It doesn't matter what the EULA says, because you are declining it. The EULA can only bind you if you accept it. Besides, I'm pretty sure EULAs can't affect hardware anyway, since it is sold and not licensed (unlike software).
Also most people prefer the keypad over a keyboard for entering Japanese into their phones. This is just how Japanese is. So all those keypad phones are also unpopular.
There's a reason for that: the English alphabet has 26 letters in it, but hiragana (the most common Japanese alphabet) has 48 symbols, excluding diacritics and digraphs. In other words, a full hiragana keyboard would be too big. They probably don't care too much about a keypad based input when most of their writing ends up being converted to kanji anyway.
I used VB.NET in a few classes I took last year for my Masters degree. It is a nice environment to work in, even the 'free' student-grade version. It may even be better than the eclipse-based environment I use at work. My only complaint was that we had to use VB as I dislike BASIC syntax.
Try C#. Same IDE, but the language is very similar to Java (I personally prefer C# to Java).
This is a great example of one of the points I made when I contributed to the public consultation - that games that would have gotten a R18+ rating may be squeezed into the MA15+ category. Because MA15+ is effectively the highest rating, you have to treat it like the R18+ since lots of games that would get R18+ otherwise are pushed (either through censorship or political pressure) into MA15+.
How many browsers will be on the ballot? Twelve altogether, but just five on the first page. The first five are Apple's Safari, Google's Chrome, Microsoft's IE, Mozilla's Firefox and Opera. On a second screen, the ballot will list AOL, Maxthon, K-Meleon, Flock, Avant Browser, Sleipnir and SlimBrowser.
Seriously? They should just have stuck with the first five. Plus IE will *still* be installed by default, so this won't solve anything.
Mod parent up. I do the exact same thing, and it works like a charm. I find it the best way to block annoying ads while still contributing to the revenue of more considerate sites.
if you have the binary file you have everything you need to figure out what it does
It's even better than that..NET EXEs actually contain MSIL (a type of intermediate language) and are easily decompiled into the original source code (or something resembling it). DECAF has been obfuscated (all the variable/function/class names changed to meaningless letters), but it's simple enough that you could figure it out in under an hour, if you're familiar with.NET, especially since system libraries (e.g. System.Net.Sockets) will be referenced in plain text.
I can see the authors view point though of not wanting Microsoft to turn around and make a patch against it.
One would think that Microsoft has little to no problems doing this without the source.
It's written in.NET, so even though it's obfuscated it's not that hard to reverse engineer it using Reflector. If I (a teenager who only dabbles in coding) could reverse engineer it in a few hours*, I have little doubt that some MS employee who is being paid to do so could figure it out in under a week.
*I have not reverse engineered it, but I have looked at the source, so I can say that it really isn't that complex.
Even obfuscated, it's only 5 classes (which reference an unobfuscated settings namespace that gives you a little more info). Anyone familiar with.NET with some time on their hands could reverse engineer it.
That seems like overkill, plus you won't know if it's installing a trojan that activates later. If you're familiar with.NET just open it up in Reflector - even though it's obfuscated, any use of the.NET libraries like System.Net.Sockets will be in plain text.
I once tried to decompile a obfuscated.NET app. It's definitely possible to figure it out, since all the calls to the CLI, etc. are the same, but it can be pretty tricky when every function and class name looks like a GUID. But if you have the time, it's definitely possible to deconstruct it.
EDIT: I just downloaded it and took a look at the code in Reflector. It seems pretty simple (only 5 classes and the settings namespace isn't obfuscated). Anyone familiar with.NET with about an hour of free time and the motivation to do so could easily decompile it, in spite of the obfuscation (or perhaps because of the challenge it poses:).
Not sure where you live, but in most areas format shifting is usually recognized as fair use. Whether or not torrenting the PDF counts as format shifting isn't a question that the courts have answered yet, but it's currently the most convenient method.
Actually, I use ear buds specifically because of that. Most *decent* earbuds will block out external noise, which lets you use a much lower volume. The downside is that it makes you pretty oblivious to your surroundings.
I didn't RTFA, but I'm guessing it's a DRM issue. Any open format can be easily used by accessibility software (e.g. screen readers), but closed formats can't. If the treaty makes open formats available, that would be a massive loophole. Even if it's ineffective, DRM is like a comfort blanket to them.
That fails the consideration requirement of contract law. If you were providing a service or something of value, then it would probably have a similar legal status to EULAs (which AFAIK have not been tested in court).
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It doesn't matter what the EULA says, because you are declining it. The EULA can only bind you if you accept it. Besides, I'm pretty sure EULAs can't affect hardware anyway, since it is sold and not licensed (unlike software).
Also most people prefer the keypad over a keyboard for entering Japanese into their phones. This is just how Japanese is. So all those keypad phones are also unpopular.
There's a reason for that: the English alphabet has 26 letters in it, but hiragana (the most common Japanese alphabet) has 48 symbols, excluding diacritics and digraphs. In other words, a full hiragana keyboard would be too big. They probably don't care too much about a keypad based input when most of their writing ends up being converted to kanji anyway.
I used VB.NET in a few classes I took last year for my Masters degree. It is a nice environment to work in, even the 'free' student-grade version. It may even be better than the eclipse-based environment I use at work. My only complaint was that we had to use VB as I dislike BASIC syntax.
Try C#. Same IDE, but the language is very similar to Java (I personally prefer C# to Java).
This is a great example of one of the points I made when I contributed to the public consultation - that games that would have gotten a R18+ rating may be squeezed into the MA15+ category. Because MA15+ is effectively the highest rating, you have to treat it like the R18+ since lots of games that would get R18+ otherwise are pushed (either through censorship or political pressure) into MA15+.
How many browsers will be on the ballot? Twelve altogether, but just five on the first page.
The first five are Apple's Safari, Google's Chrome, Microsoft's IE, Mozilla's Firefox and Opera. On a second screen, the ballot will list AOL, Maxthon, K-Meleon, Flock, Avant Browser, Sleipnir and SlimBrowser.
Seriously? They should just have stuck with the first five. Plus IE will *still* be installed by default, so this won't solve anything.
There's the BBC's problem - they clearly thought it was 'almost 0%'
Mod parent up.
I do the exact same thing, and it works like a charm. I find it the best way to block annoying ads while still contributing to the revenue of more considerate sites.
Easy solution: FlashBlock (now available for Chrome)
Blocks all the worst offenders, and leaves static images, plain text and the occasional GIF.
Heck, you can mix it up some by going on xbox live and playing with someone else's kid!
I'm pretty sure you just made it onto the FBI watch list (or equivalent).
Israel was proclaimed an idependent state by Israel May 14th 1948.
The United States was proclaimed an independent state by the United States on July 4, 1776. Does that mean we don't exist, either?
Some of us prefer to think that you don't.
if you have the binary file you have everything you need to figure out what it does
It's even better than that. .NET EXEs actually contain MSIL (a type of intermediate language) and are easily decompiled into the original source code (or something resembling it). DECAF has been obfuscated (all the variable/function/class names changed to meaningless letters), but it's simple enough that you could figure it out in under an hour, if you're familiar with .NET, especially since system libraries (e.g. System.Net.Sockets) will be referenced in plain text.
One would think that Microsoft has little to no problems doing this without the source.
It's written in .NET, so even though it's obfuscated it's not that hard to reverse engineer it using Reflector. If I (a teenager who only dabbles in coding) could reverse engineer it in a few hours*, I have little doubt that some MS employee who is being paid to do so could figure it out in under a week.
*I have not reverse engineered it, but I have looked at the source, so I can say that it really isn't that complex.
Even obfuscated, it's only 5 classes (which reference an unobfuscated settings namespace that gives you a little more info). Anyone familiar with .NET with some time on their hands could reverse engineer it.
That seems like overkill, plus you won't know if it's installing a trojan that activates later. If you're familiar with .NET just open it up in Reflector - even though it's obfuscated, any use of the .NET libraries like System.Net.Sockets will be in plain text.
I once tried to decompile a obfuscated .NET app. It's definitely possible to figure it out, since all the calls to the CLI, etc. are the same, but it can be pretty tricky when every function and class name looks like a GUID.
But if you have the time, it's definitely possible to deconstruct it.
EDIT: I just downloaded it and took a look at the code in Reflector. It seems pretty simple (only 5 classes and the settings namespace isn't obfuscated). Anyone familiar with .NET with about an hour of free time and the motivation to do so could easily decompile it, in spite of the obfuscation (or perhaps because of the challenge it poses :).
Personally, I'd record it or get it in writing. Always CYA
Not sure where you live, but in most areas format shifting is usually recognized as fair use. Whether or not torrenting the PDF counts as format shifting isn't a question that the courts have answered yet, but it's currently the most convenient method.
A little of column A and a little of column B.
Never use ear buds.
Actually, I use ear buds specifically because of that. Most *decent* earbuds will block out external noise, which lets you use a much lower volume. The downside is that it makes you pretty oblivious to your surroundings.
I didn't RTFA, but I'm guessing it's a DRM issue. Any open format can be easily used by accessibility software (e.g. screen readers), but closed formats can't. If the treaty makes open formats available, that would be a massive loophole. Even if it's ineffective, DRM is like a comfort blanket to them.
God gave him a reality of his own, but it was also proprietary.
If your national security relies on censorship
aka security by obscurity
Fortunately, it does support paste (on Windows 7 anyway) - just right-click to get the context menu.
http://xkcd.com/242/
That fails the consideration requirement of contract law. If you were providing a service or something of value, then it would probably have a similar legal status to EULAs (which AFAIK have not been tested in court).