> Actually, my memory seems to suggest they don't. At least for software.

Well then, is it not a good thing that the reality around us is not dependent on the reliability of your memory.

> I seem to remember, that before Microsoft, asking money for software in that way was unheard of. You either got it with the hardware, like MacOS to this day, or you paid somebody to develop something for you.

That is false. Charging money for software was not unheard of before Microsoft. https://mitpress.mit.edu/books... pg. 55 according to Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... Packaged software appeared in the 1960's and therefore predated the microcomputer revolution in the 1970's that Microsoft was one of the prime movers in.

But even though you're wrong about that, that's not even what you were originally arguing for, your original assertion was that Bill Gates invented the EULA, that is to say, the screen of legalese that you have to agree to in order to use so much software these days and which many believe to be unenforceable in that one cannot agree to any contract which removes rights that are a corporations to remove. A totally separate thing.

> What I remember reading, many years ago, suggested MS came up with using the Content Mafia's "licensing" protection money "business" model for software.

Content Mafia refers to members of the RIAA and MPAA, companies like Disney and Fox.

In short -- you've conflated three distinct business practices across two different industries and gotten all your facts wrong.

And no, Bill Gates did not invent the EULA: https://www.google.com/search?... -- that's preposterous

Irrational? No. Maybe you could argue for misguided. Or optimistic. Or deluded. But irrational? No, it's _entirely_ rational to desire this state of affairs.

Regarding smartphone manufacturers having a clue. Way back in the day before Linux people made the same arguments about servers and desktops and laptops. Before Android people made the same argument about smartphones. Heck now there's even an open hardware server consortium. These processes always seem impossible right up until the point they become reality and then they were the most obvious thing in the world.

Smartphone makers employ engineers and engineers give enough of a 'shit' about Ubuntu, ergo smartphone makers give enough of a 'shit' about Ubuntu.

This 'silly fantasy world' you speak of. It's called mutual cooperation. It's called trust. It's called sharing the load. It's called socially responsible. It's called not being hostile to your users and customers. The only hurt I see is the current situation. A mirage of short-term gains for longer-term whatever the opposite of benefits is (what's the opposite of benefits again? aaargh, stupid brain).

Statistically insignificant? 75% of smartphones run a more or less free and open-source OS. Oh, there's that word silly again. And shit. And fucking silly. And ... Oh dear I'm having a hard time digesting your argument (you do have an argument, don't you) what with all the childish insults you're dropping. Tell you what, when you grow up and want to have an adult conversation with us I'm all ears, until then any chance you could stay away from that keyboard of yours and not waste our time. You come across like you're aged 14 and so do the people who upvoted you.

Lucky resourceful Norwegians :)

Off-topic: Why did you link to that book in your sig?

No, not that IBM; the other IBM that still has a metric (not imperial) shitload[1] of assets.

[1] http://www.ibm.com/products

Bizarro that you'd post all this anonymously. Also, an easier way to show that there are no inherent human rights, that in fact there are only those that we assert and cling to is to ask exactly where these rights reside and what extra-human agency grants them. I mean they're obviously not corporeal, so maybe they're spirit-like, like souls. To me, the universal declaration of human rights is more like a optimistic aspirational wish-list than an enumeration of "i don't where they are but they must be there somewhere" inherent rights.

I too would give this fine person 10 of my non-existent mod points.

minor nitpick, re: (1) ... depends if you pronounce h as aitch or haitch - both are current usage where I come from :)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H

You made a funny. Gots me no mod points though.

And (at least according to one program I saw on TV a while back) the silting up of key mediterranean harbors due to upstream deforestation for crop production leading to soil erosion which also led to poorer soil conditions on top of silted up harbors.

I am a fan of your work and would like to subscribe to your newsletter.

Yeah? Complete hokum sir.

They may be nutritionally similar but the point of some GM stuff is that it is crippled in some way. I don't give a rat's ass about the nutritional content of this modern technology but I do care about patenting gene sequences or farmers having to go back every year to purchase new seeds or whatever trickery these companies are up to. It would be one thing if they are just making better grain or better rice. But they're not just doing that, we all know that they're trying to extract profit all along the food pipeline. I think the consumer should know whether a foodstuff is GM so that they can, if they so choose, be able to avoid sanctioning agri-business tactics they do not ethically agree with. It is _false_ that there are no meaningful differences between GM foods and non-GM foods.

Horoscopes? Give us a break.

Uh, don't you mean draw a line? Crossing that line is a whole other ball game if you'll allow me to wantonly mix metaphors. Other than that, you have my blessing, and I'll keep you in my prayers.

Here in Ireland local councils have been trying to get waste incinerators built for years but because of NIMBYism it still hasn't happened yet. Environmental concerns are also cited (prions I think?). So the good folk of Ireland are against incineration, nuclear, fracking, wind farms to name but a few 20th century technologies. And we import all our energy and export our waste. We don't have the climate for solar. And they don't want us to burn fossil fuels - but indeed we burn the peat from our bogs. What a depressing country, no wonder so many emigrate and never return. Yay, go Ireland!

Neapolitan/Napoletano/a.

Oslovian.

These are demonyms. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demonym
FTL: The word demonym comes from the Greek word for "populace" ( demos) with the suffix for "name" (-onym).

The one I've heard is more succinct, "there's money in s#!t".