Nesson did a lot of stupid, antagonistic things that were more in line with amateur hour or self-promoting than with representing the true interests of his client:
The defense team inexplicably posted the very songs at issue in the case to the Internet, and Nesson posted a public link on his blog for anyone to download them.
This behavior prompted a discovery request from the record labels, which wanted to know more about why the defense was now doing the very thing it had been accused of doing in the lawsuit. Nesson didn't want to tell them. The labels then filed a "motion to compel" the information.The judge sums it all up:
[Nesson's] terse response to plaintiffs' motion to compel merely stated that, in his personal opinion, the plaintiffs' requests were not relevant to this litigation. As indicated in this Court's June 16, 2009, order, plaintiffs' request for information relating to the defense's unauthorized distribution of the very copyrighted works on which plaintiffs' claims were based was clearly relevant to such issues as the willfulness of the defendant's conduct and the amount of damages to be awarded by the jury.
The Court's indulgence is at an end. Too often, as described below, the important issues in this case have been overshadowed by the tactics of defense counsel: taping opposing counsel without permission (and in violation of the law), posting recordings of court communications and e-mails with potential experts (who have rejected the positions counsel asserts) on the Internet, and now allegedly replicating the acts that are the subject of this lawsuit, namely uploading the copyrighted songs that the Defendant is accused of file-sharing.
Nesson didn't oppose the motion because there were no grounds to oppose it - except maybe the Peyote defense ("Heyheyhey, I waz stoned, Judge") or maybe insanity ("Would a sane person do the things I did - in a COURTROOM?" The facts speak for themselves - I'm nuts, judge").
"This big hunk of meat on the seafloor represented a good food source for these marine creatures," she says.
"Scavengers are very important in the world. They're what allow things to restore."
The pigs are used by forensics researchers because - strange as it might seem - we humans are remarkably pig-like in our anatomy. We share their relatively hairless skin, are similar in size, and our flesh has a similar make-up and TASTE.
There, fixed it.
Human flesh isn't called "long pig" or "the other other white meat" for nothing.
The device communicates to Windows using the Windows 7 API. If your customers want this, why is it dumb to sell it to them? Next you'll be saying that a linux-based smart phone shouldn't be able to communicate with vfat-formatted flash memory, or upload to a Windows or Apple device or pc.
Nobody would be violating your patent because it's non-patentable. "Method and device for implementing a linked list"... stands a small chance. Patents require a specific implementation.
Only Microsoft claimed that the deal covered Microsoft-patented junk in linux. It was a cross-licensing deal that Microsoft paid Novell almost half a billion dollars - in other words, it was pretty much Microsoft who needed patent coverage of certain Novell technologies.
Unfortunately, the Lenz decision put a limit on the damages for attorneys fees - it's only "certain" fees, not all the fees you incur in contesting. The EFF is severely out of pocket on this case.
And then there's the instant case (the idiot who filed the bogus take-down against my site). This isn't the first time, and they're basically judgment-proof. The idiot lives in a city-funded single-room occupancy shelter for people who were on the streets. So you sue them. They get a legal-aid lawyer. So you get a judgment - big deal. Nothing to seize. And who'd want anything from someone living in a place full of bedbugs, crack-heads, etc? What are you going to do if you do manage to seize a 6-year-old bottom-of-the-line laptop encrusted with god-knows-what and probably all sorts of cooties living in it? Ick! No thanks.
That's why I'm saying the old system was better - it required some up-front investment by the plaintiff, so it eliminates these sorts of bogus claims.
I-O Data released one of the industry's first Windows 7 API-based sensors, which automatically detects when a person enters or leaves an office or room.
So basically, they are licensing Windows stuff. Nothing to see here. Also, while Novell did a patent deal wit Microsoft, it did NOT do a deal wrt linux, as there's no Microsoft code in linux (and most of us are smart enough to remove the potentially-encumbered mono-base from opensuse).
That sounds like the three strikes that people like to complain about, but two weeks later after the counter-notices have cleared, the ISP is supposed to switch you back on. Then you can press perjury charges and/or sue the alleged copyright owner (not the ISP) for the downtime if it has cost you more than $20.
And it still ends up costing thousands just to get the case started, since there are issues of jurisdiction, etc. And if you go the cheap route and sue in small claims court, good luck getting your judgment enforced elsewhere - you're still out of pocket.
Good point, but there's still a huge asymmetry involved here. It costs nothing for someone to cause you grief with yur ISP, hosting company, etc. Too many notices, they dump you, even if you're 100% in the right.
Maybe making anyone who's filing a notice post a $100 bond? If the other side contests, keep the rule that the complainant has to file suit within 10 days... but add that if they don't the $100 goes to the person they complained about as compensation for wasting their time.
I guess it's time to update this:
http://tech.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=1552282&cid=31163196
But for all you who defended the "diaper-pail" color scheme (probably because you never had to change baby diapers), congratulations, Skippy, you've gone from ugly to.... ugly. The wiki says they have a professional art team - maybe it's time they used them?
Seriously, what were you guys thinking? The Great Pumpkin only comes once a year.
Everyone made fun of XP and the Fisher-Price theme... but Ubuntu is worse. It looks like it was thrown together by a bunch of Hallowe'enies.
"Oh, but it's earth colors, like autumn!" Sure, pick the time of year when everything DIES! That sends a great subliminal "use-me-be-happy" message.
Fall colors - remind people that Old Man Winter is right around the corner, it's only going to get worse for the rest of the year, slush and ice and heating bills and salt stains on your boots and coat and clothes and the dogs dragging dirt in from the freshly sanded sidewalks all over the comforter and ice storms and dead cats frozen in snowbanks flying through the air as the municipal snowblower sucks them up and... you get the picture.
You want companies to take you seriously, you don't have your reps wear a bow tie so they don't look like Bozo the Clown, and you don't make your prime product offering look like the artwork from a pumpkin pie box.
If you have to do a pie-themed color scheme, order a pizza pie and use that for inspiration. Everyone likes pizza. Or do apple pie - American Pie! Even the Band Campers can relate to that! Or cherry pie. There are so many nerds in basements who dream of cherry...
It's not just ugly - it's fugly-ugly. Even in Soviet Russia.
It is ugly on the screen. It's so ugly it's obscene.
It is ugly every day. It is ugly like old whey.
It is ugly on a boat. It is ugly with a goat.
It is ugly like brown turd. It is ugly as a nerd.
It is ugly, don't you see? It is ugly like green pee.
It is ugly, all the way. It is ugly, Matt Assay!
I will not use it on a boat. I will not use it with a goat.
I will not use it at the fair. I will not use it in my hair.
I will leave it with the nerds. They like it colored like brown turds.
I will leave it, Matt Assay, It makes my eyeballs bleed all day.
In summary, you only get one chance to make a good first impression, and that color scheme works great - for your competitors.
Someone should take their crayons away until they learn to color within the lines.
The EFF expended $400k in Lenz. The problem is the asymmetry between the ease of hassling someone with a fake take-down notice versus the high cost of going after them when they do so fraudulently.
In summary, you only get one chance to make a good first impression, and that color scheme works great - for your competitors.
Yes, won't you base all your software decisions on color?
Definitely, if I'm expecting people to use the software 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, I'm going to try to make it so it doesn't look like a cheap Halloween pumpkin.
Well, in this case there's more. While the web site is public, the person knew (and acknowledged in posts on another forum) that they were on the list of people banned by the terms of use for prior abuse, and continued to access it from California. That's a violation of section 502 of the California penal code - unauthorized access to a computer system - fine and/or jail time.
Humans used to have 12-20 kids per generation, and started breeding (and still do) in their teens. One or two kids per family hasn't been the norm until this past generation.
The whole DMCA thing really needs to be revisited. The penalties for false declarations aren't cutting it. It's pretty bad when someone can cause you grief by filing a false DMCA notice on material they don't even own the copyright to to try to stifle discussion! It's the new version of a SLAPP suit - far cheaper, since it only takes an email, and lots of people cave in immediately because it's not worth the hassle, or because they don't want their hosting provider to decide that their business just isn't worth it, even though they've done nothing wrong.
One of the reasons we were able to achieve such a large brain/body mass ratio is because we do NOT have a fur coat.
>p>
Humans have hair on the top of the head to protect against the heat of peak insolation, while the rest of the body is comparatively hairless, to allow for sweating.
Let your body temp rise by 5 degrees C and see how well you think. When doing nothing, the brain only uses 6 calories an hour. Thinking raises that to 90 calories an hour. In other words, spending most of your day thinking will mean that your brain is expending more energy than the rest of your body, even though it's only a small fraction of the total mass. Trolling slashdot (especially on Troll Tuesdays) is a good example of an activity that does this, as are puzzles, social games and events, etc., where the cultural interplay requires active thinking.
as well as stepping on the rights of the next generation to determine things for themselves
The next generation has never been able to determine such things for themselves - that would imply that they have in times past gotten to pick their parents.
It also doesn't preclude them being able to modify their own genes, if such tech ever becomes widespread.
And when they mate, they DO determine their offsprings genetic makeup, same as every preceding generation has. It's called "hereditary traits" for a reason.
There is no moral question here, except for mods that are done that are intentionally not in the best interests of the next generation, and the morality and ethics of this has been dealt with extensively in sci-fi. For example, intentionally breeding really dumb, docile humans as a slave underclass, or for a good supply of what we now call soylent green, but previously referred to as "long pig", or for the purposes of donating organs (and that last one has already happened when parents decided to have another child so the new kid could donate an organ to the older sibling).
The point of the article is that people are ALREADY practicing eugenics as a cultural force, and it is the dominant force in human evolution at this point.
People seek people who the current culture defines as "hot" - which changes over time. People adapt within a couple of generations to changes in food supplies. A good example is how the age of first menarche has dropped by 1/3 in 100 years, and how society has not only adapted, but reinforced, that trend.
A modal box is the only sane compromise. If you don't stick it right in their face, users will happily ignore everything you throw at them. It doesn't matter that your errors cover the bottom half of the screen in red 24pt Comic Sans, they will ignore it, and when they stop ignoring it they will complain to you that the errors take up too much of the screen.
Okay - we have web popup blockers - now I'm going to start selling application and system popup blockers. My idea. You heard it here first folks. History is being made even as we type.
Seriously - if it comes to that, I WILL make a system popup blocker. And a virus to spread it to every computer on the planet. And people will line up to thank me.
Those who don't know history are doomed to misquote it from wikipedia.
Polywater was a plot device in a "golden-age" science fiction story. That's WAY before the first use mentioned in the wiki.
Where do you think they stole the term from?
It did not, as the wiki claims, originally come from shoddy experiments. The original story had a scientist polymerize water, which was great - until it started polymerizing all the water it came into contact with. This story predates, and also foreshadows, modern-day nanotech "grey goo" stories.
Slashdot Mirror
Nesson did a lot of stupid, antagonistic things that were more in line with amateur hour or self-promoting than with representing the true interests of his client:
Nesson didn't oppose the motion because there were no grounds to oppose it - except maybe the Peyote defense ("Heyheyhey, I waz stoned, Judge") or maybe insanity ("Would a sane person do the things I did - in a COURTROOM?" The facts speak for themselves - I'm nuts, judge").
All through the last decade, suse/opensuse was one of the top 3 distros, and it's always looked a lot nicer than fugly pumpkin-head ubuntu.
There, fixed it.
Human flesh isn't called "long pig" or "the other other white meat" for nothing.
C) 100% Canadian Bacon.
After all, Dirty Fat Bastard wants some baby back baby back baby back baby back baby back baby back ribs!
The device communicates to Windows using the Windows 7 API. If your customers want this, why is it dumb to sell it to them? Next you'll be saying that a linux-based smart phone shouldn't be able to communicate with vfat-formatted flash memory, or upload to a Windows or Apple device or pc.
Nobody would be violating your patent because it's non-patentable. "Method and device for implementing a linked list" ... stands a small chance. Patents require a specific implementation.
Only Microsoft claimed that the deal covered Microsoft-patented junk in linux. It was a cross-licensing deal that Microsoft paid Novell almost half a billion dollars - in other words, it was pretty much Microsoft who needed patent coverage of certain Novell technologies.
Unfortunately, the Lenz decision put a limit on the damages for attorneys fees - it's only "certain" fees, not all the fees you incur in contesting. The EFF is severely out of pocket on this case.
And then there's the instant case (the idiot who filed the bogus take-down against my site). This isn't the first time, and they're basically judgment-proof. The idiot lives in a city-funded single-room occupancy shelter for people who were on the streets. So you sue them. They get a legal-aid lawyer. So you get a judgment - big deal. Nothing to seize. And who'd want anything from someone living in a place full of bedbugs, crack-heads, etc? What are you going to do if you do manage to seize a 6-year-old bottom-of-the-line laptop encrusted with god-knows-what and probably all sorts of cooties living in it? Ick! No thanks.
That's why I'm saying the old system was better - it required some up-front investment by the plaintiff, so it eliminates these sorts of bogus claims.
So basically, they are licensing Windows stuff. Nothing to see here. Also, while Novell did a patent deal wit Microsoft, it did NOT do a deal wrt linux, as there's no Microsoft code in linux (and most of us are smart enough to remove the potentially-encumbered mono-base from opensuse).
And it still ends up costing thousands just to get the case started, since there are issues of jurisdiction, etc. And if you go the cheap route and sue in small claims court, good luck getting your judgment enforced elsewhere - you're still out of pocket.
Maybe making anyone who's filing a notice post a $100 bond? If the other side contests, keep the rule that the complainant has to file suit within 10 days ... but add that if they don't the $100 goes to the person they complained about as compensation for wasting their time.
http://tech.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=1552282&cid=31163196
But for all you who defended the "diaper-pail" color scheme (probably because you never had to change baby diapers), congratulations, Skippy, you've gone from ugly to
Someone should take their crayons away until they learn to color within the lines.
The EFF expended $400k in Lenz. The problem is the asymmetry between the ease of hassling someone with a fake take-down notice versus the high cost of going after them when they do so fraudulently.
Definitely, if I'm expecting people to use the software 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, I'm going to try to make it so it doesn't look like a cheap Halloween pumpkin.
Well, in this case there's more. While the web site is public, the person knew (and acknowledged in posts on another forum) that they were on the list of people banned by the terms of use for prior abuse, and continued to access it from California. That's a violation of section 502 of the California penal code - unauthorized access to a computer system - fine and/or jail time.
Humans used to have 12-20 kids per generation, and started breeding (and still do) in their teens. One or two kids per family hasn't been the norm until this past generation.
Do you always try to win arguments by sticking words in other peoples mouths, liar?
A Halloween pumpkin - it matches the ugly Ubuntu color scheme perfectly
Ubuntu might want to stand out from the crowd, but there's a reason nobody else uses that color scheme ...
The whole DMCA thing really needs to be revisited. The penalties for false declarations aren't cutting it. It's pretty bad when someone can cause you grief by filing a false DMCA notice on material they don't even own the copyright to to try to stifle discussion! It's the new version of a SLAPP suit - far cheaper, since it only takes an email, and lots of people cave in immediately because it's not worth the hassle, or because they don't want their hosting provider to decide that their business just isn't worth it, even though they've done nothing wrong.
One of the reasons we were able to achieve such a large brain/body mass ratio is because we do NOT have a fur coat. >p> Humans have hair on the top of the head to protect against the heat of peak insolation, while the rest of the body is comparatively hairless, to allow for sweating.
Let your body temp rise by 5 degrees C and see how well you think. When doing nothing, the brain only uses 6 calories an hour. Thinking raises that to 90 calories an hour. In other words, spending most of your day thinking will mean that your brain is expending more energy than the rest of your body, even though it's only a small fraction of the total mass. Trolling slashdot (especially on Troll Tuesdays) is a good example of an activity that does this, as are puzzles, social games and events, etc., where the cultural interplay requires active thinking.
The next generation has never been able to determine such things for themselves - that would imply that they have in times past gotten to pick their parents.
It also doesn't preclude them being able to modify their own genes, if such tech ever becomes widespread.
And when they mate, they DO determine their offsprings genetic makeup, same as every preceding generation has. It's called "hereditary traits" for a reason.
There is no moral question here, except for mods that are done that are intentionally not in the best interests of the next generation, and the morality and ethics of this has been dealt with extensively in sci-fi. For example, intentionally breeding really dumb, docile humans as a slave underclass, or for a good supply of what we now call soylent green, but previously referred to as "long pig", or for the purposes of donating organs (and that last one has already happened when parents decided to have another child so the new kid could donate an organ to the older sibling).
The point of the article is that people are ALREADY practicing eugenics as a cultural force, and it is the dominant force in human evolution at this point.
People seek people who the current culture defines as "hot" - which changes over time. People adapt within a couple of generations to changes in food supplies. A good example is how the age of first menarche has dropped by 1/3 in 100 years, and how society has not only adapted, but reinforced, that trend.
What a moron.
Okay - we have web popup blockers - now I'm going to start selling application and system popup blockers. My idea. You heard it here first folks. History is being made even as we type.
Seriously - if it comes to that, I WILL make a system popup blocker. And a virus to spread it to every computer on the planet. And people will line up to thank me.
Polywater was a plot device in a "golden-age" science fiction story. That's WAY before the first use mentioned in the wiki.
Where do you think they stole the term from?
It did not, as the wiki claims, originally come from shoddy experiments. The original story had a scientist polymerize water, which was great - until it started polymerizing all the water it came into contact with. This story predates, and also foreshadows, modern-day nanotech "grey goo" stories.