Remember those "required patches"? When I installed them, there was a EULA. This one said, "You are not allowed to publish the results of benchmark testing of the.NET Framework." What the f*** does that have to do with installing a required security patch?
For what it's worth, Network Associates lost a lawsuit over this very issue (benchmark banning). Companies will write whatever they want into EULAs but that doesn't make them enforcable... the sad thing is that a lawsuit typically has to be involved.
This is somewhat right and wrong... Microsoft defines "featured sites," which appear above "sponsored sites," thusly (below)... it's safe to assume that the 2 Microsoft links are not paid advertising but were chosen by "MSN search editors" and believed to be "likely to be particularly relevant"... at least in MS's world. Of course I don't really blame them for doing this. It's their search page, and the company has never claimed to be objective...
From the MS "About Featured Sites" link...
About Featured Sites results Featured Sites are links that MSN Search editors believe are likely to be particularly relevant and useful. These sites are chosen from ones published by MSN affiliates, partners, sponsors, and advertisers, as well as other sites proven to be especially popular among our users. Featured Sites that best match your search words are drawn from:
The top sites for news in entertainment, sports, business, and politics.
The most popular musical artist sites for biographies and song samples.
MSN Encarta for encyclopedia information.
MSN content.
MSN content partners.
MSN advertising partners. (Microsoft accepts payment for listings from these.)
Here's Iogear's mouse with a trackball in the top of it. I checked it out about a year ago. It's not a bad product but the ball is so small it's difficult to maneuver precisely with it (not that there's much call for that, but anyway)...
Here's a short piece about the founding of this company... written over 2 years ago. I'll be surprised if this company ever gets out of the "preparing to launch" phase...
BTW I spoke to the company today and this in-dash car PC is no longer available due to technical problems. A related product or a version manufactured by a partner company may be coming down the line...
Why hasn't any Linux company -- or Torvalds himself -- sued SCO for a) tortious interference with a contractual relationship, b) trademark infringement, or c) fraud? If I tried to sue J.K. Rowling for stealing a sentence from me and started sending letters to buyers in an attempt to claim royalties for the all Harry Potter books sold, you could be sure she'd countersue my ass into oblivion.
This strikes me as an extremely clever and sneaky way for the record labels to slough off some of the public heat against them for filing these lawsuits. Blame the RIAA for suing, not Universal! But really the RIAA are just shills for the labels... still I wonder how the contractual arrangements work between the organization and the labels themselves... can, say, Warner Bros. also sue file sharers along with the RIAA? What happens to money the RIAA wins? Do they give it back to WB?
I've gotta stop thinking about this. It's giving me a headache.
In all of the cases brought by the RIAA, has anyone ever challenged the RIAA's right to sue or questioned their cause of action? After all, the RIAA is a third party that does not actually own any copyrights (to my knowledge) -- so what exactly is their claim for damages based on? Wouldn't the actual copyright holder need to file suit? Maybe someone more familiar with the inner workings of the organization could clue us in. Since the RIAA has won a number of cases, I presume they do have a leg to stand on somewhere...
Anyway, I recalled this thread about the BSA and how it has been repeatedly ignored, often without consequence. Of course, the BSA doesn't usually SUE... it "AUDITS". But fundamentally, what is the difference between the 2 groups???
In fairness to Hollywood (which I am loath to provide), this is sometimes a distribution problem. T3 is being distributed by no fewer than 8 different companies, each with a slice of the world where they can play. The rights issues are so convoluted that it's a surprise movies like this ever hit screens at all.
Contrast that with Matrix 2, which was distributed by Warner Bros. in almost every country and which hit within a week of the US release in nearly all of them.
Just something to think about. I don't think there's a conspiracy to screw you just because you're (presumably) in Europe.
What are the odds that, 50 years from the time the bricks are installed, the technology will still be around to access the data from the brick? The information will probably be most useful once the building really starts to decay -- if this technology had been around 50 years in the past, we'd all still need room-sized mainframes in order to access the data our buildings are providing us -- or, failing that, we'd need to rip out all the smart bricks and upgrade them with new ones. Either way, $$$... The wireless technology alone will be obsolete within 3-5 years, I'm sure.
Hear hear! The ents were about as realistic and impressive as the Hamburgler. They are embarassing in their Muppet-ness, not to mention the pathetic green-screening when the Hobbits are riding atop them... looked straight out of 1980.
I assumed as much, but how quickly does wind resistance typically slow something down? It would have been a mere fraction of a second between the time it broke off and it hit. Can wind resistance (and gravity) stop a two-pound piece of foam essentially instantaneously?
This is not a troll. I am genuinely curious and haven't seen an explanation in the stories:
How did the combined velocity of foam + shuttle hit 531 MPH? As I understand it, the foam broke off of the fuel tank and then hit the wing. The fuel tank, foam, and wing, were already travelling at 500MPH+, then the foam broke off. Certainly it would maintain some of that velocity, right? It wouldn't immediately stop in the air and allow the shuttle to hit it at full speed? My thought is that the actual speed must have been far slower -- otherwise no shuttle would have ever made it back to earth.
The "PIN" idea is creeping into the credit card arena -- most Internet and phone purchases now require you to give the "last three digits" from the back of the card. Not quite the same as a secret PIN, but getting there.
That said, how exactly is it more convenient to wave a card over a scanner than swipe it through a reader? I guess you wouldn't have to take it out of your wallet... but what if you had more than one card? How would it know which one to use? The point of this is escaping me. I would bet the same opinion will be had by Visa, MC, and Amex...
California is deep in deficit now and it looks like taxes are going up. Instead: Why not just pass this law and let the state government set up a bunch of spammer honeypots, then start suing them to fill the gov't coffers? Budget crisis solved!
For the record I also propose deputizing motorcycle riders and bicyclists to hand out $500 tickets per double-parked vehicle in San Francisco.
You are not allowed to modify or copy the Software, except that You may make one copy solely for backup or archival purposes. It is specifically prohibited to decompile, disassemble, or reverse engineer the Software.
Instead of putting together 7-page PDFs, FutureMark should simply sue NVidia for a DMCA violation, etc. etc.
Slashdot Mirror
Not a bad movie at all -- should definitely have gotten a bigger release.
filmcritic.com review here
Remember those "required patches"? When I installed them, there was a EULA. This one said, "You are not allowed to publish the results of benchmark testing of the .NET Framework." What the f*** does that have to do with installing a required security patch?
For what it's worth, Network Associates lost a lawsuit over this very issue (benchmark banning). Companies will write whatever they want into EULAs but that doesn't make them enforcable... the sad thing is that a lawsuit typically has to be involved.
It would have looked SO much better if they had an actor move around and grunt like a dinosaur, then put CGI over him.
This is somewhat right and wrong... Microsoft defines "featured sites," which appear above "sponsored sites," thusly (below)... it's safe to assume that the 2 Microsoft links are not paid advertising but were chosen by "MSN search editors" and believed to be "likely to be particularly relevant"... at least in MS's world. Of course I don't really blame them for doing this. It's their search page, and the company has never claimed to be objective...
From the MS "About Featured Sites" link...
About Featured Sites results
Featured Sites are links that MSN Search editors believe are likely to be particularly relevant and useful. These sites are chosen from ones published by MSN affiliates, partners, sponsors, and advertisers, as well as other sites proven to be especially popular among our users. Featured Sites that best match your search words are drawn from:
The top sites for news in entertainment, sports, business, and politics.
The most popular musical artist sites for biographies and song samples.
MSN Encarta for encyclopedia information.
MSN content.
MSN content partners.
MSN advertising partners. (Microsoft accepts payment for listings from these.)
No anti-counterfeiting technology? (Security strips in money, inks that change color when you change the angle, microprinting)
Surely there has been SOMETHING of interest to come from the financial/tech world to be invented in the last 20 years.
Here's Iogear's mouse with a trackball in the top of it. I checked it out about a year ago. It's not a bad product but the ball is so small it's difficult to maneuver precisely with it (not that there's much call for that, but anyway)...
Here's a short piece about the founding of this company... written over 2 years ago. I'll be surprised if this company ever gets out of the "preparing to launch" phase...
BTW I spoke to the company today and this in-dash car PC is no longer available due to technical problems. A related product or a version manufactured by a partner company may be coming down the line...
Why hasn't any Linux company -- or Torvalds himself -- sued SCO for a) tortious interference with a contractual relationship, b) trademark infringement, or c) fraud? If I tried to sue J.K. Rowling for stealing a sentence from me and started sending letters to buyers in an attempt to claim royalties for the all Harry Potter books sold, you could be sure she'd countersue my ass into oblivion.
So what's up, Linus?
This strikes me as an extremely clever and sneaky way for the record labels to slough off some of the public heat against them for filing these lawsuits. Blame the RIAA for suing, not Universal! But really the RIAA are just shills for the labels... still I wonder how the contractual arrangements work between the organization and the labels themselves... can, say, Warner Bros. also sue file sharers along with the RIAA? What happens to money the RIAA wins? Do they give it back to WB?
I've gotta stop thinking about this. It's giving me a headache.
Yeah, but what does "represent" mean here? The RIAA are not attorneys. What legal right does the RIAA have to sue on the recording studios' behalfs?
In all of the cases brought by the RIAA, has anyone ever challenged the RIAA's right to sue or questioned their cause of action? After all, the RIAA is a third party that does not actually own any copyrights (to my knowledge) -- so what exactly is their claim for damages based on? Wouldn't the actual copyright holder need to file suit? Maybe someone more familiar with the inner workings of the organization could clue us in. Since the RIAA has won a number of cases, I presume they do have a leg to stand on somewhere...
Anyway, I recalled this thread about the BSA and how it has been repeatedly ignored, often without consequence. Of course, the BSA doesn't usually SUE... it "AUDITS". But fundamentally, what is the difference between the 2 groups???
In fairness to Hollywood (which I am loath to provide), this is sometimes a distribution problem. T3 is being distributed by no fewer than 8 different companies, each with a slice of the world where they can play. The rights issues are so convoluted that it's a surprise movies like this ever hit screens at all.
Contrast that with Matrix 2, which was distributed by Warner Bros. in almost every country and which hit within a week of the US release in nearly all of them.
Just something to think about. I don't think there's a conspiracy to screw you just because you're (presumably) in Europe.
Or is there...
You'll have a hard time convincing me anyone is going to profit from The League of Extraordinary Gentleman (the movie, that is).
I always said I was going to teach a bunch of Chinese people to play Ultima Online, pay them $10/day, and sell items on ebay.
Too late, only they did it in Tijuana: http://www.juliandibbell.com/texts/blacksnow.html
SCO is claiming that everyone, everywhere has to destroy their copies of AIX.
Does this mean everyone who bought AIX can get their money back, then?
What are the odds that, 50 years from the time the bricks are installed, the technology will still be around to access the data from the brick? The information will probably be most useful once the building really starts to decay -- if this technology had been around 50 years in the past, we'd all still need room-sized mainframes in order to access the data our buildings are providing us -- or, failing that, we'd need to rip out all the smart bricks and upgrade them with new ones. Either way, $$$... The wireless technology alone will be obsolete within 3-5 years, I'm sure.
Just a thought...
Nobody would seriously suggest that the Matrix is some sort of basis for new world order.
Ha! You should see some of the e-mail I've gotten in response to my review of the movie. For the record, it's here.
Hear hear! The ents were about as realistic and impressive as the Hamburgler. They are embarassing in their Muppet-ness, not to mention the pathetic green-screening when the Hobbits are riding atop them... looked straight out of 1980.
I assumed as much, but how quickly does wind resistance typically slow something down? It would have been a mere fraction of a second between the time it broke off and it hit. Can wind resistance (and gravity) stop a two-pound piece of foam essentially instantaneously?
This is not a troll. I am genuinely curious and haven't seen an explanation in the stories:
How did the combined velocity of foam + shuttle hit 531 MPH? As I understand it, the foam broke off of the fuel tank and then hit the wing. The fuel tank, foam, and wing, were already travelling at 500MPH+, then the foam broke off. Certainly it would maintain some of that velocity, right? It wouldn't immediately stop in the air and allow the shuttle to hit it at full speed? My thought is that the actual speed must have been far slower -- otherwise no shuttle would have ever made it back to earth.
Please correct me if I'm mistaken.
The "PIN" idea is creeping into the credit card arena -- most Internet and phone purchases now require you to give the "last three digits" from the back of the card. Not quite the same as a secret PIN, but getting there.
That said, how exactly is it more convenient to wave a card over a scanner than swipe it through a reader? I guess you wouldn't have to take it out of your wallet... but what if you had more than one card? How would it know which one to use? The point of this is escaping me. I would bet the same opinion will be had by Visa, MC, and Amex...
California is deep in deficit now and it looks like taxes are going up. Instead: Why not just pass this law and let the state government set up a bunch of spammer honeypots, then start suing them to fill the gov't coffers? Budget crisis solved!
For the record I also propose deputizing motorcycle riders and bicyclists to hand out $500 tickets per double-parked vehicle in San Francisco.
4. Restrictions
You are not allowed to modify or copy the Software, except that You may make one copy solely for backup or archival purposes. It is specifically prohibited to decompile, disassemble, or reverse engineer the Software.
Instead of putting together 7-page PDFs, FutureMark should simply sue NVidia for a DMCA violation, etc. etc.
Better solution: Abolish all taxes!