The one change I would like, is for this to be labelled 'Malware' 'adware' or 'virus concealment tools' because barely anyone outside this site has any clue what a 'rootkit' is, to the public, this is just some "techy thing". Mention virus and people will take notice, they might not bother to protect themselves against them but they certainly know what viruses are. This would have had a different reaction form the public if they understood the issue. Sometimes the IT world just doesn't make its case clear in a public issue and loses out as a result.
Is that $150 per cd "sold through" or $150 per customer who is aware of the lawsuit and actually files to get their cheque? Because I imagine those are entirely different numbers. I wonder how many people have these CDs and dont even realise that their CDs are or have been infected? This did make the mainstream media, but wasn't a huge story. I imagine there are thousands of people who still have no idea.
Wouldn't a better punishment be that Sony is made to stand up and publicize (using such mediums as MTV) the particular CDs that were infected and educate people as to how they can protect against malware. - It openly damages them to those who aren't aware about this (thereby acting as a deterant for anyone else thinking about doing somthing like this), informs the masses as to the lengths DRM goes to (generating more widespread disapproval for DRM) and helps to fight malware through educating the yoot.
Perhaps a precursor of H5N1 got them all.I seriously wonder about the wisdom of excavating and opening tombs. Havn't people gotton seriously sick after going into the Pyramids? Only because they were seriously sick before going into the pyramids, or they were old, or maybe because the Nile region has alot of diseases.
only the Linux-user was pure and untainted - a lesson for us all;-) Yet his read like the worst sale job of them all. Most amazingly because he didn't give the most compelling reason for Linux "IT'S FREE!"
Cue endless complaints about "Rip-off Britain" and high (after tax) prices. Made by people who then still go out and pay those excessive prices, thereby exacerbating the problem. If we didn't buy goods at those inflated prices, we wouldn't have to pay those inflated prices. After all, it is our right to buy goods from continental Europe if they are cheaper there.
Planet Earth used alot of infrared lighting & cameras to record lions, they stated that the lions could not notice the lights (and I imagine that lions, like domestic cats have a quite large range of the spectrum visible to them).
My guess would be that sharks that exist at that depth (where there is no sunlight at all), can barely see, if at all. Electro-reception and smell must be far more useful (if it has either of those).
What I noticed from the comments, is that it seems most people who have tried multiple systems, prefer Mac or Linux. Most people who prefer Windows have ONLY ever used Windows, which defeats their arguments, they dont even know an alternative to compare against, they are simply saying a computer is better than not having a computer.
That to me would seem to be the best argument for a non-windows supporter, "I KNOW there are better OSes because I have actually used them".
Considering most motherboards are sold already in PCs I doubt most people even know or care that they are locked into Intel only and anyway motherboards don't lock you in that much, you can just get a new motherboard without worrying too much. Intel boards don't allow you to plug in an AMD processor chip after all and I dont hear many people complaining about being locked into a processor manufacturer. The performance, efficiency and manufacturing gains might well be worth producing powerful on board graphics, the wheel of reincarnation revolves onwards.
They can still choose to allow others to use the technology. If they didn't patent it, then someone else could and extract money from M$ for implementing it.
Remember the patent system is broken. Patents have to be kept for defensive purposes as well as aggressive.
Besides, I read that map companies sometimes make non-existing dead-end streets in their maps as a way to fingerprint them and to know it's their map if some other company steals and reprints it. So you are saying they make a product defective by design in order to prevent copying? I think I have heard that somewhere before.
That doesn't go far enough, I believe that the July 7th bombers may well have used maps such as these - http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tube/maps/ which I might add are openly available to the public in pamphlets, the back of diaries, they are even posted on the walls of the city!
How many people have to die before we realise that the Ordinance Survey and London street mapping should be stopped. Fortunately those saintly graffiti artists are already working on censoring maps in public places.
That doesn't seem to be the case here in the UK, the only available box that works with Sky satellite broadcasts is the Sky one (although it is of course made by Pace and others), I believe it is a standard DVB box. Fortunately it isn't that bad a system (although they don't last that long depending on who made it), but for the Sky+ (the relevant PVR system) I would really like there to be some competition, considering that you now only pay for the box, the option for different capacities and such would be nice.
It's not just me that thinks this then. Most (if not all) games I have seen are more bug ridden than ever, probably because downloading patches is so easy now. This means that using the support and troubleshooting pages/section in the manual becomes ever more frequent. The advice given in these support documents is reprehensible, usually they state that not only should the user (who may often not be particularly literate) download the usual patches for graphics and sound, but that if the user still experiences trouble they should disable any firewall and anti-virus software running on the system. I am sorry but no game is important enough for me to turn off my firewall, especially when the game is a MMORG. But that is the advice this industry are giving us and no doubt some unfortunate people are actually taking it before wondering why their computer is working even worse.
In Britain, tape measures are almost always both metric and imperial. I imagine that it will stay that way for an awful long time. It is one of the things the US will have to do to help adoption of the metric system.
WRT the Gitmo comment and several similar replies, perhaps I should elaborate.
When the US was asked if inmates would receive a fair trial by jury and not be held indefinitely without trial. The White House responded that as they were not US citizens or actually in the US, they did not have the right to a fair trial within a certain period. The reason I related this to what I said was not karma whoring but trying to show that the logic used was the same. The US was using a loophole to remove themselves from the Geneva Convention and the basic freedoms on which the USA likes to tell everyone it was built on. If a right or a concept is really so important, then you shouldn't be using loopholes to get around it.
I wasn't myself specifically stating that fingerprinting falls under basic human rights, however I believe the fingerprints are to be held permanently in a criminal database (innocent until proven guilty?) and the GP did state that they were "100% against" the idea of US citizens being finger printed (so must be pretty basic to him). I was just trying to make a point on the odd logic that to many in the US seems so acceptable. I could have using the analogy of spying, everyone on/. is appauled by the idea of their government spying on their own citizens, but don't seem to have a problem with that same government spying on everyone else.
While I am 100% against fingerprinting CITIZENS of this country, I couldn't give a shit less if someone from outside of the US is fingerprinted. It's their choice to travel to the US and cross our borders.
You must work for the US tourist industry.
I always love the idea that many USians think basic human rights so important that only US citizens deserve them. Gitmo Logic.
It's even better to relate computers to computers - They haven't changed the Qwerty keyboard configuration either and that has been inefficient since the typewriter. We don't change it, because that is the choice society made and now we have a universal standard it serves as counter productive to change.
It is definitely not worth changing a UI everyone (especially the less IT illiterate) has got familiar with. I would imagine that many big businesses will agree. But then Microsoft doesn't really have any choice, if they don't make any major changes then most businesses wont see the point of very expensive upgrades.
Suing industry giants for standard implementation goes nowhere fast! Examples: SCO vs. IBM, Rambus vs. RAM Manufacturers.
Oh! when will they learn? Probably never, the size of those monetary damages clouds all reason. Ah well, that nowhere fast is what the legal industry would call 'manna from heaven', those cases did/do last years. And when they are asked to give legal advice, they say "You're bound to win, just pay us by the day"
A lot of people have been saying that the only way to stop the RIAA's spoilt child behaviour is to stop paying them, unfortunately I think it might have the opposite effect. You see, when sales reduce, the RIAA will simply claim that piracy has increased, "it must be, our profits have gone down". I seem to remember the MPAA using this logic when sales fell last year. And when that happens the **AA have a more powerful position in lobbying.
Buying their songs from Allofmp3.com shows everyone clearly that the consumer still wants music, but we value non-DRM'ed tracks far more. As Allofmp3 has sales instead of downloads the statistics are there, they still get hit in the wallet, but they cant claim that it is just because people are pirating, when they are paying for songs.
I cant help but thinking that good laws and a judiciary that doesn't somehow reward unfair litigation (racketeering), is the best way to stop the RIAA.
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The one change I would like, is for this to be labelled 'Malware' 'adware' or 'virus concealment tools' because barely anyone outside this site has any clue what a 'rootkit' is, to the public, this is just some "techy thing". Mention virus and people will take notice, they might not bother to protect themselves against them but they certainly know what viruses are. This would have had a different reaction form the public if they understood the issue.
Sometimes the IT world just doesn't make its case clear in a public issue and loses out as a result.
Wouldn't a better punishment be that Sony is made to stand up and publicize (using such mediums as MTV) the particular CDs that were infected and educate people as to how they can protect against malware. - It openly damages them to those who aren't aware about this (thereby acting as a deterant for anyone else thinking about doing somthing like this), informs the masses as to the lengths DRM goes to (generating more widespread disapproval for DRM) and helps to fight malware through educating the yoot.
Cue endless complaints about "Rip-off Britain" and high (after tax) prices. Made by people who then still go out and pay those excessive prices, thereby exacerbating the problem. If we didn't buy goods at those inflated prices, we wouldn't have to pay those inflated prices.
After all, it is our right to buy goods from continental Europe if they are cheaper there.
Planet Earth used alot of infrared lighting & cameras to record lions, they stated that the lions could not notice the lights (and I imagine that lions, like domestic cats have a quite large range of the spectrum visible to them).
My guess would be that sharks that exist at that depth (where there is no sunlight at all), can barely see, if at all. Electro-reception and smell must be far more useful (if it has either of those).
What I noticed from the comments, is that it seems most people who have tried multiple systems, prefer Mac or Linux. Most people who prefer Windows have ONLY ever used Windows, which defeats their arguments, they dont even know an alternative to compare against, they are simply saying a computer is better than not having a computer.
That to me would seem to be the best argument for a non-windows supporter, "I KNOW there are better OSes because I have actually used them".
Considering most motherboards are sold already in PCs I doubt most people even know or care that they are locked into Intel only and anyway motherboards don't lock you in that much, you can just get a new motherboard without worrying too much. Intel boards don't allow you to plug in an AMD processor chip after all and I dont hear many people complaining about being locked into a processor manufacturer. The performance, efficiency and manufacturing gains might well be worth producing powerful on board graphics, the wheel of reincarnation revolves onwards.
They can still choose to allow others to use the technology. If they didn't patent it, then someone else could and extract money from M$ for implementing it.
Remember the patent system is broken. Patents have to be kept for defensive purposes as well as aggressive.
If they cry foul they will be hoist by their own "the innocent have nothing to fear" petard. A taste of their own medicine.
They even treat some people here like they are royalty.
I think I have heard that somewhere before.
That doesn't go far enough, I believe that the July 7th bombers may well have used maps such as these - http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tube/maps/ which I might add are openly available to the public in pamphlets, the back of diaries, they are even posted on the walls of the city!
How many people have to die before we realise that the Ordinance Survey and London street mapping should be stopped. Fortunately those saintly graffiti artists are already working on censoring maps in public places.
Oh fuck, I hate poetic justice
I knew my name would come back to haunt me
Oh and BTW, 1093 C = 820 K for those people that actually use SI units.
That doesn't seem to be the case here in the UK, the only available box that works with Sky satellite broadcasts is the Sky one (although it is of course made by Pace and others), I believe it is a standard DVB box. Fortunately it isn't that bad a system (although they don't last that long depending on who made it), but for the Sky+ (the relevant PVR system) I would really like there to be some competition, considering that you now only pay for the box, the option for different capacities and such would be nice.
It's not just me that thinks this then. Most (if not all) games I have seen are more bug ridden than ever, probably because downloading patches is so easy now. This means that using the support and troubleshooting pages/section in the manual becomes ever more frequent. The advice given in these support documents is reprehensible, usually they state that not only should the user (who may often not be particularly literate) download the usual patches for graphics and sound, but that if the user still experiences trouble they should disable any firewall and anti-virus software running on the system. I am sorry but no game is important enough for me to turn off my firewall, especially when the game is a MMORG. But that is the advice this industry are giving us and no doubt some unfortunate people are actually taking it before wondering why their computer is working even worse.
In Britain, tape measures are almost always both metric and imperial. I imagine that it will stay that way for an awful long time. It is one of the things the US will have to do to help adoption of the metric system.
WRT the Gitmo comment and several similar replies, perhaps I should elaborate.
/. is appauled by the idea of their government spying on their own citizens, but don't seem to have a problem with that same government spying on everyone else.
When the US was asked if inmates would receive a fair trial by jury and not be held indefinitely without trial. The White House responded that as they were not US citizens or actually in the US, they did not have the right to a fair trial within a certain period. The reason I related this to what I said was not karma whoring but trying to show that the logic used was the same. The US was using a loophole to remove themselves from the Geneva Convention and the basic freedoms on which the USA likes to tell everyone it was built on. If a right or a concept is really so important, then you shouldn't be using loopholes to get around it.
I wasn't myself specifically stating that fingerprinting falls under basic human rights, however I believe the fingerprints are to be held permanently in a criminal database (innocent until proven guilty?) and the GP did state that they were "100% against" the idea of US citizens being finger printed (so must be pretty basic to him). I was just trying to make a point on the odd logic that to many in the US seems so acceptable. I could have using the analogy of spying, everyone on
I always love the idea that many USians think basic human rights so important that only US citizens deserve them. Gitmo Logic.
Because it's better implemented in OS X. Wow, what insight you have provided. "It's acceptable because it's better".
Thanks, it's all clear now.
It's even better to relate computers to computers -
They haven't changed the Qwerty keyboard configuration either and that has been inefficient since the typewriter. We don't change it, because that is the choice society made and now we have a universal standard it serves as counter productive to change.
It is definitely not worth changing a UI everyone (especially the less IT illiterate) has got familiar with. I would imagine that many big businesses will agree. But then Microsoft doesn't really have any choice, if they don't make any major changes then most businesses wont see the point of very expensive upgrades.
Oh! when will they learn? Probably never, the size of those monetary damages clouds all reason.
Ah well, that nowhere fast is what the legal industry would call 'manna from heaven', those cases did/do last years. And when they are asked to give legal advice, they say "You're bound to win, just pay us by the day"
A lot of people have been saying that the only way to stop the RIAA's spoilt child behaviour is to stop paying them, unfortunately I think it might have the opposite effect. You see, when sales reduce, the RIAA will simply claim that piracy has increased, "it must be, our profits have gone down". I seem to remember the MPAA using this logic when sales fell last year. And when that happens the **AA have a more powerful position in lobbying.
Buying their songs from Allofmp3.com shows everyone clearly that the consumer still wants music, but we value non-DRM'ed tracks far more. As Allofmp3 has sales instead of downloads the statistics are there, they still get hit in the wallet, but they cant claim that it is just because people are pirating, when they are paying for songs.
I cant help but thinking that good laws and a judiciary that doesn't somehow reward unfair litigation (racketeering), is the best way to stop the RIAA.