Books are also not crippled by DRM either. They don't ask you for a license before letting you turn the page. Yup, I'm sticking with books.
Really, about the only advantage that electronic books have over the real thing is the ability to search (but real books have an index), and the fact that they occupy no additional physical space/weight above that of the reader. If Sony wants us to buy one, they need to offer some real advantage. If anything, DRM-crippled products are a definate disadvantage.
Interesting. How well has that worked out for the RIAA/MPAA?
Well, I would like to point out that the following facts:
I bet that there are a LOT more file traders out there than open-source developers
File traders are taking. Developers are giving.
Anybody can be download a P2P program in about 10 minutes. It takes a lot of talent and work to be a FOSS developer
This is sort of like saying that rhinos and pandas can't become extinct because we have been trying to eradicate rats for centuries, and they are doing well.
The laws of 13 states expressly prohibit the unauthorized installation or use of cameras in private places.
I added some bolding of my own. Now, as the person who OWNS the property, he should be able to give himself authorization. Otherwise, using a camcorder to record a kid's birthday party is then a felony.
I'm all for Microsoft on this one, they're just reacting to the widespread theft their product.
So, if a retail store decided to fight theft by strip-searching all customers, I guarantee that theft would go away -- along with all of the customers.
Well, OK. Maybe some people would shop there more, depending on who was doing the searching. But that is another subject entirely.
I disagree, most users are not very bright and as such when their PC stops working they'll do just about anything to make it work... whether it be plunk down 100-300 bucks for a copy of windows or even 300-500 for a new Windows based PC.
Perhaps if they did not buy the OS to begin with, your point has some value.
What about the guy who DID buy his copy of Windows, or got it bundled with his machine. If his copy got turned off by mistake, he will be QUITE unhappy to pay again for something that he already owns. In some circles this is called "extortion" if done intentionally. This will breed a LOT of ill will.
The other thing that totally honked me off is that WPA was supposed to reduce piracy. If it actually worked, Microsoft would lose less to piracy. Shouldn't the consumers get reduced prices to compensate for the inconvenience? After all, Microsoft is now making more money, right? Somehow, I bet that Microsoft will not lower the Vista prices even after WGA turns on fully.
Personally, I am grabbing some popcorn and am going to enjoy watching the meltdown of Microsoft if this thing happens. If I were suddenly forced to give up Windows, the only thing that I would miss besides games is my accounting package (and no, Gnucash can't replace that until it learns how to handle inventory tracking).
As to the "easier to obtain" part, no. They simply want to stop useless inconvenient measures that do not do much. I already own a couple of firearms, but if I want to get a new.22 pistol just to poke holes in paper, I have to wait three days. It does not matter that if my goal was to actually hurt somebody, I already have much better tools than a.22.
As to the support of republicans: you don't see Bush signing more gun control measures. Clinton signed the useless "assault weapon" ban whose goal was to ban anything which looked scary, facts be damned. After that bill passed, if you died at the front of a rifle, it was brown and not black.
Republicans generally support the 2nd amendment, and Democrats are constantly trying to weaken it. I realize that there are individual exceptions, but this is true in most cases. So of course the NRA tends to support republicans. I certainly wish that the NRA would support some democrats, but first some democrats have to come out and say that private gun ownership is a good idea -- but that goes against the party line.
I have several reasons to be resentful of President Bush, but his stance on the 2nd amendment is not one of them.
You have plenty of options. Some take keys. Some require rotating a knob. Some have mechanical buttons. Some have electronic buttons. How many more do you need?
The more parts that go into a system, the more likely that it is to fail. I want my firearms simple and reliable.
To get a carrying permit, you will have, among other things, to prove you have a real need for it.
That is a problem. Prove to me that you have a real need for free speech. Prove to me that you have a right to privacy. Prove to me that you have a real need for any basic right. If you have to prove that you need them, then it may already be too late.
I'm not against owning guns. I'm againt irresponsible gun ownership, which you have in most (all?) of the states in USA. So the first thing that comes to your mind about having a gun is "right" ? To me, the first thing is "responsibility".
On this, we agree completely. Unfortunately, you can't outlaw stupidity. The best bet in this area is education. But the only group in America that does this type of education is the NRA, and they get attacked for it.
Oh, and they are fools to throw the Netflix guy out there. He owns a distribution model, and with HD-DVD and Blu-Ray, I don't think the DVD as a distro method is nearly as dead as they think.
Ain't that the truth. The DVD is the one universal video format. Anybody who owns a TV can get into DVDs for about $30.
Video on demand is another thing, though. There will NEVER be a big market leader on that just because the whole thing is fragmented. Sattelite services will offer their own movie services, the various cable companies will offer theirs, and downloading on the internet will not service everybody because it will likely not run on all operating systems.
Netflix will certainly face some stiff competition, but I do not see them going away any time soon.
As for me, I do not have cable or sattelite service. I will NOT sign up for any internet movie download service that will not work with Linux. My family is on the six-DVD-at-a-time plan from Netflix, and we have no plans to change any time soon.
IANAL, but the contract IS binding, and both parties have to live up to it
The catch is that when somebody changes it, you have to be notified. You can generally choose to reject the changes, but that will mean canceling whatever contract that you have with them.
Now for one interesting question...
Let's say that one of the cell phone companies decides to change the privacly policy. If you choose to reject the changes to the privacy policy, will the carrier let you keep the old one, or will the just drop you? And if they drop you, will you have to pay the cancellation charges (assuming that you just got a shiny new phone)?
Anytime anybody calls me using AT&T, my phone number appears in those records. And since I am not an AT&T customer, I have not agreed to their privacy policy. Is there any legal remedy for this?
This is not my field, but I would imagine that it would be because business are averse to risk. Fans are known and reliable. Watercooling is new and unknown in a 19" rack. What if YOU were the first one to suggest installing it, and it leaked? Bye bye job.
If an enthusiast's system leaks, he misses the next LAN party. If it happend on the top computer on a rack, that system goes down. The water then trickes down to the next lower computer and destroys it. Maybe the water will go down to the next computer under that.
I do admit that some clever engineering to put drain pans leading to drain hoses can connect to a bucket on the floor. But, somehow, I can't imagine too many business buying that.
Not really. The fan blade on front looks pretty much like one from a standard computer fan. It has seven shallow blades, just like every other fan in my computer case. The article led me to believe that this was just more than a standard fan blade in a new housing. More likely, it is going to be a completely different shape. The picture in the article even shown a rounded or pointed hub, as compared to the picture that you linked to, which just has a flat spot to hold a sticker.
Unfortunately, not everybody can do this. My family and I share this crazy additction to this "food" stuff. We are also partial to "housing." Getting all three models with a couple of games for each would put you out close to $2000.
You are hired to perform X function for a startup.
Let me just expand on this. The original post has the same argument as communism (as I understand it). The people who invest the money get rich on your work (you said that they were investors). It is like gambling. What do you have to loose in your job? The answer is just your job. If the startup folds, you just go on your merry way and find new employment. It is a pain, I admit, but that is all that you have to loose.
Now, look at the guy who owns the company, who might have looted his retirement fund and his children's college fund and mortgaged his house to pay for the startup. If the company folds, he is likely in the poorhouse and living in a single-wide. He risks more, so he should gain more.
If you really wanted more of the gain, you should have kicked in $50,000 of your own investment capital. Then, you would be more justified in complaining about the money.
That is it? A big mega-corporation owned by the world's richest man and that is all they have to show for interoperability? That is called a token effort -- just enough to say that you did something. It is kind of like saying "Thank you for the wonderful evening -- I had a great time" after you rape somebody.
Kind of like that fucking cat I have that, even if I try to pet it, it acts like I'm trying to kick it's ass and it runs away and hides.
But if you have a history of pulling the cat's tail and ears, then it has a reason to run away. Maybe THIS TIME you would be nice to it, but how is the cat supposed to know that?
Just curious, when a game does something similar, do you get all pissy about that too? WPA isn't that big a deal, honestly. What has it prevented you from doing?
First of all, I do not own any games that do this. I specifically avoided purchasing HL2 just because of this very reason. Needing to keep the original CD in the drive is acceptable. Anything beyond that and I take my money elsewhere. Well, my complaint was specifically with WPA as it pertains to Office. I have a legal copy of Office installed on a machine. My wife got a version of Office for small business (see my sig for the business). This is regular office with their small business accounting package. I already have Office registered to my main computer. If I install the other pacakage, then I have wasted two Office licenses on one computer. I am not certain if I could transfer my first Office license to a different machine. I have two Offices (but one with more goodies), so I should be able to run it on two machines. Maybe I could call up Microsoft and beg me to let me install the first copy on the 2nd machine, but I should not have to beg anybody to use software that I legally own. I also get nervouse when I change hardware (video cards, optical drives, etc.). If I have to re-install XP, will I have to beg Microsoft to let me re-install because it looks like a different computer?
Rest assured that if it wasn't for Hollywood, I don't think MS would be trying to do DRM at all. Put the blame where it belongs. MS is reacting to fear that they won't be able to allow users to play DVDs on Windows (a pretty ligit concern, I would have to say).
Rest assured that if DVDs did NOT play under any computer, consumers would be complaining to the studios. Microsoft is big enough to have some clout. Instead they have kissed RIAA's and MPAA's collective arses.
Um, excuse me? All of their security updates are free, even if you pirated thier stuff.
Perhaps you have not heard of Windows Live Onecare? Sell a product prone to viruses, and charge people to keep it virus free. It is one thing for a 3rd party to offer this service, but for Microsoft to do this, there is now no incentive to fix security problems with Windows if they can fix it with Onecare. People who don't pay get infected. About the patches, it is obvious that you have not heard of Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA).
That seems to be what they are doing in this case.
There are more cases of them playing ball with other companies right before they pull the rug out from under them. Other posts on this page cover that topic well, including the IBM and OS/2 deal. Don't forget the whole Dr-DOS fiasco. Then there was the Netscape battle where they unfairly connected the browser and operating system. Ever heard of JAVA and the law suit over that? How about "Embrace, Extend, Extinguish?" And how about opening up the APIs so that office application writers are on a level playing field with Microsoft Office?
And what exactly would they do when everyone tries to sue them? I've never worked for a company that didn't have a lawyer on hand.
The point is bad things happen when you let the lawyers have too much control. Microsoft even sued Mike Rowe for registering the domain MikeRoweSoft.com. That is simply going too far.
Doubtful. More than likely you'll find something else to bitch about.
I bitch when I have a legitimate reason to. In this case, I do.
You, sir, are so completely full of crap that your breath stinks.
Wine -- Make Windows software work on Linux Open Office, Cygwin,etc. -- Make Linux software work on Windows.
Samba -- Make Windows servers work with Linux clients Samba -- Make Linux servers work with Windows clients
VNC,X -- Make Windows terminals work with Linux servers VNC, Remote Desktop client -- Make Linux terminals work with Windows servers.
All of these are done by open-source developers. So, tell me, what more would you like open-source people to do? And do you see ANYTHING that Microsoft has done?
It is easy to throw blame around if you ignore the facts.
Slashdot Mirror
Books are also not crippled by DRM either. They don't ask you for a license before letting you turn the page.
Yup, I'm sticking with books.
Really, about the only advantage that electronic books have over the real thing is the ability to search (but real books have an index), and the fact that they occupy no additional physical space/weight above that of the reader. If Sony wants us to buy one, they need to offer some real advantage. If anything, DRM-crippled products are a definate disadvantage.
This is sort of like saying that rhinos and pandas can't become extinct because we have been trying to eradicate rats for centuries, and they are doing well.
Any company who wants him to stop making a competing product.
Price of hiring lawyers to take down developers: Several thousand dollars per developer
Price of eliminating all of your competition: Priceless
Well, OK. Maybe some people would shop there more, depending on who was doing the searching. But that is another subject entirely.
What about the guy who DID buy his copy of Windows, or got it bundled with his machine. If his copy got turned off by mistake, he will be QUITE unhappy to pay again for something that he already owns. In some circles this is called "extortion" if done intentionally. This will breed a LOT of ill will.
The other thing that totally honked me off is that WPA was supposed to reduce piracy. If it actually worked, Microsoft would lose less to piracy. Shouldn't the consumers get reduced prices to compensate for the inconvenience? After all, Microsoft is now making more money, right? Somehow, I bet that Microsoft will not lower the Vista prices even after WGA turns on fully.
Personally, I am grabbing some popcorn and am going to enjoy watching the meltdown of Microsoft if this thing happens. If I were suddenly forced to give up Windows, the only thing that I would miss besides games is my accounting package (and no, Gnucash can't replace that until it learns how to handle inventory tracking).
As to the "easier to obtain" part, no. They simply want to stop useless inconvenient measures that do not do much. I already own a couple of firearms, but if I want to get a new .22 pistol just to poke holes in paper, I have to wait three days. It does not matter that if my goal was to actually hurt somebody, I already have much better tools than a .22.
As to the support of republicans: you don't see Bush signing more gun control measures. Clinton signed the useless "assault weapon" ban whose goal was to ban anything which looked scary, facts be damned. After that bill passed, if you died at the front of a rifle, it was brown and not black.
Republicans generally support the 2nd amendment, and Democrats are constantly trying to weaken it. I realize that there are individual exceptions, but this is true in most cases. So of course the NRA tends to support republicans. I certainly wish that the NRA would support some democrats, but first some democrats have to come out and say that private gun ownership is a good idea -- but that goes against the party line.
I have several reasons to be resentful of President Bush, but his stance on the 2nd amendment is not one of them.
You have plenty of options. Some take keys. Some require rotating a knob. Some have mechanical buttons. Some have electronic buttons. How many more do you need?
The more parts that go into a system, the more likely that it is to fail. I want my firearms simple and reliable.
On this, we agree completely. Unfortunately, you can't outlaw stupidity. The best bet in this area is education. But the only group in America that does this type of education is the NRA, and they get attacked for it.
IANAL, but the contract IS binding, and both parties have to live up to it
The catch is that when somebody changes it, you have to be notified. You can generally choose to reject the changes, but that will mean canceling whatever contract that you have with them.
Now for one interesting question...
Let's say that one of the cell phone companies decides to change the privacly policy. If you choose to reject the changes to the privacy policy, will the carrier let you keep the old one, or will the just drop you? And if they drop you, will you have to pay the cancellation charges (assuming that you just got a shiny new phone)?
Things that make you go "hmmmm."
Anytime anybody calls me using AT&T, my phone number appears in those records. And since I am not an AT&T customer, I have not agreed to their privacy policy. Is there any legal remedy for this?
This is not my field, but I would imagine that it would be because business are averse to risk. Fans are known and reliable. Watercooling is new and unknown in a 19" rack. What if YOU were the first one to suggest installing it, and it leaked? Bye bye job.
If an enthusiast's system leaks, he misses the next LAN party. If it happend on the top computer on a rack, that system goes down. The water then trickes down to the next lower computer and destroys it. Maybe the water will go down to the next computer under that.
I do admit that some clever engineering to put drain pans leading to drain hoses can connect to a bucket on the floor. But, somehow, I can't imagine too many business buying that.
Not really. The fan blade on front looks pretty much like one from a standard computer fan. It has seven shallow blades, just like every other fan in my computer case. The article led me to believe that this was just more than a standard fan blade in a new housing. More likely, it is going to be a completely different shape. The picture in the article even shown a rounded or pointed hub, as compared to the picture that you linked to, which just has a flat spot to hold a sticker.
Unfortunately, not everybody can do this. My family and I share this crazy additction to this "food" stuff. We are also partial to "housing." Getting all three models with a couple of games for each would put you out close to $2000.
This assumes that one WANTS to buy blu-ray. I, for one, do not welcome our HDCP overlords that come riding in on the back of HDMI.
Thanks, but I'll pass for this lifetime.
I very highly recommend this method:
http://ohlssonvox.8k.com/fdd_raid.htm
It should scale up nicely to 1PB.
Let me just expand on this. The original post has the same argument as communism (as I understand it). The people who invest the money get rich on your work (you said that they were investors). It is like gambling. What do you have to loose in your job? The answer is just your job. If the startup folds, you just go on your merry way and find new employment. It is a pain, I admit, but that is all that you have to loose.
Now, look at the guy who owns the company, who might have looted his retirement fund and his children's college fund and mortgaged his house to pay for the startup. If the company folds, he is likely in the poorhouse and living in a single-wide. He risks more, so he should gain more.
If you really wanted more of the gain, you should have kicked in $50,000 of your own investment capital. Then, you would be more justified in complaining about the money.
That is it? A big mega-corporation owned by the world's richest man and that is all they have to show for interoperability? That is called a token effort -- just enough to say that you did something. It is kind of like saying "Thank you for the wonderful evening -- I had a great time" after you rape somebody.
I also get nervouse when I change hardware (video cards, optical drives, etc.). If I have to re-install XP, will I have to beg Microsoft to let me re-install because it looks like a different computer?
Rest assured that if DVDs did NOT play under any computer, consumers would be complaining to the studios. Microsoft is big enough to have some clout. Instead they have kissed RIAA's and MPAA's collective arses.
Perhaps you have not heard of Windows Live Onecare? Sell a product prone to viruses, and charge people to keep it virus free. It is one thing for a 3rd party to offer this service, but for Microsoft to do this, there is now no incentive to fix security problems with Windows if they can fix it with Onecare. People who don't pay get infected. About the patches, it is obvious that you have not heard of Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA).
There are more cases of them playing ball with other companies right before they pull the rug out from under them. Other posts on this page cover that topic well, including the IBM and OS/2 deal. Don't forget the whole Dr-DOS fiasco. Then there was the Netscape battle where they unfairly connected the browser and operating system. Ever heard of JAVA and the law suit over that? How about "Embrace, Extend, Extinguish?" And how about opening up the APIs so that office application writers are on a level playing field with Microsoft Office?
The point is bad things happen when you let the lawyers have too much control. Microsoft even sued Mike Rowe for registering the domain MikeRoweSoft.com. That is simply going too far.
I bitch when I have a legitimate reason to. In this case, I do.
You, sir, are so completely full of crap that your breath stinks.
Oh yeah? Well, whose side are you on anyways?
Wine -- Make Windows software work on Linux
Open Office, Cygwin,etc. -- Make Linux software work on Windows.
Samba -- Make Windows servers work with Linux clients
Samba -- Make Linux servers work with Windows clients
VNC,X -- Make Windows terminals work with Linux servers
VNC, Remote Desktop client -- Make Linux terminals work with Windows servers.
All of these are done by open-source developers. So, tell me, what more would you like open-source people to do? And do you see ANYTHING that Microsoft has done?
It is easy to throw blame around if you ignore the facts.
Or publish NTFS specs so that the open-source community can use it.