And, maybe even more critical: Will I be able to view/convert today's RAW files in 50 years time?
Absolutely.
Since Dave Coffin's dcraw utility is open-source (in fact, I think it's public domain) there is no reason why it would vanish in such a short time. You will be able to find a compiler somewhere since it's written in C.
Now, if you were relying on the propriety closed-source software that came with the cameras you'd be in trouble, but Dave's software is generally better quality than that half-arsed crap anyway.
Re:Why we stayed clear of the GPL
on
GPLv2 Vs. GPLv3
·
· Score: 1
The BSD license does not ensure that you never get (broad-sense) "paid".
True. A better way of putting is that it does nothing to ensure that you do get paid (unless your definition of "paid" is something like "the satisfaction that someone is using my work").
But I would point out that if you ever get fed up of the GPL crew, most groups that use the BSDL will welcome you.
I can not imagine ever wanting Amazon, Microsoft, or Adobe to use my code while continuing their campaigns to prevent me and other programmers from working on new software. As such, the BSD is never going to be an ethical option for me.
Releasing the source-code for a DRM system is a pretty stupid thing to do since it will make your DRM system a lot easier to circumvent.
Yes, because having the source code to GPG has enabled me to break the 2048bit encryption it provides. Or not.
TWW
Re:Why we stayed clear of the GPL
on
GPLv2 Vs. GPLv3
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· Score: 1, Flamebait
We discussed it and the company president was worried something like the GPL 3 could be a problem in the future.
So, the company president was worried that a license you weren't going to use might be a problem? How strange.
I've been of the opinion that if you truely believe in open and free software, BSD-style is the way to go.
I certainly think that your post shows the issue at the hear of BSD Vs GPL: if you are a software producer who wants to benefit from others' work without paying anything back at all to anyone anywhere for that work, then the BSD is certainly the best option. If you are a programmer who wants there to be a continuing flow of useful code to base your work on and are happy to help provide that flow back to everyone else, then the GPL is the answer.
GPL maybe open, but it has strings attached and often is only free as in beer.
Another way of looking at it is that the BSDL has invisible strings attached that ensure that you will never be paid, not even in the abstract sense of knowing that you might be aided down the line some day by someone returning the favour. That's a pretty big price to pay; too big for me.
So you want Microsoft to adhere to invented ideas of GPL3 and Novell, but you don't want others adhering to Microsoft's own license?
The difference is that the GPL exists primarily to grant extra rights while MS's EULA tries (with no legal basis) to restrict your rights. If you don't think that matters then: by reading this message the reader agrees to never criticise the author (nagora) in print ever again.
Or are you perhaps not quite so keen to have your rights taken away on the whim of another person?
"The lower the level of the code language, the less processing cycles are required to get something done."
The majority of slashdot readers should be raising their nose at the scent of bullshit from this comment.
And the majority would be wrong. Assembler beats C every time by a large margin for both size and speed. What C/C++ etc beat assembler on is speed of development and, sometimes, ease of maintenance.
There is a popular myth that current compilers can equal a good assembly-language programmer fro quality of code, but it is just that - a myth; most compilers generate code that can be improved by hand by even fairly average assmbly-language programmers.
If I buy a car and they scribe "Property of Nagora" on the chassis that's fine. In fact, as long as they acknowledge that I have BOUGHT the product and own it they can label it as my property as much as they like.
"Microsoft might stop distributing Suse coupons if the GPL version 3 interferes with their agreement or puts Microsoft's patents at risk, ultimately causing Novell's business and operating results to be adversely affected."
You need to have used xbmc to understand what it's about/pike
Well, I've got MythTv, gqview, and mplayer and it's several years since I had any trouble playing a media file on my Linux box, so why don't you tell us, since you're here, why I would want something else, let alone download and install 350Ms? What's the point of this xbmc thing outside of the console environment?
Very nice. The question, though, is was WWII "looming" or "started". If it was only looming for America then it was only looming for Ireland and, in fact, by that basis WWII never started if you are in Ireland since they never bothered to fight.
Clearly, whether an individual country fought in it or not, WWII did actually happen and likewise whether an individual country had joined in or not WWII had started, and it started in 1939.
Does it single the US out in any way? Does it put broader or more strenuous penalties on the US?
As the single biggest waster of energy in the world and a country where average miles per gallon figures are actually dropping, I would hope that a bigger stick would be applied to the US.
Do you hassle all your neighbours equally, or just the ones who are letting their dog shit on your lawn?
Even if we come up with a huge breakthrough on the energy production front,
How about just improving the efficency of your economy to the same level that other people have?
China and India will both be producing 5-10 times more emissions than they are today
Gothcha, two wrongs make a right.
They aren't covered by this agreement at all.
Oh, I thought you said you didn't know the specifics of the agreement.
global warming still just as much of a problem and the developed world has no economy left,
Hey, crazy thought, but couldn't you just not buy all that crap China is producing? I mean, if you're that worried about their economy overtaking yours maybe you should stop paying them to do it? Plus, since they're a totally corrupt and evil country, you'd even be acting ethically. Just a thought. We could all make a small start by not sending any teams to the Chinese Olympics.
You guys are nuts. I ask you, what evil has RMS done to the Free Software community?!
Talk.
Every time he talks he makes us all look like moronic little children. He has absolutely no ability to express his ideas in human languages, probably because - like Gates - he has never had to work a day in his life if he didn't feel like it. He is very good at all the things you listed but I cringe every time he appears somewhere and starts throwing his toys out of the pram because someone said "Linux" instead of "GNU/Linux".
As a programmer and a visonary he is up there with the best of them; as a person, he's a pathetic embarrassment. He should stay in his ivory tower and stick to what he's good at.
If the majority of Britons would not agree with those measures or at least care, they would do something against them.
Like what? I can't afford the level of bribe that big companies can, so I have no involvement in democracy as it is practiced in the UK. 30 years of Thatcherism has really taken its toll on the concept of democratic choice here. If there's nothing in it for multi-nationals it simply doesn't happen anymore.
I have a degree in Geology, and I remember my Historical Geology teacher telling us about how when he was in school nearly all of his professors ridiculed the idea of plate tectonics.
You have to remember that there were a ton of objections to plate tectonics which its supporters could not answer (where does new crust come from; where does old stuff go; where does the energy come from; etc.). Until new observations could solve these questions the evidence was not that strong and what there was gave no real clue to the mechanism. The idea that continents move is a fairly incredible one (how much does Africa weigh?) and as they say, amazing claims require amazing evidence.
What the plate tectonics story actually tells us is that scientists were prepared to look at new evidence when it came in and change even their strongly views. This contrasts strongly with religion, for example.
It's witty and light. Which makes this a very fast read, one that leaves you wanting even more by the end
So basically it's like something someone told you quickly at the pub and you'll want to buy a decent book to find out anything substantial? Might give that a miss.
I especially like the fellow who coined the term "armchair economists"
You have to ask what other sort there are, really? Economists hardly ever do anything except theory, and even when they get into positions where they can actually affect a real economy they invariably spend their time slavishly doing whatever their armchair theory said would work a miracle. When it doen't work out, they retire and blame everyone else.
The very fact that economists still seriously use the phrase "free market" after it has been shown time and time again to be impossible for such a thing to exist shows the depth of denial which is rampant in the "science" of economics.
Why should things be any different in India ? There is no "Robin Hood" clause in the license agreement.
Well, the license agreement is basically toilet paper dressed up as a legal document, so it's irrelevant - a sale comes under sales law, not unsigned-contracts-law which doesn't exist. Secondly, some contries do have a clause in their copyright law that says pirating is only punishable if it's done for financial gain. I don't know if India has such a law but it can happen. And, since India has 1,000,000,000 people and an economy that isn't just an empty shell of debt propped up by oil trading, I reckon it can afford to ignore MS's protests if it wants to.
The BBC hasn't been known as of late for being....uhm....reliable, or even remotely handed.
For example?
This story strains credibility
In what way? That it suggests that Karl Rove would lie? How is that straining anything?
The entire scenario is more than a little far fetched
Politicians do this sort of thing all the time.
unless you're automatically predisposed to hate Karl Rove.
You don't have to be predisposed to hating Karl Rove, he's such a cunt that it's impossible not to; but that's not really anything to do with the believability of this story of everyday political shenanigans.
I'll wait for a better, more credible source.
Like what? One that agrees with your strangely innocent view of politics?
Slashdot Mirror
Absolutely.
Since Dave Coffin's dcraw utility is open-source (in fact, I think it's public domain) there is no reason why it would vanish in such a short time. You will be able to find a compiler somewhere since it's written in C.
Now, if you were relying on the propriety closed-source software that came with the cameras you'd be in trouble, but Dave's software is generally better quality than that half-arsed crap anyway.
True. A better way of putting is that it does nothing to ensure that you do get paid (unless your definition of "paid" is something like "the satisfaction that someone is using my work").
But I would point out that if you ever get fed up of the GPL crew, most groups that use the BSDL will welcome you.
I can not imagine ever wanting Amazon, Microsoft, or Adobe to use my code while continuing their campaigns to prevent me and other programmers from working on new software. As such, the BSD is never going to be an ethical option for me.
TWW
Yes, because having the source code to GPG has enabled me to break the 2048bit encryption it provides. Or not.
TWW
So, the company president was worried that a license you weren't going to use might be a problem? How strange.
I've been of the opinion that if you truely believe in open and free software, BSD-style is the way to go.
I certainly think that your post shows the issue at the hear of BSD Vs GPL: if you are a software producer who wants to benefit from others' work without paying anything back at all to anyone anywhere for that work, then the BSD is certainly the best option. If you are a programmer who wants there to be a continuing flow of useful code to base your work on and are happy to help provide that flow back to everyone else, then the GPL is the answer.
GPL maybe open, but it has strings attached and often is only free as in beer.
Another way of looking at it is that the BSDL has invisible strings attached that ensure that you will never be paid, not even in the abstract sense of knowing that you might be aided down the line some day by someone returning the favour. That's a pretty big price to pay; too big for me.
TWW
Maybe I was wrong.
The difference is that the GPL exists primarily to grant extra rights while MS's EULA tries (with no legal basis) to restrict your rights. If you don't think that matters then: by reading this message the reader agrees to never criticise the author (nagora) in print ever again.
Or are you perhaps not quite so keen to have your rights taken away on the whim of another person?
TWW
The majority of slashdot readers should be raising their nose at the scent of bullshit from this comment.
And the majority would be wrong. Assembler beats C every time by a large margin for both size and speed. What C/C++ etc beat assembler on is speed of development and, sometimes, ease of maintenance.
There is a popular myth that current compilers can equal a good assembly-language programmer fro quality of code, but it is just that - a myth; most compilers generate code that can be improved by hand by even fairly average assmbly-language programmers.
TWW
TWW
...surely there's a down side too?
TWW
Well, I've got MythTv, gqview, and mplayer and it's several years since I had any trouble playing a media file on my Linux box, so why don't you tell us, since you're here, why I would want something else, let alone download and install 350Ms? What's the point of this xbmc thing outside of the console environment?
TWW
Clearly, whether an individual country fought in it or not, WWII did actually happen and likewise whether an individual country had joined in or not WWII had started, and it started in 1939.
TWW
Er.. WWII started in 1939 (with pre-war practice in China starting in 1931-37). By 1941 it was well under way.
As the single biggest waster of energy in the world and a country where average miles per gallon figures are actually dropping, I would hope that a bigger stick would be applied to the US.
Do you hassle all your neighbours equally, or just the ones who are letting their dog shit on your lawn?
Even if we come up with a huge breakthrough on the energy production front,
How about just improving the efficency of your economy to the same level that other people have?
China and India will both be producing 5-10 times more emissions than they are today
Gothcha, two wrongs make a right.
They aren't covered by this agreement at all.
Oh, I thought you said you didn't know the specifics of the agreement.
global warming still just as much of a problem and the developed world has no economy left,
Hey, crazy thought, but couldn't you just not buy all that crap China is producing? I mean, if you're that worried about their economy overtaking yours maybe you should stop paying them to do it? Plus, since they're a totally corrupt and evil country, you'd even be acting ethically. Just a thought. We could all make a small start by not sending any teams to the Chinese Olympics.
TWW
IE6!? Are you fucking nuts?
Talk.
Every time he talks he makes us all look like moronic little children. He has absolutely no ability to express his ideas in human languages, probably because - like Gates - he has never had to work a day in his life if he didn't feel like it. He is very good at all the things you listed but I cringe every time he appears somewhere and starts throwing his toys out of the pram because someone said "Linux" instead of "GNU/Linux".
As a programmer and a visonary he is up there with the best of them; as a person, he's a pathetic embarrassment. He should stay in his ivory tower and stick to what he's good at.
TWW
Like what? I can't afford the level of bribe that big companies can, so I have no involvement in democracy as it is practiced in the UK. 30 years of Thatcherism has really taken its toll on the concept of democratic choice here. If there's nothing in it for multi-nationals it simply doesn't happen anymore.
TWW
You have to remember that there were a ton of objections to plate tectonics which its supporters could not answer (where does new crust come from; where does old stuff go; where does the energy come from; etc.). Until new observations could solve these questions the evidence was not that strong and what there was gave no real clue to the mechanism. The idea that continents move is a fairly incredible one (how much does Africa weigh?) and as they say, amazing claims require amazing evidence.
What the plate tectonics story actually tells us is that scientists were prepared to look at new evidence when it came in and change even their strongly views. This contrasts strongly with religion, for example.
Well, it is!
Plus, I'd been typing all day and was starting to lose it.
TWW
So basically it's like something someone told you quickly at the pub and you'll want to buy a decent book to find out anything substantial? Might give that a miss.
TWW
As opposed to now, when people freely admit that they have cheated?
You have to ask what other sort there are, really? Economists hardly ever do anything except theory, and even when they get into positions where they can actually affect a real economy they invariably spend their time slavishly doing whatever their armchair theory said would work a miracle. When it doen't work out, they retire and blame everyone else.
The very fact that economists still seriously use the phrase "free market" after it has been shown time and time again to be impossible for such a thing to exist shows the depth of denial which is rampant in the "science" of economics.
TWW
Well, the license agreement is basically toilet paper dressed up as a legal document, so it's irrelevant - a sale comes under sales law, not unsigned-contracts-law which doesn't exist. Secondly, some contries do have a clause in their copyright law that says pirating is only punishable if it's done for financial gain. I don't know if India has such a law but it can happen. And, since India has 1,000,000,000 people and an economy that isn't just an empty shell of debt propped up by oil trading, I reckon it can afford to ignore MS's protests if it wants to.
TWW
That would involve them not being idiots. Not going to happen.
TWW
TWW
For example?
This story strains credibility
In what way? That it suggests that Karl Rove would lie? How is that straining anything?
The entire scenario is more than a little far fetched
Politicians do this sort of thing all the time.
unless you're automatically predisposed to hate Karl Rove.
You don't have to be predisposed to hating Karl Rove, he's such a cunt that it's impossible not to; but that's not really anything to do with the believability of this story of everyday political shenanigans.
I'll wait for a better, more credible source.
Like what? One that agrees with your strangely innocent view of politics?