Man, what morons! How are they going to keep this kid off the internet, when all he/she has to do is visit a friend, internet cafe, library, or whatnot and continue on their merry thieving (sarcasm intended) way?
Let's keep on topic. Yes, there is a lot to be pissed off about B.Obama, but there is just as much to be pissed off about Microsoft. How many whacks upside the head is it going to take before they understand that they don't own the world? I think it's time to give them another whack...
A large part of the problem is that many of these software patents are for trivial ideas that should have never been granted patent status in the first place. As I said in another comment, the problem isn't patents (which for software should be language-neutral) but the rigor with which they are examined. As far as I can tell, the USPTO and other patent authorities are not applying the same standards to software patents as they do to patents on physical devices, perhaps because they are not sufficiently qualified to examine software patents as they may be for more concrete inventions.
I purchase a lot of ebooks, but I refuse to purchase any with drm encumberment. The publisher I buy from does not put drm on any of their books, and they allow you to download in a number of formats, for palm/kindle, sony, html, etc. Cost? $6 USD for most books. $15 USD for advanced reader copies of books not yet "officially" published. Right now, my collection is approaching 200 books. No, Amazon and the rest have received $0 from me for ebooks, and almost $0 for hard copy. Yet someone has received almost $1200 USD from me in the past 2 years. You do the math...
I too really like the Baen/Webscriptions site. Even though it is a sci-fi/fantasy publisher, it has a lot of new material, advanced reader copies, and classics. I buy most (all) of my sci-fi ebooks there because a) no DRM, b) good prices (most books are $6 USD), c) good tracking of previous purchases, d) multiple download formats (get any/all anytime), e) decent number of preview chapters for all their books. That last one has led me to purchase quite a number of books from them. Once you get 4 or 5 chapters into a book, you either decide it's not for you, or you just HAVE to read the whole thing! :-)
"A person commits unlawful use of unidentified sound or audio visual recordings when he intentionally, knowingly, recklessly or negligently for profit manufactures, advertises or offers for sale, sells, distributes, transports, vends, circulates, performs, leases, or possesses for such purposes, unidentified sound or audio visual recordings or causes the manufacture, advertisement or offer for sale, sale, distribution, transportation, vending, circulation, performance, lease, or possession for such purposes, unidentified sound or audio visual recordings."
Note, the phrase "for profit". It sounds that if you aren't doing this for profit, then you aren't in violation of the statute. I think I'll ask my lawyer (I live in Illinois) who owes me a couple of hours quid pro quo for some work I did on his computers.
When I lived near Bean Town I'd park at the Alewife T garage (used to be $5 / day), and take the T to Fenway. That way I wouldn't have to risk my car's suspension on Boston's pet potholes... :-)
If I provided such a service, I'd also have some business cards with information how to send $$ for the poor schmuck who lost their wallet (or whatever) and cannot get home otherwise.
One thing AC, make sure you keep your bullet-proof longjohns on after you do that. If they can send teams of assassins to India to blow the heck out of Mumbai, they can send a couple to Podunk, Iowa to get you too... They may be thin skinned, but they also have plenty of firepower, including nukes!
On the post: IFPI Claims That Three Strikes Can Surgically Remove One Family Member From The Internet, But Not The Rest
Inmates in charge of the asylum
On the post: Microsoft Sues BitTorrent Tracker
Talking about MicroSludge, not Obama
On the post: IP Lawyer: If You Are Against Software Patents, You Are Against Innovation
Re: Andrew F
On the post: Calculating The DRM Tax On A Kindle
No to DRM on ebooks
On the post: Publishers Succeeding With Free eBooks Driving Sales For Other Books
Baen rocks!
On the post: Is It Illegal To Posess Unmarked CDs In Texas?
Re: Uh, Illinois...
"A person commits unlawful use of unidentified sound or audio visual recordings when he intentionally, knowingly, recklessly or negligently for profit manufactures, advertises or offers for sale, sells, distributes, transports, vends, circulates, performs, leases, or possesses for such purposes, unidentified sound or audio visual recordings or causes the manufacture, advertisement or offer for sale, sale, distribution, transportation, vending, circulation, performance, lease, or possession for such purposes, unidentified sound or audio visual recordings."
Note, the phrase "for profit". It sounds that if you aren't doing this for profit, then you aren't in violation of the statute. I think I'll ask my lawyer (I live in Illinois) who owes me a couple of hours quid pro quo for some work I did on his computers.
On the post: Taxi Driver Does Pay What You Want... And It Works
Re: In Boston Near Fenway Park
On the post: Taxi Driver Does Pay What You Want... And It Works
Lost wallet, gotta get home...
On the post: Great Moments In Marketing: Disney Pulls Movie Trailer Off YouTube For Copyright Claims
stupid is as stupid does
On the post: Thin Skin: SMS Political Jokes In Pakistan Can Get You 14 Years In Jail
Re. posting to Pakistani twitters
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