So, are there no fly zones over all radio / TV towers (I'm pretty sure my cell phone - or even 300 cell phones combined - doesn't put out 500,000 watts of radio transmission)? I guess they turn off the radar towers at airports when planes take off and land - we wouldn't want interference, right?
What it really comes down to is "you can't prove a negative". You can't prove that it CAN'T cause problems. Oh, and never forget "that's the way it's always been". Two great excuses.
I have a prediction... Someone in Washington is going to come out and say that hacking was a potential cause of the Texas explosion... Hence we REALLY need CISPA "think of the fire fighters".
All this time we THOUGHT Prenda was about copyright trolling, but it turns out that they are WAY smarter than that. The copyright trolling and courtroom antics were just bate to get us to laugh at them and make comments to provide them with unbounded "proof" of defamation of "character". Of course, I apparently have a different definition of "character" than they do, but hey... to each his own.
Now if someone could do something like that with software - you know, do the work and share it with the world so others could use / improve it..... Oh wait, we do have that - it's called Open Source. ;)
LOL.... So, you are saying that if People magazine runs an add for Vanity Fair, that People magazine will pay Vanity Fair. Apparently you are not up on how advertising works.
Besides, if Google were being "fair", they would CHARGE for every search result provided (as it's advertising for the resulting page). Instead they get other people to pay for the resulting pages advertising for them - pretty nice if you ask me.
Google said at the time it purchased Motorola that Motorola would operate as an independent subsidiary. Maybe, it's ACTUALLY doing this and Motorola (not Google) actually responded in a fashion that helps both it and it's parent. Stranger things have happened.
97 percent of the individuals in Cambridge whose data appeared in a database which contained only their nine digit ZIP code and birth date could be identified with certainty.
I suspect the 97% number is actually LOW considering the fact that a nine digit zip code (Zip + 4) points to a SPECIFIC ADDRESS, not a neighborhood (or more accurately region).
With Zip+4, the correlation would be "how many people in YOUR house are the same sex as you and have the same birthday" - I'm guessing >99% unless you have a twin that lives with you.
With 5 digit zip, the correlation would be "how many people in your NEIGHBORHOOD are the same sex as you and have the same birthday. For this, 97% might be high... or it might be right.
The Pirate Party would never think to demand in the name of freedom that German bakers should in the future give away their bread, and have their baking sponsored by the state. (Gisa Klönne.)
I may be a bit confused here, but when a baker sells his bread to a store, does he expect to get a cut when the store "re-sells" his bread? Or when the person who eats it passes it on as fertilizer for new wheat? :)
Legislation is to legislators as air is to normal people, it's their life blood. If something works, quick break it with legislation so we can come up with more legislation to "fix" it in yet another broken way.
The thing that blows me away is the best they could come up with was a “spearphishing” attack (while certainly the most likely, it's not exactly a technology problem).
Consider the following scenario:
Phone ring...
Control Room: Control room, John speaking.
Caller: Hi John, this is Tom in management, I need you to go push the big red button that says "self destruct" for me.
Control Room: Ummm, are you sure? I was told never to do that.
Caller: Yup, I just got the ok from the CEO.
Controll Room: Well, ok then. Give me a second.
Like someone else said, you can't fix stupid! But, just like in the above example, if there aren't other fail safes in place (like two keys on the self destruct button or maybe air gaped networks), stupid can become a technology problem.
The real question is "why are SOPA supporters liars"?
But seriously, I wasn't meaning that Wikipedia is a "freetard site", I was actually pointing out the irony in SOPA opposition (a FREE site choosing to go offline) being viewed as "taking the internet hostage".... Ok, maybe I wasn't pointing out irony, maybe it more pointing and laughing at an inane post. ;)
Honestly, it's not the tech industry's place to tell you how to solve your problem. We CAN tell you that a given "solution" is problematic and can even give advice on what we think might be part of the problem, but it's up to YOU to figure out how to fix it (you are the entertainment "experts" after all). But don't discount our reply when we say something is going to have detrimental impact on technology (we ARE the technology "experts").
Think of it like this, if you came out and said "all copyright suspects will be shot" and the justice department said "ummm, no they won't", would you then expect the justice department to solve your issue?
I understand, but in this case there are two different groups of impacted citizens (the RIAA mafia) and the tech industry. My idea was a virtual tech industry union that has the capability of cutting off access to peoples services as a method of "striking".
Ok... So how about a less aggressive approach. What about a 30 second full page ad that shows up on all of the opposing companies web sites with instructions on how to oppose the bill.
I really think it would have been really funny if it had been done to just the constituents of the members of the judiciary committee 2 days before the hearing... ;)
Back in the day, unions would have sit in's and other types of civil disobedience, maybe an electronic version of something like that could happen today.
If all of the opposing tech companies shut down access to their sites for one day with a simple page explaining to ALL of their users what this will do, I bet the legislature would be HAMMERED by irate constituents complaining about unfair representation.
And yes, I know this won't happen, but it could certainly open some eyes!
Radio / TV towers
So, are there no fly zones over all radio / TV towers (I'm pretty sure my cell phone - or even 300 cell phones combined - doesn't put out 500,000 watts of radio transmission)? I guess they turn off the radar towers at airports when planes take off and land - we wouldn't want interference, right?
What it really comes down to is "you can't prove a negative". You can't prove that it CAN'T cause problems. Oh, and never forget "that's the way it's always been". Two great excuses.
Guess the FAA knows more about electronic interference than the FCC (Even FCC thinks in-flight gadget bans are dumb)
Texas Plant Explosion
I have a prediction... Someone in Washington is going to come out and say that hacking was a potential cause of the Texas explosion... Hence we REALLY need CISPA "think of the fire fighters".
We've got it backwards.
All this time we THOUGHT Prenda was about copyright trolling, but it turns out that they are WAY smarter than that. The copyright trolling and courtroom antics were just bate to get us to laugh at them and make comments to provide them with unbounded "proof" of defamation of "character". Of course, I apparently have a different definition of "character" than they do, but hey... to each his own.
Top 10 Submitters removed over 85% of URLs
Great data!!! Here's a little summarized table for you....
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AigWLtPZF29BdG9lM3ZFbUFOWGxSYXZMTElXZGprNHc
What a novel concept....
Now if someone could do something like that with software - you know, do the work and share it with the world so others could use / improve it..... Oh wait, we do have that - it's called Open Source. ;)
Re: Just who is cutting whom off?
LOL.... So, you are saying that if People magazine runs an add for Vanity Fair, that People magazine will pay Vanity Fair. Apparently you are not up on how advertising works.
Besides, if Google were being "fair", they would CHARGE for every search result provided (as it's advertising for the resulting page). Instead they get other people to pay for the resulting pages advertising for them - pretty nice if you ask me.
Motorola NOT Google
Google said at the time it purchased Motorola that Motorola would operate as an independent subsidiary. Maybe, it's ACTUALLY doing this and Motorola (not Google) actually responded in a fashion that helps both it and it's parent. Stranger things have happened.
97% is wrong (but it's LOW not HIGH)
97 percent of the individuals in Cambridge whose data appeared in a database which contained only their nine digit ZIP code and birth date could be identified with certainty.
I suspect the 97% number is actually LOW considering the fact that a nine digit zip code (Zip + 4) points to a SPECIFIC ADDRESS, not a neighborhood (or more accurately region).
With Zip+4, the correlation would be "how many people in YOUR house are the same sex as you and have the same birthday" - I'm guessing >99% unless you have a twin that lives with you.
With 5 digit zip, the correlation would be "how many people in your NEIGHBORHOOD are the same sex as you and have the same birthday. For this, 97% might be high... or it might be right.
Bread....
The Pirate Party would never think to demand in the name of freedom that German bakers should in the future give away their bread, and have their baking sponsored by the state. (Gisa Klönne.)
I may be a bit confused here, but when a baker sells his bread to a store, does he expect to get a cut when the store "re-sells" his bread? Or when the person who eats it passes it on as fertilizer for new wheat? :)
Legislation
Legislation is to legislators as air is to normal people, it's their life blood. If something works, quick break it with legislation so we can come up with more legislation to "fix" it in yet another broken way.
Push the big red button.
The thing that blows me away is the best they could come up with was a “spearphishing” attack (while certainly the most likely, it's not exactly a technology problem).
Consider the following scenario:
Phone ring...
Control Room: Control room, John speaking.
Caller: Hi John, this is Tom in management, I need you to go push the big red button that says "self destruct" for me.
Control Room: Ummm, are you sure? I was told never to do that.
Caller: Yup, I just got the ok from the CEO.
Controll Room: Well, ok then. Give me a second.
Like someone else said, you can't fix stupid! But, just like in the above example, if there aren't other fail safes in place (like two keys on the self destruct button or maybe air gaped networks), stupid can become a technology problem.
Re: Re: Freetards united against tyranny! (Trademark pending) ;)
Oh, and I wasn't logged in when I posted the original "Freetards united against tyranny", line. Consider me logged in now!
Re: Freetards united against tyranny! (Trademark pending) ;)
The real question is "why are SOPA supporters liars"?
But seriously, I wasn't meaning that Wikipedia is a "freetard site", I was actually pointing out the irony in SOPA opposition (a FREE site choosing to go offline) being viewed as "taking the internet hostage".... Ok, maybe I wasn't pointing out irony, maybe it more pointing and laughing at an inane post. ;)
Tweet your congress critters!
I just sent out a tweet naming my congressmen and mentioning this article. Probably won't help, but can't hurt!
The Right way....
Honestly, it's not the tech industry's place to tell you how to solve your problem. We CAN tell you that a given "solution" is problematic and can even give advice on what we think might be part of the problem, but it's up to YOU to figure out how to fix it (you are the entertainment "experts" after all). But don't discount our reply when we say something is going to have detrimental impact on technology (we ARE the technology "experts").
Think of it like this, if you came out and said "all copyright suspects will be shot" and the justice department said "ummm, no they won't", would you then expect the justice department to solve your issue?
BSA is a Microsoft Shell
It's been pretty well established (search groklaw.net) that the BSA is a Microsoft AstroTurf engine. They say what Microsoft pays them to say.
Confused much?
Only someone with their foot regularly in their mouth or EASILY confused would be "confused or deceived" by such an obvious attempt at theft of IP.
/sarcasm
Virtual Tech Industry Union
I understand, but in this case there are two different groups of impacted citizens (the RIAA mafia) and the tech industry. My idea was a virtual tech industry union that has the capability of cutting off access to peoples services as a method of "striking".
Re: Lock Out
Ok... So how about a less aggressive approach. What about a 30 second full page ad that shows up on all of the opposing companies web sites with instructions on how to oppose the bill.
I really think it would have been really funny if it had been done to just the constituents of the members of the judiciary committee 2 days before the hearing... ;)
Lock Out
Back in the day, unions would have sit in's and other types of civil disobedience, maybe an electronic version of something like that could happen today.
If all of the opposing tech companies shut down access to their sites for one day with a simple page explaining to ALL of their users what this will do, I bet the legislature would be HAMMERED by irate constituents complaining about unfair representation.
And yes, I know this won't happen, but it could certainly open some eyes!