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Comment Re:Disappointing and Puzzling (Score 1) 986

The reasons given by pj for closing down are totally unconvincing. Does she communicate day by day? Does she use the phone? Does she write letters? With the same logic she is offering for Groklaw's closure she would have to stop talking, phoning and writing. And breathing.

I'm afraid I have to agree with you. It just doesn't make sense to me. Something doesn't compute.

Submission + - Groklaw closes

NewYorkCountryLawyer writes: I can't actually believe what I'm reading but I'm reading a post by PJ — the brilliant lady behind Groklaw — which says that she's folding her tents and shutting Groklaw down, due to the government's surveillance of email, and lack of privacy online.

Comment Re:The Case for Copyright Reform (Score 1) 183

They should just read The Case for Copyright Reform by Christian EngstrÃm (Member of the European Parliament for the Pirate Party) & Rick Falkvinge (founder of the original Pirate Party), and implement it. You can, of course, download the book for free on that website. I highly recommend reading it.

Thanks for the recommendation. You deserve to be modded up for that.

Comment Re:So, what are you prepared to give away for no p (Score 1) 183

I'm not hostile to copyright. I have been working in copyright law since 1974.

The problem is that due to influence peddling, copyright law has lost its mooring.

It is supposed to ensure
-to the author,
-reasonable compensation,
and it is supposed to ensure that
-the work is turned over to the public after a reasonable time.

It is also supposed to permit fair uses of copyrighted works.

What we have now is:

-money which flows mostly to large corporations who are not authors

-a flow of money for vastly unreasonable periods of time

-the virtual abolition of fair use.

I am in favor of copyright law. What we have now is not copyright law.

Comment Re:Big money owns and runs govt. (Score 1) 183

Right then, send in your arguments, so they can all be shot down more effectively, and precisely, by the likes of the copyright lobby and other big money interests with crack legal teams. Big money owns, and runs govt., including the chit-chat at the water cooler.

Unfortunately, I have to agree with you.

Even this 'call for comments' by the government (a) comes from an agency that doesn't administer copyright law, and (b) has no return address for the actual 'comments'.

Fortunately, we have Slashdot, though. The government can come here and see what people think.

Submission + - Uncle Sam finally wants to hear from us on digital copyright law?

NewYorkCountryLawyer writes: Can it be true? The US government claims it really wants to hear from us on the subject of how copyright law needs to be modified to accommodate the developing technology of the digital age? I don't know, but the US Patent & Trademark Office (which btw has nothing to do with administering copyright) says "we really want to hear from you" and the Department of Commerce Internet Policy Task Force wrote a 122-page paper (PDF) on the subject, so they must really mean it, right? But I couldn't find the address to which to send my comments, so maybe that was an oversight on their part.

Submission + - Canonical started Crowdfunding for Ubuntu Edge Smartphone (indiegogo.com)

Parker Lewis writes: Canonical started a IndieGoGo campaign to crowdfund a U$ 32 million campaign required (according Canonical) to deliver the Ubuntu Smartphone (called Ubuntu Edge).

You can donate any amount, but the "deal of the day" is get a Ubuntu smartphone for U$ 630, available for this value only for day one. Configuration: 4GB RAM, 4 kernels CPU, 128GB storage, 1280x720 screen, two cams, HDMI port. Including dualboot with Android.

Submission + - Canonical crowdsources to make Ubuntu smartphone called Edge (pcpro.co.uk) 1

nk497 writes: Canonical has kicked off a crowdfunding campaign to raise $32 million in 30 days to make its own smartphone, called Ubuntu Edge, that can also hook up to a monitor and be used as a PC. If it meets its funding target on Indiegogo, the Ubuntu Edge is scheduled to arrive in May 2014. To get one, backers must contribute $600 (£394) on the first day or $810 (£532) thereafter. Canonical will only make 40,000 of the devices.

Submission + - Container ship breaks in two, sinks

Cliff Stoll writes: Along with 7000 containers, ship MOL Comfort broke in half in high seas in the Indian Ocean. The aft section floated for a week, then sank on June 27th. The forward section was towed most of the way to port, but burned and sank on July 10th. This post-panamax ship was 316 meters long and only 5 years old. With a typical value of $40,000 per container, this amounts to a quarter billion dollar loss. The cause is unknown, but may be structural or perhaps due to overfilled containers that are declared as underweight. Of course, the software used to calculate ship stability relies upon these incorrect physical parameters.

Comment Make it easy for them (Score 1) 205

Writing a good bug report is not easy, and users should not be expected to know what information the developer will need to find and fix the bug. They only want to report that there is a problem, and that they'd like it fixed.

That said, you can guide them to give more useful information. I found that making a form to fill out with all the details broken out into separate pieces gave us more useful information. Want to know how to reproduce the bug? Make that an individual question on the report. Which component where you using, or what web page were you on? Make that a specific question. A real person can follow up if necessary to get other information, and then they can file the "official" bug report in the form that the developer can understand and use.

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