It matters because it might/is going to cost him a lot of money that he doesn't have, and could professionally destroy him.
Should Pacman still be under copyright? No, or at least very arguably not after 30 years.
Is Pacman still under copyright? Yes.
Is this copyright infringement UNDER THE RULES AS THEY STAND? Almost certainly
Does that make the author a bad man who deserves punishment? No inference can be drawn.
Is some form of copyright protection necessary in the modern world? Probably; 260 years ago before copyright the investment required to product a work of art was almost entirely personal - and anything substantial was commissioned. Without copyright blockbusters would not exist - you may not regard that as a bad thing, but many people like them.
What can we conclude? He is boned, copyright needs reform.
Is this an original conclusion? Not by a country mile.
I know this is already +5, but make it +10 or something.
I'm not American, in fact I'm British (you know, we're pissing an Exxon Valdez into the Gulf every 4 or 5 days), but even I'm proud of the USA right now.
This post is what the good parts of America are to the rest of us.
The minor one of what to do about the imminent bankruptcy of the US's largest single state economy, and the worlds 8th largest economy springs to mind, but maybe this is more critical.
Actually, translucent, green, are we sure this isn't a blatant ad to invite Superman to give up his Arctic home, and move to the Golden State? That would definitely bring in tourists, and that could solve the budget crisis. Brilliant thinking there....
actually I'd say that currently the sole salient feature is 'being born of human parents' - it is clearly not intelligence, as otherwise dolphins, most primates, and various other 'clever' animals would rank above meat born of human parents in a persistent vegetative state.
And it doesn't.
Whether 'human' rights will expand to include all intelligence is an interesting ethics debate, and one which may only be answered once we have built a more competent intelligence which has sufficient capability to decide whether 'Mekon rights' should be extended to us.
A lot of trash bags are made from partially recyclable material. Of course because it is such crappy quality, not only does it make the bags heavier and thicker (so more expensive to transport) but it also uses more virgin material to hold them together than bags which were 100% virgin material in the first place.
The extremely astute might notice that should sufficient numbers of these be discovered then there might be another explanation for all of the "dark matter" which doesn't result from the physics of the universe but from the natural activities of intelligent life. (Perhaps making the theoretical physicists extremely unhappy.)
However since the extremely astute would also notice that roughly 90% of the mass in the visible universe would then be down to intelligent life, you would have to eliminate that as a likely explanation, as it seems overwhelmingly likely that in that scenario there would be some overt evidence - our star being consumed for example. Since that would be a very competitive scenario new life would likely be targeted to prevent more competitors.
It is just that 95% of the current 'countermeasures' are worse than 95% of the actual terror, without actually reducing the risk of a 'mega' event, i.e. the other 5%.
Once upon a time the US was a genuine bastion for freedom, freedom of thought, freedom of speech, and freedom of action (subject to the latter two not being at the expense of others). The US constitution is still THE model for a free modern democracy. Those of us who do not benefit from such strong protections for the individual still envy those of you with it.
The current vogue for suspending those freedoms to 'save the children' from 'terror' is actually simply playing into the hands of those terrorists.
When you analyse motives of almost any organisation the actual motive for behaviour is to increase in size and power. That is what the security and political services are doing, and the logical end point is the irreversible tipping of power towards totalitarianism, resulting in the loss of all those freedoms that are so precious.
Obviously counterwise; this is simply conspiracy theory, and the documented cases of continuous illegal actions against the world and US citizens are simply hyperbole.
Oh, and to deal with your assertion; my opinion is mostly synthesised from what I perceive to be that of the majority of 'security experts'. It's the politicians and spooks that fall into the dumb/corrupt camp in my opinion. Which I don't regard as dumb/corrupt, but simply acting to increase their own influence and power at everyone elses' expense.
If it's a 754 pin, AthlonXP-M then I guess it must be a Sempron. There is only one 754 pin Sempron I think (not sure - may be more by now), and it's an Athlon 64 core without the 64 bit extensions. Which would fit what you're saying. Most of the Semprons are old (Thunderbird?) 32 bit cores, but there is at least one which is the new core, but crippled. See what an up to date version of Sandra calls it.
How do you sneak a bomb into a payload which is calculated to less than a kilo - if the payload is too heavy the launcher won't go where it's meant to, and you know that there's something extra on board.
You can even handily calculate how much extra weight you've got, so how big the bomb can be.
Obviously you could substitute a bomb for legitimate cargo, but I thought you guys had finally decided that kerb side check in just wasn't worth it?
You can commit fraud in this way, if your corporate actions are regarded as 'ramping'. This is the crime of making statements that raise your share price, which are not based in fact. For SCO to state they have high expectations of a case which is clearly bullcrap, they are actually ramping. The only question is whether the SEC would act before the case came to court, as for them to declare SCO's statements to be ramping, they would effectively be pre-judging the case(s).
An interesting problem for those in the SEC, as their first responsibility is maintenance of an efficient market (protection of investors/ ensuring truthful information etc is the means to the ends)
So who are the world's Super Powers? A quick Google Search [google.com] did me no good, so what are the requirements and the current list? Anyone?
Try 'definition superpower' in google, and you'll get a couple of interesting and subjective suggestions, the most logical (from a historical perspective) of which seem to suggest that you may only have one superpower at a time, with zero, one, or more major competitors, that may or may not assume the crown over time.
http://www.dictionary.com on the other hand gives us
1)A powerful and influential nation, especially a nuclear power that dominates its allies or client states in an international power bloc.
and;
2)a state powerful enough to influence events throughout the world.
Neither of these seem to restrict membership of the club to 1 member, and you could certainly make a case for China to qualify under either definition, although I think it's fair to say that the US is at the top of the superpower tree by any reasonable assessment.
Just down the road from where I live two ten year old girls disappeared last Sunday. The police have just been reduced to making a public announcement to any abductor as follows: 'I've left a message on..[one of the girl's].. mobile phone with details of how to contact me, please do so' as they have absolutely no leads. Whilst this tracking device is not an ideal solution (unless you absolutely trust anyone that can get hold of the tracking signal) to the problem of losing people, I can see it being very popular with parents.
Why is it worse. Genetic sequences are possibly the most complex area of computational modelling that we work with (excepting weather modelling and fluid dynamics?). The most powerful tool we have to examine combinations is evolution, either modelled or for real. Yes we'll get undesired combinations, but that's why you model lots of them.
Some scientists dislike evolutionary techniques because it seems like relinquishing control for randomness, but evolution is anything but random in it's effects, it's simply a matter (okay so not so simple) of setting up the right environment for desirable characteristics to flourish.
a) Plant patents pre-date genetic engineering: much of the none-"GM" corn they are receiving will have been grown from patented seed.
Except that these patents should fail on enforcement, on the basis of 'prior art' and insufficient detail, it is only when you can demonstrate that you created genetic material and explain what you created that you can patent part of the genome surely?
b) "GM" corn (maize, in Europe) varieties are hybrids. The seed companies do not need to file lawsuits to protect their patents as hybrids do not reproduce themselves. The yield from planting the donated "GM" corn would be extremely disappointing and the problem self-limiting.
Disappointing (i.e. desperately bad if you're third world and relying on this crop to live) is not the same as none. That said it is not saved seed that is the problem, this is fairly self limiting as you state. It is the cross pollination with 'normal' strains, where there are lower yields and 'unusual' grains permanently that is the problem.
c) The putative lawsuits would have to be filed in Zimbabwe. I doubt that they would get far.
Currently Zimbabwe is not a member of the WTO or related organisations as far as I'm aware, however as a condition of membership you accept a whole raft of legislative rules and regs that must be obeyed, and they may do so in the future (obviously only after Monster Boy has left power)
You're correct. one point I haven't seen posted, so may not yet have been mentioned, 1984 was written/published around 1948, and Orwell has commented since that it was simply an extrapolation of then, rather than a prediction of now, but he didn't feel he could call it 1948.
Just after WW2, and a fair degree of paranoia was still floating around in Government, that's the backdrop.
As I understand Christian thought, God is eternal, here is a suggestion that the Universe is eternal, surely if you exclude an eternal Universe as being nonsensical, then God goes along with it, and I'm pretty sure that's blasphemy. I appreciate that the Universe is not required for Gods existence, I'm simply saying that one hypothesis is just as valid as the other within their respective frames of reference.
You mention in a previous post that Athiests simply haven't spent the time to understand Christians, well some of us are ex Christians, who really sat down and thought about it very hard. I do not wish to attack your religion, if that's what you need to get through the day, but when you are saying that God is eternal, and exists outside of space and time (previous post) on the one hand, but that the Universe MUST have a start and end, and it's foolish to consider any other possibility, well you are proving that you have faith, not that you've thought about it.
Sorry I've really bitten this time, and I don't think you're even trolling.
Entropy so does not insist on an end point, or a beginning. Within an infinite system the (2nd?) law of thermodynamics does not necessarily apply. Indeed it may be no more than a convenient approximation within our corner of the Universe, and would seem to strictly only apply when the arrow of time is constant.
Occams Razor: The simplest answer that is consistent with the evidence is most often the correct one. Or alternatively: Do not multiply entities unnecessarily.
Quantum Physics is an example of Occams Razor working just fine. Classical Phyics was no longer fully consistent with the evidence. If a simpler theory than Quantum Mechanics is discovered tomorrow, and it explains everything that Quantum Mechanics does, and is testable with specific predictions that give the same answers then it will supercede Quantum Mechanics thanks to Occams Razor. If it makes different predictions that fail when tested, or is less complete in it's explanation of the world then it will fail. Occams Razor has enormous logical value
Slashdot Mirror
It matters because it might/is going to cost him a lot of money that he doesn't have, and could professionally destroy him.
Should Pacman still be under copyright? No, or at least very arguably not after 30 years.
Is Pacman still under copyright? Yes.
Is this copyright infringement UNDER THE RULES AS THEY STAND? Almost certainly
Does that make the author a bad man who deserves punishment? No inference can be drawn.
Is some form of copyright protection necessary in the modern world? Probably; 260 years ago before copyright the investment required to product a work of art was almost entirely personal - and anything substantial was commissioned. Without copyright blockbusters would not exist - you may not regard that as a bad thing, but many people like them.
What can we conclude? He is boned, copyright needs reform.
Is this an original conclusion? Not by a country mile.
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a wikileaker..
We ALL have hooks, even the teetotal, traceless people you are talking about.
Do I want to hire the 'guy who got drunk on the internet' or the 'no trace anywhere' guy?
Or maybe the one without trace is just a nazi paedophile and keeps it secret.
sorry, I'll move on to another topic having killed this one now.
I know this is already +5, but make it +10 or something.
I'm not American, in fact I'm British (you know, we're pissing an Exxon Valdez into the Gulf every 4 or 5 days), but even I'm proud of the USA right now.
This post is what the good parts of America are to the rest of us.
Thank you for making my day.
Surely there are more important issues.
The minor one of what to do about the imminent bankruptcy of the US's largest single state economy, and the worlds 8th largest economy springs to mind, but maybe this is more critical.
Actually, translucent, green, are we sure this isn't a blatant ad to invite Superman to give up his Arctic home, and move to the Golden State? That would definitely bring in tourists, and that could solve the budget crisis. Brilliant thinking there....
actually I'd say that currently the sole salient feature is 'being born of human parents' - it is clearly not intelligence, as otherwise dolphins, most primates, and various other 'clever' animals would rank above meat born of human parents in a persistent vegetative state.
And it doesn't.
Whether 'human' rights will expand to include all intelligence is an interesting ethics debate, and one which may only be answered once we have built a more competent intelligence which has sufficient capability to decide whether 'Mekon rights' should be extended to us.
At that point I bet we become really inclusive.
Well, actually I have experienced psychic phenomena;
I have this weird thing with my wife where I think about her, and then she rings me. Completely random, and totally unexplainable.
Happens about 6pm every day...
just as well you aren't in Utah, or you could be in the thousands by 2021
Wow, Voxel-based GPU you say.
That makes the whole thing completely unbelievable. There is NO WAY they'll be able to do Voxel-based GPU at a $599 price point.
A lot of trash bags are made from partially recyclable material. Of course because it is such crappy quality, not only does it make the bags heavier and thicker (so more expensive to transport) but it also uses more virgin material to hold them together than bags which were 100% virgin material in the first place.
Save the planet through waste.
The extremely astute might notice that should sufficient numbers of these be discovered then there might be another explanation for all of the "dark matter" which doesn't result from the physics of the universe but from the natural activities of intelligent life. (Perhaps making the theoretical physicists extremely unhappy.)
However since the extremely astute would also notice that roughly 90% of the mass in the visible universe would then be down to intelligent life, you would have to eliminate that as a likely explanation, as it seems overwhelmingly likely that in that scenario there would be some overt evidence - our star being consumed for example. Since that would be a very competitive scenario new life would likely be targeted to prevent more competitors.
In my experience, try and delete itunes or quicktime from a windows installation and there's a reasonable chance it will die a horrible death.
Oh, no, there is definitely terrorism.
It is just that 95% of the current 'countermeasures' are worse than 95% of the actual terror, without actually reducing the risk of a 'mega' event, i.e. the other 5%.
Once upon a time the US was a genuine bastion for freedom, freedom of thought, freedom of speech, and freedom of action (subject to the latter two not being at the expense of others). The US constitution is still THE model for a free modern democracy. Those of us who do not benefit from such strong protections for the individual still envy those of you with it.
The current vogue for suspending those freedoms to 'save the children' from 'terror' is actually simply playing into the hands of those terrorists.
When you analyse motives of almost any organisation the actual motive for behaviour is to increase in size and power. That is what the security and political services are doing, and the logical end point is the irreversible tipping of power towards totalitarianism, resulting in the loss of all those freedoms that are so precious.
Obviously counterwise; this is simply conspiracy theory, and the documented cases of continuous illegal actions against the world and US citizens are simply hyperbole.
Oh, and to deal with your assertion; my opinion is mostly synthesised from what I perceive to be that of the majority of 'security experts'. It's the politicians and spooks that fall into the dumb/corrupt camp in my opinion. Which I don't regard as dumb/corrupt, but simply acting to increase their own influence and power at everyone elses' expense.
If it's a 754 pin, AthlonXP-M then I guess it must be a Sempron. There is only one 754 pin Sempron I think (not sure - may be more by now), and it's an Athlon 64 core without the 64 bit extensions. Which would fit what you're saying. Most of the Semprons are old (Thunderbird?) 32 bit cores, but there is at least one which is the new core, but crippled. See what an up to date version of Sandra calls it.
Hope that helps, and isn't completely wrong.
sneak?
How do you sneak a bomb into a payload which is calculated to less than a kilo - if the payload is too heavy the launcher won't go where it's meant to, and you know that there's something extra on board.
You can even handily calculate how much extra weight you've got, so how big the bomb can be.
Obviously you could substitute a bomb for legitimate cargo, but I thought you guys had finally decided that kerb side check in just wasn't worth it?
You can commit fraud in this way, if your corporate actions are regarded as 'ramping'. This is the crime of making statements that raise your share price, which are not based in fact. For SCO to state they have high expectations of a case which is clearly bullcrap, they are actually ramping. The only question is whether the SEC would act before the case came to court, as for them to declare SCO's statements to be ramping, they would effectively be pre-judging the case(s).
An interesting problem for those in the SEC, as their first responsibility is maintenance of an efficient market (protection of investors/ ensuring truthful information etc is the means to the ends)
Try 'definition superpower' in google, and you'll get a couple of interesting and subjective suggestions, the most logical (from a historical perspective) of which seem to suggest that you may only have one superpower at a time, with zero, one, or more major competitors, that may or may not assume the crown over time.
http://www.dictionary.com on the other hand gives us
1)A powerful and influential nation, especially a nuclear power that dominates its allies or client states in an international power bloc.
and;
2)a state powerful enough to influence events throughout the world.
Neither of these seem to restrict membership of the club to 1 member, and you could certainly make a case for China to qualify under either definition, although I think it's fair to say that the US is at the top of the superpower tree by any reasonable assessment.
Just down the road from where I live two ten year old girls disappeared last Sunday. The police have just been reduced to making a public announcement to any abductor as follows: 'I've left a message on ..[one of the girl's].. mobile phone with details of how to contact me, please do so' as they have absolutely no leads. Whilst this tracking device is not an ideal solution (unless you absolutely trust anyone that can get hold of the tracking signal) to the problem of losing people, I can see it being very popular with parents.
Some scientists dislike evolutionary techniques because it seems like relinquishing control for randomness, but evolution is anything but random in it's effects, it's simply a matter (okay so not so simple) of setting up the right environment for desirable characteristics to flourish.
Except that these patents should fail on enforcement, on the basis of 'prior art' and insufficient detail, it is only when you can demonstrate that you created genetic material and explain what you created that you can patent part of the genome surely?
b) "GM" corn (maize, in Europe) varieties are hybrids. The seed companies do not need to file lawsuits to protect their patents as hybrids do not reproduce themselves. The yield from planting the donated "GM" corn would be extremely disappointing and the problem self-limiting.
Disappointing (i.e. desperately bad if you're third world and relying on this crop to live) is not the same as none. That said it is not saved seed that is the problem, this is fairly self limiting as you state. It is the cross pollination with 'normal' strains, where there are lower yields and 'unusual' grains permanently that is the problem.
c) The putative lawsuits would have to be filed in Zimbabwe. I doubt that they would get far.
Currently Zimbabwe is not a member of the WTO or related organisations as far as I'm aware, however as a condition of membership you accept a whole raft of legislative rules and regs that must be obeyed, and they may do so in the future (obviously only after Monster Boy has left power)
You're correct. one point I haven't seen posted, so may not yet have been mentioned, 1984 was written/published around 1948, and Orwell has commented since that it was simply an extrapolation of then, rather than a prediction of now, but he didn't feel he could call it 1948.
Just after WW2, and a fair degree of paranoia was still floating around in Government, that's the backdrop.
As I understand Christian thought, God is eternal, here is a suggestion that the Universe is eternal, surely if you exclude an eternal Universe as being nonsensical, then God goes along with it, and I'm pretty sure that's blasphemy. I appreciate that the Universe is not required for Gods existence, I'm simply saying that one hypothesis is just as valid as the other within their respective frames of reference.
You mention in a previous post that Athiests simply haven't spent the time to understand Christians, well some of us are ex Christians, who really sat down and thought about it very hard. I do not wish to attack your religion, if that's what you need to get through the day, but when you are saying that God is eternal, and exists outside of space and time (previous post) on the one hand, but that the Universe MUST have a start and end, and it's foolish to consider any other possibility, well you are proving that you have faith, not that you've thought about it.
Sorry I've really bitten this time, and I don't think you're even trolling.
Entropy so does not insist on an end point, or a beginning. Within an infinite system the (2nd?) law of thermodynamics does not necessarily apply. Indeed it may be no more than a convenient approximation within our corner of the Universe, and would seem to strictly only apply when the arrow of time is constant.
Quantum Physics is an example of Occams Razor working just fine. Classical Phyics was no longer fully consistent with the evidence. If a simpler theory than Quantum Mechanics is discovered tomorrow, and it explains everything that Quantum Mechanics does, and is testable with specific predictions that give the same answers then it will supercede Quantum Mechanics thanks to Occams Razor. If it makes different predictions that fail when tested, or is less complete in it's explanation of the world then it will fail. Occams Razor has enormous logical value