Indeed. Like any IP right, copyright is a deal between society and the creator. In the end, the work will be public domain. But with DRM the copyright holder does not seem to want to stick to his end of the deal. And changes in technology will well mean that the work will be unreadable by the time the copyright expires.

Bert

Exactly, phrased differently: When they have to face the enemy and they have to choose between a rifle and the book of the deity of their choice, what would they put faith in?

Bert

Sorry, but I promise you that the solution was very elegant.

Bert

Abraham heard the voice of god. Or he may have been suffering from a disorder such as schizophrenia. Which is more likely... .

If my guess is correct, I wish he had had such an avatar. It would have saved the world quite a bit of misery now.

Bert

The DNA is changed by the gene transfer: The DNA is mutated.

The genetic composition of the recipient organism is changed, i.e. it is mutated.

Bert

Oh, it will keep working in countries where evolution is just a theory.

Bert

He is a Jesuit, supposedly more the thinking type of priest. Let's see how long it takes him to figure out that his employer never shows up at the office, never gives any instruction, and doesn't pay his salary. How long will it take him to doubt the existence of his employer and tell the world about that?

Bert

So, we could have the full sequences of many many people of different origin, not to mention of many different animals. While it would require quite a bit of data-crunching, I hope that it allows us to look back into our distant past, learning more about evolution.

Bert
And if it brings some intolerant religious folks to take their favorite myth book a little less serious, that is a very very nice bonus.

If I can't find what I'm looking for in 0.254 seconds, I'm out of that store again.

Bert
Spoiled brat
Who bets that there are ads in the store

that his employer is a figment of human imagination?

Bert

Is the killing of the unborn babies worth than the death of even more unborn babies? Nature aborts many unborn babies, usually because of some defect. That's nice because people prefer healthy babies anyway because that suits them (and the babies) better. In the case of a relative, her pregnancies went wrong because she was too sensitive to all the hormone swings going on (she only conceived her kids after those hormones were tamed with suppositories. Do you want to entertain a case where the earlier miscarriages were death by negligence by her/her doctors?).

It works like this: When a woman has her period, or a man masturbates, potential life goes down the drain. Nobody gives a damn. If woman A doesn't wants to have a baby, is late, but she then resumes having her period, she will be happy about that. She had been pregnant, but it stopped. If woman B wants to have a baby, is late, but then resumes having her period, she will be sad about that. Now, take the case of woman B if in another attempt she has a miscarriage after 7 months. Do you think she is as sad about that situation as she was in the first instance of being late? I think it is safe to say there will be a difference in sadness. She will be sadder in the second case. So, there is a gradual change in perception during the stages of pregnancy. In the beginning, the starting human life is not so valuable. The older it gets, the more it becomes so. Unfortunately, one has to draw the line somewhere. If the line were drawn at 8 months, I would agree with you. But that is not where the line is. Any baby has the right to be welcome, in an environment that can support its needs.

Bert
Not a sociopath. Just more interested in meeting the needs of every baby that is born

"So you are actually for outlawing speech then. Seems like whenever someone starts off by saying they are anti-censorship, it really means they are pro-censorship."

They are free to believe what they want. They are just not free to coerce anyone to join their club. And it should be free for others to call out lies spread.

If I have a religion promoting human sacrifices or messing with underage virgins, I don't think it takes you take long to realize that there are limits to what a religion can propagate. If only religious people were convinced that their god is all powerful, and that he can handle it in the afterlife. But nooo, they can't resist their urge to act on what they know their god exactly wants.

Bert

Patent attorney here. If I don't make sure that enough info is in the application, the Examiner may call me out on that. It is not allowed to provide the information later on. It is a fatal flaw and the patent application is dead. The applicant will not be amused and could hold me liable. I do make sure that more than enough examples are present. As I say: the inventor's grandmother has to be able to understand it.

Bert
Patents: Open source information (http://worldwide.espacenet.com/) before the term was coined.

"In order to be found in violation of this patent, your violation must satisfy all the claims listed on the patent.
"

Very wrong. If you satisfy only a single *independent* claim you violate the patent. The dependent claims (that is, the ones that refer to one above, are there for the patentee/applicant for limitation of the independent claim should that not be patentable).

You violate an independent claim if you do EVERYTHING that is in that *independent* claim. If you do, the case is clear-cut. If you don't, you ma If only it were that easy: There could be some leeway in the interpretation of the claim that makes that the claim is interpreted a bit broader.

Do mind that a patent can have more than one independent claim (three is not uncommon in the US).

If you infringe an independent claim, it is worthwhile to figure out whether more relevant prior art exists than considered during the patent procedure. A list of the prior art considered is found on the front page of the patent. There is a chance that the patent got granted broader than warranted. It could be that you don't infringe after limitation of the claim.

Bert
Patent attorney (not a lawyer; that's something different).

You can buy drainage pipes for the shower that are basically heat exchangers. Cold water is passed through them (in countercurrent with the water draining from the shower) before it goes to the shower head. Of course, you still have to add some hot water in the mixing faucet, but thermal energy is saved.

Google: shower heat exchanger

Bert