Suffice to say, if those buckets get knocked over your job security is in question.
I doubt it - we have a server room like that (bucket under the a/c to catch drips and leaks - it's killed monitors and keyboards before now) and neither myself nor the IT manager would lose our jobs. We ask for money for new a/c, we don't get it.
Any court in the land would support an unfair dismissal case if we were to be fired because the air conditioning was leaking water, and we were ordered to keep the servers on regardless of health and safety.
"Well, insurance has to be based on a certain type of Risk. Speculative risk is not insurable, Pure risk is insurable."
"Failing to reregister is a bad business decision, and is totally predictable, not a randomly occuring event, and thus it is speculative risk.
I work for a large marketing company. We have insurance against making a mistake on printing jobs over a certain size. Example : a severe typographical error is made on a $250,000 print run and not noticed until the run is finished. We can claim the costs of that entire print run from the insurers - of course we pay a hefty premium.
What is fully comprehensive car insurance, if not indemnifying you against your driving negligence?
1] If they want mindshare and market awareness (in other words people to talk about their product, and to consider using it) which eventually lead to more users then the system should have a friendly, easy to remember and pronounce name.
2] Authors and contributors to software are already given credit in the license and accompanying files. Why should GNU software be given a spotlight? Why not Mark Andressen, 22 from Oslo who contributed a bugfix to GCC?
I appreciate that GNU software forms a large part of the system, but this crusade is ridiculous. I think the GNU philosophy is an honourable one, but sometimes the way they wage publicity wars does them and everyone associated with them no favours.
I really am sorry to hear of Mr. Zubkoff's death, and I certainly do not wish to disrepect him, but this comment is totally and completely wrong. I was one of the Adaptec guys in that meeting. The conversation was something like this:
We're working on officially supporting Linux. One thing that we noticed is that the Linux SCSI layer really, really, really sucks. We'd like to rewrite it, but we need your political support.
I agree that the SCSI layer needs to be fixed, but I'd rather fix it myself than support you. Goodbye.
There was no "schooling us on Linux from the grassroots up", only a rather rude snub
It was perhaps a rude snub, it was also perhaps very deserved after Adaptec had spent years rudely snubbing Linux...
Perhaps you simply missed the meaning and importance of the gorgeous mistress - it was meant to convey that a number of people within the normal population (outside the military) of Germany at that time were not offended or sickened by the treatment of the Jews - even when they were in proximity.
If the relationship between the two had been restricted to a few beverages and a walk in the park, it could have seemed cold, or that the two did not have a normal sexual relationship - somehow dehumanizing the officer, or his lover.
By depicting her nakedness, and their relationship in a manner which would conform with healthy sexual practices (comfortable with nakedness etc.) Spielberg showed that to at least a certain extent, these were normal people, and outside of the concentration camp setting, one meeting these people might never know of the barbary within the camps.
Of course, I could be wrong, but if the scene was edited out, I would never know - and would therefore never even think about this.
For example is AVP2, you are creeping in the dark with faint alien murmors, and suddenly a fuckin' alien drops out of no where. Or in System Shock 2 where everything is so hush hush that out of no where(respawn system) a mutant-humaniod comes running right at you.
Regular and experienced players are often aware that the 'alien' is just a collection of polygons and textures, and treat it as such. It's enjoyable, but does not involve a great deal of adrenalin or excitement because it is not realistic.
Suppose you knew the peasant in question would die tomorrow if you did nothing. Is one day of one life worth any of the above? Suppose the deaf peasant were about to be hit by a train just coming around the bend. What then? Would you sacrifice two minutes of a person's life in return for adding 20 years to someone else's life?
If he thinks "marketing" his own product is enough giving back to the open source community, he deserves to fail.
While I have read the GPL, and understand the FSF 'philosophy' I also believe it is somewhat like the bible. Full of good intentions, but unable to put across the full picture.
While I agree that 'just marketing' is not putting back into the free software community in the spirit of the GPL that marketing may attract thousands, or even millions (if done well) of new Linux users.
Each one of those Linux users will become a part of the community, and maybe one in a hundred or so will become an active and contributing hacker on some project - bringing much more mindshare to the Linux meme.
*This* is incredibly important as the proprietary software vendors seek more and more to shut open source software completeley out of the marketplace using laws and other unfair methods - I know that Ransom Loves main reason for conducting marketing was to make a profit, but please do not underestimate how important it is to gain mindshare in the current climate, and only effective marketing can do that with any degree of success. Without it, Linux will die a death within a very few years because the current user base is too politically apathetic and too small to prevent legal and commercial pressures from halting Open Source production and distribution.
I would like to make content for NWN, and I would like the ability to distribute it how I like, and retain my own copyright (preventing Bioware from taking away my rights - they may if they wish agree licensing terms with me for my copyrighted work).
So, I buy NWN, take it home, fire up the installer and then I get my flatmate to click the 'accept the license agreement' button. Next, I play NeverWinterNights, and use their tools to create my own content. I distribute my new content *without any of their original content whatsoever* included.
Problem solved? I'm not sure. 1] Is it possible to distribute NWN content without any original content? 2] Is there an EULA clause saying 'If you install this software, you may not allow anyone else to play the game, or use the tools?'
My use of the term 'geek' was meant to be that of the way my companies clients would view a 'geek'.
Someone who has a lot of technical knowledge, but also has a good degree of social skills, and can understand a clients needs around a meeting table was not what I meant to describe that that post using 'geek'.
One of my flatmates is a rather serious open source enthusiast, and is not a 'geek' when put in front of clients - he is one of the exceptions. Of the scores of open source enthusiasts Ive met over the years, I wouldn't be comfortable putting no more than perhaps 10% (being generous) of them in front of clients, but that figure is 3-4 times higher for those using 'Dows'
At the end of the day, it comes down to client needs, and the clients perception of the business. A small business does not trade, as the larger service companies do (e.g. IBM) on a solid reputation, instead they trade on the front they put across to a client during the analysis stages - and as for talking about Win32/IIS as a 'product' - well, it's a PLATFORM for us, not a product, we don`t sell it. It acts as the platform on which we deploy and develop our solutions, and in many years of developing, I've very very rarely come across problems caused by the 'problems' that open source enthusiasts hammer Win32 for.
Security? No problem. Reliability? 3 months or more of uptime (far more than the business need). Price? miniscule compared with other operating expenses. Compatibility? Other than a few LineBreak quirks, not a problem. Not one.
"It is my true conviction that any IT responsible on any level using IIS on new projects is guilty of gross negligence and incredible incompetence."
Well, whoop-de-doo. It's my conviction that you're completely wrong, but then we're both entitled to free speech - however I'll qualify mine.
I'm a systems administrator (and over stretched developer) who currently runs systems based on Microsoft Windows - including websites on IIS5 on Windows 2000. There are documented procedures in place at the company for locking down the servers with correct configurations, and for applying security patches promptly. We have never had a single security 'incident' to date.
Now, it is cheaper to hire developers for MS based solutions in the current environment. They are also more plentiful, and for the most part act like quite 'normal' employees. We are a medium sized company, so at some point most of our staff come into contact with the client. I do not want complete geeks in front of clients - it is bad for the business, as it means the client loses faith in our ability to do the job they want - and for the most part the client is correct. And as for trying to win *new* business - well, forget it - clients just don't want to know if you drop a 'geek' in front of them.
The more 'geeky' a developer, the less likely he is to understand the business needs of my business *or* the clients business. In addition, most clients perceive 'strange, geeky' people as just that - and assume they are cheap hired help who couldn't get a job elsewhere. Don`t go telling me the client needs to change their perceptions because, son, this is industry, and that`s just the way it is. You meet your customers needs, and you can then pay your (own, not your parents) bills.
I can do without people who try to solve a rendering bug on a platform with 0.01% of market share which results in a 2 pixel wide bit of white space somewhere obscure.
What I want is decent, standards compliant HTML, CSS and simple, well written ASP running in front of a well-normalised database. Whether the project is a 2-table news system, or a 150 table enterprise CRM/CMS system, it's the same to me. Good MS based developers do this, and as they are more plentiful, and cheaper - not to mention having numerous other benefits over (almost) every open source geek I've ever come across, I choose them.
There is a place and project for NIX-based solutions and teams, and it is *NOT* in small-mid sized businesses anything like mine. Linux is wonderful technology, so is OSX - but everything has its time and place, and fortunately we have a choice - hell, without one we are in a monopoly.
I've made a business decision, and I haven't regretted it yet. 4/5 shops competing with us have closed since `99 and there will be more to follow. We've got a loyal and happy client base, and are slowly growing. So thanks, but I think you'd find it hard to get my board members to believe I was guilty of gross negligence and incredible incompetence.
"This doesn't have anything to do with Privacy in the US, as far as I can see."
You are right, it doesn't have anything to do with privacy in the US, but along with the majority of your fellow countrymen, you seem to have forgotten that there are still a few humans on this planet who have not yet managed to obtain US citizenship.
Looking back, the kids who truly got the most out of school were the ones who didn't have to spend 50 hours a week working like I did. My kids will go to college with all the trimmings, fully funded, and I will be proud that I could give them something I didn't have.
11 paragraphs in I was getting scared. I was really worried it wasn't going to happen, but then thankfully in the 12th, John doesn't dissapoint us, we get a mention of the WTC attack.
Those folks who pirate content and don't end up buying that content wouldn't have purchased it in the first place, so there is no net loss.
I don't know about that. I used to buy about 15 CDs a year, mainly singles, with perhaps 2 Albums per year. I also used to buy about 4 VHS films per year.
Now I buy none. Admittedly nearly all of the music I listen to is obscure artists whos CDs I cannot obtain (or obtain easily enough to *know* where to obtain them when major stockists, and amazon etc. dont have them) and most of my pop music requirements are satisfied by radio, I am often given pirated albums by friends. If I could give $10 or so for it easily I would but I never get to major shopping centers, so would like some way of paying over the net, and receiving it in a digital format of high quality I can use on one of many formats - but I can't.
I also refuse to buy DVDs because I feel they infringe on my rights, but as I view copyright as a social contract which has been broken (morally, if not legally) by large media cartels I will still get illegal movies. I do however pay quite a bit to go to the cinema, but makers of classic films are suffering becaues I won't buy their wares anymore.
If I couldn't get that obscure music, or be easily given albums I think it's highly likely I would buy more music. While I don't argue that the net result of open piracy is better for the music industry (I just dont know, and no proper study has yet shown it one way or the other to me) this particular loyal consumer is no more.
I have a fairly large disposable income I would contribute to artists regularly if I could obtain the music/films digitally in an open format in my home. Until that day comes, that money keeps going towards my next house.
I believe that if MS has pulled this stunt on its UK based customers, that it is liable for a £500 fine for every customer that files a complaint with the Data Protection Registrar (which if everyone did, would probably for a few hundred million sterling, or half a billion US$).
In the UK we have an act called the 'Data Protection Act' which means any companies doing business in the UK are *obliged* to require our permission to do anything outside their company with our personal data we provide to them, and breaking these rules can be swiftly and harshly punished. In extreme cases, it can result in a business being shut down entirely.
Other fringe benefits include the right to demand a company never contacts you again, and the right to demand to see *all* information a company holds about you, so you can correct this information if it is incorrect.
Slashdot Mirror
Suffice to say, if those buckets get knocked over your job security is in question.
I doubt it - we have a server room like that (bucket under the a/c to catch drips and leaks - it's killed monitors and keyboards before now) and neither myself nor the IT manager would lose our jobs. We ask for money for new a/c, we don't get it.
Any court in the land would support an unfair dismissal case if we were to be fired because the air conditioning was leaking water, and we were ordered to keep the servers on regardless of health and safety.
"Well, insurance has to be based on a certain type of Risk. Speculative risk is not insurable, Pure risk is insurable."
"Failing to reregister is a bad business decision, and is totally predictable, not a randomly occuring event, and thus it is speculative risk.
I work for a large marketing company. We have insurance against making a mistake on printing jobs over a certain size. Example : a severe typographical error is made on a $250,000 print run and not noticed until the run is finished. We can claim the costs of that entire print run from the insurers - of course we pay a hefty premium.
What is fully comprehensive car insurance, if not indemnifying you against your driving negligence?
So where did I miss the free security consultations, for Linux, and the free phone support?
Just worth pointing out : while you're free to take the MySQL code licensed under the GPL, you're not free to use their dolphin which is a trademark.
Seriously:
1] If they want mindshare and market awareness (in other words people to talk about their product, and to consider using it) which eventually lead to more users then the system should have a friendly, easy to remember and pronounce name.
2] Authors and contributors to software are already given credit in the license and accompanying files. Why should GNU software be given a spotlight? Why not Mark Andressen, 22 from Oslo who contributed a bugfix to GCC?
I appreciate that GNU software forms a large part of the system, but this crusade is ridiculous. I think the GNU philosophy is an honourable one, but sometimes the way they wage publicity wars does them and everyone associated with them no favours.
I think you'll find that's steganography.
Oh wait, there's a knock at my door. BRB.
"The columnist missed a better example of the genre - the EFF's game of digital restrictions management."
A "better" example? So you haven't actually played that tripe then?
Perhaps you simply missed the meaning and importance of the gorgeous mistress - it was meant to convey that a number of people within the normal population (outside the military) of Germany at that time were not offended or sickened by the treatment of the Jews - even when they were in proximity.
If the relationship between the two had been restricted to a few beverages and a walk in the park, it could have seemed cold, or that the two did not have a normal sexual relationship - somehow dehumanizing the officer, or his lover.
By depicting her nakedness, and their relationship in a manner which would conform with healthy sexual practices (comfortable with nakedness etc.) Spielberg showed that to at least a certain extent, these were normal people, and outside of the concentration camp setting, one meeting these people might never know of the barbary within the camps.
Of course, I could be wrong, but if the scene was edited out, I would never know - and would therefore never even think about this.
For example is AVP2, you are creeping in the dark with faint alien murmors, and suddenly a fuckin' alien drops out of no where. Or in System Shock 2 where everything is so hush hush that out of no where(respawn system) a mutant-humaniod comes running right at you.
Regular and experienced players are often aware that the 'alien' is just a collection of polygons and textures, and treat it as such. It's enjoyable, but does not involve a great deal of adrenalin or excitement because it is not realistic.
Suppose you knew the peasant in question would die tomorrow if you did nothing. Is one day of one life worth any of the above? Suppose the deaf peasant were about to be hit by a train just coming around the bend. What then? Would you sacrifice two minutes of a person's life in return for adding 20 years to someone else's life?
Perhaps it is not your decision to make.
If he thinks "marketing" his own product is enough giving back to the open source community, he deserves to fail.
While I have read the GPL, and understand the FSF 'philosophy' I also believe it is somewhat like the bible. Full of good intentions, but unable to put across the full picture.
While I agree that 'just marketing' is not putting back into the free software community in the spirit of the GPL that marketing may attract thousands, or even millions (if done well) of new Linux users.
Each one of those Linux users will become a part of the community, and maybe one in a hundred or so will become an active and contributing hacker on some project - bringing much more mindshare to the Linux meme.
*This* is incredibly important as the proprietary software vendors seek more and more to shut open source software completeley out of the marketplace using laws and other unfair methods - I know that Ransom Loves main reason for conducting marketing was to make a profit, but please do not underestimate how important it is to gain mindshare in the current climate, and only effective marketing can do that with any degree of success. Without it, Linux will die a death within a very few years because the current user base is too politically apathetic and too small to prevent legal and commercial pressures from halting Open Source production and distribution.
Always bet your money on the people who are most desperate.
I would like to make content for NWN, and I would like the ability to distribute it how I like, and retain my own copyright (preventing Bioware from taking away my rights - they may if they wish agree licensing terms with me for my copyrighted work).
So, I buy NWN, take it home, fire up the installer and then I get my flatmate to click the 'accept the license agreement' button. Next, I play NeverWinterNights, and use their tools to create my own content. I distribute my new content *without any of their original content whatsoever* included.
Problem solved? I'm not sure.
1] Is it possible to distribute NWN content without any original content?
2] Is there an EULA clause saying 'If you install this software, you may not allow anyone else to play the game, or use the tools?'
My use of the term 'geek' was meant to be that of the way my companies clients would view a 'geek'.
Someone who has a lot of technical knowledge, but also has a good degree of social skills, and can understand a clients needs around a meeting table was not what I meant to describe that that post using 'geek'.
One of my flatmates is a rather serious open source enthusiast, and is not a 'geek' when put in front of clients - he is one of the exceptions. Of the scores of open source enthusiasts Ive met over the years, I wouldn't be comfortable putting no more than perhaps 10% (being generous) of them in front of clients, but that figure is 3-4 times higher for those using 'Dows'
At the end of the day, it comes down to client needs, and the clients perception of the business. A small business does not trade, as the larger service companies do (e.g. IBM) on a solid reputation, instead they trade on the front they put across to a client during the analysis stages - and as for talking about Win32/IIS as a 'product' - well, it's a PLATFORM for us, not a product, we don`t sell it. It acts as the platform on which we deploy and develop our solutions, and in many years of developing, I've very very rarely come across problems caused by the 'problems' that open source enthusiasts hammer Win32 for.
Security? No problem.
Reliability? 3 months or more of uptime (far more than the business need).
Price? miniscule compared with other operating expenses.
Compatibility? Other than a few LineBreak quirks, not a problem. Not one.
"It is my true conviction that any IT responsible on any level using IIS on new projects is guilty of gross negligence and incredible incompetence."
Well, whoop-de-doo. It's my conviction that you're completely wrong, but then we're both entitled to free speech - however I'll qualify mine.
I'm a systems administrator (and over stretched developer) who currently runs systems based on Microsoft Windows - including websites on IIS5 on Windows 2000. There are documented procedures in place at the company for locking down the servers with correct configurations, and for applying security patches promptly. We have never had a single security 'incident' to date.
Now, it is cheaper to hire developers for MS based solutions in the current environment. They are also more plentiful, and for the most part act like quite 'normal' employees. We are a medium sized company, so at some point most of our staff come into contact with the client. I do not want complete geeks in front of clients - it is bad for the business, as it means the client loses faith in our ability to do the job they want - and for the most part the client is correct. And as for trying to win *new* business - well, forget it - clients just don't want to know if you drop a 'geek' in front of them.
The more 'geeky' a developer, the less likely he is to understand the business needs of my business *or* the clients business. In addition, most clients perceive 'strange, geeky' people as just that - and assume they are cheap hired help who couldn't get a job elsewhere. Don`t go telling me the client needs to change their perceptions because, son, this is industry, and that`s just the way it is. You meet your customers needs, and you can then pay your (own, not your parents) bills.
I can do without people who try to solve a rendering bug on a platform with 0.01% of market share which results in a 2 pixel wide bit of white space somewhere obscure.
What I want is decent, standards compliant HTML, CSS and simple, well written ASP running in front of a well-normalised database. Whether the project is a 2-table news system, or a 150 table enterprise CRM/CMS system, it's the same to me. Good MS based developers do this, and as they are more plentiful, and cheaper - not to mention having numerous other benefits over (almost) every open source geek I've ever come across, I choose them.
There is a place and project for NIX-based solutions and teams, and it is *NOT* in small-mid sized businesses anything like mine. Linux is wonderful technology, so is OSX - but everything has its time and place, and fortunately we have a choice - hell, without one we are in a monopoly.
I've made a business decision, and I haven't regretted it yet. 4/5 shops competing with us have closed since `99 and there will be more to follow. We've got a loyal and happy client base, and are slowly growing. So thanks, but I think you'd find it hard to get my board members to believe I was guilty of gross negligence and incredible incompetence.
"This doesn't have anything to do with Privacy in the US, as far as I can see."
You are right, it doesn't have anything to do with privacy in the US, but along with the majority of your fellow countrymen, you seem to have forgotten that there are still a few humans on this planet who have not yet managed to obtain US citizenship.
As a side note, one of the most respected Islamic scolars is an American who converted when he was 18.
Do you have any information or links on this? I'd really like to read more.
Looking back, the kids who truly got the most out of school were the ones who didn't have to spend 50 hours a week working like I did. My kids will go to college with all the trimmings, fully funded, and I will be proud that I could give them something I didn't have.
Good for you, seriously.
11 paragraphs in I was getting scared. I was really worried it wasn't going to happen, but then thankfully in the 12th, John doesn't dissapoint us, we get a mention of the WTC attack.
*breathes out*
Those folks who pirate content and don't end up buying that content wouldn't have purchased it in the first place, so there is no net loss.
I don't know about that. I used to buy about 15 CDs a year, mainly singles, with perhaps 2 Albums per year. I also used to buy about 4 VHS films per year.
Now I buy none. Admittedly nearly all of the music I listen to is obscure artists whos CDs I cannot obtain (or obtain easily enough to *know* where to obtain them when major stockists, and amazon etc. dont have them) and most of my pop music requirements are satisfied by radio, I am often given pirated albums by friends. If I could give $10 or so for it easily I would but I never get to major shopping centers, so would like some way of paying over the net, and receiving it in a digital format of high quality I can use on one of many formats - but I can't.
I also refuse to buy DVDs because I feel they infringe on my rights, but as I view copyright as a social contract which has been broken (morally, if not legally) by large media cartels I will still get illegal movies. I do however pay quite a bit to go to the cinema, but makers of classic films are suffering becaues I won't buy their wares anymore.
If I couldn't get that obscure music, or be easily given albums I think it's highly likely I would buy more music. While I don't argue that the net result of open piracy is better for the music industry (I just dont know, and no proper study has yet shown it one way or the other to me) this particular loyal consumer is no more.
I have a fairly large disposable income I would contribute to artists regularly if I could obtain the music/films digitally in an open format in my home. Until that day comes, that money keeps going towards my next house.
One cannot claim to be a supporter of free speech until one has supported the right for another to speak views which one dislikes.
I despise hypocrits like you.
Very interesting, and very plausible.
Linus says 'call it what you want'.
Stallman says 'call it what I want'.
Linus says he wants to use software that works, and works well.
Stallman says he wants to use software that is copylefted.
World is up in arms.
And in other news, Mrs Alice Busby, 47, from Portland reports a hurricane occured in her cup while she was drinking tea.
I believe that if MS has pulled this stunt on its UK based customers, that it is liable for a £500 fine for every customer that files a complaint with the Data Protection Registrar (which if everyone did, would probably for a few hundred million sterling, or half a billion US$).
In the UK we have an act called the 'Data Protection Act' which means any companies doing business in the UK are *obliged* to require our permission to do anything outside their company with our personal data we provide to them, and breaking these rules can be swiftly and harshly punished. In extreme cases, it can result in a business being shut down entirely.
Other fringe benefits include the right to demand a company never contacts you again, and the right to demand to see *all* information a company holds about you, so you can correct this information if it is incorrect.