This wasn't anything about hype. This was a discussion between me and a group of people from the UKPO and that was their honest opinion. The question I asked was whether the UK (EU) would ever have the same patent rules as the US, and the answer was no. Maybe I could have phrased it differently and got a different answer, who knows?
As for the specific patent you cited, that could be the result of an over-eager examiner. The difference being, is this policy, or a one-off?
A few weeks ago I happened to be in conversation with a few people from the UK Patent Office (including one of their patent lawyers). I specifically voiced my concern about the proposed European patent laws regarding software and my worries that the EU was going to be moving towards the US model. I was told point blank that there is no way that this would happen.
Of course I pointed out that I'd read various stories on the Internet and they assured me that a lot of it was political posturing and that it wouldn't go through.
Don't know what to think about that really, but that's the word straight from the horse's mouth.
(They had nothing to gain by telling me that either, I was originally talking with them about a trademark issue - the UK Patent Office handles that too).
I spoke recently to the UK Patent Office about trademarking (they do trademarks too) and they told me that the (TM) is actually meaningless in terms of law. Anyone can stick (TM) after anything - with or without owning the trademark. Most companies use it because the average person thinks it carries weight even though it doesn't.
However, misuse of the (R) mark is a criminal offence if you don't have the trademark registered.
That's UK law anyway. I assume it's similar in the US.
So you agreed to have your work patented (or at least have your name on it)? That makes you part of the problem.
I was once asked by the American parent company of one of my old employers if I agreed to have my name on a patent based on some of my work. I said no. They stuck someone elses name on the patent who didn't work on the project instead. So although the patent went through, at least I have a clear conscience.
True, but couldn't the authors of the software just put checks in their software to see if it's running on some SCO varient, and make it refuse to run. Thus the license stays intact, but SCO can't use it unless they patch it themselves.
I have a dress code at my company too - no shirt and tie allowed. I don't want people like you working for me. I specifically don't want any kind of corporate attitude - I want people who can think for themselves and aren't afraid to express themselves.
I'll be hiring my first set of employees soon due to having too much work to do myself, and cube monkeys need not apply.
Actually, anyone here has a right to bash Debian for anything they feel like. Just like anyone involved in Debian has a right to bash back (like you). I'm sure you criticise people for things you haven't been involved in - Microsoft for example.
Personally, I think Debian is too Stallmanesque (is that a word?) for my liking. Politics over functionality. I don't care whether it's Free, I just care whether it works. I'm sure there are many who share that opinion.
Any yes, I have contributed (and will continue to contribute) to FOSS.
Neither of those sites explain how to decrypt the encrypted files. You'd have thought that would be an important piece of information for anyone stupi^H^H^H^H^H unlucky enough to get infected.
Ummm, that presentation was created for the Esprit-Soutron partnership (no longer in existence for at least a year - when I first worked with them) by an employee of Soutron - admittedly probably on MS Office.
If you're determined to try and catch me out, carry on. You're clutching at straws...
I'd also appreciate it if you didn't bring my clients into this by name. OK, I kind of have "case studies" on my site so it is public info, but your argument is with me, not them.
My company URL is below my username. Are you blind?
The project I'm currently working on is a large government project for the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. Certainly not "small company, single client" either. I have a number of existing clients all producing a steady stream of work, and none of them are likely to go out of business anytime soon.
And having worked for a big company I can honestly say that I'd never do it again. I gave two years of my life to one of the UK's biggest insurance companies, and it was the worst job I ever had. They own your soul, and man do they know it. Payrises? Forget about it. Benefits? You're having a laugh.
I don't use MS Office in my company (and neither do my current clients). If her idea of Office software is so specific to MS software, I don't want her working for me. In my experience, smaller companies are moving away from MS in droves - especially on the Office side of things. So your daughter may have two choices - work for a small dynamic company if her skills are portable - or become a cube-monkey at some mega-corp if all she knows (and is prepared to use) is MS Office. I know what I'd choose...
As a British guy who travelled Canada with a French guy (from Saint Malo no less) I can honestly say that Quebec (more specifically Montreal) was the WORST place in Canada we visited. The people were unfriendly to me as an Englishman, and when my French friend tried to reason with people they called him a traitor. What a bunch of fucking idiots.
And to top it all, we had to pay to LEAVE the country (we flew out from Montreal). Some stupid thing called Airport Improvement Tax. Shysters the lot of them.
I just read your sig link. What a load of horseshit. Isiah predicted Jesus? Come on, when the book was written down, the author knew about both Isiah AND Jesus and just massaged it a bit to fit his/her political needs.
The bible is a political book. In it's present form it was originally written in Roman Europe under orders from Constantine. He wanted certain things expressed and certain things missed out. Hence why a lot of the gospels found in the Dead Sea Scrolls didn't make it in there - political reasons. The whole thing was a bunch of Roman propaganda to help keep the Emperor's subjects in check.
Since then it's been added to, re-written (King James version for example), deleted from, on the orders of other leaders for their own political gain.
If it really is the word of God, then the Dead Sea Scrolls must also be the word of God (the original Hebrew and Aramaic texts were written down by the same group of scribes), so why is it that some of God's words are deemed fit to go in the bible and some not?
You, sir, are a moron. Anyone who believes in creationism is an idiot of the highest order who is either brainwashed or deluded - most likely both. Get a grip man. The bible is a book. It was no more written by God than was The Lord Of The Rings. It was written down by people around 2000 years ago and was simply a representation of their oral myths and traditions, much in the same way as the Greeks wrote books like Theseus And The Minotaur.
Active Directory would only address the issue if it was deployed in a homogenous Windows environment. Since Cisco have decided to have at least some Linux workstations, Active Directory is effectively useless, since it is not possible (AFAIK) to have true single sign on in an Active Directory domain on a Linux box.
Of course, when Microsoft releases the Linux client, I'm sure Cisco would be willing to evaluate it as a solution...
Jesus, Stallman can talk a load of crap. Most people use an OS, program, language, whatever because of the *benefits*, not because of some ideology. Stallman can really come across like a religious fundamentalist sometimes.
Is he seriously suggesting that no-one should ever use any proprietary software? So what if Java isn't licensed under the GPL?
And then there's this:-
If you develop a Java program on Sun's Java platform, you are liable to use Sun-only features without even noticing.
Clearly the man's never even programmed in Java. There's no such thing as a Sun only feature, or an IBM only feature, unless you use something like the com.sun packages - in which case you're an idiot as it clearly states in the API spec - "Note that the classes in the com.sun.image.codec.jpeg package are not part of the core Java APIs. They are a part of Sun's JDK and JRE distributions. Although other licensees may choose to distribute these classes, developers cannot depend on their availability in non-Sun implementations. We expect that equivalent functionality will eventually be available in a core API or standard extension."
Especially with the native IO that 1.4 and later have included.
I think you'll find that the java.nio classes are actually non-blocking IO, not native IO.
And in all my years developing Java on AIX, Solaris, Windows, Mac, and Linux, I've yet to come across a platform specific class (at least in the core APIs or any API written in pure Java - JNI excluded). In other words, there are no OS gotchas. There are, however, app server gotchas, but that's a different story.
Slashdot Mirror
This wasn't anything about hype. This was a discussion between me and a group of people from the UKPO and that was their honest opinion. The question I asked was whether the UK (EU) would ever have the same patent rules as the US, and the answer was no. Maybe I could have phrased it differently and got a different answer, who knows?
As for the specific patent you cited, that could be the result of an over-eager examiner. The difference being, is this policy, or a one-off?
Bob
The UK PTO in particular has quite a hard on for patenting
Err, no... See my post from the other day - Here
Bob
A few weeks ago I happened to be in conversation with a few people from the UK Patent Office (including one of their patent lawyers). I specifically voiced my concern about the proposed European patent laws regarding software and my worries that the EU was going to be moving towards the US model. I was told point blank that there is no way that this would happen.
Of course I pointed out that I'd read various stories on the Internet and they assured me that a lot of it was political posturing and that it wouldn't go through.
Don't know what to think about that really, but that's the word straight from the horse's mouth.
(They had nothing to gain by telling me that either, I was originally talking with them about a trademark issue - the UK Patent Office handles that too).
Bob
I spoke recently to the UK Patent Office about trademarking (they do trademarks too) and they told me that the (TM) is actually meaningless in terms of law. Anyone can stick (TM) after anything - with or without owning the trademark. Most companies use it because the average person thinks it carries weight even though it doesn't.
However, misuse of the (R) mark is a criminal offence if you don't have the trademark registered.
That's UK law anyway. I assume it's similar in the US.
Bob
So you agreed to have your work patented (or at least have your name on it)? That makes you part of the problem.
I was once asked by the American parent company of one of my old employers if I agreed to have my name on a patent based on some of my work. I said no. They stuck someone elses name on the patent who didn't work on the project instead. So although the patent went through, at least I have a clear conscience.
Bob
Out of work VB6 developer by any chance?
Bob
True, but couldn't the authors of the software just put checks in their software to see if it's running on some SCO varient, and make it refuse to run. Thus the license stays intact, but SCO can't use it unless they patch it themselves.
Bob
I have a dress code at my company too - no shirt and tie allowed. I don't want people like you working for me. I specifically don't want any kind of corporate attitude - I want people who can think for themselves and aren't afraid to express themselves.
I'll be hiring my first set of employees soon due to having too much work to do myself, and cube monkeys need not apply.
Bob
Actually, anyone here has a right to bash Debian for anything they feel like. Just like anyone involved in Debian has a right to bash back (like you). I'm sure you criticise people for things you haven't been involved in - Microsoft for example.
Personally, I think Debian is too Stallmanesque (is that a word?) for my liking. Politics over functionality. I don't care whether it's Free, I just care whether it works. I'm sure there are many who share that opinion.
Any yes, I have contributed (and will continue to contribute) to FOSS.
Bob
Neither of those sites explain how to decrypt the encrypted files. You'd have thought that would be an important piece of information for anyone stupi^H^H^H^H^H unlucky enough to get infected.
Bob
They probably just got down to coding instead of messing around with all that PHB twaddle.
Bob
Ummm, that presentation was created for the Esprit-Soutron partnership (no longer in existence for at least a year - when I first worked with them) by an employee of Soutron - admittedly probably on MS Office.
If you're determined to try and catch me out, carry on. You're clutching at straws...
I'd also appreciate it if you didn't bring my clients into this by name. OK, I kind of have "case studies" on my site so it is public info, but your argument is with me, not them.
Bob
So you're current 'clients' are one of the Largest users of 'Office' in the UK.
I've now decided you're not worth having a discussion with.
WRONG!!! I'm subcontracting through another company (my direct clients) who DON'T use MS Office.
Bob
My company URL is below my username. Are you blind?
The project I'm currently working on is a large government project for the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. Certainly not "small company, single client" either. I have a number of existing clients all producing a steady stream of work, and none of them are likely to go out of business anytime soon.
And having worked for a big company I can honestly say that I'd never do it again. I gave two years of my life to one of the UK's biggest insurance companies, and it was the worst job I ever had. They own your soul, and man do they know it. Payrises? Forget about it. Benefits? You're having a laugh.
Bob
I don't use MS Office in my company (and neither do my current clients). If her idea of Office software is so specific to MS software, I don't want her working for me. In my experience, smaller companies are moving away from MS in droves - especially on the Office side of things. So your daughter may have two choices - work for a small dynamic company if her skills are portable - or become a cube-monkey at some mega-corp if all she knows (and is prepared to use) is MS Office. I know what I'd choose...
Bob
As a British guy who travelled Canada with a French guy (from Saint Malo no less) I can honestly say that Quebec (more specifically Montreal) was the WORST place in Canada we visited. The people were unfriendly to me as an Englishman, and when my French friend tried to reason with people they called him a traitor. What a bunch of fucking idiots.
And to top it all, we had to pay to LEAVE the country (we flew out from Montreal). Some stupid thing called Airport Improvement Tax. Shysters the lot of them.
Bob
I just read your sig link. What a load of horseshit. Isiah predicted Jesus? Come on, when the book was written down, the author knew about both Isiah AND Jesus and just massaged it a bit to fit his/her political needs.
The bible is a political book. In it's present form it was originally written in Roman Europe under orders from Constantine. He wanted certain things expressed and certain things missed out. Hence why a lot of the gospels found in the Dead Sea Scrolls didn't make it in there - political reasons. The whole thing was a bunch of Roman propaganda to help keep the Emperor's subjects in check.
Since then it's been added to, re-written (King James version for example), deleted from, on the orders of other leaders for their own political gain.
If it really is the word of God, then the Dead Sea Scrolls must also be the word of God (the original Hebrew and Aramaic texts were written down by the same group of scribes), so why is it that some of God's words are deemed fit to go in the bible and some not?
Bob
You, sir, are a moron. Anyone who believes in creationism is an idiot of the highest order who is either brainwashed or deluded - most likely both. Get a grip man. The bible is a book. It was no more written by God than was The Lord Of The Rings. It was written down by people around 2000 years ago and was simply a representation of their oral myths and traditions, much in the same way as the Greeks wrote books like Theseus And The Minotaur.
Bob
There is no demo available, no screenshots, and you can't even buy it directly.
Here's one out of three... NeroLinux Screenshots
Bob
Active Directory would only address the issue if it was deployed in a homogenous Windows environment. Since Cisco have decided to have at least some Linux workstations, Active Directory is effectively useless, since it is not possible (AFAIK) to have true single sign on in an Active Directory domain on a Linux box.
Of course, when Microsoft releases the Linux client, I'm sure Cisco would be willing to evaluate it as a solution...
Bob
*Flameproof suit on*
Jesus, Stallman can talk a load of crap. Most people use an OS, program, language, whatever because of the *benefits*, not because of some ideology. Stallman can really come across like a religious fundamentalist sometimes.
Is he seriously suggesting that no-one should ever use any proprietary software? So what if Java isn't licensed under the GPL?
And then there's this:-
If you develop a Java program on Sun's Java platform, you are liable to use Sun-only features without even noticing.
Clearly the man's never even programmed in Java. There's no such thing as a Sun only feature, or an IBM only feature, unless you use something like the com.sun packages - in which case you're an idiot as it clearly states in the API spec - "Note that the classes in the com.sun.image.codec.jpeg package are not part of the core Java APIs. They are a part of Sun's JDK and JRE distributions. Although other licensees may choose to distribute these classes, developers cannot depend on their availability in non-Sun implementations. We expect that equivalent functionality will eventually be available in a core API or standard extension."
Bob
Especially with the native IO that 1.4 and later have included.
I think you'll find that the java.nio classes are actually non-blocking IO, not native IO.
And in all my years developing Java on AIX, Solaris, Windows, Mac, and Linux, I've yet to come across a platform specific class (at least in the core APIs or any API written in pure Java - JNI excluded). In other words, there are no OS gotchas. There are, however, app server gotchas, but that's a different story.
Bob
For Mac:-
CakeWalk -> Logic Audio/Cubase/ProTools/GarageBand
BeSweet -> FFMPegX
VirtualDub -> ?
TMPGEnc -> FFMPegX
Alcohol 120% -> Dragon Burn
DVD Decryter -> MacTheRipper
DVD Shrink -> DVD2OneX
? => DVD Studio Pro -> Sizzle
Nero => DiskBlaze -> Dragon Burn
For Linux:-
CakeWalk -> Rosegarden/Ardour
BeSweet -> Mencoder
VirtualDub -> KDenLive
TMPGEnc -> Mencoder
Alcohol 120% -> K3B
DVD Decryter -> AcidRip/Video-DVDRip
DVD Shrink -> ?/DVDShrink runs under Wine
? => DVD Studio Pro -> DVDAuth
Nero => DiskBlaze -> K3B
Bob
From where I'm working at the moment I get this:-
URL: http://beta.search.msn.com/results.aspx?...
Reason: Banned site: beta.search.msn.com
Category: Banned domains - Pornography
Group: Filter A
Your username: anonymous
Bob
Tell them to get a life. No-one is seriously going to be buying this book now. Tell them to let people enjoy it how it is for nostalgia reasons.
Bob