Now, I have a set of location data which I acquired using basic trigonometry and some near-prehistoric equipment known as compass and tape. If any of those data equate to that acquired by someone's copy-righted GPS data, where do I stand?
Obviously (well, at least to me), the data is, if you like, a basic truth which may be divined in all manner of ways and cannot be copyrighted purely because of the way in which it was acquired.
If such data was copyrightable, perhaps the copyright should belong to the GPS receiver manufacturer, and we could let Garmin and Magellan, etc. fight over who actually owns it... 8-)
Of course, my opinion is worth about as much as your own and normal caveats apply.
One thing I have noticed in my short and relatively meaningless existence on this planet is that if one person decides to sit down and do something, they often manage to get that thing done pretty much as they intended. If they enlist the help of others, either as a club, a company or some other form of organisation, they might just manage to turn out something that has some approximation to the thing they first thought of - if they get it out at all.
This is a rash generalisation, of course, but - with no offence meant to anyone - compare Linus' kernel to the Hurd.
All the salary expectations aside (check out what IT workers in Fiji get paid!!), one way of determining the cost of living to a fairly rough extent is to look at the Hamburger Index, which compares the cost of a McMealSubstitute in various locales.
If you were to utter this criticism in Australia, you are not actually protected by a codified right to Free Speech, AFAIK. It is generally accepted that you are free to say your piece and there is most likely legal precedence to work your case on if you were challenged, but...
My father (as an illustration of a broader community) might benefit from this book. He believes (like many non-geeks would, I guess) that Public Domain and Open Source are essentially the same.
His experience with PD software was the atrocious crap (by almost any standard) he bought on a CD from a shopping mall some years ago and now vehemently denies he ever wasted money on.
I don't know if this book will do it. I don't know if it is do-able. If this book preaches to the Yet-to-Be-Converted and does so in terms that makes them realise that there may be a better way, then this is A Good Thing.
You don't need to tell me about the value of OS, but I am a small fish in a small sea...
Slashdot Mirror
Now, I have a set of location data which I acquired using basic trigonometry and some near-prehistoric equipment known as compass and tape. If any of those data equate to that acquired by someone's copy-righted GPS data, where do I stand?
Obviously (well, at least to me), the data is, if you like, a basic truth which may be divined in all manner of ways and cannot be copyrighted purely because of the way in which it was acquired.
If such data was copyrightable, perhaps the copyright should belong to the GPS receiver manufacturer, and we could let Garmin and Magellan, etc. fight over who actually owns it... 8-)
Of course, my opinion is worth about as much as your own and normal caveats apply.
One thing I have noticed in my short and relatively meaningless existence on this planet is that if one person decides to sit down and do something, they often manage to get that thing done pretty much as they intended. If they enlist the help of others, either as a club, a company or some other form of organisation, they might just manage to turn out something that has some approximation to the thing they first thought of - if they get it out at all.
This is a rash generalisation, of course, but - with no offence meant to anyone - compare Linus' kernel to the Hurd.
All the salary expectations aside (check out what IT workers in Fiji get paid!!), one way of determining the cost of living to a fairly rough extent is to look at the Hamburger Index, which compares the cost of a McMealSubstitute in various locales.
WARNING: Minor technical point and way off-topic.
If you were to utter this criticism in Australia, you are not actually protected by a codified right to Free Speech, AFAIK. It is generally accepted that you are free to say your piece and there is most likely legal precedence to work your case on if you were challenged, but...
My father (as an illustration of a broader community) might benefit from this book. He believes (like many non-geeks would, I guess) that Public Domain and Open Source are essentially the same. His experience with PD software was the atrocious crap (by almost any standard) he bought on a CD from a shopping mall some years ago and now vehemently denies he ever wasted money on. I don't know if this book will do it. I don't know if it is do-able. If this book preaches to the Yet-to-Be-Converted and does so in terms that makes them realise that there may be a better way, then this is A Good Thing.
You don't need to tell me about the value of OS, but I am a small fish in a small sea...