I'm actually very happy with my Tungsten E - it was right in my price range, while all other devices (including all PocketPCs) were higher or much higher than my range. All I wanted was a PIM organizer with a color screen because I needed to get organized and wanted to ditch my paper calendar. It turned out to be very functional, and the Tungsten E actually comes with a whole load of software (DocumentsToGo, MobileDB, Palm Desktop, video and audio software), and it was already compatible with the SD card I use for my digital camera. Now I can listen to audio, read books, and play games for entertainment, and have all of my information (PIM info as well as passwords and logins in an encrypted storage program).
I would definitely recommend the Tungsten E to someone who is on a budget and doesn't need wireless functionality. I can always sync with my laptop (which does have wireless). I did a bunch of research before purchasing my Palm, and I'm still glad I purchased the E and I think it is still a good value. Obviously, newer models will continue to come out, and soon there will be a model close to the price range of the E ($200) with much better functionality (i.e. Dell Axim 30 312MHz Processor - for only about $280, with wireless, but not a great software package). I just hope Palm comes out with a new line of PDAs soon to counter the constant flow of new PocketPCs with more features.
Here is a nice full review from PalmInfocenter. It goes into full details and testing of the new SDIO Wireless card from PalmOne.
Some have asked how is this different than the SanDisk SDIO Wireless card for Palm that was released a short time ago. This description from SanDisk explains that its card is only for the Palm Zire 71 and products using recent versions of MS PocketPC. The new PalmOne card supports the Zire 72 and Tungsten T3, which the SanDisk card does not (apparently due to driver compatibility issues).
I own a PalmOne Tungsten E, which is the business value model, and there is not wireless support via SDIO cards, and doesn't look to be one available due to the power constraints of the Tungsten E model. Apparently, there have been some tests run with the SanDisk card on the Tungsten E, and it will work, but long-term effects on the SDIO slot have not been studied, and there could be damaging effects on the unit. Tungsten E users that want some sort of wireless connection should check out the Enfora Wireless Portfolio Case which seems to be the only wireless connection available for the Tungsten E.
Personally, I don't need wireless via my PDA since I already have a laptop and wireless card, but I know it is a nice feature, and on a future PDA I would want wireless to be available.
No Bill of Attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed.
This prevents any legislative body in the US from passing a law that can be enforced on actions that were taken prior to the passage of the law. This really doesn't have anything to do with Mr. Fisher, since he broke a current law - in 1992. He just has not been captured by the authorities until today.
By the comments Mr. Fisher has made about various events (Sept. 11, the Holocaust, etc.), it appears that his mental health is in a lot more jeapordy than paying a fine for breaking a US law by traveling to and doing business in the former Yugoslavia.
I have had an IBM 75GXP for over 3 and a half years now - and it is lucky to still be working. Within the first 3 months of purchase it was making harsh-sounding noises, followed by a failure that forced me to reformat/reinstall everything (the joys of learning to backup everything after it is too late).
After calling Dell tech support when the failure initially occured, I asked the technician straight up if this drive was an issue - and they confirmed that there was an extremely high failure rate for this type of IBM drive. I just thought: oh, great
I have run a low-level format with IBM's disk utilities a couple of times since then when installing new GNU/Linux distros or other operating systems, and despite the initial instability of the drive, it has managed to hold up since then. Of course, I always create backups on a regular basis now and keep the option of buying a new drive open when this one takes a spin for the last time (now that it is out of warranty - well you know about parts once they go out of warranty).
According to the Microsoft KB article itself, this is actually a fix for the IE spoofing problem reported in late 2003:
A malicious user could also use this URL syntax to create a hyperlink that appears to open a legitimate Web site but actually opens a deceptive (spoofed) Web site. For example, the following URL appears to open http://www.wingtiptoys.com but actually opens http://example.com:
http://www.wingtiptoys.com@example.com
Despite the negative side-effect, this update is actually a fix for a large security issue in IE. Phishing has become a big problem recently, especially since Microsoft acknowledged the bug in IE. Now if users actually run the update, and then check to see the actual address to which they are giving information, phishing may not be as big of a problem.
Yes, the money will shift to bandwidth and hosting providers, but not from the artists. Instead, it will shift from the current distribution companies to newer more efficient distribution companies. Currently, the record labels take a huge amount off of CD and DVD sales - and a lot of it has to filter through middlemen such as distribution centers and retail stores. Online distribution is so much cheaper since the only real cost per copy is bandwidth.
This does not even take into consideration cost savings by promoting an artist, or a particular work, online instead of through traditional media. This could include online radio, previews, mailing lists, and some cool online interactive (flash, java, etc.) content you can't put in a cd booklet. This type of promotion costs significantly less than traditional media and will also save on costs.
In the end an online distribution system would be better for the artist, especially if it puts them into more control of their works. Currently they just hand the reigns over to the record company, and if they could control the distribution through online means it would be beneficial to everyone.
I do realize that complete online distribtuion and promotion will not happen in the mainstream soon, but online/traditional mixed media distribution and promotion is currently evolving. The record labels must change their business model with this, or they will face something a lawsuit cannot stop.
Microsoft has been buying off students as well as the universities and departments for a while now. Check out the MSDNAA where Microsoft provides free development tools to certain educational institutions. At my university any student who takes at least one CS course is eligible. They may download ANY Microsoft operating system as well as any number of Microsoft development tools.
Also, within the past year Microsoft began selling their current desktop operating system and office suites to all students at significantly reduced prices - at $70 and below. Both of these methods of obtaining software will greatly increase the proliferation of Microsoft in academia.
All of this is discounting the huge amount of "pirated" software, particularly new versions of Microsoft operating systems and office suites, that are installed on students computers in college. A few students who know the tricks of the trade ("pirating") distribute copies to a huge amount of people on campus, especially since students hardly want to pay for music, let alone software.
I'm in ChemE at Northwestern, and the department is very good, so I would recommend it. In terms of computers, I know a good amount of CS majors and not many like the department that much, and from what I have seen it is not that wonderful. The ECE department is good though, I know many ECE majors and some grads and they enjoy it and get a lot out of it.
And about the co-op program, I would have to say I approve; guess where I'm writing this from;) The program here has undergone some bumps over the past years with a new director, but I would still recommend it for almost anyone in engineering.
Here is another story on SCO, from CNET, focusing on their recent licensing deals and the impact on its earnings.
Also, in this story our "favorite" CEO claimed he was in Japan not to invade the Consumer Electronics Linux Forum but instead "just" to get more Japanese firms to license code from SCO.
By the way, when is that code you always talk about going to show up in court? I'm still waiting to see something, anything... yeah...
I don't know about anyone else, but I am waiting for IBM's response to all of this in court. I hope that they don't seal up everything because I would like to see their defense (or offense? - hey, the best defense is a good offense, right?).
So far, IBM has only made small comments basically shoving aside the entire situation, like their most recent:
Since filing a lawsuit against IBM, SCO has made public statements and accusations about IBM's Unix license and about Linux in an apparent attempt to create fear uncertainty and doubt among IBM's customers and the open source community.
IBM's Unix license is irrevocable, perpetual and fully paid up. It cannot be terminated. This matter will eventually be resolved in the normal legal process.
IBM will continue to ship, support and develop AIX which represents years of IBM innovation, hundreds of millions of dollars of investment and many patents. As always, IBM will stand behind our products and our customers.
I also remember at the beginning of this whole mess, IBM stated that they wanted this to go to court (specifically a jury trial if I remember correctly). I have no doubt that the IBM legal department has some very interesting material/arguments that they are ready to show everyone.
Maybe SCO has been spewing with new "revelations" and "violations" but I am sure the very adept IBM legal department has been getting something ready that SCO won't stand a chance against.
On slashdot (and many other places) people are really getting played by the SCO "FUD" meanwhile IBM doesn't seem to be playing anything up - and people seem to forget what company we are talking about here - the same IBM that has been around since forever and has fought their share of legal battles.
We should have a little more confidence that good old Big Blue knows what they are doing here and not try to kill ourselves with the B$ flowing out of SCO.
In the various interviews and statements that have come out of SCO over the past few months, there has definitely been some conflicting information. In this most recent interview, I find a number of things peculiar, but this is what jumps out at me first:
When we take a top-tier view of the amount of code showing up inside of Linux today that is either directly related to our Unix System 5 that we directly own or is related to one of our flavors of Unix that we have derivative works rights over--we don't necessarily own those flavors, but we have control rights over how that information gets disseminated--the amount is substantial. We're not talking about just lines of code; we're talking about entire programs. We're talking about hundred of thousands of lines of code.
Note how he says "entire programs"; the basis of the complaint is that code was copied into the Linux kernel. Apparently they are also claiming that some GNU tools and other programs are also "copied." From what I understand of the initial press releases, SCO was suing over certain multi-processor related functions of the kernel which apparently came out of Project Monterey, which IBM and SCO were a part of.
He does state in the interview that this is a lawsuit for breach of contract with IBM, and not copyright or patent infringement.
And when we filed against IBM, we chose to not even talk about copyrights.
So, it is interesting that he is proposing taking Linux distributors (Red Hat, SuSE, etc.) and possibly other Linux users to court as well. If they are not on solid ground suing IBM over copyright infringement, how are they going to manage to sue all of the linux distributors and users on the planet for copyright infringement - since these distributors and users never had any contract with SCO.
For a final major thought, all of this "copied code" is appearing in both Sys V and Linux.. where does BSD come into play? Could the code from both places have been taken from BSD? Of course with the terms of the NDA that SCO makes you sign, I am sure that you couldn't compare the Sys V code to BSD, only Linux.
PS: Why hasn't someone run the Sys V and Linux code through a copied code detector program (like some college professors use to stop code copying on assignments). Obviously this would be a much larger scale project, but if SCO's UnixWare has such great multi-processor capabilities, they should be able to figure something out. And if there is so much copied code, it should be no problem to find it using this program. Show us the stats, at least.
This is all true, and we definitely second-guessed our decision since the ink is so expensive. In the end, though, it was a good decision since we did print our quota (the printer automatically sends the reports via email), and we took advantage of the service agreement (which really makes the plan worth it).
The service agreement to go along with the printer (if buying stand-alone) costs about $650 from Xerox, and only lasts one year. The plan that comes with this lasts 3 years and is on-site, which is not bad at all. We only had it serviced twice, but it definitely saved some time and money.
I also implemented a printer logging system so that we could keep track of all printing for each user (not that hard since everyone printed from their rooms). This way we could keep the color printing under control and thus keep our costs down. In the end we charged everyone about $10 per quarter in printing, which covered our costs and then some.
On the other hand, if you are in a larger office environment or you are not sure what your quota would be I could see buying the printer up-front as a better option, if not only for the cheaper ink costs. It is still a good program, though, and a pretty good printer.
...also, we have printed over 115,000 pages and it's still running great. It has only needed servicing twice over the past 3 years, and it was taken care of next-day without much hassle at all. The technicians say that these printers get well over 300,000 pages before they begin to die.
The fraternity that I am in has been using this service for the past 3 years (that is how long the contract lasts); the printer lease runs out in a week (the printer is yours to keep after the lease expires). We have a Phaser 850DP, and I believe the current model is a Phaser 8200, which are both color wax transfer printers - check out this link for the specs: Phaser 8200 Specs
The only thing you have to do is print the quota (if some guys living in a dorm can do it, I am sure you can as well), and buy your ink from them (all black ink is free; color ink is kind of expensive, but it is worth it for the free printer). Also included is an on-site service agreement for the length of the 3 year lease.
I would definitely recommend this service, especially for small organizations. Good luck with finding one for the church!
All I can say to Michigan State police is have fun collecting every cable/dsl router (that usess NAT) in the state, including those at retail stores and warehouses. Oh, and hope you have enough room in jail for every person who owns one, the manager of the store where the bought it, the delivery boy who delivered it to the store, the truck driver who drove it into the state, and whoever decided to advertise the router in the state.
And I am sure there are no routers that use NAT anywhere in any Michigan government office either...
right...
Minimum Advertised Price (MAP) has been around for a while, and not only in the music industry. When I first read this story I remember reading about this somewhere else, and it happens to be in the PC Hardware in a Nutshell book I'm reading from O'Reilly (Thompson & Thompson, 2002). It mentions that a good amount of PC hardware prices are held high due to this same MAP scheme. Fortunately we have pricewatch to help keep computer hardware prices down.
MAP just sounds like another scheme to keep prices up in what would otherwise be a competitive marketplace. Unfortunately, nobody seems to care enough to stop it.
And I thought I could fit a lot of distros on my 75GB HDD. Boy was I wrong. I've got to buy me one of these. That way I can fit every Linux distro ever on my home computer.
Yeah, and the only time I even got close to filling my HDD was when I had 80 movies on there since I was too lazy to use my CD-RW. Somehow I doubt a normal "home user" will be able to use the capabilities of this drive. Well, unless IE 7.0 is a 200GB download.
This just looks like the same old story over again. The recording/movie industry is just trying to come up with some answer to the file sharing phenomenon again. And once again they answer with an inferior and over-priced service.
Just like the music industry's attempts at a pay service, this will fail. Anyone who might actually be interested in this service probably has enough know-how to go download a movie from a file sharing service anyways. To those who do not know, a movie rental store is more convenient.
It seems like there is an easy solution to all of this -- offer download that are rather inexpensive, especially compared to other media (CDs DVDs, etc). If it is cheap and with little restrictions, people will buy -- many people will buy. And since this would be virtually a perfect economy of scale and many people would be buying, this would reap large profits, and people would be happy.
Unforunately this is not utopia, so I'll put my eye patch back on and keep "pirating" away.
Trust me, you pay for access at college. And if you use "too much" bandwidth, you get your port shut off. Of course, most of the time they do not define "too much," and also block many websites (i.e. any file sharing website).
What is interesting is that this same type dial-up access is also used in Singapore. There is free dial-up but you have to pay for phone usage. I am not sure if it is profitable, but it is still being offered. All incoming and outgoing phone calls are charged in Singapore depending on the time of day.
I agree completely, I read A Brief History of Time and I found it very interesting and very readable. And this was in early high school. I do suggest a little background knowledge in physics first, though.
Now time to go see if the book is still kicking around somewhere...
Here is the message you get when trying to install SP1 on a "pirated" system (well one of the systems with that one cd key that is used in over 90% of the pirated XP's out there).
The only real "feature" this would prevent all you "pirates" out there from getting would be the middleware-removal thingy. You can still download the previous updates (security, bug fixes, etc.) fine.
Just to note, you have to be sure to wear your eye patch and parrot on the shoulder during the install, or SP1 might not recognize you as a "pirate."
I would say you already have a nice start by getting an internet presence, opening yourself up to the entire world through the website. And, of course, getting on the/. frontpage doesn't hurt either (except for the people who can't get in because of the/. effect).
Definitely look around for college radio stations and talk to dj's who are willing to play your music on air. Also, look for any remaining internet radio stations to play your music, since almost no independent or college radio stations can afford to play music on the internet anymore.
Also, free distribution, or even very inexpensive distribution of some songs can help give a ton of exposure. Have some samples available to download, and have CDs available to buy. People will be willing to pay to download music (a very reasonable amount, of course), so there is a potential source of revenue.
Using the internet to its potential is a very good resource. The major record companies have, of course, not embraced the internet, but instead only see it as a "pirate's" paradise. Embrace it and use it's ability to reach many people, and do not restrict the people you are trying to reach.
PS: if you go to download some stuff from a p2p that's copyrighted to a major label, don't forget your eye patch and parrot. And might as well take a picture for your day in court too (well your day in court along with the other 90 million "pirates").
Looks like Bruce came up with a good, common sense idea again. Sincere Choice is not only just a good idea for the government, but a good idea for computing as a whole. It makes sense from both the business point of view and a developer's point of view.
It's a good start and people can support it by really trying to only use open standards. You don't need to go to either extreme to make a point (either proprietary or free software extremes); open source and specifically open standards give an excellent compromise between proprietary and free software. It will give an even playing field and promote competition, so that everyone will really have a choice. Or if you don't like it you can always write your own software to meet the open standards.
Actual competition in the software / computer industry? Well with open standards it's much closer to being a posibility.
This story has obviously been overhyped, as it will not mean the end to free (as in free beer) mp3 players (and some encoders, most likely). It will, though, mean the end to mp3 encoders/decoders in GPL'd software, in other words the vast majority of open source software. It will also mean no default mp3 support in your favorite GNU/Linux distro, most likely.
This is unfortunate for the open source community, but it will help to promote newer open standards with no patent or licensing problems to worry about. It will most likely not affect the general public, who will still be able to download winamp for free.
It suprises me that nobody in the open source community noticed this discrepancy before, as it has been listed on the licensing page for quite some time. As the Thomson lawyer said, it has been incompatible with the GPL for some time now. I suppose from now on people will be more careful before building patented proprietary technology into open source software, despite the fact that this type of patent makes no sense and hurts innovation by creating a closed standard.
Check out the GPL for information regarding patents. Here is a quote:
any patent must be licensed for everyone's free use or not licensed at all
Since the Thomson licensing of mp3s does not allow "free use" for everyone, it is in violation of the GPL and therefore cannot be included in GPL'd software. Unfortunately, this means it cannot be in Red Hat or any other freely distributed GNU/Linux distro licensed under the GPL.
Slashdot Mirror
I'm actually very happy with my Tungsten E - it was right in my price range, while all other devices (including all PocketPCs) were higher or much higher than my range. All I wanted was a PIM organizer with a color screen because I needed to get organized and wanted to ditch my paper calendar. It turned out to be very functional, and the Tungsten E actually comes with a whole load of software (DocumentsToGo, MobileDB, Palm Desktop, video and audio software), and it was already compatible with the SD card I use for my digital camera. Now I can listen to audio, read books, and play games for entertainment, and have all of my information (PIM info as well as passwords and logins in an encrypted storage program).
I would definitely recommend the Tungsten E to someone who is on a budget and doesn't need wireless functionality. I can always sync with my laptop (which does have wireless). I did a bunch of research before purchasing my Palm, and I'm still glad I purchased the E and I think it is still a good value. Obviously, newer models will continue to come out, and soon there will be a model close to the price range of the E ($200) with much better functionality (i.e. Dell Axim 30 312MHz Processor - for only about $280, with wireless, but not a great software package). I just hope Palm comes out with a new line of PDAs soon to counter the constant flow of new PocketPCs with more features.
Here is a nice full review from PalmInfocenter. It goes into full details and testing of the new SDIO Wireless card from PalmOne.
Some have asked how is this different than the SanDisk SDIO Wireless card for Palm that was released a short time ago. This description from SanDisk explains that its card is only for the Palm Zire 71 and products using recent versions of MS PocketPC. The new PalmOne card supports the Zire 72 and Tungsten T3, which the SanDisk card does not (apparently due to driver compatibility issues).
I own a PalmOne Tungsten E, which is the business value model, and there is not wireless support via SDIO cards, and doesn't look to be one available due to the power constraints of the Tungsten E model. Apparently, there have been some tests run with the SanDisk card on the Tungsten E, and it will work, but long-term effects on the SDIO slot have not been studied, and there could be damaging effects on the unit. Tungsten E users that want some sort of wireless connection should check out the Enfora Wireless Portfolio Case which seems to be the only wireless connection available for the Tungsten E.
Personally, I don't need wireless via my PDA since I already have a laptop and wireless card, but I know it is a nice feature, and on a future PDA I would want wireless to be available.
US Constitution - Article I, Section 9
This prevents any legislative body in the US from passing a law that can be enforced on actions that were taken prior to the passage of the law. This really doesn't have anything to do with Mr. Fisher, since he broke a current law - in 1992. He just has not been captured by the authorities until today.
By the comments Mr. Fisher has made about various events (Sept. 11, the Holocaust, etc.), it appears that his mental health is in a lot more jeapordy than paying a fine for breaking a US law by traveling to and doing business in the former Yugoslavia.
I have had an IBM 75GXP for over 3 and a half years now - and it is lucky to still be working. Within the first 3 months of purchase it was making harsh-sounding noises, followed by a failure that forced me to reformat/reinstall everything (the joys of learning to backup everything after it is too late).
After calling Dell tech support when the failure initially occured, I asked the technician straight up if this drive was an issue - and they confirmed that there was an extremely high failure rate for this type of IBM drive. I just thought: oh, great
I have run a low-level format with IBM's disk utilities a couple of times since then when installing new GNU/Linux distros or other operating systems, and despite the initial instability of the drive, it has managed to hold up since then. Of course, I always create backups on a regular basis now and keep the option of buying a new drive open when this one takes a spin for the last time (now that it is out of warranty - well you know about parts once they go out of warranty).
According to the Microsoft KB article itself, this is actually a fix for the IE spoofing problem reported in late 2003:
Despite the negative side-effect, this update is actually a fix for a large security issue in IE. Phishing has become a big problem recently, especially since Microsoft acknowledged the bug in IE. Now if users actually run the update, and then check to see the actual address to which they are giving information, phishing may not be as big of a problem.
Yes, the money will shift to bandwidth and hosting providers, but not from the artists. Instead, it will shift from the current distribution companies to newer more efficient distribution companies. Currently, the record labels take a huge amount off of CD and DVD sales - and a lot of it has to filter through middlemen such as distribution centers and retail stores. Online distribution is so much cheaper since the only real cost per copy is bandwidth.
This does not even take into consideration cost savings by promoting an artist, or a particular work, online instead of through traditional media. This could include online radio, previews, mailing lists, and some cool online interactive (flash, java, etc.) content you can't put in a cd booklet. This type of promotion costs significantly less than traditional media and will also save on costs.
In the end an online distribution system would be better for the artist, especially if it puts them into more control of their works. Currently they just hand the reigns over to the record company, and if they could control the distribution through online means it would be beneficial to everyone.
I do realize that complete online distribtuion and promotion will not happen in the mainstream soon, but online/traditional mixed media distribution and promotion is currently evolving. The record labels must change their business model with this, or they will face something a lawsuit cannot stop.
Microsoft has been buying off students as well as the universities and departments for a while now. Check out the MSDNAA where Microsoft provides free development tools to certain educational institutions. At my university any student who takes at least one CS course is eligible. They may download ANY Microsoft operating system as well as any number of Microsoft development tools.
Also, within the past year Microsoft began selling their current desktop operating system and office suites to all students at significantly reduced prices - at $70 and below. Both of these methods of obtaining software will greatly increase the proliferation of Microsoft in academia.
All of this is discounting the huge amount of "pirated" software, particularly new versions of Microsoft operating systems and office suites, that are installed on students computers in college. A few students who know the tricks of the trade ("pirating") distribute copies to a huge amount of people on campus, especially since students hardly want to pay for music, let alone software.
I'm in ChemE at Northwestern, and the department is very good, so I would recommend it. In terms of computers, I know a good amount of CS majors and not many like the department that much, and from what I have seen it is not that wonderful. The ECE department is good though, I know many ECE majors and some grads and they enjoy it and get a lot out of it.
And about the co-op program, I would have to say I approve; guess where I'm writing this from ;) The program here has undergone some bumps over the past years with a new director, but I would still recommend it for almost anyone in engineering.
Here is another story on SCO, from CNET, focusing on their recent licensing deals and the impact on its earnings.
Also, in this story our "favorite" CEO claimed he was in Japan not to invade the Consumer Electronics Linux Forum but instead "just" to get more Japanese firms to license code from SCO.
By the way, when is that code you always talk about going to show up in court? I'm still waiting to see something, anything... yeah...
I don't know about anyone else, but I am waiting for IBM's response to all of this in court. I hope that they don't seal up everything because I would like to see their defense (or offense? - hey, the best defense is a good offense, right?).
So far, IBM has only made small comments basically shoving aside the entire situation, like their most recent:
I also remember at the beginning of this whole mess, IBM stated that they wanted this to go to court (specifically a jury trial if I remember correctly). I have no doubt that the IBM legal department has some very interesting material/arguments that they are ready to show everyone.
Maybe SCO has been spewing with new "revelations" and "violations" but I am sure the very adept IBM legal department has been getting something ready that SCO won't stand a chance against.
On slashdot (and many other places) people are really getting played by the SCO "FUD" meanwhile IBM doesn't seem to be playing anything up - and people seem to forget what company we are talking about here - the same IBM that has been around since forever and has fought their share of legal battles.
We should have a little more confidence that good old Big Blue knows what they are doing here and not try to kill ourselves with the B$ flowing out of SCO.
In the various interviews and statements that have come out of SCO over the past few months, there has definitely been some conflicting information. In this most recent interview, I find a number of things peculiar, but this is what jumps out at me first:
Note how he says "entire programs"; the basis of the complaint is that code was copied into the Linux kernel. Apparently they are also claiming that some GNU tools and other programs are also "copied." From what I understand of the initial press releases, SCO was suing over certain multi-processor related functions of the kernel which apparently came out of Project Monterey, which IBM and SCO were a part of.
He does state in the interview that this is a lawsuit for breach of contract with IBM, and not copyright or patent infringement.
So, it is interesting that he is proposing taking Linux distributors (Red Hat, SuSE, etc.) and possibly other Linux users to court as well. If they are not on solid ground suing IBM over copyright infringement, how are they going to manage to sue all of the linux distributors and users on the planet for copyright infringement - since these distributors and users never had any contract with SCO.
For a final major thought, all of this "copied code" is appearing in both Sys V and Linux.. where does BSD come into play? Could the code from both places have been taken from BSD? Of course with the terms of the NDA that SCO makes you sign, I am sure that you couldn't compare the Sys V code to BSD, only Linux.
PS: Why hasn't someone run the Sys V and Linux code through a copied code detector program (like some college professors use to stop code copying on assignments). Obviously this would be a much larger scale project, but if SCO's UnixWare has such great multi-processor capabilities, they should be able to figure something out. And if there is so much copied code, it should be no problem to find it using this program. Show us the stats, at least.
This is all true, and we definitely second-guessed our decision since the ink is so expensive. In the end, though, it was a good decision since we did print our quota (the printer automatically sends the reports via email), and we took advantage of the service agreement (which really makes the plan worth it).
The service agreement to go along with the printer (if buying stand-alone) costs about $650 from Xerox, and only lasts one year. The plan that comes with this lasts 3 years and is on-site, which is not bad at all. We only had it serviced twice, but it definitely saved some time and money.
I also implemented a printer logging system so that we could keep track of all printing for each user (not that hard since everyone printed from their rooms). This way we could keep the color printing under control and thus keep our costs down. In the end we charged everyone about $10 per quarter in printing, which covered our costs and then some.
On the other hand, if you are in a larger office environment or you are not sure what your quota would be I could see buying the printer up-front as a better option, if not only for the cheaper ink costs. It is still a good program, though, and a pretty good printer.
...also, we have printed over 115,000 pages and it's still running great. It has only needed servicing twice over the past 3 years, and it was taken care of next-day without much hassle at all. The technicians say that these printers get well over 300,000 pages before they begin to die.
Check out the following website:
FreeColorPrinters
The fraternity that I am in has been using this service for the past 3 years (that is how long the contract lasts); the printer lease runs out in a week (the printer is yours to keep after the lease expires). We have a Phaser 850DP, and I believe the current model is a Phaser 8200, which are both color wax transfer printers - check out this link for the specs:
Phaser 8200 Specs
The only thing you have to do is print the quota (if some guys living in a dorm can do it, I am sure you can as well), and buy your ink from them (all black ink is free; color ink is kind of expensive, but it is worth it for the free printer). Also included is an on-site service agreement for the length of the 3 year lease.
I would definitely recommend this service, especially for small organizations. Good luck with finding one for the church!
All I can say to Michigan State police is have fun collecting every cable/dsl router (that usess NAT) in the state, including those at retail stores and warehouses. Oh, and hope you have enough room in jail for every person who owns one, the manager of the store where the bought it, the delivery boy who delivered it to the store, the truck driver who drove it into the state, and whoever decided to advertise the router in the state. And I am sure there are no routers that use NAT anywhere in any Michigan government office either... right...
Minimum Advertised Price (MAP) has been around for a while, and not only in the music industry. When I first read this story I remember reading about this somewhere else, and it happens to be in the PC Hardware in a Nutshell book I'm reading from O'Reilly (Thompson & Thompson, 2002). It mentions that a good amount of PC hardware prices are held high due to this same MAP scheme. Fortunately we have pricewatch to help keep computer hardware prices down.
MAP just sounds like another scheme to keep prices up in what would otherwise be a competitive marketplace. Unfortunately, nobody seems to care enough to stop it.
And I thought I could fit a lot of distros on my 75GB HDD. Boy was I wrong. I've got to buy me one of these. That way I can fit every Linux distro ever on my home computer.
Yeah, and the only time I even got close to filling my HDD was when I had 80 movies on there since I was too lazy to use my CD-RW. Somehow I doubt a normal "home user" will be able to use the capabilities of this drive. Well, unless IE 7.0 is a 200GB download.
This just looks like the same old story over again. The recording/movie industry is just trying to come up with some answer to the file sharing phenomenon again. And once again they answer with an inferior and over-priced service.
Just like the music industry's attempts at a pay service, this will fail. Anyone who might actually be interested in this service probably has enough know-how to go download a movie from a file sharing service anyways. To those who do not know, a movie rental store is more convenient.
It seems like there is an easy solution to all of this -- offer download that are rather inexpensive, especially compared to other media (CDs DVDs, etc). If it is cheap and with little restrictions, people will buy -- many people will buy. And since this would be virtually a perfect economy of scale and many people would be buying, this would reap large profits, and people would be happy.
Unforunately this is not utopia, so I'll put my eye patch back on and keep "pirating" away.
Trust me, you pay for access at college. And if you use "too much" bandwidth, you get your port shut off. Of course, most of the time they do not define "too much," and also block many websites (i.e. any file sharing website).
What is interesting is that this same type dial-up access is also used in Singapore. There is free dial-up but you have to pay for phone usage. I am not sure if it is profitable, but it is still being offered. All incoming and outgoing phone calls are charged in Singapore depending on the time of day.
I agree completely, I read A Brief History of Time and I found it very interesting and very readable. And this was in early high school. I do suggest a little background knowledge in physics first, though.
Now time to go see if the book is still kicking around somewhere...
Here is the message you get when trying to install SP1 on a "pirated" system (well one of the systems with that one cd key that is used in over 90% of the pirated XP's out there).
The only real "feature" this would prevent all you "pirates" out there from getting would be the middleware-removal thingy. You can still download the previous updates (security, bug fixes, etc.) fine.
Just to note, you have to be sure to wear your eye patch and parrot on the shoulder during the install, or SP1 might not recognize you as a "pirate."
I would say you already have a nice start by getting an internet presence, opening yourself up to the entire world through the website. And, of course, getting on the /. frontpage doesn't hurt either (except for the people who can't get in because of the /. effect).
Definitely look around for college radio stations and talk to dj's who are willing to play your music on air. Also, look for any remaining internet radio stations to play your music, since almost no independent or college radio stations can afford to play music on the internet anymore.
Also, free distribution, or even very inexpensive distribution of some songs can help give a ton of exposure. Have some samples available to download, and have CDs available to buy. People will be willing to pay to download music (a very reasonable amount, of course), so there is a potential source of revenue.
Using the internet to its potential is a very good resource. The major record companies have, of course, not embraced the internet, but instead only see it as a "pirate's" paradise. Embrace it and use it's ability to reach many people, and do not restrict the people you are trying to reach.
PS: if you go to download some stuff from a p2p that's copyrighted to a major label, don't forget your eye patch and parrot. And might as well take a picture for your day in court too (well your day in court along with the other 90 million "pirates").
Looks like Bruce came up with a good, common sense idea again. Sincere Choice is not only just a good idea for the government, but a good idea for computing as a whole. It makes sense from both the business point of view and a developer's point of view.
It's a good start and people can support it by really trying to only use open standards. You don't need to go to either extreme to make a point (either proprietary or free software extremes); open source and specifically open standards give an excellent compromise between proprietary and free software. It will give an even playing field and promote competition, so that everyone will really have a choice. Or if you don't like it you can always write your own software to meet the open standards.
Actual competition in the software / computer industry? Well with open standards it's much closer to being a posibility.
This story has obviously been overhyped, as it will not mean the end to free (as in free beer) mp3 players (and some encoders, most likely). It will, though, mean the end to mp3 encoders/decoders in GPL'd software, in other words the vast majority of open source software. It will also mean no default mp3 support in your favorite GNU/Linux distro, most likely.
This is unfortunate for the open source community, but it will help to promote newer open standards with no patent or licensing problems to worry about. It will most likely not affect the general public, who will still be able to download winamp for free.
It suprises me that nobody in the open source community noticed this discrepancy before, as it has been listed on the licensing page for quite some time. As the Thomson lawyer said, it has been incompatible with the GPL for some time now. I suppose from now on people will be more careful before building patented proprietary technology into open source software, despite the fact that this type of patent makes no sense and hurts innovation by creating a closed standard.
Check out the GPL for information regarding patents. Here is a quote:
Since the Thomson licensing of mp3s does not allow "free use" for everyone, it is in violation of the GPL and therefore cannot be included in GPL'd software. Unfortunately, this means it cannot be in Red Hat or any other freely distributed GNU/Linux distro licensed under the GPL.