I've never had any trouble seeing how "traditional" copyright law could and should be applied to modern technology.
IANAL, but why is everyone else having so much trouble seeing this? I suggest this is only because they've created this holy war and want to change copyright law to suit their battle tactics.
The courts should know better and be able to act as a stablizing force, but they're not technologists so they can't be sure there shouldn't be a difference. Judgement: the courts need to continue to try to learn more about technology. Good job so far, but still a long way to go.
And Congress? Ha! They're simply about money. Yes, money first, votes second.
For me, the one argument I don't think big media understands here, is that Disney could still use Mickey Mouse heavily when the copyright on "him" expires. There's nothing about the expiration of copyright that says they have to remove him from Disneyland and stop selling his likeness.
It's not like they do anything these days that requires them to have some kind of exclusive rights. Even if Mickey becomes ubiquitous elsewhere, Disney can always remind us he's their child.
The public is served when copyright expires in a reasonable amount of time, because new derivitive works can flourish, and the former owner has to get of their ass and contribute something new if they want to make money.
This whole issue is yet another example of big media screwing the American public. Viva La Napster!
Honestly, the best thing would be to take the best compiler for each platform, and the best (but different) piece of software for a given task, and see how fast they finish it in a manner befitting how a user would accomplish the task.
But as benchmarks go, everything Apple did was about as honest and forthright as benchmarking goes. You're just new or naive if you believe they mean anything.
Hey, I'm just saying there is no room for any kind of sustainable commercial software industry in those countries because piracy goes unchecked. I'm not advocating the FBI stepping in and changing any rules about what you can or can't say or read.
Sending the 0101010's of Microsoft Windows XP + serial to your buddy for him to use without paying is not covered by the first ammendment or any other law.
Sure industries need to adapt, and the ones most under fire from piracy have shown a strong will against adapting to give consumers what they want. But a strong attempt at a boycott should have been tried before we turned to looting.
If P2P threatens our economy as much as some people think, why shouldn't the FBI go after pirates and the like?
Sure that's all debatable, but local law enforcement isn't up to the task. It's a decentralized problem geographically, but from another perspective it's centralized on the net and attacking it might best be handled by a central, and technologically capable command. The FBI seems like the most logical choice.
Sure they have other fish to fry, but considering that most people I know, including those who can barely use a computer, are sharing software movies and music, perhaps government has to grow a little to keep this from becoming even worse as in some places like China and Russia.
Fink has always provided a user-friendly approach to installing ports that appeals to even sub power-users.
Darwin ports brings to the table the experience behind the BSD ports system as well as the leadership of Apple.
Gentoo brings some hardcore technical muscle.
They all bring different strengths to the table, so I think they'll find a way to make it great.
I will say "this is good" rather than "too little too late". You've got to encourage this kind of turnaround from the world's most pervasive software company.
Unless you're an OSS zealot who hopes MS's bad behavior will be their downfall.
It is my uneducated understanding that if he pushes the issue and AOL refuses to do anything with Waste or makes one slip-up in their comments regarding its future, Justin could go to court and show it's not really AOL property because he did it apparently without their blessing, and AOL is showing no intent to use it.
OK, but......Apple knows laptops are the only growth area in PC sales right now, and what better way to capture customers than some ass-kickin' new laptops?
Moreover, why spend time and money trying to push something consumers aren't interested in just so you can say you improved one area of your sales? It's the overall sales picture that matters, and giving consumers what they want is the best way to maximize that.
Of the handfull of people I know who are looking for a new machine right now, it's either for a laptop or a gaming rig, and while a new Mac is suitable for gaming, it won't make a good choice as a gaming oriented purchase. The laptop lookers I know are very open to the idea of buying a Powerbook.
Having spoken with Microsoft OS developers about this issue in some detail, they make risk / benefit choices all the time where they know one way will not crash ever, and the other way will crash but will be amazingly faster.
Guess which way consumers pay them to build it. When they choose the crash-but-fast method, they just put an astounding amount of QA into it to whittle the probability of a crash down to an acceptable level. And I agree with them about what an acceptable level is, because I know that when I crash my Win2k system, it's my fault.
They put more testing and research into their OSes than anyone these days. Maybe Sun used to have them beat there, but Sun isn't nearly as focused on those things anymore.
No political system is perfect, but in my opinion, Linux gives us some of the greatest aspects of both Socialism and our "free market" economy.
Let's face it, Microsoft is scared because they don't feel they can compete. What could be a greater sign that Linux encourages competition? Just because Linus isn't the richest man on Earth, doesn't mean Linux doesn't aid our economy.
Re:Why teh X-Box sucks
on
Hacking the XBox
·
· Score: 4, Interesting
My Xbox games from launch look better than even the newest games on my PS2 and Gamecube.
Xbox has had well documented periods where no good new games were released, but that's not a reason why the Xbox itself sucks. I've managed to find enough good (some great) games to make my Xbox purchase worth my while. Halo, for example, while being released before level design was finished, is still a smashing game. It single handedly proved FPSes can be great on a console.
Maybe I'm happy because I fall into that 10% catagory you mention, but to be fair, Nintendo has historically done a far worse job of making games for a wide audience than what Microsoft has done here, and Nintendo STILL has a long way to go. And Microsoft has some good MMORPG and RPG shit coming to help the cause. So sure Sony is the leader in game variety and overall game quality, but Microsoft isn't the runt of the litter by any means. Lack of games isn't all that big a deal for Xbox owners.
Online gameplay. Xbox Live wins hands down. At least Sony did SOMETHING, and that something works, but it's not on the same level.
So I fail to see how you can say the Xbox sucks so badly when it has the best hardware, and the best online setup. You didn't make very many points for me to draw comparisons on, but that's what I got. And your comparison of the Xbox to an Alienware isn't of interest to me. I can't Jabba The Hut it on the couch with an Alienware. Furthermore, that's apples and oranges.
I've never had a company treat me well enough to make it worth my while to protect a pedo.
Yet while I didn't work IT, the IT folk apparently were treated well enough, because while they told me who and roughly what they found, they never spoke up. And I never had hard evidence for me to make such a strong claim.
So the lesson is, pay your IT people well, because odds are you have a pedo in your ranks, and I guarantee they prefer using the T-1 to their home dial-up.
1) Be more thorough than management can hope to argue with.
2) Don't be dishonest or try to show only part of the picture so it enhances your argument. The more thorough and honest you are, the better chance you'll have.
3) Keep the needs of the organization and realistic probabilities of potential problems in mind. For example, don't go nuts on MS security flaws for IIS if it's going to be used in a relatively secure section of the network for perhaps an intranet that you can do without for a day while someone restores it from backup.
4) Don't come across as a zealot (not starcraft).
5) TCO is a big fat myth that usually gets skewed. But when talking to management types, don't be afraid to use it. But be specific. Show them exact amounts projected, and show them all of the many factors you put into those figures (employee time, training, support, etc.). Again, don't lie or skew your facts.
6) Show them a path to make any transitions, and provide a plan that makes it easy.
Compression sounds great, but how well does this stuff edit? Current DV is almost completely lossless (some software codecs are) and it edits smoothly. My experiences with MPEG2 are that it's not so hot for source material.
Well, it makes perfect sense that if the government wants to gain an edge over terrorists they should develop something behind closed doors and not share it with terrorists.
The problem with this decision isn't in some moral analysis, but with the cost factor. For what they were going to pay Theo (and get), the federal government and even its most efficient contractor probably won't even have any code written by the time they burn through that much money. And while there's something to be said for getting what you pay for, we all know that doesn't apply to government spending.
During this time of massive tax cuts and a dead-flat economy, our government should be operating lean. And in this case, we all know supporting OpenBSD would not be compromising quality for the sake of cost.
The only question left unanswered is...How important is our ability to hack terrorists' systems?
I personally would be doubling the money to OpenBSD if I were in charge.
I wonder why they're choosing lawsuits over legal prosecution. As I understand it, lawsuits require less proof, and give them much greater investigatory allowances, but in my book these people should be prosecuted rather than hassled with lawsuits.
What the hell is the point of forcing us to sit through 15 second FBI warnings before movies if they're not going to use the FBI?
I've been saying, since the inception of Napster, that this should be one of ways that police and content owners fight back. Talk of three years hard time is a bit over zealous, but a criminal record and jail time is appropriate if you ask me.
Most current file-traders are doing the kind of traffic that fair use laws weren't meant to protect. Just because it's now 1's and 0's doesn't change the net affect P2P sharing of copyrighted materials has had on the business end of things. I'm not saying all business models should be holy and safe from change, but they should get protection from criminal acts.
You don't even want to know what I really think about this article.
- Making guns "smarter" will only make the problems surrounding them worse. Keeping guns simple actually lessens problems if you ask me.
- If someone doesn't know that pulling a trigger on a gun is going to get somebody crippled or killed, then I don't think it's the gun that lacks intelligence.
- Building guns that require an MCSE certification to be an expert on will only lead to more of the confusing grey areas that get people "accidentally" shot.
The only thing profound about most gun threads is how profoundly stupid they are.
Slashdot Mirror
I've never had any trouble seeing how "traditional" copyright law could and should be applied to modern technology.
IANAL, but why is everyone else having so much trouble seeing this? I suggest this is only because they've created this holy war and want to change copyright law to suit their battle tactics.
The courts should know better and be able to act as a stablizing force, but they're not technologists so they can't be sure there shouldn't be a difference. Judgement: the courts need to continue to try to learn more about technology. Good job so far, but still a long way to go.
And Congress? Ha! They're simply about money. Yes, money first, votes second.
For me, the one argument I don't think big media understands here, is that Disney could still use Mickey Mouse heavily when the copyright on "him" expires. There's nothing about the expiration of copyright that says they have to remove him from Disneyland and stop selling his likeness.
It's not like they do anything these days that requires them to have some kind of exclusive rights. Even if Mickey becomes ubiquitous elsewhere, Disney can always remind us he's their child.
The public is served when copyright expires in a reasonable amount of time, because new derivitive works can flourish, and the former owner has to get of their ass and contribute something new if they want to make money.
This whole issue is yet another example of big media screwing the American public. Viva La Napster!
Personally, I hate Bach, although I recognize his contribution.
And Mozart wasn't exactly a family man.
Ahh yes, the famous Slashdot Equality! I love it.
Honestly, the best thing would be to take the best compiler for each platform, and the best (but different) piece of software for a given task, and see how fast they finish it in a manner befitting how a user would accomplish the task.
But as benchmarks go, everything Apple did was about as honest and forthright as benchmarking goes. You're just new or naive if you believe they mean anything.
Hey, I'm just saying there is no room for any kind of sustainable commercial software industry in those countries because piracy goes unchecked. I'm not advocating the FBI stepping in and changing any rules about what you can or can't say or read.
Sending the 0101010's of Microsoft Windows XP + serial to your buddy for him to use without paying is not covered by the first ammendment or any other law.
Sure industries need to adapt, and the ones most under fire from piracy have shown a strong will against adapting to give consumers what they want. But a strong attempt at a boycott should have been tried before we turned to looting.
If P2P threatens our economy as much as some people think, why shouldn't the FBI go after pirates and the like?
Sure that's all debatable, but local law enforcement isn't up to the task. It's a decentralized problem geographically, but from another perspective it's centralized on the net and attacking it might best be handled by a central, and technologically capable command. The FBI seems like the most logical choice.
Sure they have other fish to fry, but considering that most people I know, including those who can barely use a computer, are sharing software movies and music, perhaps government has to grow a little to keep this from becoming even worse as in some places like China and Russia.
Fink has always provided a user-friendly approach to installing ports that appeals to even sub power-users. Darwin ports brings to the table the experience behind the BSD ports system as well as the leadership of Apple. Gentoo brings some hardcore technical muscle. They all bring different strengths to the table, so I think they'll find a way to make it great.
Anyone care to dish a hint at when SP4 is due?
I will say "this is good" rather than "too little too late". You've got to encourage this kind of turnaround from the world's most pervasive software company.
Unless you're an OSS zealot who hopes MS's bad behavior will be their downfall.
Needs a BitTorrent for the Alpha release.
It is my uneducated understanding that if he pushes the issue and AOL refuses to do anything with Waste or makes one slip-up in their comments regarding its future, Justin could go to court and show it's not really AOL property because he did it apparently without their blessing, and AOL is showing no intent to use it.
You just skipped the friend zone...
straight into the doormat zone!
OK, but... ...Apple knows laptops are the only growth area in PC sales right now, and what better way to capture customers than some ass-kickin' new laptops?
Moreover, why spend time and money trying to push something consumers aren't interested in just so you can say you improved one area of your sales? It's the overall sales picture that matters, and giving consumers what they want is the best way to maximize that.
Of the handfull of people I know who are looking for a new machine right now, it's either for a laptop or a gaming rig, and while a new Mac is suitable for gaming, it won't make a good choice as a gaming oriented purchase. The laptop lookers I know are very open to the idea of buying a Powerbook.
Having spoken with Microsoft OS developers about this issue in some detail, they make risk / benefit choices all the time where they know one way will not crash ever, and the other way will crash but will be amazingly faster.
Guess which way consumers pay them to build it. When they choose the crash-but-fast method, they just put an astounding amount of QA into it to whittle the probability of a crash down to an acceptable level. And I agree with them about what an acceptable level is, because I know that when I crash my Win2k system, it's my fault.
They put more testing and research into their OSes than anyone these days. Maybe Sun used to have them beat there, but Sun isn't nearly as focused on those things anymore.
These wankers give anti-piracy advocates a bad name.
No political system is perfect, but in my opinion, Linux gives us some of the greatest aspects of both Socialism and our "free market" economy.
Let's face it, Microsoft is scared because they don't feel they can compete. What could be a greater sign that Linux encourages competition? Just because Linus isn't the richest man on Earth, doesn't mean Linux doesn't aid our economy.
My Xbox games from launch look better than even the newest games on my PS2 and Gamecube.
Xbox has had well documented periods where no good new games were released, but that's not a reason why the Xbox itself sucks. I've managed to find enough good (some great) games to make my Xbox purchase worth my while. Halo, for example, while being released before level design was finished, is still a smashing game. It single handedly proved FPSes can be great on a console.
Maybe I'm happy because I fall into that 10% catagory you mention, but to be fair, Nintendo has historically done a far worse job of making games for a wide audience than what Microsoft has done here, and Nintendo STILL has a long way to go. And Microsoft has some good MMORPG and RPG shit coming to help the cause. So sure Sony is the leader in game variety and overall game quality, but Microsoft isn't the runt of the litter by any means. Lack of games isn't all that big a deal for Xbox owners.
Online gameplay. Xbox Live wins hands down. At least Sony did SOMETHING, and that something works, but it's not on the same level.
So I fail to see how you can say the Xbox sucks so badly when it has the best hardware, and the best online setup. You didn't make very many points for me to draw comparisons on, but that's what I got. And your comparison of the Xbox to an Alienware isn't of interest to me. I can't Jabba The Hut it on the couch with an Alienware. Furthermore, that's apples and oranges.
I've never had a company treat me well enough to make it worth my while to protect a pedo.
Yet while I didn't work IT, the IT folk apparently were treated well enough, because while they told me who and roughly what they found, they never spoke up. And I never had hard evidence for me to make such a strong claim.
So the lesson is, pay your IT people well, because odds are you have a pedo in your ranks, and I guarantee they prefer using the T-1 to their home dial-up.
1) Be more thorough than management can hope to argue with.
2) Don't be dishonest or try to show only part of the picture so it enhances your argument. The more thorough and honest you are, the better chance you'll have.
3) Keep the needs of the organization and realistic probabilities of potential problems in mind. For example, don't go nuts on MS security flaws for IIS if it's going to be used in a relatively secure section of the network for perhaps an intranet that you can do without for a day while someone restores it from backup.
4) Don't come across as a zealot (not starcraft).
5) TCO is a big fat myth that usually gets skewed. But when talking to management types, don't be afraid to use it. But be specific. Show them exact amounts projected, and show them all of the many factors you put into those figures (employee time, training, support, etc.). Again, don't lie or skew your facts.
6) Show them a path to make any transitions, and provide a plan that makes it easy.
Too bad Apple just spent their allowance.
Compression sounds great, but how well does this stuff edit? Current DV is almost completely lossless (some software codecs are) and it edits smoothly. My experiences with MPEG2 are that it's not so hot for source material.
Well, it makes perfect sense that if the government wants to gain an edge over terrorists they should develop something behind closed doors and not share it with terrorists.
The problem with this decision isn't in some moral analysis, but with the cost factor. For what they were going to pay Theo (and get), the federal government and even its most efficient contractor probably won't even have any code written by the time they burn through that much money. And while there's something to be said for getting what you pay for, we all know that doesn't apply to government spending.
During this time of massive tax cuts and a dead-flat economy, our government should be operating lean. And in this case, we all know supporting OpenBSD would not be compromising quality for the sake of cost.
The only question left unanswered is...How important is our ability to hack terrorists' systems?
I personally would be doubling the money to OpenBSD if I were in charge.
I wonder why they're choosing lawsuits over legal prosecution. As I understand it, lawsuits require less proof, and give them much greater investigatory allowances, but in my book these people should be prosecuted rather than hassled with lawsuits.
What the hell is the point of forcing us to sit through 15 second FBI warnings before movies if they're not going to use the FBI?
I've been saying, since the inception of Napster, that this should be one of ways that police and content owners fight back. Talk of three years hard time is a bit over zealous, but a criminal record and jail time is appropriate if you ask me.
Most current file-traders are doing the kind of traffic that fair use laws weren't meant to protect. Just because it's now 1's and 0's doesn't change the net affect P2P sharing of copyrighted materials has had on the business end of things. I'm not saying all business models should be holy and safe from change, but they should get protection from criminal acts.
modded Troll? Attempts at humor = trolling now?
You don't even want to know what I really think about this article.
- Making guns "smarter" will only make the problems surrounding them worse. Keeping guns simple actually lessens problems if you ask me.
- If someone doesn't know that pulling a trigger on a gun is going to get somebody crippled or killed, then I don't think it's the gun that lacks intelligence.
- Building guns that require an MCSE certification to be an expert on will only lead to more of the confusing grey areas that get people "accidentally" shot.
The only thing profound about most gun threads is how profoundly stupid they are.