If they don't believe we use free software because it's better, why do they think we use it? Either way, it reflects poorly on Microsoft that we don't use theirs.
The article mentions that the iTunes store doesn't have the rights to resell the Beatles' music. I wonder if that's due to the ongoing trademark turf war between Apple Computer and Apple Records (the Fab Four's label, and - according to legend - the appleinspiration for the name Jobs and Woz gave their kit computer). As I recall, one of the terms of a past settlement between the two was that the computer company would stay out of the music-publishing business.
The fact that a strategy (such as blacklisting) can be mismanaged and that it is not invulnerable to abuse does not necessarily make it a "Bad Idea". It just means it needs to be managed more carefully, and better secured from abuse.
"You could have IBM apply for this patent, or you could have some less scrupulous company."
I'd be more comfortable if it were done by a more scrupulous organization. Like any corporation, the shade of IBM's hat can vary from white to black to grey as people change at the executive and managerial levels.
The concept of the disposable phone is hardly novel. With all the free/cheap-with-service phones that can only used with this service or that service, that's pretty much what we have already.
"To obtain the time and location for your area..."
Unlike a solar eclipse, a lunar eclipse happens simultaneously regardless of where you are. The only questions are A) what time zone you're in (a little simple arithmetic), and B) whether you're in the right place to have an unobstructed view of the moon.
I'd be very surprised if the Greens weren't using Apache and some free OS.
On the other hand, I wouldn't have been surprised if the Libertarians were using Microsoftware. They've been vocal critics of the anti-trust suits against MS, on the grounds that these are regulations against free enterprise. Though I suppose that statement of principle doesn't obligate them to use the company's products. I do think that asking them to clarify their position on issues like open-source vs. proprietary software would be a valid - and very interesting - question.
I thought the obvious point of the question was to ask why that law was never enacted. Unauthorized use of this technology is, after all, a rather obvious consequence of it A) existing, and B) being in use.
This isn't like designer drugs (where the government has to play catch-up with the inventors), because it was through government agencies that this technology was developed and put into use in the first place. They knew about it; they should have had the sense to officially limit its use.
The enduring popularity of Apache 1.3.x comes from the fact that It Just Works. If it ain't broke...
One of the key benefits of Apache 2.0.x is that its architecture allows it to perform better on non-unix platforms such as Windows, and that's not exactly a selling point for sysadmins running Apache 1.3.x on Linux/BSD/etc. Combine that lack of incentive with the need for new, less-proven 2.0-compliant modules as a disincentive, and you have a lot of people staying put.
I suspect that most of Apache 2.0.x's growth has come (and will continue to come) in the form of new installs, where A) the new version is included with the OS, and B) there's no danger of breaking anything by using it.
Maybe it'll also have content restrictions embedded in it. Rememember the Frontpage 2002 EULA which forbade its use "in connection with any site that disparages Microsoft" (to say nothing not allowing the user to "promote racism, hatred or pornography")? Which would be even more problematic if applied to the OS itself. The racism and hatred provisions wouldn't be a problem for me (unless you count general misanthropy), but between the other two, I'd have to cut my blogging in half.
The head of Sony wanted a way to listen to music on the train. So did lots of other non-auto-driving Japanese commuters. The Walkman first caught on in America among teenagers, because they didn't have car stereos to listen to either.
The Mozilla/Netscape Composer module is a solid tool for non-techies to create and maintain web pages. If Nvu keeps that going, while the Mozilla crew focus instead on the browser and mail client, that's a Good Thing.
It's a nicely adaptable idea. Those who chafe at the uniformity that a logo implies... wouldn't have to.
The discs could easily be replaced by (or contain) other logos, allowing hackers to identify their own personal hacking predilections. For example, someone into LAMP hacking might include a penguin, a feather, a dolphin, and their choice of a camel, <?>, or a python. A Win hacker (yes, Virginia) might color four of the boxes RBYG. An old APL hacker could substitute glyphs from his favorite programming language. Etc.
For that matter, if anyone doesn't care for the particular pattern ESR chose, they can select one they prefer, without losing the essence of the design.
So... any IP hackers want to volunteer to do the trademark search?
IANAL but I used to live with one, and scored 90th percentile on the LSAT.
It is the professional responsibility of legal counsel to present whatever arguments they think might possibly win the case, regardless of whether or not those arguments are legally, ethically, morally, or rationally sound. So the fact that SCO's lawyers are making such screwball claims against the GPL is really just the standard litigation sideshow.
Whoever got the idea to market tablets to keyboard-averse executives missed the point: the tablet form factor is for "sub-secretarial" tasks, not "super-secretarial" tasks. It's best suited for taking inventory, collecting delivery signatures, and other tasks that involve walking around and recording data. That's semi-skilled clerical labor, not executive work.
Furthermore, executives don't generally use pens any more than they use keyboards (except perhaps to sign documents generated by other people). An executive's job is to read things, listen to people, think about the business, and tell people what to do. A tablet PC assists with none of those. What they want is (yes, I'm afraid it's true) a voice-controlled system, the 21st-century version of a dictaphone.
Until they put a thumb-typable keypad on phones, it'll never replace my PDA. Unfortunately, when they do that, it won't be as rugged and/or pocketable as a phone anymore, will it?
The first problem is that the roadmap says they'll be dropping "Firebird" and "Thunderbird" as product names, making the little "flame" icons meaningless. They need a new icon scheme.
The second problem is that they don't use the current scheme consistently.
I find it more convenient to run Win98 on a separate box (especially since it's an older one, and already paid for), so I can multitask: Code a web page on the Linux box, reload it in IE5.5 on the Win box, reload it in Safari on the Mac, reload in Mozilla on the Linux box, rinse, repeat. VMware or summat would also allow that sort of thing, but I don't have that, and... so does this. {smile}
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If they don't believe we use free software because it's better, why do they think we use it? Either way, it reflects poorly on Microsoft that we don't use theirs.
The article mentions that the iTunes store doesn't have the rights to resell the Beatles' music. I wonder if that's due to the ongoing trademark turf war between Apple Computer and Apple Records (the Fab Four's label, and - according to legend - the appleinspiration for the name Jobs and Woz gave their kit computer). As I recall, one of the terms of a past settlement between the two was that the computer company would stay out of the music-publishing business.
The fact that a strategy (such as blacklisting) can be mismanaged and that it is not invulnerable to abuse does not necessarily make it a "Bad Idea". It just means it needs to be managed more carefully, and better secured from abuse.
I'll be sure to include a smiley and footnote my ironic literary references from now on. {smile}
I'd be more comfortable if it were done by a more scrupulous organization. Like any corporation, the shade of IBM's hat can vary from white to black to grey as people change at the executive and managerial levels.
2003? The ability to revise your past remarks first came into widespread use in 1984.
The concept of the disposable phone is hardly novel. With all the free/cheap-with-service phones that can only used with this service or that service, that's pretty much what we have already.
Unlike a solar eclipse, a lunar eclipse happens simultaneously regardless of where you are. The only questions are A) what time zone you're in (a little simple arithmetic), and B) whether you're in the right place to have an unobstructed view of the moon.
On the other hand, I wouldn't have been surprised if the Libertarians were using Microsoftware. They've been vocal critics of the anti-trust suits against MS, on the grounds that these are regulations against free enterprise. Though I suppose that statement of principle doesn't obligate them to use the company's products. I do think that asking them to clarify their position on issues like open-source vs. proprietary software would be a valid - and very interesting - question.
This isn't like designer drugs (where the government has to play catch-up with the inventors), because it was through government agencies that this technology was developed and put into use in the first place. They knew about it; they should have had the sense to officially limit its use.
Inigo Montoya: "You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means."
One of the key benefits of Apache 2.0.x is that its architecture allows it to perform better on non-unix platforms such as Windows, and that's not exactly a selling point for sysadmins running Apache 1.3.x on Linux/BSD/etc. Combine that lack of incentive with the need for new, less-proven 2.0-compliant modules as a disincentive, and you have a lot of people staying put.
I suspect that most of Apache 2.0.x's growth has come (and will continue to come) in the form of new installs, where A) the new version is included with the OS, and B) there's no danger of breaking anything by using it.
Maybe it'll also have content restrictions embedded in it. Rememember the Frontpage 2002 EULA which forbade its use "in connection with any site that disparages Microsoft" (to say nothing not allowing the user to "promote racism, hatred or pornography")? Which would be even more problematic if applied to the OS itself. The racism and hatred provisions wouldn't be a problem for me (unless you count general misanthropy), but between the other two, I'd have to cut my blogging in half.
The head of Sony wanted a way to listen to music on the train. So did lots of other non-auto-driving Japanese commuters. The Walkman first caught on in America among teenagers, because they didn't have car stereos to listen to either.
The Mozilla/Netscape Composer module is a solid tool for non-techies to create and maintain web pages. If Nvu keeps that going, while the Mozilla crew focus instead on the browser and mail client, that's a Good Thing.
The discs could easily be replaced by (or contain) other logos, allowing hackers to identify their own personal hacking predilections. For example, someone into LAMP hacking might include a penguin, a feather, a dolphin, and their choice of a camel, <?>, or a python. A Win hacker (yes, Virginia) might color four of the boxes RBYG. An old APL hacker could substitute glyphs from his favorite programming language. Etc.
For that matter, if anyone doesn't care for the particular pattern ESR chose, they can select one they prefer, without losing the essence of the design.
So... any IP hackers want to volunteer to do the trademark search?
It is the professional responsibility of legal counsel to present whatever arguments they think might possibly win the case, regardless of whether or not those arguments are legally, ethically, morally, or rationally sound. So the fact that SCO's lawyers are making such screwball claims against the GPL is really just the standard litigation sideshow.
He's not a liar on this point, troll.
Veracity is a sufficient defence against a charge of libel.
Be careful, folks: he's patenting it. (See the bottom of the page.)
Furthermore, executives don't generally use pens any more than they use keyboards (except perhaps to sign documents generated by other people). An executive's job is to read things, listen to people, think about the business, and tell people what to do. A tablet PC assists with none of those. What they want is (yes, I'm afraid it's true) a voice-controlled system, the 21st-century version of a dictaphone.
Until they put a thumb-typable keypad on phones, it'll never replace my PDA. Unfortunately, when they do that, it won't be as rugged and/or pocketable as a phone anymore, will it?
Offer me laptop with a stlus-optional touchscreen and a keyboard (hold the trackpad or keyboard-embedded nubbin), and I'll consider it.
The second problem is that they don't use the current scheme consistently.
I find it more convenient to run Win98 on a separate box (especially since it's an older one, and already paid for), so I can multitask: Code a web page on the Linux box, reload it in IE5.5 on the Win box, reload it in Safari on the Mac, reload in Mozilla on the Linux box, rinse, repeat. VMware or summat would also allow that sort of thing, but I don't have that, and... so does this. {smile}