Java was designed to be cleaner than C++ and easier to develop and read. Operator overloading can be abused just like pointers and casting. What Sun did was write down a list of things bad in C++ and make sure they were gone in Java.
You can use pointers and casting in Java, but you need to use the api to do it for you.
The sun is setting on Java indeed. (no pun intended)
Java will exist as Cobol exists for many decades on crappy intranet apps for IE 6 and for newer mainframe and as/400 apps. I learned true object oriented programmimg on it after I had issues with C++. Java takes millions of lines of code to get anything done in any moderately complex web apps vs PHP and even ASP.Net.
It is a shame as it hurts Linux, but many companies are willing to drop down $100,000 in licensing fees for IIS, SQL Server, and Windows Server over free Linux and Java because of the productivity gains and pro MS inertia by the MBAs in I.T. departments.
Me I am ready to abandon Java on a website I am creating and I am seriously considering C# or PHP if licensing is too expensive. There is no need to start a new project in Java as it is like starting a new project in cobol. Why?
Sun had lots of capital in the 1990s and made billions in revenue when Java was in development. It was before NT slaughtered them and before the great recession and when Wall Street had faith to invest in Sun. I think Java was very well designed for its time in the early 1990s. Sun's obsession with making sure it had to be run on a VM with no executables killed it. Sun wanted software to run on Solaris more than having it mult-platform in a successful way, as many would write java programs but make sure they only ran on Windows because they didn't want to support anything else.
If java did this it would become a standard and more Mac and Linux software would exist today.
Java became conservative for compatibility and bogged down. C# had an unfair advantage of seeing where Java made mistakes and started fresh.... or not depending on who you talk to in regards of having MSIL just calls for win32 functions with COM/DCOM.
FUD back at you again. Most apps DON'T use Metro. Metro is for HTML5 + Ajax crap.
For a non-biased story, well respected Ars Technica admitted to it having both interfaces. They have one of the Samsung tablets and did a review with Metro and are now writting a review with using Windows 8 on a regular desktop with the Windows 7 desktop.
The best servers unfortunately are the Oracle ones. Now they are waaayyyy too expensive with Oracle contracts for Oracle Database whether you need it or not. When Sun owned them you could upgrade the ram WHILE THE MACHINE WAS ON. Totally redundant and hot swapable. PC servers just do not compare.
Since blades are being used now no one cares anymore I guess
"The sheer amount of shit that the major manufacturers put on PCs. HP is awful for that with all of their "assistants" and "wizards" and crap like that, and everybody wants to give you a bit steaming pile of trial-ware.
"... for desktops you do know about PCDecrapifier and CCleaner right?
Who puts these on a server? I highly doubt HP would be that dumb to include this on a server as I doubt any Lan Admin would want Windows Messenger and to play the latest spyware included games.
Any company worth there salt does a wipe and a fresh install of Windows Server so the preinstalled junk is not important. If not then they need to fire the tech/admin people seriously.... as for hardware bloat like SATA RAID ports another poster mentioned. Don't use them. When handling $500,000 worth of data who cares if your server costs $40 more? If you use that SCSI RAID or SAN it wont matter as the OS wont talk to the other hardware.
Isn't that the point of capitalism? If I need a car I do not have to have a BMW or Porsche. A Hyundai is fine and much better on my wallet. This is the same principle.
Why should we condemn Fusion Garage if they they do it cheaper? Less press = more supply and marketshare. Economics 101
"By many metrics - Windows XP still has 60% percent of the desktop market. This despite Microsoft only selling Win7 license. "
No it doesn't. At least not in the non-Chinese market where most of us live. That number skews the market where still half of them use IE 6 and is heavily pirated with older machines where 90% of copies are illegal.
In the US XP runs in less 1 out of every 4 desktops. Windows 7 is eclipsing XP and Vista with strong corporate sales. Corporate America is the only one buying new XP licenses and almost all of them are either upgrading to Windows 7 or plan to do it in the next 6-12 months if they are not already doing so now.
XP is quickly dying and being replaced regardless of its fans. At the this rate a year from now it will drop below the 10% marketshare line. Then games and other apps wont support XP anymore. XP is very old and thanks to the recession many companies refused to upgrade and instead kept running older systems which are now dying. Economists call this pent up demand. Vista was so bad too and now with Windows 7 corporate users can finally jump ship.
"Now, if they did some of the things they talked about for 7 (which might have warranted it actually being version 7.0 instead of 6.1) like converting to a hybrid microkernel, or doing away with the registry, then I would certainly be interested in trying that out. "
Actually, Windows 8 has HyperV built into the kernel for services and better process isolation. According to www.zdnet.com (can't find article), MS added 120k lines of code to include this and it is even built directly into the driver model. Not a hybrid microkernel, but kind of a VM one. I was under the impression that starting with Vista things were more software based but I am not a hardcore kernel geek here.
Windows 8 seems like a really great upgrade if you own a portable. Not just because of the METRO UI for small screens and tablets, but because you can backup your profile on a flashdrive or transfer it to another domain if you are traveling on a business trip etc. The pre-release alpha does not even have METRO. Given that MS updated the explorer for the Windows 7 desktop to me shows it is not abandoning it at all. They just want to end the IPAD domination before executives start making their shitty intranet apps portable with open standards.
IE 10 (I know shudder from 90% of slashdoters) is a HUGE improvement too for those at work who can't use Firefox thanks to Asa Doiltzer's big mouth. It scored 310 at www.html5test.com and is competive with Chrome and Firefox with HTML 5 and CSS 3. No seriously! If you are stuck at work and have to use IE, at least use IE 10 over IE 8 that comes with Windows 7.
All these are reasons to upgrade and of course USB 3 support. Windows 7 has very minimal USB 3 that only works after service pack 1. Keep Windows 7 if it works. If you have Windows Vista or XP I would consider upgrading to Windows 8. This is a big improvement and worthy of being called an upgrade compared to just a bug fix release like Windows 7 and Windows 98 were.
The reason is as one slashdotter pointed out that I.T. would rather die a horrible death than to use any non MS platform. It is so prevelant that even PHP developers have to use a WIMP stack with IIS and Windows because nonthing non MS can dare touch the network.
Those were the days when the DOJ tried to prove that MS had such incredible power that the whole IT industry slowed down to best suit Microsoft. MS created cool things that came to power wherebye anyone else couldn't. Windows 95 had things MacOS and other Os had for 10+ years and even slashdotters still belive the marketing hype. Witness the crappiness of IE which was what the trial was about? This year MS now supports CSS 2(8 years old) and now xhtml (I am guess at least 5 years old) with IE 9. To get even xhtml to load you need a hack to get IE to use an Office xml spec which brings IE into quirks mode aka IE 5.5 (12 years old). It had 90% of the market a half a decade ago even though it was that bad. It shows the fear and control MS had. No one ever was able to face MS and survive etc.
Today it is silly as the web and mobile devices are finally unseating it. That is what the grandparent is saying. One good thing with iOS is that IE actually doesn't suck anymore as MS is quickly trying to provide html 5 and ajax to their very crappy browser that until last March didn't even support xhtml. IE 10 has a score of 310 on www.html5test.com making it equal to Chrome and Firefox 6! That is good as that is open standards.
If the true CLI lovers of Linux knew how powerfull the new new shortcut keys mixed with the ribbon were they would become fans of Office 2007/Vista shell. I never use the mouse anymore and it drives me crazy on an XP box.
For those reading this comment, press the alt key in Office 2007/2010 and look at the screen? It shows you the next logical key to type to access each context menu on the ribbon. In Vista/Windows 7 hit the Windows key and type your apps for just a day. You will never need the mouse again. To me the ribbon is a great improvement and I now like it. I hated it for a week to get used to it. Now I can't live without it. Or I could but there are only so many keyboard shutcuts in Office 2003 to access each function without a mouse.
Windows 8 has corporate features as well. Zdnet.com disclosed tighter HyperV VM in its processes and driver model for the Windows 8 kernel. This makes IIS, Exchange, and even regular win32 apps more secure and managable for the server and corprate editions of Windows 8.
Also, you can choose the Windows 7 shell as the METRO gui is just a new login screen. You click the desktop area to get to work. Metro sounds great for touch screen Dell 9 minis. Also it the professional/enterprise editions are going to have enterprise management for tablets, sub notebooks, where your desktop and files can be used in another domain in a different city. This is perfect for travels.
Also many CEOs who can't get their IPADs to work in their intranet sites can now buy Windows 8 tablets to do this. This is a decent upgrade from Windows 7 actually
Let me know how that USB 3 support is working or more than 4 gigs of ram on your XP box. SSD yes the newer Windows kernels can manage them cetter.
XP is filled with security holes and yes you are running an old obsolete platform. That is your choice. For shit and kicks I ran XP on my current desktop and it was sluggish and slower than Windows 7. I barely got more than 20 fps on my ATI 5750 that gets 40- 60 fps on Windows 7. You do not get speed bumps with newer hardware and take speed hits if anything.
It is time to upgrade, but it is your machine and not mine. Me, I will stick with Windows 7 thank you.
"XP and 7 are the good ones. Vista and 8 are the trash OSes (an app store, the ribbon disease spread over the whole OS and a tablet UI? Trash.)"
Have you used Windows 8? How do you know it is trash if you never ran it? Also welcome back to pre-2001 when MS Windows was released every 2-3 years. Did it cause people to freak out back in the 1990s? No. So I do not get why even slashdotters love their obsolete 10 year old operating sytsems?
I am no MS fan boi or apologists, but looking at Windows 8 I find it a decent real upgrade and an improvement over Windows 7. You hate Metro? Don't use it. You have 2 options. Ribbons? Get over it, everyone else has. The improvements to the Windows Explorer are great for multiple files with multiple transfers at once. You can use the Metro shell to transfer files that way too if you hate the ribbon. Bad app store? Don't use it.
Windows 8 has much better virtualization of processes and drivers to the code base. This makes it more stable and the server versions of Windows 8 will be much more managable and reliable. USB 3 support is fully there as well as a fast booting procedure. The Metro UI sounds great for tablets that CEOs like to bring around that can be remotely managed and run IE intranet apps. Very sweet for business.
Unlike Windows Me, Vista, and Windows 98, Windows 8 has features worth upgrading from Vista and XP.
Relax Windows 8 is not Vista. You do not need to downgrade to Windows 7 like people did with XP when Vista came out. The old Windows 7 desktop shell is still there if you hate Metro. MS wants it there for regular desktops with big screens. You can choose and I wish Gnome 3 and Trinity did this.
If you really are concerned Dell, and others always sell obsolete OSes with their business line of desktops and notebooks. Microsoft still sells XP for volume licenses infact.
"Exactly. What if your roommate were running a meth lab or had a child pornography studio set up in his room? Yes, these are more serious crimes, but the principle is the same. If you are aware that your roommate is engaging in illegal activity that could get you into trouble, it would be prudent to either stop the activity or get a new roommate. You wouldn't give it a second thought if it were one of the more serious crimes listed above."
Worse, in the cases cited above the landlord is now in hot water too with financial damages and others. So guess who he is going to go after? YOU. The connection is in your name right? You can be sued twice over by the MPAA and the landlord to pay his damages and legal costs too.
If you setup a chid porn ring or meth lab the police can sieze the whole house away from the landlord. Pretty scary stuff for property owners.
An ultimatium is for sure and tell him these are the rules. Follow them or I will tell the landlord and request for you to leave. Choice is up to you. If both are morons then you leave.
IN the cases above they are not foreseeable. That is the difference.
Yes you have a reasonable duty of care not to harm others with your internet connection. The ISP does not because they can not control your actions in this situation.
Do you have a duty of care to protect others from stealing your car to harm others. Yes, but since it does not satisfy #2 you are off the hook. If you lent the keys to a friend who is a known alcholic then you are deep trouble as it would satisfy #1 and #2.
I hate lawyers. Do not get me wrong, I think the majority do more harm than good for society. However, it is best to know how they operate so hopefully neither of us will ever have to face one in court. If you own a business or conduct business knowing these and setitng up policies can save your ass. For the example of the room mate it sounds like a definetly liability risk as theoretical as it sounds. The two conditions that I mentioned stem from a 100 year old surpreme court case. Someone was injuried and tried to sue but it was so unforseeable how it happened that they were let go. It was business law 101 and important to know if you get sued.
The letters from the MPAA were sent so they can turn to the judge and say "See it is foreseeable! Look I sent them a letter! " bla. Always protect yourself because there are evil bastards in this world who will take advantage of others.
Slashdot Mirror
Java was designed to be cleaner than C++ and easier to develop and read. Operator overloading can be abused just like pointers and casting. What Sun did was write down a list of things bad in C++ and make sure they were gone in Java.
You can use pointers and casting in Java, but you need to use the api to do it for you.
The sun is setting on Java indeed. (no pun intended)
Java will exist as Cobol exists for many decades on crappy intranet apps for IE 6 and for newer mainframe and as/400 apps. I learned true object oriented programmimg on it after I had issues with C++. Java takes millions of lines of code to get anything done in any moderately complex web apps vs PHP and even ASP.Net.
It is a shame as it hurts Linux, but many companies are willing to drop down $100,000 in licensing fees for IIS, SQL Server, and Windows Server over free Linux and Java because of the productivity gains and pro MS inertia by the MBAs in I.T. departments.
Me I am ready to abandon Java on a website I am creating and I am seriously considering C# or PHP if licensing is too expensive. There is no need to start a new project in Java as it is like starting a new project in cobol. Why?
Sun had lots of capital in the 1990s and made billions in revenue when Java was in development. It was before NT slaughtered them and before the great recession and when Wall Street had faith to invest in Sun. I think Java was very well designed for its time in the early 1990s. Sun's obsession with making sure it had to be run on a VM with no executables killed it. Sun wanted software to run on Solaris more than having it mult-platform in a successful way, as many would write java programs but make sure they only ran on Windows because they didn't want to support anything else.
If java did this it would become a standard and more Mac and Linux software would exist today.
Java became conservative for compatibility and bogged down. C# had an unfair advantage of seeing where Java made mistakes and started fresh. ... or not depending on who you talk to in regards of having MSIL just calls for win32 functions with COM/DCOM.
Goes back on his Android.
Does anyone still use Mips? SGI is dead and Arm processors have taken over the mobile market. Mips was promising on some phones like 5 years ago
The server seems quite busy
What a load of garbage and all anti MS biased.
Ars Technica is in the process of writting review for those who prefer the old explorer. MS made it quite clear both GUIs will be used.
The screenshots of the new task manager and explorer are cleary not Metro.
FUD back at you again. Most apps DON'T use Metro. Metro is for HTML5 + Ajax crap.
For a non-biased story, well respected Ars Technica admitted to it having both interfaces. They have one of the Samsung tablets and did a review with Metro and are now writting a review with using Windows 8 on a regular desktop with the Windows 7 desktop.
Worst storying posting on slashdot ever.
It uses the same pic as early Windows. That is a liability risk even if it was intended to be funny as people can confuse Linux with Windows 3.11.
The best servers unfortunately are the Oracle ones. Now they are waaayyyy too expensive with Oracle contracts for Oracle Database whether you need it or not. When Sun owned them you could upgrade the ram WHILE THE MACHINE WAS ON. Totally redundant and hot swapable. PC servers just do not compare.
Since blades are being used now no one cares anymore I guess
"The sheer amount of shit that the major manufacturers put on PCs. HP is awful for that with all of their "assistants" and "wizards" and crap like that, and everybody wants to give you a bit steaming pile of trial-ware.
" ... for desktops you do know about PCDecrapifier and CCleaner right?
Who puts these on a server? I highly doubt HP would be that dumb to include this on a server as I doubt any Lan Admin would want Windows Messenger and to play the latest spyware included games.
Any company worth there salt does a wipe and a fresh install of Windows Server so the preinstalled junk is not important. If not then they need to fire the tech/admin people seriously. ... as for hardware bloat like SATA RAID ports another poster mentioned. Don't use them. When handling $500,000 worth of data who cares if your server costs $40 more? If you use that SCSI RAID or SAN it wont matter as the OS wont talk to the other hardware.
Isn't that the point of capitalism? If I need a car I do not have to have a BMW or Porsche. A Hyundai is fine and much better on my wallet. This is the same principle.
Why should we condemn Fusion Garage if they they do it cheaper? Less press = more supply and marketshare. Economics 101
"By many metrics - Windows XP still has 60% percent of the desktop market. This despite Microsoft only selling Win7 license. "
No it doesn't. At least not in the non-Chinese market where most of us live. That number skews the market where still half of them use IE 6 and is heavily pirated with older machines where 90% of copies are illegal.
In the US XP runs in less 1 out of every 4 desktops. Windows 7 is eclipsing XP and Vista with strong corporate sales. Corporate America is the only one buying new XP licenses and almost all of them are either upgrading to Windows 7 or plan to do it in the next 6-12 months if they are not already doing so now.
XP is quickly dying and being replaced regardless of its fans. At the this rate a year from now it will drop below the 10% marketshare line. Then games and other apps wont support XP anymore. XP is very old and thanks to the recession many companies refused to upgrade and instead kept running older systems which are now dying. Economists call this pent up demand. Vista was so bad too and now with Windows 7 corporate users can finally jump ship.
"Now, if they did some of the things they talked about for 7 (which might have warranted it actually being version 7.0 instead of 6.1) like converting to a hybrid microkernel, or doing away with the registry, then I would certainly be interested in trying that out. "
Actually, Windows 8 has HyperV built into the kernel for services and better process isolation. According to www.zdnet.com (can't find article), MS added 120k lines of code to include this and it is even built directly into the driver model. Not a hybrid microkernel, but kind of a VM one. I was under the impression that starting with Vista things were more software based but I am not a hardcore kernel geek here.
Windows 8 seems like a really great upgrade if you own a portable. Not just because of the METRO UI for small screens and tablets, but because you can backup your profile on a flashdrive or transfer it to another domain if you are traveling on a business trip etc. The pre-release alpha does not even have METRO. Given that MS updated the explorer for the Windows 7 desktop to me shows it is not abandoning it at all. They just want to end the IPAD domination before executives start making their shitty intranet apps portable with open standards.
IE 10 (I know shudder from 90% of slashdoters) is a HUGE improvement too for those at work who can't use Firefox thanks to Asa Doiltzer's big mouth. It scored 310 at www.html5test.com and is competive with Chrome and Firefox with HTML 5 and CSS 3. No seriously! If you are stuck at work and have to use IE, at least use IE 10 over IE 8 that comes with Windows 7.
All these are reasons to upgrade and of course USB 3 support. Windows 7 has very minimal USB 3 that only works after service pack 1. Keep Windows 7 if it works. If you have Windows Vista or XP I would consider upgrading to Windows 8. This is a big improvement and worthy of being called an upgrade compared to just a bug fix release like Windows 7 and Windows 98 were.
The reason is as one slashdotter pointed out that I.T. would rather die a horrible death than to use any non MS platform. It is so prevelant that even PHP developers have to use a WIMP stack with IIS and Windows because nonthing non MS can dare touch the network.
Those were the days when the DOJ tried to prove that MS had such incredible power that the whole IT industry slowed down to best suit Microsoft. MS created cool things that came to power wherebye anyone else couldn't. Windows 95 had things MacOS and other Os had for 10+ years and even slashdotters still belive the marketing hype. Witness the crappiness of IE which was what the trial was about? This year MS now supports CSS 2(8 years old) and now xhtml (I am guess at least 5 years old) with IE 9. To get even xhtml to load you need a hack to get IE to use an Office xml spec which brings IE into quirks mode aka IE 5.5 (12 years old). It had 90% of the market a half a decade ago even though it was that bad. It shows the fear and control MS had. No one ever was able to face MS and survive etc.
Today it is silly as the web and mobile devices are finally unseating it. That is what the grandparent is saying. One good thing with iOS is that IE actually doesn't suck anymore as MS is quickly trying to provide html 5 and ajax to their very crappy browser that until last March didn't even support xhtml. IE 10 has a score of 310 on www.html5test.com making it equal to Chrome and Firefox 6! That is good as that is open standards.
"the shortcut keys or context menus "
If the true CLI lovers of Linux knew how powerfull the new new shortcut keys mixed with the ribbon were they would become fans of Office 2007/Vista shell. I never use the mouse anymore and it drives me crazy on an XP box.
For those reading this comment, press the alt key in Office 2007/2010 and look at the screen? It shows you the next logical key to type to access each context menu on the ribbon. In Vista/Windows 7 hit the Windows key and type your apps for just a day. You will never need the mouse again. To me the ribbon is a great improvement and I now like it. I hated it for a week to get used to it. Now I can't live without it. Or I could but there are only so many keyboard shutcuts in Office 2003 to access each function without a mouse.
Windows 8 has corporate features as well. Zdnet.com disclosed tighter HyperV VM in its processes and driver model for the Windows 8 kernel. This makes IIS, Exchange, and even regular win32 apps more secure and managable for the server and corprate editions of Windows 8.
Also, you can choose the Windows 7 shell as the METRO gui is just a new login screen. You click the desktop area to get to work. Metro sounds great for touch screen Dell 9 minis. Also it the professional/enterprise editions are going to have enterprise management for tablets, sub notebooks, where your desktop and files can be used in another domain in a different city. This is perfect for travels.
Also many CEOs who can't get their IPADs to work in their intranet sites can now buy Windows 8 tablets to do this. This is a decent upgrade from Windows 7 actually
Let me know how that USB 3 support is working or more than 4 gigs of ram on your XP box. SSD yes the newer Windows kernels can manage them cetter.
XP is filled with security holes and yes you are running an old obsolete platform. That is your choice. For shit and kicks I ran XP on my current desktop and it was sluggish and slower than Windows 7. I barely got more than 20 fps on my ATI 5750 that gets 40- 60 fps on Windows 7. You do not get speed bumps with newer hardware and take speed hits if anything.
It is time to upgrade, but it is your machine and not mine. Me, I will stick with Windows 7 thank you.
"XP and 7 are the good ones. Vista and 8 are the trash OSes (an app store, the ribbon disease spread over the whole OS and a tablet UI? Trash.)"
Have you used Windows 8? How do you know it is trash if you never ran it? Also welcome back to pre-2001 when MS Windows was released every 2-3 years. Did it cause people to freak out back in the 1990s? No. So I do not get why even slashdotters love their obsolete 10 year old operating sytsems?
I am no MS fan boi or apologists, but looking at Windows 8 I find it a decent real upgrade and an improvement over Windows 7. You hate Metro? Don't use it. You have 2 options. Ribbons? Get over it, everyone else has. The improvements to the Windows Explorer are great for multiple files with multiple transfers at once. You can use the Metro shell to transfer files that way too if you hate the ribbon. Bad app store? Don't use it.
Windows 8 has much better virtualization of processes and drivers to the code base. This makes it more stable and the server versions of Windows 8 will be much more managable and reliable. USB 3 support is fully there as well as a fast booting procedure. The Metro UI sounds great for tablets that CEOs like to bring around that can be remotely managed and run IE intranet apps. Very sweet for business.
Unlike Windows Me, Vista, and Windows 98, Windows 8 has features worth upgrading from Vista and XP.
Relax Windows 8 is not Vista. You do not need to downgrade to Windows 7 like people did with XP when Vista came out. The old Windows 7 desktop shell is still there if you hate Metro. MS wants it there for regular desktops with big screens. You can choose and I wish Gnome 3 and Trinity did this.
If you really are concerned Dell, and others always sell obsolete OSes with their business line of desktops and notebooks. Microsoft still sells XP for volume licenses infact.
"Exactly. What if your roommate were running a meth lab or had a child pornography studio set up in his room? Yes, these are more serious crimes, but the principle is the same. If you are aware that your roommate is engaging in illegal activity that could get you into trouble, it would be prudent to either stop the activity or get a new roommate. You wouldn't give it a second thought if it were one of the more serious crimes listed above."
Worse, in the cases cited above the landlord is now in hot water too with financial damages and others. So guess who he is going to go after? YOU. The connection is in your name right? You can be sued twice over by the MPAA and the landlord to pay his damages and legal costs too.
If you setup a chid porn ring or meth lab the police can sieze the whole house away from the landlord. Pretty scary stuff for property owners.
An ultimatium is for sure and tell him these are the rules. Follow them or I will tell the landlord and request for you to leave. Choice is up to you. If both are morons then you leave.
"Or make him use a VPN [vpnuk.net] that's in his name."
Congrats. You are not an accessor to a crime and can share in both criminal and liability charges since you helped set him up.
Not in America
IN the cases above they are not foreseeable. That is the difference.
Yes you have a reasonable duty of care not to harm others with your internet connection. The ISP does not because they can not control your actions in this situation.
Do you have a duty of care to protect others from stealing your car to harm others. Yes, but since it does not satisfy #2 you are off the hook. If you lent the keys to a friend who is a known alcholic then you are deep trouble as it would satisfy #1 and #2.
True it is theoretical.
I hate lawyers. Do not get me wrong, I think the majority do more harm than good for society. However, it is best to know how they operate so hopefully neither of us will ever have to face one in court. If you own a business or conduct business knowing these and setitng up policies can save your ass. For the example of the room mate it sounds like a definetly liability risk as theoretical as it sounds. The two conditions that I mentioned stem from a 100 year old surpreme court case. Someone was injuried and tried to sue but it was so unforseeable how it happened that they were let go. It was business law 101 and important to know if you get sued.
The letters from the MPAA were sent so they can turn to the judge and say "See it is foreseeable! Look I sent them a letter! " bla. Always protect yourself because there are evil bastards in this world who will take advantage of others.