1. Your family may get along exceptionally well but keep in mind that any other employees may view the relationship skeptically and even resent you when you take a long lunch with your brother or promote a family member.
2. Make sure you have a well written agreement between any family members. If there's a falling out, it hurts much more when there's no clear solution to the business interests.
3. What happens if your girlfriend, God forbid, breaks up with you? Can you handle seeing her at work, knowing she's not your girlfriend anymore? The reverse is also true, she could resent you. Have a reasonable employment agreement for this. Be generous up front and you'll save legal fees down the road.
I've found that when the money's flowing and times are good that even big problems aren't much of a challenge. It's when things get tight that even the best friendship can be tested. A family member isn't usually someone you can say goodbye to and never see again.
I had a long email conversation with a member of some religious right group who was trying to justify the invasion of Iraq. This person used quote after quote from the bible showing how God condones the killing of people in the "right" circumstance. However, the quotes in the bible that condemn violence were conveniently forgotten by this person.
In the end, we all make our own decisions. One person's rational logic is another person's whacko crazy way of thinking.
"We're not gonna make it, are we?" - Terminator II
You're arguing semantics here. The public good (a nebulous term at the least) is considered to be well served by providing some protection for original ideas for a period of time. The fruits of the creator's work does not necessarily have to be commercial but does include some control over that work.
Now if I take a straight ASCII dump of phone numbers, that wouldn't be copyrightable. But if I create a phone book with artwork, indexes, lots of pretty formatting in an easy to use form, this is copyrightable. Just like you can't copyright a word but you can copyright a poem or song that uses that word.
I think we agree that allowing someone to copyright a pure database without limiting that copyright to a very specific realization of that database is crazy.
The copyright idea has been corrupted far beyond it's original intent. That is, to protect creators of original work for a period of time to allow them to realize the fruits of their labor.
What's wrong here is that a phone book, for instance, is already protected under the law. You can't just take an existing database and republish it exactly as is. What you can do is gather the same set of data and publish this in your own format. This is consistent with the intent of copyright...to protect original work.
The more insidious problem is that those who have the money and influence will control the data.
What will be interesting is how the overlap between corporate databases is resolved. Does an email list of potential customers from Dell infringe on the copyright of a similar list from Gateway. There would undoubtably be an overlap.
It's much more subjective than that. There are those who prefer to know all the details of their hit points, mana, etc., have maps, radar, multiple viewpoints, alerts, etc. I've found that all these things tend to interfere with the feel of the game. If something hits me from behind, I should probably turn around to see what it is. I think the current crop of interfaces aren't good enough and so the designers give us things like 3rd person view to make the game easier. That's ok as long as it isn't the only way of playing.
I guess it becomes a tradeoff between ease of play and the reality of what the character would need to do in real life. Everquest used to be much more demanding of the player. There were no on-screen maps, no compass(unless you bought one). You got around by remembering the scenery. They've dumbed it down IMHO, the same as the other new MMORPGs.
I agree this kind of movement (point and click) is non-immersive. The same goes for third person view. The best I've seen for movement, viewpoint and most important, content, is Everquest.
This is not an easy thing to solve. I would say that a MMORPG is not mature until it's been online for at least a couple of years. You can't reach a stable environment until you let the system find it's equilibrium. After this, it becomes tweaking and expansions. But let's face it, the average player's bandwidth and computer is not going to give you FPS action in a 10,000+ player world.
- Don't buy the game (it's cheaper that way) - Don't play the game (you can't get spammed/cheated if you're not a player) - Don't install the game (you'll save lots of resources this way) - Dont' wait for it to come out (you can spend the time with your loved ones or go on a hike)
Death is not trivial. Death is also a fact of life. My point is that you can use death(or trying to prevent one) as a means to justify any action. Sorry, Mr. Anonymous Coward but this is a bogus argument.
Regulation for those businesses who want to set up a VOIP service for the general public probably could benefit the public by having some regulations. The problem arises when I want to use the internet to call someone I know and the government says I must do this according to their rules or I can't do it at all because I might break the law.
>"My house has never caught fire. Why should I help pay for the fire department?"
You're making a pointless argument. I'm not required to install a sprinkler system in my house either. Why not?
If 911 locating service was a relatively easy thing to mandate, then it would make sense. The reality is that with the internet as we know it, tracing any IP activity to the source may or may not be possible in a reasonable amount of time.
I think the government doesn't understand the problem or has something else in mind that isn't stated.
Just because someone dies because their phone doesn't have 911 locating service doesn't mean that the government must force everyone to have this. 911 locating service is a technology that works well with the existing cell phone infrastructure. Forcing this implementation with VOIP would mean that you could only make internet phone calls through a government approved, traceable system. Sorry, but this is not necessary. If you want to be traced, then buy a traceable phone.
Ahh yes, DVD shrink + CopyToDVD is the ticket. This way the kids can have their own copy that they can destroy without me having to go out an buy another. (They can kill a DVD pretty quickly).
Trouble is that both these programs are in that shareware/minimal support camp. You never know if they will just disappear someday. Keep the original install handy.
The first amendment does not allow for pornography, illegal activity or harassment. Bulk spam can and should be considered harassment.
Imagine if you came home and your snailmailbox was completely full of junk mail, so much so that you had trouble getting your legitimate mail. Is this protected by the first amendment?
We have a junk fax law, why not a real junk email law?
As long as your dish is secure and the transmission is working, you will have virtually no problems from weather. This is BS from the Cable companies.
I've never had a problem due to inclement weather although we don't get fierce lightning storms where I live so I don't know if that makes a difference.
I would choose the service based on the programming.
at least Microsoft values good publicity more than the perverse pleasure of beating the crap out of a student. Actually, the whole thing is kinda funny. An Xbox? Why not just give him a bag of heroin and some junkie certification training.
I've always thought it was funny that the government can tax illegal gambling winnings. It just means that two wrongs don't make a right. In this case, despite the fact that there was illegal traffic in copyrighted materials, doesnt' waive the right to all other protections under the law. Otherwise, why didnt' the RIAA storm into Sharman's office and take baseball bats to them.
Yeah, I completely agree. WTF is with these companies who insist on pushing their own format. It's not like any of these formats are vastly superior to the others. All it does is end up fracturing the market and frustrating the users. But then again, that's human nature...witness our own government in action. The phrase "divide and conquer" comes to mind.
"If the p2p software comes preconfigured to use encryption, then it will get used"
Exactly! Why do you think that there are all these unsuspecting RIAA targets out there. Simply because Kazaa and other clients default to sharing your hard drive with the world. The default install becomes the standard whether you like it or not.
Actually I believe that Miramax's rights pertain to whatever contracts they have with their distributors. I would assume that these contracts limit or ban the sale of these movies into the U.S.
The remedy for Miramax would be to terminate business with the foreign company.
If I'm wrong and Miramax can arbitrarily control U.S. imports, then we're all in much more trouble than you realize.
Slashdot Mirror
1. Your family may get along exceptionally well but keep in mind that any other employees may view the relationship skeptically and even resent you when you take a long lunch with your brother or promote a family member.
2. Make sure you have a well written agreement between any family members. If there's a falling out, it hurts much more when there's no clear solution to the business interests.
3. What happens if your girlfriend, God forbid, breaks up with you? Can you handle seeing her at work, knowing she's not your girlfriend anymore? The reverse is also true, she could resent you. Have a reasonable employment agreement for this. Be generous up front and you'll save legal fees down the road.
I've found that when the money's flowing and times are good that even big problems aren't much of a challenge. It's when things get tight that even the best friendship can be tested. A family member isn't usually someone you can say goodbye to and never see again.
Good luck,
M
Yeah violence is violence.
I had a long email conversation with a member of some religious right group who was trying to justify the invasion of Iraq. This person used quote after quote from the bible showing how God condones the killing of people in the "right" circumstance. However, the quotes in the bible that condemn violence were conveniently forgotten by this person.
In the end, we all make our own decisions. One person's rational logic is another person's whacko crazy way of thinking.
"We're not gonna make it, are we?"
- Terminator II
IANAL so I'll ask this question.
Faking an email header, return address, etc. is supposedly illegal under CAN-SPAM. If this is fraud, then wasn't this illegal before CAN-SPAM?
M
You're arguing semantics here. The public good (a nebulous term at the least) is considered to be well served by providing some protection for original ideas for a period of time. The fruits of the creator's work does not necessarily have to be commercial but does include some control over that work.
Now if I take a straight ASCII dump of phone numbers, that wouldn't be copyrightable. But if I create a phone book with artwork, indexes, lots of pretty formatting in an easy to use form, this is copyrightable. Just like you can't copyright a word but you can copyright a poem or song that uses that word.
I think we agree that allowing someone to copyright a pure database without limiting that copyright to a very specific realization of that database is crazy.
M
The copyright idea has been corrupted far beyond it's original intent. That is, to protect creators of original work for a period of time to allow them to realize the fruits of their labor.
What's wrong here is that a phone book, for instance, is already protected under the law. You can't just take an existing database and republish it exactly as is. What you can do is gather the same set of data and publish this in your own format. This is consistent with the intent of copyright...to protect original work.
The more insidious problem is that those who have the money and influence will control the data.
What will be interesting is how the overlap between corporate databases is resolved. Does an email list of potential customers from Dell infringe on the copyright of a similar list from Gateway. There would undoubtably be an overlap.
IMHO, this is a ridiculous law.
M
It's much more subjective than that. There are those who prefer to know all the details of their hit points, mana, etc., have maps, radar, multiple viewpoints, alerts, etc. I've found that all these things tend to interfere with the feel of the game. If something hits me from behind, I should probably turn around to see what it is. I think the current crop of interfaces aren't good enough and so the designers give us things like 3rd person view to make the game easier. That's ok as long as it isn't the only way of playing.
I guess it becomes a tradeoff between ease of play and the reality of what the character would need to do in real life. Everquest used to be much more demanding of the player. There were no on-screen maps, no compass(unless you bought one). You got around by remembering the scenery. They've dumbed it down IMHO, the same as the other new MMORPGs.
I haven't tried NWN. Perhaps I should.
I agree this kind of movement (point and click) is non-immersive. The same goes for third person view. The best I've seen for movement, viewpoint and most important, content, is Everquest.
This is not an easy thing to solve. I would say that a MMORPG is not mature until it's been online for at least a couple of years. You can't reach a stable environment until you let the system find it's equilibrium. After this, it becomes tweaking and expansions. But let's face it, the average player's bandwidth and computer is not going to give you FPS action in a 10,000+ player world.
and here's the solution:
- Don't buy the game (it's cheaper that way)
- Don't play the game (you can't get spammed/cheated if you're not a player)
- Don't install the game (you'll save lots of resources this way)
- Dont' wait for it to come out (you can spend the time with your loved ones or go on a hike)
Shalom
finally a decent use for the DCMA?
/.
Hard to believe it folks but you saw it here on
M
Cheers!
People are expendable, profits are not...
Death is not trivial. Death is also a fact of life. My point is that you can use death(or trying to prevent one) as a means to justify any action. Sorry, Mr. Anonymous Coward but this is a bogus argument.
Regulation for those businesses who want to set up a VOIP service for the general public probably could benefit the public by having some regulations. The problem arises when I want to use the internet to call someone I know and the government says I must do this according to their rules or I can't do it at all because I might break the law.
Keep the internet free.
M
>"My house has never caught fire. Why should I help pay for the fire department?"
You're making a pointless argument. I'm not required to install a sprinkler system in my house either. Why not?
If 911 locating service was a relatively easy thing to mandate, then it would make sense. The reality is that with the internet as we know it, tracing any IP activity to the source may or may not be possible in a reasonable amount of time.
I think the government doesn't understand the problem or has something else in mind that isn't stated.
M
Just because someone dies because their phone doesn't have 911 locating service doesn't mean that the government must force everyone to have this. 911 locating service is a technology that works well with the existing cell phone infrastructure. Forcing this implementation with VOIP would mean that you could only make internet phone calls through a government approved, traceable system. Sorry, but this is not necessary. If you want to be traced, then buy a traceable phone.
M
911 service is simply a phone call to 911. The question is whether or not the authorities can physically locate the phone being used to dial 911.
I don't think anyone would actually prefer to block the ability to dial 911.
M
Perhaps, those who want 911 locating service should actually subscribe to it rather than the government mandating it.
M
Where is the public hanging going to take place?
I want a front row seat!
Ahh yes, DVD shrink + CopyToDVD is the ticket. This way the kids can have their own copy that they can destroy without me having to go out an buy another. (They can kill a DVD pretty quickly).
Trouble is that both these programs are in that shareware/minimal support camp. You never know if they will just disappear someday. Keep the original install handy.
M
The first amendment does not allow for pornography, illegal activity or harassment. Bulk spam can and should be considered harassment.
Imagine if you came home and your snailmailbox was completely full of junk mail, so much so that you had trouble getting your legitimate mail. Is this protected by the first amendment?
We have a junk fax law, why not a real junk email law?
M
As long as your dish is secure and the transmission is working, you will have virtually no problems from weather. This is BS from the Cable companies.
I've never had a problem due to inclement weather although we don't get fierce lightning storms where I live so I don't know if that makes a difference.
I would choose the service based on the programming.
M
at least Microsoft values good publicity more than the perverse pleasure of beating the crap out of a student. Actually, the whole thing is kinda funny. An Xbox? Why not just give him a bag of heroin and some junkie certification training.
M
I've always thought it was funny that the government can tax illegal gambling winnings. It just means that two wrongs don't make a right. In this case, despite the fact that there was illegal traffic in copyrighted materials, doesnt' waive the right to all other protections under the law. Otherwise, why didnt' the RIAA storm into Sharman's office and take baseball bats to them.
M
Yeah, I completely agree. WTF is with these companies who insist on pushing their own format. It's not like any of these formats are vastly superior to the others. All it does is end up fracturing the market and frustrating the users. But then again, that's human nature...witness our own government in action. The phrase "divide and conquer" comes to mind.
M
"If the p2p software comes preconfigured to use encryption, then it will get used"
Exactly! Why do you think that there are all these unsuspecting RIAA targets out there. Simply because Kazaa and other clients default to sharing your hard drive with the world. The default install becomes the standard whether you like it or not.
M
Shame on you...
/.
Obviously you don't get any value from reading
Actually I believe that Miramax's rights pertain to whatever contracts they have with their distributors. I would assume that these contracts limit or ban the sale of these movies into the U.S.
The remedy for Miramax would be to terminate business with the foreign company.
If I'm wrong and Miramax can arbitrarily control U.S. imports, then we're all in much more trouble than you realize.