OK, fine. Take pharma as the example. So you agree: patents are needed in some situations.

As for space flight, I'm not saying it's easy, but it's easier to answer a question once you've seen the answer. Either way, considering how you feel about pharma patents, wouldn't you agree that if a space company developed a new fuel or insulating material, then they should be able to have some sort of patent on it?

But then what incentive is there for a company to get into the business in the first place? I'm thinking of private space flights. That kind of research takes an enormous amount of money and risk to life. I don't think it's fair to say that another company can just come in and duplicate the mechanism afterward.

Of course, if there are no patents, then other people wouldn't know the details of how you did what you did. We are way past the age of simple machines, where you could take apart a typewriter and duplicate it. So if there are no patents and the innovator doesn't have to share details, then sure, first mover advantage should be OK. In this case, no one else would have known why Google's energy bills were so much lower.

But then you are limiting the amount of money that anyone could potentially make; it's limited to the amount of grant money available. And you are also restricting the ideas that get developed to the ones that the person holding the purse strings thinks are worthy.
There's no reason both models can't co-exist, but neither is a replacement for the other

i disagree. it's never too soon. at least this comment wasn't intended to offend.

no, i'm not saying we have to do this. i'm saying it might be worth it for the community at large. i'm saying a dollar a month shouldn't be the reason we abandon newspapers.
the reason im saying im not willing to give up newspapers is to say that newspapers provide a service that hasnt been replaced by bloggers or anyone else.

dude, relax, it's a dollar. do u rail against all the bullshit charges from the telcos and cable companies? i (and many others im sure) have pissed away alot more for a lot less.
not all journalists and newspapers suck, and tho there are some good bloggers out there, im not willing to give up my newspaper just yet. and if we need regulation to keep them alive, then that might be worth it. u cant always "depend on the people" because sometimes u end up with a tragedy of the commons type situation

Do you have a reason for saying it's bunk? This is not my field so maybe you're right, but nothing sticks out from the articles.
And by "bunk", you mean that these fossils are NOT dwarfed humans, right? Because the other alternative that is being floated is that it's a distinct species.

i dunno... how much are bullets these day?

ha, ha, just a joke, folks! ;-)

on the other hand, if you thought the sims 2 remove blur hack was awesome, wait till you see what's available outside!

I like big buts and i cannot lie

So, IS there a way to stop the autorun.inf file from being processed on all removable media?

And I think that is the main point made by the article - yeah, sure, with a bit of spin too. With all the qualifications you have on your statements, you are technically correct. However, if there are no clear instructions on how to stop the autorun.inf file from being processed on ALL media, removable or otherwise, Microsoft should provide them or explicitly say that it isn't possible. And the researchers could probably approach Microsoft in a less accusatory manner. People just want to keep their systems safe.

actually, i wanted to show meatswing to someone and couldnt find it. link please?