....or if it was a certain use of what is on the plastic...
If someone gives you something with conditions of use, then it was not a gift. If the item comes in the mail, unsolicited, then by definition is is a gift and cannot have any conditions upon it other than those imposed by law. In this case it would be copyright law.
Even if it is not a gift, but if I BUY a piece of plastic with music or video on it, or a pile of paper with letters printed thereon, I can STILL do with them whatever I wish, again, consistent with copyright law. Copyright law allows me to resell or lend THAT particular copy of content.
As a recipient of that "little piece of plastic" you may do anything you want with it, except copy and/or distribute the CONTENT engraved on the plastic. If you own that piece of plastic, you also own the content on that ONE piece of plastic.
There is no confusion at all. If I get an unsolicited gift from someone I have otherwise no dealings with, they have no rights over it whatsoever, unless there is a law pertaining to that item that gives specific rights, such as copyright law. In the case of the CD, I may not make copies and/or distribute these copies. I may do anything else with it, regardless of what is written on the package. Sounds like big content trying to erode the consumers rights again.
No, there is only ONE thing I may not do under law, and that is copy it and then distribute copies. Other than that, I can do anything at all with it: eat it, burn it sell it, tear it up etc.." I may also read it.
Indeed, why does some secretary or even the CEO at the power company headquarters need to know how many amps some generator 100 miles away is currently generating? There should never be *any* conceivable electronic path from the Internet to the SCDA systems.
Of course this works only in Windows! There you have another reason to use a Mac or Linux. Why, oh WHY does MS program their OS to automatically run whatever crap is on a data storage device?
...people don't run Antivirus software on OS X because of the perceived safety...
Mac safety isn't perceived, it is REAL. There are millions of Macs connected to the Internet, but there are zero malware programs and no Mac zombie nets.
Windows fans like to speculate what might be if/when Macs become much more popular. Who cares what might be. Most users are concerned with what IS not what may someday happen. Someday the sun will extighuish. We'll cross that bridge when we get there. Meanwhile, for practical purposes, at present, Macs are infinitely more secure than Windows boxes.
Bottom line: Anyone who wants a malware free computing experience TODAY should get a Mac. Worry about tomorrow when tomorrow arrives.
....Nothing in OS X requires that executable code ask permission from the OS before it runs.....
Any file downloaded from the Internet or other program that wants to run for the first time triggers a warning for the user. A supposed picture or other data file that contains executable code cannot be opened, unless the user ignores a very specific warning.
A driver who ignores a "Road Closed" sign may end up in the river that earlier washed away the bridge.
That is such a tired, inane argument. Mac users make a very tempting target for thieves, because Mac owners, on average, have more money to steal than Windows users. Maybe on average they are smarter than Windows users and don't click on every tempting link? I really doubt that though.
There are theoretical vulnerabilities for Macs, but none in practice.
In the end, it doesn't really matter WHY Mac houses don't get burgled. Maybe Mac users live in a low crime neighborhood and/or have better locks. Burglars and cyber-crooks are lazy SOBs. If they weren't, they'd get real jobs and make an honest living. Burgling Windows houses is apparently much easier than working.
No, it isn't HALF bad; it's a TERRIBLE idea. OSX stores all files germane to a given program in THAT program's folder and nowhere else. Anything pertaining to a particular USER of that program is put in that user's library. The program folder and all of its bits and pieces may even be made read only and things will still work. Each user's settings are individual only to that user. If a bug creams the user's settings file, he/she can erase it and the program creates a new clean, default file. User then restores the preferences.
No registry. No single point of failure and attack. No convoluted, arcane Regedit program is needed. How many Windows systems croak permanently because of a problem with the registry?
For OSX, developers have to be smarter and work harder than for Windows. That means that users have an easier time and a more reliable and securer computer.
....Sometimes you also have to give permission to read/write some part of the registry hive also....
Why has MS not axed that incredibly stupid registry thing long ago? What a colossal single point of failure that is.
OSX solution simply puts all files a program needs into a special folder which a user may drag and drop anywhere in their user space. NO installer needs to run. User preferences go into that users library. To get rid of an unwanted program, just drag the whole program to the trash. The associated setup files may still lurk in the library, taking up some space. Even those files can be easily found and thrown away.
.....Most software that I used doesn't require advanced privileges.....
So what? It only takes ONE program Joe user wants, that will not run without admin rights. User will then have admin for all the other programs, including malware.
With Windows, even a relatively experienced user can easily get infected. Once infected, the convoluted structure of Windows makes it difficult, if not impossible to find and remove the offending programs. The malware modifies the registry to ensure that evil programs run every time the system boots or the user logs in. Why do Windows programs need any installer to get the program into the computer and an uninstaller to get that same damn crummy programs off the computer?
With Macs most programs don't need either. A user may drag the program folder to any place they have write permissions and the program is installed. Dragging it to the trash from wherever the user put it, gets rid of it ALL. Macs also warn users when they try to execute a file that came from the Internet, giving them the chance to cancel. No executable program pretending to be a picture, sound or other data file, can run for the first time without such a warning.
It is MUCH harder for a halfway computer literate Mac user to get infected and if that should happen, it is also much simpler to find and get rid of the offending code. NO OS is foolproof, but OSX makes it MUCH harder for computer vermin to enter and survive in a Mac than any version of Windows. It doesn't take much of a brain to write successful malware for Windows. Any script-kiddie may buy tools to infest any Windows system. To do the same for Macs and Linux requires a much larger amount of brainpower. If the stupid crooks that write bots and other malware had to really WORK HARD to ply their trade, many of them might get an honest job.
....Why do you believe what one group of humans says are God's rules?....
That's the question that religion has been and still is trying to figure out. If God really exists, don't you think He should be capable of communicating to each individual that TRULY wants to hear from Him, regardless of preconceived notions from others?
Forget what you've heard about Christianity and any other religion. Read the gospel of John, as it is written and make up your own mind, without other "religious" input. Jesus life and what he told us, can stand entirely on its own. If need be, read it several times, from different translations. It is rather short. Think about the implications for your life IF what is written there is really true. If you need more information, read the other three gospels as well.
Of course, you may come to the conclusion that what is written there is fiction. That is your choice.
....A 2000 year old planet *probably* isn't very hospitable to life yet. Just my guess....
I would guess that also. Still such a short formation time of any kind of planet, habitable or not, is evidence against some present theories of planet formation.
....Slashdotters will quit with the 6000-year-old earth comments just as soon as the hordes of Bible thumpers stop trying to convince everyone that that is really true......
But if a planet can be observed to have formed in 2000 years or less, could it then be possible that one 6000 years old could also form? Nobody was around to observe when earth was formed, but here we actually observe a planet recently made. The Bible claims to have the information directly from the One who did the job.
Now we may not want to believe Him, but being around and making the universe and earth happen is not a claim any scientist living today can make. We also have to believe or disbelieve their theories.
The root problem is that as soon as you really believe that there is a God, the question of human accountability to this existing God raises it head.
Mark Twain, disbeliever, supposedly put it this way: "It's not the things in the Bible I cannot or don't want to understand that trouble me, but it is the things I do understand and don't wish obey or admit as truth that bother me".
As soon as a person admits to themselves that there may be or surely God exists, He, as Creator, should have the right to demand a change in their life style in conformity to His, not our rules, and be the ultimate Judge. That is an inescapable, but throughly uncomfortable thought quickly dismissed by many. Only if the grace and forgiveness of God is also factored in, is that distress relieved.
...Next thing you know they'll want trademarks on letters or digits.....
Yes lets get together on this. I'll trademark the letter "e" both upper and lowercase and you take the digits "0" and "1" for starters. How about it? Is it a deal?
.....It's hard to enjoy a holiday for Fools with George W. Bush in the White House......
So how many voted for him. Are they all also fool? Do you really think that if the majority had voted for Gore, they wouldn't have been more, or at least equally foolish?
Is there really that much difference between Democans and Republicrats once either one is in power? They both accept bribes (campaign contributions) from well heeled corporations and individuals. There will be no fundamental change until the money factor is taken out of all election campaigns. A snowball in hell has a better chance, than that happening however.
....If it's a small enough town, I would probably infer that not enough happens in the town every day......
In our small town we do have a weekly newspaper that prints many personal interest items that would never make it even to a nearby larger daily paper. We also have a number of local merchants who have found that advertising their goods and services is cost effective and is keeping the paper doing well. Its owners will never get rich, but make a decent living providing our community with a service. Classified ads for the kinds of things the locals are interested in bring quick results. Also, in smaller, mostly rural communities, Internet access isn't nearly as ubiquitous as in the larger cities. It will be a long time before the Internet will replace a useful small town paper.
You mean you don't know that REAL engineers run big engines, train engines that is? In days gone by, real engineers also ran BIG steam shovels, steam power stations, ships and other gigantic steam driven machinery. Even nowadays people called engineers drive trains, albeit diesel or electric ones.
Fine if that's what he/she wants to do. However, it has to be renewed every 5 years for the life time of the creator, a real live flesh and blood person, not a fictitious creation of the state. If not renewed, or upon death of the creator, the work becomes public domain. The creator may assign the renewal chore to someone else if wanted.
This means for example that copyright for Mickey Mouse would have expired when Walt exited this world. The renewal requirement would allow works that the creator didn't care about any longer, enough to renew, to be available to all of us.
.... cassette tape would cost $9.99 and a CD would cost $15.99.......
The extra cost is for the high frequencies on the CD that the tape lacks. You must also pay more for the absence of tape hiss in the CD and the fact that it is much easier to listen to the songs on CD in random order. Sum it up: Convenience and better sound costs more.
Submission to the God of the Bible is voluntary. Christians are not admonished to kill those who will not submit to Christ. Of course, sadly, they have done this throughout the intervening centuries, since Jesus Christ walked here on Earth.
We humans live in a sin soaked, imperfect environment here on Earth. We are told this was not so in the beginning and will not be in the end. In all humans there is a deep, inexpressible yearning for a perfect world, free of evil. Religion is but one manifestation of this.
God has, for our sake, taken steps to keep evil down to some tolerable level. He once wiped the population off the planet, to give humanity another fresh start. So where are we today?
Jesus tells us that just before the end, mankind will attempt to wipe themselves off the Earth and He will have to intervene to prevent that. We certainly have the modern WMD's to make that a reality.
While here on Earth, Jesus made some extraordinary claims. He claimed to be God in human form. Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. He provided this evidence by His resurrection. Christendom just commemorated that event yesterday. Everyone MAY believe this. However we are also told:
John 3:18 He who believes on Him is not condemned, but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only-begotten Son of God.
Read the whole chapter 3 of John to get the context.
How about restricting copyright to real live, breathing human creators of the work for their lifetime? There would be no selling, trading, for hire, assigning or inheriting of copyright. The originator can assign only commercial reproduction rights to one entity for an agreed upon time, not more than 5 years at a time. After 5 years the creator of the work may renew or not or make another 5 years agreement with another distributor.
Let everyone to make copies for their own personal use, but allow the creator of the infringed work to sue for up to ten times the sales value of every infringing copy made. The work must be available for NEW purchase as long as the originator thereof lives. If not, then it automatically becomes public domain. That would force originators to see to it that books and other works don't go out of print.
Make copyright work for the creating artists, not the fat cat corporations, as is now the case.
...Most muslims, as in an overwhelming majority, don't want to have anything do do with violence....
That's because most Muslims don't follow all the tenets of their faith anymore than most Christians do. What percentage of Christians truly love their enemies or even keep the same marriage partner for a whole lifetime, "until death do us part"?
One of the tenets of Muslim teaching is that infidels (unbelievers, ie. anyone not a Muslim) can be FORCED to submit to Islam (which means submission). The ultimate force any human can exert on another is death.
Slashdot Mirror
....or if it was a certain use of what is on the plastic...
If someone gives you something with conditions of use, then it was not a gift. If the item comes in the mail, unsolicited, then by definition is is a gift and cannot have any conditions upon it other than those imposed by law. In this case it would be copyright law.
Even if it is not a gift, but if I BUY a piece of plastic with music or video on it, or a pile of paper with letters printed thereon, I can STILL do with them whatever I wish, again, consistent with copyright law. Copyright law allows me to resell or lend THAT particular copy of content.
...the gift is the actual piece of plastic ...
As a recipient of that "little piece of plastic" you may do anything you want with it, except copy and/or distribute the CONTENT engraved on the plastic. If you own that piece of plastic, you also own the content on that ONE piece of plastic.
...That is why there is confusion...
There is no confusion at all. If I get an unsolicited gift from someone I have otherwise no dealings with, they have no rights over it whatsoever, unless there is a law pertaining to that item that gives specific rights, such as copyright law. In the case of the CD, I may not make copies and/or distribute these copies. I may do anything else with it, regardless of what is written on the package. Sounds like big content trying to erode the consumers rights again.
.....and you can only read it....
No, there is only ONE thing I may not do under law, and that is copy it and then distribute copies. Other than that, I can do anything at all with it: eat it, burn it sell it, tear it up etc.." I may also read it.
..Disconnect the damn control network already...
Indeed, why does some secretary or even the CEO at the power company headquarters need to know how many amps some generator 100 miles away is currently generating? There should never be *any* conceivable electronic path from the Internet to the SCDA systems.
....Same way autorun works from a CD....
Of course this works only in Windows! There you have another reason to use a Mac or Linux. Why, oh WHY does MS program their OS to automatically run whatever crap is on a data storage device?
...people don't run Antivirus software on OS X because of the perceived safety...
Mac safety isn't perceived, it is REAL. There are millions of Macs connected to the Internet, but there are zero malware programs and no Mac zombie nets.
Windows fans like to speculate what might be if/when Macs become much more popular. Who cares what might be. Most users are concerned with what IS not what may someday happen. Someday the sun will extighuish. We'll cross that bridge when we get there. Meanwhile, for practical purposes, at present, Macs are infinitely more secure than Windows boxes.
Bottom line: Anyone who wants a malware free computing experience TODAY should get a Mac. Worry about tomorrow when tomorrow arrives.
....Nothing in OS X requires that executable code ask permission from the OS before it runs.....
Any file downloaded from the Internet or other program that wants to run for the first time triggers a warning for the user. A supposed picture or other data file that contains executable code cannot be opened, unless the user ignores a very specific warning.
A driver who ignores a "Road Closed" sign may end up in the river that earlier washed away the bridge.
....Apple's market share is rising.....
That is such a tired, inane argument. Mac users make a very tempting target for thieves, because Mac owners, on average, have more money to steal than Windows users. Maybe on average they are smarter than Windows users and don't click on every tempting link? I really doubt that though.
There are theoretical vulnerabilities for Macs, but none in practice.
In the end, it doesn't really matter WHY Mac houses don't get burgled. Maybe Mac users live in a low crime neighborhood and/or have better locks. Burglars and cyber-crooks are lazy SOBs. If they weren't, they'd get real jobs and make an honest living. Burgling Windows houses is apparently much easier than working.
....The registry isn't a half-bad idea....
No, it isn't HALF bad; it's a TERRIBLE idea. OSX stores all files germane to a given program in THAT program's folder and nowhere else. Anything pertaining to a particular USER of that program is put in that user's library. The program folder and all of its bits and pieces may even be made read only and things will still work. Each user's settings are individual only to that user. If a bug creams the user's settings file, he/she can erase it and the program creates a new clean, default file. User then restores the preferences.
No registry. No single point of failure and attack. No convoluted, arcane Regedit program is needed. How many Windows systems croak permanently because of a problem with the registry?
For OSX, developers have to be smarter and work harder than for Windows. That means that users have an easier time and a more reliable and securer computer.
....Sometimes you also have to give permission to read/write some part of the registry hive also....
Why has MS not axed that incredibly stupid registry thing long ago? What a colossal single point of failure that is.
OSX solution simply puts all files a program needs into a special folder which a user may drag and drop anywhere in their user space. NO installer needs to run. User preferences go into that users library. To get rid of an unwanted program, just drag the whole program to the trash. The associated setup files may still lurk in the library, taking up some space. Even those files can be easily found and thrown away.
.....Most software that I used doesn't require advanced privileges .....
So what? It only takes ONE program Joe user wants, that will not run without admin rights. User will then have admin for all the other programs, including malware.
With Windows, even a relatively experienced user can easily get infected. Once infected, the convoluted structure of Windows makes it difficult, if not impossible to find and remove the offending programs. The malware modifies the registry to ensure that evil programs run every time the system boots or the user logs in. Why do Windows programs need any installer to get the program into the computer and an uninstaller to get that same damn crummy programs off the computer?
With Macs most programs don't need either. A user may drag the program folder to any place they have write permissions and the program is installed. Dragging it to the trash from wherever the user put it, gets rid of it ALL. Macs also warn users when they try to execute a file that came from the Internet, giving them the chance to cancel. No executable program pretending to be a picture, sound or other data file, can run for the first time without such a warning.
It is MUCH harder for a halfway computer literate Mac user to get infected and if that should happen, it is also much simpler to find and get rid of the offending code. NO OS is foolproof, but OSX makes it MUCH harder for computer vermin to enter and survive in a Mac than any version of Windows. It doesn't take much of a brain to write successful malware for Windows. Any script-kiddie may buy tools to infest any Windows system. To do the same for Macs and Linux requires a much larger amount of brainpower. If the stupid crooks that write bots and other malware had to really WORK HARD to ply their trade, many of them might get an honest job.
....Why do you believe what one group of humans says are God's rules?....
That's the question that religion has been and still is trying to figure out. If God really exists, don't you think He should be capable of communicating to each individual that TRULY wants to hear from Him, regardless of preconceived notions from others?
Forget what you've heard about Christianity and any other religion. Read the gospel of John, as it is written and make up your own mind, without other "religious" input. Jesus life and what he told us, can stand entirely on its own. If need be, read it several times, from different translations. It is rather short. Think about the implications for your life IF what is written there is really true. If you need more information, read the other three gospels as well.
Of course, you may come to the conclusion that what is written there is fiction. That is your choice.
....A 2000 year old planet *probably* isn't very hospitable to life yet. Just my guess....
I would guess that also. Still such a short formation time of any kind of planet, habitable or not, is evidence against some present theories of planet formation.
....Slashdotters will quit with the 6000-year-old earth comments just as soon as the hordes of Bible thumpers stop trying to convince everyone that that is really true......
But if a planet can be observed to have formed in 2000 years or less, could it then be possible that one 6000 years old could also form? Nobody was around to observe when earth was formed, but here we actually observe a planet recently made. The Bible claims to have the information directly from the One who did the job.
Now we may not want to believe Him, but being around and making the universe and earth happen is not a claim any scientist living today can make. We also have to believe or disbelieve their theories.
The root problem is that as soon as you really believe that there is a God, the question of human accountability to this existing God raises it head.
Mark Twain, disbeliever, supposedly put it this way: "It's not the things in the Bible I cannot or don't want to understand that trouble me, but it is the things I do understand and don't wish obey or admit as truth that bother me".
As soon as a person admits to themselves that there may be or surely God exists, He, as Creator, should have the right to demand a change in their life style in conformity to His, not our rules, and be the ultimate Judge. That is an inescapable, but throughly uncomfortable thought quickly dismissed by many. Only if the grace and forgiveness of God is also factored in, is that distress relieved.
....But the earth is 6000 years old!' comments!".....
If a planet can form out there somewhere in only 2000 or less years, might it then not be possible to get one done in three times as long?
...Next thing you know they'll want trademarks on letters or digits.....
Yes lets get together on this. I'll trademark the letter "e" both upper and lowercase and you take the digits "0" and "1" for starters. How about it? Is it a deal?
.....It's hard to enjoy a holiday for Fools with George W. Bush in the White House......
So how many voted for him. Are they all also fool? Do you really think that if the majority had voted for Gore, they wouldn't have been more, or at least equally foolish?
Is there really that much difference between Democans and Republicrats once either one is in power? They both accept bribes (campaign contributions) from well heeled corporations and individuals. There will be no fundamental change until the money factor is taken out of all election campaigns. A snowball in hell has a better chance, than that happening however.
....If it's a small enough town, I would probably infer that not enough happens in the town every day......
In our small town we do have a weekly newspaper that prints many personal interest items that would never make it even to a nearby larger daily paper. We also have a number of local merchants who have found that advertising their goods and services is cost effective and is keeping the paper doing well. Its owners will never get rich, but make a decent living providing our community with a service. Classified ads for the kinds of things the locals are interested in bring quick results. Also, in smaller, mostly rural communities, Internet access isn't nearly as ubiquitous as in the larger cities. It will be a long time before the Internet will replace a useful small town paper.
.....that only THEY are engineers......
You mean you don't know that REAL engineers run big engines, train engines that is? In days gone by, real engineers also ran BIG steam shovels, steam power stations, ships and other gigantic steam driven machinery. Even nowadays people called engineers drive trains, albeit diesel or electric ones.
.....If he wants to sell his rights entirely.....
Fine if that's what he/she wants to do. However, it has to be renewed every 5 years for the life time of the creator, a real live flesh and blood person, not a fictitious creation of the state. If not renewed, or upon death of the creator, the work becomes public domain. The creator may assign the renewal chore to someone else if wanted.
This means for example that copyright for Mickey Mouse would have expired when Walt exited this world. The renewal requirement would allow works that the creator didn't care about any longer, enough to renew, to be available to all of us.
.... cassette tape would cost $9.99 and a CD would cost $15.99. ......
The extra cost is for the high frequencies on the CD that the tape lacks. You must also pay more for the absence of tape hiss in the CD and the fact that it is much easier to listen to the songs on CD in random order. Sum it up: Convenience and better sound costs more.
....require submission to God....
Submission to the God of the Bible is voluntary. Christians are not admonished to kill those who will not submit to Christ. Of course, sadly, they have done this throughout the intervening centuries, since Jesus Christ walked here on Earth.
We humans live in a sin soaked, imperfect environment here on Earth. We are told this was not so in the beginning and will not be in the end. In all humans there is a deep, inexpressible yearning for a perfect world, free of evil. Religion is but one manifestation of this.
God has, for our sake, taken steps to keep evil down to some tolerable level. He once wiped the population off the planet, to give humanity another fresh start. So where are we today?
Jesus tells us that just before the end, mankind will attempt to wipe themselves off the Earth and He will have to intervene to prevent that. We certainly have the modern WMD's to make that a reality.
While here on Earth, Jesus made some extraordinary claims. He claimed to be God in human form. Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. He provided this evidence by His resurrection. Christendom just commemorated that event yesterday. Everyone MAY believe this. However we are also told:
John 3:18 He who believes on Him is not condemned, but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only-begotten Son of God.
Read the whole chapter 3 of John to get the context.
....Is a better system possible?.....
How about restricting copyright to real live, breathing human creators of the work for their lifetime? There would be no selling, trading, for hire, assigning or inheriting of copyright. The originator can assign only commercial reproduction rights to one entity for an agreed upon time, not more than 5 years at a time. After 5 years the creator of the work may renew or not or make another 5 years agreement with another distributor.
Let everyone to make copies for their own personal use, but allow the creator of the infringed work to sue for up to ten times the sales value of every infringing copy made. The work must be available for NEW purchase as long as the originator thereof lives. If not, then it automatically becomes public domain. That would force originators to see to it that books and other works don't go out of print.
Make copyright work for the creating artists, not the fat cat corporations, as is now the case.
...Most muslims, as in an overwhelming majority, don't want to have anything do do with violence....
That's because most Muslims don't follow all the tenets of their faith anymore than most Christians do. What percentage of Christians truly love their enemies or even keep the same marriage partner for a whole lifetime, "until death do us part"?
One of the tenets of Muslim teaching is that infidels (unbelievers, ie. anyone not a Muslim) can be FORCED to submit to Islam (which means submission). The ultimate force any human can exert on another is death.