Until very recently, my mom was using AOL as her ISP. Because Linux can't be used with AOL (without additional work and/or expense), it wasn't worth the effort. Since then, Mom has decided that she'd rather have no Internet connection at all than keep AOL... I knew we had to have something in common!
Also, the hard drive in her computer was only 1.5 GB. A full install of RedHat or Mandrake (including all the Gnome and KDE libs) wouldn't fit. (Yes, I know you don't need a full install, but I really don't want to be putting in packages every time I go over!).
Despite all the commendable advances, personally I'll keep it as a damn fine server and stick with Windows for my desktop. Next year though... things might be very different...
Next year? I'm using Red Hat 7.3 as my desktop, and I have to say that in the past 6 months things have improved dramatically!
The sound, video card, and network card were configured during installation without problems. The CD-RW was automatically configured as a burner; with no work on my part I could start Gnome Toaster and burn a CD. The only "problem" I see are the less-than-automatic software installations and upgrades.
Just out of curiosity, what kind of things are you looking for to make you change your desktop?
When will we see something better than PCI on consumer level motherboards? I realize that the "average" user doesn't need 66Mhz, 64-bit PCI slots, but it would be nice to have just one for high-bandwidth applications (RAID card, gigabit ethernet).
I agree with your premise, but not for the reasons you listed. I think that "trusted content" and "certificates" are going to eliminate most of the reasons people buy new PCs.
Right now there is a tangible benefit to getting a new PC: it's faster, has more storage space, and you can do more with it. In terms of "average users", the only people who need the horsepower that a 3-4Ghz machine will provide are gamers. Many of the "average user's" applications that are CPU intensive involve media files: MP3 and video encoding, software DVD playback, editing photos, etc -- all of which can be done well on existing computers. And since computers tend to have fairly good life spans (when cared for), the need to upgrade is greatly reduced.
The Palladium-PC as media center doesn't have a whole lot to sell itself on. Televisions, stereos, DVD players and appliances don't sell themselves based on speed, they go for capacity and (limited) features. If personal data and documents are taken away from users, why should they even bother with PCs?
I've broken my RedHat box by installing things improperly. During the learning curve, I tried to install the upgraded NVidia drivers, and ended up blowing away X. All kinds of not-fun.
As for blowing away the OS... that's not a big deal. Just reinstall. (It's inconvenient, but not catastrophic.) For systems that haven't been tweaked heavily, it's the user directories that tend to have the really important data.
Tens of millions of Windows 9X boxes are effectively running as root. Despite the viruses and trojans, the computing world is still intact.
This can be used as a baby-step into the Linux world for many Windows users. If they can get away from using IE and MS-Office, and to start thinking that the program isn't as important as the data, it's a big step forward for Linux.
Time for a reality check. Try as we may, no one here is Martin Luther King or Einstein. And even if one of you were... [snip] So the government likes to watch... so do we, and who the hell cares?
Here's a hint: back in "the old days", keeping records involved lots of people. You needed compentent individuals to collect the data, file it, and look for "disturbing patterns". Only public figures could be watched, simply because of manpower costs and availability.
These days, the whole system can be automated -- inexpensively. Just for the sake of comparison, a standard consumer-grade 160 GB hard drive could be used to hold a fair amount of data on 10,000 citizens. (16 MB without compression, for those who don't want to do the math. That's a lot of text data.) One would assume that the government isn't using off-the-shelf consumer products either.
Anyone who has worked with any kind of large-scale data processing would realize the negative implications of an automated spy system. Here's another hint: think about all the times you have received an incorrect bill, had your name misspelled, or ended up on a database and had no idea how your name got there.
Unfortunately, there's a way around your definitions. If the user isn't licensing (or purchasing) the software, but is instead subscribed to a service, that might give companies an "out".
For example, I use Yahoo mail through my web browser. I'm responsible for the suitability of my system and maintaining a connection to the Internet. No software (from Yahoo) was downloaded, purchased or licensed for me to do this. If I paid the money for POP3 access to my account, how liable should they be for nothing more than access to an IP and port?
It's not too much of a stretch for online providers to release their client for no charge to qualify as "non-commercial", but charge for the privilege of connecting to their servers. If the Everquest client was GPL'd, or Microsoft Office 2010 did nothing but VNC to central MS servers, would they be considered non-commercial? And if they are "commercial", wouldn't Gamespy/FilePlanet, Red Hat, and Ximian (which all charge for "premium" access but offer the same content free) be lumped in the same category?
Just MHO (and IANAL)... but why not block Microsoft from bringing new products to market?
Let them sell WindowsXP, Office, etc -- in fact, require them to keep producing it at the current prices. But block them from releasing any new products or adding any functionality to existing software for a period of... 8 years. This gives the free market the opportunity to "catch up" to Microsoft, and surpass it as well. (I would allow security patches. There would be too many issues without them.)
Alternatively, MS could be blocked from introducing new products until their existing market share fell below 49% in that category. Isn't the goal to have the majority of the x86-compatible operating systems, browsers, office suites, etc belonging to other companies?
Before you go wireless, check out some of the articles on securing a WLAN (on/. and other sites). I know that in my apartment, a wireless lan would be accessible to about two dozen apartments, and some of the parking lot.
YMMV, but I would be concerned about bored script kiddies having nothing better to do this summer than hax0r a network from the privacy of their own homes...
... and everything should be in its place! It sounds like the equipment isn't so much the problem, as the lack of space in the apartment. How much space do you use, and how much does she use?
I've got a two bedroom apartment (which I got when I was single, FWIW). The smaller bedroom is the "tech center": computers, CDs, and a lot of the books are banished to this room. The TV, DVD, VCR, and stereo are in the living room. The only way any computers will be used in other rooms is for specific reasons: a recipie browser in the kitchen, or serving MP3s on the main stereo. Just because you can do something doesn't mean you should.
I get irritated when my girl's sewing and costuming stuff ends up all over the place, and she gets very unhappy when my RPGs end up taking over two rooms. Compromise is an art...
The good, the bad, and the bump-mapped...
on
E3 Doom III Preview
·
· Score: 2, Interesting
Just a couple of random thoughts...
Minimal multiplayer support... It might not be such a bad thing. As long as the SDK's are in place, the mod community can build things as good (or better) than the original game (Counterstrike anyone?). Good single player levels are hard to find.
Linux/Mac support... "In actuality, DOOM III is currently being developed for the PC and PC only - there could well be an Xbox version at some point (John Carmack is a member of the Xbox advisory committee), but that decision hasn't been made yet, and probably won't be for some time." *sigh* I just hope that it'll run on Win98; I'm not buying XP from Doom 3.
Weapon balance... Hopefully id will learn from Valve and get the weapon strength balanced with monster "hit points". Half-Life was fun because you didn't need a BFG10K (except for the Garg). Unlike Quake 2, where circle-strafing with a chaingun or hyperblaster (or railgun, etc) didn't even phase most monsters...
But these P2P apps adapt (simply because they are evil) and we are already seeing increases traffic. So guess what? We have to buy more bandwidth.
(Offtopic and slightly toasty, so mod accordingly)...
When I was in college (1990-94), administrators complained about the same things. Bandwidth was saturated! These crazy college kids and their MUDs, warez (2-3 MB at the time), and pr0n (~30-50 KB/image). The network admins swore that the Internet would collapse any day under the strain. And this is before WWW became widespread -- or the general public could use the Net.
The networked world adapted. More bandwidth became available, and the equipment became cheaper. There's a report (story in the K5 queue) stating that about 97% of all fiber lines in America are unused. "Kids" are always going to push the limits of what's available. They have the time, energy, and lack of knowledge about "consequences" to do it.
Want to cut your bandwidth costs, quick and easy? Disable all P2P services. FTP can use a lot of bandwidth; better get rid of it! And this new-fangled World Wide Web is a bandwidth hog too!
Here's a very modest idea: cut all Internet/I2 services for students and make a faculty-only net with T3 Internet access, or just ban all computers on campus. Education existed for thousands of years without Internet, computers, or electricity. Turning back the clock 25 years shouldn't effect your campus too much. Or is it too much to ask that someone working at an educational institution be concerned with the future?
These are the main environmental factors I've seen that can not only kill the Zone, but also make working difficult:
* PA/Paging System. Make sure that there are no speakers overhead if the paging system is used regularly -- or that the volume can be adjusted. Some of my co-workers cut the wires to a speaker because it was too loud and couldn't be turned down.
* Hall traffic. Around break time, lunch time, and quitting time, the main hallways can become noisy. A few thousand people exiting the building will raise the noise level. Depending on location, the developers may end up becoming admin assistants for the clueless. ("Tell so-and-so to call me when he gets back.")
* "'Scuze Me" Syndrome. Sometimes it's easier for a non-tech person just to walk over to developers and make a request (or demand). Whether it's due to close proximity or lack of procedure, having a user in your cube and waiting for attention can knock most people out of the Zone fast. Water coolers are the biggest motive; no one wants to put on a new jug, so the closest person usually gets harrassed continually.
* Meetings. Knowing that there are only a few minutes before a (pointless) meeting makes it hard to focus on anything, much less get involved in anything detailed. (Ignore this one if a deadline is approaching:)
* Lack of space. Developers need enough desk space for open manuals, code listings, and output printouts. Ideally there should be enough space in a cube for two people to work together on a problem. Having to comandeer a meeting room for a design or debugging session is a time-waster.
* Centralized Resources put "way over there". Manuals, printers, and office supplies should be kept near developers and easily accessible. A three-minute walk to get a printout is good exercise, but something of a damper for productivity. Having to scrounge for pens, post-its, notebooks and other inexpensive office supplies wastes time and energy.
1. Lack of an appropriate privacy policy or "opt-out" checkboxes for my personal information. I don't mind that your company is keeping my info, but I don't want it spreading. Unless the privacy policy has an absolute guarantee for my private information, I expect to be able to use a Yahoo or Hotmail account. (I've found places that won't accept them.)
2. Registration. It's one thing to enter my name and email address, but I don't know if I want to create a login account to your site. Is it worth that extra step?
3. Download speed. If my location has a decent internet connection and I'm only getting 5-10 KB/sec, then large files are out of the question. If that download is at non-peak hours (and the site isn't Slashdotted) and the download speed is still unreasonable, I'll probably try other software sources first.
4. Free "developer" copies. Some people out there are going to call me a "Slashdot freebie-seeker", but free limited-implementation copies are to your company's advantage.
If "developers" (including sysadmins, DBAs, and less-technical users like artists) are able to use the software at home, they're more likely to recommend it. Depending on the software, your company "loses" money in the short term, but can make it up with big contracts (assuming that's a viable sales path). Also, making the product available at the user-level helps both the publisher and job-seekers. If your software is "in demand", unemployed IT workers (like myself) can download it, become famliar, and add that skill to the resume. On the other hand, if there are significant barriers to getting and using your software -- limited time trial, overly crippled features, or requiring the purchase of a license -- you're limiting your market. The law of supply and demand kicks in: the fewer developers there are, the more they cost an employer; raising the TCO of your product is not a strong marketing point.
Just as an FYI, there is an Exchange replacement for Linux. While it's not free (neither speech nor beer), I've heard that it's a transparent replacement. Details at: http://www.bynari.net/
Disclaimer: I'm neither an employee or customer, just a messenger.
I tried the previous release (641C) and it had a lot of issues. Writer would hang whenever I tried to change fonts or import a document from MS Word. KWord and Abiword didn't import my documents correctly, so I was stuck with either Star Office 5.2 or MS Word.
I grabbed 641D a couple of days ago, and I have to say that I'm impressed! Other than a few fonts that I haven't migrated to Linux, it's done a great job with complex tables and formatting.
The only thing that would stop me from using it as my regular word processor is that I can't figure out how to make it use imperial units (inches) instead of metric.
If you mean AOL for any distrobution in general, probably not. But I wouldn't rule out a custom AOL distro -- sold as part of an "AOL PC". It would make a lot of sense for them: a cheap computer (like the walmart.com $400 PC) combined with a free OS/applications and preloaded with AOL almost seems like a "can't miss" deal.
Emotion, love, knowledge, wisdom. These cannot be copied, nor faked.
I have to respectfully disagree. Here's why:
Emotion. Have you ever seen a talk show or news item that mad you angry? Happy? Or sad? There's a lot of content intended to persuade or incite emotions. Trashy talk shows, sappy love songs (or thrashing angry songs:), movies with happy endings... they try to make you feel what the creator planned.
Love (and desire). If you think that love can't be copied or faked, you look at the screaming fan(atic)s of a popular teeny-bopper group, or visit a strip club where the lonely guys think the dancer's smile is just for him. There's even a branch of social "science" to fake love and desire: Marketing. Sad, but true.
Knowledge. A lot of people confuse information with knowledge. Think about the PHB with a shelf of untouched computer books, or the manager with statistics that have no bearing on reality. Lots of information, passed off (incorrectly) as knowledge.
Wisdom. I'll concede that wisdom can't be mass duplicated, and that the listener is responsible for determining the accuracy.
The only things that I can think can't be faked or duplicated (and some of these are iffy):
Time, experience, prestige, opportunity, trust, and life.
There should also be provisions for abandonment. For example, if a copyrighted work is not available for sale (including for $0.00) from its copyright holder to the public for a total of ten years, then it is considered to be abandoned.
I understand what your idea is, but it's really not feasible. Publishing doesn't just apply to CDs, movies and bestselling hardcovers; periodicals and small publishing houses see their works go out of print (and out of stock) regularly. Keeping something "in print" by traditional methods can get expensive. On the other hand, here are a host of small-print-run publishing systems and electronic publishing mechanisms that make "out of print" an effectively obsolete idea.
Also, I wouldn't put it past the large copyright holders to make items "unavailable" due to high cost; Disney could avoid abandonment during a DVD's moratorium period by increasing the price astronomically. Even worse, abandonment could be used as a threat; if an artist (musician, director, writer, etc) failed to cave into demands, the copyright holder/publisher could just let a work lapse.
A better idea would be that everything copywritten would have to be submitted to a central authority, with periodic (5 or 10 year) renewals for corporate copyrights. Should the copyright fail to be renewed, after a suitable grace period the work would fall into public domain. Software would need to have source, libraries, executables, and copy-protection deactivation as part of its registration.
Slashdot Mirror
For the majority of home users (who aren't power-gamers), a GeForce 4MX is just fine. And there is an 8x AGP slot for the power gamers...
Also, the hard drive in her computer was only 1.5 GB. A full install of RedHat or Mandrake (including all the Gnome and KDE libs) wouldn't fit. (Yes, I know you don't need a full install, but I really don't want to be putting in packages every time I go over!).
The sound, video card, and network card were configured during installation without problems. The CD-RW was automatically configured as a burner; with no work on my part I could start Gnome Toaster and burn a CD. The only "problem" I see are the less-than-automatic software installations and upgrades.
Just out of curiosity, what kind of things are you looking for to make you change your desktop?
When will we see something better than PCI on consumer level motherboards? I realize that the "average" user doesn't need 66Mhz, 64-bit PCI slots, but it would be nice to have just one for high-bandwidth applications (RAID card, gigabit ethernet).
Right now there is a tangible benefit to getting a new PC: it's faster, has more storage space, and you can do more with it. In terms of "average users", the only people who need the horsepower that a 3-4Ghz machine will provide are gamers. Many of the "average user's" applications that are CPU intensive involve media files: MP3 and video encoding, software DVD playback, editing photos, etc -- all of which can be done well on existing computers. And since computers tend to have fairly good life spans (when cared for), the need to upgrade is greatly reduced.
The Palladium-PC as media center doesn't have a whole lot to sell itself on. Televisions, stereos, DVD players and appliances don't sell themselves based on speed, they go for capacity and (limited) features. If personal data and documents are taken away from users, why should they even bother with PCs?
As for blowing away the OS... that's not a big deal. Just reinstall. (It's inconvenient, but not catastrophic.) For systems that haven't been tweaked heavily, it's the user directories that tend to have the really important data.
This can be used as a baby-step into the Linux world for many Windows users. If they can get away from using IE and MS-Office, and to start thinking that the program isn't as important as the data, it's a big step forward for Linux.
These days, the whole system can be automated -- inexpensively. Just for the sake of comparison, a standard consumer-grade 160 GB hard drive could be used to hold a fair amount of data on 10,000 citizens. (16 MB without compression, for those who don't want to do the math. That's a lot of text data.) One would assume that the government isn't using off-the-shelf consumer products either.
Anyone who has worked with any kind of large-scale data processing would realize the negative implications of an automated spy system. Here's another hint: think about all the times you have received an incorrect bill, had your name misspelled, or ended up on a database and had no idea how your name got there.
For example, I use Yahoo mail through my web browser. I'm responsible for the suitability of my system and maintaining a connection to the Internet. No software (from Yahoo) was downloaded, purchased or licensed for me to do this. If I paid the money for POP3 access to my account, how liable should they be for nothing more than access to an IP and port?
It's not too much of a stretch for online providers to release their client for no charge to qualify as "non-commercial", but charge for the privilege of connecting to their servers. If the Everquest client was GPL'd, or Microsoft Office 2010 did nothing but VNC to central MS servers, would they be considered non-commercial? And if they are "commercial", wouldn't Gamespy/FilePlanet, Red Hat, and Ximian (which all charge for "premium" access but offer the same content free) be lumped in the same category?
Let them sell WindowsXP, Office, etc -- in fact, require them to keep producing it at the current prices. But block them from releasing any new products or adding any functionality to existing software for a period of... 8 years. This gives the free market the opportunity to "catch up" to Microsoft, and surpass it as well. (I would allow security patches. There would be too many issues without them.)
Alternatively, MS could be blocked from introducing new products until their existing market share fell below 49% in that category. Isn't the goal to have the majority of the x86-compatible operating systems, browsers, office suites, etc belonging to other companies?
With my primary interest being the "Help Wanted" section!
YMMV, but I would be concerned about bored script kiddies having nothing better to do this summer than hax0r a network from the privacy of their own homes...
I've got a two bedroom apartment (which I got when I was single, FWIW). The smaller bedroom is the "tech center": computers, CDs, and a lot of the books are banished to this room. The TV, DVD, VCR, and stereo are in the living room. The only way any computers will be used in other rooms is for specific reasons: a recipie browser in the kitchen, or serving MP3s on the main stereo. Just because you can do something doesn't mean you should.
I get irritated when my girl's sewing and costuming stuff ends up all over the place, and she gets very unhappy when my RPGs end up taking over two rooms. Compromise is an art...
Minimal multiplayer support... It might not be such a bad thing. As long as the SDK's are in place, the mod community can build things as good (or better) than the original game (Counterstrike anyone?). Good single player levels are hard to find.
Linux/Mac support... "In actuality, DOOM III is currently being developed for the PC and PC only - there could well be an Xbox version at some point (John Carmack is a member of the Xbox advisory committee), but that decision hasn't been made yet, and probably won't be for some time." *sigh* I just hope that it'll run on Win98; I'm not buying XP from Doom 3.
Weapon balance... Hopefully id will learn from Valve and get the weapon strength balanced with monster "hit points". Half-Life was fun because you didn't need a BFG10K (except for the Garg). Unlike Quake 2, where circle-strafing with a chaingun or hyperblaster (or railgun, etc) didn't even phase most monsters...
The Doom 3 engine is being used for Quake 4 (being developed by Raven Software).
When I was in college (1990-94), administrators complained about the same things. Bandwidth was saturated! These crazy college kids and their MUDs, warez (2-3 MB at the time), and pr0n (~30-50 KB/image). The network admins swore that the Internet would collapse any day under the strain. And this is before WWW became widespread -- or the general public could use the Net.
The networked world adapted. More bandwidth became available, and the equipment became cheaper. There's a report (story in the K5 queue) stating that about 97% of all fiber lines in America are unused. "Kids" are always going to push the limits of what's available. They have the time, energy, and lack of knowledge about "consequences" to do it.
Want to cut your bandwidth costs, quick and easy? Disable all P2P services. FTP can use a lot of bandwidth; better get rid of it! And this new-fangled World Wide Web is a bandwidth hog too!
Here's a very modest idea: cut all Internet/I2 services for students and make a faculty-only net with T3 Internet access, or just ban all computers on campus. Education existed for thousands of years without Internet, computers, or electricity. Turning back the clock 25 years shouldn't effect your campus too much. Or is it too much to ask that someone working at an educational institution be concerned with the future?
* PA/Paging System. Make sure that there are no speakers overhead if the paging system is used regularly -- or that the volume can be adjusted. Some of my co-workers cut the wires to a speaker because it was too loud and couldn't be turned down.
* Hall traffic. Around break time, lunch time, and quitting time, the main hallways can become noisy. A few thousand people exiting the building will raise the noise level. Depending on location, the developers may end up becoming admin assistants for the clueless. ("Tell so-and-so to call me when he gets back.")
* "'Scuze Me" Syndrome. Sometimes it's easier for a non-tech person just to walk over to developers and make a request (or demand). Whether it's due to close proximity or lack of procedure, having a user in your cube and waiting for attention can knock most people out of the Zone fast. Water coolers are the biggest motive; no one wants to put on a new jug, so the closest person usually gets harrassed continually.
* Meetings. Knowing that there are only a few minutes before a (pointless) meeting makes it hard to focus on anything, much less get involved in anything detailed. (Ignore this one if a deadline is approaching :)
* Lack of space. Developers need enough desk space for open manuals, code listings, and output printouts. Ideally there should be enough space in a cube for two people to work together on a problem. Having to comandeer a meeting room for a design or debugging session is a time-waster.
* Centralized Resources put "way over there". Manuals, printers, and office supplies should be kept near developers and easily accessible. A three-minute walk to get a printout is good exercise, but something of a damper for productivity. Having to scrounge for pens, post-its, notebooks and other inexpensive office supplies wastes time and energy.
You can get rid of the CNET forms by disabling and clearing all cookies for the site.
2. Registration. It's one thing to enter my name and email address, but I don't know if I want to create a login account to your site. Is it worth that extra step?
3. Download speed. If my location has a decent internet connection and I'm only getting 5-10 KB/sec, then large files are out of the question. If that download is at non-peak hours (and the site isn't Slashdotted) and the download speed is still unreasonable, I'll probably try other software sources first.
4. Free "developer" copies. Some people out there are going to call me a "Slashdot freebie-seeker", but free limited-implementation copies are to your company's advantage.
If "developers" (including sysadmins, DBAs, and less-technical users like artists) are able to use the software at home, they're more likely to recommend it. Depending on the software, your company "loses" money in the short term, but can make it up with big contracts (assuming that's a viable sales path). Also, making the product available at the user-level helps both the publisher and job-seekers. If your software is "in demand", unemployed IT workers (like myself) can download it, become famliar, and add that skill to the resume. On the other hand, if there are significant barriers to getting and using your software -- limited time trial, overly crippled features, or requiring the purchase of a license -- you're limiting your market. The law of supply and demand kicks in: the fewer developers there are, the more they cost an employer; raising the TCO of your product is not a strong marketing point.
Disclaimer: I'm neither an employee or customer, just a messenger.
D'oh! So that's where it is!
I grabbed 641D a couple of days ago, and I have to say that I'm impressed! Other than a few fonts that I haven't migrated to Linux, it's done a great job with complex tables and formatting.
The only thing that would stop me from using it as my regular word processor is that I can't figure out how to make it use imperial units (inches) instead of metric.
If you mean AOL for any distrobution in general, probably not. But I wouldn't rule out a custom AOL distro -- sold as part of an "AOL PC". It would make a lot of sense for them: a cheap computer (like the walmart.com $400 PC) combined with a free OS/applications and preloaded with AOL almost seems like a "can't miss" deal.
I have to respectfully disagree. Here's why:
Emotion. Have you ever seen a talk show or news item that mad you angry? Happy? Or sad? There's a lot of content intended to persuade or incite emotions. Trashy talk shows, sappy love songs (or thrashing angry songs :), movies with happy endings... they try to make you feel what the creator planned.
Love (and desire). If you think that love can't be copied or faked, you look at the screaming fan(atic)s of a popular teeny-bopper group, or visit a strip club where the lonely guys think the dancer's smile is just for him. There's even a branch of social "science" to fake love and desire: Marketing. Sad, but true.
Knowledge. A lot of people confuse information with knowledge. Think about the PHB with a shelf of untouched computer books, or the manager with statistics that have no bearing on reality. Lots of information, passed off (incorrectly) as knowledge.
Wisdom. I'll concede that wisdom can't be mass duplicated, and that the listener is responsible for determining the accuracy.
The only things that I can think can't be faked or duplicated (and some of these are iffy):
Time, experience, prestige, opportunity, trust, and life.
Also, I wouldn't put it past the large copyright holders to make items "unavailable" due to high cost; Disney could avoid abandonment during a DVD's moratorium period by increasing the price astronomically. Even worse, abandonment could be used as a threat; if an artist (musician, director, writer, etc) failed to cave into demands, the copyright holder/publisher could just let a work lapse.
A better idea would be that everything copywritten would have to be submitted to a central authority, with periodic (5 or 10 year) renewals for corporate copyrights. Should the copyright fail to be renewed, after a suitable grace period the work would fall into public domain. Software would need to have source, libraries, executables, and copy-protection deactivation as part of its registration.