MetaFilter

The libraries in Java that are the subject of this case are themselves derivative works of c++ and Smalltalk APIs. Once those rights holders wake up to the billions they can extract from Oracle as a result of this decision we'll see if they change their tune.

That's actually a good example of just how narrow this decision almost certainly is. The structure, sequence, and organization of the Java APIs in question has little in common with the C++... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by jedicus at 10:31 AM on May 12, 2014

There's been a lot of doom and gloom, shouts of computer illiteracy on the part of the judges, and general gross exaggeration of what was at issue on appeal here. The claim was that Oracle had a copyright on 37 API packages (over 600 classes and over 6000 methods), including their declaring code and their structure, sequence, and organization, and that Google copied those packages directly. Importantly, Google conceded that it copied the packages verbatim.

Copyright... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by jedicus at 9:57 AM on May 12, 2014

Twice damned is my business plan of photographing Java APIs against a white background.
posted to MetaFilter by fleetmouse at 8:06 AM on May 12, 2014

Guns have done reprehensible things, but they're nothing compared to late capitalism and the war on drugs. How come we can't have mainstream conversations about banning those damned things?
posted to MetaFilter by Ouverture at 10:00 PM on May 8, 2014

You're being deliberately disingenuous, Ironmouth. The problem is not bugging spies. The problem is bugging everyone, and you know this.

Engage in good faith please.
posted to MetaFilter by feckless fecal fear mongering at 10:24 AM on May 2, 2014

You are standing in an open field west of a white house, with a boarded front door. There is a small mailbox here.

> █
posted to MetaFilter by bonehead at 1:44 PM on April 30, 2014

NB I believe this would also work if the mother simply devoured the father outright shortly after mating but sadly my research project will never pass an IRB.
posted to MetaFilter by elizardbits at 7:54 AM on April 25, 2014

dancing around while wearing a flaming headpiece doesn't seem like the best idea.

The hell it doesn't.
posted to MetaFilter by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 1:23 PM on April 18, 2014

I'm going to call my Senators and Representative to complain about this.

I'm going to favorite your comment.
posted to MetaFilter by Foci for Analysis at 1:52 PM on April 12, 2014

I'm going to call my Senators and Representative to complain about this.
posted to MetaFilter by Drinky Die at 1:45 PM on April 12, 2014

Chord. Struck a chord.
posted to MetaFilter by grateful at 5:44 AM on April 10, 2014

Metafilter: arguing semantics while the world burns.
posted to MetaFilter by Noms_Tiem at 9:04 PM on April 5, 2014

You should talk to a competent accountant licensed in Pennsylvania. Don't take tax advice from strangers on the internet.

What you're talking about is probably not complicated or unusual, and a good accountant will know the answers to many of your questions and be happy to help you set up your business. You will pay him or her for this service, but it will be some of the best money you've spent.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by gauche at 7:23 PM on April 5, 2014

The tax cuts delivered lopsided benefits to the wealthy.

"So you talk about mobs and the working classes as if they were the question. You've got that eternal idiotic idea that if anarchy came it would come from the poor. Why should it? The poor have been rebels, but they have never been anarchists; they have more interest than anyone else in there being some decent government. The poor man really has a stake in the country. The rich man hasn't;... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by mhoye at 7:57 PM on March 27, 2014

I would strongly suggest against doing this. I have a background in cordwaining (okay, I went to shoe camp) and am well versed in shoe construction, so let me bring you up to speed.

The only way that you could do this close to cleanly is if your shoe is made from a single layer of leather. Think about a pair of classic Birkenstocks and the kind of edge they have. That leather is thick and will be difficult to cut through. It will also be secured between the insole and... [more]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Madamina at 10:58 AM on March 27, 2014

As I've said before, it doesn't matter what the managers of Hobby Lobby and Conestoga do or do not believe or whether those beliefs are objectively correct. Their beliefs are not at issue. Hobby Lobby and Conestoga are corporations, and so have no religious beliefs whatsoever.

As various amicus briefs have pointed out, the management of Hobby Lobby and Conestoga are effectively trying to pierce the corporate veil and apply their own religious beliefs to the companies,... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Naberius at 11:07 AM on March 25, 2014

Take the job.

Don't them them your relocation plans because, frankly, it's none of their business. Employers are not your friends. They act in their own best interests, not yours. You have to act in your own best interests, not theirs. Your only obligations to them are set out in your contract (if you decide to work for them). It is highly unlikely that your contract requires you to tell them about plans that may or may not come to fruition 7 months from now.... [more]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by His thoughts were red thoughts at 3:22 PM on March 23, 2014

“Food gentrification” = morel panic.
posted to MetaFilter by MonkeyToes at 2:16 PM on March 13, 2014

Sometimes, Portlandia episodes write themselves.
posted to MetaFilter by perhapses at 3:55 PM on March 11, 2014

Breaking News: Diane Feinstein is the Zodiac Killer claims FBI/CIA/NSA investigation.

Washington DC-- A senior FBI official has confirmed that metadata analysis and secret wiretaps of the Senator have uncovered definitive evidence that Senator Feinstein (D) California is the Zodiac Killer. The FBI official who could no be named for reasons of national security said that the conclusion of the investigation would not be possible without the help of the NSA and CIA... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by humanfont at 12:24 PM on March 11, 2014

Feinstein is pretty much the embodiment of "When it happened to X, I did not speak up for I was not an X".
posted to MetaFilter by Ghostride The Whip at 11:11 AM on March 11, 2014

Kidnap, torture, rape, murder, lie, finance warlords, bomb cell phones, drug citizens, blackmail, destabilize governments, assassinate leaders foreign and domestic, smuggle weapons, operate without oversight, create your own secret courts and laws, take a dump on habeus corpus, create terrorists all you want but DON'T YOU DARE DELETE MY PDFs!
posted to MetaFilter by mike_bling at 10:46 AM on March 11, 2014

I guess everyone who said people like Diane Feinstein would only care about spying when it happened to them were right (see everything she's said about the NSA).
posted to MetaFilter by dilaudid at 10:35 AM on March 11, 2014

Alternative FPP title: That'll buff out.
posted to MetaFilter by Wordshore at 6:56 PM on March 9, 2014

I don't get why people call AirBnB or Uber or especially Taskrabbit part of a "sharing economy". Renting your dwelling or car or labor isn't "sharing", it's capitalism.
posted to MetaFilter by Small Dollar at 8:23 PM on March 8, 2014

...it is just my guy feeling.

Dr. Freud to the white courtesy phone, please.
posted to MetaFilter by Thorzdad at 11:44 AM on March 8, 2014

Imagine the package delivery drone that SRL could design.
posted to MetaFilter by mecran01 at 10:19 PM on March 7, 2014

Vibrissae, Aristotle was very much in favor of slavery and is probably not a philosopher you really want to be using as an authority on its definition and nature.

On the contrary it seems to me that the slaver's definition of slavery is exactly the one you'd want to look at. After all, a "slave" in Aristotle's time could be, for example, a banker who lived and worked independently with his own family, and merely paid a tax to his owner.... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by mrbigmuscles at 8:03 PM on March 7, 2014

We have an on-staff therapist for academics at our university, who I see when things get bad. It never fails to amaze me how she knows every single colleague I ever mention. And how when I mention her to my (close) colleagues, they are all, "oh yes, I see her too."

She should be fired and have her credential yanked.
posted to MetaFilter by srboisvert at 7:18 PM on March 7, 2014

I think developments such as the recent GnuTLS bug ought to give pause to the "given enough eyes, all bugs are shallow" notion, especially as it applies to security.

To be clear, you are arguing that, therefore, the identity of the one who wrote the specification for BitCoin is useful information in evaluating how secure it is?
posted to MetaFilter by LogicalDash at 3:46 PM on March 7, 2014

>>>>>the identity of the Bitcoin creator is a matter of public interest

>>>>Why?

>>>Because any bitcoin-enabled criminal could be the creator if the creator is unknown.

>>So what?

>So it's a public interest.

Nelson and Brian B. appear to be talking past ymgve and spacewrench. I think it's because of incompatible understandings... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by LogicalDash at 6:57 AM on March 7, 2014

This probably already exists, but this in your console will give all comments with 5 plus favs a red border. Feel free to modify/put in Greasemonkey or whatever.

$.each($('.comments .smallcopy').find('a:contains("favorites")'), function() {
var count = parseInt($(this).text());
if (count >= 5) {
$(this).closest('.comments').css('border', '1px solid red');
}
})
posted to MetaTalk by drjimmy11 at 7:37 PM on March 6, 2014

Employers do not have unfettered discretion in classifying their workers as employees or contractors. Indeed, regulators--both state and federal--take a very, very dim view of employers attempting to save money by classifying people who really are employees as independent contractors.

Do you have to report to work at a certain time? Do you work mostly on-site? Does your employer provide all the equipment you need? If the answers to all of those questions--or even two of... [more]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by valkyryn at 6:51 AM on March 7, 2014

tavella: "Public interest aside, the idea that your privacy is violated by a reporter asking you questions about a public, noteworthy scientific paper that you published under your own name is ridiculous."

There's a difference between "asking questions" and "posting photographs of your house, with address visible, and car, with license plate visible". Not saying the reporter shouldn't have reported on him, but don't... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Bugbread at 4:20 PM on March 6, 2014

Judging from how Satoshi appears in this article - avowedly libertarian

Again, I can't find any such admission by Satoshi himself, assuming you are using the definition of "avowedly" that means "open admission". But that doesn't mean he isn't, we just lack a fool-proof test for libertarian sympathies. Perhaps this 1955 pamphlet on How To Spot A Communist might give us a head start.... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by RobotVoodooPower at 10:10 AM on March 6, 2014

"I would like to ask him about Bitcoin. This man is Satoshi Nakamoto."

"What?" The police officer balks. "This is the guy who created Bitcoin? It looks like he's living a pretty humble life."
When I drove a cab, I always got really annoyed with the assumptions people made about me based solely on my career. (Actual quote from a tourist to her husband: "Our cab driver's reading the London Review of Books, isn't that a hoot?... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Ian A.T. at 7:41 AM on March 6, 2014

Other than providing stalkery details, what public interest did this article serve to balance doxing a guy with possible/probable access to around $400 million in digital cash? Is there any actual news here relevant to the bitcoin ecosystem or the general public?
posted to MetaFilter by bashos_frog at 7:19 AM on March 6, 2014

It's incredible that anyone would believe that the war wasn't about slavery when it is stated as exactly that in the opening lines of each state's articles of secession:

Georgia:
"The people of Georgia having dissolved their political connection with the Government of the United States of America, present to their confederates and the world the causes which have led to the separation. For the last ten years we have had numerous and... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Bora Horza Gobuchul at 7:03 PM on February 22, 2014

So, I volunteer at the Seattle Aquarium, and I've been spending the last few months fielding questions about this. Here's what we've been told, and are passing along to visitors and interested parties.

1. This has happened before. It was first identified in the eighties, occurred again in the nineties, and is happening for a third time now. What's concerning about this flare-up is that sheer scope of it; it's occurring over a much wider area than it did in the... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by a power-tie-wearing she-capitalist at 7:34 PM on January 31, 2014

2.71828.
posted to MetaFilter by mittens at 8:23 AM on January 18, 2014

Definitely do NOT walk into a dealership and let them come up with a plan to swap your car for a different one. They will invent some complicated scheme that maybe sounds good at first but really screws you in the details. Negotiate the value of the old and new car separately and then hash out terms for the new loan.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by mullacc at 2:36 PM on January 8, 2014

The snapchat protocol has been reverse engineered which means it's possible to write non-official clients that have no restrictions on behavior, such as saving every photo received.

A couple days after that information was made public, someone used the fact that you could find snapchat users by phone number to launch a bruteforce scrape of common US area codes to gather and leak the usernames and phone numbers of 4.6 million users. Apparently these 23 year old geniuses... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Rhomboid at 2:42 AM on January 8, 2014

I've slept on shikibuton many times in Japan. The reason I do not sleep on them in America is because I do not have to. As chocotaco noted, it is not a mattress. It is essentially a thick quilt. Here are some shikibuton. There is also a reason most Japanese sleep on beds rather than futon when they can.

I cannot speak to the Tuft and Needle site because I have never slept on their product, but it looks like a mattress that is placed on the floor rather than a shikibuton.... [more]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Tanizaki at 10:16 AM on January 6, 2014

I don't see how saying "that smells like wet concrete" or "that smells floral" renders us less capable of describing a smell than saying "that smells brillig" or "that smells slithy."

The question isn't whether the English language is capable of describing smells. It's whether English speakers asked to identify an odor can, and whether there is an influence of culture or language on the ability.... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Kutsuwamushi at 6:33 PM on January 3, 2014

Snowden has been trying to gain immunity in the US in exchange for a stop to the leaks. At what point does he run out of proof-of-abuse leaks and start sharing just any leaks? At what point does his motive switch from ending the abuse to winning immunity back home?

He hasn't, and you're categorically, hands-down wrong.
posted to MetaFilter by anemone of the state at 10:34 AM on December 30, 2013

Even having a fake baby feels like too much responsibility.
posted to MetaFilter by Caskeum at 2:24 PM on December 29, 2013

She seems to be a photographer, and this has gone viral.
Mission accomplished.
posted to MetaFilter by Mezentian at 11:57 PM on December 26, 2013

The demo for Bejeweled Blitz only lets you play the game ten times a day.

Little did they know, I would have paid $20 for a version of Bejeweled that only lets you play ten times a day.
posted to MetaFilter by straight at 1:12 PM on December 25, 2013

9/12.
posted to MetaFilter by oneswellfoop at 8:11 PM on December 8, 2013

Thought nr. 1: this is just stuff played on an out of tune piano.

5 minutes later, thought nr. 2: From now on, all pianos should be out of tune in this exact manner.
posted to MetaFilter by Pyrogenesis at 9:52 AM on November 15, 2013