It's the problem. The right of ownership concept that the FSF uses as its main pillar is faulty and damaging as a concept when stretched beyond the limits of the GPL. The idea that you own a work that you had no hand in creating but have the full privileges of distribution as the original creator falls apart once the concept ventures beyond the realm of Free information.
Only the creator of a work can choose to make it Free. As Linus said, "everything else is just whining." It seems to be commonsense that distributing something that has not been cleared for free distribution by its owner would be met with legal challenges. Knowingly enabling this distribution by providing a venue for this is equally offensive as actually pirating the works.
The sense of entitlement that the FSF has engendered through its 'community ownership' and Free information concepts has confused people into thinking that anything they can lay their hands on should be theirs in the name of Free. This is not meant to be a slight against the FSF, but against those who have confused between speech and beer and 'it's just not yours'.
The company that seems to have taken over the mantle of 'best tech book publisher' seems to be Manning. Now there's a company that was floundering then took a major turn midstream and is having a resurgence.
Until 2007!! When did 6 years from now become Permanent??
Remember, these are "Internet Years". If every human year is equivalent to 7 Internet years, therefore you and I will be old and gray (perhaps dead) long before Verisign's agreement is up.
What I never realised was how quickly van Gogh painted.
You've obviously never watched Bob Ross. That guy can churn out a masterpiece in 30 minutes.
Of course I'm sure it would have been much easier to merely look up the date of the painting in an encyclopedia, than to run all over the globe trying to pinpoint the exact time and location of the painting.
Will these guys try to figure out the various landscapes of Thomas Kinkade next?
Couldn't a Computer Scientist test whether a binary search is quicker than a linear search by commissioning a handful of students to look up random names in the phone book using both systems and comparing the result?
Computer Science is pure thought stuff. What's nice is that it is directly applicable to 'computing' as we know it. Math is the same way.
Around here we've got mostly CS folks. However, there are a few CEs and EEs around that have only a little less knowledge about CS as any of the CS people do.
In beginning your career, it is not necessary to know *everything* about CS. I have a feeling that's why the CEs and EEs are able to fit right in with their comparatively lower CS knowledge. Everything else you can pick up along the way.
CE might actually open more doors down the line than you realize.
Can someone explain why the chip cooled by the OC in the previous post stops functioning at a low temperature? The overclockers mention something about a lack of 'free electrons'.
Is their theory correct? How do superconductors manage to avoid this problem when supercooled?
I carry a 24-hour constant-use tank of liquid nitrogen to keep the sleigh cooled, if you were wondering.
What do I do with all the chairs I currently have at my house? I don't use them all to surf the web. Should I send in my current computer chair to these good folks? I don't want to break the law!
I think you can safely say that these are 'truths':
1) Adam has an gun in his backpack.
2) Bob said he was going to kill Clarice tomorrow.
3) David has been selling drugs to other kids.
4) Ethan comes to school everyday with huge bruises all over his body.
None of these make any assumptions about motives or causes, but state the obvious, 'truths' if you will. In each of these cases, you wouldn't think it's in the best interest of the school to at least find out what's going on?
Which is why if you're ever involved in an investigation, you say "I don't know and even if I did I wouldn't tell you."
That is the *stupidest* advice I've ever heard. Turning in someone for smoking behind the gym is one (bad) thing. Turning in someone who is making threats on others' lives is a completely different thing.
To give the police no information when you've got some, you are allowing a criminal to walk. If your best friend was shot, hell if you saw some stranger get shot, and you knew who did it, you wouldn't tell the police? What kind of stupid-ass idiot are you? You are implicitely condoning the criminal's action by not helping the police apprehend him.
It's bad karma to harbor criminals. It's bad karma to not help seek counseling for troubled friends.
Your assertion that informing is inherently anti-democratic is absurd. A democracy succeeds when truth and facts are brought to light. It fails when a shroud of secrecy hides possible danger.
What you are probably correct about, though you completely misstep by blaming the informant, is that over-reaction to threats is equally bad as the threats themselves. It is dangerous to leave troubled kids to their own devices, and it is foolish to toss them in jail for making their thoughts known. Counseling, as you skimmed over in the article, is the key ingredient that seems to have been missing in the aforementioned case. Troubled kids should be identified early and counseled when nearing the edge. This is impossible without someone paying attention, and what better way to learn about these kids than informants? In 99 out of 100 cases, these kids are just going through some adolescent angst, but by catching that 1 kid you may be able to prevent Littletons.
Slashdot Mirror
It's the problem. The right of ownership concept that the FSF uses as its main pillar is faulty and damaging as a concept when stretched beyond the limits of the GPL. The idea that you own a work that you had no hand in creating but have the full privileges of distribution as the original creator falls apart once the concept ventures beyond the realm of Free information.
Only the creator of a work can choose to make it Free. As Linus said, "everything else is just whining." It seems to be commonsense that distributing something that has not been cleared for free distribution by its owner would be met with legal challenges. Knowingly enabling this distribution by providing a venue for this is equally offensive as actually pirating the works.
The sense of entitlement that the FSF has engendered through its 'community ownership' and Free information concepts has confused people into thinking that anything they can lay their hands on should be theirs in the name of Free. This is not meant to be a slight against the FSF, but against those who have confused between speech and beer and 'it's just not yours'.
Dancin Santa
The company that seems to have taken over the mantle of 'best tech book publisher' seems to be Manning. Now there's a company that was floundering then took a major turn midstream and is having a resurgence.
Dancin Santa
So how long does it take for one of these contraptions to remove splinters?
Dancin Santa
Until 2007!! When did 6 years from now become Permanent??
Remember, these are "Internet Years". If every human year is equivalent to 7 Internet years, therefore you and I will be old and gray (perhaps dead) long before Verisign's agreement is up.
Dancin Santa
What I never realised was how quickly van Gogh painted.
You've obviously never watched Bob Ross. That guy can churn out a masterpiece in 30 minutes.
Of course I'm sure it would have been much easier to merely look up the date of the painting in an encyclopedia, than to run all over the globe trying to pinpoint the exact time and location of the painting.
Will these guys try to figure out the various landscapes of Thomas Kinkade next?
Dancin Santa
I think we are debating semantics at this point.
Dancin Santa
I think you've confused Computer Science with another related branch of computing, namely Software Engineering.
JMHO,
Dancin Santa
Couldn't a Computer Scientist test whether a binary search is quicker than a linear search by commissioning a handful of students to look up random names in the phone book using both systems and comparing the result?
Computer Science is pure thought stuff. What's nice is that it is directly applicable to 'computing' as we know it. Math is the same way.
Dancin Santa
I don't think you are wrong in saying that Computer Science is a branch of Mathematics.
Dancin Santa
You'd be surprised at how many elves are History majors. They are really good at making those toys, let me tell you.
Dancin Santa
You can become a computer programmer anytime. It's like carpentry, you learn on the job.
You can become a physicist anytime. It's a science like Computer Science, which is like carpentry, you learn on the job.
You don't learn CS on the job. You may learn some programming, but that is a far cry from CS theory.
Real Computer Scientists don't use computers.
Dancin Santa
Around here we've got mostly CS folks. However, there are a few CEs and EEs around that have only a little less knowledge about CS as any of the CS people do.
In beginning your career, it is not necessary to know *everything* about CS. I have a feeling that's why the CEs and EEs are able to fit right in with their comparatively lower CS knowledge. Everything else you can pick up along the way.
CE might actually open more doors down the line than you realize.
Dancin Santa
Ever feel like you're being watched while you 'surf' the Internet??? Chances are, YOU ARE! There wasn't anything you could do about it, UNTIL NOW!!
Just visit this website and find out NOW! The cost is $99, but isn't that a PITTANCE compared to your peace of mind ?
Dancin Spammer
For more insight into the commercial antics of our favorite cartoon family, check out this site.
You'll need to be able to decode Shift-JIS to view it correctly.
Dancin Santa
Can someone explain why the chip cooled by the OC in the previous post stops functioning at a low temperature? The overclockers mention something about a lack of 'free electrons'.
Is their theory correct? How do superconductors manage to avoid this problem when supercooled?
I carry a 24-hour constant-use tank of liquid nitrogen to keep the sleigh cooled, if you were wondering.
Dancin Santa
It must suck for these people working in these sweatshops to be making the highest real wages in their country.
Dancin Santa
Is there some reason I can't read the article? I can't even connect to it...
Dancin Santa
One burning question: why can Napster not move to Cuba? What do the US government do then? I can't see Fidel refusing the investment. Any thoughts?
Music Pirates of the Carribean? That might actually work!
Dancin Santa
Holy cow! Is this for real?
What do I do with all the chairs I currently have at my house? I don't use them all to surf the web. Should I send in my current computer chair to these good folks? I don't want to break the law!
Dancin Santa
cybotan
Dancin Santa
I think you can safely say that these are 'truths':
1) Adam has an gun in his backpack.
2) Bob said he was going to kill Clarice tomorrow.
3) David has been selling drugs to other kids.
4) Ethan comes to school everyday with huge bruises all over his body.
None of these make any assumptions about motives or causes, but state the obvious, 'truths' if you will. In each of these cases, you wouldn't think it's in the best interest of the school to at least find out what's going on?
Dancin Santa
Which is why if you're ever involved in an investigation, you say "I don't know and even if I did I wouldn't tell you."
That is the *stupidest* advice I've ever heard. Turning in someone for smoking behind the gym is one (bad) thing. Turning in someone who is making threats on others' lives is a completely different thing.
To give the police no information when you've got some, you are allowing a criminal to walk. If your best friend was shot, hell if you saw some stranger get shot, and you knew who did it, you wouldn't tell the police? What kind of stupid-ass idiot are you? You are implicitely condoning the criminal's action by not helping the police apprehend him.
It's bad karma to harbor criminals. It's bad karma to not help seek counseling for troubled friends.
Dancin Santa
Your assertion that informing is inherently anti-democratic is absurd. A democracy succeeds when truth and facts are brought to light. It fails when a shroud of secrecy hides possible danger.
What you are probably correct about, though you completely misstep by blaming the informant, is that over-reaction to threats is equally bad as the threats themselves. It is dangerous to leave troubled kids to their own devices, and it is foolish to toss them in jail for making their thoughts known. Counseling, as you skimmed over in the article, is the key ingredient that seems to have been missing in the aforementioned case. Troubled kids should be identified early and counseled when nearing the edge. This is impossible without someone paying attention, and what better way to learn about these kids than informants? In 99 out of 100 cases, these kids are just going through some adolescent angst, but by catching that 1 kid you may be able to prevent Littletons.
Dancin Santa
As one doctor succinctly put it, 'Young people today are becoming stupid.'
Gramps has been saying this for years.
Dancin Santa
All it would take is one metric conversion error or something to slam the asteroid into Earth.
Don't be stupid. No one involved in the space program would be dumb enough to make a mistake converting English measurements to metric or vice versa.
Sheesh...
Dancin Santa