A copyright should expire at the latest when the last author dies. We should also bring back the 14-year term (possibly with one renewal).
There should be no restrictions on private, completely non-commercial copying.
Copyright infringement should be a civil matter only---not criminal.
Anything "executable" (software, firmware) can be copyrighted only if the applicant lodges the full source code with the copyright office and agress that the office will publish it when the copyright expires and publish it and revoke the copyright if the product becomes abandoned or there is a compelling public interest to do so.
Flash is fine for entertainment, such as the Viking Kittens. But you should never need it to navigate a site. Text and hyperlinks (and occasionally image-maps) are the correct way to provide navigation.
If someone put a bunch of fairly professional looking CDs (labelled and in printed cardboard sleeves) marked "Free high security bootable CDs for customers of Bank of Fubar" in display boxes at retail locations, a number of dopey customers of that bank (excluding you and me, of course!) would probably pick them up and try them out. If they seemed to work the first few times, those people would keep using them until disaster struck.
It would be a lot more expensive than e-mail phishing, but it would work with some people.
So would it adversely affect spam profitability if we started deliberately following those links and putting in fake names, nonexistent addresses and numbers of payphones?
We've recently started using Chip+PIN here in the UK (it's been standard in France for a while). The device has a card slot and a somewhat shielded keypad. You put your card in the slot, then it shows the amount and prompts you to enter your PIN. It authorizes the transaction and tells you when to remove your card. This is supposed to improve security but I see a few disadvantages for consumers.
The device could be altered to record your PIN as well as the card details, so a crook could still skim cards.
Because the new system is supposed to be more secure, it will be more difficult for consumers to repudiate fraudulent transactions.
Shoulder-surfers can see your PIN unless you make a point of covering the keypad well with your other hand.
Given Amazon's unerring ability to recommend only books that already own, I imagine this means that they will begin recommending the ones that I have just added to the cart.
In the next stage of assimilation, Amazon will automatically, predictively order books for you just hours before you would have ordered them anyway! And you'll like it!
Personally, I find "Visual.*" languages and IDEs repulsive. But on principle:
Failure to put abandonware in the public domain is a serious defect in contemporary copyright law -- which after all is supposed to exist "to promote the useful arts and sciences", i.e. the public good. If Microsoft chooses to discontinue the VB6 business, the public should have a right to the source code and documentation.
Another problem is the too-wide definition of crime to include things like private drug use, copyright infringement (which should be a purely civil matter), refusal to surrender encryption keys, driving while black/Arab, etc., ad nauseam.
I'm starting to agree with the paranoid people who say that governments are deliberately trying to criminalize as much of the population as possible so that everyone can be forced into submission.
What people seem to be missing here, is that the fourth amendment is just a limit to what government can do.
The problem is the framers of the Constitution (as well as the other Englightenment writers who influenced ideas about politics in the US and elsewhere) saw government as the only major threat to freedom.
For example, in their world, most people who counted morally (excluding slaves, "Indians" etc.) were self-employed. They did not envisage the world we live in, where almost everyone is forced to work for a corporation in order to eat. If they had, they probably would have given people the right to protection from unfair searches and seizures by employers as well as by the government.
Similarly, as Whitfield Diffie said, "No right of private conversation was enumerated in the constitution. I don't suppose it occurred to anyone at the time that it could be prevented."
Users need to be made aware of the repercussions of having a weak password to a network. A lot of students at my university will constantly bitch and moan about our policy of making everyone change their passwords every 60 days.
I've read some articles (sorry, I don't have the references) that indicate that forcing users to change passwords frequently is bad, because they try to use simpler passwords and variations on a theme. It's better to force them to use good passwords but to let them keep them constant.
Debian unstable, despite its name, is actually quite stable -- I rarely have any problems with it. It's good for a desktop machine when you want the latest and the greatest, and are willing to spend some time updating the machine (because you'll need to do it frequently).
You can get even more stability from "unstable" by using the apt-listbugs package. This checks the bug reports as part of the apt-get upgrade and install commands and lets you pin packages on your system (instead of installing a newer but bugged version) until a subsequent version fixes the bugs.
When I tried pinching out the top, I ended up with a stick with no leaves. But maybe I was trying to keep the plant too short (10 to 12 inches). Thanks for the tip.
Do I really need to run my own mail server? No, it's a vanity thing.
I assume your ISP runs a consistently good outgoing SMTP server.
My ISP's SMTP usually works, but when it occasionally goes wrong, mail can sit queued for a day without returning any warning messages. If they didn't allow users to run their own mailrouters, I could be stuck unable to get important mail out.
My ISP claims that all services other than connectivity are "free services" provided to connection customers. This is a dirty trick to avoid giving any refunds when things go wrong.
Slashdot Mirror
There should be no restrictions on private, completely non-commercial copying.
Copyright infringement should be a civil matter only---not criminal.
Anything "executable" (software, firmware) can be copyrighted only if the applicant lodges the full source code with the copyright office and agress that the office will publish it when the copyright expires and publish it and revoke the copyright if the product becomes abandoned or there is a compelling public interest to do so.
But in the meantime:
1a. Profit!
2a. Profit!
3a. Profit!
Flash is fine for entertainment, such as the Viking Kittens. But you should never need it to navigate a site. Text and hyperlinks (and occasionally image-maps) are the correct way to provide navigation.
It would be a lot more expensive than e-mail phishing, but it would work with some people.
So would it adversely affect spam profitability if we started deliberately following those links and putting in fake names, nonexistent addresses and numbers of payphones?
In the next stage of assimilation, Amazon will automatically, predictively order books for you just hours before you would have ordered them anyway! And you'll like it!
I'm not going to argue that one.
Who cares.
You might care when the puppet's passwords are used to read or alter your tax/bank/etc. records!
Failure to put abandonware in the public domain is a serious defect in contemporary copyright law -- which after all is supposed to exist "to promote the useful arts and sciences", i.e. the public good. If Microsoft chooses to discontinue the VB6 business, the public should have a right to the source code and documentation.
I've got some scripts but I think they could be improved. Could you post yours for comparison?
Thanks.
A lot of people say the law, as it currently stands, is wrong.
My favourite: A digital thermometer with the advice "Once used rectally, the thermometer should not be used orally."
That would be surprising, since Lexmark tried to use the DMCA to suppress competition for cartridges.
See also "The History of Utah" by Camper van Beethoven.
I'm starting to agree with the paranoid people who say that governments are deliberately trying to criminalize as much of the population as possible so that everyone can be forced into submission.
The problem is the framers of the Constitution (as well as the other Englightenment writers who influenced ideas about politics in the US and elsewhere) saw government as the only major threat to freedom.
For example, in their world, most people who counted morally (excluding slaves, "Indians" etc.) were self-employed. They did not envisage the world we live in, where almost everyone is forced to work for a corporation in order to eat. If they had, they probably would have given people the right to protection from unfair searches and seizures by employers as well as by the government.
Similarly, as Whitfield Diffie said, "No right of private conversation was enumerated in the constitution. I don't suppose it occurred to anyone at the time that it could be prevented."
I've read some articles (sorry, I don't have the references) that indicate that forcing users to change passwords frequently is bad, because they try to use simpler passwords and variations on a theme. It's better to force them to use good passwords but to let them keep them constant.
You can get even more stability from "unstable" by using the apt-listbugs package. This checks the bug reports as part of the apt-get upgrade and install commands and lets you pin packages on your system (instead of installing a newer but bugged version) until a subsequent version fixes the bugs.
Pining for the fjords!
DRM is by its nature inherently unreasonable. Consumers should have the right to make backups and to play music on any device they want.
How did you notice it?
When I tried pinching out the top, I ended up with a stick with no leaves. But maybe I was trying to keep the plant too short (10 to 12 inches). Thanks for the tip.
I think it's already started!
I assume your ISP runs a consistently good outgoing SMTP server.
My ISP's SMTP usually works, but when it occasionally goes wrong, mail can sit queued for a day without returning any warning messages. If they didn't allow users to run their own mailrouters, I could be stuck unable to get important mail out.
My ISP claims that all services other than connectivity are "free services" provided to connection customers. This is a dirty trick to avoid giving any refunds when things go wrong.