I wouldn't mind buying a copy if it's reasonable - considering that OpenOffice *IS* a good viable alternative to StarOffice, they'll need to bundle some good 'value-adds' but keep the price reasonable. $25/seat might be a good price point. $200 won't be
Remember that the cost of a "per seat" type licencing is not just the actual cost of the licence. There is an overhead in administering these licences. A site licence has a much lower overheads....
5.2 already cost $40 for business use. Compare this to MS Office which is over $200 for any use.
The academic pricing on MS Office, even a complete version rather than an upgrade, is rather less that 200USD... Both of them also tend to suck when it comes to sensible multi user usage too. Expecting end users to enter a string of details (most of which the computer already knows in the first place) is a daft idea, IMHO.
Don't agree; common sense says that if a few birds are capable of damaging a plane's engine,
Which is why jet engines are tested to withstand bird strikes.
then large weather balloon + accompanying instruments will certainly pose a danger to the engine's integrity.
No way is the envelope going to be any problem for a large fan made of high strenth materials. The instraments are not that large either. The only thing which could possiblt cause a problem for a jet engine is the helium in the envelope, it would take a very big balloon to cause combustion failure for long enough to actually stall the engine though.
Inside the radiosonde package there is also a self-addressed prepaid envelope so anyone who finds it can mail it back to the weather service. No kidding!
Assuming it dosn't wind up in the sea, sand dunes, pack ice, etc.
When encrypting a message with PGP you can use the -m option (or sellect the 'secure viewer' if you are using one of the windoze versions) Doing this prevents the recipiant from saving a plain text version on their disks
This basically asuming that the recipient is using a known "cypher machine". Which is only viable in a closed environment where there is no way for the end user to change software or install their own. (Which rules out even thinking about using Windows.)
The software CAN be used to hide lawbreaking behavior from the government and shareholders. But that is not its sole purpose.
Just about any tool can be used for criminal activities. In the past the way of doing things was to have laws against the crime, rather than (as we are seeing now) laws against various tools.
And when someone says something ridiculous like "Honest men have nothing to hide," in response to an article about a self-shredding email system, it is clear that THEY are missing the point.
Let alone that "Honest men" pose no risk by hiding things, since they are honest in the first place...
Actually, modern polyester film stocks are strong enough to tow a car. They do not break under normal projector strain. Instead, they can actually lift the platters off the floor in the case of a brain-wrap!
They can still melt also the film isn't usually supplied in one length. Instead it's something like about 5 bits which need to be spliced together. The spliced bits are those which get handled most and so are more likely to get damaged.
Excuse my cynicism, but I find it difficult to believe that the distributors would take this opportunity to lower prices. Whilst their costs will drop, they will sell this in terms of it requiring less skills for the projectionist, and offering better quality to the audience through lack of degradation.
Either they will keep prices the same and make more profit. Or even push the new technology as being somehow "better" and thus rake in more money.
I never thought film quality was much of an issue in a theater, or projector condition for that matter, until I saw Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring on opening night. 1 hour into the movie, the film slipped its track, went out of focus, made some bad noises, then stuck to the hot lens and melted in front of all our eyes (yellow-orange-blach spots, then nothing but white screen). They spliced the movie back together and in 15 minutes we were watching it again.
Since it was the first run they quite possibly messed up the splicing in the first place. The best I have seen is where one piece of film was spliced in backwards.
Making backup copies of CDs that you've purchased is considered fair use here in the UK, and is perfectly legal.
This is stated where in the 1988 Copyright, Designs and Patents Act? It isn't covered in The Duration of Copyright and Rights in Performances Regulations 1995 either. Part of the problem is that many "commonsense rights" people think they have don't actually exist. Which makes the laws virtually impossible to be enforced....
Yup, next thing ya know they'll be getting Seth Green to replace Michael Shanks character. I can see it now...After a few episodes the team will discover that Seth is a were-wolf
Or even one almight big conspiracy theory involving his dad, played by Mike Myers.
and that Carter is the new Slayer.....
Even though NORAD is a great place for vampire to hang out she's far too old.
Stargate SG1 is show that cannot be watched occasionally... the episodes are very connected and if you miss important episode you simply cannot follow the show.
Which is something quite likely to upset US based televsion networks.
If this is how they do it, the DMCA would be a HUGE boon for forign manufacturers. Most forign companies are primarily going to be interested in the USA markets.
Except that the intention is to force the same laws on most of the rest of the planet in the name of "copyright harmonisation"/"globalisation"/whatever...
Trying to break into and reverse engineer someone elses invention is not research. Being able to copy and record songs someone else composed and performed is not art or creation.
A lot of engineering is built on pre-existing technologies. Taking apart something and "hacking" it to do something new has a very long tradition. Similarly in music a lot of "borrowing" and copying goes on. Even to the point that there is the specific term "cover version"....
You forgot the thrid -- the most dangerous: Arithmatic. People say it'll be used for "science", and "physics", and "the good of mankind", but we all know that the only use of Mathematics and Logic is breaking copyright protection schemes!
Best also ban chemistry and physics. Since with those people could both build bombs and work out the best place to put them...
This is because you COMPLETELY missed the point of what he was saying. In this context, this serial cable and a gun definitely have a lot in common. They're both part of a general trend in American (Western?) society today toward banning the tool used in a crime, instead of just banning the crime and punishing the offenders.
This method generally does not work. Instead the result is a black market where it may actually even be easier for criminals to get hold of them than before they were made illegal. Anyway criminals tend not to care much if the tools they use are legal or illegal.
It started with guns, a tool that most people are in favor of banning, despite the fact that it has both legitimate and illegitimate uses.
I'm not sure it did actually start with tools, it appears more an extension of the policy of "prohibition" from drugs to tools.
The point is whether or not we have to go as far as banning a tool, and thus banning both its legitimate and illegitimate uses, when misusing it is already a crime.
Very often the misuse has been a crime for a very long time.
That's just it - the actual primary use is (assumed to be) copyright violation.
By that standard you can claim that the "actual primary use" of any tool is to preform illegal acts. It's a completly subjective term. Maybe the "actual primary use" of pretzels is attempted murder of heads of state...
I thought you guys had a constitutional safeguard against this sort of behaviour?
A written constitution is only as good as the people prepared to back it up. Without that we are simply talking "ink on paper". Problem with the US is that too many of the populace have been trusting government for too long. Even where people should know better...
They knew what was in the box because the US's outstanding military was on watch. Remember they use Gaydar to detect gays in the military before they do any damage to the morale of the already underpaid soliders? Well, they developed DMCAdar at Area 51 and have been putting it to good use.
A lot of effort to cover up for an expensive air defence system, which utterly failed to cope with a real threat. I know that the parent was intended as humour, but it's crazy enough to be true... Odd how the relatives of those killed in WTC2 and the Pentagon arn't asking some very pointed questions of the US government.
You have to be careful with this. Live by the populist sword, die by the populist sword.
Though it would be what actually was "populist" Rather difficult for some political extremists to make bogus claims about representing a "silent majority".
Slashdot Mirror
It seems highly unlikely that companies would ever rely on a free (as in beer) piece of software (without tech support, yada yada).
Really IE being "free" is seen as an asset, without free software there would be no internet either.
I wouldn't mind buying a copy if it's reasonable - considering that OpenOffice *IS* a good viable alternative to StarOffice, they'll need to bundle some good 'value-adds' but keep the price reasonable. $25/seat might be a good price point. $200 won't be
Remember that the cost of a "per seat" type licencing is not just the actual cost of the licence. There is an overhead in administering these licences. A site licence has a much lower overheads....
5.2 already cost $40 for business use. Compare this to MS Office which is over $200 for any use.
The academic pricing on MS Office, even a complete version rather than an upgrade, is rather less that 200USD...
Both of them also tend to suck when it comes to sensible multi user usage too. Expecting end users to enter a string of details (most of which the computer already knows in the first place) is a daft idea, IMHO.
Don't agree; common sense says that if a few birds are capable of damaging a plane's engine,
Which is why jet engines are tested to withstand bird strikes.
then large weather balloon + accompanying instruments will certainly pose a danger to the engine's integrity.
No way is the envelope going to be any problem for a large fan made of high strenth materials. The instraments are not that large either. The only thing which could possiblt cause a problem for a jet engine is the helium in the envelope, it would take a very big balloon to cause combustion failure for long enough to actually stall the engine though.
The problem is, what kind of damage can this thing do when it returns to earth and on it's way gets sucked into a jet engine?
Probably very little. If the device is small enough it might even pass undamaged through the bypass turbofan engines you typically on commercial jets.
Inside the radiosonde package there is also a self-addressed prepaid envelope so anyone who finds it can mail it back to the weather service. No kidding!
Assuming it dosn't wind up in the sea, sand dunes, pack ice, etc.
When encrypting a message with PGP you can use the -m option (or sellect the 'secure viewer' if you are using one of the windoze versions) Doing this prevents the recipiant from saving a plain text version on their disks
This basically asuming that the recipient is using a known "cypher machine". Which is only viable in a closed environment where there is no way for the end user to change software or install their own. (Which rules out even thinking about using Windows.)
The software CAN be used to hide lawbreaking behavior from the government and shareholders. But that is not its sole purpose.
Just about any tool can be used for criminal activities. In the past the way of doing things was to have laws against the crime, rather than (as we are seeing now) laws against various tools.
And when someone says something ridiculous like "Honest men have nothing to hide," in response to an article about a self-shredding email system, it is clear that THEY are missing the point.
Let alone that "Honest men" pose no risk by hiding things, since they are honest in the first place...
...have nothing to hide.
Not even from the dishonest?
Actually, modern polyester film stocks are strong enough to tow a car. They do not break under normal projector strain. Instead, they can actually lift the platters off the floor in the case of a brain-wrap!
They can still melt also the film isn't usually supplied in one length. Instead it's something like about 5 bits which need to be spliced together. The spliced bits are those which get handled most and so are more likely to get damaged.
Excuse my cynicism, but I find it difficult to believe that the distributors would take this opportunity to lower prices. Whilst their costs will drop, they will sell this in terms of it requiring less skills for the projectionist, and offering better quality to the audience through lack of degradation.
Either they will keep prices the same and make more profit. Or even push the new technology as being somehow "better" and thus rake in more money.
I never thought film quality was much of an issue in a theater, or projector condition for that matter, until I saw Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring on opening night. 1 hour into the movie, the film slipped its track, went out of focus, made some bad noises, then stuck to the hot lens and melted in front of all our eyes (yellow-orange-blach spots, then nothing but white screen). They spliced the movie back together and in 15 minutes we were watching it again.
Since it was the first run they quite possibly messed up the splicing in the first place. The best I have seen is where one piece of film was spliced in backwards.
Making backup copies of CDs that you've purchased is considered fair use here in the UK, and is perfectly legal.
This is stated where in the 1988 Copyright, Designs and Patents Act? It isn't covered in The Duration of Copyright and Rights in Performances Regulations 1995 either.
Part of the problem is that many "commonsense rights" people think they have don't actually exist. Which makes the laws virtually impossible to be enforced....
Yup, next thing ya know they'll be getting Seth Green to replace Michael Shanks character. I can see it now...After a few episodes the team will discover that Seth is a were-wolf
Or even one almight big conspiracy theory involving his dad, played by Mike Myers.
and that Carter is the new Slayer.....
Even though NORAD is a great place for vampire to hang out she's far too old.
Stargate SG1 is show that cannot be watched occasionally... the episodes are very connected and if you miss important episode you simply cannot follow the show.
Which is something quite likely to upset US based televsion networks.
If this is how they do it, the DMCA would be a HUGE boon for forign manufacturers. Most forign companies are primarily going to be interested in the USA markets.
Except that the intention is to force the same laws on most of the rest of the planet in the name of "copyright harmonisation"/"globalisation"/whatever...
Trying to break into and reverse engineer someone elses invention is not research. Being able to copy and record songs someone else composed and performed is not art or creation.
A lot of engineering is built on pre-existing technologies. Taking apart something and "hacking" it to do something new has a very long tradition.
Similarly in music a lot of "borrowing" and copying goes on. Even to the point that there is the specific term "cover version"....
You forgot the thrid -- the most dangerous: Arithmatic. People say it'll be used for "science", and "physics", and "the good of mankind", but we all know that the only use of Mathematics and Logic is breaking copyright protection schemes!
Best also ban chemistry and physics. Since with those people could both build bombs and work out the best place to put them...
This is because you COMPLETELY missed the point of what he was saying. In this context, this serial cable and a gun definitely have a lot in common. They're both part of a general trend in American (Western?) society today toward banning the tool used in a crime, instead of just banning the crime and punishing the offenders.
This method generally does not work. Instead the result is a black market where it may actually even be easier for criminals to get hold of them than before they were made illegal. Anyway criminals tend not to care much if the tools they use are legal or illegal.
It started with guns, a tool that most people are in favor of banning, despite the fact that it has both legitimate and illegitimate uses.
I'm not sure it did actually start with tools, it appears more an extension of the policy of "prohibition" from drugs to tools.
The point is whether or not we have to go as far as banning a tool, and thus banning both its legitimate and illegitimate uses, when misusing it is already a crime.
Very often the misuse has been a crime for a very long time.
That's just it - the actual primary use is (assumed to be) copyright violation.
By that standard you can claim that the "actual primary use" of any tool is to preform illegal acts. It's a completly subjective term.
Maybe the "actual primary use" of pretzels is attempted murder of heads of state...
I thought you guys had a constitutional safeguard against this sort of behaviour?
A written constitution is only as good as the people prepared to back it up. Without that we are simply talking "ink on paper".
Problem with the US is that too many of the populace have been trusting government for too long. Even where people should know better...
They knew what was in the box because the US's outstanding military was on watch. Remember they use Gaydar to detect gays in the military before they do any damage to the morale of the already underpaid soliders? Well, they developed DMCAdar at Area 51 and have been putting it to good use.
A lot of effort to cover up for an expensive air defence system, which utterly failed to cope with a real threat. I know that the parent was intended as humour, but it's crazy enough to be true...
Odd how the relatives of those killed in WTC2 and the Pentagon arn't asking some very pointed questions of the US government.
You have to be careful with this. Live by the populist sword, die by the populist sword.
Though it would be what actually was "populist" Rather difficult for some political extremists to make bogus claims about representing a "silent majority".
I think power by coup can only occur in countries that lack respect for the rule of law.
It also helps if the coup is backed by some entity external to the country, e.g. a more powerful government.
Some states say you can only have sex in certain ways whether or not you are a consenting adult.
With associated issues of selective enforcement. You also have the whole thing about marriage laws, which are not really that different....
And the absurd war on drugs -- people would probably use less drugs if they were legal.
History appears to show that drugs are less of a problem than prohibition anyway.