Igor Delovski Board

[Ike]

Ethics of sample code?

"I recently applied for a job where I was asked for some sample code. My
problem is that the code I'm most proud of strictly speaking belongs to my
current employer.

The person at the company disagrees with me. He says that it should be
'like a magazine' - when you write an article for a magazine you can show it
as an example of your work."

[Ike]

Who is really in charge of the internet?

"It's a method discussed in some detail by Jack Goldsmith and Tim Wu in
their recent book Who Controls the Internet?. They point out that "the rise
of networking did not eliminate intermediaries, but rather changed who they
are", and governments can pass laws which control them.

Whenever people use the network to act there are always local intermediaries,
especially where money is changing hands. And that means there is no way
that a company that wants to trade in a territory can do so and remain
immune from local laws and practices."

[delovski]

Perspective: Uncovering the secret sauce

'So, just as we are increasingly interested in the contents of prepared
foods, shouldn't we be similarly interested in the obligations that a
software company might be passing on to us as a result of their choice
of "ingredients?" '

[delovski]

JoS: Legal requriements of auto-updaters

"The original design proposal was to simply show a notification of the update
on the sign in screen with a link to more info (that few would click of course).
But then legal, and policy, and privacy got involved. And because of that,
we need to have one dialog that tells users we have a new auto-update
feature with the choice to opt-out. And for those who do opt in, we need to
show an install scree with the full EULA requiring that they agree."

[delovski]

JoS: When did it become OK to BS?

"So I end up with 1,000 or less customers that have been paying for their
software. (of course some percentage of them stopped paying).

A respected company (the most Web 2.0-ish of all) using a number of 1mil,
instead of the correct number that has several zeros less. I think this sucks.
Am I rightfully pissed off, or what?"

[delovski]

JoS: Adding (tm) to your product or Company Name

"In the U.S., the (TM) means that you've filed a trademark and it's pending
(ours took just over 12 months).

When the trademark office approves it, then you can switch (TM) with (R).

...

Any time you claim rights in a mark, you may use the "TM" (trademark) or
"SM" (service mark) designation to alert the public to your claim, regardless
of whether you have filed an application with the USPTO. However, you
may use the federal registration symbol "®" only after the USPTO actually
registers a mark, and not while an application is pending. Also, you may
use the registration symbol with the mark only on or in connection with
the goods and/or services listed in the federal trademark registration."

[delovski]

Slashdot: Microsoft Vs. TestDriven.NET or MS threatens its MVP

"You may not work around any technical limitations in the software."

Of course, it's such an incredibly vague sentence one can understand why
he didn't think it applied. And I bet they don't want to ever take that one
to court, which is whey they had their manager "talk to him on the phone
to plead with him".

[Ike]

Slashdot: Linux Creator Calls GPLv3 Authors 'Hypocrites'

"We've heard conflicting tales regarding Linus Torvalds' acceptance of GPLv3.
InformationWeek reports on comments by Mr. Torvalds that would seem to
decide the issue: 'Torvalds said the authors of a new software license expected
to be used by thousands of open source programmers are a bunch of hypocrites ...

For Torvalds' part, it appears unlikely he'll ever adopt GPLv3 for the Linux
kernel. He accused the Free Software Foundation leadership, which includes
eccentric, MIT-trained computing whiz Richard Stallman, of injecting their
personal morality into the laws governing open source software with the release
of GPLv3. "Only religious fanatics and totalitarian states equate morality with
legality," Torvalds wrote.'"

[Ike]

Slashdot: KisMAC Developer Discontinues Project

"... the lead developer of KisMAC, a passive wireless network discovery tool
for Mac OS X, is discontinuing the project. Michael Rossberg lives in Germany
and that country has recently passed laws that would make his participation
dangerous. He urges visitors to take a copy of KisMAC and its source as
long as the site is up, so that development might be continued outside the US
or EU. From the website:

There has not been a lot of time for KisMAC lately. However the motivation
for this drastic step [lies] somewhere different. German laws change and
are being adapted for 'better' protection against something politicians
obviously do not understand. It will become illegal to develop, use or even
posses KisMAC in this banana republic [i.e., Germany]."

[delovski]

Secret Breathalyzer Software Finally Revealed

"The program presented shows ample evidence of incomplete design,
incomplete verification of design, and incomplete “white box” and “black
box” testing. Therefore the software has to be considered unreliable and
untested, and in several cases it does not meet stated requirements."

[delovski]

ubuntuforums: Which licence should I choose for my software project?

"I am working on a smallish multi-platform software project, and I'm having
trouble finding out which software license I can use."

[Ike]

Digg: New iPods reengineered to block synching with Linux

"The latest iPods have a cryptographic "checksum" in their song databases
that prevents third-party applications from synching with the portable music
players. This means that iPods can no longer be used with operating systems
where iTunes doesn't exist -- like Linux.

Now, Apple has the Digital Millennium Copyright Act on its side, which makes
it illegal to 'circumvent an effective means of access control' - that is, to break
DRM."

[delovski]

MF - Code signing Identity INSANITY!

"Beyond paying the $100 and getting an e-mail receipt, is something else
supposed to happen on Apple's side before I can select the code signing
certificate and compile to my physical IPhone? Or is it just supposed to be
working."

[delovski]

MF - Apple Drops iPhone Non Disclosure Agreement (NDA)

"Apple is expected to release a new version of the NDA next week which will
still cover unreleased software and features. This move should open up dis-
cussion between developers as well as publication of books on the iPhone SDK.
Both activities have been limited due to the continuation of the non-disclosure
agreement."

[delovski]

jetl.wordpress.com - How the President’s iPod Offers a Copyright Quandry

"When President Obama recently visited Queen Elizabeth, he came bearing
gifts, including an iPod loaded with Broadway songs. This seems harmless
enough, but Fred von Lohmann at the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF)
has pointed out that the president may have unwittingly committed copyright
infringement."

[delovski]

Question for UK VAT-registered devs

"First of all, I'd like to say that I am consulting with an accountant on this is-
sue but I thought it would be useful to see how other UK VAT-registered de-
vs are handling this and whether I'm interpreting the rules as more complex
than they need to be."

[delovski]

Jeff LaMarche - My Last Word on Rogue Amoeba

"The fact that the images are available through a public API on the Mac
is also irrelevant because those APIs are designed to let you show images
that are already on the machine to the person who is sitting at that ma-
chine. The images are already part of the operating system. Just because
that API is public doesn't mean you can do whatever you want with the
image once you have it.

I can pull one of Apple's trademarked images off their web site. The fact
that it's been made available publicly doesn't give me the right to use it
however I want."

[delovski]

MF - CCATS needed for non-export iPhone app?

"While reading the docs on deploying the app to the app store, I came ac-
ross some drivel regarding having to go through a 30 - 60 day government
vetting process just to ship an app that simply connects to an HTTPS ser-
ver."

[delovski]

reddit - Cease and desist / trademark infringement email

"I just received a cease and desist / trademark infringement email from
some guy saying I have to shut down my website Power Hour HQ, a video
drinking game repository. This guy was granted a trademark for the words
"power hour" and is trying to bully all other power hour sites into shutting
down."

[Ike]

Slashdot - Ex-MS GM Can't Work 'Anywhere In the World' For Salesforce

"Be careful before you sign a Microsoft non-compete agreement, kids.

GeekWire reports that King County Superior Court Judge Kimberley Proch-
nau has enjoined former Microsoft General Manager Matthew Miszewski
from 'working in a marketing role in salesforce.com's public or commercial
sector anywhere in the world.' So what did onetime Wisconsin State CIO
Miszewski do to warrant the global ban? 'He was a major evangelist for
Microsoft,' explained Judge Prochnau, who added that the 'thrust of the
order is to preclude him from being the evangelist for Salesforce.com that
he was for Microsoft.' Microsoft, which has warned Congress that restri-
cting the flow of talent is ruinous to America, said in a statement that the
company is pleased with the ruling."

[delovski]

Peanutbutter Egg Dirt - Apple vs. Samsung: A Visual Guide to Apple’s
IP Claims

"But put them together in the same configuration as the iPhone – the round-
ed corners at the same radius, a grid of colorful square icons with rounded
corners, with the bottom 4 set apart on a silver background, and the whole
device surrounded by silver edges – and the merit of the claim begins to
focus."

[XNote]

izbicki.me - Measuring corporate “evilness” by scraping litigation
results from google scholar

"Whereas both Google and Microsoft average around 40 major lawsuits a
year, Apple has only 4! This is despite the fact that Apple is a larger com-
pany than both Google and Microsoft by total assets, market capitalization,
net income, and many other measures. In fact, out of the 20 companies
that I analyzed, Apple had by far the fewest lawsuits of all of them."

[Ike]

r - My GRAVITY lawsuit and how it affects every writer who sells to Hollywood

"It means that any writer who sold film rights to New Line Productions
can have those rights freely exploited by its parent company Warner Bros.
— and the original contract you signed with New Line will not be honored.
Warner Bros. can make a movie based on your book but you will get no
credit, even though your contract called for it."

[Ike]

https://www.reddit.com/r/iOSProgramming/comments/8lsk7c/gdpr_is_effective_in_a_few_hours_make_sure_you/

GDPR is effective in a few hours. Make sure you are compliant or be prepared for millions in fines

The new EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) comes in to effect in a few hours (May 25th). This is a EU law but is effectively global. Do not ignore it. Anyone who offers their app/service in the EU or to European persons must comply. Simply having your app in European App stores will make you fall under the jurisdiction of this law. If you use any sort of crash reporting you are likely not compliant with the law. GDPR applies to all businesses or persons doing business in the EU wether for profit or not.