One opf my friends commented that the GSM spec formed one of his office walls. Despite the precise specification, different manufacturers still manage to interpret aspects of it differently.
First annoying ringtone.
First person to make a phoner call during a film.
First person to say "I'm on the train loudly for the benefit of everyone else to hear"
First person top get their credit card details stolen because they didn't realise that anyone sitting nearby can hear everything they say.
When I was offered a "Take it or leave it" paycut, I decided to leave it. Actually, I agreed to be laid off. I got another job after a couple of months (which was fine. I was still being paid for 3 months after my notice, but was on gardening leave) and got another job with an annual salary 15% higher.
I'm amazed you've survived a 35% paycut in the past year. I don;t think I could cut back enough
What are they talking about in terms of software? I think the majority of software is internal stuff that is relevent only to the company that developed it. It would actually be impossible for this to be pirated since the only people with any interest in it own it.
Re:Biting the hand that feeds you
on
BSA IDC FUD
·
· Score: 2, Insightful
Personally, I quite like the principle behind IP laws. Copyright is a very useful system, allowing creators to profit from their works, and also adds teeth to the GPL. I do feel that friends sharing copies with each other is ultimately harmless though.
Speaking as a profesional software developer, I really don't care about small scale piracy. I probably wouldn't have got into programming without a pirated copy of Turbo C++. In fact, it was my vast library of pirated software that got me interested in computers in the first place. If other people do the same, I can't criticise. If the cost of that is lower sales, then that's fair. Typically people will actually buy the software if they think it's worth it, even if a pirated copy is available. I'll make some effort to convince people to buy rather than pirate, but if they don't, then that's my failing, not theirs.
The other aspect is that it is limited to groups of friends. Someone has to buy the original. File sharing networks are more of a problem here, but for the time being, it's too inconvenient to get anything from them. Most people live too far away for a decent connection, and the majority of people download only.
Now, selling pirated software is another matter entirely. Then they actually start competing with me directly, and affecting my company's bottom line. Large scale pirates can and will run off sevceral thousand CDs, and often the buyers will believe that they are genuine. Then it becoems unfair competition.
Re:Exactly!
on
BSA IDC FUD
·
· Score: 2, Insightful
Alternatively - Countries with a large IT sector also have a strong IP lobby, which will often demand stronger laws.
Hate Paypal - What they do is probably illegal for reasons other than the PATRIOT act. I'd have thought they would have been charged some time ago for acting as a bank without fulfilling all the legal requirements.
Hate the PATRIOT act. The fact that it has been used against someone you don't like doesn't make it good any mnore than someone who goes on a killing spree and happens to kill a couple of other murderers is a good man.
With all this negative karma, you might as well go the whole hog, and also hate everything else.
what it does is post a comment extoling the virtues of Windows 95 over Linux. It then uses the heat generated by the ensuing flamewar to power a small town.
Thanks for the irelevent history lesson. What about the First World War?
What I was talking about is that the only logical reason for not teaching kids that war is not the only option is to prevent them from declaring war. I chose France simply because that is the traditional enemy.
Shouldn't the company you're moving to cover this fee? It's in their interests to make sure that new customers don't feel they have to pay anything to switch.
I'm a C programmer. I also know Java and Perl. Have you seen my Perl code? It works, and it runs, but I'm pretty sure it's not high quality code.
On the other hand, refusal to use STL or other existing library for performance reasons truly is stupid. There are other tricks to use such as smart pointers to prevent memory leaks. The thing is though, these require a reasonable understanding of the language you're using. (They're also typically more about stability than security).
Other languages don't have these issues, but they may have issues of their own. Switching to Java isn't a panacea for all security issues. It will prevent buffer overruns, but so will the right C libs, and that doesn't require that I learn a new language
Bloat as a compromise. I'd rather have a task take 10ms to complete and be secure than take 1ms and be insecure. I'm not going to notice the difference between 1ms and 1ms, so why does it matter?
If we're talking about longer time frames, then efficency becomes more of an issue, I'd rather not wait 10 seconds for something that could be done in 1, but I might be willing to wait 1.5 seconds. This is usually the sort of timeframe we're talking about. If the code spends mosty of its time waiting, we'll have even les of a slowdown.
The point is that engineering is about finding a compromise. You don't want as small and fast as is possible, just as small ans fast as is neccesary.
You make the mistake a lot of job seekers make - Assuming that you have to be a perfect match for the requirements
You don't. They just give an indication of the sort of skills the company is looking for. You say you have software test experience. That's great! You say you love playing games. That's great! You have qualities that are clearly relevent, and can obviously be presented in a way that show that you are suitable for this career.
But I like messages from friends, family, and business associates. So I give them my address.
Fair enough. The cost of this is that spammers will also send messages. There are other costs, like you have to have a handset, that you need to keep paying to recharge it. Spam is just anothe r one of these little inconveniences.
You seem to feel that spammers have a right to commit a trespass to chattels. They do not. My phone is my property. The service is one for which I pay.
The telephone network is a public resource. You don't want people to "tresspass on chattels", don't connect to it.
The service is one for which I pay. It is up to me to determine who is authorized to send me messages. If I don't explicitly give permission, then they are prohibited from messaging me. If they do, then it's a trespass to chattels.
Yet you willingly subscribe to a service that doesn't give you control over who can and can't call you. And are you seriously saying that if anyone calls anyone they need explicit permission or face criminal charges! I hope I never get a wrong number. This goes against the way most people actually use a phone. The idea is anyone can call anyone. If you don;t like it don;t have a phone.
What bill? Someone can send me a text message by e-mailing the address associated with my mobile phone. Since text messages can be sent by anyone with e-mail access, there is no viable way for my mobile phone provider to bill them.
Of course, an email connection service is a separate feature that should be optional, and should be connected to a proper email service that can block spam.
How the hell is my provider in the U.S. supposed to bill someone in Zimbabwe who e-mails a text message to me?
No, for email based messages, you will have to pay. But if you're going through email, then spam can be blocked. Direct text messages can be billed as long as they come from a service that charges their costomers for making calls (i.e. most of them).
In the U.S., they don't pay to make a local call to me. When there is a charge, it is on their phone bill.
So you are quite happy with receiver pays. Except you're not. You seem to dislike it because it costs you money when spammers send spam. Why not find a network that charges the person making the call? Why is this so unpopular in the US? It is the case for long distance after all.
It's not your choice. It's theirs. Simply don't buy from spammers if it means that much to you. If nobody buys from them then they will go out of business.
Slashdot Mirror
One opf my friends commented that the GSM spec formed one of his office walls. Despite the precise specification, different manufacturers still manage to interpret aspects of it differently.
Or maybe he just called to other scientist's landline.
Sorry. That joke only works for Alexander Graham Bell.
First annoying ringtone.
First person to make a phoner call during a film.
First person to say "I'm on the train loudly for the benefit of everyone else to hear"
First person top get their credit card details stolen because they didn't realise that anyone sitting nearby can hear everything they say.
Did it come with a trolley to push it around on?
Yes, I realise it was an impressive feat at the time, but considering my phone is less than a tenth of the weight of that, it seems impossibly heavy.
Not true. It's derived from the term for punishment for Roman legions, in which every tenth man was executed.
How are other programmers faring?
When I was offered a "Take it or leave it" paycut, I decided to leave it. Actually, I agreed to be laid off. I got another job after a couple of months (which was fine. I was still being paid for 3 months after my notice, but was on gardening leave) and got another job with an annual salary 15% higher.
I'm amazed you've survived a 35% paycut in the past year. I don;t think I could cut back enough
What are they talking about in terms of software? I think the majority of software is internal stuff that is relevent only to the company that developed it. It would actually be impossible for this to be pirated since the only people with any interest in it own it.
Personally, I quite like the principle behind IP laws. Copyright is a very useful system, allowing creators to profit from their works, and also adds teeth to the GPL. I do feel that friends sharing copies with each other is ultimately harmless though.
Speaking as a profesional software developer, I really don't care about small scale piracy. I probably wouldn't have got into programming without a pirated copy of Turbo C++. In fact, it was my vast library of pirated software that got me interested in computers in the first place. If other people do the same, I can't criticise. If the cost of that is lower sales, then that's fair. Typically people will actually buy the software if they think it's worth it, even if a pirated copy is available. I'll make some effort to convince people to buy rather than pirate, but if they don't, then that's my failing, not theirs.
The other aspect is that it is limited to groups of friends. Someone has to buy the original. File sharing networks are more of a problem here, but for the time being, it's too inconvenient to get anything from them. Most people live too far away for a decent connection, and the majority of people download only.
Now, selling pirated software is another matter entirely. Then they actually start competing with me directly, and affecting my company's bottom line. Large scale pirates can and will run off sevceral thousand CDs, and often the buyers will believe that they are genuine. Then it becoems unfair competition.
Alternatively - Countries with a large IT sector also have a strong IP lobby, which will often demand stronger laws.
It's being posted a fourth time
If you have problems with dupes, simply change your setting to disable display of duplicate stories! It's hardly rocket science.
Slashdot's server is set to GMT. This was posted in the early hours of April Fools day.
Hate them both
Hate Paypal - What they do is probably illegal for reasons other than the PATRIOT act. I'd have thought they would have been charged some time ago for acting as a bank without fulfilling all the legal requirements.
Hate the PATRIOT act. The fact that it has been used against someone you don't like doesn't make it good any mnore than someone who goes on a killing spree and happens to kill a couple of other murderers is a good man.
With all this negative karma, you might as well go the whole hog, and also hate everything else.
You should be okay. This is with permission of the service provider. Hopefully they don't have an "explicit written permission" clause.
The Troll Engine.
what it does is post a comment extoling the virtues of Windows 95 over Linux. It then uses the heat generated by the ensuing flamewar to power a small town.
Thanks for the irelevent history lesson. What about the First World War?
What I was talking about is that the only logical reason for not teaching kids that war is not the only option is to prevent them from declaring war. I chose France simply because that is the traditional enemy.
I hate to say this, but it's become obligatory.
I arrest you under the DMCA for trafficing in tools designed to circumvent a protection mechanism.
Shouldn't the company you're moving to cover this fee? It's in their interests to make sure that new customers don't feel they have to pay anything to switch.
I'm a C programmer. I also know Java and Perl. Have you seen my Perl code? It works, and it runs, but I'm pretty sure it's not high quality code.
On the other hand, refusal to use STL or other existing library for performance reasons truly is stupid. There are other tricks to use such as smart pointers to prevent memory leaks. The thing is though, these require a reasonable understanding of the language you're using. (They're also typically more about stability than security).
Other languages don't have these issues, but they may have issues of their own. Switching to Java isn't a panacea for all security issues. It will prevent buffer overruns, but so will the right C libs, and that doesn't require that I learn a new language
Bloat as a compromise. I'd rather have a task take 10ms to complete and be secure than take 1ms and be insecure. I'm not going to notice the difference between 1ms and 1ms, so why does it matter?
If we're talking about longer time frames, then efficency becomes more of an issue, I'd rather not wait 10 seconds for something that could be done in 1, but I might be willing to wait 1.5 seconds. This is usually the sort of timeframe we're talking about. If the code spends mosty of its time waiting, we'll have even les of a slowdown.
The point is that engineering is about finding a compromise. You don't want as small and fast as is possible, just as small ans fast as is neccesary.
You make the mistake a lot of job seekers make - Assuming that you have to be a perfect match for the requirements
You don't. They just give an indication of the sort of skills the company is looking for. You say you have software test experience. That's great! You say you love playing games. That's great! You have qualities that are clearly relevent, and can obviously be presented in a way that show that you are suitable for this career.
No.
For real geek cred, you need a whole load of obselete consoles. I'm impressed at the amount of satellite equipment though.
And if it stops one German kid from declaring war on France then it will be worth it.
But I like messages from friends, family, and business associates. So I give them my address.
Fair enough. The cost of this is that spammers will also send messages. There are other costs, like you have to have a handset, that you need to keep paying to recharge it. Spam is just anothe r one of these little inconveniences.
You seem to feel that spammers have a right to commit a trespass to chattels. They do not. My phone is my property. The service is one for which I pay.
The telephone network is a public resource. You don't want people to "tresspass on chattels", don't connect to it.
The service is one for which I pay. It is up to me to determine who is authorized to send me messages. If I don't explicitly give permission, then they are prohibited from messaging me. If they do, then it's a trespass to chattels.
Yet you willingly subscribe to a service that doesn't give you control over who can and can't call you. And are you seriously saying that if anyone calls anyone they need explicit permission or face criminal charges! I hope I never get a wrong number. This goes against the way most people actually use a phone. The idea is anyone can call anyone. If you don;t like it don;t have a phone.
What bill? Someone can send me a text message by e-mailing the address associated with my mobile phone. Since text messages can be sent by anyone with e-mail access, there is no viable way for my mobile phone provider to bill them.
Of course, an email connection service is a separate feature that should be optional, and should be connected to a proper email service that can block spam.
How the hell is my provider in the U.S. supposed to bill someone in Zimbabwe who e-mails a text message to me?
No, for email based messages, you will have to pay. But if you're going through email, then spam can be blocked. Direct text messages can be billed as long as they come from a service that charges their costomers for making calls (i.e. most of them).
In the U.S., they don't pay to make a local call to me. When there is a charge, it is on their phone bill.
So you are quite happy with receiver pays. Except you're not. You seem to dislike it because it costs you money when spammers send spam. Why not find a network that charges the person making the call? Why is this so unpopular in the US? It is the case for long distance after all.
It's not your choice. It's theirs. Simply don't buy from spammers if it means that much to you. If nobody buys from them then they will go out of business.