Shout out, of course, to old Mr. Gillette, who used to give away the razors to keep the suckers coming back to buy blades...
I used to seethe every time my Canon laser printer harassed me about aftermarket/remanufactured toner cartridges... no less annoying than the inkjet thing. And then I realized how crappy the cheap cartridges had been making the print look -- streaky, dirty and all the rest. Not the self-righteous outcome I would have hoped for. Luckily, my move to full-price media coincided with a drastic drop in paper printing, and I'm resigned to buying a new set once a year.
Can't wait to see the next reportable set of statistics: when streaming platforms' uptake is besieged by programming fragmentation. We've seen it in our household... hooked on a favorite (bingeable) series, only to find that the license is yanked from that service and moved to another. Do we follow? Reject the old one, or keep it? We've probably seen it a half dozen times, and it's not a new phenomenon -- probably over the last three years, but getting way more common. And have I added subscriptions for every new service my favs have migrated to? Of course not... I'd be back in the cable TV "triple play" price range in a heartbeat. And last week, the new Paramount service pulled all extant licenses for any flavor of Star Trek, consolidated now under their premium-priced roof. Will they (and others) see pushback? Will I have to pull out some old standard-def DVD's?
"I knew by this point that I wanted to write this down somewhere."
Knowing, or even suspecting, that a stated fact isn't factual can end in frustration. I've wanted to correct a handful of inaccurate Wikipedia entries, for instance, but doing that would run afoul of the citation requirement... no one ever made an on-the-record recitation of the fact I knew so well, sometimes even firsthand. That might be one of the few practical justifications for maintaining a vanity blog... not because you think anyone, anywhere might read it, but at least you can cite your own words elsewhere.
No such content moderation worries for another group of textile-affinity hobbyists: the "Tiny Pricks Project" created a worldwide group of embroiderers who, presumably using tiny pricks, added inane quotes from The Orange One and his henchman to vintage pieces of embroidery they'd found at tag sales and thrift shops. At times, new submissions appeared within the hour of their utterance, mostly on Instagram... crafters working overtime to soothe their collective outrage.
Newegg made their money off this the old-fashioned way: I've been a loyal Newegg customer since the day I learned they were fighting the shopping cart patent troll.
"In the period since Apple removed the Parler app from the App Store, Apple’s App Review Team has engaged in substantial conversations with Parler..."
... which probably means no other developer has had a single moment of Apple's time, and apps are backlogged. Nothing like a good Congressional Inquiry to gum up the works.
Corporations are people, too, they say... except for when they're something else; and when a stupid person says bad things that make his corporation look bad, is he doing harm to himself, or to his citizen-corporation, or both? And who has standing to demand recompense... the human offender, or the tarnished citizen-corporation? It's beyond talking out of both sides of your mouth; more like both ends of your alimentary canal...
There was a splashy article yesterday that said that Alan Dershowitz, lawyer-name-for-hire, was "of counsel" on this, and helping them sort out "First Amendment issues". Which fits just fine.
Attention, L3 Harris customers... buy a new Stingray setup, and get 10 free iPhone cracks! Of course they were bought by Harris; hope Mark Dowd is relaxing every day on Bondi Beach with an oilcan of Foster's.
And so... how do we all feel about the prospects under Acting Chairwoman Rosenworcel? At least she's not a revolving-door alumna of a telecom giant, like the last slug.
Right now, in some dank corner of North Carolina, or maybe the Dakotas, there's at least one pea-brained Q militia member furiously Googling "drawn and quartered", and looking up Krebs' address.
The larger irony is undeniable: an Administration with a single-minded goal of removing all regulations and restrictions is seeking... to add regulations and restrictions. But one voice has been conspicuously absent in all this -- the Commish himself, Ajit Pai. He may be many dastardly things (as we all have noted, almost gleefully), but something seems to have him stopping short of trashing the First Amendment. Is it his law degree? His oath? Some inherent-but-invisible sense of honor? No real matter; but this is one bandwagon he won't jump on, despite multiple invitations, and it remains to be seen if he'll get called out for it.
On the post: The Josh Hawley Mug: It Makes Him An Asshole, But Shouldn't Make Him A Copyright Infringer
Re:
How about one of those "invisible" thermal overprints... the arm doesn't hit full "sieg" azimuth until you fill the mug with a hot liquid...
On the post: Chip Shortage Forces Canon To Issue Workarounds For Its Own Obnoxious DRM
Shout out, of course, to old Mr. Gillette, who used to give away the razors to keep the suckers coming back to buy blades...
I used to seethe every time my Canon laser printer harassed me about aftermarket/remanufactured toner cartridges... no less annoying than the inkjet thing. And then I realized how crappy the cheap cartridges had been making the print look -- streaky, dirty and all the rest. Not the self-righteous outcome I would have hoped for. Luckily, my move to full-price media coincided with a drastic drop in paper printing, and I'm resigned to buying a new set once a year.
On the post: Cable TV Cord Cutting Continues To Set Records, Though Streaming TV Is Slowing Down Too
Next wave?
Can't wait to see the next reportable set of statistics: when streaming platforms' uptake is besieged by programming fragmentation. We've seen it in our household... hooked on a favorite (bingeable) series, only to find that the license is yanked from that service and moved to another. Do we follow? Reject the old one, or keep it? We've probably seen it a half dozen times, and it's not a new phenomenon -- probably over the last three years, but getting way more common. And have I added subscriptions for every new service my favs have migrated to? Of course not... I'd be back in the cable TV "triple play" price range in a heartbeat. And last week, the new Paramount service pulled all extant licenses for any flavor of Star Trek, consolidated now under their premium-priced roof. Will they (and others) see pushback? Will I have to pull out some old standard-def DVD's?
On the post: Misquoting Einstein Is Fast And Stupid, But Not Accurate
Cite me, please
"I knew by this point that I wanted to write this down somewhere."
Knowing, or even suspecting, that a stated fact isn't factual can end in frustration. I've wanted to correct a handful of inaccurate Wikipedia entries, for instance, but doing that would run afoul of the citation requirement... no one ever made an on-the-record recitation of the fact I knew so well, sometimes even firsthand. That might be one of the few practical justifications for maintaining a vanity blog... not because you think anyone, anywhere might read it, but at least you can cite your own words elsewhere.
On the post: Miami Beach PD Blocks Enforcement Of New Law Miami Beach Cops Abused To Arrest People For Filming Them
I think "vague laws" deserves its own tab on the Techdirt masthead... would fill up pretty quickly.
On the post: A Guy Walks Into A Bra
I need to read things more carefully
"...In the twenty-odd years since that dinner bra manufacturers did eventually..."
(Runs to Google to look up "dinner bra"... man, I knew they were specialized, but I can't imagine what you'd do differently...)
On the post: After Multiple Reports Of DOJ Targeting Journalists' Communications, The DOJ Finally Says It Will Stop Targeting Journalists
Hmmm... while the DOJ is still flush with proclaimed enlightenment and good intentions, can we drop the crusade for embedded backdoors?
On the post: Content Moderation Case Study: Knitting Community Ravelry Bans All Talk Supporting President Trump (2019)
No such content moderation worries for another group of textile-affinity hobbyists: the "Tiny Pricks Project" created a worldwide group of embroiderers who, presumably using tiny pricks, added inane quotes from The Orange One and his henchman to vintage pieces of embroidery they'd found at tag sales and thrift shops. At times, new submissions appeared within the hour of their utterance, mostly on Instagram... crafters working overtime to soothe their collective outrage.
On the post: Patent Troll Sable Networks Apparently Needs To Learn A Lesson: Cloudflare Wants To Destroy Another Troll
Re: Missed opportunity?
Newegg made their money off this the old-fashioned way: I've been a loyal Newegg customer since the day I learned they were fighting the shopping cart patent troll.
On the post: Apple Tells Congress That It Will Reallow Parler's App In The App Store, Now That It Has A Moderation Plan In Place
"In the period since Apple removed the Parler app from the App Store, Apple’s App Review Team has engaged in substantial conversations with Parler..."
... which probably means no other developer has had a single moment of Apple's time, and apps are backlogged. Nothing like a good Congressional Inquiry to gum up the works.
On the post: MyPillow CEO Sues Dominion For Violating His Company's Right To Say The Things About Election Fraud It Definitely Isn't Saying
Blame Citizens United
Corporations are people, too, they say... except for when they're something else; and when a stupid person says bad things that make his corporation look bad, is he doing harm to himself, or to his citizen-corporation, or both? And who has standing to demand recompense... the human offender, or the tarnished citizen-corporation? It's beyond talking out of both sides of your mouth; more like both ends of your alimentary canal...
On the post: MyPillow CEO Sues Dominion For Violating His Company's Right To Say The Things About Election Fraud It Definitely Isn't Saying
Re: Who's filing these?
There was a splashy article yesterday that said that Alan Dershowitz, lawyer-name-for-hire, was "of counsel" on this, and helping them sort out "First Amendment issues". Which fits just fine.
On the post: Small Australian Company Cracked The San Bernardino Shooter's IPhone For The FBI
Attention, L3 Harris customers... buy a new Stingray setup, and get 10 free iPhone cracks! Of course they were bought by Harris; hope Mark Dowd is relaxing every day on Bondi Beach with an oilcan of Foster's.
On the post: US Press Continues To Pretend The 'Digital Divide' Just Mysteriously Appeared One Day
Re:
Or, if you're a lobbyist, something went right.
On the post: Another Report Shows US Consumers Don't Get The Broadband Speeds They Pay For
And so... how do we all feel about the prospects under Acting Chairwoman Rosenworcel? At least she's not a revolving-door alumna of a telecom giant, like the last slug.
On the post: Utter Insanity: Trump Lawyer Suggests Former Trump Cybersecurity Official Should Be 'Taken Out And Shot' For Saying The Election Was Secure
Right now, in some dank corner of North Carolina, or maybe the Dakotas, there's at least one pea-brained Q militia member furiously Googling "drawn and quartered", and looking up Krebs' address.
On the post: Trump Campaign Gets Laughed Out Of Court For Claiming A Bunch Of Unvetted Webform Submissions Is 'Evidence' Of Voter Fraud
Re: Re: Re:
It's the typos that make it look so authentic.
On the post: Trump Campaign Gets Laughed Out Of Court For Claiming A Bunch Of Unvetted Webform Submissions Is 'Evidence' Of Voter Fraud
Re:
A modern-day "between a rock and a hard place".
On the post: Over At Politico, The AT&T Monopoly Gives Tips On Fixing A Broadband Problem It Spent Thirty Years Creating
Standby for "helpful" legislation from Sen. Marsha Blackburn in 3... 2... 1...
On the post: Apparently The New Litmus Test For Trump's FCC: Do You Promise To Police Speech Online
He can't fire them all... we think...
The larger irony is undeniable: an Administration with a single-minded goal of removing all regulations and restrictions is seeking... to add regulations and restrictions. But one voice has been conspicuously absent in all this -- the Commish himself, Ajit Pai. He may be many dastardly things (as we all have noted, almost gleefully), but something seems to have him stopping short of trashing the First Amendment. Is it his law degree? His oath? Some inherent-but-invisible sense of honor? No real matter; but this is one bandwagon he won't jump on, despite multiple invitations, and it remains to be seen if he'll get called out for it.
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