They aren't saying that the school has to _run_ the OS that came with the computer. They're saying that when you buy an OEM computer that comes bundled with an OS, the OS license is for that computer and that computer alone, and must transfer ownership along with that machine.
That doesn't mean that the existing title information is any interesting form. It lives in a bunch of DVD encoded video. The information that Microsoft's database sends down is a track-by-track list of titles so you can click a track _by_name_ to jump straight to it.
How is this possible if CDs and DVDs don't ship with serial numbers? The only thing that they could _possibly_ discover is that more people have played this CD or DVD than the number of copies that have sold. However, even that wouldn't be absolute proof of piracy (how many people played their legitimately owned media on more than one PC? loaned it to their friends? etc.), let alone point them in the direction of the actual pirates.
I'm probably an archetypal example of a technology enthusiast who couldn't decide between electrical engineering and computer science. I chose to go with electrical engineering because I have always found it easier to teach myself software than to teach myself hardware, so a formal education in hardware would be a Good Thing[tm].
After graduating with a BS in Electrical Engineering, I decided to go to work writing code. I found it very easy to get interviews with software companies, despite being formally educated primarily in hardware, because of the numerous spare time software projects I had on my resume (it pays to be a geek even after hours). And once in the interview, I found it very easy to show that I know how to code.
It seems to me that in most high technology jobs, you can't really go wrong with any high-tech degree. It takes a little work to overcome stereotypes that companies place on you because of your training, but it can be done. Especially if you can demonstrate a passion and aptitude for what you want to do by taking on spare time projects that align with what you want to get paid to do.
Yeah -- but those voltmeters are measureing an external _voltage_. Game cards measure an external _resistance_. No matter how you slice it, game cards are not the right tool for the job.
One project I did in high school was to build a simple EKG machine using a multi-stage differential amplifier. It's amazing to note that you can actually see the stereotypical heartbeat signal if you hold an alligator clip in each hand.
I used a cheap commercial ADC card for the input to the PC. My electronics professor expressed an interest in modifying the project to use a game port so we could just distribute schematics and software to other schools to have them reproduce our work. But after we looked up how game ports work, we decided that the idea probably wouldn't work.
Check your facts. Windows XP will not authenticate network access attempts by accounts with blank passwords. Blank passwords only work on the console.
Considering how many home users would be dumb enough to use blank passwords despite venomous warnings to the contrary, this is probably a good way to handle things.
I've never understood any good scenarios for copying from a portable player to a PC. It seems to me that if you managed to put a song which you own on the portable in the first place, then you have a copy _already_on_ your PC. If you want to move the song from PC to PC, a LAN or even a ZIP disk seems to be far more efficient than using the portable as the transfer mechanism.
Agreed -- I don't really understand the multi-user OS mantra, when more often than not the clients to the multi-user host are fully functional (and reasonably powerful) workstations anyway.
I disagree with you completely unless you can refute, with a straight face, the following: 1) you are conscious; and 2) your consciousness is observing something. All it takes to obtain knowledge is the active observation (via your consciousness) of that which is observable.
If I could delete one paragraph above, your entire argument would become total nonsense. And the really neat thing: that one paragraph is demonstrably garbage. It begins, "If you understand nothing else of philosophy, understand this: The existence of objective truth depends completely upon the existence of God - No God, no truth. Ultimately, this is what all philosophies boil down to - and many philosophers on both sides of the argument have validated this point over the years.". You are making an argument from authority that all philosophers either agree actively with your claim, or are evading their own beliefs. Considering you made the claim, I'd love to see your proof that all philosophies boil down to: God exists if and only if truth exists.
Can a dog and a wolf breed? If so they're the same species. Can your two example fish breed? If so, they're the same species.
Hmmm. I suppose that would mean that when we all call a horse and a donkey two different species, we're all wrong? They are bred regularly and the result is called a mule.
Somebody who's a CNE may not know jack about being a sysadmin. The other person can actually keep a system running.
I wish that were true, but unfortunately, it's not necessarily the case. You would be shocked, stunned, and offended to see how many people embellish their resumes by making use of such stretched interpretations as "I've used a Novell network for five years, and I know how to reset passwords and clear print queues" -> "I've got five years as a Novell sysadmin." That is simply not useful information.
The kind of job interview that suits my tastes requires mental toughness on the part of the candidates, but it shows me quickly who's worthwhile. If the interviewing situation allows forward notice, I would warn the interviewee to come prepared to "show me how they can help the company". If it doesn't allow advance communication, I make use of mostly technical questions to sort through who knows what. (Currently, I have only been involved in the latter.)
Re:Maybe They'll work better...
on
LinModems?
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· Score: 1
Whoa! POP!
(Dammit, Slashdot, when I type something in, preview it, it looks okay, and I submit it, *NOTHING*SHOULD*CHANGE*.. Fix it, Rob.)
Re:Maybe They'll work better...
on
LinModems?
·
· Score: 1
Whoa! POP!
Re:I'll use paper for now, thanks.
on
Beaming Money
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· Score: 1
Ummm, no. That is most certainly not how it works. There is too much a risk for abuse that way. My guess is that the payer's PDA uses some public-key encryption system to generate a private-key signed "request for funds", which is sent to the payee's PDA. When the payee syncs with his PC, the PC tells PayPal's proprietor that the payer has authorized a certain transaction from the payee's credit card to the payer's bank account. PayPal has to keep track of which transactions have happened (perhaps a check number type thing) to avoid the same "request for funds" from being exploited multiple times. But as long as PayPal knows the public-key of the payer the "request for funds" can be authenticated and acted upon immediately upon receipt.
Very simple, actually, but you have to be big and trusted to actually pull it off.
I think this leads up to an interesting point... It's perfectly clear that open source makes for a larger fan-base, and hence more money, for hardware manufacturers, but unfortunately, too many people I've talked to assume that because there's one condition when open source is a good thing, that open source is always a good thing. I think there are cases when that's not entirely the case.
Tux made the cover of Internet Security Magazine (or something like that; doesn't seem to be online -- I saw it on the newsstand). The article did a really good job of dispelling the "susceptibility to trojans" claim, as well as many other common corporate objections to deploying OSS (such as "if something goes wrong, who do I sue").
The mag may be worth picking up just for the two (a dozen or so pages total) Linux security articles in it.
Sonofabitch! I just placed an order for a Palm IIIx today. I was torn between a Palm IIIx and a Palm V. I didn't really know whether the extra 2MB was worth having the less attractive IIIx or not, so I just guessed. Anyone have any comments one way or the other? Is 2MB that substantial in PalmLand?
By the way, does anyone know how much wireless connectivity costs for the Palm VII?
There is lots of money made in the movie rental industry each year. It is simply not the case that movie theaters will make as much money for the producer with or sans copyrights.
Besides, without copyrights, J. Bob Smith would legally be able to buy one copy of the film, copy the film as many times as he chooses, and sell it to movie theaters for whatever price he wants. With no copyrights, there's nothing to prevent this. With no copyrights, a movie theater doesn't have to pay royalties to the production company. They just have to get a copy of the film somehow. I see bunches of problems with your aforementioned analogy.
Almost everyone here is overlooking a very important pair of points -- that the abolition of copyrights will cause the GPL to go up in a puff of smoke, and that we will not suddenly gain access to MicroSoft's source code.
It turns out that the only thing keeping MicroSoft from releasing MS/Linux (rewind to April Fools Day for details) is the fact that they can't just take the code and do with it as they please because of the GPL and its legal power thanks to copyright law -- they have to release their modified version back into the source pool. And believe me, they'd love to do to Linux what they started to do to Java.
The other point that needs to be made is that while there is money to be made in the support and customization of open source software, there is also money to be made in being the One Central Source of a certain piece of software.
Where do you look to get the latest edition of your favorite Linux distro? One of thousands of places -- anyone who wants to can design, build, and release their own linux distribs, complete with personalized changes to everything.
Where do you look to get the latest edition of MS Windows (heaven forbid)? MicroSoft or some vendor that they've got some sort of contract with. Even if Windows could be freely copied, it would be impractical to make a custom distribution of Windows without the source code. And lest you think that copyright is the only thing protecting MicroSoft's source code, think again. It actually enjoys trade secret status as well. Trade secret law will never go away, even if patents and copyrights do.
So, to summarize, the Top 2 Bad Things[tm] That Could Happen To The World If Copyrights Were Abolished are:
1) proprietary versions of your favorite open source software 2) everything that was proprietary before is still proprietary
I know this is getting long, but it's also important to point out that with no copyrights, there's no way for authors to insist that they get credit for their works. I think the most simple copyright messages I have ever seen include at least a "this message has to stay here" or a "mention my name to use my code" clause. If these suddenly have no legal standing because copyright law is abolished, I could start pawning copies of anything off as my own work.
News sites shouldn't celebrate April fools day
on
Slashdot:Mark 2
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· Score: 3
I don't think news sites should celebrate April fools day, because it makes even real news suspect for a day. Though I've really gotten a kick out of some of today's articles, I'm seriously concerned about User Friendly (who was (supposedly?) experiencing the leading edge of legal troubles before today happened to hit, and now this). I hope the UF stuff is just an incredibly well perpetrated coordinated joke, but there's really been no indication to me that it is. I hope you guys enjoy your AFD stunts, because those of us who are legitimately interested in unbruised information are certainly already displeased with how this news site is handling the holiday. Think about what would happen if CNN suddenly announced that they had a source that reported that we had started dropping nuclear missiles on Serbia in response to the three missing Americans.
Lest you all think I'm just a spoil sport, be assured that I'm celebrating AFD like crazy, but not with respect to news. There's a difference between practical jokes, and practicing improper journalism.
Rob, I don't think you have too much to worry about. First, the plaintiff in this case is not after "Anonymous Coward", but instead after specific pseudonymous posters, like "CmdrTaco" or "MrSpock". Though IANAL, I'm a law enthusiast, and am relatively sure that so long as you take reasonable measures to keep slandrous comments out of/.-space, and have a mechanism in place to deal with them, then you should be relatively safe (assuming, possibly incorrectly, that you would be able to stand up financially and fight in court).
I'm not sure there are any educational games that teach programming, per se, but at least back in the day (Apple ][, or thereabouts), there were some games that taught the kind of structured thinking that gives rise to an interest in programming. A couple such examples are Rocky's Boots and Robot Odyssey. I'm sure there are others, but those two come readily to mind.
Slashdot Mirror
Me? Goatee? Highly illogical...
But to do that, you'd need trillions of digits of precision for both e and pi!
They aren't saying that the school has to _run_ the OS that came with the computer. They're saying that when you buy an OEM computer that comes bundled with an OS, the OS license is for that computer and that computer alone, and must transfer ownership along with that machine.
That doesn't mean that the existing title information is any interesting form. It lives in a bunch of DVD encoded video. The information that Microsoft's database sends down is a track-by-track list of titles so you can click a track _by_name_ to jump straight to it.
How is this possible if CDs and DVDs don't ship with serial numbers? The only thing that they could _possibly_ discover is that more people have played this CD or DVD than the number of copies that have sold. However, even that wouldn't be absolute proof of piracy (how many people played their legitimately owned media on more than one PC? loaned it to their friends? etc.), let alone point them in the direction of the actual pirates.
I'm probably an archetypal example of a technology enthusiast who couldn't decide between electrical engineering and computer science. I chose to go with electrical engineering because I have always found it easier to teach myself software than to teach myself hardware, so a formal education in hardware would be a Good Thing[tm].
After graduating with a BS in Electrical Engineering, I decided to go to work writing code. I found it very easy to get interviews with software companies, despite being formally educated primarily in hardware, because of the numerous spare time software projects I had on my resume (it pays to be a geek even after hours). And once in the interview, I found it very easy to show that I know how to code.
It seems to me that in most high technology jobs, you can't really go wrong with any high-tech degree. It takes a little work to overcome stereotypes that companies place on you because of your training, but it can be done. Especially if you can demonstrate a passion and aptitude for what you want to do by taking on spare time projects that align with what you want to get paid to do.
Yeah -- but those voltmeters are measureing an external _voltage_. Game cards measure an external _resistance_. No matter how you slice it, game cards are not the right tool for the job.
One project I did in high school was to build a simple EKG machine using a multi-stage differential amplifier. It's amazing to note that you can actually see the stereotypical heartbeat signal if you hold an alligator clip in each hand.
I used a cheap commercial ADC card for the input to the PC. My electronics professor expressed an interest in modifying the project to use a game port so we could just distribute schematics and software to other schools to have them reproduce our work. But after we looked up how game ports work, we decided that the idea probably wouldn't work.
Check your facts. Windows XP will not authenticate network access attempts by accounts with blank passwords. Blank passwords only work on the console.
Considering how many home users would be dumb enough to use blank passwords despite venomous warnings to the contrary, this is probably a good way to handle things.
I've never understood any good scenarios for copying from a portable player to a PC. It seems to me that if you managed to put a song which you own on the portable in the first place, then you have a copy _already_on_ your PC. If you want to move the song from PC to PC, a LAN or even a ZIP disk seems to be far more efficient than using the portable as the transfer mechanism.
Am I missing something obvious?
Agreed -- I don't really understand the multi-user OS mantra, when more often than not the clients to the multi-user host are fully functional (and reasonably powerful) workstations anyway.
I disagree with you completely unless you can refute, with a straight face, the following: 1) you are conscious; and 2) your consciousness is observing something. All it takes to obtain knowledge is the active observation (via your consciousness) of that which is observable.
If I could delete one paragraph above, your entire argument would become total nonsense. And the really neat thing: that one paragraph is demonstrably garbage. It begins, "If you understand nothing else of philosophy, understand this: The existence of objective truth depends completely upon the existence of God - No God, no truth. Ultimately, this is what all philosophies boil down to - and many philosophers on both sides of the argument have validated this point over the years.". You are making an argument from authority that all philosophers either agree actively with your claim, or are evading their own beliefs. Considering you made the claim, I'd love to see your proof that all philosophies boil down to: God exists if and only if truth exists.
Can a dog and a wolf breed? If so they're the same species. Can your two example fish breed? If so, they're the same species.
Hmmm. I suppose that would mean that when we all call a horse and a donkey two different species, we're all wrong? They are bred regularly and the result is called a mule.
Somebody who's a CNE may not know jack about being a sysadmin. The other person can actually keep a system running.
I wish that were true, but unfortunately, it's not necessarily the case. You would be shocked, stunned, and offended to see how many people embellish their resumes by making use of such stretched interpretations as "I've used a Novell network for five years, and I know how to reset passwords and clear print queues" -> "I've got five years as a Novell sysadmin." That is simply not useful information.
The kind of job interview that suits my tastes requires mental toughness on the part of the candidates, but it shows me quickly who's worthwhile. If the interviewing situation allows forward notice, I would warn the interviewee to come prepared to "show me how they can help the company". If it doesn't allow advance communication, I make use of mostly technical questions to sort through who knows what. (Currently, I have only been involved in the latter.)
Whoa! POP!
(Dammit, Slashdot, when I type something in, preview it, it looks okay, and I submit it, *NOTHING*SHOULD*CHANGE*.. Fix it, Rob.)
Whoa! POP!
Ummm, no. That is most certainly not how it works. There is too much a risk for abuse that way. My guess is that the payer's PDA uses some public-key encryption system to generate a private-key signed "request for funds", which is sent to the payee's PDA. When the payee syncs with his PC, the PC tells PayPal's proprietor that the payer has authorized a certain transaction from the payee's credit card to the payer's bank account. PayPal has to keep track of which transactions have happened (perhaps a check number type thing) to avoid the same "request for funds" from being exploited multiple times. But as long as PayPal knows the public-key of the payer the "request for funds" can be authenticated and acted upon immediately upon receipt.
Very simple, actually, but you have to be big and trusted to actually pull it off.
I think this leads up to an interesting point... It's perfectly clear that open source makes for a larger fan-base, and hence more money, for hardware manufacturers, but unfortunately, too many people I've talked to assume that because there's one condition when open source is a good thing, that open source is always a good thing. I think there are cases when that's not entirely the case.
Tux made the cover of Internet Security Magazine (or something like that; doesn't seem to be online -- I saw it on the newsstand). The article did a really good job of dispelling the "susceptibility to trojans" claim, as well as many other common corporate objections to deploying OSS (such as "if something goes wrong, who do I sue").
The mag may be worth picking up just for the two (a dozen or so pages total) Linux security articles in it.
Sonofabitch! I just placed an order for a Palm IIIx today. I was torn between a Palm IIIx and a Palm V. I didn't really know whether the extra 2MB was worth having the less attractive IIIx or not, so I just guessed. Anyone have any comments one way or the other? Is 2MB that substantial in PalmLand?
By the way, does anyone know how much wireless connectivity costs for the Palm VII?
There is lots of money made in the movie rental industry each year. It is simply not the case that movie theaters will make as much money for the producer with or sans copyrights.
Besides, without copyrights, J. Bob Smith would legally be able to buy one copy of the film, copy the film as many times as he chooses, and sell it to movie theaters for whatever price he wants. With no copyrights, there's nothing to prevent this. With no copyrights, a movie theater doesn't have to pay royalties to the production company. They just have to get a copy of the film somehow. I see bunches of problems with your aforementioned analogy.
Almost everyone here is overlooking a very important pair of points -- that the abolition of copyrights will cause the GPL to go up in a puff of smoke, and that we will not suddenly gain access to MicroSoft's source code.
It turns out that the only thing keeping MicroSoft from releasing MS/Linux (rewind to April Fools Day for details) is the fact that they can't just take the code and do with it as they please because of the GPL and its legal power thanks to copyright law -- they have to release their modified version back into the source pool. And believe me, they'd love to do to Linux what they started to do to Java.
The other point that needs to be made is that while there is money to be made in the support and customization of open source software, there is also money to be made in being the One Central Source of a certain piece of software.
Where do you look to get the latest edition of your favorite Linux distro? One of thousands of places -- anyone who wants to can design, build, and release their own linux distribs, complete with personalized changes to everything.
Where do you look to get the latest edition of MS Windows (heaven forbid)? MicroSoft or some vendor that they've got some sort of contract with. Even if Windows could be freely copied, it would be impractical to make a custom distribution of Windows without the source code. And lest you think that copyright is the only thing protecting MicroSoft's source code, think again. It actually enjoys trade secret status as well. Trade secret law will never go away, even if patents and copyrights do.
So, to summarize, the Top 2 Bad Things[tm] That Could Happen To The World If Copyrights Were Abolished are:
1) proprietary versions of your favorite open source software
2) everything that was proprietary before is still proprietary
I know this is getting long, but it's also important to point out that with no copyrights, there's no way for authors to insist that they get credit for their works. I think the most simple copyright messages I have ever seen include at least a "this message has to stay here" or a "mention my name to use my code" clause. If these suddenly have no legal standing because copyright law is abolished, I could start pawning copies of anything off as my own work.
I don't think news sites should celebrate April fools day, because it makes even real news suspect for a day. Though I've really gotten a kick out of some of today's articles, I'm seriously concerned about User Friendly (who was (supposedly?) experiencing the leading edge of legal troubles before today happened to hit, and now this). I hope the UF stuff is just an incredibly well perpetrated coordinated joke, but there's really been no indication to me that it is. I hope you guys enjoy your AFD stunts, because those of us who are legitimately interested in unbruised information are certainly already displeased with how this news site is handling the holiday. Think about what would happen if CNN suddenly announced that they had a source that reported that we had started dropping nuclear missiles on Serbia in response to the three missing Americans.
Lest you all think I'm just a spoil sport, be assured that I'm celebrating AFD like crazy, but not with respect to news. There's a difference between practical jokes, and practicing improper journalism.
Rob, I don't think you have too much to worry about. First, the plaintiff in this case is not after "Anonymous Coward", but instead after specific pseudonymous posters, like "CmdrTaco" or "MrSpock". Though IANAL, I'm a law enthusiast, and am relatively sure that so long as you take reasonable measures to keep slandrous comments out of /.-space, and have a mechanism in place to deal with them, then you should be relatively safe (assuming, possibly incorrectly, that you would be able to stand up financially and fight in court).
I'm not sure there are any educational games that teach programming, per se, but at least back in the day (Apple ][, or thereabouts), there were some games that taught the kind of structured thinking that gives rise to an interest in programming. A couple such examples are Rocky's Boots and Robot Odyssey. I'm sure there are others, but those two come readily to mind.
Hope that helps.
Scott.