Agreed, at times people seem to think that Microsoft could just implode one day due to a bad business decision and almost immediately cease to exist.
People seem to forget that if Microsoft were to completely pull out of the Operating System, Office, games and internet markets (and just about everything else) and devote themselves to say... selling sol.exe (Solitaire for the non windows persons) for a dozen different platforms... even without a single sale, the pile of cash they are sitting on, in addition to their assets would be sufficient to keep them afloat for many many years. --
I'd agree that it is a cost... but not a loss, nor a physical loss.
A persons downloading of shareware app from a web site is little different than a person taking a car for a test drive.
Both are free for the customer to do and that help them decide if spending money on the given product is worth while. In both cases, the cost to the seller is a cost of doing business and a smart company will write off such expenses as 'business expenses', not as a 'loss'.
Nabbing a CD off an assembly line is no better than downloading the game off the internet, it's stealing plain and simple.
and your sig says...
Software piracy is victimless theft
If you feel there is no difference between stealing a cd off an assembly line and downloading the game it contains from the internet... are you saying that stealing a cd off the assembly line is victimless theft?
At least with downloading a copy there is no actual physical loss, but between the combination of your statement and sig, you seem to be condoning stealing cd's... possibly from anywhere as it is 'victimless theft'.
You sir make me sick. Please get your ethics and logic in order.
Come to my house then, I have a HD die at least once a year.
The latest is a Western Digital 80 gig (1/3 in the system). Sadly, all of my HD deaths (and I do mean all) have been WD's... sadly due to the warranty on the drive still being good, it will be replaced with another evil WD.
Once upon a time there was a platform known as CHRP or Common Hardware Reference Platform and was based on a PowerPC chip. Microsoft did indeed port Windows to this platform, as late as NT4... however prior to it's release they announced that NT4 would be the only OS they would release for CHRP.
Because of the loss of support from Microsoft, CHRP went through a bit of an identity crisis and came back as the PPCP or PowerPC Platform.
If I recall correctly, in addition to NT4, Mac OS, Solaris, OS/2, and AIX all exited on CHRP/PPCP for a time.
Yes it is possible... however now less likely, good luck finding a PPC version of NT4 for example, or software to run on it for that matter.
I hate to break it to you, but the GPL is a EULA. It dictates what you can and cannot do with a given piece of software (or in the GPL's case, the code).
When you click 'I Agree' and install a copy of Windows, you are agreeing that you will not hold Microsoft liable should your 1st born die to the software, along with a number of other stipulations.
The GPL is far shorter yes, and it too dictates what you cannot do... like release a binary without making available the code.
In fact, both make quite clear that you are using said software at your own risk and that the publisher/writer/distributor/etc of said code is not liable for any damage.
I often times find it funny, when people like you bad mouth EULA's so much and seem to be so in love with the GPL.
Here's a horrific thought for you to consider, should the entire concept of EULA's be struck down in court, the GPL will become invalid as well.
Both govern how you can use a piece of software, if anything, I'd argue that a EULA is more legally sound than the GPL for a single reason... with a standard EULA, active consent is required to press the "I Agree" button. With GPL, it is implied consent.
I hate spam just like anyone else, however there is a clear need for bulk mailing apps in order to send requested notification.
Do you think online publications and retailers use Outlook or PINE to tell you about the latest article that has been released or their newest products to subscribers on a legitimate opt in list?
Spammers require tools for their trade, like it or not. And those who are in a position to provide said tools to spammers are in a great position and can make large amounts of money, regardless of how they feel their customers will use their products.
A poster to my previous post commented on his developing a porn site for a client and the issues he had with it. I don't want to speak for him, but it would seem that he weighed the benefit of such a gig (ie having an income) against the negatives of such a gig (not liking the type industry the site is a part of) and not taking the gig (ie no income).
And yes, legally, spamming is alright and phishing is not.
So you work at a place where you agree with everything they do? You are fortunate then... or do not care for much.
In life there are plenty of things we may not like doing, or even violate our morals at times... but the cost of not doing so may just out weigh the cost of shame that you will feel by doing so.
Personally, I think the income tax is wrong and is against my personal beliefs... unfortunately, the beliefs and laws of others (ie the government) enable them to harm me greatly should I not pay said income taxes. Every 2 weeks when I see my paycheck and see the deductions for federal income tax and FICA, my stomach turns... and every year when I file my tax return, the same happens. No matter how much I may hate doing it and supporting the system, just quitting is far worse than the pain involved.
Now trying to change the system is a great outlet for such problems. After all, why just ignore a problem when you can try to fix it?
That depends... is this just a hypothetical question, "or do you want to start talking numbers?"
Killing someone would be outside of my scope of working.
I work in the digital television industry, and sometime, within the next year, I expect that I will most likely be adding broadcast flag support to a product or two of ours.
No matter how much I may disagree with or not like the broadcast flag, part of my job is doing those tasks assigned to me, and should I be told to do so, I will. I may not like it or be happy doing it, but it is my job.
I think it'd be entertaining to see how many divorce judges would order one party or the other to wear a sign around their neck with a large red A.
Seriously though...
If you want to say "He's aiding and abetting thieves, extortionists and con artists" fine... but shouldn't blame also be placed on other e-mail systems... say Outlook or Outlook Express for the cheap?
No? Oh, because they are not designed for bulk purposes? Perhaps, but it's pretty easy to get Outlook to send bulk e-mail with a few lines of VB code.
I agree, it's unfortunate when a tool designed for one purpose is used for another, but he is surly not aiding and abetting anyone as he has no way to prevent such a illegitimate and/or illegal use. And yes, I think Kazaa and a few other P2P services should go away for similar reasons.
By your logic of blaming the toolmaker should someone use their creation it improperly... are you for the Induce Act?
Morally challenged? What ever happened to working for money?
I am a very moral person with a strict code of ethics... that can be purchased for a price when working, spam, porn, light treason, it's all the same. Thankfully I haven't had to sell myself in such a way yet.
Now with that said... how much do I hear for my eternal soul?
You are half correct. However the concept was 'substantial non infringing use' as said by the court has become the bar from which other products have been judged.
And yes, they can have it both ways. Not only are burglars who break into your house at fault, but so are the companies that manufacture and sell lock picking tools and make their tools widely available to the known felons.
Welcome to the world of Tobacco Trial style liability.
It always drives me nuts when I see a story about a given software package that talks about it's greatness... but that does not simply say what it is. This is made worse when the it's homepage which I'm sure describes the given package is/.ed.
On Sunday I went to a lil rally for Senator Tom Daschle, a supporter of this bill sadly.
I told him how concerned I was about Induce and asked why he was supporting it... he explained that some of his friends talked to him about their concerns regarding their losses due to piracy.
Thankfully, he did say that that he didn't think the current revision of the bill was very good and did believe that more work was needed.
We spoke for about 10 minutes on the issue (I think I miffed the national guardsman in line behind me).
One interesting note... I mentioned the savebetamax campaign and he knew nothing about it... his aid admitted that they had received 'a few calls' on the topic... either they were lying... or not enough calls were made it seems.
If you are seeing ATSC video that looks like crap, I'd be careful what you blame. It could be the MPEG-2 video, but it's more likely a low bitrate encode.
ATSC gives each RF channel 19.392658 megabits/second... very few broadcasters use all of that, in fact the majority tend to stay under 10 even with multiple programs in their broadcast.
Sporting events, like high motion/action movies often need more bandwidth to look good than a soap opera or day time talk show, it's likely that someone either was lazy and didn't up the rate for the game or they just don't do that ever.
Take a look at DirecTV sometime, you'll notice that many of the movie and tv channels are pretty low bitrate, but for major sporting events (ie super bowl, boxing, etc) they up it very high to ensure a pristine signal and picture.
So perhaps it's time for a.stolen or a.pirated format for music and movies. Instead of having the {MP|RI}AA assume that all mp3's and mpg's are pirated... we'll give em a quick and easy way to detect such files on our system.
And on the other side... I will change all of the mp3's I haven't stolen (all of mine) to the extension.legitimate, thus removing my files from the normal scans.
The heat due to reentry has less to do with the altitude and more to do with the actual speed at impact.
Objects that reach orbital velocity are going far faster and thus generate far more heat then something that effectively goes straight up and straight down such as SpaceShipOne (relative to something like the space shuttle that does achieve orbit).
And no parent has ever sued a school for harm to their child even after they signed a permission slip granting free reign to the school to do with the child as they please?
I do not know FPGA sizes very well, however I am told that an 8VSB core is not small and occupies a significant portion of the parts we use (I fear I cannot say size what % on what part).
My company built their own 8VSB core as they did not like the available licensing terms for those of others, and with such a device you have the choice, license or make your own. One is cheap to do in terms of financial cost, but extremely expensive when it comes to the time and experience required. The other is hideously expensive, however quite quick.
Slashdot Mirror
Agreed, at times people seem to think that Microsoft could just implode one day due to a bad business decision and almost immediately cease to exist.
People seem to forget that if Microsoft were to completely pull out of the Operating System, Office, games and internet markets (and just about everything else) and devote themselves to say... selling sol.exe (Solitaire for the non windows persons) for a dozen different platforms... even without a single sale, the pile of cash they are sitting on, in addition to their assets would be sufficient to keep them afloat for many many years.
--
I'd agree that it is a cost... but not a loss, nor a physical loss.
A persons downloading of shareware app from a web site is little different than a person taking a car for a test drive.
Both are free for the customer to do and that help them decide if spending money on the given product is worth while. In both cases, the cost to the seller is a cost of doing business and a smart company will write off such expenses as 'business expenses', not as a 'loss'.
Last I checked, a love of Linux and OSS is not required to read at and post to /.
/. reader base seem intimidating because of their size.
Granted, I am in the minority here, a minority so small that it makes the married
Nabbing a CD off an assembly line is no better than downloading the game off the internet, it's stealing plain and simple.
and your sig says...
Software piracy is victimless theft
If you feel there is no difference between stealing a cd off an assembly line and downloading the game it contains from the internet... are you saying that stealing a cd off the assembly line is victimless theft?
At least with downloading a copy there is no actual physical loss, but between the combination of your statement and sig, you seem to be condoning stealing cd's... possibly from anywhere as it is 'victimless theft'.
You sir make me sick. Please get your ethics and logic in order.
Come to my house then, I have a HD die at least once a year.
The latest is a Western Digital 80 gig (1/3 in the system). Sadly, all of my HD deaths (and I do mean all) have been WD's... sadly due to the warranty on the drive still being good, it will be replaced with another evil WD.
Once upon a time there was a platform known as CHRP or Common Hardware Reference Platform and was based on a PowerPC chip. Microsoft did indeed port Windows to this platform, as late as NT4... however prior to it's release they announced that NT4 would be the only OS they would release for CHRP.
Because of the loss of support from Microsoft, CHRP went through a bit of an identity crisis and came back as the PPCP or PowerPC Platform.
If I recall correctly, in addition to NT4, Mac OS, Solaris, OS/2, and AIX all exited on CHRP/PPCP for a time.
Yes it is possible... however now less likely, good luck finding a PPC version of NT4 for example, or software to run on it for that matter.
Are you saying that a EULA is not a license?
I hate to break it to you, but the GPL is a EULA. It dictates what you can and cannot do with a given piece of software (or in the GPL's case, the code).
When you click 'I Agree' and install a copy of Windows, you are agreeing that you will not hold Microsoft liable should your 1st born die to the software, along with a number of other stipulations.
The GPL is far shorter yes, and it too dictates what you cannot do... like release a binary without making available the code.
In fact, both make quite clear that you are using said software at your own risk and that the publisher/writer/distributor/etc of said code is not liable for any damage.
I often times find it funny, when people like you bad mouth EULA's so much and seem to be so in love with the GPL.
Here's a horrific thought for you to consider, should the entire concept of EULA's be struck down in court, the GPL will become invalid as well.
Both govern how you can use a piece of software, if anything, I'd argue that a EULA is more legally sound than the GPL for a single reason... with a standard EULA, active consent is required to press the "I Agree" button. With GPL, it is implied consent.
i am currently downloading the DVD versions of this classic
I so enjoy when a person admits to committing a crime without prompting.
The MPAA and FBI will be knocking at your door shortly.
I see nothing wrong with writing a bulk mailer.
I hate spam just like anyone else, however there is a clear need for bulk mailing apps in order to send requested notification.
Do you think online publications and retailers use Outlook or PINE to tell you about the latest article that has been released or their newest products to subscribers on a legitimate opt in list?
Spammers require tools for their trade, like it or not. And those who are in a position to provide said tools to spammers are in a great position and can make large amounts of money, regardless of how they feel their customers will use their products.
A poster to my previous post commented on his developing a porn site for a client and the issues he had with it. I don't want to speak for him, but it would seem that he weighed the benefit of such a gig (ie having an income) against the negatives of such a gig (not liking the type industry the site is a part of) and not taking the gig (ie no income).
And yes, legally, spamming is alright and phishing is not.
So you work at a place where you agree with everything they do? You are fortunate then... or do not care for much.
In life there are plenty of things we may not like doing, or even violate our morals at times... but the cost of not doing so may just out weigh the cost of shame that you will feel by doing so.
Personally, I think the income tax is wrong and is against my personal beliefs... unfortunately, the beliefs and laws of others (ie the government) enable them to harm me greatly should I not pay said income taxes. Every 2 weeks when I see my paycheck and see the deductions for federal income tax and FICA, my stomach turns... and every year when I file my tax return, the same happens. No matter how much I may hate doing it and supporting the system, just quitting is far worse than the pain involved.
Now trying to change the system is a great outlet for such problems. After all, why just ignore a problem when you can try to fix it?
Will I kill someone for the right price?
That depends... is this just a hypothetical question, "or do you want to start talking numbers?"
Killing someone would be outside of my scope of working.
I work in the digital television industry, and sometime, within the next year, I expect that I will most likely be adding broadcast flag support to a product or two of ours.
No matter how much I may disagree with or not like the broadcast flag, part of my job is doing those tasks assigned to me, and should I be told to do so, I will. I may not like it or be happy doing it, but it is my job.
Don't forget about public shaming!!!
I think it'd be entertaining to see how many divorce judges would order one party or the other to wear a sign around their neck with a large red A.
Seriously though...
If you want to say "He's aiding and abetting thieves, extortionists and con artists" fine... but shouldn't blame also be placed on other e-mail systems... say Outlook or Outlook Express for the cheap?
No? Oh, because they are not designed for bulk purposes? Perhaps, but it's pretty easy to get Outlook to send bulk e-mail with a few lines of VB code.
I agree, it's unfortunate when a tool designed for one purpose is used for another, but he is surly not aiding and abetting anyone as he has no way to prevent such a illegitimate and/or illegal use. And yes, I think Kazaa and a few other P2P services should go away for similar reasons.
By your logic of blaming the toolmaker should someone use their creation it improperly... are you for the Induce Act?
Morally challenged? What ever happened to working for money?
I am a very moral person with a strict code of ethics... that can be purchased for a price when working, spam, porn, light treason, it's all the same. Thankfully I haven't had to sell myself in such a way yet.
Now with that said... how much do I hear for my eternal soul?
Tis a great flick, if even quite cheese and super low budget.
You are half correct. However the concept was 'substantial non infringing use' as said by the court has become the bar from which other products have been judged.
And yes, they can have it both ways. Not only are burglars who break into your house at fault, but so are the companies that manufacture and sell lock picking tools and make their tools widely available to the known felons.
Welcome to the world of Tobacco Trial style liability.
It always drives me nuts when I see a story about a given software package that talks about it's greatness... but that does not simply say what it is. This is made worse when the it's homepage which I'm sure describes the given package is /.ed.
On that note, I think we should test airport security. Who wants to fill a suitcase full of explosives and see if the TSA stops you.
On Sunday I went to a lil rally for Senator Tom Daschle, a supporter of this bill sadly.
I told him how concerned I was about Induce and asked why he was supporting it... he explained that some of his friends talked to him about their concerns regarding their losses due to piracy.
Thankfully, he did say that that he didn't think the current revision of the bill was very good and did believe that more work was needed.
We spoke for about 10 minutes on the issue (I think I miffed the national guardsman in line behind me).
One interesting note... I mentioned the savebetamax campaign and he knew nothing about it... his aid admitted that they had received 'a few calls' on the topic... either they were lying... or not enough calls were made it seems.
If you are seeing ATSC video that looks like crap, I'd be careful what you blame. It could be the MPEG-2 video, but it's more likely a low bitrate encode.
ATSC gives each RF channel 19.392658 megabits/second... very few broadcasters use all of that, in fact the majority tend to stay under 10 even with multiple programs in their broadcast.
Sporting events, like high motion/action movies often need more bandwidth to look good than a soap opera or day time talk show, it's likely that someone either was lazy and didn't up the rate for the game or they just don't do that ever.
Take a look at DirecTV sometime, you'll notice that many of the movie and tv channels are pretty low bitrate, but for major sporting events (ie super bowl, boxing, etc) they up it very high to ensure a pristine signal and picture.
"Isn't this similar to the way OO languages are doing, create an object, use it and dispose it."
If that's the case, I'd hate to see the biological equivalent of dependency hell.
Or worse... the biological equivalent of recursion.
This topic has been discussed before, the following link refers to my latest discussion on it here
So perhaps it's time for a .stolen or a .pirated format for music and movies. Instead of having the {MP|RI}AA assume that all mp3's and mpg's are pirated... we'll give em a quick and easy way to detect such files on our system.
.legitimate, thus removing my files from the normal scans.
And on the other side... I will change all of the mp3's I haven't stolen (all of mine) to the extension
Brilliant!
The heat due to reentry has less to do with the altitude and more to do with the actual speed at impact.
Objects that reach orbital velocity are going far faster and thus generate far more heat then something that effectively goes straight up and straight down such as SpaceShipOne (relative to something like the space shuttle that does achieve orbit).
And no parent has ever sued a school for harm to their child even after they signed a permission slip granting free reign to the school to do with the child as they please?
I do not know FPGA sizes very well, however I am told that an 8VSB core is not small and occupies a significant portion of the parts we use (I fear I cannot say size what % on what part).
My company built their own 8VSB core as they did not like the available licensing terms for those of others, and with such a device you have the choice, license or make your own. One is cheap to do in terms of financial cost, but extremely expensive when it comes to the time and experience required. The other is hideously expensive, however quite quick.