Yep, they certainly do have a point. While I think that hacking their hardware/software is great (and I bet LEGO thinks so too), there's no point in poking their lawyers with a stick. IP and trademark are protect it or lose it type stuff.
There are any number of ex-trademarks that were lost because the company didn't defend the trademark (or botched it): Aspirin, linolium, yo-yo, thermos, cellophane, milk of magnesia, lanolin, celluloid, dry ice, escalator, shredded wheat and zipper. (Source: "Made in America", Bill Bryson) While these names are now public domain, some company once created and owned them. Those companies lost big when their trademark became generic.
I'm sure that the LEGO people would rather shoot their own feet off than have to sue someone, but you have to defend a trademark or lose it! They can't afford to lose the LEGO trademark, otherwise anyone can call their product LEGO.
I hope Noga will understand (NogaOS?), and LEGO could give him a few bulk cases of LEGO. And then everyone could go have a cream soda with ice cream float.
LEGO are White Hat Good Guys, Noga is White Hat Good Guy. This problem is stupid, and is just attracting the suits and lawyers.
Now if only LEGO would make steel blocks so that I could build the perfect BattleBot!
Re:Face Recognition Software
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· Score: 2
As a Canadian, I don't like the idea that these people were able to enter Canada, then cross over the relatively soft U.S./Canada border. (If this turns out to be true.)
We put people on watch-lists now, but if they use fake ID, they can bypass the system. Facial recognition at customs (not airports per se, note!) could at least bounce them out of the express lane: "Citizenship?" "Canadian" "Purpose of visit?" "Weekend trip to Niagra Falls" "Anything to declare?" "Nope" "Right, off you go."
Your worries about "discriminate against people with Arabic genetics" is a strawman argument. Who said anything about that?
I don't see any problem with convicted criminals going in the database (depending on the government that did the convicting) or someone spotted in a terrorist training camp. Just so long as they can't ooze through borders, or claim to be a "poor wittle wefugue" without some checking.
Note also that at the Portland ferry U.S. customs, many people are let through without any challenge at all. A facial scanning system could also vett frequent Okay vistors: "Mrs. Smith, visits her daughter every Thursday, mostly harmless."
Your civil rights at the border/customs are perhaps much less than you think. Try insisting on your lawyer when asked for a full cavity search.
Depending on the agent used, it would probably kill me with a hyperthermia allergic reaction.
Not exactly the friendly skies...
Re:We CAN punish the hijackers!
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Nah, clone a thousand Bubbas and put them on the terrorists'.. tail.
Re:it seems we could do more to help the effort.
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Post the URL, and we can/. the site -- That'll teach him a lesson!
Face Recognition Software
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· Score: 3, Funny
Does anyone have any objection to facial recognition systems at customs? And a database of people who should either be checked out carefully, bounced, or arrested on the spot?
Wouldn't pictures from Boston before the flights be more useful? They got the car of one team thanks to someone connecting it with a traffic incident he had with them.
Gah! And your source for this info is? I heard no rumour of any 5th plane over the Potomac in any news report. There was the rumoured "Camp David" aircraft, which might have been the Pennsylvania crash, but that was it.
When they listed the 4th plane that went down in whatever county, Pennsylvania, they listed it as "whatever CO, Pennsylvania".
Any bets that someone misread it in the heat of news-reporting?
There'd be no point in hijacking a plane over Colorado -- Where would you hit before eveything was grounded? And this damned bastard operation was timed to the second. (Any bets that killing 350 police and firefighters was a node in their plan tree?)
Ahh, I think I know how that happened. They listed the 4th plane as having gone down in somethingorother county, and shortened it to somethingorother CO -- hence Colorado...
Slashdot Mirror
I sure hope they launch south from Alaska, otherwise the Russians might just be a little nervous about it.
"News for Nerds", ya know? In this audience it was the shortest and most precise way to descibe it.
It did put a brief chill down my spine.
Okay, so we don't kill all the lawyers.
Super Mario Brothers has the towers, and shows them derezing into another dimension. (It was on TV last night.)
Don't forget that we have to have the Eugenics War too (Khan) -- however, we might be able to get a two-for-one special on that.
Perhaps after swallowing Compac, they need to trim something to improve the (short-term) bottom line?
And, of course they can't layoff any sales/marketing people, and all those tech-support people have to stay, so...
Mind you, the long-term bottom line might not be too rosy.
Now if only they had a script integrity field! :^)
"Tallest free-standing structure"
Show no mercy! Drop Magick card decks on them!
Pick the right anaesthetic, or you'll kill me.
Thank you.
http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=21483&cid=2271 227
Remove any spaces added to the URL by Slashdot.
Yep, they certainly do have a point. While I think that hacking their hardware/software is great (and I bet LEGO thinks so too), there's no point in poking their lawyers with a stick. IP and trademark are protect it or lose it type stuff.
There are any number of ex-trademarks that were lost because the company didn't defend the trademark (or botched it): Aspirin, linolium, yo-yo, thermos, cellophane, milk of magnesia, lanolin, celluloid, dry ice, escalator, shredded wheat and zipper. (Source: "Made in America", Bill Bryson) While these names are now public domain, some company once created and owned them. Those companies lost big when their trademark became generic.
I'm sure that the LEGO people would rather shoot their own feet off than have to sue someone, but you have to defend a trademark or lose it! They can't afford to lose the LEGO trademark, otherwise anyone can call their product LEGO.
I hope Noga will understand (NogaOS?), and LEGO could give him a few bulk cases of LEGO. And then everyone could go have a cream soda with ice cream float.
LEGO are White Hat Good Guys, Noga is White Hat Good Guy. This problem is stupid, and is just attracting the suits and lawyers.
Now if only LEGO would make steel blocks so that I could build the perfect BattleBot!
As a Canadian, I don't like the idea that these people were able to enter Canada, then cross over the relatively soft U.S./Canada border. (If this turns out to be true.)
We put people on watch-lists now, but if they use fake ID, they can bypass the system. Facial recognition at customs (not airports per se, note!) could at least bounce them out of the express lane: "Citizenship?" "Canadian" "Purpose of visit?" "Weekend trip to Niagra Falls" "Anything to declare?" "Nope" "Right, off you go."
Your worries about "discriminate against people with Arabic genetics" is a strawman argument. Who said anything about that?
I don't see any problem with convicted criminals going in the database (depending on the government that did the convicting) or someone spotted in a terrorist training camp. Just so long as they can't ooze through borders, or claim to be a "poor wittle wefugue" without some checking.
Note also that at the Portland ferry U.S. customs, many people are let through without any challenge at all. A facial scanning system could also vett frequent Okay vistors: "Mrs. Smith, visits her daughter every Thursday, mostly harmless."
Your civil rights at the border/customs are perhaps much less than you think. Try insisting on your lawyer when asked for a full cavity search.
Depending on the agent used, it would probably kill me with a hyperthermia allergic reaction.
Not exactly the friendly skies...
Nah, clone a thousand Bubbas and put them on the terrorists' .. tail.
Post the URL, and we can /. the site -- That'll teach him a lesson!
Does anyone have any objection to facial recognition systems at customs? And a database of people who should either be checked out carefully, bounced, or arrested on the spot?
Didn't think so.
Darned inserted spaces!
http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=21483&cid=2271 227
Wouldn't pictures from Boston before the flights be more useful? They got the car of one team thanks to someone connecting it with a traffic incident he had with them.
As the elevators were full we ran down the staircase and then got out on the street
Aie! Never take the elevator when evacuating a building! What if the power had quit?
More information was released later. Apparently they had mace too, and maced a number of people in first class and some elsewhere.
Gah! And your source for this info is? I heard no rumour of any 5th plane over the Potomac in any news report. There was the rumoured "Camp David" aircraft, which might have been the Pennsylvania crash, but that was it.
Informative, ha!
When they listed the 4th plane that went down in whatever county, Pennsylvania, they listed it as "whatever CO, Pennsylvania".
Any bets that someone misread it in the heat of news-reporting?
There'd be no point in hijacking a plane over Colorado -- Where would you hit before eveything was grounded? And this damned bastard operation was timed to the second. (Any bets that killing 350 police and firefighters was a node in their plan tree?)
Ahh, I think I know how that happened. They listed the 4th plane as having gone down in somethingorother county, and shortened it to somethingorother CO -- hence Colorado...
And why wasn't the parent of my post modded offtopic as well??