This is very true, and it's getting worse for M$, a recession looks set to help and bizarely the normal cost reduction should be good for the Open Source/Free Software.
http://news.excite.com/news/ap/011022/06/earns-m ic rosoft
This problem is going to cause M$ sever problems; The M$ share price will fall, they will cut investment, the share price will fall more, they will lose their 'famous names' the shares will fall further, it is a vicious feed back loop, before long the Microsoft Empire will be shadow of it's former self, like IBM in the 80's. We'll probably be really proud of our selves, "I defeated M$" we'll say, but it will have a hollow ring. We'll know in our hearts and minds that they where defeated by their own greed, lies and stupidity and not by Open Source/Free Software.
However there is another way. I've been thinking about an idea for some time, waiting for the right moment, I happen to think that the time is soon, very soon. We'll be able to say "I [we] defeated M$" and it will be true. We take the Open Source approach, we help, help the share price fall that is. A little short here, a little put there, however we approach it on an open source scale, on the grounds that many bucks will make short work of M$:)
We short M$ on global scale.
http://www.fool.com/FoolFAQ/FoolFAQ0033.htm
Not only will we get to engineer the fall of Microsoft, we'll prove that open source community can make money, the delious irony of it:)
Which brings me to one final question, is it ethical for an Open Source/Free Software advocate to make money from M$ stock?
£$%^& ethics this is [Capitalism|Justice|Victory].
This is very true, and it's getting worse for M$, a recession looks set to help and bizarely the normal cost reduction should be good for the Open Source/Free Software.
http://news.excite.com/news/ap/011022/06/earns-m ic rosoft
This problem is going to cause M$ sever problems; The M$ share price will fall, they will cut investment, the share price will fall more, they will lose their 'famous names' the shares will fall further, it is a vicious feed back loop, before long the Microsoft Empire will be shadow of it's former self, like IBM in the 80's. We'll probably be really proud of our selves, "I defeated M$" we'll say, but it will have a hollow ring. We'll know in our hearts and minds that they where defeated by their own greed, lies and stupidity and not by Open Source/Free Software.
However there is another way. I've been thinking about an idea for some time, waiting for the right moment, I happen to think that the time is soon, very soon. We'll be able to say "I [we] defeated M$" and it will be true. We take the Open Source approach, we help, help the share price fall that is. A little short here, a little put there, however we approach it on an open source scale, on the grounds that many bucks will make short work of M$:)
We short M$ on global scale.
http://www.fool.com/FoolFAQ/FoolFAQ0033.htm
Not only will we get to engineer the fall of Microsoft, we'll prove that open source community can make money, the delious irony of it:)
Which brings me to one final question, is it ethical for an Open Source/Free Software advocate to make money from M$ stock?
£$%^& ethics this is [Capitalism|Justice|Victory].
So here goes my explanation. A Star Chamber is essentially identical to what is described in the article. A secret court with secret members, which conducts a secret trial, and meets out summary punitive 'justice'. Whilst the concept predate history the name "Star Chamber" is taken from such a court that existed to deal with suspected Tories/Collaborators in the American insurrection/rebellion.
Whilst personally I'm aware of Babbage's, Ada Bryon and Grace Hoopers contributions. I would regard knowledge of who they are as relatively unimportant.
I agree the best answer to this is 'I don't know'. People that understand the limits of their knowledge are much better than 'know-alls'.
> Does the RIAA allow us to make backup copies of our media?
Not the RIAA! The Bern convention (international copyright law) allows you 'fair use' and that includes the right to make copies for use by yourself. So cutting a CD copy old tapes, taping Vinyl, etc, etc.
In Kingston upon Hull, Kingston provide a 256Kbps ADSL service for £11 (~$17) through it's KIT service.
Re:More importantly :how to pronounce J# ?
on
J#
·
· Score: 2
I've heard the expression cross-hatch used from time to time. I've not heard cardinal used but I've seen it used to mean [interger] number on forms i.e. Ref#/Id# (Ref No/Id No).
Re:More importantly :how to pronounce J# ?
on
J#
·
· Score: 2
>Yes, I still don't know how to pronounce those C# and now J#.
In English (i.e. British english) # is called a 'hash' so that gives C(hash). Also to hash something is to bodge it or make a mess of it . All in all a rather appropriate description.
Michele Herman, lawyer, Microsoft Standards Group.
Scott K. Peterson, lawyer, Hewlett-Packard.
Alan Kotok, associate chairman, W3C.
Carl Cargill, director of standards, Sun Microsystems.
Steve Nunn, lawyer and vice-president corporate resources, The Open Group.
Wanda Cox, scientist engineer global standards, Apple Computer.
W. Mike Deese, director of standards strategy, Microsoft.
Gib Ritenour, director technical standards and patent strategy, Nortel Networks.
Martin Ashton, head of technical due diligence and intellectual property, Reuters plc.
Chuck Adams, standards, IBM.
Jean-Francois Abramatic, chairman, W3C.
Mark DeLuca, IP lawyer and partner, Woodcock Washburn (for Microsoft).
Mari Georges, director of research and development, ILOG S.A.
Toon Groenendaal, Philips Electronics.
Ian Jacobs, computer scientist and author
aifProcess Documentaif, W3C.
Daniel Weitzner, lawyer and director technology and society, W3C.
Glen Johnson, Nortel Networks.
Tony E. Piotrowski, Philips Electronics.
Barry Rein, senior partner, Pennie & Edmonds lawyers (for W3C).
Helene Plotka Workman, Apple Computer.
The W2C currently has mind share amongst developers, because it is open. If it takes this course and goes 'closed' it loses this goodwill and will probably die as a standards body without considerable contributions in resources and finance from the vested proprietary interests. Since proprietary interests are not open by their nature this would be crying shame. I guess we will just have to start another Open Standards Consortium from scratch.
Why should somebody such as myself continue to contribute (as I have in the past) to ID's/RFC's
for free when in the future I will be charged for using the same standard's I've helped to develop?
The college I currently attend, like most colleges, is on a form of 'Academic Honesty Policy'. It has been explained to me in various ways, but mostly it boils down to: If you catch someone's code out of the corner of you eye, that's cheating, and you need to come up with your own 'original' ideas.
IMHO this is a complete stupid policy. One of the key objectives of any degree is to learn how to research a problem and find the best solutions. This is why traditionally you 'read' for a degree; this maps to CS skill of recognising when & how to avoid constantly re-inventing the wheel. My own 'original' ideas was how to earn a Phd, not a first degree. Providing you properly attribute your sources you should receive extra credit for research not less.
I'm a CS major, so I write a lot of code, and I imagine when I get in the work force, I'll be writing a lot more. The difference is, in the workplace, I'll be in a team of people. I won't have control and I'll have personnel and political issues to deal with in addition to my job. So far I've had one class that actually demonstrated this principle, and I'm pretty much finished all my CS courses.
I agree it's important, however it is fraught with dificulty. My CS degree included a similar final group project, and to be frank it was such a disaster that it was dropped from the grades. There was no proper structure and nearly every group degenerated into chaos. The problem being that some teams had too many cheifs and not enough indians or vica-versa. I think the main problem was that no roles where assigned, a small multi-discipline/role team (drawn from across modules), with assigned roles would be better. A Project Officer (planning), a Project Champion (requirements/domain expert), Analyst, Designer, Chief programmer (standards), Team Leader, Coder(s), Tester(s), Commissioner(s). Depending on the team size some of some people would assume different roles, i.e Domain Expert & Tester could easily be the same person in different roles.
I know the college has to do this so they can somehow grade 'my' code and assess my performance. Isn't there a better way? A way that students can be taught to work as a team yet still be able to tell who is pulling their own weight and who is not?"
It sounds like a poorly designed excercise/assignment to me. The key to sucess is about division of labour, so unless they've assigned a Project Manager you need to assign different responsibilities to the members. Play to peoples strengths, a strong personality as the Project Manager, a visionary as the designer, pedant as the tester, etc.
I always enjoyed working in teams during my college education, yet found that projects, where you were allowed to work with others, were few and far between. Do you all feel that technical courses should show a bit more emphasis on working with others, or is this just one of life's lessons that you pick up as you go along?
I agree; Team's can be both more fun and more effective, In my 12 years post grad, I've always worked in teams some-times small, some-times large, but always teams. Teamwork is a key skill in developers and in my experience a small well managed team will always produce better results than a lone hacker, even the very best lone hackers.
- US Medical Sanctions has killed many times more people in peacetime than have died in conflict with the US since the second world war. Take a look at what is happening to the Iraqi people RIGHT NOW.
Only one person responsible for the horrific plight of the Iraqi people and that is Saddam Hussein. He has been ferreting the cash intended for food and medical aid to rebuild his military. Indeed it's only a matter of time before we have to sort out that problem again. Next time without pandering to the assorted peaceniks and bleeding hearts who are responsible for job only being half done in the first place. Indeed going by the figures they have more blood on their hands, 300,000 Iraqi people's blood.
...afterwards he was demonized and led to suicide by a government that disagreed with his lifestyle.
1) Actually he was not 'demonised' by the 'government', he received honours for his work.
2) It is much more acurate to say he was ostrocised by society & victimised by Police because of his homosexuality [that where ignorant of his contribution].
3) His Finnish toy boy lover was almost certainly a honey trap.
4) There is also a strong likelyhood that his suicide had as much to do with to post traumatic stress, as his prosecution.
5) His suicide may have actually been murder.
>The British Home Secretary is considering
> compulsory identity cards, despite the fact
> that such cards would not have made any
> difference in the recent terrorist attacks
> on New York and Washington. The British have
> generally opposed their reintroduction since
> the wartime system of identity cards was
> abolished in 1952."
I'm British are there is *no way* that I will carry an ID card. Compulsory cards reverse the burden of guilt. If we allow this incident to remove our freedoms the terrorist have scored a victory, I urge all other [Brits] to oppose them.
Please design and build me a house. I am not quite sure of what I need, so you should use your discretion.
My house should have between two and forty-five bedrooms. Just make sure the plans are such that the bedrooms can be easily added or deleted. When you bring the blueprints to me, I will make the final decision of what I want. Also, bring me the cost breakdowns for each configuration so that I can arbitrarily pick one at a later time.
Keep in mind that the house I ultimately choose must cost less than the one I am currently living in. Make sure, however, that you correct all the deficiencies that exist in my current house (the floor of my kitchen vibrates when I walk across it, and the walls don't have nearly enough insulation in them).
As you design, also keep in mind that I want to keep yearly maintenance costs as low as possible. This should mean the incorporation of extra-cost features like aluminum, vinyl, or composite siding. (If you choose not to specify aluminum, be prepared to explain your decision in detail.)
Please take care that modern design practices and the latest materials are used in construction of the house, as I want it to be a showplace for the most up-to-date ideas and methods. Be alerted, however, that kitchen should be designed to accommodate (among other things) my wobbly 1952 Gibson refrigerator.
To assure that you are building the correct house for our entire family, you will need to contact each of my children, and also our in-laws. My mother-in-law will have very strong feelings about how the house should be designed, since she visits us at least once a year. Make sure that you weigh all of thses options carefully and come to the right decision. I, however, retain the right to overrule any decisions that you make.
Please don't bother me with small details right now. Your job is to develop the overall plans for the house and get the big picture. At this time, for example, it is not appropriate to be chosing the color of the carpeting. However, keep in mind that my wife likes blue.
Also, do not worry at this time about acquiring the resources to build the house itself. Your first priority is to develop detailed plans and specifications. Once I approve these plans, however, I would expect the house to be under roof within 48 hours.
While you are designing this house specifically for me, keep in mind that sooner or later I will have to sell it to someone else. It therefore should have appeal to a wide variety of potential buyers. Please make sure before you finalize the plans that there is a consensus of the potential homebuyers in my area that they like the features this house has.
I advise you to run up and look at the house my neighbor build last year, as we like it a great deal. It has many things that we feel we also need in our new home, particularily the 75-foot swimming pool. With careful engineering, I believe that you can design this into our new house without impacting the construction cost.
Please prepare a complete set of blueprints. It is not necessary at this time to do the real design, since they will be used only for construction bids. Be advised, however, that you will be held accountable for any increase of construction costs as a result of later design changes.
You must be thrilled to be working on as an interesting project as this! To be able to use the latest techniques and materials and to be given such freedom in your designs is something that can't happen very often. Contact me as soon as possible with your ideas and completed plans.
PS: My wife has just told me that she disagrees with many of the instructions I've given you in this letter. As architect, it is your responsibility to resolve these differences. I have tried in the past and have been unable to accomplish this. If you can't handle this responsibility, I will have to find another architect.
PPS: Perhaps what I need is not a house at all, but a travel trailer. Please advise me as soon a possible if this is the case.
This would actually be illegal in the UK under the data protection Act 1980, which makes it a criminal offence to pass on or receive any personalised data to a third party without the data subjects (your) permission.
Also as an aside most Internet download's because they are for personal use are covered by fair use and are perfectly legal and proper, in any country.
So if this was to happen in the UK the ISP and the RIAA would be breaking the law.
It seems to me that microsoft.com is also badly effected by something [Code Red?]. It's been returning, Servery Busy, and Access Control Violations all morning. When you do get a page returned it's slow, very slow.
Slashdot Mirror
This is very true, and it's getting worse for M$, a recession looks set to help and bizarely the normal cost reduction should be good for the Open Source/Free Software.
m ic rosoft
:)
:)
http://news.excite.com/news/ap/011022/06/earns-
This problem is going to cause M$ sever problems; The M$ share price will fall, they will cut investment, the share price will fall more, they will lose their 'famous names' the shares will fall further, it is a vicious feed back loop, before long the Microsoft Empire will be shadow of it's former self, like IBM in the 80's. We'll probably be really proud of our selves, "I defeated M$" we'll say, but it will have a hollow ring. We'll know in our hearts and minds that they where defeated by their own greed, lies and stupidity and not by Open Source/Free Software.
However there is another way. I've been thinking about an idea for some time, waiting for the right moment, I happen to think that the time is soon, very soon. We'll be able to say "I [we] defeated M$" and it will be true. We take the Open Source approach, we help, help the share price fall that is. A little short here, a little put there, however we approach it on an open source scale, on the grounds that many bucks will make short work of M$
We short M$ on global scale.
http://www.fool.com/FoolFAQ/FoolFAQ0033.htm
Not only will we get to engineer the fall of Microsoft, we'll prove that open source community can make money, the delious irony of it
Which brings me to one final question, is it ethical for an Open Source/Free Software advocate to make money from M$ stock?
£$%^& ethics this is [Capitalism|Justice|Victory].
This is very true, and it's getting worse for M$, a recession looks set to help and bizarely the normal cost reduction should be good for the Open Source/Free Software.
http://news.excite.com/news/ap/011022/06/earns-m ic rosoft
This problem is going to cause M$ sever problems; The M$ share price will fall, they will cut investment, the share price will fall more, they will lose their 'famous names' the shares will fall further, it is a vicious feed back loop, before long the Microsoft Empire will be shadow of it's former self, like IBM in the 80's. We'll probably be really proud of our selves, "I defeated M$" we'll say, but it will have a hollow ring. We'll know in our hearts and minds that they where defeated by their own greed, lies and stupidity and not by Open Source/Free Software.
However there is another way. I've been thinking about an idea for some time, waiting for the right moment, I happen to think that the time is soon, very soon. We'll be able to say "I [we] defeated M$" and it will be true. We take the Open Source approach, we help, help the share price fall that is. A little short here, a little put there, however we approach it on an open source scale, on the grounds that many bucks will make short work of M$ :)
We short M$ on global scale.
http://www.fool.com/FoolFAQ/FoolFAQ0033.htm
Not only will we get to engineer the fall of Microsoft, we'll prove that open source community can make money, the delious irony of it :)
Which brings me to one final question, is it ethical for an Open Source/Free Software advocate to make money from M$ stock?
£$%^& ethics this is [Capitalism|Justice|Victory].
This link seems to be SlashDOSed.
So here goes my explanation. A Star Chamber is essentially identical to what is described in the article. A secret court with secret members, which conducts a secret trial, and meets out summary punitive 'justice'. Whilst the concept predate history the name "Star Chamber" is taken from such a court that existed to deal with suspected Tories/Collaborators in the American insurrection/rebellion.
http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/collections/exh
Whilst personally I'm aware of Babbage's, Ada Bryon and Grace Hoopers contributions. I would regard knowledge of who they are as relatively unimportant.
I agree the best answer to this is 'I don't know'. People that understand the limits of their knowledge are much better than 'know-alls'.
Perhaps if somebody was to produce a book, entitled "Zen and the Art of Computer Programming", that might help
What struck me then was what a <snipped>flamebait<snipped>
What strikes me is your generalisations; more characteristic of a liberal arts student than scientist of any subject.
Frankly most of their essays were embarrassing in their childish views, ignorance, poor grammar and spelling.
Taking of which: Your own grammer is not so hot is it. Even this illiterate CS grad has spotted eleven mistakes in your post.
> Does the RIAA allow us to make backup copies of our media?
Not the RIAA! The Bern convention (international copyright law) allows you 'fair use' and that includes the right to make copies for use by yourself. So cutting a CD copy old tapes, taping Vinyl, etc, etc.
> It's only 'terrorism' if you lose the 'war'.
It's the fact they targeted civilians with the intention of terrorising them that makes these acts terrorism.
In Kingston upon Hull, Kingston provide a 256Kbps ADSL service for £11 (~$17) through it's KIT service.
I've heard the expression cross-hatch used from time to time. I've not heard cardinal used but I've seen it used to mean [interger] number on forms i.e. Ref#
>Yes, I still don't know how to pronounce those C# and now J#.
In English (i.e. British english) # is called a 'hash' so that gives C(hash). Also to hash something is to bodge it or make a mess of it . All in all a rather appropriate description.
This list of Authors / Sponsors explains why.
Michele Herman, lawyer, Microsoft Standards Group.
Scott K. Peterson, lawyer, Hewlett-Packard.
Alan Kotok, associate chairman, W3C.
Carl Cargill, director of standards, Sun Microsystems.
Steve Nunn, lawyer and vice-president corporate resources, The Open Group.
Wanda Cox, scientist engineer global standards, Apple Computer.
W. Mike Deese, director of standards strategy, Microsoft.
Gib Ritenour, director technical standards and patent strategy, Nortel Networks.
Martin Ashton, head of technical due diligence and intellectual property, Reuters plc.
Chuck Adams, standards, IBM.
Jean-Francois Abramatic, chairman, W3C.
Mark DeLuca, IP lawyer and partner, Woodcock Washburn (for Microsoft).
Mari Georges, director of research and development, ILOG S.A.
Toon Groenendaal, Philips Electronics.
Ian Jacobs, computer scientist and author
aifProcess Documentaif, W3C.
Daniel Weitzner, lawyer and director technology and society, W3C.
Glen Johnson, Nortel Networks.
Tony E. Piotrowski, Philips Electronics.
Barry Rein, senior partner, Pennie & Edmonds lawyers (for W3C).
Helene Plotka Workman, Apple Computer.
The W2C currently has mind share amongst developers, because it is open. If it takes this course and goes 'closed' it loses this goodwill and will probably die as a standards body without considerable contributions in resources and finance from the vested proprietary interests. Since proprietary interests are not open by their nature this would be crying shame. I guess we will just have to start another Open Standards Consortium from scratch.
Why should somebody such as myself continue to contribute (as I have in the past) to ID's/RFC's
for free when in the future I will be charged for using the same standard's I've helped to develop?
The college I currently attend, like most colleges, is on a form of 'Academic Honesty Policy'. It has been explained to me in various ways, but mostly it boils down to: If you catch someone's code out of the corner of you eye, that's cheating, and you need to come up with your own 'original' ideas.
IMHO this is a complete stupid policy. One of the key objectives of any degree is to learn how to research a problem and find the best solutions. This is why traditionally you 'read' for a degree; this maps to CS skill of recognising when & how to avoid constantly re-inventing the wheel. My own 'original' ideas was how to earn a Phd, not a first degree. Providing you properly attribute your sources you should receive extra credit for research not less.
I'm a CS major, so I write a lot of code, and I imagine when I get in the work force, I'll be writing a lot more. The difference is, in the workplace, I'll be in a team of people. I won't have control and I'll have personnel and political issues to deal with in addition to my job. So far I've had one class that actually demonstrated this principle, and I'm pretty much finished all my CS courses.
I agree it's important, however it is fraught with dificulty. My CS degree included a similar final group project, and to be frank it was such a disaster that it was dropped from the grades. There was no proper structure and nearly every group degenerated into chaos. The problem being that some teams had too many cheifs and not enough indians or vica-versa. I think the main problem was that no roles where assigned, a small multi-discipline/role team (drawn from across modules), with assigned roles would be better. A Project Officer (planning), a Project Champion (requirements/domain expert), Analyst, Designer, Chief programmer (standards), Team Leader, Coder(s), Tester(s), Commissioner(s). Depending on the team size some of some people would assume different roles, i.e Domain Expert & Tester could easily be the same person in different roles.
I know the college has to do this so they can somehow grade 'my' code and assess my performance. Isn't there a better way? A way that students can be taught to work as a team yet still be able to tell who is pulling their own weight and who is not?"
It sounds like a poorly designed excercise/assignment to me. The key to sucess is about division of labour, so unless they've assigned a Project Manager you need to assign different responsibilities to the members. Play to peoples strengths, a strong personality as the Project Manager, a visionary as the designer, pedant as the tester, etc.
I always enjoyed working in teams during my college education, yet found that projects, where you were allowed to work with others, were few and far between. Do you all feel that technical courses should show a bit more emphasis on working with others, or is this just one of life's lessons that you pick up as you go along?
I agree; Team's can be both more fun and more effective, In my 12 years post grad, I've always worked in teams some-times small, some-times large, but always teams. Teamwork is a key skill in developers and in my experience a small well managed team will always produce better results than a lone hacker, even the very best lone hackers.
- US Medical Sanctions has killed many times more people in peacetime than have died in conflict with the US since the second world war. Take a look at what is happening to the Iraqi people RIGHT NOW.
Only one person responsible for the horrific plight of the Iraqi people and that is Saddam Hussein. He has been ferreting the cash intended for food and medical aid to rebuild his military. Indeed it's only a matter of time before we have to sort out that problem again. Next time without pandering to the assorted peaceniks and bleeding hearts who are responsible for job only being half done in the first place. Indeed going by the figures they have more blood on their hands, 300,000 Iraqi people's blood.
...afterwards he was demonized and led to suicide by a government that disagreed with his lifestyle.
1) Actually he was not 'demonised' by the 'government', he received honours for his work.
2) It is much more acurate to say he was ostrocised by society & victimised by Police because of his homosexuality [that where ignorant of his contribution].
3) His Finnish toy boy lover was almost certainly a honey trap.
4) There is also a strong likelyhood that his suicide had as much to do with to post traumatic stress, as his prosecution.
5) His suicide may have actually been murder.
>The British Home Secretary is considering
> compulsory identity cards, despite the fact
> that such cards would not have made any
> difference in the recent terrorist attacks
> on New York and Washington. The British have
> generally opposed their reintroduction since
> the wartime system of identity cards was
> abolished in 1952."
I'm British are there is *no way* that I will carry an ID card. Compulsory cards reverse the burden of guilt. If we allow this incident to remove our freedoms the terrorist have scored a victory, I urge all other [Brits] to oppose them.
Q) How many Software Engineers does it take to change a lightbulb ?
A) None, it's a harware problem!
Please design and build me a house. I am not quite sure of what I need, so you should use your discretion.
My house should have between two and forty-five bedrooms. Just make sure the plans are such that the bedrooms can be easily added or deleted. When you bring the blueprints to me, I will make the final decision of what I want. Also, bring me the cost breakdowns for each configuration so that I can arbitrarily pick one at a later time.
Keep in mind that the house I ultimately choose must cost less than the one I am currently living in. Make sure, however, that you correct all the deficiencies that exist in my current house (the floor of my kitchen vibrates when I walk across it, and the walls don't have nearly enough insulation in them).
As you design, also keep in mind that I want to keep yearly maintenance costs as low as possible. This should mean the incorporation of extra-cost features like aluminum, vinyl, or composite siding. (If you choose not to specify aluminum, be prepared to explain your decision in detail.)
Please take care that modern design practices and the latest materials are used in construction of the house, as I want it to be a showplace for the most up-to-date ideas and methods. Be alerted, however, that kitchen should be designed to accommodate (among other things) my wobbly 1952 Gibson refrigerator.
To assure that you are building the correct house for our entire family, you will need to contact each of my children, and also our in-laws. My mother-in-law will have very strong feelings about how the house should be designed, since she visits us at least once a year. Make sure that you weigh all of thses options carefully and come to the right decision. I, however, retain the right to overrule any decisions that you make.
Please don't bother me with small details right now. Your job is to develop the overall plans for the house and get the big picture. At this time, for example, it is not appropriate to be chosing the color of the carpeting. However, keep in mind that my wife likes blue.
Also, do not worry at this time about acquiring the resources to build the house itself. Your first priority is to develop detailed plans and specifications. Once I approve these plans, however, I would expect the house to be under roof within 48 hours.
While you are designing this house specifically for me, keep in mind that sooner or later I will have to sell it to someone else. It therefore should have appeal to a wide variety of potential buyers. Please make sure before you finalize the plans that there is a consensus of the potential homebuyers in my area that they like the features this house has.
I advise you to run up and look at the house my neighbor build last year, as we like it a great deal. It has many things that we feel we also need in our new home, particularily the 75-foot swimming pool. With careful engineering, I believe that you can design this into our new house without impacting the construction cost.
Please prepare a complete set of blueprints. It is not necessary at this time to do the real design, since they will be used only for construction bids. Be advised, however, that you will be held accountable for any increase of construction costs as a result of later design changes.
You must be thrilled to be working on as an interesting project as this! To be able to use the latest techniques and materials and to be given such freedom in your designs is something that can't happen very often. Contact me as soon as possible with your ideas and completed plans.
PS: My wife has just told me that she disagrees with many of the instructions I've given you in this letter. As architect, it is your responsibility to resolve these differences. I have tried in the past and have been unable to accomplish this. If you can't handle this responsibility, I will have to find another architect.
PPS: Perhaps what I need is not a house at all, but a travel trailer. Please advise me as soon a possible if this is the case.
This would actually be illegal in the UK under the data protection Act 1980, which makes it a criminal offence to pass on or receive any personalised data to a third party without the data subjects (your) permission.
Also as an aside most Internet download's because they are for personal use are covered by fair use and are perfectly legal and proper, in any country.
So if this was to happen in the UK the ISP and the RIAA would be breaking the law.
The simplest and most effective solution is a clause in the ISP' terms of service reserving the right to disconnect infected machines.
If a computer can 'invent' something by simply extrapolating rules, the devices it produces are clearly not innovative and fail 'Obviousness' test.
It seems to me that microsoft.com is also badly effected by something [Code Red?]. It's been returning, Servery Busy, and Access Control Violations all morning. When you do get a page returned it's slow, very slow.