IMHO when someone registers for election to public service, s/he gives up certain rights reserved for private citizens. When, exactly, did elected officials turn into a privileged class?
Oh, wait, never mind -- that was when We the People started to tolerate them making rules that applied only to themselves.
... would have been to get the real scoop, as seen here. Imagine that story breaking on, oh, I don't know, The View, Good Morning America, ... It would be picked up and carried everywhere.
I think the BP Affair could demonstrate a market for "stories about needed reform." Or that might just be the Dristan talking.
My first job out after university was with a SCADA firm whose flagship product was a status/control system for electric utility providers. The product was written completely from scratch, i.e., the real-time database was written in-house. The software didn't even use TCP/IP.
The problems were predictable: Deadlines were consistently missed, all 14 contracted projects were late, the attrition rate grew exponentially, and, of course, bugs, bugs, bugs. The standalone, 100% custom system took one hour to boot, which made testing a nightmare for developers.
Eventually the product was ported to a major vendor version of UNIX.
Death of Internet predicted again. I think we're lucky that Andrew Cuomo is no Eliot Spitzer: despite his libertine predilections, he could really get it done. Then again, he chose his fights more carefully, too.
... and of the state, so inherent doom looms for citizens.
This may not be an intentional power grab, but just as setting filesystem permissions wide open "so the app will work" can lead to serious abuses and security violations. And, you know, disastrous results.
I think the "months to live" points more toward the old, clunky cycle of signing artists, setting them up, introducing them to the army of label employees who'll develop, manage, market the band's "brand" ... I think the lag between "acquisition of talent" and "full exploitation of talent" is too long, too costly to sustain relevance.
This is actually more stupid than Commodore demanding money from Paramount in exchange for featuring the Amiga in Star Trek IV. One phone call to Apple from Paramount resulted in 20 Macs delivered + two techs onsite.
Apparently by the time Rock Band came out, Fender was smart enough to contribute the design for the guitar and the bass controllers that Harmonix sells. You can even get a Fender Mustang controller with Rock Band 3, and Fender licenses the Strat controller design.
Maybe Gibson was suing to get in on the deal. IMHO that would have worked better with honey than vinegar.
Gibson USA could stand to lighten its lawyer overhead, or at least to educate them on brand exposure/loyalty.
I think that law enforcement on the whole looks at risk and revenue, rather than, you know, effectively enforcing the law as a (wait for it ...) business model.
Yep. Your friendly neighborhood cop is ultimately acting according to financial interests. It is well known that speeding violations are not enforced unless/until the cops need money.
So, going after companies, corporations, etc., is a bit more costly. It's easier to intimidate individuals. Also, you can incarcerate them, which means money from the Feds. Then there's the bail: You make sure that your magistrates all know to set bail no matter what, to pay back the bail bonds firms who donated to your re-election campaign.
There are only so many films, TV shows, etc., that I'm even initially interested enough to pursue. If, as in this example, the streaming choices tend toward zero--or, at least, zero features that I haven't already seen or for which I have no interest--then I'm not going to stream anything.
Same goes for every medium: No DVDs on the shelf (virtual or otherwise) that I'm interested in? Forget it, I'm not hunting for 'em. No TV shows on that look interesting when I want to watch TV? Never mind, I'll find something else to do.
It's not news on Techdirt that the entertainment industry is almost completely disconnected from its audience. This leads me to conclude that this must be another sector in which we are not the customers, merely the consumers.
If we were the customers, why, the merchants would pay attention to what we want, and tailor their offerings thusly.
It's obvious with TV & films: the studios sell/rent the media to TV affiliates/movie theaters. For TV, the customers are the advertisers (see also NEWSPAPERS for an explanation of why this is destined to fail). Films, well, I guess the studios get some cut of ticket prices, so there's at least a chance for them to rate consumer satisfaction, but I'm pretty sure that the vast majority of their revenue comes from charging the theater to show the film.
For DVDs and streaming media, I think they're just plain clueless. They might be able to turn the boat around if they'd eat their own dog food, but I don't see this happening, ever.
The original article states, "In fact, it is a felony to use the voter registration database (aka Voter Vault) for anything other than official purposes. In Arizona, misuse of the voter registration database is a Class 6 felony, which means Mecum could face a couple of years in the clink if convicted. If the staffer knew why he was looking up the woman's information, the staffer could also face charges. Additionally, to access Voter Vault, which is a customized interface for the database, the user must sign an agreement with the Republican Party saying they will only use the database for party-related business."
Chris Greenwood (Phoenix Independent Examiner) asserts that Mecum's misuse of Voter Vault constitutes a felony. I agree in principle, since the input is state voter registration records. VV is 20 years old, though, so the GOP may have managed to wire in exceptions in most, maybe all states.
Google Mecum. He's quite a character. I think he should walk for this one to get his arrogance puffed up enough to do something truly stupid. His explanation for the troubles he's had is that his Democratic enemies are setting him up.
So maybe his next caper will require a Republican to administer the smackdown.
... when we allowed anyone/everyone to get into the ISP business w/o regulating ISPs. I remember it well, and I missed it, lock, stock, and barrel. I was in favor of more ISPs of any kind, put 'em all online, let the free market sort 'em out.
Never occurred to me that content providers becoming ISPs could be a problem. Now, those telcos and other backboners who got to also offer retail ISP service, I knew that was a bad idea.
... and our laws and social mores have yet to catch up.
IMHO, the format of a jury trial in a state-owned courtroom where the state prosecutes suits under state (or city/county/federal, state is used in the generic sense here) law is hundreds of years old.
The longer we put off reform to accommodate new technology, the more crap like this we'll see. The laws are, quite simply, antiquated.
As someone pointed out elsewhere, people will find a way to see what they want. This particular bloke lives in rural UK and says there's no cable, poor satellite view, and almost non-existent broadcast signals. And the internet service is too unreliable for streaming. So he uses bittorrent to get what he wants overnight and puts the shows on USB drives to play on his Philips DVD player.
IMHO, all of this dramatic thrashing about is an enormous waste of money, time, and effort to ... prevent the future?
I think the world has already changed, and these industry behemoths are simply making a futile run to catch a train that left the station years ago.
* the waterboarding or other torture would likely chase the logic required to recall the encryption key(s)
* as vyvan pointed out, in the US the man has the right to remain silent, but--where is it that the guarantee of rights is honored? I've had mine violated by the foolish and the wicked, with no recourse
* how do we know he was not waterboarded? Perhaps he's being dunked even now
Re: Re: Protectionism
Corporations are good for one thing and one thing only:
Avoiding responsibility.
Re: Re: You miss his point
Ehh, I'll bite: Manufacturing. Rust belt, anyone? Steel? Automobiles?
In fairness, labor unions brought this on their own members.
AND there are *still* tax *incentives* for offshoring. The point here is that the Congress is still licking its corporate masters' boots.
Public service implies loss of rights
IMHO when someone registers for election to public service, s/he gives up certain rights reserved for private citizens. When, exactly, did elected officials turn into a privileged class?
Oh, wait, never mind -- that was when We the People started to tolerate them making rules that applied only to themselves.
I've got it !!!
If they really want to modify behaviours, they ought to copy the US' anti-insurgency model in Afghanistan: Extortion payoffs!
The bigger, better, more attractive story ...
... would have been to get the real scoop, as seen here. Imagine that story breaking on, oh, I don't know, The View, Good Morning America, ... It would be picked up and carried everywhere.
I think the BP Affair could demonstrate a market for "stories about needed reform." Or that might just be the Dristan talking.
Not Invented Here syndrome
My first job out after university was with a SCADA firm whose flagship product was a status/control system for electric utility providers. The product was written completely from scratch, i.e., the real-time database was written in-house. The software didn't even use TCP/IP.
The problems were predictable: Deadlines were consistently missed, all 14 contracted projects were late, the attrition rate grew exponentially, and, of course, bugs, bugs, bugs. The standalone, 100% custom system took one hour to boot, which made testing a nightmare for developers.
Eventually the product was ported to a major vendor version of UNIX.
Well, "child porn" _is_ the #1 trigger phrase
Death of Internet predicted again. I think we're lucky that Andrew Cuomo is no Eliot Spitzer: despite his libertine predilections, he could really get it done. Then again, he chose his fights more carefully, too.
well-intentioned, ill-informed
... and of the state, so inherent doom looms for citizens.
This may not be an intentional power grab, but just as setting filesystem permissions wide open "so the app will work" can lead to serious abuses and security violations. And, you know, disastrous results.
re: Wishful thinking
+1 spot on
I think the "months to live" points more toward the old, clunky cycle of signing artists, setting them up, introducing them to the army of label employees who'll develop, manage, market the band's "brand" ... I think the lag between "acquisition of talent" and "full exploitation of talent" is too long, too costly to sustain relevance.
Looks really stupid
This is actually more stupid than Commodore demanding money from Paramount in exchange for featuring the Amiga in Star Trek IV. One phone call to Apple from Paramount resulted in 20 Macs delivered + two techs onsite.
Apparently by the time Rock Band came out, Fender was smart enough to contribute the design for the guitar and the bass controllers that Harmonix sells. You can even get a Fender Mustang controller with Rock Band 3, and Fender licenses the Strat controller design.
Maybe Gibson was suing to get in on the deal. IMHO that would have worked better with honey than vinegar.
Gibson USA could stand to lighten its lawyer overhead, or at least to educate them on brand exposure/loyalty.
slow wildebeast theory
I think that law enforcement on the whole looks at risk and revenue, rather than, you know, effectively enforcing the law as a (wait for it ...) business model.
Yep. Your friendly neighborhood cop is ultimately acting according to financial interests. It is well known that speeding violations are not enforced unless/until the cops need money.
So, going after companies, corporations, etc., is a bit more costly. It's easier to intimidate individuals. Also, you can incarcerate them, which means money from the Feds. Then there's the bail: You make sure that your magistrates all know to set bail no matter what, to pay back the bail bonds firms who donated to your re-election campaign.
Those who can ...
Those who can, produce. Those who cannot, litigate.
hiding content: dumb idea
There are only so many films, TV shows, etc., that I'm even initially interested enough to pursue. If, as in this example, the streaming choices tend toward zero--or, at least, zero features that I haven't already seen or for which I have no interest--then I'm not going to stream anything.
Same goes for every medium: No DVDs on the shelf (virtual or otherwise) that I'm interested in? Forget it, I'm not hunting for 'em. No TV shows on that look interesting when I want to watch TV? Never mind, I'll find something else to do.
It's not news on Techdirt that the entertainment industry is almost completely disconnected from its audience. This leads me to conclude that this must be another sector in which we are not the customers, merely the consumers.
If we were the customers, why, the merchants would pay attention to what we want, and tailor their offerings thusly.
It's obvious with TV & films: the studios sell/rent the media to TV affiliates/movie theaters. For TV, the customers are the advertisers (see also NEWSPAPERS for an explanation of why this is destined to fail). Films, well, I guess the studios get some cut of ticket prices, so there's at least a chance for them to rate consumer satisfaction, but I'm pretty sure that the vast majority of their revenue comes from charging the theater to show the film.
For DVDs and streaming media, I think they're just plain clueless. They might be able to turn the boat around if they'd eat their own dog food, but I don't see this happening, ever.
Felony, FYI
The original article states, "In fact, it is a felony to use the voter registration database (aka Voter Vault) for anything other than official purposes. In Arizona, misuse of the voter registration database is a Class 6 felony, which means Mecum could face a couple of years in the clink if convicted. If the staffer knew why he was looking up the woman's information, the staffer could also face charges. Additionally, to access Voter Vault, which is a customized interface for the database, the user must sign an agreement with the Republican Party saying they will only use the database for party-related business."
Wait a minute ... isn't AZ the home of that bat$#!+ crazy sheriff?
Chris Greenwood (Phoenix Independent Examiner) asserts that Mecum's misuse of Voter Vault constitutes a felony. I agree in principle, since the input is state voter registration records. VV is 20 years old, though, so the GOP may have managed to wire in exceptions in most, maybe all states.
Google Mecum. He's quite a character. I think he should walk for this one to get his arrogance puffed up enough to do something truly stupid. His explanation for the troubles he's had is that his Democratic enemies are setting him up.
So maybe his next caper will require a Republican to administer the smackdown.
We missed the boat ...
... when we allowed anyone/everyone to get into the ISP business w/o regulating ISPs. I remember it well, and I missed it, lock, stock, and barrel. I was in favor of more ISPs of any kind, put 'em all online, let the free market sort 'em out.
Never occurred to me that content providers becoming ISPs could be a problem. Now, those telcos and other backboners who got to also offer retail ISP service, I knew that was a bad idea.
The world has changed ...
... and our laws and social mores have yet to catch up.
IMHO, the format of a jury trial in a state-owned courtroom where the state prosecutes suits under state (or city/county/federal, state is used in the generic sense here) law is hundreds of years old.
The longer we put off reform to accommodate new technology, the more crap like this we'll see. The laws are, quite simply, antiquated.
Beware of corporate influence in these new laws.
It's called "robots.txt" ...
... look into it.
p2p
As someone pointed out elsewhere, people will find a way to see what they want. This particular bloke lives in rural UK and says there's no cable, poor satellite view, and almost non-existent broadcast signals. And the internet service is too unreliable for streaming. So he uses bittorrent to get what he wants overnight and puts the shows on USB drives to play on his Philips DVD player.
IMHO, all of this dramatic thrashing about is an enormous waste of money, time, and effort to ... prevent the future?
I think the world has already changed, and these industry behemoths are simply making a futile run to catch a train that left the station years ago.
Re: Plan B
Brilliant, on several levels:
* the waterboarding or other torture would likely chase the logic required to recall the encryption key(s)
* as vyvan pointed out, in the US the man has the right to remain silent, but--where is it that the guarantee of rights is honored? I've had mine violated by the foolish and the wicked, with no recourse
* how do we know he was not waterboarded? Perhaps he's being dunked even now