Warning subject lived with "steve" for one year. Possible terrorist connection. Warning subject has extensive interest in criminal behavior and violent crimes. Conclusion: HE'S A TERRIST! GET HIM!
Or...
Warning: Subject floats. Warning: Subject may be made of wood. Warning: Wood floats. Witches made of wood. Subject may be witch. Conclusion: BURN HER
I think this case's achillies heel is the incredible sum of money being demanded for a very trivial action.
This is like suing the butterfly that flaps his wings in China for the tornado it caused in Kansas. I think Greenspan was right that we need to rethink quite a bit of our "idea economy". There are problems on multiple levels:
If this "crime only takes 5 seconds and the push of a button, physically harms no one, and steals only "potential revenues" I wonder if a crime has been committed.
Do the rights of the IP owner extend to prevent me from sharing my property I've purchased? For instance - if I play a cd for a friend who visits, is that different than emailing an MP3 (don't pick on me for wasting bandwith) to a friend? Do I have to pay someone if I play music in my place of business?
And by the way, given that copyright laws are being extended infinately, when are the labels going to stop making new music and just recycle the old... Wait a minute... with all the remakes and remixes out there...
The pay for placement search skewed the results and obscured actual content with marketing content. All the other engines that did this also lost out...
Even if Yahoo fixes this, they still will never regain the credibility they lost. I'm sure they made a lot of money so they really don't care.
I did get the right Senate bill. The error doesn't change the point I was making, though. There was wide bipartisan support for the bill. Unfortunately.
So yes, Bush ahd a LOT to do with this particularly foul piece of legislation. Fact: PATRIOT enjoyed nearly unanimous support in congress. The Senate had only one vote against PATRIOT (roll call here). The House had four votes against PATRIOT.(roll call here). Incidentally, one Democrat and four Republicans voted against PATRIOT.
In other words: the left have as much to be ashamed of on this one as the center and right. Stop being a political shill and start thinking for yourself. Bush-hating and liberal-bashing are two sides of the exact same coin: substituting soundbites for substance. Don't accept the "party line" because 9 of 10 times it's horse poo-poo.
I read the troll on Freshmeat last week. It's the usual:
* There's too many choices and ways to get things done. * OSS software isn't as easy to use as commecial software. * There's not unified desktop, MS Office Killer (yet) etc but there are a half million text editors...
Open Source's strength comes from diversity, not from untiy. That's why numerous ways to conquer any given task. There's also 25+ years worth of software, much of it still being maintained or can still be run on modern systems. In the commercial, closed source world you'll find:
* A limited set of tools to address a given problem. If they don't work, you have to create from scratch.
* Rapid appearance of new software and equally rapid disappearance.
* Limited migration to new platforms. This stems from closed source software often (NOT ALL THE TIME) being written to proprietary, arbitrary or hardware based libraries. When MS, Intel or whoever change their standards, the software dies. (yes I know good software engineers wouldn't do this, but it happens)
* A wide variety of text editors for your various text editing needs.:)
I wish people would READ THE ARTICLES before posting. Tom, you are right about the potential of lasers, but I think in this case you would have benefited by reading the linked website and the whitepaper on the weapon. It doesn't fill any of the potential you listed. It does have an amazing ammount of firepower, can be used for five months on a fuel pack and is generally cool because it is a laser.
* silent I'm sure the process that generates 90lbs of kick per shot isn't quite silent...
* no recoil See Above Less resupply problems (lay a power cable to the forward camp instead of moving trucks full of ammo) Except handling the highly radioactive fuel packs and spent fuel packs. Every soldier is a walking dirty bomb waiting to happen...
* if constructed right, can be enclosed completely = less susceptable to dirt, dust and water I bet it's going to be spectacular if the lens gets scratched or mud blocks the aperature... that's a lot of energy being dissapated in a small area. I suspect it will go BOOM.
* if using invisible light (IR/UV) doesn't give away your position through muzzle flashes but the 24/7 dissapation of Heat from the fuel cell sure will be easy to see.
Laser weapons are that they are illegial under the Geneva conventions, as are any weapons that are designed to permanently blind a person.
I didn't see where the idea was to hit someone with a laser and blind them - I did see where this thing would have the power to roast a large ammount of flesh or burn a large ammount of other matter really quickly. Really, you need to get practical here. The Geneva convention DOES NOT prohibit injuring or killing your opponent. This thing is much more humane than bullets, anyway - at least the wound is sterilized and cauterized on the spot...
That said, I'd much rather see us find a way to make a practical flying car that I can afford.
Difference between gouging and fixing
on
LCD Price Fixing?
·
· Score: 2, Informative
Little bobby wants to know: "What is the difference between price gouging and price fixing?"
Price fixing: all the stores in town get togather and have a meeting and decide that everyone will sell 15" LCD monitors fo $299. The consumer is screwed.
Price gouging: You break the screen in your laptop and the repair center says (after taking it appart), "what's on the hard drive." You say, "my only copy of last year's books." The repair clerk says, "That will be $1759, plus labor." The consumer is hog tied and gang raped.
The important thing: to remember - either way consumers get screwed.
Re:Example of price vs cost
on
LCD Price Fixing?
·
· Score: 2, Informative
Margins on these items are in the neighborhood of 11-15% (gross margin, different than markup). 11-15% is still premo margin in the commodity hardware marketplace which often sells at 2-4% over cost and counts on rebates and mfg incentives to increase margins to 10-12% 20-60 days after the sale is made. You got a good deal, but your rep is jerking you around so you like him.
The pinto story is a mis-truth blown to extreme proportionThere's professional ethics for you. The Pinto was a sensational story - in less than six years over 500 people burned to death in them. It's not blown (video of exploding Pinto here) out of proportion - it was a national tradgedy.
That brings me back to my original point: who cares if the programmers want to be "software engineers"? If my garbage man is a sanitary engineer don't you think it's too late to rescue the word engineer from the common and vulgar?
To be a legal engineer, you must have the degree, and pass the exams proving that you are capable in your field. If you want a title, get a PHD and then we can call you Doctor. Engineering is a four or five year undergraduate degree and is worthy of no special respect over anyone who has any other four year degree. A BS is a BS is a BS (and in many cases is in fact BS).
I'm sorry you feel that the sanitary engineers of the world aren't worthy of their titles. Certainly handling trash and sewage day after day is a difficult as anything you went through at _____ University getting your degree.
So far as programmers go - like "engineers" they are certainly all over the board in ability, knowledge, experience and education. Remeber that bridge that fell into the ocean in the Pacific Northwest, or the exploding gas tank on the Ford Pinto? That was designed by an engineer, much like Windows security was coded by a "programmer".
At the end of the day, who cares if you call yourself an engineer, scientist or jelly donut.
I was going to ask him to teach me the "Universal Secrets of the Time Cube" but then I read this:
There is no teacher on Earth qualified to teach Nature's Harmonic Simultaneous 4- Day Rotating Time Cube Creation Principle, and therefore, there is no teacher on Earth worthy of being called a certified teacher.
The selection of Jordan isn't about IT. It is about fixing EDS which is just now starting to feel the heat from low cost offshore IT services. They have avoided the pounding the rest of the industy has taken by selling longer term contracts and by seeking co-dependent client relationships. I'm glad Dick Brown is gone. That name has implications concerning how he would treat his business partners.
Then who was in favor of the USAPATRIOT act? Everyone but Russ Feingold (D) in the Senate. Four Republicans voted against in the House (I guess the right was the smallest bit more opposed). There were a total of five votes against Patriot - four "right wing" and one "left wing".
It is surreal how easily Microsoft is able to employ such blatant and souless cash grabs without sounding off alarms in the business sector.
I'm wondering if this will be the case as more and more companies are faced with having to lay people off to buy software. Somehow I think that IT managers, especially in small firms will turn away from MS and look to Linux - if for no reason than personal job protection. Last I looked MCSEs were going for about $15/hour in the local market and Linux/Unix Admins were making substantially more.
An InkJet Printer with a built in 16 ounce per color ink tank that has four little caps: one for each color. The tank should be refillable. And it woudl be nice to have a removable and cleanable print head.
OR
A cheap postscript-like color laser that costs less than $1000.
I am pretty sure that their warranty doesn't cover the printer if you refill the cart.
I have to ask: have you ever seen what happens when you use refil an ink cartridge? I'm on my tenth refil of my current printer's cartridge. Just for kicks I printed a "photo quality" document on super-duper $.90/sheet paper just to see how the "off brand ink" tore up my printer. Guess what. Eight months later, my printer prints EXACTLY the same as before. I've saved about $ 240 by refilling...
The best way to change this law is by open disrespect for copyrights and civil disobedience.
I'm not sure what country you are from, but I know here in America, we have better ways. Civil Disobedience is the step that is usually taken prior to revolt. I just wish that people understood that Civil Disobedience is a limited form of civil warfare. It was called by someone "civilized civil war" after the the Marcos regime was toppled by the people of the Phillipines.
Back to IP Law. First, I'm not sure that the anti-IP camp and the IP Limits camp have done very well in selecting court battles. I followed the last couple of DCMA fiascos and was very unimpressed at the case laid before our appealate courts.
I haven't seen any lobying efforts that are worth mentioning. In fact, we're not getting the word out. Most people when they understand what we are talking about get it. Right now, the public thinks we're a bunch of scofflaws looking to rip DVDs, pirate software and snarf pr0n. Reality is that a more limited form of Copyright would make a huge difference and an imporvement in patent approval would really help change a great many things. For the better.
Slashdot Mirror
Warning subject lived with "steve" for one year. Possible terrorist connection.
Warning subject has extensive interest in criminal behavior and violent crimes.
Conclusion: HE'S A TERRIST! GET HIM!
Or...
Warning: Subject floats.
Warning: Subject may be made of wood.
Warning: Wood floats. Witches made of wood. Subject may be witch.
Conclusion: BURN HER
I think this case's achillies heel is the incredible sum of money being demanded for a very trivial action.
This is like suing the butterfly that flaps his wings in China for the tornado it caused in Kansas. I think Greenspan was right that we need to rethink quite a bit of our "idea economy". There are problems on multiple levels:
If this "crime only takes 5 seconds and the push of a button, physically harms no one, and steals only "potential revenues" I wonder if a crime has been committed.
Do the rights of the IP owner extend to prevent me from sharing my property I've purchased? For instance - if I play a cd for a friend who visits, is that different than emailing an MP3 (don't pick on me for wasting bandwith) to a friend? Do I have to pay someone if I play music in my place of business?
And by the way, given that copyright laws are being extended infinately, when are the labels going to stop making new music and just recycle the old... Wait a minute... with all the remakes and remixes out there...
$G
The reason I quit using Yahoo is simple:
The pay for placement search skewed the results and obscured actual content with marketing content. All the other engines that did this also lost out...
Even if Yahoo fixes this, they still will never regain the credibility they lost. I'm sure they made a lot of money so they really don't care.
$G
I can't wait for the jury to award $1 in damages to RIAA.
I've dealt with several wireless startups in my career. I feel the analogy of the dot-com bubble is quite accurate.
I agree with you for one simple reason. A lot of the same opportunists are involved with the local wireless startups as the formerly local dot coms.
$G
Why would my company:
A) Choose to develop software on a SCO platform?
B) Choose to implement a third party software solution on SCO?
c) Choose to resell SCO products?
In light of the lawsuit, how do you expect my company to change our position on Linux?
I did get the right Senate bill. The error doesn't change the point I was making, though. There was wide bipartisan support for the bill. Unfortunately.
So yes, Bush ahd a LOT to do with this particularly foul piece of legislation.
Fact: PATRIOT enjoyed nearly unanimous support in congress. The Senate had only one vote against PATRIOT (roll call here). The House had four votes against PATRIOT.(roll call here). Incidentally, one Democrat and four Republicans voted against PATRIOT.
In other words: the left have as much to be ashamed of on this one as the center and right. Stop being a political shill and start thinking for yourself. Bush-hating and liberal-bashing are two sides of the exact same coin: substituting soundbites for substance. Don't accept the "party line" because 9 of 10 times it's horse poo-poo.
$G
I read the troll on Freshmeat last week. It's the usual:
:)
* There's too many choices and ways to get things done.
* OSS software isn't as easy to use as commecial software.
* There's not unified desktop, MS Office Killer (yet) etc but there are a half million text editors...
Open Source's strength comes from diversity, not from untiy. That's why numerous ways to conquer any given task. There's also 25+ years worth of software, much of it still being maintained or can still be run on modern systems. In the commercial, closed source world you'll find:
* A limited set of tools to address a given problem. If they don't work, you have to create from scratch.
* Rapid appearance of new software and equally rapid disappearance.
* Limited migration to new platforms. This stems from closed source software often (NOT ALL THE TIME) being written to proprietary, arbitrary or hardware based libraries. When MS, Intel or whoever change their standards, the software dies. (yes I know good software engineers wouldn't do this, but it happens)
* A wide variety of text editors for your various text editing needs.
$G
I think Mr. Ellison has found his latest trendy technology crusade... Let's hope his predictions fo Linux are better than for instance:
* Network Computers
* Netscape
* Sun One
* Java (it's a success, but not so large as Ellison wanted)
Don't get me wrong, I appreciate his support for Linux BUT this guy will say anything to make a buck.
$G
I wish people would READ THE ARTICLES before posting. Tom, you are right about the potential of lasers, but I think in this case you would have benefited by reading the linked website and the whitepaper on the weapon. It doesn't fill any of the potential you listed. It does have an amazing ammount of firepower, can be used for five months on a fuel pack and is generally cool because it is a laser.
* silent
I'm sure the process that generates 90lbs of kick per shot isn't quite silent...
* no recoil
See Above
Less resupply problems (lay a power cable to the forward camp instead of moving trucks full of ammo)
Except handling the highly radioactive fuel packs and spent fuel packs. Every soldier is a walking dirty bomb waiting to happen...
* if constructed right, can be enclosed completely = less susceptable to dirt, dust and water I bet it's going to be spectacular if the lens gets scratched or mud blocks the aperature... that's a lot of energy being dissapated in a small area. I suspect it will go BOOM.
* if using invisible light (IR/UV) doesn't give away your position through muzzle flashes but the 24/7 dissapation of Heat from the fuel cell sure will be easy to see.
Laser weapons are that they are illegial under the Geneva conventions, as are any weapons that are designed to permanently blind a person.
I didn't see where the idea was to hit someone with a laser and blind them - I did see where this thing would have the power to roast a large ammount of flesh or burn a large ammount of other matter really quickly. Really, you need to get practical here. The Geneva convention DOES NOT prohibit injuring or killing your opponent. This thing is much more humane than bullets, anyway - at least the wound is sterilized and cauterized on the spot...
That said, I'd much rather see us find a way to make a practical flying car that I can afford.
Little bobby wants to know: "What is the difference between price gouging and price fixing?"
Price fixing: all the stores in town get togather and have a meeting and decide that everyone will sell 15" LCD monitors fo $299. The consumer is screwed.
Price gouging: You break the screen in your laptop and the repair center says (after taking it appart), "what's on the hard drive." You say, "my only copy of last year's books." The repair clerk says, "That will be $1759, plus labor." The consumer is hog tied and gang raped.
The important thing: to remember - either way consumers get screwed.
Margins on these items are in the neighborhood of 11-15% (gross margin, different than markup). 11-15% is still premo margin in the commodity hardware marketplace which often sells at 2-4% over cost and counts on rebates and mfg incentives to increase margins to 10-12% 20-60 days after the sale is made. You got a good deal, but your rep is jerking you around so you like him.
$G
The pinto story is a mis-truth blown to extreme proportionThere's professional ethics for you. The Pinto was a sensational story - in less than six years over 500 people burned to death in them. It's not blown (video of exploding Pinto here) out of proportion - it was a national tradgedy.
That brings me back to my original point: who cares if the programmers want to be "software engineers"? If my garbage man is a sanitary engineer don't you think it's too late to rescue the word engineer from the common and vulgar?
To be a legal engineer, you must have the degree, and pass the exams proving that you are capable in your field.
If you want a title, get a PHD and then we can call you Doctor. Engineering is a four or five year undergraduate degree and is worthy of no special respect over anyone who has any other four year degree. A BS is a BS is a BS (and in many cases is in fact BS).
I'm sorry you feel that the sanitary engineers of the world aren't worthy of their titles. Certainly handling trash and sewage day after day is a difficult as anything you went through at _____ University getting your degree.
So far as programmers go - like "engineers" they are certainly all over the board in ability, knowledge, experience and education. Remeber that bridge that fell into the ocean in the Pacific Northwest, or the exploding gas tank on the Ford Pinto? That was designed by an engineer, much like Windows security was coded by a "programmer".
At the end of the day, who cares if you call yourself an engineer, scientist or jelly donut.
If the garbage man is a "sanitary engineer" then programmers can be engineers too.
$G
I guess I'm out of luck.
The selection of Jordan isn't about IT. It is about fixing EDS which is just now starting to feel the heat from low cost offshore IT services. They have avoided the pounding the rest of the industy has taken by selling longer term contracts and by seeking co-dependent client relationships. I'm glad Dick Brown is gone. That name has implications concerning how he would treat his business partners.
$G
Then who was in favor of the USAPATRIOT act?
Everyone but Russ Feingold (D) in the Senate. Four Republicans voted against in the House (I guess the right was the smallest bit more opposed). There were a total of five votes against Patriot - four "right wing" and one "left wing".
I'm wondering if this will be the case as more and more companies are faced with having to lay people off to buy software. Somehow I think that IT managers, especially in small firms will turn away from MS and look to Linux - if for no reason than personal job protection. Last I looked MCSEs were going for about $15/hour in the local market and Linux/Unix Admins were making substantially more.
Here's what I'd like to see:
An InkJet Printer with a built in 16 ounce per color ink tank that has four little caps: one for each color. The tank should be refillable. And it woudl be nice to have a removable and cleanable print head.
OR
A cheap postscript-like color laser that costs less than $1000.
I have to ask: have you ever seen what happens when you use refil an ink cartridge? I'm on my tenth refil of my current printer's cartridge. Just for kicks I printed a "photo quality" document on super-duper $.90/sheet paper just to see how the "off brand ink" tore up my printer. Guess what. Eight months later, my printer prints EXACTLY the same as before. I've saved about $ 240 by refilling...
The best way to change this law is by open disrespect for copyrights and civil disobedience.
I'm not sure what country you are from, but I know here in America, we have better ways. Civil Disobedience is the step that is usually taken prior to revolt. I just wish that people understood that Civil Disobedience is a limited form of civil warfare. It was called by someone "civilized civil war" after the the Marcos regime was toppled by the people of the Phillipines.
Back to IP Law. First, I'm not sure that the anti-IP camp and the IP Limits camp have done very well in selecting court battles. I followed the last couple of DCMA fiascos and was very unimpressed at the case laid before our appealate courts.
I haven't seen any lobying efforts that are worth mentioning. In fact, we're not getting the word out. Most people when they understand what we are talking about get it. Right now, the public thinks we're a bunch of scofflaws looking to rip DVDs, pirate software and snarf pr0n. Reality is that a more limited form of Copyright would make a huge difference and an imporvement in patent approval would really help change a great many things. For the better.
If you don't like the law, change the law.