tom 's Techdirt Comments

Latest Comments (374)

• On the post: Kansas Supreme Court Says Cops Can Search A House Without A Warrant As Long As They Claim They Smelled Marijuana

  

  tom ( profile ), 16 Dec, 2018 @ 06:40am

  From TFA, the officer knew who the driver was, that her brother had an active warrant, and thought the passenger matched the description of the person with an active warrant. Seems that alone would justify a stop to verify the passenger's identity and if confirmed as brother with a warrant place him in custody. Better would have been to pull in behind the car while it was parked and perform the check. Likely the brother would have taken off running and solved the problem.
  
  The whole 'Smelled Marijuana" thing stinks but is likely to go up in smoke with the passage of the latest farm bill that legalized the growing of hemp. Bet it isn't long before we have hemp based incense to give homes "That aromatic smell of real Pot." Or will we have cops claiming they can smell the difference between low level THC in industrial hemp and high level THC in drug level pot?

• On the post: Malware Purveyors Targeting Pirate Sites With Bogus DMCA Takedown Notices

  

  tom ( profile ), 12 Dec, 2018 @ 03:22pm

  Re:

  Also, keep in mind the DMCA was created before the Internet became a common commodity. It was targeted more at folks copying VCR tapes, DVDs and selling satellite de-scramblers.
  
  IIRC, there have been a tweak or two to address Internet issues but a lot of the law doesn't really fit will in the Internet age.

• On the post: Iowa State Tells Students To Piss Off And Continues Its New Trademark Policy Despite Their Concerns

  

  tom ( profile ), 12 Dec, 2018 @ 03:17pm

  Re: Re: School rules and associates

  The last I read, you could have your weapon in your car while on campus but not on your person. Lets the commuters carry while traveling to/from campus. Hard to keep up, the legi-critters make frequent changes.
  
  Maybe the ISU student association should develop its own Logo, trademark it and use it exclusively for all student scheduled activities.

• On the post: How Bike-Sharing Services And Electric Vehicles Are Sending Personal Data To The Chinese Government

  

  tom ( profile ), 12 Dec, 2018 @ 03:25pm

  If you own and/or use a personalized tracking device(PTD), don't act surprised when you are tracked. Sadly, too many things are becoming PTDs. Used to be primarily smartphones. Now cars, TVs, Blue Ray players, watches, and even scooters are PTDs. Pretty much anything with 'Smart' in its description is probably a PTD.

• On the post: This Week In Techdirt History: We Finally Start Testing Responsive Design!

  

  tom ( profile ), 03 Dec, 2018 @ 07:39am

  I find the slightly denser text/font/spacing of the old version easier to read.

• On the post: Homicide, Sexual Assault Cases On The Line After Crime Lab Discovers Tech Using The Wrong Tools For The Job

  

  tom ( profile ), 27 Nov, 2018 @ 08:40am

  She used the unapproved gizmo at crime scenes and no one there noticed the wrong device? What does this say about the other investigators on scene?
  
  It is very likely her supervisor knew and had tacitly approved her using the thing as a way to get the job done because purchasing wouldn't approve a new approved gizmo. Of course, once the crap hit the fan, said supervisor all of a sudden forgot said verbal approval. If the supervisor didn't know, we have to wonder what else is out of whack in that lab.

• On the post: To Prosecute A Single Bombing Suspect, FBI Demands Identifying Info On Thousands Of YouTube Viewers

  

  tom ( profile ), 26 Nov, 2018 @ 11:33am

  Maybe Google should do what AT&T reportedly did during the pre-breakup court fights. "Where do you want the 83 tons of hard copy printout delivered?"

• On the post: But Her Emails: Ivanka Trump Also Used A Private Email Account For Official Government Business

  

  tom ( profile ), 20 Nov, 2018 @ 03:53pm

  Who really needs to be criticized is the Transition Team put in place after the election. One of the first things made clear in the early meetings on "So you are about to be in the White House" should have been NO FRACKING PRIVATE EMAIL SERVERS. Especially considering HRC's misuse of email was one of Trump's major campaign points.
  
  So far Ivanka's use doesn't seem nearly as bad as HRC's turned out to be but it does need to be looked at to make sure.

• On the post: Prosecutors Charge Suspect With Evidence Tampering After A Seized iPhone Is Wiped Remotely

  

  tom ( profile ), 19 Nov, 2018 @ 01:10pm

  Wonder if any of these investigative geniuses thought to ask Apple if any of the data in question was auto-magically backed up to Apple's iCloud?

• On the post: The Girl Scouts Sues The Boy Scouts Over Trademark

  

  tom ( profile ), 14 Nov, 2018 @ 06:29am

  I was an Explorer scout in the mid 70s and my group did have girls in it. Not exactly a new concept for Scouting.
  
  Of course, if they wanted to be accurate in their naming, BSA could always call themselves Boy and Girl Scouts. Pretty sure that would get several banks of lawyers fully activated.

• On the post: CNN Lawsuit Seeks To Show That Trump Can't Kick Reporters Out For Asking Tough Questions

  

  tom ( profile ), 14 Nov, 2018 @ 06:20am

  Don't really think the 1st Amendment has anything to do with this. For better or worse, the White House is Trump's residence during his time in office. He can invite or not invite who ever he wants to his residence. Being invited to the White House is a privilege, NOT a right. Behave in a way that irritates the President, get kicked out. Fairly simple time honored concept.

• On the post: The Foxconn Wisconsin Deal Has Devolved Into A Pile Of Shifting Promises, Buzzwords, And Hype

  

  tom ( profile ), 31 Oct, 2018 @ 07:15am

  The voters in all the places that are offering the family jewels to Amazon in trade for a HQ should read this.

• On the post: Apple Demands Retraction Of Bloomberg's Big 'Chip Infiltration' Story; Bloomberg Has Some Explaining To Do

  

  tom ( profile ), 22 Oct, 2018 @ 09:51am

  When this first broke, it seemed plausible to me.
  
  Apple did pull a bunch of Supermicro units out of service about the time the story claimed the chips were discovered. Apple claimed a firmware issue. Believable cover story if there really were spy chips.
  Amazon did sell off one of their China operations about the time the story claimed Supermicro boards were found in the China operation. Amazon claimed the sale was due to increasing China Govt interference in their operations. Again, a believable cover story as China is increasingly exerting government oversight over Internet in China.
  Further, the story claimed the magic chips were added at a sometimes used subcontractor for Supermicro. Unlikely that batch number 3 from a subcontractor would get the same QA look over that the first qualification batch would get, making it a better time to add the magic chip.
  
  But at some point, a modified board needs to be produced and that hasn't happened. Where did the retired Apple servers go? Either there are magic chips on them or not. Unlikely we could inspect the former Amazon China operation at this point for compromised boards.
  
  Given the failure to produce a modified motherboard, might be worth investigating any possible connection between the folks that reported this story and people/companies that made money from the large drop in Supermicro stock.

• On the post: The Good Censor Document Shows Google Struggling With The Challenges Of Content Moderation

  

  tom ( profile ), 17 Oct, 2018 @ 03:31pm

  Re: Re:

  USENET got screwed over by several politicians uttering that dread mantra "Think of the Children!" because a very small piece of USENET carried channels where folks could talk about pedophilia and exchange files. Instead of encouraging the moderation of those few channels, the pols instead strong armed the ISPs to drop USENET from their free offerings. The likely real reason was the fairly large exchange of files the large media companies claimed were pirated content.
  
  Instead of using a paid USENET provider, a lot of folks switched to things like Yahoo Groups.
  
  If the politicians really get involved in this fight, wonder if we will see a repeat.

• On the post: DOJ Continues To Point Out A Mega-Merged AT&T Will Jack Up Prices On Everybody

  

  tom ( profile ), 17 Oct, 2018 @ 08:33am

  Re:

  Thank you, I had to look up 'eschaton'. Can now check off the box labeled "Learn something today."
  
  Seems at least one of AT&T's kids paid attention during Monopoly class. The new AT&T is baby bell Southwestern Bell all grown up after buying up several of the other kids plus the parent.

• On the post: 'See Something Say Something' Sends Philly Counter-Terrorism Unit After A Local Journalist Over A Harmless Facebook Post

  

  tom ( profile ), 17 Oct, 2018 @ 03:15pm

  Given the grief law enforcement got over failing to act on the many reported postings and activities the the Parkland shooter made, going to have to side with the Police on this one. If Owens was planning something and carried it out and the Police had failed to act on the Facebook posting, we would be having an entirely different discussion.
  
  Seems like the Police handled this fairly lightly. It wasn't a no-knock raid in the middle of the night. Just a quick Q&A session after which Owens went about his business.

• On the post: FBI Releases Guidelines On Impersonating Journalists, Seems Unworried About Its Impact On Actual Journalists

  

  tom ( profile ), 16 Oct, 2018 @ 06:56pm

  Keep in mind that the FBI is staffed by folks that are trying to score high on their next performance review. How those activities reflect on the FBI 5 years later really isn't a prime concern.

• On the post: Federal Backpage Indictment Shows SESTA Unnecessary, Contains Zero Sex Trafficking Charges

  

  tom ( profile ), 10 Oct, 2018 @ 06:54am

  Funny how the argument "Think of the Children" gets lost when the government wants to use kids as leverage against the parents.
  
  And it is absolutely shocking that a company that uses the Internet as a conduit for its business would make payments to Internet Service Providers. Pretty much proof of criminal activity right there. What's next? Charging folks with paying their electric bill?

• On the post: Analyst Who Accidentally Leaked NSA Software Given Five More Years In Prison Than General Who Handed Classified Info To His Mistress

  

  tom ( profile ), 02 Oct, 2018 @ 06:05am

  Two more data points for the High Officials skate while minions suffer:
  Hillary Clinton was found to have mishandled classified info while Secretary of State yet no charges were even brought.
  
  A US sailor was jailed for taking pictures inside a sub.
  
  https://www.foxbusiness.com/features/navy-sailor-jailed-for-submarine-photos-hillary-clinton-committed-more-serious-acts

• On the post: CBS Bullies Fan Star Trek Project To Shut Down Despite Creators' Pleas For Instructions On Being Legit

  

  tom ( profile ), 28 Sep, 2018 @ 02:59pm

  This whole thing highlights the failure of copyright today. "Limited" as stated in the Constitution has basically become unlimited due to Congress being bought off by large media companies and the courts going along with rulings that say "limited" is whatever Congress says it is. Imagine the howling if Congress applied the same "limited" term to patents as they currently do to copyright. Since both come from the same section of the Constitution, hard to see how the courts could argue without overturning their previous rulings on this.

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