Want to read Slashdot from your mobile device? Point it at m.slashdot.org and keep reading!

 


Forgot your password?
Close
typodupeerror
×

Comment Re:what is the point of this article? (Score 1) 162

by zill (#41947941) Attached to: Nike+ FuelBand: Possibly a Big Security Hole For Your Life
GP's point is that the user willingly brought the device, willingly let it record their lives, and willingly shared that data with a third party.

If I wear a T-shirt with my root password on it, then I deserve every bad thing that's coming to me. It's not my OS' fault nor my T-shirt's fault; I only have my own stupidity to blame.

Comment Re:What about money? (Score 1) 531

I see your point. Suppose two kids from one of the lost tribes establish their own medium of change that's fully backed by gold. I certainly would not know about such thing because they have no contact with the outside world.

But their new medium of change cannot be called a "currency", since "currency" is defined as a generally accepted medium of exchange. If no one outside of the lost tribe even recognizes the new medium, then obviously it's not generally accepted.

Comment Re:Down with QWERTY! (Score 1) 201

by zill (#41855139) Attached to: The Evolution of the Computer Keyboard
It came from the keyboard designer's name: August Dvorak.

It's really too bad that Qwerty is lot more catchier than Dvorak. Mr. Qwerty probably suffered a lot of bullying as a child but thanks to his catchy name his design won out in the end and thus his legacy will remain with us for millennia (until we get cybernetic man-machine interfaces).

Comment Re:WTF... (Score 1) 339

by zill (#41854457) Attached to: $1,500,000 Fine For Sharing 10 Movies On BitTorrent
iANAL, but the GPL says:

b) Convey the object code in, or embodied in, a physical product (including a physical distribution medium), accompanied by a written offer, valid for at least three years and valid for as long as you offer spare parts or customer support for that product model, to give anyone who possesses the object code either (1) a copy of the Corresponding Source for all the software in the product that is covered by this License, on a durable physical medium customarily used for software interchange, for a price no more than your reasonable cost of physically performing this conveying of source, or (2) access to copy the Corresponding Source from a network server at no charge.

I don't see where this "passing on the offer" part came from.

If I demand the source code and the vendor tells me "we're passing on the offer to you, but too bad so sad it's expired already" then that's fraud, plain and simple.

It's no different than if I brought something on eBay and the seller tells me "the item is no longer being manufactured and thus I can't fulfill your order, thanks for the free money sucker".

Comment Re:WTF... (Score 2) 339

by zill (#41853431) Attached to: $1,500,000 Fine For Sharing 10 Movies On BitTorrent

[1] This actually provides a fairly simple loophole if you're willing to wait three years: take some GPL code, modify it, and give it to a third party. They then sit on it for three years and then sell it as a binary-only product. They pass on your (now expired) offer, and no one has the right to demand the source code from you.

They can't. If they can't fulfill the requirements of the GPL (offer to provide source for 3 years), then they can't legally distribute the code.

Comment Re:Seems reasonable (Score 1) 307

by zill (#41842699) Attached to: Judge To Newspaper - Reveal Name of Commenter
Oops, totally forgot about that. You're right, the hash of the IP of every poster must be recorded, but only until the comment is vetted by the moderators. Suppose the mods go through all the comments once a day, then the hash of the not-banned users will only be stored for 24 hours at max.

It's not a great scheme, admittedly, but at least it's better than status quo.

Comment Re:Seems reasonable (Score 1) 307

by zill (#41841489) Attached to: Judge To Newspaper - Reveal Name of Commenter
Getting back to the great-GP: " "We're sorry your honour, but we do not require contributors to register under their real name, and we do not record IP addresses of all visitors. We only record a cryptographic hash of the IP address of people who have been banned.".

It doesn't solve the problem, but at least it minimizes it. Only people who have been banned will lose their anonymity. Assume, for example, that only 1% of visitors are banned, then the problem is now two orders of magnitude smaller.

Slashdot Top Deals

The rule on staying alive as a program manager is to give 'em a number or give 'em a date, but never give 'em both at once.

Close