"The 6th annual GNOME User and Developer European Conference (GUADEC) will bring developers, GNOME Foundation leaders, individuals, businesses and governments, as well as Free Software and Open Source software users together in Stuttgart, Germany from the 29th to the 31st of May, 2005."
To add a bit of complexity in this question, I heard that guys from Samba are developping their own LDAP because they are not satisfied with OpenLDAP. Does anyone has more informations/opinions about it ?
Here's what I'm here to convince you of:
1. That DRM systems don't work
2. That DRM systems are bad for society
3. That DRM systems are bad for business
4. That DRM systems are bad for artists
5. That DRM is a bad business-move for MSFT
Europe's ministers are planning to push ahead with controversial patent legislation despite a vote on Wednesday by MEPs to restart the process. The decision will set the two decision-making bodies of the EU at loggerheads.
The standard disclaimer applies that this is not legal advice and is only offered for your viewing pleasure.
The law of contracts is the law of promises. Long before computers were invented, people were making promises. At some point, the law had to designate which promises it would enforce and which promises it would let slide. The former are called "contracts." That is, a contract is simply a legally enforceable promise.
To have a contract, you have to meet certain elements. I refer to the terminology of my professor and renown expert, John E. Murray, Jr., author of Murray on Contracts, a first year law student's bible on the matter. To have a contract, you must have 1) an offer, 2) an acceptance and 3) a validation device, most often, consideration.
The offer and acceptance parts are quite simple the vast majority of the time. Usually one party says "I will provide you with X if you provide me with Y," which qualifies as an offer. The other party says "I agree" and the deal is done. Consideration is sometimes a little bit tricky, but in order for a contract to be valid, there must be a bargained for exchange. Lack of consideration is why gift promises, even in writing, are not enforced. I say "I agree to give you $100 because I love you." We put it in writing signed by 10 nuns, each of which testify that I fully intended to give you $100. That is not a contract because there was no bargained for exchange of value. Promises to make gifts are simply not a type of promise that the law chooses to enforce.
Ok, so lets look at the typical EULA to see if it's a contract. The gaming company makes you and offer to play the game. In exchange for playing the game, you must agree to pay a fee each month and follow the EULA. That is the offer. You accept the offer by clicking "I Agree" when you log in. You technically do not need to do it each time that you log in, but most companies do this simply to remind the consumer that it is bound by the agreement (and to provide notice of any modifications). The promise is supported by consideration, namely the company permits you access to the service, and you pay the fees.
Tada, contract! So, what is all the fuss about? Well, you see there is good reason for confusion.
When software companies first started, it was easy. They had a product that they made. They wanted to license it to someone else to use, so they drew up an agreement, and said "sign on the dotted line." Those were the early EULAs and they were no doubt enforceable. But then software companies wanted to make its product easy to buy, so they threw it in a shiny box and popped it on a shelf. They certainly couldn't ask the clerk behind the counter to execute contracts for them, so they simply tucked it inside the shrink wrap and included "acceptance language" stating "by opening this box, you agree to these terms."
Wow, now wait a minute here?!? There is something messed up with the timing of the whole thing. It doesn't jive with standard contract formation process. So, I pay the fee, get the thing that I paid for home, open the box, and accept the offer before I see it? Hmm. Well that didn't make much sense, and judges weren't really familiar with how this whole thing worked, so cases came down that said these types of agreements, shrink-wrap "EULAs," are not enforceable. They aren't enforceable because they do not meet the elements of a contract.
But wait again! Some smart guy decides "this is great" and he goes and buys a piece of software that contains something like a telephone directory of the entire United States. He rips the contents off the CD and makes his own CD that does the same thing, and competes with the original company. The original company says "we will see about that" and the ProCD case is born. In that case the court determined that EULAs are enforceable because everyone knows what's in them, and everyone reasonably should expect to be bound by certain terms and conditions. Later cases came out, however that said EULAs are a special kind of c
Your printer must be connected to Internet. Each cartdrige has a uniq number. Best choice for customers, they can rent now the cardriges. The HP representative said: "it is the best for the the customers, to avoid copy of our best printer accessories. Furthermore, we will have the possibility to have a backup of all your printings..."
For french readers and lovers of babelfish, this is two blogs about the case. One is from the defense of Guillermito, and the other from one of the viewers of the trial:
http://maitre.eolas.free.fr/journal/index.php?20 05/01/05/37-affaire-guillermito-compte-rendu-daudien ce
An other tricky thing: vendors force the people who want the firmware to go the website of the company and to be registered. For instance, firmware for speedtouch modem (but you can easily give a false address, as no check is performed).
It's funny, because two researchers of the Oxford University have just "demonstrated", than open source is better than closed source. More exactly, with a mathematic model, they have "proved" that the debug is more efficient with open source, because of the information freelay available...
Two URLs: the preprint article http://arxiv.org/abs/cond-mat/0306511 and a resume in the nature website: http://www.nature.com/nsu/030623/030623-6.html
The first part is terrific, with a lot of references to old human conflicts (using the same images who shock people during second world war), and a very ingenious using of transitions. The second is a total disapointement, just a empty anime (with the exception of the religious communion). With the detective story, the first part is the only one anime interesting in the four available previews. The others are just simple animes without any interesting elements. People can admire the beauty of theses animea, but without contents it's just like an empty bag...
The french system is called "moneo", and it is not really a good thing. Several institutions (like "Que-choisir ?") have pointed than it is a very expensive card. Every time you make a payement, banks take a certain ammount (i don't remmeber exactly, about 0.5%) of the price. The sellers have to rent the expensive card reader (400 euros by year, not sure). So the big winner are: the banks ! Furthermore, they can trace all the information about the user payement, the card is not anonymous. And each user have to pay from 4 to 12 euros bu year to use it. Others criticismes are about the security in the card: almost inexistant (DES 56 bits). Also banks consider this like money: if you loose it, no opposition possible (strange, because the card is not anonymous). Sorry, but as a french guy, i prefer to keep old-but-efficient paper money.
Wi n0t trei a h0liday in Sweden thi yer? See the l0veli lakes The W0nderful teleph0ne system And mani interesting furry animals Including the majestic m00se...
Many changes since the last time you play with a keyborad and an old-box 486 computer. Some years from now, sudently, with viruses, attacks and P2P, A lot of people discovers Internet as a full of potential dangerous guys.
It seems to me than security becomes relevant since only some few years. People discovers security (from the simple "old-mama-with-a-new-computer-buys by-his-son" to the "heavy-buisnessman) as a main part of Internet Technology. Now, with the declaration of principes by Microsoft, several new laws and a lot of defaced sites, security is the main target of most of the part of computer industries.
What do you think about this new (false) revelation ? And all the new stuffs with this (large DoS attacks, TCPA, Palladium (of course)...)
Slashdot Mirror
"He went inside and one of the workers told him that they had been there since Monday."
A lot of republican voters are in PS3 lines, which would explain the recent results in american politic...
Am I the only geek here who are not interested in all the star wars stuff in ./ ?
This place is becoming a marketing heaven for Lucas.
"The 6th annual GNOME User and Developer European Conference (GUADEC) will bring developers, GNOME Foundation leaders, individuals, businesses and governments, as well as Free Software and Open Source software users together in Stuttgart, Germany from the 29th to the 31st of May, 2005."
URL: http://2005.guadec.org/
To add a bit of complexity in this question, I heard that guys from Samba are developping their own LDAP because they are not satisfied with OpenLDAP. Does anyone has more informations/opinions about it ?
Does this chinese standard is better than the other one ?
Europe's ministers are planning to push ahead with controversial patent legislation despite a vote on Wednesday by MEPs to restart the process. The decision will set the two decision-making bodies of the EU at loggerheads.
The original news
The standard disclaimer applies that this is not legal advice and is only offered for your viewing pleasure.
The law of contracts is the law of promises. Long before computers were invented, people were making promises. At some point, the law had to designate which promises it would enforce and which promises it would let slide. The former are called "contracts." That is, a contract is simply a legally enforceable promise.
To have a contract, you have to meet certain elements. I refer to the terminology of my professor and renown expert, John E. Murray, Jr., author of Murray on Contracts, a first year law student's bible on the matter. To have a contract, you must have 1) an offer, 2) an acceptance and 3) a validation device, most often, consideration.
The offer and acceptance parts are quite simple the vast majority of the time. Usually one party says "I will provide you with X if you provide me with Y," which qualifies as an offer. The other party says "I agree" and the deal is done. Consideration is sometimes a little bit tricky, but in order for a contract to be valid, there must be a bargained for exchange. Lack of consideration is why gift promises, even in writing, are not enforced. I say "I agree to give you $100 because I love you." We put it in writing signed by 10 nuns, each of which testify that I fully intended to give you $100. That is not a contract because there was no bargained for exchange of value. Promises to make gifts are simply not a type of promise that the law chooses to enforce.
Ok, so lets look at the typical EULA to see if it's a contract. The gaming company makes you and offer to play the game. In exchange for playing the game, you must agree to pay a fee each month and follow the EULA. That is the offer. You accept the offer by clicking "I Agree" when you log in. You technically do not need to do it each time that you log in, but most companies do this simply to remind the consumer that it is bound by the agreement (and to provide notice of any modifications). The promise is supported by consideration, namely the company permits you access to the service, and you pay the fees.
Tada, contract! So, what is all the fuss about? Well, you see there is good reason for confusion.
When software companies first started, it was easy. They had a product that they made. They wanted to license it to someone else to use, so they drew up an agreement, and said "sign on the dotted line." Those were the early EULAs and they were no doubt enforceable. But then software companies wanted to make its product easy to buy, so they threw it in a shiny box and popped it on a shelf. They certainly couldn't ask the clerk behind the counter to execute contracts for them, so they simply tucked it inside the shrink wrap and included "acceptance language" stating "by opening this box, you agree to these terms."
Wow, now wait a minute here?!? There is something messed up with the timing of the whole thing. It doesn't jive with standard contract formation process. So, I pay the fee, get the thing that I paid for home, open the box, and accept the offer before I see it? Hmm. Well that didn't make much sense, and judges weren't really familiar with how this whole thing worked, so cases came down that said these types of agreements, shrink-wrap "EULAs," are not enforceable. They aren't enforceable because they do not meet the elements of a contract.
But wait again! Some smart guy decides "this is great" and he goes and buys a piece of software that contains something like a telephone directory of the entire United States. He rips the contents off the CD and makes his own CD that does the same thing, and competes with the original company. The original company says "we will see about that" and the ProCD case is born. In that case the court determined that EULAs are enforceable because everyone knows what's in them, and everyone reasonably should expect to be bound by certain terms and conditions. Later cases came out, however that said EULAs are a special kind of c
What's next ?
Your printer must be connected to Internet. Each cartdrige has a uniq number. Best choice for customers, they can rent now the cardriges. The HP representative said: "it is the best for the the customers, to avoid copy of our best printer accessories. Furthermore, we will have the possibility to have a backup of all your printings..."
For french readers and lovers of babelfish, this is two blogs about the case. One is from the defense of Guillermito, and the other from one of the viewers of the trial:
0 05 /01/05/37-affaire-guillermito-compte-rendu-daudien ce
http://maitre.eolas.free.fr/journal/index.php?2
http://bricablog.net/
"Not at all, thank you to mentionning it" ((c) Mr Fawlty)
An other tricky thing: vendors force the people who want the firmware to go the website of the company and to be registered. For instance, firmware for speedtouch modem (but you can easily give a false address, as no check is performed).
Yes, but if the investors realized that "Hey! M$ is behind SCO, so it must be a very good investissement, as SCO has now his back full of money".
I believe in a fulgurous climbing of the share priceof SCO, anyone want to bet with me ?
Too bad Herge is dead, because he would prefer to redrawn "tintin on the moon"...
I hate this guy, i don't know why...
It's funny, because two researchers of the Oxford University have just "demonstrated", than open source is better than closed source. More exactly, with a mathematic model, they have "proved" that the debug is more efficient with open source, because of the information freelay available...
Two URLs: the preprint article http://arxiv.org/abs/cond-mat/0306511 and a resume in the nature website: http://www.nature.com/nsu/030623/030623-6.html
The first part is terrific, with a lot of references to old human conflicts (using the same images who shock people during second world war), and a very ingenious using of transitions. The second is a total disapointement, just a empty anime (with the exception of the religious communion). With the detective story, the first part is the only one anime interesting in the four available previews. The others are just simple animes without any interesting elements. People can admire the beauty of theses animea, but without contents it's just like an empty bag...
Already some calls for boycott (in french)
Wi n0t trei a h0liday in Sweden thi yer?
See the l0veli lakes
The W0nderful teleph0ne system
And mani interesting furry animals
Including the majestic m00se...
(Introduction of Monty Python and the holy grail)
Nobody thinks about P2P ? Completly distributed, with large-scale efficient search procedures, possibility of certifications: a large white pages.
Many changes since the last time you play with a keyborad and an old-box 486 computer. Some years from now, sudently, with viruses, attacks and P2P, A lot of people discovers Internet as a full of potential dangerous guys.
It seems to me than security becomes relevant since only some few years. People discovers security (from the simple "old-mama-with-a-new-computer-buys by-his-son" to the "heavy-buisnessman) as a main part of Internet Technology. Now, with the declaration of principes by Microsoft, several new laws and a lot of defaced sites, security is the main target of most of the part of computer industries.
What do you think about this new (false) revelation ? And all the new stuffs with this (large DoS attacks, TCPA, Palladium (of course)...)