iostream>
#include <string>
int main() {
std::string s;
std::cin >> s;
if(s == "fuck") s == "f*ck";
if(s == "shit") s == "sh*t";
if(s == "cunt") s == "c*nt";
std::cout << s;
return 1;
}
Off Topic response...
I've been thinking that this is going to be the real DivX :) Deux (what a stupid name) battle; trading old television show episodes.
They are smaller so the downloads are going to be available to more people.
There is a large group of people that have video tapes of their favorite shows (a friend of mine has the entire ST:TNG on tape); all they need is a user-friendly way to copy them into a digital format.
And, finally, while nobody is too worried about new movies since any new movie will eventually be available on DVD (yes, even _Deus Bigalo, Male Gigalo_), there are no gaurantees that any television episode will ever be released on DVD, particualarly if it only appealed to a niche audience.
I'd love to get my hands on those short-run early eighties comedies (like _The Charmings_ and _Sledge Hammer_) just to see if they are as funny now that I'm twenty years older.
I know this was intended as a joke, but there is a kernal of truth. There have been innovations in the last decade in reproductive sciences that may have long term effects on our society.
Viagra, 60 y.o women having babies, sextuplets, etc.
Cloning (human clones are just around the corner)
Geneticly-modified animals and plants (including the first known "escape" of a genetically modified seed into the wild)
Population > 6 billion. Not really an innovation, but maybe a ominous milestone.
You can't have it both ways.
If patent battles only get fought over exact copies of someone's way of doing things then the "one-click" patent, BT's patent, Alta Vista's patent, [name another shithead lawyer]'s overly broad patent, and all the rest wouldn't be an issue because the people who they are going after could change some small detail and the case would be moot.
If patents are going to apply to anything that happens to fall under some broad description of what they describe (which seems to be the case in the recent headlines) then broadly relate prior art should be acceptable.
What you seem to be describing is a world where only exact prior art can invalidate a patent but the patent holder can sue anyone whoes work is even remotely related.
Actually, I did respond. Sent a nice email which answered the questions given. Got a thank you back, and, surprisingly, my name was on the list of contributers on the recommendation.
The sad part is, here I am in the U.S. and I feel like a country 4000 miles away is more likely to take an interest in how I feel about an important issue than my own government. Have you ever heard of Lott, Daschell, Armey, etc.. asking for comments from the general population?
Perhaps a parlementary democracy is the first step towards better representation here in the U.S..
Pretty funny, I'm suprised there havn't been more comments.
Off topic, but I've cut out my hamburger/hotdog consumption (don't like the idea of spinal cord and brain fragments in my meals which _may_ be the vector for Mad Cow Disease). I'll still go for a meal where I can identify the actual meat structure, however.
Now I'm not a Linux expert, but it seems to me there could be a market for three or so comercial distributions, plus Debian acting as the reference platform for the others. What might we see in a stable Linux marketplace??
1. A simple Windows migration distribution with two click setup into KDE or GNOME. This could be the AOL of Linux distributions; the kind of distribution Slashdoters sneer at, but the one that would introduce many people to Linux in the same way that AOL introduced many people to the internet. It's too bad that Corel gave up since they seemed to be working in that direction.
2. Two or three competing hobbiest / proffessional distributions. Each would have the kind of subtle differences that people who know what they are talking about (and those that don't) could argue about for days... This competition would drive the bleeding edge of Linux evolution.
3. Finally, Debian -- the Amish farmer of Linux -- carefully examining what should and should not be included in the software, probing the political, ethical, and social differences between Free Software and Open Source, asking the question "whether we should", and, acting as a standard; the "Microsoft seal of approval" for the Linux world.
These opinions are from someone who is just starting to enter this world...
This is the Vooodoo 3 2000, right? I thought the Voodoo what highly dependant on the CPU speed. This will be going into an old PPro 200. I will look into it, thanks.
On the flip side of this, could the tile-based rendering be implemented for the very lowest segment of the video card market: PCI cards for legacy desktops? Wouldn't the tile-based rendering at least partially minimize the performance hit from using PCI as opposed to AGP.
I'd like to find an inexpensive PCI card to replace the 2MB Mystique in my old PPro200... I guess their wouldn't be much of a profit margin, however.
Responses, in no particular order...
1. Hogarth describes the death of open source software as people stop working on the "fun stuff" when the work day is done because of a fear of a conflict of interest
2. Only work in a job you hate otherwise you might be tempted to try something similar in your off time
3. If you can't convience your company to try a "crazy new idea" don't try and implement it yourself
4. Only lawyers can solve problems
I'd like to try a counter suggestion: Work for a company that values your intelligence, creativity, and motivation. Talk to friends, coworkers, ex-classmates and offer your services to the companies that have a reputation for fairness. I'm sure their are a couple of them out there: maybe a software engineer like yourself started a company for the express purpose of having a nice place to work. Maybe that means taking a slight pay cut. Maybe that means you don't get a foosball table in the break room.
They could also start marketing to replace current cell phones for those people that are worried about safety. I can see the ads now: scene of a car crash on a deserted road, weeping kids trying to call for help on a traditional cell phone while mom lies unconscious at the wheel of the car, camera closeup on the "no signal" message. Sorry to be morbid, but they could sell a lot of these.
Is $1500 (especially if it's added to the cost of your Mercades Benz ) too much to spend on the security of your family? Of course you are only going to use it for emergency calls, right, so you don't need to worry about the $1.50 a minute cost.
Get one for your boat, your car, your plane... if you put them in a nice, cherry wood case they'll probably quickly become status symbols, just like the original "car phone".
A quick story...
First night after getting to college, me and my roommate were walking around the "Ave" where all the copy and coffee shops, bookstores, bars, etc.. are located. When this beautiful girl comes up to us and asks if we want to take a free personality test. At this point I'm thinking to myself, "College is going to be great, beautiful girls want me to take personality tests with them!! Whoo hoo.".
We agree. Next thing we know, we are taking the test (never did see the girl again; talk about a "bait and switch") and a few minutes later a nice, clean-cut gentleman is explaining that our personalities are sub-par in the positive catagories and way above average on the negative catagories and have we ever hear about "Dianetics"?
We hadn't so he explains about L. Ron and I'm starting to get a real uncomfortable feeling like we are about to be kidnapped for 16 hour days in the Thetan mines. So, to change the subject, I say, "Hubbard? Didn't he write _Battlefield Earth_?" Now don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the book well enough, but when he responded "Yes, that was the best science fiction book ever written." I knew something was very, very, very wrong. My roommate and I realized that we had to act fast. Quickly we overcame the guards, lept from the balcony, and escaped...
Thinking back, I realize Azimov, Brin, Sterling, Heinlein, and the others saved me and my roommate from a very expensive religion...
I'm not religious, but your post is bullshit. Scientology sounds like the sort of thing that you describe, but not real religions like Christianity, Hinduism and Islam, etc.
I agree, look at some of the truely great, recent accomplishments of religion:
The lasting peace that has spread across the Middle East,
The preservation of 2000 y.o. statues in Afganistan,
The elimination of poverty, illiteracy, and violence in the U.S. thanks to "faith based" initiatives,
And, of course, the preservation of online rights of privacy and the free expression of ideas as demonstrated by this article.
If this has inspired you to renounce your athiest ways, join a truely great religion. Check out Landover Baptist
Release genetically modified, sterile Natalie Pr0tman's into the wild...
The really sad part about all of this is the current dialog is pitting the audience against the authors where the real criminals are the middle-men; RIAA, MPAA, and, yes, even some of the technology companies (Napster and MP3.com aren't completely guiltless in all of this).
I think most people are willing to pay for their entertainment, but we don't like feeling like we are being screwed in every transaction (especially when we know the money isn't going to Ellison, Phillip K. Dick's estate, or the muscician's that the RIAA supposedly represents).
The mention of some of the other authors listed in Ellison's rant (Azimov and Heinlein) as well as your mention of PKD reminds me that, until the latest corporate inspired rewrites of the copyright law, many of these work's would be nearing enterence into the public domain. Didn't it used to be life + 20 years, I guess PKD's work would be in the public domain already if not for Disney's rewrite of the laws.
Never mind, just found the reference to Free Edition. Just what I was looking for...
Am I missing something? Is there a way to try this out without putting down $1600 buck? How about a student discount?
Don't get me wrong I think a good library/set of tools should charge what it's worth. But, I'd like to try it out and I don't think I can get my company to simply shell out the cash.
It should be noted that no cell phone service provider guarantees constant receptiion anyway. If you are truly life-or-death on call, you should be by a land line.
True, how else do you get out of the Matrix??
Just because _Erin Brokovitch_ got made into a movie doesn't mean that the legal system works as well for the poor as it does for the rich.
Even without the the direct influence of money (e.g. not necessarily bribes, but better and more lawyers and far more "staying power") judges are human beings and are as subject to marketing as anyone else and if "evil music pirates" gets repeated often enough they are going to be influenced. The RIAA can afford to have a PR Bunny stationed 24/7 at every major TV network and newspaper. I think that was the original poster's point: "the RIAA (or any large corp) gets to choose the terms under which the battle is fought." If the terms are "noble muscician" versus "evil pirate", the battle is already lost: DCMA will never be overturned.
Of course there are many fair judges, but they get labled as "liberal activist" by the same corporate shills that are paying congress to write (and rewrite) legislation.
It has always seemed to me that the real trick is to make it past the HR person to actually get the interview with the programmers/engineers. If XX doesn't appear on the resume and he doesn't know that YY is the functional equivalent then you never make it to the interview. At least if they turn you down you know you've been judged on your technical merit not simply had buzzwords checked off a list.
HR person takes over for Peter at the gates of Heaven when Mother Theresa appears.
"Hmmm, let's see here Mother Theresa, your resume lists sacrifice, merciful works, moral goodness, and charity, but I don't see compassion listed. The bible specifically lists compassion, hmmm'kay. I'm sorry, better luck next time.
Fortunately, they are extremely hard to enforce (which is what every HR person says), but at the same time, if they are so hard to enforce, why bother with them.
Because if you "win the lottary" with your new start-up company that starts kicking your old company's ass in the market, they can go after you with lawyers. Most people, I bet, will never be negatively affected by a NCA; only the most valuable and/or entraprenurial (sp?) employees. That doesn't mean NCAs are morally good (I think there is a good argument that they limit innovation and technical progress) but they might help protect a company from shareholder wrath.
I may be wrong, but I was under the impression that Opera was small, fast, and compliant to HTML standards because they built thier own HTML renderer. I use Opera 5 for windows and I love it, I'd hate for it to loose it's current speed and flexibility. In addition, from what I understand, Gecko is an increadible HTML renderer it terms of speed and compliance and IE might be a better program if they used Gecko.
I agree with the concept, however; MS might have more of a leg to stand on in my opinion if they were claim that HTML rendering was a integral part of the OS rather than claiming the entire Internet Explorer application was an integral part of the OS. The difference is probably hard to explain to the average user...
Comment 1:There's no way that Megacorp or Ultra-rich are the norm (*the majority*) in our country.
Comment 2:They hold the majority of the dollars, the capital.
Is "One dollar == one vote" the future of American democracy?
What are the chances of getting one of /.'s "patented" interviews of the author of this article or another relatively impartial and knowledgable patent lawyer? I think I'm getting tired of the IANAL comments (including my own) when it comes to the patent issue.