There is a Scottish clan, the Kerr's, who are known for being left-handed and built their castle with a left-handed spiral staircase, to deter right-handed enemy attacks.
I was wondering why I was having problems yesterday evening. My DSL provider, Pipex, is normally 100% and this explains the slightly wonky connection yesterday.
I've no firm statistics but my average ping to my hosting co. in the midwest is normally 130 to 160 msec. Yesterday it was 450 to 550 msec with about 25% packet drops.
So is there a mechanism for us to challenging the USPTO concerning patents like this? What would happen if 100's of Slashdotters contacted the USPTO armed with all of this prior art.
WIPO are to change the status of electronic prior art in the next few months. From my understanding the rules at the moment for the USPTO are that prior art must be in printed form published in the US. This is to change to cover electronic disclosures on usenet and public email lists.
This information is useful not only for defending against patent claims like this, but where OpenSource developers have been discussing concepts and ideas on mailing lists open to the public. The document above is also a good read (really!) on the subject of prior art.
It appears that WIPO are taking a stand against Intellectual Piracy.
Not just listen, but music production on Linux *really* will rock with the 2.6 kernel.
The low latency patches for the current kernels improve the responsiveness of audio and MIDI applications well, but with Ingo's patch now in you'll have a rock solid music box.
The US standard railroad gauge (distance between the rails) is 4 feet, 8.5 inches. That's an exceedingly odd number.
Why was that gauge used?
Because that's the way they built them in England, and English expatriates built the US Railroads.
Why did the English build them like that?
Because the first rail lines were built by the same people who built the pre-railroad tramways, and that's the gauge they used.
Why did "they" use that gauge then?
Because the people who built the tramways used the same jigs and tools that they used for building wagons, which used that wheel spacing.
Okay! Why did the wagons have that particular odd wheel spacing?
Well, if they tried to use any other spacing, the wagon wheels would break on some of the old, long distance roads in England, because that's the spacing of the wheel ruts.
So who built those old rutted roads?
Imperial Rome built the first long distance roads in Europe (and England) for their legions. The roads have been used ever since.
And the ruts in the roads?
Roman war chariots formed the initial ruts, which everyone else had to match for fear of destroying their wagon wheels. Since the chariots were made for Imperial Rome, they were all alike in the matter of wheel spacing.
The United States standard railroad gauge of 4 feet, 8.5 inches is derived from the original specifications for an Imperial Roman war chariot. And bureaucracies live forever.
So the next time you are handed a spec and told we have always done it that way and wonder what horse's ass came up with that, you may be exactly right, because the Imperial Roman war chariots were made just wide enough to accommodate the back ends of two war horses.
Slightly off topic but relevant to the story. DMIDI is a distributed networked MIDI protocol and is an emerging IEEE standard. It's currently undergoing a revision moving it from being IP based to Ethernet based and the new applications should be releasable in a few weeks (the Linux/ALSA app was finished yesterday and is now being tested).
The original UDP version, from a performance timing perspective, was tight and the network was transparent to musicians. The Ethernet version seems to be even tighter!
I don't want to troll but the Debian community asked the Linux Documentation Project to move the HOWTO's over to the GNU Free Documentation License,./ article, yet from looking at the Linux Orbit article it appears that the MIDI-HOWTO cannot include any of it's work as there are no indications that this text is opensource.
ALSA, and Linux audio development in general, is making HUGE progress.
Yes, things are still in development, ALSA 0.9 in 2.5 kernel is not meant for wide-scale use, but there are a significant number of very happy Debian users out there and once everything goes stable Linux will be the same ass kicking platform for audio as it is for servers.
The MIDI-HOWTO covers ALSA installation and whilst earlier version were more difficult to install, support for soundcards improves every day making it easier every release.
It's nice, and refreshing, to see the mainstream media picking up on this.
We all know the pros and cons but your average jane/joe in the street doesn't. Without this message getting across to them with clear examples of what may/will happen we'll be shouting the message to ourselves.
If your local/national newspaper has a tech section where you can ask questions, drop them a line.
With Real pushing their Helix technologies and Apple with their Darwin I'd be interested to hear what companies in the streaming world feel about this.
Higher start-up and running costs mean less people using their technologies.
Of course I'd prefer to use Icecast but Real and Apple have far more cash to fight this than the Xiph crew.
So look forward a few years when there's a possibility that you'll need a cert, or at least verification of your cert, in order to view/listen/watch something on your DRM enabled PC.
Given the tactics in the story do you want to trust access to media that you own to companies that will screw each other (and us) as part of normal business practice?
Moreover, Mr. Nunn's shield would serve other functions. Building even this limited system would be a useful testing ground for research on the S.D.I. program. It would also serve as a hedge in case Moscow decided to abrogate the 1972 antiballistic missile treaty. Many experts say the Soviet Union has already violated the treaty.
Who violated the treaty?
These guy's are scary!
Look over the horizon: DRM in MPEG-21
on
Reason Magazine on DRM
·
· Score: 3, Informative
Well, it's time to look to the future. Here's a snippet from the proposed MPEG-21 standard:
1.Digital Item Declaration (a uniform and flexible abstraction and interoperable schema for declaring Digital Items);
2. Digital Item Identification and Description (a framework for identification and description of any entity regardless of its nature, type or granularity);
3. Content Handling and Usage (provide interfaces and protocols that enable creation, manipulation, search, access, storage, delivery, and (re)use of content across the content distribution and consumption value chain);
4. Intellectual Property Management and Protection (the means to enable content to be persistently and reliably managed and protected across a wide range of networks and devices);
5. Terminals and Networks (the ability to provide interoperable and transparent access to content across networks and terminals);
6. Content Representation (how the media resources are represented);
7.Event Reporting (the metrics and interfaces that enable Users to understand precisely the performance of all reportable events within the framework);
Combine this with the proposed DRM legistaltion in US/EU contries and then think about the business relationship you have with media companies.
It will change.
The effects on home recording studios?
on
Reason Magazine on DRM
·
· Score: 2, Insightful
Would the introduction of widespread DRM hardware mean the end to home recording studios?
As the article points out "Just as computers make it possible to create remarkably pristine images, they also make it possible to make remarkably pristine copies" .
By the same definition "Just as home pro audio equipment is capable of creating music, they also make it possible to duplicate music".
I remember the introduction of SCMS crippled DAT recorders, which effectively killed off a nice media for semi-pro musicians (D2D was too expensive then).
I can see the reluctance of studio hardware and software manufacturers to introduce this technology as it will clearly impact on sales, but will it mean the end of OpenSource applications because *you* can remove the DRM components?
Administrative Contact, Billing Contact:
Gillmor, Dan (DG4466) dgillmor@AOL.COM
San Jose Mercury News
750 Ridder Park Drive
San Jose, CA 95190
US
WHOIS record
Nope, it's not a bug it's a feature:) But not IE's. Mozilla prob. got pissed at the fact that their bug tracking server was./'ed and set up a redirect to send you back to here.
The link is a valid one, but all traffic from./ is now 'return to sender'
I've copied the contents of the bug link in my post below.
Mozilla have now set-up a redirect back to/. from their bugzilla server. Here's a copy of the bug report:
On behalf of OEone Corporation, I see this as a major bug to the Mozilla open
source project.
Mitchell demonstrated a strong commitment to leading Mozilla.org to deliver a
high quality, open source, and open standards browser that was nonpartisan to
Netscape or any other single interest group. She supported the evolution of a
developer community within and without the Netscape organization.
From the perspective of a Mozilla "partner" on the outside, we valued the
continual efforts she made to connect us with other developers, business people,
and open source advocates throughout the world. She was truly a champion for
Mozilla and community by which it was built.
We are OEone are regretful that Mitchell Baker has left Netscape and
Mozilla.org. She will be missed.
------- Additional Comments From Peter Bojanic 2001-08-28 11:22 -------
Endico recommended I add a few folks to the cc list.
------- Additional Comments From Asa Dotzler 2001-09-02 20:07 -------
------- Additional Comments From Gervase Markham 2001-09-05 09:44 -------
Changing summary from:
"Mitchell Baker is gone from mozilla.org"
to
"Mitchell Baker is gone from Netscape"
which is correct. Mitchell is not gone from mozilla.org. See the above newsgroup
post.
Slashdot Mirror
Ferniehirst Castle, Wikipedia article
(And yes, I am partly left-handed ;)
LISTB INFOICRD 2000-04-06 IENG Deepz0ne ISFT Sound Forge 4.5
I was wondering why I was having problems yesterday evening. My DSL provider, Pipex, is normally 100% and this explains the slightly wonky connection yesterday.
I've no firm statistics but my average ping to my hosting co. in the midwest is normally 130 to 160 msec. Yesterday it was 450 to 550 msec with about 25% packet drops.
The WIPO changes are detailed here (PDF).
So is there a mechanism for us to challenging the USPTO concerning patents like this? What would happen if 100's of Slashdotters contacted the USPTO armed with all of this prior art.
The Practice Guidelines under the SPLT are available at http://www.wipo.int/scp/en/documents/session_9/pdf /scp9_4.pdf. The relevant section is 76 d on pages 19/20.
This information is useful not only for defending against patent claims like this, but where OpenSource developers have been discussing concepts and ideas on mailing lists open to the public. The document above is also a good read (really!) on the subject of prior art.
It appears that WIPO are taking a stand against Intellectual Piracy.
Phil
Not just listen, but music production on Linux *really* will rock with the 2.6 kernel.
The low latency patches for the current kernels improve the responsiveness of audio and MIDI applications well, but with Ingo's patch now in you'll have a rock solid music box.
Yeah, nice!
[Thanks Markus]
The US standard railroad gauge (distance between the rails) is 4 feet,
8.5 inches. That's an exceedingly odd number.
Why was that gauge used?
Because that's the way they built them in England, and English
expatriates built the US Railroads.
Why did the English build them like that?
Because the first rail lines were built by the same people who built
the pre-railroad tramways, and that's the gauge they used.
Why did "they" use that gauge then?
Because the people who built the tramways used the same jigs and tools
that they used for building wagons, which used that wheel spacing.
Okay! Why did the wagons have that particular odd wheel spacing?
Well, if they tried to use any other spacing, the wagon wheels would
break on some of the old, long distance roads in England, because
that's the spacing of the wheel ruts.
So who built those old rutted roads?
Imperial Rome built the first long distance roads in Europe (and
England) for their legions. The roads have been used ever since.
And the ruts in the roads?
Roman war chariots formed the initial ruts, which everyone else had to
match for fear of destroying their wagon wheels. Since the chariots
were made for Imperial Rome, they were all alike in the matter of
wheel spacing.
The United States standard railroad gauge of 4 feet, 8.5 inches is
derived from the original specifications for an Imperial Roman war
chariot. And bureaucracies live forever.
So the next time you are handed a spec and told we have always done it
that way and wonder what horse's ass came up with that, you may be
exactly right, because the Imperial Roman war chariots were made just
wide enough to accommodate the back ends of two war horses.
The original UDP version, from a performance timing perspective, was tight and the network was transparent to musicians. The Ethernet version seems to be even tighter!
http://www.dmidi.org
http://www.ronseal.co.uk/
They market products with names like 'quick drying varnish' which 'does exactly what it says on the tin', their catch-phrase.
It's an expression that's now entered general use as for something that does what you expect it to do.
I don't want to troll but the Debian community asked the Linux Documentation Project to move the HOWTO's over to the GNU Free Documentation License, ./ article, yet from looking at the Linux Orbit article it appears that the MIDI-HOWTO cannot include any of it's work as there are no indications that this text is opensource.
ALSA, and Linux audio development in general, is making HUGE progress.
Yes, things are still in development, ALSA 0.9 in 2.5 kernel is not meant for wide-scale use, but there are a significant number of very happy Debian users out there and once everything goes stable Linux will be the same ass kicking platform for audio as it is for servers.
The MIDI-HOWTO covers ALSA installation and whilst earlier version were more difficult to install, support for soundcards improves every day making it easier every release.
Phil
I was first in to see what these new machines could do I loaded my CRT prog and the screen went dead. Tried the next machine, and the next.....
In the inquest later it was discovered that the Amstrad's used ASIC's which weren't 100% compatable with the IBM.
I was within inches of being suspended until one of my supervisors pointed out that I was doing what I should do!
The moral of the story..... peek and poke are dangerous :)
Should we recommend this guy to Bernie Shifman just in case he's still looking to sue people?
According to this BBC News article "The average (increase in box office recipts) across 21 European countries was 76%".
Are they saying that sharing copyrighted files in the US is *THAT* bad?
Or are they just FUD dumping
We all know the pros and cons but your average jane/joe in the street doesn't. Without this message getting across to them with clear examples of what may/will happen we'll be shouting the message to ourselves.
If your local/national newspaper has a tech section where you can ask questions, drop them a line.
Get the word out!
Higher start-up and running costs mean less people using their technologies.
Of course I'd prefer to use Icecast but Real and Apple have far more cash to fight this than the Xiph crew.
Phil
http://www.eurorights.org/eudmca/.
This is the EU version of the DMCA. Last I heard it was due to come in Nov. 2002.
Given the tactics in the story do you want to trust access to media that you own to companies that will screw each other (and us) as part of normal business practice?
Cheers
Phil
I guess the site isn't about MP3's then :)
http://www.mp3-howto.com
-P
Who violated the treaty?
These guy's are scary!
http://mpeg.telecomitalialab.com/standards/mpeg-2
The seven key elements defined in MPEG-21 are:
1.Digital Item Declaration (a uniform and flexible abstraction and interoperable schema for declaring Digital Items);
2. Digital Item Identification and Description (a framework for identification and description of any entity regardless of its nature, type or granularity);
3. Content Handling and Usage (provide interfaces and protocols that enable creation, manipulation, search, access, storage, delivery, and (re)use of content across the content distribution and consumption value chain);
4. Intellectual Property Management and Protection ( the means to enable content to be persistently and reliably managed and protected across a wide range of networks and devices );
5. Terminals and Networks (the ability to provide interoperable and transparent access to content across networks and terminals);
6. Content Representation (how the media resources are represented);
7.Event Reporting (the metrics and interfaces that enable Users to understand precisely the performance of all reportable events within the framework);
Combine this with the proposed DRM legistaltion in US/EU contries and then think about the business relationship you have with media companies.
It will change.
As the article points out "Just as computers make it possible to create remarkably pristine images, they also make it possible to make remarkably pristine copies" .
By the same definition "Just as home pro audio equipment is capable of creating music, they also make it possible to duplicate music".
I remember the introduction of SCMS crippled DAT recorders, which effectively killed off a nice media for semi-pro musicians (D2D was too expensive then).
I can see the reluctance of studio hardware and software manufacturers to introduce this technology as it will clearly impact on sales, but will it mean the end of OpenSource applications because *you* can remove the DRM components?
Scary
'Index of Documentation for People Interested in Writing and/or Understanding the Linux Kernel'
http://jungla.dit.upm.es/~jmseyas/linux/kernel/hac kers-docs.html
This should keep you going for a few day's :)
I think not :)
Domain Name: DANGILLMOR.COM
Administrative Contact, Billing Contact:
Gillmor, Dan (DG4466) dgillmor@AOL.COM
San Jose Mercury News
750 Ridder Park Drive
San Jose, CA 95190
US
WHOIS record
Nope, it's not a bug it's a feature :) But not IE's. Mozilla prob. got pissed at the fact that their bug tracking server was ./'ed and set up a redirect to send you back to here.
./ is now 'return to sender'
The link is a valid one, but all traffic from
I've copied the contents of the bug link in my post below.
Phil
Mozilla have now set-up a redirect back to /. from their bugzilla server. Here's a copy of the bug report:
d ub adu.com
On behalf of OEone Corporation, I see this as a major bug to the Mozilla open
source project.
Mitchell demonstrated a strong commitment to leading Mozilla.org to deliver a
high quality, open source, and open standards browser that was nonpartisan to
Netscape or any other single interest group. She supported the evolution of a
developer community within and without the Netscape organization.
From the perspective of a Mozilla "partner" on the outside, we valued the
continual efforts she made to connect us with other developers, business people,
and open source advocates throughout the world. She was truly a champion for
Mozilla and community by which it was built.
We are OEone are regretful that Mitchell Baker has left Netscape and
Mozilla.org. She will be missed.
------- Additional Comments From Peter Bojanic 2001-08-28 11:22 -------
Endico recommended I add a few folks to the cc list.
------- Additional Comments From Asa Dotzler 2001-09-02 20:07 -------
news://news.mozilla.org:119/3B8D621F.3030903@ba
------- Additional Comments From Gervase Markham 2001-09-05 09:44 -------
Changing summary from:
"Mitchell Baker is gone from mozilla.org"
to
"Mitchell Baker is gone from Netscape"
which is correct. Mitchell is not gone from mozilla.org. See the above newsgroup
post.
Gerv