Hate to say it, but there's a need
on
Where is the Any Key?
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· Score: 4, Insightful
There are people who use the internet who:
* QED, need to know where the any key is
* think the internet is operated by Microsoft or AOL
* believe the internet is solely comprised of HTTP (my brother could be once quoted as saying "that's not the internet I use", when he spotted me using a prompt based FTP client; he's since become more clueful)
* don't understand that not everybody runs Microsoft products
* don't realize that an "illegal operation" is not going to get you into legal trouble
* buy from spammers
* think the "hard drive" is the case in which the components of their computer resides in, rather than a small box the size of two decks of cards
* must call the local BOFH to turn on their computer daily
The way it sounds, this is intended to block the mythical taxes. You know that chain letter your lusers send around periodically telling you that the USPS is going to tax email? Yeah, that sort of thing. Thing is, though, if this is law, I don't expect the chain letters to stop.
The regulations allow you to use a post office box as a primary point of contact. Remember, not everyone can get mail on a street address (look up Avalon California at the USPS website for an example), and these are point of contact addresses - as a PO box is a point of contact, you can use them.
On one hand, a license to surf would be a great thing to show that you actually *know* something about the 'net; one could by extension have varying classes of licenses, like they have for drivers or radio amateurs - the low end shows that the user knows s/he shouldn't arbitrarily open attachments, and the highest end is probably disbursed to people who write the software that makes all of this go.
But if, God forbid, this is implemented, there will be a cost - not of money, but of other resource and of freedom. For one thing, who is to decide what the test battery will consist of? The FSF? The government? God forbid, Microsoft or SCO? How do we administer this? Do known spammers get denied licensure altogether? (OK, that wouldn't be so bad.) How does this get enforced? How do we adapt this to universal usage?
In short, it would be novel to have a notional "internet license" to show that one knows the difference between HTTP and NNTP, but to have an official license would be the Wrong Thing.
Then I suppose it brings a few questions before it's presented to the patent attorney: if this is left open, will the developer have left the project wide open to people who want to kipe the patent nefariously? Is it worth the time to keep the patent as my own for openness purposes? There are others that I cannot think of, but it's something to be left in consideration.
Perhaps the compromise then is to patent OSS stuff and ten release it to the public good - this way the patent is taken, therefore nobody with nefarious intentions can patent.
While schadenfreude against Microsoft is slightly less fun than that against SCO right now, let's remember that this is the kind of stuff that stops innovation. No matter who is suing who for whatever perceived infringement du jour, this abuse is going to fsck all of us over.
(A quote from any documentation when you have hit a non-interactive step that is going to take a while to do, e.g. the "install" part of a Linux install)
The problem with this logic though is that this is a legal issue. It's demonstrated clearly that they are being incredibly childish, but that they have put this in a court makes anyone somehow connected with open source obligated to respond in kind. It could be GNU responding to SCO in some way, ESR's no secrets page, or even writing your own letters and await responses like I did. Hell, even those guys who sent $699 in monopoly money responded by showing what the SCO runtime license was worth.
Re:They've copyrighted BLANK LINES!!!!
on
Back To SCO
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· Score: 1
People, figure this. If the RIAA really wanted soem respect, they would have researched their facts instead of filing suit with a 12YO girl. That was just a fscking scare tactic.
...when ASCAP came after a Girl Scout troop for singing Happy Birthday in a public venue - and attempted to collect royalties. - back in the early 1990s.
Just what we need. Gotta pass the buck here, don't we? By this right, I should be suing the people who make Redneck Rampage because they instill a craving for moon pies, thus making me fat.
Slashdot Mirror
* QED, need to know where the any key is
* think the internet is operated by Microsoft or AOL
* believe the internet is solely comprised of HTTP (my brother could be once quoted as saying "that's not the internet I use", when he spotted me using a prompt based FTP client; he's since become more clueful)
* don't understand that not everybody runs Microsoft products
* don't realize that an "illegal operation" is not going to get you into legal trouble
* buy from spammers
* think the "hard drive" is the case in which the components of their computer resides in, rather than a small box the size of two decks of cards
* must call the local BOFH to turn on their computer daily
In other words, users are idiots.
(Yes, it can be done on mine, they sit up at an angle.)
Round numbers are not powers of ten, they are powers of two.
This is a classic example of hypocrisy, but maybe this'll pay off.
The way it sounds, this is intended to block the mythical taxes. You know that chain letter your lusers send around periodically telling you that the USPS is going to tax email? Yeah, that sort of thing. Thing is, though, if this is law, I don't expect the chain letters to stop.
For vegetarians, we have a substitute called Tofu radio. Tofu radio operators however are hard to come by. 73 de KE6ISF
The regulations allow you to use a post office box as a primary point of contact. Remember, not everyone can get mail on a street address (look up Avalon California at the USPS website for an example), and these are point of contact addresses - as a PO box is a point of contact, you can use them.
On those grounds, would the dismissal request have no basis?
But if, God forbid, this is implemented, there will be a cost - not of money, but of other resource and of freedom. For one thing, who is to decide what the test battery will consist of? The FSF? The government? God forbid, Microsoft or SCO? How do we administer this? Do known spammers get denied licensure altogether? (OK, that wouldn't be so bad.) How does this get enforced? How do we adapt this to universal usage?
In short, it would be novel to have a notional "internet license" to show that one knows the difference between HTTP and NNTP, but to have an official license would be the Wrong Thing.
I got a post office box. If they need to send me snail mail, they can send me snail mail.
Perhaps the compromise then is to patent OSS stuff and ten release it to the public good - this way the patent is taken, therefore nobody with nefarious intentions can patent.
While schadenfreude against Microsoft is slightly less fun than that against SCO right now, let's remember that this is the kind of stuff that stops innovation. No matter who is suing who for whatever perceived infringement du jour, this abuse is going to fsck all of us over.
Look, I run Opera, I deal with thta stupid banner ad in the upper right corner by ignoring it. Now just as soon as I get $30, it's gonna go away....
(A quote from any documentation when you have hit a non-interactive step that is going to take a while to do, e.g. the "install" part of a Linux install)
The problem with this logic though is that this is a legal issue. It's demonstrated clearly that they are being incredibly childish, but that they have put this in a court makes anyone somehow connected with open source obligated to respond in kind. It could be GNU responding to SCO in some way, ESR's no secrets page, or even writing your own letters and await responses like I did. Hell, even those guys who sent $699 in monopoly money responded by showing what the SCO runtime license was worth.
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Like this guy's style. Keep going after them. I hope he kicks their butts.
People, figure this. If the RIAA really wanted soem respect, they would have researched their facts instead of filing suit with a 12YO girl. That was just a fscking scare tactic.
Just how reliable is the NY Post for real news?
...when ASCAP came after a Girl Scout troop for singing Happy Birthday in a public venue - and attempted to collect royalties. - back in the early 1990s.
And this is why.
Yes, and the capital of Texas is Detroit, MI, you schmuck.
Just what we need. Gotta pass the buck here, don't we? By this right, I should be suing the people who make Redneck Rampage because they instill a craving for moon pies, thus making me fat.