Let's not confuse the roles of a repairman and an instructor, both of which can come into play in technical support. The repairman is paid to come in, fix something, and leave.
The basic fallacy in your arguement is that tech support doesn't just show up at your door, fit it, and leave. Instead, you need to slog through phone support, doing the requested 'repair' tasks yourself at the direction of the scripted tele-tech (with varying levels of success), before they would even consider sending a guy out.
Actually, the complaint was (and remains) that due process was not followed.
The guy wasn't whisked away in the night never to be seen again (despite slashdot headlines to the contrary). The judge signed off to hold him as material witness, so there was indeed "due process" whether you like it or not.
Here are the texts from the Yahoo pages, since deep links don't seem to work.
---
Summary of Q and A
by: tossoffus 08/05/03 02:37 pm
Msg: 23814 of 23897
I had interruptions during the intro. Here is a very quick job with the Q and A. (I am a slow typist).
Q: (Lee Gomez, Wall St. Journal)
Can you explain why you don't release the examples
A: What we've been doing is these sessions.
There are two types of infringements.
Derivatives work code can be open
NUMA, RCU from IBM into Open Source kernel is direct violation
Q Specific examples?
Absolutely
Q: Have you been making it public to anyone?
Absolutely
We have shown this to over 100 people so far under NDA.
Q: Can you make availble a list of the poeple we've shown it to?
Some of them may not want to....
We have gone through.
This past week met with a Linux developer. He walked away and said
OK, now what do you want me to do.
100% hit rate of people saying yeah there is a problem..
Q: (David Becker) What are the terms and how would you go about
acquiring that.
A: Pricing for single cpw $699 good to Oct 15, after higher.
intro pricing to allow people to more readliy purchase it and continue
with business unaffected.
Contact your SCO rep.
Q: (Larry Greenmeier, Information Week)
About an email. Possibility of a global resolution. What else can you say, what went into this before the letter.
A: We had discussions, can't go into details. At points it seemed like they were going somewhere.
Categorize as had some discussions. Now time to march forward with clims.
Q: (Michael Singer, Jupiter Media) To clarify, will you countersue Red Hat?
A: We have a number of options. We have questions whether RH even states a
claim. May ask to dismiss, file counterclaim. Go to trial in 2005.
IBM court date April 11, 2005. RH behind it a few months.
(MAureen Ogerra, Client Server News)
Will you back date these and go after older. Later pricing? More cpus?
A: Price after Oct 15 is $1399. Addl cpu price on web site.
--- Summary of Q and A 2
by: tossoffus 08/05/03 02:38 pm
Msg: 23819 of 23902
(Reed Stevenson, Reuters)
One time license or yearly? Given timing, LinuxWorld, are you trying to
say something?
A: One time. Re LinuxWorld, we are reponding to RH suit. Don't know their
timing. Talked amicably with Matthew on Thu. Thought we were on track.
We volunteered to show the code. Called team after call on Thu said I thin
getting positive tracks. Then Monday we were served. Don't know their
timing.
We've now launche pricing.
Q (GAry Ridlin, Launhc magazine) Are you worried even if you are right you
will lose as you willl lose support.
A We think it's the other way around. We think IP rights and the legal
system do matter. Step back and look at Open Source business model with no
inherent protections.
Linux developers talk about their need to have their own busniess
protected. How do I make money on top of this Linux that's out there. This
will be the impetus for adjusting the open source model so that people have
a better ability to0 make a profit off of their hard work.
Q: Chris Gather with Boston Globe.
Estimate of how many users this applies to? Will sue individual users?
A: Absolute number is hard because of the way Linux has been distributed.
Roughly 2.5 mio servers since 2.4 kernel shipped.
We do have ability to go down to end user with lawsuits if we have to.
IBM came out saying they are not indemnifying their users.
There's a shell game going on here with Linux legal liability.
When it moves from RH to IBM, they admit they have shifted liability to the
end use customer and have taunted us to sue them. We're left with that
hard to play with.
Big part of licensing program was to avoid these lawsuits. That all
chan
I particularly had a laugh when he starts comparing SCO to the music business, although on review it looks like SCO is planning on attacking end users.
Not really, for the simple reason that you can (apparently) hang onto the camera for as long as necessary until you fill up the memory. So it is 'yours' until you decide to get the photos processed.
I think the underlying message here is that digital is starting to take its toll on photo developers. This looks like an interesting new direction they are taking to try driving business back to the photo developers.
2004 - That's quite some time for Nintendo to get serious with its Gameboy.
To me, this looks like Sony took a page out of Nintendo's play book: annouce a vapor product months/years before launch (think N64), in the hopes of muting your competitor's sales. I wonder how many people are putting off Gameboy purchases, in favor of this Sony wundergame.
Personally, I think this PSP thing is going to be too expensive and too battery draining to be useful to its target audience.
Imagine going into walmart and instead of each item being scanned separately, the cashier just aims the scanner at your cart, then you, and instantly everything is added to the total.
Except for when it also adds on the "Lindows Rulez!" T-shirt that I bought there last week.
Ditto for tech stuff. People need to know "How many movies will fit on this drive?", not listen impatiently as someone explains what gigabyte means.
I agree wholeheartedly. This whole issue sounds more like a marketing issue than a technical one. Marketing needs to find a better way to describe these things.
I just can't wait to see computer adverisements showing how many Libraries of Congress will fit on the hard drive, or how many football fields tall the system case stands, or how many cars worth it weighs.
Evidence...was nonexistent both before and after the "war".... His people profit handsomely from the occupation. And no one says "impeachment".
No one says anything now because those idiots in Congress had already "pre-authorized" use of force against Iraq. They'd be just as guilty, and simply become political suicide.
BTW - Before you put Clinton on too high a pedestal, let's remember that he was the also one who signed the DMCA into law.
Slashdot Mirror
I hear that the next upgraded version will automatically interface with ATMs and other electronic devices.
(Okay, okay, I can't believe I actually typed that one in but enough already with the crazy Apple-based lemming naming conventions.)
Great, now how many older games are going to break on this new XBox?
You're all so out of date. Don't you know that it should now be referred to as Copyright Terrorism!
The basic fallacy in your arguement is that tech support doesn't just show up at your door, fit it, and leave. Instead, you need to slog through phone support, doing the requested 'repair' tasks yourself at the direction of the scripted tele-tech (with varying levels of success), before they would even consider sending a guy out.
You mean a company like, say for example, BMW? :)
This is practically a ringing endorsement for .NET. How unusual for /.
Yes, as I desribed aleady above: The judge signed the order to allow him held as material witness. He didn't jsut go into a hole for 5 weeks.
The guy wasn't whisked away in the night never to be seen again (despite slashdot headlines to the contrary). The judge signed off to hold him as material witness, so there was indeed "due process" whether you like it or not.
So if a black hat hacks into and exposes security holes for a spammer....
... does that make him a whitehat?
by: tossoffus 08/05/03 02:37 pm
Msg: 23814 of 23897
I had interruptions during the intro. Here is a very quick job with the Q and A. (I am a slow typist).
Q: (Lee Gomez, Wall St. Journal) Can you explain why you don't release the examples
A: What we've been doing is these sessions. There are two types of infringements. Derivatives work code can be open NUMA, RCU from IBM into Open Source kernel is direct violation
Q Specific examples?
Absolutely
Q: Have you been making it public to anyone?
Absolutely
We have shown this to over 100 people so far under NDA.
Q: Can you make availble a list of the poeple we've shown it to?
Some of them may not want to ....
We have gone through.
This past week met with a Linux developer. He walked away and said OK, now what do you want me to do.
100% hit rate of people saying yeah there is a problem..
Q: (David Becker) What are the terms and how would you go about acquiring that.
A: Pricing for single cpw $699 good to Oct 15, after higher. intro pricing to allow people to more readliy purchase it and continue with business unaffected. Contact your SCO rep.
Q: (Larry Greenmeier, Information Week) About an email. Possibility of a global resolution. What else can you say, what went into this before the letter.
A: We had discussions, can't go into details. At points it seemed like they were going somewhere. Categorize as had some discussions. Now time to march forward with clims.
Q: (Michael Singer, Jupiter Media) To clarify, will you countersue Red Hat?
A: We have a number of options. We have questions whether RH even states a claim. May ask to dismiss, file counterclaim. Go to trial in 2005. IBM court date April 11, 2005. RH behind it a few months.
(MAureen Ogerra, Client Server News) Will you back date these and go after older. Later pricing? More cpus?
A: Price after Oct 15 is $1399. Addl cpu price on web site.
---
Summary of Q and A 2
by: tossoffus 08/05/03 02:38 pm
Msg: 23819 of 23902
(Reed Stevenson, Reuters) One time license or yearly? Given timing, LinuxWorld, are you trying to say something?
A: One time. Re LinuxWorld, we are reponding to RH suit. Don't know their timing. Talked amicably with Matthew on Thu. Thought we were on track. We volunteered to show the code. Called team after call on Thu said I thin getting positive tracks. Then Monday we were served. Don't know their timing. We've now launche pricing.
Q (GAry Ridlin, Launhc magazine) Are you worried even if you are right you will lose as you willl lose support.
A We think it's the other way around. We think IP rights and the legal system do matter. Step back and look at Open Source business model with no inherent protections.
Linux developers talk about their need to have their own busniess protected. How do I make money on top of this Linux that's out there. This will be the impetus for adjusting the open source model so that people have a better ability to0 make a profit off of their hard work.
Q: Chris Gather with Boston Globe. Estimate of how many users this applies to? Will sue individual users?
A: Absolute number is hard because of the way Linux has been distributed. Roughly 2.5 mio servers since 2.4 kernel shipped. We do have ability to go down to end user with lawsuits if we have to. IBM came out saying they are not indemnifying their users. There's a shell game going on here with Linux legal liability. When it moves from RH to IBM, they admit they have shifted liability to the end use customer and have taunted us to sue them. We're left with that hard to play with.
Big part of licensing program was to avoid these lawsuits. That all chan
Summary part 1
Summary part 2
I particularly had a laugh when he starts comparing SCO to the music business, although on review it looks like SCO is planning on attacking end users.
Not really, for the simple reason that you can (apparently) hang onto the camera for as long as necessary until you fill up the memory. So it is 'yours' until you decide to get the photos processed.
I think the underlying message here is that digital is starting to take its toll on photo developers. This looks like an interesting new direction they are taking to try driving business back to the photo developers.
To me, this looks like Sony took a page out of Nintendo's play book: annouce a vapor product months/years before launch (think N64), in the hopes of muting your competitor's sales. I wonder how many people are putting off Gameboy purchases, in favor of this Sony wundergame.
Personally, I think this PSP thing is going to be too expensive and too battery draining to be useful to its target audience.
Except for when it also adds on the "Lindows Rulez!" T-shirt that I bought there last week.
Gee, no wonder the product didn't do better with such forward thinking plans:
"massive undertaking", "synnergizing our product lines", "escalating the sales curves."I suddenly feel like I'm reading the Dilbert archive and not Slashdot. Are you sure this wasn't supposed to be moderated +5 Funny?
I'm not interested in watching it, anyhow.
That must be the reason for the lackluster book A New Kind of Science by Stephen Wolfram.
I'd have to say DCMA, Patriot Act, etc are full-assed.
I agree wholeheartedly. This whole issue sounds more like a marketing issue than a technical one. Marketing needs to find a better way to describe these things.
I just can't wait to see computer adverisements showing how many Libraries of Congress will fit on the hard drive, or how many football fields tall the system case stands, or how many cars worth it weighs.
Against slashdot protocol, I actually went and read the article and found this interesting nugget:
To me, that short phrase from the article just explained a whole lot about Senator Hatch.
No one says anything now because those idiots in Congress had already "pre-authorized" use of force against Iraq. They'd be just as guilty, and simply become political suicide.
BTW - Before you put Clinton on too high a pedestal, let's remember that he was the also one who signed the DMCA into law.