On the religious side (yes, there is an aspect to this that's definitely non-tech), we are approaching the end of the millenium. A flashpoint for several of the world's largest religions, all of which have bloody histories.. What do you mean by world largest religions? AFAIK, only christians started counting years from the alledged date of the birth of JC. That's one religion.
Patenting something they claim ownership of could be just the trigger we DON'T need. I'd rather NOT be burned at the stake, because some company wanted to cash in on the gene-mapping craze, thank you very much. I think you need to come down a bit. The likelyhood of having a religious war because of DNA patenting is somehow exagerated.
In anycase, nobody can patent DNA. You can patent the use of DNA or genes as markers for something or other, or for assays, but not DNA itself.
In fact there is a general European Union law against gathering data on individuals without their permission. Despite this law, many companies/government are doing it. It is estimated, for instance, that the average Dutch person has got at least his/her name stored in more than... 900 databases. Scary. And the immense majority of these are done without the authorisation of the individuals concerned.
When it comes to cookies, just remove the cookies you don't like and make the cooky file read-only.
If such a silly mouse is big news, it shows that nothing has changed or been invented in UI in the last 20 or so years. It is sad to see most domains of computing progress and UI not move. And please, Mr. Gates seems to be fond of talking to his computer, but most people aren't and will not be. What's happening in UI?
Did I hear correctly? During the BBC interview, Paxman told BG that noone could predict the future of the computer industry. And BG said this was not true. Does he really believe he can see what will be important in the future? I know this is his job, but, God, this guy does not lack confidence!
Hum... Methink I have to sale my Incyte shares! AFAIK, Incyte has asked for 500 or so patents on genes.
I find a bit ridiculous to ban patenting on genes and not on proteins. Most genes become proteins and most drugs work on protein. Everyone will patent more proteins instead of genes. It's not as simple as that, I know, but still.
Let's not forget that all this is about someone's private life. If he has commited a crime (he's not been found guilty yet!), he'll be judged and condemned for it. Well, hopefully. Otherwise he'll be freed. Well, hopefully. None of this is my business. So I'll just shut up.
I quote: The UNIX software operating system is used to run computers that control a variety of key business operations, like telephone networks, stock exchanges and office data centers. It is the main alternative to Microsoft's Windows NT.
Right! And my Ferrari is the main alternative to a Nissan Micra! When you reach the 16 or more processors, M$ Windows NT is not an alternative. I doubt it is ever one, in fact.
1. Most people use their PC for office-like applications and internet. A dumb terminal is more than enough for this. If (and it's just a guess) Sun's server for these "Sun-rays" is just one of their usual servers, and the "terminal" are just running some kind of minimal X, it's just like logging in a unix server from a remote unix work station. 2. A five year commitment is nothing! Training staff to use M$Word means you'll probably use M$Word for more than 5 years. 3. True, and that's the biggest problem for Sun 4. Big companies anyway have servers, technicians and administrators. They just want less of them and that's what Sun is offering to them. In my group, there is one sys admin for a dozen NT boxes, two multi-processor SGi servers, a dozen SGi workstations and two linux PC's. Maybe is an idiot, but he spends most of his time rebooting and re-installing the M$ NT boxes. People at the top (the decision makers) are being told this by many other people. Maybe they'll see Sun's alternative as a good one. Though I would not bet on it. These people are not always the smartest.
I mostly agree with Scott Elyard. But as a SGI user who does not work in high-end graphics domain, I must say that:
2. SGI has a gloomy future. (SGI is dying, losing all its customers &c.) I do believe this. In my domain (bioinformatics) which is fast expanding, less and less people are buying SGI servers and more and more are buying Sun's and Compaq's. If you don't do high-end graphics, you really can get better deals elsewhere.
3. IRIX is being abandoned. This is almost true. People who use IRIX like me get pissed off when they try to install some new software. Look at setiathome for instance. It was available for Win32, MacOS, Linux, SunOS. And that's about it. It took months before an IRIX version was made. So by merging Linux and IRIX, SGI hopes to make much more software available on their machines.
Having said that, I am a happy SGI customer. And anyway, I am stuck with it for a couple of years at least. Fortunately, I managed to switch my SGI O2 for a Linux PC!
I wish him as much luck as he had with SGI! A few months ago, some SGI salesman offered us some of their NT stations. I naively asked if they ran under Linux. The guy was slightly upset and told me that since they sale their NT boxes, everyone is asking about Linux. They cannot put anything else than NT since they have a contract with M$ for this little boxes.
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What do you mean by world largest religions? AFAIK, only christians started counting years from the alledged date of the birth of JC. That's one religion.
Patenting something they claim ownership of could be just the trigger we DON'T need. I'd rather NOT be burned at the stake, because some company wanted to cash in on the gene-mapping craze, thank you very much.
I think you need to come down a bit. The likelyhood of having a religious war because of DNA patenting is somehow exagerated.
In anycase, nobody can patent DNA. You can patent the use of DNA or genes as markers for something or other, or for assays, but not DNA itself.
When it comes to cookies, just remove the cookies you don't like and make the cooky file read-only.
...next january, most people will believe they are in the 21st century.
from the doh! dept.
do {
I think this was already posted ( Is Sun Truly A Friend of Linux?) a week or so ago.
while (1);
In the USofA maybe, but not in most European countries where the "PhD" is never used.
Dr. D.
AFAIK, Incyte has asked for 500 or so patents on genes.
I find a bit ridiculous to ban patenting on genes and not on proteins. Most genes become proteins and most drugs work on protein. Everyone will patent more proteins instead of genes. It's not as simple as that, I know, but still.
Who's got a patent on God then?
Let's not forget that all this is about someone's private life. If he has commited a crime (he's not been found guilty yet!), he'll be judged and condemned for it. Well, hopefully. Otherwise he'll be freed. Well, hopefully.
None of this is my business. So I'll just shut up.
The UNIX software operating system is used to run computers that control a variety of key business operations, like telephone networks, stock exchanges and office data centers. It is the main alternative to Microsoft's Windows NT.
Right! And my Ferrari is the main alternative to a Nissan Micra! When you reach the 16 or more processors, M$ Windows NT is not an alternative. I doubt it is ever one, in fact.
M$Windows users have RSI, Unix users have AWK
1. Most people use their PC for office-like applications and internet. A dumb terminal is more than enough for this. If (and it's just a guess) Sun's server for these "Sun-rays" is just one of their usual servers, and the "terminal" are just running some kind of minimal X, it's just like logging in a unix server from a remote unix work station.
2. A five year commitment is nothing! Training staff to use M$Word means you'll probably use M$Word for more than 5 years.
3. True, and that's the biggest problem for Sun
4. Big companies anyway have servers, technicians and administrators. They just want less of them and that's what Sun is offering to them. In my group, there is one sys admin for a dozen NT boxes, two multi-processor SGi servers, a dozen SGi workstations and two linux PC's. Maybe is an idiot, but he spends most of his time rebooting and re-installing the M$ NT boxes. People at the top (the decision makers) are being told this by many other people. Maybe they'll see Sun's alternative as a good one. Though I would not bet on it. These people are not always the smartest.
Good luck to Sun!
I mostly agree with Scott Elyard. But as a SGI user who does not work
in high-end graphics domain, I must say that:
2. SGI has a gloomy future. (SGI is dying, losing all its customers &c.)
I do believe this. In my domain (bioinformatics) which is
fast expanding, less and less people are buying SGI servers and more
and more are buying Sun's and Compaq's. If you don't do high-end
graphics, you really can get better deals elsewhere.
3. IRIX is being abandoned.
This is almost true. People who use IRIX like me get pissed off when
they try to install some new software. Look at setiathome for
instance. It was available for Win32, MacOS, Linux, SunOS. And
that's about it. It took months before an IRIX version was made. So
by merging Linux and IRIX, SGI hopes to make much more software
available on their machines.
Having said that, I am a happy SGI customer. And anyway, I am stuck
with it for a couple of years at least. Fortunately, I managed to
switch my SGI O2 for a Linux PC!
I wish him as much luck as he had with SGI!
A few months ago, some SGI salesman offered us some of their NT stations. I naively asked if they ran under Linux. The guy was slightly upset and told me that since they sale their NT boxes, everyone is asking about Linux. They cannot put anything else than NT since they have a contract with M$ for this little boxes.