Their "j-mouse" is OK - probably the only MS product I've ever had that worked properly:o)
I've had optical mice before that worked OK - a bitch to use without the pad though:o) (and it was around the same price as listed above - $99 Cdn - so I guess they're not too expensive..)
I'm no legal expert, but this is criminal law... So you get to be tried by a jury, right?
So then your fantasy DA has to _PROVE_ that you intended to harrass... and he has to convice 12 people (most of whom don't really want to be there) of that this...
And if he loses, he looks like an idiot - his opponent in the next election says "this is the guy who couldn't protect your children!"
I think your fantasy would make a good Terry Gilliam movie - provided they could get some decent writers...
...where's the money going to come from for software development?
The point he misses with this is that the _good_ OSS coders are not doing this because they want to get money, they're doing it because _THEY_ need the software...
Look at the OSS that drives the Internet - BIND, Sendmail, Apache... what these products have in common (besides being free) is that they were created to fill a need - necessity is the mother of invention, right? Even Linus himself says he wrote the kernel because he needed it, not because he hoped to get money from it... the money comes from somewhere else and therefore is irrelevant to the argument.
If you were to get sued by McDonald's for such "infringment" I'd be behind you 100%... (even if I did think you're ripping them off... but it's not close enough to be trademark infringement.)
And if MS created a DotSlash.org website, I'd think it'd be hilarious.. I might even gain some respect for them, being able to laugh at themselves (and us).. and I'd lose an enormous amount of respect for Rob & the gang if they tried to sue over it, as I'm sure most of the others here would as well.
A large percentage of the Linux (or better, Unix users (probably VMS as well)) are real users, not consumers. For them, the computer is the game.
Where would Linux be if Linus (and RMS and many others) had waisted their time playing games?
Interesting points; however they fail to address the underlying point of the previous poster, which is "games drive the market."
I'm one of the "real" users you mentioned (I think I've spent a total of 30 minutes playing games over the past 3 years.. - by choice- there are simply too many other things I can do with my computer time.) but my preference (and yours, from the tone of your post) for computer use doesn't change the fact that OTHER people use computers for games, and that because there are (few) games for Linux, means that these people won't use it.
Whether or not this is a bad thing is entirely relative of course:o) (Personally I think that any reason people have to use Linux is a good reason:o)
This is exactly the reason I boycotted United Media. If they could keep the ADVERTISING where it's supposed to be (in the banners) then I'd have a little respect for them. Meg used to be one of my favourite comics, but when they started plastering advertising (poorly disguised as 'requirements') all over the comics page I stopped going there...
I mean come on, a PII 300 TO VIEW A 16-COLOUR PICTURE?!?!? a 386 can do that!
.. although the guy apparently has a history of spreading virii, there is no proof that it was him.. because of the publicity regarding the UID's, anyone smart enough to engineer this type of thing would be smart enough to be able to cover their tracks..
The ZDNet artice claims that the MAC address is 'proof', but any semi-literate coder would know that it's pretty simple to change a MAC address (software settable..)
All they have is circumstantial evidence, so anyone who's foolish enough to say "see the UIDS are good" is going to be proven to look the fool when he's aquitted.
If the authorities push this, I hope the guy brings a huge civil lawsuit against MS for invasion of privacy.
While I'd love to see the humiliation they'd get by being proven wrong publicly, I think the longer it drags on, the better their chances are for winning; I believe if they stay in court now, they'll be found guilty, but they'll just appeal and it will drag on and on... and all they need to win one appeal (out of as many as they can make) is one Judge who's not technically savvy enough to understand what they're doing; then they win.
Also, a settlement would (hopefully) stop them sooner than any judgement against them (even if they do eventually lose all appeals...)
Slashdot Mirror
I admin 15 servers, all running Slackware...
/. :o)
:o)
And they run so well, I have time to goof off and post silly messages to
So I guess no, you're not the only one..
(oh, my desktop system is Mandrake
Their "j-mouse" is OK - probably the only MS product I've ever :o)
:o) (and it was around the same price as
had that worked properly
I've had optical mice before that worked OK - a bitch to
use without the pad though
listed above - $99 Cdn - so I guess they're not too expensive..)
I'm no legal expert, but this is criminal law... So you get to be tried by a jury, right?
So then your fantasy DA has to _PROVE_ that you intended to harrass... and he has to convice 12 people (most of whom don't really want to be there) of that this...
And if he loses, he looks like an idiot - his opponent in the next election says "this is the guy who couldn't protect your children!"
I think your fantasy would make a good Terry Gilliam movie - provided they could get some decent writers...
We must also conclude that oxygen has no value, sunshine has no value, rain has no value...
:o)
SSSSHHH!!!! Don't give MS any ideas! I can see the commercials now - "New MS Air - if you want to breathe, you have to buy a license."
What makes it FUD is the fact that his arguments don't bear scrutiny. :o)
...where's the money going to come from for software development?
The point he misses with this is that the _good_ OSS coders are not doing this because they want to get money, they're doing it because _THEY_ need the software...
Look at the OSS that drives the Internet - BIND, Sendmail, Apache... what these products have in common (besides being free) is that they were created to fill a need - necessity is the mother of invention, right? Even Linus himself says he wrote the kernel because he needed it, not because he hoped to get money from it... the money comes from somewhere else and therefore is irrelevant to the argument.
If you were to get sued by McDonald's for such "infringment" I'd be behind you 100%... (even if I did think you're ripping them off... but it's not close enough to be trademark infringement.)
And if MS created a DotSlash.org website, I'd think it'd be hilarious.. I might even gain some respect for them, being able to laugh at themselves (and us).. and I'd lose an enormous amount of respect for Rob & the gang if they tried to sue over it, as I'm sure most of the others here would as well.
Umm, doesn't RFC stand for "Requirements For Conformance"?
Think about it... the RFC's aren't "requests" for anything -
they're specifications (requirements) to make your application conform
to a standard...
Who started the "request for comments" thing anyway?
A large percentage of the Linux (or better, Unix users (probably VMS as well)) are real users, not consumers. For them, the computer is the game.
:o) (Personally I think that any reason people have to use Linux is a good reason :o)
Where would Linux be if Linus (and RMS and many others) had waisted their time playing games?
Interesting points; however they fail to address the underlying point of the previous poster, which is "games drive the market."
I'm one of the "real" users you mentioned (I think I've spent a total of 30 minutes playing games over the past 3 years.. - by choice- there are simply too many other things I can do with my computer time.) but my preference (and yours, from the tone of your post) for computer use doesn't change the fact that OTHER people use computers for games, and that because there are (few) games for Linux, means that these people won't use it.
Whether or not this is a bad thing is entirely relative of course
This is exactly the reason I boycotted United Media. If they could keep the ADVERTISING where it's supposed to be (in the banners) then I'd have a little respect for them. Meg used to be one of my favourite comics, but when they started plastering advertising (poorly disguised as 'requirements') all over the comics page I stopped going there...
I mean come on, a PII 300 TO VIEW A 16-COLOUR PICTURE?!?!? a 386 can do that!
Hey, happy birthday...
:o)
:o)
Mine too...
I'm guess Lucas really likes Taurus, huh?
.. although the guy apparently has a history of
spreading virii, there is no proof that it was him..
because of the publicity regarding the UID's, anyone
smart enough to engineer this type of thing would
be smart enough to be able to cover their tracks..
The ZDNet artice claims that the MAC address is 'proof',
but any semi-literate coder would know that it's pretty
simple to change a MAC address (software settable..)
All they have is circumstantial evidence, so anyone who's
foolish enough to say "see the UIDS are good" is going to
be proven to look the fool when he's aquitted.
If the authorities push this, I hope the guy brings
a huge civil lawsuit against MS for invasion of privacy.
I agree.. sorta...
While I'd love to see the humiliation they'd get by being proven wrong publicly, I think the longer it drags on, the better their chances are for winning; I believe if they stay in court now, they'll be found guilty, but they'll just appeal and it will drag on and on... and all they need to win one appeal (out of as many as they can make) is one Judge who's not technically savvy enough to understand what they're doing; then they win.
Also, a settlement would (hopefully) stop them sooner than any judgement against them (even if they do eventually lose all appeals...)