Good description of a copyrightable item. A set of instructions (in the DNA). Patents never should have been granted for instructions, software or otherwise. That's why copyright exists.
Agreed. But this didn't happen overnight. Rules were slowly bent (mangled, really) for the big guys over many years into the twisted mess referred to as precedent we have today. Most of us wouldn't think that original patent law could have spawned this kind of behavior, where a set of instructions, whether genetic or machine code, could be patented. That all of the Supreme Court justices skipped the opportunity to rule against the plaintiff based on what a patent can cover—that's the real tragedy.
Such was the case with the snack machine at the office. Every 100th person gets the item and their money returned. Hardly anyone knew about it. The first time it happened to me, I thought it was a defect. Then I noticed a scrolling message where the amount deposited would display that said "EVERY 100TH SELECTION NO COST" or some such, along with some other scrolling garbage. Nobody had bothered to read it because most of the time the other garbage was scrolling by, and only a few letters could be displayed, so there was never enough visible at a glance to understand. The price wasn't bad, either. But they changed vendors, and the new one had 1) high prices, 2) no "winners", and 3) a very solid mount on the floor and wall that kept you from getting your candy loose by jarring it when it hung up on the screw on the way out.
Absolutely. The only reason for not taking advantage of the publicity that way would be that they have the same shortsightedness of the MAFIAA, not the MAFIA. Casinos must belong to a nastier bunch than they used to.
IF cars had 4-point belts worn tightly or with auto-tensioning, front airbags might not help (but side bags still would, unless you're going to wear a helmet). Otherwise, yes, they definitely help when factory belts are worn properly. I would have agreed with you a decade ago, but there's just too much evidence to the contrary. The real travesty was allowing motorized belts to qualify as passive protection for a few years. Horrible devices they were.
"Drive your car and keep your mouth shut." Amen. Driving around with a hand clapped against the head isn't apparently as big a problem as driving around totally engaged in a conversation (including with someone in the car).
I think it's been demonstrated that "shatterproof" safety glass windshields are no safer in crashes than tempered glass, though either are much better than the murderous shards from the stuff before. However, I'd choose the safety glass due to all the junk falling off/out of trucks, as I'd expect it to resist penetration a little better.
You know what's really a great safety device? Those yellow signs stating "Baby on Board".
Interesting. My '03 TL factory nav system uses a DVD. It's slow to calculate new routes, but it works as well as when new (fingers crossed). I had always thought it would be nice to have flash instead, but I guess not. I bought a new disc once to update the maps, but they were still more than 3 years out of date. It hardly makes sense to get a factory or dealer-installed nav system when aftermarket units are cheaper to buy, reliable, and easier and cheaper to update. AND can be taken along to use in rental cars, avoiding the nav rental charge and having to learn a different interface.
I generally agree, but manufacturers ignore some obvious issues forever, as long as they never occur until the warranty has expired and won't trigger a recall.
Please don't underrate the Cavalier's underpinnings. The J-body was one of the best, most space efficient, stiffest (sedan variants, not hatches and convertibles) platforms well into the 1990s, and was the best part of the Cavalier, not the worst. Most cheap cars today are based on much crappier chassis, regardless of when they were designed. Unfortunately, most of the base and even upscale J variants had very poorly spec'd springs and shocks, which defeats any goodness underneath.
I'm getting pretty sick of everyone shoving specific job stuff into undergraduate programs (this has gone out of control lately in my home state, to the extent that the new Governor has been caught agreeing with some local nutcases that some liberal arts programs should not be part of the state university system just because they don't obviously lead to jobs). We have a place for job-related courses. It's called Community College. I've noticed that some folks with bachelor's degrees have been taking very specific job-related courses at local community colleges and successfully applying those new skills. There's still a little stigma about attending CC after having 4 year degrees, but hopefully that's going away, because it's absolutely the right place for it. I'm only intimately familiar with the CCs in NC and VA, so maybe that doesn't fly so well elsewhere, you tell me. Please stop trashing universities with the "Jobs! Jobs! Jobs!" chants.
Heh... I spoke that from memory, not having seen the full story, apparently. Shame on me. But more shame on all you zombies who'll do anything to avoid being embarrassed in public. Hide your faces. Pieces gonna fall on you.
This is very much like the guy who figured out the algorithm for the Press Your Luck TV game show machine. He just kept winning, while the PYL people realized something was going wrong for them. But they graciously handed over the winnings and redesigned the machine. PYL greatly benefitted just from the publicity about the show in general, not to mention royalties from replaying that episode of the game repeatedly for years to come. The casinos should pay up, then extract whatever they can get out of the manufacturer. I'm not surprised that they're pursuing the players, since their policy is to attack anyone doing anything defined as cheating by them. But 1) that doesn't mean the prosecutors have to do what the casinos want, and 2) that's a short-sighted policy. It would be smarter for the casinos to repair/replace the machines and keep quiet. Word would get around, and most likely there'd be an increase in revenue as people try to find bugs. Monitor the machines and quickly fix any bugs found. The end result will be more revenue, not less.
And yes, Cotton Thaggard was wrongly convicted (civil charge). The bank that pressed the issue likely netted less profit in the following years due to bad publicity.
Odds are that pork-barreling is involved in some of these things. "Just because Indiana doesn't have as much national-priority research doesn't mean we shouldn't get some of that funding!"
NOT picking on Indiana or this particular example, but do pay attention to the man behind the curtain.
Thanks. It's depressing that so many people only see black and white. Of course it all matters. What's more, just because a change might not have an immediate effect doesn't mean it won't have a strong effect later.
Beaten, not Beaten Up. If you're geostationary, LEO beats you around every time.
People who don't rat out those in need of ratting are definitely enablers who should be punished for their silence, but I wouldn't put them at the same level.
You have been beaten by a LEO. You a) know the perp will not be busted, and b) can't afford to move your family to another city. Is reporting it going to go well for you and your family?
Not in any sense am I blaming all the good apples for the actions of the bad, but abuses of power occur constantly, with rarely any consequences. LE attracts people with good motives, but also attracts those craving power. It's just the nature of the beast.
Exactly. Liberties usually don't get cancelled wholesale, they're chipped away until only skeletons remain. Both easier to slip each bit in under the radar and easier to avoid blame for doing so.
Steve "just doesn't get it." Never has. Should've learned from his dad, but he apparently did not.
Volatility generally declines as trading volume increases, similar to common stock. Bitcoin is still in its infancy, and there are a lot of places you can't spend it. I don't think a currency derived from converting electric energy into heat is a particularly good idea, but that does tend to tie its long-term value to the cost of electricity, for better or worse. Its value is likely to trend steadily up over a decent time horizon. Large percentages being "stored" in a relatively few places is bad news, since every time one of them is hit, uncertainty results in volatility. So... decentralize, and increase its acceptance. Stability will follow.
I seriously doubt Steve is ignorant enough to store most of his wealth as dollars. He just converts some shares of whatever to dollars by selling them whenever he wants to buy something. So he does NOT think the dollar is a good store of value, either. It's too volatile, and its value decreases over time relative to most other things. In fact, the FED tends to adjust the money supply so that its value does decrease slowly over time, most economists believing that a low rate of inflation is better for employment and output than zero inflation or deflation.
I think that hinted at the difference between inside a private home and "on the property." A lot of things, like shooting intruders, are legal inside your house, but not necessarily so on your land outside. A lawyer could convince me otherwise, but right now I don't think it's technically illegal to blast radio waves around inside your house as long as 1) none leak out, and 2) they aren't physically dangerous (enough energy to heat stuff).
Quite a few large warehouse-type retail buildings I've been in have 100% shielding everywhere except the doors, and have no windows except in the doors. They use insulation with radiant barrier—metallic faced. These are supposed to be facing open space (or close—air) to work properly, but are sometimes installed wrong or painted over, so aren't always obvious. Mis-installed radiant barriers are less effective than designed at cutting IR transmission, but still work very well at blocking wavelengths in the GHz range. If, as another post suggested, the few windows have metallic tint film applied (usually the cheaper film varieties), that only leaves the cracks or floor for transmission. Going through the ground doesn't usually work well, either (see research on speleonics).
I've been trying to understand people like Nathan for a while. I think his nature is to see everything as a competition and the score is usually profit or "commercial success". Why is that still the means of scorekeeping for someone who has more than they can spend? It must be too difficult for him to change scorekeeping currency. Seems like such an empty existence. But if he changed objectives, he might not be "successful" with the new ones, so that might be an unacceptable risk for him. People like to do what they're good at, sometimes regardless of its effect on others.
Bill Gates, a mentor. That rings true. Just as RMS had some mentors who nurtured and/or inspired his free software ideas, Myhrvold had a mentor who thinks it's OK to pursue income and/or market share above all else. To me it seems a very skewed mindset, but obviously not to many others.
So... the question is, does he convince many with the smoke he blows because he's very practiced and skilled at it, or because he really believes it? I suspect, as is usually the case, that there's some of both. As Tony Mendez says, the best cover is one that you can believe in.
OK, what I think I know is 1) atmospheric hydrogen is H2, so molecular mass is about 2; 2) atmospheric helium is monatomic, so molecular mass is about 4 (not much of the single-neutron stuff on Earth); 3) a given volume of graphene aerogel in the atmosphere contains a lot of air, which is obviously heavier than He; 4) a given volume of graphene aerogel in a vacuum has lower density than He gas at... what pressure? This comparison is pointless. Any gas in a nearly-perfect vacuum is infinitesimally low. Now, if a volume of aerogel in a vacuum is sealed on the surface and after any compression from being surrounded by a fluid at, say, 15psi it still has low density, it might be reasonable to compare it to a gas at 15psi. But saying it's twice as dense as H2 and less dense than He is putting it in a very narrow range.
You could use narrow bandpass filters and insert each signal into a common line, but that's getting complicated and then how well it works is going to depend on the actual frequencies of the channels desired. I like the multiple cards idea, especially since some have more than one input anyway.
Slashdot Mirror
Good description of a copyrightable item. A set of instructions (in the DNA). Patents never should have been granted for instructions, software or otherwise. That's why copyright exists.
Agreed. But this didn't happen overnight. Rules were slowly bent (mangled, really) for the big guys over many years into the twisted mess referred to as precedent we have today. Most of us wouldn't think that original patent law could have spawned this kind of behavior, where a set of instructions, whether genetic or machine code, could be patented. That all of the Supreme Court justices skipped the opportunity to rule against the plaintiff based on what a patent can cover—that's the real tragedy.
Such was the case with the snack machine at the office. Every 100th person gets the item and their money returned. Hardly anyone knew about it. The first time it happened to me, I thought it was a defect. Then I noticed a scrolling message where the amount deposited would display that said "EVERY 100TH SELECTION NO COST" or some such, along with some other scrolling garbage. Nobody had bothered to read it because most of the time the other garbage was scrolling by, and only a few letters could be displayed, so there was never enough visible at a glance to understand. The price wasn't bad, either. But they changed vendors, and the new one had 1) high prices, 2) no "winners", and 3) a very solid mount on the floor and wall that kept you from getting your candy loose by jarring it when it hung up on the screw on the way out.
Absolutely. The only reason for not taking advantage of the publicity that way would be that they have the same shortsightedness of the MAFIAA, not the MAFIA. Casinos must belong to a nastier bunch than they used to.
IF cars had 4-point belts worn tightly or with auto-tensioning, front airbags might not help (but side bags still would, unless you're going to wear a helmet). Otherwise, yes, they definitely help when factory belts are worn properly. I would have agreed with you a decade ago, but there's just too much evidence to the contrary. The real travesty was allowing motorized belts to qualify as passive protection for a few years. Horrible devices they were.
"Drive your car and keep your mouth shut." Amen. Driving around with a hand clapped against the head isn't apparently as big a problem as driving around totally engaged in a conversation (including with someone in the car).
I think it's been demonstrated that "shatterproof" safety glass windshields are no safer in crashes than tempered glass, though either are much better than the murderous shards from the stuff before. However, I'd choose the safety glass due to all the junk falling off/out of trucks, as I'd expect it to resist penetration a little better.
You know what's really a great safety device? Those yellow signs stating "Baby on Board".
Cool. So if we sue Congress for having inaccurate representatives, will they stop representing us? Oh wait, never mind...
Interesting. My '03 TL factory nav system uses a DVD. It's slow to calculate new routes, but it works as well as when new (fingers crossed). I had always thought it would be nice to have flash instead, but I guess not. I bought a new disc once to update the maps, but they were still more than 3 years out of date. It hardly makes sense to get a factory or dealer-installed nav system when aftermarket units are cheaper to buy, reliable, and easier and cheaper to update. AND can be taken along to use in rental cars, avoiding the nav rental charge and having to learn a different interface.
I generally agree, but manufacturers ignore some obvious issues forever, as long as they never occur until the warranty has expired and won't trigger a recall.
Please don't underrate the Cavalier's underpinnings. The J-body was one of the best, most space efficient, stiffest (sedan variants, not hatches and convertibles) platforms well into the 1990s, and was the best part of the Cavalier, not the worst. Most cheap cars today are based on much crappier chassis, regardless of when they were designed. Unfortunately, most of the base and even upscale J variants had very poorly spec'd springs and shocks, which defeats any goodness underneath.
I'm getting pretty sick of everyone shoving specific job stuff into undergraduate programs (this has gone out of control lately in my home state, to the extent that the new Governor has been caught agreeing with some local nutcases that some liberal arts programs should not be part of the state university system just because they don't obviously lead to jobs). We have a place for job-related courses. It's called Community College. I've noticed that some folks with bachelor's degrees have been taking very specific job-related courses at local community colleges and successfully applying those new skills. There's still a little stigma about attending CC after having 4 year degrees, but hopefully that's going away, because it's absolutely the right place for it. I'm only intimately familiar with the CCs in NC and VA, so maybe that doesn't fly so well elsewhere, you tell me. Please stop trashing universities with the "Jobs! Jobs! Jobs!" chants.
Heh... I spoke that from memory, not having seen the full story, apparently. Shame on me. But more shame on all you zombies who'll do anything to avoid being embarrassed in public. Hide your faces. Pieces gonna fall on you.
This is very much like the guy who figured out the algorithm for the Press Your Luck TV game show machine. He just kept winning, while the PYL people realized something was going wrong for them. But they graciously handed over the winnings and redesigned the machine. PYL greatly benefitted just from the publicity about the show in general, not to mention royalties from replaying that episode of the game repeatedly for years to come. The casinos should pay up, then extract whatever they can get out of the manufacturer. I'm not surprised that they're pursuing the players, since their policy is to attack anyone doing anything defined as cheating by them. But 1) that doesn't mean the prosecutors have to do what the casinos want, and 2) that's a short-sighted policy. It would be smarter for the casinos to repair/replace the machines and keep quiet. Word would get around, and most likely there'd be an increase in revenue as people try to find bugs. Monitor the machines and quickly fix any bugs found. The end result will be more revenue, not less.
And yes, Cotton Thaggard was wrongly convicted (civil charge). The bank that pressed the issue likely netted less profit in the following years due to bad publicity.
Odds are that pork-barreling is involved in some of these things. "Just because Indiana doesn't have as much national-priority research doesn't mean we shouldn't get some of that funding!"
NOT picking on Indiana or this particular example, but do pay attention to the man behind the curtain.
Thanks. It's depressing that so many people only see black and white. Of course it all matters. What's more, just because a change might not have an immediate effect doesn't mean it won't have a strong effect later.
Actually those would be the Compact Fluorescent suns.
Beaten, not Beaten Up. If you're geostationary, LEO beats you around every time.
People who don't rat out those in need of ratting are definitely enablers who should be punished for their silence, but I wouldn't put them at the same level.
Not accurately without surveillance of LEOs.
You have been beaten by a LEO. You a) know the perp will not be busted, and b) can't afford to move your family to another city. Is reporting it going to go well for you and your family?
Not in any sense am I blaming all the good apples for the actions of the bad, but abuses of power occur constantly, with rarely any consequences. LE attracts people with good motives, but also attracts those craving power. It's just the nature of the beast.
Exactly. Liberties usually don't get cancelled wholesale, they're chipped away until only skeletons remain. Both easier to slip each bit in under the radar and easier to avoid blame for doing so.
Wo Fat is behind this.
Steve "just doesn't get it." Never has. Should've learned from his dad, but he apparently did not.
Volatility generally declines as trading volume increases, similar to common stock. Bitcoin is still in its infancy, and there are a lot of places you can't spend it. I don't think a currency derived from converting electric energy into heat is a particularly good idea, but that does tend to tie its long-term value to the cost of electricity, for better or worse. Its value is likely to trend steadily up over a decent time horizon. Large percentages being "stored" in a relatively few places is bad news, since every time one of them is hit, uncertainty results in volatility. So... decentralize, and increase its acceptance. Stability will follow.
I seriously doubt Steve is ignorant enough to store most of his wealth as dollars. He just converts some shares of whatever to dollars by selling them whenever he wants to buy something. So he does NOT think the dollar is a good store of value, either. It's too volatile, and its value decreases over time relative to most other things. In fact, the FED tends to adjust the money supply so that its value does decrease slowly over time, most economists believing that a low rate of inflation is better for employment and output than zero inflation or deflation.
I think that hinted at the difference between inside a private home and "on the property." A lot of things, like shooting intruders, are legal inside your house, but not necessarily so on your land outside. A lawyer could convince me otherwise, but right now I don't think it's technically illegal to blast radio waves around inside your house as long as 1) none leak out, and 2) they aren't physically dangerous (enough energy to heat stuff).
Quite a few large warehouse-type retail buildings I've been in have 100% shielding everywhere except the doors, and have no windows except in the doors. They use insulation with radiant barrier—metallic faced. These are supposed to be facing open space (or close—air) to work properly, but are sometimes installed wrong or painted over, so aren't always obvious. Mis-installed radiant barriers are less effective than designed at cutting IR transmission, but still work very well at blocking wavelengths in the GHz range. If, as another post suggested, the few windows have metallic tint film applied (usually the cheaper film varieties), that only leaves the cracks or floor for transmission. Going through the ground doesn't usually work well, either (see research on speleonics).
Exactly who I was thinking of.
Thanks, that saved me a lot of typing.
I've been trying to understand people like Nathan for a while. I think his nature is to see everything as a competition and the score is usually profit or "commercial success". Why is that still the means of scorekeeping for someone who has more than they can spend? It must be too difficult for him to change scorekeeping currency. Seems like such an empty existence. But if he changed objectives, he might not be "successful" with the new ones, so that might be an unacceptable risk for him. People like to do what they're good at, sometimes regardless of its effect on others.
Bill Gates, a mentor. That rings true. Just as RMS had some mentors who nurtured and/or inspired his free software ideas, Myhrvold had a mentor who thinks it's OK to pursue income and/or market share above all else. To me it seems a very skewed mindset, but obviously not to many others.
So... the question is, does he convince many with the smoke he blows because he's very practiced and skilled at it, or because he really believes it? I suspect, as is usually the case, that there's some of both. As Tony Mendez says, the best cover is one that you can believe in.
OK, what I think I know is 1) atmospheric hydrogen is H2, so molecular mass is about 2; 2) atmospheric helium is monatomic, so molecular mass is about 4 (not much of the single-neutron stuff on Earth); 3) a given volume of graphene aerogel in the atmosphere contains a lot of air, which is obviously heavier than He; 4) a given volume of graphene aerogel in a vacuum has lower density than He gas at... what pressure? This comparison is pointless. Any gas in a nearly-perfect vacuum is infinitesimally low. Now, if a volume of aerogel in a vacuum is sealed on the surface and after any compression from being surrounded by a fluid at, say, 15psi it still has low density, it might be reasonable to compare it to a gas at 15psi. But saying it's twice as dense as H2 and less dense than He is putting it in a very narrow range.
You could use narrow bandpass filters and insert each signal into a common line, but that's getting complicated and then how well it works is going to depend on the actual frequencies of the channels desired. I like the multiple cards idea, especially since some have more than one input anyway.