Latest Techdirt Comments http://www.techdirt.com/ Easily digestible tech news.... See http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130619/10213023529/fbi-admits-to-using-drones-to-spy-americans.shtml#c627 Wed, 19 Jun 2013 15:11:45 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130619/10213023529/fbi-admits-to-using-drones-to-spy-americans.shtml#c627 See http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130613/02025423448/company-claims-patent-pop-up-ads-sues-porn-travel-companies.shtml#c247 Wed, 19 Jun 2013 15:10:59 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130613/02025423448/company-claims-patent-pop-up-ads-sues-porn-travel-companies.shtml#c247 See http://www.techdirt.com/blog/innovation/articles/20130619/10395523531/next-time-someone-says-twitter-is-killing-deep-thinking-with-short-quick-messages-show-them-this.shtml#c370 Wed, 19 Jun 2013 15:08:40 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/blog/innovation/articles/20130619/10395523531/next-time-someone-says-twitter-is-killing-deep-thinking-with-short-quick-messages-show-them-this.shtml#c370 Re: http://www.techdirt.com/blog/innovation/articles/20130619/10395523531/next-time-someone-says-twitter-is-killing-deep-thinking-with-short-quick-messages-show-them-this.shtml#c348 Wed, 19 Jun 2013 15:07:53 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/blog/innovation/articles/20130619/10395523531/next-time-someone-says-twitter-is-killing-deep-thinking-with-short-quick-messages-show-them-this.shtml#c348
The only thing that is accelerating is the number of laws. 20 years ago politicians wrote laws, 10 years ago you needed a few pHds to scan for compliance with other laws. Today you need a larger department to researh where it is possible to make changes to laws, while new laws are written by lobbyists/interested parties.

Since it is almost impossible for politicians to change laws, they prefer adding new ones and because of the increased rights of companies it has become a very lucrative deal for government contractors to write new laws.]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130619/13581923535/microsoft-capitulates-removes-online-drm-xbox-one.shtml#c178 Wed, 19 Jun 2013 15:07:06 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130619/13581923535/microsoft-capitulates-removes-online-drm-xbox-one.shtml#c178
Also, I expect very gradual creeping-in of the DRM. Everything might be okay for now, but I strongly suspect the DRM software will be on the Xbox One just waiting.

And I have always had this suspicion with Sony.

And do I even have to mention iTunes? Or even Steam?

Any software that demands too much online connectivity I shall regard as suspect.]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130619/13581923535/microsoft-capitulates-removes-online-drm-xbox-one.shtml#c168 Wed, 19 Jun 2013 15:06:39 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130619/13581923535/microsoft-capitulates-removes-online-drm-xbox-one.shtml#c168
YET ANOTHER UPDATE (5:24 Eastern): Microsoft has confirmed to Kotaku that the "family sharing" and digital cloud library access features that were planned to be in the Xbox One are indeed gone thanks to today's policy reversal. Xbox one users will also apparently have to download a "Day One" patch to enable the offline mode.


http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2013/06/rumor-microsoft-set-to-reverse-controversial-game-licensing-policies/

I can't open the Kotaku article at work, but the URL is here:

http://kotaku.com/surprise-xbox-one-drm-reversal-requires-day-one-patch-514419715?rev=1371676969]]> See http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130619/13581923535/microsoft-capitulates-removes-online-drm-xbox-one.shtml#c160 Wed, 19 Jun 2013 15:06:05 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130619/13581923535/microsoft-capitulates-removes-online-drm-xbox-one.shtml#c160 www.kep2.cℴm]]> Re: Re: Lots of room to debate drones http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130619/10213023529/fbi-admits-to-using-drones-to-spy-americans.shtml#c618 Wed, 19 Jun 2013 14:59:00 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130619/10213023529/fbi-admits-to-using-drones-to-spy-americans.shtml#c618 Under
Drones:
Death,
Injury, and
Trauma to
Civilians...civilians should be changed to "Everyone".]]> They listened to consumers http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130619/13581923535/microsoft-capitulates-removes-online-drm-xbox-one.shtml#c158 Wed, 19 Jun 2013 14:57:47 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130619/13581923535/microsoft-capitulates-removes-online-drm-xbox-one.shtml#c158
This seems like a very good thing and Microsoft should be applauded to shifting to a better model and listening to their customers.]]> Re: Re: Re: Re: http://www.techdirt.com/blog/innovation/articles/20130619/10395523531/next-time-someone-says-twitter-is-killing-deep-thinking-with-short-quick-messages-show-them-this.shtml#c343 Wed, 19 Jun 2013 14:55:55 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/blog/innovation/articles/20130619/10395523531/next-time-someone-says-twitter-is-killing-deep-thinking-with-short-quick-messages-show-them-this.shtml#c343
The key word is independently. If some Amazonian tribal guy with no education to speak of wrote a book about how he independently discovered some new mathematical model that is really just calculus as we understand it, nobody would care, even though he would need the same mental genius as Newton. In fact, this happened. See Leibniz. We don't judge people for how smart they are. We judge them by how novel they are. Newton did it first, therefore he is a genius. Some guy does it second, but independently, and we don't care.

Mental geniuses from centuries ago had a level of genius to make a leap to understand things we take for granted now. Nobody needs to make these leaps anymore, but that doesn't mean nobody could. Many people are making further leaps, but their leaps are in such specialized fields that we, as a society, can't even begin to appreciate it because understanding those leaps is beyond us.

Or you know, everyone is dumb nowadays. Except you of course.]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130619/13581923535/microsoft-capitulates-removes-online-drm-xbox-one.shtml#c143 Wed, 19 Jun 2013 14:55:42 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130619/13581923535/microsoft-capitulates-removes-online-drm-xbox-one.shtml#c143 Re: http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130619/13581923535/microsoft-capitulates-removes-online-drm-xbox-one.shtml#c119 Wed, 19 Jun 2013 14:55:35 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130619/13581923535/microsoft-capitulates-removes-online-drm-xbox-one.shtml#c119 The idea that internet now won't be required does not address the spying capabilities of the console with microphone and camera included.

Well, it sorta does. If you don't connect it to the internet, then they can't spy on you no matter what the capabilities of the hardware are.]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130619/10213023529/fbi-admits-to-using-drones-to-spy-americans.shtml#c595 Wed, 19 Jun 2013 14:54:59 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130619/10213023529/fbi-admits-to-using-drones-to-spy-americans.shtml#c595 http://www.techdirt.com/blog/innovation/articles/20130619/10395523531/next-time-someone-says-twitter-is-killing-deep-thinking-with-short-quick-messages-show-them-this.shtml#c325 Wed, 19 Jun 2013 14:53:39 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/blog/innovation/articles/20130619/10395523531/next-time-someone-says-twitter-is-killing-deep-thinking-with-short-quick-messages-show-them-this.shtml#c325
And that's discounting all of the works being done across sciences (that is highly specialized).

I'd argue that we are smarter as a whole then we were 100-200 years ago. Simply because of our literacy rates.]]> Notice the qualifier "disc-based" http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130619/13581923535/microsoft-capitulates-removes-online-drm-xbox-one.shtml#c102 Wed, 19 Jun 2013 14:53:20 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130619/13581923535/microsoft-capitulates-removes-online-drm-xbox-one.shtml#c102 Re: Re: Re: Re: http://www.techdirt.com/blog/innovation/articles/20130619/10395523531/next-time-someone-says-twitter-is-killing-deep-thinking-with-short-quick-messages-show-them-this.shtml#c308 Wed, 19 Jun 2013 14:53:03 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/blog/innovation/articles/20130619/10395523531/next-time-someone-says-twitter-is-killing-deep-thinking-with-short-quick-messages-show-them-this.shtml#c308 Your arrogance is astonishing.Given your other posts here, this appears to apply to you more so than anyone else I see.]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130619/13581923535/microsoft-capitulates-removes-online-drm-xbox-one.shtml#c96 Wed, 19 Jun 2013 14:50:19 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130619/13581923535/microsoft-capitulates-removes-online-drm-xbox-one.shtml#c96
That part alone is a guarantee I will never have another console game by any maker much less Microsoft. If one can do it another will as well, whether they come out to say it or not.

Microsoft has done far worse than they think with all this DRM. Not only have the convinced me that I should never ever consider a console from them but from anyone.

No amount of damage control will ever erase these facts from my mind.]]> Re: http://www.techdirt.com/blog/innovation/articles/20130619/10395523531/next-time-someone-says-twitter-is-killing-deep-thinking-with-short-quick-messages-show-them-this.shtml#c288 Wed, 19 Jun 2013 14:50:08 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/blog/innovation/articles/20130619/10395523531/next-time-someone-says-twitter-is-killing-deep-thinking-with-short-quick-messages-show-them-this.shtml#c288
And yes, I've read a lot that was written 100 years and earlier.]]> Re: Re: http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130613/02025423448/company-claims-patent-pop-up-ads-sues-porn-travel-companies.shtml#c242 Wed, 19 Jun 2013 14:49:40 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130613/02025423448/company-claims-patent-pop-up-ads-sues-porn-travel-companies.shtml#c242 http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130619/13581923535/microsoft-capitulates-removes-online-drm-xbox-one.shtml#c81 Wed, 19 Jun 2013 14:49:27 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130619/13581923535/microsoft-capitulates-removes-online-drm-xbox-one.shtml#c81 All those "Features" are just a patch away.]]>