Yesterday a friend and I went grocery shopping, and when she got a cart there was a little broken-off sprig of some kind of decorative plant sitting in the bottom dying, so I stuck it in my pocket to put in dirt when I got home. After talking and joking about this for a moment I came to the realization that all of the plants in my house are pirated. I went down the list in my head:
Devil's ivy - trimmings from my roommate's plant Aloes - the original broke off the roommate's while I was watering it, so I stuck it in dirt Two types of unknown leafy thing - cuttings from Grandma's house "Take Over The World plant" (don't know what it's called, but it looks like something right off the set of Little Shop of Horrors and nobody's been able to kill one) - a friend gave this to me (hi jane!) as a dessicated little sprig and said "here, stick this in some dirt...I guarantee it'll start growing and try to take over your room"...she was right! Spider plant - dropped bud off of a sickly, ill-maintained plant at Home Depot (free advice guys, stick to hardware), I think it was on a sort of "I bet you can't make this live" bet.
Now I have to wonder, how many intellectual property laws am I breaking in this rampant plant piracy? With some of these definitely-tropical types, who knows, the mega-nursery all the distributors (e.g. Home Depot) buy them from, who probably propagating theirs the exact same way (cut and root), may itself have only a handful of genetically-unique strains. Will the SPA (Stolen Plants Alliance) come knocking on my door, citing a DMCA (Deliberate Misappropriation of Chlorophyll Act) violation?
(I think the supermarket's on to me though; they've begun copy-protecting their produce. Bah, seedless grapes, bah I say.)
Wierd...I once had excessive Tetris playing bleed over into the fridge, but in a different way. For example, a particular shelf might contain cheese, guacamole, and sour cream, sitting there untouched for over a week, in an average-sized but atypically ravenous household. I would catch myself thinking, "Now if I just add a bag of microwaveable burritos, this whole row will disappear..."
Browser developers, please take notice! For ANY "would you like to install software" prompt from a browser (Firefox XPIs, IE.exe's, ActiveHex etc.):
Upon displaying the message popup,
a) None of the option buttons should be positioned near, or directly underneath, the mouse pointer. It is a simple matter to detect the location of the mouse pointer, and spawn the window somewhere else on the screen.
b) The option buttons should be disabled against keyboard input for a minimum of two seconds from when the window appears. This is especially true if the user is currently typing!
Under Windows, several commonly-pressed keys (Enter, spacebar, etc.) will activate a menu button; I have personally had error windows pop up and quickly disappear while I was typing in another window (default option chosen by the spacebar I was pressing as the window appeared) and felt that "Crap, what did I just say ok to?" Additionally, there are many users (again including myself) who are not always looking at the screen while typing.
These suggestions could also be good reading for instant-messager developers, as agreed by all of my friends who have received the last few letters of a message intended for someone else...
The business model of Call-A-Bike seems to depend on locking a bunch of the 'product' (bikes advertising rental service) to property not owned by the vendor. Just playing devil's advocate here, but if the car in your example is parked and locked on someone else's property (e.g. driveway), with or without a "for rent" ad on it, its owner might return to find it has been 'stolen' (or as in this case, relocated without authorization) by a towing company.
I don't know about most; these people are pretty tight-lipped about this stuff unless you look like a serious partner to them. But New.net was heard at one time (in the Audiogalaxy days) to pay 5 cents per confirmed install.
"Abram [Direct Revenue] recently backed that claim with a letter to Congressman Joe Barton of Texas urging passage of H.R. 2929, "The Spy Act," a bill that would require adware companies to get explicit permission from users to place software onto their machines and to allow users to easily uninstall those programs. Abram says his company and the industry have not met this goal yet, but they are moving in the right direction."
Really, does it take more effort to write a letter to a congressman, or to add one sentence to the beginning of an EULA? Or to code, for that matter? Here guys, let's make life easy on you:
/* Super secret proprietary adware code - please don't steal and copy into your own software */
wantmalware=Application->MessageBox("I would like to spy on you, slow your PC and pop ads in your face all day long. Is this OK?", NULL, MB_YESNO);
My poor little fingers, they are cramping up already.
Re:Somone get these ppl some free software!
on
Given Up to Spyware?
·
· Score: 1
certification process with a familiar big ass logo that says "Spyware Free."
They already do. The problem is whether you can trust the issuer.
(Yet Another Non-Authoritative Namespace Resolution Scheme?)
I tried to RTFA, but my brain blew a buzzword fuse. How does this differ from the variousothernon-authorativenamespaceresolutionschemes out there selling cute "internet names" that a majority of machines can't resolve?
If it was my own erratic driving that generated the data, am I not the copyright holder to all that erratic-driving data? Would I have a claim if such a service violated my copyright by selling this data to the highest bidder (e.g. my insurance company)?
Ah, those cold college years... At my univ. the new management decided to save money by cranking down the thermostats in the dorms in winter to Downright Chilly. I remember everyone just leaving their lights, computers, monitors and stereo equipment running 24/7 for space heating - electricity to dorm rooms wasn't metered.
(I wonder if they've calculated yet how much money they are 'saving':-)
A legitime use of printer usage tracking that I see is actually to let the printer manufacturer find out the most common errors occured with a printer, and which colors that are most frequently used in order to optimize coming models on the market.
This IS Lexmark we're talking about though...will this cause future printer cartridges to contain more of that color, or less?
Sure, but what's to stop the credit card company from having a similar cardholder no-fly list for "unusually high number of disputed charges from this customer"? (If they don't already have it, I'd be surprised). Do credit card companies give cardholders grief for frequent / unusual / repeat chargebacks (like the near-infinite "buy, return, buy, return" loops suggested by some people protesting stores with crummy/nonexistant return policies selling copy-protected 'CDs'?
While perfectly valid and reasonable (if Aluria doesn't think WhenU is worth removing, that's Aluria's choice), this is the exact argument Aluria/WhenU will use to distract attention from the more important issues this partnership raises. Please see my full explanation in another thread here.
In arguing about the recent actions of Aluria, the discussion will inevitably be steered toward whether WhenU (is, is not) malware/spyware/crapware/*ware, i.e. whether it is right or wrong for Aluria to decide they don't fit Aluria's definition of a threat, and de-list WhenU. This conveniently sidesteps larger and much more ominous issues:
1) The amalgam (Aluria+WhenU) is now a competeting product to other spyware removers. (Aluria+Whenu) could more legitimately bring suit against AdAware/Spybot/etc. for the "anti-competitive" practice of removing WhenU.
"It now appears that the Aluria scanner is actually bundled or integrated into the WhenUSearch Toolbar. In other words, by removing the WhenUSearch toolbar, other anti-spyware vendors will effectively be removing a competing anti-spyware product. Still worse, WhenU itself is now a competitor to other anti-spyware vendors."
2) The amalgam (Aluria+WhenU) can worm onto a click-happy user's system due to its existing title of "spyware eliminator", and summarily remove competing ad-belchers from that system (how convenient!). Now WhenU's promotions aren't being drowned out by Gator/Claria, Bargain Buddy and all their other popup-spewing friends you are likely to find on a spyware-prone (read: novice user) computer.
Do note that AOL is partnered with Aluria; AOL version 9 bundles Aluria Spyware Eliminator--so we're talking about a potentially enormous market here.
Slashdot Mirror
Yesterday a friend and I went grocery shopping, and when she got a cart there was a little broken-off sprig of some kind of decorative plant sitting in the bottom dying, so I stuck it in my pocket to put in dirt when I got home. After talking and joking about this for a moment I came to the realization that all of the plants in my house are pirated. I went down the list in my head:
...she was right!
Devil's ivy - trimmings from my roommate's plant
Aloes - the original broke off the roommate's while I was watering it, so I stuck it in dirt
Two types of unknown leafy thing - cuttings from Grandma's house
"Take Over The World plant" (don't know what it's called, but it looks like something right off the set of Little Shop of Horrors and nobody's been able to kill one) - a friend gave this to me (hi jane!) as a dessicated little sprig and said "here, stick this in some dirt...I guarantee it'll start growing and try to take over your room"
Spider plant - dropped bud off of a sickly, ill-maintained plant at Home Depot (free advice guys, stick to hardware), I think it was on a sort of "I bet you can't make this live" bet.
Now I have to wonder, how many intellectual property laws am I breaking in this rampant plant piracy? With some of these definitely-tropical types, who knows, the mega-nursery all the distributors (e.g. Home Depot) buy them from, who probably propagating theirs the exact same way (cut and root), may itself have only a handful of genetically-unique strains. Will the SPA (Stolen Plants Alliance) come knocking on my door, citing a DMCA (Deliberate Misappropriation of Chlorophyll Act) violation?
(I think the supermarket's on to me though; they've begun copy-protecting their produce. Bah, seedless grapes, bah I say.)
Wierd...I once had excessive Tetris playing bleed over into the fridge, but in a different way. For example, a particular shelf might contain cheese, guacamole, and sour cream, sitting there untouched for over a week, in an average-sized but atypically ravenous household. I would catch myself thinking, "Now if I just add a bag of microwaveable burritos, this whole row will disappear..."
Because this satellite was not properly shut down, one of your spinning disks may have errors. To avoid seeing this message again....
You spelled 'u' wrong.
There's nothing funny about oscilloscopes.
Browser developers, please take notice! For ANY "would you like to install software" prompt from a browser (Firefox XPIs, IE .exe's, ActiveHex etc.) :
Upon displaying the message popup,
a) None of the option buttons should be positioned near, or directly underneath, the mouse pointer. It is a simple matter to detect the location of the mouse pointer, and spawn the window somewhere else on the screen.
b) The option buttons should be disabled against keyboard input for a minimum of two seconds from when the window appears. This is especially true if the user is currently typing!
Under Windows, several commonly-pressed keys (Enter, spacebar, etc.) will activate a menu button; I have personally had error windows pop up and quickly disappear while I was typing in another window (default option chosen by the spacebar I was pressing as the window appeared) and felt that "Crap, what did I just say ok to?" Additionally, there are many users (again including myself) who are not always looking at the screen while typing.
These suggestions could also be good reading for instant-messager developers, as agreed by all of my friends who have received the last few letters of a message intended for someone else...
The business model of Call-A-Bike seems to depend on locking a bunch of the 'product' (bikes advertising rental service) to property not owned by the vendor. Just playing devil's advocate here, but if the car in your example is parked and locked on someone else's property (e.g. driveway), with or without a "for rent" ad on it, its owner might return to find it has been 'stolen' (or as in this case, relocated without authorization) by a towing company.
I don't know about most; these people are pretty tight-lipped about this stuff unless you look like a serious partner to them. But New.net was heard at one time (in the Audiogalaxy days) to pay 5 cents per confirmed install.
Very true!
I'm waiting for one to pop up a warning telling me that my house is broadcasting a street address.
"Abram [Direct Revenue] recently backed that claim with a letter to Congressman Joe Barton of Texas urging passage of H.R. 2929, "The Spy Act," a bill that would require adware companies to get explicit permission from users to place software onto their machines and to allow users to easily uninstall those programs. Abram says his company and the industry have not met this goal yet, but they are moving in the right direction."
/* Super secret proprietary adware code - please don't steal and copy into your own software */
Really, does it take more effort to write a letter to a congressman, or to add one sentence to the beginning of an EULA? Or to code, for that matter? Here guys, let's make life easy on you:
wantmalware=Application->MessageBox("I would like to spy on you, slow your PC and pop ads in your face all day long. Is this OK?", NULL, MB_YESNO);
My poor little fingers, they are cramping up already.
certification process with a familiar big ass logo that says "Spyware Free."
They already do. The problem is whether you can trust the issuer.
...here.
(Where is the laughing? Why do I not hear laughing? Well at least there's no DRM...)
(Yet Another Non-Authoritative Namespace Resolution Scheme?)
I tried to RTFA, but my brain blew a buzzword fuse. How does this differ from the various other non-authorative namespace resolution schemes out there selling cute "internet names" that a majority of machines can't resolve?
Who will be first with the screensaver that launches DCoB (Distributed Clicking of Banners) attacks on bulk emailers' AdWords?
most screensavers are either totally lame, or they max out your cpu/vid card.
Or credit card, if you download the wrong one.
If it was my own erratic driving that generated the data, am I not the copyright holder to all that erratic-driving data? Would I have a claim if such a service violated my copyright by selling this data to the highest bidder (e.g. my insurance company)?
Two, but how they got in there is anybody's guess.
Ah, those cold college years... At my univ. the new management decided to save money by cranking down the thermostats in the dorms in winter to Downright Chilly. I remember everyone just leaving their lights, computers, monitors and stereo equipment running 24/7 for space heating - electricity to dorm rooms wasn't metered.
:-)
(I wonder if they've calculated yet how much money they are 'saving'
A legitime use of printer usage tracking that I see is actually to let the printer manufacturer find out the most common errors occured with a printer, and which colors that are most frequently used in order to optimize coming models on the market.
This IS Lexmark we're talking about though...will this cause future printer cartridges to contain more of that color, or less?
Just for fun, I ran the search on my own machine for *.wav files containing 'Deepz0ne'...
V
H:\half-life\CSTRIKE\SOUNDS\WEAPONS\C4_BEEP1.WA
Etc...
That makes it easy for me to find lost code (especially if a filesystem randomly decides to tank in between backups).
/* wtf?
C source:
ASM source: ; wtf?
Perl: # wtf?
VHDL: -- wtf?
Matlab: % wtf?
Most likely running on someone's residential cable modem, no less.
Sure, but what's to stop the credit card company from having a similar cardholder no-fly list for "unusually high number of disputed charges from this customer"? (If they don't already have it, I'd be surprised). Do credit card companies give cardholders grief for frequent / unusual / repeat chargebacks (like the near-infinite "buy, return, buy, return" loops suggested by some people protesting stores with crummy/nonexistant return policies selling copy-protected 'CDs'?
While perfectly valid and reasonable (if Aluria doesn't think WhenU is worth removing, that's Aluria's choice), this is the exact argument Aluria/WhenU will use to distract attention from the more important issues this partnership raises. Please see my full explanation in another thread here.
In arguing about the recent actions of Aluria, the discussion will inevitably be steered toward whether WhenU (is, is not) malware/spyware/crapware/*ware, i.e. whether it is right or wrong for Aluria to decide they don't fit Aluria's definition of a threat, and de-list WhenU. This conveniently sidesteps larger and much more ominous issues:
1) The amalgam (Aluria+WhenU) is now a competeting product to other spyware removers. (Aluria+Whenu) could more legitimately bring suit against AdAware/Spybot/etc. for the "anti-competitive" practice of removing WhenU.
As Eric L. Howes notes,
"It now appears that the Aluria scanner is actually bundled or integrated into the WhenUSearch Toolbar. In other words, by removing the WhenUSearch toolbar, other anti-spyware vendors will effectively be removing a competing anti-spyware product. Still worse, WhenU itself is now a competitor to other anti-spyware vendors."
2) The amalgam (Aluria+WhenU) can worm onto a click-happy user's system due to its existing title of "spyware eliminator", and summarily remove competing ad-belchers from that system (how convenient!). Now WhenU's promotions aren't being drowned out by Gator/Claria, Bargain Buddy and all their other popup-spewing friends you are likely to find on a spyware-prone (read: novice user) computer.
Do note that AOL is partnered with Aluria; AOL version 9 bundles Aluria Spyware Eliminator--so we're talking about a potentially enormous market here.