Ron Currier’s Techdirt Profile

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

Ron Currier ( profile ), 14 Jul, 2022 @ 03:33pm

internet != web

Sorry for being pedantic, but a link tax won't hurt the internet, but it will kill the web, which is based entirely on links. We're already seeing what happens when a country does this. Google is threatening to pull search from Australia over their link tax. France's attempt failed miserably when news aggregators simply stopped linking to French news sources (who then whined about not receiving traffic). Link taxes are a dead-end solution for any problems.

On the post: Mastercard Lays Down New Rules For Streaming Sites That Require Them To Review Content Before Publication

Ron Currier ( profile ), 16 Apr, 2021 @ 11:32am

crypto tokens

Bitcoin (and its relatives) are too expensive for things like MyFreeCams and OnlyFans. What's needed is a new cryptocurrency with a fixed value, 1 token = US$1.00, and a third-party service to sell and redeem them. But such a service would probably be blocked by MasterCard, plus is probably a form of money laundering.

Maybe these services should just move to cash-only via USPS.

On the post: AT&T Spins Off DirecTV After Losing Billions On Its TV Dreams

Ron Currier ( profile ), 04 Mar, 2021 @ 05:44pm

Lowball bid

I sent in a bid of $100 plus assumption of debt to take the entire DirecTV thing off their hands. I figured at the very least I could get a tax credit out of it. Plus free TV. I didn't get a response.

On the post: Ted Cruz Once Insisted That Net Neutrality Was The Gov't Takeover Of The Internet; Now Demands That Twitter Host All Nonsense

Ron Currier ( profile ), 15 Oct, 2020 @ 04:34pm

Fake news

And we now know from various intelligence services that the whole Hunter Biden story that Guliani gave the Post was given to him by Russian operatives looking to undermine Biden. So Twitter and Facebook were correct in taking the story down. Why anyone continues to believe anything that comes out of Guliani's mouth is beyond me.

On the post: Sheriff Indicted For Evidence Tampering After Footage Of Deputies Killing An Unarmed Black Man Was Destroyed By Reality Show Producers

Ron Currier ( profile ), 01 Oct, 2020 @ 11:35am

Why are they even deleting any footage

It's not like the footage exists on reels of file or tape. It's all digital nowadays. Digital storage is basically free (the cost of disks being so cheap). If I were a TV producer, I'd be archiving everything, you never know when you might be able to reuse the footage for some other project.

On the post: Petnet 'Smart' Feeder Customers Are Stuck In 'Internet Of Broken Things' Purgatory

Ron Currier ( profile ), 17 Jul, 2020 @ 11:49am

Smart is not the problem

The problem is these devices are not "smart", they are merely "connected". The "smarts" are back on the servers. If they were actually "smart", they wouldn't need a network connection to work.

I've been burnt twice by this, but now know better. I refuse to purchase anything where "internet connected" means "tied to fortunes of the company owning the servers".

On the post: More Schools Are Ending Contracts With Cops Following Protests Over The Killing Of George Floyd

Ron Currier ( profile ), 15 Jun, 2020 @ 04:15pm

Re: Good Start

The last thing we want is HOAs having more power. Many are already approaching Nazi level nonsense. I was cited for having flower pots in my front yard that didn't match. They also tried to tell us that we couldn't park in our own driveways. The anti-HOA protests will be starting next.

On the post: The EARN IT Act Creates A New Moderator's Dilemma

Ron Currier ( profile ), 09 Apr, 2020 @ 03:37pm

CSAM

I'm not a troll, I just play one online sometimes...

Republicans and certain Christian groups notwithstanding, is there any actual evidence that CSAM online is a serious problem? I've never run across any and I lurk in some pretty sketchy areas of the web. The current porn tubes' fascination with "incest" storylines are as fake as the rest of porn storylines. Even back when Instagram was for porn I didn't see any obvious CSAM. If this really a problem that needs new laws or is it just Government and Churchs looking to censor the Internet?

On the post: Facial Recognition Company Clearview Lied About Its Crime-Solving Power In Pitches To Law Enforcement Agencies

Ron Currier ( profile ), 29 Jan, 2020 @ 12:11pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Just because its there doesn't mean you should u

Unlike Clearview, neither Google or the Internet Archive make money off of the cached images. In both cases the cached images are searchable for free.

On the post: Company Sells Surveillance Cameras Hidden In Tombstones, Threatens Websites For Talking About Its Tombstone Cameras

Ron Currier ( profile ), 15 Jan, 2020 @ 11:45am

ITAR

Don't forget that encryption software was classified as a munition under ITAR for years in the US.

On the post: New York Residents Unprotected, Served Up To Criminals By NYPD Employees

Ron Currier ( profile ), 18 Nov, 2019 @ 02:30pm

So will the cops try to escape this under "qualified immunity" somehow? And will the union stand up for the NYPD and speak out about the ungrateful feds?

On the post: FCC Freaks Out About Huawei, But Ignores The Internet Of Broken Things

Ron Currier ( profile ), 04 Nov, 2019 @ 05:44pm

US switches manufactured by China

A few years ago I worked for a (at the time) well-known US manufacturer of network edge switches. We OEMed the hardware and firmware from a Chinese firm that wasn't Huawei. I had access to the firmware source code and noticed that the code was configurable for HPE as well as several other US companies. I suspect that even the super high end switches and routers are made in China since that is the only way to compete on price. So the US is fooling themselves if they think banning Huawei labeled goods will have any affect on whatever Chinese spying might be going on. Simply more security theater and protectionism by the Government.

On the post: Australia's Idiotic War On Porn Returns, This Time Using Facial Recognition

Ron Currier ( profile ), 31 Oct, 2019 @ 02:10pm

responsible parenting?

Isn't that what nannies are for?

On the post: Elizabeth Warren's Feud With Facebook Over 'False' Ads Just Highlights The Impossibility Of Content Moderation At Scale

Ron Currier ( profile ), 16 Oct, 2019 @ 11:50am

Why not simply put a disclaimer on ALL political ads. Something like "Any claims made in this post are the opinions of the poster and should not be assumed to be truths or lies". But would anyone actually pay attention to this or would the disclaimer quickly become like the third brake light on cars.

On the post: Confluence Brewing Sues Confluence On 3rd, An Apartment Complex, For Trademark Infringement

Ron Currier ( profile ), 12 Feb, 2018 @ 10:10pm

Will software be next?

So after this will they go after Confluence - Team Collaboration Software? After all, programmers drink beer.

On the post: Stupid Patent Of The Month: Will Patents Slow Artificial Intelligence?

Ron Currier ( profile ), 29 Sep, 2017 @ 11:15pm

Possible prior art

Patent 6,081,508 may contain some prior art. As the person who actually came up with the process and wrote the code (the other names on the patent are management and owners), it seems to me that claim 11 may be prior art.

The software of claim 10 wherein automatically performing diagnostics includes interpreting a diagnostic script implementing a diagnostic procedure to determine a cause of unsuccessful establishment of communication over the first of the access paths.

The patent as a whole covers a system for automating dial-up modem connections including fixing comm port problems and baud rate mismatches. I would think a case could be made that running a script is an early, crude form of AI.

On the post: Senate's Latest Attack On Backpage Will Be Massively Counterproductive, Create Tremendous Harm

Ron Currier ( profile ), 01 Aug, 2017 @ 09:26pm

Same underlying problem as always

The underlying problem is that prostitution, sex trafficking, and human trafficking are not interchangeable. There is plenty of human trafficking that is not sex related (maids, nannies, etc) and plenty of prostitutes who are not trafficked (college girls trying to pay their tuition for example. One could make the argument that they were forced into it by circumstances, but they weren't trafficked). Yes, there is some amount (I doubt anything near the 100,000 number that is bandied about) of children, young women, and adults who are forced into prostitution, and we should do everything we can to put an end to that. But lumping all three into the same group does no one any good (except the politicians who get to appear holier-than-thou and get some publicity, and then ultimately get caught with a prostitute or are arrested for child porn). Let's focus more on the trafficked part and less on the sex part.

On the post: UK WiFi Company Uses Overlong TOS To Trick Hotspot Users Into Cleaning Toilets, Hugging Stray Cats

Ron Currier ( profile ), 01 Aug, 2017 @ 09:00pm

Examples of good TOS

Are there any examples/templates of good, short, and possibly enforceable TOS that small online businesses could use? Or is paying a lawyer who'll create a 100 page TOS full of random legalese the only choice we have?

On the post: Huge Casino Threatens Small Blues Club For Using The Word 'Live' In Its Name

Ron Currier ( profile ), 28 Oct, 2016 @ 03:40pm

LA Live

Maybe they can take on the LA Live complex next. As a $2.5 Billion entertainment complex (soon to be home to the LA Rams) I dare say the puny little casino will have met their match. Maybe the supper club should reach out to the LA Live folks for advice.

On the post: Pam Geller Doubles Down On Claims That Facebook Removing Her Posts Is Section 230-Enabled 'Government Censorship'

Ron Currier ( profile ), 19 Oct, 2016 @ 08:19am

Who the hell is Pam Geller

and why would I care about her?

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