First off, "some API's around the periphery" is a rather nice way of saying that MS controls "little" things like ASP.NET and ADO.NET and WINForms. You have a very generous definition of the periphery.
Now, you again insinuate that Sun has Java locked up in patents. Like I said before, be specific, give us some actual likes to some actual patents. David Mohring took the trouble with regards to.NET.
Finally, Sun has gone a lot farther than some "legally non-binding promises" about being able to fully implement an open source licensed version of Java. They not only have changed their license to support it they've also changed to allow for free testing and access to the testing tools needed to establish compatibility.
I find this absolutely astounding. Steve Ballmer has been quoted about having IP in.NET and wanting to protect it. If you bothered to read the post by Mr. Mohring that started this you would see links about Mr. Ballmer's statement and a patent application filed by Microsoft.
You however, blithely dismiss all of this and claim to know better, eh?
Meanwhile, Sun is actively working on supporting groups for open implementations of Java and you attempt to disclaim it as "hot air". Please tell us what particular patents we "all know that Sun holds". Be specific as David was.
Then, finally, we troll off on a tangent by talking about C# and CLR. We all know that MS has submitted these two tiny portions of.NET to ECMA so they have to be relatively unencumbered by patents.
This, however, isn't the issue. The issue is.NET in its entirety. David has repeatedly pointed out the potential legal traps just waiting for anyone trying to fully implement.NET.
First off, how can a JVM not be a Java implementation? The Virtual Machine is the part that actually runs the byte-code that Java (and other languages) is compiled into.
Second, as was pointed out, IBM in fact has a complete "clean room implementation" which means that it uses no code from Sun whatsoever and is built solely off of the specfication.
Finally, Sun has made incredible strides in opening up Java for implementation by free-ware groups such as Apache. It is not possible to create a complete and compliant JVM and JDK using an open source license.
That's not really true. Rotor is a "shared source CLI". This has two strikes against it.
1) It's only the CLI and not.NET. Remember the Common Language Infrastructure is only a small portion of what MS is calling.NET
2) It's "shared source". That basically means "look but don't touch". You can't do any commercial development with this code and you can't look at this if you want to work on something like Mono.
The whole legal area in this is muddy to say the least. I believe the main distinction is 'longevity'. A trade secret is something that you mean to keep secret forever.
Look at Scientology. They actually use trade secrets and copyright to protect their stuff. This information is designed to NEVER become public.
Apple's information, however, was designed to go public, just at a time of Apple's choosing. So, I think you'd consider it confidential information up to the point of release and not an actual legal trade secret.
There's some more on this here, but it didn't really clear up anything much in mind either: http://www.gigalaw.com/articles/2000-all/grossman- 2000-05c-all.html
The point was that there's actually a legal definition for a "trade secret". There is no copyright involved in this.
First off, if the contractor did leak the information then he was clearly in the wrong.
Second, Apple's attempts at "copyrighting" industrial design have always been a bit odious. I mean look at all the iMac-alike lawsuits they fired off. Don't you think some of the old terminals had already covered the ground of "screen w/ integrated electronics and keyboard on cord" form factor? Apple made it a little cooler with the translucent plastics, but it wasn't exactly ground breaking. Now, I can see a case for their newer iMac with the lamp arm (I still can't figure out if they're cool-looking or not).
So, the contractor violated an NDA. That's all well and good. But, did he really leak "trade secrets"?
BTW - the formula for coke is a trade secret. This means that no one really knows what's in there and Coca-Cola has to work hard to protect that information. This information was merely secret for the time being and was going to be fully revealed to the public just at a time of the company's choosing.
First and most frightening (and the obligatory SlashDot cheap shot) from the Features list: Microsoft Windows Operating System [Insert all 'crash' jokes here.]
The other main problem is people/hr on one of these things. The average coaster ride is probably in the 1 to 3 minute range. You have an additional probably 3 - 5 minutes to change the people in and out for the next run. The only way you can get a lot of people through is to have a lot of people on each run (especially since change-over time > run time).
Finally, (a few issues, nobody expected the spanish inquisition..) having an industrial robot here at work I can tell you that these things are massive, require really solid bolting/anchoring, and heavy duty power requirements. I imagine some travelling circus rides are the same, but this doesn't really strike me as a possible money maker.
scene: Geek typing on computer...Looks a bit puzzled, pauses.
off camera: STOP!
Catherine Zeta Jones walks on screen. CZJ: This poor slashdotter is trying to type a reply to a Star Trek post but can't remember the spelling of a Klingon weapon. Perhaps a call to the Klingon Language Institute will help...
Slaps phone in hand of slashdotter... KLI: Greetings human worm. Asking questions is a sign of weakness!
(sorry, bad association with an even worse commercial)
Ok, I'll take that bet. I'm willing to wager that all of the following lines can be appropriately attributed by the faithful readers here at Slashdot...
1. Make it so. The reply every fan hoped to hear to the "Please kill Wesley" letters. (Sorry Wil)
2. Processing... processing... Windows XP on a 386.
3. I should kill you where you stand! Bill Gates to the DoJ.
4. We're fresh out of warp cores. I just can't do anything with this one. How 'bout failed first draft of "we have no bananas today"?
5. I sense nothing unusual. The reply that Saddam's hoping for from the weapons inspectors.
Any takers?
(And to show that I do actually know the real answers.) 1) Picard 2) Data 3) Worf 4) Geordi 5) Deanna
Of course my real favorite was the line that was never written in reply to Picard's other bon mot: P: Mr. Worf fire at will! W: Riker or Wheaton sir?
Anyone out there have or try one of the Logitech io's? This seems to be the real solution for note taking.
I've got an old CrossPad as well and it was a great compromise between the new Tablets and regular old pen and paper. The best thing is that you always had a hard copy of whatever you wrote no matter what. I imagine getting an application crashing error after an hour or two of taking notes would absolutely suck.
We've gone and mixed quantum mechanics with Oreos. (Does that mean we don't know whether the Oreo has the creamy filling or not?)
The Windhexe article talked about having a dehydrater on the output end of the system (thus they were getting powder a lot of the time). While I don't know the water percentage of Oreos I'm imagining that they'd get some sizable reduction with the total process.
Read the part about the egg membranes and the jellyfish. The challenge was to get the water out of the jellyfish to make the collagen useful. I'm guessing that the system not only pulverizes but also centrifuges somewhat to seperate parts and then they could evaporate the water out and wind up with their powder. (Just what we need, jellyfish powder getting out on the streets.)
Slashdot Mirror
First off, "some API's around the periphery" is a rather nice way of saying that MS controls "little" things like ASP.NET and ADO.NET and WINForms. You have a very generous definition of the periphery.
.NET.
Now, you again insinuate that Sun has Java locked up in patents. Like I said before, be specific, give us some actual likes to some actual patents. David Mohring took the trouble with regards to
Finally, Sun has gone a lot farther than some "legally non-binding promises" about being able to fully implement an open source licensed version of Java. They not only have changed their license to support it they've also changed to allow for free testing and access to the testing tools needed to establish compatibility.
C'mon g4dget, time to put up some facts.
It *IS* possible to create a complete and compliant JVM and JDK using an open source license.
Specifically this came about through work between Sun and the Apache organization.
Imagine the rash of Fan Cloning we'd have if/when this becomes "Cheap and Easy"(tm).
I find this absolutely astounding. Steve Ballmer has been quoted about having IP in .NET and wanting to protect it. If you bothered to read the post by Mr. Mohring that started this you would see links about Mr. Ballmer's statement and a patent application filed by Microsoft.
.NET to ECMA so they have to be relatively unencumbered by patents.
.NET in its entirety. David has repeatedly pointed out the potential legal traps just waiting for anyone trying to fully implement .NET.
You however, blithely dismiss all of this and claim to know better, eh?
Meanwhile, Sun is actively working on supporting groups for open implementations of Java and you attempt to disclaim it as "hot air". Please tell us what particular patents we "all know that Sun holds". Be specific as David was.
Then, finally, we troll off on a tangent by talking about C# and CLR. We all know that MS has submitted these two tiny portions of
This, however, isn't the issue. The issue is
First off, how can a JVM not be a Java implementation? The Virtual Machine is the part that actually runs the byte-code that Java (and other languages) is compiled into.
Second, as was pointed out, IBM in fact has a complete "clean room implementation" which means that it uses no code from Sun whatsoever and is built solely off of the specfication.
Finally, Sun has made incredible strides in opening up Java for implementation by free-ware groups such as Apache. It is not possible to create a complete and compliant JVM and JDK using an open source license.
That's not really true. Rotor is a "shared source CLI". This has two strikes against it.
.NET. Remember the Common Language Infrastructure is only a small portion of what MS is calling .NET
1) It's only the CLI and not
2) It's "shared source". That basically means "look but don't touch". You can't do any commercial development with this code and you can't look at this if you want to work on something like Mono.
What is the sound of two LCD's sucking on a single battery?
Seriously, the LCD is the biggest battery hog there is in a laptop. Doubling that guy, backlight and all, will just absolutely blow.
(Look at all the current tablet reviews - interesting device wish the batteries lasted longer...)
Instead of having to teach it to walk they could fuse the legs and get a dinosaur sized Segway to drive it around with instead. :-D
The whole legal area in this is muddy to say the least. I believe the main distinction is 'longevity'. A trade secret is something that you mean to keep secret forever.
- 2000-05c-all.html
Look at Scientology. They actually use trade secrets and copyright to protect their stuff. This information is designed to NEVER become public.
Apple's information, however, was designed to go public, just at a time of Apple's choosing. So, I think you'd consider it confidential information up to the point of release and not an actual legal trade secret.
There's some more on this here, but it didn't really clear up anything much in mind either: http://www.gigalaw.com/articles/2000-all/grossman
The point was that there's actually a legal definition for a "trade secret". There is no copyright involved in this.
First off, if the contractor did leak the information then he was clearly in the wrong.
Second, Apple's attempts at "copyrighting" industrial design have always been a bit odious. I mean look at all the iMac-alike lawsuits they fired off. Don't you think some of the old terminals had already covered the ground of "screen w/ integrated electronics and keyboard on cord" form factor? Apple made it a little cooler with the translucent plastics, but it wasn't exactly ground breaking. Now, I can see a case for their newer iMac with the lamp arm (I still can't figure out if they're cool-looking or not).
So, the contractor violated an NDA. That's all well and good. But, did he really leak "trade secrets"?
BTW - the formula for coke is a trade secret. This means that no one really knows what's in there and Coca-Cola has to work hard to protect that information. This information was merely secret for the time being and was going to be fully revealed to the public just at a time of the company's choosing.
First and most frightening (and the obligatory SlashDot cheap shot) from the Features list:
Microsoft Windows Operating System
[Insert all 'crash' jokes here.]
The other main problem is people/hr on one of these things. The average coaster ride is probably in the 1 to 3 minute range. You have an additional probably 3 - 5 minutes to change the people in and out for the next run. The only way you can get a lot of people through is to have a lot of people on each run (especially since change-over time > run time).
Finally, (a few issues, nobody expected the spanish inquisition..) having an industrial robot here at work I can tell you that these things are massive, require really solid bolting/anchoring, and heavy duty power requirements. I imagine some travelling circus rides are the same, but this doesn't really strike me as a possible money maker.
They'll need the 30+ mile long poles to hit Ctrl+Alt+Del...
On the Unix side -
That "No route to host" error becomes more meaningful.
"Uptime" will relate to orbit, not system.
SSH is the protocol they kept using to open and close the doors on the moon base. :-D
Well, I guess if you're a zombie and keep using your right arm you'll wind up as a leftist soon enough. :-}
Just flashed on this:
scene: Geek typing on computer...Looks a bit puzzled, pauses.
off camera: STOP!
Catherine Zeta Jones walks on screen.
CZJ: This poor slashdotter is trying to type a reply to a Star Trek post but can't remember the spelling of a Klingon weapon. Perhaps a call to the Klingon Language Institute will help...
Slaps phone in hand of slashdotter...
KLI: Greetings human worm. Asking questions is a sign of weakness!
(sorry, bad association with an even worse commercial)
Instead of fixating on 10 take the 1 and the 0 and add them together.
:-D
You can claim the movie to be either even or odd depending on your view of it.
Now there's an interesting fight.
Would you like to play global thermonuclear bat-leth? (sp)
(I'm sorry, I lost my Klingon dictionary.)
Ok, I'll take that bet. I'm willing to wager that all of the following lines can be appropriately attributed by the faithful readers here at Slashdot...
1. Make it so.
The reply every fan hoped to hear to the "Please kill Wesley" letters. (Sorry Wil)
2. Processing... processing...
Windows XP on a 386.
3. I should kill you where you stand!
Bill Gates to the DoJ.
4. We're fresh out of warp cores.
I just can't do anything with this one. How 'bout failed first draft of "we have no bananas today"?
5. I sense nothing unusual.
The reply that Saddam's hoping for from the weapons inspectors.
Any takers?
(And to show that I do actually know the real answers.)
1) Picard
2) Data
3) Worf
4) Geordi
5) Deanna
Of course my real favorite was the line that was never written in reply to Picard's other bon mot:
P: Mr. Worf fire at will!
W: Riker or Wheaton sir?
My bad.
I forgot to flip the irony bit to make my point more clear.
Now, if the FBI is going to use Ads to track down criminals and terrorists will ad blocking software become illegal?
I can see the campaign now...
"Only criminals, terrorists, and the people who don't want to help find them use ad blocking software."
An Ask Slashdot for 'should we trust anonymous opinions'?
Goes back to my favorite saw: 'Free advice is worth what you pay for it.'
Anyone out there have or try one of the Logitech io's? This seems to be the real solution for note taking.
I've got an old CrossPad as well and it was a great compromise between the new Tablets and regular old pen and paper. The best thing is that you always had a hard copy of whatever you wrote no matter what. I imagine getting an application crashing error after an hour or two of taking notes would absolutely suck.
We've gone and mixed quantum mechanics with Oreos. (Does that mean we don't know whether the Oreo has the creamy filling or not?)
The Windhexe article talked about having a dehydrater on the output end of the system (thus they were getting powder a lot of the time). While I don't know the water percentage of Oreos I'm imagining that they'd get some sizable reduction with the total process.
Read the part about the egg membranes and the jellyfish. The challenge was to get the water out of the jellyfish to make the collagen useful. I'm guessing that the system not only pulverizes but also centrifuges somewhat to seperate parts and then they could evaporate the water out and wind up with their powder. (Just what we need, jellyfish powder getting out on the streets.)
But doesn't the ol' "inner geek" really wonder what an entire bag of oreos in one bite would taste like?
Take the pulverized and dehydrated Oreo's and form them into capsules.
:-D
Pop one of those in your mouth and a shot of milk. You can get through snack time in 5 seconds.