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Thanks for the LOL PJ | 337 comments | Create New Account
Comments belong to whoever posts them. Please notify us of inappropriate comments.
Who Is Too Unbalanced to Be Armed?
Authored by: cricketjeff on Thursday, December 27 2012 @ 06:11 AM EST
In Douglas Adams's superb trilogy in 5 parts "The Hitch Hiker's Guide to
the Galaxy" it is explained that anyone who wants to run the Galaxy is
automatically excluded from any such role. The same principle may be applicable
here, anyone who wants to own a gun is probably not a person who should be
allowed to do so.


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There is nothing in life that doesn't look better after a good cup of tea.

[ Reply to This | Parent | # ]

Thanks for the LOL PJ
Authored by: SilverWave on Thursday, December 27 2012 @ 06:52 AM EST
[PJ: Yikes. *Half* of you? : D Well, that explains quite a
lot.] -

And yes I did Laugh Out Loud :-)

---
RMS: The 4 Freedoms
0 run the program for any purpose
1 study the source code and change it
2 make copies and distribute them
3 publish modified versions

[ Reply to This | Parent | # ]

ReadWriteWeb: Sarcasm Overload - "Yes, Randi Zuckerberg, speak to us about human decency."
Authored by: SilverWave on Thursday, December 27 2012 @ 07:54 AM EST
Quote: "Yes, Randi Zuckerberg, speak to us about human decency.

Because a photo that you posted on Facebook got shared on the Internet.

How awful this must have been for you! How... invasive. What a violation. How terrible that someone might take something that belongs to you and use it in ways that you had not anticipated, and for which you had not given explicit permission!

What kind of world are we living in when just because you post something on a website someone else can just take your stuff and do things with it?

Oh wait."

Yes, Randi Zuckerberg, Please Lecture Us About `Human Decency'

---
RMS: The 4 Freedoms
0 run the program for any purpose
1 study the source code and change it
2 make copies and distribute them
3 publish modified versions

[ Reply to This | Parent | # ]

Health Care Sector Vulnerable to Hackers
Authored by: Anonymous on Thursday, December 27 2012 @ 02:06 PM EST
Am I the only one who thinks this excerpt from the from the Washington Post article is a bit odd?
The University of Chicago medical center operated an unsecure Dropbox site for new residents managing patient care through their iPads, using a single user name and password published in a manual online. After a Post reporter called about the vulnerabilities, officials at the cabinet manufacturer and the medical center took steps to close the gaps. The Peace Corps said it was considering changes.
Does the author really think Dropbox is a cabinet!? I can't see how this is a typo. Shouldn't someone technical be reviewing these before publication?

[ Reply to This | Parent | # ]

Congress Defeats E-Mail Privacy Legislation — Again
Authored by: Gringo_ on Friday, December 28 2012 @ 12:41 AM EST

Link.

Absolutely bizarre that the Senate enacted legislation specifically for the benefit of Netflix/Facebook. I wonder how much they were paid for that? Wouldn't it be cool if they enacted legislation for the benefit of the public someday, rather than for special interests? Just think of what they could do! For example, they could have added language requiring the authorities to get a warrant to read your e-mail or other data stored in the cloud instead. I suppose they aren't paid to do that sort of thing. Too bad...

[ Reply to This | Parent | # ]

  • Freedom of Speech - Authored by: Anonymous on Friday, December 28 2012 @ 05:30 AM EST
Trulia takes aim at Zillow patent suit: ‘Abstract ideas and principles are not patentable’
Authored by: Anonymous on Friday, December 28 2012 @ 06:18 PM EST

A quote from the article:

Methods which can be performed entirely in the human mind are unpatentable not because there is anything wrong with claiming mental steps as part of a process containing non-mental steps but rather because computational methods which can be performed entirely in the human mind are the types of methods that embody the ‘basic tools of scientific and technological work’ that are free to all men and reserved exclusively to none.’
Here's hoping Trulia can carry that to it's conclusion and get confirmation rather than ending up in a position to settle.

That would be pretty sweet if that gets clear confirmation from the Supreme's.

It would be even sweeter if the Federal Circuit confirms that as well although I won't hold my breath on that one.

RAS

[ Reply to This | Parent | # ]

Global Patent Chaos Creates Unwinnable Game for Mobile Tech Giants
Authored by: kg on Saturday, December 29 2012 @ 10:02 PM EST

The eWeek headline (and the article itself) seem to be an attempt to obfuscate basic fact. The fact is, competition is necessary to survive elsewhere in the world. In the US, lack of competition (resting on patents) seems to be sufficient to prevent others from staying in the game.

Basically the EU is of the view that if someone violates competition law, they will investigate and issue a fine. Just like they fined Microsoft for Media Player in 2006, and their current threat of a fine regarding IE. They may take their time, but they will get around to it.

In that light, their action against Samsung is to be expected, as Apple is refusing to comply with the FRAND terms on the standards essential patents in question, and it is only a matter of time before they are punished by the EU for what they're doing.

That's not to say that Apple is not on thin ice, too, when seeking bans on other companies' products within the EU.

It will be interesting to watch this play out. For once, the EU seems to be the one Western super-regional government that actively welcomes competition.

(original newspick link)

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IANAL
Linguist and Open Source Developer

[ Reply to This | Parent | # ]

Microsoft Has Been Watching
Authored by: Anonymous on Sunday, December 30 2012 @ 12:16 AM EST
Newspick , and a reference point,
Should you upgrade to Mac OS X? If you don't already have a copy (or plans to buy one), the answer is no. Most users should wait for a future release, and possibly new hardware to run it on. Should Apple have released OS X in its current state? I think so. Nothing stimulates application development like a shipping OS.
April 2001 arstechnica

[ Reply to This | Parent | # ]

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