Home electronics is one of those areas where OSS should be really well suited. No end user sees the software itself, so you don't really need to attach a brand name. It also allows companies to work on the software(without footing the bill for all the costs), but still be reasonably sure other companies can't screw them over. Linux developers may actually be able to program their VCR's.
I haven't had the opportunity to run BSD yet, and I'm very happy with Linux, so I'm unlikely to go through the trouble to switch, but I am curious as to why a lot of people seem to think it's better? What in particular is better about it? Security is supposed to be better, but I hardly think about that with my desktop system. Slightly off topic, but I haven't heard of any governments thinking about switching to BSD(start throwing up the links now).
If I ran any large organization that purchased Microsoft products I would send out a press release stating I was considering Linux even if I wasn't. Maybe they can get some discounts.
I'm wondering who's responsible for suing for GPL infringements... the copyright holders are numerous and it's doubtful they'd all have enough money to fight that kind of legal battle with any kind of big software company. It seems so odd to imagine the EFF suing for a copyright infringement. FSF maybe?
I do feel that I have relevant things to say, and maybe Ritchie does too... but he certainly didn't say it in this interview. No one posted an interview with me on slashdot, so the comparison is hardly legit. Is it reasonable to think that just because someone has accomplished a great deal we should listen to him when he isn't saying anything of import whatsoever? Cnet is running an article called Linus says hello..
War isn't just the result of the American people eating everything spewed from the propaganda machine... there is actually some reasoning behind the idea of war with Iraq. No one wants to send our kids over to die for no reason, but the fact of the matter is that Sadaam is a tyrant. Even if he currently has no weapons of mass destruction(which he probably does from all accounts) at the very least Iraq is nothing but a terrorist training ground waiting to happen. If Iraq's invasion of Kewait and the taking of hostages wasn't enough evidence of their motivations I don't know what is. They represent a threat to anyone within their sphere of influence. It should be obvious to most that the losses we will take in a war with Iraq are fewer than even a modest terrorist attack that could be staged from there. So this is our choice: we either allow him to continue building his arsenal until he has reached the point where he can do more serious damage(i.e. he developes a suitcase nuke), or we take him out now and free his oppressed people while we're at it. If other countries are not willing to help, that's not surprising... America has been saving your cowardly asses since WWI.
Ok, the guy is venerated by many and was behind Unix, the C language etc, but does he really have anything relevant to say about what is going on in the world today. Of course we will never know if the interviewers only ask a few questions and settle for short, vague answers. His comments left me with no new understanding of anything... from the interview it seems as though he hasn't really been doing anything at all. He said just enough to leave a bad taste in my mouth. In particular I disagree with his view of free software. Of course they had to reinvent the wheel on a lot of things to get Linux/freeBSD or any free software going. All the stuff that wasn't free was copyrighted. We are getting to the point now that there is a free foundation for sofware upon which developers can build more innovative things(not that there was a complete lack of innovation to begin with). In any event, Linux couldn't be en-vogue forever, but that doesn't mean it's not good. People shouldn't bash a good thing just because they're tired of hearing about it.
Before we start shouting about how kids should go to college, or how Redhat is indoctrinating their pliable minds, let's try to view the situation as it is. The kids are going to learn some things about network administration.. granted not as much as they would in the real world, but certainly more than I know. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong, but someone who's learned redhat admin should be able to use any linux system(such that you can learn from a class). It looks as though they will get some linux exposure. I agree with those who say that the promise of a certain salary should be thrown out the window. Kids should take the class to learn linux/networks, not to replace college, but there certainly are good things about this. When I was in school I had two options for computer classes. I could take business classes for the PC(Windows), or for the Mac. I chose the PC because I could fiddle with them more... but they wouldn't let me fiddle. They kicked me out several times for writing QBasic programs instead of doing my MS Works homework(even though I did enough to come out with an A). I started programming in C and got kicked out because they got a virus and I was the only one who knew how to write one. The only virus I ever wrote was really lame(it just copied to command.com and sent random junk to random ports) and I certainly never ran it on a school computer. We had a Novell network that they wouldn't let me mess with. I had to write a login patch to get the labtech password. I couldn't even use the library computer.. I had to bring a boot disk to get past their lame menu program so I could write my pathetic programs. All this trouble just because I wanted to make circles move around. If I had the oportunity to learn I might have been able to actually do something useful. The point I'm trying to make is that at least this will allow the kids to fiddle with something they normally wouldn't fiddle with.
I've had a completely different experience with the IT department where I used to work. We had an open forum where we could suggest improvements in the software and report any bugs and they were fixed reasonably quickly. The software did most of the work for you. All of this made it really easy to sell pears to rich people.
The reason that students are able to pirate videos and music without guilt is that they have transcended the idea that legality and morality are equivalent. Most moral people believe that it is right to pay into the systems from which they partake, but they also believe they're payment should be reasonable. If Hollywood shells out millions of dollars, but profits grossly in the box office, those of us who go to movies in the theatre should have no moral obligation to pay for the movie again when it comes out in DVD format, especially if we're paying for the media ourselves. Morality is very subjective, but I feel that most people would agree this is fair. The MPAA doesn't die from piracy, they are simply less able to grope for more money.
We shouldn't let the issue of morality cloud our vision on the issue of copyright protection, however. The most important issue isn't whether or not piracy is costing record and motion picture companies money. The important issue is the far over reaching effects that technological copyright protection can have. Even if laws may be broken, that is not enough to justify censorship or infringement on our right to privacy in our own digital homes. It is quite impossible for a copyright violation to cause loss of life, except by some convoluted set of circumstances, and the laws made to protect copyright should be just as trivial.
There are those of us who believe that copyright laws shouldn't exist at all, but if they must exist, the limits we place should not be on the consumers of information, but those who sell it. The holders should have only a tenuous grasp on the right to reproduce that can be revoked if they abuse their privilage. That kind of justice will only ever become reality if we the people stop allowing our votes to be purchased.
The only reason a state law would be taken to the federal supreme court would be to argue it's constitutionality. Each state has it's own supreme court to decide matters of state law... so if the states agree that they will pass a law, only the states that actually pass them will have that law enforceable in their state. Of course federal law is another matter.
I feel an odd kinship with those accross the sea who are fighting off the same bullshit that we are.. and sadly losing to apathy.
The real crime here is that the script kiddies aren't password protecting their Sub Seven. The whole victim sharing thing is just repulsive. It's like sharing needles. Trojans are better used to harass people that picked on you in highschool... not that I'd ever use one.
Ok, so the whole product idea makes a little sense, but the writer was completely wrong when he used the windows example. At this point Windows isn't accepted because of the whole product model anymore, but rather because people don't know they have a choice. In terms of cost effectiveness for the price of Windows XP with Office I could buy another computer. Windows isn't beating anyone, they're dupping everyone.
As someone pointed out, the real problem is the copyright issue. Most works are copyrighted and copyrights last for way too long. The consitution states that copyright should be limited, but when it's lifetime plus 90 years, it may as well be unlimited since we'll all be dead before they expire. There needs to be a grassroots movement to inspire a repeal of some seriously damaging legislation. I feel confident that most slashdot readers agree about what needs to be done, but we seem too apathetic to actually do something about it. Sometimes I wish someone would post a link that says 'click here to vote for freedom'. If only it were that easy.
I think an interesting project would be public domain textbooks. Textbooks are grossly overpriced and contain information that is largely available for free. If a community of developers can create an OS like linux then the educational community should be able to come up with open textbooks.
Did anyone from/. actually get the game running under Linux? I know that the binaries are free as in monetarily, but is it actually freeware? Do we have the source? Can we create other first person games with it.. like ones with butterflies and fairies where the object of the game is to collect as many mushrooms as you can?
I myself am very much a product of violent television/movies/video games, and real life will always be another matter. I've had four vale tudo fights and each time I stepped into the ring/cage I still had the same adrenalin dump etc. In my opinion the only way to numb yourself to violence is to consistently commit violent acts. Of course sport violence is in another realm than actual murderous rampage.. you hug afterward for instance.. instead of say.. cutting off an ear.
No doubt it can be more difficult to run open source solutions sometimes, but SA is planning on some extensive training and developement $$. They know what's up, and they know that in the long run it will be cheaper for them this way. The longer they use open source the more their people will develop the required expertise. I think in the article they specifically mentioned using windows for their gas chromograph spectrometer;).
My statement wasn't about Microsoft's policy regarding giving software to schools, but rather this particular gift was given directly after SA's announcement that it was going open source. It was an indication that Microsoft felt that they had to do something to alter the SA governments decision. That in itself isn't very insightful, but it's true no less.
Now I know why I haven't read rfc 1035. I do thank you because it's been a while since I've seen an ASCII diagram. This easily takes the place of my compiler design book for most boring information ever sifted through.
If they can make 'master files' a cube, then everything should be a cube.. I don't see why user program has to be a square.
The reason why the recording industry is on such shaky ground is that they really have no reason to exist. They don't produce the music, they don't even pay for the CD's themselves. The artist does this and only gets a three percent cut of the profit. The job of the recording industry is to find/exploit the talent and to shove the product down the consumers throat through promotional gimickry. Their secondary job is to eat up all the profit and lobby for laws to protect their reign since in a free market they can't exist for long. In the digital age even the record companies image of usefullness has disappeared since we don't see their name on the product anymore.. we just downloaded it on gnutella. People wonder why we want to give a record company $14, the record store $5, and the artist $.60. I say, if you want to be moral, pirate the CD and send the artist $2.. that's more than they'll get from the record company.
As far as thwarting spoofing there are options. How hard would it be to get a list of MD5's of good files going on a web site? We still have free speach don't we? Also, the spoofers will be using the same hosts to do the spoofing...just finding the bad files and posting where they came from would help.
I'm sure I'm probably much closer to an end user than JWZ is.. I've never written anything useful.. I used Windows/DOS for years.. I don't even understand the layering that goes on with the XWindow system. I know I'm running KDE, but I couldn't tell you what 'window manager' I'm using, or what that means. I can tell you that I like Mplayer much better than Windows Media Player. I installed it from RPM, because that seems to be easier, even though sometimes I don't have the necessary libraries for them, but in the case of MPlayer it just worked. It plays all my movies in whatever format.. including Divx(which I had to install separately on Windows) and Real(which I wouldn't install on Windows because it put too much crap on my computer). I had two movies that wouldn't work on windows(one just didn't work and the other didn't have sound), but worked fine with MPlayer. I'm not a technical wizard, but I found the UI very easy to use. Overall, since I've switched to Linux I haven't had many useability problems. It was just as easy to install, a lot of the software I use was already pre-installed. Now the only challenge for me is getting games to work... even thinking about setting up Quake gives me a headache. My NVidia driver is installed as far as I can tell since now it says "NVidia" with the logo when I start up, but for some reason Tux Racer says that I don't have 3d support or it's not configured. It works anyway, don't ask me why. I have no idea, even after reading exhaustively through the nvidia troubleshooting guide, why it says this. I don't know what needs to be done to 'configure' 3d support. So in short I think that's where we have some useability problems. In windows you put the driver CD in and the autorun.inf starts working...before you know it you have a driver. The games just run. I've installed my driver and still it doesn't work. But, as they say.. Linux isn't a desktop system..yet.
As far as sifting through GPL'd code goes, I'm sure they do it on a regular basis, and if they found anything they would sue regardless of whether or not they had released the code. I'd like to get a look at the Microsoft code myself at least for one reason. I wonder if there's any real innovation in there.
I am very pleased at the news that open source software will be used in SA, but it's certainly not amazing. What's incredible is that more governments haven't switched to open source. There is excellent software out there being given away for free, but people are still using inferior software and paying money for it. It only stands to reason that eventually all smart governments will adopt the 'don't pay for what we could get for free' policy. The Microsoft reaction seemed entirely panic-driven(giving software to schools), and their argument is weak. They are right about one thing though, open source software in itself(i.e. just the software) isn't a sustainable business model. Of course that's completely irrelevant. What's relevant is that the software continues to advance in leaps and bounds, is free and is showing no signs of stopping. Let the open source companies worry about business models, I'm only concerned with my free software that I'm free to change however I like.
The question is: why does coming up with an idea give someone the right to limit everyone else's use of it? If I were to find a novel approach to getting around the new viaduct construction in my area and someone followed me I wouldn't have the right to sue them for stealing my idea. Copyright laws are ridiculous inventions of corporations to protect their money machines. The ideas themselves aren't even original. Mickey mouse? He's a mouse, an idea that has existed for quite some time. Since Walt Disney(who is currently dead and could care less) came up with this brilliant plan of calling him Mickey we aren't allowed to name any other mouses Mickey unless we want to get sued. Why should I have my creativity limited by having to check and see if someone else has already come up with my idea? In short, the problem is not with the supreme court justices. They are merely referencing the consitution, which places no limits on this sort of stupidity. The fault lies in the brainwashed minds of the apathetic masses who have been convinced that some company has the right to tell them what they can put on their web page because they bought the right from some long dead artist.
Slashdot Mirror
Home electronics is one of those areas where OSS should be really well suited. No end user sees the software itself, so you don't really need to attach a brand name. It also allows companies to work on the software(without footing the bill for all the costs), but still be reasonably sure other companies can't screw them over. Linux developers may actually be able to program their VCR's.
I haven't had the opportunity to run BSD yet, and I'm very happy with Linux, so I'm unlikely to go through the trouble to switch, but I am curious as to why a lot of people seem to think it's better? What in particular is better about it? Security is supposed to be better, but I hardly think about that with my desktop system. Slightly off topic, but I haven't heard of any governments thinking about switching to BSD(start throwing up the links now).
If I ran any large organization that purchased Microsoft products I would send out a press release stating I was considering Linux even if I wasn't. Maybe they can get some discounts.
I'm all out of mod points you see, but I'm laughing out loud.
I'm wondering who's responsible for suing for GPL infringements... the copyright holders are numerous and it's doubtful they'd all have enough money to fight that kind of legal battle with any kind of big software company. It seems so odd to imagine the EFF suing for a copyright infringement. FSF maybe?
I do feel that I have relevant things to say, and maybe Ritchie does too... but he certainly didn't say it in this interview. No one posted an interview with me on slashdot, so the comparison is hardly legit. Is it reasonable to think that just because someone has accomplished a great deal we should listen to him when he isn't saying anything of import whatsoever? Cnet is running an article called Linus says hello..
War isn't just the result of the American people eating everything spewed from the propaganda machine... there is actually some reasoning behind the idea of war with Iraq. No one wants to send our kids over to die for no reason, but the fact of the matter is that Sadaam is a tyrant. Even if he currently has no weapons of mass destruction(which he probably does from all accounts) at the very least Iraq is nothing but a terrorist training ground waiting to happen. If Iraq's invasion of Kewait and the taking of hostages wasn't enough evidence of their motivations I don't know what is. They represent a threat to anyone within their sphere of influence. It should be obvious to most that the losses we will take in a war with Iraq are fewer than even a modest terrorist attack that could be staged from there. So this is our choice: we either allow him to continue building his arsenal until he has reached the point where he can do more serious damage(i.e. he developes a suitcase nuke), or we take him out now and free his oppressed people while we're at it. If other countries are not willing to help, that's not surprising... America has been saving your cowardly asses since WWI.
Ok, the guy is venerated by many and was behind Unix, the C language etc, but does he really have anything relevant to say about what is going on in the world today. Of course we will never know if the interviewers only ask a few questions and settle for short, vague answers. His comments left me with no new understanding of anything... from the interview it seems as though he hasn't really been doing anything at all. He said just enough to leave a bad taste in my mouth. In particular I disagree with his view of free software. Of course they had to reinvent the wheel on a lot of things to get Linux/freeBSD or any free software going. All the stuff that wasn't free was copyrighted. We are getting to the point now that there is a free foundation for sofware upon which developers can build more innovative things(not that there was a complete lack of innovation to begin with). In any event, Linux couldn't be en-vogue forever, but that doesn't mean it's not good. People shouldn't bash a good thing just because they're tired of hearing about it.
Before we start shouting about how kids should go to college, or how Redhat is indoctrinating their pliable minds, let's try to view the situation as it is. The kids are going to learn some things about network administration.. granted not as much as they would in the real world, but certainly more than I know. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong, but someone who's learned redhat admin should be able to use any linux system(such that you can learn from a class). It looks as though they will get some linux exposure. I agree with those who say that the promise of a certain salary should be thrown out the window. Kids should take the class to learn linux/networks, not to replace college, but there certainly are good things about this. When I was in school I had two options for computer classes. I could take business classes for the PC(Windows), or for the Mac. I chose the PC because I could fiddle with them more... but they wouldn't let me fiddle. They kicked me out several times for writing QBasic programs instead of doing my MS Works homework(even though I did enough to come out with an A). I started programming in C and got kicked out because they got a virus and I was the only one who knew how to write one. The only virus I ever wrote was really lame(it just copied to command.com and sent random junk to random ports) and I certainly never ran it on a school computer. We had a Novell network that they wouldn't let me mess with. I had to write a login patch to get the labtech password. I couldn't even use the library computer.. I had to bring a boot disk to get past their lame menu program so I could write my pathetic programs. All this trouble just because I wanted to make circles move around. If I had the oportunity to learn I might have been able to actually do something useful. The point I'm trying to make is that at least this will allow the kids to fiddle with something they normally wouldn't fiddle with.
I've had a completely different experience with the IT department where I used to work. We had an open forum where we could suggest improvements in the software and report any bugs and they were fixed reasonably quickly. The software did most of the work for you. All of this made it really easy to sell pears to rich people.
The reason that students are able to pirate videos and music without guilt is that they have transcended the idea that legality and morality are equivalent. Most moral people believe that it is right to pay into the systems from which they partake, but they also believe they're payment should be reasonable. If Hollywood shells out millions of dollars, but profits grossly in the box office, those of us who go to movies in the theatre should have no moral obligation to pay for the movie again when it comes out in DVD format, especially if we're paying for the media ourselves. Morality is very subjective, but I feel that most people would agree this is fair. The MPAA doesn't die from piracy, they are simply less able to grope for more money.
We shouldn't let the issue of morality cloud our vision on the issue of copyright protection, however. The most important issue isn't whether or not piracy is costing record and motion picture companies money. The important issue is the far over reaching effects that technological copyright protection can have. Even if laws may be broken, that is not enough to justify censorship or infringement on our right to privacy in our own digital homes. It is quite impossible for a copyright violation to cause loss of life, except by some convoluted set of circumstances, and the laws made to protect copyright should be just as trivial.
There are those of us who believe that copyright laws shouldn't exist at all, but if they must exist, the limits we place should not be on the consumers of information, but those who sell it. The holders should have only a tenuous grasp on the right to reproduce that can be revoked if they abuse their privilage. That kind of justice will only ever become reality if we the people stop allowing our votes to be purchased.
The only reason a state law would be taken to the federal supreme court would be to argue it's constitutionality. Each state has it's own supreme court to decide matters of state law... so if the states agree that they will pass a law, only the states that actually pass them will have that law enforceable in their state. Of course federal law is another matter.
I feel an odd kinship with those accross the sea who are fighting off the same bullshit that we are.. and sadly losing to apathy.
The real crime here is that the script kiddies aren't password protecting their Sub Seven. The whole victim sharing thing is just repulsive. It's like sharing needles. Trojans are better used to harass people that picked on you in highschool... not that I'd ever use one.
Ok, so the whole product idea makes a little sense, but the writer was completely wrong when he used the windows example. At this point Windows isn't accepted because of the whole product model anymore, but rather because people don't know they have a choice. In terms of cost effectiveness for the price of Windows XP with Office I could buy another computer. Windows isn't beating anyone, they're dupping everyone.
As someone pointed out, the real problem is the copyright issue. Most works are copyrighted and copyrights last for way too long. The consitution states that copyright should be limited, but when it's lifetime plus 90 years, it may as well be unlimited since we'll all be dead before they expire. There needs to be a grassroots movement to inspire a repeal of some seriously damaging legislation. I feel confident that most slashdot readers agree about what needs to be done, but we seem too apathetic to actually do something about it. Sometimes I wish someone would post a link that says 'click here to vote for freedom'. If only it were that easy.
I think an interesting project would be public domain textbooks. Textbooks are grossly overpriced and contain information that is largely available for free. If a community of developers can create an OS like linux then the educational community should be able to come up with open textbooks.
How about slashdot insurance?
Did anyone from /. actually get the game running under Linux? I know that the binaries are free as in monetarily, but is it actually freeware? Do we have the source? Can we create other first person games with it.. like ones with butterflies and fairies where the object of the game is to collect as many mushrooms as you can?
If by no one you mean about 11,000 in the US by gun violence alone. Sadly, most of them are not lawyers.
I myself am very much a product of violent television/movies/video games, and real life will always be another matter. I've had four vale tudo fights and each time I stepped into the ring/cage I still had the same adrenalin dump etc. In my opinion the only way to numb yourself to violence is to consistently commit violent acts. Of course sport violence is in another realm than actual murderous rampage.. you hug afterward for instance.. instead of say.. cutting off an ear.
No doubt it can be more difficult to run open source solutions sometimes, but SA is planning on some extensive training and developement $$. They know what's up, and they know that in the long run it will be cheaper for them this way. The longer they use open source the more their people will develop the required expertise. I think in the article they specifically mentioned using windows for their gas chromograph spectrometer ;).
My statement wasn't about Microsoft's policy regarding giving software to schools, but rather this particular gift was given directly after SA's announcement that it was going open source. It was an indication that Microsoft felt that they had to do something to alter the SA governments decision. That in itself isn't very insightful, but it's true no less.
Now I know why I haven't read rfc 1035. I do thank you because it's been a while since I've seen an ASCII diagram. This easily takes the place of my compiler design book for most boring information ever sifted through.
If they can make 'master files' a cube, then everything should be a cube.. I don't see why user program has to be a square.
The reason why the recording industry is on such shaky ground is that they really have no reason to exist. They don't produce the music, they don't even pay for the CD's themselves. The artist does this and only gets a three percent cut of the profit. The job of the recording industry is to find/exploit the talent and to shove the product down the consumers throat through promotional gimickry. Their secondary job is to eat up all the profit and lobby for laws to protect their reign since in a free market they can't exist for long. In the digital age even the record companies image of usefullness has disappeared since we don't see their name on the product anymore.. we just downloaded it on gnutella. People wonder why we want to give a record company $14, the record store $5, and the artist $.60. I say, if you want to be moral, pirate the CD and send the artist $2.. that's more than they'll get from the record company. As far as thwarting spoofing there are options. How hard would it be to get a list of MD5's of good files going on a web site? We still have free speach don't we? Also, the spoofers will be using the same hosts to do the spoofing...just finding the bad files and posting where they came from would help.
I'm sure I'm probably much closer to an end user than JWZ is.. I've never written anything useful.. I used Windows/DOS for years.. I don't even understand the layering that goes on with the XWindow system. I know I'm running KDE, but I couldn't tell you what 'window manager' I'm using, or what that means. I can tell you that I like Mplayer much better than Windows Media Player. I installed it from RPM, because that seems to be easier, even though sometimes I don't have the necessary libraries for them, but in the case of MPlayer it just worked. It plays all my movies in whatever format.. including Divx(which I had to install separately on Windows) and Real(which I wouldn't install on Windows because it put too much crap on my computer). I had two movies that wouldn't work on windows(one just didn't work and the other didn't have sound), but worked fine with MPlayer. I'm not a technical wizard, but I found the UI very easy to use. Overall, since I've switched to Linux I haven't had many useability problems. It was just as easy to install, a lot of the software I use was already pre-installed. Now the only challenge for me is getting games to work... even thinking about setting up Quake gives me a headache. My NVidia driver is installed as far as I can tell since now it says "NVidia" with the logo when I start up, but for some reason Tux Racer says that I don't have 3d support or it's not configured. It works anyway, don't ask me why. I have no idea, even after reading exhaustively through the nvidia troubleshooting guide, why it says this. I don't know what needs to be done to 'configure' 3d support. So in short I think that's where we have some useability problems. In windows you put the driver CD in and the autorun.inf starts working...before you know it you have a driver. The games just run. I've installed my driver and still it doesn't work. But, as they say.. Linux isn't a desktop system..yet.
As far as sifting through GPL'd code goes, I'm sure they do it on a regular basis, and if they found anything they would sue regardless of whether or not they had released the code. I'd like to get a look at the Microsoft code myself at least for one reason. I wonder if there's any real innovation in there.
I am very pleased at the news that open source software will be used in SA, but it's certainly not amazing. What's incredible is that more governments haven't switched to open source. There is excellent software out there being given away for free, but people are still using inferior software and paying money for it. It only stands to reason that eventually all smart governments will adopt the 'don't pay for what we could get for free' policy. The Microsoft reaction seemed entirely panic-driven(giving software to schools), and their argument is weak. They are right about one thing though, open source software in itself(i.e. just the software) isn't a sustainable business model. Of course that's completely irrelevant. What's relevant is that the software continues to advance in leaps and bounds, is free and is showing no signs of stopping. Let the open source companies worry about business models, I'm only concerned with my free software that I'm free to change however I like.
The question is: why does coming up with an idea give someone the right to limit everyone else's use of it? If I were to find a novel approach to getting around the new viaduct construction in my area and someone followed me I wouldn't have the right to sue them for stealing my idea. Copyright laws are ridiculous inventions of corporations to protect their money machines. The ideas themselves aren't even original. Mickey mouse? He's a mouse, an idea that has existed for quite some time. Since Walt Disney(who is currently dead and could care less) came up with this brilliant plan of calling him Mickey we aren't allowed to name any other mouses Mickey unless we want to get sued. Why should I have my creativity limited by having to check and see if someone else has already come up with my idea? In short, the problem is not with the supreme court justices. They are merely referencing the consitution, which places no limits on this sort of stupidity. The fault lies in the brainwashed minds of the apathetic masses who have been convinced that some company has the right to tell them what they can put on their web page because they bought the right from some long dead artist.