Lord_Unseen 's Techdirt Comments

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  • On the post: John Deere Clarifies: It's Trying To Abuse Copyright Law To Stop You From Owning Your Own Tractor… Because It Cares About You

    Lord_Unseen ( profile ), 14 May, 2015 @ 02:24pm

    Re: Re: Re: This is all very nice a second time but...

    Hand

    Sorry, I'm in Kansas and tractors are a big deal here. I can tell you it's not about pirating music (didn't even know that part). Farmers tend to get pretty pissed if you tell them they can't tinker with something they own, and that's what this is about.

    Also, I'm not buying that corporate fraud angle. I'm betting it's more about forcing farmers into "authorized dealers" for repairs, since they can't modify (or really even know anything about) the software themselves.

  • On the post: John Deere Clarifies: It's Trying To Abuse Copyright Law To Stop You From Owning Your Own Tractor… Because It Cares About You

    Lord_Unseen ( profile ), 14 May, 2015 @ 02:06pm

    Re: This is all very nice a second time but...

    Well... No (and duh) John Deere never said "You don't own your tractor", that would probably be the quickest case of corporate suicide ever. They did, however, say that you aren't allowed to modify certain parts of the tractor you supposedly own. Since the classic definition of ownership involves the ability to modify, like a book, or a bag, or even an older tractor, it's not hard to contend you don't own your John Deere tractor. So, while they may not have said it in so many words, it's still the same effect.

  • On the post: John Deere Clarifies: It's Trying To Abuse Copyright Law To Stop You From Owning Your Own Tractor… Because It Cares About You

    Lord_Unseen ( profile ), 14 May, 2015 @ 01:55pm

    Re: Re: Re: a tiny stretch

    You know what those two cases have in common? They both were convicted for circumventing security, not modifying. So, thanks for proving his point, I guess?

  • On the post: John Deere Clarifies: It's Trying To Abuse Copyright Law To Stop You From Owning Your Own Tractor… Because It Cares About You

    Lord_Unseen ( profile ), 14 May, 2015 @ 01:43pm

    Re: Do you guys EVER for a second consider the legal liabilities?

    I guarantee that mechanical and software engineers had no input on whether consumers can modify the software. They have, however, made sure it runs to spec while unmodified. That is what they've always done because, as long as someone is running an unmodified tractor, John Deere is liable for any malfunctions. If the customer has modified it, either physically or via software, John Deere can claim no liability. No matter what way you look at it, this is a stupid move on their part.

  • On the post: John Deere Clarifies: It's Trying To Abuse Copyright Law To Stop You From Owning Your Own Tractor… Because It Cares About You

    Lord_Unseen ( profile ), 14 May, 2015 @ 02:09pm

    You know, it occurs to me that this would be a perfect opportunity for Case IH to eat John Deere's lunch. All they have to do is say "you can do whatever you want with YOUR tractor when you buy a Case IH!"

  • On the post: That 20 Mbps Broadband Line We Promised? It's Actually 300 Kbps. Enjoy!

    Lord_Unseen ( profile ), 01 May, 2015 @ 07:21am

    Re: OKAY, we get it: AT&T, Comcast, Verizon BAD -- Google good.

    You're right about one thing. Google Fiber is just a few demonstrations, but that's exactly what's needed. You'll notice that in each of those cities, the local incumbents have stepped up and are offering significantly better service and prices than any time before Google came to town. Google Fiber was never about Google coming to every city nationwide. It was about demonstrating how internet can be done well and scaring the big ISPs. To some extent, that's worked.

    Saying that Google Fiber is a good thing hardly makes somebody a shill.

  • On the post: Is Merely Explaining The Streisand Effect To Someone A 'Threat'?

    Lord_Unseen ( profile ), 21 Apr, 2015 @ 07:48am

    Re: *curses*. foiled again.

    "Do you expect me to feel threatened?"
    "No, but you probably will anyway."

    Hmmm... Doesn't seem to have quite the same punch to it.

  • On the post: Presidential Hopeful Carly Fiorina Displays Astounding Ignorance In Slamming Net Neutrality

    Lord_Unseen ( profile ), 17 Apr, 2015 @ 08:03am

    Re:

    Her section of the graph is identical to Techdirt's one. (Not similar, identical). Techdirt just used a different scale. If anything, the Wikipedia one makes her look even worse.

  • On the post: MMA Fighter Upset Over Possible Homage In Mortal Kombat

    Lord_Unseen ( profile ), 17 Apr, 2015 @ 08:12am

    "I'm here to kick ass and chew bubble gum." -Felice Herrig, apparently.

  • On the post: Facebook, Google's Supposed Love Of Net Neutrality Notably Absent In India

    Lord_Unseen ( profile ), 16 Apr, 2015 @ 07:05am

    Hmmmmm

    So how are the resident trolls going to spin this one into "TD are payed Google shills"? Should be interesting.

  • On the post: BART, The Train Service, Goes After Brewery Over BART, The Beer

    Lord_Unseen ( profile ), 24 Mar, 2015 @ 02:41pm

    Re: Re: Definetly infrigning

    With enough creativity it does! Maybe BART is about to release BARTbrew! The beer you drink so you can forget your train is late. Again...

  • On the post: BART, The Train Service, Goes After Brewery Over BART, The Beer

    Lord_Unseen ( profile ), 24 Mar, 2015 @ 06:45am

    Definetly infrigning

    Obviously FiftyFifty is just trying to piggyback off BART. I know when I'm naming my beers, my first thought is to name them after a universally hated public transportation system.

    I think I'll name mine Greyhound...

  • On the post: Fifty Shades Of Fair Use

    Lord_Unseen ( profile ), 11 Feb, 2015 @ 02:21pm

    Re: Re: Re:

    It's a valid defense mechanism, kind of like playing dead.

  • On the post: Fifty Shades Of Fair Use

    Lord_Unseen ( profile ), 11 Feb, 2015 @ 01:57pm

    Re:

    I'm confused. As far as I can tell, this article has nothing to do with a mediocre comedy from 2006...

  • On the post: Samsung Ad Injections Perfectly Illustrate Why I Want My 'Smart' TV To Be As Dumb As Possible

    Lord_Unseen ( profile ), 11 Feb, 2015 @ 01:50pm

    Re: Re: Re:

    Looks like the ads were streamed from the internet, somewhere around 20-30 minutes into playing content off the local network. Not entirely sure how it was done other than they have some agreement with Yahoo! for streaming ads. Given that they control the entire TV with very little user control, it's not much of a stretch for them to be able to insert ads anywhere they feel like.

  • On the post: Fifty Shades Of Fair Use

    Lord_Unseen ( profile ), 11 Feb, 2015 @ 01:39pm

    Re: Re:

    Fair use allowed Fifty Shades to exist. That's enough of a downside for me.

  • On the post: Samsung Ad Injections Perfectly Illustrate Why I Want My 'Smart' TV To Be As Dumb As Possible

    Lord_Unseen ( profile ), 11 Feb, 2015 @ 12:34pm

    Re:

    Here's how it went. People were using the Plex app on their TV to stream from a computer on their network. They were using the "smart" portion of their TV. In fact, that's probably the main reason they bought a "smart" TV, for native Plex streaming. Seeing as it was all local content, really the only unexpected ads could have come from the internet connected TV itself.

  • On the post: DRM, Or How To Turn Your Cat's Litter Box Into An Inkjet Printer

    Lord_Unseen ( profile ), 08 Jan, 2015 @ 07:16am

    Re: Re: Re:

    If you feel like you need playgrounds and tennis courts for your community in particular, then an HOA is probably the only solution.

    In regard to the streets, do you live in the city limits of any town? If so, what the hell does your city actually do if they're not maintaining your streets? Around here, even the small towns maintain their own streets, neighborhoods don't have to do it for them.

  • On the post: Documents Show FBI Impersonated Newspaper's Website To Deliver Spyware To Suspect's Computer

    Lord_Unseen ( profile ), 28 Oct, 2014 @ 01:27pm

    Re:

    Huh. Rereading that, you know what words I don't see? I don't see "acceptable" or "justified" or anything even remotely related to that. You know what word I do see though? Effective. Apparently, that's the only measurement for a law enforcement technique that is worth anything. So, I guess these days you don't even have to try to justify your methods. All they need to do is "work", in whatever loose definition you want to apply to that word.

  • On the post: UK Government Would Like To Put Internet Trolls In Jail For Two Years

    Lord_Unseen ( profile ), 22 Oct, 2014 @ 01:39pm

    Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:

    "That's a justified fear, but that's purely speculation, even though we know it will happen."

    If you know something, it stops being speculation. The general rule is, you don't give the people with the motivation to do something bad the authority to do it. That's why many countries constitutions (in countries that have them) expressly limit their government's powers. That's why new laws need to be narrowly defined. This law is no where near narrow enough to limit abuse (note that I said limit, not eliminate, I know full well that all laws are abused). A law like this, written as broadly as it is, will be abused in every way possible. This will have chilling effects on speech, and not just harassing speech (especially if the punishment is raised to two years). Calling it an attack on free speech doesn't seem too out of line to me.

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