Stop making stupid lists!
,----[ Quote ]
| Classifying people is even more dangerous. The best and the worst have tried
| and failed. Classifying people has been one of the core evils in human
| history. It has been used as an excuse to murder, deport, mutilate, enslave,
| exile and torture people throughout time. It's what I've been
| calling "labeling" all the time.
|
| One of the people who cannot restrain himself to venture in this field is
| Bruce Byfield, who is an excellent technical writer by the way. And he'd
| better restrict himself to this field, because his talents on other fields
| are - let's say - limited. In one of his most recent articles, he tries to
| classify the FOSS community and consequently fails. I can easily find myself
| in several categories, which means the classification itself is of little
| use.
|
| Yes, I do object to Microsofts business practices, which means that according
| to Bruce I must "hate Microsoft". No, I do not hate Microsoft, because that's
| an emotion. I merely think that the industry would be better off if its
| influence would deminish. That's an opinion based on valid arguments, which
| is by any measure a significant difference. I do use proprietary software
| from time to time because there is no other way to fulfill my needs. Which
| makes me a "mainstream advocate". And yes, I find $150 for an Operating
| System an outrageous high price, which makes me a "bargain hunter". On the
| other hand, I maintain several FOSS projects, so I'm an "Open Source
| developer" as well.
`----
http://thebeezspeaks.blogspot.com/2008/01/stop-making-stupid-lists.html
Guest Commentary: Second Life Artists Rightfully Upset Over “SLART” Trademark
Registration
,----[ Quote ]
| A Bitter Dessert — Conclusions
|
| In the end, this is a bad situation for people in the Second Life art
| community. Although the SLART trademark probably shouldn’t have been
| registered in the first place, it has been, and now people are faced with a
| choice of either losing the use of the word, or opening themselves up to
| potential lawsuits and account suspensions.
`----
http://virtuallyblind.com/2008/01/25/slart-trademark/
Related:
Smartphones Patented... Just About Everyone Sued 1 Minute After Patent Issued
,----[ Quote ]
| This past Tuesday, the US Patent and Trademark Office issued a patent on "a
| mobile entertainment and communication device." Reading the patent, you
| realize it describes the quite common smartphone. It's a patent for a mobile
| phone with removable storage, an internet connection, a camera and the
| ability to download audio or video files.
`----
http://techdirt.com/articles/20080124/16382062.shtml
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