With all due credit to Ronald Reagan, it's not what the Wall Street Journal doesn't know that makes them dangerous, it's all the things they do know that just ain't so!
But there's a much bigger question: will the FTC actually bother? The fact that Lenovo reacted pretty quickly to this mess probably suggests that the FTC may not bother. Yes, Lenovo's initial reaction wasn't great, but it did change its tune within less than 48 hours, and has been pretty vocal and active in apologizing and fixing things since then.
It chaged its tune within less than 48 hours after getting caught and being publicly tarred and feathered in the media over it. But how long did this continue happening, unnoticed, before then?
No, that's really not a good metric. If someone has to be exposed as doing something nefarious before they apologize, it really doesn't matter how quickly they apologize after being exposed, since it's reasonable to assume, extrapolating from past behavior, that had they not been exposed, they would never have apologized.
Precisely. As the saying goes, you hear on the news about the two cars that got in an accident, not the three million that reached their destination safely.
Meh. There is such a thing as the free market, sometimes. And when it exists, it works extremely well. It's just that the telecom space is not one of the places where it exists today.
Not everyone who thinks people ought to be free to live their own lives is your enemy, y'know?
On the contrary, anyone who believes himself free to live his own life without regard for those around him is, pretty much by definition, making himself the enemy of all those around him. I'm just one of the people who's studied the belief system enough to realize this.
The free market machinations between such entities as Netflix and Comcast are merely the market sorting itself out in times of great change, which is only natural.
Wrong. Free market principles only apply when conditions of freedom exist in the market. This is not the case in the ISP sector, which is dominated by anti-competitive monopolies and duopolies. At this point, free market economic principles break down and are replaced by monopoly economics, which are based on economic coercion, not freedom, and it absolutely is the government's job to limit such coercion.
This looks interesting, but the thing I'm a bit worried about is, if it's possible to create arbitrary DNA just by designing it on a computer, then it's possible to create biological DNA just by designing it on a computer. Does anyone really want to see the next generation of malware uploaded to the Web be viruses of the bio-warfare variety?
You can’t say you’re for competition but deny local elected officials the right to offer competitive choices.
Sure you can. All it takes is an injection of Libertarian Logic™.
You see, out in Ayn Rand Fantasyland, where carts are put before horses on a regular basis, if there's any way for something to be profitable, that's God-^H^H^H^H Invisible Hand-Given proof that it was meant to be that way and Heroic Entrepreneurs™ have the right to turn it into a profitable business venture, free from the encroachment of Evil Government™.
Competition is good, but only between Heroic Entrepreneurs™. When the Evil Government™ enters into competition with Heroic Entrepreneurs™, the Evil Government™ has an unfair advantage because they have a monopoly on the use of fo-- oh, wait, no, wrong Libertarian strawman argument. Umm... because they're not required to turn a profit to stay in business, and therefore they can undercut the Heroic Entrepreneurs™ and drive them out of business.
Pointing out to the wielder of such an argument that basic infrastructure is not supposed to be a profit center in and of itself, since it's supposed to be basic infrastructure that enables commerce to be built atop it for the benefit of all of civilization, is likely to make their head explode.
Parrots are good at mimicking sounds they hear, including the sound of people talking. I doubt most people would count that as "talking," though, which requires comprehension and the ability to carry on a conversation.
At current exchange rates, £67,000 per year is almost exactly $100,000. Assuming a standard 40-hour work week, that's approximately $50/hr, or $200 (before tax) for half a day's pay.
Converting back to Pounds, that's about £133/half day. So his freelancing rate is ~38x-60x his real salary?
Yet when you actually bother to ask said entrepreneurs -- like this letter (pdf) from 100 companies including Yelp, Etsy, Kickstarter, Tumblr and GitHub -- they unequivocally make it clear Commissioner Pai doesn't speak for them:
"We are the “small, independent businesses and entrepreneurs” that Commissioner Pai referenced in his February 6, 2015 press release about the FCC’s impending net neutrality rulemaking
Which, exactly, of those major websites is a small, independent business again?
Having this happen once is just a bug. I could totally believe that. But as a developer, having it continually happen in production for an entire week without anyone noticing is much more than "just" a bug.
And the crazy thing is, we called it. Everything that's been done to abuse the DMCA, technically savvy users warned was going to happen back before the law was passed. Like Cassandra of old, the warnings were laughed off or handwaved away with "oh, that'll never happen..." and then it happened.
The DMCA should never have been passed, and now it needs to be repealed.
Not many months ago, everything we'd seen so far suggested Mr. Wheeler (no relation!) would work hand in hand with the telcos to give them what they want and would never even consider a Title II solution... but look where we are now.
Moral of the story: Don't give up on the right thing too easily.
Barry Allen: [After he's already gained superpowers] Dark energy, antimatter, X-elements... those are all theoretical! Harrison Wells: How theoretical are you, Mr. Allen?
So when the government warns us that Chinese hardware manufacturers are selling stuff that will make us vulnerable to being spied on, we shouldn't listen. But when Ars Technica and Robert Graham pass along such a warning, then it's finally time to listen? ;)
On the post: Have You Been Debating What Color Some Random Dress Is All Day? Thank Fair Use
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On the post: Wall Street Journal Upset That Wall Street Isn't Upset About Net Neutrality
On the post: Did Lenovo/Superfish Break The Law?
It chaged its tune within less than 48 hours after getting caught and being publicly tarred and feathered in the media over it. But how long did this continue happening, unnoticed, before then?
No, that's really not a good metric. If someone has to be exposed as doing something nefarious before they apologize, it really doesn't matter how quickly they apologize after being exposed, since it's reasonable to assume, extrapolating from past behavior, that had they not been exposed, they would never have apologized.
On the post: If You Want To See What The U.S. Broadband Market Really Looks Like, Take A Close Look At West Virginia
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On the post: Verizon At Least Shows It Has A Sense Of Humor About Net Neutrality, Even If It's Incapable Of Respecting It
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On the post: The FCC's Historic Day: Voting Yes For Net Neutrality, Voting No On Protectionist State Telecom Law
Re: Re: Ayn Rand Fantasyland
On the contrary, anyone who believes himself free to live his own life without regard for those around him is, pretty much by definition, making himself the enemy of all those around him. I'm just one of the people who's studied the belief system enough to realize this.
On the post: Verizon At Least Shows It Has A Sense Of Humor About Net Neutrality, Even If It's Incapable Of Respecting It
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Wrong. Free market principles only apply when conditions of freedom exist in the market. This is not the case in the ISP sector, which is dominated by anti-competitive monopolies and duopolies. At this point, free market economic principles break down and are replaced by monopoly economics, which are based on economic coercion, not freedom, and it absolutely is the government's job to limit such coercion.
On the post: DailyDirt: Keeping Information For A Really, Really, Really Long Time
On the post: The FCC's Historic Day: Voting Yes For Net Neutrality, Voting No On Protectionist State Telecom Law
Sure you can. All it takes is an injection of Libertarian Logic™.
You see, out in Ayn Rand Fantasyland, where carts are put before horses on a regular basis, if there's any way for something to be profitable, that's God-^H^H^H^H Invisible Hand-Given proof that it was meant to be that way and Heroic Entrepreneurs™ have the right to turn it into a profitable business venture, free from the encroachment of Evil Government™.
Competition is good, but only between Heroic Entrepreneurs™. When the Evil Government™ enters into competition with Heroic Entrepreneurs™, the Evil Government™ has an unfair advantage because they have a monopoly on the use of fo-- oh, wait, no, wrong Libertarian strawman argument. Umm... because they're not required to turn a profit to stay in business, and therefore they can undercut the Heroic Entrepreneurs™ and drive them out of business.
Pointing out to the wielder of such an argument that basic infrastructure is not supposed to be a profit center in and of itself, since it's supposed to be basic infrastructure that enables commerce to be built atop it for the benefit of all of civilization, is likely to make their head explode.
On the post: DailyDirt: Hatching Some Intelligent Creatures
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On the post: Head Of UK Parliamentary Committee Overseeing Intelligence Agencies Resigns After Being Caught In Sting
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On the post: Head Of UK Parliamentary Committee Overseeing Intelligence Agencies Resigns After Being Caught In Sting
Converting back to Pounds, that's about £133/half day. So his freelancing rate is ~38x-60x his real salary?
Nice gig, if you can get it...
On the post: FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai Is Leading An Incoherent, Facts-Optional Last Minute War On Net Neutrality...For The American People
Which, exactly, of those major websites is a small, independent business again?
Just saying...
On the post: Total Wipes Blames Trying To Take Down Every Page With The Word 'Download' On 'A Bug'
On the post: Move Over Ed Snowden, Al Jazeera Has A Huge New Stack Of Spy Documents
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On the post: Total Wipes Decides The Word 'Download' Means Infringement, Issues DMCA Takedown Loaded With Non-Infringing URLs
Re: Re: Natural result of a one-sided law
The DMCA should never have been passed, and now it needs to be repealed.
On the post: Sorry: AT&T & Verizon Can't Upgrade Or Repair Your Aging DSL Line Because Parts Are Too Hard To Find
Re: Indeed they are.
On the post: Sorry: AT&T & Verizon Can't Upgrade Or Repair Your Aging DSL Line Because Parts Are Too Hard To Find
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Moral of the story: Don't give up on the right thing too easily.
On the post: Lenovo CTO Claims Concerns Over Superfish Are Simply 'Theoretical'
Harrison Wells: How theoretical are you, Mr. Allen?
-- The Flash, pilot.
On the post: Lenovo In Denial: Insists There's No Security Problem With Superfish -- Which Is Very, Very Wrong.
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