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Comment Re:Um, she says borrowing a CD/DVD is ok ... (Score 5, Insightful) 220

If one person who legally posses a CD/DVD with copyrighted material loans it to another person that is quite different than some other person who makes an entire library of music available to everyone over an internet connection. The three strikes law seems to apply to file sharing sharing only, not copyright violation in general. Its not even certain there is a copyright violation in this case.

No, actually it's copyright infringement in both cases. They are exactly the same. The only difference is in the number of infringements.

What you're saying is that murdering one person is very different from murdering 5 or 6 people. It's not, it's the same, just different numbers.

The difference here is that you don't need to be found guilty of murder, I can just accuse you of it. Three accusations and you're off to jail.

Comment Right (Score 5, Interesting) 220

New Zealand simply needs a national day of action, where three people place copyright infringement claims against every member of parliament who voted for the three strikes laws. Just to see what happens.

In fact it's probably worth putting in three infringement claims against everyone just to see how long it takes to shut NZ's internet down.

Comment Re:Which invariably end up being copyrighted movie (Score 1) 213

Well, this is more like the government filing charges against the owner of the bank for allowing the crime to occur on their premises, simply by not actively preventing the robber from entering the bank and taking the currency, which is the "property" of the government, in a legal tender kind of sense. The government in this analogy, much like the MPAA, didn't directly lose anything, but something happened to something they have copyright over. It's clearly the banks fault...

Comment Re:That's a tricky one (Score 1) 235

It wasn't that bad. It just wasn't... well it sure didn't compare with WoW... you can't release a fantasy MMO today with 2-3 features that WoW doesn't have to make up for the 50 or 60 that WoW does that you're missing.

The game design was a little clunky and limited feeling compared to WoW, too. A good solid MMO must retain that feeling of freedom that a player gets. In WoW, you can go wandering in any direction that you like. The only "railroading" you get is when you wander into an area where the rabbits can bite your head off. That's when you know you need to go back to your newbie area to level a bit.

Comment Re:Solution (Score 1) 1140

I use a 32" display, which is large enough to comfortably display two full A4 pages side by side. My older monitors would never allow me to do that. I'm not sure what the OP is complaining about... for the same price as an old 17" CRT 10 years ago, you can buy a much, much larger 32" LCD and see two full pages quite clearly instead of one.

Comment You don't know where you're going... (Score 1) 186

You don't know where you're going unless you know where you've been, as the old proverb goes. And this is a good case of it... looking at console games that are getting released today, it really seems like 90% of new games have much less depth than these ancient texts.

What does this mean for the future? Should we expect console controllers will go back to just having one button?

Comment Re:implausible? it's magic! (Score 1) 258

Very true! But a truly strong economy is diversified, and the building of the NBN will allow all businesses more opportunities, from small businesses leveraging online systems to entirely new corporations that could grow from business models leveraging the NBN.

This is good news for Australia. It will help free us from the chronic dependency we have on primary industry.

Comment Re:implausible? it's magic! (Score 1) 258

Not all of those taxpayers though - only some of them, There will be many people who won't use this new broadband network, Is it fair that they be forced to pay for it without choice? No. It is not.

Is it fair that people have to pay for the road network in the country if they don't own a car? To pay for hospitals if they currently aren't sick? The answer is clearly yes, because that infrastructure, even if it has little personal value, has tremendous value to the nation. This isn't the USA, we're actually not too worried if someone gets something without paying for it personally. Investment in infrastructure will bring about new business, new wealth, and an overall improvement in the quality of life for the average Australian. I know and understand that my success and health as an individual is related to the success and health of the nation and the people in it. For that reason, I am keenly interested in the success of this project and the opportunities it will provide to all Australians.

Comment Re:implausible? it's magic! (Score 1) 258

Also you presume everyone needs roads..... that's like presuming everyone needs homes made of gold walls. Nice luxury to have but not really necessary. It's really just a waste.

Fixed that for you.

Also you presume everyone needs electricity..... that's like presuming everyone needs homes made of gold walls. Nice luxury to have but not really necessary. It's really just a waste.

Fixed that for you again.

Also you presume everyone needs telephones..... that's like presuming everyone needs homes made of gold walls. Nice luxury to have but not really necessary. It's really just a waste.

Fixed that for you again.

Also you presume everyone needs piped water..... that's like presuming everyone needs homes made of gold walls. Nice luxury to have but not really necessary. It's really just a waste.

Or maybe, just maybe, Australia does have a need for social infrastructure to enable us to take full advantage of the future, to enable entirely new business models that currently are unimaginable thanks to the stranglehold Telstra has had over the digital landscape of this country.

10 years ago, youtube simply wouldn't be possible over 56k modems. The provisioning of high speed internet around the world has enabled this new technology to become a household name. I think Australia should be in a position to reap the benefits of the next generation of technology. In the meantime, please disconnect your power, break up your driveway, and turn off your water mains. After a week with no showers, no power and no access to roads, you might start to understand the value of infrastructure.

Comment Re:Rambus... (Score 4, Funny) 82

Ohh I didn't realise that if you patent troll an illegal oligopoly, it's no longer patent trolling, it is in fact awesome patenting for great justice?

No, patent trolls are patent trolls.

I didn't know Rambus employees were able to get onto slashdot to post as AC's, though, I thought the RAM in their desktops was too slow to allow them to log on.

Comment Re:Rambus... (Score 5, Informative) 82

Those are the guys! It was many years ago. They apparently sat on some big RAM council board, took a bunch of notes, and sprinted to the patent office as soon as the meeting was over. BAM! Patent infringement lawsuits all over the place.

Unlike other patent trolls, however, they did manage to release a horrible implementation of a quasi-serial memory bus that had atrocious real world performance. And managed to persuade Intel to get in bed with them, which for many was a big reason that AMD was doing so well at the time.

Comment Re:More Juggalo research is needed (Score 1) 198

Ah, but the people in the ICP would tell you that the rainbow is "natural" and the scientific explanation, if presented by a scientist, is a lie, and makes them angry. If your girlfriend tells you that she agrees the rainbow is pretty, in your example, then as an avid Juggalo and in supporting their arguments, you should become "pissed" and tell her it is a lie.

Also, swear at magnets and ask how they work, but do not accept any actual scientific explanation or attempt any research. It is a "miracle".

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