"Prayer comes from the heart, and can't be done in a cold and scientific manner in the name of research." (emphasis mine)
Well, obviously then, the reason the prayer didn't work is that the patients all had defective hearts.
Even as a heartless bastard, though, I can attest that at least some of my prayers to The One Who Lies Dead but Dreaming have been answered. Though not all those prayers involved positive thoughts.
" It's interesting that a human could receive image data and be unable to remember what it means, but receive touch data and be able to remember its meaning."
It's not about 'remembering' what it means. It's about interpreting what it means.
"This sounds like an unlikely solution to me, but I have not studied autism."
But I'd tend to take a website's articles with a grain of salt when the links at the bottom of the page are:
"Home Discuss on our Forum Flame Author
Recommend this article Print"
Sounds to me like someone issued a press release and wants a share of the excess VC floating around... and the Inquirer took the bait. They did a good job of not loading the buzzwords, though -- they didn't say they would 'leverage their experience with graphics chip design' or anything like that.
I'd expect this company to turn around and sell out to AMD or Intel at the earliest opportunity, if given the chance.
"Small companies will quickly learn "Oh, I DON'T have to plunk down $450 for Microsoft Office any more? Where do I get this OpenOffice?""
Until their staff bitches about having to learn new software. Small companies have huge problems with training staff to use new software... hence the reason my company still pays for Lotus, since there are two employees who refuse to learn Excel. Moving over to OO would cause conniption fits and too big a disruption of business.
"'ISPs will also be compelled to impose 'reasonable' limits on subscribers' sending email.'
Do any spammers use their own account for outbound spam?"
No, but how many people unwittingly have a zombie machine in their home? If their zombie status affects their ability to send the email they intend to send, you can bet they'll take action to correct the problem.
"Nope. If the writer attributes the trademark and makes it clear for his readers that he does not own the World of Warcraft trademark, there is no infringement, therefore there is no possibility that Blizzard will "lose" their trademark."
No, attribution is not all that's necessary. Usage still needs to fall under fair use, which is shaky at best for this guy.
Reagrdless of whether the actions taken by Blizzard against the guide creator were warranted based upon his actions, the simple fact of current Trademark law is:
If you don't actively protect it, you no longer own it.
Basically, if Blizzard became aware of this guy using the World of Warcraft trademark for personal profit (which he clearly did), then they are obligated by law to try to make him stop, or they lose their trademark.
Blizzard's action here isn't about keeping down the little guy; it's about protecting themselves from the bigger guys.
Doesn't make it just, or fair -- but their action is reasonable considering the nature of today's IP laws.
FTA: ""In order for Jim to participate in the future Open XML File Format work he needs to have standing in JTC1 SC 34 [a committee that mirrors INCITS/V1] which mandates participation over time. His presence in this group will have no impact upon the voting process for the ODF standard. Just as we have a seat on the board of OASIS and have not participated in the ODF process there, we will not participate in the JTC1 process," said Jason Matusow, Microsoft's director of standards affairs, in a statement." (emphasis mine)
Anyone have any info on whether MS has truly laid off with OASIS and the ODF process there? Not to say that non-interference there means non-interference with Open XML, but it's a start.
Facebook doesn't release revneue figures, but as recently as Apr'05 they were valued at around $100mil, which tells me that they have significant revenues.
Facebook generates revenue from banner ads, local sponsored links, and sponsored groups. Considering that 85% of the college population (which, BTW, is a very sought-after demographic) uses Facebook, I'd say their ad revenues could be extremely significant.
2 bn is probably excessive, I wouldn't be able to tell without seeing their P&L, or at least revenue figures.
"I just have to figure out how to make a site that generates a lot of hits with no real income and then sell it off to the highest bidder."
If you're generating a lot of hits and aren't scoring a lot of ad revenue, then you need to hire someone who knows what they are doing in selling ad space. Hits = revenue, expecially when the hits are coming from college kids.
Greg, After reading your homepage and following many of the links, it's obvious that you are a pretty solid game enthusiast -- from your work on MUDs, playing MTG in your younger years, to enjoyment of TES:Oblivion. Do you think that open-source software has a significant role to play in mass-market gaming? Do you think that opening the code of games would enhance game devlopment?
That doesn't mean that the patent dispute is warranted, nor does it mean that the patent is valid.
This is a red herring tossed by MercExchange, whether or not they got EBay to sign an NDA or other use contract prior to the meeting, and whether or not EBay violated such a contract, is a question for a different lawsuit, not for this patent infringement suit.
If the patents are determined to be obvious, then MercExchange's course of action would be to sue under breach of contract. If they didn't get EBay to sign an NDA and non-use contract, well, then they have learned a costly lesson.
My main point, though, isn't that we like to categorize. It is that such categorization leads to better understanding of the subject as we attempt to redefine. All the challenges inherent in establishing absolute definitions prompt better research, better analysis, and ideally, the formation of definitions that are not arbitrary, that make sense to those with an understanding of the subject, and that are useful and practical for scientific studies and applications.
"Now I know you are going to say, "But I like the linear Final Fantasy story because it is so well crafted, etc. and you can't do that with branching dialogue." "
Actually, I like sandbox games. Though Bethesda has done grea work with TES series, which allow both sandbox play and plot-driven play -- allows for a change of pace, and allows themes to be brought out in the plots.
"You can either use the word "life" in a sentence or not but you can't use a fraction of the word ("li" or "fe" don't mean fractional life - or anything at all for that matter)."
Oh, without capital letters, they mean nothing -- but I know quite a few chemists who'd dispute that Li and Fe are meaningless.:)
To get on-topic, I think that humans constantly categorize and assign labels to things as either a member of a group or outside it, which IS binary.
That creature is a fish|not a fish. That creature is a mammal; or it lays eggs and has a bill, so it is a bird (ummm, bad example, on second thought). That rock is igneous; or it is not. That tree is deciduous|not deciduous.
What is the point of defining something if the definition does not allow us to use it to categorize? Things like this virus, and viruses in general, raise the debate over what is life|not life. And that debate can stimulate greater knowledge, and greater understanding, by challenging our assumptions and our definitions... so I'm all for making distinctions when we can.
Re:Well, videogames aren't about the story.
on
Once Upon A Game
·
· Score: 1
Well, that explains why 90% of the 'great works' don't appeal to you.
FWIW, your point of view is just as valid, but the consensus among the people who tell us what the 'classics' are happen to disagree.
Look at Hitchcock's "The Birds." The story is crap, but the suspense is masterful. The film really evokes the fear of the characters, and it's Hitchcock's use of timing and camera angles/effects that really make it work. So is it a great work, or is it crap?
Re:Well, videogames aren't about the story.
on
Once Upon A Game
·
· Score: 1
I think that you're right, but I think it's *harder* to create that experience without having at least temporal control over the finished work. But if you want to compare videogames to films, I think it's important to realize that the media are quite different with respect to how the work is viewed -- and not just on the basis of participation.
Slashdot Mirror
"Prayer comes from the heart, and can't be done in a cold and scientific manner in the name of research." (emphasis mine)
Well, obviously then, the reason the prayer didn't work is that the patients all had defective hearts.
Even as a heartless bastard, though, I can attest that at least some of my prayers to The One Who Lies Dead but Dreaming have been answered. Though not all those prayers involved positive thoughts.
"The only other reason for a base on the Moon is turism"
And how is a telescope on the far side of the moon going to help determine whether we're speaking to a bot or not?
" It's interesting that a human could receive image data and be unable to remember what it means, but receive touch data and be able to remember its meaning."
It's not about 'remembering' what it means. It's about interpreting what it means.
"This sounds like an unlikely solution to me, but I have not studied autism."
'Nuff said.
Though a little extra exposure for people who don't read TFA never hurts...
TFA includes Battlespire and Redguard.
And Battlespire is an RPG, but in the dungeoncrawl model rather than the open model of the other Bethesda RPGs.
"they hire live cover bands to follow them around 24/7 "
That's so middle-class. Real billionaires hire the orginal performers for their kids, not cover bands.
"All of those cables connecting your TV and other video/audio components together, can go away with UWB. "
As long as the analog hole remains open, those cables aren't going anywhere for tons of slashdotters.
If our management thought we had time for training, that would probably solve a lot of problems...
But I'm still distributing printed 8-page Excel analyses to fourteen people rather than posting them in a shared folder... so why even bother?
It's not just Sprint... I have the same problems with Verizon. Though some of the text messages have been... um... stimulating :)
But I'd tend to take a website's articles with a grain of salt when the links at the bottom of the page are:
"Home Discuss on our Forum Flame Author
Recommend this article Print"
Sounds to me like someone issued a press release and wants a share of the excess VC floating around... and the Inquirer took the bait. They did a good job of not loading the buzzwords, though -- they didn't say they would 'leverage their experience with graphics chip design' or anything like that.
I'd expect this company to turn around and sell out to AMD or Intel at the earliest opportunity, if given the chance.
"Small companies will quickly learn "Oh, I DON'T have to plunk down $450 for Microsoft Office any more? Where do I get this OpenOffice?""
Until their staff bitches about having to learn new software. Small companies have huge problems with training staff to use new software... hence the reason my company still pays for Lotus, since there are two employees who refuse to learn Excel. Moving over to OO would cause conniption fits and too big a disruption of business.
Blech, I was totally incorrect and wish I'd had the seventh cup of coffee before posting that.
Thanks to everyone who pointed it out!
J
"'ISPs will also be compelled to impose 'reasonable' limits on subscribers' sending email.'
Do any spammers use their own account for outbound spam?"
No, but how many people unwittingly have a zombie machine in their home? If their zombie status affects their ability to send the email they intend to send, you can bet they'll take action to correct the problem.
"Nope. If the writer attributes the trademark and makes it clear for his readers that he does not own the World of Warcraft trademark, there is no infringement, therefore there is no possibility that Blizzard will "lose" their trademark."
No, attribution is not all that's necessary. Usage still needs to fall under fair use, which is shaky at best for this guy.
Reagrdless of whether the actions taken by Blizzard against the guide creator were warranted based upon his actions, the simple fact of current Trademark law is:
If you don't actively protect it, you no longer own it.
Basically, if Blizzard became aware of this guy using the World of Warcraft trademark for personal profit (which he clearly did), then they are obligated by law to try to make him stop, or they lose their trademark.
Blizzard's action here isn't about keeping down the little guy; it's about protecting themselves from the bigger guys.
Doesn't make it just, or fair -- but their action is reasonable considering the nature of today's IP laws.
FTA: ""In order for Jim to participate in the future Open XML File Format work he needs to have standing in JTC1 SC 34 [a committee that mirrors INCITS/V1] which mandates participation over time. His presence in this group will have no impact upon the voting process for the ODF standard. Just as we have a seat on the board of OASIS and have not participated in the ODF process there, we will not participate in the JTC1 process," said Jason Matusow, Microsoft's director of standards affairs, in a statement." (emphasis mine)
Anyone have any info on whether MS has truly laid off with OASIS and the ODF process there? Not to say that non-interference there means non-interference with Open XML, but it's a start.
No real income? What makes you think that?
Facebook doesn't release revneue figures, but as recently as Apr'05 they were valued at around $100mil, which tells me that they have significant revenues.
Facebook generates revenue from banner ads, local sponsored links, and sponsored groups. Considering that 85% of the college population (which, BTW, is a very sought-after demographic) uses Facebook, I'd say their ad revenues could be extremely significant.
2 bn is probably excessive, I wouldn't be able to tell without seeing their P&L, or at least revenue figures.
"I just have to figure out how to make a site that generates a lot of hits with no real income and then sell it off to the highest bidder."
If you're generating a lot of hits and aren't scoring a lot of ad revenue, then you need to hire someone who knows what they are doing in selling ad space. Hits = revenue, expecially when the hits are coming from college kids.
Greg,
After reading your homepage and following many of the links, it's obvious that you are a pretty solid game enthusiast -- from your work on MUDs, playing MTG in your younger years, to enjoyment of TES:Oblivion. Do you think that open-source software has a significant role to play in mass-market gaming? Do you think that opening the code of games would enhance game devlopment?
That doesn't mean that the patent dispute is warranted, nor does it mean that the patent is valid.
This is a red herring tossed by MercExchange, whether or not they got EBay to sign an NDA or other use contract prior to the meeting, and whether or not EBay violated such a contract, is a question for a different lawsuit, not for this patent infringement suit.
If the patents are determined to be obvious, then MercExchange's course of action would be to sue under breach of contract. If they didn't get EBay to sign an NDA and non-use contract, well, then they have learned a costly lesson.
My main point, though, isn't that we like to categorize. It is that such categorization leads to better understanding of the subject as we attempt to redefine. All the challenges inherent in establishing absolute definitions prompt better research, better analysis, and ideally, the formation of definitions that are not arbitrary, that make sense to those with an understanding of the subject, and that are useful and practical for scientific studies and applications.
"Now I know you are going to say, "But I like the linear Final Fantasy story because it is so well crafted, etc. and you can't do that with branching dialogue." "
Actually, I like sandbox games. Though Bethesda has done grea work with TES series, which allow both sandbox play and plot-driven play -- allows for a change of pace, and allows themes to be brought out in the plots.
"You can either use the word "life" in a sentence or not but you can't use a fraction of the word ("li" or "fe" don't mean fractional life - or anything at all for that matter)."
:)
Oh, without capital letters, they mean nothing -- but I know quite a few chemists who'd dispute that Li and Fe are meaningless.
To get on-topic, I think that humans constantly categorize and assign labels to things as either a member of a group or outside it, which IS binary.
That creature is a fish|not a fish. That creature is a mammal; or it lays eggs and has a bill, so it is a bird (ummm, bad example, on second thought). That rock is igneous; or it is not. That tree is deciduous|not deciduous.
What is the point of defining something if the definition does not allow us to use it to categorize? Things like this virus, and viruses in general, raise the debate over what is life|not life. And that debate can stimulate greater knowledge, and greater understanding, by challenging our assumptions and our definitions... so I'm all for making distinctions when we can.
Well, that explains why 90% of the 'great works' don't appeal to you.
FWIW, your point of view is just as valid, but the consensus among the people who tell us what the 'classics' are happen to disagree.
Look at Hitchcock's "The Birds." The story is crap, but the suspense is masterful. The film really evokes the fear of the characters, and it's Hitchcock's use of timing and camera angles/effects that really make it work. So is it a great work, or is it crap?
I think that you're right, but I think it's *harder* to create that experience without having at least temporal control over the finished work. But if you want to compare videogames to films, I think it's important to realize that the media are quite different with respect to how the work is viewed -- and not just on the basis of participation.
"you name it, and naked people (or their images) has been behind it. I'm gonna go on a limb "
Sounds like Slashdot is getting its share of the pr0n right there... thanks for the mental images.