"I can be prosecuted for yelling "fire" in a crowded movie theatre,"
Please allow me to fix your analogy. The DMCA isn't about yelling "fire" in a crowded theater, it's about keeping people from saying "This theater is a fire hazard." Doing so would require both reverse-engineering the theater (to see what the specific hazards are) and distributing the information to people who may not have bought a movie ticket (and therefore never having been in the theater themselves).
Those together are made illegal by the DMCA, because saying "This theater is a fire hazard" would seriously hamper the theater's sales and their "right" to make a profit.
"Canada's largest cities are only in the 2-3million (1e6) range."
Canada's overall population is in the 1E7 range. That means it only takes ten cities (which I'm sure the Canadians have) put most of those people in a relatively small area. Looking at that map I can spot Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Quebec... Hell, I can even spot Yellowknife.
And the rest of Canada doesn't even rate on the chart. If anything, that map supports my argument that the US has a more even population distribution than Canada.
Continuing with my theme of "It turns a blind eye towards..."
"The Long and Hidden History of the US in Somalia"
Ignores: Longer and public history of Somalia without the US
"Us Approves Invasion of East Timor"
Ignores: Conditions in East Timor at the time (militia groups, anyone?)
"A brief history of CIA involvement in the drug trade"
Ignores: history of CIA involvement in fighting drug trade
Ignores: Who the CIA was trying to use the drug trade against (Again, communists have a lousy track record of butchering their own people).
"The Philippine War and Anti-Imperialism"
Ignores: Current independence of the Philippines.
Ignores: Philippines under Spanish rule.
Ignores: Philippines under Japanese rule.
"Hawaii's annexation a story of betrayal"
Ignores: Far worse betrayals around the world at the hands of European governments (Africa, southern Asia... Whatever happened to the Chinese Empire again?)
Ignores: Far worse betrayals across the Pacific made by the Japanese government.
Ignores: Lack of reparations, apology, or even a simple "mia culpa" in the other annexations I just mentioned (something the US is currently doing with the Hawaiians).
"We Americans need to educate ourselves on what our government has been doing in our name while we weren't looking."
My original post:
If you want to harp on the US human rights record, go ahead. Just know that your US-centric world view turns a blind eye to the true atrocities.
I did not say there weren't any problems in the US. I said that focusing on US problems ignores far worse problems. To wit:
"Amnesty says US leads in human rights violations following September 11"
Ignores: several thousand non-combattants deliberately attacked with little or no warning.
"Released secret documents prove US involvement in Chile"
Ignores: Lousy track record communists have had up to that point in time with abusing their own people (Vietnam, Cambodia, etc) that gave the US that knee-jerk reaction to begin with.
Ignores: Serious issues with the Allende government in general (kinda hard to stage a coup without popular support).
"A very brief timeline of US intervention in Latin America and the Carribean"
Ignores: European intervention in Latin America (from 18th century slave revolts to 20th century Zimmerman telegram)
Ignores: Soviet intervention in Latin America (Grenada?)
Ignores: conditions in Caribbean and Latin America that convince people to try to sail to Miami in makeshift boats even to this day.
"A Cato institute report linking terrorism against the US directly to US interventionist policies worldwide"
Ignores: Why US troops are deployed around the world to begin with (paper stresses link between troop deployments and terrorist actions, but ignores fact that troops aren't deployed to parts of the world where everything is rosy).
"The Age of Imperialism: an online history of the US"
Ignores: European imperialism. At our worst we never carved up entire continents for ourselves, and no former US colonies have as much history of political bloodshed as most former European colonies. Look at Africa.
Re:Wrong country maybe, but you have wrong facts..
on
239 MPG Car
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· Score: 1
"Why does everyone call it Cummings?"
Probably for the same reason everybody misspells "Skylarov."
" There is a problem compareaing straight numbers like that. The USA has some large empty areas like Alaska , and the south west deserts that are sparsely populated and skew the numbers significantly. You should see a map that plots population density to geographical area. You will find that parts of the USA, such as the eastern seaboard, have popluation densities that are more comparable to Europe."
You can get a ballpark estimate of population density by looking at miles of road per capita the countries in question have (more dispersed the population, the more driving it takes to get anywhere). And looking at that brings us back to "Europe is a heck of a lot more densely populated than the US." Hell, Canada's population is more concentrated than the US.
Re:Wrong country maybe, but you have wrong facts..
on
239 MPG Car
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· Score: 2
"but recent studies have shown that while diesel reduces CO2, it increases soot Science Daily [sciencedaily.com]. The net effect is at no real change, and more likely it actually make global warming worse."
As long as the net effect is "no real change" per gallon, diesel fuel is still better. Diesel engines tend to put out more power with less fuel. For example, a Dodge Ram 1500 with a 6-cylinder Cummings turbo diesel gets more horsepower and torque with around 22 MPG of diesel fuel than the same truck with a V-8 getting around 18 MPG of gasoline.
The Diesel cycle can get much better efficiency than an Otto cycle because you can get compression ratios you simply can't get if you're using sparkplugs. That's why trucks and ships have diesel engines.
"Okay, you've convinced me now, having someone wait in prison with a death sentence hanging over them through all that is way more humane than sending them to prison for life."
Capital punishment: You are going to die in prison.
Life in prison with no parole: You are going to die in prison.
Would you rather wait two or three years, or twenty or thirty? And before you answer, bear in mind that time will be spent in prison.
"The majority of people in Northern Ireland want to remain a part of the UK (this is undisputed by any of the participants), a minority want to use terror and violence against the civilian population to remove them anyway."
... which is completley different from what the British have done to the Irish for, oh, the better part of the millenium...
But that's all besides the point. The point the poster was trying to make is that, barring a decade or so in the nineteenth century, the US government hasn't felt the need to enforce its control over its own people at gunpoint. The Irish and the Corsicans are asking for a degree of autonomy from their respective national governments that they would have in spades if they were US states, even today.
And I'm not talking about anything deeply philosophical like "home rule" here, I'm talking about relatively stupid stuff like enforcing a national language over whatever the locals happen to speak. How would the UK like it if the EU enforced French as the lingua franca the same way they enforce the metric system? Until very recently, that's exactly what the Corsicans have had to put up with.
"I know it's inconceivably that the US would use armed forces in this situation, they always respond with such moderation."
Actually, the US has first-hand experience with what it's like to have British troops permanently stationed in order to "keep the peace." We decided we didn't like it.
"Sure, biochemists might need the massively paralell processing power to do molecular folding analysis, but regular joe bloes will, IMHO, be very comfortable with quad 2GHz HT Pentium 4s... for a decade at least."
You say that now, but you haven't seen the next version of Office yet...
"The U.S. is listed by Amnesty International as not meeting many requirements regarding human rights, such as banning capital punishment"... and that's about it. Capital punishment is pretty much the one main sticking point AI has with the US. Suspects are informed of their rights. They're provided legal representation if they can't afford any. Police brutality is not only unsanctioned but also punished. Confessions aren't provided under threat of torture. Criminal trials are decided on by juries of their peers. There is ready access to the appeals process.
Of course, if the US is such a flagrant violator of human rights, I'm sure you'd feel much safer in Iran/China/etc...
"I just don't believe any government should have the right to execute its own people. It's not that I don't believe some people deserve to die, it's because I don't trust the government to decide who deserves to die."
"US is one of the top western countries on Amnesty International lists regarding Human rights..."
Ah, but is that statement still true if you remove the word "western?"
For example, AI's main complaint about the US is that we still use capital punishment. We execute the most people out of all "western" countries (that's what, 12 or 13 countries?). Does that mean we execute the most people worldwide? Hell no. Countries with 5% of our population annually execute more than twice as many people as the US. Even AI has to grudgingly admit that standards in the US are vastly superior than most of the planet.
If you want to harp on the US human rights record, go ahead. Just know that your US-centric world view turns a blind eye to the true atrocities.
"That's the funny thing. The NES came out later than the Master System, and thus had better inherent technology."
Troll.
Um... no, it didn't. The hardware platform we call the SMS was developed years after the Famicom. Just because the NES was released years after the Famicom doesn't mean the NES wasn't a Famicom.
I mean, come on! When was the last time you heard the NES play a MIDI?
"The SNES slaughtered the Genesis. Why? See the above."
No, it didn't. The Genesis always had a larger library and a larger installed base. At best Nintendo managed to tie the Genesis at the end.
"However, one could argue that the SegaCD easily slaughtered the SNES."
Now you're no longer a troll but a troll on crack. If the SNES "slaughtered" the Genesis, how did a peripheral for the Genesis slaughther the SNES? Obviously the peripheral can't sell more than the platform it attatches to..
"Come on; anyone who grew up with the SMS and NES knew that the NES was the superior platform. Better games, more of them, better graphics and better sound."
The only SMS I own is the Powe Base Converter that plugs into the Sega Genesis. But even if I didn't have that, there are still plenty of SMS emulators out there.
With that being said, anybody that's looked at both the NES and SMS knows that the SMS is the superior hardware platform hands down. The graphics are sharper and have more colors. I've never seen a SMS game experience slow-down because of too many sprites. And let's face it: The SMS's FM sound is well above and beyond the NES's two analog sound channels and two noise makers.
Now, the games you can play? Let's just say that I've never seen Zelda on the SMS. But that's an entirely different matter.
Play Gradius on the NES. Then play R-Type on the SMS. Then try to tell me the NES has superior hardware.
"Why aren't they releasing the NES instead of the SMS. I might pay for the NES, but there is no way I'd pay for the SMS now."
You don't live in Brazil. The NES dominated North America because of a fluke: It came out first and had a massive user base before the SMS tried it's thing. Pretty much the same story in Japan. But the SMS ruled in Europe and South America (where the two came out at the same time). With the same starting point, the NES simply couldn't compete with a hardware platform developed years after the Famicom.
"Besides, why would I bother with any of this anyways when I can play every single ROM for all those old school platforms on my Dreamcast [dcemulation.com] from a single CD!!"
Because the games are good enough to pay money for. I can download and play Phantasy Star on an SMS emulator, but I'm still glad I went through the effort to get the actual cartridge.
"There's an article on the BBC about how the UN is being briefed on the problems of wireless networks. Predictable conclusions - security is mainly compromised through human, not technological factors."
So... what does the UN not want the general public to know? Heck, should the UN even be making calls like that?
"Our new governor-elect, Mitt Romney, is a fine specimen of business-buddy republican. I wouldn't be totally shocked if he threw a wrench into this."
You assume that he can. Most states choose their Attourny General by direct election, not by executive appointment. You're confusing it with the federal government.
"how effective would any settlement including any "enforcement" techniques (read the last para of the article) actually be, considering the stance of the Fed and the other states?"
Ultimately, their opinions don't matter. It's a federal court, so if Massacusetts wins this appeal and gets harsher punishments out of the process, the results are binding nationwide, Ashcroft or no Ashcroft.
"how much money will this cost Mass taxpayers? (glad I don't live there)"
The MA Attorney General is a full time job. The salaries of everybody involved will be paid whether they're pressing their appeal in this case or not. The only real "cost" on the commonwealth's part is the price of putting people on this case that could be working other cases.
"when is the DA position up for grabs? (i.e.: how many votes is this person trying to suck out of people?)"
Will this be an election issue? Would this help or hinder the incumbent in the next election? Is it possible that the DA is doing this out of principle, at least to some extent?
"Somehow I don't see the Appeals court which has been far more pro Microsoft than the lower courts deciding to overturn a judgement that the Federal govt and the majority of the states have agreed to."
This is a courtroom, not a democracy. Ultimately, it doesn't matter how everybody else feels about the settlement, all that matters is the validity of Massachusetts complaints.
Besides, how can you say the appeals court was "pro-Microsoft?" It wasn't Judge Kollar-Kotelly's (sp?) place to say whether or not the settlement was good or bad.
"Once the appeals court threw out the penalty phase of the trial there was no prospect of a final judgement against Microsoft for a decade."
Um... you missed something there. The penalty phase was the only thing thrown out. The final judgement stands.
"Microsoft could reasonably expect the Supreme court to be sympathetic to the argument that having found the judge to have been biased they were entitled to a completely new trial."
The appeals court already smacked that one down by throwing out only the penalty phase. Microsoft will have to pull something out of its rear end to convince the USSC that the appeals court was in the wrong.
" I also thing that the DoJ could have put up a much better case if they had concentrated on the contractual issues where there were real problems and not getting side tracked into the Web browser issue. Netscape failed for a simple reason"
They're one and the same. Microsoft OEM contracts originally said "You must install IE." They got taken to court, lost, and then 'integrated' IE into 95 and 98. The browser issue is just one example of the many contractural problems Microsoft has with OEM distributors.
Ah... er... damn it! I have the urge to tell West Virginia jokes involving sheep, but then they may end up doing something useful and good, and.... ARGH!
"Off the top of my head I'd say the distance photons travell through air is way too short to see any effect"
That's why you use a Michaelson-Morley interferomter. If there is a difference in speeds, you should be able to see it in the wave patterns. How do you think we measured the speed of light to begin with?
"where there's dramaticcally little 'air' to be found."... which is no fun at all since I'm asking about what happens to particles when they move faster than the speed of light through that medium. Kinda hard to move faster than light through a vacuum.
"If spacetime is in fact discrete, then individual photons should travel at slightly different speeds, depending on their wavelength"
Through a vacuum or would these differences be noticable through mediums (read "air") as well? And, if so, would there be any interesting side-effects for the nature of Cherenkov radiation?
Slashdot Mirror
"I can be prosecuted for yelling "fire" in a crowded movie theatre,"
Please allow me to fix your analogy. The DMCA isn't about yelling "fire" in a crowded theater, it's about keeping people from saying "This theater is a fire hazard." Doing so would require both reverse-engineering the theater (to see what the specific hazards are) and distributing the information to people who may not have bought a movie ticket (and therefore never having been in the theater themselves).
Those together are made illegal by the DMCA, because saying "This theater is a fire hazard" would seriously hamper the theater's sales and their "right" to make a profit.
"Skylarov, not Sklyarov."
No, they're right, you're wrong. Of course, most people still seem to have trouble spelling "DMCA"...
"Canada's largest cities are only in the 2-3million (1e6) range."
Canada's overall population is in the 1E7 range. That means it only takes ten cities (which I'm sure the Canadians have) put most of those people in a relatively small area. Looking at that map I can spot Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Quebec... Hell, I can even spot Yellowknife.
And the rest of Canada doesn't even rate on the chart. If anything, that map supports my argument that the US has a more even population distribution than Canada.
Continuing with my theme of "It turns a blind eye towards..."
"The Long and Hidden History of the US in Somalia"
Ignores: Longer and public history of Somalia without the US
"Us Approves Invasion of East Timor"
Ignores: Conditions in East Timor at the time (militia groups, anyone?)
"A brief history of CIA involvement in the drug trade"
Ignores: history of CIA involvement in fighting drug trade
Ignores: Who the CIA was trying to use the drug trade against (Again, communists have a lousy track record of butchering their own people).
"The Philippine War and Anti-Imperialism"
Ignores: Current independence of the Philippines.
Ignores: Philippines under Spanish rule.
Ignores: Philippines under Japanese rule.
"Hawaii's annexation a story of betrayal"
Ignores: Far worse betrayals around the world at the hands of European governments (Africa, southern Asia... Whatever happened to the Chinese Empire again?)
Ignores: Far worse betrayals across the Pacific made by the Japanese government.
Ignores: Lack of reparations, apology, or even a simple "mia culpa" in the other annexations I just mentioned (something the US is currently doing with the Hawaiians).
"We Americans need to educate ourselves on what our government has been doing in our name while we weren't looking."
My original post:
If you want to harp on the US human rights record, go ahead. Just know that your US-centric world view turns a blind eye to the true atrocities.
I did not say there weren't any problems in the US. I said that focusing on US problems ignores far worse problems. To wit:
"Amnesty says US leads in human rights violations following September 11"
Ignores: several thousand non-combattants deliberately attacked with little or no warning.
"Released secret documents prove US involvement in Chile"
Ignores: Lousy track record communists have had up to that point in time with abusing their own people (Vietnam, Cambodia, etc) that gave the US that knee-jerk reaction to begin with.
Ignores: Serious issues with the Allende government in general (kinda hard to stage a coup without popular support).
"A very brief timeline of US intervention in Latin America and the Carribean"
Ignores: European intervention in Latin America (from 18th century slave revolts to 20th century Zimmerman telegram)
Ignores: Soviet intervention in Latin America (Grenada?)
Ignores: conditions in Caribbean and Latin America that convince people to try to sail to Miami in makeshift boats even to this day.
"A Cato institute report linking terrorism against the US directly to US interventionist policies worldwide"
Ignores: Why US troops are deployed around the world to begin with (paper stresses link between troop deployments and terrorist actions, but ignores fact that troops aren't deployed to parts of the world where everything is rosy).
"The Age of Imperialism: an online history of the US"
Ignores: European imperialism. At our worst we never carved up entire continents for ourselves, and no former US colonies have as much history of political bloodshed as most former European colonies. Look at Africa.
"Why does everyone call it Cummings?"
Probably for the same reason everybody misspells "Skylarov."
" There is a problem compareaing straight numbers like that. The USA has some large empty areas like Alaska , and the south west deserts that are sparsely populated and skew the numbers significantly. You should see a map that plots population density to geographical area. You will find that parts of the USA, such as the eastern seaboard, have popluation densities that are more comparable to Europe."
You can get a ballpark estimate of population density by looking at miles of road per capita the countries in question have (more dispersed the population, the more driving it takes to get anywhere). And looking at that brings us back to "Europe is a heck of a lot more densely populated than the US." Hell, Canada's population is more concentrated than the US.
"but recent studies have shown that while diesel reduces CO2, it increases soot Science Daily [sciencedaily.com]. The net effect is at no real change, and more likely it actually make global warming worse."
As long as the net effect is "no real change" per gallon, diesel fuel is still better. Diesel engines tend to put out more power with less fuel. For example, a Dodge Ram 1500 with a 6-cylinder Cummings turbo diesel gets more horsepower and torque with around 22 MPG of diesel fuel than the same truck with a V-8 getting around 18 MPG of gasoline.
The Diesel cycle can get much better efficiency than an Otto cycle because you can get compression ratios you simply can't get if you're using sparkplugs. That's why trucks and ships have diesel engines.
Capital punishment: You are going to die in prison.
Life in prison with no parole: You are going to die in prison.
Would you rather wait two or three years, or twenty or thirty? And before you answer, bear in mind that time will be spent in prison.
"The majority of people in Northern Ireland want to remain a part of the UK (this is undisputed by any of the participants), a minority want to use terror and violence against the civilian population to remove them anyway."
But that's all besides the point. The point the poster was trying to make is that, barring a decade or so in the nineteenth century, the US government hasn't felt the need to enforce its control over its own people at gunpoint. The Irish and the Corsicans are asking for a degree of autonomy from their respective national governments that they would have in spades if they were US states, even today.
And I'm not talking about anything deeply philosophical like "home rule" here, I'm talking about relatively stupid stuff like enforcing a national language over whatever the locals happen to speak. How would the UK like it if the EU enforced French as the lingua franca the same way they enforce the metric system? Until very recently, that's exactly what the Corsicans have had to put up with.
"I know it's inconceivably that the US would use armed forces in this situation, they always respond with such moderation."
Actually, the US has first-hand experience with what it's like to have British troops permanently stationed in order to "keep the peace." We decided we didn't like it.
"Sure, biochemists might need the massively paralell processing power to do molecular folding analysis, but regular joe bloes will, IMHO, be very comfortable with quad 2GHz HT Pentium 4s... for a decade at least."
You say that now, but you haven't seen the next version of Office yet...
+5 Troll. Gotta love it.
... and that's about it. Capital punishment is pretty much the one main sticking point AI has with the US. Suspects are informed of their rights. They're provided legal representation if they can't afford any. Police brutality is not only unsanctioned but also punished. Confessions aren't provided under threat of torture. Criminal trials are decided on by juries of their peers. There is ready access to the appeals process.
"The U.S. is listed by Amnesty International as not meeting many requirements regarding human rights, such as banning capital punishment"
Of course, if the US is such a flagrant violator of human rights, I'm sure you'd feel much safer in Iran/China/etc...
"I just don't believe any government should have the right to execute its own people. It's not that I don't believe some people deserve to die, it's because I don't trust the government to decide who deserves to die."
When did juries become "the government?"
"US is one of the top western countries on Amnesty International lists regarding Human rights..."
Ah, but is that statement still true if you remove the word "western?"
For example, AI's main complaint about the US is that we still use capital punishment. We execute the most people out of all "western" countries (that's what, 12 or 13 countries?). Does that mean we execute the most people worldwide? Hell no. Countries with 5% of our population annually execute more than twice as many people as the US. Even AI has to grudgingly admit that standards in the US are vastly superior than most of the planet.
If you want to harp on the US human rights record, go ahead. Just know that your US-centric world view turns a blind eye to the true atrocities.
"Better graphics, not better sound."
NES: Two analog wave generators, two noise-makers.
SMS: Full MIDI support.
Try again.
"That's the funny thing. The NES came out later than the Master System, and thus had better inherent technology."
Troll.
Um... no, it didn't. The hardware platform we call the SMS was developed years after the Famicom. Just because the NES was released years after the Famicom doesn't mean the NES wasn't a Famicom.
I mean, come on! When was the last time you heard the NES play a MIDI?
"The SNES slaughtered the Genesis. Why? See the above."
No, it didn't. The Genesis always had a larger library and a larger installed base. At best Nintendo managed to tie the Genesis at the end.
"However, one could argue that the SegaCD easily slaughtered the SNES."
Now you're no longer a troll but a troll on crack. If the SNES "slaughtered" the Genesis, how did a peripheral for the Genesis slaughther the SNES? Obviously the peripheral can't sell more than the platform it attatches to..
"which was slaughtered by the N64"
Then explain the whole N64/PSX thing.
"Which was slaughtered by the Dreamcast."
And yet the Dreamcast died before the N64.
"Come on; anyone who grew up with the SMS and NES knew that the NES was the superior platform. Better games, more of them, better graphics and better sound."
The only SMS I own is the Powe Base Converter that plugs into the Sega Genesis. But even if I didn't have that, there are still plenty of SMS emulators out there.
With that being said, anybody that's looked at both the NES and SMS knows that the SMS is the superior hardware platform hands down. The graphics are sharper and have more colors. I've never seen a SMS game experience slow-down because of too many sprites. And let's face it: The SMS's FM sound is well above and beyond the NES's two analog sound channels and two noise makers.
Now, the games you can play? Let's just say that I've never seen Zelda on the SMS. But that's an entirely different matter.
Play Gradius on the NES. Then play R-Type on the SMS. Then try to tell me the NES has superior hardware.
"Why aren't they releasing the NES instead of the SMS. I might pay for the NES, but there is no way I'd pay for the SMS now."
You don't live in Brazil. The NES dominated North America because of a fluke: It came out first and had a massive user base before the SMS tried it's thing. Pretty much the same story in Japan. But the SMS ruled in Europe and South America (where the two came out at the same time). With the same starting point, the NES simply couldn't compete with a hardware platform developed years after the Famicom.
"Besides, why would I bother with any of this anyways when I can play every single ROM for all those old school platforms on my Dreamcast [dcemulation.com] from a single CD!!"
Because the games are good enough to pay money for. I can download and play Phantasy Star on an SMS emulator, but I'm still glad I went through the effort to get the actual cartridge.
"There's an article on the BBC about how the UN is being briefed on the problems of wireless networks. Predictable conclusions - security is mainly compromised through human, not technological factors."
So... what does the UN not want the general public to know? Heck, should the UN even be making calls like that?
"Our new governor-elect, Mitt Romney, is a fine specimen of business-buddy republican. I wouldn't be totally shocked if he threw a wrench into this."
You assume that he can. Most states choose their Attourny General by direct election, not by executive appointment. You're confusing it with the federal government.
"how effective would any settlement including any "enforcement" techniques (read the last para of the article) actually be, considering the stance of the Fed and the other states?"
Ultimately, their opinions don't matter. It's a federal court, so if Massacusetts wins this appeal and gets harsher punishments out of the process, the results are binding nationwide, Ashcroft or no Ashcroft.
"how much money will this cost Mass taxpayers? (glad I don't live there)"
The MA Attorney General is a full time job. The salaries of everybody involved will be paid whether they're pressing their appeal in this case or not. The only real "cost" on the commonwealth's part is the price of putting people on this case that could be working other cases.
"when is the DA position up for grabs? (i.e.: how many votes is this person trying to suck out of people?)"
Will this be an election issue? Would this help or hinder the incumbent in the next election? Is it possible that the DA is doing this out of principle, at least to some extent?
"Somehow I don't see the Appeals court which has been far more pro Microsoft than the lower courts deciding to overturn a judgement that the Federal govt and the majority of the states have agreed to."
This is a courtroom, not a democracy. Ultimately, it doesn't matter how everybody else feels about the settlement, all that matters is the validity of Massachusetts complaints.
Besides, how can you say the appeals court was "pro-Microsoft?" It wasn't Judge Kollar-Kotelly's (sp?) place to say whether or not the settlement was good or bad.
"Once the appeals court threw out the penalty phase of the trial there was no prospect of a final judgement against Microsoft for a decade."
Um... you missed something there. The penalty phase was the only thing thrown out. The final judgement stands.
"Microsoft could reasonably expect the Supreme court to be sympathetic to the argument that having found the judge to have been biased they were entitled to a completely new trial."
The appeals court already smacked that one down by throwing out only the penalty phase. Microsoft will have to pull something out of its rear end to convince the USSC that the appeals court was in the wrong.
" I also thing that the DoJ could have put up a much better case if they had concentrated on the contractual issues where there were real problems and not getting side tracked into the Web browser issue. Netscape failed for a simple reason"
They're one and the same. Microsoft OEM contracts originally said "You must install IE." They got taken to court, lost, and then 'integrated' IE into 95 and 98. The browser issue is just one example of the many contractural problems Microsoft has with OEM distributors.
Ah... er... damn it! I have the urge to tell West Virginia jokes involving sheep, but then they may end up doing something useful and good, and.... ARGH!
"Why isn't there a "Cringely" icon for slashdot?"
:)
For the same reason they didn't follow my suggestion a while back about an MPAA/RIAA icon: They're too damned lazy.
"I think that asking a few thousand people, "Would you use a video phone if it cost this much?" would cost a few grand,"
Ah, but why do market research when you can just get Congress to require everybody to buy your new toy instead?
Oh, wait, I'm thinking about HDTV again...
"Off the top of my head I'd say the distance photons travell through air is way too short to see any effect"
... which is no fun at all since I'm asking about what happens to particles when they move faster than the speed of light through that medium. Kinda hard to move faster than light through a vacuum.
That's why you use a Michaelson-Morley interferomter. If there is a difference in speeds, you should be able to see it in the wave patterns. How do you think we measured the speed of light to begin with?
"where there's dramaticcally little 'air' to be found."
"If spacetime is in fact discrete, then individual photons should travel at slightly different speeds, depending on their wavelength"
Through a vacuum or would these differences be noticable through mediums (read "air") as well? And, if so, would there be any interesting side-effects for the nature of Cherenkov radiation?