One might argue that they connect with their VPN server that is based in the US and then connect with some website. From one point of view they would be accessing that website from the US. Whether that argument would work in the face of some antagonistic bureaucrat is another story.
Re: 'Oh look, countless authors who DO want my money...'
I get the principle thing, and agree with it. But I might make an exception where a publisher foists the DRM on an author. If the author self publishes AND puts DRM on their books, like you, they lose my interest and respect.
I used to like Scott Turow as an author. That is until I heard about his attitudes with regard to copyright. Now I wouldn't read anything he has written, even if he paid me.
Yes, it is a crap shoot. The same crap shoot one takes when they pick up a new author at a book store or at the library. The new author might not be worth the time. On the other hand they might be the next best thing.
Opening Calibre, pointing to the book file, invoking a plug-in, then reading Techdirt for a few minutes while the plug-in does the work doesn't seem all that hard. Oh, of course there might be a few minutes downloading the plug-in, but the ones I have downloaded for Calibre were trivial. I just haven't needed the DRM ones.
Converting a book from one format to another takes a few seconds. I don't know how long the DRM removal would take, but it probably isn't much.
You do realize that Calibre will remove the DRM. There are plug-ins that do this job (search for 'calibre: remove DRM') . I have never needed it, but I hear it works.
I am also baffled by why any author, obscure or not, would want to add DRM to a free book offer. The publisher on the other hand...
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
Seems to me this Amendment mentions both search and seizure. Why should there be different treatment between the two? That 'and effects' seems to cover digital 'effects'. But that is just me. A citizen reading the Constitution. I don't have all the palaver needed to 'interpret' the Constitution that courts and law enforcement have. They have 'special' insight that is far beyond our simple ability to read and comprehend simple English.
Not that that is right or correct. The Constitution, IMHO, should be interpreted without the palaver.
I am not sure where the numbering schemes in the article come from, Denuvo or Voksi, or the community (seems a bit unclear) but I like the way they added the ++. It seems like this version is extra extra special. Extra extra specially crack-able, apparently.
As Timothy points out, it sure seems like the money game makers spend on DRM would be better spent on marketing, with some of those funds being supposed losses due to 'pirating'. Even though they might target some marketing funds at that, they wouldn't actually be able to post any losses due to the fact that those 'pirates' might not have actually bought the game, nor could they be satisfactorily quantified (at least for tax purposes as a business expense). Better spending of the money might be creating a sample, or a beta, or a whatever its called portion of the game which IS free, and get people excited.
They used to do that. What happened? Did they spend too much time reading the copyright maximalists manifestos and start on their own bend of 'we want control'? It doesn't seem to be working. Will they continue beating themselves over the head until it works? Or will they figure out that being nice rather than nasty has some value?
Don't hold your breath. Rabid dogs are rabid until put down. Getting non rabid dogs in the race depends upon keeping them separate from other rabid dogs.
TL:DNR (In the food service business when a discount is applied to sales there are eight different accounting transactions to properly represent the 'cost'. Four of those are in the Profit and Loss Statement, and the other four are in the Balance Sheet. Lets look at the P&L side. First the gross sales needs to be reduced and a discounted sale posted. Then a credit needs to be taken in the Cost of Goods Produced area. Then there needs to be a charge against the Marketing program assigned that particular promotion, to account for the actual business cost of the promotion. (Its been a while, I think I have that right) In digital, there are some steps that have 0 assigned to them. This is what happens when one discounts non physical goods. There are no actual losses, but proving particular lost sales is...well really hard).
Well there seems to be some contradiction in the article, though not directly. At one place they say:
"From July 1, 2012, to June 1, 2016, TDSHS revoked 146,211 driver’s licenses for failure to pay fines, costs and/or litigation taxes"
Then at the paragraph you mention:
"The pair is also suing on behalf of the 250,000 state residents who've had their licenses revoked for not paying traffic tickets."
If they are separate numbers, then there are 396211 people that have had their licenses revoked and one wonders why those money grubbing attorneys were missing the extra income. Or, the second number included the first number and was mischaracterized in the description of the offences being represented. Maybe just over simplified.
The trial court, however, found that post Riley, “[e]xigent circumstances – such as the risk of imminent loss of data through a remote wipe of the phone – can justify a warrantless search of a seized cell phone.”
They never heard of a Faraday bag? There is no exigency, just a blind desire to 'get' someone, for anything, at anytime, in anyway.
AT&T executives said is wasn't profitable enough, that tells us THEY think it is poor shape financially. Well at least for them. The prior organization seemed happy with their results. Now they want to change the business model which brought HBO's success. Whether that will work or not remains to be seen, but I doubt dumping ads into a previously ad free environment will get HBO fans to cheer.
If HBO was in such poor shape financially, why did they buy it?
Or, how much of the debt incurred by the Time/Warner purchase did they dump into HBO's financials to make it appear so fiscally sick?
Either way, AT&T appears ready to destroy something good merely in order to fit it into their framework of customer disdain. But this may be a good thing. In the process of creative destruction they will make room for another, or perhaps several others to fill the gap created by the soon to be missing HBO. Just how long will the creative people at HBO hang around?
Well, it appears in hindsight, the 'Bell' break up was only a temporary fix. Either we need for those that make these decisions to understand markets (and the effect on consumers) better and not allow these types of consolidations in the future, or we need a different fix.
Or maybe those making the decisions understand the markets perfectly well, but are working in the interests of the wrong groups. Wall Street rather than consumers. Not sure how a new round of breakups will fix that.
The best time is when the stocks are at a low value, which would have been a long time ago when each company was close to their inception.
That concept, long term investing, is not how much of Wall Street works these days. Computer generated investing makes trades on very small changes and reacts swiftly to changes in quarterly profits, rather than thinking long term. The reduction in competition is good for the next couple of quarters, but not good for customers in the long run. How that will affect stock price in the long run is unknown because it is not the only factor in stock price.
As to your first point, yes, but even under Obama there was an authoritarian bent to government actions. Only the R vs D fanatics don't understand that there is a direction being assumed by the powerful, from both sides, because power doesn't discriminate between R's and D's. It still corrupts.
As to your second point, it does seem likely, and it makes folks wonder about the process where deal making and winning rather justice is the point of negotiations between prosecutors and the accused. These 21 may be guilty, and if they are then they got a deal rather than what a court might have sentenced them to. On the other hand, what if they were just frightened, and as you point out, poorly or even not represented, then the concept of justice has been harmed once again.
Not me (I wasn't there), but those that have had a year plus of their lives put into turmoil, and cost for lawyers and possibly lost jobs, as well as other impacts; for egregious, ineffective, Constitution busting behavior by the government.
If I had been there, and arrested, I would already have a lawyer, and would ask him/her. For the rest of us non lawyers, seeing into the density that is 'the Law' might be helpful.
Re: Re: Let see - a voluntary process being derailed intentionally
Another way would be to help the economies of those countries whose people feel the need to leave home, for a better life.
There are other difficulties, like the threat of death from authoritarian governments, those who should be seeking asylum. The problem here is that we are seriously inept at 'fixing' foreign governments.
The wall? Roughly 2000 miles long, no way Trump can find a way to pay for it, and whatever is left is where people will look to cross, though, I suspect they will find ways to cross where the wall exists, where we will likely stop looking for them.
The better way to deal with the illegal emigration from the south is two fold. One, find ways to allow them in (think about the people who pick our crops), a job few 'Americans' want, and there are others (also think about their contributions to say, Social Security, which needs shoring up and we don't have the population contributing to do it, and the taxes they pay as well as other contributions to our economy). And two, spend some money (maybe what they would spend on a useless wall) to create jobs in those countries they come from.
How many callers claimed that Trump was an alien. Not that he was from another country, but from another planet? For more amusement, what things did they list as his criminal activities?
On the post: Misleading Subscription Practices At The Financial Times
Re:
On the post: Latest Denuvo Version Cracked Again By One Solo Hacker On A Personal Mission
Re: 'Oh look, countless authors who DO want my money...'
I used to like Scott Turow as an author. That is until I heard about his attitudes with regard to copyright. Now I wouldn't read anything he has written, even if he paid me.
On the post: Latest Denuvo Version Cracked Again By One Solo Hacker On A Personal Mission
Re: Re: Re: It's not just games though
Opening Calibre, pointing to the book file, invoking a plug-in, then reading Techdirt for a few minutes while the plug-in does the work doesn't seem all that hard. Oh, of course there might be a few minutes downloading the plug-in, but the ones I have downloaded for Calibre were trivial. I just haven't needed the DRM ones.
Converting a book from one format to another takes a few seconds. I don't know how long the DRM removal would take, but it probably isn't much.
On the post: Latest Denuvo Version Cracked Again By One Solo Hacker On A Personal Mission
Re: It's not just games though
I am also baffled by why any author, obscure or not, would want to add DRM to a free book offer. The publisher on the other hand...
On the post: State Appeals Court Says Exigency Beats A Warrant Requirement If A Phone Has A Passcode
Re: On the other hand...
Seems to me this Amendment mentions both search and seizure. Why should there be different treatment between the two? That 'and effects' seems to cover digital 'effects'. But that is just me. A citizen reading the Constitution. I don't have all the palaver needed to 'interpret' the Constitution that courts and law enforcement have. They have 'special' insight that is far beyond our simple ability to read and comprehend simple English.
Not that that is right or correct. The Constitution, IMHO, should be interpreted without the palaver.
On the post: Latest Denuvo Version Cracked Again By One Solo Hacker On A Personal Mission
The lossy form of being in charge
As Timothy points out, it sure seems like the money game makers spend on DRM would be better spent on marketing, with some of those funds being supposed losses due to 'pirating'. Even though they might target some marketing funds at that, they wouldn't actually be able to post any losses due to the fact that those 'pirates' might not have actually bought the game, nor could they be satisfactorily quantified (at least for tax purposes as a business expense). Better spending of the money might be creating a sample, or a beta, or a whatever its called portion of the game which IS free, and get people excited.
They used to do that. What happened? Did they spend too much time reading the copyright maximalists manifestos and start on their own bend of 'we want control'? It doesn't seem to be working. Will they continue beating themselves over the head until it works? Or will they figure out that being nice rather than nasty has some value?
Don't hold your breath. Rabid dogs are rabid until put down. Getting non rabid dogs in the race depends upon keeping them separate from other rabid dogs.
TL:DNR (In the food service business when a discount is applied to sales there are eight different accounting transactions to properly represent the 'cost'. Four of those are in the Profit and Loss Statement, and the other four are in the Balance Sheet. Lets look at the P&L side. First the gross sales needs to be reduced and a discounted sale posted. Then a credit needs to be taken in the Cost of Goods Produced area. Then there needs to be a charge against the Marketing program assigned that particular promotion, to account for the actual business cost of the promotion. (Its been a while, I think I have that right) In digital, there are some steps that have 0 assigned to them. This is what happens when one discounts non physical goods. There are no actual losses, but proving particular lost sales is...well really hard).
On the post: Federal Court Says Taking People's Drivers Licenses Away For Failure To Pay Court Fees Is Unconstitutional
Re: Re: Re: Not clear on how far-reaching
Well there seems to be some contradiction in the article, though not directly. At one place they say:
Then at the paragraph you mention:
If they are separate numbers, then there are 396211 people that have had their licenses revoked and one wonders why those money grubbing attorneys were missing the extra income. Or, the second number included the first number and was mischaracterized in the description of the offences being represented. Maybe just over simplified.
On the post: State Appeals Court Says Exigency Beats A Warrant Requirement If A Phone Has A Passcode
Exigency
They never heard of a Faraday bag? There is no exigency, just a blind desire to 'get' someone, for anything, at anytime, in anyway.
On the post: Charter Spectrum's New 'Unlimited' Wireless Service Bans HD Video Entirely
Maybe they mean quasi-unlimited. Don't we have some laws about truth in advertising?
On the post: AT&T Is Very Excited To Try And Ruin HBO
Re: Re: Following their own crooked road
On the post: AT&T Is Very Excited To Try And Ruin HBO
Following their own crooked road
Or, how much of the debt incurred by the Time/Warner purchase did they dump into HBO's financials to make it appear so fiscally sick?
Either way, AT&T appears ready to destroy something good merely in order to fit it into their framework of customer disdain. But this may be a good thing. In the process of creative destruction they will make room for another, or perhaps several others to fill the gap created by the soon to be missing HBO. Just how long will the creative people at HBO hang around?
On the post: Sprint, T-Mobile Execs Bullshit Congress On The Benefits Of Merger Mania
Re: Waiting for it
Or maybe those making the decisions understand the markets perfectly well, but are working in the interests of the wrong groups. Wall Street rather than consumers. Not sure how a new round of breakups will fix that.
On the post: Sprint, T-Mobile Execs Bullshit Congress On The Benefits Of Merger Mania
Re: since mega-mergers benefit investors...
That concept, long term investing, is not how much of Wall Street works these days. Computer generated investing makes trades on very small changes and reacts swiftly to changes in quarterly profits, rather than thinking long term. The reduction in competition is good for the next couple of quarters, but not good for customers in the long run. How that will affect stock price in the long run is unknown because it is not the only factor in stock price.
This is a problem, for the rest of us.
On the post: DOJ Racks Up 90% Failure Rate In Inauguration Protest Prosecutions, Dismisses Final Defendants
Re:
As to your second point, it does seem likely, and it makes folks wonder about the process where deal making and winning rather justice is the point of negotiations between prosecutors and the accused. These 21 may be guilty, and if they are then they got a deal rather than what a court might have sentenced them to. On the other hand, what if they were just frightened, and as you point out, poorly or even not represented, then the concept of justice has been harmed once again.
On the post: DOJ Racks Up 90% Failure Rate In Inauguration Protest Prosecutions, Dismisses Final Defendants
Re: Re: Question for lawyer in the crowd
If I had been there, and arrested, I would already have a lawyer, and would ask him/her. For the rest of us non lawyers, seeing into the density that is 'the Law' might be helpful.
On the post: DOJ Racks Up 90% Failure Rate In Inauguration Protest Prosecutions, Dismisses Final Defendants
Question for lawyer in the crowd
On the post: In Harris County, Texas, The Death Penalty Is Applied With A Judicial Rubber Stamp
Re: If you're not working, why are we paying you?
If Charged then guilty
If guilty then whatever punishment the prosecutor wants
End
Texas could save a lot of money. Unless the royalty for use of the algorithm is large and on a per use basis.
On the post: In Harris County, Texas, The Death Penalty Is Applied With A Judicial Rubber Stamp
The result.
Do they still use a firing squad in Texas? Do they have enough bullets? Oh...wait...it is Texas we are talking about.
On the post: 'See Something, Say Something' But For Immigrants Continues To Collect Little But Petty Complaints From Petty Americans
Re: Re: Let see - a voluntary process being derailed intentionally
There are other difficulties, like the threat of death from authoritarian governments, those who should be seeking asylum. The problem here is that we are seriously inept at 'fixing' foreign governments.
The wall? Roughly 2000 miles long, no way Trump can find a way to pay for it, and whatever is left is where people will look to cross, though, I suspect they will find ways to cross where the wall exists, where we will likely stop looking for them.
The better way to deal with the illegal emigration from the south is two fold. One, find ways to allow them in (think about the people who pick our crops), a job few 'Americans' want, and there are others (also think about their contributions to say, Social Security, which needs shoring up and we don't have the population contributing to do it, and the taxes they pay as well as other contributions to our economy). And two, spend some money (maybe what they would spend on a useless wall) to create jobs in those countries they come from.
On the post: 'See Something, Say Something' But For Immigrants Continues To Collect Little But Petty Complaints From Petty Americans
I have a question
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