The companies didn't accept his technology because of the existence of competition, not patents. They wanted the marketing advantage they could derive from have exclusive rights to the technology. In the absence of the concept of a patent, these companies might not even exist because they need that marketing advantage to differentiate themselves. While some would argue this to be a good thing, it's difficult to argue this particular aspect of patents would increase innovation. --
If this guy is telling the truth, he hasn't done anything illegal. But that doesn't mean the FBI did anything wrong. What this guy did was the equivalent of rooting through a trash bin and obtaining the gun that was used in a murder and taking it home with him. He may not have killed anyone, but he's given plenty of reason to suspect him. I don't see any civil liberties violation here. The FBI needs his computer as evidence. Would anyone complain if the FBI confiscated the gun he brought home? --
I think that's how it SHOULD work. Dating services have always been peer-to-peer. You use their service to find each other, then you meet and do whatever it is peers do. Napster is just a musical dating service, and if they're ever going to make any money on this (and therefore validate the whole concept), dues are a pretty damn good way to do it.
Bitching about "now my music isn't free" isn't just selfish, it's ignorant, since there are probably a dozen other protocols and services you can use which ARE free and manifestly will remain so unless current law changes substantially. The only questions in my mind are what's a fair price for N/BMG to charge and what will they offer to justify it? Besides not having to switch download clients. --
Source code in a software company is a lot like the blood in your body. Sure, if you lose control of where it's going, you are in deep shit. But you cut yourself almost anywhere, and you're gonna find some.
This is their stock in trade and they have hundreds (if not thousands) of people working with it and on it. I can assure you that it will always be 'close to the surface', as it were.
Take it for someone who also works for a big software company. --
Microsoft makes a living off not fixing problems that are brought to their attention in plenty of time. The security officer would probably get a bonus for adhering to company policy so well. --
While you were reading this your hard disk has been formatted and your bios erased.
Good, that'll save me some time. It's always best to install Linux on a clean hard drive. --
Actually this is an interesting thing
on
End To Blindness?
·
· Score: 2
There's a crucial period in which the brain must be exposed to light and visual stimuli. As it gets exposed, neural pathways are trained to pave the way for visual attention and visual capability in general. The crucial period, IIRC, is the first several weeks to months after the child is born. Children who are unable to see during that period for whatever reason never seem to be able to, even if there is no damage to their optical "stuff" (to use the technical term). --
I think the whole point is if it had been running Linux it wouldn't matter if it got hit with the millenium bug or the Love bug, it wouldn't have freakin' crashed:P --
I can't say I understand your argument. Echelon is evil and must fail. Spying on our enemies might be great for national security and all, but this system is too powerful to be allowed to exist. It's like giving our cops tactical nukes instead of guns - expect a lot of collateral damage.
In Linux, the source code is open, but your data is securely locked away. In Microsoft, the source code is securely locked away, but your data is wide open. --
If you're REALLY immersed, you won't get motion sickness. That condition is caused by a disconnect between what you're seeing and what you're body is doing - for example if you're reading in a car, you see nothing moving, but you can feel the acceleration.
If immersion is properly done, the connection between your various senses will be perfect and you won't feel sick. --
1 in 10 is abuot the number of people in the general population that are depressed, have high anxiety, or are burnt-out. These are extremely common condtions! The number becomes about 1 in 2 when you take into account lower levels of anxiety.
I have actually applied for certificates from several different vendors as part of our testing (my employer, PeopleSoft, currently supports SSL with Apache).
The process you go through says a lot about what measures they take to verify your identity, and I've inferred that a LOT of it CAN'T be done without human intervention (given the current state of technology) - and not without dedicated hardware in a centralized location. The "authority" part of "certificate authority" is by definition a single entity. They usually request a copy of your business' Certificate of Incorporation, which must be verified by a human being, and they always request a phone number for verification, and they usually request your company's DUNS number (Dun and Bradstreet's corporation database) for simplicity's sake. Verification of the DUNS is about the only thing that can be done automatically, and it's not sufficient to prove your identity, since anyone can look it up.
--
Note that none of this reflects the opinions or views of my employer. Well actually it might, but I'm not allowed to say so. --
Around these parts brokers are required to evaluate your fitness for a particular risk CATEGORY, ONE time as you're signing up for access to that category. I signed up for an Ameritrade account (which I highly recommend, btw -- they have been nothing but completely honest and affordable) and when I did so I checked the boxes for margin trading and options trading. I have never used either of those high-risk forms of trading in the 2 years I've had the account, but I had to fill out paperwork certifying that I knew the risks I was taking. And they still had to approve it based on my income level, age, and so forth. I'm glad they did so, and it means I can trade options or on margin without someone watching over my shoulder. --
Remember that IBM isn't legally allowed to SELL Linux, nor is anyone else, under the terms of the GPL. RedHat, of course, sells support contracts for their brand, and thus they are hoping to get support fees out of this deal. However, even if RedHat were preinstalled on every mainframe, the customer wouldn't HAVE to buy support from RedHat. --
Actually, VSS has a CLI. It makes the whole package somewhat easier to stomach if you're a developer. Of course, the group that maintains our source tree (yes we need a whole group, we have a lot of fricking source) hates VSS because it's unscalable, and we're constantly having to repair the database and find ways to eke a LITTLE bit of performance out of the system - a problem CVS apparently does not have.
--
they are at risk of acquiring pirated operating systems elsewhere--
/
Linux users found to be at high risk for OSTDs
Today, medical researchers demonstrated that there is a strong causational link between users of the free "Linux" operating system and the use of other software not approved by Microsoft. According to the report, these Operating System-Transmitted Diseases (OSTDs) were found at a much higher rate in the high-risk group of Linux users than in the Microsoft crony group.
"We here at Microsoft," said the chief researcher, "don't blame the Linux users. The social stigma associated with Linux use is unfair -- but the evidence that these people are at higher risk of acquiring pirated software and using non-Windows software is staggering."
There are uses for this. Step outside the sysadmin box for a minute and think about it as a powerful development tool, and not just for KERNEL developers, either. The ability to run a kernel in usermode allows you to:
- Boot up a whole new DISTRO - never mind a new kernel - in a safe environment, simply by installing it in a subdirectory of/. Projects like
Repairlix could use this during development to avoid having to burn the cd, install it on a clean system, reboot to that system (or worse, have a whole 'nother computer for it).
- Give developers of drivers and network interfaces something to debug. When your code is likely to crash the whole system, it's crucial that you be able to place your debugger OUTSIDE the system.
- Give developers of ALL kinds of systems the ability to see the effects of their installer, compilation system, package management, etc. on different kernels and environments quickly. Want to see if your program runs on 2.0.* Linux? Boot the sucker up. (AFAIK the UML stuff is ported to particular kernels, so I guess you couldn't pick ANY kernel you wanted. Maybe when it comes of age a bit more. ..)
That's why, when I send my love letters messages to the CEO's wife, I wait until my boss goes to lunch and use his computer. And sign it with his name. --
Slashdot Mirror
The companies didn't accept his technology because of the existence of competition, not patents. They wanted the marketing advantage they could derive from have exclusive rights to the technology. In the absence of the concept of a patent, these companies might not even exist because they need that marketing advantage to differentiate themselves. While some would argue this to be a good thing, it's difficult to argue this particular aspect of patents would increase innovation.
--
*rolls eyes*
--
If this guy is telling the truth, he hasn't done anything illegal. But that doesn't mean the FBI did anything wrong. What this guy did was the equivalent of rooting through a trash bin and obtaining the gun that was used in a murder and taking it home with him. He may not have killed anyone, but he's given plenty of reason to suspect him. I don't see any civil liberties violation here. The FBI needs his computer as evidence. Would anyone complain if the FBI confiscated the gun he brought home?
--
Bitching about "now my music isn't free" isn't just selfish, it's ignorant, since there are probably a dozen other protocols and services you can use which ARE free and manifestly will remain so unless current law changes substantially. The only questions in my mind are what's a fair price for N/BMG to charge and what will they offer to justify it? Besides not having to switch download clients.
--
This is their stock in trade and they have hundreds (if not thousands) of people working with it and on it. I can assure you that it will always be 'close to the surface', as it were.
Take it for someone who also works for a big software company.
--
Microsoft makes a living off not fixing problems that are brought to their attention in plenty of time. The security officer would probably get a bonus for adhering to company policy so well.
--
SIX articles on this benighted piece of electronic "wonder" in the last two days. And still no new topic for it so I can GET IT OFF MY HOME PAGE.
--
So I can uncheck it from my preferences.
--
Good, that'll save me some time. It's always best to install Linux on a clean hard drive.
--
There's a crucial period in which the brain must be exposed to light and visual stimuli. As it gets exposed, neural pathways are trained to pave the way for visual attention and visual capability in general. The crucial period, IIRC, is the first several weeks to months after the child is born. Children who are unable to see during that period for whatever reason never seem to be able to, even if there is no damage to their optical "stuff" (to use the technical term).
--
Slash BackInBlack!
--
I think the whole point is if it had been running Linux it wouldn't matter if it got hit with the millenium bug or the Love bug, it wouldn't have freakin' crashed :P
--
Folks, this is the US Government mandating censorship. This is unconstitutional and specifically prohibited by law.
--
--
In Linux, the source code is open, but your data is securely locked away. In Microsoft, the source code is securely locked away, but your data is wide open.
--
If immersion is properly done, the connection between your various senses will be perfect and you won't feel sick.
--
This report is basically saying IT is normal.
--
The process you go through says a lot about what measures they take to verify your identity, and I've inferred that a LOT of it CAN'T be done without human intervention (given the current state of technology) - and not without dedicated hardware in a centralized location. The "authority" part of "certificate authority" is by definition a single entity. They usually request a copy of your business' Certificate of Incorporation, which must be verified by a human being, and they always request a phone number for verification, and they usually request your company's DUNS number (Dun and Bradstreet's corporation database) for simplicity's sake. Verification of the DUNS is about the only thing that can be done automatically, and it's not sufficient to prove your identity, since anyone can look it up.
--
Note that none of this reflects the opinions or views of my employer. Well actually it might, but I'm not allowed to say so.
--
Around these parts brokers are required to evaluate your fitness for a particular risk CATEGORY, ONE time as you're signing up for access to that category. I signed up for an Ameritrade account (which I highly recommend, btw -- they have been nothing but completely honest and affordable) and when I did so I checked the boxes for margin trading and options trading. I have never used either of those high-risk forms of trading in the 2 years I've had the account, but I had to fill out paperwork certifying that I knew the risks I was taking. And they still had to approve it based on my income level, age, and so forth. I'm glad they did so, and it means I can trade options or on margin without someone watching over my shoulder.
--
Remember that IBM isn't legally allowed to SELL Linux, nor is anyone else, under the terms of the GPL. RedHat, of course, sells support contracts for their brand, and thus they are hoping to get support fees out of this deal. However, even if RedHat were preinstalled on every mainframe, the customer wouldn't HAVE to buy support from RedHat.
--
Surely you don't doubt the word of the MSResearch department?
--
Actually, VSS has a CLI. It makes the whole package somewhat easier to stomach if you're a developer. Of course, the group that maintains our source tree (yes we need a whole group, we have a lot of fricking source) hates VSS because it's unscalable, and we're constantly having to repair the database and find ways to eke a LITTLE bit of performance out of the system - a problem CVS apparently does not have.
--
Today, medical researchers demonstrated that there is a strong causational link between users of the free "Linux" operating system and the use of other software not approved by Microsoft. According to the report, these Operating System-Transmitted Diseases (OSTDs) were found at a much higher rate in the high-risk group of Linux users than in the Microsoft crony group.
"We here at Microsoft," said the chief researcher, "don't blame the Linux users. The social stigma associated with Linux use is unfair -- but the evidence that these people are at higher risk of acquiring pirated software and using non-Windows software is staggering."
--
--
That's why, when I send my love letters messages to the CEO's wife, I wait until my boss goes to lunch and use his computer. And sign it with his name.
--