mockingbird 's Techdirt Comments

Latest Comments (125)

• On the post: School Principal Contacts FBI After Student Throws American Flag Out A Window

  

  mockingbird ( profile ), 12 Feb, 2015 @ 02:59pm

  freedom of speech, wll covered by penn and teller

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukURt2TsEwY

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

  

  mockingbird ( profile ), 11 Feb, 2015 @ 11:04am

  cars will go through the same backlash

  when self driving cars arrive on the consumer scene, there will be a similar backlash when they find out that the driving data, locations and times are being recorded and sent back to the maker company. of course, this is so they can better understand driving habits, traffic patterns, etc.. but there is a privacy component which people won't like, and god forbid it comes out the NSA is getting their hands on the data from Toyota, Ford, etc.

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

  

  mockingbird ( profile ), 11 Feb, 2015 @ 11:01am

  I like them dumb

  Although I agree the current efforts are all sorts of whacky from a consumer standpoint.. the 'I want it dumb" was said by a lot of people about their phones, their phones tracking them via GPS, their phones being able to listen to them, etc..
  just like amazons living room smart speaker, this is just twists on similar tech that will find it's way into useful profitability or go the (current) way of google glass, where consumers don't really want it although it might live on in some niche markets.

• On the post: Keurig Competitor Offers Free Hack Workaround For Keurig's Absurd Java Bean DRM

  

  mockingbird ( profile ), 04 Feb, 2015 @ 03:56pm

  keurig 3.0

  keurig 3.0 will indeed make note of this lesson.
  3.0 cups will include nfc chips with unique codes which the machine will scan, process for validity, and memorize so that the same nfc chip cannot be used more than once per machine.
  Keurig 4.0 will require to be connected to the internet to brew coffee, checking the NFC marker against a database of used nfc chip codes.
  lesson learned! :-)

• On the post: You Don't Own What You Bought: Drone Maker Updates Firmware On All Drones To Stop Any Flights In DC

  

  mockingbird ( profile ), 29 Jan, 2015 @ 08:43am

  Obama not a customer

  I guess neither Obama not Biden will be getting this model as a gift for their kids. :-)

• On the post: Prominent YouTube Personality Locked Out Of His Account After A Bogus Copyright Claim

  

  mockingbird ( profile ), 12 Jan, 2015 @ 09:18am

  fair use or not

  I just had a video blocked on youtube over the weekend.
  I re-spliced a movie intro into a different sequence, replacing the audio with a completely different song.
  it's meant to parody the intro..
  is it fair use? I have no idea.
  but if I choose to challenge it via youtube,
  I would get a 'strike'if I lose the challenge.
  Or I could accept the take-down and keep my mouth shut.
  not having enough grasp of the law, or thinking I can convinve youtube, with presumably actual lawyers on the other side arguing against me..
  I'm keeping my mouth shut and hosting the video from another service.

• On the post: Illinois Legislature Passes Recording Ban To Protect Public Servants – Not The Public

  

  mockingbird ( profile ), 10 Dec, 2014 @ 01:57pm

  that's democracy for you

  this highlights the difference between a representative democracy (what you see happening here) and a well constructed republic, which is what was envisioned by the founders.
  
  within the republic, all the laws apply equally to all.
  
  in any democracy, the more powerful group will vote in laws that benefit the powerful group, widening the gap between the power group and everyone lesser than them.
  
  it's how democracy works. in this case the only difference is that the power group is the those elected as representatives in the representative democracy.
  
  results end up being the same, no matter what kind of democracy it is.

• On the post: Utah Wants To Kill Zenefits For Giving Away HR Software For Free

  

  mockingbird ( profile ), 03 Dec, 2014 @ 02:23pm

  Re: Other options

  they can't give the insurance away for free, the fees are set by the providers. this company is just the salesman.
  the question that needs to be asked of the legislator is what an acceptable minimum price (as mentioned in the current law) would be for the service people have been enjoying for free for months/years across multiple states.
  
  the legislature can't put a price-tag on it without opening a huge can of worms, and at that point they can't just demand the company come up with a price without giving them guidance as well.
  
  it's a bad position for the politician or a court to be in. and leaves a lot of room to wiggle this case into federal court if they keep pushing. at which point it would be shut down.
  
  that's the logic as the world existed before we were all forced to but healthcare.. nowadays it's anyones guess as to what will/won't work.

• On the post: Europe's New Digital Commissioner Explores Imposing An EU-Wide 'Google Tax'

  

  mockingbird ( profile ), 28 Oct, 2014 @ 02:56pm

  don't de-index, turn it on its head!

  Would it make sense for google to be pro-active and send the various newspapers a notice that due to the fact that they are in the EU, and due to EU IP stance, Google requires each of the newspapers to pay google a fee to be included in the google SEO search results, the contract of course includes wording that allows google to index the pages the papers are paying to show in google SEO results.
  seems to solve IP problems, side steps an indexing tax for the IP, and grants EU papers the ability to control what google indexes and what it doesn't from their sites.

• On the post: U2 Claims It's Working With Apple On A New Music Format That 'Can't Be Pirated'

  

  mockingbird ( profile ), 19 Sep, 2014 @ 03:02pm

  Re: The Only Real Piracy Immune Music Format

  except people with musical talent will reproduce what they heard once they get home.
  there's a bunch of youtube videos of musicians of all skill levels performing various songs.
  if songs become more scarce, the void will be filled by these folks.
  if you can hear it, it's reproduce-able.
  it might be better than the original..
  it might be worse than the original..
  either way, the original artist is best served being the person associated with what people are listening to.

• On the post: US Forbids The European Law Enforcement Agency From Releasing European Documents To European Officials

  

  mockingbird ( profile ), 09 Sep, 2014 @ 07:52am

  why have it at all?

  "There is no operational information, there is no intelligence, there is nothing in the document. So you really wonder why it is kept a secret."
  
  well, it SOUNDS like a govt report.
  
  with all the things not in the report, *I* wonder why they make it at all.

• On the post: Heavy Metal Lyrics Posted To Facebook Result In Arrest For Terrorist Threats

  

  mockingbird ( profile ), 08 Sep, 2014 @ 09:59am

  Re:

  Ninja: Agreed.
  it reminds me of a comedian talking about someone who got shot (with a stray bullet) while pumping gas.
  people referred to it as being "at the wrong place at the wrong time"..and the comedian properly pointed out that in fact, he was NOT in the wrong place at the wrong time. he was low on gas and was therefore at the gas station.
  the right place at the right time.
  there is no need to call his actions into question as he was doing absolutely nothing wrong.
  Likewise, someone posting lyrics, no matter what lyrics, is doing nothing wrong.
  Otherwise it's like the kid who got tracked down because he had "fresh prince" on his voice mail (including "shooting some b-ball outside of the school". ) and that got police to track him down and locked down several schools until that happened.
  he also was doing nothing wrong.
  
  where's the line? research and context need to happen before arrests. that research and context will help define if a line is being approached, crossed, or doesn't exist.

• On the post: Why Do Police In Suburban St. Louis Have More Powerful Weapons Than Marines In Afghanistan?

  

  mockingbird ( profile ), 21 Aug, 2014 @ 10:17am

  Re: Is the only difference between the cops and the bad guys a badge

  don't be ridiculous.
  the cops also have a legal system which sides with them over the average citizen. :-)

• On the post: DC Cops Learn From FBI: Regularly Invent Crimes To Arrest 'Possible Future' Criminals

  

  mockingbird ( profile ), 24 Jul, 2014 @ 11:24am

  Re: Solving a crime after it's committed is too hard.....

  don't forget the trunk full of cocaine in the getaway car that was put there by the police. that should get some hard time for the perp. leave some room for a bit of ebola virus and you can nab a drug dealing bio-terrorist. :-P
  the cops just aren't being imaginative enough.

• On the post: The Intercept Reveals The US Government's Guidebook For Declaring You're A Terrorist Or Putting You On The No Fly List

  

  mockingbird ( profile ), 24 Jul, 2014 @ 11:05am

  so the central head of terrorism is....

  If I read this correctly, if you're friends with a relative of someone who has a horcrux (or nexus).. then you can also be placed on a watchlist..
  So if my math is correct, and assuming the person with the most connections leading to them is the central head of terrorism, then.... it's Kevin Bacon?

• On the post: UK Cops Brag About Using Facial Recognition Software To Capture… A Shoplifter

  

  mockingbird ( profile ), 23 Jul, 2014 @ 10:31am

  high tech phrenology system

  so if the system couldn't detect the person in a lineup directly but used their similarity to other people to mark the person as a criminal...
  isn't that just a high tech phrenology system?
  wouldn't identifying the person by blood type to crooked relatives be even more effective than visual guessing at identifying a high risk person?

• On the post: Comcast 'Cares' About Not Listening To Customers, Being Obnoxious And Refusing To Cancel Service

  

  mockingbird ( profile ), 15 Jul, 2014 @ 12:16pm

  Re: Re: The easiest way to cancel

  I'm pretty sure you get a small award and get to ride the firetruck in the next parade and blow the horn.

• On the post: US Reporter Ronan Farrow Calls On Internet Companies To Censor Speech Of People He Doesn't Like

  

  mockingbird ( profile ), 15 Jul, 2014 @ 10:42am

  not a global problem

  see, USA will block something it sees a terrorist but only for USA ISPs, another country will block some USA content it thinks is terrorist but only through their own ISPs, and we'll all have our own little silos of... kitten videos and flag waving.
  and if you want to learn about the world, you'll have to get on a steamboat and do some travelling.
  problem solved. :-P

• On the post: Keurig Begins Demonstrating Its Coffee DRM System; As Expected, It Has Nothing To Do With 'Safety'

  

  mockingbird ( profile ), 09 Jul, 2014 @ 10:01am

  Re: Re: Re: Hacked in 3...2...1...

  unless it punches through the place the dot is scanned, it should be fine.
  you're not using the lid as a lid, just as a mask.

• On the post: Keurig Begins Demonstrating Its Coffee DRM System; As Expected, It Has Nothing To Do With 'Safety'

  

  mockingbird ( profile ), 09 Jul, 2014 @ 09:38am

  Re: Hacked in 3...2...1...

  I imagine taking the lid off of a used drm'd pod and putting it on top of any pod will get the machine to process the foreign pod.
  it's like walking through the whitehouse while holding up a piece of paper in front of your face with obamas picture on it.
  except in this case, it should work. :-)

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