The answer is simple, the AA's, etc. don't want to challenge the modern interpretation of copyright laws that were written a couple of centuries ago. As this modern interpretation is one they have helped shape by going after only people with shallow pockets, mainly over the last half century as duplication technologies has emerged. Before then copyright was about keeping one publisher from stealing another publishers work.
I know of a situation where there has been a great demand for reprints of old (about 50 years worth) of a certain hobbyist compilation book series. The original publisher is still in business and publish a hobbyist magazine in this field, after many years of demand the publisher continue to assert that the original contracts (and therefore copyright law) with the numerous contributors to the book do not allow them to reissue the work even if they wanted to. Would anyone of the hundreds if not thousands of contributors have the right to stop the publication of these google copies? Would the "publisher" acting under the contract with the contributors? Which leads back to this reprint issue that has been going on for over 20 years, who owns it anyway?
The key here is just because something makes jobs does not make it good. Particularly if it is a parasitic job like all of these will be. See all the jobs created to comply with increased regulations.
Sounds great until you get to the bill of rights, particularly: #1,#2,#4,#5,....
Many of these are single sentences, and still there are people that read them in completely different ways. See right to bear arms, and the argument of is it not an individual right. I mean does anyone out there really think it means that the government has the right to have guns? That concept would be so insane in the 19th century that no one would think to write it down.
As much as I like the idea of space flight, I can't see space tourism attracting anymore than a fraction of 1 percent of the tourism/travel populace. First it is going to be insanely expensive on a cost per hour/day basis compared to most other travel/tourism options. The most reasonable numbers for the foreseeable future still put the price tag more than a reasonably nice house in most places. Secondly space tourism WILL require some level of advanced training measured in days if not weeks for all but the shortest flights. If we compare space tourism to other forms of adventure tourism the closest comparison I can think of are those individuals that take off, alone or with family on sailboats crossing oceans, its expensive (though much cheaper than any likely space tourism), much of the time there is boredom in tedious unpleasant conditions, and then there are the moments of abject terror. In this community you find lots of people doing "coastal cruising" roughly equal to the suborbital space tourist adventure, then you have those ocean crossing explorers out there for weeks or months on end. It is these types that will be participating in real space tourism, space hotels, etc. The problem is the dozens or perhaps hundred of people on the planet that have both the money and the interest to do such things does not make an industry.
To continue the sailing/ship comparison a bit more, what people envision is the thousand foot long cruise ship, with dance clubs and swimming pools, the reality is much more like a 30 foot lifeboat with 150 people crammed inside in rough seas.
I have to wonder how much of this data that most people deal with in a work from home, telecommuter lifestyle is really that confidential. It seems to me even those with cut throat rival competitors where corporate espionage is the accept norm would find little value in much of the information they could gain by sifting through the virtual in boxes of these people. After all its not like your likely to find the super secret plans for the new product, instead you are likely to find random puzzle pieces that give no clue as to the big picture. Some email exchange about being mis-billed for janitorial supplies here, someone talking about the revising the employee lunch schedule, and then a bit of gold, a 23 page spreadsheet file projecting the cost vehicle fleet utilization.
One of the things that is bothering me out of this whole "Global Warming" mess is this term "Antropogenic Global Warming" Or "Antropogenic Climate Change". Maybe some people think it makes them look smarter when they mix in Greek or Latin based words, to me it just seems idiotic and pretentious. If your going to tag a Greek based compound word like Antropogenic onto the front of your term, at least come up with an equally obscure replacement for the more common "global warmning", etc. end of the phrase.
Maybe the problem is lack of demand, how many people need the speed, for that matter how many people need the speed of 802.11G. These days everything seems to be about streaming media, at home people stream media off the internet, or for the more geeky stream it off a media server. So do they really need a wireless connection that is 50 times faster than a typical home broadband connection, particularly when these N routers are over twice the price of their G counterparts.
In my experience when lay people say "IT" they usually mean someone who "knows about computers" that they can then ask anything from which notebook computer should I buy, to will you come over to my house and fix my wireless router for me, if you do I will give you milk and cookies (beer and burger, etc.). Because lets face it regardless if you are a Tech support person, a sys admin, programmer, etc. you could probably handle any of the above in your sleep.
Ike
p.s. my usual response to the notebook question is whatever Dell has on sale this week
As a person that is nearsighted, I have to say, it is not as much of a problem as far sighted people have, but it is still a problem. This is particularly true when switching focus distance like looking back and forth between a computer screen and text on paper. In the last year I have found myself taking off my glasses to read fine print on labels, etc. more and more, its just a matter of my eyes don't focus that close anymore.
Ah, the young so often speak with authority about things they do not understand. The problem is not about vision correction, its about aging of the eye, loss of accommodation, etc. On a side note, just remember when it comes to anything physical it is all down hill after you turn about 25, eyes, reaction speed, healing, stamina, etc.
As someone that recently turned 40, and am starting to experience some of these issues, its not nearly that simple. The problem is something eye doctors call accommodation, this effects the range of distance where the eye can reach sharp focus. I suspect as monitors get bigger and as eyes age and computer users get older, we are going see the distance from the corner of the screen vs. the middle will exceed the accommodation range of the user. Combine this with our ever increasing DPI of displays, and sooner or later we are going to have to do something to separate display resolution from icon and text resolution.
Why yes, in the parts of the U.S. where people WORK for a living a pickup truck that can haul half a ton of goods does count as "worked", now thanks to Cash for Clunkers, there once (last year) affordable $2,000 used pickup truck no longer exists.
I would think a prison/jail would be the best defensive colony option. Give everyone the key to their cell, minimize group gathering. This way when on of the good guys turns into a zombie damage is minimized. The solid exterior doors, tall razor wire topped fences, guard towers, back up generators, air lock like entry systems, etc. are a nice bonus also.
Do you know how idiotic this sounds when you consider many car designs work on an 8-10 year life (some much longer) with mid point cosmetic "freshenings", much the same can be said for engine designs except with an even longer time period and more small upgrades along the way.
Slashdot Mirror
The answer is simple, the AA's, etc. don't want to challenge the modern interpretation of copyright laws that were written a couple of centuries ago. As this modern interpretation is one they have helped shape by going after only people with shallow pockets, mainly over the last half century as duplication technologies has emerged. Before then copyright was about keeping one publisher from stealing another publishers work.
I know of a situation where there has been a great demand for reprints of old (about 50 years worth) of a certain hobbyist compilation book series. The original publisher is still in business and publish a hobbyist magazine in this field, after many years of demand the publisher continue to assert that the original contracts (and therefore copyright law) with the numerous contributors to the book do not allow them to reissue the work even if they wanted to. Would anyone of the hundreds if not thousands of contributors have the right to stop the publication of these google copies? Would the "publisher" acting under the contract with the contributors? Which leads back to this reprint issue that has been going on for over 20 years, who owns it anyway?
The key here is just because something makes jobs does not make it good. Particularly if it is a parasitic job like all of these will be. See all the jobs created to comply with increased regulations.
Sounds great until you get to the bill of rights, particularly: #1,#2,#4,#5, ....
Many of these are single sentences, and still there are people that read them in completely different ways. See right to bear arms, and the argument of is it not an individual right. I mean does anyone out there really think it means that the government has the right to have guns? That concept would be so insane in the 19th century that no one would think to write it down.
I guess I should go grab a green parrot and dunk it in water to confirm this. It just so happens I have 2 in the house (a Macaw and an Amazon).
As much as I like the idea of space flight, I can't see space tourism attracting anymore than a fraction of 1 percent of the tourism/travel populace. First it is going to be insanely expensive on a cost per hour/day basis compared to most other travel/tourism options. The most reasonable numbers for the foreseeable future still put the price tag more than a reasonably nice house in most places. Secondly space tourism WILL require some level of advanced training measured in days if not weeks for all but the shortest flights. If we compare space tourism to other forms of adventure tourism the closest comparison I can think of are those individuals that take off, alone or with family on sailboats crossing oceans, its expensive (though much cheaper than any likely space tourism), much of the time there is boredom in tedious unpleasant conditions, and then there are the moments of abject terror. In this community you find lots of people doing "coastal cruising" roughly equal to the suborbital space tourist adventure, then you have those ocean crossing explorers out there for weeks or months on end. It is these types that will be participating in real space tourism, space hotels, etc. The problem is the dozens or perhaps hundred of people on the planet that have both the money and the interest to do such things does not make an industry.
To continue the sailing/ship comparison a bit more, what people envision is the thousand foot long cruise ship, with dance clubs and swimming pools, the reality is much more like a 30 foot lifeboat with 150 people crammed inside in rough seas.
I have to wonder how much of this data that most people deal with in a work from home, telecommuter lifestyle is really that confidential. It seems to me even those with cut throat rival competitors where corporate espionage is the accept norm would find little value in much of the information they could gain by sifting through the virtual in boxes of these people. After all its not like your likely to find the super secret plans for the new product, instead you are likely to find random puzzle pieces that give no clue as to the big picture. Some email exchange about being mis-billed for janitorial supplies here, someone talking about the revising the employee lunch schedule, and then a bit of gold, a 23 page spreadsheet file projecting the cost vehicle fleet utilization.
One of the things that is bothering me out of this whole "Global Warming" mess is this term "Antropogenic Global Warming" Or "Antropogenic Climate Change". Maybe some people think it makes them look smarter when they mix in Greek or Latin based words, to me it just seems idiotic and pretentious. If your going to tag a Greek based compound word like Antropogenic onto the front of your term, at least come up with an equally obscure replacement for the more common "global warmning", etc. end of the phrase.
I was also a registered owner of DN1, along with such other period classics as Cosmo's Cosmic Adventures, and Wolf 3D, etc.
Because the human child has a reasonable chance to outgrow this condition.
Maybe the problem is lack of demand, how many people need the speed, for that matter how many people need the speed of 802.11G. These days everything seems to be about streaming media, at home people stream media off the internet, or for the more geeky stream it off a media server. So do they really need a wireless connection that is 50 times faster than a typical home broadband connection, particularly when these N routers are over twice the price of their G counterparts.
Ike
In my experience when lay people say "IT" they usually mean someone who "knows about computers" that they can then ask anything from which notebook computer should I buy, to will you come over to my house and fix my wireless router for me, if you do I will give you milk and cookies (beer and burger, etc.). Because lets face it regardless if you are a Tech support person, a sys admin, programmer, etc. you could probably handle any of the above in your sleep.
Ike
p.s. my usual response to the notebook question is whatever Dell has on sale this week
reading glasses only help people that are far sighted, they are useless for people that are nearsighted.
As a person that is nearsighted, I have to say, it is not as much of a problem as far sighted people have, but it is still a problem. This is particularly true when switching focus distance like looking back and forth between a computer screen and text on paper. In the last year I have found myself taking off my glasses to read fine print on labels, etc. more and more, its just a matter of my eyes don't focus that close anymore.
Ah, the young so often speak with authority about things they do not understand. The problem is not about vision correction, its about aging of the eye, loss of accommodation, etc. On a side note, just remember when it comes to anything physical it is all down hill after you turn about 25, eyes, reaction speed, healing, stamina, etc.
As another person in their 40's I have to agree good CRT's still beat LCD's this is why I have a 21 inch Sun/Sony monitor on my desk at work.
As someone that recently turned 40, and am starting to experience some of these issues, its not nearly that simple. The problem is something eye doctors call accommodation, this effects the range of distance where the eye can reach sharp focus. I suspect as monitors get bigger and as eyes age and computer users get older, we are going see the distance from the corner of the screen vs. the middle will exceed the accommodation range of the user. Combine this with our ever increasing DPI of displays, and sooner or later we are going to have to do something to separate display resolution from icon and text resolution.
Ike
Why yes, in the parts of the U.S. where people WORK for a living a pickup truck that can haul half a ton of goods does count as "worked", now thanks to Cash for Clunkers, there once (last year) affordable $2,000 used pickup truck no longer exists.
I would think a prison/jail would be the best defensive colony option. Give everyone the key to their cell, minimize group gathering. This way when on of the good guys turns into a zombie damage is minimized. The solid exterior doors, tall razor wire topped fences, guard towers, back up generators, air lock like entry systems, etc. are a nice bonus also.
Do you know how idiotic this sounds when you consider many car designs work on an 8-10 year life (some much longer) with mid point cosmetic "freshenings", much the same can be said for engine designs except with an even longer time period and more small upgrades along the way.
If your using a condom, I think your missing something about improving chances of conception.
Am I the only one that remembers the Steve Austin withthe crystal radio set?
p.s. I am old, I just turned 40
Ok, can we set that age at 228 months after conception, or better yet 264 months?
The truely worrysome bit is this is within the realm of possibility, its just an engineering problem.
The problem is in order to enter the club of being a "climate scientist" you have to agree with global warming.