You're right. Software isn't math. Turing, Church, Knuth, etc were all wrong for all of those years!
Westlake has proven them wrong and defied solid logic and mathematics with the simple words: "Math and logic are simply tools - as accessible to the machinist as they are to the programmer."! Stop the presses and re-write the math books, westlake has changed everything!
For his next act westlake is going to solve world hunger by suggesting that everyone without bread simply eat cake!
Yeah, no kidding. These loons would apparently see nothing wrong with Pythagoras patenting his little theorem back in the day either. Truly boggles the mind.
I did not just make this argument up off the top of my head. I promise you I'm not that creative. It is a very common argument, and generally considered to be very strong, since it's a pretty damned simple logical statement: A = B, B != C, thus A != C. You could find elementary school students to explain it to you I'm sure.
Well then congratulations. You have discovered why people don't like software patents and have completed your quest for knowledge. Happy yet?
Also, it should be noted that stopsoftwarepatents.eu is of course an EU website. You'll note that more American centric commentary often brings up the non-patent-ability of math.
Citation: Donald Knuth
To a computer scientist, this makes no sense, because every algorithm is as mathematical as anything could be. An algorithm is an abstract concept unrelated to physical laws of the universe.
You keep on bring this up. The answer is, and always will be, because software is math. Under US patent law math is not supposed to be patentable.
You might not agree with this, but that is in fact why most of us argue that software should not be patentable. I suspect you confuse comprehension with agreement.
I don't deny any of it. All I'm saying is that "disbanding" the NSA won't stop any of it. They'll just change their name and set up shop completely secretly, just like before.
In one extreme case they even wiretapped a congressmen while he was overseas.
Really? You consider that an extreme case? If anyone needs to be wiretapped it's the corrupt US politicians who are responsible for all of this, and if wire-tapping should be occurring anywhere, it should be occurring outside the country...
Read the post I was replying to. He specifically stated that he was modded troll while another was not. Those were the two posts I was saying should have been modded offtopic.
we've simply gotten off on a tangent like people do in real life
Hence an offtopic moderation... Deliberate attempts to derail conversations get a troll mod.
The entire idea behind the NSA, that the American people need to be spied on
Who ever said that was the entire idea behind the NSA? You do realize that the NSA spies on other countries as well? Just ban them from listening in on Americans, as an official policy, and don't worry about it.
Besides, it's not like disbanding the NSA would actually do anything. There is a reason people say NSA stands for No Such Agency...
They are not discontinuing support for their proprietary driver, just their open source driver, which has always been crap. If you want good 3d performance you can still use (and always should have been using) their proprietary driver.
I know, I know. You were just making a crack about how nobody uses linux...
You're right. Software isn't math. Turing, Church, Knuth, etc were all wrong for all of those years!
Westlake has proven them wrong and defied solid logic and mathematics with the simple words: "Math and logic are simply tools - as accessible to the machinist as they are to the programmer."! Stop the presses and re-write the math books, westlake has changed everything!
For his next act westlake is going to solve world hunger by suggesting that everyone without bread simply eat cake!
The government royally fucks something up and acts illogically. News at 11. ...doesn't make it right.
There is a difference between "describe-able with math" and "is math".
Ahhh..... Not really sure why I am bothering to have this conversation in that case.
Yeah, no kidding. These loons would apparently see nothing wrong with Pythagoras patenting his little theorem back in the day either. Truly boggles the mind.
Actually, the USPTO no longer lets you patent perpetual motion machines.
You are out of date on this subject, I'd take the time to catch up if I were you...
Furthermore, Mathematics is not universally considered a science. and "being real science" is not the one and only test of patentability.
More links for you, because I'm feeling generous (and bored):
Tones of links at groklaw, more than a few that take the "software is math" angle
A very blunt, and to the point page from End Soft Patents.
I did not just make this argument up off the top of my head. I promise you I'm not that creative. It is a very common argument, and generally considered to be very strong, since it's a pretty damned simple logical statement: A = B, B != C, thus A != C. You could find elementary school students to explain it to you I'm sure.
Well then congratulations. You have discovered why people don't like software patents and have completed your quest for knowledge. Happy yet?
Also, it should be noted that stopsoftwarepatents.eu is of course an EU website. You'll note that more American centric commentary often brings up the non-patent-ability of math.
Citation: Donald Knuth
http://progfree.org/Patents/knuth-to-pto.txt
For more examples of this argument being made, see EndSoftPatents.org.
You keep on bring this up. The answer is, and always will be, because software is math. Under US patent law math is not supposed to be patentable.
You might not agree with this, but that is in fact why most of us argue that software should not be patentable. I suspect you confuse comprehension with agreement.
I don't deny any of it. All I'm saying is that "disbanding" the NSA won't stop any of it. They'll just change their name and set up shop completely secretly, just like before.
Really? You consider that an extreme case? If anyone needs to be wiretapped it's the corrupt US politicians who are responsible for all of this, and if wire-tapping should be occurring anywhere, it should be occurring outside the country...
Read the post I was replying to. He specifically stated that he was modded troll while another was not. Those were the two posts I was saying should have been modded offtopic.
Hence an offtopic moderation... Deliberate attempts to derail conversations get a troll mod.
Who ever said that was the entire idea behind the NSA? You do realize that the NSA spies on other countries as well? Just ban them from listening in on Americans, as an official policy, and don't worry about it.
Besides, it's not like disbanding the NSA would actually do anything. There is a reason people say NSA stands for No Such Agency...
What makes you think people won't still use stateful firewalls with IPv6?
So was Gandhi. Imagine if all of the great leaders in this world had simply said that?
Both of you were modded unfairly. You both should have gotten -1 Offtopic.
To hell with that shit, just install elinks.
Who even needs X these days?
They should tax having sex. After all, babies are made of carbon.
If you are using an up-to-date Fedora install, why not just use the Nouveau driver? Far better than 'nv' from what I understand...
Television Advertisement: "So use your computer to go to [PRODUCT WEBSITE] today!"
msauve: "What does this mean? Is my "computer" now a web browser?"
PROTIP: Substituting idiocy for pedantry doesn't make you look cool. Not even on slashdot.
They are not discontinuing support for their proprietary driver, just their open source driver, which has always been crap. If you want good 3d performance you can still use (and always should have been using) their proprietary driver.
I know, I know. You were just making a crack about how nobody uses linux...
No, they mean you should use the VESA driver so you can fire up a GUI browser and go to their website.
I sure hope you are being purposely obtuse.
Clearly there are only two options:
See http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088258/ even.
Comparing China and Cuba like that is idiotic. Cuba is indeed socialist, but China is far more capitalist. Arguably moreso than we are.
Also, are you kidding? You really don't see any differences between feudalism and socialism? I pray I read that wrong...
The layer encryption is done on is really irrelevant to this issue, it is the trust model that is broken.
MOD PARENT UP +1 IRONY