They will never be happy until they have a missile base and a McDonalds drive through on every chunk of rock in the solar system bigger than 2 square metres .
It is soooo time to terminate these ridiculous patents.
There needs to be a better screening process when a patent application is made, or more to the point if the patent is exercised, or demonstration made that it will be exercised in a VERY short time, it should be anulled and forever be public domain.
I was having a red wine fuelled conversation with some friends on the subject of viruses, worms and Internet security the other day. We were discussing how connectivity has changed the landscape with regards to the impact of viruses, bugs and worms. In the eighties and early nineties there was less connectivity than we have with the modern Internet. The obvious analogue to human viral pathogens and the rise of jet aircraft travel between countries shows how this will only get worse as more devices are connected to Internet and how inoculation and prevention together with secure coding practices (something which has no human virus equivalent at the moment, but who knows where DNS techniques will take us) are becoming mandatory. Should all devices connecting to the network be licensed and approved as cars travelling on roads today must be?
The most interesting point raised was when (if?) we reach the point where viruses are classifiable as sentient beings. Do we then have the right to arbitrarily exterminate them? I could in my stupidest dreams foresee a court case where the latest Internet Explorer 99 bug is arguing for it's continued existence, social welfare and the right to bear children.
I never know how to think about this sort of stuff anymore. On one hand they are breaking the law (no matter how unjustified it may seem) and it is the Universities network. I seem to remember many Uni's whining about how much bandwidth they were having to provide then finding out 80% of it was used to download music, pr0n and warez.
I mean, if you walk into a shop and steal CDs... we all know what will happen.
On the other hand, this whole music model with the RIAA (and similar organisations outside the US) sucking us dry has got to die.
So, it the downloading of music a form of protest or free speech, or is it simply breaking the laws of the land?
From my experience (in Australia at least) 75% of them.
I wouldn't know where to begin with the list of complaints I have about the way some sys admins run things and how management intefere with what were once secure implementations to the point where anything can get in.
eg: I recently was told to allow those greeting card attachments (often EXEs) because a lot of users were complaining they didn't get the greeting card emails their friends sent them.
There is no hope...
"Many of the world's problems exist because of the small patch of oil-soaked land out in the Middle East and the lack of trustworthy stewards of those fields. With Gulf War II over and those oil fields finally in the hands of Western democracies we may see some improvement in global stability vis a vis the opening of OPEC to its main customers."
This could start a flame war so I'll say only one thing on this subject but the statement above really bothers me - so is what is good for the United States the best thing for the world now? What if those oil bearing countries decided to "go pebble nuclear" (which the US probably wouldn't allow anyway because that they must be making nuclear weapons) and hold on to their oil?
Slashdot Mirror
They will never be happy until they have a missile base and a McDonalds drive through on every chunk of rock in the solar system bigger than 2 square metres .
That way it can go into a movie museum with all the other movie props! (Kidding... no I don't think they were faked)
I meant to say "not exercised". One word makes a big difference...
It is soooo time to terminate these ridiculous patents.
There needs to be a better screening process when a patent application is made, or more to the point if the patent is exercised, or demonstration made that it will be exercised in a VERY short time, it should be anulled and forever be public domain.
Of course when I say DNS entries I mean DNA. Doh!
I was having a red wine fuelled conversation with some friends on the subject of viruses, worms and Internet security the other day. We were discussing how connectivity has changed the landscape with regards to the impact of viruses, bugs and worms. In the eighties and early nineties there was less connectivity than we have with the modern Internet. The obvious analogue to human viral pathogens and the rise of jet aircraft travel between countries shows how this will only get worse as more devices are connected to Internet and how inoculation and prevention together with secure coding practices (something which has no human virus equivalent at the moment, but who knows where DNS techniques will take us) are becoming mandatory. Should all devices connecting to the network be licensed and approved as cars travelling on roads today must be?
The most interesting point raised was when (if?) we reach the point where viruses are classifiable as sentient beings. Do we then have the right to arbitrarily exterminate them? I could in my stupidest dreams foresee a court case where the latest Internet Explorer 99 bug is arguing for it's continued existence, social welfare and the right to bear children.
I never know how to think about this sort of stuff anymore. On one hand they are breaking the law (no matter how unjustified it may seem) and it is the Universities network. I seem to remember many Uni's whining about how much bandwidth they were having to provide then finding out 80% of it was used to download music, pr0n and warez.
I mean, if you walk into a shop and steal CDs... we all know what will happen.
On the other hand, this whole music model with the RIAA (and similar organisations outside the US) sucking us dry has got to die.
So, it the downloading of music a form of protest or free speech, or is it simply breaking the laws of the land?
From my experience (in Australia at least) 75% of them. I wouldn't know where to begin with the list of complaints I have about the way some sys admins run things and how management intefere with what were once secure implementations to the point where anything can get in. eg: I recently was told to allow those greeting card attachments (often EXEs) because a lot of users were complaining they didn't get the greeting card emails their friends sent them. There is no hope...
"Many of the world's problems exist because of the small patch of oil-soaked land out in the Middle East and the lack of trustworthy stewards of those fields. With Gulf War II over and those oil fields finally in the hands of Western democracies we may see some improvement in global stability vis a vis the opening of OPEC to its main customers."
This could start a flame war so I'll say only one thing on this subject but the statement above really bothers me - so is what is good for the United States the best thing for the world now? What if those oil bearing countries decided to "go pebble nuclear" (which the US probably wouldn't allow anyway because that they must be making nuclear weapons) and hold on to their oil?