ahow628 's Techdirt Comments

Latest Comments (277)

• On the post: China's Richest Man Tells MPAA's Chris Dodd To Tell Donald Trump To Be Nice To China… Or Else

  

  ahow628 ( profile ), 15 Dec, 2016 @ 07:09am

  Re: Rich Communist?

  He's in a billion way tie for richest man.

• On the post: As Expected, Verizon's Attempt To Woo Millennials Is Falling Flat On Its Face

  

  ahow628 ( profile ), 26 May, 2016 @ 11:15am

  "It's not exactly our strong suit," McAdam conceded.
  
  You know know what your strong suit is, McAdams? Serving up a fuckton of data at fast speeds all over the country. Why don't you stick to that and stop dicking around.

• On the post: US Gov't Agencies Freak Out Over Juniper Backdoor; Perhaps They'll Now Realize Why Backdoors Are A Mistake

  

  ahow628 ( profile ), 21 Dec, 2015 @ 11:50am

  Inventory list

  I'd like to see an inventory list of which agencies have Juniper hardware/software. I imagine it might go something like this:
  FBI: 124 devices, 723 installs
  NSA: 0 devices, 0 installs
  CIA: 334 devices, 1,354 installs

• On the post: The Paris Attacks Were An Intelligence Community Failure, Not An 'Encryption' Problem

  

  ahow628 ( profile ), 20 Nov, 2015 @ 11:53am

  Re: I think the problem of cost/benefit analysis

  I was thinking cost/benefit over a broader spectrum.
  
  At the airport, I think running my carry on bag through an X-ray machine is perfectly acceptable. I think having them check my photo id is perfectly acceptable. I'm ok with walking through a metal detector. I think those are pretty low cost barriers that keep some of the nastier stuff out.
  
  I don't think that sucking up all our data, crippling encryption, and removing 4th amendment protections are worth the cost at all.

• On the post: TV Industry Starts Running Fewer Ads To Combat Netflix, Cord Cutting

  

  ahow628 ( profile ), 20 Nov, 2015 @ 10:41am

  Re: Re: Netflix or GTFO

  No, it was passenger pigeon, but look what the MPAA did to those!

• On the post: TV Industry Starts Running Fewer Ads To Combat Netflix, Cord Cutting

  

  ahow628 ( profile ), 19 Nov, 2015 @ 10:53am

  Re: Why should cable channels have any ads?

  I also find it hilarious that cable has to pay for free OTA channels. Total bizarro world.

• On the post: The Paris Attacks Were An Intelligence Community Failure, Not An 'Encryption' Problem

  

  ahow628 ( profile ), 19 Nov, 2015 @ 10:49am

  Disagree

  In other words, all the calls for increased surveillance and less encryption really seem like a smoke screen by an intelligence community that failed.
  
  I'll disagree with this. I don't think it failed. I think they did exactly what they are capable of but the expectations of them are just unattainably high. The same goes for TSA, DHS, and pretty much every police department ever.
  
  But, I think this is why it is very important to perform cost/benefit analysis on these types of things.

• On the post: TV Industry Starts Running Fewer Ads To Combat Netflix, Cord Cutting

  

  ahow628 ( profile ), 19 Nov, 2015 @ 06:12am

  Netflix originals

  A few years back, I placed Netflix firmly in the niche category. When they announced they had inked a deal with Kevin Spacey for House of Cards, I was very skeptical, but it definitely piqued my interest. After watching the first season of House of Cards in two days, I was like, "This is the future." Now, I see Master of None, w/ Bob and David, Narcos, and all the other originals and I kind of panic because I will never have time to watch everything I want to watch. Netflix has changed my life.
  
  This leads to my second point, which is that it hasn't changed my kids' lives AT ALL. They started out watching Dinosaur Train, Elmo, and now Puffin Rock (an original) on Netflix. When we are in a hotel room and they see a commercial Nick Jr or whatever, they are like, "What the F is this garbage? Put my show back on!" They just have no clue and neither does cable.

• On the post: Add Pittsburgh To The List Of Cities That Say Verizon Ripped Them Off

  

  ahow628 ( profile ), 13 Oct, 2015 @ 09:27am

  "explain its accomplishments"

  If you have to explain them, they probably aren't...

• On the post: Pokemon Wants To Totally Bankrupt One Of Its Biggest Fans, Thanks To Copyright

  

  ahow628 ( profile ), 02 Oct, 2015 @ 07:47pm

  New party idea

  Guys, I just got a new party idea. I'm going to throw a Davis Wright Tremaine party. I'll go as Stuart Dunwoody. My costume will be a gimp suit and I'll be fucking people up, both literally and figuratively. Thoughts?

• On the post: Time Warner Cable CEO: Cable TV Pricing Is So High Because We're The Mercedes Of Entertainment

  

  ahow628 ( profile ), 19 Sep, 2015 @ 09:17am

  Building a bridge

  "We've decided not to build a bridge over the river because so far, we haven't seen anyone swimming across." -City planning department

• On the post: DHS Head Jeh Johnson Recognizes The Privacy/Security Tradeoff, But Seems Unlikely To Make The First Concession

  

  ahow628 ( profile ), 14 Jul, 2015 @ 05:37am

  Other comments are missing the point.

  Stop saying "he's an idiot because prisons are dangerous." It missed the point completely.
  
  If I have the only copy of the keys to my own house, does that make my house a prison? NO! That is insane!
  
  He is trying to say a perfectly safe cyber city would require every computer to be disconnected from the internet. That is definitely a poor solution.
  
  A better solution would be to have every computer encrypted and have every connection be encrypted with private keys.

• On the post: How The FBI's Dysfunctional Search Systems Keep Information Out Of FOIA Requesters' Hands

  

  ahow628 ( profile ), 13 Jul, 2015 @ 10:28pm

  Re:

  That was exactly my point in the "Feature? Bug? Worse?" comment above. It is very concerning either way.

• On the post: How The FBI's Dysfunctional Search Systems Keep Information Out Of FOIA Requesters' Hands

  

  ahow628 ( profile ), 13 Jul, 2015 @ 06:27am

  Feature? Bug? Worse?

  Depending on who you are, being non-responsive can be seen as a feature or a bug. That's "fine" or whatever when you are talking about requests for documents for news reporting or other not-as-time-sensitive stuff. (It isn't fine, but let's disregard that for the moment)
  
  My main concern would be whether this is the same system they use for searching during actual, pressing investigations. It would be very disturbing if in the course of investigating something like the OKC bombing they missed connections and evidence because they were doing these same sorts of half-assed queries.
  
  Heck, who knows - maybe that is a feature, not a bug, as well.

• On the post: China Surprises No One By Passing Cybersecurity Law That Gives It More Control Of The Internet

  

  ahow628 ( profile ), 08 Jul, 2015 @ 06:30pm

  Come on, Silicon Valley!

  Dear America,
  
  If China can do it, why can't Silicon Valley?!?
  
  Love,
  Dir. Comey

• On the post: MPAA Argues That Sony Emails Shouldn't Be Used As Evidence In Google Lawsuit

  

  ahow628 ( profile ), 06 Jul, 2015 @ 08:29pm

  Re:

  But in this specific case, I think the whole issue is that Google is saying that Hood and the MPAA were working in cahoots and Hood and the MPAA are saying, "No way, dude!!!" Meanwhile they are saying that the communication between an attorney and their client is privileged and shouldn't be disclosed. All to say, the reason they don't want it disclosed is the exact reason they are being sued by Google in the first place.
  
  Basically, this sounds like a last ditch effort to stay the execution.

• On the post: MPAA Argues That Sony Emails Shouldn't Be Used As Evidence In Google Lawsuit

  

  ahow628 ( profile ), 06 Jul, 2015 @ 08:21pm

  Re:

  In case their client base is running thin, Indiana is known as the Mississippi of the North. Greg Zoeller is an idiot and would be happy to break any law necessary.

• On the post: Kenya's Ingenious Solution To Cybercrime: Register Every Wi-Fi User And Device With The Government

  

  ahow628 ( profile ), 06 Jul, 2015 @ 08:01pm

  Re: Re: And the really funny thing is ...

  You don't think the government of Nigeria can build servers to handle the forwarding of all traffic through one government checkpoint? Just look at all the email traffic they handle going to the US.
  
  "Dear honorable sir, I am Jobley Masterson, esq and I represent a Nigerian price..."

• On the post: Kenya's Ingenious Solution To Cybercrime: Register Every Wi-Fi User And Device With The Government

  

  ahow628 ( profile ), 06 Jul, 2015 @ 12:10pm

  Where will the cyber criminals go?

  But where will the cyber criminals go? My guess: Nigeria.
  
  Wait, is this an old article? Did this already happen? I'm confused.

• On the post: TSA Asks America To LOL At Traveler Who Had $75,000 Taken From Him By Federal Agents

  

  ahow628 ( profile ), 01 Jul, 2015 @ 01:12pm

  Bribery

  WTF? I read this entire article and it is 100% clear that no one in this country knows how bribery works. They all screwed it up so bad.

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