Well if we're going to remove artificially create rights and restrictions we also need to get rid of most laws. Or are you being hypocritical? Why do YOU have a monopoly on your property? I should be able to take whatever I want, sure you can stop me or try to but I should be able to freely shoot you dead as well.
You're missing the point. Copyright did not start out to be a mechanism for forcing people to pay for content every time they were exposed to it. The current incarnation is completely counter to its original purpose, and arguably no longer serves the public in a positive way.
Huh? By that reasoning all artificial rights are communism. Everything short of total anarchy is communism.
Forced distribution of resources dictated by the government is communism, capitalism lets the market dictate how they are distributed. By what definition is copyright capitalistic?
The entire purpose of Copyright, as it was initially envisioned, was to create a thriving public domain to benefit the people as a whole. Yes, that which others had spent money on was originally intended to be free after a time, in order to allow the creator time to make a profit before their work was contributed to the public. As a limited sort of monopoly, it more or less did what it was intended.
Through gratuitous copyright extension however, the system has been perverted into what is primarily a vector with which to attack others through the legal system. What was originally supposed to be a way to increase the size and quality of the public domain is now being used to create virtually unlimited monopolies on information. Whatever view you may have on copyright, it's certainly not being used as it was originally intended. The Creative Commons is a step in the right direction, but we're still stuck with the problem.
You're right about the PS2, people were definitely paying that on eBay. Nonetheless, I have a feeling that past the early adopters paying $1200 or so for the first PS3s, there's going to be some resistance to the price point by parents come the holiday season. Remember that using the PS2 as a DVD player wasn't good for its life span, and doubt the same will be true of the PS3 for blue ray media. If most games will be $70, then I'd bet a few are going to go over $100. I don't write Sony off completely, they did well with the PSX and PS2, but I don't intend to buy a PS3 anytime in the next couple of years. The Wii definitely looks like the way to go for me.
It may be what you've heard, but I know enough coders who wouldn't care one way or the other if the source was freely available after the fact - as long as they're being paid. If a company asks them to port the software gratis, that's an entirely different matter. That's not to say that there isn't a vocal group who pushes this agenda, but I'd be willing to bet most aren't actual coders. I do prefer GPL software myself, but respect other licenses and terms as the coder's/vendor's choice.
You're really grasping for straws here. There's no "bad deed" being done. If you can't tell the difference between ripping someone off for $10,000 or grabbing a penny from a million people's driveways, which is the closest comparison, then you might want to back off on the crack a little bit.
I have it set up to run apps from the command line. It took a few moments to set it up exactly as I wanted it, but now I have apps running from either a script or an icon in a Konqueror folder rather than Point2Play. There was a short period where the command line was gone, but it's returned and I'm quite happy with 5.0 now.
Business, like many things in life, is a gamble. If you go to a casino, you can't sue the casino owner because you didn't win the jackpot playing slots. If you play market futures, you can't complain if you lose your shirt. Sometimes you'll make money, sometimes you won't. If you can't handle this, you shouldn't be in a casino, market futures, or your own business.
As for that last comparison... If you really believe that stealing a million pennies from either one person or one penny from a million people is the same thing, you're fooling yourself. One act can put a person far enough in debt that they never dig themselves out, the other will scarcely be noticed. Whether the act is good or evil, perhaps more appropriately termed right or wrong, credit card companies and banks do the latter many times over every day. It hasn't stopped people from dealing with them.
I wouldn't - copyright controls copying, not removing property such that the original owner will no longer have. It involves potential profits as opposed to physical objects. They're completely different things.
If someone walks up to you and shoots you in the leg, presumably a crime (assault) has taken place. I'm pretty sure it's not legal, but would you call that theft?
I pick the software that, while providing the required functionality, would appear to cause the least pain 5 years down the road. For me, that ends up being Linux. Depending on one's knowledge and experience, it may be different for others. The choices aren't quite so clear cut as they might initially appear.
More interesting is the fact that several commercial products from companies such as Oracle and Cisco rely on OpenSSL. I'm curious to see just how long this will last. My guess is not as long as some people think.
There's a difference between a tool written for a task which requires prior knowlege, and insecurely written software. A decent email client wouldn't automatically open attachments by default without asking, and a decent web browser wouldn't run code using greater privileges than the current user in any case. I'll grant you that. However, stating that a CAD program is poorly designed because it's difficult for a new user to grasp would be incorrect. Not everyone is trained in CAD/CAM, so the interface of the software isn't going to make sense for everyone. That doesn't mean there's anything wrong with the software, but an untrained user may well be incompetent. The same could be said about development tools, the aforementioned F22's cockpit, and many other tools which require some training before use.
No way, 'first', 'second' and 'third' have way too many sexual overtones. Just suffix each word with 'base'. There's no place in a standard for this kind of filth.
Hey, pr0n's pr0n. It works in any OS last I heard. If you've got OS-specific pr0n, particularly something involving some monkey shouting "Developers! Developers! Developers!", I'd rather not hear about it.
I personally believe in using the best tool for the job. If you have a genuine need for a product which is only available for Windows, it's certainly worth paying the license. For myself, and I'd be willing to bet most people, Windows probably isn't the best tool. I wouldn't be surprised if most people would be served better by a Linux system properly configured. I haven't purchased Windows or a system containing it since NT4, although I administer several flavours of Windows and a variety of other operating systems daily. From my experience, Linux simply works with the fewest headaches. It does everything I want, and (more importantly) nothing I don't.
When I absolutely need to do something with Windows or a Windows app, a rare occurance on my own systems, I either use Crossover Office or VMware. VMware's a heavier solution, but it's great for more than just Windows.
99% of what most people want do with a computer these days can be done with a web browser, email client, media player and office suite. All of these exist under Linux, and most end user distributions set the system up well enough that they wouldn't need to hunt around in order to do them. Understand that your useage patterns exceed those of most users. Given your level of experience, Windows may indeed be easier for you. For me, the opposite is true but everyone has their preferred environment. The fact is, most people wouldn't really see much of a difference as long as they were able to use a web browser and send/receive their email.
The reason this question keeps coming up is of course obvious; Microsoft is using their clout to push further restrictions on the consumer. The average Linux distribution is not subject to these restrictions, so it is in fact a way out. I think Microsoft's actions are great myself, as I'd be perfectly happy if it was impossible to install pirated versions of Windows on PCs. Many people will find this not so great however. For them, I'd be more than happy to offer the option of using a completely Free system.
I don't know about you, but anyone who asks me to help them fix their pirated copy of Windows is going to be in for a surprise. Whatever they install is going to have to be legal. I can give them a Linux install for free, and help them get everything going, or they can go buy whatever they're going to use. We'll see what happens.
How can they really stop them? I've stopped using PayPal since they screwed me over this past January, after using it for many years. I've found both BidPay and USPS money orders, neither of which are eBay services, to work fine. If a seller doesn't accept one of them, I don't bid on their item. It's pretty simple. I'd gladly use Google's payment service if the transaction terms are better than PayPal's.
The best way to get rid of software patents is for those who generate a lot of them to get burned many, many times until their own patents make them significantly less than they lose in cases such as these. They're pushing software patents in Europe, and they're not exactly trying to get rid of them here. It's not strictly speaking because some people don't like Microsoft, although I'll admit I'm not fond of Windows. I like and use Amazon.com, but I think the one click patent is just ridiculous.
You know, I see it in exactly the opposite way. I have a lot of music, mostly CDs which I rip to MP3 but some of it downloaded through iTunes/AOMP3. As long as I can get it in the format I want to use, I really don't care. The more restrictions that are imposed on any of the distribution methods, the more I'm going to find alternate ways of getting what I want. That's how capitalism works.
Slashdot Mirror
Well if we're going to remove artificially create rights and restrictions we also need to get rid of most laws. Or are you being hypocritical? Why do YOU have a monopoly on your property? I should be able to take whatever I want, sure you can stop me or try to but I should be able to freely shoot you dead as well.
You're missing the point. Copyright did not start out to be a mechanism for forcing people to pay for content every time they were exposed to it. The current incarnation is completely counter to its original purpose, and arguably no longer serves the public in a positive way.
Huh? By that reasoning all artificial rights are communism. Everything short of total anarchy is communism.
Forced distribution of resources dictated by the government is communism, capitalism lets the market dictate how they are distributed. By what definition is copyright capitalistic?
The entire purpose of Copyright, as it was initially envisioned, was to create a thriving public domain to benefit the people as a whole. Yes, that which others had spent money on was originally intended to be free after a time, in order to allow the creator time to make a profit before their work was contributed to the public. As a limited sort of monopoly, it more or less did what it was intended.
Through gratuitous copyright extension however, the system has been perverted into what is primarily a vector with which to attack others through the legal system. What was originally supposed to be a way to increase the size and quality of the public domain is now being used to create virtually unlimited monopolies on information. Whatever view you may have on copyright, it's certainly not being used as it was originally intended. The Creative Commons is a step in the right direction, but we're still stuck with the problem.
You're right about the PS2, people were definitely paying that on eBay. Nonetheless, I have a feeling that past the early adopters paying $1200 or so for the first PS3s, there's going to be some resistance to the price point by parents come the holiday season. Remember that using the PS2 as a DVD player wasn't good for its life span, and doubt the same will be true of the PS3 for blue ray media. If most games will be $70, then I'd bet a few are going to go over $100. I don't write Sony off completely, they did well with the PSX and PS2, but I don't intend to buy a PS3 anytime in the next couple of years. The Wii definitely looks like the way to go for me.
It may be what you've heard, but I know enough coders who wouldn't care one way or the other if the source was freely available after the fact - as long as they're being paid. If a company asks them to port the software gratis, that's an entirely different matter. That's not to say that there isn't a vocal group who pushes this agenda, but I'd be willing to bet most aren't actual coders. I do prefer GPL software myself, but respect other licenses and terms as the coder's/vendor's choice.
You're really grasping for straws here. There's no "bad deed" being done. If you can't tell the difference between ripping someone off for $10,000 or grabbing a penny from a million people's driveways, which is the closest comparison, then you might want to back off on the crack a little bit.
I have it set up to run apps from the command line. It took a few moments to set it up exactly as I wanted it, but now I have apps running from either a script or an icon in a Konqueror folder rather than Point2Play. There was a short period where the command line was gone, but it's returned and I'm quite happy with 5.0 now.
Business, like many things in life, is a gamble. If you go to a casino, you can't sue the casino owner because you didn't win the jackpot playing slots. If you play market futures, you can't complain if you lose your shirt. Sometimes you'll make money, sometimes you won't. If you can't handle this, you shouldn't be in a casino, market futures, or your own business.
As for that last comparison... If you really believe that stealing a million pennies from either one person or one penny from a million people is the same thing, you're fooling yourself. One act can put a person far enough in debt that they never dig themselves out, the other will scarcely be noticed. Whether the act is good or evil, perhaps more appropriately termed right or wrong, credit card companies and banks do the latter many times over every day. It hasn't stopped people from dealing with them.
Eh? I'm not offering legal advice, is there something you've done that you're not telling us?
I wouldn't - copyright controls copying, not removing property such that the original owner will no longer have. It involves potential profits as opposed to physical objects. They're completely different things.
If someone walks up to you and shoots you in the leg, presumably a crime (assault) has taken place. I'm pretty sure it's not legal, but would you call that theft?
I pick the software that, while providing the required functionality, would appear to cause the least pain 5 years down the road. For me, that ends up being Linux. Depending on one's knowledge and experience, it may be different for others. The choices aren't quite so clear cut as they might initially appear.
More bloated perhaps, but it DOES have more extensive functionality.
More interesting is the fact that several commercial products from companies such as Oracle and Cisco rely on OpenSSL. I'm curious to see just how long this will last. My guess is not as long as some people think.
There's a difference between a tool written for a task which requires prior knowlege, and insecurely written software. A decent email client wouldn't automatically open attachments by default without asking, and a decent web browser wouldn't run code using greater privileges than the current user in any case. I'll grant you that. However, stating that a CAD program is poorly designed because it's difficult for a new user to grasp would be incorrect. Not everyone is trained in CAD/CAM, so the interface of the software isn't going to make sense for everyone. That doesn't mean there's anything wrong with the software, but an untrained user may well be incompetent. The same could be said about development tools, the aforementioned F22's cockpit, and many other tools which require some training before use.
No way, 'first', 'second' and 'third' have way too many sexual overtones. Just suffix each word with 'base'. There's no place in a standard for this kind of filth.
If you're anywhere near one, Dave & Buster's is pretty much what you're looking for if Chuck E. Cheese isn't quite your idea of great food.
Hey, pr0n's pr0n. It works in any OS last I heard. If you've got OS-specific pr0n, particularly something involving some monkey shouting "Developers! Developers! Developers!", I'd rather not hear about it.
I personally believe in using the best tool for the job. If you have a genuine need for a product which is only available for Windows, it's certainly worth paying the license. For myself, and I'd be willing to bet most people, Windows probably isn't the best tool. I wouldn't be surprised if most people would be served better by a Linux system properly configured. I haven't purchased Windows or a system containing it since NT4, although I administer several flavours of Windows and a variety of other operating systems daily. From my experience, Linux simply works with the fewest headaches. It does everything I want, and (more importantly) nothing I don't.
When I absolutely need to do something with Windows or a Windows app, a rare occurance on my own systems, I either use Crossover Office or VMware. VMware's a heavier solution, but it's great for more than just Windows.
I'm sure most people have said things at least as kind when their computer crashed/lost data.
99% of what most people want do with a computer these days can be done with a web browser, email client, media player and office suite. All of these exist under Linux, and most end user distributions set the system up well enough that they wouldn't need to hunt around in order to do them. Understand that your useage patterns exceed those of most users. Given your level of experience, Windows may indeed be easier for you. For me, the opposite is true but everyone has their preferred environment. The fact is, most people wouldn't really see much of a difference as long as they were able to use a web browser and send/receive their email.
The reason this question keeps coming up is of course obvious; Microsoft is using their clout to push further restrictions on the consumer. The average Linux distribution is not subject to these restrictions, so it is in fact a way out. I think Microsoft's actions are great myself, as I'd be perfectly happy if it was impossible to install pirated versions of Windows on PCs. Many people will find this not so great however. For them, I'd be more than happy to offer the option of using a completely Free system.
I don't know about you, but anyone who asks me to help them fix their pirated copy of Windows is going to be in for a surprise. Whatever they install is going to have to be legal. I can give them a Linux install for free, and help them get everything going, or they can go buy whatever they're going to use. We'll see what happens.
How can they really stop them? I've stopped using PayPal since they screwed me over this past January, after using it for many years. I've found both BidPay and USPS money orders, neither of which are eBay services, to work fine. If a seller doesn't accept one of them, I don't bid on their item. It's pretty simple. I'd gladly use Google's payment service if the transaction terms are better than PayPal's.
The best way to get rid of software patents is for those who generate a lot of them to get burned many, many times until their own patents make them significantly less than they lose in cases such as these. They're pushing software patents in Europe, and they're not exactly trying to get rid of them here. It's not strictly speaking because some people don't like Microsoft, although I'll admit I'm not fond of Windows. I like and use Amazon.com, but I think the one click patent is just ridiculous.
Someone just pulled the plug out of the drain, sorry to disappoint you. Maybe sometime in the next 1000 years.
You know, I see it in exactly the opposite way. I have a lot of music, mostly CDs which I rip to MP3 but some of it downloaded through iTunes/AOMP3. As long as I can get it in the format I want to use, I really don't care. The more restrictions that are imposed on any of the distribution methods, the more I'm going to find alternate ways of getting what I want. That's how capitalism works.