You know, if the government stays out of the market... there goes copyright law. Copyright law is massive government intervention - a government-created monopoly. If we drop the anti-trust... we also drop the copyright protection.
Or are you only in favour of dropping consumer protection laws?
And if Europe responded by revoking all Microsoft copyrights... meaning that any Microsoft product brought into Europe from anywhere else in the world could be copied endlessly - and have all the activation keys etc. broken. The Europeans wouldn't miss out, MS would lose a major income stream worth billions per annum (Europe actually has a bigger economy than the US).
Who would be laughing then?
Of course, the US government would oppose this, for the same reason that the US government doesn't come down hard on Microsoft: MS brings in vast amounts of money from the rest of the world. Microsoft's diseconomies are the price Americans pay for milking the rest of the world.
"I am gay. And a member of the legalize marijuana political action group. And a member of the "Send the Africans back to Africa" Charity. Also, I routinely travel 56 mph in a 55 mph zone. And get drunk 1/month in my closet. And I once masturbated while looking at pictures of dead dogs. And I collect my own snot and eat it. I still wet my bed. I won't do business with those dirty, thieving Jews. And I am a card carrying member of the ACLU. And I despise children."
Welcome to Slashdot. You'll fit in well here. But don't tell people that you only do 56 in 55 mph zones - they'll blame you for holding up the traffic.
No. Chair throwing is the mature civilised way of expressing an opinion. Like bounding around a stage shouting like a gorilla. These are the ways a suited businessman might behave. Even a CEO.
Not like the uncouth practice of sending email to a list. That is most unseemly and unprofessional. Only communists and hobbyists would do that.
"I want a bridge from A to B... but it needs to have a swimming pool in it. And an airport. You must be able to take off or cross over, depending on whether the vehicle is green or non-green. Except on Tuesdays, because on Tuesdays we actually need a boat ramp, not a bridge. But the swimming pool stays. But only the diving end.
We'll let you know how wide it will have to be halfway through construction. Well, actually, we are not sure that we really need to cross over that body of water. We might just be using the bridge as a car park. Our staff always need to have somewhere to park. Well, half the time. But Accounts would like to use part of the bridge to store their old end-of year reconciliations. Perhaps we could use those to prop up one end of the bridge, to save costs and materials."
Users often don't know what they want. Don't know what their own processes are. And often lack any vision about how to change them. Getting the user to be clear about what they need, and to sign off, is hard. And meanwhile they think you are the one that is holding up the project, because they have no idea how useless their "specifications" are. And you have to be nice to them. Patience is a programmer's virtue, if they are dealing directly with the client (our programmers do).
I am not American - neither is 95% of the world's population.
I'd say that "technological freedoms and associated liberties" are very much in my "national self-interest", and in the "national self-interest" of 95% of the world's population.
Except that I'd also suggest that it is in the long-term interests of America - heck, even in the short-term, many firms would benefit from greater competition and choice within the IT market. Isn't that how capitalism is supposed to work?
You fail to understand the cost of Microsoft to America. How much time do you think is wasted on dealing with spam, viruses, re-installing unstable Windows, etc, etc? America needs Microsoft like it needs more calories in its diet.
Of course, if you think ripping off other nations is in America's self-interest, just remember... we outnumber you. Play nicely.
Slashdot Mirror
Them's fighting words.
Gives a whole new meaning to the expression "looking a bit sheepish".
Baaaah!
You know, if the government stays out of the market ... there goes copyright law. Copyright law is massive government intervention - a government-created monopoly. If we drop the anti-trust ... we also drop the copyright protection.
Or are you only in favour of dropping consumer protection laws?
Ayn Rand - the Business Lobby's friend.
But you won't know how to reproduce.
Um, like you're going to take on the world's biggest military machine with a little tinpot local uprising - and YOU GONNA CHANGE THE COUNTRY!
Yep. Sure you are. I'm convinced.
I'd like to add the Alien series to the list of serious science fiction.
... what about "Santa Claus and the Martians", eh?
Oh, and as for the good ole days
Do you really think the genre is going downhill? I think Lucas is an improvement on SCatM.
They don't make them like they used to. Thank goodness.
And if Europe responded by revoking all Microsoft copyrights ... meaning that any Microsoft product brought into Europe from anywhere else in the world could be copied endlessly - and have all the activation keys etc. broken. The Europeans wouldn't miss out, MS would lose a major income stream worth billions per annum (Europe actually has a bigger economy than the US).
Who would be laughing then?
Of course, the US government would oppose this, for the same reason that the US government doesn't come down hard on Microsoft: MS brings in vast amounts of money from the rest of the world. Microsoft's diseconomies are the price Americans pay for milking the rest of the world.
"And have you ever considered the final implications of a sacrifice-the-good-to-strangers principle?"
You go to heaven?
Microsoft should ask him how he got the BSOD count down so low.
"I've had multiple girls refuse to date me simply because I'm not Christian"
What about the single girls?
Report it to the BSA ... the software police.
"I am gay. And a member of the legalize marijuana political action group. And a member of the "Send the Africans back to Africa" Charity. Also, I routinely travel 56 mph in a 55 mph zone. And get drunk 1/month in my closet. And I once masturbated while looking at pictures of dead dogs. And I collect my own snot and eat it. I still wet my bed. I won't do business with those dirty, thieving Jews. And I am a card carrying member of the ACLU. And I despise children."
Welcome to Slashdot. You'll fit in well here. But don't tell people that you only do 56 in 55 mph zones - they'll blame you for holding up the traffic.
You, sir, have no academic credibility in my humble opinion.
Professor Ignavus
Multiple Nobel Laureate
Visiting Professor at Oxford, Cambridge, Rome, Paris, Moscow, Punxsatawny
No. Chair throwing is the mature civilised way of expressing an opinion. Like bounding around a stage shouting like a gorilla. These are the ways a suited businessman might behave. Even a CEO.
Not like the uncouth practice of sending email to a list. That is most unseemly and unprofessional. Only communists and hobbyists would do that.
Especially if you are a woman.
Apparently, if you heat it up, you have a steam-driven computer.
No, your posts are getting through OK.
"Stiffer" than diamond???
"As if driving and talking on the phone wasn't dangerous enough. How will I hold the steering wheel?"
With one hand.
Pirates used to sail around the ocean until they saw a pretty looking ship. Then they would copy its design and build their own pretty looking ship.
That way they could avoid paying a naval architect to design such a ship.
It drove all those poor naval architects nearly bankrupt.
We mustn't let it happen again.
Help stamp out piracy - don't make illegal copies!
That's why copyright infringement is technically piracy.
One of the courses had this comment in the online syllabus material:
"You should attend all the classes, no matter what. Nothing you could read will replace what goes on in class."
(link)
Software design is just like building bridges ...
... but it needs to have a swimming pool in it. And an airport. You must be able to take off or cross over, depending on whether the vehicle is green or non-green. Except on Tuesdays, because on Tuesdays we actually need a boat ramp, not a bridge. But the swimming pool stays. But only the diving end.
"I want a bridge from A to B
We'll let you know how wide it will have to be halfway through construction. Well, actually, we are not sure that we really need to cross over that body of water. We might just be using the bridge as a car park. Our staff always need to have somewhere to park. Well, half the time. But Accounts would like to use part of the bridge to store their old end-of year reconciliations. Perhaps we could use those to prop up one end of the bridge, to save costs and materials."
Users often don't know what they want. Don't know what their own processes are. And often lack any vision about how to change them. Getting the user to be clear about what they need, and to sign off, is hard. And meanwhile they think you are the one that is holding up the project, because they have no idea how useless their "specifications" are. And you have to be nice to them. Patience is a programmer's virtue, if they are dealing directly with the client (our programmers do).
"it makes no sense to reimplement in another language just for the sake of reimplementing it"
Dang!
There goes half of the open source projects on Sourceforge.
I am not American - neither is 95% of the world's population.
... we outnumber you. Play nicely.
I'd say that "technological freedoms and associated liberties" are very much in my "national self-interest", and in the "national self-interest" of 95% of the world's population.
Except that I'd also suggest that it is in the long-term interests of America - heck, even in the short-term, many firms would benefit from greater competition and choice within the IT market. Isn't that how capitalism is supposed to work?
You fail to understand the cost of Microsoft to America. How much time do you think is wasted on dealing with spam, viruses, re-installing unstable Windows, etc, etc? America needs Microsoft like it needs more calories in its diet.
Of course, if you think ripping off other nations is in America's self-interest, just remember
So what is causing you all to feel so certain that free will doesn't exist? Is it sociological causes? Physiological causes?
... hmmm, that would explain a lot of the beliefs floating around on Slashdot ...
"Brain tumour epidemic hits Slashdot"