From the articles, it sounds like the DOJ will go back to the original recommendations for preventing Microsoft from abusing its monopoly power.
Here's the list of possibilities from the CNN article:
Among the conduct remedies Judge Jackson originally imposed were: prohibiting Microsoft from punishing hardware and software companies working on competing products; prohibiting it from favoring computer companies and software developers that helped Microsoft exclude competitors; requiring Microsoft to license Windows to PC makers under uniform prices and terms according to a publicly available schedule; and barring Microsoft from interfering with the way PC makers set up startup screens, the Windows desktop, preferences, and Internet connection wizards.
IMHO, these sound like much more practical measures to force Microsoft to allow competition. A Microsoft which competes fairly may actually be better than two Microsoft monopolies.
Will he be happy that UNIX is released under the GPL, thus fulfilling his original dream when starting the GNU project? Or will he still be annoyed at Caldera (and Ransom Love)?
I really, really hope that he is gracious enough to acknowlege contributions to his cause, no matter who they come from. If he can, it will go a long way toward redeeming himself from the recent/. controversies. C'mon RMS, restore my faith:)!
...as the guy who got his name all over the news because he claimed to have helped the authorities track down the guy who wrote Melissa? His big discovery was that you can open the Word document in a hex editor and see the document GUID.
In the Stallman interview, he discussed several commercial companies that sell free software. I'm becoming very committed to the ideas of open source and, to an extent, free software. (It's very addictive--I find it harder and harder to go back to the closed source stuff.) However there are some points that I'm still trying to understand about the free software idea. These are sincere questions and I'm really not trying to troll here, so please have patience with me!
RMS listed several companies that sell commercial free software. From what I understand, his idea is that software should be free as in speech but need not be free as in beer. As far as I have seen, the main ways to accomplish this and make money at free software are
The source is free as in speech, but companies can sell compiled binary versions so the users don't have to go to the trouble of compiling their own.
Some companies also charge for support, documentation and services, while the software itself is free as in speech.
What I am trying to understand is how well this will play to general, non-technical users, the real market that needs to be conquered in order to compete with Microsoft et. al. and get a foothold in the industry.
By giving away source and charging for binaries, the result is that the technical elite who can compile source will get free as in beer software, while the masses will have to pay. How can they be convinced that this is fair for them?
Most traditional closed source companies (as well as in most industries) charge for the product and then provide support for free, and feel obligated to provide customer service. (Unfortunately this isn't always true today, but it was the traditional ideal.) How would everyday users accept the idea of receiving a free product and then having to pay to get it to work without feeling swindled?
I think that in order for the free software/open source movements to succeed, they need to appeal to everyday users. I think that there also need to be mainstream companies that make money with free software so that the programmers creating the free software can do it as their day job. So please help me understand, in all sincerity, how we will accomplish this?
Re:Your cells are free, HeLa Cells cost $$
on
The Immortal Cell
·
· Score: 1
In what has become a billion-dollar industry, HeLa cells have traveled around the world and been shot into space.
Okay, I got the billion dollar figure from the article, so I guess it's not real hard facts. But I don't doubt that from 1951 until now, big money has been made. And even if it's just little money, the main issue is that something is being sold and someone other than the original owner is making money from it.
On the other hand, I wonder if there is any legal basis for demanding compensation for the donated cells. Her family may not get any money out of this, but I still think it's sad that Henrietta Lacks' contribution was never recognized and someone else got the glory. That woman must have had some genes! ----
Your cells are free, HeLa Cells cost $$
on
The Immortal Cell
·
· Score: 1
If you would be upset if someone stole your idea and sold it as his own (e.g. using GPLed code in a closed-source commercial product), how would you feel if someone took a part of your body and sold it? Sure your cells are free, but HeLa cells are a billion dollar industry. Someone is making a lot of money from selling a part of someone else's body and the original owner never got a cent. ----
Users perceive SirCam as just another virus. User reaction: Silly me, I got another virus. When will I learn not to open attachments?
On the other hand, users see Code Red as a scary worm. User reaction: Ohmiga, I got HACKED!
The perception is that Code Red is an external threat, but SirCam is the fault of the users who open the attachment.
The good side effect of all the hype is that all those vulnerable servers out there are getting patched and more destructive worms won't use this vulnerability in the future. I think that's the real reason that security experts are hyping Code Red so much--they want people to patch their servers.
From how I understood the advisory, it refers to a page that automatically displays info directly from a link, like showing the search string on the search results page. If the displayed string contains script, the script will be executed in the client browser. ----
If you read the letter, you will also see that the author is General Counsel for the FSF and is responsible for enforcing the GPL. Even if he is being retained by Slo-Media, I think it's fair to say that he speaks for the FSF's intended interpretation of the GPL.
From the article, it sounds like this doesn't provide just an automated answer, but an automated fix. So instead of telling users how to add a printer, it will actually go in and configure the software on the users machine! In the future, they even plan on automating OS patches.
Definitely looks like much more than Ask Jeeves.
Your students may use bifocals or reading glasses and will probably have trouble reading the small font sizes on most web pages. Show them how to increase the font size setting on their browser.
Small mice and keyboard keys may be difficult for arthritic hands to manipulate as easily as us youngsters do. Be patient, and encourage your students to have patience while learning new equipment that may be difficult or painful to use.
Good luck! It may be hard work, but you'll be rewarded by the smile of joy when a grandmother gets an email from her grandson for the first time.
The Baltimore Sun had an article this morning about the city's failures in providing computers to schools and those living in public housing. According to the article, over 5,000 computers have been donated and are sitting in a warehouse instead of being used by the schoolkids and residents of low-income housing.
All that needs to be done is set up the machines with monitors, printers, and modems, and do fresh OS installations, but there is no money to pay for the work. The mayor is now asking for donations.
Maybe some slashdotters in the Baltimore area could spend a few Sunday afternoons and help?
Overclocking always reminds me of the old Dilbert strip when Dogbert runs a course for people with no common sense. Among them was Clem, the auto mechanic who thought that he got struck by lightning every time he smoked a cigar while working on car engines--and was amazed at the coincidence.
A great story about an everyday guy who tracks down a spy who cracked his way into dozens of US military computers in the mid-80s. It was the case that woke up the then-close-knit Internet to the need for security. Filled with Berkeley color and the author's fun personality.
But then again, I'd hate to see that train get slashdotted:).
In a similar vein, what's happening out there with networking non-computer items? I remember hearing talk about Java-enabling and networking household items like refrigerators and ovens. Does anything like that exist anywhere, in development or reality?
Give me the milk, HAL.
I'm sorry Dave, I can't do that.
Is this article talking about a train network architecture based on ethernet or do they actually have train cars with NIC cards and IP addresses that are part of a LAN? I think it's the former, but wouldn't the latter be cool?
I can just see it now...
Telnetting to the caboose to tell it to slow down.
A web server, complete with webcam, running from the engine.
ICANN introducing the.choo TLD.
[from the mind of the geek wife of a model railroader]
A few years ago, the Baltimore Sun did an interesting profile of Hamilton Smith, Celera's chief scientist who came up with their unique "shotgunning" method of sequencing DNA.
The article described how Smith won the Nobel Prize in 1978. He felt that he didn't deserve the prize because it was an achievement that he had stumbled upon by accident and hadn't worked to earn it. This caused him to lose confidence in himself and he went into a professional and personal decline. His relationship with his family deteriorated very badly. According to the article, his work with Celera has given him a chance at personal redemption. He began to piece together his family relationships, while dreaming of sequencing the human genome. He felt that this would be a groundbreaking achievement that he would truly earn the credit for. Looks like he has succeeded. Congratulations Ham!
The article is no longer available at the Sun web site, but those with Northern Light accounts can find the article here.
Sounds like producing anything of real quality at home is still in the future.
More interesting to me is how musicians will use the technology to create whole new forms of music.
Slashdot Mirror
Here's the list of possibilities from the CNN article: Among the conduct remedies Judge Jackson originally imposed were: prohibiting Microsoft from punishing hardware and software companies working on competing products; prohibiting it from favoring computer companies and software developers that helped Microsoft exclude competitors; requiring Microsoft to license Windows to PC makers under uniform prices and terms according to a publicly available schedule; and barring Microsoft from interfering with the way PC makers set up startup screens, the Windows desktop, preferences, and Internet connection wizards.
IMHO, these sound like much more practical measures to force Microsoft to allow competition. A Microsoft which competes fairly may actually be better than two Microsoft monopolies.Okay, this has got to be Stef Murky's idea. :)
Will he be happy that UNIX is released under the GPL, thus fulfilling his original dream when starting the GNU project? Or will he still be annoyed at Caldera (and Ransom Love)?
/. controversies. C'mon RMS, restore my faith :)!
I really, really hope that he is gracious enough to acknowlege contributions to his cause, no matter who they come from. If he can, it will go a long way toward redeeming himself from the recent
...as the guy who got his name all over the news because he claimed to have helped the authorities track down the guy who wrote Melissa? His big discovery was that you can open the Word document in a hex editor and see the document GUID.
RMS listed several companies that sell commercial free software. From what I understand, his idea is that software should be free as in speech but need not be free as in beer. As far as I have seen, the main ways to accomplish this and make money at free software are
- The source is free as in speech, but companies can sell compiled binary versions so the users don't have to go to the trouble of compiling their own.
- Some companies also charge for support, documentation and services, while the software itself is free as in speech.
What I am trying to understand is how well this will play to general, non-technical users, the real market that needs to be conquered in order to compete with Microsoft et. al. and get a foothold in the industry.I think that in order for the free software/open source movements to succeed, they need to appeal to everyday users. I think that there also need to be mainstream companies that make money with free software so that the programmers creating the free software can do it as their day job. So please help me understand, in all sincerity, how we will accomplish this?
Okay, I got the billion dollar figure from the article, so I guess it's not real hard facts. But I don't doubt that from 1951 until now, big money has been made. And even if it's just little money, the main issue is that something is being sold and someone other than the original owner is making money from it.
On the other hand, I wonder if there is any legal basis for demanding compensation for the donated cells. Her family may not get any money out of this, but I still think it's sad that Henrietta Lacks' contribution was never recognized and someone else got the glory. That woman must have had some genes!
----
If you would be upset if someone stole your idea and sold it as his own (e.g. using GPLed code in a closed-source commercial product), how would you feel if someone took a part of your body and sold it? Sure your cells are free, but HeLa cells are a billion dollar industry. Someone is making a lot of money from selling a part of someone else's body and the original owner never got a cent.
----
- Users perceive SirCam as just another virus. User reaction: Silly me, I got another virus. When will I learn not to open attachments?
-
On the other hand, users see Code Red as a scary worm. User reaction: Ohmiga, I got HACKED!
- The perception is that Code Red is an external threat, but SirCam is the fault of the users who open the attachment.
The good side effect of all the hype is that all those vulnerable servers out there are getting patched and more destructive worms won't use this vulnerability in the future. I think that's the real reason that security experts are hyping Code Red so much--they want people to patch their servers.CERT® Advisory CA-2000-02 Malicious HTML Tags Embedded in Client Web Requests
From how I understood the advisory, it refers to a page that automatically displays info directly from a link, like showing the search string on the search results page. If the displayed string contains script, the script will be executed in the client browser.
----
If you read the letter, you will also see that the author is General Counsel for the FSF and is responsible for enforcing the GPL.
Even if he is being retained by Slo-Media, I think it's fair to say that he speaks for the FSF's intended interpretation of the GPL.
From the article, it sounds like this doesn't provide just an automated answer, but an automated fix. So instead of telling users how to add a printer, it will actually go in and configure the software on the users machine! In the future, they even plan on automating OS patches.
Definitely looks like much more than Ask Jeeves.
- Your students may use bifocals or reading glasses and will probably have trouble reading the small font sizes on most web pages. Show them how to increase the font size setting on their browser.
- Small mice and keyboard keys may be difficult for arthritic hands to manipulate as easily as us youngsters do. Be patient, and encourage your students to have patience while learning new equipment that may be difficult or painful to use.
Good luck! It may be hard work, but you'll be rewarded by the smile of joy when a grandmother gets an email from her grandson for the first time.All that needs to be done is set up the machines with monitors, printers, and modems, and do fresh OS installations, but there is no money to pay for the work. The mayor is now asking for donations.
Maybe some slashdotters in the Baltimore area could spend a few Sunday afternoons and help?
Overclocking always reminds me of the old Dilbert strip when Dogbert runs a course for people with no common sense. Among them was Clem, the auto mechanic who thought that he got struck by lightning every time he smoked a cigar while working on car engines--and was amazed at the coincidence.
A great story about an everyday guy who tracks down a spy who cracked his way into dozens of US military computers in the mid-80s. It was the case that woke up the then-close-knit Internet to the need for security. Filled with Berkeley color and the author's fun personality.
In a similar vein, what's happening out there with networking non-computer items? I remember hearing talk about Java-enabling and networking household items like refrigerators and ovens. Does anything like that exist anywhere, in development or reality?
Give me the milk, HAL.
I'm sorry Dave, I can't do that.
I can just see it now...
Telnetting to the caboose to tell it to slow down. .choo TLD.
A web server, complete with webcam, running from the engine.
ICANN introducing the
[from the mind of the geek wife of a model railroader]
A few years ago, the Baltimore Sun did an interesting profile of Hamilton Smith, Celera's chief scientist who came up with their unique "shotgunning" method of sequencing DNA.
The article described how Smith won the Nobel Prize in 1978. He felt that he didn't deserve the prize because it was an achievement that he had stumbled upon by accident and hadn't worked to earn it. This caused him to lose confidence in himself and he went into a professional and personal decline. His relationship with his family deteriorated very badly. According to the article, his work with Celera has given him a chance at personal redemption. He began to piece together his family relationships, while dreaming of sequencing the human genome. He felt that this would be a groundbreaking achievement that he would truly earn the credit for. Looks like he has succeeded. Congratulations Ham!
The article is no longer available at the Sun web site, but those with Northern Light accounts can find the article here.
Their discovery caused so much excitement among scientists that it spilled over to the public and politicians.
Sheesh, this must really be a big deal, if even the politicians support it. *grin*
Sounds like producing anything of real quality at home is still in the future. More interesting to me is how musicians will use the technology to create whole new forms of music.
at http://www2.ebay.com/aw/announce.shtml. They even list bugs and fixes! This page was really jumping when they were hit with a DDoS attack last year.