Violating an acceptable use contract is not legally sound, but forming a contract with a web server requires you to enter your name and perform some action. Merely making a policy document available for discretionary download does not form a contract. The cause of action here is not breach of contract but trespass to chattels. Look at the legal cases he discusses; those were all trespass to chattels cases. If a web site operator places restrictions on the use of that site (either explicitly or through robots.txt files), and those are violated, then it a trespass to chattels cause of action can be found. Maybe not all courts would sustain, but enough have to give pause to this action.
I recall a Register article a few years ago with the term "wetback" in it. I am not sure if the (presumably British) author knew how racist that term is considered, but later on in the day, the word was removed and something less offensive took its place. There was no mention or indication of the earlier reference to wetback. So yes, The Register does alter their articles in at least one case.
Several of my friends have asked me to build them a mythbox after being impressed with the experience. But I would not do it, and here is why. When you want to upgrade it, things have a tendancy to break. Not a big deal, I can usually resolve it pretty quickly, but sometimes it will be down for an hour, a day or even longer. That is fine, to me it is worth it, and I have learned enough from building it to be able to usually solve the problems. This is not the case for my friends.
A prime example. Last week, there was a bug (related to qt, not myth afaik), that caused my guide data to be off by a day. A patch was available within 24 hours, and the pre-packaged binary I use was updated withing 48 hours. In the meantime, I adjusted my timezone as a temporary workaround and lost only 1 show. No biggy, but if I did not build the system, I would not know how to do even that simple workaround, or update it later. Now would I know how to clear the database, stop the backend, refill the database, and start up the backend. It is trivial for anyone who builds one, not so much for a friend. And if they can't have their TV for however long it takes ME to shell in there and fix it, that will not be good.
In short, mythtv is great if you are down to learn how to admin it, but I would never just give one to someone and let them support themselves.
They donated one of these boxes to the myth creator, and perhaps even more to other developers. They are smart, they want to get to get widespread support out there for their product, and I will maybe add one of these to my next mythbox.
Yeah, real unfortunate that they are going for the best argument, and the one that particular court is likely to be most sympathetic too. Article I of the Constitution is not a mere technicality. BTW, I took a class from one of the Commissioner's councils (the commissioner voted to approve the flag), and he also thought this is the best argument to overturn the flag (but I am sure his legal knowledge is shaky).
If you could do this, at least in the US, it would be a violation of the DMCA, circumventing an effective access control, which is exactly what this activity does.
We live in a very capitalistic society, or at least most of us do. It makes sense that if you can get something for free, why would you pay for it? Even if that means not getting a third season of that great tv show...
I guess you have never paid for bottled water, or know anyone that has.
It is precisely because we DO live in a capitalistic society that someone will figure out how to sell a product that the public could otherwise get for free (and this is not a slam on capitalism).
Re:IRC analysis fatally flawed
on
Is IRC All Bad?
·
· Score: 1
Yeah, the dude who wrote an o'reily book irc and piespy knows nothing about irc.
I do think his methodology is flawed though. I am sure his stats also show that bots are the majority users of irc because they talk the most in those channels. But that does not mean that same % of all IRC conversations are from bots.
This is what I spent. I am only counting what is in there right now, and not things that have since been upgraded:
Case: $40 CPU/Mobo: $5 120 gig HD: $60 (after rebate, cheaper now) 256 Meg Ram $50 (did not look around hard) pvr-350 $170 RS 3-1 remote $5
total -------$430
This mobo was a special from tigerdirect that was a via cpu called 1.2 but actually 900 mhz integrated onto a syntax board. It is bargain basement, and one should spend more here. If I had to do it over again, or an upgrade, I will get a better mobo and cpu with integrated spdif out.
But right now, I have full tivo like functionality with over 100 gigs of space to store. I do not pay monthly fees and probably put way too much time in it. If I spend a little more and get a better mobo and chip, I can do a lot more like watch dvds and mpeg-4 plus play the mythgames. There is some stuff I can do right I can't with a stock tivo (web based recordings, music, rss feeds, weather), and if I upgrade it, stuff I couldn't do even with a hacked tivo (play all those other formats). I have a dvd-burner lying around that I will throw in there, and then I can burn off recordings for archival purpose.
HOWEVER, do not do myth expecting to save money or time, you will do neither. Do myth b/c you want to learn more about linux, b/c you want no restrictions with your dvr, and because you like to create and tinker things like this (which I think applies to most of/.)
I use a pvr-350 and the quality is fine for me (as other myth users will tell you). Though I am on a puny 19 or 21 inch tv, so it is not the best test.
However, there are many things I can't do with the pvr-350, no mythgames, no mythmusic visualizations, no playing divx or mpeg-4 content. This is fine for me, it just serves as a tivo for me, and the occasional (s)vcd I throw at it. Obviously, it is not fine for others.
What some folks do is get a VGA->s-video cable that seems to work pretty well. I suggest reading the archives of the myth-users list (at gossamer.com I believe) to find out more on that option.
I can put two and two together, but the pcHDTV does nothing to decrypt satellite or cable HD content. All this will get you is broadcast OTA HD signals. That is great if you like local sports and reality tv. Me, I don't like reality tv, and most sports I do watch are on cable as it is. Nevertheless, I will probably be getting one of these cards to throw in my myth box right around May, I mean if another tit gets shown on the superbowl, i want to capture that in its hi-def gloriness.
I have that syntax--and you are right. Got it for about $5 after rebate and it is used for mythbox. I would say it is worth every penny I paid for it, maybe 1 penny more;) It runs the live tv and playback fine, but it is such a flaky board, and I would not consider it for the basis of a stable machine. Plus, I think the topic wanted todays standards...this is equivalent to a P3 or K6 performance.
Feel free to quote and analyze the portions that are excepted by this statute. It is very limited, and as I wrote, except for those limited exceptions, and as a general rule, non-compete contracts are barred and unenforceable in California. Completely uneforceable? No, and I never said (quite the contrary), but as a rule, they are. Of course, anyone getting legal advice from a slashdot post has is being very foolish.
The employer could put in the contract that all disputes will be resolved under X State's law or could establish jurisdication in a different state in a variety of ways. However, if you are Californian, are working in California and the employer is based primarily in California, they will have a difficult time enforcing the contract in a different state. They may be able to get Califonia courts to use a different state's law in California court, but that has certain requirements as well.
I know in California, except for very limited circrumstances, these contracts are indeed unenforceable. Specifically, I refer to: CAL. BUS. & PROF. 16600 "Except as provided in this chapter, every contract by which anyone is restrained from engaging in a lawful profession, trade, or business of any kind is to that extent void."
Or the bill could be decided by the leadership to be of extreme importance and put on a fast track to go through subcommittee, committee and on the floor in the matter of weeks, if not days. There is no requirement that there are hearings on a bill, and while there may be outcry, members and senators are not in a real fear of losing their job because they did not hold a hearing on a bill (unless there is public outcry).
Or it could be attached as a rider to another bill or to the approps bill. There are many ways that a motivated Congress can quickly pass bills. While this is a general good outline of the process, it is not uniform and many bills have been approved quickly when the leadership (particularly if both parties) wants it. A good example you know about...Patriot Act that was passed within weeks. You don't know about the tons of other examples because they happen without much fanfare.
You have not been on a college campus recently, have you? I attend a top tier law school at night, with people who have graduated undergrad several years before attending, so it is an older student body...and still everyone plays around on their laptop and surfs the web while in class "taking notes." I have no doubt that younger students have even less of an attention span.
I would really like to not have a second or two pause between my mp3 tracks, particularly when listening to live shows or dj mixes that just sound stupid with that little gap. Am I missing something and is this currently possible? Or is Apple just not going to support this (what I consider) must have feature?
Slashdot Mirror
Violating an acceptable use contract is not legally sound, but forming a contract with a web server requires you to enter your name and perform some action. Merely making a policy document available for discretionary download does not form a contract.
The cause of action here is not breach of contract but trespass to chattels. Look at the legal cases he discusses; those were all trespass to chattels cases. If a web site operator places restrictions on the use of that site (either explicitly or through robots.txt files), and those are violated, then it a trespass to chattels cause of action can be found. Maybe not all courts would sustain, but enough have to give pause to this action.
I recall a Register article a few years ago with the term "wetback" in it. I am not sure if the (presumably British) author knew how racist that term is considered, but later on in the day, the word was removed and something less offensive took its place. There was no mention or indication of the earlier reference to wetback. So yes, The Register does alter their articles in at least one case.
Several of my friends have asked me to build them a mythbox after being impressed with the experience. But I would not do it, and here is why. When you want to upgrade it, things have a tendancy to break. Not a big deal, I can usually resolve it pretty quickly, but sometimes it will be down for an hour, a day or even longer. That is fine, to me it is worth it, and I have learned enough from building it to be able to usually solve the problems. This is not the case for my friends.
A prime example. Last week, there was a bug (related to qt, not myth afaik), that caused my guide data to be off by a day. A patch was available within 24 hours, and the pre-packaged binary I use was updated withing 48 hours. In the meantime, I adjusted my timezone as a temporary workaround and lost only 1 show. No biggy, but if I did not build the system, I would not know how to do even that simple workaround, or update it later. Now would I know how to clear the database, stop the backend, refill the database, and start up the backend. It is trivial for anyone who builds one, not so much for a friend. And if they can't have their TV for however long it takes ME to shell in there and fix it, that will not be good.
In short, mythtv is great if you are down to learn how to admin it, but I would never just give one to someone and let them support themselves.
They donated one of these boxes to the myth creator, and perhaps even more to other developers. They are smart, they want to get to get widespread support out there for their product, and I will maybe add one of these to my next mythbox.
Yeah, real unfortunate that they are going for the best argument, and the one that particular court is likely to be most sympathetic too. Article I of the Constitution is not a mere technicality. BTW, I took a class from one of the Commissioner's councils (the commissioner voted to approve the flag), and he also thought this is the best argument to overturn the flag (but I am sure his legal knowledge is shaky).
If you could do this, at least in the US, it would be a violation of the DMCA, circumventing an effective access control, which is exactly what this activity does.
We live in a very capitalistic society, or at least most of us do. It makes sense that if you can get something for free, why would you pay for it? Even if that means not getting a third season of that great tv show...
I guess you have never paid for bottled water, or know anyone that has.
It is precisely because we DO live in a capitalistic society that someone will figure out how to sell a product that the public could otherwise get for free (and this is not a slam on capitalism).
Yeah, the dude who wrote an o'reily book irc and piespy knows nothing about irc.
I do think his methodology is flawed though. I am sure his stats also show that bots are the majority users of irc because they talk the most in those channels. But that does not mean that same % of all IRC conversations are from bots.
This is what I spent. I am only counting what is in there right now, and not things that have since been upgraded:
/.)
Case: $40
CPU/Mobo: $5
120 gig HD: $60 (after rebate, cheaper now)
256 Meg Ram $50 (did not look around hard)
pvr-350 $170
RS 3-1 remote $5
total -------$430
This mobo was a special from tigerdirect that was a via cpu called 1.2 but actually 900 mhz integrated onto a syntax board. It is bargain basement, and one should spend more here. If I had to do it over again, or an upgrade, I will get a better mobo and cpu with integrated spdif out.
But right now, I have full tivo like functionality with over 100 gigs of space to store. I do not pay monthly fees and probably put way too much time in it. If I spend a little more and get a better mobo and chip, I can do a lot more like watch dvds and mpeg-4 plus play the mythgames. There is some stuff I can do right I can't with a stock tivo (web based recordings, music, rss feeds, weather), and if I upgrade it, stuff I couldn't do even with a hacked tivo (play all those other formats). I have a dvd-burner lying around that I will throw in there, and then I can burn off recordings for archival purpose.
HOWEVER, do not do myth expecting to save money or time, you will do neither. Do myth b/c you want to learn more about linux, b/c you want no restrictions with your dvr, and because you like to create and tinker things like this (which I think applies to most of
I use a pvr-350 and the quality is fine for me (as other myth users will tell you). Though I am on a puny 19 or 21 inch tv, so it is not the best test.
However, there are many things I can't do with the pvr-350, no mythgames, no mythmusic visualizations, no playing divx or mpeg-4 content. This is fine for me, it just serves as a tivo for me, and the occasional (s)vcd I throw at it. Obviously, it is not fine for others.
What some folks do is get a VGA->s-video cable that seems to work pretty well. I suggest reading the archives of the myth-users list (at gossamer.com I believe) to find out more on that option.
I can put two and two together, but the pcHDTV does nothing to decrypt satellite or cable HD content. All this will get you is broadcast OTA HD signals. That is great if you like local sports and reality tv. Me, I don't like reality tv, and most sports I do watch are on cable as it is. Nevertheless, I will probably be getting one of these cards to throw in my myth box right around May, I mean if another tit gets shown on the superbowl, i want to capture that in its hi-def gloriness.
Note: I'm not bashing the band.
You should!
Wow, and she has the requisite mac-fan-girl hoody
I have that syntax--and you are right. Got it for about $5 after rebate and it is used for mythbox. I would say it is worth every penny I paid for it, maybe 1 penny more ;) It runs the live tv and playback fine, but it is such a flaky board, and I would not consider it for the basis of a stable machine. Plus, I think the topic wanted todays standards...this is equivalent to a P3 or K6 performance.
Feel free to quote and analyze the portions that are excepted by this statute. It is very limited, and as I wrote, except for those limited exceptions, and as a general rule, non-compete contracts are barred and unenforceable in California. Completely uneforceable? No, and I never said (quite the contrary), but as a rule, they are. Of course, anyone getting legal advice from a slashdot post has is being very foolish.
The employer could put in the contract that all disputes will be resolved under X State's law or could establish jurisdication in a different state in a variety of ways. However, if you are Californian, are working in California and the employer is based primarily in California, they will have a difficult time enforcing the contract in a different state. They may be able to get Califonia courts to use a different state's law in California court, but that has certain requirements as well.
I know in California, except for very limited circrumstances, these contracts are indeed unenforceable. Specifically, I refer to:
CAL. BUS. & PROF. 16600 "Except as provided in this chapter, every contract by which anyone is restrained from engaging in a lawful profession, trade, or business of any kind is to that extent void."
meant to say:
mythtv
umm, mythtv????
She is, but in California the only republican who could beat her is Ahnold, and he is busy with a different job right now.
Or the bill could be decided by the leadership to be of extreme importance and put on a fast track to go through subcommittee, committee and on the floor in the matter of weeks, if not days. There is no requirement that there are hearings on a bill, and while there may be outcry, members and senators are not in a real fear of losing their job because they did not hold a hearing on a bill (unless there is public outcry).
Or it could be attached as a rider to another bill or to the approps bill. There are many ways that a motivated Congress can quickly pass bills. While this is a general good outline of the process, it is not uniform and many bills have been approved quickly when the leadership (particularly if both parties) wants it. A good example you know about...Patriot Act that was passed within weeks. You don't know about the tons of other examples because they happen without much fanfare.
You have not been on a college campus recently, have you? I attend a top tier law school at night, with people who have graduated undergrad several years before attending, so it is an older student body...and still everyone plays around on their laptop and surfs the web while in class "taking notes." I have no doubt that younger students have even less of an attention span.
I would really like to not have a second or two pause between my mp3 tracks, particularly when listening to live shows or dj mixes that just sound stupid with that little gap. Am I missing something and is this currently possible? Or is Apple just not going to support this (what I consider) must have feature?
Here you go: google for flac2mp3
link
Whoops, misread that as the StateS settled. My bad.