http://www.techdirt.com/ Easily digestible tech news.... http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130502/16064822930/why-networks-are-really-afraid-aereo-time-warner-cable-says-it-might-offer-aereo-like-service.shtml#c762 Fri, 3 May 2013 14:20:00 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130502/16064822930/why-networks-are-really-afraid-aereo-time-warner-cable-says-it-might-offer-aereo-like-service.shtml#c762
Note which case (each case extends the previous one) where the case is not acceptable to you.

Some citizen (Cit) of Manhatten lives in 2nd basement (2 floors under ground) of a popular high-rise. Cit loves to watch Big Bang Theory, but reception does not penetrate to the depth of his apartment.

Case 1.
So an electrical engineer (of which he is not) offers to mount an antenna on the roof, runs a long wire down to the basement and into Cit's TV. The improved performance is great and he gladly pays the EE for his time.

Case 2.
EE was happy to help out Cit for a nominal fee, but the long wire gets cut by maintenance crews and other tenants of the building. So he begin charging Cit a yearly fee for maintaining the antenna.

Case 3.
EE likes the arrangement he has with Cit, but realizes that his repair costs would shrink if he made the antenna connection wireless. So he configures several WAPS to send the digital information from the top of the building to Cit's apartment.

Case 4.
EE realizes that the wireless connection could just as easily run from the top of his building as it could from the top of Cit's building. His building has fewer pigeons that break the antenna, so he moves the antenna and is able to provide Cit with better service.

Case 5.
EE realizes that Cit does have an internet connection, so he configures the setup to provide the signal over the internet instead of a dedicated WLAN.

Case 6.
EE realizes that Cit is not the only one in this predicament, so he start Aereo and offers the service to everyone who lives in the city...each getting their own dedicated antenna.

Case 7.
EE realizes that providing everyone with their own antenna is ridiculous and consolidates it down to one antenna which is then shared with all his customers.

How far down the slipper slope are you willing to go?

(Personally I pick 7, but I'm curious about the Aereo haters).

-CF]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130502/16064822930/why-networks-are-really-afraid-aereo-time-warner-cable-says-it-might-offer-aereo-like-service.shtml#c447 Fri, 3 May 2013 12:31:45 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130502/16064822930/why-networks-are-really-afraid-aereo-time-warner-cable-says-it-might-offer-aereo-like-service.shtml#c447
Those discussions where never censored "or flagged" or what-ever you want to spin it.

That time is obviously long gone when the "Insiders" can't even see the irony of their own special blend of censorship.

Granted... TD never claimed to be Fair and Balanced.

Sad.]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130502/16064822930/why-networks-are-really-afraid-aereo-time-warner-cable-says-it-might-offer-aereo-like-service.shtml#c364 Fri, 3 May 2013 12:19:21 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130502/16064822930/why-networks-are-really-afraid-aereo-time-warner-cable-says-it-might-offer-aereo-like-service.shtml#c364
Are all comments treated the same?

You'd be okay with only dissenting comments being displayed fully with all other comments hidden behind a "This comment is preaching to the choir. Click here to show it"?

Maybe you'd be okay with that, but I think the site would be become pretty worthless.

The whole point in having the "flag" is to mark messages that are threatening or obscene or just spam. Sadly it has become a "mark of 'alternate viewpoint'"

-CF]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130502/16064822930/why-networks-are-really-afraid-aereo-time-warner-cable-says-it-might-offer-aereo-like-service.shtml#c336 Fri, 3 May 2013 12:06:21 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130502/16064822930/why-networks-are-really-afraid-aereo-time-warner-cable-says-it-might-offer-aereo-like-service.shtml#c336
It was hidden for "This comment has been flagged by the community. Click to show it."

While not strictly "inaccessible" many will skip over it so it is effectively censored. Why? I don't see one thing in his comment that was trolling or offensive. I've brought this up before - it was essentially flagged because it brought a view that does not jive with the "community".

For a site that puffs its chest for "free and open", the readers are amazingly thin-skinned. It's the most hypocritical aspect of this website.

-CF]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130502/16064822930/why-networks-are-really-afraid-aereo-time-warner-cable-says-it-might-offer-aereo-like-service.shtml#c260 Fri, 3 May 2013 11:53:57 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130502/16064822930/why-networks-are-really-afraid-aereo-time-warner-cable-says-it-might-offer-aereo-like-service.shtml#c260
Plus with the 'net you can get real data rather than estimation based on a sample.

The combination should allow for higher advertising fees.

Seems to me like a no-brainer....]]> http://www.techdirt.com/blog/wireless/articles/20130502/09425322915/blackberry-ceo-predicts-tablets-will-be-obsolete-five-years.shtml#c581 Fri, 3 May 2013 10:34:32 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/blog/wireless/articles/20130502/09425322915/blackberry-ceo-predicts-tablets-will-be-obsolete-five-years.shtml#c581
I set my phone down and my two 20" monitors come to life. I type on my keyboard and it just works. No "plugs" necessary - except *maybe* for power.

-CF]]> http://www.techdirt.com/blog/wireless/articles/20130502/09425322915/blackberry-ceo-predicts-tablets-will-be-obsolete-five-years.shtml#c496 Fri, 3 May 2013 10:21:18 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/blog/wireless/articles/20130502/09425322915/blackberry-ceo-predicts-tablets-will-be-obsolete-five-years.shtml#c496
They had all the things that Business needs (Control over devices, rich administrative tools, corporate licensing, etc)

When apple showed up, executives essentially said 'screw you local IT people, I want an iPhone whether the company supports it or not' That put a huge push towards the already established thrust of BYOD. Couple of years later corporations were ditching BlackBerries because service providers like Verizon were offering enterprise administration tools that IT departments crave - with a focus on Android devices.

Apple has little patience for "enterprise" devices. The iPad got no bulk quantity breaks in price. iPads have shown up in the enterprise ONLY because consumers love them. He's right...they don't make a lot of business sense. But they are great for what they do - which is entertain.

So in the corporate environment, the tablet will not become the device of choice. He is right about that. But all he knows is the business space. He is not concerned about the consumer space anymore than Apple is concerned about the business space.

Tablets are here to stay. In the consumer market they will continue to destroy the laptop and desktop market. But in a business setting, they will relegated as a "nice-to-have" peripheral (except in some specialized settings) and the Desktop/Laptop/Large Screen will continue to be the computing device of choice - at least as long as touch-typing on a tactile keyboard is the most effective way of entering data in large spreadsheets.

-CF]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130409/15221222649/paul-hansmeier-who-me-i-did-nothing-everything-youre-accusing-prenda-was-done-someone-else.shtml#c170 Tue, 9 Apr 2013 18:24:56 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130409/15221222649/paul-hansmeier-who-me-i-did-nothing-everything-youre-accusing-prenda-was-done-someone-else.shtml#c170
You've got three guys who are witness to each other, each saying the other two were responsible....but only kinda. It's just enough keep doubt about who exactly was responsible for what. If the evidence doesn't point to all three, and each one has a plausible deniability then none of them can be found guilty.

Chess match. They will drag it out as long as humanly possible and admit to nothing. I would hate to be the judge "knowing" all three deserve punishment, and not having the evidence to see that they get it.

-CF]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130404/02362022572/recording-industry-lobbyists-accuse-pandora-deliberately-not-selling-ads-to-plead-poverty-to-congress.shtml#c1235 Mon, 8 Apr 2013 17:46:22 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130404/02362022572/recording-industry-lobbyists-accuse-pandora-deliberately-not-selling-ads-to-plead-poverty-to-congress.shtml#c1235
"This comment has been flagged by the community. Click to show it."

Is this what TechDirt has become? Is the community so sensitive that it must hide the alternate viewpoints? I have yet to a viewpoint that was in any way offensive. At least not to the point that it should have been hidden.

Man Up TD. Your arguments stand on their own. You don't need to engage in protectionism....that just makes you like those you claim to be against....

-CF]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130402/18092222551/time-warner-cable-we-can-record-you-you-cant-record-us.shtml#c449 Wed, 3 Apr 2013 10:36:39 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130402/18092222551/time-warner-cable-we-can-record-you-you-cant-record-us.shtml#c449

1. Company claims they can record but don't want to be recorded : Company is mean spirited

2. Government records (3rd party recording) : Government is abhorrent

3. Individual forced to reveal they are recording (2 party consent) : Such an awful law.

4. I am recording every phone call, don't have to get approval or give notification (1 party consent): The stuff dreams are made of.

How is 1 and 4 NOT in conflict? Either you agree that one party notification is good (in which case #1 is mute because the company doesn't even need to let you know) or you agree that 2 party notification is good (in which case #4 goes away).

Based on the comments here the headline should read:
"We Can Record You Time Warner Cable, But You Can't Record Us"

-CF]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130322/06243622416/ncaa-still-going-backwards-tournament-streaming.shtml#c110 Sat, 23 Mar 2013 05:46:19 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130322/06243622416/ncaa-still-going-backwards-tournament-streaming.shtml#c110
While it may have not been as free and open as you wanted, it certainly satisfied my needs.

-CF]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130315/01534722333/no-photos-sky-bill-trimmed-back-still-could-create-felons-out-kids-playing-with-toy-drones.shtml#c185 Mon, 18 Mar 2013 06:19:39 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130315/01534722333/no-photos-sky-bill-trimmed-back-still-could-create-felons-out-kids-playing-with-toy-drones.shtml#c185
2. How does the "FAA controls Air Space" effect the similar bill introduced in Texas?

http://www.legis.state.tx.us/tlodocs/83R/billtext/html/HB00912I.htm


Or is the a case of Texas sovereignty?

-CF]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130221/10072122058/prison-sponser-tries-to-delete-wikipedia-information-after-sponsoring-ncaa-football-stadium.shtml#c112 Fri, 22 Feb 2013 18:28:47 PST http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130221/10072122058/prison-sponser-tries-to-delete-wikipedia-information-after-sponsoring-ncaa-football-stadium.shtml#c112
"In February 2013, the GEO Group purchased naming rights to Florida Atlantic University's new football stadium.[19] On February 20, after the naming rights deal became public, a Wikipedia editor named "Abraham Cohen", the name of a GEO Group spokesman, deleted the "Controversies" section of the firm's Wikipedia article, replacing it with content copied from the firm's shareholder prospectus. After the section was restored, it was again deleted by an anonymous user whose IP address belonged to the GEO Group.[20]"

Loving the citations as well!]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130218/14412622019/google-looks-to-cut-funding-to-illegal-sites-it-doesnt-fund-first-place.shtml#c492 Tue, 19 Feb 2013 10:18:51 PST http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130218/14412622019/google-looks-to-cut-funding-to-illegal-sites-it-doesnt-fund-first-place.shtml#c492
I agree. I'm going to use Google. What are you going to use?]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20121022/10072320787/italian-scientists-convicted-manslaughter-sentenced-to-6-years-jail-over-earthquake-they-failed-to-predict-properly.shtml#c910 Mon, 22 Oct 2012 13:42:27 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20121022/10072320787/italian-scientists-convicted-manslaughter-sentenced-to-6-years-jail-over-earthquake-they-failed-to-predict-properly.shtml#c910
Environmental impact, global warming, fracking, evolution, GMO studies, rehabilitation vs incarceration, sex education...these are all issues and topics where the science runs counter to the Republican/Right-Wing platform. What better way to eliminate the message than to eliminate the messenger?

-CF]]> http://www.techdirt.com/blog/innovation/articles/20121007/00064520631/it-is-easy-people-to-miss-disruptive-trends.shtml#c556 Tue, 16 Oct 2012 13:04:11 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/blog/innovation/articles/20121007/00064520631/it-is-easy-people-to-miss-disruptive-trends.shtml#c556
Not social? Try this: "Hey Jim, that is a really cool phone case. Can you send me the make file?"

Go be social with these people: http://www.thingiverse.com/

Printing screws: You miss the point. You don't need to assemble with a 3dPrinter (sure you do "today", but not tomorrow). Screws are probably the last thing you'll print (unless you're missing one and you don't want to drive 15 minutes to Home Depot, take 15 minutes to search for the screw you want. Wait in line for 15 minutes and then drive 15 minutes home. Sure it's only $0.25 (plus gas) but also an hour out of your life - for one screw. What you are more likely to be printing is a screwdriver or some other multipurpose tool. Or a new camera. (yes 3d printers will be able to print electronics in the "thing" you're printing).]]> http://www.techdirt.com/blog/innovation/articles/20121007/00064520631/it-is-easy-people-to-miss-disruptive-trends.shtml#c525 Tue, 16 Oct 2012 12:51:52 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/blog/innovation/articles/20121007/00064520631/it-is-easy-people-to-miss-disruptive-trends.shtml#c525
Too expensive: Seriously? $1000 (and less). Your computer costs more. Laser (laser quality) printers used to cost 2x that. Okay fine. They are too expensive. What happens when they cost $120? That's (likely) cheaper than your phone - and about the cost of a nice ink-jet printer.

Can only make prototypes and only using low-grade resin: Hmmm no. There are low-melt metals that can also be used. But what happens when they print in copper, plastic, aluminum, carbon, ceramic, cotton, wool, fleece, steel, gold, rubber....?

You can only print small pieces: The technology is scalable. Limited only by your space. Do you have a deep-freeze in your garage? A work bench? in you basement? What happens when home builders start to incorporate an appropriate space for your fabricator? What happens when a fabricator can be built into the garage for dual-use purposes? Just drive the car out of the garage and now you have room to create a car-sized item.

What ever the criticism is, just ask what happens when that is no longer a barrier to entry. Price, size, content. None of these things are permanent barriers.

Who get's disrupted? Governments: China no longer becomes the manufacturing power-house. Unions: Jobs won't be going to China...but they aren't coming home - they will be lost forever. Manufactures: Those who migrate to idea shops and engineering will have at least a hope of survival...Otherwise they simply won't exist. Supply chain? Moving of "things" for reasons other than stocking stores will continue. Food will continue to be transported. Trade will continue to be healthy. But there will be no trucks stocking the Autozone, because there will be no Autozone.

Bike shops, car parts, toys stores, clothing stores, etc....Other than show-rooms and service, there will be little need for them. Many fix-it places will go away because we'll just print and replace and not worry about "why" something doesn't work.

The transition from brick and mortar to eCommerce will pale in comparison.

-CF]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20120927/07251020530/texas-municipal-officials-fight-open-meeting-act-get-shot-down-fifth-circuit-court.shtml#c136 Fri, 28 Sep 2012 06:06:12 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20120927/07251020530/texas-municipal-officials-fight-open-meeting-act-get-shot-down-fifth-circuit-court.shtml#c136
The one (predictable) group that was legally exempt from the Open Meetings law...of course...was the state legislature. But at least all other governmental and quasi-governmental agencies had to abide.

-CF]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20120905/06254220281/should-robots-get-rights.shtml#c738 Sat, 8 Sep 2012 19:29:01 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20120905/06254220281/should-robots-get-rights.shtml#c738
What is the reason a robot should be given rights? It's only to pacify our quilt.

-CF]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20120905/06254220281/should-robots-get-rights.shtml#c716 Sat, 8 Sep 2012 19:20:31 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20120905/06254220281/should-robots-get-rights.shtml#c716