DannyB 's Techdirt Comments

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  • On the post: Pennsylvania Court Shrugs Off Microsoft Decision; Says Google Must Turn Over Emails Stored At Overseas Data Centers

    DannyB ( profile ), 06 Feb, 2017 @ 10:24am

    Re: Distributed File Systems

    Let's talk about data blocks. Consider plaintext data block A.

    B = random data block
    C = A XOR B

    Now delete A. A can be reproduced with C XOR B. But neither B nor C are plaintext. Now store B and C in different countries, on purpose. (Note you could XOR with multiple random blocks so that there are three or more parts that must be recombined to reproduce block A.)

    Now to reproduce block A, at least one block is required from a foreign country.

    Blocks could be stored in multiple countries such that if some number of countries are inaccessible, all necessary blocks can still be retrieved to reproduce the original data.

    This helps make data big-brother proof.

    Note that you don't need quite as many random blocks as you think. Block B could be used again on some other customer's data block somewhere. Just don't use it too often. It still needs to be a drop in the ocean of random data blocks.

  • On the post: Pennsylvania Court Shrugs Off Microsoft Decision; Says Google Must Turn Over Emails Stored At Overseas Data Centers

    DannyB ( profile ), 06 Feb, 2017 @ 10:17am

    Re:

    A design like that may have the unintended side effect of making data potentially inaccessible to all countries.

    At the time of a law enforcement request, Google doesn't know where the data is located. Therefore, it's a crap shoot for law enforcement to try to get a foreign law enforcement agency to cooperate.

    This is superior to Microsoft's approach. Microsoft knew the data was in Ireland. Microsoft argued that Irish law enforcement could require Microsoft to produce the data.

    With Google's approach, law enforcement doesn't know what jurisdiction to cooperate with to produce the data. This could get national jurisdictions into a pissing match.

    The FBI could try to get all jurisdictions where Google data centers are located to all simultaneously serve a warrant for the sought after data. But that is a much higher bar to jump over.

  • On the post: How Is 'Non-Literally Copying' Code Still Copyright Infringement?

    DannyB ( profile ), 06 Feb, 2017 @ 06:19am

    Re: Not so good for the academy

    For awhile the excuse was: Windows 8 my homework!

  • On the post: Federal Court Basically Says It's Okay To Copyright Parts Of Our Laws

    DannyB ( profile ), 03 Feb, 2017 @ 11:51am

    Re: Sounds like this judge needs to have every law possible used against them

    Yep. The best way to get rid of bad laws is to enforce them.

    Or bad court rulings.

  • On the post: Denmark Says Tech Giants Affect It More Than Entire Countries, Decides To Appoint Official 'Digital Ambassador' To Them

    DannyB ( profile ), 03 Feb, 2017 @ 09:41am

    Digital Ambasador To Cyberspace

    There should be an ambassador to the cyberz.

    It would be funny, amusing if Cyberspace eventually gets some sort of de-facto recognition, even if there is no organized government of it.

  • On the post: How Comcast's Growing Broadband Monopoly Is Helping It Temporarily Fend Off The TV Cord Cutting Threat

    DannyB ( profile ), 03 Feb, 2017 @ 09:38am

    Re: Anyone have the metrics for 'lowest tier of subscriber'?

    I'm not sure what you're asking for.

    A few years ago, we went in to cut our cable off completely because we were already on the lowest tier. They said that there was an even lower tier that they didn't advertise. So we got that for a couple years. Eventually we cut even that off. We discovered that all we really watched on cable was the evening news ABC / NBC / CBS. Everything else was Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, Starz, HBO, PBS, YouTube.

    Although my cable market area is not afflicted with Comcast, I would say: go ahead Comcast, but it's too late. I already cut the cord.

  • On the post: Daily Deal: The 2017 Arduino Starter Kit and Course Bundle

    DannyB ( profile ), 03 Feb, 2017 @ 06:18am

    Re: Re: Arduino can't run a full blown OS

    True. The integration of the blinker chip, crystal oscillator and LED onto a single board sure beats separate components such as a 555, an LED and a couple other parts.

  • On the post: Daily Deal: The 2017 Arduino Starter Kit and Course Bundle

    DannyB ( profile ), 03 Feb, 2017 @ 06:16am

    Re: Re: Arduino can't run a full blown OS

    Yes, that is true. A Pi to run higher level powerful abstractions. Micro controllers like Arduino to manipulate the physical world. Connect them all together with I2C or other means.

    But on the other hand . . .

    In 2030, if you want to blink an LED, it will take terabytes of code, including an Arduino emulator in interpreted python on Linux in another emulator. It will be the only option on the market for blinking an LED. But hey, it will be in a SOT-23 package, draw nanoamps, and cost five cents.

  • On the post: Bad Idea Or The Worst Idea? Having The FTC Regulate 'Fake News'

    DannyB ( profile ), 02 Feb, 2017 @ 12:31pm

    Re:

    Or he is 'smart' and earning extra money on the side.

    But if that is the case, he isn't so 'smart' as he thinks. And what value and favor he accumulates may not be so safe as he thinks.

  • On the post: New York AG Sues Charter For Slow Broadband Speeds, Says Company 'Ripping Off' Users With Substandard Service

    DannyB ( profile ), 02 Feb, 2017 @ 05:52am

    Re:

    That is the attorney general's way of getting a headline. Filing a lawsuit.

    A legislator's way of getting a headline is to redefine broadband so that the lower speeds now qualify and proclaim how many more people now have broadband.

  • On the post: Daily Deal: The 2017 Arduino Starter Kit and Course Bundle

    DannyB ( profile ), 02 Feb, 2017 @ 12:33pm

    Arduino can't run a full blown OS

    If you want to blink an LED, then a Raspberry Pi is the way to go!

    Or, use a full blown tower PC with a serial or parallel port. It is possible in software to control the output of one or more pins of a serial or parallel port in order to blink an LED.

  • On the post: Bad Idea Or The Worst Idea? Having The FTC Regulate 'Fake News'

    DannyB ( profile ), 02 Feb, 2017 @ 12:24pm

    Best idea maybe?

    It's the Best idea if the goal is censorship.

    Having a government agency regulate journalism is a great first step.

    But I am perplexed why this would fall under the FTC? Can't Trump sign an executive order to create a newly formed Ministry of Truthiness?

  • On the post: FBI Routinely Hides Payments To Informants, Gives Them A Cut Of Asset Forfeiture Proceeds

    DannyB ( profile ), 01 Feb, 2017 @ 10:40am

    Re: Organized Crime (Investigators)

    Let's not forget Parallel Construction. A conspiracy of prosecutors and law enforcement to commit perjury by lying to the court and the defense about what their evidence actually is.

  • On the post: FBI Routinely Hides Payments To Informants, Gives Them A Cut Of Asset Forfeiture Proceeds

    DannyB ( profile ), 01 Feb, 2017 @ 10:37am

    Re:

    Just avoid looking for BMW keyfobs.

    Based on what I've seen BMWs have way too many engineering problems. Turn signals never seem to work. Acceleration control problems when the traffic light turns green. Various control problems cause BMWs to follow too closely or swerve into other lanes. Especially carpool lanes or the road shoulder followed by sudden uncontrolled acceleration. They should all be recalled as unsafe.

  • On the post: FBI Continues To Demand Far More Info Than It's Supposed To With Its National Security Letters

    DannyB ( profile ), 31 Jan, 2017 @ 10:11am

    Re: Every single request is proof they are untouchable

    Accelerating toward a police state. With nobody to stop them, they can ignore FOIA. They can demand whatever information they want. Maybe they can even ignore the constitution. After all, who will stop them?

  • On the post: Mac Repair Company iGeniuses Sends Legal Threats To Unhappy Customers, Demanding $2500 Per Negative Review

    DannyB ( profile ), 31 Jan, 2017 @ 10:09am

    Customer Satisfaction Policy (short version)

    You agree to be satisfied or pay $2,500.00 each time that you say you are not satisfied.

  • On the post: Ding Dong: Silly Six Strikes Copyright Infringement Scheme Is Dead

    DannyB ( profile ), 30 Jan, 2017 @ 10:50am

    Re: Re: Why Hollywood as We Know It Is Already Over

    Are you saying there are customers who are NOT being screwed over? :-)

  • On the post: Our Humanity

    DannyB ( profile ), 30 Jan, 2017 @ 10:41am

    Re: Two points

    In addition to skipping articles or going to another site, people can create their own site.

    The Internet has given a printing press to anyone who wants one.

  • On the post: Our Humanity

    DannyB ( profile ), 30 Jan, 2017 @ 10:36am

    Re: TRUMP CAN DO NO WRONG

    Having one's mouth stapled shut does not prevent one from tweeting new, unreviewed, US policy on the spur of the moment.

  • On the post: Ding Dong: Silly Six Strikes Copyright Infringement Scheme Is Dead

    DannyB ( profile ), 30 Jan, 2017 @ 08:03am

    Re: Re: Why Hollywood as We Know It Is Already Over

    Sometimes facts facts must be formed to fit the mold of an agenda.

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