But the patent office was forced to change its policy in 1980 after it turned down a patent application from General Electric for a bacterium that had been genetically engineered to "eat" oil spills.
General Electric appealed to the Supreme Court, in a case called Diamond vs. Chakrabarty. Only one "friend of the court" brief was filed arguing that life should not be patented. It was written by Jeremy Rifkin and his colleagues.
The Supreme Court, however, said in a 5-4 ruling that Congress had authorized patents on "anything under the sun that is made by man." And because the GE microorganism was man-made and not naturally occurring, the court ruled that it qualified for a patent.
What about human beings that are produced as a result of in vitor fertilization? They are "man-made" and not "naturally occuring." By the Supreme Court's definition, these people could be patented.
Governments (not just the U.S.) need to step up and ban patents on all DNA.
Currently the best image browser I have is ACDSee, a Windows app. Are there any better ones out there, for either Linux or Win32?
For the Win32 platform, I suggest SuperJPG. We've used ACDSee, too, but our users prefer the SuperJPG interface because of it's similarity to explorer. It's intuitive (if you're a windoze user).
I was a union programmer for a period of time (The Newspaper Guild, AFL-CIO) at a newspaper, and it mattered little. Pointy-haired bosses don't understand what we do, and membership in a union does nothing to improve that situation.
Nobody could easily identify the jurisdiction of programmers - a critical part of any union contract. Where do you draw the line regarding coding? Is it only compilable languages? What about shell scripts or HTML? VB is a compilable language, but VBScript in an active server page is interpreted at run time, not compiled. What about purchasing software? If coding is unit work, isn't purchasing software from a third party a form of union-busting? Of course not - but if you're a union janitor, and you see a contractor pushing a broom, you know you have a legitimate grievance.
The bottom line is the union was great for negotiating things like wages, hours and working conditions, but when it came to what we actually did and how we did it - the union, as much as management, had no clue.
Each time I fly somewhere, I don't inspect the plane before boarding it. When I go to the grocery store, I assume that the government has inspected the facilities that produce the food I buy. The average consumer has neither the time nor the expertise to inspect each plane or food processing plant to decide if it meets a reasonable standard.
Government inspection doesn't mitigate any responsibility that a food plant or an airline has. It merely provides the consumer with some assurances. And in most cases (not all) it works. Most of us buy food every week, and most of us don't die of food poisoning. Most planes take off and land safely. However, the food producer or the airline company is still responsible for the product.
As we rely more system security in our daily business transactions, I think that rigid standards of system security should be created and enforced.
If we start holding irresponsible retailers, like Best Buy in this case, accountable for damages, you'll see consumers *and* retailers lobbying for such an effort.
The state, local and federal governments already restrict children's access to other forms of entertainment - movies with an 'R' or 'NC-17' rating, for example (please save all rants about the MPAA for another discussion).
What those who might protest are forgetting is that until someone reaches the age of majority in the US, his/her rights - particularly "Constitutional" rights - are severely limited. Most rights that children have are those given to them by their parents.
From the article:
The channel plans to offer 13 original weekly series, focusing on topics like sports games, gaming reviews, and hints and tricks for winning at popular video games. It is expected to have 350 to 400 hours of original content per year.
The seven-day Pong marathon is just hype - but the channel is real.
Alice is a 3D Interactive Graphics Programming Environment for Windows 95/98/NT built by the Stage 3 Research Group at Carnegie Mellon University. The goal is to make it easy for novice programmers to develop 3D environments and to explore the medium of interactive 3D graphics. The current version of Alice authoring tool is free (as in beer).
Alice is primarily a scripting and prototyping environment for 3D object behavior, not a 3D modeler, so Alice is much more like LOGO than AutoCAD. By writing simple scripts, Alice users can control object appearance and behavior, and while the scripts are executing, objects respond to user input via mouse and keyboard.
I see an opportunity here for a free (as in speech) version. It could go a long way in the acceptance of Linux at the elementary school level.
If the demand remains constant, *someone* -- either Hitachi, if they buy that product from IBM, or someone else -- will supply.
At first, there may be spike in the prices, but market forces will adjust that. The hard drive market, as the story said, is very competitive. And where there is competition (unlike the desktop OS market), market forces generally work well.
Did you know that Huntsville, Alabama (where UAH is located) is also the home of NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center? It seems to me that an interest in rocketry at this university would be a given - either naturally-occurring or sponsored by NASA.
I see some potential here.
on
GNU Radio
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· Score: 2, Insightful
If the software is digitally creating the waveforms before conversion to analog and transmission, then encryption could be applied to the waveform, and decrypted with the appropriate key by the receiver (a radio version of PGP, anyone?). This could prove to be a very cool method of secure communication.
The prediction of failure for "Pay for Napster", or some other digital music distribution service, has been based mostly on the premise that people won't pay for something that they're already getting for free.
This is true, unless value is added.
Not too many years ago, all television was free (as in beer). Then along came cable. The added value was the additional choices in programming, and people bought it. If a "pay to view" model develops from digital television, people will buy it adds value.
Back in 1996, Judge Saris made a common sense rulingin the case of State Street Bank vs. Signature Financial Group. In sumamry, SFG claimed that they had a patent on "multi-tiered" mutual funds and the software to manage it. Judge Saris ruled that the patent acquired by SGF was so broad, that no mutual fund company could do business without paying a royalty to them.
Expect a common-sense ruling from her in this case as well.
Where was she when the "1-Click" patent was challenged?:-)
'Charley Pride: A Tribute to Jim Reeves.' Did that CD really need copy-protecting?
With the huge success of a bluegrass music at last night's grammy awards, the demand for country (American Roots/bluegrass/traditional) music will, most likely, increase greatly.
I, as much as any code monkey, love "music to code by" -- especially metal -- but I was thrilled to see O Brother Where Art Thou do so well. It was a great movie with an even better soundtrack.
This review seems to have gotten all of its information - including screenshots - from the official website. There's no insider information, no developer/producer interviews, and the technical information is... well... lacking. For example: "Well, I can tell you that the game will likely be utilising modems, so expect some slow play with all of those worlds to contend with... " Yikes.
Not only that, the author can't even get his Star Wars (or planetary systems) facts stright: "Obviously, the game will be set in the Star Wars universe (duh), but is not confined to just a single planet (hence the 'Galaxies' bit)" - Since when has any Star Wars episode been limited to one planet? And if there are multiple galaxies, it will certainly be a departure from the Star Wars mythology.
Let the site get slashdotted - wait for the game to be released and wait for a real review.
Just my $0.02
--
Inominate Recreant - in the code business for 22 years
Why is that more than half (at a quick glance) of the replies to the review (ignoring replies to replies) are about Jon Katz, and not the movie or the subject of the movie?
I'm guessing that/. publishes his reviews to prompt discussion of topics unrelated to the usual "News for Nerds/Stuff that Matters" fare. Fine. But the reviews prompt mostly "bash Jon Katz" discussions (which are rarely moderated as "off-topic").
That being the case (and it's a big assumption on my part) I wonder what/.'s motive is in continuing to publish his reviews. Has it become a running gag with the editors, like the "Cowboy Neal" options in polls (Hey! Let's publish another Katz review - I could use a good laugh). Are they hoping, each time they publish a Katz review, that the signal/noise ratio will actually *increase*?
I can't figure it out. I welcome any suggestions.
--
Inominate Recreant - 22 years in the codin' business.
the expression "Batch is a bitch" or "Floor Sort"?
Until fairly recently (3 years ago) at a VAX shop I worked at, they used VMS software that emulated an IBM RJE (look it up) station for transmission of financial transactions to a bank. Each record in the file that was sent appeared to the IBM mainframe to be a punch card. I had to write a DCL routine to create the JCL that launched the program remotely on the mainframe.
Banks are always the last institutions to adopt new technologies.
Slashdot Mirror
Governments (not just the U.S.) need to step up and ban patents on all DNA.
Wouldn't you love to see an episode of MTV's Celebrity Death Match between Rep. Boucher and Rep. Schiff?
Nobody could easily identify the jurisdiction of programmers - a critical part of any union contract. Where do you draw the line regarding coding? Is it only compilable languages? What about shell scripts or HTML? VB is a compilable language, but VBScript in an active server page is interpreted at run time, not compiled. What about purchasing software? If coding is unit work, isn't purchasing software from a third party a form of union-busting? Of course not - but if you're a union janitor, and you see a contractor pushing a broom, you know you have a legitimate grievance.
The bottom line is the union was great for negotiating things like wages, hours and working conditions, but when it came to what we actually did and how we did it - the union, as much as management, had no clue.
Will this device make sure that your eyes are open during the commercials, so that you won't be accused of stealing?
Government inspection doesn't mitigate any responsibility that a food plant or an airline has. It merely provides the consumer with some assurances. And in most cases (not all) it works. Most of us buy food every week, and most of us don't die of food poisoning. Most planes take off and land safely. However, the food producer or the airline company is still responsible for the product.
As we rely more system security in our daily business transactions, I think that rigid standards of system security should be created and enforced.
If we start holding irresponsible retailers, like Best Buy in this case, accountable for damages, you'll see consumers *and* retailers lobbying for such an effort.
it's taken...
What those who might protest are forgetting is that until someone reaches the age of majority in the US, his/her rights - particularly "Constitutional" rights - are severely limited. Most rights that children have are those given to them by their parents.
The channel plans to offer 13 original weekly series, focusing on topics like sports games, gaming reviews, and hints and tricks for winning at popular video games. It is expected to have 350 to 400 hours of original content per year.
The seven-day Pong marathon is just hype - but the channel is real.
Alice is primarily a scripting and prototyping environment for 3D object behavior, not a 3D modeler, so Alice is much more like LOGO than AutoCAD. By writing simple scripts, Alice users can control object appearance and behavior, and while the scripts are executing, objects respond to user input via mouse and keyboard.
I see an opportunity here for a free (as in speech) version. It could go a long way in the acceptance of Linux at the elementary school level.
That's because everyone knows that mp3 and ogg are only used for violating intellectual property rights ;-)
If the demand remains constant, *someone* -- either Hitachi, if they buy that product from IBM, or someone else -- will supply.
At first, there may be spike in the prices, but market forces will adjust that. The hard drive market, as the story said, is very competitive. And where there is competition (unlike the desktop OS market), market forces generally work well.
Did you know that Huntsville, Alabama (where UAH is located) is also the home of NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center? It seems to me that an interest in rocketry at this university would be a given - either naturally-occurring or sponsored by NASA.
If the software is digitally creating the waveforms before conversion to analog and transmission, then encryption could be applied to the waveform, and decrypted with the appropriate key by the receiver (a radio version of PGP, anyone?). This could prove to be a very cool method of secure communication.
This is true, unless value is added.
Not too many years ago, all television was free (as in beer). Then along came cable. The added value was the additional choices in programming, and people bought it. If a "pay to view" model develops from digital television, people will buy it adds value.
Here was the first story when I visited there today:
Female Circumcision - Basic Information [kuro5hin.org]
It may not be "News for nerds", but for the circumcisee, it's "Stuff that matters."
Back in 1996, Judge Saris made a common sense rulingin the case of State Street Bank vs. Signature Financial Group. In sumamry, SFG claimed that they had a patent on "multi-tiered" mutual funds and the software to manage it. Judge Saris ruled that the patent acquired by SGF was so broad, that no mutual fund company could do business without paying a royalty to them.
:-)
Expect a common-sense ruling from her in this case as well.
Where was she when the "1-Click" patent was challenged?
'Charley Pride: A Tribute to Jim Reeves.' Did that CD really need copy-protecting?
With the huge success of a bluegrass music at last night's grammy awards, the demand for country (American Roots/bluegrass/traditional) music will, most likely, increase greatly.
I, as much as any code monkey, love "music to code by" -- especially metal -- but I was thrilled to see O Brother Where Art Thou do so well. It was a great movie with an even better soundtrack.
Not only are they reviewing games that are still under development, but then they become Slashdot Stories
Simple solution: set your threshold to something greater than -1. Duh.
Not only that, the author can't even get his Star Wars (or planetary systems) facts stright: "Obviously, the game will be set in the Star Wars universe (duh), but is not confined to just a single planet (hence the 'Galaxies' bit)" - Since when has any Star Wars episode been limited to one planet? And if there are multiple galaxies, it will certainly be a departure from the Star Wars mythology.
Let the site get slashdotted - wait for the game to be released and wait for a real review.
Just my $0.02
--
Inominate Recreant - in the code business for 22 years
Why is that more than half (at a quick glance) of the replies to the review (ignoring replies to replies) are about Jon Katz, and not the movie or the subject of the movie?
/. publishes his reviews to prompt discussion of topics unrelated to the usual "News for Nerds/Stuff that Matters" fare. Fine. But the reviews prompt mostly "bash Jon Katz" discussions (which are rarely moderated as "off-topic").
/.'s motive is in continuing to publish his reviews. Has it become a running gag with the editors, like the "Cowboy Neal" options in polls (Hey! Let's publish another Katz review - I could use a good laugh). Are they hoping, each time they publish a Katz review, that the signal/noise ratio will actually *increase*?
I'm guessing that
That being the case (and it's a big assumption on my part) I wonder what
I can't figure it out. I welcome any suggestions.
--
Inominate Recreant - 22 years in the codin' business.
Until fairly recently (3 years ago) at a VAX shop I worked at, they used VMS software that emulated an IBM RJE (look it up) station for transmission of financial transactions to a bank. Each record in the file that was sent appeared to the IBM mainframe to be a punch card. I had to write a DCL routine to create the JCL that launched the program remotely on the mainframe.
Banks are always the last institutions to adopt new technologies.
Inominate Recreant - 22 years in the code biz.