To write a document, I open up AbiWord. If I'm writing a story about the stock market, why can't I just open up my stock market program, drag a box into my document, and have live numbers for the Dow? If I'm writing a story about AMD, why can't I just open up my Slashdot program, drag a box into my document, and have a link to the story inserted into my document; and why can't the person on the other end open the document, double-click my link, and have the Slashdot story opened in place - without needing a web browser?
I finally understand! Microsoft is making Apple's OpenDoc concept from 8 years ago a reality. Basically the concept that data and the code that operates on the data live together in Containers and that the containers can be mixed willy-nilly in documents.
I couldn't help but think that the whole effort for EpII was phoned in. I watched Lucas's sad appearance on the Star Wars Fan Films special - you could tell that he had no real connecion with the film.
Its the money. I read an article by Piers thats talks about his approach to the business of writing. Given that you have only so many years as a productive writer, he can't afford to write books that his publisher won't print. He does an outline first and gets the publisher to buy that. If they don't like the outline, he never writes the book.
Here's a scary thought, the drivel he writes was printed - what was the crap that never got past the outline stage like?
I'm all for competition, but remember when the digital cell phone spectrum went on auction. Everyone and their brother formed a company to bid, knowing that whatever they paid it was worth it since having control of the spectrum was a liscene to print money. The FCC raised billions in licensing fess, and the companies behind them mostly went bankrupt. When the FCC tried to resell the spectrum, they were sued and the frequencies in question were determined to be an assest of the bankrupt company.
Chicago(!) was about 5 years behind the rest of the US in getting true digital service. For awhile, the only digital service used AT&T's excess analog frequencies with really crappy results.
I'll take the FCC limiting access to acredited companies, thank you very much.
As for the whole IP market...what all of this boils down to is that companies who make their living "selling" intellectual property are losing their control over the distribution. The trouble is, almost all IP is abstract. It's just a bunch of ideas Absolutely! Which is why the patent office (back in the good old days before software and business method patents) required that your invention be reduced to practice. If your idea couldn't be made into a thing, then it was just an idea and anyone could take it.
You can also read in the Constitution a line about "regulating interstate commerce". That is the constitutional basis for things like the FCC and other seemingly illegal government agencies. (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, & Firearms anyone, anyone??)
The problem with this type of solution is that it catches only DUMB criminals. By changing the natural selection, mark my words were just going to end up with SMARTER criminals that will be harder to catch.
I have to disagree. I worked for a very compentent engineer with 20 years experience. The problem was that his knowledge of management came from Fortune 100 company he worked for all of those years. And since the environment he had worked in was always in crisis mode, he ran his company the same way because he could only work when under that pressure.
IANAL (but I watch Law and Order) As criminals, any information gained from bugging conversations is inadmissable, as in anything gained from the illegally obtained information unless the prosecution can show that discovery was inevitable. However, no such prohibition applys to POWS or espionage and many other countries do not have prohibitions against bugging conversations. We can't convict you here in the US, but we can deport you to our allies in Turkey or We no longer consider you a criminal, but a foreign national spy. Welcome to Levenworth.
Forgive me for asking a stupid question, but if the universe is expanding in all directions, and everything is moving away from everything else (as the cosmologists claim as their evidence of the BIG BANG.
While the concept exposed is interesting, lets take it further and give it a practical application - Colonization of another planet.
You can bring with you all of the information you want, but tools, machines equipment etc are big mass items and you'd be limited.
Now how do you build a technological society?
Take a look at the simplest electronic devices around your office. How many different materials are used? Someone would have to produce those materials to make those parts. How many different sized screws are there? Someone would have to machine those as well. Of course someone would have to build the machine to make the screws.
In the colonization senario, the technological problem is compounded by a small population.
Actually it has happened before. Way back when Player Pianos were the big thing, one company controlled all player piano music through copyrights. The practice of a compulsory license was established. This allows other artists/manufacturers/etc to create copies of works for player pianos
The Law specified the royalties that had to be be paid to the original copyright holder. In fact it the legal basis for all of the remakes of old songs that new groups are doing all of the time.
As to all art dissappearing - Yeah right
People will continue to create - just look at the amount of bad fan fiction available for free on the net. Media companies will continue to prosper - because someone has to wade through all of the crap to find the good stuff. People will pay for that service. I personnally don't have the time to find that 1 song in 10 worth listening to.
But the business will change. Does Capitol records still need all of their promo guys to get CD's in the hands of Radio DJs ? Just think how much their bottom line will improve when they are no longer expensing the cocaine and hookers for everybody assocaited with the industry
Orin Hatch is just admitting that copyright law needs to change. About bloody time IMHO.
This is really a symptom of a larger problem with graduate student education. Most graduate students who are funded are given positions as research assistants (at least at schools that don't have financial problems)with a 50% appointment. Technically your appointment requires you to work only 20 hours a week. Try putting in two ten hour days and calling it quits for the week.
I have known professors who would dock their gradstudents vacation time for not being in the lab on Saturdays.
The University always classifies you in the manner in which best suits their interests.
Want benefits because you work over 80 hours a week ? You can't have them because you are a student doing this for your education.
Want to make money off of your own code? You can't because you are an employee and it was a work for hire.
Corporations may be nasty, greedy, amoral organiations that would sell your mother for a piece of the action, but at least they are honest about it.
Universities like to pretend that they are different
Slashdot Mirror
I finally understand! Microsoft is making Apple's OpenDoc concept from 8 years ago a reality. Basically the concept that data and the code that operates on the data live together in Containers and that the containers can be mixed willy-nilly in documents.
Anyone remeber CyberDog?I couldn't help but think that the whole effort for EpII was phoned in. I watched Lucas's sad appearance on the Star Wars Fan Films special - you could tell that he had no real connecion with the film.
Here's a scary thought, the drivel he writes was printed - what was the crap that never got past the outline stage like?
A Scanner Darkly is my all time favorite PHD novel, I can't recommend it highly enough.
I'm all for competition, but remember when the digital cell phone spectrum went on auction. Everyone and their brother formed a company to bid, knowing that whatever they paid it was worth it since having control of the spectrum was a liscene to print money. The FCC raised billions in licensing fess, and the companies behind them mostly went bankrupt. When the FCC tried to resell the spectrum, they were sued and the frequencies in question were determined to be an assest of the bankrupt company.
Chicago(!) was about 5 years behind the rest of the US in getting true digital service. For awhile, the only digital service used AT&T's excess analog frequencies with really crappy results.
I'll take the FCC limiting access to acredited companies, thank you very much.
You mean the first controlled nuclear fission that occurred at the University of Chicago underneath the bleachers of the football stadium?
As for the whole IP market...what all of this boils down to is that companies who make their living "selling" intellectual property are losing their control over the distribution. The trouble is, almost all IP is abstract. It's just a bunch of ideas
Absolutely! Which is why the patent office (back in the good old days before software and business method patents) required that your invention be reduced to practice. If your idea couldn't be made into a thing, then it was just an idea and anyone could take it.
You can also read in the Constitution a line about "regulating interstate commerce". That is the constitutional basis for things like the FCC and other seemingly illegal government agencies. (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, & Firearms anyone, anyone??)
The problem with this type of solution is that it catches only DUMB criminals. By changing the natural selection, mark my words were just going to end up with SMARTER criminals that will be harder to catch.
I have to disagree. I worked for a very compentent engineer with 20 years experience. The problem was that his knowledge of management came from Fortune 100 company he worked for all of those years. And since the environment he had worked in was always in crisis mode, he ran his company the same way because he could only work when under that pressure.
IANAL (but I watch Law and Order) As criminals, any information gained from bugging conversations is inadmissable, as in anything gained from the illegally obtained information unless the prosecution can show that discovery was inevitable.
However, no such prohibition applys to POWS or espionage and many other countries do not have prohibitions against bugging conversations.
We can't convict you here in the US, but we can deport you to our allies in Turkey
or
We no longer consider you a criminal, but a foreign national spy. Welcome to Levenworth.
How can two galaxies collide!!!!
Speed doesn't kill- Speed DIFFERENTIAL kills.
While the concept exposed is interesting, lets take it further and give it a practical application - Colonization of another planet. You can bring with you all of the information you want, but tools, machines equipment etc are big mass items and you'd be limited. Now how do you build a technological society? Take a look at the simplest electronic devices around your office. How many different materials are used? Someone would have to produce those materials to make those parts. How many different sized screws are there? Someone would have to machine those as well. Of course someone would have to build the machine to make the screws. In the colonization senario, the technological problem is compounded by a small population.
Actually it has happened before. Way back when Player Pianos were the big thing, one company controlled all player piano music through copyrights. The practice of a compulsory license was established. This allows other artists/manufacturers/etc to create copies of works for player pianos
The Law specified the royalties that had to be be paid to the original copyright holder. In fact it the legal basis for all of the remakes of old songs that new groups are doing all of the time.
As to all art dissappearing - Yeah right
People will continue to create - just look at the amount of bad fan fiction available for free on the net. Media companies will continue to prosper - because someone has to wade through all of the crap to find the good stuff. People will pay for that service. I personnally don't have the time to find that 1 song in 10 worth listening to.
But the business will change. Does Capitol records still need all of their promo guys to get CD's in the hands of Radio DJs ? Just think how much their bottom line will improve when they are no longer expensing the cocaine and hookers for everybody assocaited with the industry
Orin Hatch is just admitting that copyright law needs to change. About bloody time IMHO.
Of course you've patented this idea, right?
This is really a symptom of a larger problem with graduate student education. Most graduate students who are funded are given positions as research assistants (at least at schools that don't have financial problems)with a 50% appointment. Technically your appointment requires you to work only 20 hours a week. Try putting in two ten hour days and calling it quits for the week. I have known professors who would dock their gradstudents vacation time for not being in the lab on Saturdays. The University always classifies you in the manner in which best suits their interests. Want benefits because you work over 80 hours a week ? You can't have them because you are a student doing this for your education. Want to make money off of your own code? You can't because you are an employee and it was a work for hire. Corporations may be nasty, greedy, amoral organiations that would sell your mother for a piece of the action, but at least they are honest about it. Universities like to pretend that they are different
I mean, how else are you going to be alerted about free updates and bug fixes?
Actually, Since I read slashdot at 2+, the Moderators are my Regulon