When monitoring becomes commonplace, filesharing software start employing encryption. And when high ports or priviledged ports are blocked in too many places, fileshareing applications will start running with mod_fileshare over SSL. And where you once had clean distinction of services on the Internet, you'd then have a mess you can strangle yourself in.
Applicant does a search (web or otherwise) on prior art, filing a paper with proof that existing systems found on the web or otherwhere are not comparable to the patent. The applicant must know of similar systems, so the work can be left for them. There's no expenses in time or efforts for USPO, and the proof can be filed with the patent.
If someone finds the proof is fraudulent, incomplete or otherwise doesn't provide negative proof of prior art, the patent can be revoked. Additionally, the patent holder could then be sued for misleading it's customers and all that sort of thing. There could also be some fines associated with patents for which proper proof was not delivered.
The language and wording of patents are so removed from every-day life it's no wonder finding proof of prior art is difficult. A human can understand what the patent means, but they don't necessarily see the connection to some existing art because the language is different. The same problem applies to googling. How many hours can USPO officials commit for looking for prior art?
So do you mean Wiki and all Wiki-like systems would be infringing the patent? They all have some method for diffing changes or displaying older versions.
It's not much different from ad-filtering proxies. Or firewalls with ad and popup filtering. And what if some site makes the decision to ban Mozilla? I'll bet there's soon a patch available which enables the user to set the UA identification string to whatever they like.
You can't disallow access for open-source on open protocol.
I've always thought scanning and tracking other users is illegal. I'd understand if a local administrator used such tools to solve network problems, but a third party using them without consent of the people being scanned...
Console games cost about 20 - 30 more (where I live at least) than their PC version. Depending on gaming habits, playing with a PC will pay back the cost of the OS. And you don't need a separate remote controller, costing nearly as much as a console game, to play DVD videos...
If you're going to buy XBox for your console gaming, you're not going to get nowhere from that flaky platform -- I've seen crashed XBoxes on stores so often I'm certain they doesn't use a recent stable Windows release. Never seen PS2 or GC unoperational.
IMO using keyboard and mouse gives a better posture for gaming than clenching a tiny controller with both of your hands. PC gaming gives more room for arms so that they can be relaxed; the PC player can rest his arms on the table, for example, unlike the console gamer.
However, there are reasons to use consoles as well. Longer distance to the CRT mean less eye strain. In most families the console is placed to the living room which means kids can't play that long, especially at night. There isn't a clear winner in ergonomics; it's a matter of taste and budget.
I'm one of the people waiting for the Linux port of the game. But unlike you, I think it is more important -- right now -- to have a Linux port than to have lots of players online. The efforts Bioware is making to release a working Linux game will pay back, like when publishing NWN2 client for Linux and Windows at the same time.
Bying the game will help Bioware deliver Linux games in the future too. I have participated in Bioware's survey telling them I'm not going to buy the game until they have the Linux port ready. And there is a bonus in that: Since the game won't be new then, you'll get it cheaper.
Actually, the majority of people who say this and that application or functionality is not available in Linux don't just know about them. Linux users aren't many, so they don't hear much of it from their friends. When there is a Windows user in every corner of your neighbourhood, you'll hear about Windows software pretty fast. But this is not the case with Linux; you'll have to dig deeper than Freshmeat to get software.
I'm a (former) Delphi programmer, so I know what you mean by saying it's as easy as VB but as powerfull as C++. Fundamentally it is a Rapid Application Development tool, which doesn't count (for me) as a real programming too for end products. But for programming on spare time, you'll not find a better tool.
The Open Edition was cool when Borland announced it, but Borlands business strategies are not. The professional editions of their products cost too much for normal people, and important parts of Borland's libraries are only available for paying customers. I would not be surprised, however, if some people had written TCP/IP or database connectivity libraries for the Open Edition. There were some quite nice libraries available for Delphi 4.
There are some problems with the VB-approach for programming. During my Windows programming ventures, being a OO programmer, I tried hard to find ready-made libraries for functionality I needed. Most stuff was shareware, however, requiring a budget-programmer to craft the functionality himself.
I love GUI programming, but I've left Windows for good. Err, for gaming I mean:) And not going back. But I've so little spare time to teach myself basics of QT programming I'm stuck with C and shell programming. KDevelop is wery promising tool for GUI development for Linux KDE, but it requires the programmer accuires some knowledge about QT, the underlying C++ programming library first.
Automatic updates will likely stay optional in the professional version. Corporate administrator won't like it when the OS upgrades without their knowledge, and all the legacy programs stop working. Home edition has had a stricter anti-piracy setup, and will likely continue to.
Sun is offering an alternative: Sun Ray workstations with Linux, Evolution, Mozilla and Gnome Desktop. The price is about US$ 1000 per machine.
Using existing hardware is the cost-saving question. Is it more affordable to install Linux and retrain the entire staff to use Linux software than to replace the hardware and retrain the staff.
And are there alternatives to retraining, like founding user groups with advanced users helping others to get to know the system. There might be a drop to productivity during the time the users need these groups. It's a complicated matter.
It is sure that they cannot break the law. So the alternatives really are pressing Microsoft to alter their licences or switch to another OS. The cost and convenience of doing so will determine what they'll do.
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When monitoring becomes commonplace, filesharing software start employing encryption. And when high ports or priviledged ports are blocked in too many places, fileshareing applications will start running with mod_fileshare over SSL. And where you once had clean distinction of services on the Internet, you'd then have a mess you can strangle yourself in.
What if you changed rule 2:
Applicant does a search (web or otherwise) on prior art, filing a paper with proof that existing systems found on the web or otherwhere are not comparable to the patent. The applicant must know of similar systems, so the work can be left for them. There's no expenses in time or efforts for USPO, and the proof can be filed with the patent.
If someone finds the proof is fraudulent, incomplete or otherwise doesn't provide negative proof of prior art, the patent can be revoked. Additionally, the patent holder could then be sued for misleading it's customers and all that sort of thing. There could also be some fines associated with patents for which proper proof was not delivered.
The language and wording of patents are so removed from every-day life it's no wonder finding proof of prior art is difficult. A human can understand what the patent means, but they don't necessarily see the connection to some existing art because the language is different. The same problem applies to googling. How many hours can USPO officials commit for looking for prior art?
So do you mean Wiki and all Wiki-like systems would be infringing the patent? They all have some method for diffing changes or displaying older versions.
But they do not have an option to not buy MS Works...
It's not much different from ad-filtering proxies. Or firewalls with ad and popup filtering. And what if some site makes the decision to ban Mozilla? I'll bet there's soon a patch available which enables the user to set the UA identification string to whatever they like.
You can't disallow access for open-source on open protocol.
I've always thought scanning and tracking other users is illegal. I'd understand if a local administrator used such tools to solve network problems, but a third party using them without consent of the people being scanned...
Console games cost about 20 - 30 more (where I live at least) than their PC version. Depending on gaming habits, playing with a PC will pay back the cost of the OS. And you don't need a separate remote controller, costing nearly as much as a console game, to play DVD videos...
If you're going to buy XBox for your console gaming, you're not going to get nowhere from that flaky platform -- I've seen crashed XBoxes on stores so often I'm certain they doesn't use a recent stable Windows release. Never seen PS2 or GC unoperational.
IMO using keyboard and mouse gives a better posture for gaming than clenching a tiny controller with both of your hands. PC gaming gives more room for arms so that they can be relaxed; the PC player can rest his arms on the table, for example, unlike the console gamer.
However, there are reasons to use consoles as well. Longer distance to the CRT mean less eye strain. In most families the console is placed to the living room which means kids can't play that long, especially at night. There isn't a clear winner in ergonomics; it's a matter of taste and budget.
I'm one of the people waiting for the Linux port of the game. But unlike you, I think it is more important -- right now -- to have a Linux port than to have lots of players online. The efforts Bioware is making to release a working Linux game will pay back, like when publishing NWN2 client for Linux and Windows at the same time.
Bying the game will help Bioware deliver Linux games in the future too. I have participated in Bioware's survey telling them I'm not going to buy the game until they have the Linux port ready. And there is a bonus in that: Since the game won't be new then, you'll get it cheaper.
Actually, the majority of people who say this and that application or functionality is not available in Linux don't just know about them. Linux users aren't many, so they don't hear much of it from their friends. When there is a Windows user in every corner of your neighbourhood, you'll hear about Windows software pretty fast. But this is not the case with Linux; you'll have to dig deeper than Freshmeat to get software.
I'm a (former) Delphi programmer, so I know what you mean by saying it's as easy as VB but as powerfull as C++. Fundamentally it is a Rapid Application Development tool, which doesn't count (for me) as a real programming too for end products. But for programming on spare time, you'll not find a better tool.
The Open Edition was cool when Borland announced it, but Borlands business strategies are not. The professional editions of their products cost too much for normal people, and important parts of Borland's libraries are only available for paying customers. I would not be surprised, however, if some people had written TCP/IP or database connectivity libraries for the Open Edition. There were some quite nice libraries available for Delphi 4.
There are some problems with the VB-approach for programming. During my Windows programming ventures, being a OO programmer, I tried hard to find ready-made libraries for functionality I needed. Most stuff was shareware, however, requiring a budget-programmer to craft the functionality himself.
I love GUI programming, but I've left Windows for good. Err, for gaming I mean :) And not going back. But I've so little spare time to teach myself basics of QT programming I'm stuck with C and shell programming. KDevelop is wery promising tool for GUI development for Linux KDE, but it requires the programmer accuires some knowledge about QT, the underlying C++ programming library first.
Automatic updates will likely stay optional in the professional version. Corporate administrator won't like it when the OS upgrades without their knowledge, and all the legacy programs stop working. Home edition has had a stricter anti-piracy setup, and will likely continue to.
Sun is offering an alternative: Sun Ray workstations with Linux, Evolution, Mozilla and Gnome Desktop. The price is about US$ 1000 per machine.
Using existing hardware is the cost-saving question. Is it more affordable to install Linux and retrain the entire staff to use Linux software than to replace the hardware and retrain the staff.
And are there alternatives to retraining, like founding user groups with advanced users helping others to get to know the system. There might be a drop to productivity during the time the users need these groups. It's a complicated matter.
It is sure that they cannot break the law. So the alternatives really are pressing Microsoft to alter their licences or switch to another OS. The cost and convenience of doing so will determine what they'll do.