Posts by Mark 85

Re: What next in the name of religious freedoms?

Just because I sell cakes commercially, why should I be forced to make them to promote things I disagree with?

I wonder what kind of uproar would happen if someone wanted a cake with a Nazi symbol on it? I'd bet dollars to donuts that there would be no support for the people ordering the cake and unanimous support for the bakery. Or what about the "no shoes, no service" signs? Should those signs be taken down as it infringes on someone's lifestyle? This is headed into murky waters.

Either the business has the right to pick and choose customers or they don't.

Yeah.. I know.. I'll get downvoted for this.

Re: Can GitHub take China to court in the WTO?

If that's the case, can any site take any of the 5-eyes to court? Seems to me it would be easier (maybe not) to block "outside China" users form hitting Baidu. Which is perhaps, what the Chinese government would like to see?

Re: No judgement on Ms. Porat's abilities, but ...

and then there's the under-the-table non-poaching agreements for the troops in the trenches to hold their pay down... Yeah.. I think a judgement can be made about ethics.

Re: Effective?

Have an upvote for reminding me of the 99 Slaps Principle. Sales Droids and Con Artists (think all those phone calls about virus in your computer, etc.) know this very well.

Re: This one's not about patents though is it?

Well, what I inferred from the article was that they did a meeting with FB on data centers. Probably brought plans, etc. with them. I'm betting someone forgot to get an NDA signed.... which basically would have told FB.. "you can't use this". Since an NDA wasn't mentioned... there's something else going on.

@ MYBACKDOOR Re: Not worth going then...to an A-Sexual event.

The I.T. industry is turning cold, bland, and colorless like a convention for insurance agents.

The wildest convention I ever saw (and I've seen a few over the years) was for funeral directors. I got stuck in Chicago for a weekend and the hotel had a convention of funeral directors. Not at all dull. It was jumping more than a frat house on a Friday night. And we shouldn't insult insurance agents as I've heard their conventions come in second after the funeral guys. I think IT is falling down below accountants as far as these kinds of events.

Well, since we were naïve back then and did things like "shareware" and "freeware" and didn't patent stuff, then I suppose that legally, there's no prior art. Even if this was patented, these lawsuits are a a crock any way one looks at it. Unless of course, you're a patent troll who wants basically money for nothing.

Re: 30 Days to back out - there's your limit

Good points, but Joe Home User will just see the $12 a year for now. Once the market shakes out and Amazon is in control, the price will rise. By then, for many, it will be too late as most civilians (non-IT) think the Internet thing is "forever" and they'll have lost or deleted all their files/photos on their home systems/phones/etc.

Re: Rolling Over in their Graves

- remember the government is supposed to work for the people, not the other way round as is the case today.

The mindset for this probably started changing back in the '70's when various news companies reported on the so-called Tax Freedom Day which is still reported as the day we start working for ourselves instead of the government. There are those who think we should be doing this every day and every new infringement/law pushes us a bit closer.

Re: Rents ARE high and rapidly rising in Seattle

So we can expect in Seattle what's being experienced in San Francisco with assorted news stories on the so-called "gentrification"? Or maybe moreso? I have friends and associates there (Seattle) who have been bemoaning this for sometime now.

By Jove! I think you've got it. That does indeed seem to be the way politics here in the States are working these day. The words "compromise" and "rational" have disappeared from the language for some reason.

Re: Mark 85

Annoying reads is half the fun... But it's not just you... everything is xxxx-gate these days. I almost wish that the famous break-in had happened at the Sussex, then every scandal would be XXX-sex.

Re: So only Israel is allowed to have Nukes?

You make an interesting point. As I understood it from years ago, Iran has no refining capability. I'm not sure why, but all their fuel has to be imported. I'll have to research and find out if that is still true. If so, it explains nukes and power plants.

Re: Give them the data

Won't work that way... they'll weasel it into "opt-out" but in very very tiny, light gray ink on white paper. At the very bottom of the last page of the latest catalog and coupon mailing.

Nice thought though and I wish things would work that way. Much like websites with tick-boxes already pre-checked and hidden in a pile of other text so they can claim you "checked the boxes".

Re: making attacks look like someone else is responsible

Or...<thinks hard> maybe a couple of health insurance companies that no one seems to know where the attacks came from?

Re: Messed UP!

Good points. I'm guessing that if someone wanted to make a case, anyone with vinyl or tapes is in serious trouble for digitizing and putting them on a CD/DVD or on a iPod. Or just copying vinyl to tape.

The problem with the law isn't the law. It's the lawmakers who make the laws and the industry lobbyists who push (err... pay) for the laws.

The industry has finally got enough lobbying efforts (and the tech) to stop us from copying what we purchased. Basically, right now, they tell us we're "renting" it and that if we want another copy for say, the car, to buy one.

There were pirates and lots of them, back in the 4-track/8-track days duping both vinyl to tape and tape to tape for sales in cut-rate stores. As I recall, at one point, the industry was all upset about video tape players and cd players being able to record broadcast TV. They lumped the average person who wanted a second personal copy or the ability to replay a favorite show into the same category as the professional pirates.

Re: I'm surprised by this...

Yes, there is a short-term impact that means their bottom line is less padded than it might otherwise be.

You answered your question yourself. Very few, if any, stockholder corporations want a smaller bottom line*. They have no concept of long term goals.

*There are some exceptions though I can't think of any off the top of my head. Most family owned corporations will use long term thinking until the IPO hits....

Re: In other news

Hmm.... they get to live.

Which reminds of the old joke, If coconut oil comes from coconuts, olive oil comes from olives. Where does baby oil come from?