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What America Does Right

In New Mexico, we take lunchbags, fill the bottoms with sand and put little candles in them - we call them luminarias but that's a term local to our culture and they have different names elsewhere.

MSS_oldtown1.jpg


luminarias.jpg


It's a very ethereal effect - great for walking tours on these freezing nights.

So - as New Mexico is part of the USA - America does luminarias best.
 
EarlyMon said:
In New Mexico, we take lunchbags, fill the bottoms with sand and put little candles in them - we call them luminarias but that's a term local to our culture and they have different names elsewhere.

MSS_oldtown1.jpg


luminarias.jpg


It's a very ethereal effect - great for walking tours on these freezing nights.

So - as New Mexico is part of the USA - America does luminarias best.
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no we are the best at stealing others ideals and then say we do it best.
 
Bob Maxey said:
You mean the freedom to steal or make it easy to steal the IP of others? Is that what has your panties in a twitter? The big, bad, gubberment going after the sneak thieves that prefer free to working for it and paying for it.
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I'll tell you what has got my 'panties in a twitter' about this. It's the way that Homeland Security is doing the RIAA's and MPAA's dirty work for them. Also bittorrent is not just about illegal content, there are many legal things distributed via this method, e.g. Linux distros. Homeland Security seizing and censoring non-USA bittorrent sites makes it harder to distribute content like this legally.

I often download content using bittorrent for academic purposes. Which AFAIK is quite legal where I am. So when I see crap like that US Homeland Security seizure and censoring notice on non-USA based sites, yes I does get my ire.

I also have an issue with US 'big, bad, gubberment' with all this DMCA nonsense, and the way that copyright keeps on getting extended because Disney is terrified Mickey Mouse will go public domain. http://copyfight.corante.com/archives/2008/09/15/disney_and_the_copyright_on_mickey_mouse.php

Bob Maxey said:
Perhaps you should create something of value and see how you like it if it is made available for free. We call that theft.
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I would have no problems with that at all. Anything I create of value, will be Creative Commons, GPL, GFDL, etc. Besides most of us here are using something of considerable value, which has been given away completely free by Google...Android.
 
mikedt said:
I'll tell you what has got my 'panties in a twitter' about this. It's the way that Homeland Security is doing the RIAA's and MPAA's dirty work for them. Also bittorrent is not just about illegal content, there are many legal things distributed via this method, e.g. Linux distros. Homeland Security seizing and censoring non-USA bittorrent sites makes it harder to distribute content like this legally.

I often download content using bittorrent for academic purposes. Which AFAIK is quite legal where I am. So when I see crap like that US Homeland Security seizure and censoring notice on non-USA based sites, yes I does get my ire.

I also have an issue with US 'big, bad, gubberment' with all this DMCA nonsense, and the way that copyright keeps on getting extended because Disney is terrified Mickey Mouse will go public domain. Disney and the Copyright on Mickey Mouse. Copyfight: the politics of IP



I would have no problems with that at all. Anything I create of value, will be Creative Commons, GPL, GFDL, etc. Besides most of us here are using something of considerable value, which has been given away completely free by Google...Android.
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Do not bring Android/Google into it. Google developed it and it is their decision and their decision alone to either offer it for free or charge for it. It has nothing to do with illegal files and IP rights.

And if you want to make your work free to others, fine. But when you start making a living with IP, things change and it is nobody has any right to make it available without my written permission.

I am sure you have a case, if the government is closing down sites that are not violating some law, then take them to court. But we both know these sites make it easy to find and DL software, music, and movies which is not legal without express written permission form the IP owners.

Bob Maxey
 
Dark Jedi said:
I remember those lights. Remember growing up watching the news about the many houses burnt down because of those lights. If you use almost 60 years old light strings more power to ya. I just hope you have real good fire insurance when those lights shorts out and catches fire. Its not a matter of if, but when.

Christmas lights was never an item that was made to last.
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Not made to last? News to me. As for safety, yes, it is a concern. But when you have wire or cords in good condition, ceramic sockets that still function as designed, a box full of bulbs that are still usable, there is little to worry about.

People get into trouble when they make silly mistakes that have nothing to do with the age on the lights. Like running cords under carpets, pets with grand curiosity and a taste for cloth covered cords, cracked fixtures/sockets, frayed cords, etc.

By advice is to forget using old products unless you know enough to check for damage or potential problems.

Bob Maxey
 
Bob Maxey said:
Do not bring Android/Google into it. Google developed it and it is their decision and their decision alone to either offer it for free or charge for it. It has nothing to do with illegal files and IP rights.
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Bob, you're wrong.

IP is jealously guarded and protected as it should be.

And if you want to make your work free to others, fine. But when you start making a living with IP, things change and it is nobody has any right to make it available without my written permission.
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The core of Android is Linux (a flavor of unix) and Linux is protected under the GPL - it's licensed, but it is NOT for pay - and if you develop derivatives under the GPL, there are times you can and cannot charge for them.

Google chose to use the Apache free license and endorse it.

Citations of these licenses follow:

The GNU General Public License v3.0 - GNU Project - Free Software Foundation (FSF)

Licenses | Android Open Source

And to round things off, because so much of much unix development occurred thanks to UC Berkeley, here's where you end up following the Berkeley Systems Distribution open license terms:

Open Source Licenses | Open Source Initiative

Bottom line is - it was fair and just to bring Google / Android into this discussion because their use of licensed materials creating derivative products required open source licensing.

And a great deal of the backbone of that code base is indeed distributed via bittorrent -

LinuxTracker | The Premier Linux BitTorrent Website

So while it's true that bittorrent sites are used for distributing illegal and immoral stuff, it's also true that bittorrent sites are used for perfectly legal stuff - such as the codebase distributions upon which Android was founded.

It's the popular FUD (fear, uncertainty, doubt) that anyone supporting bittorrent protocols are pirates - but in truth, that can be used for the greater good or abused for piracy (just like an ordinary web page transferring things with http or ftp file transfer protocols).

So - supporting bittorrent while abhoring piracy and IP theft is a perfectly straightforward and practical position.

And it wasn't off base to bring Android's roots into the discussion.

Bittorrent is good for transferring large images, such as that you'd find on DVD - it can movie piracy or it can be part of the world's most advanced software development community.

An inconvenient truth, if I may borrow the phrase, that the RIAA/MPAA doesn't want to confront - and neither do their lackeys.

Because Google derived an operating system from Linux, they were legally bound to put that out for free.
 
Bob Maxey said:
Do not bring Android/Google into it. Google developed it and it is their decision and their decision alone to either offer it for free or charge for it. It has nothing to do with illegal files and IP rights.

And if you want to make your work free to others, fine. But when you start making a living with IP, things change and it is nobody has any right to make it available without my written permission.

I am sure you have a case, if the government is closing down sites that are not violating some law, then take them to court. But we both know these sites make it easy to find and DL software, music, and movies which is not legal without express written permission form the IP owners.

Bob Maxey
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It's not the IP itself I have objections with. I do think that IP should be properly compensated and protected. It's the heavy handed and IMO wrong approach that the US Govt, MPAA, RIAA, et al. are doing to try and protect IP.

For a start, why is the Department of Homeland Security even involved with this? Do they think that bittorent sites are been run by terrorists or something? DRM, which is much beloved by the US media industry, is a complete failure. IMO this only encourages consumers to steal movies, songs, games, and other IP. Why buy a heavily copy protected Blu-ray disc, which is so locked down with DRM junk, when you can download for free the same thing, but without all the DRM restrictions? If I where in the US, I would have to commit a federal crime(DMCA) to be able to play a Blu-ray disc with Linux. Completely ridiculous.
 
There is one thing i think i forgot to mention with the American people in general that's is very darn important actually!

America is a very freedom loving nation! There are soooo many examples of how their people love the taste of freedom. Just One out of a million for an Example: War of Independence.

I like this thread a lot actually it's seems very positive to me actually. There should be more positive thread like this i think! :)

Regards

Stinks
 
The International Space Station is a great example of the kind of thing America gets exactly right. Its a joint collaboration but it wouldn't be happening without the USA.
 
Stinky Stinky said:
America is a very freedom loving nation! There are soooo many examples of how their people love the taste of freedom. Just One out of a million for an Example: War of Independence.
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which is such an overused tactic in US politics
*cough*Palin*cough

But back in the day, it was countries like the US that inspired many people to seek greater freedoms and access to their governments

Even up to the 60's this could be seen; e.g. look at Malyasia's flag, its based on the US's to represent ideals of freedom and fairness for their new federation
And thats a majority Muslim country ;)
 
Snedd said:
The International Space Station is a great example of the kind of thing America gets exactly right. Its a joint collaboration but it wouldn't be happening without the USA.
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With the Space Shuttle been retired/scrapped this year, and no immediate replacement. The US will be totally reliant on the Russians for the ISS now.
 
mikedt said:
With the Space Shuttle been retired/scrapped this year, and no immediate replacement. The US will be totally reliant on the Russians for the ISS now.
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What with the cost of the shuttle program... it would probably be cheaper to build a launch pad 100KM high and launch the supply and crew vessels from there ;)
 
shadowninty said:
What with the cost of the shuttle program... it would probably be cheaper to build a launch pad 100KM high and launch the supply and crew vessels from there ;)
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LOL. :D

To be honest once the Shuttle is retired, I think the US is screwed as far as manned space flight goes for the next few years. At least until Orion or whatever comes along.

Its a bit of a bummer for the US when Russia, China, and hell even Richard Branson's Virgin, are all doing manned space flights now.
 
cjr72 said:
Tim Berners Lee created the World Wide Web, not the Internet.
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You are of course correct, my apologies. I will concede that an American did indeed invent or at least develop the Internet. One Leonard Kleinrock I beleive, but I'm sure if you research his family tree you'll find a bit of Englishness in there somewhere ;)

I'm sure you can understand why I jumped the gun there somewhat as so many of you former colonials assume the www was invented by an American :)
 
mikedt said:
With the Space Shuttle been retired/scrapped this year, and no immediate replacement. The US will be totally reliant on the Russians for the ISS now.
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Virgin Galactic is looking to provide private space flight to the international space station. We will have to see.

All in all, NASA seems to be hoping that space elevators pan out. If they do, then reaching orbit becomes about 1/1000 of it's current cost.
 
byteware said:
All in all, NASA seems to be hoping that space elevators pan out. If they do, then reaching orbit becomes about 1/1000 of it's current cost.
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moar please!
EarlyMon said:
Well, the English did invent the need for us us to invent America, so there is that. :D
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i hate the way people are so proud of their beloved revolutions and their hero great grandfather jimmy who destroyed the records of 350,000 people with one oil lamp too get back at those darned brits :rolleyes:
 
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