that yet another commercial company seeks to look good by releasing closed source binaries that will work only on a single architecture, i.e. the x86 processor series? RARE are the binaries that are compiled to work on PPC or higher end processors. At least with an open source application I can try (and typically succeed) to compile for a "non-standard" machine. </whining>
IANAPornStar (or a journalism major), but this report is inadequate and lacks journalistic integrity-- the source is completely anonymous and no other verification has been done on the allegations. We have what appears to be an official email from NSI to a customer. We have little to no background on this email-- previous emails, etc etc. I am not overly fond of NSI, but this appears to be more than a case of an expired domain name. It looks more like someone has somehow caused them to register a domain and not paid the bill.
If the domain name is expired I believe it is highly inappropriate for them to attempt to auction it to anyone. Coincidentally there appears to be no such activity on their web site-- probably because they "get" this. There are a number of registration services which are allowed to register abandoned domains (just the same as formerly non-existent domains).
Any thinking person knows this, and cannot accept this forced domain name auction EULA amendment as anything other than a tactic to force payment on a delinquent account. So, IIRC this sort of thing is called FUD, IMHO.
The fundamental question seems to be Open versus Closed Media. This is not the real question. There is a solid answer to what is the future of Media. "Hyper Media"-- of course, this doesn't sound so edgy since we've all been fairly hyper for years now. The problem is not that "closed" news solutions are failing. The problem is that business managers in larger media companies have not figured out how to generate ad revenue the way they did so easily in print and television.
This article lacks in the very thing which gives strength to the Slashdot approach, an abundance of hyperlinks to relevant information geared specifically to maintain and sate the interests of the readers/participants. Generally-- and this is why so many portal and search sites have problems-- it's the quality and usefulness of those links to your target audience that create worth in online. Being a general news source doesn't work as well because that is not a restrictive enough information filter.
Not to mention that the ability to chuck your own two cents into the public arena, replete with any relevant hyperlinks of your own, is a compelling participatory experience (though somewhat illusory-- "if I can't be in the news, at least I get to yack about it...").
Microsoft has written Mac applications for over 10 years-- so concerns that they will suddenly drop all cross-platform work seem a bit paranoid. Sure they've chosen not to implement Access or Flight Simulator for Mac, but over the years I'd say they've given it support proportionate to market size. Yeah, we could argue all day whether their lack of support hindered Mac growth yada yada, but... whatever. So: even odds on the question of "Mac or not Mac".
The other thought as I read the comments is this: so good. Microsoft have proven time and time again that Windows is only really useful if you want to illegally monopolize a market or play games. For a really good game experience, I find it either sufficient to play a MAME port or go plunk down some tokens in an arcade-- where they have screens worth looking at and controls that make sense. IANAPornStar but IIRC going to the arcade gets me out of the house. Which is essentially a Good Thing(tm).
"Self important malcontent"... never mind that his efforts on our behalf make the Linux kernel remotely useful.
I fail to see the connection between retaining the rights to your software with a license like the GPL and the ability to sell that creation. The problem here is that everyone thinks of programming as making a product rather than providing a service. There is no end in sight, even in a 100% GPL-software world, for the ability of programmers and software firms to derive livelihood and profits from their work. The idea being, rather than selling programs as widgets, that programmers and software firms sell their creativity and services. In fact, this improves the lot of programmers since once they write the code it is Free (per the GPL) and they cannot lose the right to use/modify/improve it, even after the terms of their current contract is over. Now wouldn't you love to see what could happen if MS developers had the ability to work with their own code outside the restrictions imposed on innovation by their company? And how would that impair commerce in any way?
AFAICT, and IANAPornStar, and standard disclaimers and so forth, but how is Napster responsible for a song being distributed before it's been "officially" released? Using this logic, couldn't EFNET and Undernet and Microsoft Outlook (or any e-mail application that provides attachment encoding/decoding) be sued as well just for providing the ability to transfer files? This sounds more like the "leaked beta" (AKA "free publicity") crap that MS pulls.
If the RIAA and these bands are so threatened by napster, why aren't they up in arms over the upgraded trade status with China? Isn't that where a lot of actual pirate copies of all kinds of stuff made?
News at 11: Metallica sues the BBC for passing along information about applications that compress videos, allowing the masses to trade pirate copies of Metallica videos previously available only on DVD. Quoth spokesdude Lars, "Well, like, yeah, they could actually be porn films with the names of Metallica videos on them. But admitting that would make us, like, look like idiots. And, um, and justice for all and stuff."
As soon as they release the source on this soft drink, I plan to fork it, slap a different "label" on the bottle and distribute under a new name. If absolutely necessary I'll add some herbal concoction to keep it buzzword compliant. IANAPS, but IIRC this is what Open Source is all about. Or has become about. Or something.
Slashdot Mirror
that yet another commercial company seeks to look good by releasing closed source binaries that will work only on a single architecture, i.e. the x86 processor series? RARE are the binaries that are compiled to work on PPC or higher end processors. At least with an open source application I can try (and typically succeed) to compile for a "non-standard" machine.
</whining>
IANAPornStar (or a journalism major), but this report is inadequate and lacks journalistic integrity-- the source is completely anonymous and no other verification has been done on the allegations. We have what appears to be an official email from NSI to a customer. We have little to no background on this email-- previous emails, etc etc. I am not overly fond of NSI, but this appears to be more than a case of an expired domain name. It looks more like someone has somehow caused them to register a domain and not paid the bill.
If the domain name is expired I believe it is highly inappropriate for them to attempt to auction it to anyone. Coincidentally there appears to be no such activity on their web site-- probably because they "get" this. There are a number of registration services which are allowed to register abandoned domains (just the same as formerly non-existent domains).
Any thinking person knows this, and cannot accept this forced domain name auction EULA amendment as anything other than a tactic to force payment on a delinquent account. So, IIRC this sort of thing is called FUD, IMHO.
The fundamental question seems to be Open versus Closed Media. This is not the real question. There is a solid answer to what is the future of Media. "Hyper Media"-- of course, this doesn't sound so edgy since we've all been fairly hyper for years now. The problem is not that "closed" news solutions are failing. The problem is that business managers in larger media companies have not figured out how to generate ad revenue the way they did so easily in print and television.
This article lacks in the very thing which gives strength to the Slashdot approach, an abundance of hyperlinks to relevant information geared specifically to maintain and sate the interests of the readers/participants. Generally-- and this is why so many portal and search sites have problems-- it's the quality and usefulness of those links to your target audience that create worth in online. Being a general news source doesn't work as well because that is not a restrictive enough information filter.
Not to mention that the ability to chuck your own two cents into the public arena, replete with any relevant hyperlinks of your own, is a compelling participatory experience (though somewhat illusory-- "if I can't be in the news, at least I get to yack about it...").
Microsoft has written Mac applications for over 10 years-- so concerns that they will suddenly drop all cross-platform work seem a bit paranoid. Sure they've chosen not to implement Access or Flight Simulator for Mac, but over the years I'd say they've given it support proportionate to market size. Yeah, we could argue all day whether their lack of support hindered Mac growth yada yada, but... whatever. So: even odds on the question of "Mac or not Mac".
The other thought as I read the comments is this: so good. Microsoft have proven time and time again that Windows is only really useful if you want to illegally monopolize a market or play games. For a really good game experience, I find it either sufficient to play a MAME port or go plunk down some tokens in an arcade-- where they have screens worth looking at and controls that make sense. IANAPornStar but IIRC going to the arcade gets me out of the house. Which is essentially a Good Thing(tm).
"Self important malcontent"... never mind that his efforts on our behalf make the Linux kernel remotely useful.
I fail to see the connection between retaining the rights to your software with a license like the GPL and the ability to sell that creation. The problem here is that everyone thinks of programming as making a product rather than providing a service. There is no end in sight, even in a 100% GPL-software world, for the ability of programmers and software firms to derive livelihood and profits from their work. The idea being, rather than selling programs as widgets, that programmers and software firms sell their creativity and services. In fact, this improves the lot of programmers since once they write the code it is Free (per the GPL) and they cannot lose the right to use/modify/improve it, even after the terms of their current contract is over. Now wouldn't you love to see what could happen if MS developers had the ability to work with their own code outside the restrictions imposed on innovation by their company? And how would that impair commerce in any way?
AFAICT, and IANAPornStar, and standard disclaimers and so forth, but how is Napster responsible for a song being distributed before it's been "officially" released? Using this logic, couldn't EFNET and Undernet and Microsoft Outlook (or any e-mail application that provides attachment encoding/decoding) be sued as well just for providing the ability to transfer files? This sounds more like the "leaked beta" (AKA "free publicity") crap that MS pulls.
If the RIAA and these bands are so threatened by napster, why aren't they up in arms over the upgraded trade status with China? Isn't that where a lot of actual pirate copies of all kinds of stuff made?
News at 11: Metallica sues the BBC for passing along information about applications that compress videos, allowing the masses to trade pirate copies of Metallica videos previously available only on DVD. Quoth spokesdude Lars, "Well, like, yeah, they could actually be porn films with the names of Metallica videos on them. But admitting that would make us, like, look like idiots. And, um, and justice for all and stuff."
As soon as they release the source on this soft drink, I plan to fork it, slap a different "label" on the bottle and distribute under a new name. If absolutely necessary I'll add some herbal concoction to keep it buzzword compliant. IANAPS, but IIRC this is what Open Source is all about. Or has become about. Or something.