This is extremely interesting to me. On several occasions I've wanted to make software games based on physical games that I enjoy playing (of which no good software version exists) but I've never really pursued it.
Maybe someday I'll just have to write a software clone of Catan.
However I'm conflicted now. I've never played Catan, and it sounds interesting, but I don't think I can send money to such a company.
I have to say I'm rather disappointed in both Mike and many of the commenters here on this one.
As pointed out by some, the Army/NASCAR relationship is one of advertising paid out of the Army's recruitment (marketing) budget. The relationship from the Army/NASCAR funding to the funding of both PBS and NPR is, at best, that federal government funds are used for both.
"I think there are some creative things that both NPR and PBS could do to make up the difference if they lost federal funding. However, if we are going to cut public broadcasting, then it seems only reasonable to cut sponsoring NASCAR as well, doesn't it?"
If we are going to cut funding for the arts it only seems reasonable to stop the Marines from making all those cool commercials right? It's the same comparison.
There are perfectly valid debates and points that can be brought up separately about both these spending items, but lumping them together is simply asking for repub vs dem flame wars with no real content because they can't be intelligently compared to each other. Mike, I know this is a free site, but I've come to expect better of you.
Personally I think the federal government massively overspends on just about everything and has it's hands in things it has no business in. I think we should have a much smaller federal government and the state governments should pick up the slack (which I would expect to involve higher taxes in most cases). The federal governments ability to royally screw up is directly proportional to it's size and power.
I'd also like to point out that no party has ever made the federal government actually smaller.
It's the only arm of the government, that I'm aware of, that actually does a damn good job. The problem is they don't have any enforcement powers. They sit on the sidelines, slam various agencies for being all screwed up, and then nothing comes of it.
The really screwed up part is if we actually gave them real power instead of them actually fixing things all the other agencies would become interested in the GAO and start gaining influence and screwing it up like everything is screwed up.
A retired guy, with a photographic memory, and fast a light carpentry skills, sits at the edge of a vast forest which he owns.
You can walk up to him and ask him for those nice chairs you saw at store X. He will then proceed to make an exact replica of that chair, on the spot, almost instantly, and hand them to you for free.
And there is one of these guys (with his forest) in every home.
I have no problem with the government needing to keep some things secret for security/safety/operational reasons. But that should never be a 'this is secret, move along' situation. In every one of these cases we should be able to simply force the arm of the government in question to simply hand over all the materials to a judge to determine the legitimacy of the situation. More of a 'we think this is secret, lets see if this judge agrees' situation, complete with all the ability to appeal it up the judicial chain.
There is no reason, especially in this day and age to keep things secret for decades. If the politicians/agencies/government employees/... don't want to be embarrassed STOP DOING STUPID CRAP!
I really really hate to back MS on this one but...
There are actually potential technical problems running an app store like MS is setting up and a license that requires the distribution of source code. These are the same problems Apple ran into and, to my understanding, were part of the reason VLC was eventually pulled.
MS rightfully is worried about the liability, as the distributer, of running afoul of some software license.
IBM could be free and clear by claiming the fair use as research. I think it'd be hard to argue against that. In that perspective they are better off than Google was.
Apparently I've been missing something for awhile. I always thought there had to be some form of distribution (giving copies, performing, ...) in order to be infringement. I just went and looked at section 106 to recheck and simple reproduction is covered.
How in the hell does that actually mesh with the real world?
Now that we have proved repeatedly, beyond anything even close to reasonable doubt, the DHS/ICE has clearly broken the law here I'm sure they will promptly apologize and reinstate all those seized domains, clean a little house, and act much more appropriately from here on out.
This is just like in high school when I carefully explained to that bully why his actions were wrong and that continuing those actions were not only bad for me, but also bad for him... wait, that didn't turn out too well.
I don't think so. I'm not a good dancer, so most likely as soon as we broke out in dance I'd stumble upon a comically placed base drum smashing it to pieces and ruining it for everybody.
As much as I'd like to think the solution is to change the government, I don't actually believe that is a realistic goal. It's worth trying, but I just don't think it will happen.
Thankfully we are at a somewhat unique moment in history in which individual citizens are capable of far more than ever before. I suspect we'll see a day where all our communications/data are fully end to end encrypted long before these (non)laws are fixed. The change will be slow at first, but I suspect it will become simple enough that adoption will be simple and widespread.
And the arms race of personal power vs. government/corporation power is just starting to come closer to balance. I hope to see that balance shift in favor of personal power in my lifetime.
1) Original design of 'wire' (barbed is one of the newer variants) were designed to be unidirectional (keep people out). This has become out of style now as many companies have seen the great benefits of bidirectional wire (keeping people either in or out). In fact this new approach of bidirectional wire has become so desired that many companies string various types of wire all over their items to create arbitrary sections and charge various fees per section.
2) That is a misleading question. Wire cutters are an abhorrent technology that does not currently exists... I SAID DOES NOT EXISTS!!
"Based on my participation in the investigation" seems to be the basis for everything in the report.
I'm sure we'll all understand once the thorough details of the investigation that formed the unshakable basis for these harsh but surely necessary actions comes to light.
I'll patiently wait for such concrete details as I try to find that sarcmarc I seem to have misplaced.
On the post: How Lawyers For Settlers Of Catan Abuse IP Law To Take Down Perfectly Legal Competitors
Maybe someday I'll just have to write a software clone of Catan.
However I'm conflicted now. I've never played Catan, and it sounds interesting, but I don't think I can send money to such a company.
On the post: Can Someone Explain How Sponsoring NASCAR Is A Good Use Of Taxpayer Funds, If Funding Sesame Street Is Not?
As pointed out by some, the Army/NASCAR relationship is one of advertising paid out of the Army's recruitment (marketing) budget. The relationship from the Army/NASCAR funding to the funding of both PBS and NPR is, at best, that federal government funds are used for both.
"I think there are some creative things that both NPR and PBS could do to make up the difference if they lost federal funding. However, if we are going to cut public broadcasting, then it seems only reasonable to cut sponsoring NASCAR as well, doesn't it?"
If we are going to cut funding for the arts it only seems reasonable to stop the Marines from making all those cool commercials right? It's the same comparison.
There are perfectly valid debates and points that can be brought up separately about both these spending items, but lumping them together is simply asking for repub vs dem flame wars with no real content because they can't be intelligently compared to each other. Mike, I know this is a free site, but I've come to expect better of you.
Personally I think the federal government massively overspends on just about everything and has it's hands in things it has no business in. I think we should have a much smaller federal government and the state governments should pick up the slack (which I would expect to involve higher taxes in most cases). The federal governments ability to royally screw up is directly proportional to it's size and power.
I'd also like to point out that no party has ever made the federal government actually smaller.
On the post: Can Someone Explain How Sponsoring NASCAR Is A Good Use Of Taxpayer Funds, If Funding Sesame Street Is Not?
Re: I think it strange
It's the only arm of the government, that I'm aware of, that actually does a damn good job. The problem is they don't have any enforcement powers. They sit on the sidelines, slam various agencies for being all screwed up, and then nothing comes of it.
The really screwed up part is if we actually gave them real power instead of them actually fixing things all the other agencies would become interested in the GAO and start gaining influence and screwing it up like everything is screwed up.
On the post: Swedish Court Fines File Sharer About $300 For Sharing 44 Songs
Re: Re:
A retired guy, with a photographic memory, and fast a light carpentry skills, sits at the edge of a vast forest which he owns.
You can walk up to him and ask him for those nice chairs you saw at store X. He will then proceed to make an exact replica of that chair, on the spot, almost instantly, and hand them to you for free.
And there is one of these guys (with his forest) in every home.
On the post: US Paid Millions For Bogus (Patented) Intelligence Software; Now Trying To Cover It Up Claiming 'National Security'
Where's the oversight?
There is no reason, especially in this day and age to keep things secret for decades. If the politicians/agencies/government employees/... don't want to be embarrassed STOP DOING STUPID CRAP!
On the post: Microsoft Accidentally Bans Its Own License From App Store?
I hate to do this.
There are actually potential technical problems running an app store like MS is setting up and a license that requires the distribution of source code. These are the same problems Apple ran into and, to my understanding, were part of the reason VLC was eventually pulled.
MS rightfully is worried about the liability, as the distributer, of running afoul of some software license.
Now, I need to go take a shower as I feel dirty.
On the post: Facebook Timestamp Used In Lawsuit Claiming Driver Was Facebooking When She Ran Over & Killed Pedestrian
On the post: Did Watson Succeed On Jeopardy By Infringing Copyrights?
Research?
On the post: Did Watson Succeed On Jeopardy By Infringing Copyrights?
I had it wrong.
How in the hell does that actually mesh with the real world?
On the post: Once Again, Why Homeland Security's Domain Name Seizures Are Almost Certainly Not Legal
Now we've done it!
This is just like in high school when I carefully explained to that bully why his actions were wrong and that continuing those actions were not only bad for me, but also bad for him... wait, that didn't turn out too well.
hmmm... well I'm sure it will work this time.
On the post: Obama Administration Says It Can Spy On Americans, But Can't Tell You What Law Allows It
Re: Re:
Sorry.
On the post: Obama Administration Says It Can Spy On Americans, But Can't Tell You What Law Allows It
The solution
Thankfully we are at a somewhat unique moment in history in which individual citizens are capable of far more than ever before. I suspect we'll see a day where all our communications/data are fully end to end encrypted long before these (non)laws are fixed. The change will be slow at first, but I suspect it will become simple enough that adoption will be simple and widespread.
And the arms race of personal power vs. government/corporation power is just starting to come closer to balance. I hope to see that balance shift in favor of personal power in my lifetime.
On the post: The Inefficiency Of DRM: Empires Built On Barbed Wire Never Last
Re: 2 Questions
2) That is a misleading question. Wire cutters are an abhorrent technology that does not currently exists... I SAID DOES NOT EXISTS!!
On the post: The Inefficiency Of DRM: Empires Built On Barbed Wire Never Last
Of course.
On the post: Full Affidavit On Latest Seizures Again Suggests Homeland Security Is Twisting The Law
Re: So what else is new?
But it's still not tolerable and we should all bitch and moan (at the very least) when we see it.
On the post: Full Affidavit On Latest Seizures Again Suggests Homeland Security Is Twisting The Law
Re: Just for fun
Violence or harmful behavior > Theft or vandalism
On the post: Full Affidavit On Latest Seizures Again Suggests Homeland Security Is Twisting The Law
Just for fun
http://www.facebook.com/wwwICEgov
and selecting the option:
"Contains hate speech or attacks and individual" as I believe they are attacking several individuals.
On the post: Full Affidavit On Latest Seizures Again Suggests Homeland Security Is Twisting The Law
Well
I'm sure we'll all understand once the thorough details of the investigation that formed the unshakable basis for these harsh but surely necessary actions comes to light.
I'll patiently wait for such concrete details as I try to find that sarcmarc I seem to have misplaced.
On the post: DailyDirt: Robot Helicopters
On the post: Cures For Paralysis, Diabetes And Blindness Hindered By Patents
Re:
Next >>