Slashdot Mirror


User: cpghost

cpghost's activity in the archive.

Stories
0
Comments
2,111
First seen
Last seen
Profile
(view on slashdot.org)

Comments · 2,111

  1. Re:How long until copyright prisons? on CCIA Calls Copyright Wiretaps 'Hollywood's PATRIOT Act' · · Score: 1

    In many countries, thanks to intense US bullying of the last 10 years, copyright infringement is already a felony. What goes around, comes around.

  2. Re:Blocked ? on US Military Blocks Websites To Free Up Bandwidth · · Score: 1

    Except for Amazon blocking (are they really such a bandwidth hog like video streaming sites?), it's actually a pretty good idea. Why does vital info have to be in video format? How about a simple, good ole fashioned no frills web site with a page of text? That would be at least as informative, but conserve enormous bandwidth during an emergency.

  3. Re:Why many turn to piracy on Cutting Prices Is the Only Way To Stop Piracy · · Score: 1

    Indeed, copyright is founded in greed; the public has a greed for new original and derivative works created, published, and in the public domain. Copyright is a means of getting more of those than there would be otherwise -- thus more greatly satisfying that public greed -- by accepting some delay in gratification so as to have something to use to get authors to do what we want.

    Except that the public domain doesn't grow anymore (in the US) since the Mickey Mouse Protection Act extended the length of the protection; and more extensions are more than likely in the future. That Copyright's intent is to develop the public domain, albeit with a delay, has become a myth for quite some time now.

  4. Re:Limit residential bandwidth! on Cutting Prices Is the Only Way To Stop Piracy · · Score: 1

    Indeed, there's no compelling technical reason for asymmetry. In fact, a simple protocol add-on could be woven into PPP (maybe in LCP?) so that both pairs would dynamically negotiate the relative bandwidth of their upstream/downstream channels. The only common constraint is the overall bandwidth of the link.

  5. Re:Piracy is theft. on Cutting Prices Is the Only Way To Stop Piracy · · Score: 1

    You robbed me of my 10 legally entitled bucks.

    You're only entitled to your 10 bucks, if I actually buy your product.

    I can always choose not to buy it but get a copy of it elsewhere. Not that I would do that, but that's the mechanics of the free market. When you sell something that is easy to copy and reproduce, you better lower your price until it is easier for the potential buyer to buy from you rather than to copy it himself... or you'll lose that sale. Plain and simple.

    Maybe you could consider selling something that's more difficult to copy, like, say, paid for talks, live performances, counselling, tutoring, ... based on your easily copyable product?

  6. Re:Peer-to-peer module for Ekiga? on GNU Free Call Announced, SIP-based VoIP · · Score: 1

    This project aims to implement the entire VOIP network back-end, vaguely similar to how Skype does it (largely P2P).

    I sure hope they won't need any central servers, including DNS, that could be used as choke points by any entity (commercial or government) to shut off the network.

  7. Wrong DVD Region Codes Are A Problem Too on Piracy In Developing Countries Driven By High Prices · · Score: 3, Interesting

    The artificial division of the world in DVD regions is also one major reason for piracy. Take for example North Africa: officially, it is in DVD region 5, but culturally AND economically, with all their ties to Europe, they get all their DVDs from Europe, a.k.a. region 2; legally or pirated, if need be. If the players you have there are all region 2 (and almost all of them are, because they're getting them from Europe), there's no point in buying a region 5 DVD there.

  8. Re:Old School Linux on Reminiscing Old School Linux · · Score: 1

    Same here, but with a 286 XT clone and a borrowed set of 13 5.25" Minix 1 floppies. Shortly after, similar experience with FreeBSD 1.5 floppies (right off the Walnut Creek CDROMs too) and then Slackware floppies. However, I've had some experience with PDPs before, so you can imagine how thrilled I felt when the Minix login: appeared on that 286 box for the first time. Ah sweet memories.

  9. Linux needs Windows binary compatibility on German Foreign Office Going Back To Windows · · Score: 1

    From a practical point of view, we need indeed more interoperability in the form of binary compatibility to Windows -- both to Windows apps via Wine, and to Windows drivers with some shim. Something like this has already been done in the past: think of FreeBSD's Linux ABI (Linuxulator) or NDIS shims. And, of course, most of the coding (PE-COFF loader, win32s libs) is already there as in Wine. All it needs is some coding and packaging efforts to make Windows Binary Compatibility as seamless and as transparent as possible on a Linux/BSD/Solaris/Unix/... box. I don't say: drop the current Linux/Unix ABI, I say, add Windows ABIs to the mix.

  10. Re:Patents... on LG Wants PlayStation 3 Banned From US Market · · Score: 1

    Patents are certainly driving innovation in the legalistic realm forward. There, fixed that for you.

  11. Re:DEAR SONY on Sony Lawyers Expand Dragnet, Targeting Anybody Posting PS3 Hack · · Score: 1

    Ah but he didn't RENT the PS3. He BOUGHT it. And as for them being 'kind enough' to 'allow me' to use their software, fuck that. They sold him a console with a copy of their software on it (yes, they SOLD him a copy of the software), and I couldn't care less what they say we can do with it. We can do as much as copyright laws allow, and it doesn't say anything about tinkering with the stuff.

    Sorry to nitpick, and IANAL, but they didn't sold a copy of the software. They sold a license to use said software, and by using that software, he agreed to the license terms. Yes, licenses are even more virtual than a copy, but that's the way it is. Take another example: you can download a copy of Solaris 10 anytime you want for free... and you can use it for free under certain conditions. That's because the license permits it. As soon as you want to use that Solaris 10 copy that you downloaded for free for purposes outside the freeloader license, you need to cough up $$$$ to Oracle... not to get a new copy (you already have a copy!), but to get a new license.

  12. Re:Bandwidth? on Internet Is Easy Prey For Governments · · Score: 1

    Or perhaps like Gopher.

  13. Re:Maybe I'm being an idiot on Internet Is Easy Prey For Governments · · Score: 1

    It's about interconnecting the people within the mesh. That's what governments want to block to prevent protesting crowds from self-organizing via the net. Access to the outside mesh isn't that important at that moment. Of course, one with external connectivity could always set up a kind of gateway to the mesh... e.g. by copying current news from the outside into his/her server, and letting the mesh redistribute those news articles (text mainly, for bandwidth reasons). Remember UUCP-based news? That's exactly how they worked.

  14. Re:Wait: on Israeli Company Trains Security Mice · · Score: 1

    Will the psychologists accept peanuts?

    Mice psychologists will settle for a little bit of cheese...

  15. Re:Overloaded? Slashdotted? on Internet Groups To Stream Live IPv4/6 Announcement · · Score: 1

    That's because the announcement is over. It will resume in 3 or so minutes with a press conference. At least I hope they'll stream it too.

  16. Re:Overloaded? Slashdotted? on Internet Groups To Stream Live IPv4/6 Announcement · · Score: 1

    The low bandwidth streaming in Germany was near-perfect. It is a matter of luck, or rather, network topology and current congestion on all intermediate hops that determines the quality.

  17. Re:I wanted a PS3 on New PS3 Firmware Contains Backdoor · · Score: 1

    Absolutely! The real shame is that clone makers aren't able yet to get a decent supply of Cell processors, which is still the main selling point of the PS3 for non-gamers. AFAICS, PS3/Cell support is also slowly getting into FreeBSD (-CURRENT), which is just one more reason to buy a decent clone, should one ever be built. But I'm afraid that some patents would stand in the way.

  18. Re:Empty barns... on More Trouble Expected When Egypt Comes Back Online · · Score: 1

    I'm of the opinion that if you're being suppressed/repressed by your government, you can either obey or go pirate. And if you're gonna go pirate, then you need to coordinate some... or get your own satellite phone like the news agencies have.

    In in that case, you better have 1/ a convertible currency to buy said satellite phone link, and 2/ a working financial system, i.e. banks still performing international transactions. Both of which is not a given for some 3rd world countries, esp. during a time or crisis.

  19. Re:I wanted a PS3 on New PS3 Firmware Contains Backdoor · · Score: 1

    Well, maybe it wasn't emphasized enough: Sony's PS3 was never meant to be an open computing platform (despite their "Other OS" PR-stunt that they closed anyway). It's a *gaming* console designed for a closed SONY ecosystem (or whatever). Those who buy it should probably know what they're doing and what they're getting into. Everybody else should steer clear of it for obvious reasons and look elsewhere.

  20. Re:SneakerNet 2 on Internet Kill Switch Back On the US Legislative Agenda · · Score: 1

    This is ad hoc routing, a concept that is pretty well understood, and could be easily implemented with custom firmware updates.

  21. Re:phones down on Egypt Shuts Off All Internet Access · · Score: 1

    In most countries, the fully digital backbone of the POTS uses the same SONET/ATM links than the Internet. If they shut down SONET switches at the international gateway, the POTS is bound to go down too.

  22. Re:ham radio on Egypt Shuts Off All Internet Access · · Score: 1

    The problem here is that a (regular or rogue) ham station is easily and very rapidly localized via triangulation. Unless it is mobile, i.e. in a vehicle.

  23. Data retention just like in Europe... on DOJ Seeks Mandatory Data Retention For ISPs · · Score: 1

    What a (non-)surprise. Justice Ministers all over Europe, and now the US too, are seeking data retention laws. Even ministers who were originally against any form of data retention like Germany's civil rights advocate Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger. It is really creepy to see 'em all fall for the global security agenda.

  24. Fixed IP(v6) addresses and end-to-end encryption on DOJ Seeks Mandatory Data Retention For ISPs · · Score: 2

    All this data retention crap w.r.t. recording IP addresses is a moot issue, when the ISPs will move to IPv6. Everyone will have a (set of) fixed IP addresses anyway; just like our currently fixed phone numbers. For everything else, we'll have to develop or use an already existing end-to-end encrypted layer on top of IP, so that ISPs as men in the middle won't have anything to record and report to our big brother governments.

  25. Lack of DRM and Patent protection on Chinese Stealth Fighter Jet May Use US Technology · · Score: 1

    Well, if the US had DRM-ed its stealth technology, Chinese hackers wouldn't have been able to copy and reverse-engineer it. And if the US had patented stealth tech, the US could now sue the Chinese for patent infringement of its tech, and China would have willfully complied, right? Right? At least according to Congress & Co., staunch believers of the so called "intellectual property" concept. Too bad that DRM doesn't work, and that patents require full disclosure... and that the whole legal mumbo-jumbo regarding I.P. requires willing participants and an enforcing global government.