The VA Linux IPO was a simple pump-and-dump stock scheme
The data looks pretty damning in retrospect. It reminds me of the reason for killing the goose that layed the golden eggs. I know the VC crowd plays a big role in building the management team. I wonder how much stock they still own;-)
Looks like all those warnings have proven true. They obviously have cut back like the rest of the Linux vendors. Looks like they can only afford an email account now;-)
Just a modest fee to wade out the amateur trolls, please...
This where the moderation system needs to improve. Too many Karma whores wear the label as a badge of honor. I can understand why people were distracted for the last year with the stock gyrations, but I hope some creative energy is freed up to improve the moderation system.
Any word on what its like from any users? deb, rpm or tar.gz based?
I got a copy of their PRE-RELEASE 1.1.2 NFR in a magazine subscription. It was basically trash. I even sent them email complaining about the quality. They took offense when I suggested they could fill the whipping-boy post in the community;-)
I'm not flaming or trolling, it's just my observation. When I see a post from a low User ID, I tend to treat it with much more respect than the newer users'.
And that is how a problem begins. Judge a comment by it's content instead of some gimmick. Too many people today are unwilling to think for themselves;-)
I can't believe it. I just can't believe it. How ignorant is it possible to get? Yes, today, analog versions exist, but they won't in a few years. I mean, I have a hard time awarding voting rights to people who are as ignorant as Kaplan was in this case, and when a judge exhibits such extreme ignorance, then democracy is at stake.
When I was reading your comments, I immediately thought of the quote you use for your signature. You obviously answer your own questions. I also thought of a favorite quote from Einstein. He compared the limits of the universe and stupidity;-)
The decision from Kaplan was an interesting read. I could see how he was struggling to find an intelligent response. I see no malice in his views. I hope the next court does a better job of looking intelligent;-)
That said, I think the primary effect of FREENET, if it is successful, will not be the ability of minority ideas to evade censorship, but the de facto eradication of copyrights on digital media. (And that fact makes its success all that less probable, of course.)
It will also have the ability to prevent a small minority from promoting censorship. A few wealthy individuals might not need to evade censorship but I appreciate how the sword cuts in the other direction;-)
This is what you ignored when you claimed"you cannot yell "Fire!" in a crowded theater." There is nothing magical about the word Fire! Modern theaters are not the same as the old deathtrap buildings that existed when that court ruling was established. The audience might ignore someone yelling those words today. We can certainly pray that Judge Kaplan has the ability to consider the full context;-)
But is it more than just the media? Think of how many Linux "celebreities" work for Big Companies: Torvalds at Transmeta, the huge number of people at Red Hat (Alan Cox, etc), Larry Wall working at O'Reilly ("the biggest parasite on Open Source", according to Bruce Perens). Are these people truly independant? It's hard to be when you know where that check is coming from.
Obviously an employer will seek talented people. Since you did not define "truly independant", your concern about how hard it would be can mean anything. I see this burden as being slight. If these people were too lazy or weak to handle it, I doubt they would have accomplished the deeds that made them recognizable.
Just as another thought, righteous indignation does exist!
The law firm Garbus works with also had a relationship with Time Warner. At the time of this deposition, the MPAA was trying to get him thrown off the case for this reason. That effort has since failed. In the interim, the judge sought a compromise by allowing him to continue but specifically excluded Time Warner until he had time to decide whether to throw Garbus off the case.
I do not suggest that defendants were responsible for this attack
Does this sound like FUD to anyone else? How do we even know this incident was DVD related? Maybe the MPAA representative had recently slandered someone in their effort to "fight piracy."
I hope someone who sent in a response challenged this innuendo;-)
all I can come up with in terms of the motivations for writing these rebuttals would be to demonstrate to the community that you are "pure of heart", or just to promote the popularity of linux.
I try to think in terms of the basics. Uncertainty and Doubt frequently disappear when the light is turned on. If a simple rebuttal sheds some light on the issue, the damage from their FUD is minimized.
The MPAA are looking ahead. Maybe not now, but 15-20 years time.
Which leads to the question, Who is the MPAA attacking with it's current lawsuits? Are they claiming a Linux hacker watching DVDs on their home system is legit? I own several DVD discs and am unwilling to give up my right to watch them under the OS of my choice simply because the MPAA is afraid of what can happen in the future. I did not buy a DIVX drive due to the arbitrary limits they wanted to place on me. Now the MPAA thinks they have this ability.
If they want public support for their "principle occupation", they should clearly announce that a person who buys a DVD disc is free to watch it with the OS of their choice using the application of their choice!
I saw value in the original question because of the confusion over how people were selected. It seems like there now is confusion over the purpose of an email address. You may Sigh!, but suggesting credit == email address seems shortsighted.
A number of people expressed their surprise about being included. There were various motives for participation. While a simplistic view might hold that IPO == credit, I prefer to think of my email addresses as a means for contacting me. Heaven forbid we might exchange valuable information;-)
Too bad those defendants who knew or should have known this legalese are prevented from showing their expertese by posting copies of court documents;-)
At least one side is logical. And if you review history and see all the people who became famous due to their discoveries, consider what it might be like to say you found value in LinuxOne;-)
Did anyone catch the section of the suit where they quote a random (and probably hand-picked for maximum effect) collection of/. articles?
Yes! It was disgusting to listen to this dribble and very disappointing that the EFF lawyers did not challenge it. I was willing to give the benefit of doubt to the EFF team, but hindsight shows how ludicrous their feeble defense was. They may think it is time for "bigger guns" but my next contribution will not be an bigger until I see some bang-for-the-buck.
Please understand that my view was formulated during the 6 hour drive south after the hearing. Reading about the judgement from Judge Elfving a few days later seemed anti-climatic.
Why post the material when a link will suffice? It is scary how these lawyers think. I was fortunate enough to attend the Tuesday hearing and it left me in a state of shock. It surprised me the judge tolerated their extreme bias.
And just for the record, be careful of what you read here on Slashdot. According to the DVD lawyers, it is proof that you knew or should have known the legalese of the situation. One bozo who thinks the law was broken will be quoted in court as proof to the judge.
IANAL, but the DVD lawyers seem to think we are qualified to give legal advice here;-)
As a person who actually tried RPG, I agree with you. I also would like to see how an Open Source community would tackle the challenge. It would be nice if this certification becomes a badge of honor that is sought out;-)
Obvious items are usually spelled out in a FAQ. Section 4 points out that LPI does not offer training courses. I could not care less how you learned your skills. I do care whether you are professional and follow industry standards.
Again, I hope the standardization process grows with their presence.
Slashdot Mirror
The data looks pretty damning in retrospect. It reminds me of the reason for killing the goose that layed the golden eggs. I know the VC crowd plays a big role in building the management team. I wonder how much stock they still own ;-)
Looks like all those warnings have proven true. They obviously have cut back like the rest of the Linux vendors. Looks like they can only afford an email account now ;-)
This where the moderation system needs to improve. Too many Karma whores wear the label as a badge of honor. I can understand why people were distracted for the last year with the stock gyrations, but I hope some creative energy is freed up to improve the moderation system.
I got a copy of their PRE-RELEASE 1.1.2 NFR in a magazine subscription. It was basically trash. I even sent them email complaining about the quality. They took offense when I suggested they could fill the whipping-boy post in the community
And that is how a problem begins. Judge a comment by it's content instead of some gimmick. Too many people today are unwilling to think for themselves
But everyone has heard of Al Gore's contributions. After all, we introduce the freshman class to computers and algorithms simultaneously
When I was reading your comments, I immediately thought of the quote you use for your signature. You obviously answer your own questions. I also thought of a favorite quote from Einstein. He compared the limits of the universe and stupidity
The decision from Kaplan was an interesting read. I could see how he was struggling to find an intelligent response. I see no malice in his views. I hope the next court does a better job of looking intelligent
Of course not! Everyone knows the Indians are the bad guys. We offered them some pretty beads for Manhattan. How dare they refuse us
It will also have the ability to prevent a small minority from promoting censorship. A few wealthy individuals might not need to evade censorship but I appreciate how the sword cuts in the other direction
Do you really believe this? You ought to become a lawyer with the way you deal in "facts."
This is what you ignored when you claimed"you cannot yell "Fire!" in a crowded theater." There is nothing magical about the word Fire! Modern theaters are not the same as the old deathtrap buildings that existed when that court ruling was established. The audience might ignore someone yelling those words today. We can certainly pray that Judge Kaplan has the ability to consider the full context
Obviously an employer will seek talented people. Since you did not define "truly independant", your concern about how hard it would be can mean anything. I see this burden as being slight. If these people were too lazy or weak to handle it, I doubt they would have accomplished the deeds that made them recognizable.
Just as another thought, righteous indignation does exist!
The law firm Garbus works with also had a relationship with Time Warner. At the time of this deposition, the MPAA was trying to get him thrown off the case for this reason. That effort has since failed. In the interim, the judge sought a compromise by allowing him to continue but specifically excluded Time Warner until he had time to decide whether to throw Garbus off the case.
Does this sound like FUD to anyone else? How do we even know this incident was DVD related? Maybe the MPAA representative had recently slandered someone in their effort to "fight piracy."
I hope someone who sent in a response challenged this innuendo
all I can come up with in terms of the motivations for writing these rebuttals would be to demonstrate to the community that you are "pure of heart", or just to promote the popularity of linux.
I try to think in terms of the basics. Uncertainty and Doubt frequently disappear when the light is turned on. If a simple rebuttal sheds some light on the issue, the damage from their FUD is minimized.
Which leads to the question, Who is the MPAA attacking with it's current lawsuits? Are they claiming a Linux hacker watching DVDs on their home system is legit? I own several DVD discs and am unwilling to give up my right to watch them under the OS of my choice simply because the MPAA is afraid of what can happen in the future. I did not buy a DIVX drive due to the arbitrary limits they wanted to place on me. Now the MPAA thinks they have this ability.
If they want public support for their "principle occupation", they should clearly announce that a person who buys a DVD disc is free to watch it with the OS of their choice using the application of their choice!
A number of people expressed their surprise about being included. There were various motives for participation. While a simplistic view might hold that IPO == credit, I prefer to think of my email addresses as a means for contacting me. Heaven forbid we might exchange valuable information ;-)
IANAL, even if I play one in virtual reality.
So, does this mean the DVD lawyers will not quote you in court to prove you knew or should have known better?
At least one side is logical. And if you review history and see all the people who became famous due to their discoveries, consider what it might be like to say you found value in LinuxOne ;-)
Yes! It was disgusting to listen to this dribble and very disappointing that the EFF lawyers did not challenge it. I was willing to give the benefit of doubt to the EFF team, but hindsight shows how ludicrous their feeble defense was. They may think it is time for "bigger guns" but my next contribution will not be an bigger until I see some bang-for-the-buck.
Please understand that my view was formulated during the 6 hour drive south after the hearing. Reading about the judgement from Judge Elfving a few days later seemed anti-climatic.
And just for the record, be careful of what you read here on Slashdot. According to the DVD lawyers, it is proof that you knew or should have known the legalese of the situation. One bozo who thinks the law was broken will be quoted in court as proof to the judge.
IANAL, but the DVD lawyers seem to think we are qualified to give legal advice here ;-)
First I will show extreme ignorance. Then when everyone points out what a sinner I am, I will repent.
Now I can bask in the attention of the whole congregation who agree with my new found faith. I sure hope GOD is watching ;-)
As a person who actually tried RPG, I agree with you. I also would like to see how an Open Source community would tackle the challenge. It would be nice if this certification becomes a badge of honor that is sought out ;-)
Again, I hope the standardization process grows with their presence.