Keroberos 's Techdirt Comments

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  • On the post: How Unlocking Your Phone May Now Be A Crime: $500,000 Fines And 5 Years In Prison For First Offense

    Keroberos ( profile ), 28 Jan, 2013 @ 11:20am

    Re: Re:

    True, but with very little change in the design (add a different connector and place a firmware chip on the fan that communicates with the PC's motherboard) they can make changing the fan a DMCA violation. Such things have been attempted in the PC industry before, and I don't doubt that they will try again.

  • On the post: How Unlocking Your Phone May Now Be A Crime: $500,000 Fines And 5 Years In Prison For First Offense

    Keroberos ( profile ), 28 Jan, 2013 @ 11:08am

    And, while I doubt that prosecutors would straight up charge someone for merely unlocking their phone...
    I agree, but this still has a ton of frightening implications. Cops pick you up for legally filming them? Better hope your phones not unlocked/jailbroken. This could end up being another BS charge that they can tack on to persecute anyone that the just happen not to like.

    Pretty soon (if not already) everybody's going to be guilty of something--they'll just have to dig deep enough.

    What a contradiction. Our government has military personnel all over the world, ostensibly fighting for other people's freedom, but here at home they keep taking our freedom away.

  • On the post: Aaron Swartz Unlikely To Face Jail Or Conviction… Until Feds Decided To 'Send A Message'

    Keroberos ( profile ), 25 Jan, 2013 @ 09:15pm

    Sadly this isn't just an isolated case of one misguided prosecutor. It's just the tip of the iceberg of the massive proprietorial over-reach that has been carried out for years by our criminal justice system, and has filled our prison system with petty offenders doing hard time.

    This is what happens when you tell your politicians that you want them to get "tough on crime" instead of the more reasonable "let's all look into how we can lower crime"--you just gave them too much power and you got unexpected and unwanted consequences as a result.

  • On the post: Canadian Kindle Owners Forced To Leave American Kindle Content & Features Behind

    Keroberos ( profile ), 24 Jan, 2013 @ 01:12pm

    Re: Re: This is why I hate DRM

    Epub may be visually superior to Amazon's previous Kindle format--the new KF8 format is about on par with epub. Many of the features of the epub standard are not mandatory, so support for them is not equal on all the different readers (plus some readers epub implementation is just straight up broken--Adobe, I'm looking at you). Using any of the advanced features of epub can cause display problems on different devices/reader software making epub design a nightmare unless you stick to boring layouts. Kindle has a much smaller hardware/software target--all controlled by Amazon, making it a much easier target to hit.

    And why would Amazon change? They are the dominant e-book retailer, and are in a position that is any retailers wet dream--all their customers are locked into their system. The only reason they would have to change is if they start to lose that dominance--either in the hardware/software or content--to some other retailer. I don't think that is likely to happen any time soon, as their only real competitor (Apple) likes their ecosystem just as locked up as Amazon's.

  • On the post: Canadian Kindle Owners Forced To Leave American Kindle Content & Features Behind

    Keroberos ( profile ), 24 Jan, 2013 @ 12:42pm

    Re:

    ...you don't know that the kindle format will still be readable in 10 to 20 years.
    Why wouldn't it be readable? The Mobipocket container format that Kindle e-books are based on has been around 13 years, and the text files in that container are just slightly modified HTML/XHTML/CSS files--the image files are all bog standard. With e-book DRM being trivial to remove, and conversion to another format being so easy (all e-books at their core are HTML/XHTML/CSS based). I highly doubt that any e-book format will be impossible to read in 20 years--if ever.

    The only barrier to readability in 20 years would be availability. Can the end user keep track of a digital file for 20 years? Will the retailer still be around and allow you to re-download after 20 years? These are problems that all digital files have--whether bought from a retailer, downloaded for free, or even self created.

  • On the post: Cable Industry Finally Admits That Data Caps Have Nothing To Do With Congestion

    Keroberos ( profile ), 23 Jan, 2013 @ 08:55am

    Data caps and overage charges are totally fair. Because how unfair would it be to all those bigwig ISP execs and lobbyists if they couldn't get massive raises every year.

  • On the post: Kim Dotcom Hires Human Rights Lawyer To Claim MPAA's Chris Dodd Targeted Him In 'Contract Prosecution'

    Keroberos ( profile ), 22 Jan, 2013 @ 09:55am

    Even if there isn't anything there, the investigation could make anyone wanting to go after Mega think twice about doing so.

  • On the post: TSA Dumps Rapiscan Naked Airport Scanners After Failure To Make Them 'Less Revealing'

    Keroberos ( profile ), 18 Jan, 2013 @ 03:12pm

    Re:

    Same here. Could this also be a reason the TSA is dumping them?

  • On the post: Another Legislator Hops On Board The 'Violent Video Game' Bandwagon; Introduces Redundant Labeling Bill

    Keroberos ( profile ), 18 Jan, 2013 @ 08:54am

    I don't know how it is now, but last I heard the voluntary rating restrictions were working a lot better than the mandated restrictions on alcohol and tobacco. The problem isn't with the retailers--it's with the parents. All of the rating restrictions you could think up will do squat if the parents just buy the games for their kids anyway (which is what they already do). I worked in video games retail for 5 years, and most parents could care less about the ratings--in fact they usually were pissed that they had to come buy the restricted games for their kids.

  • On the post: DOJ Responds To Megaupload's Accusations Of Misleading The Court… By Misleading The Court

    Keroberos ( profile ), 15 Jan, 2013 @ 06:06am

    Re:

    No, the usual cast of shills have been steering clear of this case for a while now--kinda hard to spread your FUD once the facts start coming to light.

  • On the post: The Flipside: Embracing Closed Gardens Like The Apple App Store Shows Just How Un-Free You Want To Be

    Keroberos ( profile ), 11 Jan, 2013 @ 07:03am

    Re: Nope

    This is the frightening problem that we are having in the world now--apathy ("As long as it's something that I don't like, I don't care if the censor it"). That can, and will change real quick if we're not careful.

    To alter a quote:

    First they censored the terrorists,
    and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a terrorist.

    Then they censored the criminals,
    and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a criminal.

    Then they censored the religious extremists,
    and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a religious extremist.

    Then they censored the political extremists,
    and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a political extremist.

    Then they censored the pirates,
    and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a pirate.

    Then they censored me,
    and there was no one left to speak for me.

  • On the post: Despite Financial Destruction, Greece Not Favoring Open Source Software

    Keroberos ( profile ), 09 Jan, 2013 @ 07:19am

    Ah...the age old open source vs. closed source argument.

    Switching to open source will only be cheaper in the initial purchase. The cost will quickly ramp up from there. Everyone seems to forget that the cost of the hardware/software is just a part of the full cost. You also have to factor in training and support. I, for one would not want to be the one in charge of having to train and support all 26,000 end users of those new laptops running open source software. That'll get real expensive, real quick. Switching from one version of MS Word to another is difficult--going from Word to Open Office would be a nightmare. Plus can your IT/IS departments handle the switch in server/networking software? How much will it cost in time and money to train them? How many will you have to fire/lay off? How many will you have to hire? What software do you need to run? Can you get open source alternatives? Do those alternatives actually work? Or are they buggy pieces of crap with little documentation or support?

    Don't get me wrong. I'm a strong advocate of open source software and use it every day. But I would never advocate any IT department switching to open source merely based on initial cost. Any switch has to be done with eyes open knowing the changes you'll have to make and all the added costs that those changes and the extra support you need will add.

  • On the post: Sony Issues The 'Bob Dylan Copyright Collection Volume' Solely To Extend Copyright On Dylan's Work

    Keroberos ( profile ), 08 Jan, 2013 @ 12:01pm

    Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:

    On a added note. Obvious Sony shill is obvious. Does Sony pay well?

  • On the post: Sony Issues The 'Bob Dylan Copyright Collection Volume' Solely To Extend Copyright On Dylan's Work

    Keroberos ( profile ), 08 Jan, 2013 @ 11:31am

    Re: Re: Re: Re:

    Eh? What news? An overpriced music streaming service from Sony? Big whoop. Why in the hell would I pay Sony 60 bucks for the first year (after that it goes up to $120 a year) for a music streaming service when I can get Pandora for $36 a year.

  • On the post: Sony Issues The 'Bob Dylan Copyright Collection Volume' Solely To Extend Copyright On Dylan's Work

    Keroberos ( profile ), 08 Jan, 2013 @ 08:55am

    Re:

    Not surprising. Its rarity and subject matter make it a prime candidate for file sharing--not even adding the fact that it's not even available in the country where Dylan was actually from.

  • On the post: Bradley Manning's Defense: Releasing Over-Classified Information To The Public Would Be Good For The US, Not Bad

    Keroberos ( profile ), 08 Jan, 2013 @ 01:20pm

    He is guilty of aiding our enemies. Wikileaks is clearly a terrorist front hell-bent on destroying our lack of American freedoms, and shinning the light of transparency on the US governments hidden jack-booted thuggery around the world.

  • On the post: Sony Issues The 'Bob Dylan Copyright Collection Volume' Solely To Extend Copyright On Dylan's Work

    Keroberos ( profile ), 08 Jan, 2013 @ 08:50am

    New Reality TV Show Idea: Copyright Hoarders

    The really sad thing is, that this doesn't look like they're trying to profit from this material (which would make this somewhat understandable). It's almost like they're just pathologically hoarding the copyrights because they can--and to hell with any increase in the market for Bob Dylan's music that some freely available studio out-takes and live tracks might bring.

  • On the post: Techdirt Interview With Derek Khanna, Author Of The RSC 'Fix Copyright' Policy Briefing

    Keroberos ( profile ), 07 Jan, 2013 @ 12:57pm

    Re:

    Nobody gave a flying fuck about copyright law...
    You're right...but for the wrong reasons. Nobody cared about copyright law because it did not effect them, so they ignored it. The second that any technology came around that allowed them to copy and share something (illegally or not), they used it for that purpose.

  • On the post: Camming Group Leader Sentenced To 5 Years; Barred From Owning 'Any Device' That Can Infringe Copyrights After Release

    Keroberos ( profile ), 04 Jan, 2013 @ 08:39am

    Re:

    No. We know that as long as there is a demand for something there will always be a supply. Example--Have all the anti drug laws reduced the availability of illegal drugs? Not that we've seen--they just made it more profitable to be a supplier.

    And it amuses me that an industry that just had another record breaking box office year can claim to be devastated by piracy and have anyone believe it.

  • On the post: One Problem With FTC/Google Settlement: Implies Fair Use Scraping Is An Antitrust Issue

    Keroberos ( profile ), 04 Jan, 2013 @ 02:36pm

    Oh, I can guarantee this one will get abused.

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