I think that the circumstances matter. Yes, DRM can be used in a way that is pure bait and switch. But it can also be used in ways that aren't, and I would argue that most uses are of the latter sort. Now, DRM is a terrible and unacceptable thing for a bunch of other reasons, but it's not automatically bait and switch.
I like this bit: "Obama said we'll have to figure out "how do we have encryption as strong as possible, the key as secure as possible and accessible by the smallest pool of people possible, for a subset of issues that we agree is important.""
From my point of view, we figured this out a long time ago. I use very strong encryption, and the key is accessible to the smallest pool possible: me. Done and done.
I think it's more likely to be the military. It's already its own branch of government in many ways. Did you know that Americans trust the military establishment more than any branch of government? And by a lot.
But you don't want to jump out of the frying pan into the fire. Straight-up revolution has an absolutely terrible track record. And don't forget that the American revolution only went the way it did because the colonies were being used in a proxy war by the world powers.
One of the key ideas of the American system is that the system allows for effective revolution to take place without war or collapse. What's been happening is that the citizenry has been passive. I am optimistic that those days are waning and we will see a sort of revolution. The signs are everywhere. The danger is that it would be of the violent sort rather than the political sort. If that happens, then we're all in far a whole lot of true pain and darkness.
"I believe that's one of the disadvantages of digital media is that it can phone home and later be revoked"
True, but at least that's easy to work around. I strip the DRM from all my books (and translate them to a standard format, so I can use any reader I want).
"Or if a piece of software becomes discontinued or if the company goes out of business and the software phones home it could later become useless."
Yes, this is a serious problem. But again, easy to work around by not buying any software that needs to phone home to work.
Neither of those things are really "bait and switch", though.
"I think it would be pretty hard to make the case that "hobbit" is so widely used as a name for short people that it has become a word that is generic for "short people.""
I think it would be pretty easy, since -- at least in my region of the world -- that's how it's been used for most of my life. "Hobbit" is not precisely generic for short people, but it is a common pejorative term for short people.
I guarantee that those prepeeled bananas cost more per oz than the ones with peel. Enough more that you're paying more for the banana.
The problem I see, aside from the unnecessary extra trash, is browning. Peeled bananas brown FAST, and they must be doing something to prevent that. I wonder what they do? Lemon juice?
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Here's how unbelievable it is
Sorry for the string of replies, but this is a topic I can't shut up about.
"Half the time it just balls up on the tip of the iron rather than flowing onto the wires."
This can happen regardless of what you're soldering, and it means one of two things (or both): either the metal you're soldering isn't clean (it's actually dirty or, more likely, it has a layer of oxidation) and/or you need to use more flux than is in the solder you're using (you are using rosin-core solder, right?).
Cleaning the wire ends, applying flux, and tinning them before soldering should eliminate that problem.
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Here's how unbelievable it is
Your pencil soldering iron is mostly worthless, I think. You can get a perfectly adequate iron for $30 or so these days, and even if you only solder occasionally, I think it's worth the investment.
A trick I learned that improved everything for me was to avoid low-temperature irons for electronics work. It's better to do the opposite: go high-temperature. I usually run mine around 340C these days. It's counterintuitive, but running at a low temperature increases the odds of heat damage because you have to hold the heat to the part longer. It's better to get in and out fast. Even at a high temp, you can get out fast enough that the heat can't propagate very far.
Also, soldering big, thick wires like speaker wires is a totally different thing than soldering electronic parts. That wire makes a terrific heat sick. You certainly want a hotter iron for that sort of work.
That is generally a thing you can only get away with once per customer. Especially on the internet. I'd bet that as soon as a site started doing that, it would quickly be considered "too toxic to touch" and be ignored from then on.
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Way too much entitlement in this thread - making content takes time and money
I sad thing is that there's nothing to figure out. It's very clear what advertisers need to do to stop people from hating them so much. The comments in this thread alone give a fairly complete list. They are just unwilling to do it.
Since advertiser's attitude towards the audience is essentially "fuck you", there's no mystery as to why they get the same message right back.
On the post: What Should We Do About Linking To Sites That Block People Using Ad Blockers?
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
On the post: White House Apparently Not Necessarily In Agreement With FBI's Position On Encryption Backdoors
Re: Ru roh
I like this bit: "Obama said we'll have to figure out "how do we have encryption as strong as possible, the key as secure as possible and accessible by the smallest pool of people possible, for a subset of issues that we agree is important.""
From my point of view, we figured this out a long time ago. I use very strong encryption, and the key is accessible to the smallest pool possible: me. Done and done.
On the post: We Read The DOJ's Latest Apple Filing To Highlight All Of Its Misleading Claims
Re:
On the post: We Read The DOJ's Latest Apple Filing To Highlight All Of Its Misleading Claims
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Endless...
One of the key ideas of the American system is that the system allows for effective revolution to take place without war or collapse. What's been happening is that the citizenry has been passive. I am optimistic that those days are waning and we will see a sort of revolution. The signs are everywhere. The danger is that it would be of the violent sort rather than the political sort. If that happens, then we're all in far a whole lot of true pain and darkness.
On the post: Netflix's Assault On VPNs Is Stupid, Annoying And Erodes User Security
Re: Re: Re: Re:
On the post: What Should We Do About Linking To Sites That Block People Using Ad Blockers?
Re: Re: Re:
True, but at least that's easy to work around. I strip the DRM from all my books (and translate them to a standard format, so I can use any reader I want).
"Or if a piece of software becomes discontinued or if the company goes out of business and the software phones home it could later become useless."
Yes, this is a serious problem. But again, easy to work around by not buying any software that needs to phone home to work.
Neither of those things are really "bait and switch", though.
On the post: Middle Earth Enterprises Attempts To Block Wine Importer From Using The Word 'Hobbit'
Re: Re: Re: Re: comment
I think it would be pretty easy, since -- at least in my region of the world -- that's how it's been used for most of my life. "Hobbit" is not precisely generic for short people, but it is a common pejorative term for short people.
On the post: Apple General Counsel Blasts Justice Department For Crazy Filing
Re: Re:
On the post: Broadband Industry Has A Hissy Fit As FCC Unveils Some Fairly Basic New Broadband Privacy Protections
Re: Go further
On the post: Senators Burr And Feinstein, Once Again, Threatening New Bill To Backdoor Encryption
Re: Re: Re: Dear Democrats
On the post: DailyDirt: Sealed For Freshness... In Plastic
Re: Really???
On the post: DailyDirt: Sealed For Freshness... In Plastic
Re:
The problem I see, aside from the unnecessary extra trash, is browning. Peeled bananas brown FAST, and they must be doing something to prevent that. I wonder what they do? Lemon juice?
On the post: The FBI Claims Failure To Guess Password Will Make Data 'Permanently Inaccessible,' Which Isn't True
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Here's how unbelievable it is
"Half the time it just balls up on the tip of the iron rather than flowing onto the wires."
This can happen regardless of what you're soldering, and it means one of two things (or both): either the metal you're soldering isn't clean (it's actually dirty or, more likely, it has a layer of oxidation) and/or you need to use more flux than is in the solder you're using (you are using rosin-core solder, right?).
Cleaning the wire ends, applying flux, and tinning them before soldering should eliminate that problem.
On the post: The FBI Claims Failure To Guess Password Will Make Data 'Permanently Inaccessible,' Which Isn't True
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Here's how unbelievable it is
On the post: The FBI Claims Failure To Guess Password Will Make Data 'Permanently Inaccessible,' Which Isn't True
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Here's how unbelievable it is
Sink, not sick. But somehow it works either way.
On the post: The FBI Claims Failure To Guess Password Will Make Data 'Permanently Inaccessible,' Which Isn't True
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Here's how unbelievable it is
A trick I learned that improved everything for me was to avoid low-temperature irons for electronics work. It's better to do the opposite: go high-temperature. I usually run mine around 340C these days. It's counterintuitive, but running at a low temperature increases the odds of heat damage because you have to hold the heat to the part longer. It's better to get in and out fast. Even at a high temp, you can get out fast enough that the heat can't propagate very far.
Also, soldering big, thick wires like speaker wires is a totally different thing than soldering electronic parts. That wire makes a terrific heat sick. You certainly want a hotter iron for that sort of work.
On the post: What Should We Do About Linking To Sites That Block People Using Ad Blockers?
Re:
On the post: What Should We Do About Linking To Sites That Block People Using Ad Blockers?
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Way too much entitlement in this thread - making content takes time and money
Since advertiser's attitude towards the audience is essentially "fuck you", there's no mystery as to why they get the same message right back.
On the post: Senators Burr And Feinstein, Once Again, Threatening New Bill To Backdoor Encryption
Re:
I wish I shared your optimism, but the last couple of decades have led me to doubt the ability of the Supreme Court to determine Constitutionality.
On the post: Senators Burr And Feinstein, Once Again, Threatening New Bill To Backdoor Encryption
Re: Dear Democrats
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