timwiseman

12 ms·

91.
by timwiseman 15y ago
Most of what you said is true. And I, as a programmer and occassional amateur author, am quite against piracy. Yet, the copyright holders biggest arguments for strict copyright enforcement also seem to go out the window if they make it imp
92.
by timwiseman 15y ago
He did, and quite eloquently. Yet, all of his reasons for caring are tied up essentially with failings of the middleman. Based on his answer, if he could deal with a truly global middleman that could distribute throughout the world and pai
93.
by timwiseman 15y ago
I did watch A New Hope with my three year old, but the point is I decided that it was appropriate for my daughter and watched it with her so that I could explain anything she asked about and cut it off if it turned out more violent th
94.
by timwiseman 15y ago
Perhaps I'm misreading the parent, but I think he said "to Kill a Mockingbird" was one of the first required readings in school that did not fall into the drivel category.
95.
Moving data into Amazon's cloud is easy—getting it out, not so much (arstechnica.com)
6 points by timwiseman 15y ago|2 comments
96.
by timwiseman 15y ago
This is true, but most programmers don't and won't ever get a deep understanding of crypto. For that large majority, it makes complete sense to ask "What do the people who do understand crypto use in a case like this?" and use that. That k
97.
by timwiseman 15y ago
The Tragedy of the Commons refers to the overuse of a shared commodity that takes time to renew. I do not see how this applies to newspapers.
98.
by timwiseman 15y ago
While I have no particular training, this does not match my experience or intuition. I think the best thing to do, when the situation permits, is to clearly think through what you want to say before you start speaking. Then you do not need
99.
Opinion: The problem with software patents? They don't scale(arstechnica.com)
6 points by timwiseman 15y ago|0 comments
100.
by timwiseman 15y ago
I'm not sure that is inherent to games. Many people devote a lifetime to mastering games like Chess or Go. Its a little more true of video games, but even there the lifetimes can be quite long. The original StarCraft was relased in 98 and
101.
by timwiseman 15y ago
As you say Zynga proves it can work for some games. But I can also understand the resistance to it. I only just started playing my first MMORPG (SW:TOR), and as a player I think it would bother me if they openly sold advancement to the peo
102.
Illinois judge: law barring recording police is unconstitutional(arstechnica.com)
257 points by timwiseman 15y ago|37 comments
103.
by timwiseman 15y ago
I think he means that even in a purely classical system (ignoring relativity and quantum theory), F=MA describes a system you could never see in the physical world. After all, it does not take into account friction or constantly acting for
104.
by timwiseman 15y ago
Very well said, but it is important to point out that you are simplifying. Otherwise the ambitious ones who continue learning without you may feel betrayed or even question your competence when they begin seeing the problems in the model.
105.
by timwiseman 15y ago
I believe Grellas' main point is that, outside of a few areas society has deemed vulnerable and thus in need of protection, that the US gives skilled employees the ability to choose and negotiate with freedom. If, for isntance, someone (eve
106.
by timwiseman 15y ago
Skyscrapers are mostly hollow.
107.
by timwiseman 15y ago
When I served in the 82nd some of the NCOs told me that some of the vehicles we used had seen service in Vietnam. I never verified this, but I did verify that some of them were manufactured in the Vietnam era.
108.
by timwiseman 15y ago
Yes, my impression is that Star Trek technology is well beyond Star Wars technology in most ways. Replicators and transporters have no equivalent in Star Wars. Similarly, if we go to TNG and beyond, there is no comparison for holodecks,
109.
by timwiseman 15y ago
I agree with your core point, but a blockade would not work to destroy most habitable planets. Most habitable planets in Star Wars are at least capable of self sufficiency. You would hurt their economy certainly, but most could produce en
110.
by timwiseman 15y ago
This does not match my experience. While certainly some successful people like to take all the credit, most of the successful ones I know acknowledge either luck, fortune, or God's blessing played a huge roll in their success. Machievelli
111.
by timwiseman 15y ago
I regretfully have to agree. When I was pursuing a masters in math, I used latex all the time, and I loved it. When I write anything about math or computer science, I prefer Latex to any other tool I tried. I got to a point I could type
112.
by timwiseman 15y ago
But they are related. If the conviction was upheld, he could be punished criminally with jail time. With the conviction overturned, Goldman can still go after him civilly for breach of contract which is relatively similar to a fine.
113.
by timwiseman 15y ago
As always you make enlightening points. Yet, even under the law, there are some significant difference in the purpose and implementation between traditional property and intellectual property. IP rights are for instance limited in time. I
114.
Copyright enforcement and the Internet: we just haven't tried hard enough?(arstechnica.com)
56 points by timwiseman 15y ago|31 comments
115.
by timwiseman 15y ago
"Resolving copyright violations is really easy" I think may be slightly off here. Some cases of copyright violation are quite blatent, but many others become tricky. Music companies have been known to file DMCA complaints over content that
116.
by timwiseman 15y ago
While it certainly won't always be true, it probably is true most of the time. Even if the employee was unhappy enough to go looking, changing jobs often comes with high transaction costs that most people won't want to deal with without a g
117.
by timwiseman 15y ago
I couldn't agree with this more. Life is filled with risks, pretending otherwise is not good for anyone. But pushing the frontiers, exploring the boundaries comes with much greater risks. Yet those risks can come with great rewards when th
118.
by timwiseman 15y ago
Thank you for the thoughtful response. As you say, I think our fundamental positions are not that far apart, but our ways of reaching there are quite different and we seem to disagree on scope. Just to be perfectly clear, I do support (an
119.
by timwiseman 15y ago
I have no objection to being downvoted, but since this was an attempt at a rational argument as part of a discussion rather than trolling, I would appreciate an explanation of what you think I got wrong.
120.
by timwiseman 15y ago
Interesting comments, and well thought out. Yet, since you bring up Hank Rearden's formula, let's remember that Atlas Shrugged explicitly acknowledged that Rearden was leading a team of scientists and engineers. He was not a solo inventor.

More ›