It would take more than just insanity for me to want to move to the US, which is quickly becoming a 3rd world country. Pretty much either a new ice age or infestation of radioactive diseased zombie caribou would have me fleeing south, and even then I would have to give pause.
Anyways Canada is about to enter a new era of Camelot now that Justin Trudeau is Liberal Leader. To American's that do not know, this like like the second coming of JFK.
I would like you to invent something, spend millions of dollars developing it, and then have some other little upstart steal the idea and get rich off your idea without giving you a single dime or line of recognition.
I don't care about liking or hating a company, but I hate the double standard of Slashdot that only certain companies deserve respect and others don't.
There have been, and I can guarantee there will be, Ask Slashdot questions where some little startup or individual wants to find out how to protect their IP or patent, even implement their own DRM. Of course everyone on Slashdot falls over themselves flooding advice on how the "little guy" can protect themselves through patents or copyright, even offering DRM schemes.
But when some large corporation wants the same security with IP they have invested millions or even billions in suddenly the mood changes and everyone on Slashdot demands open, freely exchanged access to IP, free market bullshit, and open this open that garbage.
You can't have it both ways.
Yes, Microsoft has shitty business ethics and guess what, they have been called on each and every one of them and have paid dearly for it. Microsoft is no longer king in any market because of the fallout of their aggressive anti-competitive business ethics in the 80's and 90's. But Microsoft still has a right to protect their IP just like any independent startup, individual, or whatever the current beloved company you feel should succeed more than others.
If Microsoft "invented" something before Android, before iPhone, before any current Smartphone, then they have a right to license and protect that IP, period.
This is how patents SHOULD WORK. Microsoft is being agreeable to cross license their ideas with a company willing to pay licensing to produce products using those ideas. This is the original intent of a patent, to protect the inventor, but allow other companies to use and improve upon the idea..
Instead companies like Apple and Google create a patent portfolio to use as ammunition to slaughter each other in the marketplace. Apple refuses to cross license, and when they do cross license because of consumer pressure or legal action, they demand obscene licensing or royalty fees in an effort to cripple their competition. This is how patents ARE ABUSED.
So yes, no article about Microsoft is ever going to get respect on Slashdot, but I have little respect for double standards. Microsoft has a right to protect their IP and are doing so in a way that allows other companies to succeed off of their past work. Microsoft could be shitheads and refuse to license their IP and thus cripple the Android platform, but I think Microsoft realize that their past IP is about all they have left as they cannot create a winning product in spite of the efforts they made in inventing portions of that product.
Why do I care how fast Japanese can access content when it takes 30 seconds to load www.google.com in Canada using one of the top telco's in the country?
Canada truly is the 3rd world of internet access.
Aside from that, not sure how or why Sony is getting into the ISP fray. Could be that they are failing in every other division so why not enter a new market.
Personally, I will wait for Samsung's internet services, Japan itself is failing in innovation all around.
No it doesn't, 99% don't support gamepad input, only touch, so this means that the content is very limited. Ouya even said there are only a few hundred supported titles and expect people to write more games that support it properly.
Also I tired of companies and people throwing out a large number saying this platform is better than that because it has more apps and games. Ever browser the Google Play store? A huge portion of those 800k titles has less than 3 stars. I would rather 100 quality titles on any platform than 1 million crapware titles that you play once and uninstall in disgust.
So, from performance to content, there is nothing to be excited about the Ouya.
Someone's Macbook Retina battery forgot its a battery and decided its a bomb. They did find out that Lithium Ion batteries have memory problems.
Sad to see people injured and killed with this, even sadder when we find out this ends up being some disgruntled American suffering from an overload of first world problems, just like the Atlanta Olympic bombing.
If all you intend to leave your children is your MP3 collection, then that is pretty sad.
First, don't BUY digital movies. There is no point to it. Even buying physical movies is stupid. Unless you are absolutely going to watch a movie more then 5 - 6 times there is no economic reason to spend $20 - $30 on a movie you are going to watch once or twice. People have this silly notion of collecting content, whether its physical disks or digital files, but it it economically stupid to buy a movie in this day an age of instant access for a few bucks, especially when a year later its on Netflix. There is no reason to spend a fortune accumulating a movie library which its more economical to rent or subscribe to services to access that content on demand, and in the future it will be just easier and cheaper to access movies and TV shows on demand.
When it comes to music there has not been a music service that has forced DRM since iTunes when DRM free about 5 years ago. So you can transfer your music to a hard drive and give them that, assuming they want to listen to 30 year old music.
But I guarantee your children don't care about any movie or music you "owned" when you pass, especially if you unwisely blew through all "their" inheritance money to accumulate it. Buying music or movies is NOT an investment.
Also there is no point to have a crazy scheme to reset passwords on a file system, any content can be "reowned" by a new admin account, also why are you password protecting your movies, just throw them onto a shared family folder anyways.
Apple should have a trade in program. People hand in their iPhone 5, an Apple Store genius scratches an S after the 5 on the back of the case and then hands it back, but with a $800 service charge for the upgrade.
I mean come on, it's pretty much what Apple iPhone users do anyways; stand in line to rebuy last years product with an S lasered after the name. At least Apple doesn't have to go through the pretense of buying NAND chips to pretend to make a new product.
If a billion people call a planet Bob, guess what, that planet is going to be called Bob regardless of whatever some US naming committee has to say about it.
Just think if 10% of the population have electric vehicles, coming home at the end of a hot day in the middle of summer, and then all dutifully plugging in their cars to the grid at roughly the same time.
Most regions have issues where they reach peak energy production at times during the summer so I can't imagine how much more load hundreds of thousands of electric vehicles will have. Remember that no gas car is consuming electricity today so every new electric vehicle that plugs in is an added burden to a system that is already stressed and often antiquated in many places.
I know that at least in Ontario we have a program where we can opt to have smart thermostats where the grid can adjust your cooling temp a few degrees down during peak usage to help stave off a pending outage. I think a system like this program should be mandatory for anybody buying an electric vehicle so that if there if the grid is nearing peak usage all these electric cars could go into a trickle charge mode, or at least force deferred charging to off peak hours.
Its time that Judge's start to call this for what it is, grandstanding and overt bullying by companies unwilling to work together and instead harm each other through their patent portfolio.
I definitely think the bubble has burst on software patents and judges and lawmakers are getting annoyed with the abuse by companies like Apple.
Its funny though that just a year ago, while Apple was riding high as the world's most valued company, judges were quick to rule in favour of Apple, now judges are just tired of the same old bullshit.
The heart of all this is just a need for companies to offer sane and reasonable licensing and royalties on their protected patents. Apple refuses to let a competitor even remotely create a competitive feature that matches on of their own, and instead of just working out a decent royalty structure instead decides to attempt to annihilate the competition in courts. Of course this has set up a precedence for other companies to treat Apple the same way.
In any case, its great the judges are finally saying enough is enough. There needs to be a few more high profile cases like this thrown out by impatient judges to see this trend end once and for all, but the tide is definitely turning.
So the Xbox director leaves on cusp of Microsoft releasing details about the new Xbox after making comments that seem to suggest he doesn't understand or respect gamers and consumers.
WOW, I think the next Xbox is going to be awesome!!!
Slashdot Mirror
before they destroy us all!
Anybody that wants to drink coffee that was crapped out of an animal has jumped the shark as a human being.
well, I guess you better go back into your cave because that is never going to happen.
But "sponsored notices" I am sure will be fully supported.
I'm not going to sleep well tonight knowing my understanding of the Universe has changed from one form of utter nonsense to another.
It would take more than just insanity for me to want to move to the US, which is quickly becoming a 3rd world country. Pretty much either a new ice age or infestation of radioactive diseased zombie caribou would have me fleeing south, and even then I would have to give pause.
Anyways Canada is about to enter a new era of Camelot now that Justin Trudeau is Liberal Leader. To American's that do not know, this like like the second coming of JFK.
The British feel the need to pluralize everything.
I am pretty sure you can only have one kind of vacuum, so it is redundant to use vacuums.
Unless this story is about protecting bugs from Hoovers and Dysons.
I would like you to invent something, spend millions of dollars developing it, and then have some other little upstart steal the idea and get rich off your idea without giving you a single dime or line of recognition.
I don't care about liking or hating a company, but I hate the double standard of Slashdot that only certain companies deserve respect and others don't.
There have been, and I can guarantee there will be, Ask Slashdot questions where some little startup or individual wants to find out how to protect their IP or patent, even implement their own DRM. Of course everyone on Slashdot falls over themselves flooding advice on how the "little guy" can protect themselves through patents or copyright, even offering DRM schemes.
But when some large corporation wants the same security with IP they have invested millions or even billions in suddenly the mood changes and everyone on Slashdot demands open, freely exchanged access to IP, free market bullshit, and open this open that garbage.
You can't have it both ways.
Yes, Microsoft has shitty business ethics and guess what, they have been called on each and every one of them and have paid dearly for it. Microsoft is no longer king in any market because of the fallout of their aggressive anti-competitive business ethics in the 80's and 90's. But Microsoft still has a right to protect their IP just like any independent startup, individual, or whatever the current beloved company you feel should succeed more than others.
If Microsoft "invented" something before Android, before iPhone, before any current Smartphone, then they have a right to license and protect that IP, period.
This is how patents SHOULD WORK. Microsoft is being agreeable to cross license their ideas with a company willing to pay licensing to produce products using those ideas. This is the original intent of a patent, to protect the inventor, but allow other companies to use and improve upon the idea..
Instead companies like Apple and Google create a patent portfolio to use as ammunition to slaughter each other in the marketplace. Apple refuses to cross license, and when they do cross license because of consumer pressure or legal action, they demand obscene licensing or royalty fees in an effort to cripple their competition. This is how patents ARE ABUSED.
So yes, no article about Microsoft is ever going to get respect on Slashdot, but I have little respect for double standards. Microsoft has a right to protect their IP and are doing so in a way that allows other companies to succeed off of their past work. Microsoft could be shitheads and refuse to license their IP and thus cripple the Android platform, but I think Microsoft realize that their past IP is about all they have left as they cannot create a winning product in spite of the efforts they made in inventing portions of that product.
Definitely no other company does this.
Why do I care how fast Japanese can access content when it takes 30 seconds to load www.google.com in Canada using one of the top telco's in the country?
Canada truly is the 3rd world of internet access.
Aside from that, not sure how or why Sony is getting into the ISP fray. Could be that they are failing in every other division so why not enter a new market.
Personally, I will wait for Samsung's internet services, Japan itself is failing in innovation all around.
No it doesn't, 99% don't support gamepad input, only touch, so this means that the content is very limited. Ouya even said there are only a few hundred supported titles and expect people to write more games that support it properly.
Also I tired of companies and people throwing out a large number saying this platform is better than that because it has more apps and games. Ever browser the Google Play store? A huge portion of those 800k titles has less than 3 stars. I would rather 100 quality titles on any platform than 1 million crapware titles that you play once and uninstall in disgust.
So, from performance to content, there is nothing to be excited about the Ouya.
Someone's Macbook Retina battery forgot its a battery and decided its a bomb. They did find out that Lithium Ion batteries have memory problems.
Sad to see people injured and killed with this, even sadder when we find out this ends up being some disgruntled American suffering from an overload of first world problems, just like the Atlanta Olympic bombing.
Really, you want these things to get drunk and surly after all the destruction they can do sober?.
If all you intend to leave your children is your MP3 collection, then that is pretty sad.
First, don't BUY digital movies. There is no point to it. Even buying physical movies is stupid. Unless you are absolutely going to watch a movie more then 5 - 6 times there is no economic reason to spend $20 - $30 on a movie you are going to watch once or twice. People have this silly notion of collecting content, whether its physical disks or digital files, but it it economically stupid to buy a movie in this day an age of instant access for a few bucks, especially when a year later its on Netflix. There is no reason to spend a fortune accumulating a movie library which its more economical to rent or subscribe to services to access that content on demand, and in the future it will be just easier and cheaper to access movies and TV shows on demand.
When it comes to music there has not been a music service that has forced DRM since iTunes when DRM free about 5 years ago. So you can transfer your music to a hard drive and give them that, assuming they want to listen to 30 year old music.
But I guarantee your children don't care about any movie or music you "owned" when you pass, especially if you unwisely blew through all "their" inheritance money to accumulate it. Buying music or movies is NOT an investment.
Also there is no point to have a crazy scheme to reset passwords on a file system, any content can be "reowned" by a new admin account, also why are you password protecting your movies, just throw them onto a shared family folder anyways.
Google Glass is really an interface for the Nexus Q?
I am sure 10 years ago someone could have easily said there would never be an OS 11.
I thought Bitcoin was part of a fantasy world too?
Apple should have a trade in program. People hand in their iPhone 5, an Apple Store genius scratches an S after the 5 on the back of the case and then hands it back, but with a $800 service charge for the upgrade.
I mean come on, it's pretty much what Apple iPhone users do anyways; stand in line to rebuy last years product with an S lasered after the name. At least Apple doesn't have to go through the pretense of buying NAND chips to pretend to make a new product.
If a billion people call a planet Bob, guess what, that planet is going to be called Bob regardless of whatever some US naming committee has to say about it.
So all welcome Bob the newest exoplanet!
It's a slashdot post, you have to auto-correct it in your mind.
Its worse then that, the Canadian dollar has been matching and often outpacing the US dollar for much of the time since the 2008 collapse.
Just think if 10% of the population have electric vehicles, coming home at the end of a hot day in the middle of summer, and then all dutifully plugging in their cars to the grid at roughly the same time.
Most regions have issues where they reach peak energy production at times during the summer so I can't imagine how much more load hundreds of thousands of electric vehicles will have. Remember that no gas car is consuming electricity today so every new electric vehicle that plugs in is an added burden to a system that is already stressed and often antiquated in many places.
I know that at least in Ontario we have a program where we can opt to have smart thermostats where the grid can adjust your cooling temp a few degrees down during peak usage to help stave off a pending outage. I think a system like this program should be mandatory for anybody buying an electric vehicle so that if there if the grid is nearing peak usage all these electric cars could go into a trickle charge mode, or at least force deferred charging to off peak hours.
Someone cried out "Oh I have wasted my life...!"
I know damn well I would never hire or keep someone if they insisted on using IE 6.
Also, I have no tolerance to work for a company that forces IE 6 on me, so chances are I would quit before they get around to firing me.
Its time that Judge's start to call this for what it is, grandstanding and overt bullying by companies unwilling to work together and instead harm each other through their patent portfolio.
I definitely think the bubble has burst on software patents and judges and lawmakers are getting annoyed with the abuse by companies like Apple.
Its funny though that just a year ago, while Apple was riding high as the world's most valued company, judges were quick to rule in favour of Apple, now judges are just tired of the same old bullshit.
The heart of all this is just a need for companies to offer sane and reasonable licensing and royalties on their protected patents. Apple refuses to let a competitor even remotely create a competitive feature that matches on of their own, and instead of just working out a decent royalty structure instead decides to attempt to annihilate the competition in courts. Of course this has set up a precedence for other companies to treat Apple the same way.
In any case, its great the judges are finally saying enough is enough. There needs to be a few more high profile cases like this thrown out by impatient judges to see this trend end once and for all, but the tide is definitely turning.
So the Xbox director leaves on cusp of Microsoft releasing details about the new Xbox after making comments that seem to suggest he doesn't understand or respect gamers and consumers.
WOW, I think the next Xbox is going to be awesome!!!