Ron Currier 's Techdirt Comments

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  • On the post: Trump Loses Copyright Suit Over ‘Electric Avenue’ 2020 Campaign Video In Summary Judgement

    Ron Currier ( profile ), 26 Sep, 2024 @ 03:38pm

    Just another judgement he'll ignore

    Trump will just add this to the long list of judgements he's lost and never pay it, assuming there are any monetary damages granted the artist.

  • On the post: Suing Apple To Force It To Scan iCloud For CSAM Is A Catastrophically Bad Idea

    Ron Currier ( profile ), 19 Aug, 2024 @ 04:12pm

    CSAM is just a foot in the door

    Once the government has successfully forced Apple to scan for CSAM content, they'll want Apple to scan for Right-leaning, Left-leaning, LGBTQ, abortion, Dungeons and Dragons content, and whatever the bug-a-boo of the month is. Give them an inch and they'll expect a mile.

  • On the post: ‘Goon Squad’ Deputies Headed To Jail For Torturing Black Men For The Crime Of Being Black

    Ron Currier ( profile ), 22 Mar, 2024 @ 03:19pm

    Prison

    Let's hope these cops serve their time in gen-pop. I'm sure the brothers there will be more than happy to introduce the cops to prison life.

  • On the post: Vehicle Cloning — Another Reason Not To Use Automated License Plate Readers

    Ron Currier ( profile ), 12 Mar, 2024 @ 02:38pm

    infra red LEDs and license plates

    It's illegal in California: https://casetext.com/statute/california-codes/california-vehicle-code/division-3-registration-of-vehicles-and-certificates-of-title/chapter-1-original-and-renewal-of-registration-issuance-of-certificates-of-title/article-9-display-of-plates-tabs-and-stickers/section-52011-product-or-device-obscuring-reading-or-recognition-of-license-plate

  • On the post: Alito Wants To Weigh YouTube, And The Rest Of SCOTUS Wants To Make An Easy Case Hard

    Ron Currier ( profile ), 28 Feb, 2024 @ 12:03pm

    How much does Youtube weigh

    I think the issue is that Alito has no clue what "youtube" is. He probably doesn't use the internet and didn't bother (or want) to ask his clerks to research and explain it to him. All he knows is that youtube is a big "woke" company (probably because Faux News said it is) and therefore he dislikes it.

  • On the post: Carmakers Push Forward With Plans To Make Basic Features Subscription Services, Despite Widespread Backlash

    Ron Currier ( profile ), 05 Dec, 2023 @ 12:04pm

    Going forward

    "Just because you already paid for the hardware doesn’t mean you should get to use it for free going forward." Sorry, the standard model only goes in reverse. If you also want to go forward, that'll be $100/month extra.

  • On the post: Google Fiber Back From The Dead, Unveils 20 Gbps Fiber

    Ron Currier ( profile ), 02 Nov, 2023 @ 04:27pm

    smurftube

    Be careful if installing smurftube into a residence. Running it between floors may be illegal in some states (Massachusetts for instance). It requires a hole in the wall's fire break (the horizontal 2x4s between floors) that are there to stop a fire from spreading to upper floors through the wall. I learned this the hard way when the building inspector failed my framing inspection.

  • On the post: TV Industry’s Idea Of Innovation: A Free TV With A Second Small TV That Constantly Shows You Ads

    Ron Currier ( profile ), 19 May, 2023 @ 03:30pm

    Blocking the ad zone

    I'm willing to bet that there is either a camera, motion sensor, or light sensor embedded in the ad zone that will detect being taped over, or otherwise hidden from view, and will disable the main screen. At least that's what I would do if I were stupid enough to actually build such a product. But I would also encourage anyone with some technical expertise to sign up for one of these things simply to dismantle it and find a way to hack the device.

  • On the post: Chipotle Sues Sweetgreen For Having Its Own ‘Chipotle Burrito Bowl’

    Ron Currier ( profile ), 06 Apr, 2023 @ 05:00pm

    chipotle chicken bowl

    The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Sweetgreens has renamed their bowl to "Chicken + Chipotle Pepper Bowl".

  • On the post: Yes, The US Government Threatening To Block TikTok Violates The 1st Amendment

    Ron Currier ( profile ), 16 Mar, 2023 @ 12:55pm

    Banning TikTok

    I can think of multiple reasons to ban TikTok; the TidePod challenge, the boiling water challenge, the choking game challenge, and teaching kids "the shuffle" dance, but Chinese spying isn't one of them. Prohibiting its use on government (or company) issued phones is just a good security policy. Banning its availability in the country is just performative claptrap for the China haters.

  • On the post: Copyright Means You May Need Permission To Post Photos Of Your Own Home Online

    Ron Currier ( profile ), 16 Mar, 2023 @ 12:41pm

    Photos of artworks

    If you've ever watched any of HGTV's multitude of home renovation shows then you'll know this isn't anything new. The shows almost always fuzz out any artwork shown in the videoes. Also any bookcases have the books shelved spine in so the title can't be seen. Also, there might be a pitcher of lemonade on the table, but never a can of Coke or Pepsi. Copyright as a concept is important so that artists can get paid for their work. But Copyright as implemented in the US and the EU is a bloated mess that just prevents ordinary people from doing ordinary things. Take the number of people sued for sharing pictures online of the Christ the Redeemer statue in Brazil.

  • On the post: Hundreds Of Hong Kong Cops Illegally Accessed Woman’s Case File After Her Arrest For Public Indecency

    Ron Currier ( profile ), 05 Dec, 2022 @ 04:52pm

    Personal information

    There is no personal information involved if someone is having sex in public. It's public information at that point. I'm not saying that the cops should have been looking at the records, just that no one's rights are being violated by them doing so. Public sex is just that, public.

  • On the post: ‘Matter’ Standard Hopes To Clean Up The Messy Smart Home Space

    Ron Currier ( profile ), 10 Oct, 2022 @ 11:39am

    smart door locks and smart fridges

    I have a smart doorlock and love it, not for any sort of added security, but for ease of use. It's geo-fenced so when I leave home the door locks behind me and unlocks when I come back. If I can't remember if I locked the door when going to bed, I can just use my phone to check. What a common protocol would allow is for the door to lock when it is bedtime and all of the lights are off. None of these things are revolutionary changes, but they save some time and trouble. As for smart fridges, none of the ones available do anything "smart". I want one which makes me a shopping list based on what items are low. Or better yet, sends my Tesla Optima robot to the market to restock. Maybe save some electricity by cooling slightly lower when the fridge knows I'm going to have the door open multiple times when prepping dinner. But just putting a screen on the front so you can read your email while cooking doesn't make it smart. There was, however, a recent Reddit comment suggesting that maybe one could run a Git repo on a smart fridge.

  • On the post: ‘Matter’ Standard Hopes To Clean Up The Messy Smart Home Space

    Ron Currier ( profile ), 10 Oct, 2022 @ 11:21am

    Door locks

    Door locks are indeed a special case. The residential burglar has 3 ways to break into your house.

    1. The owner didn't lock the door, so just walk in.
    2. Kick the door open.
    3. Break a window and climb through.
    In none of those cases is the security of the lock (be it smart or dumb) involved. No one ever picks open a house door lock. The best lock in the world won't protect against #3.

  • On the post: That Time The Former White House Photographer Was Threatened By A Copyright Troll Over His Own Public Domain Photo

    Ron Currier ( profile ), 29 Sep, 2022 @ 06:44pm

    Photo copyrights

    Of course, even if the photo was NOT in the public domain due to it being a government photo, the photographer holds the copyright on any photos they take unless the copyright is reassigned. Newspaper staff photographer's photos are automatically assigned to the paper. Photos from stringers vary from photo to photo and paper to paper.

  • On the post: San Francisco Legislators Approve Bill Giving Cops Live, On Demand Access To Private Security Cameras

    Ron Currier ( profile ), 26 Sep, 2022 @ 02:48pm

    How?

    How are the police going to access my private camera feeds? Both of mine send the wireless video encrypted. Are they just talking about Ring doorbell cameras that stream to the cloud? Or the camera on my laptop/phone?

  • On the post: Calls For Violence Against The Press Have Paid Off: Politician Accused Of Murdering Investigative Reporter

    Ron Currier ( profile ), 13 Sep, 2022 @ 11:22am

    TV

    How long do you think it will take CSI:Vegas to use this as a script? A cut-up straw hat just screams for the CSI treatment.

  • On the post: Dear California Law Makers: How The Hell Can I Comply With Your New Age-Appropriate Design Code?

    Ron Currier ( profile ), 25 Aug, 2022 @ 12:17pm

    Think of the children

    Like all of these "save the children" laws, they are just ways to absolve parents from doing their job. If you don't want your kid going to TechDirt or PornHub, just block the website. All modern browsers have blocking lists as does the firewall on your internet router. Don't know which ones to block, then block them all and whitelist Disney (nope, Disney has shows with same-sex kisses now. And non-white people). Or just have discussions about topics that they might be searching for. Or just keep them off the internet completely and assure that they will never have any opinions other than yours. Be a damn Parent. And, yes, I have kids.

  • On the post: The Journalism Competition Preservation Act Is Lose-Lose Legislation

    Ron Currier ( profile ), 15 Jul, 2022 @ 04:13pm

    links as copyright violations

    Hardly ignorance. If a link is a copyright violation, then it follows that any pointer to a news article is also. Links are just pointers. As I come from the newspaper industry I can tell you that the proposal is purely a money grab from an industry that didn't understand how to change. Newspapers made their money selling ads to local businesses for hundreds of years and either couldn't or wouldn't find other revenue models.

  • On the post: The Journalism Competition Preservation Act Is Lose-Lose Legislation

    Ron Currier ( profile ), 15 Jul, 2022 @ 02:26pm

    internet != web

    @Naughty Autie, just wow. If you had half a brain, you'd have read the article and know that this has absolutely nothing to do with copyright, but is just a money grab from failing businesses. By your argument, if I publish a book review and tell you to buy "The best book ever" that would be a copyright violation? Links are nothing more than pointers to potentially copyrighted items.Clicking on a link brings you to the same page as if you had typed in the URL. If the copyright holder didn't want you to read what they wrote, they wouldn't put it on the Web. Links, URLs, movie/book/tv titles, etc are not copyright-able. That's settled law.

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