It has been established quite clearly that such in-house copying is not considered distribution.
There are further grey areas, though. What if, for example, I tweak a kernel, install it on my machine, and a few months down the track donate that machine to the local Salvation Army?
Presumably I would have cleaned out/home and, among other things,/usr/src. This certainly isn't in-house, and thus probably a violation of the authors' copyright.
Even MS turns a blind eye to this form of distribution, or at least they were known to before Win-XP.
I agree -- it seems odd that MS releases a reasonably open standard at around the same time it starts pushing DRM. Or I completely misunderstand the two of them. "Sure guys, it's all interoperable. We can all work together here. Just make sure we veto it first."
Or something like that.
I really don't know where this is going to go, but I know where my money's staying.
Upgrade to Sarge now. It's not that bad, and presumably the stability is where it needs to be. The security updates won't be automatic, but keep an eye on the security page at Debian for info. How secure do you need to be?
I think it's the whole point that Debian won't release software critical to the system that's non-free. They're not going to sit on their standards for a month or two and then worry about them.
Personally I use a little bit of non-free, but I understand completely the ethics of those who refuse to do that. Debian's just about the only distribution (okay, I don't know them all, but I'd be glad to hear if I'm wrong) that has the exclusion of non-free as central. It's what attracted me to Deb in the first place (sorry Ian!) even though I didn't have a clue about GNU/Linux.
Don't deny us that for the sake of a few months when there are otherwise good alternatives.
What sort of idiots do you think we are? We're/.ers. We've memorised every little bit of our high school biology books on the chapters to do with sexual reproduction.
Pity that very few of us will be able to take our learning into the field.
I really don't know what it's going to take for GNU/Linux to move out of geekdom and on to the average desktop. What I do know is that Longhorn looks like a mighty nice piece of technology that may be a winner with anyone that can afford the machinery.
I think GNU/Linux is the best thing since sliced silicon. But the other day I was reading a magazine review of a beta (or alpha or something) of Longhorn. I was deep in thought, wondering how the OSS hackers would cope with WinFS,.NET functionality and so on. I was also cynically musing about the same old security holes that'll presumably crop up, and resting assured that my choice os OS is the correct one.
A mate rings up, having read the same review. "Hey Cammo," he shouted down the phone. "The windows flap when you move 'em!!!"
From what I remember on their site there is some limited integration. I think you can right click an image and there's an option to edit it withthe Gimp.
I notice that the MPAA is giving away DVDs, trips to Hollywood and so on as part of their 'curriculum.' All those little brats not paying for stuff--it makes you sick thinking about what their turning our good, law abiding kids into.
I guess it's ultimately the parents who have the job of parenting. I'm as guilty as anyone (that's right! A/.er with children!) of expecting the almighty PlayStation to do my babysitting for me. But all of the games my children play have been played by me, and the TVs in a place where I can see what's going on.
In a few years the kids are going to want a bit more leeway in the games they play. I sort of hope that if I've been doing a good enough job of parenting they're going to make good choices when they choose their games.
Now this also goes for books, and any other media they want to use.
But the job of raising those kids belongs to me. If I expect the government to tell me what my kids can and can't watch, I'm not doing my job properly. And if I expect the checkout operator at K-Mart to tell my kids what games they can and can't play I'm certainly not doing well.
It's my job as a parent to keep up with what my kids are doing. I'm not Superman, so I can't do the job perfectly, but I can make an effort. I can at least know what games are around, and read the covers to see what's in them. I can talk to the kids about it, and they can use the skills I've taught them to convince me one way or the other if I should let them play. Those skills will enable them to start to make their own decisions about these things. I won't be here forever!
I also have to learn that there may be redeeming features in otherwise unsuitable media. For example, something like Counter-Strike mightn't be suitable for my 6 year old, but it can still teach things like the importance of teamwork and compromise.
The Bible, now that you mention it, shows life in all of its many shaded colour. It has it's low points--gang rape, genocide and so on. Some of it was written in the depths of depression, other parts written in the ecstatic highs of life. Other parts have some pretty damn good teaching about how to live the good life, and other parts spell out how to develop strong communities.
In other words, all those things I see on the 5 o'clock news. That's life, and I'm happy for my children to read it--with the appropriate guidance.
Contrary to popular belief and that hilarious episode of the Simpsons water doesn't necessarily flush in a different direction on the southern hemisphere
Okay, let's get right off topic!
I live in Australia, and I found that episode of the Simpsons amusing. The producers needed to do their research properly though. I have never seen a toilet in Australia flush the water in any direction except down (apart on one unfortunate but memorable occasion, when it was up).
We use a different style of flush in which the water sort of quickly floods the bowl and it drains itself quite chaotically with all sorts of foaming and splashing (if you want a cold surprise, pull the chain before you rise!)
I know a plumber who worked in the US installing Australian style toilets. He finds them so much easier to work on. Better him than me!
The Coriolis Effect is something of a Furphy at the smaller scale--it just isn't true. I've never been able to convince a drain to drain the same way every time without something like the toilet in the US Embassy. I remember watching a British science show in which the presenter, a man called Magnus Pike, tried flushing water down drains in England, South Africa and some hotel which apparently lay on the Equator. The only spin he got was in England, where it went the wrong way.
Are these three responsible for all the *(&^%*& crap in my inbox that's been advertising apparently legal versions of Photoshop, MS-Office, Windows and so on?
If so, I don't feel quite so sorry for them.
Ripping off poor corporations is one thing. Insulting me like this is quite another.
I've seen a few posts in this discussion bagging out the Final Fantasy-The Spirits within movie, with complaints like this one:
What sucks though is that lots of these game-movie adaptions stray away from the main story of the series which is what makes the series so unique to begin with. Case in point, Final Fantasy Spirits Within.
I have a slightly different recollection of the movie. I had played one or two of the FF games, and I remember thinking during the cut scenes in FFVII that this really needs to be made into a movie. I got really excited when it was announced that such a thing was to happen.
I finally got to see it, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I found the plot quite FFish, and it seemed to assume a familiarity with the FF style. A friend who came with me didn't quite understand what was going on. I ended up going through the whole FFVII plot with him, and everything seemed to make sense after that.
The main difference is in how the two genres relate to a plot line. In a movie the audience's attention needs to be focussed solely on the story. You can move fairly quickly, develop some complex characters and have two or three subplots moving together. Even if you don't quite understand it, or you miss something, a well made movie should still be understandable.
In a game (RPG at least) you're more concerned with moving the character yourself--designing him or her to be the character best suited to beating up the bad guy at the end while still being able to get through the earlier stages. You have to guess where the story's going to go so you can plan ahead.
You also have to choose whether or not to go on the subquests (if you can find them). Spending a day and a half breeding a golden chocobo would not go down well in a movie!
In a game, forgetting the slightest detail can leave you stranded. I remember spending two whole days flying my airship around the wrong part of the world because I missed a single word in an instruction (again in FFVII). And I wouldn't have got that chocobo if I hadn't got myself a nice walk through off the internet.
These things will have a dramatic effect on the development of the plot and the sorts of things they can do. The fact that the Final Fantasy series use different characters all the time gives more leeway in a movie. Peronally, I think the best way would be to develop the two in tandem, a la the Matrix. I haven't yet played the game so I don't know how well it worked there, but I suspect they were on to something.
I guess the whole experience taught me it's a poor effort if you need to go outside the movie (as my friend found) or the game (that walkthrough was the only thing that kept me in it) to be able to get your money's worth.
Slashdot Mirror
Over a hundred comments and this is the first 'IANAL' I've seen yet.
I was wondering...
It has been established quite clearly that such in-house copying is not considered distribution.
There are further grey areas, though. What if, for example, I tweak a kernel, install it on my machine, and a few months down the track donate that machine to the local Salvation Army?
Presumably I would have cleaned out /home and, among other things, /usr/src. This certainly isn't in-house, and thus probably a violation of the authors' copyright.
Even MS turns a blind eye to this form of distribution, or at least they were known to before Win-XP.
I'm a bit unclear on US patent law, but isn't this a submarine patent? People have been using FAT for years--certainly more than 12 months.
Or doesn't this restriction apply to companies which have as much cash as crash?
the apple will unexpectedly evacuate your stomach...
Gee, I'd hate to see what a core dump would look like...
If you're running forward!
No one's going to buy a shoe you can't walk backwards in.
I take it this means that they wouldn't be backward compatible? I wonder what sort of boot process they have.
I agree -- it seems odd that MS releases a reasonably open standard at around the same time it starts pushing DRM. Or I completely misunderstand the two of them. "Sure guys, it's all interoperable. We can all work together here. Just make sure we veto it first."
Or something like that.
I really don't know where this is going to go, but I know where my money's staying.
I thought the irony lay in the fact it was an AC making the comment.
Upgrade to Sarge now. It's not that bad, and presumably the stability is where it needs to be. The security updates won't be automatic, but keep an eye on the security page at Debian for info. How secure do you need to be?
I think it's the whole point that Debian won't release software critical to the system that's non-free. They're not going to sit on their standards for a month or two and then worry about them.
Personally I use a little bit of non-free, but I understand completely the ethics of those who refuse to do that. Debian's just about the only distribution (okay, I don't know them all, but I'd be glad to hear if I'm wrong) that has the exclusion of non-free as central. It's what attracted me to Deb in the first place (sorry Ian!) even though I didn't have a clue about GNU/Linux.
Don't deny us that for the sake of a few months when there are otherwise good alternatives.
What sort of idiots do you think we are? We're /.ers. We've memorised every little bit of our high school biology books on the chapters to do with sexual reproduction.
Pity that very few of us will be able to take our learning into the field.
I really don't know what it's going to take for GNU/Linux to move out of geekdom and on to the average desktop. What I do know is that Longhorn looks like a mighty nice piece of technology that may be a winner with anyone that can afford the machinery.
I think GNU/Linux is the best thing since sliced silicon. But the other day I was reading a magazine review of a beta (or alpha or something) of Longhorn. I was deep in thought, wondering how the OSS hackers would cope with WinFS, .NET functionality and so on. I was also cynically musing about the same old security holes that'll presumably crop up, and resting assured that my choice os OS is the correct one.
A mate rings up, having read the same review. "Hey Cammo," he shouted down the phone. "The windows flap when you move 'em!!!"
Where do I order the beta?
From what I remember on their site there is some limited integration. I think you can right click an image and there's an option to edit it withthe Gimp.
You obviously don't understand English then. As far as I can see, the word 'rhythm' has no vowels.
I notice that the MPAA is giving away DVDs, trips to Hollywood and so on as part of their 'curriculum.' All those little brats not paying for stuff--it makes you sick thinking about what their turning our good, law abiding kids into.
Oh come on. Why would people crossover to OOo when they have a perfectly good paperclip to shoot? Nice work Andrea.
I guess it's ultimately the parents who have the job of parenting. I'm as guilty as anyone (that's right! A /.er with children!) of expecting the almighty PlayStation to do my babysitting for me. But all of the games my children play have been played by me, and the TVs in a place where I can see what's going on.
In a few years the kids are going to want a bit more leeway in the games they play. I sort of hope that if I've been doing a good enough job of parenting they're going to make good choices when they choose their games.
Now this also goes for books, and any other media they want to use.
But the job of raising those kids belongs to me. If I expect the government to tell me what my kids can and can't watch, I'm not doing my job properly. And if I expect the checkout operator at K-Mart to tell my kids what games they can and can't play I'm certainly not doing well.
It's my job as a parent to keep up with what my kids are doing. I'm not Superman, so I can't do the job perfectly, but I can make an effort. I can at least know what games are around, and read the covers to see what's in them. I can talk to the kids about it, and they can use the skills I've taught them to convince me one way or the other if I should let them play. Those skills will enable them to start to make their own decisions about these things. I won't be here forever!
I also have to learn that there may be redeeming features in otherwise unsuitable media. For example, something like Counter-Strike mightn't be suitable for my 6 year old, but it can still teach things like the importance of teamwork and compromise.
The Bible, now that you mention it, shows life in all of its many shaded colour. It has it's low points--gang rape, genocide and so on. Some of it was written in the depths of depression, other parts written in the ecstatic highs of life. Other parts have some pretty damn good teaching about how to live the good life, and other parts spell out how to develop strong communities.
In other words, all those things I see on the 5 o'clock news. That's life, and I'm happy for my children to read it--with the appropriate guidance.
Okay, let's get right off topic!
I live in Australia, and I found that episode of the Simpsons amusing. The producers needed to do their research properly though. I have never seen a toilet in Australia flush the water in any direction except down (apart on one unfortunate but memorable occasion, when it was up).
We use a different style of flush in which the water sort of quickly floods the bowl and it drains itself quite chaotically with all sorts of foaming and splashing (if you want a cold surprise, pull the chain before you rise!)
I know a plumber who worked in the US installing Australian style toilets. He finds them so much easier to work on. Better him than me!
The Coriolis Effect is something of a Furphy at the smaller scale--it just isn't true. I've never been able to convince a drain to drain the same way every time without something like the toilet in the US Embassy. I remember watching a British science show in which the presenter, a man called Magnus Pike, tried flushing water down drains in England, South Africa and some hotel which apparently lay on the Equator. The only spin he got was in England, where it went the wrong way.
Back to the topic...!
Are these three responsible for all the *(&^%*& crap in my inbox that's been advertising apparently legal versions of Photoshop, MS-Office, Windows and so on?
If so, I don't feel quite so sorry for them.
Ripping off poor corporations is one thing. Insulting me like this is quite another.
Just think what would happen if those dollars were spent on developing software worth copying.
Better make sure they include the sources...
I've seen a few posts in this discussion bagging out the Final Fantasy-The Spirits within movie, with complaints like this one:
I have a slightly different recollection of the movie. I had played one or two of the FF games, and I remember thinking during the cut scenes in FFVII that this really needs to be made into a movie. I got really excited when it was announced that such a thing was to happen.
I finally got to see it, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I found the plot quite FFish, and it seemed to assume a familiarity with the FF style. A friend who came with me didn't quite understand what was going on. I ended up going through the whole FFVII plot with him, and everything seemed to make sense after that.
The main difference is in how the two genres relate to a plot line. In a movie the audience's attention needs to be focussed solely on the story. You can move fairly quickly, develop some complex characters and have two or three subplots moving together. Even if you don't quite understand it, or you miss something, a well made movie should still be understandable.
In a game (RPG at least) you're more concerned with moving the character yourself--designing him or her to be the character best suited to beating up the bad guy at the end while still being able to get through the earlier stages. You have to guess where the story's going to go so you can plan ahead.
You also have to choose whether or not to go on the subquests (if you can find them). Spending a day and a half breeding a golden chocobo would not go down well in a movie!
In a game, forgetting the slightest detail can leave you stranded. I remember spending two whole days flying my airship around the wrong part of the world because I missed a single word in an instruction (again in FFVII). And I wouldn't have got that chocobo if I hadn't got myself a nice walk through off the internet.
These things will have a dramatic effect on the development of the plot and the sorts of things they can do. The fact that the Final Fantasy series use different characters all the time gives more leeway in a movie. Peronally, I think the best way would be to develop the two in tandem, a la the Matrix. I haven't yet played the game so I don't know how well it worked there, but I suspect they were on to something.
I guess the whole experience taught me it's a poor effort if you need to go outside the movie (as my friend found) or the game (that walkthrough was the only thing that kept me in it) to be able to get your money's worth.