And, code can be checked with an algorithm to see if it already exists.
That would require solving the halting problem.
I see what you are saying, but that's not what I'm talking about. This would simply be a line by line check of code and outputting the relevant similarity. This same algorithm check is done in anti-plagiarism software. If that code were all public, we wouldn't need to rely on the patent office to run the check either. Google does patent search. Using some translation magic, differing languages could be checked against each other... C++ to C# or Java to PHP.
True, but with access to the code via patents, devs can at least write an API capable of unlocking dead file formats. Rather than being about keeping the software alive, it's about recovery of content created using abandon-ware. This is a major problem with old data from NASA, for instance. The computers, chips, hardware, and software that created the data is the only known way to recover that old data. However, if enough code were left around to figure out a patented format, it could be recovered years later. This is a much larger problem than whether or not we can get Wolfenstein or WordStar to run on x64.
The major drug problem between the US and Mexico is Marijuana. Our culture is very "meh" on having it outlawed, so there is a higher market for it, unlike drugs like heroin and meth with scares the crap out of most people, including the pot smokers among us. So it's not as though all those weed sales will transfer to cocaine or heroin if marijuana is legalized. They'll simply go out of business, or become legitimate, like beer producers did. Beer producers didn't say, "Shit, we can't dodge taxes and shoot at the federal lawmen anymore... so screw beer, we're going to start selling heroin!"
No, they went legit, and the guns went away. The gangs and mafias changed to do other illegal things, but they lost a huge portion of income. The same would happen with marijuana.
By the way, all those liquor taxes are paying for local community services, like schools. This is taxable, just like liquor, cigarettes, or any other luxury item.
I was listening to a TWiT tech podcast, don't remember which one or who said this, but... They asked for one thing in a software patent... working demonstration code.
Immediately, light bulbs were going off for me. Finally, that might solve some abandon-ware problems. Forces companies to actually make a practical use idea (rather than, "two taps does a different action than one tap" patent, and yes, that's a real patent). And, above all, satisfies what patents were originally intended for. Protecting innovation, but also, sharing that idea with others who can improve it... and a significant improvement on someone's patent is itself, patentable.
More than anything, this would also expose frivolous patents. You have to actually MAKE the product or at least a demo before you can patent it. And, code can be checked with an algorithm to see if it already exists. That would be a fabulous tool for dev shops who could check all sorts of software, and get an immediate response with a quick code search.
I heard Compiler as a Service and thought at first, "Oh great, Microsoft feels the big threat by Google App Engine, and that Python is going to take all of their business, so they've created a Python killer."
He might regret getting caught, but like criminals, they often regret what they are doing. People sometimes get into something, and then feel trapped. Imagine a man overcome by desire who cheats on his wife. He royally screws up, but if he stops now, the other woman may tell on him. So, the affair lasts for years. And eventually, the woman does tell anyways.
He's regretted that he'd be found out since day 1, not just after he was caught. We often assume regret begins after they are caught, but that fear is always present. It is the emotional cost for the unethical activity, and only a true psychopath could not feel it.
Unless you are suggesting he's clinically psychopathic, then it was about being caught, but not brought about by being caught.
Bandwidth is negligible compared to DVDs. Postage costs far more on a per movie basis. If anything, it's new royalty demands for streaming content, as bandwidth and postage have remained relatively unchanged or have only had slight increases. Royalties, on the other hand, are catching up to streaming content in a big big way.
I sympathize... sorta, and not really. I've been vocal in flipping Netflix the bird on this one. If they think streaming OLD movies is worth $8 a month, they're dreaming. And rather than pay another $8 for DVDs, I can go to RedBox for $1 DVDs or $1.50 Blu-Rays, and they are mostly NEW movies.
Now, RedBox has a delivery system and logistics that truly impresses me. They also have physical locations just about everywhere. The fact that they beat Netflix on price, and I can fluctuate my viewing habits (1 this month, 20 next month, none the following month) is huge. Why Netflix never went to a "Only pay for how many discs you receive per month" absolutely boggles my mind. It would have been a better direction to go here, have taken care of the people who really cost them money (people who get more than 6 per month), brought their prices more in line with local retailers, and might have justified the price hike on streaming.
But they haven't, and now their services are overpriced. So, in my oh so humble opinion, they can go take a flying fucking leap into a cold fucking pond... with all due respect and sincerity.
Just use OpenDNS and put blocks on all related categories. Done.
Or, you could just force group policy via active directory to not allow removal of browsing history, though this won't stop other browsers (assuming you let them install anything) nor P2P programs (which OpenDNS can't stop once installed, but can stop from downloading).
Of course, if you have wifi, good luck, cause you'll need router level logging or an appliance.
I personally think you should just hire an extra person per employee to stand behind them as they work. Though, I'm not sure even that would satisfy the draconian New Zealand government.
This is the same A-hole who requested an iPad with company paid data plan from AT&T from IT! I knew he was up to no good the moment he mentioned AT&T! Think how much money would have been lost paying those data overages!
- UBS anonymous IT personnel (not authorized to make a statement)
Maybe, or maybe, the IE team, like the Firefox team, is awfully tired of their software being used as a vector for Flash's seemingly infinite supply of vulnerabilities.
Or maybe, just maybe, Microsoft is tired of anything being a vector for software they don't own. Here goes the anti-trust lawsuits again, especially if they use any form of Silverlight... and you can bet your ass Adobe will sue then (and win or settle for a large sum).
That's fine for tablets or phones, but what about the desktop. Forcing no plugins? That's not good (except for stopping all those toolbars). How long before that's true in the traditional mode browser as well?
Should it be there by default? No. That's one thing that really bugs me about Chrome and auto-flash. But that it can never, ever be there even if I want it? That bugs me worse. I can uninstall Flash on my Android phone. And that's how it should be. That's not hard or difficult at all. HTML5 browser compatibility doesn't require you to extra add-ons. I use Java at work. Is MS going to rewrite router code for us to only use HTML5?
A) You go to a site, and its privacy policy says, "we collect anonymous data and sell it to advertisers". B) Same thing, except the advertiser collects it directly.
These sites that are willing to sell the data are, surprise surprise, already collecting it. But rather than selling it out as a CD set, they will sell a direct pipeline.
It has also brought businesses, restaurants and everything to one single page with one unified interface, so you don't have to hunt them from Google or other search engines.
Facebook thinks it is the Internet, and many of it's users agree. Now, you just have to hunt them down through Facebook search. I'm not sure that's any improvement. Rather, I see that is a major step backwards. What good is a unified interface to developers and innovation? Do we just hand over the keys to Facebook? Want your restaurant to have a reservation system? Better ask Facebook to make one for you.
It means it's Windows all the way down. Linux would be indistinguishable from malware in a hard coded, unflashable, secure chip. MS can lock up large vendor machines by claiming security, and letting Intel do the dirty work. Does anyone honestly think they'll hard code every alternative OS? Unless it is specific, it's useless. Malware can run a rootkit as a linux kernel. Also, what's to say that it wouldn't block a new kernel release even if it was whitelisted.
You did say "imperfect cloning machine". so actually, you probably already realized that artificial mutation would need to be introduced post-cell gathering.
I was about to say the same thing in response to GP. The "self" in self replication does apply, imo, to life, but not to evolution. The meme and the virus are two forms with arguably no "self" replication, just replication.
However, you did make one general error:
...imagine you have an imperfect cloning machine and a world of only men (the clones pop out full-grown). This single-sex could use it to replicate indefinitely and evolve.
Actually, there is no substantial evolution in cloning. The reason is this. Evolution mainly affects embriology, a step your hypothetical cloning process is bypassing. Also, you are missing the massive gene randomization during creation of the sperm and egg (1/2 of parents genes chosen at random) as well as the shuffling during conception when each 1/2 comes together. Without this step, a clone only mutates by random mutations after this point. Normally, this doesn't get passed on. And in cloning, it doesn't get passed on either.
With the trillions of cells that "could" mutate (and very few actually do that isn't repaired), you'd have to pick cells that mutated for cloning. What you are talking about is a probability of a mutation (low) and a probability that such a mutation was one of the cells picked to clone (very very low). You would have to introduce artificial low rates of forced mutation to have any chance of evolution with clones. Otherwise, they could go tens of thousands of generations with no change at all, especially if you don't choose new cells each generation, and just work from a batch of original stem cells, which is much more likely. Otherwise, you risk other complications.
It would simply be impossible for any real evolution to take place. Dawkins covers this in "The Greatest Show on Earth" on why evolution is about changing a recipe, and not a clone or "blueprint".
These are the same people that freak out about vaccines, and I don't mean the legitimate concerns. No amount of studies or science will convince these people that their "gut feeling" (or what they learned at Scientology boot camp) is just bullshit.
I'm not making a moral judgement, but this is Darwinian Evolution at work. It isn't survival of the fittest, it is the pressures of survival on all.
A lot of you are no-nuke people, but the Internet was built to survive nuclear war. We win.
Many of you, including myself, don't support greed, but it is the financial incentive to speed up network speeds, lay new lines, and expand the networks. We win. Should a disaster happen, the Internet will have to overcome lost lines or malfunctioning satellites. Imagine if we had to route via China just to reach London, Ee-gads!
When the money depends on the network, governments will protect their big interests, and be less likely to sever the lines. Again, we win.
I really like CrashPlan.com, runs in Java, compatible with Windows, Mac, and Linux (I run it just fine in Ubuntu). It backs up from any computer to any computer or to cloud, or to a friend using CrashPlan (using a code). Best of all, it's free to use the program without a plan with CrashPlan. And, the plans themselves are pretty attractive.
It's the quickest way to create an entire web of backups, and has many advanced archival features, heavy duty encryption, compression, sync by changes to files just like rsync, deduplication, and keep dated copies of files by minute, hour, day, week, month and year, and a timed remove deleted files.
The interface is extremely simple, and every client acts as a master control. It's the best I've tried in its class, and I went with it even after getting approval to spend $4000 on backup software. Not that other packages can't do it, but the complexity went to 0 with this package, and does exactly what I needed. It also works great with NAS mounted drives as backup destinations.
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And, code can be checked with an algorithm to see if it already exists.
That would require solving the halting problem.
I see what you are saying, but that's not what I'm talking about. This would simply be a line by line check of code and outputting the relevant similarity. This same algorithm check is done in anti-plagiarism software. If that code were all public, we wouldn't need to rely on the patent office to run the check either. Google does patent search. Using some translation magic, differing languages could be checked against each other... C++ to C# or Java to PHP.
True, but with access to the code via patents, devs can at least write an API capable of unlocking dead file formats. Rather than being about keeping the software alive, it's about recovery of content created using abandon-ware. This is a major problem with old data from NASA, for instance. The computers, chips, hardware, and software that created the data is the only known way to recover that old data. However, if enough code were left around to figure out a patented format, it could be recovered years later. This is a much larger problem than whether or not we can get Wolfenstein or WordStar to run on x64.
The major drug problem between the US and Mexico is Marijuana. Our culture is very "meh" on having it outlawed, so there is a higher market for it, unlike drugs like heroin and meth with scares the crap out of most people, including the pot smokers among us. So it's not as though all those weed sales will transfer to cocaine or heroin if marijuana is legalized. They'll simply go out of business, or become legitimate, like beer producers did. Beer producers didn't say, "Shit, we can't dodge taxes and shoot at the federal lawmen anymore... so screw beer, we're going to start selling heroin!"
No, they went legit, and the guns went away. The gangs and mafias changed to do other illegal things, but they lost a huge portion of income. The same would happen with marijuana.
By the way, all those liquor taxes are paying for local community services, like schools. This is taxable, just like liquor, cigarettes, or any other luxury item.
I was listening to a TWiT tech podcast, don't remember which one or who said this, but... They asked for one thing in a software patent... working demonstration code.
Immediately, light bulbs were going off for me. Finally, that might solve some abandon-ware problems. Forces companies to actually make a practical use idea (rather than, "two taps does a different action than one tap" patent, and yes, that's a real patent). And, above all, satisfies what patents were originally intended for. Protecting innovation, but also, sharing that idea with others who can improve it... and a significant improvement on someone's patent is itself, patentable.
More than anything, this would also expose frivolous patents. You have to actually MAKE the product or at least a demo before you can patent it. And, code can be checked with an algorithm to see if it already exists. That would be a fabulous tool for dev shops who could check all sorts of software, and get an immediate response with a quick code search.
I heard Compiler as a Service and thought at first, "Oh great, Microsoft feels the big threat by Google App Engine, and that Python is going to take all of their business, so they've created a Python killer."
He might regret getting caught, but like criminals, they often regret what they are doing. People sometimes get into something, and then feel trapped. Imagine a man overcome by desire who cheats on his wife. He royally screws up, but if he stops now, the other woman may tell on him. So, the affair lasts for years. And eventually, the woman does tell anyways.
He's regretted that he'd be found out since day 1, not just after he was caught. We often assume regret begins after they are caught, but that fear is always present. It is the emotional cost for the unethical activity, and only a true psychopath could not feel it.
Unless you are suggesting he's clinically psychopathic, then it was about being caught, but not brought about by being caught.
Bandwidth is negligible compared to DVDs. Postage costs far more on a per movie basis. If anything, it's new royalty demands for streaming content, as bandwidth and postage have remained relatively unchanged or have only had slight increases. Royalties, on the other hand, are catching up to streaming content in a big big way.
I sympathize... sorta, and not really. I've been vocal in flipping Netflix the bird on this one. If they think streaming OLD movies is worth $8 a month, they're dreaming. And rather than pay another $8 for DVDs, I can go to RedBox for $1 DVDs or $1.50 Blu-Rays, and they are mostly NEW movies.
Now, RedBox has a delivery system and logistics that truly impresses me. They also have physical locations just about everywhere. The fact that they beat Netflix on price, and I can fluctuate my viewing habits (1 this month, 20 next month, none the following month) is huge. Why Netflix never went to a "Only pay for how many discs you receive per month" absolutely boggles my mind. It would have been a better direction to go here, have taken care of the people who really cost them money (people who get more than 6 per month), brought their prices more in line with local retailers, and might have justified the price hike on streaming.
But they haven't, and now their services are overpriced. So, in my oh so humble opinion, they can go take a flying fucking leap into a cold fucking pond... with all due respect and sincerity.
You can still use OSs besides Windows if you want... didn't stop the Anti-Trust lawsuit, did it?
Just use OpenDNS and put blocks on all related categories. Done.
Or, you could just force group policy via active directory to not allow removal of browsing history, though this won't stop other browsers (assuming you let them install anything) nor P2P programs (which OpenDNS can't stop once installed, but can stop from downloading).
Of course, if you have wifi, good luck, cause you'll need router level logging or an appliance.
I personally think you should just hire an extra person per employee to stand behind them as they work. Though, I'm not sure even that would satisfy the draconian New Zealand government.
This is the same A-hole who requested an iPad with company paid data plan from AT&T from IT! I knew he was up to no good the moment he mentioned AT&T! Think how much money would have been lost paying those data overages!
- UBS anonymous IT personnel (not authorized to make a statement)
Besides, as I said below... what about Silverlight? If that's in there, they are completely fucked on the anti-trust level.
Maybe, or maybe, the IE team, like the Firefox team, is awfully tired of their software being used as a vector for Flash's seemingly infinite supply of vulnerabilities.
Or maybe, just maybe, Microsoft is tired of anything being a vector for software they don't own. Here goes the anti-trust lawsuits again, especially if they use any form of Silverlight... and you can bet your ass Adobe will sue then (and win or settle for a large sum).
That's fine for tablets or phones, but what about the desktop. Forcing no plugins? That's not good (except for stopping all those toolbars). How long before that's true in the traditional mode browser as well?
Should it be there by default? No. That's one thing that really bugs me about Chrome and auto-flash. But that it can never, ever be there even if I want it? That bugs me worse. I can uninstall Flash on my Android phone. And that's how it should be. That's not hard or difficult at all. HTML5 browser compatibility doesn't require you to extra add-ons. I use Java at work. Is MS going to rewrite router code for us to only use HTML5?
Crap, I just realized I just lost. :( But so have you. :)
What's the difference if say:
A) You go to a site, and its privacy policy says, "we collect anonymous data and sell it to advertisers".
B) Same thing, except the advertiser collects it directly.
These sites that are willing to sell the data are, surprise surprise, already collecting it. But rather than selling it out as a CD set, they will sell a direct pipeline.
The names have changed, but the game's the same.
It has also brought businesses, restaurants and everything to one single page with one unified interface, so you don't have to hunt them from Google or other search engines.
Facebook thinks it is the Internet, and many of it's users agree. Now, you just have to hunt them down through Facebook search. I'm not sure that's any improvement. Rather, I see that is a major step backwards. What good is a unified interface to developers and innovation? Do we just hand over the keys to Facebook? Want your restaurant to have a reservation system? Better ask Facebook to make one for you.
It means it's Windows all the way down. Linux would be indistinguishable from malware in a hard coded, unflashable, secure chip. MS can lock up large vendor machines by claiming security, and letting Intel do the dirty work. Does anyone honestly think they'll hard code every alternative OS? Unless it is specific, it's useless. Malware can run a rootkit as a linux kernel. Also, what's to say that it wouldn't block a new kernel release even if it was whitelisted.
Goodbye Tux, we barely knew you.
You did say "imperfect cloning machine". so actually, you probably already realized that artificial mutation would need to be introduced post-cell gathering.
I was about to say the same thing in response to GP. The "self" in self replication does apply, imo, to life, but not to evolution. The meme and the virus are two forms with arguably no "self" replication, just replication.
However, you did make one general error:
...imagine you have an imperfect cloning machine and a world of only men (the clones pop out full-grown). This single-sex could use it to replicate indefinitely and evolve.
Actually, there is no substantial evolution in cloning. The reason is this. Evolution mainly affects embriology, a step your hypothetical cloning process is bypassing. Also, you are missing the massive gene randomization during creation of the sperm and egg (1/2 of parents genes chosen at random) as well as the shuffling during conception when each 1/2 comes together. Without this step, a clone only mutates by random mutations after this point. Normally, this doesn't get passed on. And in cloning, it doesn't get passed on either.
With the trillions of cells that "could" mutate (and very few actually do that isn't repaired), you'd have to pick cells that mutated for cloning. What you are talking about is a probability of a mutation (low) and a probability that such a mutation was one of the cells picked to clone (very very low). You would have to introduce artificial low rates of forced mutation to have any chance of evolution with clones. Otherwise, they could go tens of thousands of generations with no change at all, especially if you don't choose new cells each generation, and just work from a batch of original stem cells, which is much more likely. Otherwise, you risk other complications.
It would simply be impossible for any real evolution to take place. Dawkins covers this in "The Greatest Show on Earth" on why evolution is about changing a recipe, and not a clone or "blueprint".
+1 for Coulton reference. ;)
So, is this another kinetic watch battery, basically?
These are the same people that freak out about vaccines, and I don't mean the legitimate concerns. No amount of studies or science will convince these people that their "gut feeling" (or what they learned at Scientology boot camp) is just bullshit.
I'm not making a moral judgement, but this is Darwinian Evolution at work. It isn't survival of the fittest, it is the pressures of survival on all.
A lot of you are no-nuke people, but the Internet was built to survive nuclear war. We win.
Many of you, including myself, don't support greed, but it is the financial incentive to speed up network speeds, lay new lines, and expand the networks. We win. Should a disaster happen, the Internet will have to overcome lost lines or malfunctioning satellites. Imagine if we had to route via China just to reach London, Ee-gads!
When the money depends on the network, governments will protect their big interests, and be less likely to sever the lines. Again, we win.
I really like CrashPlan.com, runs in Java, compatible with Windows, Mac, and Linux (I run it just fine in Ubuntu). It backs up from any computer to any computer or to cloud, or to a friend using CrashPlan (using a code). Best of all, it's free to use the program without a plan with CrashPlan. And, the plans themselves are pretty attractive.
It's the quickest way to create an entire web of backups, and has many advanced archival features, heavy duty encryption, compression, sync by changes to files just like rsync, deduplication, and keep dated copies of files by minute, hour, day, week, month and year, and a timed remove deleted files.
The interface is extremely simple, and every client acts as a master control. It's the best I've tried in its class, and I went with it even after getting approval to spend $4000 on backup software. Not that other packages can't do it, but the complexity went to 0 with this package, and does exactly what I needed. It also works great with NAS mounted drives as backup destinations.
Want to save all the carbon emissions created when you search? Hold your breath.