Not an Electronic Rodent (profile), 29 Dec 2012 @ 8:14am
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to those who weren't elected but continue to operate as if it was the Bush family still in office
From this side of the pond that's an optimistic understatement - the bush administration looked more transparent than the current one. Obama looks more and more like the US equivlent of Tony Blair - a used car salesman who promises one thing with a winning smile when the reality of what he's delivering is wholly different and far more dissapointing.
Not an Electronic Rodent (profile), 27 Dec 2012 @ 9:32am
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It's sad, really.Compared to being sad enough to troll the person you imagine day in and day out? You're now getting to the stage of being Aqua's Barbi Girl - a tune that was annoying and pointless the first time you heard it but now, by dint of being everywhere all the time, has become meaningless noise as well as being so agravating you'd be tempted to grab the nearest heavy object to hand if you ever saw one of the performers.
Not an Electronic Rodent (profile), 27 Dec 2012 @ 9:20am
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who's compiling a database of swarm IP's that these are being run against
If you follow the linked-back article, the answer appears to be:
The folks over at TorrentFreak teamed up with BitTorrent monitoring firm Scaneye to look and see if files being shared via BitTorrent happened to be coming from some IP addresses held by the big Hollywood studios
So your answer is "The BitTorrent monitoring firm, Scaneye."
Not an Electronic Rodent (profile), 26 Dec 2012 @ 10:30am
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If the VCR hadn't come out, surely another home video player would have with movies supplied by the studios.
Well I suppose it makes a change that you haven't picked a pointless and pedantic legal issue to argue about, but other than that it's your usual M.O.
The point is not the VCR as you well know and picking on that in a post about how film revenue and attendace are going up while the studios are whining about how "piracy is KILLING their business" looks rather petty.
The VCR is, however, a prime example that the legacy content industies try and block every technical innovation that comes along that might force them to adapt their business model even slightly and how they scream it's going to spell doom, Doom, DOOOOOM for the industry.
As for "video player" versus recorder, you're just playing your usual picky semantic games. Technology advances and even if it it had been the VCP that was invented first, the VCR would inevitably have followed a couple of years later just as the CDR followed the CD, the DVD-R the DVD. For every recorded medium there must b e the technology to record onto it and that technology will eventually be cheap enough for consumers no matter how expensive to start.
So hollywood would have whined about the VCR whenever it was invented and as always it's them trying to control what other legitimate businesses get to do.
Not an Electronic Rodent (profile), 21 Dec 2012 @ 4:03pm
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In order to make the pictures and icons pretty, they needed better components to process the information
Wasn't really talking about those bits - the phone I had at the time was better for both anyway - I was talking about the piece of equipment it they were displayed on. The processing apple used was little different from other manufacturers at the time. As for the pictures, well:
The iPhone wasn't just a phone, it was an MP3 and Video player as well when it came out.
As was the phone I had before the iPhone came out, as well as playing more formats than the iPhone. Also the screen res was better though admittedly the sound wasn't as good, though you'd hope apple would be good at that really...
No other phone was doing that in any simpler way when the iPhone came out.
True - focussing on the word "simpler" at least. Apple's major strengh is in ergonomics not technology - they make things that are good for humans to use. It doesn't mean the technology is superior, in fact usually their improvements are incremental at best and simple re-packaging at "worst". This is not neccesasrily a bad thing - ergonomics are as important as any other piece of a phone - though in many cases they then claim ownership of something they ripped off someone else and "tweaked", which annoys the hell out of me (the famous "rounded corners" being somwehat of an example).
The OS for iPhone is indeed slightly slicker than rivals, though from memory the first version sucked by comparison with the phone I had at the time. That's nothing to do with technology or expertise though, that's what happens when you have a walled garden and dictate as strictly as Apple do. Allowing for compatibility slows things down. Me, I choose a minor speed loss and wide compatibilty over being tied in every time, though that's personal choice.
Not an Electronic Rodent (profile), 21 Dec 2012 @ 6:13am
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No, Apple did not invent the smart phone. They just made a solid one.
Indeed they didn't. I was on my hmm... 3rd generation I think of HTC smartphone when the first iPhone was released. The phone I'd had for about 4-5 months at the time was IMO superior to the original iPhone in most ways and for most uses and at least 3 times better as a business phone instead of a toy.
they just raised the bar a little for the industry.
If you mean "made smartphones prettier" then yes, if you mean "drove design towards slimmer and lighter" then yes (I believe the one I had at the time was probably pre-competing with the iPhone - or possibly Apple copied its design as the 2 looked remarkably similar overall), other than that it's a bit tenuous... as usual Apple largely took what was already around and re-arranged it a bit.
Not an Electronic Rodent (profile), 20 Dec 2012 @ 11:20am
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It's only going to get worse. Bubble wrap the planet.
That'll happen shortly after the family of a guy killed by a falling meteorite successfully sue the US Bureau of Labour Statistics for a trillion dollars because they have the word "statistics" in the title and "everyone knows" it's statistically impossible to be hit by a falling meteorite...
Not an Electronic Rodent (profile), 20 Dec 2012 @ 10:57am
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It's long been buried under draconian and strangling IP protection laws. The irony.
Yeah, but on the up-side(!) they're now holding as many other nations as they can at gunpoint to try and drag them down to the same staid level. If they succeed it'll then be the most innovative nation again without having to change anything!
Not an Electronic Rodent (profile), 19 Dec 2012 @ 2:29pm
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To be fair, the majority of "accidents," be it car, firearm, ladder or other, are caused by either negligence or complacence.
That's my point - you hang the word "negligence" on an accident and all of a sudden there's $$$ signs attached. People are stupid some of the time and that's when accidents happen... but because there's money involved we seem to try and pretend that things can be perfect and that less than perfect has to be someone's fault.
Health and safety works the same way in reverse for the same reason - we're now so afraid of being held financially responsible for something we won't let people be responsible for themselves. As a minor and silly example, I always laugh at the signs at swimming pools that say "No diving" unless they're about 12'/3m deep or better. "You might hit your head on the bottom" they say and the attendant's get all up in arms if you dive to start a length. Well, I can make that decision for myself as I've been swimming all my life and know I can sucessfully and safely dive into about 2' of water so 4' will do just fine thanks. Neither would I consider it reasonable to sue the swimming pool assuming they've posted enough information (i.e. depth) to make my own damn decision if i did crack my head open but I don't get to make that decision for myself do I? This is the pattern of our lives now...
Not an Electronic Rodent (profile), 19 Dec 2012 @ 11:36am
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Because actually blaming people for their actions, instead of shifting the blame elsewhere, isn't something society at large likes to do, or even consider.
Indeed, ever increasingly it seems both the US and the UK slavishly following as usual have managed to manufacture societies in which one is not responsible for one's own actions.
There's no such thing as a personal choice, there's no such thing as an accident, someone else always has to be blamed. Me, I think that personal injury law and its close cousin health and safety law is part of the root of this. We seem to have lost any sane definition of the line between direct cause and contributing factor and it seems to me it's mostly to do with beign able to extract money from people or companies.
Not an Electronic Rodent (profile), 18 Dec 2012 @ 12:38pm
Re: Re: Steganography
I believe that the biggest factors are how easy it is to do and how remote any serious consequences are.
The very definition of "Stuck in the present".
If it ever becomes an issue where it is needed to "hide" encrypted data in a manner like this, the nature of the internet makes this certain:
Within months at the outside there will be 4 dozen apps, 2 dozen of which will be freeware, that present a handy, idiot-proof GUI to do exactly this.
There's already many to "hide" encrypted data in other encrypted data if you want to and you can even do it for free using nice user-friendly step-by-step instructions if you want. What makes you think it would be any harder to do for Steganography? Right now no-one cares to write a mainstream one, change the law on encryption and that will change.
Not an Electronic Rodent (profile), 18 Dec 2012 @ 10:47am
He seriously said that?
“the wrong people talking to the right people.”
- Todd Reeves
That can be read one of 2 ways as far as I can see:
The non-corrupt but disgustingly cynical version - "We can't possibly let them hear any conflicting opinions because these people are sheep and can't be trusted to do what we believe is right if they have to make an actual decision"
Or the corrupt and almost equally cynical version - "If they hear a conflicting opinion that makes more sense than our bullshit they might not decide for us no matter how much we bri... uh... help them with fact-finding trips"
Not an Electronic Rodent (profile), 15 Dec 2012 @ 3:21am
Alternatively...
one driven by countries who believe the internet should be more open and free... and one driven by the opposite.
Or that could be read as "One driven by countries who like the control where it is and want to expand it in their own way for their own ends and one by those that want to get their noses in the trough....."
Not an Electronic Rodent (profile), 6 Dec 2012 @ 9:12am
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There's really nothing the UN or ITU can do if the US says NO. What can they do?
Much though I detest with every fibre of my being the idea of the ITU being "in charge" of the internet, it's quotes like this that make me wonder if the inevitable cluster-f*ck that would ensue would be better than the current situation with the US as de-facto "chief" of the internet by dint of being the biggest bully in the playground. Most times you see a US politician in a global debate, they sound very much like you did there.
On the post: Prenda Lawyer Claims Judge 'Abhors' Copyright Holders After Judge Becomes Curious About Who Alan Cooper Really Is
Re: Re: Re: Porn copyright
On the post: White House Responses To 'We The People' Petitions Slowing To A Hand-Picked Crawl Of Canned Responses
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On the post: DOJ Taking Down Sites For Infringement... While Infringing Content Is Available Via Its Own Network
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On the post: DOJ Taking Down Sites For Infringement... While Infringing Content Is Available Via Its Own Network
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So your answer is "The BitTorrent monitoring firm, Scaneye."
On the post: And, Once Again, Hollywood Is Making Tons Of Money At The Box Office
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The point is not the VCR as you well know and picking on that in a post about how film revenue and attendace are going up while the studios are whining about how "piracy is KILLING their business" looks rather petty.
The VCR is, however, a prime example that the legacy content industies try and block every technical innovation that comes along that might force them to adapt their business model even slightly and how they scream it's going to spell doom, Doom, DOOOOOM for the industry.
As for "video player" versus recorder, you're just playing your usual picky semantic games. Technology advances and even if it it had been the VCP that was invented first, the VCR would inevitably have followed a couple of years later just as the CDR followed the CD, the DVD-R the DVD. For every recorded medium there must b e the technology to record onto it and that technology will eventually be cheap enough for consumers no matter how expensive to start.
So hollywood would have whined about the VCR whenever it was invented and as always it's them trying to control what other legitimate businesses get to do.
On the post: Here We Go Again: Apple's Pinch-To-Zoom Patent Rejected On Re-Exam
Re: Re: Re: Re:
The OS for iPhone is indeed slightly slicker than rivals, though from memory the first version sucked by comparison with the phone I had at the time. That's nothing to do with technology or expertise though, that's what happens when you have a walled garden and dictate as strictly as Apple do. Allowing for compatibility slows things down. Me, I choose a minor speed loss and wide compatibilty over being tied in every time, though that's personal choice.
On the post: Here We Go Again: Apple's Pinch-To-Zoom Patent Rejected On Re-Exam
Re: Re:
On the post: The Fastest Growing Emerging Economies Are Also Those With The Weakest IP Laws
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
On the post: UK Pirate Party Pressured Into Taking Down Proxy... Leading To Other Proxies Opening Up
Too long
"Well... Duh!"
On the post: NRA's Plan: If We Blame Video Games & Movies For Sandy Hook Massacre, Perhaps People Will Stop Blaming Guns
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
On the post: The Fastest Growing Emerging Economies Are Also Those With The Weakest IP Laws
Re: Re: Re:
On the post: NRA's Plan: If We Blame Video Games & Movies For Sandy Hook Massacre, Perhaps People Will Stop Blaming Guns
Re: Re: Re: Re:
Health and safety works the same way in reverse for the same reason - we're now so afraid of being held financially responsible for something we won't let people be responsible for themselves. As a minor and silly example, I always laugh at the signs at swimming pools that say "No diving" unless they're about 12'/3m deep or better. "You might hit your head on the bottom" they say and the attendant's get all up in arms if you dive to start a length. Well, I can make that decision for myself as I've been swimming all my life and know I can sucessfully and safely dive into about 2' of water so 4' will do just fine thanks. Neither would I consider it reasonable to sue the swimming pool assuming they've posted enough information (i.e. depth) to make my own damn decision if i did crack my head open but I don't get to make that decision for myself do I? This is the pattern of our lives now...
On the post: NRA's Plan: If We Blame Video Games & Movies For Sandy Hook Massacre, Perhaps People Will Stop Blaming Guns
Re: Re:
There's no such thing as a personal choice, there's no such thing as an accident, someone else always has to be blamed. Me, I think that personal injury law and its close cousin health and safety law is part of the root of this. We seem to have lost any sane definition of the line between direct cause and contributing factor and it seems to me it's mostly to do with beign able to extract money from people or companies.
On the post: China Tries To Block Encrypted Traffic
Re: Re: Steganography
If it ever becomes an issue where it is needed to "hide" encrypted data in a manner like this, the nature of the internet makes this certain:
Within months at the outside there will be 4 dozen apps, 2 dozen of which will be freeware, that present a handy, idiot-proof GUI to do exactly this.
There's already many to "hide" encrypted data in other encrypted data if you want to and you can even do it for free using nice user-friendly step-by-step instructions if you want. What makes you think it would be any harder to do for Steganography? Right now no-one cares to write a mainstream one, change the law on encryption and that will change.
On the post: IP Diplomat Sob Story: It's Hard To Push The US Agenda When The World Listens To Reason
He seriously said that?
The non-corrupt but disgustingly cynical version - "We can't possibly let them hear any conflicting opinions because these people are sheep and can't be trusted to do what we believe is right if they have to make an actual decision"
Or the corrupt and almost equally cynical version - "If they hear a conflicting opinion that makes more sense than our bullshit they might not decide for us no matter how much we bri... uh... help them with fact-finding trips"
I know which my money's on...
On the post: Who Signed The ITU WCIT Treaty... And Who Didn't
Alternatively...
On the post: Appeals Court Holds Firm: The Government Cannot Be Sued For Violating Its Own Wiretapping Laws
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On the post: Appeals Court Holds Firm: The Government Cannot Be Sued For Violating Its Own Wiretapping Laws
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On the post: MPAA To Aussies: Obey US Created Copyright Rules! But Don't Even Think About Importing Fair Use
Re: Re: Not clever enough sneering to sell me.
On the post: No Surprise Here: Congress Passes Unanimous Resolution Telling The ITU: Hands Off The Internet
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