Sure there is - the attention of Australian news consumers.
How likely is it, do you think, that Facebook will eventually roll out a "Premium" tier for people who want to click on links to newspaper articles? The grift goes on and on.
If this system were implemented, wouldn't any nefarious bomb-makers simply become a little bit neater in response and not dump their bomb-refuse down the drain (or, at least, dump it down the drain someplace far away from their bomb factory)?
I'm all in favor of alternative to unchecked mass-surveillance, but let's make sure they're workable and effective as opposed to YET ANOTHER security theater distraction.
I mostly work from my house but today I'm at the office. Maybe that's why I'm wondering about corporate privacy and what the impact on it might be. My company conducts a lot of internal business via email and Skype. We talk strategy. We make plans.
Does the NSA now have all of those records of our thoughts and our plans?
Yes.
Are they keeping all of that secret from my company's competitors?
I hope so.
Will that always be the case?
...
Well, a few years ago I would've said the NSA wouldn't have all of that data. Now, I know that's wrong. What else will change in a couple of years? What else has ALREADY changed?
What do you think are the odds that these bills were never intended to be passed as they are written, but rather they are collectively just a cats-paw intended to get a slightly-less-awful version by as a "reasonable compromise"*? Given the cartoonish, over-the-top policies outlined in SOPA/PIPA, that seems more and more likely to me as the debate drags on and the "manager's amendments" pile up.
*There is no such thing as "reasonable" with this kind of prior restraint.
Piracy of intellectual property [robs] the makers of recordings, videos, movies, games, and other creative works of the money they are entitled to, [and]...costs tens of thousands of people their jobs each year.
How long has that "fact" been in circulation? Because if it's been repeated for more than a few years, wouldn't it logically be the case that by now there's nobody left employed to make "recordings, videos, movies, games and other creative works?" Where are all of these TV shows and videogames coming from?!
My tea leaves are telling me that the obvious integrations are the ascendent portions of Microsoft's empire: Windows Mobile and XBox. If Skype has existing voice-handling infrastructure that can integrate with and either take some load off or augment either of those services, Microsoft can focus on keeping the mobile and gaming hardware optimized for those roles.
Skype also has IM, videochat and desktop-sharing functionality built in. My company's primary product trainer is located 2000 physical miles from the home office, but still brings new hires up to speed on the product with effective demonstrations via Skype. I do the same thing with Windows Remote Assistance when my mom can't find a file on her computer. I think there are plenty of parallels and overlaps, given how much MS really does these days.
Fans of Neal Stephenson's novels are likely to be unusually well-informed about this topic. The books of The Baroque Cycle examine the rising influence of currency markets, trade and capitalism in Enlightenment-era Europe, and feature long (LONG) discourses on the nature of money and how it impacts societies which use it. If you are able to make it through the sometimes-super-brainy books, you will end up with a thorough understanding of economics in general and currency in particular (as well as a pretty solid understanding of European politics around the time of the Hundred Years' War and the Golden Revolution).
Likewise, his novel Cryptonomicon (which, full disclosure, I REALLY love) delves deeply into the issues of currency in the digital age. Half of the book follows a group of tech entrepeneurs who are trying to establish a highly secure digital currency which could be a viable online alternative to nation-backed currencies (i.e. the dollar, yuan, yen, etc.) Again, Stephenson presents the economic, scientific and philosophical issues as plot points in the book itself.
His earlier works Snow Crash and The Diamond Age take place in a future where a digital currency paired with extremely strong cryptographic security have actually pushed the world into a post-nation political reality. The advent of untraceable online transactions made it so no government could accurately track its citizens' actual income or net worth, leading to a total inability to collect income taxes and in turn to a severe governmental collapse. It's unlikely, but a fascinating concept to explore.
If you are interested in Stephenson's work but don't want to invest the time in an 800+ page tome, I highly recommend The Great Simoleon Caper, available for free on TIME Magazine's website. It appears to take place in the universe that is the setting for Snow Crash and The Diamond Age (which may or may not be the same setting as his other works, the links between his books are tenuous at best and not necessary for enjoying any of the stories).
First off, thank you for your exhaustive coverage of the Righthaven debacle. I have been following it closely, and I appreciate your viewpoint on the situation.
I do have one niggling critique of this article, which is that your coverage doesn't help me to make sense of what's going on in this filing. I THINK I understand it, but one of the reasons I come to Techdirt is to get an outside check on my own comprehension. Specifically, the sentence beginning with "You really need to read the whole thing below..." is where I would hope to get a layman's read on what this judge's determination actually means in terms of what's going on with all of the filings and counter-filings in this case. But that sentence is a whopping run on that doesn't really break down the legal maneuvering for a non-expert. (Why yes, I WAS an English major in college...how did you guess?!)
From what I can gather, Righthaven is objecting to the EFF's request (which the judge had approved) that Righthaven respond within 14 days with a justification of why some certain documents should remain sealed. Righthaven did not reply within that timeframe (or even within an additional 7 days after) and the judge is faulting them for that. Righthaven cries foul, saying the 14 day stipulation is "underhanded," and the judge shoots back that it's not underhanded at all and that Righthaven shouldn't even bother to contest this, unless they just didn't read or ignored the judge's order. Do I have the gist of it?
Again, thanks for your excellent coverage of this case. I'm assuming that this post went up quickly due to its importance, and I'm willing to grant that maybe I should just shut up and wait for a more considered breakdown of what this all means....
Techdirt has not posted any stories submitted by Jober.
"there's nothing to bargain over"
Sure there is - the attention of Australian news consumers.
How likely is it, do you think, that Facebook will eventually roll out a "Premium" tier for people who want to click on links to newspaper articles? The grift goes on and on.
Were we thinking of the same SNL sketch...?
If this system were implemented, wouldn't any nefarious bomb-makers simply become a little bit neater in response and not dump their bomb-refuse down the drain (or, at least, dump it down the drain someplace far away from their bomb factory)?
I'm all in favor of alternative to unchecked mass-surveillance, but let's make sure they're workable and effective as opposed to YET ANOTHER security theater distraction.
Other kinds of privacy
I mostly work from my house but today I'm at the office. Maybe that's why I'm wondering about corporate privacy and what the impact on it might be. My company conducts a lot of internal business via email and Skype. We talk strategy. We make plans.
Does the NSA now have all of those records of our thoughts and our plans?
Yes.
Are they keeping all of that secret from my company's competitors?
I hope so.
Will that always be the case?
...
Well, a few years ago I would've said the NSA wouldn't have all of that data. Now, I know that's wrong. What else will change in a couple of years? What else has ALREADY changed?
A great, succinct analysis. Thanks.
What do you think are the odds that these bills were never intended to be passed as they are written, but rather they are collectively just a cats-paw intended to get a slightly-less-awful version by as a "reasonable compromise"*? Given the cartoonish, over-the-top policies outlined in SOPA/PIPA, that seems more and more likely to me as the debate drags on and the "manager's amendments" pile up.
*There is no such thing as "reasonable" with this kind of prior restraint.
So, just out of curiosity...
How long has that "fact" been in circulation? Because if it's been repeated for more than a few years, wouldn't it logically be the case that by now there's nobody left employed to make "recordings, videos, movies, games and other creative works?" Where are all of these TV shows and videogames coming from?!
My tea leaves are telling me that the obvious integrations are the ascendent portions of Microsoft's empire: Windows Mobile and XBox. If Skype has existing voice-handling infrastructure that can integrate with and either take some load off or augment either of those services, Microsoft can focus on keeping the mobile and gaming hardware optimized for those roles.
Skype also has IM, videochat and desktop-sharing functionality built in. My company's primary product trainer is located 2000 physical miles from the home office, but still brings new hires up to speed on the product with effective demonstrations via Skype. I do the same thing with Windows Remote Assistance when my mom can't find a file on her computer. I think there are plenty of parallels and overlaps, given how much MS really does these days.
currency
Fans of Neal Stephenson's novels are likely to be unusually well-informed about this topic. The books of The Baroque Cycle examine the rising influence of currency markets, trade and capitalism in Enlightenment-era Europe, and feature long (LONG) discourses on the nature of money and how it impacts societies which use it. If you are able to make it through the sometimes-super-brainy books, you will end up with a thorough understanding of economics in general and currency in particular (as well as a pretty solid understanding of European politics around the time of the Hundred Years' War and the Golden Revolution).
Likewise, his novel Cryptonomicon (which, full disclosure, I REALLY love) delves deeply into the issues of currency in the digital age. Half of the book follows a group of tech entrepeneurs who are trying to establish a highly secure digital currency which could be a viable online alternative to nation-backed currencies (i.e. the dollar, yuan, yen, etc.) Again, Stephenson presents the economic, scientific and philosophical issues as plot points in the book itself.
His earlier works Snow Crash and The Diamond Age take place in a future where a digital currency paired with extremely strong cryptographic security have actually pushed the world into a post-nation political reality. The advent of untraceable online transactions made it so no government could accurately track its citizens' actual income or net worth, leading to a total inability to collect income taxes and in turn to a severe governmental collapse. It's unlikely, but a fascinating concept to explore.
If you are interested in Stephenson's work but don't want to invest the time in an 800+ page tome, I highly recommend The Great Simoleon Caper, available for free on TIME Magazine's website. It appears to take place in the universe that is the setting for Snow Crash and The Diamond Age (which may or may not be the same setting as his other works, the links between his books are tenuous at best and not necessary for enjoying any of the stories).
Na na /
Na na na na /
Hey, hey, hey /
Good-byyyyye
Re: Re: A little hard to unpack the legalese...
Aren't we all?
A little hard to unpack the legalese...
Mike,
First off, thank you for your exhaustive coverage of the Righthaven debacle. I have been following it closely, and I appreciate your viewpoint on the situation.
I do have one niggling critique of this article, which is that your coverage doesn't help me to make sense of what's going on in this filing. I THINK I understand it, but one of the reasons I come to Techdirt is to get an outside check on my own comprehension. Specifically, the sentence beginning with "You really need to read the whole thing below..." is where I would hope to get a layman's read on what this judge's determination actually means in terms of what's going on with all of the filings and counter-filings in this case. But that sentence is a whopping run on that doesn't really break down the legal maneuvering for a non-expert. (Why yes, I WAS an English major in college...how did you guess?!)
From what I can gather, Righthaven is objecting to the EFF's request (which the judge had approved) that Righthaven respond within 14 days with a justification of why some certain documents should remain sealed. Righthaven did not reply within that timeframe (or even within an additional 7 days after) and the judge is faulting them for that. Righthaven cries foul, saying the 14 day stipulation is "underhanded," and the judge shoots back that it's not underhanded at all and that Righthaven shouldn't even bother to contest this, unless they just didn't read or ignored the judge's order. Do I have the gist of it?
Again, thanks for your excellent coverage of this case. I'm assuming that this post went up quickly due to its importance, and I'm willing to grant that maybe I should just shut up and wait for a more considered breakdown of what this all means....