You have to realize that not everybody who has been threatened have had legal departments to consult over the threats.
Then there's also the fact that many non-technically oriented companies (et al) may not have legal departments that have much, if any, experience in the technical or copyright realms.
There is the large potential for the "Oh, it's that DMCA thing, I'd better give in" reaction.
Is that actually happening? I don't know. I'm just putting it forward as a possibility.
Yes, the DMCA is dangerous. But many are going off on it like it's the end of the world. Which it isn't. It's more likely one of the signs that the end may be coming.
Just because someone says that it's not as far reaching as some are making it out to be, that doesn't mean that they don't think it's reaching to far.
The article in question DOES make a few good points in that many of the more extravagant floggings with the DCMA probably wouldn't have held up in court, and WERE blown out of proportion by the EFF and others.
Some say that making such a big deal out of those (relative to how big of a deal they were initially) helps to motivate the public against the DCMA.
This is most likely true.
But what else can it do? It can motivate the less tech and law savvy people (IE: University administrators that control the flow of research funds) to cave immediately to nastygrams that would never manage to hold up in court.
The FUD put out on some (not all, and mostly those related to Acadamia) of the DCMA cases has allowed Hollywood to use the DCMA as a bluff, knowing that most administrations will cave instead of taking it to court.
The DCMA itself isn't as far reaching as many say it is, but by saying it is, they may have managed to allow Hollywood to use it like it is (that far reaching), unchallenged.
The proposed law in California seems about as draconian as it's inverse would be.
I see no mention of a clause that (IIRC) Peru's proposed legislation has, that allows proprietary software to be used if there's no open source project that fits the project.
Instead of buing the round block for the round hole, they'll have to take a square block and slice & dice it until it's round?
Then there's the simple fact that Open Source isn't automatically better.
Let's face it, no matter how many Open Source projects are equal to or better than proprietary equivalents, there are still numerous pieces of proprietary software that are currently better than any Open Source equivalent.
At least one country realized this (Norway, IIRC), and just mandated that Open Source be considered along side Close Source programs.
Let them all stand on their merits (price, polish, support, ease of use, et al), and as long as the file formats are open, let the best software (for each job) win.
We have 300 students in ECE. We'll ballpark their tuition at AROUND $6K CDN for a year.
300*6000 = 1.8M
Still below the $2.3M from MS, granted.
But then, those are just the ECE students. What about the REST of the engineering Faculty? Or the rest of the student body? A student society rep from the Arts & Social Science Faculty at my Uni took it upon herself to write letters to the editor complaining about business grants to the Engineering faculty with FAR fewer strings attached (no curriculum changes).
Very simply, if even 400 UW students make flat out complaints, things will start happening. And it's not just tuition money that talks.
UWaterloo is, at least, partially, riding their reputation. That's not to say that they don't have a good program, but all accredited engineering programs in Canada are BASICALLY the same (they're all within 1 or 2% of each other in a continent-wide ranking of engineering programs). $2.3M is chump change compared to the reputation loss that would happen if they got massive complaints and didn't listen.
We're great at making a big fuss about this sort of thing, but we SUCK at doing so effectively.
Consider this a call to all of the politically minded geeks out there. As for the rest, sit down, start coding and stop raving before you hurt the cause you're trying to help.
Well, that's obviously not always the case. Just look at Windows. I wouldn't exactly call the Windows GUI much of an "improvement" over the MacOS GUI. Even saying that Win95 was an improvement of the Mac GUI really came down to a matter of preference. There weren't any direct improvements, just differences that people liked more/less.
Now of course the climate is different, Linux is hardly in the same position Microsoft was when they released Win95, but it just goes to show that some people DON'T mind copies.
Convictions are good and all, but most of the time you need at least some measure of political correctness to get much done, especially when dealing with the government.
At the least, a bit of PC makes things a lot easier. Ranting and raving in public (yes, that's an exaggeration, and intentional) makes things HARDER.
Having the convictions to do something is half the battle, being able to present them in a way to get things done is the other half.
If they lose, well, that goes without saying what would be bad about that.
But if they win, it could put a real squeeze on webcast-only stations.
At the moment, they've been lumped in with traditional stations that simulcast, in a kind of middle ground.
If this goes through, it could split that middle ground, sending the traditional stations back to where they used to be (a good thing), but send the webcasters further into the perverbial abyss of royalty payments.
Well, good mixed with bad...
on
nForce2 Preview
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· Score: 1
Good/decent expansion support with the PCI, FireWire and USB 2.0 slots/ports... And honestly, onboard NICs aren't THAT bad...
But a GeForce4 MX? Dear god! Any Ti model (that's ANY model, be it GeForce2, 3 or 4) would have been better!
My area is significantly smaller than NY, Chicago, LA, etc.
But we've got a pretty good local music scene (and pretty good local news, for that matter).
I bet if you went out and actually listened to some of the local acts, you might find some pretty good shows. I've found that local acts tend to have excellent stage presence.
Also, the big acts of today were yesterday's local acts, and some from much smaller areas than NY, Chicago, LA, etc. IE: The Tragically Hip, arguably one of the biggest bands to come out of Canada, and quite successful on the world's stage, came out of Kingston, Ontario. I suspect that NY has suburbs bigger than Kingston....
Sure, there's a lot of junk in a local music scene, but just because of that don't discount all of it. Maybe you're just going to the wrong places to experience it.
No, not to Congress/Parliment/whatever your country has either.
That's been done, and frankly, won't do any better now than it did then.
Boycotts won't work well either. They'll just blame it on piracy anyway.
No, I suggest letter writing to the ARTISTS.
If you decided to buy a CD or go to a live show by [insert artist here] after sampling some of their music, but wouldn't have before, let them know! Most bands have websites, with ways to send email to them. Send one letting them know that they got MORE of your money thanks to your being exposed to them through free downloads.
Maybe, just maybe, if enough people do that, then more artists will step up to argue against the RIAA claims that piracy is hurting artists.
Could make for some interesting partnerships...
on
Chicken-Feather Chips
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· Score: 1
KFC and IBM, anyone? I'm sure that KFC has a surplus of feathers.
Or maybe, just rename to Kentucy Fried Computers?
But then, it could cause problems.
I, for one, could see a clash between computer makers and pillow makers.
And do we really need the trouble that the animal rights protestors would cause?
Try to find any self respecting production studio that uses a Windows box for anything more than basic editing.
If they ARE using a desktop machine (instead of a dedicated box or something like an SGI workstation), then it's probably a Mac - simply because the Mac has MUCH better tools than windows.
I haven't heard much about Linux desktops being used in animation/post production before, but it's nice to see it happening. I'm wondering how the tools they're using stack up against Mac and Windows equivalents (both with and without price in the equation).
The problem might be more in the industry, in that CS grads don't have the whole accreditation thing (like doctors, lawyers, etc), and don't have a (well established) professional society and legislation to back them in enforcing QC - they're (much more) at the mercy of the corporation than a P Eng would be.
Part of the problem might be the fact that most of the programmers are Comp Sci, and not P. Eng's.
I say might be, because I can't speak for Comp Sci programs, but I know what most engineering programs will drill into you as far as standards and quality control. Anyone who has the experience to provide knowledge of what's taught of QC in a CS program, feel free to correct the "might be" part.
For all of those P. Eng's in software and systems out there, I strongly advise you to NOT sign off on faulty software. In any other field, only the most unscrupulous P Engs would even consider signing off on a project with major flaws.
And remember: if you're hired as a P. Eng, being fired for not signing off on a project because of quality issues is clear-cut wrongful dismissal (at least in Canada).
Slashdot Mirror
"You are obviously not a mother trying to raise teenagers you stupid freaking moron idiot."
Well, yeah, mothers tend to be women, not men...
You have to realize that not everybody who has been threatened have had legal departments to consult over the threats.
Then there's also the fact that many non-technically oriented companies (et al) may not have legal departments that have much, if any, experience in the technical or copyright realms.
There is the large potential for the "Oh, it's that DMCA thing, I'd better give in" reaction.
Is that actually happening? I don't know. I'm just putting it forward as a possibility.
Yes, the DMCA is dangerous. But many are going off on it like it's the end of the world. Which it isn't. It's more likely one of the signs that the end may be coming.
Just because someone says that it's not as far reaching as some are making it out to be, that doesn't mean that they don't think it's reaching to far.
Bleh, I always get that one wrong.
I stand corrected on that once again, and my bad.
The article in question DOES make a few good points in that many of the more extravagant floggings with the DCMA probably wouldn't have held up in court, and WERE blown out of proportion by the EFF and others.
Some say that making such a big deal out of those (relative to how big of a deal they were initially) helps to motivate the public against the DCMA.
This is most likely true.
But what else can it do? It can motivate the less tech and law savvy people (IE: University administrators that control the flow of research funds) to cave immediately to nastygrams that would never manage to hold up in court.
The FUD put out on some (not all, and mostly those related to Acadamia) of the DCMA cases has allowed Hollywood to use the DCMA as a bluff, knowing that most administrations will cave instead of taking it to court.
The DCMA itself isn't as far reaching as many say it is, but by saying it is, they may have managed to allow Hollywood to use it like it is (that far reaching), unchallenged.
The proposed law in California seems about as draconian as it's inverse would be.
I see no mention of a clause that (IIRC) Peru's proposed legislation has, that allows proprietary software to be used if there's no open source project that fits the project.
Instead of buing the round block for the round hole, they'll have to take a square block and slice & dice it until it's round?
Then there's the simple fact that Open Source isn't automatically better.
Let's face it, no matter how many Open Source projects are equal to or better than proprietary equivalents, there are still numerous pieces of proprietary software that are currently better than any Open Source equivalent.
At least one country realized this (Norway, IIRC), and just mandated that Open Source be considered along side Close Source programs.
Let them all stand on their merits (price, polish, support, ease of use, et al), and as long as the file formats are open, let the best software (for each job) win.
No turbulence? Wrong.
Turbulence can happen anywhere there is atmosphere (generally accepted as being ~50 miles).
Smaller chance of turbulence? Yes.
But it still exists.
Ever hit a speedbump at low speeds?
Not that bad.
Ever hit one at a higher speed? Say, at least twice it's rating (hitting a 15km/h bump at 30km/h, for example)?
It's not the most pleasant things.
Now, you're saying that "Planes don't have to worry about speed bumps!", and you're right.
But what about turbulence?
You can hit turbulence at Mach 0.76 that's pretty rough. What would that same turbulence to do a large plane at Mach 7.6?
I've been wondering that myself, and have been trying to find info on the limits of the human body (with no luck yet).
At best, it would probably be uncomfortable, and that would make it unsuitable for commercial flights.
It's the same reason we don't have flying wings for commercial flights - many of the passengers would be made uncomfortable during turns.
Do the math, people.
We have 300 students in ECE. We'll ballpark their tuition at AROUND $6K CDN for a year.
300*6000 = 1.8M
Still below the $2.3M from MS, granted.
But then, those are just the ECE students. What about the REST of the engineering Faculty? Or the rest of the student body? A student society rep from the Arts & Social Science Faculty at my Uni took it upon herself to write letters to the editor complaining about business grants to the Engineering faculty with FAR fewer strings attached (no curriculum changes).
Very simply, if even 400 UW students make flat out complaints, things will start happening. And it's not just tuition money that talks.
UWaterloo is, at least, partially, riding their reputation. That's not to say that they don't have a good program, but all accredited engineering programs in Canada are BASICALLY the same (they're all within 1 or 2% of each other in a continent-wide ranking of engineering programs). $2.3M is chump change compared to the reputation loss that would happen if they got massive complaints and didn't listen.
I don't know about you, but I've been getting those messages for more than 2 years...
I know of at least one game like that, Lineage. I got the client off a PC Gamer CD.
(Didn't keep playing after the free period though - this isn't meant as an endorsement)
There's probably more out there, too.
Better lobbying isn't.
We're great at making a big fuss about this sort of thing, but we SUCK at doing so effectively.
Consider this a call to all of the politically minded geeks out there. As for the rest, sit down, start coding and stop raving before you hurt the cause you're trying to help.
Anybody know what happened with the guy who had been running the .za domain?
Last I'd heard he'd moved the servers that controlled it out of South Africa for when this bill went through.
Now of course the climate is different, Linux is hardly in the same position Microsoft was when they released Win95, but it just goes to show that some people DON'T mind copies.
See, there's the problem...
Convictions are good and all, but most of the time you need at least some measure of political correctness to get much done, especially when dealing with the government.
At the least, a bit of PC makes things a lot easier. Ranting and raving in public (yes, that's an exaggeration, and intentional) makes things HARDER.
Having the convictions to do something is half the battle, being able to present them in a way to get things done is the other half.
But best of all, it means now laptops have a chance to spring a leak!
That's some pretty dry humour, there CmdrTaco...
If they lose, well, that goes without saying what would be bad about that.
But if they win, it could put a real squeeze on webcast-only stations.
At the moment, they've been lumped in with traditional stations that simulcast, in a kind of middle ground.
If this goes through, it could split that middle ground, sending the traditional stations back to where they used to be (a good thing), but send the webcasters further into the perverbial abyss of royalty payments.
Good/decent expansion support with the PCI, FireWire and USB 2.0 slots/ports... And honestly, onboard NICs aren't THAT bad...
But a GeForce4 MX? Dear god! Any Ti model (that's ANY model, be it GeForce2, 3 or 4) would have been better!
Not that I'm one for integrated graphics anyway.
My area is significantly smaller than NY, Chicago, LA, etc.
But we've got a pretty good local music scene (and pretty good local news, for that matter).
I bet if you went out and actually listened to some of the local acts, you might find some pretty good shows. I've found that local acts tend to have excellent stage presence.
Also, the big acts of today were yesterday's local acts, and some from much smaller areas than NY, Chicago, LA, etc. IE: The Tragically Hip, arguably one of the biggest bands to come out of Canada, and quite successful on the world's stage, came out of Kingston, Ontario. I suspect that NY has suburbs bigger than Kingston....
Sure, there's a lot of junk in a local music scene, but just because of that don't discount all of it. Maybe you're just going to the wrong places to experience it.
No, not to the RIAA.
No, not to Congress/Parliment/whatever your country has either.
That's been done, and frankly, won't do any better now than it did then.
Boycotts won't work well either. They'll just blame it on piracy anyway.
No, I suggest letter writing to the ARTISTS.
If you decided to buy a CD or go to a live show by [insert artist here] after sampling some of their music, but wouldn't have before, let them know! Most bands have websites, with ways to send email to them. Send one letting them know that they got MORE of your money thanks to your being exposed to them through free downloads.
Maybe, just maybe, if enough people do that, then more artists will step up to argue against the RIAA claims that piracy is hurting artists.
KFC and IBM, anyone? I'm sure that KFC has a surplus of feathers.
Or maybe, just rename to Kentucy Fried Computers?
But then, it could cause problems.
I, for one, could see a clash between computer makers and pillow makers.
And do we really need the trouble that the animal rights protestors would cause?
Try to find any self respecting production studio that uses a Windows box for anything more than basic editing.
If they ARE using a desktop machine (instead of a dedicated box or something like an SGI workstation), then it's probably a Mac - simply because the Mac has MUCH better tools than windows.
I haven't heard much about Linux desktops being used in animation/post production before, but it's nice to see it happening. I'm wondering how the tools they're using stack up against Mac and Windows equivalents (both with and without price in the equation).
You make a good point.
The problem might be more in the industry, in that CS grads don't have the whole accreditation thing (like doctors, lawyers, etc), and don't have a (well established) professional society and legislation to back them in enforcing QC - they're (much more) at the mercy of the corporation than a P Eng would be.
Part of the problem might be the fact that most of the programmers are Comp Sci, and not P. Eng's.
I say might be, because I can't speak for Comp Sci programs, but I know what most engineering programs will drill into you as far as standards and quality control. Anyone who has the experience to provide knowledge of what's taught of QC in a CS program, feel free to correct the "might be" part.
For all of those P. Eng's in software and systems out there, I strongly advise you to NOT sign off on faulty software. In any other field, only the most unscrupulous P Engs would even consider signing off on a project with major flaws.
And remember: if you're hired as a P. Eng, being fired for not signing off on a project because of quality issues is clear-cut wrongful dismissal (at least in Canada).
The larger ISPs (as well as the more cautious smaller ones) probably have redundancy in the form of multiple backbones.
Mind you, I'm basing this on the North American landscape when it comes to backbones. No idea what the likelyhood would be of that in Europe.
Even then, there's probably quite a few smaller ISPs that have been scrambling like mad lately.