I don't know about Canadian law (I suspect it depends on whether the provice was originally a British or French territory way back in the day), but in the United States courts are extremely hesitant to pierce the corporate veil, and avoid doing it as much as possible. Because most companies incorporate in Delaware, where there is a rich body of business law, Delaware is generally the one here in the US that manages these decisions. If you look back through the ages, the number of times the veil was actually pierced compared to the number of times corporations were taken to court is minute. So, while I'd agree with the general thought process of the article, I think it needs to be taken with a grain of salt.
The first thing you want to do when you're making this decision is ask yourself what sorts of things you want to do. What do you like? Do you prefer taking your box apart to recompiling your Linux kernel? Is it more interesting to you to read about diodes, transistors, and electricity or about linklists, loops, and theoretical math?
It'll be pretty flexible when you get started, too. Often times, you'll find that many of the courses you take within CE or CS will be the same. You'll take a lot of Math, some Physics... the basics. At the University of Illinois (the engineering school with which I'm most familiar) you'll take CE classes if you're a CS major (Intro to Electric and Electronic Circuits) and CS classes if you're a CE major (Intro to Computer Science). So, if you aren't entirely sure going in, you can take a little bit of both.
Rule of thumb is this: if you're interested in the nitty-gritty interworkings of computers and their hardware, you'll probably like CE. If you're interested in the nitty-gritty interworkings of software, you'll probably like CS. If you want to be a pointy-haired boss, and manage all of the above, MIS is the place to be.;)
It might not work, but I can see what's keeping the Gov. encouraged. Currently, Ann Arbor is attracting more and more online/IT businesses. There's decently cheap labor in Ann Arbor (read:college students), and the mentality there is fairly condusive. Having said this, it stands to reason that Engler would think that more and more businesses would take the leap of faith to come to good ole MI if he supported further growth/opportunities via cyber-courts.
It's not likely to be a huge draw though. Companies go through Delaware because there's a rich history of corporate law; the judges actually know what their doing, when to pierce the corporate veil, etc. What good is an online court system if the judges don't know encryption from Encarta?
Just because something is 'free' doesn't mean that it isn't part of a market. To have a market, all you really need is supply and demand; there is, for example, a high demand for homeless shelters in the housing market. They are part of the housing market even though those people who use the shelters don't pay for them.
Similarly, there is a market demand for Linux just as there is for Windoze and Mac OS. By market, in this context, they are referring to public/corporate (released) availability... and it was late coming it terms of the 'market schedule'.
Most all news stations have reverted Florida to being too close to call (10:21pm). And Bush took New Hampshire and Missouri, while Gore has Michigan and Pennsylvanis. It's extremely close, and extremely frightening, but hopefully you'll be correct.
You find this no matter what party. I don't think it reflects the candidate so much as how desperate people are to see their candidate win.
A guy I work with has gone out on the street, picked up homeless people, taken them to register (absentee ballot) to vote, and voted FOR THEM (Bush), all in exchange for $5.
By giving your children, which are supposed to be the most important thing in your life, to daycare, you are explicitly opting out of taking parental responsibility.
That's ridiculous. You said that you'd let them 'start going to school'? It's essentially the same idea: your child is out of your immediate control for a period of time whilest spending time with other people who will impact his/her life. While you have control (to a degree) over which school your child will attend, you have 'opted out of your parenting responsibility' for that period of time. Beyond that, its the same level of control you have over choosing a daycare facility.
If corporate daycare is offered, employees have the flexibility to stop by and visit with their children [lunch breaks, etc.], and if there is an emergency, they are easily contacted. There is also going to be a more rigorously enforced standard of care, because valuable human capital will be on the line. As a result, as I see it, they aren't opting out of their parenting responsibilty; in my opinion, it seems like they're finding the most efficient, beneficial way to manage it.
If Microsoft absorbs Sega, does this mean that instead of being a speedy, powerful, spunky hedgehog, Sonic is going to get bloated, weak and start crashing [into things] randomly?:)
Depressing as it is to many who loved Sega, it is probably inevitable that they get absorbed by another company. While reading Salon, I came upon an article by Jim Lynch suggesting it might be Microsoft.
Does this mean that instead of being a speedy, powerful, spunky hedgehog, Sonic is going to get bloated, weak and start crashing [into things] randomly?:)
"Schiffrin and colleagues used a class of organic molecules called thiols that stick to gold. At the end of a chain-like molecule, a thiol group reacts with a gold atom to form a strong link. Molecules with thiols at both ends can link themselves between two gold surfaces. So the team attached gold nanoparticles to a flat gold surface, tethered by two-headed thiol molecules. Each gold particle, they say, is probably linked to the surface by dozens of these molecules."
I can see it now... geek relationships of the future will forever be changed:
*geekMan*: "Honey, will you marry me?"
*geekChick*: "Oh, darling! A gold-accented iMac, with LinuxPPC, gold-thiol technology, and diamond trim! Of course I'll marry you!"
This is the first time I've read these stories, and each one is interesting and easy to relate to. However, it seems to me like there are certain key considerations that are left out of the equation.
In high school, I was a geek chick, and that was fine. I dated geek guys exclusively, putzed with my Mac until I convinced my folks that a PC was the way to go, and co-sysoped more than my share of BBS fun. I was in special math/science/computer classes for 'smart kids'; most of my classmates were guys. I can kick my brother's @$$ in Q3 and Unreal. In every way, I distinguished myself as 'geeky', proudly, and of course there were kids in my high school that viewed it as unfortunate or laughable. Sure, I was teased, and yeah, it sucked. Sometimes, it sucked a lot.
But... I had friends. I think, to a certain extent, these recounts of misery-suffered neglects the good parts of the lives we lived. As a previous poster pointed out, we all suffer in high school - jocks and preps included. Everyone has a horror story. We all had good times too... its just life. So, while I empathize with those who dealt with prejudice or segregation by their peers and their teachers, it seems to me that we can't neglect the positives. The BBS communities, the lan-parties... those may be stereotypical joys of 'geek life', but for many of us, they were there. For me, it was the theater, where I could express myself through characters and no one was the wiser. For my geeky boyfriend, it was I'net communities. Whatever works.
I love the idea of making this a book; I think it reveals a lot about our subculture that maybe needs to be addressed by the outside world. I also feel like its very real... it doesn't read as being pretentious, nor does it neglect age groups. I simply wonder, to a degree, if its a bit misleading by being so negatively slanted.
"Customers will be able to download music, movies and other Web multimedia at Lawson's more than 7,500 stores."
Okay. So, customers will be able to download music, movies, and other web multimedia. At a convience store. Believe me, I think that its snazzy that they're installing all those Linux stations, but can someone explain to me what the point of it all is?
<translator = "Japanese">
"Mummy, I'm bored."
"Go play with the Linux station honey. Listen to some music or something."
"But I forgot my headphones..."
"Just go press buttons! Let Mummy finish her shopping!"
</translator>
:)
I'm not sure I can see the practicality, if its only going to be used for web media.
The Wall Street Journal had an article (here - but you need to subscribe) on this, where Bertelsmann said: "its newly formed e-commerce group and Napster have developed a new business model that "preserves the Napster experience" while providing payments to copyright holders, including recording artists, songwriters, recording companies and music publishers."
Perserve the Napster experience? Yay - we get to keep our console! Our interface MIGHT remain unchanged! Wow! What a concession!
What else can they preserve if they take away the 'free' part? As I see it, that WAS the quintessential Napster experience.
And there is no reason *to* trust floppies anymore. While students at my University still sometimes make the mistake, we've pushed them towards multiple alternatives. Obviously, you're restricted by your hardware, but this is what we do (at the largest public University computing lab in the US):
Teach student to save to their AFS space. If your University is in the position to offer it to students, its the greatest. Using netatalk or samba (mac/pc), we've made it so students can just save to the desktop and then drag n' drop to their AFS. At home they can access it via kerberosed FTP (included in the student software package known affectionately as the 'bluedisk') or they can map the drives themselves if they feel ambitious.
Use zip disks. This is obviously not as good as AFS, because its still loseable, destroyable media, BUT its much tougher than a regular ole floppy. We give each student *one* zip disk for attending University computing sites training (where they learn such key concepts as AFS, changing passwords regularly, etc.), so everyone starts out on an even playing field. Admittedly, this doesn't work out well for those who would use their zip disks at home, but don't use drives, but the disks can be used at ANY public computing site on campus.
Email. When in doubt, show a student how to attach their work to an email. They can email it to themselves, and have it be accessible anywhere, so long as they know how to upload/download files. We encourage our students to use Mulberry (a kerberosed, graphical mail client) because it's as easy as M$ Outlook on attachments, but their passwords aren't sent out it the open, and they aren't open to virii.:) However, PINE accomidates this feature as well - it just takes a bit more effot to teach.
Between these three methods, floppies have all but disappeared as the 'secure way' to save documents. Many students use them as transport devices, but have another copy saved on AFS or via email just in case.
Nah, it doesn't violate the ruling at all - or rather, it won't have to.
1) That isn't for commercial distribution, which is what is covered after amendments to the bill.
2) The universities wouldn't endorse the darn thing until they were given this amendment:
"Provided that students who give, sell or transfer class notes or any other record of the presentation to any other person for the purpose of disseminating the record for commercial purposes shall be subject to penalties set forth in the student disciplinary code."
Students are responsible only to the code set by the University, not the law as its been passed. Which means the U. can say, "You're allowed to do such and such and not be punished, but you CAN'T sell your notes to a company for distribution."
It seems to me that by adding this little loophole, the bill loses a lot of its 'power'. Sure, commercial organizations can't sell their notes, but only the University stops the student organizations from doing it. Seems like it could encourage monopolistic practices, to me, but then, being from Michigan, I suppose I shouldn't worry too much yet.:)
This will probably get me flamed, but... It seems to me that RedHat's approach to releases is more inline with the successful model of opensource software.
If you read, The Cathedral and the Bazaar, by Eric Raymond, he suggests that the strategy to "Release Early, Release Often" was a critical part of Linux development. It got the new source out into the public, where feisty members of the OS community tore into it, found bugs, sent 'em in, and all-in-all got a better software going. It makes sense - the enthusiasts got to tackle it more often, and felt like they were participating in a positive effort towards something they all wanted. He even proved it worked that way in his work with fetchmail.
This isn't to say that it isn't a pain in the ass for those of us who are new to Linux, but frankly, as has been said, if you want the stable version, you just download an earlier version. I think that the ability to do that the middle ground.:) As I understand it, and admittedly...I am new to this, part of the fun in Linux is finding the bugs and getting them fixed.:)
Slashdot Mirror
I don't know about Canadian law (I suspect it depends on whether the provice was originally a British or French territory way back in the day), but in the United States courts are extremely hesitant to pierce the corporate veil, and avoid doing it as much as possible. Because most companies incorporate in Delaware, where there is a rich body of business law, Delaware is generally the one here in the US that manages these decisions. If you look back through the ages, the number of times the veil was actually pierced compared to the number of times corporations were taken to court is minute. So, while I'd agree with the general thought process of the article, I think it needs to be taken with a grain of salt.
The first thing you want to do when you're making this decision is ask yourself what sorts of things you want to do. What do you like? Do you prefer taking your box apart to recompiling your Linux kernel? Is it more interesting to you to read about diodes, transistors, and electricity or about linklists, loops, and theoretical math?
;)
It'll be pretty flexible when you get started, too. Often times, you'll find that many of the courses you take within CE or CS will be the same. You'll take a lot of Math, some Physics... the basics. At the University of Illinois (the engineering school with which I'm most familiar) you'll take CE classes if you're a CS major (Intro to Electric and Electronic Circuits) and CS classes if you're a CE major (Intro to Computer Science). So, if you aren't entirely sure going in, you can take a little bit of both.
Rule of thumb is this: if you're interested in the nitty-gritty interworkings of computers and their hardware, you'll probably like CE. If you're interested in the nitty-gritty interworkings of software, you'll probably like CS. If you want to be a pointy-haired boss, and manage all of the above, MIS is the place to be.
Good luck!
~Di
It might not work, but I can see what's keeping the Gov. encouraged. Currently, Ann Arbor is attracting more and more online/IT businesses. There's decently cheap labor in Ann Arbor (read:college students), and the mentality there is fairly condusive. Having said this, it stands to reason that Engler would think that more and more businesses would take the leap of faith to come to good ole MI if he supported further growth /opportunities via cyber-courts.
It's not likely to be a huge draw though. Companies go through Delaware because there's a rich history of corporate law; the judges actually know what their doing, when to pierce the corporate veil, etc. What good is an online court system if the judges don't know encryption from Encarta?
Bitch about the lines getting on and off, of course!
Just because something is 'free' doesn't mean that it isn't part of a market. To have a market, all you really need is supply and demand; there is, for example, a high demand for homeless shelters in the housing market. They are part of the housing market even though those people who use the shelters don't pay for them.
Similarly, there is a market demand for Linux just as there is for Windoze and Mac OS. By market, in this context, they are referring to public/corporate (released) availability... and it was late coming it terms of the 'market schedule'.
Most all news stations have reverted Florida to being too close to call (10:21pm). And Bush took New Hampshire and Missouri, while Gore has Michigan and Pennsylvanis. It's extremely close, and extremely frightening, but hopefully you'll be correct.
~Di
You find this no matter what party. I don't think it reflects the candidate so much as how desperate people are to see their candidate win.
A guy I work with has gone out on the street, picked up homeless people, taken them to register (absentee ballot) to vote, and voted FOR THEM (Bush), all in exchange for $5.
By giving your children, which are supposed to be the most important thing in your life, to daycare, you are explicitly opting out of taking parental responsibility.
That's ridiculous. You said that you'd let them 'start going to school'? It's essentially the same idea: your child is out of your immediate control for a period of time whilest spending time with other people who will impact his/her life. While you have control (to a degree) over which school your child will attend, you have 'opted out of your parenting responsibility' for that period of time. Beyond that, its the same level of control you have over choosing a daycare facility.
If corporate daycare is offered, employees have the flexibility to stop by and visit with their children [lunch breaks, etc.], and if there is an emergency, they are easily contacted. There is also going to be a more rigorously enforced standard of care, because valuable human capital will be on the line. As a result, as I see it, they aren't opting out of their parenting responsibilty; in my opinion, it seems like they're finding the most efficient, beneficial way to manage it.
If Microsoft absorbs Sega, does this mean that instead of being a speedy, powerful, spunky hedgehog, Sonic is going to get bloated, weak and start crashing [into things] randomly? :)
Depressing as it is to many who loved Sega, it is probably inevitable that they get absorbed by another company. While reading Salon, I came upon an article by Jim Lynch suggesting it might be Microsoft.
:)
Does this mean that instead of being a speedy, powerful, spunky hedgehog, Sonic is going to get bloated, weak and start crashing [into things] randomly?
No one ever said the chick was a geek. ;-)
~Di
"Schiffrin and colleagues used a class of organic molecules called thiols that stick to gold. At the end of a chain-like molecule, a thiol group reacts with a gold atom to form a strong link. Molecules with thiols at both ends can link themselves between two gold surfaces. So the team attached gold nanoparticles to a flat gold surface, tethered by two-headed thiol molecules. Each gold particle, they say, is probably linked to the surface by dozens of these molecules."
I can see it now... geek relationships of the future will forever be changed:
*geekMan*: "Honey, will you marry me?"
*geekChick*: "Oh, darling! A gold-accented iMac, with LinuxPPC, gold-thiol technology, and diamond trim! Of course I'll marry you!"
This is the first time I've read these stories, and each one is interesting and easy to relate to. However, it seems to me like there are certain key considerations that are left out of the equation.
In high school, I was a geek chick, and that was fine. I dated geek guys exclusively, putzed with my Mac until I convinced my folks that a PC was the way to go, and co-sysoped more than my share of BBS fun. I was in special math/science/computer classes for 'smart kids'; most of my classmates were guys. I can kick my brother's @$$ in Q3 and Unreal. In every way, I distinguished myself as 'geeky', proudly, and of course there were kids in my high school that viewed it as unfortunate or laughable. Sure, I was teased, and yeah, it sucked. Sometimes, it sucked a lot.
But... I had friends. I think, to a certain extent, these recounts of misery-suffered neglects the good parts of the lives we lived. As a previous poster pointed out, we all suffer in high school - jocks and preps included. Everyone has a horror story. We all had good times too... its just life. So, while I empathize with those who dealt with prejudice or segregation by their peers and their teachers, it seems to me that we can't neglect the positives. The BBS communities, the lan-parties... those may be stereotypical joys of 'geek life', but for many of us, they were there. For me, it was the theater, where I could express myself through characters and no one was the wiser. For my geeky boyfriend, it was I'net communities. Whatever works.
I love the idea of making this a book; I think it reveals a lot about our subculture that maybe needs to be addressed by the outside world. I also feel like its very real... it doesn't read as being pretentious, nor does it neglect age groups. I simply wonder, to a degree, if its a bit misleading by being so negatively slanted.
"Customers will be able to download music, movies and other Web multimedia at Lawson's more than 7,500 stores."
Okay. So, customers will be able to download music, movies, and other web multimedia. At a convience store. Believe me, I think that its snazzy that they're installing all those Linux stations, but can someone explain to me what the point of it all is?
<translator = "Japanese">
"Mummy, I'm bored."
"Go play with the Linux station honey. Listen to some music or something."
"But I forgot my headphones..."
"Just go press buttons! Let Mummy finish her shopping!"
</translator>
:)
I'm not sure I can see the practicality, if its only going to be used for web media.
The Wall Street Journal had an article (here - but you need to subscribe) on this, where Bertelsmann said: "its newly formed e-commerce group and Napster have developed a new business model that "preserves the Napster experience" while providing payments to copyright holders, including recording artists, songwriters, recording companies and music publishers."
Perserve the Napster experience? Yay - we get to keep our console! Our interface MIGHT remain unchanged! Wow! What a concession!
What else can they preserve if they take away the 'free' part? As I see it, that WAS the quintessential Napster experience.
Between these three methods, floppies have all but disappeared as the 'secure way' to save documents. Many students use them as transport devices, but have another copy saved on AFS or via email just in case.
Good luck!
Nah, it doesn't violate the ruling at all - or rather, it won't have to.
:)
1) That isn't for commercial distribution, which is what is covered after amendments to the bill.
2) The universities wouldn't endorse the darn thing until they were given this amendment:
"Provided that students who give, sell or transfer class notes or any other record of the presentation to any other person for the purpose of disseminating the record for commercial purposes shall be subject to penalties set forth in the student disciplinary code."
Students are responsible only to the code set by the University, not the law as its been passed. Which means the U. can say, "You're allowed to do such and such and not be punished, but you CAN'T sell your notes to a company for distribution."
It seems to me that by adding this little loophole, the bill loses a lot of its 'power'. Sure, commercial organizations can't sell their notes, but only the University stops the student organizations from doing it. Seems like it could encourage monopolistic practices, to me, but then, being from Michigan, I suppose I shouldn't worry too much yet.
~Diana
This will probably get me flamed, but... It seems to me that RedHat's approach to releases is more inline with the successful model of opensource software.
:) As I understand it, and admittedly...I am new to this, part of the fun in Linux is finding the bugs and getting them fixed. :)
If you read, The Cathedral and the Bazaar, by Eric Raymond, he suggests that the strategy to "Release Early, Release Often" was a critical part of Linux development. It got the new source out into the public, where feisty members of the OS community tore into it, found bugs, sent 'em in, and all-in-all got a better software going. It makes sense - the enthusiasts got to tackle it more often, and felt like they were participating in a positive effort towards something they all wanted. He even proved it worked that way in his work with fetchmail.
This isn't to say that it isn't a pain in the ass for those of us who are new to Linux, but frankly, as has been said, if you want the stable version, you just download an earlier version. I think that the ability to do that the middle ground.
~S