I first followed the link to the Total Information Awareness page and while reading it I thought "wow, this is an incredible good parody page".
Then reading the article at wired I realized that some people really had written that TIA page seriously and that such an organizetion actually exists.
I am just amazed and somewhat sad that it is possible to be so naive and stupid and believe in such a "total information awarenes" concept.
Consider the following: I know I am going bankrupt, but I want to save my Ferrari. I agree to sell it to you for a dollar. You agree not to sell it to anyone else for a year and to sell it back to me in one year for 100 dollars. In return you get the use of the Ferrari. We sign the contract, title passes to you and I declare bankruptcy. A year later I have discharged my debts, I'm free and clear and I enforce my contractual right to buy back my Ferrari for $100.
A very good example, but you fail to mention the main point here: this case would be between you and the court only. Whatever company that have manefactured the car is completely irrelevant, and that company is not a part in the case.
This is stupid. It is like accusing someone for burglary if they look in through the windows.
If someone does not want people to look into their house/website it is their own responsibility to take actions to prevent people from doing it, by closing the curtains/by using.htaccess etc.
Give me one good scenario in which a version control system would be the appropriate place to archive binaries.
The compiler used to compile the code.
If you really care about maintaining code released for a product for the only sensible way to handle the compiler and other tools used is to place them under version control as well as the source.
The only way to get rid of ridiculous patents is to require a minimum of (documented) effort spendt on inventing (in my opinion minimum 12 months of work).
Rationale: If something is so easy to invent that it only takes a week there is absolutely no reason to grant an exclusive worldwide monopoly for that.
Bonus benefit: a single inventor will have little problem documenting all his/her spendings and effort while big multinational companies will probably have some degree of undocumented effort.
Slashdot Mirror
I first followed the link to the Total Information Awareness page and while reading it I thought "wow, this is an incredible good parody page". Then reading the article at wired I realized that some people really had written that TIA page seriously and that such an organizetion actually exists. I am just amazed and somewhat sad that it is possible to be so naive and stupid and believe in such a "total information awarenes" concept.
A very good example, but you fail to mention the main point here: this case would be between you and the court only. Whatever company that have manefactured the car is completely irrelevant, and that company is not a part in the case.
If someone does not want people to look into their house/website it is their own responsibility to take actions to prevent people from doing it, by closing the curtains/by using .htaccess etc.
Give me one good scenario in which a version control system would be the appropriate place to archive binaries.
The compiler used to compile the code.
If you really care about maintaining code released for a product for the only sensible way to handle the compiler and other tools used is to place them under version control as well as the source.
The only way to get rid of ridiculous patents is to require a minimum of (documented) effort spendt on inventing (in my opinion minimum 12 months of work).
Rationale: If something is so easy to invent that it only takes a week there is absolutely no reason to grant an exclusive worldwide monopoly for that.
Bonus benefit: a single inventor will have little problem documenting all his/her spendings and effort while big multinational companies will probably have some degree of undocumented effort.