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by samuraiz (#35375764) Attached to: Upgrading From Windows 1.0 To Windows 7
Not legally, you can't. In fact, MS has clarified the license so that an OEM license is only good for a single computer (that is, it isn't a transferable license) built for resale. Hobbyists aren't allowed to use it on hardware they build to keep for themselves. How much you care about Microsoft's terms is, of course, entirely up to you.

Comment: Re:USPS isn't a State Function (Score 1) 504

by samuraiz (#32696114) Attached to: Amazon Opposes Plan To End Saturday Mail Delivery
Passing taxes on to investors is entirely appropriate. Liability shielding is a really sweet government-provided perk of incorporation -- no individual BP shareholder (who wasn't also a negligent corporate officer, and unfortunately probably not even those) will be personally liable for a dime of gulf spill damage, to name one example. The liability shield facilitates capital formation but it can also lead to short-sightedness, risky corporate behavior, and higher social costs. No reason the shield should come free of charge.

Comment: Re:A lesson to be learned: Greed kills (Score 1) 410

I am reminded of an incident a few years ago when the public water supply of Wuxi, China started smelling like sewage out of the tap. The newspapers had big front-page photos of the mayor and other city officials drinking tap water to try to convince people that it was safe.

Comment: Re:Stupidity of leadership... (Score 1) 327

by samuraiz (#31263118) Attached to: US Unable To Win a Cyber War

I was in China in December of 2006 when this happened. One major undersea cable was damaged and let me tell you, China was effectively cut off from the English-speaking Internet. I couldn't get to load, or check my US-based email. The remaining network infrastructure between China and North America was simply inadequate to meet the demand. According to that wiki link, spam from China dropped 99% during the outage.

Severing trans-Pacific cables would do a lot more to cripple a Chinese cyberattack than you think.

Comment: Re:Local laws? What about their constitution? (Score 1) 320

by samuraiz (#30767986) Attached to: China Emphasizes Laws As Google Defies Censorship

Yeah, but the Party built in an escape clause. See Article 51:



The "interests of the state" clause is a license for the Party to do whatever the hell it likes, the rest of the articles be damned. The Chinese constitution is more useful as toilet paper than as a binding social contract.

Comment: Re:Wait a minute here (Score 2, Insightful) 1364

by samuraiz (#29810223) Attached to: Legal War For WA State Sunshine Law

It would, in fact, be different.

Religious homophobes and religious abortion protesters are intersecting communities- right-wing religious extremists. There's a history of murder and terrorism in America's right-wing religious extremist fringe, and a history of hit lists being posted to the internet, ostensibly to shame but too often resulting in the listed people being targeted for violence.

When gay marriage activists publish a list, it really is just a shame list.
