I guess I'm not understanding how using a "controlled" platform hinders me.

Giving the one and only copy to another party is risks losing it. Basic life lesson.

Seems like it's always the App Store which gets all the credit for being bad for society. Why don't we ever hear about the PlayStation Store, or the Xbox Marketplace, or the Wii's Shop Channel? These also sell screened, platform-specific software, some of which you cannot get any other way. Oh, but they're just games, right?

Simple. They are not you. They have different priorities and they value different things. What is important to you is not necessarily as important to others.

And then there are those who are mechanically inclined and perfectly capable of doing it themselves, yet they choose not to because they simply have other things that require their attention. Their time is better spent elsewhere.

Here here.

I think many are getting caught up in terminology and forgetting (or perhaps they never knew) that the overall general purpose of any testing is to eliminate assumptions. Do the requirements really reflect what the customer wants? Does the system really meet the specs? Does component X really perform its job? Or are these things just assumed to be true? Testing gives one the ability to find out.

Now the decision of what to test and what to ignore is an important one, and ultimately it comes down to recognizing one's assumptions. What is one willing to assume, and what must they really know for certain?

It's highly distressing to encounter these people, but many, tech and manager alike, actually think there's nothing wrong with working on production systems. To them that's just how it's done. They know no other way. Trying to educate them is met with blank stares and sometimes even harsh resistance.

A simple to-do list and lab notebooks. The trick with the to-do list is for the tasks to be small enough that you can reasonably do them quickly, and thus you never have a partially complete task.

Ever heard of Sony or Nintendo? Last I checked, PS3 and Wii discs were not readable on a PC -- technological measures and all that. In addition, their respective software licenses specifically forbid any copying whatsoever, a step required if one is going to use the titles on anything other than the intended hardware.

I agree. A similar scenario can be found in World of Warcraft in the initial quests for Death Knights. But that is obviously fantasy so it's ok, right?

This is absolutely spot on. The consistent element in all of the author's examples is volume. He says nothing new.

I agree. Lag is a general term, applicable to a wide range of things.

I've heard it argued that ignorance of existing, non-computer terminology and the failure to distinguish between the application of a word and its definition are big problems plaguing the computer industry. This particular exchange would seem to support that assertion.

Why? It's the owner's work, not yours. They decide who gets to use it and under what terms. Is there some reason those terms should not contain a time-limit or allow revocation?

I see nothing wrong with the RIAA's stance here ... assuming of course one was aware of this at the time of sale. If not, if there was some expectation of perpetual access to the work, then there's a problem.