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Copytheft

Awhile back I posted an article and code to upload files to YouTube. It wasn’t a full example but nonetheless I thought it would give a programmer a healthy leg up if attempting the same thing. An exhaustive search showed nothing of the like on the net so I published it for the world to see.

For the world to see, not for the world to copy and paste to sell for $110 as it’s own.

I was the victim of copytheft. Someone had taken my code line for line and attempted to sell it as their own work. He was caught in the process as the same Google search that produced the code he stole also showed his boss he’s a plagiarist and not a programmer. It would be different if he used my code as the framework for a more functional piece and left me attribution. But this was a line for line copy with my information removed.

Copyright law in the US is fairly clear on the matter. Anything you write down automatically becomes your copyright. Unless you have permission from the author, using it for commercial purposes is illegal.

It’s just something that really chaps me. Any programmer is welcome to use my code to learn from or as a stepping stone to something bigger but not to just blatantly copy and paste it and sell it as your own. If your not sure you can always ask.

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Bookmark Roundup 1

I have this collection of well meaning bookmarks that just expands until I have to dump them somewhere. I’ve tried out some of the social bookmark sites but none of them have the one feature I really need which is to somehow give me the time to go through them.

So I thought I’d post them here with a brief description.

  • I found this pretty good list of Vista tips. My tip would be just don’t install Vista.
  • STADS is a program to easily switch out the default audio device. Unfortunately support for multiple audio devices is lacking. I’ve yet to try out how Vista handles this with it’s improved mixer.
  • A photo gallery of sexy Star Wars recruiter posters. I really should have one of them as my wallpaper. Though my current wallpaper isn’t bad.
  • Here is an interesting interview with John Carmack about the ongoing debate to Ray Trace or not.
  • I’ve always wanted to learn how to Silkscreen so I could make my own witty T-shirts.
  • WordNet® is a large lexical database of English. In other words it’s an online dictionary/thesaurus thing that’s also available for download.
  • The United States Navy Electricity & Electronics Training Series seemed like a good place to brush up on my electronics.
  • The css-discuss wiki seems like a real good place to get some design advice.
  • One of these days I’ll memorize a solution to the Rubik’s Mini Cube. For now I have a few general moves and then I stab around in the dark until it magically solves itself.
  • If I ever invent something this Online Machine Shop might be a good place for some prototypes.
  • I’m the proud owner of a partial Lego Mindstorms kit. The Bricx Command Center looked like the best free software out there to control and program it.
  • We really hate how outdated the game Guess Who is. If you ever wanted to design an accurate game the 2000 Census seems like a good place to start.

I think that’s it for this round. I hope you enjoy all the things I’ll never have time for.