"That's what this game's DLC market is competing against."
I seriously doubt that. People who collect model trains want the actual, physical model trains. They may also enjoy a virtual representation of the same trains and they may not -- but the two things are not competing with each other at all.
"A contract with an illegal clause is not enforceable."
This is not usually true. Most contracts contain a boilerplate "severability" clause so that if one part of the contract is deemed illegal, it is excised and the rest of the contract still holds.
"Do you: A. Buy every skin for every hero ever. B. Buy skins for specific characters you use that you think look cool."
Personally? I would go with C. Buy no skins whatsoever. But that's just because I have other things to spend my money on that actually make a difference in my life.
Re: Re: Re: Re: Hmmmm - wouldn't extension only apply to "new" pictures?
Yeah, I remember. I was trying to find the Techdirt stories, but searching was taking longer than I had available so I went with an easier-to-find link.
"We're a nation of laws with a mechanism in place to change legislation if needed"
This is totally irrelevant to my point, which is that whether or not something is legal and whether or not something is right are two independent things.
" Thus, they believed, someone who invented something truly innovative should be temporarily guaranteed the exclusive right to make that invention."
That wasn't really the intent. The purpose of the patent system is less to encourage innovation (although that's a part) and more to offer an incentive for inventors to reveal what it is that they invented so that others can build on what they did.
I agree that a patent system can be a very good thing. I also agree that the patent system we have is broken and doesn't do much toward accomplishing its goal.
That doesn't offer any real value to other readers of the site, and we'd all wager that the scorched Earth nature of comments section just stifles real conversation.
Right, because nothing will increase the value of comments to other site readers like making commenting impossible.
No, Facebook, Twitter, etc. aren't even close to substitutions for a comment section for a bunch of reasons, starting with the fact that lots of people don't use those services and as a result are just locked out completely.
In terms of acute toxicity, aspartame has an LD50 (the dose required to kill half of a population) of 5 grams per kilogram of body weight. The LD50 of other sweeteners vary widely, but they are all very high doses, far larger than you'd accidentally ingest.
Long term toxicity is a more difficult problem to quantify for a lot of reasons, but a couple have been studied long enough and intensively enough that something intelligent can be said about them. Perhaps the most famous one is saccharine.
In the long term, saccharine does not appear to have any toxicity associated with it above what we accept in all of our other foods and food ingredients. So, based on that alone, it is inaccurate to say that "all artificial sweeteners are deadly". Saccharine is not, and it's very likely that lots of other artificial sweeteners are not as well. Probably the overwhelming majority of them.
If you want to be extra cautious about them, the thing to do is to avoid the new ones and stick with the ones that have been around long enough that we have good data on long-term problems resulting from their use.
I think stevia is very, very sweet. Much sweeter than sugar. On the other hand, I don't think of Splenda as sweet at all. It tastes very chemically, with a slightly sweet aftertaste.
Perhaps there is something genetic going on, like how lots of people think that cilantro tastes wonderful and lots of other people think it tastes like soap.
"You can't just complain the law isn't "right". The defendant in the previous stated case tried that and the court of appeals said he (and you) are wrong. But I guess you're smarter than the collective opinion of the appeals judges."
Of course you can. I think you're confusing two different things: whether a law is right and whether a law is legal. Those two things are independent of each other. We have lots of laws that are wrong in the sense of being immoral or unethical while at the same time right in the sense of legally supported.
"they wouldnt so publicly harrass such a high profile member of their society, nor would would "special" forces homeland security be involved, unless something out of the ordinarry was happening"
Decades ago, I thought something similar about the use of SWAT teams. That turned out to be wrong too.
Re: Response to: Anonymous Coward on Oct 2nd, 2015 @ 9:04pm
"It's better to keep your information on the cloud."
Even better than that, don't take these devices on the flight at all. Ship them separately. If you really need a cell phone during the trip, buy a cheap prepaid one (I can get them for $20 at my local department store) to take along.
"Only the people who really are up to something nefarious."
In their minds, maybe. In reality, not so much. I, and a lot of people I know, do this but to the best of my knowledge none of us are up to anything nefarious.
On the post: Train Simulator 2016 And How We've Reached The Crest Of The Dumb DLC Wave
Re: Re: Re:
I seriously doubt that. People who collect model trains want the actual, physical model trains. They may also enjoy a virtual representation of the same trains and they may not -- but the two things are not competing with each other at all.
On the post: 14 Mayors Have To Join Forces And Beg Verizon To Upgrade Its DSL Network
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Writing to the wrong people
This is not usually true. Most contracts contain a boilerplate "severability" clause so that if one part of the contract is deemed illegal, it is excised and the rest of the contract still holds.
On the post: NSA Screws Up Another Thing: EU Court Of Justice Throws The Internet For A Loop In Ending Safe Harbor
Re: Re: Re: "There's a way to fix this mess and it's to stop mass surveillance" -- WHETHER BY GOVERNMENTS OR CORPORATIONS.
You're opting out wrong. You opt out of Windows 10 surveillance by either firewalling off Windows 10 or (preferably) not using it.
"opt out" is not asking permission from spies to not spy on you. "Opt out" is to avoid using products and services that spy on you.
On the post: Train Simulator 2016 And How We've Reached The Crest Of The Dumb DLC Wave
Re: Re: Re: Re: Truthiness.
A. Buy every skin for every hero ever.
B. Buy skins for specific characters you use that you think look cool."
Personally? I would go with C. Buy no skins whatsoever. But that's just because I have other things to spend my money on that actually make a difference in my life.
On the post: 14 Mayors Have To Join Forces And Beg Verizon To Upgrade Its DSL Network
Re: Re: Writing to the wrong people
On the post: Argentina Plans To Increase Copyright In Photos From 20 Years To Life Plus 70 Years, Devastating Wikipedia
Re: Re: Re: Re: Hmmmm - wouldn't extension only apply to "new" pictures?
On the post: Homeland Security Detains Stockton Mayor, Forces Him To Hand Over His Passwords
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
On the post: Homeland Security Detains Stockton Mayor, Forces Him To Hand Over His Passwords
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
This is totally irrelevant to my point, which is that whether or not something is legal and whether or not something is right are two independent things.
On the post: Stanford Professor Insists Consumers Are Helped By Patent Trolls
Re:
That wasn't really the intent. The purpose of the patent system is less to encourage innovation (although that's a part) and more to offer an incentive for inventors to reveal what it is that they invented so that others can build on what they did.
I agree that a patent system can be a very good thing. I also agree that the patent system we have is broken and doesn't do much toward accomplishing its goal.
On the post: Patent Owner Insists 'Integers' Do Not Include The Number One
Re:
On the post: Motherboard's Version Of 'Valuing Discussion' Involves No Longer Letting You Comment
Doesn't make sense
Right, because nothing will increase the value of comments to other site readers like making commenting impossible.
No, Facebook, Twitter, etc. aren't even close to substitutions for a comment section for a bunch of reasons, starting with the fact that lots of people don't use those services and as a result are just locked out completely.
On the post: Train Simulator 2016 And How We've Reached The Crest Of The Dumb DLC Wave
Re: Re: Re: Re: Truthiness.
On the post: DailyDirt: How Sweet It Is?
Re: Re: Left Chondrite Sugar
Long term toxicity is a more difficult problem to quantify for a lot of reasons, but a couple have been studied long enough and intensively enough that something intelligent can be said about them. Perhaps the most famous one is saccharine.
In the long term, saccharine does not appear to have any toxicity associated with it above what we accept in all of our other foods and food ingredients. So, based on that alone, it is inaccurate to say that "all artificial sweeteners are deadly". Saccharine is not, and it's very likely that lots of other artificial sweeteners are not as well. Probably the overwhelming majority of them.
If you want to be extra cautious about them, the thing to do is to avoid the new ones and stick with the ones that have been around long enough that we have good data on long-term problems resulting from their use.
On the post: Argentina Plans To Increase Copyright In Photos From 20 Years To Life Plus 70 Years, Devastating Wikipedia
Re: Re: Hmmmm - wouldn't extension only apply to "new" pictures?
On the post: DailyDirt: How Sweet It Is?
Re:
Perhaps there is something genetic going on, like how lots of people think that cilantro tastes wonderful and lots of other people think it tastes like soap.
On the post: Homeland Security Detains Stockton Mayor, Forces Him To Hand Over His Passwords
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
Of course you can. I think you're confusing two different things: whether a law is right and whether a law is legal. Those two things are independent of each other. We have lots of laws that are wrong in the sense of being immoral or unethical while at the same time right in the sense of legally supported.
On the post: Cable Company Totally Unsure What Neighborhoods It Serves, Wants $117,000 For Broadband Service
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
On the post: Homeland Security Detains Stockton Mayor, Forces Him To Hand Over His Passwords
Re:
Decades ago, I thought something similar about the use of SWAT teams. That turned out to be wrong too.
On the post: Homeland Security Detains Stockton Mayor, Forces Him To Hand Over His Passwords
Re: Response to: Anonymous Coward on Oct 2nd, 2015 @ 9:04pm
Even better than that, don't take these devices on the flight at all. Ship them separately. If you really need a cell phone during the trip, buy a cheap prepaid one (I can get them for $20 at my local department store) to take along.
On the post: Homeland Security Detains Stockton Mayor, Forces Him To Hand Over His Passwords
Re: Re: Re:
In their minds, maybe. In reality, not so much. I, and a lot of people I know, do this but to the best of my knowledge none of us are up to anything nefarious.
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