An alternative approach would be to use weak protection methods, and look at software piracy as a form of marketing in order to gain mind share. Businesses, especially successful ones, will have as a matter of risk abatement a policy of licensing their software, and it would be that segment where you would get the bulk of your revenue. However, to get into the corporations in the first place, get it into the hands of starving students who will be working in these corporations.
I think it may have been WordPerfect that did some variation of this many years ago. And one might argue that Windows would not have become the monopoly it is today if it had instituted WGA back in the day of version 3.1.
It occurs to me that if Digg and its ilk can be dealt "take down" notices for carrying a particular representation of data, then that situation could also be turned around.
Suppose, for example, that someone's Valuable Intellectual Property were, through pure coincidence, protected by the key "sony.com", by the contents of http://www.riaa.com/ or by the image of Mickey Mouse?
Politician-bashing can be great fun, and you will see it at its height during Question Period -- a time set aside each day that the House is in session for questions to be put to Ministers.
However, you will often see another side during debates and even more during committee meetings. Surprisingly many members of parliament are able to engage in dialogue and sometimes even arrive at a consensus.
Maybe it is because Canada has a minority government, and can be overturned if all opposition parties so decide, but I find the committee work remarkably civil, with insight coming from all sides.
I wonder why a teacher feels he needs to get all worked up about maintaining discipline in a class. Are they not allowed to dis-invite a student from the class? It seems to me that the problem quickly goes away if a teacher sets high standards of behaviour and then follows through by expelling anyone who falls short.
If a student is creating a disturbance, he likely is not going to learn anything from the lesson plan. Why should one student be allowed to sabotage the lesson for those who want to learn? This really doesn't seem like it should be a problem.
The ruling won't stand...here's why from someone who knows what they are talking about.
Thank you for that analysis. The vast majority of postings before this one merely generated heat, and this was the first to generate light. Whatever one thinks of the TSP, the legality arguments deserve careful study and not wild hand-waving.
All manner of creative, non-violent responses are possible. Civil disobedience, monkeywrenching, culture jamming, etc.
This is true, but it seems to me that these responses require a civil society. Israel, for example, is surrounded by groups that would cheerfully slaughter everyone down to the last new-born baby. The savage truth is that for them holy writ condones this slaughter. In this environment, civil disobedience is a meaningless gesture.
The determination of public funds with respect to embryonic stem cells draws an ethical line. It is not a hard line, for the reason that (to my knowledge) anyone may legally destroy and manipulate these cells. It is, however, a signpost saying that US lawmakers know that there are moral implications.
Many people are satisfied with reasoning that if George Bush and the Pope are against it, then they themselves are for it. Obviously, George Bush is wrong because... well, he's an idiot (nevermind his academic records), and the Pope is wrong because he's an opium pusher to the masses -- sort of like actors.
However, those who bother to think further might be troubled by wondering if it is okay to destroy human embryonic stem cells (ESC) and to study them, then: - How about using them to grow life-saving treatments? - How about if these life-saving treatments meant growing the ESCs into a living protoplasm? a non-aware humanoid? an aware humanoid with only animal intelligence? an aware humanoid with only animal intelligence in constant excruciating pain? - Would it be okay to use ESCs to grow a mindless human body for parts? How about just a little mind, for self-maintenance? for sexual response? How about growing a Universal Soldier? a house servant?
For most people, at least one of the previous scenarios would jog their morality meter. For George Bush and the Pope, it happens that their sense of wrongness occurs sooner. We may not agree with where they draw the line, but it seems to me that it is better to approach the precipice with caution than to rush toward it headlong.
The burning question for me is why the UN observers were not pulled from the area when Israel began operations -- especially when the terrorists in that area have a history of embedding themselves among civilians and non-combatants. Someone should be sacked, if not jailed, for this incompetence.
Bjoern's complaints address a number of inadequacies, but what stands out for me is an apparent lack of communication between his group and "them", and that puzzles me. Is the W3C some kind of star chamber? Is the list of its individual participants -- the people, not the companies -- held secret? Why is he not naming names?
Usually, if you take it upon yourself to do the legwork and you continually follow up with key members of a group, you can obtain a response and a justification. This is not easy, and sometimes it requires a team of dedicated people, but committee groupthink will take all kinds of silly positions if its individuals are not held to account as individuals.
If they try to extradite, that would get very interesting. It would create a most undesirable precedent for allowing Americans to be extradited to countries which suppress freedom of information, for example, for publishing information on the web that they had not been able to censor before it happened to become widespread there.
This is actually happening, but in reverse. In this instance it is Americans who are the bad guys, and what they are attempting to suppress is freedom of political dialogue.
Marc Emery, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marc_emery a Canadian marijuana-rights activist, is being extradicted by the United States for allegedly selling marijuana seeds to U.S. citizens; if convicted he could face life imprisonment. In Canada, however, Emery's activities, although allegedly illegal, have been largely tolerated by authorities, perhaps on the basis of political expression. Indeed, Emery likely was a factor that prompted a draft quasi-decriminalization bill in parliament a couple years ago.
If the U.S. wants to impose its insane, unwinnable War on Drugs on its citizens, that is one thing. But it seems to me deplorable that a nation that prides itself on political freedoms should sacrifice those principles so readily when it comes to its neighbour.
What is the difference between Singapore and the Philippines? The first ranks with the top tier economies, but the second seems destined to remain frustratingly among the "have not" nations. Yet the Philippines is blessed with natural resources, a free press and an educated populace. What is holding it back?
In a word, corruption. Corruption that seems to be interwoven into the fabric of daily life and familial responsibilities.
Feeding the hungry in the Philippines is a laudable cause, but it seems that it also acts as an "enabler" (in the alcoholic sense) of political misfeasance. Feed the hungry by all means, but to truly effect better long-term change it is important to work on the root cause that is corruption.
Skype does not use SIP becaue SIP *SUCKS*. Its NAT and firewall behaviour is atrocious.
I am not a SIP expert, but this assessment seems overly critical -- lose the caps and the asterisks. Yes. SIP sucks. But it is less sucky than H.323, and virtually all SIP devices will work with each other to some degree. Before SIP, there was no assurance that your H.323 phone would play well with someone else's. IAX2 is certainly interesting, but not widely adopted.
True, NAT and firewall traversal issues stubbornly cling to the SIP Top Ten problem list, and the workarounds (STUN, outbound proxy) are inelegant. That said, SIP is widely adopted. Like Windows, it is Good Enough.
Actually, the UK concluded that Bush's statement was supported by information available at the time.
You might detest him and his administration, but do not base your animosity on lies.
Re:Same old GNU/God Complex
on
Drafting GPL3
·
· Score: 1
This is not ego. Someone has to make the final call. My reading of that text is a reminder that at the end of the day the buck stops with him.
My guess is that the draft will enter amidst controversy, and that controversial elements will remain even after heated debate and revision. Stallman has the unenviable task of deciding when to shoot the engineers.
"...why would any President in his/her right mind appoint somebody that didn't represent their views?
"Well, maybe if the President wished to fulfill their role as servant to, and representative of, the American people. In that case, you'd kind of want your appointees to represent the varied opinions of the American people. But what do I know?"
Fair enough, but why are so-called representative people shilling for Kerry? Apolitical is as apolitical does.
Not so long ago, we were facing imminent threat of an ice age caused by -- you guessed it -- our polluting ways. The proponents then were as convinced of their inerrancy as you are now.
When your computer model can accurately predict whether it will rain ten years from next Friday, then your inanity will warrant a rethink.
No, it says the _marketing_ has a long way to go. The product is fine, and does 95% of what people need. If not 99%...
Quibble: if it only does 99% of what I need for word processing, then it won't do. Perhaps it's better to say: it does 100% of what 95% of the people need.
This NDA is obviously a problem. As an alternative, would SCO be willing to reveal who their "experts" are who assert code violations, and make them available for questioning?
It should be instructive to ask these experts about the conditions around their claim:
did they check the "offending" code for prior art?
what specific files contain the code?
why does the code purportedly offend?
Word-for-word copying? (If so, how much?) Copying of ideas?
How about Slashdot preparing a top-ten list of questions for them?
I used to use kmail. And it suited my purposes almost perfectly. Then came the day that I updated the version of KDE, and for two days nothing depending on KDE would work, in particular kmail.
From that day, from the gnome desktop, I began to use Mozilla's email client. It isn't as fast as kmail, but neither does it rely on KDE -- or any particular window manager -- to be functional.Whatever the plusses of KDE-dependent applications, the big risk in counting on them is your downtime when KDE breaks.
So why am I back to KDE (albeit not to kmail?) "Always on Top". For some reason, the newer gnome does not allow you to keep one window on top while working with other windows.(Once in the habit of doing this, it is surprisingly annoying to lose the ability.) The configuration options also appear extremely limited.
KDE for all its flaws, and they are significant, is still more comfortable to work with. However, apps that don't depend on any specific Window manager, apps like Mozilla and OpenOffice, are more reliable in my view.
What I've discovered recently is that OpenOffice files are very easy to generate with XML/XSLT (well, and Zip, you need Zip), and they can then be saved as RTF, MS Word, etc. I'm working on some other stylesheets now that will automatically generate OpenOffice presentations from my documents as well (which are easily convertible to PowerPoint, if necessary).
This is interesting. How about working up a mini How-to about this? I bet more than one person would be interested in in your approach.
The examples given (e.g. wrapping corpses in bloody pigskin) are fiendishly evil. One possible down side to this could be the reaction of any Muslim-oriented states who would be on the coalition team. It's possible that while some object to the mass murder of innocents, they might take violent exception to damning the bad guys to Hell. (I hope that last sentence is truly as stupid as it sounds, but I have the sinking feeling that it is not.)
Sure, there was technical nonsense, but I have this sneaking suspicion that this was on purpose. With all the humour on the show -- others have posted about William Jefferson and TPOT Apes -- it's certainly plausible that a fun-poking target includes geekdom and its sometimes all-too-self-important inhabitants. I mean, seriously, is it even possible to have heard about Linux and *not* know that it's an operating system?
Moreover, it seemed to me that the characters have been filling out in very interesting and amusing ways. (Who'd have guessed that the old guy was a champion Flamenco dancer, or that the blond guy has more than two brain cells?)
It seems to be a phenomenon with my wife and me: the more we both enjoy a show, the more likely it is to get cancelled. (Fair Warning: CSI is looking interesting.)
> I've never had a problem with healthcare here in Canada.
Canada's health care system is fraying at the seams. Doctors are leaving for the States, not just for the money, but because of better availability of the best equipment. Remote communities are especially hit by this exodus. Nurses are also seriously short-staffed and over-worked (and this is not helped by US recruiters waving money at those who remain.)
Will the system die? Probably not, but I suspect that economic realities will force a greater government acceptance of private health care.
Sometimes when I consider the brain-dead governments who run the place, I think that the only reason Canada is not a third-world nation is because of our exceptionally close relationship with the US.
If symbol versioning takes care of this issue, then let me get to my favourite rant about stinky rpm (did I mention that it stinks?)
What is an ordinary Linux person (i.e. me) supposed to think when trying to 'rpm -U' the next version of glibc and a billion dependency complaints come back? This is just wrong. And do you get any help on whether it's safe to force the upgrade? Not by rpm, you don't.
Half-useful / half-dopey programs like rpm give Linux a bad name.
And, by the way, if symbol versioning is good, why is it even an option to build without it?
There might be better names, but this one appeals to me: it's short; it's reminiscent of the 'less' is 'more' naming trick; and it combines a mild slap at ssh(tm) (for putting us through this) with a nod of recognition to its common origin. What's more, there is no way this can be confused with ssh(tm).
Slashdot Mirror
An alternative approach would be to use weak protection methods, and look at software piracy as a form of marketing in order to gain mind share. Businesses, especially successful ones, will have as a matter of risk abatement a policy of licensing their software, and it would be that segment where you would get the bulk of your revenue. However, to get into the corporations in the first place, get it into the hands of starving students who will be working in these corporations.
I think it may have been WordPerfect that did some variation of this many years ago. And one might argue that Windows would not have become the monopoly it is today if it had instituted WGA back in the day of version 3.1.
It occurs to me that if Digg and its ilk can be dealt "take down" notices for carrying a particular representation of data, then that situation could also be turned around.
Suppose, for example, that someone's Valuable Intellectual Property were, through pure coincidence, protected by the key "sony.com", by the contents of http://www.riaa.com/ or by the image of Mickey Mouse?
Politician-bashing can be great fun, and you will see it at its height during Question Period -- a time set aside each day that the House is in session for questions to be put to Ministers.
However, you will often see another side during debates and even more during committee meetings. Surprisingly many members of parliament are able to engage in dialogue and sometimes even arrive at a consensus.
Maybe it is because Canada has a minority government, and can be overturned if all opposition parties so decide, but I find the committee work remarkably civil, with insight coming from all sides.
Is a teacher a baby-sitter, or a prison guard?
I wonder why a teacher feels he needs to get all worked up about maintaining discipline in a class. Are they not allowed to dis-invite a student from the class? It seems to me that the problem quickly goes away if a teacher sets high standards of behaviour and then follows through by expelling anyone who falls short.
If a student is creating a disturbance, he likely is not going to learn anything from the lesson plan. Why should one student be allowed to sabotage the lesson for those who want to learn? This really doesn't seem like it should be a problem.
The ruling won't stand...here's why from someone who knows what they are talking about.
Thank you for that analysis. The vast majority of postings before this one merely generated heat, and this was the first to generate light. Whatever one thinks of the TSP, the legality arguments deserve careful study and not wild hand-waving.
This is true, but it seems to me that these responses require a civil society. Israel, for example, is surrounded by groups that would cheerfully slaughter everyone down to the last new-born baby. The savage truth is that for them holy writ condones this slaughter. In this environment, civil disobedience is a meaningless gesture.
The determination of public funds with respect to embryonic stem cells draws an ethical line. It is not a hard line, for the reason that (to my knowledge) anyone may legally destroy and manipulate these cells. It is, however, a signpost saying that US lawmakers know that there are moral implications.
... well, he's an idiot (nevermind his academic records), and the Pope is wrong because he's an opium pusher to the masses -- sort of like actors.
Many people are satisfied with reasoning that if George Bush and the Pope are against it, then they themselves are for it. Obviously, George Bush is wrong because
However, those who bother to think further might be troubled by wondering if it is okay to destroy human embryonic stem cells (ESC) and to study them, then:
- How about using them to grow life-saving treatments?
- How about if these life-saving treatments meant growing the ESCs into a living protoplasm? a non-aware humanoid? an aware humanoid with only animal intelligence? an aware humanoid with only animal intelligence in constant excruciating pain?
- Would it be okay to use ESCs to grow a mindless human body for parts? How about just a little mind, for self-maintenance? for sexual response? How about growing a Universal Soldier? a house servant?
For most people, at least one of the previous scenarios would jog their morality meter. For George Bush and the Pope, it happens that their sense of wrongness occurs sooner. We may not agree with where they draw the line, but it seems to me that it is better to approach the precipice with caution than to rush toward it headlong.
The burning question for me is why the UN observers were not pulled from the area when Israel began operations -- especially when the terrorists in that area have a history of embedding themselves among civilians and non-combatants. Someone should be sacked, if not jailed, for this incompetence.
Bjoern's complaints address a number of inadequacies, but what stands out for me is an apparent lack of communication between his group and "them", and that puzzles me. Is the W3C some kind of star chamber? Is the list of its individual participants -- the people, not the companies -- held secret? Why is he not naming names?
Usually, if you take it upon yourself to do the legwork and you continually follow up with key members of a group, you can obtain a response and a justification. This is not easy, and sometimes it requires a team of dedicated people, but committee groupthink will take all kinds of silly positions if its individuals are not held to account as individuals.
This is actually happening, but in reverse. In this instance it is Americans who are the bad guys, and what they are attempting to suppress is freedom of political dialogue.
Marc Emery, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marc_emery a Canadian marijuana-rights activist, is being extradicted by the United States for allegedly selling marijuana seeds to U.S. citizens; if convicted he could face life imprisonment. In Canada, however, Emery's activities, although allegedly illegal, have been largely tolerated by authorities, perhaps on the basis of political expression. Indeed, Emery likely was a factor that prompted a draft quasi-decriminalization bill in parliament a couple years ago.
If the U.S. wants to impose its insane, unwinnable War on Drugs on its citizens, that is one thing. But it seems to me deplorable that a nation that prides itself on political freedoms should sacrifice those principles so readily when it comes to its neighbour.
This is spot on.
What is the difference between Singapore and the Philippines? The first ranks with the top tier economies, but the second seems destined to remain frustratingly among the "have not" nations. Yet the Philippines is blessed with natural resources, a free press and an educated populace. What is holding it back?
In a word, corruption. Corruption that seems to be interwoven into the fabric of daily life and familial responsibilities.
Feeding the hungry in the Philippines is a laudable cause, but it seems that it also acts as an "enabler" (in the alcoholic sense) of political misfeasance. Feed the hungry by all means, but to truly effect better long-term change it is important to work on the root cause that is corruption.
I am not a SIP expert, but this assessment seems overly critical -- lose the caps and the asterisks. Yes. SIP sucks. But it is less sucky than H.323, and virtually all SIP devices will work with each other to some degree. Before SIP, there was no assurance that your H.323 phone would play well with someone else's. IAX2 is certainly interesting, but not widely adopted.
True, NAT and firewall traversal issues stubbornly cling to the SIP Top Ten problem list, and the workarounds (STUN, outbound proxy) are inelegant. That said, SIP is widely adopted. Like Windows, it is Good Enough.
Actually, the UK concluded that Bush's statement was supported by information available at the time.
You might detest him and his administration, but do not base your animosity on lies.
This is not ego. Someone has to make the final call. My reading of that text is a reminder that at the end of the day the buck stops with him.
My guess is that the draft will enter amidst controversy, and that controversial elements will remain even after heated debate and revision. Stallman has the unenviable task of deciding when to shoot the engineers.
Fair enough, but why are so-called representative people shilling for Kerry? Apolitical is as apolitical does.
Uh, dude? You do know that global warming isn't contested, right?
Really? See http://www.sepp.org/books/hotcold.html and http://www.spiked-online.com/Printable/00000002D37 1.htm among others.
Not so long ago, we were facing imminent threat of an ice age caused by -- you guessed it -- our polluting ways. The proponents then were as convinced of their inerrancy as you are now.
When your computer model can accurately predict whether it will rain ten years from next Friday, then your inanity will warrant a rethink.
No, it says the _marketing_ has a long way to go. The product is fine, and does 95% of what people need. If not 99%...
Quibble: if it only does 99% of what I need for word processing, then it won't do. Perhaps it's better to say: it does 100% of what 95% of the people need.
This NDA is obviously a problem. As an alternative, would SCO be willing to reveal who their "experts" are who assert code violations, and make them available for questioning?
It should be instructive to ask these experts about the conditions around their claim:
Word-for-word copying? (If so, how much?)
Copying of ideas?
How about Slashdot preparing a top-ten list of questions for them?
I used to use kmail. And it suited my purposes almost perfectly. Then came the day that I updated the version of KDE, and for two days nothing depending on KDE would work, in particular kmail.
From that day, from the gnome desktop, I began to use Mozilla's email client. It isn't as fast as kmail, but neither does it rely on KDE -- or any particular window manager -- to be functional.Whatever the plusses of KDE-dependent applications, the big risk in counting on them is your downtime when KDE breaks.
So why am I back to KDE (albeit not to kmail?) "Always on Top". For some reason, the newer gnome does not allow you to keep one window on top while working with other windows.(Once in the habit of doing this, it is surprisingly annoying to lose the ability.) The configuration options also appear extremely limited.
KDE for all its flaws, and they are significant, is still more comfortable to work with. However, apps that don't depend on any specific Window manager, apps like Mozilla and OpenOffice, are more reliable in my view.
What I've discovered recently is that OpenOffice files are very easy to generate with XML/XSLT (well, and Zip, you need Zip), and they can then be saved as RTF, MS Word, etc. I'm working on some other stylesheets now that will automatically generate OpenOffice presentations from my documents as well (which are easily convertible to PowerPoint, if necessary).
This is interesting. How about working up a mini How-to about this? I bet more than one person would be interested in in your approach.
The examples given (e.g. wrapping corpses in bloody pigskin) are fiendishly evil. One possible down side to this could be the reaction of any Muslim-oriented states who would be on the coalition team. It's possible that while some object to the mass murder of innocents, they might take violent exception to damning the bad guys to Hell. (I hope that last sentence is truly as stupid as it sounds, but I have the sinking feeling that it is not.)
I liked TLG, too. (My wife as well.)
Sure, there was technical nonsense, but I have this sneaking suspicion that this was on purpose. With all the humour on the show -- others have posted about William Jefferson and TPOT Apes -- it's certainly plausible that a fun-poking target includes geekdom and its sometimes all-too-self-important inhabitants. I mean, seriously, is it even possible to have heard about Linux and *not* know that it's an operating system?
Moreover, it seemed to me that the characters have been filling out in very interesting and amusing ways. (Who'd have guessed that the old guy was a champion Flamenco dancer, or that the blond guy has more than two brain cells?)
It seems to be a phenomenon with my wife and me: the more we both enjoy a show, the more likely it is to get cancelled. (Fair Warning: CSI is looking interesting.)
> I've never had a problem with healthcare here in Canada.
Canada's health care system is fraying at the seams. Doctors are leaving for the States, not just for the money, but because of better availability of the best equipment. Remote communities are especially hit by this exodus. Nurses are also seriously short-staffed and over-worked (and this is not helped by US recruiters waving money at those who remain.)
Will the system die? Probably not, but I suspect that economic realities will force a greater government acceptance of private health care.
Sometimes when I consider the brain-dead governments who run the place, I think that the only reason Canada is not a third-world nation is because of our exceptionally close relationship with the US.
If symbol versioning takes care of this issue, then let me get to my favourite rant about stinky rpm (did I mention that it stinks?)
What is an ordinary Linux person (i.e. me) supposed to think when trying to 'rpm -U' the next version of glibc and a billion dependency complaints come back? This is just wrong. And do you get any help on whether it's safe to force the upgrade? Not by rpm, you don't.
Half-useful / half-dopey programs like rpm give Linux a bad name.
And, by the way, if symbol versioning is good, why is it even an option to build without it?
> HSS - Host Secure Session
There might be better names, but this one appeals to me: it's short; it's reminiscent of the 'less' is 'more' naming trick; and it combines a mild slap at ssh(tm) (for putting us through this) with a nod of recognition to its common origin. What's more, there is no way this can be confused with ssh(tm).
It merits a place on the shortlist.