Thanks for the information. But if that's true, they ought to mix some cyan right into the black tank so that the black tank is all you need to print black text.
It's not that software patents are, in principle, bad. It's that the idiots in the USPTO are letting trivial ones through the syste. Some software patents are completely legitimate. Take, for example, this patent on the "Marching Cubes" computer graphics algorithm. The paper describing this algorithm made it into SIGGRAPH's Seminal Graphics collection of most important papers in computer graphics. Not all software patents are trivial and obvious.
The IRS would be the "TAX PURPOSES" part. There is no identification being done.
Sure there is. The number is how they IDENTIFY me. They sure as hell don't use my name as a primary key in their database.
(The rest of the stuff you say about paying your neighbor's taxes is irrelevant to the point that they use your SSN as a way of identifying you, i.e. distinguishing you from the other people who share your name.)
It is illegal for the government to use the SSN for identification
Really? The IRS is part of the government, and they use that number to identify me. What exactly are the "social security and tax purposes" that it could POSSIBLY be used for, OTHER than identification?
Actually, I thought it was the card itself that wasn't supposed to be used for identification. I.e., you can't walk into airport security, flash 'em your SS card, and say, "I'm John Doe, here's my ID".
This is really really old news. And I'm not talking about a simulation either. Check out this page and scroll down to September 20, 2001. Here's another link.
The home page at that site indicates that the Bush campaign is donating money to Nader's campaign, presumably to take otherwise-Democratic votes. Perhaps the Kerry campaign should help fund some other candidates as well, such as Pat Buchanan, or Pat Robertson.
That's a gross overgeneralization. Take, for example this patent on the "Marching Cubes" computer graphics algorithm. The paper describing this algorithm made it into SIGGRAPH's Seminal Graphics collection of most important papers in computer graphics. Not all software patents are trivial and obvious.
Remember, the goal of this is not to clone entire humans (although, someday, who knows what will happen) but instead to perfect genetic engineering
"Remember, the goal of this is not to destroy the passenger railroad business. We're just trying to see if we can fly"
-- Orville Wright, Kitty Hawk, 1903
Personally, I can't believe that 1 out of 5 CDs are sold in Walmart. [...] Why not concentrate on making music available for less money somewhere that I might want to buy it [...]
So, you have a hard time believing that Walmart constitutes 20 percent of their sales, and you also don't understand why they don't concentrate on the 0.000000001% of sales that are attributable to *you*? Have I got that right?
The essential concepts behind One-Click (pre-store the customer's credit information, allow them to purchase from you without hassle, then charge them later) have been in common usage worldwide for decades, if not millennia
Anyone have any record of the first time the phrase "Put it on my tab" was utterred in a saloon?
I was printing B&W text on my HP deskjet when the output started getting really crummy. I knew both my black and CMY tanks weere running low, but I wasn't printing color at the moment and I like to hold off on cartridge replacement until absolutely necessary. So, I replaced only the black. The output still looked awful. After going a few rounds with HP customer support, I finally found out the answer: Even when you're just printing pure black, the printer spits out a coat of cyan as a primer under the black text!!! So, unless all your graphics/photo output is heavy on the magenta and yellow, your color cartridges are nuked prematurely by pure black text output. This revelation bothers me immensely, though I'm sure HP is quite pleased about it.
How to check on your child while you're at home depends on where you fall on the Laziness Scale. If your L-scale value is 100, just use your cell phone as if you were out. If your L-scale value is less than 90, get off your ass and walk to the baby's room.
... when there are no more people left who are willing to participate in reality TV shows anymore. I mean, it's not like they can make a reality TV show without real people, right?
Windows and Internet Explorer software products actually consist of legal rights and technological capabilities, not lines of code
Uh huh. And an RIAA product contains not waveform data, but rather the capability to produce pleasing auditory sensations in a subset of the population.
Slashdot Mirror
Thanks for the information. But if that's true, they ought to mix some cyan right into the black tank so that the black tank is all you need to print black text.
It's not that software patents are, in principle, bad. It's that the idiots in the USPTO are letting trivial ones through the syste. Some software patents are completely legitimate. Take, for example, this patent on the "Marching Cubes" computer graphics algorithm. The paper describing this algorithm made it into SIGGRAPH's Seminal Graphics collection of most important papers in computer graphics. Not all software patents are trivial and obvious.
The IRS would be the "TAX PURPOSES" part. There is no identification being done.
Sure there is. The number is how they IDENTIFY me. They sure as hell don't use my name as a primary key in their database.
(The rest of the stuff you say about paying your neighbor's taxes is irrelevant to the point that they use your SSN as a way of identifying you, i.e. distinguishing you from the other people who share your name.)
It is illegal for the government to use the SSN for identification
Really? The IRS is part of the government, and they use that number to identify me. What exactly are the "social security and tax purposes" that it could POSSIBLY be used for, OTHER than identification?
Actually, I thought it was the card itself that wasn't supposed to be used for identification. I.e., you can't walk into airport security, flash 'em your SS card, and say, "I'm John Doe, here's my ID".
This is really really old news. And I'm not talking about a simulation either. Check out this page and scroll down to September 20, 2001. Here's another link.
It's a stepping-stone towards the ultimate goal: explaining Special Relativity in a haiku.
The home page at that site indicates that the Bush campaign is donating money to Nader's campaign, presumably to take otherwise-Democratic votes. Perhaps the Kerry campaign should help fund some other candidates as well, such as Pat Buchanan, or Pat Robertson.
The name of the proposed organization is "Gnu/WIWO".
A campaign built mostly on lies and deception will not get you elected.
Well, at least not twice. Hopefully.
All the while, Johnny Cochran is speaking at a press conference for him saying something clever.
Reporter: Mr. Cochran, why does your client feel that the government must pay the cost of this man's home repairs?
Cochran: If it falls from orbit, you must absorb it.
Reminds me of the Dilbert strip where Dogbert patented no-click shopping.
You better click something or I have to ship you some books.
Software patents are just pathetic.
That's a gross overgeneralization. Take, for example this patent on the "Marching Cubes" computer graphics algorithm. The paper describing this algorithm made it into SIGGRAPH's Seminal Graphics collection of most important papers in computer graphics. Not all software patents are trivial and obvious.
The destruction of voter registration cards is CRIMINAL, and worthy of no lesser punishment than death.
So, if you witnessed someone destroying a voter registration card, what reason would they have not to kill you?
Remember, the goal of this is not to clone entire humans (although, someday, who knows what will happen) but instead to perfect genetic engineering
"Remember, the goal of this is not to destroy the passenger railroad business. We're just trying to see if we can fly"
-- Orville Wright, Kitty Hawk, 1903
Personally, I can't believe that 1 out of 5 CDs are sold in Walmart. [...] Why not concentrate on making music available for less money somewhere that I might want to buy it [...]
So, you have a hard time believing that Walmart constitutes 20 percent of their sales, and you also don't understand why they don't concentrate on the 0.000000001% of sales that are attributable to *you*? Have I got that right?
The essential concepts behind One-Click (pre-store the customer's credit information, allow them to purchase from you without hassle, then charge them later) have been in common usage worldwide for decades, if not millennia
Anyone have any record of the first time the phrase "Put it on my tab" was utterred in a saloon?
I was printing B&W text on my HP deskjet when the output started getting really crummy. I knew both my black and CMY tanks weere running low, but I wasn't printing color at the moment and I like to hold off on cartridge replacement until absolutely necessary. So, I replaced only the black. The output still looked awful. After going a few rounds with HP customer support, I finally found out the answer: Even when you're just printing pure black, the printer spits out a coat of cyan as a primer under the black text!!! So, unless all your graphics/photo output is heavy on the magenta and yellow, your color cartridges are nuked prematurely by pure black text output. This revelation bothers me immensely, though I'm sure HP is quite pleased about it.
... will be: Whose party is actually "third"?
Testing was accomplished using contestants on "Fear Factor".
use of the word 'verbatim' seems to preclude lossy compression, format conversion, and almost anythin else you can think of.
One could argue that one doesn't need to be Rich Little in order to "quote somebody verbatim".
How to check on your child while you're at home depends on where you fall on the Laziness Scale. If your L-scale value is 100, just use your cell phone as if you were out. If your L-scale value is less than 90, get off your ass and walk to the baby's room.
... when there are no more people left who are willing to participate in reality TV shows anymore. I mean, it's not like they can make a reality TV show without real people, right?
Python, most modern basics (GFA, QBasic, ...), Perl,...
And let's not forget Pascal and its "P-code".
We're a fairly new startup company who specialize in products, and...
I'm opening up a restaurant that specializes in food.
Windows and Internet Explorer software products actually consist of legal rights and technological capabilities, not lines of code
Uh huh. And an RIAA product contains not waveform data, but rather the capability to produce pleasing auditory sensations in a subset of the population.