It is terrible that IBM stole this from SCO. That kind of coordination is extremely valuable and IBM should definately have to pay licensing fees for it.
The reason this article was so intriguing to me is that it reaches to the core of the human condition. That is: When a person has wealth beyond their wildest imagining shoved in their face, nine times out of ten they will sell their mother to a whorehouse for it. People who understand the social trends that are occuring with regard to intellectual property mostly view MS as evil. While it's true that MS is just another corporation who's aim is to make money, their agenda flies in the face of the way many feel the world should be. A world of computers controlled by the MS monopoly will never be free. The interns who go to work for MS understand this, but they don't care because they need to make money and they want a new car. At the end of the day they are able to justify any actions of their corporate parent as being beyond their control, but the fact is that they contribute. How can we say that the work we do doesn't reflect our values? Everything we do reflects our values. I hear the hard luck stories about how any job is a good one in this economy, but they are ridiculous. There are choices out there that may not make you rich, but might be the right thing to do. I know what it's like to be poor, and government cheese gets old, but if that's the only choice you have: be poor or do the wrong thing, the choice should be clear. I know I need to provide for my daughter, and right now I'm working two jobs to do it, but at least she'll know that her dad took care of old people and DD people, and didn't contribute to a world where she can't say what she wants to say and do what she wants with her things in her own home.
>It is unfortunate that teachers will bear this loss when they are already >struggling to keep pace with inflation.
Look on the bright side. This might solve the 'teachers all retiring at once' problem we've been hearing about all these years. Similar investments could solve the nursing shortage too.
"I personally think that anyone who subscribes to this kind of slippery slope logic should get a punch in the mouth."
Normally the slashdot croud is more up on the technical aspects of the issue, but in this case I have to disagree. What we want is a jab/cross/hook/overhand right/double leg to side control/knee in the belly ground n pound/straight armbar with at least three popping noises. You can find the white paper on Sherdog.com. I'm surprised more people haven't read this.
I never learn anything from these articles. I run Linux, and I know what it's capable of... I know it will be even better when it hits the mainstream(desktopwise) and I can't wait. So I read these articles for yet another hint that what I'm waiting for is coming to pass.
At least the so called theft of the artists music contributes to a change in the model by which they are systematically raped by the recording industry. If the record companies can no longer control distribution of music the artists will have options by which they might get paid. If you really gave a damn about fairness you would steal the songs and send the artist a check.
You are completely right. If musicians don't want to sign over their copyrights they can always go to organizations other than record companies to get their works distributed. It's not as if the RIAA controls the entire distribution chain from start to finish.... oh wait, strike that. They do. Artists have one choice if they want their works heard by anything other than a local audience, and that is why they sign up. As far as 'technological resources', what are you talking about? If you're talking about the CD's themselves then it makes no sense whatsoever since they press the damn things as cheap as they can. If you're talking about actual production of the music, the costs are covered by the artists themselves. The record companies get the songs played on the radio, that's all, and for that they take the vast majority of the money made in music sales. Most musicians don't make any money off the sale of their music. When it comes to the recording industry, America is not a free society.
You clearly are not familiar with the laws of your own country. The intellectual property that you speak of... the stuff that's not 'ours'.. it doesn't belong to the artists who created it. Recording is done as a work for hire for one of the few huge corporations that control the flow of music from the artists to the listeners. Those impartial laws you speak of, they weren't concieved by some grassroots movement. No one marched for this shit. The laws were the results of lobying by the RIAA. The politicians we elected to protect our rights sold us out for Sony and Time Warner. Very little, if any of the money made by the average artist comes from royalties. If piracy were to become the accepted standard by which the public obtained their music, artists on average would actually make more money. Why? Because the primary source of their income(concerts/public appearances) would be increased by their increased exposure. Forget about the benefit to the public of not having the recording industry decide for us what is good. Copyright laws serve more to protect the corporate stranglehold than anything else. You seem to be a fan of capitalism, but we've failed to realize one of capitalisms most important goals: promote competition. Don't kid yourself, the RIAA and the MPAA are monopolies. When was the last time you saw a movie in the theater that wasn't produced by a member of the MPAA? When is the last time you heard a song on the radio that wasn't being marketed by a major record label? I say pirate until we have the option of buying from the people who actually made the music.
to settle a long standing argument. When we are sure an asteroid is going to hit us we will attempt to stop it using only means that are not the result of weapons developement. That way we'll know for sure if all the hippies were right about war not doing anyone any good.
By the Mitnick precedent this guys gonna be in jail for over 400 years. Probably over a hundred of it in solitary. I was happy about one thing.. the writer of the article didn't include a grossly exagerated damage figure. On a serious note though, what was he going to do with all those numbers anyway? It's easy to get the numbers, but how easy is it to come up with all those fake mailboxes.
is that there won't be any more confusion about computer viruses.. they'll be just like any other viri.
I've still haven't forgiven myself for not patenting desktop themes and links. I'm definately not missing the boat on this one. I've already patented cell replication.
Blue screens of death are truly blue screens of DEATH. If you forget one thing, you forget everything. Bloat takes over all that unused brain matter. If you replace body parts more than five times you have to buy another brain unless you pirate a corporate brain. Microsoft owns your soul and that may change at any time at their option.
Like AOL, I seem to have a conflict of my own. I love freedom, don't want people watching me etc, but as my freedoms diminish, so does my retirement account grow. I think I'd rather die free than rich.
Why do we have to assume that the model for development will either be all open or all proprietary. If there are people making a software product similar to yours and giving it away for free, then your company is screwed. You will need to come up with something new that is valuable to people. If you can't then why should people give you money at all? Where does the money go when you buy proprietary software anyway? It damn sure doesn't go to the programmers.. they get a salary, but they have to sign an ip agreement and a non-compete, so they can't do anything on their own. Software companies do the same thing that any company does.. returns profit to the shareholders. Saying that paying for software protects the developers is like saying the RIAA protects artists. These companies exist to take advantage of their talent. Developement in an open source world will still have a proprietary component, because there's always some sort of hole that needs to be filled by someone who will only do it for money. People will go from paying because they dont' know any better to paying because the product is really worth it.
It seems as though this situation could work itself out. Developers dont' get paid anymore because people don't buy software. Software starts to break. Companies scream help. Enter developers.
I'm not sure who you're trying to convince of your view on open source software. If it's software companies then you probably shouldn't bother because their whole existence revolves around the proprietary nature of their products. If it's hardware vendors then it surely depends on the hardware. Companies such as HP, IBM, and Sun Microsystems are all selling servers with Linux for good reason. They can offer their customers a good OS with no licensing fees. The hardware companies know that their individual OS's are not always going to be able to compete with the constantly evolving open source OS's. They have to spend a lot of money to maintain a proprietary OS, a fraction of which they'll need to get open software running on their systems. For businesses the choice is clear... a great product at reduced cost. Intel and AMD seem to have no problems releasing the information they need to get open OS's working. The reason that open source is sustainable is that the business's that need to change software for their purposes can pay developers to do it, but if the results are beneficial to society they are added to the software pool.
Most slashdotters seem to oppose the patriot act, and if you already oppose it, by all means stop reading this post.
If you feel that the patriot act is a step in the right direction you should consider the specific powers that the law grants to law enforcement. Imagine that you are of chinese descent. Now, imagine that the new terrorist scene is in china and involves some sort of democratic movement or another. The US is on the lookout for chinese terrorists because they recently bombed a couple buildings in Utah. You have been e-mailing your cousin in shanghai just to keep up on things, but you use encryption to do it because you're concerned with your privacy. The government knows you e-mail someone in china because they are unrestricted in monitoring your e-mail. They aren't sure if you're a terrorist, so they go ahead and tap your phone lines and your internet connection(which they've already been monitoring). While they're at it they screen your whole family(BTW you work at your dad's chinese restaurant). The find out your aunt is illegal(mental note, deport).. they also make sure the IRS audits your dad's restaurant, just in case you are laundering money for terrorists. No evidence of terrorism, but they're missing some receipts, so it costs your dad a couple grand in fines. They haven't found anything on you yet, except that you downloaded a bunch of movies and stripped them of encryption.. violation of federal law here, but they aren't going to prosecute yet because it's too small time for them to worry about. So far you don't even know you're being investigated. Just when they're about to give up your little brother downloads the terrorist cookbook. Just what they wanted.. bang, they search your house(no warrant needed). They don't find any bombs, but they do find a lot of stuff they say could be used for making bombs. They also find a ton of pirated software and an eighth of pot that isn't even yours(girlfriend). They don't think they can nail you on the pot because it's unrelated to terrorism(until the next freedom patch), but they are holding you without bail and not allowing you a phone call. You're so scared you tell them who's pot it is(she's searched and arrested because they have probable cause now). They hold you for several days during which time your family is told nothing but 'don't attempt to flee'. Eventually you are let loose because they don't have anything on you, but now everyone at your school thinks you're a criminal and they won't let you in the computer lab anymore.
That's just a small annoyance compared to what could really happen... and just because it hasn't happened to us yet, don't think it won't. Wouldn't you feel more comfortable if it couldn't happen?
I'm sure glad not everyone has to sign up for these databases, because I need to recieve my e-mail notifications for special offers. For instance, without me even having to ask, sun microsystems sends me a useful newsletter, just because I downloaded the JDK. Now if I want to start some sort of enterprise network it will be that much easier. It also eases my depression a little when I pretend that all my spam is mail from friends and family. Look at all that mail. Someone really loves me.
Slashdot Mirror
Am I the only one that watches porn with my wife?
4. If Microsoft has money left over, go to step 1.
Yuck.. goto. Need to make it a while (microsoft.hasmoney()) {
(1) a high degree of design coordination.
It is terrible that IBM stole this from SCO. That kind of coordination is extremely valuable and IBM should definately have to pay licensing fees for it.
The reason this article was so intriguing to me is that it reaches to the core of the human condition. That is: When a person has wealth beyond their wildest imagining shoved in their face, nine times out of ten they will sell their mother to a whorehouse for it. People who understand the social trends that are occuring with regard to intellectual property mostly view MS as evil. While it's true that MS is just another corporation who's aim is to make money, their agenda flies in the face of the way many feel the world should be. A world of computers controlled by the MS monopoly will never be free. The interns who go to work for MS understand this, but they don't care because they need to make money and they want a new car. At the end of the day they are able to justify any actions of their corporate parent as being beyond their control, but the fact is that they contribute. How can we say that the work we do doesn't reflect our values? Everything we do reflects our values. I hear the hard luck stories about how any job is a good one in this economy, but they are ridiculous. There are choices out there that may not make you rich, but might be the right thing to do. I know what it's like to be poor, and government cheese gets old, but if that's the only choice you have: be poor or do the wrong thing, the choice should be clear. I know I need to provide for my daughter, and right now I'm working two jobs to do it, but at least she'll know that her dad took care of old people and DD people, and didn't contribute to a world where she can't say what she wants to say and do what she wants with her things in her own home.
>It is unfortunate that teachers will bear this loss when they are already >struggling to keep pace with inflation.
Look on the bright side. This might solve the 'teachers all retiring at once' problem we've been hearing about all these years. Similar investments could solve the nursing shortage too.
"I personally think that anyone who subscribes to this kind of slippery slope logic should get a punch in the mouth."
Normally the slashdot croud is more up on the technical aspects of the issue, but in this case I have to disagree. What we want is a jab/cross/hook/overhand right/double leg to side control/knee in the belly ground n pound/straight armbar with at least three popping noises. You can find the white paper on Sherdog.com. I'm surprised more people haven't read this.
I never learn anything from these articles. I run Linux, and I know what it's capable of... I know it will be even better when it hits the mainstream(desktopwise) and I can't wait. So I read these articles for yet another hint that what I'm waiting for is coming to pass.
That programmers need and deserve groupies as much as anyone else. They would revolutionize the industry.
At least the so called theft of the artists music contributes to a change in the model by which they are systematically raped by the recording industry. If the record companies can no longer control distribution of music the artists will have options by which they might get paid. If you really gave a damn about fairness you would steal the songs and send the artist a check.
You are completely right. If musicians don't want to sign over their copyrights they can always go to organizations other than record companies to get their works distributed. It's not as if the RIAA controls the entire distribution chain from start to finish.... oh wait, strike that. They do. Artists have one choice if they want their works heard by anything other than a local audience, and that is why they sign up. As far as 'technological resources', what are you talking about? If you're talking about the CD's themselves then it makes no sense whatsoever since they press the damn things as cheap as they can. If you're talking about actual production of the music, the costs are covered by the artists themselves. The record companies get the songs played on the radio, that's all, and for that they take the vast majority of the money made in music sales. Most musicians don't make any money off the sale of their music. When it comes to the recording industry, America is not a free society.
It's normally impossible to hack a Gibson, but with me we could do it in five minutes.
You clearly are not familiar with the laws of your own country. The intellectual property that you speak of... the stuff that's not 'ours'.. it doesn't belong to the artists who created it. Recording is done as a work for hire for one of the few huge corporations that control the flow of music from the artists to the listeners. Those impartial laws you speak of, they weren't concieved by some grassroots movement. No one marched for this shit. The laws were the results of lobying by the RIAA. The politicians we elected to protect our rights sold us out for Sony and Time Warner. Very little, if any of the money made by the average artist comes from royalties. If piracy were to become the accepted standard by which the public obtained their music, artists on average would actually make more money. Why? Because the primary source of their income(concerts/public appearances) would be increased by their increased exposure. Forget about the benefit to the public of not having the recording industry decide for us what is good. Copyright laws serve more to protect the corporate stranglehold than anything else. You seem to be a fan of capitalism, but we've failed to realize one of capitalisms most important goals: promote competition. Don't kid yourself, the RIAA and the MPAA are monopolies. When was the last time you saw a movie in the theater that wasn't produced by a member of the MPAA? When is the last time you heard a song on the radio that wasn't being marketed by a major record label? I say pirate until we have the option of buying from the people who actually made the music.
Don't forget about getting the national guard to search everyone.
to settle a long standing argument. When we are sure an asteroid is going to hit us we will attempt to stop it using only means that are not the result of weapons developement. That way we'll know for sure if all the hippies were right about war not doing anyone any good.
By the Mitnick precedent this guys gonna be in jail for over 400 years. Probably over a hundred of it in solitary. I was happy about one thing.. the writer of the article didn't include a grossly exagerated damage figure. On a serious note though, what was he going to do with all those numbers anyway? It's easy to get the numbers, but how easy is it to come up with all those fake mailboxes.
is that there won't be any more confusion about computer viruses.. they'll be just like any other viri.
I've still haven't forgiven myself for not patenting desktop themes and links. I'm definately not missing the boat on this one. I've already patented cell replication.
I visited that site just long enough to sign a petition to repeal the DMCA(which I reccomend that everyone does).
we can't get petitions like this for issues I'm more educated about(i.e. DMCA). I like the idea of point and click democracy.
Blue screens of death are truly blue screens of DEATH. If you forget one thing, you forget everything. Bloat takes over all that unused brain matter.
If you replace body parts more than five times you have to buy another brain unless you pirate a corporate brain. Microsoft owns your soul and that may change at any time at their option.
Like AOL, I seem to have a conflict of my own. I love freedom, don't want people watching me etc, but as my freedoms diminish, so does my retirement account grow. I think I'd rather die free than rich.
Why do we have to assume that the model for development will either be all open or all proprietary. If there are people making a software product similar to yours and giving it away for free, then your company is screwed. You will need to come up with something new that is valuable to people. If you can't then why should people give you money at all? Where does the money go when you buy proprietary software anyway? It damn sure doesn't go to the programmers.. they get a salary, but they have to sign an ip agreement and a non-compete, so they can't do anything on their own. Software companies do the same thing that any company does.. returns profit to the shareholders. Saying that paying for software protects the developers is like saying the RIAA protects artists. These companies exist to take advantage of their talent. Developement in an open source world will still have a proprietary component, because there's always some sort of hole that needs to be filled by someone who will only do it for money. People will go from paying because they dont' know any better to paying because the product is really worth it.
It seems as though this situation could work itself out. Developers dont' get paid anymore because people don't buy software. Software starts to break. Companies scream help. Enter developers.
I'm not sure who you're trying to convince of your view on open source software. If it's software companies then you probably shouldn't bother because their whole existence revolves around the proprietary nature of their products. If it's hardware vendors then it surely depends on the hardware. Companies such as HP, IBM, and Sun Microsystems are all selling servers with Linux for good reason. They can offer their customers a good OS with no licensing fees. The hardware companies know that their individual OS's are not always going to be able to compete with the constantly evolving open source OS's. They have to spend a lot of money to maintain a proprietary OS, a fraction of which they'll need to get open software running on their systems. For businesses the choice is clear... a great product at reduced cost. Intel and AMD seem to have no problems releasing the information they need to get open OS's working. The reason that open source is sustainable is that the business's that need to change software for their purposes can pay developers to do it, but if the results are beneficial to society they are added to the software pool.
Most slashdotters seem to oppose the patriot act, and if you already oppose it, by all means stop reading this post.
If you feel that the patriot act is a step in the right direction you should consider the specific powers that the law grants to law enforcement. Imagine that you are of chinese descent. Now, imagine that the new terrorist scene is in china and involves some sort of democratic movement or another. The US is on the lookout for chinese terrorists because they recently bombed a couple buildings in Utah. You have been e-mailing your cousin in shanghai just to keep up on things, but you use encryption to do it because you're concerned with your privacy. The government knows you e-mail someone in china because they are unrestricted in monitoring your e-mail. They aren't sure if you're a terrorist, so they go ahead and tap your phone lines and your internet connection(which they've already been monitoring). While they're at it they screen your whole family(BTW you work at your dad's chinese restaurant). The find out your aunt is illegal(mental note, deport).. they also make sure the IRS audits your dad's restaurant, just in case you are laundering money for terrorists. No evidence of terrorism, but they're missing some receipts, so it costs your dad a couple grand in fines. They haven't found anything on you yet, except that you downloaded a bunch of movies and stripped them of encryption.. violation of federal law here, but they aren't going to prosecute yet because it's too small time for them to worry about. So far you don't even know you're being investigated. Just when they're about to give up your little brother downloads the terrorist cookbook. Just what they wanted.. bang, they search your house(no warrant needed). They don't find any bombs, but they do find a lot of stuff they say could be used for making bombs. They also find a ton of pirated software and an eighth of pot that isn't even yours(girlfriend). They don't think they can nail you on the pot because it's unrelated to terrorism(until the next freedom patch), but they are holding you without bail and not allowing you a phone call. You're so scared you tell them who's pot it is(she's searched and arrested because they have probable cause now). They hold you for several days during which time your family is told nothing but 'don't attempt to flee'. Eventually you are let loose because they don't have anything on you, but now everyone at your school thinks you're a criminal and they won't let you in the computer lab anymore.
That's just a small annoyance compared to what could really happen... and just because it hasn't happened to us yet, don't think it won't. Wouldn't you feel more comfortable if it couldn't happen?
I'm sure glad not everyone has to sign up for these databases, because I need to recieve my e-mail notifications for special offers. For instance, without me even having to ask, sun microsystems sends me a useful newsletter, just because I downloaded the JDK. Now if I want to start some sort of enterprise network it will be that much easier. It also eases my depression a little when I pretend that all my spam is mail from friends and family. Look at all that mail. Someone really loves me.