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User: shmlco

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Comments · 4,373

  1. Re:Software piracy really is all that bad on Pirate Party Launches Commercial Darknet · · Score: 1

    "Right, they are ALL ideas. Good, bad, simple, complex, but still just ideas."

    You miss the point, as they're not just "ideas". An idea is, "hey, let's write a book about some short people, elves, dwarves, wizards, and whatnot." Or "hey, maybe I should write a program to help me draw pictures on the computer." And you know what? That's about as far as most people get.

    But there's a distinct difference between that "idea" and an 1,216-page book that took ten years to create. Or a multi-million line program called "Photoshop". You don't pay for the "idea", but the actual representation of it, and indirectly, for the work, skill, money, time, and talent that went into that creation.

    Because if someone HADN'T made that investment, you'd still have nothing more than an "idea"...

  2. Re:Right... on Pirate Party Launches Commercial Darknet · · Score: 1

    Yeah, and I predict that 0.001% of all the traffic on the darknet will be used for those legitimate reasons... which leaves the other 99.999% for you know what.

  3. Re:Software piracy really is all that bad on Pirate Party Launches Commercial Darknet · · Score: 1

    From a recent article:

    "Destineer President Peter Tamte ... said that when his company shipped its squad-based first-person shooter First to Fight last year, it found within a few weeks that more people were trying to log on to multiplayer servers with a single banned serial number than the total number of copies Destineer had sold combined."

    So, "the fact is more people will pay for something that is useful to them than shamelessly steal it" is probably somewhat less than a "fact".

  4. Re:Software piracy really is all that bad on Pirate Party Launches Commercial Darknet · · Score: 1

    Software is not just an "idea", any more than a book, song, or movie is just an "idea". "Ideas" are a dime a dozen. However, the people who can take them and create something worthwhile from them... are not. And the work, money, skill, talent, time and effort it took to go from "idea" to "product" is what you're actually paying for, and what is "owned".

  5. Re:Psssh. on New 'No Military Use' GPL For GPU · · Score: 1

    The authors and creators of books, music, movies, and software make demands limiting the distribution of their work every day... and it's pretty obvious how much THOSE demands are respected...

  6. Re:Psssh. on New 'No Military Use' GPL For GPU · · Score: 1

    As the pirate community so often points out, once you've released it, you've released it. If you wanted that kind of control over it you shouldn't have released it in the first place.

    Not to mention the fact that all they're doing is making a statement. I'm sure potential terrorists and certain governments who might want to use the software to, say, design WMDs, will honor the "no military use" clause.

    They might want to blow up half the world, but violating GPL agreements... I mean, one has to draw the line somewhere!

  7. Re:Is it THAT big a problem?? on Old Methods Used to Detect Liquid Explosives · · Score: 1

    And your solution would have stopped the 21 people living in London how?

  8. Re:Is it THAT big a problem?? on Old Methods Used to Detect Liquid Explosives · · Score: 1

    "Or, trick out your bag and hide it in their."

    Hide it in their what? (grin)

    "Sure, taking down ten planes would be more dramatic..."

    Terrorism is about drama, and a large number of planes reinforces the "no one is safe" theme.

  9. Re:Is it THAT big a problem?? on Old Methods Used to Detect Liquid Explosives · · Score: 1

    All luggage should be checked. I'm tired of practically everyone on the plane trying to beat the system, when all it does is slow down boarding and disembarking for everyone else by about 500%. Get in, take your seat, get up, walk out, no screwing around, and one handbag/briefcase per customer.

  10. Re:Cooperative on The Open Source Business? · · Score: 1

    No blame, just an illustration of how such a system can and would be abused.

  11. Re:Yes, but you have to RTFM on The Open Source Business? · · Score: 1

    While no one can discount the successes and progress early labor unions gained their workers, all too many of those unions became power structures in their own right, and are devoted primarily to maintaining that power base. Unfortunately, maintaining that power, and ensuring the collection of "dues", requires that they continue to justify their existence, usually in the form of demanding ever higher saleries and benefits for their members.

    The problem, of course, is that you can only vote yourselves bread and circuses for so long.

    As to "Anarcho-Syndicalism", well, let me quote: "They should not have bosses or "business agents"; rather, the workers should [sic] be able to make all the decisions that affect them themselves."

    Enough said.

  12. Re:its been done before..... on The Open Source Business? · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Since you went there...

    "While the kibbutzim lasted for several generations as utopian communities, most of today's kibbutzim are scarcely different from the capitalist enterprises and regular towns to which the kibbutzim were originally supposed to be alternatives."

  13. Re:With a vote? on The Open Source Business? · · Score: 2, Insightful

    "... wall street punishing Sun..."

    Oh please. The people at Sun made decisions as to what products they wanted to make, how they were going to develop and market them, and what price points they were going to hit. Tens of thousands of people in other companies examined those decisions and decided if those products and that direction was right for them, and purchased accordingly.

    Know what? They guessed wrong. People didn't want expensive, proprietary OS's (Solaris) and expensive, proprietary hardware (Sparc) that often provided no significant benefit over commodity software and hardware. They also spent a ton of dough on a system (Java) they had no way to monetize.

    Bottom line: the "market" was disinterested in their products, sales flatened out, then dropped, and then, and only then, did Wall Street "punish" Sun.

    And what THIS reminds me of is why I don't want a bunch of uneducated people with no business sense running a company.

  14. Re:Cooperative on The Open Source Business? · · Score: 2, Insightful

    So? In any organization there are "scut" jobs that no one wants. Look at the problems Open Source often has with maintenance and bug fixes, as most developers would rather be implementing new features than fixing old ones.

  15. Re:Cooperative on The Open Source Business? · · Score: 1

    "... but they are based on persuasion rather than delegated power..."

    So the slick con man with no skills other than the power of persuasion is now in control? Isn't that how we got GWB?

  16. Re:Leadership by committee? Doubtful. on The Open Source Business? · · Score: 4, Insightful

    "...where (presumably) every employee is intelligent, educated about the company, and has a personal and very material stake in the company."

    Anyone remember the story of the kids who found a cat and when asked the sex, immediately voted that he was male and his name was Johnny? Two weeks later "Johnny" had kittens.

    Unfortunately, too many people think they have a equal and valid opinion on any subject. Even when there are in fact educated in a given field, they think that makes them an "expert" in other, non-related fields. Do I really want, for example, a technology company in which the janitors have an equal vote with the engineers? No disrespect, but in all likelyhood if the janitors were intelligent and educated... they wouldn't be janitors.

    Look at all of the companies where the workers voted themselves higher and higher wages and more benefits... and then went bankrupt or out of business because they were no longer competitive. Heck, most people can't even run a lemonade stand successfully, much less a large organization.

    Now, I do think companies, CEOs, and boards need a higher level of accountability. But IMHO, counting runny noses is probably one of the worst ways possible to run a company. Heck, more than six people can't even decide where to have lunch.

  17. Re:confused? Is it just me, or .... on Defeating Google's Perpetual Search Logging · · Score: 1

    "...how Google is invading that right..."

    Using information you freely gave to the service for the "right" to use that service.

  18. Re:Steve, you want my business? on Apple's Leopard Strategy to Kill Microsoft and Dell? · · Score: 1

    "I can only see good things where people who will probably never be able to buy neither support nor software have the total freedom to change things on their systems freely."

    Nice sentiment, but I doubt that they're going to bundle a complete development suit and include the source for the OS and every application into a machine into the 500MB of flash memory those things are slated to contain. As such, the "total freedom" of all of those peope is a bit limited..... by reality.

  19. Re:Just bought an MacBook! on Merom in MacBook and MacBook Pros in September? · · Score: 1

    Keep in mind that there's a better than even chance that only the MacBook PRO line will be upgraded, and that the MB's will stay with the cheaper chip.

  20. Re:What is the deal with 64 bit? on Merom in MacBook and MacBook Pros in September? · · Score: 1

    Reread his post where he said "different processors". If you're supporting different architectures with the same application then a "32-bit stub" won't do the job, as it won't run on the other systems.

  21. Re:No, no... on Sturdy Laptop Travel Cases? · · Score: 1

    Un huh. And do you then check yourself AND your briefcase in and ride in the baggage hold? No carry ons, remember?

  22. Re:Or... on Charter Flight Websites / Services? · · Score: 1

    Personally, I detest carry-on luggage. Boarding and disembarking would go about ten times faster if everyone was limited to a single purse or briefcase and required to check their luggage.

  23. Re:Not so dumb after all... on Charter Flight Websites / Services? · · Score: 5, Insightful

    There are extremists on BOTH sides of the fence. I know we have people here who think a little nuke or three dropped in the right spots would "show 'em who's boss."

    However, MOST people, Christians and Islamists alike, would just like to have a decent job, a roof over their heads, enough food to eat, and the desire to send healthy kids off to school in the morning with a reasonable expectation that they'll stay that way.

    Bin Laden has a distorted view of his religion, and an agenda to push. GWB also has a distorted view of his religion, and also has an agenda to push.

    Personally, I think the planet would be better off with both of them locked away somewhere. Let them fight it out, and the rest of us can get on with living our lives...

  24. Re:Problem is with the entire system. on Charter Flight Websites / Services? · · Score: 2, Insightful

    "Planes are big, fragile machines; it doesn't take very much to knock one out of the sky. "

    Planes are like people. Sometimes it doesn't take much to kill one (single spark in a fuel tank), and at other times they're amazingly tough. A small hole isn't going to do a lot of damage, and even a large one is problematic. Take a look at, say, the Aloha Air flight that still flew with a major hunk missing from the fuselage.

    Checked luggage is also not as big a risk as you might think. Many planes these days use luggage containers and compartments encased in ballistic materials designed to contain the force of an explosion and release the pressure (relatively) gradually.

    Maybe, if airline travel becomes too much of a hassle, trans-atlantic ocean liners will once again appear on the scene...

  25. No, no... on Sturdy Laptop Travel Cases? · · Score: 1

    And I un-second the Zero Halliburton cases, as they scream "steal me" at the top of their shiny little lungs. Pro photograpers learned that a long time ago. Get a Pelican and even then wrap a beat-up duffle around it so when it comes off the luggage carrousel it doesn't say "equipment" and no one gives it a second glance.