If you write a book, it's unlikely that somebody's going to excerpt part of your book for their own use.
Well, except for academic plagiarism....
And I wouldn't put it past some cheapie encyclopedias to paraphrase the big ones, rather than do original work.
Remember, not all books are works of fiction. Non-fiction books are often faced with previous studies of the same topic - the opportunity and temptation to plagiarise are real.
Then there are student essays... I have had my marked essay stolen by some unknown person, who presumably hoped to use it in their own work - or sell it to someone else for similar purposes. Just because it wasn't published doesn't mean it is in the public domain.
The GPL is *quite separate* to "assign[ing] copyrights to the FSF". There is NO requirement to assign any copyrights to the FSF or anyone else when distributing software under the GPL. You can keep the copyright yourself and ALSO distribute your code under another licence at the same time.
Example. Linux (the kernel) is copyright to all the contributors, but distributed under the GPL. The FSF does NOT oen the Linux kernel source code.
You have completely confused two separate and distinct ideas. And no one is "coercing" anyone. RMS is simply giving his opinion. Unless you are some kind of emotional robot, you are not being influenced by mind-rays, coerced, defrauded, seduced, suckered or anything else into using the GPL.
So maybe they shouldn't have any sway with politicians any more. Oh, wait a moment, the corporations still contribute to the campaign funds. So I guess it is "reasonable" they should still dictate government policy.
Only a socialist would argue that government policy should be determined by the people.
I beg to differ, you insensitive clod. It is a rather cold winter at the moment.
##rant-begin Why do Americans keep referring to non-weather things as happening during particular seasons - seasons don't translate onto the world stage, they are parochial. I can understand weather-related events being expressed in terms of seasons (winter sports, summer fashions, summer vacations, etc), but software and television shows are not outdoor activities.
In my local brand of English, we never talk this way about non-weather-related activities. We might say that a new software package will come out in the "third quarter of 2004" or in "September 2004", or in "the second half of 2004" - but NOT in "summer 2004", because it is so vague and confusing. My mind simply goes blank when I see Americans referring to "summer" - it is so confusing to try to work out *when* you are referring to.
Our summer lasts from 1 Dec to 28/29 Feb - our seasons don't align with yours, they are not simply the opposite. Using seasons to describe time is NOT internet friendly - it doesn't scale. ## end-rant
I also object to paying for something merely because it is hiding behind unnecessarily protected knowledge. This is an entrance fee, not a reward for innovation.
The FOSS world IS capable of producing free DVD players without copying commercial code. But artifical restrictions are preventing or limiting this.
I will pay for cool programs that the company deserves to be paid for. I paid for VMWare, because I think they did some cool stuff, and earned my fee. I don't want to be shunted back to the "pay at the barrier" tariff approach to software that Microsoft and its ilk want to maintain.
Too much commercial software is based on milking users through restrictive trade practices sanctioned by a pro-business, anti-consumer government. It is corporate welfare. And it is NOT sound economics. The growing corporate stranglehold on knowledge may well condemn the world to a regime of mediocrity.
OEMs (you know, the people who sell whole computers, not just operating systems) would install the browser of their choice. So OEM1 would install Mozilla, OEM2 would install Spyg- I mean IE, OEM3 would install Opera... and they would have to compete on features.
And in other news today, the whole population of the United States - except for those descended from the pre-Columban inhabitants - decided to emigrate to their ancestral countries of origin.
"Settling North America was really bad - there were other people already there. We should have respected their rights," said outgoing president Bush.
The new President of the US (United Sioux), Chief Speaking Bull, announced that he looked forward to the re-emergence of the buffalo on the (now uninhabited) great plains. "But we will keep horses - and firearms", he added. "And broadband."
The rewly minted coins of the US have adopted the motto: "In Great Spirit we trust". There was some debate about what that actually meant.
Microsoft is to software what various fastfood franchises are to nutrition. Convenient and flashy interface, but causes all sorts of health problems...
You are just like the person who says, "You can free your slaves whenever you want, but we must not outlaw slavery. Because that restricts people's freedom - their freedom to sell themselves back into slavery whenever they choose to do so."
Freedom to sell yourself into slavery is not "true freedom". But it is possible to dress it up as freedom.
And the BSD license which allows someone to release BSD code under a closed license isn't true freedom either - for exactly the same reason.
Handing out code without caring about its future is not freedom, it is neglect. There is a difference.
Well, I note that they chose a name that includes a common noun... that gradually becomes "theirs" - windows. And ditto for "access", and "excel", and "word", and "explorer", and... you see, Microsoft is like the person who lives next door to a public park, and he gradually pushes his fences out until - oops, the public park is inside his fence. Funny that! Microsoft English (TM).
So FREEDOM, as in liberty, as in not being treated as an object to be manipluated, owned, lied to, spoken marketese to, etc etc.
Linux is written by real people. Linus lived out *my* dream - of writing my own operating system. And I got a shiver up my spine the first time I booted Linux and thought - this PC is running without a single bit of Microsoft code.
I love the community sector and co-operation. Linux is pure community, pure co-operation, and people doing things as an end in itself, and not just as a marketing ploy - as a tool to extract more money.
Windows is fundamentally, irretrievably insincere. Linux is sincere. Linus Torvalds is not trying to sell you anything.
Re:Using the right tool for the job
on
OpenGL in PHP
·
· Score: 1
When you are a nail, everything looks like a hammer.
(i.e. if you are vulnerable, everything looks like a threat).
"Off" and "down" are NOT prepositions. They are ADVERBS. You can "shut the computer down", or "shut down the computer" (both uses of "down" being adverbial).
Likewise, you can "walk into the room", but you can't "walk the room into" - because "into" IS a preposition, unlike "off" and "down". Adverbs tend to be more mobile than prepositions, for one thing.
In early Middle English, -th WAS the plural verb form - as in the phrase "Manners maketh the man". It was the original Old English plural verb ending: we writath = we write.
BUT... back when "doth" was the verb form for "you", "you" was "ye" (being the subject) and "methinks" was "methinketh".
So the poster should have written: Methinketh ye doth protest too much.
But 'tis all one. The original quote is:
"The lady doth protest too much, methinks." in Hamlet (Act III, scene ii) . No plural - no "you" - not Middle English.
the run-time optimizer cannot easily be duplicated in statically compiled languages
Statically compiled? As in where I download the source and statically compile on my own machine. Oh, I can see how statically compiling for my exact hardware, taking the time to really optimise, is going to be a lot slower than an application compiling "on the fly".
Good thing no one compiles their own kernel, because that would really be slower than a JIT Java-based kernel.
Slashdot Mirror
I just think it's the middle of the muddle.
If you write a book, it's unlikely that somebody's going to excerpt part of your book for their own use.
Well, except for academic plagiarism....
And I wouldn't put it past some cheapie encyclopedias to paraphrase the big ones, rather than do original work.
Remember, not all books are works of fiction. Non-fiction books are often faced with previous studies of the same topic - the opportunity and temptation to plagiarise are real.
Then there are student essays... I have had my marked essay stolen by some unknown person, who presumably hoped to use it in their own work - or sell it to someone else for similar purposes. Just because it wasn't published doesn't mean it is in the public domain.
FALSE.
The GPL is *quite separate* to "assign[ing] copyrights to the FSF". There is NO requirement to assign any copyrights to the FSF or anyone else when distributing software under the GPL. You can keep the copyright yourself and ALSO distribute your code under another licence at the same time.
Example. Linux (the kernel) is copyright to all the contributors, but distributed under the GPL. The FSF does NOT oen the Linux kernel source code.
You have completely confused two separate and distinct ideas. And no one is "coercing" anyone. RMS is simply giving his opinion. Unless you are some kind of emotional robot, you are not being influenced by mind-rays, coerced, defrauded, seduced, suckered or anything else into using the GPL.
Mod him DOWN.
Please.
So maybe they shouldn't have any sway with politicians any more. Oh, wait a moment, the corporations still contribute to the campaign funds. So I guess it is "reasonable" they should still dictate government policy.
Only a socialist would argue that government policy should be determined by the people.
I beg to differ, you insensitive clod. It is a rather cold winter at the moment.
##rant-begin
Why do Americans keep referring to non-weather things as happening during particular seasons - seasons don't translate onto the world stage, they are parochial. I can understand weather-related events being expressed in terms of seasons (winter sports, summer fashions, summer vacations, etc), but software and television shows are not outdoor activities.
In my local brand of English, we never talk this way about non-weather-related activities. We might say that a new software package will come out in the "third quarter of 2004" or in "September 2004", or in "the second half of 2004" - but NOT in "summer 2004", because it is so vague and confusing. My mind simply goes blank when I see Americans referring to "summer" - it is so confusing to try to work out *when* you are referring to.
Our summer lasts from 1 Dec to 28/29 Feb - our seasons don't align with yours, they are not simply the opposite. Using seasons to describe time is NOT internet friendly - it doesn't scale.
## end-rant
Me - feeling grumpy this winter.
The important thing is not to stop questioning. --Albert Einstein
Why?
I also object to paying for something merely because it is hiding behind unnecessarily protected knowledge. This is an entrance fee, not a reward for innovation.
The FOSS world IS capable of producing free DVD players without copying commercial code. But artifical restrictions are preventing or limiting this.
I will pay for cool programs that the company deserves to be paid for. I paid for VMWare, because I think they did some cool stuff, and earned my fee. I don't want to be shunted back to the "pay at the barrier" tariff approach to software that Microsoft and its ilk want to maintain.
Too much commercial software is based on milking users through restrictive trade practices sanctioned by a pro-business, anti-consumer government. It is corporate welfare. And it is NOT sound economics. The growing corporate stranglehold on knowledge may well condemn the world to a regime of mediocrity.
Rubbish.
... and they would have to compete on features.
OEMs (you know, the people who sell whole computers, not just operating systems) would install the browser of their choice. So OEM1 would install Mozilla, OEM2 would install Spyg- I mean IE, OEM3 would install Opera
What have the IE engineers been doing for the last three years?
Trying to weld IE into the OS. And weld it closed (DRM, etc).
And in other news today, the whole population of the United States - except for those descended from the pre-Columban inhabitants - decided to emigrate to their ancestral countries of origin.
"Settling North America was really bad - there were other people already there. We should have respected their rights," said outgoing president Bush.
The new President of the US (United Sioux), Chief Speaking Bull, announced that he looked forward to the re-emergence of the buffalo on the (now uninhabited) great plains. "But we will keep horses - and firearms", he added. "And broadband."
The rewly minted coins of the US have adopted the motto: "In Great Spirit we trust". There was some debate about what that actually meant.
Microsoft is to software what various fastfood franchises are to nutrition. Convenient and flashy interface, but causes all sorts of health problems ...
It's much faster than boches
Well, the French will do anything to criticise the Germans. Except compliment the British. Or the Americans.
But I never thought of benchmarking a CPU emulator against the Boches (or "Gerry" as we prefer to call him). Perhaps they meant that Zuse computer.
Ah, ze CPU run fast, but ze Boches run faster wiz ze French armee after zem, n'est pas?
You are just like the person who says, "You can free your slaves whenever you want, but we must not outlaw slavery. Because that restricts people's freedom - their freedom to sell themselves back into slavery whenever they choose to do so."
Freedom to sell yourself into slavery is not "true freedom". But it is possible to dress it up as freedom.
And the BSD license which allows someone to release BSD code under a closed license isn't true freedom either - for exactly the same reason.
Handing out code without caring about its future is not freedom, it is neglect. There is a difference.
Hey, they came second. They get a silver medal.
In all the claims about Linux costing more than Windows, Linux costing less, etc... ...how do they work out the cost of freedom?
If Windows costs less than Linux then your freedom must be worth very little to you.
Windows comes with a free set of manacles; Linux comes with free liberty.
Comparing Windows with Linux is like comparing a major franchise's hamburgers with real homemade food.
For the same reason that the Mafia never need to pay insurance - they only make others pay.
If FOSS users need insurance, but MS users don't, that is a sure sign that MS is behaving like the Mafia.
And they are funding SCO. And AdTI. There is a pattern of anti-competitive behaviour here bordering on racketeering and gangsterism.
What keeps me off "Microsoft Windows"?
... that gradually becomes "theirs" - windows. And ditto for "access", and "excel", and "word", and "explorer", and ... you see, Microsoft is like the person who lives next door to a public park, and he gradually pushes his fences out until - oops, the public park is inside his fence. Funny that! Microsoft English (TM).
Well, I note that they chose a name that includes a common noun
So FREEDOM, as in liberty, as in not being treated as an object to be manipluated, owned, lied to, spoken marketese to, etc etc.
Linux is written by real people. Linus lived out *my* dream - of writing my own operating system. And I got a shiver up my spine the first time I booted Linux and thought - this PC is running without a single bit of Microsoft code.
I love the community sector and co-operation. Linux is pure community, pure co-operation, and people doing things as an end in itself, and not just as a marketing ploy - as a tool to extract more money.
Windows is fundamentally, irretrievably insincere. Linux is sincere. Linus Torvalds is not trying to sell you anything.
When you are a nail, everything looks like a hammer.
(i.e. if you are vulnerable, everything looks like a threat).
Sigh.
"Off" and "down" are NOT prepositions. They are ADVERBS. You can "shut the computer down", or "shut down the computer" (both uses of "down" being adverbial).
Likewise, you can "walk into the room", but you can't "walk the room into" - because "into" IS a preposition, unlike "off" and "down". Adverbs tend to be more mobile than prepositions, for one thing.
I thought it said ..."It's hard to believe that it's already been 25 years since the release of one of the world's first 'killer apes.'
I thought it was about King Kong!
I love the idea of modifying maps.
"Hey, let's put a lake here, and change this bit of coastland so that my house now has a waterfrontage."
"I just modified the map. You now live inside an active volcano."
A dragon cave near my home sounds kinda cool. But I'd need a hill for that. Easily fixed...
Actually, that is not necessarily the error.
... back when "doth" was the verb form for "you", "you" was "ye" (being the subject) and "methinks" was "methinketh".
In early Middle English, -th WAS the plural verb form - as in the phrase "Manners maketh the man". It was the original Old English plural verb ending: we writath = we write.
BUT
So the poster should have written: Methinketh ye doth protest too much.
But 'tis all one. The original quote is:
"The lady doth protest too much, methinks." in Hamlet (Act III, scene ii) . No plural - no "you" - not Middle English.
the run-time optimizer cannot easily be duplicated in statically compiled languages
Statically compiled? As in where I download the source and statically compile on my own machine. Oh, I can see how statically compiling for my exact hardware, taking the time to really optimise, is going to be a lot slower than an application compiling "on the fly".
Good thing no one compiles their own kernel, because that would really be slower than a JIT Java-based kernel.
Yeah, it is sort of like bragging about what algorithms you use.
"FooBar Office - Now with Mark and Sweep Garbage Collection, and Red-Black Trees!"
Still, that's an improvement on "It's cross-platform! It runs on Windows 95 AND Windows NT!"