(2) The following in particular shall not be regarded as inventions within the meaning of paragraph 1: ...
(c) schemes, rules and methods for performing mental acts, playing games or doing business, and programs for computers;
So software patents are actually illegal in Europe. Strangely enough the European Patents Office seems to think otherwise though.
I am sure I can point out at least a couple of scientists at the Niels Bohr Institute of Copenhagen University, where I study physics, who would disagree with that.
I personally haven't seen any convincing evidence that would make that case clear.
It's all fuzzy curves, and contradicting data if you ask me.
ClamAV blocked the first one on my server at 00:20 CET on may 3rd. Since then I have recieved exactly 100 Sober.P containing mails. And I only have one publicly known email address on that server.
I totally disagree. If what you were saying were true, we might as well stop all research in astronomy, particle physics, and theoretical physics and mathematics. Those fields do not produce any results that are useful in everyday life, so why keep funding them?
But getting there is done routinely. Where do you think your satelite tv feed is send from?
We don't know yet if carbon nanotubes have the strength require to be able to handle their own mass over such a distance - or half it if you have an asteroid keeping station at the other end.
The most promissing designs require a counterweight to be placed at the outer end of the cable. This would be a human construction, not an asteroid. The cable will have to support the weight of itself, plus the weight of the counterweight being tossed around in orbit. Typical values for tensile strengths needed are quoted as being in between the range ~65120 GPa. Carbonanotubes have have had observed breaking strains of ~63Gpa, but in theory they could go as high as 120 GPa. Research in these materials are still in it's infancy, so I think it is safe to assume that it will be possible, within 10 years, to prove the feasability of creating a material with the required properties.
Call back when we have the technology to bridge from Singapore to Mexico City in a single span - we'll be a small fraction of the way there.
And really why do we bother even wasting money of this. The whole concept of building a space elevator is insane and ungodly right?
Please go off and live in your mud hut, with your fellow bible thumping right-wing extremists, and let us scientists get on with building your TVs, Cable-networks, internet, computers, microwave ovens, SUVs, trains, airplanes,...
If you want to build a long bridge, the main problem is that the breaking strain of steel cables would require you to make an unreasonably big and heavy cable. If you could just use a carbonanotube cable, you would save massive amounts of weight, while still having a stronger design.
The problem is still building the actual cable, which is the same problem, whether you want to build a bridge or a space elevator. I would expect that such a cable would need to be tested in familiar applications like bridgebuilding, and fabric production. Imagine a bullet proof west, made out of carbonanotube composite.
Me2. I am on Debian Unstable, which of course is pretty much the same thing.
The thing that disappointed me though, is that it requires OSS or OSS emulation on ALSA for sound input and output. I haven't compiled in any of this in my kernel, since all open source apps already has native alsa support, or use some sound server (I am stuck with arts, since I am using KDE). But they promise that other sound systems will be supported soon.
Please.. Einstein was never just any other patent clerk. It's just not serious to suggest otherwise.
And it is totally fair to make a judgement based on the expertise of the person giving advice. If you don't you are really fooling yourself. Global weather models are not only so simplyfied that they really don't predict anything with any significant certainty. At the same time they are completely incomprehensible to anyone who hasn't had a least a couple of years of undergraduate studies in physics.
That should be enough incentive for people not to trust these kind of reports.
It has nothing to do with who they are as persons. I wouldn't give you financial advice, since I am not a banker, but a physicist. It's just common sense.
Now if I said that you shouldn't take their advice, because they were all a bunch of no good thieves and scoundrels. Then that would be an ad hominem attack.
Well except for the last statement, I couldn't agree more. Lets have a look at who these so-called experts really are..
The countdown to climate-change catastrophe is spelt out by a task force of senior politicians, business leaders and academics from around the world - and it is remarkably brief. In as little as 10 years, or even less, their report indicates, the point of no return with global warming may have been reached.
So? Now politicians and financial advisors are experts on climate changes?
You might as well ask Uri Geller what he thinks the weather is going to be like...
I see. And do you feel like people *should* find it ethically disturbing to run a freenetnode? Do you think ISPs should be held responsable for what other people do with their services? Do you think they should feel morally/ethically responsable because some people abuse their services?
It's not a black and white issue. The way I weigh the arguments, I come out with the conclusion that running a freenet node is not something I want to do. But recognizing the complexity, I will say at the same time, it is not for me to decide what other people should do here. I don't have anything against freenet as such. It might be a tool that we will need later on when liberties have been more thoroughly stomped on. I don't think we have reached that point yet though.
So to repeat myself, seeing as I only just barely have an issue with this myself, I definitly feel that if other people feel differently about it, then that is their decision. And to answer your question. No I have absolutely no problem with whatever trafic my ISP carries.
Got to go to a new years party now. if you wan't we can continue this debate next year.:)
Just wanna throw in a voice for Kaffeine 0.5. I think the playlist is much nicer and the whole thing integrates a lot better into kde. Jürgen Köfler and the rest of the gang really pulled off a nice app with 0.5. In any case, whichever version you prefer, Kaffeine should be the number one choice for a xine frontend on KDE.
Huh? How am I responsible for what other people do?
I don't want to use freenet, because then I could potentially, although unknowingly, be hosting child porn on my server. I find that ethically disturbing. And so does plenty of other people it seems.
If the ISP has ethical issues with transporting freenet data. They should make an effort to stop it.
Or do you really think that because the ISP takes my money, and the ISP ferries freenet trafic, then my small contribution to my ISP is in effect more or less a direct, though tiny, contribution towards keeping freenet running? And in turn I should have ethical issues with that?
Slashdot Mirror
Actually the European Patent Conventionstates in article 52:
(2) The following in particular shall not be regarded as inventions within the meaning of paragraph 1:
...
(c) schemes, rules and methods for performing mental acts, playing games or doing business, and programs for computers;
So software patents are actually illegal in Europe. Strangely enough the European Patents Office seems to think otherwise though.
In A Piece Of Blue Sky by Jon Atack, one of the most authoritative sources on Scientology. He states:
Lafayette Ronald Hubbard was born in Tilden, Nebraska, on March 13, 1911.
This quote can be found in Part 2, Chapter 1.
I am sure I can point out at least a couple of scientists at the Niels Bohr Institute of Copenhagen University, where I study physics, who would disagree with that.
I personally haven't seen any convincing evidence that would make that case clear.
It's all fuzzy curves, and contradicting data if you ask me.
You are right. It was just nuked..
15 minutes ago..
Somebody said alien, and she thought they meant illegal alien and signed up!
I have a similar story.
ClamAV blocked the first one on my server at 00:20 CET on may 3rd. Since then I have recieved exactly 100 Sober.P containing mails. And I only have one publicly known email address on that server.
It's almost a 20 fold increase in blocked mails.
What happens when they run out of Toy Story characters to name their distros after?
LSD..
I totally disagree. If what you were saying were true, we might as well stop all research in astronomy, particle physics, and theoretical physics and mathematics. Those fields do not produce any results that are useful in everyday life, so why keep funding them?
Geostationary orbit is a long way up.
But getting there is done routinely. Where do you think your satelite tv feed is send from?
We don't know yet if carbon nanotubes have the strength require to be able to handle their own mass over such a distance - or half it if you have an asteroid keeping station at the other end.
The most promissing designs require a counterweight to be placed at the outer end of the cable. This would be a human construction, not an asteroid. The cable will have to support the weight of itself, plus the weight of the counterweight being tossed around in orbit. Typical values for tensile strengths needed are quoted as being in between the range ~65120 GPa. Carbonanotubes have have had observed breaking strains of ~63Gpa, but in theory they could go as high as 120 GPa. Research in these materials are still in it's infancy, so I think it is safe to assume that it will be possible, within 10 years, to prove the feasability of creating a material with the required properties.
Call back when we have the technology to bridge from Singapore to Mexico City in a single span - we'll be a small fraction of the way there.
And really why do we bother even wasting money of this. The whole concept of building a space elevator is insane and ungodly right?
Please go off and live in your mud hut, with your fellow bible thumping right-wing extremists, and let us scientists get on with building your TVs, Cable-networks, internet, computers, microwave ovens, SUVs, trains, airplanes, ...
If you want to build a long bridge, the main problem is that the breaking strain of steel cables would require you to make an unreasonably big and heavy cable. If you could just use a carbonanotube cable, you would save massive amounts of weight, while still having a stronger design.
The problem is still building the actual cable, which is the same problem, whether you want to build a bridge or a space elevator. I would expect that such a cable would need to be tested in familiar applications like bridgebuilding, and fabric production. Imagine a bullet proof west, made out of carbonanotube composite.
Whatever happens, it will agree with quantum mechanics. Because quantum mechanics is right. Always..
In other news, homeland security raises the terror alert level to gray goo..
If my ip told me I couldn't use bt, I'd soon be looking for a friendlier ISP.
You will get my keramic theme when you pry it from.. etc..
No, it didn't. In fact, this is the most important problem in CS.
Nahh.. The most important problem in CS are those annoying campers.
Me2. I am on Debian Unstable, which of course is pretty much the same thing.
The thing that disappointed me though, is that it requires OSS or OSS emulation on ALSA for sound input and output. I haven't compiled in any of this in my kernel, since all open source apps already has native alsa support, or use some sound server (I am stuck with arts, since I am using KDE). But they promise that other sound systems will be supported soon.
MRT's don't have hidden agendas. People sometimes do.
Please.. Einstein was never just any other patent clerk. It's just not serious to suggest otherwise.
And it is totally fair to make a judgement based on the expertise of the person giving advice. If you don't you are really fooling yourself. Global weather models are not only so simplyfied that they really don't predict anything with any significant certainty. At the same time they are completely incomprehensible to anyone who hasn't had a least a couple of years of undergraduate studies in physics.
That should be enough incentive for people not to trust these kind of reports.
It has nothing to do with who they are as persons. I wouldn't give you financial advice, since I am not a banker, but a physicist. It's just common sense.
Now if I said that you shouldn't take their advice, because they were all a bunch of no good thieves and scoundrels. Then that would be an ad hominem attack.
Well except for the last statement, I couldn't agree more. Lets have a look at who these so-called experts really are..
The countdown to climate-change catastrophe is spelt out by a task force of senior politicians, business leaders and academics from around the world - and it is remarkably brief. In as little as 10 years, or even less, their report indicates, the point of no return with global warming may have been reached.
So? Now politicians and financial advisors are experts on climate changes?
You might as well ask Uri Geller what he thinks the weather is going to be like...
Pffsst..
I see. And do you feel like people *should* find it ethically disturbing to run a freenetnode? Do you think ISPs should be held responsable for what other people do with their services? Do you think they should feel morally/ethically responsable because some people abuse their services?
It's not a black and white issue. The way I weigh the arguments, I come out with the conclusion that running a freenet node is not something I want to do. But recognizing the complexity, I will say at the same time, it is not for me to decide what other people should do here. I don't have anything against freenet as such. It might be a tool that we will need later on when liberties have been more thoroughly stomped on. I don't think we have reached that point yet though.
So to repeat myself, seeing as I only just barely have an issue with this myself, I definitly feel that if other people feel differently about it, then that is their decision. And to answer your question. No I have absolutely no problem with whatever trafic my ISP carries.
Got to go to a new years party now. if you wan't we can continue this debate next year. :)
Just wanna throw in a voice for Kaffeine 0.5. I think the playlist is much nicer and the whole thing integrates a lot better into kde. Jürgen Köfler and the rest of the gang really pulled off a nice app with 0.5. In any case, whichever version you prefer, Kaffeine should be the number one choice for a xine frontend on KDE.
Huh? How am I responsible for what other people do?
I don't want to use freenet, because then I could potentially, although unknowingly, be hosting child porn on my server. I find that ethically disturbing. And so does plenty of other people it seems.
If the ISP has ethical issues with transporting freenet data. They should make an effort to stop it.
Or do you really think that because the ISP takes my money, and the ISP ferries freenet trafic, then my small contribution to my ISP is in effect more or less a direct, though tiny, contribution towards keeping freenet running? And in turn I should have ethical issues with that?
I am not responsible for what other people do.