Magill’s Comments

• Apr 22nd, 2014 @ 10:19am

  (untitled comment)

  on NY Times Changes Its Tune On TPP; Highlights Cronyism, Lack Of Transparency As Problems
  "Mr. Obama and Mr. Froman argue that their critics have misunderstood or misrepresented their intentions. "
  
  Well yeah, when you won't explain your intentions claiming they are "secret," anyone can assign ANY intention -- evil or positive to your actions. Duh!
• Aug 30th, 2013 @ 11:27am

  Link between MPAA and the so-called Syrian Electronic Army?

  on Syrian Electronic Army 'Hack' Of The NYTimes Was The Exact Remedy MPAA Demanded With SOPA
  One wonders what the link is between the so-called Syrian Electronic Army and the MPAA...
  
  It seems "convenient" that this was an attack orchestrated in response to some possible military activity by the US Government against Syria... It seems much more likely that it was an attack orchestrated by the MPAA and its co-conspiritors behind SOPA hiding behind a "front page name" organization.
  
  Cynical... who me?
• Jul 12th, 2013 @ 8:09am

  Typical collusion

  on Prenda Fails To Pay Filing Fee For Appeal, Now Owes $9,425 In Legal Fees
  This is typical collusion between the Courts and Lawyers.... "The firm" is being pursued for the monies owed -- NOT the Lawyer responsible for the debt, or in this case the criminal activity. Yeah, I know the courts don't consider such activity criminal, and will NEVER consider going after another Lawyer to collect the monies owed to the Public... but then all Judges are Lawyers themselves.
• Jun 21st, 2013 @ 8:52am

  (untitled comment)

  on Study: Gamers Better, Faster At Interpreting Visual Input
  One wonders if any of the previous commenters have ever played ANY game, video or otherwise?
• Jun 16th, 2013 @ 9:43am

  Prism may be new.. but the "pipe" is not

  on NSA's Favorite Techdirt Posts Of The Week
  As recent investigative reporting the AP points out ... (and which many of us in the Networking business have known about since the 1970s! ... remember, the Internet used to be called the ARPAnet!)
  
  "Americans who disapprove of the government reading their emails have more to worry about from a different and larger NSA effort that snatches data as it passes through the fiber optic cables that make up the Internet’s backbone. That program, which has been known for years, copies Internet traffic as it enters and leaves the United States, then routes it to the NSA for analysis."
  
  PRISM may "focus" the data stream into many independent feeds, but the "bulk feed" has been in place for a long time. And when you consider how "dirt cheep" Terrabyte disk drives are today...
• Jun 10th, 2013 @ 7:43am

  Re: I doubt most care

  on The Real Scandal: Not That The NSA Broke The Law In Vast Spying, But That It Probably Didn't
  This is a generational thing.
  
  Your mom says "good" because she doesn't use the Internet. She only calls her relatives on the telephone, and maybe her hairdresser.
• Jun 10th, 2013 @ 7:39am

  Re: Legal != Ethical

  on The Real Scandal: Not That The NSA Broke The Law In Vast Spying, But That It Probably Didn't
  People need to remember -- the "Law" is a "technical system." It is neither Moral nor Ethical. Such consideration have no place in "the letter of the law." Judges routinely instruct jurors to ignore "personal opinions" and to only believe what the Judge, and the Lawyers for the Defence or Prosecution tell them is true. It's called "Instructing the Jury."
• Oct 5th, 2011 @ 11:14am

  Siri vs Knowledge Navigator (as William H. Magill)

  on Did Apple Spill The Beans On Its New Voice Assistant Product 24 Years Ago?
  The usefulness of Siri is NOT on the iPhone.... it is on the IPad. It DOES become much of what we were treated to with the Knowledge Navigator.
  
  To those of us who were in the CIS/AI business back in 1987, Knowledge navigator was clearly a goal to strive for. Back then the ARPAnet was not yet the Internet as we know it today. .. and Wireless... purely a dream. There are still things to be done to realize Knowledge Navigator, but we ARE getting closer.