What kind of legal "bomb" is this? How does this in any way invalidate SCO's claim that IBM took UNIX code and stuck it in Linux? Microsoft is simply funding the legal fees (and a little on the side). SCO most likely started the suit, then said "Hey Microsoft, bet you're interested in crushing Linux, right? How bout some cash?" And if Microsoft had paid SCO to sue IBM, AFAIK, it isn't illegal to pay someone to sue someone else.
What this email does is discredit their arguments in the minds of the public. And seeing the way people respond to FUD, having ESR post this letter (which itself may be FUD) on his site is all that is needed.
Plus, $86 million dollars is something that can be investigated and traced.
If this becomes law, how on earth are people expected to prove that facts were in fact stolen? It seems just about impossible.
Let's say I'm an employee of SCO. Now let's say SCO gets in the phone-number-lookup business and purchases a pre-existing phone database. I decide SCO is a bunch of litigious bastards and I quit in a huff. Just to piss them off, I look up phone numbers from a free source, or research them myself. Then I start my own phone-lookup-business. It becomes insanely popular and takes market share away from SCO.
Now SCO decides that, as a former employee, I stole their database and am now causing them injury. This case is protected under this law. The problem is, how can SCO possibly prove that I stole information from them? By definition, our databases will contain the exact same information because these are facts. So it's all there for SCO: our databases are the same and I clearly had both incentive and the means to steal their database.
But I didn't. And now, most likely, the burden of proof is on me.
At this point, I am screwed.
And in this hypothetical example (doesn't sound so hypothetical, does it?), SCO has no right to own that database. If I pay for their number-lookup service, and they don't make me sign any terms of agreement, I should be able to search for every single number they have in their database and then form my own database. This law says I cannot because I do not have their authorization.
The law defines "Database" as: "Subject to subparagraph (B), the term `database' means a collection of a large number of discrete items of information produced for the purpose of bringing such discrete items of information together in one place or through one source so that persons may access them.
That's right, libraries are databases. Imagine a private library full of public domain fiction. Now imagine I go in and copy every single book. I now open my own library. I can now be sued.
I realize this does not allow anyone to own facts, but this law is still wrong for similar reasons.
Who says Aiden needs to get a job writing software? He can certainly find some other kind of job that can pay the bills. He could be a network administrator, systems analyst, etc., all sorts of computer jobs that pay well enough and do not require you to write non-free software.
He says this too: "So you are putting all of that time and energy into this project for what? Fame? To found a career? Come on." If the project is as impressive as he says it is, he can certainly use it on his resume to land one of the aforementioned jobs.
I mean, I'm not saying I agree that all software should be free, but if that's what this kid believes, there's definitely a way for him to live that doesn't involve mooching off of his parents.
This guy needs to watch "You Can't Take it With You" or if he's Christian, listen to Jesus some. I can see this guy now: "What are you telling that man to give away all his money for?! He needs to pay his bills!!" or "Lillies? Birds?! What a bunch of hogwash! You need to take care of yourself!"
Compare this to the University of Chicago, whose CS department offers a course in Free Software Practicum, the goal of which is to develop free software or work on existing free software and have your changes added to the code tree. It's the work of Prof. O'Donnell.
I don't think a lot of what you're not getting is Japanese culture. All Japanese culture really provides is a different perspective from which to view the story. The only real exception is comedy, because a lot of the jokes tend to be somewhat "in-culture".
Don't refuse to watch anime just because you tried it a few times and didn't like it. It's a medium, not a genre, although technically, I'd call it a specific style in a medium.
If you like big robots, you should probably check out one of the Gundam series, although I'm not sure which ones are good. They are fairly cheesy though, so you might like that. Nadesico is another great show, but there are many Japanese in-jokes.
Really, the best "big-robot" anime is probably Evangelion, which, while you many not like the philosophy elements or the huge amount of exposition, has a very rich story. A lot of work went into the series, and it is really a work of art that can be delved into very deeply.
The recent Miyazaki films also must be seen.
For the most part, I find anime refreshing because it has a different style from American movies, and American television really sucks. There hasn't been a good SF series since Star Trek DS9 and there hasn't been a good comedy since Seinfeld. Japanese anime series are also focused on telling a story rather than setting up a premise and having the series continue indefinitely. As a result, Japanese anime series tend to be better planned out, more cohesive, and have actual endings rather than the rich stars of the series or the networks begging for more seasons. (Think if more shows were like Babylon 5.) There are exceptions, of course, but the anime series that last past 26 episodes are mostly crap, anyhow (DBZ, Sailor Moon).
Hell, even Aristotle said the episodic play was the worst kind.
--Stephen
Also, did anyone read the article title as "GritS sequel?"
I can't enumerate the times that I've heard people complain about X's ineffecient structure, or how terrible a system it is. I never said that the windowing system should be flashy, just that there should be more attention put it. From what I understand, X has a lot of fundamental problems, and this is the chance to correct all that. Just wouldn't want people to miss the boat.
Thank God. Finally, someone has decided to quit bitching about X Window and finally implement a system of their own.
For any programmers out there that are even remotely interested in getting Linux On The Desktop, consider this a call. A super-awesome rock solid kernel cannot be the end-all be-all for Linux. We need to have a good windowing system, one that's faster and more reliable than the competition. From what I know, X Window could use a great amount of improvement in those areas. This is your chance to make things better, and Get It Right The First Time.
There is a disturbing trend toward laws that treat the consumer or citizen as though they have already broken the law. Apparently, the promise of punishment is no longer effective and therefore we must move toward preventitive measures. There is a disturbing amount of people who, in recent times, have clamored for laws like this, saying things like they will "prevent something terrible from happening" and "only drunks will not be able to drive anyway." We've become so paralyzed with fear that we just want bad things to stop. This is very dangerous, to both our privacy and outr freedom. The point is that, in most cases, we need to have the freedom to break the law.
What I mean is that our actions must not be censored, that we need to be able to break the law. These kinds of laws are, simply put, destroying our free will. What these laws do is presume that every one of us has a possibility of breaking the law. In effect, this car law assumes that every person purchasing a car is in fact, a criminal, and will attempt to DUI. If a nation is to be free, there is a certain amount of faith that it must give to each of its citizens. Otherwise, the entire nation is viewed as a nation of criminals, and any idea we once had of freedom disappears.
Actually, it's more like a comic beginning section, followed by a slightly larger Arts section with interviews, reviews of movies, books, and music, as well as picks of upcoming shows in the area (depending on where you get it). The AV section is usually bigger than the joke section, and is usually pretty excellent.
What wouldnt make sense is a Capitalistic Communism
You mean China? China is a communist state, but they are very quickly moving toward capitalist forms of business. Governments do not need to subscribe completely to one theory or another. America has many Socialist facets to it, and China has many capitalist facets to it.
This is exactly why jumptheshark.com needs to have voting only after a series has finished. So many people voted for "Never Jumped" maybe a few years ago, and now it has thousands of votes that can never be overcome. I demand a revote!!!
Actually, in many Asian countries, like Japan and especially Korea (oddly enough, big "story" video game producers), they do not have the simple black and white notion of "good" and "evil" that we have. Instead, it all just comes down to a difference of opinion, or rather, that difference creates evil This thought process actually is a theme in some games, one off the top of my head being Final Fantasy VIII. For information about the Korean mindset on evil, read "Think No Evil" by C. Fred Alford.
Re:Bill Gates, Hall of Fame Hacker? (P.S. First Po
on
Hackers Hall of Fame
·
· Score: 2, Funny
Their BASIC interpreter was written totally by hand. They didn't have a computer. They took it to IBM and sweating bullets they put it in the computer and it ran.
Here's the real question: do you want to be a scientist or an engineer, or do you want to put stuff together?
Because if you want to STUDY or MAKE things, go to a good CS school: MIT, U of I, Purdue, Carnegie Mellon, University of Chicago (shameless plug, plus U of C will teach you more than just computers). Those are just the top schools off the top of my head, and are necessarily the best schools. I'm sure your own local schools might be good enough. My advice is not to look for a "networking school" as that amount of specialization is not what you want from a university education. See below.
However, if you want to USE things, then get yourself to a trade school, community college, or hell, just teach yourself and get the certification. No need to waste all that money learning about theory, writing papers, etc., when you can just study how to build and maintain networks.
Of course, I'm not saying that this is somehow a 'lesser' pursuit; instead you'll learn more specific skills suited to where you want to work: networking.
Slashdot Mirror
details, details
What kind of legal "bomb" is this? How does this in any way invalidate SCO's claim that IBM took UNIX code and stuck it in Linux? Microsoft is simply funding the legal fees (and a little on the side). SCO most likely started the suit, then said "Hey Microsoft, bet you're interested in crushing Linux, right? How bout some cash?" And if Microsoft had paid SCO to sue IBM, AFAIK, it isn't illegal to pay someone to sue someone else.
What this email does is discredit their arguments in the minds of the public. And seeing the way people respond to FUD, having ESR post this letter (which itself may be FUD) on his site is all that is needed.
Plus, $86 million dollars is something that can be investigated and traced.
--Stephen
Want $86 million dollars fast? Well, we now know not one, but TWO ways to make it!
1) Make an unjustified attack on Linux
2) Make an unjustified attack on Iraq
--Stephen
If this becomes law, how on earth are people expected to prove that facts were in fact stolen? It seems just about impossible.
Let's say I'm an employee of SCO. Now let's say SCO gets in the phone-number-lookup business and purchases a pre-existing phone database. I decide SCO is a bunch of litigious bastards and I quit in a huff. Just to piss them off, I look up phone numbers from a free source, or research them myself. Then I start my own phone-lookup-business.
It becomes insanely popular and takes market share away from SCO.
Now SCO decides that, as a former employee, I stole their database and am now causing them injury. This case is protected under this law. The problem is, how can SCO possibly prove that I stole information from them? By definition, our databases will contain the exact same information because these are facts. So it's all there for SCO: our databases are the same and I clearly had both incentive and the means to steal their database.
But I didn't. And now, most likely, the burden of proof is on me.
At this point, I am screwed.
And in this hypothetical example (doesn't sound so hypothetical, does it?), SCO has no right to own that database. If I pay for their number-lookup service, and they don't make me sign any terms of agreement, I should be able to search for every single number they have in their database and then form my own database. This law says I cannot because I do not have their authorization.
The law defines "Database" as:
"Subject to subparagraph (B), the term `database' means a collection of a large number of discrete items of information produced for the purpose of bringing such discrete items of information together in one place or through one source so that persons may access them.
That's right, libraries are databases. Imagine a private library full of public domain fiction. Now imagine I go in and copy every single book. I now open my own library. I can now be sued.
I realize this does not allow anyone to own facts, but this law is still wrong for similar reasons.
--Stephen
Who says Aiden needs to get a job writing software? He can certainly find some other kind of job that can pay the bills. He could be a network administrator, systems analyst, etc., all sorts of computer jobs that pay well enough and do not require you to write non-free software.
He says this too:
"So you are putting all of that time and energy into this project for what? Fame? To found a career? Come on."
If the project is as impressive as he says it is, he can certainly use it on his resume to land one of the aforementioned jobs.
I mean, I'm not saying I agree that all software should be free, but if that's what this kid believes, there's definitely a way for him to live that doesn't involve mooching off of his parents.
This guy needs to watch "You Can't Take it With You" or if he's Christian, listen to Jesus some. I can see this guy now: "What are you telling that man to give away all his money for?! He needs to pay his bills!!" or "Lillies? Birds?! What a bunch of hogwash! You need to take care of yourself!"
Damn materialists,
--Stephen
Compare this to the University of Chicago, whose CS department offers a course in Free Software Practicum, the goal of which is to develop free software or work on existing free software and have your changes added to the code tree. It's the work of Prof. O'Donnell.
--Stephen
--Stephen
I don't think a lot of what you're not getting is Japanese culture. All Japanese culture really provides is a different perspective from which to view the story. The only real exception is comedy, because a lot of the jokes tend to be somewhat "in-culture".
Don't refuse to watch anime just because you tried it a few times and didn't like it. It's a medium, not a genre, although technically, I'd call it a specific style in a medium.
If you like big robots, you should probably check out one of the Gundam series, although I'm not sure which ones are good. They are fairly cheesy though, so you might like that. Nadesico is another great show, but there are many Japanese in-jokes.
Really, the best "big-robot" anime is probably Evangelion, which, while you many not like the philosophy elements or the huge amount of exposition, has a very rich story. A lot of work went into the series, and it is really a work of art that can be delved into very deeply.
The recent Miyazaki films also must be seen.
For the most part, I find anime refreshing because it has a different style from American movies, and American television really sucks. There hasn't been a good SF series since Star Trek DS9 and there hasn't been a good comedy since Seinfeld. Japanese anime series are also focused on telling a story rather than setting up a premise and having the series continue indefinitely. As a result, Japanese anime series tend to be better planned out, more cohesive, and have actual endings rather than the rich stars of the series or the networks begging for more seasons. (Think if more shows were like Babylon 5.) There are exceptions, of course, but the anime series that last past 26 episodes are mostly crap, anyhow (DBZ, Sailor Moon).
Hell, even Aristotle said the episodic play was the worst kind.
--Stephen
Also, did anyone read the article title as "GritS sequel?"
So, they're going to take away the debian users' freedom to install non-free packages?
Brilliant.
--Stephen
Good guy? I don't think so.
Ends justifying the means, and all that.
--Stephen
I can't enumerate the times that I've heard people complain about X's ineffecient structure, or how terrible a system it is. I never said that the windowing system should be flashy, just that there should be more attention put it. From what I understand, X has a lot of fundamental problems, and this is the chance to correct all that. Just wouldn't want people to miss the boat.
--Stephen
Thank God. Finally, someone has decided to quit bitching about X Window and finally implement a system of their own.
For any programmers out there that are even remotely interested in getting Linux On The Desktop, consider this a call. A super-awesome rock solid kernel cannot be the end-all be-all for Linux. We need to have a good windowing system, one that's faster and more reliable than the competition. From what I know, X Window could use a great amount of improvement in those areas. This is your chance to make things better, and Get It Right The First Time.
--Stephen
There is a disturbing trend toward laws that treat the consumer or citizen as though they have already broken the law. Apparently, the promise of punishment is no longer effective and therefore we must move toward preventitive measures. There is a disturbing amount of people who, in recent times, have clamored for laws like this, saying things like they will "prevent something terrible from happening" and "only drunks will not be able to drive anyway." We've become so paralyzed with fear that we just want bad things to stop. This is very dangerous, to both our privacy and outr freedom. The point is that, in most cases, we need to have the freedom to break the law.
What I mean is that our actions must not be censored, that we need to be able to break the law. These kinds of laws are, simply put, destroying our free will. What these laws do is presume that every one of us has a possibility of breaking the law. In effect, this car law assumes that every person purchasing a car is in fact, a criminal, and will attempt to DUI. If a nation is to be free, there is a certain amount of faith that it must give to each of its citizens. Otherwise, the entire nation is viewed as a nation of criminals, and any idea we once had of freedom disappears.
This is more important than you think.
bored at work,
--Stephen
You want proof that Google is better?
Do a search for "pretend robot pants" (without quotes!) on each.
QED.
--Stephen
Here's a link in case you can't find it!
--Stephen
Actually, it's more like a comic beginning section, followed by a slightly larger Arts section with interviews, reviews of movies, books, and music, as well as picks of upcoming shows in the area (depending on where you get it). The AV section is usually bigger than the joke section, and is usually pretty excellent.
--Stephen
--Stephen
" Mono and
It's right ^ there.
--Stephen
This is exactly why jumptheshark.com needs to have voting only after a series has finished. So many people voted for "Never Jumped" maybe a few years ago, and now it has thousands of votes that can never be overcome. I demand a revote!!!
--Stephen
Actually, in many Asian countries, like Japan and especially Korea (oddly enough, big "story" video game producers), they do not have the simple black and white notion of "good" and "evil" that we have. Instead, it all just comes down to a difference of opinion, or rather, that difference creates evil This thought process actually is a theme in some games, one off the top of my head being Final Fantasy VIII. For information about the Korean mindset on evil, read "Think No Evil" by C. Fred Alford.
--Stephen
For Chriss' sake, man!! It's a freakin' college dorm. Get used to it!
You should be happy your roommate isn't nailing the bejeezus out of some sexy college girl gone wild.
--Stephen
Especially since he didn't first discover it.
--Stephen
Oh, how times have changed...
What happened, Bill?
--Stephen
--Stephen
Here's the real question: do you want to be a scientist or an engineer, or do you want to put stuff together?
Because if you want to STUDY or MAKE things, go to a good CS school: MIT, U of I, Purdue, Carnegie Mellon, University of Chicago (shameless plug, plus U of C will teach you more than just computers). Those are just the top schools off the top of my head, and are necessarily the best schools. I'm sure your own local schools might be good enough. My advice is not to look for a "networking school" as that amount of specialization is not what you want from a university education. See below.
However, if you want to USE things, then get yourself to a trade school, community college, or hell, just teach yourself and get the certification. No need to waste all that money learning about theory, writing papers, etc., when you can just study how to build and maintain networks.
Of course, I'm not saying that this is somehow a 'lesser' pursuit; instead you'll learn more specific skills suited to where you want to work: networking.
--Stephen