Thank you. The Economist has also long argued that subsidies also hurt the economy. The two most egregious in the US are Cotton and Sugar. Take sugar, for example. 20,000 Sugar Growers get subsidies worth more than the entire US budget for Foreign Aid. The result, artificially high sugar prices in the US are driving manufacturers of candy to Mexico and Canada.
Say what you will about Microsoft and Bill Gates' business practices, but Gates is trying to do a lot of good in the world. The Bill & Milinda Foundation is doing a lot to try to protect developing/3rd world countries from preventable diseases (TB, malaria, etc.). Hardly a clown, in my book.
The zero-th reason software is buggy is the state of requirements. I've seen so many requirements documents that lack any form of internal consistency.
These issues don't seem to be addressed until the rubber hits the road - when code starts compiling and demos are given. The pressure to market builds, as these issues are being resolved. Unfortunately, that's when The Law of Unintended Consequences strikes, scrapping much of the existing codebase.
How can a programmer make "their own code solid" when the work it is supposed to perform is not clearly defined?
The RIAA must also be careful not to piss off those sharing files from their music entirely. Not to mention the argument that file sharing may actually promote CD sales.
I tally up (in a gu-estimate sort of way) the amount of money I spend on movies and music (actually, I've only bought 1 CD in a year) and make a donation for that amount to the EFF.
At least that way I know that I'm doing no harm. In fact, since the EFF is smaller than either Association, my donation probably goes farther.
The presentation showed the results of Yahoo's stress tests. One of their proprietary apps was faster than PHP, the other slower. I got lost in the TLAs over whether the latest app was the faster one or the slower one. PHP was only marginally slower than the prop one.
Did anyone else think it ironic that some rap artists are endorsing the RIAA's position, considering that "sampling" is little different from consumer use of Napster?
This is possible. Robocode does *not* need to run with graphics and in fact has a whole API to control battles. I've done some of it with BeanShell. And there is RoboLeague software which does the same thing. Combined with the ability to write to the filesystem, and you can store result values. I believe the JollyNinja bot determined sundry parameters this way, though most of the algorithms were designed and implemented by the biological agent known as Simon Parker.
Signed by 19 members of Congress, including Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del., Rep. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., and Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Ca., the letter urged Ashcroft "to prosecute individuals who intentionally allow mass copying from their computer over peer-to-peer networks."
I hope nobody's using one of those Star Trek replicators to copy my computer over a p2p network....;)
True, but I suspect the RIAA will have a tough time finding a jury that will agree that posting a few songs on Kazaa is wrong (or that the punishment spelled out by the NET Act fits the "crime").
"We have copyright laws for a good reason, and they should be protected."
First (last things first) I assume you mean that the copyrights should be protected, not the copyright laws. Copyright holders seem to do a fine job extending their copyrights, shouldn't the public have a right to defend the public domain? Copyright laws have a history of being formed by industry compromise and then rubber stamped by Congress. I mean, how many ordinary Americans understand copyright law?
Next, we have copyright laws that are based on pre-digital age constructs. Actually, these laws are based on censorship - if printers controlled what was printed, then copyright law allowed the queen to control printers.
Currently, copyrights prevent (or threaten to prevent) some creative works - e.g. the "Wind Done Gone" battle and hamper "fan-dom" works. Is this really a good thing?
I'm all for sane and rational copyright laws, and don't believe that the current state qualifies. Yes, I do routinely write my Congress-critters.
The Economist (www.economist.com) is a highly reputable news magazine and recently had a series of articles on the ethics of behavior modifying drugs and methods to "look into the brain". The article is called "The Future of Mind Control" from the May 22, 2002 issue. Sadly, I've passed my copy on to a friend, but it was a most interesting read.
You could make a case that government funded research is better suited to be released under a BSD licence. Probably a stronger case for putting government funded research directly into the public domain.
As an aside, I am upset that government funded research in the area of drug development is allowed to be patented by drug companies. At least the patents are supposed to expire (and do so quicker than copyrights do). Although the drug companies seem to have found their own tricks for extending the life of their patents, but that's another story alltogether....
I've often wondered how US Government agencies (such as the NSA with SELinux) can legally GPL code. According to the US Code Section 17 Chapter 1 Section 105 (http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/105.html):
Copyright protection under this title is not available for any work of the United States Government, but the United States Government is not precluded from receiving and holding copyrights transferred to it by assignment, bequest, or otherwise
So I'm not sure that these companies don't have a point. I would think this indicates that the government cannot extend GPL code, as the GPL is based on copyright (er, copyleft). Granted, I have but a limited understanding of Copyright Law and the legal basis behind the GPL. I would like to see this issue explained, however.
I would think that any changes the US Government (or its agencies) made to GPL code would have to fall into the Public Domain. By the same token, if the NSA were to make an UltraSecure Windows OS, then their modifications would not be assignable (as US Government works do not enjoy copyright protection) to Microsoft and would also fall into the Public Domain (just their diffs, not the whole work).
Obviously, US Code Section 17 Chapter 1 Section 105 does not preclude the government from merely using Open Source (or any form of software, for that matter) without extending it.
Not to mention the fact that trademarks extend only to references of the word or phrase with respect to a certain "trade". This is why Microsoft isn't able to sue glass-pane makers over the term "Windows".
AFAIK and IANAL, Toho is going to have to prove that *zilla is in the same "trade" as Godzilla.
Slashdot Mirror
I'd bid if it had speed holes to make it faster!
Hear! Hear!
Thank you. The Economist has also long argued that subsidies also hurt the economy. The two most egregious in the US are Cotton and Sugar. Take sugar, for example. 20,000 Sugar Growers get subsidies worth more than the entire US budget for Foreign Aid. The result, artificially high sugar prices in the US are driving manufacturers of candy to Mexico and Canada.
Best
Slak
Say what you will about Microsoft and Bill Gates' business practices, but Gates is trying to do a lot of good in the world. The Bill & Milinda Foundation is doing a lot to try to protect developing/3rd world countries from preventable diseases (TB, malaria, etc.). Hardly a clown, in my book.
-Slak
The zero-th reason software is buggy is the state of requirements. I've seen so many requirements documents that lack any form of internal consistency.
These issues don't seem to be addressed until the rubber hits the road - when code starts compiling and demos are given. The pressure to market builds, as these issues are being resolved. Unfortunately, that's when The Law of Unintended Consequences strikes, scrapping much of the existing codebase.
How can a programmer make "their own code solid" when the work it is supposed to perform is not clearly defined?
Cheers,
Slak
I don't believe Pat Robertson is Catholic. I believe the term is "Born Again Christian".
Cheers,
Slak
Most reputable universities place engineering PhD candidates on "fellowship" which essentially waives tuition.
In hardware companies, I suspect that PhDs go a
long way.
I, for one, welcome our new SCO overlords...
The RIAA must also be careful not to piss off those sharing files from their music entirely. Not to mention the argument that file sharing may actually promote CD sales.
Why would Apple release OS X when all it will do is expose their hardware as inferior to x86?
Please don't mod this as a troll - Adobe recommends x86 systems for Photoshop, etc.
Ok, Slashdot, I must have lost my schedule; it's Tuesday - do we hate the MPAA's DVD policy today or do we fawn over the cool CGI stuff?
-Slak
I tally up (in a gu-estimate sort of way) the amount of money I spend on movies and music (actually, I've only bought 1 CD in a year) and make a donation for that amount to the EFF.
At least that way I know that I'm doing no harm. In fact, since the EFF is smaller than either Association, my donation probably goes farther.
Regards,
Slak
The presentation showed the results of Yahoo's stress tests. One of their proprietary apps was faster than PHP, the other slower. I got lost in the TLAs over whether the latest app was the faster one or the slower one. PHP was only marginally slower than the prop one.
Regards,
Slak
Shameless plug: I work for the largest B2C auction site on the Net. We warehouse most products and everything has a tracking number.
http://www.ubid.com
Cheers,
Slak
Did anyone else think it ironic that some rap artists are endorsing the RIAA's position, considering that "sampling" is little different from consumer use of Napster?
Cheers,
Slak
This is possible. Robocode does *not* need to run with graphics and in fact has a whole API to control battles. I've done some of it with BeanShell. And there is RoboLeague software which does the same thing. Combined with the ability to write to the filesystem, and you can store result values. I believe the JollyNinja bot determined sundry parameters this way, though most of the algorithms were designed and implemented by the biological agent known as Simon Parker.
Regards,
Slak
I hope nobody's using one of those Star Trek replicators to copy my computer over a p2p network....
Cheers,
Slak
True, but I suspect the RIAA will have a tough time finding a jury that will agree that posting a few songs on Kazaa is wrong (or that the punishment spelled out by the NET Act fits the "crime").
"We have copyright laws for a good reason, and they should be protected."
First (last things first) I assume you mean that the copyrights should be protected, not the copyright laws. Copyright holders seem to do a fine job extending their copyrights, shouldn't the public have a right to defend the public domain? Copyright laws have a history of being formed by industry compromise and then rubber stamped by Congress. I mean, how many ordinary Americans understand copyright law?
Next, we have copyright laws that are based on pre-digital age constructs. Actually, these laws are based on censorship - if printers controlled what was printed, then copyright law allowed the queen to control printers.
Currently, copyrights prevent (or threaten to prevent) some creative works - e.g. the "Wind Done Gone" battle and hamper "fan-dom" works. Is this really a good thing?
I'm all for sane and rational copyright laws, and don't believe that the current state qualifies. Yes, I do routinely write my Congress-critters.
Cheers,
Slak
First off using the term "theft" with respect to copyrighted works is incorrect (despite the No Electronic Theft Act's ill conceived name).
Second, I believe the original post's intent was to raise the point that perhaps these movies did well *because* so many people had downloaded them.
Regards,
Slak
Yes, but wouldn't it only compete against a *secure* operating system, like those bastard loonies who work on OpenBSD ;)
Cheers,
Slak
The Economist (www.economist.com) is a highly reputable news magazine and recently had a series of articles on the ethics of behavior modifying drugs and methods to "look into the brain". The article is called "The Future of Mind Control" from the May 22, 2002 issue. Sadly, I've passed my copy on to a friend, but it was a most interesting read.
Regards,
Slak
You could make a case that government funded research is better suited to be released under a BSD licence. Probably a stronger case for putting government funded research directly into the public domain.
As an aside, I am upset that government funded research in the area of drug development is allowed to be patented by drug companies. At least the patents are supposed to expire (and do so quicker than copyrights do). Although the drug companies seem to have found their own tricks for extending the life of their patents, but that's another story alltogether....
Cheers,
Slak
So I'm not sure that these companies don't have a point. I would think this indicates that the government cannot extend GPL code, as the GPL is based on copyright (er, copyleft). Granted, I have but a limited understanding of Copyright Law and the legal basis behind the GPL. I would like to see this issue explained, however.
I would think that any changes the US Government (or its agencies) made to GPL code would have to fall into the Public Domain. By the same token, if the NSA were to make an UltraSecure Windows OS, then their modifications would not be assignable (as US Government works do not enjoy copyright protection) to Microsoft and would also fall into the Public Domain (just their diffs, not the whole work).
Obviously, US Code Section 17 Chapter 1 Section 105 does not preclude the government from merely using Open Source (or any form of software, for that matter) without extending it.
Cheers,
Slak
Not to mention the fact that trademarks extend only to references of the word or phrase with respect to a certain "trade". This is why Microsoft isn't able to sue glass-pane makers over the term "Windows".
AFAIK and IANAL, Toho is going to have to prove that *zilla is in the same "trade" as Godzilla.
Cheers,
Slak
Perhaps the order is alphabetical by last name?
Regards,
Slak
4) MSFT hasn't bastardized it (yet).
Cheers,
Slak