mp3.com was about indie music getting distribution
via non-RIAA channels. RIAA sued, won, and pocketed several million. So if you can't beat 'em, join 'em.
If you're under 16.5 (in pennsylvania), you can't get to WalMart without mom driving you there. Ergo, she can buy
the game with you.
If you're 18 or over, you're covered.
So frankly, its only for those one-and-a-half
middle years that it matters. Go to Software Etc
or someplace for a year and quit whining.
Better yet, put your games on your christmas list
and let your parents waste their cash on 'em instead of yours:P
Of course we expect companies to perhaps lower prices based on arbitrary considerations for some people and remove some bucks from the list price. This is considered a way to attract business. Raising prices, based on how much they think they can sucker more money out of you, however, is what I consider unethical.
You folks wanted the bazaar, and it looks like we got it; time to brush up those haggling skills.
Off-by-one errors in C? Maybe you do,
but don't speak for the rest of us... In the last 4500 lines I've written (my current project), I've had maybe three errors like that which caused memory problems... of which, they each took maybe 20 minutes to fix. Massive productivity stopper? Don't think so.
Doubtful. Do you toss someone a quarter cause they compliment your hair? Micropayments have always existed in meatspace; it's called "opening your wallet and taking out a quarter/buck/fiver and handing it to the guy." If I help a guy fix a flat tire, I expect a handshake and a "thanks." Nothing more. Now somebody creates a system online that lets you open that wallet to someone you can't see. I doubt this will truly make our culture more money-centric than it already is.
True artists will always make their art/music/whatever cause they feel driven. Thomas Paine didn't write "Common Sense" because he wanted a nickel a copy; he wrote it to express his ideas. (And for that reason, it became the most-published pamphlet of his time.)
True artists online will continue to pump out whatever they have - scratching their proverbial itches, so to speak. At the bottom of the page, it might have a little voluntary paypal-donate link. So what? The true artists will still appreciate those heart-felt emails from fans.
There's another reason why tipping IRL is successful: He's standing right there. You
step out of your taxi, and you're looking the guy in the face as he reads off the meter, and you feel obligated to give him a tip, probably mostly because he's looking at you. I mean, since everyone's faceless online, you don't have to look the guy in the eye -- and that's where you may not feel obligated to tip..
IANAL, but...Did you read the exact wording of that MPAA letter? They want you to remove the illegal material at that URL.. It didn't say that the file had to be taken off the machine. Just rename the file, folks, and let 'em waste another $0.33 on yet another letter.
Co. B offers you a job with higher pay, etc..
Taking the job with the second company wouldn't result in legal action if you just took the job. You'd just get your ass sued if you ran over to them and said "look at this hot new tech. from company A!" and they used it...
The NDA is there precicely because you're getting more than one job offer (if they knew that you'd be working for them, they wouldn't need to protect their secrets from other companies, now would they?). It's just a formality so that they can tell you what you'd be doing, but other companies can't know.
Actually, quite recently the New York Times ran an article affirming the shortage of tech workers. There are fewer CS grads than there are new jobs created per year. Do the math.
Apple, the ones who sued M$ for "look and feel" over similarities between Windows and MacOS, is now being sued 'cause their cube looks and feels sort of like someone else's cube. How's it feel to be on the receiving end, Steve?
Coding began completely as an artform; writing routines "by hand" was commonplace, to achieve maximal performance.
Nowadays, code is left in its most slapdash form (Anyone who needs proof, just watch how fast MS Office apps take to start up, even on my damn P3-700). The compiler is given its opportunity to streamline things, but who unrolls loops anymore?
Here's the interesting parallel: Look at any machine made before about 1900. Machines and tools were works of art - ornately decorated and painted; each hand-crafted part was a thing of beauty. While primative, to be sure, they will often last forever. Modern machinery is functional and not in the least artistic. Furthermore, it has a real tendancy to break down.
Look at code. Look at the original UNIX, the original Multics, and all the assorted tools on them. The ispell, emacs, bourne shell, and every other "ancient" program is still around; improved upon but still beautiful. These old program will run and keep running, because programmers like Mel put in the love.
It's not about speed, its about beauty, and I think that this is something that will be less and less evident in software to come, because programmers are getting lazy and drunk on the fast processing power available to us.
Slashdot Mirror
mp3.com was about indie music getting distribution via non-RIAA channels. RIAA sued, won, and pocketed several million. So if you can't beat 'em, join 'em.
Whom does this reallllly affect?
If you're under 16.5 (in pennsylvania), you can't get to WalMart without mom driving you there. Ergo, she can buy the game with you.
If you're 18 or over, you're covered.
So frankly, its only for those one-and-a-half middle years that it matters. Go to Software Etc or someplace for a year and quit whining. Better yet, put your games on your christmas list and let your parents waste their cash on 'em instead of yours :P
Of course we expect companies to perhaps lower prices based on arbitrary considerations for some people and remove some bucks from the list price. This is considered a way to attract business. Raising prices, based on how much they think they can sucker more money out of you, however, is what I consider unethical.
You folks wanted the bazaar, and it looks like we got it; time to brush up those haggling skills.
"...KDE made the mistake... of basing their software on QT, which at the time was not free software."
Interesting that the QPL is listed in the open-source website as being "free software."
(IIRC, they didn't modify the QPL; they just adopted the GPL the other day.)
Off-by-one errors in C? Maybe you do, but don't speak for the rest of us... In the last 4500 lines I've written (my current project), I've had maybe three errors like that which caused memory problems... of which, they each took maybe 20 minutes to fix. Massive productivity stopper? Don't think so.
(Obviously, retailers like Amazon or eBay won't be affected... they do have revenue, even if it's not enough to make a profit.)
Little known fact: eBay has been profit-turning since its first month of operation. They're making about $60 million a year now...net profit.
Doubtful. Do you toss someone a quarter cause they compliment your hair? Micropayments have always existed in meatspace; it's called "opening your wallet and taking out a quarter/buck/fiver and handing it to the guy." If I help a guy fix a flat tire, I expect a handshake and a "thanks." Nothing more. Now somebody creates a system online that lets you open that wallet to someone you can't see. I doubt this will truly make our culture more money-centric than it already is.
True artists will always make their art/music/whatever cause they feel driven. Thomas Paine didn't write "Common Sense" because he wanted a nickel a copy; he wrote it to express his ideas. (And for that reason, it became the most-published pamphlet of his time.)
True artists online will continue to pump out whatever they have - scratching their proverbial itches, so to speak. At the bottom of the page, it might have a little voluntary paypal-donate link. So what? The true artists will still appreciate those heart-felt emails from fans.
There's another reason why tipping IRL is successful: He's standing right there. You step out of your taxi, and you're looking the guy in the face as he reads off the meter, and you feel obligated to give him a tip, probably mostly because he's looking at you. I mean, since everyone's faceless online, you don't have to look the guy in the eye -- and that's where you may not feel obligated to tip..
IANAL, but...Did you read the exact wording of that MPAA letter? They want you to remove the illegal material at that URL.. It didn't say that the file had to be taken off the machine. Just rename the file, folks, and let 'em waste another $0.33 on yet another letter.
Also, what's the status on off-shore sites?
your sig is far too ironic for that post.
IANAL, but I don't think that's true...
Co. A makes you sign an NDA and offers you a job.
Co. B offers you a job with higher pay, etc..
Taking the job with the second company wouldn't result in legal action if you just took the job. You'd just get your ass sued if you ran over to them and said "look at this hot new tech. from company A!" and they used it...
The NDA is there precicely because you're getting more than one job offer (if they knew that you'd be working for them, they wouldn't need to protect their secrets from other companies, now would they?). It's just a formality so that they can tell you what you'd be doing, but other companies can't know.
-- Aaron Kimball
(When was the last time one of those was published? Donkey Kong Country 2?)
Ye olde nintendo had dozens of 'em. Hundreds. Several sucked. But some of those are still fun!
3d killed the side-scrolling adventure; One-dimensional worlds just aren't fun any more for some folks. Gimme another old-school style mario any day.
Actually, quite recently the New York Times ran an article affirming the shortage of tech workers. There are fewer CS grads than there are new jobs created per year. Do the math.
Apple, the ones who sued M$ for "look and feel" over similarities between Windows and MacOS, is now being sued 'cause their cube looks and feels sort of like someone else's cube. How's it feel to be on the receiving end, Steve?
Assuming the film is better than EP1 (let's hope so), would their use of all-digital technology exclude them from those Oscars mentioned a week back?
Coding began completely as an artform; writing routines "by hand" was commonplace, to achieve maximal performance.
Nowadays, code is left in its most slapdash form (Anyone who needs proof, just watch how fast MS Office apps take to start up, even on my damn P3-700). The compiler is given its opportunity to streamline things, but who unrolls loops anymore?
Here's the interesting parallel: Look at any machine made before about 1900. Machines and tools were works of art - ornately decorated and painted; each hand-crafted part was a thing of beauty. While primative, to be sure, they will often last forever. Modern machinery is functional and not in the least artistic. Furthermore, it has a real tendancy to break down.
Look at code. Look at the original UNIX, the original Multics, and all the assorted tools on them. The ispell, emacs, bourne shell, and every other "ancient" program is still around; improved upon but still beautiful. These old program will run and keep running, because programmers like Mel put in the love.
It's not about speed, its about beauty, and I think that this is something that will be less and less evident in software to come, because programmers are getting lazy and drunk on the fast processing power available to us.
-- Aaron Kimball
One great example is Goldbach's Conjecture: All even numbers greater than 2 are the sum of two prime numbers.
Greater than 2? 1 is a prime number; 1+1=2...
#include<something/funny.h>
gcc: something/funny.h not found
-- Aaron Kimball
Gotta respect the cat herding commercial. I was roflol.