What nonsense. Why do you want to deny them the ability to profit from creating open source tools?
Where in any manifesto or license does it say this is bad?
Seems to me we should be falling all over ourselves thanking Google for finding a way to make Linux commercially viable, via Android in particular. We need Linux to work.
I think a more legitimate question is why we tolerate so many violators of the various licenses, and so many binary blobs in our cell phones. That's (of of the things that) scares Stallman, and that's what scares me.
At some point in the not too distant future, people will casually walk around with "all_human_recorded_music_ever.tar" on their thumb drives, as one file among many.
Just bought my first tablet last week--a Viewsonic gtablet for $260, now that they have a newer model in the chute. That's fine--I don't care--I was waiting for a *decent* Android tab to get well under $300.
I'm just not going to drop half a grand for a casual browsing tool...but I *love* having it on my coffee table!
I don't like this one bit, either, but in all honesty the scenario where they just SWAT down anyone carrying a concealed handgun is extremely unlikely.
Mainly, because there are too many of us.
I think it's worth remembering that generally, speaking, the people doing this stuff do not think of themselves as the bad guys. Quite the contrary--they're not going to mess with you unless they really think you're up to serious no good.
So....how long should Apple enjoy this advantage? Forever?
It's not like their ideas were really that innovative or new--they just implemented extremely well. I give them credit for that, but I was wanting an iPhone for over a decade before it existed.
What good does free software do you when you don't have the resources of a Google or a Yahoo to compete with them?
For example--Google has a massive advantage in detecting spam. They run a jillion mail servers. If they see the same mail going to the same, say, 1000000 accounts from the same server, they can say with a pretty darn high degree of certainty, "this is spam, and I shall crush it".
Their business is information, and this is why they host all our accounts for free. The fact that they can actually *use* the information is their massive advantage over me and my free software stack.
It's nothing to do with the software itself, but merely the nature of reality, and human nature.
I think the better argument you want to be looking for is, what is a better alternative to email that will let us run our own servers? THAT would be a cool free software project. Please sign me up.
It does indeed appear that, finally, in 2011, after only a decade plus of sheer stupidity, the entertainment "industry" has figured out that they can't win this battle.
I just wish all the various tentacles involved could get with the program.
Beats hell out of knocking down the front door and just hoping your reflexes are fast enough. I'd put this in the "extremely clever" category, since it does seem obvious once you've seen it...but then why isn't everybody doing it?
Slashdot Mirror
Incompetent people. Yes.
Now you're getting it.
Do you really excuse all sorts of incompetence on the basis of the stupidity of the victims?
What nonsense. Why do you want to deny them the ability to profit from creating open source tools?
Where in any manifesto or license does it say this is bad?
Seems to me we should be falling all over ourselves thanking Google for finding a way to make Linux commercially viable, via Android in particular. We need Linux to work.
I think a more legitimate question is why we tolerate so many violators of the various licenses, and so many binary blobs in our cell phones. That's (of of the things that) scares Stallman, and that's what scares me.
Defacing a website: Trivial
Stealing money from people over the internet: Serious
But can our government tell the difference? I don't think so, yet.
Faxes still go over a network, that should not be trusted.
We have good reason not to trust the phone companies these days, remember?
that's all, just "stupid douchebags"
Get a $15 optical drive then. Whatever.
You do realize optical drives are shit, right?
What...exactly...is the "vested interest" some people have in perpetuating a myth of climate change?
At some point in the not too distant future, people will casually walk around with "all_human_recorded_music_ever.tar" on their thumb drives, as one file among many.
That's what it's for.
mod parent up!
The cable companies make me hate cable, which by all rights I should love.
Ticketmaster makes me feel like a tool when I buy tickets, with their exhorbitant fees. So I hate buying tickets, which by all rights I should love.
Nice job. Ripe for competition, I think.
I seem to recall something about user interfaces not being copyrightable a la the old Excel/Lotus 1-2-3 case?
Totally agree, mod parent up.
Just bought my first tablet last week--a Viewsonic gtablet for $260, now that they have a newer model in the chute. That's fine--I don't care--I was waiting for a *decent* Android tab to get well under $300.
I'm just not going to drop half a grand for a casual browsing tool...but I *love* having it on my coffee table!
I think you give them too much credit.
They do it because terrorism scares the hell out of a lot of people, including people in government.
I really think that as time passes, the mania for anti-terrorism will pass, as the manias for anti-communism, anti-liquor, etc. have passed.
Or we could all be subjected to continuous control. Robots will enable that. That's what scares me, but I think we've got some time.
I don't like this one bit, either, but in all honesty the scenario where they just SWAT down anyone carrying a concealed handgun is extremely unlikely.
Mainly, because there are too many of us.
I think it's worth remembering that generally, speaking, the people doing this stuff do not think of themselves as the bad guys. Quite the contrary--they're not going to mess with you unless they really think you're up to serious no good.
Brilliant. Obvious to anyone who knows how to program a computer.
Simple is good. Complex is bad.
So....how long should Apple enjoy this advantage? Forever?
It's not like their ideas were really that innovative or new--they just implemented extremely well. I give them credit for that, but I was wanting an iPhone for over a decade before it existed.
You say this as if all people can be reasoned with.
Many cannot. Ever. You obviously haven't met one of them, yet--but you will.
And I'm pretty sure I recognize this guy as one of those. The answer to this conundrum is "fuck him".
What good does free software do you when you don't have the resources of a Google or a Yahoo to compete with them?
For example--Google has a massive advantage in detecting spam. They run a jillion mail servers. If they see the same mail going to the same, say, 1000000 accounts from the same server, they can say with a pretty darn high degree of certainty, "this is spam, and I shall crush it".
Their business is information, and this is why they host all our accounts for free. The fact that they can actually *use* the information is their massive advantage over me and my free software stack.
It's nothing to do with the software itself, but merely the nature of reality, and human nature.
I think the better argument you want to be looking for is, what is a better alternative to email that will let us run our own servers? THAT would be a cool free software project. Please sign me up.
It does indeed appear that, finally, in 2011, after only a decade plus of sheer stupidity, the entertainment "industry" has figured out that they can't win this battle.
I just wish all the various tentacles involved could get with the program.
I think it's a tacit admission that the patents are for obvious ideas and have no innovative value.
That's just the games for the peons you're referring to.
Many games, like say Civilization, definitely enhance one's abilities--like strategic thinking, in the case of Civ.
Unless you're going to die in the next ten years, I bet you're very wrong.
Even profoundly.
Beats hell out of knocking down the front door and just hoping your reflexes are fast enough. I'd put this in the "extremely clever" category, since it does seem obvious once you've seen it...but then why isn't everybody doing it?
I have yet to hear of a non-frivolous software patent. Have you?
To be fair, you're still assuming that a "safe" nuclear power plant is possible.
I'm inclined to agree, but the evidence suggests otherwise.