Controls the US, perhaps. But they're having the opposite effect in the rest of the world. If there's one thing Fox and Trump will be known for, it's eliminating US soft power.
When Arien O'Connell posted the fastest time in October's Nike Women's Marathon in San Francisco, she expected of course to be declared the winner, but the shoe company apparently had promised a group of elite runners (to attract them to enter the race) that one of them would be the "winner," and consequently, first place went to a woman who ran 11 minutes behind O'Connell. After a storm of complaints, Nike reluctantly settled on calling both women "winners" and said next year it would scrap the two-tier system. [San Francisco Chronicle, 10-23-08]
Attempting to solve overcrowding in Paris prisons in 1719, France offered freedom to prisoners if they agreed to marry a prostitute and move to Louisiana.
I mention this in hope that one thing will lead to another, and a Louisiana politician has Ancestry.com charged with "intimidation of a public official."
Each nation has specific taboos that you cannot talk about.
There's one that has long interested me about America. Not a secret, but not talked about either.
Canadian fighter jets used to shadow Russian long-range bombers coming over the pole. American fighters would take over at the US border. Hours later the bombers would return. Or not; presumably those continued on to Cuba.
They were set up for aerial reconnaissance, of course. And the US wanted it. "See, we really have all those missle silos. And we'll even open a few for you to confirm that they contain missiles." "See, we really have that much agricultural and industrial capability. Yes, we have the tractors and combines to get produce off the fields. Feel free to count them! And unlike you, we have the rail and road network to get the goods to market." "Take a good look. In any war, nuclear or conventional, you cannot win."
But long after the cold war ended, you can't tell the American people that Russian bombers were criss-crossing the US.
(The Russians and Americans are still doing reconnaissance overflights under the Treaty on Open Skies. But not using bombers.)
According to Wikipedia: Magnuson–Moss Warranty Act: Definitions used, the act is not limited to electronic devices. It's about "consumer products", "generally any tangible personal property for sale."
Here in Canada a decade ago a small group of Muslims called for court-recognized Islamic arbitration panels based on sharia law, that their own people could use. They were shouted down - marches even held to protest them - by a much, MUCH larger group of Muslims who had had enough of that crap in the old world and wanted no part of it here.
(The upshot: Someone pointed out that there were similar Jewish arbitration panels recognized by the Ontario government. Canadians went "Wait.... what?" and those were shut down.)
Traces of cocaine can be found on almost 80 percent of dollar bills. Other drugs, including morphine, heroin, methamphetamine and amphetamine, can also be found on bills, though less commonly than cocaine.
I think those field tests will be quite reliable. From the officers' point of view.
It did so, the court said, because the device is not in general use by the public, so Kyllo had an expectation of privacy, and because the imaging provided by the camera revealed details about Kyllo's home "that would previously have been unknowable without physical intrusion."
[...]
Kyllo's attorney, Kenneth Lerner, made a similar argument in court papers: "Technology that exploits invisible, sub-sensory phenomena ultimately fails to respect the traditional boundaries of society, and therefore leaves the population defenseless against such surveillance."
Even if we accept your surgery definition of "invasive" - as opposed to an invasion of privacy - the court would appear to disagree with you.
But the court said the Fourth Amendment was applicable since the search provided information regarding the home's interior that otherwise could not have been obtained without a physical intrusion.
I was working for "strip-mall type computer builders back in the days." While DOS and then Windows were usually included in pricing, we had no problem selling PCs without it. There was no shortage of valid reasons why a customer would want a PC without an OS, and it never caused problems.
Sure, larger companies could get OEM pricing in exchange for jumping through hoops, but no-one forced them to. It was no different from other industries.
The biggest pile of BS came from IBM. We lost PC sales because the IBM reps would tell them that ONLY a PS/2 would run OS/2, and that was the future of computers. The customer would walk away with a PS/2 Model 25 - which would *never* run OS/2 - with PC-DOS installed.
When I walked in to buy IBM PC-DOS 4.0 - just to try out - they made me sign a note promising that I wouldn't try to return it. Because everyone knew that ONLY a PS/2 could run DOS 4. (I opened the box, booted up their non-PS/2 display machine with it, and walked out.)
People tend to greatly exaggerate Microsoft's BS, while forgetting similar or worse BS from IBM, Apple and everyone else in the industry.
I'm honestly surprised (and happy) that we're not seeing more of this. "Chipped" oil filters, windshields, tires and whatnot based on precedents made where fewer people were paying attention, like "chipped" print cartridges.
I expected much of this to show up with the switch to electric cars. With "Electric car!" being the response to people complaining that they never had to put up with it before.
I suspect that Elon Musk has done us a big favor by not going down that path.
On the post: Comcast Prepares To Get Even Larger With Sky, Fox Acquisitions
Re: Re:
Controls the US, perhaps. But they're having the opposite effect in the rest of the world. If there's one thing Fox and Trump will be known for, it's eliminating US soft power.
On the post: Nike, Great Protectors Of IP, Found To Be Infringing On Copyright And Refusing To Pay After Software Audit
Re: Re: Re: You are so two weeks ago. Another re-write from Torrent Freak.
- Capt. Jack Sparrow
On the post: Nike, Great Protectors Of IP, Found To Be Infringing On Copyright And Refusing To Pay After Software Audit
At least they play fair on the tr...
..ack!
On the post: Romance Novelist Secures Trademark For Word 'Cocky,' Begins Beating Other Novelists Over The Head With It
If only our trademarks were made of glass how much more careful we would be when we threaten.
On the post: Former Judge Accuses Russia's IP Court Of Using Unlicensed Software
Re: Re: Devil's advocate
Not here in Canada.
An OEM copy of Office 2013 with a new computer was $210. Good for 10 years, or the life of the computer. $21/year.
Office 365 - with discounts - is $80/year, at least for the moment.
Naturally they've recently raised the price of non-subscription Office by $100.
Which is just one of the reasons why we forgo MS Office on most new PCs, and install Libre Office instead.
On the post: Cord Cutting Is The Obvious Result Of A 70% Spike In Cable TV Prices Since 2000
Re: Re: Re: Pulling a Wilson
On the post: Cord Cutting Is The Obvious Result Of A 70% Spike In Cable TV Prices Since 2000
Re:
Is Sarah Huckabee Sanders cosplay a thing now?
On the post: Louisiana Law Enforcement Has Been Abusing An Unconstitutional Law To Arrest People For Trying To File Complaints
I mention this in hope that one thing will lead to another, and a Louisiana politician has Ancestry.com charged with "intimidation of a public official."
On the post: China Outlaws Telling The Truth About Communist Party 'Heroes And Martyrs'
Re: Re: Re:
There's one that has long interested me about America. Not a secret, but not talked about either.
Canadian fighter jets used to shadow Russian long-range bombers coming over the pole. American fighters would take over at the US border. Hours later the bombers would return. Or not; presumably those continued on to Cuba.
They were set up for aerial reconnaissance, of course. And the US wanted it. "See, we really have all those missle silos. And we'll even open a few for you to confirm that they contain missiles." "See, we really have that much agricultural and industrial capability. Yes, we have the tractors and combines to get produce off the fields. Feel free to count them! And unlike you, we have the rail and road network to get the goods to market." "Take a good look. In any war, nuclear or conventional, you cannot win."
But long after the cold war ended, you can't tell the American people that Russian bombers were criss-crossing the US.
(The Russians and Americans are still doing reconnaissance overflights under the Treaty on Open Skies. But not using bombers.)
On the post: China Outlaws Telling The Truth About Communist Party 'Heroes And Martyrs'
No, this is a prime example of Frank Herbert's version:
On the post: FTC Calls Out Nintendo, Microsoft, And Sony For Their Illegal 'Warranty Void If Removed' Stickers
According to Wikipedia: Magnuson–Moss Warranty Act: Definitions used, the act is not limited to electronic devices. It's about "consumer products", "generally any tangible personal property for sale."
That sounds like it would include software.
So if a DRM scheme bogs down a game with two million triggers in thirty minutes of gameplay, NOW are you legally entitled to fix it?
On the post: Malaysian 'Fake News' Law Claims Its First Victim
Re:
We had 50 years of Mutual Assured Destruction with Russia. Now there's a new arrangement.
China and Russia were known for totalitarian communism, while in the US it was democracy, capitalism and citizens' rights.
They've apparently agreed to meet half-way at authoritarian capitalism.
On the post: Malaysian 'Fake News' Law Claims Its First Victim
Re: Re: Re: Re: Fake News
(The upshot: Someone pointed out that there were similar Jewish arbitration panels recognized by the Ontario government. Canadians went "Wait.... what?" and those were shut down.)
On the post: Malaysian 'Fake News' Law Claims Its First Victim
Re:
On the post: Device Detects Drug Use Through Fingerprints, Raising A Host Of Constitutional Questions
Re:
According to CNN:
I think those field tests will be quite reliable. From the officers' point of view.
On the post: Device Detects Drug Use Through Fingerprints, Raising A Host Of Constitutional Questions
Re:
Word games.
A more relevant case would be police use of thermal imaging cameras to scan peoples' homes for grow-op lamps.
The Supreme Court ruled that no, they can't do that.
Even if we accept your surgery definition of "invasive" - as opposed to an invasion of privacy - the court would appear to disagree with you.
On the post: Device Detects Drug Use Through Fingerprints, Raising A Host Of Constitutional Questions
Citizen: "It was probably the bagel I had."
Cop: "...and cocaine, marijuana, steroids, other drugs, and also you're pregnant."
Citizen: "It was an everything bagel."
On the post: Microsoft Defends Putting A Computer Recycler In Jail With Misleading Statement
Re: protection racket
I was working for "strip-mall type computer builders back in the days." While DOS and then Windows were usually included in pricing, we had no problem selling PCs without it. There was no shortage of valid reasons why a customer would want a PC without an OS, and it never caused problems.
Sure, larger companies could get OEM pricing in exchange for jumping through hoops, but no-one forced them to. It was no different from other industries.
The biggest pile of BS came from IBM. We lost PC sales because the IBM reps would tell them that ONLY a PS/2 would run OS/2, and that was the future of computers. The customer would walk away with a PS/2 Model 25 - which would *never* run OS/2 - with PC-DOS installed.
When I walked in to buy IBM PC-DOS 4.0 - just to try out - they made me sign a note promising that I wouldn't try to return it. Because everyone knew that ONLY a PS/2 could run DOS 4. (I opened the box, booted up their non-PS/2 display machine with it, and walked out.)
People tend to greatly exaggerate Microsoft's BS, while forgetting similar or worse BS from IBM, Apple and everyone else in the industry.
On the post: Student Loan Lenders Created A Fake Person Whose Points Were Uncritically Repeated By Numerous News Outlets
Re: Re: tl;dr
Four years later, traditional Republicans were being tarred and feathered as RINOs by Tea Party candidates.
On the post: Epic Decides To Double Down On Copyright For Cheating Lawsuit Against 14 Year Old By Taking On Mom
Re: Re: Re: Re: Copyright
I expected much of this to show up with the switch to electric cars. With "Electric car!" being the response to people complaining that they never had to put up with it before.
I suspect that Elon Musk has done us a big favor by not going down that path.
Next >>