Secondarily, I think MS would love the opportunity to squash Netscape a little more. AOL has toyed on and off with the idea of defaulting to Netscape browser tech; buying AOL would probably mean no further chance of that happening. Just another way to enforce vendor lock-in.
They could do better than that. Netscape v8 as a rebranded Internet Explorer, anyone?
The problem is that the credit card fees make $0.99 just about the minimum you could charge for a single song and not lose money.
While this is a good point, hasn't it been said before that RIAA member companies are the limiting factor on how low the prices can go? I don't know where that was said, and this is Slashdot, so take that for what it's worth... but I think there are other factors than credit card fees involved.
...only the telecom could be the "man in the middle".
I hope there's a better way. I realize that this is an improvement over the current system, but why settle for that? I don't think they're going to run around selling trade secrets, but still, does anyone trust telecoms?
Now, that being said, I'm all for standards compliance whenever and wherever possible. I do, however, acknowledge that many "standards" have been woefully inadequate in the past, and they were rightfully disregarded by the innovators of the field (remember Netscape and frames?).
You're presuming that the standard is ignored because the non-compliant software is implementing some non-standard innovations. When this is the case it's quite often a good thing, I'll agree.
Microsoft's Internet Explorer is not replete with innovations that prevent standards-compliance; it's simply nonstandard. Microsoft didn't implement the standard because they didn't have to. There's really no other justification.
The new Prescott CPUs don't require a mainboard with a new socket (assuming your Intel-compatible board is fairly recent). Think about that: If I want to go from my Athlon XP to an Athlon 64, I have to spend another $150 and tear apart my machine. To the average consumer, this means buying a whole new PC.
The average consumer doesn't upgrade his/her CPU. To the average consumer, doing so would probably mean buying a whole PC, whether or not a new motherboard were required.
And now, what "rights" are these? I haven't seen too many laws priotecting your "privacy and personality" rights in public.
I'm not saying that I entirely agree with the grandparent, but legal rights are not the only kind of rights one has. Just because it's lawful for a government (or corporation, or individual) to do something doesn't mean it should -- moral rights should at least be considered.
Now, whether there's a moral right to privacy is another question.
I know it's a joke, but in all seriousness, this is a problem with other uses of biometrics. Of course, anyone who loses a hand will have bigger work-related hassels, but what if this were being used for your finances?
They claim that it is this huge crime to do/anything/ other than "study" here in the states (they put much emphasis on the words i will come here "solely for the purpose of pursuing a full course of study"...) I disagree with to this extent
Are you allowed to work on a student visa? I didn't think you were, but then I might be wrong.
So it's a total coincidence that Sami is Saudi, coming from the birthplace of Wahabbism? Like it was a coincidence that all of the hijackers for Al Qaida were muslim males?
Okay, If the US government starts accusing random people of this type of crime, I will cry foul. This article does not contain enough information for me to doubt the Feds' motives.
So, it's enough that he's a member of a "suspicious" demographic? Well, then, let's just lock up all Arab males to improve U.S. security; after all, my civil liberties aren't at stake -- are they?
You simply post your message in clear form in the comments of a "highly trollistic" news, and your message will automatically become hidden and indetectable with all the noise surrounding it.
Photocopiers are available in most libraries, yet this doesn't seem to have created a huge problem with "piracy" of books.
Books take a long tmie to copy page by page. Any library that loans out music or proprietary software _and_ provides a machine explicitly for CD duplication will make a lot of people angry -- and it _would_ be used for piracy by a lot of people.
Not that piracy of library CDs doesn't occur anyway, but this would make it appear that the library was condoning such things. We want them to condone the copying of Open Source, not Britney Spears.
To me DRM isn't a big deal until I'm forced to use it. And I don't forsee a time when players are unable to play DRM free media.
Time for your daily dose of paranoia: It's difficult to offer content only in a DRMed format if only a fraction of the population can consume it. Once everyone has a DRM-capable player, people can avoid offering content in open formats.
"With my KDE desktop, a "Konsole" window is only a click away, and I know how to use it, and I use it often, thanks."
The grandparent was trying to point out that Microsoft is not the only group that does things monolithically -- KDE and Gnome are monolithic also. It had nothing to do with technical literacy or available power.
I'm using 16 bit and I have no plans on upgrading now.
You use 16-bit processors? Back in my day we used 8-bit processors, and we liked 'em -- and that was after we came home from school, which we walked to in the snow, up hill both ways.
You should listen to Grandpa Pete tell about how he had to read his own ones and zeros! 16-bit? You have it easy.
Slashdot Mirror
"Hades is the place where the dead goes. Not a god."
Hades is both.
Secondarily, I think MS would love the opportunity to squash Netscape a little more. AOL has toyed on and off with the idea of defaulting to Netscape browser tech; buying AOL would probably mean no further chance of that happening. Just another way to enforce vendor lock-in.
They could do better than that. Netscape v8 as a rebranded Internet Explorer, anyone?
The problem is that the credit card fees make $0.99 just about the minimum you could charge for a single song and not lose money.
While this is a good point, hasn't it been said before that RIAA member companies are the limiting factor on how low the prices can go? I don't know where that was said, and this is Slashdot, so take that for what it's worth... but I think there are other factors than credit card fees involved.
However I think (IANAL) the "look" of winamp would be a trademark and not a copyright.
IANAL also, but you cannot trademark interfaces. You can copyright interfaces, but the extent of such a thing is convoluted and weird.
I guess that's why these mega-corporations retain armies of lawyers.
OT: what does (nt) mean??
No text, i.e., the subject _is_ the whole message.
...only the telecom could be the "man in the middle".
I hope there's a better way. I realize that this is an improvement over the current system, but why settle for that? I don't think they're going to run around selling trade secrets, but still, does anyone trust telecoms?
Now, that being said, I'm all for standards compliance whenever and wherever possible. I do, however, acknowledge that many "standards" have been woefully inadequate in the past, and they were rightfully disregarded by the innovators of the field (remember Netscape and frames?).
You're presuming that the standard is ignored because the non-compliant software is implementing some non-standard innovations. When this is the case it's quite often a good thing, I'll agree.
Microsoft's Internet Explorer is not replete with innovations that prevent standards-compliance; it's simply nonstandard. Microsoft didn't implement the standard because they didn't have to. There's really no other justification.
"It's been tried before."
Care to give us an example of that?
I believe the grandparent referred to the old Napster, post-lawsuit.
The new Prescott CPUs don't require a mainboard with a new socket (assuming your Intel-compatible board is fairly recent). Think about that: If I want to go from my Athlon XP to an Athlon 64, I have to spend another $150 and tear apart my machine. To the average consumer, this means buying a whole new PC.
The average consumer doesn't upgrade his/her CPU. To the average consumer, doing so would probably mean buying a whole PC, whether or not a new motherboard were required.
It's us geeks who care.
Most game companies, despite having been in business for years, still underestimate the difficulty of the task...
Isn't that pretty much the state of the whole software industry?
I'm patenting the internet. Pay up, Suckers!
I suppose that trumps my patent on Slashdot, doesn't it? I guess I'll have to go patent electrons, or something.
They can incorporate any of that crap they want. If you do not like it, don't use photoshop, use something else.
Because clearly any misfeature that does not drive you away from the program can't be a bad thing, right?
And now, what "rights" are these? I haven't seen too many laws priotecting your "privacy and personality" rights in public.
I'm not saying that I entirely agree with the grandparent, but legal rights are not the only kind of rights one has. Just because it's lawful for a government (or corporation, or individual) to do something doesn't mean it should -- moral rights should at least be considered.
Now, whether there's a moral right to privacy is another question.
but what if they lose a hand?
I know it's a joke, but in all seriousness, this is a problem with other uses of biometrics. Of course, anyone who loses a hand will have bigger work-related hassels, but what if this were being used for your finances?
I stand corrected; thanks for the info.
This wouldn't seem to apply here, though.
They claim that it is this huge crime to do /anything/ other than "study" here in the states (they put much emphasis on the words i will come here "solely for the purpose of pursuing a full course of study" ...) I disagree with to this extent
Are you allowed to work on a student visa? I didn't think you were, but then I might be wrong.
So it's a total coincidence that Sami is Saudi, coming from the birthplace of Wahabbism? Like it was a coincidence that all of the hijackers for Al Qaida were muslim males?
Okay, If the US government starts accusing random people of this type of crime, I will cry foul. This article does not contain enough information for me to doubt the Feds' motives.
So, it's enough that he's a member of a "suspicious" demographic? Well, then, let's just lock up all Arab males to improve U.S. security; after all, my civil liberties aren't at stake -- are they?
Catholics, as do most (all?) Christian denominations, do baptize.
Quakers don't. I think they're the only one that comes to mind that doesn't.
You simply post your message in clear form in the comments of a "highly trollistic" news, and your message will automatically become hidden and indetectable with all the noise surrounding it.
But I want to be able to find the data afterward.
So you can't complain when they throttle you to 56k up and down for no reason at all because they never agreed to anything in the first place.
Presumably, they advertised something -- contract or no.
Photocopiers are available in most libraries, yet this doesn't seem to have created a huge problem with "piracy" of books.
Books take a long tmie to copy page by page. Any library that loans out music or proprietary software _and_ provides a machine explicitly for CD duplication will make a lot of people angry -- and it _would_ be used for piracy by a lot of people.
Not that piracy of library CDs doesn't occur anyway, but this would make it appear that the library was condoning such things. We want them to condone the copying of Open Source, not Britney Spears.
To me DRM isn't a big deal until I'm forced to use it. And I don't forsee a time when players are unable to play DRM free media.
Time for your daily dose of paranoia: It's difficult to offer content only in a DRMed format if only a fraction of the population can consume it. Once everyone has a DRM-capable player, people can avoid offering content in open formats.
"With my KDE desktop, a "Konsole" window is only a click away, and I know how to use it, and I use it often, thanks."
The grandparent was trying to point out that Microsoft is not the only group that does things monolithically -- KDE and Gnome are monolithic also. It had nothing to do with technical literacy or available power.
I'm using 16 bit and I have no plans on upgrading now.
You use 16-bit processors? Back in my day we used 8-bit processors, and we liked 'em -- and that was after we came home from school, which we walked to in the snow, up hill both ways.
You should listen to Grandpa Pete tell about how he had to read his own ones and zeros! 16-bit? You have it easy.
Pop quiz, hotshot. What did P.T. Barnum say about bad publicity?
P.T. Barnum was running a circus -- if people thought the circus had bad stuff going on, they might go see it.
P.T. Barnum was not selling hardware upon which network functionality depended, and certainly not security.