mockingbird’s Techdirt Profile

On the post: DailyDirt: The Ever-Growing Growth Of Data…

mockingbird ( profile ), 25 Jan, 2013 @ 08:02am

generated data incorrect, maybe

"Since the beginning of time until 2003, humans generated about 5 billion gigabytes of data... and now we generate that much every 2 days. And that rate is accelerating (but humans are not exclusively generating all that data)."

but.. how much of that is redundant data?
I see the same posts on multiple sites, and news churns through thousands of news sites, and millions of blogs..
retweets by the really giant bucket, the same movie 50 times per torrent site, the same song in a billion drop boxes, etc.
so, removing the echos, how much data is actually generated?

On the post: New York State Starts Walking Back On Transparency; Grants Gun Owners Exemption From Disclosure Of Public Records

mockingbird ( profile ), 21 Jan, 2013 @ 08:24am

Re: Reasonable right to privacy

except, in a lot of places, the police are the ones issuing the license. In MA (and other states) what kind oof license you are allowed (concealed carry, not concealed carry, various limitations) is often at the whim of the police chief of the town you live in. Some almost never give out concealed carry licenses while others do. I know people who chose the town they move to based on gun licensing friendly police chiefs.
and yes, at their whim, they don't have a code to follow and if they are having a bad day when you come across their desk, too bad. doesn't SEEM legal to leave an amendment right to someones whim, but that's how it works.

On the post: Another Notch In 'Cyber Threat' Rhetoric's Belt: Former UK Head Of Cyber Security Brings 'AIDS Epidemic' Into The Mix

mockingbird ( profile ), 16 Jan, 2013 @ 02:39pm

there will be a change

if the govt hypes cyber threats then companies will take advantage of that to offer or sell more AV services.
there will be a shorter path for people to get "properly" protected because there will be links on amazon, as you shop for golf clubs, to also purchase kaspersky.
many purchased these two things together!
- Titanium Driver,
- Kaspersky Internet Security
and it will, in the end, increase the number of people taking at least some minimum effort to protect their PCs.
even though "a little bit extra" is too much right now, it won't be once they are scared by the govt into "realizing the dangers".

On the post: Rep. Issa Promises Investigation Into Aaron Swartz Case

mockingbird ( profile ), 16 Jan, 2013 @ 12:22pm

acceptable in some cases

I would like to know in what cases this tactic of "cobbling together all kinds of charges to induce people into a plea" should be used.
I mean.. at its core it's a threat. either plea, or else.
so.. when is that a good tactic for the "justice system"?

On the post: 'Under American Law, Anyone Interesting Is A Felon' – Tim Wu On The Prosecution Of Aaron Swartz

mockingbird ( profile ), 15 Jan, 2013 @ 01:08pm

Re: "Misguided"?

it's dangerous to be right when the government is wrong.
there's a book about that now. ;-)

On the post: Study Shows Educational And Social Harm 'Three Strikes' Punishment Would Cause Young People

mockingbird ( profile ), 09 Jan, 2013 @ 12:36pm

more interested in

"more interested in pleasing their friends in the copyright world than in serving the people that elected them."

honestly, what percentage of people elected for a second term do you believe have "serving the people" as their top priority?

As far as I know, only George Washington didn't want to serve, but served grudgingly. everyone else seems to make politics a "career". meaning they are more interested in doing things that will keep them in office than in the hard things that are "right" but might not get them re-elected.

so, honestly, what percentage of those elected for a second term do you think have "serving the people" as their top priority?
and, in the US, "serving the people within the confines set forth by the constitution".. :-P

On the post: Web Blocking's Slippery Slope: It's Never 'Just' One Site

mockingbird ( profile ), 09 Jan, 2013 @ 11:23am

260 site list

I'm fairly confident that those will be very successful sites if the internet can get their hands on the list and publish it. I mean, I'd go and check them out, they sounds like they might be interesting.
banning stuff just makes some people want to go see what all the fuss is about.

On the post: Racist Apps In Google's Play Store Test Just How Free You Want Speech To Be

mockingbird ( profile ), 07 Jan, 2013 @ 12:24pm

if its funny on television

family guy, on 1/6/2013 had a racist stereotype of both japanese businessmen AND a bucktooth chinese farmer holding the leash of an ox. south park does it all the time.
people are overly sensitive, turning everything that is racial into racism. when I was growing up the definition of racism was "a belief or policy based on race". an app that slants your eyes or colors your skin is neither of those.
a joke that includes a mention of a racial trait is not racist. people need to stop being offended at everything, it's not all about you, and it doesn't actually affect your life.
unlike actual racism which is very much about you and can affect your life in both good and bad ways (I was also taught that thinking chinese people were good at math is bad racism) - which is true except for those getting hired because of it. but yeah, actual racism is bad, 95% of what I hear referred to as racism doesn't qualify by the definitions of it that I grew up with.

On the post: Swedish Appeals Court Says Web Designer Is Responsible For Copyright Infringement On StudentBay

mockingbird ( profile ), 21 Dec, 2012 @ 10:15am

get ebay too!

you can get stolen goods on ebay, ergo ebay and the people who run it, designed it, and host it are facilitating the fencing/movement of stolen goods..
right?

On the post: David Cameron Plans 'Radical' Child Protection Internet Measures

mockingbird ( profile ), 21 Dec, 2012 @ 08:20am

question based protection

I used to play leisure suit larry as a kid.
their protection was asking several questions that only older people would know.
unless you had an encyclopedia or were in school learning the stuff, or were good at guessing.
overall, I might have memorized an extra 5 facts about history at that time, but it really felt more like a mini-game before playing the actual game.
on the other hand, leisure suit larry totally scarred and twisted my psyche into the man you don't see in front of you today.

On the post: Just How Stupid Is The NYTimes' Threat Letter To Quartz Over Copyright Infringement?

mockingbird ( profile ), 19 Dec, 2012 @ 12:29pm

copyright on computer generated work?

is it possible to have copyright on the output of software manipulated by humans?
that's like programming a fractal image generator, and claiming copyright on anything it produces.

as I understand it, first this thing has to be manipulated by a person and then you see some results, which can change depending on live input from the net as well.

how can the results of information from the net + user manipulation to produce a graphical result copyrightable?

On the post: Court Orders Yahoo To Pay Mexican Yellow Pages Companies $2.7 Billion In Mystery Case

mockingbird ( profile ), 05 Dec, 2012 @ 10:27am

maybe it's in pesos

I mean.. how much are 2 billion pesos?
1 mexican peso is about 8 cents.
so 2 billion would be just over 150 million...
still not sure what the lawsuit is over, but that's much more affordable.

On the post: Annual Cyber-Monday ICE Take Down Blitz 2012

mockingbird ( profile ), 26 Nov, 2012 @ 03:02pm

a fight we must win

Can he please give some examples of global fights we are participating in where "we must win" is not one of the set goals?

On the post: Latest Company To Discover The Streisand Effect: Casey Movers

mockingbird ( profile ), 15 Nov, 2012 @ 02:27pm

Re: Re: Fake Online Reviews

further, what kind of standing can you have, suing someone for a bad review that claims to be damaging, if you are puttin gout fake good reviews that claim the opposite?
ins't one thing as bad as the other?

On the post: Boston Mayor Plans To Bill Sony For PS3 Crowd Madness

mockingbird ( profile ), 20 Nov, 2006 @ 09:09am

rioters vs stores

I'm a geat proponent of personal responsibility.
if people riot, the rioters should be held responsible.
Sony was not irresponsible in their release of their product.
I'm not a huge fan of sony, but I Still have to say leave them alone in this case.

I don't recall california suing itself for casuing riots after the rodney king court ruling.

really. personal responsibility.
200 guys show up in a place, camp out for 2 days waiting for 100 items. yeah, there may be trouble.
is it the responsibility of the seller to keep the dopes under control? no.

if the cops see a giant group camping on a city street for days, maybe they should tell them to scram. come back in a day.

arrest the guy who threw the brick, that's waht I say.

On the post: Craigslist Not Liable For Discriminatory Posts — But Court Tries To Limit Immunity

mockingbird ( profile ), 15 Nov, 2006 @ 07:57am

first ammendment

I think the first ammendment allows for me to say jews should be destroyed.
I think what it disallows is incitement to breaking the law.
it's been a while since I've read it but I think it leans towards allowing just about any 'discussion based' speech. (so I can have discourse and hold any idiotic opinion I want) but does not extend to allowing me to incite a crowd to imediately go and break the law.

btw, I don't think jews should be destroyed.
but I'm pretty sure I'm protected by the first ammendment if I were to argue for or against it.

as for providers... the amount of effort for them to police their traffic would close most of them down.

you can't sue smith and wesson when someone gets shot, you can't sue AT&T when someone rips you off over the phone, you can't tug on super mans cape, you can't spit into the wind, you don't pull the mask of the old lone ranger and.. what the hell was my point?

On the post: Yes, Believe It Or Not, Libel Online Falls Under The Same Laws As Libel On Paper

mockingbird ( profile ), 19 Oct, 2006 @ 09:26am

legality

well, seem to be straying here, but....
the first posters had it right. libel is libel. doesn't much matter if it's on the net or in a book.
no brainer indeed.
as for people doing stupid stuff, there's no reason to say I shouldn't be allowed to do something if my reasons aren't stupid just because other people did it for stupid reasons.

porn itself is victimless.
if you abuse someone into it, that's the crime.
if you force someone to take drugs, that's a crime.
if someone is poor and want to do it for money, that's not a crime.
and it's not really a stupid reason.
they just won't be able to run for president later.

-MBtW

On the post: Movie Exec Says Compressed Release Windows 'Not Technically Possible'

mockingbird ( profile ), 13 Oct, 2006 @ 07:47am

not technically possible

on a lighter note than business models,
this may be a case of unfamiliarity with technology on the part of an executive (pause for collective gasp)
although I do lean towards the idea that perhapse the person mis-spoke and meant not technically possible while keeping copies from being made easily.

if you take his words at face value, you'd think he has never heard that some top movies are on the net BEFORE they are released in theaters.
that version of star wars ep 3 I saw at some party with the timer running along the top of the screen...
and I bet that guy would have still payed $8 to download it before it hit the theaters.

On the post: Google May Do Real-Time Politician Fact Checking, But Will Anyone Care?

mockingbird ( profile ), 04 Oct, 2006 @ 07:29am

the kind of facts I want to see

I'm less concerned (still concerned though) with the lies that politicians spew.
the website IW ould like to see is this;
allow me to look up, by politician (And compare against another or two) their stances on things..
I want to see that in jan 14, 1980 X for things that helped illegal immigration. and in aug 1, 1984 X was for stopping ilegal immigration, in 1990 X voted against a bill lto stem illegal immigration, etc.
sort it by general braod topics. illegal immigration, taxes (cuts or increases), and certain other things. what are the top 10 issues? let's work with those.
so, I'll get to see who knows what they want, who flip flops, etc. the fact checking can get these things right into "jan 1 X gave a speech for cutting taxes. jan 15 X voted for a tax increase....
aside from the issue stability of a candidate, their actual voting record would help greatly in cutting through their lies to see how they influence the country.
if I had a bunch of fact checkers I'd run the damn site myself.
well, that's my two fitty.

On the post: Microsoft Brags That Vista Will Be A Burden To European Companies

mockingbird ( profile ), 15 Sep, 2006 @ 01:32pm

it's not so bad

having email servers and file servers requires more people in the company focused on those things.
but it improves the efficiency of the company many times. more jobs required for new functionality is not necessarily a bad thing.
the ROI has to figure what the benefits ofthe new OS will be vs the new manpower to install and support it. some assume it's all crap. (hard to do if it's not even released yet, but that doesn't stop people).
heck, generals have said that planes will not affect wars, and economics profesors said delivering packages overnight was a useless business model.

companies and home users will slowly migrate to vista just like they have all the previous versions.
a minute saved every day will save about 4 hours of labor per person per year in a company.
larger companies will obviously reap greater savings.
the smaller companies will follow suit when they can.

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