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Reader Chemisor advances a theory in his journal that a linguistic misunderstanding is at the root of many disagreements over different licensing philosophies, in particular BSD vs. GPL. The argument is that GPL adherents desire the freedom of their code, while those on the BSD side want freedom for their projects. "It is difficult to spend a week on Slashdot without colliding with a GPL advocate. Eager to spread their philosophy, they proselytize to anyone willing to listen, and to many who are not. When they collide with a BSD advocate, such as myself, a heated flamewar usually erupts with each side repeating the same arguments over and over, failing to understand how the other party can be so stupid as to not see the points that appear so obvious and right. These disagreements, as I wish to show in this article, are as much linguistic as they are philosophical, and while the latter side can not be reconciled, the former certainly can, hopefully resulting in a more civil and logical discourse over the matter." Click below for Chemisor's analysis of the linguistic chasm.

pilsner.urquell writes "Apple's interest in defending the rights of the consumer has cost them a lot of grief in the ringtone market. 'John Gruber of the Daring Fireball cites Engadget, which reported that the RIAA wanted to be able to distribute ringtones of its artists without having to pay them big money to do so. It won a decision last year before the Copyright Office saying that ringtones weren't derivative works, meaning they didn't infringe on the copyright of the songwriter.' The piece goes on to explain the tense relationship between Apple content holders regarding ringtones and other pieces of IP, such as in the recent withdrawal of NBC."

Alexa drives me nuts. It uses a broken methodology to measure the internet and is, for reasons unclear to anyone, regarded as somehow definitive simply because it allows you to compare two sites with a single simple number. Its sampling methodology is flawed and the numbers it produces are meaningless. And if you want to help me prove this, please install their toolbar. Of course since most of you are Slashdot readers, most of you won't and that only helps prove my point. Read on for what I mean by all of this, and why it matters.

gondwannabe writes "Here are Five Things You Aren't Allowed to Discuss About Linux. With considerable chutzpa, an insightful Rob Enderle takes on what he considers five dogmas in the OSS community and explains why they're wrong. Examples: Linux is secure, "communes" actually work in the long haul, and that Linux is "pro-developer."

tclark writes "A group of hacker from Ireland has launched a new GNU/Linux distribution, called gNewSense, that purports to be 100% free software, without any binary blobs. Based on Ubuntu Dapper, the builders have written a set of bash scripts that generate a set of repositories and a live CD. The scripts are also available so that you can create your own Dapper-derived distribution."

androthi writes "Scott Granneman takes a look at some surprises in Microsoft's Vista EULA that limit what security professionals and others can do with the new operating system.

You want to post benchmarking results? Well, Microsoft may now have a say in it.

Vista's EULA no longer shows up on Microsoft's software licensing page, but does still exist — also take note of Windows DRM deciding what you can and can not listen to, and Defender deciding and removing what it considers spyware automatically (by default)."

Panaqqa writes "It's nice to see an august publication like the NY Times publishing an opinion piece about the broken patent system, even if their focus is more on the ludicrousness of patenting tax strategies.

From the article:

Congress needs to make spurious patents easier to challenge across the board, and should consider clarifying what may be patented."

PR Results writes "Pacific Design Merges Fashion and Function with The Ruckus Laptop Bag Collection Innovative Laptop Backpacks and Messenger Bags Now Available at Retailers Including Staples Austin — October 31, 2006 — Pacific Design, an industry leader in iPod cases and cutting edge laptop bags, is proud to introduce The Ruckus Laptop Bag Collection, an innovative line of laptop backpacks and messenger bags designed for urban, professional and student lifestyles. The Ruckus Laptop Bag Collection merges fashion and function with its innovative, lightweight and slim design, coupled with laptop protection and multiple storage compartments to accommodate all of today's communication and entertainment devices. Both the Ruckus Laptop Backpack and the Ruckus Laptop Messenger Bag are up to 30 percent lighter than other similar laptop bags, super slim, constructed of water-resistant materials and loaded with thoughtful and functional organizational features. Features include an ergonomic shoulder strap structure, 360 degree laptop protection, dedicated media storage, an AC/cable zipper pouch, a protective iPod/MP3 pocket, a "seamless" water-resistant compartment, and a felt-lined luxury items pocket. Customers who register their Ruckus products at www.pacificdesign.com will receive a free removable cell phone/iPod pouch. Both Ruckus laptop bags come in striking color combinations including: olive/bold black /super yellow, rose white/granite gray/posey pink, bold black /slate gray/pearl gray, and coming in March 2007, slate gray/sand/tiger orange. The Ruckus Laptop Bag Collection will be available at North American retailers including Sony Canada in November 2006 and Staples in January 2007. The Ruckus Laptop Backpack will retail for $69.95 and the Ruckus Laptop Messenger Bag will retail for $59.95. Online retailers that will be taking pre-orders today include www.ebags.com, www.cdw.com, and for the first time, www.pacificdesign.com, which just launched a commerce-enabled website this month. Product Features for Ruckus Laptop Backpack, $69.95: Weight-repositioning design places the computer flush on the user's back to evenly distribute weight so pack feels lighter in use Super lightweight design, up to 30% lighter than other laptop bags Slim profile — only 6 inches thick Fits most 15.4" notebook PC's Laptop protection including fully-armored compartment EVA foam base enables backpack to stand while empty Side-loading laptop compartment provides easy access during travel Moisture-resistant zipper pocket Deep 3" main storage compartment for books & files Ergonomic straps with breathable mesh Airflow Channel Water bottle, key clip and pen holders Dedicated media storage for CD's and DVD's AC adapter/Cable zipper pouch Easy access felt-lined luxury items pocket to protect sunglasses and other easily scatched items Product Features for Ruckus Laptop Messenger Bag, $59.95: Super lightweight design, up to 30% lighter than other laptop bags Slim profile — only 4 inches thick Fits most 15.4" notebook PC's 360 degree laptop protection including fully-armored compartment and EVA molded foam case bottom Moisture-resistant zipper pocket Water bottle, key clip and pen holders Dedicated media storage for CD's and DVD's AC adapter/Cable zipper pouch Easy access felt-lined luxury items pocket to protect sunglasses and other easily scratched items Optional: Removable iPod/mobile phone pouch Formed, breathable mesh-covered back panel for comfort with thin item storage About Pacific Design Headquartered in Austin, Texas, Pacific Design was founded in 1995 to raise the standard of products, and individualized client services, in the mobile technology carrying case market. Pacific Design excels at designing and manufacturing lifestyle bags that integrate fashion and style with thoughtful function and quality craftsmanship. As a result, Pacific Design has become one of the leading carrying case companies in the world. Pacific Design, a privately-held firm, is a certified Woman-Owned Business Enterprise (WBE). For more information, visit www.pacificdesign.com or call 888-797-8755. ### Media Contact: Anthony Attalla http://go.reachmail.net/rmgo.asp?tid=378039&eid=1& sb_id=150704,150704 Inquiry: Ruckus For High Resolution Images Click Here"

I've just gotten interested in this after I saw a news item claiming a Chinese Official denied that China had anything to do with Internet censorship. I saw another news item stating that Iran had banned broadband internet access to ensure that their citizens were "protected" from the foul ideas flowing all through the world.

Every country, defined by its constitution grants some "Civil Liberties" to its citizens, which it protects economically, socially and politically with its strengths. This, of course is a give and take transaction, you lose something (taxes, etc.) to gain those Civil Liberties. However, one can infitely argue that most of the Civil Liberties of one individual can clearly be used to violate those of another individual and by that render the constitutional protection invalid.

Furthermore, another state (say Uncle Sam) can be feeding false information to citizens of another nation. Hence, even though the Liberty of right to information is available to a citizen of another nation (say Iran), they might be willing to remove it from their citizens in order to truly protect them and the belief systems.

"The Republic" has wide arguments as to why an ideal state cannot be constructed; while many of those who have read it believe it to be a model for a state. I consider Plato a cynical commentator; who never laid out plans. You might think otherwise, but remember Timmaeus and his two references to Atlantis and you would really think of a reason to agree that he is indeed a cynical commentator.

So laws, constitutional freedom and whatever is offered with the citizenship of a country appear to be a simple contract. Something, that's as good as one you make with your employer. Only, a great deal more complicated covering far more serious issues including conditions under which all your liberties will be revoked, so on and so forth.

I had once read a paper (intending to write a book) on futuristic scenarios researched by the US military. One of the scenarios was about a unified world where corporates ruled. The other was a pangea kind of idealistic scenario, while the last was a oligopolic, Tristate power and space sharing thing. I believe today's world is already an oligopoly requiring alignment to one side or the other. It's just a matter of the contract agreement, the give and take. There's one big difference, countries tend to be far more immoral than any corporate and can go to any level including destruction of all civil liberties (including the right to live.) If you're thinking I'm crazy why not try www.contactsingapore.org.sg and find out how you can "buy" a citizenship in this rather small-sized city state.

There are enough companies and organisations who already have casteist, linguistic or ethnic requirements other than technical requirements that they normally post on a job notice. Citizenship seems no different. Nativity is not always a guarantee of citizenship unless there is a huge chance that you will be brought up in the same country within their belief systems.

Through the looking glass, things seem far more lucid than the fairy tale world that the media presents on my idiot box. We already live in a corporate world, where almost all rights are a give and take. There are no moral idealisms to dwell upon, only real contracts. Not all these contracts and rights are monetary, making some idealists dwell within their delusional schizo-matrices. After the creation of Rome there was no turning back.

It is better that we agree and understand that nations, patriotism, nativity are just catch-phrases in a world built on contracts (give-and-take.) We can stop talking about morality, flawed laws, corruption and look for the best CEOs to handle India Inc., Sri Lanka Inc., Thailand Inc., N.Korea Inc., so on and so forth. Everyone must understand that idealist patriotism and believing in a nations religious alignment, so on and so forth are mere facades screening the truth behind it. It's true, I finally see it, we are living in a world of mirages and illusions, the truth fortunately isn't bitter. We can make things better just by understanding where we are and what we are. It's the same steps you take within your organisation/company/school/university to try and make it a shade better that you can do with a nation, which merely is a much larger aggregation that might need a bit more abstraction to let the human mind "divide and rule" rather than be divided and misruled.