Now we're reading about people impeding commercial entities' right to advertise.
Uhh, Seth, if it really is you, I just lost all respect for you. Spam is NOT about censorship, or advertising - spam is harrassment.
What about MY right to be free from harrassment?
Are restraining orders issued by judges "censorship"? No, they're protecting victims from unwanted contact. This is no different, except for the fact that the victims in this case don't need a judge
The simple fact that someone employs a spam filter means, by definition, that they don't want to be harrassed.
Of course, if you disagree with me, please post your phone number here, so that I can set my computer to autodial you every 15 minutes with my "special offers."
Is it Slackware's browser, like Konqueror for KDE?
Slackware doesn't have 'a' browser; in addition to Mozilla, it ships with Konqueror (if you installk KDE), Netscape 4.77, Lynx, Galeon, and others... all of which are optional - you're not forced to use (or even install) any of them.
No, the animators are either evil, stupid, amoral, or some combination of the three.
My brother (an animator - currently working at Imageworks) told me a story of how Disney once tried to coax him over to the Dark Side... fortunately he's neither evil, stupid (he knows how evil Disney is), or amoral (since he declined their offer.)
I've been running a Win2K system very hard for well over a year without a single system crash, burp, or BSOD. Not one.
And I do work for a company that was running a Win2K server not hard at all (9 users, doing nothing more strenuous than file serving), and they've experiences two major crashes (which required "disaster recovery" measures) in less than a year, both due to bugs in the OS.
Only in MS-land does "you're low on disk space" equate to "SYSTEM ERROR - MAJOR FAULT - I WILL NOT BOOT ANY MORE!", and require you to do a fresh install so that you can delete the stupid log files (that weren't deleted because of an OS bug) that were simply logging "YOUR DISK IS ALMOST FULL"
Companies are well within their rights to stipulate any restrictions on the use of their products. If the consumers don't like it, they shouldn't consume it.
If you believe this, you don't know ANYTHING about how the real world works.
Suppose if a car company put put the phrase "By driving your car, you agree to give Ford Inc. your first born child, to use in it's new Asian Sweatshop." in it's "End User Driving Agreement", then everybody would have to give Ford their kids?
as you did not agree to the EULA which gives you certain rights
But as he purchased the game, he'd have those rights anyway - so he hasn't lost anything.
attempt to distribute something based on work someone else has done
But he's not distributing anything except his own work. If the module is 100% his own creation, he's not distributing anything owned by anyone else. The graphics, models, etc are all part of the game - he's just distributing a script that tells the game what to do with them.
Just because it requires the game to run, doesn't make it a derivative work - or do you consider that all Windows apps are derivative works because they require Windows to work? (And if that were the case, that would make NWN property of Microsoft.)
But you didn't "buy" the product, the company is only selling you a license to use the software.
*BULLSHIT*
When I *BUY* software from a store, I *BUY* it. The invoice says I bought it, so I bought it. If the company wants to tack on extra conditions, they should do it BEFORE they sell it, not after.
Incidentally, I've worked in retail - a store can only return a percentage of their purchases, and only if it's unopened, and within a certain time of purchase - usually 10% of their total, within 90 days. If your statement that you're not really buying it were true, then the unused software should be able to be returned at any time, for any reason.
When you "buy" NWN, you are getting the binaries on the CD and the right to use that software.
Nope, I'm also getting everything available to me under the laws of my area, including first sale and fair use. If I decide that I don't like the EULA, I'm not bound by it.
Your work, while still your sweat and blood, is a derivative work and would be a violation of copyright.
I would argue against your assertion that a module is a derivative work - the game is more like an OS - a framework - in which the module executes. What if MS decided that every Win32 app was a "derivative" of windows, so they should be able to distribute other people's software?
They performed several checks in the game for copy protection code. If one of them changed, then one of the 'keys' that the main character (in the game...) had to find would disappear, preventing the player from progressing to the next level.
NewTek did something similar with Lightwave3D.. Lightwave requres (required? - I haven't upgraded since 5.6) a hardware dongle to work.. if you didn't have a dongle, the program would quit..
To get around the inevitable "cracks", NewTek put additional dongle checks elsewhere in the program.. my favorite was in the load/save code; the program would work perfectly until you tried to work with complex objects.. once the polygon count exceeded a certain threshold, saving it would corrupt the file - the verticies would all be correct, but the polygons would be connected to them randomly.
This had two effects: First, you could use the cracked program to render objects and scenes made by other people (since it only screwed up the object when you saved) - to see what the software was capable of, and second: you could use the cracked program to learn how to build and render objects and scenes - but you couldn't use it to do "professional" work... almost like a "demo".
It was fun to read complaints about this on alt.software.lightwave, and read the replies from the lighwave authors (who did read Usenet.)
Previous poster should have simply said "switch" (perhaps activated by sensors attached to your muscles?)
Set aside the electromagnet will need juice...*lots*
Yes, but more than a "phaser", a device small enough to fit in your palm that can contain enough power to disintegrate a large building several times over?
Somehow, I don't think that they run on the same AA's that fit inside your walkman.
Support great software. If it happens to not be free, so what? Buy it.
If we (the people doing the boycott) were all mad at Blizzard because they murded babies, would you say the same thing?
Now, I know that there is a HUGE difference between murder and Blizzard's bnetd stunt, but they are both distasteful acts.. so consider this: where do you draw the line?
I bought most of Blizzard's software. Until they stop with this bullshit and apologize, I won't send another dime their way - and I don't care how "great" their software is.
And if I'm working in the Gimp, and am trying to create a 40,000 pixel-tall letter A? The X Font Server should fail to allocate the memory to render my character why?
Read the rest of his post. BECAUSE YOU DON'T HAVE ENOUGH MEMORY
"this case just requires a upper limit on font size, based on the display size and system memory."
I think the fix has to be in Mozilla.
The fix should be in BOTH. Mozilla should do bounds checking, and X shouldn't allow an app to crash it.
This is a good example of security through obscurity
There is no such thing as a "good" example of security through obscurity.
The biggest problem with security through obscurity is not that it doesn't provide security (although this is one of the problems), but that it provides a false sense of security.
if somebody cracks the main network, they still have some work to do to get to find the MySQL server. That's time to discover the intrusion and fix the leak.
This is a perfect example of the problem with it.
Your friend probably thinks that the "non-standard port" thing is pretty clever, and that it gives him time - he thinks that he's done something to secure his network, when in reality he hasn't; the system is just as vulnerable as it was before he moved the port, but he believes that it's more secure. This is hubris at it's worst.
Incidentally, using old software is not necessarily obscurity - in general, older software has fewer features, fewer lines of code, so therefore fewer potential bugs.. fewer bugs means fewer potential security problems.
As you mentioned, they're doing streaming HTTP, which Real won't save, and they have some very good techs who have made it as difficult as possible to connect with a non-Real client.. (I'm sure it's possible, but I gave up on that route)
it wouldn't be that hard to record the stream on a network level. As I understand it, you can rig squid to cache realplayer
Yes, this would work, but it would be kind of like using a sledgehammer to swat a mosquito..
A better solution is epoxy, which I used on Movie88 with great success.
During the latest round of talks on changing Canadian copyright, the copyright board requested input from the general populace, and published the results on their website.
"There were also submissions that characterized all activities on the Internet that involve unauthorized copying or communications as "piracy" rather than "infringement." It is unclear how this characterization was intended to relate to the traditional understanding of copyright remedies and sanctions."
So it looks like SOMEONE in power (somewhere) knows the difference.
Slashdot Mirror
Now we're reading about people impeding commercial entities' right to advertise.
Uhh, Seth, if it really is you, I just lost all respect for you. Spam is NOT about censorship, or advertising - spam is harrassment.
What about MY right to be free from harrassment?
Are restraining orders issued by judges "censorship"? No, they're protecting victims from unwanted contact. This is no different, except for the fact that the victims in this case don't need a judge
The simple fact that someone employs a spam filter means, by definition, that they don't want to be harrassed.
Of course, if you disagree with me, please post your phone number here, so that I can set my computer to autodial you every 15 minutes with my "special offers."
Is it Slackware's browser, like Konqueror for KDE?
Slackware doesn't have 'a' browser; in addition to Mozilla, it ships with Konqueror (if you installk KDE), Netscape 4.77, Lynx, Galeon, and others... all of which are optional - you're not forced to use (or even install) any of them.
did you really think the animators were evil?
No, the animators are either evil, stupid, amoral, or some combination of the three.
My brother (an animator - currently working at Imageworks) told me a story of how Disney once tried to coax him over to the Dark Side... fortunately he's neither evil, stupid (he knows how evil Disney is), or amoral (since he declined their offer.)
I've been running a Win2K system very hard for well over a year without a single system crash, burp, or BSOD. Not one.
And I do work for a company that was running a Win2K server not hard at all (9 users, doing nothing more strenuous than file serving), and they've experiences two major crashes (which required "disaster recovery" measures) in less than a year, both due to bugs in the OS.
Only in MS-land does "you're low on disk space" equate to "SYSTEM ERROR - MAJOR FAULT - I WILL NOT BOOT ANY MORE!", and require you to do a fresh install so that you can delete the stupid log files (that weren't deleted because of an OS bug) that were simply logging "YOUR DISK IS ALMOST FULL"
Companies are well within their rights to stipulate any restrictions on the use of their products. If the consumers don't like it, they shouldn't consume it.
If you believe this, you don't know ANYTHING about how the real world works.
Suppose if a car company put put the phrase "By driving your car, you agree to give Ford Inc. your first born child, to use in it's new Asian Sweatshop." in it's "End User Driving Agreement", then everybody would have to give Ford their kids?
In a word - NO.
as you did not agree to the EULA which gives you certain rights
But as he purchased the game, he'd have those rights anyway - so he hasn't lost anything.
attempt to distribute something based on work someone else has done
But he's not distributing anything except his own work. If the module is 100% his own creation, he's not distributing anything owned by anyone else. The graphics, models, etc are all part of the game - he's just distributing a script that tells the game what to do with them.
Just because it requires the game to run, doesn't make it a derivative work - or do you consider that all Windows apps are derivative works because they require Windows to work? (And if that were the case, that would make NWN property of Microsoft.)
But you didn't "buy" the product, the company is only selling you a license to use the software.
*BULLSHIT*
When I *BUY* software from a store, I *BUY* it. The invoice says I bought it, so I bought it. If the company wants to tack on extra conditions, they should do it BEFORE they sell it, not after.
Incidentally, I've worked in retail - a store can only return a percentage of their purchases, and only if it's unopened, and within a certain time of purchase - usually 10% of their total, within 90 days. If your statement that you're not really buying it were true, then the unused software should be able to be returned at any time, for any reason.
When you "buy" NWN, you are getting the binaries on the CD and the right to use that software.
Nope, I'm also getting everything available to me under the laws of my area, including first sale and fair use. If I decide that I don't like the EULA, I'm not bound by it.
Your work, while still your sweat and blood, is a derivative work and would be a violation of copyright.
I would argue against your assertion that a module is a derivative work - the game is more like an OS - a framework - in which the module executes. What if MS decided that every Win32 app was a "derivative" of windows, so they should be able to distribute other people's software?
I am merely pointing out that by agreeing to the EULA, you're agreeing that Infogrames/Bioware can revoke rights
OK, and what if I don't agree to the EULA?
I install the software anyway (perfectly legal under First Sale and Fair Use doctrines), use it to make my own mod (which is 100% my own work).
What then?
Thats because "geek chicks" are a myth, a legend.
No, they're not...
She not only created the show, but she's got a PhD, and plays keyboards in a band...
She's a female version of Buckaroo Banzai
They performed several checks in the game for copy protection code. If one of them changed, then one of the 'keys' that the main character (in the game...) had to find would disappear, preventing the player from progressing to the next level.
NewTek did something similar with Lightwave3D.. Lightwave requres (required? - I haven't upgraded since 5.6) a hardware dongle to work.. if you didn't have a dongle, the program would quit..
To get around the inevitable "cracks", NewTek put additional dongle checks elsewhere in the program.. my favorite was in the load/save code; the program would work perfectly until you tried to work with complex objects.. once the polygon count exceeded a certain threshold, saving it would corrupt the file - the verticies would all be correct, but the polygons would be connected to them randomly.
This had two effects: First, you could use the cracked program to render objects and scenes made by other people (since it only screwed up the object when you saved) - to see what the software was capable of, and second: you could use the cracked program to learn how to build and render objects and scenes - but you couldn't use it to do "professional" work... almost like a "demo".
It was fun to read complaints about this on alt.software.lightwave, and read the replies from the lighwave authors (who did read Usenet.)
Previous poster should have simply said "switch" (perhaps activated by sensors attached to your muscles?)
Set aside the electromagnet will need juice...*lots*
Yes, but more than a "phaser", a device small enough to fit in your palm that can contain enough power to disintegrate a large building several times over?
Somehow, I don't think that they run on the same AA's that fit inside your walkman.
this is like the first movie since 2001 (the space oddessy) to get this right.
:o) (disclaimer: I loved Moontrap)
Nope, Moontrap came out in 1989, and gets this right.
Maybe if you were thinking "the first good movie since 2001"...
In 2001, Kubrick uses the "no sound in a vacuum" fact to amazing effect.
A better example of this is a B-movie called "Moontrap", with Walter Koenig and Bruce Campbell..
The fight scenes on the moon are amazing; gunfire all around, and all you can hear is Koenig's panicked breathing..
If you actually read the article, there are very valid reasons ... that this happened
Uhh, you're saying that there is a valid reason to ship a virus?
And no, a mistake is not a valid reason.
Support great software. If it happens to not be free, so what? Buy it.
If we (the people doing the boycott) were all mad at Blizzard because they murded babies, would you say the same thing?
Now, I know that there is a HUGE difference between murder and Blizzard's bnetd stunt, but they are both distasteful acts.. so consider this: where do you draw the line?
I bought most of Blizzard's software. Until they stop with this bullshit and apologize, I won't send another dime their way - and I don't care how "great" their software is.
Slackware 8.0 (without patching) runs the 3.3.6 XFree86 tree.
No, it doesn't. From the Slackware 8.0 changelog:
Mon Jun 4 22:53:34 PDT 2001
Upgraded to XFree86-4.1.0.
And if I'm working in the Gimp, and am trying to create a 40,000 pixel-tall letter A? The X Font Server should fail to allocate the memory to render my character why?
Read the rest of his post. BECAUSE YOU DON'T HAVE ENOUGH MEMORY
"this case just requires a upper limit on font size, based on the display size and system memory."
I think the fix has to be in Mozilla.
The fix should be in BOTH. Mozilla should do bounds checking, and X shouldn't allow an app to crash it.
If he had killed Dooku, he would have turned to the dark side. Jedi protect, not attack.
Yeah, just like Obi-wan, when he killed Darth Maul!
oh, wait...
what do you suppose "to import essential game resources into their Linux server and game" means?
It probably means "We don't want to have people download the 2GB graphic and sound files."
Just like every other game available for linux and windows - download the binaries, use the data files from the CD.
if my SO owns more pairs of shoes than I have servers/switches/routers etc. then I'm in safe territory... at the moment I'm falling far behind
:o)
You're married to a Filipina too?
How do you know there is no afterlife for an AI?
Exactly!
"No Silicon Heaven? Preposterous! Where do all the calculators go?"
SDSU is not South Dakota State University in Brookings South Dakota, but sadly is in fact San Diego State University
Interesting... I had no idea that San Diego became a state...
Can anyone from there tell me when that happened? Did you finally decide you'd had enough of Gray Davis?
those Californians taking all of our acronyms
Now I'm REALLY confused.. if San Diego is a state, how come they're still called Californians?
This is a good example of security through obscurity
There is no such thing as a "good" example of security through obscurity.
The biggest problem with security through obscurity is not that it doesn't provide security (although this is one of the problems), but that it provides a false sense of security.
if somebody cracks the main network, they still have some work to do to get to find the MySQL server. That's time to discover the intrusion and fix the leak.
This is a perfect example of the problem with it.
Your friend probably thinks that the "non-standard port" thing is pretty clever, and that it gives him time - he thinks that he's done something to secure his network, when in reality he hasn't; the system is just as vulnerable as it was before he moved the port, but he believes that it's more secure. This is hubris at it's worst.
Incidentally, using old software is not necessarily obscurity - in general, older software has fewer features, fewer lines of code, so therefore fewer potential bugs.. fewer bugs means fewer potential security problems.
How are they preventing you from saving it?
As you mentioned, they're doing streaming HTTP, which Real won't save, and they have some very good techs who have made it as difficult as possible to connect with a non-Real client.. (I'm sure it's possible, but I gave up on that route)
it wouldn't be that hard to record the stream on a network level. As I understand it, you can rig squid to cache realplayer
Yes, this would work, but it would be kind of like using a sledgehammer to swat a mosquito..
A better solution is epoxy, which I used on Movie88 with great success.
During the latest round of talks on changing Canadian copyright, the copyright board requested input from the general populace, and published the results on their website.
Because they had so many submisions, they also published a document entitled An Overview of Submissions on the Consultation Paper on Digital Copyright Issues.. an interesting excerpt from this document is this:
"There were also submissions that characterized all activities on the Internet that involve unauthorized copying or communications as "piracy" rather than "infringement." It is unclear how this characterization was intended to relate to the traditional understanding of copyright remedies and sanctions."
So it looks like SOMEONE in power (somewhere) knows the difference.