So if it doesn't sell well, you're saying it's not entitled to copyright protection beyond a short period of time?
It shouldn't be. If it doesn't sell well, there's no encouragement for productivity in keeping the copyright. Then why should it be there? It's just in the way of charitable people trying to build public domain web libraries.
If you want to know which side I'm coming from on this question, check this comment.
I really think copyright has been turned up side down. All the arguments are about "content owners" "intellectual property" etc.
Look at it this way for a moment (or the rest of your life):
I have a CD with nice music. I have a CD burner. I have a blank CD. All of it is my property. Why should the law limit my freedom to copy the CD and give or sell it to a friend?
All laws put restrictions on my freedom, but we need to justify these restrictions. The law says I can't hit you over the head and gives me back the security that you probably won't hit me over the head. It gives us as society the benefit that we don't need to wear helmets all the time.
The answer to my opening question "Why can't I copy?" lies in the premise that my friend will purchase the music in a way that economically will encourage the musician to productivity. But only as far as this gives something back to society can we justify the restrictions copyright places on our freedom.
[END OF RANT] (Well, preaching to the choir anyway)
Independent authors can afford it if they sell well. Disney can afford it for stuff if it sells well.
This is really not a matter of whether the corporation is large or small, but whether the material gives a good return on investment for the copyright fees.
Why not have a short copyright term as the standard (say life + 10 years). But if a corporate entity wants to keep that copyright past that point, it would have to pay a substantial fixed fee plus some small royalties to the government (i.e. a tax on profits).
Yeah, and for computer programs (however you define that), a condition for copyright beyond 2 years should be that the source code was kept in a public archive for release when copyright expires. "Life + 10 years" is too long though. 10 years of copyright should be plenty to ensure a steady production, so why go with more?
Companies are happy, museums are happy...
No, companies are not happy with these ideas. A corporation sees only the interest of its shareholders, and that is to keep as long and as finegrained control of their creations as possible. Economics 101. The question really is whether we as society should let them get away with that...
The web page you refer to erroneously defines the singularity as the moment when we become "capable of technologically creating smarter-than-human intelligence." This is a misinformed definition, because it does not describe a (mathematical) singularity, which is a vertical asymptote in some function.
I should have linked more specifically. The idea of the Singularity Institute is exactly that, though it doesn't say clearly enough on the front page. I quote:
The Singularity is beyond huge, but it can begin with something small. If one smarter-than-human intelligence exists, that mind will find it easier to create still smarter minds. [...] That one technological advance is the equivalent of the first self-replicating chemical that gave rise to life on Earth.
You're probably right that physics sets an upper limit. On the other hand, the idea of a self-improving intelligence is immensely cool, even if it has that upper barrier. Singinst.org get -3 for feasibility, but +10 for cool;-)
I don't think you have enough data to draw that conclusion. Tell us how much data you have!
I just replaced my 3 year old Samsung hard drive (SV0644A, 6GB)
It has the odd habit of locking up at random times (Mean Time Between Lockup ~ 30 mins). I haven't lost any data though, besides what would be expected from an unsynched FS.
I have no idea whether Samsung is better or worse than other brands, but in my case it failed.
Then he'd sell a "special edition" copy With a different coloured binder.
Made millions which was a wonderful way to "present the same information and the same product"
Why can't people just learn that people will be... Enthustiac enough do do the same thing with music and videos.
Errhhh, haven't you heard of the Lord of The Rings DVD's? (Not to mention the way they changed the trailer for "Two Towers" near the end of the cinema life of the "Fellowship of The Ring")
My computer came with Red Hat. Where can I send the software for a refund?
AFAIK there is no EULA delivered along with Red Hat that says you are entitled to a refund if you do not accept the terms.
Most of the distribution is GPL'd but that grants you additional rights on top of those given by normal copyright law, so you don't have to accept it to use the system.
In short, forget it. You can't even use this to make the rhetorical point you were aiming at.
Actually the project is happening in Bremen, former Western Germany, which in 1940 was part of "das Reich" - and solidly unified with what would later become Eastern Germany, Austria, Poland and Soviet Russia. (Where history learns YOU!)
Use the Preview Button! Or whatever. I meant to say, that it "would later become Eastern Germany, Austria and part of Poland and Soviet Russia.
>> - Who would prevent Digital Rights Management (DRM) from becoming the black plague of Decentralized News Services (DNS)?
Who prevents it from becoming the bane of/.? The EFF and ACLU might even want to have a say in this matter...
>> This is America. It's not East Germany circa 1940.
I'm not American, you insensitive clod. Actually the project is happening in Bremen, former Western Germany, which in 1940 was part of "das Reich" - and solidly unified with what would later become Eastern Germany, Austria, Poland and Soviet Russia. (Where history learns YOU!)
Even if it turned out that we were able to produce what we'd now count as a "human machine," I think that we would then deny that it was human.
What do we say when the "machine" has a child with a "real" human? When the genes of the "machine" has been diluted after 10 generations of interbreeding with "real" humans?
I'm not saying it's likely to happen, or even desirable, the question just had to be asked.
it never occurred to me advertise myself as a geek....I just consider the term "geek" to be derogatory.
I think it's used to identify with the group.
Like "A lot of people look down on us, but we both know we're ok, so we call each other geeks to confirm that"
Oddly enough, this means that if you call a group of people by a derogatory name for some time, they will respond by making the name a mark of honour within the circle.
Something similar may be behind blacks that say "wassup my nigger". (Does anyone actually do this outside Hollywood movies? (I'm European))
As I recall, nuclear power plants have often gone on alert for false positives resulting from radon exposure in the home.
Actually, after the Chernobyl accident some personnel at the nuclear power plant Forsmark in Sweden was evacuated because of the rising radiation levels.
When the radiation levels were found to be increasing elsewhere it was concluded that the radiation was not from Forsmark.
In Copenhagen, students were recently allowed to purchase Two kilograms of weapons-grade uranium!
The students were part of a group that do experimental shows demonstrating funny/scary/fascinating physics. Apparently the guy who signed the list of wanted equipment didn't notice the uranium between the more boring stuff such as lasers etc.
Now we just need a seller. Any offers? (Yeah, I know, i should just mail press@uruklink.net and offer to keep it while there's inspectors around)
A "dirty bomb" could be made out of alpha-active material. Alpha-radiation (He nuclei) will be stopped by a few pieces of paper. If the material is in a suitcase there is no radiation outside.
When the material is spread by an explosion, a fire or some other way, people will inhale it and it will stick in their lungs, giving them a huge dose of radiation.
1) If your Internet service provider does not yet support OpenDNS, use the nearest of these nameservers. (Enter the IP address whereever your system has a field called "Name server" "DNS server" "Primary DNS" or somesuch.)
`(1) HARMFUL TO MINORS- The term `harmful to minors' means, with respect to material, that--
`(A) the average person, applying contemporary community standards, would find, taking the material as a whole and with respect to minors, that it is designed to appeal to, or is designed to pander to, the prurient interest;
`(B) the material depicts, describes, or represents, in a manner patently offensive with respect to minors, an actual or simulated sexual act or sexual contact, an actual or simulated normal or perverted sexual act, or a lewd exhibition of the genitals or post-pubescent female breast; and
`(C) taken as a whole, the material lacks serious, literary, artistic, political, or scientific value for minors.
`(2) MINOR- The term `minor' means any person under 13 years of age.
DEFINITIONS- For purposes of this section, the following definitions shall apply:
`(1) HARMFUL TO MINORS- The term `harmful to minors' means, with respect to material, that--
`(A) the average person, applying contemporary community standards, would find, taking the material as a whole and with respect to minors, that it is designed to appeal to, or is designed to pander to, the prurient interest;
`(B) the material depicts, describes, or represents, in a manner patently offensive with respect to minors, an actual or simulated sexual act or sexual contact, an actual or simulated normal or perverted sexual act, or a lewd exhibition of the genitals or post-pubescent female breast; and
`(C) taken as a whole, the material lacks serious, literary, artistic, political, or scientific value for minors.
`(2) MINOR- The term `minor' means any person under 13 years of age.
I hope the USA gets into loads of trouble because of bad laws about (electronic) intellectual property. That's the only way the politicians here in Europa will have their eyes opened before we have similar laws.
you are either getting laid or you are not, with an equal probability.
You can't just assume that the two states have equal probability. If you are in thermal equilibrium the probability will be given by the Boltzmann distribution meaning that the probability of "getting laid" falls of exponentially with the energy of the state "getting laid".
Since people getting laid are generally described as "hot" we can conclude that the chance is pretty slim unless you do something to raise the energy of the state "not getting laid" accordingly. (Please reply with suggestions)
On the other hand, if you really are in thermal equilibrium you are dead and the result may not matter much to you.
She probably means that advancing physics requires a willingness to break the rules, think differently, color outside the lines... etc. The the degree to which physics posesses that quality pales in comparison to the classical definition of art.
On the contrary, you have to be even better at "thinking differently" because your new ideas need to be both creative and in line with experiment. It is a form of art that allows creations rivalling the beauty of Michelangelos "David" (Maxwells equations etc.) but the constraints are so much stricter than those of marble.
Slashdot Mirror
So if it doesn't sell well, you're saying it's not entitled to copyright protection beyond a short period of time?
It shouldn't be. If it doesn't sell well, there's no encouragement for productivity in keeping the copyright. Then why should it be there? It's just in the way of charitable people trying to build public domain web libraries.
If you want to know which side I'm coming from on this question, check this comment.
I really think copyright has been turned up side down. All the arguments are about "content owners" "intellectual property" etc.
Look at it this way for a moment (or the rest of your life):
I have a CD with nice music. I have a CD burner. I have a blank CD. All of it is my property. Why should the law limit my freedom to copy the CD and give or sell it to a friend?
All laws put restrictions on my freedom, but we need to justify these restrictions. The law says I can't hit you over the head and gives me back the security that you probably won't hit me over the head. It gives us as society the benefit that we don't need to wear helmets all the time.
The answer to my opening question "Why can't I copy?" lies in the premise that my friend will purchase the music in a way that economically will encourage the musician to productivity. But only as far as this gives something back to society can we justify the restrictions copyright places on our freedom.
[END OF RANT] (Well, preaching to the choir anyway)
Independent authors can afford it if they sell well.
Disney can afford it for stuff if it sells well.
This is really not a matter of whether the corporation is large or small, but whether the material gives a good return on investment for the copyright fees.
Why not have a short copyright term as the standard (say life + 10 years). But if a corporate entity wants to keep that copyright past that point, it would have to pay a substantial fixed fee plus some small royalties to the government (i.e. a tax on profits).
Yeah, and for computer programs (however you define that), a condition for copyright beyond 2 years should be that the source code was kept in a public archive for release when copyright expires. "Life + 10 years" is too long though. 10 years of copyright should be plenty to ensure a steady production, so why go with more?
Companies are happy, museums are happy...
No, companies are not happy with these ideas. A corporation sees only the interest of its shareholders, and that is to keep as long and as finegrained control of their creations as possible. Economics 101. The question really is whether we as society should let them get away with that...
Shared Source Licensing Programs: Availability by Country
Interesting bits from the shared source philosophy:
The commercial software model is built on five key elements:
- Community. A strong support community of developers.
- Standards. Promote collaboration and interoperability while supporting innovation and healthy competition.
- Business model: Promote the growth of a profitable business.
- Investment. Level of research and development investment drives resources for future innovation.
- Licensing model. Provide product and source access without jeopardizing the intellectual property rights of those who create or use the software.
[...] The source licensing programs and licenses are tailored to the diverse needs of Microsoft's customer and partner communities.The web page you refer to erroneously defines the singularity as the moment when we become "capable of technologically creating smarter-than-human intelligence." This is a misinformed definition, because it does not describe a (mathematical) singularity, which is a vertical asymptote in some function.
;-)
I should have linked more specifically. The idea of the Singularity Institute is exactly that, though it doesn't say clearly enough on the front page. I quote:
The Singularity is beyond huge, but it can begin with something small. If one smarter-than-human intelligence exists, that mind will find it easier to create still smarter minds. [...] That one technological advance is the equivalent of the first self-replicating chemical that gave rise to life on Earth.
You're probably right that physics sets an upper limit. On the other hand, the idea of a self-improving intelligence is immensely cool, even if it has that upper barrier. Singinst.org get -3 for feasibility, but +10 for cool
I don't think you have enough data to draw that conclusion. Tell us how much data you have!
I just replaced my 3 year old Samsung hard drive (SV0644A, 6GB)
It has the odd habit of locking up at random times (Mean Time Between Lockup ~ 30 mins). I haven't lost any data though, besides what would be expected from an unsynched FS.
I have no idea whether Samsung is better or worse than other brands, but in my case it failed.
Then he'd sell a "special edition" copy With a different coloured binder.
Made millions which was a wonderful way to "present the same information and the same product"
Why can't people just learn that people will be... Enthustiac enough do do the same thing with music and videos.
Errhhh, haven't you heard of the Lord of The Rings DVD's? (Not to mention the way they changed the trailer for "Two Towers" near the end of the cinema life of the "Fellowship of The Ring")
My computer came with Red Hat. Where can I send the software for a refund?
AFAIK there is no EULA delivered along with Red Hat that says you are entitled to a refund if you do not accept the terms.
Most of the distribution is GPL'd but that grants you additional rights on top of those given by normal copyright law, so you don't have to accept it to use the system.
In short, forget it. You can't even use this to make the rhetorical point you were aiming at.
Actually the project is happening in Bremen, former Western Germany, which in 1940 was part of "das Reich" - and solidly unified with what would later become Eastern Germany, Austria, Poland and Soviet Russia. (Where history learns YOU!)
Use the Preview Button! Or whatever. I meant to say, that it "would later become Eastern Germany, Austria and part of Poland and Soviet Russia.
>> - Who will pay the on-air personalities?
>> - Who will pay the reporters?
Who pays for the kuro5hin articles?
Who paid you for your 588
>> - Who would write code updates for free?
Who wrote Scoop?
>> - Who would prevent Digital Rights Management (DRM) from becoming the black plague of Decentralized News Services (DNS)?
Who prevents it from becoming the bane of
>> This is America. It's not East Germany circa 1940.
I'm not American, you insensitive clod. Actually the project is happening in Bremen, former Western Germany, which in 1940 was part of "das Reich" - and solidly unified with what would later become Eastern Germany, Austria, Poland and Soviet Russia. (Where history learns YOU!)
Even if it turned out that we were able to produce what we'd now count as a "human machine," I think that we would then deny that it was human.
What do we say when the "machine" has a child with a "real" human? When the genes of the "machine" has been diluted after 10 generations of interbreeding with "real" humans?
I'm not saying it's likely to happen, or even desirable, the question just had to be asked.
While we're at AI surpassing humans, you should also have a look at the idea of the singularity.
Nice clip.
s le.mpg
http://www.fys.ku.dk/~nvj/malda/kathleendowntheai
Bandwidth sponsored by danish research funding...
They even had a (norwegian) article titled "Hero or hacker?"
They oughta do some reading
it never occurred to me advertise myself as a geek....I just consider the term "geek" to be derogatory.
I think it's used to identify with the group. Like "A lot of people look down on us, but we both know we're ok, so we call each other geeks to confirm that"
Oddly enough, this means that if you call a group of people by a derogatory name for some time, they will respond by making the name a mark of honour within the circle.
Something similar may be behind blacks that say "wassup my nigger". (Does anyone actually do this outside Hollywood movies? (I'm European))
DISCLAIMER: I'm a self-declared geek.
As I recall, nuclear power plants have often gone on alert for false positives resulting from radon exposure in the home.
Actually, after the Chernobyl accident some personnel at the nuclear power plant Forsmark in Sweden was evacuated because of the rising radiation levels. When the radiation levels were found to be increasing elsewhere it was concluded that the radiation was not from Forsmark.
In Copenhagen, students were recently allowed to purchase Two kilograms of weapons-grade uranium!
The students were part of a group that do experimental shows demonstrating funny/scary/fascinating physics. Apparently the guy who signed the list of wanted equipment didn't notice the uranium between the more boring stuff such as lasers etc.
Now we just need a seller. Any offers? (Yeah, I know, i should just mail press@uruklink.net and offer to keep it while there's inspectors around)
A "dirty bomb" could be made out of alpha-active material. Alpha-radiation (He nuclei) will be stopped by a few pieces of paper. If the material is in a suitcase there is no radiation outside.
When the material is spread by an explosion, a fire or some other way, people will inhale it and it will stick in their lungs, giving them a huge dose of radiation.
2) You're done! Click here to test!
`(1) HARMFUL TO MINORS- The term `harmful to minors' means, with respect to material, that--
`(2) MINOR- The term `minor' means any person under 13 years of age.
Interesting quote
DEFINITIONS- For purposes of this section, the following definitions shall apply:
I hope the USA gets into loads of trouble because of bad laws about (electronic) intellectual property. That's the only way the politicians here in Europa will have their eyes opened before we have similar laws.
(Nearly) too late for DMCA sec. 1201
Still time for Software Patents
Do your part! Join the European fight! Find your local partner.
Sklyarov v. Skylarov
69800 - 3250
Sklyarov wins!
Besides, you should note the difference between thisand this
you are either getting laid or you are not, with an equal probability.
You can't just assume that the two states have equal probability. If you are in thermal equilibrium the probability will be given by the Boltzmann distribution meaning that the probability of "getting laid" falls of exponentially with the energy of the state "getting laid".
Since people getting laid are generally described as "hot" we can conclude that the chance is pretty slim unless you do something to raise the energy of the state "not getting laid" accordingly. (Please reply with suggestions)
On the other hand, if you really are in thermal equilibrium you are dead and the result may not matter much to you.
She probably means that advancing physics requires a willingness to break the rules, think differently, color outside the lines... etc. The the degree to which physics posesses that quality pales in comparison to the classical definition of art.
On the contrary, you have to be even better at "thinking differently" because your new ideas need to be both creative and in line with experiment. It is a form of art that allows creations rivalling the beauty of Michelangelos "David" (Maxwells equations etc.) but the constraints are so much stricter than those of marble.