Great point! We get stubs to prove we payed for the movie at the movie theaters... why can't we get ticket stubs telling us which candidates we voted for in case of a future "Florida debacle"?!
While there may have been all kinds of laws enacted that are pretty ridiculous, there will eventually be an equilibrium reached that is close to fair, but never perfectly fair for those involved. What I mean to say is that the "Internet" and its use will be regulated, there's no if's, and's, or but's about it. Everything gets regulated. Which is why I think humanity is always pushing forward to explore the next frontier, be it in medicine, robotics, communications, travel, etc.
Think of some of the first automobiles. Flimsy, worked only part of the time, accident prone, unsafe, etc. and yet Americans and indeed the world embraced the new technology of the 'horseless' carriage with gusto once Henry Ford introduced a cheap way to manufacture and build them so that the masses could use them. The world economy benefitted from this new technology immensely.
Yeah, some of our "freedoms" on the Internet have eroded TOO much, but eventually some semblance of order will be acheived, and off us techies and 'explorers' will go to challenge the Next Big Thing.
I think this fundemental idea is why the Star Trek series has been so popular: it focuses on that "explorer" spirit. While most of the acting is corny at best, and some of the scripts downright absurd, we're drawn to "exploring the new frontier" theme.
No background is considered whatsoever other than the math score on the ASVAB.
You remind me of an experience I had with the Navy about 9 years ago. I'm 27 now, but when I was 18 I was pretty dead set on joining the Air Force through the best ROTC, USAFA, or other OTS school that would take me. At some point in my Senior year of high school, my mother had the bright idea to invite a couple of Navy recruiters over to our house to talk to me about the Navy. (I had never mentioned the Navy, so I still have no idea why my mom thought I wanted to sit on a ship in the middle of the ocean for 6 months straight)
Anyways, they come over, a 1st Lieutenant, and an enlisted guy (maybe sergeant or whatever the Navy equivalent is, can't really remember). The 1st Lieutenant goes on and on and on about this job and that in the Navy. Boring! I just want to fly an F-16, thank you very much. So towards the end of the discussion I mention that I've already taken the ASVAB for the Army and did pretty well on it (don't ask why I did that - long story). The enlisted guy asks me if I remember what kinds of scores I got on it. I tell him I didn't do so well on the mechanical section, only got like an 85. But on the other sections I did pretty well - over 110 on the verbal sections, 114 on the Math section, 115 on science, etc. (When I took it, scores of like 115 were considered a 'perfect score') And I'll never forget what happened next. His jaw slowly dropped, he stared at me in amazement, and said: "Son, you can do anything you want in the Navy, even work on the nuclear systems onboard aircraft carriers!" As if working on a nuclear power plant with 16 inches of steel hull right next to the deep blue sea sounded "exciting." ROFL! It was then that I realized there was ZERO chance of me enlisting.
I went on to join AFROTC for two years before figuring out that I just wasn't cut out for military life, but had I studied a little harder in college, I might be blowing the shit out of stuff in a fighter jet by now. Most of the/. crowd is a little too smart for putting up with government employees in general. Although I do highly respect all the individuals in the U.S. Armed Services (and some are really intelligent people - like USAFA grads - holy shit! man, they take Thermodynamics as a CORE COURSE during their college career), some of us just aren't cut out for that kind of life.
"So when do you draw the line? What if your company was making dangerous chemicals and not disposing of them properly?"
Wife of evil henchman #1: (on the phone) Yes... uh-huh... ok... Thank you. (Turns to her son, Bobby) Bobby, I have some terrible news. Your step-father, Steve, was just killed in a horrible accident involving a steam-roller. Bobby: Steve! No, not Steve! He was like a father to me! (Runs to mother and hugs her tightly as he begins to sob)
I was trying to decide on what card to buy recently. I read all the reviews, shopped for the best prices, and finally just found one that suited my budget. A GeForce FX5600 128MB RAM card from MSI. Why did I end up picking it you ask? It was only $157 but came with Ghost Recon, Morrowind, a few other games, a whole bunch of software including WinDVD, and a bunch of different adapters, cords, output and input options, etc. So I'm happy. I may not be able to crank all the 'special' video features to the max on HL2, but who cares?! I only really use Windows to game on anyways, and as long as the card was so cheap, had so many 'extras' with it, and can get decent support in Linux, I'll be happy. No, it's not the perfect solution, but all this video card posturing is lame anyways. HL2 is rumored to be capable of running just fine on a computer half as powerful as what was benchmarked in this report, so there's no need to have the eye-candy cranked up ALL the way - just enough to make the game fun.
I work with a guy who used to work for Diebold for several years. He is aware of this "electronic voting machine" issue, and can confirm that Diebold truly has some abysmal "security" built into their products, not to mention pointy-haired bosses from hell. He told this story about Diebold ATM machines that was so hilarious and utterly pathetic that I would be afraid to share it on/. Why? Because the feds would find out that I shared such info with one of you stupid script kiddies when you ratted me and my/. post describing how to circumvent Diebold ATM machines, and then I'd really be in some deep doo-doo according to the DMCA!
Very funny, but you point out the #1 reason why none of us should freak all the way out about privacy issues on this one:
#1 - Anything countable, can be divided.
That's right, from the scientists 'back-in-the-day' that said the atom was the smallest thing, to the MIT researchers who now think leptons, gluons, etc. are the smallest thing, it all can be divided further.
So when the manufacturer stamps that 96-bit barcode on the tin-foil box, you're already free from worry because you'll be ripping off one sheet of the total tin foil in the box to make your hat. Fret not, young paranoid schizophrenic!
I think this is wonderful!
on
MIT Everyware
·
· Score: 2, Interesting
I've been looking forward to "taking" some of the MIT classes online to further my own education. As I am currently in school at DeVry due to me working full-time, it's no wonder I'd be excited to be reading class material from MIT. This also will help me study up on the lower level classes like Physics and basic computer engineering topics so I can test out of them at DeVry, thereby speeding up my ability to graduate with a BS finally.
And yes, I do consider this a true "Open Source" initiative, as we would normally have to pay thousands of dollars for such valuable structured training. While I may not get to 'contribute' much to the course per se, I will ultimately be able to contribute my new knowledge towards the general public body of knowledge without paying a company/university to do so. So in the broader sense, I think this is a great thing for open source computing, or otherwise.
If you go read through some of the forums on www.civfanatics.com, you'll see that's just what's being discussed. There are a lot of people who have poured countless hours into producing "add-on" graphics and "mod-packs" for the Civilization 3 game. Over the past 6 months or so, they've been discussing petitioning Firaxis to package and ship a CD or two full of these mod-packs for $10 or so as a financial incentive to repay all the mod workers for their diligence and dedication to the game. (And quite a few people have expressed a big interest in this, as there are far too many mods of large sizes to download them ALL from the internet in any reasonable amount of time - even with a broadband connection)
Just do what I do -> ignore it and move on. Maybe eventually everyone will realize that shrink-wrap licensing is crap and software code is all just mathematical in nature, and therefore, not patentable; or licensable. C'mon! I mean, if Isaac Newton had patented the concept of gravity and charged $699 to everyone for simply using gravity, we'd all be broke!
Heh, I was just wondering if SCO has figured out a way to manipulate those automated AI systems the big investment firms use to buy and sell stock. I.e.
1. Release tons of press releases 2. sue multi-billion dollar company 3. get media to cover your sorry ass from here to Sunday. 4. manipulate stock market 5. Profit! 6. Go to step 1. 7. If ProfitStep() > $1billion GoTo jail.
Perhaps Darl is planning on pulling out right around the time SCO hits that magical $999 million dollar market cap and moving to Mexico?
Are you forgetting the fact that they've been making a killing on the stock market?
No, I've definitely not forgotten that. But like Enron, the stock can only go so high on wild speculation until it comes crashing down, HARD, ruining everyone who put money into it at the inflated prices, just like Enron. Which is what I don't understand - isn't Darl at least semi-clueful enough to recognize that what happened to the Enron exec's can most likely happen to him too, especially considering he's not even hiding the fact that he's a moron. I mean, who literally things "increased volume of press releases" = "increased marketplace importance" as a business??? That's ridiculous.
Maybe he likes taking it in the rump from Bill so much he just couldn't resist that $6mil injection of "fun" from the boy in Redmond in exchange for endless volumes of FUD spewed against OpenSource.
It is pretty funny though, considering 99.9% of all Linux home-users wouldn't even think of paying for a license. We all know how to fiddle with the system enough to make it look like it's licensed, a Windows variant, etc. whenever the SCO Police come a knockin' over the internet. Hahaha!
OK, this is just a crazy thought I suppose, but why in the world would a company the size of SCO take on a company the size of IBM if they knew their claims were bull? Is it that their claims are "just arguable enough" in a court of law, and they think somehow that choosing the right jurisdiction with the right judge will net them a win? I.e. Choose a really clueless judge in a really backwards jurisdiction or some such crap like that? Or maybe they already have a judge up their sleeve? Or some other MAJOR leverage point that will make this worth their while?
I just don't see how any person could act so completely ridiculously in a business setting. Then again, the boom of the '90's gave us such wonder-boys as the Enron exec's, so maybe it's not so far fetched that Darl really is a "moron."
DeVry University is going to begin teaching the intro programming classes using a UNIX-based (Linux more likely) system, instead of using Microsoft's Visual Studio as it is right now. At least that's the inside scoop I've heard from one of my professor's there recently.
And yes, I realize most of you/. elitists all think DeVry is a shitty school, but if this rumor is true, it just points to the fact that even a private university desperate for funds at every turn doesn't seem to think that being a Microsoft-centric university is necessarily a Good Thing these days. Perhaps industry is demanding a bit more of graduates than simply knowing how to program in Visual Basic these days???
You got it! Service industries are booming. Yeah, yeah, it may suck to be working tech support here in the USA where being an executive of a million+ dollar company is now considered "successful," but in India, Canada, and elsewhere in the world, the call center is where the "big money" is AT! There will always be a scarcity of something worldwide. It's best you just keep up with the times and maintain your skills in whatever area of scarcity there is.
Re:They aren't so worried about $5 synthetics
on
Diamonds & the RIAA
·
· Score: 1
From the article you pointed out: "In Israel, it was known as "The Syndicate." In Europe, it was called the "C.S.O." -- initials referring to the Central Selling Organization, which was an arm of the Diamond Trading Company."
Hmmm... guess that explains why SCO has been up in arms recently.
Hahaha! Yeah, when I see people slamming the "X number of press releases makes us relevant!" I think of the Simpsons:
"Won't somebody PLEASE think of the children!"
Just because you say it doesn't make it more or less relevant. Working with statistics on a nearly daily basis has taught me one thing:
There's lies, DAMN lies, and statistics.
And saying that an increase in press releases since suing IBM = relevance is about the most flagrantly obvious abuse of statistics I have ever seen out of a company executive.
Seriously, even the most clueless AOL'er would straight thru such a thing!
I agree with you in some sense. I guess the bigger point I'm making is that it's all about processes. Microsoft's current business process isn't working out too great for them, what with all the virii and cost of their product vs. quality of said products and such. OpenSource and file-sharing seem to be much more popular and successful processes right now than the processes of "closed source" and strictly controlled media distribution channels. I suspect that with people sticking up for the right to do things the way they want to (i.e. Jane Doe sticking up for her rights to follow her own "process" - using Kazaa) that we'll eventually begin to see the processes change. It's unfortunate that companies like Microsoft and organizations like RIAA and the MPAA don't see the desire to change processes by their customers and are trying to force everyone to "do it the good ol' way." Ultimately their customers will abondon them completely in favor of processes that work better - open source and p2p being two such processes that appear to be working better.
What's worse, if the US government doesn't recognize these process change requests and go with the flow, we'll get clobbered in the greater world economy and power structure as the new processes begin to produce products and services ten times better than the old way of doing things.
The Japanese auto-industry did it to the American auto-industry.
Let's face it, Microsoft changed the process of computing -> Bill Gates put a computer on every person's desk at home and at work. (Well, many people, you understand what I mean) And Big Blue nearly died a horrible death not recognizing the changes Microsoft was making for the world. Now the shoe seems to be on the other foot and once again, the small guys "get it", and the big ones don't.
So Kazaa is changing how we find musicians and the songs they write. The RIAA had better figure it out quick or they too will be dying a horrible death.
Ah, but no one has ever proven in a court of law that trading/sharing files on a P2P network is illegal. Maybe they've proven that people downloading them *can potentially* damage their industry, but it's never been proven illegal to share files. Not only that, what if someone is using a file-sharing system to download the music, listen once, then delete the file? That is a legit use, just like me handing a tape to my friend to listen to for a week is a legit "fair use" doctrine. What the RIAA is so scared of, ultimately, is that it's near impossible to actually make it harder to share the files. In the days of cassette's and CD's you either bought a recordable tape to dub your friend's CD or tape, or you you couldn't get a copy of it. It's almost worth the extra $5 to just buy the full tape. But now you don't need to buy anything other than the computer and internet connection to get TONS of stuff for *nearly* free. The cost is far, far less. So the RIAA and MPAA see their profits dwindle because they've got nothing new or innovative to offer. Guess what, that's their problem, not mine. And no, they cannot abuse the law to force me to do it their way. That's a monopoly, and what even bigger industry giants like Microsoft have already been convicted of.
I say more power to this anonymous "Jane Doe." She'll most likely win.
"What I don't get is why anybody still thinks that Windows is suitable for a production control environment."
Just wait until you find out that clueless grandma's worldwide run it AT HOME on a computer sitting in THEIR OWN LIVING ROOM! I'm surprised the world hasn't ended yet!!!
Slashdot Mirror
Great point! We get stubs to prove we payed for the movie at the movie theaters... why can't we get ticket stubs telling us which candidates we voted for in case of a future "Florida debacle"?!
While there may have been all kinds of laws enacted that are pretty ridiculous, there will eventually be an equilibrium reached that is close to fair, but never perfectly fair for those involved. What I mean to say is that the "Internet" and its use will be regulated, there's no if's, and's, or but's about it. Everything gets regulated. Which is why I think humanity is always pushing forward to explore the next frontier, be it in medicine, robotics, communications, travel, etc.
Think of some of the first automobiles. Flimsy, worked only part of the time, accident prone, unsafe, etc. and yet Americans and indeed the world embraced the new technology of the 'horseless' carriage with gusto once Henry Ford introduced a cheap way to manufacture and build them so that the masses could use them. The world economy benefitted from this new technology immensely.
Yeah, some of our "freedoms" on the Internet have eroded TOO much, but eventually some semblance of order will be acheived, and off us techies and 'explorers' will go to challenge the Next Big Thing.
I think this fundemental idea is why the Star Trek series has been so popular: it focuses on that "explorer" spirit. While most of the acting is corny at best, and some of the scripts downright absurd, we're drawn to "exploring the new frontier" theme.
I, for one, welcome our new regulatory overlords.
No background is considered whatsoever other than the math score on the ASVAB.
/. crowd is a little too smart for putting up with government employees in general. Although I do highly respect all the individuals in the U.S. Armed Services (and some are really intelligent people - like USAFA grads - holy shit! man, they take Thermodynamics as a CORE COURSE during their college career), some of us just aren't cut out for that kind of life.
You remind me of an experience I had with the Navy about 9 years ago. I'm 27 now, but when I was 18 I was pretty dead set on joining the Air Force through the best ROTC, USAFA, or other OTS school that would take me. At some point in my Senior year of high school, my mother had the bright idea to invite a couple of Navy recruiters over to our house to talk to me about the Navy. (I had never mentioned the Navy, so I still have no idea why my mom thought I wanted to sit on a ship in the middle of the ocean for 6 months straight)
Anyways, they come over, a 1st Lieutenant, and an enlisted guy (maybe sergeant or whatever the Navy equivalent is, can't really remember). The 1st Lieutenant goes on and on and on about this job and that in the Navy. Boring! I just want to fly an F-16, thank you very much. So towards the end of the discussion I mention that I've already taken the ASVAB for the Army and did pretty well on it (don't ask why I did that - long story). The enlisted guy asks me if I remember what kinds of scores I got on it. I tell him I didn't do so well on the mechanical section, only got like an 85. But on the other sections I did pretty well - over 110 on the verbal sections, 114 on the Math section, 115 on science, etc. (When I took it, scores of like 115 were considered a 'perfect score') And I'll never forget what happened next. His jaw slowly dropped, he stared at me in amazement, and said: "Son, you can do anything you want in the Navy, even work on the nuclear systems onboard aircraft carriers!" As if working on a nuclear power plant with 16 inches of steel hull right next to the deep blue sea sounded "exciting." ROFL! It was then that I realized there was ZERO chance of me enlisting.
I went on to join AFROTC for two years before figuring out that I just wasn't cut out for military life, but had I studied a little harder in college, I might be blowing the shit out of stuff in a fighter jet by now. Most of the
Only a Marine has that kind of unabashed default loyalty to the U.S. government. ;)
9/12/2003 5:05:04 PM EST - 9/12/2003 9:03:04 PM server hosting timeline seperates from rest of internet.
Ads in Open Source Linux installers?!?! What has the world come to!
Oh yeah... money.
"So when do you draw the line? What if your company was making dangerous chemicals and not disposing of them properly?"
Wife of evil henchman #1: (on the phone) Yes... uh-huh... ok... Thank you. (Turns to her son, Bobby)
Bobby, I have some terrible news. Your step-father, Steve, was just killed in a horrible accident involving a steam-roller.
Bobby: Steve! No, not Steve! He was like a father to me! (Runs to mother and hugs her tightly as he begins to sob)
I was trying to decide on what card to buy recently. I read all the reviews, shopped for the best prices, and finally just found one that suited my budget. A GeForce FX5600 128MB RAM card from MSI. Why did I end up picking it you ask? It was only $157 but came with Ghost Recon, Morrowind, a few other games, a whole bunch of software including WinDVD, and a bunch of different adapters, cords, output and input options, etc. So I'm happy. I may not be able to crank all the 'special' video features to the max on HL2, but who cares?! I only really use Windows to game on anyways, and as long as the card was so cheap, had so many 'extras' with it, and can get decent support in Linux, I'll be happy. No, it's not the perfect solution, but all this video card posturing is lame anyways. HL2 is rumored to be capable of running just fine on a computer half as powerful as what was benchmarked in this report, so there's no need to have the eye-candy cranked up ALL the way - just enough to make the game fun.
I work with a guy who used to work for Diebold for several years. He is aware of this "electronic voting machine" issue, and can confirm that Diebold truly has some abysmal "security" built into their products, not to mention pointy-haired bosses from hell. He told this story about Diebold ATM machines that was so hilarious and utterly pathetic that I would be afraid to share it on /. Why? Because the feds would find out that I shared such info with one of you stupid script kiddies when you ratted me and my /. post describing how to circumvent Diebold ATM machines, and then I'd really be in some deep doo-doo according to the DMCA!
Very funny, but you point out the #1 reason why none of us should freak all the way out about privacy issues on this one:
#1 - Anything countable, can be divided.
That's right, from the scientists 'back-in-the-day' that said the atom was the smallest thing, to the MIT researchers who now think leptons, gluons, etc. are the smallest thing, it all can be divided further.
So when the manufacturer stamps that 96-bit barcode on the tin-foil box, you're already free from worry because you'll be ripping off one sheet of the total tin foil in the box to make your hat. Fret not, young paranoid schizophrenic!
I've been looking forward to "taking" some of the MIT classes online to further my own education. As I am currently in school at DeVry due to me working full-time, it's no wonder I'd be excited to be reading class material from MIT. This also will help me study up on the lower level classes like Physics and basic computer engineering topics so I can test out of them at DeVry, thereby speeding up my ability to graduate with a BS finally.
And yes, I do consider this a true "Open Source" initiative, as we would normally have to pay thousands of dollars for such valuable structured training. While I may not get to 'contribute' much to the course per se, I will ultimately be able to contribute my new knowledge towards the general public body of knowledge without paying a company/university to do so. So in the broader sense, I think this is a great thing for open source computing, or otherwise.
If you go read through some of the forums on www.civfanatics.com, you'll see that's just what's being discussed. There are a lot of people who have poured countless hours into producing "add-on" graphics and "mod-packs" for the Civilization 3 game. Over the past 6 months or so, they've been discussing petitioning Firaxis to package and ship a CD or two full of these mod-packs for $10 or so as a financial incentive to repay all the mod workers for their diligence and dedication to the game. (And quite a few people have expressed a big interest in this, as there are far too many mods of large sizes to download them ALL from the internet in any reasonable amount of time - even with a broadband connection)
Just do what I do -> ignore it and move on. Maybe eventually everyone will realize that shrink-wrap licensing is crap and software code is all just mathematical in nature, and therefore, not patentable; or licensable. C'mon! I mean, if Isaac Newton had patented the concept of gravity and charged $699 to everyone for simply using gravity, we'd all be broke!
Heh, I was just wondering if SCO has figured out a way to manipulate those automated AI systems the big investment firms use to buy and sell stock. I.e.
1. Release tons of press releases
2. sue multi-billion dollar company
3. get media to cover your sorry ass from here to Sunday.
4. manipulate stock market
5. Profit!
6. Go to step 1.
7. If ProfitStep() > $1billion GoTo jail.
Perhaps Darl is planning on pulling out right around the time SCO hits that magical $999 million dollar market cap and moving to Mexico?
Are you forgetting the fact that they've been making a killing on the stock market?
No, I've definitely not forgotten that. But like Enron, the stock can only go so high on wild speculation until it comes crashing down, HARD, ruining everyone who put money into it at the inflated prices, just like Enron. Which is what I don't understand - isn't Darl at least semi-clueful enough to recognize that what happened to the Enron exec's can most likely happen to him too, especially considering he's not even hiding the fact that he's a moron. I mean, who literally things "increased volume of press releases" = "increased marketplace importance" as a business??? That's ridiculous.
Maybe he likes taking it in the rump from Bill so much he just couldn't resist that $6mil injection of "fun" from the boy in Redmond in exchange for endless volumes of FUD spewed against OpenSource.
It is pretty funny though, considering 99.9% of all Linux home-users wouldn't even think of paying for a license. We all know how to fiddle with the system enough to make it look like it's licensed, a Windows variant, etc. whenever the SCO Police come a knockin' over the internet. Hahaha!
OK, this is just a crazy thought I suppose, but why in the world would a company the size of SCO take on a company the size of IBM if they knew their claims were bull? Is it that their claims are "just arguable enough" in a court of law, and they think somehow that choosing the right jurisdiction with the right judge will net them a win? I.e. Choose a really clueless judge in a really backwards jurisdiction or some such crap like that? Or maybe they already have a judge up their sleeve? Or some other MAJOR leverage point that will make this worth their while?
I just don't see how any person could act so completely ridiculously in a business setting. Then again, the boom of the '90's gave us such wonder-boys as the Enron exec's, so maybe it's not so far fetched that Darl really is a "moron."
She wouldn't happen to be the ever-popular "Moonsinger" on civfanatics.com would she? That chick's CivIII skills are AMAZING!
DeVry University is going to begin teaching the intro programming classes using a UNIX-based (Linux more likely) system, instead of using Microsoft's Visual Studio as it is right now. At least that's the inside scoop I've heard from one of my professor's there recently.
/. elitists all think DeVry is a shitty school, but if this rumor is true, it just points to the fact that even a private university desperate for funds at every turn doesn't seem to think that being a Microsoft-centric university is necessarily a Good Thing these days. Perhaps industry is demanding a bit more of graduates than simply knowing how to program in Visual Basic these days???
And yes, I realize most of you
Service technicians for replication devices?
You got it! Service industries are booming. Yeah, yeah, it may suck to be working tech support here in the USA where being an executive of a million+ dollar company is now considered "successful," but in India, Canada, and elsewhere in the world, the call center is where the "big money" is AT! There will always be a scarcity of something worldwide. It's best you just keep up with the times and maintain your skills in whatever area of scarcity there is.
From the article you pointed out:
"In Israel, it was known as "The Syndicate." In Europe, it was called the "C.S.O." -- initials referring to the Central Selling Organization, which was an arm of the Diamond Trading Company."
Hmmm... guess that explains why SCO has been up in arms recently.
Oh c'mon! It's a joke! Laugh.
So that's where Jon Katz disappeared to.
Fellow slashdot readers: PLEASE don't burn your retina's by reading more than the first five paragraphs... I think I've gone blind!
Hahaha! Yeah, when I see people slamming the "X number of press releases makes us relevant!" I think of the Simpsons:
"Won't somebody PLEASE think of the children!"
Just because you say it doesn't make it more or less relevant. Working with statistics on a nearly daily basis has taught me one thing:
There's lies, DAMN lies, and statistics.
And saying that an increase in press releases since suing IBM = relevance is about the most flagrantly obvious abuse of statistics I have ever seen out of a company executive.
Seriously, even the most clueless AOL'er would straight thru such a thing!
I agree with you in some sense. I guess the bigger point I'm making is that it's all about processes. Microsoft's current business process isn't working out too great for them, what with all the virii and cost of their product vs. quality of said products and such. OpenSource and file-sharing seem to be much more popular and successful processes right now than the processes of "closed source" and strictly controlled media distribution channels. I suspect that with people sticking up for the right to do things the way they want to (i.e. Jane Doe sticking up for her rights to follow her own "process" - using Kazaa) that we'll eventually begin to see the processes change. It's unfortunate that companies like Microsoft and organizations like RIAA and the MPAA don't see the desire to change processes by their customers and are trying to force everyone to "do it the good ol' way." Ultimately their customers will abondon them completely in favor of processes that work better - open source and p2p being two such processes that appear to be working better.
What's worse, if the US government doesn't recognize these process change requests and go with the flow, we'll get clobbered in the greater world economy and power structure as the new processes begin to produce products and services ten times better than the old way of doing things.
The Japanese auto-industry did it to the American auto-industry.
Let's face it, Microsoft changed the process of computing -> Bill Gates put a computer on every person's desk at home and at work. (Well, many people, you understand what I mean) And Big Blue nearly died a horrible death not recognizing the changes Microsoft was making for the world. Now the shoe seems to be on the other foot and once again, the small guys "get it", and the big ones don't.
So Kazaa is changing how we find musicians and the songs they write. The RIAA had better figure it out quick or they too will be dying a horrible death.
Ah, but no one has ever proven in a court of law that trading/sharing files on a P2P network is illegal. Maybe they've proven that people downloading them *can potentially* damage their industry, but it's never been proven illegal to share files. Not only that, what if someone is using a file-sharing system to download the music, listen once, then delete the file? That is a legit use, just like me handing a tape to my friend to listen to for a week is a legit "fair use" doctrine. What the RIAA is so scared of, ultimately, is that it's near impossible to actually make it harder to share the files. In the days of cassette's and CD's you either bought a recordable tape to dub your friend's CD or tape, or you you couldn't get a copy of it. It's almost worth the extra $5 to just buy the full tape. But now you don't need to buy anything other than the computer and internet connection to get TONS of stuff for *nearly* free. The cost is far, far less. So the RIAA and MPAA see their profits dwindle because they've got nothing new or innovative to offer. Guess what, that's their problem, not mine. And no, they cannot abuse the law to force me to do it their way. That's a monopoly, and what even bigger industry giants like Microsoft have already been convicted of.
I say more power to this anonymous "Jane Doe." She'll most likely win.
"What I don't get is why anybody still thinks that Windows is suitable for a production control environment."
Just wait until you find out that clueless grandma's worldwide run it AT HOME on a computer sitting in THEIR OWN LIVING ROOM! I'm surprised the world hasn't ended yet!!!