Doom 3 runs fine on Linux when using Cedega. Maybe you want to do your research before mouthing off. I finished Doom 3 in 3-4 days on my Fedora Core 2 Linux box.
Call me a stickler but its a good idea to be aware that acronyms are unique, and one acronym can have different meaning in different contexts. Here are two examples of the meaning of MAC from a military perspective: MILITARY AIR COMMAND (MAC) - for an example see this url - http://www.mcchordairmuseum.org/REV%20B%20OUR%20HI STORY%20UNITS%20COMMANDS%20MAC.htm
It isn't stealing either. It is copyright infringement. That is where you violate copyright law by making copies without authorization of the copyright holder.
Switch, or Switch Back?
on
Return of the Mac
·
· Score: 2, Insightful
Where I work, we have one hard core Mac user. He convinced 6 people to try out Mac's. It was a mix of mini-Mac's and powerbooks, and only one kept it more than a month before taking it back. Personnally, I haven't tried one out yet as running Linux with Fluxbox as the WM just rocks, plus the whole OSS ( GPL ) philosophy is something I don't want to compromise on ( assuming I would be running OS X, and not Linux on the Mac ).
These guys ( and gal ) are all security engineers with CISSP/etc certs whose job is to protect the company's assets ( which are 90% digital, billions a year ), so I would say they're pretty l337, too.
Anyhow, I didn't want there to be some rosy picture of everyone switching to Mac's when that is not the case I think it is a strong trend just like Java applets, dot coms, and other fads once were, but how long will it last?
On the other hand, I haven't seen anyone who was unhappy with their iPod or miniPod.
So, SP2 is part of Windows XP out of the box? If not, then installing SP2 *is* an extra step. We are talking about installing the OS, and as soon as the installation is completed ( may require a reboot ), connecting it to the Internet. It is at this point that the default security of an OS is evaluated.
That said, I am under the impression that Windows XP has been sold in SP1 and SP2 versions. So you could say those are 3 different forms of Windows XP. I.e. Windows XP Windows XP SP1 Windows XP SP2
Each one would be evaulated separately for default security. Make sense?
Wait while it locates, downloads, and installs updates and dependencies ( while checking the checksums ) for all of the applications on your computer. While it is running and after, you can continue to use your computer, no problem. Afterwards, you have the option of continuing to use your computer, or rebooting if you miss the reboot you used to do after running Windows update.
If you are an advanced user, you can put that command into cron to have it run every night, to keep your computer up to date.
Personally, I watch all of my media over computers interconnected by a gigabit ethernet. The computers feed projectors in each room, and that way I can watch any movie in any room ( or the same movie in multiple rooms ) without shuffling disks. Also it's good to have a backup copy, and also ripping a DVD to xvid for watching on a portable video player such as the Archos AV420 - http://www.archos.com/.
This allows me to watch movies wherever I am at, which is especially good when waiting while my car is worked on or some other boring situation where I can not do anything but wait.
Something tells me that Comcast does not apply the same rules everywhere. When Americanisp ( I think that was their name ) told me they changed their policy so that normal accounts were port filtered, and for only a few hundred dollars a month I could have business-grade DSL with all ports open, I left them for estreet.com, who did not filter ( i.e. block ) any of my ports. When I decided to move to a new home last year, I decided to try out cable and e-mailed Comcast tech support asking if I would be able to continue running my own mail and web servers as I had for many years. They replied that there was not a problem, and gave me a list of ports they did block ( mostly Microsoft networking ports ), and added the caveat that if there was a large virus outbreak, they could potentially block ports that were not currently being blocked.
I found this agreement reasonable , printed it up for my records, and then signed up for Comcast Internet Service. My web/mail and everything else has worked fine, and haven't had any problems with Comcast bugging me about running SMTP and WWW services through my connected. In fact, they bug me much less than either Qwest or AmericanISP ever did over a much longer period of time than I have currently been with Comcast.
Has anyone else had a similar ( good ) experience with Comcast?
Generally Suprnova had 20 or so different Linux distribution torrent files available at any given time. I used to use it as my primary source for Fedora Core DVD images, I guess Linuxiso.org will be my new primary source for Linux distros from now on.
On the other hand, at least one Suprnova mirror that was taken down must have had charges dropped b/c it is back online and running after being down for a few days. This is ray of light amongst the general doom and gloom that currently prevails in the Bittorrent world.
Bravo! I stopped supporting Windows after I got XP back in 2002. I still run it in a VMWare machine ( http://www.vmware.com/ for the few times I actually need it ( Windows-only programs, such as my WiFi device Web interface that requires IE, no workee under Mozilla ). As far as requiring registration, I came to ( and stay with Slashdot ) because it did not *require* registration. You can register, but you don't have to in order to use the site. In NYT, they require you ( there are ways around, but as far as they are concerned, it is a requirement ) to give them a working email address. There is no choice.
So, I come to a site that is all about choice of identifying myself or remaining anonymous ( which is a huge benefit of the Internet, and why I use it ), but then am faced with a choice ( or lack thereof ) of reading a linked story, or having to register it. I think this situation is very contradictory. N'est pas? A compromise would be to require the submitter to provide a way for people referred from Slashdot ( HTTP_Referrer, anyone? ) to have anonymous accesss to any pages relevant to the article. Note that this may/may not include the entire site. The submitter can provide a general-purpose login for those who which to remain anonymous, or could use the aforementioned http_referer method, or provide some other method.
That way, people who wish to login can login, people who don't wish to will not have to, and both groups will have a much better opinion of the site. This will indirectly increase the chance that more people will willingly sign up as they realize the site gave them a choice, and therefore is not likely to be intrusive and is more in-line with the spirit of the original public Internet.
That's great if you live in New York City. I actually drink bottled water at work/school mainly for the bottle. It's portable, you can close it up so it's less likely for you or someone else to spill water on your computer if they tip it over, etc. A possible compromise would be to put the water into an empty plastic bottle, but that means you need to carry one around with you all of the time, as opposed to just getting the water and bottle together in a convenient package. In addition, the tap water where I live actually makes me sick, something that took me a long time to discover, but by not drinking the local tap water I don't get the wierd headache's/fever's that I used to get.
Need any more examples of why one size does not fit all?
As other poster have said, learning another language isn't just about getting a job that requires the language. In my case, for my religion I need to learn very difficult Arabic. For music I currently listen to French artists, so I am learning French using programs, web sites, chat rooms, a local French meetup group (
http://french.meetup.com/100/events/3673883/ ) , audio ( music/other recordings ), and video, including French music videos, concerts,and television show captures. If I ever get my free satellite dish hookup installed, I will add international programming to my list of sources.
Why do all of this? The religion part is obvious, understanding all of the lyrics of the music I listen to would be nice, plus with my desire to travel ( perhaps live! ) outside the U.S., a good grasp of the native language would be nice.
As far as work goes, when I was in the US military I had to speak with Italian nationals on a daily basis, both when on and off-duty as I was stationed in Italy. My previous studies of Spanish and French were very useful there. I often was called upon to help fellow Americans out, from translating their complaits about their ENEL ( utilities ) bill, to the time I assisted an American(U.S.) kid who was lost in the Italian airport, and couldn't communicate with the staff.
En sum, my point being there are many reasons to learn other languages, not just to qualify for employment.
Good points all around. A secure OS is reasonable secure by default from the time the OS starts until the time it is stopped. Having to do things such as patch the OS, unplug network cables, etc from a brand new, default installation marks the OS as 'insecure' from the get-go. A company I *used* to work for, I would build Windows XP computers from a Symantec Ghost image, then take the computer offline to install the antivirus software and virus definitions, then install some various MS security patches, and then finally plug it back into the company network to rename it and join it to an Active Directory domain, and finally load applications and configure it for the user/job position the computer was for. A ton of work, most of which would not have been necessary if the OS had been secure out of the box. Perhaps the easiest fix would be for the OS not to access unsolicited network connections by default, and only accept RPC/other requests that it had initiated by request of the operator.
Agreed. The company has a budget for developing/markets/distributing/etc the software, and will most often go over-budget just getting the application to a releaseable state. Great, your selling your Business application to businesses, and start making back your costs when - bam! - a bug shows up. Darn, fixing that wasn't in the budget, and you still haven't made back the cost of developing the software. Who's going to pay for this? I know, since large software used in a wide array of software environments, the 'code maintenance' and 'support' phases will almost always be necessary( actually if you subscripe to ITIL or MOF, these phases are always there ). To keep these items from swallowing the profit, lets introduce the idea of a maintenance/support contract, and lets have the fees be per-license so that large customers pay more than smaller ones!
Now, I am conflicted with this myself. Because yes, software does almost always have unforseen bugs because there are so many different ways it can be used in so many different software environments ( and hardware, too! ), that either your application will stomp on itself, stomp on another application they use, or get stomped on by another application ( include security patches, firmware upgrades, other upgrades ). On the other hand, it is easy to see where a company could intentionally allow for or put bugs in their application just to ensure users buy these contracts.
Does anyone see a way to remove the conflict of interest that is evident here? If an application is blatantly buggy from release then you can be assured they were counting on support contracts for the opportunity to charge for fixes. On the other hand, even an honest, do-gooder company's software will need fixes and need someway to fund them. A third party would be the answer if they could have access to and an intimate knowledge of the original developer's application, but then, since the changes and development of the third party should be inline with and available to the original developer''s plan for the app, who is going to objectively manage that relationship?
Ok, I am in a quandry, back to the simplicity of doing my laundry.:)
He getting screwed. I friend of mine make $25/hour pulling fiber-optic cable as part of a network installation crew. Your employer doesn't realize that by paying you that low, you are going to jump ship the first chance you get, and take your knowledge of web development with you.
I have to admit that I haven't seen php/mysql in any of the large businesses I've worked in. What I have seen is Apache/IIS/Oracle/MS SQL Server and java server pages/asp for the dynamic pages. Maybe it's your skills with 'free'/'open source' tools that is devaluing you in your employers eyes. Or perhaps it shows that your employer is cheap in all areas, not just salary. Try and find skills that either are good for consulting work for companies, or ones that high-demand/Enterprise-level so that the jobs you land actually pay something. '
oh, we could argue about what the best tools for the job are, but I am simply talking from exerience with what I have *seen* used in the Enterprise. e.g. we are looking at buying an CRM tool for $200,000 that runs on Apache/Oracle, uses J2EE, and JSP. This gives you an example of what big corps use, and what they will pay top dollar for.
FM Radio - A man working for RCA demonstrates how he can transmit audio over radio signal much further than with AM technology using frequency modulation. He patents his discovery and tries to get it adapted by radio stations. RCA sees this as a threat to its stranglehold over radio broadcasting business, and gets the FCC to place restrictions on broadcasting that make it effectively illegal to use FM technology. The keep this strategy up until the man's patent expires, and then they rollout the same technology without having even given the "inventor" a dime. In fact, he dies pretty much penniless from his court battles with RCA trying to remove the artificial restrictions they put in place. I heard that "FM" technology did pretty good in the marketplace, funny how the inventor died in poverty.
Hollywood - A man, lets call him Edison, has patented techology to capure moving pictures on film, lets call this a "movie". Many budding directors/etc want to use this technology to make movies, but, gosh darn it, they don't want to pay those licensing fees! Since the US Marshal's are on the east coast of the US, they go to the west coast ( Californa ), and start making movies using this technology without paying a cent to Edison. This is how Universal, Fox, and other studios got started.
Cable Television - A company gets the bright idea to broadcast movies and content from all over the US via a land line instead of the airwaves in order to ensure higher quality. They sell this as a service to many many residential customers, but never pay a cent to acquire this content,nor do the networks they are copying this content from get any percentage of the profits the "cable" company is making. The cable company is taken to court 3 times before it is decided they will have to pay for the shows/movies they are redistributing.
Disney - copied Steamboat Willie's story and just changed the name of the characters. They made a good deal of money from this "Mickey Mouse" character, but never reimbursed the creator. Took a Japanese cartoon about a white lion king, changed the name, changed some of the story, and called it "The Lion King". The writer has gotten nothing but the cold shoulder from Disney.
I took all of this from Warren Lessig's book on copyright, and it shows just how lopsided things are. Current MPAA/RIAA actions are simply a case of "Calling the Kettle Black", and I personally think the entire philosophy of "Intellectual Property"(which I believe does not exist ) needs to be re-evaluated in USA's society. Not just a small revision here and there to current law, but complete separation of physical property and ideas within the legal system. Shoe-horning the thoughts in people's heads so it fits into physical property-based laws is simply a bad idea.
They are two different things, treat them that way, no matter how many dollar signs you see in your future if you can somehow convince people you "own" something that is un-unownable.
Slashdot Mirror
Doom 3 runs fine on Linux when using Cedega. Maybe you want to do your research before mouthing off. I finished Doom 3 in 3-4 days on my Fedora Core 2 Linux box.
Call me a stickler but its a good idea to be aware that acronyms are unique, and one acronym can have different meaning in different contexts. Here are two examples of the meaning of MAC from a military perspective:I STORY%20UNITS%20COMMANDS%20MAC.htm
o ms/mac.html
MILITARY AIR COMMAND (MAC) - for an example see this url - http://www.mcchordairmuseum.org/REV%20B%20OUR%20H
Military Airlift Command(MAC) -
http://www.zianet.com/jpage/airforce/history/majc
It isn't stealing either. It is copyright infringement. That is where you violate copyright law by making copies without authorization of the copyright holder.
Where I work, we have one hard core Mac user. He convinced 6 people to try out Mac's. It was a mix of mini-Mac's and powerbooks, and only one kept it more than a month before taking it back. Personnally, I haven't tried one out yet as running Linux with Fluxbox as the WM just rocks, plus the whole OSS ( GPL ) philosophy is something I don't want to compromise on ( assuming I would be running OS X, and not Linux on the Mac ).
These guys ( and gal ) are all security engineers with CISSP/etc certs whose job is to protect the company's assets ( which are 90% digital, billions a year ), so I would say they're pretty l337, too.
Anyhow, I didn't want there to be some rosy picture of everyone switching to Mac's when that is not the case I think it is a strong trend just like Java applets, dot coms, and other fads once were, but how long will it last?
On the other hand, I haven't seen anyone who was unhappy with their iPod or miniPod.
I heard that. Fluxbox ( http://www.fluxbox.org/ ) with Dockapps ( http://www.dockapps.org/ ) is the r0x0r!
So, SP2 is part of Windows XP out of the box? If not, then installing SP2 *is* an extra step. We are talking about installing the OS, and as soon as the installation is completed ( may require a reboot ), connecting it to the Internet. It is at this point that the default security of an OS is evaluated.
That said, I am under the impression that Windows XP has been sold in SP1 and SP2 versions. So you could say those are 3 different forms of Windows XP. I.e.
Windows XP
Windows XP SP1
Windows XP SP2
Each one would be evaulated separately for default security. Make sense?
You had me at 'Petition to Stop IE'
Linux is tough to update -
type "yum -y update"
Wait while it locates, downloads, and installs updates and dependencies ( while checking the checksums ) for all of the applications on your computer. While it is running and after, you can continue to use your computer, no problem. Afterwards, you have the option of continuing to use your computer, or rebooting if you miss the reboot you used to do after running Windows update.
If you are an advanced user, you can put that command into cron to have it run every night, to keep your computer up to date.
Knoppix to Windows - Now you can watch me up close, and see how stable I am. I can stay up and running for months.
Windows to Knoppix: Um, I am carrying you now. I fall, you fall. And my uptime is approaching 24 hours...
Knoppix( aside ) - And I wonder who thought this matchup was a good idea...
As long as it is in Xvid or DivX format, I am all for it. Otherwise...nevermind.
Personally, I watch all of my media over computers interconnected by a gigabit ethernet. The computers feed projectors in each room, and that way I can watch any movie in any room ( or the same movie in multiple rooms ) without shuffling disks. Also it's good to have a backup copy, and also ripping a DVD to xvid for watching on a portable video player such as the Archos AV420 - http://www.archos.com/.
This allows me to watch movies wherever I am at, which is especially good when waiting while my car is worked on or some other boring situation where I can not do anything but wait.
Something tells me that Comcast does not apply the same rules everywhere. When Americanisp ( I think that was their name ) told me they changed their policy so that normal accounts were port filtered, and for only a few hundred dollars a month I could have business-grade DSL with all ports open, I left them for estreet.com, who did not filter ( i.e. block ) any of my ports. When I decided to move to a new home last year, I decided to try out cable and e-mailed Comcast tech support asking if I would be able to continue running my own mail and web servers as I had for many years. They replied that there was not a problem, and gave me a list of ports they did block ( mostly Microsoft networking ports ), and added the caveat that if there was a large virus outbreak, they could potentially block ports that were not currently being blocked.
I found this agreement reasonable , printed it up for my records, and then signed up for Comcast Internet Service. My web/mail and everything else has worked fine, and haven't had any problems with Comcast bugging me about running SMTP and WWW services through my connected. In fact, they bug me much less than either Qwest or AmericanISP ever did over a much longer period of time than I have currently been with Comcast.
Has anyone else had a similar ( good ) experience with Comcast?
Generally Suprnova had 20 or so different Linux distribution torrent files available at any given time. I used to use it as my primary source for Fedora Core DVD images, I guess Linuxiso.org will be my new primary source for Linux distros from now on.
On the other hand, at least one Suprnova mirror that was taken down must have had charges dropped b/c it is back online and running after being down for a few days. This is ray of light amongst the general doom and gloom that currently prevails in the Bittorrent world.
I've found quite a few torrent files for copyright-infringing torrents via Google/Google cache. When are they going to shut Google down?
Bravo! I stopped supporting Windows after I got XP back in 2002. I still run it in a VMWare machine ( http://www.vmware.com/ for the few times I actually need it ( Windows-only programs, such as my WiFi device Web interface that requires IE, no workee under Mozilla ). As far as requiring registration, I came to ( and stay with Slashdot ) because it did not *require* registration. You can register, but you don't have to in order to use the site. In NYT, they require you ( there are ways around, but as far as they are concerned, it is a requirement ) to give them a working email address. There is no choice.
So, I come to a site that is all about choice of identifying myself or remaining anonymous ( which is a huge benefit of the Internet, and why I use it ), but then am faced with a choice ( or lack thereof ) of reading a linked story, or having to register it. I think this situation is very contradictory. N'est pas? A compromise would be to require the submitter to provide a way for people referred from Slashdot ( HTTP_Referrer, anyone? ) to have anonymous accesss to any pages relevant to the article. Note that this may/may not include the entire site. The submitter can provide a general-purpose login for those who which to remain anonymous, or could use the aforementioned http_referer method, or provide some other method.
That way, people who wish to login can login, people who don't wish to will not have to, and both groups will have a much better opinion of the site. This will indirectly increase the chance that more people will willingly sign up as they realize the site gave them a choice, and therefore is not likely to be intrusive and is more in-line with the spirit of the original public Internet.
Thank You,
~Fortezza
good one. I use a black sharpie on all of my media. It serves it purpose. :)
That's great if you live in New York City. I actually drink bottled water at work/school mainly for the bottle. It's portable, you can close it up so it's less likely for you or someone else to spill water on your computer if they tip it over, etc. A possible compromise would be to put the water into an empty plastic bottle, but that means you need to carry one around with you all of the time, as opposed to just getting the water and bottle together in a convenient package. In addition, the tap water where I live actually makes me sick, something that took me a long time to discover, but by not drinking the local tap water I don't get the wierd headache's/fever's that I used to get.
Need any more examples of why one size does not fit all?
I did and it can.
As other poster have said, learning another language isn't just about getting a job that requires the language. In my case, for my religion I need to learn very difficult Arabic. For music I currently listen to French artists, so I am learning French using programs, web sites, chat rooms, a local French meetup group (
http://french.meetup.com/100/events/3673883/ ) , audio ( music/other recordings ), and video, including French music videos, concerts,and television show captures. If I ever get my free satellite dish hookup installed, I will add international programming to my list of sources.
Why do all of this? The religion part is obvious, understanding all of the lyrics of the music I listen to would be nice, plus with my desire to travel ( perhaps live! ) outside the U.S., a good grasp of the native language would be nice.
As far as work goes, when I was in the US military I had to speak with Italian nationals on a daily basis, both when on and off-duty as I was stationed in Italy. My previous studies of Spanish and French were very useful there. I often was called upon to help fellow Americans out, from translating their complaits about their ENEL ( utilities ) bill, to the time I assisted an American(U.S.) kid who was lost in the Italian airport, and couldn't communicate with the staff.
En sum, my point being there are many reasons to learn other languages, not just to qualify for employment.
It costs money but we still get access to the source code right?....right?
I don't know, but probably as much as the associated psychological recovery costs for listening to such 'music'.
Good points all around. A secure OS is reasonable secure by default from the time the OS starts until the time it is stopped. Having to do things such as patch the OS, unplug network cables, etc from a brand new, default installation marks the OS as 'insecure' from the get-go. A company I *used* to work for, I would build Windows XP computers from a Symantec Ghost image, then take the computer offline to install the antivirus software and virus definitions, then install some various MS security patches, and then finally plug it back into the company network to rename it and join it to an Active Directory domain, and finally load applications and configure it for the user/job position the computer was for. A ton of work, most of which would not have been necessary if the OS had been secure out of the box. Perhaps the easiest fix would be for the OS not to access unsolicited network connections by default, and only accept RPC/other requests that it had initiated by request of the operator.
Agreed. The company has a budget for developing/markets/distributing/etc the software, and will most often go over-budget just getting the application to a releaseable state. Great, your selling your Business application to businesses, and start making back your costs when - bam! - a bug shows up. Darn, fixing that wasn't in the budget, and you still haven't made back the cost of developing the software. Who's going to pay for this? I know, since large software used in a wide array of software environments, the 'code maintenance' and 'support' phases will almost always be necessary( actually if you subscripe to ITIL or MOF, these phases are always there ). To keep these items from swallowing the profit, lets introduce the idea of a maintenance/support contract, and lets have the fees be per-license so that large customers pay more than smaller ones!
:)
Now, I am conflicted with this myself. Because yes, software does almost always have unforseen bugs because there are so many different ways it can be used in so many different software environments ( and hardware, too! ), that either your application will stomp on itself, stomp on another application they use, or get stomped on by another application ( include security patches, firmware upgrades, other upgrades ). On the other hand, it is easy to see where a company could intentionally allow for or put bugs in their application just to ensure users buy these contracts.
Does anyone see a way to remove the conflict of interest that is evident here? If an application is blatantly buggy from release then you can be assured they were counting on support contracts for the opportunity to charge for fixes. On the other hand, even an honest, do-gooder company's software will need fixes and need someway to fund them.
A third party would be the answer if they could have access to and an intimate knowledge of the original developer's application, but then, since the changes and development of the third party should be inline with and available to the original developer''s plan for the app, who is going to objectively manage that relationship?
Ok, I am in a quandry, back to the simplicity of doing my laundry.
He getting screwed. I friend of mine make $25/hour pulling fiber-optic cable as part of a network installation crew. Your employer doesn't realize that by paying you that low, you are going to jump ship the first chance you get, and take your knowledge of web development with you.
I have to admit that I haven't seen php/mysql in any of the large businesses I've worked in. What I have seen is Apache/IIS/Oracle/MS SQL Server and java server pages/asp for the dynamic pages. Maybe it's your skills with 'free'/'open source' tools that is devaluing you in your employers eyes. Or perhaps it shows that your employer is cheap in all areas, not just salary. Try and find skills that either are good for consulting work for companies, or ones that high-demand/Enterprise-level so that the jobs you land actually pay something. '
oh, we could argue about what the best tools for the job are, but I am simply talking from exerience with what I have *seen* used in the Enterprise. e.g. we are looking at buying an CRM tool for $200,000 that runs on Apache/Oracle, uses J2EE, and JSP. This gives you an example of what big corps use, and what they will pay top dollar for.
FM Radio - A man working for RCA demonstrates how he can transmit audio over radio signal much further than with AM technology using frequency modulation. He patents his discovery and tries to get it adapted by radio stations. RCA sees this as a threat to its stranglehold over radio broadcasting business, and gets the FCC to place restrictions on broadcasting that make it effectively illegal to use FM technology. The keep this strategy up until the man's patent expires, and then they rollout the same technology without having even given the "inventor" a dime. In fact, he dies pretty much penniless from his court battles with RCA trying to remove the artificial restrictions they put in place. I heard that "FM" technology did pretty good in the marketplace, funny how the inventor died in poverty.
Hollywood - A man, lets call him Edison, has patented techology to capure moving pictures on film, lets call this a "movie". Many budding directors/etc want to use this technology to make movies, but, gosh darn it, they don't want to pay those licensing fees! Since the US Marshal's are on the east coast of the US, they go to the west coast ( Californa ), and start making movies using this technology without paying a cent to Edison. This is how Universal, Fox, and other studios got started.
Cable Television - A company gets the bright idea to broadcast movies and content from all over the US via a land line instead of the airwaves in order to ensure higher quality. They sell this as a service to many many residential customers, but never pay a cent to acquire this content,nor do the networks they are copying this content from get any percentage of the profits the "cable" company is making. The cable company is taken to court 3 times before it is decided they will have to pay for the shows/movies they are redistributing.
Disney - copied Steamboat Willie's story and just changed the name of the characters. They made a good deal of money from this "Mickey Mouse" character, but never reimbursed the creator. Took a Japanese cartoon about a white lion king, changed the name, changed some of the story, and called it "The Lion King". The writer has gotten nothing but the cold shoulder from Disney.
I took all of this from Warren Lessig's book on copyright, and it shows just how lopsided things are. Current MPAA/RIAA actions are simply a case of "Calling the Kettle Black", and I personally think the entire philosophy of "Intellectual Property"(which I believe does not exist ) needs to be re-evaluated in USA's society. Not just a small revision here and there to current law, but complete separation of physical property and ideas within the legal system. Shoe-horning the thoughts in people's heads so it fits into physical property-based laws is simply a bad idea.
They are two different things, treat them that way, no matter how many dollar signs you see in your future if you can somehow convince people you "own" something that is un-unownable.