So did Greedo. But that doesn't mean that Star Wars is worse off for it.
The payment is that anyone who creates can take advantage of those protections. So the only ones who are at a disadvantage are those who don't create. It is the freeloaders who are crying the loudest.
Why do people think it's okay to download stuff without paying for it?
You need to understand the technology behind the web before you can truly understand the logic.
HTTP is a stateless protocol. If I download a file today, it has no bearing on how the server operates nor does it restrict what I can do on my end. The only thing your server knows about our transaction is the data I sent to you and the data you sent back. For all your server knows, I could be a kid whistling phreak codes into a payphone receiver.
So if you don't know what I am doing except sending you correctly formed HTTP requests, you really don't know what it is that I'm doing with that data. Likewise, just because I ask for a specific file, it is totally up to your server to return something valid. It is this uncertainty and total reliance on arbitrary and time-scoped actions that underlies the file transferring phenomenon.
Which brings up the second point. File transfers are only streams of packets. Those packets have no meaning in and of themselves. In fact, if you tried to do anything with a single packet, you'd go crazy because it's all random garbage until you put it together. But, as we've already established before, HTTP is stateless, there is no guarantee that my client software will rearrange those packets into anything usable.
Therefore we aren't sharing files. We are sharing temporal garbage as far as either of us knows. If you want to make sharing garbage packets illegal, I think you'd find a lot of people wanting to tell you to mind your own business.
Despite the Sturm und Drang about copyright and filesharing here on Slashdot, most people really don't care one way or the other. Those that do care are so polarized on the issue that there isn't a middle ground to be had.
This is sad, because it didn't used to be this way. Early on, it was always clear that filesharers were breaking the copyright law and that something had to be done about it. What happened was a massive campaign to change the laws to crack down on illegal filesharers. Legal filesharing got caught in the rising tide, but we on the legal side of filesharing always said that it would be better for copyright holders to target the illegal filesharers directly rather than try to paint filesharing with a broad brush.
Then something happened. We got our wish. And suddenly a lot of the people who were calling for the heads of illegal filesharers were also putting their own heads on the chopping block. Now instead of outcry over copyright holders suing everybody, the illegal filesharers are finding other ways to justify their illegal actions.
I find it sickening that a group as creative and smart as the Slashdot community could be so blind to the value of copyright. I share all my code under the GPL because that is what I feel works best for me, but I wholly understand the desire to keep things strictly copyrighted on the part of others. The idea that these people are somehow in the wrong for trying to exercise control over their own works is a bad mind virus, and I'm afraid that the tenor of stories like this are indicative of a fatal infection.
Assuming that the cats are in fact intelligent creatures, it would make sense that they have learned this behavior. Feral cats do not exhibit this behavior, so it is most likely learned or self-developed.
However, it could also be that the constant exposure to humans and the direct selection of cats which humans like the most by the owners has led to a selection bias for cats with this behavior.
I find it hard to believe that this is somehow one of those hokey "100th monkey" behaviors, but I also find it extremely interesting that this behavior is widespread.
All this anticipation must be hard on a company. What with so many people wanting to buy the product, it's a tough business trying to keep them at bay until the time is right. No sense in releasing on time. It's much better to release later so that people have already spent their Christmas money. After all, if those customers are playing other games and have less money, it means that they are more likely to buy this much anticipated game.
Nothing like giving your competitors a chance to gain a foothold. Nosiree. On time and on budget! Delaying release to maximize customer demand. The logic is foolproof!
What peace of mind do you get from knowing where your stuff is? Is there anything you can do with that information?
I wonder if it isn't more a matter of control that you feel like you're giving up by letting professionals do their job. Do you also insist on driving everywhere instead of taking a plane or bus?
In your airplane example, this would be like passengers flying from NY to Tokyo on a 777 paying more than if they flew on a 737. Same distance, same cramped seat, but you pay more because of the larger audience.
Wouldn't it be the airline needing to pay more for the flight since they are the ones shuttling more passengers? And given that it is their responsibility to fill the seats, a 777 offers the opportunity to make more money off the increase in passengers?
Physical pain is easily overcome through the use of drugs. It is also controllable through meditation and other mind-tricks which move the focus of the mind and body from the pain to something else.
But what about emotional pain? Should I keep calling her and swearing at her until I feel better? I don't feel better so far.
Google is trying to explode onto the scene with products and services that compete head to head with some very deeply ingrained technologies. Sometimes, like with the ChromeOS, it's like they are trying to compete against themselves.
What they will find is that earning a good reputation through customer satisfaction is the way to win over customers. Trying to bowl them over with competing products is almost never effective.
Google Search didn't kill Yahoo! search in one fell swoop. Gmail didn't become dominant (and it still isn't) against Hotmail/Live Mail right away. Google Maps was able to leverage the Google Search engine, but still has stiff competition from Yahoo! Maps and MapQuest.
But lately, they've been producing new products at an astonishing rate. Taking the shotgun approach of seeing which spaghetti sticks to the wall, Google doesn't seem to have a larger view of what they want to do with their technical talent. This is going to be their downfall in the long run as the advertisement-based profit stream slowly dries up.
We always try to keep in mind that correlation does not equal causation, but if that is so, what does the "55% of scientists are Democrats" statistic mean?
And if we also look at global warming with the same critical eye, can we really say that humans are responsible for global warming when all we can really show is a strong correlation?
I'm not a global climate change denier. There is definitely something going on. Whether it is caused by humans or not, it doesn't really seem to matter. Let's focus on making this place a nice place to live. Clean air, clean water, clean land. These are things no one is going to argue with. Let's start making this a better world for you and for me.
If you think the MIIT has that much power over the Chinese people, how much more power does the FCC have over the entire world?
It's funny, there are so many similarities between China and the U.S. Both are huge world powers that use their military and economic power to intimidate neighbors. Both are led by an oligarchy of unremovable political parties. And both have populaces that are brainwashed and fiercely patriotic.
China is a good mirror of ourselves, so when this type of thing comes up, it's a good idea to take note and think about how we ourselves are being manipulated right here at home.
First, he worked for the government as a code breaker. While he has not received official recognition until now, it must be remembered that this was a top-secret operation and there was always the possibility that the operation would never be recognized.
Second, he was gay. Like other gays in Britain at that time, he was persecuted and prosecuted.
Now if you want to say that he should be recognized above and beyond his workmates at Bletchley because he was also gay, that simply doesn't make any sense.
If you want to say he should be apologized to more than any other persecuted gay person because he was somehow more useful to the government than the others, that also doesn't make any sense.
Putting these two things together is a non-sequitor.
That kind of attitude reminds me of the graduation ceremonies for kindergarteners, elementary school students, and middle school students. Recognizing the daily work of people as something extraordinary when in fact it is not only ordinary but required and demanded. Praising someone for doing the bare minimum is not only an insult to that person but to all people to whom you would ever reward.
These people did their duty and saved the lives of many of their countrymen. But their work was not done at great peril to themselves. It was not under a hail of cannon fire and bullets that they worked at Bletchley Park. Their work is appreciated, but it cannot be more appreciated than the lives of soldiers who gave much much more in the defense of their countrymen.
Slashdot Mirror
if I somehow sent you the source code to Windows, you would just say that it was only a stream of "garbage packets"?
You wouldn't?
They shot first.
So did Greedo. But that doesn't mean that Star Wars is worse off for it.
The payment is that anyone who creates can take advantage of those protections. So the only ones who are at a disadvantage are those who don't create. It is the freeloaders who are crying the loudest.
Why do people think it's okay to download stuff without paying for it?
You need to understand the technology behind the web before you can truly understand the logic.
HTTP is a stateless protocol. If I download a file today, it has no bearing on how the server operates nor does it restrict what I can do on my end. The only thing your server knows about our transaction is the data I sent to you and the data you sent back. For all your server knows, I could be a kid whistling phreak codes into a payphone receiver.
So if you don't know what I am doing except sending you correctly formed HTTP requests, you really don't know what it is that I'm doing with that data. Likewise, just because I ask for a specific file, it is totally up to your server to return something valid. It is this uncertainty and total reliance on arbitrary and time-scoped actions that underlies the file transferring phenomenon.
Which brings up the second point. File transfers are only streams of packets. Those packets have no meaning in and of themselves. In fact, if you tried to do anything with a single packet, you'd go crazy because it's all random garbage until you put it together. But, as we've already established before, HTTP is stateless, there is no guarantee that my client software will rearrange those packets into anything usable.
Therefore we aren't sharing files. We are sharing temporal garbage as far as either of us knows. If you want to make sharing garbage packets illegal, I think you'd find a lot of people wanting to tell you to mind your own business.
Despite the Sturm und Drang about copyright and filesharing here on Slashdot, most people really don't care one way or the other. Those that do care are so polarized on the issue that there isn't a middle ground to be had.
This is sad, because it didn't used to be this way. Early on, it was always clear that filesharers were breaking the copyright law and that something had to be done about it. What happened was a massive campaign to change the laws to crack down on illegal filesharers. Legal filesharing got caught in the rising tide, but we on the legal side of filesharing always said that it would be better for copyright holders to target the illegal filesharers directly rather than try to paint filesharing with a broad brush.
Then something happened. We got our wish. And suddenly a lot of the people who were calling for the heads of illegal filesharers were also putting their own heads on the chopping block. Now instead of outcry over copyright holders suing everybody, the illegal filesharers are finding other ways to justify their illegal actions.
I find it sickening that a group as creative and smart as the Slashdot community could be so blind to the value of copyright. I share all my code under the GPL because that is what I feel works best for me, but I wholly understand the desire to keep things strictly copyrighted on the part of others. The idea that these people are somehow in the wrong for trying to exercise control over their own works is a bad mind virus, and I'm afraid that the tenor of stories like this are indicative of a fatal infection.
Assuming that the cats are in fact intelligent creatures, it would make sense that they have learned this behavior. Feral cats do not exhibit this behavior, so it is most likely learned or self-developed.
However, it could also be that the constant exposure to humans and the direct selection of cats which humans like the most by the owners has led to a selection bias for cats with this behavior.
I find it hard to believe that this is somehow one of those hokey "100th monkey" behaviors, but I also find it extremely interesting that this behavior is widespread.
All this anticipation must be hard on a company. What with so many people wanting to buy the product, it's a tough business trying to keep them at bay until the time is right. No sense in releasing on time. It's much better to release later so that people have already spent their Christmas money. After all, if those customers are playing other games and have less money, it means that they are more likely to buy this much anticipated game.
Nothing like giving your competitors a chance to gain a foothold. Nosiree. On time and on budget! Delaying release to maximize customer demand. The logic is foolproof!
I've been through Oakland. It's nice.
Just lock your doors, keep the windows rolled up, and don't make eye contact with anyone. And for chrissakes, don't stop!
What peace of mind do you get from knowing where your stuff is? Is there anything you can do with that information?
I wonder if it isn't more a matter of control that you feel like you're giving up by letting professionals do their job. Do you also insist on driving everywhere instead of taking a plane or bus?
In your airplane example, this would be like passengers flying from NY to Tokyo on a 777 paying more than if they flew on a 737. Same distance, same cramped seat, but you pay more because of the larger audience.
Wouldn't it be the airline needing to pay more for the flight since they are the ones shuttling more passengers? And given that it is their responsibility to fill the seats, a 777 offers the opportunity to make more money off the increase in passengers?
Internet radio has a potential audience that spans the globe. Radio stations are typically limited by geography and signal power.
Why should passengers flying from New York to Tokyo pay more than flying from Seattle to Portland? Because the distance is longer.
Isn't the U.S. slightly wider than 142 miles? How can that be "cross country"?
Physical pain is easily overcome through the use of drugs. It is also controllable through meditation and other mind-tricks which move the focus of the mind and body from the pain to something else.
But what about emotional pain? Should I keep calling her and swearing at her until I feel better? I don't feel better so far.
Google is trying to explode onto the scene with products and services that compete head to head with some very deeply ingrained technologies. Sometimes, like with the ChromeOS, it's like they are trying to compete against themselves.
What they will find is that earning a good reputation through customer satisfaction is the way to win over customers. Trying to bowl them over with competing products is almost never effective.
Google Search didn't kill Yahoo! search in one fell swoop.
Gmail didn't become dominant (and it still isn't) against Hotmail/Live Mail right away.
Google Maps was able to leverage the Google Search engine, but still has stiff competition from Yahoo! Maps and MapQuest.
But lately, they've been producing new products at an astonishing rate. Taking the shotgun approach of seeing which spaghetti sticks to the wall, Google doesn't seem to have a larger view of what they want to do with their technical talent. This is going to be their downfall in the long run as the advertisement-based profit stream slowly dries up.
Before we can answer your question, two questions for you.
Who do you work for?
Describe the project you're currently working on.
Bonus question: What is your name and the names of your teammates?
The paintings may be in the public domain, but the photographs are copyright to the photographer.
So good luck to the dipshit user who uploaded them.
US... people... would be revolting in the streets
Have you ever been to the U.S.?
Americans are revolting everywhere they go.
We always try to keep in mind that correlation does not equal causation, but if that is so, what does the "55% of scientists are Democrats" statistic mean?
And if we also look at global warming with the same critical eye, can we really say that humans are responsible for global warming when all we can really show is a strong correlation?
I'm not a global climate change denier. There is definitely something going on. Whether it is caused by humans or not, it doesn't really seem to matter. Let's focus on making this place a nice place to live. Clean air, clean water, clean land. These are things no one is going to argue with. Let's start making this a better world for you and for me.
FCC has no absolute veto powers?
The FCC is the American version of China's MIIT.
If you think the MIIT has that much power over the Chinese people, how much more power does the FCC have over the entire world?
It's funny, there are so many similarities between China and the U.S. Both are huge world powers that use their military and economic power to intimidate neighbors. Both are led by an oligarchy of unremovable political parties. And both have populaces that are brainwashed and fiercely patriotic.
China is a good mirror of ourselves, so when this type of thing comes up, it's a good idea to take note and think about how we ourselves are being manipulated right here at home.
Why just him? Shouldn't all gays persecuted under those laws get an apology?
The singling of Turing out for special treatment is not my idea, it's apparently yours.
You fight like a dairy farmer.
Maybe this is what you're looking for.
The Poles almost lost it all in an accident one of their submarines carrying the Bomba blueprints submerged.
Luckily, the Brits transported their important documents in submarines that did not have screendoors.
The two things are separate.
First, he worked for the government as a code breaker. While he has not received official recognition until now, it must be remembered that this was a top-secret operation and there was always the possibility that the operation would never be recognized.
Second, he was gay. Like other gays in Britain at that time, he was persecuted and prosecuted.
Now if you want to say that he should be recognized above and beyond his workmates at Bletchley because he was also gay, that simply doesn't make any sense.
If you want to say he should be apologized to more than any other persecuted gay person because he was somehow more useful to the government than the others, that also doesn't make any sense.
Putting these two things together is a non-sequitor.
That kind of attitude reminds me of the graduation ceremonies for kindergarteners, elementary school students, and middle school students. Recognizing the daily work of people as something extraordinary when in fact it is not only ordinary but required and demanded. Praising someone for doing the bare minimum is not only an insult to that person but to all people to whom you would ever reward.
These people did their duty and saved the lives of many of their countrymen. But their work was not done at great peril to themselves. It was not under a hail of cannon fire and bullets that they worked at Bletchley Park. Their work is appreciated, but it cannot be more appreciated than the lives of soldiers who gave much much more in the defense of their countrymen.