To me it sounds like your argument is that since telephone numbers encode information for phone switches, allowing number portability makes no sense because it renders the encoded information useless.
My understanding of the phone network is that, long ago, the numbers did indeed code information to switches. The first few digits might indicate which main office receives the call. I don't see how that can possibly be the case for cell phones, however, since the phone can physically be located anywhere. How can a phone number's first few digits tell where to send a call if the cell phone can be attached to an arbitrary phone switch? I think this is the reason that Number Portability for cell phones (as opposed to landlines) is actually reasonable and technically feasible.
The article suggests that all business software should be sold as a service. Doesn't this give remote access to the most vital part of a business' infrastructure? Is it possible to serve software remotely without creating a huge security risk?
According to the Department of Justice (April 2003), the US prison population is 2,019,234. Since the US population in July 2002 was 280,562,489, that means that 1 out of every 140 Americans is already in jail.
By strange coincidence, Ralph Nader's total number of votes in the US in 2000 was 2,864,810. This means that for every Naderite, there's a person in jail.
It seems that one reason we might be spending less on R&D is the huge minefield that patent law has become. The idea behind IP is that producers will be given a monopoly on the fruits of their labours for some period of time. This may work for methods of refining coal, or creating the lightbulb, but perhaps applying the idea to software and computer hardware does more harm than good.
I've read a lot of stories here on/. about companies creating a product only to discover that some tiny yet irreplaceable part of that product is patented by someone else. There is no need to show that the first company knew about the patent, yet the patent holder suddenly has the ability to "kill" all the R&D money sunk into the project. It seems that the potential to waste R&D has increased as more and more questionable patents are rammed through the USPO.
When other companies develop products, they are not subject to the dictates of the USPO, barring international treaties. Even if these treaties are applied to a flagrant case of IP theft, the application often is politically difficult and time consuming. Although these companies may not enjoy the draconian protection that US IP hodlers enjoy, they know that they will reap immediate competitive benefits from the free market by making an improved product. Is that basic, immediate payout now a greater incentive than the patent system that was meant to replace it?
They say in the article that they have a total of 33k laptops, and that the total cost per student is "about 300$." Assuming that there is one laptop per student, that makes $10 million. Where does the 37M$ figure come from?
We should email this story to everyone we know! If each of them sends a dollar when they win a case, and each person _they_ know sends them a dollar when _they_ win....
Some authors I like that aren't all that famous in the SF/F genre are:
Dave Duncan
Phyllis Eisenstein
Fred Saberhagen
Matthew Woodring Stover
Lawrence Watt-Evens
Melanie Rawn
Jennifer Robinson
Robin Hobb
Mike Resnick
also, James Clavell isn't really SF/F but still rocks the hizouse. Surprisingly, some of Stephen King's books are more SF/F than Horror (e.g. The Stand).
I'm no math-guy, but it seems that if the new protocol uses a different type of search, then adding users from that protocol would enslow your searches.
I calculate this to mean that you would need about 500GB of harddrive space to simply store the digits. It would costly but possible, and you'd make some really _sweet_ circles.
Slashdot Mirror
To me it sounds like your argument is that since telephone numbers encode information for phone switches, allowing number portability makes no sense because it renders the encoded information useless.
My understanding of the phone network is that, long ago, the numbers did indeed code information to switches. The first few digits might indicate which main office receives the call. I don't see how that can possibly be the case for cell phones, however, since the phone can physically be located anywhere. How can a phone number's first few digits tell where to send a call if the cell phone can be attached to an arbitrary phone switch? I think this is the reason that Number Portability for cell phones (as opposed to landlines) is actually reasonable and technically feasible.
Spike Lee has prior art.
The article suggests that all business software should be sold as a service. Doesn't this give remote access to the most vital part of a business' infrastructure? Is it possible to serve software remotely without creating a huge security risk?
By strange coincidence, Ralph Nader's total number of votes in the US in 2000 was 2,864,810. This means that for every Naderite, there's a person in jail.
I find their lack of faith disturbing.
It sounds like all PA has to do is add "...and Strawberry Shortcake sucks" to the bottom of the comic, and they are good to go.
It seems that one reason we might be spending less on R&D is the huge minefield that patent law has become. The idea behind IP is that producers will be given a monopoly on the fruits of their labours for some period of time. This may work for methods of refining coal, or creating the lightbulb, but perhaps applying the idea to software and computer hardware does more harm than good.
I've read a lot of stories here on /. about companies creating a product only to discover that some tiny yet irreplaceable part of that product is patented by someone else. There is no need to show that the first company knew about the patent, yet the patent holder suddenly has the ability to "kill" all the R&D money sunk into the project. It seems that the potential to waste R&D has increased as more and more questionable patents are rammed through the USPO.
When other companies develop products, they are not subject to the dictates of the USPO, barring international treaties. Even if these treaties are applied to a flagrant case of IP theft, the application often is politically difficult and time consuming. Although these companies may not enjoy the draconian protection that US IP hodlers enjoy, they know that they will reap immediate competitive benefits from the free market by making an improved product. Is that basic, immediate payout now a greater incentive than the patent system that was meant to replace it?
They say in the article that they have a total of 33k laptops, and that the total cost per student is "about 300$." Assuming that there is one laptop per student, that makes $10 million. Where does the 37M$ figure come from?
We should email this story to everyone we know! If each of them sends a dollar when they win a case, and each person _they_ know sends them a dollar when _they_ win....
I would tell him to start thinking about what to tell his 12 year old self when he was my age.
Some authors I like that aren't all that famous in the SF/F genre are: Dave Duncan Phyllis Eisenstein Fred Saberhagen Matthew Woodring Stover Lawrence Watt-Evens Melanie Rawn Jennifer Robinson Robin Hobb Mike Resnick also, James Clavell isn't really SF/F but still rocks the hizouse. Surprisingly, some of Stephen King's books are more SF/F than Horror (e.g. The Stand).
In america there is much questioning of judge. In Soviet Russia, judge orders questioning of you!
In America you use drones to execute foreign policy. In Soviet Russia, foreign policy is to execute drones!
Wouldn't a better title for this post be "Attack of the Drones?"
While we are pointing out things that no one cares about, he should have used "e.g." rather than "i.e."
I'm no math-guy, but it seems that if the new protocol uses a different type of search, then adding users from that protocol would enslow your searches.
I calculate this to mean that you would need about 500GB of harddrive space to simply store the digits. It would costly but possible, and you'd make some really _sweet_ circles.
http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/begs.html I'm _that_ type of ass.
So an article about ignoring conspiracy theorists gets posted on slashdot, thus assuring that conspircay theorists get lots of attention.