We're not talking about cops jamming cellphones at a movie theater or restaurant because somebody's being a prick, we're talking about jamming cell phones in areas that are priority targets of terrorists. I'm not suggesting that's necessarily a good idea, I'm just saying that's what's being discussed.
I don't believe the company at hand is trying to legalize them for personal or commercial use (though I may be wrong). And as one of the siblings to my post has already said, there are lots of people who keep their phones on silent and monitor missed calls and text messages, and if an important call comes in they excuse themselves and take it. I can certainly see not going to a certain restaurant (maybe even movie theater) because I know they use cell phone jammers. I have no intentions of being a prick, but sometimes it's necessary to be able to get in touch with people, and I don't want to have to walk half a block from the restaurant to be able to do it.
I'm primarily a linux user as well, but there are reasons to use windows. Switching to Linux is not trivial, but it certainly has its benefits. And calling an operating system that hasn't yet been released "out-of-date" seems a tad silly.
Whatever floats your boat. Long ago I learned a lesson about upgrading software the day its available. There have been a couple of times I've thought I'd get a good product the day it came out, and so far I've always been mistaken. I doubt I'll ever get Vista, but if I do, it will be once I've heard how incredibly secure, stable, and unrestrictive it is. After 95, 98, ME and XP, I'm not about to take Microsoft's word for it.
You just linked to an article about upgrading from Dapper Drake to Edgy Eft. There's a difference between the kernel and the version of your distro. In fact, I believe Dapper and Edgy use the same version of the kernel (if you've let Adept automatically update your kernel). I didn't even notice when my kernel got upgraded.
The line you quote makes it sound like you're talking about upgrading the distro, but the parent was talking about the kernel, which is quite simple to upgrade.
I can't wait to see how many THOUSANDS of +5 insightful responses we get in here, since so MANY people are so instantly ready to criticize, they MUST have solutions themselves, right? Otherwise they are just typical internet windbag hypocrites.
I disagree. Many of the criticisms here are quite valid, even if they don't provide solutions to the problem. Benjamin Franklin once said "He who would give up an essential liberty for a little temporary safety deserves neither liberty nor safety." I have no idea how to "neutralize a fundamental religious creed" with the beliefs you mention, but I know that their must be some limitations imposed on our battle. So far our rights to privacy and fair trial have been crippled by this war on terror, and it worries me that free speech and eventually our democratic elections may fall in favor of "protecting our free way of life." I don't have the answers, but that doesn't mean I have to accept a solution I strongly believe is wrong.
I disagree that they are misusing the GPL. The GPL is a software distribution license with no authority over hardware. As Linus Torvalds has pointed out, he signs every copy of the kernel he releases. If a hardware manufacturer decided to check for his signature before loading the kernel, then it is not Torvalds implementing the restrictions by signing the kernel, and the GPL only covers the distribution of the kernel, not the hardware that runs it. As I stated in my earlier post, people can still learn from and use the modifications made by Tivo, they just don't get to do it on the hardware provided by Tivo.
Tivo distributes hardware capable of running the Linux kernel. Like the Xbox, it is hardware sold below cost in order to promote other services. If Tivo didn't restrict what kernel could be run to those signed by Tivo, people would buy the Tivo box, install a vanilla kernel and use it as a cheap computer. I'd hope most people can see why Tivo objects to that.
By releasing the source that they are required to release, they are allowing people to use and learn from their code, even if they cannot put it back on a Tivo. While RMS and many other FOSS zealots seem to think this is inappropriate, Tivo simply couldn't survive if they turned into an underpriced hardware company - which is what would happen with GPL V3.
I don't think going to jail is part of the plan, it's just a risk associated with the plan. If stealing something worth $600 has the same risk associated with stealing something worth $250, which are you going to steal? Assuming the sentence for stealing either console would be equal (if you got caught), stealing the PS3 has a higher dollar per unit of risk ratio, so it would be preferable.
Now, why exactly are we talking about stealing game consoles?
Microsoft will never take this to court. If they did, I think one (or both) of two things would happen:
1)They invalidate their patents, as prior art will be shown for nearly everything they're claiming is being infringed upon.
2)They'll get in trouble again for abusing monopoly status, and even if the patents were valid, the anti-competitiveness accusations will have a worse effect than letting Linux slide.
This is nothing more than fear mongering - which is not trivial. They want to make people be afraid to use Linux, for fear that Linux will become illegal or lose functionality and they'll have to migrate everything - it'd be easier just to use Windows in the first place. Microsoft knows better than to actually take this to court, but it's not going to stop them from using it to their advantage.
Personally, I wish there were enough force behind Linux to sue MS for libel/slander - as that's effectively what this is. Unfortunately, MS has plenty of lawyers and I doubt at this point that we'll see Novell as part of any class action against Microsoft, so there probably isn't enough money among Linux distributors to hire enough lawyers to make a case.
Hard Drives have moving parts
Optical Disks don't
Which is more reliable?
I'm not sure what you're getting at. Usually things with moving parts are more prone to failure, however my computer has a 40 GB drive in it that I purchased in the late 90s. It has been used regularly ever since, and still works fine. I can't think of any CDs or DVDs I have from the same period that are still functional - they've either been scratched or lost. I've had a lot more optical disk "failures" than I've had hard drive failures. I don't know that I'd want to purchase content on hard drives, but I have backed up a lot of my media onto my hard drives because I feel I'm less likely to lose the data if it's on my hard disk (I do have my disks in a RAID, so if one fails I can recover it, but I've never had that happen).
This might be slightly unrelated, buy my father has a Windows 98 machine that he runs some basic software on, and it suddenly became worthless when Microsoft dropped support for it early. As a result, he can't find any anti-virus companies that still support it, so he's cut it off from the web for fear of it being rendered useless by viruses. If Microsoft were to drop XP support early (and you can't suggest it's an impossibility), and you had to reformat, Microsoft might be able to force an upgrade by not supporting an activation. Buying a corporate version would insure against that.
While I don't think the grandparent post articulated their point very well, I don't think they're the troll you're making them out to be.
My advice for the great grandparent: Unless everything has to be squeaky clean, use Linux. As long as a piece of media doesn't have to phone home to get encryption keys, the DRM will be broken and you'll have greater freedom using your device on Linux than you would with XP or Vista.
I've been trying to figure out if there's any news on what the iPhone actually does. I've found some mock ups of what fans think they'll be like, but nothing verified by Apple. I assume it will be as functional as an iPod Nano (plays mp3s, wavs, apple lossless, AAC audio, ripped and encrypted, as well as showing photos), while offering the ability to make phone calls. Are there any actual pictures of the iPhone, or do we just know they've gone into manufacturing?
I can write a climate model too, that doesn't make it accurate.
My father uses a program that models buildings and runs them through an annual weather cycle. The idea is that my dad can make changes to the models, run them through weather cycles and improve the energy efficiency of the building. He has told me that the program he uses has been in development for decades and is millions of lines of code, yet it can still produce inaccurate results if you fail to take one factor into account - and that's just for one building.
I was unable to find the source for the program you mention, but I doubt it is as complex as the software my father uses, while modeling something several orders of magnitude more complex.
What are you talking about? Grandparent said "It's being given away with conditions. The condition is that you obey the licensing agreement." What you just said is a little bit more specific as to what the license says, but it's almost the exact same thing the grandparent said, but you start out like you're disagreeing with them.
I agree that licensing OSX under GPL would be a mistake, but I do think they could make a sizable profit by selling OSX.
You're right, 25% is definitely a good margin for hardware sales. It's horrible for software sales. Apple could stamp out a CD and user manual for a couple of bucks and sell it at $130, and they'd have a much wider audience than just people who can afford Macs. Software development costs might be slightly higher to support more hardware, but the user base would be significantly higher. And I'm sure the marketing folk at Apple could find a way to make Macs appealing.
I'm not saying it's going to happen, but I suspect Apple could make quite a profit if Leopard came out for PCs.
Seeing teenagers download my favorite OS for free... bothers me.
I love seeing my favorite operating system downloaded for free. And amazingly, the experience is more or less the same whether you're running on a 32 bit PC, 64 bit, or PPC.
seeing the experience cheapened in the eyes of others because its running on unsupported hardware bothers me.
I know a guy who used to run OSX on his HP. He claimed it ran better on his HP than Windows did. I was never aware of him having any problems with the operating system because of his hardware, but on the occasion that he had software problems, people automatically assumed it was because he was running on the wrong hardware, even if that had nothing to do with it. He finally quite when he decided he didn't like stealing it, but he still intends to get a Mac when he can afford one. Most of the people who see it simply think it's cool that he's running OSX on his PC.
As I stated earlier, my favorite operating system is Ubuntu. I'm not going to go into all the reasons why, however I will say that the number one thing it has over OSX is that it can win converts without having to spend hundreds of dollars on new hardware. I have to take off my shoes to count the number of people I know who say "My next computer is going to be a Mac." But they aren't about to throw away a year old computer to upgrade the operating system (which is what they're interested in). With Ubuntu, they can (legally) download the ISO for free, burn it to a CD and install it on the hardware they've already got. And like a Mac, it just works. I installed Ubuntu Dapper Drake on my computer, and every piece of hardware was automatically recognized. Now, if I could go out and buy a copy of OSX, install it on my computer and have it work as well as Ubuntu, I'd be more than happy to fork over a couple hundred dollars, and I may consider a Mac for my next hardware purchase, but I'm not about to get rid of perfectly good hardware because it won't (legally) run the operating system I'd prefer.
And Microsoft already does do this; last time I checked I couldn't recompile XP to run on my PPC PowerMac. None of Microsoft's licenses are even close to open source, while a number of Apple's key technology are.
Way to appeal to the Windows fanboys here on Slashdot... Wait. Why is Apple "open source"? Is there anything legal and advantageous you can do by recompiling a modified version of the source? I get the feeling it's open source only by name. Since they closed Darwin, I've not seen anything from Apple that bares a resemblance to the Open Source community I know and love. I'm not saying everything has to be open source, I'm simply saying OSX hardly qualifies as open source.
Force to open to WINE?!?!?! Are you smoking crack? The judge migh, literally, laugh.
Nobody from WINE is asking for the Windows source - a reliable API would be all that's necessary to make WINE much more consistent with Windows, and I know there was some talk that the EU may force Microsoft to release an API, though I'm not sure what happened with that.
I agree with you to a point. I tried upgrading to Edgy, but then went back to Dapper. My problem was that Edgy doesn't have built in support for LVM and RAID (which Dapper does), and I was having a hell of a time getting my home volume mounted in Edgy. This isn't going to be a problem for most people.
As far as taking your computer in to Best Buy for repairs, I think that's probably partly true. I can't imagine it would matter for something like the power supply where they don't have to turn the computer on except to see that it's running, but you're certainly right that the number of people available for suddenly dwindles. The advantage of providing support for Linux, however, is the ease of use of tools such as SSH and VNC. I've been trying for about a year to get my mom to put Ubuntu on her computer, explaining that if she has any problems, I can log in from my computer at school and work on her computer. There have been a couple of times her Windows PC has been out of service for a couple weeks before I could get home. I get enough calls for support on Windows, but so long as the computer is booting, Linux is much easier to solve those problems.
To the guy asking giving Ubuntu for Christmas, I'd say go for it, if you can talk people into taking it. I'd recommend using the OEM installation process so you can set things up, but still let them sign in and configure their account the first time the boot it. Also, regardless of what other programs you choose to include, be sure to include SSH and VNC as mentioned above - those will make providing support much simpler.
Where do you get that idea? From the very article you cited:
This might suggest that little interbreeding occurred between our own species and the Neanderthals.
Little does not mean none. Donkeys and horses have a distant common ancestor, and they can interbreed, that's where we get mules. Usually the offspring are not viable, but a small portion of the population can insert profitable genes into the genepool. I'm not saying this is what happened, I'm just saying it's a possibility.
I realize you're simply speculating on potential responses to this news, but Subhuman? Neanderthals weren't built for some environmental changes that occurred, but I was always under the impression that they were - by most standards - about on par with humans. I think it's about comparable to Horses reproducing with Donkeys and creating mules - one species isn't necessarily inferior to the other, and since offspring are created, it's not the same as sex between species that can't reproduce.
The problem I see with this scenario is that when a horse and a donkey reproduce, their offspring is not viable. While Human-Neanderthal mixes may have had advantages over either parent species (just as mules have advantage over both horses and donkeys), I don't see how this could have been expressed in modern humans.
I have a hard time believing this is the worst Christmas for gadgest ever. Ever is a strong word. I can't help but think Christmas used to be a bit more boring. Take 2006 years ago for instance. Aside from the fact that only a handful of people knew it was Christmas, there were no great gadgets to give each other anyway. I mean, sure we got the Son of God that year, but does that really count as a technical advance?
I typically follow the rules you've described for voting. If I have an explicit reason to vote a certain way, I vote that way. Otherwise, I vote libertarian or leave it blank. If I'm not informed on an issue, I should leave the decision to people who are informed. I have friends who tell me voting libertarian is a wasted vote, but I disagree (you didn't really address why it sends a more powerful message than not voting, so I'm going to).
Every election, you hear people saying it's their patriotic duty to go out and vote. I disagree. Democracy only functions under an educated electorate, therefore I view it as your patriotic duty to become educated on the issues at hand. Hopefully after becoming educated, you will be motivated to go vote. If not, you're still sending a message by not voting. Usually that message will be interpreted as indifference, and I guess that's what it is.
But I try to send a more significant message than "I don't care," because I do. Politicians are always trying to figure out how to get (re)elected. By voting Libertarian, I send them a clear cut message of what they need to do in order to get my vote - stop expanding the federal government, stop restricting personal liberties, stop creating programs that give my tax dollars to people who choose not to work, stop subsidizing crops that we over produce - essentially I don't want the government telling me what to do with my checkbook or my zipper.
I don't know that I believe everything would be hunky-dory if the libertarians were in charge, but I do want to move that direction, and voting Libertarian tells politicians what direction to go if they want my vote.
Slashdot Mirror
If we were living in a reality simulator that moved at a glacial pace, would we even notice that it was slow?
I don't believe the company at hand is trying to legalize them for personal or commercial use (though I may be wrong). And as one of the siblings to my post has already said, there are lots of people who keep their phones on silent and monitor missed calls and text messages, and if an important call comes in they excuse themselves and take it. I can certainly see not going to a certain restaurant (maybe even movie theater) because I know they use cell phone jammers. I have no intentions of being a prick, but sometimes it's necessary to be able to get in touch with people, and I don't want to have to walk half a block from the restaurant to be able to do it.
I'm primarily a linux user as well, but there are reasons to use windows. Switching to Linux is not trivial, but it certainly has its benefits. And calling an operating system that hasn't yet been released "out-of-date" seems a tad silly.
Whatever floats your boat. Long ago I learned a lesson about upgrading software the day its available. There have been a couple of times I've thought I'd get a good product the day it came out, and so far I've always been mistaken. I doubt I'll ever get Vista, but if I do, it will be once I've heard how incredibly secure, stable, and unrestrictive it is. After 95, 98, ME and XP, I'm not about to take Microsoft's word for it.
The line you quote makes it sound like you're talking about upgrading the distro, but the parent was talking about the kernel, which is quite simple to upgrade.
I disagree that they are misusing the GPL. The GPL is a software distribution license with no authority over hardware. As Linus Torvalds has pointed out, he signs every copy of the kernel he releases. If a hardware manufacturer decided to check for his signature before loading the kernel, then it is not Torvalds implementing the restrictions by signing the kernel, and the GPL only covers the distribution of the kernel, not the hardware that runs it. As I stated in my earlier post, people can still learn from and use the modifications made by Tivo, they just don't get to do it on the hardware provided by Tivo.
By releasing the source that they are required to release, they are allowing people to use and learn from their code, even if they cannot put it back on a Tivo. While RMS and many other FOSS zealots seem to think this is inappropriate, Tivo simply couldn't survive if they turned into an underpriced hardware company - which is what would happen with GPL V3.
Now, why exactly are we talking about stealing game consoles?
1)They invalidate their patents, as prior art will be shown for nearly everything they're claiming is being infringed upon.
2)They'll get in trouble again for abusing monopoly status, and even if the patents were valid, the anti-competitiveness accusations will have a worse effect than letting Linux slide.
This is nothing more than fear mongering - which is not trivial. They want to make people be afraid to use Linux, for fear that Linux will become illegal or lose functionality and they'll have to migrate everything - it'd be easier just to use Windows in the first place. Microsoft knows better than to actually take this to court, but it's not going to stop them from using it to their advantage.
Personally, I wish there were enough force behind Linux to sue MS for libel/slander - as that's effectively what this is. Unfortunately, MS has plenty of lawyers and I doubt at this point that we'll see Novell as part of any class action against Microsoft, so there probably isn't enough money among Linux distributors to hire enough lawyers to make a case.
While I don't think the grandparent post articulated their point very well, I don't think they're the troll you're making them out to be.
My advice for the great grandparent: Unless everything has to be squeaky clean, use Linux. As long as a piece of media doesn't have to phone home to get encryption keys, the DRM will be broken and you'll have greater freedom using your device on Linux than you would with XP or Vista.
I've been trying to figure out if there's any news on what the iPhone actually does. I've found some mock ups of what fans think they'll be like, but nothing verified by Apple. I assume it will be as functional as an iPod Nano (plays mp3s, wavs, apple lossless, AAC audio, ripped and encrypted, as well as showing photos), while offering the ability to make phone calls. Are there any actual pictures of the iPhone, or do we just know they've gone into manufacturing?
It's been over a year, but this is definitely a dupe: Splashpower Boasts Wireless Power
My father uses a program that models buildings and runs them through an annual weather cycle. The idea is that my dad can make changes to the models, run them through weather cycles and improve the energy efficiency of the building. He has told me that the program he uses has been in development for decades and is millions of lines of code, yet it can still produce inaccurate results if you fail to take one factor into account - and that's just for one building.
I was unable to find the source for the program you mention, but I doubt it is as complex as the software my father uses, while modeling something several orders of magnitude more complex.
What are you talking about? Grandparent said "It's being given away with conditions. The condition is that you obey the licensing agreement." What you just said is a little bit more specific as to what the license says, but it's almost the exact same thing the grandparent said, but you start out like you're disagreeing with them.
You're right, 25% is definitely a good margin for hardware sales. It's horrible for software sales. Apple could stamp out a CD and user manual for a couple of bucks and sell it at $130, and they'd have a much wider audience than just people who can afford Macs. Software development costs might be slightly higher to support more hardware, but the user base would be significantly higher. And I'm sure the marketing folk at Apple could find a way to make Macs appealing.
I'm not saying it's going to happen, but I suspect Apple could make quite a profit if Leopard came out for PCs.
As I stated earlier, my favorite operating system is Ubuntu. I'm not going to go into all the reasons why, however I will say that the number one thing it has over OSX is that it can win converts without having to spend hundreds of dollars on new hardware. I have to take off my shoes to count the number of people I know who say "My next computer is going to be a Mac." But they aren't about to throw away a year old computer to upgrade the operating system (which is what they're interested in). With Ubuntu, they can (legally) download the ISO for free, burn it to a CD and install it on the hardware they've already got. And like a Mac, it just works. I installed Ubuntu Dapper Drake on my computer, and every piece of hardware was automatically recognized. Now, if I could go out and buy a copy of OSX, install it on my computer and have it work as well as Ubuntu, I'd be more than happy to fork over a couple hundred dollars, and I may consider a Mac for my next hardware purchase, but I'm not about to get rid of perfectly good hardware because it won't (legally) run the operating system I'd prefer.
Way to appeal to the Windows fanboys here on Slashdot... Wait. Why is Apple "open source"? Is there anything legal and advantageous you can do by recompiling a modified version of the source? I get the feeling it's open source only by name. Since they closed Darwin, I've not seen anything from Apple that bares a resemblance to the Open Source community I know and love. I'm not saying everything has to be open source, I'm simply saying OSX hardly qualifies as open source.As far as taking your computer in to Best Buy for repairs, I think that's probably partly true. I can't imagine it would matter for something like the power supply where they don't have to turn the computer on except to see that it's running, but you're certainly right that the number of people available for suddenly dwindles. The advantage of providing support for Linux, however, is the ease of use of tools such as SSH and VNC. I've been trying for about a year to get my mom to put Ubuntu on her computer, explaining that if she has any problems, I can log in from my computer at school and work on her computer. There have been a couple of times her Windows PC has been out of service for a couple weeks before I could get home. I get enough calls for support on Windows, but so long as the computer is booting, Linux is much easier to solve those problems.
To the guy asking giving Ubuntu for Christmas, I'd say go for it, if you can talk people into taking it. I'd recommend using the OEM installation process so you can set things up, but still let them sign in and configure their account the first time the boot it. Also, regardless of what other programs you choose to include, be sure to include SSH and VNC as mentioned above - those will make providing support much simpler.
The problem I see with this scenario is that when a horse and a donkey reproduce, their offspring is not viable. While Human-Neanderthal mixes may have had advantages over either parent species (just as mules have advantage over both horses and donkeys), I don't see how this could have been expressed in modern humans.
I have a hard time believing this is the worst Christmas for gadgest ever. Ever is a strong word. I can't help but think Christmas used to be a bit more boring. Take 2006 years ago for instance. Aside from the fact that only a handful of people knew it was Christmas, there were no great gadgets to give each other anyway. I mean, sure we got the Son of God that year, but does that really count as a technical advance?
Every election, you hear people saying it's their patriotic duty to go out and vote. I disagree. Democracy only functions under an educated electorate, therefore I view it as your patriotic duty to become educated on the issues at hand. Hopefully after becoming educated, you will be motivated to go vote. If not, you're still sending a message by not voting. Usually that message will be interpreted as indifference, and I guess that's what it is.
But I try to send a more significant message than "I don't care," because I do. Politicians are always trying to figure out how to get (re)elected. By voting Libertarian, I send them a clear cut message of what they need to do in order to get my vote - stop expanding the federal government, stop restricting personal liberties, stop creating programs that give my tax dollars to people who choose not to work, stop subsidizing crops that we over produce - essentially I don't want the government telling me what to do with my checkbook or my zipper.
I don't know that I believe everything would be hunky-dory if the libertarians were in charge, but I do want to move that direction, and voting Libertarian tells politicians what direction to go if they want my vote.
That's not completely true:
Pirates want support for steam.
Windows Genuine Advantage was created to prevent having to provide support for pirates.
Those are the only two cases I found quickly, but I'm sure there are others.