nelsoncruz 's Techdirt Comments

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  • On the post: More Details Emerging About School Laptop Spying, And It Doesn't Look Good

    nelsoncruz ( profile ), 22 Feb, 2010 @ 07:46pm

    I found the part of Cory Doctorow's "Little Brother" that this this thing reminded me of:

    "I turned to my SchoolBook and hit the keyboard. The web-browser we used was supplied with the machine. It was a locked-down spyware version of Internet Explorer, Microsoft's crashware turd that no one under the age of 40 used voluntarily.

    I had a copy of Firefox on the USB drive built into my watch, but that wasn't enough -- the SchoolBook ran Windows Vista4Schools, an antique operating system designed to give school administrators the illusion that they controlled the programs their students could run.

    But Vista4Schools is its own worst enemy. There are a lot of programs that Vista4Schools doesn't want you to be able to shut down -- keyloggers, censorware -- and these programs run in a special mode that makes them invisible to the system. You can't quit them because you can't even see they're there.

    Any program whose name starts with $SYS$ is invisible to the operating system. It doesn't show up on listings of the hard drive, nor in the process monitor. So my copy of Firefox was called $SYS$Firefox -- and as I launched it, it became invisible to Windows, and so invisible to the network's snoopware."

    It's a great book. I highly recommend it. Should be required reading for any teenager or young adult. :)

  • On the post: More Details Emerging About School Laptop Spying, And It Doesn't Look Good

    nelsoncruz ( profile ), 22 Feb, 2010 @ 07:04pm

    "Other forum posts from students at the school show that they were told they could not use other computers, could not disable the cameras and could not jailbreak their laptops on the risk of expulsion."

    I think Cory Doctorow (from Boing Boing) described something very similar in his novel "Little Brother".

  • On the post: Google Explains Why Ad Blockers Aren't A Problem

    nelsoncruz ( profile ), 07 Jan, 2010 @ 06:53pm

    The problem is annoying ads

    I generally dont use ad blockers, but I have used a Flash blocker on Firefox for a long time. Flash ads are annoying and memory intensive and I usually have a ton of open tabs.

    I switched to Google Chrome almost on launch day, and I love it. But a few months ago I REALLY REALLY wanted a adblocker or flashblocker. There was a flash ad with a VERY annoying laughter upon mouse over, that was everywhere here in Portugal. I ended up blocking the server URL with an entry in Roots file.

    Annoying ads are the real problem. Get that under control people!

  • On the post: GSM Encryption Cracked… GSMA's First Response? That's Illegal!

    nelsoncruz ( profile ), 29 Dec, 2009 @ 04:36pm

    Blame it on France

    Blame it on France for not wanting A5/1 to be a stronger algorithm. France wanted authorities to be able to easely tap on conversations. Honestly I'm even surprised it took so long to be "broken".

  • On the post: Dear CNN: Patents Are Not A Proxy For Innovation

    nelsoncruz ( profile ), 14 Dec, 2009 @ 07:56pm

    Kappos is partly right. It does create jobs and opportunities for patent examiners. :)

  • On the post: Zombieland Director Goes After Fans, Doesn't Understand Popularity

    nelsoncruz ( profile ), 11 Nov, 2009 @ 06:40pm

    "beyond depressing"

    Rhett Reese said it was "beyond depressing" that Zombieland was the "number one most pirated movie" on Bittorrent. However, as the director for Ink showed, how many other movie writers/directors would love to be in that position??

    It's a bit like an artist being "depressed" that his music is the number one most played in the radio!

  • On the post: PC Game Developer Pirates Own Game As Promotion

    nelsoncruz ( profile ), 09 Nov, 2009 @ 06:01pm

    Re:

    So, the full cracked game is not promotion too? I have bought about 10 PC games this year so far, almost all of which I downloaded and played in full before buying! Some was because I wanted to try playing online (which is blocked for pirate keys), most was just because I liked the game and wanted to reward the creators. Some still have the plastic rap on them. I might just as well make a donation if it was possible.

    I download because I want to see if I like the games first, I want to play them as soon as possible, and I don't want to deal with stupid DRM that limits installations and/or forces me to keep the DVD in the drive.

  • On the post: EU Officials Push Back Against Hollywood… Sorta; Note That Internet Access Should Be A Right… Sorta

    nelsoncruz ( profile ), 05 Nov, 2009 @ 04:28pm

    The final agreed text is not as good as it could be, but I'm still somewhat hopeful about it. It doesn't specifically require a trial before cutting someone's internet access, but it does require a "prior fair and impartial procedure [...], including the right to be heard" and that "these measures may only be taken with due respect for the principle of presumption of innocence".

    Hopefully this will be interpreted as requiring some sort of judicial hearing before cutting anyone's access, including weighing in the evidence. Accusations do not establish guilt. Only the courts can do that. Unless the person accused admits wrongdoing and accepts the penalty, I don't see how he or she could be punished before a full trial.

    In France the HADOPI 2 law will probably have to be changed because of this directive. Their "procedure", although involving a judge doesn't require the accused to be heard at all. As for the execution of all this, I expect they will probably pressure people to confess and accept a lighter penalty, rather than going to a full trial and risking heavier punishment.

    Hopefully, when someone does appeal, the courts will declare the evidence as lacking and this whole thing will come crashing down. Let's not forget that even network printers have been accused of sharing movies in the US. An IP address reported by a tracker as sharing something is no smoking gun.

  • On the post: UK Law Enforcement Tells UK Gov't: Please Don't Kick File Sharers Offline

    nelsoncruz ( profile ), 05 Nov, 2009 @ 02:54am

    Re: Re: I think it gets worse

    AHOTHABETH, in France they created a government they created a government agency to keep the database. And I think the 3 accusations have to occur in the time frame of 1 year. So as a "survival guide" I would suggest:

    1st warning - don't panic, avoid downloading "high profile" stuff like recently released movies and albums. Consider using a private BT tracker instead of public ones.

    2nd warning - signup to VPN to route your P2P traffic via a server or signup to a file hosting site and download everything from there, until 1 year has passed since 1st warning.

  • On the post: Pennsylvania Supreme Court Strikes Down Ridiculously Overbroad Trademark Law

    nelsoncruz ( profile ), 04 Nov, 2009 @ 12:48pm

    Reminds me of a directive being discussed in the European Parliament one point, which included language to forbid not only any unauthorized use of a trademark but also any tools that could be used to infringe on trademarks. It was removed after people started pointing out that pen and paper would be illegal. Nice, heh?

  • On the post: UK Law Enforcement Tells UK Gov't: Please Don't Kick File Sharers Offline

    nelsoncruz ( profile ), 04 Nov, 2009 @ 03:07am

    Re: Re: I think it gets worse

    In France they setup a government agency (HADOPI) to keep such a database. And I think after 1 year your "record" is cleared. You have to be accused 3 times in the time frame of 1 year to get disconnected.

    My "survival guide" for this would be:
    1st warning - don't panic, avoid downloading "high profile" stuff (recently released movies or music).

    2nd warning - stop using open P2P, sign for a VPN service or file hosting site (rapidshare, megaupload, etc) until 1 year after 1st warning.

  • On the post: UK Law Enforcement Tells UK Gov't: Please Don't Kick File Sharers Offline

    nelsoncruz ( profile ), 27 Oct, 2009 @ 11:59am

    I have been saying this for years. All efforts to stop P2P file sharing have led to new systems increasingly more difficult to monitor and control. In response to things like "3 strikes" anonymous/encrypted/private systems will be made and/or grow in usage.

    Last week after France's constitutional council approved the latest version of "3 strikes" law, the French forums were predictably ablaze with talk about VPNs, P2P apps that only share with "friends", etc.

    "Piracy" will go on. But controlling the spread of really dangerous content (child porn, terrorism) will be that much more difficult. The "spooks" are right to be worried, and I'm glad they are speaking up about it.

  • On the post: Could Redbox Crowdsource Its Way Around Movie Studio Blockades?

    nelsoncruz ( profile ), 27 Oct, 2009 @ 11:45am

    Re: Re: Downside for Used DVD Shops

    I meant "Put them on Ebay".

  • On the post: Could Redbox Crowdsource Its Way Around Movie Studio Blockades?

    nelsoncruz ( profile ), 27 Oct, 2009 @ 11:43am

    Re: Downside for Used DVD Shops

    Out them on Ebay.

  • On the post: Could Redbox Crowdsource Its Way Around Movie Studio Blockades?

    nelsoncruz ( profile ), 27 Oct, 2009 @ 11:42am

    I think the logistics and inventory of "crowdsourcing" could get tricky and expensive. It makes more sense to setup a separate company that buys direct from distributors and then resells to Redbox. If they ban that one... rinse, repeat.

  • On the post: Netflix Claims Americans Don't Want Standalone Streaming Movie Service

    nelsoncruz ( profile ), 27 Oct, 2009 @ 03:31am

    They didn't say they were talking about american viewers not being interested... they could be talking about Hollywood execs. :)

  • On the post: Lawyers Discussing Business Models

    nelsoncruz ( profile ), 25 Oct, 2009 @ 01:47pm

    "fix the piracy problem"

    'the law needs to "fix the piracy problem" because without that, business models can't be built up.'

    I somewhat agree with this statement, but not in the way they do. As long as content companies look at the "piracy problem" as a legal problem, something the government must come in and fix, they WONT build new business models. As long as they keep on thinking the government is going to keep on artificially sustaining their old business models, they wont bother coming out with new ones. Especially when they can't imagine them being as lucrative as the old ones.

    Governments think they are helping when they expand copyright law and enforce it with ridiculous stuff like "3 strikes", but they are truly not. They are just standing in the way of the future entrepreneurs by giving tools to the old lazy businesspeople that want to keep everything the way it was.

  • On the post: Hollywood Can't Handle Anyone Connecting With Fans… So It Contractually Tries To Stop Them

    nelsoncruz ( profile ), 19 Oct, 2009 @ 12:29pm

    Jon Favreau has used his blog and twitter to talk about Iron Man, "leak" photos, etc, and I would say with some success. It helps to build anticipation for the movie. In my view even Wolverine's leaked workprint copy served that propose.

    I can understand them wanting to control disparaging comments, but completely forbidding the use of twitter, etc, is cutting their own legs.

  • On the post: Michael Dell Recognizes Blocking What Customers Want To Protect Your Own Biz Model Is Dumb

    nelsoncruz ( profile ), 16 Oct, 2009 @ 05:48am

    Smart on virtualization, not so smart on netbooks

    When I read his comments on Netbooks, I rolled my eyes and said "duhhh". He is defining a product on the negative. That's not good marketing.

    Yes, netbooks have small screens and the performance is far from amazing, but so what?? Nobody said they are supposed to be good replacements for desktop PCs! Or even 14" or 15.4" laptops. They are different products, and good for different things.

    In fact Dell could say the same things about average laptops compared with a desktop PC. Does that mean laptops are useless? Laptops have mobility, desktops don't. Netbooks take that further by being smaller, cheaper, and having longer battery life.

  • On the post: French Politician Proposes Warning Labels On Any Photoshopped Ad Or Marketing Label

    nelsoncruz ( profile ), 07 Oct, 2009 @ 05:54am

    Every ad or marketing image these days would require the label.

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