I like your way of thinking, and I think you're right. My initial reaction was to argue against the point that "software is knowledge", but a "description of knowledge" is much more accurate. Because that is exactly what it is - a way to write down a series of steps so that someone/something can perform them.
Then the question comes - does it make sense for someone to have exclusive rights to a series of actions? Does this constitute a patentable "process"?
It's the difference between patenting knowledge, and the application of knowledge. Software is not the application of knowledge, but knowledge itself.
No. An implementation in software of some idea (such as adding numbers) is, on a base level, not theoretically different than an implementation in hardware. Whether you do it with levers and cogs, pipes of water, an abacus, or electrical impulses controlled by words is irrelevant. Software is an application of knowledge, just like any of these other things, it is not knowledge itself.
I'm not arguing for or against patents, just against this sort of thinking.
What do you base that on? From what I've seen, most Indians in the business world know their native language, and learn Hindi and English in addition to that as a minimum. However, while they may be able to speak several Indian languages, they may not be able to read/write the scripts of those languages.
I know nothing about microprocessor design, but a simple answer would be to have a temperature sensor attached to a voltage regulator. When the temperature gets too high, reduce the voltage, and consequently, the speed (that is, assuming the other few posts I skimmed were correct - always a toss-up on/.).
If it can be used as a mass storage device under Windows and Linux, why can't you drag/drop mp3s? He says the software is only available for Windows... does it somehow convert files to analog so the player can play them?
"Please state the names of the unrecoverable files."
IAC:
"britneyspearsnaked01.jpg, britneyspearsnaked02.jpg, britneyspearsnaked03.jpg, britneyspearsnaked04.jpg... clearly the defendant was using steganographic techniques to hide sensitive data."
Obviously that doesn't fly in every case where there is copy protection, but when the scheme used for a game has 'known issues', and you state that as your reason for returning it, it's awfully bastardly of the retailer to say, "Yes, there is difficult to break copy protection on this game that can cause problems with your system, but we're not going to allow you to return it, because we assume you have already copied it."
Because I wanted a real parallel port. I do basic hardware projects involving the parallel port sometimes, and figured if I was going to buy one, I wanted a real one that would work with my existing software. Additionally, I've heard plenty of stories about USB->parallel adapters not working with various parallel devices. And, there's no guarantee that a USB->parallel adapter would be supported in XP x64, either.
Well, I do know what I'm talking about, and I gave up on XP x64 a last year because of (the lack of) driver support.
I had built a brand new computer at the end of summer 2005 - Athlon 64 bit, 4 GB RAM, 2 x 500 GB SATA2, dual DVI, etc. Now, I also have a LaserJet 5L, which is a parallel-port only printer, and my motherboard did not have a parallel port. Instead of buying a new printer (I still have four unopened toner cartidges for the LaserJet), I decided to buy a PCI parallel port card. Under XP x32 bit, everything worked perfectly. XP x64 bit refused to play nice with the parallel port card, and the manufacturers told me they did not intend to release a 64-bit driver. I needed my printer, so I uninstalled XP x64 bit and reinstalled XP x32 bit. I am glad I was too late for Microsoft's trade-in program, as then I wouldn't have a legitimate copy of XP x32 bit anymore.
I realize this is more the fault of the parallel card manufacturer than Microsoft, but the point still stands that the lack of a single driver made XP x64 bit useless for me. Not to mention the dearth of 64-bit Windows programs (or the hoops to jump through to get them to work). This is why Linux is proving to be the only suitable OS for x86 64 right now - decent driver support, and the ability to build everything as 64-bit.
I'm not denying that it may work well for some people, but it is certainly not a suitable solution for everyone. Not to mention that I doubt XP x64 will be further developed or well supported, if supported at all for very long - what incentive does Microsoft have to do so after Vista comes out?
About the UI - that scrolling list of images, Search, Toolbar, Mail, etc. - when I click on them, is something supposed to happen? Because it doesn't, not on IE 6 or Firefox in Windows XP. I even get the clicky 'hand' in IE.
Funny, it always seemed like Firefox's memory use was much less than IE's, at least for me. Right now I have Slashdot, Wikipedia, and the OED open in both Firefox and IE:
Firefox: 39,172 KB IE: 50,472 KB
And I consistently see figures like those. Not that it matters much, what with 4 GB memory (only 3 of which show up in Windows:-(
For me, the phone is the PDA accessory. I bought a Fujitsu Loox 720, and highly recommend it to anyone looking for a high-end PDA. It's not sold in the US, so I had to order it from Britain, but it was well worth it.
I can't imagine a smartphone capable of doing what this thing can do - CF and SD slots, a VGA screen (which makes huge difference for my eyes- I use a lot of dictionaries on this device). Not to mention the fact that I can Remote Desktop fairly easily into my home computer. I laugh when I think about the video iPod - I can stream video wirelessly on my 4" screen. And USB host capability - which means plugging in external hard drives. Maybe I'd consider a smart phone, when it could do all that.
But then again, no. Because the damn thing was so expensive, I only take it with me to class and such. On the other hand, I'm no so paranoid about my Nokia 6230 being broken/lost/stolen.
With a retail copy of Windows XP Professional upgrade, support options from Microsoft are as follows:
E-mail Individual Chat Phone
You can have two support requests from these three options (e.g., one e-mail and one phone call). "Unlimited installation support is available by phone at no charge" and "All additional support requests are $35.00 US per request".
I too have a DVD's worth of footage a Marine friend of mine let me borrow and rip, but for his sake I'd be reluctant to release it - I wouldn't want him to catch any flak for it (no pun intended).
Regarding your sig, I'm not sure you'll get that big of a boost in battery life from a different hard drive type. Check out the Gentoo Power Management Guide at http://www.gentoo.org/doc/en/power-management-guid e.xml - they have a neat pie chart that breaks down power consumption for each component. The main loss is obviously in the display, followed by the CPU, but then comes the power supply. Also, remember how hot the bottom of the laptop gets? All that is lost energy that could be running the machine longer.
Well, I definitely do remember the time before the Word + Works package, where Works came with its own writing program, that couldn't open Word documents. Or was it that Word couldn't open Works documents? I don't remember which, but definitely one or the other.
Slashdot Mirror
I like your way of thinking, and I think you're right. My initial reaction was to argue against the point that "software is knowledge", but a "description of knowledge" is much more accurate. Because that is exactly what it is - a way to write down a series of steps so that someone/something can perform them.
Then the question comes - does it make sense for someone to have exclusive rights to a series of actions? Does this constitute a patentable "process"?
It's the difference between patenting knowledge, and the application of knowledge. Software is not the application of knowledge, but knowledge itself.
No. An implementation in software of some idea (such as adding numbers) is, on a base level, not theoretically different than an implementation in hardware. Whether you do it with levers and cogs, pipes of water, an abacus, or electrical impulses controlled by words is irrelevant. Software is an application of knowledge, just like any of these other things, it is not knowledge itself.
I'm not arguing for or against patents, just against this sort of thinking.
What do you base that on? From what I've seen, most Indians in the business world know their native language, and learn Hindi and English in addition to that as a minimum. However, while they may be able to speak several Indian languages, they may not be able to read/write the scripts of those languages.
I know nothing about microprocessor design, but a simple answer would be to have a temperature sensor attached to a voltage regulator. When the temperature gets too high, reduce the voltage, and consequently, the speed (that is, assuming the other few posts I skimmed were correct - always a toss-up on /.).
If it can be used as a mass storage device under Windows and Linux, why can't you drag/drop mp3s? He says the software is only available for Windows... does it somehow convert files to analog so the player can play them?
How does stereo recording work with a built in microphone?
Yeah, ancient Hebrew is an awfully dated dialect.
they have a declining population
Really? Or is it just a declining population growth rate? I'd be very surprised if they had managed to have a negative population growth rate.
The story is about Facebook, not Myspace. You appear to be a little confused as to the difference. Have you ever used Facebook?
1. Make site where dumbasses post pictures of themselves drunk and create atrocious "web pages" to showcase said pictures
You don't "create" web pages on Facebook. The interface is standardized.
Defense lawyer to IAC:
"Please state the names of the unrecoverable files."
IAC:
"britneyspearsnaked01.jpg, britneyspearsnaked02.jpg, britneyspearsnaked03.jpg, britneyspearsnaked04.jpg... clearly the defendant was using steganographic techniques to hide sensitive data."
Obviously that doesn't fly in every case where there is copy protection, but when the scheme used for a game has 'known issues', and you state that as your reason for returning it, it's awfully bastardly of the retailer to say, "Yes, there is difficult to break copy protection on this game that can cause problems with your system, but we're not going to allow you to return it, because we assume you have already copied it."
Because I wanted a real parallel port. I do basic hardware projects involving the parallel port sometimes, and figured if I was going to buy one, I wanted a real one that would work with my existing software. Additionally, I've heard plenty of stories about USB->parallel adapters not working with various parallel devices. And, there's no guarantee that a USB->parallel adapter would be supported in XP x64, either.
Well, I do know what I'm talking about, and I gave up on XP x64 a last year because of (the lack of) driver support.
I had built a brand new computer at the end of summer 2005 - Athlon 64 bit, 4 GB RAM, 2 x 500 GB SATA2, dual DVI, etc. Now, I also have a LaserJet 5L, which is a parallel-port only printer, and my motherboard did not have a parallel port. Instead of buying a new printer (I still have four unopened toner cartidges for the LaserJet), I decided to buy a PCI parallel port card. Under XP x32 bit, everything worked perfectly. XP x64 bit refused to play nice with the parallel port card, and the manufacturers told me they did not intend to release a 64-bit driver. I needed my printer, so I uninstalled XP x64 bit and reinstalled XP x32 bit. I am glad I was too late for Microsoft's trade-in program, as then I wouldn't have a legitimate copy of XP x32 bit anymore.
I realize this is more the fault of the parallel card manufacturer than Microsoft, but the point still stands that the lack of a single driver made XP x64 bit useless for me. Not to mention the dearth of 64-bit Windows programs (or the hoops to jump through to get them to work). This is why Linux is proving to be the only suitable OS for x86 64 right now - decent driver support, and the ability to build everything as 64-bit.
I'm not denying that it may work well for some people, but it is certainly not a suitable solution for everyone. Not to mention that I doubt XP x64 will be further developed or well supported, if supported at all for very long - what incentive does Microsoft have to do so after Vista comes out?
Well, if the copy protection is so durned good, then returning an opened game shouldn't be an issue, should it?
About the UI - that scrolling list of images, Search, Toolbar, Mail, etc. - when I click on them, is something supposed to happen? Because it doesn't, not on IE 6 or Firefox in Windows XP. I even get the clicky 'hand' in IE.
Miserable UI.
Oh, and IE just crashed as I was closing its three windows. No joke.
Funny, it always seemed like Firefox's memory use was much less than IE's, at least for me. Right now I have Slashdot, Wikipedia, and the OED open in both Firefox and IE:
:-(
Firefox: 39,172 KB
IE: 50,472 KB
And I consistently see figures like those. Not that it matters much, what with 4 GB memory (only 3 of which show up in Windows
For me, the phone is the PDA accessory. I bought a Fujitsu Loox 720, and highly recommend it to anyone looking for a high-end PDA. It's not sold in the US, so I had to order it from Britain, but it was well worth it.
I can't imagine a smartphone capable of doing what this thing can do - CF and SD slots, a VGA screen (which makes huge difference for my eyes- I use a lot of dictionaries on this device). Not to mention the fact that I can Remote Desktop fairly easily into my home computer. I laugh when I think about the video iPod - I can stream video wirelessly on my 4" screen. And USB host capability - which means plugging in external hard drives. Maybe I'd consider a smart phone, when it could do all that.
But then again, no. Because the damn thing was so expensive, I only take it with me to class and such. On the other hand, I'm no so paranoid about my Nokia 6230 being broken/lost/stolen.
With a retail copy of Windows XP Professional upgrade, support options from Microsoft are as follows:
E-mail
Individual Chat
Phone
You can have two support requests from these three options (e.g., one e-mail and one phone call). "Unlimited installation support is available by phone at no charge" and "All additional support requests are $35.00 US per request".
I too have a DVD's worth of footage a Marine friend of mine let me borrow and rip, but for his sake I'd be reluctant to release it - I wouldn't want him to catch any flak for it (no pun intended).
So what, lesser of three evils?
Regarding your sig, I'm not sure you'll get that big of a boost in battery life from a different hard drive type. Check out the Gentoo Power Management Guide at http://www.gentoo.org/doc/en/power-management-guid e.xml - they have a neat pie chart that breaks down power consumption for each component. The main loss is obviously in the display, followed by the CPU, but then comes the power supply. Also, remember how hot the bottom of the laptop gets? All that is lost energy that could be running the machine longer.
Well, I definitely do remember the time before the Word + Works package, where Works came with its own writing program, that couldn't open Word documents. Or was it that Word couldn't open Works documents? I don't remember which, but definitely one or the other.
At least I still have my stapler...