Posts by chaosvoyager

Hackintosh maker bites back at Apple

Right Rights?

Software is still a bit difficult to classify. As just one example of its quirky nature is the fact that it's the only copyright protected work that needs to be copied AND modified to 'use'. The ambiguity surrounding what software 'is' has allowed companies to attempt to protect their software using every existing IP right in the book and then some (the ELUA).

For example, most software (with the exception of most console games) is sold protected by both copyright, and license restrictions on use. This is why I still had to purchase a Vista 64 disk despite already having a valid license for it. If this was taken to trial, it is highly likely that a Judge would see this as something a company should not be doing.

If Psystar gets what they're seeking though, it will drastically reduce the effectiveness of every ELUA that exists, and affect more than just Apple in ways I am unable to fully speculate without a cup of coffee.

@ Alexis Vallance

"If you don't think the terms are fair, you challenge them. You do not challenge them by ignoring the terms and make a profit as a result."

Um, that's EXACTLY how you challenge them.

Most companies just make their ELUAs as restrictive as possible and wait for them to be tested in court to see what sticks. But this sort of thing never goes to court unless someone is making/losing money due to to the ELUA being enforced/breached.

It's hard to prove 'damages' based on money you ~might~ have made if the ELUA restrictions were reasonable. And contrary to what the RIAA would like you to think, if you're not making any money, it's very hard for a software vendor to prove they're losing any, and they're not going to waste their time on you if they can't.

Apple did far worse when they used the iPhone trademark before they had the rights to it. It looks like everything worked out for them however, and to be fair Apple did start the whole i'Thing' branding trend (or did they?). I just wonder how much Cisco got for it.

That 'Elderly Persons' sign: Can you do better?

Kyphotic, or Cryptic?

What's next, Handicap people complaining about being represented as wheelchair bound?

The other Matt has it right, the current representation is much more accurate for the ACTUAL old people you have to watch out for, and has wider shared cultural significance.

But this old people sign is the least of my symbolic worries (because I'm not old). What I'm far more concerned about is having a good glyph to <del>warn me of</del> represent nude beaches. For some reason they have symbols for everything else you can and cannot do at the beaches here, but not the nude bit. And unlike those mythical Brazilian nude beaches, all we have over here are places where the last guys (and ONLY guys) who should be seen naked are.

Mines the one with the Peril Sensitive Sunglasses and "AARP guide to North American Geriatrics" in the pocket.

Who will be the next Doctor?

Harry Potter and the Big Blue Box

What IS Donna Noble ("what are you... what will you be...?")?

Why is Rose so much more upset about The Doctor 'possibly' regenerating than everyone else ("but you can't...")?

Has The Doctor's ability to regenerate been fubared due to what the Master did to him in last season's finale ("what if I suspend your capacity to regenerate?")?

And finally, how can a 'sonic' screwdriver do so damn much, and yet can't open a wooden door? Bad enough that we've seen it do all kinds of electromagnetic things, but for crying out loud, it reconstituted an absorbed human being (well, mostly sorta, but still an impressive feat for a sonic device).

Quantum of Solace trailer teases fans

Typecasting Connery and leaving Camp

Perhaps his concerns about becoming typecast are what led Connery to take that role in Highlander, were he played the part of an immortal Egyptian who dressed like a Spaniard, fought with a Japanese sword, and spoke with a Scottish accent.

As for QoS, I for one am really happy about this move away from 'camp' by both the Bond and Batman movie franchises (though the latter had to go completely over the edge before doing so). I'm also extremely happy that their writers understand that giving male characters emotional depth does not equate to making them 'sensitive'.

I really don't care if this interpretation of Bond is the 'right' one, as long as it's well crafted and consistent, though I will admit that you can take redefining an existing brand too far like in the case of Battlestar Galactica (which is also less campy than its previous incarnation). However, I don't think hair color takes Bond that far.

DARPA pilot-ware unflappable in wing-fling damage test

Smaller Aircraft can Lose more Wing than Larger ones.

My physics is a bit fuzzy, but I seem to recall something about mass/lift ratios having something to do with why smaller aircraft need less wing surface area to stay aloft, or something.

As such, were this a full sized aircraft instead of a scale model, I would be very impressed. Mind you I'm still impressed, but since I don't know the exact scale of the model, I can't be sure of how impressed I actually am.

Google silences Android critics

(@Andy Hards) Press Button, Receive Bacon

So is that what that icon represents? Interesting. And I thought Clarus was confusing.

Hmm, and I don't have a replica sword on my wall, nor do I even know what snakebite and black is, let alone drink it. Should I?

*sigh*, I really do need to keep up with all this political, pop culture, and sports trivia better. It seems it's the only thing people comment on.

As for Android, did I mention the NDA ADC winners had to sign? Did I? Maybe I couldn't have :P Naa, I just forgot. What this means is that even discussing Android development and where the platform is actually headed is now 'closed' as well. Sure, you could still discuss the old buggy SKDs, but why?

It's one thing to keep a project's source closed until it's consistent enough to open for general development (in fact, I think it's required), it's quite another to do what Google has done.

When Google burns bridges, they use orbital lazers!

Hmm, it also seems that Google is only releasing the new Android SDKs to the 50 ADC winners because those SDKs are 'buggy' and it wouldn't be fair to the winners if they released them to the general public. So not only is the source not open, the executables and tools are now 'closed' as well.

What a load of muffintops.

http://helloandroid.com/node/572

http://androidguys.com/2008/05/20/adc-semi-finalists-getting-bleeding-edge-sdk-first

http://groups.google.com/group/android-developers/browse_thread/thread/52e75664c5565980#

(ICON green guy measuring a shirt because, well, does like AYONE ever use that icon? It looked lonely)

Vonage denied retrial in patent case

Not Knowing is Half the Battle

You know what's really bad? The more software patents you know about, valid or not, the more liable you can be held for infringing them in your programs. Legally speaking, your programmers should be as unaware of existing patents as possible.

At least in America.

You know what's worse? Software is about standards of communication and interface, and being able to restrict who uses it, so there's very little money in 'innovating' software. In fact, it's the only technology where we've gone BACKWARDS and are only now revisiting ideas we had in the 60's. Hell, we've had to bring obsolete computers out of cold storage to fight some of these patent suits:

http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?alias=theres-history-and-money&chanID=sa025&modsrc=reuters

As a skilled programmer, I want to make money using my ability. But between the people willing to borrow my ideas for free, and the people willing to sue me into oblivion, I'm starting to wonder how.

Taiwan mislays millions of honeybees

That does get me Thinking...

Ian Orchard,

That was the most specific, reasoned, and useful response I have seen in a long time. Something like that, if true, could very well play a part in CCD.

Nothing to add, other than I wish more posts were like that (including mine :) ). Thanks for the insight.

Let's not blame GM at all.

For the life of me I don't understand why people have such a problem with GM crops. In all the cases I have encountered, they have been healthier for you, tasted better, grown bigger, been more resistant to disease and pests, and been SAFER for the environment (as they don't reproduce uncontrollably), than existing strains. Far more damage that has been caused by transporting 'naturally' occurring plant and animal strains to new environments. No genetic engineering involved, it's an all natural destabilization of an ecosystem.

And we've been doing GM for centuries, just not as safely or directly. Where do you think all those dog breeds came from (some of which cannot even reproduce without human intervention at this point)? You think the corn you eat was the original strain?

It's rather annoying that so many people still jump to blaming man or god when nature goes 'wrong', most of whom have no knowledge of the science they comment on. Yes, there are risks with GM, but the risks in not taking advantage of this technology are far greater, just more familiar.

Wow, how did this become a discussion about GM crops?

'As I watch England turn into a quivering pile of dung'

RGGGHHH!

AGGGGhh!

RRRR! >_<

...

You know, I'm trying to summon some vitriol so I can play along here, but I just can't seem to find it.

It's like seeing the Matrix. You have the 'not all of group X are Y' comments, the 'outright counterattack' comments, and we even started with a 'check your grammar and spelling' comment. Surprisingly, there were no 'bush is a moron' comments, but perhaps that one's too played at this point to be mistaken for intelligent commentary. I see the numbers, but for the life of me I just can't take this seriously.

But that's the point, right (as I'm told I'm somewhat foggy when it comes to cultural mores)?

The only one that caused any sort of reaction was the 'condemn the troops' comment which generated a little acid reflux. It always seems to be the soldiers who pay the price, both in terms of lives, and in terms of the resentment and displaced rage foisted upon them. Very few are anything more than young people still trying to figure out their place in the world entering (or forced) into a situation that makes no sense. Such situations tend to bring the best AND worst out of people at the same time, and at a point where those individuals are still discovering who they really are.

But it's a tricky thing to support your troops while condemning the war.

Arrest Richard Gere, orders Indian court

I don't even tolerate my OWN cultural 'values'

This reminds me of that time when Janet Jackson had that wardrobe malfunction. Unlike this, it was claimed to be an 'accident', and yet look at how America overreacted.

It's embarrassing.

And India...wasn't that the culture where widows were expected to burn with their husband's corpse before the British took over? And how's that caste system working out?

Seriously, there is a great deal of value in the culture of India that is worthy of respect, but there is also a great deal broken. No culture is perfect, and we need to be able to discuss our cultures in something other than absolutes.

"He was there to help their fight against Aids, and his reward for not understanding their culture was to be sentenced to 3 months in jail. I know there's more than a few people in India with a significantly more tolerant outlook on life, so perhaps they could help right this stupidity."

I agree.

Finally, there are some who say ignorance of the law is not an excuse. However, at this point the legal systems in industrialized nations is such that really the only people who are not ignorant of the law are lawyers, and we've seen how much better the people who can afford good legal counsel do in court compared to those who cannot.

In short, if ignorance of the law is not an excuse (or a defense), then only the wealthy will be able to work within it.

Wipe your arse less, suggests Sheryl Crow

This wouldn't be a problem...

...if only more people knew how to use those three seashells.

P2P pinball lawyers say ignorance is no defence

How much for that videogame?

You know, if they just asked for the 25 euros the game costs (plus the cost of getting your info from the ISP, who you should now drop), they would be far more likely to get what they're asking for.

But no, that would be fair and reasonable. I can only assume that it ends up being more profitable to make threats for ridiculous amounts of money.

Granted, hardly anybody pays for software anymore, which damages MY ability to make a living, but if making a living in this field requires this kind of action, I'm not sure what I'm going to do.

How can small software developers remain profitable without resorting to this kind of nonsense? I see a future where people get ticketed for IP violations much like they currently do for illegal parking and speeding.

Thai King video wag pulls YouTube clip

Understanding a Culture

I usually don't post twice on things like this, but there have been a lot of comments stating that most foreigners just don't understand Thai culture, such as...

"It seems the only people that commit these acts are foreigners that haven't got a clue."

...However, the YouTube clip in question had to have been created by someone with an EXTREMELY good understanding of Thai culture and taboos. Someone ignorant of Thai culture could never have pushed buttons so accurately.

That clip was a message created by someone who understood Thai culture, and featured cultural symbolism that for the most part only Thai people would fully understand. And that means it was either created by a Thai who was willing to mock their king, or a foreigner who understands Thai culture quite well.

But both of those are nigh impossible, if the comments here are anything to go by. ;)

Another Overreaction with Bad Consequences

You know, the North Koreans felt the same way towards Kim Il Sung, and feel the same way towards Kim Jong-il, and the Americans felt the same way towards John F. Kennedy, as the Thai feel about King Bhumibol Adulyadej.

Every person gets offended to some degree when their loved ones are insulted, but not everyone believes that censorship (which always hurts others beyond the person who committed the offense, as 'censorship's response shows), and 15-20 year prison sentences with the possibility of execution by fellow prisoners, are the right way to counter such offenses.

Frankly, those methods don't strike me as appropriate under the tenants of Buddhism either, but what do I know?

Unlike the real world, the internet allows me to ignore whatever I want, including the content I find insulting and inappropriate. Unless the creation of that information harms people (like child pornography, or various types of fraud), I'm not going to make a crusade out of it, no matter how offensive or hurtful it may be to me.

I will however counter with comments defending that person, as many of you have done here for King Bhumibol Adulyadej.