Maybe the need to save bandwidth might encourage developers not to copy-n-paste code. Wishful thinking;-)
The cool thing about the GPL is that it forces the developer (entity) to put their name to the code they supply (and, by extension, the product). This increases the likelihood of good quality code being used to build the product.
It's amazing what people do with code when they think nobody's going to see it!
The real situation is:
3. Now everyone who wants to do business in those unfortunate countries where software is patentable must get a deal with Microsoft.
Microsoft's plethora of patents and licence deals (whatever the opinions of PHB's or suits, and let's not get into APIs yet) mean that it's difficult (maybe illegal if you're not careful) to be non-MS in corporate America (they'll get bulk licenses for their own products and patent license money for competitors')
Microsoft doesn't care if people aren't running Windows at home (this is the bit that people didn't get - because the author didn't quite put it like that. He focussed on MS's grip on American business and vaguely talked about home users becoming empowered)
So why wouldn't MS care if people weren't running Windows at home? Well, I'm sure they'd prefer it, in principle:-)
But here are some things worth considering:
People can now do many of the things they could only do on PC on other devices
Microsoft have been promising - and working on - other devices for years
And have begun selling hardware
The next cool thing probably won't be by Microsoft either
But even if it runs Linux, they'll get their tax
At least, within "those unfortunate countries where software is patentable"
The US Government will go to great lengths to support Microsoft's efforts in the other countries; its citizens' pension funds depend on it
What Microsoft has best succeeded at is amassing money. It hse been able to make vast profits through its bulk deals and is ubiquitous in offices.
Microsoft realise that home users need to be treated differently to businesses; it's expensive to collect money from individuals
Technology is a more efficient instrument for collecting money from individuals than law;-)
Thanks for the tips:-)
It's not that I've something to hide (which somehow makes me sound like I do;-) but I like knowing that anonymity's still possible for reasonable tasks.
They should be giving everyone computers for free.
If everything right down to the OS - and beyond that, into firmware and hardware - puts my privacy out of my control and wastes my time, then I need another device, only accessing the less secure device in the case of necessity.
All that might stop me from doing this would be if there were laws that made other devices illegal.
These laws exist - but not all over the world.
Re:This is also the Pirate Party's stance
on
Patents Don't Pay
·
· Score: 2, Interesting
I'd be guessing that pharmaceutical patents generate the most revenue because they actually apply to end products, rather than components of components of components, as in the case in software and hardware.
Maybe I'm not putting that right - with pharmaceuticals, you can only get one molecule at the end. Nature has defined the interface. There are lots of ways to design a music player.
I don't see carpet patenting easing unless laws are changed, tho - it provides a forum for corporations to compete, even if they would save money by not playing the game or by playing by different rules.
I find it a bit worrying that so many corporations are pouring so much money into the false security of patents; since a patent is still limited by national boundaries, the corporation is in fact selling the rights of a citizen to choose products that the patent holder doesn't approve of - but only within those boundaries.
The reason why Microsoft haven't focussed "enough" on making a good OS is that software products are only one way of making money.
Microsoft's primary function isn't to produce software, it's to make money. Lots of it - lots of businesses and pension funds depend on it.
I think we may find that, as soon as MS have got as much money as they can from the entertainment biz, they'll ditch em and go where the money is - downloads.
I like the use of the name DefaultFactory; it soft of illustrates the grand ideals of the over-engineering. Of course there will be a name clash if the package is integrated with almost any other code out there but in this (very full) universe, there's only one DefaultFactory...
I can also remember lots of other phone numbers that are now completely useless
Once I noticed this happening to me, I set about redesigning the way I handle information. Based on my experience of how I remember things (years of school, exams, college, work, short sleep and substance abuse had combined to give me an idea of how my memory works), I made sure that I only remember what I need to.
My motto: if I need to know it, it'll stick;-)
I don't rely on short-term memory; if I want to remember something, I don't mind putting in the resources necessary to remember it. For me, these are:
exposure - I give myself a decent opportunity to absorb the things I need to know. Once I have a decent source of information, I need a certain amount of...
time - which will vary depending on the depth of knowledge necessary, the type of thing being learnt (number, procedure - there are loads of things we memorise. Video game moves, music, sales spiels, dancing, skateboarding)
sleep - good to get this between sessions
I don't neglect my short-term memory, I just know when to depend on it (obviously, you need it when learning by rote) and am careful what I put into long-term memory. I prefer to remember where good information is than to memorise the information. Luckily for me (on balance), my visual memory is back-to-front so I need multiple cues in order to remember something accurately - which also happens to be a memory-reinforcing trick;-)
I'm a programmer - if memorised every API, framework, platform, technology, design pattern, paradigm, acronym, buzz-word or project I've encountered, I'd be a very boring person.
... just to illustrate its point;-) But do read it.
We have no direct evidence - yet - that his comments influenced the price of his rivals' shares, or his own; what we can say is that other members of the forum appear to at least cared about what he has to say. He wasn't posting anonymously (e.g. AC), he misrepresented (he would say "partially represented", probably;-) himself, saying he owned shares, not that he was a director.
His comments probably had less effect than he thought he would. An experienced trader would probably expect another trader with lots of such shares to only say good things about the company anyway
Slashdot provides a mechanism for dealing with the noise that comes with free speech. More such mechanisms are needed; simple as that;-)
I'm not a gamer but I did play wii tennis one evening, great fun.
Just wondering if there's a game equivalent of Amazon's one-click patent for games (be surprised if there weren't). It seems to me that the wii is the first console to implement several "obvious" concepts; will the other console makers have to license any of them?
Hmmm. If Jimi were to reverse-engineer a copyrighted song without the benefit of a video demonstration, what tools would he have at his disposal? Possibly the author of the song might be available to teach it, with or without the permission of the copyright owner(s). More likely, he listened to a record and decoded the notes from the audio stream. He would then have reproduced that song, or a derivative work, at his various places of work.
The ability to "play what you hear" is valuable for a musician. It can be innate or learnt; some of us learn well through imitation. Enthusiastic musicians like to keep learning:-)
A decent musician will figure out chords themselves; they've done it forever. You can't legislate away intelligence, can you?
I'm not surprised that the drug described in the 60 Minutes show had similar effects; it's the same drug!
FTFA (first sentence in second paragraph):
In a new study, published in the Journal of Psychiatric Research, the drug propranolol is used along with therapy to "dampen" memories of trauma victims.
Might I add that DRM is used to control syndication. By controlling where and when programmes are shown, the BBC can facilitate better ad revenue for its customers; first airings still generate a lot of hype on networks. Once the DVD is out, it's possible that the BBC would be more likely to make that content available without DRM.
Sports events are often not streamed outside the UK, presumably because of deals the BBC have with television networks in other countries...
Slashdot Mirror
"Good evening. Here is the news for Parrots. No parrots were involved in an accident on the M1 today when a lorry..."
Fat Fuck :-)
It's a song
It's unpatriotic to be anti-corporate.
I found that if I understood a specific, I couldn't remember it - or vice versa.
Don't worry, China will soon adopt the US system ;-)
I suppose copyleft lasts as long as the software does ;-)
Maybe the need to save bandwidth might encourage developers not to copy-n-paste code. Wishful thinking ;-)
The cool thing about the GPL is that it forces the developer (entity) to put their name to the code they supply (and, by extension, the product). This increases the likelihood of good quality code being used to build the product.
It's amazing what people do with code when they think nobody's going to see it!
The real situation is:
3. Now everyone who wants to do business in those unfortunate countries where software is patentable must get a deal with Microsoft.
As was recently pointed out in this article, which didn't get a very good reception (in my opinion, simply because the author tried to say too much):
- LG has signed up to Microsoft's licensing scheme.
- Microsoft's plethora of patents and licence deals (whatever the opinions of PHB's or suits, and let's not get into APIs yet) mean that it's difficult (maybe illegal if you're not careful) to be non-MS in corporate America (they'll get bulk licenses for their own products and patent license money for competitors')
- Microsoft doesn't care if people aren't running Windows at home (this is the bit that people didn't get - because the author didn't quite put it like that. He focussed on MS's grip on American business and vaguely talked about home users becoming empowered)
So why wouldn't MS care if people weren't running Windows at home? Well, I'm sure they'd prefer it, in principleBut here are some things worth considering:
It's not too difficult to grasp and can help people put GM issues into perspective.
It intuitively explains to me why, for example, such a large proportion of cloning attempts fail...
That's beautiful :-)
I wonder what the equivalent joke will be 50 years from now?
The really interesting thing for me is the feedback mechanism that tells genes what traits might be useful in your children: Epigenetics
Thanks for the tips :-)
;-) but I like knowing that anonymity's still possible for reasonable tasks.
It's not that I've something to hide (which somehow makes me sound like I do
I don't think I'd accept an ad-serving OS from Google, even for free (in every sense).
:-)
What I might subscribe to is a p2p-based online storage OS.
Where are they going to keep everyone's data, never mind on-demand media?
It's greener to keep them on other peoples' computers
They should be giving everyone computers for free.
If everything right down to the OS - and beyond that, into firmware and hardware - puts my privacy out of my control and wastes my time, then I need another device, only accessing the less secure device in the case of necessity.
All that might stop me from doing this would be if there were laws that made other devices illegal.
These laws exist - but not all over the world.
I'd be guessing that pharmaceutical patents generate the most revenue because they actually apply to end products, rather than components of components of components, as in the case in software and hardware.
Maybe I'm not putting that right - with pharmaceuticals, you can only get one molecule at the end. Nature has defined the interface. There are lots of ways to design a music player.
I don't see carpet patenting easing unless laws are changed, tho - it provides a forum for corporations to compete, even if they would save money by not playing the game or by playing by different rules.
I find it a bit worrying that so many corporations are pouring so much money into the false security of patents; since a patent is still limited by national boundaries, the corporation is in fact selling the rights of a citizen to choose products that the patent holder doesn't approve of - but only within those boundaries.
The reason why Microsoft haven't focussed "enough" on making a good OS is that software products are only one way of making money.
Microsoft's primary function isn't to produce software, it's to make money. Lots of it - lots of businesses and pension funds depend on it.
I think we may find that, as soon as MS have got as much money as they can from the entertainment biz, they'll ditch em and go where the money is - downloads.
I like the use of the name DefaultFactory; it soft of illustrates the grand ideals of the over-engineering. Of course there will be a name clash if the package is integrated with almost any other code out there but in this (very full) universe, there's only one DefaultFactory...
That's basically what he said. Notably, he said "sign of a lazy mind", not "product" ;-)
My motto: if I need to know it, it'll stick
I don't rely on short-term memory; if I want to remember something, I don't mind putting in the resources necessary to remember it. For me, these are:
- exposure - I give myself a decent opportunity to absorb the things I need to know. Once I have a decent source of information, I need a certain amount of...
- time - which will vary depending on the depth of knowledge necessary, the type of thing being learnt (number, procedure - there are loads of things we memorise. Video game moves, music, sales spiels, dancing, skateboarding)
- sleep - good to get this between sessions
I don't neglect my short-term memory, I just know when to depend on it (obviously, you need it when learning by rote) and am careful what I put into long-term memory. I prefer to remember where good information is than to memorise the information. Luckily for me (on balance), my visual memory is back-to-front so I need multiple cues in order to remember something accurately - which also happens to be a memory-reinforcing trickI'm a programmer - if memorised every API, framework, platform, technology, design pattern, paradigm, acronym, buzz-word or project I've encountered, I'd be a very boring person.
Hmmm...
... just to illustrate its point ;-) But do read it.
;-) himself, saying he owned shares, not that he was a director.
;-)
We have no direct evidence - yet - that his comments influenced the price of his rivals' shares, or his own; what we can say is that other members of the forum appear to at least cared about what he has to say. He wasn't posting anonymously (e.g. AC), he misrepresented (he would say "partially represented", probably
His comments probably had less effect than he thought he would. An experienced trader would probably expect another trader with lots of such shares to only say good things about the company anyway
Slashdot provides a mechanism for dealing with the noise that comes with free speech. More such mechanisms are needed; simple as that
I'm not a gamer but I did play wii tennis one evening, great fun.
Just wondering if there's a game equivalent of Amazon's one-click patent for games (be surprised if there weren't). It seems to me that the wii is the first console to implement several "obvious" concepts; will the other console makers have to license any of them?
Hmmm. If Jimi were to reverse-engineer a copyrighted song without the benefit of a video demonstration, what tools would he have at his disposal? Possibly the author of the song might be available to teach it, with or without the permission of the copyright owner(s). More likely, he listened to a record and decoded the notes from the audio stream. He would then have reproduced that song, or a derivative work, at his various places of work.
:-)
The ability to "play what you hear" is valuable for a musician. It can be innate or learnt; some of us learn well through imitation. Enthusiastic musicians like to keep learning
A decent musician will figure out chords themselves; they've done it forever. You can't legislate away intelligence, can you?
FTFA (first sentence in second paragraph):
Here's a Slashdot discussion on it from Jan 2006
And here's the most useful post from that discussion
Parent->Insightful, please :-)
Might I add that DRM is used to control syndication. By controlling where and when programmes are shown, the BBC can facilitate better ad revenue for its customers; first airings still generate a lot of hype on networks. Once the DVD is out, it's possible that the BBC would be more likely to make that content available without DRM.
Sports events are often not streamed outside the UK, presumably because of deals the BBC have with television networks in other countries...