Posted on 08/16/2006 3:11:01 PM PDT by holymoly
Did someone google this article? ;)
Why build fences around flower gardens?
Open-source software is a pretty cool concept. Instead of hiring dozens of programmers, you can tap into millions working in their spare time. I find myself using more and more open source stuff, because with a little digging you can find someone who's customized it to be pretty close to exactly what you need, where commercial software aims to be all things to everyone.
Even commercial software has adopted some elements of open source, in the form of published standards that let anyone create plug-ins. Of the half-dozen applications I'm running right now, my mail app, IM client and Web browser all have third-party plug-ins installed.
And I misspoke earlier. Linux isn't public-domain; it's copyrighted, but distributed under the loosest possible set of terms, the GNU Public License. You can modify it all you want, but if you're going to build your work on something you got for free, you also have to agree to make your work available to others for free.
OK, lets Yahoo then. I am sure Yahoo would have no problem with that.
Have a bowl of Jell-O Brand Instant Gelatin too.
Interesting. It's certainly the norm in Georgia. http://www.popvssoda.com/ is a fascinating project to track the preferred local terms.
In North Carolina, the beverage of choice is as likely as not to be Cheerwine, a local delicacy I've only seen once outside of that state; I found it at a Wal-Mart in Hinesville, Georgia, near Fort Stewart. My best guess is that there were enough soldiers who'd served in NC that the demand justified importing it.
How is that out of hand? If I pay a graphic artist to design a logo, and then spend a fortune on advertising to plant that logo in the public consciousness, is it fair for you to take it for free and use it to sell your product?
Great Googly Moogly!
There's always room ...
If they gave a license, there's no lawsuit. If they didn't, Lionel shouldn't have assumed. Lionel helped make the Santa Fe a legend; they did the same for the California Zephyr, which was the hottest thing going in its day.
Model railroading has declined in popularity, and there isn't that much money or publicity in it any more; at the same time, passenger rail travel has dwindled to the point that it needs taxpayer subsidies to stay alive, and kids (or, more often, nostalgic Baby Boomers) with model trains aren't likely to book a lot of container tonnage. The equation has changed.
Maybe it's great free publicity. I might think that it's a great play for Union Pacific to have its logo plastered all over HO-scale trains, and you might agree. But in the end it doesn't matter what you or I think, because the trademark doesn't belong to us. It's UP's property, and they're not obliged to use it in ways we like.
If you "google" the word failure, the first thing it pulls up is George W. Bush.
I sent them a complaint.
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