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Comment Re:... OR (Score 1) 232

by Nathanbp (#32108310) Attached to: FCC To Make Move On Net Neutrality

If by "this" you mean "the FCC illegally making up its own law," that's unacceptable. The rule of law must be followed, because if we don't follow it here, we can't rely on it later.

What are you smoking? The entire purpose of the FCC is to "make up laws" (as you put it) about the communications systems in the country. Do you think Congress passes a law for each frequency band saying what it can be used for? No, they delegated that authority to the FCC. Now, obviously they can only regulate the matters that have actually been delegated to them by Congress, but to try to imply that it's totally outrageous for the FCC to regulate on net neutrality is bogus.

Comment Re:I hope Bilski invalidates them all (Score 3, Interesting) 294

by Nathanbp (#31487446) Attached to: Nokia Claims Apple Does "Legal Alchemy" To Mask IP Theft

How is the hardware R&D any more valid than software R&D? I have a hard time figuring out this distinction. So far as I can tell, if you're against software patents, you're either against all patents, or you're a hypocrite.

In typical Slashdot form, I present a car analogy.
Software patents are like patenting the idea of an engine (I put gas in and it makes the wheels turn). Once you've patented your software, no one else can make engines without your permission.
Hardware patents are like patenting a specific kind of engine (I put gas in and it does this and that and the wheels turn). Other people can still make engines without paying you royalties as long as their engines don't work exactly the same way as your engine.

Comment Re:ETFs? (Score 1) 165

by Nathanbp (#30744674) Attached to: Google Charges ETF For Nexus One On Top of Carrier's

Unless you have some way of getting a discount with T-Mobile (they offer AAA discounts, or you might have one through your job). Then you can get a discount on the Even More plan (with contract), but not on the Even More Plus plan. With a 15% discount, the contract plan is only $8/month more than the no contract plan. It is a step in the right direction that T-Mobile offers cheaper no contract plans (I have one), but they aren't as good a deal as they look on paper.
Displays

"Terminator Vision" Is Here For the iPhone 245

Posted by timothy from the old-hat-to-thad-starner dept.
musefrog writes "The BBC is reporting that so-called augmented reality has arrived — in the UK at least. From the article: 'Via the video function of a mobile phone's camera it is now possible to combine a regular pictorial view with added data from the internet just as the fictional Terminator was able to overlay its view of the world with vital information about its surroundings. For example, UK-firm Acrossair has launched an application for the iPhone which allows Londoners to find their nearest tube station using their iPhone.' The page features an impressive video demonstrating AR in action."

Comment Re:Stallman hurts free software (Score 1) 546

by Nathanbp (#28812315) Attached to: Stallman Says Pirate Party Hurts Free Software

Freedom is not a list of restrictions. In reality, he wants to remove rights, give you a list of restrictions, and do so to protect the interests of developers, protecting their code from being stolen. He considers this very important to him.

How is this really different from DRM? DRM restricts users to protect the developer/artist from having their property stolen.

It's clear from these paragraphs that you have no idea what the GPL actually does or what RMS's goal is. A much better comparison between DRM and the GPL is that they are total opposites. As you say, DRM restricts users to protect the artist from having their property stolen. The GPL empowers users to change software any way they would like. If it restricts anyone, the GPL restricts developers since they can no longer control their code back once they release it.
Handhelds

Smartphones Get "Reality Overlay" App 110

Posted by ScuttleMonkey from the build-me-a-bigger-battery dept.
Michael_Curator writes to tell us that mobile phones now have a "reality overlay" app that combines a smartphone's camera, GPS, and compass to augment a user's view of a particular location with metadata. "It works as follows: Starting up the Layar application automatically activates the camera. The embedded GPS automatically knows the location of the phone and the compass determines in which direction the phone is facing. Each [commercial] partner provides a set of location coordinates with relevant information which forms a digital layer. By tapping the side of the screen the user easily switches between layers."
Music

Game, DVD Sales Hurting Music Industry More Than Downloads 223

Posted by Soulskill from the disposal-of-income dept.
Aguazul writes with this excerpt from the Guardian: "The music industry likes to insist that filesharing — aka illegal downloading — is killing the industry; that every one of the millions of music files downloaded each day counts as a 'lost' sale, which if only it could somehow have been prevented would put stunning amounts of money into impoverished artists' hands. ... If you even think about it, it can't be true. People — even downloaders — only have a finite amount of money. In times gone by, sure, they would have been buying vinyl albums. But if you stopped them downloading, would they troop out to the shops and buy those songs? I don't think so. I suspect they're doing something different. I think they're spending the money on something else. What else, I mused, might they be buying? The first clue of where all those downloaders are really spending their money came in searching for games statistics: year after year ELSPA had hailed 'a record year.' In fact ... games spending has risen dramatically — from £1.18bn in 1999 to £4.03bn in 2008. Meanwhile music spending has gone from £1.94bn to £1.31bn."
Government

Senator Applauds Pirate Bay Trial, Chides Canada 526

Posted by timothy from the speaking-metaphorically-of-course dept.
eldavojohn writes "Republican Senator Orrin Hatch spoke Tuesday at the World Copyright Summit in Washington DC and hailed the Pirate Bay guilty verdict as an important victory. He expressed severe disappointment in Canada for showing up on our watch list for piracy next to China and Russia. Senator Hatch also said, 'In fact, one study reports that each year, copyright piracy from motion pictures, sound recordings, business and entertainment software, and video games costs the US economy $58 billion in total output, costs American workers 373,375 jobs and $16.3 billion in earnings, and costs federal, state, and local governments $2.6 billion in tax revenue. During this time of economic turmoil, we must ensure that all copyrighted works, both here and abroad, are protected from online theft and traditional physical piracy. After all, US copyright-based industries continue to be one of America's largest and fastest-growing economic sectors.' GamePolitics notes that for his 2006 campaign, Hatch was rented for $7,000 by the RIAA and also got on his knees for $12,640 from the MPAA."
Sci-Fi

Sci-Fi Writers Dream Up Ideas For US Government 123

Posted by ScuttleMonkey from the mote-in-uncle-sam's-eye dept.
cheezitmike writes "This week in Washington, DC, a group of Sci-Fi writers is helping the US Department of Homeland Security envision the future at the 2009 Homeland Security Science & Technology Stakeholders Conference. The agency is hoping the interaction between writers and bureaucrats helps the government 'break old habits of thought' and 'help managers think more broadly about projects and their potential reactions and unintended consequences.' And, it's at minimal expense to taxpayers, since the writers are consulting pro bono."

Comment Re:Oh how I love planes.. (Score 1) 366

by Nathanbp (#26802565) Attached to: The Flying Giant Is 40 Years Old

The problem is: there's virtually no middle ground.

You either pay through your nose for the business-class seats or you have to fly in cattle-like economic class.

Personally, I don't want champagne, I don't want caviar - I just want some additional leg and elbow space. I'll gladly pay 1.5x normal rate for it! But usually there's just no such choice :(

Isn't this exactly what United's Economy Plus offers (Economy + extra legroom for a slightly more expensive ticket)?
Patents

Best Approach To Keeping a Virtual World Protocol Free to All? 163

Posted by timothy from the generous-coders- dept.
arkowitz writes "I invented a protocol called CICP for interacting with virtual worlds, and filed a provisional patent application on it March 20 of last year. I have since declared the protocol open and public, and contributed an implementation of it to the Sun Wonderland project, which is GPL; and made public the LSL code and accompanying Java servlet for the Second Life implementation of the protocol. I've been collaborating with a fellow in Finland named Tommi S. E. Laukkanen on a new protocol called MXP: Metaverse Exchange Protocol (here's a full description at cybertechnews.com). MXP is and will always be public domain; we intend it to enable an open and ubiquitous metaverse. My question is this: is there any reason to complete the patent app for CICP, which could potentially cover MXP as well, and release it to the public domain? The full app is due by March 20 and the legal work would probably cost my company $10k. Would finishing the patent protect the open and public protocols from patent trolls, or would it be a waste of money? Also, what kind of document would I need to make official the public-domaining of the app?"

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