This whole thing is retarded. Microsoft says "we are such poor coders that we have not made a clear interface between the browser and the rest of the system" and the government says "prove it". All they have to do is deliver a huge steaming pile of butt-ugly code.
Tchnically you only have to go halfway down the list on average, which would make it O(0.5n), but by convention and for practicality purposes the notation drops and constant factors).
Actually, that's not a convention. It's the definition of the big-O notation. See
here.
First of I'd like to say that the human design defies evolution entirely.
What is crap is that you think humans are so special that we're not subject to the forces of nature.
are always perfected to inhabit a particular environment. However, humans are designed such that they are just as adept swinging from trees as they are walking on the ground.
We have adapted to form societies. That is the particular environment we inhabit. Apparently, living in societies is a great selective advantage; the evidence is our still-growing population.
I could think of a million more examples of our contradictory design, as can you as well.
Bring 'em on.
All this doesn't even mention the fact that there has never been a single bit of evidence in favor of evolution...
Darn. Until now, I thought I was talking with someone who merely had a different opinion from mine, but clearly you are a troll. No rational person could think they have seen and evaluated every single fragment of evidence science has ever produced in favour of evolution. If you had said "I have never seen a single bit of evidence" then that's a different matter.
I agree. I hope we, as a species, find a way to make good decisions about our own evolution. I'd hate to see us all evolve toward better basketball players just because that's the job with the highest salary.
I agree with you that the mere act of stealing software does not deprive vendors of money. However, my argument is that the USE of stolen software does cost the vendor money. Why? Because if you USE the software then you are gaining benifit from someone elses work. Unless you are interested in switching to a communistic society, then that effort/time is worth money.
Ok, but look: if given a choice between paying for the software or not using it, the people I'm talking about wouldn't use it. I see no conceivable way, no matter how indirect, that preventing these people from using the software saves anyone any money.
I hate macaroni and cheese. It just doesn't do anything for me. Why in fucks sake would I go into a store and steal a ton of craft dinner?
What the hell are you talking about? Are you trying to prove to me, by this rather bizarre analogy, that people don't steal things that they don't value enough to buy? Then you might want to reconsider your anecdote regarding traders who "dedicate a lot of time to copying pirated software. They don't _use_ it at all and have no intent of using it."
Your argument has me taking the food I dislike - and will never eat - simply because it is there for the taking. A very silly argument indeed.
Hey, don't paint my face on your straw man. My argument has you gladly eating for free food that you would not pay for.
Let's stay specific here. My argument:
Some people use software for free that they would not pay for.
Therefore, they will not pay for it in any case, regardless of whether they use it.
Therefore, their use of the software costs the author nothing.
When a software vendor (shareware or not) charges for the software they are effectivly blah blah blah have spent time, money, and effort blah blah no one is stopping you from writing it yourself.
Why, that has no bearing whatsoever on my comment. I quote, "if someone steals software that he wouldn't have used anyway, he has not cost the author a penny.".
As far as I'm concerned software pirates are in the same class of people who shoplift, leave restaurants without paying, or drive off from a gas station without paying.
I'm not trying to justify it, but consider that food, gas, and other goods, once stolen, no longer belong to the original owner. That is not the case with software. If someone steals software that he wouldn't have used anyway, he has not cost the author a penny.
I'm no engine expert, but doesn't anything that impedes the flow of exhaust gasses interfere with the internal combustion process, making the engine less efficient? The two-poston contraption these guys are using would certainly seem to fall into that category, if they tacked it into the car's tailpipe.
Well, I can't find any evidence that hydro companies do or don't supply water. Do you have any? I'm willing to admit I'm wrong; it's just that this is news to me, and I find it surprising.
I think this is a pretty common thing for `hydro' (which is what we call combo electricity/water companies here)
Er, hydro companies don't deliver water. It's called "hydro" from "hydroelectric", probably from a time when most power was generated from Niagra falls.
Nope. It was 1,650,763.73 wavelengths, not 299,792,458. The latter would have been an astounding coincidence if it were true. Imagine: what are the odds that the meter happens to be the exact geometric mean between one light-second and one wavelength of this krypton radiation.
This is in striking contrast to tech industries which sell products that are confusing and difficult to use, and either makes themselves unavailable to confused or outraged customers or charge them extortionate fees for "priority service," which is really just the service they would be entitled to for free in any other business.
I'm not so sure. Does a lawyer give legal advice to all his customers for free? Software companies are in the business of supporting technology, so it shouldn't be too surprising that they usually don't give free tech support.
The right to freely set your terms of service ends when you use the government to back your business.
Right. An economic monopoly is just another form of government.
The constitution needs an amendment like "monopolies shall be considered a branch of the U.S. congress" with all the associated restrictions.
The board of directors would be chosen by public election as soon as the company is declared a monopoly.
After that, all the articles of the constitution would apply (ie. freedom of speech, unlawful search and siezure, etc.)
Now that would be an incentive for a company not to become a monopoly.
Slashdot Mirror
So what? Code that compiles can't be butt-ugly?
This whole thing is retarded. Microsoft says "we are such poor coders that we have not made a clear interface between the browser and the rest of the system" and the government says "prove it". All they have to do is deliver a huge steaming pile of butt-ugly code.
Hey, that's unfair. I find Photoshop to be indispensible, and the PDF format is really handy.
Oops. That was supposed to be funny, not insightful. Oh well, what do I know--maybe we really are evolving into better drivers.
Great. So the future evolution of our species depends on capitalism.
I agree. I hope we, as a species, find a way to make good decisions about our own evolution. I'd hate to see us all evolve toward better basketball players just because that's the job with the highest salary.
Evolution is due to things that kill us before we reproduce, so we're all evolving into better drivers.
Let's stay specific here. My argument:
I'm no engine expert, but doesn't anything that impedes the flow of exhaust gasses interfere with the internal combustion process, making the engine less efficient? The two-poston contraption these guys are using would certainly seem to fall into that category, if they tacked it into the car's tailpipe.
You can get less-than signs using "<" like this: "<". That's not Slashdot's fault; it's HTML.
Well, I can't find any evidence that hydro companies do or don't supply water. Do you have any? I'm willing to admit I'm wrong; it's just that this is news to me, and I find it surprising.
That works fine for programs you can assemble out of existing parts. It would certainly make a good teaching tool.
Nope. It was 1,650,763.73 wavelengths, not 299,792,458. The latter would have been an astounding coincidence if it were true. Imagine: what are the odds that the meter happens to be the exact geometric mean between one light-second and one wavelength of this krypton radiation.
I think the scaling thing is a red herring. The key here is that there is a new process that works better and makes everyone happier.
Yes, I see this spelling all over the place. I guess people don't know that "ridiculous" comes from "ridicule".
It sounds like an entry in the Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest.
The constitution needs an amendment like "monopolies shall be considered a branch of the U.S. congress" with all the associated restrictions. The board of directors would be chosen by public election as soon as the company is declared a monopoly. After that, all the articles of the constitution would apply (ie. freedom of speech, unlawful search and siezure, etc.)
Now that would be an incentive for a company not to become a monopoly.