Grant proposal writing can be very esoteric and specialized. I suggest that you ask the agency offering the money for suggestions as to where you could get help writing your proposal.
Good luck. This is a field that desperately needs Free Software.
> The situation looks like it's going to get much > worse, and I'm willing to take steps now to > increase my security at the cost of convenience. > Suggestions?
You misunderstood what you read. In the absence of age and disease the average lifespan would be about 600 years for _everyone_, including those who are already 600 years old.
>...you could make it to 600 years.
And those who did so would, on average, make it to 1200. And those who made it to 1200 would, on average, make it to 1800. And so on.
If you win a judgement against them in the US I believe you can get the US Customs Service to block importation of their products. I suspect that a letter pointing that out would get their full attention.
> which would render the horse > no-longer-conformant to strict race-horse > specifications that horse racing organizations > use
There are no such specifications.
> It does make me wonder, though - you couldn't race > a cloned horse according to the existing rules, > but could you 'naturally' produce a foal from > cloned horses that WOULD be eligible to race?...
No. The Jockey Club will only register the offspring of horses registered with them and they will not register a cloned horse.
> What exactly do the RIAA's customers actually pay > for?
A piece of plastic, which they own free and clear and can do with as they please as long as they make no permanent copies. If the piece of plastic is defective they can get it replaced or get a refund subject to local consumer laws. What else they own or possess is irrelevant. No licenses are involved.
> I'm concerned about the recent increase in GPL > stories lately where companies that are embracing > Linux are being carefully scrutinized. Maybe it's > counterproductive to constantly play the hardline
If these companies were using VXWorks or Windows CE you can be damn sure that they would be required to comply with every detail of the much more complex licenses. Why should they not be required to comply with the GPL? It's not like it's difficult or expensive.
> Is this going to chase away companies adopting > Linux for use with their products?
Only the ones who think that "Free software" == "public domain".
The purpose of the refund offer is to make the EULA an enforceable contract. If it can be demonstrated that the refund is not actually available in practice to an ordinary purchaser then the EULA will become unenforceable.
> If they have to issue enough refunds, it will > happen. M$ is banking on the fact that most > people won't go to the trouble.
> Microsoft's try-try-again philosophy and focused > determination are why it is at the top of the heap > of software companies and why they are sitting on > the 45 billion in cash now.
From Microsoft's 2002 annual report:
Cash and equivalents $3,016
Are you claiming that has grown to $45 billion or are you counting "short-term investments" as cash? If the latter I've got some Enron stock to sell you.
Slashdot Mirror
Grant proposal writing can be very esoteric and specialized. I suggest that you ask the agency offering the money for suggestions as to where you could get help writing your proposal.
Good luck. This is a field that desperately needs Free Software.
> Dave Cutler pounded out most of the NT kernel
> using two fingers.
Really? I thought he brought it with him from DEC.
> ...filed a legal complaint to block Kazaa Lite...
I see no evidence that any legal complaint has been filed. A "Cease and Desist" letter is not a legal complaint.
> It's scary that the DMCA makes URLs a copyright
> violation.
It doesn't.
Make that a few hundred MHz and a few cm.
Why do you want to beat up some retired Heathkit marketing guy?
> Memo to all y'all city folk out there in /. land:
> People have been cloning plants since time
> immemorial.
Memo to those who know less than everything about botany: traditional methods don't work on all plants.
> ...the interesting point is the parallels to the
> U.S. Apollo space program, America's attempt to
> put a man on the moon.
And the Japanese Fifth Generation Project.
Power can and should be turned off by pulling the meter.
> After the power is turned off at the pole, you can
> replace the box with something a little more
> modern.
Or simply repair the defective wiring if the existing breakers are adequate and in good condition.
> If you are so inclined, you can get
> breakers/breaker boxes/wiring at home depot or
> equivalent.
Please don't buy breakers and boxes there. Go to a real electrical supplier and buy Square D QO breakers and boxes.
And whatever you do, do _NOT_ buy GE Homeline or _anything_ made by Federal Pacific.
Better yet, hire an electrician. You are clearly not qualified to work on this (nor, from what I've read, are any of the other slashdotters).
You can buy support for Debian.
So who is going to be the first to claim that running a Word document through strings violates the DMCA?
> The situation looks like it's going to get much
> worse, and I'm willing to take steps now to
> increase my security at the cost of convenience.
> Suggestions?
Try being poor. Works for me.
You misunderstood what you read. In the absence of age and disease the average lifespan would be about 600 years for _everyone_, including those who are already 600 years old.
...you could make it to 600 years.
>
And those who did so would, on average, make it to 1200. And those who made it to 1200 would, on average, make it to 1800. And so on.
> Oh, "Astro" was such a friendly name -- but it
> probably had copyright issues.
Please. Get it straight. Trademark, not copyright.
If you win a judgement against them in the US I believe you can get the US Customs Service to block importation of their products. I suspect that a letter pointing that out would get their full attention.
Not much of a hardware hacker, are you Cowboy? As hardware hacks go this one is trivial.
> If the rights owners don't assert themselves over
> the original, they risk losing the rights to
> control the derivatives.
This is not true.
> which would render the horse
> no-longer-conformant to strict race-horse
> specifications that horse racing organizations
> use
There are no such specifications.
> It does make me wonder, though - you couldn't race
> a cloned horse according to the existing rules,
> but could you 'naturally' produce a foal from
> cloned horses that WOULD be eligible to race?...
No. The Jockey Club will only register the offspring of horses registered with them and they will not register a cloned horse.
> The BLM (I think...anyone else have a better
> clue?) decides who gets what's underneath the
> land.
Wrong. In the US you own the mineral rights unless they have been sold.
> Hell, the government can even take away the
> property from me if they decide they have a
> better use for it.
But you have the right to "just compensation".
> And the phone & cable companies can tromp onto my
> property any time they damn well please, usually
> destroying any foliage I have planted.
Not unless they have purchased easements from you or a previous owner.
> What exactly do the RIAA's customers actually pay
> for?
A piece of plastic, which they own free and clear and can do with as they please as long as they make no permanent copies. If the piece of plastic is defective they can get it replaced or get a refund subject to local consumer laws. What else they own or possess is irrelevant. No licenses are involved.
Who's this "we"? I've never downloaded a copy of a movie or song in my life.
> I'm concerned about the recent increase in GPL
> stories lately where companies that are embracing
> Linux are being carefully scrutinized. Maybe it's
> counterproductive to constantly play the hardline
If these companies were using VXWorks or Windows CE you can be damn sure that they would be required to comply with every detail of the much more complex licenses. Why should they not be required to comply with the GPL? It's not like it's difficult or expensive.
> Is this going to chase away companies adopting
> Linux for use with their products?
Only the ones who think that "Free software" == "public domain".
The purpose of the refund offer is to make the EULA an enforceable contract. If it can be demonstrated that the refund is not actually available in practice to an ordinary purchaser then the EULA will become unenforceable.
> If they have to issue enough refunds, it will
> happen. M$ is banking on the fact that most
> people won't go to the trouble.
They're right.
> Hopefully this is the first of many victories."
This is a defeat, not a victory. A victory would entail proof that no matter what you do you cannot get a refund.
> Microsoft's try-try-again philosophy and focused
> determination are why it is at the top of the heap
> of software companies and why they are sitting on
> the 45 billion in cash now.
From Microsoft's 2002 annual report:
Cash and equivalents $3,016
Are you claiming that has grown to $45 billion or are you counting "short-term investments" as cash? If the latter I've got some Enron stock to sell you.
> If the DMCA had been thought of 20 years ago,
> would BIOS have been circumvented?
Yes. IBM published the BIOS source and actively encouraged clone developement.