Ever wonder why the USA, collectively, is so concerned about intellectual property? because basically, we don't produce physical good anymore - imaginary stuff is all we have. Same reason we're trying to get out IP right enshrined in international treaties, instead of US law. If we don't do so NOW, we'll become irrelevant in a few years, as they rest of the world so stuff like this and begins to just ignore us.
Blasphemy! Every possible action must have the necessary written rules!
I'm not quite a senior citizen, but I well remember when people had the amazing capacity to settle their own differences. A serious conflict between gentlemen could be "taken outside", and if a woman was offended by something you said or did, you'd be shunned, berated, or slapped as appropriate and everyone would move on with their lives.
I used to think we'd become more civilized; but having every social interaction potentially monitored by law enforcement and the courts is not an improvement.
Realistically, Keurigs major competitor, Tassimo, already does this. The barcode provides cup size, pressure, temperature, and programmed-in pauses specific to that beverage. And you know what? It makes a better cup of coffee.
It has also blocked, just by coincidence, unauthorized suppliers of coffee for the machine.
"Now we have football teams filled with the decendents of African slaves playing under the moniker of our Native American victims so we can sell beer to everyone else."
Can't see how you missed it, but the use of Native American names has become quite controversial and it diminishing quickly. More of a "used to" than a "now."
As much fun as it is to jump on this guy, I'm sure a reasonable assertion could be made that, whatever the images were, they were there as "sample" material for what they wanted to block. It might even be true. Not that it would make any difference if he were in the States. Remember that politician who was arrested for having an automatic weapon magazine? He just wanted to use it as a sample on television.
I don't play a lot of games, and of the few I do two are almost ten years old. When you "buy" a product, you expect to have the use of it until it wears out, something that can't happen to a pile of ones and zeros. These companies should not be allowed to take down the supporting servers - ever - unless the game was marketed with a clear expiration date: "Online functions, listed below, may not be available after October 2019."
Let the customer make an intelligent, informed choice, not essentially have the product stolen back by the manufacturer at some arbitrary time.
Making quality products and selling them at competitive prices is hard, and takes a while. Difficult to prove to your boss - in only one quarter - that you deserve a bonus that way. That's why the technique is pretty much obsolete. These days, most marketing plans amount to "theft by deception" in my book.
...because someone has the facts right on their shirt. That makes prevarication impossible (not, IMHO, a bad thing). The chill is going down the AT&T reps spine.
It'll be interesting to see how this is implemented
Keurig has experimented with RFID tags before, which haven't seen much success, and Tassimo has used (easily deciphered) barcodes for years.
The Keurig Vue system was introduced largely because the patent on the K-cup ran out a while ago; that hasn't seen great success either, and they're slashing the prices on the makers rapidly. Both Vue and Keurig 2.0 claim to offer valuable features (Vue makes foam for your cappuccino, and 2.0 will make a 30 oz POT of coffee) but are these features people actually want?
What I want is a quick, decent cup of coffee that doesn't break the bank. None of the multiple "innovations" Keurig's flailing around with (they have a new Rivo cappuccino system, too) address that.
I've been using single-serve for years, and have tried virtually all of the brands/systems: Keurig, Tassimo, Senseo, and more. I personally prefer Tassimo, but currently use Keurig (or, more precisely, the very expensive machine Cuisinart makes under license). The reason is simple - wide variety of coffee at more moderate prices. At SRP, a cup of Keurig coffee costs about 69¢. However, sometimes I buy other (non authorized) brands, even occasionally on closeout - for as little as 16¢ to 40¢ per cup.
If Keurig takes that ability away, I won't be buying ANY of their coffee - or the machines, either. And you can't convince me that a $120 to $250 coffee pot is pure loss leader.
I've read "Blind Man's Bluff"; it describes dedicated Navy submarines whose whole purpose was to tap underseas cables. It would be naive to believe we no longer have those subs. Presumably, with a new, pristine line and current technology Brazil could detect a tap if they were expecting it.
So THEN what? Call out the USA publicly? Ask us nicely to disconnect? Declare war?
I happened to watch "The Aviator" last night. Howard Hughes was accused of bribing Air Force officials, and he said "Of course I did. That's the way business with the Air Force is done." Further said he'd checked, and under current law it wasn't illegal, so if they wanted to make a big deal of it, the lawmakers better get to work.
There are a fair number of countries that don't even make the pretense things aren't done that way. Uber isn't playing the game right, and they'll be stalled and inconvenienced for it.
Decades ago, at the height of the cold war, Robert Heinlein once joked how reforms in communist China would provisionally allow "Limited free speech on alternate Tuesdays." That vibration you feel is the old boy doing 5,000 RPM in his grave.
Taking property from a physical sale deprives the owner of the use of it. This does not. (Where have we heard this before?)
They're not selling the broadcasting; they're renting the physical means to access it. A solar power company doesn't charge you for sunshine, you pay them to bring it into your house.
I remember scenes from that movie very well, almost frame-by-frame. Therefore, a COPY of those frames must exist in my mind. Now, several times I've described those parts of the film to third parties; that's distribution. More than likely, at least one person I talked to decided not to see the film based on my description - I've interfered with the business interests of Paramount Studios.
Get it out of my head! I CAN'T STOP INFRINGING! (Applies ball-peen hammer to cerebral coretex)
What on earth makes you think anyone holding a government job won't automatically be exempt? I can already hear the rationale: "people in certain positions will necessarily produce large numbers of false indications, so in the interests of accuracy they will have to be omitted from the database."
No, that was based on psychic feelings of a few individuals. Much more accurate, I suspect, than a bunch of data entered by whatever minimum-wage clerk they have at the keyboard this week.
IMHO, two people were looking for a confrontation there. The officer was clearly in the wrong, the photographer in the right - but, as the phrase goes, he didn't have to be a dick about it. Oh, he has the right to mouth off, and theoretically the officer can't do anything about it; but doing so doesn't help other people who wish to film in public.
I'm a former professional photographer. To this day, I carry some fairly elaborate equipment, and probably have someone confront me two of three times a year. I keep laminated copies of local laws regarding photography in public spaces on my person, and helpfully read them to people as necessary. It's much easier to educate than to get out of jail. I've only been arrested once, and it didn't end well for the officer. Probably helps that I'm polite, co-operative, and, well, professional. You get what you give.
On the post: Ridiculously Broad Ruling Against DVD Ripper Software Has Court Allow Seizure Of Domains, Social Media & More
March toward irrelevancy
On the post: Student Points Finger Like Gun, Gets Suspended Under Zero Tolerance Rules
The lesson learned
On the post: Legislators Rush To Patch Hole In 'Secret Photography' Law; 'Succeed' In Making It Make It Much, Much Worse
Re: Not everythng needs a law
I'm not quite a senior citizen, but I well remember when people had the amazing capacity to settle their own differences. A serious conflict between gentlemen could be "taken outside", and if a woman was offended by something you said or did, you'd be shunned, berated, or slapped as appropriate and everyone would move on with their lives.
I used to think we'd become more civilized; but having every social interaction potentially monitored by law enforcement and the courts is not an improvement.
On the post: Keurig Insists Coffee DRM Brings 'Interactive-Enabled Benefits' And Is For Your Own Safety
It's been done
It has also blocked, just by coincidence, unauthorized suppliers of coffee for the machine.
On the post: Ubisoft Printed The Wrong Versions Of South Park Game For Germany, Forgetting To Remove The Swastikas
Native Americans
Can't see how you missed it, but the use of Native American names has become quite controversial and it diminishing quickly. More of a "used to" than a "now."
On the post: UK Porn Filter Architect Arrested On Child Porn Charges
For business purposes
On the post: Nintendo Kills Online Functionality For Wii, DS Titles, Highlighting Need For Greater User Control Over Content They Supposedly Own
Expiration date
Let the customer make an intelligent, informed choice, not essentially have the product stolen back by the manufacturer at some arbitrary time.
On the post: Keurig Will Use DRM In New Coffee Maker To Lock Out Refill Market
Re: Coffee DRM? What next!
On the post: AT&T Exec Claims EFF's Mocking NSA Logo Creates A 'Chilling Effect'
A conversation becomes impossible...
On the post: Keurig Will Use DRM In New Coffee Maker To Lock Out Refill Market
It'll be interesting to see how this is implemented
The Keurig Vue system was introduced largely because the patent on the K-cup ran out a while ago; that hasn't seen great success either, and they're slashing the prices on the makers rapidly. Both Vue and Keurig 2.0 claim to offer valuable features (Vue makes foam for your cappuccino, and 2.0 will make a 30 oz POT of coffee) but are these features people actually want?
What I want is a quick, decent cup of coffee that doesn't break the bank. None of the multiple "innovations" Keurig's flailing around with (they have a new Rivo cappuccino system, too) address that.
On the post: Keurig Will Use DRM In New Coffee Maker To Lock Out Refill Market
Self defeating
If Keurig takes that ability away, I won't be buying ANY of their coffee - or the machines, either. And you can't convince me that a $120 to $250 coffee pot is pure loss leader.
On the post: Brazil, EU Take Pride In Temporarily Avoiding The NSA With New Joint Undersea Cable Run
Re:
I've read "Blind Man's Bluff"; it describes dedicated Navy submarines whose whole purpose was to tap underseas cables. It would be naive to believe we no longer have those subs. Presumably, with a new, pristine line and current technology Brazil could detect a tap if they were expecting it.
So THEN what? Call out the USA publicly? Ask us nicely to disconnect? Declare war?
On the post: Houston Issues 'Cease-And-Desist' To Uber To Stop Houston Residents From Communicating With Their Government
SOP
There are a fair number of countries that don't even make the pretense things aren't done that way. Uber isn't playing the game right, and they'll be stalled and inconvenienced for it.
On the post: Student Prevented From Handing Out Copies Of The Constitution Wins Lawsuit Against College
Limited free speech
On the post: Broadcasters Warn Supremes Of The Innumerable Non-Existent Horrors That Will Befall Everyone If Aereo Wins
Re:
Taking property from a physical sale deprives the owner of the use of it. This does not. (Where have we heard this before?)
They're not selling the broadcasting; they're renting the physical means to access it. A solar power company doesn't charge you for sunshine, you pay them to bring it into your house.
On the post: Paramount Flips Out That People Might 'Watch' Twitter Account Posting Top Gun Frame By Frame
I'm in violation!
Get it out of my head! I CAN'T STOP INFRINGING! (Applies ball-peen hammer to cerebral coretex)
I feel much better now.
On the post: Chicago PD Believes It Can See The Future, Starts Warning Citizens About Crimes They Might Commit
Re:
On the post: Chicago PD Believes It Can See The Future, Starts Warning Citizens About Crimes They Might Commit
Re: Minority Report
On the post: Cop Harasses Photographer, Steals His Cellphone Battery And Attempts To Get YouTube To Pull The Incriminating Video
Re: On this one, I agree with the police officer
I'm a former professional photographer. To this day, I carry some fairly elaborate equipment, and probably have someone confront me two of three times a year. I keep laminated copies of local laws regarding photography in public spaces on my person, and helpfully read them to people as necessary. It's much easier to educate than to get out of jail. I've only been arrested once, and it didn't end well for the officer. Probably helps that I'm polite, co-operative, and, well, professional. You get what you give.
On the post: How Snowboarders Are Waving Company Logos In The IOC's Face... And There's Nothing It Can Do About It
Olym-pics?
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