"Is it just me, or does this smack of a company that really, really, wants to protect its future interests?"
It smacks of a university that is really, really corrupt. If your faculty had any ethics they would be horrified at the thought that they would participate in such a thing.
I think you're missing the point. It not only isn't about piracy, it isn't about fair use, either. The system will be designed so that it will be impossible to load any uncertified file into your computer, and the system for getting "content" certified will favor cartel members. Artists will be unable to distribute their work themselves and small distributors will be driven out. The cartel will then have a monopoly on content and the artists will have to take whatever scraps the cartel chooses to throw them. A few geeks chopping the DRM out of their pc's just don't matter.
"I don't know how to get around problems for open source running on various hardware."
They don't see that as a problem. They see it as a solution.
"But getting a death grip on their own content will cause copyright cartels to lose their grip on the market."
They intend to get a deathgrip on the _entire_ market. Anything not marked in some way with some sort of key from the 'clearinghouse' will be blocked by the DRM hardware, and it will be effectively impossible for those who are not members of the cartel to get such keys.
"If Debian, Red Hat, Mandrake and Slackware license their distributions to the clearing house, they do get the money."
All the software in Debian is _free_. Do you understand what that means? It is _already_ licensed to everyone, including the right to put it up for download. In fact, downloads of Debian are made from independent mirrors, not from Debian servers. How the hell would Debian get any royalties?
"Matter of fact, since they will likely be more willing to offer more products for free download, they will probably see higher than average royalties."
Debian doesn't want any god damn royalties.
If I put a work of mine up for free downloading I intend that everyone be able copy it without paying me anything. I don't need the government forcing them to pay a fee to some damn "clearinghouse".
"At least paperback books are portable from room to room. They can't take those away from us, can they? Right?"
They will print them on 'electronic paper'. The chips in the spines won't turn them on unless the chip in your forhead indicates that you are an authorized reader.
"I've had spam from it many times, contact it every time, and it still keeps spamming."
Which means that the sysadmin is either incompetent or is being paid to allow the spamming (or both). Don't email him. Contact the administrators of the school system by telephone or snail-mail.
"The e-mail, purportedly sent from an MSN.com address, was actually routed through the server of an elementary school in Chonnam, Korea."
Contact the school and get them to file a complaint or at least send a letter whimpering about how terrible it is that the children can't get on the Net because their bandwidth is being stolen by spammers. Get a California newspaper to publish the letter.
validator.w3.org says "Sorry, I can't validate this document." when pointed at "wow web designs".Why should I pay any attention to the work of someone who can't even manage a DOCTYPE declaration?
"i honestly think that if a 'UN' type of group controlled it, at cost,..."
...the 'cost' would be several thousand dollars. You wouldn't care about that, though, because you would not represent a 'qualified' organization anyway. Look at the history of 'UN' type of groups.
"...it would be much better than the current situation of 20 emails a day asking me if i want a.name domain..."
You would hand the Internet over to the politicians for 20 spams a day?
He says that in 2030 robots, with only computers for thinking, will be smarter than humans, who will by than have both brains and computers. He contradicts himself.
I prefer science-fiction writers. Their predictions are just as accurate as those of futurists, and far more entertaining.
If I worked for a company with such a policy I would save off-site copies of all documents I sent or received. They would come in handy when things started to come apart and the suits started looking for scapegoats.
I'm not suprised that most of the media were taken in. After all, journalism is where the kids that flunk out of ed school go. If anyone knows of any general news sites that were not taken in, please tell us.
"...CS degree that will be recognised as such by other universities (so that I can continue with a MSc afterwards)"
If your real goal is an advanced degree contact the programs that interest you. Some may be willing to admit you without a BS. While they are likely to require that you complete some undergraduate courses, you may be able to do so after admission.
I once knew a guy whose only degree was a Phd in CS.
Slashdot Mirror
This is wrong. I should have as much right to sell uncopyable CD's as to break the copy-prevention on CD's I buy.
(Except that I don't buy any music CD's at all.)
By the standards of the US economy (let alone the world economy $50 billion is peanuts. How about we call them the "media pygmys"?
"Is it just me, or does this smack of a company that really, really, wants to protect its future interests?"
It smacks of a university that is really, really corrupt. If your faculty had any ethics they would be horrified at the thought that they would participate in such a thing.
I think you're missing the point. It not only isn't about piracy, it isn't about fair use, either. The system will be designed so that it will be impossible to load any uncertified file into your computer, and the system for getting "content" certified will favor cartel members. Artists will be unable to distribute their work themselves and small distributors will be driven out. The cartel will then have a monopoly on content and the artists will have to take whatever scraps the cartel chooses to throw them. A few geeks chopping the DRM out of their pc's just don't matter.
"I don't know how to get around problems for open source running on various hardware."
They don't see that as a problem. They see it as a solution.
"But getting a death grip on their own content will cause copyright cartels to lose their grip on the market."
They intend to get a deathgrip on the _entire_ market. Anything not marked in some way with some sort of key from the 'clearinghouse' will be blocked by the DRM hardware, and it will be effectively impossible for those who are not members of the cartel to get such keys.
"If Debian, Red Hat, Mandrake and Slackware license their distributions to the clearing house, they do get the money."
All the software in Debian is _free_. Do you understand what that means? It is _already_ licensed to everyone, including the right to put it up for download. In fact, downloads of Debian are made from independent mirrors, not from Debian servers. How the hell would Debian get any royalties?
"Matter of fact, since they will likely be more willing to offer more products for free download, they will probably see higher than average royalties."
Debian doesn't want any god damn royalties.
If I put a work of mine up for free downloading I intend that everyone be able copy it without paying me anything. I don't need the government forcing them to pay a fee to some damn "clearinghouse".
"At least paperback books are portable from room to room. They can't take those away from us, can they? Right?"
They will print them on 'electronic paper'. The chips in the spines won't turn them on unless the chip in your forhead indicates that you are an authorized reader.
"I've had spam from it many times, contact it every time, and it still keeps spamming."
Which means that the sysadmin is either incompetent or is being paid to allow the spamming (or both).
Don't email him. Contact the administrators of the school system by telephone or snail-mail.
"That depends entirely on the definition of damages wouldn't it?"
Many recipients will have replied to the MSN address, thereby wasting MSN's resources. That's damage.
"The e-mail, purportedly sent from an MSN.com address, was actually routed through the server of an elementary school in Chonnam, Korea."
Contact the school and get them to file a complaint or at least send a letter whimpering about how terrible it is that the children can't get on the Net because their bandwidth is being stolen by spammers. Get a California newspaper to publish the letter.
"John Deere [deere.com] is already selling GPS-receiver equipped tractors..."
And Case-IH has been selling "precision farming" systems for years.
"Any specific suggestions for a widely available ISP with really good NNTP support as part of the subscription - even at a premium?"
You don't have to depend on your ISP for access to an NNTP server. I'm very satisfied with www.newsguy.com. $40/year.
validator.w3.org says "Sorry, I can't validate this document." when pointed at "wow web designs".Why should I pay any attention to the work of someone who can't even manage a DOCTYPE declaration?
"i honestly think that if a 'UN' type of group controlled it, at cost,..."
.name domain..."
...the 'cost' would be several thousand dollars. You wouldn't care about that, though, because you would not represent a 'qualified' organization anyway. Look at the history of 'UN' type of groups.
"...it would be much better than the current situation of 20 emails a day asking me if i want a
You would hand the Internet over to the politicians for 20 spams a day?
"How many of you have had this problem in your career..."
I've had it at hardware companies.
"...and what did you do to adjust?"
I quit.
He says that in 2030 robots, with only computers for thinking, will be smarter than humans, who will by than have both brains and computers. He contradicts himself.
I prefer science-fiction writers. Their predictions are just as accurate as those of futurists, and far more entertaining.
"Since you can't publish before patenting, this is the way things are."
This is the way things are in Europe. The US gives you one year after publication.
If I worked for a company with such a policy I would save off-site copies of all documents I sent or received. They would come in handy when things started to come apart and the suits started looking for scapegoats.
I'm not suprised that most of the media were taken in. After all, journalism is where the kids that flunk out of ed school go. If anyone knows of any general news sites that were not taken in, please tell us.
"We all have"
Wrong. I have never "clicked accept" on any license whatsoever.
Have they started making automobile windshields out of it yet?
"...I sure hope they got their apology speeches well prepared..."
"Apology"? Airport security is going to be handled by the government now, remember?
I do not intend to board a commercial aircraft in the forseeable future. This decision has nothing to do with any fear of terrorism.
"In order to alter these cards you need a magstripe [writer]. These are VERY expensive."
I'm confident that I could build one with $100 worth of parts.
"The company's name isn't being published to avoid giving criminals a too-easy target."
Right. Sure. Of course. After all, there couldn't possibly be any other reason for not mentioning the name, now could there? Of course not.
"...CS degree that will be recognised as such by other universities (so that I can continue with a MSc afterwards)"
If your real goal is an advanced degree contact the programs that interest you. Some may be willing to admit you without a BS. While they are likely to require that you complete some undergraduate courses, you may be able to do so after admission.
I once knew a guy whose only degree was a Phd in CS.