That might actually be a good thing, since it would force IBM, Microsoft, and the other industry giants to band together to end the insanity. Then again, it might just result in the invalidation of the patent and business as usual, but I can hope, at least.
That doesn't help the small producers much, though. Making an expensive stable of patents a prereq for software development isn't exactly going to promote "Science and the Useful Arts." Not that the Court seems to care about that anymore.
Instead of spending time helping others route around censorship, the U.S. government hires people to censor the web. These people then accidentally censor U.S. government sites.
At this point, the intelligent response would be to say, "Oh, we forgot that idiotic ideas tend to attract idiots. Our bad. We're going to go back to sowing free thought around the world now."
However, the government response will be, "We'll just hire some more people for even more money to implement a better filter. In fact, we've already outsourced a lot of the development work to the same companies that set up China's filter. They've got lots of experience."
Porn, apparently, is a greater threat to the U.S. than a nuclear-armed ex-Communist dictatorship. Sounds like one of John Ashcroft's buddies. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go put the burqa back on Blind Justice. We tried to stone her to death, but they kept bouncing off and our arms got tired.
China is in the midst of industrialization, a process which it must complete effectively before A) its population demographics "go grey," and B) it ends up like post-Soviet Russia. Slashing the internet access of a generation of children will only hamper the formation of a workforce well-educated enough to function in the high-tech industry of the coming decades.
China doesn't have to go the way of Russia, but if it continues down this road, it probably will.
Also, to be clear, I don't consider reverse engineering to be "a right" as the poster does. Just because something is not illegal doesn't make it a right. Free speech is a right. Free press is a right. Reverse engineering (within certain constraints) is simply legal
I disagree, but then I take a very different view of the Constitution than most people. I believe that the "Progress of Science and the Useful Arts" clause is an express grant of authority to Congress to limit the rights of individuals to copy certain things. Note my terminology--I believe the rights pre-existed the Constitution. In other words, you have the right to reverse engineer someone's design unless the Constitution allows Congress (or the states, but this interplay is more complicated and, since we're talking about federal law here, I'm going to ignore it) to take that right away. Congress has not done so, even under the DMCA, and it might be beyond their authority (not that the current Court seems to think that authority has limits, but you never know).
You're right, this isn't Free Speech or an explicit reserveration of power to the people. Instead, I would argue that this is one of the rights we the people have always had, did not give up at the formation of the Republic, and is perpetually preserved under the 9th Amendment.
That said, I think you're also right about the reverse engineering not being the problem in this case, rather the unauthorized network usage.
The MPAA wants to control the production and distribution of its products. This is perfectly rational and the dream of monopolists everywhere. It just won't work for them.
First, if students at MIT can build televisions that get around the broadcast flag, so can industry in places like China and Taiwan. Given the amount of money movie studios make overseas, relying totally on broadcast flag technology is probably a loser for them in the long run.
Second, as people start to spend more and more time with user-generated content online, the movie industry is going to take more hits. Even if the revenue loss is currently minimal, it demonstrates there is a large and growing group of content providers they can't control. Life is a lot different from 70 years ago when the movie theater was one of the few available sources of entertainment.
ITTM "most expensive bomb." HTH.
Seriously, a single stage show for the whole trilogy will likely end up satisfying nobody. Jackson did ~3x that and still left out a number of things (Bombadil, Battle of the Shire, Frodo battles Godzilla, etc.). Maybe I just lack vision, but I don't see how one could compress the story by that much and not end up with plot holes through which one could drive a truck. Theoretically one could almost eliminate Rohan and the Ents,* as well as have all the battles offstage, but there would come a point (quickly, IMO) when the very things that make the epic compelling would start to be gutted.
*For what it's worth, I like Rohan, Isengard, and the Ents. I think they're a big part of the story. I'm just saying that one could probably put together a coherent movie without them. It'd probably suck, but one could.
If you simply assume that you can't be cool, then you won't be. I admit that shell scripting isn't all that glamorous, but as long as its practitioners think that's the right and proper order of things it's never going to change.
If you don't want change, fine, play by their rules. But stop whining that you're not cool. That's like joining a game of dodgeball and then complaining that there are all these balls coming at you.
I agree wholeheartedly. I was convinced I had no physical skill at all until I went off to undergrad. Four years later I had a black belt in Hap Ki Do, proficiency in a variety of weapons, and a whole new level of self-confidence (as well as a great martial artist girlfriend--just passed the 2.5 year mark).
I'm in law school now, and I still prefer to talk my way out of bad situations. That said, I think the knowledge that I could, if necessary, resort to force of arms actually helps me avoid conflict. I think others can sense your self-confidence, which makes them less likely to write off your words as desperate attempts to avoid a beating.
Slashdot Mirror
That might actually be a good thing, since it would force IBM, Microsoft, and the other industry giants to band together to end the insanity. Then again, it might just result in the invalidation of the patent and business as usual, but I can hope, at least.
That doesn't help the small producers much, though. Making an expensive stable of patents a prereq for software development isn't exactly going to promote "Science and the Useful Arts." Not that the Court seems to care about that anymore.
Instead of spending time helping others route around censorship, the U.S. government hires people to censor the web. These people then accidentally censor U.S. government sites.
At this point, the intelligent response would be to say, "Oh, we forgot that idiotic ideas tend to attract idiots. Our bad. We're going to go back to sowing free thought around the world now."
However, the government response will be, "We'll just hire some more people for even more money to implement a better filter. In fact, we've already outsourced a lot of the development work to the same companies that set up China's filter. They've got lots of experience."
Porn, apparently, is a greater threat to the U.S. than a nuclear-armed ex-Communist dictatorship. Sounds like one of John Ashcroft's buddies. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go put the burqa back on Blind Justice. We tried to stone her to death, but they kept bouncing off and our arms got tired.
MikeXpop's sig is great. If you haven't bothered to decode it, do so.
They've yet to accuse somebody who "didn't do it".
Not quite accurate: RIAA Withdraws Piracy Lawsuit Against Mac User
China is in the midst of industrialization, a process which it must complete effectively before A) its population demographics "go grey," and B) it ends up like post-Soviet Russia. Slashing the internet access of a generation of children will only hamper the formation of a workforce well-educated enough to function in the high-tech industry of the coming decades.
China doesn't have to go the way of Russia, but if it continues down this road, it probably will.
Also, to be clear, I don't consider reverse engineering to be "a right" as the poster does. Just because something is not illegal doesn't make it a right. Free speech is a right. Free press is a right. Reverse engineering (within certain constraints) is simply legal
I disagree, but then I take a very different view of the Constitution than most people. I believe that the "Progress of Science and the Useful Arts" clause is an express grant of authority to Congress to limit the rights of individuals to copy certain things. Note my terminology--I believe the rights pre-existed the Constitution. In other words, you have the right to reverse engineer someone's design unless the Constitution allows Congress (or the states, but this interplay is more complicated and, since we're talking about federal law here, I'm going to ignore it) to take that right away. Congress has not done so, even under the DMCA, and it might be beyond their authority (not that the current Court seems to think that authority has limits, but you never know).
You're right, this isn't Free Speech or an explicit reserveration of power to the people. Instead, I would argue that this is one of the rights we the people have always had, did not give up at the formation of the Republic, and is perpetually preserved under the 9th Amendment.
That said, I think you're also right about the reverse engineering not being the problem in this case, rather the unauthorized network usage.
The MPAA wants to control the production and distribution of its products. This is perfectly rational and the dream of monopolists everywhere. It just won't work for them.
First, if students at MIT can build televisions that get around the broadcast flag, so can industry in places like China and Taiwan. Given the amount of money movie studios make overseas, relying totally on broadcast flag technology is probably a loser for them in the long run.
Second, as people start to spend more and more time with user-generated content online, the movie industry is going to take more hits. Even if the revenue loss is currently minimal, it demonstrates there is a large and growing group of content providers they can't control. Life is a lot different from 70 years ago when the movie theater was one of the few available sources of entertainment.
ITTM "most expensive bomb." HTH. Seriously, a single stage show for the whole trilogy will likely end up satisfying nobody. Jackson did ~3x that and still left out a number of things (Bombadil, Battle of the Shire, Frodo battles Godzilla, etc.). Maybe I just lack vision, but I don't see how one could compress the story by that much and not end up with plot holes through which one could drive a truck. Theoretically one could almost eliminate Rohan and the Ents,* as well as have all the battles offstage, but there would come a point (quickly, IMO) when the very things that make the epic compelling would start to be gutted. *For what it's worth, I like Rohan, Isengard, and the Ents. I think they're a big part of the story. I'm just saying that one could probably put together a coherent movie without them. It'd probably suck, but one could.
"The funny thing"? The funny thing? That's like walking out of a Monty Python show and saying, "Man, that one joke was really funny."
If you simply assume that you can't be cool, then you won't be. I admit that shell scripting isn't all that glamorous, but as long as its practitioners think that's the right and proper order of things it's never going to change.
If you don't want change, fine, play by their rules. But stop whining that you're not cool. That's like joining a game of dodgeball and then complaining that there are all these balls coming at you.
I'm in law school now, and I still prefer to talk my way out of bad situations. That said, I think the knowledge that I could, if necessary, resort to force of arms actually helps me avoid conflict. I think others can sense your self-confidence, which makes them less likely to write off your words as desperate attempts to avoid a beating.
Curse you, Red Planet!