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

 



Forgot your password?
typodupeerror
×

Comment Re:Why Always Suicide? (Score 1) 326

When are we going to ban JSTOR and PACER's theft from the public? When are JSTOR and PACER going to return their ill gotten gains to the people whose documents they stole?

For those who will make the argument: Copying is not theft. Keeping people from accessing things they rightfully own or should have access to is. A car is stolen when the owner cannot use it anymore, not when the same model is produced again by the factory. The owners of these documents are all the members of the public. Denying access to anyone for any reason is theft.

You obviously have no idea what JSTOR is or how it works. JSTOR is not withholding anything from the public. The articles JSTOR has are available through other methods. You want access to those papers? Well, then go use the other methods, including digging through print journals for them. Nothing JSTOR does is preventing you from doing so.

Comment Re:The hell it doesn't cost consumers! (Score 5, Insightful) 195

Not only that, but your reimbursement had to come from somewhere, and it's not the CEO's pocket. It's everyone else's pockets in increased fees.

THIS.

As well as increased insurance costs. The authors of the article are rather dense if they honestly think that the costs of reimbursement are not passed down to consumers.

Comment Re:Good (Score 1) 451

Java... free.

Rebranded Sun Java that was already free.

VirtualBox... free.

Rebranded Sun VirtualBox that was already free.

Oracle Linux... free.

Rebranded Linux distro that was already free.

How can you say they're greedy?

Look at the products Oracle made themselves and not those they acquired from Sun. They're greedy.

Comment Re:Programs shouldn't NEED to be secure (Score 1) 432

Whoa. So much wrong with that statement. You do realize that insecure programs can cause many problems other than just exploiting holes in the OS, right?

So, yes while there are definitely problems with Linux, Windows, Unix, and Mac OS, programs themselves still need to be secure and application programmers need to be the ones making sure their programs are secure.

Comment Re:the way folks use photos these days. .... (Score 1) 316

An with new optical technology thats in the works, this whole idea of a camera - a device whose sole purpose is to take still images will go the way of the buggy-whip.

Well unless they are finding a way for a phone to do optical zoom there's no way single purpose cameras are going the way of the buggy-whip.

And my guess is, if they do manage to offer optical zoom it will probably only be in the 2x to 3x range.

Comment Re:Punishment to fit the crime (Score 3, Informative) 390

Usage of robots was/is prohibited by JSTOR.

Then its up to JSTOR to detect and block bots.

Putting a web server on the internet means that people will connect to it with various types of software. You don't get to determine what that software is -- a TOS that says "no IE" is meaningless, and so it one that says "no bots"; and using IE or bots to access that site, in and of itself, is not a wrong.

When you are selling access to your servers to academic institutions you most certainly do get to determine how those users then connect to you, how much they can download, etc. If the academic institution doesn't like those terms they can go elsewhere for the content.

Comment Re:It's all about liability (Score 2) 152

Blame the litigation happy culture that has arisen.

"My boy Jonny died on your property. Sure he had to climb a 10 foot electrified fence with barbed wire on top and then get past 5 security guards and surveillance cameras. But you should have done more to stop him. I'm going to sue!!!"

Slashdot Top Deals

One way to make your old car run better is to look up the price of a new model.

Working...