However, you will note he openly admits in the other answers that he has been fairly ignorant of Linux since he hasn't been using it.
It seems he brushed off the questions because he honestly doesn't have answers for them. I have no problems with an honest answer, but I would have felt better if he said he'd look into these concerns himself. As perhaps the most visible blogger covering Open Source for years, and heading up a major project (that puts out Linux releases) I'm shocked how ignorant he was of Linux, and Ubuntu.
I recall mid 90's when Fox was trying to shut down every X-Files fan page, and Lucas wanted to shut down every Star Wars fan page. They felt they were copyright infringement. What they didn't realize is that fan hype is free marketing. It only increases the value of your intellectual property.
An IP owner needs to protect their trademark, but they can issue a fan license to cover that.
This isn't just mean, it is bad business sense.
And while we're talking about old game properties that should be resurrected with a fan game, Commander Keen anyone?
If the above poster is correct that there are at least 42 instances of taking pictures of kids in their home, then I don't think they were all reported stolen.
I really think the whole case hinges on this point.
They claim they never once turned on the software unless a laptop was reported stolen. Yet if they did in fact punish a student for in-home behavior on a non-stolen laptop, then they're clearly caught in a lie.
And even if the intent was merely an anti-theft solution, I think there is still a civil suit worth pursuing (if not criminal charges) if the software was not disclosed.
Windows users expect a familiar control panel to configure their box.
openSUSE puts out great, polished desktops. Their KDE 4 desktop is perhaps unmatched by any other distro, but YaST is what will really appeal to non-technical Windows users.
It should be noted that you may need to install a restricted formats package to get Flash, DVDs, MP3s, codecs, etc, and possibly a proprietary video driver. But there are 1-click installers that make this process very simple. After those two steps, you should be in pretty good shape.
Google wanted to infuse Yahoo with money to keep them afloat with a search deal. It was immediately killed as an anti-trust violation, and they threatened Google with the possibility of breaking them up if they attempted something like that again.
So Microsoft infuses Yahoo with money in a search deal and it is approved.
I know Google has a larger market share than Yahoo, but which of the two companies has been anti-competitive in their business practices?
That being said, Civ III put a bad taste in my mouth, and I have barely touched Civ IV.
Civ II was a bit broken with how powerful wonders of the world were. But some of the victory conditions in Civ III were far too easy. Corruption was an absolute pain. Layering cities on top of each other doesn't work for me, but the CPU was no problems with it.
I don't want an AI that cheats. I want complex, balanced, dynamic play against a fair, but difficult CPU.
Can Civ V do any better than FreeCiv, or Alpha Centauri?
For instance, OJ was tried under criminal charges for murder. He was found not-guilty because jurors said they flat-out didn't understand the DNA evidence.
Later, OJ was taken to court for civil charges in which the victim's families were awarded monetary damages.
We're diverging pretty far off-topic, but if you treat people like animals and tell them they have no place in society, don't be surprised when they develop this anti-institution mentality.
We then release them back into society with no real effort at rehabilitation. We need more low-security prisons with a focus on rehab, education and therapy. I know people don't want to spend money taking care of prisoners, but ultimately we're preserving society by trying to cut down on repeat offenders.
I didn't say they had to buy every company who purchased a license. They'd have to buy the patent owner.
Google, Microsoft, Apple, IBM, etc. have a history of purchasing patent owners rather than attempting to license themselves from time to time.
If Google bought the patent owner, then Apple and everyone on that list would have to pay license fees to Google.
MPEG LA is a LLC, not a publicly traded corp. So I can't easily figure out with a quick search what the approximate net worth of the company is. But it might be a company that Google could purchase.
Wave isn't even officially launched. It is also a protocol more than a service.
Let's not call Wave a flop just yet.
I think Google is sitting on a variety of different pieces that they haven't put together yet. I think they have the potential to put these pieces together and really changing the way people use the internet.
Slashdot Mirror
However, you will note he openly admits in the other answers that he has been fairly ignorant of Linux since he hasn't been using it.
It seems he brushed off the questions because he honestly doesn't have answers for them. I have no problems with an honest answer, but I would have felt better if he said he'd look into these concerns himself. As perhaps the most visible blogger covering Open Source for years, and heading up a major project (that puts out Linux releases) I'm shocked how ignorant he was of Linux, and Ubuntu.
At the end of the day, can you really be sued for non-commercial work?
If this fan project is released for free, how is that any different that someone writing fan-fic and releasing it for free?
I recall mid 90's when Fox was trying to shut down every X-Files fan page, and Lucas wanted to shut down every Star Wars fan page. They felt they were copyright infringement. What they didn't realize is that fan hype is free marketing. It only increases the value of your intellectual property.
An IP owner needs to protect their trademark, but they can issue a fan license to cover that.
This isn't just mean, it is bad business sense.
And while we're talking about old game properties that should be resurrected with a fan game, Commander Keen anyone?
I intend to dedicate every waking moment to starting and maintaining http://xkcdsucks.blogspot.com-sucks.blogspot.com/
If the above poster is correct that there are at least 42 instances of taking pictures of kids in their home, then I don't think they were all reported stolen.
They need to cop a plea deal is what they need to do.
They might spin it as good intentions, but they're going to get nailed to the wall.
I really think the whole case hinges on this point.
They claim they never once turned on the software unless a laptop was reported stolen. Yet if they did in fact punish a student for in-home behavior on a non-stolen laptop, then they're clearly caught in a lie.
And even if the intent was merely an anti-theft solution, I think there is still a civil suit worth pursuing (if not criminal charges) if the software was not disclosed.
Windows users expect a familiar control panel to configure their box.
openSUSE puts out great, polished desktops. Their KDE 4 desktop is perhaps unmatched by any other distro, but YaST is what will really appeal to non-technical Windows users.
It should be noted that you may need to install a restricted formats package to get Flash, DVDs, MP3s, codecs, etc, and possibly a proprietary video driver. But there are 1-click installers that make this process very simple. After those two steps, you should be in pretty good shape.
Except they weren't going to buy out Yahoo.
Microsoft initially was going to fully buy out Yahoo, which would hurt competition. The DoJ was fine with it.
Google only stepped in at that point offering Yahoo a cash infusion to keep Yahoo afloat and prserve competition. The DoJ smacked it down.
Yahoo is no longer in the search business because of the DoJ's intervention.
Is the headline misleading?
Has Google ever once just bought a competing product to shut it down?
I suspect they will roll this into Gmail service, the the free Google iPhone app.
Google wanted to infuse Yahoo with money to keep them afloat with a search deal. It was immediately killed as an anti-trust violation, and they threatened Google with the possibility of breaking them up if they attempted something like that again.
So Microsoft infuses Yahoo with money in a search deal and it is approved.
I know Google has a larger market share than Yahoo, but which of the two companies has been anti-competitive in their business practices?
But this is less competition. Yahoo is no longer providing their own search results.
Google just lost a competitor.
I'm not advocating lying.
I'm merely pointing out that the situation punishes honesty. I do so to criticize the situation.
I agree. But we don't want to release that person after 5 years only to have them rape another person's daughter.
Our prisons are over-crowded to the point that we're letting many criminals go without doing jail time.
Texas has had over 120 cases of convincted murderers not doing a single day of jail time because of prison overcrowding.
And the stats on repeat offenders is just mind-boggling.
The system has officially broken and yet we continue to ignore the situation.
Could someone take the existing FreeCiv engine, which supports Civ 1, Civ 2, and FreeCiv modes, and implement an Alpha Centauri mode?
It wouldn't be a small task by any means, but I'd love to see a modern playable clone.
Yes, Yes, and more Yes.
That being said, Civ III put a bad taste in my mouth, and I have barely touched Civ IV.
Civ II was a bit broken with how powerful wonders of the world were. But some of the victory conditions in Civ III were far too easy. Corruption was an absolute pain. Layering cities on top of each other doesn't work for me, but the CPU was no problems with it.
I don't want an AI that cheats. I want complex, balanced, dynamic play against a fair, but difficult CPU.
Can Civ V do any better than FreeCiv, or Alpha Centauri?
You can do both.
For instance, OJ was tried under criminal charges for murder. He was found not-guilty because jurors said they flat-out didn't understand the DNA evidence.
Later, OJ was taken to court for civil charges in which the victim's families were awarded monetary damages.
We're diverging pretty far off-topic, but if you treat people like animals and tell them they have no place in society, don't be surprised when they develop this anti-institution mentality.
We then release them back into society with no real effort at rehabilitation. We need more low-security prisons with a focus on rehab, education and therapy. I know people don't want to spend money taking care of prisoners, but ultimately we're preserving society by trying to cut down on repeat offenders.
Our current prison system is broken.
If you had simply called in sick, you'd be fine.
You're being punished for honesty.
We have no problem with Dateline specials arresting men for attempting to sleep with teenagers. I can see intent to produce child pornography here.
It isn't the first time a school has punished a kid for something that happens outside of school grounds and hours.
For instance, if you get busted for pot by the cops at a party, I've seen schools suspend kids, kick them out of extra-curricular activites, etc.
Peeping Toms go to prison. People who peep in on kids get "special" treatment in prison.
I didn't say they had to buy every company who purchased a license. They'd have to buy the patent owner.
Google, Microsoft, Apple, IBM, etc. have a history of purchasing patent owners rather than attempting to license themselves from time to time.
If Google bought the patent owner, then Apple and everyone on that list would have to pay license fees to Google.
MPEG LA is a LLC, not a publicly traded corp. So I can't easily figure out with a quick search what the approximate net worth of the company is. But it might be a company that Google could purchase.
Could Google just completely buy out whoever owns the H.264 patents?
Wave isn't even officially launched. It is also a protocol more than a service.
Let's not call Wave a flop just yet.
I think Google is sitting on a variety of different pieces that they haven't put together yet. I think they have the potential to put these pieces together and really changing the way people use the internet.