I think this is the best post I've read here... like ever.
It's unfortunate that pointing these things out can make people sound like some new-age weirdo hippy. From my experiences it's truth. I'm very happy with my life and I think it has much to do with me realizing a lot of what the parent spoke of here.
clipboard behavior -- it's broken. It's
nonintuitive. When I select something, all I'm
doing is indicating, not actually copying. Broke
metaphor.
It's a feature. It's very intuitive. In X, you don't "copy+paste", you just "paste". *MUCH* more sensible, and requires less effort. I get very frustrated when using a non *nix machine and this doesn't work.
The problem is that for as many years as there have been farmers, farmers have been able to do what they want with the seeds they have. All the sudden quite recently, companies come along and say "we want to make money, so doing what you have been doing in the past will be wrong".
What gives them the right to butt into an industry and start dictating how things should *now* be done.
Yes I believe in making a profit, and yes I believe there are costs in R and D, but I fail to see how that allows one to take control over something they have no buisness taking control over of.
This is a lot more of an issue than perhaps people realize.
Here in Canada, the farming industry is in an awful position. Farmers from the States are subsidised and are allowed to sell their products at a low price in Canada. The Canadian gov is refusing to help the farmers out in any way finacially. The results is that Canadian produce are more expensive than those that are imported. This has lead to many farmers declaring bankruptcy. Just recently a *huge* contigentcy of Canadian farmers took to Ottawa (the nation's capital), to demand that the government do something about this.
Farmers have been able to trade/barter/sell seeds for as long as there have been farmers. Going after farmers because of pattent violations will not help this industry as whole at all.... in any country.
I agree that children should be *protected* as you say, but I see this as just more of the same mentality. There are laws, and schools have come up with all these rules so that children are *proctected*. Isn't all of this really just excusing bad parenting? Putting all the blame and reponsiblity on other bodies such as government, schools, and now the video game industry. What ever happened to parents doing their job?
I agree that parents cannot maintain a 24/7 watch over their kids, but I think if they were responsible they would recongnized if their child had an abnormal intrest in guns or bomb making.
I see this as just more finger pointing, and the more we do this an not take responsiblity, it won't matter what protections we put in place.
I think that strong internals are more important. No reason giving ppl a crappy system with beautiful gui's. I don't think that is very usefull and that is why I left the Win/Mac machines.
Though I do believe that for Linux to be really usefull to the layperson a really *sharp* interface needs to come about. I think, given the fact that both these projects are sort of playing catchup, both GNOME and KDE are doing an excellent job. Remember, Mac/Win had the jump on the desktop scene (I mean a usefull, non-hackerish gui).
I don't know, I started using my PDA because I was unorganized, and now I have never been more organized in my life. So I started to use it because I was already "dumb".
One other thought. I don't know how one can judge another's intelligence by that individual's inability to remember their sin or health numbers (or whatever other nations equivalents may be). I don't know them, but then I have never had a reason to. I have the cards in my wallet. I can remember other things really well. I can make my way through a *nix file system, I know the emails of my ta's... etc. This could really just be a change in society and those who have been around in the *older system* are judging intelligence with a different set of rules than the *newer system* would.
I think you are missing the point of IP law. Patents and copyrights give the author the ability to share their ideas in return for legal protection for exclusivity for a limited period of time.
This may be true as to the intent, but this is not what is being practiced today. That is what I take exception to.
A patent is a contract between you and the government where you disclose the idea in return for a right of exclusivity.
That is sad isn't it? "right of exclusivity"? Why should you have an exclusive right to horde an idea that could benefit the rest of society? My point is that this way of thinking closes off oppertunity for society to make the idea even better. That is a better system. Most people who have a patent use it as an offensive tactic not defensive.
The problem that you have to deal with in the absence of IP laws is how are you going to get people to invest money in projects if once they finish anyone can use it freely.
Well, the Free/open software culture/industry is a good example. Another; I live in a country with alot of snow. It is quite common for a neighbour to share the snow blower with other neighbours. Many share recipes from cookbooks (which one has to buy) by copying. I could probably go on.
You spoke of IP. Think about what this means really. I have an idea, or a thought about how to do things, but I refuse to tell you or anyone what the thought is because I, and solely I, want to reap the benefits. Sounds like a pretty sad state of affairs to me. Also the very term "Intelectual Property" is an oxymoron : one cannot claim that anything "intelectual" is "property".
wow! I had no idea... but then this proves my point: "Patents had a major affect on the early automotive industry." How can any industry thrive when you are constantly concerned about who might have rights to what. Like many advancements in science, alot of them in any industry are only a result of other concepts that were worked on previously.
Today it's quite common to have 2 companies come up with the same technique, but one of them is quicker to patent so the other company is in violation. How can any industry really flourish when you are constantly afraid off stepping on all these lan mines.
Think back to car manufacturing; the early days. What would happen if a company said "we have invented the exhaust system, no one can use it", and other companies said similar things about ideas/techniques they had come up with. Could you imagine what cars would be like today?
I'm not a gui guy, but how do we know that apple hasn't come up with some technique/idea that could revolutionize gui construction from now on. This would have an adverse effect on the rest of the computer field, if no one could build on it and make it even better.
Granted odds are Apple has no such elements in their design, but if Apple is allowed doing this, what happens when a company comes up with something *really* revolutionary? They would hold onto the rights, and others would not be able to add to that idea and make it evolve. The net result would be that the computer (hitech) industry would suffer greatly. We need to think about the future before we get over zealous about the past.
I see that this can have quite an impact on US citizens. What happens to neighbouring countries? Is it likely that they will follow suit?
I would like to think that all of us, worldwide, could help fight this, but the question comes to mind: Is this a global issue, or an isolated (American) issue?
I would like to hope that in the worst case scenerio having other countries without these laws may still provide hope for those without. However with recent events (i'm thinking of the whole yahoo! vs France issue here), I'm concerned that this may be the initial step in a globalized domino effect.
Are you suggesting that physical labour is a bad thing?
The letter idea is only to prove that indeed you wrote the piece. It has very little to do with making money off it. It would be dishonest for someone to lay claim to it. As for making money of a song I wrote... be my guest.
One can still live without making money for what they enjoy. Just ask the *majority* of musicians out there that have day jobs, and do gigs at night. Making music purely for money has given us the mediocrity that is music today.
You also misunderstood me when I spoke of the last point. I am a programmer. If times were different and programming wasn't so lucrative, I would still be a programmer anyways. I don't program to make money, it just so happens that it *can* make me money. And I also play shows around town in different venues. That makes me some money as well, but that is not *why* I play.
Making money is not the point, it's the motivation that I was speaking of.
1. *most* artists don't make money on albums, but rather touring and the like. (musicians)
2. there are ways of *protecting* your art without out copyrights. I have used such methods. One only needs to prove that the art was done at a specific period of time. ie. with music, make a demo of the song and mail it to yourself so that you have the post office's time stamp. There are many cases where this is accepted.
3. steal their stuff? If someone plays a song and says they wrote it when they did not, that is wrong. Playing some elses song isn't. The Jazz world is full of other artists interpretation of jazz standards (music).
And btw, GOOD artists perform/create their art out of devotion to the art itself. Not to make money.
"lousy working conditions are so prevalent"? Are you serious? I've never seen better work conditions. Flexhours, options, full benefits, great salaries... etc
I agree that tech support can be a "sh!t-kicker" of a job, but overall, high-tech workers have it easy!
I honestly believe that no workforce has ever united against high-tech management because there is no need. Gone are the days that managers work their employees to sickness (and yes I realise it still happens, but i'm speaking in general terms here).
Unions served a very necessary service many moons ago, but today in general, companies have realized that if they make their workers happy, they will have better work.
That's rather a harsh way of saying it, but it has some truth. Microsoft Windows does have some pretty good ideas when it comes to ease of use sometimes. Being able to click on an image file and immediatly see a corresponding thumbnail is rather conveniant. This avoids a possible lag whilst waiting for the image to come up after double clicking.
Maybe when 1.4 comes out, I might be able to convince some of those around me that GNU/Linux has everything they need!
Mind-you this does very little for all those that prefer the command line.;)
Slashdot Mirror
I think this is the best post I've read here... like ever.
It's unfortunate that pointing these things out can make people sound like some new-age weirdo hippy. From my experiences it's truth. I'm very happy with my life and I think it has much to do with me realizing a lot of what the parent spoke of here.
Unless it doesn't... in which case, nevermind...
It's a feature. It's very intuitive. In X, you don't "copy+paste", you just "paste". *MUCH* more sensible, and requires less effort. I get very frustrated when using a non *nix machine and this doesn't work.
my 2 cents,
eno
So what happens in the case of an inter-country dispute similar to this?
What gives them the right to butt into an industry and start dictating how things should *now* be done.
Yes I believe in making a profit, and yes I believe there are costs in R and D, but I fail to see how that allows one to take control over something they have no buisness taking control over of.
later
Here in Canada, the farming industry is in an awful position. Farmers from the States are subsidised and are allowed to sell their products at a low price in Canada. The Canadian gov is refusing to help the farmers out in any way finacially. The results is that Canadian produce are more expensive than those that are imported. This has lead to many farmers declaring bankruptcy. Just recently a *huge* contigentcy of Canadian farmers took to Ottawa (the nation's capital), to demand that the government do something about this.
Farmers have been able to trade/barter/sell seeds for as long as there have been farmers. Going after farmers because of pattent violations will not help this industry as whole at all.... in any country.
I only hope that this will not be a trend...
later.
I agree that parents cannot maintain a 24/7 watch over their kids, but I think if they were responsible they would recongnized if their child had an abnormal intrest in guns or bomb making.
I see this as just more finger pointing, and the more we do this an not take responsiblity, it won't matter what protections we put in place.
my 2 cents.
Though I do believe that for Linux to be really usefull to the layperson a really *sharp* interface needs to come about. I think, given the fact that both these projects are sort of playing catchup, both GNOME and KDE are doing an excellent job. Remember, Mac/Win had the jump on the desktop scene (I mean a usefull, non-hackerish gui).
my 2cents
One other thought. I don't know how one can judge another's intelligence by that individual's inability to remember their sin or health numbers (or whatever other nations equivalents may be). I don't know them, but then I have never had a reason to. I have the cards in my wallet. I can remember other things really well. I can make my way through a *nix file system, I know the emails of my ta's... etc. This could really just be a change in society and those who have been around in the *older system* are judging intelligence with a different set of rules than the *newer system* would.
eno.
This may be true as to the intent, but this is not what is being practiced today. That is what I take exception to.
A patent is a contract between you and the government where you disclose the idea in return for a right of exclusivity.
That is sad isn't it? "right of exclusivity"? Why should you have an exclusive right to horde an idea that could benefit the rest of society? My point is that this way of thinking closes off oppertunity for society to make the idea even better. That is a better system. Most people who have a patent use it as an offensive tactic not defensive.
just another thought,
eno.
The problem that you have to deal with in the absence of IP laws is how are you going to get people to invest money in projects if once they finish anyone can use it freely.
Well, the Free/open software culture/industry is a good example. Another; I live in a country with alot of snow. It is quite common for a neighbour to share the snow blower with other neighbours. Many share recipes from cookbooks (which one has to buy) by copying. I could probably go on.
You spoke of IP. Think about what this means really. I have an idea, or a thought about how to do things, but I refuse to tell you or anyone what the thought is because I, and solely I, want to reap the benefits. Sounds like a pretty sad state of affairs to me. Also the very term "Intelectual Property" is an oxymoron : one cannot claim that anything "intelectual" is "property".
eno.
eno.
Today it's quite common to have 2 companies come up with the same technique, but one of them is quicker to patent so the other company is in violation. How can any industry really flourish when you are constantly afraid off stepping on all these lan mines.
eno.
I'm not a gui guy, but how do we know that apple hasn't come up with some technique/idea that could revolutionize gui construction from now on. This would have an adverse effect on the rest of the computer field, if no one could build on it and make it even better.
Granted odds are Apple has no such elements in their design, but if Apple is allowed doing this, what happens when a company comes up with something *really* revolutionary? They would hold onto the rights, and others would not be able to add to that idea and make it evolve. The net result would be that the computer (hitech) industry would suffer greatly. We need to think about the future before we get over zealous about the past.
just a thought,
eno.
I would like to think that all of us, worldwide, could help fight this, but the question comes to mind: Is this a global issue, or an isolated (American) issue?
I would like to hope that in the worst case scenerio having other countries without these laws may still provide hope for those without. However with recent events (i'm thinking of the whole yahoo! vs France issue here), I'm concerned that this may be the initial step in a globalized domino effect.
eno.
The letter idea is only to prove that indeed you wrote the piece. It has very little to do with making money off it. It would be dishonest for someone to lay claim to it. As for making money of a song I wrote... be my guest.
One can still live without making money for what they enjoy. Just ask the *majority* of musicians out there that have day jobs, and do gigs at night. Making music purely for money has given us the mediocrity that is music today.
You also misunderstood me when I spoke of the last point. I am a programmer. If times were different and programming wasn't so lucrative, I would still be a programmer anyways. I don't program to make money, it just so happens that it *can* make me money. And I also play shows around town in different venues. That makes me some money as well, but that is not *why* I play.
Making money is not the point, it's the motivation that I was speaking of.
eno.
2. there are ways of *protecting* your art without out copyrights. I have used such methods. One only needs to prove that the art was done at a specific period of time. ie. with music, make a demo of the song and mail it to yourself so that you have the post office's time stamp. There are many cases where this is accepted.
3. steal their stuff? If someone plays a song and says they wrote it when they did not, that is wrong. Playing some elses song isn't. The Jazz world is full of other artists interpretation of jazz standards (music).
And btw, GOOD artists perform/create their art out of devotion to the art itself. Not to make money.
just my 2cents.
eno
I agree that tech support can be a "sh!t-kicker" of a job, but overall, high-tech workers have it easy!
I honestly believe that no workforce has ever united against high-tech management because there is no need. Gone are the days that managers work their employees to sickness (and yes I realise it still happens, but i'm speaking in general terms here).
Unions served a very necessary service many moons ago, but today in general, companies have realized that if they make their workers happy, they will have better work.
eno.
That's rather a harsh way of saying it, but it has some truth. Microsoft Windows does have some pretty good ideas when it comes to ease of use sometimes. Being able to click on an image file and immediatly see a corresponding thumbnail is rather conveniant. This avoids a possible lag whilst waiting for the image to come up after double clicking. Maybe when 1.4 comes out, I might be able to convince some of those around me that GNU/Linux has everything they need! Mind-you this does very little for all those that prefer the command line. ;)