In microeconomics, there's the concept of a "public good". It's something that everyone benefits from, so consumers will disclaim any desire for it in hopes that someone else will pay for it (so they'll get the benefit for free).
Most examples are big ticket items -- National defense, public roads, etc, but open source software is another example.
If Red Hat spends $50,000 to develop a read/write ntfs fs, for example, and places it under the GPL, Suse, Mandrake, and everyone else benefits without having to pay the development costs. I believe slashdot has recently reported that most of Red Hat's employees are working sales. This is similar to other distros that have fired coders en masse.
Open source has succeeded so far because money isn't involved (aside from the software being free)... people write software, debug it, or add features because they need it. All in all, not many commercially developed software applications have been made entirely open source. The Darwin components were all under a BSD(style) license before Apple took them. Star Office is under a shared source style licence and many people believe it will be closed if the next release is good enough to be sellable.
If this company needs a custom application, chances are off the shelf software won't cut it, and the software will provide them with a competetive advantage. Asking them to give that away is silly.
I sudied molecular biology and biochemistry in college, and even wrote a research proposol on telomerase. Between the two, and seeing too many old people, I've developed theories and observations on aging, at least at the cellular level.
First off, some background information. If you take a normal cell, it won't live forever. However, a cancer cell will, provided it is fed. Cancer cells are mutated so they don't respond to feedback mechanisms from other cells, but their most important feature is in their replication.
Does anyone remember early versions of napster? Due to bugs, it wouldn't transmit the last few bytes of every file. For an mp3 file, that meant the mp3 info tag might be missing, or the last few seconds. But what if the copies kept getting resent? Every time, the file would get progresively shorter, and eventually, you'd notice it.
The same thing happens in cells. Due to the DNA replication method, the last few base pairs at the end of the strand aren't duplicated. That's ok, since the ends are basically unused spare buffers. Eventually, the buffer will be used up, and the DNA will get fucked up, and the cell won't be able to duplicate anymore.
Cancer cells have an enzyme called telomerase that adds back to the buffer, allowing it to divide forever.
Of course, there are also other factors that contribute to a finite life span on the cellular level.
There are non-cellular factors to aging as well. For example, collagen (skin) has the cystene amino acid. Cystene contains sulfer, and as you age, the dulfer forms cross links. The result is obvious if you compare geristric skin to newborn skin.
Additionally, the human body is designed for a limited life span. The thymus (important for the immune system) starts atrophying in the late teens, and is useless as your appendix by age 30 or so.
So, while cellular life can be extended, for a complex organism like us, I'd say there is a cap on life expectancy.
Because knowing it's available forces you to download and watch it?
Because it gives ``filesharing'' a bad name?
Because the ip theft may outrage the creator? Because he has the money and influence to affect legislation and future works?
If it's good for the goose, it's good for the gander. How can you say it's ok to ``share'' Microsoft Office and Britney Spears mp3s, but not Attack of the Clones?
Looks pretty slick. It's not surprising it won, though -- NextStep included a TeX distribution (and had builtin previewing capabilities via Display PostScript).
moderate me down if I'm wrong, but hasn't bochs development slowed down in favor of plex86, which does virtualization instead of emulation? [although being fired from Madrake probably didn't encourage Kevin Lawton [?]].
The only time ability to pay is a factor is when the plaintiff files the suit (ie - you don't waste your time trying to sue someone without any assetts).
Most of the zillion dollar punitive damage awards you hear about in the United States are overturned or reduced on appeal. Ask Judge Penfield JAckson what happens when a judge shows bias.
why is it unethical to use the BSD license? MS gives credit to the Regents in their documentation. BSD software was originally developed with federal gov't grants as a gift to the entire computer software industry.
Lots of linux distrributions include BSD (or MIT, or Artistic)-licensed utilities. Does that make them unethical too?
#ifndef lint char copyright[] = "@(#) Copyright (c) 1983 Regents of the University of California.\n\ All rights reserved.\n"; #endif/* not lint */
If a binary hasn't had the symbols stripped, it may also contain function names, or even the names of the source files. That's not proof (and you can rename you functions), but it could be enough to subpoena the source code itself and compare the code. You better be damn sure if you don't wan't to be countersued, though.
So, you're saying a company could make a fortune selling a streamlined computer/appliance designed solely for browsing the web and reading email?
Sony. 3Com. eVilla. Audrey. They used BeOS (BeIA) and QNX repsectively. They were discontinued in less time than it takes a 56k modem webserver to get slashdotted.
I bought a lexmark e210 laser printer at staples for $150 (there's a $50 rebate, dropping it to $100). It works great, but it doesn't have it's own character set, so the printer driver must create a bitmap and send it to the printer. They include a linux driver for use with ghostscript, but it's for an older version, and closed (and I use FreeBSD). The bitmap format is undefined, but I've been working on reverse engineering it.
Instead of "thinking" what they thought, why not check out what they actually thought? The "Federalist Papers" were a series of articles written by the founders, published in newspapers, in an attempt to convince the American people they should ratify the Constitution. There are also numerous letters among Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, etc. They make it clear that a person should be armed to disourage foreign invasion, but also to protect themselves from federal gov't tyranny and overreach.
Of course, Abraham Lincoln and his civil war showed who was really in charge....
/* * This program is for setting TTF files to Installable Embedding mode. * * Note that using this to embed fonts which you are not licensed to embed * does not make it legal. * * This code was written by Tom Murphy 7, and is public domain. Use at your * own risk... */ #include <stdio.h> #include <stdlib.h>
void fatal();
int main (int argc, char**argv) { FILE * inways; if (argc != 2) printf("Usage: %s font.ttf\n\nPublic Domain software by Tom 7. Use at your own risk.\n",argv[0]); else if (inways = fopen(argv[1],"rb+")) { int a,x; char type[5]; type[4]=0; fseek(inways,12,0); for (;;) { for (x=0;x<4;x++) if (EOF == (type[x] = getc(inways))) fatal(); if (!strcmp(type,"OS/2")) { int length; unsigned long loc, fstype, sum=0; loc=ftell(inways);/* location for checksum */ for (x=4;x--;) if (EOF == getc(inways)) fatal(); fstype = fgetc(inways) << 24; fstype |= fgetc(inways) << 16; fstype |= fgetc(inways) << 8; fstype |= fgetc(inways); length = fgetc(inways) << 24; length |= fgetc(inways) << 16; length |= fgetc(inways) << 8; length |= fgetc(inways); /* printf("fstype: %d length: %d\n",fstype,length);*/ if (fseek(inways,fstype+8,0)) fatal(); fputc(0,inways); fputc(0,inways); fseek(inways,fstype,0); for (x=length;x--;) sum += fgetc(inways); fseek(inways,loc,0);/* write checksum */ fputc(sum>>24,inways); fputc(255&(sum>>16),inways); fputc(255&(sum>>8), inways); fputc(255&sum , inways); fclose(inways); exit(0); } for (x=12;x--;) if (EOF == getc(inways)) fatal(); }
} else printf("I wasn't able to open the file %s.\n", argv[1]); }
well, talk about backwards. Why do you think AOL uses IE? Hint - MS and AOL swapped IE for an AOL dektop icon back when MS didn't yet own the browser market.
AOL: I don't know if we should... MS: Come on now, I'll still respect you in the morning! AOL: Well, ok. MS: You don't mind if I videotape it and show it to all my friends, your parents, coworkers, and anyone who checks out my web site, do you?
Slashdot Mirror
It would have taken less time to point out the things that were based on physics.
In microeconomics, there's the concept of a "public good". It's something that everyone benefits from, so consumers will disclaim any desire for it in hopes that someone else will pay for it (so they'll get the benefit for free).
Most examples are big ticket items -- National defense, public roads, etc, but open source software is another example.
If Red Hat spends $50,000 to develop a read/write ntfs fs, for example, and places it under the GPL, Suse, Mandrake, and everyone else benefits without having to pay the development costs. I believe slashdot has recently reported that most of Red Hat's employees are working sales. This is similar to other distros that have fired coders en masse.
Open source has succeeded so far because money isn't involved (aside from the software being free)... people write software, debug it, or add features because they need it. All in all, not many commercially developed software applications have been made entirely open source. The Darwin components were all under a BSD(style) license before Apple took them. Star Office is under a shared source style licence and many people believe it will be closed if the next release is good enough to be sellable.
If this company needs a custom application, chances are off the shelf software won't cut it, and the software will provide them with a competetive advantage. Asking them to give that away is silly.
First off, some background information. If you take a normal cell, it won't live forever. However, a cancer cell will, provided it is fed. Cancer cells are mutated so they don't respond to feedback mechanisms from other cells, but their most important feature is in their replication.
Does anyone remember early versions of napster? Due to bugs, it wouldn't transmit the last few bytes of every file. For an mp3 file, that meant the mp3 info tag might be missing, or the last few seconds. But what if the copies kept getting resent? Every time, the file would get progresively shorter, and eventually, you'd notice it.
The same thing happens in cells. Due to the DNA replication method, the last few base pairs at the end of the strand aren't duplicated. That's ok, since the ends are basically unused spare buffers. Eventually, the buffer will be used up, and the DNA will get fucked up, and the cell won't be able to duplicate anymore.
Cancer cells have an enzyme called telomerase that adds back to the buffer, allowing it to divide forever.
Of course, there are also other factors that contribute to a finite life span on the cellular level.
There are non-cellular factors to aging as well. For example, collagen (skin) has the cystene amino acid. Cystene contains sulfer, and as you age, the dulfer forms cross links. The result is obvious if you compare geristric skin to newborn skin.
Additionally, the human body is designed for a limited life span. The thymus (important for the immune system) starts atrophying in the late teens, and is useless as your appendix by age 30 or so.
So, while cellular life can be extended, for a complex organism like us, I'd say there is a cap on life expectancy.
why?
Because knowing it's available forces you to download and watch it?
Because it gives ``filesharing'' a bad name?
Because the ip theft may outrage the creator? Because he has the money and influence to affect legislation and future works?
If it's good for the goose, it's good for the gander. How can you say it's ok to ``share'' Microsoft Office and Britney Spears mp3s, but not Attack of the Clones?
Oh, wait, that as fart, not art.
Looks pretty slick. It's not surprising it won, though -- NextStep included a TeX distribution (and had builtin previewing capabilities via Display PostScript).
moderate me down if I'm wrong, but hasn't bochs development slowed down in favor of plex86, which does virtualization instead of emulation? [although being fired from Madrake probably didn't encourage Kevin Lawton [?]].
To me, all the popular linux distributions have been easier to install than windows
Yes, but you're trying to install windows on a Macintosh!
We already knew that, CmdrTaco.
Pot. Kettle. Black.
Most of the zillion dollar punitive damage awards you hear about in the United States are overturned or reduced on appeal. Ask Judge Penfield JAckson what happens when a judge shows bias.
Lots of linux distrributions include BSD (or MIT, or Artistic)-licensed utilities. Does that make them unethical too?
#ifndef lint /* not lint */
char copyright[] =
"@(#) Copyright (c) 1983 Regents of the University of California.\n\
All rights reserved.\n";
#endif
If a binary hasn't had the symbols stripped, it may also contain function names, or even the names of the source files. That's not proof (and you can rename you functions), but it could be enough to subpoena the source code itself and compare the code. You better be damn sure if you don't wan't to be countersued, though.
Well, innuendo aside, there's no reason to believe that any MS software does include GPL code.
Additionally, the GPL has never been tested in court.
Sony. 3Com. eVilla. Audrey. They used BeOS (BeIA) and QNX repsectively. They were discontinued in less time than it takes a 56k modem webserver to get slashdotted.
Can we call it "minix"?
cool. Now, I can find out what it's like to eat pussy
I bought a lexmark e210 laser printer at staples for $150 (there's a $50 rebate, dropping it to $100). It works great, but it doesn't have it's own character set, so the printer driver must create a bitmap and send it to the printer. They include a linux driver for use with ghostscript, but it's for an older version, and closed (and I use FreeBSD). The bitmap format is undefined, but I've been working on reverse engineering it.
When did Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton become black?
what's great isn't that it was ported to cocoa, it's that it was recompiled for cocoa.
Instead of "thinking" what they thought, why not check out what they actually thought? The "Federalist Papers" were a series of articles written by the founders, published in newspapers, in an attempt to convince the American people they should ratify the Constitution. There are also numerous letters among Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, etc. They make it clear that a person should be armed to disourage foreign invasion, but also to protect themselves from federal gov't tyranny and overreach. Of course, Abraham Lincoln and his civil war showed who was really in charge....
It's public domain. He obviously doesn't mind
/* location for checksum */ ; ; ; ; /* write checksum */
/*
* This program is for setting TTF files to Installable Embedding mode.
*
* Note that using this to embed fonts which you are not licensed to embed
* does not make it legal.
*
* This code was written by Tom Murphy 7, and is public domain. Use at your
* own risk...
*/
#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
void fatal();
int main (int argc, char**argv) {
FILE * inways;
if (argc != 2)
printf("Usage: %s font.ttf\n\nPublic Domain software by Tom 7. Use at your own risk.\n",argv[0]);
else if (inways = fopen(argv[1],"rb+")) {
int a,x;
char type[5];
type[4]=0;
fseek(inways,12,0);
for (;;) {
for (x=0;x<4;x++) if (EOF == (type[x] = getc(inways))) fatal();
if (!strcmp(type,"OS/2")) {
int length;
unsigned long loc, fstype, sum=0;
loc=ftell(inways);
for (x=4;x--;) if (EOF == getc(inways)) fatal();
fstype = fgetc(inways) << 24;
fstype |= fgetc(inways) << 16;
fstype |= fgetc(inways) << 8
fstype |= fgetc(inways)
length = fgetc(inways) << 24;
length |= fgetc(inways) << 16;
length |= fgetc(inways) << 8
length |= fgetc(inways)
/* printf("fstype: %d length: %d\n",fstype,length);*/
if (fseek(inways,fstype+8,0)) fatal();
fputc(0,inways);
fputc(0,inways);
fseek(inways,fstype,0);
for (x=length;x--;)
sum += fgetc(inways);
fseek(inways,loc,0);
fputc(sum>>24,inways);
fputc(255&(sum>>16),inways);
fputc(255&(sum>>8), inways);
fputc(255&sum , inways);
fclose(inways);
exit(0);
}
for (x=12;x--;) if (EOF == getc(inways)) fatal();
}
} else
printf("I wasn't able to open the file %s.\n", argv[1]);
}
void fatal() { fprintf(stderr,"Malformed TTF file.\n");
exit(-1); }
AOL: I don't know if we should ...
MS: Come on now, I'll still respect you in the morning!
AOL: Well, ok.
MS: You don't mind if I videotape it and show it to all my friends, your parents, coworkers, and anyone who checks out my web site, do you?
If you want to save a few bucks ($24.50 vs. $31.99 at bn) go to bookpool.
No, it's eMacs vs Viao.