Karl Bode 's Techdirt Comments

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  • On the post: It’s Still Stupidly, Ridiculously Difficult To Buy A ‘Dumb’ TV

    Karl Bode ( profile ), 15 Apr, 2022 @ 07:19am

    I included this in the piece above but I guess I should elaborate: Keeping it offline: –keeps you from getting firmware updates –increasingly will lock you out of key features by design as a way to mandate you participate in the walled garden ad and data collection party. –often doesn’t matter anyway because just switching HDMI ports is tied to the terrible smart TV GUI, which lags on load and makes even basic things like switching ports more annoying than they should be

  • On the post: It’s Still Stupidly, Ridiculously Difficult To Buy A ‘Dumb’ TV

    Karl Bode ( profile ), 15 Apr, 2022 @ 07:16am

    Yeah I get that a lot. Addressed some of that in the piece. THe problem: Keeping it offline: --keeps you from getting firmware updates --often locks you out of key features --often doesn't matter anyway because just switching HDMI ports is tied to the terrible TV GUI, which lags on load and makes even basic things like switching ports more annoying than they should be

  • On the post: It’s Still Stupidly, Ridiculously Difficult To Buy A ‘Dumb’ TV

    Karl Bode ( profile ), 15 Apr, 2022 @ 07:14am

    It's a low quality LED from a brand with a history of absolutely terrible build quality, but thanks for playing!

  • On the post: Comcast Demands $19,000 For Broadband In Yet Another Consumer Nightmare

    Karl Bode ( profile ), 07 Apr, 2022 @ 07:23am

    err, no. If you read the Ars article it makes clear Comcast falsely claimed they offered broadband service to an address they didn't actually serve (which they do constantly), then informed a guy who just bought a house he'd have to pay $19k to get a service he was previously informed wouldn't cost him any large installation fee (which they do constantly).

  • On the post: Rep. Ken Buck Threatens To Use Antitrust To Attack ‘Woke’ Apple

    Karl Bode ( profile ), 05 Apr, 2022 @ 11:23am

    I do (Wink). Sorry, it was a brain fart that's been fixed.

  • On the post: Rep. Ken Buck Threatens To Use Antitrust To Attack ‘Woke’ Apple

    Karl Bode ( profile ), 05 Apr, 2022 @ 11:22am

    Whoops, brain fart. Fixed, thank you!

  • On the post: Peloton Outage Prevents Customers From Using $2,500 Exercise Bikes

    Karl Bode ( profile ), 24 Feb, 2022 @ 07:48am

    Re:

    I have one, spent that morning tinkering with it, and for me it was completely unusable. I mean the pedals would physically spin, but you couldn't load the OS or log in. So for me at least, you not only couldn't access classes, you couldn't change resistance levels. You just got stuck staring at the circular loading wheel. There was one brief moment where it tried to log me in, but it couldn't authenticate.

  • On the post: Will Congress' Big New Push On Antitrust Actually Solve Any Competition Issues?

    Karl Bode ( profile ), 12 Jun, 2021 @ 08:14am

    Re: but let's ignore the real criminals

    lol, of course not.

  • On the post: Florida State Police Raid Home Of COVID Whistleblower, Point Guns At Her & Her Family, Seize All Her Computer Equipment

    Karl Bode ( profile ), 07 Dec, 2020 @ 04:33pm

    Re: Re: Re: It's rational people not stampeded by MINOR virus.

    also, for whatever reason, people really like to fixate exclusively on deaths, and ignore the fact that this disease is going to cause disability (perhaps permanent) for millions of people. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/04/health/covid-long-term-symptoms.html

  • On the post: Many Think Internet Privacy Is Lost, But That's Because You Can't Sue Anyone Who Violates It

    Karl Bode ( profile ), 09 Jun, 2020 @ 01:25pm

    NebuAD

    I think often about Verizon's largely successful efforts to modify wireless user packets to track users around the internet, and how they saw really no serious problem with implementing such a system--not only without telling the public it was being implemented, but without providing a working opt-out mechanism. Even now, after the FCC fine, I believe some variant of that same system remains in play across the AOL/Yahoo ad ecosystem, just with a slightly more verbose amount of fine print, and an opt-out tool that actually works. And wow, I'd also forgotten about NebuAd. So many scandals, so few substantive reforms or meaningful solutions in the last decade.

  • On the post: Coronavirus Surveillance Is Far Too Important, And Far Too Dangerous, To Be Left Up To The Private Sector

    Karl Bode ( profile ), 09 Jun, 2020 @ 01:16pm

    Trust

    Privacy is one of those subjects where I genuinely understand, and agree with, the concerns of all involved. As Ernesto and a few others noted, trust has simply been demolished after years of bad faith arguments, trojan horse bills, and outright falsehoods from the private sector. Compounded by a government that has routinely violated privacy itself, turned a blind eye to privacy violations by others, or shown it's too corrupt or incompetent to tackle the mammoth task before it. So I get the skepticism...both from those worried that Congress lacks the competence to craft meaningful legislation without causing even more harm...to those who don't want the worst players having an outsized impact in the crafting of said legislation. In comes a crisis where good faith consensus is needed, and it's seemingly impossible to achieve. I simply have no idea how you even begin restoring that trust. Especially at a time when so many other important problems are going to take priority and resources away from quality privacy proposals.

  • On the post: Protecting Privacy While Promoting Innovation And Competition

    Karl Bode ( profile ), 09 Jun, 2020 @ 01:07pm

    Stakeholders..

    I agree with much of this. So much of this seems to stem from the fact that smaller stakeholders, much like consumers, frequently aren't given a seat at the table because they're incapable of buying influence. Also as Mike hints at, there's a lot of bad actors (see: AT&T) that are often atrocious on privacy (see: location data scandals) that are now pushing for flimsy federal laws designed to LOOK like they're addressing the problem(s), but are actually focused on pre-empting tougher state or federal consensus-driven solutions. So yeah, with AT&T having outsized influence in Congress, calls for "one set of strong, sensible, and straightforward privacy protections" usually ends with AT&T lawyers writing half the legislation, especially in this particular Congress.

  • On the post: 'Big Tech' Blinders Let Other Privacy Violators Off The Hook

    Karl Bode ( profile ), 29 May, 2020 @ 08:47am

    I'm genuinely curious...

    I think some of the disconnect here is driven by the fact that elecom providers, historically, are fused tightly to the law enforcement and intelligence gathering communities. It is, after all, fairly hard at this point to see where AT&T begins and the NSA ends, given AT&T has built dedicated systems geared toward surveillance data collection and have even acted as intelligence agencies time and again. I'm curious if telecoms almost being PART of government accounts for the fact they are often above reproach by many in DC? These location data scandals were monumentally terrible, with location data access abused by everyone. Including law enforcement, folks pretending to be law enforcement, and stalkers. Verizon literally thought it was a good idea to modify wireless user data packets to track users around the internet without telling them (the "zombie cookie scandal"), yet the outrage from DC policymakers is always muted in contrast to the coverage we've seen regarding big tech. Folks like Hawley, for example, can go on at great length about smaller scale privacy scandals out of Silicon Valley, yet very rarely (quite possibly never?) criticizes "big telecom." Seems myopic and dangerous to not have a broader, bird's eye view as we debate what privacy laws should look like. But I'm curious: what are the other reasons for the disconnect here?

  • On the post: Judge Orders FCC To Hand Over Data On Fake Net Neutrality Comments

    Karl Bode ( profile ), 05 May, 2020 @ 10:13am

    Re: Question for Karl Bode:

    Just a brain fart on my part. Meant to do, then forgot. Added, thanks!

  • On the post: States Are Being Conned By Lobbyists Into Backing Off The T-Mobile Merger Lawsuit

    Karl Bode ( profile ), 14 Nov, 2019 @ 07:35am

    Re: Re:

    Thanks for beating me to the punch. Sprint's eminent doom is overplayed for effect by those pushing this shitty deal. They've still got debt problems but have dramatically improved their finances in recent quarters. They're also owned by one of the wealthiest companies in Japan. And there's a universe of ways to fix Sprint that don't involve merging with a direct competitor in a deal every single economic predictive metric suggests will be terrible. It could merge with Comcast. Or Charter. Or Dish in a deal that doesn't integrate T-Mobile. Or hire better executives. I have no idea why this guy is so personally upset that I simply pointed to factual reality and the 40 year history of deals like this being terrible for consumers, competitors, and the market.

  • On the post: Broadband ISP CenturyLink Is Blocking Users' Internet Access Just To Show An Ad

    Karl Bode ( profile ), 19 Dec, 2018 @ 11:34am

    Re:

    I don't know, I think pointing out they're both stupid (which I did) works. Even if you think a law is stupid, being even DUMBER (and lying about it) isn't any kind of solution to your complaint.

  • On the post: NPR Gives Up On News Comments; After All, Who Cares What Your Customers Have To Say?

    Karl Bode ( profile ), 01 Sep, 2017 @ 11:25am

    Re: That Study Still Doesn't Say What You Think It Does...

    Well shit, you're right. I've misinterpreted that study as being directly applicable to news comments specifically and will stop over-stating its import since it was talking about Facebook comments specifically. Thank you, news story commenter helpfully pointing out my error in a news story comment section. :)

    The relevant part, I thought, was the part where they studied seventy different political posts and found a 17% decrease in "incivility" and a 15% spike in people using evidence in their posts -- simply by having somebody from the outlet show up.

    But I appreciate the correction, thanks.

  • On the post: Telecom Industry Feebly Tries To Deflate Net Neutrality Protest With Its Own, Lame 'Unlock The Net' Think Tank Campaign

    Karl Bode ( profile ), 11 Jul, 2017 @ 07:14am

    Re:

    There's certainly plenty of good think tanks. And Copia is an effort to bring a little bit of sanity and more honest discourse to a think tank segment that has, over the years, simply mutated into a way for giant legacy companies to farm bogus science justifying anti-competitive (or anti-environment, etc.) positions.

    I'm not saying all think tanks are bad. I will say a huge portion of them are total shit, though.

  • On the post: Telecom Industry Feebly Tries To Deflate Net Neutrality Protest With Its Own, Lame 'Unlock The Net' Think Tank Campaign

    Karl Bode ( profile ), 11 Jul, 2017 @ 07:12am

    Re:

    This "bias" claim makes no coherent sense. Comcast is rated, consistently, as one of the worst companies in ANY INDUSTRY IN AMERICA when it comes to customer service and support. Worse than the IRS.

    Polls indicate the majority of consumers do support net neutrality protections. And surveys indicate they do realize Comcast is an anti-competitive ass. So I really have no idea what you're on about here.

    Interesting you'd dismiss an entire post because I stated an obvious fact at the end though.

  • On the post: Facebook, Google Wake Up From Their Coma On The Subject, Join Wednesday's Massive Net Neutrality Protest

    Karl Bode ( profile ), 10 Jul, 2017 @ 11:41am

    Re:

    Yeah the fact they didn't reach out directly to FTTF suggests they may have just been bullshitting news outlets to avoid being singled out as apathetic (if not outright hostile) to the concept. We'll see Wednesday, I guess.

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