> Slightly related news? I turned on Bloomberg this AM and found the president discussing generic prescription drugs [bloomberg.com] and how the drug companies are abusing the stay process in order to maintain a hold on the drug going generic. If he's starting to look at the generic-ization of meds, perhaps it's the tip of the iceberg for things such as this.
> Disclaimer: I'm a right-winger, but dunno about this idea.. after all drug companies do take finantial risks to make new medications. But holding potential benefits for people's health over their head in the name of pure profit bothers me.
The generic drugs issue (which, BTW, has been in the news and gaining momentum for a year or two now) is a slightly special issue. Essentially the pharm companies have figured out a loophole in patent law that lets them effectively re-patent a drug right when its original patent runs out, thus making it illegal for others to produce it under a generic name. The trick, called "patent evergreening", involves things like introducing very minor changes of dubious effectiveness and patenting the "new" variant. Google should tell you more.
> I'm sure that all of the various programmers, IT people, marketers, etc. working at other companies that make rendering software aren't too happy. Another open sourced product means fewer people will get paid for IT related work. Imagine... a world where *nobody* gets paid for writing software! I don't know about everybody else, but I think that this really sucks.
IOW, "Halt progress because it's going to eliminate my cushy niche!" Nice to know that the Luddite movement is still alive and has an articulate spokesman.
It must have sucked to have been a sailmaker when the switch to steamships came around, too. Adapt or go extinct; the choice is yours, Ned.
> Microsoft's claim that they're the innocent victims of the manipulations of some ad agency schemer is so obviously ridiculous and transparent I can't believe they're even trying it.
Has any other company, anywhere, every got caught making this kind of faux pas so often as Microsoft does? The only surprise is that they are bothering with a pretense of outrage over this one.
Don't you know that if you see an unseen scene you destroy it?
There's something very quantum mechanical about all this, I'm sure. But if you're content to merely contemplate the unseen scene, you can come near the Tao of Middle Earth.
> Microsoft and Iraq remind me of each other in this respect. They steadfastly adhere to bullshit stories while the opposition builds up a big head of steam, and they only budge from their bullshit stories for as long as it takes for the danger to avert, then they close the source/kick out the inspectors again. Playing fair with organizations that don't sucks.
> Actually, the OS would set the upper bound on system security.
Actually-actually, they both set upper bounds on the system security. The effective security is the minimum of the two bounds. You can't get better than your OS offers, and you can't get better than your sysadmin offers.
> Linux, which is even newer than Windows and is not controlled by a single commercial entity, can be expected to have even more vulnerabilities than Windows.
> um, I don't get it. How does newer == "less secure" in this scenario?
Also, in what sense is Linux "newer" than any currently supported manifestation of Windows?
> For the first time in my scholastic career, I had a history class that went beyond "We had a revolutionary war in 1776. We had a civil war in 1860...."
> Yes, I've heard stories of political correctness being forced on people at universities, but it's not at every one, and even at those universities, you'll find an amazing diversity of opinion if you actually talk to the students and teachers.
Teasing aside, the main point of your post is certainly correct.
> If you were to release the cinder block with the flat side facing you and the rope attached in the middle, were it to turn in mid-swing and come back with at a 45 degree angle to the release position it would most surely split the skin from hairline to eyebrow.
Yeah, but the whole point was to educate the children by entertaining them!
> a science teacher of mine did this when i was in high school... it was probably the coolest demo i ever saw:)
On the sodium + water trick, my chemistry teacher didn't know how much to use, and ended up raining chunks of flaming sodium all over the front half of the classroom.
> the "put the rose in the liquid nitrogen and then break it" was kinda cool but he didn't put it in long enough...
For Chemistry Club we froze chicken eggs and dropped them down the stairwell to make them shatter. Nice rectangular chunks... until they thawed out.
Slashdot Mirror
> Slightly related news? I turned on Bloomberg this AM and found the president discussing generic prescription drugs [bloomberg.com] and how the drug companies are abusing the stay process in order to maintain a hold on the drug going generic. If he's starting to look at the generic-ization of meds, perhaps it's the tip of the iceberg for things such as this.
> Disclaimer: I'm a right-winger, but dunno about this idea.. after all drug companies do take finantial risks to make new medications. But holding potential benefits for people's health over their head in the name of pure profit bothers me.
The generic drugs issue (which, BTW, has been in the news and gaining momentum for a year or two now) is a slightly special issue. Essentially the pharm companies have figured out a loophole in patent law that lets them effectively re-patent a drug right when its original patent runs out, thus making it illegal for others to produce it under a generic name. The trick, called "patent evergreening", involves things like introducing very minor changes of dubious effectiveness and patenting the "new" variant. Google should tell you more.
Thank Bog that patents are promoting progress!
> Why would I want my desktop rotated and/or reflected (which I presume to mean "mirrored" or "backwards")?
Leonardo requested it hundreds of years ago.
> I'm sure that all of the various programmers, IT people, marketers, etc. working at other companies that make rendering software aren't too happy. Another open sourced product means fewer people will get paid for IT related work. Imagine... a world where *nobody* gets paid for writing software! I don't know about everybody else, but I think that this really sucks.
IOW, "Halt progress because it's going to eliminate my cushy niche!" Nice to know that the Luddite movement is still alive and has an articulate spokesman.
It must have sucked to have been a sailmaker when the switch to steamships came around, too. Adapt or go extinct; the choice is yours, Ned.
Something has gone awry.
> I just heard the news on slashdot -- Frodo Baggins, the smallest elf, was just executed! No other details were available.
In my own research I have discovered that the average Hobbit executable is barely half the size of the average Elf executable.
They're faster to run in a tight spot, too!
> Microsoft's claim that they're the innocent victims of the manipulations of some ad agency schemer is so obviously ridiculous and transparent I can't believe they're even trying it.
Has any other company, anywhere, every got caught making this kind of faux pas so often as Microsoft does? The only surprise is that they are bothering with a pretense of outrage over this one.
Don't you know that if you see an unseen scene you destroy it?
There's something very quantum mechanical about all this, I'm sure. But if you're content to merely contemplate the unseen scene, you can come near the Tao of Middle Earth.
> It's a problem because you need to sign an NDA just to look at the licensing fees. That's the problem
So, what do you have to do to look at the NDA?
> Microsoft and Iraq remind me of each other in this respect. They steadfastly adhere to bullshit stories while the opposition builds up a big head of steam, and they only budge from their bullshit stories for as long as it takes for the danger to avert, then they close the source/kick out the inspectors again. Playing fair with organizations that don't sucks.
So how come we're not bombing Microsoft?
> UK Media Gagged In "Official Secrets" Trial
I clicked this expecting to see that the media had been "gagged" on the story about Di's dildo.
> The NT 3.1 release in 1993 was the 1.0 version of the system.
I see that 'innovate' isn't the only thing Microsoft redefined!
> Actually, the OS would set the upper bound on system security.
Actually-actually, they both set upper bounds on the system security. The effective security is the minimum of the two bounds. You can't get better than your OS offers, and you can't get better than your sysadmin offers.
> But I still did not find the judge's language to be particularly stilted. In fact, omerta makes it almost colorful.
Nah, polychromous.
> The Orang-utan's idea is that if he uses big enough words, he'll seem really intelligent.
And that differs from the gunner in your IT department, how?
> Just last night, a buddy of mine did a security scan of the Linux box I use at home as a gateway for my other 4 computers.
That's nothing - complete strangers do security scans on all my boxes every night!
Also, in what sense is Linux "newer" than any currently supported manifestation of Windows?
> I think that's a big part here, any OS is as secure as the admin...
I would have said "the admin sets an upper bound on system security". The OS could still undershoot that bound.
Talk about convenient excuses!> Mysterious things are happening to my dishes too. I keep delaying the wash to save the communities of bacterias who will win me a Nobel.
> For the first time in my scholastic career, I had a history class that went beyond "We had a revolutionary war in 1776. We had a civil war in 1860.
Yeah, a good class would get the dates right.
> Yes, I've heard stories of political correctness being forced on people at universities, but it's not at every one, and even at those universities, you'll find an amazing diversity of opinion if you actually talk to the students and teachers.
Teasing aside, the main point of your post is certainly correct.
> If you were to release the cinder block with the flat side facing you and the rope attached in the middle, were it to turn in mid-swing and come back with at a 45 degree angle to the release position it would most surely split the skin from hairline to eyebrow.
Yeah, but the whole point was to educate the children by entertaining them!
> a science teacher of mine did this when i was in high school... it was probably the coolest demo i ever saw
On the sodium + water trick, my chemistry teacher didn't know how much to use, and ended up raining chunks of flaming sodium all over the front half of the classroom.
> the "put the rose in the liquid nitrogen and then break it" was kinda cool but he didn't put it in long enough...
For Chemistry Club we froze chicken eggs and dropped them down the stairwell to make them shatter. Nice rectangular chunks... until they thawed out.
What kind of "female games" do you have in mind, and what is involved in testing them?
This could be a lot of fun!
> If not, where can I be a tree hugger and send money to?
You can be a tree hugger in the privacy of your own home, and send your money to me.