Re:THIS IS THE SAME THING THAT WAS SAID WITH MUSIC
on
TV Piracy is Next
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· Score: 1
Sorry, the GP actually wanted to pay 99c for online music during the Napster-era, and now reckons 99c is a rip-off? Or are you confusing two disparate groups?
I'd be prepared to pay, say, 99c for the latest episode of, say, Enterprise. I'd not be prepared for you to tell me I have no credibility when other people don't share my sentiments.
Re:Actually I have tried.
on
TV Piracy is Next
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· Score: 2, Informative
I even asked a retailer when I was in London if it was possible to be a subscriber when I lived in Sweden and he said no.
My sister (UK resident) obtained a Sky subscription for my Aunt and Uncle (French residents), then took the Sky box out to France for them. Likewise, on holiday in Spain over the Summer the hotel I was staying in had Sky. I suspect the trick is not to tell Sky where you live;)
I think its pretty pointless to keep pointing out that OUTDATED products have bugs.
Well, while I tend to agree with you, there are still a huge amount of pre-SP2 boxes out there. However, the point I took away from the article wasn't "M$ su><ors" but "Spyware developers are lying scum". I found the article interesting, both in how spyware sperads, and the lies the spyware "industry" uses:
Installation of 180solutions software through security holes is particularly notable because 180 specifically denies that such installations occur. 180's "privacy pledge" claims that 180 software is "permission based" and is "programs are only downloaded with user consent and opt-in." These claims are false as to the installation occuring in the video linked above, and as to other installations I have personally observed.
Java definitely has some inheritant benefits. Is it better than ActiveX, most likely, but we need to make sure we don't rely on simple imperical measurements that may not present an accurate picture.
That's a fair point, and one I was largely overlooking. I'm not sure I agree with your point about.Net, however, as.Net isn't a browser-level technology like Jave applets or ActiveX (and, as far as I know, this problem only affects Java applets).
I suppose the one conclusion we can definitely draw from this is that browser-based technologies are potentially dangerous;)
> > hasn't to date been a single Java virus.
>...that we know about...
True, and it's worth noting that the quote I offered above came from Jonathon Schwarz, who - just possibly - might be biased. I'm still inclined to trust a platform with no visible viruses than platforms with very obvious viruses. Put another way, I'm in no hurry to locate a browser that supports ActiveX.
...Or better, since Java runs in a (relatively) secure sandbox. It's worth noting, from the article, that there hasn't to date been a single Java virus. This is bad, but it has to get a lot worse before comparison with ActiveX is warranted.
You simply cannot get accurate statistics from observing HTTP traffic
How come? I would have thought that a large enough sample would provide useful information, albeit not perfect information.
Surely it depends what statistics you're gathering? Clearly we can't draw conclusions about precise market share, but surely trends might be identified? For example, current surveys hint at a trend away from Internet Explorer; should we disregard this as a statistical hiccup?
NB. I'm not trolling, or even particularly disagreeing, but I would like more evidence/citations to support your viewpoint.
"Dutch survey shows..." you mean to tell me that there's no significant variation between Dutch users, and, say, Japanese users?
The survey was conducted by a Dutch company; the data they gathered was international (100+ countries, according to their website).
The company in question seems large enough to iron out statistical problems to a degree, though I accept the thesis that stats in general have to be taken with a pinch of salt.
what is to stop one of the subscribers from re-distributing it for no cost
(Disclaimer: I'm more familiar with the GPL than I am with Transgaming)
In theory, nothing. In practice I would imagine Transgaming limit access to certain sections of their website to subscribers only. The source code may be freely available; the instructions (?) for specific games, the forums, etc may be restricted. Like Mandrake's Mandrake Club, if you're familiar with that?
Do Transgaming distribute the GPL Wine and their own components separately, and then use the "Mere Aggregation" clause to retain exclusive distribution rights over their extensions?
Sorry, that one went right over my head! I'll pass on that one, and hope a Transgaming subscriber steps up...
Is this [charging for software/subscription] not a violation of the GPL, and exactly the sort of thing it was written to prevent?
The GPL was not written to prevent charging for software, either a flat-rate charge or a subscription - from the GPL: "When we speak of free software, we are referring to freedom, not price. Our General Public Licenses are designed to make sure that you have the freedom to distribute copies of free software (and charge for this service if you wish)" (my emphasis)
Now, I'm not a lawyer, and it is possible that Transgaming are breaking the GPL - but certainly not by charging a subscription.
"The applicant appeared to be trying to protect the use of '0' and '1' in computer technology. [...] The applicant appeared to have completely misunderstood the patent system, and had not actually invented anything."
Bah, they just weren't trying hard enough. Everyone knows that you need to add the words "...on the Internet" to a patent application.;)
Slightly more seriously, the UK patent system is maybe not as badly messed up/over-stretched/under-resourced as the US system (yet)?
AFAIK some European countries already have spy satilites up, first among them Russia.
Not just Russia - I read a fascinating book called "The Black Space Race" (library book, hence no ISBN/Amazon link) about the spying game between the US and the Soviet Union. Apparently the US (in great secrecy) developed small numbers of high quality satellites, the Soviet Union (also in great secrecy) developed large numbers of low quality satellites, and then France came out of nowhere with mid-range kit, and sold the imagery to anyone who'd pay for it. This was obviously in the 1980s (or, possibly, earlier?) prior to the end of the Cold War.
Re:Some things I don't get about open source
on
Netscape Reborn?
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· Score: 1
The ability to combine with proprietary code [in the Mozilla License] made a big difference in the ability to attract corporate-sponsored developers...
Absolutely. I was over-simplifying for brevity, and I tend to equate the MPL with BSD-style licenses - permitting a great deal of corporate freedom, as opposed to GPL-style license - permitting a great deal of individual freedom (again, I'm over-simplifying, and I realise - now - that some troll will misunderstand, but a short answer is probably more useful than an essay;)
Re:Some things I don't get about open source
on
Netscape Reborn?
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· Score: 1
This on the same website where it's constantly argued that copyright infringement is not theft! They're not stealing anything, they have every right to use the code...
My views (I'm the poster you're repying to) don't reflect the views of Slashdot, or a majority of it's posters;
I made exaggerated statements against both the BSD-license and the GPL [note to self - make jokes more obvious - some people won't get them]
Re:Some things I don't get about open source
on
Netscape Reborn?
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· Score: 4, Informative
Don't the developers of Mozilla open them selves for exploitation developing these projects and then allowing companies like AOL to basically take all their hard work, re-brand it, then make money off of it?
It really depends on the license, and the Mozilla license is fairly permissive, so one could argue that Mozilla - in choosing their licensing regime - knew exactly what might happen. Other licenses, like the GPL, do not allow code to be made proprietary. There are pros and cons for both types of license: BSD-style licenses have their enthusiasts, even though corporations can steal BSD-licensed code and turn it into closed-source projects. Likewise, GPL-style licenses have their enthusiasts, even though we are denied the freedom to use GPL'd code in our own, closed-source projects.
The original programmers don't even get credited!
I'd be surprised if that were the case - I'm fairly sure the Mozilla Public License requires attribution? Anyway, Netscape's selling point will probably be that it's based on Mozilla, so I wouldn't worry too much about the Mozilla devs!
I think that falls into the "...or do we have to do everything by hand?" category from the parent-post;)
There is a package-management system for Solaris, it's probably some way from BSD's ports, though. Checkout pkg-get - it'll go some way to saving you from hand-compiling every single piece of software. Blastwave also have a selection of pre-built packages.
The fact that the MOD found the cover awkward shows it was intended as a childrens' book
Oh aye, they were definitely children's books - just not the pre-school/primary school childrens' books we tend to think. In fact, my favourite - well into my early 20s - was the "how to build a crystal set" Ladybird. I never managed to locate a real version and had to settle for a poor quality Xerox of a friends:( It was far too technical for the average primary school pupil; I struggled building a crystal set based on the Ladybird instructions well into my mid-teens. (Of course, that may say more about my electrical engineering abilities than anything else...;)
it was a children's book published in Britain, aimed at children between 8 and 10 years old!
I think in general Ladybird Books were aimed at younger children, but this series in particular was not. A poster above mentioned the organisations that made use of this and other Ladybird Books:
How it Works: The Computer was used by university lecturers to make sure that students started at the same level. Two hundred copies of this same book were ordered by the Ministry of Defence.
How it Works: The Motor Car (1965) was used by Thames Valley police driving school as a general guide.
Understanding Maps (1967) was eventually to be used to quickly train young army recruits before going into battle in the Falklands War,
It was an eye-opener for me - I'd read this book and others from the series, but not since childhood, and I'd forgotten just how advanced some Ladybird Books were.
>>I used to have to hang on the phone for anywhere between 45 minutes and 90 minutes before my call was answered
>Yeah, seen that myself, but not recently.
I can't say I've had this sort of problem with NTL, but it's been a while (1999?) since I was last with them. However, it's precisely this sort of behaviour - from BT - that means I'll avoid BT whereever I can. Unfortunately, since 1999 I've only lived in areas where there's no cable.
It's compatible with my banks' sites (Co-operative Bank and Smile) Most (UK) banks seem to have realised that not allowing customers to use their facilities is daft. YMMV.
What do servers see this browser as? (Netscape?)
Mozilla 5 (servers see IE as "Mozilla 4 compatible - Mozilla has been in browser strings since way back). A browser string for Firefox 0.9.2 is:
Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-US; rv:1.7) Gecko/20040707 Firefox/0.9.2
Likewise, an IE browser string (from the same log) is:
Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; AOL 7.0; Windows NT 5.1)
Is it really faster than Safari in Mac OS X?
I don't know, but possible not: the Firefox folk targetted Firefox at Windows and Linux - the Mac release of 1.0 was roadmapped to appear slightly after the Windows and Linux versions. I don't know if this is still the case. I'd guess Safari would be slightly faster, but to be honest there's only one way to find out - and that's for you to test it yourself;)
they [Microsoft] are buying licenses off SCO, and rewriting gnu code into longhorn (true!)
Much as I'd love to believe that, it'd (a) be against the terms of the GPL, and (b) if/when they were caught - they'd be so badly screwed it wouldn't be funny[1]. And they'd be caught just as soon as they refused to pay an employee a raise. So - got any proof?
I can't speak for the US, but New Zealand certainly puts the $ up-front. We'd say "536 million dollars", though.
Ditto for the UK and most of the rest (all?) of the EU: the Pound (Sterling) or Euro symbol would go up-front, but they'd say it with the currency last.
Just out of curiousity, which currencies don't follow this system?
Slashdot Mirror
Sorry, the GP actually wanted to pay 99c for online music during the Napster-era, and now reckons 99c is a rip-off? Or are you confusing two disparate groups?
I'd be prepared to pay, say, 99c for the latest episode of, say, Enterprise. I'd not be prepared for you to tell me I have no credibility when other people don't share my sentiments.
I even asked a retailer when I was in London if it was possible to be a subscriber when I lived in Sweden and he said no.
My sister (UK resident) obtained a Sky subscription for my Aunt and Uncle (French residents), then took the Sky box out to France for them. Likewise, on holiday in Spain over the Summer the hotel I was staying in had Sky. I suspect the trick is not to tell Sky where you live ;)
Good luck!
I think its pretty pointless to keep pointing out that OUTDATED products have bugs.
Well, while I tend to agree with you, there are still a huge amount of pre-SP2 boxes out there. However, the point I took away from the article wasn't "M$ su><ors" but "Spyware developers are lying scum". I found the article interesting, both in how spyware sperads, and the lies the spyware "industry" uses:
Java definitely has some inheritant benefits. Is it better than ActiveX, most likely, but we need to make sure we don't rely on simple imperical measurements that may not present an accurate picture.
That's a fair point, and one I was largely overlooking. I'm not sure I agree with your point about .Net, however, as .Net isn't a browser-level technology like Jave applets or ActiveX (and, as far as I know, this problem only affects Java applets).
I suppose the one conclusion we can definitely draw from this is that browser-based technologies are potentially dangerous ;)
> > hasn't to date been a single Java virus. ...that we know about...
>
True, and it's worth noting that the quote I offered above came from Jonathon Schwarz, who - just possibly - might be biased. I'm still inclined to trust a platform with no visible viruses than platforms with very obvious viruses. Put another way, I'm in no hurry to locate a browser that supports ActiveX.
...Or better, since Java runs in a (relatively) secure sandbox. It's worth noting, from the article, that there hasn't to date been a single Java virus. This is bad, but it has to get a lot worse before comparison with ActiveX is warranted.
Nice one, thanks for an interesting and helpful answer - kudos to you!
You simply cannot get accurate statistics from observing HTTP traffic
How come? I would have thought that a large enough sample would provide useful information, albeit not perfect information.
Surely it depends what statistics you're gathering? Clearly we can't draw conclusions about precise market share, but surely trends might be identified? For example, current surveys hint at a trend away from Internet Explorer; should we disregard this as a statistical hiccup?
NB. I'm not trolling, or even particularly disagreeing, but I would like more evidence/citations to support your viewpoint.
"Dutch survey shows..." you mean to tell me that there's no significant variation between Dutch users, and, say, Japanese users?
The survey was conducted by a Dutch company; the data they gathered was international (100+ countries, according to their website).
The company in question seems large enough to iron out statistical problems to a degree, though I accept the thesis that stats in general have to be taken with a pinch of salt.
what is to stop one of the subscribers from re-distributing it for no cost
(Disclaimer: I'm more familiar with the GPL than I am with Transgaming)
In theory, nothing. In practice I would imagine Transgaming limit access to certain sections of their website to subscribers only. The source code may be freely available; the instructions (?) for specific games, the forums, etc may be restricted. Like Mandrake's Mandrake Club, if you're familiar with that?
Do Transgaming distribute the GPL Wine and their own components separately, and then use the "Mere Aggregation" clause to retain exclusive distribution rights over their extensions?
Sorry, that one went right over my head! I'll pass on that one, and hope a Transgaming subscriber steps up...
Is this [charging for software/subscription] not a violation of the GPL, and exactly the sort of thing it was written to prevent?
The GPL was not written to prevent charging for software, either a flat-rate charge or a subscription - from the GPL: "When we speak of free software, we are referring to freedom, not price. Our General Public Licenses are designed to make sure that you have the freedom to distribute copies of free software (and charge for this service if you wish)" (my emphasis)
Now, I'm not a lawyer, and it is possible that Transgaming are breaking the GPL - but certainly not by charging a subscription.
"The applicant appeared to be trying to protect the use of '0' and '1' in computer technology. [...] The applicant appeared to have completely misunderstood the patent system, and had not actually invented anything."
Bah, they just weren't trying hard enough. Everyone knows that you need to add the words "...on the Internet" to a patent application. ;)
Slightly more seriously, the UK patent system is maybe not as badly messed up/over-stretched/under-resourced as the US system (yet)?
It'd help if I got the title right ;)
"Deep Black : Space Espionage and National Security"
Amazon, ISBN: 0394541243.
AFAIK some European countries already have spy satilites up, first among them Russia.
Not just Russia - I read a fascinating book called "The Black Space Race" (library book, hence no ISBN/Amazon link) about the spying game between the US and the Soviet Union. Apparently the US (in great secrecy) developed small numbers of high quality satellites, the Soviet Union (also in great secrecy) developed large numbers of low quality satellites, and then France came out of nowhere with mid-range kit, and sold the imagery to anyone who'd pay for it. This was obviously in the 1980s (or, possibly, earlier?) prior to the end of the Cold War.
The ability to combine with proprietary code [in the Mozilla License] made a big difference in the ability to attract corporate-sponsored developers...
Absolutely. I was over-simplifying for brevity, and I tend to equate the MPL with BSD-style licenses - permitting a great deal of corporate freedom, as opposed to GPL-style license - permitting a great deal of individual freedom (again, I'm over-simplifying, and I realise - now - that some troll will misunderstand, but a short answer is probably more useful than an essay ;)
This on the same website where it's constantly argued that copyright infringement is not theft! They're not stealing anything, they have every right to use the code...
Don't the developers of Mozilla open them selves for exploitation developing these projects and then allowing companies like AOL to basically take all their hard work, re-brand it, then make money off of it?
It really depends on the license, and the Mozilla license is fairly permissive, so one could argue that Mozilla - in choosing their licensing regime - knew exactly what might happen. Other licenses, like the GPL, do not allow code to be made proprietary. There are pros and cons for both types of license: BSD-style licenses have their enthusiasts, even though corporations can steal BSD-licensed code and turn it into closed-source projects. Likewise, GPL-style licenses have their enthusiasts, even though we are denied the freedom to use GPL'd code in our own, closed-source projects.
The original programmers don't even get credited!
I'd be surprised if that were the case - I'm fairly sure the Mozilla Public License requires attribution? Anyway, Netscape's selling point will probably be that it's based on Mozilla, so I wouldn't worry too much about the Mozilla devs!
Whoops, missed this discussion - don't mind me, I'll just sit at the back...
On topic, there are Sparc live CDs on at least one European mirror. Looks like maybe 2004.2 was a slip?
Anything that runs on linux will run on solaris!
I think that falls into the "...or do we have to do everything by hand?" category from the parent-post ;)
There is a package-management system for Solaris, it's probably some way from BSD's ports, though. Checkout pkg-get - it'll go some way to saving you from hand-compiling every single piece of software. Blastwave also have a selection of pre-built packages.
The fact that the MOD found the cover awkward shows it was intended as a childrens' book
Oh aye, they were definitely children's books - just not the pre-school/primary school childrens' books we tend to think. In fact, my favourite - well into my early 20s - was the "how to build a crystal set" Ladybird. I never managed to locate a real version and had to settle for a poor quality Xerox of a friends :( It was far too technical for the average primary school pupil; I struggled building a crystal set based on the Ladybird instructions well into my mid-teens. (Of course, that may say more about my electrical engineering abilities than anything else... ;)
it was a children's book published in Britain, aimed at children between 8 and 10 years old!
I think in general Ladybird Books were aimed at younger children, but this series in particular was not. A poster above mentioned the organisations that made use of this and other Ladybird Books:
It was an eye-opener for me - I'd read this book and others from the series, but not since childhood, and I'd forgotten just how advanced some Ladybird Books were.
>>I used to have to hang on the phone for anywhere between 45 minutes and 90 minutes before my call was answered
>Yeah, seen that myself, but not recently.
I can't say I've had this sort of problem with NTL, but it's been a while (1999?) since I was last with them. However, it's precisely this sort of behaviour - from BT - that means I'll avoid BT whereever I can. Unfortunately, since 1999 I've only lived in areas where there's no cable.
Is this browser compatible with banking sites?
It's compatible with my banks' sites (Co-operative Bank and Smile) Most (UK) banks seem to have realised that not allowing customers to use their facilities is daft. YMMV.
What do servers see this browser as? (Netscape?)
Mozilla 5 (servers see IE as "Mozilla 4 compatible - Mozilla has been in browser strings since way back). A browser string for Firefox 0.9.2 is:
Likewise, an IE browser string (from the same log) is:
Is it really faster than Safari in Mac OS X?
I don't know, but possible not: the Firefox folk targetted Firefox at Windows and Linux - the Mac release of 1.0 was roadmapped to appear slightly after the Windows and Linux versions. I don't know if this is still the case. I'd guess Safari would be slightly faster, but to be honest there's only one way to find out - and that's for you to test it yourself ;)
they [Microsoft] are buying licenses off SCO, and rewriting gnu code into longhorn (true!)
Much as I'd love to believe that, it'd (a) be against the terms of the GPL, and (b) if/when they were caught - they'd be so badly screwed it wouldn't be funny[1]. And they'd be caught just as soon as they refused to pay an employee a raise. So - got any proof?
[1] Oh, alright. It would be funny. Very.
I can't speak for the US, but New Zealand certainly puts the $ up-front. We'd say "536 million dollars", though.
Ditto for the UK and most of the rest (all?) of the EU: the Pound (Sterling) or Euro symbol would go up-front, but they'd say it with the currency last.
Just out of curiousity, which currencies don't follow this system?