Do you think that companies, like Corel, which adopt Free Software as a platform, and then produce commercial products for that platform threaten freedom? It would seem that many companies, like Corel, are trying to use some free software to leverage their commercial applications, like WordPerfect, to a non-Microsoft platform, in order to gain a new revenue stream. How can the free software commmunity ensure that all products related to free software are free?
With the US just recently relaxing on calling all crypto munitions, now we have Japan calling video game consoles possible weapons. Really! Countries are going to have to realize that they can't restrict import and export of goods in a global consumer economy just because they might have possible applications for miltary use. Technology marches on, and government restrictions won't hold it back -- they only hold back the economy of the country making those restrictions.
This all really isn't that hard. Of course you can write a story using the characters of a popular TV series / movie. But, if you try an publish that story, then you are likely infringing on certain trademarks owned by the production company. For example, Star Wars is a trademark. So, if I wrote a story based on Star Wars, I couldn't sell it, or make it into a video game, unless I first licensed the Star Wars trademark. Also, the character, say Donald Duck, may be copyrighted. So, again, it is protected. Now, if the company didn't bother to use intellectual property protections, well too bad. I can make my video game and print my book unencumbered. Its all pretty straight forward.
Oh great... more silly patents, here we come
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eBay For Patents?
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· Score: 5
Coming soon: "One click, two click, red click, blue click... All patented." -apologies to Dr. Seuss
Really though, this idea will only encourage more patenting of silly things. If people know there is a market for something, then they will create product to provide for that market. Accordingly, if this "e-bay for patents" becomes successful, we will have people patenting things that really shouldn't be patented (like one-click ordering) because they know they can sell them. Further, if they are selling them cheaply enough, the whole patent process is undermined: Rather than having to spend a few million dollars to challenge a frivolous patent, you can just buy it for $100. And given the volume this will create, the patent office will become even less careful about checking for prior art. Really, this idea just encourages people to patent everything in order to try and make a quick buck.
But, I guess the domain name campers need something else to do now. . .
Use of Proprietary Encryption - Bad once again
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QNX Crypt Cracked
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· Score: 4
Yet again a company thinks that Jim the guy down the hall who "knows some crypto" can design a critical algorithm. After all, it looked kinda mashed up in testing, so how could anyone break that?:) Really, people, there are enough freely available one-way hash algorithms, which you can, and always could, export... Good crypto is hard to do, so if somebody has already done the work for you, take advantage of it! Don't waste time making up your own. You'll get shot in the foot later, like the QNX people did here.
Balancing the issue...
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RMS On eBooks
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· Score: 2
Many/.'s will get really excited about intellectual property protection of any sort being evil. But let's just think for a second...Currently, books can only be in one place at one time. But, with an e-book I can copy it and give it to my buddy, while still retaining a copy. Is this fair? I'm not sure. But, I do know that now me and my buddy can't be reading the same copy, with copy meaning a copy which was sold to us by the distributer, at the same time. That the same was required of e-books would be ok by me. In fact, it reminds me of the old Borland "This software is like a book..." license agreements. They made sense. But my worry is this... Could books move to a Microsoft style "You can't transfer this book to a friend" style of licensing?
Question for discussion: How do you think the market downturn will affect recent entrants like Linux based stocks? Some analysts have commented that the market is cooling to Linux... Thoughts?
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Do you think that companies, like Corel, which adopt Free Software as a platform, and then produce commercial products for that platform threaten freedom? It would seem that many companies, like Corel, are trying to use some free software to leverage their commercial applications, like WordPerfect, to a non-Microsoft platform, in order to gain a new revenue stream. How can the free software commmunity ensure that all products related to free software are free?
With the US just recently relaxing on calling all crypto munitions, now we have Japan calling video game consoles possible weapons. Really! Countries are going to have to realize that they can't restrict import and export of goods in a global consumer economy just because they might have possible applications for miltary use. Technology marches on, and government restrictions won't hold it back -- they only hold back the economy of the country making those restrictions.
This all really isn't that hard. Of course you can write a story using the characters of a popular TV series / movie. But, if you try an publish that story, then you are likely infringing on certain trademarks owned by the production company. For example, Star Wars is a trademark. So, if I wrote a story based on Star Wars, I couldn't sell it, or make it into a video game, unless I first licensed the Star Wars trademark. Also, the character, say Donald Duck, may be copyrighted. So, again, it is protected. Now, if the company didn't bother to use intellectual property protections, well too bad. I can make my video game and print my book unencumbered. Its all pretty straight forward.
Coming soon:
"One click, two click, red click, blue click... All patented."
-apologies to Dr. Seuss
Really though, this idea will only encourage more patenting of silly things. If people know there is a market for something, then they will create product to provide for that market. Accordingly, if this "e-bay for patents" becomes successful, we will have people patenting things that really shouldn't be patented (like one-click ordering) because they know they can sell them. Further, if they are selling them cheaply enough, the whole patent process is undermined: Rather than having to spend a few million dollars to challenge a frivolous patent, you can just buy it for $100. And given the volume this will create, the patent office will become even less careful about checking for prior art. Really, this idea just encourages people to patent everything in order to try and make a quick buck.
But, I guess the domain name campers need something else to do now. . .
Yet again a company thinks that Jim the guy down the hall who "knows some crypto" can design a critical algorithm. After all, it looked kinda mashed up in testing, so how could anyone break that? :) Really, people, there are enough freely available one-way hash algorithms, which you can, and always could, export... Good crypto is hard to do, so if somebody has already done the work for you, take advantage of it! Don't waste time making up your own. You'll get shot in the foot later, like the QNX people did here.
Many /.'s will get really excited about intellectual property protection of any sort being evil. But let's just think for a second...Currently, books can only be in one place at one time. But, with an e-book I can copy it and give it to my buddy, while still retaining a copy. Is this fair? I'm not sure. But, I do know that now me and my buddy can't be reading the same copy, with copy meaning a copy which was sold to us by the distributer, at the same time. That the same was required of e-books would be ok by me. In fact, it reminds me of the old Borland "This software is like a book..." license agreements. They made sense. But my worry is this... Could books move to a Microsoft style "You can't transfer this book to a friend" style of licensing?
Question for discussion:
How do you think the market downturn will affect recent entrants like Linux based stocks? Some analysts have commented that the market is cooling to Linux... Thoughts?