Comment: Still more transparancy... (Score 3, Funny) 128
That's still more transparancy and objectivity that most US elections that use electronic voting machines.
+ - How to deal with service providers that make it purposely hard to leave?
Submitted
by
DrHappyAngry
DrHappyAngry writes "After calling Tmobile to look at getting out of my contract for unnacceptable service throughout Downtown Seattle, I found that they require a snail mail letter or fax. They also require a copy of ID or utility bill showing my address, which would not even show the locations that are problematic, such as my office. The service quality is at the point where most buildings in the core of a major city are not even able to be serviced by their network. How do you deal with a provider that is out to make it as impossible to leave as they can? Asides from posting this to /. how else can they be publicly shamed? I was very upset when they told me this, and in fact told them "This isn't 1980, nobody uses that anymore, and this is for the sole purpose of making it more difficult to terminate the contract.""
Techdirt: Arthur Conan Doyle Estate Sued To Show That Sherlock Holmes Is Public Domain->
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by
feedfeeder
A little over three years ago, we had a discussion concerning whether or not Sherlock Holmes was in the public domain. By our understanding of the law, the character absolutely is in the public domain. There is one remaining book -- The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes -- which contains a few stories, that are still covered by copyright, but the characters and most of the written works, are in the public domain. However, the legal representatives of the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Estate use the fact that one book is still held under copyright to argue that the character is still protected until (at least) 2023. Of course, as with things like Happy Birthday, even if it should be in the public domain, if there's some corporate entity insisting that it's covered by copyright, you'd have to go to court to prove otherwise. And most people don't want to bother.
Thankfully, that just changed when it comes to Sherlock Holmes. Sherlock Holmes scholar, Leslie S. Klinger, was working on a book (with Laurie R. King) called In the Company of Sherlock Holmes, detailing "major mystery/sci-fi/fantasy authors inspired by the Holmes tales." However, the Conan Doyle Estate contacted their publisher, Pegasus Books, demanding a license fee, and saying if they weren't paid, they'd make sure that no major distributors would sell the book. Specifically, the estate directly threatened that:
The lawsuit points out that Sherlock Holmes characters have long been in the public domain, and even that remaining book of stories includes two that are clearly in the public domain, as they were published prior to 1923. But, most importantly "none of the Sherlock Holmes Story Elements first appeared in any of the stories that were collected in The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes." In other words, the entirety of copyright protected elements in the character were published outside of that one book, and are now in the public domain.
The lawsuit also notes that Klinger and King's publisher on an earlier book, A Study in Sherlock did, in fact, pay a license to the estate, but they did not concede any of the legal arguments. When the estate threatened Klinger, he correctly explained that no license was needed, but he's still dealing with the fallout from his publisher getting cold feet. Thus, he's asking the court to state, definitively, that the character is in the public domain. Kudos for Klinger for taking this on. We need more people willing to stand up for the public domain. Also, jeers to Pegasus for not being the one to take this on and for freaking out over the bogus threat.
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Thankfully, that just changed when it comes to Sherlock Holmes. Sherlock Holmes scholar, Leslie S. Klinger, was working on a book (with Laurie R. King) called In the Company of Sherlock Holmes, detailing "major mystery/sci-fi/fantasy authors inspired by the Holmes tales." However, the Conan Doyle Estate contacted their publisher, Pegasus Books, demanding a license fee, and saying if they weren't paid, they'd make sure that no major distributors would sell the book. Specifically, the estate directly threatened that:
If you proceed instead to bring out Study in Sherlock II unlicensed, do not expect to see it offered for sale by Amazon, Barnes Noble, and similar retailers. We work with those company's routinely to weed out unlicensed uses of Sherlock Holmes from their offerings, and will not hesitate to do so with your book as well.Like too many publishers, Pegasus freaked out and refused to publish the book at all, so Klinger has taken it upon himself to file for declaratory judgment. You can see the full filing posted here (and embedded it below).
The lawsuit points out that Sherlock Holmes characters have long been in the public domain, and even that remaining book of stories includes two that are clearly in the public domain, as they were published prior to 1923. But, most importantly "none of the Sherlock Holmes Story Elements first appeared in any of the stories that were collected in The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes." In other words, the entirety of copyright protected elements in the character were published outside of that one book, and are now in the public domain.
The lawsuit also notes that Klinger and King's publisher on an earlier book, A Study in Sherlock did, in fact, pay a license to the estate, but they did not concede any of the legal arguments. When the estate threatened Klinger, he correctly explained that no license was needed, but he's still dealing with the fallout from his publisher getting cold feet. Thus, he's asking the court to state, definitively, that the character is in the public domain. Kudos for Klinger for taking this on. We need more people willing to stand up for the public domain. Also, jeers to Pegasus for not being the one to take this on and for freaking out over the bogus threat.
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Comment: In a Vatican Statement. (Score 5, Funny) 542
In a statement released by the Vatican Today, it was announced that his Holiness Pope Benedict XVI will step down with immediate effect. When asked for a reason, a spokesman for his former holiness suggested that he would like to spend more time with his wife and children.
Comment: Comment on Movie length (Score 4, Interesting) 245
Am I the only one who longs for the return of an intermission? If only for a little relief rather than ducking out for 3-4 minutes and missing that one important little line of dialogue on which the whole thing pins?
Comment: Name and Shame (Score 4, Insightful) 341
Name and shame.
And point out that they're costing jobs by not paying invoices.
Comment: What if? (Score 1) 450
What if we had a reuseable spacecraft with a large enough cargo area and crew capacity to go up there and grab the thing before it causes havoc, stick it in its cargo bay and fly it back and see what it actually is...
Wouldn't something like that be dead handy?
How Technology Might Avert an Apocalypse 201
Posted
by
samzenpus
from the science-to-the-rescue dept.
from the science-to-the-rescue dept.
First time accepted submitter deapbluesea writes "Matt Ridley recounts the many predictions of catastrophe that have been made by prominent figures in the past. 'The classic apocalypse has four horsemen, and our modern version follows that pattern, with the four riders being chemicals (DDT, CFCs, acid rain), diseases (bird flu, swine flu, SARS, AIDS, Ebola, mad cow disease), people (population, famine), and resources (oil, metals).' From over population, to pandemics, peak oil to climate change, Ridley provides examples of human innovation that have averted the disasters, real or imagined. He does not declare the doomsayers to be wrong, merely hyperbolic in their predictions. 'We hear a lot from those who think disaster is inexorable if not inevitable, and a lot from those who think it is all a hoax. We hardly ever allow the moderate "lukewarmers."' Given the current discussions on rich vs poor, conservative vs liberal, religious versus non-religious, maybe a little moderation should be in order. After all, there are a lot of examples of 'experts' who got it completely wrong in the past."
Comment: New Computer (Score 1) 197
First website I clicked was slashdot. Except for the crap added in at the factory, it's verifiably gunge free
Comment: Stack Ranking (Score 4, Insightful) 168
Contestants rate each other on tasks, filling mandatory slots from most valuable to least valuable, with the bottom 10% being fired Backstabbing and politcking ensue between the contestants as they fight tooth and nail not to be dumped down the bottom, while forgetting entirely about the task at hand and just half-assing it finished.
Perfectly preparing them for the working environment at MS...
Comment: The future of the Higgs (Score 5, Interesting) 170
While I know it is rather early to comment, what do you think the future applications of today's research into Higgs Boson will be?
Don't be afraid to be a little bit sky-high. I for one am already fantasising about space ships propelled by manipulation of the Higgs field on a local scale.
I'm only asking because, a century ago the electron was discovered and nobody was quite sure what to do with it. And it runs the world.
Comment: Re:Also: Fighting Unpopular Opinions (Score 4, Insightful) 202
If I had mod-points right now, I'd upvote this. But I don't.
Oh well. You beat me to the punch by mentioning the TvTropes incident. And yes, that is bloody terrifying. Though really, advertising hitting publishers with the money stick to impose their editorial will is nothing new orbiting the sun.
That doesn't mean I have to like it.
The worrying thing is, many of these withdrawals are pretty much automated. Google has an almost machine-like bureaucratic apathy to the advertising world, it's systems grinding mindlessly along uncaring how automated reports are. It'll yank them anyway because it doesn't cost them anything to do so. It's the cheapest and easiest option. It's expensive to actually follow up the report and investigate the actual circumstances.
That requires a salaried employee with a brain.
Or in short form. I agree with everything you said, and just wanted to try post more than 'I agree with everything you said'
Comment: Why I go to the Cinema (Score 1) 663
If I just want to see a movie, I'll watch it at home.
Piracy shouldn't affect new-releases at all. People go to the cinema for the whole experience which is really something that can't be pirated, can it? Unless you install full projection equipment and a three story screen in your own home.
The rude interruptions from phone callers will come regardless.
Comment: Not Here. (Score 1) 392
Here in the Republic of Ireland, the government commissioned an online survey into internet use.
They've proudly been able to report a 100% penetration of internet services, with all respondents claiming they had access to the web.
Comment: A similar experience (Score 2) 312
I had a similar experience, from the other side of the spectrum. I was the summer intern doing a project that required digging through the paper archives to find some hardware data that was to be entered into a computer simulation.
It was nowhere to be found. What was documented for this perticular plant was little more than the type of equipment used. Not it's technical ratings or anything. Just what was there. And good luck finding any of that documentation only.
I also found full documentation for a plant that'd been shut down decades ago. Then demolished. And was now a blank wasteland. "In the hope they would be useful"