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User: JoostT

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Comments · 26

  1. Re: May spur automation on California's $15-an-Hour Minimum Wage May Spur Automation (computerworld.com) · · Score: 1

    Yeah, but somehow nobody figures that a wage increase means more people with money to spend in these kinds of businesses.

  2. Re: Without government... on Uber Raided By Dutch Authorities, Seen As 'Criminal Organization' · · Score: 1

    Really, that is why my wife always warns me when I am in the USA not act around the police like I am used to in the Netherlands. Like asking for directions and getting them...

  3. Re:That would also make it awkward for search engi on Upcoming EU Data Law Will Make Europe Tricky For Social Networks · · Score: 1


    Another I just thought of is the fact that any decision taken in Europe will not apply to the UK. It is well established case law (recent decisions and reason by Judge LJ [localgover...wyer.co.uk] repeated from previous decisions such as those of Baroness Hale of Richmond and Sir Nicolas Wall, President of the Family Division of the High Court) that EU Law does not supercede UK domestic Law*.

    EU law does not superceede any national law in any country (well, perhaps with very few exceptions which I not aware off).
    The EU law system works like this: every new EU law is basically "reference" for wich the participating countries craft a similar national law. For that they usually have a grace period of about 5 years.
    And: the UK do the same, they also incorporate EU laws by issuing the relevant national laws.

    European regulations work directly in all memberstates (even in the UK). For instance a the regulations on the Common Agricultural Policy work directly in memberstates. This is mostly about paying out European money. Other harmonisation in the EU works with directives, that the memberstates have to implement (and the EU commission has a right to sue memberstates who do not implement). I would presume that the data law is a directive: it would need implementation in the memberstates. Directives can have a direct influence: if a memberstate does not implement and the directive would give citizens a clearly identifiable right, you could use local courts to reach the European court. This has been happening at least since the sixties of the last century...

  4. Re:Anyway, downloading is *not* necessarily illega on RIAA Now Blames Journalists For Its Piracy Trouble · · Score: 1

    Who says downloading, or making copies for private use is illegal? It depends on where you are.

    In many countries, people are forced to pay fees on blank CDs, on printers, on copy machines, even on the memory in MP3 players. Why? The justification for these fees is that people do, in fact, make copies of copyrighted media. Irritating: whatever happened to the presumption of innocence? More irritating: extraordinarily little of this money actually makes it to the artists.

    A very few countries got it right: "if our consumers must pay these fees, because you assume they are copying, then they have paid for the right to copy, and this must then be legal". Two countries that I am aware of: Switzerland and Italy. As I understand the law in these two countries (IANAL), uploading is illegal, as is making copies for sale. However, making copies for private use is legal, and this includes both downloading and also making individual copies for friends. The claim that downloading is illegal is therefore disingenuous. The MAFIAA would like for it to be illegal, but it depends on your jurisdiction.

    Does anyone know of other countries where downloading is legal? Or have more specific information on the situation in Switzerland and Italy?

    In the Netherlands downloading music is not illegal, uploading without permission is. We also have a blank CD/DVD fee.

    Joost

  5. It's very possible on Why the IRS Should Automatically Fill In Returns With What It Knows · · Score: 1

    At least in the Netherlands. We have digital form, that downloads the data the goverment posseses when you start it up with your social security number. The conflict of interest line is bullshit to me: You only get the figures the goverment got from banks and employers, nothing more (or less). Works like a charm, I get my taxes done (and those of my wife) in about an hour. (And businesses are required to use a digital tax return and all vendors of accounting software can file a tax return from within the accounting software, this is not exactly rocketscience. Intuit should be the one asking for a facillity to make this possible in their program)

    Joost

  6. Re:The anthropic principle isn't a principle. on Science's Alternative To an Intelligent Creator · · Score: 1

    The problem with paradoxes is simple. If you throw out any theory with paradoxes, you can start by dumping :
    -> big bang theory
    -> quantum mechanics
    -> relativity
    -> newtonian physics

    There wouldn't be much left :

    Indeed if scientist respected the laws of mathematics there would be no paradoxes in physics. Any theory containing even a single paradox would be thrown out the window immediately, like they are in mathematics.

    You tell Kurt Godel that...

  7. Re:Why should it matter? on Australian Federal Court Finds Mod Chips Not Illegal · · Score: 1

    Teh point of the judgement is that the modification does not allow copying and is therefore not a copy protection device, and thus not illegal. As far as I knom it is also legal in Australia to have a regionfree dvd player, I presume because of the same reason

    Joost

  8. Re:Region Codes on Bruce Perens Plans On-Stage DMCA Violation · · Score: 1

    In the Netherlands you can buy dvd-players (I have one) that are region free from the factory, not "hacked"

    > But hey, that's circumventing a DRM, so it's
    > illegal in the US, and shortly in the EU as well.
    I don't think so, circumventing copy protection maybe, but not regioncodes.

    Joost

  9. Re:Elections on Gnome Preliminary Election Results In · · Score: 1

    I think GNUI

    Joost

  10. Hasj in the Netherlands on Sklyarov Indicted · · Score: 1

    (example: in the Netherlands you can legally buy and sell hasj, smoke hasj etc.)

    Not to burst youre bubble but in the Netherlands it is illegal to buy, sell or have hasj in your possesion. But the goverment will not prosecute persons that have small amounts of hasj or use small amounts of hasj. This policy is in writing, but it is not a law.

    Joost

  11. Re:eeek. on Sklyarov Arrest Follow-up · · Score: 5

    The russian was arrested on the basis of the DMCA. But the utility for which the Russian was arrested was not for sale in America when he was arrested.
    It is also higly debateble if the utility is a violation of the DMCA because it only is usable by persons who own the Ebooks it operates on, and you need to provide the pasword to use the utility. So it is a utility with a lot f
    non infringing uses (fair use anyone). I higly informative collum about the issue is to be found here:
    http://www.ebookweb.org/opinion/roger.sperberg.2 00 10712.aebpr.htm
    http://www.ebookweb.org/opinion/roger.sperberg.2 00 10715.aebpr.htm
    A quote:
    "In Russia, apparently, it's illegal to sell software without the ability to make "at least one backup copy of the data it works with." So? That's Russia. I'm in the U.S., land of the free and so on. What does it matter if a
    Russian company makes software that enables the purchaser but no one else to make a backup copy of data sold by foreigners who violate Russian law?
    Joost

  12. Re:45 seconds to encode an mp3!?? on Yellow Dog Linux 2.0 Review · · Score: 1

    In the article it ist stated that the pm3 was encoded at 320 kbps, so you cannot compare that with encoding at 128 or 192 kbps.

    Joost

  13. Re:They're using Hydrogen. That's not a good thing on Japan Tests Reusable Rocket · · Score: 1

    LH/LOX is a renewable form of energy, kerosine isn't, so it is more futureproof.

  14. Re:Suggestion on Global Warming: Do You Believe? · · Score: 1

    But the link you provide only states that it is not known if global warming is occurring. That has little to do with the question if it is ok to pump large amounts of co2 in the atmospere and deplete the oilreserves. It is common sense that using renewable energy sources is better in the long run, especially as we still don't understand our own influence on the global climate. And maybe the general public needs a fiction like global warming, to put up with the inconvienience of getting there.

    Joost

  15. Re:Why a damages Cap? on Rambus Found Guilty of Fraud · · Score: 3

    In the Netherlands you do get court costs awarded, only they are not the real costs but a statutory amound depending on the number of court meetings and how complicated the case was. A typical court case will cost (in court costs) about $ 1000. No way you can pay a lawyer with this. It stops people from bringing lawsuits and gives negotiating a much bigger appeal.

    Joost

  16. Re:Sheesh... on Genetically Modified Humans Born · · Score: 1

    The best way to make sure that the population stops growing, is making a population wealthy. If it were not for immigration, the Netherlands would have a negative population growth rate.

    The reason why there is a population explosion is because relatively poor countries get better healthcare, not enough methods of birth control and a polulation that still thinks they need to have a lot of kids, just to make sure that one or two wil be there to take care of them when they are old.

    Joost

  17. Re:Lockbox on Dutch Propose Digital Information Safes · · Score: 1

    As I am dutch i can read the articles in the Volkskrant and the proposal as given by the commision. The lockbox can be left empty, so there is no more information in it than there is now in the Dutch citizen administration kept by the municipalities. Only if you want yourself, you can use the lockbox to view what information other agencies have on you , like the revenue service. You can not alter any information yourself. The use of this would be to check if information about you is correct. Also if you do not care about youre privacy, you could give other agencys acces to the information in the lockbox.

    However at this time, it is already possible for the revenue service and the police to check all the facts in the citizens administration. The difference would be they could check instantly instead of having to wait for busines hours.

    Joost

  18. Re:Full Directive Link, A Few Provisions on Europe To Adopt Strict Internet Copyright Law · · Score: 2

    All the "provisions" that are shown here are not the text of the directive, it's the justification of the directive. On page 19, the directive really
    starts.

    One more thing, this directive is aimed at the member states, not the general public (art 13 of the directive, last page of the linked document.

    IT IS NOT A LAW. It is a document that is binding for the member states to make laws that follow this directive and make them enforcable in their jurisdiction. (but sometimes, if a member state not fulfills it's obligation to implement a law, the provisions of the directive that are unambigous and clear can be used in a court of law, but only after the time to implement the measures in the directive is expired.

    Joost

  19. Re:Filtering and parental responsibility on ACLU & EPIC Will Challenge CIPA · · Score: 1

    Odds say that a significant amount of the people in any field are below average.
    Umm, exactly 50% of parents are "below average". =) Odds have nothing to do with it...

    Nope, an average says nothing about the single items an average is averaged from:
    1 2 6 average = 3, but more than 50% is below average.

    Joost

  20. Re:From the article: on Palm Talks About New OS · · Score: 1

    A palm has tight integration with outlook. I don't know why you would need a tight integration with office. The problem with pocketpc or ce is that it has features nobody realy wants in what is essentially an organizer you can syngronise with youre desktop. Pocketpc is more like a to small laptop.

    Joost

  21. Re:Where are all the rational people? on Annoy.com Gag Order Lifted · · Score: 1

    HI,

    ISP/Annoy blockades the proceedings of the investigation and request for disclosure of identity based not upon merits of the investigation, but rather on principle, horribly delaying the investigation into a threat of violence against an individual. (NOT cool).

    This is not true:

    "First, it informed the government that it lacked any information relating to John Doe; its service allowed emails to be sent completely anonymously, and it could not identify the sender."

    See http://www.ejournalism.com/usapollo/fifth_circuit_ opinion.html

    Joost

  22. zipping is acces control? on Microsoft Asks Slashdot To Remove Readers' Posts · · Score: 1

    I think that zipping a file does not constitute a technological measure to effectively control acces to a work. The work is still there, it's just smaller.

    Joost

  23. Re:No. on Possible EU Embargo on Pentium III · · Score: 1

    Why is it important to have "easy" credit?

    Must be a cultural thing.

    Anyway, in the Netherlands the bulk of people do use plastic money, but not creditcards. They don't want to pay interest while shopping for groceries or something. People basicly don't want to use credit, it's not like it is not (easely) available.

    Joost

  24. Re:Ethics on Princeton Prof Advocates Euthanizing Handicapped Babies · · Score: 2

    Question:

    If it costs 3 million dollars to help a severly disabled baby live a decent live and this money can be used to stop 1000 people from starving, what is the moral course of action.

    What if the amount is $ 5000.

    It seems to me that if you look at the economics of the situation and the position of Singer regarding poverty, it is clear where his position on the killing of severly disabled baby's is coming from.

    The way I see the argument is not whether it is moraly just to kill a baby because it is severly disabled, but if it is moral to spend a lot of resources on one severly disabled baby that could be used to stop a lot of people from starving to death.

    If you talk about moral positions you should always look at the bottom line. It's the same with abortion. If you are able to provide state support for unwanted children, then you can have the moral luxury to forbid people to abort a child.

    But in a situation where the mother cannot feed her other children, it is hypocritical to forbid abortion, knowing the child will starve to death.

    The whole debate is a lot more complicated when you are considering the economics of moral issues like this in the whole world and not just in the rich country's.

    Joost.

    PS I am not saying that it is moral to klll severly disabled baby in general. What I say is that this question is undecideble, because you are not just deciding about the life of the baby but also about other lives. And I do not know a way to decide what lives are better or even if you can say that saving one life is better than saving many lives.



  25. Re:World Domination(tm) on CNN Installs Linux · · Score: 1

    Beos is way easier to install than any version of Windows or linux, but if your hardware is not supported, you're out of luck. But everything that is supported, works immideatly.

    I don't see Beos taking over the desktop...

    Joost