CSMcDonald 's Techdirt Comments

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  • On the post: Senator Marco Rubio: Speech I Disagree With Is Pollution

    CSMcDonald ( profile ), 28 Apr, 2021 @ 01:42pm

    As a FL resident....

    I would just like to single out this sentence as being particularly amusing given the state of the environment in Florida:
    "No policymaker would allow a company to dump toxic waste into a river upstream of a thriving town he is charged with governing."

    Hi Marco, are you familiar with the red tides and algae blooms caused by runoffs from the farming industry into Lake Okeechobee and then flowing down the rivers to flow into the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean causing havoc to the various water based businesses in the towns that rely on them?

    Or the current situation in Bradenton with a phosphate dumping pond threatening to overflow causing the evacuation of local residents a couple of weeks ago?

    Which politicians have been in charge of this state and allowing these industries free and unregulated power to do whatever they want again?

  • On the post: Whistleblower Accidentally Demonstrates How Much Of The TSA's Security Efforts Is Pure Theater

    CSMcDonald ( profile ), 24 Dec, 2019 @ 09:58am

    Observation shows this happening

    Flying out of Orlando the weekend after Thanksgiving I could see relaxed screening in operation - there was a half hour wait to get through security (which is fairly high at that airport, it's generally one of the more fluid security lines for a busy airport) - in two lines we could hear the TSA officer telling people to keep their shoes on, belts on, all electronics / laptops in the bag, and just put it through the x-ray.

    I of course had chosen the line that required all the normal shoes off, electronics out, etc. Which led to confusion as the officer directing our line didn't say much of anything and people were confused because of the directions from the other line.

    And of course you just smile and try not to look like you require secondary screening and get through.

  • On the post: Cable Giant Spectrum On Quest To Outlaw 'Insane' Streaming Password Sharing

    CSMcDonald ( profile ), 23 Sep, 2019 @ 07:43am

    Gotta love Spectrum

    I remember when the locals in my area were all overjoyed that our local cable company (with good local based tech support and pretty good customer service) was bought by Spectrum and how this was going to make things soooo much better.

    Haven't heard them praising it much since they took over and ruined support and service.

  • On the post: Trump Announces One-Sided Plan To Meet With Video Game Makers Over Gun Violence

    CSMcDonald ( profile ), 06 Mar, 2018 @ 04:25pm

    It looks like the ESA has agreed to meet with him Thursday?

    https://www.polygon.com/2018/3/5/17082816/trump-gun-violence-video-game-industry-meeting-esa

  • On the post: Gizmodo Completely Misses The Point Of Cord Cutting

    CSMcDonald ( profile ), 14 Sep, 2016 @ 06:38am

    And broadcast

    I live in an area where I get every broadcast channel clearly in HD with a leaf antenna - I have a USB TV Capture card and a DVR app - and I have apps that can play to the TV via DLNA.

    So there's a big savings for all broadcast shows I may wish to watch and record. For other shows that are cable only, buying a season pass on iTunes or Amazon or Google is still cheaper than the entire season would be in cable costs (about $70/mo). - I figured that even subscribing to a season pass for the shows I watch would still only cost me about 2 months of cable for the entire season.

    This is keeping everything strictly legal and legit. The Gawker article is total click bait wtf.

  • On the post: Challenged By Cord Cutting, The Discovery Channel Seeks Redemption In The Wake Of Honey Boo Boo

    CSMcDonald ( profile ), 19 Jan, 2016 @ 06:51pm

    Well, Honey Boo Boo aired on TLC which is also owned by Discovery Networks, so that's a minor point, but on the whole all of Discovery Network's channels (History, Discovery, TLC, Science) have plummeted.

    TLC was The Learning Channel and became the trainwreck reality show channel, History became ancient aliens and hitler, I don't even know what Discovery channel is anymore and Science is airing Secret Alien Nasa Files and other dreck.

    Mythbusters was the only show I still watched (I once upgraded my cable service back when digital was new to get more History channel stuff, back when they aired actual good content like Engineering an Empire and such) - and Mythbusters was doing a lot of BS shows like episodes that were advertisements for other DSC shows like Storm Chasers, and then an entire episode that was a big advertisement for The Green Hornet movie that had just come out.

    The Mythbusters advertising wouldn't be so galling if Adam didn't proclaim loudly at eveyr chance he gets that they are real science.

  • On the post: Newsflash: Car Network Security Is Still A Horrible, Very Dangerous Joke

    CSMcDonald ( profile ), 21 Jul, 2015 @ 11:17am

    Yet another example of why not everything needs to be connected to the internet - especially when security is not the number one concern when creating the product.

    The biggest take away I had from this article was horror that they did this demonstration on a public highway with a good amount of traffic - this should have been demonstrated in a controlled environment where the only people who were endangered were the ones who knowingly participated - not every other car and passenger on the highway at the time. They cut power to the vehicle when there was no place to pull over - in a 70mph zone - completely reckless.

  • On the post: South Carolina Massacre Results In Apple Going Flag-Stupid In The App Store

    CSMcDonald ( profile ), 25 Jun, 2015 @ 12:11pm

    I am still thinking that this very stupid act is going to turn out to giving subcontractors who are possibly not from this country vague instructions on removing "offensive uses" (the term used in the e-mail set to developers affected) and the typically stupid Apple non responding to any inquiries at all.

    These apps will likely return after enough ridicule has been heaped on Apple for yet another idiotic problem with app store rejections.

  • On the post: Apple's Arbitrary Review Process Now Being Used To Stop Competing Pebble Smart Watch

    CSMcDonald ( profile ), 05 Jun, 2015 @ 05:20pm

    Re: Re: Well except..

    Thanks - I missed that that one was in review that long, my error.

    The delay on the new app is still within the normal approval range from what I've read elsewhere. No excuse on the first app, the review process is far too opaque and arbitrary.

  • On the post: Apple's Arbitrary Review Process Now Being Used To Stop Competing Pebble Smart Watch

    CSMcDonald ( profile ), 05 Jun, 2015 @ 04:49pm

    Well except..

    That the app wasn't actually waiting 43 days - Pebble revoked the version when it was approved and submitted a bug fix - that put it back to step one. Many other iOS developers have chimed in on other forums to point out this is all normal.

    Techdirt is a fantastic site except when it comes to reporting on Apple - there is a decided bias and the usual well researched stories go for OMG APPLE BAD EVIL which is a shame.

  • On the post: Twitter Testing Secret Filter To Stop Abuse: Is That A Good Thing Or An Attack On Free Speech?

    CSMcDonald ( profile ), 13 Nov, 2014 @ 12:44pm

    Re: Re: Re: Re:

    So Twitter should be classed as a public utility?

  • On the post: Twitter Testing Secret Filter To Stop Abuse: Is That A Good Thing Or An Attack On Free Speech?

    CSMcDonald ( profile ), 13 Nov, 2014 @ 10:50am

    Re: Re:

    They are not a public entity in the sense a university or other taxpayer funded organization is - they are not the government and therefore they have no capacity to stamp on anyone's freedom of speech. They are under zero obligation to provide a platform for behavior they do not wish to tolerate.

  • On the post: Marvel Goes DMCA Crazy Over Leaked Avengers 2 Trailer, Then Puts It On Its Own YouTube Page

    CSMcDonald ( profile ), 23 Oct, 2014 @ 12:56pm

    You're looking at it the wrong way

    The trailer being leaked didn't damage people wanting to watch the trailer, it damaged them from making it part of a show they want people to watch - namely Agents of SHIELD.

    Having the first airing during the show was the way to get more people to tune intot he show, so yes, it did conceivably harm their interests to have it leaked early to the 'net.

    Give them credit for realizing the genie was out of the bottle and putting the full HD trailer up for people quickly.

  • On the post: Apple May Want To Protect Your Phone Data From Snooping, But It's Snarfing Up Your Local Desktop Searches

    CSMcDonald ( profile ), 20 Oct, 2014 @ 09:38pm

    maybe not quite so much

    http://www.theverge.com/2014/10/20/7022881/apple-yosemite-spotlight-privacy-concerns

    the Verge did a bit more digging into what is actually happening.

  • On the post: Apple Finally Allows iPhone-Ers To Nix That U2 Album They Never Wanted From Their Phones

    CSMcDonald ( profile ), 16 Sep, 2014 @ 10:17am

    This has to be the biggest non issue I have ever seen anyone complain about.

  • On the post: Ebola Cure Not Fully Developed Because Big Pharma Not Interested In Saving Lives Of Poor People In Africa

    CSMcDonald ( profile ), 07 Aug, 2014 @ 10:24am

    Not a cut & dry issue....

    This serum is so experimental that there are serious bio-ethical issues involved in testing it - alternative headline if they started testing it in poor African countries "Big Pharma Uses Poor People As Guinea Pigs For Unproven Drugs"

    http://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/40714/title/Bioethics-of-Experimental-Ebola-Treatments/

  • On the post: Comic Artist Randy Queen Now Claims Post About His Abuse Of Copyright To Stifle Criticism Is Defamatory

    CSMcDonald ( profile ), 04 Aug, 2014 @ 01:26pm

    Well...

    He's certainly guaranteed I won't buy anything he's involved with....

  • On the post: Consume, Conform, Obey: What Homeland Security's Targeting Of Anti-Consumerist Activities Says About The Government's Desires

    CSMcDonald ( profile ), 24 Jun, 2014 @ 09:43am

    Re: Re: Um...

    'Burbs - another great film.

  • On the post: Consume, Conform, Obey: What Homeland Security's Targeting Of Anti-Consumerist Activities Says About The Government's Desires

    CSMcDonald ( profile ), 23 Jun, 2014 @ 03:44pm

    Um...

    John Carpenter, not Joe Dante...

  • On the post: Hot Mouse On Mau5 Action! Disney To Challenge Deadmau5's Latest Trademark Filing

    CSMcDonald ( profile ), 02 Apr, 2014 @ 09:15am

    Considering that part of Disney's Mouse Ears branding is just the silhouette, I find this way too close to the mouse ears on all things Disney related - if I saw this mark I would honestly think it was a Mickey Ears design.

    I'm not a moron nor in a hurry.

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