Isn't it the job of the government to go after illegal actions?
They aren't claim copyright violation,
And you think Copyright infringement isn't a violation of law?
No, the FBI doesn't have hordes of agents to try to enforce all of the laws all of the time. Actions regarding civil law usually must be brought by the (alegedly) damaged party.
DEC claimed for years that they would price Alpha chips competitively, but they never did. Let's hope that they (or Samsung) have finally learned a lesson and will follow through.
And if the 21264 and the AMD K7 really are slot A interchangeable, we should finally have inexpensive motherboards into which to plug our inexpensive Alpha chips.
I don't think US will never ever change _their_ laws to match _others_. They'l change the other's to match theirs.
Depends on where the money is. For instance, the Digital Millenium Copyright Act which just went into effect was written for the express purpose of bringing US Copyright law into conformity with those of other countries. This worked because almost all of the provisions of DMCA will benefit the Copyright holders. Nevermind that the whole point of Copyright law was to promote the useful arts and sciences by requiring that works enter the public domain after a period of time.
But the copyright owners keep lobbying for longer copyright terms, and more rights to restrict the use of their works. I'm starting to doubt that Disney works like Fantasia and Snow White will EVER be allowed to lapse into the public domain; the lawyers will keep extending the term by 25 years here, 50 years there.
Imagine if all of the great works of literature from Roman times were still copyrighted by big corporations! That seems to be where we're headed, and I don't think it's a good idea.
I've found freshmeat to be an invaluable resource, and until today it never occurred to me to thank you for it. So please let me take this opportunity to do so.
I did see your changes this morning. My initial reaction was that I didn't think it was as visually appealing. However, I DIDN'T immediately send you flames, because I recognized that you had done a bunch of work on it, probably including features that I haven't even noticed yet. Besides, by comparison to either the old or the new look, my own web site is completely plain and ugly. Any sensible person realizes that the content is the important part, and IMHO you've always done a great job with both the content and the presentation.
Please bear in mind that for every jerk that sends you flames and hate mail, there are probably thousands of people like me who have been and continue to be grateful for all your hard work. We just haven't been vocal about it, and we probably should have been.
So please don't let the losers get you down.
Best wishes for the new year! Eric
[PS. Thanks to Rob, also, for all his efforts on Slashdot!]
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No, the FBI doesn't have hordes of agents to try to enforce all of the laws all of the time. Actions regarding civil law usually must be brought by the (alegedly) damaged party.
And if the 21264 and the AMD K7 really are slot A interchangeable, we should finally have inexpensive motherboards into which to plug our inexpensive Alpha chips.
I want a 21264, and I want it NOW! If not sooner!
But the copyright owners keep lobbying for longer copyright terms, and more rights to restrict the use of their works. I'm starting to doubt that Disney works like Fantasia and Snow White will EVER be allowed to lapse into the public domain; the lawyers will keep extending the term by 25 years here, 50 years there.
Imagine if all of the great works of literature from Roman times were still copyrighted by big corporations! That seems to be where we're headed, and I don't think it's a good idea.
Eric
I've found freshmeat to be an invaluable resource, and until today it never occurred to me to thank you for it. So please let me take this opportunity to do so.
I did see your changes this morning. My initial reaction was that I didn't think it was as visually appealing. However, I DIDN'T immediately send you flames, because I recognized that you had done a bunch of work on it, probably including features that I haven't even noticed yet. Besides, by comparison to either the old or the new look, my own web site is completely plain and ugly. Any sensible person realizes that the content is the important part, and IMHO you've always done a great job with both the content and the presentation.
Please bear in mind that for every jerk that sends you flames and hate mail, there are probably thousands of people like me who have been and continue to be grateful for all your hard work. We just haven't been vocal about it, and we probably should have been.
So please don't let the losers get you down.
Best wishes for the new year!
Eric
[PS. Thanks to Rob, also, for all his efforts on Slashdot!]