China Won't Protect IP Until It Gets Its Own IT
By David Kirkpatrick
Wang Jingchuan, China's top intellectual-property official, confessed to an audience at the FORTUNE Global Forum last month that he was under a lot of pressure in his "very challenging job." As if to illustrate his point, fellow panelist Dan Glickman, the former Congressman who now heads the Motion Picture Association of America, immediately complained that 95% of the DVDs and other recorded entertainment sold in China are pirated, the highest rate in the world. And guess what Wang pointed to as a sign of progress: The central government is clamping down on the use of pirated software—in central government offices.
While intellectual-property protection in China remains weak, experts say they can see how the problem will be solved: when China has its own IP to protect. Says Paul Gewirtz, who heads the China Law Center at Yale Law School: "The pressure thus far has come from foreign companies, but the Chinese won't find the political will until domestic enterprises have their own reasons to want stronger enforcement."
David Frazee, an IP lawyer with Greenberg Traurig in Palo Alto who was on the same panel in Beijing, already detects increased enforcement in software, semiconductors, and telecom equipment—businesses in which Chinese research and development spending is rising rapidly. "And I guarantee you'll see movement for trademarks like the rings for the Beijing Olympics in 2008," he says, "because that's where the money is for them."
Some Western companies operating in China are starting to add a new element to their IP-protection strategy: local industrial development. Philips, the Dutch electronics company, helped three Chinese universities start programs to train experts in intellectual property. But Microsoft, which may be losing more sales in China to illegal copying than any other company, has gone even further. It is helping China build a local software industry. One example: It conceived, co-financed, and helps run a company in Shanghai called Wicresoft, which provides customer support in multiple languages for Chinese software companies operating internationally. "Now the top people in the country bring IP issues up to me, instead of the other way around," says Craig Mundie, Microsoft's senior vice president for policy, who has traveled to China regularly for five years.
The most notable improvement in IP protection so far has been in the attitude of China's leaders. Yale's Gewirtz is impressed that IP commissioner Wang would appear publicly next to outspoken critic Glickman. Some IP laws were recently tightened, and enforcement is improving: Three counterfeiters were recently sent to jail for copying a Philips light bulb.
But even optimists caution that China—where according to some estimates as much as one-third of the economy is dependent on counterfeit goods—has reasons to go slowly on IP protection. "This is sort of the opiate of the masses," says lawyer Frazee. "Giving people in China near-free or supercheap DVDs, music, and designer clothing is a good way of convincing them there is economic progress." Adds Microsoft's Mundie: "It will be some years before there is hard-core progress."
Wednesday, June 15, 2005
Home Loan - leads
Indhu
(408) 718 9031
(408) 777 9992 (H)
http://www.inainar.allfundmortgage.com/
velsindu@hotmail.com
Suresh T
info@globerry.com
(408) 404-8001
http://www.globerry.com/
(408) 718 9031
(408) 777 9992 (H)
http://www.inainar.allfundmortgage.com/
velsindu@hotmail.com
Suresh T
info@globerry.com
(408) 404-8001
http://www.globerry.com/
Tuesday, June 14, 2005
Sun Solaris - opens source code
"The more people who run Unix and Solaris, and open Solaris, the larger the opportunity is to sell the hardware, infrastructure and services necessary to put it into deployment. ...Open source doesn't mean no revenue, it means no barriers to [growing] revenue," the COO of Sun Microsystem Jonathan Schwartz.
C Compiler
I spoke to one of my relative in developing country who has a computer and Internet at home. He is going for C/C++ training but no compiler at home to practice. I know Linux will make things very very easy. I am not sure if I can convince my relative to switch his 'only computer' to Linux. That wouldn't be fair as i don't have exclusive Linux machine at home or work. So, I did a quick search of the stuff available on the internet and found this tool that should fit his current needs. The license also suits him as this can be used for free in non-commercial environment - as a student.
Visit this page and read the material and familiarize what you want and you know where to find what.
lcc-win32: A Compiler system for windows
Here is the place where you can download the bits.
Actual binary Location on the ftp server
Here is an alternate location to download. Fill out name and email (no validation is done and I don't expect spams to follow - so you should be ok even if you give a temporary info here).
The binary is almost 5 MB. Expect it to take a while if your internet is slow.
Once downloaded, open this file - accept to execute it as Windows might complain of security risk.
Accept all defaults during installation. I selected a different install directory in stead of c:\lcc. I selected the directory c:\myname\lcc. c:\myname\ is the location where I download many of my programs from internet.
After extracting the file, the program will automatically configure/compile some pieces. The exit criteria is very clear - so, don't worry about that.
One concern/pitfall is that your compiler is not set in the path. So, you have to set the path or you have to use absolute/relative path to run the compiler.
Here are the steps I followed.
Take a DOS command window (The old white characters on black window). My daughter hates this window and complains of headache when ever I open this window.
To open dos command windows, on the desktop go to Start->Run on the opened window type cmd and press enter or click OK.
assuming you installed at c:\myname\lcc
type cd c:\myname\lcc\projects
type mkdir hello
type cd hello
type notepad hello.c - you should see a text editor (notepad) open
Enter the following text in the text editor and save it
#include
int main()
{
printf("My Name\n");
}
(I would like to mention my thanks to Brian W. Kernighan and Dennis M. Ritchie for teaching me Programming language C. I took the liberty of tweaking the programe too.)
Now it is time to compile your first program.
You must now be in the directory c:\myname\lcc\projects\hello. You can check this by typing "pwd" (with no double quotes) on your dos command window.
For compiling
type ..\..\bin\lc.exe hello.c
if you did every thing fine, you should see the compiler return to the prompt with no messages.
you can ignore .exe part in lc.exe and dos would be fine.
Instead of relative path you can use absolute path like "c:\myname\lcc\bin\lc hello.c
You should include .c in hello.c program.
TO see if your program compiled fine type dir
You should see the page some thing like this
06/14/2005 11:45 AM DIR .
06/14/2005 11:45 AM DIR ..
06/14/2005 11:45 AM 61 hello.c
06/14/2005 12:18 PM 47,592 hello.exe
06/14/2005 12:18 PM 466 hello.obj
3 File(s) 48,119 bytes
(I could not make the angle brakets around DIR as my programming is not co-operating with me right now....)
if it worked fine, you can now run your first program by
type hello.exe or hello
You should notice "My Name" show up on your command window.
Send me a thanks mail and have fun programming in C. Feel free to share this joy to friends and family.
Welcome to the software programmer’s world.
---
cygwin is my personal preference and would recommend for experienced users.
Positives:
I get Unix like command line which I like.
There are lots of programs you can get under this environment
Open Source (I believe it still is really open)
Negatives:
The download is too heavy, especially on low speed internet.
You can't save the download to replicate in another place or archive.
If you want to share the executable to a friend or another computer, you got to remember to take the corresponding cygwin's dll as well.
I plan to write a similar page for Java as well. Stay tuned.
You are currently missing the IDE GUI (Integrated Development Environment). I will search around for a IDE.
If this is critical and urgent you can look for the following
TextPad - a cool text editor. you will be prompted to buy very often. It is OK if you don't buy it (hopefully for ever).
JCreator - IDE for Java - you can use this as colorful editor.
Visit this page and read the material and familiarize what you want and you know where to find what.
lcc-win32: A Compiler system for windows
Here is the place where you can download the bits.
Actual binary Location on the ftp server
Here is an alternate location to download. Fill out name and email (no validation is done and I don't expect spams to follow - so you should be ok even if you give a temporary info here).
The binary is almost 5 MB. Expect it to take a while if your internet is slow.
Once downloaded, open this file - accept to execute it as Windows might complain of security risk.
Accept all defaults during installation. I selected a different install directory in stead of c:\lcc. I selected the directory c:\myname\lcc. c:\myname\ is the location where I download many of my programs from internet.
After extracting the file, the program will automatically configure/compile some pieces. The exit criteria is very clear - so, don't worry about that.
One concern/pitfall is that your compiler is not set in the path. So, you have to set the path or you have to use absolute/relative path to run the compiler.
Here are the steps I followed.
Take a DOS command window (The old white characters on black window). My daughter hates this window and complains of headache when ever I open this window.
To open dos command windows, on the desktop go to Start->Run on the opened window type cmd and press enter or click OK.
assuming you installed at c:\myname\lcc
type cd c:\myname\lcc\projects
type mkdir hello
type cd hello
type notepad hello.c - you should see a text editor (notepad) open
Enter the following text in the text editor and save it
#include
int main()
{
printf("My Name\n");
}
(I would like to mention my thanks to Brian W. Kernighan and Dennis M. Ritchie for teaching me Programming language C. I took the liberty of tweaking the programe too.)
Now it is time to compile your first program.
You must now be in the directory c:\myname\lcc\projects\hello. You can check this by typing "pwd" (with no double quotes) on your dos command window.
For compiling
type ..\..\bin\lc.exe hello.c
if you did every thing fine, you should see the compiler return to the prompt with no messages.
you can ignore .exe part in lc.exe and dos would be fine.
Instead of relative path you can use absolute path like "c:\myname\lcc\bin\lc hello.c
You should include .c in hello.c program.
TO see if your program compiled fine type dir
You should see the page some thing like this
06/14/2005 11:45 AM DIR .
06/14/2005 11:45 AM DIR ..
06/14/2005 11:45 AM 61 hello.c
06/14/2005 12:18 PM 47,592 hello.exe
06/14/2005 12:18 PM 466 hello.obj
3 File(s) 48,119 bytes
(I could not make the angle brakets around DIR as my programming is not co-operating with me right now....)
if it worked fine, you can now run your first program by
type hello.exe or hello
You should notice "My Name" show up on your command window.
Send me a thanks mail and have fun programming in C. Feel free to share this joy to friends and family.
Welcome to the software programmer’s world.
---
cygwin is my personal preference and would recommend for experienced users.
Positives:
I get Unix like command line which I like.
There are lots of programs you can get under this environment
Open Source (I believe it still is really open)
Negatives:
The download is too heavy, especially on low speed internet.
You can't save the download to replicate in another place or archive.
If you want to share the executable to a friend or another computer, you got to remember to take the corresponding cygwin's dll as well.
I plan to write a similar page for Java as well. Stay tuned.
You are currently missing the IDE GUI (Integrated Development Environment). I will search around for a IDE.
If this is critical and urgent you can look for the following
TextPad - a cool text editor. you will be prompted to buy very often. It is OK if you don't buy it (hopefully for ever).
JCreator - IDE for Java - you can use this as colorful editor.
Sunday, June 12, 2005
Empty nesters
# Empty nesters
* income greater than expenditures
* purchase investments
* retirement planning is important
* tax considerations are important
* income greater than expenditures
* purchase investments
* retirement planning is important
* tax considerations are important
Why refinance (Home)?
Here are the reasons I foresee some one refinancing sensibly.
1. reduce interest rate when the interest rates are falling - like in the year 2003
2. Cash out - for other investments
3. reduce monthly payments (potentially extending the payment period)
4. consolidate multiple debts - reduce management hassles
5. Reduce the risk of variable interest to fixed one (especially when the interests are low or when the interest rates are likely to increase)
Some times folks refinance a lower interest into higher and I have known this happen - when folks want to cash out or consolidate other higher interest loans (credit card debts). Also, for cashing out already invested amount or the increase in equity.
1. reduce interest rate when the interest rates are falling - like in the year 2003
2. Cash out - for other investments
3. reduce monthly payments (potentially extending the payment period)
4. consolidate multiple debts - reduce management hassles
5. Reduce the risk of variable interest to fixed one (especially when the interests are low or when the interest rates are likely to increase)
Some times folks refinance a lower interest into higher and I have known this happen - when folks want to cash out or consolidate other higher interest loans (credit card debts). Also, for cashing out already invested amount or the increase in equity.
private lending
When you deposit money with banks, especially small amounts, you get a very small interest. Some times, you might have to pay to the bank for having and using your money. I am not blaming them - well that's their business model.
On the same front, when it comes to taking loan from lenders, the interest rates are way more than the interest you get for your deposits. Well, that's how banks can employ and make profits for their owners (share holders).
How about cutting the middle man in this industry?
When I bought my home 2 years back, I used to tell few of my friends on the possibility of getting their investments to pay for my mortgage loans. Well, I was not too serious and I did not go too far. Incidentally one of my friend complained how little he got for his investment and now he got to pay tones of interest for the borrowing.
Is it possible to match make lenders and loan seekers for tiny winy cut? Can the small lenders get a dip in to the loan seekers market? What's the government rules to help such transactions? Can we do this through eBay like service? When Visa can issue currency like denominations world wide why can't this be a reality? How to protect small investors through ‘insurance’ like process? Can we buy government insurance? Would insurance companies/government be interested in helping out? I know it is too much hassle for these agencies to check out the lending habits of these small lenders. Also, the lenders will have to follow government regulation like equal opportunity. Well eBay and visa over come these regulations… why can the lending/loan be done with no/minimal intervention?
Looks like Promissory note is a possible solution.
On the same front, when it comes to taking loan from lenders, the interest rates are way more than the interest you get for your deposits. Well, that's how banks can employ and make profits for their owners (share holders).
How about cutting the middle man in this industry?
When I bought my home 2 years back, I used to tell few of my friends on the possibility of getting their investments to pay for my mortgage loans. Well, I was not too serious and I did not go too far. Incidentally one of my friend complained how little he got for his investment and now he got to pay tones of interest for the borrowing.
Is it possible to match make lenders and loan seekers for tiny winy cut? Can the small lenders get a dip in to the loan seekers market? What's the government rules to help such transactions? Can we do this through eBay like service? When Visa can issue currency like denominations world wide why can't this be a reality? How to protect small investors through ‘insurance’ like process? Can we buy government insurance? Would insurance companies/government be interested in helping out? I know it is too much hassle for these agencies to check out the lending habits of these small lenders. Also, the lenders will have to follow government regulation like equal opportunity. Well eBay and visa over come these regulations… why can the lending/loan be done with no/minimal intervention?
Looks like Promissory note is a possible solution.
fremont older hike - insight
Today's hike on fremont older - start at 10:14 reach the top Nob Hill at 10:51 return back at parking lot at 11:27.
Today, I noticed that the hay seeds are are popping. You can hear one per 3-4 seconds. Noticed one or 2 butterflies.
There were more dogs today.
The horse dunk stinks, left over is not pretty to look at and also the flies around. How to manage horses dunks on trails still helping this kind of visit to the trails?
Noticed one or 2 butterflies.
Today, I noticed that the hay seeds are are popping. You can hear one per 3-4 seconds. Noticed one or 2 butterflies.
There were more dogs today.
The horse dunk stinks, left over is not pretty to look at and also the flies around. How to manage horses dunks on trails still helping this kind of visit to the trails?
Noticed one or 2 butterflies.
Saturday, June 11, 2005
Hike Fremont Older Trail
BA Hiker
Open Space Preserve
Map
I have started having this as a regular routine - especially on warm wek ends.
I park my car in the Prospect Road Parking lot. Right on Cora Older Trail, Right on Seven Springs trail, left at the immediate intersection, Left on hay field trail, Rt at intersection, Left on Cayote ridge trail, Next 4 intersection stay on Cayote ridge trail. Now you will cross a gate - take a left - you will reach 4 point intersection, take a left up the hill and you will reach the Nob Hill - the highest point in this path. you can see San Jose, Mountain View, The Bay and the east bay mountain ranges.
Today I noticed couple of trees with ripe red plums around the Nob hill.
I have seen following animals in this area
1. Deer
2. Rabits (small and big in school (group))
3. 6 feet long Rattle Snake - right accross the road havin sun bath.
4. Lots of birds
5. lots of flowers.
It is all yellow grass now. It used to be green until start of May (may be mid may - last).
Open Space Preserve
Map
I have started having this as a regular routine - especially on warm wek ends.
I park my car in the Prospect Road Parking lot. Right on Cora Older Trail, Right on Seven Springs trail, left at the immediate intersection, Left on hay field trail, Rt at intersection, Left on Cayote ridge trail, Next 4 intersection stay on Cayote ridge trail. Now you will cross a gate - take a left - you will reach 4 point intersection, take a left up the hill and you will reach the Nob Hill - the highest point in this path. you can see San Jose, Mountain View, The Bay and the east bay mountain ranges.
Today I noticed couple of trees with ripe red plums around the Nob hill.
I have seen following animals in this area
1. Deer
2. Rabits (small and big in school (group))
3. 6 feet long Rattle Snake - right accross the road havin sun bath.
4. Lots of birds
5. lots of flowers.
It is all yellow grass now. It used to be green until start of May (may be mid may - last).
Thursday, June 09, 2005
Hotmail - cross site script - constent threat
Microsoft fixes Hotmail hack
Malicious web page closed down as Redmond investigates
Iain Thomson, vnunet.com 09 Jun 2005
Warning on Hotmail flaw
By Sam Varghese
June 8, 2005 - 1:34PM
MSN Site Flaw Exposes Hotmail Accounts to Prying Eyes
06.07.05
Malicious web page closed down as Redmond investigates
Iain Thomson, vnunet.com 09 Jun 2005
Warning on Hotmail flaw
By Sam Varghese
June 8, 2005 - 1:34PM
MSN Site Flaw Exposes Hotmail Accounts to Prying Eyes
06.07.05
Wednesday, June 08, 2005
Open Source License using in corporation - lowlights
Developing Code in the Open-Source Kitchen
Philip H. Albert, newsfactor.com
June 8th, 2005
magine you love Italian restaurants but you are highly allergic to garlic. To ensure your meal doesn't make you sick, you could carry around a mass spectrometer to detect the particular chemical signature that gives garlic its characteristic odor and flavor. An easier way might be to watch the kitchen prepare your pasta and note what ingredients they use.
ADVERTISEMENT
Like food lovers, software developers and companies with products that depend on software can get allergies too and must watch the proverbial kitchen to make certain everything turns out just right. For example, improperly incorporating someone else's intellectual property into a development project can make a company and its customers sick.
Copying -- or the incorporation of somebody else's protectable software without a license -- is copyright infringement. It can lead to disruptions in product releases, legal liability, public humiliation and a rash of other problems.
Understandably, everyone who produces software should be concerned that any use and distribution of products that include the code of others is done within the specific license that covers the included code.
Allergic Reaction to the GPL
Many software executives break out in hives at the mere mention of the General Public License. Most likely, this is due to the section of the GPL I call the "restriction on downstream restrictions." This clause sets the GPL apart from other open-source licenses that allow downstream users to license derivations restrictively.
Essentially, the GPL says that you can do whatever you want with the software you licensed under the GPL, except that you cannot add restrictions when you license out the software or a derivation of the software. This causes heartburn as developers want to maintain restrictions on their own code yet still benefit from the open-source code. But the combination of the two often can be considered a derivative work, which requires compliance with the license on the open-source software used.
While many open-source licenses do not have such restrictions, this restriction against downstream restrictions makes the GPL a popular choice among open-source program creators, lest they see their freely contributed code coopted into someone else's expensive program. Like hay fever, we just have to live with it.
Open Source Is No Different
The concerns over open-source inclusions are no different than concerns over incorporating any intellectual property of others into a product. Inclusion of someone else's open-source code without the necessary license is just as harmful as inclusion of someone else's trade secrets.
Granted, usually it is easier to get hold of someone else's open-source code than it is to conduct industrial espionage, and often it can be obtained without any purchasing department oversight. But, however the intellectual property of others is obtained, there has to be a moment where someone says "Hey, here's some code we should include in our code base for our new product."
Training programmers, project managers and code custodians is the key to avoiding improper inclusion of the intellectual property of others. At minimum, someone should document what chunks of code came from where. Everyone involved has to understand that they cannot include code without knowing where it came from and informing the custodian of the code.
Whatever area of the organization is charged with tracking such inclusions -- whether it is the legal department or the project-management department -- someone should be able to produce a list of what was included and the license under which that inclusion was brought in.
Automated Code Detectors
Several vendors currently offer systems or services that can scan a project's code base to detect the use of open-source software. It is likely these systems do more than look for the string "Licensed under the GPL" in the comment fields.
As some of their literature describes, the systems scan for signatures of known open-source programs. This, of course, requires knowledge of most open-source programs and their probable variations. It also requires constant updating as is done with virus signatures.
Such an approach is not nearly as reliable as checking the code at the outset. Code signatures assume that the detector vendors have access to all relevant open-source code. This seems unlikely, given that many code writers who choose the GPL write software programs informally. They don't spend time ensuring that their code propagates to all the popular code repositories.
Meanwhile, back at the Italian restaurant, let's change the scenario slightly. Instead of watching food preparation in your own restaurant that you control, imagine yourself someplace you've never been -- where the unexpected is commonplace and you don't control a thing. Such is the case with licensing code from other developers for inclusion. In such cases, signature checking is probably the only way to detect potentially dangerous inclusions.
If you inherited code, or you are licensing code from a third party that you cannot entirely trust, then go ahead and run the code through a detector. Just remember to rely on it only so far as the detector vendor is willing to guarantee accuracy.
Legal Implications
Legal institutions necessarily trail business and technical developments, and open-source usage is no exception. There are not yet any hard and fast legal rules about what happens when an organization is spotted using someone else's open-source code that is not entirely in compliance with the license for that someone's code.
Even IBM (NYSE: IBM - news) v. SCO is not strictly such a case. So even if it ends up making case law, it might not apply to many situations. Most instances of code inclusion will be attributable to individuals acting without authorization of their employers, either because the employing organization really was unaware and did not authorize the inclusion or because proof is lacking of any involvement.
A sensible organization will quickly extract the improperly used code and replace it, or will seek a license that is consistent with its prior actions. In the long run, it always costs an organization more in terms of management time, hard costs and damage to its reputation than it does simply to operate a tight ship in the first place.
Maybe it's unfair to compare brilliantly creative software code with fantastic pasta, but keeping an eye on the chef is easier than post-construction analysis any day. Like scanning the menu, post-construction scanning of code is likely to lead to a false sense of security if it is overused. There is simply no good substitute for having everyone on the team trained in the proper use of tools and ingredients.
So whether you are allergic to food or the legal ramifications of life as a programmer, make sure you study the license agreement and all the ingredients carefully. Bon appetite.
Philip H. Albert is a patent attorney and partner with the San Francisco office of the intellectual property law firm Townsend and Townsend and Crew LLP.
Philip H. Albert, newsfactor.com
June 8th, 2005
magine you love Italian restaurants but you are highly allergic to garlic. To ensure your meal doesn't make you sick, you could carry around a mass spectrometer to detect the particular chemical signature that gives garlic its characteristic odor and flavor. An easier way might be to watch the kitchen prepare your pasta and note what ingredients they use.
ADVERTISEMENT
Like food lovers, software developers and companies with products that depend on software can get allergies too and must watch the proverbial kitchen to make certain everything turns out just right. For example, improperly incorporating someone else's intellectual property into a development project can make a company and its customers sick.
Copying -- or the incorporation of somebody else's protectable software without a license -- is copyright infringement. It can lead to disruptions in product releases, legal liability, public humiliation and a rash of other problems.
Understandably, everyone who produces software should be concerned that any use and distribution of products that include the code of others is done within the specific license that covers the included code.
Allergic Reaction to the GPL
Many software executives break out in hives at the mere mention of the General Public License. Most likely, this is due to the section of the GPL I call the "restriction on downstream restrictions." This clause sets the GPL apart from other open-source licenses that allow downstream users to license derivations restrictively.
Essentially, the GPL says that you can do whatever you want with the software you licensed under the GPL, except that you cannot add restrictions when you license out the software or a derivation of the software. This causes heartburn as developers want to maintain restrictions on their own code yet still benefit from the open-source code. But the combination of the two often can be considered a derivative work, which requires compliance with the license on the open-source software used.
While many open-source licenses do not have such restrictions, this restriction against downstream restrictions makes the GPL a popular choice among open-source program creators, lest they see their freely contributed code coopted into someone else's expensive program. Like hay fever, we just have to live with it.
Open Source Is No Different
The concerns over open-source inclusions are no different than concerns over incorporating any intellectual property of others into a product. Inclusion of someone else's open-source code without the necessary license is just as harmful as inclusion of someone else's trade secrets.
Granted, usually it is easier to get hold of someone else's open-source code than it is to conduct industrial espionage, and often it can be obtained without any purchasing department oversight. But, however the intellectual property of others is obtained, there has to be a moment where someone says "Hey, here's some code we should include in our code base for our new product."
Training programmers, project managers and code custodians is the key to avoiding improper inclusion of the intellectual property of others. At minimum, someone should document what chunks of code came from where. Everyone involved has to understand that they cannot include code without knowing where it came from and informing the custodian of the code.
Whatever area of the organization is charged with tracking such inclusions -- whether it is the legal department or the project-management department -- someone should be able to produce a list of what was included and the license under which that inclusion was brought in.
Automated Code Detectors
Several vendors currently offer systems or services that can scan a project's code base to detect the use of open-source software. It is likely these systems do more than look for the string "Licensed under the GPL" in the comment fields.
As some of their literature describes, the systems scan for signatures of known open-source programs. This, of course, requires knowledge of most open-source programs and their probable variations. It also requires constant updating as is done with virus signatures.
Such an approach is not nearly as reliable as checking the code at the outset. Code signatures assume that the detector vendors have access to all relevant open-source code. This seems unlikely, given that many code writers who choose the GPL write software programs informally. They don't spend time ensuring that their code propagates to all the popular code repositories.
Meanwhile, back at the Italian restaurant, let's change the scenario slightly. Instead of watching food preparation in your own restaurant that you control, imagine yourself someplace you've never been -- where the unexpected is commonplace and you don't control a thing. Such is the case with licensing code from other developers for inclusion. In such cases, signature checking is probably the only way to detect potentially dangerous inclusions.
If you inherited code, or you are licensing code from a third party that you cannot entirely trust, then go ahead and run the code through a detector. Just remember to rely on it only so far as the detector vendor is willing to guarantee accuracy.
Legal Implications
Legal institutions necessarily trail business and technical developments, and open-source usage is no exception. There are not yet any hard and fast legal rules about what happens when an organization is spotted using someone else's open-source code that is not entirely in compliance with the license for that someone's code.
Even IBM (NYSE: IBM - news) v. SCO is not strictly such a case. So even if it ends up making case law, it might not apply to many situations. Most instances of code inclusion will be attributable to individuals acting without authorization of their employers, either because the employing organization really was unaware and did not authorize the inclusion or because proof is lacking of any involvement.
A sensible organization will quickly extract the improperly used code and replace it, or will seek a license that is consistent with its prior actions. In the long run, it always costs an organization more in terms of management time, hard costs and damage to its reputation than it does simply to operate a tight ship in the first place.
Maybe it's unfair to compare brilliantly creative software code with fantastic pasta, but keeping an eye on the chef is easier than post-construction analysis any day. Like scanning the menu, post-construction scanning of code is likely to lead to a false sense of security if it is overused. There is simply no good substitute for having everyone on the team trained in the proper use of tools and ingredients.
So whether you are allergic to food or the legal ramifications of life as a programmer, make sure you study the license agreement and all the ingredients carefully. Bon appetite.
Philip H. Albert is a patent attorney and partner with the San Francisco office of the intellectual property law firm Townsend and Townsend and Crew LLP.
Tuesday, June 07, 2005
Creative Financing For Startups
Creative Financing For Startups
Knowledge @ Wharton, 06.07.05, 10:00 AM ET
Software manufacturing, software programs to defeat spam, new business data technology and Web services are all areas of opportunity for entrepreneurs, according to venture capitalists taking part in a panel on creative financing at a recent Wharton Entrepreneurship Conference. And those entrepreneurs who cut costs, sign on angel investors and find other creative ways to finance their startups will be rewarded with more equity in their firms, assuming they become successful.
"You would be amazed how little capital [it requires to get a company going] if you are creative about it," said David Flaschen, an adviser to Flagship Ventures, of Cambridge, Mass., and former chief executive of Donnelley Marketing.
Flaschen advised entrepreneurs seeking venture capital to be willing to accept professional management. "Right from the start, make clear that you value the concept of 'foundership' much more than 'CEOship,'" he suggested. "What you should say is, 'I want to make this company interesting and strong enough that we can hire the most effective chief executive officer.'"
One way to help finance a company in the early stages is to get customers to pay up front, said Flaschen, and, if possible, get vendors to make concessions to help the company's revenue stream. "Even before you go out and raise money, ask 'How can I do this with as little money as possible?'" If an entrepreneur takes less financing, then investors have less control. "The dirty little secret is, it is not a lot of fun to have a VC partner in your business. It is a lot more fun to own a majority stake, or 100%. The more you strive for that, the happier you will be."
Flaschen sees opportunities today in software manufacturing, particularly with the growth of open source software development, and is also interested in the idea of defeating spam by creating unique addresses for each Internet transaction.
Bob Greene, co-founder of New York-based Oncore Capital, likes the potential of new business data technology. Theoretically, everything in manufacturing, "from the loading dock to the front door of Wal-Mart, will be data-enabled. We can't predict how far it is going to go, but it's fascinating."
His biggest obstacle to financing new ventures is price. "I am always looking for a great idea and a large market opportunity with strong leadership and a fair price. The last piece is usually what doesn't intersect. I like a lot of companies, but I can't always negotiate the right entry point." Typically he looks for companies run by the classic entrepreneur. "You have to be half-crazy to be an entrepreneur and do a startup. A great leader is manic and will go to the mat. So I look for those qualities."
He also looks for a leader who is able to articulate the company's vision, and he tries to be open-minded about financing first-time entrepreneurs. "In our industry, investors say they don't want to back a younger person's first business. But everyone starts somewhere. Often creative, groundbreaking ideas come from people who don't know how hard it is." In addition to leadership, he focuses on the basic idea behind a startup. "One of the biggest challenges is finding an idea that hasn't been done five times."
Greene warned that angel investors, a layer of financing that usually comes between friends and family and venture capital, are becoming increasingly sophisticated. "It's not what it used to be. It's getting more organized and more professional." Angel investors can be valuable to a startup because they can offer advice and contacts in addition to early, high-risk capital.
Yet it remains difficult to round these angel investors up. "The process of getting angel money is, in my observation, a little bit like herding cats," he said. "It's a confederation of 12 to 15 wealthy individuals who are doing this somewhere between a hobby and a part-time activity." Angel investors tend to travel frequently and miss meetings, or have trouble following up. "This is a great group to go after, but it can take awhile. You can't go in there and have a half-hour meeting over breakfast and they write you a check. That happened in the bubble phase, but not now. To get eight of them to all write checks requires many, many meetings."
Companies should take on more than one source of funding, he said, adding that he likes to co-invest in new companies with other venture capitalists to provide additional "brain power." "You should try to take a round (of financing) with three venture funds together so that when you hit a problem--and you will hit a problem--you don't have just one decision-maker." He suggested that when building a syndicate of investors, companies should look for venture funds that have worked successfully together in the past. Greene also warned that venture capitalists will be just as involved in a firm they take a 15% stake in as they would with a 50% investment.
Venture investors, for their part, should be careful they don't take on too much equity in a firm, diminishing the founders' incentive to succeed. Greene does not like to leave founders with anything less than 20% to 25% of their companies. His firm has metrics for how much of the firm a recruited chief executive and chief financial officer should retain. "I tell the CEO and the management team, 'If it's not working for you, you're not going to do a good job for me. Slavery is over.'"
Extract from Apple Computers in Wikipedia
Jobs approached a local computer store, The Byte Shop, who said they would be interested in the machine, but only if it came fully assembled. The owner, Paul Terrell, went further, saying he would order 50 of the machines and pay $500 each on delivery. Jobs then took the purchase order that he had been given from the Byte Shop to Cramer Electronics, a national electronic parts distributor, and ordered the components he needed to assemble the Apple 1 Computer. The local credit manager asked Jobs how he was going to pay for the parts and he replied, " I have this purchase order from the Byte Shop chain of computer stores for 50 of my computers and the payment terms are COD. If you give me the parts on a net 30 day terms I can build the computers in that time frame deliver and collect my money from Terrell at the Byte Shop and pay you." With that, the credit manager called Paul Terrell who was attending an IEEE computer conference at Asilomar in Pacific Grove and verified the validity of the Purchase Order. Amazed at the tenacity of Jobs, Terrell assured the credit manager if the computers showed up in his stores Jobs would be paid and would have more than enough money to pay for the parts order. The two Steves and their small crew spent day and night building and testing the computers and delivered to Terrell on time to pay his suppliers and have a tidy profit left over for their celebration and next order. Steve Jobs had found a way to finance his soon-to-be multimillion-dollar company without giving away one share of stock or ownership.
Knowledge @ Wharton, 06.07.05, 10:00 AM ET
Software manufacturing, software programs to defeat spam, new business data technology and Web services are all areas of opportunity for entrepreneurs, according to venture capitalists taking part in a panel on creative financing at a recent Wharton Entrepreneurship Conference. And those entrepreneurs who cut costs, sign on angel investors and find other creative ways to finance their startups will be rewarded with more equity in their firms, assuming they become successful.
"You would be amazed how little capital [it requires to get a company going] if you are creative about it," said David Flaschen, an adviser to Flagship Ventures, of Cambridge, Mass., and former chief executive of Donnelley Marketing.
Flaschen advised entrepreneurs seeking venture capital to be willing to accept professional management. "Right from the start, make clear that you value the concept of 'foundership' much more than 'CEOship,'" he suggested. "What you should say is, 'I want to make this company interesting and strong enough that we can hire the most effective chief executive officer.'"
One way to help finance a company in the early stages is to get customers to pay up front, said Flaschen, and, if possible, get vendors to make concessions to help the company's revenue stream. "Even before you go out and raise money, ask 'How can I do this with as little money as possible?'" If an entrepreneur takes less financing, then investors have less control. "The dirty little secret is, it is not a lot of fun to have a VC partner in your business. It is a lot more fun to own a majority stake, or 100%. The more you strive for that, the happier you will be."
Flaschen sees opportunities today in software manufacturing, particularly with the growth of open source software development, and is also interested in the idea of defeating spam by creating unique addresses for each Internet transaction.
Bob Greene, co-founder of New York-based Oncore Capital, likes the potential of new business data technology. Theoretically, everything in manufacturing, "from the loading dock to the front door of Wal-Mart, will be data-enabled. We can't predict how far it is going to go, but it's fascinating."
His biggest obstacle to financing new ventures is price. "I am always looking for a great idea and a large market opportunity with strong leadership and a fair price. The last piece is usually what doesn't intersect. I like a lot of companies, but I can't always negotiate the right entry point." Typically he looks for companies run by the classic entrepreneur. "You have to be half-crazy to be an entrepreneur and do a startup. A great leader is manic and will go to the mat. So I look for those qualities."
He also looks for a leader who is able to articulate the company's vision, and he tries to be open-minded about financing first-time entrepreneurs. "In our industry, investors say they don't want to back a younger person's first business. But everyone starts somewhere. Often creative, groundbreaking ideas come from people who don't know how hard it is." In addition to leadership, he focuses on the basic idea behind a startup. "One of the biggest challenges is finding an idea that hasn't been done five times."
Greene warned that angel investors, a layer of financing that usually comes between friends and family and venture capital, are becoming increasingly sophisticated. "It's not what it used to be. It's getting more organized and more professional." Angel investors can be valuable to a startup because they can offer advice and contacts in addition to early, high-risk capital.
Yet it remains difficult to round these angel investors up. "The process of getting angel money is, in my observation, a little bit like herding cats," he said. "It's a confederation of 12 to 15 wealthy individuals who are doing this somewhere between a hobby and a part-time activity." Angel investors tend to travel frequently and miss meetings, or have trouble following up. "This is a great group to go after, but it can take awhile. You can't go in there and have a half-hour meeting over breakfast and they write you a check. That happened in the bubble phase, but not now. To get eight of them to all write checks requires many, many meetings."
Companies should take on more than one source of funding, he said, adding that he likes to co-invest in new companies with other venture capitalists to provide additional "brain power." "You should try to take a round (of financing) with three venture funds together so that when you hit a problem--and you will hit a problem--you don't have just one decision-maker." He suggested that when building a syndicate of investors, companies should look for venture funds that have worked successfully together in the past. Greene also warned that venture capitalists will be just as involved in a firm they take a 15% stake in as they would with a 50% investment.
Venture investors, for their part, should be careful they don't take on too much equity in a firm, diminishing the founders' incentive to succeed. Greene does not like to leave founders with anything less than 20% to 25% of their companies. His firm has metrics for how much of the firm a recruited chief executive and chief financial officer should retain. "I tell the CEO and the management team, 'If it's not working for you, you're not going to do a good job for me. Slavery is over.'"
Extract from Apple Computers in Wikipedia
Jobs approached a local computer store, The Byte Shop, who said they would be interested in the machine, but only if it came fully assembled. The owner, Paul Terrell, went further, saying he would order 50 of the machines and pay $500 each on delivery. Jobs then took the purchase order that he had been given from the Byte Shop to Cramer Electronics, a national electronic parts distributor, and ordered the components he needed to assemble the Apple 1 Computer. The local credit manager asked Jobs how he was going to pay for the parts and he replied, " I have this purchase order from the Byte Shop chain of computer stores for 50 of my computers and the payment terms are COD. If you give me the parts on a net 30 day terms I can build the computers in that time frame deliver and collect my money from Terrell at the Byte Shop and pay you." With that, the credit manager called Paul Terrell who was attending an IEEE computer conference at Asilomar in Pacific Grove and verified the validity of the Purchase Order. Amazed at the tenacity of Jobs, Terrell assured the credit manager if the computers showed up in his stores Jobs would be paid and would have more than enough money to pay for the parts order. The two Steves and their small crew spent day and night building and testing the computers and delivered to Terrell on time to pay his suppliers and have a tidy profit left over for their celebration and next order. Steve Jobs had found a way to finance his soon-to-be multimillion-dollar company without giving away one share of stock or ownership.
Thursday, June 02, 2005
Sun's rivals
Sun to Buy StorageTek for $4.1 Billion
Thursday June 2, 4:28 pm ET
By Matthew Fordahl, AP Technology Writer
Gordon Haff, an analyst at the research firm Illuminata, said acquiring StorageTek would distance Sun from its past and make the company more closely resemble its archrivals Hewlett-Packard Co. and IBM Corp.
It is getting clear who are the competitors for Sun Microsystems.
HP & IBM.
I am woundering if it was Microsoft's startegy wo settle with Sun so that Sun battles with IBM - hence leaving Windows to get a greater win - long term.
Thursday June 2, 4:28 pm ET
By Matthew Fordahl, AP Technology Writer
Gordon Haff, an analyst at the research firm Illuminata, said acquiring StorageTek would distance Sun from its past and make the company more closely resemble its archrivals Hewlett-Packard Co. and IBM Corp.
It is getting clear who are the competitors for Sun Microsystems.
HP & IBM.
I am woundering if it was Microsoft's startegy wo settle with Sun so that Sun battles with IBM - hence leaving Windows to get a greater win - long term.
Standardize chargers
Network Appliance EVP's Treo 600
David M. Ewalt, 06.02.05, 3:00 PM ET
says - "The one device I wish someone would invent: Why does every electronic device have its own incompatible charger bubble that I'm supposed to carry around everywhere? I want 6 volts (or whatever it is) right out of a plug in the wall, and for that to be standard for all kinds of devices."
While on my recent trip to India, in the airport, I noticed that there was a place near human operated long distance calling booth, a charging station for popular cell phones. It is free to charge your cell phone on it.
David M. Ewalt, 06.02.05, 3:00 PM ET
says - "The one device I wish someone would invent: Why does every electronic device have its own incompatible charger bubble that I'm supposed to carry around everywhere? I want 6 volts (or whatever it is) right out of a plug in the wall, and for that to be standard for all kinds of devices."
While on my recent trip to India, in the airport, I noticed that there was a place near human operated long distance calling booth, a charging station for popular cell phones. It is free to charge your cell phone on it.
resume
1. Most employers don’t want to know of your religion – unless the MNC is wanting religious worker – which is very rare.
2. Many don’t care about your relatives names/designations – for YOUR employment.
3. Why do you still have registration number on your resume?
a. Think of your resume as prime real estate property. You want to optimize the use of every inch of the property to make the ‘customers’ of your professional services (employers) to take it seriously and consider taking to you or moving to the next step before retaining your services.
4. You don’t need a permanent address and temporary address. Just one address for communication should be fine.
5. AGE, DATE OF BIRTH, SEX, NATIONALITY, SOCIAL STATUS, WEIGHT & HEIGHT mostly irrelevant.
6. feel free to expand in the areas of IN-PLANT TRAINING DETAILS, PROJECT DETAILS & SOFTWARE SKILLS. They are of special interest to the recruiters.
7. Most MNCs would like to see just 1 or 2 page resume. More pages get boring.
8. With piles of resumes in front of the hiring company, you have to impress on the first page first few paragraphs. Many resumes’ 2 page is not read.
9. Look for computer terminologies and include in your resume – this will help some of the automated programs to pick your resume automatically.
10. Did you post your resume in http://www.noukri.com/ and http://www.careerkhazana.com/ I learnt from many of my friends that these services are quiet good and the success rate if above average.
11. I can pass on your resume to the following companies, through employee referral program, – based on your choice
a. Microsoft India
b. Oracle India
c. HP India
d. Wipro
e. Patni Computer Systems (PCS)
f. http://www.isofttech.com/ .
g. http://nethraconsultants.com/ - head hunters.
12. If coming to the US is high in your priority, get your passport right away. Try to learn about the path to USA. Learn about H1B visa programs by the US government. There is a yearly quota for US companies to bring foreign guest workers. This quota is so low that the quota gets filled on the day of opening. 2006 quota year starts on October 1, 2005. Many applications are already submitted. If you really are serious, you should act fast and RIGHT NOW. H1B is usually sponsored by US employers. I can have some of my friends to process your visa – or I can open a company and process your visa. For either of these 2 possibilities, you should have serious consideration in this path.
2. Many don’t care about your relatives names/designations – for YOUR employment.
3. Why do you still have registration number on your resume?
a. Think of your resume as prime real estate property. You want to optimize the use of every inch of the property to make the ‘customers’ of your professional services (employers) to take it seriously and consider taking to you or moving to the next step before retaining your services.
4. You don’t need a permanent address and temporary address. Just one address for communication should be fine.
5. AGE, DATE OF BIRTH, SEX, NATIONALITY, SOCIAL STATUS, WEIGHT & HEIGHT mostly irrelevant.
6. feel free to expand in the areas of IN-PLANT TRAINING DETAILS, PROJECT DETAILS & SOFTWARE SKILLS. They are of special interest to the recruiters.
7. Most MNCs would like to see just 1 or 2 page resume. More pages get boring.
8. With piles of resumes in front of the hiring company, you have to impress on the first page first few paragraphs. Many resumes’ 2 page is not read.
9. Look for computer terminologies and include in your resume – this will help some of the automated programs to pick your resume automatically.
10. Did you post your resume in http://www.noukri.com/ and http://www.careerkhazana.com/ I learnt from many of my friends that these services are quiet good and the success rate if above average.
11. I can pass on your resume to the following companies, through employee referral program, – based on your choice
a. Microsoft India
b. Oracle India
c. HP India
d. Wipro
e. Patni Computer Systems (PCS)
f. http://www.isofttech.com/ .
g. http://nethraconsultants.com/ - head hunters.
12. If coming to the US is high in your priority, get your passport right away. Try to learn about the path to USA. Learn about H1B visa programs by the US government. There is a yearly quota for US companies to bring foreign guest workers. This quota is so low that the quota gets filled on the day of opening. 2006 quota year starts on October 1, 2005. Many applications are already submitted. If you really are serious, you should act fast and RIGHT NOW. H1B is usually sponsored by US employers. I can have some of my friends to process your visa – or I can open a company and process your visa. For either of these 2 possibilities, you should have serious consideration in this path.
Wednesday, June 01, 2005
Saturday, May 28, 2005
unconventional ventures by software person(s)
Media Companies
Radio stations
Own sports teams
Own Venues & Museums
Call for competition to awards
Work on claiming prize money in the related discipline
Conduct trade shows
Conduct competitions
Radio stations
Own sports teams
Own Venues & Museums
Call for competition to awards
Work on claiming prize money in the related discipline
Conduct trade shows
Conduct competitions
Friday, May 27, 2005
Google & Credit reporting Agencies (Collate data & copy/personal right infringement)
Google collates all the worlds data (information) irrespective of their willingness to share with Google. Same way, credit reporting agencies collate all your financial transaction - irrespective of your liking.
With may peoples' identities being stolen and become financial wreck due to the collation process, it is growingly becoming problem. I am sure the government will take some action to protect individuals....
Same way, Google 'takes a local copy' of all trademarks/copyrighted materials that it scans and shares it with the entire world for free. Folks are not really going after Google in large scale as this currently generates more advertisement than any bad thing. I am sure there are going to be some backlashes. The backlash has come already when the "Google Print for Libraries" project is being debated.
http://print.google.com/googleprint/library.html
Net net, to me, the credit info reporting/collecting or Google spider gathering should be more of an "opt in", rather than "opt out" method that's currently being followed. Credit reporting is today forced opt in mode - else you don’t get the required goods and services. This is unfair.
With may peoples' identities being stolen and become financial wreck due to the collation process, it is growingly becoming problem. I am sure the government will take some action to protect individuals....
Same way, Google 'takes a local copy' of all trademarks/copyrighted materials that it scans and shares it with the entire world for free. Folks are not really going after Google in large scale as this currently generates more advertisement than any bad thing. I am sure there are going to be some backlashes. The backlash has come already when the "Google Print for Libraries" project is being debated.
http://print.google.com/googleprint/library.html
Net net, to me, the credit info reporting/collecting or Google spider gathering should be more of an "opt in", rather than "opt out" method that's currently being followed. Credit reporting is today forced opt in mode - else you don’t get the required goods and services. This is unfair.