The problem is that there's little incentive for a "guru" in a field to publish something that is obvious, and there is little incentive for a journal or conference to accept an application to present something that's obvious. However, there is a huge incentive to try to slip things that are obvious past the Patent Office.
Perhaps someone needs to start a "Journal of Prior Art" which would serve to publish as much obvious and prior art information as possible. Then we just need to figure out an incentive to get everyone to flood the system with ideas.
You raise an interesting point. There are two types of damage that can result from malware: damage to your system/files and damage to other peoples' systems/files. In the interest of looking out for number one, most people would put a higher priority on preventing the first than the second.
I have a feeling that a non-technical Interent user would not be too highly upset if his machine were compromised and used to launch attacks as long as:
1) None of his personal data or applications were compromised
2) His ability to access the Internet at near-normal speed was not impacted
My thought on seeing this was: who is to say where the code originated? I'm assuming SCO also showed the Yankee analyst proof that the code originated from SCO's intellectual property and not with Linux?
Having your lights switched by the computer Your microwave starts making food when crond tells it to
How about using one of those timers that plugs into an outlet. They're very cheap. Also, don't forget "the Clapper".
Log when people ring the doorbell
Why? Either I'm there and I can answer the door (if I feel like it) or I'm away and it doesn't really matter unless I know who rang the doorbell. Also, the server is susceptible to DDoS (doorbell denial of service) attacks from those punk kids down the street.
Automatically switch off all lights when you press a master switch when leaving the house
Two solutions here: kids and the master switch on the circuit breaker panel. Although kids are a lot more expensive, and the other requires you to reset all your plugged in clocks.
Of course NewDrugCo can manufacture the drug cheaper than BigDrugCo. NewDrugCo has not invested hundreds of millions of dollars in research and development. BigDrugCo sells at a higher price to pay off its R&D and to reward its investors for taking a risk and funding development of a drug that might not have worked. It's fair for BigDrugCo to receive benefit for its risky R&D. According to the parent post's model, BigDrugCo is always at a price disadvantage, and will always lose.
Also, not all drugs are discovered by BigDrugCo. SmallDrugCo may not have the resources to ramp up manufacturing, etc in order to be price competitive when it first releases its new drug. Thus, even if R&D costs and risks were low, SmallDrugCo might not be price competitive.
In both scenarios, the innovator loses. Not a viable model for advancing the progress of science.
You are so right. I think that there should be roadblocks where police can check people's papers to make sure they need to be on the freeway. They could also detain suspicious individuals.
Bush's proposal for an extra $25 billion for AIDS assistance to Africa
My understanding is that the money (I thought it was $15-18B) is actually being diverted from other foreign aid and relief programs -- it is not, in fact, "new money". The promise made in the State of the Union address was political grandstanding. This is something Bush can point to when he tries to get reelected.
I think the article addresses both of your questions. The "as good as" is measured through CMM certification. As for the "stunning lack of Indian software", the article points out Indian coders have traditionally been very good at coding someone else's design. Wipro is trying to teach its coders how to design solutions and innovate. Also, Indian companies have had some successes (i-flex, for example).
Also, remember that some Indian companies are doing product development work for US (or other country) companies. It may be that the software you are using was "Made in India", designed by Indian engineers.
I personally am not really concerned about whether Steamboat Willy enters the public domain. What I am concerned about is the large volume of materials that are under copyright that have disappeared from circulation because they are out of print and copyright holders have decided not to do a reprint. If these materials were in the public domain, then efforts like Project Gutenberg could make these materials available to people who might be interested in them.
Various government agencies are also asking for sales data from bookstores and for information on books that have been checked out from libraries. Next thing you know, they'll be asking for student records from universities/colleges (this is now legal under the PATRIOT act).
COINTELPRO, was small potatoes!
Perhaps there is a conspiracy to find people that might be smart enough to realize that our Constitutional Rights are being violated. Perhaps a law will be passed that makes it a felony to read or achieve high scores on exams (felons lose the right to vote).
Wireless communications devices like WiFi equipment use ISM (Industrial, Scientific and Medical) frequencies set aside for unlicensed usage. Many devices emit in these frequencies. Why is the military targeting wireless LAN applications?
Seems that the military should have taken this into account in the original specs of their equipment.
Forget on the skin. Try computing through body chemistry a la Stephenson's Diamond Age. Of course, it would suck to be the person that gets overheated and then consumed - talk about overclocking...
You're not mandating the format. You're mandating that formats cannot be closed/proprietary. This does not mean "lowest common denominator". It means that if Microsoft decides to "embrace and extend", then Microsoft needs to open their extensions. It's up to competitors to write hooks to those extensions.
You can still compete through "innovation" and "extension", but you can't lock your customers' data up in a proprietary format.
At the same time, it is possible that EFF and others can leverage Verizon et al's lobbying (and financial) resources and learn a thing or two in the meantime. I think that the key for EFF is to make it clear from the start where its interests lie, and where those interests might diverge from the telcos' interests. With this foundation, EFF retains the right to call the telcos on any "scummy" behavior.
I'd like to think it is possible to ally yourself with companies while keeping an eye open for any knives approaching from behind.
Or, alternately, he can look into seeing if they will let him license the technology. Perhaps he can even sell his technology to them. Maybe he could negotiate a joint development agreement. ..
The fact that a company holds a patent does not necessarily mean no other company can use it. It means you need to ask to use it.
You also need to realize that Microsoft has a fiduciary duty to make that cash perform (whether it is really performing while sitting in the bank is an argument I'll leave for another day). The questions I have are, "if Microsoft invests in developing a stable, secure, modular version of Windows (that you would only need to buy once and never replace), can it generate an attractive return on that investment for shareholders?" and "is that return better than can be achieved by continuing to produce non-stable, non-secure, non-modular versions of Windows (that you can force customers to upgrade again and again through new 'features')?"
I believe the answers to the questions are "yes" and "no". Given the second answer, the first is moot.
Sure, they could copy down the data on the front of the card. They could also hire someone to follow me around and keep track of everywhere I go and all transactions I make. However, there is a higher cost to doing so. Also, if a person starts scribbling down the data on the front of my license, I would know they are collecting the data. With these systems, age verification is tied to data collection. I can't opt out.
Slashdot Mirror
The problem is that there's little incentive for a "guru" in a field to publish something that is obvious, and there is little incentive for a journal or conference to accept an application to present something that's obvious. However, there is a huge incentive to try to slip things that are obvious past the Patent Office.
Perhaps someone needs to start a "Journal of Prior Art" which would serve to publish as much obvious and prior art information as possible. Then we just need to figure out an incentive to get everyone to flood the system with ideas.
You forgot the important third option: "editing other people's docs."
For some business and legal communications, formatting is often VERY important. Revision tracking is also VERY important.
Using the viewer apps does not help in this third situation.
Some would say this would only have been true if Al Gore were president.
You raise an interesting point. There are two types of damage that can result from malware: damage to your system/files and damage to other peoples' systems/files. In the interest of looking out for number one, most people would put a higher priority on preventing the first than the second.
I have a feeling that a non-technical Interent user would not be too highly upset if his machine were compromised and used to launch attacks as long as:
1) None of his personal data or applications were compromised
2) His ability to access the Internet at near-normal speed was not impacted
3) He was not prosecuted for the attacks
My thought on seeing this was: who is to say where the code originated? I'm assuming SCO also showed the Yankee analyst proof that the code originated from SCO's intellectual property and not with Linux?
Having your lights switched by the computer
Your microwave starts making food when crond tells it to
How about using one of those timers that plugs into an outlet. They're very cheap. Also, don't forget "the Clapper".
Log when people ring the doorbell
Why? Either I'm there and I can answer the door (if I feel like it) or I'm away and it doesn't really matter unless I know who rang the doorbell. Also, the server is susceptible to DDoS (doorbell denial of service) attacks from those punk kids down the street.
Automatically switch off all lights when you press a master switch when leaving the house
Two solutions here: kids and the master switch on the circuit breaker panel. Although kids are a lot more expensive, and the other requires you to reset all your plugged in clocks.
Also, not all drugs are discovered by BigDrugCo. SmallDrugCo may not have the resources to ramp up manufacturing, etc in order to be price competitive when it first releases its new drug. Thus, even if R&D costs and risks were low, SmallDrugCo might not be price competitive.
In both scenarios, the innovator loses. Not a viable model for advancing the progress of science.
You are so right. I think that there should be roadblocks where police can check people's papers to make sure they need to be on the freeway. They could also detain suspicious individuals.
Also, remember that some Indian companies are doing product development work for US (or other country) companies. It may be that the software you are using was "Made in India", designed by Indian engineers.
I personally am not really concerned about whether Steamboat Willy enters the public domain. What I am concerned about is the large volume of materials that are under copyright that have disappeared from circulation because they are out of print and copyright holders have decided not to do a reprint. If these materials were in the public domain, then efforts like Project Gutenberg could make these materials available to people who might be interested in them.
Various government agencies are also asking for sales data from bookstores and for information on books that have been checked out from libraries. Next thing you know, they'll be asking for student records from universities/colleges (this is now legal under the PATRIOT act).
COINTELPRO, was small potatoes!
Perhaps there is a conspiracy to find people that might be smart enough to realize that our Constitutional Rights are being violated. Perhaps a law will be passed that makes it a felony to read or achieve high scores on exams (felons lose the right to vote).
Seems that the military should have taken this into account in the original specs of their equipment.
Crore - Tens of millions
Lakh - Hundreds of thousands
I find both terms to be a pain in the ass when analyzing financials for Indian companies.
"Damn! F'd up the decimals again - the company's ten times bigger than that."
Forget on the skin. Try computing through body chemistry a la Stephenson's Diamond Age. Of course, it would suck to be the person that gets overheated and then consumed - talk about overclocking...
I don't see the significance of this.
My wife does a lot of sewing. How well can Roomba handle lots of thread on the floor? How about pins?
The problem isn't the vacuuming. It's the picking up that you have to do before you can vacuum.
As for multiple options, it's not necessarily a bad thing to have competing standards - as long as you're not a bleeding-edge adopter.
Finally, the article states: "discs can be made for "a few cents". The drives will initially cost around £70 but this is expected to fall."
You can still compete through "innovation" and "extension", but you can't lock your customers' data up in a proprietary format.
I'd like to think it is possible to ally yourself with companies while keeping an eye open for any knives approaching from behind.
Wait! He's using reverse psychology! It's mental judo!
Ow! Headache!
by Geoffrey A. Moore, Regis McKenna
The bible for high-tech marketing.
Or, alternately, he can look into seeing if they will let him license the technology. Perhaps he can even sell his technology to them. Maybe he could negotiate a joint development agreement. . .
The fact that a company holds a patent does not necessarily mean no other company can use it. It means you need to ask to use it.
You also need to realize that Microsoft has a fiduciary duty to make that cash perform (whether it is really performing while sitting in the bank is an argument I'll leave for another day). The questions I have are, "if Microsoft invests in developing a stable, secure, modular version of Windows (that you would only need to buy once and never replace), can it generate an attractive return on that investment for shareholders?" and "is that return better than can be achieved by continuing to produce non-stable, non-secure, non-modular versions of Windows (that you can force customers to upgrade again and again through new 'features')?"
I believe the answers to the questions are "yes" and "no". Given the second answer, the first is moot.
Sure, they could copy down the data on the front of the card. They could also hire someone to follow me around and keep track of everywhere I go and all transactions I make. However, there is a higher cost to doing so. Also, if a person starts scribbling down the data on the front of my license, I would know they are collecting the data. With these systems, age verification is tied to data collection. I can't opt out.