Remember Opera is based in Scandinavia. DOJ has no direct leverage on them. Also, in Scandinavia, privacy laws are taken seriously and must be obeyed by governments as well as corporations.
Sun Microsystems CEO Scott McNealy had to be wined and dined at a Silicon Valley McDonald's before he gave up his reluctance to help launch the workstation maker in 1982
History does not record which of the many fine vintages available at McDonald's was selected on this illustrious occasion.
Just as a matter of interest, which Celeron do you believe has roughly the same performance as which 64-bit Sempron, and for what general type of computing?
If (big if) (1) the phenomenon we refer to as "dark energy" does turn out to be a single entity, and (2) (even bigger if) the strength of dark energy is decreasing over time, do we hypothesize that this is because the energy if being destroyed or because it is being converted into some other form that produces different observations?
At the end of the day, do we have enough data to be able to say anything about "dark energy" that is anything other than wild speculation?
In the English language TIMTOWTDI (there is more than one way to describe it). However, to any Perl advocate, there are there never enough ways that you do not need to add more.
scientists rarely talk about how the human body would react to these foreign objects
The edited highlights version that appears in the popular press omits such considerations. That does not mean that scientists ignore them. It is a very important aspect of the research itself. In fact, a key research topic is how to prevent such reactions. Scientists are beginning to have a very clear picture of how the immune system operates and are already developing techniques, short of depressing the immune system, to prevent rejection.
Microsoft's internal documents would identify the coder(s) involved in this deceit, and possibly other conspirators.
I have read the bulk of the comments here with an open mind. However, there is no way Microsoft will have extant documents (unless they are fake) that show how this "feature" evolved. Microsoft has a corporate policy of destroying all documents as soon as possible, unless their retention is unavoidable. They have this policy precisely because of the dangers documents can present during litigation.
I have believed for a long time that deliberate backdoors in Windows are likely. Proving it is another matter. I think you will find, as this story develops, that plausible deniability applies here. The old story about NSAKEY being needed for backup was not very convincing, but almost any explanation will do in the absence of incontrovertible contrary evidence.
You must distinguish (1) why they started the war, from (2) why they are still fighting in spite of the fact that they are clearly losing.
They started the war, with their business otherwise failing, as a gamble. They hoped for a quick settlement or a buyout from IBM to avoid the expense of litigation and potential damage to the Linux business. In that, they miscalculated, but may have felt they had little to lose anyway. The major miscalculation will be if individuals end up going to jail for perpetrating this clear scam. We shall need to wait about 10 years to know the answer to that question.
Why do they continue to fight now, when it is clear they are going to lose? Quite simply, to delay the total dismemberment of their business. The counterclaims in the IBM case, the claims for damages in the Red Hat case, and handing over the bulk of the revenues from the SCO Source scam to Novell are going to bankrupt SCO many times over. Meanwhile, management continues to make money from their salaries and probably other opportunities.
Why is taking so long to the court to dismiss the case?
This question reveals a common misunderstanding about the function of the US legal system, especially in civil matters.
The legal system is primarily designed to make money for the legal profession. Once litigation is concluded, the lawyers stop receiving money. Read Bleak House by Charles Dickens and realise that, while certain details have changed, the general situation remains the same.
Unfortunately, I am serious. Many members of Congress are lawyers and they ensure laws are framed to maximise the profession's profits. Logical reforms never see the light of day.
Few independent and credible studies on the question of CD-R and DVD-R longevity have been done. The best I can recall was carried out by the National Institute of Standards and Technology and reported in their journal of September-October 2004. Highlights:
It is demonstrated here that CD-R and DVD-R media
can be very stable (sample S4 for CD-R and sample D2
for DVD-R). Results suggest that these media types
will ensure data is available for several tens of years
and therefore may be suitable for archival uses.
Unfortunately, it is very difficult for customers to
identify these more stable media
S4 is Silver + Gold coating with Phthalocyanine dye
The coating and dye for D2 could not be determined and was not provided by the manufacturer.
Well of course it won't be direct to jail, there will have to be a trial to determine if you are actually guilty, unless the executive branch has some sort of magical power to just throw people into jails without due process.
Hmmm. By definition, if your post has been moderated as flamebait, your post was annoying to someone. If you posted anonymously, or your user profile fails to clearly identify you, then it seems an open and shut case. I think an arrest warrant could be applied for and you would need to post bail to avoid being in gaol ahead of court proceedings.
Anyone know what happens when the anonymous poster is an eight year old kid? Can the parents be held liable if the kid makes annoying remarks on/.?
Re:My C64 floppy could do that!
on
Scanjet Music
·
· Score: 1
I used the 803 in my student days. A magnetic tape (enclosed within the machine's main cabinet, not a drive with mountable tape spools) was available for the 803 as an option, but the particular one I had access to was not so richly equipped.
Re:My C64 floppy could do that!
on
Scanjet Music
·
· Score: 1
First computer I got to play with (in 1967) was an Elliott 803, near the end of its life at the time. No disks, tapes, punched cards, floppies. For input there were two options: paper tape or manual entry of programs using console switches. Usually, you entered a boot program manually so you could then read a compiler from paper tape and then enter a program also from paper tape. For output, again a paper tape punch was available, or...
... primitive as it was it had the ability to produce a wide range of sounds. Basically, the sounds made were dependant on the processing it was carrying out. It was often easy to detect program loops in this way, and specific sounds were used as operating instructions. However, it was also great for making music.
Latest in a long line of such hacks
on
Scanjet Music
·
· Score: 3, Interesting
For instance, as early as 1964, the IBM 1403 line printer was programmed to produce music. Here is a page with a song sheet. While I cannot find a reference, I remember someone else at IBM who used multiple tape drives as a kind of orchestra, also in the 1960s.
I have looked carefully in the box, but I fail to see the manual you refer to that explains how to load and run the deployment tool. I cannot find it on the installation disk either. Can you please refer me to the appropriate chapter? Or, are you assuming that anyone installing Windows will also have access to the MSDN (on CDs) and some way of accessing them prior to installation?
At least we can be reasonably sure that the robotic legislator actually read the thing first
True. Unfortunately, since it was probably written by lawyers (and impervious to comprehension even by an intelligent human) it is highly unlikely that the robotic agent will have understood what the hell it was trying to say.
If litigation in the future is going to be resolved largely based on case evaluations by automated systems, this raises some interesting issues:
Would we pass various scenarios through the system, prior to initiating litigation, to assess whether the lawsuit makes financial sense and to choose the most promising approach?
It would appear that, if the proposed settlement to be chosen by the litigation system was completely predictable, this would be a severe weakness. It would make "gaming the system" even easier than today. Thus, as with the best poker robots, some level of randomisation would appear necessary to keep the "players" honest. On the other hand, many caught up in the legal system are under the illusion that outcomes should conform to something called "justice". While these participants may be delusional, their fantasies need to be catered to, and any form of randomisation in the results will be regarded as "unjust".
I find the possibility of duelling litigation robots a fascinating prospect. I can imagine a whole new specialty of "litigation robot optimization" where engineers, knowledgable about the internal operation of competing robots, find creative ways to enhance the results of their own robot.
I certainly have no fear that such developments will lead to a worse legal system. The current system (in almost all countries, though there are a few honourable exceptions) is so hopelessly flawed that changes, while they may not help, will not cause any major new problems. Litigation in the US, and many other countries, is just a way to generate money for the legal profession. Adding a new legal specialty to get some of the spoils seems fine, especially as this one sounds like fun.
I am one of those old fashioned people who believes the purpose of a phone is to speak to other people who also have phones. Even if I speak really quickly, 3.6Mbps transfer speeds will not be necessary. Where these speeds I guess come in handy is for those people with terapixel video/camera/pda/file storage devices with phone attachments. Maybe, I shall be convinced these make sense by the end of the decade.
To a degree, limitations are part of the point. Your typical home user is quite incapable of keeping his/her Windows PC free of viruses and spyware. You need to create a computer that is, as near as possible, virus and spyware proof.
It is possible to go too far. I would envision handling user installed software via virtual partitions (something like VMware, but transparent) that is isolated from the main system. There would still be restrictions. I would not be in the market for such a machine myself. But, it would be a good tradeoff for the bulk of home users IMHO.
While it is true that Windows 98/ME users do not use a boot loader, all Windows NT/2000/XP/2003 users also have one. Further, even when using Linux as part of a multiboot setup, the Windows boot loader is sometimes the best to go for. That is especially true when there are multiple Windows systems. In a machine with both 64-bit and regular Windows versions alongside various Linux distributions, the cleanest approach is the Windows boot loader in conjunction with bootpart.
I doubt google is going to get the same deal from MS are they?
It is an interesting question. If the alternative is Google coming up with a competitive OS, Google might be offered a very sweet deal.
Those thinking an alternative OS from Google is impracticable because of the current MS dominance are, I think, misunderstanding what Google is likely to offer. The target (at least initially) is not going to be businesses with a huge prior investment in applications needing 100% MS compatibility. I believe they will target the consumer, with a PC that ties the Internet cleanly with other consumer devices (TV, stereo, MP3 player). They could do this with a device that was difficult to hack because the PC itself was deliberately limited. Files and applications would reside on Google's servers as far as possible, with a browser type interface. I think this is a logical move for Google, to beat Apple to the punch.
No complete skeleton has ever been found in Mauritius, and the last full set of bones was destroyed in a fire at a museum in Oxford, England, in 1755.'
Where did the skeleton destroyed in a fire in 1755 originally come from?
Slashdot Mirror
Remember Opera is based in Scandinavia. DOJ has no direct leverage on them. Also, in Scandinavia, privacy laws are taken seriously and must be obeyed by governments as well as corporations.
No, for subscribers it is optional. It is only compulsory for the editors.
Just as a matter of interest, which Celeron do you believe has roughly the same performance as which 64-bit Sempron, and for what general type of computing?
At the end of the day, do we have enough data to be able to say anything about "dark energy" that is anything other than wild speculation?
In the English language TIMTOWTDI (there is more than one way to describe it). However, to any Perl advocate, there are there never enough ways that you do not need to add more.
The edited highlights version that appears in the popular press omits such considerations. That does not mean that scientists ignore them. It is a very important aspect of the research itself. In fact, a key research topic is how to prevent such reactions. Scientists are beginning to have a very clear picture of how the immune system operates and are already developing techniques, short of depressing the immune system, to prevent rejection.
I have read the bulk of the comments here with an open mind. However, there is no way Microsoft will have extant documents (unless they are fake) that show how this "feature" evolved. Microsoft has a corporate policy of destroying all documents as soon as possible, unless their retention is unavoidable. They have this policy precisely because of the dangers documents can present during litigation.
I have believed for a long time that deliberate backdoors in Windows are likely. Proving it is another matter. I think you will find, as this story develops, that plausible deniability applies here. The old story about NSAKEY being needed for backup was not very convincing, but almost any explanation will do in the absence of incontrovertible contrary evidence.
You must distinguish (1) why they started the war, from (2) why they are still fighting in spite of the fact that they are clearly losing.
They started the war, with their business otherwise failing, as a gamble. They hoped for a quick settlement or a buyout from IBM to avoid the expense of litigation and potential damage to the Linux business. In that, they miscalculated, but may have felt they had little to lose anyway. The major miscalculation will be if individuals end up going to jail for perpetrating this clear scam. We shall need to wait about 10 years to know the answer to that question.
Why do they continue to fight now, when it is clear they are going to lose? Quite simply, to delay the total dismemberment of their business. The counterclaims in the IBM case, the claims for damages in the Red Hat case, and handing over the bulk of the revenues from the SCO Source scam to Novell are going to bankrupt SCO many times over. Meanwhile, management continues to make money from their salaries and probably other opportunities.
This question reveals a common misunderstanding about the function of the US legal system, especially in civil matters.
The legal system is primarily designed to make money for the legal profession. Once litigation is concluded, the lawyers stop receiving money. Read Bleak House by Charles Dickens and realise that, while certain details have changed, the general situation remains the same.
Unfortunately, I am serious. Many members of Congress are lawyers and they ensure laws are framed to maximise the profession's profits. Logical reforms never see the light of day.
The coating and dye for D2 could not be determined and was not provided by the manufacturer.
Anyone know what happens when the anonymous poster is an eight year old kid? Can the parents be held liable if the kid makes annoying remarks on /.?
I used the 803 in my student days. A magnetic tape (enclosed within the machine's main cabinet, not a drive with mountable tape spools) was available for the 803 as an option, but the particular one I had access to was not so richly equipped.
For instance, as early as 1964, the IBM 1403 line printer was programmed to produce music. Here is a page with a song sheet. While I cannot find a reference, I remember someone else at IBM who used multiple tape drives as a kind of orchestra, also in the 1960s.
I have looked carefully in the box, but I fail to see the manual you refer to that explains how to load and run the deployment tool. I cannot find it on the installation disk either. Can you please refer me to the appropriate chapter? Or, are you assuming that anyone installing Windows will also have access to the MSDN (on CDs) and some way of accessing them prior to installation?
- Would we pass various scenarios through the system, prior to initiating litigation, to assess whether the lawsuit makes financial sense and to choose the most promising approach?
- It would appear that, if the proposed settlement to be chosen by the litigation system was completely predictable, this would be a severe weakness. It would make "gaming the system" even easier than today. Thus, as with the best poker robots, some level of randomisation would appear necessary to keep the "players" honest. On the other hand, many caught up in the legal system are under the illusion that outcomes should conform to something called "justice". While these participants may be delusional, their fantasies need to be catered to, and any form of randomisation in the results will be regarded as "unjust".
- I find the possibility of duelling litigation robots a fascinating prospect. I can imagine a whole new specialty of "litigation robot optimization" where engineers, knowledgable about the internal operation of competing robots, find creative ways to enhance the results of their own robot.
I certainly have no fear that such developments will lead to a worse legal system. The current system (in almost all countries, though there are a few honourable exceptions) is so hopelessly flawed that changes, while they may not help, will not cause any major new problems. Litigation in the US, and many other countries, is just a way to generate money for the legal profession. Adding a new legal specialty to get some of the spoils seems fine, especially as this one sounds like fun.You may not like or agree with the parent post, but it is not "flamebait". It is at least as valid a viewpoint as the GP.
I am one of those old fashioned people who believes the purpose of a phone is to speak to other people who also have phones. Even if I speak really quickly, 3.6Mbps transfer speeds will not be necessary. Where these speeds I guess come in handy is for those people with terapixel video/camera/pda/file storage devices with phone attachments. Maybe, I shall be convinced these make sense by the end of the decade.
It is possible to go too far. I would envision handling user installed software via virtual partitions (something like VMware, but transparent) that is isolated from the main system. There would still be restrictions. I would not be in the market for such a machine myself. But, it would be a good tradeoff for the bulk of home users IMHO.
While it is true that Windows 98/ME users do not use a boot loader, all Windows NT/2000/XP/2003 users also have one. Further, even when using Linux as part of a multiboot setup, the Windows boot loader is sometimes the best to go for. That is especially true when there are multiple Windows systems. In a machine with both 64-bit and regular Windows versions alongside various Linux distributions, the cleanest approach is the Windows boot loader in conjunction with bootpart.
It is an interesting question. If the alternative is Google coming up with a competitive OS, Google might be offered a very sweet deal.
Those thinking an alternative OS from Google is impracticable because of the current MS dominance are, I think, misunderstanding what Google is likely to offer. The target (at least initially) is not going to be businesses with a huge prior investment in applications needing 100% MS compatibility. I believe they will target the consumer, with a PC that ties the Internet cleanly with other consumer devices (TV, stereo, MP3 player). They could do this with a device that was difficult to hack because the PC itself was deliberately limited. Files and applications would reside on Google's servers as far as possible, with a browser type interface. I think this is a logical move for Google, to beat Apple to the punch.
Perfect time of year to add goose and turkey to that list: both very tasty.