The article said the number is assigned to the researcher ( a person ) and not the institutions or its sub-organizations. I did see a tiered subscription rate being mentioned to pay for its employees to be a member. I didn't see any references to artificial intelligence machines.
The first is "Tivoization". Vendors should not hardwire checks to prevent "unapproved" software from being run. Makes no difference whether these checks are done in the software or hardware. Such a check really is software no matter that it's been hardwired in. With a scheme like that in place, you can't fix so much as a typo let alone a simple bug. Linus is apparently okay with Tivoization.
I believe hardware falls outside the purview of the GPL. All I'm concerned with is that the source code remains available for someone else's benefit and that people can't take my GPL code, make improvements, and distribute those improvements without the source code. This is important so that everyone including myself continue to have access to the source code and can benefit from all the changes. As far as I'm concerned the GPL is to enforce source code sharing and insuring that the code remains available. If someone wants to perform some integrity checks before running code on their hardware then fine I won't purchase that hardware.
However I do draw the line at firmware required to perform the improved functions. The GPL should prevent the need for a certain brand hardware to perform a function. The inability to take advantage of the source modifications due to system calls being implemented in proprietary firmware solely to circumvent the spirit and terms of the GPL should be prohibited and viewed as a GPL violation.
More serious is the other problem, patents. Microsoft and Novell came up with a way to restrict access to software via patent law rather than copyright law. They'd add some code to free software, then once it had gained some adoption, they'd bring to the surface submarine patents they have on that software, for rent seeking and anti-competitive purposes. GPL3 prevents that by forbidding anyone who contributes code from seeking patent royalties for their contributions. Lest you think that's not a problem, consider SCO.
I'm no fan of IE, but I'm skeptical of the $100,000 savings. Of course if I chose to hire one guy to do nothing but support a single browser then that would easily account for the money saved, but who in their right mind would do that?
Also the lack of complaints about incompatibility could be an indication of how all the major web browsers are finally converging on the HTML standard.
It's almost as if he went to the local library and read a book from the 90's about web development.
I prefer an old fashion paper map as my backup. They aren't expensive and don't require batteries. I've used paper maps without issue. Save those batteries for something more important like having power for an emergency phone call.
I agree, except your examples of data coverage. I have T-Mobile and the Google map have crapped out on me in the middle of New Mexico. I admit New Mexico is a tough state for online navigation. Remember you can only cache the amount of data your smartphone can hold, and of course your milage may vary.
Also Google maps has poor navigation when compared with MapQuest and other mapping software. My biggest complaint with Google Navigation with an Android phone is that Google doesn't do adequate filtering of the GPS data (at least on my phone) and my phone is prone to course corrections with no apparent reason. My old Garmin GPS has no such issues.
Of course, an actual GPS navigation device is the master of its trade. While the smartphone is the master of none.
Like it or not, Apple is in the same business as Alienware. Bundling performance components and then inflating the price until it ceases to be a good value.
I sure hope so. They both sell hardware and they have a core market that they spend a lot of money trying to keep satisfied. Alienware sort of went down hill since their acquisition by Dell. It's a shame since their earlier machines were pretty nice.
Similarly, if you actually spend the same amount of money on PC components building one as you spent on a pre-assembled Apple, every aspect of the machine will be superior.
What is your point? I can and have spent money on "superior" parts and assembled a PC. Unfortunately the savings didn't materialize. Not to mention, I'm no longer in college and my time is far too valuable assembling a desktop. If I consider the amount of money that I am being paid for my time, I could have easily purchased several Mac Pros. I only need one therefore I just purchase one already assembled.
I'll take the S2000 thank you.
You can have the S2000. It screams "I have a small penis" a little too loudly for my taste. I prefer the V6 Accord Sports Coupe. It is plenty sporty for me, and it goes plenty fast to shave some time off of my long commute. The gas milage is great and I have trunk space to carry my equipment. Not to mention the reliability if renown and it holds its resale value. Also my car is still in production and has about 30 more hp.
I guess in a way you've proven my point. You seemed obsessed with outward appearance, while I look at the entire package. Sure I can save some money and purchase a computer that has a very thin veneer of being similar to an Apple, but I'll regret it when problems begin to arise (and they will). So for the moment Apple meets my demands and the fact that the machines have eye pleasing designs is just a bonus.
I do agree with you that the motherboards are fabricated by the same people who make the motherboards for Dell and others. However, the motherboards are made to Apple's specifications just like Dell specifies their motherboard designs. I also agree that the individual components are manufactured by third-party vendors that sell to just about everybody.
The key difference between the brands is that Apple wants quality to be associated with their branding and will make design choices and parts selections that ensure that they keep their image. They charge a premium for their equipment so they have enough margin to chose quality over economy.
Dell, on the other hand, wants to offer the most bang for the buck. They are competing against beige box assemblers and make design choices that allows them to offer a reasonably powerful machine at very low cost. Their margins are small so they do cut corners to keep the price low. For the average hobbyist and home user that uses Windows, Dell makes a nice machine. The average user will upgrade to a newer machine in about 3 years and the Dell will *probably* last long enough until a Windows game/program/operating system comes out that will require a new computer anyway.
I prefer Apple, but I do purchase and use both brands (non-Apple usually equals Dell), however lately I've been buying Supermicro instead of Dell. I have powerpc Apples that are still functioning well, and the Apple laptops (even the white plastic MacBooks) are still in use. The Dell laptops haven't faired so well. The Desktop machines are still mostly working, but most of the cheap ass parts were replaced (I believe the chassis and the motherboard are the only original equipment). The laptops however are crap. The new Dells with the smart card reader looks promising (we purchased 5) and we hope they do better than the other Dells.
Overall the Apple branded equipment are better made. I had a couple of lemons that Apple gladly swapped out and the replacements have been trouble free.
Long story - short. Your milage may vary but to say there's little difference between Dell and Apple branded computers is pretty naive.
Excuse me if I find your anecdotal evidence lacking credibility. I have a large number of Mac where I work and they are abused quite regularly. I haven't had these problems you speak of. I do like the USB keyboards from Dell which I use in the server room. I have plenty of spares since the keyboards seem to outlast the Dell computers themselves.
Look at China... In fact it seems to be a net benefit.
Everything seems like a benefit when you have a totalitarian government telling you that it is a benefit.
Of course when the only direction your economy can go is up, anything can become a benefit. Do you honestly believe that workers would put up with half the crap that they do if there were other options for them?
The submitter said intellectual property not patents or copyrights. Therefore trademarks would fall into the 5 year argument. This is an example of a question being too vague.
...which sounds a lot like Apple's problem and not anyone else's. I know what you're getting at, but I don't believe that's a justifiable defense of Apple. For many months after launch, Sony and Microsoft subsidized the price of their gaming consoles with the expectation that buyers would purchase other high-margin games and peripherals to make up the difference. Well, some people used their consoles for media centers or integrated them into computing clusters. In those cases, Sony/MS lost on those sales. Did the buyers do anything wrong? No: they just took advantage of a favorable price point.
While it is an interesting point, I can't seem to reconcile it against the following:
On console systems, the hardware is being sold with the expectation that the end-user will purchase games. There is no legal requirement for the end-user to purchase a game. In Apple's case, the software is being sold with the expectation that the end-user will run it on Apple hardware. In this case, there is a legal requirement to own Apple hardware. It's is specified within the EULA and the software is sold as an upgrade to an existing and qualified copy of its predecessor.
Items that are sold for the expressed purpose of modifying the behavior of game consoles (e.g. mod-chips) have faced legal scrutiny.
This gets me that first sale doctrine doesn't matter.
Not in this instance. We aren't talking about Psystar reselling a retail product that they purchased from Apple. We are talking about Pystar tried to sell a package that allowed their customer to violate the EULA of the retail product that they purchased from Apple.
The Psystar case reminds me of the Atari ruling, when Atari didn't want to allow third-party developers to make games for their console. Imagine if there were no third-party developers today.
Not applicable. The Psystar case involved people running OS X on non-Apple hardware. In order for the Atari case to apply, Psystar would have to be sued for allowing unauthorized people from developing software on Apple computer hardware from which OS X operates. Since Apple allows third-party developers to develop software on OS X running on Apple hardware, the Atari case has no relevance.
If Psystar legally purchased OSX software licenses, why shouldn't they be able to legally resell them with hardware?
Again it was not just about Psystar reselling the licenses, it was about Psystar reselling the licenses with hardware and software designed to circumvent the EULA. This resulted in Psystar being found to have violated the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).
We have judges protecting a monopoly and frankly I don't understand it.
If you want to legally run OS X then you must run it on Apple branded hardware. What's hard to understand about that? If you don't have Apple branded hardware, may I suggest Linux or even a flavor of BSD.
A properly installed man-made lightening rod system, which bleeds off charge before it gets to be enough to ionize the air, could help protect the nearby trees as well as your house, although not from voltage induced on the lines coming into your house by a strike further away.
That's an idea. However my trees survived hurricane katrina where my man made structures other than the house itself did not. The lightning rod system would be just one more structure to maintain.
I think it is less that "people" aren't interested in how things work, anymore, and more that nobody cares about amateur radio or clunky robots.
I remember the day when you could build a Heathkit H89 PC or a Heathkit Oscilloscope (I still have the oscilloscope somewhere in storage). Heathkit was more than amateur radio and robots. It used to be general electronics. Of course *used to be* is probably to reason for its demise.
When I built kit radios, I purchased them elsewhere. For example, I built TenTec's 6m transverter and still have it.
While it is sad to see a sentimental brand disappear, it isn't like they had a monopoly on build-it-yourself kits.
One more thing, You still need to attach a lightning protection device to that ground rod. Equipment ground is protection from electrical shock not lightning.
Sometimes they do a cheap job, just strap something to a nearby pipe, or run a wire to a spike, but the wire later deteriorates.
If you try to use grounding rods, you need to bond them together with your house's ground rod near the electrical box using #6 or larger uninsulated wire.
I live on the US Gulf Coast and I get more than my fair share of lightning strikes. Because of the long power feed line coming to my house, the power company installed an "enhanced" ground system and whole house surge suppressor. While I haven't had a lightening strike take out all my electrical appliances, I still have the occasional small electronics die during an electrical storm. My cable modem, television, and anything connected to coaxial cable have been struck by lightning so don't forget to purchase lightening protection for your coax. I used to use a brand called transi-trap during my amateur radio days, but I'm sure you can find something comparable at your local hardware store.
Anyway, I have very tall pine trees that act as natural lightning rods. When one of those get hit, anything near that side of the house is pretty much hosed. So be aware that despite your best efforts, you may still get equipment failures. Ultimately this is why I have insurance.
You may want to consider removing any tall trees near your house. Unless you're like me and think the shade provided by the trees is worth more than the chance of getting hit by lightning (e.g. the increased cost of cooling versus the probability of replacing some equipment).
I don't want to sound like a shill but every time I see people complaining about laptop monitor glossiness and resolution I feel the urge to recommend a Thinkpad.
You should resist the urge.
The article mentioned the XPS13 which means the equivalent Thinkpad would be something close to a X series which is about $200 more in cost. I would get the Ubuntu based XPS13 and buy a $13 matte display filter, before I considered the thinkpad.
My biggest complaint with the language is that it does not remain consistent across even minor language versions.
Amen! Nothing gets my goat like all the revisions of code I have to do between the versions of Python... wait we are talking about Ruby? Sorry.
I find this a little hard to swallow since I haven't experienced too much inconvenience between minor versions of Ruby. Of course both Python and Ruby are relatively young and prone to these minor inconveniences.
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The article said the number is assigned to the researcher ( a person ) and not the institutions or its sub-organizations. I did see a tiered subscription rate being mentioned to pay for its employees to be a member. I didn't see any references to artificial intelligence machines.
I believe hardware falls outside the purview of the GPL. All I'm concerned with is that the source code remains available for someone else's benefit and that people can't take my GPL code, make improvements, and distribute those improvements without the source code. This is important so that everyone including myself continue to have access to the source code and can benefit from all the changes. As far as I'm concerned the GPL is to enforce source code sharing and insuring that the code remains available. If someone wants to perform some integrity checks before running code on their hardware then fine I won't purchase that hardware.
However I do draw the line at firmware required to perform the improved functions. The GPL should prevent the need for a certain brand hardware to perform a function. The inability to take advantage of the source modifications due to system calls being implemented in proprietary firmware solely to circumvent the spirit and terms of the GPL should be prohibited and viewed as a GPL violation.
I agree.
How big of a population explosion are you expecting?
I'm due another upgrade. I have a MyTouch 4G
I'm no fan of IE, but I'm skeptical of the $100,000 savings. Of course if I chose to hire one guy to do nothing but support a single browser then that would easily account for the money saved, but who in their right mind would do that?
Also the lack of complaints about incompatibility could be an indication of how all the major web browsers are finally converging on the HTML standard.
It's almost as if he went to the local library and read a book from the 90's about web development.
I prefer an old fashion paper map as my backup. They aren't expensive and don't require batteries. I've used paper maps without issue. Save those batteries for something more important like having power for an emergency phone call.
I agree, except your examples of data coverage. I have T-Mobile and the Google map have crapped out on me in the middle of New Mexico. I admit New Mexico is a tough state for online navigation. Remember you can only cache the amount of data your smartphone can hold, and of course your milage may vary.
Also Google maps has poor navigation when compared with MapQuest and other mapping software. My biggest complaint with Google Navigation with an Android phone is that Google doesn't do adequate filtering of the GPS data (at least on my phone) and my phone is prone to course corrections with no apparent reason. My old Garmin GPS has no such issues.
Of course, an actual GPS navigation device is the master of its trade. While the smartphone is the master of none.
I find the idea of these guys being the federal CIO/CTO after the next presidential election laughable.
At the risk of appearing to support this ridiculous claim of Fox:
Andy Warhol, Richard Hamilton, Eduardo Paolozzi, and other pop artists would wholeheartedly say yes.
I sure hope so. They both sell hardware and they have a core market that they spend a lot of money trying to keep satisfied. Alienware sort of went down hill since their acquisition by Dell. It's a shame since their earlier machines were pretty nice.
What is your point? I can and have spent money on "superior" parts and assembled a PC. Unfortunately the savings didn't materialize. Not to mention, I'm no longer in college and my time is far too valuable assembling a desktop. If I consider the amount of money that I am being paid for my time, I could have easily purchased several Mac Pros. I only need one therefore I just purchase one already assembled.
You can have the S2000. It screams "I have a small penis" a little too loudly for my taste. I prefer the V6 Accord Sports Coupe. It is plenty sporty for me, and it goes plenty fast to shave some time off of my long commute. The gas milage is great and I have trunk space to carry my equipment. Not to mention the reliability if renown and it holds its resale value. Also my car is still in production and has about 30 more hp.
I guess in a way you've proven my point. You seemed obsessed with outward appearance, while I look at the entire package. Sure I can save some money and purchase a computer that has a very thin veneer of being similar to an Apple, but I'll regret it when problems begin to arise (and they will). So for the moment Apple meets my demands and the fact that the machines have eye pleasing designs is just a bonus.
I do agree with you that the motherboards are fabricated by the same people who make the motherboards for Dell and others. However, the motherboards are made to Apple's specifications just like Dell specifies their motherboard designs. I also agree that the individual components are manufactured by third-party vendors that sell to just about everybody.
The key difference between the brands is that Apple wants quality to be associated with their branding and will make design choices and parts selections that ensure that they keep their image. They charge a premium for their equipment so they have enough margin to chose quality over economy.
Dell, on the other hand, wants to offer the most bang for the buck. They are competing against beige box assemblers and make design choices that allows them to offer a reasonably powerful machine at very low cost. Their margins are small so they do cut corners to keep the price low. For the average hobbyist and home user that uses Windows, Dell makes a nice machine. The average user will upgrade to a newer machine in about 3 years and the Dell will *probably* last long enough until a Windows game/program/operating system comes out that will require a new computer anyway.
I prefer Apple, but I do purchase and use both brands (non-Apple usually equals Dell), however lately I've been buying Supermicro instead of Dell. I have powerpc Apples that are still functioning well, and the Apple laptops (even the white plastic MacBooks) are still in use. The Dell laptops haven't faired so well. The Desktop machines are still mostly working, but most of the cheap ass parts were replaced (I believe the chassis and the motherboard are the only original equipment). The laptops however are crap. The new Dells with the smart card reader looks promising (we purchased 5) and we hope they do better than the other Dells.
Overall the Apple branded equipment are better made. I had a couple of lemons that Apple gladly swapped out and the replacements have been trouble free.
Long story - short. Your milage may vary but to say there's little difference between Dell and Apple branded computers is pretty naive.
Excuse me if I find your anecdotal evidence lacking credibility. I have a large number of Mac where I work and they are abused quite regularly. I haven't had these problems you speak of. I do like the USB keyboards from Dell which I use in the server room. I have plenty of spares since the keyboards seem to outlast the Dell computers themselves.
These alarmist act like we can't do the same thing now with Dropbox and not be tied to a particular OS.
I use my dropbox account way more than my iCloud.
Everything seems like a benefit when you have a totalitarian government telling you that it is a benefit.
Of course when the only direction your economy can go is up, anything can become a benefit. Do you honestly believe that workers would put up with half the crap that they do if there were other options for them?
The submitter said intellectual property not patents or copyrights. Therefore trademarks would fall into the 5 year argument. This is an example of a question being too vague.
Except for the minor detail about the Apple hardware requirement being presented to the buyer prior to sale.
While it is an interesting point, I can't seem to reconcile it against the following:
Not in this instance. We aren't talking about Psystar reselling a retail product that they purchased from Apple. We are talking about Pystar tried to sell a package that allowed their customer to violate the EULA of the retail product that they purchased from Apple.
Not applicable. The Psystar case involved people running OS X on non-Apple hardware. In order for the Atari case to apply, Psystar would have to be sued for allowing unauthorized people from developing software on Apple computer hardware from which OS X operates. Since Apple allows third-party developers to develop software on OS X running on Apple hardware, the Atari case has no relevance.
Again it was not just about Psystar reselling the licenses, it was about Psystar reselling the licenses with hardware and software designed to circumvent the EULA. This resulted in Psystar being found to have violated the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).
If you want to legally run OS X then you must run it on Apple branded hardware. What's hard to understand about that? If you don't have Apple branded hardware, may I suggest Linux or even a flavor of BSD.
That's an idea. However my trees survived hurricane katrina where my man made structures other than the house itself did not. The lightning rod system would be just one more structure to maintain.
I remember the day when you could build a Heathkit H89 PC or a Heathkit Oscilloscope (I still have the oscilloscope somewhere in storage). Heathkit was more than amateur radio and robots. It used to be general electronics. Of course *used to be* is probably to reason for its demise.
When I built kit radios, I purchased them elsewhere. For example, I built TenTec's 6m transverter and still have it.
While it is sad to see a sentimental brand disappear, it isn't like they had a monopoly on build-it-yourself kits.
One more thing, You still need to attach a lightning protection device to that ground rod. Equipment ground is protection from electrical shock not lightning.
If you try to use grounding rods, you need to bond them together with your house's ground rod near the electrical box using #6 or larger uninsulated wire.
I live on the US Gulf Coast and I get more than my fair share of lightning strikes. Because of the long power feed line coming to my house, the power company installed an "enhanced" ground system and whole house surge suppressor. While I haven't had a lightening strike take out all my electrical appliances, I still have the occasional small electronics die during an electrical storm. My cable modem, television, and anything connected to coaxial cable have been struck by lightning so don't forget to purchase lightening protection for your coax. I used to use a brand called transi-trap during my amateur radio days, but I'm sure you can find something comparable at your local hardware store.
Anyway, I have very tall pine trees that act as natural lightning rods. When one of those get hit, anything near that side of the house is pretty much hosed. So be aware that despite your best efforts, you may still get equipment failures. Ultimately this is why I have insurance.
You may want to consider removing any tall trees near your house. Unless you're like me and think the shade provided by the trees is worth more than the chance of getting hit by lightning (e.g. the increased cost of cooling versus the probability of replacing some equipment).
You should resist the urge.
The article mentioned the XPS13 which means the equivalent Thinkpad would be something close to a X series which is about $200 more in cost. I would get the Ubuntu based XPS13 and buy a $13 matte display filter, before I considered the thinkpad.
Amen! Nothing gets my goat like all the revisions of code I have to do between the versions of Python... wait we are talking about Ruby? Sorry.
I find this a little hard to swallow since I haven't experienced too much inconvenience between minor versions of Ruby. Of course both Python and Ruby are relatively young and prone to these minor inconveniences.