Obviously it (will) cost Motoral money to research, develop, and implement this technology. A cost that will be passed on to the consumer in one way or another. So the idea is to charge consumers more in exchange for crippling the product?
Hopefully someone has already patented this "business model" and will sue the holy bejesus out of them for infringement. I wish I had a spare 30 or 40 mil lying around... I'd try it just for kicks!
This is old school tech. I mean, c'mon, haven't you seen "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids"?
Speaking of that awful movie, does anyone remember the sequel, "Honey, I Blew Up the Kids"? Heh. I was driving by the local theatre a few years ago, when I saw a most unfortunate gaffe on their billboard. It seems they were showing the equally awful "3 Ninjas" at the same time, advertised on the line below, but they didn't have enough room to complete the title of HIBUTK... So the sign actually displayed the following:
Hanguns, hunting rifles, shotguns, etc are completely ineffective against armored vehicles, let alone aircraft.
Tell that to the Viet Cong who were such a thorn in the side of the US forces. Sure the North Vietnamese regulars had (somewhat) modern weaponry, but the VC were highly effective with nothing more than rifles, booby traps, and the odd homemade explosive or two. Ditto the rebel Afghanistans who successfully repulsed the Soviet Union. ---------
If you signed a no disclosure agreement with the company the could turn around and say your offering priveledged information on a public place which could jeapordize their business.
"We suck!" is a trade secret? If so, then I'm afraid the cat's already out of the bag. Several companies have already made extensive use of the concept.
It's non-zero sum. No one loses, 'cuz they give you all the answers anyway.
It would be way cool if they made it a zero-sum game though. How about if they put electrodes on the kids' tongues and give them a good zap if they don't figure out the puzzle in time? Or maybe ol' Blue himself could jump out of the screen and maul them. That dorky Steve guy should get mauled regardless... he bugs me.
As long as the case continues to be presented in this light, the public support will ultimately fall on "our" side.
This may be true, but I fear that the case simply isn't being presented in this light. In fact it doesn't seem to be presented at all. Oh sure, it's presented on/., K5, and whatnot, but in the mainstream media? Not that I've seen. Of course, the mainstream media is largely owned by the corporate interests supporting the DMCA in the first place... odd coincidence, eh?
Small wonder the guy in the earlier post got strange looks when he wore his anti dvdcca t-shirt... the majority of america knows nothing about the issue.
God didn't say "if you do these things" he said thought, word and deed.
IIRC, Mary was only 12 or 13 when God knocked her up... fscking child molester. ---------
Okay... why not? I think IM could make a valid claim that they are "commenting" on the game <Obi Wan>from a certain point of view</Obi Wan>. Let's look at the numbered points, shall we?
the purpose and character of the use, including whether
such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit
educational purposes; Would the commercial nature of the IM website invalidate fair use? Hell, Siskel and Ebert's show used clips from movies, no? They sold commercial airtime, no?
the nature of the copyrighted work; How is this applied?
the amount and substantiality of the portion used in
relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; I haven't looked at the entire site, but unless they have thousands of screenshots, I'm willing to bet it's a miniscule percentage of all the screens in the game.
the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work. It seems to me that the IM site is increasing the potential market for the game. Even if they're saying "Don't buy this game! Looky here at these screenshots... they suck!" so what? Criticism is protected under fair use, no?
Well, yeah, that's exactly the point I was trying to make. Perhaps I worded it poorly.
The post I replied to seemed to suggest that the Alta Vista patents are invalid because the concept of indexing already existed. Clearly, Eli Whitney did not invent the concept of removing cotton seeds, he invented a device to do so.
I don't see how anyone could get an indexing related patent. Indexing has been around since before computers.
So by your logic, Eli Whitney should have been denied a patent for an invention which automated a manual process that already existed (removing cotton seeds)?
but even then I think the Romans, Greek, Egyptians, et. al. also had forms of indexing
They probably did. They also probably removed cotton seeds by hand.
I'm not saying the AltaVista patent (or software patents in general) should be valid, just that your argument is invalid.
So let me get this straight... They're going to decrease utility and increase the price? Great plan. Too bad it won't work.
Basic economic principles show that people will soon direct their disposable income to something else. The electronics industry seems much better able to grasp this concept than the entertainment industry.
Me? I say to hell with 'em. I think the overwhelming majority of new music, movies, and television is tripe anyway. It won't sadden me too much to do without.
A close friend of mine is a bit of a WWII aficianado. He collects paraphanalia from just about every country involved... US, Russia, Germany, Japan, Italy, etc. He has flags, banners, currency, weapons, medals, and whatnot. Many of the German articles have (surprise, surprise) swastikas on them.
Prodigy doesn't have as much money to fight with. BT therefore has a better chance to win this lawsuit and set a precedent for upcoming cases against the big boys.
...yet. None of my tech jobs so far have relied upon stock options or any of that nonsense.
If the NASDAQ's recent plunge and a corresponding dip (or maybe just a slowdown) in the Dow signal a more widespread economic downturn, then perhaps I will eventually be affected. Sure, my mutual funds and 401k haven't exactly grown at the rate I expected this past year, but hey, those are long term investments anyway. I check the numbers each morning, then yawn and flip to the sports section.
Just my opinion of course, but I don't see interactive TV becoming very popular. The passivity of television is part of its appeal. No thought necessary, you just sit back and zone.
Hell, people already fight over who gets the remote... would a keyboard/mouse/whatever be any different? Do you think Joe Sixpack will interrupt pro wrestling because his wife wants to send an email? "Dammit, woman, use the 'puter for that sheeeyit! Sting's about to hit this guy over the head with a chair!"
Why stop with genetic tests for Huntingdon's? Why not do a full battery of genetic, ultrasound, blood, and urine tests. Hell, throw in some psychological profiling for good measure... it wouldn't serve the consumer to raise premiums to cover drug addiction or psychological counseling, now would it? Then the insurance companies can deny coverage if any problems of any kind present themselves.
Isn't it reassuring to know that one day you'll only be able to get health insurance if you don't need it?
Instead of merely posting the idea on/., why not actually apply for the patent (assuming you have the time/money/inclination to do so)? What better way to point out the flaws in the system than to abuse the holy bejeezus out of it? Perhaps then someone will get a clue.
It might be fun to award bonus points to those who can cram their obviously stupid ideas through the process and be awarded an actual patent.
I would love to believe that this analysis is correct, but at least one of Eric Scheirer's arguments fails...
"Content can't be stopped legally."
Of course not, but that's exactly why the media companies have decided to rewrite the law!.
Yes, recessions are inevitable. Find a dictionary and look up the term business cycle... no wait, I'll do it for you
The Fed's true role is to moderate the business cycle. When successful, as they have generally been since the hard lessons of the 30's, recessions still occur, they just don't become full blown depressions.
Slashdot Mirror
Back in 1997-8, I did some work for the USPS. The systems I worked with at the time used DB2.
Perhps they have since ripped out all the DB2 systems and replaced them with Oracle. Heh... maybe this explains all the recent postage increases.
GATES: MOVE 'ALCHIN'.
Obviously it (will) cost Motoral money to research, develop, and implement this technology. A cost that will be passed on to the consumer in one way or another. So the idea is to charge consumers more in exchange for crippling the product?
Hopefully someone has already patented this "business model" and will sue the holy bejesus out of them for infringement. I wish I had a spare 30 or 40 mil lying around... I'd try it just for kicks!
GATES: MOVE 'ALCHIN'.
This is old school tech. I mean, c'mon, haven't you seen "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids"?
Speaking of that awful movie, does anyone remember the sequel, "Honey, I Blew Up the Kids"? Heh. I was driving by the local theatre a few years ago, when I saw a most unfortunate gaffe on their billboard. It seems they were showing the equally awful "3 Ninjas" at the same time, advertised on the line below, but they didn't have enough room to complete the title of HIBUTK... So the sign actually displayed the following:
I laughed so hard I almost wrecked the car
Yeah, Yeah... -1 offtopic... I know.
GATES: MOVE 'ALCHIN'.
Hanguns, hunting rifles, shotguns, etc are completely ineffective against armored vehicles, let alone aircraft.
Tell that to the Viet Cong who were such a thorn in the side of the US forces. Sure the North Vietnamese regulars had (somewhat) modern weaponry, but the VC were highly effective with nothing more than rifles, booby traps, and the odd homemade explosive or two. Ditto the rebel Afghanistans who successfully repulsed the Soviet Union.
---------
Many plants do indeed consume oxygen. They simply produce more through photosynthesis than they consume through respiration.
---------
Reminds me of that line from the first "Naked Gun" movie. Well, the doctors say he's 50/50... but there's only a 10% chance of that.
---------
"We suck!" is a trade secret? If so, then I'm afraid the cat's already out of the bag. Several companies have already made extensive use of the concept.
---------
It's non-zero sum. No one loses, 'cuz they give you all the answers anyway.
It would be way cool if they made it a zero-sum game though. How about if they put electrodes on the kids' tongues and give them a good zap if they don't figure out the puzzle in time? Or maybe ol' Blue himself could jump out of the screen and maul them. That dorky Steve guy should get mauled regardless... he bugs me.
---------
As long as the case continues to be presented in this light, the public support will ultimately fall on "our" side.
This may be true, but I fear that the case simply isn't being presented in this light. In fact it doesn't seem to be presented at all. Oh sure, it's presented on /., K5, and whatnot, but in the mainstream media? Not that I've seen. Of course, the mainstream media is largely owned by the corporate interests supporting the DMCA in the first place... odd coincidence, eh?
Small wonder the guy in the earlier post got strange looks when he wore his anti dvdcca t-shirt... the majority of america knows nothing about the issue.
---------
God didn't say "if you do these things" he said thought, word and deed. IIRC, Mary was only 12 or 13 when God knocked her up... fscking child molester.
---------
Okay... why not? I think IM could make a valid claim that they are "commenting" on the game <Obi Wan>from a certain point of view</Obi Wan>. Let's look at the numbered points, shall we?
So clue me in... why isn't this fair use?
---------
Well, yeah, that's exactly the point I was trying to make. Perhaps I worded it poorly.
The post I replied to seemed to suggest that the Alta Vista patents are invalid because the concept of indexing already existed. Clearly, Eli Whitney did not invent the concept of removing cotton seeds, he invented a device to do so.
---------
I don't see how anyone could get an indexing related patent. Indexing has been around since before computers.
So by your logic, Eli Whitney should have been denied a patent for an invention which automated a manual process that already existed (removing cotton seeds)?
but even then I think the Romans, Greek, Egyptians, et. al. also had forms of indexing
They probably did. They also probably removed cotton seeds by hand.
I'm not saying the AltaVista patent (or software patents in general) should be valid, just that your argument is invalid.
---------
So let me get this straight... They're going to decrease utility and increase the price? Great plan. Too bad it won't work.
Basic economic principles show that people will soon direct their disposable income to something else. The electronics industry seems much better able to grasp this concept than the entertainment industry.Me? I say to hell with 'em. I think the overwhelming majority of new music, movies, and television is tripe anyway. It won't sadden me too much to do without.
Well, some of them are, anyway.
A close friend of mine is a bit of a WWII aficianado. He collects paraphanalia from just about every country involved... US, Russia, Germany, Japan, Italy, etc. He has flags, banners, currency, weapons, medals, and whatnot. Many of the German articles have (surprise, surprise) swastikas on them.
It's rather simple, really.
Prodigy doesn't have as much money to fight with. BT therefore has a better chance to win this lawsuit and set a precedent for upcoming cases against the big boys.
...yet. None of my tech jobs so far have relied upon stock options or any of that nonsense.
If the NASDAQ's recent plunge and a corresponding dip (or maybe just a slowdown) in the Dow signal a more widespread economic downturn, then perhaps I will eventually be affected. Sure, my mutual funds and 401k haven't exactly grown at the rate I expected this past year, but hey, those are long term investments anyway. I check the numbers each morning, then yawn and flip to the sports section.
Just my opinion of course, but I don't see interactive TV becoming very popular. The passivity of television is part of its appeal. No thought necessary, you just sit back and zone.
Hell, people already fight over who gets the remote... would a keyboard/mouse/whatever be any different? Do you think Joe Sixpack will interrupt pro wrestling because his wife wants to send an email? "Dammit, woman, use the 'puter for that sheeeyit! Sting's about to hit this guy over the head with a chair!"
Why stop with genetic tests for Huntingdon's? Why not do a full battery of genetic, ultrasound, blood, and urine tests. Hell, throw in some psychological profiling for good measure... it wouldn't serve the consumer to raise premiums to cover drug addiction or psychological counseling, now would it? Then the insurance companies can deny coverage if any problems of any kind present themselves.
Isn't it reassuring to know that one day you'll only be able to get health insurance if you don't need it?
Instead of merely posting the idea on /., why not actually apply for the patent (assuming you have the time/money/inclination to do so)? What better way to point out the flaws in the system than to abuse the holy bejeezus out of it? Perhaps then someone will get a clue.
It might be fun to award bonus points to those who can cram their obviously stupid ideas through the process and be awarded an actual patent.
Yeah, but /. runs on multiple servers. The ad copy makes performance claims for one box.
I would love to believe that this analysis is correct, but at least one of Eric Scheirer's arguments fails... "Content can't be stopped legally." Of course not, but that's exactly why the media companies have decided to rewrite the law!.
Yes, recessions are inevitable. Find a dictionary and look up the term business cycle... no wait, I'll do it for you
The Fed's true role is to moderate the business cycle. When successful, as they have generally been since the hard lessons of the 30's, recessions still occur, they just don't become full blown depressions.
---------