Christopher’s Techdirt Profile

On the post: Microsoft Helps Get A Computer Recycler Sentenced To 15 Months In Prison For Offering Unapproved Recovery Disks

Christopher ( profile ), 12 Mar, 2018 @ 05:50am

Right up until you assert,,,

"To ensure someone gets tossed in jail for breaking the chain of planned obsolescence, Microsoft (and prosecutors) want the court to believe the existence of recovery disks that do nothing unless a person already has a licensed copy of Windows has somehow made the company $700,000 poorer."

Was the planned obsolescence proved? No. You can't state it as fact.

-C

On the post: Police Union Boss Attacks New DA For Daring To Speak To Police Recruits About Deadly Force

Christopher ( profile ), 08 Mar, 2018 @ 05:32am

This DA might be onto something, if...

... he decided to allow police officers to carry PR-24s again.

Despite what you might think, having a non-lethal baton gives a police officer an immediate non-lethal option to something less than a knife or gun in the fight. Well-trained and experience police officers with a PR-24 are easily a match for a knife as well, but that's besides the point. Point: once departments ditched batons, PR-24s, and other kinetic options, the move went to sprays -- which really don't work in all situations and comically get misued -- and technology like tasers and stun guns.

Training is important. Having trained officers makes a huge difference in how they police. Training them to engage without killing is kinda obvious, but the move to point-and-click policing is making it easier to simply harm people who don't comply fast enough, and that removes a bit of humanity from the encounter.

Good luck.

-C

On the post: Judge Backs AT&T, Comcast Nuisance Suit Against Google Fiber In Nashville

Christopher ( profile ), 28 Nov, 2017 @ 04:10pm

Contract law is the interesting move here.

"...t the city did not have jurisdiction over utility poles -- and that the policy change violates contract law. "

This is how Robert Moses, and his authorities, were able to ensconce themselves in the state of New York and build, without any regard for what legislators or executive branches wanted.

I think, however, the city still has eminent domain in its back pocket for extreme cases. Now's a good time to use it.

-C

On the post: Angry Lawyer Already Engaged In A SLAPP Suit Promises To Sue More Critics, Use His Machine Gun If Sanctioned

Christopher ( profile ), 20 Nov, 2017 @ 12:40pm

I was with you right up until..

... this dumb line: " Amadou Diallo, the man assassinated by the NYPD in 1999"

Assassinated? Really? This ceiling on your credibility keeps getting bumped by these cheap shots. Hey, have a good day, hope you don't get pulled over!

-C

On the post: Cards Against Humanity's Trolling Of Trump's Border Wall Shows How The Internet Has Removed Gatekeepers

Christopher ( profile ), 17 Nov, 2017 @ 08:21am

Gatekeeping, this is really interesting.

I've never thought of it this way, but yes, being self-owned and having a logistics solution that is resistant to outside influence is definitely freeing, and marvelously so.

I just wish this could scale down to individuals, i.e. my freedom of speech could have far less restrictions on it with respect to workplace.

-C

On the post: Deputy Shoots Family's Terrier; Complains About Cost Of The Bullet

Christopher ( profile ), 09 Nov, 2017 @ 06:32am

Re: Attitudes incompatible with good policing

I was with you until you decided to pull out the "serve" argument.

Police officers serve the public good, not people. This is why a police officer is justified in punching you in the face if you order him or her to get you a glass of water. They aren't those kinds of servants.

-C

On the post: Verizon Lobbies FCC To Block States From Protecting Broadband Privacy, Net Neutrality

Christopher ( profile ), 02 Nov, 2017 @ 06:06am

Serious question inside.

Given the appointment of an obvious Verizon puppet to the head of the FCC, and given the real lack of interest by the current executive office of the US to protect ordinary citizens, what realistic choices do we have?

The author states: "That leaves us with two choices: improving market competition to increase organic pressure until Verizon behaves, or leaning on some fairly basic regulatory oversight to ensure consumer privacy is protected by some basic rules of the road."

Putting aside the fallacy of two choices, what are the realistic chances of improving organic market conditions? Zero, I'll just skip to the answer.

What are the chances of any basic regulatory oversight during the next three years? Zero.

So, unless someone can show another way to break this, I don't see any way to stop them. Writing letters to the FCC means nothing -- they don't have to listen, and from what I can see, no one can compel them to work for our interests.

So someone please explain how to force the FCC to protect us... because if we're forced to fight state-by-state against VZ, were going to lose.

-C

On the post: AT&T Spent Hundreds Of Billions On Mergers And All It Got Was A Big Pile Of Cord Cutters

Christopher ( profile ), 19 Oct, 2017 @ 04:24am

You need to regulate businesses.

It's simply put, and impossible to achieve in America now, but you need to regulate business. All business. Everywhere. Even if it's the lightest possible regulation like registering and paying taxes, regulate. There is no such thing as free capitalism here, and there's even less support for that than regulation.

In this specific example, the first and best step would be to separate carriers from content. ABSOLUTELY. Oh, you maintain the wires? You can't offer media. At all. And not holding companies either, we find that out and you're fined $50k a day for each violation.

You'd get your net neutrality for sure. There's plenty of good money -- not great, but good money -- in being in infrastructure. It requires capital to invest, but you have a captive audience of sorts. But if your only interest is maintaining the wires, you can't get involved in the fuckery of limiting TV channels, Internet sites, and so forth.

Oh yeah.

-C

On the post: Daily Deal: The Ultimate Computer Science Career Bundle

Christopher ( profile ), 14 Sep, 2017 @ 12:19pm

CompSci? Ehhh, not so much

More like CompEng but not even that... software dev maybe?

-C

On the post: Florida Sheriff Plans To Use Hurricane Irma To Bump Up Arrest Numbers, Fill His Jail

Christopher ( profile ), 07 Sep, 2017 @ 08:11am

Consequences of your warrant

Your warrant forces you to deal with the situation; you're not entitled to some benefits if you have this open issue.

It's legal, and it's proper.

As for the argument about putting deputies at risk for rescuing people with warrants... let's have some statistics on that risk, otherwise your thought experiment is a bag of hot air.

-C

On the post: Docs Show Police Also Sought (And Obtained) Phone Records For Police Shooting Victim's Girlfriend

Christopher ( profile ), 05 Jul, 2017 @ 11:43am

Amazing

" This was an attempt to mine for dirt that might be used to justify an unjustifiable shoot."

Clearly it was justified. Your opinion isn't greater than the findings of a jury in the trial. Too bad for you and your agenda!

-C

On the post: Three Thoughts On EU's $2.7 Billion Antitrust Google Fine

Christopher ( profile ), 28 Jun, 2017 @ 12:46pm

And what if Google doesn't pay?

What's the EU going to do? What *can* they do? Block Google at the endpoints?

If Google tells Canada to go jump off a cliff, what is Canada going to do to enforce its ruling? What *can* they do?

I don't understand the implications if Google simply decided to defy them.

On the post: This Machine Kills Accountability: The Ongoing Persecution Of Good Cops

Christopher ( profile ), 09 Jun, 2017 @ 05:38am

Ah, this explains you, Tim.

"Good cops are a relative rarity."

That, right there, is why you're a bad author, and unqualified to talk about the subject. You clearly don't know any.

-C

On the post: British Human Rights Activist Faces Prison For Refusing To Hand Over Passwords At UK Border

Christopher ( profile ), 19 May, 2017 @ 07:33am

Re: Re: Ouch

The only proper response to such a request is "Fuck you"

On the post: It's Time For The FCC To Actually Listen: The Vast Majority Of FCC Commenters Support Net Neutrality

Christopher ( profile ), 17 May, 2017 @ 06:57am

Or what?

What if the FCC doesn't listen? Is there an actual negative outcome possible for the FCC chair and FCC itself? I don't see one, not with this administration.

On the post: Mormon Church Tries To Censor MormonLeaks Using Copyright, Streisand Effect Takes Over

Christopher ( profile ), 16 Mar, 2017 @ 10:15am

Tolerant?

Maybe re-read Mark Twain's "Roughing It" to see how tolerant Mormons were.

-C

On the post: Cop Objects To Editorial About Community Policing, Sets Fire To 20-Year Career In Response

Christopher ( profile ), 13 Jan, 2017 @ 05:49am

Re: Re: Cop probably suffering from PTSD

Prove it or STFU. PTSD is a real thing, police brutality is a real thing, but each is individual, not systemic. And no, police brutality is not systemic, despite what the anti-cop authors say.

On the post: Facebook Announces Its Pilot Plans To 'Deal' With Fake News — Not With Censorship, But With More Info

Christopher ( profile ), 15 Dec, 2016 @ 10:27am

Wikipedia or Slashdot models

Your reputation will eventually weight your determination of an article as "fake/not fake"over time, and as you become a trusted moderator, you'll be invested in the ethics of the role.

It's not perfect, but it keeps FB from having to build teams to act as arbiters for this.

-C

On the post: AT&T Will Zero Rate its Upcoming Streaming TV Service, Doesn't Think FCC Will Act

Christopher ( profile ), 22 Sep, 2016 @ 08:58am

Hmm.

The FCC could ask for how they calculate the data charges, then everyone will see how AT&T values the data and content, separately.

-C

On the post: New York City Threatens To Sue Verizon For Failure To Meet Fiber Deployment Promises

Christopher ( profile ), 15 Sep, 2016 @ 08:50am

Eminent domain

Declare it for any property that could be re-used by competitors. See how they like that.

Then cancel the contract and open it up to Google. Watch how fast Verizon rolls trucks.

-C

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